Background: Our aim was to compare the effects of a Paleolithic ('Old Stone Age') diet and a diabetes diet as generally recommended on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes not treated with insulin.

Knowing spatial patterns of functional microbial guilds can increase our understanding of the relationships between microbial community ecology and ecosystem functions. Using geostatistical modeling to map spatial patterns, we explored the distribution of the community structure, size, and activity of one functional group in N cycling, the denitrifiers, in relation to 23 soil parameters over a 44-ha farm divided into one organic and one integrated crop production system. The denitrifiers were targeted by the nirS and nirK genes that encode the two mutually exclusive types of nitrite reductases, the cd 1 heme-type and copper reductases, respectively. The spatial pattern of the denitrification activity genes was reflected by the maps of the abundances of nir genes. For the community structure, only the maps of the nirS community were related to the activity. The activity was correlated with nitrate and dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon, whereas the gene pools for denitrification, in terms of size and composition, were influenced by the soil structure. For the nirS community, pH and soil nutrients were also important in shaping the community. The only unique parameter related to the nirK community was the soil Cu content. However, the spatial pattern of the nirK denitrifiers corresponded to the division of the farm into the two cropping systems. The different community patterns, together with the spatial distribution of the nirS/nirK abundance ratio, suggest habitat selection on the nirS-and nirK-type denitrifiers. Our findings constitute a first step in identifying niches for denitrifiers at scales relevant to land management.

Characterization of spatial patterns of functional microbial communities could facilitate the understanding of the relationships between the ecology of microbial communities, the biogeochemical processes they perform and the corresponding ecosystem functions. Because of the important role the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) have in nitrogen cycling and nitrate leaching, we explored the spatial distribution of their activity, abundance and community composition across a 44-ha large farm divided into an organic and an integrated farming system. The spatial patterns were mapped by geostatistical modeling and correlations to soil properties and ecosystem functioning in terms of nitrate leaching were determined. All measured community components for both AOB and AOA exhibited spatial patterns at the hectare scale. The patchy patterns of community structures did not reflect the farming systems, but the AOB community was weakly related to differences in soil pH and moisture, whereas the AOA community to differences in soil pH and clay content. Soil properties related differently to the size of the communities, with soil organic carbon and total nitrogen correlating positively to AOB abundance, while clay content and pH showed a negative correlation to AOA abundance. Contrasting spatial patterns were observed for the abundance distributions of the two groups indicating that the AOB and AOA may occupy different niches in agro-ecosystems. In addition, the two communities correlated differently to community and ecosystem functions. Our results suggest that the AOA, not the AOB, were contributing to nitrate leaching at the site by providing substrate for the nitrite oxidizers.

A protocol using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the direct detection and quantification of Plasmodiophora brassicae in soil samples was developed and used on naturally and artificially infested soil samples containing different concentrations of P. brassicae. Species-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorogenic probe were designed to amplify a small region of P. brassicae ribosomal DNA. Total genomic DNA was extracted and purified from soil samples using commercial kits. The amount of pathogen DNA was quantified using a standard curve generated by including reactions containing different amounts of a plasmid carrying the P. brassicae target sequence. The PCR assay was optimized to give high amplification efficiency and three to four copies of the target DNA sequence were detected. Regression analysis showed that the standard curve was linear over at least six orders of magnitude (R 2 > 0AE99) and that the amplification efficiency was >92%. The detection limit in soil samples corresponded to 500 resting spores g )1 soil. The intersample reproducibility was similar to, or higher than, that of assays for other pathogens quantified in soil samples. Bait plants were used to validate the real-time PCR assay. The protocol developed was used to investigate the spatial distribution of P. brassicae DNA in different fields and a significant difference was found between in-field sampling points. The reproducibility of soil sampling was evaluated and showed no significant differences for samples with low levels of inoculum, whereas at higher levels differences occurred. Indicator kriging was used for mapping the probability of detecting P. brassicae within a 2-ha area of a field. A threshold level of 5 fg plasmid DNA g )1 soil, corresponding to approximately 3 · 10 3 P. brassicae resting spores g )1 soil, is suggested for growing resistant cultivars. The results provide a robust and reliable technique for predicting the risk of disease development and for assessing the distribution of disease within fields.

Background:It is important to understand the correlates of physical activity (PA) to influence policy and create environments that promote PA among preschool children. We compared preschoolers’ PA in Swedish and in US settings and objectively examined differences boys’ and girls’ indoor and outdoor PA regarding different intensity levels and sedentary behavior.Methods:Accelerometer determined PA in 50 children with mean age 52 months, (range 40–67) was recorded during preschool time for 5 consecutive weekdays at 4 sites. The children wore an Actigraph GTIM Monitor.Results:Raleigh preschool children, opposite to Malmö preschoolers spent significantly more time indoors than outdoors (P < .001). Significantly more moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) was observed outdoors (P < .001) in both settings. Malmö children accumulated significantly more counts/min indoors (P < .001). The percent of MVPA during outdoor time did not differ between children at Raleigh and Malmö.Conclusion:Physical activity counts/minutes was significantly higher outdoors vs. indoors in both Malmö and Raleigh. Malmö preschoolers spent 47% of attendance time outdoors compared with 18% for Raleigh preschoolers which could have influenced the difference in preschool activity between the 2 countries. Time spent in MVPA at preschool was very limited and predominantly adopted outdoors.