α-Tocopherol alteration of soybean antiherbivory toTrichoplusia ni larvae

The antioxidant vitamin E, -tocopherol, was tested as a candidate elicitor of alterable antiherbivory in soybean plants against cabbage looper larvae. Although a nonspecific antioxidant, vitamin E proved elicitory to the involved sulfhydryl-dependent receptor-energy transducer protein in soybean plasma membrane. Effects of -tocopherol were dependent on dosage, time, and space in the plant. The observed elicited effects were all decreases in herbivory. The best negative phytochemical correlate of looper feeding was the percentage of increased total HPLC peak area of extractables from elicited as compared to nonelicited leaves. Some specific compounds, e.g., glyceollins, were quantitatively major components of the total profile of secondary metabolites.     

Avoidance of bird repellents by mice (Mus musculus)

It is believed that mammalian chemosensory irritants are not aversive to birds and vice versa. Nevertheless, few avian repellents have been tested against mammals. For that reason, we evaluated the efficacy of 1.0% w/v methyl anthranilate, orthoaminoacetophenone, 2-amino-4,5-methoxyacetophenone, 2-methoxyacetophenone, and veratryl amine as mouse repellents in 3-hr no-choice drinking tests. Relative to ingestion of plain water, all test substances significantly reduced (P < 0.05) intake. Orthoaminoaceto-phenone was the most effective repellent, with intake reduced to levels statistically indistinguishable from zero.     

Chemical correlates of α-tocopherol (Vitamin E) alteredMalacosoma disstria herbivory inFraxinus pennsylvanica var.Subintegerrinia,green ash

The antioxidant -tocopherol (vitamin E), applied in a basal trunk band to the green ash tree,Fraxinus pennsylvanica var.subintergerrinia, elicited an alteration of foliar feeding byMalacosoma disstria larvae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae). The bioassayed effects were dependent on the dosage of elicitor, the time after elicitation, and the position in the tree. Leaves for chemical analysis were collected from trees receiving two dosages and at two intervals after elicitation. Compounds in the ethyl acetate extractables from the ash tree leaves were separated by TLC and HPLC. TLC separations showed differences in the nonhydrolyzed extractables attributable to elicitor dosage and time after elicitation. TLC-resolved differences were also evident among acid-hydrolyzed samples. HPLC-resolved profiles revealed eight peaks in the nonhydrolyzed extractables that were quantitatively negatively correlated with larval feeding preference between elicited versus control foliage on at least one of the two sampling dates. Results from this study and other investigations reported in the literature indicate that the antioxidant-tocopherol (vitamin E) can function as an environmental-stress elicitor of alterable defensive chemistry in green ash and other plants.     

The synthesis and characterization of calcium aluminate monoiodide

The hydrated calcium aluminate AFt and AFm phases are known hosts for a wide variety of chemical species. This characteristic is beneficial to those using portland cement to solidify/encapsulate radioactive waste which more often than not contains a wide variety of elements. In order to investigate the potential of the calcium aluminate hydrates as host phases for selected ions, the following experiments were carried out. Bottle hydration studies (water/solid > 1) were used to investigate the suitability of the AFt and AFm phases as hosts for iodine, one of the more mobile radioactive waste elements. Trial compositions along the AFt and AFm joins in the systems 3CaO·Al₂O₃---CaSO₄---CaI₂---H₂O were investigated. No stable iodine end-member AFt phase was formed at room temperature. The end-member AFm phase, 3CaO·Al₂O₃·CaI₂·12H₂O, was synthesized and was designated monoiodide. Characterization was carried out using chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction (conventional and high temperature), thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Monoiodide was indexed as hexagonal and thus isostructural with previously described AFm phases. Monoiodide is stable to about 85°C. A loss of approximately four molecules of water occurs between 71° and 101°C. The lower hydrate, tentatively identified as 3CaO·Al₂O₃·CaI₂·8H₂O, is stable to approximately 300°C. The latter hydrate was observed to revert to the original hydrate on exposure to the relative humidity in the laboratory.     

Wheat-bug damage in New Zealand wheats: The feeding mechanism of nysius huttoni and its effect on the morphological and physiological development of wheat

Adult Nysius huttoni White were placed in separate cages containing cultivars Rongotea and Karamu at the late anthesis, watery ripe and milky ripe stages of development. Between 84 and 99 % of the matured kernels were injured with the characteristic visible markings of bug-damaged wheat. All the samples contained strong wheat-bug proteinase activity as shown by the incubated SDS-sedimentation test and the disappearance of HMW glutenin subunits from electrophoretograms. Grain infested at late anthesis was most severely affected with shrivelled kernels, high screenings, protein, free amino acids and α-amylase, and low kernel weight, germination capacity and carbohydrate content. Grain infested at the watery ripe and milky ripe stages had values for the above properties closer to uninfested control wheat values. It was suggested that N huttoni sucked sap from lateral sieve tubes in the wheat ovary at late anthesis causing severe disruption to physiological development of the grain. Two commercial lines of wheat showed some characteristics of this effect.     

Computer optimization of trailer suspensionsOptimisation par ordinateur des suspensions de remorque

This paper presents an optimization procedure which has been developed to select appropriate suspension design parameters for a simple two wheel trailer. A modern approach to the optimization problem has been used applying non-linear programming to the constrained search for the minimum of an objective function. The acceleration response to roadway input of selected points on the load of the trailer has been designated for minimization. This acceleration has an important significance to the trailer design because of its effect on the stable and smooth ride of the trailer. Two computational procedures have been used and the results compared. The first approach involves the linear superposition of responses to a series of discrete sinusoidal inputs while the second applies more contemporary random vibration theory using power spectral density curves to simulate the actual road surfaces. The results of the optimization procedure are then compared with the response characteristics of the original trailer design and demonstrate that a substantial improvement has been made.     

Thrifty execution of task pipelines

Summary A sequence of tasks that must be performed on a sequential database can be scheduled in various ways. Schedules will differ with respect to the number of accesses made to peripheral storage devices and the amount of memory space consumed by buffers. Buffer requirements are discussed for task schedules that avoid accesses to peripherals storing the sequential database. The relationship between certain thrifty scheduling policies and loop jamming, a standard code optimization technique, is also identified. Application to UNIX pipelines and to file processing is discussed.This work is supported in part by NSF Grant MCS-8003340 and MCS-8103605. Schneider is also supported by a Faculty Development Grant from IBM Corporation     

Comparison of Solid-Liquid and Liquid-Liquid Mass Transfer

Mass transfer from solutions of m-acetotoluide, phenacetin and salicylamide into a stationary solvent, water, was studied. A sharp concentration jump was found at the leading solute front for all three liquid-liquid systmes. A comparison was made between the mass transferred in solid-liquid and liquid-liquid systems. The dissolution of m-acetotoluide, phenacetin and salicylamide was compared with mass transfer of solute from solutions with concentrations C_i, 2C_i and C_s into the pure solvent. In all cases, the amount dissolved from the solid was approximated by the C_i or the 2C_i-solvent system with the amount transferred in the C_s-solvent system approximately 100 fold greater than was dissolved from the solid. It was concluded that a concentration much less than saturation exists at the solid-liquid interface and that dissolution of the three compounds studied is controlled by the rate of solvent interaction at the solid surface.     

Undergraduate students and the history of psychology.

Presents data on undergraduates' sentiments about the history of psychology, based on surveys in the early 1960s (e.g., R. D. Nance [1961]) and the early 1970s. Undergraduates preferred emphasis on contemporary and recent events, although they found the study of history somewhat useful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)