Relationship between the milk yield response to short-term bovine somatotropin treatment and the lipolytic response to adrenaline in dairy cows.

The aim of this experiment was to determine if the milk yield response of dairy cows to short-term treatment with bovine somatotropin (bST) was correlated with the non-esterified fatty-acid (NEFA) response to an adrenaline challenge. Twenty-six multiparous Holstein cows (58+/-5.4 days postpartum) received daily sub-cutaneous injections of saline for 7 days followed by sub-cutaneous injections of 20mg/day of bST for 14 days.

Effect of temperature, ration, body size and age on sulphur isotope fractionation in fish.

Sulphur isotope analysis (delta(34)S) is increasingly identified as a valuable tool for source differentiation and the determination of trophic level in food webs, but there are still many uncertainties associated with the interpretation of delta(34)S data. To investigate the effects of temperature, ration, body size and age on sulphur trophic fractionation (Deltadelta(34)S) in fish, we reared European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) on identical diets at 11 and 16 degrees C at three ration levels for over 600 days. Deltadelta(34)S was between 0 and -1 per thousand.

Medical research funding may have over-expanded and be due for collapse.

The continual and uninterrupted expansion of medical research funding is generally assumed to be a permanent feature of modern societies, but this expectation may turn out to be mistaken. Sciences tend to go through boom and bust phases. Twentieth century physics is an example where huge increases in funding followed an era of scientific breakthroughs.

Anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation in deep subsurface oil reservoirs.

Biodegradation of crude oil in subsurface petroleum reservoirs is an important alteration process with major economic consequences. Aerobic degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at the surface is well documented and it has long been thought that the flow of oxygen- and nutrient-bearing meteoric waters into reservoirs was necessary for in-reservoir petroleum biodegradation. The occurrence of biodegraded oils in reservoirs where aerobic conditions are unlikely, together with the identification of several anaerobic microorganisms in oil fields and the discovery of anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation mechanisms, suggests that anaerobic degradation processes could also be responsible.

16S rDNA methods in soil microbiology.

With the introduction of molecular methods, the past decade has seen renewed interest in soil microbiology. New and exciting molecular technologies and the promise of finally opening the microbial black box in soil drive much of this interest. Although these pioneering studies have added much to our knowledge of microbial diversity in soils, it is debatable whether they have as yet advanced our understanding of the relationship between this diversity and soil processes.

Fitness constraints on flower number, seed number and seed size in the dimorphic species Primula farinosa L. and Armeria maritima (Miller) Willd.

Using two dimorphic species with diallelic incompatibility, Primula farinosa L. and Armeria maritima (Miller) Willd., we tested the hypothesis that an association of seedling performance with seed size, and an inverse association of seed size with seed number, might, contrary to most fitness models, select for plants which set relatively few seeds.

Displacements and reconstruction: the case of west beirut - Lebanon.

This paper focusses on the housing conditions of the displaced people who were forced to move to West Beirut due to the conflict in Lebanon which started in 1975. With the lack of any emergency housing provision, people have adopted two ways to shelter their families; either by occupying vacant buildings or by squatting on unused land (land squatting). The study is based on fieldwork undertaken in order to gain a deeper insight into the displaced people's housing conditions.