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The world of the John Birch Society : conspiracy, conservatism and the Cold War
\"A comprehensive, engaging and provocative study of the John Birch Society, which examines the controversial right-wing group in the context of American's Cold War and conspiracy cultures during the 1950s and 1960s, and demonstrates its significant role in the development of the conservative movement in the United States\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Explicit Arithmetic of Jacobians of Generalized Legendre Curves Over Global Function Fields
The authors study the Jacobian $J$ of the smooth projective curve $C$ of genus $r-1$ with affine model $y^r = x^r-1(x + 1)(x + t)$ over the function field $\\mathbb F_p(t)$, when $p$ is prime and $r\\ge 2$ is an integer prime to $p$. When $q$ is a power of $p$ and $d$ is a positive integer, the authors compute the $L$-function of $J$ over $\\mathbb F_q(t^1/d)$ and show that the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture holds for $J$ over $\\mathbb F_q(t^1/d)$.
eBook
What do we know about soil carbon destabilization?
Most empirical and modeling research on soil carbon (C) dynamics has focused on those processes that control and promote C stabilization. However, we lack a strong, generalizable understanding of the mechanisms through which soil organic carbon (SOC) is destabilized in soils. Yet a clear understanding of C destabilization processes in soil is needed to quantify the feedbacks of the soil C cycle to the Earth system. Destabilization includes processes that occur along a spectrum through which SOC shifts from a 'protected' state to an 'available' state to microbial cells where it can be mineralized to gaseous forms or to soluble forms that are then lost from the soil system. These processes fall into three general categories: (1) release from physical occlusion through processes such as tillage, bioturbation, or freeze-thaw and wetting-drying cycles; (2) C desorption from soil solids and colloids; and (3) increased C metabolism. Many processes that stabilize soil C can also destabilize C, and C gain or loss depends on the balance between competing reactions. For example, earthworms may both destabilize C through aggregate destruction, but may also create new aggregates and redistribute C into mineral horizon. Similarly, mycorrhizae and roots form new soil C but may also destabilize old soil C through priming and promoting microbial mining; labile C inputs cause C stabilization through increased carbon use efficiency or may fuel priming. Changes to the soil environment that affect the solubility of minerals or change the relative surfaces charges of minerals can destabilize SOC, including increased pH or in the reductive dissolution of Fe-bearing minerals. By considering these different physical, chemical, and biological controls as processes that contribute to soil C destabilization, we can develop thoughtful new hypotheses about the persistence and vulnerability of C in soils and make more accurate and robust predictions of soil C cycling in a changing environment.
Journal Article
Impact of transgenic birch with modified nitrogen metabolism on soil properties, microbial biomass and enzymes in 4-year study
AimsThe potential adverse effects of transgenic plants on soil processes get less attention than their other environmental risks. Also, there has been virtually no relevant research in transgenic plants with improved nutrient use efficiency.MethodsWe investigated the effect of transgenic birch (Betula pubescens) plants expressing the glutamine synthetase GS1 gene from pine or the marker gus gene on soil properties in a long-term pot experiment under greenhouse and natural conditions. Activity of 11 enzymes and microbial biomass (MBC, MBN, MBP), which are indicators of soil quality, were analyzed at the end of each growing season after leaf fall, and physicochemical soil properties at the end of the experiment.ResultsTransgenic birch plants with the GS1 gene differed in growth rate, habit, and the content of C and N in leaf tissue. The nitrogen content in their soil increased significantly, while the content of potassium ions decreased, possibly to compensate for nitrogen reassimilated via glutamine synthetase. The observed statistically significant differences in enzyme activities and microbial biomass were temporary and inconsistent, suggesting that transgenic birch plants had no harmful effects on soil microflora.ConclusionThe birch plants with the neutral gus gene had a significantly weaker impact than those with the gene of nitrogen metabolism enzyme GS. In particular, GS plants showed the most stable (in 3 of 4 years) effect on nitrate reductase, an N-cycle enzyme. The obtained results may be important for assessing potential environmental risks associated with commercial cultivation of transgenic forest trees.
Journal Article
Birch
Anna Lewington is an ethnobotanist and writer, specializing in the importance of plants to people. Her previous publications include Plants For People (2003) and Ancient Trees: Trees that Live for a Thousand Years (2012). She lives in Dorset.
eBook
Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch
Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a pioneer boreal tree that can be induced to flower within 1 year. Its rapid life cycle, small (440-Mb) genome, and advanced germplasm resources make birch an attractive model for forest biotechnology. We assembled and chromosomally anchored the nuclear genome of an inbred B. pendula individual. Gene duplicates from the paleohexaploid event were enriched for transcriptional regulation, whereas tandem duplicates were overrepresented by environmental responses. Population resequencing of 80 individuals showed effective population size crashes at major points of climatic upheaval. Selective sweeps were enriched among polyploid duplicates encoding key developmental and physiological triggering functions, suggesting that local adaptation has tuned the timing of and cross-talk between fundamental plant processes. Variation around the tightly-linked light response genes PHYC and FRS10 correlated with latitude and longitude and temperature, and with precipitation for PHYC. Similar associations characterized the growth-promoting cytokinin response regulator ARR1, and the wood development genes KAK and MED5A.
Journal Article
Scalable and safe synthetic organic electroreduction inspired by Li-ion battery chemistry
Reductive electrosynthesis has faced long-standing challenges in applications to complex organic substrates at scale. Here, we show how decades of research in lithium-ion battery materials, electrolytes, and additives can serve as an inspiration for achieving practically scalable reductive electrosynthetic conditions for the Birch reduction. Specifically, we demonstrate that using a sacrificial anode material (magnesium or aluminum), combined with a cheap, nontoxic, and water-soluble proton source (dimethylurea), and an overcharge protectant inspired by battery technology [tris(pyrrolidino)phosphoramide] can allow for multigram-scale synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant building blocks. We show how these conditions have a very high level of functional-group tolerance relative to classical electrochemical and chemical dissolving-metal reductions. Finally, we demonstrate that the same electrochemical conditions can be applied to other dissolving metal–type reductive transformations, including McMurry couplings, reductive ketone deoxygenations, and epoxide openings.
Journal Article
Evaluation of Antioxidative Mechanisms In Vitro and Triterpenes Composition of Extracts from Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth) and Black Birch (Betula obscura Kotula) Barks by FT-IR and HPLC-PDA
Silver birch, Betula pendula Roth, is one of the most common trees in Europe. Due to its content of many biologically active substances, it has long been used in medicine and cosmetics, unlike the rare black birch, Betula obscura Kotula. The aim of the study was therefore to compare the antioxidant properties of extracts from the inner and outer bark layers of both birch trees towards the L929 line treated with acetaldehyde. Based on the lactate dehydrogenase test and the MTT test, 10 and 25% concentrations of extracts were selected for the antioxidant evaluation. All extracts at tested concentrations reduced the production of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion radical, and 25% extract decreased malonic aldehyde formation in acetaldehyde-treated cells. The chemical composition of bark extracts was accessed by IR and HPLC-PDA methods and surprisingly, revealed a high content of betulin and lupeol in the inner bark extract of B. obscura. Furthermore, IR analysis revealed differences in the chemical composition of the outer bark between black and silver birch extracts, indicating that black birch may be a valuable source of numerous biologically active substances. Further experiments are required to evaluate their potential against neuroinflammation, cancer, viral infections, as well as their usefulness in cosmetology.
Journal Article
How climate change might affect tree regeneration following fire at northern latitudes: a review
Climate change is projected to increase fire severity and frequency in the boreal forest, but it could also directly affect post-fire recruitment processes by impacting seed production, germination, and seedling growth and survival. We reviewed current knowledge regarding the effects of high temperatures and water deficits on post-fire recruitment processes of four major tree species (Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, Populus tremuloides and Betula papyrifera) in order to anticipate the effects of climate change on forest recovery following fire in the boreal biome. We also produced maps of future vulnerability of post-fire recruitment by combining tree distributions in Canada with projections of temperature, moisture index and fire regime for the 2041–2070 and 2071–2100 periods. Although our review reveals that information is lacking for some regeneration stages, it highlights the response variability to climate conditions between species. The recruitment process of black spruce is likely to be the most affected by rising temperatures and water deficits, but more tolerant species are also at risk of being impacted by projected climate conditions. Our maps suggest that in eastern Canada, tree species will be vulnerable mainly to projected increases in temperature, while forests will be affected mostly by droughts in western Canada. Conifer-dominated forests are at risk of becoming less productive than they currently are, and eventually, timber supplies from deciduous species-dominated forests could also decrease. Our vulnerability maps are useful for prioritizing areas where regeneration monitoring efforts and adaptive measures could be developed.
Journal Article
Tissue-specific study across the stem reveals the chemistry and transcriptome dynamics of birch bark
Tree bark is a highly specialized array of tissues that plays important roles in plant protection and development. Bark tissues develop from two lateral meristems; the phellogen (cork cambium) produces the outermost stem–environment barrier called the periderm, while the vascular cambium contributes with phloem tissues. Although bark is diverse in terms of tissues, functions and species, it remains understudied at higher resolution.
We dissected the stem of silver birch (Betula pendula) into eight major tissue types, and characterized these by a combined transcriptomics and metabolomics approach. We further analyzed the varying bark types within the Betulaceae family.
The two meristems had a distinct contribution to the stem transcriptomic landscape. Furthermore, inter- and intraspecies analyses illustrated the unique molecular profile of the phellem. We identified multiple tissue-specific metabolic pathways, such as the mevalonate/betulin biosynthesis pathway, that displayed differential evolution within the Betulaceae. A detailed analysis of suberin and betulin biosynthesis pathways identified a set of underlying regulators and highlighted the important role of local, small-scale gene duplication events in the evolution of metabolic pathways.
This work reveals the transcriptome and metabolic diversity among bark tissues and provides insights to its development and evolution, as well as its biotechnological applications.
Journal Article