The period from the late third millennium BC to the start of the first millennium AD witnesses the first steps towards food globalization in which a significant number of important crops and animals, independently domesticated within China, India, Africa and West Asia, traversed Central Asia greatly increasing Eurasian agricultural diversity. This paper utilizes an archaeobotanical database (AsCAD), to explore evidence for these crop translocations along southern and northern routes of interaction between east and west. To begin, crop translocations from the Near East across India and Central Asia are examined for wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) from the eighth to the second millennia BC when they reach China. The case of pulses and flax (Linum usitatissimum) that only complete this journey in Han times (206 BC–AD 220), often never fully adopted, is also addressed. The discussion then turns to the Chinese millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica, peaches (Amygdalus persica) and apricots (Armeniaca vulgaris), tracing their movement from the fifth millennium to the second millennium BC when the Panicum miliaceum reaches Europe and Setaria italica Northern India, with peaches and apricots present in Kashmir and Swat. Finally, the translocation of japonica rice from China to India that gave rise to indica rice is considered, possibly dating to the second millennium BC. The routes these crops travelled include those to the north via the Inner Asia Mountain Corridor, across Middle Asia, where there is good evidence for wheat, barley and the Chinese millets. The case for japonica rice, apricots and peaches is less clear, and the northern route is contrasted with that through northeast India, Tibet and west China. Not all these journeys were synchronous, and this paper highlights the selective long-distance transport of crops as an alternative to demic-diffusion of farmers with a defined crop package.

One of the regions responsible for the stable inheritance of the broad-host-range plasmid RK2 is contained within the PstI C fragment, located from coordinates 30.8 to 37.0 kb (P. N. Saurugger, 0. Hrabak, H. Schwab, and R. M. Lafferty, J. Biotechnol. 4:333-343, 1986). Genetic analysis of this 6.2-kb region demonstrated that no function was present that stabilized by selectively killing plasmid-free segregants. The sequence from 36.0 to 37.0 kb mediated a twofold increase in plasmid copy number, but this region was not required for stabilization activity. The PstI C fragment was shown to encode a multimer resolution system from 33.1 to 35.3 kb. The resolution cis-acting site was mapped to 140 bp, sequenced, and observed to contain two directly repeated sequences of 6 and 7 bases and two perfect inverted repeats of 6 and 8 bases. The trans-acting factor(s) was mapped and functionally determined to encode a resolvase capable of catalyzing recombination at high frequency between cis-acting sites in either direct or inverted orientation. Multimer resolution alone did not account for complete plasmid stabilization by the PstI C fragment, since removal of regions adjacent to the 35.3-kb border of the minimal mrs locus dramatically reduced stabilization. The minimal region required for complete stabilization, from 32.8 to 35.9 kb, was capable of fully stabilizing plasmids independently of the replicon or the recA proficiency of the host. Stabilization activity was also fully expressed in several diverse gram-negative bacteria, whereas the F plasmid par locus functioned only in Escherichia coli. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that under the growth conditions used, the minimal stabilization locus encodes both an mrs activity and a stabilization activity that has the properties of a par locus.

Vertebrae counts made on 504 Large White and 550 (Wessex × Large White) pigs showed an association with carcass length but not with other carcass traits. For each additional vertebra there was an increase in length of approximately 15 mm.Another group of 313 piglets from 36 litters were X-rayed at around 9 days of age in order to predict their ultimate carcass length. After correction for sex and variations in weight at slaughter it was found that the number of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae together accounted for 14% of the remaining variation in carcass length. Improved accuracy of prediction, accounting for 29% of the variation was obtained with a multiple regression equation using as independent variables: the skeletal length of the young pig as measured on its radiograph, its weight at birth and X-raying and the number of lumbar vertebrae. From measurements made on the carcass it i s suggested that X-raying of the bacon pig to measure the length of the first four lumbar vertebrae, would, in conjunction with an earlier determination of vertebrae number, enable a much improved prediction of carcass length to be made.The incidence of various vertebral variations is noted and in particular the occurrence of one pig with only six cervical vertebrae.

A new mutant, Small eyes (symbol Sey), that reduces the size of the eye in the mouse, is described. It is dominant, and lethal when homozygous.

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SUMMARYCell numbers in four organs of large, control and small mice were estimated by nuclear counts. Average cell mass was estimated from the cell number and the organ weight. The mice were from the selected Q-strain with six replicate lines in each size-group. The organs were lung, liver, spleen and kidney. At 6 weeks of age the large mice had more cells and larger cells than the controls in all organs; the small mice had fewer and smaller cells than the controls. The regression of log cell-number on log-organ weight provides a measure of how much, proportionately, cell number contributes to the differences in organ weight. In the lung and spleen, cell number contributed about 70% of the strain differences in organ weight, cell mass contributing about 30%; in the liver and kidney the relative contributions were about equal, at 50%.Cell counts at different ages from 3 to 15 weeks showed that cell number and cell mass contributed to the increases of organ weights during growth in roughly the same proportions as stated above. From this it is concluded that the main effect of selection for body weight has been to speed up or slow down the normal processes of cellular growth.

Indigenous aid workers carry out the majority of humanitarian aid work, yet there is little empirical information available on their support needs in different contexts. Focus groups (N = 26: Study 1) and a survey (N = 137; Study 2) were conducted with Guatemalan aid workers to explore their exposure to violence, posttraumatic stress symptoms, burnout, support needs, and motivators. Participants reported experiencing an average of 13 events of community violence and 17% reported symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Direct community violence exposure and levels of emotional exhaustion were positively related to PTSD symptoms, while levels of personal accomplishment were inversely related to PTSD symptoms. Expressed support needs, motivators and rewards for aid work in the face of adversity are also reported as potential protective factors for further exploration. Implications for training and support of aid workers in similar contexts are also suggested.

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