The effects of water potential on the cellular compositions of a soil bacterium and a fungus were examined by growing the organisms in media with various KCl concentrations. In media containing up to 1 M KCl, C/N ratios in Aspergillus flavus increased significantly, while those for a Pseudomonas sp. did not. For both organisms, the proportions of cellular C and N in cytoplasm increased by a fac...

Pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the damaging effects of salinity on Sesbania sesban plants in the presence and absence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The selected morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of S. sesban were measured. Salinity reduced growth and chlorophyll content drastically while as AMF inoculated plants improved growth. A decrease in the numbe...

Mechanical details as well as electrical models of FDR (frequency domain reflectometry) sensors for the measurement of the complex dielectric permittivity of porous materials are presented. The sensors are formed from two stainless steel parallel waveguides of various lengths. Using the data from VNA (vector network analyzer) with the connected FDR sensor and selected models of the applied sens...

A multi-parameter measurement system based on ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UFBG) array with sensitive material was proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The UFBG array interrogation principle is time division multiplex technology with two semiconductor optical amplifiers as timing units. Experimental results showed that the performance of the proposed UFBG system is almost equal to that ...

The paper describes method for situations assessment based on retrieving information about similar earlier observed conditions. Situation is a set of qualitative and quantitative characteristics that describe states of interrelated objects. Object states are defined by measurement parameters. A method for situation assessment is based on calculation of aggregated indices and their comparison wa...

Surface salinity variations and processes affecting surface salinity in the high-salinity region of the subtropical North Atlantic (the SPURS-1 area) are investigated by combining data from in situ observations and satellite remote-sensing measurements. On temporal average, the surface freshwater flux term (evaporation minus precipitation) in the SPURS-1 region increases mixed-layer salinity. O...

Soil salinity is a major constraint to crop growth and yield. The primary and lateral roots of Arabidopsis thaliana are known to respond differentially to a number of environmental stresses, including salinity. Although the maize root system as a whole is known to be sensitive to salinity, whether or not different structural root systems show differential growth responses to salinity stress has...

The effect of salinity on the photoinduced toxicity of waterborne fluoranthene to larvae of the grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and tubificid oligochaete worms (Monopylephorus rubroniveus) was studied in a laboratory system under simulated sunlight. In the grass shrimp toxicity tests, five concentrations of fluoranthene (0, 3.6, 7.3, 13.8, and 29.0 microg/L) and four salinities (6.9, 14.5, 21...