Sordariomycetes is one of the largest classes of Ascomycota that comprises a highly diverse range of fungi mainly characterized by perithecial ascomata and inoperculate unitunicate asci. Freshwater ...Sordariomycetes play an important role in ecosystems and some of them have the potential to produce bioactive compounds. This study documents and reviews the freshwater Sordariomycetes, which is one of the largest and important groups of fungi in aquatic habitats. Based on evidence from DNA sequence data and morphology, we introduce a new order Distoseptisporales, two new families, viz. Ceratosphaeriaceae and Triadelphiaceae, three new genera, viz.
Aquafiliformis
,
Dematiosporium
and
Neospadicoides
, 47 new species, viz.
Acrodictys fluminicola
,
Aquafiliformis lignicola
,
Aquapteridospora fusiformis
,
Arthrinium aquaticum
,
Ascosacculus fusiformis
,
Atractospora aquatica
,
Barbatosphaeria lignicola
,
Ceratosphaeria aquatica
,
C. lignicola
,
Chaetosphaeria aquatica
,
Ch. catenulata
,
Ch. guttulata
,
Ch. submersa
,
Codinaea yunnanensis
,
Conioscypha aquatica
,
C. submersa
,
Cordana aquatica
,
C. lignicola
,
Cosmospora aquatica
,
Cylindrotrichum submersum
,
Dematiosporium aquaticum
,
Dictyochaeta cangshanensis
,
D. ellipsoidea
,
D. lignicola
,
D. submersa
,
Distoseptispora appendiculata
,
D. lignicola
,
D. neorostrata
,
D. obclavata
,
Hypoxylon lignicola
,
Lepteutypa aquatica
,
Myrmecridium aquaticum
,
Neospadicoides aquatica
,
N. lignicola
,
N. yunnanensis
,
Ophioceras submersum
,
Peroneutypa lignicola
,
Phaeoisaria filiformis
,
Pseudostanjehughesia lignicola
,
Rhodoveronaea aquatica
,
Seiridium aquaticum
,
Sporidesmiella aquatica
,
Sporidesmium lageniforme
,
S. lignicola
,
Tainosphaeria lunata
,
T. obclavata
,
Wongia aquatica
, two new combinations, viz.
Acrodictys aquatica
,
Cylindrotrichum aquaticum
, and 9 new records, viz.
Chaetomium globosum
,
Chaetosphaeria cubensis
,
Ch. myriocarpa
,
Cordana abramovii
,
Co. terrestris
,
Cuspidatispora xiphiago
,
Sporidesmiella hyalosperma
,
Stachybotrys chartarum
,
S. chlorohalonata
. A comprehensive classification of the freshwater Sordariomycetes is presented based on updated literature. Phylogenetic inferences based on DNA sequence analyses of a combined LSU, SSU, RPB2 and TEF1α dataset comprising species of freshwater Sordariomycetes are provided. Detailed information including their habitats distribution, diversity, holotype, specimens collected and classification are provided.
Biomass fast pyrolysis is potentially one of the cheapest routes toward renewable liquid fuels. Its commercialization, however, poses a multi-scale challenge, which starts with the characterization ...of feedstock, products and reaction intermediates at molecular scales, and continues with understanding the complex reaction network taking place in different reactor configurations, and in the case of catalytic pyrolysis and upgrading on different catalysts. In addition, crude pyrolysis oil is not immediately usable in the current energy infrastructure, due to undesirable properties such as low energy content and corrosiveness as a result of its high oxygenate content. It, therefore, needs to be upgraded and fractionated to desired specifications. While various types of pyrolysis reactors and upgrading technologies are under development, knowledge transfer and closing the gap between theory and application requires model development. In-depth understanding of the reaction mechanisms and kinetics should be combined with the knowledge of multi-scale transport phenomena to enable design, optimization, and control of complex pyrolysis reactors. Finally, underpinning economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production requires expanding the system boundaries to include the overall process and supply chain. The present contribution aims at providing a comprehensive multi-scale review that discusses the state of the art of each of these aspects, as well as their multi-scale interactions. The study is mainly focused on fast pyrolysis, although reference to other types of pyrolysis technologies is made for the sake of comparison and knowledge transfer.
Preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza A subtype H5N1 has become a global priority. The spread of the virus to Europe and continued human infection ...in Southeast Asia have heightened pandemic concern. It remains unknown from where the pandemic strain may emerge; current attention is directed at Vietnam, Thailand, and, more recently, Indonesia and China. Here, we report that genetically and antigenically distinct sublineages of H5N1 virus have become established in poultry in different geographical regions of Southeast Asia, indicating the long-term endemicity of the virus, and the isolation of H5N1 virus from apparently healthy migratory birds in southern China. Our data show that H5N1 influenza virus, has continued to spread from its established source in southern China to other regions through transport of poultry and bird migration. The identification of regionally distinct sublineages contributes to the understanding of the mechanism for the perpetuation and spread of H5N1, providing information that is directly relevant to control of the source of infection in poultry. It points to the necessity of surveillance that is geographically broader than previously supposed and that includes H5N1 viruses of greater genetic and antigenic diversity.
The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Mississippi River Delta (MRD) are two of the largest deltas in the world. Despite similar forcing conditions of fluvial sediment reduction and relative sea-level ...rise, there are significant differences in deltaic change caused by hydrodynamics and human activities. In this review, we compare the morphological changes of the two deltas at multiple spatial and temporal scales and identify the lessons learned from past engineering and management strategies. While the YRD has seen an increase of subaerial land of ~1500 km2 since 1950, the MRD has lost approximately 5000 km2 of land since the early 1930s. Extensive land reclamation and coastal shoreline embankment in the YRD have led to land gain at the expense of tidal wetland shrinkage. In contrast, flood control, waterway transportation, and petroleum industry in the MRD have resulted in levee construction and canal building, which together with subsidence and sea-level rise, have led to significant wetland loss in the MRD. The tidal forcing in the YRD is much stronger than that in the MRD, which has played a role in redistributing subaqueous sediment back into the delta plain, offsetting the negative effect of fluvial sediment reduction. In contrast with continuous population increase on the YRD, wetland loss and exposure to flooding hazards have resulted in population loss on the MRD. These comparative analyses reveal that nature and human interventions have acted together in shaping the modern deltaic morphology. Using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) analysis framework, we propose a conceptual model to provide holistic understanding of the natural-human coupled delta system and management strategies, which could yield broad implications for coping with the future challenges in global deltas.
Micro groove, as a typical surface texture, has played an important role in the development of many advanced fields. This paper introduced an electrochemical machining of micro groove using masked ...porous cathode. A porous metallic plate covered with a mask was prepared as the masked porous cathode. During machining, the masked porous cathode was covered on the workpiece, and the electrolyte could flow into the machining region through the porous structure in the cathode for machining. As the machining unit was closed, the distribution of electrical field was uniform on the machining surface, which could improve the machining accuracy. In addition, the masked porous mask had no damage during machining and could be reused, which improved the machining efficiency. With this method, multiphysics coupling model, including flow field model, electric current model, heat transfer model, reactant transport model, and moving mesh model, was built to investigate their influence on the machining process with different flow modes. The simulation and experiment results indicated that compared with other two flow modes, jet flow mode could provide a high electrolyte velocity in the machining region around the nozzle, and the mass transfer process was enhanced, which was helpful to improve the machining quality. The effect of pulse duty cycle was investigated, and the pulse duty cycle of 20% with the frequency of 2 kHz could further improve the mass transfer process and was preferred to generate micro groove with low standard deviation and roughness. In addition, with the applied voltage rising, the depth of micro groove increased, and increasing the nozzle reciprocating motion number could enhance the mass transfer process during machining, which further improved machining quality. Finally, with the optimized flow mode and machining parameters, a group of ten micro grooves were well generated by using a masked porous cathode with ten micro slits, and the width was about 330 μm with the depth of 45 μm.
BACKGROUND Oocyte number is established early in life before a gradual loss of this ovarian reserve during reproductive life until oocyte availability becomes limiting at the menopause. Although ...there is a large genetic component to the ovarian reserve achieved before birth, other influences including the maternal endocrine and nutritional milieu, and environmental factors may represent important developmental determinants. Environmental and nutritional factors may also modify the downward trajectory of ovarian reserve in adult life. The combination of these early and later life influences has the potential to lead to diminished ovarian reserve, compromising fertility in later reproductive years and altering age at natural menopause. METHODS Literature searches of the ISI Web of Knowledge database were carried out using the main terms 'ovarian reserve' and 'menopause AND age' in conjunction with a range of other terms encompassing a variety of factors with potential effects on ovarian reserve. The various searches were inspected manually and the relevant papers selected for critical analysis and interpretation. RESULTS Evidence was identified supporting the view that elevated prenatal androgens have an adverse effect on the early establishment of ovarian reserve, although the implications for ovarian reserve in the polycystic ovary syndrome (which may also be programmed through prenatal androgen exposure) remain uncertain. Recent evidence is cited suggesting that effects of maternal nutrient restriction on ovarian reserve may also involve changes in prenatal androgen exposure. A general rationale is developed through examination of evidence which emphasizes the roles of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and the estrogen receptor (ER) systems in ovarian reserve modulation. Because of their similarity to the natural ligands, many environmental compounds have the ability to bind to these receptors (albeit at lower affinities) and thereby have the potential to influence either the initial setting of ovarian reserve during development or the trajectory of ovarian reserve during adult life. For example, exposure to compounds in cigarette smoke may accelerate loss of ovarian reserve in smokers leading to diminished ovarian reserve, earlier age at last child and earlier menopause. Socioenocomic factors are clearly associated with age at natural menopause, with correlations with economic status and education level. However, such effects in western societies are in general small, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to many environmental compounds, particularly to those that leach from plastics and other synthetic materials, is commonplace in modern societies to the extent that many are found at measurable concentrations in body fluids within most of the population. Relating fluid levels of individual compounds to parameters reflecting ovarian reserve in selected populations appears to be an effective way forward and, indeed, some early-stage findings do show some cause for concern. There is a pressing need for the development of practical advice enabling women to minimize their intake of AHR/ER ligands, perhaps through dietary/cosmetic choices or improved food packaging.
Cultivated groundnut or peanut (
Arachis hypogaea
L.), an allotetraploid (2
n
= 4
x
= 40), is a self pollinated and widely grown crop in the semi-arid regions of the world. Improvement of drought ...tolerance is an important area of research for groundnut breeding programmes. Therefore, for the identification of candidate QTLs for drought tolerance, a comprehensive and refined genetic map containing 191 SSR loci based on a single mapping population (TAG 24 × ICGV 86031), segregating for drought and surrogate traits was developed. Genotyping data and phenotyping data collected for more than ten drought related traits in 2–3 seasons were analyzed in detail for identification of main effect QTLs (M-QTLs) and epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) using QTL Cartographer, QTLNetwork and Genotype Matrix Mapping (GMM) programmes. A total of 105 M-QTLs with 3.48–33.36% phenotypic variation explained (PVE) were identified using QTL Cartographer, while only 65 M-QTLs with 1.3–15.01% PVE were identified using QTLNetwork. A total of 53 M-QTLs were such which were identified using both programmes. On the other hand, GMM identified 186 (8.54–44.72% PVE) and 63 (7.11–21.13% PVE), three and two loci interactions, whereas only 8 E-QTL interactions with 1.7–8.34% PVE were identified through QTLNetwork. Interestingly a number of co-localized QTLs controlling 2–9 traits were also identified. The identification of few major, many minor M-QTLs and QTL × QTL interactions during the present study confirmed the complex and quantitative nature of drought tolerance in groundnut. This study suggests deployment of modern approaches like marker-assisted recurrent selection or genomic selection instead of marker-assisted backcrossing approach for breeding for drought tolerance in groundnut.
ABSTRACT
High time resolution and accuracy are of critical importance in the studies of timing analysis and time delay localization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and ...pulsars. The Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) consisting of two micro-satellites, GECAM-A and GECAM-B, launched on 2020 December 10, is aimed at monitoring and locating X-ray and GRBs all over the sky. To achieve its scientific goals, GECAM is designed to have the highest time resolution (0.1 $\mu {\rm s}$) among all GRB detectors ever flown. Here, we make a comprehensive time calibration campaign including both on-ground and on-orbit tests to derive not only the relative time accuracy of GECAM satellites and detectors, but also the absolute time accuracy of GECAM-B. Using the on-ground calibration with a $\rm ^{22}Na$ radioactive source, we find that the relative time accuracy between GECAM-A and GECAM-B is about 0.15 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ). To measure the relative time accuracy between all detectors of a single GECAM satellite, cosmic-ray events detected on orbit are utilized since they could produce many secondary particles simultaneously record by multiple detectors. We find that the relative time accuracy among all detectors onboard GECAM-B is about 0.12 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ). Finally, we use the novel Li-CCF method to perform the absolute time calibration with Crab pulsar and SGR J1935+2154, both of which were jointly observed by GECAM-B and Fermi/GBM, and obtain that the time difference between GECAM-B and Fermi/GBM is 3.06 ± 6.04 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ).
ABSTRACT
The decade-long Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey has detected numerous highly variable young stellar objects (YSOs). We present a study of 61 highly variable VVV YSOs (ΔKs = ...1–5 mag), combining near-infrared spectra from Magellan and ESO Very Large Telescope with VVV and NEOWISE light curves to investigate physical mechanisms behind eruptive events. Most sources are spectroscopically confirmed as eruptive variables (typically Class I YSOs) but variable extinction is also seen. Among them, magnetically controlled accretion, identified by H i recombination emission (usually accompanied by CO emission), is observed in 46 YSOs. Boundary layer accretion, associated with FU Ori-like outbursts identified by CO overtone and H2O absorption, is observed only in longer duration events (≥5 yr total duration). However, even in long duration events, the magnetically controlled accretion mode predominates, with amplitudes similar to the boundary layer mode. Shorter (100–700 d) eruptive events usually have lower amplitudes and these events are generally either periodic accretors or multiple time-scale events, wherein large photometric changes occur on time-scales of weeks and years. We find that the ratio of amplitudes in Ks and W2 can distinguish between variable accretion and variable extinction. Several YSOs are periodic or quasi-periodic variables. We identify examples of periodic accretors and extinction-driven periodicity among them (with periods up to 5 yr) though more data are needed to classify some cases. The data suggest that dynamic interactions with a companion may control the accretion rate in a substantial proportion of eruptive systems, although star–disc interactions should also be considered.
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