Wood ash treatment affects seasonal N fluctuations in needles of adult Picea abies trees: a 15N-tracer study

A 15N-tracer experiment was carried out in a stand of adult spruce trees [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] located on the Swiss Plateau in order to investigate the effects of wood ash treatment on seasonal nitrogen fluctuations in fine roots and needles. Treatments included irrigation (W), liquid fertilization (LF) and wood ash (A) application. 15N fluctuation in fine roots and current to 3-year-old needles was studied after one 15N pulse for 2consecutive years (1999, 2000). 15N tracer was rapidly incorporated into the fine roots of adult trees, and δ15N values reached similar levels in all treatments 2months after the pulse. In the needles, the largest increase in δ15N was observed in those of the current year. Following the initial peak during spring growth, δ15N values in needles of control trees showed an oscillating pattern through the season. This oscillation is attributed to the increased use of internal N sources, as soon as the roots can no longer meet the increased N demand during the sprouting phase. However, W-, LF- and A-treated trees no longer showed the oscillation in δ15N. Additional water (W and LF) as well as fertilizer (A and LF) may have induced shifts in the microbial flora, thus increasing the unlabelled N release from the soil. The strongest dampening was observed for the A treatment, indicating sufficient N availability from the soil, and making intensive use of the internal N sources unnecessary. Treatment with wood ash thus resulted in a similar fertilizer response to liquid fertilizatio

Hepatic effects of Cimicifuga racemosa extract in vivo and in vitro

Abstract.: Extracts of Cimicifuga racemosa are used frequently for menopausal complaints. Cimicifuga is well tolerated but can occasionally cause liver injury. To assess hepatotoxicity of cimicifuga in more detail, ethanolic C. racemosa extract was administered orally to rats, and liver sections were analyzed by electron microscopy. Tests for cytotoxicity, mitochondrial toxicity and apoptosis/necrosis were performed using HepG2 cells. Mitochondrial toxicity was studied using isolated rat liver mitochondria. Microvesicular steatosis was found in rats treated with > 500 μg/kg body weight cimicifuga extract. In vitro, cytotoxicity was apparent at concentrations ≥ 75 μg/mL, and mitochondrial β-oxidation was impaired at concentrations ≥ 10 μg/mL. The mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased at concentrations ≥ 100 μg/mL, and oxidative phosphorylation was impaired at concentrations ≥ 300 μg/mL. The mechanism of cell death was predominantly apoptosis. C. racemosa exerts toxicity in vivo and in vitro, eventually resulting in apoptotic cell death. The results are compatible with idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity as observed in patients treated with cimicifuga extract

Design of a bed load and driftwood filtering dam, analysis of the phenomena and hydraulic design

Flood protection often calls on to the realization of retention works for bed load as well as wood and debris flow. Certain relatively recent arrangements did not perform according to their intended function, what shows the complexity of the design and the implementation of such works. Adaptations were necessary to reach the security objectives. The design of a retention dam for solid materials and floating driftwood requires the consideration of numerous hydraulic and material transport processes. The analyses and design validation can be made with two approaches: physical modelling by the construction of a reduced scale model and the test realization or numerical simulation, by means of software packages such as GESMAT (1D) or TOPOFLOW (2D). The present work consists in implementing both approaches, in estimating and in comparing the answers which could be given for a bed load and debris flow filtering dam on a river with a slope of the order of 10%. Thanks to water level gauges and visual observations during tests on the physical model, the progression of the obstructions by driftwood and bed load is well understood, and the effectiveness of these obstructions proven. The tested work plays at first a role of filtering and retention and secondly a role of side overflow towards a zone with low damage potential, when the capacity of the in-stream retention space is reached. The performed numerical simulations, essentially in 1D, reproduce well the phenomena of bed load aggradation. Moreover, the potential obstruction by floating wood is considered and influences the behavior of the structure. By putting in parallel physical and numerical models, it was possible thanks to the results from the physical scale model to refine the numerical simulation tools taking into consideration additional components and behavior-type rules. These further established rules can now be used for other cases where physical modelling is not foreseen

Metal-Insulator Transition in a Disordered Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in GaAs-AlGaAs at zero Magnetic Field

A metal-insulator transition in two-dimensional electron gases at B=0 is found in Ga(Al)As heterostructures, where a high density of self-assembled InAs quantum dots is incorporated just 3 nm below the heterointerface. The transition occurs at resistances around h/e^2 and critical carrier densities of 1.2 10^11cm^-2. Effects of electron-electron interactions are expected to be rather weak in our samples, while disorder plays a crucial role.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 21 reference