Enzyme activity in terrestrial soil in relation to exploration of the Martian surface

Sensitive tests for the detection of extracellular enzyme activity in Martian soil was investigated using simulated Martian soil. Enzyme action at solid-liquid water interfaces and at low humidity were studied, and a kinetic scheme was devised and tested based on the growth of microorganisms and the oxidation of ammonium nitrite

NH3 in IRC plus 10216

Ammonia was detected in the circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216 by means of three infrared absorption lines in the nu sup 2 band around 950/cm. The lines are fully resolved at a resolution of 0.22 km/sec and indicate that most of the circumstellar gas is accelerated to expansion velocities around 14 km/sec within a few stellar radii. The NH3 profiles indicate a rotational temperature between 400 and 700 K, and H2 density between 10 to the 8th power/cu cm and 10 to the 10th power/cu cm, and NH3 column density of 10 to the 17th power/sq cm. The H2 density indicates that the mass of the circumstellar envelope within a 1 arcsec radius is approximately 0.1 solar masses

Enzyme activity in terrestrial soil in relation to exploration of the Martian surface

Urease activity in soil is persistent for long periods under low water, low temperature, and sterile regimes, and it was suggested that some form of enzyme-protective mechanism exists in soil. Dublin soil was extracted by sonication in water followed by adding a mixture of salts. Urease activity is associated with the organo-mineral complex thus obtained and is resistant to the activities of proteolytic enzymes. Clay free soil organic matter prepared subsequently by filtration also exhibits urease activity which is resistant to proteolysis. Models consisting of enzymes with bentonite and lignin were found to mimic this resistance to proteolysis. A model system is presented which suggests both the origin and location of soil ureases and a reason for their persistence in nature

Spatial and temporal variability of soil fertility in relation to crop yield zones on hummocky terrain

Non-Peer ReviewedA field study was conducted on hummocky terrain at the Manitoba Zero Tillage Association Research Farm to determine the variability of crop yield as related to landscape position, soil properties, weed populations and plant disease. This information was also used to evaluate technology required for delineation of management units related to precision farming. Variable rate fertiliser management systems can improve efficiency of fertilizer use and environmental sustainability. Adoption of this technology has been hampered due to the difficulty of classifying fields into management units, the high cost of sampling soils on a grid basis, and the variability of soil and plant properties in the landscape. Technology for variable rate fertilizer systems is available, but there is little information available related to yield response in clay soils on hummocky terrain, and the relationship of plant tissue test levels in relation to soil fertility as measured by soil test nitrate nitrogen. Current soil test recommendations for nitrogen are based on soil test nitrate nitrogen from samples bulked from samples in several locations in the field preferably grouped according to topography. Yield data for 1997-2001 were classified into groups with the fuzzy k means, normal mixtures and self-organizing map variants of cluster analysis. Although fuzzy k means commonly used for classification of crop yield and soil properties, a method based on self-organizing maps provided consistent classes when compared across years. Soil nitrate nitrogen varied considerably across the landscape at the site, but was not significantly different (P<0.05) between classes based on crop yield. Yield data can be used to delineate zones for variable management, although fertilizer inputs may be a function of spring soil moisture, runoff and growing season precipitation as they affect seeding, crop emergence and establishment

[Photodissociation of Acetylene and Acetone using Step-Scan Time-Resolved FTIR Emission Spectroscopy]

The photodissociation of acetylene and acetone was investigated as a function of added quenching gas pressures using step-scan time-resolved FTIR emission spectroscopy. Its main components consist of Bruker IFS88, step-scan Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer coupled to a flow cell equipped with Welsh collection optics. Vibrationally excited C2H radicals were produced from the photodissociation of acetylene in the unfocused experiments. The infrared (IR) emission from these excited C2H radicals was investigated as a function of added argon pressure. Argon quenching rate constants for all C2H emission bands are of the order of 10(exp -13)cc/molecule.sec. Quenching of these radicals by acetylene is efficient, with a rate constant in the range of 10(exp -11) cc/molecule.sec. The relative intensity of the different C2H emission bands did not change with the increasing argon or acetylene pressure. However, the overall IR emission intensity decreased, for example, by more than 50% when the argon partial pressure was raised from 0.2 to 2 Torr at fixed precursor pressure of 160mTorr. These observations provide evidence for the formation of a metastable C2H2 species, which are collisionally quenched by argon or acetylene. Problems encountered in the course of the experimental work are also described

Potential Biological Control Agents for \u3cem\u3eNassella neesiana\u3c/em\u3e (Poaceae) Invading Australian Native Grasslands

The introduction and proliferation of exotic stipoid grasses over the past 100 years seriously threatens agricultural productivity and the integrity of Australia\u27s indigenous flora and fauna, particularly its grasslands (McLaren et al., 1998). The full effect on biodiversity by the spread of these grasses is unknown but likely to be major (Hocking, 1998). Conventional control techniques have not stopped the invasion adequately, so it is a priority to find control options to achieve an effective management strategy. A biological control project against Nassella trichotoma and N. neesiana was initiated in 1999 in Argentina. We report on the most recent findings on two pathogens, Puccinia nassellae and Uromyces cf pencanus, selected on the basis of previous results (Anderson et al., 2004), as potential biological control agents against N. neesiana, a South American species that can dominate both pasture and native grasslands in Australia

Inactivation of infectivity of RNA of tobacco mosaic virus during ultraviolet-irradiation of the whole virus at two wavelengths

RESP-568

Imaging in the evaluation of renovascular disease

Renovascular disease (RVD) is an important cause of hypertension in children, as it often is amenable to potentially curative treatment. Imaging aimed at finding RVD therefore needs to have high sensitivity so as not to miss important findings. Digital subtraction angiography is the gold standard investigation. Doppler ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) angiography and magnetic resonance (MR) angiography can all be helpful, but none has, at present, high enough sensitivity to rule out RVD in a child with a suggestion of that diagnosis

Power in the Multinational Corporation in Industry Equilibrium

Recent theories of the multinational corporation introduce the property rights model of the firm and examine whether to integrate our outsource firm activities locally or to a foreign country. This paper focus instead on the internal organization of the multinational corporation by examining the power allocation between headquarters and subsidiaries. We provide a framework to analyse the interaction between the decision to serve the local market by exporting or FDI, market acces and the optimal mode of organization of the multinational corporation. We find that subsidiary managers are given most autonomy in their decision how to run the firm at intermediate levels of local competition. We then provide comparative statics for changes in fixed FDI entry costs and trade costs, information technology, the number of local competitors, and in the size of the local market