Fuel oils from euphorbs and other plants

Fuel oils from Euphorbs and other plants. The increasing energy costs of finding petroleum, together with the sure knowledge that its supply is finite, has prompted us to seek other sources of liquid hydrocarbon for both fuel and material. We have turned to annually renewable plant sources such as seed oils, an obvious source, with palm oil as the most productive. Sugar cane used to produce ethanol is another fuel source already in use.
We have examined non-food plants which can be grown on marginal soil for their productivity, particularly the genus Euphorbia. All species of this genus produce a latex which can be converted into useful fuel and other material, including precursors for what might be a valuable anti-tumor agent. Euphorbias and other similar plants require repeated planting and harvesting of the entire plant, which constitutes a drain on the soil. Trees can be long-term sources for hydrocarbon-like materials with a single planting. Examples are: the genus Copaifera which can be tapped for sesquiterpenes, the genus Pittosporum which bears fruits rich in terpenes and can be harvested annually. Finally, there are algae whose oil productivity is already of interest.
It seems possible to modify genetically the terpene biosynthetic pathways in plants to improve both the quality and quantity of the oils produced from them.     

Separate Factors in Phytohaem-agglutinin induce Lymphotoxin,Interferon and Nucleic Acid Synthesis

PHYTOHAEMAGGLUTININ (PHA) has many different biological activities, for example, erythroagglutination¹, leucoagglutination¹, stimulation of RNA and DNA synthesis¹ and induction of interferon¹ and lymphotoxin (LT)². We demonstrate here that the induction of interferon and lymphotoxin by PHA is caused by factors separate from those stimulating nucleic acid synthesis.     

Hydraulic acclimation to shading in boreal conifers of varying shade tolerance

The purpose of this study was to determine how shading affects the hydraulic and wood‐anatomical characteristics of four boreal conifers (Pinus banksiana, Pinus contorta, Picea glauca and Picea mariana) that differ in shade tolerance. Plants were grown in an open field and under a deciduous‐dominated overstory for 6 years. Sapwood‐ and leaf‐area specific conductivity, vulnerability curves, and anatomical measurements (light and scanning electron microscopy) were made on leading shoots from six to nine trees of each treatment combination. There was no difference in sapwood‐area specific conductivity between open‐grown and understory conifers, although two of four species had larger tracheid diameters in the open. Shaded conifers appeared to compensate for small diameter tracheids by changes in pit membrane structure. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that understory conifers had thinner margo strands, greater maximum pore size in the margo, and more torus extensions. All of these trends may contribute to inadequate sealing of the torus. This is supported by the fact that all species showed increased vulnerability to cavitation when grown in the understory. Although evaporative demand in an understory environment is low, a rapid change into fully exposed conditions could be detrimental for shaded conifers.     

The determination of membrane transport parameters with the cell pressure probe: theory suggests that unstirred layers have significant impact

A simulation model was written to compute the time-kinetics of turgor pressure, P, change in Chara corallina during cell pressure probe experiments. The model allowed for the contribution of a membrane plus zero, one, or two unstirred layers of any desired thickness. The hypothesis that a cell with an unstirred layer is a composite membrane that will follow the same kind of kinetics with or without unstirred layers was tested. Typical ‘osmotic pulse’ experiments yield biphasic curves with minimum or maximum pressures, P_min(max), at time t_min(max) and a solute exponential decay with halftime . These observed data were then used to compute composite membrane properties, namely the parameters L_p = the hydraulic conductance, σ = reflection coefficient and P_s = solute permeability using theoretical equations. Using the simulation model, it was possible to fit an experimental data set to the same values of P_min(max), t_min(max) and incorporating different, likely values of unstirred layer thickness, where each thickness requires a unique set of plasmalemma membrane values of L_p, σ and P_s. We conclude that it is not possible to compute plasmalemma membrane properties from cell pressure probe experiments without independent knowledge of the unstirred layer thickness.     

Water relations of Robinia pseudoacacia L.: do vessels cavitate and refill diurnally or are R‐shaped curves invalid in Robinia?

Since 2005, an unresolved debate has questioned whether R‐shaped vulnerability curves (VCs) might be an artefact of the centrifuge method of measuring VCs. VCs with R‐shape show loss of stem conductivity from approximately zero tension, and if true, this suggests that some plants either refill embolized vessels every night or function well with a high percentage of vessels permanently embolized. The R‐shaped curves occur more in species with vessels greater than half the length of the segments spun in a centrifuge. Many have hypothesized that the embolism is seeded by agents (bubbles or particles) entering the stem end and travelling towards the axis of rotation in long vessels, causing premature cavitation. VCs were measured on Robinia pseudoacacia L. by three different techniques to yield three different VCs; R‐shaped: Cavitron P₅₀ = 0.30 MPa and S‐shaped: air injection P₅₀ = 1.48 MPa and bench top dehydration P₅₀ = 3.57 MPa. Stem conductivity measured in the Cavitron was unstable and is a function of vessel length when measured repeatedly with constant tension, and this observation is discussed in terms of stability of air bubbles drawn into cut‐open vessels during repeated Cavitron measurement of conductivity; hence, R‐shaped curves measured in a Cavitron are probably invalid.     

Effects of temperature on gut-loading and gut-clearing times of the burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata

SUMMARY. The effect of temperature on gut-loading times, gut-clearing times, and the calculated ingestion rates, egestion rates, and consumption indices of the deposit-feeding burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata , were investigated in laboratory experiments. Rates of movement of two natural sediments of differing colour through the digestive tract were monitored to quantify feeding intensity when ambient water temperatures approached 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C.
At each temperature, gut-loading times (GLT) and gut-clearing times (GCT) increased as nymph length increased. Mean GLT and GCT values decreased as temperature increased from 5 to 20°C but were longer at 25°C than at 20°C. Relationships between GLT, GCT, and length of nymphs and temperature were best described by multiple regression equations. No diel variation in gutclearing times was observed. Low water temperatures resulted in lower ingestion and egestion rates and consumption indices. At most temperatures nymphs ingested over 100% of their dry body weights per day.