Zinc Nutrition of Rice Plants as Influenced by Seed Germinated in Zinc Solutions

In recent years a physiological disorder of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings growing in soils high in exchangeable calcium has been diagnosed as zinc deficiency. Calculations show that less than 30 g of zinc is needed to satisfy the nutrition of a hectare of 6-8-wk-old rice plants. Rice seed was soaked and germinated in dilute solutions of zinc ethylenediamine tetraacetate, zinc sulfate and zinc lignosulfonate prior to planting in greenhouse pots containing a zinc-deficient soil. The rice plants grown from the zinc-treated seed produced more growth and sorbed more zinc than rice plants grown from untreated seed

Zheng Yi. Scarlet memorial : tales of cannibalism in modern China

This article reviews the book Scarlet Memorial: Tales of Cannibalism in Modem China , written by Zheng Yi, translated and edited by T. P. Sym

Developing Lyell’s Legacy: contributions to the geosciences of the anthropocene

[Excerpt] In this new edition of the Geoscience of the Built Environment [1], we hope to continue our contribution to the development of Geosciences studies in the Anthropocene, considering classical issues that are at least as old as Charles Lyell’s major works [2,3], which can be considered the founding literary works of modern Geology. The Anthropocene is currently being discussed as a possible Unit in the Geological Time Scale [4], and its definition is still a controversial issue [5]. It has also been proposed that the Anthropocene marks the end of “a time of great epistemic stability” [6] and that new approaches and ways of thinking will be necessary [6,7]; a question that is also implicitly considered in a forthcoming issue of this journal [8]. The Geosciences of the future (as is discussed in the proposal of [8]), done in the Anthropocene, will have to go beyond the geological record and embrace studies on the relations between humans and Earth, including the evolution of built objects due to geological processes. I will attempt to discuss some of the kinds of issues to be considered using the papers of this Special Issue and in the light of the major works of Lyell (attempting to show the links of these issues to the founding concepts of Geology). [...]Este trabalho insere-se nas atividades do Projeto Lab2PT- Laboratório de Paisagens, Património e Território - AUR/04509 que tem o apoio financeiro da FCT/MCTES através de fundos nacionais (PIDDAC) e o cofinanciamento do Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), refª POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007528, no âmbito do novo acordo de parceria PT2020 através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A New Genus and Two New Species of Unarmed Hymenolepidid Cestodes (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) from Geomyid Rodents in Mexico and Costa Rica

Two new cestodes of the family Hymenolepididae are described from two species of rodents of the family Geomyidae collected in Mexico and Costa Rica. One new species of Hymenolepis is described from Cratogeomys planiceps Merriam 1895 from near Toluca, Mexico and another that we allocate to a new genus is described from Heterogeomys heterodus (Peters, 1865) from near Irazú Volcano, Costa Rica. Hymenolepis s. str. includes those Hymenolepididae with an apical organ, with no hooks on suckers or apical organ, and three testes. Hobergia irazuensis n. gen., n. sp. includes a hymenolepidid with an apical organ, unarmed scolex, small pockets termed foveolae, in which the suckers completely retract, and extremely bi-lobed ovary. Multivariate morphometric analysis showed good separation of these species from all other hymenolepidids possessing an apical organ and lacking a well developed rostellum and rostellar hooks in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions

In vitro Culture of Several Rice Cultivars

Tissue culture methods have been established to regenerate certain rice (Oryza sativa L) cultivars, but regeneration of the rice cultivars widely grown in Arkansas has not been reported. This study has established an in vitroculture for the rice cultivars \u27Nortai\u27, \u27Starbonnet\u27, \u27Mars\u27, Tebonnet\u27, \u27Newbonnet\u27, and \u27Lemont\u27. Callus was induced in the dark at either 20 or 28 C from dehusked seeds cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) containing 40 g L^-1 sucrose, 10 g L^1 agar, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg L^-1 1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and adjusted to pH 5.7. After four weeks the calli were weighed, transferred onto MS medium containing no 2,4-D, and maintained in a 1 2-h photoperiod (65 uE m^-2 s^-1) at 25 ± 2 C to induce plant regeneration. Callus production was best when cultured on a medium containing 1.0 mg L^-1 2,4-D and incubated at 28 C. Plant regeneration was observed two to four weeks later. The percentage of calli regenerating platlets varied with the cultivar and the callus induction treatment. Callus induction at 20 C on a medium with a 2,4-D level less than 2.0 mg L^-1 enhanced the regenerability of most cultivars. Regenerates were transplanted to soil and grow normally to maturity. This system can be helpful in improving rice cultivars with tissue culture techniques such as somaclonal variant selection and somatic hybridization

Identification of Heterorhabditis (Nematoda, Heterorhabditidae) from California with a New Species Isolated from the Larvae of the Ghost Moth Hepialis-Californicus (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae) from the Bodega Bay Natural Reserve

Fil: Stock, S.Patricia. Centro de Estudios en Parasitología y Vectores (CEPAVE). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Strong, Donald. Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory. University of California; USAFil: Gardner, Scott Lyell. Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology. Nebraska Hall. University of Nebraska State Museum. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Lincoln; US

A New Species of Dipetalonema (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae) from Ateles chamek from the Beni of Bolivia

We describe a new species of Dipetalonema occurring in the body cavity of Ateles chamek (Humboldt, 1812) from north-central Bolivia. Morphologic characters serving to separate Dipetalonema yatesi n. sp. from known forms include a vagina vera with a simple tube and thin walls and a left spicule, which possesses a handle shorter than the lamina (ratio 2.7); the latter displays an anterior membranous alae similar in length to the terminal flagellum, a distal extremity of the left spicule within a simple hook and a membrane, phasmids at the basis of the lappets, and heterogeneous muscles occupying the whole cavity. Dipetalonema yatesi n. sp. can be separated from Dipetalonema robini, Dipetalonema gracile, and Dipetalonema graciliformis, between other characters, in having a simple vagina vera instead of a sinuous one, and from Dipetalonema caudispina and Dipetalonema freitasi in having the lamina of the left spicule divided in a membranous alae and a terminal flagellum

Self-Organized Criticality and Punctuated Equilibria

Many natural phenomena evolve intermittently, with periods of tranquillity interrupted by bursts of activity, rather than following a smooth gradual path. Examples include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, solar flares, gamma-ray bursts, and biological evolution. Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge have coined the term "punctuated equilibria" for this behavior. We argue that punctuated equilibria reflects the tendency of dynamical systems to evolve towards a critical state, and review recent work on simple models. A good metaphoric picture is one where the systems are temporarily trapped in valleys of deformable, interacting landscapes. Similarities with spin glasses are pointed out. Punctuated equilibria are essential for the emergence of complex phenomena. The periods of stasis allow the system to remember its past history; yet the intermittent events permit further change.Comment: 17 pages, latex, 4 ps-figures enclose

Comparison of Test Your Memory and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Measures in Parkinson’s Disease

Background. MoCA is widely used in Parkinson’s disease (PD) to assess cognition. The Test Your Memory (TYM) test is a cognitive screening tool that is self-administered. Objectives. We sought to determine (a) the optimal value of TYM to discriminate between PD patients with and without cognitive deficits on MoCA testing, (b) equivalent MoCA and TYM scores, and (c) interrater reliability in TYM testing. Methods. We assessed the discriminant ability of TYM and the equivalence between TYM and MoCA scores and measured the interrater reliability between three raters. Results. Of the 135 subjects that completed both tests, 55% had cognitive impairment according to MoCA. A MoCA score of 25 was equivalent to a TYM score of 43-44. The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve for TYM to differentiate between PD-normal and PD-cognitive impairment was 0.82 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.89). The optimal cutoff to distinguish PD-cognitive impairment from PD-normal was ≤45 (sensitivity 90.5%, specificity 59%) thereby correctly classifying 76.3% of patients with PD-cognitive impairment. Interrater agreement was high (0.97) and TYM was completed in under 7 minutes (interquartile range 5.33 to 8.52 minutes). Conclusions. The TYM test is a useful and less resource intensive screening test for cognitive deficits in PD