Total and organic soil carbon in cropping systems of Nepal

The significance of soil organic matter (SOM) in sustaining agriculture has long been recognized. The rate of change depends on climate, cropping system, cropping practice, and soil moisture. A 3-yr on-farm study was conducted in two major agro-ecologies (hills with warm-temperate climate and plains with subtropical climate) of Nepal. The soils in warm-temperate climate are Lithic subgroups of Ustorthents with well-drained loamy texture, and in subtropical climate are Haplaquepts with imperfectly drained loamy texture. Farmers’ predominant cropping systems were selected from different cultivation length in addition to a reference sample collected from adjacent virgin forest. The objectives were to examine the effect of cultivation length and cropping system on total carbon, KMnO₄-oxidizable soil C, C storage, and C/N ratio in two climatic scenarios: warm-temperate and subtropical. A large difference in KMnO₄-oxidizable soil organic C was observed due to the effect of cultivation length and cropping system. However, TC remained similar during the 3-year study. The decrease in KMnO₄-oxidizable C due to cultivation was more in the surface layer (43–56%) than in the subsurface layer (20–30%). Total C in uncultivated, < 10-year cultivated, and > 50-year cultivated soil was 22, 13, and 10 g kg⁻¹ in warm-temperate climate and 10, 6, and 5 g kg⁻¹ in subtropical climate, respectively. During the 3-year study period in both climates, large changes in soil C were observed for KMnO₄-oxidizable C but not for TC, confirming our earlier work on the usefulness of the KMnO₄ oxidized fraction for detecting a relatively short-term increase or decrease in soil C pool. The TC storage in uncultivated, < 10-year cultivated, and > 50-year cultivated soil was 38, 25, and 19 Mg ha⁻¹ in warm-temperate climate and 22, 15, and 12 Mg ha⁻¹ in subtropical climate, respectively. The rice–wheat and maize–potato cropping systems were good in storing soil C of 30 and 20 Mg ha⁻¹ for 0–15-cm soil depth in warm-temperate climate. The rice–wheat cropping system was also good in storing soil C in subtropical climate (19 Mg ha⁻¹) compared with other cropping systems studied.     

Xylella fastidiosa Esterase Rather than Hydroxynitrile Lyase

In 2009, we reported that the product of the gene SCJ21.16 (XFa0032) from Xylella fastidiosa, a xylem‐restricted plant pathogen that causes a range of diseases in several important crops, encodes a protein (XfHNL) with putative hydroxynitrile lyase activity. Sequence analysis and activity tests indicated that XfHNL exhibits an α/β‐hydrolase fold and could be classified as a member of the family of FAD‐independent HNLs. Here we provide a more detailed sequence analysis and new experimental data. Using pure heterologously expressed XfHNL we show that this enzyme cannot catalyse the cleavage/synthesis of mandelonitrile and that this protein is in fact a non‐enantioselective esterase. Homology modelling and ligand docking simulations were used to study the active site and support these results. This finding could help elucidate the common ancestor of esterases and hydroxynitrile lyases with an α/β ‐hydrolase fold.     

SCC of X‐52 and X‐60 weldements in diluted NaHCO3 solutions with chloride and sulfate ions

Stress corrosion cracking tests were performed in both X‐52 and X‐60 weldments in sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) solutions at 50°C using the Slow Strain Rate Testing (SSRT) technique. Solution concentrations varied between 0.1 to 0.0001 M, and to simulate the NS‐4 solution, chloride (Cl^?) and/or sulfate ( ) ions were added to the 0.01 M solution. Tests were complemented with hydrogen permeation measurements and polarization curves. It was found that the corrosion rate, taken as the corrosion current, I_corr, was maximum in 0.01 M NaHCO₃ and with additions of ions. Higher or lower solution concentrations or additions of Cl^? alone decreased the corrosion rate of the weldment. The SSC susceptibility, measured as the percentage reduction in area, was maximum in 0.01M NaHCO₃. Higher or lower solution concentrations of additions of Cl^? or decreased the SCC susceptibility of the weldment. The amount of hydrogen uptake for the weldment was also highest in 0.01 M NaHCO₃ solution, but it was minimum with the addition of Cl^? or ions. Thus, the most likely mechanism for the cracking susceptibility of X‐52 and X‐60 weldments in diluted NaHCO₃ solutions seems to be hydrogen‐assisted anodic dissolution.     

Tamoxifen Sensitizes Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells to Cannabidiol by Targeting Cyclophilin-D and Altering Mitochondrial Ca2+ Homeostasis

Cytotoxic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) and tamoxifen (TAM) have been observed in several cancer types. We have recently shown that CBD primarily targets mitochondria, inducing a stable mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and, consequently, the death of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. Mitochondria have also been documented among cellular targets for the TAM action. In the present study we have demonstrated a synergistic cytotoxic effect of TAM and CBD against T-ALL cells. By measuring the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), mitochondrial calcium ([Ca²⁺]_m) and protein-ligand docking analysis we determined that TAM targets cyclophilin D (CypD) to inhibit mPTP formation. This results in a sustained [Ca²⁺]_m overload upon the consequent CBD administration. Thus, TAM acting on CypD sensitizes T-ALL to mitocans such as CBD by altering the mitochondrial Ca²⁺ homeostasis.     

DFQM - an approach for improving the quality of assembled products

In this paper we introduce first the concept of quality manufacturability (QM), and second a new methodology that focuses exclusively on evaluating a design from a quality perspective. We label this new approach as Design for Quality Manufacturability (or DFQM). The QM of a design is defined as the likelihood that defects will occur during its manufacture. Some designs are more likely than others to have a lower production yield rate. The reason for this is that in any production facility there is an inherent defect occurrence process. This relationship between the defect occurrence process and the design is the basis for QM. DFQM enables product designers to evaluate and improve the QM of a design before prototype production. The key elements of DFQM are classes of defects, specific defects, influencing factors, factor variables, and error catalyst. A standard nomenclature for describing the specific defects and measuring the associated influencing factors is presented. The output of the DFQM method is the QM-Index matrix, which indicates the quality manufacturability of each part in the assembly, in terms of each class of defects. The concept of error catalysts and the derivation of the QM-Index matrix are presented. An illustrative example is included. The DFQM method is presently limited to assembly processes.     

Effect of Ni promoter in the oxide precursors of MoS2/MgO–Al2O3 catalysts tested in dibenzothiophene hydrodesulphurization

NiMoS catalysts supported on MgO–Al₂O₃ oxides, with 95 and 80 mol% of MgO, were synthesized by sol–gel method. In order to study the Ni promoter effect, MgO–Al₂O₃ supports were impregnated with a pH = 9 solution of Mo and Ni–Mo, respectively; the catalysts were dried (D) and calcinated (C). Catalytic tests showed a Ni promoter effect of 4.5 on the NiMoMg95Al5-D catalyst and 8.5 on the calcinated one. The latter catalyst is more active than a commercial NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst. On the other side, the catalyst supported on Mg80Al20 solid did not show any Ni promoter effect. Raman and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed that during the impregnation step, a strong support interaction with the ion MoO₄^2? takes place on the Mo/MgO–Al₂O₃ solids. After calcination, MoO₄^2? ion remained on the catalyst surface, but increased its interaction with the support. The presence of Ni²⁺_Th, Ni²⁺_Oh and MoO₄^2? ions on dried NiMo/Mg95Al5 catalysts was confirmed, as well as the presence of Ni²⁺_Th, Ni²⁺_Oh, MoO₄^2? and Mo₇O₂₄^6? ions on the calcinated catalyst. This suggests that Ni²⁺ ion allows polymerization of MoO₄^2? to Mo₇O₂₄^6?, produced by Ni²⁺_Oh–MoO₄^2? and Ni²⁺_Oh–Mo₇O₂₄^6? close interactions. The NiMo/Mg80Al20 solids also showed MoO₃ species and a high Ni²⁺_Th concentration. Thus, the Ni promoter effect and therefore, catalytic activity decreased, due to the formation of Ni²⁺_Th–MgO and Ni²⁺_Th–Al₂O₃ spinels.     

Advances in Grating-Based Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for the Study of Protein Dynamics

Recent advances in transient grating spectroscopy are described in relation to extracting photoacoustic parameters. The time resolution for measurement of dynamically driven acoustics has been extended to the picosecond level. This improvement was achieved by adopting counter-propagating beam geometries and resolving the acoustic phase shift in analogy to phase modulation spectroscopy. At the other extreme, the dynamic range of this technique has been extended to milliseconds in order to follow dynamical processes central to biological functions. In addition, diffractive optics were used for generating the necessary excitation and probe beam geometries. A novel optical setup was developed which permits both the rapid exploration of fringe spacing dependencies in separating thermal from nonthermal contributions to the observed signal as well as heterodyne detection without active feedback. The latter capability significantly increases the signal-to-noise ratio and permits separation of the real and imaginary components from the nonlinear four-wave-mixing signal. Applications of these new methods are demonstrated by following the functionally relevant structural relaxation processes of heme proteins over 10 decades in time.     

Alternatives for the Purification of the Blend Butanol/Ethanol from an Acetone/Butanol/Ethanol Fermentation Effluent

Biobutanol is a biofuel with potential to substitute gasoline. It can be generated through fermentation of lignocellulosic material, by which acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) are obtained and subsequently separated. Nevertheless, the blend ethanol/butanol itself is a fuel, so its separation could be not even necessary. An alternative is proposed to simplify the purification step of the ABE mixture, avoiding the separation of the ethanol/butanol blend. Intensification alternatives are suggested for the resulting structure. The proposed schemes are optimized through a stochastic approach, minimizing the total annual cost and the eco‐indicator 99. The individual risk index is computed for selected designs. The suggested designs reduce the individual risk index by around 30–66 %.