Insights on the persistence of pines ( species) in the Late Cretaceous and their increasing dominance in the Anthropocene.

Although gymnosperms were nearly swept away by the rise of the angiosperms in the Late Cretaceous, conifers, and pines ( species) in particular, survived and regained their dominance in some habitats. Diversification of pines into fire-avoiding (subgenus ) and fire-adapted (subgenus ) species occurred in response to abiotic and biotic factors in the Late Cretaceous such as competition with emerging angiosperms and changing fire regimes. Adaptations/traits that evolved in response to angiosperm-fuelled fire regimes and stressful environments in the Late Cretaceous were key to pine success and are also contributing to a new "pine rise" in some areas in the Anthropocene.

Protein loading, elution, and resolution behavior in a novel device that integrates ultrafiltration and chromatographic separation.

Hollow fiber membranes and chromatographic resin beads are commonly employed in a variety of bioseparation processes. A new class of integrated separation devices is being studied in which the shell side of a hollow fiber device is filled with adsorbents/chromatographic resin beads. Such devices and the corresponding separation methods integrate feed broth clarification by the microfiltration/ultrafiltration membrane with bioproduct purification by the shell-side resin beads either as an adsorbent or as beads in elution chromatography.