Pattern formation in diffusion-limited reactions

The conditions for macroscopic segregation ofA andB in a steady-stateA+B 0 reaction are studied in infinite systems. Segregation occurs in one and two dimensions and is marginal ford=3. We note the dependence of these results on the precise experimental conditions assumed in the theory. We also note the difference between these results and our earlier ones for finite systems where the critical dimension isd=2.     

Statistical replacement for systems with delta-correlated fluctuations

Nonlinear systems with stochastic parameters are approximated by simpler systems using a method that we call statistical replacement. This method is an extension of the previously developed AGREE which was restricted to systems with additive fluctuations. Statistical replacement incorporates the distinctions between globally stable thermodynamically closed systems and thermodynamically open systems that can be unstable.     

The first,the biggest,and other such considerations

We investigate the relation between the underlying dynamics of randomly evolv ing systems and the extrema statistics for such systems. Independent processes, Fokker-Planck processes and Lévy processes are considered.     

Reference spectra of important adsorbed organic and inorganic phosphate binding forms for soil P speciation using synchrotron‐based K‐edge XANES spectroscopy

Direct speciation of soil phosphorus (P) by linear combination fitting (LCF) of P K‐edge XANES spectra requires a standard set of spectra representing all major P species supposed to be present in the investigated soil. Here, available spectra of free‐ and cation‐bound inositol hexakisphosphate (IHP), representing organic P, and of Fe, Al and Ca phosphate minerals are supplemented with spectra of adsorbed P binding forms. First, various soil constituents assumed to be potentially relevant for P sorption were compared with respect to their retention efficiency for orthophosphate and IHP at P levels typical for soils. Then, P K‐edge XANES spectra for orthophosphate and IHP retained by the most relevant constituents were acquired. The spectra were compared with each other as well as with spectra of Ca, Al or Fe orthophosphate and IHP precipitates. Orthophosphate and IHP were retained particularly efficiently by ferrihydrite, boehmite, Al‐saturated montmorillonite and Al‐saturated soil organic matter (SOM), but far less efficiently by hematite, Ca‐saturated montmorillonite and Ca‐saturated SOM. P retention by dolomite was negligible. Calcite retained a large portion of the applied IHP, but no orthophosphate. The respective P K‐edge XANES spectra of orthophosphate and IHP adsorbed to ferrihydrite, boehmite, Al‐saturated montmorillonite and Al‐saturated SOM differ from each other. They also are different from the spectra of amorphous FePO₄, amorphous or crystalline AlPO₄, Ca phosphates and free IHP. Inclusion of reference spectra of orthophosphate as well as IHP adsorbed to P‐retaining soil minerals in addition to spectra of free or cation‐bound IHP, AlPO₄, FePO₄ and Ca phosphate minerals in linear combination fitting exercises results in improved fit quality and a more realistic soil P speciation. A standard set of P K‐edge XANES spectra of the most relevant adsorbed P binding forms in soils is presented.     

Analogy between the Lorenz strange attractor and a bistable stochastic oscillator

The relation between the aperiodic solution of the Lorenz model and that of a stochastic anharmonic oscillator is explored. The stochastic oscillator is constructed by replacing (t) in the Lorenz model by a stochastic variable(t) of specified statistics. The resulting system is of course not isomorphic to the Lorenz model, but does share with it a number of statistical properties. Thus, within the confines of these measures the two systems are physically very similar.     

Extension of statistical replacement to systems with time-correlated fluctuations

Nonlinear systems with correlated stochastic parameters are approximated by simpler systems. This method is an extension of an earlier version of statistical replacement and statistical linearization. The extended method is applicable to systems with correlated fluctuations. We show how this general method reduces to the earlier methods in special cases.     

Supercritical CO2 Plant Extracts Show Antifungal Activities against Crop-Borne Fungi

Fungal infections of cultivated food crops result in extensive losses of crops at the global level, while resistance to antifungal agents continues to grow. Supercritical fluid extraction using CO₂ (SFE-CO₂) has gained attention as an environmentally well-accepted extraction method, as CO₂ is a non-toxic, inert and available solvent, and the extracts obtained are, chemically, of greater or different complexities compared to those of conventional extracts. The SFE-CO₂ extracts of Achillea millefolium, Calendula officinalis, Chamomilla recutita, Helichrysum arenarium, Humulus lupulus, Taraxacum officinale, Juniperus communis, Hypericum perforatum, Nepeta cataria, Crataegus sp. and Sambucus nigra were studied in terms of their compositions and antifungal activities against the wheat- and buckwheat-borne fungi Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum nigrum, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium poae. The C. recutita and H. arenarium extracts were the most efficacious, and these inhibited the growth of most of the fungi by 80% to 100%. Among the fungal species, B. cinerea was the most susceptible to the treatments with the SFE-CO₂ extracts, while Fusarium spp. were the least. This study shows that some of these SFE-CO₂ extracts have promising potential for use as antifungal agents for selected crop-borne fungi.     

Investigation on the catalytic activity of doped low-percentage oxide catalysts Mn/ZnO obtained from oxalate precursor

The precursors with a low manganese content ≤ 0.07% Mn were synthesized by spontaneous crystallization from Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺ and C₂O₄ ²⁻-containing solutions. The initial ratio Zn²⁺:C₂O₄ ²⁻ = 1:1 and 1:2 influences the morphology and prevailing orientations of the crystallites in the oxalate samples. The presence of such small Mn content in the samples does not change the morphology or size of the crystals. The ZnO and Mn/ZnO oxides with manganese content from 0.51×10⁻² to 15.1×10⁻² Wt % are obtained after thermal decomposition of the oxalates. The oxides preserved the morphology of the precursors. The catalytic tests show that the pure ZnO has a poor activity for CO oxidation reaction. Its doping with Mn promotes the catalytic activity (up from twice to five times) in spite of the very low contents of the dopants. The observed increase of the activity depends on both dopant concentration and Zn²⁺:C₂O₄ ²⁻ ratio, probably due to the different mechanism of the manganese inclusion and different morphology of the oxides. The catalysts of the 1:2 series are more active in CO oxidation reaction.      

A novel methodological approach for δ18O analysis of sugars using gas chromatography-pyrolysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry

Although the instrumental coupling of gas chromatography-pyrolysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-Py-IRMS) for compound-specific δ¹⁸O analysis has been commercially available for more than a decade, this method has been hardly applied so far. Here we present the first GC-Py-IRMS δ¹⁸O results for trimethylsilyl-derivatives of plant sap-relevant sugars and a polyalcohol (glucose, fructose, sucrose, raffinose and pinitol). Particularly, we focus on sucrose, which is assimilated in leaves and which is the most important transport sugar in plants and hence of utmost relevance in plant physiology and paleoclimate studies. Replication measurements of sucrose standards and concentration series indicate that the GC-Py-IRMS δ¹⁸O measurements are not stable over time and that they are amount (area) dependent. We, therefore, suggest running sample batch replication measurements in alternation with standard concentration series of reference material. This allows for carrying out (i) a drift correction, (ii) a calibration against reference material and (iii) an amount (area) correction. Tests with ¹⁸O-enriched water do not provide any evidence for oxygen isotope exchange reactions affecting sucrose and raffinose. We present the first application of GC-Py-IRMS δ¹⁸O analysis for sucrose from needle extract (soluble carbohydrate) samples. The obtained δ¹⁸O_{sucrose/ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW)} values are more positive and vary in a wider range (32.1–40.1 ‰) than the δ¹⁸O_{bulk/ VSMOW} values (24.6–27.2 ‰). Furthermore, they are shown to depend on the climate parameters maximum day temperature, relative air humidity and cloud cover. These findings suggest that δ¹⁸O_sucrose of the investigated needles very sensitively reflects the climatically controlled evaporative ¹⁸O enrichment of leaf water and thus highlights the great potential of GC-Py-IRMS δ¹⁸O_sucrose analysis for plant physiology and paleoclimate studies.