concentration – Page 2 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Impulsive Micromanagers Help Plants to Adapt, Survive

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2012Scienceatmospheric co2, climate, concentration, drought, environmental change, environmental factor, global change, jay lennon, jen lau, plant, precipitation pattern, soil microbe, warmer temperature

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Soil microbes are impulsive. So much so that they help plants face the challenges of a rapidly changing climate.

Jen Lau and Jay Lennon, Michigan State University biologists, studied how plants and microbes work together to help plants survive the effects of global changes, such as increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations, warmer temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. The results, appearing in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that microbes in the ground not only interact with plants, but they also prompt them to respond to environmental changes.

“We found that these changes in the plants happen primarily because of what global changes do to the belowground microbes rather than the plant itself,” said Lau, who works at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station. “Drought stress affects microbes, and they, in turn, drive plants to flower earlier and help plants grow and reproduce when faced with drought.” (more…)

Cycling May Negatively Affect Male Reproductive Health, UCLA Study Finds

By Guest PostMay 26, 2012Health, Sportsanti microbial preservative, bacterial infection, body fat, breast tissue, cardiovascular, chamois cream, concentration, cortisol, elevated estrogen, estradiol, female athlete, gynecomastia, Health, hormonal imbalance, hormone, interleukin 6, james s kesner, kaiser foundation, leah fitzgerald, male cyclists, metabolic function, neuroendocrine system, perineum area, plasma estradiol, pubic hair, reduce, reproductive health, reproductive hormone, total testosterone, wendie a robbins

A study by researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing has found that serious male cyclists may experience hormonal imbalances that could affect their reproductive health.

The study, “Reproductive Hormones and Interleukin-6 in Serious Leisure Male Athletes,” was recently published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

To date, an extensive amount of research has been done documenting the positive effects of long-term exercise on health. Yet while moderate exercise can lead to enhanced cardiovascular and metabolic function and reduced body fat, studies have shown that ultra-endurance levels of exercise can also adversely affect the neuroendocrine system and reproductive health. (more…)

Compound from Wild Tomatoes is Natural, Effective Herbicide

By Guest PostApril 29, 2012Environmentchemical, compound, concentration, deet, entomologist, george kennedy, groundwater contamination, herbicidal effect, herbicide, human, insect repellent, insecticide, mike roe, nontoxic herbicide, organic farming, plant, soil, undecanone, weed, wild tomato

A naturally occurring compound derived from wild tomato plants is also a fast-acting, nontoxic herbicide, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.

NC State entomologist Dr. Mike Roe had previously worked with the compound – known as 2-undecanone – as a natural replacement for the chemical DEET in insect repellents. Both he and his NC State colleague, entomologist Dr. George Kennedy, were exploring whether 2-undecanone could be used as an insecticide on plants, when they noticed an unexpected side effect: it killed the plants. (more…)

Study Finds Surprising Arctic Methane Emission Source

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Environmentarctic methane, arctic ocean, arctic region, Arctic sea ice, arctic tundra soil, beaufort seas, carbon monoxide, chukchi, climate, concentration, earth system, eric kort, geologic reservoir, global warming, greenhouse gas, harvard university, hippo, jet propulsion laboratory, marine sediment, methane, NASA, ozone, reservoir, water vapor

The fragile and rapidly changing Arctic region is home to large reservoirs of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. As Earth’s climate warms, the methane, frozen in reservoirs stored in Arctic tundra soils or marine sediments, is vulnerable to being released into the atmosphere, where it can add to global warming. Now a multi-institutional study by Eric Kort of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has uncovered a surprising and potentially important new source of Arctic methane: the ocean itself. (more…)

Fossil Raindrop Impressions Imply Greenhouse Gases Loaded Early Atmosphere

By Guest PostApril 2, 2012Environmentames research center, atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, concentration, david catling, earth history, fossilized, greenhouse gases, jelte harnmeijer, latex peels, liquid water, low carbon innovation, peter polivka, pressure broadening, raindrop impression, raindrop velocity, roger buick, sanjoy som, seattle, South Africa, sun, temperature, warm temperature

In ancient Earth history, the sun burned as much as 30 percent dimmer than it does now. Theoretically that should have encased the planet in ice, but there is geologic evidence for rivers and ocean sediments between 2 billion and 4 billion years ago.

Scientists have speculated that temperatures warm enough to maintain liquid water were the result of a much thicker atmosphere, high concentrations of greenhouse gases or a combination of the two. (more…)

Scientists Discover Land-Ocean Connections off Moloka’i

By Guest PostMarch 10, 2012Scienceamphipods, ashley rowden, bottom fish, canyon, canyon effect, coastal macroalgae, concentration, craig smith, depleted oxygen, earth worms, eel, eric vetter, fabio de leo, family macrouridae, halosaurs, hawaii pacific university, hawaiian archipelago, isopods, jeff drazen, macro invertebrate, mollusks, molokai, noaa, north shore, omz, organic matter, oxygen minimum zone, polychaete worms, rattail fishes, salt lake city, sediment, shark, sixgill shark, soest, submarine canyon, synaphobranchids, tanaids, tiny crustaceans, utah

*Tree trunks, leaves, and kukui nuts indirectly feed bottom fish in submarine canyons off Moloka’i*

Scientists from UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) recently discovered that land-based plant material and coastal macroalgae indirectly support the increased abundances of bottom fish in submarine canyons, like those off the north shore of Moloka’i. Less than a few miles from the shore, these underwater canyons connect to deep river valleys that cut across the landscape of north Moloka’i. The high elevation and forested landscapes along Moloka’i’s north shore provide plant material, including decomposing tree trunks, leaves and tons of kukui nuts, which enter the ocean via river valleys and “pile up” on submarine canyon floors. (more…)

Evolution of Earliest Horses Driven by Climate Change

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 2012Environment, Nature, Scienceaaron wood, atmosphere, bighorn basin, body size, cabin fork area, carbon, carbon dioxide, cause and effect, climate model, clydesdale, concentration, doug boyer, dwarfing phenomenon, earliest horse, evolution, florida museum of natural history, fossil, geochemical analysis, global temperature, h richard lane, horse teeth, industrial revolution, jonathan bloch, mammal, national science foundation, natural selection, North America, nsf, ocean, ornithologist, oxygen levels, paleocene-eocene thermal maximum, petm, prediction, ross secord, sifrhippus sandae, stephen chester, temperature, university of florida, university of nebraska lincoln, worland, yale

*The hotter it gets, the smaller the animal?*

When Sifrhippus sandae, the earliest known horse, first appeared in the forests of North America more than 50 million years ago, it would not have been mistaken for a Clydesdale.

It weighed in at around 12 pounds–and it was destined to get much smaller over the ensuing millennia.

Sifrhippus lived during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a 175,000-year interval of time some 56 million years ago in which average global temperatures rose by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. (more…)

Novel Device Removes Heavy Metals From Water

By Guest PostDecember 18, 2011Environmentacid, base, brown university, cadmium, cathodic particles, cation concentration, cations, cep system, charged metal ions, concentration, copper, cyclic electrowinning precipitation, electrochemical reduction, electroextraction, engineers, environmental contaminant, environmental remediation, genie in the bottle, george hradil, heavy metal ions, hydroxides, joseph calo, landfills, metal recovery, metal removal technique, method, nickel, parts per million, pengpeng grimshaw, ph, ppm, reduction of heavy metal ions, release of heavy metals, remove, sodium hydroxide, spe, spouted particulate electrode, sulfides, sulfuric acid, technic inc, textile factories, toxic sludge, trace heavy metals, unhealthy byproduct, water, waterways, zero valent metal

*Engineers at Brown University have developed a system that cleanly and efficiently removes trace heavy metals from water. In experiments, the researchers showed the system reduced cadmium, copper, and nickel concentrations, returning contaminated water to near or below federally acceptable standards. The technique is scalable and has viable commercial applications, especially in the environmental remediation and metal recovery fields. Results appear in the Chemical Engineering Journal.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — An unfortunate consequence of many industrial and manufacturing practices, from textile factories to metalworking operations, is the release of heavy metals in waterways. Those metals can remain for decades, even centuries, in low but still dangerous concentrations.

Ridding water of trace metals “is really hard to do,” said Joseph Calo, professor emeritus of engineering who maintains an active laboratory at Brown. He noted the cost, inefficiency, and time needed for such efforts. “It’s like trying to put the genie back in the bottle.” (more…)

Tag Archives: concentration