Genome Wide Association Mapping of Grain Arsenic, Copper, Molybdenum and Zinc in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Grown at Four International Field Sites

The mineral concentrations in cereals are important for human health, especially for individuals who consume a cereal subsistence diet. A number of elements, such as zinc, are required within the diet, while some elements are toxic to humans, for example arsenic. In this study we carry out genome-wide association (GWA) mapping of grain concentrations of arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc in brown rice using an established rice diversity panel of,300 accessions and 36.9 k single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The study was performed across five environments: one field site in Bangladesh, one in China and two in the US, with one of the US sites repeated over two years. GWA mapping on the whole dataset and on separate subpopulations of rice revealed a large number of loci significantly associated with variation in grain arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc. Seventeen of these loci were detected in data obtained from grain cultivated in more than one field location, and six co-localise with previously identified quantitative trait loci. Additionally, a number of candidate genes for the uptake or transport of these elements were located near significantly associated SNPs (within 200 kb, the estimated global linkage disequilibrium previously employed in this rice panel). This analysis highlights a number of genomic regions and candidate genes for further analysis as well as the challenges faced when mapping environmentally-variable traits in a highly genetically structured diversity panel.

Protecting Natura 2000: Avoiding Adverse Impact on European Sites

Case C-258/11 Peter Sweetman, Ireland, Attorney General, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government v An Bord Pleanála
(Not yet reported)

The early exploitation of Southeast Asian mangroves:Bone technology from caves and open sites

This paper focuses on the contribution that the study of bone technology is making to the understanding of early tropical subsistence in Southeast Asia. Newly completed research suggests that during the period from the terminal Pleistocene to mid Holocene, bone tools may have featured prominently in coastal subsistence. There are indications that this technology may have had a particular association with hunting and gathering in the mangrove forests that proliferated along many coasts during this period. The study of these tools thus represents a rare chance to examine prehistoric extractive technologies, which are generally agreed to have been predominantly made on organic, nonpreserving media. The evidence presented also suggests that prehistoric foragers from this region possessed a good working understanding of the mechanical properties of bone and used bone implements where conditions and needs suited the parameters of this material. © 2005 by the University of Hawai'i Press.

The ones that come ready made:The identification and use of Sus tusks as tools at prehistoric cave sites in Malaysia

Evidence for osseous technologies has featured in excavation reports from Southeast Asia for almost a century and from archaeological deposits as old as 43,000 years BP. However, in contrast to the significance that is placed on this technology in other parts of the world, until recently, Southeast Asian assemblages have drawn only very limited attention. Concentrating on evidence from Malaysia, the current paper examines one element of this inventory of tools: the deliberate modification of pig canines and the means by which such alteration can be distinguished from patterns of natural tooth wear. Particular attention is paid to the bearded pig (Sus barbatus), as it is one of the two species of wild boar in Malaysia whose tusks are most likely to have been used by prehistoric toolmakers. Reference is also made to wider, regional ethnographic examples of known tusk implements and their accredited uses to further assist in the identification process. Distinguishing criteria for worked tusk are formulated according to the type and extent of modification. These criteria are then applied to archaeological specimens recovered from two prehistoric cave sites in Malaysia, Gua Bintong and Niah Cave.

Are Alaskan trees found in locally more favourable sites in marginal areas?

Aim Species generally become rarer and more patchily distributed as the margins of their ranges are approached. We predicted that in such marginal sites, tree species would tend to occur where some key environmental factors are at particularly favourable levels, compensating in part for the low overall suitability of marginal sites.

Location The article considers the spatial distributions of trees in Southeast Alaska (the Alaskan 'panhandle').

Methods We quantified range marginality using spatial distributions of eight tree species across more than one thousand surveyed sites in Southeast Alaska. For each species we derived a site core/margin index using a three-dimensional trend surface generated from logistic regression on site coordinates. For each species, the relationships between the environmental factors slope, aspect and site marginality were then compared for occupied and unoccupied sets of sites.

Results We found that site slope is important for more Alaskan tree species than aspect. Three out of eight had a significant core/margin by occupied/unoccupied interaction, tending to be present in significantly shallower-sloped (more favourable) sites in the marginal areas than the simple core/margin trend predicted. For site aspect, one species had a significant interaction, selecting potentially more favourable northerly aspects in marginal areas. A finer-scale analysis based on the same data came to the same overall conclusions.

Conclusions There is evidence that several tree species in Alaska tend to occur in especially favourable sites in marginal areas. In these marginal areas, these species amplify habitat preferences shown in core areas.

Stable Isolated Metal Atoms as Active Sites for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The process of using solar energy to split water to produce hydrogen assisted by an inorganic semiconductor is crucial for solving our energy crisis and environmental problems in the future. However, most semiconductor photocatalysts would not exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity without loading suitable co-catalysts. Generally, the noble metals have been widely applied as co-catalysts, but always agglomerate during the loading process or photocatalytic reaction. Therefore, the utilization efficiency of the noble co-catalysts is still very low on a per metal atom basis if no obvious size effect exists, because heterogeneous catalytic reactions occur on the surface active atoms. Here, for the first time, we have synthesized isolated metal atoms (Pt, Pd, Rh, or Ru) stably by anchoring on TiO2, a model photocatalystic system, by a facile one-step method. The isolated metal atom based photocatalysts show excellent stability for H-2 evolution and can lead to a 6-13-fold increase in photocatalytic activity over the metal clusters loaded on TiO2 by the traditional method. Furthermore, the configurations of isolated atoms as well as the originality of their unusual stability were analyzed by a collaborative work from both experiments and theoretical calculations.

Active sites on hydrogen evolution photocatalyst

Solar hydrogen production assisted with semiconductor materials is a promising way to provide alternative energy sources in the future. Such a photocatalytic reaction normally takes place on the active sites of the catalysts surface, and the identification of the active sites is crucial for understanding the photocatalytic reaction mechanism and further improving the photocatalytic efficiency. However, the active sites of model catalysts are still largely disputed because of their structural complexity. Conventionally, H-2 evolution from solar water splitting over Pt/TiO2 is widely deemed to take place on metallic Pt nanoparticles. Oppositely, we report through a combined experimental and theoretical approach, that metallic Pt nanoparticles have little contribution to the activity of photocatalytic H-2 evolution; the oxidized Pt species embedded on the TiO2 surface are the key active sites and primarily responsible for the activity of the hydrogen evolution Pt/TiO2 photocatalyst.

A density functional theory study of hydrogen dissociation and diffusion at the perimeter sites of Au/TiO2

Reactivity of supported gold catalysts is a hot topic in catalysis for many years. This communication reports an investigation on the dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the perimeter sites of Au/TiO2 and the spillover of hydrogen atoms from the gold to the support using density functional theory calculations. It is found that the heterolytic dissociation is favoured in comparison with homolytic dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the perimeter sites. However, the surface oxygen of the rutile TiO2(110) surface at these sites can be readily passivated by the formed OH, suggesting that further dissociation of molecular hydrogen may occur at pure gold sites.

An understanding and implications of the coverage of surface free sites in heterogeneous catalysis

The crucial roles of the coverage of surface free sites in determining catalytic activity trend are quantitatively addressed with the help of density functional theory and microkinetics. First, by analyzing activity trends of NO oxidation catalyzed by Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt surfaces with full kinetic considerations, we identify that the activity trend is in general determined by the competition between the reaction barrier and the coverage of surface free sites. Second, since the dissociation of many important molecules, such as the dissociation of N(2), O(2), and CO, follows the same Bronsted-Evans-Polanyi relationship, the coverage of surface free sites is usually a decisive term that affects the overall activity. Third, an equation is derived for the coverage of surface free sites and it is found that the coverage of surface free sites contains not only all the key thermodynamic parameters but also all the kinetic properties in the catalytic system. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3140202]

Facilities management: Tracing its development trajectory

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide facilities management (FM) practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of the FM industry sector by analyzing the trend of its development.
Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interview is adopted in this research as the main methodology. In total, 30 FM professionals in the UK were interviewed to explore the past, present and future of FM. The analysis of interview results helps to identify the key areas in which FM has changed, is changing and will change. It also helps to explain the implications of FM development in each key area.
Findings – FM evolves and matures continuously. It is important for FM organizations and practitioners to recognize the dynamic nature of this industry sector, based on which they can develop appropriate strategies to adapt to changing circumstances. This is probably the only way for them to
keep pace with the times.
Originality/value – Both backward looking and forward looking are crucial to the development of an industry sector. However, existing studies on FM development are conducted through either review or outlook. On the other hand, most of these studies focus on one particular management area or one particular industry sector. Based on 30 expert interviews, this research attempts to bridge the knowledge gap and analyze the trend of FM development in a systematic way. A better understanding of the trend provides a possibility and a guide for FM organizations and practitioners to pursue best practice.