Formaldehyde (FA) fixation of infectious samples is a well-established protocol in diagnostic electron microscopy of viruses. However, published experimental data that demonstrate virus inactivation by these fixation procedures are lacking. Usually, fixation is performed immediately before the sample preparation for microscopy. The fixation procedure should transform viruses in a non-infectious...

Cover crops (CCs) can improve soil nutrient retention and crop production while providing climate change mitigation co-benefits. However, quantifying these ecosystem services across global agricultural lands remains inadequate. Here, we assess how the use of herbaceous CCs with without biological nitrogen (N) fixation affects carbon stocks, N leaching, yields, using dynamic vegetation model LPJ...

Several studies, performed mainly in pots, have shown that arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis can mitigate the negative effects of water stress on plant growth. No information is available about the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis on berseem clover growth and nitrogen (N) fixation under conditions of water shortage. A field experiment was conducted in a hilly area of inner Sicily, Ita...

Silicon (Si) cycling controls atmospheric CO(2) concentrations and thus, the global climate, through three well-recognized means: chemical weathering of mineral silicates, occlusion of carbon (C) to soil phytoliths, and the oceanic biological Si pump. In the latter, oceanic diatoms directly sequester 25.8 Gton C yr(-1), accounting for 43% of the total oceanic net primary production (NPP). Howev...

Investigating active participants in the fixation of dinitrogen gas is vital as N is often a limiting factor for primary production. Biological nitrogen fixation is performed by a diverse guild of bacteria and archaea (diazotrophs), which can be free-living or symbionts. Free-living diazotrophs are widely distributed in the environment, yet our knowledge about their identity and ecophysiology i...

Introduction: Anterior spinal instrumentation of the thoracic and lumbar spine has gained in popularity since Dwyer et al [1] developed the cable system in 1964. However, implant loosening, screw breakage and cut-throughs have been noted clinically when using Dwyer or Zielke's Ventrale Derotations Spondylodese (VDS) instrumentations [2,3]. To avoid these complications and pseudarthrosis, one ma...

Symbiotic interactions in the marine environment have long been represented by mutualisms between photosymbionts and benthic marine invertebrates like corals and sponges. Although ‘upside-down’ epibenthic jellyfish in the genus Cassiopea also derive a substantial metabolic benefit from abundant communities of the dinoflagellate symbiont Symbiodinium, comparatively little is known about the effi...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Because legumes can add nitrogen (N) to ecosystems through symbiotic fixation, they play important roles in many plant communities, such as prairies and grasslands. However, very little research has examined the effect of projected climate change on legume growth and function. Our goal was to study the effects of temperature on growth, nodulation, and N chemistry of prairie...

Estimates of N2 fixation by substrata associated with the rhizophytic alga Caulerpa taxifolia were obtained using the acetylene reduction method. On average, growth of C. taxifolia enhanced rates of acetylene reduction in underlying dead sea grass sediments by a factor of 28, although the degree of enhancement was variable. The average rate of ethylene production was 3.96 nmol cm23 h21 (range 5...