Silver uptake byAgaricus bisporus from an artificially enriched substrate

The champignon mushroomAgaricus bisporus was cultivated on compost (wheat and rye straw, hens' manure, gypsum, urea and peat) artificially fortified with silver nitrate added at four different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10.3 mg/kg) and 0 mg/kg (control) on a dry weight basis. The method of measurement was flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry after dry ashing of the samples at 420° C and dissolving the residue in 1M nitric acid. The highest concentration of silver, reaching between 120±30–150±36 mg/kg on a dry weight basis, was observed in fruit bodies grown on the most contaminated substrate containing 10.3 mg added Ag/kg dry weight. The silver concentration in caps/stalks/whole fruit bodies ofA. bisporus was positively correlated (r=0.72; P<0.001) with an increasing level of fortification of the substrate. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) of silver in caps/stalks/whole fruit bodies ofA. bisporus was inversely correlated (?0.44<r<?0.36; 0.001<p<0.01) with the silver concentration of the contaminated substrate. The highest silver BCF value of 120–230 has been observed in caps and stalks of mushrooms grown on a substrate enriched with 0.01 mg Ag/kg dry weight. Silver ion added to the substrate in concentrations up to 10.3 mg/kg on a dry weight basis exhibited no observable toxic effect against the mycelial growth and fruiting of A.bisporus.     

Changes in quantities of inositol phosphates during maturation and germination of legume seeds

 The changes in the quantities of inositol phosphates during the maturation and germination of pea, faba bean and lupin seeds were determined in two consecutive (1993 and 1994) years of differing weather conditions. Irrespective of the year, all seeds accumulated predominantly inositol hexaphosphate (IP₆). The weather conditions influenced the accumulation of inositol phosphates in maturing seeds, but they did not influence the total content. Gradual degradation of inositol phosphates occurred during seed germination. After 8 days of germination, IP₆ was degraded by some 80% in peas, 78% in faba beans and 42% in lupin seeds. The enzymic hydrolysis of higher forms of inositol phosphates (IP₆ and IP₅) in germinating seeds was assumed to yield inositol tetraphosphate (IP₄) and inositol triphosphate (IP₃), because the quantities of these compounds increased during seed germination. Received: 1 August 1997 / Revised version: 13 October 1997     

Near-resonant holographic interferometry and absorption measurements of seeded atomic species in a flame

The development of near-resonant holographic interferometry techniques for use on flows seeded with atomic species is described. A theoretical model for the refractivity that is due to the seed species is outlined, and an approximation to this model is also described that is shown to be valid for practical regimes of interest and allows the number density of the species to be determined without knowledge of line-broadening effects. The details of quantitative number density experiments performed on an air-acetylene flame are given, and a comparison with an alternative absorption-based experiment is made.     

Refractometry of organosilica microspheres

The refractive index of novel organosilica (nano/micro) material is determined using two methods. The first method is based on analysis of optical extinction efficiency of organosilica beads versus wavelength, which is obtained by a standard laboratory spectrometer. The second method relies on the measurable trapping potential of these beads in the focused light beam (laser tweezers). Polystyrene beads were used to test these methods, and the determined dispersion curves of refractive-index values have been found accurate. The refractive index of organosilica beads has been determined to range from 1.60 to 1.51 over the wavelength range of 300-1100 nm.     

Progress in hydrostatic extrusion of titanium

At the beginning of the present century it has been demonstrated that nanocrystalline titanium (NC-Ti) can be fabricated by hydrostatic extrusion (HE) which is one of the severe plastic deformation method. NC-Ti obtained in such a way exhibited excellent mechanical properties. The influence of HE on the microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium Grade 2 was first analyzed in 2005. In this study the progress in HE of titanium has been described. However, there are tribological and technological challenges encountered in HE of titanium. They can practically be eliminated by modifying the surface of Ti billets with aluminum coatings. Another important issue in extrusion is the optimum value of the accumulated strain necessary for grain refinement of titanium. Our results have shown that this value must exceed 3 to obtain nanocrystalline Ti. The results obtained indicate that HE permits producing NC-Ti rods with the diameter up to 10 mm.     

Accelerated photodegradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide

Summary Photooxidative degradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in diluted benzene solution and benzene/hydrogen peroxide emulsion have been examinated using viscosimetry, GPC, FTIR, UV-Vis spectrometry and iodometric titration. Efficient photooxidation and photodegradation of PB in presence of hydrogen peroxide was observed. The acceleration effect of photoprocesses in PB is caused by hydroxy (HO·) and hydroperoxide (HOO·) radicals. The mechanism of PB reactions with free radicals proceeding from hydrogen peroxide and influence of benzene on photodegradation of PB have been discussed.     

A new F-score gradient-based training rule for the linear model

Pattern Analysis and Applications - Delta rule is a standard, well-established approach to train perceptron recognition model. However, mean squared error, on which it is based, is not suitable...     

Silver content of wild-grown mushrooms from Northern Poland

Wild-grown and mostly edible species of higher mushrooms collected in 1989–1992 from the districts of Gdansk, Elblag and Pia (northern part of Poland) have been investigated with regard to their silver content. In total, 527 samples including 25 mushroom species of six families (Agaricaceae, Boletaceae, Cantharellaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Coprinaceae andRussulaceae) were examined. Among the fungi examined onlyAgaricus campestris andA. augustus were heavy bioaccumulating species and showed the highest concentrations of 35 mg Ag/kg dry weight (1.1–150) and 2.0–6.9 mg/kg, respectively. Silver concentrations exceeding 1.0 mg/kg dry weight were noted inBoletus aestivalis, Lepista nuda, L. personata, and in some specimens ofB. edulis, Leccinum scrabum, L. vulpinum, Cantharellus cibarius andCoprinus comatus.

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Silbergehalt in wildwachsenden Pilzen Nordpolens

Zusammenfassung Der Silbergehalt in wildwachsenden und vorwiegend eßbaren, auf dem Gebiet der Woiwodschaften Gdask, Elblag und Pia (Nordpolen) in den Jahren 1889–1992 gesammelten Pilzsorten wurde untersucht. Im ganzen wurden 527 Proben von 25 Arten der 6 Familien (Agaricaceae, Boletaceae, Cantharellaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Coprinaceae, Russuulaceae) zugehörenden Pilzen untersucht. Von diesen Pilzen waren nurAgaricus campestris undA. augustus stark bioanreichernde Arten mit höchsten Konzentrationen von 35 mg Ag/kg Trockenmasse (1.5–150) und 2.0–6.9 mg/kg. Eine Silberkonzentration von über 1.0 mg/kg Trockenmasse wurde inBoletus aestivalis, Lepista nuda, L. personata und in einigen Exemplaren vonB. edulis, Leccinum scrabum, L. vulpinum, Cantharellus cibarius undCoprinus comatus feststellt.