Mass Taxon-Sampling as a Strategy towards Illuminating the Natural History of Campanula (Campanuloideae)

Speciose clades usually harbor species with a broad spectrum of adaptive strategies and complex distribution patterns, and thus constitute ideal systems to disentangle biotic and abiotic causes underlying species diversification. The delimitation of such study systems to test evolutionary hypotheses is difficult because they often rely on artificial genus concepts as starting points. One of the most prominent examples is the bellflower genus Campanula with some 420 species, but up to 600 species when including all lineages to which Campanula is paraphyletic. We generated a large alignment of petD group II intron sequences to include more than 70% of described species as a reference. By comparison with partial data sets we could then assess the impact of selective taxon sampling strategies on phylogenetic reconstruction and subsequent evolutionary conclusions

The bear in Eurasian plant names: Motivations and models

Ethnolinguistic studies are important for understanding an ethnic group's ideas on the world, expressed in its language. Comparing corresponding aspects of such knowledge might help clarify problems of origin for certain concepts and words, e.g. whether they form common heritage, have an independent origin, are borrowings, or calques. The current study was conducted on the material in Slavonic, Baltic, Germanic, Romance, Finno-Ugrian, Turkic and Albanian languages. The bear was chosen as being a large, dangerous animal, important in traditional culture, whose name is widely reflected in folk plant names. The phytonyms for comparison were mostly obtained from dictionaries and other publications, and supplemented with data from databases, the co-authors' field data, and archival sources (dialect and folklore materials). More than 1200 phytonym use records (combinations of a local name and a meaning) for 364 plant and fungal taxa were recorded to help find out the reasoning behind bear-nomination in various languages, as well as differences and similarities between the patterns among them. Among the most common taxa with bear-related phytonyms were Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Heracleum sphondylium L., Acanthus mollis L., and Allium ursinum L., with Latin loan translation contributing a high proportion of the phytonyms. Some plants have many and various bear-related phytonyms, while others have only one or two bear names. Features like form and/or surface generated the richest pool of names, while such features as colour seemed to provoke rather few associations with bears. The unevenness of bear phytonyms in the chosen languages was not related to the size of the language nor the present occurence of the Brown Bear in the region. However, this may, at least to certain extent, be related to the amount of the historical ethnolinguistic research done on the selected languages

Data for: Changes in pyramidal and granular neuron numbers in the rat hippocampus 7 days after exposure to a continuous 900-MHz electromagnetic field during early and mid-adolescence

All data used in the study

Data for: Changes in pyramidal and granular neuron numbers in the rat hippocampus 7 days after exposure to a continuous 900-MHz electromagnetic field during early and mid-adolescence

All data used in the study.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

An experiment to investigate ameliorative effects of potassium sulphate on salt and alkalinity stressed vegetable crops

Copyright 2004 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivar, Marilyn F1, cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cultivar, Seraset F1, and pepper (Capsicum annum) cultivar, Charliston 52, were grown in sand culture for five weeks to investigate the effect of supplementary potassium sulphate applied to the root zone at high NaCl (60 mM) and high pH (8.5). Treatments were (1) nutrient solution alone (C); (2) nutrient solution+3mM KSO applied to root zone (C+K); (3) nutrient solution+60mmol NaCl (C+S); and (4) nutrient solution+60mmol NaCl+3mM KSO applied to root zone (C+S+K). Two pH levels (5.5 or 8.5) were combined with the above treatments (C, C+K, C+S, and C+S+K). Supplementary 3mM KSO was added to nutrient solution for three weeks. The plants grown at high NaCl and high pH produced less dry matter and chlorophyll compared to control while the C+S+K treatment was intermediate in response between the control and NaCl treatment for all three species tested. Reductions in both dry matter and chlorophyll concentrations were greater for pepper than tomato and cucumber. The deleterious effect of high salinity on plant growth was more striking than that of high pH. Membrane permeability increased with addition of 60mM NaCl and as the pH increased from 5.5 to 8.5. These increases were greatest for pepper. Supplementary KSO decreased membrane permeability in all three species to levels not significantly different from the control values. Water use was decreased by salinity in cucumber and tomato but increased in pepper compared to control values. At high pH (8.5) water use increased in all treatments. Supplementary K (C+S+K) resulted in water use levels that were similar to or slightly higher than in the control. Sodium (Na) concentration in plant tissues increased for all three species in the elevated NaCl and pH treatments. Concentration of K was in the deficient range in the plants grown at high NaCl and supplementary KSO application corrected this deficiency.Peer reviewe

Different pruning applications on pistachio and almond

A pruning experiment was performed on Kirmizi pistachio nut and Nonpareil and 101-9 almonds. Summer pruning was performed in August on pistachio nut and in July and August on almond. Autumn pruning was applied in November on pistachio nut and in October on almond. The effects of these treatments on flowering, shoot development, fruit yield and quality were compared with those of winter pruning. Summer pruning caused a 2-3 day delay of flowering in Nonpareil and a 3-6 day delay in 101-9. Shoot development was better in Julypruned almonds. In pistachio nut, autumn and winter pruning induced poor shoot development. However, fruit drop was observed on poorly developing one year old shoots which resulted in a high rate of fruit set. This self-thinning decreased the rate of alternate bearing and a regular crop was obtained the following year. Additionally, the splitting rate and fruit size were increased. Autumn pruning in November caused increased shoot development and a decrease in fruit bud drop

Some pomological traits of different pomegranate varieties grown in sanliurfa - Turkey

Pomegranate is grown mainly in tropics and subtropics and it can grow in arid and semi-arid regions. In Turkey it is spread in all the Mediterranean, Eagan and coastal area as well as in the Southeast Anatolia Region. It is adapted to dry, low relative humidity conditions. In the Southeast Anatolian Region of Turkey, pomegranate is mainly used as fruit juice or salad. The cultivated varieties have been selected by growers among chance seedlings. In this paper, the traits of some regional pomegranate varieties will be compared. These varieties are Katir Nari, Kus Nari, Millesi, Suruc Tatli Nary, Boncuk, etc. selected in Southeast Anatolia, especially in Sanliurfa province. Other varieties such as Devedisi, Mayhos, Cekirdeksiz, Fellahyemez were selected in other parts of Turkey

Effects of preharvest drip-irrigation scheduling on strawberry yield, quality and growth

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) cultivars, Oso Grande and Camarosa were grown in the field from July 1999 to May 2000 in order to investigate the effectiveness of preharvest drip-irrigation management on fruit yield, quality (i.e. soluble dry matter, fruit size), leaf macro-nutrient composition and normal growth parameters. All plots were irrigated uniformly until 2 weeks before harvest. Differential treatments were then imposed ranging from a complete cut-off of irrigation to full irrigation through the harvest period. Preharvest drip-irrigation management treatments were (i) complete irrigation cut-off, dry (D), (ii) normal irrigation based on class A pan and percentage cover (C), (iii) 75% of normal irrigation, C (IR1), (iv) 50% of normal irrigation, C (IR2), and (v) 25% of normal irrigation, C (IR3). Normal irrigation (control, C) was created by irrigating plants once every 2 days at 100% A pan (Epan) evaporation. No irrigation (D) and IR3 treatments caused reductions in most parameters measured, except water-soluble dry matter concentrations (SDM) in fruit compared with other treatments. There were no significant differences between C, IR1, and IR2 treatments in normal growth parameters or leaf nutrient composition. Fruit size and SDM were both significantly affected by late-season irrigation management; individual fruit weight was significantly reduced and SDM increased even in the IR2 and IR3 treatments compared with control values. Fruit yield was not affected significantly by reduced water application except in the D treatment. These results clearly indicate that reduced preharvest irrigation was partially detrimental; a small reduction in irrigation (IR1) had little or no effect but 50% or less of normal irrigation, while not reducing overall fruit yield, resulted in smaller fruits.Peer reviewe