40 years of Studies on the Relationships Between Grass Species, N Turnover and Nutrient Cycling in the Lamto Reserve in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)

The Lamto Station, dominated by grass savannas, was created in 1963. Among other problems, the relationships between savanna grasses (mainly Andropogoneae supertribe) and nutrient cycling, mainly nitrogen (N), have been intensively studied. Such grass systems are of major interest. Savannas represent 25% of terrestrial biomes and are second to tropical forests in the contribution to terrestrial primary production and are predominant in African social and economic environments. The Andropogoneae grasses are of particular interest for pastures. Second, savannas are generally extremely nutrient-poor, especially for N, which often limits productivity. Third, little is known about possible controls of grasses on N processes (e.g. nitrification) which could provide plants with potential advantages in competing for N, and induce changes in system N balance. Finally, these areas are considered to be non-emitting for NO and N2O as a result of extremely low nitrificatio

The Avian Transcription Factor c-Rel is Expressed in Lymphocyte Precursor Cells and Antigen-Presenting Cells During Thymus Development

Transcription factors of the Rel/NF-κB family are widely involved in the immune system. In this study, we investigate the in vivo expression of the avian protein c-Rel in the T-cell lineage during thymus development. The majority of thymocytes do not express the c-Rel protein. However, lymphocyte precursor cells that colonize the thymus express the c-Rel protein shortly after their homing in the organ and before they begin to differentiate, c-Rel is also detected in different subsets of,antigen-presenting cells such as epithelial cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages. In vitro studies have shown that Rel/NF-κB proteins are sequestered in an inactive form in the cytoplasm by interaction with the IκBα inhibitory protein. By immunocytochemistry, we show that in vivo c-Rel is localized in the cytoplasm of antigen-presenting cells but in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of lymphocyte precursor cells. The cytoplasmic localization of c-Rel in antigen-presenting cells correlates with a high expression of IκBα, whereas the nuclear localization of c-Rel in lymphocyte precursor cells correlates with a much lower expression of IκBα. These results suggest that c-Rel might be constitutively activated in lymphocyte precursor cells

Potential energetic return on investment positively correlated with overall soil microbial activity

Microbial communities are a critical component of the soil carbon (C) cycle as they are responsible for the decomposition of both organic inputs from plants and of soil organic C. However, there is still no consensus about how to explicitly represent their role in terrestrial C cycling. The objective of the study was to determine how the molecular and energetic properties of readily available organic matter affect the metabolic activity of the resident microbial communities in soils. This was achieved by cross-amending six soils, taken from woodland and grassland sites along an urban pressure gradient, with organic matter extracted from the same six soils and measuring heat dissipated due to the increase in microbial metabolic activity. The energetic properties of the organic matter were used to estimate a potential energetic return on investment (ROI) that microbial communities could obtain from the transformation of the organic matter. Specifically, the ROI was calculated as the ratio between the total net energy available (ΔE) and the weighted average standard state Gibbs energies of oxidation half reactions of organic C (ΔG°Cox). ΔE was measured as the heat of combustion using bomb calorimetry. ΔG°Cox was estimated using the average nominal oxidation state of C (NOSC) of the molecular species in the organic matter. The overall metabolic activity of microbial communities was positively related to the potential energetic return on investment but no significant relationship was found with the molecular diversity of organic matter. The temporal differences in metabolism across soils indicate that bacterial communities do not exploit the potential energetic return on investment in the same way: the suburban grassland communities responded more rapidly and the suburban woodland communities more slowly to the organic matter additions than the other communities. The urban gradient did not affect the properties of the molecular or energetic properties of the organic matter nor the response of the microbial communities to the organic matter additions. However, the organic matter from the grassland soils caused soils to dissipate 36.4% more heat than organic matter from the woodland soils. The metabolic response was also more rapid after the addition of grassland organic matter: the time taken for half the heat to be dissipated was 6.4 h after the addition of grassland organic matter and 6.1 h after the addition of woodland organic matter. Overall, our results suggest that microbial communities preferentially use organic matter with a high potential energetic return on investment, i.e. organic molecules that do not require high cost associated with catalysis whilst yielding a high net energetic benefit

Hábitat y vivienda social : proyecto, producción, acceso y uso: dos estudios para el caso Uruguay

Este artículo reúne análisis y conclusiones de dos trabajos de investigación sobre la producción reciente de vivienda social en Uruguay y procura representar un aporte para la elaboración y toma de decisiones en esos programas. Uno de los trabajos compara los resultados físicos, sociales y económicos, obtenidos cuando se realizan con la autogestión de los propios destinatarios, o contratando empresas llave en mano, las que toman todas las decisiones de gestión. El segundo analiza las características, realizaciones, potencialidades y obstáculos que enfrenta el sistema cooperativo de ayuda mutua, implantado en Uruguay en 1968 y que hoy cobra importante impulso. Estas investigaciones fueron desarrolladas por un equipo interdisciplinario proveniente de las áreas social, física y económica que, sobre la base de recaudos de proyecto y ejecución, observaciones directas de campo e información obtenida en entrevistas y reuniones con destinatarios y técnicos, analizan ventajas e inconvenientes de cada modelo y efectúan recomendaciones para su empleo en nuevas propuestas. La conclusión fundamental resalta la importancia de la participación de los destinatarios en el proyecto y gestión de los programas, que permite mejorar notablemente los resultados y la relación de pertenencia con los mism