Eight years of annual no-till cropping in Washington's winter wheat-summer fallow region

The tillage-based winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer fallow (WW-SF) cropping system has dominated dryland farming in the Pacific Northwest USA for 125 years. We conducted a large-scale multidisciplinary 8-year study of annual (i.e., no summer fallow) no-till cropping systems as an alternative to WW-SF. Soft white and hard white classes of winter and spring wheat, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), yellow mustard (Brassica hirta Moench), and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were grown in various rotation combinations. Annual precipitation was less than the long-term average of 301 mm in 7 out of 8 years. Rhizoctonia bare patch disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani AG-8 appeared in year 3 and continued through year 8 in all no-till plots. All crops were susceptible to rhizoctonia, but bare patch area in wheat was reduced, and grain yield increased, when wheat was grown in rotation with barley every other year. Remnant downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) weed seeds remained dormant for 6 years and longer to heavily infest recrop winter wheat. There were few quantifiable changes in soil quality due to crop rotation, but soil organic carbon (SOC) increased in the surface 0–5 cm depth with no-till during the 8 years to approach that found in undisturbed native soil. Annual no-till crop rotations experienced lower average profitability and greater income variability compared to WW-SF. Yellow mustard and safflower were not economically viable. Continuous annual cropping using no-till provides excellent protection against wind erosion and shows potential to increase soil quality, but the practice involves high economic risk compared to WW-SF. This paper provides the first comprehensive multidisciplinary report of long-term alternative annual no-till cropping systems research in the low-precipitation region of the Pacific Northwest.     

Gastroschisis and omphalocele: Prenatal diagnosis and perinatal management

Obstetric ultrasonography has made the prenatal diagnosis of gastroschisis and omphalocele more common. We present illustrative cases 2nd review the ultrasonographic features. Because of the increased risk of concomitant abnormalities (including trisomies) with omphalocele, full evaluation is indicated when this diagnosis is suspected. Recent perinatal approaches to delivery have favoured caesarean section. without scientific evidence that outcome is improved. Our experience. as well as a review of the literature, suggests that the outcome for vaginally delivered infants is acceptable. A prospective study of this question is needed.     

Clues and pitfalls in the early prenatal diagnosis of ‘late onset’ infantile polycystic kidney

Infantile polycystic kidney disease (IPKD) is an autosornal recesive inherited disorder, IPKD has been previously diagnosed by us as early as the 14th week of gestation. ‘Late onset’ (third trimester) IPKD has been previously described by several authors. We present here a case of intrauterine detection of ‘late onset’ IPKD, suggesting that elongated hyperechogenic kidneys (with normal transverse and anteroposterior diameters) should be considered as an early sign of ‘late onset’ presenting IPKD.     

Adsorption of acetanilide herbicides on soil and its components. II. Adsorption and catalytic hydrolysis of diethatyl-ethyl on saturated Na(+)-, K(+)-, Ca(2+)-, and Mg(2+)-montmorillonite

Adsorption and catalytic hydrolysis of the herbicide diethatyl-ethyl [N-chloroacetyl-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)glycine ethyl ester] on homoionic Na⁺-, K⁺-, Ca²⁺-, and Mg²⁺-montmorillonite clays were investigated in water solution. The Freundlich adsorption coefficient, Kf, got from isotherms on clay followed the order of Na⁺ K⁺ > Mg²⁺ Ca²⁺. Analysis of FT-IR spectra of diethatyl-ethyl adsorbed on clay suggests probable bonding at the carboxyl and amide carbonyl groups of the herbicide. The rate of herbicide hydrolysis in homoionic clay suspensions followed the same order as that for adsorption, indicating that adsorption may have preceded and thus caused hydrolysis. Preliminary product identification showed that hydrolysis occurred via nucleophilic substitution at the carboxyl carbon, causing the cleavage of the ester bond and formation of diethatyl and its dechlorinated derivative, and at the amide carbon, yielding an ethyl ester derivative and its acid.These pathways also suggest that hydrolysis of diethatyl-ethyl was catalyzed by adsorption on the clay surface.     

Maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin levels in twin pregnancies

Introduction of combined screening with maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin (MShCG) assays for fetal chromosome defects requires establishment of the normal range for twins. This report documents that the normal range for MShCG between 15 and 19 weeks in twin gestations was 1.84–2.41 multiples of the singleton median. Of the 192 twin pregnancies studied, 31.7 and 47.9 per cent had MShCG values ≥2.5 and ≥ 2.0 multiples of the singleton median, respectively.     

A protein signal triggers sexual reproduction in Brachionus plicatilis (Rotifera)

The defining feature of the life cycle in monogonont rotifers such as Brachionus plicatilis (Muller) is alternation of asexual and sexual reproduction (mixis). Why sex is maintained in such life cycles is an important unsolved evolutionary question and one especially amenable to experimental analysis. Mixis is induced by a chemical signal produced by the rotifers which accumulates to threshold levels at high population densities. The chemical features of this signal were characterized using size exclusion, enzymatic degradation, protease protection assays, selective binding to anion ion exchange and C3 reversed phase HPLC columns, and the sequence of 17 N-terminal amino acids. These studies were carried out over two years beginning in 2003 using B. plicatilis Russian strain. When rotifer-conditioned medium was treated with proteinase K, its mixis-inducing ability was reduced by 70%. Proteinase K was added to medium auto-conditioned by 1 female ml⁻¹ where typically 17% of daughters became mictic and mixis was reduced to 1%. A cocktail of protease inhibitors added to conditioned medium significantly reduced degradation of the mixis signal by natural proteases. Conditioned medium subjected to ultrafiltration retained mixis-inducing activity in the >10 kDa fraction, but the <10 kDa fraction had no significant activity. The putative mixis signal bound to an anion exchange column, eluting off at 0.72 M NaCl. These fractions were further separated on a C3 reversed phase HPLC column and mixis-inducing activity was associated with a 39 kDa protein. Seventeen amino acids from the N-terminus have strong similarity to a steroidogenesis-inducing protein isolated from human ovarian follicular fluid. The 39 kDa protein is an excellent candidate for the rotifer mixis induction signal.     

The effect of intensity and quality of illumination on the photosynthesis of some tropical marine phytoplankton

Using solar energy as a source of illumination, photosynthesis in 11 species of marine plankton algae was studied as a function of light intensity. From the photosynthesis-light curve for each organism, the saturation points (I _k ) in different organisms were determined. Among the diatoms and flagellates, the highest I _k (saturation point) values were found in Rhizosolenia styliformis and Dinophysis miles respectively. When the organisms were exposed to a portion of the visible spectrum starting from 700 m, the photosynthesis was found to be related to the radiant energy. The missing portions of the spectrum produced no significant change in the rate of photosynthesis. The photosynthetic response shown by the different organisms was strikingly similar, which signifies that, despite the qualitative dissimilarities which the organisms may possess in their pigment composition, they are capable of much chromatic adaptation.     

Soil quality evolution after land use change from paddy soil to vegetable land

A survey was done in 15 typical villages, 150 soil and 86 vegetable plant samples were taken in Jiaxin prefecture of the Taihu Lake region, northern Zhejian province. Results indicate that after 15-20 years land use changed from the paddy rice-wheat (or oilseed rape) double cropping system, to a continuous vegetable land has caused soil quality dramatic change. (1) Acidification: average soil pH was 5.4; about 61% of total samples were pH < 5.5. It was 0.9 units lower than 10 years ago with same upland vegetable cultivation and was 1.2 units lower than soil pH of paddy rice-wheat (or oilseed rape) rotation. (2) Fertilizer salt accumulation: the average salt content was 0.28%, among these about 36.2% of the total samples contained more than 0.3%. (3) Nitrate N and available phosphorus (P) over accumulation: on average it was 279 mg NO3-N/kg, and 45-115 mg P/kg. Nitrate N four times higher and available P 4-10 times more than it is in present paddy rice-wheat rotation soils respectively. This has caused wide concern because of possible groundwater and well drinking water pollution by leached nitrate N and the P losses to water by runoff from vegetable lands induce surface water eutrophication.     

Effect of epibionts on the microdistribution of chlorophyll in corals and its detection by fluorescence spectral imaging

The spatial distribution of chlorophyll in three coral species carrying invertebrate symbionts was determined using spectral imaging techniques. From each pixel of the image, full fluorescence spectral data was obtained as well as comparative ratios of fluorescence. The multipixel fluorescence map and the relative-intensity fluorescence ratios demonstrated a high concentration of chlorophyll a next to the pits of Cryptochirus coralliodytes in Favites halicora. Spectral similarity maps of Goniastrea retiformis infested with Lithophaga lessepsiana and of Millepora dichotoma infested with Savignium milleporum revealed relatively higher chlorophyll concentrations in these two corals next to the symbionts. We hypothesize that the invertebrate symbionts fertilize their immediate surroundings with their excreta, enhancing algal growth. The spectral analysis system used in this study made it possible to distinguish such changes by spatial quantitation of the fluorescence emitted from small surface areas.