Resilience in Pre-Columbian Caribbean House-Building: Dialogue Between Archaeology and Humanitarian Shelter.

This paper responds to questions posed by archaeologists and engineers in the humanitarian sector about relationships between shelter, disasters and resilience. Enabled by an increase in horizontal excavations combined with high-resolution settlement data from excavations in the Dominican Republic, the paper presents a synthesis of Caribbean house data spanning a millennium (1400 BP- 450 BP). An analysis of architectural traits identify the house as an institution that constitutes and catalyses change in an emergent and resilient pathway. The "Caribbean architectural mode" emerged in a period of demographic expansion and cultural transition, was geographically widespread, different from earlier and mainland traditions and endured the hazards of island and coastal ecologies. We use archaeological analysis at the house level to consider the historical, ecological and regional dimensions of resilience in humanitarian action.Thank you to the Museo del Hombre Dominicano for collaboration on the site of El Cabo, to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University for supporting the archaeological research. Kate Crawford’s post-doctoral post at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at University College London was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-015-9741-

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): end of survey report and data release 2

The Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey is one of the largest contemporary spectroscopic surveys of low redshift galaxies. Covering an area of ˜286 deg2 (split among five survey regions) down to a limiting magnitude of r < 19.8 mag, we have collected spectra and reliable redshifts for 238 000 objects using the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. In addition, we have assembled imaging data from a number of independent surveys in order to generate photometry spanning the wavelength range 1 nm-1 m. Here, we report on the recently completed spectroscopic survey and present a series of diagnostics to assess its final state and the quality of the redshift data. We also describe a number of survey aspects and procedures, or updates thereof, including changes to the input catalogue, redshifting and re-redshifting, and the derivation of ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared photometry. Finally, we present the second public release of GAMA data. In this release, we provide input catalogue and targeting information, spectra, redshifts, ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared photometry, single-component Sérsic fits, stellar masses, Hα-derived star formation rates, environment information, and group properties for all galaxies with r < 19.0 mag in two of our survey regions, and for all galaxies with r < 19.4 mag in a third region (72 225 objects in total). The data base serving these data is available at http://www.gama-survey.org/

Mineral nutrient status, some quality and morphological characteristics changes in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars under salt stress

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is considered to be one of the most important crops which thrive in newly reclaimed sandy soils as a leguminous crop of high nutritive value and a source of edible oil. Our study tested the effects of different salt levels on mineral nutrient partitioning (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, P and N) and some quality (dry weight and leaf relative water content) and morphological (plant height, number of leaves) characteristics of peanut commercial cultivars. Four peanut cultivars (Mbiah, Ngondo, Pyrieur and Vanda) were used in this experiment. Three concentrations of salt solution including 50, 100 and 200 mM NaCl and the control (Wacquant nutrient solution) were used in irrigation. The pot experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with four replicates. The leaf relative water content (LRWC) provoked by the salinity in nutrient solution decreased from 85.08 to 83.43%, 87.82 to 85.30%, 85.81 to 78.20% and 85.90 to 79.70% in Mbiah, Ngondo, Pyrieur and Vanda cultivars respectively. The results showed that the salt stress reduced significantly (p&lt;0.05) the plant height in Pyrieur cultivar from 40.49 to 21.45 cm, the number of leaves from 11.2 to 7.0, the dry weight of roots from 0.15 to 0.11 g Plant-1, the dry weight of stems from 0.37 to 0.15 g Plant-1 and the dry weight of leaves from 0.46 to 0.19 g Plant-1. Similar results were obtained in Vanda cultivar where the supply of nutrient solution with salinity reduced significantly (p&lt;0.05) the plant height from 38.26 to 26.30 cm, the number of leaves from 12.5 to 7.5, the dry weight of roots from 0.14 to 0.03 g Plant-1, the dry weight of stems from 0.36 to 0.12 g Plant-1 and the dry weight oh leaves from 0.46 to 0.19 g Plant-1. The results also revealed that K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, P, N, K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ uptake of peanut plant organs were significantly (p&lt;0.05) reduced with increasing salinity in Pyrieur, Vanda and Mbiah except for total N accumulation in plant organs of Mbiah. The plant height, the number of leaves, the dry weight and the mineral nutrient uptake were not significantly (p&gt;0.05) reduced under salt stress in Ngondo plant organs except at high salt-treated (200 mM NaCl). The Ngondo cultivar was observed to have relatively higher tolerance on average of all growth parameters and mineral nutrient status than others. This finding suggested that the Ngondo cultivar could be used to highlight the newly salt cultivated sandy soils in arid, semi-arid regions and similar environments across Cameroon.Key words: Arachis hypogaea, growth parameters, mineral nutrient, plant organs, salt stress

Effects of Cucumis metuliferus (Cucurbitaceae) fruits on enzymes and haematological parameters in albino rats

The effects of the powdered fruits of Cucumis metuliferus on enzymes and haematological indices were evaluated in adult albino rats. The study revealed a significant (

Population development of rice black bug, Scotinophara latiuscula (Breddin), under varying nitrogen in a field experiment

© 2017 E. The effects of nitrogenous fertilizers on black bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) colonization and population development in rice fields has not been studied previously. This study reports on the distribution of adults, eggs and nymphs of the black bug, Scotinophara latiuscula (Breddin) during a seasonal outbreak in a rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield experiment that varied nitrogen application rates. Plots at the edge of the experimental field had higher black bug densities. Adult distribution was only weakly affected by nitrogen level. Densities of egg-masses and nymphs increased linearly with increasing nitrogen rates. Nymph development was also more advanced under high nitrogen. Oviposition was highest on larger plants with high grain numbers (actively filling grain), but was otherwise unaffected by the varieties in the experiment. Our results indicate that the build-up of black bug populations in rice is influenced by nitrogen fertilizer rates mainly acting on egg-laying and nymph development

Virulence adaptation in a rice leafhopper: Exposure to ineffective genes compromises pyramided resistance

© 2018 The Authors Pyramiding resistance genes is predicted to increase the durability of resistant rice varieties against phloem-feeding herbivores. We examined responses by the green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), to near-isogenic rice lines with zero, one and two resistance genes. The recurrent parent (T65) and monogenic lines (GRH2-NIL and GRH4-NIL) with genes for resistance to the green rice leafhopper, Nephotettix cincticeps (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), were susceptible to the green leafhopper, but the pyramided line (GRH2/GRH4-PYL) was highly resistant to the green leafhopper. We selected green leafhoppers, N. virescens, from five sites in the Philippines for over 20 generations on each of the four lines. Populations selected on GRH2/GRH4-PYL gained partial virulence (feeding and development equal to that on T65) to the pyramided line within 10 generations and complete virulence (egg-laying equal to that on T65) within 20 generations. After 20 generations of rearing on the susceptible monogenic lines, green leafhoppers were also capable of developing and laying eggs on GRH2/GRH4-PYL. Furthermore, green leafhoppers reared on the susceptible GRH4-NIL for 20 generations showed equal preferences for T65 and GRH2/GRH4-PYL in choice bioassays. Our results indicate that previous long-term exposure to ineffective genes (including unperceived resistance genes) could dramatically reduce the durability of pyramided resistance. We suggest that informed crop management and deployment strategies should be developed to accompany rice lines with pyramided resistance and avoid the build-up of virulent herbivore populations

GAMA/H-ATLAS: Common star-formation rate indicators and their dependence on galaxy physical parameter

We compare common star-formation rate (SFR) indicators in the local Universe in the GAMA equatorial fields (∼ 160 deg2), using ultraviolet (UV) photometry from GALEX, far-infrared (FIR) and sub-millimetre (sub-mm) photometry from H-ATLAS, and Hα spectroscopy from the GAMA survey. With a high-quality sample of 745 galaxies (median redshift (z) = 0.08), we consider three SFR tracers: UV luminosity corrected for dust attenuation using the UV spectral slope β (SFRUV,corr), Hα line luminosity corrected for dust using the Balmer decrement (BD) (SFRHα,corr), and the combination of UV and IR emission (SFRUV+IR). We demonstrate that SFRUV,corr can be reconciled with the other two tracers after applying attenuation corrections by calibrating IRX (i.e. the IR to UV luminosity ratio) and attenuation in the Hα (derived from BD) against β. However, β on its own is very unlikely to be a reliable attenuation indicator. We find that attenuation correction factors depend on parameters such as stellar mass (M∗), z and dust temperature (Tdust), but not on Hα equivalent width (EW) or Sersic index. Due to the large scatter in the IRX vs β correlation, when compared to SFRUV+IR, the β-corrected SFRUV,corr exhibits systematic deviations as a function of IRX, BD and Tdust

Geographic and research center origins of rice resistance to asian planthoppers and leafhoppers: Implications for rice breeding and gene deployment

2017 by the authors. This study examines aspects of virulence to resistant rice varieties among planthoppers and leafhoppers. Using a series of resistant varieties, brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, virulence was assessed in seedlings and early-tillering plants at seven research centers in South and East Asia. Virulence of the whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera, in Taiwan and the Philippines was also assessed. Phylogenetic analysis of the varieties using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) indicated a clade of highly resistant varieties from South Asia with two further South Asian clades of moderate resistance. Greenhouse bioassays indicated that planthoppers can develop virulence against multiple resistance genes including genes introgressed from wild rice species. Nilaparvata lugens populations from Punjab (India) and the Mekong Delta (Vietnam) were highly virulent to a range of key resistance donors irrespective of variety origin. Sogatella furcifera populations were less virulent to donors than N. lugens; however, several genes for resistance to S. furcifera are now ineffective in East Asia. A clade of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)-bred varieties and breeding lines, without identified leafhopper-resistance genes, were highly resistant to the green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens. Routine phenotyping during breeding programs likely maintains high levels of quantitative resistance to leafhoppers. We discuss these results in the light of breeding and deploying resistant rice in Asia

Estudo da formação de aderências e da cicatrização de anastomoses colônicas em ratos com sepse peritoneal induzida

OBJETIVO: Avaliar os efeitos da sepse abdominal sobre a formação de aderências e a cicatrização de anastomoses colônicas em ratos. MÉTODOS: 40 ratos distribuídos em dois grupos contendo 20 animais, para anastomose do cólon esquerdo na presença (grupo S) ou ausência (grupo N) de indução de sepse por ligadura e punção do ceco (CLP). Cada grupo foi dividido em subgrupos para eutanásia no terceiro (N3 e S3) ou sétimo (N7 e S7) dia de pós-operatório (DPO). Foi avaliada a quantidade de aderências e removido um segmento colônico contendo a anastomose para análise histopatológica, força de ruptura, hidroxiprolina e conteúdo de colágeno tecidual. RESULTADOS: Os animais submetidos à CLP apresentaram maior quantidade de aderências intra-abdominais tanto no 3° DPO (p=0,00) quanto no 7° DPO (p=0,00). Tiveram menores valores de força de ruptura no 3° DPO (p=0,00), porém maiores valores no 7° DPO (p=0,00). Não houve diferença na variação da concentração de hidroxiprolina, conteúdo de colágeno e histopatologia. CONCLUSÕES: A infecção peritoneal desencadeada por CLP aumentou a quantidade de aderências intra-cavitárias. Houve diminuição da resistência de anastomoses cólicas no 3° DPO, com posterior aumento no 7° DPO, sem efeito sobre os outros parâmetros da cicatrização. ________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTPURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of abdominal sepsis on adhesion formation and colon anastomosis healing in rats. METHODS: Forty rats were distributed in two groups containing 20 rats each for left colon anastomosis in the presence (Group S) or absence (Group N) of induced sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture. Each group was divided into subgroups for euthanasia on the third (N3 and S3) or seventh (N7 or S7) post-operative day. The amount of adhesions was evaluated and a segment of the colon was removed for histopathologic analysis, bursting strength assessment, hydroxyproline and the determination of tissue collagen. RESULTS: The subjects which underwent cecal ligation and puncture presented a higher amount of intra-abdominal adherences in both third (p=0,00) and seventh (p=0,00) post-operatory days. Smaller bursting strengths were found in the S3 subgroup, and greater bursting strengths were found in the S7 subgroup. There was no difference in the variations on the concentrations of hydroxyproline, tissue collagen and histopathology. CONCLUSIONS: The peritoneal infection which was developed by cecal ligation and puncture raised the amount of intra-cavitary adhesions. There was a decrease in the amount of colonic anastomosis on the third post-operatory day with a following raise on the seventh without any effects on other healing parameters