Beef production and the environment: Is it really 'hard to be green when you are in the red'?

The statement. 'it is hard to be green when you are in the red' is commonly used by pnmary producers to explain the necessity of placing a greater emphasis on financial survival rather than longer term environmental sustainability. The subject of environmental sustainabilty on pastoral properties was explored during face-to:face interviews with cattle graziers in the Filzroy Basin area of Central Queensland. Findings from the study suggest that while economic factors are important, they are not the only determinant in whether a landholder prioritises environmental sustainability, Rather. social factors such as knowledge claims. beliefs, attitudes. values, peer pressure and social sanctioning, constructed and enacted within the productivist paradigm of primary production. play a crucial role in how landholders manage their natural assets. This suggests that the edict that 'It is hard to be green when you are in the red' is inaccurate and does not explain why conservation-focused pastoral management is not yet occurring on a large scale

Macrophages overexpressing tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase show altered profile of free radical production and enhanced capacity of bacterial killing

Activated macrophages and osteoclasts express high amounts of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP, acp5). TRACP has a binuclear iron center with a redox-active iron that has been shown to catalyze the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by Fenton's reaction. Previous Studies Suggest that ROS generated by TRACP may participate in degradation of endocytosed bone matrix products in resorbing osteoclasts and degradation of foreign Compounds during. antigen presentation in activated macrophages. Here we have compared free radical production in macrophages of TRACP overexpressing (TRACP +) and wild-type (WT) mice. TRACP overexpression increased both ROS levels and Superoxide production. Nitric oxide production was increased in activated macrophages or WT mice, but not in TRACP+ mice, Macrophages from TRACP+ mice showed increased capacity or bacterial killing. Recombinant TRACP enzyme was capable of bacterial killing in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. These results suggest that TRACP has an important biological function in immune defense systern.

Effect of Al2O3 and Cr2O3 on loquidus temperatures in the cristobalite and tridymite primary phase fields of the MgO-"FeO"-SiO2 ststem in equilibrium with metallic iron

The effects of alumina and chromite impurities on the liquidus temperatures in the cristobalite/tridymite (SiO2) primary phase fields in the MgO-FeO-SiO, system in equilibrium with metallic iron have been investigated experimentally. Using high temperature equilibration and quenching followed by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA), liquiclus isotherms have been determined in the temperatures range 1 673 to 1 898 K. The results are presented in the form of pseudo-ternary sections of the MgO-FeO-SiO, system at 2, 3 and 5 wt% Al2O3, 2 wt% Cr2O3, and 2 wt% Cr2O3+2 wt% Al2O3. The study enables the liquidus to be described for a range of SiO2/MgO and MgO/FeO ratios. It was found that liquiclus temperatures in the cristobalite and tridymite primary phase fields, decrease significantly with the addition of Al2O3 and Cr2O3.