Effect of alcohol solvents and IBA on rooting of select woody ornamental and herbaceous plants

Alcohol toxicity based on solvent has been reported to be a problem in the propagation of certain woody ornamental plants. The purposes of this study were: (1) to evaluate the phytotoxicity of several alcohol solvents; (2) to evaluate the effect of ISA levels on several varieties of woody and herbaceous plants; (3) to determine whether or not the alcohol solvents could reduce the rate of IBA oxidation in solution. Ethanol, polyethylene glycol 400, propylene glycol and isopropanol were selected as solvents for IBA. Terminal cuttings of several varieties of herbaceous and woody plants suspected to be alcohol sensitive were treated with a five-second quick-dip of the alcohol IBA solutions. After the cuttings were rooted and evaluated, no meaningful significant difference on rooting was found between the four alcohols tested, and no phytotoxicity was observed on any of the plant varieties tested. The primary influence on rooting was the concentration of IBA in the quick-dips. A mung bean hypocotyl rooting bioassay was developed to study the effect of the alcohol solvents in the reduction rate of IBA oxidation in solution. Analysis of variance showed a significant influence of IBA, solvent, and age on root number of rooted mung bean hypocotyl cuttings. All interactions of these factors other than the IBA and age interaction were significant as well. Duncan\u27s New Multiple Range Test showed that one year old solutions of 1 and 10 ppm IBA in polyethylene glycol 400 produced significantly fewer roots per experimental unit than did freshly prepared solutions of 1 and 10 ppm IBA in PEG at the 1 percent level of significance. The results indicate that ETOH, PG and IPA reduce the oxidation rate of IBA in solution compared to PEG, and that no auxin activity is lost after one year in solution. Visual observation showed differences in color among freshly prepared and aged 1000 ppm IBA solutions in ETOH, PEG, PG and IPA. Spectro- photometric analysis was used to analyze the differences among these IBA solutions. Spectrophotometric analysis revealed a large peak at approximately 225 nm in all of the freshly prepared IBA solutions. Aged solutions of IBA in ETOH, PG and IPA produced lower peaks than the comparable freshly prepared solutions at 225 nm, whereas the aged IBA solution in PEG produced no peak whatsoever at 225 nm. The absence of a peak at 225 nm in the aged IBA solution in PEG and the lower peak for PG corresponded with the reduced rooting in the mung bean bioassay

METHODOLOGY FOR TREND ANALYSIS AND PROJECTION OF PRODUCTION, MARKET SHARES, AND CONSUMPTION

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

DEVELOPMENT OF A SCHEME TO EVALUATE CONSUMER APPLE VARIETY PREFERENCES

Consumer/Household Economics,

Modeling atmospheric effects of the September 1859 Solar Flare

We have modeled atmospheric effects, especially ozone depletion, due to a solar proton event which probably accompanied the extreme magnetic storm of 1-2 September 1859. We use an inferred proton fluence for this event as estimated from nitrate levels in Greenland ice cores. We present results showing production of odd nitrogen compounds and their impact on ozone. We also compute rainout of nitrate in our model and compare to values from ice core data.Comment: Revised version including improved figures; Accepted for publication in Geophys. Res. Lett, chosen to be highlighted by AG

A multinational, multi-institutional study of assessment of programming skills of first-year CS students

In computer science, an expected outcome of a student's education is programming skill. This working group investigated the programming competency students have as they complete their first one or two courses in computer science. In order to explore options for assessing students, the working group developed a trial assessment of whether students can program. The underlying goal of this work was to initiate dialog in the Computer Science community on how to develop these types of assessments. Several universities participated in our trial assessment and the disappointing results suggest that many students do not know how to program at the conclusion of their introductory courses. For a combined sample of 216 students from four universities, the average score was 22.89 out of 110 points on the general evaluation criteria developed for this study. From this trial assessment we developed a framework of expectations for first-year courses and suggestions for further work to develop more comprehensive assessments

A z=1.82 Analog of Local Ultra-massive Elliptical Galaxies

We present observations of a very massive galaxy at z=1.82 which show that its morphology, size, velocity dispersion and stellar population properties that are fully consistent with those expected for passively evolving progenitors of today's giant ellipticals. These findings are based on a deep optical rest-frame spectrum obtained with the Multi-Object InfraRed Camera and Spectrograph (MOIRCS) on the Subaru telescope of a high-z passive galaxy candidate (pBzK) from the COSMOS field, for which we accurately measure its redshift of z=1.8230 and obtain an upper limit on its velocity dispersion sigma_star<326 km/s. By detailed stellar population modeling of both the galaxy broad-band SED and the rest-frame optical spectrum we derive a star-formation-weighted age and formation redshift of t_sf~1-2 Gyr and z_form~2.5-4, and a stellar mass of M_star~(3-4)x10^{11} M_sun. This is in agreement with a virial mass limit of M_vir<7x10^{11}M_sun, derived from the measured sigma_star value and stellar half-light radius, as well as with the dynamical mass limit based on the Jeans equations. In contrast with previously reported super-dense passive galaxies at z~2, the present galaxy at z=1.82 appears to have both size and velocity dispersion similar to early-type galaxies in the local Universe with similar stellar mass. This suggests that z~2 massive and passive galaxies may exhibit a wide range of properties, then possibly following quite different evolutionary histories from z~2 to z=0.Comment: ApJ Letters in press; 9 pages; 4 figures; 1 table; emulateapj.cl

A Different Approach to Galaxy Evolution

The consequences are explored of an observationally established relation of the star formation rate (SFR) of star-forming galaxies with their stellar mass (M) and cosmic time (t), such that SFR is proportional to M x t^{-2.5}. It is shown, that small systematic differences in SFR dramatically amplify in the course of time: galaxies with above average SFR run into quasi-exponential mass and SFR growth, while galaxies with below average SFR avoid such exponential growth and evolve with moderate mass increase. It is argued that galaxies following the first path would enormously overgrow if keeping to form stars all the way to the present, hence should quench star formation and turn passive. By the same token, those instead avoiding the quasi-exponential growth may keep to form stars up to the present. Thus, it is conjectured that this divergent behaviour can help understanding the origin of the dichotomy between passive, spheroidal galaxies, and star-forming, disk galaxies.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 figures, to appear on MNRA

Adjustment to fibromyalgia: the role of domain-specific self-efficacy and acceptance

Research in long-term conditions traditionally focuses on negative aspects of coping. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of positive factors such as selfefficacy and acceptance in the context of adjustment to fibromyalgia. The study employed a cross-sectional design using online questionnaires measuring self-efficacy, acceptance, kinesiophobia, coping, catastrophising, pain intensity and fibromyalgia impact. A total of 117 participants with fibromyalgia were recruited from fibromyalgia support-groups, organisations, and online forums. After controlling for other cognitive and demographic variables, pain self-efficacy remained a significant predictor of pain intensity (p=.003); symptom self-efficacy remained the best predictor of psychological fibromyalgia impact (p=.001); and function self-efficacy remained the best predictor of functional (p<.001) and total fibromyalgia impact (p<.001). However, the contribution of acceptance upon pain intensity and fibromyalgia impact was not significant. These results highlight the impact of different self-efficacy domains on pain intensity, and functional, psychological and total adjustment to fibromyalgia

Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna: A Case Report

Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is a rare disorder common among postmenopausal females that involve increased volume and porosity of the frontal bone. Depending on the size, it could be symptomatic or asymptomatic. With a little report on the pathophysiology of HFI, we present a peculiar case of HFI with speculations that could shed more light on the already established literature and pose questions for future research

Bostonia: 1998-1999, no. 1, 3-4

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs