Understanding maturation stress and wood properties of poplar tension wood are critical for improving lumber yields and utilization ratio. In this study, Released Longitudinal Maturation Strains (RLMS), anatomical features, physical and mechanical properties, and nano-mechanical properties of the cell wall were analyzed at different peripheral positions and heights in nine inclined, 12-year-old poplar (Populus×euramericana ‘Zhonglin46’) trees. The correlations between RLMS and wood properties were determined. The results showed that there were mixed effects of artificial inclination on wood quality and properties. The upper sides of inclined stems had higher RLMS, proportion of G-layer, bending modulus of elasticity, and elastic modulus of cell wall but lower microfibril angle than the lower sides. At heights between 0.7 m and 2.2 m, only the double wall thickness increased with height, RLMS and other wood properties such as fiber length and basic density fluctuated or changed little with height. RLMS was a good indicator of wood properties in the tension wood area and at heights between 0.7 m and 1.5 m. The results of this study present opportunities to identify and select better quality wood in poplar trees.

In the Lower Yarmouk Gorge the chemical composition of regional, fresh to brackish, mostly thermal groundwater reveal a zonation in respect to salinization and geochemical evolution, which is seemingly controlled by the Lower Yarmouk fault (LYF) but does not strictly follow the morphological Yarmouk Gorge. South of LYF the artesian Mukeihbeh well field produces in its central segment groundwaters of almost pure basaltic-rock type with low contribution (<0.3 vol-%) of Tertiary brine, hosted in deep Cretaceous and Jurassic formations. Further distal, the contribution of limestone water increases originating from the Ajloun Mts. North of the LYF, the Mezar wells, the springs of Hammat Gader and Ain Himma produce dominantly limestone water, which contains 0.14-3 vol-% of the Tertiary brine and possess hence variable salinity. The total dissolved equivalents of solutes gained by water/rock interaction (WRI) and mixing with brine, TDE(WRI+brine), amounts to 10-70 % in the region comprising the Mukheibeh field, Ain Himma and Mezar 3 well, to 55-70 % in the springs of Hammat Gader, and to 80-90 % in wells Mezar 1 and 2. The type of salinization indicates that the Lower Yarmouk fault seemingly acts as the divide between the Ajloun and the Golan Heigths dominated groundwater.

Let $f\left(1\right)=1$ , and let $f(n+1)=2^{2^{f\left(n\right)}}$ for every positive integer n. We consider the following hypothesis: if a system S ⊆ {x_i · x_j = x_k : i, j, k ∈ {1, . . . , n}} ∪ {x_i + 1 = x_k : i, k ∈{1, . . . , n}} has only finitely many solutions in non-negative integers x₁, . . . , x_n, then each such solution (x₁, . . . , x_n) satisfies x₁, . . . , x_n ≤ f (2n). We prove: (1) the hypothesisimplies that there exists an algorithm which takes as input a Diophantine equation, returns an integer, and this integer is greater than the heights of integer (non-negative integer, positive integer, rational) solutions, if the solution set is finite; (2) the hypothesis implies that there exists an algorithm for listing the Diophantine equations with infinitely many solutions in non-negative integers; (3) the hypothesis implies that the question whether or not a given Diophantine equation has only finitely many rational solutions is decidable by a single query to an oracle that decides whether or not a given Diophantine equation has a rational solution; (4) the hypothesis implies that the question whether or not a given Diophantine equation has only finitely many integer solutions is decidable by a single query to an oracle that decides whether or not a given Diophantine equation has an integer solution; (5) the hypothesis implies that if a set $\mathfrak{M}$ ⊆ has a finite-fold Diophantine representation, then $\mathfrak{M}$ is computable.