An ecological economic comparison between integrated rice-fish farming and rice monocultures with low and high dikes in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

This study makes an ecological economic comparison between three different rice farming strategies in the Mekong Delta. Interviews were made with 30 farmers with two crops of rice and low dikes (2RLd), 30 farmers with three crops of rice and high dikes (3RHd) and 18 farmers with two crops of rice and one crop of fish (2RF). 2RF farmers had the highest annual net income and benefit cost ratio, because of low production costs and high yields of rice and fish. 2RLd farmers had the lowest annual net income. 3RHd had the highest annual rice yield, but also used the highest amount of rice seeds and agrochemicals, generating the lowest benefit cost ratio. Most farmers (70%) preferred two crops because of a higher production efficiency. High dikes and frequent use of pesticides and fertilizers were seen to decrease the water and rice quality, connectivity and biodiversity in farms with three crops. It is concluded that rice farming with two crops, and especially if integrated with fish and applying IPM, provides a sustainable alternative to rice farming with three crops and high dikes, because it makes use of the high connectivity within the rice-field ecosystem for an efficient production of healthy food through increased recycling of nutrients and  natural pest control mechanisms.

Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacteriophages Clautastrophe, Kingsolomon, Krypton555, and Nicholas.

We report here the complete genome sequences of four subcluster L3 mycobacteriophages newly isolated from soil samples, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 as the host. Comparative genomic analyses with four previously described subcluster L3 phages reveal strong nucleotide similarity and gene conservation, with several large insertions/deletions near their right genome ends.

Enhancement of NH3 gas sensitivity at room temperature by carbon nanotube-based sensor coated with Co nanoparticles.

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) film has been fabricated onto Pt-patterned alumina substrates using the chemical vapor deposition method for NH(3) gas sensing applications. The MWCNT-based sensor is sensitive to NH(3) gas at room temperature. Nanoclusters of Co catalysts have been sputtered on the surface of the MWCNT film to enhance gas sensitivity with respect to unfunctionalized CNT films. The gas sensitivity of Co-functionalized MWCNT-based gas sensors is thus significantly improved. The sensor exhibits good repeatability and high selectivity towards NH(3), compared with alcohol and LPG.

Decreasing hormonal promotion is key to breast cancer prevention.

An early full-term pregnancy in women is highly protective against breast cancer. This protection can be mimicked by short-term treatment with estradiol plus progesterone in nulliparous rats. We determined the effect of long-term hormonal promotion following the protective short-term estradiol and progesterone treatment that mimics parity protection against mammary tumors. Rats were treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea before or after protective hormone treatment. In brief, the animals could be broadly classified into three categories. First, the controls that received no protective hormone treatment, second, the short-term protective hormone treated rats, and third, rats which received the short-term protective hormone treatment plus continuous treatment with estradiol or progesterone or a combination of estradiol and progesterone. Different doses of hormones were used for short-term protective and long-term promotion treatments. The experiments were terminated 9 months post carcinogen treatment. Mammary tumor incidence in all the short-term estradiol- plus progesterone-treated rats was significantly lower compared with controls. Short-term hormone treatment followed by long-term promotion resulted in an increased mammary tumor incidence compared with animals that received only the short-term treatment. Overall, the results demonstrate the importance of the promotional environment in mammary carcinogenesis indicating that the decreased promotional environment could be the reason for protection against mammary carcinogenesis.