Plant delta(15)N associated with arbuscular mycorrhization, drought and nitrogen deficiency

It has long been evident that plant (15)N chiefly reflects the processes which fractionate (15)N/(14)N rather than the (15)N of plant N source(s). It has emerged recently that one of the most important fractionating processes contributing to the whole plant (15)N is the presence/absence, type or species of mycorrhiza, especially when interacting with nutrient deficiency. Ecto- and ericoid mycorrhizas are frequently associated with (15)N-depleted foliar (15)N, commonly as low as -12 per thousand. As shown by the present study, plants having no mycorrhiza, or those infected with various species of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM)-forming fungi, interact with varying concentrations of soil nitrogen [N] and moisture to enrich plant (15)N by as much as 3.5 per thousand. Hence the lack of a mycorrhiza, or variation in the species of AM-forming fungal associations, can account for about 25% of the usually reported variations of foliar (15)N found in field situations and do so by (15)N enrichment rather than depletion. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patination of historical stained windows lead cames from different European locations

Lead patination is a well-known phenomenon that occurs when lead is exposed to the atmosphere. A thin film mainly composed of insoluble lead salts is then formed on its surface, protecting lead against further corrosion. A study of the superficial patination of an ensemble of historical stained glass windows lead cames from different European locations (Belgium, Germany, Holland, Spain and Poland) and different chronologies (from 13th to 20th centuries) is reported in this paper. The main goals of the research were to characterise, both morphological and chemically, the patinas formed on their surfaces and to assess the weathering factors influencing the development of these patinas. Conventional optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the composition of the patinas. The resulting data have proved to be very useful in establishing the degree of advance of the patination process, which seems to be directly influenced by the environmental conditions to which the lead cames were exposed rather than by chronology of the samples. The results have also provided outstanding data to make decisions in conservation/restoration issues of such historical materials.     

Commensurability effects in magnetic properties of superconducting Nb thin films with periodic submicrometric pores

Pinning properties in 100 nm thick continuous and porous superconducting Nb films are examined by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements. The Nb film was deposited on a smooth Si substrate, while the porous film, Nb_P, was deposited on an anodized Al oxide substrate. Pores or “antidots” 40 nm in diameter, 100 nm apart, form a triangular array. The porous film presents commensurate or matching field effects for applied magnetic fields where the magnetic flux threading each unit cell is an integer number of the flux quantum, where ac shielding capability and dc diamagnetic magnetization show an abrupt increase. The response to ac fields as a function of temperature and dc field provided a way to determine that Nb_P sample has higher pinning than the continuous one, and that T_C suppression due to fluxoid quantization is not relevant for the investigated temperature range.     

Infinite Assembly of Folded Proteins in Evolution,Disease, and Engineering

Mutations and changes in a protein's environment are well known for their potential to induce misfolding and aggregation, including amyloid formation. Alternatively, such perturbations can trigger new interactions that lead to the polymerization of folded proteins. In contrast to aggregation, this process does not require misfolding and, to highlight this difference, we refer to it as agglomeration. This term encompasses the amorphous assembly of folded proteins as well as the polymerization in one, two, or three dimensions. We stress the remarkable potential of symmetric homo‐oligomers to agglomerate even by single surface point mutations, and we review the double‐edged nature of this potential: how aberrant assemblies resulting from agglomeration can lead to disease, but also how agglomeration can serve in cellular adaptation and be exploited for the rational design of novel biomaterials.     

A level set method for 3D low frequency electromagnetic imaging with applications in geophysical prospecting

We propose a novel shape reconstruction technique for controlled source 3D low frequency electromagnetic induction tomography which uses a level set representation of the shapes. The main application which we have in mind in this paper is geophysical prospecting, in particular the monitoring of reservoir flooding processes in secondary oil recovery and the investigation of conductive geophysical structures at a depth of up to a few hundred metres. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Density functional theory calculations of selected Ru(II) two ring diimine complex dications

Geometry optimization for a series of ten, two-ring diimine Ru(II) complexes was effected using the Gaussian 98 protocol at density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP level with basis sets 3-21G*and 3-21G**. HOMO-LUMO energy difference values compared favorably to the experimental data from electrochemistry [Delta E(1/2) = (E(1/2ox) - E(1/2red))] and the lowest energy absorption maxima, which for these complexes correspond to the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) band. The HOMO and LUMO distributions from DFT support the idea that the lowest energy transitions are metal-to-ligand charge transfer and that the lowest energy LUMO for the mixed ligand complexes is located on 2,2'-bipyrazine (bpz), followed by 2,2'-bipyrimidine (bpm) and then 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy).     

Nonlinear inertial effects on the instability of a single long wave of finite amplitude at the interface of two viscous fluids

The evolution of a single long wave of finite amplitude at the interface of two immiscible fluids of different viscosities and densities, between two horizontal plates is solved, using a boundary layer flow approximation for the equation of motion in each fluid layer. It is found that when the nonlinear inertial effects are taken into account in a moderate manner, at least in the frame of the boundary layer approximation, the initial unperturbed flow with smooth interface is stable to a single wave perturbation at the interface, even in the presence of adverse density and viscosity stratifications. However, when the nonlinear effects are increased in a specific way, and the magnitudes of the parameters involved are kept within the order of magnitude established for the present theory, an unstable flow configuration can be obtained.     

Error growth in the numerical integration of periodic orbits by multistep methods, with application to reversible systems

We study the growth with time of (the coefficients of the asymptoticexpansion of) the error in the numerical integration with linearmultistep methods of periodic solutions of systems of ordinarydifferential equations. Particular attention is devoted to reversiblesystems. It turns out that symmetric linear multistep methodscannot be recommended in spite of the fact that they mimic thereversibility of the true flow. For reversible second-ordersystems, linear multistep methods without parasitic double rootsare useful.     

Measuring the top quark mass in the eµ channel: A study

We describe a simple method to measure the top quark mass in the channel that may be useful in Run II of D? detector. The method is validated by applying it to the Run Ib eμ data.