Tolerance of wheat and pea to boron in irrigation water

In a micro-plot experiment 1.5 ppm boron in the irrigation water was toxic for wheat. Its concentration in the soil solution increased to 1.53 ppm and in the plant tissue to 58 ppm. In pea plants 4 ppm B in the irrigation water was toxic with 2.00 ppm soil solution B and 213 ppm tissue B. Nitrogen in both species increased significantly and calcium decreased with the increase in B in irrigation water. The yield of wheat grain declined by 13, 20 and 32 per cent at the 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 ppm B respectively. The yield of straw and grains of pea declined by 31, 56 and 41, 56 per cent at 6.0 and 8.0 ppm B levels respectively. Thus tolerance to B in irrigation water was between 3.0 and 4.0 ppm for wheat and 4.0 and 6.0 ppm for pea.     

Thermodynamics of binding water and solute to myosin

From the isopiestic measurements of the extents of adsorption of water vapour by fish myosin at various values of water activities at three different temperatures, the changes in free energy, enthalpy and entropy of dehydration of the protein have been calculated. Extents of excess binding of solvent and solute to myosin have also been determined from isopiestic experiments in the presence of different inorganic salts, sucrose and urea respectively. Mols of water and solute respectively bound in absolute amounts to myosin have been evaluated from these data in limited range of solute concentrations. Free energy changes at different concentrations of these solutes have also been evaluated and their relations with ‘salting-in’ and ‘salting-out’ phenomena have been discussed. The order of the values of the standard free energy change for excess binding calculated with respect to an unified thermodynamic scale are found to be consistent with relative reactivity of binding water to myosin in the presence of inorganic salts, sucrose and urea. Part of this work was presented at the 20th Annual Convention of Chemists of the Indian Chemical Society, Cuttack, 26th-30th December 1983.     

Molecular motions of sorbed water in cross-linked polyelectrolytes

The behavior of ions closely associated with water molecules is of interest in understanding the physical properties in the region of primary hydration around ions in solution. Short-range interactions are also of importance in regard to the behavior of ions in membranes and living cells.     

Some studies of the quality of irrigation water and the germination and growth of wheat at different concentrations of boron

Summary The irrigation water in use at the Punjab University New Campus is of good quality except the water of one tubewell which is relatively poor (high-salinity and low-sodium water) and has 0.45 ppm boron. Water with a boron content of upto 3.00 ppm did not affect the germination of the seeds of wheat (Triticum vulgare L. var. Mexi-Pak) and there was some stimulation of the growth of seedlings by an increase in the concentration of boron beyond 0.45 ppm. However, these seedlings, when transplanted to the soils supplied with waters containing different amounts of boron, showed a decrease in their growth at higher concentrations of boron with their ageing, and when these plants were about 100 days old and almost mature, their growth decreased significantly with an increase in the concentration of boron to 2.00 or 3.00 ppm in the water supplied to them. The growth of the plants of Mexi-Pak wheat is inversely related to the boron content of their tissues when it is more than 0.60 ppm. Mexi-Pak wheat is semi-tolerant to boron. re]19750605     

Renal water and solute excretion in the Atlantic stingray in fresh water

Freshwater, male Atlantic stingrays Dasyatis sabina , from Lake Jesup, Florida, U·S·A·, excreted a dilute urine similar in composition to freshwater teleosts and lampreys with the exception that urea was the primary osmolyte. Urine flow rate was 2·5 to 10 fold higher than that reported for freshwater teleosts resulting in high free-water clearance. Mass-specific free-water clearance values from euryhaline elasmobranchs inhabiting freshwater environments greatly exceed those for freshwater teleosts and are nearly equivalent to those of freshwater lampreys.     

Contribution of suspended and sorbed groundwater bacteria to degradation of dissolved and sorbed aniline

The influence of sorption on the mineralisation of 50 pg aniline l(-1) was examined in an aquifer material under batch conditions. The study was designed to distinguish the rates and extent of biodegradation of the sorbed and the dissolved trace organic and the contribution of sorbed and suspended bacteria to the degradation. Four different mathematical models were developed with different assumptions about the partitioning of aniline degradation and bacterial activity between the solid and the aqueous phases. The models were developed by combining an expression for logistic growth of the degrading population with Michaelis-Menten kinetics for the transformation of aniline. It was tested by a series of laboratory experiments conducted with 14C-labelled aniline, aseptically treated aquifer sand and filter-sterilised groundwater in different proportions and bacteria isolated from pristine groundwater. Model evaluation of the experimental data suggested that the fate of aniline was mainly controlled by suspended bacteria degrading both the dissolved and sorbed fractions. The degradation was slow, with a first-order degradation rate equal to 10(-6) h(-1).     

Characterisation of sorbed water molecules on neutral and ionic polysaccharides

Ionic and neutral polysaccharides with well-defined structures were chosen to investigate the mechanism of water sorption at different relative humidities. From an experimental point of view, the freezing water was determined by DSC when the total sorbed water was obtained from thermogravimetry. The isotherms of sorption and enthalpies of interaction were determined using the combination of a microbalance and a microcalorimeter. It is shown that freezing water appears for P/P₀ > 0.85 especially with the neutral polymers. The differential molar enthalpy of interaction is higher for P/P₀ < 0.85 corresponding to the fixation of two water molecules forming double H-bonds; this result is confirmed by molecular modelling; saturation is obtained experimentally for 4 water molecules interacting per glucose unit. On ionic polymers, the water retention increases especially over P/P₀ 0.8 and the enthalpy of interaction is higher for the first water molecules sorbed. For P/P₀ 0.8, the numbers of bound water molecules found are 2 per glucopyranosyl unit for neutral polysaccharides, 5 for glucuronan and 9–10 for carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) of D = 2 and hyaluronan (HA)     

Effect of sorbed water on the thermal stability of soybean protein

A soybean protein isolate (SPI), and its beta-conglycinin and glycinin componets were obtained from defatted soybean flour by applying dissolution and precipitation based on the difference in their solubility depending on each isoelectric point. The purity evaluated by SDS-PAGE of the beta-conglycinin and glycinin preparations was about 84% and 80%, respectively, resulting in a clear difference in the pH dependence on solubility. A BET plot derived from the water sorption isotherm at 25 degrees C showed that the amount of the monolayer adsorption of these preparations was about 6-9%, the value for the beta-conglycinin preparation being about 1.5 times higher than that for the glycinin preparation. The beta-conglycinin and glycinin preparations were respectively denatured at around 75 degrees C and 86 degrees C in the presence of excess water, whereas the denaturation temperature of both preparations was markedly increased by decreasing sorbed water content below 40%, corresponding well with the unfrozen water content.     

Relation of soil moisture and air conditioning irrigation to plant water balance,growth characteristics and nutrients uptake in rye and wheat

The results of experiments conducted with autumn rye and summer wheat on sandy loam soil at the Institute for Cereal Production of the Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg (G.D.R.) have revealed that an increase in soil moisture improved the plant water balance, width of stomata, shoot growth, tiller density, leaf area and growth rate. Net assimilation rate, however, decreased with the increase in soil moisture above 50 per cent water holding capacity. Increased soil moisture improved contents of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus only during early stages of growth, but their uptake was not reduoed at maturity. Air conditioning irrigation proved superior in respect to all above mentioned characteristics, except the uptake of potassium, which decreased with air conditioning irrigation at higher soil moisture relations.     

Resistance and resilience of macroinvertebrates to irrigation water withdrawals

1. Water withdrawal for irrigated agriculture is one of the leading uses of freshwater resources in the world; however, effects of low flow disturbances on lotic ecosystems are poorly understood. We studied an intensively managed agricultural catchment to determine: (i) how macroinvertebrate assemblages and environmental variables respond to water withdrawals of varying magnitude and duration; (ii) what environmental variables are associated with macroinvertebrate responses and (iii) the resiliency of macroinvertebrate communities to irrigation water withdrawals. 2. We sampled above and below four irrigation diversions that create a gradient of increasing water withdrawal from upstream to downstream (i.e. 0%, 22%, 87%, 90% and 97% water withdrawn) along a 36 km river section. Three reaches were sampled above and below each point of diversion from June to September 2004 and 2005, which represented average and drought water conditions respectively. 3. Irrigation water withdrawals were associated with both direct and indirect changes to the physicochemical environment. Direct effects (e.g. decreased velocity, depth and wetted habitat) were approximately proportional to the amount of water withdrawn, while indirect effects (e.g. increased conductivity and temperature) occurred when water withdrawals exceeded 85% of ambient levels. 4. Changes in macroinvertebrate communities were more strongly related to indirect than direct effects of irrigation water withdrawals. In an average water year, community changes were associated with interacting thresholds of reduced discharge and increased conductivity. During a drought year, community changes were related to the interacting thresholds of reduced discharge and increased temperature. 5. Between years, macroinvertebrate responses differed with the magnitude and duration of low flow conditions. In 2004, high‐intensity, relatively short‐duration water withdrawals (<2 months) and alterations to the physicochemical environment changed the relative abundance of macroinvertebrate communities, while macroinvertebrate indices and proportional abundances of functional feeding groups remained unchanged. In contrast, discharge reductions exceeding 90% of ambient levels and temperatures above 30 °C from July to September 2005 were associated with shifts in community composition from a dominance of collector‐gatherer and filterer Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa to predatory insects, non‐insect taxa and scraping elmid beetles. 6. On an annual basis macroinvertebrate communities appeared resilient to the impacts of water withdrawals following winter high flows. In contrast, recovery was not observed after discharge and physicochemical variables returned to predisturbance conditions for only one month. 7. Irrigation water withdrawals appear to impact macroinvertebrates through indirect effects that intensify with the magnitude and duration of water withdrawals and annual water availability. Preserving environmental conditions within natural ranges of variability, especially during low water years, appears critical to mitigating adverse biological responses to water withdrawals.     

Independence of water and solute pathways in human RBCs

We have investigated the permeability of the human red blood cell to four di-hydroxy alcohols, 1,2PD (1,2 propanediol), 1,3PD (1.3 propanediol), 1,4BD (1,4 butanediol), and 2,3BD (2,3 butanediol), and to water by using a recently developed ESR stopped-flow method which is free from artifacts found in light scattering methods. Numerical solutions of the Kedem-Katchalsky equations fit to experimental data yielded the following permeability coefficients: P_1,2PD = 3.17 × 10^–5 cm sec^–1, p_1,3pd = 1.75 × 10^–5 cm sec^–1, P_1,4BD = 2.05 × 10⁵ cm sec^–1, P_2,3BD = 7.32 × 10^–5 cm sec^–1. Reflection coefficients () were evaluated by comparing data fit with assumed values of = 0.6,0.8 and 1.0. In all four cases the best fit was obtained with = 1.0. Treatment of cells with PCMBS (para-chloro mercuri-benzenesulfonate) was followed by a large (> 10-fold) decrease in water permeability with virtually no change in alcohol permeability. We conclude that these alcohols do not permeate the water channels to any significant extent, and discuss some of the problems in light scattering measurements of reflection coefficients that could lead to erroneous values for .We would like to thank Professor Lenore W. Yousef (Dept. of Biology, California State Univ., Fresno) for valuable discussions and critical comments. We thank Lidia Mannuzzu for measurements of ESR spectra in the presence and absence of alcohol. We are also indebted to Kate Van Fossen for her dedicated technical support. This work was supported by NIH grant No. HL-20985.