Direct Electron Microscopy Study on the Morphological Diversity of Bacteriophage Populations in Lake Plußsee

Direct electron microscopy of bacteriophages adsorbed to a carbon film without prior enrichment by specific host strains or concentration by physical or chemical methods was used to study the morphological diversity of natural bacteriophage assemblages in a North German lake. All samples contained a mixture of morphologically different tailed viruses, which were regarded as bacteriophages. Most of them had isometric heads and long noncontractile tails, belonging to morphotype B1 (Siphoviridae). In addition, members of morphotypes A1 (Myoviridae), B2 (Siphoviridae with elongated heads), and C1 (Podoviridae) were present in lower numbers. Only one cubic virus was detected, while no filamentous or pleomorphic phages were found. Up to 11 different phages per sample, and a total of 39 phages when all samples were considered together, could be distinguished by morphological criteria. The total number of phages was estimated to be on the order of 108/ml

Not all adversarial examples require a complex defense : identifying over-optimized adversarial examples with IQR-based logit thresholding

Detecting adversarial examples currently stands as one of the biggest challenges in the field of deep learning. Adversarial attacks, which produce adversarial examples, increase the prediction likelihood of a target class for a particular data point. During this process, the adversarial example can be further optimized, even when it has already been wrongly classified with 100% confidence, thus making the adversarial example even more difficult to detect. For this kind of adversarial examples, which we refer to as over-optimized adversarial examples, we discovered that the logits of the model provide solid clues on whether the data point at hand is adversarial or genuine. In this context, we first discuss the masking effect of the softmax function for the prediction made and explain why the logits of the model are more useful in detecting over-optimized adversarial examples. To identify this type of adversarial examples in practice, we propose a non-parametric and computationally efficient method which relies on interquartile range, with this method becoming more effective as the image resolution increases. We support our observations throughout the paper with detailed experiments for different datasets (MNIST, CIFAR-10, and ImageNet) and several architectures

Investigation of the P solubilising effect of phosphate solubilising bacteria in high P conditions

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Formulation and statistical evaluation of a ready-to-drink whey based orange beverage and its storage stability

A value-added functional beverage is formulated utilizing unprocessed liquid whey. Whey has excellent nutritional qualities and bland flavors; it is easy to digest and has a unique functionality in a beverage system. The ready-to-drink beverage is formulated with concentrated whey, orange juice along with an adequate amount of sugar, stabilizer, citric acid and flavor. Orange juice is used since the acidic flavor of whey is compatible With citrus flavors and particularly orange. The health and nutrition benefits of orange further imparts the value to the formulated beverage. Nine blend formulations are prepared by varying the dry matter of whey, fruit juice and sugar content Based on a statistical analysis of the sensory evaluation of the drinks, the optimal formulation is found to have a ratio 3:2 for concentrated liquid whey and orange juice followed by an addition of 8% sugar (w/v) and 0.1% stabilizer (w/v). The shelf-life of the final product is carried out both at room temperature (30+/-2 degrees C) and refrigeration temperature (7+/-1 degrees C) with and without addition of preservatives. The product remains in good condition up to eleven days at room temperature and up to three months under refrigeration condition with addition of 150 ppm of sodium benzoate

Quantifying the contribution of free-living nematodes to nitrogen mineralization

Soil fauna are estimated to contribute to approximately 30 % of nitrogen mineralization (Verhoef ∧ Brussaard, 1990). Soil nematodes are important contributors to this process through their key trophic positions as microbial grazers. Quantification of this contribution has mostly relied on theoretical food web analyses (Hunt et al., 1987) or laboratory incubations with simplified and artificially constructed ecosystems (Ferris et al., 1998). Incubations are often performed on homogenized soil, though soil biota is known to be responsive to physical disturbance. Furthermore, sterilization typically relies on methods disruptive of soil structure (e.g. autoclaving, freezing). The aim of this experiment was to quantify the contribution of nematodes to nitrogen mineralization during incubation. Intact cores with a representative pore structure and entire nematode populations instead of single species were used. Gamma irradiation was selected as a sterilization method to remove only soil fauna, leaving the microflora and soil structure largely intact (McNamara et al., 2003)

Why the epistemologies of trust researchers matter

In this thought piece we take stock of and evaluate the nature of knowledge production in the field of trust research by examining the epistemologies of 167 leading trust scholars, who responded to a short survey. Following a brief review of major epistemological perspectives we discuss the nature of the prevalent views and their geographical distribution within our field. We call on trust researchers to engage in epistemological reflection, develop their own awareness of alternative epistemologies, and ensure their work draws on and cites relevant research contrary to their preferred epistemological approach. To support this we ask editors of relevant journals to foster pluralism in trust research, publishing work from a range of epistemologies