Johnsconner3940

y this time can be reduced to 14.6 years. The analysis also showed that the derived crop composition is not only favorable regarding nutrient supply but also with regard to the ESM and break-even time compared to previously reported crop compositions. Only the PGC with only wheat and white potatoes has a lower ESM but also provides a less balanced nutrient supply. This PGC is downscaled to 37.55 m² to achieve carbon balance and a break-even time of 38.4 years or 10.3 years with the optimistic assumptions.In a study on primates (Macaca mulatta), neurobiological and radiobiological effects have been studied of the synchronous combined action of 7-day antiorthostatic hypokinesia and exposure of the monkeys' head first to γ-rays during 24 h and then to accelerated 12C ions. The neurobiological effects were evaluated by the cognitive functions which model the basic elements of operator activity and the concentration of monoamines and their metabolites in peripheral blood. The radiobiological effects were evaluated by the chromosomal aberration and DNA double-strand break (DSB) yield in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The results of the cognitive function research show that the typological features of the animals' higher nervous activity are the prevailing factor that determines changes in these functions. The monkey of the strong balanced type effectively retained its cognitive functions after the exposures, while in the weak unbalanced type animals these functions were impaired. These changes went along with a decrease in the concentration of monoamines and their metabolites and an increase in the DNA DSB and chromosomal aberration yield in lymphocytes.Planetary Protection is applicable for missions to biologically sensitive targets of interest in the solar system. For robotic missions landing on the Martian surface, Earth-based biological contamination must be reduced, controlled, and monitored to adhere to forward planetary protection requirements. To address the overall biological load limit and microbial density requirements per spacecraft each component is tracked based on its manufacturing pedigree and/or directly assessed using a direct sampling technique with either a swab or wipe. The tracking and reporting of requirements compliance has varied from mission to mission and reporting of numbers has consistently leaned towards the conservative worst-case scenario. With an increase in the number of missions and mission complexities, the need to establish a technically sound, statistical, and biological solution that provides a single point solution which addresses the distribution of spacecraft contamination becomes critical. Select components of the InSight mission, launched in 2018, have been used as a test case to evaluate the efficacy of applying Bayesian statistics to planetary protection data sets. Eight representative components covering the various bounding cases of high and low surface area, biological count, and sampling devices were analyzed as well as an assembly level case to evaluate the rollup of directly sampled and manufacturing pedigree components. A Bayesian approach was developed leveraging different priors from the zero-inflated data sets and compared to the heritage and existing NASA bioburden assessment approaches. In addition, several non-informative priors were evaluated for use in performing bioburden calculations. The results have demonstrated a viable framework to enable a Bayesian statistical approach to be further developed and utilized for planetary protection requirements assessment.The search for life-supporting molecules in outer space is an ever-growing endeavour. Towards this, the computational chemistry supporting the astronomical spectroscopic observations is becoming a valuable tool to unravel the complex chemical network in interstellar medium (ISM). In the present work, quantum-mechanical computations, accounting for anharmonic effects, are performed to obtain the rotational and vibrational line-data for the gas-phase conformers of proteinogenic amino acid Leucine and its isomeric species predicted to be involved in its stereoinversion under the extreme environment of ISM. These species exhibit diverse chemistry including branched skeleton and zwitterionic ammonium ylides. A few of the species have significantly high dipole moment, which can act as tracer for the conformers of Leucine having low dipole moment. Besides this, the species, which are terrestrially less stable, can be of significant importance to the astronomers. Notably, the spectral database generated in this work can assist in the detection of proteinogenic Leucine and its isomeric species in different regions of ISM.Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activity is known to be associated with certain pathologies including diabetes. In this study, SSAO expression and enzymatic activity in blood plasma of healthy rats were significantly upregulated under simulated microgravity (SMG) condition. Significant mortality was observed in SMG group of diabetic rats. Proteasome inhibitor Results indicate that microgravity might increase the risks of SSAO-associated alterations.Continuous rotation of liquid bacterial culture in random positioning machine (RPM) causes formation of a colloidal bacterial culture in the culture tube, due to lack of sedimentation and convection. Interestingly, similar colloidal bacterial cultures can also be seen in suspended bacterial cultures in a spaceflight environment. Thus, as a consequence of no sedimentation, an alteration in the microenvironment of each bacterial cell in simulated microgravity is introduced, compared to the bacterial culture grown in normal gravity wherein they sediment slowly at the bottom of the culture tube. Apparently, a bacterial cell can sense changes in its environment through various receptors and sensors present at its surface, thus it can be speculated that this change in its microenvironment might induce changes in its cell wall and cell surface properties. In our study, changes in growth kinetics, cell wall constitution using FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), cell surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation ability and antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus NCIM 2079 strain, in simulated microgravity (using RPM) was studied in detail. Noteworthy alterations in its growth kinetics, cell wall constitution, cell surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation ability and antibiotic susceptibility especially to Erythromycin and Clindamycin were observed. Our data suggests that microgravity may cause alterations in the cellular envelope of planktonic S.aureus cultures.Aspergillus neoniger NCIM 1400 whose cell-free fraction was earlier established for transglycosylation activity conferred by α-glucosidase gene (agdA), was subjected to sequence analysis. Preliminary results revealed certain dynamics in the intron splicing mechanism, and to ascertain these molecular events, a detailed study was carried. The electrophoresis results from the cDNA portion (B-fragment) of agdA showed multiple bands, indicating the amplification of one or more fragments. The sequence results of cDNA cloned vector revealed the retention type of alternative splicing in the agdA. The splicing mechanism of agdA in NCIM 1400 was compared to different A. niger strains, which harbours agdA orthologues, using PCR. It was observed that effective intron splicing leads to higher α-glucosidase activity from these selected Aspergillus spp. To explore the dynamics of intron retention in A. neoniger NCIM 1400, time-course analysis of intron retention, enzyme activity, and sugar consumption were carried over a period of 168 h of fungal growth. RT-qPCR results revealed that introns retention was not detected during the initial growth phase when the maltose and its hydrolysed product, glucose were consumed. Here we demonstrate that exhaustion of maltose causes increase in retention of introns in the mRNA transcripts of agdA gene, and this could be the possible mode of regulating this gene.Differential sensitivities to the cell wall stress caused by Congo red (CR) have been observed in many fungal species. In this study, the tolerances and sensitivities to CR was studied with an assorted collection of fungal species from three phylogenetic classes Sordariomycetes, Dothideomycetes, and Eurotiomycetes, three orders, and eight families. These grouped into different ecological niches, such as insect pathogens, plant pathogens, saprotrophs, and mycoparasitics. The saprotroph Aspergillus niger and the mycoparasite Trichoderma atroviride stood out as the most resistant species to cell wall stress caused by CR, followed by the plant pathogenic fungi, a mycoparasite, and other saprotrophs. The insect pathogens had low tolerance to CR. The insect pathogens Metarhizium acridum and Cordyceps fumosorosea were the most sensitive to CR. In conclusion, Congo red tolerance may reflect ecological niche, accordingly, the tolerances of the fungal species to Congo red were closely aligned with their ecology.Impatiens glandulifera, or Himalayan balsam, is a prolific invader of riverine habitats. Introduced from the Himalayas for ornamental purposes in 1839, this annual species has naturalised across Great Britain (GB) forming dense monocultures with negative affects across whole ecosystems. In 2006 a programme exploring biocontrol as an alternative control method was initiated and to date, two strains of the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae have been released. To better understand the observed differences in susceptibility of GB Himalayan balsam stands to the two rust strains, inoculation studies were conducted using urediniospores and basidiospores. Experiments revealed large variation in the susceptibility of stands to urediniospores of the two rust strains, with some resistant to both. Furthermore, the infectivity of basidiospores was found to differ, with some stands fully susceptible to the urediniospore stage, being immune to basidiospore infection. Therefore, before further rust releases at new sites, it is necessary to ensure complete compatibility of the invasive stands with both urediniospores and basidiospores. However, for successful control across GB it is essential that plant biotypes are matched to the most virulent rust strains. This will involve additional strains from the native range to tackle those biotypes resistant to the strains currently released.The emergence of drug-resistant pathogens has urged researchers to discover alternatives for traditional antibiotics. β-amyrin, which is included in the category of triterpenoids extracted from plants, is known for its antimicrobial activity, although the underlying mechanism has not yet been revealed. This study was conducted to elucidate the antifungal mode of action of β-amyrin against Candida albicans. Based on the relevance between triterpenoids and oxidative molecules, reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations were detected, which showed a noticeable increment. Disruption of Ca2+ homeostasis in the cytosol was additionally analyzed, which was supported by interactions between two. Subsequently, decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, increment of mitochondrial Ca2+, and ROS concentration were monitored, which suggested mitochondrial dysfunction modulated by Ca2+. Further investigation confirmed oxidative damage through glutathione reduction and DNA fragmentation. Accumulation of lethal damages resulted in the activation of caspases and externalization of phosphatidylserine, indicating the induction of yeast apoptosis by β-amyrin in C.