Beside yeasts, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the most abundant microbes in must during vinification. Whereas Oenococcos oeni is commercially used as a starter culture for the biological acid reduction in wines, other species are responsible for different types of wine spoilage. Members of the genera Pediococcus, Weissella, Leuconostoc, and Lactobacillus are producers of exopolysaccharide slimes, biogenic amines, acetic acid, and other off-flavors. In order to control microbial growth, different procedures such as heating of must and addition of sulfite or lysozyme from egg white are generally applied. Yet, because of health risks, the application of sulfite should be reduced and lysozyme is not effective against all LAB. In this study, we describe exoenzymes from a Streptomyces sp. strain...
We previously showed that very thin filamentous bacteria affiliated with the division green non-sulfur bacteria were abundant in the outermost layer of thermophilic methanogenic sludge granules fed...Full Text Available
The growth power-time curves of a strain of petroleum bacteria, B-2, in various kinds of cultures containing different kinds of carbon sources, glucose, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane and n-octadecane, and different kinds of microemulsions have been determined by using a 2277 Thermal Activity Monitor. The curves showed a single peak for cultures containing a single carbon source, glucose, and two peaks for cultures containing two kinds of carbon sources, glucose and one of the n-alkanes. The first peak indicated that bacteria grew by consuming glucose and the second peak indicated that bacteria grew by consuming n-alkane. The curves were complex when the bacterium grows in a microemulsion culture. According to a kinetic equation of bacterial growth under limited conditions, the rate constants of bacterial growth were obtained. The results ...
Recently developed molecular methods have made it possible to characterize mixed microflora in their entirety, including the substantial numbers of bacteria which do not grow on artificial culture media....Full Text Available
Techniques for culturing, harvesting, and testing bacteria to evaluate bactericidal chemicals for swimming pools are described. Concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 mg of the chlorine stabilizer cyanuric...Full Text Available
Eukaryotes may influence pollutant degradation processes in groundwater ecosystems by activities such as predation on bacteria and recycling of nutrients. Culture-independent community profiling and...Full Text Available
Ether extracts of cultures of 29 strains representing 6 species of Bacillus, and of individual strains of Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, and Pseudomonas...Full Text Available
Cultures of chick skin fibroblasts were dissolved in solutions of sodium dodecyl sulphate, and their entire protein content was examined by gel electrophoresis. The most abundant species migrated in...Full Text Available
Bacteria and fungi are ubiquitous in the atmosphere. The diversity and abundance of airborne microbes may be strongly influenced by atmospheric conditions or even influence atmospheric conditions themselves...Full Text Available
This study reports on the physical-chemical behaviour of swelling di-octahedral clays (smectites) and their interaction with aqueous solutions and bacteria (Shewanella putrefaciens). Experimental results are presented for compacted clays, hydrated under confined volume conditions, using a new type of reaction-cell (the 'wet-cell' of Warr and Hoffman, 2004) that was designed for in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. For comparison, dispersed clay systems were studied using standard batch solutions subjected to varying degrees of agitation. The combination of time-dependent in situ XRD measurements with gravimetric measurements and calculated diffraction patterns using the CALCMIX software (Plancon and Drits, 1999) allowed to successful quantification of the dynamics of water uptake and storage. This analytical procedure combined with published water vapour adsorption data enabled determination of the abundance of ...
This study examines the results of bacterial culture from 159 endometrial biopsy samples from 97 commercial dairy cows and correlations between bacteriological and histological findings. Bacteria were...Full Text Available
This study examined the hypothesis that solid surfaces may stimulate attached bacteria to produce exopolymers. Addition of sand to shake-flask cultures seemed to induce exopolymer synthesis by a number...Full Text Available
In this article we describe the identification of endophytic bacteria belonging to three groups isolated from shoot tip cultures of banana cv. Grand Naine in a recent study (Thomas et?al. 2008) based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequence homology analysis. The first group included banana stocks that displayed obvious colony growth on MS based tissue culture medium during the first in?vitro passage. The second group constituted stocks that were tissue index-negative for cultivable bacteria initially but turned index-positive after a few to several (4?8) in?vitro passages while the third group formed one sub-stock that turned index-positive after about 18 passages. The organisms belonged to about 20 different genera comprising of ?, ?, ?-proteobacteria, Gram-positive firmicutes and actinobacteri...
Cultured fish and human cells have been used as bioassay systems for the evaluation of the toxicity of aquatic pollutants. Numerous assays using bacteria and yeast have also been used for such purposes. The authors report the toxicity of aquatic pollutants (Cd, Hg, and Ni), using cell culture systems and the yeast Saccharomyces cervisiae test. Cd, Hg, and Ni were chosen as model compounds of pollutants because the related toxicity is now fairly well established.
We aim to examine the spectrum of bacteria causing corneal infections and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. This will serve as a guideline for empiric therapy of corneal infections. We conducted the study over a period of 18 months from March 2001 through December 2002 in King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Corneal specimens taken from 200 patients were inoculated directly onto different types of media. The isolates were identified and then tested against the appropriate topical or systemic antibiotics. Sixty-seven (33.5%) of the total specimens were culture positive and 133 (66.5%) were culture negative. Fourteen (7%) of these showed organisms in the Gram stained smears and correlated well with the culture reports. Of the 67 positive cultures, 53 (79.1%) were Gram-positive bacteria mostly coagulase-negative ...
Studies were carried out on the decolorization of textile azo dyes by newly isolated halophilic and halotolerant bacteria. Among the 27 strains of halophilic and halotolerant bacteria isolated from effluents of textile industries, three showed remarkable ability in decolorizing the widely utilized azo dyes. Phenotypic characterization and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequence comparisons indicate that these strains belonged to the genus Halomonas. The three strains were able to decolorize azo dyes in a wide range of NaCl concentration (up to 20%w/v), temperature (25-40degreeC), and pH (5-11) after 4 days of incubation in static culture. They could decolorize the mixture of dyes as well as pure dyes. These strains also readily grew in and decolorized the high concentrations of dy...
Maintenance energy expenditures were mesured for five rumen bacteria, Selenomonas ruminantium, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Bacteroides ruminicola, Megasphaera elsdenii, and Streptococcus bovis, by using a complex medium with glucose as the carbon source. Large differences (as high as 8.5-fold) in maintenance energy expenditures were seen among these bacteria. The suggestion is made that maintenance requirements could be a significant determinant of bacterial competition in the rumen. Theoretical maximum growth yields, calculated from double reciprocal plots of yield versus dilution rate, were compared to theoretical Y(ATP) values in order to estimate minimum molar adenosine 5'-triphosphate yields from glucose for each bacterium. Results showed that relative yield among the bacteria was growth rate dependent. At high dilution rates, both S. ruminantium and S. bovis produced lactate as their principal fermentation product. At ...
Abstract Alkali tolerance and the mechanism of microcystin (MC) degradation were investigated in the MC-degrading bacterial species, Sphingopyxis sp. C-1, to better understand the increased MC degradation under the alkaline conditions that arise during the disappearance of water blooms. MC-degrading bacteria harbour mlrA, mlrB and mlrC that encode MC-degrading enzymes. Sphingopyxis sp. C-1 also possesses these genes, as well as the mlrD gene that has been assumed to encode MC and its degradation transporter. This study demonstrated that MC degradation activity was promoted by the intermittent addition of microcystin-LR (MCLR) to cultures of strain C-1. That the expression of mlrA, mlrB and mlrC is induced by MCLR also was indicated, whereas that of mlrA and mlrB is induced by the MCLR degr...
Coral populations have precipitously declined on Caribbean reefs while algal abundance has increased, leading to enhanced competitive damage to corals, which likely is mediated by the potent allelochemicals produced by both macroalgae and benthic cyanobacteria. Allelochemicals may affect the composition and abundance of coral-associated microorganisms that control host responses and adaptations to environmental change, including susceptibility to bacterial diseases. Here, we demonstrate that extracts of six Caribbean macroalgae and two benthic cyanobacteria have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on bacterial taxa cultured from the surfaces of Caribbean corals, macroalgae, and corals exposed to macroalgal extracts. The growth of 54 bacterial isolates was monitored in the presence of l...
A cellular membrane exchanges substances into and from the cell and protects the cell interior by maintaining semi-fluidity rather than be being solid. It is known that microorganisms maintain the fluidity in correspondence with varying environmental temperatures by changing and adjusting the composition of fatty acids which constitute the cellular membrane lipids. As part of the studies to elucidate the pressure withstanding mechanism in deep-sea bacteria, this paper investigates what variations the fatty acid composition, which constitutes cellular membranes of the DSS12 strain, a pressure withstanding bacterium growing well under either normal pressure or high pressures, will show under different culturing temperatures and pressures. Culture under low temperatures and culture under high pressures increase content of unsaturated fatty acids including icosapentanoic acid. Culture ...
Chemoheterotrophic thermophilic bacteria were used to achieve enhanced hydrocarbon degradation during slurry-phase treatment of oily waste sludges from petroleum refinery operations. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial cultures were examined under thermophilic conditions to assess the effects of mode of metabolism on the potential for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation. The study determined that both aerobic and anaerobic thermophilic bacteria are capable of growth on petroleum hydrocarbons. Thermophilic methanogenesis is feasible during the degradation of hydrocarbons when a strict anaerobic condition is achieved in a slurry bioreactor. Aerobic thermophilic bacteria achieved the largest apparent reduction in chemical oxygen demand, freon extractable oil, total and volatile solid,s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when treating oily waste sludges. The observed shift with time in the molecular ...
Chemoheterotrophic thermophilic bacteria were used to achieve enhanced hydrocarbon degradation during slurry-phase treatment of oily waste sludges from petroleum refinery operations. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial cultures were examined under thermophilic conditions to assess the effects of mode of metabolism on the potential for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation. The study determined that both aerobic and anaerobic thermophilic bacteria are capable of growth on petroleum hydrocarbons. Thermophilic methanogenesis is feasible during the degradation of hydrocarbons when a strict anaerobic condition is achieved in a slurry bioreactor. Aerobic thermophilic bacteria achieved the largest apparent reduction in chemical oxygen demand, freon extractable oil, total and volatile solid,s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when treating oily waste sludges. The observed shift with time in the molecular ...
This paper elucidates morphological characteristics, reproduction forms and ecological characteristics of Plectus sp. and Rhabditis sp. which are most frequently detected nematodes separated from tap water. The paper also discussed experimentally establishment of cultivating conditions for these nematodes, and behavior and reproduction characteristics of nematodes under widely ranging conditions of temperatures, bacteria concentrations and pH. Plectus sp. grows in hermaphroditic individuals, while Rhabditis sp. grows only in female. An LE culture medium can cultivate nematodes that appear in tap water, and is suitable for subculture of nematodes. Conditions of temperatures from 20{degree}C to 25{degree}C, pH and inoculated concentration of bacteria at 10{sup 8} cell {center_dot} ml{sup -1} are suitable for reproduction of Plectus sp. and Rhabditis sp. Plectus sp. and Rhabditis sp. prefer mild temperatures for reproduction, ...
To examine whether the neuroendocrine hormone norepinephrine may influence the production of the Shiga-like toxins (SLTs), several Escherichia coli O157:H7 clinical isolates were grown in the presence or absence of norepinephrine. An in vitro culture system consisting of low (<1500 colony-forming units/ml) initial concentrations of inocula into a serum-based medium was used to more closely approximate in vivo conditions. The growth of all isolates was increased several logs in the presence of norepinephrine, as compared with the growth in controls, during a 24-hour growth period. Controls included additional dextrose as well as the use of the norepinephrine metabolite normetanephrine, which contains one more methyl group than norepinephrine and hence would serve as a better energy source for growth if the effect were solely nutritionally mediated. During the 24 hours of growth, the production of cell-associated SLT-I on a protein-equivalent basis was shown to be ...
The earthworm gut provides ideal in situ conditions for ingested heterotrophic soil bacteria capable of anaerobiosis. High amounts of mucus- and plant-derived saccharides such as glucose are abundant in the earthworm alimentary canal, and high concentrations of molecular hydrogen (H2) and organic acids in the alimentary canal are indicative of ongoing fermentations. Thus, the central objective of this study was to resolve potential links between fermentations and active fermenters in gut content of the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-based stable isotope probing, with [13C]glucose as a model substrate. Glucose consumption in anoxic gut content microcosms was rapid and yielded soluble organic compounds (acetate, butyrate, formate, lactate, propionate, succi...
CNPT-3 is the laboratory designation of a strain of bacteria that reproduces best at deep-sea pressures. It was isolated from a sample collected at a 5800 m depth of the Pacific Ocean. This isolation was achieved from a sample that had been retrieved without warning. This year we demonstrated that there are similarly behaving bacteria that can be isolated from samples even when retrieved with decompression. The purpose of this project was to define the temperatures and pressures over which CNPT-3 can exist and function. (1) At 2"0C CNPT-3 is eurybathic from about 1000 to 6500 m, as judged from an only slightly pressure dependent generation time. (2) CNPT-3 is unquestionably barophilic at 2"0C, with doubling times of 9 hours at 580 bars and over 18 hours at 1 bar. (3) At 10"0C, reproduction is adversely affected at 1 bar to the extent that CNPT-3 becomes obligately barophilic at 10"0C. Yet reproduction is enhanced above 280 bars and occurs with ...
Objective: To determine whether asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with upper genital tract inflammation or bacterial colonization.Methods: Fifty nonpregnant women with intact uteri who planned to undergo gynecologic surgery and had no recent symptoms of vaginal infection were enrolled. We obtained a vaginal swab for Gram stain, endocervical swab for chlamydia and gonorrhea DNA probe testing, and Pipelle endometrial biopsy for aerobic and anaerobic cultures and histology. We correlated surgical findings and histology of available surgical specimens with the microbiologic results. The diagnosis of BV was made according to Speigel's criteria. Bacteria isolated from the uterus were classified as high virulence versus low virulence. Contingency tables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher Exact tests.Results: Twenty-one of 50 patients had BV on Gram stain, 3 had intermediate BV, and 3 had unreadable slides. Eleven patients ...
All organisms, from bacteria and yeast to humans, respond to physical and chemical stressors by increasing the synthesis of a small group of cellular stress proteins.'' The authors have developed a simple in vitro system for quickly screening environmentally relevant stressors to detect stress-induced proteins that are good candidates for biomarkers. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to detect stressor-induced, concentration-dependent changes in cellular stress protein levels in two fish cell culture systems, whereas simultaneous in vitro neutral red uptake cytotoxicity assays measured the stressors effect on cellular physiology. There was a direct concentration-dependent relationship between sublethal cytotoxic effects and the increases in stress protein levels. Increases of 50 to 200% were detected in stress proteins from desert topminnow, Poeciliopsis lucida, hepatoma-derived cell cultures ...
For commercial use of the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema feltiae in biological control of insect pests, they are produced in liquid culture on artificial media pre-incubated with their symbiotic bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila and Xenorhabdus bovienii, respectively. After 1 day of the bacterial culture, nematode dauer juveniles (DJs) are inoculated, which recover development. The adult nematodes produce DJ offspring, which are harvested and can be sprayed. This study determined optimal temperatures to obtain high DJ progeny within a short process time. Temperatures assessed were 23 degrees C, 25 degrees C, 27 degrees C, and 29 degrees C for S. carpocapsae and 20 degrees C, 23 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 27 degrees C for S. feltiae. The recovery of inoculated DJs was hardly affected and was reduced only in S. carpocapsae at 29 degrees C. The fecundity (eggs in uterus) in S. carpocapsae ...
Astrocytes have important immune functions in CNS, and astrocytes stimulated by interferon-g were showed to have direct antimicrobial function. However whether astrocytes without the stimulation of cytokines have antibacterial function, and how this function is regulated are still largely unknown. In this study, we found that primary cultured astrocytes inhibited the growth of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Further more, we showed that interleukin-1b (IL-1b) enhanced the antibacterial effect in a dose-dependent manner, and the antibacterial effect of astrocytes from IL-1b receptor-deficient mice failed to be enhanced by IL-1b. IL-1b stimulated IkBa degradation, NF-kB nuclear translocation, and transactivation in astrocytes. NF-kB inhibitors blocked NF-kB activation and the ...
Among the numerous free-living amoebae (FLA) of soil and water habitats, certain species belonging to two genera Acanthamoeba and Naegleria are facultative parasites of man.They cause disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis where history of contact with water was recorded in most of the cases especially with Naegleria species. The present work aimed to search for presence of free-living amoebae in the water and trials for its control by Ultraviolet-radiation (UV-radiation). Samples from different water sources were examined for the presence of free-living amoebae. These samples were cultured on non-nutrient agar streaked with bacteria. Amoebae were detected and identified by means of their morphological characters. Twelve positive cases of one hundred and twenty examined samples could be detected. The positive samples were exposed to different doses of UV-radiation for different times.
Brucella melitensis is a Gram-negative coccobacillus bacteria belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria subclass. It is an important zoonotic pathogen that causes brucellosis, a disease affecting sheep, cattle, and sometimes humans. The B. melitensis strain M5-90, a live attenuated vaccine cultured from the B. melitensis virulent strain M28, has been an effective tool to control brucellosis in goats and sheep in China. Here we report the complete genome sequences of B. melitensis M28 and M5-90, strains with different virulence backgrounds, which will serve as a valuable reference for future studies. PMID:21478357
A Norwegian Research Program on Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) in North Sea reservoirs was launched in 1992. Microbial methods, applied in this context, is a part of this program. The scope, the methodological approach, and results from the three first years are presented. Water profile control, using biomass to block high permeable zones of a reservoir, has been investigated using nitrate-reducing bacteria in the injected sea water as plugging agents. Emphasis has been put on developing a process that does not have disadvantages secondary to the process itself, such as souring and impairment of the overall injectivity of the field. Data from continuous culture studies indicate that souring may successfully be mitigated by adding nitrite to the injected seawater. The morphology and size of generic-nitrate-reducing seawater bacteria have been investigated. Screening of growth-promoting nutrients has been carried out, and some ...
Previous studies have documented dissimilatory growth of bacteria on solid Mn{sup 4+} oxide, but Mn{sup 3+} oxides have not been previously studied; here the authors have demonstrated for the first time the bacterial reduction of manganite. Strain MR-4 of Shewanella putrefaciens was able to grow on and rapidly reduce insoluble needle-shaped crystals of synthetic manganite (MnOOH), converting them to soluble Mn{sup 2+} in the process. The rate of Mn{sup 3+} reduction was optimal at pH of 7.0 and 26 C consistent with an enzymatic reaction. In addition the rates of reduction were in proportion to the amount of manganite added, but nearly independent of the cell concentration present (e.g., cell number had only a small effect on the rate of Mn{sup 3+} reduction at early stages of growth) suggesting that surface properties were dictating the rates of metal reduction. This thesis was supported by major differences in reduction rates when Mn oxides of different surface ...
Recent studies indicate that [Fe]-hydrogenases and H{sub 2} metabolism are widely distributed among green algae. The enzymes are simple structured and catalyze H{sub 2} evolution with similar rates than the more complex [Fe]-hydrogenases from bacteria. Different green algal species developed diverse strategies to survive under sulfur deprivation. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii evolves large quantities of hydrogen gas in the absence of sulfur. In a sealed culture of C. reinhardtii, the photosynthetic O{sub 2} evolution rate drops below the rate of respiratory O{sub 2} consumption due to a reversible inhibition of photosystem II, thus leading to an intracellular anaerobiosis. The algal cells survive under these anaerobic conditions by switching their metabolism to a kind of photo-fermentation. Although possessing a functional [Fe]-hydrogenase gene, the cells of Scenedesmus obliquus produce no significant amounts of H{sub 2} under S-depleted ...
An on-line cell disruption system for at-line monitoring of the intracellular concentration of recombinant human superoxide dismutase (rhSOD) in a genetically modified Escherichia coli strain, HMS174(DE3) (pET11a/rhSOD), in bioreactor cultivations is described. The sampled bacteria were disrupted on-line by rapid mixing with a nonionic detergent. The recombinant protein content of the lysed bacterial sample was quantitated by a subsequent surface plasmon resonance biosensor with a specific monoclonal antibody. Extraction efficiency of the monitoring system was optimized with respect to the flow rate ratio of the cell suspension and the detergent at relevant cell densities with the aim to attain rapid monitoring. Monitoring was demonstrated for a shake flask culture and a glucose-limited fed-batch cultivation. The results are compared with a traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method showing a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.97. ...
Gene analysis was used to determined the presence, abundance and phylogenetic affiliation of methanogens that exist in gas-hydrate-bearing sediment samples obtained from 23 drill cores from the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik 5L-38 gas hydrate research well. Rates of methane production were examined using sediment-inoculated enrichments containing {sup 14}C-labeled carbon substrates, carbon dioxide and acetate. Archaeal 16S rDNA was only detected in 6 of the samples, resulting in 8 sequences with relationships to the Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (7 clones) and the Subsurface Euryarchaeotic Group (1 clone). The single Euryarchaeota sequence did not appear to be related to methanogens. Subsamples from the cores showed variable results upon DNA extraction and amplification. Methanogenic Coenzyme M (CoM) was detected in 13 of the 20 cores, but methanogenic methyl CoM reductase genes were not amplified from the samples when using a sensitive quantitative polymerase ...
The cell wall envelopes of gram-positive bacteria represent a surface organelle that not only functions as a cytoskeletal element but also promotes interactions between bacteria and their environment....Full Text Available
Three nucleic acid probes, two for autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria of the beta subdivision of the class Proteobacteria and one for alpha subdivision nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, were developed...Full Text Available
The presence of soluble sulfide in produced water results in problems for the petroleum industry due to its toxicity, odor, corrosive nature, and potential for wellbore plugging. Sulfide oxidation by indigenous nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) present in brine collected from wells at the Coleville Unit (CVU) in Saskatchewan, Canada, was investigated. Sulfide oxidation took place readily when nitrate and phosphate were added to brine enrichment cultures, resulting in a decrease in sulfide levels of 99-165 ppm to nondetectable levels (< 3.3 ppm). Produced water collected from a number of producing wells was screened to determine the time required for complete sulfide oxidation, in order to select candidate wells for treatment. Three wells were chosen, based on sulfide removal in 48 hours or less. These wells were treated down the backside of the annulus with a solution containing 10 mM KNO{sub 3} and 100 {mu}M NaH{sub 2}PO{sub 4}. Following a ...
The antibacterial activities of different nitroheterocyclic compounds were assessed by an agar dilution method against aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic bacteria. Nitronaphthofurans inhibited...Full Text Available
The relative abundances of iron-peak elements produced by the e-process in a supernova outburst are calculated. The results agree quite well with the cosmic abundances of elements in the range Z=23--28.
Vibrios are ubiquitous and abundant in the aquatic environment. A high abundance of vibrios is also detected in tissues and/or organs of various marine algae and animals, e.g., abalones, bivalves, corals,...Full Text Available
Crenarchaea are ubiquitous and abundant microbial constituents of soils, sediments, lakes and ocean waters, yet relatively little is known about their fundamental evolutionary, ecological, and physiological properties. To better describe the ubiquitous nonthermophilic Crenarchaea, we analyzed the genome sequence of one representative, the uncultivated sponge symbiont, Cenarchaeum symbiosum. C. symbiosum genotypes coinhabiting the same host partitioned into two dominant populations, corresponding to previously described a- and b-type ribosomal RNA variants. Although synthetic, overlapping a- and b-type ribotypes harbored significant genetic variability. A single tiling path comprising the dominant a-type genotype was assembled, and used to explore the biological properties of C. symbiosum and its planktonic relatives. Out of a total of 2,066 predicted open reading frames, 36% were more highly conserved with other Archaea. The remainder partitioned between ...
Lacustrine rocks are a significant component of many rift-valley sequences. Comparisons of both active and ancient rift valleys indicate that the lacustrine facies are commonly rich in organic matter and may be important sources for oil. For example, Holocene sediments in Lake Tanganyika and Cretaceous lacustrine rocks in west Africa contain as much as 12% and 20% TOC, respectively. The Newark Supergroup contains abundant lacustrine rocks. The widespread occurrence of black shales, the general similarity to known organically rich rift systems, and a few isolated geochemical analyses have caused some speculation about the potential of the Newark Supergroup to be an effective source of oil and gas. Sufficient geochemical analyses are available from lacustrine rocks in the Newark, Connecticut, and Deep River basins to evaluate their potential as hydrocarbon sources. In general, both the quantity and quality of organic matter in these rocks are less than that required ...
AimsThis article provides a brief review of recent cross-cultural research on personality traits at both individual and culture levels, highlighting the relevance...Full Text Available
The biomedical and ecological interest for the microwave impact on the Earth biosphere is continuously increased since the industrial, military and communication activities strongly contribute to the electromagnetic stress of living bodies. In the next the authors present some of the main results obtained regarding the microwave exposure of various types of biological material: bacteria, fungi, young plant seedlings, dry seeds, animal tissues. The electromagnetic exposure was carried out in open space in well controlled environmental conditions by using 10.75 GHz/1 m W cm{sup -2} microwaves. Biochemical assays and cytogenetic tests have been carried out to reveal the changes induced post irradiation. The response of some pathogen bacteria, have been emphasized by means of turbidimetric measurements - the stimulatory effect being noticed at the level of the microbial population density (the stimulation of the human body microbial flora seems to ...
In acute liver failure following hepatitis, toxic insults, or after major liver surgery, there is an increased bacterial translocation from the gut. This may explain some of the infectious complications seen in these conditions. To elucidate mechanisms and find possible preventive measures, we investigated the effect of rectal administration of arginine and probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus spp.) on bacterial translocation and the extent of liver failure. Sprague-Dawley rats were used and five different Lactobacillus strains (Lb. reuteri R2LC, Lb. rhamnosus DSM 6594 (= strain 271), Lb. plantarum DSM 9843 (= strain 299v), Lb. fermentum 8704:3 (= strain 245), and Lb. reuteri (= strain 108) were administered rectally once daily for 8 days with and without 2% arginine. Acute liver injury (ALI) was induced on the eighth day by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine (1.1 g/kg body weight), and samples were collected after 24 and 48 hours. Bacterial translocation ...
The most classic information on the syntrophic microorganisms in an anaerobic bacteria symbiotic system may be methanobacillus omelianskii. These bacteria were isolated as ones degrading alcohols such as ethanol into methane and were stably preserved for more than 20 years. But, it was clarified by later researches that this was a kind of symbiotic cocultivation system of the bacteria (S strain) which oxidizes ethanol into acetic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, and a kind of bacteria of the methanobacterium genus which produces or synthesizes methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Such a symbiotic system of two kinds of anaerobic bacteria is the one of a kind of bacteria which produces hydrogen by oxidizing substances and of another kind of bacteria which consume hydrogen. Various kinds of symbiotic systems including those of ...
From view on Organization Behavior theory, the concept, development and affecting factors of safety culture are introduced. The focuses are on the establishment, development and management practice for safety culture at Daya Bay NPP. A strong safety culture, also demonstrated, has contributed greatly to improving performance at Daya Bay
Tissue culture conditions and transformation have been established for both aspen and poplar. The use of previously described culture conditions resulted in shoot tip necrosis in the shoot cultures...Full Text Available
With the increase in multi-cultural families, Korea is seeing a rapid increase in immigrated housewives, who are closely related to food culture. However, studies for the diet of multi-cultural families,...Full Text Available
Some 43 papers were presented in 4 sections: Organ and bud culture of tree species (24 papers); Cell suspension and callus culture of tree species (11); Culture of haploid tissue of tree species and production of wood homozygotes (3); and Isolation, culture and somatic fusion of protoplasts as a means of somatic hybridization and genetic engineering (5).
Accumulated lines of evidence suggest that hyperimmune responses to periodontal bacteria result in the destruction of periodontal connective tissue and alveolar bone. The etiological roles of periodontal...Full Text Available
Pfister, Robert M. (Lamont Geological Observatory, Palisades, N.Y.), and Paul R. Burkholder. Numerical taxonomy of some bacteria isolated from Antarctic and tropical seawaters. J....Full Text Available
A multidisciplinary approach was used to study the effects of pollution from a marine fish farm on nitrification rates and on the community structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the underlying...Full Text Available
Bacterial processes in soil, including biodegradation, require contact between bacteria and substrates. Knowledge of the three-dimensional spatial distribution of bacteria at the microscale is necessary...Full Text Available
Enteropathogenic bacteria was isolated from 131 of 447 (29.4%) neotropical Panamanian lizards belonging to 34 species of seven families. Overall, 147 strains of bacteria were isolated comprising 26...Full Text Available
Two gram-negative, motile bacteria isolated from deep subsurface sediments mineralized the nitrogen-containing polyaromatic hydrocarbon quinoline under aerobic conditions and transformed quinoline to...Full Text Available
Marine sediments are frequently covered by mats of the filamentous Beggiatoa and other large nitrate-storing bacteria that oxidize hydrogen sulfide using either oxygen or nitrate, which...Full Text Available
Species of bacteria associated with Stylophora pistillata were determined by analyses of 16S ribosomal genes. Coral samples were taken from two distinct sites at Kenting, in the far...Full Text Available
BackgroundMastitis in dairy cattle results from infection of mammary tissue by a range of micro-organisms but principally coliform bacteria and Gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus...Full Text Available
Bacteria have the ability to adapt to different growth conditions and to survive in various environments. They have also the capacity to enter into dormant states and some bacteria form spores when...Full Text Available
Hydrolytic exoenzymes as indicators of metabolically active bacteria were investigated in four consecutive sapropel layers collected from bathyal sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. For comparison,...Full Text Available
Broth disk elution procedures represent one of the most practical means for clinical laboratories to perform routine antibiotic susceptibility tests on anaerobic bacteria. The accuracy of five disk...Full Text Available
Thermophilic propionate-oxidizing, proton-reducing bacteria were enriched from the granular methanogenic sludge of a bench-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor operated at 55°C with a mixture...Full Text Available
BackgroundBacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition that is associated with preterm birth and acquisition of complex communities of vaginal bacteria that include several fastidious...Full Text Available
Lipopolysaccharides from different bacteria isolated from cotton were purified and chemically analyzed. Their pulmonary toxicity to animals was tested in inhalation tests. Lipopolysaccharides from Agrobacterium...Full Text Available
The antibiotic resistance patterns of gram-negative fecal bacteria from pigs in three herds with different histories of antibiotic exposure were examined. In general, smaller proportions of antibiotic-resistant...Full Text Available
Advanced Glycated End Products (AGEs) are formed by non-enzymatic protein glycation and are implicated in several physiological aspects including cell aging and diseases. Recent data indicate that bacteria...Full Text Available
The abundance of host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs, the principal vector for the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, in Old Lyme, Lyme, and East Haddam, Connecticut,...Full Text Available
... describe the relationship (Peake and Quinn, 1993). The power model was considered best if the R2 from this ... when stone abundance was low (Fig. 2). The power model best described the nonlinear relations...
Individual canine synovial villi were used to establish short-term synovial organ cultures. These villi incorporated /sup 3/H-glucosamine into highly-polymerized /sup 3/H-hyaluronic acid (/sup 3/H-HA), which was the only /sup 3/H-glycosaminoglycan identified in the culture medium. Some /sup 3/H-HA, and larger amounts of other /sup 3/H-glycosaminoglycans, were recovered from cultured tissues. Culture medium /sup 3/H-HA content was proportional to the surface area of cultured villi. Organ cultures of nonvillous synovium were compared with villi; nonvillous cultures synthesized less /sup 3/H-HA per mm2 of their synovial intimal surface than villi. These cultures complement cell culture techniques for in vitro studies of synovial lining cell function.
N-substituted aromatics are important priority pollutants entering the environment primarily through anthropogenic activities associated associated with the industrial production of dyes, explosives, pestides, and pharmaceuticals. Anaerobic treatment of wastewaters discharged by these industries could potentially be problematical as a result of the high toxicity of N-substituted aromatics. The objective of this study was to examine the structure-toxicity relationship of N-substituted aromatic compounds to acetoclastic methanogenic bacteria. The toxicity was assayed to serum flasks by measuring methane production in granular sludge. Unacclimated cultures were used to minimize the biotransformation of the toxic organic chemicals during the test. The nature and the degree of the aromatic substitution were observed to have a profound effect on the toxicity of the test compound. Nitroaromatic compounds were, on the average, over 500-fold more toxic ...
This paper reported on a study in which designs for Chinese and Indian fixed-dome anaerobic digesters were modified in an effort to produce smaller and more affordable digesters. While these types of systems are common in tropical regions of developing countries, they have not been used in colder climates because of the low biogas yield during the winter months. Although there is evidence that sufficient biogas production can be maintained in colder temperatures through design and operational changes, there is a lack of knowledge about the seasonal changes in the composition of the microbial communities in ambient temperature digesters. More knowledge is needed to design and operate systems for maximum biogas yield in temperate climates. The purpose of this study was to cultivate a microbial community that maximizes biogas production at psychrophilic temperatures. The study was conducted on a 300 gallon experimental anaerobic digester on the campus of Ohio State University. ...
Burnaid is a sorbalene-based cream containing 40 mg/g of tea tree oil and 1 mg/g of triclosan. This investigation was carried out to determine the effect of Burnaid, a commercial tea tree oil preparation, against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC29212), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC25922), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27853), with the activity of the base product in the commercial preparation. The organisms were suspended in sterile saline (0.5 McFarland Standard) and inoculated onto horse blood agar (E. faecalis and S. aureus) or Mueller-Hinton agar (E. coli and P. aeruginosa). One hundred microliters of Burnaid unsterilized, Burnaid sterilized and the base product (Tinasolve) were placed in duplicate in wells cut into the agar plates. Sterility and inactivation cultures were also performed on the samples. None of the samples were found to be contaminated with bacteria prior to testing. Only S. aureus and E. coli ...
The problem on change of deuterium abundance in the process of galactic evolution (star evolution, supernova explosions, nucleosynthesis in supermassive objects) is considered. It is shown that the observable deuterium quantity in the interstellar medium must correspond to its cosmological abundance. This conclusion is independent of the rate of accretion of intergalactic gas by Galaxy. The effect of hypothetical pregalactic active objects on cosmological deuterium is small. It is poind out that observations of interstellar deuterium in absorbtion at lambda=91.6 cm are significant.
The determination of relative abundances of helium and deuterium in Jupiter and Saturn provides estimates of the primordial abundances of these elements. The values so inferred can be compared with theoretical predictions of the standard model of the big-bang theory as a test of the model and suggest either that deuterium is more efficiently consumed in subsequent nucleosynthesis than hitherto assumed, or that the standard big-bang model should be revised in order for there to have been less production of primordial helium.
We used a 13-year time series of abundance estimates of breeding Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus), and of small mammals from central Ontario, Canada, to assess the numerical response of the owls to small-mammal prey species. We found that the finite rate of increase of breeding owls was directly related to estimates of red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi) abundance. Thus, it appeared that the owls were nomadic, and made decisions about where to breed based on vole supply. The owls showed a much weaker response to deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance. Across all years, 55% of variation in owl rate of increase could be uniquely attributed to vole abundance, whereas only 3% could be attributed to mouse abundance. Consistent with the model of nomadism, there was only a weak rela...
Several nuclear power plant sites have been wounded in the crossfire between two distinct corporate cultures. The traditional utility culture lies on one side and that of the nuclear navy on the other. The two corporate cultures lead to different perceptions of open-quotes safety culture.close quotes This clash of safety cultures obscures a very important point about nuclear plant operations: Safety depends on organizational learning. Organizational learning provides the foundation for a perception of safety culture that transcends the conflict between utility and nuclear navy cultures. Corporate culture may be defined as the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs shared by employees of a given company. Safety culture is the part of corporate culture concerning shared attitudes and ...
In order to build the safety culture for nuclear power industry, it is important to evaluate the safety culture scientifically. Considering the traits of safety culture in the nuclear power industry, 24 safety culture assessment indexes are established from 4 aspects such as Safety consciousness, Safety attitude, Safety action and Safety actuality by using the SMART criteria. Safety culture star-class assessment criterion is presented and safety culture star-class assessment system is developed by using Visual Basic 6.0 and BP neural network. The system has a better generalization ability, and it can show exactly which phase the safety culture is in. Experimental results show that safety culture star-class assessment is practical and easy to perform. (authors)
It is currently unclear if the potential for West Nile virus transmission by mosquito vectors in the eastern United States is related to landscape or climate factors or both. We compared abundance of vector species between urban and suburban neighborhoods of Henrico County, VA, in relation to the following factors: temperature, precipitation, canopy cover, building footprint, and proximity to drainage infrastructure. Mosquitoes were collected throughout the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons and tested for West Nile virus (WNV) in pools of 10-50. Test results of mosquito pools were compared to average site abundance from 37 sites in Henrico County, VA; abundance was then examined in relation to ecological variables. Urban infrastructure was positively correlated with the abundance of Culex pipiens L./Cx. restuans, and our findings implicate combined sewer overflow systems as large contributors to Culex vector ...
Sectors of Zea mays cobs, with and without kernels were cultured in vitro in the presence and absence of fluridone. Cultured kernels, cob tissue, and embryos developed...Full Text Available
A Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) shoot culture system, initiated from shoot tip culture, was used to generate a source of host plant tissue for the rearing of the nematode Subanguina...Full Text Available
Enrichment cultures were used to determine the conditions promoting fastest methanogenic propionate degradation and growth by adapting the cultures to various physical and chemical conditions and measuring...Full Text Available
... ions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cell CultureCulture of NT2/D1 cells was carried out as described previously (18, 19). NT2 cells were plated at a density of 2. ... ...
Determine the degree to which different precautionary themes are dominant in various target populations and how these themes are acquired. Assess cultural signals of potential danger: are there different kinds of potential danger in different cultures. Do...
BackgroundOptimal blood culture performance is critical for successful diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. To understand the status of blood culture, we investigated several aspects...Full Text Available
Elemental mercury has been imbued with magical properties for millennia, and various cultures use elemental mercury in a variety of superstitious and cultural practices, raising health concerns for...Full Text Available
Prothoracic glands of tobacco hornworm larvae cultured in vitro secrete into the culture medium a substance which was active in ecdysone bioassays and determined to be ecdysone-like...Full Text Available
The publication gives the basic information needed by growers of syrup sugarcane. It includes descriptions of the sugarcane plant characteristics needed in syrup varieties, the best varieties, cultural requirements and practices, and the diseases and inse...
Cell cultures were prepared from lung tumors occurring in beagles following exposure to inhaled plutonium. Morphologic and growth characteristics of two of these cell lines are described.
Does the cultural background influence the success with which genetically unrelated individuals cooperate in social dilemma situations? In this paper, we provide an answer by analysing the data of Full Text Available
To investigate the potential causes of changes to bird communities in exurban areas, we examined the relationship between bird and macro invertebrate communities in exurbanized forest. We randomly located sampling points across a gradient of exurbanization. We used point counts to quantify bird communities and sweep netting, soil cores, pitfalls, and frass collectors to quantify macro invertebrates. Bird communities had higher richness and abundance in exurban areas compared to undeveloped forests, and lost some species of conservation concern but gained others. The macro invertebrate community was slightly more abundant in exurban areas, with a slight shift in taxonomic composition. The abundance of macro invertebrates in soil cores (but not pitfalls) predicted the abundance of ground-foraging birds. The abundance of macro invertebrates in sweep nets was not associated with the ...
The Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing poplars (Populus species and hybrids) as sources of renewable energy, i.e., ethanol. Notable increases in adaptability, volume productivity, and pest/stress resistance have been achieved via classical selection and breeding and intensified cultural practices. Significant advances have also been made in the efficiencies of harvesting and handling systems. Given these and anticipated accomplishments, program leaders are considering shifting some attention to genetically modifying feedstock physical and chemical properties, so as to improve the efficiency with which feedstocks can be converted to ethanol. This report provides an in-depth review and synthesis of opportunities for and feasibilities of genetically modifying feedstock qualities via classical selection and breeding, marker-aided selection and breeding, and genetic transformation. ...
The isotopic enrichment of copper ions in a positive column Cu-Nu discharge using optogalvanic excitation is analyzed with a rate equation model With excitation at 510.6 nm, the fraction of the ions belonging to the 63-amu isotope of copper is enriched relative to the neutral abundance. Enrichment as large as 10% is calculated when the initial abundance of the neutral isotope is small (< or =0.1) and the discharge current density is large (> or =75 mA/cm/sup 2/). The degree of enrichment is examined as a function of the initial abundance, discharge current, the rate of charge exchange, and the diameter of the discharge tube.
The chemiosmotic model of energy transduction offers a satisfying and widely confirmed understanding of the action of uncouplers on such processes as oxidative phosphorylation; the uncoupler, by facilitating...Full Text Available
The Sirtuins are a family of orthologues of yeast Sir2 found in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to man. They display a high degree of conservation between species, in both sequence and function,...Full Text Available
There is an urgent need in aquaculture to develop microbial control strategies, since disease outbreaks are recognized as important constraints to aquaculture production and trade and since the development...Full Text Available
This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of studies made on the regulation of the growth of Legionella Pneumophila bacteria in biofilms and amoebae. In a first project, the formation of biofilms by Legionella Pneumophila bacteria was analysed in static and dynamic systems using a complex growth medium. Under static and dynamic clinical and environmental conditions, the adherence of the biofilms on polystyrene tissue was studied. This was also examined under dynamic flow conditions. In a second part of the project, the regulation of growth of Legionella Pneumophila in amoebae was examined in that changes were made to the genome of the bacteria. The importance of the work for the de-activation of Legionella Pneumophila bacteria in biofilms is noted in the conclusions of the report.
Numerous bacteria from a salt-marsh environment are capable of degrading malathion, an organophosphate insecticide, when supplied with additional nutrients as energy and carbon sources. Seven isolates...Full Text Available
A fundamental study of the application of bacteria to the recovery of toxic heavy metals from aqueous environments was carried out. The biosorption characteristics of cadmium and lead ions were determined with purple nonsulfur bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and hydrogen bacteria, Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 that were inactivated by steam sterilization. A simplified version of the metal binding model proposed by Plette et al. was used for the description of meal binding data. The results showed that the biosorption of bivalent metal ions to whole cell bodies of the bacteria was due to monodentate binding to two different types of acidic sites: carboxilic and phosphatic-type sites. The number of metal binding sites of A. eutrophus was 2.4-fold larger than that of R. sphaeroides.
Our long-term goal is to enable highly productive plant species to extract, resist, detoxify, and/or sequester toxic heavy metal pollutants as an environmentally friendly alternative to physical remediation methods. We have focused this phytoremediation research on soil and water-borne ionic and methylmercury. Mercury pollution is a serious world-wide problem affecting the health of human and wild-life populations. Methylmercury, produced by native bacteria at mercury-contaminated wetland sites, is a particularly serious problem due to its extreme toxicity and efficient biomagnification in the food chain. We engineered several plant species (e.g., Arabidopsis, tobacco, canola, yellow poplar, rice) to express the bacterial genes, merB and/or merA, under the control of plant regulatory sequences. These transgenic plants acquired remarkable properties for mercury remediation. (1) Transgenic plants expressing merB (organomercury lyase) extract methylmercury from their ...
We report Sr, Pd and Ag abundances for a sample of metal-poor field giants and analyze a larger sample of Y, Zr, and Ba abundances. The [Y/Zr] and [Pd/Ag] abundance ratios are similar to those measured for the r-process-rich stars CS 22892-052 and CS 31082-001. The [Pd/Ag] ratio is larger than predicted from the solar-system r-process abundances. The constant[Y/Zr] and [Sr/Y] values in the field stars places strong limits on the contributions of the weak s-process and the main s-process to the light neutron-capture elements. Stars in the globular cluster M 15 possess lower [Y/Zr] values than the field stars. There is a large dispersion in [Y/Ba]. Because the r-process is responsible for the production of the heavy elements in the early Galaxy, these dispersions require varying light-to-heavy ratios in r-process yields.
BackgroundArtificial duplicates from pyrosequencing reads may lead to incorrect interpretation of the abundance of species and genes in metagenomic studies. Duplicated reads were...Full Text Available
... abundance though an effect on escapement. The lobster aquaculture model continues to be updated as new biological ... become available. A monograph on the economics of aquaculture is near completion....
In order to better understand the structure and composition of forest plant communities, we aimed to predict the abundance of understory herbaceous species locally at the stand level and according to different environments. For this, we seeked to model species distributions of abundance at a regional scale in relationship with the local stand structure (canopy openness) and regional soil resources (soil pH). Floristic inventories, performed in different light and soil conditions located in 1202 records of north eastern France, were used to analyze the combined effect of canopy openness and soil pH on the abundance of 12 common western European forest species: Anemone nemorosa, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca altissima, Hedera helix, Lamium galeobdolon, Lonicera periclymenum, Molinia caerulea...
An efficient micropropagation protocol was established for Cryptocoryne wendtii and Cryptocoryne becketti using shoot tips explants. Multiple shoots were induced from shoot tip explants of both species cultured on agar-gelled as well as liquid MS medium supplemented with 0.5?mg/L BA and 0.2?mg/L IBA (proliferation medium). The multiple shoots of both the species formed on agar-gelled as well as liquid medium were vigorously growing with well-developed roots and leaves after 4?weeks of culture. Highest number of multiple shoots was obtained from shoot tip explants of both the species cultured in liquid proliferation medium after 4?weeks of culture. The shoot tip explants of C. wendtii and C. becketti, that were cultured in liquid proliferation medium (2?weeks) followed by culturing on agar-...
Micropropagation methods are described for the production of clonal lines from Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) seedlings. Nodal explants from mature trees can also yield shoot cultures, but a high frequency of contamination occurs among such explants. Uncontaminated callus cultures can be produced from mature trees by culturing stamen filaments and shoots can subsequently be regenerated from this callus. The rooting percentage of shoot cultures from either nodes or stamen callus of mature trees is low compared with that from seedling explants. Considerable variation was observed between trees in the ability of stamen callus to regenerate shoots and in the frequency of rooting. (Refs. 27)
Establishing germplasm of woody plants in microculture as shoot cultures has proved to be an effective method of overcoming many of the obstacles in working with these crops. Shoot cultures eliminate the changes associated with seasonal growth cycles and phase change and put large plants into a more manageable form. Well-established shoot cultures are central to successful clonal propagation systems for forest trees as well as to genetic improvement based on the use of cellular techniques such as protoplast manipulation. The physiological basis as to why tissues from shoot cultures are so readily manipulated is not well understood.
In order to identify cells of maternal origin in CVS cultures, tissue from 1st trimester abortions were cultivated and the cultures stained in situ for X-chromatin. Convoluted cells and maternal fibroblasts were found to be positive. By chromosome analysis of cultures from 105 diagnostic placenta biopsies, obtained by the transabdominal route, metaphases of maternal origin were found in nine cases. In eight of these cases colonies of convoluted cells were observed. We conclude that convoluted cells are of maternal origin and are a reliable marker for maternal cell contamination in CVS cultures.
This report discusses the activities of two major groups of forest soil microorganisms, the bacteria and the fungi. Special attention is paid to their participation in the decay of major forest litter substrates, including leaves, branches and roots. The influence of bacteria and fungi in symbiotic associations with woody plant roots upon the cycles of carbon and nitrogen is described. The impacts of certain forest mamagement alternatives are assessed in terms of the creation of elimination of suitable environments for the activity of soil microorganisms. A bibliography is included. 507 refs., 1 tab.
BackgroundResistance to third generation cephalosporins due to acquisition and expression of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) enzymes among Gram-negative bacteria is...Full Text Available
DescriptionThe importance of inorganic nitrate for the nutrition and growth of marine and freshwater autotrophic phytoplankton has long been recognised, in particularly because of the 'blooms' formed in nitrate and phosphate polluted water and their possible roles as carbon dioxide sinks. By contrast, the utilisation of nitrate by heterotrophic bacteria has historically received less attention. Up until now, the primary role of heterotrophic bacteria has classically been considered to be the decomposition [continued...
Fifteen strains of CDC group 1 coryneform and biochemically similar bacteria were isolated from clinical specimens. Of the 15 strains isolated, 11 were derived from abscesses and purulent lesions, mostly...Full Text Available
Phillips Petroleum Company recently completed a microbial selective plugging (MSP) pilot at the North Burbank Unit (NBU), Shidler, Oklahoma. Nutrients were selected for the pilot that could stimulate indigenous microflora in the reservoir brine to grow and produce exopolymer. It was found that soluble corn starch polymers (e.g., maltodextrins) stimulated the indigenous bacteria to produce exopolymer, whereas simple sugars (e.g., glucose and sucrose), as well as complex media (e.g., molasses and Nutrient Broth), did not. Injection of maltodextrin into rock cores in the presence of indigenous NBU bacteria resulted in stable permeability reductions (> 90%) across the entire length, while injection of glucose resulted only in face plugging. In addition, it was found that organic phosphate esters (OPE) served as a preferable source of phosphorus for the indigenous bacteria, since orthophosphates and condensed phosphates ...
A salient facet of Axelrod's model for culture dissemination or social influence is the existence of many multicultural absorbing states. The dependence of the number $C$ of different, coexisting cultures on the size $A$ of the territory or, equivalently, on the number of agents -- the culture-area relation -- is investigated through extensive simulations. This relation exhibits a strong qualitative dependence on the two parameters of the model, namely, the number $F$ of culture features and the number $q$ of values that each feature can take on. We find that a non-monotonous culture-area relation, for which the number of cultures decreases when the area grows beyond a certain size, occurs for $q$ smaller than a threshold value $q_c = q_c (F)$ provided that $F \\geq 3$. In the limit of infinite area, this threshold value signals the onset of a discontinuous ...
To illustrate the implementation of a bottom-up approach to the study of culture in health disparities, this article describes the development of a cultural cancer screening scale (CCSS) using mixed methodologies. The aim was to identify cultural factors relevant to breast and cervical cancer screening, develop an instrument to assess them and examine its preliminary psychometric properties among Latin American (Latino) and non-Latino White (Anglo) women in Southern California. Seventy-eight Latino and Anglo women participated in semi-structured interviews, which were content coded based on Triandis' methods for the analysis of subjective culture. Based on the emerging cultural elements, items relevant to cancer screening were developed and pilot tested with 161 participants. After the instrument was refined, 314 Latino and Anglo women from various socioeconomic backgrounds ...
This article investigates the missing link in the literature - whether informal institutions, or what is known as culture, can affect the level of financial development for a country? Our hypothesis stresses that the cultural dimensions of a country can have an impact on its financial set-up. We consider multiple dimensions of culture, identified in the literature by Tabellini (2008), to test our hypothesis. As culture evolves in the form of greater trust, control and other traits, individuals' attitudes towards financial market change, and they engage in greater financial transactions. This, in turn, leads to better financial development. Using quantile estimation technique for a cross section of 90 countries, we find that culture significantly influences the level of financial developmen...
Both cultural inheritance and cultural diversification of diets may play an important role in animal evolution. Here we studied how diet innovation and cultural change relate to cultural inheritance in a changing environment. We did this by studying diet cultures in group foragers adapting to environmental change through learning, and the consequences this has for diet differentiation between groups. We used an individual-based model of `monkeys' that learn what to eat in a rich environment, and we changed resource species that are available in the environment. Relative to social influences on learning that arise spontaneously in groups, we found that more direct social learning, in the sense of observing another individual and copying what it eats, helps groups deal with high levels of en...
Non-thermal (low-temperature) physical plasma is under intensive study as an alternative approach to control superficial wound and skin infections when the effectiveness of chemical agents is weak due to natural pathogen or biofilm resistance. The purpose of this study was to test the individual susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to non-thermal argon plasma and to measure the effectiveness of plasma treatments against bacteria in biofilms and on wound surfaces. Overall, Gram-negative bacteria were more susceptible to plasma treatment than Gram-positive bacteria. For the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia and Escherichia coli, there were no survivors among the initial 10(5) c.f.u. after a 5 min plasma treatment. The susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria was species- and strain-specific. Streptococcus pyogenes was the ...
The penetration by moxifloxacin of human neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes [PMN]) and tissue-cultured epithelial cells (McCoy cells) was evaluated by a fluorometric assay. At...Full Text Available
Anionic microdomains within the aortic smooth muscle cell (SMC) surface glycocalyx represent a potential barrier to the endocytosis of anionic plasma proteins. Cultured SMCs exposed briefly to cationized...Full Text Available
A procedure was developed to isolate polyribosomes from plant cell cultures. Tobacco callus extracted in 10 mm MgCl2, 80 mm KCl, 250 mm sucrose, and 140 mm...Full Text Available
Although myo-inositol is included in media for the successful growth of plant tissues, the actual requirement of most tissues, including soybean (Glycine max) callus in suspension culture, for myo-inositol...Full Text Available
We have developed and validated a microporous poly(ethylene terephthalate) membrane-based indirect co-culture system for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) propagation, which allows real-time...Full Text Available
With the advent of subgenomic hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicons, studies of the intracellular steps of the viral replication cycle became possible. These RNAs are capable of self-amplification in cultured...Full Text Available
This thesis analyzes Egyptian political culture and the directive effect which it has upon political development, elite recruitment and the nature of political participation. The pervasive nature of Islam and the centrality of kinship remain the basic fac...
Forty-eight mutants unable to reduce nitrate were isolated from "cowpea" Rhizobium sp. strain 32Hl and examined for nitrogenase activity in culture. All but two of the mutants had nitrogenase activity...Full Text Available
An antiserum was raised in a rabbit against highly purified human liver dihydropteridine reductase (EC 1.6.99.7). Dihydropteridine reductase from human liver, in human cultured fibroblasts and in continuous...Full Text Available
The primary aim of this study was to develop a model system that uses epidermal cells (keratinocytes and accessory pigmented cells) cultured on a reconstituted basement membrane biomatrix for use in...Full Text Available
During attempts to establish tissue cultures from hepatopancreas, heart, and hemolymph of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), using a medium including penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin...Full Text Available
The Hanford Cultural Resources Laboratory (HCRL) was established by the US Department of Energy Field Office, Richland (RL) in 1987 as part of Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The HCRL provides support for managing the archaeological, historical, and cultural resources of the Hanford Site, Washington, in a manner consistent with federal statutes and regulations. This report summarizes activities of the HCRL during fiscal year (FY) 1990. The HCRL responsibilities have been set forth in the Hanford Cultural Resources Management Plan (HCRMP) as a prioritized list of tasks. The task list guided cultural resources management activities during FY 1990 and is the outline for this report. In order, these tasks were to (1) conduct cultural resource reviews, (2) develop an archaeological resources protection plan, (3) monitor the condition of known archaeological sites, (4) plan a curation ...
In chemostat culture, the virulence of two strains of Legionella pneumophila was shown to be significantly (P < 0.05) reduced when the culture temperature was lowered from 37 to 24 degrees C....Full Text Available
The effects of temperature on rates of cellulose synthesis, respiration, and long-term glucose uptake were investigated using cultured cotton ovules (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv Acala...Full Text Available
The liver plays a vital role in glucose homeostasis, the synthesis of bile acids and the detoxification of foreign substances. Liver culture systems are widely used to test adverse effects of drugs...Full Text Available
A pure culture of an Agrobacterium sp. (deposited as ATCC 55002) that mineralizes the ferric chelate of EDTA (ferric-EDTA) was isolated by selective enrichment from a treatment facility...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlthough the health benefits of breastfeeding are well established, early introduction of formula remains a common practice. Cultural beliefs and practices can have an...Full Text Available
Family stress theory can explain associations between contextual stressors and parenting. However, the theory has not been tested among Mexican Americans or expanded to include cultural-contextual...Full Text Available
In the growing chloronema cell suspension cultures of the moss Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., activities of several enzymes have been found to be cell-density-dependent. Cyclic nucleotide...Full Text Available
`Success' or `Red Splendor' plants propagated by shoot tip culture or embryogenesis had higher pollen germination than those propagated by cutting. All clones of `Pepride', `Peter Star' and `Nobel Star' propagated by cutting or by embryogenesis or shoot tip culture did not have viable pollen. `Peter Star' mutants through mutagenesis could recover pollen viability. When both parents were propagated by tissue culture, fruit set increased compared to when one or both parents were propagated by cuttings. Furthermore, the number of the harvested seeds doubled per pollination set, when the tissue culture parents were used instead of cutting-propagation plants.
This paper engages in a critical discussion of the key features delineated by the other authors in this Special Issue thus serving as an end-piece for the issue. In particular it touches on three significant concepts. Firstly, it reinforces the importance of context, particularly cultural context in the conduct of research in Confucian cultural settings. Second, as an illustration, it offers a critical perspective on the cultural assumptions that underpin the development of Chinese higher education. Finally, it concludes with some reflections on how other papers in this Special Issue contribute to our understanding of research in CHC contexts.
Microbiological comparison between irradiated and non-irradiated foodstuff has been studied for a long time as a way to detect whether a foodstuff has been irradiated or not. Generally, the proposed methods are based on the fact that ionization select species of bacteria which are recognized to be radioresistant. So reduction or elimination of known radiation sensitive microbes from the normal endogenous microflora could give an indication that the foodstuff has been irradiated, predominance of known radioresistant bacteria should be another indication. In the present work, we try to develop a test based on the radiosensitivity of the bacteria independently of their place. These first experiments show that the determination of radiosensitivity of strains isolated from a product or even of global radioresistance of mesophilic microflora could indicate if this product has been previously submitted to ionizing radiations. (4 ...
Mobility reduction induced by the growth and metabolism of bacteria in high-permeability layers of heterogeneous reservoirs is an economically attractive technique to improve sweep efficiency. This paper describes an experimental study conducted in sandpacks using an injected bacterium to investigate the strength and stability of microbial plugs in porous media. Successful convective transport of bacteria is important for achieving sufficient initial bacteria distribution. The chemotactic and diffusive fluxes are probably not significant even under static conditions. Mobility reduction depends upon the initial cell concentrations and increase in cell mass. For single or multiple static or dynamic growth techniques, permeability reduction was approximately 70% of the original permeability. The stability of these microbial plugs to increases in pressure gradient and changes in cell physiology in a nutrient-depleted ...
Abstract Preparation of antibacterial alginate films incorporating extruded white ginseng (EWG) extracts was attempted. The antibacterial effect of EWG extract on six selected food pathogenic bacteria was compared with the effect of red ginseng (RG) and white ginseng (WG) extracts. The EWG was processed in a twin-screw extruder with feed moisture of 20% and barrel temperature of 115 and 130C. The data obtained by agar diffusion assay demonstrated that the film containing 1-g/mL of EWG at barrel temperatures of 115 (EWG-115) and 130C (EWG-130) exhibited stronger antibacterial activity against the four strains of bacteria than the other extracts RG and WG. All films sampled showed reduction in bacteria cell counts (log cycle) compared with the control. After 24-h of incubation, Pseudomonas a...
Abstract Bioluminescent bacteria have been used for many years for biotoxicological analysis. One of the main concerns with this microorganism is the low experimental repeatability when subjected to external factors. The aim of the present study was to obtain accurate, sensitive, and repeatable measurements with stable signals (during the detection and over days) for application in a water-analysis device for the detection of pollutants. Growth conditions were tested and optimized. An optimal freeze-drying procedure for the constitutive bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri and Photobacterium phosphoreum was developed. The luminescence stability after rehydration was also investigated. Freeze drying was found to be a critical process in survival and signal stability of luminescent bacter...
This paper reports the results of leaching experiments conducted with and without Thiobacillus ferroxidans at the same conditions in solution. The extent of leaching of ZnS with Bacteria is significantly higher than that without bacteria at high concentrations of ferrous ions. A porous layer of elemental sulfur is present on the surfaces of the chemically leached particles, which no sulfur is present on the surfaces of the bacterially leached particles. The analysis of the data using the shrinking-core model shows that the chemical leaching of ZnS is limited by the diffusion of ferrous ions through the sulfur product layer at high concentrations of ferrous ions. The analysis of the data shows that diffusion through the product layer does not limit the rate of dissolution when bacteria are present. This suggests that the action of T.ferroxidans in oxidizing the sulfur formed on the particle surface is to remove the barrier ...
The determination of Li and proton-capture element abundances in globular cluster (GC) giants allows us to constrain several key questions on the multiple population scenarios in GCs, from formation and early evolution to pollution and dilution mechanisms. In this Letter, we present our results on Li abundances for a large sample of giants in the intermediate-metallicity GC NGC 6121 (M4), for which Na and O have been already determined by Marino et al. The stars analyzed are both below and above the red giant branch bump luminosity. We found that the first and second generation stars share the same Li content, suggesting that a Li production must have occurred. This provides strong observational evidence supporting the scenario in which asymptotic giant branch stars are GC polluters.
Often ecologists and natural resource managers can easily access data on invasive species occurrence across a region. Yet, collecting species abundance data over a large area is arguably more important for decision making, but inherently costly, so methods which can provide robust information at low-cost are particularly valuable. Studies of species distribution often use occurrence data to build models of the environmental niche. Environmental suitability derived from such models may be used to predict the potential distributions of species. The ability of such models to predict spatial patterns in abundance have recently been demonstrated. Here we tested the relationship of environmental suitability with local abundance of an aquatic invasive species, olive hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexi...
We present constraints on theoretical models of Type Ia SNe using spatially resolved ASCA X-ray spectroscopy of four galaxy clusters: Abell 496, Abell 2199, Abell 3571 & Perseus. All four clusters have central Fe abundance enhancements and an ensemble of abundance ratios are used to show that most of the Fe in the central regions of the clusters comes from SN Ia. At the center of each cluster, simultaneous analysis of spectra from all ASCA instruments shows that the Ni to Fe abundance ratio (normalized by the solar ratio) is ~ 4. We use the Ni/Fe ratio as a discriminator between SN Ia explosion models: the Ni/Fe ratio of ejecta from the "Convective Deflagration" model W7 is consistent with the observations, while those of "delayed detonation" models are not consistent at the 90% confidence level.
Abstract High Post-Modernism with its understanding of the significance of the image anticipated the flattening of culture, first in advertising and the printed media, and more recently online. Sam Jacob of FAT speculates on architecture's relationship with the Internet, -a flatland of undifferentiated information-, and how Radical Post-Modernism might be best placed to resist the ubiquity of global culture while reanimating the social and cultural agenda of Modernism and Post-Modernism. Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bloodstream infection by highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), is a growing clinical problem that increasingly defies medical intervention....Full Text Available
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Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) play a central role in the pathogenicity of many important pathogens, including Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Helicobacter pylori, and...Full Text Available
Strong inhibitory effects of the anionic surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) on four strains of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are reported. Two Nitrosospira...Full Text Available
Methanol dehydrogenases isolated from bacteria belonging to different classes of methylotrophs contain the same prosthetic group. A procedure for its purification from whole cells is given. The reduced...Full Text Available
Many bacteria, both gram positive and gram negative, extrude in an energy-dependent manner the fluorescent pH indicator 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5[and -6]-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) (D. Molenaar,...Full Text Available
1. An enzyme from Escherichia coli 9723 that reduces adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-sulphatophosphate to inorganic sulphite is described. Extracts of E. coli...Full Text Available
Interkingdom signaling is established in the gastrointestinal tract in that human hormones trigger responses in bacteria; here, we show that the corollary is true, that a specific bacterial signal,...Full Text Available
The RNA-binding protein Hfq is recognized as an important regulatory factor in a variety of cellular processes, including stress resistance and pathogenesis. Hfq has been shown in several bacteria to...Full Text Available
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common inhabitant of soil and water, is an opportunistic pathogen of growing clinical relevance. Its genome, one of the largest among bacteria [5570 open reading...Full Text Available
A facile synthetic protocol for the production of neomycin B derivatives with various modifications at the 5″ position has been developed. Structural activity relationship (SAR) against...Full Text Available
Several dissimilatory, sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from the rumen fluid of sheep fed purified diets containing sulfate. One isolate, strain D, was selected for characterization. This organism...Full Text Available
In recent years, the interest in the use of bacteria for biological control of plant-pathogenic fungi has increased. We studied the possible side effects of coating barley seeds with the antagonistic...Full Text Available
The second messenger signaling molecule bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) regulates many processes in bacteria, including motility, pathogenesis,...Full Text Available
Organisms ranging from bacteria and corals to plants and vertebrates can form intransitive competitive networks, in which coexistence can be maintained because no one species or genotype is superior...Full Text Available
Bacteria expressing type III secretion systems (T3SS) have been responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide, acting as key virulence elements in diseases ranging from plague to typhoid...Full Text Available
Washed cell suspensions of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans subsp. aestuarii were capable of reducing nanomolar levels of selenate to selenide as well as sulfate to sulfide....Full Text Available
The pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa disseminated infections depends on bacterial interaction with blood vessels. We have hypothesized that in order to traverse the endothelial barrier, bacteria...Full Text Available
We have examined the expression and structure of several genes belonging to two classes of vegetative specific genes of the simple eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum. In amebae grown on bacteria, deactivation...Full Text Available
Preterm and low birthweight (PTLBW) continues to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity across the world. In recent years, maternal periodontal disease has been implicated as a risk factor for...Full Text Available
The aim of this study was to investigate the supposed vertical diel migration and the accompanying physiology of Beggiatoa bacteria from hypersaline microbial mats. We combined microsensor,...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe genus Vibrio is a diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria comprised of 74 species. Furthermore, the genus has and is expected to continue expanding...Full Text Available
The evolution of drug resistant bacteria is a severe public health problem, both in hospitals and in the community. Currently, some countries aim at concentrating highly specialized services in large...Full Text Available
Sewage waste disposal facilities in the Florida Keys include septic tanks and individual package plants in place of municipal collection facilities in most locations. In Key Largo, both facilities discharge...Full Text Available
Up-flow anaerobic attached-growth bioreactors filled with pre-treated coir fibres ...coir-fibre arranged in bottle-brush configuration bounded by a novel plastic binding technique ...-three anaerobic filter reactors in series -coir fibre as the bacteria growth media a sedimentation
The mutagenic and cytotoxic activity of two newly synthesized doxorubicin derivatives and of one daunorubicin derivative were studied in V79 Chinese hamster cells and bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium...Full Text Available
The overall objective of this project was to use molecular genetics to develop strains of bacteria with enhanced ability to remove sulfur from coal, and to obtain data that will allow the performance and economics of a coal biodesulfurization process to be predicted. (VC)
Microbial indicators in the environmental water are categorized as follows. 1. Index for pathogenic microbial contamination, especially enteric canal based ones. 2. Index for the ordinary microbial contamination. 3. Index for nutritive assessment. 4. Index for the treating effect of final effluent discharged into an environmental water. 5. Index for distinction of of the contamination source. Above 1 and 2'' are among the indices which cannot be replaced by other physico-chemical substances or indices. Up to the present time, 1'' is assessed by a coliform group and 2'' by the bacteria. Recently, however, the status on the microbial contamination of the environmental water is changing, thus urging the reexamination of the assessment systems. This report describes the following items. Characteristics and the elements of the indices (enteric canal based pathogenic microbial contamination); indices under examination ...
The natural biotic capacity of soils to degrade gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH, lindane) was estimated using an enrichment technique based on the ability of soil bacteria to develop on synthetic...Full Text Available
Unless relaxation of the stringent response is achieved, all nongrowing bacteria rapidly develop resistance to autolysis induced by a variety of agents, including all classes of cell wall synthesis...Full Text Available
CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) are increasingly prevalent worldwide among Escherichia coli bacteria, mostly in community-acquired urinary tract infections. Finding...Full Text Available
The electrokinetic patterns of four bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Agrobacterium radiobacter), two yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida...Full Text Available
Clindamycin concentrations in gingival crevicular fluid and in blood were determined over a 7-h period and were related to the minimal inhibitory concentrations of this agent for 340 bacterial strains...Full Text Available
The genetic systems of bacteria that have the ability to use organic pollutants as carbon and energy sources can be adapted to create bacterial biosensors for the detection of industrial pollution....Full Text Available
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) constitute a key antibiotic-resistance mechanism affecting Gram-negative bacteria, and also an excellent model for studying evolution in real time. A shift in...Full Text Available
Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging problem among nosocomial bacteria. Risk factors for the recovery of ceftriaxone-resistant (CRCF) or -susceptible (CSCF) Citrobacter freundii...Full Text Available
Bacterial nitric oxide synthases (bNOS) are present in many Gram-positive species and have been demonstrated to synthesize NO from arginine in vitro and in vivo. However, the physiological role...Full Text Available
Periodontal diseases are infections of the tissues supporting the dentition. Recognition that relatively specific microfloras are associated with distinct clinical forms of periodontal disease has prompted...Full Text Available
In response to reports that the contamination of food can occur during the on-farm primary phase of food production, we report data that describes a possible cost-effective intervention measure. The...Full Text Available
We studied the dynamics of microbial communities attached to model aggregates (4-mm-diameter agar spheres) and the component processes of colonization, detachment, growth, and grazing mortality. Agar...Full Text Available
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease characterized by single or multiple ulcerations. Secondary bacterial infections are one of the complications that can increase the tissue destruction...Full Text Available
Proteins that metabolize or bind the nucleotide second messenger cyclic diguanylate regulate a wide variety of important processes in bacteria. These processes include motility, biofilm formation, cell...Full Text Available
Magnetotactic bacteria contain chains of magnetically interacting crystals (magnetosome crystals), which they use for navigation (magnetotaxis). To improve magnetotaxis efficiency, the magnetosome crystals...Full Text Available
Coryneform isolates from clinical specimens frequently cannot be identified by either reference laboratories or research laboratories. Many of these organisms are skin flora that belong to a large number...Full Text Available
BackgroundMeropenem is a carbapenem that has an excellent activity against many gram-positive and gram-negative aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic bacteria. The major objective...Full Text Available
BackgroundStructured noncoding RNAs perform many functions that are essential for protein synthesis, RNA processing, and gene regulation. Structured RNAs can be detected by comparative...Full Text Available
The potential for oxidation of ammonia in anoxic marine sediments exists through anaerobic oxidation by Nitrosomonas-like organisms, utilizing nitrogen dioxide, coupling of nitrification,...Full Text Available
We cloned and sequenced structural gene choM, which encodes an insecticidally active cholesterol oxidase in Streptomyces sp. strain A19249. The primary translation product was predicted to be a 547-amino-acid...Full Text Available
Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease), an endemic mycobacteriosis of cattle that is caused by Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, is characterized by incoercible diarrhea and fecal shedding of bacteria. The...Full Text Available
The pilot area of the Vyngapour oil field allotted for MIOR tests contains three injection and three producing wells. These wells were treated in summer 1993 and 1994. Before, during, and after MIOR treatments on the pilot area the chemical compounds of injected and formation waters were studied, as well as the amount and species of microorganisms entering the stratum with the injected water and indigenous bacteria presented in bottomhole zones of the wells. The results of monitoring showed that the bottomhole zone of the injection well already had biocenosis of heterotrophic, hydrocarbon-oxidizing, methanogenic, and sulfate-reducing bacteria, which were besides permanently introduced into the reservoir during the usual waterflooding. The nutritious composition activated vital functions of all bacterial species presented in the bottomhole zone of the injection well. The formation waters from producing wells showed the increase of the content of ...
A randomized intervention study was conducted to determine if discontinuing use of calf milk replacer medicated with oxytetracycline results in increased tetracycline susceptibility in Salmonella...Full Text Available
Several isolates of bacteria and fungi from soil, together with cells released directly from soil, were studied with respect to buoyant density and dry weight. The specific volume (cubic centimeters...Full Text Available
Acute Otitis Media occurs mostly after upper respiratory tract infection; the causative bacteria are those colonized in the nasopharynx. We studied 709 URI episodes and found that children with...Full Text Available
A total of 193 bacterial strains were tested for their susceptibilities to 14 antimicrobial agents. Penicillin G was active at 2 U/ml against 98% of the oral isolates. Other antibiotics with good activity...Full Text Available
The distribution and activity of communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic archaea in two contrasting Antarctic sediments were investigated. Methanogenesis dominated in freshwater...Full Text Available
BackgroundType A1 Clostridium botulinum strains are a group of Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacteria that produce a genetically, biochemically, and biophysically...Full Text Available
The aggregation substance (AS) of Enterococcus faecalis, encoded on sex pheromone plasmids, is a surface-bound glycoprotein that mediates aggregation between bacteria thereby facilitating...Full Text Available
The in vitro activity of chephaloridine, cephalexin, cefatrizine (BL-S640), and cephapirin (BL-P-1322) was evaluated by the serial dilution method against pathogenic gram-positive and gram-negative...Full Text Available
The accumulation of α-1,4-polyglucans is an important strategy to cope with transient starvation conditions in the environment. In bacteria and plants, the synthesis of glycogen and starch occurs...Full Text Available
The sensitivities to cefuroxime and cephradine of potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated in two British general hospitals comprising 900 beds have been assessed. In a three-month period 2537 strains...Full Text Available
Siderophores are essential factors for iron (Fe) acquisition in bacteria during colonization and infection of eukaryotic hosts, which restrain iron access through iron-binding protein, such as lactoferrin...Full Text Available
Plumbagin is found in many herbal plants and inhibits the growth of various bacteria. Escherichia coli strains are relatively resistant to this drug. The mechanism of resistance is...Full Text Available
Tocopherols (vitamin E) are lipophilic antioxidants synthesized by all plants and are particularly abundant in seeds. Despite cloning of the complete suite of tocopherol biosynthetic enzymes and successful...Full Text Available
BackgroundCalcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide that is abundant in the sensory neurons which innervate bone. The effects of CGRP on isolated bone cells have been...Full Text Available
BackgroundNinety-one rodent plague epidemics have occurred in Lianghe county, Yunnan Province, China, between 1990 and 2006. This study aimed to identify predictors for the presence...Full Text Available
A new strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) was isolated from pooled gut suspensions from an epizootic of lethal enteritis in newborn mice. Negative-contrast electron microscopy showed an abundance...Full Text Available
Natural abundance 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of the incorporation of cholesterol on the dynamics of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC)...Full Text Available
SUMMARYTwo abundant classes of mobile elements, namely Alu and L1 elements, continue to generate new retrotransposon insertions in human genomes. Estimates suggest that these...Full Text Available
Choline (Cho)-containing phospholipids are the most abundant phospholipids in cellular membranes and play fundamental structural as well as regulatory roles in cell metabolism and signaling. Although...Full Text Available
BackgroundMalignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a lethal disease of cattle, characterized by vasculitis, necrosis, and accumulation of activated, dysregulated cytotoxic lymphocytes...Full Text Available
Intrinsically disordered proteins are predicted to be highly abundant and play broad biological roles in eukaryotic cells. In particular, by virtue of their structural malleability and propensity...Full Text Available
... protein is abundant in cytosolic portions of malignant epithelial tissue (Fig. 3A). In contrast, the degree of CCTβ staining in normal epithelial tissue (Fig. 3B) or connective tissues was much weaker ......
Sphingomyelin (SM) is an abundant phospholipid in cell membranes and in lipoproteins. In human plasma, SM is mainly found in atherogenic lipoproteins; therefore, higher levels of SM may promote atherogenesis....Full Text Available
... also include a healthy diet that included abundant antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and lycopene. ... exfoliants, the higher-level moisturizers as well as antioxidants as my night product. A very rich moisturizer ...
Hydrogen cyanide polymerizes readily under a variety of conditions and significant prebiotic roles have been suggested for these polymers due to the abundance of HCN in universe. However, the structures...Full Text Available
The juvenile fish community associated with natural, degraded and replanted Sonneratia alba mangroves in Gazi Bay was sampled during the South East and North East monsoons between April 2002 and June 2003. A total of 1800 individuals belonging to 49 taxa and 34 families were collected from the intertidal forest using stake nets. Fish abundance ranged from 0.93+-0.20ind. m-2 (SEM02) to 1.16+-0.18ind. m-2 (SEM03) between seasons and between 0.54+-0.07ind. m-2 and 1.64+-0.33ind. m-2 for individual sites across seasons. Five taxa accounted for approximately 70% of the total fish abundance, with Gobidae and Gerres oyena dominating. ANOSIM revealed seasonal differences in fish species composition and abundance (p=0.01) due to fluctuating abundances of primarily Terapon sp. and Thryssa sp. The ma...
We have derived elemental abundances for a sample of nine IRAS sources with colours similar to those of post-AGB stars. For IRAS 01259+6823, IRAS 05208-2035, IRAS 04535+3747 and IRAS 08187-1905 this is the first detailed abundance analysis based upon high resolution spectra. Mild indication of s-processing for IRAS 01259+6823, IRAS 05208-2035 and IRAS 08187-1905 have been found and a more comprehensive study of s-process enhanced objects IRAS 17279-1119 and IRAS 22223+4327 have been carried out. We have also made a contemporary abundance analysis of the high galactic latitude supergiants BD+39 4926 and HD 107369. The former is heavily depleted in refractories and estimated [Zn/H] of -0.7 dex most likely gives initial metallicity of the star. For HD 107369 the abundances of alpha and Fe-peak elements are similar to those of halo objects and moderate deficiency of s-process elements is seen. IRAS ...
In this study we have profiled the free sterol content of cerebrospinal fluid by a combination of charge tagging and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Surprisingly, the most abundant cholesterol...Full Text Available
Two additional hyperfine components of the interstellar radical C3H were detected. In addition, methanol was discovered in interstellar clouds. The abundance of HCCN and various chemical isomers in molecular clouds was investigated.
The concordance of standard big bang nucleosynthesis theory and the related observations of the light element isotopes (including some new higher {sup 4}He abundances) will be reviewed. Implications of BBN on chemical evolution, dark matter and constraints on particle properties will be discussed.
Aluminium is an abundant metal consisting about 8 per cent of the earth's crust. It has long been considered as essentially nontoxic and nonabsorbable from the gastrointestinal tract. More recent studies have, however, due to better analytical capabilitie...
A highly dispersed limonite catalyst was shown to have advantageous properties in a commercial liquefaction plant: it has high catalytic activity, low cost for catalyst production and abundant resources. 3 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.
SUMMARYAmeloblastin (AMBN) is the second most abundant extracellular matrix protein produced by the epithelial cells called ameloblasts and is found mainly in forming dental enamel....Full Text Available
Nucleotides released upon brain injury signal to astrocytes and microglia playing an important role in astrogliosis, but the participation of microglia in the purinergic modulation of astrogliosis is still unclear. Highly enriched astroglial cultures and co-cultures of astrocytes and microglia were used to investigate the influence of microglia in the modulation of astroglial proliferation mediated by nucleotides. In highly enriched astroglial cultures, adenosine-5?-triphosphate (ATP), adenosine 5?-O-(3-thio)-triphosphate (ATP?S), adenosine 5?-O-(3-thio)-diphosphate (ADP?S; 0.01?1?mM), and adenosine-5?-diphosphate (ADP; 0.1?1?mM) increased proliferation up to 382%, an effect abolished in co-cultures containing 8% of microglia. The loss of ATP proliferative effect in co-cultures is supporte...
Summary Cell senescence is a permanent growth arrest following extended proliferation. Cultured cancer cells including metastatic melanoma cells often appear immortal (proliferate indefinitely), while uncultured benign nevi (moles) show senescence markers. Here, with new explantation methods, we investigated which classes of primary pigmented lesions are typically immortal. Nevi yielded a few proliferating cells, consistent with most nevus cells being senescent. No nevus culture (0/28) appeared immortal. Some thin and thick melanoma cultures proved immortal under these conditions, but surprisingly few (4/37). All arrested cultures displayed three senescence markers in some cells: -galactosidase, nuclear p16, and heterochromatic foci/aggregates. However, melanoma cultures also showed featur...
Abstract Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) may be used for therapeutic applications. Culture conditions such as the serum source may impact on cell quality and the onset of replicative senescence. We have examined the effect of culturing hMSCs in autologous serum (AS) versus fetal bovine serum (FBS) on factors involved in in vitro replicative senescence. hMSCs from four donors were cultured in 10% FBS or 10% AS until they reached senescence. Cells were harvested at early passage and near senescence to study factors known to be involved in cellular senescence. The number of population doublings till senescence was similar for cells cultured in FBS, but varied greatly for hMSCs cultured in AS. FBS cells accumulated in S phase of cell cycle. This could not be explained by increased express...
In this paper I argue that when a researcher is a research instrument, it is likely that the researcher would develop a heightened awareness of his/her own cultural conditioning, especially in the case of cross-cultural studies. And that such awareness would make him/her realise that one's own cultural background may indeed have an influence on formulating his/her research methodology. The paper is based on my own research project on development cooperation between Japan and Cambodia, whereby I examined the perceptions of Cambodians and Japanese on what an appropriate power relationship between donors and recipients should be. At the outset of my research project, I paid little attention to my own cultural condition and the role it might play in my study, though I was aware that being Japa...
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an important target organ for the toxicity of xenobiotics. The toxic effects of xenobiotics on this complex, heterogeneous structure have been difficult to model in vitro and have traditionally been assessed in vivo. The explant culture of GI tissue offers an alternative approach. Historically, the organotypic culture of the GI tract proved far more challenging than the culture of other tissues, and it was not until the late 1960s that Browning and Trier described the means by which intestinal tissues could be successfully cultured. This breakthrough provided a tool researchers could utilise, and adapt, to investigate topics such as the pathogenesis of inflammatory intestinal diseases, the effect of growth factors and cytokines on intestinal proliferation...
Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate how a combination of different scaffold architectures and rotational culture would influence the functional properties of thick cartilaginous tissues engineered using either chondrocytes or bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Expanded porcine chondrocytes and BM-MSCs were suspended in 2% agarose and cast in custom-designed moulds to produce either regular solid or channelled construct cylinders. The study consisted of three seperate experimental arms. First, chondrocyte and BM-MSC constructs were cultured in free swelling conditions for 9 weeks. Second, constructs were subjected to rotational culture for a period of 3 weeks. Finally, BM-MSC-seeded constructs were subjected to delayed rotational culture, in which cons...
Three enriched cultures (48, 15a, and 26a), selected from more than 80 soil and water samples, could grow anaerobically in the presence of crude oil at 30{degrees}C and could ferment molasses to gases and organic acids. Oil recovery by culture 48 in the laboratory model experiment was enhanced by 25.2% over the original reserves and by 53.7% over the residual reserves. Enriched culture 48 was composed of at least 4 species belonging to the genera Eubacterium, Fusobacterium, and Bacteroides. This enriched culture was used as inoculum for MEOR field trials at Jilin oil field with satisfactory results. The importance of the role of these isolates in EOR was confirmed by their presence and behavior in the fluids produced from the microbiologically treated reservoir.
We describe a compact ultrafiltration system for the removal of pyrogens and bacteria from water labeled with the stable isotopes of deuterium and oxygen-18. The ultrafiltration system is constructed from readily available commercial components and can achieve complete removal of pyrogens and bacteria from 1L contaminated water within 30 min. By use of our procedure, loss of the isotopically labeled water by retention in the filtration system was minimal. The purified water is suitable for both oral and intravenous administration to healthy human subjects participating in nutrition studies.
Some bacteria move inside cells by recruiting the actin filaments of the host cells. The filaments are polymerized at the back surface of the bacteria, and they move away, forming a "comet" tail behind the bacterium, which consists of gel network. We develop a one-dimensional mathematical model of the gel based on partial differential equations which involve the number of filaments, the density and velocity of the gel, and the pressure. The two end-points of the gel form two free boundaries. The resulting free boundary problem is rather non-standard. We prove local existence and uniqueness.
The microbial safety of foods cooked in microwave ovens was investigated. The mechanisms of microwave destruction of microorganisms were examined. Effects of time and temperature on microorganisms in different food systems were described. Studies showed that: microwave heating of food is more ''''food dependent'' than conventional heating; recommended microwave treatment time for some foods may not destroy high levels of bacteria; use of microwaves in combination with conventional heating methods results in more uniform heating of foods and destruction of bacteria; and microwaves exert different killing effects on individual bacterial species. (78 references, 2 tables)
Summary Although many antibiotics are available for the treatment of bacterial infections, the emergence and global spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a community-wide problem. To overcome this problem, we must explore alternative antimicrobials. This study investigated the antibacterial properties of quercetin, a flavonoid present in vegetables and fruits. Quercetin was tested against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and was found to exert selective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Some clinical MRSA strains showed remarkable susceptibility to quercetin. In combination with antibiotics, such as oxacillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, gentamicin, and erythromycin, quercetin sho...
Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), secondary electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray analysis have been applied to the measurement of U-bearing particles with the intent of gleaning information concerning their history and/or origin. The lead isotopic abundances are definitive indicators that U-bearing particles have come from an ore-body, even if they have undergone chemical processing. SEM images and X-ray analysis can add further information to the study that may allude to the extent of chemical processing. The presence of 'common' lead that does not exhibit a radiogenic signature is clear evidence of anthropogenic origin. (author)
Beta-decay studies of the new neutron-rich isotopes sup(58,59)Cr, "6"3Mn, sup(66,67)Co and "6"9Ni, yielding distinctly shorter half-lives than the corresponding theoretical predictions, are presented. The influence of the short half-lives on the r-process calculations of nuclear abundances is discussed. It is concluded that a significantly higher neutron density than the one obtained from explosive helium burning in supernovae is needed to reproduce the observed abundances around A = 80. (orig.).
Scrotal skin of black Long-Evans rats and human thigh skin were maintained in vitro as organ cultures for as long as 14 days, and examined histologically using the combined skin splitting and Dopa techniques. Selected rat skin cultures received testosterone in the culture medium and/or were irradiated with ultraviolet light (290 to 320 nm uvl). With increased time in culture, scrotal melanocytes round up and there is an increase in epidermal pigmentation. Human skin behaves similarly; after eight days in vitro human melanocytes also become rounded, but remain strongly Dopa-positive. Addition of exogenous testosterone to cultured rat skin maintains dendritic morphology of melanocytes, but cell body size is still reduced. uvl irradiation stimulates melanocytes in rat skin cultures, maintaining their dendritic morphology and increasing epidermal and dermal ...
Cell suspension cultures were initiated separately from leaf and nodal/internodal calluses for the study of influence of hormones and medium components on biomass growth and expression of dipyranocoumarins. Highest 6.2 times biomass was enhanced in suspension cultures of nodal/internodal callus supplemented with threefold total sulphate. Picloram 8.28mM along with BAP 8.88mM enhanced 295.05 times inophyllum A in suspension cultures of leaf callus whereas IBA 14.70mM along with BAP 4.44mM in suspension cultures of leaf callus enhanced 1065 times inophyllum B. IBA 4.90mM alone in suspension cultures of nodal/internodal callus enhanced maximum 616 times inophyllum C. Only IBA 9.80mM in suspension cultures of leaf callus enhanced 23.22 times inophyllum P. Variation in nitrate and sulphate had ...
INSAG has emphasized that safety culture has two general components: the organizational framework and the attitude of the staff. To develop a structured approach to the assessment of safety culture, we propose that the highly formalized nature of nuclear power plant organizations be exploited. The prime coordinating mechanism of NPP organizations is the standardization of work processes, where a work process is defined as a standardized sequence of tasks designed to achieve a specific goal (an example is the maintenance work process). The predictable nature of work processes is exploited by the Work Process Analysis Model (WPAM) to conduct a systematic analysis that identifies the desirable characteristics of work processes and develops performance measures for their strengths and weaknesses. These can provide a set of tangible characteristics of a good safety culture. It is argued in this paper that the analysis of normal ...
Effects of cell concentrations on the survival and repopulation of haemopoietic stem cells after irradiation were studied in the long-term culture of mouse bone marrow cells in vitro. No difference was observed in the survival of the stem cells among cultures in which 0 - 10/sup 7/ cells were re-inoculated on the adherent cell colonies in the culture flask. Stem cells showed a significant proliferation within 1 week and the number of the stem cells exceeded the control in 3 weeks after irradiation in the cultures with less than 10/sup 6/ re-inoculated cells per flask. In contrast, there was a considerable delay in the onset of stem cell proliferation after irradiation in the culture with 10/sup 7/ cells per flask. Based on these results, a possibility that a stimulator of stem cell proliferation, released from irradiated stromal cells, is cancelled by an inhibitory factor produced ...
Drawing on work in epistemology and the philosophy of science, this paper seeks to provide very general reasons for why a comparative perspective needs to be applied to the inferential procedures of research methodologies where these concern the issue of justifying knowledge claims. In particular, the paper explores the role of culture on a number of important patterns of reasoning that figure in inferential arguments in research methodologies. The patterns examined are induction, both enumerative and analytical, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, and abductive inference. In each case it is argued that substantive theories about the world, including cultures, significantly affect inferential procedures. Examples chosen to illustrate this in more detail mostly reflect the impact of Confucian ...
Exposure of cells to light of less than 320 nanometers wavelengths may lead to lethal lesions and perhaps carcinogenesis. Many organisms have evolved mechanisms to repair U.V. light-induced damage. Organisms such as deep-sea bacteria are presumably never exposed to U.V. light and perhaps occasionally to visible from bioluminescence. Thus, the repair of U.V. damage in deep-sea bacterial DNA might be inefficient and repair by photoreactivation unlikely. The bacteria utilized in this investigation are temperature sensitive and barophilic. Four deep-sea isolates were chosen for this study: PE-36 from 3584 m, CNPT-3 from 5782 m, HS-34 from 5682 m, and MT-41 from 10,476 m, all are from the North Pacific ocean. The deep-sea extends from 1100 m to depths greater than 7000 m. It is a region of relatively uniform conditions. The temperature ranges from 5 to -1"0C. There is no solar light in the deep-sea. Deep-sea bacteria are ...
We studied the interaction of Pu(VI) with Pseudomonas stutzeri ATCC 17588 and Bacillus sphaericus ATCC 14577, representatives of the main aerobic groups of soil bacteria present in the upper soil layers. The accumulation studies have shown that these soil bacteria accumulate high amounts of Pu(VI). The sorption efficiency toward Pu(VI) decreased with increasing biomass concentration due to increased agglomeration of the bacteria resulting in a decreased total surface area and number of available complexing groups. Spores of Bacillus sphaericus showed a higher biosorption than the vegetative cells at low biomass concentration which decreased significantly with increasing biomass concentration. At higher biomass concentrations (> 0.7 g/L), the vegetative cells of both strains and the spores of B. sphaericus showed comparable sorption efficiencies. Investigations on the pH dependency of the biosorption and extraction ...
During secondary oil recovery, water is injected into the formation to sweep out the residual oil. The injected water, however, follows the path of least resistance through the high-permeability zones, leaving oil in the low-permeability zones. Selective plugging of these their zones would divert the waterflood to the residual oil and thus increase the life of the well. Bacteria have been suggested as an alternative plugging agent to the current method of polymer injection. Starved bacteria can penetrate deeply into rock formations where they attach to the rock surfaces, and given the right nutrients can grow and produce exo-polymer, reducing the permeability of these zones. The application of microbial enhanced oil recovery has only been applied to shallow, cool, onshore fields to date. This study has focused on the ability of bacteria to enhance oil recovery offshore in the North Sea, where the environment can be ...
In this thesis we study the relic density n{sub {chi}} of non--relativistic long--lived or stable particles {chi} in various non--standard cosmological scenarios. First, we discuss the relic density in the non--standard cosmological scenario in which the temperature is too low for the particles {chi} to achieve full chemical equilibrium. We also investigated the case where {chi} particles are non--thermally produced from the decay of heavier particles in addition to the usual thermal production. In low temperature scenario, we calculate the relic abundance starting from arbitrary initial temperatures T{sub 0} of the radiation--dominated epoch and derive approximate solutions for the temperature dependence of the relic density which can accurately reproduces numerical results when full thermal equilibrium is not achieved. If full equilibrium is reached, our ansatz no longer reproduces the correct temperature dependence of the {chi} number density. However, we can ...
Mon R2, at a distance of 830 pc, is the only ultracompact HII region (UC HII) where the photon-dominated region (PDR) between the ionized gas and the molecular cloud can be resolved with Herschel. HIFI observations of the abundant compounds 13CO, C18O, o-H2-18O, HCO+, CS, CH, and NH have been used to derive the physical and chemical conditions in the PDR, in particular the water abundance. The 13CO, C18O, o-H2-18O, HCO+ and CS observations are well described assuming that the emission is coming from a dense (n=5E6 cm-3, N(H2)>1E22 cm-2) layer of molecular gas around the UC HII. Based on our o-H2-18O observations, we estimate an o-H2O abundance of ~2E-8. This is the average ortho-water abundance in the PDR. Additional H2-18O and/or water lines are required to derive the water abundance profile. A lower density envelope (n~1E5 cm-3, N(H2)=2-5E22 cm-2) is responsible for the ...
As care shifts from institutional to home- and community-based settings, consumer health information technology (IT) must be designed to support patients' new health information management responsibilities. We developed and piloted a new methodology grounded in social network analysis and human factors engineering to explore two often overlooked aspects of this phenomenon: the task of health information communication with members of the social network and the context of culture. Such knowledge is necessary to inform the appropriate design of consumer health IT. We asked a culturally diverse sample of participants to describe what, to whom, why, and how they communicate health information and to provide direct feedback about the methodology. The methodology was acceptable to all participants and able to capture similarities and differences in their health information communication practices. Prior to the main study we will need to refine the ...
The molecular structure, chemical properties, and biological function of the xyloglucan polysaccharide isolated from cell walls of suspension-cultured sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)...Full Text Available
The effect of different media and pH on the formation of amylase by Aspergillus oryzae EI 212 is described. Depending upon the composition of the medium and growth...Full Text Available
We review the cases of 19 successfully treated plague patients, with emphasis on the clinical and epidemiologic features of the disease. Proper staining and culturing of bubo aspirates; prompt institution...Full Text Available
This paper opens with a critical analysis of a paradox in contemporary educational research in and about Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC): the assumption that national boundaries coincide with those of a distinct and homogeneous culture, which consistently renders a rather homogenous set of educational phenomena, and collides against a more widely accepted discourse - culture transcends geographical frontiers and is ever evolving in character. It is claimed that this paradox is due to the fact that a thin conception of CHC competes neck-and-neck with a thick conception of it. This paper also addresses the possibility of an ad hoc education research methodology in and about CHC and its compliance issues regarding the mainstream Western research dynamics and philosophy of science. Confucian ...
of Concern; Parks; Management; Monitoring Exotic and Invasive Species Northern Arizona University. Canyons, Cultures, and Environmental Change. Species of Concern; Contacts;...
Because the proportion of Hispanic patients is increasing rapidly, most physicians are now coming into daily contact with Hispanics. In addition to obvious difficulty with oral communication, Hispanics...Full Text Available
The processes of neuronal outgrowth and guidance have typically been studied in classic 2D cell culture systems that do not recapitulate topographical cues present in the in vivo extracellular matrix...Full Text Available
The supernatural fears associated with the experience of isolated sleep paralysis in the culture of developing countries is sometimes associated with the evolution of somatic symptoms of psychological...Full Text Available
In a prospective study, patients with the diagnosis of chronic ethmoid sinusitis were evaluated microbiologically by using biopsy specimens of the ethmoid sinus mucosa. Microbiology cultures were performed...Full Text Available
Abstract The glycosylation profile of therapeutic antibodies is routinely analyzed throughout development to monitor the impact of process parameters and to ensure consistency, efficacy, and safety for clinical and commercial batches of therapeutic products. In this study, unusually high levels of the mannose-5 (Man5) glycoform were observed during the early development of a therapeutic antibody produced from a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line, model cell line A. Follow up studies indicated that the antibody Man5 level was increased throughout the course of cell culture production as a result of increasing cell culture medium osmolality levels and extending culture duration. With model cell line A, Man5 glycosylation increased more than twofold from 12% to 28% in the fed-batch process...
The ability of a local strain of grape phylloxera to develop and reproduce on irradiated in vitro cultured rootstocks (Ru140, R99 and 3309C and one local variety 'Helwani' was determined. The results showed that there was great variation in developmental time and reproduction of phylloxera between irradiated and unirradiated in vitro cultured plants. Survival, number of eggs and mean developmental time were greatly reduced when phylloxera was reared on irradiated rootstocks. Based on the examined biological parameters of phylloxera, all tested rootstocks would be more resistant toward such destructive insect when they were irradiated. Thus, phylloxera resistance was enhanced when in vitro cultured plants were treated with low doses of gamma irradiation. (author)
SummaryNineteenth-century Vienna is well known to medical historians as a leading centre of medical research and education, offering easy access to patients and corpses to students...Full Text Available
BackgroundOsseointegration is crucial for the long-term success of dental implants and depends on the tissue reaction at the tissue-implant interface. Mechanical properties and biocompatibility...Full Text Available
The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the number of blood cultures collected and the appropriateness of care for suspected bacteremic community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) in the elderly. We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 129 patients with UTI >65?years old admitted to a large community-based training hospital in Japan from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009. We assessed the association between the number of blood cultures collected and the appropriateness of care received, as well as other factors. Two-thirds of the patients were women, and patients >85?years old accounted for 45.0% of the cases. Most of the organisms isolated from the urine and blood were Escherichia coli (65.4?67.0%). More than two blood cultures were collected ...
Budding yeasts are highly suitable for aging studies, because the number of bud scars (stage) proportionally correlates with age. Its maximum stages are known ...Full Text Available
Synchronized cultures of the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda were grown in the absence (untreated cultures) or in the presence (FdUrd-treated cultures) of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, the specific inhibitor of nuclear DNA replication. The attainment of commitment points, at which the cells become committed to nuclear DNA replication, mitosis and cellular division, and the course of committed processes themselves were determined for cell cycle characterization. FdUrd-treated cultures showed nearly unaffected growth and attainment of the commitment points, while DNA replication(s), nuclear division(s) and protoplast fission(s) were blocked. Interestingly, the FdUrd-treated cells possessed a very high mitotic histone H1 kinase activity in the absence of any nuclear division(s). Compared with the ...
The incidence of candidiasis in two groups of voluntary participants wearing tight and loose fitted dresses was investigated by both microscopic and cultural techniques for a period of two months....Full Text Available
... Aerial photographs were provided by Mr. Grover P. ... Dr. Beverely J. Watkins conducted the records search and wrote the historic research. x,/ ...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to enhance distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in the Columbia River Estuary to serve as refuge and feeding habitat for juvenile salmon, Dungeness crab, and other fish and wildlife. We strongly suspected that limited eelgrass seed dispersal has resulted in the present distribution of eelgrass meadows, and that there are other suitable places for eelgrass to survive and form functional meadows. Funded as part of the Bonneville Power Administration's call for Innovative Projects, we initiated a multistage study in 2008 that combined modeling, remote sensing, and field experimentation to: (1) Spatially predict habitat quality for eelgrass; (2) Conduct experimental plantings; and (3) Evaluate restoration potential. Baseline in-situ measurements and remote satellite observations were acquired for locations in the Lower Columbia River Estuary (LCRE) to determine ambient habitat conditions. These were used to create a ...
...and welcome to ...lab also known as berkeley lab my name is jeff miller and ...and a public affairs i'd like to ? ...but space is science center and ...berkeley albany high school science department and berkeley high school science department and oakland high school science ...be a q. and ...here please use and because we wanna make sure that your questions are here ...heard of also for the latest developments on science and technology ...guy we're going to be any more and more new features i hope ...and change ...thank you ? much and thank you for coming on the welcome to my world of and mayotte science journalist and what i've done for the last almost thirty years ...people about things about which there passionate and national religion tonight and ...people to explain the science and and i asking the question so what ...and ...worldwide and what it does best ? uh ...bench science and turn it into reality what do you scientists and ...uh they take scientific theory and they turn ...
Increasing economic and recreational opportunities, attractive scenery and a perception of a better quality of life are luring people to the coast. Unfortunately, these activities together with the commensurate increase in population in the area inevitably result in pollution of coastal waters with excessive microorganisms and other pollutants. Microbial pollutants not only contaminate the coastal water but also aquatic food sources, thus posing a health risk to consumers. Fish is a major source of protein in Cameroon, especially in the coastal areas. In this study, we investigated the microbiological quality of fish from the Limbe and Tiko beaches in South West Cameroon from May to October 2007. We isolated human pathogenic bacteria from three anatomic sites (skin, gills, intestine) of 50 fish (150 specimens) and investigated their susceptibility patterns to a battery of antibiotics. Data were analyzed statistically using chi2 with significance set at p South West ...
The generation of acidic mine drainage is based on the oxidation dissolution of sulfide minerals due to the contact of ores with the natural water and the air. Namely, the sulfuric acid promotes the dissolution of sulfide minerals and gangue minerals, and Fe{sup 2+} is further oxidized to turn into Fe{sup 3+}, which acts as an oxidizer for other sulfide minerals and promotes the dissolution of the same. This paper roughly describes a mine drainage treatment focusing on an Fe{sup 2+} neutralization method and an iron bacteria oxidation method. The iron bacteria oxidation method is a method of oxidizing Fe{sup 2+} into Fe{sup 3+} by using iron bacteria, and then removing Fe{sup 3+} with calcium carbonate. This method has been used for treating the drainage in the Sakuhara Mine and the former Matsuo Mine, with good results. The paper finally introduces, as power-saving low-cost mine drainage treatment methods, a method of ...
Since microwaves are used in human cancer therapy, information on specific biological effects of microwaves at elevated temperatures is important. To help supply this information, we exposed mammalian cells (CHO) and bacteria (Serratia marcescens) to hyperthermal temperatures (43, 44, and 45/sup o/C for CHO and 48, 49, and 50/sup o/C for the bacteria) with and without microwave irradiation. Temperature control was maintained by a refrigeration-reheat system and high-velocity water recirculation. The 2450-MHz microwave source was operated in a pulsed mode with power density up to 500 mW/cm/sup 2/. As expected, the survival curve slopes for both cell types increased rapidly with temperature, doubling for each degree Celsius. Microwave irradiation produced no significant change in extrapolation number for either cell type. However, survival curves of CHO cells which received microwaves were steeper by a factor of 1.25 than their sham-irradiated ...
Biocatalytic Desulfurization (BDS) represents an alternative approach to the reduction of sulfur in fossil fuels. The objective is to use bacteria to selectively remove sulfur from petroleum and middle distillate fractions, without the concomitant release of carbon. Recently, bacteria have been developed which have the ability to desulfurize dibenzothiophene (DBT) and other organosulfur molecules. These bacteria are being developed for use in a biocatalyst-based desulfurization process. Analysis of preliminary conceptual engineering designs has shown that this process has the potential to complement conventional technology as a method to temper the sulfur levels in crude oil, or remove the recalcitrant sulfur in middle distillates to achieve the deep desulfurization mandated by State and Federal regulations. This paper describes the results of initial feasibility studies, sensitivity analyses and conceptual design work. ...
Galactic open clusters are since long recognized as one of the best tools for investigating the radial distribution of iron and other metals. We employed FLAMES at VLT to collect UVES spectra of bright giant stars in a large sample of open clusters, spanning a wide range of Galactocentric distances, ages, and metallicities. We present here the results for four clusters: Berkeley 20 and Berkeley 29, the two most distant clusters in the sample; Collinder 261, the oldest and the one with the minimum Galactocentric distance; Melotte 66. Equivalent width analysis was carried out using the spectral code MOOG and Kurucz model atmospheres to derive abundances of Fe, Al, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, Ba; non-LTE Na abundances were derived by direct line-profile fitting. We obtain subsolar metallicities for the two anticenter clusters Be 20 ([Fe/H]=-0.30, rms=0.02) and Be 29 ([Fe/H]=-0.31, rms=0.03), and for Mel 66 ([Fe/H]=-0.33, rms=0.03), located in the ...
The flybys of Jupiter by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979, and over two decades later by Cassini in 2000, have provided us with unique datasets from two different epochs, allowing the investigation of seasonal change in the atmosphere. In this paper we model zonal averages of thermal infrared spectra from the two instruments, Voyager 1 IRIS and Cassini CIRS, to retrieve the vertical and meridional profiles of temperature, and the abundances of the two minor hydrocarbons, acetylene (C2H2) and ethane (C2H6). The spatial variation of these gases is controlled by both chemistry and dynamics, and therefore their observed distribution gives us an insight into both processes. We find that the two gases paint quite different pictures of seasonal change. Whilst the 2-D cross-section of C2H6 abundance is slightly increased and more symmetric in 2000 (northern summer solstice) compared to 1979 (northern fall equinox), the major trend of equator to pole ...
Eugenol, the principal chemical component of clove oil from Eugenia aromatica has been long known for its analgesic, local anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects. The interaction of the eugenol with ten different hydrophobic and hydrophilic antibiotics was studied against five different Gram negative bacteria. The MIC of the combination was found to decrease by a factor of 5-1000 with respect to their individual MIC. This synergy is because of the membrane damaging nature of eugenol, where 1mM of its concentration is able to damage nearly 50% of the bacterial membrane. Eugenol was also able to enhance the activities of lysozyme, Triton X-100 and SDS in damaging the bacterial cell membrane. The hydrophilic antibiotics such as vancomycin and b-lactam antibiotics which have ...
Bark beetles that colonize living conifers and their microbial associates encounter constitutive and induced chemical defenses of their host. Monoterpene hydrocarbons comprise a major component of these allelochemicals, and many are antibiotic to insects, fungi, and bacteria. Some bark beetle species exhaust these defenses by killing their host through mass attacks mediated by aggregation pheromones. Others lack adult aggregation pheromones and do not engage in pheromone-mediated mass attacks, but rather have the ability to complete development within live hosts. In the former species, the larvae develop in tissue largely depleted of host terpenes, whereas in the latter exposure to these compounds persists throughout development. A substantial literature exists on how monoterpenes affect b...
Pit lakes form when open-pit mining operations are discontinued and dewatering ceases. The increase in open-pit metal mining since the 1970s will lead to the formation of numerous pit lakes over the next 50 years. Many of these lakes will develop acid sulfate conditions with high levels of dissolved metals. Approaches to remediation of these conditions that have been recommended include the addition of lime or other alkaline materials and the stimulation of sulfate-reducing bacteria. However, prevention rather than remediation is probably the preferable approach. Measures to prevent oxidation of mining waste and wall rocks, including measures to fill pits quickly with water, to inhibit the activity of acidophilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and to promote anoxic conditions at the lake bottoms may minimize the formation of acids and dissolved metals. (orig.)
The present study describes the screening of five lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for use as probiotics based on their competitive adhesion and production of antagonistic substances against some fish pathogens. A reduction of adhesion of all pathogenic strains tested was obtained with three of the LAB strains (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CLFP100, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris CLFP102 and Lactobacillus curvatus CLFP150). With the exception of fish pathogens Flavobacterium psychrophilum and Renibacterium salmoninarum that were not inhibited by LAB strains, production of antagonistic compounds by all tested LAB was observed against at least one of the indicator strains. Based on mucus adhesion, competitive exclusion, and suppression of fish pathogen growth, the selected LAB strains can b...
The development of 'Green Chemistry' requires new materials to replace the conventional organic chemistry by biological catalysts, to produce fine chemicals in an environmentally friendly manner. Microbial whole cells can be directly used as biocatalysts, providing a simple and cheap methodology since enzyme isolation and purification are avoided. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a very stable polymer though it can be activated by gamma radiation to induce grafting. Glycidyl methacrylate was grafted onto macroporous HDPE and PP in the range of 1-6%, proportional to the initial monomer concentration. Grafted polymers were further chemically modified with ethylenediamine to generate a cationic hydrogel of micron-size thickness onto the internal polymer surfaces. Modified polymers were able to immobilize Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that can catalyze a chemical reaction as efficient as free cells do.
Abstract In the 1990s, significant efforts were invested in the research and development of food-grade expression systems in lactic acid bacteria (LAB). At this time, Lactococcus lactis in particular was demonstrated to be an ideal cell factory for the food-grade production of recombinant proteins. Steady progress has since been made in research on LAB, including Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus, in the areas of recombinant enzyme production, industrial food fermentation, and gene and metabolic pathway regulation. Over the past decade, this work has also led to new approaches on chromosomal integration vectors and host/vector systems. These newly constructed food-grade gene expression systems were designed with specific attention to self-cloning strategies, food-grade selection...
Using carbon-paste-CuFeS{sub 2} electrodes and a cyclic voltammetric technique, it was found that a large number of intermediate electrochemical oxidation reactions were associated with the dissolution of chalcopyrite in presence and absence of bacteria. The effects of concentrations of copper, ferrous and ferric ions, as well as of agitation on the peaks of cyclic voltammograms were measured. It was established that chalcopyrite oxidation was solid-state controlled as suggested by the data of chronopotentiometric and chronoamperometric measurements. The activation energy of solid state diffusion of chalcopyrite leaching was determined by the Sand's method to be {triangle}E{sub a} = 20.5 kJ. The leaching mechanism is discussed in terms of solid-state properties (energy bonding) of the n-type semiconductor chalcopyrite and energy density states of redox systems of acidic bacterial leach media. A generalized model for the mechanism of chalcopyrite leaching ...
One proposed solution to the problem of ballast-mediated aquatic invasions involves chemically treating ballast water to kill key target organisms. Here, we examine the efficacy of three commercially available ballast water biocides using vegetative microalgae, dinoflagellate resting cysts and bacteria as test organisms. Chemicals tested were the ballast water biocides SeaKleen and Peraclean Ocean, and the chlorine dioxide biocide Vibrex. Results demonstrate that the applicability of each of the three chemical biocides as a routine ballast water treatment is limited by factors such as cost, biological effectiveness and possible residual toxicity of the discharged ballast water (assessed on the basis of impact on motility of vegetative marine microalgae). Of the three biocides tested, Perac...
Abstract Background: This study involves a multicentre surveillance of tigecycline and tetracycline activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria from primary care centres (PCCs), general hospital wards (GHWs) and intensive care units (ICUs) in Denmark (n == 9), Finland (n == 10), Norway (n == 7) and Sweden (n == 19). Methods: The hospitals were each asked to test 30 consecutive Gram-positive and 30 Gram-negative clinical isolates. Supportive information accompanying each isolate included the study centre, ward level (PCC, GHW, or ICU), patient identification and source of the isolate. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for tetracycline and tigecycline were determined with the Etest. Results: The isolates collected comprised 1610 Gram-negative and 1767 Gram-positive clini...
In this work, silver-montmorillonite (Ag-MMT) antimicrobial nanoparticles have been obtained by allowing silver ions from nitrate solutions to replace the Na^+ of natural montmorillonite and then to be reduced by a thermal treatment. Ag-MMT were used as active antimicrobial compounds to improve the shelf life of fresh fruit salad. In order to assess their influence on product shelf life, sensorial and microbiological quality has been monitored during the storage. The microbiological quality was determined by monitoring the principal spoilage microorganisms (mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, coliforms, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds). Additionally, the evolution of sensorial quality was assessed by monitoring color, odor, firmness and product overall quality. The Ag-MMT nanopa...
We study spectroscopically determined iron abundances of 642 solar-type stars to search for the signature of accreted iron-rich material. We find that the metallicity [Fe/H] of a subset of 466 main sequence stars, when plotted as a function of stellar mass, mimics the pattern seen in lithium abundances in open clusters. Using Monte Carlo models we find that, on average, these stars have accreted about 0.4 Earth masses of iron while on the main sequence. A much smaller sample of 19 stars in the Hertzsprung gap, which are slightly evolved and whose convection zones are significantly more massive, have lower average [Fe/H], and their metallicity shows no clear variation with stellar mass. These findings suggest that terrestrial-type material is common around solar type stars.
Changes in cell density and cyst flux of Alexandrium tamarense, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin contents in shellfishes, and environmental parameters were measured in two stations in Daya Bay, South China Sea from March 2005 to July 2006. Vegetative cells of A. tamarense occurred sporadically; however, they presented abundantly during the winter months. Meanwhile, cyst flux reached its maximum level just following the peak abundance of motile cells. The PSP contents in shellfish were generally low, but higher in winter with the maximum of 14,015 @mg STX equiv./kg. The majority of toxins were found in digestive glands, with a maximum of 66,227 @mg STX equiv./kg. There were significant positive relationships between toxin level and vegetative cell density and cyst flux. This indica...
Seasonal and habitat calliphorid abundance and distribution were examined weekly for two years (2001-2003) in Santa Clara County, California, using sentinel traps baited with bovine liver. Of the 34,389 flies examined in three defined habitats (rural, urban, and riparian), 38% of the total catch represented Compsomyiops callipes (Bigot) and 23% represented Phormia regina (Meigen). Other flies collected in this survey included Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus), Calliphora latifrons (Hough), Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann), and Lucilia mexicana (Macquart), which is a new record for the area. Multivariate MANOVA and ANOVA (P 0.05) analysis indicate significant seasonal habitat preference for all fly species examined. This information may be used to identify potentially fo...
Batadomba-lena, a rockshelter in the rainforest of southwestern Sri Lanka, has yielded some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in South Asia. H. sapiens foragers were present at Batadomba-lena from ca. 36,000 cal BP to the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. Human occupation was sporadic before the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Batadomba-lena's Late Pleistocene inhabitants foraged for a broad spectrum of plant and mainly arboreal animal resources (monkeys, squirrels and abundant rainforest snails), derived from a landscape that retained equatorial rainforest cover through periods of pronounced regional aridity during the LGM. Juxtaposed hearths, palaeofloors with habitation debris, postholes, excavated pits, and animal and plant remains, including abundant Canarium nutshells, ref...
Observations are reported of the lithium feature (6708 A) in some bright southern stars, most of which are F, G, or K dwarfs. Three of these stars have been suggested as belonging to the Ursa Major Group. Two of these three have the large Li abundance and strong Ca II H and K emission expected of such young stars. The third potential Ursa Major Group member has little Li, but is also not a true kinematic member. No stars were found with abnormal (Li-6)/(Li-7) ratios, in accord with other recent analyses. Thus it appears that all stars have (Li-6)/(Li-7) near the solar/terrestrial value of 0.08. 31 references.
The authors determined migration timing and abundance of juvenile spring chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and juvenile steelhead/rainbow trout O. mykiss from three populations in the Grande Ronde River basin. Based on migration timing and abundance, two distinct life-history strategies of juvenile spring chinook and O.mykiss could be distinguished. An early migrant group left upper rearing areas from July through January with a peak in the fall. A late migrant group descended from upper rearing areas from February through June with a peak in the spring.
A variety of observations suggest that the Universe had a hot dense origin and that the pregalactic composition of the Universe was determined by nuclear reactions that occurred in the first few minutes. There is no unique hot Big Bang theory, but the simplest version produces a primeval chemical composition that is in good qualitative agreement with the abundances deduced from observation. Whether or not any Big Bang theory will provide quantitative agreement with observations depends on a variety of factors in elementary particle physics (number and masses of stable or long-lived particles, half-life of neutron, structure of grand unified theories) and from observational astronomy (present mean baryon density of the Universe, the Hubble constant and deceleration parameter). The influence of these factors on the abundances is discussed, as is the effect of departures from homogeneity and isotropy in the early Universe.
Depletion studies are used to infer the presence of mantles and to constrain grain evolutionary models in the diffuse interstellar medium. The presence of these mantles appears to be important in the evolution of the grains inside diffuse as well as dense clouds. In dense clouds where the element-to-element abundances sometimes differ from those found in diffuse clouds, empirical relationships are starting to emerge between gas abundances and various types of peculiar selective extinction. These peculiar extinction curves may be the results of nonvolatile mantle formation on grain cores or may reflect chemical differences due to variations in the intrinsic metalicity from one cloud to another. A simple model of the time evolution of a parcel of gas and dust as observed by the depletion of two elements is presented. Different studies of grain evolution and selective extinction are discussed and compared.
It has been shown that not only there are abundant oil, gas, coal, coal-bed gas, groundwater and giant uranium deposits but also there are abundant oil shale resources in Ordos basin. It has been shown also that the thickness of oil shale is, usually, 4-36m, oil-bearing 1.5%-13.7%, caloric value 1.66-20.98MJ/kg. The resource amount of oil shale with burial depth less than 2000 m is over 2000x108t (334). Within it, confirmed reserve is about 1x108t (121). Not only huge economic benefit but also precious experience in developing oil shale may be obtained in Ordos basin.
Presently, most charge state distributions produced with highly charged ion sources are predicted with models that approximate the ionization process with the Lotz formula. The Lotz ionization cross sections decrease approximately geometrically with increasing charge state except for ions with very few vacancies, for ions with very few electrons, and for electron impact energies which barely exceed the ionization energy. The geometrical decrease causes these models to predict a maximum abundance for most of the charge states, which is only weakly dependent on the charge state. Experimental results, however, yield much higher abundances for ions with an empty M shell than ions with a partly filled M shell. This difference is explained with indirect ionization processes that are neglected by the Lotz approximation, and normally can be neglected for the ionization of the L shell, but can dominate the ionization of the M shell. (c) 2000 American ...
Thinning and burning forests established on revegetated mine pits in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forests of south-west Australia is being considered as a management option to accelerate succession in sites with excessive tree densities. To assess the impact of thinning and burning on reptiles and small mammals, we installed trapping grids in eight thinned and burned sites, each paired with untreated controls. Of the eight pairs, four were in rehabilitated sites (planted with nonlocal species) and four were in restored sites (seeded with local species). Thinning and burning had no significant impact on the small mammal community, although Cercatetus concinnus was more abundant in rehabilitated sites. In contrast, thinning and burning significantly increased reptile abundance and species r...
The present work focuses on investigations of a highly selective ligand for Am(III)/Ln(III) separation: bis-triazinyl-pyridine (BTP). By means of nano-electro-spray mass spectrometry, complex formation of BTP with selected elements of the lanthanide series is investigated. We show that the diluent drastically influences complex speciation. Measurements obtained in the extraction-relevant diluent 1-octanol show the occurrence of Ln(BTP){sub i} (i 1-3) species in different relative abundances, depending on the lanthanide used. Here, the relative abundances of the Ln(BTP){sub 3} complexes correlate with the distribution ratios for extraction to the organic phase of the respective lanthanide. (authors)
The integral membrane protein synaptophysin is one of the most abundant polypeptide components of synaptic vesicles. It is not essential for neurotransmission despite its abundance but is believed to modulate the efficiency of the synaptic vesicle cycle. Detailed behavioral analyses were therefore performed on synaptophysin knockout mice to test whether synaptophysin affects higher brain functions. We find that these animals are more exploratory than their wild type counterparts examining novel objects more closely and intensely in an enriched open field arena. We also detect impairments in learning and memory, most notably reduced object novelty recognition and reduced spatial learning. These deficits are unlikely caused by impaired vision, since all electroretinographic parameters measur...
The excitation function of ({alpha},{ital xn}) reactions on {sup 191}Ir (abundance 37.3%) and on {sup 193}Ir (abundance 62.7%) has been measured for the 17--55 MeV alpha-particle bombarding energy range. The stacked foil activation technique and {gamma}-ray spectroscopy were used to determine the cross sections. The experimental data were compared with calculated values obtained by means of a geometry-dependent hybrid model. The initial exciton number {ital n}{sub 0}=4 with {ital n}=2, {ital p}=2, and {ital h}=0 gives the best agreements with the presently measured results. To calculate the excitation function theoretically a computer code was used. This set of excitation functions provides a data basis for probing the validity of combined equilibrium and preequilibrium reaction models in a considerable energy range.
A tissue culture process, organogenesis, is described which involves the stepwise production of a shoot apex, which grows to have leaves and stem and finally roots, culminating in the production of a complete plant. The production and subsequent development of numerous adventitious shoots, preferably from adult tree tissues offers the greatest potential for commercial cloned plantlet production. The process describes these steps for Pinus taeda, the loblolly pine. (Refs. 25).
A soluble enzyme system from suspension cultures of Acer pseudoplatanus L. converts d-glucose 6-phosphate to myoinositol. A Mg2+-dependent phosphatase, present in...Full Text Available
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) promotes the accumulation of tryptophan-derived indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in carrot cell cultures during callus proliferation by a biosynthetic pathway that is...Full Text Available
This paper reviewed the current status of basic research in plant cell engineering, highlighted the application of embryo culture, double haploid (DH) technology, protoplast culture and somatic hybridization, somaclonal variation, rapid propagation, and bio-products production of plant-origin, and t he prospects. (authors)
The influence of serum, IGF-1 and TGF-{beta} on the differentiation of preadipocytes was examined in primary cultures of porcine adipose tissue cells. In serum-supplemented or serum-free, IGF-1 (1 and 10 nM) had no effect on total cell number. However, IGF-1 (10nM) increased adipocyte number only in serum-supplemented (1% pig serum) cultures, whereas TGF-{beta} (15 pm) reduced the adipocyte number in the presence and absence of IGF-1. Replication of preadipocytes was analyzed with a ({sup 3}H) thymidine assay. Preadipocyte proliferation (cpm in adipocyte fraction) was increased by IGF-1 (10nM) only in cultures containing pig serum. TGF-{beta} had no effect on preadipocyte proliferation specifically, but slightly increased total ({sup 3}H) thymidine incorporation in cultures with serum. Glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) specific activity was decreased by adding TGF-{beta} to serum-free ...
The influence of serum, IGF-1 and TGF-#beta# on the differentiation of preadipocytes was examined in primary cultures of porcine adipose tissue cells. In serum-supplemented or serum-free, IGF-1 (1 and 10 nM) had no effect on total cell number. However, IGF-1 (10nM) increased adipocyte number only in serum-supplemented (1% pig serum) cultures, whereas TGF-#beta# (15 pm) reduced the adipocyte number in the presence and absence of IGF-1. Replication of preadipocytes was analyzed with a ["3H] thymidine assay. Preadipocyte proliferation (cpm in adipocyte fraction) was increased by IGF-1 (10nM) only in cultures containing pig serum. TGF-#beta# had no effect on preadipocyte proliferation specifically, but slightly increased total ["3H] thymidine incorporation in cultures with serum. Glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) specific activity was decreased by adding TGF-#beta# to serum-free ...
The sensitivity and specificity of the MGIT TBc identification (TBc ID) test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) detection in positive Bactec MGIT cultures were 95.2% and 99.2%, respectively. When MTC-positive results obtained from two additional molecular methods were included, the sensitivity of the MGIT TBc ID test was 85.4%, while that of culture was 95.7%. PMID:21450949
We have employed both 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and two intracellular fluorescent pH indicator dyes to monitor the pH of the vacuole and cytoplasm of suspension-cultured...Full Text Available
As a prelude to detailed flux control analysis of lipid synthesis in plants, we have examined the latter in tissue cultures from two important oil crops, olive (Olea europaea L.) and oil palm (Elaeis...Full Text Available
The paper gives a general view of techniques and systems related to soil less culture developed in the last years (on substrate in beg; NFT; Ebb-Flood, aeroponic,..) taking into account their management and problems (water quality, control of plant nutrition and irrigation; substrates; pathological aspects,..). The evolution, now in progress, of soil less culture from open to closed system as a way to realized an environmental friendly growing system, is considered. When plants are grown with open cycle techniques a large amount of waste solution, with an a high content of nutrients, are discharged in soil and water. Furthermore, they need an extra-utilization of water and fertilizers. Another aspect is the utilization of low cost substrates, which can be reused for more than one cultural cycle without negative effects on yield, and also finally discharged without negative effects on the environment. The development of soil ...
The effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) on guanylate cyclase activity and cyclic GMP accumulation were examined, since these hormones appear to be intimately associated with blood pressure and intravascular volume homeostasis. ANP was found to increase cyclic GMP accumulation in ten cell culture systems, which were derived from blood vessels, adrenal cortex, kidney, lung, testes and mammary gland. ANP receptors were characterized in intact cultured cells using {sup 125}I-ANP{sub 8-33}. Specific {sup 125}I-ANP binding was saturable and of high affinity. Scratchard analysis of the binding data for all cell types exhibited a straight line, indicating that these cells possessed a single class of binding sites. Despite the presence of linear Scatchard plots, these studies demonstrated that cultured cells possess two functionally and physically distinct ANP-binding sites. Most of the ...
Aerobic chemoheterotrophic bacteria were isolated from surface soils and coastal plain subsurface (including deep aquifer) sediments (depths to 265 m) at a study site near Aiken, S.C., by plating on...Full Text Available
Telavancin is a bactericidal lipoglycopeptide with a multifunctional mechanism of action. We conducted a randomized, double blind, active-control phase II trial. Patients ≥18 years of age with...Full Text Available
An enterotoxin D (SED)-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus was used to infect one mammary gland of each of 17 lactating dairy cows. All glands became infected and shed bacteria...Full Text Available
Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to an ionizing energy to kill harmful bacteria and other organisms and extend shelf-life. It is a safe process and has been approved by some 50 countries worldwide and applied commercially in the USA, Japan, China and several European countries for many years. Trends law regulations and new applications in Europe and another countries has been described. (author)
Brief summaries are given of research carried out in the following areas: absorption spectroscopy of titanium, niobium, and molybdenum in uranium alloys; atomic absorption spectroscopy of selenium in stainless steel, computer program improvements for spectrophotometer control, and detection of beryllium in stack gases; electrolysis for inactivation of bacteria in cooling-tower water; improved solvent analysis by gas chromatography; sequential radionuclide separation for various sample matrices; progress on an electron microprobe analyzer; and miscellaneous projects.
Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, M. ruminantium, and Methanosarcina barkeri were labeled with 14CO2 (14CO2 + H14CO3- + 14CO32-) for from 2 to 45 s. Radioactivity was recovered in coenzyme M derivatives,...Full Text Available
Biological cells of the nitrogen fixating bacteria Xanthobacter autotrophicus GZ 29 have been cultivated with 57-Fe, and from the nitrogenase of these cells the 57-Fe marked molybdenum-iron-protein is extracted. The Moessbauer spectra of this enzyme show that the structure of the iron cluster is similar to the structure in the molybdenum-iron-proteins of Azotobacter vinelandii, Klebsiella pneumoniae or Clostridium pasteurianum.
A pilot-scale model was constructed to determine if a wetland treatment system (WTS) could effectively remove low-level mercury from an outfall located at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.
The diverse microenvironments of foods, changing with processing and preservation, might provide conditions that would enhance the growth of microorganisms which are the principal cause of spoilage, off-odor and unpleasant flavor in foods. Radiation is a potential process which may provide a product with far superior microbial quality for food preservation, by reduction of microbial population; elimination of food-borne pathogens; extension of shelf-life; and reduction of spoilage. The aim of irradiation at low dose level is to eliminate certain microorganisms, especially spoilage types and those of public health significance. But, the radurization dose allows the outgrowth of radioresistant bacteria. Certain strains of Moraxella-Acinetobacter (M-A) groups have been recognized as radioresistant bacteria (Welch and Maxcy, 1975), which may have gone unnoticed by food microbiologists, since these bacteria have not been ...
All organisms examined to date possess a dUTPase that performs the important function of efficiently hydrolyzing dUTP to dUMP in order to prevent the incorporation of dUTP into DNA. Three putative dUTPases...Full Text Available
Antimicrobial susceptibilities of 233 Gram-positive and 180 Gram-negative strains to two novel bis-indoles were evaluated. Both compounds were potent inhibitors of Gram-positive bacteria, with MIC90...Full Text Available
Fatty acid biosynthesis is crucial for all living cells. In contrast to higher organisms, bacteria use a type II fatty acid synthase (FAS II) composed of a series of individual proteins, making...Full Text Available
Biosorption means the storage of substances at the cell envelope. Different microbial biomasses were tested for the separation of radionuclides from mining waters. Results of a pilot plant demonstrate the ability of these techniques for water cleaning processes. An effluent concentration of lower than 1 mg/l (in most cases 0.1 mg/1) could be realized in a pilot plant by using pure cells of a methylotrophic strain of bacteria as well as using of a fungal mycelia.
The cell cycle-regulatory transcription factor E2F-1 is regulated by interactions with proteins such as the retinoblastoma gene product and by cell cycle-dependent alterations in E2F-1 mRNA abundance....Full Text Available
Programmed cell death (PCD) is triggered when Pto, a Ser-Thr protein kinase, recognizes either the AvrPto or AvrPtoB effector from Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato. This...Full Text Available
Bacteriocins are an abundant class of antimicrobial molecules that appear to mediate population dynamics within species. The bacteriocins of Escherichia coli have served as a model for exploring the ecological role of these potent toxins. Studies suggest that colicins provide a competitive edge in nutrient-poor environments and that there might be a trade-off between the costs and benefits of colicin production. PMID:10203843
It is becoming clear that simple sequence repeats (SSRs) play a significant role in fungal genome organization, and they are a large source of genetic markers for population genetics and meiotic maps. We identified SSRs in the Laccaria bicolor genome by in silico survey and analyzed their distribution in the different genomic regions. We also compared the abundance and distribution of SSRs in L. bicolor with those of the following fungal genomes: Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Coprinopsis cinerea, Ustilago maydis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus nidulans, Magnaporthe grisea, Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using the MISA computer program, we detected 277,062 SSRs in the L. bicolor genome representing 8% of the assembled genomic sequence. Among the analyzed basidiomycetes, L. bicolor exhibited the highest SSR density although no correlation between relative abundance and the genome sizes was observed. In most genomes the short ...
Since the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1998, numerous laboratory investigations, atmospheric observations, and theoretical and modeling studies have produced new key findings and have strengthened overall understanding of the ozone layer and its effect on ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These advances are highlighted in the following summary of the current understanding of the impact of human activities and natural phenomena on the ozone layer and the coupling of the ozone layer and the climate system. In the troposphere (i.e., lower atmosphere), observations show that the total combined effective abundance of ozone-depleting compounds continues to decline slowly from the peak that occurred in 1992-1994. Total chlorine is declining, while bromine from industrial halons is still increasing, albeit at a slower rate than was occurring previously (and as reported in the 1998 Assessment). Analyses of air trapped in snow since the late 19th century have ...
The results of the six meetings in the years 1976 through 1981 of the Panel on Reference Nuclear Data is reviewed, as well as the results of other studies and workshops. A brief review of how current programs are meeting the expressed nuclear data needs of professional groups is also presented. The types of data included in the review are reaction cross sections, isotopic abundances, atomic masses, nuclear structure, radioactive decay, and fission.
The observed strength of the carbon dioxide absorption bands recorded on spectrobolograms of the transparency of the earth's atmosphere between wavelengths 300 and 2500 nanometers as part of the Smithsonian Solar Constant Program were used to extract the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The details of the analysis and the sources of error are discussed. 11 references, 5 figures, 1 table. (ACR)
Phthalate esters (PE's) are plasticizers used to soften PVC-based medical devices. PE's are the most abundant man-made pollutants and increase the risk of developing an allergic respiratory disease...Full Text Available
As an explosion develops in the collapsed core of a massive star, neutrino emission drives convection in a hot bubble of radiation, nucleons, and pairs just outside a proto-neutron star. Shortly thereafter, neutrinos drive a wind-like outflow from the neutron star. In both the convective bubble and the early wind, weak interactions temporarily cause a proton excess (Y{sub e} {approx}> 0.50) to develop in the ejected matter. This situation lasts for at least the first second, and the approximately 0.05-0.1 M{sub {circle_dot}} that is ejected has an unusual composition that may be important for nucleosynthesis. Using tracer particles to follow the conditions in a two-dimensional model of a successful supernova explosion calculated by Janka, Buras, and Rampp (2003), they determine the composition of this material. most of it is helium and {sup 56}Ni. The rest is relatively rare species produced by the decay of proton-rich isotopes unstable to positron emission. In the absence of ...
DescriptionPhytoplankton is the collective name given to the microscopic floating plants in seas and lakes. Under certain conditions, the abundance of phytoplankton as a whole or of one or more species in particular, can reach a magnitude at which it is visible through discolouration of the sea. Some of these blooms because of the colour of the water have been called 'Red Tides'. Blooms of some 300 species of the phytoplankton are known as Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species in recognition of their poten [continued...
Dynamical models are presented that start with interstellar gas in an initial diffuse state and consider their gravitational collapse and the formation of dense cores. Frozen-in tangled magnetic fields are included to mimic forces that might oppose gravitational contraction and whose effectiveness may increase with increasing core densities. Results suggest the possibility that dense cloud cores may be dynamically evolving ephemeral objects, such that their lifespan at a given core density decreases as that density increases. 66 refs.
The abundant microbial population in a 3,043-m-deep Greenland glacier ice core was dominated by ultrasmall cells (<0.1 μm3) that may represent intrinsically small organisms...Full Text Available
The reactions of alpha particles on natural abundance chromium have been studied between 40 and 110 MeV, in order to produce "5"2Fe for medical use. The yield of the reaction "5"2Cr(#alpha#,4n)"5"2Fe for Esub(#alpha#) = 85 #-># 53 MeV is only 30 #mu#Ci/#mu#Ah. (orig.).
Urine is a potential source of diagnostic biomarkers for detection of diseases, and is a very attractive means of non-invasive biospecimen collection. Nonetheless, proteomic measurement in urine...Full Text Available
We consider electromagnetic corrections at finite temperature and their effect on the nucleosynthesis in the standard Big Bang scenario. This requires discussing the finite, temperature dependent correction to the neutron-proton mass difference as well as making use of a previous result on the temperature correction to the mass of the electron. We find that these corrections do not affect the conventional results of e.g. the helium abundance to any appreciable extent.
Ammonia is a common and highly toxic pollutant which, in sufficient quantities, will adversely affect aquatic organisms. This ammonia criteria document for salt water will allow establishment of regulatory standards for ammonia discharge into estuaries, near coastal zones and oceans. Possible adverse impacts in highly sensitive and abundant ecosystems such as estuaries make regulation particularly important.
We identify emission lines of post-iron peak elements in very high signal-to-noise spectra of a sample of planetary nebulae. Analysis of lines from ions of Kr and Xe reveals enhancements in most of the PNe, in agreement with the theories of s-process in AGB star. Surprisingly, we did not detect lines from Br even though s-process calculations indicate that it should be produced with Kr at detectable levels.
The presence of the nitrogen-fixing shrub, Alnus incana ssp. rugosa, influences the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in surface waters in the Adirondack Mountain region of northern New York. - The purpose of this research was to determine the abundance of the nitrogen-fixing shrub, Alnus incana ssp. rugosa (speckled alder), in shrub wetlands of the Adirondack Mountain region of New York State and to determine whether its abundance affects the concentration or accumulation of inorganic nitrogen in wetland substrates. Alder/willow wetlands are the second most common wetland type in the Adirondack region. The Adirondack Park Agency's digital GIS database of wetland types was used to determine the areal extent of alder/willow wetlands in the Adirondacks. Randomly selected wetlands were sampled to determine the size and abundance of alder. Alder densities averaged {approx}7000 stems ha{sup -1} and alder was present ...
An approach of acidification was examined on formation of hydrogen-producing granules and biofilms in upflow column-shaped reactors. The reactors were fed with synthetic glucose wastewater and operated at 37 C and pH 5.5. The acclimated anaerobic culture was inoculated in four reactors designated R1, R2, R3 and R4, with R3 and R4 filled with granular activated carbon as support medium. To unveil the roles of acidification, microbial culture in R2 and R3 was subject to an acid incubation for 24 h by shifting the culture pH from 5.5 to 2.0. The experimental results suggested that the acidification substantially accelerated microbial granulation, but not biofilm formation. Microbial activities were inhibited by the acid incubation for about 78 h, resulting in the retarded formation of biofilms of the acidified culture. Reducing culture pH resulted in improvement in cell surface ...
Summary Despite the great interest of red porgy as a new species for Mediterranean aquaculture, its commercial production is constrained by the high incidence of skeletal deformities occurring in this species under culture conditions. Several studies have been conducted to better understand the origin of these anomalies in this species, using different system intensiveness, rotifers enrichment products or rotifers docosahexaenoic acid content. The first study showed that culture intensification increased the number of fish with an extra vertebrae, what was probably related to the different nutritional quality of live preys employed in each treatment, since water temperature, salinity and genetic background were identical for the different batches of fish studied. Total incidence of skeleta...
Given the widely accepted notion of whole person education in Confucian societies such as Hong Kong, Mainland China and Singapore, it is surprising that research literature originated in these societies pays little attention to how students learn and develop through out-of-class experiences at university. There is little research evidence on how the prevailing culture among student social communities (residential halls and student societies/clubs) influences students? social involvement and development. This paper examines 42 Chinese students? social experiences and development during their freshman year at a Hong Kong university. The majority of them were intensively involved in out-of-class activities. Their active social involvement was both a response to the culture of student communit...
Aims: Rapamycin (sirolimus) is an antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis through mammalian targeting of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, and is used as an immunosuppressant in the treatment of organ rejection in transplant recipients. Rapamycin confers preconditioning-like protection against ischemic-reperfusion injury in isolated mouse heart cultures. Our aim was to further define the role of rapamycin in intracellular Ca^2^+ homeostasis and to investigate the mechanism by which rapamycin protects cardiomyocytes from hypoxic damage. Main methods: We demonstrate here that rapamycin protects rat heart cultures from hypoxic-reoxygenation (H/R) damage, as revealed by assays of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) leakage to the medium, by MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-d...
This article discusses how history, the cultural setting, and the political-ideological contexts may influence educational research in China. It seeks to demonstrate a dichotomy between official and popular discourses, and argues that there is a need for the researcher to understand and interpret the language style used in various interview settings and research publications in China. Further, it is contended that ideology and cultural influences push towards a 'virtuous' or socially acceptable understanding of reality. These ideological and cultural norms may also affect official research data and statistics. Further, the article seeks to demonstrate that for a researcher in China (whether Chinese or not) it is important to cultivate and make use of guanxi (connections), at the same time ...
Experiments were designed to elucidate whether or not the irradiated bone marrow cells receive any stimulation for the self-replication and differentiation from normal 'stromal' cell colonies in the bone marrow cell culture in vitro. When irradiated or unirradiated bone marrow cells were overlaid on the normal adherent cell colonies, the proliferation of haemopoietic stem cells was supported, the degree of the stimulation depending on the starting cellular concentration. There was, however, no significant changes in the concentration of either CFUs or CFUc regardless of the dose of irradiation on the bone marrow cells overlaid. This was a great contrast to the dose-dependent decrease of CFUs or CFUc within the culture in which both the stem cells and stromal cells were simultaneously irradiated. These results suggest that the balance of self-replication and differentiation of the haemopoietic stem cells is affected only when ...
This article examines the successive reinterpretations of one of Cuba?s foundational texts, namely the Espejo de paciencia (?Model of Patience??, 1608) by Silvestre de Balboa, as a baroque poem. The revalorization of the baroque by twentieth-century Cuban authors and critics has been explained as a consequence of the erasure of indigenous cultures and the subsequent imposition of a metropolitan culture. In this sense, the baroque is supposed to be paradigmatic for ?roots thinking?? about nation-building and culture. The readings of Balboa?s poem by neo-baroque writers such as Jos? Lezama Lima, Cintio Vitier and Severo Sarduy, however, put forward a transhistorical vision of the baroque and Cubanhood as an eternal and immutable phenomenon or, alternatively, a reading that privileges the tec...
Abstract Here we propose a software for the estimation of the occupied area and volume of fungal cultures. This software was developed using a Matlab platform and allows analysis of high-definition images from optical, electronic or atomic force microscopes. In a first step, a single hypha grown on potato dextrose agar was monitored using optical microscopy to estimate the change in occupied area and volume. Weight measurements were carried out to compare them with the estimated volume, revealing a slight difference of less than 1.5%. Similarly, samples from two different solid-state fermentation cultures were analyzed using images from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an environmental SEM (ESEM). Occupied area and volume were calculated for both samples, and the results obtained w...
Human pluripotent stem cells hold promising potential in many therapeutics applications including regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Over the past three decades, embryonic stem cell research has illustrated that embryonic stem cells possess two important and distinct properties: the ability to continuously self-renew and the ability to differentiate into all specialized cell types. In this article, we will discuss the continuing evolution of human pluripotent stem cell culture by examining requirements needed for the maintenance of self-renewal in vitro. We will also elaborate on the future direction of the field toward generating a robust and completely defined culture system, which has brought forth collaborations amongst biologists and engineers. As human pluripotent stem cell re...
Changing cream pearls into bluish-grey by #gamma# ray irradiation is a technique in coloring of pearls. Irradiated pearls are similar in color to cultured blue pearls. The pearl layers hardly change their color but the nuclei change into dark brown by irradiation. Visible light (500 - 700 nm) penetrating the pearl layer is absorbed by dark brown nucleus. The intensity of reflecting light between 400 and 500 nm at pearl surface, therefore, becomes stronger than that between 500 and 700 nm; therefore color of irradiated pearls look bluish-grey. The density of bluish-grey color increases with increasing absorbed doses, but their luster at surface diminishes owing to the deterioration of the pearl layer by prolonged irradiation; high doses irradiation should be avoided. Irradiated pearls show no substantial fading of their color in a year and the rate of the fading is found to be lower than that for cultured blue pearls. (author).
Abstract This study reports the effects of varying concentrations of copper sulfate on the metabolic and gene transcriptional profile of a recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line producing an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-fusion protein (B0). Addition of 50 M copper sulfate significantly decreased lactate accumulation in the cultures while increasing viable cell density and protein titer. These changes could be seen from day 6 and became increasingly evident with culture duration. Reducing the copper sulfate concentration to 5 M retained all the above beneficial effects, but with the added benefit of reduced levels of the aggregated form of the B0 protein. To profile the cellular changes due to copper sulfate addition at the transcriptional level, Affymetrix CHO microarrays were used to...
In the present study, human neonatal fibroblasts were isolated from a two-month-old human male. The purpose of the present investigation was the analysis of the morphology (light and transmission electron microscopy), karyotype and growth characteristics of the human neonatal fibroblast cell culture B-HNF-1. Moreover, STR typing and mitochondrial DNA amplification and sequencing was also performed. Analysis of chromosomes count showed that B-HNF-1 cell culture is diploid and has normal male karyotype 46, XY, which was stable during cultivation. The transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the ultra-structure of the B-HNF-1 cells; they have typical morphological features of proteosynthesis-active cells. Large number of fibroblasts bearing different shapes and surface characteristics ad...
In this paper, we consider the development of demand-side research, from an early interest in conservation behavior to a later focus on physical, economic, psychological and social models of energy consumption. Unfortunately, none of these models account satisfactorily for measured energy consumption in the residential sector. Growing interest in the end-uses of energy (e.g. in support of load forecasting, demand-side management and least-cost utility planning), increasing international studies of energy use, and continuing work in the energy and lifestyles research tradition now support an emerging cultural perspective on household energy use. The ecological foundations of the cultural model and its applications in energy research are discussed, along with some of the analytic consequences of this approach. (author).
BackgroundChanges in ionic concentration have a fundamental effect on numerous physiological processes. For example, IP3-gated thapsigargin sensitive intracellular calcium...Full Text Available
Humans are quite unusual compared to other great apes in that reproduction typically takes place within long-term, iteroparous pairings—social arrangements that have been culturally reified...Full Text Available
BackgroundSelection programs for growth and stress traits in cultured fish are fundamental to the improvement of aquaculture production. The gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)...Full Text Available
A commercially available synthetic nucleic acid probe (SNAP) conjugated to alkaline phosphatase was compared with standard culture techniques for detecting Campylobacter species. The SNAP was able to...Full Text Available
Forward and reverse genetic experiments have both played important roles in revealing critical aspects of mammalian signal transduction pathways in cell culture experiments. Only recently have we begun...Full Text Available
During 1968-77, 572 consecutive children with one or more positive urine cultures who were referred by their family doctors to one paediatric surgical outpatient clinic were investigated and prospectively...Full Text Available
Recently, various types of allogeneic skin substitutes including cultured epidermal substitute (CES), cultured dermal substitute (CDS), and cultured skin substitute (CSS), which are composed of keratinocytes and/or fibroblasts as the cellular component(s), have been used as biological wound dressings. In our study, the allogeneic CDS was prepared by plating fibroblasts on a spongy collagen. The clinical evaluation was conducted using fresh or cryopreserved allogeneic CDS. In 145 of our clinical cases, 95% (138/145) of various wounds were evaluated as achieving good or excellent results, including 96% (22/23) of deep dermal burns (DDB) and dermal burns (DB), 100% (53/53) of partial-thickness donor wounds, 91% (21/23) of traumatic skin defects, 100% (5/5) of pressure ulcers, 82% (9/11) of chronic skin ulcers, 100% (6/6) of coverage for debrided DB, and 92% (22/24) of coverage for autologous meshed graft. The results obtained ...
The spirochete that causes tick-borne relapsing fever, Borrelia hermsii, was isolated in pure culture during 1995 and 1996 from three acutely ill human patients infected in southern...Full Text Available
The mammary gland is a complex tissue comprised of a branching network of ducts embedded within an adipocyte-rich stroma. The ductal epithelium is a bi-layer of luminal and myoepithelial cells, the...Full Text Available
Equine herpesvirus type 1 was cultivated in swine testis cell cultures and partially purified by differential centrifugation and centrifugation in a linear sucrose density gradient. The viral envelope...Full Text Available
When autotrophically growing cultures of Chlorella are treated with levulinic acid, δ-aminolevulinic acid is excreted into the medium, providing a direct demonstration of α-aminolevulinic...Full Text Available
This book chapter discusses sugarcane culture and history, describes arthropod biologies and injury, and identifies sugarcane pest management factors to consider for people interested in commercial sugarcane production. Arthropod groups include 10 orders and 40 families. Sugarcane pest management ...
BackgroundThe study of small airway diseases such as post-transplant bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is hampered by the difficulty in assessing peripheral airway function...Full Text Available
Supplementation of various cultures of white rot fungi with tryptophan was found to have a large stimulatory effect on lignin peroxidase activity levels. This enhancement was greater than that observed...Full Text Available
Trichomonas vaginalis is an important pathogen in both men and women. Culture is considered the diagnostic gold standard, although studies have shown that PCR is more sensitive than...Full Text Available
We ran a comparative analysis of all patients for whom a positive culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was available between April 2004 and October 2005 and whose HIV serology...Full Text Available
Cultural monitoring was used to study the incidence and sources of salmonellae in a 4160 bird broiler flock during the growing period, transport and processing in a commercial plant. No salmonellae...Full Text Available
Chlamydia trachomatis serovars release a glycolipid antigen (GLXA) into the culture supernatant during the infective cycle. This antigen is recognized by IgG isolated from humans with a natural chlamydial...Full Text Available
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is facing a diabetes epidemic similar to the one on the U.S. mainland, yet little is known regarding the cultural context relevant to self-management...Full Text Available
A total of 262 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the mammary gland of dairy cows were examined for the production of alpha-hemolysin. Strains were cultured in a liquid medium of casein...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo implement a role-reversal exercise to increase first-year pharmacy students' awareness of communication barriers in the health care setting, especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing...Full Text Available
Our group has developed a physician-operated inpatient order-entry system (BICS-OE). Mindful of the problems inherent in bringing a radical cultural change such as this to the hospital, we conducted...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe circadian rhythm in mammals is orchestrated by a central pacemaker in the brain, but most peripheral tissues contain their own intrinsic circadian oscillators. The...Full Text Available
We reviewed 9 cases of pyogenic spondylodiscitis following percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD). Microbiologic cultures revealed 6 causative organisms. Five patients were managed conservatively...Full Text Available
An enzyme active against carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was purified from the stationary-phase-culture supernatant of Clostridium josui grown in a medium containing ball-milled cellulose. The purification...Full Text Available
Although the Kaiser Physical Activity Survey (KPAS) was a potential instrument for cross cultural research of midlife women, little information is available on its reliability and validity among...Full Text Available
AIM: To isolate and identify the biological characteristics of human colon cancer stem cells (SW1116 cells) and further study their proteome.METHODS: SW1116 cells were isolated and cultured with...Full Text Available
Placental and placental-like alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) levels in the culture media of 87 cell lines of neoplastic and 'normal' origin were measured by a conventional immunosorbent enzymatic assay...Full Text Available
Solid-state fermentation of soybean hulls supplemented with wheat bran using a co-culture of Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus oryzae was performed. Three parameters - initial moisture content, incubation temperature, and initial pH - were optimized in culture flasks using response surface methodology. Parameter optimization was carried out with respect to filter paper activity and b-glucosidase activity in the culture. Temperature of 30^oC, pH of 5, and moisture content of 70% were found to be optimum. Optimized parameters were used for laboratory scale-up in static tray fermenters. The maximum filter paper activity of 10.7FPU/g-ds and b-glucosidase of 10.7IU/g-ds were obtained after 96-h incubation period in static tray fermenters in agreement with optimized activities at shake flask le...
The rate and capacity for chloroform (CF) and trichloroethylene (TCE) transformation by a mixed methanotrophic culture of resting cells (no exogenous energy source) and formate-fed cells were measured....Full Text Available
Plasmid transfer between strains of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis was studied under a range of environmentally relevant laboratory conditions in vitro,...Full Text Available
Cell suspension cultures of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv VFNT-Cherry, produce phytochelatins (poly[γ-glutamylcysteinyl]glycines) when exposed to cadmium. The synthesis...Full Text Available
The intercalated disk (ID) is a complex structure that electromechanically couples adjoining cardiac myocytes into a functional syncitium. The integrity of the disk is essential for normal cardiac function,...Full Text Available
BackgroundOil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is one of the most important oil bearing crops in the world. However, genetic improvement of oil palm through conventional...Full Text Available
A highly purified preparation of double-stranded RNA, obtained from virus-like particles in Penicillium cultures, was found to affert humoral immune responses in mice differentially depending on its...Full Text Available
BackgroundLong-term vegetation changes in hyper-arid areas have long been neglected. Mortality, recruitment and change in populations of the ecologically and culturally important...Full Text Available
The empirical evidence that human color categorization exhibits some universal patterns beyond superficial discrepancies across different cultures is a major breakthrough in cognitive science. As observed...Full Text Available
When 2,2-dimethyl 3-(2'-naphthyl 6'-hydroxy) pentanoic acid, an artificial estrogen of the allenolic acid group, was added to an exponential-phase growth culture of Neurospora crassa (in Horowitz medium),...Full Text Available
Mesophyll cell protoplasts were isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Russet Burbank) leaves and induced to proliferate in culture. Protoplast division was observed only among...Full Text Available
The strong value in American medical practice placed on the disclosure of terminal illness conflicts with the cultural beliefs of many recent refugees and immigrants to the United States, who often...Full Text Available
IntroductionNormal and neoplastic breast tissues are comprised of heterogeneous populations of epithelial cells exhibiting various degrees of maturation and differentiation. While...Full Text Available
An optical flow gradient algorithm was applied to spontaneously forming networks of neurons and glia in culture imaged by fluorescence optical microscopy in order to map functional calcium signaling...Full Text Available
Protoplasts were isolated from the leaves of nitrate-cultured wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. Frederick) seedlings. When incubated in the dark, protoplasts accumulated nitrite under...Full Text Available
Beginning in 1990, gram-positive rods resembling Actinomyces pyogenes were found with increasing frequency in mixed cultures from various infectious processes, most of them from patients with otitis,...Full Text Available
A thermophilic methanogen was isolated from enrichment cultures originally inoculated with sludge from an anaerobic kelp digester (55°C). This isolate exhibited a temperature optimum of 55 to...Full Text Available
Segments of the chick basilar papilla were isolated and maintained in culture medium. The sensory hair bundle of individual hair cells was observed with light microscopy and stimulated with a water...Full Text Available
BackgroundNorthern Uganda unlike other rural regions has registered high HIV prevalence rates comparable to those of urbanized Kampala and the central region. This could be due to...Full Text Available
Scytalidium thermophilum isolates in culture, as well as the endogenous strain(s) in mushroom compost, were inactivated at 70°C. This temperature was used to pasteurize composts...Full Text Available
Two Brucella fractions, the murein-linked fraction PI and the murein-free fraction SF, behave as in vitro adjuvants for primary anti-sheep erythrocyte responses: added to Mishell and Dutton-type cultures...Full Text Available
A real-time immunoquantitative PCR (iqPCR) method for detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) was developed and evaluated using both pure cultures and foods. The assay...Full Text Available
During a study on the mTor pathway in the rat kidney we observed a striking increase of the phosphorylation of the S6 kinase in mitosis. In cryostat sections of perfusion-fixed tissue mitotic cells...Full Text Available
Laboratory studies investigated the influence of dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) on microbial degradation of hexadecane in cultures with sediment-seawater suspensions. With a fermentor system, it was...Full Text Available
AbstractPurposeThe aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of the Rho-kinase inhibitor, H-1152, on cultured human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells, TM morphology,...Full Text Available
This work reports the design of and experimentation with a topographically patterned cell culture substrate of variable local density and anisotropy as a facile and efficient platform to guide...Full Text Available
Following the descovery of its transposition activity in mammalian culture systems, the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon has since been applied to achieve germline mutagenesis in mice....Full Text Available
Zinc is an essential trace metal ion for growth, but an excess of Zn is toxic and microorganisms express diverse resistance mechanisms. To understand global bacterial responses to excess Zn, we conducted...Full Text Available
What happens in the matrix of gender, technology, representation, and culture? This class will explore the theoretical issues raised within this matrix. We will also make sense of the theories through practical experiences with technologies like computers and cameras.
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize using flow cytometry cultured human primary keratinocytes isolated from the epidermis and hair follicles by different methods. Methods:...Full Text Available
Cultural monitoring was used to determine the incidence and sources of salmonellae in a 4160-bird broiler flock raised on litter in 32 pens. Twenty-five of the pens remained apparently free of salmonellae...Full Text Available
Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) is a Lyme disease-like infection described in patients in the southeastern and south-central United States, where classic Lyme disease is relatively rare....Full Text Available
It has been postulated that thrombin binds to endothelial cells through, at least in part, cell surface glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate, which could serve as antithrombin cofactor on the...Full Text Available
In Staphylococcus aureus, a pronounced shift in position of the acriflavin resistance locus was observed when gene order was determined by marker frequency analysis of cells of various ages. In young cells (2-hour culture), acriflavin resistance was mappe...
BackgroundThe diagnosis of typhoid fever is confirmed by culture of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. typhi). However, a more rapid, simpler,...Full Text Available
The immunogenicity of allogeneic cultured human epidermal keratinocytes (cHEKs) has been studied in several models with contradictory results. We studied human T-cell activation in an in vitro...Full Text Available
Endocervical swabs from 212 women and urethral swabs from 100 men were tested by the routine methods for McCoy cell culture and simultaneously by a novel enzyme amplified immunoassay test to detect...Full Text Available
Pseudomonas mandelii liquid cultures were studied to determine the effect of pH and temperature on denitrification gene expression, which was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR....Full Text Available
Despite their wide use, the physiological relevance of organotypic slices remains controversial. Such cultures are prepared at 5 days postnatal. Although some local circuitry remains intact, they develop...Full Text Available
The dielectrophoretic (DEP) crossover method has been applied to the detection of cell responses to toxicants. Time and dose responses of the human cultured leukemia (HL-60) line were measured...Full Text Available
AIMS: To evaluate the sensitivity of the Roche Cobas, Roche Amplicor plate kit, ligase chain reaction (LCR), and an in house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by titration of purified elementary bodies...Full Text Available
Colonies of toxin-producing Pasteurella multocida were detected with peroxidase-labeled monoclonal antibodies by a membrane assay. Examination of the specificity of the assay with 29 P. multocida cultures...Full Text Available
In the present study mixed cultures that could grew in the molasses media were isolated from textile dye effluent and its decolorization activity was studied in a batch system under anaerobic conditions, in order to determine the optimal conditions required for the highest decolorization activity. The optimum pH value for decolorization was determined as 8 for all the dyes tested. In the experiment with pH 8 dye decolorizations by mixed cultures were investigated at about 96.2-1031.3mgl-1 initial dye concentrations. The highest dye removal rates of mixed cultures were 94.9% for Reactive Red RB, 91.0% for Reactive Black B and 63.6% for Remazol Blue at 953.2, 864.9 and 1031.3mgl-1 initial dye concentrations respectively within 24h incubation period. When the Reactive Red RB was used, approxi...
In heat-shocked tomato cell cultures, cytoplasmic heat shock granules (HSGs) are tightly associated with a specific subset of mRNAs coding mainly for the untranslated control proteins. This messenger...Full Text Available
Explants from flower stalks of Nicotiana tabacum L. were cultured on different cytokinins to induce flower bud formation. All cytokinins tested except zeatin and zeatin-riboside induced...Full Text Available
The role of cytochrome c (Cyt c) in caspase activation has largely been established from mammalian cell-culture studies, but much remains to be learned about its physiological...Full Text Available
Curcumin is a natural product currently in human clinical trials for a variety of neoplastic, preneoplastic, and inflammatory conditions. We previously observed that, in cultured cells, curcumin exhibits...Full Text Available
Normal healthy volunteers underwent broncho-alveolar lavage and the cells obtained were cultured for 24 h and 48 h, either alone or in the presence of the corticosteroid, Budesonide. Cell differentials...Full Text Available
Mechanisms for differential regulation of gene expression may underlie much of the phenotypic variation and adaptability of malaria parasites. Here we describe transcriptional variation among culture-adapted...Full Text Available
The Avi-3 antigen, which is found only in Mycobacterium avium culture sonic extracts, is species specific and results in strong skin test activity in guinea pigs sensitized with heat-killed M. avium....Full Text Available
The membrane properties of isolated cultured microglia have been extensively studied but it is important to understand their properties in situ, where they protect the brain against...Full Text Available
Cytokinins are distributed through the vascular system and trigger responses of target cells via receptor-mediated signal transduction. Perception and transduction of the signal can occur at the plasma...Full Text Available
Species differences in lifespan have been attributed to cellular survival during various stressors, designated here as ‘cell resilience’. In primary fibroblast cultures, cell...Full Text Available
In most insect species, juvenile hormones regulate critical physiological processes such as metamorphosis and reproduction. In insects, these sesquiterpenoids are synthesized by retrocerebral endocrine...Full Text Available
The diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV1)...Full Text Available
An extracellular polysaccharide was purified from culture supernatants of Paenibacillus jamilae CP-7, a gram-positive bacillus that was isolated from compost prepared with olive mill...Full Text Available
One of the main obstacles encountered when trying to culture human seminoma (SE) cells in vitro is massive degeneration of the tumour cells. We investigated whether dissociation of tumour tissue, to...Full Text Available
Confluent monolayers of microvascular endothelial cells, derived from the rat epididymal fat pad and grown in culture, were radioiodinated by using the lactoper-oxidase method. Their radioiodinated...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe biopharmaceutical industry requires cell lines to have an optimal proliferation rate and a high integral viable cell number resulting in a maximum volumetric recombinant...Full Text Available
Cultured mouse or human embryonic stem (ES) cells provide access to all of the genes required to elaborate the fundamental components and physiological systems of a mammalian cell. Chemical or insertional...Full Text Available
BackgroundFor the detection of allergen-specific IgE in sera, solid-phase IgE-binding assays like the CAP test are commonly used. Although such immunochemical methods are very sensitive,...Full Text Available
A comparative study has been carried out of the growth of two lines of Datura innoxia (Mill.) cells, designated DI-6 and NR1, their resistance to chlorate, and their ability to assimilate...Full Text Available
Developing in vitro engineered hepatic tissues that exhibit stable phenotype is a major challenge in the field of hepatic tissue engineering. However, the rapid dedifferentiation of...Full Text Available
The water culture experiment of Houttuynia cordata of the medicinal plant was carried out, and basic study on {sup 137}Cs accumulation characteristic and internal circulation in H. cordata in the fruiting stage was investigated since the flowering season. H. cordata accumulated 80% of {sup 137}Cs absorbed unlike K to the root, rhizome, terminal bud of the underground part for the rhizome reproduction. {sup 137}Cs content to the young leaf, spike, involucre increased in the flowering season. Thereafter, {sup 137}Cs was recirculated to the developing organs in second generations such as the rhizome and bud. (author)
This forum showcases the work of a variety of different heritage-based centers, organizations, and projects dedicated to research, education, and preservation of tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage. The descriptions of these centers demonstrate the diversity of heritage work being done today. The centers and projects described in the forum vary in their contexts, missions, and outcomes. Highlighted in the forum are preservation organizations, university-based heritage centers, and a global collaborative cultural heritage project. Each organization in the forum provides information about their missions and goals, their approaches or methods to heritage work, and a brief description of some of their initiatives.
The biodegradation of ring-/sup 14/C- and methyl-/sup 14/C-labeled paraquat by the soil yeast Lipomyces starkeyi was studied in vitro. It was found that the degradation of paraquat (acting as a sole source of culture nitrogen) resulted in the accumulation in the extracellular medium of radiolabeled acetic acid. The culture also evolved radiolabeled CO/sub 2/. The results suggest that the degradation of paraquat by L. starkeyi is associated with the integrity of the cell wall and that disruption or removal of the wall results in a complete loss of degradative capability. A mechanism for the degradation of paraquat by this organism is postulated.
The biodegradation of ring-"1"4C- and methyl-"1"4C-labeled paraquat by the soil yeast Lipomyces starkeyi was studied in vitro. It was found that the degradation of paraquat (acting as a sole source of culture nitrogen) resulted in the accumulation in the extracellular medium of radiolabeled acetic acid. The culture also evolved radiolabeled CO_2. The results suggest that the degradation of paraquat by L. starkeyi is associated with the integrity of the cell wall and that disruption or removal of the wall results in a complete loss of degradative capability. A mechanism for the degradation of paraquat by this organism is postulated.
This research investigates the impact of national culture and several institutional factors on the safety performance of society and establishes statistically significant relationships between those variables. As expected, the research results reveal that some cultural variables such as uncertainty avoidance, gender orientation and institutional variables such as the degree of law avoidance can directly influence the safety performance of the society. The findings also support the inverted u-curve (Safety Kuznet curve) hypothesis indicating even if we expect a negative trend at the beginning stage of industrialization, we can expect a positive trend in safety performance as their income level continues to improve beyond a certain point.
An in vitro system for studying Pu uptake by, and removal from, macrophages was developed to provide data for the actinide therapy program. We have shown that "2"3"9PuO_2 particle uptake in vitro resembles the process in vivo with respect to the intracellular localization of phagocytized particles. At the end of 7 days of culture of Pu-loaded cells, 54% of the cells were viable even though 71% of the cells in the culture initially contained enough "2"3"9PuO_2 to deliver more than 53 intracellular #alpha#-disintegrations.