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Selected AbstractsModelling the response of sprinklers in compartment firesFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 3 2001A. K. Gupta Alpert's expressions are used extensively to calculate the maximum temperature and velocity in the ceiling-jet at any distance, r, from the fire axis. These expressions are valid for unconfined ceilings insofar as the environment outside the ceiling-jet is uniform in temperature and is atmospheric ambient. In compartments the outward flow of hot gases is checked by the presence of bounding walls and so a layer of hot gases is formed in the upper portion of the compartment. The environment outside the ceiling-jet is no longer ambient atmospheric. Expressions due to Alpert becomes unsuitable, unless the effects of the accumulated hot layer are included in these expressions. The effect of the upper layer temperature has been taken by assuming that since the ceiling-jet is completely submerged in the upper hot gas layer, the entrained gases are drawn from this layer only instead of the ambient atmospheric air at T,. Thus T, has been replaced by TL in the Alpert's empirical expression for ceiling-jet temperatures. The proposed equation is then used to calculate the response time of sprinklers fitted in compartments of varying sizes. Calculations have been done for identical conditions to those employed by Evans and compared. Comparison has also been made with Cooper's LAVENT model predictions. The study shows that the present model is capable of predicting the maximum, as well as average, temperatures in the ceiling-jets submerged in the hot gas layer. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Enhanced exoenzyme activities in sediments in the presence of deposit-feeding Chironomus riparius larvaeFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 9 2007PETER STIEFArticle first published online: 10 JUN 200 Summary 1. The combined effects of deposit-feeding, bioturbation and bioirrigation by benthic macrofauna on the enzymatic hydrolysis of organic matter were studied in microcosms. Chironomus riparius larvae (Insecta, Diptera) served as model macrofauna and stinging nettle leaves (Urtica dioica) were used as a detrital food source. 2. In the upper 10 mm of the sediment (the habitat of C. riparius larvae), the activities of several exoenzymes, the contents of several fractions of particulate organic matter (POM), and the concentrations of dissolved oxidants (O2, NO) were measured on a small scale. Fluorescent particles (luminophores) were used to quantify the vertical redistribution of particles within the same layer. 3. In control sediment, the addition of detrital food enhanced exoenzyme activities in the 0,2 mm layer only. In the presence of C. riparius larvae, exoenzyme activities increased to 10 mm depth. Further, the content of POM in the 0,2 mm layer was lower in the presence than in the absence of larvae, suggesting ingestion and subduction of the added detritus. After prolonged incubation without further food addition, exoenzyme activities returned close to background values in both treatments, whereas the vertical distribution of POM remained unchanged. 4. The overall penetration depth of O2 and NO into the sediment was greater in the presence than the absence of C. riparius, the differences being more pronounced after prolonged incubation. Locally high O2 and NO concentrations due to bioirrigation by C. riparius were measured deep in the sediment. Net downward transport of particles was observed only in the presence of C. riparius larvae and only at the beginning of the incubation. 5. I conclude that deposit-feeding and bioturbation by macrofauna can quickly remove freshly deposited POM from the sediment surface and transfer it to less oxygenated sites (i.e. animal guts and deep sediment layers). Bioirrigation also increases the availability of oxidants deep in the sediment. The oscillation of oxidant supply to POM particles by ingestion,egestion, burial and re-burial, and the intermittent bioirrigation of subsurface sediment, is probably the cause of the increased rate of organic matter hydrolysis, the rate-limiting step in mineralization. [source] Effects of soil bulk density on seminal and lateral roots of young maize plants (Zea mays L.)JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2004Rolf O. Kuchenbuch Abstract It is well established that increasing soil bulk density (SBD) above some threshold value reduces plant root growth and thus may reduce water and nutrient acquisition. However, formation and elongation of maize seminal roots and first order lateral (FOL) roots in various soil layers under the influence of SBD has not been documented. Two studies were conducted on a loamy sand soil at SBD ranging from 1.25 g,cm,3 to 1.66 g,cm,3. Rhizotrons with a soil layer 7 mm thick were used and pre-germinated plants were grown for 15 days. Over the range of SBD tested, the shoot growth was not influenced whereas total root length was reduced by 30,% with increasing SBD. Absolute growth rate of seminal roots was highest in the top soil layer and decreased with increasing distance from the surface. Increasing SBD amplified this effect by 20,% and 50,% for the top soil layer and lower soil layers, respectively. At the end of the experiment, total seminal roots attributed to approximately 15,% of the total plant root length. Increasing SBD reduced seminal root growth in the lowest soil layer only, whereas FOL root length decreased with SBD in all but the uppermost soil layer. For FOL, there was a positive interaction of SBD with distance from the soil surface. Both, increasing SBD and soil depth reduced root length by a reduction of number of FOL roots formed while the length of individual FOL roots was not influenced. Hence, increasing SBD may reduce spatial access to nutrients and water by (i) reducing seminal root development in deeper soil layers, aggravated by (ii) the reduction of the number of FOL roots that originate from these seminal roots. Einfluss der Bodendichte auf Seminal- und Lateralwurzeln von jungen Maispflanzen (Zea mays L.) Es ist bekannt, dass zunehmende Bodendichte (SBD) oberhalb eines Grenzwertes das Wurzelwachstum von Pflanzen und die Wasser- und Nährstoffaufnahme reduziert. Bildung und Wachstum der Seminal- und der Lateralwurzeln erster Ordnung (FOL) von Mais in Bodenschichten verschiedenen Abstands von der Bodenoberfläche unter dem Einfluss verschiedener Bodendichten wurde bisher nicht beschrieben. Zwei unabhängige Versuche wurden mit einem lehmigen Sandboden durchgeführt. Vorgekeimte Maiskörner wurden in Rhizotrone mit einer etwa 7,mm dicken Bodenschicht eingesetzt, die Bodendichten lagen im Mittel der Rhizotrone zwischen 1,25 g,cm,3 und 1,66 g,cm,3. Die Versuchsdauer betrug 15 Tage. Über den Bereich der geprüften SBD wurde das Sprosswachstum nicht beeinflusst, während die Gesamtwurzellänge mit zunehmender SBD um bis zu 30,% abnahm. Die absolute Wachstumsrate der Seminalwurzeln war in der obersten Bodenschicht am höchsten und nahm mit zunehmendem Abstand von der Bodenoberfläche ab. Seminalwurzeln trugen zu ca. 15,% zur Gesamtwurzellänge bei. Zunehmende SBD reduzierte das Wachstum der Seminalwurzeln nur in der untersten Bodenschicht. Demgegenüber wurden die Längen der FOL in allen außer der obersten Schicht bei zunehmender SBD verringert. Bei den FOL wurde eine positive Interaktion zwischen SBD und Abstand von der Bodenoberfläche festgestellt. Sowohl zunehmende SBD als auch zunehmende Tiefe reduzierte die Wurzellänge durch eine Verringerung der Anzahl an FOL, während deren Länge nicht beeinflusst wurde. Folglich kann zunehmende SBD die räumliche Zugänglichkeit zu Wasser und Nährstoffen für die Pflanzen dadurch beeinflussen, dass (i) die Entwicklung von Seminalwurzeln in tieferen Bodenschichten reduziert wird und dass dieser Effekt verstärkt wird durch (ii) die verringerte Bildung von FOL an Seminalwurzeln. [source] Soil restorative effects of mulching on aggregation and carbon sequestration in a Miamian soil in central OhioLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2003G. S. Saroa Abstract Soils play a key role in the global carbon cycle, and can be a source or a sink of atmospheric carbon (C). Thus, the effect of land use and management on soil C dynamics needs to be quantified. This study was conducted to assess: (1) the role of aggregation in enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) and total soil nitrogen (TSN) concentrations for different mulch rates, (2) the association of SOC and TSN with different particle size fractions, and (3) the temporal changes in the SOC concentration within aggregate and particle size fractions with duration of mulching. Two experiments were initiated, one each in 1989 and 1996, on a Crosby silt loam (Aeric Ochraqualf or Stagnic Luvisol) in central Ohio. Mulch treatments were 0, 8, and 16,Mg,ha,1,yr,1 without crop cultivation. Soil samples from 0,5,cm and 5,10,cm depths were obtained in November 2000; 4 and 11 years after initiating the experiments. Mulch rate significantly increased SOC and TSN concentrations in the 0,5,cm soil layer only. The variation in the SOC concentration attributed to the mulch rate was 41 per,cent after 4 years of mulching and 52 per,cent after 11 years of mulching. There were also differences in SOC and TSN concentrations among large aggregate size fractions, up to 2,mm size after 4 years and up to 0,5,mm after 11 years of mulching. There were also differences in SOC and TSN concentrations among particle size fractions. Variation in the SOC concentration in relation to particle size was attributed to clay by 45,51 per,cent, silt by 34,36 per,cent, and to sand fraction by 15,19 per,cent. Bulk of the TSN (62,67 per,cent) was associated with clay fraction and the rest was equally distributed between silt and sand fractions. The enrichment of SOC and TSN concentrations in the clay fraction increased with depth. The C:N ratio was not affected by the mulch rate, but differed significantly among particle size fractions; being in the order of sand >silt >clay. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Lupus erythematosus: clinical and histopathological study of oral manifestations and immunohistochemical profile of epithelial maturationJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 10 2006Silvia Vanessa Lourenço Background:, Lupus erythematosus (LE) is an autoimmune disease of unknown cause. Prevalence of oral involvement in patients with LE is uncertain but may vary from 9 to 45% in patients with systemic disease and from 3 to 20% in patients with chronic cutaneous involvement. Methods:, Incidence of oral lesions of LE and their clinical aspects were investigated. Their histopathologic features were analyzed, and the status of epithelial maturation was assessed through the expression patterns of cytokeratins. Results:, Twenty-six patients (from 188 examined) presented oral lesions of LE. Most of them were females (19) with systemic disease (11). Clinical aspects of these lesions varied, and lips and buccal mucosa were most affected. Histologically, lesions revealed lichenoid mucositis with perivascular infiltrate and thickening of basement. Cytokeratins profile showed hyperproliferative epithelium, with expression of CK5/6, and CK14 on all epithelial layers, CK16 on all suprabasal layers and CK10 on prickle cell layers only. Conclusions:, Oral lesions of LE show a variety of aspects, and their microscopic features are of a lichenoid mucositis with deep inflammatory infiltrate. Cytokeratins expression patterns are of hyperproliferative epithelium, and this phenomenon must be analyzed in relation to the inflammatory cytokines for a better understanding of the mechanisms of the disease. [source] Mechanisms and Kinetics of the Hydrothermal Oxidation of Bulk Titanium Silicon CarbideJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 4 2010Haibin Zhang Hydrothermal oxidation of bulk Ti3SiC2 in continuous water flow was studied at 500°,700°C under a hydrostatic pressure of 35 MPa. The oxidation was weak at 500°,600°C and accelerated at 700°C due to the formation of cracks in oxides. The kinetics obeyed a linear time-law. Due to the high solubility of silica in hydrothermal water, the resulting oxide layers only consisted of titanium oxides and carbon. Besides general oxidation, two special modes are very likely present in current experiments: (1) preferential hydrothermal oxidation of lattice planes perpendicular to the c -axis inducing cleavage of grains and (2) uneven hydrothermal oxidation related to the occurrence of TiC and SiC impurity inclusions. Nonetheless the resistance against hydrothermal oxidation is remarkably high up to 700°C. [source] Photoemission study of Eu valency in EuF3 ultrathin buried layers and single crystalsPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 4 2004W. Burian Abstract X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy was used to investigate Eu valence in the following EuF3 samples: single crystal, buried MBE layers (Au/EuF3/Fe/GaAs and Au/EuF3/Fe/Ag/GaAs) and amorphous thin films. Evidence was found for a surface divalent Eu state present on single crystal and amorphous films, while the MBE ultra thin buried layers only exhibited a trivalent Eu state. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Quasiperiodicity in decagonal phases forced by inclined net planes?ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION A, Issue 3 2001Walter Steurer It is generally assumed that decagonal quasicrystals show periodically arranged atomic layers only on net planes perpendicular to the tenfold axis and quasiperiodically arranged ones parallel to it. However, there also do exist only slightly puckered atomic layers that are periodically arranged and inclined to the tenfold axis. They coincide with the net planes of the periodic average structures of the decagonal phase and are related to the strongest Bragg reflections. Since they link quasiperiodic and periodic directions, inclined net planes may play a crucial role for growth and stabilization of decagonal quasicrystals. In fact, it is shown how ideal quasiperiodic long-range order and inflation symmetry allow for the existence of inclined net planes with small corrugation and reinforce the relation with the periodic average structures. [source] |