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Clostridium tyrobutyricum strain NRRL B-67062 was previously isolated from an ethanol production facility and shown to produce high yields of butyric acid. In addition, the cell-free supernatant of the fermentation broth from NRRL B-67062 contained antibacterial activity against certain Gram-positive bacteria. To determine the source of this antibacterial activity, we report the genome and genome mining of this strain. The complete genome of NRRL B-67062 showed one circular chromosome of 3,242,608 nucleotides, 3114 predicted coding sequences, 79 RNA genes, and a G+C content of 31.0%. Analyses of the genome data for genes potentially associated with antimicrobial features were sought after by using BAGEL-4 and anti-SMASH databases. Among the leads, a polypeptide of 66 amino acids (PEG 446) contains the DUF4177 domain, which is an uncharacterized highly conserved domain (pfam13783). The cloning and expression of the peg446 gene in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis confirmed the antibacterial property against Lactococcus lactis LM 0230, Limosilactobacillus fermentum 0315-25, and Listeria innocua NRRL B-33088 by gel overlay and well diffusion assays. Molecular modeling suggested that PEG 446 contains one alpha-helix and three anti-parallel short beta-sheets. These results will aid further functional studies and facilitate simultaneously fermentative production of both butyric acid and a putative bacteriocin from agricultural waste and lignocellulosic biomass materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk kefir fermentation has been used in households for generations. Consumption of milk kefir has been associated with various health benefits, presumably from the probiotics of yeast and bacteria that make up the kefir grains. In addition, many of the microbes are known to produce novel antimicrobial compounds that can be used for other applications. The microbes living inside kefir grains differ significantly depending on geographical location and production methods. In this study, we aimed to use metagenomic analysis of fermented milk by using three different kefir grains (kefir 1, kefir 2, and kefir 3) from different US sources. We analyzed the microbial compositions of the three milk fermentation samples. This study revealed that each sample contains unique and distinct groups of microbes, kefir 1 showed the least diversity, and kefir 3 showed the highest diversity. Kefir 3 is rich in Proteobacteria while kefir 2 is dominated by the Firmicutes. Using bacterial indicator growth analyses carried out by continuous readings from microplate-based bioreactor assays suggested that kefir 2 fermentation filtrate has higher antibacterial property. We have screened 30 purified cultures of kefir 2 sample and isolated two lactic acid bacteria strains with higher antibacterial activities; the two strains were identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides 28–1 and Lentilactobacillus kefiri 25–2 by 16S genomic PCR with confirmed antibacterial activities of fermentation filtrate after growing under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously identified specific proteins associated with ethanol stress response in a Lactobacillus buchneri strain capable of growing in 10% ethanol. In the current study, the exceptional roles of ethanol responsive genes are examined to determine if they can increase ethanol tolerance in E. coli host cells. The recombinant strains carrying ethanol responsive genes were subjected to growth analyses in media with and without 4% ethanol. Among the expression of these genes and growth analyses of the recombinant strains in ethanol, six genes Lbuc_0522 (NADPH-dependent methylglyoxal reductase), Lbuc_0354 (succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase), Lbuc_1211(threonyl_tRNA synthetase), Lbuc_2051 (nitroreductase), Lbuc_0707 (branched chain amino acid aminotransferase) and Lbuc_1852 (proline-specific peptidase) conferred host cells tolerance to 4% ethanol. Six genes Lbuc_1523 (phage major capsid protein, HK 97 family), Lbuc_1319 (phosphoglycerate kinase), Lbuc_0787 encoding fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase, Lbuc_1219 encoding UDP-N-acetylmuramate-L-alanine ligase, Lbuc_0466 encoding ornithine carbamoyltransferase and Lbuc_0858 encoding glycine hydroxymethyltransferase showed no impact on growth in media with 4% ethanol with IPTG induction when compared with E. coli carrying control pET28b plasmid. The expression of two genes Lbuc_1557 (S-layer glycoprotein) and Lbuc_2157 (6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase) resulted ethanol sensitivity phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice husk, a residue from agro-industrial processing, is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic feedstocks in South Brazil. In the present study, the uncatalysed steam-exploded rice husk slurry was separated into liquid and solid fractions. The liquor was efficiently hydrolysed using an enzymatic complex produced from the Penicillium echinulatum S1M29 strain, followed by lactic acid production using Lactobacillus buchneri NRRL B-30929, which can consume a blend of xylose and glucose. The laboratory-produced enzyme cocktail proved to be a successful strategy for hydrolysis of the liquor, without the release of by-products that occurs during the usual acid hydrolysis technique. The water-insoluble solids were subjected to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes using high solid loading combined with distinct doses of commercial enzymes, producing ethanol via Saccharomyces cerevisiae CAT-1. In total, 12.69 g L−1 lactic acid and 19.17 g L−1 ethanol were produced, demonstrating that this abundant low-value renewable feedstock can be explored using a cleaner, greener, and environmentally friendlier production process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify a robust NADP+ dependent formate dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus buchneri NRRL B-30929 (LbFDH) with unique biochemical properties.Results: A new NADP+ dependent formate dehydrogenase gene (fdh) was cloned from genomic DNA of L. buchneri NRRL B-30929. The recombinant construct was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) with 6 × histidine at the C-terminus and the purified protein obtained as a single band of approx. 44 kDa on SDS-PAGE and 90 kDa on native-PAGE. The LbFDH was highly active at acidic conditions (pH 4.8-6.2). Its optimum temperature was 60 °C and 50 °C with NADP+ and NAD+, respectively and its Tm value was 78 °C. Its activity did not decrease after incubation in a solution containing 20% of DMSO and acetonitrile for 6 h. The KM constants were 49.8, 0.12 and 1.68 mM for formate (with NADP+), NADP+ and NAD+, respectively.Conclusions: An NADP+ dependent FDH from L. buchneri NRRL B-30929 was cloned, expressed and identified with its unusual characteristics. The LbFDH can be a promising candidate for NADPH regeneration through biocatalysis requiring acidic conditions and high temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric drag is the main source of error in the determination and prediction of the orbit of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites; however, empirical models that are used to account for this often have density errors of around 15%-30%. Atmospheric density determination has thus become an important topic for researchers. Based on the relationship between the atmospheric drag force and the decay of the semi-major axis of the orbit, we derived atmospheric density along the trajectory of challenging mini-satellite payload (CHAMP) satellite with its rapid science orbit (RSO) data. Three primary parameters-the ratio of cross-sectional area to mass, the drag coefficient, and the decay of the semi-major axis caused by atmospheric drag-were calculated. We also analyse the source of the error and made a comparison between the GPS-derived and reference density. The result for December 2, 2008, showed that the mean error of the GPS-derived density could be decreased from 29.21% to 9.20%, if the time span adopted for the process of computation was increased from 10 min to 50 min. The result for the entire month of December indicated that a density precision of 10% could be achieved, when the time span meets the condition that the amplitude of the decay of the semi-major axis is much greater than its standard deviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In space weather forecasting, forecast verification is necessary so that the forecast quality can be assessed. This paper provides an example of how to choose and devise verification methods and techniques according to different space weather forecast products. Solar proton events (SPEs) are hazardous space weather events, and forecasting them is one of the major tasks of the Space Environment Prediction Center (SEPC) at the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Through analyzing SPE occurrence characteristics, SPE forecast properties, and verification requirements at SEPC, verification methods for SPE probability forecasts are identified, and verification results obtained. Overall, SPE probability forecasts at SEPC exhibit good accuracy, reliability, and discrimination. Compared with climatology and persistence forecasts, the SPE forecasts are more accurate. However, the forecasts for SPE onset days are substantially underestimated and need to be considerably improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to phylogenetically classify diverse strains of Aureobasidium pullulans and determine their production of feruloyl esterase. Results: Seventeen strains from the A. pullulans literature were phylogenetically classified. Phenotypic traits of color variation and endo-β-1,4-xylanase overproduction were associated with phylogenetic clade 10 and particularly clade 8. Literature strains used for pullulan production all belonged to clade 7. These strains and 36 previously classified strains were tested for feruloyl esterase production, which was found to be associated with phylogenetic clades 4, 11, and particularly clade 8. Clade 8 strains NRRL 58552 and NRRL 62041 produced the highest levels of feruloyl esterase among strains tested. Conclusions: Production of both xylanase and feruloyl esterase are associated with A. pullulans strains in phylogenetic clade 8, which is thus a promising source of enzymes with potential biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel process was developed to improve the extraction of valuable metals from a manganese-bearing gold-silver ore. Before cyanidation, a reductive sulfating leaching pretreatment process was adopted to preferentially dissolve manganese from the primary ores, according to mineralogy of the ores and possible leaching thermodynamic calculations of manganese minerals, and iron scrap was firstly introduced as reductant because of its low cost and wide source in China. In pretreatment tests, the effects of iron scrap concentration, sulfuric acid concentration and leaching temperature were studied, and the results indicated that manganese could be rapidly leached out to a complete degree even at room temperature. Then the reduced residue was suggested to the cyanidation process for silver and gold extraction, and the effect of cyanide concentration was also addressed. Based on the above study, pilot tests were finally conducted in Beiya 50 t/d concentrator to correctly evaluate the whole leaching process in the case of continuous production, and the gold and silver extractions in the novel process were up to 92.16 and 82.33%, respectively, corresponding to an increase of 9.08 and 45.97% compared to those in the direct cyanidation process, which are of great implications for future commercial operations of these refractory manganese-bearing gold-silver ores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased interest in sustainable production of renewable diesel and other valuable bioproducts is redoubling efforts to improve economic feasibility of microbial-based oil production. Yarrowia lipolytica is capable of employing a wide variety of substrates to produce oil and valuable co-products. We irradiated Y. lipolytica NRRL YB-567 with UV-C to enhance ammonia (for fertilizer) and lipid (for biodiesel) production on low-cost protein and carbohydrate substrates. The resulting strains were screened for ammonia and oil production using color intensity of indicators on plate assays. Seven mutant strains were selected (based on ammonia assay) and further evaluated for growth rate, ammonia and oil production, soluble protein content, and morphology when grown on liver infusion medium (without sugars), and for growth on various substrates. Strains were identified among these mutants that had a faster doubling time, produced higher maximum ammonia levels (enzyme assay) and more oil (Sudan Black assay), and had higher maximum soluble protein levels (Bradford assay) than wild type. When grown on plates with substrates of interest, all mutant strains showed similar results aerobically to wild-type strain. The mutant strain with the highest oil production and the fastest doubling time was evaluated on coffee waste medium. On this medium, the strain produced 0.12 g/L ammonia and 0.20 g/L 2-phenylethanol, a valuable fragrance/flavoring, in addition to acylglycerols (oil) containing predominantly C16 and C18 residues. These mutant strains will be investigated further for potential application in commercial biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Qiongdongnan Basin (QB) experienced three main tectonic stages in the Cenozoic: rifting, thermal subsidence, and accelerated subsidence. Corresponding to these stages, the slope breaks also underwent three different evolutionary stages, which differed in space and time between the east and west of QB. Structural slope breaks developed during the rifting stage in the Paleocene. Transitional sedimentary strata without obvious slope break developed in the neritic environment during the thermal subsidence stage in the Neocene. Sedimentary slope breaks and gentle slope zone without slope break developed during the accelerated subsidence stage. The sedimentary slope breaks could be further classified into progradational and aggradational types, the starting points of which varied in space and time. Spatially, the progradational sequences in the Ledong and Lingshui sags started at the north of today's deep central basin, distant from the basin edge. In the Songnan and Baodao sags, the aggradational sequences were close to the sag edge and essentially controlled by the underlying major boundary faults. Temporally, sedimentary slope breaks developed early in the east and late in the west and were initially partitioned and eventually unified. Fault activity controlled the types and ending time of structural slope breaks during the rifting stage, while tectonic subsidence controlled the time and places of progradational slope breaks during the accelerated subsidence stage. Sediment supply controlled the superposition patterns of the sedimentary sequences of the sedimentary slope breaks. It is suggested that the evolutionary history of the slope breaks has been primarily affected by the southward transition of the South China Sea ocean ridge, the westward collision of the Philippine Sea Plate, and the dextral strike-slipping of the Red River Fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the multi-satellite (LANL, GOES-10 and Cluster) observation data of electron flux evolutions and chorus wave excitation in the radiation belt during the geomagnetic storm and substorm from 10 to 14 January, 2002. The seed (50-225 keV) electron flux increased 50 times in five hours during the storm main phase, and the relativistic (>0.6 MeV) electron flux increased about 60 times at night side during the recovery phase. In the meanwhile, the Cluster satellites detected intense chorus waves (the wave power up to ∼10 nT Hz) at MLT≈3 when passing through the outer radiation belt. Using a Gaussian fit to the observed chorus spectra, we calculate the drift-averaged diffusion coefficients and then solve a 2-D Fokker-Planck diffusion equation. We simulate the energetic electron flux evolutions driven by chorus waves in two cases: with and without seed electron injections. We show that the energetic electron flux increases 79 times in three days with injection, comparable to the observation. However, the flux increases only 3 times in three days without injection, far below the observation. The current results suggest that the injected seed electrons and chorus waves play important roles in the buildup of the radiation belt electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the hybrid finite difference method, we solve the Fokker-Planck equation to study the effect of seed electron injection on acceleration of radiation belt electrons driven by chorus waves. Numerical results show that in the absence of injection chorus waves can accelerate electrons at large pitch angles ( α>60°), producing enhancements in the phase space density (PSD) of (1-2 MeV) electrons by a factor of 100-1000 within 1-2 days. In the presence of injection, chorus waves yield increase in PSD of electrons by accelerating the injected seed electrons. Meanwhile, the PSD evolution increases as the pitch angle increases but decreases as electron energy increases. Moreover, the PSD evolution can extend to higher energies with a time scale of 1-2 days for 1-2 MeV energies. When the injection increases by a factor of 10 higher than the initial value and remains for about two days, maximum values of PSD for 1 or 2 MeV increase to 6 or 3 times respectively higher than those without injection in two days. The current results suggest that the injected seed electrons play an important role in the evolution of the radiation belt electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acremonium zeae, one of the most prevalent fungal colonists of preharvest corn, possesses a suite of hemicellulolytic activities including xylanase, xylosidase, and arabinofuranosidase. Two enzymes with arabinofuranosidase activity were purified from cell-free culture supernatants of A. zeae grown on oat spelt xylan. A 47 kDa enzyme (AF47) was optimally active at 37°C and pH 6.0, and had a specific activity for 4-nitrophenyl-α- l-arabinofuranoside (4NPA) of 6.2 U/mg. A 30 kDa enzyme (AF30) was optimally active at 50°C and pH 4.5, and had a specific activity for 4NPA of 12.4 U/mg. AF47 hydrolyzed 4-nitrophenyl-β- d-xylopyranoside, 4-nitrophenyl-β- d-glucopyranoside, and 4-nitrophenyl-β- d-cellobioside, as well as producing reducing sugars from corn fiber, wheat, and oat spelt arabinoxylan. AF30 had little detectable activity on the 4-nitrophenyl substrates, except for 4NPA, but activity on arabinoxylans from corn fiber, wheat, and oat spelt was at least 7-fold higher than AF47, with specific activities of 109, 358, and 153 U/mg, respectively. A combination of the two enzymes released 61 and 88% of the total arabinose from corn fiber and wheat arabinoxylans. The arabinofuranosidases produced by A. zeae may have industrial application for the enzymatic hydrolysis of recalcitrant lignocellulosic feedstocks such as corn fiber and wheat straw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the advantages and the limitations of previous low-latitude magnetopause empirical models are discussed. In order to overcome their limitations and inherit their advantages, a new continuous function for the influence of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz on the magnetopause, the Shue model function and the 613 low-latitude magnetopause crossings are used to construct a new low-latitude magnetopause model parameterized by the solar wind dynamic pressure (Dp) and IMF Bz. In comparison with the previous low-latitude magnetopause models, it is found that the new model improves the prediction capability and has a large range of validity for the low-latitude magnetopause. In addition, it is also demonstrated that the new model and the previous low-latitude magnetopause models are not appropriate for predicting the high-latitude magnetopause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms that colonize plants require a number of hydrolytic enzymes to help degrade the cell wall. The maize endophyte Acremonium zeae was surveyed for production of extracellular enzymes that hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose. The most prominent enzyme activity in cell-free culture medium from A. zeae NRRL 6415 was xylanase, with a specific activity of 60 U/mg from cultures grown on crude corn fiber. Zymogram analysis following SDS-PAGE indicated six functional xylanase polypeptides of the following masses: 51, 44, 34, 29, 23, and 20 kDa. Xylosidase (0.39 U/mg), arabinofuranosidase (1.2 U/mg), endoglucanase (2.3 U/mg), cellobiohydrolase (1.3 U/mg), and β-glucosidase (0.85 U/mg) activities were also detected. Although apparently possessing a full complement of hemicellulolytic activities, cell-free culture supernatants prepared from A. zeae required an exogenously added xylosidase to release more than 90% of the xylose and 80% of the arabinose from corn cob and wheat arabinoxylans. The hydrolytic enzymes from A. zeae may be suitable for application in the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction for the smoothed monthly mean sunspot numbers (hereafter SMSNs) of solar cycle 23, which was given with a similar cycle method proposed by us at the beginning time of cycle 23, is analyzed and verified in this paper. Using our predicted maximum SMSN and the ascending length for solar cycle 24, and assuming their relative errors to be respectively 20% and ± 7 months, solar cycles 2, 4, 8, 11, 17, 20 and 23 are selected to be the similar cycles to cycle 24. The selected solar cycles are divided into two groups. The first group consists of all the selected cycles; while the second group consists of only cycles 11, 17, 20 and 23. Two SMSN time profiles then may be obtained, respectively, for the two similar cycle groups. No significant difference is found between the two predicted time profiles. Considering the latest observed sunspot number so far available for cycle 23 and the predictions for the minimum SMSN of cycle 24, a date calibration is done for the obtained time profiles, and thus, SMSNs for 127 months of cycle 24, from October 2007 to April 2018, are predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various solar wind forecasting methods have been developed during the past decade, such as the Wang – Sheeley model and the Hakamada – Akasofu – Fry Version 2 (HAFv2) model. Also, considerable correlation has been found between the solar wind speed v and the coronal hole (CH) area A M on the visible side of the Sun, showing quantitative improvement of forecasting accuracy in low CME activity periods ( e.g., Vršnak, Temmer, and Veronig, Solar Phys. 240, 315, ). Properties of lower layers of the solar atmosphere are good indications of the subsequent interplanetary and geomagnetic activities. We analyze the SOHO/EIT 284 Å images and construct a new forecasting factor (Pch) from the brightness of the solar EUV emission, and a good correlation is found between the Pch factor and the 3-day-lag solar wind velocity ( v) probed by the ACE spacecraft. The main difference between the Pch and A M factor is that Pch does not depend on the CH-boundary estimate and can reflect both the area and brightness of CH. A simple method of forecasting the solar wind speed near Earth in low CME activity periods is presented. Between Pch and v from 21 November until 26 December 2003, the linear correlation coefficient is R=0.89. For comparison we also analyze the data in the same period (DOY 25 – 125, 2005) as Vršnak, Temmer, and Veronig ( Solar Phys. 240, 315, ), who used the CH areas A M for predicting the solar wind parameters. In this period the correlation coefficient between Pch and v is R=0.70, whereas for A M and v the correlation coefficient is R=0.62. The average relative difference between the calculated and the observed values is $\overline{|\delta|}\approx 12.15\%$ . Furthermore, for the ten peaks during the analysis period, Pch and v show a correlation coefficient of R=0.78, and the average relative difference between the calculated and the observed peak values is $\overline{|\delta|}\approx 5.83\%$ . Moreover, the Pch factor can eliminate personal bias in the forecasting process, which existed in the method using CH area as input parameter, because CH area depends on the CH-boundary estimate but Pch does not. Until now the CH-boundary could not be easily determined since no quantitative criteria can be used to precisely locate CHs from observations, which led to differences in forecasting accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ionospheric TEC in the sunlit boundary region during outburst of the great flare on Oct. 28, 2003 is analyzed using GPS data from IGS network. It is found that the ionosphere over the region of solar zenith angle <105° was affected by this flare radiation, and the TEC enhancement decreased with the solar zenith angle. The results show that the value of TEC enhancement over the region of zenith angle ≈80° was about 10 TECU, at the terminate region (zenith angle≈90°) the TEC enhancement was about 7 TECU, and the TEC enhancement over the region of zenith angle ≈110° was 1∼2 TECU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the regulatory functions of the ON promoter region, a ppG1b1GUS construct, consisting of 1402 bp 5′ flanking sequence of Glbl, 1919 by GUS coding sequence, and 283 by 3′ NOS terminator, was cloned into a binary vector and introduced into tobacco plants by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Histochemical GUS assays of T tobacco mature seeds indicate that the Glbl promoter drives GUS expression in ABA treated seeds. Further GUS assays of the T, seeds at different developmental stages revealed that without ABA treatment, the Gibl promoter drives GUS expression in immature seeds. The results from both T and T tobacco plants indicated that Glbl-driven GUS expression in tobacco is embryo specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full-disk solar chromospheric and photospheric images are widely used to monitor solar activity. Flat-fielding is a basic step during scientific data production. Here, a Gaussian-type diffuser is used to measure the flat-field of full-disk solar chromospheric and photospheric images. The effectiveness of the method is verified by theoretical simulation and practical measurement. First, the uniformity of the light source generated by the Gaussian diffuser and the sunlight, with a field of view the same as the full-disk solar image, is calculated. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the scatter angle of the Gaussian diffuser is one degree, such that the light source presents a Gaussian distribution. After the correction of the Gaussian background, the uniformity of the area light source is 99.6%, which can be regarded as a uniform area light source. Second, experiments are conducted on full-disk solar telescopes at Huairou solar observing station and Yangbajing station. The diffuser covers the entire entrance aperture when taking flat-field frames. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of experimental results, it is confirmed that a revised flat-field frame can modify uniformity caused by various aspects of the telescope, including vignetting, non-uniformities of filters, and contamination of optical components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]