A DNA test to sex most birds.

There is a special reason for reviewing this book at this time: it is the 50th edition of a compendium that is known and used frequently in most chemical and physical laboratories in many parts of the world. Surely, a publication that has been published for 56 years, withstanding the vagaries of science in this century, must have had something to offer. There is another reason: while the book is a standard fixture in most chemical and physical laboratories, including those in medical centers, it is not as frequently seen in the laboratories of physician's offices (those either in solo or group practice). I believe that the Handbook can be useful in those laboratories. One of the reasons, among others, is that the various basic items of information it offers may be helpful in new tests, either physical or chemical, which are continuously being published. The basic information may relate

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

We discuss an Adams-type predictor-corrector method for the numericalsolution of fractional differential equations. The method may be usedboth for linear and for nonlinear problems, and it may be extended tomulti-term equations (involving more than one differential operator)too.

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20020024453/downloads/20020024453.pdf

A Predictor-Corrector Approach for the Numerical Solution of Fractional Differential Equations

Alkanes, the major constituents of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, are naturally produced by diverse species; however, the genetics and biochemistry behind this biology have remained elusive. Here we describe the discovery of an alkane biosynthesis pathway from cyanobacteria. The pathway consists of an acyl-acyl carrier protein reductase and an aldehyde decarbonylase, which together convert intermediates of fatty acid metabolism to alkanes and alkenes. The aldehyde decarbonylase is related to the broadly functional nonheme diiron enzymes. Heterologous expression of the alkane operon in Escherichia coli leads to the production and secretion of C13 to C17 mixtures of alkanes and alkenes. These genes and enzymes can now be leveraged for the simple and direct conversion of renewable raw materials to fungible hydrocarbon fuels.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/329/5991/559.full.pdf

Microbial Biosynthesis of Alkanes

Optical Waveguide Theory

The scattering of elastic waves by elastic inclusions surrounded by interface layers is a problem of interest for nondestructive evaluation of interfaces in composites. In the present paper the scattering by a single elastic inclusion is studied. The scattering problem is solved by means of the null field approach and the properties of the interface layer enters through the boundary conditions on the inclusion

Elastodynamic Scattering From Inclusions Surrounded by Thin Interface Layers

The 133Xe wash-out technique was used as a method for calculation of the blood flow in human nasal mucosa. The disappearance of 133Xe from the nasal mucosa was followed using scintillation detectors. In laryngectomies it was shown that the disappearance of 133Xe from the mucosa depended mainly on the blood flow. Leakage of 133Xe from the mucosa to the nasal air was unimportant. The disappearance rate of 133Xe was decreased by oxymetazoline and increased by histamine, mostly likely due to the effects of these vasoactive drugs on the mucosa blood flow. The 133Xe wash-out technique would seem to be a simple method to study nasal mucosal blood-flow changes in humans.

A Method for Determination of Blood Flow with 133 Xe in Human Nasal Mucosa

Measurements of blood flow in the human nasal mucosa can be performed with 131Xe washout technique and with laser doppler flowmetry These methods are based on different principles and a comparison of the methods is of interest For this purpose the 133Xe washout and laser doppler techniques were used to evaluate the effect of topical xylometazoline and noradrenaline on blood flow Xylometazoline was found to induce a dose-dependent decrease in nasal mucosal blood flow, as registered with both methods After noradrenaline, no change in blood flow was seen in l33Xe washout measurements, whereas a reduced blood flow was registered with laser doppler flowmetry It is concluded that the 133Xe washout technique and laser doppler flowmetry reflect blood flow in different parts of the vascular bed in the human nasal mucosa, which means that they complement each other in such investigations

A Comparison Between the 133Xe Washout and Laser Doppler Techniques for Estimation of Nasal Mucosal Blood Flow in Humans

Twenty-three isolates of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, five isolates of C. acutatum, two isolates of C. capsici and six isolates of C. boninense associated with anthracnose disease on coffee (Coffea spp.) in Vietnam were identified based on morphology and DNA analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region of nuclear rDNA and a portion of mitochondrial small subunit rRNA were concordant and allowed good separation of the taxa. We found several Colletotrichum isolates of unknown species and their taxonomic position remains unresolved. The majority of Vietnamese isolates belonged to C. gloeosporioides and they grouped together with the coffee berry disease (CBD) fungus, C. kahawae. However, C. kahawae could be distinguished from the Vietnamese C. gloeosporioides isolates based on ammonium tartrate utilization, growth rate and pathogenicity. C. gloeosporioides isolates were more pathogenic on detached green berries than isolates of the other species, i.e. C. acutatum, C capsici and C. boninense. Some of the C. gloeosporioides isolates produced slightly sunken lesions on green berries resembling CBD symptoms but it did not destroy the bean. We did not find any evidence of the presence of C. kahawae in Vietnam.

/pdf/identification-of-colletotrichum-species-associated-with-aighwxn47y.pdf

Identification of Colletotrichum species associated with anthracnose disease of coffee in Vietnam.

Stopover behaviour is a central element ofmigration strategies. But in recent geolocator studies,despite now being able to track individual songbirdsduring their entire migration, their stopover behaviourhas received little attention. We used light-sensitivegeolocators to identify the migratory routes and schedulesof 12 northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breedingin Sweden. Three geolocators collected temperature datacomplementing inferences from light data by providingadditional information on behaviour during migration.The wheatears performed a slow migration withconsiderable stopover time (84%/76% of autumn/springmigration), with short stops while traveling throughEurope, and a prolonged stopover period in both autumnand spring in the Mediterranean region. Spring migrationwas faster than autumn migration, mainly because ofdecreased stopover time. Migration routes and timeschedules were similar to those from a German breedingpopulation. Compared to wheatears breeding in Alaskawith a three-fold migration distance, Swedish wheatearsspent more time during stopovers during autumn andspring migration, suggesting less time constraints andpotential flexibility in migration schedules. The findingof prolonged stopovers, similar to other recent geolocatorstudies, shows that temporary residency periods maybe common. This changes our current view on stopoverecology to one where temporary residency periods arepart of spatio-temporal strategies optimising resource useduring the entire annual cycle.

https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/ami.2014.2.issue-1/ami-2015-0002/ami-2015-0002.xml

Peter Olsson

Papers

Elastodynamic Scattering From Inclusions Surrounded by Thin Interface Layers

A Method for Determination of Blood Flow with 133 Xe in Human Nasal Mucosa

A Comparison Between the 133Xe Washout and Laser Doppler Techniques for Estimation of Nasal Mucosal Blood Flow in Humans

Identification of Colletotrichum species associated with anthracnose disease of coffee in Vietnam.

Prolonged stopover duration characterises migration strategy and constraints of a long-distance migrant songbird