Seasonal Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Characterization of Five Prunus spinosa Ecotypes

Prunus spinosa species is distributed across wide range of geographical areas which are subject to climatic, edaphic factors and long-term divergent selection. This could lead to local adaptation hence ecotypes in terms of morphological, physiologically and or biochemical inclination to their local environment. To investigate whether the species (Prunus spinosa) has been influenced by their local environmental conditions and whether populations (ecotypes) are adapted to local conditions, cuttings from different demarcated areas of origin in Germany and Italy were sourced and cultivated optimally in common container area. Growth, bud sprout and bud set were evaluated in spring, summer and autumn respectively. Soluble sugars (Glucose, fructose, sucrose and starch), N, P, K, and proline concentrations were analysed in spring and autumn for three years. The findings indicated that plants grown from different locations mostly differed in N, P, K, soluble sugars and starch in spring. Nonetheless, these geographic variations were hardly observed either in summer or in autumn. On phenology, German populations did not differ at all in phenology (flushing and growth cessation) while the Italian population always sprouted earlier and ceased growth later. The results indicate that the German populations are not differentiated by climatic variations across latitude or altitude. In contrast the Italian population is differentiated from German population Brandenburg mostly by latitudinal differentiation. Nevertheless, their inherent ability to sprout earlier and late growth cessation might expose the population to frequent frost damage when transplanted to more northern latitude.

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Sonderdienst w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie

Zagłada Żydów. Studia i Materiały ◽

10.32927/zzsim.409 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 91-118

Author(s):

Peter Black

Keyword(s):

German Population ◽

National Socialist ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Special Service ◽

Police Personnel ◽

Police Presence ◽

The Government ◽

German Reich ◽

Civilian Authority ◽

Polish Intelligentsia

The Sonderdienst (Special Service) was an enforcement agency developed by German SS and Police authorities, specifically in the Lublin District of the so called Government General (central and southeastern German-occupied Poland) to assist in enforcing German occupation ordinances in the cities and particularly in the countryside, where lack of police personnel, ignorance of local conditions, and perceived fear of partisan attack discouraged a direct German police presence. After February 1941, the SS and Police relinquished control over the Sonderdienst to the German civilian occupation authorities. Under civilian authority, the Sonderdienst was deployed at the Kreis level, under command of the so-called German Stadt- and Kreishauptmänner in detachments of approximately 30 men to carry out administrative enforcement activities when the civilian authorities were unable to count or SS and police support. This article examines how the Sonderdienst highlights the dependence of German administration in the Government General on locally recruited auxiliaries, particularly in the countryside. The Sonderdienst was conceived, developed, expanded, and deployed within the context of a bitter battle between German civilian authorities and the SS/police apparatus over control of local executive police power. This is hardly new; yet the Government General is unusual in that the German civilian authorities were able to fight the SS to a draw on this issue. Since its formation followed the recruitment of the “ethnic” and ideological “cream” of the ethnic German population of occupied Poland into agencies such as the Selbstschutz, and the Waffen SS, the Sonderdienst represents an early effort of the National Socialist authorities to fashion an ethnically conscious and ideologically committed corps from young men of questionable, even dubious, German ancestry and heritage. Finally, this study reveals not only the complicity of the civilian authorities in Nazi crimes, but the link in German-occupied Poland between “routine” administrative duties, such as collecting fines for ordinance violations, and the brutal persecution and annihilation of groups targeted as enemies of the German Reich, such as the Polish Jews. Civilian administrators and SS and police authorities shared the “National Socialist consensus” in occupied Poland. They wanted to annihilate the Jews and the Polish intelligentsia, to exploit the labor potential of the Polish masses, and to turn the Government General into a region of German settlement. As a part of this vision, the Sonderdienst was to serve not only as a police executive, but as a political and cultural steppingstone to full acceptance into the German “racial community.” There is no question that, even in “routine” duties, the Sonderdienst participated, more or less willingly, in the implementation of the most evil racist policies of the National Socialist regime.

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Vulnerability of sweet cherry cultivars to continuous periods of spring frosts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Agricultural Science and Technology ◽

10.15547/ast.2020.04.055 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 348-352

Author(s):

S. Malchev ◽

S. Savchovska

Keyword(s):

Sweet Cherry ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Frost Damage ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Bud Burst ◽

Intermediate Group ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Wide Range ◽

Group Form ◽

Sweet Cherry Cultivars

Abstract. The periods with continuous freezing air temperatures reported during the spring of 2020 (13 incidents) affected a wide range of local and introduced sweet cherry cultivars in the region of Plovdiv. They vary from -0.6°C on March 02 to -4.9°C on March 16-17. The duration of influence of the lowest temperatures is 6 and 12 hours between March 16 and 17. The inspection of fruit buds and flowers was conducted twice (on March 26 and April 08) at different phenological stages after continuous waves of cold weather conditions alternated with high temperatures. During the phenological phase ‘bud burst’ (tight cluster or BBCH 55) some of the flowers in the buds did not develop further making the damage hardly detectable. The most damaged are hybrid El.28-21 (95.00%), ‘Van’ (91.89%) and ‘Bing’ (89.41%) and from the next group ‘Lapins’ (85.98%) and ‘Rosita’ (83.33%). A larger intermediate group form ‘Kossara’ (81.67%), ‘Rozalina’ (76.00%), ‘Sunburst’ (75.00%), ‘Bigarreau Burlat’ (69.11%) and ‘Kuklenska belitza’ (66.67%). Candidate-cultivar El.17-90 ‘Asparuh’ has the lowest frost damage values of 55.00% and El.17-37 ‘Tzvetina’ with damage of 50.60%.

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From secretion in Pichia pastoris to application in apple juice processing: Exo-polygalacturonase from Sporothrix schenckii 1099-18

Protein and Peptide Letters ◽

10.2174/1871530321666210106110400 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

Author(s):

Ersin Karataş ◽

Ahmet Tülek ◽

Mehmet Mervan Çakar ◽

Faruk Tamtürk ◽

Fatih Aktaş ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pichia Pastoris ◽

Apple Juice ◽

Biochemical Characterization ◽

Signal Sequence ◽

Sporothrix Schenckii ◽

Juice Clarification ◽

Pectinolytic Enzyme ◽

Pectinolytic Enzymes ◽

Protein Expression And Purification ◽

Wide Range

Background: Polygalacturonases are a group of enzymes under pectinolytic enzymes related to enzymes that hydrolyse pectic substances. Polygalacturonases have been used in various industrial applications such as fruit juice clarification, retting of plant fibers, wastewater treatment drinks fermentation, and oil extraction. Objectives: The study was evaluated at the heterologous expression, purification, biochemical characterization, computational modeling, and performance in apple juice clarification of a new exo-polygalacturonase from Sporothrix schenckii 1099-18 (SsExo-PG) in Pichia pastoris. Methods: Recombinant DNA technology was used in this study. Two different pPIC9K plasmids were constructed with native signal sequence-ssexo-pg and alpha signal sequence-ssexo-pg separately. Protein expression and purification performed after plasmids transformed into the Pichia pastoris. Biochemical and structural analyses were performed by using pure SsExo-PG. Results: The purification of SsExo-PG was achieved using a Ni-NTA chromatography system. The enzyme was found to have a molecular mass of approximately 52 kDa. SsExo-PG presented as stable at a wide range of temperature and pH values, and to be more storage stable than other commercial pectinolytic enzyme mixtures. Structural analysis revealed that the catalytic residues of SsExo-PG are somewhat similar to other Exo-PGs. The KM and kcat values for the degradation of polygalacturonic acid (PGA) by the purified enzyme were found to be 0.5868 µM and 179 s-1, respectively. Cu2+ was found to enhance SsExo-PG activity while Ag2+ and Fe2+ almost completely inhibited enzyme activity. The enzyme reduced turbidity up to 80% thus enhanced the clarification of apple juice. SsExo-PG showed promising performance when compared with other commercial pectinolytic enzyme mixtures. Conclusion: The clarification potential of SsExo-PG was revealed by comparing it with commercial pectinolytic enzymes. The following parameters of the process of apple juice clarification processes showed that SsExo-PG is highly stable and has a novel performance.

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Butyrivibrio hungateiMB2003 Competes Effectively for Soluble Sugars Released byButyrivibrio proteoclasticusB316Tduring Growth on Xylan or Pectin

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.02056-18 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nikola Palevich ◽

William J. Kelly ◽

Siva Ganesh ◽

Jasna Rakonjac ◽

Graeme T. Attwood

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Species ◽

Soluble Sugars ◽

Plant Fiber ◽

Content Type ◽

Plant Polysaccharide ◽

Rumen Microbes ◽

Carbohydrate Degradation ◽

Wide Range ◽

Genes Encoding ◽

Enzymatic Machinery

ABSTRACTRumen bacterial species belonging to the genusButyrivibrioare important degraders of plant polysaccharides, particularly hemicelluloses (arabinoxylans) and pectin. Currently, four species are recognized; they have very similar substrate utilization profiles, but little is known about how these microorganisms are able to coexist in the rumen. To investigate this question,Butyrivibrio hungateiMB2003 andButyrivibrio proteoclasticusB316Twere grown alone or in coculture on xylan or pectin, and their growth, release of sugars, fermentation end products, and transcriptomes were examined. In monocultures, B316Twas able to grow well on xylan and pectin, while MB2003 was unable to utilize either of these insoluble substrates to support significant growth. Cocultures of B316Tgrown with MB2003 revealed that MB2003 showed growth almost equivalent to that of B316Twhen either xylan or pectin was supplied as the substrate. The effect of coculture on the transcriptomes of B316Tand MB2003 was assessed; B316Ttranscription was largely unaffected by the presence of MB2003, but MB2003 expressed a wide range of genes encoding proteins for carbohydrate degradation, central metabolism, oligosaccharide transport, and substrate assimilation, in order to compete with B316Tfor the released sugars. These results suggest that B316Thas a role as an initiator of primary solubilization of xylan and pectin, while MB2003 competes effectively for the released soluble sugars to enable its growth and maintenance in the rumen.IMPORTANCEFeeding a future global population of 9 billion people and climate change are the primary challenges facing agriculture today. Ruminant livestock are important food-producing animals, and maximizing their productivity requires an understanding of their digestive systems and the roles played by rumen microbes in plant polysaccharide degradation.Butyrivibriospecies are a phylogenetically diverse group of bacteria and are commonly found in the rumen, where they are a substantial source of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes for the depolymerization of lignocellulosic material. Our findings suggest that closely related species ofButyrivibriohave developed unique strategies for the degradation of plant fiber and the subsequent assimilation of carbohydrates in order to coexist in the competitive rumen environment. The identification of genes expressed during these competitive interactions gives further insight into the enzymatic machinery used by these bacteria as they degrade the xylan and pectin components of plant fiber.

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Evaluation of antimycobacterial rhamnolipid production from non-cytotoxic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from rhizospheric soil of medicinal plants

International Journal of Biological Research ◽

10.14419/ijbr.v4i2.6429 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 112 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alok K Mishra ◽

Rikesh K Dubey ◽

Shivraj M Yabaji ◽

Swati Jaiswal

Keyword(s):

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽

Medicinal Plants ◽

Biochemical Characterization ◽

Rhizospheric Soil ◽

Rhamnolipid Production ◽

Medicinal Value ◽

Wide Range ◽

Rrna Sequencing ◽

Inhibitory Potential ◽

Potent Inhibitory Activity

Rhamnolipids (RLs) are the bacterial derived biosurfactants and known for a wide range of industrial and therapeutic applications. They exhibit potent anti-bacterial activity against various gram positive, gram negative and acid fast bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Since, Pseudomonas is one of the largest known genuses containing a variety of rhamnolipid producing strains. Therefore, in this study, we selectively isolated the Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains from the rhizospheric soil of the Indian plants of medicinal value, e.g. Azadirachta Indica and Ficus spp., and evaluated them for their natural ability to produce antibacterial rhamnolipids. The bacteria were identified on the basis of 16s rRNA sequencing and biochemical characterization. Among 33 of P. aeruginosa isolates from different soil samples, four isolates showed potent inhibitory activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and fast grower mycobacterial spp. The inhibitory potential of the isolates was found to be correlated with their ability to produce RLs in the medium. The industrial viability of the strains was assessed on the basis of cytotoxicity determining alternative allele, exoS/exoU and cell mediated cytotoxicity against murine macrophages J774.1. The newly isolated strains harbor exoS allele and exhibits lower cell mediated cytotoxicity on macrophage cell line as compared to the clinical strains PA-BAA-427 and PA-27853 used as a control in this study.Evaluation of antimycobacterial rhamnolipid production from non-cytotoxic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from rhizospheric soil of medicinal plants

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Analysis of the ukrainian market of cloud technologies

Connectivity ◽

10.31673/2412-9070.2020.061519 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 148 (6) ◽

Author(s):

K. A. Fedosiva ◽

◽

I. M. Sribna

Keyword(s):

Cloud Computing ◽

Human Life ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Cloud Services ◽

Remote Access ◽

Local Network ◽

Rapid Improvement ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Wide Range ◽

Cloud Technologies

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Ukrainian market for the spread of cloud technologies, an overview of growth dynamics, application segments and identifies leading companies that offer services using cloud computing. According to the unanimous forecasts of the world’s leading consulting companies, the rapid improvement and spread of cloud computing is now one of the key trends that in the next 5-8 years will significantly affect the global development of not only the IT industry but also business, finance, public administration, medicine, education and many other areas of human life. Prospects for the rapid development of cloud services in Ukraine encourage more careful consideration of the experience of their application in more «mature» markets and identify the main benefits and risks of these technologies in local conditions. People perceive the cloud as a platform only for storage and computing. However, there are many other opportunities that cloud technologies offer with cloud computing. Currently, cloud computing technologies are becoming increasingly popular. The advantages of this technology are obvious: economy, speed, elasticity, versatility of access. In the future, their use will create a powerful information and telecommunications system, which will be a technological solution for the construction and development of new infrastructure in the country. The world’s largest IT vendors (Microsoft, Amazon, Google and others) somehow implement cloud computing services, providing a wide range of opportunities for users. Thus, cloud computing is software and hardware that is available to the user via the Internet (or local network) in the form of a service that allows you to use a user-friendly web interface for remote access to dedicated resources (computing resources, programs and data). Thus, cloud computing is the next stage of information development of mankind.

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Biochemical Characterization and Differential Expression of PAL Genes Associated With “Translocated” Peach/Plum Graft-Incompatibility

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.622578 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Rihab Amri ◽

Carolina Font i Forcada ◽

Rosa Giménez ◽

Ana Pina ◽

María Ángeles Moreno

Keyword(s):

Differential Expression ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Biochemical Characterization ◽

Soluble Sugars ◽

Fruit Trees ◽

Phenylpropanoid Pathway ◽

Total Phenol Content ◽

Horticultural Crops ◽

Graft Incompatibility ◽

Graft Interface

Grafting is an ancient plant propagation technique widely used in horticultural crops, particularly in fruit trees. However, the involvement of two different species in grafting may lead to lack of affinity and severe disorders between the graft components, known as graft-incompatibility. This complex agronomic trait is traditionally classified into two categories: “localized” (weak graft unions with breaks in cambial and vascular continuity at the graft interface and absence of visual symptoms in scion leaves and shoots) and “translocated” (degeneration of the sieve tubes and phloem companion cells at the graft interface causing translocation problems in neighboring tissues, and reddening/yellowing of scion leaves). Over the decades, more attention has been given to the different mechanisms underlying the “localized” type of graft-incompatibility; whereas the phenylpropanoid-derived compounds and the differential gene expression associated with the “translocated” graft-incompatibility remain unstudied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to shed light on the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the typical “translocated” graft-incompatibility of peach/plum graft-combinations. In this study, the “Summergrand” (SG) nectarine cultivar was budded on two plum rootstocks: “Adara” and “Damas GF 1869”. “Translocated” symptoms of incompatibility were shown and biochemically characterized in the case of “SG/Damas GF 1869” graft-combination, 3 years after grafting. Non-structural carbohydrates (soluble sugars and starch), phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, were significantly enhanced in the incompatible graft-combination scion. Similarly, the enzymatic activities of the antioxidant enzyme peroxidase, the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway were significantly affected by the incompatible rootstock “Damas GF 1869”, inducing higher activities in the scion than those induced by the compatible rootstock “Adara”. In addition, a positive and strong correlation was obtained between total phenol content, antioxidant capacity and the expression of the key genes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway, PAL1 and PAL2. Regarding the “SG/Adara” graft-combination, there were neither external symptoms of “translocated” incompatibility nor significant differences in the biochemical and molecular parameters between scion and rootstock, proving it to be a compatible combination. The differential expression of PAL genes together with the biochemical factors cited above could be good markers for the “translocated” peach/plum graft-incompatibility.

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Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Botulinum Neurotoxin Subtype B2 Binding to Its Receptors

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins12090603 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 603

Author(s):

Jonathan R. Davies ◽

Geoffrey Masuyer ◽

Pål Stenmark

Keyword(s):

Receptor Binding ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Biochemical Characterization ◽

Hydrophobic Interactions ◽

Binding Assays ◽

Protein Receptor ◽

Wide Range ◽

Protein Receptors ◽

Therapeutic Molecules ◽

Botulinum Neurotoxins

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) can be used therapeutically to treat a wide range of neuromuscular and neurological conditions. A collection of natural BoNT variants exists which can be classified into serologically distinct serotypes (BoNT/B), and further divided into subtypes (BoNT/B1, B2, …). BoNT subtypes share a high degree of sequence identity within the same serotype yet can display large variation in toxicity. One such example is BoNT/B2, which was isolated from Clostridium botulinum strain 111 in a clinical case of botulism, and presents a 10-fold lower toxicity than BoNT/B1. In an effort to understand the molecular mechanisms behind this difference in potency, we here present the crystal structures of BoNT/B2 in complex with the ganglioside receptor GD1a, and with the human synaptotagmin I protein receptor. We show, using receptor-binding assays, that BoNT/B2 has a slightly higher affinity for GD1a than BoNT/B1, and confirm its considerably weaker affinity for its protein receptors. Although the overall receptor-binding mechanism is conserved for both receptors, structural analysis suggests the lower affinity of BoNT/B2 is the result of key substitutions, where hydrophobic interactions important for synaptotagmin-binding are replaced by polar residues. This study provides a template to drive the development of future BoNT therapeutic molecules centered on assessing the natural subtype variations in receptor-binding that appears to be one of the principal stages driving toxicity.

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Multimorbidity and quality of life: longitudinal analysis of the European SHARE database

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.121 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

T Makovski ◽

G Le Coroller ◽

P Putrik ◽

S Stranges ◽

L Huiart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Economic Status ◽

European Countries ◽

Geographic Variations ◽

Ageing Society ◽

Specific Analysis ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Wide Range ◽

Share Data

Abstract Multimorbidity defined most commonly as co-existence of 2+ diseases is one of the major challenges of an ageing society. It is often accompanied with declining quality of life (QoL). The study aims to 1) assess the relationship between increasing number of diseases and QoL over time, 2) explore the differences between several European countries. Longitudinal data analysis performed on the relevant waves (2004 to 2017) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Data were collected every two years among participants aged 50+. Health conditions were identified through an open-end questionnaire containing 17 prelisted conditions. QoL was evaluated by Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization and Pleasure questionnaire (CASP-12v). Maximum QoL score, describing the best state was 48; minimum, 12 points. Association between increasing number of diseases and QoL is being assessed with multilevel analysis accounting for time and clustering within household and country. Minimum follow-up is 2 time points. Confounding variables include age, sex, socio-economic status, social support and health care parameters. Preliminary findings show that 20 countries and 87,087 individuals participated in at least 2 waves; 80,041 answered CASP at least twice. Number of diseases when first reported was on average 1.65 (IQR=0,2) and increased to 1.88 (IQR=1,3) when last reported. Similarly, between first and last reported point QoL decreased on average by -0.32 (SD: ± 5.9); estimated by non-rescaled CASP scale. Greece showed the strongest decrease of -1.73 (SD: ± 6.36), while QoL increased in some countries, the most in Portugal for 0.76 (SD: ± 5.62). Our preliminary findings suggest high geographic variations in QoL, possibly driven by differential clustering of multimorbidity across Europe, design issues and other factors. This may underline the need for country-specific analysis and initiatives to address the growing burden of multimorbidity in our ageing populations. Key messages First longitudinal study to address this research questions across wide range of European countries using SHARE. Study accounts for large number of confounding factors owing to the abundance of collected information.

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Impacts of Chemical-Assisted Thermal Pretreatments on Methane Production from Fruit and Vegetable Harvesting Wastes: Process Optimization

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25030500 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 500

Author(s):

Ümmihan Günerhan ◽

Ender Us ◽

Lütfiye Dumlu ◽

Vedat Yılmaz ◽

Hélène Carrère ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reaction Temperature ◽

Methane Production ◽

Soluble Sugars ◽

Solid Content ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Alternative Source ◽

Maximum Enhancement ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Wide Range ◽

Pretreatment Processes

The increasing population creates excess pressure on the plantation and production of fruits and vegetables across the world. Consumption demand during the whole year has made production compulsory in the covered production system (greenhouse). Production, harvesting, processing, transporting, and distribution chains of fruit and vegetables have resulted in a huge amount of wastes as an alternative source to produce biofuels. In this study, optimization of two pretreatment processes (NaOH and HCl assisted thermal) was investigated to enhance methane production from fruit and vegetable harvesting wastes (FVHW) that originate from greenhouses. NaOH concentration (0–6.5%), HCl concentration (0–5%), reaction temperature (60–100 °C), solid content (1–5%), time of reaction (1–5 h), and mixing speed (0–500 rpm) were chosen in a wide range of levels to optimize the process in a broad design boundary and to evaluate the positive and negative impacts of independent variables along with their ranges. Increasing NaOH and HCl concentrations resulted in higher COD solubilization but decreased the concentration of soluble sugars that can be converted directly into methane. Thus, the increasing concentrations of NaOH and HCl in the pretreatments have resulted in low methane production. The most important independent variables impacting COD and sugar solubilization were found to be chemical concentration (as NaOH and HCl), solid content and reaction temperature for the optimization of pretreatment processes. The high amount of methane productions in the range of 222–365 mL CH4 gVS−1 was obtained by the simple thermal application without using chemical agents as NaOH or HCl. Maximum enhancement of methane production was 47–68% compared to raw FVHW when 5% solid content, 1-hour reaction time and 60–100 °C reaction temperature were applied in pretreatments.

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