Localisation and quantification of elements within seeds of Cd/Zn hyperaccumulator Thlaspi praecox by micro-PIXE.

Cd, Zn and Pb accumulation, spatial distribution within seeds and germinating seedlings, and seeds fitness of metal hyperaccumulating Thlaspi praecox were investigated in order to gain more knowledge on plant reproductive success at metal polluted sites. The seeds contained up to 1351 microg g-1 (dry weight) of Cd, 121 microg g-1 of Zn and 17 microg g-1 of Pb. Seed fitness was negatively influenced by seed Cd hyperaccumulation.

Element distribution in mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal roots of the halophyte Aster tripolium determined by proton induced X-ray emission.

The salt aster (Aster tripolium L.) colonized by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices Sy167 and noncolonized control plants were grown in a greenhouse for nine months with regular fertilization by Hoagland nutrient solution supplemented with 2% NaCl. Mycorrhizal roots showed a high degree of mycorrhizal colonization of 60-70% and formed approximately 25% more dry weight and much less aerenchyma than the nonmycorrhizal controls.

Nonperturbative gluon radiation and energy dependence of elastic scattering.

The energy dependence of the total hadronic cross sections is caused by gluon bremsstrahlung which we treat nonperturbatively. It is located at small transverse distances about 0.3 fm from the valence quarks.

Observation of the Cabibbo-Suppressed Decay Ξ_{c}^{+} → pK^{-}π^{+}.

We report the first observation of the Cabibbo-suppressed charm baryon decay Ξ_{c}^{+}→pK^{-}π^{+}. We observe 150±22±5 events for the signal. The data were accumulated using the SELEX spectrometer during the 1996-1997 fixed target run at Fermilab, chiefly from a 600 GeV/c Σ^{-} beam.

The proton microprobe: a powerful tool for nondestructive trace element analysis.

A proton microprobe capable of focusing proton beams with energies up to 6 million electron volts to a spot size of 2 x 2 square micrometers has been used for chemical analysis of small grains of minerals in lunar samples by proton-induced x-ray emission. The proton microprobe is preferable to the electron microprobe for analyzing trace elements whose concentrations are below the detection limit of the latter and for analyzing objects with numerous major and trace elements with a wide range of atomic numbers. Application of the proton microprobe to biological samples is feasible.