Polyamine Metabolism under Different Light Regimes in Wheat

Although the relationship between polyamines and photosynthesis has been investigated at several levels, the main aim of this experiment was to test light-intensity-dependent influence of polyamine metabolism with or without exogenous polyamines. First, the effect of the duration of the daily illumination, then the effects of different light intensities (50, 250, and 500 μmol m^–2 s^–1) on the polyamine metabolism at metabolite and gene expression levels were investigated. In the second experiment, polyamine treatments, namely putrescine, spermidine and spermine, were also applied. The different light quantities induced different changes in the polyamine metabolism. In the leaves, light distinctly induced the putrescine level and reduced the 1,3-diaminopropane content. Leaves and roots responded differently to the polyamine treatments. Polyamines improved photosynthesis under lower light conditions. Exogenous polyamine treatments influenced the polyamine metabolism differently under individual light regimes. The fine-tuning of the synthesis, back-conversion and terminal catabolism could be responsible for the observed different polyamine metabolism-modulating strategies, leading to successful adaptation to different light conditions.     

Fractional Jacobi Galerkin spectral schemes for multi-dimensional time fractional advection–diffusion–reaction equations

One of the ongoing issues with time fractional diffusion models is the design of efficient high-order numerical schemes for the solutions of limited regularity. We construct in this paper two efficient Galerkin spectral algorithms for solving multi-dimensional time fractional advection–diffusion–reaction equations with constant and variable coefficients. The model solution is discretized in time with a spectral expansion of fractional-order Jacobi orthogonal functions. For the space discretization, the proposed schemes accommodate high-order Jacobi Galerkin spectral discretization. The numerical schemes do not require imposition of artificial smoothness assumptions in time direction as is required for most methods based on polynomial interpolation. We illustrate the flexibility of the algorithms by comparing the standard Jacobi and the fractional Jacobi spectral methods for three numerical examples. The numerical results indicate that the global character of the fractional Jacobi functions makes them well-suited to time fractional diffusion equations because they naturally take the irregular behavior of the solution into account and thus preserve the singularity of the solution.

     

Electrodeposition of cobalt-nickel alloys from ammoniacal single-complex baths

The electrodeposition of cobalt-nickel alloys has been studied from ammoniacal single-complex baths containing 5–50 CoSo₄·7H₂O, 5–50 NiCl₂·46H₂O, 20–50 g dm^?3 (NH₄)₂SO₄ and 250–350 cm³ dm^?3 NH₄OH (20.5% solution). The effects of the plating current density and the concentrations of the bath constituents on the cathodic polarisation, current efficiency and composition of the alloy were investigated. A wide range of alloy compositions with a current efficiency of 60–80% could be obtained from the main baths examined. The alloy plating system interchanged between the normal and the anomalous types depending upon the plating current density and the concentration of NH⁺₄ ion in the bath. Electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction studies proved that the structure of the electrodeposited alloy was controlled by the alloy composition.     

Relevance of cue reactivity to understanding alcohol and smoking relapse.

Several learning-based theories have been forwarded to account for the problem of drug relapse, including conditioned withdrawal, conditioned compensatory responding, appetitive motivational models, and social learning models. The various models are compared and evaluated against available evidence from studies with humans pertaining to alcohol and tobacco addiction. Studies that are reviewed focus primarily on the antecedents and consequences of alcohol and smoking relapse, as well as on reactions to cues that have been associated with prior drug ingestion, in an attempt to understand their motivational relevance. Problems in evaluating the various relapse models in humans are discussed. It is concluded that the appetitive model is better supported than the withdrawal model, and the compensatory model is least supported. Reactions to substance use stimuli may play an important role in alcohol and smoking relapse. Concepts drawn from the various theoretical models are linked tentatively in a schematic diagram of a hypothesized sequence of cognitive/affective, physiological, and behavioral events that lead to initial drug use after a period of abstinence (slip) and then to continued use (a relapse). The treatment implications of some of the cue reactivity models are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and relaxation of orientation in sheared concentrated lyotropic solutions of hydroxypropylcellulose in m-cresol

Shear-induced orientation and the relaxation of orientation after the cessation of shear in 45 and 50 wt% solutions of cholesteric hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) in m-cresol have been studied in situ by infrared spectroscopy and polarised microscopy. The shearing experiments were conducted at 30-80 °C at shear rates of 1-300 s⁻¹, which covered the director tumbling, wagging and a small part of the steady-state shear rate regimes. The steady-state order parameter was proportional to the shear rate and the proportionality constant increased with increasing HPC concentration and decreasing temperature. The concentrated solutions studied showed steady-state alignment even in the tumbling regime. Three different shear-rate regions with different behaviours of the solutions after the cessation of shear were found in these concentrated HPC solutions. At low shear rates (1-5 s⁻¹, referring to the 50% HPC solution) the polymer remained isotropic during shear but became gradually more oriented a few minutes after the cessation of shear, an observation that was substantiated by polarized microscopy. The order parameter reached a final plateau value and stayed constant at this level for long periods of time (∼24 h). At intermediate shear rates (from 5 to 50 s⁻¹ for the 50% HPC solution), a detectable order parameter was recorded at steady shear and, after the cessation of shear, the structure returned to an almost isotropic state within a few minutes, after which the orientation gradually started to increase to approach a plateau value after about 150 min. At even higher shear rates (∼100 s⁻¹ for to the 50% HPC solution), the initial steady shear order parameter relaxed to an almost isotropic state and remained constant at this level for time periods extending up to 24 h.     

Pulse reverse plating of Ni-Co alloys: Deposition kinetics of Watts, sulfamate and chloride electrolytes

Fundamental electrochemical properties of electrolyte systems are the prerequisite for the development of a successful pulse deposition process. Three different electrolyte systems for the galvanic deposition of nickel cobalt alloys (chloride, Watts and sulfamate type) were investigated in order to reveal underlying deposition mechanisms and rate determining factors. The electrochemical experiments were supported by X-ray fluorescence analyses of the alloy composition in dependence on the current density and the type of bath. A special focus was set on the investigation of the passive (oxide) layer formation by the anodic pulses.The choice of electrolyte system strongly influences the reaction mechanism and thus the alloy deposition. Also the cobalt content within the deposited layer varied strongly in dependence on the electrolyte system used. While sulfamate and Watts baths show an ability for passive layer formation, the chloride bath exhibits a lower proneness to passivation, accompanied by pit formation     

Spectral changes of co-doped PVA films in relation to their structures

Summary The optical absorption spectra of Co-doped PVA thick films (1 mm) of different concentrations from 0.0 to 30% CoCl₂ are obtained at room temperature in the range 190–900 nm. Cobalt (II) is found to exist only in octahedral coordination for concentrations up to 10% with an asymmetrical absorption band located at 511 nm and shifted to longer weve length with increasing CoCl₂ content. For higher concentration (>10%) the coexistence of both octahedral and tetrahedral coordinations is indicated by the appearance of a new structured broad band centered at 665 nm. Variations in the obtained spectra suggest a tendency to higher degree of ordering in the amorphous regions of the polymer structure by CoCl₂ addition.