The resistance to destruction of spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger occluded in crystals of calcium carbonate and exposed to ethylene oxide and moist and dry heat...Full Text Available
The presence of highly heat-resistant spores of Bacillus sporothermodurans in ultrahigh-temperature or sterilized consumer milk has emerged as an important item in the dairy industry....Full Text Available
The display of proteins such as feed enzymes at the surface of bacterial spore systems has a great potential use for animal feed. Feed enzymes increase the digestibility of nutrients, leading to greater...Full Text Available
Validity of fern spore germination bioassays for the effects of environmental pollution was established by many researchers. Some workers studied the phytotoxicity of linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) on the spores of Diplazium esculentum and observed that LAS levels above 0.001% are toxic to fern spores. Water pollution due to synthetic detergents has been increasing continuously during the last few years due to their extensive use in domestic life, agriculture and industry. These detergents are among the most common pollutants responsible for water pollution. In view of this fact, the phytotoxicity of LAS on germination of an aquatic fern Ceratopteris thalictroides spores was studied. However, in these studies, only germination pattern was taken as index and no observations were made on the developmental stages.
Niger is the second poorest country in the world but it has natural resources underground in the form of uranium ores deposits. This uranium is currently mined by two companies incorporated under Nigerian law: Somair and Cominak, operated by the principal shareholder Areva (through its subsidiary Cogema). After a presentation of Somair and Cominak key figures, this document details the working conditions and radiological protection, the environmentally friendly operations, the production traceability, the local economic development, the strengthening of the health care system and the development of the infrastructure. (A.L.B.)
Synthetic detergents constitute one of the most important water pollutants by contaminating the lakes and rivers through domestic and industrial use. Considerable information is now available for the adverse effects of detergents an aquatic fauna including fish, algae, and higher aquatic plants. Marked inhibition of germination in orchids and brinjals and of seedlings growth in raddish suggest that rapidly growing systems could be sensitive to detergent polluted water. The present study of the effect of linear alkyl benzene sulphonate on germination of the spores of a fern, Diplazium esculentum aims at the understanding of the effects of water pollution on pteridophytes and the development of spore germination assay for phytoxicity evaluation.
A factor which agglutinated the spores of Ceratocystis fimbriata in the presence of Ca2+ was purified from sweet potato (Ipomea batatas Lam cv. Norin[1]) root. Element composition of the purified factor was as follows; analysis found: C (29.8%), H (3.97%), O (65.34%), N (0.81%): calculated for C43H69O70N1: C (30.02%), H (4.01%), O (65.15%), N (0.81%). The factor was mainly composed of galacturonic acid (53% of dry weight) and contained arabinose, fucose, and unidentified component as minor components. The factor also agglutinated A-, B-, AB-, and O types of human erythrocytes to almost the same degree in the presence of Ca2+. The differential spore-agglutinating activity of the factor depended on the pH of the assay medium; it agglutinated similarly the germinated spores of sweet potato and coffee strains at pH 7.5 and 5.5, whereas it displayed a distinct differential agglutinating activity at pH 6.5. The factor was assayed ...
Studies of destruction of very-high-n (100var-epsilon) for rotationally inelastic scattering of electrons by a polar target varies approximately as 1/var-epsilon, where var-epsilon is the electron energy.
The effects of low concentrations (10 nm or less) of indoleacetic acid and abscisic acid on the phytochrome-mediated attachment of barley root (Hordeum vulgare L., var. Compana)...Full Text Available
We have mapped and studied the effects of MeV alpha-particle bombardment in polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) and polyethylene (PE). We used 3.5 and 5.0 MeV alpha-particle incident beams and stacked polymer films to separate the contributing effects of the electronic ({var_epsilon}{sub e}) and nuclear ({var_epsilon}{sub n}) stopping powers. The electrical conductance and change in the chemical structures were measured by direct resistivity measurement, Raman microprobe, RBS and FTIR. The results indicate significant differences in the ({var_epsilon}{sub e}) and ({var_epsilon}{sub n}) effects at higher alpha-particle bombardment fluences. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}
Dynamic stability improvement of a longitudinal power system using a power system stabilizer (PSS) and a static VAR compensator (SVC) is reported in this paper. An analytical approach is developed for the determination of PSS parameters. Results from time domain simulations indicate that the PSS and the SVC are very effective in damping system oscillations.
This study concerns the thermotolerance of spores of mesophilic fungi isolated from a tropical semi-arid habitat subject to dry season fire in the Western Ghats, southern India. Among 25 species of Ascomycota isolated from leaf litter, nine were able to grow after incubation in a drying oven for 2h at 100degreeC; the spores of two of these species survived 2h incubation at 110degreeC, and one survived exposure to 115degreeC for 2h. The range of thermotolerance among mesophilic fungi isolated from the leaf litter was surprising: filamentous fungi from other habitats, including species that colonize scorched vegetation after fires and thermophilic forms occurring in self-heating plant composts, cannot survive even brief exposure to such high temperatures. It is possible that the exceptional ...
In this study, the biosorption of Cd(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) on Aspergillus niger in a batch system was investigated, and optimal condition determined by means of central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM). Biomass inactivated by heat and pretreated by alkali solution was used in the determination of optimal conditions. The effect of initial solution pH, biomass dose and initial ion concentration on the removal efficiency of metal ions by A. niger was optimized using a design of experiment (DOE) method. Experimental results indicated that the optimal conditions for biosorption were 5.22 g/L, 89.93 mg/L and 6.01 for biomass dose, initial ion concentration and solution pH, respectively. Enhancement of metal biosorption capacity of the dried biomass by pretreatment with sodium hydroxide was observed. Maximal removal efficiencies for Cd(II), Ni(III) and Pb(II) ions of 98, 80 and 99% were achieved, respectively. The ...
The acyl coenzyme A (CoA) binding protein AcbA is secreted unconventionally and processed into spore differentiation factor 2 (SDF-2), a peptide that coordinates sporulation in Dictyostelium...Full Text Available
... Weiss, S., D. Kobiler, H. Levy, H. Marcus, A. Pass, N. Rothschild, and Z ... of Bacillus anthracis spores conferred by a protective antigen-based vaccine in rabbits ...
Effects of physical environment on plasma membrane semipermeability and osmotic induction of changes in aqueous cytoplasmic volume were studied in vegetative and spore cells of a plant pathogenic fungus,...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
Fungi have long been known to affect human well being in various ways, including disease of essential crop plants, decay of stored foods with possible concomitant production of mycotoxins, superficial...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
Red light stimulates germination in the spores of Onoclea sensibilis L. Phytochrome is confirmed to be the photoreceptor pigment in the germination response by demonstrating red-far-red photoreversibility. External Ca/sup 2 +/ is required for this response with a threshold at a submicromolar concentration. Red light stimulates an increase in the total concentration of intracellular calcium in the spores as determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Subsequent exposure to far-red light inhibits the red light-induced increase in intracellular calcium. The majority of the increase occurs 5 minutes after the onset of irradiation. The calcium-antagonist, La/sup 3 +/ inhibits both germination and the red light-induced increase in intracellular calcium. Using /sup 31/P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the author tested the hypothesis that a sustained increase in intracellular pH contributes to the signal transduction chain. He never ...
Studies of Rydberg-atom destruction in collisions with the polar targets CH_3I and CH_2Br_2 for values of principal quantum number n in the range 100--400 are reported. Analysis of the data using the essentially-free-electron model suggests that, for ultralow electron energies (#approx#80 #mu#eV to 1 meV), the cross section #sigma#(var-epsilon) for rotationally inelastic scattering of electrons by a polar target varies approximately as 1/var-epsilon, where var-epsilon is the electron energy. The Born approximation does not predict such behavior at very low collision energies, and possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.
2,6-Diacetyl pyridine based ligand was synthesized by the reaction of 2,6-diacetyl pyridine with thiocarbohydrazide in presence of acetic acid. The coordination compounds with Cr(III) and Ni(II) metal ions having [Cr(L)X]X2 and [Ni(L)X]X compositions (where L=ligand and X=NO3^-, Cl^- and CH3COO^-) were synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and spectral studies. The studies like elemental analyses, molar conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR, UV-Vis, NMR, mass and EPR reveal that the complexes are octahedral. The compounds were examined against the pathogenic fungal and bacterial strains like Alternaria brassicae, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Xanthomonas compestris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A. niger causes the diseases Apergillosis and Oto...
BackgroundThe pathogenicity of Plasmodium falciparum is in part due to the ability of the parasitized red blood cell (pRBC) to adhere to intra-vascular host cell...Full Text Available
Nastic responses in bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Black Valentine) occur rapidly when very low concentrations of picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) are applied...Full Text Available
In germinating oil palm (Elaeis guineensis var D × P) seedling, an active lipase was present in the shoot but absent from both the kernel and the haustorium. It has an optimum...Full Text Available
The transport of serine into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var. Xanthi) cells grown in liquid medium was studied. Serine transport was maximal below pH 4.0. A time-dependent stimulation...Full Text Available
This study was designed to determine the effects of red and far red irradiation on ATP metabolism in etiolated bean buds (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Red Kidney). Compared to dark controls,...Full Text Available
Extracts of Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris, spinach, barley, Dictyostelium discoideum and Escherichia coli...Full Text Available
After preparation on self-generated Percoll gradients, avocado (Persea americana Mill, var. Fuerte and Hass) mitochondria retain a high proportion of cyanide-insensitive respiration,...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
The water permeability of tissues was investigated by measuring the efflux of 3HHO from previously loaded (in darkness) etiolated bean buds (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Red...Full Text Available
Pyrophosphate:fructose-6-phosphate phosphotransferase (PFP) was purified over 500-cold from endosperm of germinating castor bean (Ricinus commiunis L. var. Hale). The kinetic properties...Full Text Available
The phytochrome-mediated attachment of mung bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., var. Oklahoma 612) root tips on glass is quickly affected by indoleactic acid and abscisic acid at concentrations...Full Text Available
BackgroundMicroarray data are often used for patient classification and gene selection. An appropriate tool for end users and biomedical researchers should combine user friendliness...Full Text Available
Proline accumulation in NaCl-treated excised barley (Hordeum vulgare var Larker) leaves was studied. Leaves were treated by placing the cut end in NaCl solutions and allowing the salt...Full Text Available
The incorporation of [14C]phenylalanine and [1,6-14C]shikimic acid into tyrosine was investigated in the callus of Portulaca grandiflora, var. JR (L.). By inhibiting...Full Text Available
Purified cell walls were prepared from roots of Horse bean (Vicia faba L., var. minor) and Yellow Lupine (Lupinus luteus L.). Two methods were used:...Full Text Available
This paper has the objective of presenting the philosophy of Static Var Compensator (SVC) Control as well the necessary adjustments in the project of control system to guarantee suitable performance under different operating conditions. The verification on the performance of the SVC control has been done by Transient Network Analyzer (TNA/CEPEL) studies, commissioning tests and a factory tests. The SVC is the type of Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR) and Thyristor Switched Capacitor (TSC). (author) 3 refs., 12 figs.
The shock-induced {alpha}(bcc){r_arrow}{var_epsilon}(hcp) transition in iron begins at 13 GPa on the Hugoniot. In the two-phase region above 13 GPa, the Hugoniot lies well above the equilibrium surface defined by G{sub {alpha}}=G{sub {var_epsilon}}, with G the Gibbs free energy. Also, the phase transition relaxation time {tau} is uncertain, with estimates ranging from {lt}50 ns to {approx}180 ns. Here we present an extensive study of these important aspects, metastability and dynamics, of the {alpha}-{var_epsilon} transition in iron. Our primary theoretical tools are (a) accurate theoretically based free energies for {alpha} and {var_epsilon} phases of iron and (b) accurate calculations of the wave evolution following planar impacts. We define metastable surfaces for forward and reverse transitions by the condition that the thermodynamic driving force G{sub {alpha}}{minus}G{sub ...
Some new 3-piperazinylmethyl-5-aryl-1H-1,2,4-triazoles have been prepared and tested for their antifungal and antimicrobial activity. Among them, compounds 3g and 3h exhibited higher antifungal activity than ketoconazole against Cladosporium cladosporoides and Aspergillus niger respectively. PMID:9825120
This paper reviews the mill flowsheet applied at the SOMAIR (Societe des Mines de l'Air) uranium mill in Niger. It focuses on the yellow cake quality improvements achieved by molybdenum and zirconium elimination through double yellow cake precipitation in tanks at first stage and through size/density control in a fluidized bed precipitator at second stage. Water saving aspects in the plant are also presented. (author)
This paper reviews the mill flowsheet applied at the COMINAK uranium mill (Compagnie Miniere d'Akouta) in Niger. For ore treatment, it focuses on the major improvements to the operations using sulfonitric pugging and solids/liquid separation using belt filter double filtration after leaching. The precipitation circuits have been improved with molybdenum elimination through caustic washing of the yellow cake. (author)
Abstract Elongate plasmodia with myxosporean spores belonging to the genus Unicapsula, Davis, 1924 were found in the skeletal muscle of the striped seabream, Lithognathus mormyrus (L.), a candidate for the mediterranean aquaculture. The only species of Unicapsula described from the Mediterranean is Unicapsula pflugfelderi Schubert et al. 1975, which occurs in the picarel, Spicara smaris (L.). For morphological and molecular comparison of U. pflugfelderi from S. smaris with Unicapsula sp. from L. mormyrus measurements of plasmodia and spores, ultrastructural details and 18S and 28S rDNA sequences were analysed. Whereas plasmodia were 2-3 times larger in S. smaris than in L. mormyrus (length 2.47-0.81 mm; width 0.22-0.09 mm; P = 0.000), spore morphology showed minor differences and both 18S ...
This study was focused on the possibility to inactivate main food pathogens, their spores and biofilms on the surface of packaging material polyolefine by Na-chlorophyllin (Na-Chl)-based photosensitization and to compare efficiency of this treatment with conventional antimicrobials. Data indicate that Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes were effectively inactivated (7 log) by Na-Chl (7.5x10-7M)-based photosensitization in vitro and on the surface of packaging. Meanwhile to achieve adequate inactivation of thermo-resistant strains, spores or biofilms the higher Na-Chl concentration and longer illumination times had to be used. Comparison of different surface decontamination treatments reveal that photosensitization is much more effective against B. cereus and L. monocytogenes attache...
The cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is a highly conserved transcription factor that integrates signaling through the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) in many eukaryotes. PKA plays a critical role in Dictyostelium development but no CREB homologue has been identified in this system. Here we show that Dictyostelium utilizes a CREB-like protein, BzpF, to integrate PKA signaling during late development. bzpF^- mutants produce compromised spores, which are extremely unstable and germination defective. Previously, we have found that BzpF binds the canonical CRE motif in vitro. In this paper, we determined the DNA binding specificity of BzpF using protein binding microarray (PBM) and showed that the motif with the highest specificity is a CRE-like sequence. BzpF is necessary to ...
When thorium was biosorbed by biomass of Rhizopus arrhizus or Aspergillus niger it could be removed by treatment using carbonate solutions, but not by phosphates or distilled water. Desorption was rapid, reaching completion in 15 and 30 min respectively. Desorption efficiency was independent of the desorbent concentration above 0.05 mol dm[sup -3] but was strongly dependent on the biomass concentration, decreasing as the biomass concentration increased for both species. Biomass from both species could be regenerated by desorption using sodium carbonate solutions and reused for biosorption. In both species, the efficiency of biosorption and desorption fell as the number of exposures increased although there was an initial rise in desorption efficiency for R. arrhizus. Biosorption and desorption efficiencies of A. niger biomass showed the steeper decline but both were severely reduced in R. arrhizus after five treatments. There was also a ...
High-resolution sequence stratigraphy concepts are applied to Erema, a Miocene onshore field of the Niger delta. The field's production is decreasing and an up-to-date geological model is essential to monitor the production. We aim to show an approach, using subsurface data and sequence stratigraphic concepts, which results in a time-line (Maximum Flooding Surfaces) correlation scheme. This scheme is based upon a facies model and is destined to guide the study of the characterization of reservoir heterogeneities. Using the cored well as a reference point, the facies model consists of shoreface dunes (planar tabular cross-stratified sandstones) changing landward into fluvial distributary deposits (through cross-stratified sandstones) via a tide-influenced coastal plain facies. The stacking pattern of genetic units shows a seaward stepping phase at the reservoir scale (sixty metres thick) with an abrupt deepening at the top of the reservoir. The proposed ...
In previous work the authors showed that on photolysis of Escherichia coli ribosomes in the presence of ({sup 3}H)tetracycline (TC) the major protein labeled is S7, and they presented strong evidence that such labeling takes place from a high-affinity site related to the inhibitory action of TC. In this work they use single protein omission reconstitution (SPORE) experiments to identify those proteins that are important for high-affinity TC binding to the 30S subunit, as measured by both cosedimentation and filter binding assays. With respect to both sedimentation coefficients and relative Phe-tRNA{sup Phe} binding, the properties of the SPORE particles they obtain parallel very closely those measured earlier, with the exception of the SPORE particle lacking S13. A total of five proteins, S3, S7, S8, S14, and S19, are shown to be important for TC binding, with the largest effects seen on omission of proteins S7 and S14. ...
Protective immunity against infection with Bacillus anthracis is almost entirely based on a response to the protective antigen (PA), the binding moiety for the two other toxin components....Full Text Available
The heat resistance of spores of Bacillus subtilis formed at 30°C was enhanced by pretreatment at 48°C for 30 min, 60 min into sporulation, for all four strains examined....Full Text Available
Plant secondary chemistry is determined by both genetic and environmental factors, and while large intraspecific variation in secondary chemistry has been reported frequently, the levels of genetic variation of many secondary metabolites in forest trees in the context of potential resistance against pests have been rarely investigated. We examined the effect of tree genotype and environment/site on the variation in defensive secondary chemistry of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifolia, against the fungus, Grosmannia clavigera (formerly known as Ophiostoma clavigerum), associated with the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae. Terpenoids were analyzed in phloem samples from 887, 20-yr-old trees originating from 45 half-sibling families planted at two sites. Samples were coll...
Harvested plant organs such as heads of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) experience a range of stresses that can lead to premature reduction in quality and eventual senescence. Understanding plant responses to stress may open up novel opportunities to extend postharvest life. One of the first stresses experienced by harvested organs is likely to be water deficit stress since severance of the vascular system halts the normal flux of water into the tissue. For broccoli branchlets with their cut ends held in water, transcriptome analysis based on hybridization of broccoli floret mRNA to a heterologous Arabidopsis microarray revealed that the transcript abundance of 431 genes reliably changed within 48h of harvest. Of these, transcripts of 146 genes increased and 34 genes decreased...
Activated charcoal was produced from sawdust of Pinus caribaea var. caribaea, pinus caribaea var. honduenais and pinus cocarpa, with the objective of studying a alternative of more economic uses for forest residues and the products of the first thinning. A chemical process was utilized based on Zn Cl{sub 2} at temperature of 700 deg C and 450 deg C. It was concluded that the temperature of 700 Celsius produced a activated charcoal with better quality and greater adsorption capacity. The temperature of 450 deg C produced a material with adsorption properties for utilization where greater adsorption capacity is not needed. The production of activated charcoal is possible from the three species of tropical pinus studied. (author). 16 refs., 5 tabs
Assuming a simple model of delta development involving progradation and uniform burial at 500 m/m.y. (1,640 ft/m.y.) to present depths, oil-genesis nomographs derived from the time-temperature index (TTI) method were constructed for geothermal gradients ranging from 2.2/sup 0/ to 5.1/sup 0/ C/100 m (1.2/sup 0/-2.8/sup 0/ F/100 ft) of the Niger delta and used in mapping the positions (depth, temperature) of the top of the oil-generative window (OGW) at various times between 40 m.y.B.P. and the present. During the active subsidence phase, oil generation within any megasedimentary unit was initiated at a temperature of 140/sup 0/-146/sup 0/C (284/sup 0/-294.8/sup 0/F) and depth of 3,000-5,200 m (9,843-17,060 ft) within 7-11 m.y. after deposition of the potential source rocks. After cessation of subsidence, vertical upward movement of the OGW by 800-1,600 m (2,625-5,249 ft) was accompanied by a temperature lowering of 23/sup 0/-54/sup 0/C (41/sup 0/-97/sup 0/F), ...
Assuming a simple model of delta development involving progradation and uniform subsidence to present depths (rate, 500 m/m.y.; 1640 ft/m.y.), oil-genesis nomographs derived from the TTI method were constructed for various geothermal gradients of the Niger delta (2.2., 2.5., 2.9, 3.6, 4.0, 4.4, and 4.7/sup 0/C/100 m) and utilized in mapping the positions (depth, temperature) of the top of the oil-generative window (OGW) at arbitrarily selected times (40 m.y.B.P., 30 m.y.B.P., 15 m.y.B.P., and the present). About 200 data points were evaluated. During the active subsidence phase, oil generation within any megastructure was initiated at a temperature of 140 to 146/sup 0/C (284 to 294/sup 0/F) and depth of 3000 to 5200 m (9842 to 17,060 ft) within 7 to 11 m.y. after deposition of the potential source rocks. After cessation of subsidence, upward movement of the OGW by 800 to 1600 m (2624 to 5249 ft) was accompanied by a temperature lowering of 23 to 54/sup 0/C (73 to ...
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Better Boy) plants were transformed with a tomato leaf wound-inducible polygalacturonase (PG) β-subunit gene in the antisense orientation...Full Text Available
Primary leaves of 7- to 9-day-old etiolated seedlings of Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Red Kidney infiltrated in darkness with aqueous solutions of α, α′-dipyridyl,...Full Text Available
Resistance against anthelmintics is widespread, particularly in parasitic nematode populations of small ruminants. Several new techniques or supplements have been developed or are under investigation. Biological control (BC) is one of these new methods. The net-trapping predacious fungus Duddingtonia flagrans produces thick walled resting spores, chlamydospores, which are able to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. Under Danish climatic conditions it has been shown that the number of parasite larvae on pasture and the worm burden of the grazing animals is significantly reduced when animals are fed spores during the initial 2-3 months of the grazing season. Work with D. flagrans in France, Australia, USA, and Mexico has confirmed the strong BC potential of this fungus. Today much work is going into development of suitable delivery systems for grazing livestock worldwide. Ultimately, BC should be ...
TC inhibits protein synthesis in E. coli by interfering with aminoacyl-tRNA binding to the ribosomal A site, and there is strong evidence that such inhibition results from TC binding to a high affinity site on the 30S subunit. The SPORE approach has been used to define those 30S proteins that are potentially important for high affinity TC binding, measured as the (/sup 3/H)-TC co-sedimenting with the reconstitution particle through a sucrose density gradient. Reverse phase-HPLC has been used both to prepare ribosomal proteins and to analyze the protein content of reconstituted particles. The results obtained so far show that protein S7, as well as some proteins linked to S7 in the 30S assembly map, are important for TC binding, whereas other ribosomal proteins are not. These results are in very good accord with their earlier photoaffinity labeling studies that strongly implicated S7 as forming part of the TC binding site. Interestingly, protein S18, which is ...
Correlates between immunological parameters and protection against Bacillus anthracis infection in animals vaccinated with protective antigen (PA)-based vaccines could provide surrogate markers to evaluate the putative protective efficiency of immunization in humans. In previous studies we demonstrated that neutralizing antibody levels serve as correlates for protection in guinea pigs (S. Reuveny et al., Infect. Immun. 69:2888-2893, 2001; H. Marcus et al., Infect. Immun. 72:3471-3477, 2004). In this study we evaluated similar correlates for protection by active and passive immunization of New Zealand White rabbits. Full immunization and partial immunization were achieved by single and multiple injections of standard and diluted doses of a PA-based vaccine. Passive immunization was carried out by injection of immune sera from rabbits vaccinated with PA-based vaccine prior to challenge with B. anthracis spores. Immunized rabbits were challenged by intranasal ...
The leaf extract from the plant Piliostigma reticulatum was found to exhibit antimicrobial activity against some bacteria and fungi such as Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC 6571), Escherichia coli (NCTC 10418), Bacillus subtilis (NCTC 8236), Proteus vulgaris (NCTC 4175), Aspergillus niger (ATCC 10578) and Candida albicans (ATCC 10231). Upon investigation of the chemical constituents present in the leaf extract, a total of seven compounds were isolated and their structures were unambiguously established by spectroscopic methods including HR-MS and NMR spectrometry. Four of the isolated compounds were novel, namely 6-C-methyl-2-p-hydroxyphenyloxychromonol (piliostigmol), 1, 6,8-di-C-methylquercetin-3,3prime,7-trimethyl ether, 2, 6,8-di-C-methylquercetin-3,3prime-dimethyl ether, 3 and 3prime,6,8,-...
Sorghum is a good candidate crop for breeding to increase provitamin A, i.e., biofortification. Yellow endosperm sorghums contain carotenoids, including precursors of vitamin A, and sorghum is a major staple crop in areas of Asia and Africa where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent. Our objective was to collect and characterize yellow endosperm sorghums as a potential new source of genetic diversity to increase provitamin A content. A set of 164 landraces were collected from southern Niger and northern Nigeria. The most important use of these cultivars was as food. The endosperm exhibited a significant variation in yellow intensity. Lutein, zeaxanthin and ?-carotene were the most abundant carotenoids in the ten landraces with the most intense yellow color. Cluster analysis, principal coordin...
A method of using fungi in removing heavy metal from wastewater was discussed. Fungi for this purpose can be obtained inexpensively, and on a constant basis from industrial fermentation processes. The biosorption of lead, cadmium and nickel on fungal stock cultures, was investigated. In these experiments, the fungal stock used was Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonfier. Alkali pre-treatment of the fungal biomass improved the metal biosorptive capacity in comparison to live cells. The effect of alkali treatment, however, varied,showing highest biosorptive capacity for lead and least for nickel. Results showed that metal biosorption of metallic ions increased with an increase in pH from 3.2 to 4.0. Equilibrium times of five hours were observed for the biosorption of lead and cadmium, while the equilibrium time for nickel was three hours. 10 refs., 3 tabs., 7 figs.
The Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is a key multipurpose species for the African region. In the recent years there has been an extended commercial interest for different A. digitata products. As a spectacular African key species there has been a growing interest from NGO?s and various research groups. A research group, focussing on the following countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has participated in a concerted research action with cross counter disciplinary cooperation between plant physiology, population genetics, tree breeding, food science, and socioeconomics. This paper presents a review and the way knowledge gaps are being addressed using the above mentioned approach. The overall work was initiated in 2005?2006 when a large collection of A. digitata seeds was carried out in...
A numerical investigation of the mixing of gaseous uranium and hydrogen inside an open-cycle gas core nuclear rocket engine (spherical geometry) is presented. The gaseous uranium fuel is injected near the centerline of the spherical engine cavity at a constant mass flow rate, and the hydrogen propellant is injected around the periphery of the engine at a five degree angle to the wall, at a constant mass flow rate. The main objective is to seek ways to minimize the mixing of uranium and hydrogen by choosing a suitable injector geometry for the mixing of light and heavy gas streams. Three different uranium inlet areas are presented, and also three different turbulent models (k-var-epsilon model, RNG k-var-epsilon model, and RSM model) are investigated. The commercial CFD code, FLUENT, is used to model the flow field. Uranium mole fraction, axial mass flux, and radial mass flux contours are obtained. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics.
Banana flour obtained from unripe banana (Musa acuminata, var. Nanic?o) under specific drying conditions was evaluated regarding its chemical composition and nutritional value. Results are expressed in dry weight (dw). The unripe banana flour (UBF) presented a high amount of total dietary fiber (DF) (56.24?g/100?g), which consisted of resistant starch (RS) (48.99?g/100?g), fructans (0.05?g/100?g) and DF without RS or fructans (7.2?g/100?g). The contents of available starch (AS) (27.78?g/100?g) and soluble sugars (1.81?g/100?g) were low. The main phytosterols found were campesterol (4.1?mg/100?g), stigmasterol (2.5?mg/100?g) and ?-sitosterol (6.2?mg/100?g). The total polyphenol content was 50.65?mg GAE/100?g. Antioxidant activity, by the FRAP and ORAC methods, was moderated, being 358.67 an...
A probabilistic method for assessing the profitability of reactive power compensation devices such as capacitors, static VAR compensators and generators, which improve network security, was described. Since network development is limited by environmental constraints, power networks are operated close to their limits. Because of this fact transmission network planning increasingly relies on techno-economic models to improve network security and profitability. The proposed method consists of analyzing large numbers of constrained power system states, extracted from power system simulation exercises. The paper describes details of the method and provides an example of a numerical application on a part of the French power transmission system. 10 refs., 8 figs.
Nineteen fungal strains having an ability to oxidize elemental sulfur in mineral salts medium were isolated from deteriorated sandstones of Angkor monuments. These fungi formed clearing zone on agar medium supplemented with powder sulfur due to the dissolution of sulfur. Representative of the isolates, strain THIF01, was identified as Fusarium solani on the basis of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses. PCR amplification targeting 16S rRNA gene and analyses of full 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated strain THIF01 harbors an endobacterium Bradyrhizobium sp.; however, involvement of the bacterium in the sulfur oxidation is still unclear. Strain THIF01 oxidized elemental sulfur to thiosulfate and then sulfate. Germination of the spores of strain THIF01 was observed in a liqui...
This article describes the complete microsporogenesis and pollen formation in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) at the various developmental stages (pollen mother cell, meiosis, tetrads, early free spore, mid uninucleate, late uninucleate, binucleate and mature pollen grain). Light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used for the study. Floral bud size and other inflorescence characteristics were correlated with specific stages of the microspore development. This association allows a rapid selection of floral buds with similar microspore developmental stages, useful when a large number of homogeneous cells are needed for analysis and for in vitro induction of androgenesis. This article also compares methods for digestion the exine wall ...
The availability of hourly air relative humidity (HARH) data is a key requirement for the estimation of epidemic dynamics of plant fungal pathogens, in particular for the simulation of both the germination of the spores and the infection process. Most of the existing epidemic forecasting models require these data as input directly or indirectly, in the latter case for the estimation of leaf wetness duration. In many cases, HARH must be generated because it is not available in historical series and when there is the need to simulate epidemics either on a wide scale or with different climate scenarios. Thirteen modelling solutions (MS) for the generation of this variable were evaluated, with different input requirements and alternative approaches, on a large dataset including several sites a...
Two sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation with peak wavelengths in the UV-C or UV-B ranges were compared for their ability to sterilize contact lenses infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acanthamoeba castellani, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. Also examined was the effect of prolonged UV light exposure on soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. The UV-C lamp (253.7 nm, 250 mW/cm2 at 1 cm) was germicidal for all organisms within 20 minutes but caused destruction of the soft lens polymers within 6 hours of cumulative exposure. UV-C caused damage to RGP lenses in less than 100 hours. The UV-B lamp (290-310 nm, 500 mW/cm2 at 1 cm) was germicidal for all organisms tested (except Aspergillus) with a 180-minute exposure and caused less severe changes in the soft lens polymers than did the UV-C lamp, although cumulative exposure of 300 hours did substantially weaken the soft lens material. RGP materials were minimally ...
Two sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation with peak wavelengths in the UV-C or UV-B ranges were compared for their ability to sterilize contact lenses infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acanthamoeba castellani, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. Also examined was the effect of prolonged UV light exposure on soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. The UV-C lamp (253.7 nm, 250 mW/cm2 at 1 cm) was germicidal for all organisms within 20 minutes but caused destruction of the soft lens polymers within 6 hours of cumulative exposure. UV-C caused damage to RGP lenses in less than 100 hours. The UV-B lamp (290-310 nm, 500 mW/cm2 at 1 cm) was germicidal for all organisms tested (except Aspergillus) with a 180-minute exposure and caused less severe changes in the soft lens polymers than did the UV-C lamp, although cumulative exposure of 300 hours did substantially weaken the soft lens material. RGP materials were minimally ...
The sedimentary geometry is determined by several types of stratigraphic surfaces: transgressive surfaces (TS), maximum flooding surfaces (MFS) and downward shift surfaces (DS). They are organized hierarchically into major and minor surfaces from the facies stacking-pattern. These surfaces which are observable on well logs and cores structure the sedimentary architecture and are, therefore, the best candidates to form major seismic reflectors. The well (logs and cores) to seismic (surface seismic) passage involves inherently a change of observation scale. That is from a high resolution sequence stratigraphy (metric to pluri-metric) to a sequence stratigraphy s.l. (decametric to pluri-decametric). This passage is composed of two phases. The first phase consists of the validation of density and sonic logs whose product corresponds to the acoustic impedance. The second phase allows for the modelling of the geological cross section of a field in a synthetic seismic section which is ...
Fungi such as Aspergillus niger and Mucor rouxii are capable of removing heavy metals from aqueous solutions. The role various functional groups play in the cell wall of M. rouxii in metal biosorption of lead, cadmium, nickel and zinc was investigated in this paper. The biomass was chemically treated to modify the functional carboxyl, amino and phosphate groups. These modifications were examined by means of infrared spectroscopy. It was found that an esterification of the carboxyl groups and phosphate and a methylation of the amine groups significantly decreased the biosorption of the heavy metals studied. Thus, the carboxylate, amine and phosphate groups were recognized as important in the biosorption of metal ions by M. rouxii biomass. The role the lipids fraction play was not significant. The study showed that Na, K, Ca and Mg ions were released from the biomass after biosorption of Pb,Cd,Ni and Zn, indicating that ion exchange was a key mechanism in the ...
Pre-harvest sprays of bavistin (50% carbendazim) at 100, 200 and 400 g a.i/ha were ineffective in the control of Aspergillus niger van Tieghem in onion. The combination of gamma irradiation (0.1 kGy) with bavistin dust (0.33g a.i/kg bulbs) was effective to an extent of about 79% in reducing storage losses due to sprouting and rottage. This combination treatment was better than dust treatment alone and highly cost effective. Bavistin, when used as pre-harvest spray, did not leave any residue in the tissues, whereas the compound was seen to move deep into the tissues, when used as post-harvest dust treatment. Higher concentrations of carbendazim residues (2.1-3.4 mg/kg bulb) were detected in the outer scales of the bulbs, as compared to that of inner scales (0.6-1.6 mg/kg), and the residue decreased slightly with passage of storage time. (author). 19 refs., 2 tabs.
The production of cellulolytic enzymes from fungi has been extensively studied. Several mutants of Trichoderma reesei were selected. Most of the studies were carried out on T. reesei, T. viride, T. harzianum, Penicillium funiculosum, Altemaria alternata. Aspergillus phoenicis, A. ustus, A. tamarii, A. japonicus, and A. niger. T. koningii is one of the most active producers of the so-called C, factor, which is indispensable for the rapid and extensive attack on crystal-line cellulose. However, Trichodenna is known to excrete only small amounts of {beta}-glucosidase. Therefore, Trichoderma is supplemented with {beta}-glucosidase from Aspergillus to increase the saccharification rate of cellulose to glucose as the main sugar. Induction of mutations in Trichodenna spp. rather than T. viride as a tool for the enhancement of {beta}-glucosidase activity was reported. Unfortunately, T. reesei is a poor producer of {beta}-glucosidase. On the other hand, T. harzianum M{sub ...
The grey-black mudstones of the Sonehat Formation form part of the Middle Jurassic fill of the Jameson Land Basin in East Greenland. The formation is exposed in the southernmost part of the north south-trending, Mesozoic rift system in East Greenland that was part of the epeiric seaway betaveen East Greenland and Norway. Sedimentological observations of the Sortehat Formation indicate deposition in an offshore marine setting that was typically low energy and periodically oxygen-deficient but was influenced by storm currents on occasion. Detailed palynological studies of the Sortehat Formation have resulted in the definition of theee palynological assemblage zones recognised at four localities, namely Enhjoerningen Dal and Pelion (north Jameson Land), the type section at Sortehat (central Jameson Land) and Albuen at Neill Klinter along Hurry Inlet (south-east Jameson Land). In stratigraphic order, these zones are termed the Botryococcus Assemblage Zone, the Naennoceratopsis gracilis- ...
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 studies with 0.01 M ...
Heterochromatin constitutes a significant portion of the genome in higher eukaryotes; approximately 30% in Drosophila and human. Heterochromatin contains a high repeat DNA content and a low density of protein-encoding genes. In contrast, euchromatin is composed mostly of unique sequences and contains the majority of single-copy genes. Genetic and cytological studies demonstrated that heterochromatin exhibits regulatory roles in chromosome organization, centromere function and telomere protection. As an epigenetically regulated structure, heterochromatin formation is not defined by any DNA sequence consensus. Heterochromatin is characterized by its association with nucleosomes containing methylated-lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me), heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) that binds H3K9me, and Su(var)3-9, which methylates H3K9 and binds HP1. Heterochromatin formation and functions are influenced by HP1, Su(var)3-9, and the RNA interference (RNAi) ...
To obtain Pinus wood-plastic composites, wood samples were impregnated with methyl methacrylate and polymerized by the use of gamma rays from a /sup 60/Co at different dose exposure and total dose. The best percentage of polymerization was obtained with the exposure of 2.0 MR of gamma radiation. It was found that the impregnation and polymerization, determined by the density values along the samples were uniform. The density became 2.6 times higher in relation to the control samples. The storage of the impregnated wood samples showed losses of the monomer, even when wrapped with aluminum or polyethylene film. It is recommended that the wood samples should be irradiated soon after impregnation.
In production systems where high-resolution harvest data are unavailable there is often a reliance on ancillary information to generate potential management units. In these situations correct identification of relevant sources of data is important to minimize cost to the grower. For three fields in a sweet corn production system in central NSW, Australia, several sets of high-resolution data were obtained using soil and crop canopy sensors. Management units were derived by k-means classification for 2?5 classes using three approaches: (1) with soil data, (2) with crop data and (3) a combination of both soil and crop data. Crop quantity and quality were sampled manually, and the sample data were related to the different management units using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The ...
Abstract: The current financial crisis has now led most major central banks to rely on quantitative easing. The unique Japanese experience of quantitative easing is the only experience which enables us to judge this therapy's effectiveness and the timing of the exit strategy. In this paper, we provide a new empirical framework to examine the effectiveness of Japanese monetary policy during the ''lost'' decade and quantify the effect of quantitative easing on Japan's activity and prices. We combine advantages of Markov-switching VAR methodology with those of factor analysis to establish two major findings. First, we show that the decisive change in regime occurred in two steps: it crept out from late 1995 and established itself durably in February 1999. Second, we show for the first time th...
Based on the quarterly data from four open economies (the US, the UK, Canada, and Italy) and estimated correlations and impulse responses within the traditional vector autoregressive (VAR) analysis, we find that inflation, both in the short and long term, negatively affects consumption and investment, and has a positive influence on the current account. We propose an infinite-horizon optimizing model of an open economy with a fixed rate of time preference that explains these empirics. In this type of economy, households consume both durable and non-durable goods, firms operate under costly investment, and all the transactions involving consumption and investment are subject to cash-in-advance (CIA) constraints. Employing the new ?sign restriction? identification procedure due to Uhlig (J M...
The static corrosion tests in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) were conducted from 450degreeC to 600degreeC to understand corrosion behavior and develop corrosion resistant materials for heavy liquid metal systems. While increase of Cr content in steels enhances corrosion resistance in LBE, the effect approaches a constant value above 12wt% of Cr. Corrosion depth in LBE increases with increasing temperature and corrosion attack becomes severe above 550degreeC even under the condition of high oxygen concentration. Nickel dissolution and Pb-Bi penetration occur in 316SS and JPCA above 550degreeC under the condition of high oxygen concentration. When oxygen concentration decreases below the level of Fe oxide formation, corrosion attack on these steels also becomes violent due to dissolution of var...
Abstract Question: How do the diversity, size structure, and spatial pattern of woody species in a temperate (Mediterranean climate) forest compare to temperate and tropical forests? Location: Mixed evergreen coastal forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA. Methods: We mapped, tagged, identified, and measured all woody stems (?1 cm diameter) in a 6-ha forest plot, following Center for Tropical Forest Science protocols. We compared patterns to those found in 14 tropical and 12 temperate forest plots. Results: The forest is dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and three species of Fagaceae (Quercus agrifolia, Q. parvula var. shrevei, and Lithocarpus densiflorus), and includes 31 woody species and 8180 individuals. Much of the diversity was in small-diameter shrubs,...
Most prior climate change assessments for U.S. agriculture have focused on major world food crops such as wheat and maize. While useful from a national and global perspective, these results are not particularly relevant to the Northeastern U.S. agriculture economy, which is dominated by dairy milk production, and high-value horticultural crops such as apples (Malus domestica), grapes (vitis vinifera), sweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), and maple syrup (sugar maple, Acer saccharum). We used statistically downscaled climate projections generated by the HadCM3 atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, run with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future emissions scenarios Alfi (higher) and B1 (lower), to evaluate several climate thresholds of direct relevance to agriculture in the region. A longer (frostfree) growing season could create new opportunities for farmers with enough capital to take ...
Piper regnellii (Miq.) C. DC. var. pallescens (C. DC.) Yunck (Piperaceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Brazil to treat infectious diseases. The extracts obtained from the leaves of P. regnellii were investigated for their antifungal activities against the yeasts Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis. The EtOAc extract presented gnificant activity against Candida albicans with MIC at 125 {mu}g mL{sup -1}, and a moderate activity against both C. krusei and C. parapsilosis with MIC at 500 {mu}g mL{sup -1}. Candida tropicalis was not inhibited by this extract at concentrations as high as 1000 {mu}g mL{sup -1}. Based on these findings, the EtOAc extract was fractionated by silica gel column chromatography into nine fractions. The hexane and CHCl{sub 3} fractions showed varied levels of antifungal activity against all test yeasts. Further column chromatography separation of the hexane fraction afforded the pure compounds ...
Actinosynnema mirum Hasegawa et al. 1978 is the type species of the genus, and is of phylogenetic interest because of its central phylogenetic location in the Actino-synnemataceae, a rapidly growing family within the actinobacterial suborder Pseudo-nocardineae. A. mirum is characterized by its motile spores borne on synnemata and as a producer of nocardicin antibiotics. It is capable of growing aerobically and under a moderate CO2 atmosphere. The strain is a Gram-positive, aerial and substrate mycelium producing bacterium, originally isolated from a grass blade collected from the Raritan River, New Jersey. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the family Actinosynnemataceae, and only the second sequence from the actinobacterial suborder Pseudonocardineae. The 8,248,144 bp long single replicon genome with its 7100 protein-coding and 77 RNA ...
The heterokaryotic and vegetative diploid phases of Magnaporthe grisea, a fungal pathogen of grasses, have been characterized. Hyphal tip cells and conidia (vegetative spores) taken from these heterokaryons are auxotrophs with phenotypes identical to one or the other of the parents. M. grisea heterokaryons have completely septate hyphae with a single nucleus per cell. Heterokaryons have been utilized for complementation and dominance testing of mutations that affect nutritional characteristics of the fungus. Heterokaryons growing on minimal medium spontaneously give rise to fast-growing sectors that have the genetic properties expected of unstable heterozygous diploids. In fast-growing sectors, most hyphal tip cells are unstable prototrophs. The conidia collected from fast-growing sectors include stable and unstable prototrophs, as well as auxotrophs that exhibit a wide range of phenotypes, including many recombinant classes. Genetic linkage in meiosis has been ...
Cyclothiazomycin B1 (CTB1) is an antifungal cyclic thiopeptide isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. HA 125-40. CTB1 inhibited the growth of several filamentous fungi including plant pathogens along with swelling of hyphae and spores. The antifungal activity of CTB1 was weakened by hyperosmotic conditions, and hyphae treated with CTB1 burst under hypoosmotic conditions, indicating increased cell wall fragility. CTB1-sensitive fungal species contain high levels of cell wall chitin and/or chitosan. Unlike nikkomycin Z, a competitive inhibitor of chitin synthase (CHS), CTB1 did not inhibit CHS activity. Although CTB1 inhibited CHS biosynthesis, the same result was also obtained with a non-specific proteins inhibitor, cycloheximide, which did not reduce cell wall rigidity. These ...
In this thesis a study is made of the of voltage characteristics and reactive power control in the transmission network of the Electric Power Systems (EPS) with static compensators of VARs (SCVs). The necessity of voltage and reactive power control and the application of SCVs as a solution means for three representative operation stages of the EPS, considering balanced operation conditions and fundamental frequency is analyzed: Operation in the presence of incremental voltage changes, quasi-stationary operation or steady state and behavior at the occurrence of big disturbances. The application of SCVs to systems of integral transmission is in general a closed loop control system, reason why the analysis of the interaction of the system EPS-SCV is considered as an essential part of the voltage and reactive power control study. Firstly, the response analysis of the control loop is made for incremental voltage changes, representing the power system by means of its ...
This paper describes total phenolics content and antioxidant activity in the ethanolic extract of leaves, bark and roots of five medicinal plants: Terminalia brasiliensis Camb., Terminalia fagifolia Mart. and Zucc., Copernicia cerifera (Miller) H.E. Moore, Cenostigma macrophyllum Tul. var. acuminata Teles Freire and Qualea grandiflora Mart. The total phenolics content of the plant extracts, determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, varied from 250.0 {+-}8,2 to 763,63 {+-}13.03 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g dry EtOH extract. The antioxidant activity of extracts was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay system. Extract of bark from T. brasiliensis, the most active, with an EC{sub 50} value of 27.59 {+-} 0.82 {mu}g/mL, was comparable to rutin (EC{sub 50} = 27.80 {+-} 1.38) and gallic acid (EC{sub 50} = 24.27 {+-} 0.31), used as positive controls. The relationship between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was positive and ...
The preparation of neem oil microemulsion and its acaricidal activity in vitro was developed in this study. In these systems, the mixture of Tween-80 and the sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) (4:1, by weight) was used as compound surfactant; the mixture of compound surfactant and hexyl alcohol (4:1, by weight) was used as emulsifier system; the mixture of neem oil, emulsifier system and water (1:3.5:5.5, by weight) was used as neem oil microemulsion. All the mixtures were stired in 800rpm for 15min at 40^oC. The acaricidal activity was measured by the speed of kill. The whole lethal time value of 10% neem oil microemulsion was 192.50min against Sarcoptes scabiei var. cuniculi larvae in vitro. The median lethal time value was 81.7463min with the toxicity regression equations of Y=-6.0...
Plant meiotic prophase I is a complicated process involving the late zygotene and pachytene stages, both crucial for completing synapsis and recombination. Using David Lily (Lilium davidii var. Willmottiae) as our research material, we performed suppression subtractive hybridization to construct EST library of anthers at various stages of development by the pollen mother cells. From this library, we identified small heat shock protein LimHSP16.45 was highly expressed during the late zygotene to pachytene stages. Our results also showed that LimHSP16.45 was almost specifically expressed in the anther compared with the root, stem, or leaf, and in situ expression of LimHSP16.45 mRNAs showed strong signals in the pollen mother cells and tapetal cells. LimHSP16.45 could be induced by heat and c...
Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of compost addition to soil on fractionation and bioavailability of Cu, Mn, and Zn to four crops. Soils growing Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) were amended (by volume) with 0, 20, 40, and 60% Source-Separated Municipal Solid Waste (SS-MSW) compost, and dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and peppermint (Mentha X piperita L.) were amended with 0, 20, 40, and 60% of high-Cu manure compost (by volume). The SS-MSW compost applications increased the concentration of Cu and Zn in all fractions, increased Mn in acid extractable (ACID), iron and manganese oxides (FeMnOX), and organic matter (OM) fractions, but decreased slightly exchangeable-Mn. Addition of 60% high-Cu manure compost to the soil increased Cu EXCH, ACID, FeMnOX, and OM fractions, but decreased EXCH-Mn, and did not change EXCH-Zn. Addition of both composts to soil reduced bioavailability and transfer factors for Cu and ...
The bacterial strain E1R-j, isolated as an endophyte from wheat roots, exhibited high antifungal activity to Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt). Strain E1R-j was identified as Bacillus subtilis based on morphological, physiological and biochemical methods as well as on 16S rDNA analysis. This strain inhibited mycelium growth in vitro of numerous plant pathogenic fungi, especially of Ggt, Coniothyrium diplodiella, Phomopsis sp. and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In greenhouse experiments, soil drenches with cell densities of 106, 109 and 1012CFU ml-1 E1R-j reduced significantly take-all disease, caused by Ggt, in wheat seedling by 62.6%, 68.6% and 70.7%, respectively, compared to the inoculated control, 4weeks after sowing. Growth parameters such as lengths and fresh weights of roots and...
The identification, and hence origin determination, of unknown nuclear material that might be found undeclared away from designated locations in the nuclear fuel cycle, is an important task in the frame of nuclear forensics. Material with forensic importance can be found at the microscopic level as particles in environmental samples indicating possible clandestine production of fissile material, and as bulky samples in the case of illicit trafficking of nuclear material. The objective of this work is to present, at a theoretical level, an isotopic finger-printing methodology which would determine the origin of unknown nuclear material with forensic importance. This is demonstrated for the case when the unknown nuclear material is spent nuclear fuel. The methodology is based on multivariate statistics, such as cluster and factor analysis, complemented by spent fuel isotopic composition simulations using the zero-dimensional depletion computer code ORIGEN2. A major source of error in the ...
Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) emitted from the mould species Penicillium expansum, P. chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, A. fumigatus, A. niger and Cladosporium cladosporoides were analyzed by means of solid phase microextraction (SPME) and GCMS. The mould species were cultivated on the synthetic agar dichloran chloramphenicol (DG 18) and on wet wall paper. The production of MVOCs was monitored over several weeks to detect changes in the emission rates between the initial stage and later periods of growth. The cultivation on the synthetic agar resulted in MVOC patterns with a wide variety of signals. In contrast, the growth on wet wall paper led to changed MVOC patterns with less signals. The emission rates were drastically reduced. Components emitted by all six fungi species on wall paper were 2-pentanol and 2-pentanone. 1-Octen-3-ol was emitted by five fungi species. 2-Pentanol was only detected in considerable amounts during the first days of ...
local peanut cultivars Giza 4 and Giza 5 were exposed to different doses ( 50,100,150,200,250 and 300 Gy)to Co "6"0 gamma ray source . all irradiated materials were cultivated to give the M_1 and M_2 generation , then high yielding mutants were selected from the M_2 generation and cultivated separately to give the M_3 generation. some yield component traits were measured for the three generations (M_1,M_2 and M_3) and M_3 families.variations observed in these traits were attributed to genetic factors. the M_3 selected mutants were artificially infected by aspergillus flavus L spores (aflatoxins-B1 and B2 groups-producer strain). aflatoxin concentrations were estimated and the analysis showed that aflatoxin concentrations in seeds of the M_3 selected mutants from cultivar Giza 4 were higher than those in seeds of the M3 mutants selected from cultivar Giza 5. however, the concentration of aflatoxin increased when the yield ( weight of seeds per plant trait) ...
Protecting Earth and planets against the invasion of 'alien life forms' is not military science fiction, but it is the peaceful daily job of engineers and scientists of space agencies. 'Planetary Protection' is preventing microbial contamination of both the target planet and the Earth when sending robots on interplanetary space mission. It is important to preserve the 'natural' conditions of other planets and to not bring with robots 'earthly microbes' (forward contamination) when looking for 'spores of extra terrestrial life'. The Earth and its biosphere must be protected from potential extraterrestrial biological contamination when returning samples of other planets to the Earth (backward contamination). The NASA-Caltech Laboratory for Planetary Protection of Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (California, USA) routinely monitors and characterizes the microbes of NASA spacecraft assembly rooms and space robots prior to flight. They ...
The overall goal of the DOE fine particulate program is to ensure that the best science and technology is available for any regulatory decision-making related to the health and environmental impacts of ambient fine particulate matter and regional haze. Interest primarily lies in the particulate fraction having aerodynamic diameters of 2.5 microns and less (PM2.5). Particulates of this size are the focus of the newly established National Ambient Air Quality Standards. As such, the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) is establishing a fine particulate sampling station at the Center's Pittsburgh site located in South Park Township, PA. This sampling station is one of a group of stations scattered throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio that constitute the Upper Ohio River Valley Project. The station is equipped with a full complement of fine particulate and gaseous monitors including the following: (1) R and P Sequential FRM sampler, (2) Grimm PM2.5 continuous ...
The collection of papers in this issue of Mycologia documents considerable improvements in taxon sampling and phylogenetic resolution regarding the Fungal Tree of Life. The new data will stimulate new attempts to date divergences and correlate events in fungal evolution with those of other organisms. Here, we review the history of dating fungal divergences by nucleic acid variation and then use a dataset of 50 genes for 25 selected fungi, plants and animals to investigate divergence times in kingdom Fungi. In particular, we test the choice of fossil calibration points on dating divergences in fungi. At the scale of our analysis, substitution rates varied without showing significant within-lineage correlation, so we used the Langley-Fitch method in the R8S package of computer programs to estimate node ages. Different calibration points had a dramatic effect on estimated divergence dates. The estimate for the age of the Ascomycota/Basidiomycota split was 1808000000 y ago when calibrated ...
Respiratory allergy affects all age groups but the children are the worst affected by the respiratory allergy. Bioparticles from different biological sources are the main cause of allergy. Pollen grains, fungal spores, insect and other materials of biological origin form the most important allergen load in the air. For the efficient diagnosis of the allergy and its effective treatment it is very important to know about the prevalence, seasonal and annual variations of aeroallergens of the area. India being the climatically diversed country, there is diversity in the flora and fauna of different parts of the country. Atmospheric surveys carried out in different parts of India reveal that, Alanus nitida, Amarantus spinosus, Argemone mexicana Cocos nucifera, Betula utilis, Borasus flabellifer, Caraica papaya, Cedrus deodara, Cassia fistula, Parthenium, Chenopodium album, Dodonaea viscosa, Malotus phillipensis, Plantago ovata, Prosopis juliflora, Ricinus communis, ...
A novel, obligately anaerobic, extremely thermophilic, cellulolytic bacterium, designated OB47T, was isolated from Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA. The isolate was a non-motile, non-spore forming, Gram-positive rod approximately 2 m long by 0.2 m wide and grew at temperatures between 55-85oC with the optimum at 78oC. The pH range for growth was 6.0-8.0 with values of near 7.0 being optimal. Growth on cellobiose produced the fastest specific growth rates at 0.75 hr-1. The organism also displayed fermentative growth on glucose, maltose, arabinose, fructose, starch, lactose, mannose, sucrose, galactose, xylose, arabinogalactan, Avicel, xylan, filter paper, processed cardboard, pectin, dilute acid-pretreated switchgrass and Populus. OB47T was unable to grow on mannitol, fucose, lignin, Gelrite, acetate, glycerol, ribose, sorbital, carboxymethylcellulose and casein. Yeast extract stimulated growth and thiosulfate, sulfate, nitrate, and sulfur were not ...
Objectives: The purpose of this work was to study the genetic determinants responsible for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) resistance of Salmonella isolated from Dutch poultry, poultry meat and hospitalized humans. Methods: Thirty-four ESBL-resistant Salmonella isolates from The Netherlands were tested towards 21 antimicrobial agents. PCR and sequencing were used to determine the underlying genetic determinants responsible for the ESBL phenotypes. The transferability of the ESBL phenotypes was tested by conjugation to a susceptible Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin and plasmid purification, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were employed to further characterize a subset of the isolates. Results: A great genetic diversity was seen among the isolates. The bla(TEM-52) gene was most predominant and was found among Salmonella enterica serovars Blockley, Thomson, London, Enteritidis phage type 14b, Paratyphi B, Virchow and ...
The role of macroinvertebrates and diatoms as indicator for metal pollution was investigated by assessing both biota along a metal gradient in the Belgian river the Dommel. Macroinvertebrates and diatoms were sampled in summer and winter and physical-chemical characteristics of the water were measured at four different sample periods and related to sediment characteristics. Although metal concentrations, except cadmium, in the water nowhere exceeded water quality standards, high metal concentrations were measured in the sediment, indicating historical contamination of the Dommel. At the sites that were situated downstream of the pollution source, high levels of conductivity and chloride were measured in the water. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) indicated pH, phosphate and zinc as the significant environmental variables explaining each respectively 7.7%, 11.6% and 22.6% of the macroinvertebrate community composition. Two clusters could be separated, with Gammarus pulex, Leptocerus ...
An accident of misidentification has brought to light the interesting system HD 191588, a new RS CVn-type spectroscopic binary. A radial-velocity study of the primary star, the only seen component, carried out at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the Coravel instrument and subsequently at the Cambridge Observatories with a similar one, reveals two orbital motions: a short-period orbit (60 days) and a long-period one (about 4.5 years), so this star is a triple system. The following orbital elements are obtained: (1) for the long-period orbit P = 1667+/-17 days, T = 50901 +/-67 MJD, Gamma = +2.09 +/-0.07 km/s, K = 2.51 +/-0.13 km/s, e = 0.18 +/-0.04, omega = 228deg +/- 14 deg, a1 sin i = 56.7 +/- 3.0 Gm, f(m) = 0.0026 +/-0.0004 M_sun, and (2) for the short-period orbit P = 60.0269 +/-0.0016 days, T = 50482.6 +/-3.3 MJD, gamma is var., K = 24.03 +/- 0.09 km/s, e = 0.012 +/-0.004, omega = 233 deg +/-19deg, a1 sin i = 19.83 +/-0.07 Gm, f(m) = 0.0865 +/-0.0009 ...
Computerized tomography-guided neurolytic splanchnic nerve block is a technique for relieving abdominal cancer pain; the goal is the alcoholic neurolytic interruption of the sensitive structures in retroperitoneal space. Computerized tomography yields accurate anatomical detailing and the course for needle placement and alcohol spread. January, 1993, to July, 1996, twenty-one bilateral splanchnic nerve blocks were performed through the posterior access. Forty-eight hours after alcoholism. 14 patients (66%) had complete pain regression; 52% of the patients needed no analgesics for 6 to 54 days and only 9 patients (42%) needed another low opioid therapy. Complications included hypotension and diarrhea in all cases. One had a cardiac arrest and diet 8 days after the procedure. There were no other complications. The whole procedure usually lasted 60 min (range: 45 to 90 min). Splanchnic nerve neurolysis is a useful treatment in the patients with severe chronic abdominal pain. It is used as ...