Among the different factors hypothesized to be responsible for the virtual disappearance of Egeria densa, once a dominant aquatic macrophyte in a southern Chile wetland ecosystem, are the negative effects of certain chemical compounds (mainly chlorate) and harsh environmental conditions (desiccation caused by prolonged atmospheric exposure). The authors performed an integrated experiment in whi...

Total body water (TBW) determination by tritium space could be factitiously elevated by exchangeable H+ contained within water-soluble chemical configurations. Should this nonaqueous (molecular) exchangeable H+ turn out to be a large fraction of total exchangeable H+, TBW measurement by tritiated water (THO) dilution would display a systematic upward and non-random error. TBW was measured by TH...

Diminishing surface wettability is an effective method to improve corrosion resistance of aluminum. Various techniques for preparing hydrophobic surface have been reported, most of which use organic coating as the final step. The key point to diminish surface wettability is to form a fine regular surface structure, and the porous type anodic oxide film (PAOF) has nano-pore structure, therefore ...

For many concretes and mortars, self-desiccation results in the creation of empty capillary porosity within the cement paste microstructure, accompanied by a decrease in achieved hydration, an increase in internal stresses, and an increased propensity for early age cracking. One solution to this problem for low water-to-cement ratio concretes where external curing is ineffective has been the de...

Upon desiccation, some tardigrades enter an ametabolic dehydrated state called anhydrobiosis and can survive a desiccated environment in this state. For successful transition to anhydrobiosis, some anhydrobiotic tardigrades require pre-incubation under high humidity conditions, a process called preconditioning, prior to exposure to severe desiccation. Although tardigrades are thought to prepare...

> Sowing crops following cover crops on forage may cause injuries andproductivity reduction, due reasons as allelopathy or glyphosate residues. Theobjective of this study was to evaluate the influence of differing periods betweencover crop (Urochloa ruziziensis) desiccation with glyphosate and sunflower(Aguará 4) sowing in a no-tillage system on crop development and productivity.Two assays were...

The effects of freezing and desiccation of spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L. cv Yates) on the thylakoid membranes were assessed using antibodies specific for thylakoid membrane proteins. The peripheral part of the chloroplast coupling factor ATPase (CF1) was used as a molecular marker for chemical membrane damage by chaotropic solutes. Plastocyanin, a soluble protein localized inside the clo...

The genetic determinism of seed desiccation sensitivity was studied using a cross between two coffee species exhibiting a large difference for this trait, Coffea pseudozanguebariae (tolerant) and C. liberica (sensitive). Throughout the whole study, seed desiccation tolerance was quantified both in terms of water content and water activity. Whatever the parameter used, the level of seed desiccat...

Desiccation resistance, the ability of an organism to reduce water loss, is an essential trait in arid habitats. Drought frequency in tropical regions is predicted to increase with climate change, and small ectotherms are often under a strong desiccation risk. We tested hypotheses regarding the underexplored desiccation potential of tropical insects. We measured desiccation resistance in 82 ant...

The Azorean islands have been historically affected by human activities, mainly due to the combined effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation, introduction exotic species. We here aim analyze role environmental characteristics spatial descriptors in supporting regional biodiversity macroinvertebrates considering natural ponds artificial tanks. After monthly variation macroinvertebrate as...