Life Sciences Commons^™

Sera Of Iga Nephropathy Patients Contain A Heterogeneous Population Of Relatively Cationic Alpha-Heavy Chains, Onn Haji Hashim

Onn Haji Hashim

Sera of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) patients and normal subjects were analysed by two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis. Densitometric analysis of the 2-D gels of IgAN patients and normal subjects revealed that their protein maps were comparable. There was no shift of pI values in the major alpha-heavy chain spots. However, the volume of the alpha-heavy chain bands were differently distributed. Distribution was significantly lower at the anionic region in IgAN patients (mean anionic:cationic ratio of 1.184 +/- 0.311) as compared to normal healthy controls (mean anionic:cationic ratio of 2.139 +/- 0.538). Our data are in support of the previously reported findings …

Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz, Robert H. Abrams

Noah D Hall

The Earth’s climate is warming. This is the unequivocal conclusion of climate scientists. Despite the complexities of climatology, certain consistent trends emerge with implications for water availability: as the world gets warmer, it will experience increased regional variability in precipitation, with more frequent heavy precipitation events and more susceptibility to drought. These simple facts will have a profound impact on freshwater resources throughout the United States, as the warmer climate will reduce available water supplies and increase water demand. Unfortunately, current water law and policy are not up to the new challenges of climate change and resulting pressures on freshwater …

Risks, Farmers’ Suicides And Agrarian Crisis In India: Is There A Way Out?, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

Poor returns to cultivation and absence of non-farm opportunities are indicative of the larger socio-economic malaise in rural India. This is accentuated by the multiple risks that the farmer faces – yield, price, input, technology and credit among others. The increasing incidence of farmers’ suicides is symptomatic of a larger crisis, which is much more widespread. Risk mitigation strategies should go beyond credit. Long term strategies requires more stable income from agriculture, and more importantly, from non-farm sources. Private credit and input markets need to be regulated. A challenge for the technological and financial gurus is to provide innovative products …

Long-Term Tillage Frequency Effects On Dryland Soil Physical And Hydraulic Properties, Andrew W. Lenssen, J. D. Jabro, U. M. Sainju, W. B. Stevens, R. G. Evans

Andrew W. Lenssen

Soil tillage is considered one of most important practices in agricultural production due to its influence on physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil environment. The effect of a long-term tillage [no-till (NT), spring till (ST), and fall and spring till (FST)] was investigated on soil penetration resistance (PR), bulk density (BD), gravimetric water content (GWC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) under dryland conditions. Tillage effects on these physical properties were tested after 22 years on a Dooley sandy loam (fine-loamy, mixed Typic Argiborolls) derived from glacial till parent material. The statistical design used was a randomized complete block …

Evaluation Of Winter Cereals For Pasture In Montana, Andrew W. Lenssen, A. N. Hafla, S. D. Cash, L. M. M. Surber, J. A. Paterson, A. L. Todd, M. S. Huffman

Andrew W. Lenssen

In the southern Great Plains, it is common to graze winter wheat pastures prior to grain harvest to take advantage of economic returns from the grain crop and value added to livestock. In Montana, a similar management practice could provide complementary pasture for livestock in the late spring to relieve pressure on cool season native rangelands. A two year study was conducted to evaluate the forage yield and quality of winter cereals, when grazed at three growth stages, vegetative (V), boot stage (B), and at heading (H), prior to hay and grain harvest. Western white faced ewes were used to …

Comparing Gala Apple Trees On Different Strains Of B.9, M.9, M.26, And Other Rootstocks: An Update On The 2002 Nc-140 Apple Rootstock Trial, Wesley Autio, James Krupa, Jon Clements

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

Comparing Mcintosh Apple Trees On Several Geneva And Supporter Rootstocks: An Update On The 1999 Nc-140 Dwarf Apple Rootstock Trial, Wesley Autio, James Krupa, Jon Clements

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Return Bloom Of Honeycrisp Apples With Ethephon, Wesley Autio

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Surfactants On Bioherbicidal Activity Of Alternaria Helianthi On Multiple-Seeded Cocklebur, Prasanta C. Bhowmik, H. K. Abbas, D. Sanyal

Prasanta C. Bhowmik

Abstract: Multiple-seeded cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) is a biotype which has different morphology and higher seedling production ability than common cocklebur. Greenhouse studies were conducted to investigate the bioherbicidal activity of Alternaria helianthi (Hansf.) Tubaki and Nishih. on multiple-seeded cocklebur as affected by various rates of Tenkoz COC® (crop oil concentrate), Activator 90® (non-ionic surfactant), BAS 9050 0 S® (methylated oil), Silwet L-77® (organosilicone surfactant) and Top film® (natural based surfactant). Taking X as the recommended rate for each surfactant, 0-X, ¼-X, ½-X, X and 2-X rates were used for each of the surfactants. Surfactants were added to the conidial …

Can Carbaryl Enhance Ethephon’S Value As A Late-Season Thinner?, Wesley Autio, James Krupa, Winfred Cowgill Jr.

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

Comparative Analysis Of Multiple Disease Resistance In Ryegrass And Cereal Crops, Young-Ki Jo, Reed Barker, William Pfender, Scott Warnke, Sung-Chur Sim, Geunhwa Jung

Geunhwa Jung

Ryegrass (Lolium spp.) is among the most important forage crops in Europe and Australia and is also a popular turfgrass in North America. Previous genetic analysis based on a three-generation interspecific (L. perenne 9 L. multiflorum) ryegrass population identified four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance to gray leaf spot (Magneporthe grisea) and four QTLs for resistance to crown rust (Puccinia coronata). The current analysis based on the same mapping population detected seven QTLs for resistance to leaf spot (Bipolaris sorokiniana) and one QTL for resistance to stem rust (Puccinia graminis) in ryegrass for the first time. Three QTLs for …

Comparing Mcintosh Apple Trees On Geneva And Supporter Rootstocks: An Update On The 1999 Nc-140 Semidwarf Apple Rootstock Trial, Wesley Autio, James Krupa, Jon Clements

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

Are The Effects Of Crop Load Altered By Rootstock? An Update On The 2003 Nc-140 Apple Physiology Trial, Wesley Autio, James Krupa

Wesley Autio

No abstract provided.

No Differences In Decomposition Rates Observed Between Bacillus Thuringiensis And Non-Bacillus Thuringiensis Corn Residue Incubated In The Field, R. Michael Lehman, Shannon L. Osborne, Kurt A. Rosentrater

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Recent speculation of slower residue decomposition for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids compared with non-Bt corn hybrids has prompted investigative study. We evaluated the residue decomposition rates of Bt and non-Bt corn hybrids over a period of 22 mo under field conditions using the litter bag technique. The four corn hybrids used were (i) DKC60–16 (Bt+, Cry1Ab protein active against the leptidopteran European corn borer, event MON810), (ii) DKC60–12 (Bt+, Cry3Bb1 protein active against the coleopteran corn rootworm, event MON863), (iii) DKC60–14 (stacked Bt++, Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1 proteins) and, (iv) DKC60–15 (Bt−, base genetics). The biochemical and …

Nectar Secondary Compounds Affect Self-Pollen Transfer: Implications For Female And Male Reproduction, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn Adler

Lynn Adler

Pollen movement within and among plants affects inbreeding, plant fitness, and the spatial scale of genetic differentiation. Although a number of studies have assessed how plant and floral traits influence pollen movement via changes in pollinator behavior, few have explored how nectar chemical composition affects pollen transfer. As many as 55% of plants produce secondary compounds in their nectar, which is surprising given that nectar is typically thought to attract pollinators. We tested the hypothesis that nectar with secondary compounds may benefit plants by encouraging pollinators to leave plants after visiting only a few flowers, thus reducing self-pollen transfer. We …

Sex And The Single Weed: Connecting Floral And Genetic Diversity In Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum Salicaria, Maia F. Bailey

Maia F. Bailey

No abstract provided.

Biology Of The Epichloë-Botanophila Interaction: An Intriguing Association Between Fungi And Insects, Thomas L. Bultman, Adrian Leuchtmann

Thomas L. Bultman

Epichloë fungi (Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) are endophytes of grasses that can produce epiphytic stromata on the culms of their hosts. The fungal stromata are visited by Botanophila flies for feeding and egg laying. We review research over the past 20 years that has documented the heterothallic mating system of Epichloë, the mutualistic service of spermatization flies provide for the fungus, and host selection by flies. Flies display an active, stereotypical behavior immediately following oviposition by which spermatia are transferred endozoochorously to stromata. After eggs hatch larvae feed on developing perithecia. Several studies have focused on the cost (consumption of ascospores) to …

The Plant Ontology Database: A Community Resource For Plant Structure And Developmental Stages Controlled Vocabulary And Annotations, Shulamit Avraham, Chih-Wei Tung, Katica Ilic, Pankaj Jaiswal, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, Susan Mccouch, Anuradha Pujar, Leonore Reiser, Seung Yon Rhee, Martin M. Sachs, Mary L. Schaeffer, Lincoln Stein, Peter Stevens, Leszek Vincent, Felipe Zapata, Doreen Ware

Peter Stevens