Relation of Some Physical and Chemical Soil Properties to the Growth of Sycamore, Sweetgum and Green Ash

Soil properties were related to height growth of three small plantations on a second terrace in East Texas: 1.5 acres of 5 year-old sycamore (Hutanus occidentalis L.), 1.5 acres of (i-year-old sweetgum (Liquidumbar styrucijhu L.), and 3.0 acres of 6-year-old green ash (Fruxinus pennsylvunicu Marx.). Five soil sample pits in each stand represented variation in height classes. Stepwise regression analysis was used to determine significant height growth predictors. Height of the sycamores ranged from 3.1 to 16.4 feet. Height at age 5 was negatively correlated with percent clay at a depth of 1.0 foot and positively correlated with pH at 0.5 foot. Clay slowed drainage on this generally low, wet site, while pH of the best sites favored optimum nutrient availability. Sweetgum heights ranged from 3.2 to 15.5 feet. Height at age 6 increased with increasing fine material at a depth of 2.5 feet, which improved moisture retention on this high, welldrained plantation. Green ash heights ranged from 4.5 to 18.1 feet. Height at age 6 increased directly with pH of the Al horizon and decreased with increasing potassium in the Al. The pH levels of the better sites favored optimum nutrient availability, but the effect of potassium could only be explained as sample variation

Soil properties relating to height growth of loblolly pine on four major soil series in East Texas

Stem analysis was used to obtain age and height data for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands growing on Bowie, Fuquay, Sacul, and TroupxlsTnortheastern Texas. The soil profiles were described and bulk soil samples were taken in each sample stand. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were measured for each soil horizon. Stepwise regression analysis was used to correlate average stand height at ages 5, 10, 20, and 30 years with soil properties. Strong associations were found between stand height and properties which relate to available soil moisture holding capacity, soil permeability, and soil aeration. For Bowie, Fww , and Troup soils, average stand height increased with increasing moisture holding capacity of the surface soil and with increasing subsoil permeability and aeration. On Sacul soils, height increased with better permeability and aeration of the solum. Average annual height growth on the four soils differed significantly only in the first 5 years, peaked between ages five and 10, and then declined. Average cumulative stand heights differed significantly between series until age 10. Differences in attained height at age 25 seemed more related to rapid early growth than to differences in later growth rates

Texas Forestry Paper No. 20

Strip clearcutting to regenerate east texas pineshttps://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/texas_forestry_papers/1002/thumbnail.jp

Contrasting metabolic strategies of two co‑occurring deep‑sea octocorals

The feeding biology of deep-sea octocorals remains poorly understood, as attention is more often directed to reef building corals. The present study focused on two common deep-water octocoral species in the Azores Archipelago, Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum, aiming at determining their ability to exploit different food sources. We adopted an experimental approach, with three different food sources, including live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM), that were artificially enriched with 13C and 15N (C and N tracers). The presence of tracers was subsequently followed in the coral tissue, C respiration and particulate organic C and N (POC and PON) release. In both species, feeding with zooplankton resulted in significantly higher incorporation of tracers in all measured variables, compared to the other food sources, highlighting the importance of zooplankton for major physiological processes. Our results revealed contrasting metabolic strategies between the two species, with D. aff. meteor acquiring higher amounts of prey and allocating higher percentage to respiration and release of POC and PON than V. flagellum. Such metabolic differences can shape species fitness and distributions and have further ecological implications on the ecosystem function of communities formed by different octocoral species.Versión del edito

Carbon tips as electrodes for single-molecule junctions

The following article appeared in Applied Physics Letters vol 99,12 (2011): 123105 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/99/12/10.1063/1.3643031?showFTTab=true&containerItemId=content/aip/journal/aplWe study electron transport through single-molecule junctions formed by an octanethiol molecule bonded with the thiol anchoring group to a goldelectrode and the opposing methyl endgroup to a carbon tip. Using the scanning tunneling microscope based break junction technique, we measure the electrical conductance of such molecular junctions. We observe the presence of well-defined conductance plateaus during the stretching of the molecular bridge, which is the signature of the formation of a molecular junction.Acknowledges fellowship support from the Comunidad de Madrid (Spain). This work was supported by MICINN (Spain) through the programs MAT2008-01735 and CONSOLIDER-INGENIO-2010 CSD-2007-00010, by Comunidad de Madrid through the program NANOBIOMAGNET S2009/MAT1726, by the EU through the networks BIMORE (MRTN-CT-2006-035859),and by the EC through the network FP7 ITN “FUNMOLS”Project Number 212942

Institutional development gap in the social sector: Cross-country analysis

An institutional quality convergence is always a relevant subject matter since institutional quality is considered to be a vital factor for economic development. The question regarding the convergence of social parameters into development is especially acute when choosing a social policy direction and the related instruments. This paper proposes a methodology to calculate the institutional development gap of social sector (IDGSS) in its three measures: social capital development, social infrastructure development, social security system development. IDGSS is calculated here for 20 countries. The estimation demonstrates how social development parameters (social capital, social infrastructure and social security) depends on a country’s economic development level. Besides, we show how IDGSS depends on noneconomic factors, including the level of basic institutions’ development, the degree of inequality in the distribution of income and poverty

Carbon-fiber tips for scanning probe microscopes and molecular electronics experiments

We fabricate and characterize carbon-fiber tips for their use in combined scanning tunneling and force microscopy based on piezoelectric quartz tuning fork force sensors. An electrochemical fabrication procedure to etch the tips is used to yield reproducible sub-100-nm apex. We also study electron transport through single-molecule junctions formed by a single octanethiol molecule bonded by the thiol anchoring group to a gold electrode and linked to a carbon tip by the methyl group. We observe the presence of conductance plateaus during the stretching of the molecular bridge, which is the signature of the formation of a molecular junction.Comment: Conference Proceeding (Trends in NanoTechnology 2011, Tenerife SPAIN); Nanoscale Research Letters, (2012) 7:25

De Novo Missense Variants in SLC32A1 Cause a Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy Due to Impaired GABAergic Neurotransmission

Objective:Rare inherited missense variants inSLC32A1, the gene that encodes the vesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA) transporter, have recently been shown to cause genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus. We aimed to clarifyif de novo missense variants inSLC32A1can also cause epilepsy with impaired neurodevelopment.Methods:Using exome sequencing, we identified four individuals with a developmental and epileptic encephalopathyand de novo missense variants inSLC32A1. To assess causality, we performed functional evaluation of the identifiedvariants in a murine neuronal cell culture model.Results:The main phenotype comprises moderate-to-severe intellectual disability, infantile-onset epilepsy within thefirst 18 months of life, and a choreiform, dystonic, or dyskinetic movement disorder. In silico modeling and functionalanalyses reveal that three of these variants, which are located in helices that line the putative GABA transport pathway,result in reduced quantal size, consistent with impairedfilling of synaptic vesicles with GABA. The fourth variant,located in the vesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid N-terminus, does not affect quantal size, but increases presynapticrelease probability, leading to more severe synaptic depression during high-frequency stimulation. Thus, variants invesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid can impair GABAergic neurotransmission through at least two mechanisms, byaffecting synaptic vesiclefilling and by altering synaptic short-term plasticity.Interpretation:This work establishes de novo missense variants inSLC32A1as a novel cause of a developmental andepileptic encephalopathy

Is cancer mortality increasing in France?

Long-term trends in cancer mortality are reported by site. Overall, cancer mortality has been decreasing in France since 1987 in the male population and since 1968 in the female population. Improvement in treatments and diagnosis should lead to persistently declining mortality rates, unless the tobacco epidemic reverses the trend in female mortality. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Морфофункціональний стан печінки щурів за впливу спиртової настоянки Aralia elata на тлі високожирового раціону

Aralia tincture (Aralia elata) is a well-known adaptogen, so most of its effects that influence the body are associated with the general properties of this plant's preparations. They are metabolic regulators that increase the body's ability to adapt to various environmental stressors and prevent occurring damage. The purpose of this work is to determine the effect of various doses of A. elata roots alcohol tincture on the liver morphofunctional state of laboratory rats that are receiving a diet with excess fat. From 28 young laboratory rats that consumed an excess fat diet for 35 days, four groups were formed. Animals of the first group (control) received pure water without restriction; the second group – 0.1 % ethanol, and the third and fourth – received 0.1 % and 0.01 % alcohol tincture of Aralia (A. elata), respectively. After the experiment's completion, the absolute and relative mass and liver histostructure of animals were determined, and biochemical blood tests were performed to determine the main indicators of this organ's functional activity. In rats that were kept on the excess fat diet, the replacement of water with 0.1 % ethanol solution and 0.01 % alcohol tincture of aralia caused a decrease in the relative mass of the liver, and 0.1 % aralia alcohol tincture – caused a significant increase. It has been demonstrated that 0.1 % ethanol causes a significant increase in the total protein level in the blood. An analysis of the blood enzyme activity has shown that ethanol consumption reduced the activity of AST and ALT from the value of the control group, and the Aralia alcohol tincture returned these indicators to the level of the control group. The liver histostructure of rats in the control group was characterized by the appearance of signs of fatty degeneration along the periphery of the hepatic lobules, with the consumption of 0.1 % ethanol in addition to the excess fat diet, the accumulation of fat droplets was detected in both perilobular (around lobules) zone and in the center of the lobule itself near the central vein. In hepatocytes located along the periphery of the lobules, mainly large fat drops have accumulated, and in the center – small ones. The use of Aralia alcohol tinctures improved the liver parenchyma's morphological state. Fatty degeneration of hepatocytes was less pronounced. Fat inclusions in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes were small, diffusely located in the cytoplasm, and did not show cell destruction.Настоянка аралії (Aralia elata) – широковідомий адаптоген, тому більша частина ефектів її впливу на організм пов’язана із загальними властивостями препаратів цієї рослини. Вони є регуляторами метаболізму, що збільшують здатність організму адаптуватися до різних стресових факторів навколишнього середовища та запобігають виникненню пошкоджень. Мета роботи – визначити вплив різних доз спиртової настоянки коренів A. еlata на морфофункціональний стан печінки лабораторних щурів на тлі раціону з надлишковим вмістом жиру. З 28 молодих лабораторних щурів, які споживали протягом 35 діб високожировий раціон, сформовано чотири групи. Тварини першої групи (контроль) отримували без обмеження чисту воду; другої – 0,1 % етанол, третьої і четвертої – 0,1 % і 0,01 % спиртову настоянку аралії (A. еlata) відповідно. По завершенні досліду визначали абсолютну і відносну масу та гістоструктуру печінки тварин, а також проводили біохімічні дослідження крові з визначенням основних показників функціональної активності цього органу. У щурів, які утримувались на високожировому раціоні, заміна води 0,1 % розчином етанолу та 0,01 % спиртовою настоянкою аралії викликала зменшення відносної маси печінки, а 0,1 % – достовірне збільшення. Встановлено, що 0,1 % етанол викликає достовірне збільшення рівня загального білка в крові. Аналіз активності ферментів крові показав, що споживання етанолу знижувало активність АСТ і АЛТ щодо значення контрольної групи, а спиртова настоянка аралії повертала ці показники до рівня контрольної групи. Гістоструктура печінки щурів контрольної групи характеризувалася появою ознак жирової дистрофії по периферії печінкових часточок, при споживанні 0,1 % етанолу додатково до високожирового раціону виявляли накопичення жирових краплин як перилобулярно, так і в центрі часточок поблизу центральної вени. В гепатоцитах розміщених по периферії часточок переважно накопичувалися крупні жирові краплини, а в центрі – дрібні. Застосування спиртових настоянок аралії поліпшувало морфологічний стан паренхіми печінки. Жирова дистрофія гепатоцитів була менш вираженою. Жирові включення в цитоплазмі гепатоцитів були дрібними, розміщувалися в цитоплазмі дифузно, руйнування клітин не виявлено