Barren Environment Research Articles

Book Review: 「하이테크 강국 이스라엘」

A new book, High-tech powerhouse Israel, explains how it led to growth in the future-oriented high-tech industry. Despite geopolitics, religion, and cultural differences, Israel and Korea have similarities. Due to scarce natural resources, limited space, and unfriendly security, economic growth was rapid. Israel established a hightech ecosystem by swiftly pioneering new disciplines and expanding capabilities, while Korea based its industrial base on manufacturing. “High-Tech Powerhouse Israel” examines Israel's history, culture, and innovative ecosystem elements, analyzes its driving force that has grown into a global leader in the high-tech industry in a barren environment, and examines ways Korea can develop an innovative ecosystem. Han Jung-hwa, the author of “High-Tech Powerhouse Israel,” is a longtime researcher of management strategies and start-ups. He benchmarked Israel's technology start-up incubator policy to design Korea's Tech-Inverator Program for Startup (TIPS), a leading public-private partnership start-up support program. This book is crucial since it examines Israel's science, technology, and industry and includes the newest innovation ecosystem data. By introducing the latest trends in eight innovative sectors, including cybersecurity, climate technology, mobility, and fintech, as well as the possibility and policy of cooperation with Korea, it serves as a key to finding new growth engines in the management and industrial sectors. As a policy sector, it serves as a white paper for the institutional foundation to enhance new industry competitiveness.

Personality matters – The interplay between consistent individual differences and mouse welfare in female C57BL6/J mice

To ensure good welfare of animals in human hands, it is essential to modify housing conditions according to the animals’ needs. Traditionally, the effects of such modifications are studied by means of group-level comparisons, thereby widely neglecting consistent inter-individual differences (i.e., so-called ‘animal personalities’). However, as animals with distinct personality types might differ in their environmental needs and hence react differently to the same environment, such systematic inter-individual differences might have important welfare consequences. This becomes particularly apparent under laboratory conditions, where animals are typically housed under highly standardized and barren environments. Against this background, we here aim to investigate personality-dependent welfare consequences in response to different housing conditions in laboratory mice. Female C57BL/6J mice were characterized for their personality type in exploration behavior and the most and the least explorative individuals were set up in either simple or in highly complex housing conditions that included constantly changing environmental enrichment items. We monitored individual welfare by studying behavioral, physiological, and immunological outcome measures. Besides personality-dependent differences in immune parameters and overall improved welfare under complex housing conditions, we indeed found hints that individual mice were differently affected in their welfare depending on the specific combination of personality type and housing condition. Specifically, highly explorative mice appeared to be more adversely affected by simple housing, but also profited more from complex housing compared to low explorative mice. These findings indicate that welfare promoting adjustments do not necessarily benefit all individuals equally and therefore, call for a shift of perspectives in the evaluation of animal welfare.

The Language Desert: Ecosystems of Praise and Barrenness in Saint-John Perse’s Anabase and Lorand Gaspar’s Sol absolu

Life changes that impelled Saint-John Perse and Lorand Gaspar into the desert are well known: Perse’s 1920 expedition into the Gobi Desert during his diplomatic assignment in China, and Gaspar’s residence in Jerusalem near the Judaean Desert, 1954 to 1970. More interesting is the poetic stratification that barren ecologies instill in Anabase (1924) and Sol absolu (1972). Perse’s adventurer prince encounters several climates during his inland journey yet binds particularly with the desert, which infiltrates his discourse and the texture of his self-image. Human geography becomes a means to master the habitat as a stepping-stone for personal assertion. Climate on the frontier inspires his encomiastic language of jubilation for quest and companions. Gaspar’s topography suggests a less rhetorical contact with environment, yet his desert’s materiality penetrates its inhabitants, nomads like the Beduin or the poet, who treks this desert via language. Gaspar’s poetics of barren environment is not as epic as Anabase (1924), yet the jubilation that tectonic challenge incites in his idiom is founded on interpenetration of psyche and ecosystem rather than the poetics of dominion deployed in Anabase. Omnipresent conceits of “living matter” and “material psyche” are critical to the understanding of these two desert poems.

Primary Controlling Factors of Apatite Trace Element Composition and Implications for Exploration in Orogenic Gold Deposits

AbstractSignificant and readily accessible orogenic gold deposits have been previously recognized, exploited, and progressively depleted. Innovative approaches are required to discover new and deeply buried deposits. Recently, trace element variations in apatite have been used to distinguish fertile and barren environments as reliable mineral exploration tools. In this study, machine learning models using Random Forest and Deep Neutral Network are utilized to assess the fertility of quartz veins and altered zones in the orogenic gold systems. The two models have been trained using trace element data of apatite, and the performance of both models yield good classification accuracy (∼90% on average) with low false positive rates. Feature importance analysis (Gini decrease and hidden layer weights) suggest that Pb, As, U, Sr, Eu, Mn, and Fe are the important parameters. Arsenic, U, Eu, Mn, and Fe are redox‐sensitive elements, with their concentrations responding to changes in fluid redox conditions. Strontium primarily originates from the breakdown of plagioclase, which is more likely to occur under oxidizing fluid conditions. Therefore, we infer that the main controlling factor of the models is the redox conditions. The two distinct models consistently highlight the most significant contribution of Pb to this differentiation, even though Pb is not a redox‐sensitive element and can only substitute for Ca2+ in apatite as Pb2+. We infer that the high contribution of Pb may be attributed to the potential transportation of Au in the form of a Pb‐(Bi)‐Au melt, and the Pb content in apatite is influenced by the Pb content in the melt, fluid oxygen, and sulfur fugacity. We also propose a novel discriminant plot using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to assess the mineralization potential in quartz veins and alteration zones based on apatite trace element data. The machine learning and LDA results suggest that apatite trace elements could be used effectively in the future orogenic gold deposit exploration.

Nonreciprocal feedback induces migrating oblique and horizontal banded vegetation patterns in hyperarid landscapes

In hyperarid environments, vegetation is highly fragmented, with plant populations exhibiting non-random biphasic structures where regions of high biomass density are separated by bare soil. In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, rainfall is virtually nonexistent, but fog pushed in from the interior sustains patches of vegetation in a barren environment. Tillandsia landbeckii, a plant with no functional roots, survives entirely on fog corridors as a water source. Their origin is attributed to interaction feedback among the ecosystem agents, which have different spatial scales, ultimately generating banded patterns as a self-organising response to resource scarcity. The interaction feedback between the plants can be nonreciprocal due to the fact that the fog flows in a well-defined direction. Using remote sensing analysis and mathematical modelling, we characterise the orientation angle of banded vegetation patterns with respect to fog direction and topographic slope gradient. We show that banded vegetation patterns can be either oblique or horizontal to the fog flow rather than topography. The initial and boundary conditions determine the type of the pattern. The bifurcation diagram for both patterns is established. The theoretical predictions are in agreement with observations from remote sensing image analysis.

Environmental conditions shape learning in larval zebrafish

Growing evidence reveals notable phenotypic plasticity in cognition among teleost fishes. One compelling example is the positive impact of enriched environments on learning performance. Most studies on this effect have focused on juvenile or later life stages, potentially overlooking the importance of early life plasticity. To address this gap, we investigated whether cognitive plasticity in response to environmental factors emerges during the larval stage in zebrafish. Our findings indicate that larvae exposed to an enriched environment after hatching exhibited enhanced habituation learning performance compared to their counterparts raised in a barren environment. This work underscores the presence of developmental phenotypic plasticity in cognition among teleost fish, extending its influence to the very earliest stages of an individual's life.

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Exposure to Human-Relevant Mixtures of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Zebrafish.

Fish models used for chemical exposure in toxicological studies are normally kept in barren tanks without any structural environmental enrichment. Here, we tested the combined effects of environmental enrichment and exposure to two mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in zebrafish. Firstly, we assessed whether developmental exposure to an EDC mixture (MIX G1) combined with rearing the fish in an enriched environment influenced behaviour later in life. This was evaluated using locomotion tracking one month after exposure, showing a significant interaction effect between enrichment and the MIX G1 exposure on the measured locomotion parameters. After three months, we assessed behaviour using custom-made behaviour tanks, and found that enrichment influenced swimming activity. Control fish from the enriched environment were more active than control fish from the barren environment. Secondly, we exposed adult zebrafish to a separate EDC mixture (MIX G0) after rearing them in a barren or enriched environment. Behaviour and hepatic mRNA expression for thyroid-related genes were assessed. There was a significant interaction effect between exposure and enrichment on swimming activity and an effect of environment on latency to approach the group of conspecifics, where enriched fish took more time to approach the group, possibly indicating that they were less anxious. Hepatic gene expression of a thyroid-related gene (thrb) was significantly affected by EDC exposure, while enrichment had no discernible impact on the expression of the measured genes. In conclusion, environmental enrichment is important to consider when studying the effects of EDCs in fish.

Dynamics of changes in broiler spatial distribution induced by a robot with autonomous navigation along the growing cycle

Welfare problems in broiler chickens are associated with accelerated growth in high density and barren environments. Encouraging broiler movement yields benefits by increasing locomotion, foraging, and environmental exploration. Robot sensors with autonomous navigation capabilities developed to collect husbandry information could collaterally induce movement of birds while traversing the chicken houses. This study examines the short-time dynamic of changes in broiler spatial distribution within the robot's zone of influence throughout the growing cycle. Two batches of mixed-sex Cobb-500 were raised in a commercial broiler farm until 42 d of age, in 2 houses divided into 4 equally sized sectors. In half of the sectors an AviSense robot sustained 2-h per day of autonomous navigation. The minute prior and the 4 min following the robot entering the zone of influence were video recorded weekly. Control sectors without a robot were analyzed equivalently. Number of individuals within the zone of influence of the robot were obtained at 1-s intervals and relative density (%) was estimated. Physical interactions between broilers and the robot, as well as interactions with the environment were also recorded. The entrance of the robot triggers within seconds a strong depopulation of the zone with birds walking to neighboring areas (P < 0.03, in all ages). The decreases in relative density induced by the robot appears more pronounced, and repopulation of the zone was slower, in younger than in older birds (P < 0.05). Broilers´ showed physical interactions towards the robot and were also touched and/or slightly pushed by the robots (19 and 84% of videos recorded, respectively). They were also found scratching and/or pecking the ground after the robot passed (64% of videos). Findings strongly suggest that robots, beyond their specific capabilities as environmental sensors, were effective in promoting increased movement in broilers along the growing cycle and could also favor additional exploratory behaviors. Thus, these robots could be considered as environmental enrichment elements that contribute to welfare improvements during intensive rearing.

Mapping Coniferous Forest Distribution in a Semi-Arid Area Based on Multi-Classifier Fusion and Google Earth Engine Combining Gaofen-1 and Sentinel-1 Data: A Case Study in Northwestern Liaoning, China

Information about the distribution of coniferous forests holds significance for enhancing forestry efficiency and making informed policy decisions. Accurately identifying and mapping coniferous forests can expedite the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, aimed at managing forests sustainably, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss. However, traditional methods employed to identify and map coniferous forests are costly and labor-intensive, particularly in dealing with large-scale regions. Consequently, a methodological framework is proposed to identify coniferous forests in northwestern Liaoning, China, in which there are semi-arid and barren environment areas. This framework leverages a multi-classifier fusion algorithm that combines deep learning (U2-Net and Resnet-50) and shallow learning (support vector machines and random forests) methods deployed in the Google Earth Engine. Freely available remote sensing images are integrated from multiple sources, including Gaofen-1 and Sentinel-1, to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the results. The overall accuracy of the coniferous forest identification results reached 97.6%, highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Further calculations were conducted to determine the area of coniferous forests in each administrative region of northwestern Liaoning. It was found that the total area of coniferous forests in the study area is about 6013.67 km2, accounting for 9.59% of northwestern Liaoning. The proposed framework has the potential to offer timely and accurate information on coniferous forests and holds promise for informed decision making and the sustainable development of ecological environment.

Gnawing Sticks and Sibling Ameliorative Effects on Growing Rabbits’ Behavior, Production, and Stress Level under Barren Environment

Environmental enrichment could reduce stress in farm animals; however, limited information is available on the level of productivity and welfare indicators in rabbits raised with or without environmental enrichment. 84 young White New Zealand rabbits were used to identify two examples of environmental enrichment (gnawing sticks and sibling) influences on the behavior, production, and stress level of growing rabbits. Two experiments were done; In experiment one; 36 young rabbits were used to test the effect of sex and sibling relationship on the behaviour and weight gain of the growing rabbits, four groups G1 male sibling, G2 male unsibling, G3 female sibling, and G4 female unsibling. In experiment two; 48 young rabbits were used in two steps; in the first step of the trial the preference test of gnawing sticks tree species was performed by using visual evaluation and the second step was to test the influence of the prefered gnawing sticks tree species in the 1st step on the behaviour, performance, and stress level of growing rabbits. They were classified in to two groups G (1) with the prefered G.S and G (2) rabbits without any gnawing sticks. The behaviour of the rabbit groups was recorded at 4 week old till 11 weeks old using focal sampling technique. Weekly body weight and serum cortisole level at 6 and 10 weeks in both experiment was recorded. Gnawing sticks and sibling housing during the growing period result in improvement in growing rabbits behavior (feeding, self grooming, and social smelling), lowering biting wire and feeder, and decrease cortisole hormone level. So that this study recommends to use them for growing rabbit cages during the growing periods to override the barren environment adverse effects.

PSIII-1 Preference Testing of Three Materials on Sows Prior to Farrowing

Abstract Enrichment increases the ability of a sow to express innate behavior in a barren environment and can reduce aggressive behaviors, stress, and promote animal welfare. The objective of this study was to determine sow interaction with different types of enrichment materials provided before farrowing. A total of 11 sows were randomly assigned an enrichment combination of cardboard, paper, and banana leaves. Sows received two enrichment types, then enrichment was switched for the following day, until all combinations were completed. The enrichment material hung from 2x4 wood using ropes that hung the enrichment and chains placed in the ceiling of the farrowing room that held the 2x4 above the pen of each sow. Therefore, enrichment was placed within the nose reach of each sow. Enrichment material (113 g) was placed in the pens at 0700 h and left for 24 h each day before changing with another enrichment combination. Any enrichment material remaining was weighed. Final weight varied by treatment (P = 0.01), with sows consuming the least of cardboard (24.9 ± 10.0 g) and having an equal preference for banana leaves and paper (74.1 ± 10.0 g and 50.1 ± 11.3 g, respectively). Scan sampling was utilized to measure the frequency of interaction with the enrichments. The scans were designed with the first hour recording every minute a sow interacted with enrichment and the following 3 hours recording every 10 minutes. Continuous observation for the first hour of placement was performed for count data. Each time the sow made contact with the enrichment with her nose, the observation was recorded. The results of the behavior observation suggested that time in contact with enrichment did not differ (P &amp;gt; 0.05), nor did the number of times the pig-initiated contact with enrichment (P &amp;gt; 0.05). In conclusion, sow preference showed that bananas and papers were preferred over cardboard. However, sows will engage with any enrichment material provided before farrowing. Future research should be done to see if any environmental factors play a role in sow’s preference.

The reactions of two species of aphid to chemotactile cues from a wolf spider match their vulnerability to predation

AbstractVarious strategies have evolved to protect animals from predators. We explored the activity and predation risk experienced by two species of aphid. Both species will drop from plants when disturbed and face a suite of predators, including wolf spiders, when they reach the ground. We focused on Aphis fabae Scopoli and Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe (Hemiptera: Aphididae, Aphidini); A. nerii sequesters cardiac glycosides when it feeds on milkweed. We explored the interactions between these aphids and the wolf spider Pardosa milvina Hentz (Araneae: Lycosidae) that is likely a predator they encounter when they are not on their host plants. We hypothesized that there would be differences in the susceptibility of the two species to predation and that the more vulnerable species would react more strongly to substrate‐borne cues deposited by the spider. We predicted that any behavioral reactions that the aphid displayed in response to predator cues would be effective in reducing risk. We documented the activity of each aphid species on chemotactile cues from P. milvina and measured predation rate in arenas with and without those same cues. Aphis fabae altered their activity in the presence of P. milvina cues but A. nerii did not. Likewise, A. fabae was more susceptible to predation by P. milvina when no cues were present, but when cues were present, predatory success was much lower. Aphis nerii, the less desirable prey for this predator, moved less and had a different locomotory pattern than A. fabae in control trials with no spider cues and so we cannot determine whether its chemical protection or activity were more important in reducing predation levels. These results provide insight into the risks faced by aphids when they are off of their host plant and in a barren environment.

Relationship between growing pig’s housing conditions, behaviours, lesions and health issues under Italian farming system

Low space availability, high temperatures and a barren environment may contribute to the occurrence of abnormal behaviours and lesions in intensive pig farming. The present study evaluated the housing conditions (HCs), that influence behavioural measures (BMs), and lesion and health measures (LHMs) in growing pigs reared in an Italian farming system. Data collection was carried out on two groups of pigs in each farm (Farm A and Farm B), tail docked (DT) and tail undocked (UT). The HCs measured were dry and wet bulb temperature, light, humidity, air quality, average body weight, pen level of cleanliness, space, and feeder front allowance. Light intensity was negatively associated with positive behaviour (coefficient: −0.01; p < 0.001), while the length of the feeder front was positively associated with the proportion of pigs exploring the pen (coefficient: 65.18; p = 0.04). Tail lesion score index (LSI) increased with an increased frequency of negative behaviour (coefficient: 8.05; p < 0.01), increased light intensity (coefficient: 0.29; p < 0.001) and increased proportion of CO2 (coefficient: 498.31; p < 0.001), while it decreased with the average body weight of the pen (coefficient: −4.04; p < 0.001) and the space allowance (coefficient: −198.93; p < 0.001). Finally, UT pigs showed a greater (p < 0.001) tail LSI than DT pigs (126.8 ± 5.71 and 78.5 ± 9.11, respectively for UT and DT pigs). The present study improved the understanding of the effects of HCs, including tail docking, on welfare parameters of growing pigs. HIGHLIGHTS Housing and management conditions might play a prominent role on pig health and welfare parameters during growing period. Social and exploring attitude behaviours affects both ears and tail lesions. Regardless of tail docking, tail injuries were positively associated with negative behaviour, light intensity, and CO2, while they were negatively associated with the average body weight of the pen and the space allowance.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to study the key role by which Ralstonia insidiosa induces Listeria monocytogenes to form suspended aggregates.

Ralstonia insidiosa can survive in a wide range of aqueous environments, including food processing areas, and is harmful to humans. It can induce Listeria monocytogenes to form suspended aggregates, resulting from the co-aggregation of two bacteria, which allows for more persistent survival and increases the risk of L. monocytogenes contamination. In our study, different groups of aggregates were analyzed and compared using Illumina RNA sequencing technology. These included R. insidiosa under normal and barren nutrient conditions and in the presence or absence of L. monocytogenes as a way to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the process of aggregate formation. In addition, sterile supernatants of R. insidiosa were analyzed under different nutrient conditions using metabolomics to investigate the effect of nutrient-poor conditions on metabolite production by R. insidiosa. We also undertook a combined analysis of transcriptome and metabolome data to further investigate the induction effect of R. insidiosa on L. monocytogenes in a barren environment. The results of the functional annotation analysis on the surface of DEGs and qPCR showed that under nutrient-poor conditions, the acdx, puuE, and acs genes of R. insidiosa were significantly upregulated in biosynthetic processes such as carbon metabolism, metabolic pathways, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, with Log2FC reaching 4.39, 3.96, and 3.95 respectively. In contrast, the Log2FC of cydA, cyoB, and rpsJ in oxidative phosphorylation and ribosomal pathways reached 3.74, 3.87, and 4.25, respectively. Thirty-one key components were identified while screening for differential metabolites, which mainly included amino acids and their metabolites, enriched to the pathways of biosynthesis of amino acids, phenylalanine metabolism, and methionine metabolism. Of these, aminomalonic acid and Proximicin B were the special components of R. insidiosa that were metabolized under nutrient-poor conditions.

Sunken trees in the deep sea link terrestrial and marine biodiversity.

Wood in the deep sea serves as a substantial food source in an otherwise barren environment, forming specialized, endemic, and diverse community assemblages. This biodiversity reliance on a terrestrial source creates a linkage by which anthropogenic impacts on land can alter the deep oceans. Knowledge of the alpha- or beta-diversity of entire wood-fall communities, and wooden drivers of each would elucidate the terrestrial and deep-sea linkage. We report on a multifactorial experiment in the deep ocean in which alpha- and beta-diversity of 43 wood falls and 11 tree species are quantified over time, wood density, and wood size. We tested multiple hypotheses seeking to link how biodiversity on land may impact the biodiversity in the deep oceans. A tremendous biodiversity occurred among these wood falls in the deep Gulf of Mexico; 114 invertebrate species from 10 phyla. Time, wood hardness, and wood size all impacted various components of community structure. In many cases, these effects were additive. Species occurring on softwoods versus hardwoods and small versus large wood falls were compositionally different. Although various processes can control community structure, this experiment suggests a strong influence of environmental filtering and host specificity of wood-fall invertebrates suggesting an intimate coupling to tree biodiversity and biomass on land.

Microbial Assemblages Associated with the Soil-Root Continuum of an Endangered Plant, Helianthemum songaricum Schrenk.

The microbial network of the soil-root continuum plays a key role in plant growth. To date, limited information is available about the microbial assemblages in the rhizosphere and endosphere of endangered plants. We suspect that unknown microorganisms in roots and soil play an important role in the survival strategies of endangered plants. To address this research gap, we investigated the diversity and composition of the microbial communities of the soil-root continuum of the endangered shrub Helianthemum songaricum and observed that the microbial communities and structures of the rhizosphere and endosphere samples were distinguishable. The dominant rhizosphere bacteria were Actinobacteria (36.98%) and Acidobacteria (18.15%), whereas most endophytes were Alphaproteobacteria (23.17%) as well as Actinobacteria (29.94%). The relative abundance of rhizosphere bacteria was higher than that in endosphere samples. Fungal rhizosphere and endophyte samples had approximately equal abundances of the Sordariomycetes (23%), while the Pezizomycetes were more abundant in the soil (31.95%) than in the roots (5.70%). The phylogenetic relationships of the abundances of microbes in root and soil samples also showed that the most abundant bacterial and fungal reads tended to be dominant in either the soil or root samples but not both. Additionally, Pearson correlation heatmap analysis showed that the diversity and composition of soil bacteria and fungi were closely related to pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and organic matter, of which pH and organic matter were the main drivers. These results clarify the different patterns of microbial communities of the soil-root continuum, in support of the better conservation and utilization of endangered desert plants in Inner Mongolia. IMPORTANCE Microbial assemblages play significant roles in plant survival, health, and ecological services. The symbiosis between soil microorganisms and these plants and their interactions with soil factors are important features of the adaptation of desert plants to an arid and barren environment. Therefore, the profound study of the microbial diversity of rare desert plants can provide important data to support the protection and utilization of rare desert plants. Accordingly, in this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was applied to study the microbial diversity in plant roots and rhizosphere soils. We expect that research on the relationship between soil and root microbial diversity and the environment will improve the survival of endangered plants in this environment. In summary, this study is the first to study the microbial diversity and community structure of Helianthemum songaricum Schrenk and compare the diversity and composition of the root and soil microbiomes.

An enriched maternal environment and stereotypies of sows differentially affect the neuro-epigenome of brain regions related to emotionality in their piglets

ABSTRACT Epigenetic mechanisms are important modulators of neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring of animals challenged during pregnancy. Pregnant sows living in a confined environment are challenged with stress and lack of stimulation which may result in the expression of stereotypies (repetitive behaviours without an apparent function). Little attention has been devoted to the postnatal effects of maternal stereotypies in the offspring. We investigated how the environment and stereotypies of pregnant sows affected the neuro-epigenome of their piglets. We focused on the amygdala, frontal cortex, and hippocampus, brain regions related to emotionality, learning, memory, and stress response. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were investigated in these brain regions of male piglets born from sows kept in an enriched vs a barren environment. Within the latter group of piglets, we compared the brain methylomes of piglets born from sows expressing stereotypies vs sows not expressing stereotypies. DMRs emerged in each comparison. While the epigenome of the hippocampus and frontal cortex of piglets is mainly affected by the maternal environment, the epigenome of the amygdala is mainly affected by maternal stereotypies. The molecular pathways and mechanisms triggered in the brains of piglets by maternal environment or stereotypies are different, which is reflected on the differential gene function associated to the DMRs found in each piglets’ brain region . The present study is the first to investigate the neuro-epigenomic effects of maternal enrichment in pigs’ offspring and the first to investigate the neuro-epigenomic effects of maternal stereotypies in the offspring of a mammal.

제주를 보는 근대적 시선의 형성

The way of seeing Jejudo before the modern era during the Joseon Dynasty can be summarized as ‘the aesthetics of scenic landscapes, the barrenness of the climate, and the vulgarity of customs’. During Japanese colonial rule, ‘a new way of seeing Jejudo’—the discourse of ‘Paradise Jeju’—appeared, replacing the Ten Scenes of Yeongju in the late Joseon Dynasty and forming the basis for the symbolic landscape of Jeju Island until the late 20th century. This was a process in which the industrial potential of Jeju’s climate and resources were re-evaluated in the context of capitalism and industrialization. The image of Jeju’s scenery as an exotic tourist attraction continued even after the liberation. However, the development of Jejudo has been understood as a history of hardships for Jeju residents who overcame a barren environment. According to Confucian scholars on the mainland during the Joseon Dynasty, Jejudo was a barren land, and this was the cause of the Jeju people’s poverty. The discourse of Paradise Jeju coined by Japan can be seen as a complete reversal of the climate determinism-the theory of 風土 of the Joseon Dynasty, and as a colonial project as well as a modern perspective as a new ‘invention’. Paradise Jeju discourse serves as a link between endemic environmentalist thoughts on Jeju in the Joseon Dynasty and contemporary romantic perspectives on Jeju, which can also be an important reference for contemplating a new vision for the development of Jeju in the 21st century and the formation of Jeju identity.

Transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals key genes and secondary metabolites of Casuarina equisetifolia ssp. incana in response to drought stress

Casuarina equisetifolia is drought tolerant, salt tolerant, and able to grow in barren environments. It is often used to reduce wind damage, to prevent sand erosion, and to help establish plant communities in tropical and subtropical coastal zones. To determine the basis for its drought tolerance, we conducted transcriptomic and metabolic analyses of young branchlets under a non-drought treatment (D_0h) and 2-, 12-, and 24-h-long drought treatments (D_2h, D_12h, and D_24h). A total of 5033 and 8159 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in D_2h/D_0h and D_24h/D_0h. These DEGs were involved in plant hormone signal transduction, jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. A total of 148 and 168 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified in D_12h/D_0h and D_24h/D_0h, which were mainly amino acids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids. In conclusion, C. equisetifolia responds to drought by regulating plant hormone signal transduction and the biosynthesis of JA, flavonoid, and phenylpropanoid. These results increase the understanding of drought tolerance in C. equisetifolia at both transcriptional and metabolic levels and provide new insights into coastal vegetation reconstruction and management.

Antarctic Ardley Island terrace - An ideal place to study the marine to terrestrial succession of microbial communities.

The study of chronosequences is an effective tool to study the effects of environmental changes or disturbances on microbial community structures, diversity, and the functional properties of ecosystems. Here, we conduct a chronosequence study on the Ardley Island coastal terrace of the Fildes Peninsula, Maritime Antarctica. The results revealed that prokaryotic microorganism communities changed orderly among the six successional stages. Some marine microbial groups could still be found in near-coastal soils of the late stage (lowest stratum). Animal pathogenic bacteria and stress-resistant microorganisms occurred at the greatest level with the longest succession period. The main driving factors for the succession of bacteria, archaea, and fungi along Ardley Island terrace were found through Adonis analysis (PERMANOVA). During analysis, soil elements Mg, Si, and Na were related to the bacterial and archaeal community structure discrepancies, while Al, Ti, K, and Cl were related to the fungal community structure discrepancies. On the other hand, other environmental factors also play an important role in the succession of microbial communities, which could be different among each microorganism. The succession of bacterial communities is greatly affected by pH and water content; archaeal communities are greatly affected by ; fungal communities are affected by nutrients such as . In the analysis of the characteristic microorganisms along terrace, the succession of microorganisms was found to be influenced by complex and comprehensive factors. For instance, environmental instability, relationship with plants and ecological niches, and environmental tolerance. The results found that budding reproduction and/or with filamentous appendages bacteria were enriched in the late stage, which might be connected to its tolerance to rapid changes and barren environments. In addition, the decline in ammonia oxidation capacity of Thaumarchaeota archaeade with succession and the evolution of the fungi-plant relationship throughout classes were revealed. Overall, this research improves the understanding of the effect of the marine-to-terrestrial transition of the Ardley Island terrace on microbial communities. These findings will lay the foundation for more in-depth research regarding microbial adaptations and evolutionary mechanisms throughout the marine-terrestrial transition in the future.