Viruses infecting carnations and dianthus species in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Horticultural Science at Massey University

Five viruses were detected in commercial carnations and these and a further four occurred in Dianthus species from gardens. Carnation mottle virus (CarMV) and carnation etched ring virus (CERV-50) were widespread in commercial carnations; arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), carnation latent virus (CLV) and carnation necrotic fleck virus (CNFV) were also detected. In Dianthus species CERV-50, CLV and CarMV were the most prevalent, whereas only a low incidence of ArMV, CNFV, carnation ringspot virus (CRSV) and carnation vein mottle virus (CVMV) was found. Two new viruses were detected in Dianthus species: an apparently uncharacterized plant rhabdovirus, named carnation bacilliform virus, with particles ca. 260 x 55nm (in ultrathin sections), and an unidentified isometric virus (D 345) ca. 30nm in diameter. The viruses were characterized by a variety of methods including host range, symptoms, aphid transmission and particle morphology. The three rod viruses CLV, CNFV and CVMV were differentiated by particle morphology and size. Normal lengths for CLV and CVMV were 656nm and 733nm, respectively, while CNFV had particles in the range 1,000-1,450nm. The identity of the polyhedral viruses ArMV, CarMV and CRSV, was confirmed by serology. Carnation etched ring virus was identified by its particle size, ca. 48nm in diameter, and a consistent association with refractile inclusion bodies which were readily observed by light microscopy in epidermal strips stained with phloxine/trypan blue. Cytological observations were made on ultrathin sections of leaves from plants infected with CBV, CERV-50, CLV and CVMV. Aggregates of CBV and CLV particles were observed in the cytoplasm; CERV-50 infected plants contained typical inclusions and particles of the virus; and CVMV induced cylindrical inclusions typical of the potyvirus group

Solving surface structures from normal incidence X-ray standing wave data

A program is provided to determine structural parameters of atoms in or adsorbed on surfaces by refinement of atomistic models towards experimentally determined data generated by the normal incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) technique. The method employs a combination of Differential Evolution Genetic Algorithms and Steepest Descent Line Minimisations to provide a fast, reliable and user friendly tool for experimentalists to interpret complex multidimensional NIXSW data sets

SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND: FARMER BELIEFS, ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATIONS

Land Economics/Use,

Spectroscopy of ultrathin epitaxial rutile TiO[sub 2](110) films grown on W(100)

Epitaxial ultrathin titanium dioxide films of 0.3 to similar to 7 nm thickness on a metal single crystal substrate have been investigated by high resolution vibrational and electron spectroscopies. The data complement previous morphological data provided by scanned probe microscopy and low energy electron diffraction to provide very complete characterization of this system. The thicker films display electronic structure consistent with a stoichiometric TiO2 phase. The thinner films appear nonstoichiometric due to band bending and charge transfer from the metal substrate, while work function measurements also show a marked thickness dependence. The vibrational spectroscopy shows three clear phonon bands at 368, 438, and 829 cm(-1) (at 273 K), which confirms a rutile structure. The phonon band intensity scales linearly with film thickness and shift slightly to lower frequencies with increasing temperature, in accord with results for single crystals. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics

Adsorption of organic molecules at the TiO2(110) surface: the effect of van der Waals interactions

Understanding the interaction of organic molecules with TiO2 surfaces is important for a wide range of technological applications. While density functional theory (DFT) calculations can provide valuable insight about these interactions, traditional DFT approaches with local exchange-correlation functionals suffer from a poor description of non-bonding van der Waals (vdW) interactions. We examine here the contribution of vdW forces to the interaction of small organic molecules (methane, methanol, formic acid and glycine) with the TiO2 (110) surface, based on DFT calculations with the optB88-vdW functional. The adsorption geometries and energies at different configurations were also obtained in the standard generalized gradient approximation (GGA-PBE) for comparison. We find that the optB88-vdW consistently gives shorter surface adsorbate-to-surface distances and slightly stronger interactions than PBE for the weak (physisorbed) modes of adsorption. In the case of strongly adsorbed (chemisorbed) molecules both functionals give similar results for the adsorption geometries, and also similar values of the relative energies between different chemisorption modes for each molecule. In particular both functionals predict that dissociative adsorption is more favourable than molecular adsorption for methanol, formic acid and glycine, in general agreement with experiment. The dissociation energies obtained from both functionals are also very similar, indicating that vdW interactions do not affect the thermodynamics of surface deprotonation. However, the optB88-vdW always predicts stronger adsorption than PBE. The comparison of the methanol adsorption energies with values obtained from a Redhead analysis of temperature programmed desorption data suggests that optB88-vdW significantly overestimates the adsorption strength, although we warn about the uncertainties involved in such comparisons.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures; accepted in Surface Scienc

Structure of adsorbed organometallic rhodium: model single atom catalysts

We have determined the structure of a complex rhodium carbonyl chloride [Rh(CO)(2)Cl] molecule adsorbed on the TiO2 (110) surface by the normal incidence x-ray standing wave technique. The data show that the technique is applicable to reducible oxide systems and that the dominant adsorbed species is undissociated with Rh binding atop bridging oxygen and to the Cl found close to the fivefold coordinated Ti ions in the surface. A minority geminal dicarboryl species, where Rh-Cl bond scission has occurred, is found bridging the bridging oxygen ions forming a high-symmetry site

What if the company’s “Charity of the Year” deals with severe to moderate mental disability? A case study of fundraising problems and possibilities

Purpose: This paper explores the use of an ABC social marketing intervention to rescue a failing corporate “charity of the year” exercise that involved a mental disability charity. It describes the improvements experienced consequent to the introduction of volunteer “charity ambassadors” appointed to champion the charity’s cause.Design/methodology/approach: The study revolved around company employees’ responses to an open-ended question concerning their attitudes towards people with mental disabilities. A semi-automated qualitative research technique (structural topic modelling [STM]), was used to analyse the replies both pre- and post-intervention. Regression analyses were undertaken to explain whether employees’ replies to the question fell in specific categories.Findings: The intervention was successful. Employees’ attitudes regarding mentally impaired people shifted substantially away from fear and towards feelings of benevolence and compassion. Employees’ financial donations to the charity increased significantly consequent to the intervention. Levels of benevolence and compassion depended significantly on participants’ prior exposure to people with mental disabilities, gender, and degree of involvement in activities associated with the intervention.Research limitations: Stakeholders other than employees were not sampled. Open-ended responses to a single question can oversimplify complex issues.Practical implications: Outcomes to the research demonstrate how charity ambassadors can induce positive attitudes and behaviour towards an “unpopular cause”.Originality and value: The results highlight some of the problems attached to corporate sponsorship of unpopular causes. A relatively recently developed open-ended qualitative research technique, STM, was used to examine employees’ attitudes. Classifications of findings emerged from the data and did not depend on a predetermined coding scheme

The Rebranding of City Places: An International Comparative Investigation

An urban regeneration program that changes fundamentally the character of a district typically involves the rebranding of the area concerned. This may be highly controversial because the redevelopment might result in the importation of financially well off residents, business infrastructures, and cultural and leisure facilities more suited to better off people than to poorer pre-existing inhabitants (who might be driven out by rising property prices and rents). This article presents the results of an investigation into the place rebranding processes of nine urban regeneration units in three countries: Britain, Denmark and the USA. The study examined, inter alia, the organization of rebranding activities, how basic decisions regarding a place’s new brand identity were taken, whether integrated marketing communications were employed, consultation procedures, and the major problems that arose. A remarkable degree of consistency across the nine units' vis-à-vis the approaches towards and methods used for place rebranding was observed. Common problems seemingly invoked similar responses