Photoluminescent distinction among plant life forms using phosphate buffered saline extract solutions

Photoluminescence of plant extract solutions has been investigated for discrimination of plant life forms (grasses, forbs, and shrubs) using principal component analysis (PCA). Clippings from each of six plant species representing three different plant life forms potentially found in the diets of free-ranging herbivores in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America were investigated for possible discernment. These plants included Sporobolus flexuosus (mesa dropseed, a grass), Pleuraphis mutica (tobosa, a grass), Dimorphocarpa wislizenii (spectacle pod, a forb), Sphaeralcea incana (pale globemallow, a forb), Flourensia cernua leaves (tarbush, a shrub), and Atriplex canescens leaves and stems (fourwing saltbush, a shrub). Emission spectra (370-600 nm) from phosphate buffered saline (PBS) extract solutions (pH 2.2, 7.5 and 12.5) were recorded for each plant with excitation at 365 nm. Use of PBS minimized chlorophyll interference. Discernment among plant life forms within these plant species was achieved.     

The Mineralogy,Geology, and Mining History of the Telluride District,San Miguel County,Colorado: A Historical Overview of the District and the Smuggler Union and Associated Mines and Veins of Marshall Basin

In 1875 Colorado was still a territory awaiting statehood, ulysses Grant was serving his second term as president, and Benjamin Disraeli was in his second term as prime minister of Creat Britain; parts of the South were still suffering under the reconstruction policies of the “Radical Republicans,” Georges Bizet's Carmen opened in Paris, and the city of London completed construction of its new sewerage system. Also in that year yet mother military buildup was taking place in Europe—Russia's standing army reached 3,360,000 men and Germany's 2,800,000; a period of unrest boiled over in the Balkans as Bosnia and Herzegovina rebelled against Turkish rule, and P. E. Lecoq discovered the new element gallium. The year 1875 saw the publication of Samuel Clemens's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, while impressionist artist Claude Monet completed his painting Boating at Argenteuil—and John Fallon discovered gold and silver in the high mountains near where the town of Telluride would one day be located.     

Developing manufacturing response models to predict the manufacturability of new modular products

Product developers usually rely on their experience and knowledge during the design process to generate manufacturable products that can fulfill the required functions. Product developers make various decisions during the course of developing a modular product that affect the functional, physical, and operational structures, which either enhance or reduce the manufacturability of the products. This paper proposes constructing manufacturing response models by modeling the behavior of the manufacturability as a response to the series of decisions made during the design process. The manufacturability response models are mathematical models used to relate the product manufacturability to the different metrics used to quantify the results of the design decisions made during the development life cycle. Decisions made during the design process includes specifying the product functionalities needed to meet customer needs, the physical components capable of delivering the required functionalities, and the manufacturing processes needed to produce the physical components. Manufacturing response models can be used by product developers to predict the effect of the decisions made during the course of developing a modular product on the final modular product manufacturability. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the construction of the manufacturing response models and their usage in new product design by using an illustrative example.     

Metabolomic Differentiation of Brassica rapa Following Herbivory by Different Insect Instars using Two-Dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The metabolic alterations of Brassica rapa (L.) leaves attacked by larvae of the specialist Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) and the generalist Spodoptera exigua Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were investigated with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, followed by a multivariate data analysis. The principal component analysis (PCA) of ¹H NMR spectra showed that metabolic changes in B. rapa leaves induced by the 2nd and the 4th instars were different from each other. However, the congestion of the one-dimensional ¹H NMR spectrum made it difficult to identify discriminating metabolites. To overcome the spectral complexity, several two-dimensional NMR techniques were applied. Of those evaluated, J-resolved spectroscopy, which affords an additional coupling constant, provided a wide range of structure information on differentiating the metabolites. Based on the J-resolved spectra combined with PCA, the major signals contributing to the discrimination were alanine, threonine, glucose, sucrose, feruloyl malate, sinapoyl malate, and gluconapin.     

Forging preform design with shape complexity control in simulating backward deformation

This paper presents a preform design method which employs an alternative boundary node release criterion in the finite element simulation of backward deformation of forging processes. The method makes use of the shape complexity factor which provides an effective measure of forging difficulty. The objective is to release die contacting nodes in a sequence which will minimize the geometric complexity throughout the backward deformation simulation. This is done by calculating the effect of releasing each of a select group of boundary element nodes at each finite element solution step. The particular detached node which results in the minimum shape complexity factor will be released for the current step. This process continues for each backward step until the last few nodes remain in contact. This design method is demonstrated through the simulated forging of an integrated blade and rotor turbine disk blank. A preform shape developed by this method is compared with an empirically designed preform. Performance parameters for comparison include die fill, flash volume, effective strain variance, frictional power and die load. Comparing the results of the forward simulations indicates improved performance of the preform design using FEM based backward deformation method over that of the empirical design.     

Phototoxicity and fluorotoxicity combine to alter the behavior of neutrophils in fluorescence microscopy based flow adhesion assays

The use of fluorescent probes that allow visualization of leukocyte-endothelial cell (EC) interactions has greatly informed our understanding of leukocyte recruitment. However, effects of these agents on the biological functions of leukocytes are poorly described, leading to concerns about the interpretation of such data. Here we used two flow-based neutrophil adhesion assays to compare the effects of phase contrast illumination (PCI) with high intensity illumination (HII) used for fluorescent microscopy, in the presence or absence of five commonly used fluorochromes. Isolated neutrophils were either (1) perfused across P-selectin to establish a population of rolling cells, which were subsequently activated with fMLP; or (2) perfused across EC activated with TNF-alpha. In the absence of fluorescent dyes, HII did not affect levels of leukocyte adhesion; however, subsequent neutrophil behavior was dramatically altered when compared with cells under PCI, for example, dramatically reducing their migration velocities. In the presence of fluorescent dyes, the effects of HII were exacerbated, although the precise nature of the biological effects of these probes was agent specific. Thus, for the first time, our experiments describe the effects of fluorescent microscopy on the separate stages of the neutrophil recruitment process and reveal a previously unsuspected effect of HII on neutrophil migration.     

The identification of highly chlorinated ethers and diethers in river sediment near an epichlorohydrin plant

In harbour sediment samples taken near an epichlorohydrin production plant, a series of highly chlorinated ethers and diethers were detected viz. three isomeric bis(dichloropropyl)ethers, several structurally closely related ethers with 9 carbon atoms (C₉ ethers), a number of C₁₂ ethers and diethers, and finally several C₁₅ ethers. The formation of this new class of ether compounds can be explained on the basis of the chemistry of the addition of HOCl to allylchloride. After initial addition of Cl⁻, a reactive intermediate is formed which may react with the product dichloropropanol, to give the C₆ ethers, or may polymerize with the starting compound allylchloride followed by reaction with the product, to give the C₉, C₁₂ and C₁₅ ethers.     

Fire evacuation skills: Cognitive-behavioral versus computer-mediated instruction

Fifty-six fourth-grade children participated in this study to assess three training procedures for relative effectiveness in acquiring fire emergency skills and attaining knowledge. The first training approach was behavioral, the second used animated graphics, and the third used still graphics. Each of the training groups was compared to a control group that received no treatment. Performance on dependent measures was assessed before and immediately after training. It was hypothesized that the behavioral and animated-graphics conditions would produce the greatest level of skill and knowledge acquisition. Results demonstrated a significantly higher level of fire emergency skill acquisition and knowledge attainment for both the behavioral and animated-graphics groups relative to the still-graphics group and the control group, which had no training. The value of using computer-mediated strategies for fire-safety skills training was demonstrated.