Improved fallow: growth and nitrogen accumulation of five native tree species in Brazil

Nitrogen (N) is the most important yield-limiting factor in agricultural systems, however, N application can lead to emissions and environmental problems such as global warming (N₂O) and groundwater contamination (NO₃ ^?). This study analyses the N balance, nitrogen-use efficiency, and N loss potential of conventional farming systems (arable farming, improved arable farming, and agroforestry) and organic farming systems (mixed farming, arable farming, and agroforestry) based on long-term field experiments in southern Germany. The effects of the conversion of farm structure and N management are identified. The conventional farming systems in this study were high N-input and high N-output systems. The conventional arable farming system had the lowest nitrogen-use efficiency and the highest N surplus. An optimised N management and the use of high-yielding crop varieties improved its nitrogen-use efficiency. The establishment of conventional agroforestry resulted in the reduction of N input, N output and N surplus, while maintaining high yields. The organic mixed farming system is characterised by a relatively high N input and N output, the accumulation of soil organic nitrogen, the highest nitrogen-use efficiency, and the lowest N surplus of all analysed systems. These good results can be attributed to the intensive farm N cycle between soil–plant–animal. The shift from organic mixed farming to organic arable farming system extensified the N cycle, reduced N input, crop yield and N output. The change from organic arable farming to organic agroforestry reduced the N input, increased the biomass yield, and remained the N surplus within an optimal range.     

Correlations of Hepatic Hemodynamics,Liver Function,and Fibrosis Markers in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Comparison with Chronic Hepatitis Related to Hepatitis C Virus

The progression of chronic liver disease differs by etiology. The aim of this study was to elucidate the difference in disease progression between chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by means of fibrosis markers, liver function, and hepatic tissue blood flow (TBF). Xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT) was performed in 139 patients with NAFLD and 152 patients with CHC (including liver cirrhosis (LC)). The cutoff values for fibrosis markers were compared between NAFLD and CHC, and correlations between hepatic TBF and liver function tests were examined at each fibrosis stage. The cutoff values for detection of the advanced fibrosis stage were lower in NAFLD than in CHC. Although portal venous TBF (PVTBF) correlated with liver function tests, PVTBF in initial LC caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH-LC) was significantly lower than that in hepatitis C virus (C-LC) (p = 0.014). Conversely, the liver function tests in NASH-LC were higher than those in C-LC (p < 0.05). It is important to recognize the difference between NAFLD and CHC. We concluded that changes in hepatic blood flow occurred during the earliest stage of hepatic fibrosis in patients with NAFLD; therefore, patients with NAFLD need to be followed carefully.     

Design of electrofusion joints and evaluation of fusion strength using fusion simulation technology

Fusion simulation is one of the key techniques in designing and producing electrofusion (EF) joints for gas distribution and in evaluating fusion joint integrity. This paper describes the result of a numerical simulation of a thermal fusion process, using the finite element method. A nonlinear heat transfer computer program was used to obtain the temperature profile of a large electrofusion joint at fusion. The effects of applied voltage, heating time, wire pitch, and ambient temperature were examined for designing a 150-mm EF joint. A method to shorten the cooling time was also investigated. The fusion condition range suitable for a 150-mm EF joint was found to be slightly narrower than that suitable for a 50-mm EF joint. Examination of the effect of wire pitch revealed that if the pitch is extremely large, thermal degradation starts in the resin close to the wire before the fusion-interface strength reaches the maximum value. We have developed a program to simulate the process of closing the gap between the pipe and the joint due to resin expansion and melting after the power is supplied.     

Electro-oxidation rate ofp-tert-butyltoluene in a bipolar packed-bed electrode cell

The side chain methoxylation ofp-tert-butyltoluene was carried out in a bipolar packed-bed electrode cell in which graphite pellets of diameter 4.74 mm and length 5mm were randomly packed in nine layers separated by inert mesh spacers. The reaction consisted of main consecutive reactions leading top-tert-butylbenzyl methyl ether andp-tert-butylbenzaldehyde dimethyl acetal (TBDA) and polymerization reactions. Overall reaction rate coefficients for each reaction step, current efficiency and energy consumption were determined on the basis of a reactor model. The selectivity and the current efficiency for TBDA increased with increasing current, but the energy consumption began to rise when the current exceeded 0.8 A. An addition of supporting electrolyte suppressed the overall reaction rate coefficients, although it decreased the energy consumption.     

Eletrical Conductivity of Antimony-Doped Tin Dioxide Prepared by Hot Isostatic Pressing

High-purity and high-density tin dioxide doped with 1 × 10²⁰/cm³ antimony was prepared by hot isostatic pressing, and its electrical conductivity was measured over the temperature range 20° to 1200°C in various atmospheres. The conductivity decreased with increasing temperature and reached the value found in specimens normally sintered under the same conditions at normal pressure. The effect of microstructure on the carrier transport is discussed. Grain boundaries only slightly affect carrier transport at high temperatures.     

Fatigue behavior of medium-density polyethylene pipes

A round bar specimen and a square bar specimen cut out from medium-density polyethylene pipes with a notch were made and a fatigue test was conducted to cause a brittle fracture. The initiation and growth of a craze and crack at the tip of a notch was observed. In the range where loading cycles are few and displacement of the specimen does not increase, the craze prior to crack initiation occurs. Also, the effect of frequency was investigated. The pure creep failure and the fatigue failure at low frequency were compared. The lower the frequency, the smaller the reciprocal of the actual loading time T_f becomes. It is also found that this tensile fatigue test is a useful test method to assure the quality of pipes.     

Change of orientation by thermal contraction of polyacrylonitrile fiber

Polyacrylonitrile polymer powder was dissolved in 70% nitric acid and spun into isotropic filament through a glass nozzle of 0.5 mm. diameter in a coagulating bath of 30% nitric acid. Stretching was carried out in two stages: the first stretching was done in water at 20°C. followed by drying, and the second stretching was done in a boiling saturated solution of ammonium sulfate. The total stretching ratio was 23. These filaments were shrunk freely in water at 70–180°C. The change in orientation factors was traced by x-ray, infrared dichroism, visible dichroism, and sonic modulus methods. The relation between the reciprocal absolute temperature of thermal contraction and the logarithm of fiber length is a straight line which has two inflection points at 93 and 175°C. The orientation factors by x-ray and infrared dichroism remain unchanged up to 175°C. On the contrary, the orientation factors by visible dichroism and sonic modulus drop suddenly at about 90°C. This indicates the occurrence of relaxation of the amorphous chain at the glass transition temperature and shows the polymer is not perfect single-phase material. Orientation of crystalline and amorphous phases is stable from 100 to 170°C. in spite of considerable thermal contraction. The stability of orientation can be explained by the growth of a folded structure in the polymer.     

Studies of the fluorescent products of lipid oxidation in aqueous emulsion with glycine and on the surface of silica gel

The formation of fluorescent products in the reaction of methyl linoleate hydroperoxide with glycine in aqueous emulsions correlated directly with the decrease in diene conjugation and the increase in thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactive substances. These correlations also were reflected in the course of the oxidation of methyl linoleate in aqueous emulsions with glycine and indicated that glycine reacted with products of peroxide decomposition as opposed to intermediates of autoxidation in hydroperoxide formation. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and selective solvent extraction demonstrated that the products of the reaction contained many substances with a fluorescent spectrum similar to those of lipofuscin pigments. When methyl esters of polyunsaturated fatty acids or other polyunsaturated lipids underwent oxidation adsorbed on silica gel particles, products with similar fluorescent spectral properties were formed illustrating that fluorescent substances were formed in a variety of reactions associated with the oxidation of unsaturated lipids.     

Microstrain and Crystallite Size of Natural Microcrystalline Quartz by X-ray Line Broadening Analysis

The analysis of X-ray diffraction line profile broadening reveals the relationship between lattice microstrain and crystallite size for some microcrystalline quartz in natural quartzose rocks which crystallized slowly and statically. The mean microstrain of quartz microcrystallites increases proportionally with the reciprocal of the crystallite size and its magnitude reaches 0.18% (1.8×10⁻³) for crystallites ∼43 nm in diameter. This large lattice microstrain is ascribed to the internal pressure derived from the surface energy of the quartz microcrystallite.