Calonectria species associated with cutting rot of Eucalyptus

Decline in the productivity of Eucalyptus hybrid cutting production in the Guangdong Province of China is linked to cutting rot associated with several Calonectria spp. The aim of this study was to identify these fungi using morphological and DNA sequence comparisons. Two previously undescribed Calonectria spp., Ca. pseudoreteaudii sp. nov. and Ca. cerciana sp. nov. were identified together with Ca. pauciramosa. Calonectria pseudoreteaudii resides in the Ca. reteaudii complex and Ca. cerciana is closely related to Ca. morganii. Connected to the discovery of Ca. pseudoreteaudii, species in the Ca. reteaudii complex were re-considered and the group is shown to accommodate two cryptic species. These originate from Australia and are described as Ca. queenslandica sp. nov. and Ca. terrae-reginae sp. nov

Nonsupersymmetric multibrane solutions

Gravity coupled to an arbitrary number of antisymmetric tensors and scalar fields in arbitrary space-time dimensions is studied in a context of general, static, spherically symmetric solutions with many orthogonally intersecting branes. Neither supersymmetry nor harmonic gauge is assumed. It is shown that the system reduces to a Toda-like system after an adequate redefinition of transverse radial coordinate $r$. Duality $r \to 1/r$ in the set of solutions is observed

A defined subset of adenylyl cyclases is regulated by bicarbonate ion

The molecular basis by which organisms detect and respond to fluctuations in inorganic carbon is not known. The cyaB1 gene of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC7120 codes for a multidomain protein with a C-terminal class III adenylyl cyclase catalyst that was specifically stimulated by bicarbonate ion (EC50 9.6 mM). Bicarbonate lowered substrate affinity but increased reaction velocity. A point mutation in the active site (Lys-646) reduced activity by 95% and was refractory to bicarbonate activation. We propose that Lys-646 specifically coordinates bicarbonate in the active site in conjunction with an aspartate to threonine polymorphism (Thr-721) conserved in class III adenylyl cyclases from diverse eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Using recombinant proteins we demonstrated that adenylyl cyclases that contain the active site threonine (cyaB of Stigmatella aurantiaca and Rv1319c of Mycobacterium tuberculosis) are bicarbonate-responsive, whereas adenylyl cyclases with a corresponding aspartate (Rv1264 of Mycobacterium) are bicarbonate-insensitive. Large numbers of class III adenylyl cyclases may therefore be activated by bicarbonate. This represents a novel mechanism by which diverse organisms can detect bicarbonate ion

Bayesian estimation for selective trace gas detection

We present a Bayesian estimation analysis for a particular trace gas detection technique with species separation provided by differential diffusion. The proposed method collects a sample containing multiple gas species into a common volume, and then allows it to diffuse across a linear array of optical absorption detectors, using, for example, high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities. The estimation procedure assumes that all gas parameters (e.g. diffusion constants, optical cross sections) are known except for the number population of each species, which are determined from the time-of-flight absorption profiles in each detector

Leptographium bhutanense sp. nov., associated with the root collar weevil Hylobitelus chenkupdorjii on Pinus wallichiana in Bhutan

Leptographium spp. are commonly associated with bark beetles and weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and some are important tree pathogens. In a recent survey of diseases and insect pests of conifer trees in Bhutan, the root collar weevil, Hylobitelus chenkupdorjii was found girdling young Himalayan blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) trees in Central Bhutan. Intensive wood staining and a Leptographium sp. were associated with damage by this insect. The fungus was also isolated from individuals of H. chenkupdorjii. It was tentatively identified based on morphology and then compared with other Leptographium spp. using DNA sequences for three gene regions. Morphological characteristics showed that the Leptographium sp. from H. chenkupdorjii is similar to, but distinct from L. procerum and L. profanum. DNA sequence comparisons revealed that the isolates from Bhutan resided in a distinct well-supported clade and confirmed that they represent an undescribed taxon for which the name Leptographium bhutanense sp. nov. is provided

Thermodynamic database for the Co-Pr system

AbstractIn this article, we describe data on (1) compositions for both as-cast and heat treated specimens were summarized in Table 1; (2) the determined enthalpy of mixing of liquid phase is listed in Table 2; (3) thermodynamic database of the Co-Pr system in TDB format for the research articled entitle Chemical partitioning for the Co-Pr system: First-principles, experiments and energetic calculations to investigate the hard magnetic phase W

DNA-based identification of Quambalaria pitereka causing severe leaf blight of Corymbia citriodora in China

Quambalaria spp. include serious plant pathogens, causing leaf and shoot blight of Corymbia and Eucalyptus spp. In this study, a disease resembling Quambalaria leaf blight was observed on young Corymbia citriodora trees in a plantation in the Guangdong Province of China. Comparisons of rDNA sequence data showed that the causal agent of the disease is Q. pitereka. This study provides the first report of Quambalaria leaf blight from China, and it is also the first time that this pathogen has been found on trees outside the native range of Eucalypts

High coercivity, anisotropic, heavy rare earth-free Nd-Fe-B by Flash Spark Plasma Sintering

The authors wish to extend their gratitude to neo Magnequench for providing the materials used in this study. The research was supported by EU-FP7 MAG-DRIVE project (No. 605348) [http://www.mag-drive-fp7.eu/]. MJR and SG would like to acknowledge the EPSRC Programme Grant XMAT [EP/K008749/2]

Novel species of Calonectria associated with Eucalyptus leaf blight in Southeast China

Leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. is an important disease occurring on Eucalyptus trees grown in plantations of Southeast Asia. Symptoms of leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. have recently been observed in commercial Eucalyptus plantations in FuJian Province in Southeast China. The aim of this study was to identify these Calonectria spp. employing morphological characteristics, DNA sequence comparisons for the β-tubulin, histone H3 and translation elongation factor-1α gene regions and sexual compatibility. Four Calonectria spp. were identified, including Ca. pauciramosa and three novel taxa described here as Ca. crousiana, Ca. fujianensis and Ca. pseudocolhounii. Inoculation tests showed that all four Calonectria spp. found in this study were pathogenic on two different E. urophylla × E. grandis hybrid clones, commercially utilised in eucalypt plantations in China

An InGaAlAs-InGaAs two-color photodetector for ratio thermometry

We report the evaluation of a molecular-beam epitaxy grown two-color photodetector for radiation thermometry. This two-color photodetector consists of two p+in+ diodes, an In0.53Ga0.25Al0.22As (hereafter InGaAlAs) p+in+ diode, which has a cutoff wavelength of 1180 nm, and an In0.53Ga0.47As (hereafter InGaAs) p+in+ diode with a cutoff wavelength of 1700 nm. Our simple monolithic integrated two-color photodetector achieved comparable output signal and signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio to that of a commercial two-color Si-InGaAs photodetector. The InGaAlAs and InGaAs diodes detect blackbody temperature as low as 275°C and 125°C, respectively, with an SNR above 10. The temperature errors extracted from our data are 4°C at 275°C for the InGaAlAs diode and 2.3°C at 125°C for the InGaAs diode. As a ratio thermometer, our two-color photodetector achieves a temperature error of 12.8°C at 275°C, but this improves with temperature to 0.1°C at 450°C. These results demonstrated the potential of InGaAlAs-InGaAs two-color photodetector for the development of high performance two-color array detectors for radiation thermometry and thermal imaging of hot objects