Streamlining 'search and destroy': cost-effective surveillance for invasive species management

Invasive species surveillance has typically been targeted to where the species is most likely to occur. However, spatially varying environmental characteristics and land uses may affect more than just the probability of occurrence. Biodiversity or economic value, and the ease of detection and control are also likely to vary. We incorporate these factors into a detection and treatment model of a low-density invader to determine the surveillance strategy that minimizes expected management costs. Sites with a high probability of invader occurrence and great benefits associated with detection warrant intensive surveillance; however, the optimum investment is a nonlinear function of these factors. Environments where the invader is relatively easy to detect are prioritized for surveillance, although only a moderate investment is necessary to ensure a high probability of detection. Intensive surveillance effort may be allocated to other sites if the probability of occurrence, budget and/or expected benefits is sufficiently high.     

Development and evaluation of Trichoderma asperellum preparation for control of sheath blight of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Sheath blight, which is caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is a disease that majorly impacts rice production. A biocontrol agent used for control rice sheath blight must be sprayed on the stem at specific times during rice growth, a process that is labour-intensive and renders the antagonist vulnerable to environmental factors. In this study, Trichoderma asperellum T12 was used to produce preparation by solid-state fermentation using a surface-response method. Rice hull was selected as a carrier based on its ability to sustain the T12 floating in the water and protect T12 from ultraviolet irradiation. The production of a T12-based preparation required 32% wheat bran, 7% inoculum, 2.3 g kg^?1 (NH₄)₂SO₄ and 65% water content, with fermentation at 27.5°C for 30 days and agitation every six days. The preparation demonstrated 90% biocontrol efficacy and significantly (P > 0.05) increased the seed-set rate and 1000-grain weight as compared with the pathogen treatment. The population of Trichoderma on the surface of rice leaf sheath in the treatment applied with T12 preparation increased from 232 cfu (colony forming units) g^?1 fw (fresh weight) to 436 cfu g^?1 fw during rice growth stage, which was significantly (P > 0.05) higher than pathogen treatment. The population of R. solani on the leaf sheath increased from 41 cfu g^?1 fw to 271 cfu g^?1 fw in the pathogen treatment, while remained stable (P > 0.05) at level of 10–23 cfu g^?1 fw in T12 preparation applied treatment. Biocontrol of sheath blight by the addition of the preparation to the soil is effective and decreases the costs of agro-industrial waste disposal.     

Preservation of vegetables by microbial activity and radiation

Two locally-produced seasonal vegetables, carrot and patol, were preserved in brine, with and without radiation, with marked changes in their properties as foods and their microbiology. The treated vegetables could be preserved, at optimum salt and irradiation levels, for up to 60 days without becoming unacceptable in terms of appearance, texture, flavour and taste. The optimum salt concentrations for preservation of carrot and patol were 2% (w/v) and 3% (w/v), respectively. The microbial load initially showed an upward trend and then declined after 5 to 10 days of storage. Lactic acid bacteria predominated in treated vegetables.     

L-氨基酸脱氨酶的分子改造及其用于全细胞催化法生产α-酮戊二酸条件的优化

酮戊二酸(α-ketoglutaric acid,α-KG)是谷氨酸脱氨基的酮酸产物,作为一种重要的有机酸广泛用于食品、医药、精细化工等领域。为提高L-氨基酸脱氨酶全细胞催化法合成α-KG的效率及产量,首先通过优化全细胞催化剂制备条件及全细胞转化反应条件,包括发酵过程中的温度、诱导剂浓度、诱导剂添加时刻、诱导时间等;全细胞转化过程中的温度、pH、细胞量、转化时间。各个条件优化后以200g/L谷氨酸钠为底物时,产量最终提高了54. 9%,摩尔转化率为39. 6%。其次,通过定点饱和突变对L-氨基酸脱氨酶进行定向进化以提高其催化能力。经过多次突变、筛选,最优突变体E. coli BL21-pET-20b(+)-pm1152催化200g/L谷氨酸钠生成α-KG最高产量为100. 9g/L,摩尔转化率为64. 7%,较最初对照菌株提高了66. 3%。结果表明,条件优化和饱和突变可有效提高重组大肠杆菌全细胞转化合成α-KG的能力。     

蝙蝠蛾拟青霉发酵滤液的成分组成与急性毒性分析

蝙蝠蛾拟青霉是从新鲜的冬虫夏草上分离获得的虫草菌,可采用生物发酵制备大量菌丝体。该菌丝体具有和冬虫夏草相似的活性成分,具有抗肿瘤、抗病毒等多种功效。本研究对干燥后的蝙蝠蛾拟青霉发酵滤液的主要成分进行了分析,结果显示：干燥后的蝙蝠蛾拟青霉发酵滤液含粗脂肪21.33%,总蛋白27.34%,水解氨基酸16.79%,粗多糖11.16%,不饱和脂肪酸71.21%,其中以油酸、亚油酸为主;该干燥发酵滤液中还含有多种核苷类物质、多糖等生物活性成分以及多种人体必需的矿质元素。此外急性毒性实验的初步结果表明：小鼠在实验期内无死亡现象和明显的中毒反应,主要脏器的形态学正常;谷草转氨酶（AST）和谷丙转氨酶（ALT）活性与对照组相比无统计学差异。蝙蝠蛾拟青霉发酵滤液有望在医药和保健领域进一步研究开发。     

利用扁桃斑鸠菊叶发酵高产粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖的条件优化及其抗氧化活性研究

粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖是粗毛纤孔菌液体发酵的重要活性代谢产物,但采用常规的发酵方法,粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖的产量较低。为更好地获取粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖,本文采用双向液体发酵的方法,通过向发酵培养基中添加适量的扁桃斑鸠菊叶粉末,来提高粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖的产量,并对优化得到的胞外多糖抗氧化活性进行了研究。以发酵液中胞外多糖含量为指标,采用单因素实验和正交实验优化发酵条件;采用红外光谱对胞外多糖的结构特征进行分析;通过测定胞外多糖对ABTS、DPPH和羟基自由基的清除率来了解其抗氧化活性。结果表明,最优发酵条件为:扁桃斑鸠菊叶粉末添加量0.5g/L、发酵时间10d、pH 6.5、接种量5.0mL,在此条件下,粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖的产量达到(2.34±0.25)mg/mL,与未添加扁桃斑鸠菊叶的空白组相比,其胞外多糖产量提高了约216.22%;红外分析与抗氧化活性实验结果表明,添加扁桃斑鸠菊叶后的胞外多糖与未添加扁桃斑鸠菊叶的胞外多糖红外主要吸收峰一致,并且对ABTS、DPPH以及羟基自由基清除能力相近。本研究结果表明扁桃斑鸠菊叶能够有效地提高粗毛纤孔菌胞外多糖的产量,为其他珍稀食药用菌胞外多糖的高效生产提供了新思路。     

真菌联合稀碱预处理杜仲叶提取杜仲胶的工艺研究

以杜仲干叶为原料,经稀碱和绿色木霉联合处理以除去杜仲表面覆盖的角质层,同时洗脱一些可溶性杂质,并且破坏杜仲叶的细胞壁与纤维结构,再以石油醚作为提取溶剂,得到粗胶再经丙酮浸洗获得杜仲精胶。用0.45%NaOH在75℃下除去杜仲叶表面的角质层,并且同时脱除一些可溶性活性成分(如:多糖、黄酮类、京尼平苷等),之后得杜仲叶干燥,利用绿色木霉去破坏杜仲叶的细胞壁与纤维结构,在85℃条件下以石油醚作为提取溶剂提取杜仲胶。最后,经测得未处理前杜仲叶中的杜仲胶的含量为1.78%,0.45%NaOH稀碱预处理后含量为3.16%,绿色木霉发酵后含量为4.36%。预处理前,有机溶剂一次提取率为0.73%,纯度为83.7%。稀碱与真菌联合预处理后一次提取率为2.85%,纯度为96.6%。本工艺以稀碱与绿色木霉共同作用,减少了有机溶剂的用量,与传统工艺相比,更加的绿色环保,安全有效,为杜仲胶的提取提供了科学有效的依据。     

Predicting shifts in the functional composition of tropical forests under increased drought and CO2 from trade‐offs among plant hydraulic traits

Tropical forest responses are an important feedback on global change, but changes in forest composition with projected increases in CO₂ and drought are highly uncertain. Here we determine shifts in the most competitive plant hydraulic strategy (the evolutionary stable strategy or ESS) from changes in CO₂ and drought frequency and intensity. Hydraulic strategies were defined along a spectrum from drought avoidance to tolerance by physiology traits. Drought impacted competition more than CO₂, with elevated CO₂ reducing but not reversing drought‐induced shifts in the ESS towards more tolerant strategies. Trait plasticity and/or adaptation intensified these shifts by increasing the competitive ability of the drought tolerant relative to the avoidant strategies. These findings predict losses of drought avoidant evergreens from tropical forests under global change, and point to the importance of changes in precipitation during the dry season and constraints on plasticity and adaptation in xylem traits to forest responses.     

Optimizing interstitial photodynamic therapy with custom cylindrical diffusers

Interstitial photodynamic therapy (iPDT) has shown promise recently as a minimally invasive cancer treatment, partially due to the development of non‐toxic photosensitizers in the absence of activation light. However, a major challenge in iPDT is the pre‐treatment planning process that specifies the number of diffusers needed, along with their positions and allocated powers, to confine the light distribution to the target volume as much as possible. In this work, a new power allocation algorithm for cylindrical light diffusers including those that can produce customized longitudinal (tailored) emission profiles is introduced. The proposed formulation is convex to guarantee the minimum over‐dose possible on the surrounding organs‐at‐risk. The impact of varying the diffuser lengths and penetration angles on the quality of the plan is evaluated. The results of this study are demonstrated for different photosensitizers activated at different wavelengths and simulated on virtual tumors modeling virtual glioblastoma multiforme cases. Results show that manufacturable cylindrical diffusers with tailored emission profiles can significantly outperform those with conventional flat profiles with an average damage reduction on white matter of 15% to 55% and on gray matter of 23% to 58%.