Effect of low-molecular-weight organic acids on Cl- adsorption by variable charge soils

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids exist widely in soils and have been implicated in many soil processes.The objective of the present paper was to evaluate effect of two LMW organic acids, citric acid and oxalic acid, on Cl^- adsorption by three variable charge soils, a latosol, a lateritic red soil and a red soil, using a batch method. The results showed that the presence of citric acid and oxalic acid led to a decrease in Cl- adsorption with larger decreases for citric acid. Among the different soils Cl- adsorption in the lateritic red soil and the red soil was more affected by both the LMW organic acids than that in the latosol.     

Alteration of stimulus-specific guard cell calcium oscillations and stomatal closing in Arabidopsis det3 mutant

Cytosolic calcium oscillations control signaling in animal cells, whereas in plants their importance remains largely unknown. In wild-type Arabidopsis guard cells abscisic acid, oxidative stress, cold, and external calcium elicited cytosolic calcium oscillations of differing amplitudes and frequencies and induced stomatal closure. In guard cells of the V-ATPase mutant det3, external calcium and oxidative stress elicited prolonged calcium increases, which did not oscillate, and stomatal closure was abolished. Conversely, cold and abscisic acid elicited calcium oscillations in det3, and stomatal closure occurred normally. Moreover, in det3 guard cells, experimentally imposing external calcium-induced oscillations rescued stomatal closure. These data provide genetic evidence that stimulus-specific calcium oscillations are necessary for stomatal closure.     

The elemental composition of asteroid 433 eros: results of the NEAR-shoemaker X-ray spectrometer

We report major element composition ratios for regions of the asteroid 433 Eros imaged during two solar flares and quiet sun conditions during the period of May to July 2000. Low aluminum abundances for all regions argue against global differentiation of Eros. Magnesium/silicon, aluminum/silicon, calcium/silicon, and iron/silicon ratios are best interpreted as a relatively primitive, chondritic composition. Marked depletions in sulfur and possible aluminum and calcium depletions, relative to ordinary chondrites, may represent signatures of limited partial melting or impact volatilization.     

Diet drives convergence in gut microbiome functions across mammalian phylogeny and within humans

Coevolution of mammals and their gut microbiota has profoundly affected their radiation into myriad habitats. We used shotgun sequencing of microbial community DNA and targeted sequencing of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes to gain an understanding of how microbial communities adapt to extremes of diet. We sampled fecal DNA from 33 mammalian species and 18 humans who kept detailed diet records, and we found that the adaptation of the microbiota to diet is similar across different mammalian lineages. Functional repertoires of microbiome genes, such as those encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes and proteases, can be predicted from bacterial species assemblages. These results illustrate the value of characterizing vertebrate gut microbiomes to understand host evolutionary histories at a supraorganismal level.     

Oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of limestones and dolomites, bikini and eniwetok atolls

Aragonitic, unconsolidated sediments from the borings on the Eniwetok and Bikini atolls are isotopically identical with unaltered skeletal fragments, whereas the recrystallized limestones exhibit isotopic variations resulting from alteration in meteoric waters during periods of emergence. Dolomites and associated calcites are enriched in O(18), perhaps because of interaction with hypersaline brines.     

Age of the bay of biscay: evidence from seismic profiles and bottom samples

Paleomagnetic data and marine magnetic surveys suggest that the Bay of Biscay was created by rifting due to an anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula. The period during which movement occurred is not known precisely, but a rotation, amounting to 22 degrees, appears to have taken place in post-Eocene time. To provide independent evidence on the age of the rift, bottom samples from the Biscay abyssal plain have been related to the distribution of seismic reflectors within the sediments. The investigation shows that a large part of the Bay of Biscay was in existence in late Cretaceous times and that the data can be interpreted in terms of some early Tertiary rotation. However, the amount of possible Tertiary opening is appreciably less than the paleomagnetic results suggest. In view of the fact that reflectors of Middle-Upper Miocene age can be traced as undisturbed horizons across the bay, all tectonic movements must have ceased by the early Miocene.     

Very-Long-Baseline Radio Interferometry: The Mark III System for Geodesy, Astrometry, and Aperture Synthesis

The Mark III very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) system allows recording and later processing of up to 112 megabits per second from each radio telescope of an interferometer array. For astrometric and geodetic measurements, signals from two radio-frequency bands (2.2 to 2.3 and 8.2 to 8.6 gigahertz) are sampled and recorded simultaneously at all antenna sites. From these dual-band recordings the relative group delays of signals arriving at each pair of sites can be corrected for the contributions due to the ionosphere. For many radio sources for which the signals are sufficiently intense, these group delays can be determined with uncertainties under 50 picoseconds. Relative positions of widely separated antennas and celestial coordinates of radio sources have been determined from such measurements with 1 standard deviation uncertainties of about 5 centimeters and 3 milliseconds of arc, respectively. Sample results are given for the lengths of baselines between three antennas in the United States and three in Europe as well as for the arc lengths between the positions of six extragalactic radio sources. There is no significant evidence of change in any of these quantities. For mapping the brightness distribution of such compact radio sources, signals of a given polarization, or of pairs of orthogonal polarizations, can be recorded in up to 28 contiguous bands each nearly 2 megahertz wide. The ability to record large bandwidths and to link together many large radio telescopes allows detection and study of compact sources with flux densities under 1 millijansky.     

Direct measurement of the preferred sense of NO rotation after collision with argon

The preferred sense of product molecule rotation (clockwise or counterclockwise) in a bimolecular collision system has been measured. Rotationally inelastic collisions of nitric oxide (NO) molecules with Ar atoms were studied by combining crossed molecular beams, circularly polarized resonant multiphoton ionization probing, and velocity-mapped ion imaging detection. The observed sense of NO product rotation varies with deflection angle and is a strong function of the NO final rotational state. The largest preferences for sense of rotation are observed at the highest kinematically allowed product rotational states; for lower rotational states, the variation with deflection angle becomes oscillatory. Quantum calculations on the most recently reported NO-Ar potential give good agreement with the observed oscillation patterns in the sense of rotation.     

Ultraviolet spectrometer observations of neptune and triton

Results from the occultation of the sun by Neptune imply a temperature of 750 +/- 150 kelvins in the upper levels of the atmosphere (composed mostly of atomic and molecular hydrogen) and define the distributions of methane, acetylene, and ethane at lower levels. The ultraviolet spectrum of the sunlit atmosphere of Neptune resembles the spectra of the Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus atmospheres in that it is dominated by the emissions of H Lyman alpha (340 +/- 20 rayleighs) and molecular hydrogen. The extreme ultraviolet emissions in the range from 800 to 1100 angstroms at the four planets visited by Voyager scale approximately as the inverse square of their heliocentric distances. Weak auroral emissions have been tentatively identified on the night side of Neptune. Airglow and occultation observations of Triton's atmosphere show that it is composed mainly of molecular nitrogen, with a trace of methane near the surface. The temperature of Triton's upper atmosphere is 95 +/- 5 kelvins, and the surface pressure is roughly 14 microbars.     

Properties of metallic nanowires: from conductance quantization to localization

Material structures of reduced dimensions exhibit electrical and mechanical properties different from those in the bulk. Measurements of room-temperature electronic transport in pulled metallic nanowires are presented, demonstrating that the conductance characteristics depend on the length, lateral dimensions, state and degree of disorder, and elongation mechanism of the wire. Conductance during the elongation of short wires (length l approximately 50 angstroms) exhibits periodic quantization steps with characteristic dips, correlating with the order-disorder states of layers of atoms in the wire predicted by molecular dynamics simulations. The resistance R of wires as long as l approximately 400 angstroms exhibits localization characteristics with In R(l) approximately l(2).