Biodegradation of sodium sulfite liquor (NaSSL) and sodium lignosulfonate (NaLS) by a mixed culture of microorganisms

Summary In this work we discuss the aerobic biodegradation of sodium sulfite liquor of (NaSSL) and sodium lignosulfonate (NaLS) in a firwood sulfite waste liquor by a mixed culture of microorganisms consisting of two Trichosporon yeasts and bacteria in the Arthrobacter (two species), Pseudomonas and Chromabacterium genera. Under established process parameters, the NaSSL was biodegradated in one or two stages by mixed cultures. The kinetics in each stage was studied. The optimal ratio of NaLS and sugars in the substrate for the growth of mixed culture was determined. The growth of the monocultures of the bacteria on the NaLS and the growth of the yeasts as monocultures on the NaSSL substrate were examined. UV absorption and IR spectra were employed as analytical methods to follow the microbial degradation of NaLS. The aim of this research was to study the biodegradation process and kinetics and to remove by means of mixed culture the maximum amount of organic matter from NaSSL.     

Synthesis of a water-soluble prodrug of entacapone

Entacapone was reacted with phosphorous oxychloride in dry pyridine to yield a phosphate ester. The phosphate promoiety increased aqueous solubility of the parent drug by more than 1700- and 20-fold at pH 1.2 and 7.4, respectively. The phosphate ester provides adequate stability (t(1/2) = 2227 h; pH 7.4) towards chemical hydrolysis, and allowed for release of the parent drug via enzymatic hydrolysis in liver homogenate.     

Season of Birth and Lung Fibrosis among Workers Exposed to Asbestos

The season of birth has been suggested to influence the development of some diseases, but its role in lung fibrosis seems to not have been studied previously. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the season of birth and fibrotic abnormalities as detected radiologically in high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) among workers exposed to asbestos. The HRCT examination was performed on 528 study subjects. Multiple ordinal regression analysis adjusting for covariates was used to study the relations between birth month or season and radiological fibrosis signs. Subjects born in autumn or winter had more extensive fibrotic changes than those born in spring or summer. This applied to all fibrotic changes, apart from subpleural nodules, but only the overall fibrosis score, septal lines, and honeycombing showed statistically significantly higher values in comparison to spring births. The highest scores were detected among those born in autumn and winter months (September–February). These results suggest that there are differences in fibrotic radiological abnormalities according to the season of birth in adults exposed to asbestos. Several hypotheses could explain the observed findings, including the effects of early respiratory infections, cold temperature, and differences in air pollution levels, as well as some metabolic and hormonal effects.     

Phenotypic plasticity in growth and fecundity induced by strong population fluctuations affects reproductive traits of female fish

Fish are known for their high phenotypic plasticity in life‐history traits in relation to environmental variability, and this is particularly pronounced among salmonids in the Northern Hemisphere. Resource limitation leads to trade‐offs in phenotypic plasticity between life‐history traits related to the reproduction, growth, and survival of individual fish, which have consequences for the age and size distributions of populations, as well as their dynamics and productivity. We studied the effect of plasticity in growth and fecundity of vendace females on their reproductive traits using a series of long‐term incubation experiments. The wild parental fish originated from four separate populations with markedly different densities, and hence naturally induced differences in their growth and fecundity. The energy allocation to somatic tissues and eggs prior to spawning served as a proxy for total resource availability to individual females, and its effects on offspring survival and growth were analyzed. Vendace females allocated a rather constant proportion of available energy to eggs (per body mass) despite different growth patterns depending on the total resources in the different lakes; investment into eggs thus dictated the share remaining for growth. The energy allocation to eggs per mass was higher in young than in old spawners and the egg size and the relative fecundity differed between them: Young females produced more and smaller eggs and larvae than old spawners. In contrast to earlier observations of salmonids, a shortage of maternal food resources did not increase offspring size and survival. Vendace females in sparse populations with ample resources and high growth produced larger eggs and larvae. Vendace accommodate strong population fluctuations by their high plasticity in growth and fecundity, which affect their offspring size and consequently their recruitment and productivity, and account for their persistence and resilience in the face of high fishing mortality.     

Phenotype-dependent mate choice and the influence of mixed-morph lineage on the reproductive success of a polymorphic and aposematic moth

Polymorphic warning signals in aposematic organisms are puzzling because efficient predator learning should select for the most efficient warning colouration. Yet, there are many examples of polymorphic and aposematic organisms in nature. Here, we investigated whether perceived trade-offs between natural and sexual selection, combined with different degrees of morph lineage admixture, can maintain polymorphic yellow and white hindwing colouration in aposematic wood tiger moth males (Arctia plantaginis). Prior research in the system suggests that yellow males have better warning colouration against predators, whereas white male morphs have higher mating success. We performed a mating experiment where females were offered four males: two white and two yellow. One male from each colour came from (purely) monomorphic lines (i.e. including the same paternal colour for multiple generations), whereas one male from each colour were from mixed-morph (or hybrid) lineages. We then assessed whether phenotype (colour), lineage, or an interaction between the two, best affected mating success. Our results showed that although white hindwing coloured males tended to have overall better reproductive success, this was mainly due to the significantly higher mating and hatching success of mixed-morph compared to pure-line individuals. Notably, this suggests the advantage of mixed-morph lineage is limited to white individuals, while on the contrary yellow mixed lineage moths have a disadvantage, i.e. the lowest mating success. The latter also suggests a cost to reproductive success in producing the more efficient against predators yellow warning colouration, even when those individuals recently descend from a white hindwing coloured lineage. Heterozygote, or hybrid advantage, even when confined to only one morph, has been shown to promote polymorphism in some systems, therefore, our results point at the need to further examine genetic architecture and the role of mixed-morph lineages in understanding the maintenance of polymorphisms in nature.     

Offspring phenotype is shaped by the nonsperm fraction of semen

In a large majority of animal species, the only contribution of males to the next generation has been assumed to be their genes (sperm). However, along with sperm, seminal plasma contains a wide array of extracellular factors that have many important functions in reproduction. Yet, the potential intergenerational effects of these factors are virtually unknown. We investigated these effects in European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) by experimentally manipulating the presence and identity of seminal plasma and by fertilizing the eggs of multiple females with the manipulated and unmanipulated semen of several males in a full‐factorial breeding design. The presence of both own seminal plasma and foreign seminal plasma inhibited sperm motility, and the removal of own seminal plasma decreased embryo survival. Embryos hatched significantly earlier after both semen manipulations than in control fertilizations; foreign seminal plasma also increased offspring aerobic swimming performance. Given that our experimental design allowed us to control potentially confounding sperm‐mediated (sire) effects and maternal effects, our results indicate that seminal plasma may have direct intergenerational consequences for offspring phenotype and performance. This novel source of offspring phenotypic variance may provide new insights into the evolution of polyandry and mechanisms that maintain heritable variation in fitness and associated female mating preferences.     

Magnetopriming circumvents the effect of salinity stress on germination in chickpea seeds

Chickpea seeds of Pusa 1053 (Mediterranean) and Pusa 256 (native) were magnetoprimed with 100 mT static magnetic field for 1 h to evaluate the effect of magnetopriming on germination of seeds under saline conditions. Enhanced rate of germination and seedling growth parameters (root and shoot length, and vigour indices) under different salinity levels indicated that magnetopriming was more effective in alleviating salinity stress at early seedling stage in Pusa 1053 as compared to Pusa 256. Dynamics of seed water absorption in magnetoprimed seeds showed increased water uptake in Pusa 1053 under non-saline as compared to saline conditions. This could have resulted in faster hydration of enzymes in primed seeds leading to higher rate of germination. Total amylase, protease and dehydrogenase activities were higher in primed seeds as compared to unprimed seeds under both non-saline and saline conditions. Production of superoxide radicals was enhanced in germinating seeds of both the genotypes under salinity irrespective of priming. Increased levels of hydrogen peroxide in germinating magnetoprimed seeds, under both the growing conditions, suggested its role in promotion of germination. Our results showed that magnetopriming of dry seeds of chickpea can be effectively used as a pre-sowing treatment for mitigating adverse effects of salinity at seed germination and early seedling growth.     

Seasonal and annual stem respiration of Scots pine trees under boreal conditions

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Stem respiration of trees is a major, but poorly assessed component of the carbon balance of forests, and important for geo-chemistry. Measurements are required under naturally changing seasonal conditions in different years. Therefore, intra- and inter-annual carbon fluxes of stems in forests were measured continuously from April to November in three consecutive years. METHODS: Stem respiratory CO2 fluxes of 50-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees were continuously measured with a CO2 analyser, and, concomitantly, stem circumference, stem and air temperature and other environmental factors and photosynthesis, were also measured automatically. KEY RESULTS: There were diurnal, seasonal and inter-annual changes in stem respiration, which peaked at 1600 h during the day and was highest in July. The temperature coefficient of stem respiration (Q10) was greater during the growing season than when growth was slow or had stopped, and more sensitive to temperature in the growing season. The annual Q10 remained relatively constant at about 2 over the three years, while respiration at a reference temperature of 15 degrees C (R15) was higher in the growing than in the non-growing season (1.09 compared with 0.78 micromol m(-2) stem surface s(-1)), but was similar between the years. Maintenance respiration was 76 %, 82 % and 80 % of the total respiration of 17.46, 17.26 and 19.35 mol m2 stem surface in 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively. The annual total stem respiration of the stand per unit ground area was 75.97 gC m(-2) in 2001 and 74.28 gC m(-2) in 2002. CONCLUSIONS: Stem respiration is an important component in the annual carbon balance of a Scots pine stand, contributing 9 % to total carbon loss from the ecosystem and consuming about 8 % of the carbon of the ecosystem gross primary production. Stem (or air) temperature was the most important predictor of stem carbon flux. The magnitude of stem respiration is modified by photosynthesis and tree growth. Solar radiation indirectly affects stem respiration through its effect on photosynthesis.