Application of air injectors to biomass combustion systems. Conveyance of rice husks and other particulate biomass materials (NRI Bulletin 52)

This bulletin describes work carried out by the Process and Storage Engineering Department of the Natural Resources Institute on the conveyance of particulate biomass materials by means of low pressure air injectors for applications in small-scale to medium-scale combustion systems. Experimental data on the injector entrainment ratios for particulate-laden gases are compared with values calculated from theory. Procedures are given for an injector design optimized for minimum fan-power and fan-pressure requirements. lt is concluded that the theoretical procedures developed for injector design and performance prediction for clean gases can also be applied, with simple modifications, to the dilute-phase entrainment of particulate materials in the injectors. This publication is primarily intended for use by engineers in the design of injector systems for application in small-scale to medium-scale particulate biomass combustion systems

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

Mannose binding protein deficiency Immunochemistry and mutation analysis

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN002523 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Evidence of Altered Guinea Pig Ventricular Cardiomyocyte Protein Expression and Growth in Response to a 5 min in vitro Exposure to H2O2

Oxidative stress and alterations in cellular calcium homeostasis are associated with the development of cardiac hypertrophy. However, the early cellular mechanisms for the development of hypertrophy are not well understood. Guinea pig ventricular myocytes were exposed to 30 μ H2O 2 for 5 min followed by 10 units/mL catalase to degrade the H 2O2, and effects on protein expression were examined 48 h later. Transient exposure to H2O2 increased the level of protein synthesis more than 2-fold, assessed as incorporation of [ 3H]leucine (n = 12; p < 0.05). Cell size was increased slightly, but there was no evidence of major cytoskeletal disorganization assessed using fluorescence microscopy. Changes in the expression of individual proteins were assessed using iTRAQ protein labeling followed by mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MALDI-MSMS); 669 proteins were identified, and transient exposure of myocytes to H2O2 altered expression of 35 proteins that were predominantly mitochondrial in origin, including TCA cycle enzymes and oxidative phosphorylation proteins. Consistent with changes in the expression of mitochondrial proteins, transient exposure of myocytes to H2O 2 increased the magnitude of the mitochondrial NADH signal 10.5 ± 2.3% compared to cells exposed to 0 μH2O2 for 5 min followed by 10 units/mL catalase (n = 8; p < 0.05). In addition, metabolic activity was significantly increased in the myocytes 48 h after transient exposure to H2O2, assessed as formation of formazan from tetrazolium salt. We conclude that a 5 min exposure of ventricular myocytes to 30 μ H2O2 is sufficient to significantly alter protein expression, consistent with the development of hypertrophy in the myocytes. Changes in mitochondrial protein expression and function appear to be early sequelae in the development of hypertrophy

Proteomic profiling of developing wheat heads under water-stress

A replicated iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) study on developing wheat heads from two doubled haploid (DH) lines identified from a cross between cv Westonia x cv Kauz characterized the proteome changes influenced by reproductive stage water-stress. All lines were exposed to 10 days of water-stress from early booting (Zadok 40), with sample sets taken from five head developmental stages. Two sample groups (water-stressed and control) account for 120 samples that required 18 eight-plex iTRAQ runs. Based on the IWGSC RefSeq v1 wheat assembly, among the 4592 identified proteins, a total of 132 proteins showed a significant response to water-stress, including the down-regulation of a mitochondrial Rho GTPase, a regulator of intercellular fundamental biological processes (7.5 fold) and cell division protein FtsZ at anthesis (6.0 fold). Up-regulated proteins included inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (3.83 fold) and glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (4.05 fold). The Pre-FHE and FHE stages (full head emerged) of head development were differentiated by 391 proteins and 270 proteins differentiated the FHE and Post-FHE stages. Water-stress during meiosis affected seed setting with 27% and 6% reduction in the progeny DH105 and DH299 respectively. Among the 77 proteins that differentiated between the two DH lines, 7 proteins were significantly influenced by water-stress and correlated with the seed set phenotype response of the DH lines to water-stress (e.g. the up-regulation of a subtilisin-like protease in DH 299 relative to DH 105). This study provided unique insights into the biological changes in developing wheat head that occur during water-stress