Physical,mechanical, and microstructural characterization of novel, 3D-printed,tunable, lab-grown plant materials generated from Zinnia elegans cell cultures

To date, wood has been viewed as an attractive commodity because of its low relative cost and widespread availability. However, supply is increasingly strained, and, in many ways, trees make a non-ideal feedstock—with slow, climate and seasonally dependent growth, low yields of high-value products, and susceptibility to pests and disease. Recent research offered an approach to generate plant-based materials in vitro without needing to harvest or process whole plants, thereby enabling: localized, high-density production, elimination of energy-intensive collection and hauling, reduced processing, and inherent climate resilience. This work reports the first physical, mechanical, and microstructural characterization of 3-D printed, lab-grown, and tunable plant materials generated with Zinnia elegans cell cultures using such methodology. The data show that the properties of the resulting plant materials vary significantly with adjustments to hormone levels present in growth medium. In addition, configuration of the culture environment via bioprinting and casting enables the production of net-shape materials in forms and scales that do not arise naturally in whole plants. Finally, new comparative data on cell development in response to hormone levels in culture medium demonstrates the repeatability of growth trends, clarifies the relationship between developmental pathways, and helps to elucidate the relationships between cellular-level culture characteristics and emergent material properties.     

Collaboration in humanitarian supply chains: an organisational culture framework

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact that institutional logics and, more specifically, organisational culture can have on humanitarian supply chain (HSC) collaboration. A framework was developed that explicates buyer–supplier collaboration in a humanitarian setting. Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with buyers and suppliers. The data indicated that in a HSC, collaborative outcomes, such as new product development, inventory management, and product/service delivery, are influenced by the buyers’ and suppliers’ organisational cultures. Based on suppliers’ characteristics, they can be classified as humanitarian suppliers, commercial suppliers, and humanitarian and commercial suppliers. These groups have distinct organisational cultures. An unexpected finding is that suppliers that serve commercial buyers primarily claim to have encountered no issues in supply chain collaboration with humanitarian buyers, although they have different types of organisational cultures. The factors that lead to successful collaboration are identified as trust, commitment, information sharing and mutual respect. Simultaneously, dominant institutional logics are observed in the dyadic relationship.     

Quantifying the efficiency and biases of forest Saccharomyces sampling strategies

Saccharomyces yeasts are emerging as model organisms for ecology and evolution, and researchers need environmental Saccharomyces isolates to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. However, methods for isolating Saccharomyces from nature have not been standardized, and isolation methods may influence the genotypes and phenotypes of studied strains. We compared the effectiveness and potential biases of an established enrichment culturing method against a newly developed direct plating method for isolating forest floor Saccharomyces spp. In a European forest, enrichment culturing was both less successful at isolating Saccharomyces paradoxus per sample collected and less labour intensive per isolated S. paradoxus colony than direct isolation. The two methods sampled similar S. paradoxus diversity: The number of unique genotypes sampled (i.e., genotypic diversity) per S. paradoxus isolate and average growth rates of S. paradoxus isolates did not differ between the two methods, and growth rate variances (i.e., phenotypic diversity) only differed in one of three tested environments. However, enrichment culturing did detect rare Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the forest habitat and also found two S. paradoxus isolates with outlier phenotypes. Our results validate the historically common method of using enrichment culturing to isolate representative collections of environmental Saccharomyces. We recommend that researchers choose a Saccharomyces sampling method based on resources available for sampling and isolate screening. Researchers interested in discovering new Saccharomyces phenotypes or rare Saccharomyces species from natural environments may also have more success using enrichment culturing. We include step-by-step sampling protocols in the supplemental materials.     

Conditions stimulating neutral detergent fiber degradation by dosing branched-chain volatile fatty acids. I: Comparison with branched-chain amino acids and forage source in ruminal batch cultures

Three experiments assessed branched-chain volatile fatty acid (BCVFA) stimulation of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) disappearance after 24 h of incubation in batch cultures derived from ruminal fluid inocula that were enriched with particulate-phase bacteria. In experiment 1, a control was compared with 3 treatments with isomolar doses of all 3 BCVFA (plus valerate), all 3 branched-chain AA (BCAA), or half of each BCVFA and BCAA mix with either alfalfa or grass hays (50%) and ground corn grain (50%). A portion of the BCAA and BCVFA doses were enriched with ¹³C, and valerate (also enriched with ¹³C) was added with BCVFA. Although BCAA yielded a similar production of BCVFA compared with dosing BCVFA, equimolar substitution of BCVFA for BCAA decreased the percentage of N in bacterial pellets when alfalfa hay was fed but increased N when grass hay was fed. Substituting BCVFA for BCAA increased total fatty acid (FA) concentration with alfalfa hay. Dosing of BCAA or BCVFA did not affect total branched-chain FA, iso-FA, or anteiso-FA percentages in bacterial total FA, whereas numerous individual FA isomers and their ¹³C enrichments were affected by these treatments. Increasing recovery of the ¹³C dose from respective labeled BCVFA primers indicated facilitated BCVFA uptake and incorporation into FA compared with BCAA, whereas increased recovery of ¹³C from labeled BCAA in the bacteria pellet but not in the FA fraction suggested direct assimilation into bacterial protein. The BCVFA and valerate were dosed in varying combinations that either summed to 4 mM (experiment 2) or had only 1 mM no matter what combination (experiment 3). In general, grass hay was more responsive to stimulation in NDF digestibility by BCVFA than was alfalfa hay, which was attributed to the higher degradable protein in the latter. The net production of the BCVFA (after subtracting dose) was affected by source and combination of BCVFA. Isovalerate dosing tended to increase its own net production; in contrast, isobutyrate seemed to be used more when it was added alone, but 2-methylbutyrate seemed to be preferred over isobutyrate when 2-methylbutyrate was added. Results supported potential interactions, including potential feedback in production from feed BCAA or increased concentration-dependent competition for dosed BCVFA into cellular products. Under our conditions, the BCVFA appear to be more readily available than BCAA, probably because of regulated BCAA transport and metabolism. Valerate consistently provided no benefit. Using nonparametric ranking, all 3 BCVFA or either isovalerate or isobutyrate (both yielding iso-FA) should be combined with 2-methylbutyrate (yielding anteiso-FA) as a potential opportunity to improve NDF digestibility when rumen-degraded BCAA are limited in diets to decrease environmental impact from N in waste.     

Production of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides in Iranian ultrafiltered white cheese prepared with Lactobacillus brevis KX572382

In this study, ultrafiltered (UF) Iranian white cheese made with adjunct cultures including six Lactobacillus isolates (Lactobacillus brevis, L. casei and L. plantarum) from traditional Iranian Motal cheese. The peptide extract (<5 kDa) of cheese samples were assessed for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity during ripening (5 °C). Among the strains used, L. brevis KX572382 (M8) was selected because of the greater increase in (ACE)-inhibitory activity in the cheese (P < 0.05). The highest activity of M8 extract was observed on the 28th (71.72%) day of ripening (P < 0.05). Proteolytic activity assessment and RP-HPLC peptide profile of M8 water-soluble extracts (WSEs) indicated the effect of M8 on further protein degradation due to secondary proteolysis. A total of 7 different peptide sequences, previously known in the literature for their ACE-inhibitory activity, were tentatively identified by LC/ESI-MS in 28-day M8 peptide extract. Although the effect of M8 on pH and the proteolysis development in cheese was significant, no adverse effect was observed on the sensory properties. In conclusion, M8 strain can enhance the functional properties of Iranian UF white cheese.     

浙江严子陵钓台文化景观变迁探析

严子陵钓台是中国隐士文化景观的重要组成部分。通过文献整理,现场调研等研究方法,探索严子陵钓台历史变迁,共分为形成之初、繁荣发展、明清与近代发展3个时期。并且以钓台测绘图为基础,结合古籍文献对盛期钓台进行复原。在此基础上,从山水形胜、文人活动、景面文心3个方面分析了严子陵钓台的景观形成与特征。为严子陵钓台文化景观的保护提供参考,也为同类型文化景观的研究工作提供了一种研究思路。     

Dissecting culture at work: Conversation with Indian immigrant scientists & engineers in the US industrial sector

Scientists and engineers’ social background, cultural upbringing, educational training, and world outlook influence how they perform the work and interact with their colleagues. We conducted a study on Indian immigrant scientists and engineers employed in the US industrial sector. We interviewed 40 Indian immigrant scientists and engineers, some of whom came for higher studies and found employment after graduation, while others came directly from India to work. Findings show that the overwhelming majority of interviewees (n = 35) noted significant cultural differences with their colleagues in the workplace; only a small number of interviewees (n = 5), believed that their foundation in professionalism eliminated significant impacts from cultural dissimilarities. Interviewees identified cultural differences in the areas of social interactions, work-related practices, intercultural communication, and management. When immigrant scientists and engineers from developing countries join industrial organizations, they do not leave their cultural practices at home. A conversation with Indian immigrant scientists and engineers shows how Indian culture manifests itself in the workplace.