PHYTOPLANKTON LIPIDS: INTERSPECIFIC DIFFERENCES AND EFFECTS OF NITRATE,SILICATE AND LIGHT-DARK CYCLES1

The lipid content of various phytoplankton species was measured in response to nitrogen and silicon limitation and over the cell cycle in synchronized cultures. In a survey of 30 species it was found that during log-phase growth, green algae contained an average of 17.1% total lipids (% of total dry weight), whereas diatoms contained an average of 24.5%. Nitrogen deprivation for 4 to 9 days resulted in 2- to 3-fold increases in the lipid content of green algae, whereas both increases and decreases were noted in diatoms, depending on the species. The greatest lipid content measured in the study was 72% in Monallantus salina (strain GSB Sticho) which had been deprived of nitrogen for 9 days. Nitrate replenishment in a nitrogen starved culture of Oocystis polymorpha Groover & Bold showed that the excess cellular lipids do not rapidly disappear during recovery, until cell division occurs. A silicate deprivation experiment with Cyclotella cryptica Reimann, Lewin & Guillard (strain 7c) showed an increase in the total cellular lipid fraction from. 30 to 42% of dry weight within 6 h of the onset of silicon limitation, while the mass of lipid material per cell doubled within 12 h. The total lipid fraction in O. polymorpha was found to remain constant over the cell cycle in synchronized cultures regardless of the light regime. The data presented provided the first internally consistent study of phytoplankton lipids for a wide range of species and several growth conditions.     

Observations on the structure of epidermal cells, particularly the cork and silica cells, from the flowering stem internode of Lolium temulentum L. (Gramineae)

Features of the epidermis such as stomata, hairs, cork and silica cells are described from both light and electron microscope studies. The stomatal complex consists of two guard cells and two subsidiary cells. After division of the guard mother cell a pore is left at each end of the dividing wall. The cork and silica cells arise from a single another cell and develop differentially. The silica cell enlarges more than the cork cell and finally becomes filled with solidified silica. The outer tangential and radial walls of the cork cells become very thick-walled, whereas the inner tangential and radial walls of the silica cells become thickened. The outer tangential wall of the silica cell remains thin and is covered with a thin layer- of cuticle. This wall frequently collapses in old cells leaving a depression in the surface of the stem. The change in the ultrastructure of the cork and silica cells are described and the possible functions of these cells discussed.     

硅素对水稻幼苗镉积累及抗胁迫应答的调节效应

施硅(Si)可以显著缓解镉(Cd)胁迫对水稻生长发育的毒害效应。本研究通过水培分根试验,研究了Si对水稻幼苗Cd积累及胁迫应答的调节效应。结果表明: Cd胁迫下水稻幼苗的生物量显著降低,加Si可以显著缓解Cd对水稻幼苗生长的抑制效应。水稻幼苗对Cd的吸收、转运和积累明显受到Si的影响,单侧根系Cd胁迫下加Si(Si-Cd+Si,Si-Cd)使根系对Cd的滞留系数达83.3%～83.6%,限制了Cd从根向地上部转移。单侧根系Cd胁迫下非胁迫侧加Si(Si-Cd)处理的植株对Cd的吸收和累积明显增加,尤其是根中Cd的积累量较单侧根系Cd胁迫下无Si(CK-Cd)处理增加了48.2%;而单侧根系Cd胁迫下双侧加Si(Si-Cd+Si)处理则显著降低了根和地上部对Cd的吸收,较CK-Cd处理分别降低了36.7%和54.9%。双侧Cd胁迫下单侧加Si(Cd-Cd+Si)则使根和地上部对Cd的吸收量显著减少,较双侧根Cd胁迫(Cd-Cd)处理分别降低了57.8%和46.5%。Cd胁迫下水稻幼苗根中含较高浓度的Si,加Si则使Cd胁迫下根和地上部积累更多的Si。加Si也影响了水稻幼苗对其他金属元素如钙(Ca)、镁(Mg)、锰(Mn)的吸收,Cd-Cd+Si处理显著增加了根系和地上部的Ca、Mg浓度,但Mn浓度的变化则因Cd胁迫程度而表现不同。加Si对Cd胁迫下根系超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化物酶(POD)活性有一定的影响,尤其是Si-Cd处理的胁迫侧POD和非胁迫侧SOD活性显著上升,有利于清除Cd胁迫产生的氧自由基。总之,Si对Cd胁迫下水稻幼苗生长、Cd和Si等的吸收及根系的抗氧化反应有一定的调节效应,植株体内较高的Si浓度有利于增强植株对Cd的耐受性。     

Development of isoporous microslit silicon nitride membranes for sterile filtration applications

The widely used 0.2/0.22 µm polymer sterile filters were developed for small molecule and protein sterile filtration but are not well-suited for the production of large nonprotein biological therapeutics, resulting in significant yield loss and production cost increases. Here, we report on the development of membranes with isoporous sub-0.2 μm rectangular prism pores using silicon micromachining to produce microslit silicon nitride (MSN) membranes. The very high porosity (~33%) and ultrathin (200 nm) nature of the 0.2 µm MSN membranes results in a dramatically different structure than the traditional 0.2/0.22 µm polymer sterile filter, which yielded comparable performance properties (including gas and hydraulic permeance, maximum differential pressure tolerance, nanoparticle sieving/fouling behavior). The results from bacteria retention tests, conducted according to the guidance of regulatory agencies, demonstrated that the 0.2 µm MSN membranes can be effectively used as sterile filters. It is anticipated that the results and technologies presented in this study will find future utility in the production of non-protein biological therapeutics and in other biological and biomedical applications.     

Biocontrol of blue mold of apple by Candida membranifaciens in combination with silicon

In this study, antagonistic yeast Candida membranifaciens was combined with different concentrations of silicon (Si; 0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5% wt/vol) to evaluate the control of blue mold of apple in storage at 20°C and 5°C. Preliminary studies showed that Si at 0.6% or above inhibited mycelial growth of pathogens significantly in vitro. In vitro studies showed that Si at 0.1% had lower effect on yeast growth. In vivo studies showed that combination of different concentrations of Si with C. membranifaciens improved the efficacy of yeast in control of disease better than Si and yeast alone (P < 0.05). Our result showed that the effective concentration of Si is varied based on pathogen isolates and temperature, so that the most effective concentration of Si was 0.5% for isolate P2 at 20°C and 0.5% and 0.1% for isolates P1 and P2 at 5°C.     

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for the striation distribution of void defects in Czochralski silicon growth

Unique crystal-originated pit (COP) distribution, similar to a striation pattern, is well matched with the oxygen profile in experimental analysis. It shows the strong relationship between oxygen concentration and COP distribution. In this paper, we study the generation of void defects and the relationship between interstitial oxygen and vacancy using the kinetic lattice Monte Carlo (KLMC) method. The KLMC method has been applied extensively in various forms to the study of micro-defects in silicon wafers. It explained well the formation of void defects such as vacancy–oxygen complex and vacancy–vacancy complex. The formation of clusters is strongly affected by oxygen concentration, which showed the relationship between COP distribution and oxygen concentration. The unique COP distribution could be correctly explained with KLMC results, and this kind of meso-scale results has not yet been reported.     

Lithium Fluoride Based Electron Contacts for High Efficiency n‐Type Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Low‐resistance contact to lightly doped n‐type crystalline silicon (c‐Si) has long been recognized as technologically challenging due to the pervasive Fermi‐level pinning effect. This has hindered the development of certain devices such as n‐type c‐Si solar cells made with partial rear contacts (PRC) directly to the lowly doped c‐Si wafer. Here, a simple and robust process is demonstrated for achieving mΩ cm² scale contact resistivities on lightly doped n‐type c‐Si via a lithium fluoride/aluminum contact. The realization of this low‐resistance contact enables the fabrication of a first‐of‐its‐kind high‐efficiency n‐type PRC solar cell. The electron contact of this cell is made to less than 1% of the rear surface area, reducing the impact of contact recombination and optical losses, permitting a power conversion efficiency of greater than 20% in the initial proof‐of‐concept stage. The implementation of the LiF_x/Al contact mitigates the need for the costly high‐temperature phosphorus diffusion, typically implemented in such a cell design to nullify the issue of Fermi level pinning at the electron contact. The timing of this demonstration is significant, given the ongoing transition from p‐type to n‐type c‐Si solar cell architectures, together with the increased adoption of advanced PRC device structures within the c‐Si photovoltaic industry.