Bloeiend Bedrijf van start!

Eerste nieuwsbrief van Bloeiend Bedrijf. Bloeiend Bedrijf is een samenwerkingsverband ondersteund door 17 agrarische natuurverenigingen (ANV’s), Veelzijdig Boerenland, het Louis Bolk Instituut, BoerenNatuur en de Natuurweide. Bloeiend Bedrijf richt zich op de aanleg en het beheer van akkerranden voor functionele biodiversiteit, met de nadruk op het bevorderen van natuurlijke vijanden van landbouwplagen

Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa

Abstract: We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date

Resonant decay of parity odd bubbles in hot hadronic matter

We investigate the decay of metastable states with broken CP-symmetry which have recently been proposed by Kharzeev, Pisarski and Tytgat to form in hot hadronic matter. We consider the efficiency of the amplification of the $\eta'$-field via parametric resonance, taking the backreaction into account. For times of the order $t\approx 10 fm$, we find a particle density of about $0.7/fm^3$ and a correlation length of $\xi_{max}\approx 2.5 fm$. The corresponding momentum spectra show a non-thermal behaviour.Comment: 11 pages latex file with 4 gif - figures. Uses elsart.cls (included

Irrigation Research in the James River Basin: A Five-Year Progress Report

The prospect of irrigation in the James River Basin has created much interest in the past few years. To provide a scientific foundation and proceed with a minimum of costly trial and error, research on crop varieties, soil fertility and management, pastures, and water management was increased in the area in 19 4 8. Experiments were conducted on non-irrigated and irrigated land to determine the results and benefits under each condition. The expanded research work was conducted primarily on the Huron Development Farm and the Red field Development Farm

Date and Rate of Corn Planting

Corn is South Dakota’s most important grain crop. It is grown on 4 million acres annually. South Dakota ranks ninth among the states as a corn producer, having one-twentieth of the national acreage and one-thirtieth of the production. The state may be divided into three areas on the basis of the place of corn on the farm: the eastern area, where corn is complementary to wheat and grazing; and the western area, where corn is supplementary grazing

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation prevents muscle wasting in critically ill comatose patients

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Portland Press via the DOI in this recordFully sedated patients, being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), experience substantial skeletal muscle loss. Consequently, survival rate is reduced and full recovery after awakening is compromised. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) represents an effective method to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and alleviate muscle disuse atrophy in healthy subjects. We investigated the efficacy of twice-daily NMES to alleviate muscle loss in six fully sedated ICU patients admitted for acute critical illness [n=3 males, n=3 females; age 63 ± 6 y; APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II) disease-severity-score: 29 ± 2]. One leg was subjected to twice-daily NMES of the quadriceps muscle for a period of 7 ± 1 day whereas the other leg acted as a non-stimulated control (CON). Directly before the first and on the morning after the final NMES session, quadriceps muscle biopsies were collected from both legs to assess muscle fibre-type-specific cross-sectional area (CSA). Furthermore, phosphorylation status of the key proteins involved in the regulation of muscle protein synthesis was assessed and mRNA expression of selected genes was measured. In the CON leg, type 1 and type 2 muscle-fibre-CSA decreased by 16 ± 9% and 24 ± 7% respectively (P<0.05). No muscle atrophy was observed in the stimulated leg. NMES increased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation by 19 ± 5% when compared with baseline (P<0.05), with no changes in the CON leg. Furthermore, mRNA expression of key genes involved in muscle protein breakdown either declined [forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1); P<0.05] or remained unchanged [muscle atrophy F-box (MAFBx) and muscle RING-finger protein-1 (MuRF1)], with no differences between the legs. In conclusion, NMES represents an effective and feasible interventional strategy to prevent skeletal muscle atrophy in critically ill comatose patients

Heads will roll! Routes to effective trust repair in the aftermath of a CEO transgression

CEO transgressions are a common storyline in today's business press. Such incidents result in the need to repair trust for both the CEO and the organisation that the CEO leads. Existing empirical research on trust repair has focused primarily on interpersonal trust, resulting in a body of knowledge that provides many insights to the errant CEO but few insights for those who aim to repair trust in the organisation. Since organisations also need to regain the trust of stakeholders after a CEO transgression, research on organisational trust repair is clearly warranted. Organisations have options for trust repair that are not available to individuals (e.g. dismissing the transgressor), these actions may be initiated by parties other than the culpable party (e.g. the Board of Directors), and the mechanisms underlying organisational versus interpersonal trust repair may differ. However, trust in CEOs and their associated organisations may also be intertwined since the CEO is the symbolic representative of the organisation. To better understand how organisations and CEOs can repair trust in the aftermath of a CEO transgression, we conduct a scenario experiment examining two tactics that are commonly used in practice: CEO dismissal, and CEO apology + penance. We also examine the proposed underlying mechanisms of perceived repentance and perceived disentitativity. Results indicate that both tactics can influence trust in the CEO as well as the organisation, and that perceived repentance and perceived disentitativity mediate the effects of Board responses on trust in the CEO but not on trust in the organisation

Cosmogenic 10BE and 26AL studies of the rising star site, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa: mystery of the true denudation rates

Based on 10Be denudation rates previously found (3.6 m/Ma, [2]; 3.44 m/Ma, [1]), the landscape across the CoH is considered old and eroding slowly. High erosion rates similar to our results (5.13 - 15.02 m/Ma) for chert bedrock are ascribed to fast river incision or a recent partial collapse event [1,2]. In contrast, we think our high outcrop erosion rates reflect true denudation and low apparent values from soil samples indicate long retention of quartz on surface, while dolomite is largely removed in solution. The quartz then experiences periods of burial and reworking in caves and river terraces, resulting in low 26Al/10Be ratios

Use of zinc deposited in deciduous teeth as a retrospective measurement of dietary zinc exposure during early development

Purpose: We proposed that zinc (Zn) deposition in deciduous teeth would be a timed record of exposure to this essential micronutrient over very early life. We tested this hypothesis by gathering information on the maternal and child's diet during pregnancy and early infancy and measuring mineral deposition in the dentine at points during deciduous tooth development.Methods: We developed a short food frequency questionnaire (S-FFQ) to record consumption of food containing Zn during pregnancy and over the first year of life of the child in an Indonesian population. Zn, Sr and Ca were measured by laser ablation ICP-MS in a series of points across the developmental timeline in deciduous teeth extracted from 18 children undergoing the process as part of dental treatment whose mothers completed the SFFQ. Mothers and children were classified into either high Zn or low Zn groups according to calculated daily Zn intake.Results: The Zn/Sr ratio in dentine deposited over late pregnancy and 0–3 months post-partum was higher (p < 0.001, 2-way ANOVA; p < 0.05 by Holm-Sidak post hoc test) in the teeth of children of mothers classified as high Zn consumers (n = 10) than in children of mothers classified as low Zn consumers (n = 8).Conclusion: The S-FFQ was validated internally as adequately accurate to measure zinc intake retrospectively during pregnancy and post-partum (∼7 years prior) by virtue of the correlation with measurements of zinc in deciduous teeth. The ratio of Zn/Sr in deciduous teeth appears to be a biomarker of exposure to zinc nutrition during early development and offers promise for use as a record of prior exposure along a timeline for research studies and, potentially, to identify individuals at heightened risk of detrimental impacts of poor early life zinc nutrition on health in later life and to implement preventative interventions

Transcriptome analysis of amyloodinium ocellatum tomonts revealed basic information on the major potential virulence factors

The ectoparasite protozoan Amyloodinium ocellatum (AO) is the etiological agent of amyloodiniosis in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) (ESB). There is a lack of information about basic molecular data on AO biology and its interaction with the host. Therefore, de novo transcriptome sequencing of AO tomonts was performed. AO trophonts were detached from infested ESB gills, and quickly becoming early tomonts were purified by Percoll\uae density gradient. Tomont total RNA was processed and quality was assessed immediately. cDNA libraries were constructed using TruSeq\uae Stranded mRNA kit and sequenced using Illumina sequencer. CLC assembly was used to generate the Transcriptome assembly of AO tomonts. Out of 48,188 contigs, 56.12% belong to dinophyceae wherein Symbiodinium microadriaticum had 94.61% similarity among dinophyceae. Functional annotations of contigs indicated that 12,677 had associated GO term, 9005 with KEGG term. The contigs belonging to dinophyceae resulted in the detection of several peptidases. A BLAST search for known virulent factors from the virulence database resulted in hits to Rab proteins, AP120, Ribosomal phosphoprotein, Heat-shock protein70, Casein kinases, Plasmepsin IV, and Brucipain. Hsp70 and casein kinase II alpha were characterized in-silico. Altogether, these results provide a reference database in understanding AO molecular biology, aiding to the development of novel diagnostics and future vaccines