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Sample records for microbial growth curve

  1. Growth curves for twins in Slovenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bricelj, Katja; Blickstein, Isaac; Bržan-Šimenc, Gabrijela; Janša, Vid; Lučovnik, Miha; Verdenik, Ivan; Trojner-Bregar, Andreja; Tul, Nataša

    2017-02-01

    Abnormalities of fetal growth are more common in twins. We introduce the growth curves for monitoring fetal growth in twin pregnancies in Slovenia. Slovenian National Perinatal Information System for the period between 2002 and 2010 was used to calculate birth weight percentiles for all live born twins for each week from 22nd to 40th week. The calculated percentiles of birth weight for all live-born twins in Slovenia served as the basis for drawing 'growth' curves. The calculated growth curves for twins will help accurately diagnose small or large twin fetuses for their gestational age in the native central European population.

  2. Growth curves for Laron syndrome.

    OpenAIRE

    Laron, Z; Lilos, P; Klinger, B

    1993-01-01

    Growth curves for children with Laron syndrome were constructed on the basis of repeated measurements made throughout infancy, childhood, and puberty in 24 (10 boys, 14 girls) of the 41 patients with this syndrome investigated in our clinic. Growth retardation was already noted at birth, the birth length ranging from 42 to 46 cm in the 12/20 available measurements. The postnatal growth curves deviated sharply from the normal from infancy on. Both sexes showed no clear pubertal spurt. Girls co...

  3. Growth curves for Laron syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laron, Z; Lilos, P; Klinger, B

    1993-01-01

    Growth curves for children with Laron syndrome were constructed on the basis of repeated measurements made throughout infancy, childhood, and puberty in 24 (10 boys, 14 girls) of the 41 patients with this syndrome investigated in our clinic. Growth retardation was already noted at birth, the birth length ranging from 42 to 46 cm in the 12/20 available measurements. The postnatal growth curves deviated sharply from the normal from infancy on. Both sexes showed no clear pubertal spurt. Girls completed their growth between the age of 16-19 years to a final mean (SD) height of 119 (8.5) cm whereas the boys continued growing beyond the age of 20 years, achieving a final height of 124 (8.5) cm. At all ages the upper to lower body segment ratio was more than 2 SD above the normal mean. These growth curves constitute a model not only for primary, hereditary insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) deficiency (Laron syndrome) but also for untreated secondary IGF-I deficiencies such as growth hormone gene deletion and idiopathic congenital isolated growth hormone deficiency. They should also be useful in the follow up of children with Laron syndrome treated with biosynthetic recombinant IGF-I. PMID:8333769

  4. 21 CFR 866.2560 - Microbial growth monitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) MEDICAL DEVICES IMMUNOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY DEVICES Microbiology Devices § 866.2560 Microbial growth monitor. (a) Identification. A microbial growth monitor is a device intended for medical purposes that...

  5. Mathematical modeling of microbial growth in milk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jhony Tiago Teleken

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available A mathematical model to predict microbial growth in milk was developed and analyzed. The model consists of a system of two differential equations of first order. The equations are based on physical hypotheses of population growth. The model was applied to five different sets of data of microbial growth in dairy products selected from Combase, which is the most important database in the area with thousands of datasets from around the world, and the results showed a good fit. In addition, the model provides equations for the evaluation of the maximum specific growth rate and the duration of the lag phase which may provide useful information about microbial growth.

  6. Growth Curves for Girls with Turner Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Bertapelli

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to review the growth curves for Turner syndrome, evaluate the methodological and statistical quality, and suggest potential growth curves for clinical practice guidelines. The search was carried out in the databases Medline and Embase. Of 1006 references identified, 15 were included. Studies constructed curves for weight, height, weight/height, body mass index, head circumference, height velocity, leg length, and sitting height. The sample ranged between 47 and 1,565 (total = 6,273 girls aged 0 to 24 y, born between 1950 and 2006. The number of measures ranged from 580 to 9,011 (total = 28,915. Most studies showed strengths such as sample size, exclusion of the use of growth hormone and androgen, and analysis of confounding variables. However, the growth curves were restricted to height, lack of information about selection bias, limited distributional properties, and smoothing aspects. In conclusion, we observe the need to construct an international growth reference for girls with Turner syndrome, in order to provide support for clinical practice guidelines.

  7. Nonlinear Growth Curves in Developmental Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Kevin J.; Ram, Nilam; Hamagami, Fumiaki

    2011-01-01

    Developmentalists are often interested in understanding change processes, and growth models are the most common analytic tool for examining such processes. Nonlinear growth curves are especially valuable to developmentalists because the defining characteristics of the growth process such as initial levels, rates of change during growth spurts, and…

  8. Surface growth kinematics via local curve evolution

    KAUST Repository

    Moulton, Derek E.

    2012-11-18

    A mathematical framework is developed to model the kinematics of surface growth for objects that can be generated by evolving a curve in space, such as seashells and horns. Growth is dictated by a growth velocity vector field defined at every point on a generating curve. A local orthonormal basis is attached to each point of the generating curve and the velocity field is given in terms of the local coordinate directions, leading to a fully local and elegant mathematical structure. Several examples of increasing complexity are provided, and we demonstrate how biologically relevant structures such as logarithmic shells and horns emerge as analytical solutions of the kinematics equations with a small number of parameters that can be linked to the underlying growth process. Direct access to cell tracks and local orientation enables for connections to be made to the underlying growth process. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  9. Empirical Percentile Growth Curves with Z-scores Considering Seasonal Compensatory Growths for Japanese Thoroughbred Horses

    Science.gov (United States)

    ONODA, Tomoaki; YAMAMOTO, Ryuta; SAWAMURA, Kyohei; MURASE, Harutaka; NAMBO, Yasuo; INOUE, Yoshinobu; MATSUI, Akira; MIYAKE, Takeshi; HIRAI, Nobuhiro

    2013-01-01

    Percentile growth curves are often used as a clinical indicator to evaluate variations of children’s growth status. In this study, we propose empirical percentile growth curves using Z-scores adapted for Japanese Thoroughbred horses, with considerations of the seasonal compensatory growth that is a typical characteristic of seasonal breeding animals. We previously developed new growth curve equations for Japanese Thoroughbreds adjusting for compensatory growth. Individual horses and residual effects were included as random effects in the growth curve equation model and their variance components were estimated. Based on the Z-scores of the estimated variance components, empirical percentile growth curves were constructed. A total of 5,594 and 5,680 body weight and age measurements of male and female Thoroughbreds, respectively, and 3,770 withers height and age measurements were used in the analyses. The developed empirical percentile growth curves using Z-scores are computationally feasible and useful for monitoring individual growth parameters of body weight and withers height of young Thoroughbred horses, especially during compensatory growth periods. PMID:24834004

  10. On the solar curve of growth of titanium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foy, R.

    1975-01-01

    Our purpose in the present work is to investigate whether or not the splitting of the solar curve of growth found in the case of iron applies to other elements. We show that, contrary to the solar curve of growth for iron, that for titanium is not split in its damping part; this result emphasizes that reference curves of growth have to be used very carefully in detailed analysis of stellar atmospheres. We confirm that the microturbulent velocity is very low in the solar photosphere, namely within the limits: 0.5 [de

  11. Microbial growth and substrate utilization kinetics | Okpokwasili ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Microbial growth on and utilization of environmental contaminants as substrates have been studied by many researchers. Most times, substrate utilization results in removal of chemical contaminant, increase in microbial biomass and subsequent biodegradation of the contaminant. These are all aimed at detoxification of the ...

  12. Growth curve registration for evaluating salinity tolerance in barley

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui

    2017-03-23

    Background: Smarthouses capable of non-destructive, high-throughput plant phenotyping collect large amounts of data that can be used to understand plant growth and productivity in extreme environments. The challenge is to apply the statistical tool that best analyzes the data to study plant traits, such as salinity tolerance, or plant-growth-related traits. Results: We derive family-wise salinity sensitivity (FSS) growth curves and use registration techniques to summarize growth patterns of HEB-25 barley families and the commercial variety, Navigator. We account for the spatial variation in smarthouse microclimates and in temporal variation across phenotyping runs using a functional ANOVA model to derive corrected FSS curves. From FSS, we derive corrected values for family-wise salinity tolerance, which are strongly negatively correlated with Na but not significantly with K, indicating that Na content is an important factor affecting salinity tolerance in these families, at least for plants of this age and grown in these conditions. Conclusions: Our family-wise methodology is suitable for analyzing the growth curves of a large number of plants from multiple families. The corrected curves accurately account for the spatial and temporal variations among plants that are inherent to high-throughput experiments.

  13. Growth curve registration for evaluating salinity tolerance in barley

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui; Saade, Stephanie; Kurtek, Sebastian; Berger, Bettina; Brien, Chris; Pillen, Klaus; Tester, Mark A.; Sun, Ying

    2017-01-01

    Background: Smarthouses capable of non-destructive, high-throughput plant phenotyping collect large amounts of data that can be used to understand plant growth and productivity in extreme environments. The challenge is to apply the statistical tool that best analyzes the data to study plant traits, such as salinity tolerance, or plant-growth-related traits. Results: We derive family-wise salinity sensitivity (FSS) growth curves and use registration techniques to summarize growth patterns of HEB-25 barley families and the commercial variety, Navigator. We account for the spatial variation in smarthouse microclimates and in temporal variation across phenotyping runs using a functional ANOVA model to derive corrected FSS curves. From FSS, we derive corrected values for family-wise salinity tolerance, which are strongly negatively correlated with Na but not significantly with K, indicating that Na content is an important factor affecting salinity tolerance in these families, at least for plants of this age and grown in these conditions. Conclusions: Our family-wise methodology is suitable for analyzing the growth curves of a large number of plants from multiple families. The corrected curves accurately account for the spatial and temporal variations among plants that are inherent to high-throughput experiments.

  14. Nonlinear Growth Curves in Developmental Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Kevin J.; Ram, Nilam; Hamagami, Fumiaki

    2011-01-01

    Developmentalists are often interested in understanding change processes and growth models are the most common analytic tool for examining such processes. Nonlinear growth curves are especially valuable to developmentalists because the defining characteristics of the growth process such as initial levels, rates of change during growth spurts, and asymptotic levels can be estimated. A variety of growth models are described beginning with the linear growth model and moving to nonlinear models of varying complexity. A detailed discussion of nonlinear models is provided, highlighting the added insights into complex developmental processes associated with their use. A collection of growth models are fit to repeated measures of height from participants of the Berkeley Growth and Guidance Studies from early childhood through adulthood. PMID:21824131

  15. Genomic growth curves of an outbred pig population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabyano Fonseca e Silva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the current post-genomic era, the genetic basis of pig growth can be understood by assessing SNP marker effects and genomic breeding values (GEBV based on estimates of these growth curve parameters as phenotypes. Although various statistical methods, such as random regression (RR-BLUP and Bayesian LASSO (BL, have been applied to genomic selection (GS, none of these has yet been used in a growth curve approach. In this work, we compared the accuracies of RR-BLUP and BL using empirical weight-age data from an outbred F2 (Brazilian Piau X commercial population. The phenotypes were determined by parameter estimates using a nonlinear logistic regression model and the halothane gene was considered as a marker for evaluating the assumptions of the GS methods in relation to the genetic variation explained by each locus. BL yielded more accurate values for all of the phenotypes evaluated and was used to estimate SNP effects and GEBV vectors. The latter allowed the construction of genomic growth curves, which showed substantial genetic discrimination among animals in the final growth phase. The SNP effect estimates allowed identification of the most relevant markers for each phenotype, the positions of which were coincident with reported QTL regions for growth traits.

  16. PMAnalyzer: a new web interface for bacterial growth curve analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuevas, Daniel A; Edwards, Robert A

    2017-06-15

    Bacterial growth curves are essential representations for characterizing bacteria metabolism within a variety of media compositions. Using high-throughput, spectrophotometers capable of processing tens of 96-well plates, quantitative phenotypic information can be easily integrated into the current data structures that describe a bacterial organism. The PMAnalyzer pipeline performs a growth curve analysis to parameterize the unique features occurring within microtiter wells containing specific growth media sources. We have expanded the pipeline capabilities and provide a user-friendly, online implementation of this automated pipeline. PMAnalyzer version 2.0 provides fast automatic growth curve parameter analysis, growth identification and high resolution figures of sample-replicate growth curves and several statistical analyses. PMAnalyzer v2.0 can be found at https://edwards.sdsu.edu/pmanalyzer/ . Source code for the pipeline can be found on GitHub at https://github.com/dacuevas/PMAnalyzer . Source code for the online implementation can be found on GitHub at https://github.com/dacuevas/PMAnalyzerWeb . dcuevas08@gmail.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  17. Interactions of cosmic rays in the atmosphere: growth curves revisited

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obermeier, A.; Boyle, P.; Müller, D. [Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Hörandel, J., E-mail: a.obermeier@astro.ru.nl [Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 6525-HP Nijmegen (Netherlands)

    2013-12-01

    Measurements of cosmic-ray abundances on balloons are affected by interactions in the residual atmosphere above the balloon. Corrections for such interactions are particularly important for observations of rare secondary particles such as boron, antiprotons, and positrons. These corrections either can be calculated if the relevant cross sections in the atmosphere are known or may be empirically determined by extrapolation of the 'growth curves', i.e., the individual particle intensities as functions of atmospheric depth. The growth-curve technique is particularly attractive for long-duration balloon flights where the periodic daily altitude variations permit rather precise determinations of the corresponding particle intensity variations. We determine growth curves for nuclei from boron (Z = 5) to iron (Z = 26) using data from the 2006 Arctic balloon flight of the TRACER detector for cosmic-ray nuclei, and we compare the growth curves with predictions from published cross section values. In general, good agreement is observed. We then study the boron/carbon abundance ratio and derive a simple and energy-independent correction term for this ratio. We emphasize that the growth-curve technique can be developed further to provide highly accurate tests of published interaction cross section values.

  18. [Customized and non-customized French intrauterine growth curves. II - Comparison with existing curves and benefits of customization].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ego, A; Prunet, C; Blondel, B; Kaminski, M; Goffinet, F; Zeitlin, J

    2016-02-01

    Our aim is to compare the new French EPOPé intrauterine growth curves, developed to address the guidelines 2013 of the French College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, with reference curves currently used in France, and to evaluate the consequences of their adjustment for fetal sex and maternal characteristics. Eight intrauterine and birthweight curves, used in France were compared to the EPOPé curves using data from the French Perinatal Survey 2010. The influence of adjustment on the rate of SGA births and the characteristics of these births was analysed. Due to their birthweight values and distribution, the selected intrauterine curves are less suitable for births in France than the new curves. Birthweight curves led to low rates of SGA births from 4.3 to 8.5% compared to 10.0% with the EPOPé curves. The adjustment for maternal and fetal characteristics avoids the over-representation of girls among SGA births, and reclassifies 4% of births. Among births reclassified as SGA, the frequency of medical and obstetrical risk factors for growth restriction, smoking (≥10 cigarettes/day), and neonatal transfer is higher than among non-SGA births (P<0.01). The EPOPé curves are more suitable for French births than currently used curves, and their adjustment improves the identification of mothers and babies at risk of growth restriction and poor perinatal outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Modeling Math Growth Trajectory--An Application of Conventional Growth Curve Model and Growth Mixture Model to ECLS K-5 Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yi

    2016-01-01

    To model students' math growth trajectory, three conventional growth curve models and three growth mixture models are applied to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten-Fifth grade (ECLS K-5) dataset in this study. The results of conventional growth curve model show gender differences on math IRT scores. When holding socio-economic…

  20. Computerized tomography and head growth curve infantile macrocephaly with normal psychomotor development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eda, Isematsu; Kitahara, Tadashi; Takashima, Sachio; Takeshita, Kenzo

    1982-01-01

    Macrocephaly was defined as a head measuring larger than 98th percentile. We have evaluated CT findings and head growth curves in 25 infants with large heads. Ten (40%) of 25 infants with large heads were normal developmentally and neurologically. Five (20%) of those were mentally retarded. The other 10 infants (40%) included hydrocephalus (4 cases), malformation syndrome (3 cases), brain tumor (1 case), metabolic disorder (1 case) and degenerative disorder (1 case). Their head growth curves were typed as (I), (II) and (III): Type (I) (excessive head growth curve to 2 SDs above normal); Type (II) (head growth curve gradually approached to 2 SDs above normal); Type (III) (head growth curve parallel to 2 SDs above normal). Ten of macrocephaly with normal psychomotor development were studied clinically and radiologically in details. They were all male. CT pictures of those showed normal or various abnormal findings: ventricular dilatations, wide frontal and temporal subdural spaces, wide interhemispheric fissures, wide cerebral sulci, and large sylvian fissures. CT findings in 2 of those, which because normal after repeated CT examinations, resembled benign subdural collection. CT findings in one of those were external hydrocephalus. Head growth curves were obtained from 8 of those. Six cases revealed type (II) and two cases did type (III). The remaining 2 cases could not be followed up. We consider that CT findings of infants showed macrocephaly with normal psychomotor development reveals normal or various abnormal (ventricular dilatations, benign subdural collection, external hydrocephalus) and their head growth curves are not at least excessive. Infants with mental retardation showed similar CT findings and head growth curves as those with normal psychomotor development. It was difficult to distinguish normal from mentally retarded infants by either CT findings or head growth curves. (author)

  1. New microbial growth factor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bok, S. H.; Casida, L. E., Jr.

    1977-01-01

    A screening procedure was used to isolate from soil a Penicillium sp., two bacterial isolates, and a Streptomyces sp. that produced a previously unknown microbial growth factor. This factor was an absolute growth requirement for three soil bacteria. The Penicillium sp. and one of the bacteria requiring the factor, an Arthrobacter sp., were selected for more extensive study concerning the production and characteristics of the growth factor. It did not seem to be related to the siderochromes. It was not present in soil extract, rumen fluid, or any other medium component tested. It appears to be a glycoprotein of high molecular weight and has high specific activity. When added to the diets for a meadow-vole mammalian test system, it caused an increased consumption of diet without a concurrent increase in rate of weight gain.

  2. Growth curve models and statistical diagnostics

    CERN Document Server

    Pan, Jian-Xin

    2002-01-01

    Growth-curve models are generalized multivariate analysis-of-variance models. These models are especially useful for investigating growth problems on short times in economics, biology, medical research, and epidemiology. This book systematically introduces the theory of the GCM with particular emphasis on their multivariate statistical diagnostics, which are based mainly on recent developments made by the authors and their collaborators. The authors provide complete proofs of theorems as well as practical data sets and MATLAB code.

  3. Growth Mechanism of Microbial Colonies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Minhui; Martini, K. Michael; Kim, Neil H.; Sherer, Nicholas; Lee, Jia Gloria; Kuhlman, Thomas; Goldenfeld, Nigel

    Experiments on nutrient-limited E. coli colonies, growing on agar gel from single cells reveal a power-law distribution of sizes, both during the growth process and in the final stage when growth has ceased. We developed a Python simulation to study the growth mechanism of the bacterial population and thus understand the broad details of the experimental findings. The simulation takes into account nutrient uptake, metabolic function, growth and cell division. Bacteria are modeled in two dimensions as hard circle-capped cylinders with steric interactions and elastic stress dependent growth characteristics. Nutrient is able to diffuse within and between the colonies. The mechanism of microbial colony growth involves reproduction of cells within the colonies and the merging of different colonies. We report results on the dynamic scaling laws and final state size distribution, that capture in semi-quantitative detail the trends observed in experiment. Supported by NSF Grant 0822613.

  4. Growth Curve Models and Applications : Indian Statistical Institute

    CERN Document Server

    2017-01-01

    Growth curve models in longitudinal studies are widely used to model population size, body height, biomass, fungal growth, and other variables in the biological sciences, but these statistical methods for modeling growth curves and analyzing longitudinal data also extend to general statistics, economics, public health, demographics, epidemiology, SQC, sociology, nano-biotechnology, fluid mechanics, and other applied areas.   There is no one-size-fits-all approach to growth measurement. The selected papers in this volume build on presentations from the GCM workshop held at the Indian Statistical Institute, Giridih, on March 28-29, 2016. They represent recent trends in GCM research on different subject areas, both theoretical and applied. This book includes tools and possibilities for further work through new techniques and modification of existing ones. The volume includes original studies, theoretical findings and case studies from a wide range of app lied work, and these contributions have been externally r...

  5. Curve-of-growth analysis of M-type giants. beta. and. beta. Peg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanni, L.; Kipper, M.

    1975-01-01

    The curve-of-growth analysis is carried out with high-dispersion spectrograms of the region lambda lambda 5050--6150 for two M-type stars ..beta.. And (MOIII) and ..beta.. Peg (M2II-III) by using the newest oscillator strengths available. It has been found that the form of our empirical curve of growth is consistent with that of the theoretical curve by Wrubel. By making use of the data derived from the curve-of-growth analyses, atmospheric parameters such as THETA/sub ex/, rho/sub e/, ..nu../sub t/ and the abundances of the elements have been determined.

  6. Impact of warm winters on microbial growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birgander, Johanna; Rousk, Johannes; Axel Olsson, Pål

    2014-05-01

    Growth of soil bacteria has an asymmetrical response to higher temperature with a gradual increase with increasing temperatures until an optimum after which a steep decline occurs. In laboratory studies it has been shown that by exposing a soil bacterial community to a temperature above the community's optimum temperature for two months, the bacterial community grows warm-adapted, and the optimum temperature of bacterial growth shifts towards higher temperatures. This result suggests a change in the intrinsic temperature dependence of bacterial growth, as temperature influenced the bacterial growth even though all other factors were kept constant. An intrinsic temperature dependence could be explained by either a change in the bacterial community composition, exchanging less tolerant bacteria towards more tolerant ones, or it could be due to adaptation within the bacteria present. No matter what the shift in temperature tolerance is due to, the shift could have ecosystem scale implications, as winters in northern Europe are getting warmer. To address the question of how microbes and plants are affected by warmer winters, a winter-warming experiment was established in a South Swedish grassland. Results suggest a positive response in microbial growth rate in plots where winter soil temperatures were around 6 °C above ambient. Both bacterial and fungal growth (leucine incorporation, and acetate into ergosterol incorporation, respectively) appeared stimulated, and there are two candidate explanations for these results. Either (i) warming directly influence microbial communities by modulating their temperature adaptation, or (ii) warming indirectly affected the microbial communities via temperature induced changes in bacterial growth conditions. The first explanation is in accordance with what has been shown in laboratory conditions (explained above), where the differences in the intrinsic temperature relationships were examined. To test this explanation the

  7. Developmental trajectories of adolescent popularity: a growth curve modelling analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cillessen, Antonius H N; Borch, Casey

    2006-12-01

    Growth curve modelling was used to examine developmental trajectories of sociometric and perceived popularity across eight years in adolescence, and the effects of gender, overt aggression, and relational aggression on these trajectories. Participants were 303 initially popular students (167 girls, 136 boys) for whom sociometric data were available in Grades 5-12. The popularity and aggression constructs were stable but non-overlapping developmental dimensions. Growth curve models were run with SAS MIXED in the framework of the multilevel model for change [Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press]. Sociometric popularity showed a linear change trajectory; perceived popularity showed nonlinear change. Overt aggression predicted low sociometric popularity but an increase in perceived popularity in the second half of the study. Relational aggression predicted a decrease in sociometric popularity, especially for girls, and continued high-perceived popularity for both genders. The effect of relational aggression on perceived popularity was the strongest around the transition from middle to high school. The importance of growth curve models for understanding adolescent social development was discussed, as well as specific issues and challenges of growth curve analyses with sociometric data.

  8. Effects of Spatial Localization on Microbial Consortia Growth.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Venters

    Full Text Available Microbial consortia are commonly observed in natural and synthetic systems, and these consortia frequently result in higher biomass production relative to monocultures. The focus here is on the impact of initial spatial localization and substrate diffusivity on the growth of a model microbial consortium consisting of a producer strain that consumes glucose and produces acetate and a scavenger strain that consumes the acetate. The mathematical model is based on an individual cell model where growth is described by Monod kinetics, and substrate transport is described by a continuum-based, non-equilibrium reaction-diffusion model where convective transport is negligible (e.g., in a biofilm. The first set of results focus on a single producer cell at the center of the domain and surrounded by an initial population of scavenger cells. The impact of the initial population density and substrate diffusivity is examined. A transition is observed from the highest initial density resulting in the greatest cell growth to cell growth being independent of initial density. A high initial density minimizes diffusive transport time and is typically expected to result in the highest growth, but this expected behavior is not predicted in environments with lower diffusivity or larger length scales. When the producer cells are placed on the bottom of the domain with the scavenger cells above in a layered biofilm arrangement, a similar critical transition is observed. For the highest diffusivity values examined, a thin, dense initial scavenger layer is optimal for cell growth. However, for smaller diffusivity values, a thicker, less dense initial scavenger layer provides maximal growth. The overall conclusion is that high density clustering of members of a food chain is optimal under most common transport conditions, but under some slow transport conditions, high density clustering may not be optimal for microbial growth.

  9. Mechanistic model for microbial growth on hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mallee, F M; Blanch, H W

    1977-12-01

    Based on available information describing the transport and consumption of insoluble alkanes, a mechanistic model is proposed for microbial growth on hydrocarbons. The model describes the atypical growth kinetics observed, and has implications in the design of large scale equipment for single cell protein (SCP) manufacture from hydrocarbons. The model presents a framework for comparison of the previously published experimental kinetic data.

  10. Modelling growth curves of Nigerian indigenous normal feather ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to predict the growth curve parameters using Bayesian Gompertz and logistic models and also to compare the two growth function in describing the body weight changes across age in Nigerian indigenous normal feather chicken. Each chick was wing-tagged at day old and body weights were ...

  11. Modeling error distributions of growth curve models through Bayesian methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhiyong

    2016-06-01

    Growth curve models are widely used in social and behavioral sciences. However, typical growth curve models often assume that the errors are normally distributed although non-normal data may be even more common than normal data. In order to avoid possible statistical inference problems in blindly assuming normality, a general Bayesian framework is proposed to flexibly model normal and non-normal data through the explicit specification of the error distributions. A simulation study shows when the distribution of the error is correctly specified, one can avoid the loss in the efficiency of standard error estimates. A real example on the analysis of mathematical ability growth data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 is used to show the application of the proposed methods. Instructions and code on how to conduct growth curve analysis with both normal and non-normal error distributions using the the MCMC procedure of SAS are provided.

  12. Susceptibility of green and conventional building materials to microbial growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mensah-Attipoe, J; Reponen, T; Salmela, A; Veijalainen, A-M; Pasanen, P

    2015-06-01

    Green building materials are becoming more popular. However, little is known about their ability to support or limit microbial growth. The growth of fungi was evaluated on five building materials. Two green, two conventional building materials and wood as a positive control were selected. The materials were inoculated with Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Penicillium brevicompactum, in the absence and presence of house dust. Microbial growth was assessed at four different time points by cultivation and determining fungal biomass using the N-acetylhexosaminidase (NAHA) enzyme assay. No clear differences were seen between green and conventional building materials in their susceptibility to support microbial growth. The presence of dust, an external source of nutrients, promoted growth of all the fungal species similarly on green and conventional materials. The results also showed a correlation coefficient ranging from 0.81 to 0.88 between NAHA activity and culturable counts. The results suggest that the growth of microbes on a material surface depends on the availability of organic matter rather than the classification of the material as green or conventional. NAHA activity and culturability correlated well indicating that the two methods used in the experiments gave similar trends for the growth of fungi on material surfaces. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Using growth-based methods to determine direct effects of salinity on soil microbial communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rath, Kristin; Rousk, Johannes

    2015-04-01

    measuring the bacterial growth response to added NaCl in a soil suspension. The bacterial community tolerance to salt increased along the salt gradients with higher in situ soil salinity. In samples from the low-saline end of the gradient, bacterial growth rates in the soil suspension showed a clear concentration-response relationship to NaCl resulting in inhibition curves. This relationship gradually changed toward higher salt concentrations. In soil samples from high salinity sites, bacterial growth was no longer inhibited by adding high concentrations of NaCl to the bacterial soil suspension. In fact, adding NaCl even promoted bacterial growth rates. These results show that salinity played an ecologically significant role in shaping communities at the highly saline end of the gradients and provide evidence for a direct salt effect on the microbial community

  14. Growth and element flux at fine taxonomic resolution in natural microbial communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hungate, Bruce; Mau, Rebecca; Schwartz, Egbert; Caporaso, J. Gregory; Dijkstra, Paul; van Gestel, Natasja; Koch, Benjamin J.; Liu, Cindy M.; McHugh, Theresa; Marks, Jane C.; Morrissey, Ember; Price, Lance B.

    2015-04-01

    Microorganisms are the engines of global biogeochemical cycles, driving half of all photosynthesis and nearly all decomposition. Yet, quantifying the rates at which uncultured microbial taxa grow and transform elements in intact and highly diverse natural communities in the environment remains among the most pressing challenges in microbial ecology today. Here, we show how shifts in the density of DNA caused by stable isotope incorporation can be used to estimate the growth rates of individual bacterial taxa in intact soil communities. We found that the distribution of growth rates followed the familiar lognormal distribution observed for the abundances, biomasses, and traits of many organisms. Growth rates of most bacterial taxa increased in response to glucose amendment, though the increase in growth observed for many taxa was larger than could be explained by direct utilization of the added glucose for growth, illustrating that glucose addition indirectly stimulated the utilization of other substrates. Variation in growth rates and phylogenetic distances were quantitatively related, connecting evolutionary history and biogeochemical function in intact soil microbial communities. Our approach has the potential to identify biogeochemically significant taxa in the microbial community and quantify their contributions to element transformations and ecosystem processes.

  15. Residual Structures in Latent Growth Curve Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Kevin J.; Widaman, Keith F.

    2010-01-01

    Several alternatives are available for specifying the residual structure in latent growth curve modeling. Two specifications involve uncorrelated residuals and represent the most commonly used residual structures. The first, building on repeated measures analysis of variance and common specifications in multilevel models, forces residual variances…

  16. Microbial Growth and Carbon Use Efficiency in the Rhizosphere and Root-Free Soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Blagodatsky, Sergey; Anderson, Traute-Heidi; Kuzyakov, Yakov

    2014-01-01

    Plant-microbial interactions alter C and N balance in the rhizosphere and affect the microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE)–the fundamental characteristic of microbial metabolism. Estimation of CUE in microbial hotspots with high dynamics of activity and changes of microbial physiological state from dormancy to activity is a challenge in soil microbiology. We analyzed respiratory activity, microbial DNA content and CUE by manipulation the C and nutrients availability in the soil under Beta vulgaris. All measurements were done in root-free and rhizosphere soil under steady-state conditions and during microbial growth induced by addition of glucose. Microorganisms in the rhizosphere and root-free soil differed in their CUE dynamics due to varying time delays between respiration burst and DNA increase. Constant CUE in an exponentially-growing microbial community in rhizosphere demonstrated the balanced growth. In contrast, the CUE in the root-free soil increased more than three times at the end of exponential growth and was 1.5 times higher than in the rhizosphere. Plants alter the dynamics of microbial CUE by balancing the catabolic and anabolic processes, which were decoupled in the root-free soil. The effects of N and C availability on CUE in rhizosphere and root-free soil are discussed. PMID:24722409

  17. Distortion-product otoacoustic emission growth curves in neonates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania Alves Barbosa

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The recording of otoacoustic emissions (OAE enabled us to prove that the cochlea is able not only to receive sounds but also to produce acoustic energy. Through the use of distortion-product otoacoustic emission measurements, the growth of the response was seen according to the intensity of the sound stimulus presented (growth curve. Objective: to determine the thresholds for the emergence of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE on frequencies of 2000 and 4000 Hz with a stimulus varying from 20 to 65dB SPL, and to establish the slope values obtained in the growth curves. Methods: 39 neonates aged 5 to 28 days without risk indicators of hearing loss were studied. The DPOAE growth curves were obtained on the frequencies from 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz with a level of intensity ranging from 20 to 65dB SPL divided into two paradigms (20 to 40dB SPL and 40-65dB SPL. Results: there was a statistically significant difference in the thresholds for the emergence of DPOAE depending on the criteria used. The thresholds were on average higher at 4000 Hz than 2000 Hz and the slope was higher on average at 2000 Hz than 4000 Hz, although not statistically significant in either case. Conclusion: the thresholds were on average 30dB SPL at 2000Hz and 35dB SPL at 4000Hz. The slope values varied between 3 and 4 on average, reaching 15 in some cases.

  18. Investigation of Mediational Processes Using Parallel Process Latent Growth Curve Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheong, JeeWon; MacKinnon, David P.; Khoo, Siek Toon

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated a method to evaluate mediational processes using latent growth curve modeling. The mediator and the outcome measured across multiple time points were viewed as 2 separate parallel processes. The mediational process was defined as the independent variable influencing the growth of the mediator, which, in turn, affected the growth of the outcome. To illustrate modeling procedures, empirical data from a longitudinal drug prevention program, Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids, were used. The program effects on the growth of the mediator and the growth of the outcome were examined first in a 2-group structural equation model. The mediational process was then modeled and tested in a parallel process latent growth curve model by relating the prevention program condition, the growth rate factor of the mediator, and the growth rate factor of the outcome. PMID:20157639

  19. Supplementary Material for: Growth curve registration for evaluating salinity tolerance in barley

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Smarthouses capable of non-destructive, high-throughput plant phenotyping collect large amounts of data that can be used to understand plant growth and productivity in extreme environments. The challenge is to apply the statistical tool that best analyzes the data to study plant traits, such as salinity tolerance, or plant-growth-related traits. Results We derive family-wise salinity sensitivity (FSS) growth curves and use registration techniques to summarize growth patterns of HEB-25 barley families and the commercial variety, Navigator. We account for the spatial variation in smarthouse microclimates and in temporal variation across phenotyping runs using a functional ANOVA model to derive corrected FSS curves. From FSS, we derive corrected values for family-wise salinity tolerance, which are strongly negatively correlated with Na but not significantly with K, indicating that Na content is an important factor affecting salinity tolerance in these families, at least for plants of this age and grown in these conditions. Conclusions Our family-wise methodology is suitable for analyzing the growth curves of a large number of plants from multiple families. The corrected curves accurately account for the spatial and temporal variations among plants that are inherent to high-throughput experiments.

  20. Growth curves and the international standard: How children's growth reflects challenging conditions in rural Timor-Leste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Phoebe R; Sanders, Katherine A; Judge, Debra S

    2018-02-01

    Population-specific growth references are important in understanding local growth variation, especially in developing countries where child growth is poor and the need for effective health interventions is high. In this article, we use mixed longitudinal data to calculate the first growth curves for rural East Timorese children to identify where, during development, deviation from the international standards occurs. Over an eight-year period, 1,245 children from two ecologically distinct rural areas of Timor-Leste were measured a total of 4,904 times. We compared growth to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards using z-scores, and modeled height and weight velocity using the SuperImposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) method. Using the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) method, we created the first growth curves for rural Timorese children for height, weight and body mass index (BMI). Relative to the WHO standards, children show early-life growth faltering, and stunting throughout childhood and adolescence. The median height and weight for this population tracks below the WHO fifth centile. Males have poorer growth than females in both z-BMI (p = .001) and z-height-for-age (p = .018) and, unlike females, continue to grow into adulthood. This is the most comprehensive investigation to date of rural Timorese children's growth, and the growth curves created may potentially be used to identify future secular trends in growth as the country develops. We show significant deviation from the international standard that becomes most pronounced at adolescence, similar to the growth of other Asian populations. Males and females show different growth responses to challenging conditions in this population. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. [Reference curves for assessing the physical growth of male Wistar rats].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cossio-Bolaños, Marco; Gómez Campos, Rossana; Vargas Vitoria, Rodrigo; Hochmuller Fogaça, Rosalvo Tadeu; de Arruda, Miguel

    2013-11-01

    Wistar rats are one of the most popular strains routinely used for research in the laboratory to serve as an important research tool, so it requires strict control of variables such as age, sex and body weight, and Thus to extrapolate the results to the human model. To develop reference curves for assessing the physical growth of male Wistar rats according to chronological age and somatic maturation from a non-invasive. The subjects studied were 731 male Wistar rats transversely. We assessed age, body weight and body surface. LMS method was used to construct percentile curves based on weight and somatic maturation. The proposed physical growth curves are used to track the physical growth and nutritional status diagnosis of male Wistar rats. Budgets by cutting points are: P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 and P97. The results suggest that scientists from different areas can use such references, in order to extrapolate somatic growth phases of the laboratory rat and the human model is a non-invasive alternative to assess growth and nutritional status. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  2. Short communication Estimation of growth curve parameters in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ikeskin

    The shape of growth curves has been reported to vary according to the species of .... a,b,c The means within columns with different superscripts are significantly .... J. Anim. Sci. 84, 2642-2654. The South African Journal of Animal Science is ...

  3. An Approach of Estimating Individual Growth Curves for Young Thoroughbred Horses Based on Their Birthdays

    Science.gov (United States)

    ONODA, Tomoaki; YAMAMOTO, Ryuta; SAWAMURA, Kyohei; MURASE, Harutaka; NAMBO, Yasuo; INOUE, Yoshinobu; MATSUI, Akira; MIYAKE, Takeshi; HIRAI, Nobuhiro

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT We propose an approach of estimating individual growth curves based on the birthday information of Japanese Thoroughbred horses, with considerations of the seasonal compensatory growth that is a typical characteristic of seasonal breeding animals. The compensatory growth patterns appear during only the winter and spring seasons in the life of growing horses, and the meeting point between winter and spring depends on the birthday of each horse. We previously developed new growth curve equations for Japanese Thoroughbreds adjusting for compensatory growth. Based on the equations, a parameter denoting the birthday information was added for the modeling of the individual growth curves for each horse by shifting the meeting points in the compensatory growth periods. A total of 5,594 and 5,680 body weight and age measurements of Thoroughbred colts and fillies, respectively, and 3,770 withers height and age measurements of both sexes were used in the analyses. The results of predicted error difference and Akaike Information Criterion showed that the individual growth curves using birthday information better fit to the body weight and withers height data than not using them. The individual growth curve for each horse would be a useful tool for the feeding managements of young Japanese Thoroughbreds in compensatory growth periods. PMID:25013356

  4. Growth Curve and Structural Equation Modeling : Topics from the Indian Statistical Institute

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    This book describes some recent trends in GCM research on different subject areas, both theoretical and applied. This includes tools and possibilities for further work through new techniques and modification of existing ones. A growth curve is an empirical model of the evolution of a quantity over time. Growth curves in longitudinal studies are used in disciplines including biology, statistics, population studies, economics, biological sciences, sociology, nano-biotechnology, and fluid mechanics. The volume includes original studies, theoretical findings and case studies from a wide range of applied work. This volume builds on presentations from a GCM workshop held at the Indian Statistical Institute, Giridih, January 18-19, 2014. This book follows the volume Advances in Growth Curve Models, published by Springer in 2013. The results have meaningful application in health care, prediction of crop yield, child nutrition, poverty measurements, estimation of growth rate, and other research areas.

  5. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND AIR POLLUTION IN THECZECHREPUBLIC: DECOUPLING CURVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petr Šauer

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The decoupling curve, together with the Environmental Kuznets Curve, has beenrecognized as one of the important indicators showing relations betweeneconomic growth and environmental degradation/pollution. Many boththeoreticaland empirical studies have been published on it. Our paper brings models whichinvestigate relations between the economic growth per capita and selectedindicators of air pollution in theCzechRepublic. The analysis tried to go beforethe year 1990, despite the difficulties when dealing with different macroeconomicindicators published during the socialist period and those introduced after thetransition to a market economy. The results might be somehow surprising forthose dealing only with data generated after the year 1990: it is possible todiscover the turning points for some of the airborne pollutants already in the1980s.

  6. Microbial growth associated with granular activated carbon in a pilot water treatment facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, D P; Chang, E; Dickson, K L; Johansson, K R

    1983-01-01

    The microbial dynamics associated with granular activated carbon (GAC) in a pilot water treatment plant were investigated over a period of 16 months. Microbial populations were monitored in the influent and effluent waters and on the GAC particles by means of total plate counts and ATP assays. Microbial populations between the influent and effluent waters of the GAC columns generally increased, indicating microbial growth. The dominant genera of microorganisms isolated from interstitial waters and GAC particles were Achromobacter, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Chromobacterium, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Microcyclus, Paracoccus, and Pseudomonas. Coliform bacteria were found in small numbers in the effluents from some of the GAC columns in the later months of the study. Oxidation of influent waters with ozone and maintenance of aerobic conditions on the GAC columns failed to appreciably enhance the microbial growth on GAC. PMID:6625567

  7. Dose-effect curves for electron-beam irradiation of some collection microbial strains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferdes, O.; Dumitru, E.; Catargiu, L.; Ferdes, M.; Minea, R.; Oproiu, C.; Niculescu, A.

    1994-01-01

    There were electron-beam irradiated some microbial strains of B.subtilis ICA I-60 both in germination and in sporulated forms. The irradiation were performed at the IPTRD's electron accelerator at 6 MeV, and in the dose range between 0.1-5.0 kGy, at different dose-rate varying from 50 Gy/minute to 100 Gy/minute. The dosimetry was carried out by a PTW medical dosemeter. There were established the dose-effect relationships and curves, the inactivation dose (factor) and the optimum domain for electron-beam mutagenesis. There were obtained some mutant strains with 2-3.5 higher biosynthesis potential, which are in the IFC's collection. (Author)

  8. Symphysis-fundal height curve in the diagnosis of fetal growth deviations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djacyr Magna Cabral Freire

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To validate a new symphysis-fundal curve for screening fetal growth deviations and to compare its performance with the standard curve adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. METHODS: Observational study including a total of 753 low-risk pregnant women with gestational age above 27 weeks between March to October 2006 in the city of João Pessoa, Northeastern Brazil. Symphisys-fundal was measured using a standard technique recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Estimated fetal weight assessed through ultrasound using the Brazilian fetal weight chart for gestational age was the gold standard. A subsample of 122 women with neonatal weight measurements was taken up to seven days after estimated fetal weight measurements and symphisys-fundal classification was compared with Lubchenco growth reference curve as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated. The McNemar χ2 test was used for comparing sensitivity of both symphisys-fundal curves studied. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the new curve for detecting small for gestational age fetuses was 51.6% while that of the Brazilian Ministry of Health reference curve was significantly lower (12.5%. In the subsample using neonatal weight as gold standard, the sensitivity of the new reference curve was 85.7% while that of the Brazilian Ministry of Health was 42.9% for detecting small for gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance of the new curve for detecting small for gestational age fetuses was significantly higher than that of the Brazilian Ministry of Health reference curve.

  9. Conditions for microbial growth in the FILTRA steam absorption tower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, H.; Roffey, R.

    1983-08-01

    By the appointment of the Southern Sweden Power Supply an experimental study has been carried out in order to evaluate the risk for microbial growth in the planned FILTRA steam absorbtion tower at the nuclear power plant in Barsebaeck. Four modelsystems were supplied with nitrogen atmosphere and a relative humidity of 100, 75, 50 and 25 percent. The fifth system received air and 75 percent relative humidity. Samples were collected and analysed for microbial growth after 1, 2, 4 and 8 months. The amounts of microorganisms and the ATP content was monitored. No measureable growth of any significance could be observed after 8 months in any system. An elementary analyses showed that the level of nitrogen and carbon in the stones was below the limit of detection (<0.3 percent C, <0.2 percent N). (author)

  10. Hydrocarbon fermentation: kinetics of microbial cell growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goma, G [Institut National des Sciences Appliquees, Toulouse; Ribot, D

    1978-11-01

    Modeling of microbial growth using nonmiscible substrate is studied when kinetics of substrate dissolution is rate limiting. When the substrate concentration is low, the growth rate is described by an analytical relation that can be identified as a Contois relationship. If the substrate concentration is greater than a critical value S/sub crit/, the potentially useful hydrocarbon S* concentration is described by S* = S/sub crit//(1 + S/sub crit//S). A relationship was found between S/sub crit/ and the biomass concentration X. When X increased, S/sub crit/ decreased. The cell growth rate is related to a relation ..mu.. = ..mu../sub m/(A(X/S/sub crit/)(1 + S/sub crit//S) + 1)/sup -1/. This model describes the evolution of the growth rate when exponential or linear growth occurs, which is related to physico-chemical properties and hydrodynamic fermentation conditions. Experimental data to support the model are presented.

  11. Acoustic and Electrical Property Changes Due to Microbial Growth and Biofilm Formation in Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the effect of microbial growth and biofilm formation on compressional waves, and complex conductivity during stimulated microbial growth. Over the 29 day duration of the experiment, compressional wave amplitudes and arrival times f...

  12. Critical control points for the management of microbial growth in HVAC systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gommers, S; Franchimon, F.; Bronswijk, van J.E.M.H.; Strøm-Tejsen, P; Olesen, BW; Wargocki, P; Zukowska, D; Toftum, J

    2008-01-01

    Office buildings with HVAC systems consistently report Sick Building Symptoms that are derived from microbial growth. We used the HACCP methodology to find the main critical control points (CCPs) for microbial management of HVAC systems in temperate climates. Desk research revealed relative humidity

  13. Predicting Madura cattle growth curve using non-linear model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widyas, N.; Prastowo, S.; Widi, T. S. M.; Baliarti, E.

    2018-03-01

    Madura cattle is Indonesian native. It is a composite breed that has undergone hundreds of years of selection and domestication to reach nowadays remarkable uniformity. Crossbreeding has reached the isle of Madura and the Madrasin, a cross between Madura cows and Limousine semen emerged. This paper aimed to compare the growth curve between Madrasin and one type of pure Madura cows, the common Madura cattle (Madura) using non-linear models. Madura cattles are kept traditionally thus reliable records are hardly available. Data were collected from small holder farmers in Madura. Cows from different age classes (5years) were observed, and body measurements (chest girth, body length and wither height) were taken. In total 63 Madura and 120 Madrasin records obtained. Linear model was built with cattle sub-populations and age as explanatory variables. Body weights were estimated based on the chest girth. Growth curves were built using logistic regression. Results showed that within the same age, Madrasin has significantly larger body compared to Madura (plogistic models fit better for Madura and Madrasin cattle data; with the estimated MSE for these models were 39.09 and 759.28 with prediction accuracy of 99 and 92% for Madura and Madrasin, respectively. Prediction of growth curve using logistic regression model performed well in both types of Madura cattle. However, attempts to administer accurate data on Madura cattle are necessary to better characterize and study these cattle.

  14. Spectrum of microbial growth and antimicrobial usage in an ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    white blood cell count, duration of first antibiotic used, length of ICU stay, length of ... the acute disease process, the presence of comorbidities, invasive devices, ... Against this background, this study aimed to look at the microbial growth.

  15. The Biasing Effects of Unmodeled ARMA Time Series Processes on Latent Growth Curve Model Estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivo, Stephen; Fan, Xitao; Witta, Lea

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the robustness of estimated growth curve models when there is stationary autocorrelation among manifest variable errors. The results suggest that when, in practice, growth curve models are fitted to longitudinal data, alternative rival hypotheses to consider would include growth models that also specify…

  16. Academia-industry collaboration feeds exponential growth curve

    CERN Document Server

    Jones Bey Hassaun, A

    2004-01-01

    The use of silicon strip detectors in high-energy particle tracking is discussed. The functional strength of silicon for high-energy particle physics as well as astrophysics lies in the ability to detect passage of charged particles with micron-scale spatial resolution. In addition to vertex detection, silicon strip detectors also provide full tracking detection to include momentum determination of particles in the magnetic field. Even if silicon detectors for basic science applications do not continue to grow larger, exponential growth of the technology for terrestrial commercial applications is likely to follow a healthy growth curve, as researchers continue to adapt silicon detector technology for low- dose medical x-ray imaging. (Edited abstract)

  17. Environmental Kuznets curve and growth source in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asghari Maryam

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent empirical research has examined the relationship between certain indicators of environmental degradation and income, concluding that in some cases an inverted U-shaped relationship, which has been called an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC, exists between these variables. The source of growth explanation is important for two reasons. First, it demonstrates how the pollution consequences of growth depend on the source of growth. Therefore, the analogy drawn by some in the environmental community between the damaging effects of economic development and those of liberalized trade is, at best, incomplete. Second, the source of growth explanation demonstrates that a strong policy response to income gains is not necessary for pollution to fall with growth. The aim of this paper investigates the role of differences source of growth in environmental quality of Iran. The results show the two growth resources in Iran cause, in the early stages, CO2 emission decreases until turning point but beyond this level of income per capita, economic growth leads to environmental degradation. I find a U relationship between environmental degradation (CO2 emission and economic growth in Iran.

  18. Effect of dietary olive leaves and rosemary on microbial growth and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effect of dietary olive leaves and rosemary on microbial growth and lipid oxidation of turkey breast during refrigerated storage. ... During this period olive leaves were more effective in inhibiting bacterial growth than rosemary. Keywords: Antioxidant additives, α-tocopherol, turkey meat, herbs, spices, meat quality ...

  19. Colombian reference growth curves for height, weight, body mass index and head circumference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durán, Paola; Merker, Andrea; Briceño, Germán; Colón, Eugenia; Line, Dionne; Abad, Verónica; Del Toro, Kenny; Chahín, Silvia; Matallana, Audrey Mary; Lema, Adriana; Llano, Mauricio; Céspedes, Jaime; Hagenäs, Lars

    2016-03-01

    Published Growth studies from Latin America are limited to growth references from Argentina and Venezuela. The aim of this study was to construct reference growth curves for height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and head circumference of Colombian children in a format that is useful for following the growth of the individual child and as a tool for public health. Prospective measurements from 27 209 Colombian children from middle and upper socio-economic level families were processed using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS). Descriptive statistics for length and height, weight, BMI and head circumference for age are given as raw and smoothed values. Final height was 172.3 cm for boys and 159.4 cm for girls. Weight at 18 years of age was 64.0 kg for boys and 54 kg for girls. Growth curves are presented in a ± 3 SD format using logarithmic axes. The constructed reference growth curves are a start for following secular trends in Colombia and are also in the presented layout an optimal clinical tool for health care. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Using the Yield Curve in Forecasting Output Growth and In‡flation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hillebrand, Eric Tobias; Huang, Huiyu; Lee, Tae-Hwy

    Following Diebold and Li (2006), we use the Nelson-Siegel (NS, 1987) yield curve factors. However the NS yield curve factors are not supervised for a specifi…c forecast target in the sense that the same factors are used for forecasting different variables, e.g., output growth or infl‡ation. We...... analytically and numerically how supervision works. For both CF and CI schemes, principal components (PC) may be used in place of the NS factors. In out-of-sample forecasting of U.S. monthly output growth and infl‡ation, we fi…nd that supervised CF-factor models (CF-NS, CF-PC) are substantially better than...

  1. Carbon stabilization and microbial growth in acidic mine soils after addition of different amendments for soil reclamation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zornoza, Raúl; Acosta, Jose; Ángeles Muñoz, María; Martínez-Martínez, Silvia; Faz, Ángel; Bååth, Erland

    2016-04-01

    The extreme soil conditions in metalliferous mine soils have a negative influence on soil biological activity and therefore on soil carbon estabilization. Therefore, amendments are used to increase organic carbon content and activate microbial communities. In order to elucidate some of the factors controlling soil organic carbon stabilization in reclaimed acidic mine soils and its interrelationship with microbial growth and community structure, we performed an incubation experiment with four amendments: pig slurry (PS), pig manure (PM) and biochar (BC), applied with and without marble waste (MW; CaCO3). Results showed that PM and BC (alone or together with MW) contributed to an important increment in recalcitrant organic C, C/N ratio and aggregate stability. Bacterial and fungal growths were highly dependent on pH and labile organic C. PS supported the highest microbial growth; applied alone it stimulated fungal growth, and applied with MW it stimulated bacterial growth. BC promoted the lowest microbial growth, especially for fungi, with no significant increase in fungal biomass. MW+BC increased bacterial growth up to values similar to PM and MW+PM, suggesting that part of the biochar was degraded, at least in short-term mainly by bacteria rather than fungi. PM, MW+PS and MW+PM supported the highest microbial biomass and a similar community structure, related with the presence of high organic C and high pH, with immobilization of metals and increased soil quality. BC contributed to improved soil structure, increased recalcitrant organic C, and decreased metal mobility, with low stimulation of microbial growth.

  2. Comparison of Two Mechanistic Microbial Growth Models to Estimate Shelf Life of Perishable Food Package under Dynamic Temperature Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Sun Lee

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Two mechanistic microbial growth models (Huang’s model and model of Baranyi and Roberts given in differential and integrated equation forms were compared in predicting the microbial growth and shelf life under dynamic temperature storage and distribution conditions. Literatures consistently reporting the microbial growth data under constant and changing temperature conditions were selected to obtain the primary model parameters, set up the secondary models, and apply them to predict the microbial growth and shelf life under fluctuating temperatures. When evaluated by general estimation behavior, bias factor, accuracy factor, and root-mean-square error, Huang’s model was comparable to Baranyi and Roberts’ model in the capability to estimate microbial growth under dynamic temperature conditions. Its simple form of single differential equation incorporating directly the growth rate and lag time may work as an advantage to be used in online shelf life estimation by using the electronic device.

  3. ECONOMIC GROWTH, TRADE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: TESTING ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dedi Budiman Hakim

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available ASEAN experiences a dynamic economic growth due to its liberalised markets. However concerns arise related to environmental issues resulting from the economic activities. It reflects tradeoffs between economic growth driven by trade and foreign direct investment (FDI, and environment. To investigate such a relation the Environmental Kuznets Curve was applied by regressing amount of carbon emission with gross domestic product (GDP, quadratic GDP, trade openness and FDI. The result reveals that amount of carbon emission is linearly and positively correlated with GDP per capita. It is predicted that as ASEAN economies grow, carbon emission increases. Trade openness is also found to contribute to carbon emission. Keywords: Kuznets curve, carbon emission, gross domestic product, trade, foreign direct investment JEL classification number: F15, F18

  4. From Experiment to Theory: What Can We Learn from Growth Curves?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kareva, Irina; Karev, Georgy

    2018-01-01

    Finding an appropriate functional form to describe population growth based on key properties of a described system allows making justified predictions about future population development. This information can be of vital importance in all areas of research, ranging from cell growth to global demography. Here, we use this connection between theory and observation to pose the following question: what can we infer about intrinsic properties of a population (i.e., degree of heterogeneity, or dependence on external resources) based on which growth function best fits its growth dynamics? We investigate several nonstandard classes of multi-phase growth curves that capture different stages of population growth; these models include hyperbolic-exponential, exponential-linear, exponential-linear-saturation growth patterns. The constructed models account explicitly for the process of natural selection within inhomogeneous populations. Based on the underlying hypotheses for each of the models, we identify whether the population that it best fits by a particular curve is more likely to be homogeneous or heterogeneous, grow in a density-dependent or frequency-dependent manner, and whether it depends on external resources during any or all stages of its development. We apply these predictions to cancer cell growth and demographic data obtained from the literature. Our theory, if confirmed, can provide an additional biomarker and a predictive tool to complement experimental research.

  5. Micro-Food Web Structure Shapes Rhizosphere Microbial Communities and Growth in Oak

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hazel R. Maboreke

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The multitrophic interactions in the rhizosphere impose significant impacts on microbial community structure and function, affecting nutrient mineralisation and consequently plant performance. However, particularly for long-lived plants such as forest trees, the mechanisms by which trophic structure of the micro-food web governs rhizosphere microorganisms are still poorly understood. This study addresses the role of nematodes, as a major component of the soil micro-food web, in influencing the microbial abundance and community structure as well as tree growth. In a greenhouse experiment with Pedunculate Oak seedlings were grown in soil, where the nematode trophic structure was manipulated by altering the proportion of functional groups (i.e., bacterial, fungal, and plant feeders in a full factorial design. The influence on the rhizosphere microbial community, the ectomycorrhizal symbiont Piloderma croceum, and oak growth, was assessed. Soil phospholipid fatty acids were employed to determine changes in the microbial communities. Increased density of singular nematode functional groups showed minor impact by increasing the biomass of single microbial groups (e.g., plant feeders that of Gram-negative bacteria, except fungal feeders, which resulted in a decline of all microorganisms in the soil. In contrast, inoculation of two or three nematode groups promoted microbial biomass and altered the community structure in favour of bacteria, thereby counteracting negative impact of single groups. These findings highlight that the collective action of trophic groups in the soil micro-food web can result in microbial community changes promoting the fitness of the tree, thereby alleviating the negative effects of individual functional groups.

  6. Mediation Analysis in a Latent Growth Curve Modeling Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Soest, Tilmann; Hagtvet, Knut A.

    2011-01-01

    This article presents several longitudinal mediation models in the framework of latent growth curve modeling and provides a detailed account of how such models can be constructed. Logical and statistical challenges that might arise when such analyses are conducted are also discussed. Specifically, we discuss how the initial status (intercept) and…

  7. Trade-offs between microbial growth phases lead to frequency-dependent and non-transitive selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manhart, Michael; Adkar, Bharat V; Shakhnovich, Eugene I

    2018-02-14

    Mutations in a microbial population can increase the frequency of a genotype not only by increasing its exponential growth rate, but also by decreasing its lag time or adjusting the yield (resource efficiency). The contribution of multiple life-history traits to selection is a critical question for evolutionary biology as we seek to predict the evolutionary fates of mutations. Here we use a model of microbial growth to show that there are two distinct components of selection corresponding to the growth and lag phases, while the yield modulates their relative importance. The model predicts rich population dynamics when there are trade-offs between phases: multiple strains can coexist or exhibit bistability due to frequency-dependent selection, and strains can engage in rock-paper-scissors interactions due to non-transitive selection. We characterize the environmental conditions and patterns of traits necessary to realize these phenomena, which we show to be readily accessible to experiments. Our results provide a theoretical framework for analysing high-throughput measurements of microbial growth traits, especially interpreting the pleiotropy and correlations between traits across mutants. This work also highlights the need for more comprehensive measurements of selection in simple microbial systems, where the concept of an ordinary fitness landscape breaks down. © 2018 The Author(s).

  8. Conditioning biomass for microbial growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodie, Elizabeth A; England, George

    2015-03-31

    The present invention relates to methods for improving the yield of microbial processes that use lignocellulose biomass as a nutrient source. The methods comprise conditioning a composition comprising lignocellulose biomass with an enzyme composition that comprises a phenol oxidizing enzyme. The conditioned composition can support a higher rate of growth of microorganisms in a process. In one embodiment, a laccase composition is used to condition lignocellulose biomass derived from non-woody plants, such as corn and sugar cane. The invention also encompasses methods for culturing microorganisms that are sensitive to inhibitory compounds in lignocellulose biomass. The invention further provides methods of making a product by culturing the production microorganisms in conditioned lignocellulose biomass.

  9. Estimation of growth curve parameters in Konya Merino sheep ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The objective of this study was to determine the fitness of Quadratic, Cubic, Gompertz and Logistic functions to the growth curves of Konya Merino lambs obtained by using monthly records of live weight from birth to 480 days of age. The models were evaluated according to determination coefficient (R2), mean square ...

  10. Determination of rumen microbial growth in vitro form 32P-labelled phosphate incorporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nevel, C.J. Van; Demeyer, D.I.

    1977-01-01

    The extracellular phosphate pool in incubations of rumen fluid or washed cell suspensions of mixed rumen bacteria (WCS) was labelled with 32 P. From the constant extracellular phosphate pool specific activity and the amount of radioactivity incorporated during incubation, the amount of P incorporated in the microbial fraction was calculated. From the value for nitrogen: P determined in microbial matter, the amount of N incorporated was calculated as a measure of microbial growth. Incorporation of soluble non-protein-N in incubations devoid of substrate protein was 50 and 80% of the values obtained using isotope method for rumen fluid and WCS respectively. Incorporation of 32 P in P-containing microbial components (mainly nucleic acids) was compared with net synthesis of these components in incubations of WCS. When N incorporation, calculated from results obtained using isotope method in incubations with rumen fluid, was compared with the amount of carbohydrate substrate fermented and the type of fermentation, values between 18.3 and 44.6 g N incorporated kg of organic matter fermented were obtained. The use of isotopes for determination of rumen microbial growth in vitro is critically discussed. (author)

  11. Rumen microbial growth estimation using in vitro radiophosphorous incorporation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bueno, Ives Claudio da Silva; Machado, Mariana de Carvalho; Cabral Filho, Sergio Lucio Salomon; Gobbo, Sarita Priscila; Vitti, Dorinha Miriam Silber Schmidt; Abdalla, Adibe Luiz

    2002-01-01

    Rumen microorganisms are able to transform low biological value nitrogen of feed stuff into high quality protein. To determine how much microbial protein that process forms, radiomarkers can be used. Radiophosphorous has been used to mark microbial protein, as element P is present in all rumen microorganisms (as phospholipids) and the P:N ratio of rumen biomass is quite constant. The aim of this work was to estimate microbial synthesis from feedstuff commonly used in ruminant nutrition in Brazil. Tested feeds were fresh alfalfa, raw sugarcane bagasse, rice hulls, rice meal, soybean meal, wheat meal, Tifton hay, leucaena, dehydrated citrus pulp, wet brewers' grains and cottonseed meal. 32 P-labelled phosphate solution was used as marker for microbial protein. Results showed the diversity of feeds by distinct quantities of nitrogen incorporated into microbial mass. Low nutrient availability feeds (sugarcane bagasse and rice hulls) promoted the lowest values of incorporated nitrogen. Nitrogen incorporation showed positive relationship (r=0.56; P=0.06) with the rate of degradation and negative relationship (r=-0.59; P<0.05) with fiber content of feeds. The results highlight that easier fermentable feeds (higher rates of degradation) and/or with lower fiber contents promote a more efficient microbial growth and better performance for the host animal. (author)

  12. Rumen microbial growth estimation using in vitro radiophosphorous incorporation technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bueno, Ives Claudio da Silva; Machado, Mariana de Carvalho; Cabral Filho, Sergio Lucio Salomon; Gobbo, Sarita Priscila; Vitti, Dorinha Miriam Silber Schmidt; Abdalla, Adibe Luiz [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil)

    2002-07-01

    Rumen microorganisms are able to transform low biological value nitrogen of feed stuff into high quality protein. To determine how much microbial protein that process forms, radiomarkers can be used. Radiophosphorous has been used to mark microbial protein, as element P is present in all rumen microorganisms (as phospholipids) and the P:N ratio of rumen biomass is quite constant. The aim of this work was to estimate microbial synthesis from feedstuff commonly used in ruminant nutrition in Brazil. Tested feeds were fresh alfalfa, raw sugarcane bagasse, rice hulls, rice meal, soybean meal, wheat meal, Tifton hay, leucaena, dehydrated citrus pulp, wet brewers' grains and cottonseed meal. {sup 32} P-labelled phosphate solution was used as marker for microbial protein. Results showed the diversity of feeds by distinct quantities of nitrogen incorporated into microbial mass. Low nutrient availability feeds (sugarcane bagasse and rice hulls) promoted the lowest values of incorporated nitrogen. Nitrogen incorporation showed positive relationship (r=0.56; P=0.06) with the rate of degradation and negative relationship (r=-0.59; P<0.05) with fiber content of feeds. The results highlight that easier fermentable feeds (higher rates of degradation) and/or with lower fiber contents promote a more efficient microbial growth and better performance for the host animal. (author)

  13. Linking genes to microbial growth kinetics: an integrated biochemical systems engineering approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koutinas, M.; Kiparissides, A.; Silva-Rocha, R.; Lam, M.C.; Martins Dos Santos, V.A.P.; Lorenzo, de V.; Pistikopoulos, E.N.; Mantalaris, A.

    2011-01-01

    The majority of models describing the kinetic properties of a microorganism for a given substrate are unstructured and empirical. They are formulated in this manner so that the complex mechanism of cell growth is simplified. Herein, a novel approach for modelling microbial growth kinetics is

  14. Spatial & Temporal Geophysical Monitoring of Microbial Growth and Biofilm Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Previous studies have examined the effect of biogenic gases and biomineralization on the acoustic properties of porous media. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal effect of microbial growth and biofilm formation on compressional waves and complex conductivity in sand...

  15. Proposal of fatigue crack growth rate curve in air for nickel-base alloys used in BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogawa, Takuya; Itatani, Masao; Nagase, Hiroshi; Aoike, Satoru; Yoneda, Hideki

    2013-01-01

    When the defects are detected in the nuclear components in Japan, structural integrity assessment should be performed for the technical judgment on continuous service based on the Rules on Fitness-for-Service for Nuclear Power Plants of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Code (JSME FFS Code). Fatigue crack growth analysis is required when the cyclic loading would be applied for the components. Recently, fatigue crack growth rate curve in air environment for Nickel-base alloys weld metal used in BWR was proposed by the authors and it was adopted as a code case of JSME FFS Code to evaluate the embedded flaw. In this study, fatigue crack growth behavior for heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Nickel-base alloys in air was investigated. And a unified fatigue crack growth rate curve in air for HAZ and weld metal of Nickel-base alloys used in BWR was evaluated. As a result, it was found that the curve for weld metal could be applied as a curve for both HAZ and weld metal since moderately conservative assessment of fatigue crack growth rate of HAZ is possible by the curve for weld metal in the Paris region. And the threshold value of stress intensity far range (ΔK th ) is determined to 3.0 MPa√m based on the fatigue crack growth rate of HAZ. (author)

  16. The contribution of microbial biotechnology to economic growth and employment creation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmis, Kenneth; de Lorenzo, Victor; Verstraete, Willy; Ramos, Juan Luis; Danchin, Antoine; Brüssow, Harald; Singh, Brajesh K; Timmis, James Kenneth

    2017-09-01

    Our communication discusses the profound impact of bio-based economies - in particular microbial biotechnologies - on SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. A bio-based economy provides significant potential for improving labour supply, education and investment, and thereby for substantially increasing the demographic dividend. This, in turn, improves the sustainable development of economies. © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  17. Factors limiting microbial growth and activity at a proposed high-level nuclear repository, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kieft, T.L.; Kovacik, W.P. Jr.; Ringelberg, D.B.; White, D.C.; Haldeman, D.L.; Amy, P.S.; Hersman, L.E.

    1997-01-01

    As part of the characterization of Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a potential repository for high-level nuclear waste, volcanic tuff was analyzed for microbial abundance and activity. Tuff was collected aseptically from nine sites along a tunnel in Yucca Mountain. Microbial abundance was generally low: direct microscopic cell counts were near detection limits at all sites (3.2 X 10(1) to 2.0 X 10(5) cells g-1 [dry weight]); plate counts of aerobic heterotrophs ranged from 1.0 X 10(1) to 3.2 X 10(3) CFU g-1 (dry weight). Phospholipid fatty acid concentrations (0.1 to 3.7 pmol g-1) also indicated low microbial biomasses: diglyceride fatty acid concentrations, indicative of dead cells, were in a similar range (0.2 to 2.3 pmol g-1). Potential microbial activity was quantified as 14CO2 production in microcosms containing radiolabeled substrates (glucose, acetate, and glutamic acid); amendments with water and nutrient solutions (N and P) were used to test factors potentially limiting this activity. Similarly, the potential for microbial growth and the factors limiting growth were determined by performing plate counts before and after incubating volcanic tuff samples for 24 h under various conditions: ambient moisture, water-amended, and amended with various nutrient solutions (N, P, and organic C). A high potential for microbial activity was demonstrated by high rates of substrate mineralization (as much as 70% of added organic C in 3 weeks). Water was the major limiting factor to growth and microbial activity, while amendments with N and P resulted in little further stimulation. Organic C amendments stimulated growth more than water alone

  18. A Simple Laser-Based Device for Simultaneous Microbial Culture and Absorbance Measurement

    OpenAIRE

    Abrevaya, X. C.; Cortón, E.; Areso, O.; Mauas, P. J. D.

    2012-01-01

    In this work we present a device specifically designed to study microbial growth with several applications related to environmental microbiology and other areas of research as astrobiology. The Automated Measuring and Cultivation device (AMC-d) enables semi-continuous absorbance measurements directly during cultivation. It can measure simultaneously up to 16 samples. Growth curves using low and fast growing microorganism were plotted, including Escherichia coli and Haloferax volcanii, a halop...

  19. A simple laser-based device for simultaneous microbial culture and absorbance measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrevaya, X. C.; Cortón, E.; Areso, O.; Mauas, P. J. D.

    2013-07-01

    In this work we present a device specifically designed to study microbial growth with several applications related to environmental microbiology and other areas of research as astrobiology. The Automated Measuring and Cultivation device (AMC-d) enables semi-continuous absorbance measurements directly during cultivation. It can measure simultaneously up to 16 samples. Growth curves using low and fast growing microorganism were plotted, including Escherichia coli and Haloferax volcanii, a halophilic archaeon.

  20. Sensitivity of Fit Indices to Misspecification in Growth Curve Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wei; West, Stephen G.

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the sensitivity of fit indices to model misspecification in within-individual covariance structure, between-individual covariance structure, and marginal mean structure in growth curve models. Five commonly used fit indices were examined, including the likelihood ratio test statistic, root mean square error of…

  1. Predicting Change in Postpartum Depression: An Individual Growth Curve Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, Trey

    Recently, methodologists interested in examining problems associated with measuring change have suggested that developmental researchers should focus upon assessing change at both intra-individual and inter-individual levels. This study used an application of individual growth curve analysis to the problem of maternal postpartum depression.…

  2. Growth Curve Analysis and Change-Points Detection in Extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui

    2016-05-15

    The thesis consists of two coherent projects. The first project presents the results of evaluating salinity tolerance in barley using growth curve analysis where different growth trajectories are observed within barley families. The study of salinity tolerance in plants is crucial to understanding plant growth and productivity. Because fully-automated smarthouses with conveyor systems allow non-destructive and high-throughput phenotyping of large number of plants, it is now possible to apply advanced statistical tools to analyze daily measurements and to study salinity tolerance. To compare different growth patterns of barley variates, we use functional data analysis techniques to analyze the daily projected shoot areas. In particular, we apply the curve registration method to align all the curves from the same barley family in order to summarize the family-wise features. We also illustrate how to use statistical modeling to account for spatial variation in microclimate in smarthouses and for temporal variation across runs, which is crucial for identifying traits of the barley variates. In our analysis, we show that the concentrations of sodium and potassium in leaves are negatively correlated, and their interactions are associated with the degree of salinity tolerance. The second project studies change-points detection methods in extremes when multiple time series data are available. Motived by the scientific question of whether the chances to experience extreme weather are different in different seasons of a year, we develop a change-points detection model to study changes in extremes or in the tail of a distribution. Most of existing models identify seasons from multiple yearly time series assuming a season or a change-point location remains exactly the same across years. In this work, we propose a random effect model that allows the change-point to vary from year to year, following a given distribution. Both parametric and nonparametric methods are developed

  3. PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTING MICROBIAL INOCULANT FOR Schizolobium parahyba pv. parahyba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscila Jane Romano de Oliveira Gonçalves

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTSchizolobium parahyba pv. amazonicum (Huber ex Ducke Barneby (paricá occurs naturally in the Amazon and is significant commercial importance due to its rapid growth and excellent performance on cropping systems. The aim of this paper was to evaluate a microbial inoculants such as arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF and Rhizobium sp. that promote plant growth. The inocula was 10 g of root colonized and spores of Glomus clarum and/or 1 mL of cell suspension (107 CFU/mL of Rhizobium sp. and/or 100 g of chemical fertilizer NPK 20-05-20 per planting hole. The experimental design was complete randomized blocks with five replications and eight treatments (n = 800. Plant height, stem diameter and plant survival were measured. The results were tested for normality and homogeneity of variances and analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey test (p < 0.05. Rhizobium sp and AM fungi showed no effect on plant growth. Environmental factors probably influenced the effectiveness of symbiosis of both microorganisms and plant growth. The chemical fertilizer increased S. parahyba growth. During the first 120 days plants suffered with drought and frost, and at 180 days plants inoculated with microorganism plus chemical fertilizer showed higher survival when compared with control. The results showed that the microbial inoculants used showed an important role on plant survival after high stress conditions, but not in plant growth. Also was concluded that the planting time should be between November to December to avoid the presence of young plants during winter time that is dry and cold.

  4. Elevated atmospheric CO2 increases microbial growth rates and enzymes activity in soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Blagodatsky, Sergey; Dorodnikov, Maxim; Kuzyakov, Yakov

    2010-05-01

    Increasing the belowground translocation of assimilated carbon by plants grown under elevated CO2 can cause a shift in the structure and activity of the microbial community responsible for the turnover of organic matter in soil. We investigated the long-term effect of elevated CO2 in the atmosphere on microbial biomass and specific growth rates in root-free and rhizosphere soil. The experiments were conducted under two free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) systems: in Hohenheim and Braunschweig, as well as in the intensively managed forest mesocosm of the Biosphere 2 Laboratory (B2L) in Oracle, AZ. Specific microbial growth rates (μ) were determined using the substrate-induced respiration response after glucose and/or yeast extract addition to the soil. We evaluated the effect of elevated CO2 on b-glucosidase, chitinase, phosphatase, and sulfatase to estimate the potential enzyme activity after soil amendment with glucose and nutrients. For B2L and both FACE systems, up to 58% higher μ were observed under elevated vs. ambient CO2, depending on site, plant species and N fertilization. The μ-values increased linearly with atmospheric CO2 concentration at all three sites. The effect of elevated CO2 on rhizosphere microorganisms was plant dependent and increased for: Brassica napus=Triticum aestivumyeast extract then for those growing on glucose, i.e. the effect of elevated CO2 was smoothed on rich vs. simple substrate. So, the r/K strategies ratio can be better revealed by studying growth on simple (glucose) than on rich substrate mixtures (yeast extract). After adding glucose, enzyme activities under elevated CO2 were 1.2-1.9-fold higher than under ambient CO2. This indicates the increased activity of microorganisms, which leads to accelerated C turnover in soil under elevated CO2. Our results clearly showed that the functional characteristics of the soil microbial community (i.e. specific growth rates and enzymes activity) rather than total microbial biomass

  5. Microbial growth on C1 compounds: proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crawford, R.L.; Hanson, R.S.

    1984-01-01

    This book contains individual papers prepared for the 4th International Symposium on Microbial Growth on One Carbon Compounds. Individual reports were abstracted and indexed for EDB. Topics presented were in the areas of the physiology and biochemistry of autotraps, physiology and biochemistry of methylotrophs and methanotrops, physiology and biochemistry of methanogens, genetics of microbes that use C 1 compounds, taxonomy and ecology of microbes tht grow on C 1 compounds, applied aspects of microbes that grow on C 1 compounds, and new directions in C 1 metabolism. (DT)

  6. Spatial & Temporal Geophysical Monitoring of Microbial Growth and Biofilm Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, C. A.; Pyrak-Nolte, L. J.; Atekwana, E. A.; Werkema, D. D.; Haugen, M. E.

    2009-12-01

    Previous studies have examined the effect of biogenic gases and biomineralization on the acoustic properties of porous media. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal effect of microbial growth and biofilm formation on compressional waves and complex conductivity in sand columns. A control column (non-biostimulated) and a biostimulated column were studied in a 2D acoustic scanning apparatus, and a second set of columns were constructed with Ag-AgCl electrodes for complex conductivity measurements. At the completion of the 29-day experiment, compressional wave amplitudes and arrival times for the control column were observed to be relatively uniform over the scanned 2D region. However, the biostimulated sample exhibited a high degree of spatial variability within the column for both the amplitude and arrival times. Furthermore, portions of the sample exhibited increased attenuation (~ 80%) concurrent with an increase in the arrival times, while other portions exhibited decreased attenuation (~ 45%) and decreased arrival time. The acoustic amplitude and arrival times changed significantly in the biostimulated column between Days 5 and 7 of the experiment and are consistent with a peak in the imaginary conductivity (σ”) values. The σ” response corresponds to different stages of biofilm development. That is, we interpret the peak σ” with the maximum biofilm thickness and decreasing σ” due to cell death or detachment. Environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) imaging confirmed microbial cell attachment to sand surfaces in the biostimulated columns, showed apparent differences in the morphology of attached biomass between regions of increased and decreased attenuation, and indicated no mineral precipitation or biomineralization. The heterogeneity in the elastic properties arises from the differences in the morphology and structure of attached biofilms. These results suggest that combining acoustic imaging and complex conductivity techniques

  7. Phosphate solubilization as a microbial strategy for promoting plant growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayra Eleonora Beltrán Pineda

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Because of the constant application of chemical inputs in Agroecosystem, the cost of crop production and environmental quality of soil and water have been affected. Microorganisms carry out most biogeochemical cycles; therefore, their role is essential for agro ecosystem balance. One such functional group is the phosphate solubilizing microorganisms, which are recognized plant growth promoters. These microbial populations perform an important activity, since in many soils there are large reserves of insoluble phosphorus, as a result of fixing much of the phosphorus fertilizer applied, which cannot be assimilated by the plant. The phosphate solubilizing microorganisms use different solubilization mechanisms such as the production of organic acids, which solubilize theses insoluble phosphates in the rhizosphere region. Soluble phosphates are absorbed by the plant, which enhances their growth and productivity. By using these phosphate reserves in soils, application of chemical fertilizers is decreased, on the one hand, can again be fixed by ions Ca, Al or Fe making them insoluble and, by the other hand, increase the costs of crop production. Microbial populations have been widely studied in different types of ecosystems, both natural and Agroecosystem. Thanks to its effectiveness, in laboratory and field studies, the phosphate solubilizing phenotype is of great interest to microbial ecologists who have begun to establish the molecular basis of the traitr.

  8. Customized versus population-based growth curves: prediction of low body fat percent at term corrected gestational age following preterm birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Tameeka L; Katikaneni, Lakshmi D; Taylor, Sarah N; Korte, Jeffrey E; Ebeling, Myla D; Wagner, Carol L; Newman, Roger B

    2012-07-01

    Compare customized versus population-based growth curves for identification of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and body fat percent (BF%) among preterm infants. Prospective cohort study of 204 preterm infants classified as SGA or appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) by population-based and customized growth curves. BF% was determined by air-displacement plethysmography. Differences between groups were compared using bivariable and multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses. Customized curves reclassified 30% of the preterm infants as SGA. SGA infants identified by customized method only had significantly lower BF% (13.8 ± 6.0) than the AGA (16.2 ± 6.3, p = 0.02) infants and similar to the SGA infants classified by both methods (14.6 ± 6.7, p = 0.51). Customized growth curves were a significant predictor of BF% (p = 0.02), whereas population-based growth curves were not a significant independent predictor of BF% (p = 0.50) at term corrected gestational age. Customized growth potential improves the differentiation of SGA infants and low BF% compared with a standard population-based growth curve among a cohort of preterm infants.

  9. An integral parametrization of the bacterial growth curve experimental demonstration with E. coli C600 bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garces, F.; Vidania, R. de

    1984-01-01

    In this work an integral parametrization of the bacterial growth curve is presented. The values of the parameters are obtained by fitting to the experimental data. Those parameters, with allow to describe the growth in its different phases, are the followings: slopes of the curve in its three parts and the time which divides the last two phases of the bacterial growth. The experimental data are bacterial densities measured by optical methods. The bacteria used was the E. coli C 6 00. (Author)

  10. Parent Involvement and Science Achievement: A Cross-Classified Multilevel Latent Growth Curve Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Ursula Y.; Hull, Darrell M.

    2014-01-01

    The authors examined science achievement growth at Grades 3, 5, and 8 and parent school involvement at the same time points using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. Data were analyzed using cross-classified multilevel latent growth curve modeling with time invariant and varying covariates. School-based…

  11. Monitoring microbial growth and activity using spectral induced polarization and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chi; Keating, Kristina; Revil, Andre

    2015-04-01

    Microbes and microbial activities in the Earth's subsurface play a significant role in shaping subsurface environments and are involved in environmental applications such as remediation of contaminants in groundwater and oil fields biodegradation. Stimulated microbial growth in such applications could cause wide variety of changes of physical/chemical properties in the subsurface. It is critical to monitor and determine the fate and transportation of microorganisms in the subsurface during such applications. Recent geophysical studies demonstrate the potential of two innovative techniques, spectral induced polarization (SIP) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), for monitoring microbial growth and activities in porous media. The SIP measures complex dielectric properties of porous media at low frequencies of exciting electric field, and NMR studies the porous structure of geologic media and characterizes fluids subsurface. In this laboratory study, we examined both SIP and NMR responses from bacterial growth suspension as well as suspension mixed with silica sands. We focus on the direct contribution of microbes to the SIP and NMR signals in the absence of biofilm formation or biomineralization. We used Zymomonas mobilis and Shewanella oneidensis (MR-1) for SIP and NMR measurements, respectively. The SIP measurements were collected over the frequency range of 0.1 - 1 kHz on Z. mobilis growth suspension and suspension saturated sands at different cell densities. SIP data show two distinct peaks in imaginary conductivity spectra, and both imaginary and real conductivities increased as microbial density increased. NMR data were collected using both CPMG pulse sequence and D-T2 mapping to determine the T2-distribution and diffusion properties on S. oneidensis suspension, pellets (live and dead), and suspension mixed with silica sands. NMR data show a decrease in the T2-distribution in S. oneidensis suspension saturated sands as microbial density increase. A

  12. Quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanosheets: Impeder of microbial growth and biofilm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Rajendra; Gholap, Haribhau; Warule, Sambhaji; Banpurkar, Arun; Kulkarni, Gauri; Gade, Wasudeo

    2015-01-01

    The grieving problem of the 21st century has been the antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microorganisms to conventional antibiotics. Therefore, developments of novel antibacterial materials which effectively inhibit or kill such resistant microorganisms have become the need of the hour. In the present study, we communicate the synthesis of quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanostructures (ZnO/CdTe) as an impeder of microbial growth and biofilm. The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The growth impedance property of ZnO and ZnO/CdTe on Gram positive organism, Bacillus subtilis NCIM 2063 and Gram negative, Escherichia coli NCIM 2931 and biofilm impedance activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa O1 was found to occur due to photocatalytical action on the cell biofilm surfaces. The impedance in microbial growth and biofilm formation was further supported by ruptured appearances of cells and dettrered biofilm under field emission scanning electron and confocal laser scanning microscope. The ZnO/CdTe nanostructures array synthesized by hydrothermal method has an advantage of low growth temperature, and opportunity to fabricate inexpensive material for nano-biotechnological applications.

  13. Using Growth Curves To Determine the Timing of the Booster Sessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennessy, Michael; Bolan, Gail A.; Hoxworth, Tamara; Iatesta, Michael; Rhodes, Fen; Zenilman, Jonathan M.

    1999-01-01

    Demonstrates an application of a method for using growth curves to determine the timing of booster sessions to reinforce the cognitive messages or behavior changes of interventions. Uses data from a multisite randomized experiment that compared three counseling and testing methods for preventing sexual disease transmission. Presents…

  14. Genome association study through nonlinear mixed models revealed new candidate genes for pig growth curves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabyano Fonseca e Silva

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Genome association analyses have been successful in identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs for pig body weights measured at a single age. However, when considering the whole weight trajectories over time in the context of genome association analyses, it is important to look at the markers that affect growth curve parameters. The easiest way to consider them is via the two-step method, in which the growth curve parameters and marker effects are estimated separately, thereby resulting in a reduction of the statistical power and the precision of estimates. One efficient solution is to adopt nonlinear mixed models (NMM, which enables a joint modeling of the individual growth curves and marker effects. Our aim was to propose a genome association analysis for growth curves in pigs based on NMM as well as to compare it with the traditional two-step method. In addition, we also aimed to identify the nearest candidate genes related to significant SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism markers. The NMM presented a higher number of significant SNPs for adult weight (A and maturity rate (K, and provided a direct way to test SNP significance simultaneously for both the A and K parameters. Furthermore, all significant SNPs from the two-step method were also reported in the NMM analysis. The ontology of the three candidate genes (SH3BGRL2, MAPK14, and MYL9 derived from significant SNPs (simultaneously affecting A and K allows us to make inferences with regards to their contribution to the pig growth process in the population studied.

  15. Growth curve of buffalo grazing on a grass pasture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Cristina Alves

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of 17 buffaloes (Mediterranean, from birth to slaughter age (720 days with monthly measures of weight, thoracic perimeter, body length, and height at withers. At the end of experimental period, the animals were separated into two different groups for statistical analysis according to slaughter weight: light body weight (LBW, mean 517 kg and heavy body weight (HBW, mean 568 kg. Buffalo growth occurs in the same way up to weaning age, and after that, two distinct groups grow in different forms in the same conditions of management and feeding. Body weight can be estimated according to age, thoracic perimeter, height, and length, showing high correlations. Buffaloes show growth in a sigmoid-curve model.

  16. Accelerated microbial turnover but constant growth efficiency with warming in soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon B. Hagerty; Kees Jan van Groenigen; Steven D. Allison; Bruce A. Hungate; Egbert Schwartz; George W. Koch; Randall K. Kolka; Paul. Dijkstra

    2014-01-01

    Rising temperatures are expected to reduce global soil carbon (C) stocks, driving a positive feedback to climate change1-3. However, the mechanisms underlying this prediction are not well understood, including how temperature affects microbial enzyme kinetics, growth effiency (MGE), and turnover4,5. Here, in a laboratory...

  17. Biohydrogen production in the suspended and attached microbial growth systems from waste pastry hydrolysate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Wei; Hu, Yunyi; Li, Shiyi; Li, Feifei; Tang, Junhong

    2016-10-01

    Waste pastry was hydrolyzed by glucoamylase and protease which were obtained from solid state fermentation of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae to produce waste pastry hydrolysate. Then, the effects of hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (4-12h) on hydrogen production rate (HPR) in the suspended microbial growth system (continuous stirred tank reactor, CSTR) and attached microbial growth system (continuous mixed immobilized sludge reactor, CMISR) from waste pastry hydrolysate were investigated. The maximum HPRs of CSTR (201.8mL/(h·L)) and CMISR (255.3mL/(h·L)) were obtained at HRT of 6h and 4h, respectively. The first-order reaction could be used to describe the enzymatic hydrolysis of waste pastry. The carbon content of the waste pastry remained 22.8% in the undigested waste pastry and consumed 77.2% for carbon dioxide and soluble microbial products. To our knowledge, this is the first study which reports biohydrogen production from waste pastry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Biochar increases plant growth and alters microbial communities via regulating the moisture and temperature of green roof substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Haoming; Ma, Jinyi; Wei, Jiaxing; Gong, Xin; Yu, Xichen; Guo, Hui; Zhao, Yanwen

    2018-09-01

    Green roofs have increasingly been designed and applied to relieve environmental problems, such as water loss, air pollution as well as heat island effect. Substrate and vegetation are important components of green roofs providing ecosystem services and benefiting the urban development. Biochar made from sewage sludge could be potentially used as the substrate amendment for green roofs, however, the effects of biochar on substrate quality and plant performance in green roofs are still unclear. We evaluated the effects of adding sludge biochar (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%, v/v) to natural soil planted with three types of plant species (ryegrass, Sedum lineare and cucumber) on soil properties, plant growth and microbial communities in both green roof and ground ecosystems. Our results showed that sludge biochar addition significantly increased substrate moisture, adjusted substrate temperature, altered microbial community structure and increased plant growth. The application rate of 10-15% sludge biochar on the green roof exerted the most significant effects on both microbial and plant biomass by 63.9-89.6% and 54.0-54.2% respectively. Path analysis showed that biochar addition had a strong effect on microbial biomass via changing the soil air-filled porosity, soil moisture and temperature, and promoted plant growth through the positive effects on microbial biomass. These results suggest that the applications of biochar at an appropriate rate can significantly alter plant growth and microbial community structure, and increase the ecological benefits of green roofs via exerting effects on the moisture, temperature and nutrients of roof substrates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. On the analysis of Canadian Holstein dairy cow lactation curves using standard growth functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, S; France, J; Odongo, N E; McBride, R A; Kebreab, E; AlZahal, O; McBride, B W; Dijkstra, J

    2015-04-01

    Six classical growth functions (monomolecular, Schumacher, Gompertz, logistic, Richards, and Morgan) were fitted to individual and average (by parity) cumulative milk production curves of Canadian Holstein dairy cows. The data analyzed consisted of approximately 91,000 daily milk yield records corresponding to 122 first, 99 second, and 92 third parity individual lactation curves. The functions were fitted using nonlinear regression procedures, and their performance was assessed using goodness-of-fit statistics (coefficient of determination, residual mean squares, Akaike information criterion, and the correlation and concordance coefficients between observed and adjusted milk yields at several days in milk). Overall, all the growth functions evaluated showed an acceptable fit to the cumulative milk production curves, with the Richards equation ranking first (smallest Akaike information criterion) followed by the Morgan equation. Differences among the functions in their goodness-of-fit were enlarged when fitted to average curves by parity, where the sigmoidal functions with a variable point of inflection (Richards and Morgan) outperformed the other 4 equations. All the functions provided satisfactory predictions of milk yield (calculated from the first derivative of the functions) at different lactation stages, from early to late lactation. The Richards and Morgan equations provided the most accurate estimates of peak yield and total milk production per 305-d lactation, whereas the least accurate estimates were obtained with the logistic equation. In conclusion, classical growth functions (especially sigmoidal functions with a variable point of inflection) proved to be feasible alternatives to fit cumulative milk production curves of dairy cows, resulting in suitable statistical performance and accurate estimates of lactation traits. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Growth curves of preschool children in the northeast of iran: a population based study using quantile regression approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payande, Abolfazl; Tabesh, Hamed; Shakeri, Mohammad Taghi; Saki, Azadeh; Safarian, Mohammad

    2013-01-14

    Growth charts are widely used to assess children's growth status and can provide a trajectory of growth during early important months of life. The objectives of this study are going to construct growth charts and normal values of weight-for-age for children aged 0 to 5 years using a powerful and applicable methodology. The results compare with the World Health Organization (WHO) references and semi-parametric LMS method of Cole and Green. A total of 70737 apparently healthy boys and girls aged 0 to 5 years were recruited in July 2004 for 20 days from those attending community clinics for routine health checks as a part of a national survey. Anthropometric measurements were done by trained health staff using WHO methodology. The nonparametric quantile regression method obtained by local constant kernel estimation of conditional quantiles curves using for estimation of curves and normal values. The weight-for-age growth curves for boys and girls aged from 0 to 5 years were derived utilizing a population of children living in the northeast of Iran. The results were similar to the ones obtained by the semi-parametric LMS method in the same data. Among all age groups from 0 to 5 years, the median values of children's weight living in the northeast of Iran were lower than the corresponding values in WHO reference data. The weight curves of boys were higher than those of girls in all age groups. The differences between growth patterns of children living in the northeast of Iran versus international ones necessitate using local and regional growth charts. International normal values may not properly recognize the populations at risk for growth problems in Iranian children. Quantile regression (QR) as a flexible method which doesn't require restricted assumptions, proposed for estimation reference curves and normal values.

  1. Curve Modulation and Apex Migration Using Shilla Growth Guidance Rods for Early-onset Scoliosis at 5-Year Follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, John T; Songy, Chad E; Bumpass, David B; McCullough, Francis L; McCarthy, Richard E

    2017-04-03

    The Shilla procedure was designed to correct and control early-onset spinal deformity while harnessing a child's remaining spinal growth. It allows for controlled axial skeletal growth within the construct, avoiding the need for frequent surgeries to lengthen implants. We hypothesized that curve characteristics evolve over time after initial apex fusion and placement of the Shilla implants. The purpose of this study was to identify trends in curve evolution after Shilla implantation and understand how these changes influence ultimate outcome. A single-center, retrospective review of all patients with Shilla implants in place for ≥5 years yielded 21 patients. Charts and radiographs were reviewed to compare coronal curve characteristics preoperatively, postoperatively, and at last follow-up to note changes in the apex of the primary curve. Also noted were the development of adjacent compensatory curves, the overall vertical spinal growth, and the need for definitive spinal fusion once skeletal maturity was reached. Of the 21 patients, the curve apex migrated caudally in 12 patients (57%) and cephalad in 1 patient (5%), with a mean migration of 2.7 vertebral levels. Two patients (10%) developed new, significant compensatory curves (1 caudal and 1 cephalad). All patients demonstrated spinal growth in T1-S1 length following index surgery (mean, 45 mm). At skeletal maturity, 10 patients underwent definitive posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation, and 3 underwent implant removal alone. This study constitutes the longest follow-up of Shilla patients evaluating curve and implant behavior. Results of this review suggest that the apex of the fused primary curve shifts in approximately 62% of patients, with nearly all of these (92%) involving a distal migration. Compensatory curves did develop after Shilla placement as well. Overall, these findings represent adding-on distal to the apex after Shilla instrumentation rather than a crankshaft phenomenon about the apex. A

  2. Quantification of antibiotic drug potency by a two-compartment radioassay of bacterial growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boonkitticharoen, V.; Ehrhardt, J.C.; Kirchner, P.T.

    1990-01-01

    The two-compartment radioassay for microbial kinetics based on continuous measurement of the 14 CO 2 released by bacterial metabolism of 14C-labeled substrate offers a valuable approach to testing the potency of antimicrobial drugs. By using a previously validated radioassay with gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, a group of protein synthesis inhibitors was evaluated for their effect on microbial growth kinetics. All tested drugs induced changes in both the slopes and intercepts of the growth curves. An exponential growth model was applied to quantify the drug effect on the processes of bacterial 14 CO 2 liberation and cell generation. The response was measured in terms of a generation rate constant. A linear dependence of the generation rate constant on the dose of spectinomycin was observed with Escherichia coli. Sigmoidal-shaped curves were found in the assays of chloramphenicol and tetracycline. The implications of dose-response curves are discussed on the basis of the receptor site concept for drug action. The assay sensitivities for chloramphenicol and tetracycline were similar to those obtained by the cell counting method, but the sensitivity of the radioassay was at least 10 times greater for spectinomycin

  3. Evaluation of water beef buffalo from birth to two years using different growth curves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W.R. Lamberson

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The buffalo is a domestic animal species of growing world-wide importance. Research to improve genetic improvement programs is important to maintain the productivity of buffalo. The objective this research was to evaluate the growth of Brazilian buffalo to two years of age with different growth curves. Growth curves consolidate the information contained in the weight-age data into three or four biologically meaningful parameters. The data included 31,452 weights at birth and 120, 205, 365, 550 and 730 days of buffalo (n = 5,178 raised on pasture without supplementation. Logistic, Gompertz, quadratic logarithmic, and linear hyperbolic curves (designated L, G, QL, and LH, respectively were fitted to the data by using proc NLIN of SAS (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA. The parameters estimates for L [WT= A * (((1 + exp (-k * AGE**-m] were A = 865.1 ± 5.42; k= 0.0028 ± 0.00002; M= 3.808 ± 0.007; R2 = 0.95. For G [WT= A * exp (-b * exp (-k * age] the parameters estimates were A= 967.6 ± 7.23; k = 0.00217 ± 0.000015; b = -2.8152 ± 0.00532. For QL [WT= A + b*age + k*(age*age + m*log (age] parameters estimates were A= 37.41 ± 0.48; k= 0.00019 ± 6.4E-6; b= 0.539 ± 0.006; m= 2.32 ± 0.23; R2=0.96. For LH [WT= A + b*AGE + k*(1/AGE] the parameters estimates were A= 23.15 ± 0.44; k=15.16 ± 0.66; b= 0.707 ± 0.001; R2= 0.96. Each of these curves fit these data equally well and could be used for characterizing growth to two years in beef buffalo.

  4. Estimation of the growth curve and heritability of the growth rate for giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) cubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, T D; Wang, C D; Jin, L; Wei, M; Wu, K; Zhang, Y H; Zhang, H M; Li, D S

    2015-03-27

    Giant panda cubs have a low survival rate during the newborn and early growth stages. However, the growth and developmental parameters of giant panda cubs during the early lactation stage (from birth to 6 months) are not well known. We examined the growth and development of giant panda cubs by the Chapman growth curve model and estimated the heritability of the maximum growth rate at the early lactation stage. We found that 83 giant panda cubs reached their maximum growth rate at approximately 75-120 days after birth. The body weight of cubs at 75 days was 4285.99 g. Furthermore, we estimated that the heritability of the maximum growth rate was moderate (h(2) = 0.38). Our study describes the growth and development of giant panda cubs at the early lactation stage and provides valuable growth benchmarks. We anticipate that our results will be a starting point for more detailed research on increasing the survival rate of giant panda cubs. Feeding programs for giant panda cubs need further improvement.

  5. High-resolution time series of Pseudomonas aeruginosa gene expression and rhamnolipid secretion through growth curve synchronization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xavier João B

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Online spectrophotometric measurements allow monitoring dynamic biological processes with high-time resolution. Contrastingly, numerous other methods require laborious treatment of samples and can only be carried out offline. Integrating both types of measurement would allow analyzing biological processes more comprehensively. A typical example of this problem is acquiring quantitative data on rhamnolipid secretion by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa cell growth can be measured by optical density (OD600 and gene expression can be measured using reporter fusions with a fluorescent protein, allowing high time resolution monitoring. However, measuring the secreted rhamnolipid biosurfactants requires laborious sample processing, which makes this an offline measurement. Results Here, we propose a method to integrate growth curve data with endpoint measurements of secreted metabolites that is inspired by a model of exponential cell growth. If serial diluting an inoculum gives reproducible time series shifted in time, then time series of endpoint measurements can be reconstructed using calculated time shifts between dilutions. We illustrate the method using measured rhamnolipid secretion by P. aeruginosa as endpoint measurements and we integrate these measurements with high-resolution growth curves measured by OD600 and expression of rhamnolipid synthesis genes monitored using a reporter fusion. Two-fold serial dilution allowed integrating rhamnolipid measurements at a ~0.4 h-1 frequency with high-time resolved data measured at a 6 h-1 frequency. We show how this simple method can be used in combination with mutants lacking specific genes in the rhamnolipid synthesis or quorum sensing regulation to acquire rich dynamic data on P. aeruginosa virulence regulation. Additionally, the linear relation between the ratio of inocula and the time-shift between curves produces high-precision measurements of

  6. The utilization of microbial inoculants based on irradiated compost in dryland remediation to increase the growth of king grass and maize

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    TRD Larasati; N Mulyana; D Sudradjat

    2016-01-01

    This research was conducted to evaluate the capability of functional microbial inoculants to remediate drylands. The microbial inoculants used consist of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial inoculants and plant-growth-promoting microbial inoculants. Compost-based carrier was sterilized by a gamma irradiation dose of 25 kGy to prepare seed inoculants. The irradiated-compost-based hydrocarbon-degrading microbial inoculants and king grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) were used to remediate oil-sludge-contaminated soil using in-situ composting for 60 days. The results showed that they could reduce THP (total petroleum hydrocarbons) by up to 82.23%. Plant-growth-promoting microbial inoculants were able to increase the dry weight of king grass from 47.39 to 100.66 g/plant, N uptake from 415.53 to 913.67 mg/plant, and P uptake from 76.52 to 178.33 mg/plant. Cow dung and irradiated-compost-based plant-growth-promoting microbial inoculants were able to increase the dry weight of maize (Zea mays L.) from 5.75 to 6.63 ton/ha (12.54%) and dry weight of grain potential from 5.30 to 7.15 ton/ha (35.03%). The results indicate that irradiated-compost-based microbial inoculants are suitable for remediating a dryland and therefore increase potential resources and improve the quality of the environment. (author)

  7. Effect of Chitosan Coating Containing Active Agents on Microbial Growth, Rancidity and Moisture Loss of Meatball During Storage

    OpenAIRE

    Pranoto, Yudi; Rakshit, Sudip Kumar

    2008-01-01

    Edible coatings based on chitosan were applied on meatball product in order to preserve quality during storages atambient and refrigeration temperatures. To improve its efficacy, chitosan coatings were incorporated with garlic oil0.2%, potassium sorbate 0.1 % and nisin 51,000 IU. The qualities of meatball assessed were total microbial growth, TBA value and percentage of moisture loss. All chitosan coatings suppressed microbial growth in meatball and strong- ly revealed when stored at refriger...

  8. The Growth Rate and Efficiency of Rumen Microbial Protein Digestion of Red Clover Silage (Trifolium pratense cv. Sabatron)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asih Kurniawati

    2004-01-01

    (Trifolium pratense cv. Sabatron). Red clover silage supplemented with different level of carbohydrates has been examined using the in-vitro gas production technique. Cumulative gas production, hydro.gen sulfite production, and ammonia was followed and used as indicators of microbial growth rate and extent of protein degradation. Microbial nitrogen production, VFA, and efficiency microbial production was used as indicator of nitrogen use efficiency. 15 N was used as a microbial marker to estimate the amount of nitrogen incorporation into microbial protein. Supplementation of Red clover with increasing 5 levels; 0 g; 0.625 g; 0.15 g; 0.225 g and 0.3 g of maize starch led to graded increase in microbial growth and protein degradation. This was reflected in the increasing gas production and the accumulation of hydrogen sulfite. Diurnal change in ammonia production reflected the microbial utilization of ammonia for protein synthesis. Protein microbe (P<0.001) as VFA (P<0.001) increased due to carbohydrate addition as well as utilization of nitrogen (P<0.001). There was also the efficiency of nitrogen utilization which increased significantly. This result suggested that energy supply can increased efficiency of nitrogen use in the rumen and may reduce nitrogen losses into the environment. (author)

  9. Relationship Between Crack Growth Resistance KR Curve and Specimen Width for 2060 - T8E30 Lithium Aluminum Alloy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Di Hua

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available KR crack growth resistance curve can be used to predict crack propagation behavior, estimate the crack component bearing capacity after the crack, so KR curve research occupies very important position in the fracture mechanics. Based on crack growth resistance KR test curve of 2060 - T8E30 lithium aluminum alloy under the same thickness for different width, studies have shown that under the same thickness, the influence of the width on the resistance curve of crack propagation can be neglected. Empirical equation of resistance curve of crack extension of the smaller width specimen is given. Extending the fitting equation to that of larger width, it can be found that it is highly coincided with the experimental results.

  10. Life-history trait of the Mediterranean keystone species Patella rustica: growth and microbial bioerosion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. PRUSINA

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The age and shell growth patterns in populations of Patella rustica of the Adriatic Sea were determined by analyzing the inner growth lines visible in shell sections. Marginal increment analysis showed annual periodicity with annual growth line being deposited in May. The growth analysis of 120 individual shells showed that 90.8 % of collected individuals were less than 4 years of age and only two individuals (1.6 % were older than 6 years. Population structure was described and the generalized von Bertalanffy growth parameters were calculated: asymptotic length (L∞ was 38.22 mm and the growth constant (K was 0.30 year-1. Growth performance index value of P. rustica (Ø’ was 2.64 and is among the lowest ranges reported for limpet species. Patella rustica shells were degraded to different degrees by microbial bioerosion. Microboring organisms identified were pseudofilamentous and filamentous cyanobacteria Hormathonema paulocellulare, Hyella caespitosa, Mastigocoleus testarum and Leptolyngbya sp. The overall intensity of infestation was relatively low, but increased in severity with shell length. The damage was most often restricted to the oldest parts of the shell, i.e. apex of the shell, posing difficulties in determining the exact position of the first growth line. The present study is first to introduce the use of inner growth lines in Patella rustica shell sections as a reliable method for age determination and it provides the first insight into the growth patterns of this keystone species while taking the interference of microbial shell bioerosion in consideration.

  11. Estimation of heritability and genetic correlation of body weight gain and growth curve parameters in Korean native chicken

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prabuddha Manjula

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective This study estimated the genetic parameters for body weight gain and growth curve parameter traits in Korean native chicken (KNC. Methods A total of 585 F1 chickens were used along with 88 of their F0 birds. Body weights were measured every 2 weeks from hatching to 20 weeks of age to measure weight gain at 2-week intervals. For each individual, a logistic growth curve model was fitted to the longitudinal growth dataset to obtain three growth curve parameters (α, asymptotic final body weight; β, inflection point; and γ, constant scale that was proportional to the overall growth rate. Genetic parameters were estimated based on the linear-mixed model using a restricted maximum likelihood method. Results Heritability estimates of body weight gain traits were low to high (0.057 to 0.458. Heritability estimates for α, β, and γ were 0.211±0.08, 0.249±0.09, and 0.095±0.06, respectively. Both genetic and phenotypic correlations between weight gain traits ranged from −0.527 to 0.993. Genetic and phenotypic correlation between the growth curve parameters and weight gain traits ranged from −0.968 to 0.987. Conclusion Based on the results of this study population, we suggest that the KNC could be used for selective breeding between 6 and 8 weeks of age to enhance the overall genetic improvement of growth traits. After validation of these results in independent studies, these findings will be useful for further optimization of breeding programs for KNC.

  12. Accounting for inherent variability of growth in microbial risk assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marks, H M; Coleman, M E

    2005-04-15

    Risk assessments of pathogens need to account for the growth of small number of cells under varying conditions. In order to determine the possible risks that occur when there are small numbers of cells, stochastic models of growth are needed that would capture the distribution of the number of cells over replicate trials of the same scenario or environmental conditions. This paper provides a simple stochastic growth model, accounting only for inherent cell-growth variability, assuming constant growth kinetic parameters, for an initial, small, numbers of cells assumed to be transforming from a stationary to an exponential phase. Two, basic, microbial sets of assumptions are considered: serial, where it is assume that cells transform through a lag phase before entering the exponential phase of growth; and parallel, where it is assumed that lag and exponential phases develop in parallel. The model is based on, first determining the distribution of the time when growth commences, and then modelling the conditional distribution of the number of cells. For the latter distribution, it is found that a Weibull distribution provides a simple approximation to the conditional distribution of the relative growth, so that the model developed in this paper can be easily implemented in risk assessments using commercial software packages.

  13. Candidate genes and growth curves for adiposity in African- and European-American youth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Podolsky, R. H.; Barbeau, P.; Kang, H-S; Zhu, H.; Treiber, F. A.; Snieder, H.

    2007-01-01

    Objective: Obesity is associated with multiple health problems and often originates in childhood. This study investigated the association of genes with the development of general and central obesity from childhood into adulthood. Design: Individual growth curves for measures of general adiposity

  14. Microbial uptake of radiolabeled substrates: estimates of growth rates from time course measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, W.K.W.

    1984-01-01

    The uptake of [ 3 H]glucose and a mixture of 3 H-labeled amino acids was measured, in time course fashion, in planktonic microbial assemblages of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The average generation times of those portions of the assemblages able to utilize these substrates were estimated from a simple exponential growth model. Other workers have independently used this model in its integrated or differential form. A mathematical verification and an experimental demonstration of the equivalence of the two approaches are presented. A study was made of the size distribution of heterotrophic activity, using time course measurements. It was found that the size distribution and the effect of sample filtration before radiolabeling were dependent on time of incubation. In principle, it was possible to ascribe these time dependences to differences in th specific growth rate and initial standing stock of the microbial assemblages. 33 references

  15. The effect of concentrating of whitewater to the microbial growth in papermachine; Paperikoneen kiertovesien konsentroitumisen vaikutus mikrobien kasvuun - MPKT 03

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yloestalo, T. [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Otaniemi (Finland)

    1998-12-31

    The closing of the whitewater cycle increases the amount of nutrients available for the micro-organisms living in a papermachine. The microbial flora in papermachines can vary significantly. The type and concentration of nutrients and the operating conditions of the papermachine (for example pH and temperature) affect the type of microbes that may live there. Strong microbial contamination has negative impact to the quality of the products and the operation of the papermachine. In this project microbes isolated from papermachines are cultivated in different concentrations of whitewater and with different pH and temperature values. The cultivations of microbes and modeling of the microbial growth are used for finding out how the closing of the whitewater cycle affects the microbial growth in papermachines. (orig.)

  16. The effect of concentrating of whitewater to the microbial growth in papermachine; Paperikoneen kiertovesien konsentroitumisen vaikutus mikrobien kasvuun - MPKT 03

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yloestalo, T [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Otaniemi (Finland)

    1999-12-31

    The closing of the whitewater cycle increases the amount of nutrients available for the micro-organisms living in a papermachine. The microbial flora in papermachines can vary significantly. The type and concentration of nutrients and the operating conditions of the papermachine (for example pH and temperature) affect the type of microbes that may live there. Strong microbial contamination has negative impact to the quality of the products and the operation of the papermachine. In this project microbes isolated from papermachines are cultivated in different concentrations of whitewater and with different pH and temperature values. The cultivations of microbes and modeling of the microbial growth are used for finding out how the closing of the whitewater cycle affects the microbial growth in papermachines. (orig.)

  17. Effect of gamma irradiation and storage time on microbial growth and physicochemical characteristics of pumpkin (Cucurbita Moschata Duchesne ex Poiret) puree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gliemmo, María F; Latorre, María E; Narvaiz, Patricia; Campos, Carmen A; Gerschenson, Lía N

    2014-01-01

    The effect of gamma irradiation (0-2 kGy) and storage time (0-28 days) on microbial growth and physicochemical characteristics of a packed pumpkin puree was studied. For that purpose, a factorial design was applied. The puree contained potassium sorbate, glucose and vanillin was stored at 25°C . Gamma irradiation diminished and storage time increased microbial growth. A synergistic effect between both variables on microbial growth was observed. Storage time decreased pH and color of purees. Sorbate content decreased with storage time and gamma irradiation. Mathematical models of microbial growth generated by the factorial design allowed estimating that a puree absorbing 1.63 kGy would have a shelf-life of 4 days. In order to improve this time, some changes in the applied hurdles were assayed. These included a thermal treatment before irradiation, a reduction of irradiation dose to 0.75 kGy and a decrease in storage temperature at 20°C . As a result, the shelf-life of purees increased to 28 days.

  18. A theoretical reassessment of microbial maintenance and implications for microbial ecology modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Gangsheng; Post, Wilfred M

    2012-09-01

    We attempted to reconcile three microbial maintenance models (Herbert, Pirt, and Compromise) through a theoretical reassessment. We provided a rigorous proof that the true growth yield coefficient (Y(G)) is the ratio of the specific maintenance rate (a in Herbert) to the maintenance coefficient (m in Pirt). Other findings from this study include: (1) the Compromise model is identical to the Herbert for computing microbial growth and substrate consumption, but it expresses the dependence of maintenance on both microbial biomass and substrate; (2) the maximum specific growth rate in the Herbert (μ(max,H)) is higher than those in the other two models (μ(max,P) and μ(max,C)), and the difference is the physiological maintenance factor (m(q) = a); and (3) the overall maintenance coefficient (m(T)) is more sensitive to m(q) than to the specific growth rate (μ(G)) and Y(G). Our critical reassessment of microbial maintenance provides a new approach for quantifying some important components in soil microbial ecology models. © This article is a US government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  19. Impact of Microbial Growth on Subsurface Perfluoroalkyl Acid Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weathers, T. S.; Higgins, C. P.; Sharp, J.

    2014-12-01

    The fate and transport of poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the presence of active microbial communities has not been widely investigated. These emerging contaminants are commonly utilized in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) and have often been detected in groundwater. This study explores the transport of a suite of perfluorocarboxylic acids and perfluoroalkylsulfonates, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), in microbially active settings. Single point organic carbon normalized sorption coefficients derived by exposing inactive cellular material to PFASs result in more than an order of magnitude increase in sorption compared to soil organic carbon sorption coefficients found in literature. For example, the sorption coefficients for PFOS are 4.05±0.07 L/kg and 2.80±0.08 L/kg for cellular organic carbon and soil organic carbon respectively. This increase in sorption, coupled with enhanced extracellular polymeric substance production observed during growth of a common hydrocarbon degrading soil microbe exposed to source-level concentrations of PFASs (10 mg/L of 11 analytes, 110 mg/L total) may result in PFAS retardation in situ. To address the upscaling of this phenomenon, flow-through columns packed with low-organic carbon sediment and biostimulated with 10 mg/L glucose were exposed to PFAS concentrations from 15 μg/L to 10 mg/L of each 11 analytes. Breakthrough and tailing of each analyte was measured and modeled with Hydrus-1D to explore sorption coefficients over time for microbially active columns.

  20. The Effect of Divergent Selection on 4-wk BW on the Shape of Growth Curve in Japanese Quail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Beyki

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of short-term divergent selection on the shape growth curve in different lines of Japanese quail. The Quail lines utilized in this study were two divergently selected for high (HW and low (LW 4-wk body weight during 7 generation and also a control line (C. The Richard function parameters were used to describe growth curves of different lines. The weight at hatch was approximately similar among lines (8.08 g, 7.55 g and 8.76 g for HW, LW and C line respectively. The results of current study indicated that the selected lines (HW & LW were immediately diverged from the C line after hatch. Sexes within each line had no difference in average growth rate, age and body weight at inflection point and adult body weight. However significant differences were found in the growth curve parameters among lines. The results of current study indicated that short term divergent selection for 4-wk BW in Japanese quail can change the growth pattern and the carcass compartments of the selected birds. Therefore to avoid undesirable side effects due to selection in Japanese quails it is recommended to consider the growth pattern changes of the selected birds in the breeding programs

  1. Existence of a common growth curve for silt-sized quartz OSL of loess from different continents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai Zhongping; Brueckner, Helmut; Zoeller, Ludwig; Fuelling, Alexander

    2007-01-01

    Recent publications revealed different opinions regarding the existence of a common growth curve (CGC) for OSL of quartz. In the current study, 18 loess samples were collected from four continents (Asia, America, Africa, and Europe) in order to further examine this issue. Except the three samples from Chile in South America, 15 samples display similar dose-response curves up to a regeneration dose of 200 Gy using the SAR protocol, suggesting the existence of a global CGC for loess from different continents. For samples with equivalent doses (D e ) from ∼10 to ∼170Gy, the D e s determined by the CGC are in good agreement with the D e s by the SAR protocol. The Chilean samples posses a growth curve that differs from the CGC, showing much lower saturation doses. We suggest that it may be due to contamination with heavy minerals

  2. The effect of dosages of microbial consortia formulation and synthetic fertilizer on the growth and yield of field-grown chili

    Science.gov (United States)

    Istifadah, N.; Sapta, D.; Krestini, H.; Natalie, B.; Suryatmana, P.; Nurbaity, A.; Hidersah, R.

    2018-03-01

    Chili (Capsicum annuum, L) is one of important horticultural crop in Indonesia. Formulation of microbial consortia containing Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas sp., Azotobacter chroococcum and Trichoderma harzianum has been developed. This study evaluated the effects of dosage of the microbial formulation combined with NPK fertilizer on growth and yield of chili plants in the field experiment. The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design of factorial, in which the first factor was dosage of formulation (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10 g per plant) and the second factor was NPK fertilizer dosage (0, 25, 50 and 75% of the standard dosage). The treatments were replicated three times. For application, the formulation was mixed with chicken manure 1:10 (w/v). The results showed that application of microbial formulation solely improved the chili growth. There was interaction between dosages of the microbial formulation and NPK fertilizer in improving plant height, nitrogen availability and the chili yield, while there was no interaction between those dosages in improving the root length. Combination between microbial formulation at the dosage of 5.0-7.5 g per plant combined with NPK fertilizer with the dosage 50 or 75% of the standard dosage support relatively better growth and the chili yield.

  3. Shifts in microbial populations in Rusitec fermenters as affected by the type of diet and impact of the method for estimating microbial growth (15N v. microbial DNA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateos, I; Ranilla, M J; Saro, C; Carro, M D

    2017-11-01

    offered similar results for diets comparison, but both methods presented contrasting results for microbial growth in SOL and LIQ phases. The study showed that fermentation parameters remained fairly stable over the commonly used sampling period (days 8 to 14), but shifts in microbial populations were detected. Moreover, microbial populations differed markedly from those in the inocula, which indicates the difficulty of directly transposing results on microbial populations developed in Rusitec fermenters to in vivo conditions.

  4. Use of an uncertainty analysis for genome-scale models as a prediction tool for microbial growth processes in subsurface environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klier, Christine

    2012-03-06

    The integration of genome-scale, constraint-based models of microbial cell function into simulations of contaminant transport and fate in complex groundwater systems is a promising approach to help characterize the metabolic activities of microorganisms in natural environments. In constraint-based modeling, the specific uptake flux rates of external metabolites are usually determined by Michaelis-Menten kinetic theory. However, extensive data sets based on experimentally measured values are not always available. In this study, a genome-scale model of Pseudomonas putida was used to study the key issue of uncertainty arising from the parametrization of the influx of two growth-limiting substrates: oxygen and toluene. The results showed that simulated growth rates are highly sensitive to substrate affinity constants and that uncertainties in specific substrate uptake rates have a significant influence on the variability of simulated microbial growth. Michaelis-Menten kinetic theory does not, therefore, seem to be appropriate for descriptions of substrate uptake processes in the genome-scale model of P. putida. Microbial growth rates of P. putida in subsurface environments can only be accurately predicted if the processes of complex substrate transport and microbial uptake regulation are sufficiently understood in natural environments and if data-driven uptake flux constraints can be applied.

  5. On the analysis of Canadian Holstein dairy cow lactation curves using standard growth functions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    López, S.; France, J.; Odongo, N.E.; McBride, R.A.; Kebreab, E.; Alzahal, O.; McBride, B.W.; Dijkstra, J.

    2015-01-01

    Six classical growth functions (monomolecular, Schumacher, Gompertz, logistic, Richards, and Morgan) were fitted to individual and average (by parity) cumulative milk production curves of Canadian Holstein dairy cows. The data analyzed consisted of approximately 91,000 daily milk yield records

  6. Short-time effect of heavy metals upon microbial community activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fei; Yao Jun; Si Yang; Chen Huilun; Russel, Mohammad; Chen Ke; Qian Yiguang; Zaray, Gyula; Bramanti, Emilia

    2010-01-01

    Microcalorimetry was applied to assess and compare the toxic effect of heavy metals, such as As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb and Zn, on the soil microbial activities and community. About 1.0 g soil spiked 5.0 mg glucose and 5.0 mg ammonium sulfate, the microbial activities were recorded as power-time curves, and their indices, microbial growth rate constant k, total heat evolution Q T , metabolic enthalpy ΔH met and mass specific heat rate J Q/S , were calculated. Comparing these thermodynamic parameters associated with growth yield, a general order of toxicity to the soil was found to be Cr > Pb > As > Co > Zn > Cd > Cu. When soil was exposed to heavy metals, the amount of bacteria and fungi decreased with the incubation time, and the bacterial number diminished sharply. It illustrates that fungi are more tolerant, and bacteria-fungi ratio would be altered under metal stress. To determine the status of the glucose consumed, a glucose biosensor with eggshell membrane was used to measure the remaining glucose in soil sample. Results showed that the time at which glucose was consumed completely was agreed with the microcalorimetric time to a large extent, and depended on the toxicity of heavy metals as well.

  7. Short-time effect of heavy metals upon microbial community activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fei; Yao, Jun; Si, Yang; Chen, Huilun; Russel, Mohammad; Chen, Ke; Qian, Yiguang; Zaray, Gyula; Bramanti, Emilia

    2010-01-15

    Microcalorimetry was applied to assess and compare the toxic effect of heavy metals, such as As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb and Zn, on the soil microbial activities and community. About 1.0 g soil spiked 5.0mg glucose and 5.0mg ammonium sulfate, the microbial activities were recorded as power-time curves, and their indices, microbial growth rate constant k, total heat evolution Q(T), metabolic enthalpy Delta H(met) and mass specific heat rate J(Q/S), were calculated. Comparing these thermodynamic parameters associated with growth yield, a general order of toxicity to the soil was found to be Cr>Pb>As>Co>Zn>Cd>Cu. When soil was exposed to heavy metals, the amount of bacteria and fungi decreased with the incubation time, and the bacterial number diminished sharply. It illustrates that fungi are more tolerant, and bacteria-fungi ratio would be altered under metal stress. To determine the status of the glucose consumed, a glucose biosensor with eggshell membrane was used to measure the remaining glucose in soil sample. Results showed that the time at which glucose was consumed completely was agreed with the microcalorimetric time to a large extent, and depended on the toxicity of heavy metals as well.

  8. Short-time effect of heavy metals upon microbial community activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Fei [Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Chinese Ministry of Education and Sino-Hungarian Joint Laboratory of Environmental Science and Health and School of Environmental Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan (China); Yao Jun, E-mail: yaojun@cug.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Chinese Ministry of Education and Sino-Hungarian Joint Laboratory of Environmental Science and Health and School of Environmental Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan (China); Si Yang; Chen Huilun; Russel, Mohammad; Chen Ke; Qian Yiguang [Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Chinese Ministry of Education and Sino-Hungarian Joint Laboratory of Environmental Science and Health and School of Environmental Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan (China); Zaray, Gyula [Department of Chemical Technology and Environmental Chemistry, Eoetvoes University, H-1518 Budapest, P.O. Box 32 (Hungary); Bramanti, Emilia [Laboratory of Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, Institute for Chemical and Physical Processes, Area di Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy)

    2010-01-15

    Microcalorimetry was applied to assess and compare the toxic effect of heavy metals, such as As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb and Zn, on the soil microbial activities and community. About 1.0 g soil spiked 5.0 mg glucose and 5.0 mg ammonium sulfate, the microbial activities were recorded as power-time curves, and their indices, microbial growth rate constant k, total heat evolution Q{sub T}, metabolic enthalpy {Delta}H{sub met} and mass specific heat rate J{sub Q/S}, were calculated. Comparing these thermodynamic parameters associated with growth yield, a general order of toxicity to the soil was found to be Cr > Pb > As > Co > Zn > Cd > Cu. When soil was exposed to heavy metals, the amount of bacteria and fungi decreased with the incubation time, and the bacterial number diminished sharply. It illustrates that fungi are more tolerant, and bacteria-fungi ratio would be altered under metal stress. To determine the status of the glucose consumed, a glucose biosensor with eggshell membrane was used to measure the remaining glucose in soil sample. Results showed that the time at which glucose was consumed completely was agreed with the microcalorimetric time to a large extent, and depended on the toxicity of heavy metals as well.

  9. The effect of denture adhesives on Candida albicans growth in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampaio-Maia, Benedita; Figueiral, Maria Helena; Sousa-Rodrigues, Patricia; Fernandes, Maria Helena; Scully, Crispian

    2012-06-01

    Denture-wearing favours the growth of Candida. In view of the fact that many denture wearers regularly use adhesives to enhance denture retention, stability and function, the aim of this work was to study the effect of denture adhesives on Candida albicans growth in vitro. The denture adhesives tested were Corega(®) cream, Kukident(®) cream, Novafix(®) cream, Polident(®) cream, Protefix(®) cream, Steradent(®) cream, Aderyn(®) powder, Corega(®) ultra powder, Protefix(®) powder and Corega(®) strip. C. albicans growth curves were obtained in the presence or absence of a 1% solution of the denture adhesive diluted in Sabouraud broth. Macro- and microscopic morphological changes in C. albicans were analysed, as was microbial contamination of the denture adhesive. Most of the denture adhesives studied induced morphological changes in C. albicans cells and colonies, but only two had any significant inhibitory effect on yeast growth. Kukident(®) cream markedly inhibited C. albicans growth in a concentration-dependent way, reducing the growth rate by 95%, whereas Corega(®) cream also inhibited C. albicans growth but in a non-concentration-dependent way, reducing the growth rate by 37%. In addition, denture adhesives available as powders had detectable microbial contamination. Some commercially available denture adhesives showed microbial contamination and some had significant inhibitory effect on C. albicans growth. © 2011 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  10. Growth curve of Atlantoscia floridana (van Name (Crustacea, Isopoda, Philosciidae from a Brazilian Restinga Forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Beatriz Araujo

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available The terrestrial isopod Atlantoscia floridana (van Name, 1940 occurs from the U.S.A. (Florida to Brazil and Argentina. In the southernmost Brazilian State, Rio Grande do Sul, the species is recorded in many localities, in urban and in non-urban areas. The growth curve of Atlantoscia floridana based on field data is presented. The specimens were sampled from April, 2000 to October, 2001 at the Reserva Biológica do Lami (RBL, Rio Grande do Sul. Captured individuals were sexed and had their cephalothorax width measured, with the data analyzed with von Bertalanffy's model. The growth curves for males and females are described, respectively, by the equations: Wt = 1.303 [1 - e-0.00941 (t + 50.37] and Wt = 1.682 [1 - e-0.00575 (t + 59.13]. The curves showed differential growth between sexes, where females reach a higher Wµ with a slower growth rate. Based on the growth curves it was also possible to estimate life expectancy for males and females.O isópodo terrestre Atlantoscia floridana (van Name, 1940 ocorre desde os Estados Unidos (Flórida até o Brasil e Argentina. No Rio Grande do Sul a espécie é registrada em muitas localidades, em áreas urbanas e não-urbanas. Este trabalho apresenta a curva de crescimento de Atlantoscia floridana, baseada em dados de campo. Os espécimes foram amostrados desde abril, 2000 a outubro, 2001 na Reserva Biológica do Lami (RBL, Rio Grande do Sul. Os indivíduos capturados foram sexados e tiveram o cefalotórax medido. Os dados foram analisados utilizando-se o modelo de von Bertalanffy. A curva de crescimento para machos e fêmeas são descritas, respectivamente, pelas equações Wt = 1.303 [1 - e-0.00941 (t + 50.37] e Wt = 1.682 [1 - e -0.00575 (t + 59.13]. As curvas mostraram crescimento diferencial entre os sexos, onde as fêmeas atingem o maior Wµ com uma taxa de crescimento menor. Com base nas curvas de crescimento também foi possível estimar a expectativa de vida para machos e fêmeas.

  11. A novel process-based model of microbial growth: self-inhibition in Saccharomyces cerevisiae aerobic fed-batch cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzoleni, Stefano; Landi, Carmine; Cartenì, Fabrizio; de Alteriis, Elisabetta; Giannino, Francesco; Paciello, Lucia; Parascandola, Palma

    2015-07-30

    Microbial population dynamics in bioreactors depend on both nutrients availability and changes in the growth environment. Research is still ongoing on the optimization of bioreactor yields focusing on the increase of the maximum achievable cell density. A new process-based model is proposed to describe the aerobic growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultured on glucose as carbon and energy source. The model considers the main metabolic routes of glucose assimilation (fermentation to ethanol and respiration) and the occurrence of inhibition due to the accumulation of both ethanol and other self-produced toxic compounds in the medium. Model simulations reproduced data from classic and new experiments of yeast growth in batch and fed-batch cultures. Model and experimental results showed that the growth decline observed in prolonged fed-batch cultures had to be ascribed to self-produced inhibitory compounds other than ethanol. The presented results clarify the dynamics of microbial growth under different feeding conditions and highlight the relevance of the negative feedback by self-produced inhibitory compounds on the maximum cell densities achieved in a bioreactor.

  12. Understanding the performance of sulfate reducing bacteria based packed bed reactor by growth kinetics study and microbial profiling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dev, Subhabrata; Roy, Shantonu; Bhattacharya, Jayanta

    2016-07-15

    A novel marine waste extract (MWE) as alternative nitrogen source was explored for the growth of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). Variation of sulfate and nitrogen (MWE) showed that SRB growth follows an uncompetitive inhibition model. The maximum specific growth rates (μmax) of 0.085 and 0.124 h(-1) and inhibition constants (Ki) of 56 and 4.6 g/L were observed under optimized sulfate and MWE concentrations, respectively. The kinetic data shows that MWE improves the microbial growth by 27%. The packed bed bioreactor (PBR) under optimized sulfate and MWE regime showed sulfate removal efficiency of 62-66% and metals removal efficiency of 66-75% on using mine wastewater. The microbial community analysis using DGGE showed dominance of SRB (87-89%). The study indicated the optimum dosing of sulfate and cheap organic nitrogen to promote the growth of SRB over other bacteria. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Secreted pitfall-trap fluid of carnivorous Nepenthes plants is unsuitable for microbial growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buch, Franziska; Rott, Matthias; Rottloff, Sandy; Paetz, Christian; Hilke, Ines; Raessler, Michael; Mithöfer, Axel

    2013-03-01

    Carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes possess modified leaves that form pitfall traps in order to capture prey, mainly arthropods, to make additional nutrients available for the plant. These pitchers contain a digestive fluid due to the presence of hydrolytic enzymes. In this study, the composition of the digestive fluid was further analysed with regard to mineral nutrients and low molecular-weight compounds. A potential contribution of microbes to the composition of pitcher fluid was investigated. Fluids from closed pitchers were harvested and analysed for mineral nutrients using analytical techniques based on ion-chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Secondary metabolites were identified by a combination of LC-MS and NMR. The presence of bacteria in the pitcher fluid was investigated by PCR of 16S-rRNA genes. Growth analyses of bacteria and yeast were performed in vitro with harvested pitcher fluid and in vivo within pitchers with injected microbes. The pitcher fluid from closed pitchers was found to be primarily an approx. 25-mm KCl solution, which is free of bacteria and unsuitable for microbial growth probably due to the lack of essential mineral nutrients such as phosphate and inorganic nitrogen. The fluid also contained antimicrobial naphthoquinones, plumbagin and 7-methyl-juglone, and defensive proteins such as the thaumatin-like protein. Challenging with bacteria or yeast caused bactericide as well as fungistatic properties in the fluid. Our results reveal that Nepenthes pitcher fluids represent a dynamic system that is able to react to the presence of microbes. The secreted liquid of closed and freshly opened Nepenthes pitchers is exclusively plant-derived. It is unsuitable to serve as an environment for microbial growth. Thus, Nepenthes plants can avoid and control, at least to some extent, the microbial colonization of their pitfall traps and, thereby, reduce the need to vie with microbes for the prey

  14. GHG emissions, GDP growth and the Kyoto Protocol: A revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Wei Ming; Lee, Grace W.M. [Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, 71, Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106 (China); Wu, Chih Cheng [Energy and Air Pollution Control Section, New Materials R and D Department, China Steel Corporation, 1, Chung-Kang Road, Siaogang District, Kaohsiung 81233 (China)

    2008-01-15

    The Kyoto Protocol attempts through political negotiations to guide participating industrialized countries' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a positive growing trend, to reach a peak point (or turning point), and then be reduced to a negative growth. That means the relationship between decreasing GHG emissions and economic growth may be described by an inverted-U curve (or called a bell-shaped curve), which is consistent with the concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. This research observed that the economic development and GHG emissions in Economies in Transition (EITs) exhibit a hockey-stick curve trend (or called quasi-L-shape curve), that also generates a lot of 'hot air' which is significant to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In addition, through the analysis of single-country time series data and GDP data, this research demonstrated that statistical data for most of the Annex II countries do not possess evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for GHG emissions. The results from this study also indicated that the 38 industrialized countries are unable to meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol within the specified time period, which are probably caused by the econometric method's inability to predict accurately the extents and development of innovative technologies and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. If the international community truly wants to reduce the GHG emissions, the effectiveness of the existing international framework for emissions reduction needs to be reconsidered seriously, and the global cooperation mechanism also needs to be greatly enhanced. (author)

  15. GHG emissions, GDP growth and the Kyoto Protocol: A revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang Weiming [Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, 71, Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Lee, Grace W.M. [Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, 71, Chou-Shan Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: gracelee@ntu.edu.tw; Wu Chihcheng [Energy and Air Pollution Control Section, New Materials R and D Department, China Steel Corporation, 1, Chung-Kang Road, Siaogang District, Kaohsiung 81233, Taiwan (China)

    2008-01-15

    The Kyoto Protocol attempts through political negotiations to guide participating industrialized countries' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a positive growing trend, to reach a peak point (or turning point), and then be reduced to a negative growth. That means the relationship between decreasing GHG emissions and economic growth may be described by an inverted-U curve (or called a bell-shaped curve), which is consistent with the concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. This research observed that the economic development and GHG emissions in Economies in Transition (EITs) exhibit a hockey-stick curve trend (or called quasi-L-shape curve), that also generates a lot of 'hot air' which is significant to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In addition, through the analysis of single-country time series data and GDP data, this research demonstrated that statistical data for most of the Annex II countries do not possess evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for GHG emissions. The results from this study also indicated that the 38 industrialized countries are unable to meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol within the specified time period, which are probably caused by the econometric method's inability to predict accurately the extents and development of innovative technologies and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. If the international community truly wants to reduce the GHG emissions, the effectiveness of the existing international framework for emissions reduction needs to be reconsidered seriously, and the global cooperation mechanism also needs to be greatly enhanced.

  16. GHG emissions, GDP growth and the Kyoto Protocol: A revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Weiming; Lee, Grace W.M.; Wu Chihcheng

    2008-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol attempts through political negotiations to guide participating industrialized countries' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a positive growing trend, to reach a peak point (or turning point), and then be reduced to a negative growth. That means the relationship between decreasing GHG emissions and economic growth may be described by an inverted-U curve (or called a bell-shaped curve), which is consistent with the concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. This research observed that the economic development and GHG emissions in Economies in Transition (EITs) exhibit a hockey-stick curve trend (or called quasi-L-shape curve), that also generates a lot of 'hot air' which is significant to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In addition, through the analysis of single-country time series data and GDP data, this research demonstrated that statistical data for most of the Annex II countries do not possess evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for GHG emissions. The results from this study also indicated that the 38 industrialized countries are unable to meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol within the specified time period, which are probably caused by the econometric method's inability to predict accurately the extents and development of innovative technologies and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. If the international community truly wants to reduce the GHG emissions, the effectiveness of the existing international framework for emissions reduction needs to be reconsidered seriously, and the global cooperation mechanism also needs to be greatly enhanced

  17. Macroalgae Decrease Growth and Alter Microbial Community Structure of the Reef-Building Coral, Porites astreoides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vega Thurber, Rebecca; Burkepile, Deron E.; Correa, Adrienne M. S.; Thurber, Andrew R.; Shantz, Andrew A.; Welsh, Rory; Pritchard, Catharine; Rosales, Stephanie

    2012-01-01

    With the continued and unprecedented decline of coral reefs worldwide, evaluating the factors that contribute to coral demise is of critical importance. As coral cover declines, macroalgae are becoming more common on tropical reefs. Interactions between these macroalgae and corals may alter the coral microbiome, which is thought to play an important role in colony health and survival. Together, such changes in benthic macroalgae and in the coral microbiome may result in a feedback mechanism that contributes to additional coral cover loss. To determine if macroalgae alter the coral microbiome, we conducted a field-based experiment in which the coral Porites astreoides was placed in competition with five species of macroalgae. Macroalgal contact increased variance in the coral-associated microbial community, and two algal species significantly altered microbial community composition. All macroalgae caused the disappearance of a γ-proteobacterium previously hypothesized to be an important mutualist of P. astreoides. Macroalgal contact also triggered: 1) increases or 2) decreases in microbial taxa already present in corals, 3) establishment of new taxa to the coral microbiome, and 4) vectoring and growth of microbial taxa from the macroalgae to the coral. Furthermore, macroalgal competition decreased coral growth rates by an average of 36.8%. Overall, this study found that competition between corals and certain species of macroalgae leads to an altered coral microbiome, providing a potential mechanism by which macroalgae-coral interactions reduce coral health and lead to coral loss on impacted reefs. PMID:22957055

  18. Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Vega Thurber

    Full Text Available With the continued and unprecedented decline of coral reefs worldwide, evaluating the factors that contribute to coral demise is of critical importance. As coral cover declines, macroalgae are becoming more common on tropical reefs. Interactions between these macroalgae and corals may alter the coral microbiome, which is thought to play an important role in colony health and survival. Together, such changes in benthic macroalgae and in the coral microbiome may result in a feedback mechanism that contributes to additional coral cover loss. To determine if macroalgae alter the coral microbiome, we conducted a field-based experiment in which the coral Porites astreoides was placed in competition with five species of macroalgae. Macroalgal contact increased variance in the coral-associated microbial community, and two algal species significantly altered microbial community composition. All macroalgae caused the disappearance of a γ-proteobacterium previously hypothesized to be an important mutualist of P. astreoides. Macroalgal contact also triggered: 1 increases or 2 decreases in microbial taxa already present in corals, 3 establishment of new taxa to the coral microbiome, and 4 vectoring and growth of microbial taxa from the macroalgae to the coral. Furthermore, macroalgal competition decreased coral growth rates by an average of 36.8%. Overall, this study found that competition between corals and certain species of macroalgae leads to an altered coral microbiome, providing a potential mechanism by which macroalgae-coral interactions reduce coral health and lead to coral loss on impacted reefs.

  19. Quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanosheets: Impeder of microbial growth and biofilm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patil, Rajendra [Department of Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007 (India); Gholap, Haribhau, E-mail: haribhau.gholap@fergusson.edu [Department of Physics, Fergusson College, Pune 411004 (India); Warule, Sambhaji [Department of Physics, Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune 411001 (India); Banpurkar, Arun; Kulkarni, Gauri [Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007 (India); Gade, Wasudeo, E-mail: wngade@unipune.ac.in [Department of Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007 (India)

    2015-01-30

    Graphical abstract: The visible light upon incident on ZnO/CdTe initiate the phenomenon of photocatalytical impedance of biofilm. - Highlights: • Synthesis of efficient light photocatalyst ZnO/CdTe nanostructures by hydrothermal method. • ZnO/CdTe nanostructures show a good antibacterial activity by action on cell membrane. • ZnO/CdTe nanostructures show a good antibiofilm activity, and also act on the cells inside the biofilm. - Abstract: The grieving problem of the 21st century has been the antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microorganisms to conventional antibiotics. Therefore, developments of novel antibacterial materials which effectively inhibit or kill such resistant microorganisms have become the need of the hour. In the present study, we communicate the synthesis of quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanostructures (ZnO/CdTe) as an impeder of microbial growth and biofilm. The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The growth impedance property of ZnO and ZnO/CdTe on Gram positive organism, Bacillus subtilis NCIM 2063 and Gram negative, Escherichia coli NCIM 2931 and biofilm impedance activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa O1 was found to occur due to photocatalytical action on the cell biofilm surfaces. The impedance in microbial growth and biofilm formation was further supported by ruptured appearances of cells and dettrered biofilm under field emission scanning electron and confocal laser scanning microscope. The ZnO/CdTe nanostructures array synthesized by hydrothermal method has an advantage of low growth temperature, and opportunity to fabricate inexpensive material for nano-biotechnological applications.

  20. Quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanosheets: Impeder of microbial growth and biofilm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patil, Rajendra; Gholap, Haribhau; Warule, Sambhaji; Banpurkar, Arun; Kulkarni, Gauri; Gade, Wasudeo

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The visible light upon incident on ZnO/CdTe initiate the phenomenon of photocatalytical impedance of biofilm. - Highlights: • Synthesis of efficient light photocatalyst ZnO/CdTe nanostructures by hydrothermal method. • ZnO/CdTe nanostructures show a good antibacterial activity by action on cell membrane. • ZnO/CdTe nanostructures show a good antibiofilm activity, and also act on the cells inside the biofilm. - Abstract: The grieving problem of the 21st century has been the antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microorganisms to conventional antibiotics. Therefore, developments of novel antibacterial materials which effectively inhibit or kill such resistant microorganisms have become the need of the hour. In the present study, we communicate the synthesis of quantum dots conjugated zinc oxide nanostructures (ZnO/CdTe) as an impeder of microbial growth and biofilm. The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The growth impedance property of ZnO and ZnO/CdTe on Gram positive organism, Bacillus subtilis NCIM 2063 and Gram negative, Escherichia coli NCIM 2931 and biofilm impedance activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa O1 was found to occur due to photocatalytical action on the cell biofilm surfaces. The impedance in microbial growth and biofilm formation was further supported by ruptured appearances of cells and dettrered biofilm under field emission scanning electron and confocal laser scanning microscope. The ZnO/CdTe nanostructures array synthesized by hydrothermal method has an advantage of low growth temperature, and opportunity to fabricate inexpensive material for nano-biotechnological applications

  1. Genome-scale biological models for industrial microbial systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Nan; Ye, Chao; Liu, Liming

    2018-04-01

    The primary aims and challenges associated with microbial fermentation include achieving faster cell growth, higher productivity, and more robust production processes. Genome-scale biological models, predicting the formation of an interaction among genetic materials, enzymes, and metabolites, constitute a systematic and comprehensive platform to analyze and optimize the microbial growth and production of biological products. Genome-scale biological models can help optimize microbial growth-associated traits by simulating biomass formation, predicting growth rates, and identifying the requirements for cell growth. With regard to microbial product biosynthesis, genome-scale biological models can be used to design product biosynthetic pathways, accelerate production efficiency, and reduce metabolic side effects, leading to improved production performance. The present review discusses the development of microbial genome-scale biological models since their emergence and emphasizes their pertinent application in improving industrial microbial fermentation of biological products.

  2. Microbial growth yield estimates from thermodynamics and its importance for degradation of pesticides and formation of biogenic non-extractable residues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brock, Andreas Libonati; Kästner, M.; Trapp, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    NER. Formation of microbial mass can be estimated from the microbial growth yield, but experimental data is rare. Instead, we suggest using prediction methods for the theoretical yield based on thermodynamics. Recently, we presented the Microbial Turnover to Biomass (MTB) method that needs a minimum...... and using the released CO2 as a measure for microbial activity, we predicted a range for the formation of biogenic NER. For the majority of the pesticides, a considerable fraction of the NER was estimated to be biogenic. This novel approach provides a theoretical foundation applicable to the evaluation...

  3. Breast meat quality of chickens with divergent growth rates and its relation to growth curve parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. C. Muth

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The effects of the increase of body weight of contemporary broilers during growth on functional meat quality and color characteristics of the chicken breast muscle are controversially debated. Therefore, male chickens (n = 264 of a fast-growing commercial broiler (Ross 308 and two slow-growing experimental meat-type chicken lines were compared at equal age and at similar body weight in order to investigate the effect of growth rate on selected functional breast meat traits and meat color. Additionally, the breast meat characteristics of birds with different growth profiles were compared within lines. When the body weight of commercial broilers reached about 40 to 60 % of their growth potential, they exhibited particularly high ultimate pH values compared with slow-growing lines. The ability of the meat of fast-growing broilers to retain water during cooking was impaired (5 to 16 percentage points increased cooking loss compared to slow-growing lines, which, in contrast to pH, was only marginally affected by body weight and/or age at slaughter. No unfavorable correlations of breast meat quality traits with the growth profile, represented by growth curve parameters derived from the Gompertz–Laird equation, were detected within any of the investigated chicken lines. It is noteworthy that the associations of ultimate pH and cooking loss with maximum growth speed indicate a non-linear relationship. Thus, some of the functional characteristics of breast meat of the fast-growing broiler resembled the white-striping defect described for poultry meat, but the hypothesis that selection on increased growth rates is detrimental for meat quality per se could not be confirmed. In fact, an elevated growth potential in particular, i.e., body weight at maturity, could have some beneficial effects for the water-holding capacity of breast meat, regardless of the genotypic growth rate.

  4. Electrochemical and Chemical Complications Resulting from Yeast Extract Addition to Stimulate Microbial Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-22

    including strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown on molasses-based media, debittered brewers yeasts (strains of Saccharo- myces cerevisiae or...RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) Technical Note: Electrochemical and Chemical Complications Resulting from Yeast Extract...Addition to Stimulate Microbial Growth Jason S. Lee‡,* and Brenda J. Little* ABSTRACT Addition of 1 g/L yeast extract (YE) to sterile, aerobic

  5. Investigating the possibility of Microbial Production of Mannitol from Waste Bread

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vajihe Sadeqi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available According to the significant role of sugar alcohols (Polyols in food industries, in the present study the possibility of microbial production of mannitol from bread waste was studied. Microbial growth and amylase production were investigated by five Iranian native strains of Bacillus spp in starch agar and broth. The best strain was selected, and its growth curve was determined. Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 was used as a control strain to convert fructose to mannitol. In order to determine the ability of selected strains in converting waste breads into mannitol sugar, a culture medium was prepared from waste of Lavash and Baguette breads. Afterward, the ability to convert starch into fructose by Chemical analysis glucose test was used, and then bio-conversion analysis of fructose to mannitol by HPLC analysis was investigated. HPLC results showed that the Bacillus subtilis and Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 had the ability of producing mannitol at a rate of 4.8g/L from fructose 5%, 0.15 g/L from Lavash bread 5%, and 0.2g/L from Baguette bread.

  6. A longitudinal study of interethnic contacts in Germany: estimates from a multilevel growth curve model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martinovic, B.; van Tubergen, F.; Maas, I.

    2015-01-01

    Interethnic ties are considered important for the cohesion in society. Previous research has studied the determinants of interethnic ties with cross-sectional data or lagged panel designs. This study improves on prior research by applying multilevel growth curve modelling techniques with lagged

  7. A longitudinal study of interethnic contacts in Germany : Estimates from a multilevel growth curve model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martinovic, Borja|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304822752; van Tubergen, Frank|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/271429534; Maas, Ineke|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/075229390

    2015-01-01

    Interethnic ties are considered important for the cohesion in society. Previous research has studied the determinants of interethnic ties with cross-sectional data or lagged panel designs. This study improves on prior research by applying multilevel growth curve modelling techniques with lagged

  8. Curve-of-growth analysis of a red giant in the globular cluster M13

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, R.

    1979-01-01

    A coude spectrogram of a red giant (L973) in the globular cluster M13 is analysed, with respect to α Boo, by the differential curve-of-growth technique. The overall metal abundance is found to be approximately one-tenth of that of α Boo, or one-fortieth that of the Sun. (author)

  9. Economic growth and emissions reconsidering the empirical basis of environmental Kuznets curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Bruyn, S.M.; Van den Bergh, J.C.J.M.; Opschoor, J.B.

    1998-01-01

    Recent empirical research indicates that certain types of emissions follow an inverted-U or environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) as income grows. This regularity has been interpreted as a possible de-linking of economic growth and patterns of certain pollutants for developed economies. In this paper the empirical basis of this result is investigated, by considering some statistical particularities of the various EKC studies performed. It is argued that the inverted-U relationship between income and emissions estimated from panel data need not hold for specific individual countries over time. Based on insights from 'intensity-of-use' analysis in resource economics an alternative growth model is specified and estimated for three types of emissions (CO 2 , NO x and SO 2 ) in four countries (Netherlands, UK, USA and Western Germany). It is found that the time patterns of these emissions correlate positively with economic growth and that emission reductions may have been achieved as a result of structural and technological changes in the economy. 'Sustainable growth' is defined as the rate of economic growth that does not lead to growth in emissions. Its rate is calculated for each type of emission and country, based on estimated parameter values. The resulting indicators reflect a balance between the positive influence of growth and negative influence of structural change and technological progress on emission levels

  10. Effect of temperature on microbial growth rate - thermodynamic analysis, the arrhenius and eyring-polanyi connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objective of this work is to develop a new thermodynamic mathematical model for evaluating the effect of temperature on the rate of microbial growth. The new mathematical model is derived by combining the Arrhenius equation and the Eyring-Polanyi transition theory. The new model, suitable for ...

  11. Effect of silver nanoparticles on growth performance, metabolism and microbial profile of broiler chickens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pineda, Lane Manalili; Chwalibog, André; Sawosz, Ewa

    2012-01-01

    and intestinal content were collected to evaluate the effects of AgNano on plasma concentration of immunoglobulins and the intestinal microflora, respectively. The provision of water solutions containing different concentrations of AgNano had no effect on postnatal growth performance and the energy metabolism...... (IgG) in the blood plasma of broilers supplemented with AgNano decreased at day 36 (p = 0.012). The results demonstrated that AgNano affects N utilisation and plasma IgG concentration; however, it does not influence the microbial populations in the digestive tract, the energy metabolism and growth...

  12. An introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling concepts, issues, and application

    CERN Document Server

    Duncan, Terry E; Strycker, Lisa A

    2013-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling (LGM) for analyzing repeated measures. It presents the statistical basis for LGM and its various methodological extensions, including a number of practical examples of its use. It is designed to take advantage of the reader's familiarity with analysis of variance and structural equation modeling (SEM) in introducing LGM techniques. Sample data, syntax, input and output, are provided for EQS, Amos, LISREL, and Mplus on the book's CD. Throughout the book, the authors present a variety of LGM techniques that are useful for many different research designs, and numerous figures provide helpful diagrams of the examples.Updated throughout, the second edition features three new chapters-growth modeling with ordered categorical variables, growth mixture modeling, and pooled interrupted time series LGM approaches. Following a new organization, the book now covers the development of the LGM, followed by chapters on multiple-group is...

  13. Weight-for-length/height growth curves for children and adolescents in China in comparison with body mass index in prevalence estimates of malnutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zong, Xinnan; Li, Hui; Zhang, Yaqin; Wu, Huahong

    2017-05-01

    It is important to update weight-for-length/height growth curves in China and re-examine their performance in screening malnutrition. To develop weight-for-length/height growth curves for Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 94 302 children aged 0-19 years with complete sex, age, weight and length/height data were obtained from two cross-sectional large-scaled national surveys in China. Weight-for-length/height growth curves were constructed using the LMS method before and after average spermarcheal/menarcheal ages, respectively. Screening performance in prevalence estimates of wasting, overweight and obesity was compared between weight-for-height and body mass index (BMI) criteria based on a test population of 21 416 children aged 3-18. The smoothed weight-for-length percentiles and Z-scores growth curves with length 46-110 cm for both sexes and weight-for-height with height 70-180 cm for boys and 70-170 cm for girls were established. The weight-for-height and BMI-for-age had strong correlation in screening wasting, overweight and obesity in each age-sex group. There was no striking difference in prevalence estimates of wasting, overweight and obesity between two indicators except for obesity prevalence at ages 6-11. This set of smoothed weight-for-length/height growth curves may be useful in assessing nutritional status from infants to post-pubertal adolescents.

  14. Changes in Microbial Energy Metabolism Measured by Nanocalorimetry during Growth Phase Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robador, Alberto; LaRowe, Douglas E.; Finkel, Steven E.; Amend, Jan P.; Nealson, Kenneth H.

    2018-01-01

    Calorimetric measurements of the change in heat due to microbial metabolic activity convey information about the kinetics, as well as the thermodynamics, of all chemical reactions taking place in a cell. Calorimetric measurements of heat production made on bacterial cultures have recorded the energy yields of all co-occurring microbial metabolic reactions, but this is a complex, composite signal that is difficult to interpret. Here we show that nanocalorimetry can be used in combination with enumeration of viable cell counts, oxygen consumption rates, cellular protein content, and thermodynamic calculations to assess catabolic rates of an isolate of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and infer what fraction of the chemical energy is assimilated by the culture into biomass and what fraction is dissipated in the form of heat under different limiting conditions. In particular, our results demonstrate that catabolic rates are not necessarily coupled to rates of cell division, but rather, to physiological rearrangements of S. oneidensis MR-1 upon growth phase transitions. In addition, we conclude that the heat released by growing microorganisms can be measured in order to understand the physiochemical nature of the energy transformation and dissipation associated with microbial metabolic activity in conditions approaching those found in natural systems. PMID:29449836

  15. SERIAL ULTRASOUND TO ESTIMATE FETAL GROWTH CURVES IN SOUTHERN TAMANDUA (TAMANDUA TETRADACTYLA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Rachel; Wolf, Tiffany M; Robertson, Heather; Colburn, Margarita Woc; Moreno, Alexis; Moresco, Anneke; Napier, Anne Elise; Nofs, Sally A

    2017-06-01

    From 2012 to 2015, 16 pregnancies were monitored by ultrasonography in nine tamanduas ( Tamandua tetradactyla ) housed in three zoological facilities. Sonographic measurements were recorded to establish fetal growth curves using thoracic and skull landmarks described for giant anteaters ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ). All pregnancies resulted in the uncomplicated delivery of healthy offspring, thus gestational development was considered normal. These data may be used as a reference for normal fetal development with potential for estimating parturition date in the absence of breeding data.

  16. Anthropometric evaluation of indigenous Brazilian children under 60 months of age using NCHS/1977 and WHO/2005 growth curves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orellana, Jesem D Y; Santos, Ricardo V; Coimbra, Carlos E A; Leite, Maurício S

    2009-01-01

    To perform a comparative analysis of anthropometric data from Suruí, Xavánte and Wari' indigenous children under 60 months of age using the NCHS/1977 and the WHO/2005 growth curves. Anthropometric measurements followed standard procedures and the data obtained were converted into z scores using the Epi-Info (Version 3.4) and WHO-Anthro (Version Beta) softwares. The indices height/age (H/A), weight/age (W/A) and weight/height (W/H) were descriptors of nutritional status for all children under 60 months of age, as well as the body mass index (BMI) for children 24-59 months old. The frequencies of Suruí children Wari' 61.7 and 68.3%. The frequencies of Suruí children Wari' 51.7 and 45.0%. None of the Suruí children were Wari' 1.7 and 0.0%. The frequencies of Suruí children > 2 z scores for W/H were 3.9 (NCHS/1977) and 3.9% (WHO/2005); Xavánte 0.0 and 0.8%; Wari' 0.0 and 0.0%. The frequency of Suruí children aged 24-59 months > 2 z scores for BMI was 5.4% (WHO/2005); Xavánte 9.5%; and Wari' 0.0%. Our findings revealed important differences in the results from nutritional assessment, according to the set of growth curves used; however, the use of both growth curves revealed a high prevalence of malnutrition. Therefore, future studies with indigenous populations should present their results using two sets of growth curves to allow consistent comparison.

  17. Microbial stratification in low pH oxic and suboxic macroscopic growths along an acid mine drainage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Méndez-García, Celia; Mesa, Victoria; Sprenger, Richard Remko

    2014-01-01

    Macroscopic growths at geographically separated acid mine drainages (AMDs) exhibit distinct populations. Yet, local heterogeneities are poorly understood. To gain novel mechanistic insights into this, we used OMICs tools to profile microbial populations coexisting in a single pyrite gallery AMD (pH...

  18. Microbial stratification in low pH oxic and suboxic macroscopic growths along an acid mine drainage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Méndez-Garcia, C.; Mesa, V.; Sprenger, R.R.; Richter, M.; Suarez Diez, M.; Solano, J.; Bargiela, R.; Golyshina, O.V.; Manteca, A.; Ramos, J.L.; Gallego, J.R.; Llorente, I.; Martins Dos Santos, V.A.P.; Jensen, O.N.; Paláez, A.I.; Sánchez, J.; Ferrer, M.

    2014-01-01

    Macroscopic growths at geographically separated acid mine drainages (AMDs) exhibit distinct populations. Yet, local heterogeneities are poorly understood. To gain novel mechanistic insights into this, we used OMICs tools to profile microbial populations coexisting in a single pyrite gallery AMD (pH

  19. Earthworms (Amynthas spp. increase common bean growth, microbial biomass, and soil respiration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julierme Zimmer Barbosa

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Few studies have evaluated the effect of earthworms on plants and biological soil attributes, especially among legumes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of earthworms (Amynthas spp. on growth in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. and on soil biological attributes. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design with five treatments and eight repetitions. The treatments consisted of inoculation with five different quantities of earthworms of the genus Amynthas (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 worms per pot. Each experimental unit consisted of a plastic pot containing 4 kg of soil and two common bean plants. The experiment was harvested 38 days after seedling emergence. Dry matter and plant height, soil respiration, microbial respiration, microbial biomass, and metabolic quotient were determined. Earthworm recovery in our study was high in number and mass, with all values above 91.6% and 89.1%, respectively. In addition, earthworm fresh biomass decreased only in the treatment that included eight earthworms per pot. The presence of earthworms increased the plant growth and improved soil biological properties, suggesting that agricultural practices that favor the presence of these organisms can be used to increase the production of common bean, and the increased soil CO2 emission caused by the earthworms can be partially offset by the addition of common bean crop residues to the soil.

  20. Parent involvement and science achievement: A latent growth curve analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Ursula Yvette

    This study examined science achievement growth across elementary and middle school and parent school involvement using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Class of 1998--1999 (ECLS-K). The ECLS-K is a nationally representative kindergarten cohort of students from public and private schools who attended full-day or half-day kindergarten class in 1998--1999. The present study's sample (N = 8,070) was based on students that had a sampling weight available from the public-use data file. Students were assessed in science achievement at third, fifth, and eighth grades and parents of the students were surveyed at the same time points. Analyses using latent growth curve modeling with time invariant and varying covariates in an SEM framework revealed a positive relationship between science achievement and parent involvement at eighth grade. Furthermore, there were gender and racial/ethnic differences in parents' school involvement as a predictor of science achievement. Findings indicated that students with lower initial science achievement scores had a faster rate of growth across time. The achievement gap between low and high achievers in earth, space and life sciences lessened from elementary to middle school. Parents' involvement with school usually tapers off after elementary school, but due to parent school involvement being a significant predictor of eighth grade science achievement, later school involvement may need to be supported and better implemented in secondary schooling.

  1. Self-Regulation and Recall: Growth Curve Modeling of Intervention Outcomes for Older Adults

    OpenAIRE

    West, Robin L.; Hastings, Erin C.

    2011-01-01

    Memory training has often been supported as a potential means to improve performance for older adults. Less often studied are the characteristics of trainees that benefit most from training. Using a self-regulatory perspective, the current project examined a latent growth curve model to predict training-related gains for middle-aged and older adult trainees from individual differences (e.g., education), information processing skills (strategy use) and self-regulatory factors such as self-effi...

  2. Microbial Inoculantes Effects on Growth Promotion of Mangrove and Citrullus vulgaris San Andrés Isla, Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania Galindo

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to test the effect of two microbial inoculants (obtained from red and black mangrove roots on the growth and stability of mangrove and watermelon plants, four treatments were carried out in San Andres Island, Colombia. The treatments consisted in the application of the inoculants in: A. germinans propagules collected in a mangrove area, and then individually planted in gavels with sun-pasteurized soil (in order to decrease the microbial load, A. germinans and R. mangle plants collected in the proximity of nursery trees, A. germinans and R. mangle planted and maintained in nursery, and in Citrullus vulgaris seeds planted in a traditional cultivar without chemical fertilizers. The growth and vegetative development variables were: number of nodes, number of leaves and steam length. The inoculants (phosphate solubilizing microorganisms -PSM- and nitrogen fixing bacteria -NFB- were applied in the mentioned vegetable material, doing measures during three months. The results show a positive effect on growth measured by steam length in plants treated specifically with the inoculants in C. vulgaris and A. germinans seedlings maintained in nursery.

  3. The Growth Path of Agricultural Labor Productivity in China: A Latent Growth Curve Model at the Prefectural Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Bin

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Given the shrinking proportion of agriculture output and the growing mobility of the labor force in China, how agricultural labor productivity develops has become an increasingly attractive topic for researchers and policy makers. This study aims to depict the development trajectory of agricultural labor productivity in China after its WTO entry. Based on a balanced panel data containing 287 Chinese prefectures from 2000 to 2013, this study applies the Latent Growth Curve Model (LGCM and finds that the agricultural labor productivity follows a piecewise growth path with two breaking points in the years of 2004 and 2009. This may stem from some exogenous stimulus, such as supporting policies launched in the breaking years. Further statistical analysis shows an expanding gap of agricultural labor productivity among different Chinese prefectures.

  4. The relative importance of exogenous and substrate-derived nitrogen for microbial growth during leaf decomposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    B.M. Cheever; J. R. Webster; E. E. Bilger; S. A. Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Heterotrophic microbes colonizing detritus obtain nitrogen (N) for growth by assimilating N from their substrate or immobilizing exogenous inorganic N. Microbial use of these two pools has different implications for N cycling and organic matter decomposition in the face of the global increase in biologically available N. We used sugar maple leaves labeled with

  5. Increase the Visibility of Microbial Growth in a Winogradsky Column by Substituting Diatomaceous Earth for Sediment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas G. Benoit

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The difficulty students have seeing the color associated with microbial growth in a traditional Winogradsky column can be overcome by substituting diatomaceous earth (DE for sediment. Microbial growth in a DE column is visible from the early stages of ecological succession and the colors produced appear more vibrant. A flat-sided tissue culture flask can be used as a column container to provide a large surface area for observation. The enhanced visual experience provided by a DE column increases student engagement and learning. Editor's Note:The ASM advocates that students must successfully demonstrate the ability to explain and practice safe laboratory techniques. For more information, read the laboratory safety section of the ASM Curriculum Recommendations: Introductory Course in Microbiology and the Guidelines for Biosafety in Teaching Laboratories, available at www.asm.org. The Editors of JMBE recommend that adopters of the protocols included in this article follow a minimum of Biosafety Level 1 practices.

  6. Rhizospheric microbial communities are driven by Panax ginseng at different growth stages and biocontrol bacteria alleviates replanting mortality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linlin Dong

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The cultivation of Panax plants is hindered by replanting problems, which may be caused by plant-driven changes in the soil microbial community. Inoculation with microbial antagonists may efficiently alleviate replanting issues. Through high-throughput sequencing, this study revealed that bacterial diversity decreased, whereas fungal diversity increased, in the rhizosphere soils of adult ginseng plants at the root growth stage under different ages. Few microbial community, such as Luteolibacter, Cytophagaceae, Luteibacter, Sphingomonas, Sphingomonadaceae, and Zygomycota, were observed; the relative abundance of microorganisms, namely, Brevundimonas, Enterobacteriaceae, Pandoraea, Cantharellales, Dendryphion, Fusarium, and Chytridiomycota, increased in the soils of adult ginseng plants compared with those in the soils of 2-year-old seedlings. Bacillus subtilis 50-1, a microbial antagonist against the pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum, was isolated through a dual culture technique. These bacteria acted with a biocontrol efficacy of 67.8%. The ginseng death rate and Fusarium abundance decreased by 63.3% and 46.1%, respectively, after inoculation with B. subtilis 50-1. Data revealed that microecological degradation could result from ginseng-driven changes in rhizospheric microbial communities; these changes are associated with the different ages and developmental stages of ginseng plants. Biocontrol using microbial antagonists alleviated the replanting problem. KEY WORDS: Panax ginseng, Microbial communities, Replanting problem, High-throughput sequencing, Different ages, Bioremediation

  7. Economic growth and CO2 emissions in Malaysia: A cointegration analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saboori, Behnaz; Sulaiman, Jamalludin; Mohd, Saidatulakmal

    2012-01-01

    This paper attempts to establish a long-run as well as causal relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions for Malaysia. Using data for the years from 1980 to 2009, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis was tested utilizing the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) methodology. The empirical results suggest the existence of a long-run relationship between per capita CO 2 emissions and real per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when the CO 2 emissions level is the dependent variable. We found an inverted-U shape relationship between CO 2 emissions and GDP in both short and long-run, thus supporting the EKC hypothesis. The Granger Causality test based on the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) presents an absence of causality between CO 2 emissions and economic growth in the short-run while demonstrating uni-directional causality from economic growth to CO 2 emissions in the long-run. - Highlights: ► We tested the dynamic relationship between economic growth and CO 2 emissions. ► The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis was tested using bounds testing approach. ► The empirical analysis confirms the existence of EKC for Malaysia. ► Causality results in an absence of causality between CO 2 and income in the short-run. ► There is uni-directional causality from income to CO 2 emissions in the long-run.

  8. Antifungal activity of components used for decontamination of dental prostheses on the growth of Candida albicans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cíntia Lima Gouveia

    Full Text Available Introduction: The effectiveness of antimicrobial solutions employed in dental prosthesis decontamination is still uncertain. Aim: To evaluate the antifungal activity of cleaners used in the decontamination of dental prostheses on the growth of Candida albicans. Material and method: The evaluated products were: Corega Tabs(r (S1, Sodium Hypochlorite 1% (S2, Sodium Bicarbonate 1% (S3, Hydrogen Peroxide 1% (S4, Chlorhexidine Digluconate 0.12% - Periogard (r (S5, Mouthrinse based on essential oils - Listerine(r (S6, essential oil from Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary at concentrations of 1% (S7 and 2% (S8. The antifungal activity of the products was evaluated by agar diffusion technique and the determination of microbial death curve of samples of C. albicans (ATCC 90028 in concentration 1.5 × 106 CFU/mL. The tests were performed in triplicate and statistical analysis was made by ANOVA Two-Way and Tukey tests, with the confidence level of 95%. Result: The average of the zones of inhibition growth, in millimeters, obtained for the products were: 0.0 (S1, 44.7 (S2, 0.0 (S3, 21.6 (S4, 10.0 (S5, 6.1 (S6, 0.0 (S7 and 2.4 (S8. Considering the determination of microbial death curve, all products showed a statistical difference (p<0.01 from control (0.85% sodium chloride and S3 groups. Fungal growth less than 2×104 CFU/mL and an accentuation of the microbial death curve were observed after 30 minutes, with exception for S3 and control groups. Conclusion: The studied compounds, with the exception of Sodium Bicarbonate, have antifungal effect against C. albicans, which contribute for dental prostheses hygiene.

  9. Comparison of fermentation of diets of variable composition and microbial populations in the rumen of sheep and Rusitec fermenters. I. Digestibility, fermentation parameters, and microbial growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, M E; Ranilla, M J; Tejido, M L; Ramos, S; Carro, M D

    2010-08-01

    Four ruminally and duodenally cannulated sheep and 8 Rusitec fermenters were used to determine the effects of forage to concentrate (F:C) ratio and type of forage in the diet on ruminal fermentation and microbial protein synthesis. The purpose of the study was to assess how closely fermenters can mimic the dietary differences found in vivo. The 4 experimental diets contained F:C ratios of 70:30 or 30:70 with either alfalfa hay or grass hay as the forage. Microbial growth was determined in both systems using (15)N as a microbial marker. Rusitec fermenters detected differences between diets similar to those observed in sheep by changing F:C ratio on pH; neutral detergent fiber digestibility; total volatile fatty acid concentrations; molar proportions of acetate, propionate, butyrate, isovalerate, and caproate; and amylase activity. In contrast, Rusitec fermenters did not reproduce the dietary differences found in sheep for NH(3)-N and lactate concentrations, dry matter (DM) digestibility, proportions of isobutyrate and valerate, carboxymethylcellulase and xylanase activities, and microbial growth and its efficiency. Regarding the effect of the type of forage in the diet, Rusitec fermenters detected differences between diets similar to those found in sheep for most determined parameters, with the exception of pH, DM digestibility, butyrate proportion, and carboxymethylcellulase activity. Minimum pH and maximal volatile fatty acid concentrations were reached at 2h and at 6 to 8h postfeeding in sheep and fermenters, respectively, indicating that feed fermentation was slower in fermenters compared with that in sheep. There were differences between systems in the magnitude of most determined parameters. In general, fermenters showed lower lactate concentrations, neutral detergent fiber digestibility, acetate:propionate ratios, and enzymatic activities. On the contrary, fermenters showed greater NH(3)-N concentrations, DM digestibility, and proportions of propionate

  10. Better to light a candle than curse the darkness: illuminating spatial localization and temporal dynamics of rapid microbial growth in the rhizosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick M Herron

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The rhizosphere is a hotbed of microbial activity in ecosystems, fueled by carbon compounds from plant roots. Basic questions about the location and dynamics of plant-spurred microbial growth in the rhizosphere are difficult to answer with standard, destructive soil assays mixing a multitude of microbe-scale microenvironments in a single, often sieved, sample. Soil microbial biosensors designed with the luxCDABE reporter genes fused to a promoter of interest enable continuous imaging of the microbial perception of (and response to environmental conditions in soil. We used the common soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as host to plasmid pZKH2 containing a fusion between the strong constituitive promoter nptII and luxCDABE (coding for light-emitting proteins from Vibrio fischeri. Experiments in liquid media demonstrated that high light production by KT2440/pZKH2 was associated with rapid microbial growth supported by high carbon availability. We applied the biosensors in microcosms filled with non-sterile soil in which corn (Zea mays L., black poplar (Populus nigra L. or tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. was growing. We detected minimal light production from microbiosensors in the bulk soil, but biosensors reported continuously from around roots for as long as six days. For corn, peaks of luminescence were detected 1-4 and 20-35 mm along the root axis behind growing root tips, with the location of maximum light production moving farther back from the tip as root growth rate increased. For poplar, luminescence around mature roots increased and decreased on a coordinated diel rhythm, but was not bright near root tips. For tomato, luminescence was dynamic, but did not exhibit a diel rhythm, appearing in acropetal waves along roots. KT2440/pZKH2 revealed that root tips are not always the only, or even the dominant, hotspots for rhizosphere microbial growth, and carbon availability is highly variable in space and time around roots.

  11. Effect of growth conditions on microbial activity and iron-sulfide production by Desulfovibrio vulgaris

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Chen; Vannela, Raveender; Hayes, Kim F.; Rittmann, Bruce E.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Extended incubation time to 16 days allowed significant FeS crystallization. • A weakly acidic pH greatly enhanced particle growth of mackinawite. • Microbial metabolism of different donors systematically altered the ambient pH. • Greater sulfide accumulation stimulated mackinawite transformation to greigite. - Abstract: Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) can produce iron sulfide (FeS) solids with mineralogical characteristics that may be beneficial for a variety of biogeochemical applications, such as long-term immobilization of uranium. In this study, the growth and metabolism of Desulfovibrio vulgaris, one of the best-studied SRB species, were comprehensively monitored in batch studies, and the biogenic FeS solids were characterized by X-ray diffraction. Controlling the pH by varying the initial pH, the iron-to-sulfate ratio, or the electron donor – affected the growth of D. vulgaris and strongly influenced the formation and growth of FeS solids. In particular, lower pH (from initial conditions or a decrease caused by less sulfate reduction, FeS precipitation, or using pyruvate as the electron donor) produced larger-sized mackinawite (Fe 1+x S). Greater accumulation of free sulfide, from more sulfate reduction by D. vulgaris, also led to larger-sized mackinawite and particularly stimulated mackinawite transformation to greigite (Fe 3 S 4 ) when the free sulfide concentration was 29.3 mM. Furthermore, sufficient free Fe 2+ led to the additional formation of vivianite [Fe 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·8(H 2 O)]. Thus, microbially relevant conditions (initial pH, choice of electron donor, and excess or deficiency of sulfide) are tools to generate biogenic FeS solids of different characteristics

  12. [Influence of Mirabilis jalapa Linn. Growth on the Microbial Community and Petroleum Hydrocarbon Degradation in Petroleum Contaminated Saline-alkali Soil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Hai-hua; Cui, Bing-jian; Wu, Shang-hua; Bai, Zhi-hui; Huang, Zhan-bin

    2015-09-01

    In order to explore the effect of Mirabilis jalapa Linn. growth on the structure characteristics of the microbial community and the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in the petroleum-contaminated saline-alkali soil, Microbial biomass and species in the rhizosphere soils of Mirabilis jalapa Linn. in the contaminated saline soil were studied with the technology of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis. The results showed that comparing to CK soils without Mirabilis jalapa Linn., the ratio of PLFAs species varied were 71. 4%, 69. 2% and 33. 3% in the spring, summer and autumn season, respectively. In addition, there was distinct difference of the biomasses of the microbial community between the CK and rhizosphere soils and among the difference seasons of growth of Mirabilis jalapa Linn.. Compare to CK soil, the degradation rates of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) was increased by 47. 6%, 28. 3%, and 18. 9% in spring, summer, and autumn rhizosphere soils, respectively. Correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between TPH degradation and the soil microbial community. 77. 8% of the total soil microbial PLFAs species showed positive correlation to the TPH degradation (the correlation coefficient r > 0), among which, 55. 6% of PLFAs species showed high positive correlation(the correlation coefficient was r≥0. 8). In addition, the relative content of SAT and MONO had high correlation with TPH degradation in the CK sample soils, the corelation coefficient were 0. 92 and 0. 60 respectively; However, the percent of positive correlation was 42. 1% in the rhizosphere soils with 21. 1% of them had high positive correlation. The relative content of TBSAT, MONO and CYCLO had moderate or low correlation in rhizosphere soils, and the correlation coefficient were 0. 56, 0. 50, and 0. 07 respectively. Our study showed that the growth of mirabilis Mirabilis jalapa Linn. had a higher influence on the species and biomass of microbial community in the

  13. A bioenergetics-kinetics coupled modeling study on subsurface microbial metabolism in a field biostimulation experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Q.; Zheng, Z.; Zhu, C.

    2006-12-01

    Microorganisms in nature conserve energy by catalyzing various geochemical reactions. To build a quantitative relationship between geochemical conditions and metabolic rates, we propose a bioenergetics-kinetics coupled modeling approach. This approach describes microbial community as a metabolic network, i.e., fermenting microbes degrade organic substrates while aerobic respirer, nitrate reducer, metal reducer, sulfate reducer, and methanogen consume the fermentation products. It quantifies the control of substrate availability and biological energy conservation on the metabolic rates using thermodynamically consistent rate laws. We applied this simulation approach to study the progress of microbial metabolism during a field biostimulation experiment conducted in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the experiment, ethanol was injected into a monitoring well and groundwater was sampled to monitor changes in the chemistry. With time, concentrations of ethanol and SO42- decreased while those of NH4+, Fe2+, and Mn2+ increased. The simulation results fitted well to the observation, indicating simultaneous ethanol degradation and terminal electron accepting processes. The rates of aerobic respiration and denitrification were mainly controlled by substrate concentrations while those of ethanol degradation, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis were controlled dominantly by the energy availability. The simulation results suggested two different microbial growth statuses in the subsurface. For the functional groups with significant growth, variations with time in substrate concentrations demonstrated a typical S curve. For the groups without significant growth, initial decreases in substrate concentrations were linear with time. Injecting substrates followed by monitoring environmental chemistry therefore provides a convenient approach to characterize microbial growth in the subsurface where methods for direct observation are currently unavailable. This research was funded by the

  14. A comparison of various Gibbs energy dissipation correlations for predicting microbial growth yields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, J.-S. [Laboratory of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Vojinovic, V. [Laboratory of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Patino, R. [Cinvestav-Merida, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Km. 6 carretera antigua a Progreso, AP 73 Cordemex, 97310 Merida, Yucatan (Mexico); Maskow, Th. [UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Permoserstrasse 15, D-04318 Leipzig (Germany); Stockar, U. von [Laboratory of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)]. E-mail: urs.vonStockar@epfl.ch

    2007-06-25

    Thermodynamic analysis may be applied in order to predict microbial growth yields roughly, based on an empirical correlation of the Gibbs energy of the overall growth reaction or Gibbs energy dissipation. Due to the well-known trade-off between high biomass yield and high Gibbs energy dissipation necessary for fast growth, an optimal range of Gibbs energy dissipation exists and it can be correlated to physical characteristics of the growth substrates. A database previously available in the literature has been extended significantly in order to test such correlations. An analysis of the relationship between biomass yield and Gibbs energy dissipation reveals that one does not need a very precise estimation of the latter to predict the former roughly. Approximating the Gibbs energy dissipation with a constant universal value of -500 kJ C-mol{sup -1} of dry biomass grown predicts many experimental growth yields nearly as well as a carefully designed, complex correlation available from the literature, even though a number of predictions are grossly out of range. A new correlation for Gibbs energy dissipation is proposed which is just as accurate as the complex literature correlation despite its dramatically simpler structure.

  15. A comparison of various Gibbs energy dissipation correlations for predicting microbial growth yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, J.-S.; Vojinovic, V.; Patino, R.; Maskow, Th.; Stockar, U. von

    2007-01-01

    Thermodynamic analysis may be applied in order to predict microbial growth yields roughly, based on an empirical correlation of the Gibbs energy of the overall growth reaction or Gibbs energy dissipation. Due to the well-known trade-off between high biomass yield and high Gibbs energy dissipation necessary for fast growth, an optimal range of Gibbs energy dissipation exists and it can be correlated to physical characteristics of the growth substrates. A database previously available in the literature has been extended significantly in order to test such correlations. An analysis of the relationship between biomass yield and Gibbs energy dissipation reveals that one does not need a very precise estimation of the latter to predict the former roughly. Approximating the Gibbs energy dissipation with a constant universal value of -500 kJ C-mol -1 of dry biomass grown predicts many experimental growth yields nearly as well as a carefully designed, complex correlation available from the literature, even though a number of predictions are grossly out of range. A new correlation for Gibbs energy dissipation is proposed which is just as accurate as the complex literature correlation despite its dramatically simpler structure

  16. Bifurcations of a periodically forced microbial continuous culture model with restrained growth rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Jingli; Yuan, Qigang

    2017-08-01

    A three dimensional microbial continuous culture model with a restrained microbial growth rate is studied in this paper. Two types of dilution rates are considered to investigate the dynamic behaviors of the model. For the unforced system, fold bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation are detected, and numerical simulations reveal that the system undergoes degenerate Hopf bifurcation. When the system is periodically forced, bifurcation diagrams for periodic solutions of period-one and period-two are given by researching the Poincaré map, corresponding to different bifurcation cases in the unforced system. Stable and unstable quasiperiodic solutions are obtained by Neimark-Sacker bifurcation with different parameter values. Periodic solutions of various periods can occur or disappear and even change their stability, when the Poincaré map of the forced system undergoes Neimark-Sacker bifurcation, flip bifurcation, and fold bifurcation. Chaotic attractors generated by a cascade of period doublings and some phase portraits are given at last.

  17. Effect of Nisin's Controlled Release on Microbial Growth as Modeled for Micrococcus luteus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramanian, Aishwarya; Lee, Dong Sun; Chikindas, Michael L; Yam, Kit L

    2011-06-01

    The need for safe food products has motivated food scientists and industry to find novel technologies for antimicrobial delivery for improving food safety and quality. Controlled release packaging is a novel technology that uses the package to deliver antimicrobials in a controlled manner and sustain antimicrobial stress on the targeted microorganism over the required shelf life. This work studied the effect of controlled release of nisin to inhibit growth of Micrococcus luteus (a model microorganism) using a computerized syringe pump system to mimic the release of nisin from packaging films which was characterized by an initially fast rate and a slower rate as time progressed. The results show that controlled release of nisin was strikingly more effective than instantly added ("formulated") nisin. While instant addition experiments achieved microbial inhibition only at the beginning, controlled release experiments achieved complete microbial inhibition for a longer time, even when as little as 15% of the amount of nisin was used as compared to instant addition.

  18. Escaping the snare of chronological growth and launching a free curve alternative: general deviance as latent growth model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Phillip Karl; Jackson, Kristina M

    2013-08-01

    Researchers studying longitudinal relationships among multiple problem behaviors sometimes characterize autoregressive relationships across constructs as indicating "protective" or "launch" factors or as "developmental snares." These terms are used to indicate that initial or intermediary states of one problem behavior subsequently inhibit or promote some other problem behavior. Such models are contrasted with models of "general deviance" over time in which all problem behaviors are viewed as indicators of a common linear trajectory. When fit of the "general deviance" model is poor and fit of one or more autoregressive models is good, this is taken as support for the inhibitory or enhancing effect of one construct on another. In this paper, we argue that researchers consider competing models of growth before comparing deviance and time-bound models. Specifically, we propose use of the free curve slope intercept (FCSI) growth model (Meredith & Tisak, 1990) as a general model to typify change in a construct over time. The FCSI model includes, as nested special cases, several statistical models often used for prospective data, such as linear slope intercept models, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance, various one-factor models, and hierarchical linear models. When considering models involving multiple constructs, we argue the construct of "general deviance" can be expressed as a single-trait multimethod model, permitting a characterization of the deviance construct over time without requiring restrictive assumptions about the form of growth over time. As an example, prospective assessments of problem behaviors from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (Silva & Stanton, 1996) are considered and contrasted with earlier analyses of Hussong, Curran, Moffitt, and Caspi (2008), which supported launch and snare hypotheses. For antisocial behavior, the FCSI model fit better than other models, including the linear chronometric growth curve

  19. Towards the understanding of microbial metabolism in relation to microbial enhanced oil recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Nielsen, Kristian Fog

    2017-01-01

    In this study, Bacillus licheniformis 421 was used as a model organism to understand the effects of microbial cell growth and metabolite production under anaerobic conditions in relation to microbial enhanced oil recovery. The bacterium was able to grow anaerobically on different carbon compounds...

  20. Effect of different film packaging on microbial growth in minimally processed cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palma, A; Mangia, N P; Fadda, A; Barberis, A; Schirra, M; D'Aquino, S

    2013-01-01

    Microorganisms are natural contaminants of fresh produce and minimally processed products, and contamination arises from a number of sources, including the environment, postharvest handling and processing. Fresh-cut products are particularly susceptible to microbial contaminations because of the changes occurring in the tissues during processing. In package gas composition of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) in combination with low storage temperatures besides reducing physiological activity of packaged produce, can also delay pathogen growth. Present study investigated on the effect of MAPs, achieved with different plastic films, on microbial growth of minimally processed cactus pear (Opuntio ficus-indica) fruit. Five different plastic materials were used for packaging the manually peeled fruit. That is: a) polypropylene film (Termoplast MY 40 micron thickness, O2 transmission rate 300 cc/m2/24h); b) polyethylene film (Bolphane BHE, 11 micron thickness, O2 transmission rate 19000 cc/m2/24h); c) polypropylene laser-perforated films (Mach Packaging) with 8, 16 or 32 100-micron holes. Total aerobic psychrophilic, mesophilic microorganisms, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast, mould populations and in-package CO2, O2 and C2H4 were determined at each storage time. Different final gas compositions, ranging from 7.8 KPa to 17.1 KPa O2, and 12.7 KPa to 2.6 KPa CO2, were achieved with MY and micro perforated films, respectively. Differences were detected in the mesophilic, Enterobacteriaceae and yeast loads, while no difference was detected in psychrophilic microorganisms. At the end of storage, microbial load in fruits sealed with MY film was significantly lower than in those sealed with BHE and micro perforated films. Furthermore, fruits packed with micro-perforated films showed the highest microbial load. This occurrence may in part be related to in-package gas composition and in part to a continuous contamination of microorganisms through micro-holes.

  1. Alignment of microbial fitness with engineered product formation: obligatory coupling between acetate production and photoautotrophic growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Wei; Jongbloets, Joeri A; van Boxtel, Coco; Pineda Hernández, Hugo; Lips, David; Oliver, Brett G; Hellingwerf, Klaas J; Branco Dos Santos, Filipe

    2018-01-01

    Microbial bioengineering has the potential to become a key contributor to the future development of human society by providing sustainable, novel, and cost-effective production pipelines. However, the sustained productivity of genetically engineered strains is often a challenge, as spontaneous non-producing mutants tend to grow faster and take over the population. Novel strategies to prevent this issue of strain instability are urgently needed. In this study, we propose a novel strategy applicable to all microbial production systems for which a genome-scale metabolic model is available that aligns the production of native metabolites to the formation of biomass. Based on well-established constraint-based analysis techniques such as OptKnock and FVA, we developed an in silico pipeline-FRUITS-that specifically 'Finds Reactions Usable in Tapping Side-products'. It analyses a metabolic network to identify compounds produced in anabolism that are suitable to be coupled to growth by deletion of their re-utilization pathway(s), and computes their respective biomass and product formation rates. When applied to Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, a model cyanobacterium explored for sustainable bioproduction, a total of nine target metabolites were identified. We tested our approach for one of these compounds, acetate, which is used in a wide range of industrial applications. The model-guided engineered strain shows an obligatory coupling between acetate production and photoautotrophic growth as predicted. Furthermore, the stability of acetate productivity in this strain was confirmed by performing prolonged turbidostat cultivations. This work demonstrates a novel approach to stabilize the production of target compounds in cyanobacteria that culminated in the first report of a photoautotrophic growth-coupled cell factory. The method developed is generic and can easily be extended to any other modeled microbial production system.

  2. Parameter estimations in predictive microbiology: Statistically sound modelling of the microbial growth rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akkermans, Simen; Logist, Filip; Van Impe, Jan F

    2018-04-01

    When building models to describe the effect of environmental conditions on the microbial growth rate, parameter estimations can be performed either with a one-step method, i.e., directly on the cell density measurements, or in a two-step method, i.e., via the estimated growth rates. The two-step method is often preferred due to its simplicity. The current research demonstrates that the two-step method is, however, only valid if the correct data transformation is applied and a strict experimental protocol is followed for all experiments. Based on a simulation study and a mathematical derivation, it was demonstrated that the logarithm of the growth rate should be used as a variance stabilizing transformation. Moreover, the one-step method leads to a more accurate estimation of the model parameters and a better approximation of the confidence intervals on the estimated parameters. Therefore, the one-step method is preferred and the two-step method should be avoided. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Biomechanical ordering and buckling due to microbial growth confined at oil-water interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juarez, Gabriel; Stocker, Roman

    2015-11-01

    Bacteria are unicellular organisms that often exist as densely populated, surface-associated communities. Bacteria are also environmental colloids and spontaneously attach and self-assemble at liquid-liquid interfaces. Here, we present results on the growth dynamics of individual rod-shaped bacteria confined to finite oil-water interfaces of varying curvature. Through experiments using microfluidic chambers and time-lapse microscopy, we study the formation of macroscopic structures observed as adsorbed bacteria grow, divide, and self-assemble in a nematic phase due to biomechanical interactions. The continued growth at the interface leads to a jammed monolayer of cells, which then causes the interface to buckle and undergo large deformations including wrinkling and tubulation. These observations highlight the interplay between physical environment, such as confinement and interface curvature, and active biological processes, such as growth, at the scale of individual agents and shape our understanding of macroscale processes such as microbial degradation of oil in the ocean.

  4. Preventing microbial growth on pall-rings when upgrading biogas using absorption with water wash

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haakansson, Anna

    2006-07-15

    For produced biogas to be usable as vehicle fuel it has to be upgraded to a higher energy content. This is accomplished by elevation of the methane concentration through removal of carbon dioxide. Absorption with water wash is the most common upgrading method used in Sweden today. The upgrading technique is based on the fact that carbon dioxide is more soluble in water than methane. Upgrading plants that utilises this method have problems with microbial growth in the system. This growth eventually leads to a stop in operation due to the gradually drop in upgrading capacity. The aim of this thesis were to evaluate the possibility to through some kind of water treatment maintain an acceptable level of growth or altogether prevent it in order to maintain an acceptable process capacity and thereby avoid the need to clean. Through collection of literature the implementation possibilities were evaluated with regard to efficiency, economic sustainability and if there would be a release of any harmful substances. In order to prevent the microbial growth in the columns the treatment should either focus on removing microorganisms or limit the accessible nutrients. For the single pass system it is concluded that the treatment should reduce the biofilm formation and be employed in an intermittent way. Among the evaluated treatments focusing on the reduction of microorganisms the addition of peracetic acid seems to be the most promising one. For the regenerating system the treatment method could focus on either one. As for the single pass system peracetic acid could be added to reduce the amount of microorganism. To reduce the amount of organic matter an advanced oxidation process could be deployed with the advantage that it also could remove the microorganisms.

  5. Economic growth and energy regulation in the environmental Kuznets curve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorente, Daniel Balsalobre; Álvarez-Herranz, Agustín

    2016-08-01

    This study establishes the existence of a pattern of behavior, between economic growth and environmental degradation, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for 17 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries between 1990 and 2012. Based on this EKC pattern, it shows that energy regulation measures help reduce per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To validate this hypothesis, we also add the explanatory variables: renewable energy promotion, energy innovation processes, and the suppression effect of income level on the contribution of renewable energy sources to total energy consumption. It aims to be a tool for decision-making regarding energy policy. This paper provides a two-stage econometric analysis of instrumental variables with the aim of correcting the existence of endogeneity in the variable GDP per capita, verifying that the instrumental variables used in this research are appropriate for our aim. To this end, it first makes a methodological contribution before incorporating additional variables associated with environmental air pollution into the EKC hypothesis and showing how they positively affect the explanation of the correction in the GHG emission levels. This study concludes that air pollution will not disappear on its own as economic growth increases. Therefore, it is necessary to promote energy regulation measures to reduce environmental pollution.

  6. Profiling of Indigenous Microbial Community Dynamics and Metabolic Activity During Enrichment in Molasses-Supplemented Crude Oil-Brine Mixtures for Improved Understanding of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Pedersen, Dorthe Skou; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Lantz, Anna Eliasson

    2015-06-01

    Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil-brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses, with or without nitrate to boost microbial growth. Growth of the indigenous microbes was stimulated by addition of molasses. Pyrosequencing showed that specifically Anaerobaculum, Petrotoga, and Methanothermococcus were enriched. Addition of nitrate favored the growth of Petrotoga over Anaerobaculum. The microbial growth caused changes in the crude oil-brine system: formation of oil emulsions, and reduction of interfacial tension (IFT). Reduction in IFT was associated with microbes being present at the oil-brine interphase. These findings suggest that stimulation of indigenous microbial growth by addition of molasses has potential as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) strategy in North Sea oil reservoirs.

  7. Effect of Schinus terebinthifolius on Candida albicans growth kinetics, cell wall formation and micromorphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Lívia Araújo; Freires, Irlan de Almeida; Pereira, Tricia Murielly; de Souza, Andrade; Lima, Edeltrudes de Oliveira; de Castro, Ricardo Dias

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the anti-fungal activity of a tincture from Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazilian pepper tree) on Candida albicans (ATCC 289065), a micro-organism associated with fungal infections of the oral cavity. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) were determined through microdilution technique, as well as the microbial growth curve of C. albicans promoted by S. terebinthifolius. In addition, this study investigated a possible activity of the product on the fungal cell wall and its biological activity on fungal morphology. Nystatin was used as control and all tests were performed in triplicate. S. terebinthifolius showed MIC of 312.5 µg/mL and MFC of 2500 µg/mL upon the strain tested, while Nystatin showed MIC and MFC of 6.25 µg/mL. As regards the microbial growth curve, S. terebinthifolius was able to significantly reduce the number of CFU/mL when compared to growth control until the time of 60 min. In the times 120 and 180 min there was no statistically significant difference between the growth control and the experimental product. S. terebinthifolius possibly acts on the fungal cell wall, once the sorbitol test indicated a MIC of 1250 µg/mL. In the fungal morphology, a reduction was observed of pseudo-hyphae, chlamydoconidia and blastoconidia in the presence of the experimental product. S. terebinthifolius showed anti-fungal activity against C. albicans, inhibiting, probably, the fungal cell wall formation.

  8. Microbial Communities: Tracing Growth Processes from Antarctic Lakes to Early Earth to Other Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumner, D. Y.

    2014-12-01

    Life in the Universe is dominated by microbes: they are numerically the most abundant cells in our bodies and in Earth's biosphere, and they are the only life that might be present elsewhere in our solar system. Life beyond our solar system could include macroscopic organisms, but everything we understand about the origin of life suggests it must start with microbes. Thus, understanding microbial ecosystems, in the absence of macroscopic organisms, is critical to understanding early life on Earth and life elsewhere in the Universe - if it exists. But what are the general principles of microbial ecology in the absence of predation? What happens when each cell is a chemical factory that can swap among metabolic processes in response to environmental and emergent cues? Geobiologists and astrobiologists are addressing these questions in diverse ways using both Earth's modern biosphere and its fossil record. Modern microbial communities in shallow, ice-covered lakes, Antarctica (Fig.), provide a model for high productivity microbial ecosystems with no to low predation. In these lakes, photosynthetic communities create macroscopic pinnacles and domes, sometime lithified into stromatolites. They provide an ecological, geochemical and morphological model for Precambrian microbial communities in low sedimentation, low current environments. Insights from these communities include new growth processes for ancient mats, especially some that grew prior to the oxidation of Earth's atmosphere. The diversity of biosignatures created in these communities also provides context for models of life under ice elsewhere in our solar system such as paleolakes on Mars and on icy moons. Results from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team document formerly habitable fluvial and lacustrine environments. Lacustrine environments, in particular, are favorable for preserving biosignatures, and continued investigations by MSL will provide a deeper understanding of the duration of habitable

  9. Developing and using artificial soils to analyze soil microbial processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, X.; Cheng, H. Y.; Boynton, L.; Masiello, C. A.; Silberg, J. J.

    2017-12-01

    Microbial diversity and function in soils are governed by soil characteristics such as mineral composition, particles size and aggregations, soil organic matter (SOM), and availability of nutrients and H2O. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of soils creates a range of niches (hotspots) differing in the availability of O2, H2O, and nutrients, which shapes microbial activities at scales ranging from nanometer to landscape. Synthetic biologists often examine microbial response trigged by their environment conditions in nutrient-rich aqueous media using single strain microbes. While these studies provided useful insight in the role of soil microbes in important soil biogeochemical processes (e.g., C cycling, N cycling, etc.), the results obtained from the over-simplified model systems are often not applicable natural soil systems. On the contrary, soil microbiologists examine microbial processes in natural soils using longer incubation time. However, due to its physical, chemical and biological complexity of natural soils, it is often difficult to examine soil characteristics independently and understand how each characteristic influences soil microbial activities and their corresponding soil functioning. Therefore, it is necessary to bridge the gap and develop a model matrix to exclude unpredictable influences from the environment while still reliably mimicking real environmental conditions. The objective of this study is to design a range of ecologically-relevant artificial soils with varying texture (particle size distribution), structure, mineralogy, SOM content, and nutrient heterogeneity. We thoroughly characterize the artificial soils for pH, active surface area and surface morphology, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and water retention curve. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the artificial soils as useful matrix for microbial processes, such as microbial growth and horizontal gene transfer (HGT), using the gas-reporting biosensors recently developed in

  10. Visible bands of ammonia: band strengths, curves of growth, and the spatial distribution of ammonia on Jupiter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutz, B.L.; Owen, T.

    1980-01-01

    We report room-temperature laboratory studies of the 5520 A (6ν 1 ) and 6475 A (5ν 1 ) bands of self-broadened ammonia at column densities ranging from 1.7--435.7 meter-amagats (m-am). Detailed equivalent-width measurements at 24 different pressure-pathlength combinations corresponding to four pressures between 44 and 689 torr and pathlengths between 32 and 512 m are used to determin curves of growth and integrated band strengths. The band strengths for the 6ν 1 and 5ν 1 overtones are 5520 A: S=0.096 +- 0.005 cm -1 (m-am) -1 and 6475 A: S=0.63 +- 0.03 cm -1 (m-am) -1 , respectively.Using these band strengths and curves of growth, we analyze new spatially resolved spectra of Jupiter showing a nonhomogeneous distribution of ammonia in the Jovian atmosphere. The observed variations in the CH 4 /NH 3 mixing ratio are interpreted as evidence of altitude-dependent depletion of ammonia in the atmosphere

  11. Microbial ecology of phototrophic biofilms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roeselers, G.

    2007-01-01

    Biofilms are layered structures of microbial cells and an extracellular matrix of polymeric substances, associated with surfaces and interfaces. Biofilms trap nutrients for growth of the enclosed microbial community and help prevent detachment of cells from surfaces in flowing systems. Phototrophic

  12. Growth curves in Down syndrome with congenital heart disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline D’Azevedo Sica

    Full Text Available SUMMARY Introduction: To assess dietary habits, nutritional status and food frequency in children and adolescents with Down syndrome (DS and congenital heart disease (CHD. Additionally, we attempted to compare body mass index (BMI classifications according to the World Health Organization (WHO curves and curves developed for individuals with DS. Method: Cross-sectional study including individuals with DS and CHD treated at a referral center for cardiology, aged 2 to 18 years. Weight, height, BMI, total energy and food frequency were measured. Nutritional status was assessed using BMI for age and gender, using curves for evaluation of patients with DS and those set by the WHO. Results: 68 subjects with DS and CHD were evaluated. Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD was the most common heart disease (52.9%. There were differences in BMI classification between the curves proposed for patients with DS and those proposed by the WHO. There was an association between consumption of vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Conclusion: Results showed that individuals with DS are mostly considered normal weight for age, when evaluated using specific curves for DS. Reviews on specific curves for DS would be the recommended practice for health professionals so as to avoid precipitated diagnosis of overweight and/or obesity in this population.

  13. Growth curve and diet density affect eating motivation, behaviour, and body composition of broiler breeders during rearing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mozos, de los J.; Garcia Ruiz, A.I.; Hartog, den L.A.; Villamide, M.J.

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this work has been to assess the effect of diet density [control (CON) or 15% diluted (DIL)] and growth curve [recommended by the genetic line (RBW) or 15% heavier (HBW)] and their interaction on BW uniformity, feeding motivation, behavior, and body composition of broiler breeder pullets.

  14. Economic growth, trade and energy. Implications for the environmental Kuznets curve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suri, Vivek; Chapman, Duane

    1998-01-01

    The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis asserts that pollution follows an inverted-U path with respect to economic growth. The EKC has been explained in terms of structural changes in the composition of economic output and increased environmental regulation at higher income levels. While some authors have incorporated the impact of trade policy orientation on the EKC, the impact of the actual movement between countries of goods that embody pollution has not been considered. This paper attempts to econometrically quantify the effect using pooled cross-country and time-series data. The EKC hypothesis is examined with respect to commercial energy consumption, the source of many serious environmental problems. It was found that while both industrializing and industrialized countries have added to their energy requirements by exporting manufactured goods, the growth has been substantially higher in the former. At the same time, industrialized countries have been able to reduce their energy requirements by importing manufactured goods. Exports of manufactured goods by industrialized countries has thus been an important factor in generating the upward sloping portion of the EKC and imports by industrialized countries have contributed to the downward slope

  15. Microbial growth in Acrocomia aculeata pulp oil, Jatropha curcas oil, and their respective biodiesels under simulated storage conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juciana Clarice Cazarolli

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available With increasing demands for biodiesel in Brazil, diverse oil feedstocks have been investigated for their potentials for biodiesel production. Due to the high biodegradability of natural oils and their respective biodiesels, microbial growths and consequent deterioration of final product quality are generally observed during storage. This study was aimed at evaluating the susceptibility of Acrocomia aculeata pulp oil and Jatropha curcas oil as well as their respective biodiesels to biodeterioration during a simulated storage period. The experiment was conducted in microcosms containing oil/biodiesel and an aqueous phase over 30 d. The levels of microbial contamination included biodiesel and oil as received, inoculated with fungi, and sterile. Samples were collected every 7 d to measure pH, surface tension, acidity index, and microbial biomass. The initial and final ester contents of the biodiesels were also determined by gas chromatography. The major microbial biomass was detected in A. aculeata pulp and J. curcas biodiesels. Significant reductions in pH values were observed for treatments with A. aculeata pulp biodiesel as a carbon source (p

  16. Do the ban on use of anti-microbial growth promoter impact on technical change and the efficiency of slaughter-pig production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lawson, Lartey; Otto, Lars; Jensen, Peter Vig

    2005-01-01

    infections, and in effect stimu-lated the utilization of feedstuff and reduced the mortality rate. However, fears for increas-ing bacteria resistance with subsequent health hazards for humans and livestock has lead to societal debates about the pros and cons of its use in livestock production. Antibiotic......This study aims at investigating the effects of the ban on the use of anti-microbial growth promoters in the production of “Finishing Pigs” for slaughter. We investigate if the ban on the use of anti-microbial growth promoters has for specialised pig-producers altered the productivity of inputs......, technical change and the efficiency of production. This paper complements an earlier paper that investigated the impact of the ban on weaned-pig produc-tion. Background: The study is motivated by the fact that antimicrobial growth promoters have been known world wide to protect livestock from bacteria...

  17. Extraction of solubles from plant biomass for use as microbial growth stimulant and methods related thereto

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lau, Ming Woei

    2015-12-08

    A method for producing a microbial growth stimulant (MGS) from a plant biomass is described. In one embodiment, an ammonium hydroxide solution is used to extract a solution of proteins and ammonia from the biomass. Some of the proteins and ammonia are separated from the extracted solution to provide the MGS solution. The removed ammonia can be recycled and the proteins are useful as animal feeds. In one embodiment, the method comprises extracting solubles from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass with a cellulase enzyme-producing growth medium (such T. reesei) in the presence of water and an aqueous extract.

  18. Microbial Community Structure of Casing Soil During Mushroom Growth

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CAI Wei-Ming; YAO Huai-Ying; FENG Wei-Lin; JIN Qun-Li; LIU Yue-Yan; LI Nan-Yi; ZHENG Zhong

    2009-01-01

    The culturable bacterial population and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA)profile of casing soil were investigated at different mushroom (Agaricus bisporusI cropping stages.The change in soil bacterial PLFAs was always accompanied by a change in the soil culturable bacterial population in the first flush.Comparatively higher culturable bacterial population and bacterial PLFAs were found in the casing soil at the primordia formation stage of the first flush.There was a significant increase in the ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs during mushroom growth.Multivariate analysis of PLFA data demonstrated that the mushroom cropping stage could considerably affect the microbial community structure of the casing soil.The bacterial population increased significantly from casing soil application to the primordia formation stage of the first flush.Casing soil application resulted in an increase in the ratio of gram-negative bacterial PLFAs to gram-positive bacterial PLFAs,suggesting that some gram-negative bacteria might play an important role in mushroom sporophore initiation.

  19. Spring thaw ionic pulses boost nutrient availability and microbial growth in entombed Antarctic Dry Valley cryoconite holes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telling, Jon; Anesio, Alexandre M; Tranter, Martyn; Fountain, Andrew G; Nylen, Thomas; Hawkings, Jon; Singh, Virendra B; Kaur, Preeti; Musilova, Michaela; Wadham, Jemma L

    2014-01-01

    The seasonal melting of ice entombed cryoconite holes on McMurdo Dry Valley glaciers provides oases for life in the harsh environmental conditions of the polar desert where surface air temperatures only occasionally exceed 0°C during the Austral summer. Here we follow temporal changes in cryoconite hole biogeochemistry on Canada Glacier from fully frozen conditions through the initial stages of spring thaw toward fully melted holes. The cryoconite holes had a mean isolation age from the glacial drainage system of 3.4 years, with an increasing mass of aqueous nutrients (dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus) with longer isolation age. During the initial melt there was a mean nine times enrichment in dissolved chloride relative to mean concentrations of the initial frozen holes indicative of an ionic pulse, with similar mean nine times enrichments in nitrite, ammonium, and dissolved organic matter. Nitrate was enriched twelve times and dissolved organic nitrogen six times, suggesting net nitrification, while lower enrichments for dissolved organic phosphorus and phosphate were consistent with net microbial phosphorus uptake. Rates of bacterial production were significantly elevated during the ionic pulse, likely due to the increased nutrient availability. There was no concomitant increase in photosynthesis rates, with a net depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon suggesting inorganic carbon limitation. Potential nitrogen fixation was detected in fully melted holes where it could be an important source of nitrogen to support microbial growth, but not during the ionic pulse where nitrogen availability was higher. This study demonstrates that ionic pulses significantly alter the timing and magnitude of microbial activity within entombed cryoconite holes, and adds credence to hypotheses that ionic enrichments during freeze-thaw can elevate rates of microbial growth and activity in other icy habitats, such as ice veins and subglacial regelation zones.

  20. Spring thaw ionic pulses boost nutrient availability and microbial growth in entombed Antarctic Dry Valley cryoconite holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon eTelling

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The seasonal melting of ice entombed cryoconite holes on McMurdo Dry Valley glaciers provides oases for life in the harsh environmental conditions of the polar desert where surface air temperatures only occasionally exceed 0°C during the Austral summer. Here we follow temporal changes in cryoconite hole biogeochemistry on Canada Glacier from fully frozen conditions through the initial stages of spring thaw towards fully melted holes. The cryoconite holes had a mean isolation age from the glacial drainage system of 3.4 years, with an increasing mass of aqueous nutrients (dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus with longer isolation age. During the initial melt there was a mean nine times enrichment in dissolved chloride relative to mean concentrations of the initial frozen holes indicative of an ionic pulse, with similar mean nine times enrichments in nitrite, ammonium, and dissolved organic matter. Nitrate was enriched twelve times and dissolved organic nitrogen six times, suggesting net nitrification, while lower enrichments for dissolved organic phosphorus and phosphate were consistent with net microbial phosphorus uptake. Rates of bacterial production were significantly elevated during the ionic pulse, likely due to the increased nutrient availability. There was no concomitant increase in photosynthesis rates, with a net depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon suggesting inorganic carbon limitation. Potential nitrogen fixation was detected in fully melted holes where it could be an important source of nitrogen to support microbial growth, but not during the ionic pulse where nitrogen availability was higher. This study demonstrates that ionic pulses significantly alter the timing and magnitude of microbial activity within entombed cryoconite holes, and adds credence to hypotheses that ionic enrichments during freeze-thaw can elevate rates of microbial growth and activity in other icy habitats, such as ice veins and

  1. Microbial changes and growth of Listeria monocytogenes during chilled storage of brined shrimp ( Pandalus borealis )

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mejlholm, Ole; Kjeldgaard, J.; Modberg, A.

    2008-01-01

    Thirteen storage trials and ten challenge tests were carried out to examine microbial changes, spoilage and the potential growth of Listeria monocytogenes in brined shrimp (Pandalus borealis). Shrimp in brine as well as brined and drained shrimp in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were produced...... and lactic acids were studied. Furthermore, the effect of adding diacetate to brined shrimp was evaluated. A single batch of cooked and peeled shrimp was used to study both industrially and manually processed brined shrimp with respect to the effect of process hygiene on microbial changes and the shelf life...... of products. Concentrations of microorganisms on newly produced brined shrimp from an industrial scale processing line were 1.0-2.3 log (CFU g(-1)) higher than comparable concentrations in manually processed samples. This resulted in a substantially shorter shelf life and a more diverse spoilage microflora...

  2. Atmospheric emissions and economic growth. Environmental Kuznets Curve and Kyoto protocol; Emisiones atmosfericas y crecimiento economico en Espana. La Curve de Kuznets ambiental y el protocolo de Kyoto

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roca Jusmet, J.; Padilla Rosa, E.

    2004-07-01

    From the beginning of the 90s the analysis of the relationships between economic growth and environmental pressures has been influenced by the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis or inverted-U shaped relationship between environmental pressure and per capita income. Following this hypothesis, once achieved certain income level, more economic growth is followed by environmental quality improvement. In this paper, we analyse and discuss the theories that support this hypothesis as well as the empirical evidence on this subject. Further on we analyse the relationship between per capita income and the main environmental pollutants for the case does not support the hypothesis. The empirical evidence shows that economic growth, by itself, does not entail a pollution reduction. (Author) 35 refs.

  3. Effects of degradable protein and non-fibre carbohydrates on microbial growth and fermentation in the rumen simulating fermenter (Rusitec

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang H. Zhao

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A rumen simulation technique (Rusitec apparatus with eight 800 ml fermentation vessels was used to investigate the effects of rumen degradable protein (RDP level and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC type on ruminal fermentation, microbial growth, and populations of ruminal cellulolytic bacteria. Treatments consisted of two NFC types (starch and pectin supplemented with 0 g/d (low RDP or 1.56 g/d (high RDP sodium caseinate. Apparent disappearance of dry matter and organic matter was greater for pectin than for starch treatment (P<0.01 with low or high RDP. A NFC × RDP interaction was observed for neutral detergent fibre disappearance (P=0.01, which was lower for pectin than for starch only under low RDP conditions. Compared with starch, pectin treatment increased the copy numbers of Ruminococcus albus (P≤0.01 and Ruminococcus flavefaciens (P≤0.09, the molar proportion of acetate (P<0.01, the acetate:propionate ratio (P<0.01, and methane production (P<0.01, but reduced the propionate proportion (P<0.01. Increasing dietary RDP increased the production of total VFA (P=0.01, methane (P<0.01, ammonia N (P<0.01, and microbial N (P<0.01. Significant NFC × RDP interaction and interaction tendency were observed for ammonia N production (P=0.01 and daily N flow of total microorganisms (P=0.07, which did not differ under low RDP conditions, but pectin produced greater microbial N and less ammonia N than starch with increased RDP. Results showed NFC type, RDP level, and their interaction affected ruminal fermentation and microbial growth, and under sufficient ruminal degradable N pectin had greater advantage in microbial N synthesis than starch in vitro.

  4. Effect of dry mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum fertilizer on soil microbial community composition, enzyme activities and snap bean growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bing; Liu, Huiling; Cai, Chen; Thabit, Mohamed; Wang, Pu; Li, Guomin; Duan, Ziheng

    2016-10-01

    The dry mycelium fertilizer (DMF) was produced from penicillin fermentation fungi mycelium (PFFM) following an acid-heating pretreatment to degrade the residual penicillin. In this study, it was applied into soil as fertilizer to investigate its effects on soil properties, phytotoxicity, microbial community composition, enzyme activities, and growth of snap bean in greenhouse. As the results show, pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and organic matter of soil with DMF treatments were generally higher than CON treatment. In addition, the applied DMF did not cause heavy metal and residual drug pollution of the modified soil. The lowest GI values (<0.3) were recorded at DMF8 (36 kg DMF/plat) on the first days after applying the fertilizer, indicating that severe phytotoxicity appeared in the DMF8-modified soil. Results of microbial population and enzyme activities illustrated that DMF was rapidly decomposed and the decomposition process significantly affected microbial growth and enzyme activities. The DMF-modified soil phytotoxicity decreased at the late fertilization time. DMF1 was considered as the optimum amount of DMF dose based on principal component analysis scores. Plant height and plant yield of snap bean were remarkably enhanced with the optimum DMF dose.

  5. Proceedings of the 8. International Symposium on Microbial Ecology : microbial biosystems : new frontiers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bell, C.R.; Brylinsky, M.; Johnson-Green, P.

    2000-01-01

    A wide range of disciplines were presented at this conference which reflected the importance of microbial ecology and provided an understanding of the factors that determine the growth and activities of microorganisms. The conference attracted 1444 delegates from 54 countries. The research emerging from the rapidly expanding frontier of microbial ecosystems was presented in 62 oral presentation and 817 poster presentations. The two volumes of these proceedings presented a total of 27 areas in microbial ecology, some of which included terrestrial biosystems, aquatic, estuarine, surface and subsurface microbial ecology. Other topics included bioremediation, microbial ecology in industry and microbial ecology of oil fields. Some of the papers highlighted the research that is underway to determine the feasibility of using microorganisms for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Research has shown that microbial EOR can increase production at lower costs than conventional oil recovery. The use of bacteria has also proven to be a feasible treatment method in the biodegradation of hydrocarbons associated with oil spills. refs., tabs., figs

  6. Turnover of microbial lipids in the deep biosphere and growth of benthic archaeal populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Sitan; Lipp, Julius S; Wegener, Gunter; Ferdelman, Timothy G; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe

    2013-04-09

    Deep subseafloor sediments host a microbial biosphere with unknown impact on global biogeochemical cycles. This study tests previous evidence based on microbial intact polar lipids (IPLs) as proxies of live biomass, suggesting that Archaea dominate the marine sedimentary biosphere. We devised a sensitive radiotracer assay to measure the decay rate of ([(14)C]glucosyl)-diphytanylglyceroldiether (GlcDGD) as an analog of archaeal IPLs in continental margin sediments. The degradation kinetics were incorporated in model simulations that constrained the fossil fraction of subseafloor IPLs and rates of archaeal turnover. Simulating the top 1 km in a generic continental margin sediment column, we estimated degradation rate constants of GlcDGD being one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of bacterial IPLs, with half-lives of GlcDGD increasing with depth to 310 ky. Given estimated microbial community turnover times of 1.6-73 ky in sediments deeper than 1 m, 50-96% of archaeal IPLs represent fossil signals. Consequently, previous lipid-based estimates of global subseafloor biomass probably are too high, and the widely observed dominance of archaeal IPLs does not rule out a deep biosphere dominated by Bacteria. Reverse modeling of existing concentration profiles suggest that archaeal IPL synthesis rates decline from around 1,000 pg⋅mL(-1) sediment⋅y(-1) at the surface to 0.2 pg⋅mL(-1)⋅y(-1) at 1 km depth, equivalent to production of 7 × 10(5) to 140 archaeal cells⋅mL(-1) sediment⋅y(-1), respectively. These constraints on microbial growth are an important step toward understanding the relationship between the deep biosphere and the carbon cycle.

  7. Linking genes to microbial growth kinetics: an integrated biochemical systems engineering approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koutinas, Michalis; Kiparissides, Alexandros; Silva-Rocha, Rafael; Lam, Ming-Chi; Martins Dos Santos, Vitor A P; de Lorenzo, Victor; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N; Mantalaris, Athanasios

    2011-07-01

    The majority of models describing the kinetic properties of a microorganism for a given substrate are unstructured and empirical. They are formulated in this manner so that the complex mechanism of cell growth is simplified. Herein, a novel approach for modelling microbial growth kinetics is proposed, linking biomass growth and substrate consumption rates to the gene regulatory programmes that control these processes. A dynamic model of the TOL (pWW0) plasmid of Pseudomonas putida mt-2 has been developed, describing the molecular interactions that lead to the transcription of the upper and meta operons, known to produce the enzymes for the oxidative catabolism of m-xylene. The genetic circuit model was combined with a growth kinetic model decoupling biomass growth and substrate consumption rates, which are expressed as independent functions of the rate-limiting enzymes produced by the operons. Estimation of model parameters and validation of the model's predictive capability were successfully performed in batch cultures of mt-2 fed with different concentrations of m-xylene, as confirmed by relative mRNA concentration measurements of the promoters encoded in TOL. The growth formation and substrate utilisation patterns could not be accurately described by traditional Monod-type models for a wide range of conditions, demonstrating the critical importance of gene regulation for the development of advanced models closely predicting complex bioprocesses. In contrast, the proposed strategy, which utilises quantitative information pertaining to upstream molecular events that control the production of rate-limiting enzymes, predicts the catabolism of a substrate and biomass formation and could be of central importance for the design of optimal bioprocesses. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Curvas de crescimento intra-uterino de uma população de alto nível socioeconômico Intrauterine growth curves in a high-income population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conceição A. M. Segre

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: as curvas de percentil constituem uma das formas de avaliação do crescimento intra-uterino e podem predizer doenças do recém-nascido como também caracterizar uma população. Este trabalho teve por objetivo construir as curvas de crescimento intra-uterino dos recém-nascidos da Maternidade do Hospital Albert Einstein (MAE, hospital que atende a uma população de alto nível socioeconômico, e comparar com as curvas de crescimento intra-uterino de uma população norte-americana da Califórnia. MÉTODOS: foram construídas curvas de crescimento intra-uterino a partir do peso do recém-nascido de parto único, tomado logo após o nascimento, e da idade gestacional segundo informações maternas, a partir da 32ª. semana de idade gestacional, abrangendo os nascimentos ocorridos na MAE no período de fevereiro de 1995 a fevereiro de 1999. Foram calculados os percentis 10, 50 e 90 do peso ao nascer para cada idade gestacional e comparados com os das curvas da Califórnia. RESULTADOS: as curvas dos percentis 10 e 50 na população da MAE não diferiram das curvas da Califórnia. Para o percentil 90, a curva da MAE ficou abaixo das curvas da Califórnia. Houve número menor de pequenos e grandes para a idade gestacional (PIG e GIG quando classificados pelas curvas da Califórnia. A classificação em PIG, AIG, GIG mostrou-se relacionada significantemente com o ganho de peso materno nos dois sexos. CONCLUSÕES: as duas populações analisadas segundo as curvas de crescimento intra-uterino são diferentes entre si; deverão ser identificados fatores específicos que atuem na população da MAE.OBJECTIVE: growth curves can be used to assess intrauterine growth, to predict diseases in newborns, and to characterize different populations. The objective of this study was to obtain intrauterine growth curves of newborns from the maternity ward of the Hospital Albert Einstein (MAE and compare them with intrauterine growth curves of a population

  9. Microbial biofilm growth on irradiated, spent nuclear fuel cladding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruhn, D.F.; Frank, S.M.; Roberto, F.F.; Pinhero, P.J.; Johnson, S.G.

    2009-01-01

    A fundamental criticism regarding the potential for microbial influenced corrosion in spent nuclear fuel cladding or storage containers concerns whether the required microorganisms can, in fact, survive radiation fields inherent in these materials. This study was performed to unequivocally answer this critique by addressing the potential for biofilm formation, the precursor to microbial-influenced corrosion, in radiation fields representative of spent nuclear fuel storage environments. This study involved the formation of a microbial biofilm on irradiated spent nuclear fuel cladding within a hot cell environment. This was accomplished by introducing 22 species of bacteria, in nutrient-rich media, to test vessels containing irradiated cladding sections and that was then surrounded by radioactive source material. The overall dose rate exceeded 2 Gy/h gamma/beta radiation with the total dose received by some of the bacteria reaching 5 x 10 3 Gy. This study provides evidence for the formation of biofilms on spent-fuel materials, and the implication of microbial influenced corrosion in the storage and permanent deposition of spent nuclear fuel in repository environments

  10. Can extrauterine growth approximate intrauterine growth? Should it?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sauer, Pieter J. J.

    Most studies evaluating the growth of preterm infants use the so-called intrauterine growth curve and reference fetus as standards. These curves might not be the optimal standards, however, for several reasons. The curves were constructed from small numbers of infants with uncertainty about

  11. Integrated healthcare networks' performance: a growth curve modeling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Thomas T H; Wang, Bill B L

    2003-05-01

    This study examines the effects of integration on the performance ratings of the top 100 integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) in the United States. A strategic-contingency theory is used to identify the relationship of IHNs' performance to their structural and operational characteristics and integration strategies. To create a database for the panel study, the top 100 IHNs selected by the SMG Marketing Group in 1998 were followed up in 1999 and 2000. The data were merged with the Dorenfest data on information system integration. A growth curve model was developed and validated by the Mplus statistical program. Factors influencing the top 100 IHNs' performance in 1998 and their subsequent rankings in the consecutive years were analyzed. IHNs' initial performance scores were positively influenced by network size, number of affiliated physicians and profit margin, and were negatively associated with average length of stay and technical efficiency. The continuing high performance, judged by maintaining higher performance scores, tended to be enhanced by the use of more managerial or executive decision-support systems. Future studies should include time-varying operational indicators to serve as predictors of network performance.

  12. Nonlinear models for fitting growth curves of Nellore cows reared in the Amazon Biome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kedma Nayra da Silva Marinho

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Growth curves of Nellore cows were estimated by comparing six nonlinear models: Brody, Logistic, two alternatives by Gompertz, Richards and Von Bertalanffy. The models were fitted to weight-age data, from birth to 750 days of age of 29,221 cows, born between 1976 and 2006 in the Brazilian states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins. The models were fitted by the Gauss-Newton method. The goodness of fit of the models was evaluated by using mean square error, adjusted coefficient of determination, prediction error and mean absolute error. Biological interpretation of parameters was accomplished by plotting estimated weights versus the observed weight means, instantaneous growth rate, absolute maturity rate, relative instantaneous growth rate, inflection point and magnitude of the parameters A (asymptotic weight and K (maturing rate. The Brody and Von Bertalanffy models fitted the weight-age data but the other models did not. The average weight (A and growth rate (K were: 384.6±1.63 kg and 0.0022±0.00002 (Brody and 313.40±0.70 kg and 0.0045±0.00002 (Von Bertalanffy. The Brody model provides better goodness of fit than the Von Bertalanffy model.

  13. Influence of mechanical disintegration on the microbial growth of aerobic sludge biomass: A comparative study of ultrasonic and shear gap homogenizers by oxygen uptake measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divyalakshmi, P; Murugan, D; Sivarajan, M; Saravanan, P; Lajapathi Rai, C

    2015-11-01

    Wastewater treatment plant incorporates physical, chemical and biological processes to treat and remove the contaminants. The main drawback of conventional activated sludge process is the huge production of excess sludge, which is an unavoidable byproduct. The treatment and disposal of excess sludge costs about 60% of the total operating cost. The ideal way to reduce excess sludge production during wastewater treatment is by preventing biomass formation within the aerobic treatment train rather than post treatment of the generated sludge. In the present investigation two different mechanical devices namely, Ultrasonic and Shear Gap homogenizers have been employed to disintegrate the aerobic biomass. This study is intended to restrict the multiplication of microbial biomass and at the same time degrade the organics present in wastewater by increasing the oxidative capacity of microorganisms. The disintegrability on biomass was determined by biochemical methods. Degree of inactivation provides the information on inability of microorganisms to consume oxygen upon disruption. The soluble COD quantifies the extent of release of intra cellular compounds. The participation of disintegrated microorganism in wastewater treatment process was carried out in two identical respirometeric reactors. The results show that Ultrasonic homogenizer is very effective in the disruption of microorganisms leading to a maximum microbial growth reduction of 27%. On the other hand, Shear gap homogenizer does not favor the sludge growth reduction rather it facilitates the growth. This study also shows that for better microbial growth reduction, floc size reduction alone is not sufficient but also microbial disruption is essential. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Effect of Microbial inoculation in combating the aluminium toxicity effect on growth of Zea mays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, P; Singh, G; Tiwari, A

    2017-07-31

    The present study is aimed at improving the aluminium tolerance in maize crop employing the potential of microbial inoculants in conferring resistance to these toxicities via production of certain chelating compounds like siderophores, exopolysachharides and organic acids. Acid soils have now-a-days become one of the key factors for limiting growth of many agriculturally important crops. Aluminium  is one of the major elements present in acid soils and is mainly responsible for toxicity in the soil. This aluminium is rapidly soluble in soil water and hence absorbed by plant roots under conditions where soil pH is below 5. This toxicity leads to severe root growth inhibition, thereby limiting the production of maize crops. It was observed that use of microbial inoculums can be helpful in elimination of these toxic compounds and prevent the inhibition of root growth . It was found that the soils contaminated with aluminium toxicity decreased the root length of maize plant significantly by 65% but Bacillus and Burkholderia inoculation increased this root length significantly by 1.4- folds and 2- folds respectively thereby combating the effect of aluminium toxicity. Aluminium concentration was found maximum in roots of plants which were grown under aluminium stress condition. But this aluminium accumulation decreased ̴ 2-folds when Burkholderia was used as seed inoculants under aluminium stress conditions. Also, at 60mM aluminium accumulation, phosphorus solubilisation in roots was found to be increased upto 30% on Burkholderia inoculation. However, Bacillus inoculation didn't show any significant difference in either of the case. Thus, the inoculation of seeds with Burkholderia isolates could prove to be a boon in sequestering aluminium toxicity in Zea mays.

  15. Two Aspects of the Simplex Model: Goodness of Fit to Linear Growth Curve Structures and the Analysis of Mean Trends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandys, Frantisek; Dolan, Conor V.; Molenaar, Peter C. M.

    1994-01-01

    Studied the conditions under which the quasi-Markov simplex model fits a linear growth curve covariance structure and determined when the model is rejected. Presents a quasi-Markov simplex model with structured means and gives an example. (SLD)

  16. Is cancer a pure growth curve or does it follow a kinetics of dynamical structural transformation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    González, Maraelys Morales; Joa, Javier Antonio González; Cabrales, Luis Enrique Bergues; Pupo, Ana Elisa Bergues; Schneider, Baruch; Kondakci, Suleyman; Ciria, Héctor Manuel Camué; Reyes, Juan Bory; Jarque, Manuel Verdecia; Mateus, Miguel Angel O'Farril; González, Tamara Rubio; Brooks, Soraida Candida Acosta; Cáceres, José Luis Hernández; González, Gustavo Victoriano Sierra

    2017-03-07

    Unperturbed tumor growth kinetics is one of the more studied cancer topics; however, it is poorly understood. Mathematical modeling is a useful tool to elucidate new mechanisms involved in tumor growth kinetics, which can be relevant to understand cancer genesis and select the most suitable treatment. The classical Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami as well as the modified Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami models to describe unperturbed fibrosarcoma Sa-37 tumor growth are used and compared with the Gompertz modified and Logistic models. Viable tumor cells (1×10 5 ) are inoculated to 28 BALB/c male mice. Modified Gompertz, Logistic, Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami classical and modified Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami models fit well to the experimental data and agree with one another. A jump in the time behaviors of the instantaneous slopes of classical and modified Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami models and high values of these instantaneous slopes at very early stages of tumor growth kinetics are observed. The modified Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation can be used to describe unperturbed fibrosarcoma Sa-37 tumor growth. It reveals that diffusion-controlled nucleation/growth and impingement mechanisms are involved in tumor growth kinetics. On the other hand, tumor development kinetics reveals dynamical structural transformations rather than a pure growth curve. Tumor fractal property prevails during entire TGK.

  17. Bracing can reduce high degree curves and improve aesthetics immediately after the end of growth. Final results of a retrospective case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negrini, Stefano; Donzelli, Sabrina; Lusini, Monia; Zaina, Fabio

    2012-01-01

    Recently it has been shown that idiopathic scoliosis (IS) curves can be reduced with bracing, and it has been proposed that this could be useful in non-surgically treated high degree curves even after Risser 3. Moreover, bracing has been shown to be able to improve aesthetics, and this could be another reason to treat some patients with cosmetic needs. Our aim is to preliminary check if results can be obtained in IS patients after Risser 3. Design. Retrospective uncontrolled cohort study. Inclusion criteria. All IS patients treated on a voluntary basis for aesthetic reasons and/or for curve reduction; Risser 4-5 at start; end of treatment reached. Population. 34 females and 2 males, age 16.2±1.6 years, Cobb angle 27.6°±8.9°. Treatment. Lyon or SPoRT braces 18 to 24 hours/day, specific SEAS exercises, rapid weaning (2-3 hours every 6 months). Outcome criteria: SRS (unchanged; worsened over 6°; over 45° at the end of treatment; surgically treated), radiographic and clinical. Statistics. ANOVA and chi-test. The reported compliance during the 2.8 ± 1.1 treatment years was 95.1%, while residual growth was 0.9 ± 1.1 cm. Improvements were found in 39% of this cohort, (46% in curves over 30°). Only 1 patient progressed 6°. We found highly statistically significant reductions of maximal (-4.4°), thoracic (-6.0°) and thoracolumbar (-6.6°) curves. Statistically significant improvements were found for Aesthetic Index. Before 20 years of age, even in skeletally mature patients, it is possible to reach radiographic and aesthetic improvements, although not as good as during growth. Correction is based on bone growth, but ligaments and neuromuscular control of posture can also be involved.

  18. Effect of single-dose x irradiation on the growth curves of a human malignant melanoma transplanted into nude mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spang-Thomsen, M.; Visfeldt, J.; Nielsen, A.

    1981-01-01

    A human malignant melanoma transplanted into nude mice was exposed to single-dose x irradiation. Experimental growth data described mathematically according to a transformed Gompertz function were used to determine the effect of irradiation on growth delay, growth rate, and tumor shrinkage. The radiation-induced changes in the histology of the tumors were also described. The results showed that irradiation induced a dose-dependent growth delay; this parameter was therefore found suitable for the assessment of relative therapeutic effect. The treatment also induced a dose-dependent reduction in growth rate during regrowth. As a result of this effect on growth rate, extrapolation of tumor shrinkage to the time of treatment became directly misleading as a measure of the effect of the treatment. From this it can be deduced that in therapeutic studies where treatment induces nonparallel posttherapeutic growth curves, growth delay for various tumors and therapies cannot be compared directly. The transformed Gompertz function proved to be extremely well suited for evaluating these conditions

  19. Impact of Witnessing Violence on Growth Curves for Problem Behaviors among Early Adolescents in Urban and Rural Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Albert D.; Sullivan, Terri N.

    2004-01-01

    Two studies used latent growth-curve analysis to examine the relation between witnessing violence and changes in problem behaviors (drug use, aggression, and delinquency) and attitudes during early adolescence. In Study 1, six waves of data covering 6th to 8th grades were collected from 731 students in urban schools serving mostly African-American…

  20. Microbial biofilm formation and its consequences for the CELSS program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, R.

    1994-01-01

    A major goal of the Controlled Ecology Life Support System (CELSS) program is to provide reliable and efficient life support systems for long-duration space flights. A principal focus of the program is on the growth of higher plants in growth chambers. These crops should be grown without the risk of damage from microbial contamination. While it is unlikely that plant pathogens will pose a risk, there are serious hazards associated with microorganisms carried in the nutrient delivery systems and in the atmosphere of the growth chamber. Our experience in surface microbiology showed that colonization of surfaces with microorganisms is extremely rapid even when the inoculum is small. After initial colonization extensive biofilms accumulate on moist surfaces. These microbial films metabolize actively and slough off continuously to the air and water. During plant growth in the CELSS program, microbial biofilms have the potential to foul sensors and to plug nutrient delivery systems. In addition both metabolic products of microbial growth and degradation products of materials being considered for use as nutrient reservoirs and for delivery are likely sources of chemicals known to adversly affect plant growth.

  1. Height growth and site index curves for western white pine in the Cascade Range of Washington and Oregon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert O. Curtis; Nancy M. Diaz; Gary W. Clendenen

    1990-01-01

    Height growth and site index curves were constructed from stem analyses of mature western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl. ex D. Don) growing in high-elevation forests of the Cascade Range in the Mount Hood and Gifford Pinchot National Forests of Oregon and Washington, respectively. Alternate systems using reference ages for site index of 50 and...

  2. Microbial analysis of meatballs cooled with vacuum and conventional cooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Hande Mutlu; Ozturk, Harun Kemal; Koçar, Gunnur

    2017-08-01

    Vacuum cooling is a rapid evaporative cooling technique and can be used for pre-cooling of leafy vegetables, mushroom, bakery, fishery, sauces, cooked food, meat and particulate foods. The aim of this study was to apply the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling techniques for the cooling of the meatball and to show the vacuum pressure effect on the cooling time, the temperature decrease and microbial growth rate. The results of the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling (cooling in the refrigerator) were compared with each other for different temperatures. The study shows that the conventional cooling was much slower than the vacuum cooling. Moreover, the microbial growth rate of the vacuum cooling was extremely low compared with the conventional cooling. Thus, the lowest microbial growth occurred at 0.7 kPa and the highest microbial growth was observed at 1.5 kPa for the vacuum cooling. The mass loss ratio for the conventional cooling and vacuum cooling was about 5 and 9% respectively.

  3. Environmental quality and economic growth: Searching for environmental Kuznets curves for air and water pollutants in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orubu, Christopher O.; Omotor, Douglason G.

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation in Africa, using longitudinal data on suspended particulate matter and organic water pollutants. The specific objective was to estimate environmental Kuznets curves for two indicators of environmental quality and to establish whether the estimated relationships conform to the inverted U-shape hypothesis. The results of the empirical investigation generally suggest the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for suspended particulate matter. In the case of organic water pollutants, the evidence weighs more in favor of rising pollution as per capita income increases. The turning point levels of income established for the two indicators of environmental quality were however generally low, when compared to evidence from existing studies. On the face value, this suggests that African countries may be turning the corner of the environmental Kuznets curve, much faster, and at lower levels of income, much in line with the emerging idea of a 'revised environmental Kuznets curve'. The results also suggest that economic growth and rising incomes may matter in African countries in order to curb pollution from these pollutants, but more stringent policy measures, particularly at the industrial level would be required to curb environmental degradation from organic water pollutants. - Highlights: → The specific objective was to establish whether the relationships conform to the inverted U-shape hypothesis. → Evidence suggests the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for suspended particulate matter. → The turning point levels of income established for the two indicators were however generally low. → We conclude that African countries may be turning the corner of the environmental Kuznets curve, much faster, and at lower levels of income.

  4. Environmental quality and economic growth: Searching for environmental Kuznets curves for air and water pollutants in Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Orubu, Christopher O. [Department of Economics, Delta State University, Abraka (Nigeria); Omotor, Douglason G., E-mail: yomotor@yahoo.com [Department of Economics, Delta State University, Abraka (Nigeria)

    2011-07-15

    This study investigated the relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation in Africa, using longitudinal data on suspended particulate matter and organic water pollutants. The specific objective was to estimate environmental Kuznets curves for two indicators of environmental quality and to establish whether the estimated relationships conform to the inverted U-shape hypothesis. The results of the empirical investigation generally suggest the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for suspended particulate matter. In the case of organic water pollutants, the evidence weighs more in favor of rising pollution as per capita income increases. The turning point levels of income established for the two indicators of environmental quality were however generally low, when compared to evidence from existing studies. On the face value, this suggests that African countries may be turning the corner of the environmental Kuznets curve, much faster, and at lower levels of income, much in line with the emerging idea of a 'revised environmental Kuznets curve'. The results also suggest that economic growth and rising incomes may matter in African countries in order to curb pollution from these pollutants, but more stringent policy measures, particularly at the industrial level would be required to curb environmental degradation from organic water pollutants. - Highlights: > The specific objective was to establish whether the relationships conform to the inverted U-shape hypothesis. > Evidence suggests the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for suspended particulate matter. > The turning point levels of income established for the two indicators were however generally low. > We conclude that African countries may be turning the corner of the environmental Kuznets curve, much faster, and at lower levels of income.

  5. Growth curves and their implications in hand-fed Monk parrots (Myiopsitta monachus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petzinger C

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Christina Petzinger,1,2 J Jill Heatley,3 John E Bauer1,2 1Comparative Animal Nutrition Research Laboratory, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 2Intercollegiate Faculty of Nutrition, Texas A&M University, 3Zoological Medicine Service, Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Abstract: Monk parrots (Myiopsitta monachus were hand-fed over two chick seasons spanning of 2010 to 2011. Information from the growth curve of chicks hand-fed in 2010 was used to develop a feeding protocol for the 2011 season (Protocol-2011. This protocol addressed the problems of delayed followed by excessive growth experienced by parrots hand fed in 2010. Monk parrots that were hand-fed in 2011 following the new protocol experienced delayed growth after 20 days of age. However, some Monk parrots were fed in excess of Protocol-2011 and did not experience a major delay in growth. The energy requirement equations used to construct Protocol-2011 were low when compared to adult Monk parrot maintenance energy requirements. The data suggest that growing birds do not require approximately twice their adult maintenance energy requirements, as is the case for growing dogs. Additionally, there appear to be fluctuations in energy needs as Monk parrots grow. A major increase in energy needs occurred between days 18 and 23 posthatching, which corresponds to feather development and growth in Monk parrot chicks. Thus, multiple equations estimating energy requirements, rather than just one equation, are likely needed from hatching to fledging in order to ensure adequate energy is provided to chicks. More research on the energy requirements of growing Monk parrots, especially around the time of fledging and weaning, is needed to improve hand-fed methods and potentially the adult health of hand-fed birds. Keywords

  6. Role of microbial inoculation and industrial by-product phosphogypsum in growth and nutrient uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) grown in calcareous soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Enazy, Abdul-Aziz R; Al-Oud, Saud S; Al-Barakah, Fahad N; Usman, Adel Ra

    2017-08-01

    Alkaline soils with high calcium carbonate and low organic matter are deficient in plant nutrient availability. Use of organic and bio-fertilizers has been suggested to improve their properties. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the integrative role of phosphogypsum (PG; added at 0.0, 10, 30, and 50 g PG kg -1 ), cow manure (CM; added at 50 g kg -1 ) and mixed microbial inoculation (Incl.; Azotobacter chroococcum, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum and Pseudomonas fluorescens) on growth and nutrients (N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) in calcareous soil. Treatment effects on soil chemical and biological properties and the Cd and Pb availability to maize plants were also investigated. Applying PG decreased soil pH. The soil available P increased when soil was inoculated and/or treated with CM, especially with PG. The total microbial count and dehydrogenase activity were enhanced with PG+CM+Incl. Inoculated soils treated with PG showed significant increases in NPK uptake and maize plant growth. However, the most investigated treatments showed significant decreases in shoot micronutrients. Cd and Pb were not detected in maize shoots. Applying PG with microbial inoculation improved macronutrient uptake and plant growth. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. The effect of microbial inocula on the growth of black locust, Siberian elm and silver maple seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hajnal-Jafari Timea

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Growth and development of forest plants depend mostly on the soil microbial activity since no mineral or organic fertilizers are applied. Microbial processes can be activated and conditions for plants development improved with the introduction of selected microorganisms in the soil. With the aim of obtaining quality planting material in a shorter period of time, the effects of Azotobacter chroococcum and Streptomyces sp. on the early growth of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia, Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila and silver-leaf maple (Acer dasycarpum were investigated in this study. Microorganisms were applied individually and in a mixture (1:1. Plant height was measured on the 90th, 120th and 180th day after planting. Plant diameter, as well as the number of actinomycetes and azotobacters was measured at the end of the vegetation period (180 days after planting. Applied microorganisms had a positive effect on the seedling height in all three plant species, with the best effect found in the black locust. Effectiveness of applied microorganisms on seedling diameter was the highest in the silver-leaf maple. The largest number of azotobacters was found in the rhizosphere of black locust. Number of microorganisms from both groups was increased in the inoculated variants. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 43002

  8. Microbial Inoculants and Their Impact on Soil Microbial Communities: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darine Trabelsi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge of the survival of inoculated fungal and bacterial strains in field and the effects of their release on the indigenous microbial communities has been of great interest since the practical use of selected natural or genetically modified microorganisms has been developed. Soil inoculation or seed bacterization may lead to changes in the structure of the indigenous microbial communities, which is important with regard to the safety of introduction of microbes into the environment. Many reports indicate that application of microbial inoculants can influence, at least temporarily, the resident microbial communities. However, the major concern remains regarding how the impact on taxonomic groups can be related to effects on functional capabilities of the soil microbial communities. These changes could be the result of direct effects resulting from trophic competitions and antagonistic/synergic interactions with the resident microbial populations, or indirect effects mediated by enhanced root growth and exudation. Combination of inoculants will not necessarily produce an additive or synergic effect, but rather a competitive process. The extent of the inoculation impact on the subsequent crops in relation to the buffering capacity of the plant-soil-biota is still not well documented and should be the focus of future research.

  9. Dietary microbial phytase exerts mixed effects on the gut health of tilapia: a possible reason for the null effect on growth promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jun; Ran, Chao; He, Suxu; Cao, Yanan; Yao, Bin; Ye, Yuantu; Zhang, Xuezhen; Zhou, Zhigang

    2016-06-01

    The present study evaluated the effects of dietary microbial phytase on the growth and gut health of hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus ♀×Oreochromis aureus ♂), focusing on the effect on intestinal histology, adhesive microbiota and expression of immune-related cytokine genes. Tilapia were fed either control diet or diet supplemented with microbial phytase (1000 U/kg). Each diet was randomly assigned to four groups of fish reared in cages (3×3×2 m). After 12 weeks of feeding, weight gain and feed conversion ratio of tilapia were not significantly improved by dietary microbial phytase supplementation. However, significantly higher level of P content in the scales, tighter and more regular intestinal mucosa folds were observed in the microbial phytase group and the microvilli density was significantly increased. The adhesive gut bacterial communities were strikingly altered by microbial phytase supplementation (0·41phytase, as indicated by the up-regulated intestinal expressions of the cytokine genes (tnf-α and tgf-β) and hsp70. In addition, the gut microvilli height was significantly decreased in the phytase group. These results indicate that dietary microbial phytase may exert mixed effects on hybrid tilapia, and can guide our future selection of phytases as aquafeed additives - that is, eliminating those that can stimulate intestinal inflammation.

  10. Using bivariate latent basis growth curve analysis to better understand treatment outcome in youth with anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Catherine E; Wonderlich, Joseph A; Curby, Timothy; Fischer, Sarah; Lock, James; Le Grange, Daniel

    2018-04-25

    This study explored the relation between eating-related obsessionality and weight restoration utilizing bivariate latent basis growth curve modelling. Eating-related obsessionality is a moderator of treatment outcome for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). This study examined the degree to which the rate of change in eating-related obsessionality was associated with the rate of change in weight over time in family-based treatment (FBT) and individual therapy for AN. Data were drawn from a 2-site randomized controlled trial that compared FBT and adolescent focused therapy for AN. Bivariate latent basis growth curves were used to examine the differences of the relations between trajectories of body weight and symptoms associated with eating and weight obsessionality. In the FBT group, the slope of eating-related obsessionality scores and the slope of weight were significantly (negatively) correlated. This finding indicates that a decrease in overall eating-relating obsessionality is significantly associated with an increase in weight for individuals who received FBT. However, there was no relation between change in obsessionality scores and change in weight in the adolescent focused therapy group. Results suggest that FBT has a specific impact on both weight gain and obsessive compulsive behaviour that is distinct from individual therapy. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

  11. Optimal design of multistage chemostats in series using different microbial growth kinetics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qasim, Muhammad [Petroleum Engineering Technology, Abu Dhabi Polytechnic (United Arab Emirates)

    2013-07-01

    In this paper, the optimum design of multistage chemostats (CSTRs) was investigated. The optimal design was based on the minimum overall reactor volume using different volume for each chemostat. The paper investigates three different microbial growth kinetics; Monod kinetics, Contois kinetics and the Logistic equation. The total dimensionless residence time (theta Total) was set as the optimization objective function that was minimized by varying the intermediate dimensionless substrate concentration (alfa i). The effect of inlet substrate concentration (S0) to the first reactor on the optimized total dimensionless residence time was investigated at a constant conversion of 0.90. In addition, the effect of conversion on the optimized total dimensionless residence time was also investigated at constant inlet substrate concentration (S0). For each case, optimization was done using up to five chemostats in series.

  12. Anterior Overgrowth in Primary Curves, Compensatory Curves and Junctional Segments in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlösser, Tom P C; van Stralen, Marijn; Chu, Winnie C W; Lam, Tsz-Ping; Ng, Bobby K W; Vincken, Koen L; Cheng, Jack C Y; Castelein, René M

    2016-01-01

    Although much attention has been given to the global three-dimensional aspect of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), the accurate three-dimensional morphology of the primary and compensatory curves, as well as the intervening junctional segments, in the scoliotic spine has not been described before. A unique series of 77 AIS patients with high-resolution CT scans of the spine, acquired for surgical planning purposes, were included and compared to 22 healthy controls. Non-idiopathic curves were excluded. Endplate segmentation and local longitudinal axis in endplate plane enabled semi-automatic geometric analysis of the complete three-dimensional morphology of the spine, taking inter-vertebral rotation, intra-vertebral torsion and coronal and sagittal tilt into account. Intraclass correlation coefficients for interobserver reliability were 0.98-1.00. Coronal deviation, axial rotation and the exact length discrepancies in the reconstructed sagittal plane, as defined per vertebra and disc, were analyzed for each primary and compensatory curve as well as for the junctional segments in-between. The anterior-posterior difference of spinal length, based on "true" anterior and posterior points on endplates, was +3.8% for thoracic and +9.4% for (thoraco)lumbar curves, while the junctional segments were almost straight. This differed significantly from control group thoracic kyphosis (-4.1%; P<0.001) and lumbar lordosis (+7.8%; P<0.001). For all primary as well as compensatory curves, we observed linear correlations between the coronal Cobb angle, axial rotation and the anterior-posterior length difference (r≥0.729 for thoracic curves; r≥0.485 for (thoraco)lumbar curves). Excess anterior length of the spine in AIS has been described as a generalized growth disturbance, causing relative anterior spinal overgrowth. This study is the first to demonstrate that this anterior overgrowth is not a generalized phenomenon. It is confined to the primary as well as the

  13. Relations between the development of school investment, self-confidence, and language achievement in elementary education: A multivariate latent growth curve approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stoel, R.D.; Peetsma, T.T.D.; Roeleveld, J.

    2001-01-01

    Latent growth curve (LGC) analysis of longitudinal data for pupils' school investment, self confidence and language ability is presented. A multivariate model is tested that relates the three developmental processes to each other and to intelligence. All processes show significant differences

  14. PENILAIAN PROGRAM PRAKTIKUM TERHADAP PENINGKATAN KUALITI GURU PRA PERKHIDMATAN: ANALISIS BERDASARKAN LATENT GROWTH CURVE MODELLING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizah Sarkowi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Practicum is an important component in teacher education programs. This study identify the improvement in the quality of pre-service teachers for three phases practicum. Multi-point prospective panel study has been conducted on a 541 pre-service teachers at the Institute of Teacher Education. Teacher’s quality is measured based on the achievement of program learning outcomes. Based on matching last six digit identification card number for three studies series, 337 questionnaires were analyzed using a latent growth curve model using AMOS 18.0. Latent Analysis shows that the model achieve goodness of fit. There is a linear trend of improvement in the performance of the three phases of the practicum. This increase varies between individuals and the rate of growth depends on the level of achievement at practicum phase I. Studies indicate that the increase in the practicum period of teacher education policy should be continued.

  15. A fermented meat model system for studies of microbial aroma formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tjener, Karsten; Stahnke, Louise Heller; Andersen, L.

    2003-01-01

    A fermented meat model system was developed, by which microbial formation of volatiles could be examined The model was evaluated against dry, fermented sausages with respect to microbial growth, pH and volatile profiles. Fast and slowly acidified sausages and models were produced using the starte......H, microbial growth and volatile profiles was similar to sausage production. Based on these findings, the model system was considered valid for studies of aroma formation of meat cultures for fermented sausage.......A fermented meat model system was developed, by which microbial formation of volatiles could be examined The model was evaluated against dry, fermented sausages with respect to microbial growth, pH and volatile profiles. Fast and slowly acidified sausages and models were produced using the starter...... cultures Pediococcus pentosaceus and Staphylococcus xylosus. Volatiles were collected and analysed by dynamic headspace sampling and GC MS. The analysis was primarily focused on volatiles arising from amino acid degradation and a total of 24 compounds, of which 19 were quantified, were used...

  16. Elemental economy: microbial strategies for optimizing growth in the face of nutrient limitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merchant, Sabeeha S; Helmann, John D

    2012-01-01

    Microorganisms play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients. They are rightly praised for their facility for fixing both carbon and nitrogen into organic matter, and microbial driven processes have tangibly altered the chemical composition of the biosphere and its surrounding atmosphere. Despite their prodigious capacity for molecular transformations, microorganisms are powerless in the face of the immutability of the elements. Limitations for specific elements, either fleeting or persisting over eons, have left an indelible trace on microbial genomes, physiology, and their very atomic composition. We here review the impact of elemental limitation on microbes, with a focus on selected genetic model systems and representative microbes from the ocean ecosystem. Evolutionary adaptations that enhance growth in the face of persistent or recurrent elemental limitations are evident from genome and proteome analyses. These range from the extreme (such as dispensing with a requirement for a hard to obtain element) to the extremely subtle (changes in protein amino acid sequences that slightly, but significantly, reduce cellular carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur demand). One near-universal adaptation is the development of sophisticated acclimation programs by which cells adjust their chemical composition in response to a changing environment. When specific elements become limiting, acclimation typically begins with an increased commitment to acquisition and a concomitant mobilization of stored resources. If elemental limitation persists, the cell implements austerity measures including elemental sparing and elemental recycling. Insights into these fundamental cellular properties have emerged from studies at many different levels, including ecology, biological oceanography, biogeochemistry, molecular genetics, genomics, and microbial physiology. Here, we present a synthesis of these diverse studies and attempt to discern some overarching themes. Copyright © 2012

  17. Investigating substrate use efficiency across different microbial physiologies in soil-extracted, solubilized organic matter (SESOM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyle, K. T.; Martinez, C. E.

    2017-12-01

    Recent experimental work has elevated the importance of microbial processing for the stabilization of fresh carbon inputs within the soil mineral matrix. Enhancing our understanding of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics therefore requires a better understanding of how efficiently microbial metabolism can process low molecular weight carbon substrates (carbon use efficiency, CUE) under environmentally relevant conditions. One approach to better understanding microbial uptake rates and CUE is the ecophysiological study of soil isolates in liquid media culture consisting of soil-extracted solubilized organic matter (SESOM). We are using SESOM from an Oa horizon under hemlock hardwood vegetation in upstate New York as liquid media for the growth of 12 isolates from the Oa and B horizon of the same site. Here we seek to test the uptake rates as well as CUE of 5 different low molecular weight substrates spanning compound class and nominal oxidation state (glucose, acetate, formate, glycine, valine) by isolates differing in phylogeny and physiology. The use of a spike of each of the 13C-labeled substrates into SESOM, along with a 0.2 μm filtration step, allows accurate partitioning of labeled carbon between biomass, gaseous CO2 as well as the exometabolome. Coupled UHPLC-MS measurements are being used to identify and determine uptake rates of over 80 potential C substrates present in the extract as well as our labeled substrate of interest along the course of the isolate growth curve. This work seeks to utilize a gradient in substrate class as well as microbial physiologies to inform our understanding of C and N cycling under relevant soil solution conditions. Future experiments may also use labeled biomass from stationary phase to investigate the stabilization potential of anabolic products formed from each substrate with a clay fraction isolated from the same site.

  18. Soil microbial community response to land use and various soil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Soil microbial community response to land use and various soil elements in a city landscape of north China. ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... Legumes played an important role in stimulating the growth and reproduction of various soil microbial populations, accordingly promoting the microbial catabolic activity.

  19. Dynamics of culturable soil microbial communities during ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ecological zones impacted significantly (P < 0.05) on bacterial proliferation, but not on fungal growth. Sampling period significantly (P < 0.05) affected microbial density and the semi-arid agroecozone was more supportive of microbial proliferation than the arid zone. A total of nine predominant fungal species belonging to ...

  20. The effect of the herbicide diuron on soil microbial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prado, A G; Airoldi, C

    2001-07-01

    The inhibitory effect of the herbicide diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] on microbial activity in red Latosol soil was followed using microcalorimetry. The activity of the micro-organisms in 1.50 g of soil sample was stimulated by addition of 6.0 mg of glucose and 6.0 mg of ammonium sulfate under 35% controlled humidity at 298.15 (+/- 0.02) K. This activity was determined by power-time curves that were recorded for increasing amounts of diuron, varying from zero to 333.33 micrograms g-1 soil. An increase in the amount of diuron in soil caused a decrease of the original thermal effect, to reach a null value above 333.33 micrograms g-1 of herbicide. The power-time curve showed that the lag-phase period and peak time increased with added herbicide. The decrease of the thermal effect evolved by micro-organisms and the increase of the lag-phase period are associated with the death of microbial populations caused by diuron, which strongly affects soil microbial communities.

  1. Transcriptome Analysis of Liangshan Pig Muscle Development at the Growth Curve Inflection Point and Asymptotic Stages Using Digital Gene Expression Profiling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Jingjing; Liu, Chendong; Wu, Xiaoqian; Pu, Qiang; Fu, Yuhua; Tang, Qianzi; Liu, Yuanrui; Li, Qiang; Yang, Runlin; Li, Xuewei; Tang, Guoqing; Jiang, Yanzhi; Li, Mingzhou; Zhang, Shunhua; Zhu, Li

    2015-01-01

    Animal growth curves can provide essential information for animal breeders to optimize feeding and management strategies. However, the genetic mechanism underlying the phenotypic differentiation between the inflection point and asymptotic stages of the growth curve is not well characterized. Here, we employed Liangshan pigs in stages of growth at the inflection point (under inflection point: UIP) and the two asymptotic stages (before the inflection point: BIP, after the inflection point: AIP) as models to survey global gene expression in the longissimus dorsi muscle using digital gene expression (DGE) tag profiling. We found Liangshan pigs reached maximum growth rate (UIP) at 163.6 days of age and a weight of 134.6 kg. The DGE libraries generated 117 million reads of 5.89 gigabases in length. 21,331, 20,996 and 20,139 expressed transcripts were identified BIP, UIP and AIP, respectively. Among them, we identified 757 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BIP and UIP, and 271 DEGs between AIP and UIP. An enrichment analysis of DEGs proved the immune system was strengthened in the AIP stage. Energy metabolism rate, global transcriptional activity and bone development intensity were highest UIP. Meat from Liangshan pigs had the highest intramuscular fat content and most favorable fatty acid composition in the AIP. Three hundred eighty (27.70%) specific expression genes were highly enriched in QTL regions for growth and meat quality traits. This study completed a comprehensive analysis of diverse genetic mechanisms underlying the inflection point and asymptotic stages of growth. Our findings will serve as an important resource in the understanding of animal growth and development in indigenous pig breeds. PMID:26292092

  2. 1D Simulations for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery with Metabolite Partitioning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Shapiro, Alexander; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2010-01-01

    We have developed a mathematical model describing the process of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The one-dimensional isothermal model comprises displacement of oil bywater containing bacteria and substrate for their feeding. The bacterial products are both bacteria andmetabolites....... The characteristics for the water phase saturation profiles and the oil recovery curves are elucidated. However, the effect from the surfactant is not necessarily restricted to influence only interfacial tension, but it can also be an approach for changing, e.g., wettability. The distribution coefficient determines...... the time lag, until residual oil mobilization is initialized. It has also been found that the final recovery depends on the distance from the inlet before the surfactant effect takes place. The surfactant effect position is sensitive to changes in maximum growth rate, and injection concentrations...

  3. R-curve behaviour of ferroelectric ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egorov, N.Ya.; Kramarov, S.O.

    2004-01-01

    The attempt's made to identify and evaluate the regularities of developing the fractures in the ferroelectric ceramics and also-study the effect of the polishing operation on the strength characteristics of the piezoceramics. The R-curve behaviour in the ferroelectric ceramics is studied on the samples of the barium titanate and lead zirconate-titanate by the four-point bending with controlled surface fractures. It is established that increasing curve of resistance to the fracture growth is observed in the piezoceramics under the conditions of the fracture stable growth. The results obtained on the polished samples prove that the mechanical processing introduces the compression surface stresses into the piezoceramic materials [ru

  4. Biofilm growth on polyvinylchloride surface incubated in suboptimal microbial warm water and effect of sanitizers on biofilm removal post biofilm formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    An in vitro experiment was conducted to understand the nature of biofilm growth on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) surface when exposed to sub optimal quality microbial water (> 4 log10 cfu/ml) obtained from poultry drinking water source mimicking water in waterlines during the first week of poultry broodi...

  5. MICA: Multiple interval-based curve alignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Martin; Kahle, Hans-Peter; Beck, Matthias; Bender, Bela Johannes; Spiecker, Heinrich; Backofen, Rolf

    2018-01-01

    MICA enables the automatic synchronization of discrete data curves. To this end, characteristic points of the curves' shapes are identified. These landmarks are used within a heuristic curve registration approach to align profile pairs by mapping similar characteristics onto each other. In combination with a progressive alignment scheme, this enables the computation of multiple curve alignments. Multiple curve alignments are needed to derive meaningful representative consensus data of measured time or data series. MICA was already successfully applied to generate representative profiles of tree growth data based on intra-annual wood density profiles or cell formation data. The MICA package provides a command-line and graphical user interface. The R interface enables the direct embedding of multiple curve alignment computation into larger analyses pipelines. Source code, binaries and documentation are freely available at https://github.com/BackofenLab/MICA

  6. Longitudinal Examination of Procrastination and Anxiety, and Their Relation to Self-Efficacy for Self- Regulated Learning: Latent Growth Curve Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yerdelen, Sündüs; McCaffrey, Adam; Klassen, Robert M.

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the longitudinal association between students' anxiety and procrastination and the relation of self-efficacy for self-regulation to these constructs. Latent Growth Curve Modeling was used to analyze data gathered from 182 undergraduate students (134 female, 48 male) at 4 times during a semester. Our results showed that…

  7. Impact of metabolism and growth phase on the hydrogen isotopic composition of microbial fatty acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinzelmann, Sandra M.; Villanueva, Laura; Sinke-Schoen, Danielle; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Schouten, Stefan; van der Meer, Marcel T. J.

    2015-01-01

    Microorganisms are involved in all elemental cycles and therefore it is important to study their metabolism in the natural environment. A recent technique to investigate this is the hydrogen isotopic composition of microbial fatty acids, i.e., heterotrophic microorganisms produce fatty acids enriched in deuterium (D) while photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic microorganisms produce fatty acids depleted in D compared to the water in the culture medium (growth water). However, the impact of factors other than metabolism have not been investigated. Here, we evaluate the impact of growth phase compared to metabolism on the hydrogen isotopic composition of fatty acids of different environmentally relevant microorganisms with heterotrophic, photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic metabolisms. Fatty acids produced by heterotrophs are enriched in D compared to growth water with εlipid/water between 82 and 359‰ when grown on glucose or acetate, respectively. Photoautotrophs (εlipid/water between −149 and −264‰) and chemoautotrophs (εlipid/water between −217 and −275‰) produce fatty acids depleted in D. Fatty acids become, in general, enriched by between 4 and 46‰ with growth phase which is minor compared to the influence of metabolisms. Therefore, the D/H ratio of fatty acids is a promising tool to investigate community metabolisms in nature. PMID:26005437

  8. Microbial Flocculant for Nature Soda

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qin, Peiyong; Zhang, Tong; Chen, Cuixian

    2004-03-31

    Microbial flocculant for nature soda has been studied. Lactobacillus TRJ21, which was able to produce an excellent biopolymer flocculant for nature soda, was obtained in our lab. The microbial flocculant was mainly produced when the bacteria laid in stationary growth phase. Fructose or glucose, as carbon sources, were more favorable for the bacterial growth and flocculant production. The bacteria was able to use ammonium sulfate or Urea as nitrogen to produce flocculant, but was not able to use peptone effectively. High C/N ratio was more favorable to Lactobacillus TRJ21 growth and flocculant production than low C/N ratio. The biopolymer flocculant was mainly composed of polysaccharide and protein with a molecular weight 1.38x106 by gel permeation chromatography. It was able to be easily purified from the culture medium by acetone. Protein in the flocculant was tested for the flocculating activity ingredient by heating the flocculant.

  9. Microbial Communities and Their Predicted Metabolic Functions in Growth Laminae of a Unique Large Conical Mat from Lake Untersee, East Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyunmin Koo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we report the distribution of microbial taxa and their predicted metabolic functions observed in the top (U1, middle (U2, and inner (U3 decadal growth laminae of a unique large conical microbial mat from perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee of East Antarctica, using NextGen sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and bioinformatics tools. The results showed that the U1 lamina was dominated by cyanobacteria, specifically Phormidium sp., Leptolyngbya sp., and Pseudanabaena sp. The U2 and U3 laminae had high abundances of Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Closely related taxa within each abundant bacterial taxon found in each lamina were further differentiated at the highest taxonomic resolution using the oligotyping method. PICRUSt analysis, which determines predicted KEGG functional categories from the gene contents and abundances among microbial communities, revealed a high number of sequences belonging to carbon fixation, energy metabolism, cyanophycin, chlorophyll, and photosynthesis proteins in the U1 lamina. The functional predictions of the microbial communities in U2 and U3 represented signal transduction, membrane transport, zinc transport and amino acid-, carbohydrate-, and arsenic- metabolisms. The Nearest Sequenced Taxon Index (NSTI values processed through PICRUSt were 0.10, 0.13, and 0.11 for U1, U2, and U3 laminae, respectively. These values indicated a close correspondence with the reference microbial genome database, implying high confidence in the predicted metabolic functions of the microbial communities in each lamina. The distribution of microbial taxa observed in each lamina and their predicted metabolic functions provides additional insight into the complex microbial ecosystem at Lake Untersee, and lays the foundation for studies that will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the formation of these unique mat structures and their evolutionary significance.

  10. Growth of microbial mixed cultures under anaerobic, alkaline conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wenk, M.

    1993-09-01

    Cement and concrete are the most important engineered barrier materials in a repository for low- and intermediate-level waste and thus represent the most significant component of the total disposal inventory. Based on the chemical composition of the concrete used in the repository and the groundwater fluxes in the modelled host rock, it is to be expected that the pH in the near vicinity of the repository could exceed a value of 10.5 for more than a million years. The groundwater in the repository environment also has a limited carbon concentration. Since microorganisms will be present in a repository and can even find suitable living conditions within the waste itself, investigations were carried out in order to establish the extent to which microbial activity is possible under the extreme conditions of the repository near-field. For the investigations, alkalophilic cultures were enriched from samples from alkaline habitats and from Valanginian Marl. Anaerobic bacteria with fermentative, sulfate-reducing and methanogenic metabolism were selected. The growth and activity of the mixed cultures were studied under alkaline conditions and the dependence on pH and carbon concentration determined. All the mixed cultures investigated are alkalophilic. The optimum growth range for the cultures is between pH 9.0 and pH 10.0. The activity limit for the fermentative mixed culture is at pH 12, for the sulfate-reducers at pH 11 and for the methanogens at pH 10.5. Given the limited supply of carbon, the mixed cultures can only grow under slightly alkaline conditions. Only the fermentative cultures are capable of surviving with limited carbon supply at pH 13. (author) 24 figs., 18 tabs., 101 refs

  11. Effect of microbial cell-free meat extract on the growth of spoilage bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nychas, G-J E; Dourou, D; Skandamis, P; Koutsoumanis, K; Baranyi, J; Sofos, J

    2009-12-01

    This study examined the effect of microbial cell-free meat extract (CFME) derived from spoiled meat, in which quorum sensing (QS) compounds were present, on the growth kinetics (lag phase, and growth rate) of two spoilage bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Serratia marcescens. Aliquots of CFME from spoiled meat were transferred to Brain Heart Infusion broth inoculated with 10(3) CFU ml(-1) of 18 h cultures of Ps. fluorescens or Ser. marcescens, both fresh meat isolates; CFME derived from unspoiled fresh meat ('clean' meat) served as a control. Changes in impedance measurements were monitored for 48 h, and the detection time (Tdet) was recorded. It was found that in the absence of CFME containing QS compounds the Tdet was shorter (P meat. The rate of growth of Ps. fluorescens, recorded as the maximum slope rate of conductance changes (MSrCC), after Tdet, was higher (P meat. Similar results in MSrCC of impedance changes were obtained for Ser. marcescens. The study indicated that the growth rate (expressed in MSrCC units) of meat spoilage bacteria in vitro was enhanced in samples supplemented with CFME containing QS compounds compared to control samples (i.e., without CFME or with CFME from 'clean' meat). This behaviour may explain the dominant role of these two bacteria in the spoilage of meat. These results illustrate the potential effect of signalling compounds released during storage of meat on the behaviour of meat spoilage bacteria. Understanding such interactions may assist in the control of fresh meat quality and the extension of its shelf life.

  12. Effects of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) on Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) fingerlings performance and its gastrointestinal tract microbial community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najdegerami, Ebrahim H; Tran, Tiet Ngoc; Defoirdt, Tom; Marzorati, Massimo; Sorgeloos, Patrick; Boon, Nico; Bossier, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a natural polymer that can be depolymerized into water-soluble short-chain fatty acid monomers. These monomers can act as microbial control agents. In this study, the effects of partially replacing the diet of Siberian sturgeon fingerlings with 2% and 5% PHB were investigated. Replacing 2% of the diet with PHB improved weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR) and survival in the sturgeon fingerlings during the 10-week experimental period. Community-level physiological profiling and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) were used to analyze the microbial community diversity and community organization in the sturgeon gastrointestinal tract. DGGE analysis revealed that PHB affected the intestinal microbial species richness and diversity. The highest species richness was observed with 2% PHB. DNA sequencing of the dominant bands in 2% and 5% PHB treatments revealed that PHB stimulated bacteria belonging to the genera Bacillus and Ruminococcaceae. Principal component analysis, Lorenz curves and the Shannon index of Biolog Ecoplate data revealed that aerobic metabolic potential of the bacterial community was different in the PHB-treated fishes as compared with the control situation. Overall, our results indicate that PHB act as microbial control agents and replacement of 2% of Siberian sturgeon fingerling diet with PHB has beneficial effects.

  13. Investigating the impact of microbial interactions with geologic media on geophysical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Caroline Ann

    The goals of this study were to investigate the effect of: (1) microbial metabolic byproducts, microbial growth, and biofilm formation on the low frequency electrical properties of porous media, (2) biofilm formation on acoustic wave properties, and (3) the natural electrical (self-potential) signatures associated with an in-situ biological permeable reactive barrier (PRB). The results suggest: (1) increases in electrolytic conductivity are consistent with increased concentrations of organic acids and biosurfactants; (2) mineral weathering promoted by organic acids causes increases in electrolytic conductivity, concomitant with increases in major cation concentrations; (3) interfacial conductivity generally parallels microbial cell concentrations and biofilm formation; (4) variations in microbial growth and biofilms causes spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the elastic properties of porous media; (5) SP signatures associated with the injection of groundwater into an in-situ biological PRB are dominated by diffusion potentials induced by the injections. The results suggest that electrolytic conductivity may be useful as an indicator of metabolism, while interfacial conductivity may be used as proxy indicator for microbial growth and biofilm formation in porous media. In addition, acoustic measurements may provide diagnostic spatiotemporal data for the validation of bioclogging models/simulations. Collectively, this study provides further evidence that geophysical measurements are sensitive to microbial-induced changes to geologic media, and may be useful for the detection and monitoring of subsurface microbial growth, activity, and distribution such as in microbial enhanced oil recovery, assessing biofilm barriers used for contaminant remediation, or as sealants for reservoirs in CO2 sequestration studies.

  14. Nonparametric estimation of age-specific reference percentile curves with radial smoothing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Xiaohai; Qu, Yongming; Huang, Yao; Zhang, Xiao; Song, Hanping; Jiang, Honghua

    2012-01-01

    Reference percentile curves represent the covariate-dependent distribution of a quantitative measurement and are often used to summarize and monitor dynamic processes such as human growth. We propose a new nonparametric method based on a radial smoothing (RS) technique to estimate age-specific reference percentile curves assuming the underlying distribution is relatively close to normal. We compared the RS method with both the LMS and the generalized additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS) methods using simulated data and found that our method has smaller estimation error than the two existing methods. We also applied the new method to analyze height growth data from children being followed in a clinical observational study of growth hormone treatment, and compared the growth curves between those with growth disorders and the general population. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Modelling coupled microbial processes in the subsurface: Model development, verification, evaluation and application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masum, Shakil A.; Thomas, Hywel R.

    2018-06-01

    To study subsurface microbial processes, a coupled model which has been developed within a Thermal-Hydraulic-Chemical-Mechanical (THCM) framework is presented. The work presented here, focuses on microbial transport, growth and decay mechanisms under the influence of multiphase flow and bio-geochemical reactions. In this paper, theoretical formulations and numerical implementations of the microbial model are presented. The model has been verified and also evaluated against relevant experimental results. Simulated results show that the microbial processes have been accurately implemented and their impacts on porous media properties can be predicted either qualitatively or quantitatively or both. The model has been applied to investigate biofilm growth in a sandstone core that is subjected to a two-phase flow and variable pH conditions. The results indicate that biofilm growth (if not limited by substrates) in a multiphase system largely depends on the hydraulic properties of the medium. When the change in porewater pH which occurred due to dissolution of carbon dioxide gas is considered, growth processes are affected. For the given parameter regime, it has been shown that the net biofilm growth is favoured by higher pH; whilst the processes are considerably retarded at lower pH values. The capabilities of the model to predict microbial respiration in a fully coupled multiphase flow condition and microbial fermentation leading to production of a gas phase are also demonstrated.

  16. Effects of Elevated Carbon Dioxide and Salinity on the Microbial Diversity in Lithifying Microbial Mats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven R. Ahrendt

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2 are rising at an accelerated rate resulting in changes in the pH and carbonate chemistry of the world’s oceans. However, there is uncertainty regarding the impact these changing environmental conditions have on carbonate-depositing microbial communities. Here, we examine the effects of elevated CO2, three times that of current atmospheric levels, on the microbial diversity associated with lithifying microbial mats. Lithifying microbial mats are complex ecosystems that facilitate the trapping and binding of sediments, and/or the precipitation of calcium carbonate into organosedimentary structures known as microbialites. To examine the impact of rising CO2 and resulting shifts in pH on lithifying microbial mats, we constructed growth chambers that could continually manipulate and monitor the mat environment. The microbial diversity of the various treatments was compared using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The results indicated that elevated CO2 levels during the six month exposure did not profoundly alter the microbial diversity, community structure, or carbonate precipitation in the microbial mats; however some key taxa, such as the sulfate-reducing bacteria Deltasulfobacterales, were enriched. These results suggest that some carbonate depositing ecosystems, such as the microbialites, may be more resilient to anthropogenic-induced environmental change than previously thought.

  17. Microbial degradation and impact of Bracken toxin ptaquiloside on microbial communities in soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engel, Pernille; Brandt, Kristian Koefoed; Rasmussen, Lars Holm

    2007-01-01

    ), but not in the NZ soil (weak acid loamy Entisol). In the DK soil PTA turnover was predominantly due to microbial degradation (biodegradation); chemical hydrolysis was occurring mainly in the uppermost A horizon where pH was very low (3.4). Microbial activity (basal respiration) and growth ([3H]leucine incorporation...... assay) increased after PTA exposure, indicating that the Bracken toxin served as a C substrate for the organotrophic microorganisms. On the other hand, there was no apparent impact of PTA on community size as measured by substrate-induced respiration or composition as indicated by community......-level physiological profiles. Our results demonstrate that PTA stimulates microbial activity and that microorganisms play a predominant role for rapid PTA degradation in Bracken-impacted soils....

  18. Microbial interactions in drinking water biofilms

    OpenAIRE

    Simões, Lúcia C.; Simões, M.; Vieira, M. J.

    2007-01-01

    Drinking water distribution networks may be viewed as a large reactor where a number of chemical and microbiological processes are taking place. Control of microbial growth in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) often achieved through the addition of disinfectants, is essential to limit the spread of waterborne pathogens. However, microorganisms can resist disinfection through protection within biofilms and resistant host cells. Recent studies into the microbial ecology ...

  19. The effect of starch, inulin, and degradable protein on ruminal fermentation and microbial growth in rumen simulation technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang H. Zhao

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available A rumen simulation technique apparatus with eight 800 mL fermentation vessels was used to investigate the effects of rumen degradable protein (RDP level and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC type on ruminal fermentation, microbial growth, and populations of ruminal cellulolytic bacteria. Treatments consisted of two NFC types (starch and inulin supplemented with 0 g/d (low RDP or 1.56 g/d (high RDP sodium caseinate. No significant differences existed among dietary treatments in the apparent disappearance of dietary nutrients except for dietary N, which increased with increased dietary RDP (P<0.001. Compared with starch, inulin treatments reduced the molar proportion of acetate (P<0.001, the acetate:propionate ratio (P<0.001, and methane production (P=0.006, but increased the butyrate proportion (P<0.001. Increased dietary RDP led to increases in production of total volatile fatty acid (P=0.014 and methane (P=0.050, various measures of N (P≤0.046, and 16s rDNA copy numbers of Ruminococcus flavefaciens (P≤0.010. Non-fibre carbohydrate source did not affect daily microbial N flow regardless of dietary RDP, but ammonia N production was lower for inulin than for starch treatments under high RDP conditions (P<0.001. Compared with starch treatments, inulin depressed the copy numbers of Fibrobacter succinogenes in solid fraction (P=0.023 and R. flavefaciens in liquid (P=0.017 and solid fractions (P=0.007, but it increased the carboxymethylcellulase activity in solid fraction (P=0.045. Current results suggest that starch and inulin differ in ruminal volatile fatty acid fermentation but have similar effects on ruminal digestion and microbial synthesis in vitro, although inulin suppressed the growth of partial ruminal cellulolytic bacteria.

  20. Economic growth and environmental pollution in Myanmar: an analysis of environmental Kuznets curve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aung, Thiri Shwesin; Saboori, Behnaz; Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan

    2017-09-01

    This empirical study examines the short- and long-run relationship between GDP as an economic growth indicator and CO 2 emissions as an environmental pollution indicator in Myanmar by using annual time series data over the period of 1970-2014. It also carefully considered other proxies, such as trade openness, financial openness and urbanization, and structural breaks in the country. The fundamental objective of this study is to test the validity of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the context of Myanmar. The dynamic estimates of the long- and short-term relationship among greenhouse gases (CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O), GDP, trade intensity, financial openness, and urbanization growth are built through an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The empirical findings indicate that there is positive short- and long-run relationship between CO 2 and GDP and thus, no evidence of EKC hypothesis is found for CO 2 in Myanmar. Nevertheless, the existence of the EKC is observed for CH 4 and N 2 O. On the other hand, trade and financial openness have inverse relationship with CO 2 emissions. These results demonstrate that trade liberalization and financial openness will improve the environment quality in Myanmar in the long run.

  1. Studies about behavior of microbial degradation of organic compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtsuka, Makiko

    2003-02-01

    Some of TRU waste include organic compounds, thus these organic compounds might be nutrients for microbial growth at disposal site. This disposal system might be exposed to high alkali condition by cement compounds as engineering barrier material. In the former experimental studies, it has been supposed that microbial exist under pH = 12 and the microbial activity acclimated to high alkali condition are able to degrade asphalt under anaerobic condition. Microbes are called extremophile that exist in cruel habitat as high alkali or reductive condition. We know less information about the activity of extremophile, though any recent studies reveal them. In this study, the first investigation is metabolic pathway as microbial activity, the second is microbial degradation of aromatic compounds in anaerobic condition, and the third is microbial activity under high alkali. Microbial metabolic pathway consist of two systems that fulfill their function each other. One system is to generate energy for microbial activities and the other is to convert substances for syntheses of organisms' structure materials. As these systems are based on redox reaction between substances, it is made chart of the microbial activity region using pH, Eh, and depth as parameter, There is much report that microbe is able to degrade aromatic compounds under aerobic or molecular O 2 utilizing condition. For degradation of aromatic compounds in anaerobic condition, supplying electron acceptor is required. Co-metabolism and microbial consortia has important role, too. Alcalophile has individual transporting system depending Na + and acidic compounds contained in cell wall. Generating energy is key for survival and growth under high alkali condition. Co-metabolism and microbial consortia are effective for microbial degradation of aromatic compounds under high alkali and reductive condition, and utilizable electron acceptor and degradable organic compounds are required for keeping microbial activity and

  2. Effects of six selected antibiotics on plant growth and soil microbial and enzymatic activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Feng; Ying Guangguo; Tao Ran; Zhao Jianliang; Yang Jifeng; Zhao Lanfeng

    2009-01-01

    The potential impact of six antibiotics (chlortetracycline, tetracycline and tylosin; sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethazine and trimethoprim) on plant growth and soil quality was studied by using seed germination test on filter paper and plant growth test in soil, soil respiration and phosphatase activity tests. The phytotoxic effects varied between the antibiotics and between plant species (sweet oat, rice and cucumber). Rice was most sensitive to sulfamethoxazole with the EC10 value of 0.1 mg/L. The antibiotics tested inhibited soil phosphatase activity during the 22 days' incubation. Significant effects on soil respiration were found for the two sulfonamides (sulfamethoxazole and sulfamethazine) and trimethoprim, whereas little effects were observed for the two tetracyclines and tylosin. The effective concentrations (EC10 values) for soil respiration in the first 2 days were 7 mg/kg for sulfamethoxazole, 13 mg/kg for sulfamethazine and 20 mg/kg for trimethoprim. Antibiotic residues in manure and soils may affect soil microbial and enzyme activities. - Terrestrial ecotoxicological effects of antibiotics are related to their sorption and degradation behavior in soil.

  3. Effects of six selected antibiotics on plant growth and soil microbial and enzymatic activities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Feng [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Ying Guangguo, E-mail: guangguo.ying@gmail.co [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Tao Ran; Zhao Jianliang; Yang Jifeng [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Zhao Lanfeng [College of Resource and Environmental Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642 (China)

    2009-05-15

    The potential impact of six antibiotics (chlortetracycline, tetracycline and tylosin; sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethazine and trimethoprim) on plant growth and soil quality was studied by using seed germination test on filter paper and plant growth test in soil, soil respiration and phosphatase activity tests. The phytotoxic effects varied between the antibiotics and between plant species (sweet oat, rice and cucumber). Rice was most sensitive to sulfamethoxazole with the EC10 value of 0.1 mg/L. The antibiotics tested inhibited soil phosphatase activity during the 22 days' incubation. Significant effects on soil respiration were found for the two sulfonamides (sulfamethoxazole and sulfamethazine) and trimethoprim, whereas little effects were observed for the two tetracyclines and tylosin. The effective concentrations (EC10 values) for soil respiration in the first 2 days were 7 mg/kg for sulfamethoxazole, 13 mg/kg for sulfamethazine and 20 mg/kg for trimethoprim. Antibiotic residues in manure and soils may affect soil microbial and enzyme activities. - Terrestrial ecotoxicological effects of antibiotics are related to their sorption and degradation behavior in soil.

  4. Chemical diversity of microbial volatiles and their potential for plant growth and productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CHIDANANDA NAGAMANGALA KANCHISWAMY

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs are produced by a wide array of microorganisms ranging from bacteria to fungi. A growing body of evidence indicates that MVOCs are ecofriendly and can be exploited as a cost-effective sustainable strategy for use in agricultural practice as agents that enhance plant growth, productivity and disease resistance. As naturally occurring chemicals, MVOCs have potential as possible alternatives to harmful pesticides, fungicides and bactericides as well as genetic modification. Recent studies performed under open field conditions demonstrate that efficiently adopting MVOCs may contribute to sustainable crop protection and production. We review here the chemical diversity of MVOCs and their potential physiological effects on crops and analyze potential and actual limitations for MVOC use as a sustainable strategy for improving productivity and reducing pesticide use.

  5. Development of site index curves for Pinus kesiya in the Philippines ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Development of site index curves for Pinus kesiya in the Philippines. RIC Lumbres, YJ Lee, YO Seo, FG Calora JR. Abstract. This study was conducted to develop a height–age growth model and site index curves for site quality evaluation of old secondary-growth stands of Pinus kesiya in the northern Philippines.

  6. Economic growth and pollutant emissions in Tunisia. An empirical analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fodha, Mouez [Paris School of Economics and CES, University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, Maison des Sciences Economiques, 106-112 Bd de l' Hopital, 75647 Paris (France); Zaghdoud, Oussama [CES, University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne and Department of Economics, High School of Economic and Commercial Sciences of Tunis, 4 Rue Abou Zakaria El Hafsi, 1089 Montfleury (Tunisia)

    2010-02-15

    This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and pollutant emissions for a small and open developing country, Tunisia, during the period 1961-2004. The investigation is made on the basis of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, using time series data and cointegration analysis. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) are used as the environmental indicators, and GDP as the economic indicator. Our results show that there is a long-run cointegrating relationship between the per capita emissions of two pollutants and the per capita GDP. An inverted U relationship between SO{sub 2} emissions and GDP has been found, with income turning point approximately equals to 1200 (constant 2000 prices) or to 3700 (in PPP, constant 2000 prices). However, a monotonically increasing relationship with GDP is found more appropriate for CO{sub 2} emissions. Furthermore, the causality results show that the relationship between income and pollution in Tunisia is one of unidirectional causality with income causing environmental changes and not vice versa, both in the short-run and long-run. This implies that an emission reduction policies and more investment in pollution abatement expense will not hurt economic growth. It could be a feasible policy tool for Tunisia to achieve its sustainable growth in the long-run. (author)

  7. Economic growth and pollutant emissions in Tunisia: An empirical analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fodha, Mouez, E-mail: fodha@univ-paris1.f [Paris School of Economics and CES, University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, Maison des Sciences Economiques, 106-112 Bd de l' Hopital, 75647 Paris (France); Zaghdoud, Oussama [CES, University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne and Department of Economics, High School of Economic and Commercial Sciences of Tunis, 4 Rue Abou Zakaria El Hafsi, 1089 Montfleury (Tunisia)

    2010-02-15

    This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and pollutant emissions for a small and open developing country, Tunisia, during the period 1961-2004. The investigation is made on the basis of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, using time series data and cointegration analysis. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) are used as the environmental indicators, and GDP as the economic indicator. Our results show that there is a long-run cointegrating relationship between the per capita emissions of two pollutants and the per capita GDP. An inverted U relationship between SO{sub 2} emissions and GDP has been found, with income turning point approximately equals to $1200 (constant 2000 prices) or to $3700 (in PPP, constant 2000 prices). However, a monotonically increasing relationship with GDP is found more appropriate for CO{sub 2} emissions. Furthermore, the causality results show that the relationship between income and pollution in Tunisia is one of unidirectional causality with income causing environmental changes and not vice versa, both in the short-run and long-run. This implies that an emission reduction policies and more investment in pollution abatement expense will not hurt economic growth. It could be a feasible policy tool for Tunisia to achieve its sustainable growth in the long-run.

  8. Economic growth and pollutant emissions in Tunisia: An empirical analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fodha, Mouez; Zaghdoud, Oussama

    2010-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and pollutant emissions for a small and open developing country, Tunisia, during the period 1961-2004. The investigation is made on the basis of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, using time series data and cointegration analysis. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) are used as the environmental indicators, and GDP as the economic indicator. Our results show that there is a long-run cointegrating relationship between the per capita emissions of two pollutants and the per capita GDP. An inverted U relationship between SO 2 emissions and GDP has been found, with income turning point approximately equals to $1200 (constant 2000 prices) or to $3700 (in PPP, constant 2000 prices). However, a monotonically increasing relationship with GDP is found more appropriate for CO 2 emissions. Furthermore, the causality results show that the relationship between income and pollution in Tunisia is one of unidirectional causality with income causing environmental changes and not vice versa, both in the short-run and long-run. This implies that an emission reduction policies and more investment in pollution abatement expense will not hurt economic growth. It could be a feasible policy tool for Tunisia to achieve its sustainable growth in the long-run.

  9. An integrated specification for the nexus of water pollution and economic growth in China: Panel cointegration, long-run causality and environmental Kuznets curve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chen; Wang, Yuan; Song, Xiaowei; Kubota, Jumpei; He, Yanmin; Tojo, Junji; Zhu, Xiaodong

    2017-12-31

    This paper concentrates on a Chinese context and makes efforts to develop an integrated process to explicitly elucidate the relationship between economic growth and water pollution discharge-chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N), using two unbalanced panel data sets covering the period separately from 1990 to 2014, and 2001 to 2014. In our present study, the panel unit root tests, cointegration tests, and Granger causality tests allowing for cross-sectional dependence, nonstationary, and heterogeneity are conducted to examine the causal effects of economic growth on COD/NH 3 -N discharge. Further, we simultaneously apply semi-parametric fixed effects estimation and parametric fixed effects estimation to investigate environmental Kuznets curve relationship for COD/NH 3 -N discharge. Our empirical results show a long-term bidirectional causality between economic growth and COD/NH 3 -N discharge in China. Within the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology framework, we find evidence in support of an inverted U-shaped curved link between economic growth and COD/NH 3 -N discharge. To the best of our knowledge, there have not been any efforts made in investigating the nexus of economic growth and water pollution in such an integrated manner. Therefore, this study takes a fresh look on this topic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Microbial community structure characteristics associated membrane fouling in A/O-MBR system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Da-Wen; Wen, Zhi-Dan; Li, Bao; Liang, Hong

    2014-02-01

    The study demonstrated the potential relationship between microbial community structure and membrane fouling in an anoxic-oxic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR). The results showed that the microbial community structure in biocake was different with aerobic mixture, and the dominant populations were out of sync during the fouling process. Based on microbial community structure and metabolites analysis, the results showed that the succession of microbial community might be the leading factor to the variation of metabolites, and it might be the primary cause of membrane fouling. The rise of Shannon diversity index (H) of the microbial community in A/O-MBR went with the gradually serious membrane fouling. Pareto-Lorenz curve was used to describe the evenness of microbial distribution in A/O-MBR, and the result indicated when community evenness was low, the membrane fouling took place smoothly or slightly, otherwise, high evenness of microbial community would lead to more seriously membrane fouling. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Global microbialization of coral reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, Andreas F; Fairoz, Mohamed F M; Kelly, Linda W; Nelson, Craig E; Dinsdale, Elizabeth A; Edwards, Robert A; Giles, Steve; Hatay, Mark; Hisakawa, Nao; Knowles, Ben; Lim, Yan Wei; Maughan, Heather; Pantos, Olga; Roach, Ty N F; Sanchez, Savannah E; Silveira, Cynthia B; Sandin, Stuart; Smith, Jennifer E; Rohwer, Forest

    2016-04-25

    Microbialization refers to the observed shift in ecosystem trophic structure towards higher microbial biomass and energy use. On coral reefs, the proximal causes of microbialization are overfishing and eutrophication, both of which facilitate enhanced growth of fleshy algae, conferring a competitive advantage over calcifying corals and coralline algae. The proposed mechanism for this competitive advantage is the DDAM positive feedback loop (dissolved organic carbon (DOC), disease, algae, microorganism), where DOC released by ungrazed fleshy algae supports copiotrophic, potentially pathogenic bacterial communities, ultimately harming corals and maintaining algal competitive dominance. Using an unprecedented data set of >400 samples from 60 coral reef sites, we show that the central DDAM predictions are consistent across three ocean basins. Reef algal cover is positively correlated with lower concentrations of DOC and higher microbial abundances. On turf and fleshy macroalgal-rich reefs, higher relative abundances of copiotrophic microbial taxa were identified. These microbial communities shift their metabolic potential for carbohydrate degradation from the more energy efficient Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway on coral-dominated reefs to the less efficient Entner-Doudoroff and pentose phosphate pathways on algal-dominated reefs. This 'yield-to-power' switch by microorganism directly threatens reefs via increased hypoxia and greater CO2 release from the microbial respiration of DOC.

  12. Microbial hotspots and hot moments in soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzyakov, Yakov; Blagodatskaya, Evgenia

    2015-04-01

    Soils are the most heterogeneous parts of the biosphere, with an extremely high differentiation of properties and processes within nano- to macroscales. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of input of labile organics by plants creates microbial hotspots over short periods of time - the hot moments. We define microbial hotspots as small soil volumes with much faster process rates and much more intensive interactions compared to the average soil conditions. Such hotspots are found in the rhizosphere, detritusphere, biopores (including drilosphere) and on aggregate surfaces, but hotspots are frequently of mixed origin. Hot moments are short-term events or sequences of events inducing accelerated process rates as compared to the averaged rates. Thus, hotspots and hot moments are defined by dynamic characteristics, i.e. by process rates. For this hotspot concept we extensively reviewed and examined the localization and size of hotspots, spatial distribution and visualization approaches, transport of labile C to and from hotspots, lifetime and process intensities, with a special focus on process rates and microbial activities. The fraction of active microorganisms in hotspots is 2-20 times higher than in the bulk soil, and their specific activities (i.e. respiration, microbial growth, mineralization potential, enzyme activities, RNA/DNA ratio) may also be much higher. The duration of hot moments in the rhizosphere is limited and is controlled by the length of the input of labile organics. It can last a few hours up to a few days. In the detritusphere, however, the duration of hot moments is regulated by the output - by decomposition rates of litter - and lasts for weeks and months. Hot moments induce succession in microbial communities and intense intra- and interspecific competition affecting C use efficiency, microbial growth and turnover. The faster turnover and lower C use efficiency in hotspots counterbalances the high C inputs, leading to the absence of strong

  13. A fermented meat model system for studies of microbial aroma formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tjener, Karsten; Stahnke, Louise Heller; Andersen, L.

    2003-01-01

    A fermented meat model system was developed, by which microbial formation of volatiles could be examined The model was evaluated against dry, fermented sausages with respect to microbial growth, pH and volatile profiles. Fast and slowly acidified sausages and models were produced using the starter......H, microbial growth and volatile profiles was similar to sausage production. Based on these findings, the model system was considered valid for studies of aroma formation of meat cultures for fermented sausage....... for multivariate data analysis. Growth of lactic acid bacteria was comparable for model and sausages, whereas survival of S. xylosus was better in the model. Multivariate analysis of volatiles showed that differences between fast and slowly acidified samples were identical for model and sausage. For both sausage...

  14. Microbial biofilms: biosurfactants as antibiofilm agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banat, Ibrahim M; De Rienzo, Mayri A Díaz; Quinn, Gerry A

    2014-12-01

    Current microbial inhibition strategies based on planktonic bacterial physiology have been known to have limited efficacy on the growth of biofilm communities. This problem can be exacerbated by the emergence of increasingly resistant clinical strains. All aspects of biofilm measurement, monitoring, dispersal, control, and inhibition are becoming issues of increasing importance. Biosurfactants have merited renewed interest in both clinical and hygienic sectors due to their potential to disperse microbial biofilms in addition to many other advantages. The dispersal properties of biosurfactants have been shown to rival those of conventional inhibitory agents against bacterial and yeast biofilms. This makes them suitable candidates for use in new generations of microbial dispersal agents and for use as adjuvants for existing microbial suppression or eradication strategies. In this review, we explore aspects of biofilm characteristics and examine the contribution of biologically derived surface-active agents (biosurfactants) to the disruption or inhibition of microbial biofilms.

  15. Profiling of Indigenous Microbial Community Dynamics and Metabolic Activity During Enrichment in Molasses-Supplemented Crude Oil-Brine Mixtures for Improved Understanding of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Pedersen, Dorthe Skou; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie

    2015-01-01

    Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil–brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses, with or with...... of molasses has potential as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) strategy in North Sea oil reservoirs.......Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil–brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses....... The microbial growth caused changes in the crude oil–brine system: formation of oil emulsions, and reduction of interfacial tension (IFT). Reduction in IFT was associated with microbes being present at the oil–brine interphase. These findings suggest that stimulation of indigenous microbial growth by addition...

  16. Environmental degradation, economic growth and energy consumption: Evidence of the environmental Kuznets curve in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saboori, Behnaz; Sulaiman, Jamalludin

    2013-01-01

    This paper tests for the short and long-run relationship between economic growth, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and energy consumption, using the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) by employing both the aggregated and disaggregated energy consumption data in Malaysia for the period 1980–2009. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) methodology and Johansen–Juselius maximum likelihood approach were used to test the cointegration relationship; and the Granger causality test, based on the vector error correction model (VECM), to test for causality. The study does not support an inverted U-shaped relationship (EKC) when aggregated energy consumption data was used. When data was disaggregated based on different energy sources such as oil, coal, gas and electricity, the study does show evidences of the EKC hypothesis. The long-run Granger causality test shows that there is bi-directional causality between economic growth and CO 2 emissions, with coal, gas, electricity and oil consumption. This suggests that decreasing energy consumption such as coal, gas, electricity and oil appears to be an effective way to control CO 2 emissions but simultaneously will hinder economic growth. Thus suitable policies related to the efficient consumption of energy resources and consumption of renewable sources are required. - Highlights: • We investigated the EKC hypothesis by using Malaysian energy aggregated and disaggregated data. • It was found that the EKC is not supported, using the aggregated data (energy consumption). • However using disaggregated energy data (oil, coal and electricity) there is evidence of EKC. • Causality shows no causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption in the short-run. • Economic growth Granger causes energy consumption and energy consumption causes CO 2 emissions in long-run

  17. Impact of metal pollution and Thlaspi caerulescens growth on soil microbial communities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Epelde, L.; Becerril, J.M.; Kowalchuk, G.A.; Deng, Y.; Zhou, J.N.; Garbisu, C.

    2010-01-01

    Soil microorganisms drive critical functions in plant-soil systems. As such, various microbial properties have been proposed as indicators of soil functioning, making them potentially useful in evaluating the recovery of polluted soils via phytoremediation strategies. To evaluate microbial responses

  18. Establishment of Uropygial Gland Growth Curves for White, Three-Way Crossed Mule Ducklings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YH Chen

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Growth curves for the uropygial gland (UG of white, 3-way crossed mule ducklings were established using the Gompertz function. In total, 144 ducklings were fed in 12 floor pens with 12 birds in each pen. Each pen contained an equal number of animals of each sex. Feed and water were supplied ad libitumthroughout the entire experimental period. The weekly change in UG weight was recorded in males and females from hatch to 8 weeks of age. The weight and length of the UG, the width of the lobus glandulae uropygialis, the length and width of the pluma of the circulus uropygialis, and the index of the papilla uropygialis were measured once a week in individual ducklings in one pen. The average UG weight gain observed in white, 3-way crossed drakes was significantly higher than that of ducks of 21-56 days of age (P< 0.05. The UG length was 1.64-2.23 times the width of the left or right lobe, and the development of the UG was delayed from 3-4 weeks of age. The morphology of the UG changed from elliptical to elongated-elliptical with age. The right and left lobus glandulae uropygialis were symmetrical. The Gompertz growth functions of the UG in drakes and ducks were W=5.49e-e-0.675(t-1.955 and W=4.76e-e-0.685(t-1.936, respectively, where t represents age in weeks. These equations indicated that the maximum growth rate for drakes occurred at 14.1 days of age and for ducks at 13.6 days of age.

  19. Environmental controls on microbial communities in continental serpentinite fluids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melitza eCrespo-Medina

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Geochemical reactions associated with serpentinization alter the composition of dissolved organic compounds in circulating fluids and potentially liberate mantle-derived carbon and reducing power to support subsurface microbial communities. Previous studies have identified Betaproteobacteria from the order Burkholderiales and bacteria from the order Clostridiales as key components of the serpentinite–hosted microbiome, however there is limited knowledge of their metabolic capabilities or growth characteristics. In an effort to better characterize microbial communities, their metabolism, and factors limiting their activities, microcosm experiments were designed with fluids collected from several monitoring wells at the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO in northern California during expeditions in March and August 2013. The incubations were initiated with a hydrogen atmosphere and a variety of carbon sources (carbon dioxide, methane, acetate and formate, with and without the addition of nutrients and electron acceptors. Growth was monitored by direct microscopic counts; DNA yield and community composition was assessed at the end of the three month incubation. For the most part, results indicate that bacterial growth was favored by the addition of acetate and methane, and that the addition of nutrients and electron acceptors had no significant effect on microbial growth, suggesting no nutrient- or oxidant-limitation. However the addition of sulfur amendments led to different community compositions. The dominant organisms at the end of the incubations were closely related to Dethiobacter sp. and to the family Comamonadaceae, which are also prominent in culture-independent gene sequencing surveys. These experiments provide one of first insights into the biogeochemical dynamics of the serpentinite subsurface environment and will facilitate experiments to trace microbial activities in serpentinizing ecosystems.

  20. Mechanistic Understanding of Microbial Plugging for Improved Sweep Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steven Bryant; Larry Britton

    2008-09-30

    Microbial plugging has been proposed as an effective low cost method of permeability reduction. Yet there is a dearth of information on the fundamental processes of microbial growth in porous media, and there are no suitable data to model the process of microbial plugging as it relates to sweep efficiency. To optimize the field implementation, better mechanistic and volumetric understanding of biofilm growth within a porous medium is needed. In particular, the engineering design hinges upon a quantitative relationship between amount of nutrient consumption, amount of growth, and degree of permeability reduction. In this project experiments were conducted to obtain new data to elucidate this relationship. Experiments in heterogeneous (layered) beadpacks showed that microbes could grow preferentially in the high permeability layer. Ultimately this caused flow to be equally divided between high and low permeability layers, precisely the behavior needed for MEOR. Remarkably, classical models of microbial nutrient uptake in batch experiments do not explain the nutrient consumption by the same microbes in flow experiments. We propose a simple extension of classical kinetics to account for the self-limiting consumption of nutrient observed in our experiments, and we outline a modeling approach based on architecture and behavior of biofilms. Such a model would account for the changing trend of nutrient consumption by bacteria with the increasing biomass and the onset of biofilm formation. However no existing model can explain the microbial preference for growth in high permeability regions, nor is there any obvious extension of the model for this observation. An attractive conjecture is that quorum sensing is involved in the heterogeneous bead packs.

  1. The Impact of Student Teaching Experience on Pre-Service Teachers' Readiness for Technology Integration: A Mixed Methods Study with Growth Curve Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yan; Strobel, Johannes; Newby, Timothy J.

    2017-01-01

    Adopting a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods research design, the current study examined the impact of student teaching experiences on pre-service teachers' readiness for technology integration. In phase-1 of quantitative investigation, 2-level growth curve models were fitted using online repeated measures survey data collected from…

  2. Final Report: Stability of U (VII) and Tc (VII) Reducing Microbial Communities To Environmental Perturbation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Istok, Jonathan D

    2008-07-07

    'Bioimmobilization' of redox-sensitive metals and radionuclides is being investigated as a way to remediate contaminated groundwater and sediments. In this approach, growth-limiting substrates are added to stimulate the activity of targeted groups of indigenous microorganisms and create conditions favorable for the microbially-mediated precipitation ('bioimmobilization') of targeted contaminants. This project investigated a fundamentally new approach for modeling this process that couples thermodynamic descriptions for microbial growth with associated geochemical reactions. In this approach, a synthetic microbial community is defined as a collection of defined microbial groups; each with a growth equation derived from bioenergetic principles. The growth equations and standard-state free energy yields are appended to a thermodynamic database for geochemical reactions and the combined equations are solved simultaneously to predict the effect of added substrates on microbial biomass, community composition, and system geochemistry. This approach, with a single set of thermodynamic parameters (one for each growth equation), was used to predict the results of laboratory and field bioimmobilization experiments at two geochemically diverse research sites. Predicted effects of ethanol or acetate addition on uranium and technetium solubility, major ion geochemistry, mineralogy, microbial biomass and community composition were in general agreement with experimental observations although the available experimental data precluded rigorous model testing. Model simulations provide insight into the long-standing difficulty in transferring experimental results from the laboratory to the field and from one field site to the next, especially if the form, concentration, or delivery of growth substrate is varied from one experiment to the next. Although originally developed for use in better understanding bioimmobilization of uranium and technetium via reductive

  3. Manipulatiaon of Biofilm Microbial Ecology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burkhalter, R.; Macnaughton, S.J.; Palmer, R.J.; Smith, C.A.; Whitaker, K.W.; White, D.C.; Zinn, M.; kirkegaard, R.

    1998-08-09

    The Biofilm mode of growth provides such significant advantages to the members of the consortium that most organisms in important habitats are found in biofilms. The study of factors that allow manipulation of biofilm microbes in the biofilm growth state requires that reproducible biofilms by generated. The most effective monitoring of biofilm formation, succession and desquamation is with on-line monitoring of microbial biofilms with flowcell for direct observation. The biofilm growth state incorporates a second important factor, the heterogeneity in the distribution in time and space of the component members of the biofilm consortium. This heterogeneity is reflected not only in the cellular distribution but in the metabolic activity within a population of cells. Activity and cellular distribution can be mapped in four dimensions with confocal microscopy, and function can be ascertained by genetically manipulated reporter functions for specific genes or by vital stains. The methodology for understanding the microbial ecology of biofilms is now much more readily available and the capacity to manipulate biofilms is becoming an important feature of biotechnology.

  4. Manipulation of Biofilm Microbial Ecology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, D.C.; Palmer, R.J., Jr.; Zinn, M.; Smith, C.A.; Burkhalter, R.; Macnaughton, S.J.; Whitaker, K.W.; Kirkegaard, R.D.

    1998-08-15

    The biofilm mode of growth provides such significant advantages to the members of the consortium that most organisms in important habitats are found in biofilms. The study of factors that allow manipulation of biofilm microbes in the biofilm growth state requires that reproducible biofilms be generated. The most effective monitoring of biofilm formation, succession and desaturation is with on-line monitoring of microbial biofilms with flowcell for direct observation. The biofilm growth state incorporates a second important factor, the heterogeneity in distribution in time and space of the component members of the biofilm consortium. This heterogeneity is reflected not only in the cellular distribution but in the metabolic activity within a population of cells. Activity and cellular distribution can be mapped in four dimensions with confocal microscopy, and function can be ascertained by genetically manipulated reporter functions for specific genes or by vital stains. The methodology for understanding the microbial ecology of biofilms is now much more readily available and the capacity to manipulate biofilms is becoming an important feature of biotechnology.

  5. An Exogenous Surfactant-Producing Bacillus subtilis Facilitates Indigenous Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Peike; Li, Guoqiang; Li, Yanshu; Li, Yan; Tian, Huimei; Wang, Yansen; Zhou, Jiefang; Ma, Ting

    2016-01-01

    This study used an exogenous lipopeptide-producing Bacillus subtilis to strengthen the indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) process in a water-flooded reservoir in the laboratory. The microbial processes and driving mechanisms were investigated in terms of the changes in oil properties and the interplay between the exogenous B. subtilis and indigenous microbial populations. The exogenous B. subtilis is a lipopeptide producer, with a short growth cycle and no oil-degrading ability. The B. subtilis facilitates the IMEOR process through improving oil emulsification and accelerating microbial growth with oil as the carbon source. Microbial community studies using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the exogenous B. subtilis could live together with reservoir microbial populations, and did not exert an observable inhibitory effect on the indigenous microbial populations during nutrient stimulation. Core-flooding tests showed that the combined exogenous and indigenous microbial flooding increased oil displacement efficiency by 16.71%, compared with 7.59% in the control where only nutrients were added, demonstrating the application potential in enhanced oil recovery in water-flooded reservoirs, in particular, for reservoirs where IMEOR treatment cannot effectively improve oil recovery.

  6. Microbial-Induced Heterogeneity in the Acoustic Properties of Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acoustic wave data were acquired over a two-dimensional region of a microbial-stimulated sand column and an unstimulated sand column to assess the spatiotemporal changes in a porous medium caused by microbial growth and biofilm formation. The acoustic signals from the unstimulate...

  7. Growth in Adolescent Self-Regulation and Impact on Sexual Risk-Taking: A Curve-of-Factors Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crandall, AliceAnn; Magnusson, Brianna M; Novilla, M Lelinneth B

    2018-04-01

    Adolescent self-regulation is increasingly seen as an important predictor of sexual risk-taking behaviors, but little is understood about how changes in self-regulation affect later sexual risk-taking. Family financial stress may affect the development of self-regulation and later engagement in sexual risk-taking. We examined whether family financial stress influences self-regulation in early adolescence (age 13) and growth in self-regulation throughout adolescence (from age 13-17 years). We then assessed the effects of family financial stress, baseline self-regulation, and the development of self-regulation on adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors at age 18 years. Using a curve-of-factors model, we examined these relationships in a 6-year longitudinal study of 470 adolescents (52% female) and their parents from a large northwestern city in the United States. Results indicated that family financial stress was negatively associated with baseline self-regulation but not with growth in self-regulation throughout adolescence. Both baseline self-regulation and growth in self-regulation were predictive of decreased likelihood of engaging in sexual risk-taking. Family financial stress was not predictive of later sexual risk-taking. Intervening to support the development of self-regulation in adolescence may be especially protective against later sexual risk-taking.

  8. Some fundamental questions about R-curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolednik, O.

    1992-01-01

    With the help of two simple thought experiments it is demonstrated that there exist two physically different types of fracture toughness. The crack-growth toughness, which is identical to the Griffith crack growth resistance, R, is a measure of the non-reversible energy which is needed to produce an increment of new crack area. The size of R is reflected by the slopes of the R-curves commonly used. So an increasing J-Δa-curve does not mean that the crack-growth resistance increases. The fracture initiation toughness, J i , is a normalized total energy (related to the ligament area) which must be put into the specimen up to fracture initiation. Only for ideally brittle materials R and J i have equal sizes. For small-scale yielding a relationship exists between R and J i , ao a one-parameter description of fracture processes is applicable. For large-scale yielding R and J i are not strictly related and both parameters are necessary to describe the fracture process. (orig.) [de

  9. Growth rates of rhizosphere microorganisms depend on competitive abilities of plants for nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Littschwager, Johanna; Lauerer, Marianna; Kuzyakov, Yakov

    2010-05-01

    Rhizosphere - one of the most important ‘hot spots' in soil - is characterized not only by accelerated turnover of microbial biomass and nutrients but also by strong intra- and inter-specific competition. Intra-specific competition occurs between individual plants of the same species, while inter-specific competition can occur both at population level (plant species-specific, microbial species-specific interactions) and at community level (plant - microbial interactions). Such plant - microbial interactions are mainly governed by competition for available N sources, since N is one of the main growth limiting nutrients in natural ecosystems. Functional structure and activity of microbial community in rhizosphere is not uniform and is dependent on quantity and quality of root exudates which are plant specific. It is still unclear how microbial growth and turnover in the rhizosphere are dependent on the features and competitive abilities of plants for N. Depending on C and N availability, acceleration and even retardation of microbial activity and carbon mineralization can be expected in the rhizosphere of plants with high competitive abilities for N. We hypothesized slower microbial growth rates in the rhizosphere of plants with smaller roots, as they usually produce less exudates compared to plants with small shoot-to-root ratio. As the first hypothesis is based solely on C availability, we also expected the greater effect of N availability on microbial growth in rhizosphere of plants with smaller root mass. These hypothesis were tested for two plant species of strawberry: Fragaria vesca L. (native species), and Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke (an invasive plant in central Europe) growing in intraspecific and interspecific competition. Microbial biomass and the kinetic parameters of microbial growth in the rhizosphere were estimated by dynamics of CO2 emission from the soil amended with glucose and nutrients. Specific growth rate (µ) of soil microorganisms was

  10. Analysis of growth characteristics in short-term divergently selected ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    weeks of age body weight in divergent lines of Japanese quail. Growth curves for both sexes within each selection group resembled the general sigmoid shape of a typical growth curve. Gompertz model curves and the observed growth curves were ...

  11. Modelling microbial interactions and food structure in predictive microbiology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Malakar, P.K.

    2002-01-01

    Keywords: modelling, dynamic models, microbial interactions, diffusion, microgradients, colony growth, predictive microbiology.

    Growth response of microorganisms in foods is a complex process. Innovations in food production and preservation techniques have resulted in adoption of

  12. Community-level physiological profiling in microbial communities of broiler cecae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poultry production constitutes one of important agricultural output worldwide. It is known that the gut health of broilers is essential for their growth and for providing wholesome products for human consumption. Previously, the microbial diversity of broiler cecae was studied at the microbial gen...

  13. Coastal microbial mats: the physiology of a small-scale ecosystem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stal, L.J.

    2001-01-01

    Coastal inter-tidal sandy sediments, salt marshes and mangrove forests often support the development of microbial mats. Microbial mats are complex associations of one or several functional groups of microorganisms and their formation usually starts with the growth of a cyanobacterial population on a

  14. Results of Casting in Severe Curves in Infantile Scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stasikelis, Peter J; Carpenter, Ashley M

    2018-04-01

    Previous work has demonstrated best results for casting in infantile scoliosis when the curves are small and the child begins casting under 2 years of age. This study examines if casting can delay the need for growth friendly instrumentation in severe curves (50 to 106 degrees) and how the comorbidities of syrinx or genetic syndromes affected outcomes. All children undergoing casting for scoliosis at a single institution over an 8-year period were examined. Inclusion criteria included initial curve at first casting of ≥50 degrees, age ≤3 years at the start of casting, and a minimum follow-up of 3 years. Of 148 children undergoing casting during this period, 44 met our inclusion criteria. All children underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Ten children with a syrinx were identified. Ten children had known genetic syndromes (2 who also had a syrinx). The 26 children without these comorbidities were considered idiopathic. Curve magnitude ranged from 50 to 106 degrees. Nine of the 26 (35%) children in the children with idiopathic curves demonstrated resolution of their curves, while only 3 of the remaining 18 (17%) did. Of the children that did not have resolution of their curves, 14 were maintained over the entire follow-up period to within 15 degrees of their initial curve and 13 were improved 15 degrees or more. Only 5 children had an increase of 15 degrees or more over the follow-up period and 4 of these have undergone growth friendly instrumentation after a mean delay from initial cast of 71 months (range, 18 to 100 mo). This study demonstrates that even in severe curves, casting was effective in delaying instrumentation in all cases, and led to curve resolution of the curves in 12 of 44 children. Level III-case control study.

  15. Side Effects of Nitrification Inhibitors on Non Target Microbial Processes in Soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes Carl Gottlieb Ottow

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural chemicals have been used extensively in modern agriculture and toxicological studies suggest a great potential for inducing undesirable effects on non target organisms. A model experiment was conducted in order to determine side effects of three nitrification inhibitors (NIs, 3,4dimethylpyrazolephosphate = DMPP, 4-Chlor-methylpyrazole phosphate = ClMPP and dicyandiamide = DCD on non target microbial processes in soils. Side effects and dose response curve of three NIs were quantified under laboratory conditions using silty clay, loam and a sandy soils. Dehydrogenase, dimethylsulfoxide reductase as well as nitrogenase activity (NA and potential denitrification capacity were measured as common and specific non target microbial processes. The influence of 5-1000 times the base concentration, dose response curves were examined, and no observable effect level = NOEL, as well as effective dose ED10 and ED50 (10% and 50% inhibition were calculated. The NOEL for microbial non target processes were about 30–70 times higher than base concentration in all investigated soils. The potential denitrification capacity revealed to be the most sensitive parameter. ClMPP exhibited the strongest influence on the non target microbial processes in the three soils. The NOEL, ED10 and ED50 values were higher in clay than in loamy or sandy soil. The NIs was the most effective in sandy soils.

  16. Assessing Trust and Effectiveness in Virtual Teams: Latent Growth Curve and Latent Change Score Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael D. Coovert

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Trust plays a central role in the effectiveness of work groups and teams. This is the case for both face-to-face and virtual teams. Yet little is known about the development of trust in virtual teams. We examined cognitive and affective trust and their relationship to team effectiveness as reflected through satisfaction with one’s team and task performance. Latent growth curve analysis reveals both trust types start at a significant level with individual differences in that initial level. Cognitive trust follows a linear growth pattern while affective trust is overall non-linear, but becomes linear once established. Latent change score models are utilized to examine change in trust and also its relationship with satisfaction with the team and team performance. In examining only change in trust and its relationship to satisfaction there appears to be a straightforward influence of trust on satisfaction and satisfaction on trust. However, when incorporated into a bivariate coupling latent change model the dynamics of the relationship are revealed. A similar pattern holds for trust and task performance; however, in the bivariate coupling change model a more parsimonious representation is preferred.

  17. Real-time evaluation of two light delivery systems for photodynamic disinfection of Candida albicans biofilm in curved root canals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabino, C P; Garcez, A S; Núñez, S C; Ribeiro, M S; Hamblin, M R

    2015-08-01

    Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (APDT) combined with endodontic treatment has been recognized as an alternative approach to complement conventional root canal disinfection methods on bacterial biofilms. We developed an in  vitro model of bioluminescent Candida albicans biofilm inside curved dental root canals and investigated the microbial reduction produced when different light delivery methods are employed. Each light delivery method was evaluated in respect to the light distribution provided inside curved root canals. After conventional endodontic preparation, teeth were sterilized before canals were contaminated by a bioluminescent strain of C. albicans (CEC789). Methylene blue (90 μM) was introduced into the canals and then irradiated (λ = 660 nm, P = 100 mW, beam diameter = 2 mm) with laser tip either in contact with pulp chamber or within the canal using an optical diffuser fiber. Light distribution was evaluated by CCD camera, and microbial reduction was monitored through bioluminescence imaging. Our findings demonstrated that the bioluminescent C. albicans biofilm model had good reproducibility and uniformity. Light distribution in dental tissue was markedly dependent on the light delivery system, and this strategy was directly related to microbial destruction. Both light delivery systems performed significant fungal inactivation. However, when irradiation was performed with optical diffuser fiber, microbial burden reduction was nearly 100 times more effective. Bioluminescence is an interesting real-time analysis to endodontic C. albicans biofilm inactivation. APDT showed to be an effective way to inactivate C. albicans biofilms. Diffuser fibers provided optimized light distribution inside curved root canals and significantly increased APDT efficiency.

  18. Microbial diversity arising from thermodynamic constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Großkopf, Tobias; Soyer, Orkun S

    2016-01-01

    The microbial world displays an immense taxonomic diversity. This diversity is manifested also in a multitude of metabolic pathways that can utilise different substrates and produce different products. Here, we propose that these observations directly link to thermodynamic constraints that inherently arise from the metabolic basis of microbial growth. We show that thermodynamic constraints can enable coexistence of microbes that utilise the same substrate but produce different end products. We find that this thermodynamics-driven emergence of diversity is most relevant for metabolic conversions with low free energy as seen for example under anaerobic conditions, where population dynamics is governed by thermodynamic effects rather than kinetic factors such as substrate uptake rates. These findings provide a general understanding of the microbial diversity based on the first principles of thermodynamics. As such they provide a thermodynamics-based framework for explaining the observed microbial diversity in different natural and synthetic environments. PMID:27035705

  19. Microbial diversity arising from thermodynamic constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Großkopf, Tobias; Soyer, Orkun S

    2016-11-01

    The microbial world displays an immense taxonomic diversity. This diversity is manifested also in a multitude of metabolic pathways that can utilise different substrates and produce different products. Here, we propose that these observations directly link to thermodynamic constraints that inherently arise from the metabolic basis of microbial growth. We show that thermodynamic constraints can enable coexistence of microbes that utilise the same substrate but produce different end products. We find that this thermodynamics-driven emergence of diversity is most relevant for metabolic conversions with low free energy as seen for example under anaerobic conditions, where population dynamics is governed by thermodynamic effects rather than kinetic factors such as substrate uptake rates. These findings provide a general understanding of the microbial diversity based on the first principles of thermodynamics. As such they provide a thermodynamics-based framework for explaining the observed microbial diversity in different natural and synthetic environments.

  20. Environmental Kuznets Curve for carbon emissions in Pakistan: An empirical investigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nasir, Muhammad, E-mail: nasirawan84@yahoo.co [Staff Economist, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, 44000 Islamabad (Pakistan); Ur Rehman, Faiz, E-mail: faizeconomist@yahoo.co [Department of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2011-03-15

    This study investigates the relationship between carbon emissions, income, energy consumption, and foreign trade in Pakistan for the period 1972-2008. By employing the Johansen method of cointegration, the study finds that there is a quadratic long-run relationship between carbon emissions and income, confirming the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve for Pakistan. Moreover, both energy consumption and foreign trade are found to have positive effects on emissions. The short-run results have, however, denied the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The short-run results are unique to the existing literature in the sense that none of the long-run determinants of emissions is significant. The contradictory results of short- and long-run give policy makers the opportunity to formulate different types of growth policies for the two terms taking environmental issues into consideration. In addition, the uni-directional causality from growth to energy consumption suggests that the policy makers should not only focus on forecasting future demand for energy with different growth scenarios but also on obtaining the least cost energy. Furthermore, the absence of causality from emissions to growth suggests that Pakistan can curb its carbon emissions without disturbing its economic growth. - Research highlights: {yields} Environmental Kuznets Curve exists only in the long-run in Pakistan. {yields} Both energy consumption and trade openness also affect carbon emissions positively in the long run. {yields} The short-run results have, however, denied the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. {yields} None of the explanatory variables affect emissions in short-run. {yields} There is uni-directional causality from growth to energy consumption. {yields} There is uni-directional causality from growth to emissions.

  1. Environmental Kuznets Curve for carbon emissions in Pakistan: An empirical investigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasir, Muhammad; Ur Rehman, Faiz

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between carbon emissions, income, energy consumption, and foreign trade in Pakistan for the period 1972-2008. By employing the Johansen method of cointegration, the study finds that there is a quadratic long-run relationship between carbon emissions and income, confirming the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve for Pakistan. Moreover, both energy consumption and foreign trade are found to have positive effects on emissions. The short-run results have, however, denied the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The short-run results are unique to the existing literature in the sense that none of the long-run determinants of emissions is significant. The contradictory results of short- and long-run give policy makers the opportunity to formulate different types of growth policies for the two terms taking environmental issues into consideration. In addition, the uni-directional causality from growth to energy consumption suggests that the policy makers should not only focus on forecasting future demand for energy with different growth scenarios but also on obtaining the least cost energy. Furthermore, the absence of causality from emissions to growth suggests that Pakistan can curb its carbon emissions without disturbing its economic growth. - Research highlights: → Environmental Kuznets Curve exists only in the long-run in Pakistan. → Both energy consumption and trade openness also affect carbon emissions positively in the long run. → The short-run results have, however, denied the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. → None of the explanatory variables affect emissions in short-run. → There is uni-directional causality from growth to energy consumption. → There is uni-directional causality from growth to emissions.

  2. Effects of forage:concentrate ratio and forage type on apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and microbial growth in goats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantalapiedra-Hijar, G; Yáñez-Ruiz, D R; Martín-García, A I; Molina-Alcaide, E

    2009-02-01

    The effects of forage type and forage:concentrate ratio (F:C) on apparent nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and microbial growth were investigated in goats. A comparison between liquid (LAB) and solid (SAB)-associated bacteria to estimate microbial N flow (MNF) from urinary purine derivative excretion was also examined. Treatments were a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of forage type (grass hay vs. alfalfa hay) and high vs. low F:C (70:30 and 30:70, respectively). Four ruminally cannulated goats were fed, at maintenance intake, 4 experimental diets according to a 4 x 4 Latin square design. High-concentrate diets resulted in greater (P 0.05) when diets included alfalfa hay. Total protozoa numbers and holotricha proportion were greater and less (P forage used. The MNF measured in goats fed different diets was influenced by the bacterial pellet (LAB or SAB). In addition, the purine bases:N ratio values found were different from those reported in the literature, which underlines the need for these variables to be analyzed directly in pellets isolated from specific animals and experimental conditions.

  3. An integral parametrization of the bacterial growth curve experimental demonstration with E. coli C{sub 6}00 bacteria; Parametrizacion integrada de la curva de crecimiento bacteriano. Comprobacion experimental para E. coli C{sub 6}00

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garces, F; Vidania, R de

    1984-07-01

    In this work an integral parametrization of the bacterial growth curve is presented. The values of the parameters are obtained by fitting to the experimental data. Those parameters, with allow to describe the growth in its different phases, are the followings: slopes of the curve in its three parts and the time which divides the last two phases of the bacterial growth. The experimental data are bacterial densities measured by optical methods. The bacteria used was the E. coli C{sub 6}00. (Author)

  4. Microbial characteristics of soils on a latitudinal transect in Siberia

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šantrůčková, Hana; Bird, M. I.; Kalaschnikov, Y. N.; Grund, M.; Elhottová, Dana; Šimek, Miloslav; Grigoryev, S.; Gleixner, G.; Arneth, A.; Schulze, E.D.; Lloyd, J.

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 9, - (2003), s. 1106-1117 ISSN 1354-1013 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA526/99/P033 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6066911 Keywords : latitudial transect * microbial net growth rate * soil microbial activity Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 4.152, year: 2003

  5. Brief Report: Examining children’s disruptive behavior in the wake of trauma - A two-piece growth curve model before and after a school shooting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Yue; Shonkoff, Eleanor T.; Barnett, Elizabeth; Wen, CK Fred; Miller, Kimberly A.; Eddy, J. Mark

    2015-01-01

    School shootings may have serious negative impacts on children years after the event. Previous research suggests that children exposed to traumatic events experience heightened fear, anxiety, and feelings of vulnerability, but little research has examined potential aggressive and disruptive behavioral reactions. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset in which a local school shooting occurred during the course of data collection, this study sought to investigate whether the trajectory of disruptive behaviors was affected by the shooting. A two-piece growth curve model was used to examine the trajectory of disruptive behaviors during the pre-shooting years (i.e., piece one) and post-shooting years (i.e., piece two). Results indicated that the two-piece growth curve model fit the data better than the one-piece model and that the school shooting precipitated a faster decline in aggressive behaviors. This study demonstrated a novel approach to examining effects of an unexpected traumatic event on behavioral trajectories using an existing longitudinal data set. PMID:26298676

  6. Energy from algae using microbial fuel cells

    KAUST Repository

    Velasquez-Orta, Sharon B.; Curtis, Tom P.; Logan, Bruce E.

    2009-01-01

    Bioelectricity production froma phytoplankton, Chlorella vulgaris, and a macrophyte, Ulva lactuca was examined in single chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFCs were fed with the two algae (as powders), obtaining differences in energy recovery, degradation efficiency, and power densities. C. vulgaris produced more energy generation per substrate mass (2.5 kWh/kg), but U. lactuca was degraded more completely over a batch cycle (73±1% COD). Maximum power densities obtained using either single cycle or multiple cycle methods were 0.98 W/m2 (277 W/m3) using C. vulgaris, and 0.76 W/m2 (215 W/m3) using U. lactuca. Polarization curves obtained using a common method of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) overestimated maximum power densities at a scan rate of 1 mV/s. At 0.1 mV/s, however, the LSV polarization data was in better agreement with single- and multiple-cycle polarization curves. The fingerprints of microbial communities developed in reactors had only 11% similarity to inocula and clustered according to the type of bioprocess used. These results demonstrate that algae can in principle, be used as a renewable source of electricity production in MFCs. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Energy from algae using microbial fuel cells

    KAUST Repository

    Velasquez-Orta, Sharon B.

    2009-08-15

    Bioelectricity production froma phytoplankton, Chlorella vulgaris, and a macrophyte, Ulva lactuca was examined in single chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFCs were fed with the two algae (as powders), obtaining differences in energy recovery, degradation efficiency, and power densities. C. vulgaris produced more energy generation per substrate mass (2.5 kWh/kg), but U. lactuca was degraded more completely over a batch cycle (73±1% COD). Maximum power densities obtained using either single cycle or multiple cycle methods were 0.98 W/m2 (277 W/m3) using C. vulgaris, and 0.76 W/m2 (215 W/m3) using U. lactuca. Polarization curves obtained using a common method of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) overestimated maximum power densities at a scan rate of 1 mV/s. At 0.1 mV/s, however, the LSV polarization data was in better agreement with single- and multiple-cycle polarization curves. The fingerprints of microbial communities developed in reactors had only 11% similarity to inocula and clustered according to the type of bioprocess used. These results demonstrate that algae can in principle, be used as a renewable source of electricity production in MFCs. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Influence of pulsed magnetic field on soybean (Glycine max L.) seed germination, seedling growth and soil microbial population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radhakrishnan, Ramalingam; Kumari, Bollipo Dyana Ranjitha

    2013-08-01

    The effects of pulsed magnetic field (PMF) treatment of soybean (Glycine max L. cv CO3) seeds were investigated on rate of seed germination, seedling growth, physico-chemical properties of seed leachates and soil microbial population under laboratory conditions. Seeds were exposed to PMF of 1500 nT at 0.1, 1.0 10.0 and 100.0 Hz for 5 h per day for 20 days, induced by enclosure coil systems. Non-treated seeds were considered as controls. All PMF treatments significantly increased the rate of seed germination, while 10 and 100 Hz PMFs showed the most effective response. The 1.0 and 10 Hz PMFs remarkably improved the fresh weight of shoots and roots, leaf area and plant height from seedlings from magnetically-exposed seeds compared to the control, while 10 Hz PMF increased the total soluble sugar, total protein and phenol contents. The leaf chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll were higher in PMF (10 and 100 Hz) pretreated plants, as compared to other treatments. In addition, activities of alpha-amylase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, nitrate reductase, peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase were increased, while beta-amylase and protease activities were declined in PMF (10 Hz)-exposed soybean plants. Similarly, the capacity of absorbance of water by seeds and electrical conductivity of seed leachates were significantly enhanced by 10 Hz PMF exposure, whereas PMF (10 Hz) pretreated plants did not affect the microbial population in rhizosphere soil. The results suggested the potential of 10 Hz PMF treatment to enhance the germination and seedling growth of soybean.

  9. Determination of Nitrate Reductase Assay Depending on the Microbial Growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Kabbany, H.M.

    2012-01-01

    A rapid micro-dilution assay for determination of the antimicrobial susceptibility of different bacterial isolates was developed. This assay is based on the ability of the most of viable organisms to reduce nitrates. The MIC or MBC could be determined by nitrate reductase (NR) only after 30 to 90 min of incubation depending on the behaviour of microbial growth. Bacterial viability is detected by a positive nitrite reduction rather than visible turbidity. The nitrate reduction assay was compared with standard micro-assay using 250 isolates of different taxa against 10 antibiotics belonging to different classes. An excellent agreement of 82.5 % was found between the two methods and only 17.5 % of 1794 trials showed difference in the determined MIC by tow-dilution interval above or below the MIC determined by the turbidimetric method under the same test conditions. However, the nitrate reduction assay was more rapid and sensitive in detecting viable bacteria and so, established an accurate estimate of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) or the minimal bacterial concentration (MBC). The nitrate reduction assay offers the additional advantage that it could be used to determine the MBC without having to subculture the broth. 232 cases of resistance were detected by NR and 4 different media were tested for susceptibility test. The bacterial isolates were exposed to ultra violet (UV) light for different period

  10. Growth curves and age-related changes in carcass characteristics, organs, serum parameters, and intestinal transporter gene expression in domestic pigeon (Columba livia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, C Q; Yang, J X; Chen, M X; Yan, H C; Wang, X Q

    2016-04-01

    Two experiments were conducted to fit growth curves, and determine age-related changes in carcass characteristics, organs, serum biochemical parameters, and gene expression of intestinal nutrient transporters in domestic pigeon (Columba livia). In experiment 1, body weight (BW) of 30 pigeons was respectively determined at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days old to fit growth curves and to describe the growth of pigeons. In experiment 2, eighty-four 1-day-old squabs were grouped by weight into 7 groups. On d 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35, twelve birds from each group were randomly selected for slaughter and post-slaughter analysis. The results showed that BW of pigeons increased rapidly from d 1 to d 28 (a 25.7-fold increase), and then had little change until d 35. The Logistic, Gompertz, and Von Bertalanffy functions can all be well fitted with the growth curve of domestic pigeons (R2>0.90) and the Gompertz model showed the highest R2value among the models (R2=0.9997). The equation of Gompertz model was Y=507.72×e-(3.76exp(-0.17t))(Y=BW of pigeon (g); t=time (day)). In addition, breast meat yield (%) increased with age throughout the experiment, whereas the leg meat yield (%) reached to the peak on d 14. Serum total protein, albumin, globulin, and glucose concentration were increased with age, whereas serum uric acid concentration was decreased (P<0.05). Furthermore, the gene expressions of nutrient transporters (y+LAT2, LAT1, B0AT1, PepT1, and NHE2) in jejunum of pigeon were increased with age. The results of correlation analysis showed the gene expressions of B0AT1, PepT1, and NHE2 had positive correlations with BW (0.73

  11. Microfluidics expanding the frontiers of microbial ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusconi, Roberto; Garren, Melissa; Stocker, Roman

    2014-01-01

    Microfluidics has significantly contributed to the expansion of the frontiers of microbial ecology over the past decade by allowing researchers to observe the behaviors of microbes in highly controlled microenvironments, across scales from a single cell to mixed communities. Spatially and temporally varying distributions of organisms and chemical cues that mimic natural microbial habitats can now be established by exploiting physics at the micrometer scale and by incorporating structures with specific geometries and materials. In this article, we review applications of microfluidics that have resulted in insightful discoveries on fundamental aspects of microbial life, ranging from growth and sensing to cell-cell interactions and population dynamics. We anticipate that this flexible multidisciplinary technology will continue to facilitate discoveries regarding the ecology of microorganisms and help uncover strategies to control microbial processes such as biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance.

  12. Trend in BMI z-score among Private Schools’ Students in Delhi using Multiple Imputation for Growth Curve Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinay K Gupta

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the trend in mean BMI z-score among private schools’ students from their anthropometric records when there were missing values in the outcome. Methodology: The anthropometric measurements of student from class 1 to 12 were taken from the records of two private schools in Delhi, India from 2005 to 2010. These records comprise of an unbalanced longitudinal data that is not all the students had measurements recorded at each year. The trend in mean BMI z-score was estimated through growth curve model. Prior to that, missing values of BMI z-score were imputed through multiple imputation using the same model. A complete case analysis was also performed after excluding missing values to compare the results with those obtained from analysis of multiply imputed data. Results: The mean BMI z-score among school student significantly decreased over time in imputed data (β= -0.2030, se=0.0889, p=0.0232 after adjusting age, gender, class and school. Complete case analysis also shows a decrease in mean BMI z-score though it was not statistically significant (β= -0.2861, se=0.0987, p=0.065. Conclusions: The estimates obtained from multiple imputation analysis were better than those of complete data after excluding missing values in terms of lower standard errors. We showed that anthropometric measurements from schools records can be used to monitor the weight status of children and adolescents and multiple imputation using growth curve model can be useful while analyzing such data

  13. Compost mixture influence of interactive physical parameters on microbial kinetics and substrate fractionation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohajer, Ardavan; Tremier, Anne; Barrington, Suzelle; Teglia, Cecile

    2010-01-01

    Composting is a feasible biological treatment for the recycling of wastewater sludge as a soil amendment. The process can be optimized by selecting an initial compost recipe with physical properties that enhance microbial activity. The present study measured the microbial O(2) uptake rate (OUR) in 16 sludge and wood residue mixtures to estimate the kinetics parameters of maximum growth rate mu(m) and rate of organic matter hydrolysis K(h), as well as the initial biodegradable organic matter fractions present. The starting mixtures consisted of a wide range of moisture content (MC), waste to bulking agent (BA) ratio (W/BA ratio) and BA particle size, which were placed in a laboratory respirometry apparatus to measure their OUR over 4 weeks. A microbial model based on the activated sludge process was used to calculate the kinetic parameters and was found to adequately reproduced OUR curves over time, except for the lag phase and peak OUR, which was not represented and generally over-estimated, respectively. The maximum growth rate mu(m), was found to have a quadratic relationship with MC and a negative association with BA particle size. As a result, increasing MC up to 50% and using a smaller BA particle size of 8-12 mm was seen to maximize mu(m). The rate of hydrolysis K(h) was found to have a linear association with both MC and BA particle size. The model also estimated the initial readily biodegradable organic matter fraction, MB(0), and the slower biodegradable matter requiring hydrolysis, MH(0). The sum of MB(0) and MH(0) was associated with MC, W/BA ratio and the interaction between these two parameters, suggesting that O(2) availability was a key factor in determining the value of these two fractions. The study reinforced the idea that optimization of the physical characteristics of a compost mixture requires a holistic approach. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Aerobic microbial dolomite at the nanometer scale : Implications for the geologic record

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sánchez-Román, Mónica; Vasconcelos, Crisógono; Schmid, Thomas; Dittrich, Maria; McKenzie, Judith A.; Zenobi, Renato; Rivadeneyra, Maria A.

    2008-01-01

    Microbial experiments are the only proven approach to produce experimental dolomite under Earth's surface conditions. Although microbial metabolisms are known to induce dolomite precipitation by favoring dolomite growth kinetics, the involvement of microbes in the dolomite nucleation process is

  15. Halotolerant PGPRs Prevent Major Shifts in Indigenous Microbial Community Structure Under Salinity Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bharti, Nidhi; Barnawal, Deepti; Maji, Deepamala; Kalra, Alok

    2015-07-01

    The resilience of soil microbial populations and processes to environmental perturbation is of increasing interest as alteration in rhizosphere microbial community dynamics impacts the combined functions of plant-microbe interactions. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of inoculation with halotolerant rhizobacteria Bacillus pumilus (STR2), Halomonas desiderata (STR8), and Exiguobacterium oxidotolerans (STR36) on the indigenous root-associated microbial (bacterial and fungal) communities in maize under non-saline and salinity stress. Plants inoculated with halotolerant rhizobacteria recorded improved growth as illustrated by significantly higher shoot and root dry weight and elongation in comparison to un-inoculated control plants under both non-saline and saline conditions. Additive main effect and multiplicative interaction ordination analysis revealed that plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculations as well as salinity are major drivers of microbial community shift in maize rhizosphere. Salinity negatively impacts microbial community as analysed through diversity indices; among the PGPR-inoculated plants, STR2-inoculated plants recorded higher values of diversity indices. As observed in the terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, the inoculation of halotolerant rhizobacteria prevents major shift of the microbial community structure, thus enhancing the resilience capacity of the microbial communities.

  16. Brief report: Examining children's disruptive behavior in the wake of trauma - A two-piece growth curve model before and after a school shooting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Yue; Shonkoff, Eleanor T; Barnett, Elizabeth; Wen, C K Fred; Miller, Kimberly A; Eddy, J Mark

    2015-10-01

    School shootings may have serious negative impacts on children years after the event. Previous research suggests that children exposed to traumatic events experience heightened fear, anxiety, and feelings of vulnerability, but little research has examined potential aggressive and disruptive behavioral reactions. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset in which a local school shooting occurred during the course of data collection, this study sought to investigate whether the trajectory of disruptive behaviors was affected by the shooting. A two-piece growth curve model was used to examine the trajectory of disruptive behaviors during the pre-shooting years (i.e., piece one) and post-shooting years (i.e., piece two). Results indicated that the two-piece growth curve model fit the data better than the one-piece model and that the school shooting precipitated a faster decline in aggressive behaviors. This study demonstrated a novel approach to examining effects of an unexpected traumatic event on behavioral trajectories using an existing longitudinal data set. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Kinetic modeling of microbially-driven redox chemistry of radionuclides in subsurface environments: Coupling transport, microbial metabolism and geochemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yifeng; Papenguth, Hans W.

    2000-01-01

    Microbial degradation of organic matter is a driving force in many subsurface geochemical systems, and therefore may have significant impacts on the fate of radionuclides released into subsurface environments. In this paper, the authors present a general reaction-transport model for microbial metabolism, redox chemistry, and radionuclide migration in subsurface systems. The model explicitly accounts for biomass accumulation and the coupling of radionuclide redox reactions with major biogeochemical processes. Based on the consideration that the biomass accumulation in subsurface environments is likely to achieve a quasi-steady state, they have accordingly modified the traditional microbial growth kinetic equation. They justified the use of the biogeochemical models without the explicit representation of biomass accumulation, if the interest of modeling is in the net impact of microbial reactions on geochemical processes. They then applied their model to a scenario in which an oxic water flow containing both uranium and completing organic ligands is recharged into an oxic aquifer in a carbonate formation. The model simulation shows that uranium can be reduced and therefore immobilized in the anoxic zone created by microbial degradation

  18. Kinetic modeling of microbially-driven redox chemistry of radionuclides in subsurface environments: Coupling transport, microbial metabolism and geochemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    WANG,YIFENG; PAPENGUTH,HANS W.

    2000-05-04

    Microbial degradation of organic matter is a driving force in many subsurface geochemical systems, and therefore may have significant impacts on the fate of radionuclides released into subsurface environments. In this paper, the authors present a general reaction-transport model for microbial metabolism, redox chemistry, and radionuclide migration in subsurface systems. The model explicitly accounts for biomass accumulation and the coupling of radionuclide redox reactions with major biogeochemical processes. Based on the consideration that the biomass accumulation in subsurface environments is likely to achieve a quasi-steady state, they have accordingly modified the traditional microbial growth kinetic equation. They justified the use of the biogeochemical models without the explicit representation of biomass accumulation, if the interest of modeling is in the net impact of microbial reactions on geochemical processes. They then applied their model to a scenario in which an oxic water flow containing both uranium and completing organic ligands is recharged into an oxic aquifer in a carbonate formation. The model simulation shows that uranium can be reduced and therefore immobilized in the anoxic zone created by microbial degradation.

  19. [Microbial biomass and growth kinetics of microorganisms in chernozem soils under different farm land use modes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagodatskiĭ, S A; Bogomolova, I N; Blagodatskaia, E V

    2008-01-01

    The carbon content of microbial biomass and the kinetic characteristics of microbial respiration response to substrate introduction have been estimated for chernozem soils of different farm lands: arable lands used for 10, 46, and 76 years, mowed fallow land, non-mowed fallow land, and woodland. Microbial biomass and the content of microbial carbon in humus (Cmic/Corg) decreased in the following order: soils under forest cenoses-mowed fallow land-10-year arable land-46- and 75-year arable land. The amount of microbial carbon in the long-plowed horizon was 40% of its content in the upper horizon of non-mowed fallow land. Arable soils were characterized by a lower metabolic diversity of microbial community and by the highest portion of microorganisms able to grow directly on glucose introduced into soil. The effects of different scenarios of carbon sequestration in soil on the reserves and activity of microbial biomass are discussed.

  20. Actual measurement, hygrothermal response experiment and growth prediction analysis of microbial contamination of central air conditioning system in Dalian, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Yang; Hu, Guangyao; Wang, Chunyang; Yuan, Wenjie; Wei, Shanshan; Gao, Jiaoqi; Wang, Boyuan; Song, Fangchao

    2017-04-03

    The microbial contamination of central air conditioning system is one of the important factors that affect the indoor air quality. Actual measurement and analysis were carried out on microbial contamination in central air conditioning system at a venue in Dalian, China. Illumina miseq method was used and three fungal samples of two units were analysed by high throughput sequencing. Results showed that the predominant fungus in air conditioning unit A and B were Candida spp. and Cladosporium spp., and two fungus were further used in the hygrothermal response experiment. Based on the data of Cladosporium in hygrothermal response experiment, this paper used the logistic equation and the Gompertz equation to fit the growth predictive model of Cladosporium genera in different temperature and relative humidity conditions, and the square root model was fitted based on the two environmental factors. In addition, the models were carried on the analysis to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the established model equation.

  1. Dormancy contributes to the maintenance of microbial diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Stuart E; Lennon, Jay T

    2010-03-30

    Dormancy is a bet-hedging strategy used by a variety of organisms to overcome unfavorable environmental conditions. By entering a reversible state of low metabolic activity, dormant individuals become members of a seed bank, which can determine community dynamics in future generations. Although microbiologists have documented dormancy in both clinical and natural settings, the importance of seed banks for the diversity and functioning of microbial communities remains untested. Here, we develop a theoretical model demonstrating that microbial communities are structured by environmental cues that trigger dormancy. A molecular survey of lake ecosystems revealed that dormancy plays a more important role in shaping bacterial communities than eukaryotic microbial communities. The proportion of dormant bacteria was relatively low in productive ecosystems but accounted for up to 40% of taxon richness in nutrient-poor systems. Our simulations and empirical data suggest that regional environmental cues and dormancy synchronize the composition of active communities across the landscape while decoupling active microbes from the total community at local scales. Furthermore, we observed that rare bacterial taxa were disproportionately active relative to common bacterial taxa, suggesting that microbial rank-abundance curves are more dynamic than previously considered. We propose that repeated transitions to and from the seed bank may help maintain the high levels of microbial biodiversity that are observed in nearly all ecosystems.

  2. Peak oil analyzed with a logistic function and idealized Hubbert curve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, Brian

    2011-01-01

    A logistic function is used to characterize peak and ultimate production of global crude oil and petroleum-derived liquid fuels. Annual oil production data were incrementally summed to construct a logistic curve in its initial phase. Using a curve-fitting approach, a population-growth logistic function was applied to complete the cumulative production curve. The simulated curve was then deconstructed into a set of annual oil production data producing an 'idealized' Hubbert curve. An idealized Hubbert curve (IHC) is defined as having properties of production data resulting from a constant growth-rate under fixed resource limits. An IHC represents a potential production curve constructed from cumulative production data and provides a new perspective for estimating peak production periods and remaining resources. The IHC model data show that idealized peak oil production occurred in 2009 at 83.2 Mb/d (30.4 Gb/y). IHC simulations of truncated historical oil production data produced similar results and indicate that this methodology can be useful as a prediction tool. - Research Highlights: →Global oil production data were analyzed by a simple curve fitting method. →Best fit-curve results were obtained using two logistic functions on select data. →A broad potential oil production peak is forecast for the years from 2004 to 2014. →Similar results were obtained using historical data from about 10 to 30 years ago. →Two potential oil production decline scenarios were presented and compared.

  3. Relationship between Industrial Water Use and Economic Growth in China: Insights from an Environmental Kuznets Curve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alun Gu

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Global inequity and the unbalance of water resources has been a critical issue for many years; and the Chinese per capita water resources are only 1/4 of the global average. Meanwhile, as the Chinese economy is growing rapidly, the demand of Chinese industrial water use is also increasing. In this case, it is important to balance the relationship between economic growth and industrial water use. In this study, a reduction model is established for the northeastern, northern coastal, eastern coastal, southern coastal, middle Yellow River, middle Yangtze River, southwestern, and northwestern regions to verify the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC for their respective industrial water use and provide theoretical support for decision making from an economic perspective. It adopts the per capita industrial water use and GDP of the eight economic zones from 2002 to 2014. The unit root test and co-integration test were adopted to analyze the stationarity of the data, and the triple reduction model was used for the fitting of variables. The relationship between per capita industrial water use and GDP showed an inverted U-shaped curve from 2002 to 2014 for China, as well as for the eastern coastal and middle Yangtze River regions, with the coordinates of the turning points being (9.8749, 4.6735, (10.3098, 5.4783, and (9.8184, 5.0622, respectively. The per capita GDP at the turning point of the inverted U-shaped curve is 18,000–30,000 Yuan (at constant prices from 2000. This study provides important thoughts and lessons for collaborative research into the relationship between industrial water consumption and economic development. The central government should focus on the central and western regions when creating policies for water resource management and technological development to improve their industrial water use efficiency.

  4. Empirical evidence that soil carbon formation from plant inputs is positively related to microbial growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark A. Bradford; Ashley D. Keiser; Christian A. Davies; Calley A. Mersmann; Michael S. Strickland

    2012-01-01

    Plant-carbon inputs to soils in the form of dissolved sugars, organic acids and amino acids fuel much of heterotrophic microbial activity belowground. Initial residence times of these compounds in the soil solution are on the order of hours, with microbial uptake a primary removal mechanism. Through microbial biosynthesis, the dissolved compounds become dominant...

  5. Microbial growth and quorum sensing antagonist activities of herbal plants extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hussaini, Reema; Mahasneh, Adel M

    2009-09-03

    Antimicrobial and antiquorum sensing (AQS) activities of fourteen ethanolic extracts of different parts of eight plants were screened against four Gram-positive, five Gram-negative bacteria and four fungi. Depending on the plant part extract used and the test microorganism, variable activities were recorded at 3 mg per disc. Among the Grampositive bacteria tested, for example, activities of Laurus nobilis bark extract ranged between a 9.5 mm inhibition zone against Bacillus subtilis up to a 25 mm one against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus fumigatus were the most susceptible among bacteria and fungi tested towards other plant parts. Of interest is the tangible antifungal activity of a Tecoma capensis flower extract, which is reported for the first time. However, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC's) for both bacteria and fungi were relatively high (0.5-3.0 mg). As for antiquorum sensing activity against Chromobacterium violaceum, superior activity (>17 mm QS inhibition) was associated with Sonchus oleraceus and Laurus nobilis extracts and weak to good activity (8-17 mm) was recorded for other plants. In conclusion, results indicate the potential of these plant extracts in treating microbial infections through cell growth inhibition or quorum sensing antagonism, which is reported for the first time, thus validating their medicinal use.

  6. Microbial Growth and Quorum Sensing Antagonist Activities of Herbal Plants Extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reema Al-Hussaini

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Antimicrobial and antiquorum sensing (AQS activities of fourteen ethanolic extracts of different parts of eight plants were screened against four Gram-positive, five Gram-negative bacteria and four fungi. Depending on the plant part extract used and the test microorganism, variable activities were recorded at 3 mg per disc. Among the Grampositive bacteria tested, for example, activities of Laurus nobilis bark extract ranged between a 9.5 mm inhibition zone against Bacillus subtilis up to a 25 mm one against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus fumigatus were the most susceptible among bacteria and fungi tested towards other plant parts. Of interest is the tangible antifungal activity of a Tecoma capensis flower extract, which is reported for the first time. However, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC's for both bacteria and fungi were relatively high (0.5-3.0 mg. As for antiquorum sensing activity against Chromobacterium violaceum, superior activity (>17 mm QS inhibition was associated with Sonchus oleraceus and Laurus nobilis extracts and weak to good activity (8-17 mm was recorded for other plants. In conclusion, results indicate the potential of these plant extracts in treating microbial infections through cell growth inhibition or quorum sensing antagonism, which is reported for the first time, thus validating their medicinal use.

  7. Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Perspective of Sustainable Development in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galuh Nuansa Citrasmara

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable development with three main pillars, namely environmental, economic, and social, is the concept of country’s development to achieve inclusive economic growth, good environmental quality, and improvement of people's welfare. However, the dominance of economic factors cause various environmental problem. This phenomenon occurs in most of developing countries, including in Indonesia. The relationship between economic activity and environmental quality has been widely discussed and empirically tested by scholars. This descriptive research analysed the hypothesis called Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC from a perspective of sustainable development in Indonesia. EKC hypothesis illustrates the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation forming an inverted U-curve, indicating that at the beginning of development, environmental quality will decrease along with increasing economic growth, and then reached a certain point the environmental quality will gradually improve. In this paper will be discussed how the relationship between environmental quality and economic growth in Indonesia was investigated. The preliminary results show that most of the empirical studies use the conventional approach, in which the CO2 emission used as the proxy of environmental degradation. The existence of inverted U-curve is also inconclusive. Therefore, the extension research on the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in Indonesia using the EKC hypothesis is required.

  8. Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Perspective of Sustainable Development in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuansa, Citrasmara Galuh; Widodo, Wahyu

    2018-02-01

    Sustainable development with three main pillars, namely environmental, economic, and social, is the concept of country's development to achieve inclusive economic growth, good environmental quality, and improvement of people's welfare. However, the dominance of economic factors cause various environmental problem. This phenomenon occurs in most of developing countries, including in Indonesia. The relationship between economic activity and environmental quality has been widely discussed and empirically tested by scholars. This descriptive research analysed the hypothesis called Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) from a perspective of sustainable development in Indonesia. EKC hypothesis illustrates the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation forming an inverted U-curve, indicating that at the beginning of development, environmental quality will decrease along with increasing economic growth, and then reached a certain point the environmental quality will gradually improve. In this paper will be discussed how the relationship between environmental quality and economic growth in Indonesia was investigated. The preliminary results show that most of the empirical studies use the conventional approach, in which the CO2 emission used as the proxy of environmental degradation. The existence of inverted U-curve is also inconclusive. Therefore, the extension research on the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in Indonesia using the EKC hypothesis is required.

  9. Effects of Biofertilizer Containing Microbial of N-fixer, P Solubilizer and Plant Growth Factor Producer on Cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. Capitata Growth And Soil Enzymatic Activities: A Greenhouse Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarjiya Antonius

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this greenhouse study was to evaluate the effects of four different concentrations of biofertilizers containing Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and Streptomyces sp. on soil properties and to evaluate the growth of Brassica oleraceae var. capitata. The application treatments included control (no fertilizer and four concentration of diluted biofertilizer per pot (20 ml, 40 ml, 60 mland 80 ml. The application of biofertilizer containing benefi cial bacteria signifi cantly increased the growth of B. oleraceae. The useof biofertilizer resulted higher biomass weight and length as well as root length. This greenhouse study also indicated that differentamount of biofertilizer application had almost similar effects. Microbial inoculum not only increased plant harvest, but also improvedsoil properties, such as number of microorganisms, respiration and urease activities.

  10. Dynamics of curved fronts

    CERN Document Server

    Pelce, Pierre

    1989-01-01

    In recent years, much progress has been made in the understanding of interface dynamics of various systems: hydrodynamics, crystal growth, chemical reactions, and combustion. Dynamics of Curved Fronts is an important contribution to this field and will be an indispensable reference work for researchers and graduate students in physics, applied mathematics, and chemical engineering. The book consist of a 100 page introduction by the editor and 33 seminal articles from various disciplines.

  11. Real-Time Exponential Curve Fits Using Discrete Calculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Geoffrey

    2010-01-01

    An improved solution for curve fitting data to an exponential equation (y = Ae(exp Bt) + C) has been developed. This improvement is in four areas -- speed, stability, determinant processing time, and the removal of limits. The solution presented avoids iterative techniques and their stability errors by using three mathematical ideas: discrete calculus, a special relationship (be tween exponential curves and the Mean Value Theorem for Derivatives), and a simple linear curve fit algorithm. This method can also be applied to fitting data to the general power law equation y = Ax(exp B) + C and the general geometric growth equation y = Ak(exp Bt) + C.

  12. Effect of glyphosate on the microbial activity of two Romanian soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumalan, R M; Alexa, E; Negrea, M; Sumalan, R L; Doncean, A; Pop, G

    2010-01-01

    Glyphosate applied to soils potentially affect microbial activity. A series of field and laboratory experiments assessed the effect of this herbicide on soil microorganisms. The aim of experiments was to evaluate the effect of glyphosate application on the soil microbial community structure, function and their activity. We studied "in vitro", changes in the microbial activity of typical Chernozem and Gleysol soils, with and without applied glyphosate. The herbicide was applied at a rate of 2, respectively 4 mg kg(-1) of soil and microbial activity were measured by fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis. We found an increase of 9 to 13% in FDA hydrolyses in the presence of glyphosate in rate of 2 mg kg (-1) compared with the same type of soil which had never received herbicide. The double quantity of glyphosate decrease soil microbial activity; the amount of hydrolyzed fluorescein is lower than the addition of 2 ppm. The greater decrease was observed in the Gleysol type where the fluorescein hydrolyzed is with 4, 85% lower than version control without glyphosate. Chemical characters of soil, influence soil biological activity when herbicide is added. In Chemozem case, rich in humus, whose predominant micro flora is represented by actinomycetes through glyphosate treatment these organisms growths of as major producers of antibiotics actinomycetes determine an inhibitory effect on eubacteria and micromycetes growth, which is highlighted by estimating a relatively small number of them. After 10 days, once with decreasing of glyphosate content in soil, decreases the number of active actinomycetes, therefore we are witnessing to a numerical growth of bacterial population. In Gleysol type the indigenous micro flora is represented by eubacteria, so when the glyphosate is added it was registered a high growth of these organisms fraction.

  13. Effects of Resveratrol and Essential Oils on Growth Performance, Immunity, Digestibility and Fecal Microbial Shedding in Challenged Piglets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. T. Ahmed

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of resveratrol and essential oils from medicinal plants on the growth performance, immunity, digestibility, and fecal microbial shedding of weaned piglets. A total of 48 weaned piglets (8 kg initial weight, 28-d-old were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with 3 replications of 4 piglets each. The dietary treatments were NC (negative control; basal diet, PC (positive control; basal diet+0.002% apramycin, T1 (basal diet+0.2% resveratrol, and T2 (basal diet+0.0125% essential oil blend. All piglets were orally challenged with 5 ml culture fluid containing 2.3×108 cfu/ml of Escherichia coli KCTC 2571 and 5.9×108 cfu/ml Salmonella enterica serover Typhimurium. The PC group (p0.05. Serum IgG level was increased in the T1 group, whereas TNF-α levels was reduced in the supplemented groups compared to control (p<0.05. The PC diet improved the dry matter (DM digestibility, whereas PC and T2 diets improved nitrogen (N digestibility compared to NC and T1 diets (p<0.05. Fecal Salmonella and E. coli counts were reduced in all treatment groups compared to control (p<0.05. Fecal Lactobacillus spp. count was increased in the T2 group compared to others (p<0.05. Dietary treatments had no significant effect on fecal Bacillus spp. count throughout the entire experimental period. Based on these results, resveratrol showed strong potential as antibiotic alternatives for reversing the adverse effects of weaning stress on growth performance, immunity and microbial environment in E. coli and Salmonella-challenged piglets.

  14. Controlling the occurrence of power overshoot by adapting microbial fuel cells to high anode potentials

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Xiuping; Tokash, Justin C.; Hong, Yiying; Logan, Bruce E.

    2013-01-01

    Power density curves for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) often show power overshoot, resulting in inaccurate estimation of MFC performance at high current densities. The reasons for power overshoot are not well understood, but biofilm acclimation

  15. Combined Effects of Nutrient and Pesticide Management on Soil Microbial Activity in Hybrid Rice Double Annual Cropping System

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIE Xiao-mei; LIAO Min; LIU Wei-ping; Susanne KLOSE

    2004-01-01

    Combined effects on soil microbial activity of nutrient and pesticide management in hybrid rice double annual cropping system were studied. Results of field experiment demonstrated significant changes in soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents,abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria, electron transport system (ETS)/dehydrogenase activity, soil protein contents under different management practices and at various growth stages. Marked depletions in the soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents were found with the advancement of crop growth stages, while the incorporation of fertilizers and/or pesticides also induced slight changes, and the lowest microbial biomass phospholipid content was found with pesticides application alone. A decline in the bacterial abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria was observed during the continuance of crop growth, while the lowest abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria was found with pesticides application alone, which coincided with the decline of soil microbial biomass. A consistent increase in the electron transport system activity was measured during the different crop growth stages of rice. The use of fertilizers (NPK) alone or combined with pesticides increased it, while a decline was noticed with pesticides application alone as compared with the control.The soil protein content was found to be relatively stable with fertilizers and/or pesticides application at various growth stages in both crops undertaken, but notable changes were detected at different growth stages.

  16. Microbial growth and sensory quality of dried potato slices irradiated by electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun-Jin; Song, Hyeon-Jeong; Song, Kyung-Bin

    2011-01-01

    Electron beam irradiation was applied to secure the microbial safety of dried purple sweet potato. After purple sweet potato slices had been dehydrated with 20% (w/w) maltodextrin solution, the samples were irradiated at doses 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 kGy and then stored at 20 o C for 60 days. Microbiological data indicated that the populations of total aerobic bacteria and of yeast and molds significantly decreased with increase in irradiation dosage. Specifically, microbial load was reduced by about three log cycles at 6 kGy compared to those of the control. Based on the color measurement of the potato slices, electron beam irradiation treatment did not affect the color quality. Sensory evaluation results also showed that electron beam irradiation did not affect overall sensory scores during storage. These results suggest that electron beam irradiation could be useful for improving microbial safety without impairing the quality of the potato slices during storage.

  17. microbial spectrum of pelvic inflamatory diseases in nguru, nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Polymicrobial growth was found in 90 (10.7%), fungal growth in 110 (13.0%) ... In conclusion, the reported microbial-associated infection in PID with a prevalence of 62.8% ... clinical and laboratory test in definite as gold ..... sulphamethoxazole, clearly revealed the abuse of ... susceptibility pattern that could serve as drugs of.

  18. Performance evaluation of nanoclay enriched anti-microbial hydrogels for biomedical applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonali Karnik

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available A major factor contributing to the failure of orthopedic and orthodontic implants is post-surgical infection. Coating metallic implant surfaces with anti-microbial agents has shown promise but does not always prevent the formation of bacterial biofilms. Furthermore, breakdown of these coatings within the human body can cause release of the anti-microbial drugs in an uncontrolled or unpredictable fashion. In this study, we used a calcium alginate and calcium phosphate cement (CPC hydrogel composite as the base material and enriched these hydrogels with the anti-microbial drug, gentamicin sulfate, loaded within a halloysite nanotubes (HNTs. Our results demonstrate a sustained and extended release of gentamicin from hydrogels enriched with the gentamicin-loaded HNTs. When tested against the gram-negative bacteria, the hydrogel/nanoclay composites showed a pronounced zone of inhibition suggesting that anti-microbial doped nanoclay enriched hydrogels can prevent the growth of bacteria. The release of gentamicin sulfate for a period of five days from the nanoclay-enriched hydrogels would supply anti-microbial agents in a sustained and controlled manner and assist in preventing microbial growth and biofilm formation on the titanium implant surface. A pilot study, using mouse osteoblasts, confirmed that the nanoclay enriched surfaces are also cell supportive as osteoblasts readily, proliferated and produced a type I collagen and proteoglycan matrix.

  19. Toxicity of nickel to soil microbial community with and without the presence of its mineral collectors-a calorimetric approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bararunyeretse, Prudence; Ji, Hongbing; Yao, Jun

    2017-06-01

    The toxicity of nickel and three of its main collectors, sodium isopropyl xanthate (SIPX), sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX), and potassium ethyl xanthate (PEX) to soil microbial activity, was analyzed, individually and as a binary combination of nickel and each of the collectors. The investigation was performed through the microcalorimetric analysis method. For the single chemicals, all power-time curves exhibited lag, exponential, stationary, and death phases of microbial growth. Different parameters exhibited a significant adverse effect of the analyzed chemicals on soil microbial activity, with a positive relationship between the inhibitory ratio and the chemical dose (p soil in the case of Ni while for the mineral collectors, only 5 μg g -1 soil and 50 μg g -1 soil induced a peak power reduction level of over 35 and 50%, respectively, in general. The inhibitory ratio ranged in the following order: PEX > SEX > SIPX > Ni. Similar behavior was observed with the mixture toxicity whose inhibitory ratio substantially decreased (maximum decrease of 38.35%) and slightly increased (maximum increase of 15.34%), in comparison with the single toxicity of mineral collectors and nickel, respectively. The inhibitory ratio of the mixture toxicity was positively correlated (p toxic effects are those of mixtures containing SIPX and PEX, respectively.

  20. Microbial ecosystem constructed in water for successful organic hydroponics

    OpenAIRE

    Makoto Shinohara; Hiromi Ohmori; Yoichi Uehara

    2008-01-01

    Conventional hydroponics systems generally use only chemical fertilisers, not organic ones, since there are no microbial ecosystems present in such systems to mineralise organic compounds to inorganic nutrients. Addition of organic compounds to the hydroponic solution generally has phytotoxic effects and causes poor plant growth. We developed a novel hydroponic culture method using organic fertiliser. A microbial ecosystem was constructed in hydroponic solution by regulating the amounts of or...

  1. Soil C and N availability determine the priming effect: microbial N mining and stoichiometric decomposition theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ruirui; Senbayram, Mehmet; Blagodatsky, Sergey; Dittert, Klaus; Lin, Xiangui; Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Kuzyakov, Yakov

    2014-05-01

    The increasing input of anthropogenically derived nitrogen (N) to ecosystems raises a crucial question: how does available N modify the decomposer community and thus affects the mineralization of soil organic matter (SOM). Moreover, N input modifies the priming effect (PE), that is, the effect of fresh organics on the microbial decomposition of SOM. We studied the interactive effects of C and N on SOM mineralization (by natural 13C labelling adding C4-sucrose or C4-maize straw to C3-soil) in relation to microbial growth kinetics and to the activities of five hydrolytic enzymes. This encompasses the groups of parameters governing two mechanisms of priming effects - microbial N mining and stoichiometric decomposition theories. In sole C treatments, positive PE was accompanied by a decrease in specific microbial growth rates, confirming a greater contribution of K-strategists to the decomposition of native SOM. Sucrose addition with N significantly accelerated mineralization of native SOM, whereas mineral N added with plant residues accelerated decomposition of plant residues. This supports the microbial mining theory in terms of N limitation. Sucrose addition with N was accompanied by accelerated microbial growth, increased activities of β-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase, and decreased activities of xylanase and leucine amino peptidase. This indicated an increased contribution of r-strategists to the PE and to decomposition of cellulose but the decreased hemicellulolytic and proteolytic activities. Thus, the acceleration of the C cycle was primed by exogenous organic C and was controlled by N. This confirms the stoichiometric decomposition theory. Both K- and r-strategists were beneficial for priming effects, with an increasing contribution of K-selected species under N limitation. Thus, the priming phenomenon described in 'microbial N mining' theory can be ascribed to K-strategists. In contrast, 'stoichiometric decomposition' theory, that is, accelerated OM

  2. Phosphorus status and microbial community of paddy soil with the growth of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) under different phosphorus fertilizer treatments*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Hai-chao; Wang, Guang-huo

    2009-01-01

    Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) was grown in paddy soil in pots under different phosphorus (P) fertilizer treatments to investigate changes of P fractions and microbial community of the soil. The treatments included Kunyang phosphate rock (KPR) applications at 50 mg P/kg (KPR50) and 250 mg P/kg (KPR250), mono-calcium phosphate (MCP) application at 50 mg P/kg (MCP50), and the control without P application. The results showed that KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 applications significantly increased the dry weight of the ryegrass by 13%, 38%, and 55%, and increased P uptake by 19%, 135%, and 324%, respectively. Compared with MCP50, the relative effectiveness of KPR50 and KPR250 treatments in ryegrass production was about 23% and 68%, respectively. After one season of ryegrass growth, the KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 applications increased soil-available P by 13.4%, 26.8%, and 55.2%, respectively. More than 80% of the applied KPR-P remained as HCl-P fraction in the soil. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis showed that the total and bacterial PLFAs were significantly higher in the soils with KPR250 and MCP50 treatments compared with KPR50 and control. The latter had no significant difference in the total or bacterial PLFAs. The KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 treatments increased fungal PLFA by 69%, 103%, and 69%, respectively. Both the principal component analysis and the cluster analysis of the PLFA data suggest that P treatments altered the microbial community composition of the soils, and that P availability might be an important contributor to the changes in the microbial community structure during the ryegrass growth in the paddy soils. PMID:19817001

  3. Development of hot and cool executive functions in middle childhood: Three-year growth curves of decision making and working memory updating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lensing, Nele; Elsner, Birgit

    2018-05-07

    Although middle childhood is an important period for the development of hot and cool executive functions (EFs), longitudinal studies investigating trajectories of childhood EF development are still limited and little is known about predictors for individual developmental trajectories. The current study examined the development of two typical facets of cool and hot EFs over a 3-year period during middle childhood, comparing a younger cohort (6- and 7-year-olds at the first wave [T1]; n = 621) and an older cohort (8- and 9-year-olds at T1; n = 975) of children. "Cool" working memory updating (WM) was assessed using a backward digit span task, and "hot" decision making (DM) was assessed using a child variant of the Iowa Gambling Task. Linear latent growth curve analyses revealed evidence for developmental growth as well as interindividual variance in the initial level and rate of change in both EF facets. Initial level of WM was positively associated with age (both between and within cohorts), socioeconomic status, verbal ability, and processing speed, whereas initial levels of DM were, in addition to a (potentially age-related) cohort effect, exclusively predicted by gender, with boys outperforming girls. None of the variables predicted the rate of change, that is, the developmental trajectories. However, younger children, as compared with older children, had slightly steeper WM growth curves over time, hinting at a leveling off in the development of WM during middle childhood. In sum, these data add important evidence to the understanding of hot and cool EF development during middle childhood. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Investigating the legacy effect of drought on microbial responses to drying and rewetting along a Texan precipitation gradient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Lettice; Leizeaga, Ainara; Hawkes, Christine; Rousk, Johannes

    2017-04-01

    Hydrological regimes will intensify due to climate change, thus increasing the duration and intensity of drought and rainfall events. Rewetting of dry soil is known to stimulate dramatic CO2 releases. A clear understanding of the mechanisms that determine the dynamics of CO2 loss upon rewetting is therefore required to characterise ecosystem C-budgets and predict responses to climate change. Laboratory studies have identified two distinct responses upon rewetting; bacterial growth either increases linearly immediately, with maximal respiration also occurring immediately and decreasing exponentially with time ("Type 1"), or bacterial growth increases exponentially after a period of near-zero growth, with a sustained period of elevated respiration, sometimes followed by a secondary increase in respiration coinciding with the onset of bacterial growth ("Type 2"). A shift from a Type 1 to a Type 2 response has been observed with increasing duration and intensity of drying prior to rewetting. The size of the surviving microbial community after drying, relative to resources available after rewetting, is suggested to dictate whether a Type 1 or 2 response occurs, with more 'harsh' (i.e. longer or more severe) drying reducing microbial biomass such that carbon available upon rewetting is sufficient to support exponential growth (leading to Type 2 response). However, this is yet to be tested in intact ecosystems. We investigated the legacy of drought on microbial responses to drying and rewetting using grassland soils from a natural precipitation gradient in Texas. Mean annual precipitation spanned a 500 mm range (400-900 mm year-1) across the 400 km gradient, while mean annual temperature was constant. Soil properties (pH, SOM) did not vary systematically across the gradient, with differences reflecting land-use history rather than rainfall. Air dried soils from 18 sites were rewetted to 50 % water holding capacity with bacterial growth, fungal growth and respiration

  5. Growing Rocks: Implications of Lithification for Microbial Communities and Nutrient Cycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corman, J. R.; Poret-Peterson, A. T.; Elser, J. J.

    2014-12-01

    Lithifying microbial communities ("microbialites") have left their signature on Earth's rock record for over 3.4 billion years and are regarded as important players in paleo-biogeochemical cycles. In this project, we study extant microbialites to understand the interactions between lithification and resource availability. All microbes need nutrients and energy for growth; indeed, nutrients are often a factor limiting microbial growth. We hypothesize that calcium carbonate deposition can sequester bioavailable phosphorus (P) and expect the growth of microbialites to be P-limited. To test our hypothesis, we first compared nutrient limitation in lithifying and non-lithifying microbial communities in Río Mesquites, Cuatro Ciénegas. Then, we experimentally manipulated calcification rates in the Río Mesquites microbialites. Our results suggest that lithifying microbialites are indeed P-limited, while non-lithifying, benthic microbial communities tend towards co-limitation by nitrogen (N) and P. Indeed, in microbialites, photosynthesis and aerobic respiration responded positively to P additions (Pbacterial community composition based on analysis of 16S rRNA genes. Unexpectedly, calcification rates increased with OC additions (P<0.05), but not with P additions, suggesting that sulfate reduction may be an important pathway for calcification. Experimental reductions in calcification rates caused changes to microbial biomass OC and P concentrations (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively), although shifts depended on whether calcification was decreased abiotically or biotically. These results show that resource availability does influence microbialite formation and that lithification may promote phosphorus limitation; however, further investigation is required to understand the mechanism by which the later occurs.

  6. Multitrophic microbial interactions for eco- and agro-biotechnological processes: theory and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleem, Muhammad; Moe, Luke A

    2014-10-01

    Multitrophic level microbial loop interactions mediated by protist predators, bacteria, and viruses drive eco- and agro-biotechnological processes such as bioremediation, wastewater treatment, plant growth promotion, and ecosystem functioning. To what extent these microbial interactions are context-dependent in performing biotechnological and ecosystem processes remains largely unstudied. Theory-driven research may advance the understanding of eco-evolutionary processes underlying the patterns and functioning of microbial interactions for successful development of microbe-based biotechnologies for real world applications. This could also be a great avenue to test the validity or limitations of ecology theory for managing diverse microbial resources in an era of altering microbial niches, multitrophic interactions, and microbial diversity loss caused by climate and land use changes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Microbial Impacts to the Near-Field Environment Geochemistry (MING): A Model for Estimating Microbial Communities in Repository Drifts at Yucca Mountain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jolley, D.M.; Ehrhorn, T.F.; Horn, J.

    2002-01-01

    Geochemical and microbiological modeling was performed to evaluate the potential quantities and impact of microorganisms on the geochemistry of the area adjacent to and within nuclear waste packages in the proposed repository drifts at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The microbial growth results from the introduction of water, ground support, and waste package materials into the deep unsaturated rock. The simulations, which spanned one million years, were accomplished using a newly developed computer code, Microbial Impacts to the Near-Field Environment Geochemistry (MING). MING uses environmental thresholds for limiting microbial growth to temperatures below 120 C and above relative humidities of 90 percent in repository drifts. Once these thresholds are met, MING expands upon a mass balance and thermodynamic approach proposed by McKinley and others (1997), by using kinetic rates to supply constituents from design materials and constituent fluxes including solubilized rock components into the drift, to perform two separate mass-balance calculations as a function of time. The first (nutrient limit) assesses the available nutrients (C, N, P and S) and calculates how many microorganisms can be produced based on a microorganism stoichiometry of C 160 (H 280 O 80 )N 30 P 2 S. The second (energy limit) calculates the energy available from optimally combined redox couples for the temperature, and pH at that time. This optimization maximizes those reactions that produce > 15kJ/mol (limit on useable energy) using an iterative linear optimization technique. The final available energy value is converted to microbial mass at a rate of 1 kg of biomass (dry weight) for every 64 MJ of energy. These two values (nutrient limit and energy limit) are then compared and the smaller value represents the number of microorganisms that can be produced over a specified time. MING can also be adapted to investigate other problems of interest as the model can be used in saturated and unsaturated

  8. Long-term effects of aided phytostabilisation of trace elements on microbial biomass and activity, enzyme activities, and composition of microbial community in the Jales contaminated mine spoils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Renella, Giancarlo [Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, I-50144 Florence (Italy)], E-mail: giancarlo.renella@unifi.it; Landi, Loretta; Ascher, Judith; Ceccherini, Maria Teresa; Pietramellara, Giacomo; Mench, Michel; Nannipieri, Paolo [Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, I-50144 Florence (Italy)

    2008-04-15

    We studied the effectiveness of remediation on microbial endpoints, namely microbial biomass and activity, microbial and plant species richness, of an As-contaminated mine spoil, amended with compost (C) alone and in combination with beringite (B) or zerovalent iron grit (Z), to increase organic matter content and reduce trace elements mobility, and to allow Holcus lanatus and Pinus pinaster growth. Untreated spoil showed the lowest microbial biomass and activity and hydrolase activities, and H. lanatus as sole plant species, whereas the presented aided phytostabilisation option, especially CBZ treatment, significantly increased microbial biomass and activity and allowed colonisation by several plant species, comparable to those of an uncontaminated sandy soil. Microbial species richness was only increased in spoils amended with C alone. No clear correlation occurred between trace element mobility and microbial parameters and plant species richness. Our results indicate that the choice of indicators of soil remediation practices is a bottleneck. - Organo-mineral amendment and revegetation of a gold mine spoil increased microbial activity but did not increase microbial species richness.

  9. Long-term effects of aided phytostabilisation of trace elements on microbial biomass and activity, enzyme activities, and composition of microbial community in the Jales contaminated mine spoils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renella, Giancarlo; Landi, Loretta; Ascher, Judith; Ceccherini, Maria Teresa; Pietramellara, Giacomo; Mench, Michel; Nannipieri, Paolo

    2008-01-01

    We studied the effectiveness of remediation on microbial endpoints, namely microbial biomass and activity, microbial and plant species richness, of an As-contaminated mine spoil, amended with compost (C) alone and in combination with beringite (B) or zerovalent iron grit (Z), to increase organic matter content and reduce trace elements mobility, and to allow Holcus lanatus and Pinus pinaster growth. Untreated spoil showed the lowest microbial biomass and activity and hydrolase activities, and H. lanatus as sole plant species, whereas the presented aided phytostabilisation option, especially CBZ treatment, significantly increased microbial biomass and activity and allowed colonisation by several plant species, comparable to those of an uncontaminated sandy soil. Microbial species richness was only increased in spoils amended with C alone. No clear correlation occurred between trace element mobility and microbial parameters and plant species richness. Our results indicate that the choice of indicators of soil remediation practices is a bottleneck. - Organo-mineral amendment and revegetation of a gold mine spoil increased microbial activity but did not increase microbial species richness

  10. Effects of post-processing handling and packaging on microbial populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zagory, D.

    1999-01-01

    The type of produce, process conditions, and prior temperature management will all affect the mix of microorganisms found on fresh produce. Normally, fresh produce will be covered by a complex mix of bacteria, fungi and yeasts that are characteristic of that fruit or vegetable. For example, carrots typically have large numbers of Lactobacillus and other lactic acid bacteria while apples may have relatively large numbers of yeasts. Which of these microorganisms will come to dominate the population will be a function of the make-up of the original population on the product in the field, distribution time, distribution temperature and the atmosphere within the package. Another chief determinant of microbial populations will be the physiological condition of the product. Factors that injure or weaken the plant tissues may be expected to encourage microbial growth while conditions that maintain the physiological integrity of the tissues may be expected to discourage microbial growth. Each of these factors can be expected to affect the make-up of the microbial population in characteristic ways but always constrained by the initial condition of original population makeup. This paper describes which microorganisms are favored by given conditions in order to develop a concept of microbial management designed to favor desirable microbes at the expense of undesirable ones. Particular emphasis will be placed on the effects of modified atmospheres on microorganisms, especially human pathogens

  11. Microbial biocatalytic preparation of 2-furoic acid by oxidation of 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-05-18

    May 18, 2009 ... Growth experiments and biotransformation with N. corallina were performed in a ... The reaction mixture was acidified to pH 1 with 0.5 M HCl, then saturated with ... (aeration rate), can be correlated with the microbial growth.

  12. Prevention of Acid Mine Drainage Through Complexation of Ferric Iron by Soluble Microbial Growth Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, S.; Yacob, T. W.; Silverstein, J.; Rajaram, H.; Minchow, K.; Basta, J.

    2011-12-01

    Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a widespread environmental problem with deleterious impacts on water quality in streams and watersheds. AMD is generated largely by the oxidation of metal sulfides (i.e. pyrite) by ferric iron. This abiotic reaction is catalyzed by conversion of ferrous to ferric iron by iron and sulfur oxidizing microorganisms. Biostimulation is currently being investigated as an attempt to inhibit the oxidation of pyrite and growth of iron oxidizing bacteria through addition of organic carbon. This may stimulate growth of indigenous communities of acidophilic heterotrophic bacteria to compete for oxygen. The goal of this research is to investigate a secondary mechanism associated with carbon addition: complexation of free Fe(III) by soluble microbial growth products (SMPs) produced by microorganisms growing in waste rock. Exploratory research at the laboratory scale examined the effect of soluble microbial products (SMPs) on the kinetics of oxidation of pure pyrite during shaker flask experiments. The results confirmed a decrease in the rate of pyrite oxidation that was dependent upon the concentration of SMPs in solution. We are using these data to verify results from a pyrite oxidation model that accounts for SMPs. This reactor model involves differential-algebraic equations incorporating total component mass balances and mass action laws for equilibrium reactions. Species concentrations determined in each time step are applied to abiotic pyrite oxidation rate expressions from the literature to determine the evolution of total component concentrations. The model was embedded in a parameter estimation algorithm to determine the reactive surface area of pyrite in an abiotic control experiment, yielding an optimized value of 0.0037 m2. The optimized model exhibited similar behavior to the experiment for this case; the root mean squared of residuals for Fe(III) was calculated to be 7.58 x 10-4 M, which is several orders of magnitude less than the actual

  13. Understanding Mechanism of Photocatalytic Microbial Decontamination of Environmental Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chhabilal Regmi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Several photocatalytic nanoparticles are synthesized and studied for potential application for the degradation of organic and biological wastes. Although these materials degrade organic compounds by advance oxidation process, the exact mechanisms of microbial decontamination remains partially known. Understanding the real mechanisms of these materials for microbial cell death and growth inhibition helps to fabricate more efficient semiconductor photocatalyst for large-scale decontamination of environmental wastewater or industries and hospitals/biomedical labs generating highly pathogenic bacteria and toxic molecules containing liquid waste by designing a reactor. Recent studies on microbial decontamination by photocatalytic nanoparticles and their possible mechanisms of action is highlighted with examples in this mini review.

  14. Hierarchical Bayesian analysis to incorporate age uncertainty in growth curve analysis and estimates of age from length: Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus) carcasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, L.K.; Runge, M.C.

    2009-01-01

    Age estimation of individuals is often an integral part of species management research, and a number of ageestimation techniques are commonly employed. Often, the error in these techniques is not quantified or accounted for in other analyses, particularly in growth curve models used to describe physiological responses to environment and human impacts. Also, noninvasive, quick, and inexpensive methods to estimate age are needed. This research aims to provide two Bayesian methods to (i) incorporate age uncertainty into an age-length Schnute growth model and (ii) produce a method from the growth model to estimate age from length. The methods are then employed for Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus) carcasses. After quantifying the uncertainty in the aging technique (counts of ear bone growth layers), we fit age-length data to the Schnute growth model separately by sex and season. Independent prior information about population age structure and the results of the Schnute model are then combined to estimate age from length. Results describing the age-length relationship agree with our understanding of manatee biology. The new methods allow us to estimate age, with quantified uncertainty, for 98% of collected carcasses: 36% from ear bones, 62% from length.

  15. Exogenous Nitrogen Addition Reduced the Temperature Sensitivity of Microbial Respiration without Altering the Microbial Community Composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Wei

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric nitrogen (N deposition is changing in both load quantity and chemical composition. The load effects have been studied extensively, whereas the composition effects remain poorly understood. We conducted a microcosm experiment to study how N chemistry affected the soil microbial community composition characterized by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs and activity indicated by microbial CO2 release. Surface and subsurface soils collected from an old-growth subtropical forest were supplemented with three N-containing materials (ammonium, nitrate, and urea at the current regional deposition load (50 kg ha-1 yr-1 and incubated at three temperatures (10, 20, and 30°C to detect the interactive effects of N deposition and temperature. The results showed that the additions of N, regardless of form, did not alter the microbial PLFAs at any of the three temperatures. However, the addition of urea significantly stimulated soil CO2 release in the early incubation stage. Compared with the control, N addition consistently reduced the temperature dependency of microbial respiration, implying that N deposition could potentially weaken the positive feedback of the warming-stimulated soil CO2 release to the atmosphere. The consistent N effects for the surface and subsurface soils suggest that the effects of N on soil microbial communities may be independent of soil chemical contents and stoichiometry.

  16. Parent Prevention Communication Profiles and Adolescent Substance Use: A Latent Profile Analysis and Growth Curve Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hye Jeong; Miller-Day, Michelle; Shin, YoungJu; Hecht, Michael L.; Pettigrew, Jonathan; Krieger, Janice L.; Lee, JeongKyu; Graham, John W.

    2017-01-01

    This current study identifies distinct parent prevention communication profiles and examines whether youth with different parental communication profiles have varying substance use trajectories over time. Eleven schools in two rural school districts in the Midwestern United States were selected, and 784 students were surveyed at three time points from the beginning of 7th grade to the end of 8th grade. A series of latent profile analyses were performed to identify discrete profiles/subgroups of substance-specific prevention communication (SSPC). The results revealed a 4-profile model of SSPC: Active-Open, Passive-Open, Active-Silent, and Passive-Silent. A growth curve model revealed different rates of lifetime substance use depending on the youth’s SSPC profile. These findings have implications for parenting interventions and tailoring messages for parents to fit specific SSPC profiles. PMID:29056872

  17. ON THE R-CURVE BEHAVIOR OF HUMAN TOOTH ENAMEL

    OpenAIRE

    Bajaj, Devendra; Arola, Dwayne

    2009-01-01

    In this study the crack growth resistance behavior and fracture toughness of human tooth enamel were quantified using incremental crack growth measures and conventional fracture mechanics. Results showed that enamel undergoes an increase in crack growth resistance (i.e. rising R-curve) with crack extension from the outer to the inner enamel, and that the rise in toughness is function of distance from the Dentin Enamel Junction (DEJ). The outer enamel exhibited the lowest apparent toughness (0...

  18. Coupling of online control and inhibitory systems in children with atypical motor development: A growth curve modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruddock, Scott; Caeyenberghs, Karen; Piek, Jan; Sugden, David; Hyde, Christian; Morris, Sue; Rigoli, Daniela; Steenbergen, Bert; Wilson, Peter

    2016-11-01

    Previous research indicates that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) show deficits performing online corrections, an issue exacerbated by adding inhibitory constraints; however, cross-sectional data suggests that these deficits may reduce with age. Using a longitudinal design, the aim of the study presented here was to model the coupling that occurs between inhibitory systems and (predictive) online control in typically developing children (TDC) and in those with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) over an extended period of time, using a framework of interactive specialization. We predicted that TDC would show a non-linear growth pattern, consistent with re-organisation in the coupling during the middle childhood period, while DCD would display a developmental lag. A group of 196 children (111 girls and 85 boys) aged between 6 and 12years participated in the study. Children were classified as DCD according to research criteria. Using a cohort sequential design, both TDC and DCD groups were divided into age cohorts. Predictive (online) control was defined operationally by performance on a Double-Jump Reaching Task (DJRT), which was assessed at 6-month intervals over two years (5 time points in total). Inhibitory control was examined using an anti-jump condition of the DJRT paradigm whereby children were instructed to touch a target location in the hemispace opposite a cued location. For the TDC group, model comparison using growth curve analysis revealed that a quadratic trend was the most appropriate fit with evidence of rapid improvement in anti-reach performance up until middle childhood (around 8-9years of age), followed by a more gradual rate of improvement into late childhood and early adolescence. This pattern was evident on both chronometric and kinematic measures. In contrast, for children with DCD, a linear function provided the best to fit on the key metrics, with a slower rate of improvement than controls. We conclude that

  19. Modeling of microbial quality of food

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwietering, M.

    1993-01-01

    In this thesis it is shown that predictive modeling is a promising tool in food research, to be used to optimize food chains. Various models are developed and validated to be used to describe microbial growth in foods.

    A tool is developed to discriminate between different models and

  20. Combined Effects of Nutrient and Pesticide Management on Soil Microbial Activity in Hybrid Rice Double Annual Cropping System

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIEXiao-mei; LIAOMin; LIUWei-ping; SusanneKLOSE

    2004-01-01

    Combined effects on soil microbial activity of nutrient and pesticide management in hybrid rice double annual cropping system were studied. Results of field experiment demonstrated significant changes in soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents,abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria, electron transport system (ETS)/dehydrogenase activity, soil protein contents under different management practices and at various growth stages. Marked depletions in the soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents were found with the advancement of crop growth stages, while the incorporation of fertilizers and/or pesticides also induced slight changes, and the lowest microbial biomass phospholipid content was found with pesticides application alone. A decline in the bacterial abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria was observed during the continuance of crop growth, while the lowest abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolyrJc bacteria was found with pesticides application alone, which coincided with the decline of soil microbial biomass. A consistent increase in the electron transport svstem activit), was measured during the different crop growth stages of rice. The use of fertilizers (NPK) alone or combined with pesticides increased it, while a decline was noticed with pesticides application alone as compared with the control.The soil protein content was found to be relatively stable with fertilizers and/or pesticides application at various growth stages in both crops undertaken, but notable changes were detected at different growrh stages

  1. Production of biosurfactant from Bacillus licheniformis for microbial enhanced oil recovery and inhibition the growth of sulfate reducing bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.S. El-Sheshtawy

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has been isolated from oil reservoir; the ability of this bacterium to produce a biosurfactant was detected. Surface properties of the produced biosurfactant were confirmed by determining the emulsification power as well as surface and interfacial tension. The crude biosurfactant has been extracted from supernatant culture growth, and the yield of crude biosurfactant was about 1 g/l. Also, chemical structure of the produced biosurfactant was confirmed using FTIR analysis. Results revealed that, the emulsification power has been increased up to 96% and the surface tension decreased from 72 of distilled water to 36 mN/m after 72 h of incubation. The potential application of this bacterial species in microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR was investigated. The percent of oil recovery was 16.6% upon application in a sand pack column designed to stimulate an oil recovery. It also showed antimicrobial activity against the growth of different strains of SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria. Results revealed that a complete inhibition of SRB growth using 1.0% crude biosurfactant is achieved after 3 h.

  2. Selection of methanogenic microbial by gamma irradiation on improvement of unaerobic digestion efficiency on biogas formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    M Yazid; Aris Bastianudin

    2011-01-01

    Selection of methanogenic microbial by gamma irradiation as an effort on improvement of efficiency process on biogas formation has been done. The objectives of this research is to obtain the methanogenic microbial isolate with high specific growth constant (μ), there for will be applicable for increasing the efficiency of biogas formation process. The microbial content sludge sample was taken from the digester tank conventional biogas installation located in Marangan village, Bokoharjo, Prambanan, Sleman and the sludge was irradiated using Co-60 gamma irradiator with varied dosage dose of 0-25 KGy. Microbial culture formation is conducted in growing media with 30% liquid rumen content in un-aerobe condition by addition of 80% H2 and 20% CO_2 gas mixture. Analysis of colony growth was performed by observation using long-wave ultraviolet rays (UV rays), while the microbial growth was by spectro-photometric analysis. Determination of gas methane product was done using gas chromatographic method. The result shown that 4 isolated methanogenic microbial (RB10, RB15, RB20 and RB25) that grown on 10-25 kGy gamma irradiation. The identification result shows that isolate RB10 and RB25 are belong to Methanobacterium genus, while isolate RB15 and RB20 are belong to Methanosarcina and Methanospirillum genus respectively. The specific growth constant (μ) values of the 4 bacterial isolates are in the range between 0.022 - 0.031. On the other hand, the efficiency of methane gas production for each isolates is in the range of 53.4%. - 67.6%. It can be concluded that isolate RB25 was the isolate with the highest specific growth constant (μ) value 0.031 and its efficiency of methane gas production was 67.6%. (author)

  3. Microbial decontaminations of species by 10 MeV E- Beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehdizadeh Shahi, A.; Fallahnejad, N.

    2005-01-01

    Spices are used significantly in food industries. These substances contain high microbial contamination that causes the spoilage of the products and it is also hazardous for the health of consumers. Irradiation is one of the most effective methods to decontaminate spices. In this research , the optimum dose of e-beams to reduce microbial contamination of spices is determined. Samples of spices such as: turmeric, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and spice, were packaged in 10 grams, and they were irradiated at the dose of 0-10 kGy by 10 MeV e-beams. After irradiation, the total microbial counts were determined by the pour plating method. The bacterial contamination of different spices was between 10 5 to 4.7 x 10 7 cfu/gr and the molds count was between 1.8x10 2 to 7.2 x 10 3 cfu/gr. The survival curve of the bacteria was drawn in terms of bio burden versus the radiation dose rates. By determining the D 10 value, the minimum dose for reducing the spices microbial contamination up to the optimum limit, were identified

  4. Lagrangian Curves on Spectral Curves of Monopoles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guilfoyle, Brendan; Khalid, Madeeha; Ramon Mari, Jose J.

    2010-01-01

    We study Lagrangian points on smooth holomorphic curves in TP 1 equipped with a natural neutral Kaehler structure, and prove that they must form real curves. By virtue of the identification of TP 1 with the space LE 3 of oriented affine lines in Euclidean 3-space, these Lagrangian curves give rise to ruled surfaces in E 3 , which we prove have zero Gauss curvature. Each ruled surface is shown to be the tangent lines to a curve in E 3 , called the edge of regression of the ruled surface. We give an alternative characterization of these curves as the points in E 3 where the number of oriented lines in the complex curve Σ that pass through the point is less than the degree of Σ. We then apply these results to the spectral curves of certain monopoles and construct the ruled surfaces and edges of regression generated by the Lagrangian curves.

  5. Effects of concentrate replacement by feed blocks on ruminal fermentation and microbial growth in goats and single-flow continuous-culture fermenters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina-Alcaide, E; Pascual, M R; Cantalapiedra-Hijar, G; Morales-García, E Y; Martín-García, A I

    2009-04-01

    The effect of replacing concentrate with 2 different feed blocks (FB) on ruminal fermentation and microbial growth was evaluated in goats and in single-flow continuous-culture fermenters. Diets consisted of alfalfa hay plus concentrate and alfalfa hay plus concentrate with 1 of the 2 studied FB. Three trials were carried out with 6 rumen-fistulated Granadina goats and 3 incubation runs in 6 single-flow continuous-culture fermenters. Experimental treatments were assigned randomly within each run, with 2 repetitions for each diet. At the end of each in vivo trial, the rumen contents were obtained for inoculating the fermenters. For each incubation run, the fermenters were inoculated with ruminal fluid from goats fed the same diet supplied to the corresponding fermenter flask. The average pH values, total and individual VFA, and NH(3)-N concentrations, and acetate:propionate ratios in the rumen of goats were not affected (P >or= 0.10) by diet, whereas the microbial N flow (MNF) and efficiency were affected (P fermenters, the diet affected pH (Por= 0.05), and total (P=0.02), NH(3) (P=0.005), and non-NH(3) (P=0.02) N flows, whereas the efficiency of VFA production was not affected (P=0.75). The effect of diet on MNF and efficiency depended on the bacterial pellet used as a reference. An effect (Pfermenter contents and effluent were similar (P=0.05). Differences (Pfermentation variables and bacterial pellet compositions were found. Partial replacement of the concentrate with FB did not greatly compromise carbohydrate fermentation in unproductive goats. However, this was not the case for MNF and efficiency. Differences between the results obtained in vivo and in vitro indicate a need to identify conditions in fermenters that allow better simulation of fermentation, microbial growth, and bacterial pellet composition in vivo. Reduced feeding cost could be achieved with the inclusion of FB in the diets of unproductive goats without altering rumen fermentation.

  6. p-Curve and p-Hacking in Observational Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruns, Stephan B; Ioannidis, John P A

    2016-01-01

    The p-curve, the distribution of statistically significant p-values of published studies, has been used to make inferences on the proportion of true effects and on the presence of p-hacking in the published literature. We analyze the p-curve for observational research in the presence of p-hacking. We show by means of simulations that even with minimal omitted-variable bias (e.g., unaccounted confounding) p-curves based on true effects and p-curves based on null-effects with p-hacking cannot be reliably distinguished. We also demonstrate this problem using as practical example the evaluation of the effect of malaria prevalence on economic growth between 1960 and 1996. These findings call recent studies into question that use the p-curve to infer that most published research findings are based on true effects in the medical literature and in a wide range of disciplines. p-values in observational research may need to be empirically calibrated to be interpretable with respect to the commonly used significance threshold of 0.05. Violations of randomization in experimental studies may also result in situations where the use of p-curves is similarly unreliable.

  7. Evaluation of Kefir as a New Anodic Biocatalyst Consortium for Microbial Fuel Cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveira, Gustavo; Schneedorf, José Maurício

    2018-02-21

    Kefir, a combined consortium of bacteria and yeast encapsulated by a polymeric matrix of exopolysaccharides, was used as anodic biocatalyst in a two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). Fermentation was followed during 72 h and polarization curves were obtained from linear sweep voltammetry. The effect of methylene blue as charge-transfer mediator in the kefir metabolism was evaluated. UV/Vis spectrophotometry and cyclic voltammetry were applied to evaluate the redox state of the mediator and to characterize the electrochemical activity, whereas current interruption was used for internal resistance determination. Aiming to establish a relationship between the microbial development inside the anodic chamber with the generated power in the MFC, total titratable acidity, pH, viscosity, carbohydrate assimilation, and microbial counting were assayed. The kefir-based MFC demonstrated a maximum power density of 54 mW m -2 after 24 h fermentation, revealing the potential use of kefir as a biocatalyst for microbial fuel cells.

  8. Nonlinear Growth Models in M"plus" and SAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Kevin J.; Ram, Nilam

    2009-01-01

    Nonlinear growth curves or growth curves that follow a specified nonlinear function in time enable researchers to model complex developmental patterns with parameters that are easily interpretable. In this article we describe how a variety of sigmoid curves can be fit using the M"plus" structural modeling program and the nonlinear…

  9. Growth curve and diet density affect eating motivation, behavior, and body composition of broiler breeders during rearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Los Mozos, J; García-Ruiz, A I; den Hartog, L A; Villamide, M J

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this work has been to assess the effect of diet density [control (CON) or 15% diluted (DIL)] and growth curve [recommended by the genetic line (RBW) or 15% heavier (HBW)] and their interaction on BW uniformity, feeding motivation, behavior, and body composition of broiler breeder pullets. A total of 3,000 one-day-old female breeders Ross 308, distributed in 20 pens, was randomly assigned to each treatment. Feed allowance was weekly adjusted to reach the desired BW. Feed was provided as pelleted (zero to 3 wk) and crumble (4 to 19 wk). Time eating was measured at 7, 11, and 19 weeks. A feeding rate test was performed after 11 weeks. Behavior was observed at 9 and 15 wk, by visual scan. At 6, 13, and 19 wk of age, one bird/pen was slaughtered for weighing different organs and analyzing the composition of empty whole bodies. Treatments did not affect BW uniformity; relative weights of the ovary, oviduct, or gizzard; or protein content of empty BW. Time eating varied with the growth curve at 19 wk (P motivation. Behavior was affected by the age and by the time of the d measured, but it did not change with the treatments. Birds spent most time pecking objects (50%), feeding (28%), and drinking (17%). Pullets fed DIL had 8% lower breast yield at different ages and higher empty digestive tracts at 6 weeks. Body composition varied with age; fat content increased from 12.7 to 15.9 to 19.8% for 6, 13, and 19 wk, respectively. The lowest body fat was observed for RBW pullets fed DIL (P = 0.003) at 19 weeks. Feeding DIL diets to HBW pullets could be done to increase the time spent eating and reduce their feeling of hunger without negative effects on body composition. However, its influence on behavior and BW uniformity was not proved. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association.

  10. Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franck O P Stefani

    Full Text Available Bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable approach for treating polluted soils, but our ability to improve on current bioremediation strategies depends on our ability to isolate microorganisms from these soils. Although culturing is widely used in bioremediation research and applications, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors the indigenous microbial community from contaminated soils. To assess this, we paired culture-independent (454-pyrosequencing of total soil DNA with culture-dependent (isolation using seven different growth media techniques to analyse the bacterial and fungal communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Although bacterial and fungal rarefaction curves were saturated for both methods, only 2.4% and 8.2% of the bacterial and fungal OTUs, respectively, were shared between datasets. Isolated taxa increased the total recovered species richness by only 2% for bacteria and 5% for fungi. Interestingly, none of the bacteria that we isolated were representative of the major bacterial OTUs recovered by 454-pyrosequencing. Isolation of fungi was moderately more effective at capturing the dominant OTUs observed by culture-independent analysis, as 3 of 31 cultured fungal strains ranked among the 20 most abundant fungal OTUs in the 454-pyrosequencing dataset. This study is one of the most comprehensive comparisons of microbial communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils using both isolation and high-throughput sequencing methods.

  11. Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefani, Franck O P; Bell, Terrence H; Marchand, Charlotte; de la Providencia, Ivan E; El Yassimi, Abdel; St-Arnaud, Marc; Hijri, Mohamed

    2015-01-01

    Bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable approach for treating polluted soils, but our ability to improve on current bioremediation strategies depends on our ability to isolate microorganisms from these soils. Although culturing is widely used in bioremediation research and applications, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors the indigenous microbial community from contaminated soils. To assess this, we paired culture-independent (454-pyrosequencing of total soil DNA) with culture-dependent (isolation using seven different growth media) techniques to analyse the bacterial and fungal communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Although bacterial and fungal rarefaction curves were saturated for both methods, only 2.4% and 8.2% of the bacterial and fungal OTUs, respectively, were shared between datasets. Isolated taxa increased the total recovered species richness by only 2% for bacteria and 5% for fungi. Interestingly, none of the bacteria that we isolated were representative of the major bacterial OTUs recovered by 454-pyrosequencing. Isolation of fungi was moderately more effective at capturing the dominant OTUs observed by culture-independent analysis, as 3 of 31 cultured fungal strains ranked among the 20 most abundant fungal OTUs in the 454-pyrosequencing dataset. This study is one of the most comprehensive comparisons of microbial communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils using both isolation and high-throughput sequencing methods.

  12. A new methodology for the evaluation of the J-R curve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donoso, J. R.; Zahr, J.; Landes, J. D.

    2005-01-01

    A new methodology for the construction of J-R curves for ductile materials, based upon the analytical integration of the P-ν relation, is presented. This method is based on the Common and Concise Formats, and on a postulated crack growth law, that relates the amount of stable crack growth with plastic displacement. The model developed, denoted asnC and C, reproduces quite well the experimentally obtained P-ν, Δa-ν and J-Δa curves. The results suggest that the amount of stable crack growth in a ductile material follows a power-law behaviour in its dependence with plastic displacement. This methodology may be used to evaluate instability conditions, through the adequate analytical treatment of the P-ν and J-Δa relations. (Author) 35 refs

  13. Effect of pesticides on soil microbial community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Chi-Chu

    2010-07-01

    According to guidelines for the approval of pesticides, information about effects of pesticides on soil microorganisms and soil fertility are required, but the relationships of different structures of pesticides on the growth of various groups of soil microorganisms are not easily predicted. Some pesticides stimulate the growth of microorganisms, but other pesticides have depressive effects or no effects on microorganisms. For examples, carbofuran stimulated the population of Azospirillum and other anaerobic nitrogen fixers in flooded and non-flooded soil, but butachlor reduced the population of Azospirillum and aerobic nitrogen fixers in non-flooded soil. Diuron and chlorotoluron showed no difference between treated and nontreated soil, and linuron showed a strong difference. Phosphorus(P)-contains herbicides glyphosate and insecticide methamidophos stimulated soil microbial growth, but other P-containing insecticide fenamiphos was detrimental to nitrification bacteria. Therefore, the following review presents some data of research carried out during the last 20 years. The effects of twenty-one pesticides on the soil microorganisms associated with nutrient and cycling processes are presented in section 1, and the applications of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for studying microbial diversity are discussed in section 2.

  14. The effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Weihui; Wang, Zhigang; Wu, Fengzhi

    2015-01-01

    The growth of watermelon is often threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) in successively monocultured soil, which results in economic loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon and to explore the relationship between the effect and the incidence of wilt caused by Fon. The results showed that the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase, urease and invertase were increased, the microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) were significantly increased, and the ratio of MBC/MBN was decreased (P Fusarium wilt was also decreased in the watermelon/wheat companion system. In conclusion, this study indicated that D123 wheat as a companion crop increased soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass, decreased the Fon population, and changed the relative abundance of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon, which may be related to the reduction of Fusarium wilt in the watermelon/wheat companion system.

  15. Pseudomonas putida as a microbial cell factory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wigneswaran, Vinoth

    for sustainable production of chemicals, which can be achieved by microbial cell factories. The work presented in this PhD thesis elucidates the application of Pseudomonas putida as a microbial cell factory for production of the biosurfactant rhamnolipid. The rhamnolipid production was achieved by heterologous...... phase. The genomic alterations were identified by genome sequencing and revealed parallel evolution. Glycerol was also shown to be able to support biofilm growth and as a result of this it can be used as an alternative substrate for producing biochemicals in conventional and biofilm reactors. The use...... of biofilm as a production platform and the usage of glycerol as a feedstock show the potential of using microbial cell factories in the transition toward sustainable production of chemicals. Particularly, the applicability of biofilm as a production platform can emerge as a promising alternative...

  16. Microbial ecology of a crude oil contaminated aquifer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekins, B.A.; Cozzarelli, I.M.; Warren, E.; Godsy, E.M.

    2002-01-01

    Detailed microbial analyses of a glacial outwash aquifer contaminated by crude oil provide insights into the pattern of microbial succession from iron reducing to methanogenic in the anaerobic portion of the contaminant plume. We analysed sediments from this area for populations of aerobes, iron reducers, fermenters and methanogens, using the most probable number method. On the basis of the microbial data the anaerobic area can be divided into distinct physiological zones dominated by either iron-reducers or a consortium of fermenters and methanogens. Chemistry and permeability data show that methanogenic conditions develop first in areas of high hydrocarbon flux. Thus, we find methanogens both in high permeability horizons and also where separate-phase crude oil is present in either the saturated or unsaturated zone. Microbial numbers peak at the top of the separate-phase oil suggesting that growth is most rapid in locations with access to both hydrocarbons and nutrients infiltrating from the surface.

  17. Microbial deterioration of Mayan stone buildings at Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega-Morales, O.; Guezennec, J.; Hernandez D, G.; Jozsa, P.; Sand, W.; Crassous, P.

    1998-01-01

    The microbial communities associated to Uxmal Mayan monuments (Yucatan, Mexico) and their role in stone deterioration were preliminary characterized by chemical, biochemical, microbiological, microscopical and surface analysis methods under two climatic seasons (1997). The organic matter and organic carbon and nitrogen were in the range of those reported for other stone buildings, indicating that oligo trophic conditions prevail at Uxmal. Quantitative differences in microbial biomass was higher at indoor section were the organic matter content was the highest and micro-environmental conditions (availability of water and protection to direct sunlight) are more suitable for microbial growth. The microbiological analysis underestimated the microbial biomass, as revealed by biochemical approaches. Nitrate and nitrite-oxidizing, metilotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria and fungi were detected in most surfaces. The heterotrophic bacteria were the most abundant microbial group (microbiological data). However, the chlorophyll profiles and Scanning Electron Microscopy showed that the microalgae are the most abundant colonizers in Uxmal stone buildings. EDAX analysis showed that the most surfaces were covered by an organic layer (cells and exo polymers). Gypsum was found in few samples. The large photo trophic biomass seems to play a role in stone bio deterioration by supporting growth of heterotrophic microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) which are known to produce organic acids leading to calcite dissolution and cations chelation. Further studies are being carried out in order to determine the role of exo polysaccharides which are thought to play a role in chemical degradation of limestone substrates in Uxmal. (Author)

  18. Differences in microbial communities and performance between suspended and attached growth anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating synthetic municipal wastewater

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha

    2015-08-14

    Two lab-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs), one up-flow attached-growth (UA) and another continuously stirred (CSTR), were operated under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) while treating synthetic municipal wastewater (800 mg L−1 COD). Each reactor was attached to both polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES) microfiltration (MF) membranes in an external cross-flow configuration. Both reactors were started up and run under the same operating conditions for multiple steady-state experiments. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates were similar for both reactors (90–96%), but captured methane was found to be 11–18% higher for the CSTR than the UA reactor. Ion Torrent sequencing targeting 16S rRNA genes showed that several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) most closely related to fermentative bacteria (e.g., Microbacter margulisiae) were dominant in the suspended biomass of the CSTR, accounting for 30% of the microbial community. Conversely, methanogenic archaea (e.g., Methanosaeta) and syntrophic bacteria (e.g., Smithella propionica) were found in significantly higher relative abundances in the UA AnMBR as compared to the CSTR due to their affinity for surface attachment. Of the methanogens that were present in the CSTR sludge, hydrogenotrophic methanogens dominated (e.g., Methanobacterium). Measured EPS (both proteins and carbohydrates), which has been broadly linked to fouling, was determined to be consistently lower in the UA AnMBR membrane samples than in CSTR AnMBR membrane samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on HPLC profiles of soluble microbial products (SMPs) further demonstrated these differences between reactor types in replicate runs. The results of this study showed that reactor configuration can significantly impact the development of the microbial communities of AnMBRs that are responsible for both membrane and reactor performance.

  19. Inorganic phosphorus fertilizer ameliorates maize growth by reducing metal uptake, improving soil enzyme activity and microbial community structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wencheng; Wu, Jiahui; Liu, Xiaowen; Chen, Xianbin; Wu, Yingxin; Yu, Shixiao

    2017-09-01

    Recently, several studies have showed that both organic and inorganic fertilizers are effective in immobilizing heavy metals at low cost, in comparison to other remediation strategies for heavy metal-contaminated farmlands. A pot trial was conducted in this study to examine the effects of inorganic P fertilizer and organic fertilizer, in single application or in combination, on growth of maize, heavy metal availabilities, enzyme activities, and microbial community structure in metal-contaminated soils from an electronic waste recycling region. Results showed that biomass of maize shoot and root from the inorganic P fertilizer treatments were respectively 17.8 and 10.0 folds higher than the un-amended treatments (CK), while the biomass in the organic fertilizer treatments was only comparable to the CK. In addition, there were decreases of 85.0% in Cd, 74.3% in Pb, 66.3% in Cu, and 91.9% in Zn concentrations in the roots of maize grown in inorganic P fertilizer amended soil. Consistently, urease and catalase activities in the inorganic P fertilizer amended soil were 3.3 and 2.0 times higher than the CK, whereas no enhancement was observed in the organic fertilizer amended soil. Moreover, microbial community structure was improved by the application of inorganic P fertilizer, but not by organic fertilizer; the beneficial microbial groups such as Kaistobacter and Koribacter were most frequently detected in the inorganic P fertilizer amended soil. The negligible effect from the organic fertilizer might be ascribed to the decreased pH value in soils. The results suggest that the application of inorganic P fertilizer (or in combination with organic fertilizer) might be a promising strategy for the remediation of heavy metals contaminated soils in electronic waste recycling region. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Brazilian kefir: structure, microbial communities and chemical composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karina Teixeira Magalhães

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Microbial ecology and chemical composition of Brazilian kefir beverage was performed. The microorganisms associated with Brazilian kefir were investigated using a combination of phenotypic and genotypic methods. A total of 359 microbial isolates were identified. Lactic acid bacteria (60.5% were the major isolated group identified, followed by yeasts (30.6% and acetic acid bacteria (8.9%. Lactobacillus paracasei (89 isolates, Lactobacillus parabuchneri (41 isolates, Lactobacillus casei (32 isolates, Lactobacillus kefiri (31 isolates, Lactococcus lactis (24 isolates, Acetobacter lovaniensis (32 isolates, Kluyveromyces lactis (31 isolates, Kazachstania aerobia (23 isolates, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (41 isolates and Lachancea meyersii (15 isolates were the microbial species isolated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the microbiota was dominated by bacilli (short and curved long cells growing in close association with lemon-shaped yeasts cells. During the 24 h of fermentation, the protein content increased, while lactose and fat content decreased. The concentration of lactic acid ranged from 1.4 to 17.4 mg/ml, and that of acetic acid increased from 2.1 to 2.73 mg/ml. The production of ethanol was limited, reaching a final mean value of 0.5 mg/ml.

  1. Brazilian kefir: structure, microbial communities and chemical composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magalhães, Karina Teixeira; de Melo Pereira, Gilberto Vinícius; Campos, Cássia Roberta; Dragone, Giuliano; Schwan, Rosane Freitas

    2011-01-01

    Microbial ecology and chemical composition of Brazilian kefir beverage was performed. The microorganisms associated with Brazilian kefir were investigated using a combination of phenotypic and genotypic methods. A total of 359 microbial isolates were identified. Lactic acid bacteria (60.5%) were the major isolated group identified, followed by yeasts (30.6%) and acetic acid bacteria (8.9%). Lactobacillus paracasei (89 isolates), Lactobacillus parabuchneri (41 isolates), Lactobacillus casei (32 isolates), Lactobacillus kefiri (31 isolates), Lactococcus lactis (24 isolates), Acetobacter lovaniensis (32 isolates), Kluyveromyces lactis (31 isolates), Kazachstania aerobia (23 isolates), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (41 isolates) and Lachancea meyersii (15 isolates) were the microbial species isolated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the microbiota was dominated by bacilli (short and curved long) cells growing in close association with lemon-shaped yeasts cells. During the 24 h of fermentation, the protein content increased, while lactose and fat content decreased. The concentration of lactic acid ranged from 1.4 to 17.4 mg/ml, and that of acetic acid increased from 2.1 to 2.73 mg/ml. The production of ethanol was limited, reaching a final mean value of 0.5 mg/ml. PMID:24031681

  2. A Multilevel Latent Growth Curve Approach to Predicting Student Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Kilchan; Goldschmidt, Pete

    2012-01-01

    Value-added models and growth-based accountability aim to evaluate school's performance based on student growth in learning. The current focus is on linking the results from value-added models to the ones from growth-based accountability systems including Adequate Yearly Progress decisions mandated by No Child Left Behind. We present a new…

  3. Two-peaked dose curves for irradiated pollen growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrejchenko, S.V.; Grodzinskij, D.M.

    1992-01-01

    The effect of γ-radiation on growth activity of bicellular pollen of hybrid petunia has been investigated. Irradiation of pollen with doses of 5 to 70 Gy increases the pollen tube growth in an artificial culture medium. As the radiation dose increases the germination ability of pollen gradually decreases and the mean pollen tube length shortens, which is accompanied by the suppression of the generative cell division into spermia and inhibition of the unscheduled incorporation of labelled thymidine into DNA. With radiation doses of 1200 to 1700 Gy some pollen tubes grow intensively. It is suggested that the phenomenon observed lays the basis for the gametic transformation

  4. Mineral solubility and free energy controls on microbial reaction kinetics: Application to contaminant transport in the subsurface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taillefert, Martial [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Van Cappellen, Philippe [Univ. of Waterloo, ON (Canada)

    2016-11-14

    Recent developments in the theoretical treatment of geomicrobial reaction processes have resulted in the formulation of kinetic models that directly link the rates of microbial respiration and growth to the corresponding thermodynamic driving forces. The overall objective of this project was to verify and calibrate these kinetic models for the microbial reduction of uranium(VI) in geochemical conditions that mimic as much as possible field conditions. The approach combined modeling of bacterial processes using new bioenergetic rate laws, laboratory experiments to determine the bioavailability of uranium during uranium bioreduction, evaluation of microbial growth yield under energy-limited conditions using bioreactor experiments, competition experiments between metabolic processes in environmentally relevant conditions, and model applications at the field scale. The new kinetic descriptions of microbial U(VI) and Fe(III) reduction should replace those currently used in reactive transport models that couple catabolic energy generation and growth of microbial populations to the rates of biogeochemical redox processes. The above work was carried out in collaboration between the groups of Taillefert (batch reactor experiments and reaction modeling) at Georgia Tech and Van Cappellen (retentostat experiments and reactive transport modeling) at University of Waterloo (Canada).

  5. SPOTTED STAR LIGHT CURVES WITH ENHANCED PRECISION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, R. E.

    2012-01-01

    The nearly continuous timewise coverage of recent photometric surveys is free of the large gaps that compromise attempts to follow starspot growth and decay as well as motions, thereby giving incentive to improve computational precision for modeled spots. Due to the wide variety of star systems in the surveys, such improvement should apply to light/velocity curve models that accurately include all the main phenomena of close binaries and rotating single stars. The vector fractional area (VFA) algorithm that is introduced here represents surface elements by small sets of position vectors so as to allow accurate computation of circle-triangle overlap by spherical geometry. When computed by VFA, spots introduce essentially no noticeable scatter in light curves at the level of one part in 10,000. VFA has been put into the Wilson-Devinney light/velocity curve program and all logic and mathematics are given so as to facilitate entry into other such programs. Advantages of precise spot computation include improved statistics of spot motions and aging, reduced computation time (intrinsic precision relaxes needs for grid fineness), noise-free illustration of spot effects in figures, and help in guarding against false positives in exoplanet searches, where spots could approximately mimic transiting planets in unusual circumstances. A simple spot growth and decay template quantifies time profiles, and specifics of its utilization in differential corrections solutions are given. Computational strategies are discussed, the overall process is tested in simulations via solutions of synthetic light curve data, and essential simulation results are described. An efficient time smearing facility by Gaussian quadrature can deal with Kepler mission data that are in 30 minute time bins.

  6. Validity limits in J-resistance curve determination: A computational approach to ductile crack growth under large-scale yielding conditions. Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shih, C.F.; Xia, L.; Hutchinson, J.W.

    1995-02-01

    In this report, Volume 2, Mode I crack initiation and growth under plane strain conditions in tough metals are computed using an elastic/plastic continuum model which accounts for void growth and coalescence ahead of the crack tip. The material parameters include the stress-strain properties, along with the parameters characterizing the spacing and volume fraction of voids in material elements lying in the plane of the crack. For a given set of these parameters and a specific specimen, or component, subject to a specific loading, relationships among load, load-line displacement and crack advance can be computed with no restrictions on the extent of plastic deformation. Similarly, there is no limit on crack advance, except that it must take place on the symmetry plane ahead of the initial crack. Suitably defined measures of crack tip loading intensity, such as those based on the J-integral, can also be computed, thereby directly generating crack growth resistance curves. In this report, the model is applied to five specimen geometries which are known to give rise to significantly different crack tip constraints and crack growth resistance behaviors. Computed results are compared with sets of experimental data for two tough steels for four of the specimen types. Details of the load, displacement and crack growth histories are accurately reproduced, even when extensive crack growth takes place under conditions of fully plastic yielding. A description of material resistance to crack initiation and subsequent growth is essential for assessing structural integrity such as nuclear pressure vessels and piping

  7. Dietary marker effects on fecal microbial ecology, fecal VFA, nutrient digestibility coefficients, and growth performance in finishing pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, B J; Weber, T E; Ziemer, C J

    2015-05-01

    control diet. In Exp. 2, no effect of dietary marker on pig performance was noted. Overall, the data indicate that the inclusion of Cr2O3, Fe2O3, or TiO2 as digestibility markers have little to no impact on microbial ecology, fecal ammonia or VFA concentrations, nutrient digestibility, or pig growth performance indicating they are suitable for use in digestion studies.

  8. Bacterial growth kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boonkitticharoen, V.; Ehrhardt, J.C.; Kirchner, P.T.

    1989-01-01

    Quantitative measurement of bacterial growth may be made using a radioassay technique. This method measures, by scintillation counting, the 14 CO 2 derived from the bacterial metabolism of a 14 C-labeled substrate. Mathematical growth models may serve as reliable tools for estimation of the generation rate constant (or slope of the growth curve) and provide a basis for evaluating assay performance. Two models, i.e., exponential and logistic, are proposed. Both models yielded an accurate fit to the data from radioactive measurement of bacterial growth. The exponential model yielded high precision values of the generation rate constant, with an average relative standard deviation of 1.2%. Under most conditions the assay demonstrated no changes in the slopes of growth curves when the number of bacteria per inoculation was changed. However, the radiometric assay by scintillation method had a growth-inhibiting effect on a few strains of bacteria. The source of this problem was thought to be hypersensitivity to trace amounts of toluene remaining on the detector

  9. Microbial Community Dynamics and Response to Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms in the Rhizosphere of Four Common Food Crops Cultivated in Hydroponics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheridan, C; Depuydt, P; De Ro, M; Petit, C; Van Gysegem, E; Delaere, P; Dixon, M; Stasiak, M; Aciksöz, S B; Frossard, E; Paradiso, R; De Pascale, S; Ventorino, V; De Meyer, T; Sas, B; Geelen, D

    2017-02-01

    Plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) of the plant root zone microbiome have received limited attention in hydroponic cultivation systems. In the framework of a project aimed at the development of a biological life support system for manned missions in space, we investigated the effects of PGPMs on four common food crops (durum and bread wheat, potato and soybean) cultivated in recirculating hydroponic systems for a whole life cycle. Each crop was inoculated with a commercial PGPM mixture and the composition of the microbial communities associated with their root rhizosphere, rhizoplane/endosphere and with the recirculating nutrient solution was characterised through 16S- and ITS-targeted Illumina MiSeq sequencing. PGPM addition was shown to induce changes in the composition of these communities, though these changes varied both between crops and over time. Microbial communities of PGPM-treated plants were shown to be more stable over time. Though additional development is required, this study highlights the potential benefits that PGPMs may confer to plants grown in hydroponic systems, particularly when cultivated in extreme environments such as space.

  10. Microbial glycolipoprotein-capped silver nanoparticles as emerging antibacterial agents against cholera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gahlawat, Geeta; Shikha, Sristy; Chaddha, Baldev Singh; Chaudhuri, Saumya Ray; Mayilraj, Shanmugam; Choudhury, Anirban Roy

    2016-02-01

    With the increased number of cholera outbreaks and emergence of multidrug resistance in Vibrio cholerae strains it has become necessary for the scientific community to devise and develop novel therapeutic approaches against cholera. Recent studies have indicated plausibility of therapeutic application of metal nano-materials. Among these, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have emerged as a potential antimicrobial agent to combat infectious diseases. At present nanoparticles are mostly produced using physical or chemical techniques which are toxic and hazardous. Thus exploitation of microbial systems could be a green eco-friendly approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles having similar or even better antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. Hence, it would be worth to explore the possibility of utilization of microbial silver nanoparticles and their conjugates as potential novel therapeutic agent against infectious diseases like cholera. The present study attempted utilization of Ochrobactrum rhizosphaerae for the production of AgNPs and focused on investigating their role as antimicrobial agents against cholera. Later the exopolymer, purified from the culture supernatant, was used for the synthesis of spherical shaped AgNPs of around 10 nm size. Further the exopolymer was characterized as glycolipoprotein (GLP). Antibacterial activity of the novel GLP-AgNPs conjugate was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration, XTT reduction assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and growth curve analysis. SEM studies revealed that AgNPs treatment resulted in intracellular contents leakage and cell lysis. The potential of microbially synthesized nanoparticles, as novel therapeutic agents, is still relatively less explored. In fact, the present study first time demonstrated that a glycolipoprotein secreted by the O. rhizosphaerae strain can be exploited for production of AgNPs which can further be employed to treat infectious diseases. Although this type of polymer has

  11. Strength and stability of microbial plugs in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarkar, A.K. [NIPER/BDM-Oklahoma, Inc., Bartlesville, OK (United States); Sharma, M.M.; Georgiou, G. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

    1995-12-31

    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 environment needs to be improved.

  12. The Impact of Salient Role Stress on Trajectories of Health in Late Life among Survivors of a Seven-Year Panel Study: Analyses of Individual Growth Curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Benjamin A.; Krause, Neal

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to model changes in health over time among older adults; and 2) to assess the degree to which stress arising in salient social roles accounts for individual variation in these changes. Individual growth curve analyses using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) software were employed with longitudinal data…

  13. Thermodynamics of Growth, Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics of Bacterial Growth : The Phenomenological and the Mosaic Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westerhoff, Hans V.; Lolkema, Juke S.; Otto, Roel; Hellingwerf, K

    1982-01-01

    Microbial growth is analyzed in terms of mosaic and phenomenological non-equilibrium thermodynamics. It turns out that already existing parameters devised to measure bacterial growth, such as YATP, µ, and Qsubstrate, have as thermodynamic equivalents flow ratio, output flow and input flow. With this

  14. Microbial Impacts to the Near-Field Environment Geochemistry (MING): A Model for Estimating Microbial Communities in Repository Drifts at Yucca Mountain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D.M. Jolley; T.F. Ehrhorn; J. Horn

    2002-03-19

    Geochemical and microbiological modeling was performed to evaluate the potential quantities and impact of microorganisms on the geochemistry of the area adjacent to and within nuclear waste packages in the proposed repository drifts at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The microbial growth results from the introduction of water, ground support, and waste package materials into the deep unsaturated rock. The simulations, which spanned one million years, were accomplished using a newly developed computer code, Microbial Impacts to the Near-Field Environment Geochemistry (MING). MING uses environmental thresholds for limiting microbial growth to temperatures below 120 C and above relative humidities of 90 percent in repository drifts. Once these thresholds are met, MING expands upon a mass balance and thermodynamic approach proposed by McKinley and others (1997), by using kinetic rates to supply constituents from design materials and constituent fluxes including solubilized rock components into the drift, to perform two separate mass-balance calculations as a function of time. The first (nutrient limit) assesses the available nutrients (C, N, P and S) and calculates how many microorganisms can be produced based on a microorganism stoichiometry of C{sub 160}(H{sub 280}O{sub 80})N{sub 30}P{sub 2}S. The second (energy limit) calculates the energy available from optimally combined redox couples for the temperature, and pH at that time. This optimization maximizes those reactions that produce > 15kJ/mol (limit on useable energy) using an iterative linear optimization technique. The final available energy value is converted to microbial mass at a rate of 1 kg of biomass (dry weight) for every 64 MJ of energy. These two values (nutrient limit and energy limit) are then compared and the smaller value represents the number of microorganisms that can be produced over a specified time. MING can also be adapted to investigate other problems of interest as the model can be used in saturated

  15. Manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graumann, Klaus; Premstaller, Andreas

    2006-02-01

    Recombinant therapeutic proteins have gained enormous importance for clinical applications. The first recombinant products have been produced in E. coli more than 20 years ago. Although with the advent of antibody-based therapeutics mammalian expression systems have experienced a major boost, microbial expression systems continue to be widely used in industry. Their intrinsic advantages, such as rapid growth, high yields and ease of manipulation, make them the premier choice for expression of non-glycosylated peptides and proteins. Innovative product classes such as antibody fragments or alternative binding molecules will further expand the use of microbial systems. Even more, novel, engineered production hosts and integrated technology platforms hold enormous potential for future applications. This review summarizes current applications and trends for development, production and analytical characterization of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

  16. Microbial mineral illization of montmorillonite in low-permeability oil reservoirs for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Kai; Sun, Shanshan; Xiao, Meng; Liu, Tongjing; Xu, Quanshu; Dong, Honghong; Wang, Di; Gong, Yejing; Sha, Te; Hou, Jirui; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Fu, Pengcheng

    2018-05-11

    Microbial mineral illization has been investigated for its role in the extraction and recovery of metals from ores. Here we report our application of mineral bioillization for the microbial enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability oil reservoirs. It aimed to reveal the etching mechanism of the four Fe (III)-reducing microbial strains under anaerobic growth conditions on the Ca-montmorillonite. The mineralogical characterization of the Ca-montmorillonite was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer. Results showed that the microbial strains could efficiently reduce Fe (III) at an optimal rate of 71 %, and alter the crystal lattice structure of the lamella to promote the interlayer cation exchange, and to efficiently inhibit the Ca-montmorillonite swelling at an inhibitory rate of 48.9 %. Importance Microbial mineral illization is ubiquitous in the natural environment. Microbes in low-permeability reservoirs are able to enable the alteration of the structure and phase of the Fe-poor minerals by reducing Fe (III) and inhibiting clay swelling which is still poorly studied. This study aimed to reveal the interaction mechanism between Fe (III)-reducing bacterial strains and Ca-montmorillonite under anaerobic atmosphere, and to investigate the extent and rates of Fe (III) reduction and phase changes with their activities. Application of Fe (III)-reducing bacteria will provide a new way to inhibit clay swelling, to elevate reservoir permeability, and to reduce pore throat resistance after water flooding for enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  17. An overview of aquatic photochemistry as it relates to microbial production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, W.L. [Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, NS (Canada). Inst. of Oceanography

    2000-07-01

    A review of fundamental photochemistry and its potential impact on microbial processes in natural waters was presented. It is a known fact that solar radiation alters chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and results in the production of a complex mixture of reactive oxygen species, inorganic nutrients, and carbon photoproducts. In addition, it results in reduced average molecular weight and changes in water optical properties. The largest carbon product results from the direct photo-mineralization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), thereby bypassing the microbial web. Other studies demonstrated that growth was enhanced for heterotrophic bacteria in natural samples exposed to sunlight, that bacterial growth was absent when stimulated by photochemistry and that there was a marked reduction in the ability of DOC to support bacterial growth after exposure to ultraviolet radiation B (UV-B). 20 refs., 1 fig.

  18. Experimental R-curve behavior in partially stabilized zirconia using moiracute e interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perry, K.E.; Okada, H.; Atluri, S.N.

    1993-01-01

    Moiracute e interferometry is employed to study toughening in partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ). Energy to fracture as a function of crack growth curves (R-curves) is derived from mode I compliance calculations and from near tip fitting of the moiracute e fringes. The effect of the tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation in the zirconia is found by comparing the bulk compliance R-curves to the locally derived moiracute e R-curve. Localized strain field plots are produced from the moiracute e data for the PSZ zirconia. The observed transformation zone height compares favorably with that predicted by Okada et al. in a companion paper, as does the qualitative nature of the R-curve with predictions by Stump and Budiansky

  19. Microbial Species and Functional Diversity in Rice Rhizosphere of High-yield Special Ecological Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PAN Li-yuan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Taoyuan, Yunnan Province is a special eco-site which keeps the highest yield records of rice cultivation in small planting areas. Soil microbial species and functional diversity were evaluated using cultivation method and BIOLOG ecoplates. The results showed that the microbial community of the high yield region was more abundant, and the total microbial population was 2 times of the control, furthermore, the areas belonged to the healthy "bacteria" soil, which was showed as bacteria > actinomycetes > fungi. Bacteria were the dominant populations in the rhizosphere of high yielding rice field, and the yield formation of rice was not correlated with the depth of soil layers. In order to obtain more species diversity information, Shannon diversity index H, Shannon evenness index E and Simpson index D were analyzed, and the results showed that microbial community diversity and evenness were not the main differences between the high and general yield areas. Then, the functional diversity of soil microbial community was investigated through the average well color development(AWCD and diversity index analyses. The results of AWCD analysis indicated that the metabolic activity of soil microbial community in high yield paddy soils were stronger than the control. Moreover, the difference range from large to small showed as tillering stage > harvest period > seedling period > rotation period, the stronger the rice growth, the greater the difference between the high yield region and the control. At tillering stage and harvest stage, due to the vigorous plant growth, the root exudates were rich, and the microbial communities of high yield paddy soils showed a strong metabolic activity and strong ability to use carbon sources. The results of Shannon, Simpson and McIntosh indices analysis indicated that common microbial species was not a key factor affecting the yield of rice. Tillering stage was a key period for the growth of high yield rice, and many

  20. Bacterial streamers in curved microchannels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusconi, Roberto; Lecuyer, Sigolene; Guglielmini, Laura; Stone, Howard

    2009-11-01

    Biofilms, generally identified as microbial communities embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances, are involved in a wide variety of health-related problems ranging from implant-associated infections to disease transmissions and dental plaque. The usual picture of these bacterial films is that they grow and develop on surfaces. However, suspended biofilm structures, or streamers, have been found in natural environments (e.g., rivers, acid mines, hydrothermal hot springs) and are always suggested to stem from a turbulent flow. We report the formation of bacterial streamers in curved microfluidic channels. By using confocal laser microscopy we are able to directly image and characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of these filamentous structures. Such streamers, which always connect the inner corners of opposite sides of the channel, are always located in the middle plane. Numerical simulations of the flow provide evidences for an underlying hydrodynamic mechanism behind the formation of the streamers.

  1. Exploring the link between environmental pollution and economic growth in EU-28 countries: Is there an environmental Kuznets curve?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armeanu, Daniel; Vintilă, Georgeta; Andrei, Jean Vasile; Gherghina, Ştefan Cristian; Drăgoi, Mihaela Cristina; Teodor, Cristian

    2018-01-01

    This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC), considering the primary energy consumption among other country-specific variables, for a panel of the EU-28 countries during the period 1990-2014. By estimating pooled OLS regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors in order to account for cross-sectional dependence, the results confirm the EKC hypothesis in the case of emissions of sulfur oxides and emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds. In addition to pooled estimations, the output of fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors support the EKC hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption, emissions of nitrogen oxides, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds and emissions of ammonia. Additionally, the empirical findings from panel vector error correction model reveal a short-run unidirectional causality from GDP per capita growth to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a bidirectional causal link between primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since there occurred no causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption, the neo-classical view was confirmed, namely the neutrality hypothesis.

  2. Stability of U(VI) and Tc(VII) Reducing Microbial Communities to EnvironmentalPerturbation: Development and Testing of a Thermodynamic Network Model. Technical Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jonathan D. Istok

    2008-01-01

    'Bioimmobilization' of redox-sensitive metals and radionuclides is being investigated as a way to remediate contaminated groundwater and sediments. In this approach, growth-limiting substrates are added to stimulate the activity of targeted groups of indigenous microorganisms and create conditions favorable for the microbially-mediated precipitation ('bioimmobilization') of targeted contaminants. This project investigated a fundamentally new approach for modeling this process that couples thermodynamic descriptions for microbial growth with associated geochemical reactions. In this approach, a synthetic microbial community is defined as a collection of defined microbial groups; each with a growth equation derived from bioenergetic principles. The growth equations and standard-state free energy yields are appended to a thermodynamic database for geochemical reactions and the combined equations are solved simultaneously to predict the effect of added substrates on microbial biomass, community composition, and system geochemistry. This approach, with a single set of thermodynamic parameters (one for each growth equation), was used to predict the results of laboratory and field bioimmobilization experiments at two geochemically diverse research sites. Predicted effects of ethanol or acetate addition on uranium and technetium solubility, major ion geochemistry, mineralogy, microbial biomass and community composition were in general agreement with experimental observations although the available experimental data precluded rigorous model testing. Model simulations provide insight into the long-standing difficulty in transferring experimental results from the laboratory to the field and from one field site to the next, especially if the form, concentration, or delivery of growth substrate is varied from one experiment to the next. Although originally developed for use in better understanding bioimmobilization of uranium and technetium via reductive precipitation, the

  3. Molecular imprinted hydrogel polymer (MIHP) as microbial immobilization media in artificial produced water treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kardena, E.; Ridhati, S. L.; Helmy, Q.

    2018-01-01

    Produced water generated during oil and gas exploration and drilling, consists of many chemicals which used in drilling process. The production of produced water is over three fold of the oil production. The water-cut has increased over time and continues to do so because the fraction of oil in the reservoir decreases and it is more difficult to get the oil out from an old oil-field. It therefore requires more sea water to be injected in order to force the oil out; hence more produced water is generated. Produced water can pollute the environment if it is not treated properly. In this research, produced water will be treated biologically using bacterial consortium which is isolated from petroleum processing facility with Molecular Imprinted Hydrogel Polymer (MIHP) for microbial immobilization media. Microbial growth rate is determined by measuring the MLVSS and hydrogel mass, also by SEM-EDS analysis. SEM-EDS analysis is an analysis to evidence the presence of microbe trapped in hydrogel, and also to determine the types and weight of the molecules of hydrogel. From this research, suspended microbial growth rate was found at 0.1532/days and attached microbial growth rate was 0.3322/days. Furthermore, based on SEM analysis, microbe is entrapped inside the hydrogel. Effectiveness of microbial degradation activity was determined by measuring organic materials as COD. Based on COD measurement, degradation rate of organic materials in wastewater is 0.3089/days, with maximum COD removal efficiency of 76.67%.

  4. On Growth and Form of the Zebrafish Gut Microbiome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jemielita, Matthew; Taormina, Michael; Rolig, Annah; Burns, Adam; Hampton, Jennifer; Guillemin, Karen; Parthasarathy, Raghuveer

    2014-03-01

    The vertebrate gut is home to a diverse microbial community whose composition has a strong influence on the development and health of the host organism. Researchers can identify the members of the microbiota, yet little is known about the spatial and temporal dynamics of these microbial communities, including the mechanisms guiding their nucleation, growth, and interactions. We address these issues using the larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism, which are raised microbe-free and then inoculated with controlled compositions of fluorophore-expressing bacteria. Live imaging using light sheet fluorescence microscopy enables visualization of the gut's entire microbial population over the first 24 hours of colonization. Image analysis allows us to quantify microbial populations that range from a few individuals to tens of thousands of microbes, and analyze the structure and growth kinetics of gut bacterial communities. We find that genetically-identical microbes can show surprisingly different growth rates and colonization abilities depending on their order of arrival. This demonstrates that knowing only the constituents of the gut community is insufficient to determine their dynamics; rather, the history of colonization matters.

  5. Lipid Biomarkers for a Hypersaline Microbial Mat Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahnke, Linda L.; Embaye, Tsege; Turk, Kendra A.

    2003-01-01

    The use of lipid biomarkers and their carbon isotopic compositions are valuable tools for establishing links to ancient microbial ecosystems. As witnessed by the stromatolite record, benthic microbial mats grew in shallow water lagoonal environments where microorganisms had virtually no competition apart from the harsh conditions of hypersalinity, desiccation and intense light. Today, the modern counterparts of these microbial ecosystems find appropriate niches in only a few places where extremes eliminate eukaryotic grazers. Answers to many outstanding questions about the evolution of microorganisms and their environments on early Earth are best answered through study of these extant analogs. Lipids associated with various groups of bacteria can be valuable biomarkers for identification of specific groups of microorganisms both in ancient organic-rich sedimentary rocks (geolipids) and contemporary microbial communities (membrane lipids). Use of compound specific isotope analysis adds additional refinement to the identification of biomarker source, so that it is possible to take advantage of the 3C-depletions associated with various functional groups of organisms (i.e. autotrophs, heterotrophs, methanotrophs, methanogens) responsible for the cycling of carbon within a microbial community. Our recent work has focused on a set of hypersaline evaporation ponds at Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico which support the abundant growth of Microcoleus-dominated microbial mats. Specific biomarkers for diatoms, cyanobacteria, archaea, green nonsulfur (GNS), sulfate reducing, and methanotrophic bacteria have been identified. Analyses of the ester-bound fatty acids indicate a highly diverse microbial community, dominated by photosynthetic organisms at the surface.

  6. The influence of maternal care and overprotection on youth adrenocortical stress response: a multiphase growth curve analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergara-Lopez, Chrystal; Chaudoir, Stephenie; Bublitz, Margaret; O'Reilly Treter, Maggie; Stroud, Laura

    2016-11-01

    We examined the association between two dimensions of maternal parenting style (care and overprotection) and cortisol response to an acute laboratory-induced stressor in healthy youth. Forty-three participants completed the Parental Bonding Instrument and an adapted version of the Trier Social Stress Test-Child (TSST-C). Nine cortisol samples were collected to investigate heterogeneity in different phases of youth's stress response. Multiphase growth-curve modeling was utilized to create latent factors corresponding to individual differences in cortisol during baseline, reactivity, and recovery to the TSST-C. Youth report of maternal overprotection was associated with lower baseline cortisol levels, and a slower cortisol decline during recovery, controlling for maternal care, puberty, and gender. No additive or interactive effects involving maternal care emerged. These findings suggest that maternal overprotection may exert a unique and important influence on youth's stress response.

  7. Analysis of the relationship between economic growth and industrial pollution in Zaozhuang, China-based on the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao-Hui; Wang, Wei-Liang; Lu, Shao-Yong; Wang, Yu-Fan; Ren, Zongming

    2016-08-01

    In Zaozhuang, economic development affects the discharge amount of industrial wastewater, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N). To reveal the trend of water environmental quality related to the economy in Zaozhuang, this paper simulated the relationships between industrial wastewater discharge, COD, NH3-N load, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for Zaozhuang (2002-2012) using environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) models. The results showed that the added value of industrial GDP, the per capita GDP, and wastewater emission had average annual growth rates of 16.62, 16.19, and 17.89 %, respectively, from 2002 to 2012, while COD and NH3-N emission in 2012, compared with 2002, showed average annual decreases of 10.70 and 31.12 %, respectively. The export of EKC models revealed that industrial wastewater discharge had a typical inverted-U-shaped relationship with per capita GDP. However, both COD and NH3-N showed the binding curve of the left side of the "U" curve and left side U-shaped curve. The economy in Zaozhuang had been at the "fast-growing" stage, with low environmental pollution according to the industrial pollution level. In recent years, Zaozhuang has abated these heavy-pollution industries emphatically, so pollutants have been greatly reduced. Thus, Zaozhuang industrial wastewater treatment has been quite effective, with water quality improved significantly. The EKC models provided scientific evidence for estimating industrial wastewater discharge, COD, and NH3-N load as well as their changeable trends for Zaozhuang from an economic perspective.

  8. Determination of critical nitrogen dilution curve based on stem dry matter in rice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syed Tahir Ata-Ul-Karim

    Full Text Available Plant analysis is a very promising diagnostic tool for assessment of crop nitrogen (N requirements in perspectives of cost effective and environment friendly agriculture. Diagnosing N nutritional status of rice crop through plant analysis will give insights into optimizing N requirements of future crops. The present study was aimed to develop a new methodology for determining the critical nitrogen (Nc dilution curve based on stem dry matter (SDM and to assess its suitability to estimate the level of N nutrition for rice (Oryza sativa L. in east China. Three field experiments with varied N rates (0-360 kg N ha(-1 using three Japonica rice hybrids, Lingxiangyou-18, Wuxiangjing-14 and Wuyunjing were conducted in Jiangsu province of east China. SDM and stem N concentration (SNC were determined during vegetative stage for growth analysis. A Nc dilution curve based on SDM was described by the equation (Nc = 2.17W(-0.27 with W being SDM in t ha(-1, when SDM ranged from 0.88 to 7.94 t ha(-1. However, for SDM < 0.88 t ha(-1, the constant critical value Nc = 1.76% SDM was applied. The curve was dually validated for N-limiting and non-N-limiting growth conditions. The N nutrition index (NNI and accumulated N deficit (Nand of stem ranged from 0.57 to 1.06 and 51.1 to -7.07 kg N ha(-1, respectively, during key growth stages under varied N rates in 2010 and 2011. The values of ΔN derived from either NNI or Nand could be used as references for N dressing management during rice growth. Our results demonstrated that the present curve well differentiated the conditions of limiting and non-limiting N nutrition in rice crop. The SDM based Nc dilution curve can be adopted as an alternate and novel approach for evaluating plant N status to support N fertilization decision during the vegetative growth of Japonica rice in east China.

  9. Natural and laboratory OSL growth curve–Verification of the basic assumption of luminescence dating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kijek, N.; Chruścińska, A.

    2016-01-01

    The basic assumption of luminescence dating is the equality between the growth curve of OSL generated by the natural radiation and the OSL growth curve reconstructed in laboratory conditions. The dose rates that generate the OSL in nature and in laboratory experiments differ by about ten orders of magnitude. Recently some discrepancies between the natural and laboratory growth curves have been observed. It is important to establish their reasons in order to introduce appropriate correction into the OSL dating protocol or to find a test that allows to eliminate the samples which should not be used for dating. For this purpose, both growth curves, natural and laboratory, were reconstructed by means of computer simulations of the processes occurring in the sample during its deposition time in environment as well as those which occur in a laboratory during dating procedure. The simulations were carried out for three models including one shallow trap, two OSL traps, one disconnected deep and one luminescence center. The OSL model for quartz can be more complex than the one used in the presented simulations, but in spite of that the results show effects of growth curves discrepancies similar to those observed in experiments. It is clear that the consistency of growth curves is not a general feature of the OSL processes, but rather a result of an advantageous configuration of trap parameters. The deep disconnected traps play the key role and their complete filling before the zeroing of OSL signal is a necessary condition of the growth curves' consistency. - Highlights: • Process of OSL growth curve generation in nature and in laboratory was simulated. • Discrepancies between the natural and the laboratory growth curves are observed. • Deep disconnected traps play the key role in growth curve inequality. • Empty deep traps before zeroing of OSL cause the inequality of growth curves.

  10. Gamma-irradiation induced mutagenesis on some microbial strains of interest in food biotechnologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferdes, O.S.; Ferdes, M.; Dumitru, E.; Mencinicopschi, G.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper there were presented the results concerning gamma-ray effects on some microbial strains which are of interest in food biotechnologies. The irradiations are performed to a Co-60 source, under several condition, at dose rates between 0.1-2.0 kGy/h and in a dose range between 0.1-20.0 kGy. The microbial strains are of Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger, Mucor pusillus and Monascus rubens from IFC collection. There were established the survival curves and the optimum irradiation doses for mutagenic effects. There were isolated, analysed and characterised some mutant strains, with better properties in obtaining food enzymes and pigments. (orig.)

  11. Microbial analyses of cement and grouting additives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallbeck, L.; Jaegevall, S.; Paeaejaervi, A.; Rabe, L.; Edlund, J.; Eriksson, S.

    2012-01-01

    During sampling in the ONKALO tunnel in 2006, heavy growth of a slimy material was observed in connection with grouting. It was suggested to be microbial growth on organic additives leaching from the grout. Two sampling campaigns resulted in the isolation of several aerobic bacterial strains. Some of these strains were used in biodegradation studies of three solid cement powders, eight liquid grout additives, and six plastic drainage materials. Degradation was also studied using ONKALO groundwaters as inoculums. The isolated strains were most closely related to hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms. The biodegradation of seven of the products was tested using microorganisms isolated from the ONKALO slime in 2006; none of these strains could degrade the tested products. When ONKALO drillhole groundwaters were used as inoculums in the degradation studies, it was demonstrated that Structuro 111X, Mighty 150, and Super-Parmix supported growth of the groundwater microorganisms. Structuro 111X is a polycarboxylate condensate while Mighty 150 and Super-Parmix are condensates with formaldehyde and naphthalene. Some of the isolated microorganisms belonged to the genus Pseudomonas, many strains of which can degrade organic molecules. None of the plastic drainage materials supported growth during the degradation studies. Microorganisms were present in two of the liquid products when delivered, GroutAid and Super-Parmix. The potential of the organic compounds in grout additives to be degraded by microorganisms, increasing the risk of biofilm formation and complexing compound production, must be considered. Microbial growth will also increase the possibility of hydrogen sulphide formation. (orig.)

  12. Molecular characterization of microbial population dynamics during sildenafil citrate degradation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Felice, Bruna; Argenziano, Carolina; Guida, Marco; Trifuoggi, Marco; Russo, Francesca; Condorelli, Valerio; Inglese, Mafalda

    2009-02-01

    Little is known about pharmaceutical and personal care products pollutants (PPCPs), but there is a growing interest in how they might impact the environment and microbial communities. The widespread use of Viagra (sildenafil citrate) has attracted great attention because of the high usage rate, the unpredictable disposal and the unknown potential effects on wildlife and the environment. Until now information regarding the impact of Viagra on microbial community in water environment has not been reported. In this research, for the first time, the genetic profile of the microbial community, developing in a Viagra polluted water environment, was evaluated by means of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, for bacteria and fungi, respectively, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and separated using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. The DGGE results revealed a complex microbial community structure with most of the population persisting throughout the experimental period. DNA sequences from bands observed in the different denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles exhibited the highest degree of identity to uncultured bacteria and fungi found previously mainly in polluted environmental and treating bioreactors. Biotransformation ability of sildenafil citrate by the microbial pool was studied and the capability of these microorganisms to detoxify a polluted water ecosystem was assessed. The bacterial and fungal population was able to degrade sildenafil citrate entirely. Additionally, assays conducted on Daphnia magna, algal growth inhibition assay and cell viability determination on HepG2 human cells showed that biotransformation products obtained from the bacterial growth was not toxic. The higher removal efficiency for sildenafil citrate and the lack of toxicity by the biotransformation products obtained showed that the microbial community identified here represented a composite population that might have biotechnological relevance to

  13. Plant, microbial and ecosystem carbon use efficiencies interact to stabilize microbial growth as a fraction of gross primary production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinsabaugh, Robert L; Moorhead, Daryl L; Xu, Xiaofeng; Litvak, Marcy E

    2017-06-01

    The carbon use efficiency of plants (CUE a ) and microorganisms (CUE h ) determines rates of biomass turnover and soil carbon sequestration. We evaluated the hypothesis that CUE a and CUE h counterbalance at a large scale, stabilizing microbial growth (μ) as a fraction of gross primary production (GPP). Collating data from published studies, we correlated annual CUE a , estimated from satellite imagery, with locally determined soil CUE h for 100 globally distributed sites. Ecosystem CUE e , the ratio of net ecosystem production (NEP) to GPP, was estimated for each site using published models. At the ecosystem scale, CUE a and CUE h were inversely related. At the global scale, the apparent temperature sensitivity of CUE h with respect to mean annual temperature (MAT) was similar for organic and mineral soils (0.029°C -1 ). CUE a and CUE e were inversely related to MAT, with apparent sensitivities of -0.009 and -0.032°C -1 , respectively. These trends constrain the ratio μ : GPP (= (CUE a  × CUE h )/(1 - CUE e )) with respect to MAT by counterbalancing the apparent temperature sensitivities of the component processes. At the ecosystem scale, the counterbalance is effected by modulating soil organic matter stocks. The results suggest that a μ : GPP value of c. 0.13 is a homeostatic steady state for ecosystem carbon fluxes at a large scale. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  14. Life in Ice: Microbial Growth Dynamics and Greenhouse Gas Production During Winter in a Thermokarst Bog Revealed by Stable Isotope Probing Targeted Metagenomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blazewicz, S.; White, R. A., III; Tas, N.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Mcfarland, J. W.; Jansson, J.; Waldrop, M. P.

    2016-12-01

    Permafrost contains a reservoir of frozen C estimated to be twice the size of the current atmospheric C pool. In response to changing climate, permafrost is rapidly warming which could result in widespread seasonal thawing. When permafrost thaws, soils that are rich in ice and C often transform into thermokarst wetlands with anaerobic conditions and significant production of atmospheric CH4. While most C flux research in recently thawed permafrost concentrates on the few summer months when seasonal thaw has occurred, there is mounting evidence that sizeable portions of annual CO2 and CH4 efflux occurs over winter or during a rapid burst of emissions associated with seasonal thaw. A potential mechanism for such efflux patterns is microbial activity in frozen soils over winter where gasses produced are partially trapped within ice until spring thaw. In order to better understand microbial transformation of soil C to greenhouse gas over winter, we applied stable isotope probing (SIP) targeted metagenomics combined with process measurements and field flux data to reveal activities of microbial communities in `frozen' soil from an Alaskan thermokarst bog. Field studies revealed build-up of CO2 and CH4 in frozen soils suggesting that microbial activity persisted throughout the winter in soils poised just below the freezing point. Laboratory incubations designed to simulate in-situ winter conditions (-1.5 °C and anaerobic) revealed continuous CH4 and CO2 production. Strikingly, the quantity of CH4 produced in 6 months in frozen soil was equivalent to approximately 80% of CH4 emitted during the 3 month summer `active' season. Heavy water SIP targeted iTag sequencing revealed growing bacteria and archaea in the frozen anaerobic soil. Growth was primarily observed in two bacterial phyla, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, suggesting that fermentation was likely the major C mineralization pathway. SIP targeted metagenomics facilitated characterization of the primary metabolic

  15. S-curve networks and an approximate method for estimating degree distributions of complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jin-Li

    2010-12-01

    In the study of complex networks almost all theoretical models have the property of infinite growth, but the size of actual networks is finite. According to statistics from the China Internet IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) addresses, this paper proposes a forecasting model by using S curve (logistic curve). The growing trend of IPv4 addresses in China is forecasted. There are some reference values for optimizing the distribution of IPv4 address resource and the development of IPv6. Based on the laws of IPv4 growth, that is, the bulk growth and the finitely growing limit, it proposes a finite network model with a bulk growth. The model is said to be an S-curve network. Analysis demonstrates that the analytic method based on uniform distributions (i.e., Barabási-Albert method) is not suitable for the network. It develops an approximate method to predict the growth dynamics of the individual nodes, and uses this to calculate analytically the degree distribution and the scaling exponents. The analytical result agrees with the simulation well, obeying an approximately power-law form. This method can overcome a shortcoming of Barabási-Albert method commonly used in current network research.

  16. S-curve networks and an approximate method for estimating degree distributions of complex networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Jin-Li

    2010-01-01

    In the study of complex networks almost all theoretical models have the property of infinite growth, but the size of actual networks is finite. According to statistics from the China Internet IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) addresses, this paper proposes a forecasting model by using S curve (logistic curve). The growing trend of IPv4 addresses in China is forecasted. There are some reference values for optimizing the distribution of IPv4 address resource and the development of IPv6. Based on the laws of IPv4 growth, that is, the bulk growth and the finitely growing limit, it proposes a finite network model with a bulk growth. The model is said to be an S-curve network. Analysis demonstrates that the analytic method based on uniform distributions (i.e., Barabási-Albert method) is not suitable for the network. It develops an approximate method to predict the growth dynamics of the individual nodes, and uses this to calculate analytically the degree distribution and the scaling exponents. The analytical result agrees with the simulation well, obeying an approximately power-law form. This method can overcome a shortcoming of Barabási-Albert method commonly used in current network research. (general)

  17. Gammarus-Microbial Interactions: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Nelson

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Gammarus spp. are typically classified as shredders under the functional feeding group classification. In the wild and in the laboratory, Gammarus spp. will often shred leaves, breaking them down into finer organic matter fractions. However, leaf litter is a poor quality food source (i.e., high C : N and C : P ratios and very little leaf material is assimilated by shredders. In freshwater habitats leaf litter is colonized rapidly (within ∼1-2 weeks by aquatic fungi and bacteria, making the leaves more palatable and nutritious to consumers. Several studies have shown that Gammarus spp. show preference for conditioned leaves over nonconditioned leaves and certain fungal species to others. Furthermore, Gammarus spp. show increased survival and growth rates when fed conditioned leaves compared to non-conditioned leaves. Thus, Gammarus spp. appear to rely on the microbial biofilm associated with leaf detritus as a source of carbon and/or essential nutrients. Also, Gammarus spp. can have both positive and negative effects on the microbial communities on which they fed, making them an important component of the microbial loop in aquatic ecosystems.

  18. Effects of various weaning times on growth performance, rumen fermentation and microbial population of yellow cattle calves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiling Mao

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective This study was conducted to investigate the effects of weaning times on the growth performance, rumen fermentation and microbial communities of yellow cattle calves. Methods Eighteen calves were assigned to a conventional management group that was normally weaned (NW, n = 3 or to early weaned (EW group where calves were weaned when the feed intake of solid feed (starter reached 500 g (EW500, n = 5, 750 g (EW750, n = 5, or 1,000 g (EW1,000, n = 5. Results Compared with NW, the EW treatments increased average daily gain (p0.05, but changes in bacterial composition were found. Conclusion From the present study, it is inferred that EW is beneficial for rumen fermentation, and weaning when the feed intake of the starter reached 750 g showed much better results.

  19. Self-regulation and recall: growth curve modeling of intervention outcomes for older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Robin L; Hastings, Erin C

    2011-12-01

    Memory training has often been supported as a potential means to improve performance for older adults. Less often studied are the characteristics of trainees that benefit most from training. Using a self-regulatory perspective, the current project examined a latent growth curve model to predict training-related gains for middle-aged and older adult trainees from individual differences (e.g., education), information processing skills (strategy use) and self-regulatory factors such as self-efficacy, control, and active engagement in training. For name recall, a model including strategy usage and strategy change as predictors of memory gain, along with self-efficacy and self-efficacy change, showed comparable fit to a more parsimonious model including only self-efficacy variables as predictors. The best fit to the text recall data was a model focusing on self-efficacy change as the main predictor of memory change, and that model showed significantly better fit than a model also including strategy usage variables as predictors. In these models, overall performance was significantly predicted by age and memory self-efficacy, and subsequent training-related gains in performance were best predicted directly by change in self-efficacy (text recall), or indirectly through the impact of active engagement and self-efficacy on gains (name recall). These results underscore the benefits of targeting self-regulatory factors in intervention programs designed to improve memory skills.

  20. Rhizocarpon calibration curve for the Aoraki/Mount Cook area of New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowell, Thomas V.; Schoenenberger, Katherine; Deddens, James A.; Denton, George H.; Smith, Colby; Black, Jessica; Hendy, Chris H.

    2005-05-01

    Development of Rhizocarpon growth curve from the Aoraki/Mount Cook area of New Zealand provides a means to assess Little Ice Age glacier behaviour and suggests approaches that have wider application. Employing a sampling strategy based on large populations affords the opportunity to assess which of various metrics (e.g. single largest, average of five largest, mean of an entire population) best characterise Rhizocarpon growth patterns. The 98% quantile from each population fitted with a quadric curve forms a reliable representation of the growth pattern. Since this metric does not depend on the original sample size, comparisons are valid where sample strategy must be adapted to local situations or where the original sample size differs. For the Aoraki/Mount Cook area a surface 100 years old will have a 98% quantile lichen diameter of 34.3 mm, whereas a 200-year-old surface will have a lichen diameter of 73.7 mm. In the Southern Alps, constraints from the age range of calibration points, the flattening of the quadric calibration curve and ecological factors limit the useful age range to approximately 250 years. Copyright

  1. Characterization of Microbial Fuel Cells at Microbially and Electrochemically Meaningful Time scales

    KAUST Repository

    Ren, Zhiyong

    2011-03-15

    The variable biocatalyst density in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) anode biofilm is a unique feature of MFCs relative to other electrochemical systems, yet performance characterizations of MFCs typically involve analyses at electrochemically relevant time scales that are insufficient to account for these variable biocatalyst effects. This study investigated the electrochemical performance and the development of anode biofilm architecture under different external loadings, with duplicate acetate-fed singlechamber MFCs stabilized at each resistance for microbially relevant time scales. Power density curves from these steady-state reactors generally showed comparable profiles despite the fact that anode biofilm architectures and communities varied considerably, showing that steady-state biofilm differences had little influence on electrochemical performance until the steady-state external loading was much larger than the reactor internal resistance. Filamentous bacteria were dominant on the anodes under high external resistances (1000 and 5000 Ω), while more diverse rod-shaped cells formed dense biofilms under lower resistances (10, 50, and 265 Ω). Anode charge transfer resistance decreased with decreasing fixed external resistances, but was consistently 2 orders of magnitude higher than the resistance at the cathode. Cell counting showed an inverse exponential correlation between cell numbers and external resistances. This direct link ofMFCanode biofilm evolution with external resistance and electricity production offers several operational strategies for system optimization. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  2. Characteristic of DTA curves for cast ferrous alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Pietrowski

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The study presents DTA curves for selected grades of cast iron and cast steel. The thermal effects observed on derivative curves, caused by crystallisation of single phases and eutectic were discussed. The thermal effects having their origin in crystallisation of secondary carbides were determined. It has been indicated that the range of temperatures of their crystallisation can be determined from the cooling curve t = f(τ, from the solidification curve dt/dτ = f′(τ, and from the second derivative d2t/dτ2 = f″(τ. The crystallisation rate of single phases or of their mixture is indicated by the duration of thermal effect and by the slope angle of the curve responsible for a specific thermal effect before and after its maximum. A very high sensitivity of the derivative curve to temperature changes in liquid and solid alloy and to the phase (phases growth rate enables control of alloy before pouring of moulds. The control of alloy may consist in identification of phases the presence of which is indispensable in alloy microstructure and in determination of some important properties, e.g. Rp0,2, Rm, A5 and HB. In the latter case, the statistical relationships between the above mentioned characteristic parameters of DTA curves and the selected mechanical properties have been determined. The said relationships form a basis for construction of algorithms used in development of computer programs for control of individual alloys.

  3. Development of the curve of Spee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Steven D; Caspersen, Matthew; Hardinger, Rachel R; Franciscus, Robert G; Aquilino, Steven A; Southard, Thomas E

    2008-09-01

    Ferdinand Graf von Spee is credited with characterizing human occlusal curvature viewed in the sagittal plane. This naturally occurring phenomenon has clinical importance in orthodontics and restorative dentistry, yet we have little understanding of when, how, or why it develops. The purpose of this study was to expand our understanding by examining the development of the curve of Spee longitudinally in a sample of untreated subjects with normal occlusion from the deciduous dentition to adulthood. Records of 16 male and 17 female subjects from the Iowa Facial Growth Study were selected and examined. The depth of the curve of Spee was measured on their study models at 7 time points from ages 4 (deciduous dentition) to 26 (adult dentition) years. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare changes in the curve of Spee depth between time points. For each subject, the relative eruption of the mandibular teeth was measured from corresponding cephalometric radiographs, and its contribution to the developing curve of Spee was ascertained. In the deciduous dentition, the curve of Spee is minimal. At mean ages of 4.05 and 5.27 years, the average curve of Spee depths are 0.24 and 0.25 mm, respectively. With change to the transitional dentition, corresponding to the eruption of the mandibular permanent first molars and central incisors (mean age, 6.91 years), the curve of Spee depth increases significantly (P < 0.0001) to a mean maximum depth of 1.32 mm. The curve of Spee then remains essentially unchanged until eruption of the second molars (mean age, 12.38 years), when the depth increases (P < 0.0001) to a mean maximum depth of 2.17 mm. In the adolescent dentition (mean age, 16.21 years), the depth decreases slightly (P = 0.0009) to a mean maximum depth of 1.98 mm, and, in the adult dentition (mean age 26.98 years), the curve remains unchanged (P = 0.66), with a mean maximum depth of 2.02 mm. No significant differences in curve of Spee development were found between

  4. Effect of Fermented Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Blood Characteristics, Fecal Microbial and Fecal Noxious Gas Content in Growing Pigs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Yan

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available A total of 96 growing pigs ((Landrace×Yorkshire×Duroc; BW = 26.58±1.41 kg were used in a 6-wk feeding trail to evaluate the effects of fermented chlorella (FC supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, fecal microbial and fecal noxious gas content in growing pigs. Pigs were randomly allotted into 1 of 4 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens (2 barrows and 2 gilts per treatment. Dietary treatments were: i negative control (NC, basal diet (without antibiotics; ii positive control (PC, NC+0.05% tylosin; iii (fermented chlorella 01 FC01, NC+0.1% FC, and iv fermented chlorella 02 (FC02, NC+0.2% FC. In this study, feeding pigs PC or FC01 diets led to a higher average daily gain (ADG and dry matter (DM digestibility than those fed NC diet (p0.05 was observed on the body weight, average daily feed intake (ADFI, gain:feed (G:F ratio, the apparent total tract digestibility of N and energy throughout the experiment. The inclusion of PC or FC did not affect the blood characteristics (p>0.05. Moreover, dietary FC treatment led to a higher (p<0.05 lactobacillus concentration and lower E. coli concentration than the NC treatment, whereas the antibiotic supplementation only decreased the E. coli concentration. Pigs fed FC or PC diet had reduced (p<0.05 fecal NH3 and H2S content compared with those fed NC diet. In conclusion, our results indicated that the inclusion of FC01 treatment could improve the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microbial shedding (lower E. coli and higher lactobacillus, and decrease the fecal noxious gas emission in growing pigs when compared with the group fed the basal diet. In conclusion, dietary FC could be considered as a good source of supplementation in growing pigs because of its growth promoting effect.

  5. Influence of Calcium on Microbial Reduction of Solid Phase Uranium (VI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Chongxuan; Jeon, Byong-Hun; Zachara, John M.; Wang, Zheming

    2007-01-01

    The effect of calcium on microbial reduction of a solid phase U(VI), sodium boltwoodite (NaUO2SiO3OH · 1.5H2O), was evaluated in a culture of a dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium (DMRB), Shewanella oneidensis strain MR-1. Batch experiments were performed in a non-growth bicarbonate medium with lactate as electron donor at pH 7 buffered with PIPES. Calcium increased both the rate and extent of Na-boltwoodite dissolution by increasing its solubility through the formation of a ternary aqueous calcium-uranyl-carbonate species. The ternary species, however, decreased the rates of microbial reduction of aqueous U(VI). Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that microbial reduction of solid phase U(VI) is a sequentially coupled process of Na-boltwoodite dissolution, U(VI) aqueous speciation, and microbial reduction of dissolved U(VI) to U(IV) that accumulated on bacterial surfaces/periplasm. The overall rates of microbial reduction of solid phase U(VI) can be described by the coupled rates of dissolution and microbial reduction that were both influenced by calcium. The results demonstrated that dissolved U(VI) concentration during microbial reduction was a complex function of solid phase U(VI) dissolution kinetics, aqueous U(VI) speciation, and microbial activity

  6. Biodegradation mechanisms and kinetics of azo dye 4BS by a microbial consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Fang; Hu, Wenrong; Li, Yuezhong

    2004-10-01

    A microbial consortium consisting of a white-rot fungus 8-4* and a Pseudomonas 1-10 was isolated from wastewater treatment facilities of a local dyeing house by enrichment, using azo dye Direct Fast Scarlet 4BS as the sole source of carbon and energy, which had a high capacity for rapid decolorization of 4BS. To elucidate the decolorization mechanisms, decolorization of 4BS was compared between individual strains and the microbial consortium under different treatment processes. The microbial consortium showed a significant improvement on dye decolorization rates under either static or shaking culture, which might be attributed to the synergetic reaction of single strains. From the curve of COD values and the UV-visible spectra of 4BS solutions before and after decolorization cultivation with the microbial consortium, it was found that 4BS could be mineralized completely, and the results had been used for presuming the degrading pathway of 4BS. This study also examined the kinetics of 4BS decolorization by immobilized microbial consortium. The results demonstrated that the optimal decolorization activity was observed in pH range between four and 9, temperature range between 20 and 40 degrees C and the maximal specific decolorization rate occurred at 1,000 mg l(-1) of 4BS. The proliferation and distribution of microbial consortium were also microscopically observed, which further confirmed the decolorization mechanisms of 4BS.

  7. Novel co-culture plate enables growth dynamic-based assessment of contact-independent microbial interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas J Moutinho

    Full Text Available Interactions between microbes are central to the dynamics of microbial communities. Understanding these interactions is essential for the characterization of communities, yet challenging to accomplish in practice. There are limited available tools for characterizing diffusion-mediated, contact-independent microbial interactions. A practical and widely implemented technique in such characterization involves the simultaneous co-culture of distinct bacterial species and subsequent analysis of relative abundance in the total population. However, distinguishing between species can be logistically challenging. In this paper, we present a low-cost, vertical membrane, co-culture plate to quantify contact-independent interactions between distinct bacterial populations in co-culture via real-time optical density measurements. These measurements can be used to facilitate the analysis of the interaction between microbes that are physically separated by a semipermeable membrane yet able to exchange diffusible molecules. We show that diffusion across the membrane occurs at a sufficient rate to enable effective interaction between physically separate cultures. Two bacterial species commonly found in the cystic fibrotic lung, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cenocepacia, were co-cultured to demonstrate how this plate may be implemented to study microbial interactions. We have demonstrated that this novel co-culture device is able to reliably generate real-time measurements of optical density data that can be used to characterize interactions between microbial species.

  8. Peatland Microbial Carbon Use Under Warming using Isotopic Fractionation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutknecht, J.

    2016-12-01

    Peatlands are a critical natural resource, especially in their role as carbon sinks. Most of the world's peatlands are located in Northern ecosystems where the climate is changing at a rapid pace, and there is great interest and concern with how climate change will influence them. Although studies regarding the response of peatlands to climate change have emerged, the microbial mediation of C cycling in these systems is still less well understood. In this study, 13CPLFA analysis was used to characterize the microbial community and it's carbon use at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Climatic and Environmental Change (SPRUCE) Project. The SPRUCE project is an extensive study of the response of peatlands to climatic manipulation in the Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota. Heating rods were installed in peatland plots where peat is being warmed at several levels including ambient, +2.5, +4.5, +6.75, and +9 degrees Celsius, at a depth of 3 meters, beginning July of 2014. Samples were taken June 2014, September 2014, and June 2015, throughout the depth profile. We found very high microbial, and especially fungal growth at shallow depths, owing in part to the influence of fungal-like lipids present in Sphagnum stems, and in part to dense mycorrhizal colonization in shrub and tree species. Isotopic data shows that microbial biomass has an enriched δ13C lower in the peat profile, indicating as expected that microbes at depth utilize older carbon or carbon more enriched in 13C. The increase over depth in the δ13C signature may also reflect the increased dominance of pre-industrial carbon that is more enriched in 13C. In this early period of warming we did not see clear effects of warming, either due to the highly heterogeneous microbial growth across the bog, or to the short term deep warming only. We expect that with the initiation of aboveground warming in July 2016, warming will begin to show stronger effects on microbial C cycling.

  9. CDC Child Growth Charts

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — CDC child growth charts consist of a series of percentile curves that illustrate the distribution of selected body measurements in U.S. children. Pediatric growth...

  10. Elucidating Microbial Adaptation Dynamics via Autonomous Exposure and Sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Joseph M.; Verseux, Cyprien; Gentry, Diana; Moffet, Amy; Thayabaran, Ramanen; Wong, Nathan; Rothschild, Lynn

    2013-01-01

    number or growth rate of surviving cells. We are on our second prototype iteration, with demonstrated functions of microbial growth monitoring and dynamic exposure to UV-C radiation and temperature. We plan to add functionality for general chemical presence or absence by Nov. 2013. By making the project low-cost and open-source, we hope to encourage others to use it as a basis for future development of a common microbial environmental adaptation testbed.

  11. The potential for microbial life in a Canadian high-level nuclear fuel waste disposal vault

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroes-Gascoyne, S.

    1989-12-01

    Recent studies have concluded that microbial contamination of a nuclear fuel waste disposal vault is inevitable. Factors that will affect the development of substantial population of micro-organisms include: physiological tolerance of microbes; fluid movement in a vault; availability of nutrients; and availability of energy sources. It is difficult to resolve whether microbial growth will either positively or negatively affect the performance of a vault. One of the necessary steps towards ultimately answering this question is to assess the potential for microbial growth in a disposal vault, based on a nutrient and energy budget. This report gives a quantitative (but conservative) inventory of nutrients and potential energy sources present in a Canadian nuclear fuel waste vault, which hypothetically could support the growth of micro-organisms. Maximum population densities are calculated based on these inventories and assuming that all conditions for microbial growth are optimal, although this will certainly not be the case. Laboratory studies under the vault-relevant conditions are being performed to put realistic boundaries on the calculated numbers. Initial results from these studies, combined with data from a natural analogue site indicate that the calculated population densities could be overestimated by four to five orders of magnitude. Limited data show no effect of the presence of microbes on the transport of Tc, I, and Sr in backfill sand columns. Additional work is needed to address transport effects on buffer and backfill clay columns

  12. Empirical Analysis on The Existence of The Phillips Curve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaari Mohd Shahidan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The Phillips curve shows the trade-off relationship between the inflation and unemployment rates. A rise in inflation due to the high economic growth, more jobs are available and therefore unemployment will fall. However, the existence of the Phillips curve in high-income countries has not been much discussed. Countries with high income should have low unemployment rate, suggesting a high inflation. However, some high-income countries, the United States in 1970s for example, could not avert stagflation whereby high unemployment rate and inflation occurred in the same time. This situation is contrary to the Phillips curve. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the existence of the Phillips curve in high-income countries for the period 1990-2014 using the panel data analysis. The most interesting finding of this study is the existence of a bidirectional relationship between unemployment rate and inflation rate in both long and short runs. Therefore, the governments should choose to stabilize inflation rate or reduce unemployment rate

  13. Physico-chemical parameters, bioactive compounds and microbial quality of thermo-sonicated carrot juice during storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Flores, Héctor E; Garnica-Romo, Ma Guadalupe; Bermúdez-Aguirre, Daniela; Pokhrel, Prashant Raj; Barbosa-Cánovas, Gustavo V

    2015-04-01

    Thermosonication has been successfully tested in food for microbial inactivation; however, changes in bioactive compounds and shelf-life of treated products have not been thoroughly investigated. Carrot juice was thermo-sonicated (24 kHz, 120 μm amplitude) at 50 °C, 54 °C and 58 °C for 10 min (acoustic power 2204.40, 2155.72, 2181.68 mW/mL, respectively). Quality parameters and microbial growth were evaluated after processing and during storage at 4 °C. Control and sonicated treatments at 50 °C and 54 °C had 10, 12 and 14 d of shelf-life, respectively. Samples sonicated at 58 °C had the best quality; microbial growth remained low at around 3-log for mesophiles, 4.5-log for yeasts and molds and 2-log for enterobacteria after 20 d of storage. Furthermore, thermo-sonicated juice at 58 °C retained >98% of carotenoids and 100% of ascorbic acid. Phenolic compounds increased in all stored, treated juices. Thermo-sonication is therefore a promising technology for preserving the quality of carrot juice by minimising the physicochemical changes during storage, retarding microbial growth and retaining the bioactive compounds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Response of broiler chickens to diets containing artificially dried high-moisture maize supplemented with microbial enzymes

    OpenAIRE

    Bhuiyan, M.M; Islam, A.F; Iji, P.A

    2010-01-01

    The effect of feeding high-moisture maize grains dried in the sun or artificially in a forced draught oven at 80, 90 or 100 ºC for 24 hours and supplemented with microbial enzymes (Avizyme 1502 and Phyzyme XP) on growth performance, visceral organs, tissue protein, enzyme activity and gut development was investigated in a broiler growth trial. Feed intake (FI) up to 21 days decreased as a results of oven drying of grains whereas supplementation with microbial enzymes increased FI compared to ...

  15. Curve progression and spinal growth in brace treated idiopathic scoliosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tonseth, KA; Veldhuizen, AG; Cool, JC; van Horn, [No Value

    The risk of progression of idiopathic scoliosis is correlated primarily to factors that predict potential remaining skeletal growth. The aim of the current study was to evaluate spinal growth, measured as the length of the scoliotic spine on serial longitudinal radiographs, and its relationship to

  16. Influence of aqueous phase on electrochemical biocorrosion tests in diesel/water systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bento, F.M. [Dept. of Soils, Faculty of Agronomy, UFRGS, 7712 Bento Goncalves Avenue, CEP: 91540-001, POA, RS (Brazil); Englert, G.E.; Muller, I.L. [Dept. of Metallurgy, Biocorrosion and Biofilms Lab, UFRGS, 99 Osvaldo Aranha Avenue s.615D, CEP: 90035-190, POA, RS (Brazil); Gaylarde, C.C. [Dept. of Biophisics, UFRGS POA, RS (Brazil)

    2004-08-01

    Storage tanks containing microbially contaminated diesel oil are susceptible to corrosion. This process may be evaluated electrochemically in the laboratory using simulated storage systems containing diesel oil and an aqueous phase. The simulated aqueous phase must supply mineral nutrients for microbial growth, together with adequate electrical conductivity, without, however, being too corrosive, so as to allow the aggressive nature of the microbial metabolites to be detected. In this investigation, microbial growth was measured in six electrically conductive media overlaid with metropolitan diesel oil containing an additive package. The microorganisms were the filamentous fungi, Hormoconis resinae, Paecilomyces variotii and Aspergillus fumigatus, the bacterium Bacillus subtilis and the yeast Candida silvicola, all previously isolated from contaminated diesel oil. After 60 days incubation with pure or mixed inocula of these microorganisms, pH, conductivity and viable microorganisms were measured. The electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel ASTM 283-93-C was determined in each of the six media (uninoculated) and in selected inoculated medium via measurements of open circuit potential and potentiostatic polarization curves. The uptake of phosphate (corrosion inhibitor), microbial growth, pH, conductivity and anodic and cathodic polarization curves were assessed in the water phase after 30 and 60 days of incubation with each single species Aspergillus fumigatus and Hormoconis resinae and with the consortium. The medium which proved most appropriate was Bushnell-Haas medium modified by the omission of chlorides, which allowed satisfactory microbial growth and had low aggressivity towards the steel. The performance of electrochemical tests in aerated, rather than deaerated, electrolyte solutions is suggested to be important to allow the detection of microbial influence on passive film formation and stability. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  17. Partitioning of the variance in the growth parameters of Erwinia carotovora on vegetable products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shorten, P R; Membré, J-M; Pleasants, A B; Kubaczka, M; Soboleva, T K

    2004-06-01

    The objective of this paper was to estimate and partition the variability in the microbial growth model parameters describing the growth of Erwinia carotovora on pasteurised and non-pasteurised vegetable juice from laboratory experiments performed under different temperature-varying conditions. We partitioned the model parameter variance and covariance components into effects due to temperature profile and replicate using a maximum likelihood technique. Temperature profile and replicate were treated as random effects and the food substrate was treated as a fixed effect. The replicate variance component was small indicating a high level of control in this experiment. Our analysis of the combined E. carotovora growth data sets used the Baranyi primary microbial growth model along with the Ratkowsky secondary growth model. The variability in the microbial growth parameters estimated from these microbial growth experiments is essential for predicting the mean and variance through time of the E. carotovora population size in a product supply chain and is the basis for microbiological risk assessment and food product shelf-life estimation. The variance partitioning made here also assists in the management of optimal product distribution networks by identifying elements of the supply chain contributing most to product variability. Copyright 2003 Elsevier B.V.

  18. In Situ Correlated Molecular Imaging of Chemically Communicating Microbial Communities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bohn, Paul W. [Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Shrout, J. D. [Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Sweedler, J. V. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Farrand, S. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

    2016-01-25

    This document constitutes the final technical report for DE-SC0006642, In Situ Correlated Molecular Imaging of Chemically Communicating Microbial Communities, a project carried out collaboratively by investigators at Notre Dame and UIUC. The work carried out under DOE support in this project produced advances in two areas: development of new highly sophisticated correlated imaging approaches and the application of these new tools to the growth and differentiation of microbial communities under a variety of environmental conditions. A significant effort involved the creation of technical enhancements and sampling approaches to allow us to advance heterocorrelated mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and correlated Raman microscopy (CRM) from bacterial cultures and biofilms. We then exploited these measurement advances in heterocorrelated MS/CRM imaging to determine relationship of signaling molecules and excreted signaling molecules produced by P. aeruginosa to conditions relevant to the rhizosphere. In particular, we: (1) developed a laboratory testbed mimic for the rhizosphere to enable microbial growth on slides under controlled conditions; (2) integrated specific measurements of (a) rhamnolipids, (b) quinolone/quinolones, and (c) phenazines specific to P. aeruginosa; and (3) utilized the imaging tools to probe how messenger secretion, quorum sensing and swarming behavior are correlated with behavior.

  19. Phenotypic responses to interspecies competition and commensalism in a naturally-derived microbial co-culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, Nymul; Maezato, Yukari; McClure, Ryan S.; Brislawn, Colin J.; Mobberley, Jennifer M.; Isern, Nancy; Chrisler, William B.; Markillie, Lye Meng; Barney, Brett M.; Song, Hyun-Seob; Nelson, William C.; Bernstein, Hans C.

    2018-01-10

    The fundamental question of whether different microbial species will co-exist or compete in a given environment depends on context, composition and environmental constraints. Model microbial systems can yield some general principles related to this question. In this study we employed a naturally occurring co-culture composed of heterotrophic bacteria, Halomonas sp. HL-48 and Marinobacter sp. HL-58, to ask two fundamental scientific questions: 1) how do the phenotypes of two naturally co-existing species respond to partnership as compared to axenic growth? and 2) how do growth and molecular phenotypes of these species change with respect to competitive and commensal interactions? We hypothesized – and confirmed – that co-cultivation under glucose as the sole carbon source would result in a competitive interactions. Similarly, when glucose was swapped with xylose, the interactions became commensal because Marinobacter HL-58 was supported by metabolites derived from Halomonas HL-48. Each species responded to partnership by changing both its growth and molecular phenotype as assayed via batch growth kinetics and global transcriptomics. These phenotypic responses depended nutrient availability and so the environment ultimately controlled how they responded to each other. This simplified model community revealed that microbial interactions are context-specific and different environmental conditions dictate how interspecies partnerships will unfold.

  20. Plant responses to plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loon, L.C. van

    2007-01-01

    Non-pathogenic soilborne microorganisms can promote plant growth, as well as suppress diseases. Plant growth promotion is taken to result from improved nutrient acquisition or hormonal stimulation. Disease suppression can occur through microbial antagonism or induction of resistance in the plant.

  1. Microbial ecology and genomics: A crossroads of opportunity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stahl, David A. [University of Washington; Tiedje, James M. [Michigan State University

    2002-08-30

    Microbes have dominated life on Earth for most of its 4.5 billionyear history. They are the foundation of the biosphere, controlling the biogeochemical cycles and affecting geology, hydrology, and local and global climates. All life is completely dependent upon them. Humans cannot survive without the rich diversity of microbes, but most microbial species can survive without humans. Extraordinary advances in molecular technology have fostered an explosion of information in microbial biology. It is now known that microbial species in culture poorly represent their natural diversity—which dwarfs conventions established for the visible world. This was revealed over the last decade using newer molecular tools to explore environmental diversity and has sparked an explosive growth in microbial ecology and technologies that may profit from the bounty of natural biochemical diversity. Several colloquia and meetings have helped formulate policy recommendations to enable sustained research programs in these areas. One such colloquium organized by the American Academy of Microbiology (“The Microbial World: Foundation of the Biosphere,” 1997) made two key recommendations: (1) develop a more complete inventory of living organisms and the interagency cooperation needed to accomplish this goal, and (2) develop strategies to harvest this remarkable biological diversity for the benefit of science, technology, and society. Complete genome sequence information was identified as an essential part of strategy development, and the recommendation was made to sequence the genome of at least one species of each of the major divisions of microbial life.

  2. Ablation front rayleigh taylor dispersion curve in indirect drive

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budil, K.S.; Lasinski, B.; Edwards, M.J.; Wan, A.S.; Remington, B.A.; Weber, S.V.; Glendinning, S.G.; Suter, L.; Stry, P.

    2000-01-01

    The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability, which occurs when a lower-density fluid accelerates a higher-density layer, is common in nature. At an ablation front a sharp reduction in the growth rate of the instability at short wave-lengths can occur, in marked contrast to the classical case where growth rates are highest at the shortest wavelengths. Theoretical and numerical investigations of the ablative RT instability are numerous and differ considerably on the level of stabilization expected. We present here the results of a series of laser experiments designed to probe the roll-over and cutoff region of the ablation-front RT dispersion curve in indirect drive. Aluminum foils with imposed sinusoidal perturbations ranging in wavelength from 10 to 70 pm were ablatively accelerated with a radiation drive generated in a gold cylindrical hohlraum. A strong shock wave compresses the package followed by an ∼2 ns period of roughly constant acceleration and the experiment is diagnosed via face-on radiography. Perturbations with wavelengths (ge) 20 (micro)m experienced substantial growth during the acceleration phase while shorter wavelengths showed a sharp drop off in overall growth. These experimental results compared favorably to calculations with a 2-D radiation-hydrodynamics code, however, the growth is significantly affected by the rippled shock launched by the drive. We performed numerical simulations to elucidate the influence of the rippled shock wave on the eventual growth of the perturbations, allowing comparisons to the analytic model developed by Betti et al. This combination of experiments, simulations and analytic modeling illustrates the qualitative simplicity yet quantitative complexity of the compressible RT instability. We have measured the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) dispersion curve for a radiatively-driven sample in a series of experiments on the Nova laser facility. Planar aluminum foils were ablatively-accelerated and the subsequent perturbation growth was

  3. Microbial Therapeutics Designed for Infant Health.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Watkins, Claire

    2017-10-01

    Acknowledgment of the gut microbiome as a vital asset to health has led to multiple studies attempting to elucidate its mechanisms of action. During the first year of life, many factors can cause fluctuation in the developing gut microbiome. Host genetics, maternal health status, mode of delivery, gestational age, feeding regime, and perinatal antibiotic usage, are known factors which can influence the development of the infant gut microbiome. Thus, the microbiome of vaginally born, exclusively breastfed infants at term, with no previous exposure to antibiotics, either directly or indirectly from the mother, is to be considered the "gold standard." Moreover, the use of prebiotics as an aid for the development of a healthy gut microbiome is equally as important in maintaining gut homeostasis. Breastmilk, a natural prebiotic source, provides optimal active ingredients for the growth of beneficial microbial species. However, early life disorders such as necrotising enterocolitis, childhood obesity, and even autism have been associated with an altered\\/disturbed gut microbiome. Subsequently, microbial therapies have been introduced, in addition to suitable prebiotic ingredients, which when administered, may aid in the prevention of a microbial disturbance in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this mini-review is to highlight the beneficial effects of different probiotic and prebiotic treatments in early life, with particular emphasis on the different conditions which negatively impact microbial colonisation at birth.

  4. Microbial Therapeutics Designed for Infant Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire Watkins

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Acknowledgment of the gut microbiome as a vital asset to health has led to multiple studies attempting to elucidate its mechanisms of action. During the first year of life, many factors can cause fluctuation in the developing gut microbiome. Host genetics, maternal health status, mode of delivery, gestational age, feeding regime, and perinatal antibiotic usage, are known factors which can influence the development of the infant gut microbiome. Thus, the microbiome of vaginally born, exclusively breastfed infants at term, with no previous exposure to antibiotics, either directly or indirectly from the mother, is to be considered the “gold standard.” Moreover, the use of prebiotics as an aid for the development of a healthy gut microbiome is equally as important in maintaining gut homeostasis. Breastmilk, a natural prebiotic source, provides optimal active ingredients for the growth of beneficial microbial species. However, early life disorders such as necrotising enterocolitis, childhood obesity, and even autism have been associated with an altered/disturbed gut microbiome. Subsequently, microbial therapies have been introduced, in addition to suitable prebiotic ingredients, which when administered, may aid in the prevention of a microbial disturbance in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this mini-review is to highlight the beneficial effects of different probiotic and prebiotic treatments in early life, with particular emphasis on the different conditions which negatively impact microbial colonisation at birth.

  5. Exploring the link between environmental pollution and economic growth in EU-28 countries: Is there an environmental Kuznets curve?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Armeanu

    Full Text Available This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC, considering the primary energy consumption among other country-specific variables, for a panel of the EU-28 countries during the period 1990-2014. By estimating pooled OLS regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors in order to account for cross-sectional dependence, the results confirm the EKC hypothesis in the case of emissions of sulfur oxides and emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds. In addition to pooled estimations, the output of fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors support the EKC hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption, emissions of nitrogen oxides, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds and emissions of ammonia. Additionally, the empirical findings from panel vector error correction model reveal a short-run unidirectional causality from GDP per capita growth to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a bidirectional causal link between primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since there occurred no causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption, the neo-classical view was confirmed, namely the neutrality hypothesis.

  6. Exploring the link between environmental pollution and economic growth in EU-28 countries: Is there an environmental Kuznets curve?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armeanu, Daniel; Vintilă, Georgeta; Gherghina, Ştefan Cristian; Drăgoi, Mihaela Cristina; Teodor, Cristian

    2018-01-01

    This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC), considering the primary energy consumption among other country-specific variables, for a panel of the EU-28 countries during the period 1990–2014. By estimating pooled OLS regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors in order to account for cross-sectional dependence, the results confirm the EKC hypothesis in the case of emissions of sulfur oxides and emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds. In addition to pooled estimations, the output of fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors support the EKC hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption, emissions of nitrogen oxides, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds and emissions of ammonia. Additionally, the empirical findings from panel vector error correction model reveal a short-run unidirectional causality from GDP per capita growth to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a bidirectional causal link between primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since there occurred no causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption, the neo-classical view was confirmed, namely the neutrality hypothesis. PMID:29742169

  7. Microbial and sponge loops modify fish production in phase-shifting coral reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveira, Cynthia B; Silva-Lima, Arthur W; Francini-Filho, Ronaldo B; Marques, Jomar S M; Almeida, Marcelo G; Thompson, Cristiane C; Rezende, Carlos E; Paranhos, Rodolfo; Moura, Rodrigo L; Salomon, Paulo S; Thompson, Fabiano L

    2015-10-01

    Shifts from coral to algae dominance of corals reefs have been correlated to fish biomass loss and increased microbial metabolism. Here we investigated reef benthic and planktonic primary production, benthic dissolved organic carbon (DOC) release and bacterial growth efficiency in the Abrolhos Bank, South Atlantic. Benthic DOC release rates are higher while water column bacterial growth efficiency is lower at impacted reefs. A trophic model based on the benthic and planktonic primary production was able to predict the observed relative fish biomass in healthy reefs. In contrast, in impacted reefs, the observed omnivorous fish biomass is higher, while that of the herbivorous/coralivorous fish is lower than predicted by the primary production-based model. Incorporating recycling of benthic-derived carbon in the model through microbial and sponge loops explains the difference and predicts the relative fish biomass in both reef types. Increased benthic carbon release rates and bacterial carbon metabolism, but decreased bacterial growth efficiency could lead to carbon losses through respiration and account for the uncoupling of benthic and fish production in phase-shifting reefs. Carbon recycling by microbial and sponge loops seems to promote an increase of small-bodied fish productivity in phase-shifting coral reefs. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. GDP growth and the yield curvature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Stig Vinther

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the forecastability of GDP growth using information from the term structure of yields. In contrast to previous studies, the paper shows that the curvature of the yield curve contributes with much more forecasting power than the slope of yield curve. The yield curvature also...... predicts bond returns, implying a common element to time-variation in expected bond returns and expected GDP growth....

  9. Time-dependent effect of composted tannery sludge on the chemical and microbial properties of soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Sousa, Ricardo Silva; Santos, Vilma Maria; de Melo, Wanderley Jose; Nunes, Luis Alfredo Pinheiro Leal; van den Brink, Paul J; Araújo, Ademir Sérgio Ferreira

    2017-12-01

    Composting has been suggested as an efficient method for tannery sludge recycling before its application to the soil. However, the application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) should be monitored to evaluate its effect on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. This study evaluated the time-dependent effect of CTS on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. CTS was applied at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha -1 and the soil chemical and microbial properties were evaluated at 0, 45, 75, 150, and 180 days. Increased CTS rates increased the levels of Ca, Cr, and Mg. While Soil pH, organic C, and P increased with the CTS rates initially, this effect decreased over time. Soil microbial biomass, respiration, metabolic quotient, and dehydrogenase increased with the application of CTS, but decreased over time. Analysis of the Principal Response Curve showed a significant effect of CTS rate on the chemical and microbial properties of the soil over time. The weight of each variable indicated that all soil properties, except β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase and microbial quotient, increased due to the CTS application. However, the highest weights were found for Cr, pH, Ca, P, phosphatase and total organic C. The application of CTS in the soil changed the chemical and microbial properties over time, indicating Cr, pH, Ca, phosphatase, and soil respiration as the more responsive chemical and microbial variables by CTS application.

  10. Carbon use efficiency (CUE) and biomass turnover of soil microbial communities as affected by bedrock, land management and soil temperature and moisture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Qing; Hu, Yuntao; Richter, Andreas; Wanek, Wolfgang

    2017-04-01

    Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE), defined as the proportion of organic C taken up that is allocated to microbial growth, represents an important synthetic representation of microbial community C metabolism that describes the flux partitioning between microbial respiration and growth. Therefore, studying microbial CUE is critical for the understanding of soil C cycling. Microbial CUE is thought to vary with environmental conditions (e.g. temperature and soil moisture). Microbial CUE is thought to decrease with increasing temperature and declining soil moisture, as the latter may trigger stress responses (e.g. the synthesis of stress metabolites), which may consequently lower microbial community CUE. However, these effects on microbial CUE have not been adequately measured so far due to methodological restrictions. The most widely used methods for microbial CUE estimation are based on tracing 13C-labeled substrates into microbial biomass and respiratory CO2, approaches that are known to overestimate microbial CUE of native organic matter in soil. Recently, a novel substrate-independent approach based on the measurement of (i) respiration rates and (ii) the incorporation rates of 18O from labelled water into newly formed microbial DNA has been developed in our laboratory for measuring microbial CUE. This approach overcomes the shortcomings of previously used methods and has already been shown to yield realistic estimations of soil microbial CUE. This approach can also be applied to concurrently measure microbial biomass turnover rates, which also influence the sequestration of soil organic C. Microbial turnover rates are also thought to be impacted by environmental factors, but rarely have been directly measured so far. Here, we aimed at determining the short-term effects of environmental factors (soil temperature and soil moisture) on microbial CUE and microbial biomass turnover rates based on the novel 18O approach. Soils from three land-use types (arable

  11. Quantitative comparison of the in situ microbial communities in different biomes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, D.C. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States)]|[Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Ringelberg, D.B.; Palmer, R.J. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States). Center for Environmental Biotechnology

    1995-12-31

    A system to define microbial communities in different biomes requires the application of non-traditional methodology. Classical microbiological methods have severe limitations for the analysis of environmental samples. Pure-culture isolation, biochemical testing, and/or enumeration by direct microscopic counting are not well suited for the estimation of total biomass or the assessment of community composition within environmental samples. Such methods provide little insight into the in situ phenotypic activity of the extant microbiota since these techniques are dependent on microbial growth and thus select against many environmental microorganisms which are non- culturable under a wide range of conditions. It has been repeatedly documented in the literature that viable counts or direct counts of bacteria attached to sediment grains are difficult to quantitative and may grossly underestimate the extent of the existing community. The traditional tests provide little indication of the in situ nutritional status or for evidence of toxicity within the microbial community. A more recent development (MIDI Microbial Identification System), measure free and ester-linked fatty acids from isolated microorganisms. Bacterial isolates are identified by comparing their fatty acid profiles to the MIKI database which contains over 8000 entries. The application of the MIKI system to the analysis of environmental samples however, has significant drawbacks. The MIDI system was developed to identify clinical microorganisms and requires their isolation and culture on trypticase soy agar at 27{degrees}C. Since many isolates are unable to grow at these restrictive growth conditions, the system does not lend itself to identification of some environmental organisms. A more applicable methodology for environmental microbial analysis is based on the liquid extrication and separation of microbial lipids from environmental samples, followed by quantitative analysis using gas chromatography/

  12. Structure of S-shaped growth in innovation diffusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimogawa, Shinsuke; Shinno, Miyuki; Saito, Hiroshi

    2012-05-01

    A basic question on innovation diffusion is why the growth curve of the adopter population in a large society is often S shaped. From macroscopic, microscopic, and mesoscopic viewpoints, the growth of the adopter population is observed as the growth curve, individual adoptions, and differences among individual adoptions, respectively. The S shape can be explained if an empirical model of the growth curve can be deduced from models of microscopic and mesoscopic structures. However, even the structure of growth curve has not been revealed yet because long-term extrapolations by proposed models of S-shaped curves are unstable and it has been very difficult to predict the long-term growth and final adopter population. This paper studies the S-shaped growth from the viewpoint of social regularities. Simple methods to analyze power laws enable us to extract the structure of the growth curve directly from the growth data of recent basic telecommunication services. This empirical model of growth curve is singular at the inflection point and a logarithmic function of time after this point, which explains the unstable extrapolations obtained using previously proposed models and the difficulty in predicting the final adopter population. Because the empirical S curve can be expressed in terms of two power laws of the regularity found in social performances of individuals, we propose the hypothesis that the S shape represents the heterogeneity of the adopter population, and the heterogeneity parameter is distributed under the regularity in social performances of individuals. This hypothesis is so powerful as to yield models of microscopic and mesoscopic structures. In the microscopic model, each potential adopter adopts the innovation when the information accumulated by the learning about the innovation exceeds a threshold. The accumulation rate of information is heterogeneous among the adopter population, whereas the threshold is a constant, which is the opposite of previously

  13. A New Method for Re-Analyzing Evaluation Bias: Piecewise Growth Curve Modeling Reveals an Asymmetry in the Evaluation of Pro and Con Arguments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens Jirschitzka

    Full Text Available In four studies we tested a new methodological approach to the investigation of evaluation bias. The usage of piecewise growth curve modeling allowed for investigation into the impact of people's attitudes on their persuasiveness ratings of pro- and con-arguments, measured over the whole range of the arguments' polarity from an extreme con to an extreme pro position. Moreover, this method provided the opportunity to test specific hypotheses about the course of the evaluation bias within certain polarity ranges. We conducted two field studies with users of an existing online information portal (Studies 1a and 2a as participants, and two Internet laboratory studies with mostly student participants (Studies 1b and 2b. In each of these studies we presented pro- and con-arguments, either for the topic of MOOCs (massive open online courses, Studies 1a and 1b or for the topic of M-learning (mobile learning, Studies 2a and 2b. Our results indicate that using piecewise growth curve models is more appropriate than simpler approaches. An important finding of our studies was an asymmetry of the evaluation bias toward pro- or con-arguments: the evaluation bias appeared over the whole polarity range of pro-arguments and increased with more and more extreme polarity. This clear-cut result pattern appeared only on the pro-argument side. For the con-arguments, in contrast, the evaluation bias did not feature such a systematic picture.

  14. Impact of metal pollution and Thlaspi caerulescens growth on soil microbial communities.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Epelde, L.; Becerril, J.M.; Kowalchuk, G.A.; Deng, Y.; Zhou, J.; Garbisu, C.

    2010-01-01

    been proposed as indicators of soil functioning, making them potentially useful in evaluating the recovery of polluted soils via phytoremediation strategies. To evaluate microbial responses to metal phytoextraction using hyperaccumulators, a microcosm experiment was carried out to study the impacts

  15. Supplementary Material for: Growth curve registration for evaluating salinity tolerance in barley

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui; Saade, Stephanie; Kurtek, Sebastian; Berger, Bettina; Brien, Chris; Pillen, Klaus; Tester, Mark A.; Sun, Ying

    2017-01-01

    of HEB-25 barley families and the commercial variety, Navigator. We account for the spatial variation in smarthouse microclimates and in temporal variation across phenotyping runs using a functional ANOVA model to derive corrected FSS curves. From FSS, we

  16. Contributions to the R-curve behaviour of ceramic materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fett, T.

    1994-12-01

    Several ceramic materials show an increase in crack growth resistance with increasing crack extension. Especially, in case of coarse-grained alumina this ''R-curve effect'' is caused by crack-face interactions in the wake of the advancing crack. Similar effects occur for whisker reinforced ceramics. Due to the crack-face interactions so-called ''bridging stresses'' are generated which transfer forces between the two crack surfaces. A second reason for an increase of crack-growth resistance are stress-induced phase transformations in zirconia ceramics with the tetragonal phase changing to the monoclinic phase. These transformations will affect the stress field in the surroundings of crack tips. The transformation generates a crack-tip transformation zone and, due to the stress balance, also residual stresses in the whole crack region which result in a residual stress intensity factor. This additional stress intensity factor is also a reason for the R-curve behaviour. In this report both effects are outlined in detail. (orig.) [de

  17. The evolution of the environmental Kuznets curve concept: The review of the research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ginevičius Romualdas

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to describe the evolution of the environmental Kuznets curve, from its origin up to its present status, and to systemise the results of the empirical studies of the relationship between the emissions of greenhouse gases and economic growth. The environmental Kuznets curve indicates that at the early stages of economic growth, pollution increases with the growing use of resources, but when a certain level of income per capita is reached, the trend reverses so that, at a higher development stage, further economic growth leads to the improvement of the environment. The paper starts with a description of the most influential theories of the environmental economics that helps to highlight an effective environmental approach. The article may be useful for scientists and policy makers, analysing the trends of the economic development of various countries and the problems of the relationship between the environmental indicators and economic growth.

  18. Effect of sulfur supplements on cellulolytic rumen micro-organisms and microbial protein synthesis in cattle fed a high fibre diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McSweeney, C S; Denman, S E

    2007-11-01

    To examine the effect of sulfur-containing compounds on the growth of anaerobic rumen fungi and the fibrolytic rumen bacteria Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Fibrobacter succinogenes in pure culture and within the cattle rumen. The effect of two reduced sulfur compounds, 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) or 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid as the sole S source on growth of pure fibroyltic fungal and bacterial cultures showed that these compounds were capable of sustaining growth. An in vivo trial was then conducted to determine the effect of sulfur supplements (MPA and sodium sulfate) on microbial population dynamics in cattle fed the roughage Dichanthium aristatum. Real-time PCR showed significant increases in fibrolytic bacterial and fungal populations when cattle were supplemented with these compounds. Sulfate supplementation leads to an increase in dry matter intake without a change in whole tract dry matter digestibility. Supplementation of low S-containing diets with either sodium sulfate or MPA stimulates microbial growth with an increase in rumen microbial protein supply to the animal. Through the use of real-time PCR monitoring, a better understanding of the effect of S supplementation on discrete microbial populations within the rumen is provided.

  19. Flood management: prediction of microbial contamination in large-scale floods in urban environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jonathon; Lai, Ka Man; Davies, Mike; Clifton, David; Ridley, Ian; Biddulph, Phillip

    2011-07-01

    With a changing climate and increased urbanisation, the occurrence and the impact of flooding is expected to increase significantly. Floods can bring pathogens into homes and cause lingering damp and microbial growth in buildings, with the level of growth and persistence dependent on the volume and chemical and biological content of the flood water, the properties of the contaminating microbes, and the surrounding environmental conditions, including the restoration time and methods, the heat and moisture transport properties of the envelope design, and the ability of the construction material to sustain the microbial growth. The public health risk will depend on the interaction of these complex processes and the vulnerability and susceptibility of occupants in the affected areas. After the 2007 floods in the UK, the Pitt review noted that there is lack of relevant scientific evidence and consistency with regard to the management and treatment of flooded homes, which not only put the local population at risk but also caused unnecessary delays in the restoration effort. Understanding the drying behaviour of flooded buildings in the UK building stock under different scenarios, and the ability of microbial contaminants to grow, persist, and produce toxins within these buildings can help inform recovery efforts. To contribute to future flood management, this paper proposes the use of building simulations and biological models to predict the risk of microbial contamination in typical UK buildings. We review the state of the art with regard to biological contamination following flooding, relevant building simulation, simulation-linked microbial modelling, and current practical considerations in flood remediation. Using the city of London as an example, a methodology is proposed that uses GIS as a platform to integrate drying models and microbial risk models with the local building stock and flood models. The integrated tool will help local governments, health authorities

  20. [Influence of PCR cycle number on microbial diversity analysis through next generation sequencing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yunhe; Gao, Lijuan; Li, Junbo; Tian, Yanjie; Wang, Jinlong; Zheng, Xuejuan; Wu, Huijuan

    2016-08-25

    Using of high throughput sequencing technology to study the microbial diversity in complex samples has become one of the hottest issues in the field of microbial diversity research. In this study, the soil and sheep rumen chyme samples were used to extract DNA, respectively. Then the 25 ng total DNA was used to amplify the 16S rRNA V3 region with 20, 25, 30 PCR cycles, and the final sequencing library was constructed by mixing equal amounts of purified PCR products. Finally, the operational taxonomic unit (OUT) amount, rarefaction curve, microbial number and species were compared through data analysis. It was found that at the same amount of DNA template, the proportion of the community composition was not the best with more numbers of PCR cycle, although the species number was much more. In all, when the PCR cycle number is 25, the number of species and proportion of the community composition were the most optimal both in soil or chyme samples.

  1. Effects of diets containing different concentrations of mannanoligosaccharide or antibiotics on growth performance, intestinal development, cecal and litter microbial populations, and carcass parameters of broilers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baurhoo, B; Ferket, P R; Zhao, X

    2009-11-01

    The effects of 2 levels of mannanoligosaccharide (MOS) in feed were compared with antibiotic growth promoters on growth performance, intestinal morphology, cecal and litter microbial populations, and carcass parameters in broilers raised in a sanitary environment. Dietary treatments included: 1) antibiotic growth promoter-free diet (control), 2) VIRG (diet 1 + 16.5 mg/kg of virginiamycin), 3) BACT (diet 1 + 55 mg/kg of bacitracin), 4) LMOS (diet 1 + 0.2% MOS), and 5) HMOS (diet 1 + 0.5% MOS). Birds were randomly assigned to 3 replicate pens/treatment (n = 55/pen). Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly throughout 38 d. At d 14, 24, and 34, a 1-cm segment of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum was used in morphological analysis (n = 9 birds/d per treatment). At the same bird ages, cecal contents were assayed for lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli, whereas litter was analyzed for Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli. Carcass yields (breast fillet and tenders, thigh, drumstick, and wing) were determined at d 38. Body weight, feed conversion, and carcass yields did not differ among treatments. In contrast to birds fed VIRG or BACT, LMOS and HMOS consistently increased (P litter from all treatments were free of Salmonella. At d 14 and 24, cecal E. coli and Campylobacter counts were not different among treatments. In comparison to birds fed control, at d 34, BACT, LMOS, and HMOS significantly reduced (P Litter bacterial counts were not altered by dietary treatments. In conclusion, under conditions of this study, MOS conferred intestinal health benefits to chickens by improving its morphological development and microbial ecology. But, there were no additional benefits of the higher MOS dosage.

  2. Microbial flora analysis for the degradation of beta-cypermethrin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Zhang; Wei, Zhang

    2017-03-01

    In the Xinjiang region of Eurasia, sustained long-term and continuous cropping of cotton over a wide expanse of land is practiced, which requires application of high levels of pyrethroid and other classes of pesticides-resulting in high levels of pesticide residues in the soil. In this study, soil samples were collected from areas of long-term continuous cotton crops with the aim of obtaining microbial resources applicable for remediation of pyrethroid pesticide contamination suitable for the soil type and climate of that area. Soil samples were first used to culture microbial flora capable of degrading beta-cypermethrin using an enrichment culture method. Structural changes and ultimate microbial floral composition during enrichment were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Four strains capable of degrading beta-cypermethrin were isolated and preliminarily classified. Finally, comparative rates and speeds of degradation of beta-cypermethrin between relevant microbial flora and single strains were determined. After continuous subculture for 3 weeks, soil sample microbial flora formed a new type of microbial flora by rapid succession, which showed stable growth by utilizing beta-cypermethrin as the sole carbon source (GXzq). This microbial flora mainly consisted of Pseudomonas, Hyphomicrobium, Dokdonella, and Methyloversatilis. Analysis of the microbial flora also permitted separation of four additional strains; i.e., GXZQ4, GXZQ6, GXZQ7, and GXZQ13 that, respectively, belonged to Streptomyces, Enterobacter, Streptomyces, and Pseudomonas. Under culture conditions of 37 °C and 180 rpm, the degradation rate of beta-cypermethrin by GXzq was as high as 89.84% within 96 h, which exceeded that achieved by the single strains GXZQ4, GXZQ6, GXZQ7, and GXZQ13 and their derived microbial flora GXh.

  3. Microbial resistance to antibiotics | Chinedum | African Journal of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Organisms that are normally sensitive to the action of an antibiotic may sometimes develop resistance or insensitivity to it. This, they may do through destroying the antibiotic or by retaining their growth even in the presence of the drug. Microbial resistance to antibiotics is now widespread and poses a serious clinical threat.

  4. Side Effects of Nitrification Inhibitors on Non Target Microbial Processes in Soils

    OpenAIRE

    Johannes Carl Gottlieb Ottow; Gero Benckiser; Ferisman Tindaon

    2011-01-01

    Agricultural chemicals have been used extensively in modern agriculture and toxicological studies suggest a great potential for inducing undesirable effects on non target organisms. A model experiment was conducted in order to determine side effects of three nitrification inhibitors (NIs, 3,4dimethylpyrazolephosphate = DMPP, 4-Chlormethylpyrazole phosphate = ClMPP and dicyandiamide = DCD) on non target microbial processes in soils. Side effects and dose response curve of three NIs were quanti...

  5. High throughput nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry screening of microbial growth conditions for maximal β-glucosidase production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Xiaoliang; Hiras, Jennifer; Deng, Kai; Bowen, Benjamin; Simmons, Blake A; Adams, Paul D; Singer, Steven W; Northen, Trent R

    2013-01-01

    Production of biofuels via enzymatic hydrolysis of complex plant polysaccharides is a subject of intense global interest. Microbial communities are known to express a wide range of enzymes necessary for the saccharification of lignocellulosic feedstocks and serve as a powerful reservoir for enzyme discovery. However, the growth temperature and conditions that yield high cellulase activity vary widely, and the throughput to identify optimal conditions has been limited by the slow handling and conventional analysis. A rapid method that uses small volumes of isolate culture to resolve specific enzyme activity is needed. In this work, a high throughput nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS)-based approach was developed for screening a thermophilic cellulolytic actinomycete, Thermobispora bispora, for β-glucosidase production under various growth conditions. Media that produced high β-glucosidase activity were found to be I/S + glucose or microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), Medium 84 + rolled oats, and M9TE + MCC at 45°C. Supernatants of cell cultures grown in M9TE + 1% MCC cleaved 2.5 times more substrate at 45°C than at all other temperatures. While T. bispora is reported to grow optimally at 60°C in Medium 84 + rolled oats and M9TE + 1% MCC, approximately 40% more conversion was observed at 45°C. This high throughput NIMS approach may provide an important tool in discovery and characterization of enzymes from environmental microbes for industrial and biofuel applications.

  6. High throughput nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry screening of microbial growth conditions for maximal β-glucosidase production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoliang eCheng

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Production of biofuels via enzymatic hydrolysis of complex plant polysaccharides is a subject of intense global interest. Microbial communities are known to express a wide range of enzymes necessary for the saccharification of lignocellulosic feedstocks and serve as a powerful reservoir for enzyme discovery. However, the growth temperature and conditions that yield high cellulase activity vary widely, and the throughput to identify optimal conditions has been limited by the slow handling and conventional analysis. A rapid method that uses small volumes of isolate culture to resolve specific enzyme activity is needed. In this work, a high throughput nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS based approach was developed for screening a thermophilic cellulolytic actinomycete, Thermobispora bispora, for β-glucosidase production under various growth conditions. Media that produced high β-glucosidase activity were found to be I/S + glucose or microcrystalline cellulose (MCC, Medium 84 + rolled oats, and M9TE + MCC at 45 °C. Supernatants of cell cultures grown in M9TE + 1% MCC cleaved 2.5 times more substrate at 45 °C than at all other temperatures. While T. bispora is reported to grow optimally at 60 °C in Medium 84 + rolled oats and M9TE + 1% MCC, approximately 40% more conversion was observed at 45 °C. This high throughput NIMS approach may provide an important tool in discovery and characterization of enzymes from environmental microbes for industrial and biofuel applications.

  7. Utilization of Alternate Chirality Enantiomers in Microbial Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pikuta, Elena V.; Hoover, Richard B.

    2010-01-01

    Our previous study of chirality led to interesting findings for some anaerobic extremophiles: the ability to metabolize substrates with alternate chirality enantiomers of amino acids and sugars. We have subsequently found that not just separate microbial species or strains but entire microbial communities have this ability. The functional division within a microbial community on proteo- and sugarlytic links was also reflected in a microbial diet with L-sugars and D-amino acids. Several questions are addressed in this paper. Why and when was this feature developed in a microbial world? Was it a secondary de novo adaptation in a bacterial world? Or is this a piece of genetic information that has been left in modern genomes as an atavism? Is it limited exclusively to prokaryotes, or does this ability also occur in eukaryotes? In this article, we have used a broader approach to study this phenomenon using anaerobic extremophilic strains from our laboratory collection. A series of experiments were performed on physiologically different groups of extremophilic anaerobes (pure and enrichment cultures). The following characteristics were studied: 1) the ability to grow on alternate chirality enantiomers -- L-sugars and D- amino acids; 2) Growth-inhibitory effect of alternate chirality enantiomers; 3) Stickland reaction with alternate chirality amino acids. The results of this research are presented in this paper.

  8. The responses of microbial temperature relationships to seasonal change and winter warming in a temperate grassland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birgander, Johanna; Olsson, Pål Axel; Rousk, Johannes

    2018-01-18

    Microorganisms dominate the decomposition of organic matter and their activities are strongly influenced by temperature. As the carbon (C) flux from soil to the atmosphere due to microbial activity is substantial, understanding temperature relationships of microbial processes is critical. It has been shown that microbial temperature relationships in soil correlate with the climate, and microorganisms in field experiments become more warm-tolerant in response to chronic warming. It is also known that microbial temperature relationships reflect the seasons in aquatic ecosystems, but to date this has not been investigated in soil. Although climate change predictions suggest that temperatures will be mostly affected during winter in temperate ecosystems, no assessments exist of the responses of microbial temperature relationships to winter warming. We investigated the responses of the temperature relationships of bacterial growth, fungal growth, and respiration in a temperate grassland to seasonal change, and to 2 years' winter warming. The warming treatments increased winter soil temperatures by 5-6°C, corresponding to 3°C warming of the mean annual temperature. Microbial temperature relationships and temperature sensitivities (Q 10 ) could be accurately established, but did not respond to winter warming or to seasonal temperature change, despite significant shifts in the microbial community structure. The lack of response to winter warming that we demonstrate, and the strong response to chronic warming treatments previously shown, together suggest that it is the peak annual soil temperature that influences the microbial temperature relationships, and that temperatures during colder seasons will have little impact. Thus, mean annual temperatures are poor predictors for microbial temperature relationships. Instead, the intensity of summer heat-spells in temperate systems is likely to shape the microbial temperature relationships that govern the soil-atmosphere C

  9. Economic Growth and Environmental Quality in the European Union Countries – Is there Evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mazur Anna

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This research empirically explores the relation between carbon dioxide emission and economic growth during the period 1992-2010, using panel data on the European Union countries. Both fixed and random effect models are employed to test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita. While no U-shaped EKC was confirmed empirically for all 28 current EU member states, the graphical analysis demonstrates a justified turning point for CO2 emissions as GDP per capita reaches the level of 23,000 USD. Furthermore, there is a firm empirical ground for the EKC hypothesis based on data from 16 older, relatively high-income EU states. Thus, though not empirically confirmed, there is ample data verifying the existence of the EKC in EU economies.

  10. Income inequality and economic growth¡ª¡ªthe Kuznets curve revisited

    OpenAIRE

    YIN Heng; GONG Liutang; ZOU Heng-fu

    2006-01-01

    In a neoclassical growth framework with a typical political-economy mechanism, this paper reexamines the relationship between the income inequality and economic growth by introducing government spending into the production function and the utility function. It demonstrates that Kuznets famous inverted-U shape relationship between inequality and economic growth will hold the growth rate will be first increasing with the income inequality before the growth rate decreases with inequality.

  11. Effects of dehydration, packaging and irradiation on the microbial and sensory quality of bitter gourd

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, A.S.; Zeb, A.; Alam, S.; Hashim, M.M.; Hashmi, M.S.; Riaz, A.

    2007-01-01

    The research was carried out in the Food Technology Section at Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Peshawar, Pakistan during 2004-05 to study the effect of potassium metabisulphite, packaging and irradiation on the dehydrated bitter gourd. Samples were stored at ambient temperature for a period of three months and analyzed after 15 days of intervals for microbial (Total bacterial count, Total fungal count) and organoleptic (appearance, taste, after-taste, overall acceptability) characteristics. Mean score of taste panel for appearance, taste, after-taste and overall acceptability significantly (p less than 0.05) decreased, while microbial growth significantly (p less than 0.05) increased during storage. Results showed that sample (T5) i.e. (Blanched+0. I% potassium metabisulphite + Dehydrated + Irradiation (3kGy) + Packed) had negligible microbial growth, maintained maximum nutrients stability and best quality characteristics during storage

  12. [New population curves in spanish extremely preterm neonates].

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Muñoz Rodrigo, F; García-Alix Pérez, A; Figueras Aloy, J; Saavedra Santana, P

    2014-08-01

    Most anthropometric reference data for extremely preterm infants used in Spain are outdated and based on non-Spanish populations, or are derived from small hospital-based samples that failed to include neonates of borderline viability. To develop gender-specific, population-based curves for birth weight, length, and head circumference in extremely preterm Caucasian infants, using a large contemporary sample size of Spanish singletons. Anthropometric data from neonates ≤ 28 weeks of gestational age were collected between January 2002 and December 2010 using the Spanish database SEN1500. Gestational age was estimated according to obstetric data (early pregnancy ultrasound). The data were analyzed with the SPSS.20 package, and centile tables were created for males and females using the Cole and Green LMS method. This study presents the first population-based growth curves for extremely preterm infants, including those of borderline viability, in Spain. A sexual dimorphism is evident for all of the studied parameters, starting at early gestation. These new gender-specific and population-based data could be useful for the improvement of growth assessments of extremely preterm infants in our country, for the development of epidemiological studies, for the evaluation of temporal trends, and for clinical or public health interventions seeking to optimize fetal growth. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  13. Characterization of KS-material by means of J-R-curves especially using the partial unloading technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voss, B.; Blauel, J.G.; Schmitt, W.

    1983-01-01

    Essential components of nuclear reactor systems are fabricated from materials of high thoughness to exclude brittle failure. With increasing load, a crack tip will blunt, a plastic zone will be formed, voids may nucleate and coalesce thus initiating stable crack extension when the crack driving parameter, e.g. J, exceeds the initiation value Jsub(i). Further stable crack growth will occur with further increasing J prior to complete failure of the structure. The specific material resistance against crack extension is characterized by J resistance curves Jsub(R)=J(Δa). ASTM provides a standard to determine the initiation toughness Jsub(Ic) from a Jsub(R)-curve [1] and a tentative standard for determining the Jsub(R)-curve by a single specimen test [2]. To generate a Jsub(R)-curve values for the crack driving parameter J and the corresponding stable crack growth Δa have to be measured. Besides the multiple specimen technique [1], the potential drop and especially the partial unloading compliance method [2] are used to measure stable crack growth. Some special problems and some results for pressure vessel steels are discussed in this paper. (orig./RW)

  14. Modification by preirradiation growth conditions of the shoulder of the UV fluence-survival curve of Escherichia coli B/r WP2 thy trp and changes in mutagenic response toward tryptophan prototrophy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doudney, C.O.

    1978-01-01

    The distinct three-section UV fluence-mutation frequency response (MFR) curve demonstrated in Escherichia coli strain B/r WP2 thy trp and its uvrA derivative supports the SOS hypothesis and suggests that trp + revertants can arise either from isolated lesions (1DM) plus SOS induction or from two lesions in proximity (2DM). Preirradiation growth on arabinose instead of glucose converted the fluence-survival curve from highly shouldered to exponential but did not affect the three-section MFR curve. Prestarvation of the uvrA + strain for typtophan, which drastically increases the expanse of the shoulder of the survival curve, greatly decreased both 1DM and 2DM. With the uvrA strain the increase in shoulder expanse after typtophan prestarvation was accompanied by greatly increased 2DM but no change in 1DM. Preincubation with chloramphenicol induced an even greater increase in 2DM response than amino acid prestarvation. Nalidixic acid, which prevents DNA accumulation, eliminated the response. (Auth.)

  15. Microbial community composition affects soil fungistasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Boer, Wietse; Verheggen, Patrick; Klein Gunnewiek, Paulien J A; Kowalchuk, George A; van Veen, Johannes A

    2003-02-01

    Most soils inhibit fungal germination and growth to a certain extent, a phenomenon known as soil fungistasis. Previous observations have implicated microorganisms as the causal agents of fungistasis, with their action mediated either by available carbon limitation (nutrient deprivation hypothesis) or production of antifungal compounds (antibiosis hypothesis). To obtain evidence for either of these hypotheses, we measured soil respiration and microbial numbers (as indicators of nutrient stress) and bacterial community composition (as an indicator of potential differences in the composition of antifungal components) during the development of fungistasis. This was done for two fungistatic dune soils in which fungistasis was initially fully or partly relieved by partial sterilization treatment or nutrient addition. Fungistasis development was measured as restriction of the ability of the fungi Chaetomium globosum, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Trichoderma harzianum to colonize soils. Fungistasis did not always reappear after soil treatments despite intense competition for carbon, suggesting that microbial community composition is important in the development of fungistasis. Both microbial community analysis and in vitro antagonism tests indicated that the presence of pseudomonads might be essential for the development of fungistasis. Overall, the results lend support to the antibiosis hypothesis.

  16. Sequestered Alkaloid Defenses in the Dendrobatid Poison Frog Oophaga pumilio Provide Variable Protection from Microbial Pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovey, Kyle J; Seiter, Emily M; Johnson, Erin E; Saporito, Ralph A

    2018-03-01

    Most amphibians produce their own defensive chemicals; however, poison frogs sequester their alkaloid-based defenses from dietary arthropods. Alkaloids function as a defense against predators, and certain types appear to inhibit microbial growth. Alkaloid defenses vary considerably among populations of poison frogs, reflecting geographic differences in availability of dietary arthropods. Consequently, environmentally driven differences in frog defenses may have significant implications regarding their protection against pathogens. While natural alkaloid mixtures in dendrobatid poison frogs have recently been shown to inhibit growth of non-pathogenic microbes, no studies have examined the effectiveness of alkaloids against microbes that infect these frogs. Herein, we examined how alkaloid defenses in the dendrobatid poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, affect growth of the known anuran pathogens Aeromonas hydrophila and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Frogs were collected from five locations throughout Costa Rica that are known to vary in their alkaloid profiles. Alkaloids were isolated from individual skins, and extracts were assayed against both pathogens. Microbe subcultures were inoculated with extracted alkaloids to create dose-response curves. Subsequent spectrophotometry and cell counting assays were used to assess growth inhibition. GC-MS was used to characterize and quantify alkaloids in frog extracts, and our results suggest that variation in alkaloid defenses lead to differences in inhibition of these pathogens. The present study provides the first evidence that alkaloid variation in a dendrobatid poison frog is associated with differences in inhibition of anuran pathogens, and offers further support that alkaloid defenses in poison frogs confer protection against both pathogens and predators.

  17. Spontaneous growth in growth hormone deficiency from birth until 7 years of age: development of disease-specific growth curves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, M; Schmitt, K; Kapelari, K; Frisch, H; Köstl, G; Voigt, M

    2010-01-01

    Little is known about spontaneous growth of growth hormone (GH)-deficient children during infancy and childhood. Retrospectively, we calculated disease-specific pretreatment percentiles for height, weight, BMI and growth velocity of 113 GH-deficient boys and 41 GH-deficient girls from birth until 7 years of age, by mean and standard deviation. Infants with idiopathic GH deficiency (GHD) grow in disease-specific percentile channels. There is a significant difference in length and weight from birth onward compared to regional reference (pgrowth velocity, despite a wide variance in the first years, so height deficit became more evident with increasing age. GHD is a congenital disease no matter when height deficit becomes clinically evident, because GH-deficient children grow in disease-specific percentile channels with a highly significantly reduced length and weight, which demonstrates that GH is essential for adequate growth in infancy and early childhood. Copyright (c) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Insights into environmental controls on microbial communities in a continental serpentinite aquifer using a microcosm-based approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespo-Medina, Melitza; Twing, Katrina I; Kubo, Michael D Y; Hoehler, Tori M; Cardace, Dawn; McCollom, Tom; Schrenk, Matthew O

    2014-01-01

    Geochemical reactions associated with serpentinization alter the composition of dissolved organic compounds in circulating fluids and potentially liberate mantle-derived carbon and reducing power to support subsurface microbial communities. Previous studies have identified Betaproteobacteria from the order Burkholderiales and bacteria from the order Clostridiales as key components of the serpentinite-hosted microbiome, however there is limited knowledge of their metabolic capabilities or growth characteristics. In an effort to better characterize microbial communities, their metabolism, and factors limiting their activities, microcosm experiments were designed with fluids collected from several monitoring wells at the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO) in northern California during expeditions in March and August 2013. The incubations were initiated with a hydrogen atmosphere and a variety of carbon sources (carbon dioxide, methane, acetate, and formate), with and without the addition of nutrients and electron acceptors. Growth was monitored by direct microscopic counts; DNA yield and community composition was assessed at the end of the 3 month incubation. For the most part, results indicate that bacterial growth was favored by the addition of acetate and methane, and that the addition of nutrients and electron acceptors had no significant effect on microbial growth, suggesting no nutrient- or oxidant-limitation. However, the addition of sulfur amendments led to different community compositions. The dominant organisms at the end of the incubations were closely related to Dethiobacter sp. and to the family Comamonadaceae, which are also prominent in culture-independent gene sequencing surveys. These experiments provide one of first insights into the biogeochemical dynamics of the serpentinite subsurface environment and will facilitate experiments to trace microbial activities in serpentinizing ecosystems.

  19. Non-protein nitrogen utilization and microbial synthesis in the rumen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abou Akkada, A.R.; El-Shazly, K.

    1976-01-01

    The distinction between bacterial and protozoal proteins in the rumen has been a difficult task. The use of diaminopimelic acid (DAP) as a marker for bacterial protein and 2-aminoethanephosphonic acid (AEP) for protozoal protein has been examined in the present studies in sheep fed on a semi-purified diet. The microbial protein predicted from DAP and AEP determination was similar to that obtained by the precipitation of proteins. From rates of VFA determination by the in vitro zero-time rate technique, and from measurements of rumen volume using Cr-EDTA colour determination at 550 nm, the total VFA production in 24 h could be calculated, and the ATP generated (mol/day) was calculated using Baldwin and co-workers' transformation value of 2.44. The yield of microbial cells (g/mol ATP) was found to be 28.15, similar to that suggested by Hobson and Summers and Gunzalus and Schuster. Using a sheep double-fistulated in the duodenum proximal to the pyloric sphincter, and blocking the path of the abomasal fluid by inserting an inflated baloon in the second fistula, the abomasal fluid could be collected for 12 h. The total microbial-N as predicted from DAP and AEP was approximately similar to the total non-ammonia-N in the abomasal digesta. It could be concluded that DAP and AEP determination could be used within reasonable limits to differentiate between bacterial and protozoal proteins. A good agreement was found between rates of outflow of the rumen digesta and microbial growth (percentage hourly) as measured by different techniques. The agreement between values of microbial growth rates and rates of outflow of digesta from the rumen with the differences between production and absorption of VFA is an indication of the validity of the techniques employed in the present studies. (author)

  20. Comparison of NCHS, CDC, and WHO curves in children with cardiovascular risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Grasiela Junges de; Barbiero, Sandra Mari; Cesa, Claudia Ciceri; Pellanda, Lucia Campos

    2013-01-01

    The study aimed to compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity according to three growth curves, created by the World Health Organization (WHO/2006), by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS/1977), and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/2000) in children with cardiovascular risk factors. Data from 118 children and adolescents, aged between 2 and 19 years, treated between the years 2001 to 2009 at the Pediatric Preventive Cardiology Outpatient Clinic of the Instituto de Cardiologia de Porto Alegre were evaluated. The variables analyzed were: weight, height, age, and gender. Variables were classified according to the following criteria: weight/age, height/age, and body mass index (BMI). The cutoff points used were obtained from the three growth curves: WHO/2006, NCHS/1977, and CDC/2000. Regarding the criterion weight/age by the NCHS curve, 18% of the children were classified as having normal weight, and 82% had excess weight; by the CDC curve, 28% had normal and 72% had excess weight; by the WHO curve, 16.0% had normal weight and 84% had excess weight. According to the BMI, 0.8% of the population was underweight. According to the CDC and WHO curves, 7.6% and 6.8% had normal weight; 26.3% and 11.9% were overweight; and 65.3% and 80.5% were obese, respectively. Regarding the height/age criterion, there was no significant difference between the references and, on average, 98.3% of the population showed adequate height for age. The new WHO curves are more sensitive to identify obesity in a population at risk, which has important implications for preventive and therapeutic management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  1. Predicting the microbial exposure risks in urban floods using GIS, building simulation, and microbial models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jonathon; Biddulph, Phillip; Davies, Michael; Lai, Ka man

    2013-01-01

    London is expected to experience more frequent periods of intense rainfall and tidal surges, leading to an increase in the risk of flooding. Damp and flooded dwellings can support microbial growth, including mould, bacteria, and protozoa, as well as persistence of flood-borne microorganisms. The amount of time flooded dwellings remain damp will depend on the duration and height of the flood, the contents of the flood water, the drying conditions, and the building construction, leading to particular properties and property types being prone to lingering damp and human pathogen growth or persistence. The impact of flooding on buildings can be simulated using Heat Air and Moisture (HAM) models of varying complexity in order to understand how water can be absorbed and dry out of the building structure. This paper describes the simulation of the drying of building archetypes representative of the English building stock using the EnergyPlus based tool 'UCL-HAMT' in order to determine the drying rates of different abandoned structures flooded to different heights and during different seasons. The results are mapped out using GIS in order to estimate the spatial risk across London in terms of comparative flood vulnerability, as well as for specific flood events. Areas of South and East London were found to be particularly vulnerable to long-term microbial exposure following major flood events. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. An analysis on the environmental Kuznets curve of Chengdu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Zijian; Peng, Yue; Zhao, Yue

    2017-12-01

    In this paper based on the environmental and economic data of Chengdu from 2005 to 2014, the measurement models were established to analyze 3 kinds of environmental flow indicators and 4 kinds of environmental stock indicators to obtain their EKC evolution trajectories and characters. The results show that the relationship curve between the discharge of SO2 from industry and the GDP per capita is a positive U shape, just as the curve between discharge of COD from industry and the GDP per person. The relationship curve between the dust discharge from industry and the GDP per capita is an inverted N shape. In the central of the urban the relationship curve between the concentration of SO2 in the air and the GDP per person is a positive U shape. The relationship curves between the concentration of NO2 in the air and the GDP per person, between the concentration of the particulate matters and the GDP per person, and between the concentration of the fallen dusts and the GDP per person are fluctuating. So the EKC curves of the 7 kinds of environmental indicators are not accord with inverted U shape feature. In the development of this urban the environmental problems can’t be resolved only by economic growth. The discharge of industrial pollutants should be controlled to improve the atmospheric environmental quality and reduce the environmental risks.

  3. Contribution on the study of microbial effects on the leaching of radionuclides embedded in nuclear waste engineered barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spor, H.

    1994-05-01

    The aim of this work is to study the different interactions mechanisms between microorganisms and radioelements in conditions similar to those of a radioactive waste disposal site and to determine all the mechanisms due to microbial effects on the leaching of radionuclides embedded in nuclear waste engineered barriers. In this work are presented the different following points: - a bibliographic study on the microorganisms-radioelements interactions; - the conditions of metabolites production during the microbial growth (influence of the nature of the carbonated source, pH effects, aerobiosis conditions...); the mechanisms of a direct effect for determining the importance of the bio-sorption mechanism by microorganisms; the fact that the microbial biomass can strongly interact with actinides, heavy metals and radioelements; the effects of microorganisms on storage materials (cement and clay) containing radioelements (uranium, cesium); the complexation capacities of the organic and mineral acids produced during the microbial growth. (O.M.)

  4. Rhizosphere effect of colonizer plant species on the development of soil microbial community during primary succession on postmining sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elhottova, D.; Kristufek, V.; Maly, S.; Frouz, J. [Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic). Inst. for Soil Biology

    2009-07-01

    The impact of pioneer plant species Tussilago farfara on structural, functional, and growth characterization of microbial community colonizing the spoil colliery substrate was studied in a laboratory microcosm experiment. Microcosms consisting of spoil substrate (0.7 dm{sup 3} of tertiary alkaline clay sediment from Sokolov brown-coal mine area) from a pioneer site (without vegetation, 5 years after heaping) were cultivated in a greenhouse with one plant of this species. Plant roots substantially increased microbial diversity and biomass after one season (7 months) of cultivation. Roots influenced the microbial community and had nearly twice the size, higher growth, and metabolic potential in comparison to the control. The development of microbial specialists improves the plant nutrient status. Bacterial nitrogen (N{sub 2}) fixators (Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Rhizobium radiobacter) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were confirmed in the rhizosphere of Tussilago farfara.

  5. Microbial safety assessment of recreation water at Lake Nabugabo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    EJIRO

    Key words: Lake Nabugabo, microbial safety assessment, recreation water, water quality. ... the environment is favourable for growth (Jaiani et al., ... Swimming and bathing in inland waters are recognized .... in India. This can be attributed to variation in number of recreational users and the frequency of use of the various.

  6. Synthetic microbial ecology and the dynamic interplay between microbial genotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolinšek, Jan; Goldschmidt, Felix; Johnson, David R

    2016-11-01

    Assemblages of microbial genotypes growing together can display surprisingly complex and unexpected dynamics and result in community-level functions and behaviors that are not readily expected from analyzing each genotype in isolation. This complexity has, at least in part, inspired a discipline of synthetic microbial ecology. Synthetic microbial ecology focuses on designing, building and analyzing the dynamic behavior of ‘ecological circuits’ (i.e. a set of interacting microbial genotypes) and understanding how community-level properties emerge as a consequence of those interactions. In this review, we discuss typical objectives of synthetic microbial ecology and the main advantages and rationales of using synthetic microbial assemblages. We then summarize recent findings of current synthetic microbial ecology investigations. In particular, we focus on the causes and consequences of the interplay between different microbial genotypes and illustrate how simple interactions can create complex dynamics and promote unexpected community-level properties. We finally propose that distinguishing between active and passive interactions and accounting for the pervasiveness of competition can improve existing frameworks for designing and predicting the dynamics of microbial assemblages.

  7. Dietary nisin modulates the gastrointestinal microbial ecology and enhances growth performance of the broiler chickens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damian Józefiak

    Full Text Available Due to antimicrobial properties, nisin is one of the most commonly used and investigated bacteriocins for food preservation. Surprisingly, nisin has had limited use in animal feed as well as there are only few reports on its influence on microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT. The present study therefore aimed at investigating effects of dietary nisin on broiler chicken GIT microbial ecology and performance in comparison to salinomycin, the widely used ionophore coccidiostat. In total, 720 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks were randomly distributed to six experimental groups. The positive control (PC diet was supplemented with salinomycin (60 mg/kg. The nisin (NI diets were supplemented with increasing levels (100, 300, 900 and 2700 IU nisin/g, respectively of the bacteriocin. The negative control (NC diet contained no additives. At slaughter (35 days of age, activity of specific bacterial enzymes (α- and β-glucosidases, α-galactosidases and β-glucuronidase in crop, ileum and caeca were significantly higher (P<0.05 in the NC group, and nisin supplementation decreased the enzyme activities to levels observed for the PC group. A similar inhibitory influence on bacterial activity was reflected in the levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA and putrefactive SCFA (PSCFA in digesta from crop and ileum; no effect was observed in caeca. Counts of Bacteroides and Enterobacteriacae in ileum digesta were significantly (P<0.001 decreased by nisin and salinomycin, but no effects were observed on the counts of Clostridium perfringens, Lactobacillus/Enterococcus and total bacteria. Like salinomycin, nisin supplementation improved broiler growth performance in a dose-dependent manner; compared to the NC group, the body weight gain of the NI₉₀₀ and NI₂₇₀₀ groups was improved by 4.7 and 8.7%, respectively. Our findings suggest that dietary nisin exerts a mode of action similar to salinomycin and could be considered as a dietary

  8. Nonlinear Growth Models as Measurement Models: A Second-Order Growth Curve Model for Measuring Potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeish, Daniel; Dumas, Denis

    2017-01-01

    Recent methodological work has highlighted the promise of nonlinear growth models for addressing substantive questions in the behavioral sciences. In this article, we outline a second-order nonlinear growth model in order to measure a critical notion in development and education: potential. Here, potential is conceptualized as having three components-ability, capacity, and availability-where ability is the amount of skill a student is estimated to have at a given timepoint, capacity is the maximum amount of ability a student is predicted to be able to develop asymptotically, and availability is the difference between capacity and ability at any particular timepoint. We argue that single timepoint measures are typically insufficient for discerning information about potential, and we therefore describe a general framework that incorporates a growth model into the measurement model to capture these three components. Then, we provide an illustrative example using the public-use Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten data set using a Michaelis-Menten growth function (reparameterized from its common application in biochemistry) to demonstrate our proposed model as applied to measuring potential within an educational context. The advantage of this approach compared to currently utilized methods is discussed as are future directions and limitations.

  9. Characterisation of microbial biocoenosis in vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tietz, Alexandra; Kirschner, Alexander; Langergraber, Guenter; Sleytr, Kirsten; Haberl, Raimund

    2007-01-01

    In this study a quantitative description of the microbial biocoenosis in subsurface vertical flow constructed wetlands fed with municipal wastewater was carried out. Three different methods (substrate induced respiration, ATP measurement and fumigation-extraction) were applied to measure the microbial biomass at different depths of planted and unplanted systems. Additionally, bacterial biomass was determined by epifluorescence microscopy and productivity was measured via 14 C leucine incorporation into bacterial biomass. All methods showed that > 50% of microbial biomass and bacterial activity could be found in the first cm and about 95% in the first 10 cm of the filter layer. Bacterial biomass in the first 10 cm of the filter body accounted only for 16-19% of the total microbial biomass. Whether fungi or methodical uncertainties are mainly responsible for the difference between microbial and bacterial biomass remains to be examined. A comparison between the purification performance of planted and unplanted pilot-scale subsurface vertical flow constructed wetlands (PSCWs) showed no significant difference with the exception of the reduction of enterococci. The microbial biomass in all depths of the filter body was also not different in planted and unplanted systems. Compared with data from soils the microbial biomass in the PSCWs was high, although the specific surface area of the used sandy filter material available for biofilm growth was lower, especially in the beginning of the set-up of the PSCWs, due to missing clay and silt fraction

  10. Microgradients of microbial oxygen consumption in a barley rhizosphere model system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Højberg, Ole; Sorensen, J.

    1993-01-01

    A microelectrode technique was used to map the radial distribution of oxygen concentrations and oxygen consumption rates around single roots of 7- day-old barley seedlings. The seedlings were grown in gel-stabilized medium containing a nutrient solution, a soil extract, and an inert polymer. Oxygen...... consumption by microbial respiration in the rhizosphere (30 mm from the root) was determined by using Fick's laws of diffusion and an analytical approach with curve fitting to measured microprofiles of oxygen concentration. A marked increase of microbial respiration...... was observed in the inner 0- to 3-mm-thick, concentric zone around the root (rhizosphere). The volume-specific oxygen consumption rate (specific activity) was thus 30 to 60 times higher in the innermost 0 to 0.01 mm (rhizoplane) than in the bulk medium. The oxygen consumption rate in the root tissue...

  11. Non-linear Growth Models in Mplus and SAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Kevin J.; Ram, Nilam

    2013-01-01

    Non-linear growth curves or growth curves that follow a specified non-linear function in time enable researchers to model complex developmental patterns with parameters that are easily interpretable. In this paper we describe how a variety of sigmoid curves can be fit using the Mplus structural modeling program and the non-linear mixed-effects modeling procedure NLMIXED in SAS. Using longitudinal achievement data collected as part of a study examining the effects of preschool instruction on academic gain we illustrate the procedures for fitting growth models of logistic, Gompertz, and Richards functions. Brief notes regarding the practical benefits, limitations, and choices faced in the fitting and estimation of such models are included. PMID:23882134

  12. Microbial cultures in open globe injuries in southern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arvind; Srinivasan, Renuka; Kaliaperumal, Subashini; Setia, Sajita

    2007-07-01

    To determine the risk factors leading to positive intraocular culture in patients with open globe injury. A prospective interventional study involving 110 eyes of 110 patients of more than 15 years of age, presenting with open globe injury, was undertaken. Emergency repair of the injured globe was done. Prolapsed intraocular tissue or aqueous humour was sent for microbial work up before repair. In endophthalmitis cases intravitreal antibiotics were given according to the antimicrobial sensitivity. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors. Fifty-six patients showed microbial contamination. Bacteria were cultured in 42 patients and fungi in 14 patients. Nineteen patients developed endophthalmitis, of which 18 patients showed microbial growth initially. In univariate analysis, initial visual acuity (8 mm, P 72 h, P 8 mm, P = 0.013) were associated with increased risk of positive microbial culture. Six patients had intraocular foreign body but were culture negative. Age, gender, site of injury and presence of cataract did not significantly affect the culture positivity. Microbial contamination is a risk factor for the development for endophthalmitis. Despite the high frequency of microbial contamination, it develops only in few cases. Systemic antibiotics, virulence of the organism and host factors play a role in the manifestation of endophthalmitis. Prophylaxis with intraocular antibiotics should be strongly considered in cases with poor vision at presentation, larger corneoscleral laceration, delayed surgical intervention and uveal tissue or vitreous prolapse.

  13. Microbial interactions: ecology in a molecular perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braga, Raíssa Mesquita; Dourado, Manuella Nóbrega; Araújo, Welington Luiz

    2016-12-01

    The microorganism-microorganism or microorganism-host interactions are the key strategy to colonize and establish in a variety of different environments. These interactions involve all ecological aspects, including physiochemical changes, metabolite exchange, metabolite conversion, signaling, chemotaxis and genetic exchange resulting in genotype selection. In addition, the establishment in the environment depends on the species diversity, since high functional redundancy in the microbial community increases the competitive ability of the community, decreasing the possibility of an invader to establish in this environment. Therefore, these associations are the result of a co-evolution process that leads to the adaptation and specialization, allowing the occupation of different niches, by reducing biotic and abiotic stress or exchanging growth factors and signaling. Microbial interactions occur by the transference of molecular and genetic information, and many mechanisms can be involved in this exchange, such as secondary metabolites, siderophores, quorum sensing system, biofilm formation, and cellular transduction signaling, among others. The ultimate unit of interaction is the gene expression of each organism in response to an environmental (biotic or abiotic) stimulus, which is responsible for the production of molecules involved in these interactions. Therefore, in the present review, we focused on some molecular mechanisms involved in the microbial interaction, not only in microbial-host interaction, which has been exploited by other reviews, but also in the molecular strategy used by different microorganisms in the environment that can modulate the establishment and structuration of the microbial community. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  14. Assimilable organic carbon (AOC in soil water extracts using Vibrio harveyi BB721 and its implication for microbial biomass.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jincai Ma

    Full Text Available Assimilable organic carbon (AOC is commonly used to measure the growth potential of microorganisms in water, but has not yet been investigated for measuring microbial growth potential in soils. In this study, a simple, rapid, and non-growth based assay to determine AOC in soil was developed using a naturally occurring luminous strain Vibrio harveyi BB721 to determine the fraction of low molecular weight organic carbon in soil water extract. Calibration of the assay was achieved by measuring the luminescence intensity of starved V. harveyi BB721 cells in the late exponential phase with a concentration range from 0 to 800 µg l(-1 glucose (equivalent to 0-16.0 mg glucose C kg(-1 soil with the detection limit of 10 µg l(-1 equivalent to 0.20 mg glucose C kg(-1 soil. Results showed that bioluminescence was proportional to the concentration of glucose added to soil. The luminescence intensity of the cells was highly pH dependent and the optimal pH was about 7.0. The average AOC concentration in 32 soils tested was 2.9±2.2 mg glucose C kg(-1. Our data showed that AOC levels in soil water extracts were significantly correlated (P<0.05 with microbial biomass determined as microbial biomass carbon, indicating that the AOC concentrations determined by the method developed might be a good indicator of soil microbial biomass. Our findings provide a new approach that may be used to determine AOC in environmental samples using a non-growth bioluminescence based assay. Understanding the levels of AOC in soil water extract provides new insights into our ability to estimate the most available carbon pool to bacteria in soil that may be easily assimilated into cells for many metabolic processes and suggest possible the links between AOC, microbial regrowth potential, and microbial biomass in soils.

  15. Interval scanning photomicrography of microbial cell populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casida, L. E., Jr.

    1972-01-01

    A single reproducible area of the preparation in a fixed focal plane is photographically scanned at intervals during incubation. The procedure can be used for evaluating the aerobic or anaerobic growth of many microbial cells simultaneously within a population. In addition, the microscope is not restricted to the viewing of any one microculture preparation, since the slide cultures are incubated separately from the microscope.

  16. Earthworms modify microbial community structure and accelerate maize stover decomposition during vermicomposting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuxiang; Zhang, Yufen; Zhang, Quanguo; Xu, Lixin; Li, Ran; Luo, Xiaopei; Zhang, Xin; Tong, Jin

    2015-11-01

    In the present study, maize stover was vermicomposted with the epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida. The results showed that, during vermicomposting process, the earthworms promoted decomposition of maize stover. Analysis of microbial communities of the vermicompost by high-throughput pyrosequencing showed more complex bacterial community structure in the substrate treated by the earthworms than that in the control group. The dominant microbial genera in the treatment with the earthworms were Pseudoxanthomonas, Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, Streptomyces, Cryptococcus, Guehomyces, and Mucor. Compared to the control group, the relative abundance of lignocellulose degradation microorganisms increased. The results indicated that the earthworms modified the structure of microbial communities during vermicomposting process, activated the growth of lignocellulose degradation microorganisms, and triggered the lignocellulose decomposition.

  17. The effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Hui Xu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The growth of watermelon is often threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon in successively monocultured soil, which results in economic loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon and to explore the relationship between the effect and the incidence of wilt caused by Fon. The results showed that the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase, urease and invertase were increased, the microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP were significantly increased, and the ratio of MBC/MBN was decreased (P<0.05. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the Fon population declined significantly in the watermelon/wheat companion system compared with the monoculture system (P<0.05. The analysis of microbial communities showed that the relative abundance of microbial communities was changed in the rhizosphere of watermelon. Compared with the monoculture system, the relative abundances of Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Sordariomycetes were increased, and the relative abundances of Gammaproteobacteria, Sphingobacteria, Cytophagia, Pezizomycetes, and Eurotiomycetes were decreased in the rhizosphere of watermelon in the watermelon/wheat companion system; importantly, the incidence of Fusarium wilt was also decreased in the watermelon/wheat companion system. In conclusion, this study indicated that D123 wheat as a companion crop increased soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass, decreased the Fon population, and changed the relative abundance of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon, which may be related to the reduction of Fusarium wilt in the watermelon/wheat companion system.

  18. ginger ( Zingiber officinale ) on intestinal, caeca microbial loads and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study using ninety-nine day old Marshal Broiler chicks was conducted to investigate the effect of ginger root meal on growth, carcass and microbial population of broiler birds. The birds were randomly assigned to three treatments replicated three times in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Each treatment consisted ...

  19. Changes in microbial water quality in RAS following altered feed loading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rojas-Tirado, Paula Andrea; Pedersen, Per Bovbjerg; Vadstein, Olav

    2018-01-01

    and inorganic nutrients available for microbial growth in RAS. How these nutrient inputs affect and regulate bacteria in RAS water is, however, unclear. To investigate this relationship and the associated water quality dynamics, the effects of altered feed loading on microbial water quality in RAS was studied....... The study included six independent, identical pilot-scale RAS, each with a total volume of 1.7 m3 (make-up water: 80 L/day) stocked with juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). All systems had been operating with constant and identical feed loading of 3.13 kg feed/m3 make-up water for a period......Intensive recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) with its hyper-eutrophic water offer ideal conditions for bacterial growth, abundance and activity, potentially affecting fish and system performance. Feed composition and feed loading in particular will have significant impact on organic...

  20. Economic Transformation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region: Is It Undergoing the Environmental Kuznets Curve?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lichun Xiong

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region Integration Plan is one of the most important national strategies in China promoting regional economic development. The environmental problems in this region, however, especially air pollution and contaminated groundwater, have enormous influence on the people’s health while also causing economic loss. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the pattern of its environmental and economic development. Panel data in the period 2004–2014 are used to establish an advanced model of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The results indicate that the economic growth and environmental pollution of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region do not completely meet the Environment Kuznets Curve assumptions. The discharge volume of industrial wastewater and economic growth reflect a wave-type relation. The sulfur dioxide discharge volume and economic growth reflect a U-shaped relation; the generated volume of industrial solid wastes and economic growth reflect a reversed N-shaped relation, which is in accordance with the Environmental Kuznets Curve characteristics at the second inflection point. The variables added value of the secondary industry, population size and raw coal consumption volume have a significant positive influence on the discharge of various environmental pollutants in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The analysis provides policy recommendations for the government to develop regional economic and environmental protection policies.