Seaweed versatility for biorefinery: blessing or burden?

This short review covers the last two years of research and development initiatives covering aspects of biomass supply (e.g. mechanized cultivation and stabilization for storage), seaweed inundations and utilization, and recent advances and studies on seaweed biorefinery concepts covering hydrolysis methods, conversion and processing methods,...

Forensic hydrology reveals why groundwater tables in the province of Noord Brabant (the Netherlands) dropped more than expected

Since the nineteen fifties, groundwater levels in the Netherlands dropped more than as simulated by hydrological models. In the rural sandy part of the Netherlands, the difference amounts to approximately 0.3 m on average. The answer to the question of what or who caused this 'background decline' of groundwater tables may have juridical and...

Rewiring a secondary metabolite pathway towards itaconic acid production in Aspergillus niger

Background: The industrially relevant filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger is widely used in industry for its secretion capabilities of enzymes and organic acids. Biotechnologically produced organic acids promise to be an attractive alternative for the chemical industry to replace petrochemicals. Itaconic acid (IA) has been identified as one of...

Landscape potential for the adoption of crop cultivation: Role of local soil properties and groundwater table rise during 6000-5400BP in Flevoland (central Netherlands)

This paper presents a new perspective for the temporal variation of crop cultivation adoption during the period 6000-5400BP in Flevoland (central Netherlands) based on the spatial evolution of soils and hydrology. To determine the role of soil properties and groundwater level rise in the adoption of crop cultivation in wetlands, mapping of the...

Bioproduction of p-hydroxystyrene from glucose by the solvent-tolerant bacterium Pseudomonas putida S12 in a two-phase water-decanol fermentation

Two solvent-tolerant Pseudomonas putida S12 strains, originally designed for phenol and p-coumarate production, were engineered for efficient production of p-hydroxystyrene from glucose. This was established by introduction of the genes pal and pdc encoding L-phenylalanine/L-tyrosine ammonia lyase and p-coumaric acid decarboxylase, respectively....

Design approach of closed loop food systems in space

Interest on food production systems based on the cultivation of vegetables for future planetary exploration missions is increasing as these units can help overcoming difficult and costly re-supply logistics. In addition to producing edible biomass by growing vegetable species, these systems can be used in closed loop configuration with bio...

Design of an On Ground Experimental Growth Unit (OGEGU) for space applications

The capacity of producing fresh food meeting crew's nutritional requirements is an essential need for long-term planetary missions. To this end, the European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned a feasibility study of Food Production Units (FPU) for their application in microgravity, transit and planetary environments. This paper describes the ...

Infection of a canine macrophage cell line with Leishmania infantum: Determination of nitric oxide production and anti-leishmanial activity

We have previously shown that resistance to Leishmania infantum in dogs is associated with a Th1 type of immune response. In this study, we use a canine macrophage cell line (030-D) that can readily be infected with this protozoan parasite. Our aim is to further characterize the effector mechanisms involved in killing of Leishmania parasite in...

Phytotoxicity of some chloroanilines and chlorophenols, in relation to bioavailability in soil

Soil adsorption and the effect of four chlorophenols and three chloroanilines on the growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) were determined in two soil types differing in organic matter content and pH. Adsorption increased with increasing organic matter content of the soils. Phytotoxicity, based on dosed amounts, was significantly higher in the soil...