Molecular assessment of fungi in ‘‘black spots’’ that deface murals in the Takamatsuzuka and Kitora Tumuli in Japan: Acremonium sect. Gliomastix including Acremonium tumulicola sp. nov. and Acremonium felinum comb. nov.

Unidentified black spots (or stains) appeared on the plaster walls of the Takamatsuzuka and Kitora Tumuli in the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Public attention was drawn to the biodeterioration of the colorful 1,300-year-old murals. A total of 46 isolates of Acremonium sect. Gliomastix were obtained from various samples (mainly black spots) of the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus (TT) (sampling period, May 2004–December 2006) and the Kitora Tumulus (KT) (June 2004–May 2007). These isolates were assignable to four known taxa and a new species in the ‘series Murorum’ sensu W. Gams as inferred from the integrated analysis of phenotypic and genotypic (i.e., ITS and 28S rDNA-D1/D2 sequences) characters: these were Acremonium masseei, A. murorum, A. felinum comb. nov. with the neotype designation, A. polychromum, and A. tumulicola sp. nov., which have been accommodated in the validated series Murorum in the section Gliomastix. The black spots on the murals of the TT and KT were caused mainly by A. masseei and A. murorum, respectively.     

Examining police/black relations: what's in a story?

This article presents evidence from a detailed qualitative study to demonstrate the significance of personal knowledge to black people’s understanding of police/black relations. It explains how the stories told by respondents to illustrate their views revealed that previous explanations of the relationship have over-stressed the role of the black community and underplayed the importance of personal experiences in helping to form the perspectives of black people. The article outlines three central assumed truths contained within the stories, each of which leads to the conclusion that policing is irrefutably racialized. It is argued that the stories are underpinned by a dominant narrative of racialized policing which has grave implications for efforts to address the mistrust of the police evident among the black population. In highlighting the social role of stories, the article draws attention to their analytical significance in sociological analysis. It also draws attention to the importance of increasing the focus on the experiences and views of those on the receiving end of criminal justice in order to improve our understanding of everyday processes of racialization.     

Embodying the nation: Maha Saca's post-intifada postcards

This article deals with the cultural politics of nationalism. It is argued that both the production and display of embroidered dresses and the particular ways in which these are presented on one set of picture postcards are part of the material formation of the Palestinian nation. Whereas the dresses on these postcards draw attention to a rural heritage that stands for territory and rootedness, the women-bodies presenting these dresses, both in their appearance and through the act of public presentation, express urban modernity. Such a style of representation avoids associations of the rural with “backwardness” and enables the inclusion of elements of the rural in the modern national project.     

On peasants and 'Primitive Peoples': Moments of rapprochement and distance between folklore studies and anthropology in the Netherlands

Fruitful exchanges of ideas existed between early 20th century anthropology (volkenkunde) and folklore studies (volkskunde) in the Netherlands. Folklorists proposed using the fieldwork methods and comparative approach of ethnography. Anthropologists thought folklore studies might be able to shed light on survivals of earlier stages in their own society. During the 1930s, however, anthropologists turned their backs on the evolutionist paradigm, while in the wake of National Socialism and its quest for a common Germanic race and culture folklorists limited their cross-cultural comparisons to Europe. Cultural politics in Germany and other European countries in the 1930s and early 1940s directed the concepts, methods and institutionalization of folklore studies, and consequently led to a distancing from the concepts and practice of cultural anthropology.     

Using chitosan-modified clays to control black-bloom-induced black suspended matter in Taihu Lake: Deposition and resuspension of black matter/clay flocs

A cyanobacteria-induced black bloom in Taihu Lake, 2007, subjected nearly one million Wuxi City residents to a drinking water crisis. This black bloom attracted wide attention in China and the rest of the world. However, black bloom is a highly weather-dependent event, and its rapid movement in lakes makes it difficult to predict where it will occur. Therefore, jar-tests and simulated flow experiments were performed to investigate the flocculation, deposition, and resuspension of black-bloom-induced black matter. At a dosage of 0.2 g L⁻¹ chitosan + 1 g L⁻¹ diatomite, 90% of the turbidity was removed within 1 h in jar-tests and in low flow speed simulated experiments. However, the black matter/clay flocs did not fully sink, and stratification of turbidity apparently occurred in the lower part of the tank during the simulated flow experiments. The resuspension experiments under simulated flow speeds showed that at a wind speed of 1–6 m s⁻¹ in Taihu Lake produced currents that did not greatly affect floc resuspension, but a wind speed of 3–4 m s⁻¹ produced waves that could induce floc resuspension. Quartz sand was sprayed over the flocs to verify its effect on inhibiting resuspension. A shear stress of 0.37 N m⁻² did not induce floc resuspension, which indicated that a wind speed of 6 m s⁻¹ would not induce floc resuspension in Taihu Lake.     

Cladistic analyses of behavioural variation in wild Pan troglodytes: exploring the chimpanzee culture hypothesis

Long-term field studies have revealed considerable behavioural differences among groups of wild Pan troglodytes. Here, we report three sets of cladistic analyses that were designed to shed light on issues relating to this interpopulation variation that are of particular relevance to palaeoanthropology.In the first set of analyses, we focused on the proximate cause of the variation. Some researchers have argued that it is cultural, while others have suggested that it is the result of genetic differences. Because the eastern and western subspecies of P. troglodytes are well differentiated genetically while groups within the subspecies are not, we reasoned that if the genetic hypothesis is correct, the phylogenetic signal should be stronger when data from the eastern and western subspecies are analysed together compared to when data from only the eastern subspecies are analysed. Using randomisation procedures, we found that the phylogenetic signal was substantially stronger with in a single subspecies rather than with two. The results of the first sets of analyses, therefore, were inconsistent with the predictions of the genetic hypothesis.The other two sets of analyses built on the results of the first and assumed that the intergroup behavioural variation is cultural in nature. Recent work has shown that, contrary to what anthropologists and archaeologists have long believed, vertical intergroup transmission is often more important than horizontal intergroup transmission in human cultural evolution. In the second set of analyses, we sought to determine how important vertical transmission has been in the evolution of chimpanzee cultural diversity. The first analysis we carried out indicated that the intergroup similarities and differences in behaviour are consistent with the divergence of the western and eastern subspecies, which is what would be expected if vertical intergroup transmission has been the dominant process. In the second analysis, we found that the chimpanzee cultural data are not only comparable to a series of modern human cultural data sets in terms of how tree-like they are, but are also comparable to a series of genetic, anatomical, and behavioural data sets that can be assumed to have been produced by a branching process. Again, this is what would be expected if vertical inter-group transmission has been the dominant process in chimpanzee cultural evolution.Human culture has long been considered to be adaptive, but recent studies have suggested that this needs to be demonstrated rather than assumed. With this in mind, in the third set of analyses we investigated whether chimpanzee culture is adaptive. We found the hypothesis that chimpanzee culture is adaptive was supported by an analysis of data from the Eastern African subspecies, but not by an analysis of data from the eastern and western subspecies.The results of our analyses have implications for the number of subspecies in Pan troglodytes, the relationship between hominin taxa and Palaeolithic industries, and the evolution of hominin cognition and behaviour.     

A population model for the black tern Chlidonias niger in West-Europe

Based on empiric data of breeding success and accurate number trends in The Netherlands, a population model for the black tern was constructed. This model is based on Leslie matrices. Reproductive parameters from the four most important landscape types (river landscape, agricultural grasslands, peat marsh and heath land/moors) are used as model input. Highly accurate national population trend data were used to obtain the best (least square) estimate of overall adult and subadult survival (resp. 0.849 and 0.595). Estimating survival parameters in this way might be useful for threatened (bird) species, especially if catching and ringing is difficult or less desired from a conservation perspective. The model shows the actual importance of the river landscape as the main source for reproductive output of the Dutch black tern population. The prediction model was subsequently used to test different conservation strategies for the Dutch black tern population. Conservation strategies ranged from a null scenario (no change in conservation effort) to in- or decreasing the number of rafts in the most productive landscape (river landscape) to a scenario where breeding success is improved recently in agricultural grasslands via minimizing disturbance. For all scenarios, the model predicts a slow to rapid population increase in the Dutch black tern population after 10–20 years. Improving breeding success in agricultural grasslands habitat has the highest added value.     

The re-emergence of the ‘Black Spectre’1: Minority professional associations in the post-Macpherson era

To grasp the similarities and differences between modern and pre‐modern collective cultural identities, we need to move beyond the dominant paradigms of perennialism and modernism and their conflicting passions and, aided by clear working definitions of key terms in the field, construct ideal types of ethnicity and nationality. This procedure allows us to assess evidence from a number of examples of collective identities in both the ancient and medieval worlds, independently of the dominant assumptions. The resulting picture reveals that, while national identity is mainly a modern phenomenon, pre‐modern ethnic communities and identities are widespread and processes of national formation and representation are found in all epochs. Though the ‘empirical’ approach has its problems, it is more sensitive to historical context and nuance, and conveys a fuller picture, than the dominant perspectives in the field today.     

Melanin is crucial for growth of the black yeast Hortaea werneckii in its natural hypersaline environment

Melanin has an important role in the ability of fungi to survive extreme conditions, like the high NaCl concentrations that are typical of hypersaline environments. The black fungus Hortaea werneckii that has been isolated from such environments has 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-melanin incorporated into the cell wall, which minimises the loss of glycerol at low NaCl concentrations. To further explore the role of melanin in the extremely halotolerant character of H. werneckii, we studied the effects of several melanin biosynthesis inhibitors on its growth, pigmentation and cell morphology. The most potent inhibitors were a 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran derivative and tricyclazole, which restricted the growth of H. werneckii on high-salinity media, as shown by growth curves and plate-drop assays. These inhibitors promoted release of the pigments from the H. werneckii cell surface and changed the medium colour. Inhibitor-treated H. werneckii cells exposed to high salinity showed both decreased and increased cell lengths. We speculate that this absence of melanin perturbs the integrity of the cell wall in H. werneckii, which affects its cell division and exposes it to the harmful effects of high NaCl concentrations. Surprisingly, melanin had no effect on H. werneckii survival under H₂O₂ oxidative stress.     

Positionings of the black middle-classes: understanding identity construction beyond strategic assimilation

This paper explores the identities of Britain’s black middle-classes. Drawing upon interviews with seventy-two participants, I theorize a ‘triangle of identity’. This triangle emphasizes how black middle-class identities are constructed within the dynamics of three poles. Firstly, there is the class-minded pole whereby class comes to the fore as a conceptual scheme; secondly, there is the ethnoracial autonomous pole whereby ‘race’ is central to one’s identity and whiteness is actively resisted; and lastly there is the strategic assimilation pole, where one continually moves between classed and racialized spheres of action. This tripartite approach to identity builds upon previous research by further exploring the social, cultural and phenomenological distinctions within Britain’s black middle-classes.     

Religion,ethnicity and politics: Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrants in the United States

This article focuses on the political struggles between Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrant groups in the United States over the definition of "Indianness". Hindu Indian American organizations define India as a Hindu society and are strong supporters of the Hindu nationalist movement in India. Muslim Indian American organizations, on the other hand, view India as a multi-religious and multicultural society. They are striving to safeguard India's secularism and towards this end, have entered into coalitional relationships with lower caste groups. Both types of organizations are working to influence American and Indian politics in line with their respective interests, leading to an exacerbation of the conflict between the two immigrant groups. This article examines the reasons for this development and its implications, both for the development of an Indian American community in the United States and for religion and politics in India.     

Feeding behaviour of the black pine beetle,Hylastes ater (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

1 The feeding behaviour of Hylastes ater was investigated at 15 °C and 20 °C on a range of tree species. The role of an aggregation pheromone and the part played by olfactory cues in food selection was also investigated. 2 A distinct hierarchical preference at both 15 °C and 20 °C such that Pinus radiata > Pinus sylvestris > > Picea abies > > Rubus fruticosus=Betula pendula was shown. 3 Feeding on P. sylvestris led to the highest weight gain, closely followed by P. radiata and P. abies. Slightly elevated feeding was observed at 20 °C compared with 15 °C. 4 Reduced feeding in the presence of B. pendula suggests the possibility of an antifeedant effect and predamaged wood was found to be less nutritious, possibly due to greater plant defences. 5 The role of an aggregation pheromone was not supported. Olfactory cues enabled the detection of woody hosts, although differentiation between host was not observed. 6 These results are likely to be important in helping to design an effective integrated control approach against this pest.     

A new black fly species of the subgenus Gomphostilbia (Simulium: Simuliidae: Diptera) from India

Simulium (Gomphostilbia) agasthyamalaiense sp. nov. is described based on adults, pupae and mature larvae from a medium-flowing stream of Southern Western Ghats, India. This new species is placed in the Simulium batoense species-group of the subgenus Gomphostilbia Enderlein. This new species is characterized in the female by a scutum with three brownish-black longitudinal vittae and the hind basitarsus 5.7 times as long as wide; in the female by the large facets of upper eye with 20 vertical columns and 19 horizontal rows; in the pupa the respiratory gill with medium-long common basal stalk; and in the larva arrowhead-shaped postgenal cleft. Taxonomic notes are provided for this new species and it can be distinguished from closely related species of S. (G.) peteri. Keys are constructed to distinguish this species from ten species of the batoense species-group recorded in India.www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1D1CFEE5-A762-4F68-9EAE-9E31133146C0     

利用137Cs技术研究黑土坡耕地土壤再分布特征

利用¹³⁷Cs示踪技术和不同的理论模型研究典型的东北漫岗地形的黑土土壤再分布状况.通过野外采样和模型分析,得出研究区¹³⁷Cs背景值为2 232.75 Bq·m^-2,介于长江三角洲和黄土高原背景值之间,表明¹³⁷Cs沉降与纬度和降水相关.研究区各地貌部位¹³⁷Cs含量在水平方向和深度分布上有很大的分异.坡肩部位¹³⁷Cs含量最低,土壤侵蚀最为强烈;坡顶和坡背侵蚀较为微弱;坡脚和坡足基本上表现土壤沉积.¹³⁷Cs分布深度从坡肩20 cm到坡足80 cm土层,表现出该区经历了强烈的侵蚀和沉积过程.文中采用4种常用的¹³⁷Cs土壤侵蚀模型估计研究区的土壤侵蚀速率,结果表明,PM模型明显低估了土壤侵蚀速率,MBM-1明显高估了土壤侵蚀速率,MBM-2和MBM-3估计的结果较为相近的合理结果.     

Sucrose utilization during somatic embryo development in black spruce: involvement of apoplastic invertase in the tissue and of extracellular invertase in the medium

The involvement of apoplastic invertase (Ap Inv) and sucrose synthase (SuSy) in the somatic embryo development of black spruce (Picea mariana) was investigated under different maturation conditions. Replacing 6% sucrose with 3% or 1% sucrose in the maturation medium drastically decreased Ap Inv activity and amount in embryogenic tissues. This was accompanied by a decrease in the hexose pool that resulted in a lower starch deposition and protein amount in embryogenic tissues together with a lower embryo production. Conversely, SuSy activity was stable during maturation regardless of the sucrose concentration used in the medium. The presence of an extracellular enzyme responsible for sucrose hydrolysis in the maturation medium was also verified. An immunodetection experiment with anti-acid invertase antibodies revealed the presence of an active 53 kDa polypeptide in the medium, which had a similar molecular mass to that of the Ap Inv polypeptide found in embryogenic tissues. Utilization of sucrose from the medium by the tissues was also studied using labelled 14C-sucrose. Distribution of the radioactivity between tissular sucrose, glucose, and fructose showed that sucrose was diffused into the cell wall of embryogenic tissues and partly hydrolyzed by Ap Inv. These results show that the utilization of sucrose from the medium, the Ap Inv activity in embryogenic tissues, and the release of an active invertase into the medium operate together for the utilization of the carbohydrates during somatic embryo development in black spruce.     

Studies on the black box: Incorporation of 3-oxo-7-dehydrocholesterol into ecdysteroids by Drosophila melanogaster and Manduca sexta

It has long been hypothesized that the oxidation of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7dC), made from dietary cholesterol (C), to 3-oxo-7dC (3-oxo-Δ^5,7C) immediately precedes the unknown “Black Box” oxidations that lead to the formation of the first up-stream intermediate exhibiting the highly characteristic ecdysteroid structure of the steroid molting hormone of insects, crustaceans and some other arthropods. Perhaps rate-limiting and under the control of the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), the biosynthesis of 3-oxo-7dC and its subsequent oxidative modifications have been difficult to study because of their apparent instability, i.e. no intermediates between 7dC and the diketol (3-oxo-25,22,2-trideoxyecdysone) have ever been observed or identified in insect prothoracic gland incubations with radiolabelled precursors. However, we show that 3-oxo-7dC can be converted into lipophilic, photosensitive, ketone-blocked (PSKB) ketal derivatives which will release 3-oxo-7dC when and where desired following brief irradiation with innocuous long-wave (365 nm) UV-light both in vivo and in vitro. In this manner, 3-oxo-7dC is quickly and efficiently incorporated into ecdysteroids by adult male and female Drosophila raised on a diet containing the PSKB ketals and in prothoracic glands of Manduca sexta incubated with the ketals emulsified into media. The instability of 3-oxo-7dC and its spontaneous transformation into extensively electron-delocalized intermediates will be discussed in relation to a possible mechanism of the Black Box oxidations eventually leading to the production of the active molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E).     

Impact of active soil carbonate and burn size on the capacity of the rockrose Cistus laurifolius to produce Tuber melanosporum carpophores in truffle culture

There are very few studies on Tuber melanosporum associated with Cistus populations. In central Spain, we confirm that C. laurifolius shows carpophore production of Tuber melanosporum. This study demonstrates a correlation between T. melanosporum production and the size of the 41 burns, with burn size explaining 26 % of the variability in carpophore production. However, statistical analysis of the results indicates that average production of 21 burns with Cistus laurifolius is 73 % lower than the production of 20 burns associated with Quercus/Corylus without Cistus laurifolius in this zone, respectively. C. laurifolius develops small burns, which has an impact on their carpophore production, and their soils have 92 % less active carbonate than the burns associated with Quercus/Corylus in this zone, respectively. The low levels of active carbonate allow Cistus laurifolius to grow, but impair Tuber melanosporum production. We thus provide a mechanism, based on the inability of Cistus laurifolius to grow in highly carbonated soils, which contradicts the well-known fact that C. laurifolius might act as a transmitter of Tuber melanosporum mycorrhizae. These results indicate that this rockrose can not be considered a useful species for truffle culture. We thus recommend that particular attention should be given to the concentration of active carbonate present in the soil in future studies on the relationship between Cistus species and truffles.     

Beyond expertise: Ecological science and the making of socially robust restoration strategies

A distinctive feature of ecological restoration is that the human presence in the natural landscape can be perceived as beneficial and not necessarily as harmful. Consequently, negotiations between heterogeneous actors involved and reactions to developments in different ecosystems become part of the scientific practice of restoration. This paper discusses some implications of restoration practice for the science of ecology in connection with recent debates about a new mode of knowledge production in science. I illustrate how different types of expertise from several backgrounds can be fed into each step of restoration implementation via alternate phases of selection and of corroboration by use to expose it to further observation in order to develop more scientifically and socially robust restoration strategies.     

Nodulation in black locust by the Gammaproteobacteria Pseudomonas sp. and the Betaproteobacteria Burkholderia sp.

Nodulation abilities of bacteria in the subclasses Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria on black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) were tested. Pseudomonas sp., Burkholderia sp., Klebsiella sp., and Paenibacillus sp. were isolated from surface-sterilized black locust nodules, but their nodulation ability is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine if these bacteria are symbiotic. The species and genera of the strains were determined by RFLP analysis and DNA sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Inoculation tests and histological studies revealed that Pseudomonas sp. and Burkholderia sp. formed nodules on black locust and also developed differentiated nodule tissue. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis of nodA and a BLASTN analysis of the nodC, nifH, and nifHD genes revealed that these symbiotic genes of Pseudomonas sp. and Burkholderia sp. have high similarities with those of rhizobial species, indicating that the strains acquired the symbiotic genes from rhizobial species in the soil. Therefore, in an actual rhizosphere, bacterial diversity of nodulating legumes may be broader than expected in the Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria subclasses. The results indicate the importance of horizontal gene transfer for establishing symbiotic interactions in the rhizosphere.