Isolation and Identification of Potential Bioinoculants based on Phosphate Solubilizing and Plant Growth Promoting Benefits

Conservative models have shown that as populations rise, food production needs to double by 2050. Population increase and the green revolution have caused fertilizer inputs to increase since the 1960’s, increasing environmental issues and production costs. These intensive practices have led to degraded arable land and there has been an increase in urbanization meaning we need to make best use of the farming land that is available and ensure it is sustainable for future food production. Due to this, there has been a higher demand for research on more environmentally and economically friendly approaches to food production. Plant growth promoting bacteria have been a promising approach to more sustainable farming and have been shown to increase plant growth through characteristics such as; nitrogen fixation, plant hormone production, fungal suppression, and phosphate solubilization. It is estimated that only 0.1% of the phosphorus in the soil is in a soluble form, and approximately 80% of the phosphorus fertilizer applied gets bound in the soil and is not available to plants. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria can produce organic acids and phosphatase enzymes to solubilize soil phosphorus. Phosphate biofertilizers are one of the largest growing portions of the bioinoculant industry. In our research we have isolated and identified several potential plant growths promoting and phosphate solubilizing bacteria. In addition, we identified some of the specific mechanisms used to increase plant growth, as well as the mechanisms to solubilize inorganic phosphorus. Four novel isolates of the Oxalobacteraceae family were identified and characterized. Based on their phenotypic, morphological, and genomic analysis, three of the isolates are novel at the species level and one at the genus level. These isolates were cultured from agriculture and garden soils and have several genes that are considered plant growth promoting such as; nitrate reductase, urease, phosphatase, biotin production, decomposition on hydrogen peroxide, and biofilm biosynthesis. The four novel isolates are; Pseudoherbaspirillum sperare OM1, Massilia arenosa MC02, Massilia hortus ONC3, and Duganella callidus DN04. Seventy bacteria were cultured from corn tissue, rhizosphere, and loose root soil and were screened for phosphate solubilizing abilities. Of the eight isolates tested, three bacteria were able to solubilize the highest level of phosphate; Enterobacter cloacae (Tr3R3), Raoultella ornithinolytica (M2R1), and Kosakonia sp. (Tc3So2). Of these three isolates, Tr3R3 and Tc3So2 had the highest soybean root and shoot biomass, root architecture, and plant phosphorus concentrations. Organic acid production was measured through HPLC and the two isolates that produced the greatest amount of soluble P, also produced the greatest amount of succinic acid. Additionally, the two isolated that did not solubilize any P, similarly did not produce any succinic acid, concluding that the succinic acid was the mechanism used to solubilize the phosphate. Through these tests as well as additional plant growth promoting tests such as nitrogen fixation, indole acetic acid biosynthesis, and fungal suppression, we found that Tr3R3 and Tc3So2 are promising bioinoculants

Synthesis of 2,4-Heptadiene

2,4-Heptadiene can exist in four isomeric cis-trans forms; a fact which probably accounts for the different physical constants reported in the literature. The present synthesis involved a high temperature pyrolysis as the final step, in the hope that only one isomer would be formed under these conditions

Analysis of the Influence of Different Flowability on Part Characteristics Regarding the Simultaneous Laser Beam Melting of Polymers

AbstractPowder based Additive Manufacturing technologies offer huge potential for building parts with almost no geometrical restrictions, but both the process controlling as well as the part properties are strongly dependent on different material characteristics of the material, like the flowability. In this work, different weight percentages of nano-scaled silica dioxide particles (Aerosil®) are admixed to pure polyethylene and polypropylene powder and the resulting flowability is determined. Besides using the Hausner ratio as standardized value, the degree of coverage is introduced as a new characteristic to quantify the powder flowability. The degrees of coverage are compared to the Hausner ratios to allow a discussion and evaluation about the different characteristic values. Additionally, tensile bars consisting of polypropylene are generated to determine the porosity by cross sections and the mechanical part properties by tensile testing. As mechanical part properties, the tensile strength and elongation at break are determined and the effects of different powder flowability on these properties are analyzed

Der gebrauch von Pneuma in soteriologischen kontexten In den Paulinischen briefen und im Johannesevangelium (The usage of Pneuma in soteriological contexts in the Pauline epistles and in the gospel of John)

No abstract availableBiblical and Ancient studiesM. Th. (New Testament

Best Practices and Pitfalls in Commercializing IVD-Applicable Biomarkers

Before biomarker discoveries can be commercially utilized in clinical laboratories, many studies and surveys need to be completed and many questions answered. Is there a market need? Is there enough scientific and clinical evidence to convince the end users? Is the biomarker patentable? Is the translation into a practical product feasible? Although commercial product development is not the focus of academic research, the route to reach the patients will almost always require a professional commercialization process. Understanding industry and end-user requirements is essential for the successful commercialization of new biomarker assays. The current handbook collects some of the best practices and pitfalls encountered at different phases of biomarker discovery, development, patent protection and technology transfer at universities, hospitals and research organizations. The focus is on in vitro diagnostics (IVD)-applicable biomarkers, i.e. markers intended to provide information on the health status of a person. The input for the collection has been sought from true-life practices: practices found in literature or taught by experts in the field; opinions and expertise of different stakeholders (end users, companies, technology transfer professionals, researchers, financiers); recommendations, regulation and laws; as well as practices learned the hard way, i.e. repeatedly failing somewhere in the process and later adapting the process for increased success. The main target group of the handbook comprises professionals working in Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). The presented practices are yet not intended to be interpreted as strict rules but rather as a source of inspiration. Optimal ways to proceed with patenting and commercialization significantly vary between cases and circumstances.The handbook has been prepared within the EU-project Biomarker Commercialization (BIC) comprising 9 partners in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) united with the same challenges, as well as the common objective of more efficiently bringing new and better IVD-applicable biomarkers from discovery into clinical use. The project's budget is EUR 2.55 million and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme with EUR 1.96 million

Effect of pregnancy and birth on the course of myasthenia gravis before or after transsternal radical thymectomy

Objective: Myasthenia gravis (MG) affects women at childbearing age. Therefore, the question arises if these patients should become pregnant and if thymectomy has a positive effect on the course of MG in pregnant patients. Methods: Fifteen pregnancies had been followed retrospectively. All patients underwent transsternal radical thymectomy for MG. The course of MG in the period before, during, and after the pregnancy was scored according to Ossermann's classification. The effect of thymectomy on delivery and on the newborns was evaluated. Results: Patients were divided in two groups: pregnancies before (group I, n = 8) and after (group II, n = 7) thymectomy. During pregnancy, in group I, one deterioration was observed and in seven patients the disease was unchanged. In group II, one deterioration, five unchanged courses, and one improvement were observed. In the postpartum period, in group I, seven patients did not change and one improved. In group II, two deteriorations, three unchanged courses, and two improvements were observed. Before pregnancy, group II patients were in a better Ossermann stage in comparison with those in group I. Eight of the 12 deliveries were spontaneous (three abortus). Myasthenic symptoms were observed in two newborns in group I. Conclusion: Our data suggest that MG is not prohibitive to have children. The course of MG after transsternal radical thymectomy is often ameliorated. A better MG-stage, reached after thymectomy, before pregnancy seems to be correlated with a better course during pregnanc