Observations on the mating behavior, spawn mass and larval development of Hydatina physis Linne, 1758 (Cephalaspidea: Hydatinidae) from Karachi

Reproduction of Hydatina physis was studied in a population from Karachi, Pakistan, including mating and egg laying behavior, spawn characteristics and development.Individuals first appear in the field in October and remain until March. The spawning occurs from mid-November till mid-February with a peak in December. During this period the individuals were also observed pairing. In captivity, mating lasts for 30 minutes, second mating occurs two days later. Oviposition occurs in a very interesting and unusual manner. The mother turns "up-side-down" with its food fully expanded and the shell completely hidden underneath, the expanded foot serves as protective cover to the eggs. Eggs are deposited in a complexly folded mass with a short stem and an adhesive disc. Capsules, arranged in a single layer, contain 4-6 eggs each of wich is 70 um in diameter. Development is planktotrophic and veligers hatch after 14 days at a temperature of 26-28 degrees Celsius.

Post-larval production of Macrobrachium rosenbergii using mass-cultured live food organisms

Macrobrachium rosenbergii post-larvae were produced in 1992 and 1993 using Artemia nauplii and cultured zooplankton Brachionus plicatilis (rotifier), Apocyclops dengizicus (copepod) and Moina sp. (cladoceran) supplemented with chopped Tubifex worms. In 1992 (first trial) two experiments were carried out under water temperature range of 24.5 to 28°C and 26.0 to 28.5 °C respectively and corresponding post-larval production was 5.6% and 86.3%. The duration of experiments was 58 and 40 days. During second trial in 1993 water temperature varied between 25.0 to 27.0°C. At the end of 59 days the post-larvae were found to be 44% of the total number of larvae stocked on the first day.

Mass rearing of Aphidius gifuensis (Hymenoptera : Aphidiidae) for biological control of Myzus persicae (Homoptera : Aphididae)

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, is a major pest of tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum, in Yunnan province, China, where its control still depends on the use of insecticides. In recent years, the local government and farmers have sought to improve the biological control of this tobacco pest. In this paper, we present methods for mass rearing Aphidius gifuensis, a dominant endoparasitoid of M. persicae on tobacco plants in this region. The tobacco cultivar K326 (N. tabacum) was used as the host plant and M. persicae as the host insect. In the greenhouse, we collected tobacco seedlings for about 35 days (i.e., until the six-true-leaf stage), transferred them to 7.5-cm diameter pots, and kept these plants in the greenhouse for another 18 days. These pots were then transferred to an insectary-greenhouse, where the tobacco seedlings were inoculated with five to seven wingless adult M. persicae per pot. After 3 days, the infested seedlings were moved to a second greenhouse to allow the aphid population to increase, and after an additional 4 +/- 1 days when 182 +/- 4.25 aphid adults and nymphs were produced per pot, they were inoculated with A. gifuensis. With this rearing system, we were able to produce 256 +/- 8.8 aphid mummies per pot, with an emergence rate of 95.6 +/- 2.45%; 69% were females. The daily cost of parasite production (recurring costs only) was US$ 0.06 per 1000 aphid mummies. With this technique, we released 109 800 parasitoids in 1998, 196 000 in 1999, 780 000 in 2000, and 5 600 000 in 2001 during a 2-month period each year This production method is discussed with respect to countrywide usage in biological control and integrated control of M. persicae.

Gal(1-x)Mn(1-x)Sb grown on GaSb with mass-analyzed low-energy dual ion beam deposition

The Ga1-xMnxSb samples were fabricated by the implantation of Mn ions into GaSb (1 0 0) substrate with mass-analyzed low-energy dual ion beam deposition system, and post-annealing. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile of the Ga1-xMnxSb samples showed that the Mn ions were successfully implanted into GaSb substrate. Clear double-crystal X-ray diffraction patterns of the Ga1-xMnxSb samples indicate that the Ga1-xMnxSb epilayers have the zinc-blende structure without detectable second phase. Magnetic hysteresis-loop of the Ga1-xMnxSb epilayers were obtained at room temperature (293 K) with alternating gradient magnetometry. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Penning trap mass measurements on nobelium isotopes

The Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP at GSI Darmstadt allows accurate mass measurements of radionuclides, produced in fusion-evaporation reactions and separated by the velocity filter SHIP from the primary beam. Recently, the masses of the three nobelium isotopes No252-254 were determined. These are the first direct mass measurements of transuranium elements, which provide new anchor points in this region. The heavy nuclides were produced in cold-fusion reactions by irradiating a PbS target with a Ca-48 beam, resulting in production rates of the nuclei of interest of about one atom per second. In combination with data from decay spectroscopy our results are used to perform a new atomic-mass evaluation in this region.

A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOURCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO INHALABLE PARTICULATE MATTER POLLUTION IN METROPOLITAN BOSTON

In this paper, source apportionment techniques are employed to identify and quantify the major particle pollution source classes affecting a monitoring site in metropolitan Boston, MA. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of paniculate elemental data allows the estimation of mass contributions for five fine mass panicle source classes (soil, motor vehicle, coal related, oil and salt aerosols), and six coarse panicle source classes (soil, motor vehicle, refuse incineration, residual oil, salt and sulfate aerosols). Also derived are the elemental characteristics of those source aerosols and their contributions to the total recorded elemental concentrations (i.e. an elemental mass balance). These are estimated by applying a new approach to apportioning mass among various PCA source components: the calculation of Absolute Principal Component Scores, and the subsequent regression of daily mass and elemental concentrations on these scores.

Preparation and mass spectrometric study of egg yolk antibody (IgY) against rabies virus

Rabies virus was used as the antigen to immunize laying chickens. Anti-rabies virus immunoglobulin Y(IgY) was isolated from yolks of the eggs laid by these chickens using a two-step salt precipitation and one-step gel filtration protocol. The purified IgY was reduced with dithiothreitol, and heavy chains (HC) and light chains (LC) were obtained. In addition, the purified IgY was digested with pepsin and the fragment with specific antigen binding properties (Fab) was produced. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), the average molecular weights of IgY, HC, LC, and Fab were determined as 167 250, 65 105, 18 660, and 45,359 Da, respectively. IgY has two structural differences compared with mammalian IgGs. First, the molecular weight of the heavy chain of IgY is larger than that of its mammalian counterpart, while the molecular weight of the light chain of IgY is smaller. Second, upon pepsin digestion, anti-rabies virus IgY is degraded into Feb, in contrast to mammalian IgG, which has been reported to be degraded into F(ab')(2) under the same conditions. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mass spectrometric studies of metallofullerene

The endrohel metallofullerene, Gd@C-82, Gd@C-80, Gd-2@C-80 were synthesized by using K-H method. The technique of two-step of high pressure and high temperature extraction with 1, 3, 5-trimethylbenzene (first step) and pyridine(second step) has been successfully utilized to extract metallofullerene of Gd@C-82 The gas-phase negative ions of fullerenes C-n(n= 60, 70, 78, 82, 84...) and metallofullerene (Gd@C-82) have been studied by the ESI-MS, REC-MS and MALDI-TOF-MS. The differences among the mass spectra of ESI-MS, REC-MS and MALDI-TOF-MS have been observed and explained. In contrast to the empty fullerene C-82 , the metallofullerene Gd@C-82 should have a larger HOMO-LUMO gap. Experimental results suggest that Gd@C-82 is polarized and Gd3+ located in the off-center position of C-82 cage after Gd3+ is trapped into C-82 cage.

Tank cultivation of the red alga Palmaria palmata: Year-round induction of tetrasporangia, tetraspore release in darkness and mass cultivation of vegetative thalli

Field-collected tetrasporophytes of Palmaria palmata were tumbled in 300-L outdoor tanks from January to August at ambient daylength or in a constant short-day (SD) regime (8 h light per day), both at 10 or 15 degrees C. Tetrasporangia were massively induced after 2.5 months under SD conditions at 10 degrees C and completely lacking at 15 degrees C, both under SD or ambient daylength conditions, with a few tetrasporangia present at 10 degrees C and ambient daylength. Elongation rates of tagged tetrasporophytic thalli peaked from March to April in all four conditions, when the biomass densities in the outdoor tanks were close to 2.5 kg fresh weight m(-2). Under all four conditions, juvenile proliferations started to appear in June from the margins of the old fronds, and attained approximately 1 cm in length by the end of July. Approximately 80% of the tetraspores were released during the first three dark phases in a light/dark regime, and the remaining 20% during the light phases. A minimum of 10 min darkness was observed to trigger spore release. White light inhibited tetraspore release, while a similar number of spores were released in continuous red light or in the light/dark regime, although with no significant differences of spore release during subjective days and nights. Sporelings were successfully derived from the released tetraspores for mass propagation of the male gametophyte in 2000-L outdoor tanks in a greenhouse. Mass production of male gametophytic sporelings of P. palmata was completed two times by SD induction of tetrasporangia at 10 degrees C, release of spores in darkness and culturing the sporelings until they were ready to be propagated vegetatively in greenhouse tanks. One experiment lasted from January to October 2001, with spore release in June, and the second from September to April 2003, with spore release in January. These results may support the development of sustainable, year-round Palmaria farming. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aqueous solutions of HEC and hmHEC: effects of molecular mass versus hydrophobic associations on hydrodynamic and thermodynamic parameters.

Aqueous solutions of amphiphilic polymers usually comprise of inter- and intramolecular associations of hydrophobic groups often leading to a formation of a rheologically significant reversible network at low concentrations that can be identified using techniques such as static light scattering and rheometry. However, in most studies published till date comparing water soluble polymers with their respective amphiphilic derivatives, it has been very difficult to distinguish between the effects of molecular mass versus hydrophobic associations on hydrodynamic (intrinsic viscosity [g]) and thermodynamic parameters (second virial coefficient A2), owing to the differences between their degrees of polymerization. This study focuses on the dilute and semi-dilute solutions of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and its amphiphilic derivatives (hmHEC) of the same molecular mass, along with other samples having a different molecular mass using capillary viscometry, rheometry and static light scattering. The weight average molecular masses (MW) and their distributions for the nonassociative HEC were determined using size exclusion chromatography. Various empirical approaches developed by past authors to determine [g] from dilute solution viscometry data have been discussed. hmHEC with a sufficiently high degree of hydrophobic modification was found to be forming a rheologically significant network in dilute solutions at very low concentrations as opposed to the hmHEC with a much lower degree of hydrophobic modification which also enveloped the hydrophobic groups inside the supramolecular cluster as shown by their [g] and A2. The ratio A2MW/[g], which takes into account hydrodynamic as well as thermodynamic parameters, was observed to be less for associative polymers compared to that of the non-associative polymers.

An Address delivered in the Mercer Street Church at the funeral of the Hon. Benjamin Franklin Butler

Address

A Second Easter: A Celebration of Presence

sermon text; MS Word document

Catholic grievances in relation to the administration of Indian affairs : being a report presented to the Catholic Young Men's National Union, at its eighth annual convention, held in Boston, Massachusetts, May 10th and 11th, 1882

http://www.archive.org/details/catholicgrieva00mealrich

A Catechumenate for the Korean Methodist Church: Ressourcement, Formation and a Response to Secularism and Korean Traditional Religions

Research by Korean sociologists of religion indicates that Korean Protestantism has lost much of the spiritual vitality of preceding generations and that it increasingly shows the influences of Korean shamanism, Neo-Confucianism, and Western secularism and consumerism. Suggestions in the areas of homiletics and Christian social ethics have been offered to help steer the Korean Protestant churches away from these worldviews toward a more biblically-based course. Drawing upon and expanding these earlier studies and proposals, the current work recommends another method for developing a biblically-based, spiritually-revitalized, baptismally-shaped and ministry-committed Protestantism in Korea: a pre-baptismal adult catechumenate, in this case one designed for the context of the Korean Methodist Church. In order to produce a renewed catechumenal structure for Korean Methodism, adult catechumenal processes as well as baptismal theologies and rites are examined and analyzed from three principal sources: the first five centuries of the Christian church, and especially the mystagogical literature of the fourth century; the Roman Catholic Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults developed after the Second Vatican Council; and the United Methodist Church in the United States, both texts officially authorized by the denomination's General Conference and unofficial materials, among them resources for an adult catechumenate in the Come to the Waters series. In addition, previous and current practices of preparation for baptism in the Korean Methodist Church are identified and critiqued. From these findings a set of principles is put forward that guide the proposed catechumenal structure.

Narratives of Holiness Identity: The "Sanctified Person" in the Church of the Nazarene

This dissertation is an exercise in practical theology, which investigates and responds to the problem of changing holiness identity in the Church of the Nazarene. The first part of the study is an empirical investigation into the social context of contemporary Nazarene holiness identity and practices among Nazarenes in three congregations located in the Northeast United States. Previous research relied too heavily on secularization and sect-church theory to understand the dynamics of religious identity change among Nazarenes. The theological result was a pessimistic appraisal of the future possibilities of holiness identity and practice in the Church of the Nazarene. This study employs an alternative theory—Nancy T. Ammerman's theory of narrative religious identity—to understand the dynamics of lived religious life within these congregations and to identify the various holiness narratives at play. Ammerman's theory facilitates an empirical description of the multiple holiness identities emerging out of the social contexts of these Nazarene congregations and offers a way to account for identity change. At the heart of this research is the theoretical notion that a particular religious identity, in the case of the Church of the Nazarene, the "sanctified person," emerges out of a particular ecclesial context characterized by religious narratives and practices that shape this identity. Chapter one reviews the problem of holiness identity in the Church of the Nazarene and offers an analysis of recent sociological attempts to understand the changing identity among Nazarenes. Chapter two draws on sociological research to describe and depict the range of views of holiness held by some contemporary Nazarenes. Chapter three identifies the varieties of holiness identity within the three Nazarene congregations that are part of the study. Chapter four investigates the social sources that shape the various holiness identities discovered in these congregations. Chapter five is a description of the many ways religious narratives are enacted and engaged within these congregations. The second part of the study is a theological critique of contemporary Nazarene holiness identity. Chapter six draws on the theory of narrative identity proposed by Nancy Ammerman and outlines a theoretical model which describes the social conditions necessary to shape holiness identity, "the sanctified person," within the context of the local congregation. Finally, chapter seven draws on the theological resources of Mennonite scholar and historian John Howard Yoder to propose a way of construing and facilitating holiness identity formation that takes the ecclesiality of hoilness more seriously, emphasizes a clearer relationship between Jesus and the "Christlikeness" that is central to holiness, and highlights the importance of religious practices in the formation of a holiness identity.