Chloride absorption and distribution in chlorine-deficient Pharbitis nil

Determination and distribution of radioactive chloride in Pharbitis nil was investigated by a bio-imaging analyzer. When leaves that contained various amounts of ³⁶Cl were analyzed with the imaging analyzer and then each sample was homogenized and its radioactivity measured in a liquid scintillation counter, radioactive levels recorded by the analyzer were directly proportional to the radioactivity determined by the counter. When plants that had been grown in full nutrient solution were incubated in [³⁶Cl]-containing solution, more activity was found in young leaves than in mature leaves, while little radioactivity was detected in shrivelled leaves and the nonsymptomatic cusp of young leaves of plants that had been grown in chlorine-deficient solution.     

Adjusting estimative prediction limits

This note presents a direct adjustment of the estimative predictionlimit to reduce the coverage error from a target value to third-orderaccuracy. The adjustment is asymptotically equivalent to thoseof Barndorff-Nielsen & Cox (1994, 1996) and Vidoni (1998).It has a simpler form with a plug-in estimator of the coverageprobability of the estimative limit at the target value.     

Bactericidal effect of a silica gel-supported porphyrinatoantimony(V) complex under visible light irradiation

In order to develop a bactericidal agent operating under visible light irradiation, a silica gel-supported dihydroxo(tetraphenylporphyrinato)antimony(V) complex (SbTPP/SiO₂) was prepared. The SbTPP/SiO₂ particles irradiated by fluorescent light in a test tube induced remarkable bactericidal activity for Escherichia coli cells. The bactericidal activity of the SbTPP/SiO₂ was affected by both the concentration of the SbTPP/SiO₂ and the light intensity. Under irradiation by visible light, the SbTPP/SiO₂ photocatalyst showed much superior bactericidal activity to the commercially available TiO₂. Moreover, under irradiation by sunlight, bactericidal activity of the SbTPP/SiO₂ was observed, and the bactericidal effect of the SbTPP/SiO₂ particles was effective for continuous treatment on a column photoreactor under fluorescent-light irradiation.