Photosynthesis is one of the key processes to be affected by water deficits, via decreased CO2 diffusion to the chloroplast and metabolic constraints. The relative impact of those limitations varies with the intensity of the stress, the occurrence (or not) of superimposed stresses, and the species we are dealing with. Total plant carbon uptake is further reduced due to the concomitant or even earlier inhibition of growth. Leaf carbohydrate status, altered directly by water deficits or indirectly (via decreased growth), acts as a metabolic signal although its role is not totally clear. Other relevant signals acting under water deficits comprise: abscisic acid (ABA), with an impact on stomatal aperture and the regulation at the transcription level of a large number of genes related to plant stress response; other hormones that act either concurrently (brassinosteroids, jasmonates, and salycilic acid) or antagonistically (auxin, cytokinin, or ethylene) with ABA; and redox control of the energy balance of photosynthetic cells deprived of CO2 by stomatal closure. In an attempt to systematize current knowledge on the complex network of interactions and regulation of photosynthesis in plants subjected to water deficits, a meta-analysis has been performed covering > 450 papers published in the last 15 years. This analysis shows the interplay of sugars, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and hormones with photosynthetic responses to drought, involving many metabolic events. However, more significantly it highlights (i) how fragmented and often non-comparable the results are and (ii) how hard it is to relate molecular events to plant physiological status, namely photosynthetic activity, and to stress intensity. Indeed, the same data set usually does not integrate these different levels of analysis. Considering these limitations, it was hard to find a general trend, particularly concerning molecular responses to drought, with the exception of the genes ABI1 and ABI3. These genes, irrespective of the stress type (acute versus chronic) and intensity, show a similar response to water shortage in the two plant systems analysed (Arabidopsis and barley). Both are associated with ABA-mediated metabolic responses to stress and the regulation of stomatal aperture. Under drought, ABI1 transcription is up-regulated while ABI3 is usually down-regulated. Recently ABI3 has been hypothesized to be essential for successful drought recovery.

The most important processes for the creation of chlorine ion excited states from the ground configurations of Cl 10+ to Cl 15+ ions in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source, leading to the emission of K x-ray lines, were studied. Theoretical values for inner-shell excitation and ionization cross-sections, including double KL and triple KLL ionization, transition probabilities and energies for the de-excitation processes, were calculated in the framework of the multi-configuration Dirac–Fock method. With reasonable assumptions about the electron energy distribution, a theoretical Kα x-ray spectrum was obtained, which was then compared with recent experimental data.

The most important processes for the creation of chlorine ion excited states from the ground configurations of Cl 10+ to Cl 15+ ions in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source, leading to the emission of K x-ray lines, were studied. Theoretical values for inner-shell excitation and ionization cross-sections, including double KL and triple KLL ionization, transition probabilities and energies for the de-excitation processes, were calculated in the framework of the multi-configuration Dirac–Fock method. With reasonable assumptions about the electron energy distribution, a theoretical Kα x-ray spectrum was obtained, which was then compared with recent experimental data.

Transition wavelengths and probabilities for several 2 p 4 3 p -2 p 4 3 s and 2 p 4 3 d -2 p 4 3 p lines in fluorine-like neon ion (NeII) have been calculated within the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) method with quantum electrodynamics (QED) corrections. The results are compared with all existing experimental and theoretical data.

Transition wavelengths and probabilities for several 2 p 4 3 p -2 p 4 3 s and 2 p 4 3 d -2 p 4 3 p lines in fluorine-like neon ion (NeII) have been calculated within the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) method with quantum electrodynamics (QED) corrections. The results are compared with all existing experimental and theoretical data.

Doped zinc oxide with aluminium are attractive alternative material as transparent conducting electrode because they are nontoxic and inexpensive compared with indium tin oxide (ITO) for diffrent applications: solar cells, tft. Transparent aluminumdoped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature and 100W from ceramic target ZnO-Al2O3 (98:2 weight percent). The structural, electrical and optical properties of these films were characterized as a function of deposition pressure. AZO films with low resistivity 2.02×10-3 Ωcm and high transmittance (over 80% in vizible range) were thus prepared with a deposition pressure of 3 mTorr.

This paper presents a step-up micro-power converter for solar energy harvesting applications. The circuit uses a SC voltage tripler architecture, controlled by an MPPT circuit based on the Hill Climbing algorithm. This circuit was designed in a 0.13 mu m CMOS technology in order to work with an a-Si PV cell. The circuit has a local power supply voltage, created using a scaled down SC voltage tripler, controlled by the same MPPT circuit, to make the circuit robust to load and illumination variations. The SC circuits use a combination of PMOS and NMOS transistors to reduce the occupied area. A charge re-use scheme is used to compensate the large parasitic capacitors associated to the MOS transistors. The simulation results show that the circuit can deliver a power of 1266 mu W to the load using 1712 mu W of power from the PV cell, corresponding to an efficiency as high as 73.91%. The simulations also show that the circuit is capable of starting up with only 19% of the maximum illumination level.

The accumulation of lead in several bones of Wistar rats with time was determined and comparedQ3 for the different types of bones. Two groups were studied: a control group (n = 20), not exposedto lead and a contaminated group (n = 30), exposed to lead from birth, first indirectly throughmother’s milk, and then directly through a diet containing lead acetate in drinking water (0.2%).Rats age ranged from 1 to 11 months, with approximately 1 month intervals and each of thecollections had 3 contaminated rats and 2 control rats. Iliac, femur, tibia–fibula and skull havebeen analysed by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique (EDXRF). Samples offormaldehyde used to preserve the bone tissues were also analysed by Electrothermal AtomicAbsorption (ETAAS), showing that there was no significant loss of lead from the tissue to thepreservative. The bones mean lead concentration of exposed rats range from 100 to 300 mg g 1while control rats never exceeded 10 mg g 1. Mean bone lead concentrations were compared andthe concentrations were higher in iliac, femur and tibia–fibula and after that skull. However, ofall the concentrations in the different collections, only those in the skull were statisticallyQ4 significantly different (p o 0.05) from the other types of bones. Analysis of a radar chart alsoallowed us to say that these differences tend to diminish with age. The Spearman correlation testapplied to mean lead concentrations showed strong and very strong positive correlations betweenall different types of bones. This test also showed that mean lead concentrations in bones arenegatively correlated with the age of the animals. This correlation is strong in iliac and femur andvery strong in tibia–fibula and skull. It was also shown that the decrease of lead accumulationwith age is made by three plateaus of accumulation,