1,156 research outputs found
Evaluating the Potential of Using 5-Azacytidine as an Epimutagen
A number of early flowering lines were induced when 5-azacytidine was applied to germinating flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) seed. The genetics of these lines indicate that the induced changes are epigenetic and probably result from demethylation of the genomic DNA at loci that affect flowering age. Although the growth and development of three stable early flowering lines are altered and the percentage of filled seed was reduced in all three lines compared with controls, measures of seed productivity demonstrated that harvest index was unaffected in two of the lines. In the third, harvest index was lower than normal and both seed set per capsule and seed mass per 100 seed were reduced. Furthermore, six generations after induction this line began to display relatively high levels of polyembryony. The late appearance of this twinning and other aspects related to working with lines induced by 5-azacytidine and using 5-azacytidine as an epimutagen are discussed
Pneumoconiosis in Great Britain
Autor daje pregled sadašnjeg stanja problema pneumokonioze u Velikoj Britaniji. Nakon kratkog historijskog uvoda opisana su zvanja, u kojima su radnici izvrgnuti opasnosti od pneumokonioze. Tu se ističe kopanje ugljena kao najvažnija industrija u Velikoj Britaniji. U toj je industriji zaposleno ukupno 600.000 ljudi, a u razdoblju od 1939.-1947. bilo je prijavljeno 19.156 profesionalnih·oboljenja. Zatim autor prelazi na opis rentgenološke klasifikacije pneumokonioza i daje pregled patologije pneumokonioze. Posebno se poglavlje bavi istraživanjem pneumokonioze, koje se danas vrši u različitim institucijama u Velikoj Britaniji. Fizikalna se istraživanja bave skupljanjem prašine, metodama za kontinuirano uzimanje uzoraka, frakcioniranjem zrakom prenošene prašine i borbom protiv prašine. U kemijskim istraživanjima glavno mjesto zauzimaju metode kemijske analize, fizikalne metode za određivanje slobodnog silicijeva dioksida, istraživanje topljivosti slobodnog silicijeva dioksida i silikatnih minerala.The author reviews the problem or pneumoconiosis in Great Britain. After a brief historical introduction the following topics are discussed: trades affected (free silica exposure, silicate exposure, mixed stone dust exposure, mixed stone and carbon coal dust exposure); classification of pneumoconiosis by X-rays (simple pneumoconiosis, progressive massive" fibrosis); pathology of pneumoconiosis: pneumoconiosis research (physical, chemical, biological and medical)
Eksperimentalna infektivna pneumokonioza
Quartz and coal-mine dusts were introduced into the lungs of rats by inhalation, in a high concentration, for four months, and then groups of these dusted animals were infected with a virulent strain of human tubercle bacillus (37 Rv). Dusting was continued for a further period of ten months in the case of coal-mine dust. No variation in lung pathology was seen in the quartz groups, although both produced classical silicotic nodules. In the coal-mine dust the infective group showed slightly more fibrosis, diffuse in nature, than either the noninfected or the tuberculous control group. These are preliminary experiments, and the results must be considered as both tentative and not very conclusive. Work is being continued.Prašina kvarca i ugljenokopna prašina bile su unesene inhalacijom u pluća štakora. Koncentracija je bila visoka, a ekspozicija je trajala 4 mjeseca Nakon toga su grupe zaprašenih životinja bile inficirane virulentnim sojom humanog tuberkuloznog bacila (H 37 Rv). Kod grupe životinja, koje su bile izvrgnute djelovanju ugljenokopne prašine, nastavljeno je zaprašivanje daljih 10 mjeseci. U kvarcnim grupama nije bilo razlike s obzirom na patologiju pluća, iako je u obje grupe došlo do stvaranja klasičnih silikotičnih čvorova. U grupi životinja, koje su bile izvrgnute ugljenokopnoj prašini, nađeno je nešto više fibroze, koja je bila difuzna, nego bilo u neinficiranoj ili tuberkuloznoj kontrolnoj grupi. Ti eksperimenti su preliminarni i ne treba ih smatrati previše konkluzivnima. Rad se nastavlja
Pre-flight characteristics of Hecht vaults
This study reports the techniques used by gymnasts to perform the Hecht vault and
compares them with techniques used for the handspring somersault vault (Takei and
Kim, 1990). Data were obtained on 27 elite gymnasts performing the Hecht vault at the
1993 Canadian National Championships using two-dimensional video analysis with the
Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) technique. The maximum height reached by the
mass centre during postflight was significantly correlated (p < 0.001) with the vertical
velocity of the mass centre and the body angle at horse contact. The backwards rotation
of the body was significantly correlated (p = 0.002) with the shoulder angle at horse
contact. The competition score was significantly correlated (p = 0.031) with the body
angle at horse contact and the maximum height of the mass centre during postflight.
For the Hecht vault the gymnasts had longer, lower and faster preflights with slower
rotation at horse contact compared with the handspring somersault vaults
Recent Progress in Shearlet Theory: Systematic Construction of Shearlet Dilation Groups, Characterization of Wavefront Sets, and New Embeddings
The class of generalized shearlet dilation groups has recently been developed
to allow the unified treatment of various shearlet groups and associated
shearlet transforms that had previously been studied on a case-by-case basis.
We consider several aspects of these groups: First, their systematic
construction from associative algebras, secondly, their suitability for the
characterization of wavefront sets, and finally, the question of constructing
embeddings into the symplectic group in a way that intertwines the
quasi-regular representation with the metaplectic one. For all questions, it is
possible to treat the full class of generalized shearlet groups in a
comprehensive and unified way, thus generalizing known results to an infinity
of new cases. Our presentation emphasizes the interplay between the algebraic
structure underlying the construction of the shearlet dilation groups, the
geometric properties of the dual action, and the analytic properties of the
associated shearlet transforms.Comment: 28 page
Nanotube Piezoelectricity
We combine ab initio, tight-binding methods and analytical theory to study
piezoelectric effect of boron nitride nanotubes. We find that piezoelectricity
of a heteropolar nanotube depends on its chirality and diameter and can be
understood starting from the piezoelectric response of an isolated planar
sheet, along with a structure specific mapping from the sheet onto the tube
surface. We demonstrate that coupling between the uniaxial and shear
deformation are only allowed in the nanotubes with lower chiral symmetry. Our
study shows that piezoelectricity of nanotubes is fundamentally different from
its counterpart in three dimensional (3D) bulk materials.Comment: 4 pages, with 3 postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX4 macros.
Also available at
http://www.physics.upenn.edu/~nsai/preprints/bn_piezo/index.htm
Sustaining productivity of a Vertisol at Warra, Queensland, with fertilisers, no-tillage, or legumes. 5. Wheat yields, nitrogen benefits and water-use efficiency of chickpea-wheat rotation
In this study, the benefits of chickpea–wheat rotation compared with continuous wheat cropping (wheat–wheat rotation) were evaluated for their effects on soil nitrate nitrogen, wheat grain yields and grain protein concentrations, and water-use efficiency at Warra, southern Queensland from 1988 to 1996.
Benefits in terms of wheat grain yields varied, from 17% in 1993 to 61% in 1990, with a mean increase in grain yield of 40% (825 kg/ha). Wheat grain protein concentration increased from 9.4% in a wheat–wheat rotation to 10.7% in a chickpea–wheat rotation, almost a 14% increase in grain protein. There was a mean increase in soil nitrate nitrogen of 35 kg N/ha.1.2 m after 6 months of fallow following chickpea (85 kg N/ha) compared with continuous wheat cropping (50 kg N/ha). This was reflected in additional nitrogen in the wheat grain (20 kg N/ha) and above-ground plant biomass (25 kg N/ha) following chickpea.
Water-use efficiency by wheat increased from a mean value of 9.2 kg grain/ha. mm in a wheat–wheat rotation to 11.7 kg grain/ha.mm in a chickpea–wheat rotation. The water-use efficiency values were closely correlated with presowing nitrate nitrogen, and showed no marked distinction between the 2 cropping sequences. Although presowing available water in soil in May was similar in both the chickpea–wheat rotation and the wheat–wheat rotation in all years except 1996, wheat in the former used about 20 mm additional water and enhanced water-use efficiency. Thus, by improving soil fertility through restorative practices such as incorporating chickpea in rotation, water-use efficiency can be enhanced and consequently water runoff losses reduced.
Furthermore, beneficial effects of chickpea in rotation with cereals could be enhanced by early to mid sowing (May–mid June) of chickpea, accompanied by zero tillage practice. Wheat of ‘Prime Hard’ grade protein (≥13%) could be obtained in chickpea–wheat rotation by supplementary application of fertiliser N to wheat.
In this study, incidence of crown rot of wheat caused by Fusarium graminearum was negligible, and incidence and severity of common root rot of wheat caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana were essentially similar in both cropping sequences and inversely related to the available water in soil at sowing. No other soil-borne disease was observed. Therefore, beneficial effects of chickpea on wheat yields and grain protein were primarily due to additional nitrate nitrogen following the legume crop and consequently better water-use efficiency
Inflation from Susy quantum cosmology
We propose a realization of inverted hybrid inflation scenario in the context
of n=2 supersymmetric quantum cosmology. The spectrum of density fluctuations
is calculated in the de Sitter regimen as a function of the gravitino and the
Planck mass, and explicit forms for the wave function of the universe are found
in the WKB regimen for a FRW closed and flat universes.Comment: 9 pages, one figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.
- …