MICROORGANISMS AS POTENTIAL SOURCES OF NOVEL DIPHENOL OXIDASE INHIBITORS

Culture filtrates and mycelial homogenates from over 100 microorganisms were tested for their ability to inhibit catecholase and laccase (o- and p-diphenol oxidase) activity using simple, rapid, colorimetric assays in microtiter plates or polarographic assays using an O₂-electrode. Of the organisms screened, 56 produced inhibition of catecholase activity and 34 gave rise to laccase inhibition, with most of the latter group showing inhibition of both enzymes. The role of this enzyme inhibitor system in plant pathogenicity is also discussed.     

ANALYSIS OF COAL DISSOLUTION REACTION ENGINEERING

A phenomenological approach was developed for conversion of coal to pyridine soluble materials with the object of shedding additional light on the reactions taking place during short contact times. The approach was based on a theoretical analysis of many parallel reactions in a complex reacting mixture. The analysis used the concept of lumped species and weighted activation energies to improve on coal liquefaction models. i.e. to remove insensitivity problems for parameters in coal liquefaction models and to answer questions about behaviour of liquefaction reactions in different vessels.     

The effect of post-veraison water deficit on yield components and maturation of irrigated Shiraz (Vitis vinifera L.) in the current and following season

Given their perennial nature, grapevines can respond to deficit irrigation during both the current season as well as during the following season, even though full irrigation may have been restored during that second season. To define the cropping responses involved, three post-veraison irrigation treatments were imposed on spur, mechanically and minimally pruned Shiraz vines that were already receiving restricted water application using Partial Rootzone Drying (PRD). The treatments resulted in the vines receiving 1.25 ML per hectare pre veraison and the three irrigation treatments receiving 1.25, 0.65 and 0 ML of water per hectare in the post-veraison period. Water deficit during the current season reduced berry and bunch weight, and yield. Sugar concentration was reduced, and phenolic concentration increased when less water was applied, but anthocyanin concentration was unaffected. Although irrigation was returned to standard practice (PRD) in the following season, yield was reduced in accordance with deficit irrigation treatments the previous season. This reduction in yield was primarily caused by fewer bunches per vine, which in turn was a direct consequence of fewer shoots per vine (lower budburst). The lower crop load on the vines that had received restricted irrigation post-veraison in the previous season resulted in higher sugar and antho-cyanin concentrations in fruit the following season. Lighter pruning resulted in a greater number of smaller bunches comprising smaller berries. In both seasons the minimal pruning treatment delayed fruit maturity as measured by sugar accumulation. Post-veraison water deficit thus has the potential to impact on both yield and fruit composition during the current season as well as during the subsequent season.     

Evidence for High-Temperature Forms of Zirconium and Tantalum Monocarbides

Evidence has been found which suggests the existence of high-temperature crystalline modifications of both zirconium carbide and tantalum carbide. The high-temperature inversion in zirconium carbide, indicated by a sharp decrease in spectral emisivity, in electrical resistivity, and in density, was reversible. No permanent changes in microhardness or in X-ray diffraction patterns were found after cooling to room temperature. Emissivity measurements showed a hysteresis effect of approximately 400° C for zirconium carbide. A similar, although less sharply defined, effect was noted for tantalum carbide. No such effect was found in solid solutions of these two monocarbides.     

PATIENTS' RECOGNITION MEMORY FOR STATEMENTS MADE IN WARD COMMUNITY MEETINGS.

16 SS ON AN ACUTE HOSPITAL WARD WERE TESTED ON RECOGNITION OF STATEMENTS MADE DURING WARD COMMUNITY MEETINGS WHICH THEY HAD ATTENDED. STATEMENTS WERE CATEGORIZED ACCORDING TO THE HILL INTERACTION MATRIX, AND THE AVERAGE MEMORY SCORES FOR 5 OF THE HILL CATEGORIES WERE COMPARED. RESULTS INDICATE THAT STATEMENTS ABOUT WARD BUSINESS AND ABOUT BEHAVIOR OF SS DURING THE MEETING WERE BEST REMEMBERED, WHILE STATEMENTS ABOUT SS' LIVES INDEPENDENT OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GROUP AND GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT HOW PSYCHOTHERAPY WORKS WERE LESS WELL REMEMBERED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)