Comparison of the mortality profiles of Archaic, Middle Woodland, and Middle Mississippian skeletal populations

Mortality profiles were constructed for four American Indian skeletal populations for the purpose of comparing the frequencies of deaths at given ages between and within the populations. An interpretation of the differential mortality frequencies is then possible. Selected for study were the Archaic population from Indian Knoll, Kentucky, an Illinois Archaic series and a Middle Woodland Hopewellian population, both from the Klunk Mounds in southwestern Illinois, and a Middle Mississippian population from Dickson Mounds, Illinois. It was found that in the Archaic populations there were significantly higher percentages of deaths throughout the first three decades than among either the Hopewell or Middle Mississippian populations. Although the mortality profiles of the latter two groups more closely approximated each other, the average age at death was greater for the Hopewellian population. Suggested are different behavioral adjustments to stress. However, with a few notable exceptions, the fluctuations in the frequencies of death follow similar profiles in the mortality curves, indicating that common to all four populations were certain ages at which time death was more likely to occur. Various interpretations are offered to explain these periods of greater mortality.     

Soil aeration capacity,an index for soil structure,tested against yield and root development of apple trees at various soil treatments and drainage conditions

Summary Under Dutch climatic and drainage conditions soil aeration, particularly of loam and clay soils, is an important factor in crop production. It is determined by soil structure and ground water level. A soil aeration capacity has been developed to quantify soil structure. This SAC has been based on a schematic concept of aeration in proportion to the interface between water and air in the soil. Assuming certain capillary properties of soil pores, it can be derived from the pF curve as the wall area of air-filled pores at field capacity.Experiments carried out in apple orchards in the western and south-western part of the Netherlands and in Lake I jssel Polders revealed that SAC is a valuable parameter for soil aeration, soil structure and therefore gives sound relations with root development and yield of apple trees. It is found that SAC can be basic for quantifying classification of soil structure.     

A new species of Monosporium from Indian soil

Summary A new species ofMonosporium, M. bharatensis sp. nov. has been described in this paper. For the first time it has been isolated from Indian soil.     

A new species of peyronellaea from Indian soil

Summary A new species of genusPeyronellaea, P. indianensis sp. nov., has been described. Its isolation from the soil is the first record to science. It differs from previously recorded five species parasitizing various host plants. As it is isolated on a filter paper buried in the soil, it is a cellulose decomposing fungus     

不同土壤水分条件下焕镛木幼苗的生理生态特性

在不同的土壤水分条件下 (土壤含水量分别为 2 0 1%、14 3%和 13 2 % ) ,比较研究濒危物种焕镛木幼苗的生理生态特性 ;测定了焕镛木叶片的净光合速率 (A)、气孔导度 (gs)、内在水分利用率效率 (WUE)、比叶面积 (SLA)及叶片的光合作用 光响应曲线。结果表明 :随着土壤含水量的增加叶片的净光合速率和气孔导度相应增高 ,生长在最高土壤含水量下的植株 ,日平均光合速率、气孔导度分别为 8 5 5± 4 32 μmol·m-2 ·s-1和 81 5 7± 8 4 1μmol·m-2 ·s-1,分别比生长在最低土壤含水量下的植株高 2 5 6 1%和 17 6 8% ;另一方面 ,水分利用效率、比叶面积随土壤含水量的降低而趋于增加 ,土壤含水量最低时 ,植株的日平均水分利用率、比别增加0 2 8%和 15 87% ,其中 ,水分利用效率的变幅较小 ;光饱和点随着土壤含水量的增加而增高。较高的土壤湿度有利于焕镛木的生长。     

Discoidals and Problematical Stones from Mississippian Sites in Minnesota

Abstract

There is no conclusive evidence that discoidals, chunkey stones or similar problematical stones were used exclusively or intermittently for games, ceremonials, food preparation or other village purposes, but the weight of evidence from eyewitness accounts suggests the dominance of game use. There are several eyewitness records of the game as olaved by the tribes of the Southeast and by some Siouan tribes of the plains and the Missouri Valley. Discoidals are found most frequently at late prehistoric Mississippian sites.

Recent Minnesota finds include: a single artifact with unusual features (Fig. 1), identified tentatively as a chunkey game piece, recovered by the author in 1976 from the Bryan site; a broken, more conventional game stone discovered at the neighboring site of Silvernale in 1975 (Harrison, 1978); a surface find at the Bartron site in 1978 by John Barnett; and an artifact, either a chunkey stone or a grinding stone, also found by John Barnett near the entrance of Belle Creek into the Cannon River. All of these sites are in the Red Wing area and these recent finds, together with other known discoidals from Goodhue County, link the Mississippian villages of the Red Wing area to the chunkey playing region further south.     

An impact of drainage system on soil water conditions at Lidzbark Warminski experimental site

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a drainage system on soil water conditions in a loam soil compared to that in undrained clay loam soil under various topographic conditions. The soils are located on a sloping area at Lidzbark Warminski experimental site (Poland) with well surface water outflow conditions and used as a pasture. The loam soil was drained with ceramic drainage pipes with an average drain spacing of 14 m and an average drain depth of 0.9 m, while the clay loam soil profile was not drained. The research was conducted during the period from 1999 to 2005. Ground water level as well as soil moisture content were measured monthly for both soil profiles. Meteorological conditions (precipitation and data for calculation of reference evapotranspiration) were also recorded. The results obtained show that in the loam soil (drained site) water level is on average 42 cm higher compared to that in the clay loam soil (not drained site). In both soils the amplitude of the ground water level changes was relatively high and exceeds 300 cm. In the drained loam soil, the water level position exceeded the depth of the drainage system in very wet, wet and average years. Under wet meteorological conditions the increase in ground water levels in the clay loam soil was slower than in the loam soil.     

Vittatispora, a new melanosporaceous genus from Indian soil

Vittatispora coorgii gen. sp. nov., isolated from soil in India, is described and illustrated. The fungus has morphological characteristics of the genera Melanospora, Sphaerodes and Syspastospora. The most striking feature is the presence of a thick hyaline ridge along the vertical axis of the lemon-shaped ascospores wall. Perithecia also have a long neck composed of adhering hyphae, similar to that of Syspatospora. Phylogenetic studies on the 28S rDNA indicate it is closely related to Melanospora and Sphaerodes and belongs in the Ceratostomataceae. The new genus is based on the distinctive morphology and phylogenetic analyses. The fungus grew in culture only conjointly with a sterile fungus which a BLAST analysis suggested was close to Tetracladium marchalianum.     

Conjugative plasmids in multi-resistant bacterial isolates from Indian soil

Aims:  Determination of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance and presence of conjugative plasmids in bacteria isolated from soil irrigated with wastewater.
Methods and Results:  Composite soil samples were collected from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Forty different bacteria were selected from nutrient agar and characterized by morphological, cultural and biochemical tests. All the isolates were tested for their resistance to different heavy metals and antibiotics. The DNA derived from multiple metal and antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolates was PCR amplified and plasmid-specific sequences (IncP, IncN, IncW, IncQ and pMV158-type) were analysed by dot blot hybridization. All isolates gave PCR products with trfA2 and oriT primers of the IncP group. These PCR products also hybridized with the RP4-derived probes. However, the samples were negative for all the other investigated plasmids as proved by PCR and dot blots.
Conclusions:  The presence of conjugative/mobilizable IncP plasmids in the isolates indicates that these bacteria have gene-mobilizing capacity with implications for potential dissemination of introduced recombinant DNA.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  The detection of IncP plasmids in all the bacterial isolates is another proof for the prevalence of these plasmids. We propose that IncP plasmids are mainly responsible for the spread of multi-resistant bacteria in these soils.     

The Mississippian Heartland and Its Plains Relationship*

Abstract

The Cahokia site near East St. Louis, Illinois, was a gateway on the northwestern frontier of the Mississippian heartland. Its exact relationship to other Middle Mississippi cultures and to cultures of the Plains and Upper Great Lakes ar ea is still not fully under stood. It is clear, nonetheless, that these relationships, when more completely known, will prove to be :inuch more complicated than any suggested in current literature.     

The ultrastructure and distribution of micropores in the various developmental forms of Eimeria brunetti

The structure and distribution of micropores in the various developmental stages of Eimeria brunetti was examined. Micropores were observed in all the endogenous forms with the exception of the microgamete. Oocysts from chicken faeces were also examined at various stages of sporulation and micropores were demonstrated in zygotes, sporoblasts, sporozoites, and the residual cytoplasmic masses. The number of micropores per organism appeared to be correlated with the surface area of the organisms irrespective of whether these were endogenous or sporulating forms. The increase in the number of micropores did not appear to be related to micropore activity because semmingly active micropores were observed only in the trophozoites, in the early multinucleate forms (early shizonts and microgamonts), and in the early macrogamonts. All these forms, however, possessed relatively few micropores. No active micropores were ever observed within the sporulating oocysts.     

Screening of antifungal activity of various plant leaves extracts from Indian plants

The present study was designated to evaluate the antifungal activity and to root out the antifungal plant leaf extracts from this Indian folk-flore. The in vitro antifungal assay was performed by agar diffusion test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and distilled water plant leaf extracts. Extraction of 17 different plant leaves was carried out in different solvents such as hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and distilled water. Among them extractive yield of methanol was maximum than the rest of the three solvents. These extracts were screened for their antifungal activity against nine different fungi. Among these ethyl acetate extracts of Adhatoda vasica, Ocimum sanctum and Holoptelea integrifolia exhibited maximum antifungal activity against Alternaria sp., Aspergillus parasi, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma harzianum and Aspergillus flavus with MIC of 80, 40 and 20 ppm against Aspergillus nidulans and Alternaria sp. Ethyl acetate extracts showed promising antifungal activity against Adhatoda vasica, Ocimum sanctum and Holoptelea integrifolia against Aspergillus nidulans, and Alternaria sp. might be applicable as fungicide against fungal plants disease.     

好气与淹水条件下水稻土各粒级团聚体有机碳矿化量

采用室内恒温培养法观测了好气和淹水处理下水稻土不同粒级团聚体中有机碳矿化的动态变化.结果表明：两种处理下,各粒级团聚体中有机碳矿化量都表现为培养前期快速下降,培养后期保持相对稳定的趋势.不同粒级团聚体之间有机碳矿化速率存在明显差异,在整个培养过程中,均以1～2 mm粒级团聚体最高,以＜0.053 mm粒级团聚体最低.统计分析表明,不同粒级团聚体中有机碳矿化量变化与有机碳和微生物生物量碳含量呈显著线性相关.好气和淹水处理下对土壤总有机碳累计矿化量贡献最大的是0.25～1 mm粒级团聚体,分别达41.77%和34.11%;好气处理下贡献最小的是0.053 mm粒级团聚体,淹水处理下贡献最小的是1~2 mm粒级团聚体,分别仅为7.8%和6.6%.     

土壤中产木聚糖酶菌株的筛选及发酵条件优化

【背景】木聚糖广泛存在于木质纤维类生物质中,是世界上含量最丰富的半纤维素,利用产酶微生物对木质纤维类生物质进行发酵处理是木质纤维类生物质资源化和能源化的有效手段。【目的】通过产木聚糖酶菌株的筛选鉴定、酶学特性分析和发酵条件优化,获得开发多纤维农林废弃物生产新型多元化饲料添加剂的材料。【方法】利用青藏高原土壤筛选产木聚糖酶菌株,通过形态学观察和rDNAITS区域序列分析鉴定菌株XC70种属,对其所产酶的酶学特性及该菌的生长规律和产酶规律进行分析,并利用单因素法和正交试验法优化其发酵条件。【结果】菌株XC70经形态学和分子生物学方法鉴定为草酸青霉(Penicillium oxalicum)。菌株XC70所产木聚糖酶的最适反应条件为:pH 5.0,70°C,温度低于50°C时稳定性较好,具备一定的耐酸性,Na+和K+对木聚糖酶活力具有促进作用(P0.05),在发酵54 h后菌体量和上清液酶活力大小均达到高峰。经过单因素法和正交试验法优化后确定了该菌的最优发酵条件为:蛋白胨7 g/L,玉米秸秆50 g/L,KCl 4 g/L,培养基初始pH 4.0,28°C,摇床转速200r/min,接种量2%。在此发酵条件下,木聚糖酶活力可达到1 489.33U/mL,与优化前相比提高了3倍多。【结论】从青藏高原土壤中筛选获得的菌株XC70具有一定的产木聚糖酶能力,其所产生的酸性木聚糖酶可用于降解多纤维物质开发新型饲料添加剂,具有一定的应用潜力和开发价值。