Effects of irradiance and spectral quality on leaf structure and function in seedlings of two Southeast Asian Hopea species

We studied the development of leaf characters in two Southeast Asian dipterocarp forest trees under different photosynthetic photon flux densities (PFD) and spectral qualities (red to far-red, R:FR). The two species, Hopea helferi and H. odorata, are taxonomically closely related but differ in their ecological requirements; H. helferi is more drought tolerant and H. odorata more shade tolerant. Seedlings were grown in replicated shadehouse treatments of differing PFD and R:FR. We measured or calculated (1) leaf and tissue thicknesses; (2) mesophyll parenchyma, air space, and lignified tissue volumes; (3) mesophyll air volumes (Vmes/Asurf) and surfaces (Ames/Asurf); (4) palisade cell length and width; (5) chlorophyll/cm2 and a/ b; (6) leaf absorption; and (7) attenuance/absorbance at 652 and 550 nm. These characters varied in response to light conditions in both taxa. Characters were predominantly affected by PFD, and R:FR slightly influenced many characters. Leaf characters of H. odorata were more plastic in response to treatment conditions. Characters were correlated with each other in a complex fashion. Variation in leaf anatomy is most likely a consequence of increasing leaf thickness in both taxa, which may increase mechanical strength and defense against herbivory in more exposed environments. Variation in leaf optical properties was most likely affected by pigment photo-bleaching in treatments of more intense PFD and was not correlated with Amax. The greater plasticity of leaf responses in H. odorata helps explain the acclimation over the range of light conditions encountered by this shade-tolerant taxon. The dense layer of scales on the leaf undersurface and other anatomical characters in H. helferi reduced gas exchange and growth in this drought-tolerant tree.

Epidermal cells functioning as lenses in leaves of tropical rain-forest shade plants

A ray tracing model has been developed to investigate the possible focusing effects of the convexly curved epidermal cell walls which characterize a number of shade-adapted plants. The model indicates that such focusing occurs, resulting in higher photosynthetic photon flux densities at certain locations within the leaf. It is postulated that there will be a corresponding increase in the rate of photosynthesis. In addition, leaf reflectance measurements indicate that this is generally less for the shade plants compared with sun species and would be advantageous in increasing the efficiency of energy capture. Either effect is important for plants which must survive at extremely low light levels.

The impact of fluctuating light on the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans depends on NO3- and CO2 availability

Increasing atmospheric pCO2 and its dissolution into oceans leads to ocean acidification and warming, which reduces the thickness of upper mixing layer (UML) and upward nutrient supply from deeper layers. These events may alter the nutritional conditions and the light regime to which primary producers are exposed in the UML. In order to better understand the physiology behind the responses to the concomitant climate changes factors, we examined the impact of light fluctuation on the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans grown at low (1 µmol/L) or high (800 µmol/L) [NO3(-)] and at high (1000 µatm) or low (390 µatm, ambient) pCO2. The light regimes to which the algal cells were subjected were (1) constant light at a photon flux density (PFD) of either 100 (C100) or 500 (C500) µmol/m**2/s or (2) fluctuating light between 100 or 500 µmol photons/m**2/s with a frequency of either 15 (F15) or 60 (F60) min. Under continuous light, the initial portion of the light phase required the concomitant presence of high CO2 and NO3(-) concentrations for maximum growth. After exposure to light for 3h, high CO2 exerted a negative effect on growth and effective quantum yield of photosystem II (F'(v)/F'(m)). Fluctuating light ameliorated growth in the first period of illumination. In the second 3h of treatment, higher frequency (F15) of fluctuations afforded high growth rates, whereas the F60 treatment had detrimental consequences, especially when NO3(-) concentration was lower. F'(v)/F'(m) respondent differently from growth to fluctuating light: the fluorescence yield was always lower than at continuous light at 100 µmol/m**2/s, and always higher at 500 µmol/m**2/s. Our data show that the impact of atmospheric pCO2 increase on primary production of dinoflagellate depends on the availability of nitrate and the irradiance (intensity and the frequency of irradiance fluctuations) to which the cells are exposed. The impact of global change on oceanic primary producers would therefore be different in waters with different chemical and physical (mixing) properties.

Crescimento e desenvolvimento de Plinia cauliflora de acordo com a intensidade luminosa em clima subtropical

The jabuticaba fruit tree from classified in the Myrtaceae family and Plinia genre. There are about nine species of this fruit tree, that include as most important, Plinia trunciflora (jabuticaba de cabinho), naturally occurring in southwestern Paraná State, Brazil, P. cauliflora (jabuticaba Paulista or Jabuticaba Açu) and P. jaboticaba (Vell) (jabuticaba sabará), with all the over species producing fruit for the industry or fresh consumption. Nevertheless, there aren‟t commercial orchards with this culture, with highest yield part from extractive. This fact can be combined with lack of technical knowledge for the plants produce in the field. As these species are found in the forest, the first point is whether they can adapt to other light intensity conditions. The aim of this work was to identify the adaptive behavior of jabuticaba fruit seedling and tree when they were put in different light intensities and what this can be considered ideal for the growth, as well as, its influence in the leaves secondary compounds production. Two experiments were conducted, with the first involved with the study of the seedlings and the second with plants in the field. The work was carried out at Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – Câmpus Dois Vizinhos, Paraná State - Brazil. The experimental design was a completely randomized and a block design with four treatments and four replications of 10 seedlings or two plants per plot, according to nursery or orchard conditions, respectively. The treatments were base according to the light intensity. The treatments used were, 1 - full sun, similar the orchard condition, with 0% shading; 2 - side cover with shade cloth and top with transparent plastic, representing a gap forest condition; 3 - side and top cover with shade cloth, representing stage where the forest canopy is closing, focusing only indirect sunlight; 4 - side and top cover with shade cloth, simulating a closed canopy condition, with PPD (photon flux density) of 10% (90% shading); 5 - side and top cover with shade cloth, simulating a more open canopy condition with PPD 65% (35% shading). The growth and development seedling and plant characteristics were evaluated once by month, as also, during time part in the plants the secondary metabolites leaves, soil activity microbiological and the fresh and dry matter root and shoot and, root length from seedlings. For the growth and development of jabuticaba Açú Paulista seedling recommend to use of side cover with shade cloth and top with transparent plastic, representing a gap forest condition. In orchard, for the growth and development of plants jabuticaba Híbrida tree it was recommended the use of side and top cover with shade cloth of some type. For production of secondary metabolites of leaves, the plant must to be full sunlight condition orchard.

Differential Control of Xanthophylls and Light-Induced Stress Proteins, as Opposed to Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Proteins, during Photosynthetic Acclimation of Barley Leaves to Light Irradiance

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants were grown at different photon flux densities ranging from 100 to 1800 μmol m−2 s−1 in air and/or in atmospheres with reduced levels of O2 and CO2. Low O2 and CO2 partial pressures allowed plants to grow under high photosystem II (PSII) excitation pressure, estimated in vivo by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements, at moderate photon flux densities. The xanthophyll-cycle pigments, the early light-inducible proteins, and their mRNA accumulated with increasing PSII excitation pressure irrespective of the way high excitation pressure was obtained (high-light irradiance or decreased CO2 and O2 availability). These findings indicate that the reduction state of electron transport chain components could be involved in light sensing for the regulation of nuclear-encoded chloroplast gene expression. In contrast, no correlation was found between the reduction state of PSII and various indicators of the PSII light-harvesting system, such as the chlorophyll a-to-b ratio, the abundance of the major pigment-protein complex of PSII (LHCII), the mRNA level of LHCII, the light-saturation curve of O2 evolution, and the induced chlorophyll-fluorescence rise. We conclude that the chlorophyll antenna size of PSII is not governed by the redox state of PSII in higher plants and, consequently, regulation of early light-inducible protein synthesis is different from that of LHCII.

Theoretical study of one- and two-photon absorption spectra of azoaromatic compounds

In this study, the one- and two-photon absorption spectra of seven azoaromatic compounds (five pseudostilbenes-type and two aminoazobenzenes) were theoretically investigated using the density functional theory combined with the response functions formalism. The equilibrium molecular structure of each compound was obtained at three different levels of theory: Hartree-Fock, density functional theory (DFT), and Moller-Plesset 2. The effect of solvent on the equilibrium structure and the electronic transitions of the compounds were investigated using the polarizable continuum model. For the one-photon absorption, the allowed pi ->pi(*) transition energy showed to be dependent on the molecular structures and the effect of solvent, while the n ->pi(*) and pi ->pi(*)(n) transition energies exhibited only a slight dependence. An inversion between the bands corresponding to the pi ->pi(*) and n ->pi(*) states due to the effect of solvent was observed for the pseudostilbene-type compounds. To characterize the allowed two-photon absorption transitions for azoaromatic compounds, the response functions formalism combined with DFT using the hybrid B3LYP and PBE0 functionals and the long-range corrected CAM-B3LYP functional was employed. The theoretical results support the previous findings based on the three-state model. The model takes into account the ground and two electronic excited states and has already been used to describe and interpret the two-photon absorption spectrum of azoaromatic compounds. The highest energy two-photon allowed transition for the pseudostilbene-type compounds shows to be more effectively affected (similar to 20%) by the torsion of the molecular structure than the lowest allowed transition (similar to 10%). In order to elucidate the effect of the solvent on the two-photon absorption spectra, the lowest allowed two-photon transition (dipolar transition) for each compound was analyzed using a two-state approximation and the polarizable continuum model. The results obtained reveal that the effect of solvent increases drastically the two-photon cross-section of the dipolar transition of the pseudostilbene-type compounds. In general, the features of both one- and two-photon absorption spectra of the azoaromatic compounds are well reproduced by the theoretical calculations.

FRAX(®) Bone Mineral Density Task Force of the 2010 Joint International Society for Clinical Densitometry International Osteoporosis Foundation Position Development Conference.

FRAX(®) is a fracture risk assessment algorithm developed by the World Health Organization in cooperation with other medical organizations and societies. Using easily available clinical information and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), when available, FRAX(®) is used to predict the 10-year probability of hip fracture and major osteoporotic fracture. These values may be included in country specific guidelines to aid clinicians in determining when fracture risk is sufficiently high that the patient is likely to benefit from pharmacological therapy to reduce that risk. Since the introduction of FRAX(®) into clinical practice, many practical clinical questions have arisen regarding its use. To address such questions, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and International Osteoporosis Foundations (IOF) assigned task forces to review the best available medical evidence and make recommendations for optimal use of FRAX(®) in clinical practice. Questions were identified and divided into three general categories. A task force was assigned to investigating the medical evidence in each category and developing clinically useful recommendations. The BMD Task Force addressed issues that included the potential use of skeletal sites other than the femoral neck, the use of technologies other than DXA, and the deletion or addition of clinical data for FRAX(®) input. The evidence and recommendations were presented to a panel of experts at the ISCD-IOF FRAX(®) Position Development Conference, resulting in the development of ISCD-IOF Official Positions addressing FRAX(®)-related issues.

Official Positions for FRAX® Bone Mineral Density and FRAX® simplification from Joint Official Positions Development Conference of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and International Osteoporosis Foundation on FRAX®.

Tools to predict fracture risk are useful for selecting patients for pharmacological therapy in order to reduce fracture risk and redirect limited healthcare resources to those who are most likely to benefit. FRAX® is a World Health Organization fracture risk assessment algorithm for estimating the 10-year probability of hip fracture and major osteoporotic fracture. Effective application of FRAX® in clinical practice requires a thorough understanding of its limitations as well as its utility. For some patients, FRAX® may underestimate or overestimate fracture risk. In order to address some of the common issues encountered with the use of FRAX® for individual patients, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) assigned task forces to review the medical evidence and make recommendations for optimal use of FRAX® in clinical practice. Among the issues addressed were the use of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements at skeletal sites other than the femoral neck, the use of technologies other than dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, the use of FRAX® without BMD input, the use of FRAX® to monitor treatment, and the addition of the rate of bone loss as a clinical risk factor for FRAX®. The evidence and recommendations were presented to a panel of experts at the Joint ISCD-IOF FRAX® Position Development Conference, resulting in the development of Joint ISCD-IOF Official Positions addressing FRAX®-related issues.

Torque vibration model of axial-flux surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous machine

In order that the radius and thus ununiform structure of the teeth and otherelectrical and magnetic parts of the machine may be taken into consideration the calculation of an axial flux permanent magnet machine is, conventionally, doneby means of 3D FEM-methods. This calculation procedure, however, requires a lotof time and computer recourses. This study proves that also analytical methods can be applied to perform the calculation successfully. The procedure of the analytical calculation can be summarized into following steps: first the magnet is divided into slices, which makes the calculation for each section individually, and then the parts are submitted to calculation of the final results. It is obvious that using this method can save a lot of designing and calculating time. Thecalculation program is designed to model the magnetic and electrical circuits of surface mounted axial flux permanent magnet synchronous machines in such a way, that it takes into account possible magnetic saturation of the iron parts. Theresult of the calculation is the torque of the motor including the vibrations. The motor geometry and the materials and either the torque or pole angle are defined and the motor can be fed with an arbitrary shape and amplitude of three-phase currents. There are no limits for the size and number of the pole pairs nor for many other factors. The calculation steps and the number of different sections of the magnet are selectable, but the calculation time is strongly depending on this. The results are compared to the measurements of real prototypes. The permanent magnet creates part of the flux in the magnetic circuit. The form and amplitude of the flux density in the air-gap depends on the geometry and material of the magnetic circuit, on the length of the air-gap and remanence flux density of the magnet. Slotting is taken into account by using the Carter factor in the slot opening area. The calculation is simple and fast if the shape of the magnetis a square and has no skew in relation to the stator slots. With a more complicated magnet shape the calculation has to be done in several sections. It is clear that according to the increasing number of sections also the result will become more accurate. In a radial flux motor all sections of the magnets create force with a same radius. In the case of an axial flux motor, each radial section creates force with a different radius and the torque is the sum of these. The magnetic circuit of the motor, consisting of the stator iron, rotor iron, air-gap, magnet and the slot, is modelled with a reluctance net, which considers the saturation of the iron. This means, that several iterations, in which the permeability is updated, has to be done in order to get final results. The motor torque is calculated using the instantaneous linkage flux and stator currents. Flux linkage is called the part of the flux that is created by the permanent magnets and the stator currents passing through the coils in stator teeth. The angle between this flux and the phase currents define the torque created by the magnetic circuit. Due to the winding structure of the stator and in order to limit the leakage flux the slot openings of the stator are normally not made of ferromagnetic material even though, in some cases, semimagnetic slot wedges are used. In the slot opening faces the flux enters the iron almost normally (tangentially with respect to the rotor flux) creating tangential forces in the rotor. This phenomenon iscalled cogging. The flux in the slot opening area on the different sides of theopening and in the different slot openings is not equal and so these forces do not compensate each other. In the calculation it is assumed that the flux entering the left side of the opening is the component left from the geometrical centre of the slot. This torque component together with the torque component calculated using the Lorenz force make the total torque of the motor. It is easy to assume that when all the magnet edges, where the derivative component of the magnet flux density is at its highest, enter the slot openings at the same time, this will have as a result a considerable cogging torque. To reduce the cogging torquethe magnet edges can be shaped so that they are not parallel to the stator slots, which is the common way to solve the problem. In doing so, the edge may be spread along the whole slot pitch and thus also the high derivative component willbe spread to occur equally along the rotation. Besides forming the magnets theymay also be placed somewhat asymmetric on the rotor surface. The asymmetric distribution can be made in many different ways. All the magnets may have a different deflection of the symmetrical centre point or they can be for example shiftedin pairs. There are some factors that limit the deflection. The first is that the magnets cannot overlap. The magnet shape and the relative width compared to the pole define the deflection in this case. The other factor is that a shifting of the poles limits the maximum torque of the motor. If the edges of adjacent magnets are very close to each other the leakage flux from one pole to the other increases reducing thus the air-gap magnetization. The asymmetric model needs some assumptions and simplifications in order to limit the size of the model and calculation time. The reluctance net is made for symmetric distribution. If the magnets are distributed asymmetrically the flux in the different pole pairs will not be exactly the same. Therefore, the assumption that the flux flows from the edges of the model to the next pole pairs, in the calculation model from one edgeto the other, is not correct. If it were wished for that this fact should be considered in multi-pole pair machines, this would mean that all the poles, in other words the whole machine, should be modelled in reluctance net. The error resulting from this wrong assumption is, nevertheless, irrelevant.

Design of axial-flux permanent-magnet low-speed machines and performance comparison between radial-flux and axial-flux machines

This thesis presents an alternative approach to the analytical design of surface-mounted axialflux permanent-magnet machines. Emphasis has been placed on the design of axial-flux machines with a one-rotor-two-stators configuration. The design model developed in this study incorporates facilities to include both the electromagnetic design and thermal design of the machine as well as to take into consideration the complexity of the permanent-magnet shapes, which is a typical requirement for the design of high-performance permanent-magnet motors. A prototype machine with rated 5 kW output power at 300 min-1 rotation speed has been designed and constructed for the purposesof ascertaining the results obtained from the analytical design model. A comparative study of low-speed axial-flux and low-speed radial-flux permanent-magnet machines is presented. The comparative study concentrates on 55 kW machines with rotation speeds 150 min-1, 300 min-1 and 600 min-1 and is based on calculated designs. A novel comparison method is introduced. The method takes into account the mechanical constraints of the machine and enables comparison of the designed machines, with respect to the volume, efficiency and cost aspects of each machine. It is shown that an axial-flux permanent-magnet machine with one-rotor-two-stators configuration has generally a weaker efficiency than a radial-flux permanent-magnet machine if for all designs the same electric loading, air-gap flux density and current density have been applied. On the other hand, axial-flux machines are usually smaller in volume, especially when compared to radial-flux machines for which the length ratio (axial length of stator stack vs. air-gap diameter)is below 0.5. The comparison results show also that radial-flux machines with alow number of pole pairs, p < 4, outperform the corresponding axial-flux machines.

Influence of Nb content on the corrosion resistance and saturation magnetic density of FeCuNbSiB alloys

Nanocrystalline FeCuNbSiB alloys obtained from the partial crystallization of amorphous alloys have attracted technological attention due to their excellent magnetic properties, but the relationship between corrosion resistance and magnetic properties is not well established. The influence of Nb as an alloying element and effect of partial crystallization on the corrosion resistance of Fe73.5Si13.5B10Cu1, Fe73.5Si13.5B7Nb3Cu1 and Fe73.5Si13.5B5Nb5Cu1 amorphous alloys were studied and the effect of corrosion on magnetization saturation flux density, B-s, was investigated. The addition of niobium on amorphous alloys increases the corrosion resistance. The raise of Nb content from 3 to 5% increases the corrosion resistance also. A partial crystallization increases the corrosion resistance of the samples with Nb. However, in the samples without Nb, the partial crystallization diminishes the corrosion resistance. The values of B-s depend on the alloy corrosion resistance.) (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Influência de variáveis meteorológicas na produção de liteira na Estação Científica Ferreira Penna, Caxiuanã, Pará

A avaliação da influência da exclusão da precipitação sobre a variação na produção de liteira foi realizada na Reserva Florestal de Caxiuanã – Estação Científica Ferreira Penna (1º 42' S, 51º 31' W) durante o período de março de 2001 a fevereiro de 2003, com o objetivo de identificar as principais variáveis meteorológicas e do balanço hídrico mensal que afetaram a produção e decomposição de liteira. Este trabalho foi parte do subprojeto EXPERIMENTO DE SECA NA FLORESTA (ESECAFLOR), que tinha o objetivo de estudar o impacto de seca prolongada na floresta nos fluxos de água, energia e dióxido de carbono na floresta amazônica. A sazonalidade na produção de liteira e de seus componentes (folhas, gravetos e partes reprodutivas) foi bem estabelecida, com a ocorrência da maior produção de liteira nos meses com menor precipitação. A produção total mensal de liteira variou durante o período experimental, de 294,78 kg.ha-1 a 1758,69 kg.ha-1, com um valor médio de 777,70 kg.ha-1. A produção total de liteira foi distribuída em folhas (61,40 %), gravetos (18,45 %) e partes reprodutivas (20,14 %). Os resultados obtidos na parcela sob condições naturais apresentaram uma maior produção de liteira, aproximadamente 25 %, comparada com a produção de liteira na parcela submetida à exclusão da água de chuva. As variáveis mais fortemente correlacionadas com a produção de liteira e suas componentes foram a velocidade do vento, a densidade de fluxo de radiação solar global, a densidade de fluxo de radiação fotossintéticamente

Seawater carbonate chemistry, growth rate and light sensitivity of marine diatom Chaetoceros muelleri (strain CSIRO CS-176) during experiments, 2011

This study investigated the impact of photon flux and elevated CO2 concentrations on growth and photosynthetic electron transport on the marine diatom Chaetoceros muelleri and looked for evidence for the presence of a CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM). pH drift experiments clearly showed that C. muelleri has the capacity to use bicarbonate to acquire inorganic carbon through one or multiple CCMs. The final pH achieved in unbuffered cultures was not changed by light intensity, even under very low photon flux, implying a low energy demand of bicarbonate use via a CCM. In short-term pH drift experiments, only treatment with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor ethoxyzolamide (EZ) slowed down the rise in pH considerably. EZ was also the only inhibitor that altered the final pH attained, although marginally. In growth experiments, CO2 availability was manipulated by changing the pH in closed flasks at a fixed dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Low-light-treated samples showed lower growth rates in elevated CO2conditions. No CO2 effect was recorded under high light exposure. The maximal photosynthetic capacity, however, increased with CO2 concentration in saturating, but not in subsaturating, light intensities. Growth and photosynthetic capacity therefore responded in opposite ways to increasing CO2 availability. The capacity to photoacclimate to high and low photon flux appeared not to be affected by CO2treatments. However, photoacclimation was restricted to growth photon fluxes between 30 and 300 µmol photons m-2 s-1. The light saturation points for photosynthetic electron transport and for growth coincided at 100 µmol photons m-2 s-1. Below 100 µmol photons m-2 s-1 the light saturation point for photosynthesis was higher than the growth photon flux (i.e. photosynthesis was not light saturated under growth conditions), whereas at higher growth photon flux, photosynthesis was saturated below growth light levels.

Hybrid thermionic-photovoltaic converter

A conceptual device for the direct conversion of heat into electricity is presented. This concept hybridizes thermionic (TI) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion in a single thermionic-photovoltaic (TIPV) solid-state device. This device transforms into electricity both the electron and photon fluxes emitted by an incandescent surface. This letter presents an idealized analysis of this device in order to determine its theoretical potential. According to this analysis, the key advantage of this converter, with respect to either TPV or TI, is the higher power density in an extended temperature range. For low temperatures, TIPV performs like TPV due to the negligible electron flux. On the contrary, for high temperatures, TIPV performs like TI due to the great enhancement of the electron flux, which overshadows the photon flux contribution. At the intermediate temperatures, 1650K in the case of this particular study, I show that the power density potential of TIPV converter is twice as great as that of TPV and TI. The greatest impact concerns applications in which the temperature varies in a relatively wide range, for which averaged power density enhancement above 500% is attainable. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.