Electrobiocorrosion by microbes without outer-surface cytochromes.

Anaerobic microbial corrosion of iron-containing metals causes extensive economic damage. Some microbes are capable of direct metal-to-microbe electron transfer (electrobiocorrosion), but the prevalence of electrobiocorrosion among diverse methanogens and acetogens is poorly understood because of a lack of tools for their genetic manipulation. Previous studies have suggested that respiration with 316L  stainless steel as the electron donor is indicative of electrobiocorrosion, because, unlike pure Fe, 316L  stainless steel does not abiotically generate H as an intermediary electron carrier.

Advancing MRI with magnetic nanoparticles: a comprehensive review of translational research and clinical trials.

The nexus of advanced technology and medical therapeutics has ushered in a transformative epoch in contemporary medicine. Within this arena, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) emerges as a paramount tool, intertwining the advancements of technology with the art of healing. MRI's pivotal role is evident in its broad applicability, spanning from neurological diseases, soft-tissue and tumour characterization, to many more applications.

Oxidative physiology is weakly associated with pigmentation in birds.

The mechanistic link between avian oxidative physiology and plumage coloration has attracted considerable attention in past decades. Hence, multiple proximal hypotheses were proposed to explain how oxidative state might covary with the production of melanin and carotenoid pigments. Some hypotheses underscore that these pigments (or their precursors, e.

Consumers' acceptance of the first novel insect food approved in the European Union: Predictors of yellow mealworm chips consumption.

Climate and environmental-related challenges are high on the agenda of the European Union (EU). One priority is to redesign the existing food system into a more sustainable one, where the link between healthy people and a balanced environment is considered. The EU bets on the role of insect farming in supporting the transition toward healthier and future-proof diets.

Mobile learning acceptance in social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak: The mediation effect of hedonic motivation.

M-learning is a trending field in educational organizations, companies, and also for individual study. However, in some regions the ampleness of the phenomenon is not quantifiable or comparable due to the lack of an adequate framework and reliable metrics. Our research intends to make a little light by assessing the degree of m-learning adoption in students at a moment when face-to-face education moved suddenly online due to the COVID-19 outbreak's rapid and unpredictable spread.

Improved Constraints on Global Methane Emissions and Sinks Using C-CH.

We study the drivers behind the global atmospheric methane (CH) increase observed after 2006. Candidate emission and sink scenarios are constructed based on proposed hypotheses in the literature. These scenarios are simulated in the TM5 tracer transport model for 1984-2016 to produce three-dimensional fields of CH and C-CH, which are compared with observations to test the competing hypotheses in the literature in one common model framework.

Roadsides provide refuge for orchids: characteristic of the surrounding landscape.

Seminatural habitats are declining throughout the world; thus, the role of small anthropogenic habitats in the preservation of plants is becoming increasingly appreciated. Here, we surveyed the orchid flora of roadside verges in five Central European countries (Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and tested how the surrounding landscape matrix affects the overall number of species and individuals, and also different functional groups of orchids. We found more than 2,000 individuals of 27 orchid species during our surveys.

Seed mass, hardness, and phylogeny explain the potential for endozoochory by granivorous waterbirds.

Field studies have shown that waterbirds, especially members of the Anatidae family, are major vectors of dispersal by endozoochory for a broad range of plants lacking a fleshy fruit, yet whose propagules can survive gut passage. Widely adopted dispersal syndromes ignore this dispersal mechanism, and we currently have little understanding of what traits determine the potential of angiosperms for endozoochory by waterbirds. Results from previous experimental studies have been inconsistent as to how seed traits affect seed survival and retention time in the gut and have failed to control for the influence of plant phylogeny.

A new Geoffroy (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Diplolepidini) species from China: a rare example of a rose gall-inducer of economic significance.

A new species of the genus Geoffroy, Pujade-Villar & Wang is described on host plant Rolfe × Thunb. from China with an integrative approach based on molecular and morphological data. Diagnosis, distribution and biology of the new species are included and illustrated.

Selection on multiple sexual signals in two Central and Eastern European populations of the barn swallow.

Variation in intensity and targets of sexual selection on multiple traits has been suggested to play a major role in promoting phenotypic differentiation between populations, although the divergence in selection may depend on year, local conditions or age. In this study, we quantified sexual selection for two putative sexual signals across two Central and East European barn swallow () populations from Czech Republic and Romania over multiple years. We then related these differences in selection to variation in sexual characters among barn swallow populations.

Roadside verges and cemeteries: Comparative analysis of anthropogenic orchid habitats in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Several important habitats have become threatened in the last few centuries in the Mediterranean Basin due to major changes adopted in land-use practices. The consequent loss of natural and seminatural orchid habitats leads to the appreciation of small anthropogenic habitats, such as cemeteries and roadside verges. Colonization of cemeteries and roadside verges by orchids has long been known, but no study to date compared the suitability of these two anthropogenic habitats for orchids.

Environmental selection is a main driver of divergence in house sparrows () in Romania and Bulgaria.

Both neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes can cause population divergence, but their relative contributions remain unclear. We investigated the roles of these processes in population divergence in house sparrows () from Romania and Bulgaria, regions characterized by high landscape heterogeneity compared to Western Europe. We asked whether morphological divergence, complemented with genetic data in this human commensal species, was best explained by environmental variation, geographic distance, or landscape resistance-the effort it takes for an individual to disperse from one location to the other-caused by either natural or anthropogenic barriers.

Quantitative assessment of the masseter muscle's elasticity using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse.

Aims: The study proposes Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) assessment of the masseter muscle elasticity in the healthy population and in patients who have undergone head and neck radiation therapy.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-five healthy controls constituted group A, and 13 patients who had underwent radiotherapy (35Gy minimum) formed group B. ARFI was performed bilaterally in the periphery (P) and the muscle center (C), in relaxation and contraction.