Variations in water use by a mature mangrove of Avicennia germinans, French Guiana

In the tropical intertidal zones, little is known on water uptake by mangroves. Transpiration rates are generally measured at leaf level, but few studies exist on water use at tree or stand levels. The objective of this study was to measure sap flow in trees of different sizes to appreciate the range of variation in water use that may exist in a site dominated by 80% mature Avicennia germinans. The results showed that from the dry to the wet season the mean water use increased from 3.2 to 5.3 dm3 d−1 in small trees (DBH ∼ 13 cm), from 11.5 to 30.8 dm3 d−1 in medium trees (∼24 cm) and from 40.8 to 64.1 dm3 d−1 in large ones (∼45 cm). Sapwood remained active up to a depth of 8 cm with radial variations within the stem. Weak correlations were obtained with VPD and net radiation. This study confirmed that transpiration was larger under low levels of salinity. Water use at stand level (∼1900 living stems ha−1) was estimated to be in the range of 5.8 to 11.8 m3 ha−1 d−1 according to the season

[(1,2,5,6-η)-Cyclo­octa-1,5-diene]bis­(1-isopropyl-3-methyl­imidazolin-2-yl­idene)rhodium(I) tetra­fluorido­borate

In the title compound, [Rh(C8H12)(C7H12N2)2]BF4, the square-planar Rh complex cation and the BF4 − anion are both bis­ected by a crystallographic twofold rotation axis. The Rh and B atoms lie on this axis and all others are in general positions. In the crystal, two unique C—H⋯F hydrogen-bonding inter­actions are present, which involve both imidazolin-2-yl­idene H atoms. They form two separate C(5) motifs, the combination of which is a rippled hydrogen-bonded sheet structure in the ab plane

[2-Butyl-4-(4-tert-butyl­benz­yl)-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl­idene]chlorido[(1,2,5,6-η)-cyclo­octa-1,5-diene]iridium(I)

In the title compound, [IrCl(C8H12)(C17H25N3)], the IrI ion has a distorted square-planar coordination geometry. The N-heterocyclic carbene ligand has an extended S-shaped conformation. The butyl group was refined using a two-part 1:1 disorder model. In the crystal, three unique weak C—H⋯Cl contacts are present. Two of these form a motif described as R 2 1(6) in graph-set notation, while a third forms an R 2 2(8) motif about a crystallographic inversion center. The result is a chain structure which extends parallel to the crystallographic a axis

ELPA: A parallel solver for the generalized eigenvalue problem

For symmetric (hermitian) (dense or banded) matrices the computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors Ax = λBx is an important task, e.g. in electronic structure calculations. If a larger number of eigenvectors are needed, often direct solvers are applied. On parallel architectures the ELPA implementation has proven to be very efficient, also compared to other parallel solvers like EigenExa or MAGMA. The main improvement that allows better parallel efficiency in ELPA is the two-step transformation of dense to band to tridiagonal form. This was the achievement of the ELPA project. The continuation of this project has been targeting at additional improvements like allowing monitoring and autotuning of the ELPA code, optimizing the code for different architectures, developing curtailed algorithms for banded A and B, and applying the improved code to solve typical examples in electronic structure calculations. In this paper we will present the outcome of this project

From protein sequences to 3D-structures and beyond: the example of the UniProt Knowledgebase

With the dramatic increase in the volume of experimental results in every domain of life sciences, assembling pertinent data and combining information from different fields has become a challenge. Information is dispersed over numerous specialized databases and is presented in many different formats. Rapid access to experiment-based information about well-characterized proteins helps predict the function of uncharacterized proteins identified by large-scale sequencing. In this context, universal knowledgebases play essential roles in providing access to data from complementary types of experiments and serving as hubs with cross-references to many specialized databases. This review outlines how the value of experimental data is optimized by combining high-quality protein sequences with complementary experimental results, including information derived from protein 3D-structures, using as an example the UniProt knowledgebase (UniProtKB) and the tools and links provided on its website (http://www.uniprot.org/). It also evokes precautions that are necessary for successful predictions and extrapolations

Degradation of haloaromatic compounds

An ever increasing number of halogenated organic compounds has been produced by industry in the last few decades. These compounds are employed as biocides, for synthetic polymers, as solvents, and as synthetic intermediates. Production figures are often incomplete, and total production has frequently to be extrapolated from estimates for individual countries. Compounds of this type as a rule are highly persistent against biodegradation and belong, as "recalcitrant" chemicals, to the class of so-called xenobiotics. This term is used to characterise chemical substances which have no or limited structural analogy to natural compounds for which degradation pathways have evolved over billions of years. Xenobiotics frequently have some common features. e.g. high octanol/water partitioning coefficients and low water solubility which makes for a high accumulation ratio in the biosphere (bioaccumulation potential). Recalcitrant compounds therefore are found accumulated in mammals, especially in fat tissue, animal milk supplies and also in human milk. Highly sophisticated analytical techniques have been developed for the detection of organochlorines at the trace and ultratrace level