Earth,Air, Fire,and Water: Elements of Art

Abstract

Shoshana Zuboff. In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power. New York: Basic Books, 1988, 468 pp. $11.95 paperback.

George Gilder. Microcosm: The Quantum Revolution in Economics and Technology. New York: Simon &; Schuster, 1989. 426 pp. $19.95 hardcover.

Loren Baritz. The Good Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1988. 361 pp. $19.95 hardcover.

Miles Orville. The Real Thing: Imitation and Authority in American Culture, 1880–1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. 382 pp. $14.95 paperback.

Peter Shaw. The War Against the Intellect. Iowa City: The University of Iowa Press, 1989. 181 pp. $10.95 paperback.

Robert Alter. The Pleasures of Reading in an Ideological Age. New York: Simon &; Schuster, 1989. 250 pp. $18.95 hardcover.

Ian Crofton. A Dictionary of Art Quotations. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989. $19.95 hardcover.     

Oxygen and Air Nanobubble Water Solution Promote the Growth of Plants,Fishes, and Mice

Nanobubbles (<200 nm in diameter) have several unique properties such as long lifetime in liquid owing to its negatively charged surface, and its high gas solubility into the liquid owing to its high internal pressure. They are used in variety of fields including diagnostic aids and drug delivery, while there are no reports assessing their effects on the growth of lives. Nanobubbles of air or oxygen gas were generated using a nanobubble aerator (BUVITAS; Ligaric Company Limited, Osaka, Japan). Brassica campestris were cultured hydroponically for 4 weeks within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Sweetfish (for 3 weeks) and rainbow trout (for 6 weeks) were kept either within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Finally, 5 week-old male DBA1/J mice were bred with normal free-chaw and free-drinking either of oxygen-nanobubble water or of normal water for 12 weeks. Oxygen-nanobubble significantly increased the dissolved oxygen concentration of water as well as concentration/size of nanobubbles which were relatively stable for 70 days. Air-nanobubble water significantly promoted the height (19.1 vs. 16.7 cm; P<0.05), length of leaves (24.4 vs. 22.4 cm; P<0.01), and aerial fresh weight (27.3 vs. 20.3 g; P<0.01) of Brassica campestris compared to normal water. Total weight of sweetfish increased from 3.0 to 6.4 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 3.0 to 10.2 kg in air-nanobubble water. In addition, total weight of rainbow trout increased from 50.0 to 129.5 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 50.0 to 148.0 kg in air-nanobubble water. Free oral intake of oxygen-nanobubble water significantly promoted the weight (23.5 vs. 21.8 g; P<0.01) and the length (17.0 vs. 16.1 cm; P<0.001) of mice compared to that of normal water. We have demonstrated for the first time that oxygen and air-nanobubble water may be potentially effective tools for the growth of lives.     

Iris Fry,The Emergence of Life on Earth - A Historical and Scientific Overview

Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres -     

The Big Bang, Superstring Theory and the origin of life on the Earth

This article examines the origin of life on Earth and its connection to the Superstring Theory, that attempts to explain all phenomena in the universe (Theory of Everything) and unify the four known forces and relativity and quantum theory. The four forces of gravity, electro-magnetism, strong and weak nuclear were all present and necessary for the origin of life on the Earth. It was the separation of the unified force into four singular forces that allowed the origin of life.     

杂草科学管理——理论基础与实施途径

Scientific management of weeds is theoretically based on ecology.The implementation methods incladeIntensifying the weed biology and ecology research, especially those of the heavy weeds;Intensifying the research of developing competition between the crop and the weed;Utilizing a allelopathy the gene engineering and breeding against the weeds;Utilizing allelopathy between the crop and the weed, and utilizing biological and agricultural measurements to control the weeds.     

追赶和空气曝露时间对瓦氏黄颡鱼耗氧率的影响

在20℃水温条件下,对不同时间追赶(0、0.5、2.5和5min)和空气曝露(0、2.5、5、10和20min)前和恢复过程中瓦氏黄颡鱼(Pelteobag vachelli)的耗氧率进行了测定。发现经过追赶和空气曝露处理后,瓦氏黄颡鱼耗氧率立即显著上升(P<0.05),然后逐渐恢复到处理前水平。瓦氏黄颡鱼对追赶的反应远大于空气曝露。仅仅0.5min的追赶就能够诱导出瓦氏黄颡鱼的最大耗氧率(146.66mgO2/h),2.5min追赶能诱导最大过量耗氧(39.01mgO2);5min空气曝露处理能诱导最大耗氧率(113.52mgO2/h),10min处理能诱导最大过量耗氧(23.01mgO2)。     

The Extended Oxygen Window Concept for Programming Saturation Decompressions Using Air and Nitrox

Saturation decompression is a physiological process of transition from one steady state, full saturation with inert gas at pressure, to another one: standard conditions at surface. It is defined by the borderline condition for time spent at a particular depth (pressure) and inert gas in the breathing mixture (nitrogen, helium). It is a delicate and long lasting process during which single milliliters of inert gas are eliminated every minute, and any disturbance can lead to the creation of gas bubbles leading to decompression sickness (DCS). Most operational procedures rely on experimentally found parameters describing a continuous slow decompression rate. In Poland, the system for programming of continuous decompression after saturation with compressed air and nitrox has been developed as based on the concept of the Extended Oxygen Window (EOW). EOW mainly depends on the physiology of the metabolic oxygen window—also called inherent unsaturation or partial pressure vacancy—but also on metabolism of carbon dioxide, the existence of water vapor, as well as tissue tension. Initially, ambient pressure can be reduced at a higher rate allowing the elimination of inert gas from faster compartments using the EOW concept, and maximum outflow of nitrogen. Then, keeping a driving force for long decompression not exceeding the EOW allows optimal elimination of nitrogen from the limiting compartment with half-time of 360 min. The model has been theoretically verified through its application for estimation of risk of decompression sickness in published systems of air and nitrox saturation decompressions, where DCS cases were observed. Clear dose-reaction relation exists, and this confirms that any supersaturation over the EOW creates a risk for DCS. Using the concept of the EOW, 76 man-decompressions were conducted after air and nitrox saturations in depth range between 18 and 45 meters with no single case of DCS. In summary, the EOW concept describes physiology of decompression after saturation with nitrogen-based breathing mixtures.     

The Burning Question: Aborigines,Fire and Australian Ecosystems*

The 'fire stick farming model, which suggests that Aborigines changed the frequency and nature of fires in order to manipulate animal and plant resources, is now widely accepted in Australian phehistory. A re-examination of the biological evidence suggests that Aboriginal use of fire had little impact on the environment and that the patterns of distribution of plants and animals which obtained 200 years ago would have been essentially the same whether or not Aborigines had previously been living here. It is further suggested that 'fire stick farming’, had it been attempted, would in fact have been counter productive economically because of the adverse effects it would have had upon small species of animals. Aborigines observed and made use of an existing natural fire regime in Australia, they did not attempt to develop a new one.     

The Interface Between Air and Water: A Perturbation Source Eliciting Adaptive Behaviour in Ciliates

ABSTRACT Interference with the water-air interface, both direct (by contact with a flat, rigid surface) and indirect (by inducing a meniscus) caused the ciliated protozoa we investigated to actively collect in the water column or on the substrate directly under the area of altered surface tension. A crowding effect is observed in this "rest area" reaching plateau values within one hour after onset of the experiment. The simple experimental procedures described here induced analogous behaviour in both Paramecium caudatum (a swimmer) and Oxytricha bifaria (a crawler). The ciliates seem in this reaction to be seeking a refuge from vibrations transmitted by the free interface. Our discovery is discussed in its implications for the adaptive biology and ecology of these micro-organisms.     

The Uptake of Potassium, Nitrate, Water, and Oxygen by a Maize Root System in Relation to its Size

Using a special apparatus, the uptake of nitrate, potassium,water, and oxygen by a maize plant was recorded at short intervals.After cutting most of the roots, the regrowth of the root systemwas measured in relation to the increase in nitrate, potassium,and water uptake, oxygen consumption of the root system, andleaf growth rate. It has been suggested that when the root surfaceis not limiting nitrate reduction is the rate-limiting processfor nitrate uptake. Differences between nitrate uptake in lightand dark are explained by the influence of light on nitratereduction. Differences in leaf growth rate have been discussedin relation to root resistance and leaf water content.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Water Vapour Exchange in Intact Plants

A low flow of air is passed through a temperature-controlledplant chamber in order to obtain relatively large (300–500µl-1) differences in [O₂] between influx and efflux streams.These differences are measured with a stabilized O₂ electrodesystem incorporating elements of gas conditioning electroniczero suppression and signal amplification. Changes in [O₂] of400 µl l-1 can be detected at full scale recorder deflectionagainst a background concentration of 21% O₂. The concentrationsof CO₂ and H₂O within the chamber are held constant by con-trolled-flowCO₂-scrubbing and dehumidifying loops. Carbon dioxide, H₂O,and O₂ fluxes are measured and leaf diffusion resistance andinternal [CO₂] are calculated in essentially ‘real time’.     

From Lithium‐Oxygen to Lithium‐Air Batteries: Challenges and Opportunities

Lithium ‐ air batteries have become a focus of research on future battery technologies. Technical issues associated with lithium‐air batteries, however, are rather complex. Apart from the sluggish oxygen reaction kinetics which demand efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, issues are also inherited from the nature of an open battery system and the use of reactive metal lithium as anode. Lithium‐air batteries, which exchange oxygen directly with ambient air, face more challenges due to the additional oxidative agents of moisture, carbon dioxide, etc. which degrade the metal lithium anode, deteriorating the performance of the batteries. In order to improve the cycling performance one must hold a full picture of lithium‐oxygen electrochemistry in the presence of carbon dioxide and/or moisture and fully understand the fundamentals of chemistry reactions therein. Recent advances in the exploration of the effect of moisture and CO₂ contaminants on Li‐O₂ batteries are reviewed, and the mechanistic understanding of discharge/charge process in O₂ at controlled level of moisture and/or CO₂ are illustrated. Prospects for development opportunities of Li‐air batteries, insight into future research directions, and guidelines for the further development of rechargeable Li‐air batteries are also given.     

The tubular loop fermentor: Oxygen transfer,growth kinetics and design

Oxygen transfer measurements using a dynamic method and evaluated with an appropriate mathematical model have been made on a tubular loop bioreactor. Correlations of the type used in tank systems are used to describe the influence of power and aeration rate on the mass transfer coefficient. Yeast cultures grown on hydrocarbon and glucose substrates show growth characteristics similar to conventional tank results. Model considerations for large-scale tubular fermentors allow for the prediction of the steady-state oxygen profiles and maximum reactor length. Combination with two-phase flow and oxygen transfer correlations yields a design procedure for commercial scale tubular loop fermentors.