Gold nanoelectrodes of varied size: transition to molecule-like charging

A transition from metal-like double-layer capacitive charging to redox-like charging was observed in electrochemical ensemble Coulomb staircase experiments on solutions of gold nanoparticles of varied core size. The monodisperse gold nanoparticles are stabilized by short-chain alkanethiolate monolayers and have 8 to 38 kilodaltons core mass (1.1 to 1.9 nanometers in diameter). Larger cores display Coulomb staircase responses consistent with double-layer charging of metal-electrolyte interfaces, whereas smaller core nanoparticles exhibit redox chemical character, including a large central gap. The change in behavior is consistent with new near-infrared spectroscopic data showing an emerging gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbitals of 0.4 to 0.9 electron volt.     

Protactinium-231 and thorium-230 abundances and high scavenging rates in the western arctic ocean

The Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, largely ice covered and isolated from deep contact with the more dynamic Eurasian Basin by the Lomonosov Ridge, has historically been considered an area of low productivity and particle flux and sluggish circulation. High-sensitivity mass-spectrometric measurements of the naturally occurring radionuclides protactinium-231 and thorium-230 in the deep Canada Basin and on the adjacent shelf indicate high particle fluxes and scavenging rates in this region. The thorium-232 data suggest that offshore advection of particulate material from the shelves contributes to scavenging of reactive materials in areas of permanent ice cover.     

Optimization of fishmeal,fish oil and wheat in diets for juvenile sablefish,Anoplopoma fimbria

Sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria is a piscivorous fish that is highly desirable as food. To ascertain the relationship of dietary protein, lipid and carbohydrate, eleven diets containing fishmeal, fish oil and wheat flour as test ingredients at different levels were formulated. The levels were chosen according to mixture experiment methodology, which varies the proportion of each test ingredient, while keeping their sum constant across all diets. The range of levels used in the test diets were as follows: fishmeal 430–600 g kg^?1, fish oil 100–270 g kg^?1 and wheat flour 30–200 g kg^?1. The sum of the test ingredients accounted for 900 g kg^?1 of all diets, with the remaining 100 g kg^?1 accounting for mineral and vitamin premix, binders, attractant, etc. Each diet, plus a commercial feed, was fed to three tanks of juvenile sablefish by hand twice daily for 11 weeks, using a completely random design. It was found that growth and feed efficiency were maximized by the highest dietary inclusion level of fish oil and fishmeal, corresponding to the lowest wheat flour level, that is 600 g kg^?1 fishmeal, 270 g kg^?1 fish oil and 30 g kg^?1 wheat flour.     

Validation of a Feeding Stimulant Bioassay Using Fish Hydrolysates for the Pacific White Shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

A protocol for testing feeding stimulants on Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, is described. Thirty‐five rectangular tanks (55 L volume) served as the test system into which ten 5–6 g shrimp were stocked. Every tank contained two bowls, each of which contained either 25 feed pellets of a Reference Diet or Test Diet (consisting of the Reference Diet with one test ingredient added). After 1 h, the difference between the number of pellets consumed of the Test Diet and the Reference Diet was used as the Response. Each of the four Test Diets contained a different salmon hydrolysate made from by‐products of the Alaska fish processing industry (included at 50 g/kg). A fifth commercial shrimp diet was also tested. Each Test Diet was tested against the Reference Diet over a 4‐d period in seven replicate tanks. The data were subjected to a one‐way ANOVA and a confidence interval for each treatment response was calculated. The confidence interval was used to assess the test ingredient as a feeding stimulant. Treatment means were compared using Tukey's test (α = 5%). All the hydrolysates tested were found to act as feeding stimulants.     

Expanding the Repertoire of Spongian-16-One Derivatives in Australian Nudibranchs of the Genus Goniobranchus and Evaluation of Their Anatomical Distribution

Extracts of the mantle and viscera of the Indo-Pacific nudibranchs Goniobranchus aureopurpureus and Goniobranchus sp. 1 afforded 11 new diterpenoids (1–11), all of which possess a tetracyclic spongian-16-one scaffold with extensive oxidation at C-6, C-7, C-11, C-12, C-13, and/or C-20. The structures and relative configuration were investigated by NMR experiments, while X-ray crystallography provided the absolute configuration of 1, including a 2′S configuration for the 2-methylbutanoate substituent located at C-7. Dissection of animal tissue revealed that the mantle and viscera tissues differed in their metabolite composition with diterpenes 1–11 present in the mantle tissue of the two nudibranch species.     

Identification of QTLs associated with metribuzin tolerance in field pea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum sativum</Emphasis> L.)

Competition with weeds is a major constraint to production of field pea in Australia, exacerbated by limited herbicide control options. Metribuzin is considered to be a safe herbicide, but may be phytotoxic to both weeds and target crop. A preliminary glasshouse-based assay was used to identify the optimal concentration required for discrimination between tolerant and sensitive field pea genotypes as 10 ppm metribuzin. This dosage was subsequently used to screen the Kaspa × PBA Oura recombinant inbred line genetic mapping population of 185 individuals for tolerance to metribuzin in three individual controlled environment assays. After two weeks of metribuzin treatment, plants were assessed on the basis of both a numerical score for symptoms such as chlorosis and necrosis, and plant damage as a percentage of necrosis. The two phenotypic parameters showed a high level of correlation (r = 0.85–0.97). The locations and magnitudes of effect of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were determined for metribuzin tolerance (based on both symptom score and plant damage) as well as several related morphological traits. Analysis of all characters detected a single genomic region located on linkage group (LG) Ps IV (LOD scores 3.5–5.7), accounting for proportions of phenotypic variance for plant symptom score and percentage of plant necrosis varying from 12 to 21%. Genetic markers based on genic sequences that closely flank the metribuzin tolerance QTL are suitable for implementation in field pea breeding programs. In addition, comparative genomics between field pea and Medicago truncatula identified a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase gene in the vicinity of the QTL, potentially involved in non-target-site metabolism-based herbicide tolerance.     

Microbial aggregation of sand in an embryo dune system

The importance of microorganisms in the aggregation of sand in an embryo dune system was examined. Of three main types of aggregates formed, microbial aggregates were found to be more important at stabilizing sand than either root-microbial or debris-microbial aggregates on the beach and at the edge of the dune but roots and their associated microorganisms were more important on the hummock of the dune. The amount of microbial and root-microbial aggregated sand was higher during the winter when the vegetation was dying down and decaying. In the absence of roots, microorganisms, in particular bacteria, play a major role in aggregating sand. The bacteria are well adapted to the unfavourable habitat of the beach as they are motile and tolerant to sea water, being able to grow in a salinity of 3.5%. Bacteria may play a major role in aggregating and stabilizing sand prior to colonization by higher plants.     

目标树经营:德国经验与湖北实践

德国是近自然林业的发源地,目标树经营法是近自然林业的重要操作方法.长期以来,德国高等院校和林业科研机构对目标树经营法进行了多方位的研究,形成了不同的经营模式,影响较大的有弗莱堡模式、巴伐利亚模式和罗腾堡模式.借鉴德国的经验,文中在进行大量调查研究的基础上,设计了基于湖北实际的目标树经营法.核心内容是:以平均胸径10 c...