An ultrasonically enhanced inclined settler for microalgae harvesting

Microalgae have vast potential as a sustainable and scalable source of biofuels and bioproducts. However, algae dewatering is a critical challenge that must be addressed. Ultrasonic settling has already been exploited for concentrating various biological cells at relatively small batch volumes and/or low throughput. Typically, these designs are operated in batch or semicontinuous mode, wherein the flow is interrupted and the cells are subsequently harvested. These batch techniques are not well suited for scaleup to the throughput levels required for harvesting microalgae from the large‐scale cultivation operations necessary for a viable algal biofuel industry. This article introduces a novel device for the acoustic harvesting of microalgae. The design is based on the coupling of the acoustophoretic force, acoustic transparent materials, and inclined settling. A filtration efficiency of 70 ± 5% and a concentration factor of 11.6 ± 2.2 were achieved at a flow rate of 25 mL·min^?1 and an energy consumption of 3.6 ± 0.9 kWh·m^?3. The effects of the applied power, flow rate, inlet cell concentration, and inclination were explored. It was found that the filtration efficiency of the device is proportional to the power applied. However, the filtration efficiency experienced a plateau at 100 W L^?1 of power density applied. The filtration efficiency also increased with increasing inlet cell concentration and was inversely proportional to the flow rate. It was also found that the optimum settling angle for maximum concentration factor occurred at an angle of 50 ± 5°. At these optimum conditions, the device had higher filtration efficiency in comparison to other similar devices reported in the previous literature. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 31:414–423, 2015     

Brain serotonin deficiency leads to social communication deficits in mice

A deficit in brain serotonin is thought to be associated with deteriorated stress coping behaviour, affective disorders and exaggerated violence. We challenged this hypothesis in mice with a brain-specific serotonin depletion caused by a tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) deficiency. We tested TPH2-deficient (Tph2^−/–) animals in two social situations. As juveniles, Tph2^−/− mice displayed reduced social contacts, whereas ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) were unchanged within same-sex same-genotype pairings. Interestingly, juvenile females vocalized more than males across genotypes. Sexually naive adult males were exposed to fresh male or female urine, followed by an interaction with a conspecific, and re-exposed to urine. Although Tph2^−/− mice showed normal sexual preference, they were hyper-aggressive towards their interaction partners and did not vocalize in response to sexual cues. These results highlight that central serotonin is essential for prosocial behaviour, especially USV production in adulthood, but not for sexual preference.     

Experience restores innate female preference for male ultrasonic vocalizations

Mouse models are increasingly contributing to our understanding of the neural genetics of sensory processing and memory. For example, strain differences have helped elucidate basic mechanisms of age‐related hearing loss and auditory fear conditioning. Assessing sensory differences arising in acoustic communication contexts is also important for understanding natural audition. While this topic has not been well studied, it is currently being addressed through auditory neuroethological studies in the CBA/CaJ strain, where insights will help lay a foundation for future neural genetic studies. Here, we focus on the responses of adult females to ultrasonic vocalizations of males. We tested a group of female mice in a place‐preference paradigm before and after auditory and olfactory experience with a male. A control group was housed with other female cagemates between trials. All females showed an initial preference for male calls that rapidly decayed over the course of a trial. However, only females that had been pair‐housed with a male during the inter‐trial interval displayed a reinstated interest in male vocalizations, suggesting possible group differences in the assessment of the calls' behavioral relevance. These findings provide a timeframe during which auditory processing of male ultrasounds might be expected to show a difference depending on behavioral relevance, and also suggest an importance of social interactions in maintaining call recognition.     

Targeted Training of Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Aged and Parkinsonian Rats

Voice deficits are a common complication of both Parkinson disease (PD) and aging; they can significantly diminish quality of life by impacting communication abilities. ^{1, 2} Targeted training (speech/voice therapy) can improve specific voice deficits,^{3, 4} although the underlying mechanisms of behavioral interventions are not well understood. Systematic investigation of voice deficits and therapy should consider many factors that are difficult to control in humans, such as age, home environment, age post-onset of disease, severity of disease, and medications. The method presented here uses an animal model of vocalization that allows for systematic study of how underlying sensorimotor mechanisms change with targeted voice training. The ultrasonic recording and analysis procedures outlined in this protocol are applicable to any investigation of rodent ultrasonic vocalizations.The ultrasonic vocalizations of rodents are emerging as a valuable model to investigate the neural substrates of behavior.^5-8 Both rodent and human vocalizations carry semiotic value and are produced by modifying an egressive airflow with a laryngeal constriction.^{9, 10} Thus, rodent vocalizations may be a useful model to study voice deficits in a sensorimotor context. Further, rat models allow us to study the neurobiological underpinnings of recovery from deficits with targeted training.To model PD we use Long-Evans rats (Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.) and induce parkinsonism by a unilateral infusion of 7 μg of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial forebrain bundle which causes moderate to severe degeneration of presynaptic striatal neurons (for details see Ciucci, 2010).^{11, 12} For our aging model we use the Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 (National Institute on Aging).Our primary method for eliciting vocalizations is to expose sexually-experienced male rats to sexually receptive female rats. When the male becomes interested in the female, the female is removed and the male continues to vocalize. By rewarding complex vocalizations with food or water, both the number of complex vocalizations and the rate of vocalizations can be increased (Figure 1).An ultrasonic microphone mounted above the male''s home cage records the vocalizations. Recording begins after the female rat is removed to isolate the male calls. Vocalizations can be viewed in real time for training or recorded and analyzed offline. By recording and acoustically analyzing vocalizations before and after vocal training, the effects of disease and restoration of normal function with training can be assessed. This model also allows us to relate the observed behavioral (vocal) improvements to changes in the brain and neuromuscular system.     

黑龙江省西部乌拉尔甘草总黄酮含量的动态变化研究

采用超声提取和分光光度法对黑龙江省西部地区乌拉尔甘草不同部位的总黄酮含量进行测定,并对其季节变化进行了分析,研究结果表明:采用50%甲醇溶液提取,超声45 min对甘草总黄酮提取效果较好,适于进行大批量样品的提取测定.无论是野生甘草还是栽培甘草,在一个生长季中,叶的总黄酮含量最高,而地下部分含量则相对较低.在5～10月期间,叶的总黄酮含量逐渐下降,而地下部分总黄酮含量如根和根茎具有上升的趋势.甘草各部位总黄酮含量在不同生长季存在波动现象,尤其在具有运输功能的部位如复叶柄、地上茎表现更为明显.野生甘草不同部位的总黄酮含量的波动可能与有性繁殖有关,而栽培甘草的总黄酮含量的波动可能与无性生殖有关.     

Ecology and conservation of insectivorous bats in fragmented areas of macadamia production in eastern Australia

Microbats perform important ecological services in agro‐ecosystems, but several species are globally threatened by loss of roosting and breeding habitats. The successful conservation of bats in agricultural land requires adequate knowledge of their ecology. Using ultrasonic recorders, we studied the activity of insectivorous bats in areas of macadamia production in eastern Australia at two spatial scales: across woodland‐orchard transects at the local scale and across three levels of fragmentation at the landscape scale. At the local scale, activity patterns of ‘clutter’ and ‘edge’ specialists were consistently higher in woodland patches, gradually decreasing towards isolated orchards, where only a few ‘open’ specialists were active. At the landscape scale, bat community activity was affected by the level of fragmentation, partly because three of the most recorded taxa (Austronomus australis, Saccolaimus flaviventris and Miniopterus australis) had their highest activity in less‐fragmented areas. A distance‐based model explained 24% of the bat community activity based on a combination of six environmental variables. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that a number of bat taxa were associated with open areas of macadamia, whereas other taxa were associated with increasing values of landscape composition, and arthropod and water availability. In addition, total bat activity was highly correlated with foraging rate. These results suggest that most bat taxa were influenced by proximity to woodland and the degree of fragmentation, and only few taxa were able to exploit isolated orchards. Environmental factors that promote bat activity could be exploited to strengthen conservation efforts. Preserving remnant woodland and promoting habitat heterogeneity will benefit several bat species. In particular, the foraging activity of ‘edge’ specialists could be fostered by increasing landscape connectivity and maintaining unobstructed water bodies near macadamia orchards. Considering that bats forage as they navigate these areas, conservation efforts could also bring benefits to farmers through pest‐reduction services.     

超声提取-高效液相色谱法测定甘草中甘草酸含量

确定了制备甘草酸分析样品的超声波提取条件, 0.3%稀氨水为溶剂,液固比50:1,提取时间5 h;确定了高效液相色谱法检测甘草酸含量的条件为ODS色谱柱(4.6mm×25 cm, 5 μm),检测波长254 nm,检测温度为室温,流动相CH3OH/3% HOA c(V/V)为75/25,流速1mL/m in,进样量10 μL,平均加样回收率100.20%,相对标准偏差为1.77%。结果表明超声提取-高效液相色谱法是一种准确度高,速度快的测定甘草中甘草酸含量的检测方法。     

不同前处理方式绞股蓝总皂甙含量的差异

用超声法提取绞股蓝鲜叶样、杀青样、烘干样、风干样以及绞股蓝袋泡茶干茶样的总皂甙,并测定其含量。结果表明,总皂甙含量为杀青样> 烘干样> 鲜叶样> 风干样> 干茶样,可能由于各处理的糖苷酶失活程度不同导致皂甙不同程度的分解,在生产和实验研究中应引起注意。