Decreasing Temperature (decreasing + temperature)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The Effect of Decreasing Temperature up to Chilling Values on the in vivo F685/F735 Chlorophyll Fluorescence Ratio in Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum: The Role of the Photosystem I Contribution to the 735 nm Fluorescence Band ,

PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
Giovanni Agati
ABSTRACT The effect of leaf temperature (T), between 23 and 4°C, on the chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence spectral shape was investigated under moderate (200 ,E m,2 s,1) and low (30,35 ,E m,2 s,1) light intensities in Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum. With decreasing temperature, an increase in the fluorescence yield at both 685 and 735 nm was observed. A marked change occurred at the longer emission band resulting in a decrease in the Chl fluorescence ratio, F685/F735, with reducing T. Our fluorescence analysis suggests that this effect is due to a temperature-induced state 1,state 2 transition that decreases and increases photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) fluorescence, respectively. Time-resolved fluorescence lifetime measurements support this interpretation. At a critical temperature (about 6°C) and low light intensity a sudden decrease in fluorescence intensity was observed, with a larger effect at 685 than at 735 nm. This is probably linked to a modification of the thylakoid membranes, induced by chilling temperatures, which can alter the spillover from PSII to PSI. The contribution of photosystem I to the long-wavelength Chl fluorescence band (735 nm) at room temperature was estimated by both time-resolved fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence yield measurements at 685 and 735 nm. We found that PSI contributes to the 735 nm fluorescence for about 40, 10 and 35% at the minimal (F0), maximal (Fm) and steady-state (Fs) levels, respectively. Therefore, PSI must be taken into account in the analysis of Chl fluorescence parameters that include the 735 nm band and to interpret the changes in the Chl fluorescence ratio that can be induced by different agents. [source]


Development of the Detachment under the Influence of the Supersonic Flow in the Divertor Region

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PLASMA PHYSICS, Issue 1-3 2008
O. Marchuk
Abstract It is demonstrated in the framework of a one-dimensional model for the scrape-off layer that with increasing upstream plasma density and decreasing temperature near divertor target plates a supersonic flow develops in the front of the target. This flow is an important mechanism for the transition from high-recycling regime to a weak detached state and has a significant impact on the plasma parameters, in particular, the pressure and particle flux to the plates, after detachment. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Work-hardening characteristics of Zn-Ti alloy single crystals

CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
G. Boczkal
Abstract Shear stress , shear strain curves of 0.14 at.%Ti alloyed Zn single crystals were measured in compression at different temperatures and shear strain rates. The work-hardening coefficient for basal slip increases with decreasing temperature and increasing shear strain rate. The work-hardening characteristics are compared with those reported for Zn single crystals with different constituents and purities. It is discussed with respect to the interaction of dislocations with dislocations, vacancies, vacancy agglomerates and solute atoms. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


The Dry Limit of Microbial Life in the Atacama Desert Revealed by Calorimetric Approaches

ENGINEERING IN LIFE SCIENCES (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2008
N. Barros
Abstract The Atacama desert in Chile is one of the driest and most lifeless environments on Earth. It rains possibly once a decade. NASA examined these soils as a model for the Martian environment by comparing their degradation activity with Martian soil and looking for "the dry limit of life". The existence of heterotrophic bacteria in Atacama soil was demonstrated by DNA extraction and by the isolation of microorganisms. So far, however, no data have been available about the metabolic activities in these soils due to the limitations of the existing methodologies when applied to desert soils. Calorimetry was used to obtain information on the metabolic and thermal properties of eleven soil samples collected at different sites in the Atacama desert. Differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal calorimetry were employed to determine the pyrolysis properties of the carbon-containing matter and to measure biomass and microbial metabolism. They were compared to other soil properties such as total carbon and nitrogen, carbon to nitrogen ratio and pH. There was measurable organic matter in nine of the eleven samples and the heat of pyrolysis of those soils was correlated to the carbon content. In five of the eleven samples no biomass could be detected and the existence of basal microbial metabolism could not be established because all samples showed endothermic activity, probably from inorganic reactions with water. Six samples showed microbial activation after the addition of glucose. Carbon content, nitrogen content and the microbial activity after glucose amendment were correlated to the altitude and to the average minimum temperature of the sampling sites calculated from meteorological data. The detectable microbial metabolism was more dissipative with increasing altitude and decreasing temperature. [source]


Effect of temperature on development, overwintering and establishment potential of Franklinothrips vespiformis in the UK

ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 2 2007
Eleni Larentzaki
Abstract This study investigated the effect of temperature on the development and overwintering potential of the predatory thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis (Crawford) (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae), a biological control agent used against glasshouse pests in continental Europe and Israel. Developmental rates increased linearly with rearing temperatures. It was estimated that 304.9 degree days, above a lower threshold temperature of 11.9 °C, were required for F. vespiformis to complete development from egg to adult eclosion. The effect of low temperatures (,5, 0, and 5 °C) was examined on adult female and larval survival. Subsequent reproductive and developmental attributes of survivors were also investigated. Lethal time experiments indicated that larval stages are more cold tolerant than adult F. vespiformis females. Surviving larvae increased their developmental times to adults with decreasing temperature and increasing exposure periods and second instars were significantly more successful than first instars in reaching adulthood. Surviving adult females decreased their oviposition rate with decreasing temperature and increasing exposure periods, and exposures to low temperatures affected the number of viable eggs produced. The results are discussed in the context of overwintering and establishment potential of F. vespiformis in the UK in the event of introducing the predatory thrips as a biological control agent against glasshouse pests. [source]


Mechanisms affecting the dissolution of nonaqueous phase liquids into the aqueous phase in slow-stirring batch systems

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2001
Mathias Schluep
Abstract Understanding the kinetics of the exchange processes between nonaqueous phase liquids (NALs) and water is important in predicting the fate of anthropogenic compounds such as petroleum hydrocarbons, i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) as well as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Exchange processes occurring in the environment resemble the experimental setup of the slow-stirring method (SSM) designed to determine solubilities and octanol-water partition coefficients. Data obtained from SSM experiments for diesel fuel compounds are interpreted by a linear transfer model that is characterized by an aqueous molecular boundary layer and the water/NAPL equilibrium partition coefficient. For the chosen experimental setup, the boundary layer thickness is 2.42 × 10,2 cm. Typical equilibration times lie between 1 and 2 d. Due to the temperature dependence of the aqueous diffusivity, this time increases with decreasing temperature. Transport within the NAPL phase can slow down the exchange process for the more water-soluble compounds (e.g., benzene) provided that the stirring rate exceeds a critical value. [source]


Solubilities and surface activities of phthalates investigated by surface tension measurements

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2001
Marianne Thomsen
Abstract Aueous solutions of DEP (di-ethyl), DnBP (di- n -butyl), DnH(6)P (di- n -hexyl), and DEHP (di-[2-ethyl-hexyl])phthalates have been investigated by use of surface tension measurements at temperatures between 10 and 35°C. A tensiometric approach allows for the determination of unimeric solubilities and ,G°, which is the standard Gibbs free energy change, for the dissolution of phthalates in water. The unimeric solubility of the phthalates increase with decreasing temperature. The ,G° shows a linear increase with increasing phthalate alkyl chain length. The contribution of enthalpy (,H°) and entropy (,S°) to ,G° were calculated from the temperature-dependent solubilities. The contributions of both ,H° and ,S° are negative and increase in magnitude with increasing alkyl chain length, suggesting hydrophobic interactions between phthalates and water. The ability of different phthalates to lower the surface tension decreases with increasing alkyl chain length, whereas the relative affinity for adsorption in the air-water interface increases drastically for long-chain phthalates. Despite the low surface activity of phthalates compared with that of common surfactants, they show significant affinity for adsorption in air-water interfaces of natural surface waters. This property, combined with their low solubilities, may affect the fate of these compounds within the natural environment, because they form emulsions above unimeric saturation in aqueous media. [source]


Reproductive strategies of Gammarus lacustris (Crustacea: Amphipoda) along an elevation gradient

FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2000
Wilhelm F. M.
Abstract 1.,The number of eggs, their size, mass and development time, and the starvation time of newly hatched young, was examined in four populations of Gammarus lacustris along an elevation gradient from prairie to alpine lakes (730 m to > 2300 m above sea level). Water temperature and ice-free season decreased with increasing altitude. 2.,Females in the alpine lake produced fewer but larger and heavier eggs than females in the prairie lake. Eggs produced by females in montane and subalpine lakes were intermediate in size, mass and number. Within populations, egg size was not related to the number of eggs or female size. 3.,The development time of eggs declined with an increase in incubation temperature. At all incubation temperatures, large eggs had a longer incubation time than small eggs. All eggs incubated at 4 °C failed to produce young. Young from large eggs were larger in size than young from small eggs. 4.,The starvation time of newly hatched young increased with decreasing temperature. However, slopes of regressions relating starvation time to temperature differed among populations. At 4 °C young from large eggs survived longer than young from small eggs. 5.,The high phenotypic plasticity in reproductive traits contributes to the success of G. lacustris in a wide range of aquatic habitats. It is predicted that in response to climate-induced warming, populations in currently cold montane and alpine lakes would shift their reproduction to produce more eggs of smaller size. However, the accurate prediction of the fate of populations between ecoregions will require knowledge of the extent to which these traits are under genetic control. [source]


Influence of temperature on hydrodynamic costs of morphological defences in zooplankton: experiments on models of Eubosmina (Cladocera)

FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2000
R. Lagergren
Abstract 1.,If swimming speed is correlated to fitness (e.g. by affecting food intake or the chance to evade predators) or considerable energy is expended in swimming, zooplankton wearing protruding structures (as predator defence) that significantly increase drag resistance must pay a cost for the better protection against predators that these traits imply. 2.,In an experiment with plastic models, the drag and energy consumption of swimming in two species of Eubosmina were examined. Eubosmina longispina has a typical Bosmina morphology with a low carapace and short antennule, whereas E. coregoni gibbera has a very high carapax and long antennule. 3.,At 5 °C, E. c. gibbera had 32,45% higher drag than E. longispina. At 20 °C, the difference is 20,45%. 4.,A mathematical model of swimming predicts that these differences in drag should result in 18,20 (at 5 °C) or 14,16 (at 20 °C) percentage lower speed for E. c. gibbera than for E. longispina if they use the same amount of energy in swimming. 5.,The relative difference in drag or swimming speed between the two species was highest at low Reynolds number (i.e. low speed or low temperature). These results show that hydrodynamic costs of extreme morphology may increase with decreasing temperature. 6.,The increased cost of morphological antipredator defence at low temperatures may be enlightening with regard to the role of temperature in the induction of cyclomorphic traits in zooplankton. This may be one explanation for why extreme forms of E. c. gibbera and some Daphnia are only found in the summer when water temperature is high. [source]


Detailed chemical kinetic modeling of pyrolysis of ethylene, acetylene, and propylene at 1073,1373 K with a plug-flow reactor model

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 4 2008
Koyo Norinaga
This study examines the predictive capability of our recently proposed reaction mechanism (Norinaga and Deutschmann, Ind Eng Chem Res 2007, 46, 3547) for hydrocarbon pyrolysis at varying temperature. The conventional flow reactor experiments were conducted at 8 kPa, over the temperature range 1073,1373 K, using ethylene, acetylene, and propylene as reactants to validate the mechanism. More than 40 compounds were identified and quantitatively analyzed by on- and off-line gas chromatography. The chemical reaction schemes consisting of 227 species and 827 reactions were coupled with a plug-flow reactor model that incorporated the experimentally measured axial temperature profile of the reactor. Comparisons between the computations and the experiments are presented for more than 30 products including hydrogen and hydrocarbons ranging from methane to coronene as a function of temperature. The model can predict the compositions of major products (mole fractions larger than 10,2) in the pyrolysis of three hydrocarbons with satisfactory accuracies over the whole temperature range considered. Mole fraction profiles of minor compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) up to three ring systems, such as phenanthrene, anthracene, and phenylnaphthalene, are also fairly modeled. At temperatures lower than 1273 K, larger PAHs were underpredicted and the deviation became larger with decreasing temperature and increasing molecular mass of PAHs, while better agreements were found at temperatures higher than 1323 K. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 199,208, 2008 [source]


A temperature-dependent kinetics study of the reaction of O(3PJ) with (CH3)2SO

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 3 2002
F. D. Pope
A laser flash photolysis,resonance fluorescence technique has been employed to investigate the kinetics of the reaction of ground state oxygen atoms, O(3PJ), with (CH3)2SO (dimethylsulfoxide) as a function of temperature (266,383 K) and pressure (20,100 Torr N2). The rate coefficient (kR1) for the O(3PJ) + (CH3)2SO reaction is found to be independent of pressure and to increase with decreasing temperature. The following Arrhenius expression adequately describes the observed temperature dependence: kR1(T) = (1.68 ± 0.76) × 10,12 exp[(445 ± 141)/T] cm3 molecule,1 s,1, where the uncertainties in Arrhenius parameters are 2, and represent precision only. The absolute accuracy of each measured rate coefficient is estimated to be ±30%, and is limited predominantly by the uncertainties in measured (CH3)2SO concentrations. The observed temperature and pressure dependencies suggest that, as in the case of O(3PJ) reactions with CH3SH and (CH3)2S, reaction occurs by addition of O(3PJ) to the sulfur atom followed by rapid fragmentation of the energized adduct to products. The O(3PJ) + (CH3)2SO reaction is fast enough so that it could be a useful laboratory source of the CH3SO2 radical if this species is produced in significant yield. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 34: 156,161, 2002; DOI 10.1002/kin.10040 [source]


Lizard community structure along environmental gradients

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Lauren B. Buckley
Summary 1. ,How the total number of individuals in a community is divided among its species is governed by both the distribution of species along landscape-scale environmental gradients and by local resource partitioning. In vertebrate ectotherms, abiotic environmental conditions may constrain geographic distributions more strongly than local population densities due to thermal constraints on resource acquisition and due to behavioural thermoregulation. 2. ,We investigate whether local density and species richness are decoupled for lizard communities within the Southwest US by comparing 18 species-abundance distributions. 3. ,While species richness decreases strongly with decreasing temperature, there is no significant relationship between temperature or resource availability (net primary productivity) and the total number of individuals within a community. Consequently, in more species-rich communities species have lower mean abundances. 4. ,This suggestion that lizard species richness is not a function of an area's capacity to support more individuals questions for this group species diversity theories based on this assumption. [source]


Zeolites in fissures of granites and gneisses of the Central Alps

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 8 2010
T. WEISENBERGER
Abstract Six different Ca-zeolite minerals are widespread in various assemblages in late fissures and fractures in granites and gneisses of the Swiss Alps. The zeolites formed as a result of water,rock interaction at relatively low temperatures (<250 °C) in the continental upper crust. The zeolites typically overgrow earlier minerals of the fissure assemblages, but zeolites also occur as monomineralic fissure fillings. They represent the youngest fissure minerals formed during uplift and exhumation of the Alpine orogen. A systematic study of zeolite samples showed that the majority of finds originate from three regions particularity rich in zeolite-bearing fissures: (i) in the central and eastern part of the Aar- and Gotthard Massifs; (2) Gibelsbach/Fiesch, in a fissure breccia located at the boundary of Aar Massif and Permian sedimentary rocks; and (3) in Penninic gneisses of the Simano nappe at Arvigo (Val Calanca). Rail and road tunnel construction across the Aar- and Gotthard Massif provided excellent data on zeolite frequency in Alpine fissures. It was found that 32% (Gotthard NEAT rail base tunnel, Amsteg section) and 18% (Gotthard road tunnel) of all studied fissures are filled with zeolites. The number of different zeolites is limited to six species: laumontite, stilbite and scolecite are abundant and common, whereas heulandite, chabazite and epistilbite occur occasionally. Calcium is the dominant extra-framework cation, with minor K and Na. Heulandite and chabazite contain Sr up to 29 and 10 mol.% extra-framework cations respectively. Na and K contents in zeolites tend to increase during growth as a result of changes in fluid composition and/or temperature. The K enrichment of stilbite found in surface outcrops compared to subsurface samples may indicate late stage cation exchange with surface water. Texture data, relative age sequences derived from fissure assemblages and equilibrium calculations show that the Ca-dominated zeolites precipitated from fluid with decreasing temperature in the order (old to young = hot to cold): scolecite, laumontite, heulandite, chabazite and stilbite. The necessary components for zeolite formation are derived from dissolving primary granite and gneiss minerals. The nature of these minerals depends, among other factors, on the metamorphic history of the host rock. Zeolites in the Aar Massif derived from the dissolution of epidote, secondary calcite and albite that were originally formed during Alpine greenschist metamorphism from primary granite and gneiss assemblages. Zeolite fissures occur in areas of H2O-dominated fluids. This is consistent with equilibrium calculations that predict a low CO2 tolerance of zeolite assemblages, particularly at low temperature. [source]


Separate or shared metamorphic histories of eclogites and surrounding rocks?

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
An example from the Bohemian Massif
Abstract Eclogite boudins occur within an orthogneiss sheet enclosed in a Barrovian metapelite-dominated volcano-sedimentary sequence within the Velké Vrbno unit, NE Bohemian Massif. A metamorphic and lithological break defines the base of the eclogite-bearing orthogneiss nappe, with a structurally lower sequence without eclogite exposed in a tectonic window. The typical assemblage of the structurally upper metapelites is garnet,staurolite,kyanite,biotite,plagioclase,muscovite,quartz,ilmenite ± rutile ± silli-manite and prograde-zoned garnet includes chloritoid,chlorite,paragonite,margarite, staurolite,chlorite,paragonite,margarite and kyanite,chlorite,rutile. In pseudosection modelling in the system Na2O,CaO,K2O,FeO,MgO,Al2O3,SiO2,H2O (NCKFMASH) using THERMOCALC, the prograde path crosses the discontinuous reaction chloritoid + margarite = chlorite + garnet + staurolite,+,paragonite (with muscovite + quartz + H2O) at 9.5 kbar and 570 °C and the metamorphic peak is reached at 11 kbar and 640 °C. Decompression through about 7 kbar is indicated by sillimanite and biotite growing at the expense of garnet. In the tectonic window, the structurally lower metapelites (garnet,staurolite,biotite,muscovite,quartz ± plagioclase ± sillimanite ± kyanite) and amphibolites (garnet,amphibole,plagioclase ± epidote) indicate a metamorphic peak of 10 kbar at 620 °C and 11 kbar and 610,660 °C, respectively, that is consistent with the other metapelites. The eclogites are composed of garnet, omphacite relicts (jadeite = 33%) within plagioclase,clinopyroxene symplectites, epidote and late amphibole,plagioclase domains. Garnet commonly includes rutile,quartz,epidote ± clinopyroxene (jadeite = 43%) ± magnetite ± amphibole and its growth zoning is compatible in the pseudosection with burial under H2O-undersaturated conditions to 18 kbar and 680 °C. Plagioclase + amphibole replaces garnet within foliated boudin margins and results in the assemblage epidote,amphibole,plagioclase indicating that decompression occurred under decreasing temperature into garnet-free epidote,amphibolite facies conditions. The prograde path of eclogites and metapelites up to the metamorphic peak cannot be shared, being along different geothermal gradients, of about 11 and 17 °C km,1, respectively, to metamorphic pressure peaks that are 6,7 kbar apart. The eclogite,orthogneiss sheet docked with metapelites at about 11 kbar and 650 °C, and from this depth the exhumation of the pile is shared. [source]


Thermal expansion of organic crystals and precision of calculated crystal density: A survey of Cambridge Crystal Database

JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 5 2007
Changquan Calvin Sun
Abstract True density is a physical property of both fundamental and practical importance to the study of pharmaceutical powders. True density may be calculated from crystal structure. However, precision of such calculated density is not well understood. Furthermore, thermal expansion properties of organic crystals have rarely been characterized. A survey of Cambridge Crystal Database is conducted to assess (1) precision of calculated crystal density from crystal structure; (2) thermal expansion properties of organic crystals. It is shown that calculated crystal density exhibits, on average, a relative standard deviation (RSD) of ,0.4%. It is found that crystal density generally increases linearly with decreasing temperature provided no phase change occurs. Slope of the line, termed thermal density gradient, of organic crystals ranges between 0.04 and 1.74 mg,cm,3,K,1 with an average of ,0.2 mg,cm,3,K,1. It is shown that majority polymorph pairs exhibit significantly different thermal expansion behavior and their density,temperature lines can cross. This likely contributes to the less than perfect prediction of relative stability of polymorphs at ambient temperature using the density rule. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 96: 1043,1052, 2007 [source]


SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE DIATOM THALASSIOSIRA PSEUDONANA UNDER UVR EXPOSURES,

JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
Cristina Sobrino
Temperature is expected to modify the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on photosynthesis by affecting the rate of repair. We studied the effect of short-term (1 h) and long-term (days) acclimation to temperature on UVR photoinhibition in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle et Heimdal. Photosynthesis was measured during 1 h exposures to varying irradiances of PAR and UVR + PAR at 15, 20, and 25°C, the latter corresponding to the upper temperature limit for optimal growth in T. pseudonana. The exposures allowed the estimation of photosynthesis,irradiance (P,E) curves and biological weighting functions (BWFs) for photoinhibition. For the growth conditions used, temperature did not affect photosynthesis under PAR. However, photoinhibition by UVR was highly affected by temperature. For cultures preacclimated to 20°C, the extent of UVR photoinhibition increased with decreasing temperature, from 63% inhibition of PAR-only photosynthesis at 25°C to 71% at 20°C and 85% at 15°C. These effects were slightly modified after several days of acclimation: UVR photoinhibition increased from 63% to 75% at 25°C and decreased from 85% to 80% at 15°C. Time courses of photochemical efficiency (,PSII) under UVR + PAR were also fitted to a model of UVR photoinhibition, allowing the estimation of the rates of damage (k) and repair (r). The r/k values obtained for each temperature treatment verified the responses observed with the BWF (R2 = 0.94). The results demonstrated the relevance of temperature in determining primary productivity under UVR exposures. However, the results suggested that temperature and UVR interact mainly over short (hours) rather than long (days) timescales. [source]


INORGANIC CARBON REPLETION DISRUPTS PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACCLIMATION TO LOW TEMPERATURE IN THE CYANOBACTERIUM SYNECHOCOCCUS ELONGATUS,

JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Robert A. Burns
Acclimation of cyanobacteria to ambient fluctuations in inorganic carbon (Ci) and temperature requires reorganization of the major protein complexes involved in photosynthesis. We grew cultures of the picoplanktonic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus Naegeli across most of its range of tolerable temperatures from 23 to 35°C at both low (<0.1 mM) and high Ci (approximately 4 mM). Over that range of temperatures, the chl-based doubling time did not differ between low and high Ci grown cells but did increase with decreasing temperature. Cells grown at 23°C high Ci showed an elongated morphology, which was not present in 23°C low Ci cells nor at 35°C high and low Ci. Furthermore, 23°C high Ci cells showed premature senescence and death compared with all other treatments. Phycocyanin per cell was greater in high Ci grown cells at all temperatures but showed a characteristic decrease with decreasing temperature. Functional PSII determination showed that 23°C high Ci cells had 1.5 × 105 PSII·cell,1 compared with only 6.9 × 104 PSII·cell,1 for 23°C low Ci. The 35°C high and low Ci cells had 7.7 × 104 and 6.4 × 104 PSII·cell,1, respectively. These data were supported by immunoblot determinations of PsbA content·cell,1. As a result of their high PSII·cell,1, 23°C high Ci cells generated more reductant from PSII than could be accommodated by downstream assimilative metabolism, resulting in early senescence and death of 23°C high Ci cells, probably as a result of the generation of reactive byproducts of electron transport. [source]


Weed vegetation of arable land in Central Europe: Gradients of diversity and species composition

JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 3 2004
Z. Lososová
Abstract: Question: What are the main broad-scale spatial and temporal gradients in species composition of arable weed communities and what are their underlying environmental variables? Location: Czech Republic and Slovakia. Methods: A selection of 2653 geographically stratified relevés sampled between 1954,2003 was analysed with direct and indirect ordination, regression analysis and analysis of beta diversity. Results: Major changes in weed species composition were associated with a complex gradient of increasing altitude and precipitation and decreasing temperature and base status of the soils. The proportion of hemicryptophytes increased, therophytes and alien species decreased, species richness increased and beta diversity decreased with increasing altitude. The second most important gradient of weed species composition was associated with seasonal changes, resulting in striking differences between weed communities developed in spring and summer. In summer, weed communities tended to have more neophytes, higher species richness and higher beta diversity. The third gradient reflected long-term changes in weed vegetation over past decades. The proportion of hemicryptophytes and neophytes increased, while therophytes and archaeophytes decreased, as did species richness over time. The fourth gradient was due to crop plants. Cultures whose management involves less disturbances, such as cereals, harboured less geophytes and neophytes, and had higher species richness but lower beta diversity than frequently disturbed cultures, such as root crops. Conclusions: Species composition of Central European weed vegetation is mainly influenced by broad-scale climatic and edaphic factors, but its variations due to seasonal dynamics and long-term changes in agricultural management are also striking. Crop plants and crop-specific management affect it to a lesser, but still significant extent. [source]


Synthesis and Thermosensitive Properties of Poly[(N -vinylamide)- co -(vinyl acetate)]s and Their Hydrogels,

MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, Issue 7 2003
Kazuya Yamamoto
Abstract Free radical copolymerization of water-soluble N -vinylamides such as N -vinylacetamide (NVA) and N -vinylformamide (NVF) with hydrophobic vinyl acetate (VAc) gave amphiphilic copolymers. The monomer reactivity ratios were determined as r1,=,5.8 and r2,=,0.68 (M1,=,NVA, M2,=,VAc) and r1,=,6.2 and r2,=,0.37 (M1,=,NVF, M2,=,VAc), respectively. The growing radical of the terminals of N -vinylamides propagates more favorably for N -vinylamide monomers than for VAc monomer, resulting in the possible formation of blocky copolymers. It is found that aqueous solutions of these amphiphilic copolymers exhibited a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), depending on their chemical composition, followed by coacervate formation above the LCST. Furthermore, thermosensitive hydrogels could be prepared by the free radical copolymerization of N -vinylamide and VAc in the presence of the crosslinker butylenebis(N -vinylacetamide) (Bis-NVA). The swelling ratios of these hydrogels decreased with an immediate increase in temperature from 20 to 80,°C, and then reversibly increased with decreasing temperature. These hydrogels showed the same thermosensitive properties as linear copolymers of NVF and VAc. Relationship between LCST and vinyl acetate content in poly(N -vinylamide- co -VAc)s. [source]


Low-temperature single crystal reflection spectra of forsterite

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006
H. Suto
ABSTRACT The infrared reflectivities of crystalline forsterite (Mg2SiO4) were measured for the temperature range 295,50 K for each crystal axis, between wavenumber 5000 and 100 cm,1. The reflection spectra show clear dependence of temperature; most of the bands become more intense, sharper and their peak positions shift to higher wavenumber with decreasing temperature. Reflection spectra were fitted with dispersion formula of damped oscillator model of the dielectric constants and the oscillator parameters in the model were derived. The absorption spectra of forsterite particle are calculated with the derived dielectric constants to show that the forsterite features are good thermal indicator for cold temperature range below 295 K. [source]


The Effect of Decreasing Temperature up to Chilling Values on the in vivo F685/F735 Chlorophyll Fluorescence Ratio in Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum: The Role of the Photosystem I Contribution to the 735 nm Fluorescence Band ,

PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
Giovanni Agati
ABSTRACT The effect of leaf temperature (T), between 23 and 4°C, on the chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence spectral shape was investigated under moderate (200 ,E m,2 s,1) and low (30,35 ,E m,2 s,1) light intensities in Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum. With decreasing temperature, an increase in the fluorescence yield at both 685 and 735 nm was observed. A marked change occurred at the longer emission band resulting in a decrease in the Chl fluorescence ratio, F685/F735, with reducing T. Our fluorescence analysis suggests that this effect is due to a temperature-induced state 1,state 2 transition that decreases and increases photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) fluorescence, respectively. Time-resolved fluorescence lifetime measurements support this interpretation. At a critical temperature (about 6°C) and low light intensity a sudden decrease in fluorescence intensity was observed, with a larger effect at 685 than at 735 nm. This is probably linked to a modification of the thylakoid membranes, induced by chilling temperatures, which can alter the spillover from PSII to PSI. The contribution of photosystem I to the long-wavelength Chl fluorescence band (735 nm) at room temperature was estimated by both time-resolved fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence yield measurements at 685 and 735 nm. We found that PSI contributes to the 735 nm fluorescence for about 40, 10 and 35% at the minimal (F0), maximal (Fm) and steady-state (Fs) levels, respectively. Therefore, PSI must be taken into account in the analysis of Chl fluorescence parameters that include the 735 nm band and to interpret the changes in the Chl fluorescence ratio that can be induced by different agents. [source]


Defect contributions to conductivity in poly(3-hexylthiophene)?

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 6 2006
A. N. Caruso
Abstract We find evidence for a gradual change in the electronic properties of spin coated poly(3-hexylthiophene) thin films with temperature. The conduction properties appears to be mediated by hopping conduction dominated by a low density of defects states within the highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap, not by a change in band gap. The photoemission and transport measurements indicate a loss of charge mobility or carrier concentration occurs with decreasing temperature, while the molecular configuration (through chain conjugation) also changes with temperature. The defects states identified by photoemission (,1.7 eV) as well as others contributing to the transport properties are believed to be very heterogeneous along the polymer backbone. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Synthesis, characterization and ESR measurements of CoNiO nanoparticles

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 8 2005
Y. Köseo
Abstract Powders of cobalt core with a nickel (II) oxide shell (CoNiO) have been studied by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) technique in the temperature range of 10,300 K. A strong and broad (1300 G) single ESR peak in X-, K- and Q-band spectra has been observed at all the temperature ranges. While the resonance field remains almost constant, both the ESR line intensity and the line width were seen to increase first slowly down to Tc = 160 K. And then both the resonance field and the ESR signal intensity decrease and the line width increase with decreasing temperature. Below Tc the intensity smoothly decrease down to 10 K. This kind of behavior is attributed to a typical spin-glass like behavior. Some small and relatively smooth changes at about 60 K, 90 K, 210 K, and 250 K are appeared as well. A linear dependence of resonance field to microwave frequency is observed at room temperatures and the effective g-value and internal field are theoretically found as 2,17 and 90 G, respectively. The experimental data indicate a very strong spin disorder (spin frustration) due to antiferromagnetic exchange interactions among the spins. This is attributed to the D-M anisotropy on the particle surfaces that it is expected to enhance due to increment of surface-to-volume ratio. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Optical properties of Na0.68CoO2 thin film

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 12 2007
M. H. Hsu
Abstract The optical reflectance of single-crystalline Na0.68CoO2 (thickness around 3000 Å) thin film has been measured over a wide frequency (40,55000 cm,1) and at temperatures between 20 and 300 K. The room-temperature optical conductivity spectrum displays a metallic character. In addition, one E1u phonon mode at about 518 cm -1 is identified, while the other four phonon peaks are due to the sapphire substrate. As the temperature is lowered, the Drude plasma frequency exhibits little temperature dependence, whereas the scattering rate monotonically decreases with decreasing temperature. Notably, the Drude scattering rate at 20 K is found to approach zero, consistent with the small residual resistivity, indicating high quality of Na0.68CoO2 thin film. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Positron annihilation spectroscopic study of hydrothermal grown n-type zinc oxide single crystal

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 10 2007
C. W. Hui
Abstract Positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopic (CDBS) measurements were carried out to study the defects in two hydrothermal (HT) grown ZnO single crystal samples (HT1 and HT2) obtained from two companies. Single component model could offer good fittings to the room temperature spectra of HT1 and HT2, with the positron lifetimes equal to 199 ps and 181 ps respectively. These two lifetime components were associated with saturated positron trapping into two VZn -related defects with different microstructures. The positron lifetimes of HT1 was found to be temperature independent. For the HT2 sample, the positron lifetime remained unchanged with T > 200 K and decreased with decreasing temperature as T<200K. This could be explained by the presence of an additional positron trap having similar electronic environment to that of the delocalized state and competing in trapping positrons with the 181 ps component at low temperatures. Positron-electron autocorrelation function, which was the fingerprint of the annihilation site, was extracted from the CDBS spectrum. The obtained autocorrelation functions of HT1 and HT2 at room temperature, and HT2 at 50 K had features consistent with the above postulates that the 181 ps and the 199 ps components had distinct microstructures and the low temperature positron trap existed in HT2. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Deficiency effects upon the physical properties of Pr0.8Sr0.2MnO3 manganite oxide

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 9 2006
W. Cheikh-Rouhou Koubaa
Abstract The effects of deficiency in praseodymium and in strontium upon the magnetic and magneto-transport properties of lacunar Pr0.8,x,xSr0.2MnO3 and Pr0.8Sr0.2,x,x MnO3 oxides have been investigated. Our synthesized samples have been elaborated using the conventional solid state reaction at high temperature. Crystallographic studies show that all our samples are single phase and crystallize in the orthorhombic system with Pnma space group. The praseodymium deficient samples Pr0.8,x,xSr0.2MnO3 exhibit three different regimes in the resistivity variation as a function of praseodymium deficiency amount: (i) at low concentration (0 , x , 0.1), a semiconductor behaviour is observed in the whole temperature range, (ii) at an intermediate amount (x = 0.15), a semiconductor-metallic transition is followed by a metallic-semiconductor one with decreasing temperature, and finally (iii) at x = 0.2 and 0.25, a metallic behaviour is observed below TC, whereas all the strontium deficient samples exhibit a semiconductor behaviour in the whole temperature range. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


ESR studies on superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 12 2004
Y. Köseo
Abstract In this study we have investigated temperature and frequency dependence of magnetic properties of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION). ESR measurements have been carried out in a temperature range of 10,300 K. A single, relatively broad and temperature dependent EPR signal was observed at all measurement temperatures. The linewidth slightly increases with decreasing temperature down to 100 K, then it sharply increases down to 60 K. Below 60 K the trend is reversed and the linewidth start to decrease. The resonance field remains almost constant down to 100 K and decreases sharply as the temperature is decreased further. The resonance field of the ESR spectra of Fe3O4 shows a linear dependence on microwave frequency. By using experimental results, the effective g-value and internal field are deduced as 1.9846 and ,40 G, respectively. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Industrial solidification processes in polybutene-1.

POLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 1 2003
Part II, influence of shear flow
Following some early rudimentary results on shear-induced crystallization of polybutene-1 (1, 2), the present paper contains more detailed results. In the course of this work the origins of the highly oriented crystalline surface layers, as well known from injection molded samples, are more closely investigated. For the purpose, a special extrusion experiment is used, in which melts of various degrees of undercooling are moved through a duct of large aspect ratio. When, after the release of the pressure at the die entry, a quench of the duct to a temperature far below the melting point is delayed, a relaxation phenomenon is observed, in accordance with the experiences with i-PP. From these experiments one learns that the leading parameter of the process is something like the mechanical work done per unit volume, and that the relaxation time increases with decreasing temperature much faster than the viscosity of the melt. The results are qualitatively in excellent agreement with our previously obtained results for polypropylene. [source]


Combustion Measurements of Fuel-Rich Aluminum and Molybdenum Oxide Nano-Composite Mixtures

PROPELLANTS, EXPLOSIVES, PYROTECHNICS, Issue 2 2010
Tim Bazyn
Abstract Fuel rich nano-composite powders of aluminum and molybdenum oxide were tested for ignition and combustion behind the incident and reflected shock waves in a shock tube. The powders consisted of approximately 10,,m particles, each of which contained Al and MoO3 mixed by mechanical alloying on the nano-scale. These powders were aluminum rich with composition ratios of 4,:,1, 8,:,1, and 16,:,1 Al,:,MoO3 by mass. Ignition tests were performed behind incident shocks for temperatures in the range of 900 to 1500,K. From these tests, ignition delay times were obtained, and some information on combustion duration was also derived. Samples were tested in air at 0.2,MPa, and compared against nano-Al, 2.7,,m Al, and 10,,m Al baselines. Ignition results for the baseline Al cases were as expected: 10,,m Al not igniting until 2000,K, 2,,m Al igniting down to ,1400,K, and n-Al igniting as low as 1150,K. The thermite samples showed considerable improvement in ignition characteristics. At the lowest temperature tested (900,K), both the 8,:,1 and 4,:,1 samples ignited within 250,,s. The 16,:,1 sample (94% Al) ignited down to 1050,K , which represents an improvement of roughly 1000,K over baseline Al with only a small energetic penalty. In all cases, the ignition delay increased as the amount of MoO3 in the composite was reduced. The 4,:,1 nano-composite material ignited as fast or faster than the n-Al samples. Ignition delay increased with decreasing temperature, as expected. Emission spectra and temperature data were also taken for all samples using high-speed pyrometry and time-integrated spectroscopy. In these cases, measurements were made behind the reflected shock using end-wall loading, though the conditions (temperature, pressure, and gas composition) were identical to the incident shock tests. Spectroscopy showed strong AlO features in all the samples, and the spectra fit well to an equilibrium temperature. Broadband, low resolution spectra were also fit to continuum, gray body temperatures. In general, the observed temperatures were reasonably close to 3500,K, which is similar to the combustion temperatures of pure aluminum under these conditions. [source]


Geology, Wall-rock Alteration and Vein Paragenesis of the Bilimoia Gold Deposit, Kainantu Metallogenic Region, Papua New Guinea

RESOURCE GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
Joseph Onglo Espi
Abstract The Bilimoia deposit (2.23 Mt, 24 g/t Au), located in the eastern Central Mobile Belt of mainland Papua New Guinea, is composed of fault-hosted, NW,NNW-trending Irumafimpa,Kora and Judd,Upper Kora Au-quartz veins hosted by Middle,Late Triassic basement that was metamorphosed to medium-grade greenschist facies between Middle,Late Triassic and Early,Middle Jurassic. Mineralizing fluids were introduced during crustal thickening, rapid uplift, change of plate motions from oblique to orthogonal compression, active faulting and S3 and S4 events in an S1,S4 deformation sequence. The Bilimoia deposit is spatially and temporally related to I-type, early intermediate to felsic and late mafic intrusions emplaced in Late Miocene (9,7 Ma). Hydrothermal alteration and associated mineralization is divided into 10 main paragenetic stages: (1) chlorite,epidote-selvaged quartz,calcite,specularite vein; (2) local quartz,illite,pyrite alteration; (3) quartz,sericite,mariposite,fuchsite,pyrite wall-rock alteration that delimits the bounding shears; (4) finely banded, colloform-, crustiform- and cockade-textured and drusy quartz ± early wolframite ± late adularia; (5) hematite; (6) pyrite; (7) quartz ± amethyst-base metal sulfides; (8) quartz,chalcopyrite,bornite,Sn and Cu sulfides,Au tellurides and Te ± Bi ± Ag ± Cu ± Pb phases; (9) Fe ± Mn carbonates; and (10) supergene overprint. Fluid inclusions in stage 4 are characterized by low salinity (0.9,5.4 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous,carbonic fluids with total homogenization temperatures ranging from 210 to 330°C. Some of the inclusions that homogenized between 285 and 330°C host coexisting liquid- and vapor-rich (including carbonic) phases, suggesting phase separation. Fluid inclusions in quartz intergrown with wolframite have low salinity (0.9,1.2 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous,carbonic fluids at 240,260°C, defining the latter's depositional conditions. The ore fluids were derived from oxidized magmatic source initially contaminated by reduced basement rocks. Wall-rock alteration and involvement of circulating meteoric waters were dominant during the first three stages and early part of stage 4. Stage 5 hematite was deposited as a result of stage 4 phase separation or entrainment of oxygenated groundwater. Gold is associated with Te- and Bi-bearing minerals and mostly precipitated as gold-tellurides during stage 8. Gold deposition occurred below 350°C due to a change in the sulfidation and oxidation state of the fluids, depressurization and decreasing temperature and activities of sulfur and tellurium. Bisulfides are considered to be the main Au-transporting complexes. The Bilimoia deposit has affinities that are similar to many gold systems termed epizonal orogenic and intrusion-related. The current data allow us to classify the Bilimoia deposit as a fault-controlled, metamorphic-hosted, intrusion-related mesothermal to low sulfidation epithermal quartz,Au,Te,Bi vein system. [source]