Identification, phylogenetic relationships and a new maximum size of two rudd populations (Scardinius, Cyprinidae) from the Adriatic Sea drainage, Croatia

In order to determine an unknown fish population from the Vrana Lake, mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and non-coding nuclear region Cyfun P were investigated. Stabile population of Bulldog rudd, Scardinius dergle Heckel & Kner, the endemic Croatian freshwater fish in the Krka River, was genetically characterized with the same markers in order to compare it with the material from the Vrana Lake. Genetic markers were sequenced and aligned with the similar ones obtained from the GenBank in order to determine taxonomic and phylogenetic position of these two species. A significant discrepancy between nuclear genetic markers of our specimens and the sequence from the GenBank was found. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the specimens from the Vrana Lake belong to the species S. hesperidicus. Morphometric characteristics, the maximum length and body mass showed new maximum values for both S. dergle and S. hesperidicus.     

The global nitrogen cycle in the twenty-first century

Global nitrogen fixation contributes 413 Tg of reactive nitrogen (N_r) to terrestrial and marine ecosystems annually of which anthropogenic activities are responsible for half, 210 Tg N. The majority of the transformations of anthropogenic N_r are on land (240 Tg N yr⁻¹) within soils and vegetation where reduced N_r contributes most of the input through the use of fertilizer nitrogen in agriculture. Leakages from the use of fertilizer N_r contribute to nitrate (NO₃⁻) in drainage waters from agricultural land and emissions of trace N_r compounds to the atmosphere. Emissions, mainly of ammonia (NH₃) from land together with combustion related emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), contribute 100 Tg N yr⁻¹ to the atmosphere, which are transported between countries and processed within the atmosphere, generating secondary pollutants, including ozone and other photochemical oxidants and aerosols, especially ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) and ammonium sulfate (NH₄)₂SO₄. Leaching and riverine transport of NO₃ contribute 40–70 Tg N yr⁻¹ to coastal waters and the open ocean, which together with the 30 Tg input to oceans from atmospheric deposition combine with marine biological nitrogen fixation (140 Tg N yr⁻¹) to double the ocean processing of N_r. Some of the marine N_r is buried in sediments, the remainder being denitrified back to the atmosphere as N₂ or N₂O. The marine processing is of a similar magnitude to that in terrestrial soils and vegetation, but has a larger fraction of natural origin. The lifetime of N_r in the atmosphere, with the exception of N₂O, is only a few weeks, while in terrestrial ecosystems, with the exception of peatlands (where it can be 10²–10³ years), the lifetime is a few decades. In the ocean, the lifetime of N_r is less well known but seems to be longer than in terrestrial ecosystems and may represent an important long-term source of N₂O that will respond very slowly to control measures on the sources of N_r from which it is produced.     

Dynamics of Cattle Production in Brazil

Movement of livestock production within a country or region has implications for genetics, adaptation, well-being, nutrition, and production logistics, particularly in continental-sized countries, such as Brazil. Cattle production in Brazil from 1977 to 2011 was spatialized, and the annual midpoint of production was calculated. Changes in the relative production and acceleration of production were calculated and spatialized using ARCGIS®. Cluster and canonical discriminant analyses were performed to further highlight differences between regions in terms of cattle production. The mean production point has moved from the Center of Minas Gerais State (in the southeast region) to the North of Goiás State (in the Midwest region). This reflects changes in environmental factors, such as pasture type, temperature and humidity. Acceleration in production in the northern region of Brazil has remained strong over the years. More recently, “traditional” cattle-rearing regions, such as the south and southeast, showed a reduction in growth rates as well as a reduction in herd size or internal migration over the period studied. These maps showed that this movement tends to be gradual, with few regions showing high acceleration or deceleration rates.     

Land use,fallow period and the recovery of a Caatinga forest

Caatinga vegetation continues to be converted into mosaics of secondary forest stands, but the affect of this process on biodiversity has not yet been examined. We used 35 regenerating and old‐growth stands of Caatinga to examine the recovery of plant assemblages subsequent to slash‐and‐burn agriculture and cattle ranching/pasture in northeastern Brazil. Plant assemblages were contrasted in terms of community structure (stem density/basal area/species richness/diversity), functional (leaf habit/reproductive traits) and taxonomic composition. Soil attributes were also examined to infer potential drivers for cross‐habitat differences. As expected, plant assemblages clearly differed across a large set of community‐level attributes, including all trait categories relative to leaf habit and reproduction (pollination syndrome/floral color, size, type). Overall, old‐growth forest stands supported distinct and more diverse assemblages at the plot and habitat level; e.g., long‐lived tree species were almost exclusively found in old‐growth forest stands. For most attributes, plant assemblages subsequent to pasture exhibited intermediate values between those exhibited by old‐growth forest and those of agriculture‐related stands. Surprisingly, soils exhibited similar fertility‐related scores across habitats. Our results indicate that: (1) sprouting/resprouting represents an important mechanism of forest regeneration; (2) assemblage‐level attributes suggest recovery at distinct rates; (3) forest regeneration implies community‐level changes in both vegetative and reproductive functional attributes, including directional changes; (4) Caatinga is not able to completely recover in a period of 15‐yr following land abandonment; and (5) historical land use affects recovery rates and successional pathways/taxonomic trajectories. Seasonally dry tropical forests may intrinsically cover a wide range of patterns relative to successional model, recovery rates and successional pathways.     

Common dandelion: a review of its botanical,phytochemical and pharmacological profiles

Phytochemistry Reviews - Phytoalimurgy is a term that derives from Greek and Latin by combination of the words φυτόν, which meaning plant, and alimenta urgentia, indicating...     

Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of talaromyces amestolkiae from amazon: A producer of natural colorants

The population interest in health products is increasing day-by-day. Thus, the demand for natural products to be added in food and pharmaceutical commodity is also rising. Among these additives, colorants, which provides color to products, can be produced by microorganism through bioprocess. Looking for new source of natural colorants, fungi have been employed to this purpose producing novel and safer natural colorants. So, the main goal of this study was to describe a Talaromyces species able to produce natural colorants and investigate nutritional parameters of colorants production using statistical tool. The taxonomy classified the microorganism as Talaromyces amestolkiae. The statistical design evaluated pH and glucose, meat extract and meat peptone concentration as independent variables, and red colorants production as main response. Under the best condition (g/L: glucose 30, meat extract 1, meat peptone 10, and initial pH of 7.0) an increase of 229% in the red colorant production was achieved as compared with the initial media used. The dried fermented broth containing red colorants showed low cytotoxicity against fibroblasts cells (IC₅₀ > 187.5 g/L) and effective antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (MIC of 2.5 g/L). Thus, T. amestolkiae colorants can be attractive to food and pharmaceutical applications as it does not produce toxic compounds and can promote protection against microorganism contaminants. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2684, 2019     

Smart process development: Application of machine-learning and integrated process modeling for inclusion body purification processes

The development of a biopharmaceutical production process usually occurs sequentially, and tedious optimization of each individual unit operation is very time-consuming. Here, the conditions established as optimal for one-step serve as input for the following step. Yet, this strategy does not consider potential interactions between a priori distant process steps and therefore cannot guarantee for optimal overall process performance. To overcome these limitations, we established a smart approach to develop and utilize integrated process models using machine learning techniques and genetic algorithms. We evaluated the application of the data-driven models to explore potential efficiency increases and compared them to a conventional development approach for one of our development products. First, we developed a data-driven integrated process model using gradient boosting machines and Gaussian processes as machine learning techniques and a genetic algorithm as recommendation engine for two downstream unit operations, namely solubilization and refolding. Through projection of the results into our large-scale facility, we predicted a twofold increase in productivity. Second, we extended the model to a three-step model by including the capture chromatography. Here, depending on the selected baseline-process chosen for comparison, we obtained between 50% and 100% increase in productivity. These data show the successful application of machine learning techniques and optimization algorithms for downstream process development. Finally, our results highlight the importance of considering integrated process models for the whole process chain, including all unit operations.