The use of a conventional tissue culture plate as an optically accessible perfusion chamber for in situ assays and for long-term cultivation of mammalian cells

An alternative culture system has been developed based on a conventional tissue culture plate (3.5 cm diameter) which is changed into a closed perfusion chamber. The system can easily be scaled up from one to several chambers. The shape and the size of the area of cell growth may be designed to individual experimental demands. The whole culture chamber is optically accessible, so cell growth and morphology can be evaluated by light microscopy. Furthermore the cellular physiology can be characterised by any fluorimetric assay using a bottom type fluorescence reader. A peristaltic pump sustains a constant medium flow through the chamber thus creating true homeostasis. The use of HPLC-valves and connectors allows the switching between different media or assay solutions. Thus it is possible to perform in situ assays also measuring transient effects. A protocol for vitality tests using calcein-AM is worked out for an adherent cell line and for a suspension cell line. The lower detection limits are 7 × 10² cells cm^-2 for the adherent cells and 5 × 10⁴ cells mL^-1 for the suspension cells. The upper limits are 1–2 × 10⁵ cells cm^-2 respectively 8 × 10⁶ cells mL^-1.     

不同栽培模式黄山药新根茎生长量的比较研究

本文研究了3种栽培模式(农业栽培模式、苹果园栽培模式和灌丛林带栽培模式)对黄山药新根茎生长量的影响,分析了3种模式的利弊和规模化发展黄山药的可能性,为多途径规模化发展黄山药提供了理论依据和技术范例。     

Production of ethanol and biomass from thin stillage by Neurospora intermedia: A pilot study for process diversification

Dry mill ethanol processes produce ethanol and animal feed from whole grains, where the wastewater after the distillation and separation of solid materials is called “thin stillage.” In this work, similar production of ethanol (3.5 g/L) and biomass (5 g/L) from thin stillage was obtained during batch cultivation of the edible fungus Neurospora intermedia in a 2‐m high airlift reactor and bubble column. The fungal biomass, containing 50% w/w protein and 12% w/w lipids, was rich in essential amino acids and omega‐3 and ‐6 fatty acids. In a continuous mode of fermentation, dilution rates of up to 0.2 h^?1 could be applied without cell washout in the bubble column at 0.5 vvm. At 0.1 h^?1, around 5 g/L of ethanol and 4 g/L of biomass containing ca. 50% w/w protein were produced. The fungus was able to assimilate saccharides in the liquid fraction as well as sugar backbones such as xylan and arabinan in the solid fraction. The inclusion of the current process could potentially lead to the production of 11 000 m³ of ethanol (5.5% improvement vs. normal industrial process) and around 6300 tons of high‐quality biomass for animal feed at a typical facility producing 200 000 m³ ethanol per year.     

Salinity Reduction and Biomass Accumulation in Hydroponic Growth of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

In many of the world's semi-arid and arid regions, the increase in demand for good quality water associated with the gradual and irreversible salinisation of the soil and water have raised the development of techniques that facilitate the safe use of brackish and saline waters for agronomic purposes. This study aimed to evaluate the salinity reduction of experimental saline solutions through the ions uptake capability of purslane (Portulaca oleracea), as well as its biomass accumulation. The hydroponic system used contained three different nutrient solutions composed of fixed concentrations of macro and micronutrients to which three different concentrations of sodium chloride had been added. Two conditions were tested, clipped and intact plants. It was observed that despite there being a notable removal of magnesium and elevated biomass accumulation, especially in the intact plants, purslane did not present the expected removal quantity of sodium and chloride. We confirmed that in the research conditions of the present study, purslane is a saline-tolerant species but accumulation of sodium and chloride was not shown as previously described in the literature.     

鸡枞的驯化栽培现状

本文论述了当前鸡枞菌驯化栽培的两种模式即:以培养鸡枞菌为重心的腐生菌模式、以扩繁鸡枞菌共生白蚁为重心的原生态模式,并对其驯化栽培过程中所面临的问题及其可能的解决方案进行了阐述。     

有机荔枝园、常规荔枝园和天然荔枝园蜘蛛类群的比较

2004～2005年,对珠海市斗门区有机、常规和天然荔枝园的蜘蛛群落进行了系统的调查和分析,结果表明,不同类型荔枝园蜘蛛群落丰富度S值天然＞有机＞常规荔枝园;多样性指数H'值有机＞天然＞常规荔枝园;均匀度E值有机＞天然＞常规荔枝园.说明进行有机管理的荔枝园对蜘蛛群落的多样性影响较小,有利于保护和发挥天敌的自然控制力.有机、常规荔枝园的优势类群均为园蛛科、皿蛛科和球蛛科,而天然荔枝园除这三者外,跳蛛科也明显增加.除天气因素外,更重要的还与人为农事活动干扰程度直接相关.有机荔枝园不使用化学农药,蜘蛛种类多,个体数也较多.而常规荔枝园由于频繁地使用了化学合成物质,蜘蛛种类和数量较少.说明施用大量的化学农药,对蜘蛛的影响较大.     

Changes in the spatial variation of soil properties following shifting cultivation in a Mexican tropical dry forest

The role of secondary vegetation in restoring soil fertility during shifting cultivation in the tropics is well known. Yet the effect of secondary succession on the spatial patterns of soil properties has received little attention. To determine whether changes in the plant community as a result of shifting cultivation affect the scale of spatial dependence for biologically important soil nutrients, we sampled three dry tropical forest stands in Campeche, Mexico. These stands represented a gradient of cultivation history: one mature forest stand, a forest fallow that had undergone one cultivation-fallow cycle, and a forest fallow that had undergone two cultivation-fallow cycles. We used an analysis of semivariance to quantify the scale and magnitude of spatial dependence for organic matter content (OM), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and aluminum (Al) in each stand. The scale of spatial dependence varied with cultivation history, but the degree of spatial dependence did not differ among stands. In the mature forest P and K were autocorrelated over distances >7.5 m. In the forest fallows 48–88% of the variation in soil P and K was autocorrelated over distances up to 1.1–5.1 m. In contrast, the range of autocorrelation for Al (∼2.5 m) did not differ among stands. We conclude that shifting cultivation changes the range of autocorrelation for biologically important soil nutrients at a scale that may influence plant growth. The finer scaled pattern of soil nutrients in forest fallows is likely to persist with continued shifting cultivation, since fallows are cleared every 3–15 years.     

Production and partial characterization of cellulase free xylanase by Bacillus subtilis C 01 using agriresidues and its application in biobleaching of nonwoody plant pulps

AIMS: To optimize the solid-state cultivation conditions for xylanase production using agriresidues and testing the biobleaching efficiency of xylanase on nonwoody plant fibre materials. METHODS AND RESULTS: An extracellular cellulase free xylanase was produced from Bacillus subtilis C 01 using various inexpensive substrates under solid-state cultivation. High level of xylanase production (135 IU gds(-1)) was observed when grown on wheat bran followed by maize powder (50 IU gds(-1)). The maximum xylanase (136 IU gds(-1)) production was occurred in wheat bran-to-moisture ratio of 1 : 1 at 72 h. The xylanase pretreated pulp samples of banana, silk cotton and cotton showed an increased brightness of 19.6, 11.6 and 7.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The enzyme-aided biobleaching results indicate that the xylanase has potential application in enhancing the brightness of nonwoody plant fibre pulp. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report on biobleaching of banana fibres, silk cotton and cotton pulps using xylanase. The biobleaching results of secondary fibres are promising and can be transferred to paper mills, which utilize nonwoody plant fibres as a raw material for paper production.     

Population Growth and Land Use Intensification in a Subsistence-based Indigenous Community in the Amazon

Shifting cultivation practiced by indigenous peoples living at low population densities in tropical forests has often been described as sustainable and compatible with conservation. However, shifting cultivation at increasing population densities has historically been, and still is, a main cause of deforestation worldwide. As many indigenous peoples in tropical forests currently experience rapid demographic growth, this raises the question to what extent their agricultural activities actually contribute to deforestation. This paper examines land use change in an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon which is only loosely connected to the market economy, and where agriculture is almost exclusively subsistence oriented. During the last seven decades, people have increasingly begun to clear fallows instead of old-growth forest to farm. Although the population was growing at an estimated 1.6% per year, the expansion of the area of land used for agriculture was only 0.4% per year, corresponding to an annual deforestation rate of only 0.015%. Whereas these changes may seem negligible in terms of deforestation, they do cause hardships to the local people, because of increasing walking distance to old-growth forest, and problems with weeds, pests, and decreasing soil productivity when farming after reclearing fallows.     

霍山石斛类原球茎二步法培养细胞生长和多糖合成的动力学研究

磷是调控类原球茎细胞生长和多糖积累的有效因素。为了获得较高的多糖产量,根据霍山石斛类原球茎生长和多糖积累的动力学特性,提出了二步培养方式,采用了补料策略,研究了其培养过程的动力学特性,并建立了相关模型。结果表明,采用二步法培养,生物量从28·7gDW/L提高到44·2gDW/L,多糖产量从1·86g/L提高到5·22g/L,多糖含量从6·4%提高到11·9%。建立的模型基本反映了类原球茎生长和多糖积累的动力学机制。