Extraction, gas-liquid chromatographic detection, and quantitation of hexachlorophene residues from plant tissues high in lipid content

A method has been developed for the extraction, cleanup, derivatization, detection, and quantitation of hexachlorophene (HCP) residues from 2 types of plant storage tissue high in lipid content. Wet soybean or peanut tissue was homogenized and extracted with ethyl ether and chromatographed on silica gel to remove the neutral lipids. The cleaned up sample was methylated with diazomethane and the dimethoxyhexachlorophene was eluted from a second silical gel column and chromatographed on a 6' glass column packed with 3% OV-1 or 3% SE-30 on Gas-Chrom Q. The instrument detection limit for the 63Ni electron capture detector was less than 0.1 ng for dimethoxyhexachlorophene and about 1 ppb HCP residue in plant issue. Recovery of 10-420 ppb HCP added to tissue averaged 90.9 +/- 5.7%. Interfering substances were removed, column life was increased, peak sharpness was increased, and tailing of the parent compound was decreased by using appropriate column chromatography.     

Patterns of energy use and the critical choices ahead

Patterns of energy use in the U.S. by industry, commerce, residential and agriculture with comparisons of Northern and Central California energy use in the same sectors are presented. End-use applications are also covered.     

Calculation of hydraulic conductivities of horizons in some major soils in Wisconsin

Hydraulic conductivity between saturation and a tension of 100 cm water was calculated with moisture-retention data for nine soil horizons and compared with results from in situ measurements with the crust test. Agreement was good for sandy, apedal soil horizons with simple packing voids but only if matching factors were used. Results were unreliable in clayey, pedal soil horizons in which a few relatively large planar and tubular pores determine K in the measured tension range, whereas the greatest fraction of total porosity is composed of fine pores inside peds that hardly contribute to flow. Varying the number of pore classes (n) and the water-filled porosity at saturation made no significant difference in the calculations for the apedal soils, but drastically changed the shape of the calculated curves for the pedal soils. Matching factors based on K_sat measurement had to be used for all studied soil horizons, indicating that Marshall's pore-interaction model never predicted K_sat accurately.     

THE EFFECT OF PESTICIDES ON THE YIELD AND BOTANICAL COMPOSITION OF A NEWLY-SOWN RYEGRASS LEY AND OF AN OLD MIXED PASTURE

Newly-sown S24 perennial ryegrass at Hurley and old established ryegrass-dominant mixed pasture at Rothamsted were treated with several pesticides, singly and in combination, over the period 1969–73. Yields were either unaffected or increased by up to 30% in any one year, depending on the treatment, the newly-sown sward giving the more consistent response from year to year.     

Isolation and characterization of Thiobacillus from alkali soils

Alkali soils are poor in sulphur-oxidizing bacteria. By appropriate enrichment, two bacterial strains resembling Thiobacillus thiooxidans and T. novellus have been isolated from an alkali soil. The strain of T. novellus possesses characteristics which make it suitable in reclamation of alkali soils by sulphur amendment.