Vol. 1 No. 2 (2020): Biosis: Biological Systems

We report the discovery of concentrated invertebrate inchnofossils in close association with a dinosaur nest from the Hekou Formation in Jiangxi Province, China. The seven dinosaurian eggs reported clearly belong to the Elongatoolithidae and burrow traces were most likely made by small crustaceans. This association prompts the question as to whether invertebrate activity had relations with the buried eggs. This may be just an occasional case or the eggs may have organically increased the content of organic matter in soil which attracted the crustaceans.

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plant reproductive growth and seed setting. A better understanding of the reasonable application rate of B could provide guidelines for improving seed yield and quality. In this study, we used five B concentrations (0, 400, 800, 1200, and 1600 mg B L^-1) to study the effect of foliar application of B on seed yield and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in northern China. Our results indicated that foliar B application increased the pollen number, pollen viability, and dry weight and B concentration of alfalfa reproductive organs. The effect of B on alfalfa seed yield can be attributed to affecting the number of inflorescence and the seeds per pod. Foliar application with 800 mg B L^-1 made quantitative and qualitative improvements in seed yield and quality of alfalfa. These results help to explain the positive effects of B on alfalfa seed production.

A female lacewing bug in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is described as Paleoanomala aptenus gen. et sp. nov. (Tingidae: Hemiptera). This specimen is small and flightless and has partially fused hemelytra. The dorsum is covered with areoles formed by large dark punctures. The vestigial eyes, lack of ocelli, and a flattened body suggest that this specimen lived in a stable, protected habitat. It is proposed that the precursor of Paleoanomala was macropterous with functional wings, however, the suture separating the original hemelytra is now partially fused and not capable of separation.

Large dinosaur tracks were recently reported from locations in the Pterosaur-Yadan National Geological Park situated about 100 km south of Hami in Xinjiang Province, China. The park comprises a substantial area in a much larger arid region comprising and extensive spectrum of Cretaceous, siliciclastic, Tugulu Group, lithofacies representing proximal, basin margin, alluvial fan and braided stream deposits, grading into alluvial plain, deltaic and lacustrine facies near the depocenter. Due to the difficulties of conducting detailed geological surveys in such a vast and inhospitable area, definitive resolution of the litho-, bio- and chrono-stratigraphy is challenging in some areas, and yet to be published in detail. Nevertheless, the occurrence of large dinosaur tracks and dinoturbated units, here interpreted as sauropodan, in association with root casts, dinosaur bone and fossil wood, points to the potential of this frontier area to yield valuable paleontological information, and show that flora and fauna were found in arid braided stream systems away from the lacustrine depocenters where body fossils are more abundant and better known.

Nowadays, in the poultry industry, antibiotics are used to treat, prevent, and enhance poultry growth and production efficiency. Their irregular consumption has resulted in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in this industry. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in contaminated waters can be transmitted into soil. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteria isolated from the water of chicken slaughterhouses around Hamadan (Iran) province. In this study, 20 water samples were collected from four slaughterhouses in Hamadan province (during spring and summer 2019). Initial isolation and identification of the bacteria were performed by pour plate culture and biochemical tests. The disc diffusion method was applied to investigate the resistance pattern. This study presents 109 screened isolates. Of these, 57.8% E.coli, 35.7% Salmonella spp., and 6.42% Klebsiella spp. were detected. Antibiograms of isolates showed that in E.coli, 23.09% were resistant to four types of the antibiotic tetracycline, amoxicillin, gentamicin, and chloramphenicol, 76.19% had only one type of antibiotic. Antibiotics for Salmonella spp. showed that 35.9% were resistant to tetracycline, gentamicin, and chloramphenicol, 64.10% to only one type of antibiotic. Also, in Klebsiella spp., 85.71% were sensitive to antibiotics, and only 14.28% were resistant to tetracycline. Conclusion: The results showed that the rate of multiple antibiotic resistance is relatively high, and contaminated water has a high potential for soil contamination. Therefore, resistant bacteria become more stable in the environment, and the health of the environment will be endangered. Therefore, it is necessary to study the antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacteria to study and maintain the health of the environment.