Finding a Disappearing Nontimber Forest Resource: Using Grounded Visualization to Explore Urbanization Impacts on Sweetgrass Basketmaking in Greater Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

Despite growing interest in urbanization and its social and ecological impacts on formerly rural areas, empirical research remains limited. Extant studies largely focus either on issues of social exclusion and enclosure or ecological change. This article uses the case of sweetgrass basketmaking in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, to explore the implications of urbanization, including gentrification, for the distribution and accessibility of sweetgrass, an economically important nontimber forest product (NTFP) for historically African American communities, in this rapidly growing area. We explore the usefulness of grounded visualization for research efforts that are examining the existence of fringe ecologies associated with NTFP. Our findings highlight the importance of integrated qualitative and quantitative analyses for revealing the complex social and ecological changes that accompany both urbanization and rural gentrification

The waved with open eyelids (woe) Locus Is a Hypomorphic Mouse Mutation in Adam17

The waved with open eyes (woe) locus is a spontaneous recessive mouse mutation that exhibits wavy fur, eyelids open at birth, and enlarged heart and esophagus. In this study, we confirmed the previously identified woe phenotypes and additionally identified anterior eye segment defects, absence of the meibomian glands, and defects in the semilunar cardiac valves. Positional cloning identified a C794T substitution in the Adam17 gene that ablates a putative exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) sequence in exon 7 resulting in aberrant Adam17 splicing. The predominant woe transcript, Adam17Δexon7, lacks exon 7 resulting in an in-frame deletion of 90 bp and a putative Adam17Δ252-281 protein lacking residues 252–281 from the metalloprotease domain. Western blot analysis in woe identified only the precursor form of Adam17Δ252-281 protein. Absence of cleavage of the prodomain renders Adam17Δ252-281 functionally inactive; however, constitutive and stimulated shedding of Adam17 substrates was detected in woe at significantly reduced levels. This residual Adam17 shedding activity in woe most likely originates from full-length Adam17T265M encoded by the Adam17C794T transcript identified expressed at severely reduced levels. These results show that even small amounts of functional Adam17 allow woe mice to survive into adulthood. In contrast to Adam17−/− mice that die at birth, the viability of woe mice provides an excellent opportunity for studying the role of Adam17 throughout postnatal development and homeostasis

Infection of sugar beet by Polymyxa betae in relation to soil temperature

The effects of soil temperature on infection of sugar-beet roots by the soil-borne fungus Polymyxa betae were investigated in controlled environments. Pre-germinated seeds were sown in pots of naturally infested soil and seedlings sampled at frequent intervals over a period of several weeks. Within the range 10-30-degrees-C, the optimum soil temperature for infection was c. 25-degrees-C; the time between sowing and the first detectable infection was shortest and the subsequent rate of infection most rapid at this temperature. No infection was observed over 80 days at 10-degrees-C. Both root and shoot dry weight were reduced on plants growing in infested soil at 15, 20 and 25-degrees-C compared with those growing in uninfested soil. In general, root growth was more severely affected than shoot growth and the effects were most pronounced at 20-degrees-C. These results were confirmed in a subsequent experiment in which P. betae-infected root material was used as the inoculum. In addition to its role as the vector of beet necrotic yellow vein virus (the cause of Rhizomania disease), the significance of P. betae as a plant pathogen in its own right is discussed