Soil resources, microbial activity, and primary production across an agricultural ecosystem

Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-170).The degree to which soil resource availability is linked to patterns of microbial activity and plant productivity within ecosystems has important consequences for our understanding of how ecosystems are structured and for the management of systems for agricultural production. We studied this linkage in a 48-ha site in southwest Michigan, USA, that had been cultivated and planted to row crops for decades. Prior to seeding the site to genetically identical soybean plants (Glycine max) in early spring, we removed soil samples from ≈600 locations; plant biomass was harvested from these same locations later in the season. Soil samples were analyzed for physical properties (texture, bulk density), chemical properties (moisture, pH, total C, total N, inorganic N), and biological attributes (microbial biomass, microbial population size, respiration potential, and nitrification and N-mineralization potentials). Plant analyses included biomass and C and N contents. Soil resource variability across this long-cultivated site was remarkably high, as was variability in microbial activity and primary productivity. In almost all cases variability exhibited a strong spatially explicit structure: for most properties and processes > 50% of sample variance was spatially dependent at a scale of 5–60 m. Exceptions included microtopography, soil pH, and inorganic P, which were spatially dependent across the entire 1–1200 m range of separation distances examined in this study, and the culturable-bacteria population, which was not spatially autocorrelated at any scale examined. Both topographic relief and soil pH exhibited strongly nested structures, with autocorrelation occurring within two (topography) or more (pH) distinct ranges. Multiple regression analysis showed surprisingly little correlation between biological processes (soybean productivity, soil N turnover, soil respiration), and static soil properties. The best predictor of soybean biomass at late reproductive stages (r2 = 0.42) was a combination of nitrate N, bulk density, inorganic P, N-mineralization rates, and pH. Overall, results suggest a remarkable degree of spatial variability for a pedogenically homogeneous site that has been plowed and cropped mostly as a single field for > 100 yr. Such variability is likely to be generic to most ecosystems and should be carefully evaluated when making inferences about ecological relationships in these systems and when considering alternative sampling and management strategies

Ultra Large Castings to Produce Low Cost Aluminum Vehicle Structures

Through a cooperative effort with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT), Alcoa is developing a casting process to produce ultra large thin wall components. The casting process is a low pressure, metal mold, multiport injection vertical casting process. The specific system for demonstration of the process is located at Alcoa's Technology Center and will be capable of producing parts extending 3 M long, 1.7 M wide and 0.4 M high. For example, single castings of car floor pan frames or side wall aperture structures are candidates for this installation. This shall provide a major opportunity to reduce the cost of lightweight transportation vehicle structures by (a) reducing the components or part count and (b) reducing the cost of assembly. To develop and demonstrate the process, an inner panel of the Chrysler minivan liftgate will be first produced on this system. Through computer analyses, the cast inner panel design was developed to satisfy both structural performance and casting process requirements. Currently, this is an 11 part assembly of steel components. At the time of this abstract, the numerous system components are in various phases of fabrication and site preparation is fully underway, with system shakedown beginning in the second quarter of 1999. Successful demonstration of caster system operation is anticipated to occur during the third quarter and production of a high quality product during the fourth quarter. Although the process is targeted toward reducing the cost of lightweight trucks, buses and autos, consideration is being given to application in the aircraft industry

Adherence to Guidelines for Youths With Diabetes Mellitus

To describe demographic and clinical characteristics associated with self-reported receipt of tests and measurements recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for children and youths with diabetes

Screen for Genetic Modifiers of stbm Reveals that Photoreceptor Fate and Rotation Can Be Genetically Uncoupled in the Drosophila Eye

BACKGROUND: Polarity of the Drosophila compound eye arises primarily as a consequence of two events that are tightly linked in time and space: fate specification of two photoreceptor cells, R3 and R4, and the subsequent directional movement of the unit eyes of the compound eye, or ommatidia. While it is thought that these fates dictate the direction of ommatidial rotation, the phenotype of mutants in the genes that set up this polarity led to the hypothesis that these two events could be uncoupled. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To definitively demonstrate these events are genetically separable, we conducted a dominant modifier screen to determine if genes, when misexpressed, could selectively enhance subclasses of mutant ommatidia in which the direction of rotation does not follow the R3/R4 cell fates, yet not affect the number of ommatidia in which rotation follows the R3/R4 cell fates. We identified a subset of P element lines that exhibit this selective enhancement. We also identified lines that behave in the opposite manner: They enhance the number of ommatidia that rotate in the right direction, but do not alter the number of ommatidia that rotate incorrectly with respect to the R3/R4 fates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that fate and direction of rotation can be genetically separated, and that there are genes that act between R3/R4 fate specification and direction of ommatidial rotation. These data affirm what has been a long-standing assumption about the genetic control of ommatidial polarity

Distinct Molecular Evolutionary Mechanisms Underlie the Functional Diversification of the Wnt and TGFβ Signaling Pathways

The canonical Wnt pathway is one of the oldest and most functionally diverse of animal intercellular signaling pathways. Though much is known about loss-of-function phenotypes for Wnt pathway components in several model organisms, the question of how this pathway achieved its current repertoire of functions has not been addressed. Our phylogenetic analyses of 11 multigene families from five species belonging to distinct phyla, as well as additional analyses employing the 12 Drosophila genomes, suggest frequent gene duplications affecting ligands and receptors as well as co-evolution of new ligand–receptor pairs likely facilitated the expansion of this pathway’s capabilities. Further, several examples of recent gene loss are visible in Drosophila when compared to family members in other phyla. By comparison the TGFβ signaling pathway is characterized by ancient gene duplications of ligands, receptors, and signal transducers with recent duplication events restricted to the vertebrate lineage. Overall, the data suggest that two distinct molecular evolutionary mechanisms can create a functionally diverse developmental signaling pathway. These are the recent dynamic generation of new genes and ligand–receptor interactions as seen in the Wnt pathway and the conservative adaptation of ancient pre-existing genes to new roles as seen in the TGFβ pathway. From a practical perspective, the former mechanism limits the investigator’s ability to transfer knowledge of specific pathway functions across species while the latter facilitates knowledge transfer

Transition From Pediatric to Adult Care for Youth Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes in Adolescence

Youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus are at risk for poor glycemic control as they age into adulthood. The aim of this study was to describe sociodemographic and clinical correlates of poor glycemic control associated with the transfer of care from pediatric to adult diabetes providers among a cohort of youth with type 1 diabetes diagnosed in adolescence

Correlates of Dietary Intake in Youth with Diabetes: Results from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

AbstractObjectiveTo explore demographic, socioeconomic, diabetes-related, and behavioral correlates of dietary intake of dairy, fruit, vegetables, sweetened soda, fiber, calcium, and saturated fat in youth with diabetes.MethodsCross-sectional study of youth 10-22 years old with type 1 (T1DM, n=2,176) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM, n=365). Association of dietary intake, demographics, socioeconomic status, behavioral, and diabetes-related measures was explored with quantile regression.ResultsT1DM males had lower consumption of vegetables, fruit, and fiber, and higher consumption of soda and saturated fat than females (P < .01). African Americans had lower dairy and higher soda intake than non-Hispanic T1DM whites (P < .01). Soda consumption was higher in older T2DM youth than in younger participants (P < .01). Lifestyle and physical activity patterns were also significantly associated with dietary intake.Conclusions and ImplicationsIdentified demographic and behavioral correlates may help dietitians to focus on groups of youth with diabetes who have lower adherence to a healthful diet. Diet counseling groups may be tailored according to these major determinants