Morphological responses of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) gill to hyperoxia,base (NaHCO3) and acid (HCl) infusions

Marked morphological responses occur in the gills of freshwater rainbow trout in response to experimental acid-base disturbance and these responses play an important role in acid-base correction. Compensated respiratory acidosis induced by 70h exposure to environmental hyperoxia (elevated water PO₂) caused a 33% decrease in branchial chloride cell fractional surface area (CCFA). Metabolic alkalosis induced by normoxic recovery (6h) from hyperoxia (72h) caused a 50% increase in CCFA, whereas metabolic alkalosis induced by infusion (19h) of NaHCO₃ caused a 70% rise. However, the largest increase (135%) in CCFA was seen in response to infusion (19h) of HCl. NaCl infusion had no effect. A particular goal was to assess the relative importance of changes in CCFA vs. changes in internal substrate (HCO₃ ^–) availability in regulating the activity of the branchial Cl^–/HCO₃ ^– exchange system. For each of the experimental treatments, the accompanying blood acid-base status and branchial transport kinetics (K_m, J_max) for Cl^– uptake had been determined in earlier studies. In the present study, a positive linear relationship was established between CCFA and J^Cl– _max in individual control fish in the absence of an acid-base disturbance. By reference to this relationship, observed changes in J^Cl– _max during metabolic acid-base disturbances were clearly due to changes in both CCFA and internal substrate levels (plasma [HCO₃ ^–]) with the two factors having approximately equal influence.     

Bragg diffraction from crystallized ion plasmas

Single crystals of a one-component plasma were observed by optical Bragg diffraction. The plasmas contained 10(5) to 10(6) single-positive beryllium-9 ions (9Be+) at particle densities of 10(8) to 10(9) per cubic centimeter. In approximately spherical plasmas, single body-centered cubic (bcc) crystals or, in some cases, two or more bcc crystals having fixed orientations with respect to each other were observed. In some oblate plasmas, a mixture of bcc and face-centered cubic ordering was seen. Knowledge of the properties of one-component plasma crystals is required for models of white dwarfs and neutron stars, which are believed to contain matter in that form.     

The effect of plant mycotrophy and soil disturbance on soil microbial activity

In cropping systems, the choices adopted for the tillage system used and plants cultivated can strongly influence the soil microbial population and its functional profile. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are an important component of soil microbiome and their mutualistic symbiosis with the majority of higher plants grant the latter a wide range of benefits. The extraradical mycelium developed by these fungi expands the volume of soil influenced and harbours a diversity of microbes establishing a distinct environment of complementary interactions. We assessed how growing plants with different levels of mycotrophy modifies the biological activity profile in the soil under Mn toxicity and whether this is modified by soil disturbance. Following mycotrophic plants, soil contained a more active microbiome than after the non-mycotrophic plants, as expressed by higher values of soil basal respiration or dehydrogenase activity. Additionally, the count of phosphorus solubilizes and activity of phosphatase were greater after mycotrophic plants. Even among mycotrophic plants, different profiles of biological activity can be distinguished after growing a legume or grass. ERM disruption by soil disturbance decreased most of the parameters studied and for phosphatase activity and P solubilizers in a more significant way. These results indicate that even under Mn toxicity, the microbiome associated with AMF symbiosis following mycotrophic plants growth presented a higher biological activity and had a differential biological response towards the stress imposed by soil disturbance, when compared with the microbiome associated with non-mycotrophic roots.     

Estimating the mass of asteroid 253 mathilde from tracking data during the NEAR flyby

The terminal navigation of the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft during its close flyby of asteroid 253 Mathilde involved coordinated efforts to determine the heliocentric orbits of the spacecraft and Mathilde and then to determine the relative trajectory of the spacecraft with respect to Mathilde. The gravitational perturbation of Mathilde on the passing spacecraft was apparent in the spacecraft tracking data. As a result of the accurate targeting achieved, these data could be used to determine Mathilde's mass as 1.033 (+/- 0.044) x 10(20) grams. Coupled with a volume estimate provided by the NEAR imaging team, this mass suggests a low bulk density for Mathilde of 1.3 grams per cubic centimeter.