Plant health clinics in Bolivia 2000—2009: operations and preliminary results

Smallholder farmers need information on plant diseases. Ten plant health clinics (Postas para Plantas) evolved in Bolivia after 2000 and are still operating due to the efforts of three local institutions. The plant clinics receive any problem, on any crop, and give written and verbal recommendations, immediately if possible. Many clinics are held at weekly farm fairs, where villagers from many surrounding communities can seek help. The clinic staff write fact sheets for farmers on common problems. From 2000 to early 2009 the clinics received more than 9000 queries on over 100 crops with potato comprising two thirds of the queries, followed by peach, tomato and broad bean. Potato tuber moth and potato weevil were by far the most dominant plant health problems in the high Andes, but not in lowland areas. The diversity of crops and problems are a big challenge to the clinic staff. With basic training and practical experience they learn to diagnose most problems. However, they need access to expert support to solve some of the more difficult problems and improve the quality of advice. Preliminary results show cases of poverty alleviation, reduction in pesticide abuse, increased harvests and other benefits. The plant health clinics in Bolivia enabled extension and research to reach more farmers with a timely low-cost service.     

方案4

众所周知,中国城市正经历一场形态上的转变--主要方式是在大块城市用地上开发高层建筑.这种城市更新常通过快速搬用或移植其他国家的建筑类型实现.尽管这种特殊的混合体被当成当代中国城市的典型,我们相信,通过对现存传统建筑类型进行重新审视和诠释,仍然能为中国当代城市形态的转变找到更本质的途径.     

Effect of short-chain fatty acids on cell volume and intracellular pH in rat distal colon

Superfusion of isolated crypts from the rat colon with sodium-butyrate-containing solutions induced an increase in the crypt diameter indicating a swelling of the crypt cells. The response to butyrate (50 mmol l-1) was not uniform along the crypt axis, the most pronounced swelling being observed in the upper third of the crypt. The butyrate effect was concentration-dependent and was completely suppressed by amiloride, suggesting that it is caused by activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger. Acetate, propionate and isobutyrate had a similar action. In HEPES-buffered solution the butyrate-induced change in cell volume was monophasic, i. e. only a swelling took place, whereas in HCO3- buffer it was biphasic, i. e. swelling was followed by a regulatory volume decrease. This decrease was suppressed by K+ and Cl- channel blockers as well as inhibitors of leukotriene synthesis. Measurements of intracellular pH with the fluorescent dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) revealed that butyrate induced an acidification of the cell, which was stronger in HEPES than in HCO3- buffer. Estimation of Na+/H+ exchange activity, tested as recovery of intracellular pH from an acid load via an NH4Cl prepulse, revealed a much lower Na+/H+ exchange activity in the fundus region compared to the upper third of the crypt. The smaller volume response evoked by butyrate in the fundus region probably reflects the smaller Na+/H+ activity compared to the more differentiated cells near the opening of the crypt. It is concluded that cell swelling caused by short-chain fatty acids is a physiological stimulus for volume regulation. This response is restricted to the more differentiated cells.     

Wanting, having, and satisfaction: Examining the role of desire discrepancies in satisfaction with income.

In 3 studies, the authors tested the predictors of income satisfaction, examining whether discrepancies between the things people have and the things they desire predict satisfaction. Study 1 manipulated the desirability of items that can be purchased with participants' income, and showed that their satisfaction with that income depended on the desirability of these items. Study 2 demonstrated that whether people's income enabled them to purchase the things they desired influenced their satisfaction with income. Study 3 found that the effect of comparison with a person's past on income satisfaction is completely mediated by one's desires; and the effect of social comparison on income satisfaction is partially mediated by desires. Thus, desires play a pivotal role in determining people's satisfaction with income. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chlamydomonas kinesin-II-dependent intraflagellar transport (IFT): IFT particles contain proteins required for ciliary assembly in Caenorhabditis elegans sensory neurons

We previously described a kinesin-dependent movement of particles in the flagella of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii called intraflagellar transport (IFT) (Kozminski, K.G., K.A. Johnson, P. Forscher, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1993. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 90:5519-5523). When IFT is inhibited by inactivation of a kinesin, FLA10, in the temperature-sensitive mutant, fla10, existing flagella resorb and new flagella cannot be assembled. We report here that: (a) the IFT-associated FLA10 protein is a subunit of a heterotrimeric kinesin; (b) IFT particles are composed of 15 polypeptides comprising two large complexes; (c) the FLA10 kinesin-II and IFT particle polypeptides, in addition to being found in flagella, are highly concentrated around the flagellar basal bodies; and, (d) mutations affecting homologs of two of the IFT particle polypeptides in Caenorhabditis elegans result in defects in the sensory cilia located on the dendritic processes of sensory neurons. In the accompanying report by Pazour, G.J., C.G. Wilkerson, and G.B. Witman (1998. J. Cell Biol. 141:979-992), a Chlamydomonas mutant (fla14) is described in which only the retrograde transport of IFT particles is disrupted, resulting in assembly-defective flagella filled with an excess of IFT particles. This microtubule- dependent transport process, IFT, defined by mutants in both the anterograde (fla10) and retrograde (fla14) transport of isolable particles, is probably essential for the maintenance and assembly of all eukaryotic motile flagella and nonmotile sensory cilia.     

Indirect calorimetry]

The power of heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy to study macromolecules and their complexes has been amply demonstrated over the last decade. The obstacle to routinely applying these techniques to the study of DNA has been the synthesis of 13C,15N-labeled DNA. Here we present a simple and efficient method to generate isotope-labeled DNA for NMR studies that is as easy as that for isotope labeling of RNA. The method was used to synthesize a uniformly 13C,15N-labeled 32-nucleotide DNA that binds to human basic fibroblast growth factor with high affinity and specificity. Isotope-edited experiments were applied to the 13C,15N-labeled DNA bound to unlabeled protein, and the 13C,15N-labeled DNA was also examined in complex with 15N-labeled protein. The NMR experiments show that the DNA adopts a well-defined stable structure when bound to the protein, and illustrate the potential of 13C,15N-labeled DNA for structural studies of DNA-protein complexes.     

Flavour quality of tomatoes

Tomato volatiles present in essential oils obtained by steam distillation–continuous extraction and by head-space condensation were identified and evaluated organoleptically. Flavour quality of different samples of fresh tomatoes, evaluated by a panel, could be related to the occurrence and concentration of n-hexanal, trans-2-hexenal, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, 2-isobutylthiazole and some unidentified compounds in the head space condensation essential oil.