Biologicals (Czechia)

Aulacus is a genus of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Evanioidea. We re-examine the Australian fauna, assessing both generic and species boundaries. In doing so, we provide diagnostic descriptions for 41 previously described species, two new species A. elongaticeps Parslow & Hill sp. nov. and A. gromiti Parslow & Hill sp. nov., and synonymise 19 speciesA. anici Jennings & Austin, 2018, A. aroueti (Girault, 1926), A. bashfordi Jennings & Austin, 2018, and A. simsoni Jennings & Austin, 2018 are all synonymised with A. albimanus (Kieffer, 1911); A. wrightae Jennings & Austin, 2018, is synonymised with A. aquilus Jennings & Austin, 2018; A. pallidus Jennings & Austin, 2018 and A. warraensis Jennings & Austin, 2018 are both synonymised with A. atriceps (Kieffer, 1911); A. kittelae Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonymised with A. bamagensis Jennings & Austin, 2018; A. deansi Jennings & Austin 2018 is synonymised with A. belairensis Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004; A. brabyi Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonomised with A. flavicornis (Kieffer, 1911); A. pallidicaudis (Cameron, 1911) is synonomised with A. flavimanus (Kieffer, 1911); A. nebo Jennings & Austin, 2018 and A. mareebaensis Jennings & Austin, 2018 are both synonymised with A. flindersbaudini Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004; A. mcmillani Jennings Austin & Stevens, 2004 is synonomised with A. fuscicornis Cameron, 1911; A. naumanni Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonomised with A. jamberoo Jennings & Parslow, 2018; A. williamsi Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonymised with A. kiwarrakensis Jennings & Austin, 2018; A. scitulus Jennings & Parslow, 2018 is synonymised with A. obcordellus Jennings & Parslow, 2018; A. hackeri Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonymised with A. planiceps (Szepligeti, 1903); and A. tasmanicus Jennings & Austin, 2018 is synonymised with A. rieki Jennings & Austin, 2018. As well, A. biroi (Szpligeti, 1903) remains incertae sedis. Diagnostic figure plates for all valid 43 species and an updated key to the Australian species are also provided.

© 2020 The Author(s). Animals native to the hypoxic and cold environment at high altitude provide an excellent opportunity to elucidate the integrative mechanisms underlying the adaptive evolution and plasticity of complex traits. The capacity for aerobic thermogenesis can be a critical determinant of survival for small mammals at high altitude, but the physiological mechanisms underlying the evolution of this performance trait remain unresolved. We examined this issue by comparing high-altitude deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with low-altitude deer mice and white-footed mice (P. leucopus). Mice were bred in captivity and adults were acclimated to each of four treatments: warm (25°C) normoxia, warm hypoxia (12 kPa O 2), cold (5°C) normoxia or cold hypoxia. Acclimation to hypoxia and/or cold increased thermogenic capacity in deer mice, but hypoxia acclimation led to much greater increases in thermogenic capacity in highlanders than in lowlanders. The high thermogenic capacity of highlanders was associated with increases in pulmonary O 2 extraction, arterial O 2 saturation, cardiac output and arterial-venous O 2 difference. Mechanisms underlying the evolution of enhanced thermogenic capacity in highlanders were partially distinct from those underlying the ancestral acclimation responses of lowlanders. Environmental adaptation has thus enhanced phenotypic plasticity and expanded the physiological toolkit for coping with the challenges at high altitude.

Augusta University Provost’s Office and the Translational Research Program of the Department of Medicine

Lactobacillus plantarum is a Gram-positive bacterium commonly found in fermented food and is classified as probiotic This probiotic-bacterium is wide applications in the medical field because present antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anti-obesity and antidiabetic properties Probiotics are live microorganisms that when are administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host Probiotics are wide used in applications of the pharma industry because contributing significantly to human medicine without contributing to any side effects. However, there are not studies were the culture conditions in bioreactors have been evaluated and particularly, as the temperature, the pH and the stirring speed affected the growth of this probiotic-bacterium. This is an important field that needs to be investigated and by this reason the objective of this study was evaluated the effect of the temperature, the pH and the stirring speed on the viable biomass production in cultures of L. plantarum. The effect of temperature on biomass production of L. plantarum, was evaluated in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks cultures with 100 mL of MRS medium at 34, 37 and 40C. The maximum biomass concentration was of 3.72 0.03 g L -1 in the temperature condition of 37C. In bioreactor cultures, the maximum biomass concentration obtained was of 4.0 0.1 g L -1 in the conditions evaluated of 100 and 300 rpm when the pH was kept constant at 5.0, meanwhile the cell viability was higher (2.73 0.37 x 10 10 CFU mL -1 ) compared with the cell viability obtained in conditions in which the pH was increased at 6.0 or 7.0 (8.0 1.0 x 10 9 CFU mL -1 ). On the contrary, when the pH and stirring speed conditions were 7.0 and 300 rpm, the specific growth rate () obtained was maximum (0.99 0.01 h -1 ). In summary, the low pH conditions favored the biomass production and the cell viability in the cultures of probiotic-bacterium L. plantarum. However, the was favored in conditions of high of pH and stirring speed (7.0 and 300 rpm). With these findings, is possible establishing adequate conditions for the production of L. plantarum viable biomass in bioreactor cultures for use as probiotic.

University-derived research (e.g. science) is useful in ‘real world’ business applications, so effective collaboration is desirable. However, for work to actually proceed, strategic and policy-level drivers must align with the incentive structures and constraints upon individual university-based scientists and their motivations. This briefing aims to foster collaborations by providing a view from the perspective of individual academics. Specifically, it examines workload (i.e. specified tasks) and incentive structures (i.e. assessment criteria) to tackle two questions: What motivates academics to do specific work? And, reciprocally, what might constrain them? In light of this specific, pragmatic actions, including short-term and time-efficient steps are proposed in a ‘user guide’ to help initiate and nurture collaborations. And, some modes of institutional support are suggested. Main Points - Like other professions academics suffer time pressure, i.e. amid 20-50 key duties up to 0.5 days per week might potentially be found for activities with ‘real world’ impact. - Typically, for impact-related activities others must be sacrificed (e.g. research), creating a tension. - As yet, even in countries strongly promoting collaboration, the overriding imperative remains for academics to publish research (i.e. peer-reviewed journal articles). - Thus, to justify working with business, impact-related work must inspire curiosity and facilitate future novel research (e.g. science) to mitigate this conflict.

This chapter reviews the soil carbon models participating in the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems Soil Organic Matter Network. It describes the application of Rothamsted Carbon Model (RothC) to a temperate dataset originating from Hungary. Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role in nutrient availability, soil stability and in the flux of trace greenhouse gases between land surface and the atmosphere. All SOM models are highly dependent upon the quality and quantity of carbon inputs to the soil system. The ability to predict the effects of climate, atmospheric composition and land-use change on SOM dynamics is essential in formulating environmental, agricultural and social/economic policies. The chapter presents examples of the application of one SOM model, RothC, to semi-arid and tropical ecosystems beginning with a recent example of the application of RothC in a semi-arid agroecosystem in Syria and then the application of RothC to a tropical forest-pasture chronosequence in Brazil.

This project represents the outputs of a working group set up to explore the technical and environmental considerations associated with on-shore wind repowering, particularly foundation reuse. The documents are files are the final reports of this group, although an academic paper is planned which builds on this. Please use the report and diagrams but cite the source as per the citation guidance.

Hyoscyamine-6β-hydroxylase (H6H, EC 1.14.11.11) is a plant enzyme that catalyses the last two steps in the biosynthesis of the anticholinergic drug scopolamine, i.e. the hydroxylation of hyoscyamine to 6β-hydroxyhyoscyamine (anisodamine) and subsequent oxidative ring-closure to the 6,7-β-epoxide. A H6H gene homologue was isolated from the plant Brugmansia sanguinea (BsH6H) and recombinantly cloned into Escherichia coli, expressed and purified using an effective SUMO-fusion procedure. Enzymatic activity is approximately 40-fold higher for the first reaction step and the substrate affinity is comparable to other characterized H6H homologues (Km ∼ 60 μM). Truncation of an H6H enzyme flexible N-terminal region yields an active and stable yet more compact enzyme version.