The potential impact of washing machines on laundry malodour generation

A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted to investigate and identify the source of malodour in washing machines and the potential for cross‐contamination of laundry. Four washing machines were olfactively graded, and the number of colony‐forming units (CFUs) bacteria was determined in four specific locations. Then, samples of terry‐towel and fleece were washed, without the use of detergent, in the machines, and the occurrence of malodour over a 52‐h period was assessed. Analysis of the scrapings from the four locations in the two malodorous machines identified a plethora of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by either olfactory detection or mass spectral identification post‐gas chromatographic separation. In addition, microbiological analysis from the swabs from the four locations within all four washing machines was carried out. Quantitative analysis of VOCs from 66 microbiological isolates from either the washing machines or fabrics was carried out. In total, 10 VOCs were identified: dimethyl disulfide, 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol, 2,4‐dithiapentane, dimethyl trisulfide, 2‐tridecanone, indole, 2‐phenylethanol, isovaleric acid, isobutyric acid and 1‐undecene.

Significance and Impact of the Study

The data presented in this study highlight that the environment and odour of the washing machine can lead to cross‐contamination of laundry.     

Further experimental investigations on the formation of plant compression fossils

Experimental work has been conducted on the formation of plant compression fossils using a simple compression apparatus in which actual plant material was compressed in wet sediment. Pressure was applied through a single perforated piston which only allowed the passage of water upwards out of the compacting sediment. Several lines of investigation were followed to establish the principal factors that dictate the form of a plant compression fossil. It is demonstrated that these include the grain size and the compressibility of the sediment, the degree of sediment fill of hollow structures within the plant organ prior to the compression, and finally the rigidity or degree of decay of the plant tissues before the deformation. The results of this work indicate that the horizontal dimensions of the plant organ change during compression. This is directly related to the compressibility of the sediment the plant was buried in; stems buried in clay matrices increased in horizontal dimensions, whereas stems buried in sand matrices underwent reductions in horizontal dimensions. This is associated with the difference in the response of these sediments to the hydrostatic stress that exists within the system during the initial stages of compaction. The results of this experimental study are used to interpret the structure and form of some plant compression fossils.     

Very different performance of the power Doppler modalities of several ultrasound machines ascertained by a microvessel flow phantom

Introduction

In many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) subclinical disease activity can be detected with ultrasound (US), especially using power Doppler US (PDUS). However, PDUS may be highly dependent on the type of machine. This could create problems both in clinical trials and in daily clinical practice. To clarify how the PDUS signal differs between machines we created a microvessel flow phantom.

Methods

The flow phantom contained three microvessels (150, 1000, 2000 microns). A syringe pump was used to generate flows. Five US machines were used. Settings were optimised to assess the lowest detectable flow for each US machine.

Results

The minimal detectable flow velocities showed very large differences between the machines. Only two of the machines may be able to detect the very low flows in the capillaries of inflamed joints. There was no clear relation with price. One of the lower-end machines actually performed best in all three vessel sizes.

Conclusions

We created a flow phantom to test the sensitivity of US machines to very low flows in small vessels. The sensitivity of the power Doppler modalities of 5 different machines was very different. The differences found between the machines are probably caused by fundamental differences in processing of the PD signal or internal settings inaccessible to users. Machines considered for PDUS assessment of RA patients should be tested using a flow phantom similar to ours. Within studies, only a single machine type should be used.     

The effect of macrofauna,meiofauna and microfauna on the degradation of Spartina maritima detritus from a salt marsh area

Decomposition of salt marsh plants results from physical, chemical and biological processes including abiotic and biotic fragmentation, microbial decay and chemical transformation. According to literature data, only a few species have the ability to feed directly on living plant material, so fungi and bacteria seem to be the principal competitors for the organic substrates. Nevertheless, by consuming bacteria, protists and fungi associated to the detritus, macrofauna and meiofauna recycle the incorporated nutrients. Moreover, this nutrient regeneration may be seen as an effective factor in maintaining and stimulating bacterial production. In fact, it is well known that many detritus feeding species have very low assimilation efficiencies. The objective of the present study was to compare the nutrient mass balance of carbon; nitrogen and phosphorus in Spartina maritima covered areas and bare bottom sediment, with and without contribution of macrofauna, meiofauna and microbial populations. Nutrients mass balance was studied taking into account the initial and final nutrient concentrations in the sediment, water and plant material. Faunal activity was measured as a function of remineralised carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. The experimental set-up included sixteen sub-experiments, which varied with respect to type of fauna, plant biomass and oxic status. Each sub-experiment was performed in small glass containers (3 L) containing about 900 g wwt sediment and 2.5 L estuarine water. Plant material, cut from intact plants, sediment cores and estuarine water were brought from the southern arm of the Mondego estuary (Portugal). The results showed that although the bacterial activity was responsible for the Spartina maritima degradation, the presence of meiofauna and macrofauna significantly enhanced the process. Moreover, the presence of Spartina maritima positively affected the mineralisation of the sediment carbon and nitrogen, especially when the three faunal components were present, and denitrification rates were highest in the presence of the macrofauna and meiofauna. The present study suggests that macrofauna and meiofauna have an important role on the ecosystem nutrient flux and that fauna might function as a sink for excess nutrients, that otherwise could be exported to the coastal waters.     

Bacterial type IV secretion: conjugation systems adapted to deliver effector molecules to host cells

Several bacterial pathogens utilize conjugation machines to export effector molecules during infection. Such systems are members of the type IV or 'adapted conjugation' secretion family. The prototypical type IV system is the Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA transfer machine, which delivers oncogenic nucleoprotein particles to plant cells. Other pathogens, including Bordetella pertussis, Legionella pneumophila, Brucellaspp. and Helicobacter pylori, use type IV machines to export effector proteins to the extracellular milieu or the mammalian cell cytosol.     

Prediction of turn types in protein structure by machine-learning classifiers

We present machine learning approaches for turn prediction from the amino acid sequence. Different turn classes and types were considered based on a novel turn classification scheme. We trained an unsupervised (self-organizing map) and two kernel-based classifiers, namely the support vector machine and a probabilistic neural network. Turn versus non-turn classification was carried out for turn families containing intramolecular hydrogen bonds and three to six residues. Support vector machine classifiers yielded a Matthews correlation coefficient (mcc) of approximately 0.6 and a prediction accuracy of 80%. Probabilistic neural networks were developed for beta-turn type prediction. The method was able to distinguish between five types of beta-turns yielding mcc > 0.5 and at least 80% overall accuracy. We conclude that the proposed new turn classification is distinct and well-defined, and machine learning classifiers are suited for sequence-based turn prediction. Their potential for sequence-based prediction of turn structures is discussed.     

Clinical performance of a system for semiautomated chromosome analysis.

Until recently equipment for automated chromosome analysis has not been used for routine purposes in clinical cytogenetic laboratories. During a 3 1/2-year period the chromosome laboratory of Rigshospitalet has tested the Magiscan chromosome system under routine conditions and performed the first evaluation of its clinical performance. The system consists of an image processor with a light pen for manual interaction connected to a hard-copy printer and a microscope with a TV camera and a motorized scanning stage for eight slides. Automated metaphase finding takes place without operator assistance. An operator is involved in the analysis after the metaphases are located. Using two of these complete systems, we have performed a total of 4,691 chromosome analyses comprising a count of 10 metaphases, of which three were "eyeball" karyotyped and one was "machine" karyotyped. Presently, two-thirds of our prenatal analyses (amniotic-cell cultures) are carried out with these two machines. A third Magiscan system without scanning stage is used as a "karyotyping-only" system to produce hard-copy karyograms in those cases in which metaphases are manually located and counted in the microscope. Since the end of 1984, 4,773 additional machine karyograms have been produced with this system. With a complete system, a prenatal analysis can be carried out in an average of 35 min. The average time for a machine karyotype is 7 min. Since 1984 the productivity of the laboratory has increased 17%-20% without enlarging the staff.     

Theory of molecular machines. I. Channel capacity of molecular machines

Like macroscopic machines, molecular-sized machines are limited by their material components, their design, and their use of power. One of these limits is the maximum number of states that a machine can choose from. The logarithm to the base 2 of the number of states is defined to be the number of bits of information that the machine could "gain" during its operation. The maximum possible information gain is a function of the energy that a molecular machine dissipates into the surrounding medium (Py), the thermal noise energy which disturbs the machine (Ny) and the number of independently moving parts involved in the operation (dspace): Cy = dspace log2 [( Py + Ny)/Ny] bits per operation. This "machine capacity" is closely related to Shannon's channel capacity for communications systems. An important theorem that Shannon proved for communication channels also applies to molecular machines. With regard to molecular machines, the theorem states that if the amount of information which a machine gains is less than or equal to Cy, then the error rate (frequency of failure) can be made arbitrarily small by using a sufficiently complex coding of the molecular machine's operation. Thus, the capacity of a molecular machine is sharply limited by the dissipation and the thermal noise, but the machine failure rate can be reduced to whatever low level may be required for the organism to survive.     

Size-related auto-fragment production and carbohydrate storage in auto-fragment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myriophyllum spicatum</Emphasis> L. in response to sediment nutrient and plant density

Size-related asexual reproduction of submersed macrophytes is still poorly understood. Here, we investigate how size-related auto-fragmentation in Myriophyllum spicatum L. responds to sediment nutrients and plant density. An experiment was carried out with sediments containing two different nutrient levels and with two levels of plant density. The results show that sediment nutrients and plant density brought about a strong dependency of auto-fragment production and the amount of total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) storage in auto-fragments on individual plant size (total plant biomass). However, these two factors acted differently on size dependency. Sediment nutrients positively affected auto-fragment production and the amount of TNC in auto-fragments of M. spicatum. High concentrations of sediment nutrients significantly increased these two traits in absolute value and the value relative to plant size. Although the auto-fragment biomass and the amount of TNC in auto-fragments did not differ between density treatments when plant size was considered, the absolute values of these two traits were much larger in the low plant density treatment than in the high plant density treatment, which suggested an indirect negative effect of plant density on the auto-fragmentation of M. spicatum. In addition, higher percentages of large auto-fragments (>100 mg) were produced by plants that grew in nutrient poor sediment and low plant density environment than plants in nutrient rich sediment and high plant density environment. These results do not solely highlight a size-dependent effect, but also a size-independent effect of auto-fragment production and the amount of TNC in auto-fragments of M. spicatum. Furthermore, such size-independent effects can be explained by the significant biomass partitioning differences and the similar TNC-concentrations in auto-fragments under different environmental conditions.     

Studies on decomposition ofPhragmites australis leaves under laboratory conditions

Summary The decomposition ofPhragmites leaves was studied under experimental conditions in vessels during 147 days. This process was compared in vessels filled with (a) lake water, (b) lake water and sediment, and (c) lake water, sediment and plant material.In the course of time the ash-free dry weight and the N and C concentration in the plant material decreased gradually to, respectively, 64, 54 and 66% of the initial values. The P concentration fluctuated due to accumulation of bacteria and their excretion products. Almost all C and N which had disappeared from the plant material during the first 100 days of incubation was recovered in the water. Subsequently, these nutrients accumulated in the sediment. Only 10% of the C and N in the water was soluble (<0.33 m). Ortho-P increased substantially from 60 to 100 days of incubation in the vessels (b) and (c), possibly given off by the sediment or originating from decaying algae and bacteria. Only a minor part of the plant-P was recovered as ortho-P in the water.The effect of the decomposing plant material on the diversity within the microscopical primary producers was studied using paper chromatography of the pigments. The changes in bacterial numbers were followed by epifluorescence microscopy.     

Resource allocation in the submerged plant Vallisneria natans related to sediment type, rather than water-column nutrients

1. Phenotypic plasticity in resource allocation by Vallisneria natans was investigated in a greenhouse experiment, using three types of sediment [sandy loam, clay, and a 50 : 50 (by volume) mixture of the two sediments] and two levels of water‐column nutrient. The clay was collected from a highly eutrophic lake in Jiangsu Province, China, and the N and P concentrations applied in nutrient media were at the upper limits observed in most lakes of China. 2. Growth and biomass allocation were significantly affected by sediment type, rather than water‐column nutrients. Plant growth in clay and the mixture were similar, and 2.4–3.4 times higher than that in sandy loam. Compared with the plants grown in clay or the mixed sediments, the plants grown in sandy loam allocated relatively more biomass to root (11–17% versus 7–8% of total biomass), and relatively less to leaf (76–82% versus 86–87% of total biomass). Plastic variations in root area were induced by sediment type alone (P < 0.05), whereas the impacts of sediment type and water‐column nutrients on leaf area were insignificant (P > 0.05). 3. Plant N and P concentrations were significantly affected by both sediment type and water‐column nutrients. Increased nutrient availability in the water column enhanced plant N concentration by 3.5–20.2%, and plant P concentration by 19.1–25.8%. 4. Biomass accumulation and plant nutrient concentration in plants grown in different sediment types and water‐column nutrients indicate that sediment type had more significant impacts on growth and N and P concentrations of V. natans than did water‐column nutrients. Changes in phenotype are a functional response to nutrient availability in sediment, rather than to water‐column nutrients.     

Climate change effects on organic matter decomposition rates in ecosystems from the Maritime Antarctic and Falkland Islands

Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems have poorly developed soils and currently experience one of the greatest rates of climate warming on the globe. We investigated the responsiveness of organic matter decomposition in Maritime Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems to climate change, using two study sites in the Antarctic Peninsula region (Anchorage Island, 67°S; Signy Island, 61°S), and contrasted the responses found with those at the cool temperate Falkland Islands (52°S). Our approach consisted of two complementary methods: (1) Laboratory measurements of decomposition at different temperatures (2, 6 and 10 °C) of plant material and soil organic matter from all three locations. (2) Field measurements at all three locations on the decomposition of soil organic matter, plant material and cellulose, both under natural conditions and under experimental warming (about 0.8 °C) achieved using open top chambers. Higher temperatures led to higher organic matter breakdown in the laboratory studies, indicating that decomposition in Maritime Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems is likely to increase with increasing soil temperatures. However, both laboratory and field studies showed that decomposition was more strongly influenced by local substratum characteristics (especially soil N availability) and plant functional type composition than by large-scale temperature differences. The very small responsiveness of organic matter decomposition in the field (experimental temperature increase < 1 °C) compared with the laboratory (experimental increases of 4 or 8 °C) shows that substantial warming is required before significant effects can be detected.     

Pile composting of two-phase centrifuged olive husk residues: technical solutions and quality of cured compost

The present work proposed an economically sustainable solution for composting olive humid husks (OHH) and leaves (OL) at a small/medium sized olive oil mill. We planned and set up a composting plant, the prototype taking the form of a simplified low-cost turning machine, and evaluated the use of an inoculum of one year-old composted humid husks (CHH) and sheep manure (SM) to facilitate the starting phase of the process. Trials were carried out using four piles under different experimental conditions (turnover, static, and type of inoculum). The best results were achieved with turnover and an inoculum that induced fast start-up and a correct evolution of the composting process. The final product was a hygienically clean, cured compost.     

Morphological and physiological responses to sediment type and light availability in roots of the submerged plant Myriophyllum spicatum

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Both sediment and light are essential factors regulating the growth of submerged macrophytes, but the role of these two factors in regulating root morphology and physiology is far from clear. The responses of root morphology and physiology to sediment type and light availability in the submerged plant Myriophyllum spicatum were studied and the hypothesis was tested that a trade-off exists in root growth strategy between internal aeration and nutrient acquisition. METHODS: Plants were grown on two types of sediment (fertile mud and an infertile mixture of mud and sandy loam) and under three levels of light availability (600, 80 and 20 micro mol m(-2) s(-1)) in a greenhouse. KEY RESULTS: The significantly higher alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in root tissues indicated that oxygen deficiency existed in the plants growing in fertile mud and low (or high) light environments. Significantly, low plant N and P concentrations indicated that nutrient deficiency existed in the mixed sediment and high light environment. As a response to anoxia, plants did not change the porosity of the main roots. The effect of sediment type on root morphology was insignificant under higher light environments, whereas root diameter generally decreased but specific root length (SRL) increased with decreasing light availability. Both low light and fertile mud jointly led to lack of second-order laterals. More biomass was allocated to lateral roots in infertile environments, whereas mass fractions of laterals were lower in low light and mud environments. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that this plant can achieve the trade-off between internal aeration and nutrient acquisition by adjusting the structure of the root system and the pattern of biomass allocation to different root orders rather than root morphology and root porosity.     

Reactive oxygen species, antioxidant systems and nitric oxide in peroxisomes

Peroxisomes are subcellular organelles with an essentially oxidative type of metabolism. Like chloroplasts and mitochondria, plant peroxisomes also produce superoxide radicals (O2*(-)) and there are, at least, two sites of superoxide generation: one in the organelle matrix, the generating system being xanthine oxidase, and another site in the peroxisomal membranes dependent on NAD(P)H. In peroxisomal membranes, three integral polypeptides (PMPs) with molecular masses of 18, 29 and 32 kDa have been shown to generate radicals O2*(-). Besides catalase, several antioxidative systems have been demonstrated in plant peroxisomes, including different superoxide dismutases, the ascorbate-glutathione cycle, and three NADP-dependent dehydrogenases. A CuZn-SOD and two Mn-SODs have been purified and characterized from different types of peroxisomes. The four enzymes of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle (ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and glutathione reductase) as well as the antioxidants glutathione and ascorbate have been found in plant peroxisomes. The recycling of NADPH from NADP(+) can be carried out in peroxisomes by three dehydrogenases: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and isocitrate dehydrogenase. In the last decade, different experimental evidence has suggested the existence of cellular functions for peroxisomes related to reactive oxygen species (ROS), but the recent demonstration of the presence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in plant peroxisomes implies that these organelles could also have a function in plant cells as a source of signal molecules like nitric oxide (NO*), superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and possibly S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO).     

RAPD analysis of diploid and tetraploid populations of Aronia points to different reproductive strategies within the genus

Plant breeding in black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is based mainly on seedlings derived from domesticated Russian plants. Previous studies have, however, demonstrated very low levels of phenotypic variation within this gene pool. The present investigation was undertaken in order to study the genetic structure in native populations growing in North America. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker variation was analysed in eight populations (three or five mother plants/population and five seedlings/mother plant) and compared with the variation in four cultivars and 15 seedlings derived from a Russian plantation. The four cultivars and all the Russian seedlings turned out to have identical RAPD profiles. In the native plant material, there were two types of mother plants: diploid plants that produced very heterogeneous offspring and tetraploid plants that produced homogeneous offspring. Partitioning of variability based on Shannon's diversity index attributed approx. 22% of the variation to the among-population level in diploids, compared to approx. 55% in the tetraploids. However, the diploid populations and the tetraploid populations did not differ significantly in within-population variation. These results prompted a second set of RAPD analyses, which were carried out on offspring obtained through open pollination of the initially examined material when growing in an experimental field. The analyses showed that tetraploid plants produced tetraploid offspring that, with few exceptions, were identical, indicating apomixis, whereas offspring of diploid plants were diploid or triploid, and highly heterogeneous, indicating outcrossing. Presumably, the tetraploid form of Aronia is an allopolyploid, with A. melanocarpa as one of the parents.     

Scheduling algorithms for a two-machine flexible manufacturing system

The flexible manufacturing system (FMS) considered in this paper is composed of two CNC machines working in series—a punching machine and a bending machine connected through rollers acting as a buffer system of finite capacity. The main difference between the present problem and the standard two-machine flow shop problem with finite intermediate capacity is precisely the buffer system, which in our problem consists of two stacks of parts supported by rollers: the first stack contains the output of the punching machine, while the second stack contains the input for the bending machine. When the second stack is empty, the first stack may be moved over. Furthermore, the capacity of each stack depends on the particular part type being processed. The FMS can manufacture a wide range of parts of different types. Processing times on the two machines are usually different so that an unbalance results in their total workload. Furthermore, whenever there is a change of the part type in production, the machines must be properly reset—that is, some tools need to be changed or repositioned. A second important difference between the present problem and the usual two-machine flow shop problem is the objective. Given a list ofp part types to be produced in known quantities, the problem considered here is how to sequence or alternate the production of the required part types so as to achieve various hierarchical targets: minimize the makespan (the total time needed to complete production) and, for instance, compress the idle periods of the machine with less workload into a few long enough intervals that could be utilized for maintenance or other reasons. Although Johnson's rule is optimal in some particular cases, the problem addressed in the paper isNP-hard in general: heuristic procedures are therefore provided.     

叶片损害强度与基质营养水平对苦草补偿性生长的影响

通过室外双因子控制试验,研究了叶片损害强度与基质营养水平对沉水植物苦草补偿性生长的影响.结果表明：叶片损害与基质类型对苦草的累积生物量、生物量的分配（根叶比）及分株数均有显著影响.与未受损植物相比,强受损使苦草的累积生物量及无性分株数显著降低,根叶比明显升高,而弱受损与未受损处理之间没有明显差别.与营养贫瘠的岸泥相比,生长在肥力较高湖泥中的苦草的累积生物量较高,而根叶比与分株数较低;叶片损害与基质类型对苦草的相对生长率也有显著影响,受损使苦草的生长率明显提高,而两受损处理之间无显著差别.未受损与强受损时,湖泥中苦草的生长速率明显高于岸泥,弱受损时则相近.并初步探讨了水生植物受损后的补偿生长机理.     

人工林地浑水入渗性能与通用入渗模型

采用双环法 ,通过 130场田间的浑水与清水入渗对比试验 ,对两种土壤质地的刺槐、侧柏人工林地的浑水入渗性能进行了研究。结果表明 ,含沙径流——浑水可显著削弱人工林地土壤的入渗性能 ,降低天然降水与土壤水的转换能力及人工林涵养水源的作用 ,其削减能力随着入渗水流含沙量、泥沙中小于 0 .0 1mm物理性粘粒含量的增加或入渗历时的延长而增大 ,并受到土壤质地的强烈影响。在土壤质地相同条件下 ,人工林地浑水的入渗能力随人工林树种的不同而异。刺槐林地土壤入渗能力大于侧柏林地 ;与相同立地退耕还林后仅 1a的新造林地相比较 ,退耕还林后 13a生的侧柏林地 ,土壤浑水入渗和清水入渗能力均减小 ;但退耕还林后 13a生的刺槐林地 ,清水入渗能力明显增强 ,浑水入渗能力因入渗水流特性不同而异。通过 L evenberg-Marquardt非线性参数拟合 ,求得了两种土壤质地条件下 ,3种林分积水型浑水与清水入渗的通用模型。该模型既可用于清水入渗预报 ,又可用于不同含沙量和泥沙粒度组成浑水入渗能力的预测