Seed vigor, aging, and osmopriming affect anion and sugar leakage during imbition of maize (Zea mays L.) caryopses

Conductivity was significantly increased by aging and decreased by osmopriming of maize (Zea mays L.) caryopses. Chloride, phosphate, and sulfate were the main anions that leaked out of maize seeds; their leakage was closely related to conductivity, increased by aging, and decreased by osmopriming. The anion leakage of isolated embryos correlated closely to seed vigor and was more sensitive to aging and priming than that of the whole seed. Anion leakage may be a more sensitive measure for seed vigor than bulk conductivity readings. Aging did not increase the sugar leakage of whole seeds but significantly increased the sugar leakage of isolated embryos. Sugar leakage was not closely related to total soluble sugar content of seeds. While priming decreased seed conductivity, the decreased anion and sugar leakage of the primed seeds was mainly caused by the washing effect during priming. The total anions or sugars left in the polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution after priming and in the conductivity solution of the primed seeds was almost the same as in the conductivity solution of the unprimed seeds alone

The electrical potential as a gauge of photosynthetic performance in plant chloroplasts : a patch-clamp study

The earliest events in the energisation of the photosynthetic membrane upon light capture are the formation of a transmembrane electrical potential (AV) and a transmembrane proton gradient (ΔpH). In this thesis ΔΨis employed for the study of the bioenergetics of chloroplast photosynthesis and its regulation by ΔpH in the shade adapted plant peperomia ( Peperomia metallic a) and the high-light adapted plant spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ). Electrochromism (P515) was used and a patch-clamp method was developed yielding two complementing tools for the detection of ΔΨ. The patch-clamp method enables the detection of relatively large light- induced currents (photocurrents) or potentials (photopotentials) of a single P. metallica chloroplast. An electrical equivalent scheme is introduced incorporating amongst others the thylakoid membrane resistance and capacitance and an access resistance which, at least partly, is supposed to be associated with low (lateral) conductance phases of thylakoid lamellae. The light-induced electrical responses reflect the operation of the photosynthetic current-generators and the way generated current is distributed throughout the chloroplast conductance network. Simultaneous measurements of light- and current-induced responses allow the separation of electrogenic events from changes in chloroplast conductances. A kinetically well defined slow secondary phase (R1 /Q) could be distilled from the flash- induced photocurrent/-potential which is related to the turnover of the cyt. b 6 f complex (Q-cycle). Generally, the rise of R1/Q was sigmoidal. This biphasic rise is modelled by a consecutive reaction scheme with two relaxation times of 13 and 28 ms which likely reflect the oxidation of plastoquinol and reduction of plastoquinone at the lumen and stroma membrane/water interface of the b 6 f complex, respectively. A P515 fraction (Rl /RC f ) of about 20 % is inadequately stabilised in dark-adapted spinach chloroplasts and decays rapidly with a relaxation time of 1 - 2 ms. A fast dissipation of ΔΨas generated by photosystern (PS) II is suggested to cause R1/RC f . It is hypothesised that adequate charge stabilisation depends on efficient energy coupling between PS II and the cyt. b 6 f complex which is only guaranteed in superclusters composed of both protein complexes. Energisation causes a suppression of about 50 % of PS II-dependent charge separation which is dark reversible with a relaxation time of about 20 s and is likely induced by the low lumenal pH created by lightdriven proton pumping. The results are best explained by a reaction center quenching model in which a fraction of PS II centers exhibits a rapid charge recombination. Flash-induced changes in chloroplast conductances are first demonstrated. The seal conductance decreases transiently upon a brief flash with a minimum of 0.3 - 5 % at 50 - 200 ms after the flash and a slow relaxation in 1 - 10 s. It is proposed that an important part of the conductance changes is intimately associated with changes in the lateral conductances of thylakoids, in particular those of the narrow spaced grana thylakoids.<br/

'Just a Damned Nuisance': New Zealand's Changing Relationship with Israel from 1947 Until May 2010

In 1955, Mr Linton, the Israeli Minister accredited to New Zealand, sent an angry cable home decrying how the New Zealand government seemed to view Israel as if it “were just a damned nuisance, involving New Zealand in complex debating with a certain amount of expenditure within a sphere remote from Dominion interests and apprehensions.” Despite this early criticism from the Israelis, there has been an ongoing level of interest within New Zealand towards the Jewish state that goes beyond what should be expected as the cultural, economic, historic and diplomatic ties between New Zealand and Israel are relatively insignificant. Degrees of closeness between the two states have fluctuated dramatically, from New Zealand's strong political support of the creation of Israel at the United Nations in 1945, to an adoption of Israel's kibbutzim model in the 1970s, and culminating in the extraordinary cutting of diplomatic ties in 2004. What explains these dynamic shifts in attitude? Why has the relationship seen such dramatic shifts throughout the last fifty years? What explains this intense interest from consecutive New Zealand governments, diplomatic staff and the New Zealand public? In this thesis I explore how the relationship is generally shaped by the interest-motivated hand of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, punctuated every now and then by a well placed individual responding to instinct or passion. I also explore the role of external influences on the relationship, examining how trade concerns with Arab states in the Middle East affected the relationship, and examining the effect of international left-wing discomfort towards Israel. New Zealand's relationship with Israel is a dynamic but woefully underexplored history that deserves greater attention and analysis. This thesis tells that story

Strengthening SMEs through Rapid Prototyping to Meet Future Challenges - Why & How?

In the current scenario of the global economic crisis, market uncertainty, layoffs, shrinkage in market size are some common issues which the business is facing and at the same time looking for some way outs. This situation demands the reconfiguration of existing theories, models or frameworks so that innovative solutions can be developed to ease the situation. Technology like Rapid Prototyping have the potential to meet certain future challenges, but there is a dire need to blend the technology and strategy together to end up with a viable solution, unfortunately there is no one and simple solution, but joint efforts by different stakeholders is the need of time. A recent trend is the globalization of the production operations in which the manufacturing is done basically in the developing countries largely through SMEs but the question is that are these small to medium entrepreneurs ready to take the challenge of the fast changing requirements and is it possible to meet these challenges without building the capacity of the these small companies? This paper take a closer look of the SMEs by giving an in depth analysis of the inherent problems and challenges such companies are facing and how the technology like RP can assist them to come out of this situation. The paper also highlights the role of the stakeholders including both government and non government organisations including universities and provides valuable recommendations for the capacity building of these small to medium companies, which will not only boost the local economies but will also facilitate the international production & operations management in a better and most effective way

Variation of structure and magnetic properties with thickness of thin Co59Fe26Ni15 films

Variations of phase composition and magnetic properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Co-Fe-Ni films with film thickness in the range of 50-500 nm were analyzed. The samples were magnetically soft with coercivity in the range H-c = 2-20 Oe and uni axial magnetic anisotropy up to H-k = 20 Oe. It was found that H-c decreases and H-k increases with increasing film thickness. The BCC phase dominates at small film thickness up to about 80 nm and the FCC phase increases when the film growths to a larger thickness. The increase of FCC phase correlates with the improvement of the ultrasoft magnetic properties. &COPY; 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Are Interaction-free Measurements Interaction Free?

In 1993 Elitzur and Vaidman introduced the concept of interaction-free measurements which allowed finding objects without ``touching'' them. In the proposed method, since the objects were not touched even by photons, thus, the interaction-free measurements can be called as ``seeing in the dark''. Since then several experiments have been successfully performed and various modifications were suggested. Recently, however, the validity of the term ``interaction-free'' has been questioned. The criticism of the name is briefly reviewed and the meaning of the interaction-free measurements is clarified.Comment: 11 pages, 3 eps figures. Contribution to the ICQO 2000, Raubichi, Belaru

A Methodology to Align Core Manufacturing Capabilities with Sustainable Manufacturing Strategies

How do core business and manufacturing capabilities enable strategies for sustainable manufacturing, and what are those capabilities? This paper proposes a Capability Methodology for Sustainable Manufacturing (CMSM) for allowing top management of manufacturing companies to address these questions. A diagnostic tool was developed from three case studies based on a set of interview questions aimed at identifying core capabilities and sustainability issues in manufacturing companies. Interview data was coded and mapped through a relational matrix formulation that describes four archetypes for the development of sustainability strategies. The matrix maps the degree of complexity of the sustainability concept as understood by the company, and the scope of the product life cycle being considered. It is argued that the methodology helps bring awareness to managers of any gaps or mismatches between their actual core capabilities and the desired outcomes for sustainable manufacturing