Differences in soil organic carbon and soil erosion for native pasture and minimum till agricultural management systems.

There is considerable debate over how different agricultural management systems such as minimum tillage and grazing affect soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nitrogen (SN) concentrations and soil erosion over the long-term. In this study SOC, SN and erosion characteristics were compared over a ten year period for two neighbouring sites with longstanding but different land management strategies; one cropped under a minimum tillage (MT) regime and one used for grazing on largely native pasture. Both sites (Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia) shared the same soil type (Euchrozem) and climate.

Treating Acute Pain in the Opiate-Dependent Patient.

Opioid drugs, including prescription as well as heroin, have come to the national spotlight due to the unprecedented rate of overdose and addiction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has termed this problem as an "epidemic" that has reached record numbers of deaths in 2014. Approximately half of these deaths are the result from prescribed opioids.

Does introduced fauna influence soil erosion? A field and modelling assessment.

Pigs (Sus scrofa) are recognised as having significant ecological impacts in many areas of the world including northern Australia. The full consequences of the introduction of pigs are difficult to quantify as the impacts may only be detected over the long-term and there is a lack of quantitative information on the impacts of feral pigs globally. In this study the effect of feral pigs is quantified in an undisturbed catchment in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia.

Grafting of oligosaccharides onto synthetic polymer colloids.

A new method to form colloidally stable oligosaccharide-grafted synthetic polymer particles has been developed. The oligosaccharides, of weight-average degree of polymerization approximately 38, were obtained by enzymatic debranching of amylopectin. Through the use of a cerium(IV)-based redox initiation process, oligosaccharide chains are grafted onto a synthetic polymer colloid comprising electrostatically stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) or polystyrene latex particles swollen with methyl methacrylate monomer.

NUCLEAR FUSION DEFECTIVE1 encodes the Arabidopsis RPL21M protein and is required for karyogamy during female gametophyte development and fertilization.

Karyogamy, or nuclear fusion, is essential for sexual reproduction. In angiosperms, karyogamy occurs three times: twice during double fertilization of the egg cell and the central cell and once during female gametophyte development when the two polar nuclei fuse to form the diploid central cell nucleus. The molecular mechanisms controlling karyogamy are poorly understood.