Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on Yield and Malting Quality of a Winter Malting Barley Grown in Oklahoma

Agronom

Attenuation of rainfall intensity by forest canopies

Interception of precipitation by forest canopies has been found previously to reduce rainfall intensity, but this effect is poorly understood. The goal of this research is to quantify the attenuation of rainfall intensity by forest canopy interception, with the specific objective of estimating the contribution of this attenuation to hillslope hydrology and slope stability during extreme rainfall. Measurements of throughfall in two forest stands in the Pacific Northwest showed peak rainfall intensities were lagged in time and damped in intensity compared to rainfall measured in nearby openings. Spatial patterns of intensity smoothing and throughfall amounts persisted among storms. Modeling the responses of the soil water pore pressure of a hypothetical hillslope to the most intense periods of rainfall resulted in estimates of slope stability under the forest canopy that were greater than for the same hillslope without the forest canopy. A black-box model to quantify lagging and damping of throughfall efficiently described timevarying rates of throughfall using only data of rainfall and storm-total throughfall. However, the prediction capabilities of this model were limited because variation of best-fit model parameters among storms was unpredictable. Modeled mean hydraulic residence times for rainfall in canopies were approximately 15 min. Coupling the black-box model of throughfall with stochastic models of rainfall and evaporation resulted in a stochastic model of throughfall. Modeled extreme rainfall events (> 20 yr return interval) in rainfall occurred 39 to 70% as often in throughfall, depending on return period. Measurements of water detained on branches under simulated rainfall in the laboratory revealed higher storage at higher rainfall intensities. Conifers stored more water per leaf area than did broadleaved species at all intensities, but storage on broadleaved species showed greater increases at higher intensities. These storage increases, although short-lived at the branch scale (≤ 10 sec), indicate a mechanism for intensity attenuation at the canopy scale (~ 10 min), in which storage is temporarily increased during heavy rainfall and drains over time. Descriptions of canopy interactions with rainfall must include this "dynamic storage" to properly predict time-varying throughfall

Anthrax, but Not Bacillus anthracis?

The article focuses on the other possible agents of anthrax aside from bacillus anthracis and other soil dwelling bacterium of the genus bacillus. It is stated that bacillus anthracis is a close relative of bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis because of the presence of two large virulence plasmids, pXO1 and pXO2. The authors believe that bacillus cereus isolates can harbor either one or both of the B. anthracis plasmids, and they may or may not harbor anthrax toxin genes

An objective approach for Burkholderia pseudomallei strain selection as challenge material for medical countermeasures efficacy testing

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a rare disease of biodefense concern with high mortality and extreme difficulty in treatment. No human vaccines are available that protect against B. pseudomallei infection, and with the current limitations of antibiotic treatment, the development of new preventative and therapeutic interventions is crucial. Although clinical trials could be used to test the efficacy of new medical countermeasures (MCMs), the high mortality rates associated with melioidosis raises significant ethical issues concerning treating individuals with new compounds with unknown efficacies. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formulated a set of guidelines for the licensure of new MCMs to treat diseases in which it would be unethical to test the efficacy of these drugs in humans. The FDA “Animal Rule” 21 CFR 314 calls for consistent, well-characterized B. pseudomallei strains to be used as challenge material in animal models. In order to facilitate the efficacy testing of new MCMs for melioidosis using animal models, we intend to develop a well-characterized panel of strains for use. This panel will comprise of strains that were isolated from human cases, have a low passage history, are virulent in animal models, and are well-characterized phenotypically and genotypically. We have reviewed published and unpublished data on various B. pseudomallei strains to establish an objective method for selecting the strains to be included in the panel of B. pseudomallei strains with attention to five categories: animal infection models, genetic characterization, clinical and passage history, and availability of the strain to the research community. We identified 109 strains with data in at least one of the five categories, scored each strain based on the gathered data and identified six strains as candidate for a B. pseudomallei strain panel

Growth and Fatty Acid Composition of Marine Microalga Nannochloropsis SP in Medium Enriched with Magnesium

Micro-algae are to be an attractive way to produce bio-diesel due to high photosynthetic yields and lipid accumulation in cells. This high productivity combined with possibility to uptake CO2 stimulated its utilization as a biological mitigation method of CO2, at once as an alternative renewable source of energy. Growth characteristics and chemical composition of micro-algae can be altered by culture environment. Nutrient sufficiency,included magnesium element (Mg2+) is important factors on overall biochemical composition. In study, Nannochloropsis sp was cultivated in Erlenmeyer 250 ml containing 200 ml f/2 medium. There are three groups of treatment with different levelof magnesium (Mg2+), i.e. 0 (M0); 0.1mgL-1 (M1); and 1.0 mgL-1 (M2). All treatment was designed triplicate in batch system. Culture was then aerated continuously with sterile atmospheric air (1.5 L.min-1). Cells were harvested on 25th day after inoculation and analyzed. Data showed that Chlorophyll-a increased linearly with time and maximum at 18th days of growth period, i.e. 23.57; 26.44; and 27.74mgL-1, for M0; M1; and M2,respectively. Chlorophyll-a content decreased significantly when pH dropped to 5-6.Enrichment with Mg2+ increased the chlorophyll-a content 12.2-17.7%. Dry cell reached 375-400mgL-1 in all treatment. Lipid content of Nannochloropsis sp in control (M0) is 55.3%, higher than M1 and M2. Saturated fatty acid tends to increase from 80.70 (M0)to 96.70 (M1) and 94.53% (M2). Fatty acid of M0 and M1 was composed dominantly by palmitic acid (C16:0), i.e. 49.19-70.75% total fatty acids. Meanwhile, M2 treatment was dominantly by lauric acid (C12:0), i.e. 32.98%

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Typing of Bacillus anthracis from Sverdlovsk Tissue

A small number of conserved canonical single nucleotide polymorphisms (canSNP) that define major phylogenetic branches for Bacillus anthracis were used to place a Sverdlovsk patient’s B. anthracis genotype into 1 of 12 subgroups. Reconstruction of the pagA gene also showed a unique SNP that defines a new lineage for B. anthracis

Genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei NCTC 13392

Here, we describe the draft genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei NCTC 13392. This isolate has been distributed as K96243, but distinct genomic differences have been identified. The genomic sequence of this isolate will provide the genomic context for previously conducted functional studies

The Ursinus Weekly, April 27, 1972

Ursinus suffers blackout; Transformer explodes • Dr. Helen T. Garrett dies • UC students experience teaching • Dr. Robert M. Veatch to speak at Ursinus College forum • Dr. Allan Lake Rice speaks at conference • Students inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon • Ursinus seeks $200,000 gift • Lantern elects officers for \u2772-\u2773; Spring issue expected in late May • Editorial: Stop the war • Focus: Jane Siegel • Strike • Faculty portrait: Dr. Gayle Byerly • Guest column: Dr. Allan Rice on war and peace • Letters to the editor: The need of a psychologist; Open letter to security • W.C. rains on our parade • Sing sets record • Bartholomew wins two • Ursinus starts baseball season • Travelin\u27 5\u27s history told • Modern Dance Club: fun for allhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1123/thumbnail.jp

Long-term Success of Stump Sprouts in High-graded Baldcypress-water Tupelo Swamps in the Mississippi Delta

Regeneration of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) in swamps of the deltaic plain of the Mississippi River are of major importance for ecosystem sustainability and forest management in the context of regional hydrological changes. Water tupelo often forms prolific sprouts from cut stumps, and baldcypress is one of few conifers to produce stump sprouts capable of becoming full-grown trees. Previous studies have addressed early survival of baldcypress stump sprouts, but have not addressed the likelihood of sprouts becoming an important component of mature stands. We surveyed stands in southeastern Louisiana that were partially logged 10–41 years ago to determine if stump sprouts are an important mechanism of regeneration. At each site we inventoried stumps and measured stump height and diameter, presence and number of sprouts, sprout height, and water depth.We determined age and diameter growth rate for the largest sprout fromeach stump from increment cores. The majority of stumps did not have surviving sprouts. Baldcypress sprout survival was about the same (median 10%) as previously found for stumps up to 7 years old, so it appears that, although mortality is high soon after sprouting, it is low after age 10.Water tupelo sprouting was rare at our sites but it was not clear whether this may have been because trees were not cut at our sample locations. Baldcypress stump sprouts were more likely to survive on shorter, smaller-diameter stumps, and baldcypress sprout growth was greatest on drier sites with less competition from overstory trees. Surviving baldcypress stump sprouts had high growth rates, but were not regularly spatially distributed within stands and many had advancing decay from stumps into sprouts