The effect of cold acclimation on the water relations and freezing tolerance of Hordeum vulgare L

During a 5 degree C and a 5/-1 degree C cold acclimation (CA) regime there was a significant decline in the water potential of winter barley, and a concurrent decline in tissue water content of the 5/-1 degree C CA plants. Results of carbohydrate analysis illustrated a significant (P < 0.001) accumulation of sucrose, fructose and glucose in the 5/-1 degree C CA plants, which was inversely correlated to water potential. Using an infrared imaging radiometer during a convection frost test the water release time (WRT) of 5/-1 degree C CA was demonstrated to be significantly (P < 0.001) longer than that observed in non-cold acclimated plants. This observation is consistent with visual analysis of exotherm curves where the rate of cellular water release to extracellular ice is reduced in the 5/-1 degree C CA plants, compared to the non-cold acclimated plants. These biochemical and physiological changes were correlated to increased plant health following a non-lethal freezing test to -5 degree C, where non-cold acclimated plants produced 2.3 +/- 0.3 tillers and 5 degree C and 5/-1 degree C CA plants produced 2.4 +/- 0.3 and 4.7 +/- 0.7 tillers, respectively. Results from this study imply that cold acclimation leads to changes in the physical state of water that result in a less osmotically responsive cellular environment and subsequently significantly less damage to meristematic tissue.     

Three soliton contribution to the specific heat in sine-Gordon systems

The three soliton contribution to the specific heat of a classical easy-plane ferromagnet chain is calculated using asymptotic methods from the theory of differential equations depending on a large parameter.     

Impurity contribution to the specific heat in the Kondo model

Summary Using the Lanczos scheme (tridiagonalization) we investigate the impurity contribution to the single-impurity Kondo model. This is accomplished by obtaining the ground-state energy of aN-particle system and a (N+1)-particle system, and obtaining the functional dependence ofg(J) (whereJ is the strength of the interaction). Hereg(J) is the coefficient of a correction term which is of order 1/N. The density of states at the Fermi level is effectively changed by the factorg(J). The excess heat capacity associated with the impurity is then proportional tog(J). To speed up publication, the authors of this papers have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Thermalization of a two-phase fluid in low gravity: heat transferred from cold to Hot

We present an experimental study of the thermal response to a positive temperature quench in two-phase fluid SF6 in low gravity for temperature ranging from 10.1 to 0.1 K from the critical temperature. The temperature was measured simultaneously in the gas, the liquid, and the cell wall by thermistors and the density distribution was observed by interferometry. During the quench the gas temperature considerably exceeded the temperature of the heating walls (overheating up to 23%). This striking observation is discussed in the light of the adiabatic heat transfer in this highly compressible fluid while the key role of the localization in low gravity of the gas and liquid phases is revealed.     

Snow white and the seven dwarfs: a multivariate approach to classification of cold tolerance

Two main cold hardiness strategies of insects - freeze tolerance in some species, and overwintering in a supercooled state without tolerance of freezing in many others - were recently reclassified. However, I present several problems with the current systems. My suggested classification is based on clearer definitions of the causes of cold injury. I recognize three main mortality factors: freezing of body liquids, cold shock, and cumulative chill injury. Presence or absence of each of these factors produce eight combinations. I have named the eight classes after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to avoid nomenclatural confusion. Some of these classes are probably not used as tactics against cold injury by any insect species. Other classes contain so many species that they might be reclassified in more detail, using values of supercooling point and other quantitative parameters. However, widely comparable parameters, like the upper limit of cold injury zone and the sum of injurious temperatures are still rarely published, thus we still lack comprehensive data for multivariate analyses. Every cold hardiness strategy should be characterized by a meaningful class or subclass together with the physiological, biochemical, and behavioural mechanisms employed by the insects. I also point out the existence of strategies that combine two tactics - either a switching strategy (during preparation for winter, population "chooses" which tactic will be used), or a dual strategy (individuals are ready to use one of the tactics depending on the prevailing environmental conditions).     

Increase in the contribution of transamination to the respiration of mitochondria during arousal

The involvement of transamination in the respiration of liver mitochondria in ground squirrels during hibernation and arousal has been studied. It was shown by HPLC that, in the presence of glutamate and malate, the formation of alpha-ketoglutarate (KGL), a transamination marker, and fumarate, a product of succinate oxidation, takes place. During arousal, the formation of KGL increased fourfold, and the respiration sensitive to the inhibitor of aspartate transaminase aminooxyacetate (AOA) increased threefold. The function of transamination upon arousal is related to the elimination of oxaloacetate, an endogenous inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase. In addition, being more resistant to oxidative stress than oxidation, transamination is probably involved in the antioxidant defense required during the rapid rise of body temperature upon arousal. Our experiments showed an increase in the concentration of malonic dialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, in liver mitochondria in this state, which can reduce the activity of the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acids cycle. Under these conditions, the transamination contributes to the maintenance of a high respiration rate necessary for arousal.     

Surface sound waves on the domain boundaries in ferroelectrics and their contribution to the low-temperature specific heat

It is argued that surface sound waves may propagate along the domain boundary in a ferroelectric. These waves cause oscillatory motion of the boundary. Their contribution to the specific heat at a low temperature T is proportional to T².     

Amorphous freezing in two dimensions: From soft coils to rigid particles

The topic of the gel transition in two dimensions is revisited by considering data on the shear elasticity of Langmuir monolayers of different spherical objects. Amorphous freezing can be associated to structural percolation in a lattice able to resist shear stresses. The shear modulus and its dependence on the packing fraction are found to strongly depend on the details of the interaction potential and largely differ from expectations for entropic networks. This behaviour can be interpreted in terms of more elaborated percolation theories including central forces and bond-bending forces.     

Alloy contribution to phonon softening in ultra-heavily doped Si:As

Experimentally observed phonon softening of the 520 cm^-1 Raman line in ultra-heavily doped n-Si is attributed to the electron-phonon self-energy effects as well as change in lattice force constants of the alloy system.     

Phonon field contribution to the g shift in Yb: YES

The dynamic crystal field correction to the g factor of Yb⁺³: YES is evaluated. The approach is through the normal modes of the compex. It is found that the zero point phonon field contribution is in agreement with the observed g shift.     

Track effects during the accumulation of F-centers in KBr and KCl whiskers exposed to X rays

It is shown that as F-centers are reestablished during repeated x irradiation of KCl and KBr whiskers, effects appear which are due to the localization of energy-absorbed in the tracks of x-ray photoelectrons. The parameters of the kinetic recovery curves are calculated, and an estimate is made of the volume of the track of a photoelectron with an energy E=8–9 keV.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 54–58, March, 1979.     

Effects of a freezing event during hibernation on further survival,reproduction and growth in the partially freezing tolerant land snail Helix aspersa muller (Gastropoda: helicidae)

Tolerance of ectothermic animals to freezing is often estimated by assessing survival a few days after the treatment. However, in the long term, ice formation in the body tissues can affect survival, as well as reproductive capability and growth. The land snail Helix aspersa survives only short durations with ice in its tissues, to a lethal limit of 40 to 60 % of its body water frozen. Adult and immature snails were treated during their winter dormancy period to a freezing event above this limit; their survival was observed both in the short and long term, as well as their ability to reproduce (adults) and grow (immature snails). Treated snails were compared with a control group, which was not frozen. No difference appeared in the survival, reproduction and growth of control and frozen snails. This study confirms partial freezing tolerance in this population of Helix aspersa.     

Vibrational contribution to the thermodynamics of nanosized precipitates: vacancy-copper clusters in bcc-Fe

The effects of lattice vibration on the thermodynamics of nanosized coherent clusters in bcc-Fe consisting of vacancies and/or copper are investigated within the harmonic approximation. A combination of on-lattice simulated annealing based on Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations and off-lattice relaxation by molecular dynamics is applied to obtain the most stable cluster configurations at T = 0 K. The most recent interatomic potential built within the framework of the embedded-atom method for the Fe-Cu system is used. The total free energy of pure bcc-Fe and fcc-Cu as well as the total formation free energy and the total binding free energy of the vacancy-copper clusters are determined for finite temperatures. Our results are compared with the available data from previous investigations performed using many-body interatomic potentials and first-principles methods. For further applications in rate theory and object kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, the vibrational effects evaluated in the present study are included in the previously developed analytical fitting formulae.     

Different methods to calculate heat transfer coefficient in a double-tube heat exchanger: A comparative study

An experimental study performed to compare the results of different methods used in the literature for the calculation of heat transfer coefficient in double-tube heat exchangers. Then, a new fundamental approach was proposed which used the temperature profile and the local heat transfer coefficients. In this method, the heat transfer coefficient has been calculated for the total length of the heat exchanger including developing and fully developed regions. Numerous experimentations have been conducted in a double-tube heat exchanger. A significant difference observed between the results obtained from the suggested approach and those of the previous methods.     

Electronic border states in mesoscopic metallic cavities: their contribution to the orbital magnetism

We present a study of persistent currents (PC) in mesoscopic two-dimensional metallic cavities. The cavity is simulated with a gate potential that constrains the electrons to be in the regions of the sample. Varying the profile of the gate potential we can change the size and the geometry of the sample. We study non-single connected samples for which the typical current, I_typ, is substantially enhanced at half-filling, due to the existence of electronic border states near the Fermi level for this filling. These states have a large angular momentum and its response to the magnetic external flux is paramagnetic. We discuss the relevance of our results in relation to the, as yet, unexplained discrepancies between measurements of large values of PC in mesoscopic metallic rings and theoretical predictions.