Off-axis crustal thickness across and along the east pacific rise within the MELT area

Wide-angle seismic data along the Mantle Electromagnetic and Tomography (MELT) arrays show that the thickness of 0.5- to 1. 5-million-year-old crust of the Nazca Plate is not resolvably different from that of the Pacific Plate, despite an asymmetry in depth and gravity across this portion of the East Pacific Rise. Crustal thickness on similarly aged crust on the Nazca plate near a magmatically robust part of the East Pacific Rise at 17 degrees15'S is slightly thinner (5.1 to 5.7 kilometers) than at the 15 degrees55'S overlapping spreading center (5.8 to 6.3 kilometers). This small north-south off-axis crustal thickness difference may reflect along-axis temporal variations in magma supply, whereas the across-axis asymmetry in depth and gravity must be caused by density variations in the underlying mantle.     

Benign masses in the pericardium of two dogs

Two miniature Schnauzer dogs were treated for pericardial masses. In one dog the mass consisted of necrotic fat that was attached to the apex of the pericardium by a pedicle. No obvious communication with the abdomen was present. The second dog had a peritoneopericardial hernia associated with a chronic cystic haematoma. In each case the mass was presumed to have arisen following congenital displacement of the omentum into the pericardium. The pericardial mass was removed and subtotal pericardectomy performed in both dogs. Recovery was complete in each case.     

Assay performance during validation of freezing channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque) infected with a Gram‐negative bacterium

Recovery of bacteria from infected fish during population sampling can be affected by factors including the type of assay, method of specimen preservation and concentration of bacteria present. Consequently, before use in field sampling, methods should be validated. The three objectives of this study were, first, to determine whether a channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque) fingerling classified as positive for Gram‐negative Edwardsiella ictaluri infection according to bacterial culture before freezing was also classified as positive after freezing, second, to determine how direct culture from the kidney (DIRECT), culture of homogenate (HOMOG) and standard PCR (PCR) agree with bacterial culture in terms of classifying fish as positive or negative and third, to estimate diagnostic sensitivity (dSe) and diagnostic specificity (dSp) for DIRECT, HOMOG and PCR. In fresh and frozen fish, as bacterial concentration decreased, the ability of each assay to detect positive fish also decreased, especially when there were <10⁴ colony‐forming units per gram (CFU g^?1) tissue. HOMOG proved to be the most reliable at correctly classifying catfish, whether they were subclinically or clinically infected. PCR assay was the least reliable. Overall, values for this study population for dSe were 0.66, 0.92 and 0.43, and for dSp were 0.86, 0.91 and 0.95, for DIRECT, HOMOG and PCR respectively.     

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in the environment: relationship to effluent from aquaculture facilities

Effluents from three fish hatcheries were monitored for the discharge and subsequent downstream distribution of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV). Samples of springwater and surface water, and tissues from salmonid and non-salmonid fish were assayed for IPNV. Water samples were processed to recover virus by adsorption to an electropositive, microporous filter matrix. No IPNV was detected in surface water collected above fish hatcheries or in hatchery springwater supplies. The virus could be detected for at least 19.3 km below the point of effluent discharge from hatcheries and the prevalence of IPNV infection in stream-resident fish was 2.8%.     

不同利用方式下草地土壤微生物及土壤呼吸特性

通过对呼伦贝尔羊草(Leymus chinensis)草甸草原土壤呼吸特性及土壤微生物的测定,研究了3种不同利用方式(围封、放牧和刈割)对天然草地土壤呼吸特性及土壤微生物的影响,为草甸草原土壤呼吸研究提供基础理论依据。结果表明:不同利用方式下土壤呼吸速率、土壤微生物量碳含量与土壤酶活性(除脲酶)均表现为草地围封比放牧和刈割呼吸速率高(含量高、活性强);土壤微生物量氮含量、脲酶活性和微生物数量表现为草地放牧和刈割比围封的含量高(活性强、数量多);土壤微生物量碳、氮含量、土壤酶活性(除脲酶)和土壤微生物数量均以表层(0～10cm)最高(活性最强、数量最多),随着土层深度增加而降低(活性下降、数量减少)。土壤呼吸速率与微生物量碳、土壤酶活性(除过氧化氢酶)成正相关,与微生物量氮、过氧化氢酶和微生物数量成负相关,其中只与微生物量氮相关性显著,而其余之间均不显著。     

Comparison of the Level(s) of DNA Damage Using Comet Assay in Bovine Oocytes Subjected to Selected Vitrification Methods

It was suggested that the cryodamage to oocytes' DNA has been responsible for the compromised developmental competence of cryopreserved oocytes. Vitrification of bovine oocytes affected not only cellular components, but also nuclear material. A significant rate of DNA fragmentation was found in bovine frozen or vitrified oocytes analysed by Comet assay regardless of cryopreservation method. Our method of vitrification using droplet system after gentle pre-equilibration treatment is one of the most effective cryopreservation methods employed for bovine oocytes so far, making it possible to develop 30% blastocyst stage embryos. In this study, the extent of DNA damage in bovine oocytes vitrified using three vitrification methods (droplet system, Open Pulled Straw and traditional vitrification in 0.25 ml insemination straws) was compared using Comet assay. Vitrification in droplet system and Open Pull Straws vitrification did not result in detectable cryoinjuries of DNA of bovine oocytes. On the contrary, DNA fragmentation was found in four of 26 oocytes vitrified in 0.25 ml straws (15.4%, p   ≤ 0.05 in comparison with the other vitrification methods).     

Identification of toxigenic Pasteurella multocida in atrophic rhinitis of pigs by in vitro characterisation

Toxigenic strains of Pasteurella multocida were readily differentiated from non-toxigenic strains by an agarose overlay method using bovine turbinate cells or bovine lung cells. Cells which were young and densely confluent were best suited to this assay. The incubation period required to distinguish toxigenic strains was dependent on the confluence of the monolayers, which was affected by the seeding rate, cell passage level and growth time prior to overlay. The agarose overlay method correctly identified 11 of 11 reference strains of Pasteurella multocida, and visible cytotoxic changes were present in the monolayers after 48 to 65 h. Outbreaks of the enzootic form of atrophic rhinitis in 2 New South Wales piggeries were associated with the isolation of toxigenic type D strains of P. multocida.     

Modeling the Exchanges of Energy, Water, and Carbon Between Continents and the Atmosphere

Atmospheric general circulation models used for climate simulation and weather forecasting require the fluxes of radiation, heat, water vapor, and momentum across the land-atmosphere interface to be specified. These fluxes are calculated by submodels called land surface parameterizations. Over the last 20 years, these parameterizations have evolved from simple, unrealistic schemes into credible representations of the global soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer system as advances in plant physiological and hydrological research, advances in satellite data interpretation, and the results of large-scale field experiments have been exploited. Some modern schemes incorporate biogeochemical and ecological knowledge and, when coupled with advanced climate and ocean models, will be capable of modeling the biological and physical responses of the Earth system to global change, for example, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.