Rhizogenic Fe–C redox cycling: a hypothetical biogeochemical mechanism that drives crustal weathering in upland soils

Field-scale observations of two upland soils derived from contrasting granite and basalt bedrocks are presented to hypothesize that redox activity of rhizospheres exerts substantial effects on mineral dissolution and colloidal translocation in many upland soils. Rhizospheres are redox-active microsites and in the absence of O₂, oxidation of rhizodeposits can be coupled by reduction of redox-active species such as Fe, a biogenic reduction that leads to Fe translocation and oxidation, accompanied by substantial proton flux. Not only do rhizogenic Fe–C redox cycles demonstrate a process by which the rhizosphere affects an environment well outside the near-root zone, but these redox processes are also hypothesized to be potent weathering systems, such that rhizogenic redox-reactions complement acid- and ligand-promoted reactions as major biogeochemical processes that control crustal weathering. The potential significance of Fe–C redox cycling is underscored by the deep and extensive rooting and mottling of upland subsoils across a wide range of plant communities, lithologies, and soil-moisture and temperature regimes.     

Molecular Epidemiology of Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Poultry and Poultry Products in India: Implications for Human Health

Human infections with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars are increasingly becoming a threat to human health globally. While all motile Salmonellae have zoonotic potential, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium are most commonly associated with human disease, for which poultry are a major source. Despite the increasing number of human NTS infections, the epidemiology of NTS in poultry in India has not been fully understood. Hence, as a first step, we carried out epidemiological analysis to establish the incidence of NTS in poultry to evaluate the risk to human health. A total of 1215 samples (including poultry meat, tissues, egg and environmental samples) were collected from 154 commercial layer farms from southern India and screened for NTS. Following identification by cultural and biochemical methods, Salmonella isolates were further characterized by multiplex PCR, allele-specific PCR, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In the present study, 21/1215 (1.73 %) samples tested positive for NTS. We found 12/392 (3.06 %) of tissue samples, 7/460 (1.52 %) of poultry products, and 2/363 (0.55 %) of environmental samples tested positive for NTS. All the Salmonella isolates were resistant to oxytetracycline, which is routinely used as poultry feed additive. The multiplex PCR results allowed 16/21 isolates to be classified as S. Typhimurium, and five isolates as S. Enteritidis. Of the five S. Enteritidis isolates, four were identified as group D Salmonella by allele-specific PCR. All of the isolates produced different banding patterns in ERIC PCR. Of the thirteen macro restriction profiles (MRPs) obtained by PFGE, MRP 6 was predominant which included 6 (21 %) isolates. In conclusion, the findings of the study revealed higher incidence of contamination of NTS Salmonella in poultry tissue and animal protein sources used for poultry. The results of the study warrants further investigation on different type of animal feed sources, food market chains, processing plants, live bird markets etc., to evaluate the risk factors, transmission and effective control measures of human Salmonella infection from poultry products.     

Efficient direct plant regeneration from immature leaf roll explants of sugarcane (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharum officinarum</Emphasis> L.) using polyamines and assessment of genetic fidelity by SCoT markers

A rapid and efficient method for in vitro direct plant regeneration from immature leaf roll explants of Saccharum officinarum L. (sugarcane) cv. Co 86032 was developed by the application of exogenous polyamines (PA). The effect of explant source from apical meristems and pre-culture of explants in the dark on shoot regeneration was studied. Adventitious shoot regeneration occurred on the proximal regions of immature leaf roll explants when pre-incubated in the dark for 2 wk and the regeneration response was decreased from the middle to distal end. A higher number of direct shoots (130 primary shoots explant^?1) and multiple shoots (657 secondary shoots explant^?1), were obtained with a combination of spermidine (103.27 μM), spermine (49.42 μM), and putrescine (31.04 μM) along with plant growth regulators. Shoot induction was increased up to twofold and multiplication was increased up to threefold in the medium supplemented with PA. Profuse rooting was observed in putrescine (93.12 μM), spermidine (68.84 μM), and spermine (24.71 μM), with mean number of 57 roots. A twofold increase in the number of roots was observed in medium supplemented with PA with respect to control cultures, which facilitated the successful transplantation and acclimatization process of in vitro propagated sugarcane plants. Histology and scanning electron microscopy analyses supported adventitious direct shoot regeneration from immature leaf roll explants. The genetic stability of in vitro regenerated plants was confirmed using start codon targeted polymorphism marker system.     

A stochastic model for eye movements during fixation on a stationary target

A stochastic model describing small eye movements occurring during steady fixation on a stationary target is presented. Based on eye movement data for steady gaze, the model has a hierarchical structure; the principal level represents the random motion of the image point within a local area of fixation while the higher level mimics the jump processes involved in transitions from one local area to another. Target image motion within a local area is described by a Langevinlike stochastic differential equation taking into consideration, the microsaccadic jumps pictured as being due to point processes and the high frequency muscle tremor, represented as a white noise. The transform of the probability density function for local area motion is obtained, leading to explicit expressions for their means and moments. Evaluation of these moments based on the model are comparable with experimental results. A physiologically based criterion for the occurrence of local area changes is assumed and the renewal density of these transitions is obtained. These transitions are brought about by the occurrence of large saccades. Hence, our analysis leads us to derive expressions for the mean and moments of the occurrence of large saccades in a given time T. These predictions may be checked against experimental results.This investigation was supported by National Institutes of Health under Grants Numbers GM 16197-03, GM 16437, and RR-0712-04, by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number GK-1834X, and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant Number NGL-05-018-022.R.Vasudevan and J.D. Smith are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. —R.Vasudevan is on leave of absence from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Madras, India.A.V. Phatak is now with Systems Control, Inc. in Palo Alto, California.