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Tropical forests have long fascinated ecologists, inspiring a plethora of research into the mechanisms regulating their immense biodiversity, which originally captured the interests of early natural historians and explorers, and that still persists to this day. A new focus of this research emerged in the early 2000s highlighting the potential role of neutral (stochastic) processes in regulating the composition and diversity of tropical forest communities, and thus the maintenance of a large portion of global biodiversity (Hubbell, ). This strictly contrasted the long-held belief that communities assembled via the sorting of species (and their abundances) via a deterministic response to local abiotic and biotic environmental conditions, reflecting the niche of each species (Leibold & McPeek, ). Yet, it is unlikely that the assembly of any community is solely governed by either stochastic or deterministic processes, but instead a combination of both. However, whether deterministic processes via niche-based environmental sorting of species, or stochastic processes reflecting pattens of dispersal limitation, neutral effects and ecological drift dominate is often unclear. This prompts questions as to whether the relative influence of one process over another is dependent on the scale (spatial or temporal) or context of the study, or specific traits of the taxa under investigation (e.g., body size). In a From the Cover paper in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Zinger et al. () tackle all these issues and show, among other things, that for soil microbes and mesofauna from tropical forests, the relative contribution of stochastic and deterministic processes in assembling their communities is strongly dependent on the body size or the studied taxa., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The paper presented the wavelet transform method for d e-noising and singularity detection to soil compressive stress signal. The study results show that the reconstruction signals by the wavelet de-noising keeps the low frequency component at [0, 31.25Hz] of the original signal and improves the high frequency property at other frequency bands. The impaction time from the start time to resonance time of the stress signals is varies with the depth of the soil. With the increase of times of compaction, the impaction time of the stress is decreasing in every layer. But the speed of reaching compacted status in each layer is different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to " An Earthy-Smelling Substance, 1964: How the pungent odor that occurs after a light rain became a well-studied phenomenon "by Lisa Winter, which appeared in the periodical "The Scientist Magazine" on November 8, 2021, is presented which includes topic on the brief rain shower brings a welcome after a long periods of drought or heat, the impact of the drops on rock and creating distinctive aroma now known by the name of petrichor.

This paper summarizes available information on soil clay mineralogy in topsoils of Costa Rica, including clay minerals described in B horizons when significantly different from predominant mineralogy in the topsoil. The soil clay suites ("predominant clay groups") emphasized are grouped as: (1) smectites and interstratified clays (Vertisols and other soils with vertic properties), and (2) oxides-hidroxides-oxihidroxides-kaolinite-gibbsite (in Alfisols, Ultisols and Oxisols). The soil clay genesis of these dominant groups is discussed when enough information is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings in a total of 84 research papers identifying clay minerals on 520 soil samples of Costa Rica are summarized. This review emphasizes on the clay minerals described in the topsoil samples, although clay minerals in the B horizons are also discussed when they are different to predominant mineralogy in the topsoil. Sites where soil clays information is available were geo-referenced, to observe their geographical distribution. In general most of the country possesses soil clays identified, except for the Nicoya Peninsula, the Northern Zone, and the Eastern Talamanca Range. Clay mineralogy suites ("predominant clay groups") were grouped as: (1) vitrous-amorphous-halloysitic (Andisols and other soils with andic properties; (2) smectites and interstratified clays (Vertisols and other soils with vertic properties); (3) oxides-hidroxides-oxihidroxides-kaolinite-gibbsite (Alfisols, Ultisols and Oxisols); Plus a large area of soils with mixed clay mineralogy, found in places with little or no development (Entisols and Inceptisols). The soil clay genesis of the main clay types in the country is discussed when enough information was available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IT'S A BAKING-HOT February day in Matanya, a village that straddles the equator, a few hours' drive north of Nairobi. Smiling broadly, Patrick Gicheru is sowing carrots in layers of soil and compost at his 0.8-hectare farm and recalling a profitable crop of peppers that recently came from the same field. Tomatoes maturing on another plot should be ready for market in a month. “Tomatoes are going for about 80 shillings per kilo,” he says. He estimates the crop will fetch him roughly 10,000 Kenyan shillings—a little over US $93—every week for nearly three months.• This year's tomato harvest alone will nearly pay for the technology that's underpinning Gicheru's success: a solar-powered water pump. A model of simplicity, it consists of a 310-watt photovoltaic panel, a 440-watt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, and a controller that supports his 3,000-liter-per-hour direct-current pump as well as a few LED lights, a mobile phone charger, and a flat-screen TV.• In February 2020, when I visited Gicheru, the small farmer had zero control over the COVID-19 pandemic that was spreading toward Kenya, or the historic locust invasion devouring fields throughout East Africa. But the solar pump he acquired in 2019 was tapping a stable supply of groundwater, boosting his yields and growing seasons, and neutralizing the waves of drought that have afflicted sub-Saharan Africa since time immemorial. • Before acquiring his solar system, Gicheru—like the vast majority of Kenya's small farmers—relied exclusively on rainfall. He also raised cattle back then and lost many to dry spells. He describes life with solar-powered irrigation as a new era: “It has really transformed our lives. At the end of the day, I can be able to put food on the table. I'm also employing people, so I can help them put food on the table. So I thank God. I'm happy.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INDONESIA - Alleged cure for dengue in Indonesia stirs debate. JAPAN - Daiichi Sankyo submits SAVAYSATM tablets new drug application to the U.S. FDA. MALAYSIA - Marine bacterial compound shows antiviral potential. THE PHILIPPINES - Rice bias in the Philippines 'neglects soil problems'. SINGAPORE - Start-up market's artificial cell membranes can speed up drug discovery. SINGAPORE - NCCS scientists discover gene regulation is dependent on protein. SINGAPORE - Elephant shark genome provides new insights into bone formation and adaptive immunity in humans. SINGAPORE - Vela Diagnostics launches qualitative test to identify never before documented virus in Western hemisphere. SINGAPORE - New discovery of biomarker to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. VIETNAM - Setback for dengue-blocking mosquito trial in Vietnam. AFRICA - Scientists to create disease-resistant Ethiopian enset. AFRICA - Viral load tests 'could transform HIV treatment failure'. EUROPE - QIAGEN and Exosome Diagnostics to develop first-in-class, non-invasive diagnostics for key genetic biomarkers in lung and other cancers. EUROPE - Study examines probiotic use in preventing gastrointestinal disorders in infants. EUROPE - Gecko Biomedical's co-founders demonstrate a 'bio-inspired' tissue adhesive that shows promise for minimally invasive heart surgery and vessel repair. UNITED STATES - Scientists solve 40-year mystery of how sodium controls opioid brain signaling. UNITED STATES - Scripps Florida scientists identify possible key to drug resistance in Crohn's disease. UNITED STATES - On-demand vaccines possible with engineered nanoparticles. UNITED STATES - Odor receptors discovered in lungs. UNITED STATES - New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AUSTRALIA - HIV trial validates novel drug mechanism. SINGAPORE - IBN engineered artificial human livers for drug testing and discovery. SINGAPORE - Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore catch evolving germs and cancer cells early. SINGAPORE - DocDoc and Chatter Buzz Media enter strategic partnership to launch Asia's first healthcare Content Marketing Network. UNITED STATES - New method developed to expand blood stem cells for bone marrow transplant. UNITED STATES - Fibrocell/UCLA study on human skin cells yields promising results. UNITED STATES - Metal stents are effective treatment for blocked bile ducts. UNITED STATES - Pain drug may prevent preemie lung damage. UNITED STATES - Gene x3 helps corn grow in acidic soil. UNITED STATES - Cancer Genetics selected by Gilead Sciences, Inc. to provide clinical trial services for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. UNITED KINGDOM - DaTSCAN™ SPECT imaging demonstrates impact on the diagnosis of patients with clinically uncertain dementia. AFRICA - Failing vaccine strategies need to be revamped. AFRICA - RegeneCure's membrane implant shows 40% accelerated healing time of severe bone fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of soil lipase activity as a tool to monitor the decontamination of a freshly oil-polluted soil was tested in a laboratory study. An arable soil was experimentally contaminated with diesel oil at 5 mg hydrocarbons g−1 soil dry weight and incubated with and without fertilization (N-P-K) for 116 days at 20 °C. Lipase activity and counts of oil-degrading microorganisms were measured at regular time intervals, and the correlations with the levels of hydrocarbon concentrations in soil were investigated. The residual soil hydrocarbon concentration correlated significantly negatively with soil lipase activity and with the number of oil-degrading microorganisms, independent of fertilization. The induction of soil lipase activity is a valuable indicator of oil biodegradation in naturally attenuated (unfertilized) and bioremediated (fertilized) soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the 252 soil isolates screened, about 40% were catalase-positive. A novel soil enrichment culture technique consisting of feeding decreasing concentrations of a rich nutrient medium along with increasing concentrations of H2O2 (up to 15% v/v) in a semi- continuous glass column reactor over 15 days resulted in the isolation of high catalase producing yeasts identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These yeasts produced 2–3 times more of intracellular catalase (1630 to 2277 U/ml) than the other microbial isolates (15 to 820 U/ml) tested. The other microorganisms gradually disappeared as the concentration of H2O2 increased in the enrichment. The technique could be used for the isolation of exclusively yeasts that might have superior industrial properties such as high ethanol, flavour, protein and lipid production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]