Relative Infestation Level and Sensitivity of Grapevine Cultivars to the Leafhopper Empoasca vitis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

The leafhopper Empoasca vitis (Göthe) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) feeds on veins of grapevine leaves, mainly on the phloem, causing physiological injury, color change and drying of leaf margins, yield and sugar content reduction. The relative infestation level (i.e., the probability that a plant is attacked by herbivores) of E. vitis on different grapevine cultivars and their sensitivity (i.e., the incidence of symptoms expression in response to herbivore feeding or other stimuli) to this pest were studied over four years in two vineyards located in northeastern Italy. Some cultivars (e.g., Carménère and Sauvignon Blanc) were usually more infested than others (e.g., Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Gris), although some differences were observed among years and sites. The sensitivity varied among cultivars, i.e., some of them showed more symptoms than expected on the basis of infestation levels (e.g., Carménère and Merlot), in contrast with others (e.g., Rhine Riesling and Chardonnay). Information obtained can be used within the framework of integrated pest management in vineyards. Action thresholds should differ on the basis of sensitivity. Sampling must first be carried out on the most susceptible cultivar and, if the action threshold is exceeded, it should be extended to the remaining cultivars based on their decreasing relative infestation level.

The analytical model of nanoparticle recovery by microflotation

A model of collision and collection of Brownian submicron particles based on the creation of a convective-diffusion layer near a bubble surface and overcoming the energy barrier created by particle/bubble interaction is developed. Simple analytical expressions describing the rate of collision and collection efficiency are obtained. The collision and collection minimums and the limits of theory applicability are analysed.

Effects of irrigation on the seasonal abundance of Empoasca vitis in north-Italian vineyards

The effect of irrigation on the abundance of Empoasca vitis (Göthe) populations was investigated in four vineyards located in northeastern Italy. In two experiments, we compared leafhopper population densities in plots irrigated (micro-spray irrigation system) or nonirrigated. In another experiment, we studied the effect of various irrigation systems on E. vitis populations over two successive seasons. In particular, five treatments were compared: control (not irrigated), traditional drip system, three types of subirrigation varying in distance from the row (40, 135, and 95 cm). In this vineyard, stem water potential was monitored with a pressure chamber. E. vitis population densities were affected by irrigation, with higher densities of this pest recorded on irrigated vines. Highest E. vitis densities were detected in drip irrigation plots compared with nonirrigated plots where water stress was highest. Moderate water stress (subirrigation plots) was associated with intermediate leafhopper densities. Implications for integrated pest management are discussed.

Dynamics of dewetting at the nanoscale using molecular dynamics

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations are used to model the dewetting of solid surfaces by partially wetting thin liquid films. Two levels of solid-liquid interaction are considered that give rise to large equilibrium contact angles. The initial length and thickness of the films are varied over a wide range at the nanoscale. Spontaneous dewetting is initiated by removing a band of molecules either from each end of the film or from its center. As observed experimentally and in previous simulations, the films recede at an initially constant speed, creating a growing rim of liquid with a constant receding dynamic contact angle. Consistent with the current understanding of wetting dynamics, film recession is faster on the more poorly wetted surface to an extent that cannot be explained solely by the increase in the surface tension driving force. In addition, the rates of recession of the thinnest films are found to increase with decreasing film thickness. These new results imply not only that the mobility of the liquid molecules adjacent to the solid increases with decreasing solid-liquid interactions, but also that the mobility adjacent to the free surface of the film is higher than in the bulk, so that the effective viscosity of the film decreases with thickness.

Influence of very small bubbles on particle/bubble heterocoagulation

Very small bubbles which partially coat the surface of particles influence whether or not heterocoagulation between a particle and a bubble occurs. The electrostatic and van der Waals forces of interaction between particles and bubbles were calculated as a function of electrolyte concentration, particle size, and the size and distributions of these very small bubbles present on the particle surface. The height of the surface force barrier was compared with the hydrodynamic pressing force under conditions of flotation. The presence of these very small bubbles has a profound effect on the interaction between particles and bubbles and, in particular, strongly decreases the critical particle radius for heterocoagulation.

Particle-Bubble Attachment in Mineral Flotation

Attachment efficiencies of rough, angular, methylated quartz particles with nitrogen bubbles are derived from experimental capture efficiency data in conjunction with a collision model termed the Generalized Sutherland Equation (GSE). The methylated quartz particles ranged in size from 7.5 to 70 µm equivalent diameter and had advancing contact angles between 33 degrees and 74 degrees. They heterocoagulated with nitrogen bubbles between 0.77 and 1.52 mm in diameter in 0, 0.01, or 0.1 mol dm(-3) KCl. The attachment efficiencies decreased with increasing particle size and bubble size, but increased with particle contact angle and KCl electrolyte concentration. These attachment efficiency data were then used to test the Dobby-Finch attachment model for potential flow conditions. The latter model was modified so that the conditions of approach of the particle toward the bubble surface are the same as those defined previously in the GSE collision model (Dai et al., 1998, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 197, 275). Satisfactory agreement was obtained between the experimental attachment efficiencies obtained in this study and those calculated with the Dobby-Finch model. In the attachment efficiency calculations, the induction time (t(ind)) varied with particle size (d(p)) according to the well-known equation, t(ind) = Ad(B)(p). The parameter B, with a value of 0.6, was found to be independent of particle size, particle contact angle, bubble size, and KCl electrolyte concentration. Conversely, the value of the parameter A was dependent on the particle contact angle, especially for contact angles smaller than 50 degrees, and on the bubble size but to a lesser extent on the electrolyte concentration. The value of A decreased with an increase in particle contact angle and an increase in bubble size. The values of the induction time obtained in this study are in a reasonable agreement with experimental and calculated induction times reported in the literature. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

The Inertial Hydrodynamic Interaction of Particles and Rising Bubbles with Mobile Surfaces

The collection efficiency of single bubbles rising through a very dilute pulp of hydrophobized quartz particles has been determined. Measurements have been performed under conditions in which the bubble surface is mobile, as a function of electrolyte concentration, particle diameter (7 to 70 &mgr;m), bubble diameter (0.77 x 10(-3) to 1.52 x 10(-3) m), and particle advancing water contact angle. Situations in which the product of attachment and stability efficiency is at its maximum value have been identified, permitting a stringent, critical test of collision theory to be performed. A collision theory has been developed which accounts for the influence of positive and negative inertial forces in the case of bubbles with mobile surfaces. The approach considers only long-range hydrodynamic interactions under conditions where short-range interactions are strongly suppressed (i.e., high particle contact angle and high electrolyte concentrations) and attachment occurs at first collision. In this instance, good agreement between theory and experiment is achieved for particle diameters between 7 and 60 &mgr;m and Stokes numbers up to 0.27. The analytical equation developed is termed the generalized Sutherland equation (GSE). Copyright 1998 Academic Press. Copyright 1998Academic Press

Exciton Spectra of the 9-Aminoacridine Chromophore

From the concentration dependence of the spectrum of 9-aminoacridine hydrochloride in neutral aqueous solution we determined the spectrum of the dimeric dye species. Two further 'dimeric' spectra' of the 9- aminoacridine chromophore have been obtained as the low- and high-temperature forms of N,N′- di (acridin-9-yl)hexane-1,6-diamine in aqueous solution. We interpreted the dimer spectra in the region between about 245 and 275 nm in terms of vibronic exciton theory and discussed the implications of the results to the structure of the dimers . Application of vibronic exciton theory to the visible region of the dimer spectra has resulted in at most qualitatively acceptable fits only, due to the breakdown in this region of the spectra of the single dominant vibrational mode approximation.

Paramagnetic complexes of manganese(II), iron(III), and gadolinium(III) as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. The influence of stability constants on the biodistribution of radioactive aminopolycarboxylate complexes

Paramagnetic complexes of manganese(II), iron(III), and gadolinium(III) with many ligands appear to undergo ligand substitution in vivo, producing biodistribution data similar to the hydrated metal ions. To identify ligands likely to be valuable in the preparation of paramagnetic contrast agents, a series of aminopolycarboxylate complexes with stability constants increasing in the order iminodiacetic acid (IDA) less than nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) less than EDTA less than CDTA less than or equal to DTPA was prepared with 54Mn(II), 59Fe(III), and 153Gd(III) at both tracer and carrier levels. Biodistribution studies in mice suggested that complexes remained unchanged in vivo if their stability constants (K1) were approximately greater than 10(16) for Mn(II) and Gd(III) and greater than 10(22) for Fe(III) complexes at tracer levels. Metal complexes with added carrier appeared to be effectively more stable in vivo, possibly due to dissociation and saturation of metal-binding sites. To avoid the accumulation of metal ions in tissues, new paramagnetic contrast agents containing these metal ions will require stability constants equal to or greater than those identified here.

The preparation of 99mTc-tertiarybutylisonitrile (99mTc-TBI) by a method suitable for routine clinical use

The myocardial imaging agent technetium-99m-hexakis (tertiarybutylisonitrile) (99mTc-TBI) was prepared by the reaction of [99mTc]pertechnetate with TBI in 50% ethanol/0.9% saline at 100 degrees C, using stannous chloride as the reducing agent. A study of the reaction parameters enabled the yield to be optimized to better than 90%, although this was reduced to approximately 60% if a purification step was carried out. Chromatographic analysis on ITLC-SG medium showed the final product to be of high radiochemical purity. Biological studies comprising biodistribution in mice over a 2-h period, imaging studies in animals and sub-acute toxicity testing in mice indicated that 99mTc-TBI prepared as here described is a suitable agent for routine clinical use in humans.

The binding of 9-aminoacridine to calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution. Electronic spectral studies

Absorption, circular dichroism and steady-state fluorescence spectra were determined of 9-aminoacridine solutions in the presence of DNA at an ionic strength of 0.001 mol dm-3. Up to a dye/DNA phosphorus ratio of about 0.2 the results are fully consistent with the requirements and predictions of a binding model already shown to apply to the binding of other aminoacridines to DNA. The apparently anomalous spectroscopic behaviour of the 9-aminoacridine/DNA system compared with proflavine/DNA, for example, can be satisfactorily explained from a consideration of the magnitudes of exciton interactions between dyes bound to DNA.

NMR compartmentalization of free water in the perfused rat heart

Spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) relaxation times have been measured on perfused rat hearts under two experimental conditions. T1 exhibits a monoexponential decay. On the other hand T2 has a decay with two components: a short one T2s and a long one T2l. These facts have been discussed according to cross-relaxation and a bicompartmentalization of tissue assuming a slow exchange model for spin-spin relaxation and a fast exchange model for spin-lattice relaxation. Increasing the osmotic pressure of the perfusion solution decreased the absolute density proton of the T2s compartment reflecting the loss of its water content. The paramagnetic ion manganese diminishes the values of T1 and those of the long component T2l without affecting its short component. Therefore the short component could be assigned to intracellular and the long component to extracellular free water. The extracellular T2 (459 ms) is approximatively 10-fold higher than the intracellular T2 (45 ms). With images of "pure T2" such a difference could be useful to enhance the contrast between organs and the surrounding liquid or between organs with different water compartmentalization.

Vibronic exciton interactions. Resolution and interpretation of the temperature-dependent circular dichroism and absorption spectra of ApA and of dApdA

The circular dichroism and absorption spectra of the stacked and unstacked forms of ApA and dApdA were derived. The unstacked spectra are not identical with the corresponding free nucleoside spectrum. The stacked spectra can be satisfactorily described in terms of the vibronic degenerate exciton theory which suggests that the non-degenerate interactions have a less important influence on the observed circular dichroic spectra than hitherto assumed. From the experimental spectra the magnitudes of the exciton coupling were found to correspond to very fast transfer rates of energy between the adenine moieties. The absorption spectra of the stacked species are consistent with average angles of near 60 degrees and 20 degrees in ApA and dApdA, respectively, between the degenerate transition moments of the adenine moieties.