Performing a Nutrient Diffusion Substrata Test

A White Paper presented to Oglala Lakota College for use in pre-engineering class exercises. Available nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), control the growth of periphyton in lakes and streams. The nutrient diffusing substrata (NDS) is an economic and replicable way to determine whether an aquatic environment is limited by a particular nutrient (Capps et al., 2011). The NDS commonly uses clay pots, plastic cups, or periphytometers (Rugenski et al., 2008). The NDS in this paper uses plastic cups based on Methods in Stream Ecology (Hauer and Lamberti, 2007). The agar solution is mixed with 8 different types of nutrients in Table 1. Each nutrient type has 6 replicates. The control is an agar solution with no nutrient addition

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Evaluation of Nutrient Removal in a Photobioreactor Utilizing Naturally Occuring Algae from Lake Kampeska, SD

A decommissioned water treatment plant located on Lake Kampeska, Watertown, SD, was modified to biologically remove phosphorus from the lake’s water by cultivating and harvesting algae. The nutrient levels in the lake have been measured and determined to be excessive, and have made the waters prone to algae blooms. The treatment plant operates as a research facility to demonstrate a possible method of lake restoration in northern climates. The Lake Kampeska Phosphorus Removal Plant has been experiencing below expected levels of phosphorus removal. Bench scale laboratory testing was requested to study the requirements to optimize plant operation. The primary objective of this research project was to determine the effective nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations needed to allow for efficient phosphorus removal by the natural occurring algae from Lake Kampeska at different temperatures. A nutrient diffusing substrata (NDS) test evaluated the limiting nutrients in the natural lake water. Ammonium chloride, potassium nitrate, and sodium nitrate were used as nitrogen source and potassium phosphate was used as a phosphorus source. Sodium nitrate exhibited superior growth effects as a source for nitrogen compared to the other nitrogen containing chemicals. Potassium phosphate showed inhibitory effects as both a singular chemical and in addition to any nitrogen source tested. xi Nitrogen to phosphorus ratios were evaluated using a bench-scale batch test and multiple ratios created by the addition of sodium nitrate. The batch tests performed at 23o C, investigated a wide range of N:P mass ratios including 2:1, 3:1, 5:1, 7:1, 10:1, 12:1 15:1, 20:1, and 50:1. Any mass ratio above 7:1 generally reached a phosphorus limiting state where nitrogen removal ceased or slowed considerably. However, mass ratios of 3:1 or below generally reached a nitrogen limiting state where phosphorus removal ceased or slowed considerably. Temperature effects were analyzed on both the NDS tests and the batch tests. NDS tests performed at water temperatures between 19 to 16o C showed chlorophyll a levels up to 10 times larger than when performed at water temperatures between 10 to 4o C. At the colder temperature, the algae took longer to cultivate and remove nutrients, however the N:P ratio for both nitrogen and phosphorus reduction effectiveness remained the same. Overall, assessments performed on the natural algae from Lake Kampeska with an in-situ NDS test at the pilot plant and bench-scale batch test at SDSU showed promising results for optimizing the pilot plant performance. This research project showed that the addition of sodium nitrate can enhance algal cultivation. Additionally, the algae can produce both nitrogen and phosphorus reduction over a range of temperatures

Expressed Sequence Tag-Simple Sequence Repeat (EST-SSR) Marker Resources for Diversity Analysis of Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

In this study, a collection of 24,840 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) generated from five mango (Mangifera indica L.) cDNA libraries was mined for EST-based simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Over 1,000 ESTs with SSR motifs were detected from more than 24,000 EST sequences with di- and tri-nucleotide repeat motifs the most abundant. Of these, 25 EST-SSRs in genes involved in plant development, stress response, and fruit color and flavor development pathways were selected, developed into PCR markers and characterized in a population of 32 mango selections including M. indica varieties, and related Mangifera species. Twenty-four of the 25 EST-SSR markers exhibited polymorphisms, identifying a total of 86 alleles with an average of 5.38 alleles per locus, and distinguished between all Mangifera selections. Private alleles were identified for Mangifera species. These newly developed EST-SSR markers enhance the current 11 SSR mango genetic identity panel utilized by the Australian Mango Breeding Program. The current panel has been used to identify progeny and parents for selection and the application of this extended panel will further improve and help to design mango hybridization strategies for increased breeding efficiency

Marking out the pitch: a historiography and taxonomy of football fiction

Football, or soccer as it is more commonly referred to in Australia and the US, is arguably the world’s most popular sport. It generates a proportionate volume of related writing. Within this landscape, works of novel-length fiction are seemingly rare. This paper establishes and maps a substantial body of football fiction works, explores elements and qualities exhibited individually and collectively. In bringing together current, limited surveys of the field, it presents the first rigorous definition of football fiction and captures the first historiography of the corpus. Drawing on distant reading methods developed in conjunction with closer textual analyses, the historiography and subsequent taxonomy represent the first articulation of relationships across the body of work, identify growth areas and establish a number of movements and trends. In advancing the understanding of football fiction as a collective body, the paper lays foundations for further research and consideration of the works in generic terms