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Selected AbstractsSoil microorganisms in coastal foredunes control the ectoparasitic root-feeding nematode Tylenchorhynchus ventralis by local interactionsFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Anna M. Pi, kiewicz Summary 1In natural grassland ecosystems, root-feeding nematodes and insects are the dominant below-ground herbivores. In coastal foredunes, the ectoparasitic nematode Tylenchorhynchus ventralis would be a major root herbivore if not strongly controlled by soil microorganisms. Here, we examined if the suppressive effects of the microbial enemies of T. ventralis act by local interactions such as predation, parasitism or antagonism, or local induction of plant defence, or by non-local interactions, such as systemic effects when microorganisms in one section of the plant roots can affect nematode control in another section of the root system. We show that abundance of T. ventralis in the root zone of the grass Ammophila arenaria is suppressed by local interactions. 2We compared local vs. non-local control of nematodes by a natural community of soil microorganisms in a split-root experiment, where nematodes and microbes were inoculated to the same, or to opposite root compartments. 3The split-root experiment revealed that microorganisms affected T. ventralis numbers only when present in the same root compartment. Therefore, the effects of microorganisms on T. ventralis are due to local interactions and not due to induction of a systemic defence mechanism in the plant host. 4When inoculated together with microorganisms, the nematodes were heavily infected with unknown bacteria and with fungi that resembled the genus Catenaria, suggesting that microorganisms control nematodes through parasitism. However, local defence induction cannot be completely excluded. 5Besides microbial enemies of nematodes, the root zone of A. arenaria also contains plant pathogens. Root biomass was reduced by nematode infection, but also by the combination of nematodes and microorganisms, most likely because the soil pathogens overwhelmed the effects of nematode control on plant production. 6We conclude that there may be a trade-off between beneficial effects of soil microorganisms on the plant host due to nematode control vs. pathogenic effects of soil microorganisms on the plant host. We propose that such trade-offs require more attention when studying below-ground multitrophic interactions. [source] Rules-of-thumb of implementing short electric band heaters (length to diameter ratio <1.5) for external heating of pipe flowsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002X. D. Chen Abstract Short electric band heaters (L/Di<1.5) are constructed for the ease of implementation in small scale heating applications. They are usually mounted side-by-side in series along the external wall of a pipe for heating the fluid within the pipe. There are no rules-of-thumb available about designing such a system to achieve good uniformity of the temperature profile at the pipe inner surface beforehand. Non-uniformity can cause preferential fouling at hotter spots. This study focuses on the axial uniformity of heating along a pipe inside which the heated fluid if flowing. The situation has been simplified a great deal in mathematical terms from the corresponding conventional conjugate problem considered previously due to the small temperature rise in the fluid flow through one section of the pipe which is heated by one band heater. Similarity parameter sets have been deduced and verified by numerical simulations. The worst scenario of non-uniformity for such short band heaters, that is when L/Di=1.5, is presented in this paper. This may be used for designing a system to minimize the non-uniformity in terms of choosing the right pipe material, percentage of heater wire coverage in the band heater, etc. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Books on European IntegrationJCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 2000Brian Ardy The following list includes all books submitted to the Journal of Common Market Studies during 1999, whether these were reviewed or not. Each book is entered only once even though, inevitably, some titles are of relevance to more than one section. [source] Censusing the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes: complete sweep method versus monitoringAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Maryke Gray Abstract The mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) of the Virunga Volcanoes Range of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are one of the most endangered ape populations in the world. Following a dramatic decline during the 1960s, and relative stability in the 1970s, the population steadily increased during the 1980s. Due to political instability and war, a complete census had not been conducted since 1989. Here we compare the results of a complete census using the ,sweep method' conducted in 2003 with those from a monitoring program, to estimate the size and distribution of the gorilla population. A total of 360 gorillas were counted from census measurements and known habituated groups. Based on quantitative assessments of the census accuracy, we calculated that an additional 20 gorillas were not counted, leading to an estimated population of 380 individuals, and a 1.15% annual growth rate since 1989. The Ranger Based Monitoring programme yielded similar results. The encouraging results must be viewed with caution, however, because the growth was concentrated almost entirely in one section of the Virungas. Additionally, the distribution of gorilla groups was negatively correlated with the frequency of human disturbances, which highlights the need to continue strengthening conservation efforts. Résumé Les gorilles de montagne Gorilla gorilla beringei de l'aire de répartition des Volcans Virunga, au Rwanda, en Ouganda et en République Démocratique du Congo, sont une des populations de grands singes les plus menacées du monde. Après un déclin dramatique dans le courant des années 1960, et une stabilité relative dans les années 1970, la population s'est fermement reconstituée au cours des années 1980. Mais en raison de l'instabilité politique et de la guerre, il n'y avait plus eu de recensement total depuis 1989. Nous comparons ici les résultats d'un recensement complet effectué en 2003 par la méthode du balayage topologique (sweep method) avec ceux d'un programme de suivi, afin d'estimer la taille et la distribution de la population de gorilles. Nous avons dénombré un total de 360 gorilles en reprenant les chiffres du recensement et ceux des groupes habitués connus. En nous basant sur l'évaluation quantitative de la précision du recensement, nous avons calculé que 20 gorilles supplémentaires n'avaient pas été comptés, ce qui porte l'estimation à 380 individus et signifie un taux de croissance annuel de 1,15% depuis 1989. Le Programme de Suivi basé sur les gardes a obtenu des résultats comparables. Pourtant, ces résultats encourageants doivent être interprétés avec prudence étant donné que la croissance s'est presque entièrement concentrée sur une seule section des Virunga. De plus, la distribution des groupes de gorilles était négativement liée à la fréquence des perturbations humaines, ce qui souligne la nécessité de poursuivre le renforcement des mesures de conservation. [source] Estimating the number of complex particles using the ConnEulor principleJOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY, Issue 3 2001J. P. Kroustrup An unbiased counting rule for the number of topologically simple objects of any shape, size and distribution in 3D space is a pertinent problem in stereology. Combining the disector principle with the object's 3D Euler number makes possible number estimation, which until now has been obtainable only by exhaustive serial sections. The disector is a set of two sections where the object's profiles in one section are compared with its profiles on the neighbouring section, and the number of new 2D topological events is recorded. In a disector of known volume the sum of topological events is a direct estimate of the disector contribution to the total Euler number, which forms the basis for an ultimate number estimator in 3D, the ConnEulor. The method is illustrated by an electron microscopic study of the number of mitochondria in the exocrine cells of the pancreas. [source] A multiproxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland: a critical examination of the link between bog surface wetness and solar variability,JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 7 2007Graeme T. Swindles Abstract A proxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is presented. The record spans the interval between 2850,cal.,yr,BC and cal. yr AD 1000 and chronological control is achieved through the use of tephrochronology and 14C dating, including a wiggle-match on one section of the record. Palaeoclimatic inferences are based on a combination of a testate amoebae-derived water table reconstruction, peat humification and plant macrofossil analyses. This multiproxy approach enables proxy-specific effects to be identified. Major wet shifts are registered in the proxies at ca. 1510,cal.,yr,BC, 750,cal.,yr,BC and cal. yr AD 470. Smaller magnitude shifts to wetter conditions are also recorded at ca. 380,cal.,yr,BC, 150,cal.,yr,BC, cal. yr AD 180, and cal. yr AD 690. It is hypothesised that the wet shifts are not merely local events as they appear to be linked to wider climate deteriorations in northwest Europe. Harmonic analysis of the proxies illustrates statistically significant periodicities of 580, 423,373, 307 and 265 years that may be related to wider Holocene climate cycles. This paper illustrates how the timing of climate changes registered in peat profiles records can be precisely constrained using tephrochronology to examine possible climatic responses to solar forcing. Relying on interpolated chronologies with considerable dating uncertainty must be avoided if the climatic responses to forcing mechanisms are to be fully understood. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Preface: phys. stat. sol. (b) 245/3PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 3 2008Christopher W. Smith This is the third Special Issue of physica status solidi (b) focusing on materials with a negative Poisson's ratio or other ,anomalous' physical properties. This issue contains selected papers from the First International Conference on Auxetics and Anomalous Systems held at the University of Exeter, UK, on 4,6 September 2006. Around 50 participants from all over the world as well as from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines contributed to what was a highly successful conference. This conference follows in the footsteps of two previous workshops held at the Mathematical Research and Conference Centre in B,dlewo near Pozna,, Poland, in 2004 and 2005 [1, 2]. The papers selected for this issue publish recent results obtained for ,anomalous systems' in experiment, theory and computer simulations. In the following we summarize very briefly their contents. Alderson and Coenen compare the performance of auxetic composites to similar systems with conventional positive Poisson's ratios. They find that there are indeed differences which appear to arise from the change of the overall Poisson's ratio of the composite, some beneficial like a rise in impact tolerance at low impact rates, and others deleterious such as the reduced tolerance at higher impact rates. This is one of the first investigations of possible applications for auxetic materials. The two papers by Gaspar and Koenders both examine the effects of disorder upon anomalous properties, especially negative Poisson's ratio. In the first one Gaspar demonstrates how a mean strain estimate fails to predict negative values of Poisson's ratio because of an inability to account for local fluctuations in elastic properties. For instance it is shown that the volume fraction of auxetic regions in an globally auxetic material (measured experimentally) are smaller than a mean strain homogenisation would require. Koenders and Gaspar explore the elastic properties, and especially Poisson's ratio, of a heterogeneous 2D network of bending beams. They predict auxetic behaviour arising from localised disorder in the packing, and therefore effective locally aggregated elastic properties of the beams. In the three articles by Gatt et al. and Grima et al. models based on simple geometry are used to explain the behaviour of seemingly disparate systems, i.e. 2D honeycombs systems and zeolite SiO2 networks. Two papers concerning honeycombs demonstrate relationships between elastic properties and structure and the bounds for auxetic behaviour. The paper concerning the zeolite Natrolite uses numerical force field based energy minimisation methods to simulate the response of this particular zeolite to applied forces and then simplifies the predicted properties even further by considering structural units as rigid 2D polyhedra linked by flexible hinges. In a similar vein, though using a different approach and concerning a very different form of matter, Heyes shows how the heterogeneity in an assembly of particles in a liquid can affect the elastic properties of a liquid and notably the infinite frequency Poisson's ratio. Heyes uses the Molecular Dynamics approach to simulate a Lennard,Jones fluid under various pressures, notably comparing behaviour under positive and negative pressures. In their first paper Jasiukiewicz and co-authors derive elastic constants of 2D crystals for all four classes of 2D crystalline solids: hexagonal (isotropic), quadratic, rectangular, and oblique systems. In their second paper they demonstrate conditions required for auxetic behaviour of 2D crystals. Auxetic solids are further divided into those with some negative Poisson's ratios (auxetic), all negative Poisson's ratios (completely auxetic) and no negative Poisson's ratios (non-auxetic). Lakes and Wojciechowski consider counterintuitive properties of matter, like negative compressibility, negative Poisson's ratio, negative thermal expansion, negative specific heat, and negative pressure. They present and interpret experimental observations of negative bulk modulus in pre-strained foams. They propose also a constrained microscopic model which exhibits negative compressibility. Finally, they solve a very simple thermodynamic model with negative thermal expansion. Martin et al. take a long stride toward a real world application of auxetic materials with a wide ranging study starting with numerical modelling of a wingbox section to experimental testing in a wind tunnel. They show that an auxetic core in a wing box section can allow a passive aero-elastic response which can be tailored by careful design of the core so that camber, and thus drag, is reduced with increasing airspeed but without sacrificing structural integrity. Miller et al. consider another anomalous physical property, negative thermal expansivity, and its application in the form of particulate composites for amelioration of stresses arising from thermal mismatch. They show via experiments that particles with a negative coefficient of thermal expansion may be used as a composite reinforcer to reduce overall thermal expansion and behave according to the standard volume fraction based models. Narojczyk and Wojciechowski examine the effects of disorder upon the bulk elastic properties of 3D fcc soft sphere systems in terms of particle size. Systems, such as colloids, can be thought of in such terms. The study shows that higher order moments of probability distribution do not influence the bulk elastic properties much, but that lower moments such as the standard deviation of particle size influence the elastic properties greatly. The "hardness" of the particle interaction potential is also important in this context. In general, it is shown that the effect of increasing polydispersity is to increase the Poisson's ratio, except the [110] [10] directions. Scarpa and Malischewsky in their paper on Rayleigh waves in auxetic materials show how the Rayleigh wave speed is affected by the Poisson's ratio. The behaviour is complex and depends upon the homogeneity within the material, for instance slowing with decreasing Poisson's ratio in isotropic solids, but showing the reverse trend and increased sensitivity to Poisson's ratio in laminate composites. Scarpa et al. explore the buckling behaviour of auxetic tubes via three types of model, a simple beam mechanics and Eulerian buckling model, a 3D linear elastic FE model and a bespoke non-linear continuum model. The more sophisticated models provide increasing insight into the buckling behaviour though the simple beam model predicts reasonably well in the pre-buckling linear region. Some unexpected and interesting behaviour is predicted by the continuum model as the Poisson's ratio approaches the isotropic limit of ,1, including increasing sensitivity to Poisson's ratio and rapid mode jumping between integer wave numbers. The paper by Shilko et al. presents an analysis of a particular kind of friction joint, a double lap joint, and explores the effects of altering the elastic properties of one component, in particular it's Poisson's ratio. The manuscript introduces the evolution of smart materials from monolithic materials, and the classification of composites exhibiting negative Poisson's ratios. The paper then presents the case of a double lap joint and performs a sensitivity type study, via a 2D FE model, of the effects of changing the elastic properties and degree of anisotropy of one section of the model on various parameters defining the limits of functionality of the joint. The main finding is that an enhanced shear modulus, via a negative Poisson's ratio, can endow such a friction joint with superior performance. Manufacturing of auxetic materials on a commercial scale has proved to be the largest obstacle to their fuller exploitation. The paper by Simkins et al. explores one route for post processing of auxetic polymers fibres produced by a conventional melt extrusion route. Simkins et al. showed that a post process thermal annealing treatment, with carefully optimised parameters, was able to even out otherwise inhomogenous auxetic properties, and moreover improve other elastic and fracture properties often sacrificed for auxetic behaviour. We gratefully acknowledge the support given by the sponsors of the conference, namely the EPSRC of the UK and Auxetic Technologies Ltd. (UK). We also thank the Scientific Committee, the Organising Committee, and all the participants of the conference. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Effect of air flow rate on the foam fractionation of a mixture of egg white and egg yolkASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2009Chris C. Stowers Abstract Foam fractionation was previously shown to be an effective tool for the separation of the two visible phases in a chicken egg: egg white and the egg yolk.1 This study is a continuation of the previous study with the objective of determining the optimal separation condition in terms of air flow rate. Our results show that air flow rate is a critical operational parameter when separating these protein-rich mixtures of egg white and egg yolk. The results show that respective concentrations of egg yolk and egg white phases change independently with respect to the air flow rate, leading to the observation that air flow rate could be exploited as a processing variable to selectively remove proteins from one section of the egg over the other section. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||