Utilization of Surplus Milk in the Small Dairy Plant: 4. Stirred Curd Types of Cheese

In this series of publications an effort is made to describe how a variety of products can be prepared in plants where surplus milk is a problem. Each type of product is described in detail, methods of manufacturing are outlined, and the equipment and supplies needed are listed. As far as possible similar equipment is used for several products. In this publication the preparation of a group of stirred curd types of cheese is presented

secCl is a cys-loop ion channel necessary for the chloride conductance that mediates hormone-induced fluid secretion in Drosophila

Organisms use circulating diuretic hormones to control water balance (osmolarity), thereby avoiding dehydration and managing excretion of waste products. The hormones act through G-protein-coupled receptors to activate second messenger systems that in turn control the permeability of secretory epithelia to ions like chloride. In insects, the chloride channel mediating the effects of diuretic hormones was unknown. Surprisingly, we find a pentameric, cys-loop chloride channel, a type of channel normally associated with neurotransmission, mediating hormone-induced transepithelial chloride conductance. This discovery is important because: 1) it describes an unexpected role for pentameric receptors in the membrane permeability of secretory epithelial cells, and 2) it suggests that neurotransmitter-gated ion channels may have evolved from channels involved in secretion

Anisotropy of the space orientation of radio sources. I: The catalog

A catalog of the extended extragalactic radio sources consisting of 10461 objects is compiled based on the list of radio sources of the FIRST survey. A total of 1801 objects are identified with galaxies and quasars of the SDSS survey and the Veron-Veron catalog. The distribution of the position angles of the axes of radio sources from the catalog is determined, and the probability that this distribution is equiprobable is shown to be less then 10^(-7). This result implies that at Z equal to or smaller then 0.5, spatial orientation of the axes of radio sources is anisotropic at a statistically significant level.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Recycling of Water Treatment Plant Waste for Production of Soil-Cement Bricks

AbstractThe water treatment plants generate large amounts of municipal sludge that must be discarded. A crucial issue is to find an ecological destination for its final disposal. This work studies the possibility of incorporating water treatment plant waste into soil-cement bricks for civil construction. A sample of this waste material was analyzed for chemical composition, X-ray diffraction, particle size, plasticity, and organic matter. Mixtures of soil-cement containing up to 5wt.% of waste as a partial substitute of soil were pressed and cured for 28 days. The effects of the incorporation of the water treatment plant waste were determined by evaluating different physical properties such as compressive strength, apparent density, and water absorption. The results indicated that the water treatment plant waste is a plastic material composed mainly of kaolinite particles. The results also showed that the water treatment plant waste could be used for production of soil-cement bricks, helping to reduce the environmental impacts of the water treatment plants

The statistical properties of galaxy morphological types in compact groups of Main galaxies from the SDSS Data Release 4

In order to explore the statistical properties of galaxy morphological types in compact groups (CGs), we construct a random group sample which has the same distributions of redshift and number of member galaxies as those of the CG sample. It turns out that the proportion of early-type galaxies in different redshift bins for the CG sample is statistically higher than that for random group sample, and with growing redshift z this kind of difference becomes more significant. This may be due to the existence of interactions and mergers within a significant fraction of SDSS CGs. We also compare statistical results of CGs with those of more compact groups and pairs, but do not observe as large statistical difference as Hickson (1982)'results.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

VV124 (UGC4879): A new transitional dwarf galaxy in the periphery of the Local Group

We present the first resolved-star photometry of VV124 (UGC4879) and find that this is the most isolated dwarf galaxy in the periphery of the Local Group. Based on imaging and spectroscopic follow up observations with the 6m BTA telescope, we resolve VV124 into 1560 stars down to the limiting magnitude levels of V~25.6 and I~23.9. The young blue stellar populations and emission gas are found near the core, but noticeably displaced from the center of the galaxy as traced by dominant evolved red stars. The mean radial velocity derived from the spectra of two Blue Supergiant stars, an HII region and unresolved continuum sources is -80+/-10 km/s. The evolved ``red tangle'' stellar populations, which contains the red giant branch (RGB), are identified at large galactocentric radii. We use the I-band luminosity function to determine the distance based on the Tip of RGB method, 1.1+/-0.1 Mpc. This is ~10 times closer than the values usually assumed in the literature, and we provide revised distance dependent parameters. From the mean (V-I) color of the RGB, we estimate the mean metallicity as [Fe/H]~-1.37 dex. Despite of its isolated location, the properties of VV124 are clearly not those of a galaxy in formation, but rather similar to a transitional dIrr/dSph type.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to MNRAS Letter

Direct determination of plant-growth related metabolites by capillary electrophoresis with spectrophotometric UV detection

The detection of plant hormones and growth regulators is of great interest for many biological studies especially in the determination of metabolites related to plan growth and differentiation. In this work, we propose a simple method based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the separation of different classes of plant growth regulators such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberelic acid and abscisic acid. CE with UV detection was used and the analytical conditions were as follows: phosphate buffer 25 mmol L-1, for all the measurements and the separation conditions pH 12 or 2.5, by hydrodynamic injection 5 s at 10 cm and separation voltage of 22 kV. The absorbance detection was fixed at either 220 nm or 270 nm depending on a given phytohormone class. Under these conditions, phytohormones (Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Gibberellic acid (GA3), Abscisic acid (ABA), picloram, zeatin and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) were separated in approximately 3 to 5 min. The plant material used to verify the possibility of detection of hormone/plant growth regulators was citro (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) callus in the multiplication stage. In the plant tissue sample, zeatin was successfully detected. The results confirmed the potential use of CE as an efficient alternative and simple method to the classical procedures used for phytohormone detection in plant tissues.A detecção de hormônios e reguladores de crescimento em plantas é de grande interesse em uma enorme variedade de estudos biológicos. Visando este propósito nós desenvolvemos um método simples baseado em eletroforese capilar (CE) para a separação de diferentes classes de reguladores de crescimento de plantas como as auxinas, citocinina, ácidos giberélico e abscíssico. Foi utilizada CE, com detecção na região de UV; as condições de separação foram: fosfato de potássio como tampão, em concentração de 25 mmol L-1, pH 12 ou 2,5, tempo de injeção 5 s, elevando por sinfonamento o capilar, à altura de 10 cm e voltagem de separação de 22 kV. A absorbância foi fixada a 220 nm ou 270 nm, dependendo da classe do fitohormônio. Nestas condições os fitohormônios (IAA, GA3, ABA, picloram, zeatina e BAP) foram separados em um tempo de 3 a 5 min. O material oriundo de planta para verificar a possibilidade de detecção de hormônio/reguladores de crescimento de plantas foi a citro (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) callus no estágio de multiplicação. Na amostra de tecido de planta, a zeatina foi detectada com sucesso. Os resultados confirmaram a pontencialidade do uso de CE como um método eficiente, de baixo custo e alternativo para a detecção dessa classe de compostos em tecidos de plantas.FAPESPCNP

Double Bars, Inner Disks, and Nuclear Rings in Early-Type Disk Galaxies

We present results from an imaging survey of an unbiased sample of thirty-eight early-type (S0--Sa), low-inclination, optically barred galaxies in the field. Our goal was to find and characterize central stellar and gaseous structures: secondary bars, inner disks, and nuclear rings. Bars inside bars are surprisingly common: at least one quarter of the sample galaxies (possibly as many as 40%) are double-barred, with no preference for Hubble type or the strength of the primary bar. A typical secondary bar is ~12% of the size of its primary bar and 240--750 pc in radius. We see no significant effect of secondary bars on nuclear activity. We also find kiloparsec-scale inner disks in at least 20% of our sample, almost exclusively in S0 galaxies. These disks are on average 20% the size of their host bar, and show a wider range of relative sizes than do secondary bars. Nuclear rings are present in about a third of our sample. Most are dusty, sites of current or recent star formation, or both; such rings are preferentially found in Sa galaxies. Three S0 galaxies (15% of the S0's) appear to have purely stellar nuclear rings, with no evidence for dust or recent star formation. The fact that these central stellar structures are so common indicates that the inner regions of early-type barred galaxies typically contain dynamically cool and disklike structures. This is especially true for S0 galaxies, where secondary bars, inner disks, and/or stellar nuclear rings are present at least two thirds of the time. (abridged)Comment: LaTeX, 15 pages, 7 EPS figures; to appear in The Astronomical Journal (July 2002

On the Relation Between Peak Luminosity and Parent Population of Type Ia Supernovae: A New Tool for Probing the Ages of Distant Galaxies

We study the properties of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) as functions of the radial distance from their host galaxy centers. Using a sample of 62 SNe Ia with reliable luminosity, reddening, and decline rate determinations, we find no significant radial gradients of SNe Ia peak absolute magnitudes or decline rates in elliptical+S0 galaxies, suggesting that the diversity of SN properties is not related to the metallicity of their progenitors. We do find that the range in brightness and light curve width of supernovae in spiral galaxies extends to brighter, broader values. These results are interpreted as support for an age, but not metallicity, related origin of the diversity in SNe Ia. If confirmed with a larger and more accurate sample of data, the age-luminosity relation would offer a new and powerful tool to probe the ages and age gradients of stellar populations in galaxies at redshift as high as $z\sim1-2$. The absence of significant radial gradients in the peak $\rm (B-V)_0$ and $\rm (V-I)_0$ colors of SNe Ia supports the redding correction method of Phillips et al (1999). We find no radial gradient in residuals from the SN Ia luminosity-width relation, suggesting that the relation is not affected by properties of the progenitor populations and supporting the reliability of cosmological results based upon the use of SNe Ia as distance indicators.Comment: 19 pages, incl. 3 tables & 3 figures; to appear in Nov 2000 issue of Ap

Longitudinal Ion Acceleration from High-Intensity Laser Interactions with Underdense Plasma

Longitudinal ion acceleration from high-intensity (I ~ 10^20 Wcm^-2) laser interactions with helium gas jet targets (n_e ~ 0.04 n_c) have been observed. The ion beam has a maximum energy for He^2+ of approximately 40 MeV and was directional along the laser propagation path, with the highest energy ions being collimated to a cone of less than 10 degrees. 2D particle-in-cell simulations have been used to investigate the acceleration mechanism. The time varying magnetic field associated with the fast electron current provides a contribution to the accelerating electric field as well as providing a collimating field for the ions. A strong correlation between the plasma density and the ion acceleration was found. A short plasma scale-length at the vacuum interface was observed to be beneficial for the maximum ion energies, but the collimation appears to be improved with longer scale-lengths due to enhanced magnetic fields in the ramp acceleration region.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure