Pot Of Water Research Articles

Kitchen Scalds and Thermal Burns in Children Five Years and Younger

The current study was undertaken to describe patterns of kitchen burns and scalds to young children to understand better why such injuries continue to occur despite intervention efforts. Emergency department-treated thermal burns and scalds associated with nonelectric cookware were examined from a national sample, collected by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's injury surveillance system over a 6-year period, 1997-2002. Data extracted from the cases included age, gender, body part, disposition, case weight, causal substance, and injury pattern. Data were analyzed using Epi Info 2002, with significance assessed by chi(2) test. Scalds were approximately twice as common as were thermal burns. Hot water was the chief causal agent for scalds. The 2 most common scald injury patterns were (1) the child reached up and pulled a pot of hot water off the stove or other elevated surface and (2) the child grabbed, overturned, or spilled a container of hot water onto him- or herself. One-year-olds were at highest risk for scalds and thermal burns. Scalds resulted in significantly more hospitalizations than did thermal burns. In nearly all injury patterns, more boys than girls were injured, but the ratio varied depending on the injury pattern. Although the kitchen is recognized as a room that is hazardous for young children, parents seem not to recognize or anticipate the risk for burns and scalds. The ability of children, especially toddlers, to reach containers of hot liquids on elevated surfaces is reflected in the injury data and is explained by anthropometry data, yet there is an apparent failure on the part of parents to recognize children's ability to gain access to the hazard and a failure to recognize the potential severity of resulting injury. These failures might explain why behavioral interventions (eg, place pots on back burners of stove) have been nonmotivating and ineffective. A multifaceted spectrum of prevention that has individual, community, and organizational components may prove to be more useful.

The biology and functional morphology of Nipponoclava gigantea: clues to the evolution of tube dwelling in the Penicillidae (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Clavagelloidea)

Abstract Nipponoclava gigantea is restricted to the tropical Western Pacific waters of southern Japan at depths of between 5 and 70 m and lives in coarse sand and gravel. In many respects, N. gigantea appears to be similar to other endobenthic penicillids in that there is a true shell, the margins of which, via the intermediary of a narrow ‘saddle’, are united with an adventitious tube. This has a large watering pot anteriorly and pleated ruffles, representing either growth or repair events, posteriorly. Nipponoclava gigantea differs from other penicillids, however, in that its true shell is large, i.e. ˜20 mm high as compared to 2–3 mm, and the angle of valve splay is ˜80° as opposed to 180°. Internally the shell has a wide pallial line and shallow pallial sinus and there are anterior adductor muscle scars. There are possibly posterior adductor muscle scars also. These are not present in the adult animal, however, although the anterior adductor is. Also present are paired anterior and (possibly) posterior pedal retractor muscles, the latter having a nervous union with the visceral ganglia to create simple stretch or tonus proprioreceptors. It is argued that N. gigantea provides clues about how the tube‐dwelling lifestyle has evolved in the various taxa of the Penicillidae. It is suggested that through a process of heterochrony, in which the animal produces its adventitious tube at progressively earlier and earlier developmental stages, the true shell has become actually and relatively smaller and smaller and, hence, more splayed in more derived penicillids. Nipponoclava gigantea is thus an important link between an hypothetical lyonsiid ancestor and the more specialized penicillids and helps us to understand the adaptive radiation of this group of tube‐dwelling bivalves.

Editorial

Editorial

Tube construction in the watering pot shell Brechites vaginiferus (Bivalvia; Anomalodesmata; Clavagelloidea)

AbstractThe bizarre watering pot shells of the clavagellid bivalve Brechites comprise a calcareous tube encrusted frequently with sand grains and other debris, the anterior end of which terminates in a convex perforated plate (the ‘watering pot’). It has not proved easy to understand how such extreme morphologies are produced. Previously published models have proposed that the tube and ‘watering pot’ are formed separately, outside the periostracum, and fuse later. Here we present the results of a detailed study of the structure and repair of the tubes of Brechites vaginiferus which suggest that these models are not correct. Critical observations include the fact that the external surface of the tube and ‘watering pot’ are covered by a thin organic film, on to the inner surface of which the highly organized aragonite crystals are secreted. There is no evidence of a suture between the tube and the ‘watering pot’ or that the periostracum of the juvenile shell passes through the wall of the tube. Live individuals of B. vaginiferus are able to repair substantial holes in the tube or ‘watering pot’ by laying down a new organic film followed by subsequent calcareous layers. Brechites vaginiferus displays Type C mantle fusion, with the result that the whole animal is encased by a continuous ring of mantle and periostracum, thereby making it possible to secrete a continuous ‘ring’ of shell material. On the basis of these observations we suggest that watering pot shells are not extra‐periostracal but are the product of simple modification of ‘normal’ shell‐secreting mechanisms.

Dengue virus infection.

Dengue fever is an acute self-limited mosquito-borne viral infection causing fever myalgia arthralgia headache rash and leukopenia. Thrombocytopenia and occasionally hemorrhage may develop in classic dengue fever but these are not prominent features. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a similar febrile illness except that increased capillary permeability and hemorrhage are major manifestations. Increased capillary permeability can lead to dengue shock syndrome (DSS; hemoconcentration profound shock and death from circulatory failure). The serotypes of dengue virus DEN-1 through DEN-4 all cause similar illness. The manifestations of DHF and DSS are thought to be primarily immune related and are likely caused by repeated infections by different dengue serotypes. Dengue virus is a zoonotic flavivirus containing a single positive sense RNA strand of 11 kb. The virion is spherical with an envelope containing the E (envelope) and M (membrane) glycoproteins. The E glycoprotein is essential for entry of the virus into host cells and contains several virusneutralizing epitopes. The four serotypes of dengue virus are transmitted throughout the tropics between 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south latitude closely matching the distribution of the principle mosquito vector of dengue virus Aedes aegypti. A. albopictus A. polynesiensis and other members of the subgenus Stegomyia transmit dengue in restricted geographic areas. The feeding behavior of Aedes mosquitoes influences the geographic pattern of dengue transmission; the mosquitoes are domestic are anthropophilic have short flight patterns and bite multiply before oviposition thus accentuating transmission of the virus in densely populated urban settings. A. aegypti breeds around houses in water pots gutters and discarded tires. In heavily endemic areas 1:20 may harbor an infected mosquito but such endemicity is not necessary for transmission. Dengue cases cluster tightly often within households. Of 30 household members 29 became infected in an extreme example from China. Despite the ability of the vector to migrate up to 2.5 km daily in 1 study only 0.7% of mosquitoes visited >4 houses reflecting limited vector migration between feedings. (excerpt)

The biology and functional morphology of Humphreyia strangei (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Clavagellidae): an Australian cemented ‘watering pot’ shell

AbstractAmongst the watering pot shells of the Clavagellidae (Anomalodesmata), the least well known is Humphreyia, with a single species H. strangei. Unlike representatives of the other extant clavagellid genera, i.e. Clavagella and Brechites, however, where juveniles are unknown, there is a single juvenile (plus adult specimens) of H. strangei available for study. The Clavagellidae contains the weirdest of all bivalves, encased in a huge (in proportion to the tiny juvenile shell) adventitious tube with an anterior ‘watering pot’. The juvenile H. strangei is dimyarian with a large foot and byssal groove, and a large pedal gape; the entire body is enclosed within a bag‐like periostracum‐covered mantle cavity. Upon permanent residence, however, the anterior watering pot component of the adventitious tube is cemented to the chosen substratum, the adductor muscles are lost and the foot and pedal gape greatly reduced; the fourth pallial aperture closes and the pedal gape and the tubules of the watering pot are similarly occluded. Once cementation is achieved, further growth anteriorly is impossible and the adventitious tube is secreted posteriorly, to house the long siphons, and subsequently can be added to as growth increments. Anatomically, H. strangei has a typical anomalodesmatan arrangement of mantle cavity and digestive organs so that it is, probably, a suspension feeder. Inside the pericardium, however, is a pair of unique proprioreceptors which probably serve to monitor rectal tonus and thus control defecation, co‐ordinated with siphonal retraction and extension. They probably also prevent over‐filling of the capacious rectum. It is believed that cementation and adventitious tube formation occur at the time of sexual maturity and this change in lifestyle between juvenile and adult represents a form of metamorphosis – quite distinct from that which occurs in all bivalves between the pediveliger and juvenile stages – and seems to be unique to Humphreyia and probably Brechites. This family of anomalodesmatan bivalves is thus actually stranger than the already aberrant watering pot would suggest.

Biology and functional morphology of the watering pot shell Brechites vaginiferus (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Clavagelloidea)

AbstractLiving individuals of the bivalve ‘watering pot’ superfamily Clavagelloidea were collected from Withnell Bay, Burrup Peninsula, Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Details of the anatomy suggest that, in most respects, Brechites vaginiferus is a typical filter‐feeding bivalve, albeit encased in a tube of its own secretion. The true shell is tiny (∼ 4 mm long) and surrounded by a ‘saddle’ of initially‐secreted adult shell. To this is fused, by an internally produced layer of calcium carbonate, the adventitious tube which comprises a single layer, confirming that it is produced only once. Posteriorly, however, it can be added to internally as ‘plaited ruffles’ creating a multi‐layered structure. The anterior watering pot comprises a perforated plate fringed by tubules, with a small pedal aperture. Brechites vaginiferus pumps interstitial water into the mantle cavity via the watering pot, at least principally, not out of it as previously thought. In this way, the animal is either tapping an interstitial source of accessory food, or aerating the anterior end of its burrow (or both). It has also been demonstrated, however, that pumping interstitial water into the mantle cavity via the pedal gape results in hydraulic pressures being built up that extend the siphons. The pedal disc pump, therefore, acts in this amyarian bivalve in the same way as the adductor muscles do in more typical species. The ctenidia collect suspended material in the usual way from seawater and from interstitial water: they do not, however, possess chemoautotrophic sulphur‐oxidizing bacteria, and the species is thus not using sulphur as an energy source. Pedal gape feeding is considered to be the ancestral condition not only in the earliest anomalodesmatans, e.g. the Pholadomyidae, but also the autobranchs in general. This has been refined in the Clavagelloidea to create the unique form of the adventitious tube, its watering pot and a wholly surprising lifestyle. Tube form in B. vaginiferus varies in relation to habitat occupied. Its major habitat on Withnell Bay, however, is the riffles of a high‐salinity stream draining down the mangrove‐fringed shore from the semi‐arid land behind. Although much more is now known about B. vaginiferus and ‘watering pot’ shells, no pre‐tube juvenile is known and awaits discovery to confirm hypothesized life‐history details.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in drinking water biofilms: implications for transmission in early life

To provide evidence of water quality as a risk factor for acquisition of Helicobacter pylori in early life, and to identify evidence for its presence within pots used to store drinking water. A prospective cohort study of 65 infants was conducted in the rural village of Keneba, The Gambia. Age of H. pylori colonization was determined and water pot biofilms were tested for H. pylori by sequencing of amplified DNA. Use of supplemental water was a strong risk factor for H. pylori colonization in infants (OR 4.71, 95% CI 1.17-22.5). DNA with 95% homology to the 16S rRNA gene of H. pylori was isolated from biofilms of water pots. Drinking water may be a reservoir for H. pylori in areas of the developing world where water quality is poor. Early introduction of water, particularly if stored in, or collected from contaminated sources, may be associated with an increased rate of H. pylori colonization.

Imaging transmitter release. I. Peeking at the steps preceding membrane fusion.

Over the recent year we have witnessed considerable advances in the study of neurotransmitter release. This progress has been severalfold as different techniques have allowed us to characterise many steps along the process of exocytosis, membrane fusion, formation of the fusion pore, and have given insight in the kinetics of release and membrane re-uptake. Patch clamping provided quantitative measurements of the capacitance changes as the membrane of the secretory vesicle is added to the surface of the cell during secretion, and the change in the opposite direction when membrane is retrieved back into the cell during exocytosis. Carbon-fibre microelectrodes have measured electrochemically the release of oxidisable transmitters into the extracellular space. Differential interference contrast microscopy has given us spatially resolved images of the cell surface during exocytosis; real-time images that are suggestive of bubbles breaking the surface of a boiling pot of water. The interest in novel techniques stems from the fact that existing approaches can provide only indirect evidence on the steps preceding membrane fusion. The vesicular dynamics just beneath the plasma membrane are out of the reach of capacitance measurements or amperometric detection. What we have needed is a tool that would allow us to look just below the cell surface. This much-needed tool appears to be evanescent-wave microscopy. This review describes how laser microscopy can be used to study exocytosis at single-vesicle resolution. A companion paper deals with the practical aspects of evanescent-wave imaging.

Evanescent-Wave Microscopy: Peeking just Under the Surface of the Cell

Abstract There are many techniques available that enable us to know what is happening at the surface of a living cell. These techniques have allowed us to characterize many aspects of the process of exocytosis, the fnal cellular event in secretion. Patch clamping has given us quantitative measurements of the capacitance changes as the membrane of the secretory vesicle is added to the surface of the cell during exocytosis, and the change in the opposite direction as membrane is retrieved back into the cell during endocytosis. Tiny probes have measured electrochemical changes just outside the surface of the cell as reactive molecules are released into their surroundings. Differential interference contrast microscopy has given us high resolution pictures of the cell surface during exocytosis; real-time images are suggestive of bubbles breaking the surface of a boiling pot of water. However, exocytosis is known to be proceeded by an ordered series of events that occur below the surface of the cell.

Microencapsulation makes catalyst reusable

Imagine a tea bag that gives a fullflavored brew though it's dipped over and over again in many different pots of water. None exists. But catalytic systems that work that way may be at hand. Using a microencapsulation technique, Japanese chemists have prepared immobilized Lewis acid catalysts that are recoverable and reusable, just like the imaginary tea bag. In addition, the researchers— chemistry professor Shu Kobayashi and graduate student Satoshi Nagayama at the Science University of Tokyo—find that the activity of the catalyst they prepare in this way may be higher than that of its stand-alone counterpart [ J. Am. Chem. Soc , 120, 2985(1998)]. The work is extremely exciting, comments Paul J. Reider, vice president for process research at Merck & Co., Rahway, N.J. Because even when chemists come up with wonderful, efficient catalysts, we have to continually make them because they don't last, he explains. Scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate (scandium triflate), a Lewis acid developed ...

Impacts of Copper Leaching From Copper Hydroxide-treated Containers on Water Recycling, Nursery Runoff, and Growth of Baldcypress and Corn

Studies were conducted using Zea mays L. and Taxodium distichum L. seedlings as model systems to study Cu leaching from Cu(OH)2-treated containers. Initial experiments developed Cu toxicity curves (as CuSO4) in an inorganic (sand) or organic (bark-sand) medium with single (acute) or multiple (chronic) applications. A second pair of experiments investigated short-term (35 days) Cu accumulation and plant responses to irrigation with water (125 mL/plant per day) recycled through a fixed reservoir volume (9.5 L) from 0.7-L Cu(OH)2-treated containers filled with an inorganic or organic medium. Finally, plant responses and Cu leaching were monitored during growth in 2.3-L Cu(OH)2-treated containers filled with two organic media fertigated with high (8.0) or low (6.5) pH solutions. Different Cu(OH)2 concentrations and application methods were tested. Leachate data from the latter studies were used to calculate potential Cu concentrations in nursery runoff using various water application methods and pot spacings. Expression of Cu toxicity symptoms depended on exposure, concentration, and medium for each species. Plants subjected to chronic exposure and grown in an inorganic medium developed toxicity symptoms at lower doses than plants subjected to acute exposure and grown in an organic medium. Several measures of plant growth were greater for both species when grown in 0.7-L Cu(OH)2-treated containers, but not in 2.3-L containers. Plants in Cu(OH)2-treated containers seldom exhibited Cu toxicity symptoms in shoot tissues, even with an inorganic medium. Soluble Cu content of the recycled solution from Spin Out-treated containers increased slightly (<1.2 mg·L-1) during the 35-day experiment. Longer-term studies with nonrecycled leachate from 2.3-L containers indicated that Cu leaching increased after 60 to 90 days. Copper leaching was greater with the combination of applied solution of pH 6.5 and bark-sand-peat medium than with the combination of applied solution of pH 8.0 and bark-sand medium, and increased with greater concentrations of Cu(OH)2 in container wall treatments or when containers were filled before latex carrier was dried. Calculations of potential nursery runoff indicated that the levels of soluble Cu in effluent for most concentrations and spacings projected were below EPA action levels for potable water (1.3 mg·L-1) when overhead irrigation was used.

Simulated performance of thermal storage in a solar cooker

An explicit finite-difference method is used to simulate the thermal performance of short-term thermal storage for a focusing, indoor, institutional, solar cooker. The cooker storage unit consists of a cylindrical solid block. The block is enclosed in a uniform layer of insulation except where there are cavities on the top and bottom surfaces to alllow heating of a pot from storage and heating of the storage by solar radiation. A paraboloidal concentrator focuses solar radiation through a secondary reflector onto a central circular zone of the storage block through the cavity in the insulation. The storage is charged for a set period of time and heat is subsequently discharged to a pot of water. In these simulations a pot of cold water is placed on the hot storage block and the time then estimated until the water either boils or the temprature of the water reaches a maximum value. Simulations are made for a given pot capacity with the storage block made from either cast iron or granite (rock). The effects on cooker performance are compared for a variety of height to diameter ratios of the storage block and size of the area of solar input zone.

Herbicide Effects on Ivyleaf Morningglory (Ipomoea hederacea) and Soybean (Glycine max) Growth and Water Relations

Soybean and ivyleaf morningglory were grown alone and together to quantify water use and growth after treatment with soil-applied chlorimuron plus metribuzin, imazaquin, or no herbicide. Soybean water consumption was 22 ml pot−1day−1or more when grown alone or with another soybean, regardless of herbicide treatment. Ivyleaf morningglory grown alone or with another ivyleaf morningglory consumed ≥ 32 ml water pot−1day−1when no herbicide was applied. Treatment with chlorimuron plus metribuzin or imazaquin reduced ivyleaf morningglory water consumption to ≤ 4 ml pot−1day−1. Water use was reduced with either herbicide when soybean and ivyleaf morningglory were grown together, indicating little or no water consumption by ivyleaf morningglory. Ivyleaf morningglory height, root length, leaf area, and dry matter were reduced by imazaquin or chlorimuron plus metribuzin. Soybean leaf area was also reduced by herbicide treatment or the presence of another plant. Soybean biomass was not reduced in any planting combination, except when two soybean were grown together and treated with imazaquin. Nontreated ivyleaf morningglory partitioned more biomass into the shoots than roots. Ivyleaf morningglory responded to herbicide treatment by partitioning more biomass into roots.

DYEING FOR KOOL-AID

Kids may have finally found a use for the sugary drink Kool-Aid that nutritionists may approve of. Instead of drinking it, they put it in their hair. Youths stir cherry, kiwi lime or tropical punch Kool-Aid packets into a boiling pot of water then dunk their heads. Presto! Colored hair for an attractive price with no damaging chemicals. Kool-Aid offers added benefits: hair won't fall out of place when stuck together by the syrupy drink. Now if kids could only find something else to do with chips and candy ...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and nonhydraulic signaling of soil drying in Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.

We examined the influence of Glomus intraradices on nonhydraulic signaling of soil drying, in a drought-avoiding plant having stomates that are extremely sensitive to changes in soil moisture. Cowpea [Vigna un guiculata (L.) Walp. 'White Acre'] seedlings were grown in a greenhouse with root systems split between two pots. The 2×3×2 experimental design included two levels of mycorrhizal colonization (presence or absence of Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith UT143), three levels of phosphorus fertilization within each mycorrhizal treatment and two levels of water (both pots watered or one pot watered, one pot allowed to dry). Stomatal conductance was mostly similar in fully watered mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal controls. However, g s of half-dried, nonmycorrhizal plants was reduced on fewer days and to a lesser extent than g s of half-dried, mycorrhizal plants, perhaps related to quicker soil drying in mycorrhizal pots. The partial soil drying treatment had little effect on leaf relative water content or osmotic potential, indicating that declines in g s and leaf growth were induced by some nonhydraulic factor. Leaf growth was inhibited only in nonmycorrhizal plants, evidently due to a difference in phosphorus nutrition between mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants. The mycorrhizal effect on g s was not associated with phosphorus nutrition. Inhibition of g s was directly related to extent of soil drying, while inhibition of leaf growth was inversely related to extent of soil drying.

Chemometrical analysis and quality control of pot water and its sources from Athens, Greece

The present study describes a chemometrical interpretation of a large data set from pot water quality control results. Sixteen chemical and physicochemical parameters constantly checked throughout the year were involved in the classification procedure. The data originate from seventeen sampling stations (pot water sources and pot water purification stations) and were collected in the period January ‐December 1993. Mean values for two months periods were introduced to the chemometrical procedure, so finally a data set 101x16 was formed. Additionally, quality control requirements of the European Union for pot water were added to the set to form an information input matrix of 103x16 elements. Hierarchical and non‐hierarchical clustering procedures were applied in order to reveal the internal structure of the data set. Some interesting conclusions like special water quality of lake Mornos, possibility of quality monitoring with lesser number of components etc., concerning the quality and stability of the pot ...

Computer-Aided Formulation of Silica Defoamers for the Paper Industry

In the manufacture of paper, wood chips are “cooked” in a vat of chemicals that has a tendency to boil over, much like spaghetti cooked in a pot of water. An important use of precipitated silica, fine particle silicon dioxide (a noncrystalline form of sand), is in eliminating such foams from industrial processes. To be effective, the silica must be dispersed, often in a mixture of mineral oil and other chemicals. Based on an empirical equation of the defoamer's performance as well as on a deterministic equation of ingredient cost, I developed a nonlinear programming model for optimal performance. Paper manufacturers confirmed the validity of the predicted optimal formula in four out of five paper plant trials.

Medieval decorative art (review)

Reviews 129 building could have accommodated. Interestingly, folk belief recognized the problem, claiming that the cross 'miraculously grew like a tree, till it touched the roof of the church'. If the cross was outside, it would have been viewed by ordinary people who could not have understood the subtle programmes presented by Meyvaert and Howlett This raises the whole question of readership, as opposed to authorship. As the Ruthwell audience is hardly discussed anywhere in this book, it is to be hoped that Cassidy will take up the question in a second colloquium and a second fine volume. Aedeen Cremin Centre for Celtic Studies University of Sydney Cherry, John, Medieval decorative art, London, British Museum Press, 1991; paper; pp. 72; 90 plates; R.R.P. A U S $ 19.95 [distributed in Australia by Thames & Hudson] The format of John Cherry's book on medieval decorative art is identical to the two works on medieval craftsmen reviewed above, [by Binski and Brown & O'Connor, Ed.] and shares with them the same strengths and limitations. The focus is somewhat different, however: a genre of medieval art rather than a particular craft. Although the tide of the book is Medieval decorative art, the actual subject is more specific, namely, medieval secular art. The selection of examples is also different With a handful of exceptions, all the works discussed and illustrated come from the British Museum. It is thus in some senses a thematic catalogue of the medieval collections of this celebrated institution. Inevitably, a preponderance of examples are from England, with France ranking second; although, other regions of Western Europe are occasionally represented. Medieval decorative art is light, reasonably entertaining reading, beautifully and profusely Ulustrated. Cherry has divided his discussion into four chapters, treating in turn a common theme of secular decoration: nature, heraldry, feasting, and courtly love. However, the book tends to read as a collection of only sketchily-connected examples. There is little sense of a coherent overaU theme. The emphasis is on the description and listing of a series of objects within each category, rather than any sustained analysis or 130 Reviews argument. Nevertheless, given the richness of the British Museum holdings, the array of individual objects is often fascinating and intriguing. Thefirstchapter explains the prevalence of scenes from nature and rural life by the continuing importance of agriculture for most classes in medieval society, whether urban or rural, rich or poor. The author surveys the long history of combining animal and foliage motifs in decorative patterns and notes the emergence of more naturalistic depictions by the thirteenth century. The list of themes associated with nature is long: the Labours of the Months, hunting and falconry, bhds, mythical and domestic animals, the popularity of monkeys in medieval art, often with a satirical or jesting intent and, from the fourteenth century on, scenes of pastoral delight and the enclosed garden as the site of courtly dalliance. I particularly enjoyed the fifteenth-century tapestry showing a noblewoman watering her flowers with a medieval watering pot! Chapter two is devoted to heraldry used as decoration. W e are reminded that the systematic use of heraldry as a hereditary device began in the twelfth century and was well established by the thirteenth. In keeping with the prominent role of heraldry in aristocratic society, the decorative use of heraldry proliferated over a wide range of objects, from ivory chess pieces and seals totiles,caskets, and cups. There is a section on English royal heraldry, and on the use of badges. These were distinctive devices adopted as a mark of recognition by individuals or families and became popular in England during the course of the fourteenth century. Here too a delightful example: a jewel moulded in gold in the form of a vivacious swan, its leg raised and beak slightly open, covered in white enamel to simulate the effect of feathers. The third chapter details the many instances of feasting in decorative art. The author wisely observes that such depictions should not be taken at face value, as reliable 'eye-witness' accounts. Rather, they are interpretations through the eye of the artist of whatever the patron wanted shown. Examples of the various objects and utensUs involved...

Nonhydraulic signalling of soil drying in mycorrhizal maize

Our objectives were to (1) verify that nonhydraulic signalling of soil drying can reduce leaf growth of maize, (2) determine if a mycorrhizal influence on such signalling can occur independently of a mycorrhizal effect on leaf phosphorus concentration, plant size or soil drying rate, and (3) determine if leaf phosphorus concentration can affect response to the signalling process. Maize (Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer 3147’) seedlings were grown in a glasshouse with root systems split between two pots. The 2 x 3 x 2 experimental design included two levels of mycorrhizal colonization (presence or absence of Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith), three levels of phosphorus fertilization within each mycorrhizal treatment and two levels of water (both pots watered or one pot watered, one pot allowed to dry). Fully watered mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal control plants had similar total leaf lengths throughout the experiment, and similar final shoot dry weights, root dry weights and leaf length/root dry weight ratios. Leaf growth of mycorrhizal plants was not affected by partial soil drying, but final plant leaf length and shoot dry weight were reduced in half-dried nonmycorrhizal plants. At low P fertilization, effects of nonhydraulic signalling were not evident. At medium and high P fertilization, final total plant leaf length of nonmycorrhizal plants was reduced by 9% and 10%, respectively. These growth reductions preceded restriction of stomatal conductance by 7 d. This and the fact that leaf water potentials were unaffected by partial soil drying suggested that leaf growth reductions were nonhydraulically induced. Stomatal conductance of plants given low phosphorus was less influenced by nonhydraulic signalling of soil drying than plants given higher phosphorus. Soil drying was not affected by mycorrhizal colonization, and reductions in leaf growth were not related to soil drying rate (characterized by time required for soil matric potential to drop below control levels and by time roots were exposed to soil matric potential below typical leaf water potential). We conclude that mycorrhizal symbiosis acted independently of phosphorus nutrition, plant size or soil drying rate in eliminating leaf growth response to nonhydraulic root-to-shoot communication of soil drying.