Registration of ARS-2936 Scarlet Globemallow Germplasm

SCARLET GLOBEMALLOW (Sphaeraicea coccinea (Pursh) Rydb.), ARS-2936, Reg. no. GP-4, PI 564590, is a native, perennial. herbaceous species of Malvaceae widely distributed in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains rangelands of the western USA (4). This species is characterized by widely spreading rhizomes, brick-red petals, and a dense, short, raceme-like inflorescence, and stellate trichomes. Flowers are attractive and plants bloom from May to July or longer with favorable moisture (5). Leaves are palmately veined with the lobes coarsely toothed. Plant height is less than 30 cm and commonly is less than 20 cm. Scarlet globemallow often is found in foothill habitats with sandy or gravelly soils, open flats, talus slopes, along roadsides and generally in arid places (2). Where it occurs, scarlet globemallow is an important rangeland dietary component of small mammals, pronghorn, sheep, and cattle (1)

Element concentrations in globemallow herbage

Globemallows (Sphaeralcea spp.) are native, drought-resistant forbs of interest for inclusion in seed mixtures for semiarid rangeland renovation. Little is known of their nutritional value for ungulates. We measured element concentrations in representative globemallow species and evaluated their adequacy for livestock nutrition. We also correlated forage selection by sheep (Ovis aries) with element concentrations. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. X A. desertorum (Fisch.) Schult.], and 13 accessions of globemallows [S. coccinea (Pursh) Rydb., S. grossulariifolia (H. & A.) Rydb., S. munroana (Dougl) Spach., and S. parvifolia A. Nels.] were transplanted into replicated grazing trials in southern Idaho. Herbage was sampled and the pastures were grazed by sheep in the fall of 2 years and in the spring of the following 2 years. Concentrations of Ca and Mg in crested wheatgrass were lower than in forbs. Differences between seasons were greater than the differences among globemallow species. Forage selection ratios were positively associated with the N concentration of globemallow leaves and with the Ca:P ratio of globemallow stems but were negatively associated with stem Zn concentrations. Herbage from pastures containing crested wheatgrass with globemallows and/or alfalfa would meet the dietary element requirements of beef cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep

Influence of GluN2 subunit identity on NMDA receptor function

AbstractN-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ligand-gated ion channels (‘ionotropic’ receptors) activated by the major excitatory neurotransmitter, l-glutamate. While the term ‘the NMDAR’ is often used it obscures the fact that this class of receptor contains within it members whose properties are as different as they are similar. This heterogeneity was evident from early electrophysiological, pharmacological and biochemical assessments of the functional properties of NMDARs and while the molecular basis of this heterogeneity has taken many years to elucidate, it indicated from the outset that the diversity of NMDAR phenotypes could allow this receptor family to subserve a variety of functions in the mammalian central nervous system. In this review we highlight some recent studies that have identified structural elements within GluN2 subunits that contribute to the heterogeneous biophysical properties of NMDARs, consider why some recently described novel pharmacological tools may permit better identification of native NMDAR subtypes, examine the evidence that NMDAR subtypes differentially contribute to the induction of long-term potentiation and long-term depression and discuss how through the use of chimeric proteins additional insights have been obtained that account for NMDAR subtype-dependency of physiological and pathophysiological signalling.This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘Glutamate Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity’

The evolution of language: a comparative review

For many years the evolution of language has been seen as a disreputable topic, mired in fanciful "just so stories" about language origins. However, in the last decade a new synthesis of modern linguistics, cognitive neuroscience and neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory has begun to make important contributions to our understanding of the biology and evolution of language. I review some of this recent progress, focusing on the value of the comparative method, which uses data from animal species to draw inferences about language evolution. Discussing speech first, I show how data concerning a wide variety of species, from monkeys to birds, can increase our understanding of the anatomical and neural mechanisms underlying human spoken language, and how bird and whale song provide insights into the ultimate evolutionary function of language. I discuss the ‘‘descended larynx’ ’ of humans, a peculiar adaptation for speech that has received much attention in the past, which despite earlier claims is not uniquely human. Then I will turn to the neural mechanisms underlying spoken language, pointing out the difficulties animals apparently experience in perceiving hierarchical structure in sounds, and stressing the importance of vocal imitation in the evolution of a spoken language. Turning to ultimate function, I suggest that communication among kin (especially between parents and offspring) played a crucial but neglected role in driving language evolution. Finally, I briefly discuss phylogeny, discussing hypotheses that offer plausible routes to human language from a non-linguistic chimp-like ancestor. I conclude that comparative data from living animals will be key to developing a richer, more interdisciplinary understanding of our most distinctively human trait: language

Utilization of globemallow (Sphaeralcea) taxa by sheep

Please contact the NWISRL if you have a copy of this publication

Element concentrations in globemallow herbage

Globemallows (Sphaeralcea spp.) are native, drought-resistant forbs of interest for inclusion in seed mixtures for semiarid rangeland renovation. Little is known of their nutritional value for ungulates. We measured element concentrations in representative globemallow species and evaluated their adequacy for livestock nutrition. We also correlated forage selection by sheep (Ovis aries) with element concentrations. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. X A. desertorum (Fisch.) Schult.], and 13 accessions of globemallows [S. coccinea (Pursh) Rydb., S. grossulariifolia (H. & A.) Rydb., S. munroana (Dougl) Spach., and S. parvifolia A. Nels.] were transplanted into replicated grazing trials in southern Idaho. Herbage was sampled and the pastures were grazed by sheep in the fall of 2 years and in the spring of the following 2 years. Concentrations of Ca and Mg in crested wheatgrass were lower than in forbs. Differences between seasons were greater than the differences among globemallow species. Forage selection ratios were positively associated with the N concentration of globemallow leaves and with the Ca:P ratio of globemallow stems but were negatively associated with stem Zn concentrations. Herbage from pastures containing crested wheatgrass with globemallows and/or alfalfa would meet the dietary element requirements of beef cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep

Utilization of globemallow (Sphaeralcea) taxa by sheep

Please contact the NWISRL if you have a copy of this publication

Specifying and verifying UML activity diagrams via graph transformation

1 Dipartimento di Informatica, Universit`a Ca ' Foscari di Venezia, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Informatica, Universit`a di Pisa, Ital