On the relative effectiveness of varying steam sterilisation protocols on heat-resistant Trichoderma- and Bacillus-infected rye grain for mushroom spawn production

The goal of this work is to investigate the efficacy of different sterilisation protocols as well as the possible impact of starting raw material contamination level and secondary contamination sources on grain spawn production. Several sterilisation protocols for Trichoderma- and Bacillus-infected rye grain were performed and monitored over a period of 17 weeks. These protocols are: standard, autoclave tyndallization (dual sterilisation), germination period and pasteurisation. It was found that the standard protocol is best although not perfect. Tyndallization worked well on Bacillus but had some potential issues with Trichoderma. Germination period and pasteurisation. were enough for Trichoderma but Bacillus showed a high rate of survival. There are indications that the main source of contamination for Bacillus is the substrate, while in the case of Trichoderma it could be due to manipulation. Bacillus exhibits very high levels of heat resistance and has the ability to survive 150 minutes at 121.4°C. It is recommended to investigate a complementary treatment to the standard consisting of a pH increase through the use of quicklime

Regulation of Emx2 expression by antisense transcripts in murine cortico-cerebral precursors

Background: Emx2 encodes for a transcription factor expressed in the embryonic intermediate mesoderm and central nervous system (CNS). It is implicated in several aspects of cerebral cortex development, including morphogenetic field specification, arealization, precursor proliferation and lamination. Four Emx2-associated antisense transcripts have been found in the urogenital system; one of them, Emx2OS, has been also detected in the adult brain. Until now, however, nothing is known about expression and function of Emx2OS in the developing CNS. Methodology/Principal Findings: By quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization, we reconstructed the Emx2OS expression profile in the embryonic CNS, paying special attention to the developing cerebral cortex. Emx2OS was observed in a number of CNS structures expressing also Emx2. Within the cortex, Emx2OS was detectable in periventricular precursors, expressing the sense transcript, and peaked in newly born post-mitotic neurons not expressing such transcript. By integrating lentiviral gene delivery, RNAi, TetON technology, morpholino-mediated gene knock-down, drug-induced perturbation of gene expression, and quantitative RT-PCR, we addressed possible roles of Ex2 antisense RNA in Emx2 regulation, in primary CNS precursor cultures. We found that, in both cortical precursors and their neuronal progenies, Emx2 antisense RNA contributes to post-transcriptional down-regulation of its sense partner, possibly by a Dicer-promoted mechanism. The same RNA, when delivered to rhombo-spinal precursors, stimulates ectopic expression of Emx2, whereas Emx2 knock-out dramatically impairs Emx2OS transcription. This suggests that, within the developing CNS, a reciprocal Emx2/Emx2OS regulatory loop may normally sustain transcription at the Emx2 locus. Conclusions/Significance: This study shows that antisense transcripts may contribute to developmental regulation of a key transcription factor gene implicated in CNS patterning, possibly by complex and multilevel mechanisms. The activation of Emx2 by a short antisense transcript may be a prototype of a method for overexpressing single specific genes, without introducing additional copies of them into the genome

Intervention Strategies against and Effects of Female Sexual Harassment in Workplaces of Cote d\u27Ivoire

Workplace sexual harassment in Cote d\u27Ivoire has been documented as extensive and commonplace, yet in West African nations, sexual harassment is not well studied or understood. Specifically, little is known about whether intervention programs instituted by the Ivorian law under Act No.98-756 forbid sexual harassment are viewed by female workers as effective. Using Hendricks and Valasek\u27s theory on gender mainstreaming as the foundation, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of female workers in Cote d\u27Ivoire related the effectiveness of sexual harassment training programs. Data for this study were collected from 15 women who worked in public or nonprofit organizations in Cote d\u27Ivoire. Data were inductively coded and then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Key findings indicated that interviewees believed that exposure to sexual harassment in the workplace results in a loss of trust in the work environment and reductions in work productivity. Further, participants generally agreed that intervention programs are promising in terms of ameliorating the effects of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to local governments in Cote d\u27Ivoire to develop municipal ordinances that support the investigation and prosecution of workplace sexual harassment and individual organizations should design workplace policies to efficiently and effectively handle complaints of sexual harassment

Innovative design and multi-objective optimization of hybrid reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash desalination plants

The purpose of this work is to develop a decision support tool, which will systemically assess the advantages of hybrid desalination configurations (integration between thermal and membrane technologies) by investigating and optimizing these configurations as a function of project requirements and local conditions

Multi-objective optimization of RO desalination plants

A process optimization method has been developed for the design of reverse osmosis (RO) processes. RO process configurations are systematically generated using a flexible superstructure and evaluated by economical (investment and operating costs), technical (energy requirement, water recovery rate) and environmental performance indicators (Life Cycle Assessment). The simultaneous optimization of the RO process layout and operating conditions constitutes a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, which is solved using a multi-objective optimization (MOO) approach. The MOO identifies the best technological alternatives for the set of selected objectives. In a given context, it allows to define a set of optimal solutions representing the trade-off between conflicting objectives such as economical costs and environmental impacts. As a case study, the methodology is applied on a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination project, for which the optimal design is characterized depending on the economical conditions

Developmental expression of Pim kinases suggests functions also outside of the hematopoietic system

We have cloned a novel quail cDNA with strong homology to the pint family of proto-oncogenes. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence of the cDNA, named qpim, is more closely related to Xenopus Pim and to the recently identified rat Pim-3 than to human or rodent Pim-1 or Pim-2. The protein encoded by the qpim cDNA can autophosphorylate itself and share substrates with murine Pim-l, suggesting functional redundancy to other Pim family serine/threonine kinases. We have compared the expression of qpim in avian embryos to mouse pim-1, -2 and -3 by in situ hybridization. qpim shows a highly dynamic expression pattern, particularly at early developmental stages. Surprisingly, its expression pattern is not identical to any of the murine pint genes, which show complementary and/or partially overlapping expression sites both in- and outside of the hematopoietic system. Altogether, our results suggest novel functions for Pim family kinases during embryonic development, in particular in epithelia and in the central nervous system

Engineering Anisotropic Muscle Tissue using Acoustic Cell Patterning

Tissue engineering has offered unique opportunities for disease modeling and regenerative medicine; however, the success of these strategies is dependent on faithful reproduction of native cellular organization. Here, it is reported that ultrasound standing waves can be used to organize myoblast populations in material systems for the engineering of aligned muscle tissue constructs. Patterned muscle engineered using type I collagen hydrogels exhibits significant anisotropy in tensile strength, and under mechanical constraint, produced microscale alignment on a cell and fiber level. Moreover, acoustic patterning of myoblasts in gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels significantly enhances myofibrillogenesis and promotes the formation of muscle fibers containing aligned bundles of myotubes, with a width of 120–150 µm and a spacing of 180–220 µm. The ability to remotely pattern fibers of aligned myotubes without any material cues or complex fabrication procedures represents a significant advance in the field of muscle tissue engineering. In general, these results are the first instance of engineered cell fibers formed from the differentiation of acoustically patterned cells. It is anticipated that this versatile methodology can be applied to many complex tissue morphologies, with broader relevance for spatially organized cell cultures, organoid development, and bioelectronics

Petit guide pratique pour la gestion des projets d'assainissement : fascicule 1 : les réseaux

L'étude et la mise en œuvre de canalisations d'assainissement doivent répondre à un nombre croissant d'exigences techniques, économiques et environnementales . Le guide apporte des recommandations essentielles pour une gestion rigoureuse des projets à même de répondre à de telles exigences. Il aborde successivement les points suivants : la prise de commande, les différentes contraintes (la loi sur l'eau, les aides au financement, les contraintes d'urbanisme, la coordination générale des réseaux, les études techniques préalables, l'hygiène et la sécurité de chantier, l'exploitation future du réseau), l'ordonnancement du projet, les dossiers techniques, la dévolution des travaux, la préparation de chantier, la qualité de mise en œuvre des remblais, la réception des travaux

Pericyte Seeded Dual Peptide Scaffold with Improved Endothelialization for Vascular Graft Tissue Engineering

At times when rhinoceros are fiercely poached, when some rhinoceros species are closer than ever to extinction, and when the scientific community is in debate over the use of advanced cell technologies as a remaining resort it is time to simplify and improve existing assisted reproduction techniques to enhance breeding and genetic diversity in the living populations under our care. Semen cryopreservation has been performed in all captive rhinoceros species with limited degree of success. Here we tested three freezing extenders, containing different cryoprotectants and various freezing rates for the cryopreservation of rhinoceros sperm from 14 bulls. In experiment I, semen from 9 bulls was used to determine the most suitable diluent, cryoprotectant and freezing rate for the successful cryopreservation of rhinoceros sperm. In experiment II, semen from 5 bulls was used to assess whether the removal of seminal plasma could further improve post thaw sperm quality following cryopreservation with conditions identified in Experiment I. Semen was diluted with Berliner Cryomedia, ButoCrio® or INRA Freeze®, packaged in 0.5 mL straws and frozen 3, 4, and 5 cm over liquid nitrogen (LN) vapour or directly in a dryshipper. It was found that semen extended with ButoCrio® (containing glycerol and methylformamide) and frozen 3cm over LN vapour provided the best protection to rhinoceros spermatozoa during cryopreservation. When pooled over treatments, total and progressive post thaw motility was 75.3 ± 4.2% and 68.5 ± 5.7%, respectively marking a new benchmark for the cryopreservation of rhinoceros sperm. Post thaw total and progressive motility, viability and acrosome integrity of semen diluted in ButoCrio® was significantly higher than semen extended in Berliner Cryomedia or INRA Freeze®. The removal of seminal plasma did not improve post thaw sperm survival (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the cryosurvival of rhinoceros spermatozoa was significantly improved when using a mixture of glycerol and methylformamide in combination with a fast freezing rate at 3 cm. These results describe a new protocol for the improved cryosurvival of rhinoceros spermatozoa and will enable a more successful preservation of genetic diversity between males, especially in donors whose spermatozoa may already be compromised prior to or during collection. The successful reduction of glycerol concentration in favour of methylformamide as a cryoprotectant could be a novel suggestion for the improvement of cryopreservation techniques in other wildlife species