The forward exchange rate as a predictor of the spot rate: The case of the B.L.E.U.. Some further results.

Exchange; Spot rate;

Effects of Propiconazole on Morphology, Development, and Epidemiology of Rhizoctonia Solani, Causal Agent of Rice Sheath Blight.

Propiconazole was inhibitory to mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani in vitro. Sclerotial weight per colony was also reduced by propiconazole treatment but, in relation to total amount of mycelium, sclerotia formed earlier in 1 to 10 $\mu$g/ml plates than in control plates. Colony diameters from germinating sclerotia obtained from cultures growing at 0.5 to 10 $\mu$g/ml, were significantly greater than those of control colonies. Prolonged inhibitor activity resulted in increased branching, swollen or strongly tapered hyphal tips, formation of \u27beaded\u27 hyphae, and rupturing of hyphal walls when intrahyphal hyphae emerged. Abnormal fluorescent patches, representative of abnormal cell wall deposition, were present in propiconazole-treated hyphae. At the ultrastructural level, abnormal wall inclusions were observed after exposure to 1 $\mu$g/ml. Infection cushions formed on glass coverslips from hyphae growing on propiconazole-amended medium at.25 to 5 $\mu$g/ml, were visibly more abundant than those formed from control hyphae. Although external morphology of infection structures was the same for all treatments, the cytoplasm showed signs of degeneration at 1 and 5 $\mu$g/ml. Often, penetration pegs underneath infection cushions on the inner surface of propiconazole-treated rich sheaths, did not penetrate the inner epidermis but developed into regular hyphae that continued to grow on the sheath surface. Collapsed hyphae occurred near deposits of propiconazole residue on the inner epidermis and, occasionally, directional growth away from a deposit was observed. At lower propiconazole concentrations, mycelial growth and infection cushion formation on the inner sheath surface were significantly greater than on control sheaths. Single applications of propiconazole at the green ring stage of rice and sequential applications at the green ring and boot stage effectively reduced rice sheath blight incidence over time. Severity of sheath blight after green ring applications was significantly greater than in the nonsprayed control, whereas boot applications of propiconazole followed by benomyl, iprodione, or pencycuron at heading significantly reduced disease severity. Consistent positive yield responses compared with the control resulted from all boot and heading applications, whereas green ring applications generally resulted in a negative yield response

Hard x-ray photon-in-photon-out spectroscopy with lifetime resolution – of XAS, XES, RIXSS and HERFD

Spectroscopic techniques that aim to resolve the electronic configuration and local coordination of a central atom by detecting inner-shell radiative decays following photoexcitation using hard X-rays are presented. The experimental setup requires an X-ray spectrometer based on perfect crystal Bragg optics. The possibilities arising from non-resonant (X-Ray Emission Spectroscopy - XES) and resonant excitation (Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering Spectroscopy – RIXSS, High-Energy-Resolution Fluorescence Detected (HERFD) XAS) are discussed when the instrumental energy broadenings of the primary (beamline) monochromator and the crystal spectrometer for x-ray emission detection are on the order of the core hole lifetimes of the intermediate and final electronic states. The small energy bandwidth in the emission detection yields line-sharpened absorption features. In transition metal compounds, electron-electron interactions as well as orbital splittings and fractional population can be revealed. Combination with EXAFS spectroscopy enables to extent the k-range beyond unwanted absorption edges in the sample that limit the EXAFS range in conventional absorption spectroscopy

Applying GIS characterizing and modeling contaminant transport in surface water at Los Alamos National Laboratory

During World War II, Los Alamos, New Mexico was chosen as the site for the secret development of the first atomic bomb. The remote location in the southwestern United States was ideal for such a project. After the war, research activities continued at the Los Alamos installation, focusing on new nuclear weapons models as well as greater effectiveness and reliability of existing weapons. Due to the emphasis on nuclear and non-nuclear weapons development as well as associated nuclear research, a large inventory of radionuclides and heavy metals have been tested, expended, and disposed of in the local environment, a high plateau of tuffaceous volcanic rocks incised by deep canyons in a semi-arid climate. In recent years an intensive evaluation of the environmental, impact of weapons testing at Los Alamos and elsewhere has been undertaken. GIS system utilization and image processing of past and current data has been an important part of this evaluation. Important problems can be more easily displayed and understood using this methodology. The main objective in this paper is to illustrate how transport of depleted uranium and associated heavy metals (copper in this case) used in dynamic testing of weapons components at open air firing sites can be evaluated and visualized. In our studies, surface water has been found to be the predominant transport mechanism. We have sampled soils, sediments, fallout, runoff water and snowmelt over a number of years in order to understand contaminant transport on- and offsite. Statistical analyses of these data have assisted in our characterization of issues such as contaminant variability, spatially and temporally, as well as in development of transport rates

Depolarizing metrics for plant samples imaging

Optical methods, as fluorescence microscopy or hyperspectral imaging, are commonly used for plants visualization and characterization. Another powerful collection of optical techniques is the so-called polarimetry, widely used to enhance image contrast in multiple applications. In the botanical applications framework, in spite of some works have already highlighted the depolarizing print that plant structures left on input polarized beams, the potential of polarimetric methods has not been properly exploited. In fact, among the few works dealing with polarization and plants, most of them study light scattered by plants using the Degree of Polarization (DoP) indicator. Other more powerful depolarization metrics are nowadays neglected. In this context, we highlight the potential of different depolarization metrics obtained using the Mueller matrix (MM) measurement: the Depolarization Index and the Indices of Polarimetric Purity. We perform a qualitative and quantitative comparison between DoP- and MM-based images by studying a particular plant, the Hedera maroccana. We show how Mueller-based metrics are generally more suitable in terms of contrast than DoP-based measurements. The potential of polarimetric measurements in the study of plants is highlighted in this work, suggesting they can be applied to the characterization of plants, plant taxonomy, water stress in plants, and other botanical studies

Mutagenicity in Salmonella assays of cyclohexane epoxide derivatives

15 Cyclohexane epoxide derivatives were synthesized and compared for direct mutagenicity an bacterial toxicity using Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 in the liquid suspension and spot-test version of the Ames procedure. While no general correlations could be established for position and stereochemistry of the hydroxylated derivatives, an increase in mutagenicity was noted for the presence of electron-withdrawing groups and unsaturation in conjugation with the oxirane groups.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25651/1/0000203.pd

Variation in amylose concentration to enhance wheat flour extrudability

Composition and functionality of five waxy wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes were elaborately investigated and related to end-product attributes of extrudates. As such, the interaction between starch biopolymers and protein in extrusion processing could be studied. Furthermore, the effect of an increasing amylose-concentration was studied by the use of blends. Waxy genotypes absorbed more water, gave rise to stiffer doughs and had higher onset and peak gelatinization temperature. In contrast, a lower pasting temperature and final viscosity and higher peak viscosity and breakdown could be observed. The volume percentage of small starch granules showed to be negatively correlated with peak temperature and positively with final viscosity and holding strength as well as with extrudate hardness. This was also positively correlated with amylose concentration. Expansion index was highest at a slightly decreased amylose concentration of 16.6%. Markedly higher moisture content for all amylose-free extrudates was attributed to a combination of increased solubility of amylopectin and reduced water evaporation at die emergence. It was hypothesized that an interplay with protein content and composition was laying at the basis of the observed differences. Moreover, the altered pasting behavior of waxy wheat may enhance the extrudability of gluten containing wheat flour. Starch granule size distribution is related to extrudate texture. Amylose content affects expansion index, water absorption and texture of extrudates. Interaction between starch content and protein composition and quality was observed. Waxy genotypes are strongly varying in their protein composition and functionality. Maximum expansion was obtained for blends containing 25% waxy flour.The FWO, Research Foundation Flanders and VLIR-UOS Global Minds.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcshj2021Consumer ScienceFood Scienc

Occupational choice, number of entrepreneurs and output: theory and empirical evidence with Spanish data

This paper extends the (Lucas, Bell J Econ 9:508–523,1978) model of occupational choices by individuals with different skills, beyond the simple options of self-employment or wage-employment, by including a second choice for the self-employed. That is, an option to hire employees and so become self-employed with employees (SEWEs), or to be self-employed without employees (SEWNEs). We solve for the market equilibrium and examine the sensitivity of relative sizes of occupational groups, and of the level of productivity, to changes in the exogenous parameters. The results show that the positive (negative) association between number of SEWEs (SEWNEs) and productivity, observed in the Spanish data, can be explained, under certain conditions, as the result of cross-region and time differences in average skills. These findings point to the importance of distinguishing between SEWEs and SEWNEs in drawing valid conclusions concerning any link between entrepreneurship and economic development

Comparison of the isolation of adducts fo 2'-deoxycytidine and 2'-deoxyguanosine with phenylglycidyl ether by high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase column and a polystyrene-divinylbenzene column

2'-Deoxycitidine (dCyd) and 2'-deoxyguanosine (dGuo) were subjected to reaction with phenylglycidyl ether (PGE) in methanol in order to study the formation of the corresponding 2'-deoxynucleoside adducts. Separation methods were developed on analytical and semi-preparative scales using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection on a reversed-phase column and on a polystyrene-divinylbenzene column. The use of the latter column was prompted by decomposition of the preparatively isolated dGuo-PGE adducts on the reversed-phase column. The use of a polystyrene-divinylbenzene column solved this problem and also revealed the presence of one more peak in both the dCyd-and dGuo-PGE reaction mixtures.The adducts of dCyd and dGuo were isolated on preparative reversed-phase and polystyrene-divinylbenzene columns and characterized by UV, fast atom bombardment mass and 360 MHz 1H NMR spectrometry. The adducts of dCyd were the diastereomers of N-3-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2'-deoxycytidine and N4-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2'-deoxycytidine whereas those of dGuo were the two diastereomers of N-7-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine and a third peak which appeared to be mainly (N2-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29601/1/0000690.pd