Large-Scale RT-qPCR Diagnostics for Seed Potato Certification

Every year, Agroscope examines nearly 300,000 tubers for the presence of viruses, as regulated for the certification of seed potatoes intended for Swiss growers. Since 2016, this examination has been performed via RT-qPCR on dormant tubers directly after harvest. This method offers fast results and eliminates the need for the use of Rindite, which is a toxic and polluting gaseous compound previously used in Switzerland to break the dormancy of seed tubers. The implementation of this molecular analytical method for the routine diagnosis of regulated viruses makes it possible to conduct additional analyses via Illumina sequencing to assess the conformity of the primers and probes used with the sequences of the different viral isolates. This form of quality control in routine diagnosis is a source of information that can answer more fundamental scientific questions related to the epidemiology of viral strains related to certification. The datasets produced in this framework can also be used to explore the diversity of rare or unknown virus species in potato crops.

Hydrogen sulfide emission sources, regulations, and removal techniques: a review

This review highlights the recent technologies of H2S removal from wastewater in the petroleum refinery. H2S is a harmful, putrid, and hazardous gaseous compound. The main processes such as physicochemical, chemical, biological, and electrochemical methods were compared and discussed in detail. The effects of various parameters and adsorbent characteristics were highlighted and correlated with the adsorption capacities. Surface functional groups and porosity surface area play a crucial role in the process of single-phase and composite adsorbents. Composite materials impregnated with some metals showed high removal efficiencies. It was found that the adsorption process is the most relevant way for H2S removal due to its high removal efficiency, low cost, eco-friendly, and operational simplicity. This study serves as a useful guideline for those who are interested in H2S removal.

Application of Temperature Modulation-SDP on MOS Gas Sensors: Capturing Soil Gaseous Profile for Discrimination of Soil under Different Nutrient Addition

A technique of temperature modulation-SDP (specified detection point) on MOS gas sensors was designed and tested on their sensing performance to such complex mixture, soil gaseous compound. And a self-made e-nose was built to capture and analyze the gaseous profile from sampling headspace of two soils (sandy loam and sand) with the addition of nutrient at different dose (without, normal, and high addition). It comprises (a) 6 MOS gas sensors which were driven wirelessly on a certain modulation through (b) a PSoC CY8C28445-24PVXI-based interface and (c) the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and neural network (NN) as pattern recognition tools. The gaseous compounds are accumulated in a static headspace with thermostatting and stirring under controlled condition to optimize equilibration and gases concentration as well. The patterns are trained by backpropagation algorithm which employs a log-sigmoid function and updates the weights using search-then-converge schedule. PCA results indicate that the sensor array used is able to differentiate the soil type clearly and may provide a discrimination as a response to presence/level of the nutrients addition in soil. Additionally, the PCA enhances the classification performance of NN to discriminate among the predescribed nutrient additions.

Carbon monoxide contributes to hypotension-induced cerebrovascular vasodilation in piglets

The gaseous compound carbon monoxide (CO) has been identified as an important endogenous biological messenger in brain and is a major component in regulation of cerebrovascular circulation in newborns. CO is produced endogenously by catabolism of heme to CO, free iron, and biliverdin during enzymatic degradation of heme by heme oxygenase (HO). The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that endogenously produced CO contributes to hypotension-induced vasodilation of cerebral arterioles. Experiments used anesthetized piglets with implanted, closed cranial windows. Topical application of the HO substrate heme-l-lysinate caused dilation of pial arterioles that was blocked by a metal porphyrin inhibitor of HO, chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP). In normotensive piglets (arterial pressure 64 ± 4 mmHg), CrMP did not cause vasoconstriction of pial arterioles but rather a transient dilation. Hypotension (50% of basal blood pressure) increased cerebral CO production and dilated pial arterioles from 66 ± 2 to 92 ± 7 μm. In hypotensive piglets, topical CrMP or intravenous tin protoporphyrin decreased cerebral CO production and produced pial arteriolar constriction to normotensive diameters. In additional experiments, because prostacyclin and nitric oxide (NO) are also key dilators that can contribute to cerebrovascular dilation, we held their levels constant. NO/prostacyclin clamp was accomplished with continuous, simultaneous application of indomethacin, Nω-nitro-l-arginine, and minimal dilatory concentrations of iloprost and sodium nitroprusside. With constant NO and prostacyclin, the transient dilator and prolonged constrictor responses to CrMP of normotensive and hypotensive piglets, respectively, were the same as when NO and prostaglandins were not held constant. These data suggest that endogenously produced CO contributes to cerebrovascular dilation in response to reduced perfusion pressure.

Carbonitriding

Carbonitriding is a modified form of gas carburizing. It is performed in a closed furnace chamber with an atmosphere enriched with a gaseous compound of carbon and nitrogen. This chapter provides information on the carbonitriding of steels, the applications of carbonitriding, the typical case depths, and the hardenability of carbonitrided parts. In addition, the chapter also discusses the processes involved in quenching, tempering, and distortion of carbonitrided steels.

Decomposition of Volatile Organic Compounds in Air by Electron Beam and Gamma Ray Irradiation

Radiation decomposition and aerosol formation of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were examined to get information on a treatment of industrial off-gas. Model gases, air containing aromatic VOCs, chloroethenes and 1,2-dichloroethane, were sealed in batch reactors and irradiated with electron beam (EB) and gamma ray. For aromatic VOCs, G-values of decomposition in gamma ray irradiation were about 1.5 times larger than those in EB irradiation. The ratios of aerosol formation to decomposed aromatic VOCs were ranged from 30 to 66% on the basis of carbon. For chloroethenes except monochloroethylene, G-values of decomposition were 6 to 45 times larger than those of aromatic VOCs and the irradiated product was mainly gaseous compound. The G-values of decomposition in EB irradiation increased markedly with increase of chlorine atom in a molecule, while those in gamma ray irradiation were almost kept constant.

Thermochemistry of tantalum(V) bromide

The enthalpy of formation of crystalline TaBr5 is found by solution calorimetry to be −142.9 ± 0.4 kcal mol−1. Estimates of entropies and heat capacities lead to thermochemical quantities for the liquid and gaseous compound as well.