Measured Growth Rates Research Articles

Effect of probiotics on height and weight parameters of young cattle

The main direction of agriculture is the search for effective methods of production to provide the population with the provision and to ensure the food independence of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of feed yeast produced in Russia and abroad on the growth of calves up to six months of age. The scientific and production experiment was carried out on the dairy farm of "Gigant" Agricultural Production Cooperative Collective Farm of the Stavropol Territory. Four groups of ten heads of black-and-white calves were formed according to the principle of analogues. The animals were ten days old. Together with the main diet the calves of the 1st experimental group received I-SAK1026 drug in the amount of 11 g per animal per day, the animals of the second experimental group were fed with "Levisil SC+" drug in the amount of 5 g per animal per day, and the calves of the third experimental group received "Optisaf" drug in the amount of 15 g per animal per day. Changes of linear measurements of growth rate with age were different. The animals of the third experimental group had an advantage in most of the measurements. Compared to the control, they showed more significant results. Based on the results of the study, the following was established. Calves of the third experimental group that received "Optisaf" probiotic were characterized by more significant activity of metabolic processes. The calves of this group were ahead of the control calves in terms of development and growth.

Herbivores disrupt clinal variation in plant responses to water limitation

Abstract Plasticity in plant traits, including secondary metabolites, is critical to plant survival and competitiveness under stressful conditions. The ability of a plant to respond effectively to combined stressors can be impacted by crosstalk in biochemical pathways, resource availability and evolutionary history, but such responses remain underexplored. In particular, we know little about intraspecific variation in response to combined stressors or whether such variation is associated with the stress history of a given population. Here, we investigated the consequences of combined water and herbivory stress for plant traits, including relative growth rate, leaf morphology and various measures of phytochemistry, using a common garden of Asclepias fascicularis milkweeds. To examine how plant trait means and plasticities depend on the history of environmental stress, seeds for the experiment were collected from across a gradient of aridity in the Great Basin, United States. We then conducted a factorial experiment crossing water limitation with herbivory. Plants responded to water limitation alone by increasing the evenness of UV‐absorbent secondary metabolites and to herbivory alone by increasing the richness of metabolites. However, plants that experienced combined water and herbivory stress exhibited similar phytochemical diversity to well‐watered control plants. This lack of plasticity in phytochemical diversity in plants experiencing combined stressors was associated with a reduction in relative growth rates. Leaf chemistry means and plasticities exhibited clinal variation corresponding to seed source water deficits. The total concentration of UV‐absorbent metabolites decreased with increasing water availability among seed sources, driven by higher concentrations of flavonol glycosides, which are hypothesized to act as antioxidants, among plants from drier sites. Plants sourced from drier sites exhibited higher plasticity in flavonol glycoside concentrations in response to water limitation, which increased phytochemical evenness, but simultaneous herbivory dampened plant responses to water limitation irrespective of seed source. Synthesis. These results suggest that climatic history can affect intraspecific phytochemical plasticity, which may confer tolerance to water limitation, but that co‐occurring herbivory disrupts such patterns. Global change is increasing the frequency and intensity of stress combinations, such that understanding intraspecific responses to combined stressors is critical for predicting the persistence of plant populations.

Anomalous cross-field transport in a Hall thruster inferred from direct measurement of instability growth rates.

The contribution of the electron drift instability to anomalous electron transport is experimentally assessed in a Hall effect discharge. The transport is represented by an anomalous collision frequency, which is related through quasilinear theory to the energy and growth rate of the instability. The wave energy is measured directly with ion saturation probes, while estimates of the growth rate are employed based on both linearized theory and direct measurement. The latter measurement is performed with a bispectral analysis method. The wave-driven collision frequency is compared to measurements of the actual collision frequency inferred from a method based on laser-induced fluorescence. It is found that estimates for transport using linearized theory for the growth differ by over an order of magnitude from the actual anomalous collision frequency in the plasma. The wave-driven anomalous collision frequency with measured growth, however, is shown to agree with the electron collision frequency in magnitude and capture aspects of the trends in spatial variation. This result demonstrates experimentally that wave-driven effects ultimately can explain the observed cross-field transport in these devices. The implications of this finding are discussed in the context of the key lengthscales that drive the transport as well as the implications identifying reduced fidelity models that could be used to predict anomalous collision frequency.

On polymorphic crystal growth in a Ti-Ni-Cu-Fe system metallic glass at the glass-transition temperature

A polymorphic crystallization reaction forming spherical cP2/B2 crystals in a Ti50Ni22Cu22Fe6 metallic glass close to the glass-transition temperature was studied. The phase transformation was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. X-ray diffractometry indicated the formation of the cP2/B2 crystalline phase after the initial exothermic crystallization reaction. In situ transmission electron microscopy observation allowed direct measurement of a crystal growth rate at a constant temperature close to the glass-transition temperature while the usage of an analytical microscope confirmed the polymorphic nature of the phase transformation. The results are interpreted in line with the diffusion data suggested from the viscosity obtained in creep experiments with a thermo-mechanical analyzer. Thermodynamic considerations are also taken into account.

Two duckweed species exhibit variable tolerance to microcystin-LR exposure across genotypic lineages

Cyanotoxins produced by harmful cyanobacteria blooms can damage freshwater ecosystems and threaten human health. Floating macrophytes may be used as a means of biocontrol by limiting light and resources available to cyanobacteria. However, genetic variation in macrophyte sensitivity to cyanotoxins could influence their suitability as biocontrol agents. We investigated the influence of such intraspecific variation on the response of two rapidly growing duckweed species, Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhiza, often used in nutrient and metal bioremediation. We assessed two biomarkers related to productivity (biomass and chlorophyll A production) and two related to fitness measures (population size and growth rate). Fifteen genetic lineages of each species were grown in media containing common cyanotoxin microcystin-LR at ecologically relevant concentrations or control media for a period of twelve days. Genotype identity had a strong impact on all biomarker responses. Microcystin concentration slightly increased the final population sizes of both macrophyte species with a marginal effect on growth rate of L. minor and the chlorophyll A production of S. polyrhiza, but overall these species were very tolerant of microcystin. The strong tolerance supports the potential use of these plants as bioremediators of cyanobacterial blooms. However, differential impact of microcystin exposure discovered in single lineage models among genotypes indicates a potential for cyanotoxins to act as selective forces, necessitating attention to genotype selection for bioremediation.

Global output feedback control of feedforward nonlinear time-delay systems with unknown growth rate and unknown measurement sensitivity

Global output feedback control of feedforward nonlinear time-delay systems with unknown growth rate and unknown measurement sensitivity

Influence of BMI percentile on craniofacial morphology and development in adolescents,Part II: elevated BMI is associated with larger final facial dimensions.

Prevalence of adolescent obesity has markedly increased from 5.2% in 1974 to 19.7% in 2021. Understanding the impacts of obesity is important to orthodontists, as growth acceleration and greater pre-pubertal facial dimensions are seen in children with elevated body mass index (BMI). To identify whether adolescent obesity shifts the timing and rate of craniofacial growth resulting in larger post-treatment dimensions, we evaluated cephalometric outcomes in overweight/obese (BMI > 85%, n = 168) and normal weight (n = 158) adolescents (N = 326 total). Cephalometric measurements were obtained from pre- and post-treatment records to measure growth rates and final dimensions and were statistically evaluated with repeated measures analysis of variance and linear regression models. Overweight and obese adolescents began and finished treatment with significantly larger, bimaxillary prognathic craniofacial dimensions, with elevated mandibular length [articulare-gnathion (Ar-Gn)], maxillary length [condylion-anterior nasal spine (Co-ANS), posterior nasal spine-ANS (PNS-ANS)], and anterior lower face height (ANS-Me), suggesting overweight children grow more overall. However, there was no difference between weight cohorts in the amount of cephalometric change during treatment, and regression analyses demonstrated no correlation between change in growth during treatment and BMI. BMI percentile was a significant linear predictor (P < 0.05) for cephalometric post-treatment outcomes, including Ar-Gn, Co-ANS, ANS-Me, upper face height percentage (UFH:total FH, inverse relationship), lower face height percentage (LFH:total FH), sella-nasion-A-point (SNA), and SN-B-point (SNB). The study is retrospective. Growth begins earlier in overweight and obese adolescents and continues at a rate similar to normal-weight children during orthodontic treatment, resulting in larger final skeletal dimensions. Orthodontics could begin earlier in overweight patients to time care with growth, and clinicians can anticipate that overweight/obese patients will finish treatment with proportionally larger, bimaxillary-prognathic craniofacial dimensions.

Identification of candidate genes related to two economic traits using GWAS in Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

The lack of systematic methods to measure traits and phenotypic data, along with limited research on genes regulating economic traits, has slowed down the variety improvement and breeding process of industrialized alga Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Gp. lemaneiformis). Here, we developed a unified, reliable and stable method for linear growth rate (VL) and branch measurement based on tip culture in Gp. lemaneiformis. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) including 174 haploid strains based on the phenotypic data measured by this trait assessment method was conducted, and 483,670 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified through re-sequencing. There were 68 and 12 SNPs significantly associated with VL and branch respectively, and 79 and 16 genes related to VL and branch respectively within the flanking 20 kb region of these SNPs were screened. Validation of SNPs loci Chr3–969,142 and Chr13–2,948,547 confirmed their polymorphism and potential involvement in regulating VL and branch traits, respectively. Further analysis revealed a positive correlation between VL and genes LXC001292 (cell division cycle protein 20-like), LXC001293 (transcription factor-like protein DPB), and LXC001294 (unnamed protein product), indicating their potential role in VL regulation through cell cycle, ubiquitin, and RB-E2F regulatory pathways. Additionally, LXC004673 (Auxin transport protein BIG) was associated with Branch, suggesting that the gene and polar auxin transport might play a role on branch morphology of Gp. lemaneiformis. This study provides fundamental data and important gene resources for genetic and breeding studies of Gp. lemaneiformis.

Calibration, validation and testing of a rotational displacement transducer for measuring wheat leaf elongation rates

Flag leaf growth has been emphasized in the literature as an important secondary trait for wheat breeding under drought stress. To measure leaf elongation rate (LER) in monocotyledons such as wheat, the rotational displacement transducer (RDT) has already been used in several studies, mostly on maize. Still, a comprehensive calibration and measurement protocol of the sensor is lacking. To fill this gap, several experiments were performed: (i) to calibrate the sensor and test its resilience to physical disturbances and changes in environmental conditions, (ii) to validate the calibration on growing plants, and (iii) to compare growth rate in flag leaves of well-watered and drought-treated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants. The study showed that calibration of RDT sensors with a height gauge resulted in very accurate and robust measurements of growth rate and drought stress dynamics in monocotyledons, such as wheat. To correctly interpret the sensor measurements and derive the underlying mechanism, it is however important to consider the complex architecture of the plant, as the RDT not merely measures leaf growth, but also any potential growth of supporting parts.

Rapid growth rate responses of terrestrial bacteria to field warming on the Antarctic Peninsula

Ice-free terrestrial environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula are expanding and subject to colonization by new microorganisms and plants, which control biogeochemical cycling. Measuring growth rates of microbial populations and ecosystem carbon flux is critical for understanding how terrestrial ecosystems in Antarctica will respond to future warming. We implemented a field warming experiment in early (bare soil; +2 °C) and late (peat moss-dominated; +1.2 °C) successional glacier forefield sites on the western Antarctica Peninsula. We used quantitative stable isotope probing with H218O using intact cores in situ to determine growth rate responses of bacterial taxa to short-term (1 month) warming. Warming increased the growth rates of bacterial communities at both sites, even doubling the number of taxa exhibiting significant growth at the early site. Growth responses varied among taxa. Despite that warming induced a similar response for bacterial relative growth rates overall, the warming effect on ecosystem carbon fluxes was stronger at the early successional site—likely driven by increased activity of autotrophs which switched the ecosystem from a carbon source to a carbon sink. At the late-successional site, warming caused a significant increase in growth rate of many Alphaproteobacteria, but a weaker and opposite gross ecosystem productivity response that decreased the carbon sink—indicating that the carbon flux rates were driven more strongly by the plant communities. Such changes to bacterial growth and ecosystem carbon cycling suggest that the terrestrial Antarctic Peninsula can respond fast to increases in temperature, which can have repercussions for long-term elemental cycling and carbon storage.

Synthesis of Titanium Oxide Nanotubes Loaded with Hydroxyapatite.

A simple method of synthesis of TiO2 nanotubes (TiNT) loaded with hydroxyapatite (HAP) is described. Such nanotubes find wide applications in various fields, including biomedicine, solar cells, and drug delivery, due to their bioactivity and potential for osseointegration. The Cp-Ti substrate was anodized at a constant voltage of 40 V, with the subsequent heat treatment at 450 °C. The resulting TiNT had a diameter of 100.3 ± 2.8 nm and a length of 3.5 ± 0.04 μm. The best result of the growth rate of HAP in Hanks' balanced salt solution (Hanks' BSS) was obtained in calcium glycerophosphate (CG = 0.1 g/L) when precipitates formed on the bottom and walls of the nanotubes. Structural properties, surface wettability, corrosion resistance, and growth rate of HAP as an indicator of the bioactivity of the coating have been studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), potentiodynamic polarization test (PPC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and contact angle (CA) measurements were used to characterize HAP-loaded nanotubes (HAP-TiNT). The CA, also serving as an indirect indicator of bioactivity, was 30.4 ± 1.1° for the TiNT not containing HAP. The contact angle value for HAP-TiNT produced in 0.1 g/L CG was 18.2 ± 1.2°, and for HAP-TiNT exposed to Hanks' BSS for 7 days, the CA was 7.2 ± 0.5°. The corrosion studies and measurement of HAP growth rates after a 7-day exposure to Hanks' BSS confirmed the result that TiNT processed in 0.1 g/L of CG exhibited the most significant capacity for HAP formation compared to the other tested samples.

A study of some growth parameters for common carp Carpinus carpio L cultured in floating cages.

The current study included measuring some of the chemical and physical properties of the water of the study area and estimating the concentration of three heavy elements (lead, copper, zinc) in the tissues of common carp Cyprinus carpio L (gills, muscles, viscera) and measuring growth rates and weight gains at three different densities. The samples were collected from a private farm that raises fish in floating cages on the Euphrates River from 11/18/2022 to 4/18/2023 Different densities were also studied to obtain the best culture density. Three densities (21_25_28 fish / m3) were used, with 500 fish for the first treatment, 900 fish for the second treatment, and 1100 fish for the third treatment, with an average weight of (120_140) g. Diet of Iranian origin was used for the three treatments. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences during the months of the study, where the highest rate was in the month of March. And between the qualitative growth rate and the presence of significant differences between the months of the study, where the highest rate was in the month of February. The rate of feed conversion and the efficiency of feed conversion when conducting the statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences, as the highest rate was in the month of November, as well as between the chemical analysis of fish muscles at the beginning of the experiment and the end of the experiment.

Advances in wildlife abundance estimation using pedigree reconstruction.

The conservation and management of wildlife populations, particularly for threatened and endangered species are greatly aided with abundance, growth rate, and density measures. Traditional methods of estimating abundance and related metrics represent trade-offs in effort and precision of estimates. Pedigree reconstruction is an emerging, attractive alternate approach because its use of one-time, noninvasive sampling of individuals to infer the existence of unsampled individuals. However, advances in pedigree reconstruction could improve its utility, including forming a measure of precision for the method, establishing required spatial sampling effort for accurate estimates, ascertaining the spatial extent of abundance estimates derived from pedigree reconstruction, and assessing how population density affects the estimator's performance. Using established relationships for a stochastic, spatially explicit simulated moose (Alces americanus) population, pedigree reconstruction provided accurate estimates of the adult moose population size and trend. Novel bootstrapped confidence intervals performed as expected with intensive sampling but underperformed with moderate sampling efforts that could produce abundance estimates with low bias. Adult population estimates more closely reflected the total number of adults in the extant population, rather than number of adults inhabiting the area where sampling occurred. Increasing sampling effort, measured as the proportion of individuals sampled and as the proportion of a hypothetical study area, yielded similar asymptotic patterns over time. Simulations indicated a positive relationship between animal density and sampling effort required for unbiased estimates. These results indicate that pedigree reconstruction can produce accurate abundance estimates and may be particularly valuable for surveying smaller areas and low-density populations.

Exploration and Identification of Endophytic Molds on Leaves and Stem of the Mango’s Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe Pentandra (L.) Miq)

Mango’s mistletoe is one of the herbal plants’ rich in bioactivity. Secondary metabolites are not only produced by plants but also by microorganisms that live in tissues. One of these microorganisms is endophytic mold. The ability of endophytic molds to synthesize secondary metabolites is an opportunity for large-scale production in a short time without causing the exploitation of natural materials. This research aimed to explore and identify endophytic molds from the leaves and stem of the mango mistletoe to obtain the genus of molds. The stages of this research consisted of isolation by direct planting with sterilization, purification, growth rate measurement, characterization, and identification carried out macroscopically and microscopically. DBM 1 and DBM 2 belong to Aspergillus sp., DBM 3 belongs to Cladosporium sp., DBM 4 belongs to Neurospora sp., TDBM 1, TDBM 2, and TDBM 3 belong to Hormiscium sp. The growth rate of Aspergillus sp. relatively fast, with the increase in diameter of Aspergillus sp.1 colony from 2.45 cm to 5.05 cm and that of Aspergillus sp.2 from 2.73 cm to 5.35 cm. In the Cladosporium sp., there was an exponential phase with an increase in diameter from 2.15 cm to 4.65 cm. In Neurospora sp., there was an exponential phase with an increase in diameter from 0.63 cm to 3.65 cm. The growth rate of Hormiscium sp. is quite fast, with an exponential phase with an increase in the diameter of the colonies of Hormiscium sp.1 from 2.63 cm to 7.21 cm, Hormiscium sp.2 from 2.45 cm to 6.94 cm and Hormiscium sp.3 from 2.85 cm to 7.85 cm.

Temperature and prey density drive growth and otolith formation of the world's most valuable fish stock

Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) represents the largest single-species fishery worldwide. Knowledge on how temperature and prey availability influences growth and age estimation during marine fish early life stages is critical for predicting bottom-up processes impacting stock productivity under changing environmental conditions. We reared Peruvian anchovy larvae at two temperatures (14.5 and 18.5 °C) and prey concentrations [high (HF), and low (LF)] from 6 to 30 days post-hatch (dph) to measure growth rate and examine daily deposition of otolith increments. Peruvian anchovy larvae grew faster at 18.5 °C compared to 14.5 °C. Larvae reared at low prey concentration (18.5-LF) and low temperature (14.5-HF) grew 61 and 35% slower, respectively, than those at high prey and warm temperature (18.5-HF). Age and growth rates of larvae were well depicted in the otolith microstructure of well-fed larvae at 18.5 °C. However, larvae reared at 18.5-LF or 14.5-HF, had only 55 and 49% of the expected number of daily otolith increments. Our results suggest caution when attempting to explore how ocean processes regulate small pelagic stocks, the productivity of which are largely driven by changes in the survival and growth of young larvae.

Biases in velocity reconstruction: investigating the effects on growth rate and expansion measurements in the local universe

ABSTRACT The local galaxy peculiar velocity field can be reconstructed from the surrounding distribution of large-scale structure and plays an important role in calibrating cosmic growth and expansion measurements. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the stochasticity of these velocity reconstructions on the statistical and systematic errors in cosmological inferences. By introducing a simple statistical model between the measured and theoretical velocities, whose terms we calibrate from linear theory, we derive the bias in the model velocity. We then use lognormal realizations to explore the potential impact of this bias when using a cosmic flow model to measure the growth rate of structure, and to sharpen expansion rate measurements from host galaxies for gravitational wave standard sirens with electromagnetic counterparts. Although our illustrative study does not contain fully realistic observational effects, we demonstrate that in some scenarios these corrections are significant and result in a measurable improvement in determinations of the Hubble constant compared to standard forecasts.

Diet and mitonuclear haplotype interactions affect growth rate in a slime mould.

Trait expression in metazoans is strongly influenced by the balance of macronutrients (i.e. protein, carbohydrate and fat) in the diet. At the same time, an individual's genetic background seems to regulate the magnitude of phenotypic response to a particular diet. It needs to be better understood whether interactions between diet, genetic background and trait expression are found in unicellular eukaryotes. A protist-the slime mould, Physarum polycephalum can choose diets based on protein-to-carbohydrate (P:C) content to support optimal growth rate. Yet, the role of genetic background (variation in the mitochondrial and nuclear DNAs) in mediating growth rate response to dietary P:C ratios in the slime mould is unknown. Here, we studied the effects of interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes and diet (i.e. G × G × E interactions) on the growth rate of P. polycephalum. A genetic panel of six distinct strains of P. polycephalum that differ in their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes was used to measure growth rate across five diets that varied in their P:C ratio and total calories. We first determined the strains' growth rate (total biomass and surface area) when grown on a set menu with access to a particular diet. We then assessed whether the growth rate of strains increased on a buffet menu with access to all diets. Our findings show that the growth rate of P. polycephalum is generally higher on diets containing more carbohydrates than protein and that total calories negatively affect the growth rate. Three-way interactions between mitochondrial, nuclear haplotypes and dietary P:C ratios affected the strains' surface area of growth but not biomass. Intriguingly, strains did not increase their surface area and biomass when they had access to all diets on the buffet menu. Our findings have broad implications for our understanding of the effect of mitonuclear interactions on trait expression across diverse eukaryotic lineages.

Cyclopentane hydrate wettability measurements used to evaluate the efficacy of oil natural surfactants using ultra-low volume samples

Hydrate surface wettability is a fundamental aspect to better understand agglomeration present in oil bearing petroleum pipelines. Coupling these measurements with hydrate film growth gives further information on kinetic effects that may also be present from natural surfactants in different oils. In situ measurements of wettability (quantified by the contact angle) and film growth rates were performed on cyclopentane hydrate surfaces at atmospheric pressure and subcooling of 4 °C. Contact angle and film growth results were obtained for the baseline system (pure cyclopentane), one model oil, and seventeen natural oils (diluted to 0.02 vol% in cyclopentane). Results showed a wide variety of contact angles and film growth values where higher asphaltene contents in the oils corresponded to higher contact angles and lower film growth rates, thought to be from better alignment of natural surfactant molecules at the hydrate/hydrocarbon interface. It was also shown for select oils that increasing the oil concentration in the cyclopentane increases the contact angle and decreases the film growth rate compared to the baseline system. For select oils that had higher contact angles, increasing the water content of the system decreases their contact angle and film growth compared to the baseline system. Isolating different oil fractions for select oils also shows which fractions tend to play a larger role in wettability behavior. Typically, the fractions with more surface active components (asphaltene and resins) are shown to contribute to the higher contact angle and slower film growth rates for select oils. Evidence of the competition between film growth and capillary suction of water into the hydrate has been shown, and a mechanistic breakdown of three different transient scenarios has been proposed. Each of these observed interfacial behaviors gives information on what can be expected from larger scale phenomena, including hydrate agglomeration, with very small oil samples.

Effects of soil metal(loid)s pollution on microbial activities and environmental risks in an abandoned chemical smelting site

Abandoned chemical smelting sites containing toxic substances can seriously threaten and pose a risk to the surrounding ecological environment. Soil samples were collected from different depths (0 to 13 m) and analyzed for metal(loid)s content and fractionation, as well as microbial activities. The potential ecological risk indices for the different soil depths (ordered from high to low) were: 1 m (D-1) > surface (S-0) > 5 m (D-5) > 13 m (D-13) > 9 m (D-9), ranging between 1840.65–13,089.62, and representing extremely high environmental risks, of which Cd (and probably not arsenic) contributed to the highest environmental risk. A modified combined pollution risk index (MCR) combining total content and mobile proportion of metal(loid)s, and relative toxicities, was used to evaluate the degree of contamination and potential environmental risks. For the near-surface samples (S-0 and D-1 layers), the MCR considered that As, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Zn achieved high and alarming degrees of contamination, whereas Fe, Mn, and Ti were negligible or low to moderate pollution degrees. Combined microcalorimetry and enzymatic activity measurements of contaminated soil samples were used to assess the microbial metabolic activity characteristics. Correlation analysis elucidated the relationship between metal(loid)s exchangeable fraction or content and microbial activity characteristics (p < 0.05). The microbial metabolic activity in the D-1 layer was low presumably due to heavy metal stress. Enzyme activity indicators and microcalorimetric growth rate (k) measurements were considered sensitive indicators to reflect the soil microbial activities in abandoned chemical smelting sites.

Emerging microfluidic platforms for crystallization process development

The microfluidic platform offers an exclusive environment compatible with different analytical tools to investigate crystallization processes. Moreover, microfluidic devices allow precise and convenient control of crystallization conditions at nano or meso scales, making them suitable for pharmaceutical and energy applications. These miniaturized screening devices can be effective during drug discovery stages for screening active ingredients available on micro/milligram scales. In this review, we discuss the advancements and applications of microfluidics platforms in the development of crystallization processes, including measurement of crystal growth and nucleation rates, screening of co-crystals, polymorphs and morphology, synthesis of nanocrystals, and determination of metastable zones and solubility. In addition, the latest microfluidics setups for high-throughput screening and lab-on-chip enhancements with sensors and automation are presented in this review. Lastly, an outlook on how microfluidic platforms can be adapted to improve workflow in crystallization process development is presented.