Accumulation of DDT Residues in the Testes of Channa punctatus (Bloch): A Gas Liquid Chromatographic Analysis

Residues of DDT isomers accumulated in the testes of Channa punctatus (BLOCH) were quantitatively estimated by exposing the fish to 2.5 ppm sublethal concentration for 32 days. The study revealed a high accumulation of DDT residues in the testes. The maximum concentration of residues was noted on the 32nd day of the experiment. The DDT isomer accumulated in maximum concentrations was followed by DDE and DDD isomers. The maximum residue concentrations were 0.3221 ppm (DDT), 0.1119 ppm (DDE) and 0.0695 ppm (DDD) on the 32nd day of the experiment. The total DDT residue concentration at the final interval was 0.563 ppm.     

Carbon dioxide,water vapor and sensible heat exchanges of a grain sorghum canopy

With the aid of eddy correlation instrumentation, the components of the energy budget and CO₂ flux were measured over grain sorghum grown at Mead, Nebraska. Diurnal patterns of sensible heat, latent heat, CO₂ and momentum flux are examined for typical days. On a mostly clear day when the crop leaf area index was 3.7, net radiation reached a mid-day peak of 560 W m^-2, while sensible and latent heat fluxes peaked at 50 and 460 W m^-2, respectively. The peak CO₂ flux occurring just prior to solar noon was 1.5 mg m^-2(ground area) s^-1. CO₂ flux (respiration from plants, soil and roots) in the early evening was about -0.28 mg m^-2 (ground area) s^-1.A relationship between CO₂ flux and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was developed. Except during the late stage of growth (growth stage 8.5, toward the initiation of senescence), the crop showed no evidence of saturation up to PAR 1800 Ei m^-2s^-1. The light compensation point was found to be about 211 Ei m^-2s^-1. Examination of CO₂ flux-PAR relationships for selected days through the season indicated an aging effect in terms of a decrease in photosynthetic activity of the sorghum canopy. Measurements made on two consecutive days demonstrate the effects of weather conditions on CO₂ flux and carbon-water flux ratio (a measure of water use efficiency of the crop). The occurrence of regional sensible heat advection with concommitant high vapor pressure deficit and air temperature-limited CO₂ exchange reduced the carbon-water flux ratio.Published as Paper No. 7717, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Research Division. The work was conducted under Regional Research Project 11-33 and Nebraska Agricultural Research Division Project 27-003.Formerly Post Doctoral Research Associate (now at the University of Connecticut Department of Renewable Natural Resources Storrs CT)     

Plate tectonic settings for Precambrian basic rocks from Brazil by multidimensional tectonomagmatic discrimination diagrams and their limitations

Multidimensional discrimination diagrams (2006–2011) for basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks were applied to Precambrian rock suites from the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons, and the Tocantins Province, Brazil, to infer their possible tectonic settings. The chosen study cases in the Amazonian craton include the ca. 3.0 Ga metabasalts of the Identidade greenstone belt, 1.87–1.80 Ga Parauapebas anorogenic basalt-rhyolite dikes, 1.86–1.82 Ga Rio Branco anorogenic gabbro-basalt association, ca. 1.76–1.74 Ga Aripuanã and Teles Pires intracratonic basalt-felsic volcanic associations, and 1.76–1.74 Ga Jamari and 1.60–1.53 Ga Serra da Providência arc-related gabbroic rocks. In the São Francisco craton, we selected 1.48 Ga arc-related amphibolites of the Rio Capim greenstone belt, continental mafic dikes of Uauá (2.6 Ga), Curaçá and Chapada Diamantina (1.5 Ga), and Espinhaço (ca. 1.0 Ga). In the Tocantins Province, ca. 3.0 Ga komatiites associated with oceanic basalts of the Crixás and Guarinos greenstone belts were studied. The application of the diagrams generally provided consistent results with the authors’ proposed tectonic settings based on field relationships and geochemical data. The exceptions are some within-plate (continental) mafic dikes and basalts for which our diagrams do not work well. For comparison, we also used two ternary and two bivariate traditional discrimination diagrams for the data from the Amazonian craton, whose results were poorer than the newer multidimensional diagrams.     

Tissue enzymes as biomonitors of PCP intoxication in Notopterus notopterus

In this paper, toxicity effects of pentachlorophenol have been studied using enzymes, phosphatases, transaminases and hydrogenases as indicators for toxicity. The sublethal concentrations used were 0.019, 0.0063 and 0.0038 mg/l (1/5th, 1/15th and 1/25th fractions of LC₅₀) and the experimental fishes were exposed for the periods of 15, 30, 45 and 60 days. Most of the significant alterations in enzymes were observed at 1/5th and 1/10th fractions except at few places in the liver where a significant alteration in the enzyme acid phosphatase occurs at 1/15th fraction. Glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) showed a significant increase in different tissues in all the fractions of treatment.     

Propagation of surface waves on the surface of a non-homogeneous aeolotropic cylindrical shell

Summary The object of the present paper is to investigate the propagation of surface waves on a non-homogeneous aeolotropic cylindrical shell surrounded by vacuum. The elastic constantsc _ij (i, j=1,2...) and density of the material of the shell are assumed to be of the form and respectively, where _ij, ₀ are constants andk ₁,k ₂ are any integers.     

Deformation of a poroelastic layer overlying an elastic half‐space due to dip‐slip faulting

An analytical solution of the plane strain problem of the deformation of a homogeneous, isotropic, poroelastic layer of uniform thickness overlying a homogeneous, isotropic, elastic half‐space due to two‐dimensional seismic sources buried in the elastic half‐space has been obtained. The integral expressions for the displacements, stresses and pore pressure have been obtained using the stress function approach by applying suitable boundary conditions at the free surface and the interface. The solution obtained is in the Laplace–Fourier transform domain. The case of a vertical dip‐slip line dislocation for the oceanic crust model of Earth is studied in detail. Schapery's formula is used for the Laplace inversion and the extended Simpson's formula for the Fourier inversion. Diffusion of pore pressure in the layer is studied numerically. Contour maps showing the pore pressure in the poroelastic layer have been plotted. The effect of the compressibility of the solid and fluid constituents on pore pressure has also been studied. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the increase of solar activity in the southern hemisphere during solar cycle 21

The present paper investigates the north-south asymmetry for major flares (solar cycles 19 and 20), type II radio bursts (solar cycles 19,20 and 21), white light flares (solar cycle 19,20 and 21), and gamma ray bursts, hard X-ray bursts and coronal mass ejections (solar cycle 21). The results are compared with the found asymmetry in favour of the northern hemisphere during solar cycles 19 and 20 in favour of the southern hemisphere during solar cycle 21.     

An isothermal shock wave in a perfectly-conducting and non-homogeneous stellar interior

In the present paper, we have obtained some exact analytic self-similar solutions for a zero-temperature gradient behind a magnetogasdynamic shock wave produced by stellar explosions. The initial density of the medium is taken to vary as some power of the distance from the point of explosion. The solutions are obtained for the cases when the energy of the shocked gas is constant, the energy is varying, and the shock velocity is constant. General solutions are also obtained. We have also analytically obtained the position of the singular surface behind the shock wave.     

SIPVADE: A New Computer Programme with Seventeen Statistical Tests for Outlier Detection in Evaluation of International Geochemical Reference Materials and its Application to Whin Sill Dolerite WS-E from England and Soil-5 from Peru

A new computer programme was written in programming language TURBOC, which enables us to apply a procedure involving seventeen statistical tests (a total of sixty five single or multiple outlier versions of these tests) for outlier detection in univariate sample at a high confidence level of 99% (significance level α= 0.01). The outlying observations should be evaluated first for technical reasons and then rejected manually from the data base until no more outliers are detected and the final statistical parameters are computed from the remaining data. This programme has been used successfully to process two reference material data bases: WS-E from England and Soil-5 from Peru. The final mean values for WS-E are more reliable (characterized by smaller standard deviations and narrower confidence limits) than those obtained earlier using a different statistical approach. The application of a large number of statistical tests to Soil-5 also resulted in smaller standard deviation values for most elements than the method involving a limited number of such tests. For WS-E, some laboratories seem to have produced multiple data that were detected as statistical outliers. A close analysis of the distribution of outliers as a function of laboratory, country and analytical method leads to a technical justification for these outlying observations, probably in terms of inadequate QA/QC practices. Use of geochemical criteria indicates that the new mean values in WS-E might be closer to the "true" concentrations. This procedure of outlier detection and elimination is therefore recommended in the study of the existing RM.