Remaining phosphorus and sodium fluoride pH in soils with different clay contents and clay mineralogies

The remaining phosphorus (Prem) has been used for estimating the phosphorus buffer capacity (PBC) of soils of some Brazilian regions. Furthermore, the remaining phosphorus can also be used for estimating P, S and Zn soil critical levels determined with PBC-sensible extractants and for defining P and S levels to be used not only in P and S adsorption studies but also for the establishment of P and S response curves. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil clay content and clay mineralogy on Prem and its relationship with pH values measured in saturated NaF solution (pH NaF). Ammonium-oxalate-extractable aluminum exerts the major impacts on both Prem and pH NaF, which, in turn, are less dependent on soil clay content. Although Prem and pH NaF have consistent correlation, the former has a soil-PBC discriminatory capacity much greater than pH NaF.

Evolució dels nitrats analitzats a l'aigua de 87 fonts situades en 28 municipis de la comarca d'Osona

La comarca d’Osona ha disposat sempre d’aigua abundant i de bona qualitat, però en els darrers anys s’ha observat un increment del contingut de nitrats a les aigües subterrànies. Des de 1988 i fins a l’actualitat es mostreja puntualment l’aigua d’algunes fonts i se n’analitzen els nitrats. En aquest estudi s’analitza l’evolució del contingut de nitrats i com ha afectat a la mineralització de l’aigua d’aquestes fonts i en quin estat es troben actualment. La legislació actual (RD 140/2003) considera que valors de nitrats a l’aigua de consum superiors a 50 mg/l poden provocar problemes de salut pública.

Anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex versus streptokinase in acute myocardial infarction. Preliminary results of a randomised study.

25 patients with acute myocardial infarction pain lasting more than 20 minutes which was not relieved by nitrates, whose ECGs showed ST segment elevations of 1 mm or more in 2 or more ECG leads, and who presented less than 3 hours after onset of their symptoms were randomly assigned to one of 2 thrombolytic treatment groups: a single intravenous bolus of anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC) 30U in 5 minutes or an intravenous infusion of streptokinase 1,500,000U over 60 minutes. 3 to 4 hours after the administration of the thrombolytic agent, all patients received intravenous heparin at full dosage for 24 hours. The patency of the infarct-related coronary vessels was assessed by angiography 1 to 4 hours after administration of the thrombolytic agent. Clinical signs, ECGs, pulse, blood pressure and temperature were monitored regularly for 24 hours after treatment or as clinically appropriate. APSAC seemed to be at least as effective as streptokinase in terms of patency of the infarct-related vessel (92% vs 63%, respectively). The adverse events were similar and none was life-threatening. APSAC and streptokinase caused similar falls in blood fibrinogen levels. APSAC, given as a bolus injection over 5 minutes, was easier to administer than streptokinase, which was given as an infusion during 60 minutes.

Estudi de la contaminació per nitrats a les aigües subterrànies de Catalunya: l'Alt Penedès, el Baix Camp, el Baix Empordà, el Baix Penedès, la Garrotxa, el Maresme, Osona, el Pla de l'Estany, la Segarra, el Segrià, el Tarragonès i l'Urgell

La contaminació per nitrats de les aigües subterrànies és un dels problemes mediambientals i de salut pública que més afecten els nostres aqüífers. És per això que un dels eixos del nostre estudi és fer la màxima difusió de l’estat de la qualitat de l’aigua dels aqüífers de diferents àrees de Catalunya. En el present estudi es tracta la contaminació per nitrats a les aigües de 945 punts de mostreig (sobretot d’aigua procedent de pous, d’algunes mines i d’algunes fonts) de Catalunya, situats en 12 comarques diferents, totes elles amb algun o una gran part dels seus municipis englobats en una zona vulnerable. D’aquests punts de mostreig s’ha fet un recull de dades de la concentració de nitrats des de l’any 2003 fins el 2012 per tal d’estudiar-ne l’evolució i la incidència de la pluviometria, així com conèixer en quines comarques les variables externes: superfície agrària útil (SAU), explotacions agràries i cabana porcina i bovina poden haver incidit directament en la contaminació. També s’estudia fins a quin punt, aquest deteriorament, ha afectat la mineralització de l’aigua o afecta a llocs d’aigües més mineralitzades. A partir dels resultats obtinguts s’ha arribat a les conclusions que la concentració mitjana de nitrats a les aigües subterrànies en la majoria de comarques estudiades és elevada, superior als 50 mg/l que estableix la normativa vigent; que ha tendit a l’estabilitat en els últims deu anys; que afecta llocs d’aigües molt mineralitzades i que la pluviometria incideix notablement en la concentració de nitrats. S’ha observat que les variables externes superfície agrària útil (SAU), explotacions agràries i cabana porcina i bovina incideixen directament en la contaminació, excepte al Maresme. Finalment es presenten diferents usos alternatius als de l’aigua de consum per aquestes aigües contaminades amb nitrats i que han posat en pràctica diferents municipis de les comarques estudiades.

Phosphate solubilization and synergism between P-solubilizing and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

The objective of this work was to evaluate the ability of several P-solubilizing fungi to solubilize aluminum phosphate and Araxá apatite as well as the synergism between the P-solubilizing fungus, PSF 7, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to promote clover growth amended with aluminum phosphate. Two experiments were carried out, the first under laboratory conditions and the second in a controlled environmental chamber. In the first experiment, PSF 7, PSF 9, PSF 21 and PSF 22 isolates plus control were incubated in liquid medium at 28ºC for eight days. On the 2nd, 4th and 8th day of incubation, pH and soluble P were determined. In the second experiment, clover was sowed in plastic pots containing 300 g of sterilized substrate amended with aluminum phosphate, 3 g L-1, in presence and absence of PSF 7 isolate and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. A completely randomized design, in factorial outline 2x2 (presence and absence of PSF 7 and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) and five replicates were used. In the first experiment, higher P content was detected in the medium containing aluminum phosphate. PSF 7 is the best fungi isolate which increases aluminum solubilization with major tolerance to Al3+. Clover growth was stimulated by presence of PSF 7 and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. There is synergism between microorganisms utilized to improve plant nutrition.

High-throughput and sensitive quantitation of plasma catecholamines by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using a solid phase microwell extraction plate.

Plasma catecholamines provide a reliable biomarker of sympathetic activity. The low circulating concentrations of catecholamines and analytical interferences require tedious sample preparation and long chromatographic runs to ensure their accurate quantification by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Published or commercially available methods relying on solid phase extraction technology lack sensitivity or require derivatization of catecholamine by hazardous reagents prior to tandem mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Here, we manufactured a novel 96-well microplate device specifically designed to extract plasma catecholamines prior to their quantification by a new and highly sensitive ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method. Processing time, which included sample purification on activated aluminum oxide and elution, is less than 1 h per 96-well microplate. The UPLC-MS/MS analysis run time is 2.0 min per sample. This UPLC-MS/MS method does not require a derivatization step, reduces the turnaround time by 10-fold compared to conventional methods used for routine application, and allows catecholamine quantification in reduced plasma sample volumes (50-250 μL, e.g., from children and mice).

Performance of Poly-Carb, Inc. Flexogrid Bridge Overlay System, MLR-86-04, 2001

Intrusion of deicing materials and surface water into concrete bridge decks is a main contributor in deck reinforcing steel corrosion and concrete delamination. Salt, spread on bridge decks to melt ice, dissolves in water and permeates voids in the concrete deck. When the chloride content of the concrete in contact with reinforcing steel reaches a high enough concentration, the steel oxidizes. In Iowa, the method used to reduce bridge deck chloride penetration is the application of a low slump dense concrete overlay after the completion of all Class A and Class B floor repairs. A possible alternative to the use of dense concrete overlays, developed by Poly-Carb, Inc., is the MARK-163 FLEXOGRID Overlay System. FLEXOGRID is a two component system of epoxy and urethane which is applied on a bridge deck to a minimum thickness of ¼ inch. An aggregate mixture of silica quartz and aluminum oxide is broadcast onto the epoxy at a prescribed rate to provide deck protection and superior friction properties. The material is mixed on site and applied to the deck in a series of lifts (usually two) until the desired overlay thickness has been attained.

Functional expression of PHO1 to the Golgi and trans-Golgi network and its role in export of inorganic phosphate.

Arabidopsis thaliana PHO1 is primarily expressed in the root vascular cylinder and is involved in the transfer of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from roots to shoots. To analyze the role of PHO1 in transport of Pi, we have generated transgenic plants expressing PHO1 in ectopic A. thaliana tissues using an estradiol-inducible promoter. Leaves treated with estradiol showed strong PHO1 expression, leading to detectable accumulation of PHO1 protein. Estradiol-mediated induction of PHO1 in leaves from soil-grown plants, in leaves and roots of plants grown in liquid culture, or in leaf mesophyll protoplasts, was all accompanied by the specific release of Pi to the extracellular medium as early as 2-3 h after addition of estradiol. Net Pi export triggered by PHO1 induction was enhanced by high extracellular Pi and weakly inhibited by the proton-ionophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. Expression of a PHO1-GFP construct complementing the pho1 mutant revealed GFP expression in punctate structures in the pericycle cells but no fluorescence at the plasma membrane. When expressed in onion epidermal cells or in tobacco mesophyll cells, PHO1-GFP was associated with similar punctate structures that co-localized with the Golgi/trans-Golgi network and uncharacterized vesicles. However, PHO1-GFP could be partially relocated to the plasma membrane in leaves infiltrated with a high-phosphate solution. Together, these results show that PHO1 can trigger Pi export in ectopic plant cells, strongly indicating that PHO1 is itself a Pi exporter. Interestingly, PHO1-mediated Pi export was associated with its localization to the Golgi and trans-Golgi networks, revealing a role for these organelles in Pi transport.

Maintenance and Design of Steel Abutment Piles in Iowa Bridges, TR-622, 2014

Soil consolidation and erosion caused by roadway runoff have exposed the upper portions of steel piles at the abutments of numerous bridges, leaving them susceptible to accelerated corrosion rates due to the abundance of moisture, oxygen, and chlorides at these locations. This problem is compounded by the relative inaccessibility of abutment piles for close-up inspection and repair. The objective of this study was to provide bridge owners with recommendations for effective methods of addressing corrosion of steel abutment piles in existing and future bridges A review of available literature on the performance and protection of steel piles exposed to a variety of environments was performed. Eight potential coating systems for use in protecting existing and/or new piles were selected and subjected to accelerated corrosion conditions in the laboratory. Two surface preparation methods were evaluated in the field and three coating systems were installed on three piles at an existing bridge where abutment piles had been exposed by erosion. In addition, a passive cathodic protection (CP) system using sacrificial zinc anodes was tested in the laboratory. Several trial flowable mortar mixes were evaluated for use in conjunction with the CP system. For existing abutment piles, application of a protective coating system is a promising method of mitigating corrosion. Based on its excellent performance in accelerated corrosion conditions in the laboratory on steel test specimens with SSPC-SP3, -SP6, and -SP10 surface preparations, glass flake polyester is recommended for use on existing piles. An alternative is epoxy over organic zinc rich primer. Surface preparation of existing piles should include abrasive blast cleaning to SSPC-SP6. Although additional field testing is needed, based on the results of the laboratory testing, a passive CP system could provide an effective means of protecting piles in existing bridges when combined with a pumped mortar used to fill voids between the abutment footing and soil. The addition of a corrosion inhibitor to the mortar appears to be beneficial. For new construction, shop application of thermally sprayed aluminum or glass flake polyester to the upper portion of the piles is recommended.

Ideal culture conditions for Dicyma pulvinata conidia mass production

The objective of this work was to set up ideal conditions for conidia mass production of Dicyma pulvinata. Four isolates were compared in terms of their growth and conidia production on various substrates (grains of parboiled rice, common rice, maize and wheat, besides chipped maize and rice husk), temperatures (19, 22, 25, 28 and 31ºC), growth containers (aluminum trays, polypropylene bags and Erlenmeyers) and light regimes (continuous darkness, 6 and 12 hours of light/darkness, and continuous light). Temperature effects on conidia germination capacity were also evaluated. The experiments were done in randomized complete block designs, in factorial arrangements (isolates x treatments - substrates, containers, temperatures and light regimes), with four replicates. In general, parboiled rice and polypropylene bags provided the best development of the fungus. Complete darkness and 6 hours of light increased mycelial growth, whereas continuous light favored sporulation. All tested temperatures favored the cultures of the fungus, except 31ºC. Temperatures between 19 and 25ºC ensure spore germination of more than 76%.

1109-003 Coe Creek Watershed Final Report

The city of Elliott has had an increase in nitrate levels in their community water supply located in the Coe Creek Watershed. They have been working with the IDNR Source Water Protection (SWP) Programs to conduct site investigations and have formed a SWP Planning Team. This Team has been reviewing the investigation findings, formed an action plan and studied different Best Management Practices (BMPs). After considering the BMPs the SWP Team made a recommendation to the Elliott City Council which included native grass seeding and a shallow water wetland. The Team also held an informational meeting for the citizens of Elliott. The goal of this meeting was to inform and educate the public of the Team findings and BMPs. The Elliott City Council approved the restoration of a shallow wetland with a native grass buffer. This whole project is 27 acres and includes a shallow water wetland with native grass buffer. This would be a long term method to reduce nitrates in the city wells. Elliott is partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District, Pheasants Forever, the Montgomery County Conservation Board, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in the restoration of the shallow water wetland and native grass buffer.

08025-015 Remsen Source Water Protection Final Report

The City of Remsen is proactively addressing an increase of nitrates in their public water supply before it becomes a financial catastrophe for them. An intensive assessment was conducted by the Iowa DNR Source Water Protection program as one of four pilot projects in the state. This assessment far surpassed standard desktop assessments and gathered monitoring information in-the-field led by a local watershed group. This was incorporated into a computer modeling program to help the local watershed group discuss alternatives. This comprehensive approach clearly identified the source of nitrate infiltration as a cropland area adjacent to the City well field. Many options were evaluated but only one option provided an economical, viable and secure answer to the water supply needs of Remsen for generations to come. The watershed planning group chose to seek the purchase of this critical area of cropland and convert it to a deep rooted mixture of native grasses. This WIRB funding is intended to be used to acquire a small area totaling 21.1 acres. It represents about 22% of the total local project effort. This will be added to the existing City well field of 40.2 acres and another piece of adjacent property, 35.34 acres, that the City recently acquired as part of an overall aggressive program to protect the community water supply. The City has a signed purchase agreement for 14.4 acres of the 21.1 and a strong verbal commitment to obtain the remaining 5.7 acres. This project has been very active for almost 2 years and is ready to implement immediately upon funding notification. The establishment of native grasses, funded by the local chapter of Pheasants Forever, will take approximately the next three years of operation & maintenance.

A Different Perspective for Investigation of PCC Pavement Deterioration, HR-2074, Interim Report, 1996

Many early Iowa Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements provided good performance without deterioration for more than 50 years. In the late 1950's, Iowa was faced with severe PCC pavement deterioration called D cracking due to crushed limestone containing a bad pore system. Selective quarrying solved the problem. In 1990, cracking deterioration was identified on a three year old US 20 pavement in central Iowa. The coarse aggregate was a crushed limestone with an excellent history of performance in PCC pavement. Examination of cores showed very few cracks through the coarse aggregate particles. The cracks were predominately confined to the matrix. A high resolution, low vacuum Hitachi Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersion detector was used to investigate the deterioration. Subsequent evaluation identified very little concentration of silica gel (silicon-Si), but did identify substantial amounts of sulfur-s and aluminum-Al (assumed to be ettringite) in the air voids. Some of these voids have cracks radiating from them leading us to conclude that the ettringite filled voids were a center of pressure causing the crack. The ettringite in the voids, after being subjected to sodium chloride (NaCl) brine, initially swells and then dissolves. The research has led to the conclusion that the premature deterioration may be due to ettringite and may have been mistakenly identified as Alkali-Silica reactivity (ASR).

Mineral zoning and geochemistry of epithermal polymetallic Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu-Bi mineralization at Cerro de Pasco, Peru

The large Cerro de Pasco Cordilleran base metal deposit in central Peru is located on the eastern margin of a middle Miocene diatreme-dome complex and comprises two mineralization stages. The first stage consists of a large pyrite-quartz body replacing Lower Mesozoic Pucara carbonate rocks and, to a lesser extent, diatreme breccia. This body is composed of pyrite with pyrrhotite inclusions, quartz, and black and red chalcedony (containing hypogene hematite). At the contact with the pyrite-quartz body, the diatreme breccia is altered to pyrite-quartz-sericite-pyrite. This body was, in part, replaced by pipelike pyrrhotite bodies zoned outward to carbonate-replacement Zn-Pb ores hearing Fe-rich sphalerite (up to 24 mol % Fes). The second mineralization stage is partly superimposed on the first and consists of zoned east-west-trending Cu-Ag-(Au-Zn-Pb) enargite-pyrite veins hosted in the diatreme breccia in the western part of the deposit and well-zoned Zn-Pb-(Bi-Ag-Cu) carbonate-replacement orebodies; in both cases, sphalerite is Fe poor and the inner parts of the orebodies show typically advanced argillic alteration assemblages, including aluminum phosphate Sulfate (APS) minerals. The zoned enargite-pyrite veins display mineral zoning, from a core of enargite-pyrite +/- alunite with traces of Au, through an intermediate zone of tennantite, chalcopyrite, and Bi minerals to a poorly developed Outer zone hearing sphalerite-galena +/- kaolinite. The carbonate-hosted replacement ores are controlled along N 35 degrees E, N 90 degrees E, N 120 degrees E, and N 170 degrees E faults. They form well-zoned upward-flaring pipelike orebodies with a core of famatinite-pyrite and alunite, an intermediate zone with tetrahedrite-pyrite, chalcopyrite, matildite, cuprobismutite, emplectite, and other Bi minerals accompanied by APS minerals, kaolinite, and dickite, and an outer zone composed of Fe-poor sphalerite (in the range of 0.05-3.5 mol % Fes) and galena. The outermost zone consists of hematite, magnetite, and Fe-Mn-Zn-Ca-Mg carbonates. Most of the second-stage carbonate-replacement orebodies plunge between 25 degrees and 60 degrees to the west, suggesting that the hydrothermal fluids ascended from deeper levels and that no lateral feeding from the veins to the carbonate-replacement orebodies took place. In the Venencocha and Santa Rosa areas, located 2.5 km northwest of the Cerro de Pasco open pit and in the southern part of the deposit, respectively, advanced argillic altered dacitic domes and oxidized veins with advanced argillic alteration halos occur. The latter veins are possibly the oxidized equivalent of the second-stage enargite-pyrite veins located in the western part of the deposit. The alteration assemblage quartz-muscovite-pyrite associated with the pyrite-quartz body suggests that the first stage precipitated at slightly, acidic fin. The sulfide mineral assemblages define an evolutionary path close to the pyrite-pyrrhotite boundary and are characteristic of low-sulfidation states; they suggest that the oxidizing slightly acidic hydrothermal fluid was buffered by phyllite, shale, and carbonate host rock. However, the presence in the pyrite-quartz body of hematite within quartz suggests that, locally, the fluids were less buffered by the host rock. The mineral assemblages of the second mineralization stage are characteristic of high- to intermediate-sulfidation states. High-sulfidation states and oxidizing conditions were achieved and maintained in the cores of the second-stage orebodies, even in those replacing carbonate rocks. The observation that, in places, second-stage mineral assemblages are found in the inner and outer zones is explained in terms of the hydrothermal fluid advancing and waning. Microthermometric data from fluid inclusions in quartz indicate that the different ores of the first mineralization stage formed at similar temperatures and moderate salinities (200 degrees-275 degrees C and 0.2-6.8 wt % NaCl equiv in the pyrite-quartz body; 192 degrees-250 degrees C and 1.1-4.3 wt % NaCl equiv in the pyrrhotite bodies; and 183 degrees-212 degrees C and 3.2-4.0 wt % NaCl equiv in the Zn-Pb ores). These values are similar to those obtained for fluid inclusions in quartz and sphalerite from the second-stage ores (187 degrees-293 degrees C and 0.2-5.2 wt % NaCl equiv in the enargite-pyrite veins: 178 degrees-265 degrees C and 0.2-7.5 wt % NaCl equiv in quartz of carbonate-replacement orebodies; 168 degrees-999 degrees C and 3-11.8 wt % NaCl equiv in sphalerite of carbonate-replacement orebodies; and 245 degrees-261 degrees C and 3.2-7.7 wt % NaCl equiv in quartz from Venencocha). Oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions oil kaolinite from carbonate-replacement orebodies (delta(18)O = 5.3-11.5%o, delta D = -82 to -114%o) and on alunite from the Venencocha and Santa Rosa areas (delta(18)O = 1.9-6.9%o, delta D = -56 to -73%o). Oxygen isotope compositions of quartz from the first and second stages have 6180 values from 9.1 to 1.7.8 per mil. Calculated fluids in equilibrium with kaolinite have delta(18)O values of 2.0 to 8.2 and delta D values of -69 to -97 per mil; values in equilibrium with alunite are -1.4 to -6.4 and -62 to -79 per mil. Sulfur isotope compositions of sulfides from both stages have a narrow range of delta(34)S values, between -3.7 and +4.2 per mil; values for sulfates from the second stage are between 4.2 and 31.2 per mil. These results define two mixing trends for the ore-forming fluids. The first trend reflects mixing between a moderately saline (similar to 10 wt % NaCl equiv) magmatic end member that had degassed (as indicated by the low delta D values) and meteoric water. The second mixing indicates condensation of magmatic vapor with HCl and SO(2) into meteoric water, which formed alunite. The hydrothermal system at Cerro de Pasco was emplaced at a shallow depth (similar to 500 m) in the epithermal and upper part of a porphyry environment. The similar temperatures and salinities obtained for the first stage and second stages, together with the stable isotope data, indicate that both stages are linked and represent successive stages of epithermal polymetallic mineralization in the upper part of a porphyry system.

Effect of Tocopherol Extract, Staphylococcus carnosus Culture, and Celery Concentrate Addition on Quality Parameters of Organic and Conventional Dry-Cured Sausages

The effects of the addition to sausage mix of tocopherols (200 mg/kg), a conventional starter culture with or without Staphylococcus carnosus, celery concentrate (CP) (0.23% and 0.46%), and two doses of nitrate (70 and 140 mg/kg expressed as NaNO(3)) on residual nitrate and nitrite amounts, instrumental CIE Lab color, tocol content, oxidative stability, and overall acceptability were studied in fermented dry-cured sausages after ripening and after storage. Nitrate doses were provided by nitrate-rich CP or a chemical grade source. The lower dose complies with the EU requirements governing the maximum for ingoing amounts in organic meat products. Tocopherol addition protected against oxidation, whereas the nitrate dose, nitrate source, or starter culture had little influence on secondary oxidation values. The residual nitrate and nitrite amounts found in the sausages with the lower nitrate dose were within EU-permitted limits for organic meat products and residual nitrate can be further reduced by the presence of the S. carnosus culture. Color measurements were not affected by the CP dose. Product consumer acceptability was not affected negatively by any of the factors studied. As the two nitrate sources behaved similarly for the parameters studied, CP is a useful alternative to chemical ingredients for organic dry-cured sausage production.