To examine the possible influence of incubation substrate water potential on rigid-shelled chelonian eggs and hatchlings, rigid-shelled eggs from four clutches of Brisbane River turtle (Emydura signata) were incubated buried in vermiculite at water potentials of approximately -100, -350, and -850 kPa, and patterns of egg mass change and hatchling attributes were examined. All eggs hatched succe...

This study evaluated the synergism between several P-solubilizing fungi isolates and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to improve clover ( Trifolium pratense) growth in the presence of Araxá apatite. Clover was sown directly in plastic pots with 300g of sterilized washed sand, vermiculite and sepiolite 1:1:1 (v:v:v) as substrate, and grown in a controlled environment chamber. The substrate was ferti...

Laboratory Trial A laboratory colony of pine regeneration weevils (pales, Hylobius pales, and pitch-eating, Pachylobius picivorus) was established during the winter of 1997-98. Weevils were collected once a week using pit traps baited with a 5:1 mix of ethanol and turpentine and set up in recently harvested tracts. In the laboratory, collected weevil species were maintained separately in clear ...

In this study, factors such as pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources that affect mycelial growth of Hydnum repandum, a medicinal mushroom, were investigated. Different inoculum media for vegetative inoculum production were also examined. The best suitable pH for mycelial growth was found to be 5.5. Among constant temperatures, the best mycelial growth was obtained at 20 and 25°C. The myc...

The proposal of this research was to obtain products with higher porosity and specific surface area than the raw vermiculite for its possible application as a support material CO2 adsorption. In addition, it proposed analyze geological implications resulting from hydrothermal treatment vermiculites in relation their genesis. Hydrothermal presence CO2, at low temperature pressure conditions, car...

In this study, the development and comparative characterization of different composite sorbents for thermal energy storage applications is reported. Two were targeted, namely, low-temperature space heating (SH) domestic hot water (DHW) provision. From a literature analysis, most promising hygroscopic salts selected these conditions, being LiCl SH LiBr DHW. Furthermore, two mesoporous silica gel...

The performance of biofilters inoculated with the fungus Scedosporium apiospermum was evaluated. This fungus was isolated from a biofilter which operated with toluene for more than 6 months. The experiments were performed in a 2.9 L reactor packed with vermiculite or with vermiculite-granular activated carbon as packing material. The initial moisture content of the support and the inlet concent...

The aim of this work was to estimate the biodegradation of a co-extruded starch/poly(lactic acid) polymeric material using a vermiculite based inert solid medium which could simulate compost medium and enable us to achieve complete carbon balances. At the end of the test the mineralisation rate was compared to those obtained for coextruded starch/poly(lactic acid) polymeric material degradation...

The infectivity of four species of entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) [Breton strain], Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar & Raulston [Weslaco strain], Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar [HP88 strain], and Heterorhabditis indica Poinar, Karunakar & David [Coimbatore strain] was examined in the laboratory against two subterranean termites: Reticulitermes flavipes ...

• Tree root respiration utilizes a major portion of the primary production in forests and is an important process in the global carbon cycle. Because of the lack of ecologically relevant methods, tree root respiration in situ is much less studied compared with above-ground processes such as photosynthesis and leaf respiration. • This study introduces a new 13 C natural tracer method for measuri...