The light elements in the light of 3D and non-LTE effects

In this review we discuss possible systematic errors inherent in classical 1D LTE abundance analyses of late-type stars for the light elements (here: H, He, Li, Be and B). The advent of realistic 3D hydrodynamical model atmospheres and the availability of non-LTE line formation codes place the stellar analyses on a much firmer footing and indeed drastically modify the astrophysical interpretations in many cases, especially at low metallicities. For the Teff-sensitive hydrogen lines both stellar granulation and non-LTE are likely important but the combination of the two has not yet been fully explored. A fortuitous near-cancellation of significant but opposite 3D and non-LTE effects leaves the derived 7Li abundances largely unaffected but new atomic collisional data should be taken into account. We also discuss the impact on 3D non-LTE line formation on the estimated lithium isotopic abundances in halo stars in light of recent claims that convective line asymmetries can mimic the presence of 6Li. While Be only have relatively minor non-LTE abundance corrections, B is sensitive even if the latest calculations imply smaller non-LTE effects than previously thought.Comment: 10 pages, invited review for IAU Symposium 268 "Light elements in the Universe", C. Charbonnel, M. Tosi, F. Primas, C. Chiappini (editors

Citricoccus parietis sp. nov., isolated from a mould-colonized wall and emended description of Citricoccus alkalitolerans Li et al. 2005

A Gram-positive, coccoid-shaped organism (strain 02-Je-010T), forming yellow-pigmented colonies was isolated from the wall of an indoor environment. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, it was shown that strain 02-Je-010T belongs to the genus Citricoccus with sequence similarities of 98.9?% to Citricoccus alkalitolerans DSM 15665T and 98.6?% to Citricoccus muralis DSM 14442T. Cell-wall sugars were mannose and glucose. The diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan was lysine. The major menaquinones detected were MK-9(H2) and MK-8(H2). The polar lipid profile consisted of the major lipids diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol and moderate amounts of two unknown phospholipids and two unknown glycolipids. The fatty acid profile comprised major amounts of anteiso-C15?:?0, anteiso-C17?:?0 and iso-C15?:?0. All these data supported the affiliation of strain 02-Je-010T to the genus Citricoccus. The results of DNA–DNA hybridization and physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain 02-Je-010T from the two recognized Citricoccus species. For these reasons, strain 02-Je-010T represents a novel species, for which the name Citricoccus parietis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain 02-Je-010T (=CCUG 57388T=CCM 7609T)

Advances and visions in large-scale hydrological modelling : proceedings of the 11th Workshop on Large-scale Hydrological Modelling ; preface

In 1998 the German Universities of Kassel and Giessen organised a workshop on water and solute transport in large drainage basins. The workshop focused on analysing and summarising the state of research, existing problems and perspectives in this research area. It was the second of a series of annual workshops since 1997 that became an important discussion forum for the German-speaking research community in the field of hydrological modelling. Now the 11th Workshop on Large-scale Hydrological Modelling referred to the same questions as posed in 1998 in order to evaluate the developments and advances of the last ten years. Based on keynote presentations, the workshop focused on discussion in working groups where also posters were presented. This volume of "Advances in Geosciences" comprises seven papers referring to the poster contributions. At the end of the volume, an overview paper summarises the outcome of the workshop presentations and discussions (Doll et al.). ..

Managing strategies for organochlorine contaminated soils for a safe food production

Background: Organochlorine pesticides such as dieldrin, DDT and others are highly persistant pesticides, which were applied world wide against pests in horticulture, fruit and arable crops. Although they are forbidden since more than thirty years in the European Union (EU), the compounds remain still in soil. Several crops are known to accumulate these pesticides in eatable parts up to critical levels. For instance dieldrin is detected in high economic value crops such as cucumbers (Cucurbitaceae) and in tomatoes (Solanaceae). Besides plant type and climatic conditions, soil properties, e.g. pH and soil organic carbon content influence the pesticide uptake. In particular in labelled food and feed stuff production, such as organic farming according to EU Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91, consumer expectations in safe, high quality food are extremely high. Since organic farming is prospering – more than 10% of vegetable production is certified organic in Switzerland – the organochlorine residues in organic food stuff have become a major issue for food control authorities. Enquires showed that imported food from EU countries was partly highly contaminated with organochlorine pesticides such as pumpkin seed and oil. Hence, the organochlorine problem in food stuff is expected to occur EU wide

Microlunatus parietis sp. nov., isolated from an indoor wall

A Gram-positive, coccoid, non-endospore-forming actinobacterium (strain 12-Be-011T) was isolated from indoor wall material. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons, strain 12-Be-011T was clearly shown to belong to the genus Microlunatus and was most closely related to Microlunatus panaciterrae Gsoil 954T (95.7 %), Microlunatus soli CC-12602T (94.9 %), Microlunatus ginsengisoli Gsoil 633T (94.8 %), Microlunatus aurantiacus YIM 45721T (95.5 %) and Microlunatus phosphovorus DSM 10555T (94.7 %). The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained ll-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. Mycolic acids were absent. The major menaquinone was MK-9(H4). The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, two unknown phospholipids and one unknown glycolipid. The major fatty acids of iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0 supported the affiliation of strain 12-Be-011T to the genus Microlunatus. Physiological and biochemical test results allowed a clear phenotypic differentiation of strain 12-Be-011T from all other species of the genus Microlunatus. Hence, strain 12-Be-011T can be regarded as a representative of a novel species, for which the name Microlunatus parietis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain 12-Be-011T (=DSM 22083T=CCM 7636T)

Kytococcus aerolatus sp. nov., isolated from indoor air in a room colonized with moulds

A Gram-positive, coccoid bacterial isolate (02-St-019/1(T)), forming beige pigmented colonies was obtained from an indoor air sample. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies it was determined that this isolate 02-St-019/1(T) belonged to the genus Kytococcus, showing sequence similarties of 98.6% to Kytococcus schroeteri DSM 13884(T) and 98.3% to Kytococcus sedentarius DSM 20547(T), respectively. The diagnostic diaminoacid of the peptidoglycan was lysine, cell wall sugars were ribose and xylose. The major menaquinones detected were MK-7 and MK-8. The polar lipid profile consisted of the major phospholipids diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol mannoside. Fatty acid patterns were composed of major amounts of the iso- and anteiso-branched fatty acids anteiso C(17:0), iso C(15:0) and iso C(17:0) and unsaturated fatty acids (C(17:1) omega8c, iso C(17:1) omega9c, and C(17:1) omega8c) with smaller amounts of the straight-chain fatty acids C(15:0), C(16:0) and C(17:0). The results of DNA-DNA hybridizations and physiological and biochemical tests clearly allowed a genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain 02-St-019/1(T) from the two described Kytococcus species. On the basis of these results a novel species to be named Kytococcus aerolatus sp. nov., is proposed, with the type strain 02-St-019/1(T) (=DSM 22179(T)=CCM 7639(T))

Difficulties detecting miRNA-203 in human whole saliva by the use of PCR

Objectives: Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is a chronic disease of the oral mucosa, and according to the WHO also a pre malignant condition. Micro-RNAs are short non coding RNAs capable of regulating mRNA expression. MiRNA:scan be detected in tissue, blood and human whole saliva (HWS) and recently we have shown miR-203 to be up-regulated in tissue from OLP lesions. Study Design: In order to see whether mRNA as well as miR-203 could be detected also in HWS, saliva from healthy controls and patients with OLP were analysed using two different PCR methods. Results: Results showed low mRNA and miRNA levels in general in HWS samples, making it hard to generate conclusive results. Conclusions: In order to make HWS a valuable source for different analyses, more sensitive PCR techniques capable of detecting very low levels of mRNAand miRNAas well as more efficient methods for extraction of RNA are needed

Characterization of the murine cytomegalovirus genes encoding the major DNA binding protein and the ICP18.5 homolog

In several herpesviruses the genes for the major DNA binding protein (MDBP), a putative assembly protein, the glycoprotein B (gB), and the viral DNA polymerase (pol) coliocate. In murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), two members of this gene block, pol (Elliott, Clark, Jaquish, and Spector, 1991, Virology 185, 169-186) and gB (Rapp, Messerle, BOhler, Tannheimer, Keil, and Koszinowski, 1992, J. Virol., 66,4399-4406) have been characterized. Here the two other MCMV genes are characterized, the gene encoding the MDBP and the ICP18.5 homolog encoding a putative assembly protein. Like in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) the genes order is pol, gB, ICP18.5, and MDBP. The 4.2-kb MDBP mRNA is expressed first in the early phase, whereas the 3.0-kb ICP18.5 mRNA is a late transcript. The open reading frame of the MDBP gene has the capacity of encoding a protein of 1191 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 131.7 kDa. The MCMV ICP18.5 ORF is translated into a polypeptide of 798 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 89.1 kDa. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the predicted proteins of MCMV with the respective proteins of HCMV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) reveals a striking homology ranging from 72% (HCMV), 50% (EBV), to 45% (HSV-1) for the MDBP sequence and from 74% (HCMV), 51 % (EBV), to 49% (HSV-1) for the ICP18.5 sequence. These results establish the elose relationship of the two cytomegaloviruses, and underline the usefulness of the murine model for studies on the biology of the CMV infection

Pitfalls and potential of institutional change: Rain-index insurance and the sustainability of rangeland management

Rain-index insurance is strongly advocated in many parts of the developing world to help farmers to cope with climatic risk that prevail in (semi-)arid rangelands due to low and highly uncertain rainfall. We present a modeling analysis of how the availability of rain-index insurance affects the sustainability of rangeland management. We show that a rain-index insurance with frequent payos, i.e. a high strike level, leads to the choice of less sustainable grazing management than without insurance available. However, a rain-index insurance with a low to medium strike level enhances the farmer's well-being while not impairing the sustainability of rangeland management.ecological-economic modeling, weather-index insurance, Namibia, grazing management, risk, sustainability, weather-based derivatives