Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Constant Amount (constant + amount)
Selected AbstractsAccumulation of 137Cs by larvae of the midge Chironomus riparius from sediment: Effect of potassiumENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2003Lieven Bervoets Abstract We studied the effect of potassium on the uptake of radiocesium from sediment by larvae of the midge Chironomus riparius. Sediment ingestion rate was determined for one week. After 24 h the gut content remained constant, indicating that equilibrium was reached between sediment ingestion and sediment elimination. These data were used to account for radiocesium present in the gut in subsequent uptake experiments. Reference sediment was equilibrated with solutions containing different concentrations of potassium: 1, 10, 100, and 1,000 ,M. Adsorption of 137Cs to the sediment was investigated. Three different radiocesium levels (0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 KBq/ml) were applied at the four different potassium levels. In all cases more than 94% of all radiocesium was adsorbed to the sediment within 48 h. The sediment, equilibrated with the four different potassium levels, was spiked with a constant amount of 296 Bq/ml 137Cs. Accumulation by midge larvae was followed for one week, and subsequently elimination was followed for another week. No significant differences in radiocesium levels in midge larvae among the treatments were found after one week of exposure. However, using a one-compartment accumulation model, a small but significant effect of potassium in water and sediment on the uptake and elimination rate constants (ka and ke) was found. These results indicate that although differences were rather small, radiocesium accumulation decreased with increasing potassium level in the sediment. [source] Population dynamics of the pipistrelle bat: effects of sex, age and winter weather on seasonal survivalJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2003Thomas Sendor Summary 1Life-history theory assumes increased mortality at certain stages such as hibernation. However, seasonal variation of survival rates of hibernating mammals has rarely been estimated. In this study, apparent survival of pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) hibernating and performing summer swarming at a large hibernaculum (Marburg Castle, Hesse, Germany), was modelled using seasonal (summer/winter) capture,recapture data for the years 1996,2000. The spring survival interval includes the period of arousal at the end of hibernation and therefore validly measures survival associated with hibernation. 2In five summers and four winters, 15 839 bats were captured and released (13 082 individuals) and 3403 recaptures recorded. Analysis was complicated by transience and trap-dependence. Recapture rates varied seasonally and by group. The autumnal survival estimates were negatively biased due to transience effects that could not be taken into account. 3Survival could be modelled using two age-classes, with reduced first-year juvenile survival. The age effect persisted over the first autumn and spring. There was virtually no evidence for sex-specific survival rates; male and female survival were found to be almost equal. In the best-fitting models, survival rates varied over time and differed among sexes and age-classes by a constant amount. Between years, there was only a small variation in spring survival, which could not be explained by winter severity. 4Adult spring survival was surprisingly high, averaging 0·892 (= 0·028). No evidence for increased mortality during hibernation could be found. This contradicted the expectation of reduced over-winter survival due to depleted fat reserves at the end of hibernation. Thus, hibernation does apparently not entail a survival cost for the pipistrelle bat. Rough estimates of annual adult survival averaged 0·799 ( = 0·051), which considerably exceeds previous estimates; annual juvenile survival was estimated at 0·527 ( = 0·095). Hence, previous studies have substantially underestimated pipistrelle bat survival. Possible consequences of these findings for various aspects of life histories are discussed. [source] Root surface roughness following Er:YAG laser irradiation at different radiation energies and working tip angulationsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY, Issue 7 2002Matthias Folwaczny Abstract Objectives: The determination of roughness of root surfaces following treatment with 2.94 µm Er:YAG laser radiation at different radiation energies and working tip angulations. Materials and methods: The study sample comprised 85 extracted human molars, premolars, canines and incisors (n = 85). The source of laser radiation was an Er:YAG laser device (KAVO-Key II, System Aesculap Meditec) emitting pulsed infrared radiation at a wavelength of 2.94 µm, with a pulse duration of 250 µs, and a pulse repetition rate of 10 pps. The samples were randomly divided into three experimental units, for treatment with a constant amount of 380 laser pulses at a radiation energy of 60 mJ, 100 mJ, and 180 mJ. Each experimental unit was divided into five subgroups of five samples, which were irradiated at a working tip angulations of 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. Five samples were treated mechanically using curettes. Five samples were left untreated as control. The mean (Ra) and maximum (Rmax) surface roughness of each sample was measured using a profilometer. The statistical analysis was undertaken using anova and Scheffé-test at a level of significance of 5% (p < 0.05). Results: Er:YAG laser radiation led to an Ra which ranged from 0.52 µm (± 0.10) to 0.81 µm (± 0.26) and to an Rmax between 3.4 µm (± 0.48) and 9.26 µm (± 3.08). The Ra and Rmax for samples treated with curettes was 0.51 µm (± 0.11) and 5.08 µm (± 4.98), respectively. That for the untreated control samples were 0.53 µm (± 0.15) and 7.07 µm (± 5.48), respectively. Conclusions: The mean and maximum surface roughness of root surfaces following irradiation with Er:YAG laser was not significantly different to that obtained on samples treated with conventional hand instruments or left untreated. Furthermore, the surface roughness does not depend on the radiation energy and the angulation of the working tip. [source] Effects of non-ionic and mixed non-ionic,cationic micelles on the rate of aqueous cleavages of phenyl benzoate and phenyl salicylate in alkaline mediumJOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2004M. Niyaz Khan Abstract Pseudo-first-order rate constants (kobs) for the hydrolysis of phenyl salicylate (PSH) and phenyl benzoate (PB) in the alkaline medium show a monotonic decrease with the increase in [C16E20]T (total concentration of Brij 58) at constant [CH3CN] and [NaOH]. This micellar effect is explained in terms of the pseudophase model of micelles. These results show a characteristic difference between the effects of [C16E20]T and previously published effects of [C12E23]T (total concentration of Brij 35) on the rates of aqueous cleavage of PSH and PB at [CnEm]T/[NaOH],,3. The values of kobs, obtained at different [C16E20]T in the presence of a constant amount of CTABr, follow the empirical relationship kobs=(k0+,K[C16E20]T)/(1+K[C16E20]T), where , and K are empirical parameters. The values of , are not affected whereas the values of K decrease with increase in [CTABr]T in a mixed C16E20,CTABr micellar system. The values of , at different [CTABr]T show that ,>k0 for hydrolysis of PSH and , Effects of non-ionic and mixed cationic,non-ionic micelles on the rate of alkaline hydrolysis of phthalimideJOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2002M. Niyaz Khan Abstract Pseudo-first-order rate constants (kobs) for the alkaline hydrolysis of phthalimide (PTH) show a monotonic decrease with the increase in [C16E20]T (total concentration of Brij 58) at constant [CH3CN] and [NaOH]. This micellar effect is explained in terms of the pseudophase model of micelles. The rate of hydrolysis of PTH in C16E20 micellar pseudophase appears to be negligible compared with that in the aqueous pseudophase. The values of kobs for C12E23 (Brij 35) show a sharp decrease at very low values of [C12E23]T followed by a very slow decrease with increase in [C12E23]T at relatively higher values of the latter. The rate of hydrolysis becomes too slow to monitor at [C12E23]T ,0.04,M in the absence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) and at [C12E23]T ,0.05,M in the presence of 0.006,0.02,M CTABr at 0.02,M NaOH whereas such characteristic behavior is kinetically absent with C16E20. The values of kobs, obtained at different [NIS]T (where NIS represents C16E20 and C12E23) in the presence of a constant amount of CTABr, follow the empirical relationship kobs,=,(k0,+,kK[NIS]T)/(1,+,K[NIS]T) where k and K are empirical parameters. The values of k are only slightly affected whereas the values of K decrease with increase in [CTABr]T for the mixed C16E20,CTABr micellar system. The rate of hydrolysis of PTH at ,0.01,M C12E23 and ,0.01,M CTABr reveals the formation of phthalic anhydride whereas this was not observed in the mixed C16E20,CTABr micellar system under similar experimental conditions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Automated Layer-by-Layer Deposition of Polyelectrolytes in Flow ModeMACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 6-7 2009Svetlozar Ivanov Abstract Multilayer structures of conducting polymers were fabricated by a simply automated approach in flow mode. Polyaniline and poly(styrene sulfonate) were used as a model system, allowing a fast electrochemical and spectroscopic determination of the amount of deposited material. The technology was applied for layer-by-layer deposition of up to 100 bilayers. The results demonstrate a well reproducible and almost constant amount of the adsorbed polymer at each deposition cycle. The method can be applied for deposition of other conducting or non-conducting polymers, biological macromolecules and composites of polyelectrolytes and nanoparticles. [source] Measurement of xylem sap amino acid concentrations in conjunction with whole tree transpiration estimates spring N remobilization by cherry (Prunus avium L.) treesPLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 12 2002G. GRASSI Abstract Prunus avium trees were grown in sand culture for one vegetative season with contrasting N supplies, in order to precondition their N storage capacities. During the spring of the second year a constant amount of 15N was supplied to all the trees, and the recovery of unlabelled N in the new biomass production was used as a direct measure of N remobilization. Destructive harvests were taken during spring to determine the pattern of N remobilization and uptake. Measurements of both xylem sap amino acid profiles and whole tree transpiration rates were taken, to determine whether specific amino acids are translocated as a consequence of N remobilization and if remobilization can be quantified by calculating the flux of these amino acids in the xylem. Whereas remobilization started immediately after bud burst, N derived from uptake by root appeared in the leaves only 3 weeks later. The tree internal N status affected both the amount of N remobilization and its dynamics. The concentration of xylem sap amino acids peaked shortly after bud burst, concurrently with the period of fastest remobilization. Few amino acids and amides (Gln, Asn and Asp) were responsible for most of N translocated through the xylem; however, their relative concentration varied over spring, demonstrating that the transport of remobilized N occurred mainly with Gln whereas transport of N taken up from roots occurred mainly with Asn. Coupling measurements of amino acid N in the xylem sap with transpiration values was well correlated with the recovery of unlabelled N in the new biomass production. These results are discussed in relation to the possibility of measuring the spring remobilization of N in field-grown trees by calculating the flux of N translocation in the xylem. [source] Preparation and properties of silicone-containing poly(methyl methacrylate) gelsPOLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 11 2005Hamid Javaherian Naghash Abstract Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) gels with varying amounts of silicone and solvent and constant amounts of crosslinker were prepared by solution free radical crosslinking copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDM), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) comonomer systems. They were then studied in benzene at a total monomer concentration of 3.5 mol L,1 and 70 °C. The conversion of monomer, volume swelling ratio, weight fraction and gel point were measured as a function of the reaction time, silicone concentration and benzene content up to the onset of macrogelation. Structural characteristics of the gels were examined by using equilibrium swelling in benzene, gel fraction and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The morphology of the copolymers was also investigated by SEM. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the FTIR data did not have the capacity to show the presence of the VTES or TEOS moiety in these kinds of copolymers. On the other hand, the variation of weight fraction of gel, Wg, and its equilibrium volume swelling ratio in benzene, qv, exhibited the same behaviour as that of MMA/EGDM copolymers. Also, the dilution of the monomer mixture resulted in an increase in the gel point and swelling degree and a decrease in the percent of conversion and gel fraction. Finally, TEOS is not an ideal silicone compound for reaction in the MMA/EGDM copolymerization system, whereas VTES is a suitable silicone comonomer for this system and it has been proved useful. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source]
| | ||||||||||||