Notes on the zooplankton of a water body on the southern slope of Mt Babia Góra (the Carpathians)

The seepage of water on the Gubernasówka clearing in the forest (alt. about 850 m) was investigated from the point of view of the occurrence of the Paramecium aurelia species complex and other zooplanktonic organisms. Though, none of the species of the complex was found, another morphological species of the Paramecium genus, i.e. Paramecium caudatum was registered.     

Studies on some zooplanktonic organisms in the waters of the southern slope of Mt Babia Góra (the Carpathians)

Some predominant zooplanktonic organisms were registered in several water bodies of Mt Babia Góra.     

Ecology of the pteridophytes on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro – I. Altitudinal distribution

140 taxa of 61 genera in 24 families of pteridophytes were recorded on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. These represent about one third of the entire pteridophyte flora of Tanzania. The families richest in species are the Aspleniaceae, the Adiantaceae, the Dryopteridaceae, the Thelypteridaceae and the Hymenophyllaceae. Due to its luxuriant montane rain forest, which receives a precipitation of up to over 3000 mm, Mt. Kilimanjaro is distinctly richer in pteridophyte species than other volcanoes in East Africa. However, compared with the mountains of the Eastern Arc, the number of pteridophytes on Mt. Kilimanjaro is smaller. This can be explained by the widely destroyed submontane (intermediate) forest rather than by the higher age of the Eastern Arc Mts.The altitudinal distribution of all ferns was investigated in 24 transects. On the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro they were found in an altitudinal range of 3640 m. Cyclosorus quadrangularis, Azolla nilotica, Azolla africana andMarsilea minuta are restricted to the foothills, while Polystichum wilsonii, Cystopteris nivalis and Asplenium adiantum-nigrum are species found in the highest altitudes.Based on unidimensionally constrained clustering and on the analysis of the lowermost and uppermost occurrence of species, floristic discontinuities within the transects were determined. From these data and from an evaluation of the distribution of ecological groups and life forms, 11 altitudinal zones could be distinguished: a colline zone (–900 m asl), a submontane zone (900–1600 m asl) with lower and upper subzones, a montane zone (1600-2800 m asl) divided into 4 subzones, a subalpine zone (2800–3900 m asl) with lower, middle and upper subzones, and finally a (lower) alpine zone above 3900 m. The highest species numbers were observed in the lower montane forest belt between 1600 and 2000 m altitude. The zonation of ferns found at Mt. Kilimanjaro corresponds well with the vegetational zonation described by other authors using bryophytes as indicators in different parts of the humid tropics.     

The effect of cyclic anaerobic–aerobic conditions on biodegradation of azo dyes

The effect of cyclic anaerobic–aerobic conditions on the biodegradative capability of the mixed microbial culture for the azo dye Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R (RBV-5R) was investigated in the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with a synthetic textile wastewater. The SBR had a 12-h cycle time with anaerobic–aerobic periods of 3/9, 6/6 and 9/3 h. General SBR performance was assessed by measurement of catabolic enzymes (catechol 2,3-dioxygenase, azo reductase), chemical oxygen demand (COD), color and amount of aromatic amines. In this study, under steady-state conditions, the anaerobic period of the cyclic SBR was found to allow the reductive decolorization of azo dye. Longer anaerobic periods resulted in higher color removal efficiencies, approximately 71% for the 3-h, 87% for 6-h and 92% for the 9-h duration. Total COD removal efficiencies were over 84% under each of the cyclic conditions and increased as the length of the anaerobic period was increased; however, the highest color removal rate was attained for the cycle with the shortest anaerobic period of 3 h. During the decolorization of RBV-5R, two sulfonated aromatic amines (benzene based and naphthalene based) were formed. Additionally, anaerobic azo reductase enzyme was found to be positively affected with the increasing duration of the anaerobic period; however; it was vice versa for the aerobic catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23DO) enzyme.     

Effect of environmental conditions on the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of mulberry leaves

Mulberry leaves have been used as the sole food for silkworms in sericulture, and also as a traditional medicine for diabetes prevention. Mulberry leaf components, for example 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ), inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase and prevent increased blood glucose levels, and they are highly toxic to caterpillars other than silkworms. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of mulberry leaves changes with the season, but it is unknown which environmental conditions influence the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. We investigated in this study the relationship between the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and environmental conditions of temperature and photoperiod. The results demonstrate that low temperatures induced decreasing α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, while the induction of newly grown shoots by the scission of branches induced increasing α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. These results suggest that the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was related to the defense mechanism of mulberry plants against insect herbivores.     

Effects of cultivation conditions on the production of heterologous α-galactosidase by Kluyveromyces lactis

Growth conditions relevant for the large-scale production of heterologous proteins with yeasts were studied on a laboratory scale. A strain of Kluyveromyces lactis, containing 15 copies of an expression cassette encoding guar -galactosidase integrated into its ribosomal DNA, was used as a model. By using urea as a nitrogen source, it was possible to produce active extracellular -galactosidase in shake-flask cultures grown on a defined mineral medium. Inclusion of urea instead of ammonium sulphate prevented unwanted acidification of cultures. With urea-containing mineral medium, enzyme production in shake flasks was comparable to that in complex media containing peptone. In contrast, the presence of peptone was required to achieve high productivity in chemostat cultures. The low productivity in chemostat cultures growing on mineral media was not due to loss oft the expression cassette, since addition of peptone to such cultures resulted in an immediate high rate of -galactosidase production. The discrepancy between the behaviour of shake-flask and chemostat cultures during growth on mineral medium illustrates the necessity of physiological studies for the scalling-up of heterologous protein production from laboratory to production scale.     

Effects of inoculation methods on the incidence of ear-cockle and ‘tundu’ on wheat under field conditions

Wheat,Triticum aestivum L. cv. Mexipak was artificially inoculated withAnguina tritici (Steinb.) under field conditions. Nematode inocula: 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 g of seed galls/50 seeds or, germinated seeds of wheat (sown in a 1-m long row) were either added as intact seed galls or as a suspension of 2nd stage juveniles. Inoculation of ungerminated seeds with juveniles produced the highest incidence of ear-cockle disease. Whereas, intact seed galls inocula produced the highest incidence of tundu disease. Ear-cockle incidence was always greater than that of tundu at all treatments. The highest reduction in grain yield was associated with the treatments that caused the highest incidence of tundu disease.     

Effect of environment on multi-element grain composition of pigeonpea cultivars under farmers’ conditions

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is often intercropped with maize (Zea mays L.) in eastern and southern Africa. The studies aimed at determining how different genotypes of pigeonpea responded in terms of grain element composition under farmers’ cropping conditions. Approx. 78 farmers participated. They came from four study sites in Tanzania (Babati and Gairo) and Malawi (Nyambi and Ntonda) that differed in terms of tradition for using pigeonpea as well as in environmental conditions. The individual grain weight of the pigeonpea crops from Malawi were 21% (P < 0.05) higher than those from Tanzania. However, only B, Cu, Mo, N, Ni, P and S were affected by grain weight (P < 0.05). Weak (r ² < 0.10) negative correlations existed between grain yield and the grains’ proportion of Ca, Mg, P, and Zn. The proportion of every element, with the exception of Cr, in the grain differed between sites (P < 0.05) but not between varieties (P > 0.05). The amounts of K, Mg, S and Fe accumulated per grain were slightly lower (P < 0.11) in ICEAP00040 compared to the more traditional varieties. Variations in DTPA-exchangeable Zn and Fe in the soil were not reflected in grain concentrations but grain P had a curvi-linear relation (r ² = 0.44) to the soil NaHCO₃^–-exchangeable P indicating P deficiency for several soils. The P and Zn content were correlated (r ² > 0.41) as the only two grain elements. Unique fingerprinting by multivariate statistics was possible for each site when using the element proportion of the grain dry matter with or without soil characteristics. In all cases, different elements contributed with varying weight to the discrimination between the sites. However, it was not possible to distinguish between the varieties when considering all four environments. Reducing the models to include Fe, K, Mg, P, S and Zn only, did however allow some distinction between the two genotypes, which indicates that genotypic variability is expressed in a fairly limited number of elements. In the cases of Gairo and Nyambi, it was possible to distinguish between varieties. In the case of Gairo, the models distinguished between ICEAP00068 and the others, i.e. ICEAP00040 and Babati White where ICEAP00068 was associated with a higher proportion of Fe, P, S, and Zn in the grain. In the case of Nyambi, the models distinguished between ICEAP00040 and ICP9145 where ICEAP00040 was associated with a lower proportion of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, P, S, and Zn and a higher proportion of Cr and Na in the grain. It is thus possible in some cases to separate varieties based on multi-element grain content across a relatively narrow environmental gradient but not generally across all environments. These findings should be included in breeding programmes focusing on the improvement of the nutritional value of our food crops.     

Effect of optokinetic stimulation on visual–manual tracking under the conditions of support-proprioceptive deprivation

The effects of additional dynamic visual stimuli (retinal optokinetic stimulation (ROKS)) on the visual–manual tracking (VMT) indicators in the absence of support afferentation and with a reduced level of proprioceptive afferentation were determined using a model of horizontal “dry” immersion. The accuracy of the VMT of jerky and smooth (linear, pendular, and circular) movements represented by visual dot stimuli was evaluated in all 18 participants aged 19–31 before, during and after their exposure to a five- to seven-day immersion bath. The eye movements were recorded by electrooculography, while the hand movements were recorded by a joystick with a biological visual feedback (the current angle of the joystick handle was imaged on the screen). Computerized visual stimulation tests were presented, through virtual reality glasses, to subjects in the absence and against the background ROKS. We analyzed the temporal and the amplitude- and velocity-related visual and manual tracking (VT and MT) characteristics, including the efficiency (e) and gain (g) coefficients as the ratios between the amplitudes and velocities of eye/hand movements and the amplitude of stimulus movements. The efficiency and gain coefficients of both VT and MT without ROKS were significantly decreased against the baseline during the entire period including three days of immersion and 3 post-immersion days. The most pronounced worsening was observed in the VT parameters. Whereas the VT and MT parameters remained unchanged against the threshold ROKS before the immersion, they were improved during and after the immersion (the improvement was significant on the fifth to seventh day of immersion and on the thirdthird post-immersion day, compared to the test indicators on the clean screen). The most pronounced impact of ROKS was observed in the VT parameters. The vestibular function (VF) was evaluated by videooculography before and after immersion. We analyzed the static torsional otolith-cervicalocular reflex (OCOR), dynamic vestibular-cervical-ocular reactions (VCOR), vestibular reactivity (VR), and spontaneous eye movements (SpEM). A significant decrease in OCOR (gOCOR was 0.1, compared to the background gOCOR value of 0.25) was detected alongside a simultaneous significant increase in the VCOR/VR parameters in 28% of subjects on day R + 1 after immersion. Correlational has been found between the parameters of VT and MT, as well as between those of VF and VT, but no correlation has been found between the VF and MT characteristics. The results have shown that the removal of support afferentation and the minimization of proprioceptive afferentation more affected the accuracy of VT rather than that of MT. The correlational links between the studied parameters against the background of ROKS were not only preserved, but also intensified. The obtained results confirm the development of sensory deprivation (and afferent deficit) under the exposure to an immersion bath and indicate the approach to correcting the sensory deprivation through additional ROKS.     

Influence of culture conditions on the production of heterologous interleukin 1β by Kluyveromyces lactis

Summary Under the control of the repressible PHO5 promoter, the expression of gene encoding interleukin 1 (Il1) was derepressed when the medium was depleted of free inorganic phosphate (Pi). Maximum heterologous protein synthesis was obtained in the presence of 75 mg KH₂PO₄/1 (for 20 g glucose/l). The successful heterologous protein production greatly depends on nutritional culture conditions as Il1 production efficiency was increased by 83% through optimization of the growth medium. Comparison of different phosphate-limited cultivation strategies led to the development of a batch culture procedure with nutrient pulses to delay induced oxido-fermentative glucose metabolism and increase the Il1 production to 135 mg/l.     

Influence of specific fermentation conditions on natural microflora of pomace in “Grappa” production

As reported in the European Community regulation, grappa is a spirit beverage made in Italy from marc that has been steam distilled or distilled after the addition of water. Grape marc from red grapes has already undergone alcoholic fermentation with the must and can be distilled immediately. Grape marc from white grapes does not contain ethanol but contains sugars that are fermented by spontaneous anaerobic fermentation during a storage period. The characteristic aroma of grappa consists of a large number of volatile compounds, which arise from various sources, the most important of which is yeast. Very few studies have been undertaken to characterize the natural populations of yeast during the fermentation of grape marc. The goal of this study was to understand how different pHs, temperatures and yeast starter cultures affect the growth and dynamics of yeast species involved in pomace fermentation, which could be the basis for improving the final quality of grappa production. We found that a temperature of 15°C has the greatest effect on improving the quality of the product. Unfortunately, due to the solid state of the grape marc and the impossibility of its mixing, it appears that acidification and the addition of yeast starter cultures during the silage period are not effective.     

Impacts of climate change on stream benthic diatoms—a nation-wide perspective of reference conditions

Hydrobiologia - Consequences of anthropogenic climate change directly affect freshwater ecosystems and their aquatic biological communities. Diatoms are amongst the most sensitive organisms to...     

Influence of cultivation and induction conditions on β-lactamase production in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus

Summary The formation and localization of the -lactamase of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus CCM 5593 is strongly affected by cultivation and induction conditions. Optimal parameters for enzyme yield are cultivation on minimal salts medium with acetate (10 g·1^–1) as carbon source and addition of yeast extract (5–10 g·l^–1), induction by cefotaxime (50g·ml^–1) immediately after inoculation and growth for 24 h at 25° C. The strain forms a basal level of -lactamase constitutively [70 units (U)·g^–1]. Nearly all of this was found to be cell-bound. However, -lactamase activity additionally produced after induction (up to 500 U·g^–1 wet bacteria) was located in the culture medium (up to 96%). This unusual localization is a special feature of A. calcoaceticus and is not attributed to cell lysis. Offprint requests to: P. Borneleit     

Bio-thermal effects of open dumps on surroundings detected by remote sensing—Influence of geographical conditions

This study has used remotely sensed data of Landsat-8 for monitoring open dumps of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) using vegetation health as a bio-indicator and thermal emissions from it. Open dump of Mahmood Booti has been found to affect the surrounding vegetation up to 800 m in dry summers and reducing to 400 m in winters, while averaging to a distance of about 650 m. Average thermal influence zone has been observed to have same radial extent of about 650 m varying between the minimum of 350 m in dry summer and maximum of 1000 m in winter. All the corresponding details of bio-indicators and temperature variations have also been discussed. In addition to this, the results and methodology of spatial analysis for Mahmood Booti dump of Lahore, Pakistan, surrounded by a heterogeneous land cover, have been compared with the main dumping facility of Faisalabad, Pakistan, which is surrounded by a homogeneous vegetation cover all around. This comparison yielded two main conclusions, first, the surrounding geography of an open MSW dump affects the severity of bio-thermal effects, in addition to waste age, characterization, pile etc. Second, GIS analysis for studying bio-thermal effects requires modification that varies for prevailing neighborhood land cover conditions of MSW open dumps. Use of remotely sensed data for monitoring dumped MSW is a good alternative but selection of proper GIS methodology, representing natural setting of phenomena is equally important as that of the accuracy of the remotely sensed data.     

Effectiveness of chain‐springs on leghold traps for reducing injuries to captured brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)

Abstract

Leghold traps continue to be an essential tool for managing brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand. Concerns about the injuries such traps cause have given rise to efforts to make these traps more humane. One trap modification that had potential for reducing injuries was the placement of an appropriately sized spring between two links of a trap chain to provide a cushioning effect when the chain is extended. Such springs were added to Lanes‐Ace and Victor No. 1½ traps and the injuries caused to captured possums were compared with those to possums captured in the same traps without springs or in Victor No. 1 traps. The addition of chain‐springs reduced the severity of injuries significantly, but injury scores were still significantly higher than for possums captured in Victor No. 1 traps. Consequently, although chain‐springs improved the welfare performance of the Lanes‐Ace and Victor No. 1½ traps, they did not do so to such an extent that those traps could be considered as humane as the currently acceptable Victor No. 1 traps.