The Vitamin A Content of Soybean Silage and of A.I.V., Molasses, and Common Corn Silages, and the Effect of Feeding these Materials upon the Vitamin A Content of Milk

A study was made of the vitamin A content of soybean silage, and of A.l.V., molasses, and common corn silage. The silages were fed to groups of cows and the vitamin A content of their milk determined. The vitamin A determinations were made by feeding the silage or the milk to groups of rats whose body stores of this vitamin had been depleted by being fed a vitamin-A-deficient ration. Approximately 780 rats were used in these experiments. There were no apparent ill effects of feeding as much as 3.2 grams of the A.l.V. silage per rat per day for eight weeks. This was 20 to 30 per cent of the food consumed. The A. l.V. silage contained only slightly more vitamin A than did the molasses silage. The ordinary corn silage contained less vitamin A than either the A.I.V. or molasses silage. The soybean silage was inferior to any of the other silages as a source of vitamin A. Milk produced by cows receiving these silages as the only source of roughage ranked in the same order of vitamin A potency as did the silages, namely A.I.V. silage, molasses silage, and common silage. On the other hand when a good g ade of alfalfa hay served as the only source of roughage, the milk produced contained more vitamin A than did the milk produced by cows receiving A.I.V. silage as the only roughage. In another experiment one group of cows was fed both molasses silage and alfalfa hay, while a second group received A.I.V. silage and alfalfa hay. The hay was fed ad libitum and the group which received the molasses silage consumed the most hay. In this instance the milk produced by the group receiving the molasses silage contained more vitamin A than did the milk produced by the A.l.V. silage group, which was probably due to the greater consumption of alfalfa hay

Matrix-free calcium in isolated chromaffin vesicles

Isolated secretory vesicles from bovine adrenal medulla contain 80 nmol of Ca2+ and 25 nmol of Mg2+ per milligram of protein. As determined with a Ca2+-selective electrode, a further accumulation of about 160 nmol of Ca2+/mg of protein can be attained upon addition of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187. During this process protons are released from the vesicles, in exchange for Ca2+ ions, as indicated by the decrease of the pH in the incubation medium or the release of 9-aminoacridine previously taken up by the vesicles. Intravesicular Mg2+ is not released from the vesicles by A23 187, as determined by atomic emission spectroscopy. In the presence of N H Q , which causes the collapse of the secretory vesicle transmembrane proton gradient (ApH), Ca2+ uptake decreases. Under these conditions A23 187-mediated influx of Ca2+ and efflux of H+ cease at Ca2+ concentrations of about 4 pM. Below this concentration Ca2+ is even released from the vesicles. At the Ca2+ concentration at which no net flux of ions occurs the intravesicular matrix free Ca2+ equals the extravesicular free Ca2+. In the absence of NH4C1 we determined an intravesicular pH of 6.2. Under these conditions the Ca2+ influx ceases around 0.15 pM. From this value and the known pH across the vesicular membrane an intravesicular matrix free Ca2+ concentration of about 24 pM was calculated. This is within the same order of magnitude as the concentration of free Ca2+ in the vesicles determined in the presence of NH4C1. Calculation of the total Ca2+ present in the secretory vesicles gives an apparent intravesicular Ca2+ concentration of 40 mM, which is a factor of lo4 higher than the free intravesicular concentration of Ca2+. It can be concluded, therefore, that the concentration gradient of free Ca2+ across the secretory vesicle membrane in the intact chromaffin cells is probably small, which implies that less energy is required to accumulate and maintain Ca2+ within the vesicles than was previously anticipated

Seasonal Changes in Methanogenesis and Methanogenic Community in Three Peatlands, New York State

Fluctuating environmental conditions can promote diversity and control dominance in community composition. In addition to seasonal temperature and moisture changes, seasonal supply of metabolic substrates selects populations temporally. Here we demonstrate cascading effects in the supply of metabolic substrates on methanogenesis and community composition of anaerobic methanogenic archaea in three contrasting peatlands in upstate New York. Fresh samples of peat soils, collected about every 3 months for 20 months and incubated at 22 ± 2°C regardless of the in situ temperature, exhibited potential rates of methane (CH4) production of 0.02–0.2 mmol L−1 day−1 [380–3800 nmol g−1 (dry) day−1). The addition of acetate stimulated rates of CH4 production in a fen peatland soil, whereas addition of hydrogen (H2), and simultaneous inhibition of H2-consuming acetogenic bacteria with rifampicin, stimulated CH4 production in two acidic bog soils, especially, in autumn and winter. The methanogenic community structure was characterized using T-RFLP analyses of SSU rRNA genes. The E2 group of methanogens (Methanoregulaceae) dominated in the two acidic bog peatlands with relatively greater abundance in winter. In the fen peatland, the E1 group (Methanoregulaceae) and members of the Methanosaetaceae were co-dominant, with E1 having a high relative abundance in spring. Change in relative abundance profiles among methanogenic groups in response to added metabolic substrates was as predicted. The acetate-amendment increased abundance of Methanosarcinaceae, and H2-amendment enhanced abundance of E2 group in all peat soils studied, respectively. Additionally, addition of acetate increased abundance of Methanosaetaceae only in the bog soils. Variation in the supply of metabolic substrates helps explain the moderate diversity of methanogens in peatlands

Effects of Monovalent and Divalent Cations on Ca2+ Fluxes Across Chromaffin Secretory Membrane Vesicles

Abstract: Bovine chromaffin secretory vesicle ghosts loaded with Na+ were found to take up Ca2+ when incubated in K+ media or in sucrose media containing micromolar concentrations of free Ca2+. Li+- or choline+loaded ghosts did not take up Ca2+. The Ca2+ accumulated by Na+-loaded ghosts could be released by the Ca2+ ionophore A23187, but not by EGTA. Ca2+ uptake was inhibited by external Sr2+, Na +, Li +, or choline +. All the 45Ca2+ accumulated by Na+-dependent Ca2+ uptake could be released by external Na +, indicating that both Ca2+ influx and efflux occur in a Na+-dependent manner. Na + -dependent Ca2+ uptake and release were only slightly inhibited by Mg2+. In the presence of the Na+ ionophore Monensin the Ca2+ uptake by Na +-loaded ghosts was reduced. Ca2+ sequestered by the Na+-dependent mechanism could also be released by external Ca2+ or Sr2+ but not by Mg2+, indicating the presence of a Ca2+/Ca2+ exchange activity in secretory membrane vesicles. This Ca2+/Ca2+ exchange system is inhibited by Mg2+, but not by Sr2+. The Na + -dependent Ca2+ uptake system in the presence of Mg2+ is a saturable process with an apparent Km of 0.28 μM and a Vmax= 14.5 nmol min−1 mg protein−1. Ruthenium red inhibited neither the Na+/Ca2+ nor the Ca2+/Ca2+ exchange, even at high concentrations

Risk factors for the evolutionary emergence of pathogens

Recent outbreaks of novel infectious diseases (e.g. SARS, influenza H1N1) have highlighted the threat of cross-species pathogen transmission. When first introduced to a population, a pathogen is often poorly adapted to its new host and must evolve in order to escape extinction. Theoretical arguments and empirical studies have suggested various factors to explain why some pathogens emerge and others do not, including host contact structure, pathogen adaptive pathways and mutation rates. Using a multi-type branching process, we model the spread of an introduced pathogen evolving through several strains. Extending previous models, we use a network-based approach to separate host contact patterns from pathogen transmissibility. We also allow for arbitrary adaptive pathways. These generalizations lead to novel predictions regarding the impact of hypothesized risk factors. Pathogen fitness depends on the host population in which it circulates, and the ‘riskiest’ contact distribution and adaptive pathway depend on initial transmissibility. Emergence probability is sensitive to mutation probabilities and number of adaptive steps required, with the possibility of large adaptive steps (e.g. simultaneous point mutations or recombination) having a dramatic effect. In most situations, increasing overall mutation probability increases the risk of emergence; however, notable exceptions arise when deleterious mutations are available

Global variation of the dust-to-gas ratio in evolving protoplanetary discs

Recent theories suggest planetesimal formation via streaming and/or gravitational instabilities may be triggered by localized enhancements in the dust-to-gas ratio, and one hypothesis is that sufficient enhancements may be produced in the pile-up of small solid particles inspiralling under aerodynamic drag from the large mass reservoir in the outer disc. Studies of particle pile-up in static gas discs have provided partial support for this hypothesis. Here, we study the radial and temporal evolution of the dust-to-gas ratio in turbulent discs, that evolve under the action of viscosity and photoevaporation. We find that particle pile-ups do not generically occur within evolving discs, particularly if the introduction of large grains is restricted to the inner, dense regions of a disc. Instead, radial drift results in depletion of solids from the outer disc, while the inner disc maintains a dust-to-gas ratio that is within a factor of ~2 of the initial value. We attribute this result to the short time-scales for turbulent diffusion and radial advection (with the mean gas flow) in the inner disc. We show that the qualitative evolution of the dust-to-gas ratio depends only weakly upon the parameters of the disc model (the disc mass, size, viscosity, and value of the Schmidt number), and discuss the implications for planetesimal formation via collective instabilities. Our results suggest that in discs where there is a significant level of midplane turbulence and accretion, planetesimal formation would need to be possible in the absence of large-scale enhancements. Instead, trapping and concentration of particles within local turbulent structures may be required as a first stage of planetesimal formation.Comment: Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on the 8th of March 2012. 20 pages. 16 figure

Semiclassical Effects and the Onset of Inflation

We present a class of exact solutions to the constraint equations of General Relativity coupled to a Klein - Gordon field, these solutions being isotropic but not homogeneous. We analyze the subsequent evolution of the consistent Cauchy data represented by those solutions, showing that only certain special initial conditions eventually lead to successfull Inflationary cosmologies. We argue, however, that these initial conditions are precisely the likely outcomes of quantum events occurred before the inflationary era.Comment: 22 pages, file written in RevTe

Optimal Hypercontractivity for Fermi Fields and Related Non-Commutative Integration

Optimal hypercontractivity bounds for the fermion oscillator semigroup are obtained. These are the fermion analogs of the optimal hypercontractivity bounds for the boson oscillator semigroup obtained by Nelson. In the process, several results of independent interest in the theory of non-commutative integration are established. {}.Comment: 18 p., princeton/ecel/7-12-9

The induced representations of Brauer algebra and the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of SO(n)

Induced representations of Brauer algebra $D_{f}(n)$ from $S_{f_{1}}\times S_{f_{2}}$ with $f_{1}+f_{2}=f$ are discussed. The induction coefficients (IDCs) or the outer-product reduction coefficients (ORCs) of $S_{f_{1}}\times S_{f_{2}}\uparrow D_{f}(n)$ with $f\leq 4$ up to a normalization factor are derived by using the linear equation method. Weyl tableaus for the corresponding Gel'fand basis of SO(n) are defined. The assimilation method for obtaining CG coefficients of SO(n) in the Gel'fand basis for no modification rule involved couplings from IDCs of Brauer algebra are proposed. Some isoscalar factors of $SO(n)\supset SO(n-1)$ for the resulting irrep $[\lambda_{1},~\lambda_{2},~ \lambda_{3},~\lambda_{4},\dot{0}]$ with $\sum\limits_{i=1}^{4}\lambda_{i}\leq .Comment: 48 pages latex, submitted to Journal of Phys.