Intact soil cores from three adjacent sites (Site A: grazed, Site B: fenced for 4 years, and Site C: fenced for 24 years) were incubated in the laboratory to examine effects of temperature, soil moisture, and their interactions on net nitrification and N mineralization rates in the Inner Mongolia grassland of Northern China. Incubation temperature significantly influenced net nitrification and ...

BACKGROUND Osteosarcoma (OS) is a highly aggressive bone cancer affecting children and young adults. Growing evidence connects the invasive potential of OS cells with their ability to form invadopodia (structures specialized in extracellular matrix proteolysis). RESULTS In this study, we tested the hypothesis that commonly used in vitro stimulators of mineralization limit the invadopodia form...

Biodegradation of 14C-tagged hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) was studied in aerobic, anaerobic, and anaerobic/aerobic slurries to identify the conditions maximizing RDX-mineralization in Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant (CAAP, NE) groundwater. Supplementation with phosphate and adequate quantities of acetate caused 25% mineralization of RDX in 3 weeks by microorganisms native to C...

Munitions wastes such as TNT are widespread contaminants in soils and ground waters. We investigated a coupled abiotic-biotic treatment scheme for remediation of aqueous solutions of TNT. Mineralization of aqueous TNT (0.22 mM) was initially optimized with minimum reactant use (Fe3+ and H2O2) in light-assisted and dark, modified Fenton reactions at acidic and neutral pH. Complete TNT degradatio...

Remote sensing studies suggest that savannahs are transforming into more tree-dominated states; however, progressive nitrogen limitation could potentially retard this putatively CO2-driven invasion. We analysed controls on nitrogen mineralization rates in savannah by manipulating rainfall and the cover of grass and tree elements against the backdrop of the seasonal temperature and rainfall vari...

Using in situ mesocosm experiments, we compared grazing rates, food-selection patterns and nutrient mineralization rates of a daphniid cladoceran and a diaptomid copepod to determine their infl uence on phytoplankton composition and the prevalence of N-fi xing cyanobacteria. We show that grazing and nutrient mineralization may act synergistically within a grazer taxon. Cladocerans exhibited non...

Elasmobranchs (e.g. sharks and rays), like all fishes, grow continuously throughout life. Unlike other vertebrates, their skeletons are primarily cartilaginous, comprising a hyaline cartilage-like core, stiffened by a thin outer array of mineralized, abutting and interconnected tiles called tesserae. Tesserae bear active mineralization fronts at all margins and the tesseral layer is thin enough...

Extracellular nucleotides, signaling through P2 receptors, may act as local regulators of bone cell function. We investigated the effects of nucleotide agonists [ATP, ADP, uridine triphosphate (UTP), and uridine diphosphate] and pyrophosphate (PPi, a key physiological inhibitor of mineralization) on the deposition and mineralization of collagenous matrix by primary osteoblasts derived from rat ...

There is a considerable variation in the mineralization of bone; normal, non-pathological compact bone has ash masses ranging from 45 to 85% by mass. This range of mineralization results in an even greater range of mechanical properties. The Young modulus of elasticity can range from 4 to 32 GPa, bending strength from 50 to 300 MPa, and the work of fracture from 200 to 7000 Jm-2. It is not poss...

We measured annual net nitrogen (N) mineralization, nitrification, and amino acid production in situ across a primary successional sequence in interior Alaska, USA. Net N mineralization per gram dry soil increased across the successional sequence, but with a sharp decline in the oldest stage (black spruce). Net N mineralization expressed per gram soil organic matter exhibited the opposite patte...