Studies on Silica-Scaled Chrysophytes from Iowa

References in the literature to the silica-scaled chrysophytes of Iowa are few and, since the advent of the electron microscope, identifications of taxa in this group are no longer considered valid without accompanying electron micrographs. Using scanning electron microscopy for critical identifications, eight taxa genera of the Synuraceae are reported here including the first known report of the genus Paraphysomonas from Iowa. From the other two genera, Mallomonas and Synura, only one of the taxa in this paper, Mallomonas pseudocoronata, has been reported from Iowa previously. Mallomonas acaroides var. striatula, M. tonsurata, M. tonsurata var. alpina, M. teilingii, M. pseudocorcnata, Mallomonas sp., Synura petersenii, and Paraphysomonas imperforata are the taxa reported

Effects of Refrigerant-Lubricant Combinations on the Energy Efficiency of a Convertible Split-System Residential Air-Conditioner

Polyol ester (POE) lubricants of different viscosity ISO grades (32-80) and possessing distinctly different compatibilities (miscible vs. immiscible) were tested with R-410A, R-32, and L-41b. For each refrigerant-lubricant pair tested, the cooling coefficient of performance (COP), heating performance factor (HPF), and oil circulation ratio (OCR) were determined while operating at AHRI Standard 210/240 conditions A, B, C, H1 & H2. The results were correlated to the properties of the working fluids. Due to its higher density, yet comparable specific heat, R-32 showed increased cooling capacity compared to R-410A. However, the COPs of these refrigerants were similar because the capacity increase was offset by increased compressor power consumption. L-41b required the least compressor power, but also had the lowest cooling capacity and COP of the three refrigerants. Lubricant choice had minimal impact on cooling capacity. However, immiscible lubricants lowered cooling capacity by about 4% for R-32, condition B. A larger effect was observed in the compressor, where lubricants specifically designed for R-32 lowered discharge temperatures by 6 °C and reduced power consumption by up to 10%. For R-32-lubricant pairs tested under AHRI cooling condition B, the highest and lowest COPs measured were 4.19 (optimized ISO 68 POE) and 3.72 (commercial ISO 32 POE) ? a 12% improvement by replacing the standard R-410A lubricant

Effect of Lubricant-Refrigerant Mixture Properties on Compressor Efficiencies

Lubricants are utilized on compressors to lower friction thus increasing efficiency while decreasing wear and increase longevity. While pure lubricant properties are commonly cited in literature due to more readily available property data, far more meaningful results are obtained when lubricant-refrigerant mixture properties are utilized. The most critical of these properties are the vapor-liquid equilibrium data, which relates temperatures, pressures, and concentrations, to other intensive properties such as density and viscosity. To determine the impact of fundamental refrigerant-lubricant mixture properties on compressor performance, a series of lubricants having known mixture properties where utilized in a semi-hermetic transcritical carbon dioxide compressor. This compressor was installed in a calorimeter which allowed compressor electrical power consumption to be accurately measured. Likewise, refrigerant temperatures, pressures, and mass flows were measured. As this calorimeter utilized the full refrigeration cycle with both a gas-cooler and evaporator, it was possible to accurately determine the oil circulation ratio (OCR) via the sample based method given by ASHRAE Standard 41.4. The compressor was operated at a series of suction and discharge pressures and temperatures which were near the edge of the operating envelop. Combining the property information with experimental data from the calorimeter experiments allow for analysis of the impact of refrigerant-lubricant mixture properties on compressor efficiencies. Due to the relatively small changes in performance, it was necessary to properly account for the presence of lubricant in the definitions of isentropic and volumetric efficiencies. After accounting for these properties, multivariate least square curve fitting was utilized to understand the relative impact of mixture properties and OCR on compressor efficiency. The analysis is furthered to show the impact of compressor efficiency on system performance for the purpose of pointing towards selecting lubricants to minimize energy consumption

Refrigerant and Lubricant Mass Distribution in a Convertible Split System Residential Air-Conditioner

Lubricants are utilized in air-conditioning systems for the purpose of decreasing friction and wear within the compressor. While ideally the lubricant remains in the compressor, some lubricant is entrained and transported by the refrigerant to the other system components. During operational transients, the lubricant is redistributed throughout the various system components. The equilibrium distribution of lubricant depends among other things on fluid properties, phase change processes, flow rates, geometries, and operating conditions. Experiments were conducted in a commercially available, split-system, residential, air-conditioning system with a nominal 3-ton capacity that could be operated both as an air-conditioner and a heat-pump. While the system was designed to operate with R410A, most of the testing was conducted with pure R32, which is a leading candidate for R410A replacement pending regulatory discontinuation of its other constituent: R125. The lubricants used in this study were traditional and advanced polyol ester lubricants. Advanced polyol ester lubricants promise to improve lubricity and wear protection compared to current lubricants. The lubricants had nominal viscosities ranging from 32 to 80 cSt. To inventory the distribution of refrigerant and lubricant, the system was modified by the installation of ball valves which could be utilized to separate the system into its constituents: compressor, condenser, liquid line, evaporator, suction line, and accumulator. The system was brought to equilibrium at conditions A, B, C, H1, and H2 which are defined in AHRI Standard 210/240. After maintaining equilibrium, simultaneously the compressor being shut off and the ball valves were closed which isolated refrigerant and lubricant within each component. The components were subsequently removed and weighed in a manner which allowed the mass of refrigerant and lubricant in each component to be determined. Analysis of the results focuses on the change in mass distribution due to refrigerant-lubricant mixture properties and due to changes in operating conditions. The implications of the net migration of lubricant from the compressor to the remainder of the system will also be discussed

Importance of Post-Translational Modifications for Functionality of a Chloroplast-Localized Carbonic Anhydrase (CAH1) in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background: The Arabidopsis CAH1 alpha-type carbonic anhydrase is one of the few plant proteins known to be targeted to the chloroplast through the secretory pathway. CAH1 is post-translationally modified at several residues by the attachment of N-glycans, resulting in a mature protein harbouring complex-type glycans. The reason of why trafficking through this non-canonical pathway is beneficial for certain chloroplast resident proteins is not yet known. Therefore, to elucidate the significance of glycosylation in trafficking and the effect of glycosylation on the stability and function of the protein, epitope-labelled wild type and mutated versions of CAH1 were expressed in plant cells. Methodology/Principal Findings: Transient expression of mutant CAH1 with disrupted glycosylation sites showed that the protein harbours four, or in certain cases five, N-glycans. While the wild type protein trafficked through the secretory pathway to the chloroplast, the non-glycosylated protein formed aggregates and associated with the ER chaperone BiP, indicating that glycosylation of CAH1 facilitates folding and ER-export. Using cysteine mutants we also assessed the role of disulphide bridge formation in the folding and stability of CAH1. We found that a disulphide bridge between cysteines at positions 27 and 191 in the mature protein was required for correct folding of the protein. Using a mass spectrometric approach we were able to measure the enzymatic activity of CAH1 protein. Under circumstances where protein N-glycosylation is blocked in vivo, the activity of CAH1 is completely inhibited. Conclusions/Significance: We show for the first time the importance of post-translational modifications such as N-glycosylation and intramolecular disulphide bridge formation in folding and trafficking of a protein from the secretory pathway to the chloroplast in higher plants. Requirements for these post-translational modifications for a fully functional native protein explain the need for an alternative route to the chloroplast.This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR), the Kempe Foundations and Carl Tryggers Foundation to GS, and grant numbers BIO2006-08946 and BIO2009-11340 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) to A

Foliar anatomy on twelve genera of Bignoniaceae (Lamiales)

The foliar anatomy of the 12 genera (16 species) of Bignoniaceae found in West Africa was studied and compared. Observations were carried out by light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Across the family, anatomical characters found to be most useful are: stomata type, trichomes in the adult material, presence of peristomatal folds, type of sinuosity of epidermal anticlinal wall, veinlet termination number, cuticular striation, presence of sclerenchymatous idioblasts in the mesophyll, presence of hypodermis, presence of sclerenchymatous fibres in the ground parenchyma and presence of collenchyma in the outer tissue of petiole. These characters have been used in a key to the species