Advances in aluminum anodizing

White anodize is applied to aluminum alloy surfaces by specific surface preparation, anodizing, pigmentation, and sealing techniques. The development techniques resulted in alloys, which are used in space vehicles, with good reflectance values and excellent corrosive resistance

VARIATION IN MARGINAL RESPONSE TO NITROGEN FERTILIZER BETWEEN LOCATIONS

A logistic growth equation with time and location varying parameters was used to model corn response to applied nitrogen. A nonlinear dummy-variable regression model provided a parsimonious representation of site and time effects on parameter values. The model was used to test for the equality of the mean marginal product of nitrogen fertilizer between locations on the coastal plain of North Carolina. Monte Carlo simulation and bootstrap simulation were used to construct finite sample covariance estimates. Results support rejection of the hypothesis that mean marginal products are equal when nitrogen is applied at 168 kg/ac. A comparison of bootstrapped errors and asymptotic errors suggests that results based on asymptotic theory are fairly reliable in this case.bootstrap, corn yield, marginal product, nitrogen fertilizer, nonlinear regression, Crop Production/Industries, C200, C150, Q100,

On regional integration in bank commercial lending

This paper tests the hypothesis that average interest rates for ten categories of commercial loans (short-term and long-term loans in five size classes) in the regions of the United States behave as if they were generated in an integrated national market. The tests, derived from two models of commercial lending in an integrated market , indicate that all regions are highly integrated in short-term lending in all size classes. In long-term lending, five of the six regions appear to be highly integrated in four of the five size classes. The exceptional region is the Southeast, which seems not only to be poorly integrated with the other regions but also to be far less homogeneous. The exceptional loan-size class is 0 to $10,000.

GALEX Catalog of UV Point Sources in M33

The hottest stars ($>$10,000 K), and by extension typically the most massive ones, are those that will be prevalent in the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and we expect numerous B, O, and Wolf-Rayet stars to be bright in UV data. In this paper, we update the previous UV catalog of M33, created using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), using data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). We utilize PSF photometry to better handle the crowded regions in the galaxy, and benefit from GALEX's increased sensitivity compared to UIT. We match our detections with data from the Local Group Galaxies Survey (LGGS) to create a catalog with photometry spanning from the far-UV through the optical for a final list of 24738 sources. All of these sources have far-UV (FUV; 1516A), near-UV (NUV; 2267A), and V data, and a significant fraction also have U, B, R, and I data as well. We compare these sources to a catalog of known Wolf-Rayet stars in M33 and find that we recover 114 of 206 stars with spatially-coincident UV objects. Additionally, we highlight and investigate those sources with unique colors as well as a selection of other well-studied sources in M33.Comment: Version accepted by MNRAS, updated with suggestions from the referee. For a brief video abstract of the paper, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcJ95LNhGt

Synthesis of \u3cem\u3eN\u3c/em\u3e-Acetyl-ᴅ-quinovosamine in \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e CE3 is Completed After Its 4-keto-precursor is Linked to a Carrier Lipid

Bacterial O-antigens are synthesized on lipid carriers before being transferred to lipopolysaccharide core structures. Rhizobium etli CE3 lipopolysaccharide is a model for understanding O-antigen biological function. CE3 O-antigen structure and genetics are known. However, proposed enzymology for CE3 O-antigen synthesis has been examined very little in vitro, and even the sugar added to begin the synthesis is uncertain. A model based on mutagenesis studies predicts that 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxy-d-glucose (QuiNAc) is the first O-antigen sugar and that genes wreV, wreQ and wreU direct QuiNAc synthesis and O-antigen initiation. Previously, synthesis of UDP-QuiNAc was shown to occur in vitro with a WreV orthologue (4,6-hexose dehydratase) and WreQ (4-reductase), but the WreQ catalysis in this conventional deoxyhexose-synthesis pathway was very slow. This seeming deficiency was explained in the present study after WreU transferase activity was examined in vitro. Results fit the prediction that WreU transfers sugar-1-phosphate to bactoprenyl phosphate (BpP) to initiate O-antigen synthesis. Interestingly, WreU demonstrated much higher activity using the product of the WreV catalysis [UDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-GlcNAc (UDP-KdgNAc)] as the sugar-phosphate donor than using UDP-QuiNAc. Furthermore, the WreQ catalysis with WreU-generated BpPP-KdgNAc as the substrate was orders of magnitude faster than with UDP-KdgNAc. The inferred product BpPP-QuiNAc reacted as an acceptor substrate in an in vitro assay for addition of the second O-antigen sugar, mannose. These results imply a novel pathway for 6-deoxyhexose synthesis that may be commonly utilized by bacteria when QuiNAc is the first sugar of a polysaccharide or oligosaccharide repeat unit: UDP-GlcNAc → UDP-KdgNAc → BpPP-KdgNAc → BpPP-QuiNAc

Quinol Oxidase Encoded by \u3cem\u3ecyoABCD\u3c/em\u3e in \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e CFN42 is Regulated by ActSR and is Crucial for Growth at Low pH or Low Iron Conditions

Rhizobium etli aerobically respires with several terminal oxidases. The quinol oxidase (Cyo) encoded by cyoABCD is needed for efficient adaptation to low oxygen conditions and cyo transcription is upregulated at low oxygen. This study sought to determine how transcription of the cyo operon is regulated. The 5′ sequence upstream of cyo was analysed in silico and revealed putative binding sites for ActR of the ActSR two-component regulatory system. The expression of cyo was decreased in an actSR mutant regardless of the oxygen condition. As ActSR is known to be important for growth under low pH in another rhizobial species, the effect of growth medium pH on cyo expression was tested. As the pH of the media was incrementally decreased, cyo expression gradually increased in the WT, eventually reaching ∼10-fold higher levels at low pH (4.8) compared with neutral pH (7.0) conditions. This upregulation of cyo under decreasing pH conditions was eliminated in the actSR mutant. Both the actSR and cyo mutants had severe growth defects at low pH (4.8). Lastly, the actSR and cyo mutants had severe growth defects when grown in media treated with an iron chelator. Under these conditions, cyo was upregulated in the WT, whereas cyo was not induced in the actSR mutant. Altogether, the results indicated cyo expression is largely dependent on the ActSR two-component system. This study also demonstrated additional physiological roles for Cyo in R. etli CFN42, in which it is the preferred oxidase for growth under acidic and low iron conditions

Diversity and Dynamics of Indigenous \u3cem\u3eRhizobium japonicum\u3c/em\u3e Populations

A simple method, based upon the separation of cellular proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, has been devised for distinguishing between isolates of Rhizobium japonicum. Eleven laboratory strains, previously classified into five serogroups, were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. Groups determined subjectively according to protein patterns matched the serogroups, with one exception. Most strains within serogroups could be distinguished from one another. For studying the ecology of Rhizobium, an important advantage of this technique compared with serology or phage typing is that it discriminates among previously unencountered indigenous bacterial isolates as well as among known laboratory strains. SDS-gels were used to analyze the Rhizobium population of 500 nodules, sampled throughout the growing season, from soybeans at two different Wisconsin localities. Although the soybeans had been inoculated with laboratory strains of R. japonicum, indigenous R. japonicum predominated. At one location, 19 indigenous gel types were distinguished and classified mainly into four groups. At the other location, 18 gel types, falling mainly into three groups, were detected. The predominance of a particular group varied, in some cases dramatically, depending upon the time and depth of nodule formation

Compounds Exuded by \u3cem\u3ePhaseolus vulgaris\u3c/em\u3e That Induce a Modification of \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e Lipopolysaccharide

Exudates released from germinating seeds and roots of a black-seeded bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Midnight Black Turtle Soup) induce an antigenic change in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Rhizobium etli CE3. By spectroscopic analyses and chromatographic comparisons with derived standards, the chemical structures of the aglycone portions of the major inducing molecules from seed exudate were deduced, and they were identified as delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, and malvidin. These anthocyanidins were present in seed exudate mainly as glycosides, the chief inducer being delphinidin 3-glucoside. Also present were 3-glucosides of petunidin and malvidin and glycosides of cyanidin and delphinidin. Seed exudate from a bean variety deficient in anthocyanins did not induce the LPS conversion. The ability of root exudate to induce an antigenic change in the LPS was due to compounds other than anthocyanins

A Quinol Oxidase, Encoded by \u3cem\u3ecyoABCD\u3c/em\u3e, Is Utilized to Adapt to Lower O\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Concentrations in \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e CFN42

Bacteria have branched aerobic respiratory chains that terminate at different terminal oxidases. These terminal oxidases have varying properties such as their affinity for oxygen, transcriptional regulation and proton pumping ability. The focus of this study was a quinol oxidase encoded by cyoABCD. Although this oxidase (Cyo) is widespread among bacteria, not much is known about its role in the cell, particularly in bacteria that contain both cytochrome c oxidases and quinol oxidases. Using Rhizobium etli CFN42 as a model organism, a cyo mutant was analysed for its ability to grow in batch cultures at high (21 % O2) and low (1 and 0.1 % O2) ambient oxygen concentrations. In comparison with other oxidase mutants, the cyo mutant had a significantly longer lag phase under low-oxygen conditions. Using a cyo :: lacZ transcriptional fusion, it was shown that cyo expression in the wild type peaks between 1 and 2.5 % O2. In addition, it was shown with quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR that cyoB is upregulated approximately fivefold in 1 % O2 compared with fully aerobic (21 % O2) conditions. Analysis of the cyo mutant during symbiosis with Phaseolous vulgaris indicated that Cyo is utilized during early development of the symbiosis. Although it is commonly thought that Cyo is utilized only at higher oxygen concentrations, the results from this study indicate that Cyo is important for adaptation to and sustained growth under low oxygen