Carbon and nitrogen cycling in an integrated soybean-beef cattle production system under different grazing intensities

Abstract:The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of grazing intensity on the decomposition of cover crop pasture, dung, and soybean residues, as well as the C and N release rates from these residues in a long-term integrated soybean-beef cattle system under no-tillage. The experiment was initiated in 2001, with soybean cultivated in summer and black oat + Italian ryegrass in winter. The treatments consisted of four sward heights (10, 20, 30, and 40 cm), plus an ungrazed area, as the control. In 2009-2011, residues from pasture, dung, and soybean stems and leaves were placed in nylon-mesh litter bags and allowed to decompose for up to 258 days. With increasing grazing intensity, residual dry matter of the pasture decreased and that of dung increased. Pasture and dung lignin concentrations and C release rates were lower with moderate grazing intensity. C and N release rates from soybean residues are not affected by grazing intensity. The moderate grazing intensity produces higher quality residues, both for pasture and dung. Total C and N release is influenced by the greater residual dry matter produced when pastures were either lightly grazed or ungrazed.

Miniaturized bacterial biosensor system for arsenic detection holds great promise for making integrated measurement device.

Combining bacterial bioreporters with microfluidics systems holds great promise for in-field detection of chemical or toxicity targets. Recently we showed how Escherichia coli cells engineered to produce a variant of green fluorescent protein after contact to arsenite and arsenate can be encapsulated in agarose beads and incorporated into a microfluidic chip to create a device for in-field detection of arsenic, a contaminant of well known toxicity and carcinogenicity in potable water both in industrialized and developing countries. Cell-beads stored in the microfluidics chip at -20°C retained inducibility up to one month and we were able to reproducibly discriminate concentrations of 10 and 50 μg arsenite per L (the drinking water standards for European countries and the United States, and for the developing countries, respectively) from the blank in less than 200 minutes. We discuss here the reasons for decreasing bioreporter signal development upon increased storage of cell beads but also show how this decrease can be reduced, leading to a faster detection and a longer lifetime of the device.

Adult sampling and larva rearing of the cork oak pest Coraebus undatus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Coraebus undatus is the main insect pest of cork oak worldwide. The larvae tunnel in the cortical cambium filling the bark with galleries and causing the cork to break at harvest. The first objective of this study was to test the effect of purple traps in the attraction of C. undatus because this colour is attractive to other buprestid beetles. The second objective was to develop a diet in which field-collected larvae could be reared to adulthood. Pairs of purple and clear (control) sticky traps were placed in a cork oak forest in Girona, Spain in the summer of 2008

Disc Filter External Models in an Integrated Simulation Environment

Työssä tutkittiin kiekkosuodattimeen liittyviä ulkoisia simulointimalleja integroidussa simulointiympäristössä. Työn tarkoituksena oli parantaa olemassa olevaa mekanistista kiekkosuodatinmallia. Malli laadittiin dynaamiseen paperiteollisuuden tarpeisiin tehtyyn simulaattoriin (APMS), jossa olevaan alkuperäiseen mekanistiseen malliin tehtiin ulkoinen lisämalli, joka käyttää hyväkseen kiekkosuodatinvalmistajan mittaustuloksia. Laitetiedon saatavuutta suodattimien käyttäjille parannettiin luomalla Internetissä sijaitsevalle palvelimelle kiekkosuodattimen laitetietomäärittelyt. Suodatinvalmistaja voi palvella asiakkaitaan viemällä laitetiedot palvelimelle ja yhdistämällä laitetiedon simulointimalliin. Tämä on mahdollista Internetin ylitse käytettävän integroidun simulointiympäristön avulla, jonka on tarkoitus kokonaisvaltaisesti yhdistää simulointi ja prosessisuunnittelu. Suunnittelijalle tarjotaan työkalut, joilla dynaaminen simulointi, tasesimulointi ja kaavioiden piirtäminen onnistuu prosessilaitetiedon ollessa saatavilla. Nämä työkalut on tarkoitus toteuttaa projektissa nimeltä Galleria, jossa luodaan prosessimalli- ja laitetietopalvelin Internetiin. Gallerian käyttöliittymän avulla prosessisuunnittelija voi käyttää erilaisia simulointiohjelmistoja ja niihin luotuja valmiita malleja, sekä saada käsiinsä ajan tasalla olevaa laitetietoa. Ulkoinen kiekkosuodatinmalli laskee suodosvirtaamat ja suodosten pitoisuudet likaiselle, kirkkaalle ja superkirkkaalle suodokselle. Mallin syöttöparametrit ovat kiekkojen pyörimisnopeus, sisään tulevan syötön pitoisuus, suotautuvuus (freeness) ja säätöparametri, jolla säädetään likaisen ja kirkkaan suodoksen keskinäinen suhde. Suotautuvuus kertoo mistä massasta on kyse. Mitä suurempi suotautuvuus on, sitä paremmin massa suodattuu ja sitä puhtaampia suodokset yleensä ovat. Mallin parametrit viritettiin regressioanalyysillä ja valmistajan palautetta apuna käyttäen. Käyttäjä voi valita haluaako hän käyttää ulkoista vai alkuperäistä mallia. Alkuperäinen malli täytyy ensin alustaa antamalla sille nominaaliset toimintapisteet virtaamille ja pitoisuuksille tietyllä pyörimisnopeudella. Ulkoisen mallin yhtälöitä voi käyttää alkuperäisen mallin alustamiseen, jos alkuperäinen malli toimii ulkoista paremmin. Ulkoista mallia voi käyttää myös ilman simulointiohjelmaa Galleria-palvelimelta käsin. Käyttäjälle avautuu näin mahdollisuus tarkastella kiekkosuodattimien parametreja ja nähdä suotautumistulokset oman työasemansa ääreltä mistä tahansa, kunhan Internetyhteys on olemassa. Työn tuloksena kiekkosuodattimien laitetiedon saatavuus käyttäjille parani ja alkuperäisen simulointimallin rajoituksia ja puutteita vähennettiin.

Integrated Project Portfolio Management as a Tool for Strategic Steering and Business Control

Tutkielman päätavoitteena oli tutkia miten projektisalkun hallinnalla voidaan tukea organisaation strategista ohjausta ja liiketoimintaa. Tämän lisäksi avaintavoitteina oli kuvata projektisalkun hallinnan nykytilanne kohdeyrityksessä, paljastaa erityisiä kehitystarpeita ja lopulta luoda kohdeyrityksen projektisalkunhallinnalle tavoitetila. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa pohdittiin projektisalkun hallinnan roolia ja tavoitteita, projektisalkun hallinnassa käyttävää prosessia, sekä menetelmiä ja tekniikoita, joilla salkkua hallitaan. Työn empiirisessä osassa syvennyttiin tutkimaan projektinsalkun hallintaan liittyviä erityispiirteitä kohdeyrityksessä. Tutkimustulosten huolellinen analysointi osoitti, että aikaisempi kirjallisuus ei riittävästi huomioi kokonaisvaltaisen, integroidun lähestymistavan tarvetta ja viestinnän tärkeyttä projektisalkun hallinnassa. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksinä luotiin uusi integroitu projektisalkun hallintamalli ja määriteltiin kohdeyritykselle projektisalkun hallinnan tavoitetila sekä ne kehitysaskeleet, joita yrityksen tulisi lähitulevaisuudessa ottaa.

An integrated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of a new drug of abuse, methylone, a synthetic cathinone sold as 'bath salts'

Material and methods. Methylone was administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats intravenously (10 mg/kg) and orally (15 and 30 mg/kg). Plasma concentrations and metabolites were characterized by LC/MS and LC-MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Locomotor activity was monitored for 180-240 min. Results. Oral administration of methylone induced a dose-dependent increase in locomotor activity in rats. The plasma concentrations after i.v. administration were described by a two-compartment model with distribution and terminal elimination phases of α = 1.95 h− 1 and β = 0.72 h− 1. For oral administration, peak methylone concentrations were achieved between 0.5 and 1 h and fitted to a flip-flop model. Absolute bioavailability was about 80% and the percentage of methylone protein binding was of 30%. A relationship between methylone brain levels and free plasma concentration yielded a ratio of 1.42 ± 0.06, indicating access to the central nervous system. We have identified four Phase I metabolites after oral administration. The major metabolic routes are N-demethylation, aliphatic hydroxylation and O-methylation of a demethylenate intermediate. Discussion. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of methylone showed a correlation between plasma concentrations and enhancement of the locomotor activity. A contribution of metabolites in the activity of methylone after oral administration is suggested. Present results will be helpful to understand the time course of the effects of this drug of abuse in humans.

An integrated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of a new drug of abuse, methylone, a synthetic cathinone sold as 'bath salts'

Material and methods. Methylone was administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats intravenously (10 mg/kg) and orally (15 and 30 mg/kg). Plasma concentrations and metabolites were characterized by LC/MS and LC-MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Locomotor activity was monitored for 180-240 min. Results. Oral administration of methylone induced a dose-dependent increase in locomotor activity in rats. The plasma concentrations after i.v. administration were described by a two-compartment model with distribution and terminal elimination phases of α = 1.95 h− 1 and β = 0.72 h− 1. For oral administration, peak methylone concentrations were achieved between 0.5 and 1 h and fitted to a flip-flop model. Absolute bioavailability was about 80% and the percentage of methylone protein binding was of 30%. A relationship between methylone brain levels and free plasma concentration yielded a ratio of 1.42 ± 0.06, indicating access to the central nervous system. We have identified four Phase I metabolites after oral administration. The major metabolic routes are N-demethylation, aliphatic hydroxylation and O-methylation of a demethylenate intermediate. Discussion. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of methylone showed a correlation between plasma concentrations and enhancement of the locomotor activity. A contribution of metabolites in the activity of methylone after oral administration is suggested. Present results will be helpful to understand the time course of the effects of this drug of abuse in humans.

Political market and regulatory uncertainty: Insights and implications for integrated strategy

Managers can craft effective integrated strategy by properly assessing regulatory uncertainty. Leveraging the existing political markets literature, we predict regulatory uncertainty from the novel interaction of demand and supply side rivalries across a range of political markets. We argue for two primary drivers of regulatory uncertainty: ideology-motivated interests opposed to the firm and a lack of competition for power among political actors supplying public policy. We align three, previously disparate dimensions of nonmarket strategy - profile level, coalition breadth, and pivotal target - to levels of regulatory uncertainty. Through this framework, we demonstrate how and when firms employ different nonmarket strategies. To illustrate variation in nonmarket strategy across levels of regulatory uncertainty, we analyze several market entry decisions of foreign firms operating in the global telecommunications sector.

Product placement in integrated marketing communications strategy

Perinteisten markkinointiviestintäkanavien menettäessä jatkuvasti tehoaan mediakentän ja kohderyhmien sirpaloituessa yhä pienempiin yksiköihin markkinointiorganisaatiot etsivät vaihtoehtoisia tapoja tavoittaakseen kohdeyleisönsä. Yksi vaihtoehtoinen markkinointiviestintäkeino on tuotesijoittelu (product placement), jossa (merkki)tuotteita sijoitetaan erilaisten viihdetuotantojen, kuten elokuvien, televisio-ohjelmien ja tietokonepelien, tarinan yhteyteen, jotta yhä medialukutaitoisempi kohdeyleisö ei pystyisi välttämään kaupallista viestiä esimerkiksi vaihtamalla televisiokanavaa tai kääntämällä lehden sivua. Koska tuote on sijoitettu kerrottavan tarinan sisään, markkinointiviestin — eli tuotteen havaitsemisen — välttäminen on huomattavasti vaikeampaa kuin perinteisten markkinointiviestintämenetelmien kohdalla. Lisäksi, sijoitellut tuotteet ovat tavallisesti kiinteässä yhteydessä tarinan juonen ja henkilöhahmojen kanssa siten, että tuote saa näistä yhteyksistä positiivista vahvistusta imagolleen. Pro Gradu-tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää tuotesijoittelun käyttökelpoisuutta markkinointiviestinnässä sekä miten kulutushyödykemarkkinoijat voivat hyödyntää menetelmää markkinointiviestintästrategioissaan. Tuotesijoittelun poikkeava luonne markkinointiviestintävälineenä tuotti kysymyksen miten tuotesijoittelua voitaisiin hyödyntää yhteistyössä muiden markkinointiviestintäkeinojen kanssa. Tätä varten tutkimuksessa tuotesijoittelu yhdistettiin integroidun markkinointiviestinnän (IMC) viitekehykseen. IMC-konsepti syntyi markkinointiviestinnässä vastaamaan samaan tarpeeseen kuin tuotesijoittelukin: pirstaloitunut mediakenttä ja yksittäiset kohderyhmät vaativat kehittyneempää ja yhtenäisempää markkinointiviestinnän suunnittelua ja toteutusta. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä tuotesijoittelu todettiin käyttökelpoiseksi markkinointiviestintäkeinoksi mikäli viestinnän tavoitteena on muu kuin tuotteen myyntiin suorasti vaikuttaminen. Tuotesijoittelu on sen sijaan erittäin tehokas tuotetietoisuuden lisäämisessä, erityisesti tunnistamisen kohdalla. Tuotesijoittelu voi myös tuottaa suoran ostotarpeen mutta tällöin viestin vastaanottajalla täytyy olla vallitseva tarve kyseisen tuoteryhmän osalta ennen altistumista ko. markkinointiviestille. Tuotesijoittelu voidaan sisällyttää IMC-suunnitteluprosessiin markkinointiviestintästrategian kiinteänä osana. Integraatio markkinointiviestinnässä siten, että tuotesijoittelua tuettaisiin muilla viestintäkeinoilla yhtenäisen kampanjan kehittämiseksi on kuitenkin paljon ennakoitua harvinaisempaa, johtuen ehkä eniten tuotesijoittelun poikkeuksellisesta luonteesta ja kyseisen viestintämuodon vaikeasta hallittavuudesta markkinoijan taholta. Tutkimus toteutettiin normatiivisena case-tutkimuksena pääasiassa sekundäärisiä tietolähteitä hyödyntäen. Case-tutkimuksia varten kerättiin primääristä tietoa kyselylomakkeella kahdesta tuotesijoittelua käyttävästä kansainvälisestä yhtiöstä, jonka lisäksi myös sekundäärisiä tietolähteitä hyödynnettiin case-osan tiedonkeruussa.

Climate change impacts on lakes: an integrated ecological perspective based on a multi-faceted approach, with special focus on shallow lakes

Freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity are presently seriously threatened by global development and population growth, leading to increases in nutrient inputs and intensification of eutrophication-induced problems in receiving fresh waters, particularly in lakes. Climate change constitutes another threat exacerbating the symptoms of eutrophication and species migration and loss. Unequivocal evidence of climate change impacts is still highly fragmented despite the intensive research, in part due to the variety and uncertainty of climate models and underlying emission scenarios but also due to the different approaches applied to study its effects. We first describe the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-faceted approaches that are presently available for elucidating the effects of climate change in lakes, including space-for-time substitution, time series, experiments, palaeoecology and modelling. Reviewing combined results from studies based on the various approaches, we describe the likely effects of climate changes on biological communities, trophic dynamics and the ecological state of lakes. We further discuss potential mitigation and adaptation measures to counteract the effects of climate change on lakes and, finally, we highlight some of the future challenges that we face to improve our capacity for successful prediction.

Characterization of an antennal carboxylesterase from the pest moth Spodoptera littoralis degrading a host plant odorant.

Background: Carboxyl/cholinesterases (CCEs) are highly diversified in insects. These enzymes have a broad range of proposed functions, in neuro/developmental processes, dietary detoxification, insecticide resistance or hormone/pheromone degradation. As few functional data are available on purified or recombinant CCEs, the physiological role of most of these enzymes is unknown. Concerning their role in olfaction, only two CCEs able to metabolize sex pheromones have been functionally characterized in insects. These enzymes are only expressed in the male antennae, and secreted into the lumen of the pheromone-sensitive sensilla. CCEs able to hydrolyze other odorants than sex pheromones, such as plant volatiles, have not been identified. Methodology: In Spodoptera littoralis, a major crop pest, a diversity of antennal CCEs has been previously identified. We have employed here a combination of molecular biology, biochemistry and electrophysiology approaches to functionally characterize an intracellular CCE, SlCXE10, whose predominant expression in the olfactory sensilla suggested a role in olfaction. A recombinant protein was produced using the baculovirus system and we tested its catabolic properties towards a plant volatile and the sex pheromone components. Conclusion: We showed that SlCXE10 could efficiently hydrolyze a green leaf volatile and to a lesser extent the sex pheromone components. The transcript level in male antennae was also strongly induced by exposure to this plant odorant. In antennae, SlCXE10 expression was associated with sensilla responding to the sex pheromones and to plant odours. These results suggest that a CCE-based intracellular metabolism of odorants could occur in insect antennae, in addition to the extracellular metabolism occurring within the sensillar lumen. This is the first functional characterization of an Odorant- Degrading Enzyme active towards a host plant volatile.

Systems Medicine and Integrated Care to Combat Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases.

We propose an innovative, integrated, cost-effective health system to combat major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular, chronic respiratory, metabolic, rheumatologic and neurologic disorders and cancers, which together are the predominant health problem of the 21st century. This proposed holistic strategy involves comprehensive patient-centered integrated care and multi-scale, multi-modal and multi-level systems approaches to tackle NCDs as a common group of diseases. Rather than studying each disease individually, it will take into account their intertwined gene-environment, socio-economic interactions and co-morbidities that lead to individual-specific complex phenotypes. It will implement a road map for predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory (P4) medicine based on a robust and extensive knowledge management infrastructure that contains individual patient information. It will be supported by strategic partnerships involving all stakeholders, including general practitioners associated with patient-centered care. This systems medicine strategy, which will take a holistic approach to disease, is designed to allow the results to be used globally, taking into account the needs and specificities of local economies and health systems.

Integrated regulation of the type III secretion system and other virulence determinants in Ralstonia solanacearum

In many plant and animal bacterial pathogens, the Type III secretion system (TTSS) that directly translocates effector proteins into the eukaryotic host cells is essential for the development of disease. In all species studied, the transcription of the TTSS and most of its effector substrates is tightly regulated by a succession of consecutively activated regulators. However, the whole genetic programme driven by these regulatory cascades is still unknown, especially in bacterial plant pathogens. Here, we have characterised the programme triggered by HrpG, a host-responsive regulator of the TTSS activation cascade in the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. We show through genome-wide expression analysis that, in addition to the TTSS, HrpG controls the expression of a previously undescribed TTSS-independent pathway that includes a number of other virulence determinants and genes likely involved in adaptation to life in the host. Functional studies revealed that this second pathway co-ordinates the bacterial production of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, exopolysaccharide, and the phytohormones ethylene and auxin. We provide experimental evidence that these activities contribute to pathogenicity. We also show that the ethylene produced by R. solanacearum is able to modulate the expression of host genes and can therefore interfere with the signalling of plant defence responses. These results provide a new, integrated view of plant bacterial pathogenicity, where a common regulator activates synchronously upon infection the TTSS, other virulence determinants and a number of adaptive functions, which act co-operatively to cause disease.

Macrofossils in Raraku Lake (Easter Island) integrated with sedimentary and geochemical records towards a palaeoecological synthesis for the last 34,000 years

Macrofossil analysis of a composite 19 m long sediment core from Rano Raraku Lake (Easter Island)was related to litho-sedimentary and geochemical features of the sediment. Strong stratigraphical patterns are shown by indirect gradient analyses of the data. The good correspondence between the stratigraphical patterns derived from macrofossil (Correspondence Analysis) and sedimentary and geochemical data (Principal Component Analysis) shows that macrofossil associations provide sound palaeolimnological information in conjunction with sedimentary data. The main taphonomic factors in fluencing the macrofossil assemblages are run-off from the catchment, the littoral plant belt, and the depositional environment within the basin. Five main stages during the last 34,000 calibrated years BP (cal yr BP) are characterised from the lithological, geochemical, and macrofossil data. From 34 to 14.6 cal kyr BP (last glacial period) the sediments were largely derived from the catchment, indicating a high energy lake environment with much erosion and run-off bringing abundant plant trichomes, lichens, and mosses into the centre of Raraku Lake.

Preliminary integrated magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlation in the Miocene Lorca Basin (Murcia, SE Spain).

The Lorca basin is one of the Neogene basins OS South Eastern Spain. The infilling Tortonian-Messinian deposits are mainly composed OS marls and reach up to 1,200 m in thickness. A biostratigraphic survey OS these deposits, assisted by the determination OS the magnetic polarity reversal pattern Sor most OS these deposits (900 m), has enabled the Tortonian-Messinian chronostratigraphy to be precised. The close sampling space for biostratigraphic determination has enabled the accurate location OS Sour main biostratigraphic events than can be correlated with charactenstic events of the Mediterranean biostratigraphic Zones. In addition, the location OS the TortonianNessinian boundary has been accurately placed at some 150 m below the main gypsurn unit outcropping in the basin. The integrated bio-magnetostratigraphic data fiom the studied section allows a tentative interpretation OS the identified magnetozones. Thus, a correlation to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale is presented for more than 900 m of pre-evaporite Miocene stratigraphic succession fiom the Lorca basin. Moreover, about 15' OS anticlockwise rotation has been detected. Its significance is evaluated in the basin geodynamic framework.