The effects of storage temperature and position on embryonic mortality of ostrich (Struthio camelus) eggs

The present study was carried out with the aim of determining the effects of storage temperature and storage position on embryonic mortalities in ostrich eggs. A total of 229 ostrich eggs was collected from two commercial ostrich farms. The effects of storage temperature on embryonic mortality differed. Embryonic deaths (totalled for early, medium and late incubation) were determined at respectively 28.6, 32.0, 42.9% in groups of eggs from stored immediately after collection for seven days at 16 °C, 21 °C and 25 °C. Embryonic mortality was not affected by storing eggs for one week at 16 °C in either the vertical position (with the aircell at the top, or the aircell at the bottom) or the horizontal position. The percentage of embryonic mortalities was 25.8, 26.7, 24.1 for the different storage positions, respectively. These results indicate that ostrich eggs must be stored at 21 °C or less after collection to maximise hatchability and that embryonic survival is not affected by storing position

Negative Thermal Expansion Near the Precipice of Structural Stability in Open Perovskites

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) describes the anomalous propensity of materials to shrink when heated. Since its discovery, the NTE effect has been found in a wide variety of materials with an array of magnetic, electronic and structural properties. In some cases, the NTE originates from phase competition arising from the electronic or magnetic degrees of freedom but we here focus on a particular class of NTE which originates from intrinsic dynamical origins related to the lattice degrees of freedom, a property we term structural negative thermal expansion (SNTE). Here we review some select cases of NTE which strictly arise from anharmonic phonon dynamics, with a focus on open perovskite lattices. We find that NTE is often present close in proximity to competing structural phases, with structural phase transition lines terminating near T=0 K yielding the most prominent displays of the SNTE effect. We further provide a theoretical model to make precise the proposed relationship among the signature behavior of SNTE, the proximity of these systems to structural quantum phase transitions and the effects of phase fluctuations near these unique regions of the structural phase diagram. The effects of compositional disorder on NTE and structural phase stability in perovskites are discussed

Large isotropic negative thermal expansion above a structural quantum phase transition

Perovskite structured materials contain myriad tunable ordered phases of electronic and magnetic origin with proven technological importance and strong promise for a variety of energy solutions. An always-contributing influence beneath these cooperative and competing interactions is the lattice, whose physics may be obscured in complex perovskites by the many coupled degrees of freedom, which makes these systems interesting. Here, we report signatures of an approach to a quantum phase transition very near the ground state of the nonmagnetic, ionic insulating, simple cubic perovskite material ScF3, and show that its physical properties are strongly effected as much as 100 K above the putative transition. Spatial and temporal correlations in the high-symmetry cubic phase determined using energy- and momentum-resolved inelastic x-ray scattering as well as x-ray diffraction reveal that soft mode, central peak, and thermal expansion phenomena are all strongly influenced by the transition.National Science Foundation Award No. DMR-1506825US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Contract No. DE- AC02-06CH11357Yale Prize Postdoctoral FellowshipNSF Grant No. DMR-0115852Universidad de Costa Rica. Vicerrectoría de Investigación Projecto No. 816-B5-220UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales (CICIMA

Diversity and quantity of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in sediment of the Pearl River Estuary, China

The diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the sediment of the Pearl River Estuary were investigated by cloning and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). From one sediment sample S16, 36 AOA OTUs (3% cutoff) were obtained from three clone libraries constructed using three primer sets for amoA gene. Among the 36 OTUs, six were shared by all three clone libraries, two appeared in two clone libraries, and the other 28 were only recovered in one of the libraries. For AOB, only seven OTUs (based on 16S rRNA gene) and eight OTUs (based on amoA gene) were obtained, showing lower diversity than AOA. The qPCR results revealed that AOA amoA gene copy numbers ranged from 9.6 × 106 to 5.1 × 107 copies per gram of sediment and AOB amoA gene ranged from 9.5 × 104 to 6.2 × 105 copies per gram of sediment, indicating that the dominant ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the sediment of the Pearl River Estuary were AOA. The terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism results showed that the relative abundance of AOB species in the sediment samples of different salinity were significantly different, indicating that salinity might be a key factor shaping the AOB community composition

Clam feeding plasticity reduces herbivore vulnerability to ocean warming and acidification

Ocean warming and acidification affect species populations, but how interactions within communities are affected and how this translates into ecosystem functioning and resilience remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that experimental ocean warming and acidification significantly alters the interaction network among porewater nutrients, primary producers, herbivores and burrowing invertebrates in a seafloor sediment community, and is linked to behavioural plasticity in the clam Scrobicularia plana. Warming and acidification induced a shift in the clam's feeding mode from predominantly suspension feeding under ambient conditions to deposit feeding with cascading effects on nutrient supply to primary producers. Surface-dwelling invertebrates were more tolerant to warming and acidification in the presence of S. plana, most probably due to the stimulatory effect of the clam on their microalgal food resources. This study demonstrates that predictions of population resilience to climate change require consideration of non-lethal effects such as behavioural changes of key species. Changes in ocean temperature and pH will impact on species, as well as impacting on community interactions. Here warming and acidification cause a clam species to change their feeding mode, with cascading effects for the marine sedimentary food web

Prevalence and risk factors of allergies in turkey (PARFAIT): Results of a multicentre cross-sectional study in adults

The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Allergies in Turkey (PARFAIT) study was planned to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for asthma and allergic diseases in Turkey. The present analysis used data from 25,843 parents of primary school children, obtained from a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A total of 25,843 questionnaires from 14 centres were evaluated. In rural areas, the prevalences asthma, wheezing, allergic rhinitis and eczema in males were: 8.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 7.9-9.1%), 13.5% (95% CI 12.8-14.2%), 17.5% (95% CI 16.7-18.2%) and 10.8% (95% CI 10.211.4%), respectively; and in females were: 11.2% (95% CI 10.9-11.8%), 14.7% (95% CI 14.315.1%), 21.2% (95% CI 20.4-22.0%) and 13.1% (95% CI 2.4-13.8%), respectively. In urban areas, the corresponding prevalences in males were: 6.2% (95% CI 5.8-6.6%), 10.8% (95% CI 10.311.3%), 11.7% (95% CI 11.4-12.0%) and 6.6% (95% CI 6.2-7.0%), respectively; and in females were: 7.5 % (95% CI 7.9-7.1%), 12.0% (95% CI 11.7-12.3%), 17.0% (95% CI 16.4-17.6%) and 7.3% (95% CI 6.9-7.7%), respectively. Having an atopic first-degree relative or any other atopic diseases had significant effects on the prevalence of allergic diseases. Housing conditions, such as living in a shanty-type house, visible moulds at home and use of wood or biomass as heating or cooking material were associated with one or more allergic diseases. Although genetic susceptibility is strongly associated, country-and population-based environmental factors may contribute to increased prevalence rates of allergic diseases. Copyright © ERS Journals Ltd 2009

Community shift of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria along an anthropogenic pollution gradient from the Pearl River Delta to the South China Sea

The phylogenetic diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing beta-proteobacteria (beta-AOB) was analyzed along an anthropogenic pollution gradient from the coastal Pearl River Delta to the South China Sea using the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) gene. Along the gradient from coastal to the open ocean, the phylogenetic diversity of the dominant genus changed from Nitrosomonas to Nitrosospira, indicating the niche specificity by these two genera as both salinity and anthropogenic influence were major factors involved. The diversity of bacterial amoA gene was also variable along the gradient, with the highest in the deep-sea sediments, followed by the marshes sediments and the lowest in the coastal areas. Within the Nitrosomonas-related clade, four distinct lineages were identified including a putative new one (A5-16) from the different sites over the large geographical area. In the Nitrosospira-related clade, the habitat-specific lineages to the deep-sea and coastal sediments were identified. This study also provides strong support that Nitrosomonas genus, especially Nitrosomonas oligotropha lineage (6a) could be a potential bio-indicator species for pollution or freshwater/wastewater input into coastal environments. A suite of statistical analyses used showed that water depth and temperature were major factors shaping the community structure of beta-AOB in this study area

Gestational food restriction decreases placental interleukin-10 expression and markers of autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress in murine intrauterine growth restriction

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) affects up to 10% of pregnancies and often results in short- and long-term sequelae for offspring. The mechanisms underlying IUGR are poorly understood, but it is known that healthy placentation is essential for nutrient provision to fuel fetal growth, and is regulated by immunologic inputs. We hypothesized that in pregnancy, maternal food restriction (FR) resulting in IUGR would decrease the overall immunotolerant milieu in the placenta, leading to increased cellular stress and death. Our specific objectives were to evaluate (1) key cytokines (eg, IL-10) that regulate maternal-fetal tolerance, (2) cellular processes (autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum [ER] stress) that are immunologically mediated and important for cellular survival and functioning, and (3) the resulting IUGR phenotype and placental histopathology in this animal model. After subjecting pregnant mice to mild and moderate FR from gestational day 10 to 19, we collected placentas and embryos at gestational day 19. We examined RNA sequencing data to identify immunologic pathways affected in IUGR-associated placentas and validated messenger RNA expression changes of genes important in cellular integrity. We also evaluated histopathologic changes in vascular and trophoblastic structures as well as protein expression changes in autophagy, ER stress, and apoptosis in the mouse placentas. Several differentially expressed genes were identified in FR compared with control mice, including a considerable subset that regulates immune tolerance, inflammation, and cellular integrity. In summary, maternal FR decreases the anti-inflammatory effect of IL-10 and suppresses placental autophagic and ER stress responses, despite evidence of dysregulated vascular and trophoblast structures leading to IUGR