Amalthea's density is less than that of water

Radio Doppler data from the Galileo spacecraft's encounter with Amalthea, one of Jupiter's small inner moons, on 5 November 2002 yield a mass of (2.08 +/- 0.15) x 10(18) kilograms. Images of Amalthea from two Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and Galileo imaging between November 1996 and June 1997 yield a volume of (2.43 +/- 0.22) x 10(6) cubic kilometers. The satellite thus has a density of 857 +/- 99 kilograms per cubic meter. We suggest that Amalthea is porous and composed of water ice, as well as rocky material, and thus formed in a cold region of the solar system, possibly not at its present location near Jupiter.     

Residues of spiroxamine in grapes following field application and their fate from vine to wine

Dissipation of the fungicide spiroxamine in grapes of two vine varieties, Roditis and Cabernet Sauvignon, exposed to field treatments was evaluated. Vines of a grape vineyard located in central Greece were sprayed once or twice with a commercial formulation of the fungicide at 30 g a.i./hL. Residues in grapes, must, and wine were determined by gas chromatography/IT-MS after extraction with cyclohexane-dichloromethane (9:1), with a limit of quantitation 0.02 mg/kg in grapes and 0.012 mg/kg in wine. Under field conditions, spiroxamine dissipation on grapes was faster during the first 2 weeks and then slower to the sixth week. About 7 days after application, half of the initial spiroxamine concentration remained on the grapes; the respective proportion at 42 days was about 10%. At 14 and 35 days, residues were lower than 0.44 and 0.22 mg/kg, respectively, values below the maximum residue levels set by the European Union (1 mg/kg). Spiroxamine residues transferred from grapes into the must and through the vinification process into the wine were also studied. Mean transfer factors of 0.26 and 0.55 were found from grapes into wine for the wines obtained without maceration and with maceration, respectively. Residues in wine, prepared from grapes with a spiroxamine content of 0.11-0.20 mg/kg, varied from <0.026 to 0.09 mg/kg. Spiroxamine diastereomer B was found to dissipate slower than diastereomer A in the field as well as during the vinification process.     

Fumonisin B-glucose reaction products are less toxic when fed to swine

The effects of fumonisin B-glucose reaction products in swine diets was examined. Pigs were fed diets containing 528 micromol of total fumonisin B/kg (FB), 528 micromol of total FB-glucose adducts/kg (FB-G, 122 micromol of unreacted FB/kg), or 0 micromol of total FB/kg for 15 days to test the efficacy of the FB-G reaction products in detoxifying FB. Weight gain in FB pigs was lower than in FB-G or controls, which was correlated with feed intake reduction in FB pigs. Serum aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and total bilirubin in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Serum sphinganine/shingosine ratios in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Microscopic examination of tissues from FB pigs showed generalized liver necrosis and apoptosis with marked cellular pleomorphism and disorganized hepatic cords. The liver and kidneys in the FB-G group appeared to be normal. Tissues of controls were free of lesions. Results suggest that dietary FB-G products are less toxic to swine and may provide an detoxification approach in instances of widespread FB grain contamination (p < 0.05).     

Glyphosate-tolerant corn: the composition and feeding value of grain from glyphosate-tolerant corn is equivalent to that of conventional corn (Zea mays L.)

Glyphosate-tolerant (Roundup Ready) corn line GA21 has been developed by genetic modification to tolerate glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the compositional and nutritional safety of corn line GA21 compared to that of conventional corn. Compositional analyses were conducted to measure proximate, fiber, amino acid, fatty acid, and mineral contents of grain and proximate, fiber, and mineral contents of forage collected from 16 field sites over two growing seasons. The nutritional safety of corn line GA21 was evaluated in a poultry feeding study conducted with 2-day old, rapidly growing broiler chickens, at a dietary concentration of 50-60% w/w. Compositional analysis results showed that, except for a few minor differences that are unlikely to be of biological significance, the grain and forage of GA21 corn were comparable in their composition to that of the control corn line and to conventional corn. Results from the poultry feeding study showed that there were no differences in growth, feed efficiency, adjusted feed efficiency, and fat pad weights between chickens fed with GA21 grain or with parental control grain. These data taken together demonstrate that Roundup Ready corn is as safe and nutritious as conventional corn for food and feed use.     

Two-dimensional nanosheets produced by liquid exfoliation of layered materials

If they could be easily exfoliated, layered materials would become a diverse source of two-dimensional crystals whose properties would be useful in applications ranging from electronics to energy storage. We show that layered compounds such as MoS(2), WS(2), MoSe(2), MoTe(2), TaSe(2), NbSe(2), NiTe(2), BN, and Bi(2)Te(3) can be efficiently dispersed in common solvents and can be deposited as individual flakes or formed into films. Electron microscopy strongly suggests that the material is exfoliated into individual layers. By blending this material with suspensions of other nanomaterials or polymer solutions, we can prepare hybrid dispersions or composites, which can be cast into films. We show that WS(2) and MoS(2) effectively reinforce polymers, whereas WS(2)/carbon nanotube hybrid films have high conductivity, leading to promising thermoelectric properties.     

Two-season study of the influence of regulated deficit irrigation and reflective mulch on individual and total phenolic compounds of nectarines at harvest and during storage

The influence of deficit irrigation (Deficit) and reflective mulch (Reflective) of Caldesi 2000 nectarines on the content of individual phenolic compounds was studied at harvest and during storage for 2, 4, and 6 weeks at 2 °C during two consecutive years (2007 and 2008). Individual phenolic groups in the edible fruit part consisted mainly of proanthocyanidins (200 mg/100 g fw), lower content of phenolic acids (17 mg/100 g fw), and minor content of flavonols (5 mg/100 g fw) and anthocyanins (1.2 mg/100 g fw). Deficit irrigation increased the content of total phenolics, including proanthocyanidins and phenolic acids, reaching similar amounts in both years. Sun-exposed fruit (upper part of canopy) showed higher content than shaded fruit (lower part of canopy). However, Reflective significantly increased the content of total phenolics, particularly phenolic acids and proanthocyanidins, of fruit located in the lower part of the canopy. During storage, Deficit and Reflective did not affect the content of phenolic acids, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins when compared to the content at harvest. Optimizing cultural practices can be a way to increase the phenolic content of nectarines.     

Inheritance of resistance to angular leaf spot in common bean and validation of the utility of resistance linked markers for marker assisted selection out side the mapping population

Inheritance of resistance to angular leaf spot (ALS) disease caused by Phaeoisariopsis griseola (Sacc.) Ferr was investigated in two common bean cultivars, Mexico 54 and BAT 332. Both Andean and Mesoamerican backgrounds were used to determine the stability of the resistance gene in each of the two cultivars. Resistance to P. griseola was phenotypically evaluated by artificial inoculation with one of the most widely distributed pathotypes, 63–39. Evaluation of the parental genotypes, F₁, F₂ and backcross populations revealed that the resistance to angular leaf spot in the cultivars Mexico 54 and BAT 332 to pathotype 63–39 is controlled by a single dominant gene, when both the Andean and Mesoamerican backgrounds were used. Allelism test showed that ALS resistance in Mexico 54 and BAT 332 to pathotype 63–39 was conditioned by the same resistance locus. Resistant and susceptible segregating populations generated using Mexico 54 resistant parent were selected for DNA extraction and amplification to check for the presence /absence of the SCAR OPN02 and RAPD OPE04 markers linked to the Phg-2 resistance gene. The results indicated that the SCAR OPN02 was not polymorphic in the study populations and therefore of limited application in selecting resistant genotypes in such populations. On the other hand, the RAPD OPE04 marker was observed in all resistant individuals and was absent in those scored susceptible based on virulence data. Use of the RAPD OPE04 marker in marker-assisted selection is underway.     

Recent Modifications of Chitosan for Adsorption Applications: A Critical and Systematic Review

Chitosan is considered to be one of the most promising and applicable materials in adsorption applications. The existence of amino and hydroxyl groups in its molecules contributes to many possible adsorption interactions between chitosan and pollutants (dyes, metals, ions, phenols, pharmaceuticals/drugs, pesticides, herbicides, etc.). These functional groups can help in establishing positions for modification. Based on the learning from previously published works in literature, researchers have achieved a modification of chitosan with a number of different functional groups. This work summarizes the published works of the last three years (2012–2014) regarding the modification reactions of chitosans (grafting, cross-linking, etc.) and their application to adsorption of different environmental pollutants (in liquid-phase).     

Site of acid-base relevant ion transfer in the gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to environmental hypercapnia

In order to delineate the contribution of primary vs. secondary circulatory circuits in the gill for acid-base and ionic regulation, the flow and composition of the fluids in the central venous sinus (CVS) and the systemic circuit of rainbow trout were studied by application of a previously developed microcannulation technique during normocapnic and hypercapnic conditions. The average haematocrit (Hct) of blood from dorsal aorta (DA) and sinus venosus (SV) ranged from 20.1 to 26.7%, whereas average Hct in the fluid from the branchial vein (BV), representing drainage from the central venous sinus (CVS), was in the range of 4.2 to 7.0%. Under normocapnic conditions, the largest fraction of cardiac output, 92.9%, was directed through the systemic vascular circuit, whereas the CVS circuit was perfused with 7.1 % of cardiac output. Hypercapnia did not significantly affect the blood flow distribution between the two circuits. The pattern of acid-base regulation in dorsal aortic blood reflected the characteristic response of fish exposed to environmental hypercapnia. Upon initiation of environmental hypercapnia (2% CO₂), plasma P_{CO 2} was elevated in all three flow compartments (CVS, DA, SV), inducing an extracellular respiratory acidosis of about 0.4 pH units. pH and [HCO₃ ^-] values in the DA were consistently lower, than those for both CVS and SV sites throughout the hypercapnic period. During the 8h of exposure plasma bicarbonate concentration was elevated by about 12 mM, complemented by a fall in extracellular [Cl^-] of about 10 mM in all three compartments. The amount of HCO₃ ^- gained at the CVS site during 8h of hypercapnia (3.3 mmol · kg^-1) exceeds the amount accumulated in the extracellular space (2.1 mmol·kg^-1), suggesting the CVS as the main site of ionic acid-base regulation in trout.     

Structure—activity relationships of organotin biocides and Ceratocystis ulmi

The effect of organotin compounds on the growth of Ceratocystis ulmi, the causative agent of Dutch elm disease, was studied in shake culture. Triphenyltin, (C₆H₅)₃SnX, tricyclohexyltin, (C₆H₁₁)₃SnX, and tributyltin, (C₄H₉)₃SnX, compounds were all effective in the inhibition of C. ulmi in vitro. The anionic group, X, did not play a major role in the inhibitory activities of these compounds, suggesting that the species involved in the inhibition is R₃Sn⁺ or the hydrated cation.