Response of soybeans to acid soils and to aluminum and manganese on nutrient solution

Three greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to study the effects of soil pH, A1 and Mn on the growth of Forrest and Lee 68 varieties of soybeans (Glycine max L.). The effect of A1 and Mn in soils and in nutrient solution on nutrient concentrations in soybeans was also studied. The first study consisted of altering the pH values of three Tennessee soils (Huntington-Bewleyville silt loam, Jefferson loam, Leadvale loam) with additions of HCl or 3/4 Ca(OH)2*1/4 MgO. Different amounts of acid or lime were added to change the pH of each soil to that of the other two soils. Levels of exchangeable A1 and various extractable fractions of Mn in the soil were measured and correlated with the con-centrations of Al, Mn, K, Ca, Mg, P, Mo and Bin the leaves of the soybeans. In the second study soybeans were grown in one-fifth strength Hoagland\u27s Number Two nutrient solution in perlite. The nutrient solu-tions received added levels of 0.0, 4.0 and 8.0 ppm Al as Al2(SO4)3 *18 H2O and 0.5, 2.5 and 5.0 ppm Mn as MnCl2. Concentrations of Al, Mn, K, Ca, Mg and P in the leaves were measured and correlated with the added levels of Al and Mn. The third study was conducted as the second but with 4.0, 12.0 and 20.0 ppm Al and 0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 ppm Mn in nutrient solution. Exchangeable Al and Mn in the soil decreased with increasing pH in each soil. The H2O soluble and exchangeable fractions of soil Mn gave the highest correlation coefficients with the Mn concentration in the plant. At higher pH values soybean growth was greater on the Jefferson and Huntington-Bewleyville soils. At lower pH values these soils contained high levels of exchangeable Mn, which resulted in Mn toxicity. The effect of A1 in the soils was apparently masked by an acid-induced increase in P solubility in the soil. Manganese toxicity symptoms were associated with pH values of less than 4.7 and Mn leaf concentrations of greater than approximately 300 ppm. The concentrations of K, Ca and Mo in the plants grown on soils were variable. The Mg concentration in the plant generally increased with increasing pH while the B concen-tration tended to decrease with increasing pH. Perlite was a poor growth medium for the study of A1 in nutrient solutions due to an apparent ability to sorb and/or release A1 in solu-tions. A decrease in top weights of soybeans was the best indication of A1 toxicity in the nutrient solution studies. Percent Ca, Mg and P in the plant decreased as the A1 added to nutrient solution increased. Potassium concentrations varied directly with the A1 levels in the first study while they were variable in the second study. Forrest variety was more susceptible to Mn toxicity than Lee 68 variety. Manganese toxicity symptoms were associated with a Mn leaf concentration of greater than 125 ppm. Increasing Mn in nutrient solu-tion tended to decrease the percent Ca in the plant while percent K and Mg were unaffected. The effect of Mn on the percent P in the plant differed between varieties

A Robust Age Model for the Cryogenian Pocatello Formation of Southeastern Idaho (Northwestern USA) from Tandem in situ and Isotope Dilution U-Pb Dating of Volcanic Tuffs and Epiclastic Detrital Zircons

Tandem in situ and isotope dilution U-Pb analysis of zircons from pyroclastic volcanic rocks and both glacial and non-glacial sedimentary strata of the Pocatello Formation (Idaho, northwestern USA) provides new age constraints on Cryogenian glaciation in the North American Cordillera. Two dacitic tuffs sampled within glacigenic strata of the lower diamictite interval of the Scout Mountain Member yield high-precision chemical abrasion isotope dilution U-Pb zircon eruption and depositional ages of 696.43 ± 0.21 and 695.17 ± 0.20 Ma. When supplemented by a new high-precision detrital zircon maximum depositional age of ≤ 670 Ma for shoreface and offshore sandstones unconformably overlying the lower diamictite, these data are consistent with correlation of the lower diamictite to the early Cryogenian (ca. 717–660 Ma) Sturtian glaciation. These 670–675 Ma zircons persist in beds above the upper diamictite and cap dolostone units, up to and including a purported “reworked fallout tuff,” which we instead conclude provides only a maximum depositional age of ≤ 673 Ma from epiclastic volcanic detritus. Rare detrital zircons as young as 658 Ma provide a maximum depositional age for the upper diamictite and overlying cap dolostone units. This new geochronological framework supports litho- and chemostratigraphic correlations of the lower and upper diamictite intervals of the Scout Mountain Member of the Pocatello Formation with the Sturtian (716–660 Ma) and Marinoan (≤ 650–635 Ma) low-latitude glaciations, respectively. The Pocatello Formation thus contains a more complete record of Cryogenian glaciations than previously postulated

CoRSAL 7th Annual Planning Meeting

Video recording of the keynote address on ongoing language community documentation at the Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya). Presented at the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages' (CoRSAL) 7th Annual Planning Meeting

Talactoferrin alfa, a recombinant human lactoferrin promotes healing of diabetic neuropathic ulcers: a phase 1/2 clinical study

Talactoferrin alfa, a recombinant form of human lactoferrin, is a novel immunomodulatory protein with demonstrated ulcer healing properties in animal models. A phase 1/2 clinical study was conducted at 7 clinical sites to determine if talactoferrin can improve wound healing in diabetic patients with foot ulceration. Fifty-five patients with diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers participated in this 2-phase study. In phase 1, groups of 3 patients each received open-label 1%, 2.5%, or 8.5% talactoferrin gel twice daily, in a sequential design, to their ulcer for 30 days. No drug-related adverse events were found at any dose level. Phase 2 was a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind study of 2.5% and 8.5% gels, with patients equally divided between the 3 groups. In combination with good wound care, treatment was administered topically twice daily to the ulcers for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the incidence of ≥75% healing (relative to baseline size). The study, which in phase 2 was powered to detect a difference between the placebo and combined talactoferrin arms with P < .1, met the primary objective. The groups receiving the 2.5% (n = 15) and 8.5% (n = 15) gels had twice the incidence of ≥75% reduction in ulcer size compared with the placebo group (n = 16): 47%, 53%, and 25%, respectively. On an intent-to-treat basis, the combination of the 2 active groups when compared with the placebo group showed a strong trend toward statistical significance ( P = .09). There were no talactoferrin-related adverse events or laboratory abnormalities. Topical talactoferrin appears to be safe and well tolerated and improves healing of diabetic neuropathic ulcers