Productivity and movements of Nene in the Ka'u Desert, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Western Region, National Park Servic

Eucalyptus carbon stock research in an integrated livestock-forestry system in Brazil.

Eucalyptus plantations play an important role in capturing and storing atmospheric carbon, mitigating global climate change. Forest management policies encouraging integrated livestock-forestry systems require quantitative estimates of temporal and spatial patterns of carbon storage for these agricultural systems. This study quantified the effects of eucalyptus management and arrangement on carbon stock dynamics in integrated livestock-forestry (ILF) systems versus monoculture eucalyptus plantings. Arrangement and management resulted in equal storage of carbon in both monoculture and ILF systems (34.7 kg per tree). Both factors are important to better understand how forest species in integrated systems stock carbon and how this can compensate for other agricultural system components, such as cattle. The extent to which ILF systems offset beef cattle (Nellore) emissions was determined by estimating changes in carbon stock over time for Eucalyptus urophylla × E. grandis, clone H13, under three scenarios (S) of wood use. These scenarios were (S1) tree growth without thinning, (S2) trees used for biomass energy without thinning, and (S3) 50% of trees used for biomass energy at five years old and 50% of trees used for both timber and energy after eight years, considering the full life cycle of eucalyptus. The S1 and S3 systems can stock 510 and 358 metric tons (t) of CO2 ha−1, respectively, while S2 emits 112 t CO2 ha−1 of biogenic carbon

What Is the Value of Wild Bee Pollination for Wild Blueberries and Cranberries, and Who Values It?

Pollinator conservation efforts and growing interest in wild bee pollination have increased markedly in the last decade, making it increasingly important to have clear and practical estimates of the value of pollinators to agriculture. We used agricultural statistics, socio-economic producer surveys, and agronomic field research data to estimate traditional pollination value metrics and create novel approaches to the valuation of the ecosystem services provided by wild pollinators. Using two regionally important United States (USA) crops—Maine wild blueberry and Massachusetts cranberry—as models, we present the perceived values of wild bee pollinators from the perspectives of both consumers and producers. The net income attributable to wild bees was similar for wild blueberry ($613/ha) and cranberry ($689/ha). Marginal profit from incrementally adding more hives per ha was greater from stocking a third/fourth hive for cranberry ($6206/ha) than stocking a ninth/10th hive for wild blueberry ($556/ha), given the greater initial responsiveness of yield, revenue, and profit using rented honey bee hives in cranberry compared with wild blueberry. Both crops’ producers were willing to annually invest only $140–188/ha in wild pollination enhancements on their farms, justifying government financial support. Consumers are willing to pay ≈6.7 times more to support wild bees than producers, which indicates a potential source for market-based subsidies for invertebrate conservation

Fatigue of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia: II, Crack Propagation, Fatigue Striations, and Short-Crack Behavior

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65604/1/j.1151-2916.1991.tb04089.x.pd

Efficacy of olmesartan/amlodipine combination therapy in reducing ambulatory blood pressure in moderate-to-severe hypertensive patients not controlled by amlodipine alone

Efficacy of olmesartan/amlodipine combination therapy in reducing ambulatory blood pressure in moderate-to-severe hypertensive patients not controlled by amlodipine alon

Primitive layered gabbros from fast-spreading lower oceanic crust

Three-quarters of the oceanic crust formed at fast-spreading ridges is composed of plutonic rocks whose mineral assemblages, textures and compositions record the history of melt transport and crystallization between the mantle and the sea floor. Despite the importance of these rocks, sampling them in situ is extremely challenging owing to the overlying dykes and lavas. This means that models for understanding the formation of the lower crust are based largely on geophysical studies and ancient analogues (ophiolites) that did not form at typical mid-ocean ridges. Here we describe cored intervals of primitive, modally layered gabbroic rocks from the lower plutonic crust formed at a fast-spreading ridge, sampled by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program at the Hess Deep rift. Centimetre-scale, modally layered rocks, some of which have a strong layering-parallel foliation, confirm a long-held belief that such rocks are a key constituent of the lower oceanic crust formed at fast-spreading ridges. Geochemical analysis of these primitive lower plutonic rocks-in combination with previous geochemical data for shallow-level plutonic rocks, sheeted dykes and lavas-provides the most completely constrained estimate of the bulk composition of fast-spreading oceanic crust so far. Simple crystallization models using this bulk crustal composition as the parental melt accurately predict the bulk composition of both the lavas and the plutonic rocks. However, the recovered plutonic rocks show early crystallization of orthopyroxene, which is not predicted by current models of melt extraction from the mantle and mid-ocean-ridge basalt differentiation. The simplest explanation of this observation is that compositionally diverse melts are extracted from the mantle and partly crystallize before mixing to produce the more homogeneous magmas that erupt

Susceptibility of muridae cell lines to ecotropic murine leukemia virus and the cationic amino acid transporter 1 viral receptor sequences: implications for evolution of the viral receptor

Ecotropic murine leukemia viruses (Eco-MLVs) infect mouse and rat, but not other mammalian cells, and gain access for infection through binding the cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1). Glycosylation of the rat and hamster CAT1s inhibits Eco-MLV infection, and treatment of rat and hamster cells with a glycosylation inhibitor, tunicamycin, enhances Eco-MLV infection. Although the mouse CAT1 is also glycosylated, it does not inhibit Eco-MLV infection. Comparison of amino acid sequences between the rat and mouse CAT1s shows amino acid insertions in the rat protein near the Eco-MLV-binding motif. In addition to the insertion present in the rat CAT1, the hamster CAT1 has additional amino acid insertions. In contrast, tunicamycin treatment of mink and human cells does not elevate the infection, because their CAT1s do not have the Eco-MLV-binding motif. To define the evolutionary pathway of the Eco-MLV receptor, we analyzed CAT1 sequences and susceptibility to Eco-MLV infection of other several murinae animals, including the southern vole (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis), large Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus), and Eurasian harvest mouse ( Micromys minutus). Eco-MLV infection was enhanced by tunicamycin in these cells, and their CAT1 sequences have the insertions like the hamster CAT1. Phylogenetic analysis of mammalian CAT1s suggested that the ancestral CAT1 does not have the Eco-MLV-binding motif, like the human CAT1, and the mouse CAT1 is thought to be generated by the amino acid deletions in the third extracellular loop of CAT1

Benidipine reduces ischemia reperfusion-induced systemic oxidative stress through suppression of aldosterone production in mice

Aldosterone is implicated in the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular diseases, including ischemia reperfusion (I/R) and myocardial infarction, and also causes oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiovascular systems. Benidipine, a long-acting T-and L-type calcium channel blocker, reduces infarct size following myocardial I/R in rabbits. Benidipine also inhibits the production of aldosterone in vitro. However, the precise mechanism of this phenomenon in vivo remains unknown. We therefore evaluated whether benedipine has a beneficial role through the regulation of oxidative stress in myocardial I/R. C57BL/6J mice were subjected to 30 min of left ascending coronary I/R. Benidipine was administered orally at 3 mg kg -1daily for 3 weeks without any changes in hemodynamic variables. Benidipine significantly reduced infarction size (13.4±2.5%) compared with controls (25.5±3.6%). Urinary 8-hydroxy-2′ deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, increased significantly after I/R. I/R induced increases in 8-OHdG were significantly lower with benidipine. Local myocardial 8-OHdG was also elevated in I/R, but this augmentation was significantly suppressed with benidipine. The plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) significantly increased 2 days after I/R and remained elevated at least 7 days after I/R. Treatment with benidipine significantly decreased I/R-induced elevation of the PAC. I/R-induced markers of fibrosis in hearts also reduced in benidipine. These results suggest that the administration of benidipine reduces myocardial infarct size as well as systemic oxidative stress after I/R. These phenomena are partially linked to reduced plasma aldosterone levels. © 2012 The Japanese Society of Hypertension All rights reserved