Compaction of microporous amorphous solid water by ion irradiation.

We have studied the compaction of vapor-deposited amorphous solid water by energetic ions at 40 K. The porosity was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and methane adsorption/desorption. These three techniques provide different and complementary views of the structural changes in ice resulting from irradiation. We find that the decrease in internal surface area of the pores, signaled by infrared absorption by dangling bonds, precedes the decrease in the pore volume during irradiation. Our results imply that impacts from cosmic rays can cause compaction in the icy mantles of the interstellar grains, which can explain the absence of dangling bond features in the infrared spectrum of molecular clouds.

Sorptive behavior of sorgoleone in ultisol in two solvent systems and determination of its lipophilicity.

Sorgoleone (SGL) exuded by sorghum roots inhibits the development of some weeds. Due to its high hydrophobicity, it is expected that SGL presents low soil mobility and limited allelopathic activity in the field. This work aims to evaluate the sorptivity of sorgoleone in octanol-water and in soil under two solvent systems. The two solvent systems were methanol:water (60:40) (MeOH:H2O) and pure methanol (MeOH). These two solvent systems promote different conditions for SGL solubility. Treatments were arranged in a 2 x 6 factorial (solvent systems x equilibrium concentrations in the solution (EC)). For each solvent, the sorption was achieved by shaking 500 mg of soil with 10 ml of 0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 40, and 60 mg L-1 of SGL solution, during 24 h. After centrifugation, the supernatant was filtered and the SGL concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Data of sorbed amount of SGL were submitted to variance analysis, using a hierarchic factorial model. The data of sorbed amount (x/m) and equilibrium concentration (C) were fitted to the linear (x/m = a + KdC) and to the Freundlich (x/m = KfC1/n) models. The isotherm obtained for the MeOH:H2O system presented linear shape, whereas for the MeOH system a two subsequent linear isotherm was fitted. Sorgoleone is a highly hydrophobic compound, presenting a log Kow of 6.1. The sorption of sorgoleone to the soil was very high. The organic environment stimulated the sorgoleone sorption to the soil.

Multiple resistance of acetolactate synthase and protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors in Euphorbia heterophylla biotypes.

Resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides in Brazil has been documented for six species. The probability to select biotypes of Euphorbia heterophylla (EPPHL) with multiple resistance increases in the same order of magnitude as the use of other herbicides belonging to only one mechanism of action. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the distribution of resistant populations (R) in the states of the Parana and Santa Catarina; to determine the existence of populations of EPHHL with multiple resistance to ALS and PROTOX inhibitors, and to confirm the occurrence of cross resistance to compounds of these mechanisms of action. Seeds of EPHHL of areas with suspected resistance had been sampled in 97 places during 2003. In the greenhouse experiment samples of each population were sprayed with imazethapyr or fomesafen, at only one rate. To identify the resistant ones they were sprayed with different levels of the herbicides imazethapyr and fomesafen. Later they were sprayed with diverse herbicides of the same mechanisms of action to confirm the multiple/cross resistance. There is widespread distribution in the region of populations with resistance to ALS inhibitors. Some biotypes demonstrated resistance to herbicides from the two mechanisms of action. The resistance factor (FR), or the relation of resistance between R and susceptible biotypes, confirms the existence of two biotypes of EPHHL with cross resistance to several herbicides inhibitors of ALS and PROTOX.

Oxygen on Ganymede: laboratory studies.

To test proposals for the origin of oxygen absorption bands in the visible reflectance spectrum of Ganymede, the reflectance of condensed films of pure oxygen (O2) and O2-water mixtures and the evolution of O2 from the films as a function of temperature were determined. Absorption band shapes and positions for oxygen at 26 kelvin were similar to those reported for Ganymede, whereas those for the mixtures were slightly shifted. The band intensity dropped by more than two orders of magnitude when the ice mixture was warmed to 100 kelvin, although about 20 percent of the O2 remained trapped in the ice, which suggested that at these temperatures O2 molecules dissolve in the ice rather than aggregate in clusters or bubbles. The experiments suggest that the absorption bands in Ganymede's spectrum were not produced in the relatively warm surface of the satellite but in a much colder source. Solid O2 may exist in a cold subsurface layer or in an atmospheric haze.

Animal model distinguishing in vitro from in vivo carbenicillin-aminoglycoside interactions.

Aminoglycosides and carbenicillin are frequently co-administered to patients with serious gram-negative infections. Aminoglycosides are inactivated by carbenicillin in vitro, and a loss of antibacterial activity of both antibiotics results. Although these interactions are presumed to occur in vivo, previous studies have not used assay methodology that can distinguish inactivation occurring prior to and during microbiological assay from inactivation in vivo. To address this problem, we gave seven bilaterally nephrectomized mongrel dogs doses designed to achieve simultaneous therapeutic serum concentrations of aminoglycosides and carbenicillin. Serum samples were tested by radioimmunoassay on three occasions: immediately, to determine in vivo interactions, and at 24 h and 1 week to assess the time course of in vitro inactivation. In comparison with immediate radioimmunoassay, gentamicin and tobramycin concentrations decreased by 39 and 53%, respectively, when assayed at 24 h (P < 0.05) and by 75 and 82% when assayed at 7 days (P < 0.001). In contrast, amikacin concentrations were reduced by only 9 and 30% at 24 h and 7 days. Tobramycin concentrations were also determined by immediate microbiological assay and were found to be similar to those in samples stored for 24 h before radioimmunoassay. Immediate radioimmunoassay demonstrated that carbenicillin reduced in vivo serum half-lives of gentamicin and tobramycin by 40% (P < 0.05). The half-life of amikacin in vivo was not significantly altered. In the presence of carbenicillin, amikacin was the most stable aminoglycoside both in vivo and in vitro, and it is the aminoglycoside of choice in patients with renal failure who require this combination.