Olive oil production in Hellenistic Greece: the interpretation of charred olive remains from the site of Tria Platania,Macedonia, Greece (fourth–second century <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">b.c.</Emphasis>)

The Hellenistic farm site of Tria Platania in Macedonia, Greece, has revealed large quantities of charred olive remains, indicative of olive oil production from the fourth to the second century b.c. There, besides stones (the endocarp), new archaeobotanical elements such as olive pulp and flesh (the mesocarp) and kernels (the seed) were recovered for the first time in the archaeobotanical record in Greece. It is the purpose of this paper to present some of the material recovered from Tria Platania and interpret it in the light of developed model sequences of olive processing. In addition, Olea assemblages from other Greek sites are discussed in which Olea remains have been interpreted in various ways.     

Biogenic synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using olea europaea leaf extract and evaluation of their toxicity activities: An in vivo and in vitro study

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CUNPs) were synthesized using Olea europaea leaf extract as reducing and protecting agent. The formation of nanoparticles was observed through a color change from yellowish to brownish black. The CUNPs were confirmed with UV–Vis spectrophotometer, which revealed a peak absorbance at 289 nm. The synthesized CUNPs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The XRD pattern revealed that CUNPs were crystalline in nature with a diameter around 20 nm. FTIR spectral analysis showed that CUNPs were capped with plant constituents. From SEM and TEM analyses, the CUNPs were generally found to be spherical in shape, and the size range was 20–50 nm. Free radical scavenging potential of CUNPs against DPPH was confirmed by its stable antioxidant effects. In addition, the toxicity of CUNPs in mice was also assessed by body weight and weights of liver, kidneys, spleen, and thymus. The immune response in mice was signaled through an obvious change in spleen and thymus index, with a decrease of ADA enzyme activity in serum, spleen, and thymus after CUNPs treatment. The CUNPs were found to exert cell growth arrest against AMJ‐13 and SKOV‐3 cancer cells in a dose‐dependent manner and induce cell death by apoptosis. Less significant cytotoxic effect was observed in normal dermal fibroblast cells. These findings suggest that CUNPs may have the potential to be anticancer agents. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:218–230, 2018     

Enzyme immobilized reactor design for ammonia removal from waste water

Removal of nitrogen compound from waste, water is essential and often accomplished by biological process. To prevent washout and to develop an efficient bioreactor, immobilization of suitable microorganisms could be sensible approach. Strains and permeabilized cells encapsulated in cellulose nitrate microcapsules and immobilized on polystyrene, films were prepared by the method described in the previous study. In the wastewater, treatment system, nitrification of ammonia component is generally known as rate controlling step. To enhance the rate of nitrification, firstly nitrifying strainsNitrosomonas europaea (IFO 14298), are permeabilized chemically, and immobilized on polystyrene, films and secondly oxidation rates of strain system and permeabilized strain system are compared in the same condition. With 30 minute permeabilized cells, it took about 25 hours to oxidize 70% of ammonia in the solution, while it took about 40 hours to treat same amount of ammonia with untreated cells. All the immobilization procedures did not harm to the enzyme activity and no mass transfer resistance through the capsule wall was shown. In the durability test of immobilized system, the system showed considerable activity for the repeated operation for 90 days. With these results, the system developed in this study showed the possibility to be used in the actual waste water treatment system.     

Larval performance in relation to oviposition site preference in olive kernel moth (Prays oleae Bern., Yponomeutidae,Praydina)

1 The tri‐voltine moth Prays oleae Bern. spends its larval stages on the native olive tree (Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris Brot. and five cultivars, Oleaceae) mining the leaves, the flowers and the fruits in each generation; it seldom switches to other native or introduced confamilial plant species. 2 In this study the pattern of oviposition of the olive moth was examined in olive fields and natural vegetation, in relation to in situ recruitment as an outcome of processes such as density dependence or risk spreading. 3 Larval body size (width of epicranial sclerites) was also examined and compared between host substrates, years and morphological, physiological, ecological and nutritional attributes of the host. 4 The factors influencing the oviposition pattern of the olive moth such as the carbon/nitrogen ratio, number of flowers, branch length and previous leaf damage were ranked differently in different cultivars. 5 ‘Hot spots’, i.e. olive trees or parts of trees receiving a high egg load, were found to be the result of in situ recruitment. 6 Physiological mortality among first instar larvae was significantly negatively correlated with the number of oviposited upon leaves; suggesting that the adult selects for oviposition the best available substrate. 7 As adult moths selected leaves with minimal probability of abscission for oviposition, leaf abscission was not a major mortality factor, although first instar larvae reduced leaf longevity. 8 Host quality did not affect all larval stages in the same way. 9 The more nutritionally poor the substrate, the longer the duration of the larval stage feeding on it. The phenological timing of the insect life stages very closely tracks the phenological phases of its host plant, primarily focusing on the most nutritious host stage in terms of larval performance.     

Improved methods for in situ enzymatic amplification and detection of low copy number genes in bacteria

We present alternative and improved protocols for in situ analysis of single copy genes in prokaryotes. Primed in situ amplification (PRINS) and cycle PRINS were used to detect, via the incorporation of a fluorescein labelled nucleotide, the presence of specific genes carried on both high and low copy number plasmids in individual cells of Escherichia coli and a marine bacterium, SW5. The optimised protocols described enabled a significant reduction in non-specific signals whilst maintaining high fluorescent activity via labelled nucleotide incorporation. In addition, nucleic acids were amplified linearly and were retained within the permeabilised microbial cells. These methods provide considerable advances in sensitivity, specificity and reliability compared to current protocols for bacterial in situ nucleic acid amplification.     

Identification of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in olive ( Olea europaea L.)

A small insert genomic library of Olea europaea L., highly enriched in (GA/CT)n repeats, was obtained using the procedure of Kandpal et al. (1994). The sequencing of 103 clones randomly extracted from this library allowed the identification of 56 unique genomic inserts containing simple sequence repeat regions made by at least three single repeats. A sample of 20 primer pairs out of the 42 available were tested for functionality using the six olive varieties whose DNA served for library construction. All primer pairs succeeded in amplifying at least one product from the six DNA samples, and ten pairs detecting more than one allele were used for the genetic characterisation of a panel of 20 olive accessions belonging to 16 distinct varieties. A total of 57 alleles were detected among the 20 genotypes at the ten polymorphic SSR loci. The remaining primer pair allowed the amplification of a single SSR allele for all accessions plus a longer fragment for some genotypes. Considering the simple sequence repeat polymorphism, 5.7 alleles were scored on average for each of the ten SSR loci. A genetic dissimilarity matrix, based on the proportion of shared alleles among all the pair-wise combinations of genotypes, was constructed and used to disentangle the genetic relationships among varieties by means of the UPGMA clustering algorithm. Graphical representation of the results showed the presence of two distinct clusters of varieties. The first cluster grouped the varieties cultivated on the Ionian Sea coasts. The second cluster showed two subdivisions: the first sub-cluster agglomerated the varieties from some inland areas of Calabria; the second grouped the remaining varieties from Basilicata and Apulia cultivated in nearby areas. Results of cluster analysis showed a significant relationship between the multilocus genetic similarities and the geographic origin of the cultivars. Received: 2 February 2001 / Accepted: 1 June 2001     

Moderately thermophilic nitrifying bacteria from a hot spring of the Baikal rift zone

Samples from three hot springs (Alla, Seya and Garga) located in the northeastern part of Baikal rift zone (Buryat Republic, Russia) were screened for the presence of thermophilic nitrifying bacteria. Enrichment cultures were obtained solely from the Garga spring characterized by slightly alkaline water (pH 7.9) and an outlet temperature of 75 degrees C. The enrichment cultures of the ammonia- and nitrite oxidizers grew at temperature ranges of 27-55 and 40-60 degrees C, respectively. The temperature optimum was approximately 50 degrees C for both groups and thus they can be designated as moderate thermophiles. Ammonia oxidizers were identified with classical and immunological techniques. Representatives of the genus Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira-like bacteria with characteristic vibroid morphology were detected. The latter were characterized by an enlarged periplasmic space, which has not been previously observed in ammonia oxidizers. Electron microscopy, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing provided evidence that the nitrite oxidizers were members of the genus Nitrospira.     

OLAND生物脱氮系统中硝化菌群16S rDNA的DGGE分析

为了考察生物脱氮系统中硝化菌群（氨氧化菌和亚硝酸氧化菌）的种群多样性及硝化菌群随溶解氧降低的种群变化规律,并建立一套行之有效的用于自养生物脱氮系统中功能微生物菌群的快速分子检测技术,采用DGGE（变性梯度凝胶电泳）分子检测技术对硝化菌群的16SrDNA的特异性PCR扩增产物进行了分析,结果表明：OLAND生物脱氮系统中氨氧化菌和亚硝酸氧化菌随溶解氧的降低表现出了不同的种群变化规律,氨氧化菌种群多样性受溶解氧的影响非常大,而非亚硝酸氧化菌的种群多样性比较单一,且不受溶解氧的影响。结合FISH（全细胞荧光原位杂交）分析结果表明,在OLAND限氧稳定运行后期,亚硝化单胞菌属（Nitrosomonas）是主要的氨氧化菌,占OLAND限氧亚硝化阶段反应器中总细菌数的72.5%左右。     

Enzymology of the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by bacteria

The enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by autotrophic bacteria are reviewed. A comparison is made with enzymes which catalyze the same reactions in methylotrophs and organotrophic heterotrophic bacteria.     

中国油橄榄适生区研究

油橄榄在中国引种已50多年,引种初期对其特殊的生态习性了解不够深入,出现了许多问题。作者从近40年的栽培实践中,认真分析了我国亚热带地区与地中海亚热带地区气候的差异,认为中国发展油橄榄生产的最佳适生区是西部干旱河谷地区,其中以甘南自龙江河谷和滇西北及川西南金沙江河谷发展的潜力最大。