Influence of Pre-sowing Treatments on the Germination of Prosopis africana (Guill. and Perr.) Taub. Seeds

Aims: The application of pre-sowing treatment has greatly improved the germination of seeds of tree species used in afforestation programmes all over the world. This study aimed to determine the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on the germination of Prosopis africana seeds. Study Design: The experiment was laid in a completely randomized design. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out from 11th November to 30th December 2019atthe Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. Methodology: Ten seeds each were soaked in ten treatments: tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid (H2SO4) for 10, 20 and 30 minutes; hot water for 6, 12 and 24 hours; and cold water for 3, 5 and 7 days. Ten seeds from each of the treatments were sown in a germination box containing sterilized river bank sand and each replicated five (5) times. Percentage germinations for each treatment were arcsine transformed, subjected to analysis of variance and significant means were separated using Duncan multiple range test at 5% probability level. Results: The results revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in germination. The seeds treated with acid for 30 minutes had the highest mean (51.405) and standard deviation (8.983), seeds soaked in cold water for 3 days and 7 days had no germination. Conclusion: The study concluded that soaking Prosopis africana seeds for 30 minutes in H2SO4 breaks its dormancy, hence, was recommended for improved seed germination.

Catalytic Effect of Iron-Containing Microspheres of Volatile Ash on Oxidation of Diesel Fuel in Vibro-Liquefied and Fluidized Beds of an Inert Material

Oxidation of diesel fuel was studied using vibro-liquefied and fluidized beds of disperse bank sand in the presence of iron-containing microspheres isolated from flue ash of coal-fired boilers: ferrospheres and cenospheres activated with iron oxide. The obtained results are compared to the available data on oxidation of diesel fuel using microspheres of commercial catalysts for complete oxidation of organic compounds. Deeper oxidation of diesel fuel was observed at 500–600 °C in the presence of ferrospheres and cenospheres bearing iron oxide than in the vibro-liquefied bed of the inert material (bank sand). The most complete oxidation (84.3 %) was observed with ferrospheres at 700 °C. The ferrospheres were used for oxidation of diesel fuel in the fluidized bed of the inert material and they seemed less active under these conditions than the commercial catalysts based on СuСr2О4/Аl2О3and disperse Fe2O3. Nevertheless, the oxidation rate as high as 97.8 % can be achieved in the presence of ferrospheres by arranging jet fire above the bed. If so, the flame length decreases by half in comparison to the flame above the bed of the inert material. These observations, as well as a decrease in the proportion of CO and unburned carbon in combustion products indicate the catalytic activity of ferrospheres fed to the flame.

Maastrichtian ammonites from the Hornerstown Formation in New Jersey

The base of the Paleocene Hornerstown Formation at the Inversand pit and certain other localities in New Jersey yields a diverse phosphatised fauna of Maastrichtian age, including the ammonites Pachydsicus (Neodesmoceras) mokotibensis Collignon, 1952, Sphenodiscus lobatus (Tuomey, 1854), Baculites spp., and Eubaculites carinatus (Morton, 1834). S. lobatus is known from the older Red Bank Sand and Tinton Sand in New Jersey; the other species are known only from the basal Hornerstown. Occurrences at the Inversand pit are regarded as either reworked or remainié, although details of Cretaceous/Paleocene boundary events have been destroyed by pervasive burrowing that pipes the Hornerstown down into the underlying Navesink Formation.

Analysis of the Biological and Demographic Parameters of Northern Sand Lance, Ammodytes dubius, from the Newfoundland Grand Bank

Biological characteristics and population dynamics of northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius) population on the Grand Banks were investigated in the period 1968–79. Sand lance were distributed mainly in the shallower areas of the Grand Banks, particularly in the northeast and southeast areas. Through an examination of reproduction parameters I conclude that spawning occurs principally during the period November–January. Growth rates of Grand Bank sand lance are within the range of those described for the Scotian Shelf and are well correlated with temperature variations. Abundance indices, derived from groundfish surveys, indicate a substantial increase in abundance since the 1960s, and this increase is attributable to increased recruitment and reduced natural mortality. From correlation analyses I suggest that the decline in the Grand Bank population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) may be responsible for the reduced mortality rates and increased abundance of Grand Bank sand lance during the 1970s.

The Settlement of Ophelia Bicornis Savigny Larvae The 1952 Experiments

Previous conclusions that it should be possible to forecast the intensity of settlements which will be obtained in fifty-fifty mixture of two sands, provided the relative attractiveness or repellence of each component is known, were fully confirmed. The results of these mixture experiments agree with the classification of sands as attractive, neutral or repellent.It is shown that an attractive factor is capable of transference, in sea water, from fresh Bullhill Bank sand to acid-cleaned quartz sands, to calcareous oolitic sand and to an artificial sand of fused alumina. The attractive factor is present in water in which fresh Bullhill Bank sand had been shaken.A similar transference of a repellent factor from fresh Salthouse Lake sand is not so clearly demonstrable. Water in which fresh Salthouse Lake sand has been shaken appears to contain the attractive factor. Thus both attractive and repellent factors may be present in Salthouse Lake sand.Activated charcoal stimulates larvae to settle and metamorphose, but needs to be in granular form, or associated with neutral grains, to exert its full influence. The charcoal contains copper in minute proportion, but whether this has any significance for metamorphosis is undetermined.The grade of a sand was again shown to be a settlement factor of some importance. The most attractive grain sizes appear to be those of which the bulk of the Bullhill Bank surface sand is composed.Analysis shows that the surface sand of Salthouse Lake (St. II) contains some three times the organic nitrogen content of the surface sand of the Bullhill Bank.