Influence of carboxylic acids on fixation of copper in wood impregnated with copper amine based preservatives

The importance of copper/amine based preservatives is increasing. Leaching of copper from wood preserved with these solutions is still higher than leaching from wood impregnated with copper chromium ones. In order to decrease leaching, different carboxylic acids (octanoic, 2-ethylhexanoic, decanoic) were added to copper/amine/boron aqueous solutions. An experiment of leaching of copper from Norway spruce was performed according to the modified standard procedure (EN 1250). Results confirmed that carboxylic acids significantly improve copper fixation. The best fixation was determined in specimens impregnated with the preservative solutions consisting of copper, ethanolamine, boric acid and octanoic acid. From such wood, only 1.6% of copper was leached.     

The Effect of Orally Administered Ranitidine and Once‐Daily or Twice‐Daily Orally Administered Omeprazole on Intragastric pH in Cats

Background

Gastric acid suppressants frequently are used in cats with acid‐related gastric disorders. However, it is not known if these drugs effectively increase intragastric pH in cats.

Objectives

To examine the effects of PO administered ranitidine and omeprazole on intragastric pH in cats and to compare the efficacy of once‐daily versus twice‐daily dosage regimens for omeprazole.

Animals

Eight domestic shorthair cats.

Methods

Using a randomized 4‐way cross‐over design, cats were given enteric‐coated omeprazole granules (1.1–1.3 mg/kg q24h and q12h), ranitidine (1.5–2.3 mg/kg q12h), and placebo. Intragastric pH was monitored continuously for 96 hours using the Bravo^™ system¹, starting on day 4 of treatment, followed by a median washout period of 12 days. Mean percentage of time pH was ≥3 and ≥4 was compared among groups using repeated measures ANOVA.

Results

Mean ± SD percentage of time intragastric pH was ≥3 and ≥4 was 67.0 ± 24.0% and 54.6 ± 26.4% for twice‐daily omeprazole, 24.4 ± 22.8% and 16.8 ± 19.3% for once‐daily omeprazole, 16.5 ± 9.0% and 9.6 ± 5.9% for ranitidine, and 9.4 ± 8.0% and 7.0 ± 6.6% for placebo administration. Twice‐daily omeprazole treatment significantly increased intragastric pH, whereas pH after once‐daily omeprazole and ranitidine treatments did not differ from that of placebo‐treated cats.

Conclusion and Clinical Importance

Only twice‐daily PO administered omeprazole significantly suppressed gastric acidity in healthy cats, whereas once‐daily omeprazole and standard dosages of ranitidine were not effective acid suppressants in cats.     

Carotenoid‐enriched microalgal biomass as feed supplement for freshwater ornamentals: albinic form of wels catfish (Silurus glanis)

Experiments were aimed at examining the effect of carotenoid‐rich microalgal biomass as feed supplement to increase the colouration of a freshwater ornamental fish species – an albinic form of wels catfish (Silurus glanis). We used four Algadiets (AD 1, AD 2, AD 3, AD 4 – various Algadiets prepared by addition of microalgal biomass to a basal diet) made up of a basal diet supplemented with 25 g kg^?1 spray‐dried biomass of green algae Scenedesmus, Chlorella, or Haematococcus enriched in carotenoids (12–60 mg kg^?1 of feed) for a juvenile fish (yearlings; about 14–25 g and 12–15 cm) in indoor tanks. In 2‐month experiments, the fish groups were examined at 20‐day intervals. In the treatment groups fed with Algadiets, the specific growth rate and physical condition index (weight/length) increased by 11–58% and 6–26%, respectively, compared to the control (fed on the basal diet). Skin colouration was evaluated from digital images. An intensive yellow or yellow–orange colouration appeared in all Algadiet‐fed fish groups because colour saturation increased 1.4–2.4 times within 20–40 days of the trial. A change from an albinic to an intensive ‘golden’ colour was visible as the shorter‐wavelength shift from 595–607 to 584–586 nm. These results are economically valuable for albinic catfish breeding, a unique and commercially important species for fisheries in the Czech Republic.     

Effects of UV light irradiation on colour stability of thermally modified, copper ethanolamine treated and non-modified wood: EPR and DRIFT spectroscopic studies

A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the colour stability of chemically treated and thermally modified wood compared to non-modified wood during long term artificial UV light irradiation. One set of wood samples was vacuum-pressure impregnated with alkaline (pH 9.8) copper (II) ethanolamine aqueous solution, while another set of samples from the same wood block was thermally modified at 210°C and −0.90 bar for 2 h. The treated and modified wood samples along with the non-modified ones were exposed to artificial UV light with the wave length in the region of UVA (315–400 nm) and UVB (280–315 nm) intermittently for 500 h. Colour measurements were carried out throughout the irradiation period at an interval of 100 h according to CIEL*a*b* system, where the results are presented in terms of ΔE, ΔL*, Δa* and Δb* values. Better photo-stability in terms of colour changes was recorded for both treated and modified woods compared to the non-modified one. By means of EPR and DRIFT spectroscopic study it was shown that some degree of colour stability of treated and modified woods, achieved during artificial UV light irradiation, resulted from lignin modifications and monomers of phenolic compounds.     

A Comparison of Tree Rings and Peat Deposit Geochemical Archives in the Vicinity of a Lead Smelter

The content of Pb, Cd, Mn, K, Ca, Mg and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotope ratios in spruce tree rings (Picea abies) and peat cores from the Brdy Hills area (10 km W of the Pb smelter) were compared with those in spruce tree rings in the vicinity of the Pb smelter. Maximum Pb content in tree rings (up to 60 mg kg^?1 Pb) corresponds to a peak of metallurgical production in the mid 1970s and highest smelter emissions in the early 1970s. The Pb concentration curves obtained from peat deposit profiles closely correlate with the Pb concentrations in tree rings at both sampling sites. The small differences between the individual tree cores, with the identical general trend, may be attributed to the difference in distance from the smelter and the altitude of each sampling site. Similar behaviour to Pb can be observed for Cd and Ca. Lead isotope composition in tree rings (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ~1.143–1.174) is controlled mainly by the smelter emissions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ~1.16–1.17), with the exception of the youngest segments from the more distant locality from the smelter, which yield isotopic signatures corresponding to car-emission Pb (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ~1.143–1.150). Higher content of Mn, Mg and Ca in tree rings corresponding to the 1970s and 1980s may be related to soil chemistry changes caused by acid deposition. In addition, an increase in K, Mg (and in some cases also Mn) in the youngest part of wood cores corresponds to the physiological processes in sapwood, and may be influenced by a decrease in Pb in organic soil horizons, which limited the cycling of basic inorganic nutrients.     

Regulation of potential denitrification by soil pH in long-term fertilized arable soils

 The denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA), denitrification potential (DP) and anaerobic respiration (RESP) together with chemical characteristics were measured in three contrasting soils collected from experimental arable plots that had been subjected to long-term (21–23 years) fertilizer treatments. The plots sampled were either unfertilized or had received either annual inorganic NPK, manure and lime, or inorganic NPK and manure treatments. Addition of inorganic NPK, manure and lime led to large increases in the DEA for two of the three soils, but in the absence of lime, inorganic NPK and manure caused only small increases in DEA compared to unfertilized soils. Both DP and RESP were increased by the addition of inorganic NPK, manure and lime, but were substantially decreased by fertilizer treatments without lime. In most cases there was a simple relationship between soil pH and either DEA and DP, with those treatments that reduced soil pH also leading to reduced denitrification and vice versa. The effects of artificially increasing the pH to a value close to the pH in unfertilized soils (6.3) by addition of NaOH to the soils that had received inorganic NPK, and which had the lowest soil pH values, were to increase substantially DEA, DP and RESP. In soil from one of the sites that had been stored for 5 weeks, the DP values responded differently between the fertilizer treatments. The DP value was lowest in the soil that had inorganic NPK and manure, higher in the soil that received inorganic NPK, manure and lime and it was the highest in unfertilized (control) soil. The soil pH values for these treatments were 4.47, 5.79 and 6.58, respectively. However, when the soil pHs were adjusted by addition of either H₂SO₄ or NaOH to give a range between pH 2 and 12, the DP values from all three fertilizer treatments showed almost identical responses. The optimum pH value for DP was between 7 and 8 for all three fertilizer treatments. Substrate-induced respiration values from all fertilizer treatments showed a similar trend to DP when the soil pHs were modified. The results show that soil pH was an important factor which in the studied soils controls the microbial community in general and the community of denitrifiers in particular. However, denitrifiers showed a high pH resilience leading to no marked change of the pH optimum for potential denitrification. Received: 10 September 1998     

The effect of ploidy and temporal changes in the biochemical profile of gibel carp (Carassius gibelio): a cyprinid fish species with dual reproductive strategies

The basic biochemical profile of gibel carp (Carassius gibelio), diploid–triploid cyprinid species complex with dual reproduction modes, was investigated. The aim of the study was to test for the effect of fish group (which combines the effects of ploidy and sex) and temporal changes on indicators of the biochemical profile of blood in gibel carp. We showed that the basic biochemical profile of blood is significantly influenced by season and fish group. Triploid gynogenetic females had a better condition measured by total protein concentration than sexual diploids. The higher concentrations of triacylglycerols and cholesterol in triploid females when compared to diploids indicate a higher metabolic rate and higher energy intake during the whole year, which may represent a disadvantage for triploids. Differences in the concentrations of blood biochemical analytes between triploid females and diploids suggest a potential difference in the regulation of a wide range of physiological and biochemical processes in which these analytes participate. The biochemical profiles of two forms of C. gibelio could at least partially explain the changes of character of its naturally occurring populations.     

Phenolic content in cuttings of two clones of hybrid chestnut (Castanea crenata×Castanea sativa) in the first days after cutting severance

Abstract

In this experiment, we studied the possible involvement of various phenolic acids in the rooting process of two chestnut hybrid clones (Marsol and Maraval Castanea crenata×C. sativa). The phenolic acids were measured in the cutting bases (root emergence zone) and in the cutting leaves. In the cutting bases, several hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic, sinapic, ferulic and p-coumaric acid), chlorogenic and ellagic acids were observed, whereas in the cutting leaves only chlorogenic and ellagic acid were investigated. Cutting leaves of the Maraval clone contained a nearly 10 times higher concentration of chlorogenic and seven times higher concentration of ellagic acids than the Marsol clone (lower rooting capacity). In the cutting bases of the Marsol clone, overaccumulation of hydroxycinnamic acids occurred in the period of four days after having been placed in the substrate. During the same period, the concentrations of these acids in the Maraval clone decreased significantly.     

THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT REGIME AND SUBSTRATE ON FLOWER PRODUCTIVITY AND LEAF MINERAL COMPOSITION IN TWO GERBERA CULTIVARS

This research evaluates the influence of light regime and substrate composition on the flower productivity and leaf macronutrient content of two gerbera cultivars (‘Ruby Red’ and ‘Vino’) grown in a greenhouse. A special emphasis was given to macro-element ratios in gerbera leaf. The results confirm positive influence of supplemental lighting on flower yield in both gerbera cultivars. Also, mixed substrate (coco fiber + rice husks) resulted with higher flower yield. Cultivar ‘Vino’ showed better productivity and significantly lower concentration of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) as compared to ‘Ruby Red’. The total flower productivity per plant correlated with some of the tested macronutrients in gerbera leaf (N, K, Mg) only in natural light conditions. Among all calculated leaf nutrient ratios, only P/Mg was significantly and positively correlated to flower yield, based on data from both light variants.     

Ecologically based height growth model and derived raster maps of Norway spruce site index in the Western Carpathians

The purpose of this study was to find the ecological factors that most affect height growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) over the Western Carpathians. The specific aim was to find climate and soil parameters which are influenced by climate change and can thus be used to make a forest growth model more sensitive to climate. From the results, a regression model was built which can predict top height growth of Norway spruce from ecological parameters. Data collected on 201 plots established within National Forest Inventory of Slovakia were used. The plots selected for the study were distributed almost over the whole Western Carpathians. Mean height of the 20 % largest spruce trees was used as dependent variable. From all investigated ecological factors, the growing season length explained as the number of days with temperature over 5 °C, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and soil acidity were shown to have the major impact on top height growth of Norway spruce. Finally, 76 % of total variability in top height was explained by the mentioned site variables. To obtain a user-friendly output, a probability matrix was developed showing the likelihood of a discrete site index to occur on different combinations of site factors. Moreover, raster maps showing the site index of spruce and its probability distribution were developed.