Hosts of juniper mistletoe at Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona

Four species of junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, J. scopulorum, J. monosperma, and J. deppeana, occur in mixed stands at Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona. All are parasitized by Phoradendron juniperinum, but the mistletoe was most common on J. osteosperma and least common on J. scopulorum. Fernbush ( Chamaebatiaria millefolium, Rosaceae) was a very rare host.     

Paleoproteomic study of the Iceman’s brain tissue

The Tyrolean Iceman, a Copper-age ice mummy, is one of the best-studied human individuals. While the genome of the Iceman has largely been decoded, tissue-specific proteomes have not yet been investigated. We studied the proteome of two distinct brain samples using gel-based and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based proteomics technologies together with a multiple-databases and -search algorithms-driven data-analysis approach. Thereby, we identified a total of 502 different proteins. Of these, 41 proteins are known to be highly abundant in brain tissue and 9 are even specifically expressed in the brain. Furthermore, we found 10 proteins related to blood and coagulation. An enrichment analysis revealed a significant accumulation of proteins related to stress response and wound healing. Together with atomic force microscope scans, indicating clustered blood cells, our data reopens former discussions about a possible injury of the Iceman’s head near the site where the tissue samples have been extracted.     

Two types of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in Drosophila and other arthropods

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) play a central role in the mammalian nervous system. These receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are activated by the agonists acetylcholine and muscarine, and blocked by a variety of antagonists. Mammals have five mAChRs (m1–m5). In this study, we cloned two structurally related GPCRs from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which, after expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells, proved to be muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. One mAChR (the A-type; encoded by gene CG4356) is activated by acetylcholine (EC₅₀, 5 × 10^?8 M) and muscarine (EC₅₀, 6 × 10^?8 M) and blocked by the classical mAChR antagonists atropine, scopolamine, and 3-quinuclidinyl-benzilate (QNB), while the other (the B-type; encoded by gene CG7918) is also activated by acetylcholine, but has a 1,000-fold lower sensitivity to muscarine, and is not blocked by the antagonists. A- and B-type mAChRs were also cloned and functionally characterized from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Recently, Haga et al. (Nature 2012, 482: 547–551) published the crystal structure of the human m2 mAChR, revealing 14 amino acid residues forming the binding pocket for QNB. These residues are identical between the human m2 and the D. melanogaster and T. castaneum A-type mAChRs, while many of them are different between the human m2 and the B-type receptors. Using bioinformatics, one orthologue of the A-type and one of the B-type mAChRs could also be found in all other arthropods with a sequenced genome. Protostomes, such as arthropods, and deuterostomes, such as mammals and other vertebrates, belong to two evolutionarily distinct lineages of animal evolution that split about 700 million years ago. We found that animals that originated before this split, such as cnidarians (Hydra), had two A-type mAChRs. From these data we propose a model for the evolution of mAChRs.     

A comprehensive ecological land classification for Utah's West Desert

Land managers and scientists need context in which to interpolate between or extrapolate beyond discrete field points in space and time. Ecological classification of land (ECL) is one way by which these relationships can be made. Until regional issues emerged and calls were made for ecosystem management (EM), each land management institution chose its own ECLs. The need for economic efficiency and the increasing availability of geographic information systems (GIS) compel the creation of a national ECL so that communication across ownership boundaries can occur. ECOMAP, an 8-level, top-down, nested, hierarchical, multivariable approach designed to solve this problem has been endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. While the coarsest, upper 4 levels of ECOMAP have been produced for the entire U.S., the task of completing the 4 finer-grained levels has been left to local practitioners. We tried to apply the suggestions of ECOMAP for completing an ECL for a 4.5-million-hectare area centered in western Utah. Due to the lack of complete and consistent sets of spatial databases suggested as necessary by ECOMAP for completing the ECL for this area, we developed alternatives to complete the ECL using extant information. We stressed 1 dominant landscape feature per hierarchical level, using repeatable protocols to identify landscape units. We added 2 additional levels below the 8 suggested by ECOMAP. Ecological sites (ESs), the 9th level, are designed to overcome the nestedness of ECOMAP that we found prevented us from using important data on ESs already available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Vegetation stands (VSs), the 10th and finest-grain level, are subdivisions of individual polygons of ESs based on differences in disturbance histories that have led to differing current vegetation structure and composition. The ECL we created should help federal, state, and private land managers in western Utah more easily communicate about issues that cross ownership boundaries.     

玉米秸炭低温燃烧热效应及燃尽时间实验

秸秆炭低温燃烧可抑制灰中的钾、钠、氯等的逸出,减少结渣、沾污和气相颗粒物的排放.为明确低温下炭氧化过程主要特性,采用同步热分析仪对玉米秸炭进行了实验.根据热流及失重速率曲线,确定了玉米秸炭低温燃烧温度范围,分析了燃烧温度、空气流量、堆积尺寸对CO/CO2值的影响,计算了动力学参数、堆积燃烧速率(燃尽时间).结果表明:玉米秸炭低温燃烧可采用500～680℃;CO/CO2值随温度的升高先增加后减小,增大空气流量、减小堆积尺寸均会降低CO/CO2值;秸秆炭动力燃烧时,在500、550、600、650℃下转化90％时所需时间分别为6.8、2.2、0.8、0.3 min.堆积燃烧时,500～680℃内,200 mL/min空气流量下,3、5、8 mg炭燃尽时间分别为15、18、25 min.以上结论可为玉米秸炭低温燃烧设备的设计提供依据.