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Uppermost Layer (uppermost + layer)
Selected AbstractsHalotaxis of cyanobacteria in an intertidal hypersaline microbial matENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Katharina Kohls Summary An intertidal hypersaline cyanobacterial mat from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) exhibited a reversible change in its surface colour within several hours upon changes in salinity of the overlying water. The mat surface was orange-reddish at salinities above 15% and turned dark green at lower salinities. We investigated this phenomenon using a polyphasic approach that included denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, microscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, hyperspectral imaging, absorption spectroscopy, oxygen microsensor measurements and modelling of salinity dynamics. Filaments of Microcoleus chthonoplastes, identified based on 16S rRNA sequencing and morphology, were found to migrate up and down when salinity was decreased below or increased above 15%, respectively, causing the colour change of the mat uppermost layer. Migration occurred in light and in the dark, and could be induced by different salts, not only NaCl. The influence of salinity-dependent and independent physico-chemical parameters, such as water activity, oxygen solubility, H2S, gravity and light, was excluded, indicating that the observed migration was due to a direct response to salt stress. We propose to term this salinity-driven cyanobacterial migration as ,halotaxis', a process that might play a vital role in the survival of cyanobacteria in environments exposed to continuous salinity fluctuations such as intertidal flats. [source] Flow-enhancing layers in the vacuum infusion processPOLYMER COMPOSITES, Issue 5 2002H. M. Andersson The current trend towards increased use of vacuum infusion molding for large surface-area parts has increased the interest in an advanced modeling of the process. Because the driving pressure is limited to 1 atmosphere, it is essential to evaluate possible ways to accelerate the impregnation. One way of doing this is to use layers of higher permeability within the reinforcing stack, i.e. flow-enhancing layers. We present an experimental investigation of the flow front shape when using such layers. The through-thickness flow front was observed by making a number of color marks on the glass-mats forming the reinforcing stack, which became visible when the resin reached their position. The in-plane flow front was derived from observations of the uppermost layer. It turned out that existing analytical models agree very well with the experiments if effective permeability data is used, that is, permeability obtained from vacuum infusions. However, the fill-time was nearly twice as long as predicted from permeability data obtained in a stiff tool. This rather large discrepancy may be due to certain features of a flexible mold half and is therefore a topic for further research. The lead-lag to final thickness ratio is dependent on the position of the flow front and ranges form 5 to 10 for the cases tested. Interestingly the lead-lag has a miximum close to the inlet. [source] Does Late Reproduction Extend the Life Span?POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2004Findings from European Royalty Statistical associations between late reproduction and female longevity led to speculations that a late birth increases a mother's life span. The database used here includes all descendants of King George I of England (1660,1727) and his wife, Sophie Dorothea (1666,1726), born in the royal dynasties in Europe up to 1939 (n=1,672). In the era of British world supremacy, these descendants formed the uppermost layer of the European aristocracy, occupying all royal thrones from 1850 onward. Novel in this study is the use of pedigree information. In pairs of ever-married full sisters (brothers), both surviving to 45 (50) years, both having at least one child, the study examines whether the sibling with the first,or last,child born later in life also lived a longer life. This design controls for genetics, socioeconomic status, parity, social support, child mortality, birth cohort, and various environmental factors. In the 157 pairs of sisters and 191 pairs of brothers, later reproduction did not extend the life span. [source] Thermal influence of urban groundwater recharge from stormwater infiltration basinsHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 12 2009Arnaud Foulquier Abstract Groundwater warming below cities has become a major environmental issue; but the effect of distinct local anthropogenic sources of heat on urban groundwater temperature distributions is still poorly documented. Our study addressed the local effect of stormwater infiltration on the thermal regime of urban groundwater by examining differences in water temperature beneath stormwater infiltration basins (SIB) and reference sites fed exclusively by direct infiltration of rainwater at the land surface. Stormwater infiltration dramatically increased the thermal amplitude of groundwater at event and season scales. Temperature variation at the scale of rainfall events reached 3 °C and was controlled by the interaction between runoff amount and difference in temperature between stormwater and groundwater. The annual amplitude of groundwater temperature was on average nine times higher below SIB (range: 0·9,8·6 °C) than at reference sites (range: 0,1·2 °C) and increased with catchment area of SIB. Elevated summer temperature of infiltrating stormwater (up to 21 °C) decreased oxygen solubility and stimulated microbial respiration in the soil and vadose zone, thereby lowering dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in groundwater. The net effect of infiltration on average groundwater temperature depended upon the seasonal distribution of rainfall: groundwater below large SIB warmed up (+0·4 °C) when rainfall occurred predominantly during warm seasons. The thermal effect of stormwater infiltration strongly attenuated with increasing depth below the groundwater table indicating advective heat transport was restricted to the uppermost layers of groundwater. Moreover, excessive groundwater temperature variation at event and season scales can be attenuated by reducing the size of catchment areas drained by SIB and by promoting source control drainage systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cyst Distribution and Hatching Pattern of Chirocephalus ruffoi (Crustacea, Anostraca) in an Experimental Undisturbed PoolINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005Graziella Mura Abstract The pattern of cyst distribution in the absence of turbation and their hatching behaviour were studied in an outdoor artificial pool, where just differentiated adults of the anostracan Chirocephalus ruffoi (sex ratio 1:3) lived until it dried up. The horizontal and vertical distributions of cysts in the pool bed were determined. The comparison between cyst bank estimate (Mura, 2004) and the actual number of cysts counted in the pool bed revealed an estimate error of 20.9%. Resting eggs occurred only in the upper 2.5 cm thick soil sections and decreased within this section as depth increased. Peripheral areas of the pool contained significantly larger numbers of cysts than the central area. Multiway analysis on the results recorded in hatching success (nested ANOVA) revealed that the differences were significantly affected by initial soil conditions, treatment and vertical distribution of cysts. Among these factors, vertical distribution (sections nested in cores) was the most influential. Hatching success was significantly inversely related to depth. Differences in the timing of hatching depending on the above considered factors were also noted. A nearly synchronous hatching pattern was observed only for cysts from initially dry sediment of the uppermost layers. In all successively deeper layers, hatching showed multiple peaks and was increasingly delayed and erratic (already mentioned). ANCOVA within each of the experimental conditions revealed significant differences in hatching frequencies (time as covariate) depending on sediment depth. Within any given layer, ANCOVA revealed a significant influence of initial sediment conditions and treatment on the timing of hatching. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] UV laser-induced desorption mechanism analyzed through two-layer alkali halide samplesJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 5 2008F. A. Fernández-Lima Abstract Time of flight-mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) is used to analyze positive and negative desorbed ions generated by UV laser ablation of several alkali (X) halide (Y) salts. Most of the observed desorbed cluster ions have the structure (XY)nX+ or (XY)nY,. Their desorption yields decrease as exp(,kn), where k , 2 for both series, suggesting that the neutral component (XY)n plays the dominant role in the desorption process. Mass spectrum measurements were performed for compound samples in which two salts (out of CsI, RbI, KBr, KCl and KI) are homogeneously mixed or disposed in two superposed layers. The detection of small new ion species and large cluster ions of the original salts supports the scenario that the uppermost layers are completely atomized while deep layers are emitted colder and fragmented: It is proposed that ns-pulsed laser induced desorption of ionic salts occurs via two sequential mechanisms: (1) ejection of cations and anions in the hot plume, followed by recombination into new cluster ions and (2) ejection of relatively cold preformed species originated from deep layers or from periphery of the irradiated region. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||