Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Late June 2009 papers

I am so slow this month. Hmmm, I spent almost all my free time looking for stuffs we want to buy before EOF. I will try to catch up.

GFP: Lighting up life, Martin Chalfie, PNAS 106(25):10073-10080.

Starch as a major integrator in the regulation of plant growth, Ronan Sulpice, Eva-Theresa Pyl, Hirofumi Ishihara, et. al., PNAS 106(25):10348-10353.

Elimination of antiviral defense by viral RNase III, Wilmer J. Cuellar, Jan F. Kreuze, Minna-Liisa Rajamäki, Karin R. Cruzado, Milton Untiveros, and Jari P. T. Valkonen, PNAS 106(25):10354-10358

A common toxin fold mediates microbial attack and plant defense, Christian Ottmann, Borries Luberacki, et. al., PNAS 106(25):10359-10364.

Green jobs growing, but destroying others? Karen Kaplan, Nature 459:1156.

Antibiotics in Nature: Beyond Biological Warfare, Science 324(5935):1637 - 1639.
A body of evidence emerges that the infection-quelling miracle drugs of biomedicine play more basic roles in the metabolism of microbial communities.

Seeing Green and Red in Diatom Genomes, T. Dagan and W. Martin, Science 324(5935):1651 - 1652.
Diatom genomes contain remnants of both green and red algal genomes, hinting at a complex evolutionary past.

Auxin at the Evo-Devo Intersection, William E. Friedman, Science 324(5935):1652 - 1653.
The female gametophyte of flowering plants may have evolved through iteration of a modular structure and a gradient of the hormone auxin.

Identification of the Arabidopsis dry2/sqe1-5 mutant reveals a central role for sterols in drought tolerance and regulation of reactive oxygen species, David Posé, Itziar Castanedo, Omar Borsani, Benjamín Nieto, Abel Rosado, Ludivine Taconnat, Albert Ferrer, Liam Dolan, Victoriano Valpuesta, Miguel A. Botella, The Plant Journal 59(1):63 - 76.

Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana fluorescent marker lines provides enhanced definition of protein localization, movement and interactions in planta, Kathleen Martin, Kristin Kopperud, Romit Chakrabarty, Rituparna Banerjee, Robert Brooks, Michael M. Goodin, The Plant Journal 59(1):150-162.

Arabidopsis RNA immunoprecipitation, Lionel C. Terzi, Gordon G Simpson, The Plant Journal 59(1): 163-168.

Rapid, combinatorial analysis of membrane compartments in intact plants with a multicolor marker set, Niko Geldner, Valérie Dénervaud-Tendon, Derek L. Hyman, Ulrike Mayer, York-Dieter Stierhof, Joanne Chory, The Plant Journal 59(1):169-178.

Limitations and possibilities of small RNA digital gene expression profiling, Sam E V Linsen, Elzo de Wit, Georges Janssens, Sheila Heater, Laura Chapman, Rachael K Parkin, Brian Fritz, Stacia K Wyman, Ewart de Bruijn, Emile E Voest, Scott Kuersten, Muneesh Tewari and Edwin Cuppen, Nature Methods 6(7):474 - 476

RNAiCut: automated detection of significant genes from functional genomic screens, Irene M Kaplow, Rohit Singh, Adam Friedman, Chris Bakal, Norbert Perrimon and Bonnie Berger, Nature Methods 6(7):476 - 477

Genomics: catch me if you can, Nathan Blow, Nature Methods 6(7):539 - 544.
Next-generation sequencing has made decoding entire genomes cheaper and faster. But what about those researchers who only want to sequence a small section of a genome or focus on a couple thousand specific exons? A wave of new technologies has recently emerged that should help these scientists target their sequencing efforts to sequences of interest.

Read more!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Hydroponics at home

We set up a hydroponics system at home tonight with a 15L green rectangle container, a cover with 15 holes, and a mini air pump. Those 15 holes are for 11 water spinaches (Ipomoea aquatica, Ong choy) and 4 green onions (Allium fistulosum).

== Height of leaf tip of one green onion and SAM of one water spinach ==


Date@2009/height (cm)6/246/256/266/307/5
Green Onion22.523.526.5remove--
Water spinach----12wilt12.5

June 28, 2009: Water spinaches are wilting. It is very strange because they grew quite well before.
June 29, 2009: Change water to get rid of any fertilizer because one website said that Miracle-Gro will kill hydroponic plants.
June 30, 2009: Move green onion to its own bottle to eliminate root eluate from green onion.
July 1, 2009: Warm day, the room temperature is 17-20 oC
July 2, 2009: Water spinaches are alive again in the morning and the room temperature is 18.7 oC. Unfortunately the smallest one is dead. Maybe it is too cold for water spinaches during June 27 - June 30 because the room temperature was lower than 15 oC and outside temperature was 5-10 oC. The best temperature for water spinaches growth is 25-30 oC and below 15 oC is bad.
July 5, 2009: Finally those water spinaches recover and start to grow. Sigh! We still don't know what's the key stress struck them. We couldn't do any experiment because we only have 10 plants and we don't want to lose any. Maybe when they grow high and talk, we can make more and do our experiment.
July 18, 2009: There are some cold nights in the past 2 weeks and those water spinaches still grow OK. Then the reason that they almost died on June 29 might be due to Miracle-Gro fertilizer. Sigh! We are trying to find some fertilizer for them, otherwise they won't be able to grow well in clean water.

Images from wiki:

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica, Ong choy)


Green onion (Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion)

We don't know how much fertilizer we should add in with commercial one, so we tried 1/12 of amount of the all-purpose Miracle-Gro (N:P:K=15:13.1:12.4) for indoor plant, i.e. 12 L water + 1 small scoop.

This might be some places that I can check its nutrient system:

RESEARCH: HYDROPONICS
Making a Homemade Hydroponics System
Everything about hydroponics
Hydroponic Nutrient Solution Formula Calculator
------
水耕栽培-精緻蔬菜生產技術之開發
台中區農推專訊56 期  中華民國七十五年五月發行
文/高德錚
  為穩定台灣夏季蔬菜之產銷及提昇蔬菜之品 質,使國人能享受既便宜又無農藥殘毒之清潔蔬菜, 台中區農業改良場在農委會及農林廳經費補助下正積 極研究無土水耕栽培技術,希望發展出一套既可提供 家庭主婦在公寓陽台上或屋頂上生產蔬菜,又可藉 『植物工廠』年中無休地生產蔬菜。

  如何『選擇無農藥殘毒之精緻蔬菜』的疑問一直 困擾著家庭主婦,消費者常以菜葉上具有蟲孔者視為上品。事實上台灣位處亞熱帶,四季溫 暖,媒介昆蟲及病菌生育世代繁盛下,若不能有效地抑制其族群之擴張,則無法達到經濟性 之生產,因此過去二、三十年來大抵藉用噴灑農藥來防治病蟲害,作為增產之途徑。歐美國 家由於緯度較高,季節性溫差較大,農藥使用頻率遠低於台灣業者,其生產之蔬菜幾可生 食,甚至臨近之日本國民每日生食萵苣、芹菜、紫蘇、高麗菜的生活習慣,常令人羨慕不 已。我國之農業生產技術並不亞於日本,為何日本能,我們不能?

  水耕栽培植物之構想是有歷史淵源的,早在紀元前數百年前古埃及之楔形文字遺跡中即 可發現有植物生長於水中的圖形,而世界七大不可思議的傳說中『巴比崙的空中花園』,亦 常讓人百思不解。其實土壤為天然的栽培床,她為植物之母,固持著植物,及提供各種生育 必需之元素。一旦不用土壤作為栽培介質,若能人為的固持植物根部及提供各種營養成分, 則在水中生長植物又有何不可呢?以去年日本筑波萬國博覽會上展示之一株活生生地,預計 可結一萬二千個果實之水耕番茄植株,可了解水耕技術之奧妙。

  水耕無土栽培因果菜類及葉菜類生理習性之分野,在植株育苗、栽培床構造及養液循環 系統之設計上略有不同,目前本場已成功地各開發一套水耕栽培技術,在240平方公尺之溫室 中以岩棉栽培法來培植番茄、胡瓜、草莓及木瓜等果菜,並以浮根式栽培法來生產小白菜、 萵苣、山(水)芹菜及菠菜等葉菜。據目前研究成果顯示養液蔬菜生產技術之優點為(1)縮短生 育期,增加年收穫數;(2)週年性工業化生產;(3)無農藥污染,(4)迴避土壤病蟲害及連作障 害;(5)施肥合理化;(6)省勞力;(7)輕勞動力;(8)不懼農村老齡化。

岩棉栽培法

栽培介質:

  岩棉(rockwool)為人造之礦石纖維(圖一),與坊 間之石棉(asbestos)不同,石棉可由天然礦石中開採取 得,岩棉為玄武岩或輝綠岩等礦石在1,600℃下熔融 後,利用高速離心設備使岩漿形成微粒液滴,諸液滴 因高速離心運動露於空氣中而形成纖維狀物,然後再 將諸纖維重新壓縮排列而形成方塊型一此即所謂岩 棉。岩棉內部兼具各種疏水性及親水性纖維,且空隙 密度大(97%),保水率強(82%),適合作為幼苗固持物 及栽培床之承載物。農用成品規格大略為長方體,長 6.5~90公分、寬6.5~30公分、高5.0~12公分,其化學 成分主要SiO2 (35~45%),AI2O3 (10~20%),CaO (16~40%),MgO (3~10%)及Fe2O3 (0~12%),pH (7.0~8.5)。

栽培床:

  在4 ” PVC管上每隔20公分挖一個直徑5公分的 洞,以便移入預先以岩棉育苗之植株,利用PVC管作 為栽培床特別適合台灣冬季草莓觀光果園之立體栽 培,以長4公尺寬1公尺之土地面積為例,若架設1個 1.8公尺之三角形立體架一台中區農業良場果菜I型栽 培床(圖二)將以8~10倍於同土地面積之株數來進行立 體經濟性栽培。若進行番茄、胡瓜、茄子類之栽培, 如圖三所示之台中區農業改良場果菜II型栽培床,可 利用5公分厚保利龍板圍成,寬60公分,高10公分, 長度180公分之小栽培床,實際進行大面積栽培時在 做好180×60×10之小栽培床後以連接方式依所需長 度,上覆1塊黑色防漏PE塑膠布即可。由於台灣氣候 炎熱在移入以岩棉育苗之植株後,栽培床上面需加一 片3~5公分厚之保利龍,以防止養液溫度之上昇。

養液條件:

  液溫維持在23~27℃,pH 5.5~6.5,養液濃度(以EC值表示)因作物別及生育時期而異大約 在0.75~2.0mmho,養液溶氧量需維持在3.0~6.0ppm左右。

養液循環系統:

  岩棉栽培法養液之循環方式可依養液之回收 否,可分為兩類。而養液不回收之灌水系統又可分成 噴灌式或點滴式。

  噴灌式灌水系統為岩棉上直接裝設PE塑膠,管上 設有微量噴頭,當養液槽馬達啟動後,養液直接由噴 頭噴至岩棉上,亦可不用噴頭而直接在PE管上穿洞, 而讓養液流入岩棉中。點滴式灌水系統為兩行栽培床 中裝置PE或PVC養液主管一條,再以點滴管之一頭插 入養液管中,而另一頭插入岩棉中。噴灌式灌水系統 每日啟動馬達3~5次,而點滴式灌水法,係利用高水 塔及栽培床間之水位落差,使養液24小時均在滴灌。 在養液回收系統又分成靜水式及湛水循環式,前者為 栽培床上留置3~5公分深之養液直至水份減少時,再 注入新鮮養液;而循環式者,每日定時由養液槽將養 液打入栽培床中,多餘者再流入養液槽。

適合栽種之作物:

  番茄、茄子、甜椒、胡瓜、西瓜及洋香瓜等果菜。

浮根式葉菜類蔬菜栽培法

栽培介質:

  海(泡)棉,將種子消毒後直接播種到海棉育苗 床中,育苗床係由3.0×3.0×49公分海棉條組成,播種 量以3公分長內含3~5粒種子為宜。待種子發芽生長至 2葉齡時將海棉條切成3.0×3.0×3.0公分之方塊(圖四), 直接移入保利龍栽培床上。

  可利用各種資材圍成如圖五之栽培床一台中區農 業改良場葉菜I型栽培床,構設原則為遠離地面,栽 培床內水位5公分且不漏水、不透光、具保溫性。栽 培床大小依地形而異,寬度則90公分左右為宜。植株 固特物用3公分厚保利龍板最佳,植株行株距在 10~15×10~15公分。

養液循環系統:

  定時循環式,使養液中O2濃度維持3.0~6.0ppm。

養液條件:

  液溫17℃~25℃,pH值5.5~7.0、EC值0.70~2.00mmho。

適合栽培作物:

  小白菜(圖六)、萵苣、芹菜、菠菜、韭菜、蔥、莧菜、甕菜、茼蒿及芫荽等葉菜。


家庭式水耕栽培法

水耕栽培槽:

  置備一深十公分、寬卅公分、長五十公分左右之容器,此容器最好具不漏水,不生銹及 保溫之特性,一般以保利龍箱最佳,此種箱子在菜市場上用於裝魚、水果等,為避免漏水可 內置一塊黑色塑膠布,市售之保利龍箱深度大約在四十公分左右,因此可在內部先墊入保利 龍碎瑰使深度僅餘十公分,再覆上塑膠布。

水槽蓋:

  水槽蓋之作用在於固特植物,一般以3.0公分厚之保利龍最佳,水槽蓋之大小與水耕槽之 面積相仿,至於水槽蓋之洞數則依栽培植物而定,一般在二~十個間,洞徑在二公分左右。

適合栽培之植物及數量:

  以30×50公分之水耕栽培床為準,可栽種之植物種類及株數如表一:

表一、適栽之植物種類及數量
株數植物種類
2 ~3小黃瓜、蕃茄、香瓜、西瓜、茄子、青椒
5 ~6草莓、結球萵苣、西洋芹菜、大豆、綠豆、毛豆、豌豆
8 ~10小芹菜、小白菜、青江白菜、台灣芹菜、葉萵苣、茼蒿、甕菜

育苗法:

  取 3×3×3 海棉塊將其中切0.5 公分後,先浸在清水中浸潤,然後放入種子3 粒于海棉內口, 此海棉塊置於黑暗中3 ~5 天,待種子發芽後移入陽光中3 ~5 天讓其充分生長,待之第一對葉完 全展開後即可移入水耕栽培床上。

水耕養液:

  水耕槽內之液體為人工調配之營養液,可取定量之自來水、地下水或泉水,依本場開發 之水耕養液配方 ( 表二) 調配之。

表二、台中區農業改良場水耕養液配方
巨量肥料用量公克/1000公升微量肥料用量公克/1000公升
硝酸鈣472鐵 (Fe EDTA)16.0
硝酸鉀808硼酸1.2
磷酸銨152氯化錳0.72
硫酸鎂492硫酸鋅0.09
  硫酸銅0.04
EC=2.00mmho鉬酸銨0.01
Ph=6.00~6.40氯化鈉1.64

  上述配方為通用配方 (S),可依蔬菜類別及生育時期調整其濃度,表三為各蔬菜之最適濃 度。

表三、各種蔬菜之適用水耕濃度
蔬菜別營養別開花結實期
葉萵苣1/2 S
結球萵苣1/2 S3/4 S
白菜1/2 S
鴨兒芹4/5 S
茼蒿S
草莓3/8 S3/4 S
番茄1/2 S1/2 S
胡瓜S3/8 S


水耕液之調節

水耕液之組成:

  生物生育、開花、結實及種子等所必需之營養元素為碳、氫、氧、氮、磷、鉀、鈣、 鎂、鐵、硫、銅、鋅、硼、鉬、氯及錳等十六種,除了二氧化碳可經由葉部進行光合作用獲 得外,均由根部之吸收而得到。因此進行水耕無土栽培時,水耕液中化學組成可依植物生育 時需要量之多寡分成巨量元素-氮、磷、鉀、鈣、鎂、硫及微量元素-銅、鋅、硼、鉬、氯 及錳。原則上每一種作物對每一元素之需求量均不同且隨作物之生育期別水耕液之組成亦不 同,因此栽植前每一種作物均需決定一最適配方。依據本場開發之水耕配方( 如表二) ,巨量 元素之組成分為硝酸鈣、硝酸鉀、磷酸銨及硫酸鎂,而微量元素之組成分為鐵(Fe EDTA) 、硼 酸、氯化錳、硫酸鋅、硫酸銅及鉬酸銨。

水耕液之酸鹼度:

  植物生育之根圈之環境有一定之酸鹼度,酸鹼度一般 用酸鹼度計來測定 ( 如圖七中上面之儀器) ,其顯示之數字稱 為pH 值,pH 值從1 ~14.7 為中性,1 為強酸,14 為強鹼。在水 耕栽培時,一般將水耕液之pH 值調在5.5 ~6.5 。實際栽培時若 pH 值超過6.5 時,用0.1N 硫酸調回;若pH 值低於5.5 時,則用 0.1N NaOH 調回。

  水耕液中 pH 之調整相當重要,pH 值太高( 鹼性) 時,水耕 液中微量元素鐵、錳等重金屬會發生沉澱,pH 值太低( 酸性) 時植物因鈣及鎂之吸收效率降低,而影響其發育。

水耕液之溫度:

  水耕液之溫度影響植物根部吸收能力甚鉅,植物根部生長有最適之溫度。液溫太低時根 部生理活性低下,對磷、硝酸態氮及鉀之吸收能力下降。液溫高時,根部對硝酸態氮之吸收 能力增加,但鈣之吸收能力下降,以番茄為例,液溫超過 30℃ 時,根部呼吸率加速,水耕液 中溶氧量減少,因此發生根腐現象且果實腐爛。水耕液溫度之調整法一般將水耕液槽置放地 下,且栽培床採用隔熱保溫資材,儘量地減少水耕液在栽培床之停留時間,換言之,加速水 耕液之循環,使水耕液溫維持在15 ~27℃ 間,否則水耕液漕內需加入控溫系統。

水耕液之溶氧量:

  水耕液之溶氧量與液溫及水耕液在栽培床中之流動速率有關,液溫昇高時,水耕液中之 溶氧量下降,而且液溫昇高時,植物根部呼吸作用加速,導致水耕液中溶氧量下降。一般水 耕液之溶氧量需維持在 3 ~6ppm 間,否則水耕植物生育不良。要維持水耕液溶氧量之方法為(1)增加水耕液之循環次數;(2) 增加水耕液之流量及流速;(3) 水耕液流入栽培床時加裝空氣混入 器;(4) 水耕液導入栽培床時改用噴霧式;(5) 增加栽培床傾斜度,以加速水耕液流速;(6) 將植 株根部上方遠離泥面2 ~3 公分,使根部直接露於空氣中。

水耕液之濃度:

  水耕液內填加之化學肥料一旦加入水中以後均以離子形態存在,因此吾人檢定水耕液中 電導度 (electric conductivity, EC) 之多寡來判定水耕液是否因植物吸收而缺失。一般而言,作物 所需之水耕配方決定後,吾人可依配方中每一元素之克當量之總和換算出該配方之理論電導 度值(EC, mmho) ,例如表二之配方EC 值為2.0mmho ,依植物種類及生育期別而調配成植物所 需之最適濃度( 如表三所示) 。又,水耕液經植物吸收後EC 值會逐漸下降,日常管理上以電導 度計( 圖七中下面的儀器) 測量EC 值之變化,當EC 值降至最適值之10% 以下時,則需補充新的 水耕液使之保持最適濃度。

水耕栽培之日常管理

陽光:

  水耕栽培床最適宜之放置地點為溫室、陽台、屋頂或園院中,尤其是番茄、胡瓜、草莓 等需要較強之陽光,但一般葉菜類蔬菜需光性不太強,甚至在栽培床上方加上黑色遮蔭網。

氣溫:

  吾人可選擇季節性之蔬果來栽培將可避免氣候之成為制限因子,例如:春夏天以胡瓜、 白菜、芹菜、茄子、青椒為宜,秋冬天以菠菜、萵苣、番茄、碗豆等最易生長,若要栽培非 季節性蔬菜則在夏天需遮蔭,冬天需加人工照明才可順利生產。

根溫:

  吾人利用保利龍作為栽培床之用意,利用其隔熱、保溫之特性來維持養液之溫度。因此 避免將栽培床置於太陽直射之地方或在栽培床上加置一塊反光塑膠布較能保持水溫。

水耕液之管理:

  栽培床若無打氣或打水循環裝置,易造成養液 內氧氣缺乏,因此以每七天將栽培床內養液倒掉後換 新鮮養液為宜。水耕液在深度與植株幼苗根系成反 比,最初在幼苗移入栽培床時由於根系少可將栽培床 內營養液加滿,以促進植株根系生長,但2~3天後, 植株根部已伸長,因此水位與水槽蓋保持 2 公分左右 之空間,藉此有利於根毛之生育及氧氣之供給。

經濟效益之評估

  本場開發水耕栽培技術來生產蔬菜,主要為解決 夏季蔬菜供銷之困擾及生產無農藥殘毒之精緻蔬菜, 經年來試驗研究之估算,構築 25 公尺×10 公尺之簡易 溫室一棟需164,200 元( 圖八) ,內設置之保利龍栽培床 需38,400 元,養液輸送系統需45,000 元,養液自動控制系統需91,320 元,育苗設施需8,100 元, 合計設置一座250 平方公尺之水耕蔬菜工廠,需要新台幣347,020 元( 表四) 。

表四、葉菜類水耕栽培設置經費 (1985 ,台中場,1 棟,10 ×25m2)

項 目

數量

單 價

合 計

1. 房舍
 角鋼架
 FRP 浪板
 尼龍網


1
100
400


99,000
452
50

164,200
99,000
45,200
20,000

2. 栽培床
 保利龍床 (10.8×0.9 公尺)
 防漏黑色塑膠布 (12×1.5 公尺)


12
12


2,900
300

38,400
34,800
3,600

3. 養液輸送系統
 PVC 配管及1 馬力抽水馬達1 座


1


45,000

45,000
45,000

4. 養液自動控制系統
 pH 組
 EC 組
 電磁閥
 PVC 配管
 250 l (PVC) 桶
 2000 l (PVC) 桶


1
1
4
1
4
1


35,000
35,000
1,800
3,000
1,280
6,000

91,320
35,000
35,000
7,200
3,000
5,120
6,000

5. 育苗設施
 育苗架
 育苗用海棉 (3×3×49 公分)
 育苗用塑膠箱


1
2,000
400


4,900
1
30

8,100
4,900
2,000
1,200

總 計

 

 

347,020

  250 平方公尺水耕栽培之年收益性為何?以種小白菜為例年收穫14 次,每次收穫720 公 斤,以單價每公斤30 元計,粗收益為302,400 元,以生食用之萵苣為例,年粗收益為360,000元。開支方面分成種苗費、肥料費、電費、水費、農藥費、雇工1 員、設備折舊費、運輸費、 包裝費及稅金、手續費,合計需234,442 元~228,774( 表五) 。因此淨所得為67,958 元~131,226元,所得率為22.47% ~36.45% 。

表五、果菜水耕栽培之年收益 (1986,10×25cm2)

作物別

調查項目

小白菜

萵苣

收入

年 生產量1
單 價2
粗 收益

720 公斤 / 次× 14 次 =10080 公斤 30 元 / 公斤 302,400 元

900 公斤 / 次× 10 次 =9000 公斤 40 元 / 公斤 360,000 元





種 苗費
肥 料費
電 費
水 費
農 藥費
雇 工
設備折舊費 3
運 輸費
包 裝費
稅金及手續費 4


1,000 元
20,000 元
8,000 元
2,500 元
6,000 元
8000 元/ 月×12 月=96000 元
49,574 元
5,000 元
10,080 元
36,288 元
234,442 元

2,000 元
15,000 元
6,000 元
20,000 元
1,000 元
800 元/ 月12 月=96000 元
49,574 元
5,000 元
9,000 元
43,200 元
228,774 元

淨所得
所得率

67,958 元
22.47%

131,226 元
36.45%

1.年生產量以單層栽培床計算。
2.蔬菜單價為露地栽培者零售價加成 30% 。
3.水耕栽培設備費347020 元/250m2 ,依七年平均分攤折舊費。
4.稅金及手續費為粗收益之 12% 。

養液栽培之前瞻性

  台灣位處亞熱季,夏季氣溫高,雨季長,颱風頻仍,每年五月至十月間蔬菜生產受制於 天候因素供銷不平衡,尤其颱風豪雨過後菜價居高不下,倘若利用水耕栽培技術來生產無農 藥殘毒之精緻蔬菜,則必能穩定夏季果蔬之供應。唯目前國內尚無工廠生產水耕栽培所需之各種資料及自動化設備,最重要的是開發此技術所需之各種相關知識,比如如何 (1) 平衡溫室內外氣溫(2) 維持最適養液溫度(3) 緩和養液中pH 及EC 值之變動(4) 維持養液中氧氣濃度及(5) 發 展水耕肥料配方等仍待各方專家進一步的探討。就國民所得逐年提高之趨勢下,讓消費者享 受無農藥污染之高品質生鮮蔬菜是必然的且可預期的。

-----------
DICOT NUTRIENT SOLUTION from RESEARCH: HYDROPONICS

STARTERSTARTERVEGETATIVE GROWTHVEGETATIVE GROWTH
SaltStock concmL per 100 LFinal concmL per 100 LFinal conc
Ca(NO3)21 M1001 mM2002 mM
K(NO3)2 M501 mM 1503 mM
KH2PO40.5 M1000.5 mM2501.25 mM
MgSO41 M500.5 mM1501.5 mM
K2SiO30.1 M1000.1 mM1000.1 mM
K2SO40.5 M0 (do not add) 0 mM0 (do not add)0 mM
FeCl350 mM105 μM31.5 μM
EDDHA (red) 100 mM4040 μM1010 μM
MnCl260 mM106 μM159 μM
ZnCl220 mM306 μM204 μM
H3BO340 mM10040 μM10040 μM
CuCl220 mM204 μM204 μM
Na2MoO41 mM100.1 μM100.1 μM
Always add acid or base as needed to adjust initial pH to 5.6

CHANGES SEPT '00: DOUBLED THE STOCK CONCENTRATION H3BO3; QUADRUPLED MgSO4; REDUCED THE FINAL CONCENTRATION OF H3BO3 TO 40 μM

CHANGES NOV '01: REDUCED KNO3 FROM 5 TO 3 mM; INCREASED CaNO3 FROM 1 TO 2 mM.

PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS TABLE

----------
The Hoaglands solution for hydroponics cultivation

The Hoagland solution provides every nutrient necessary for plant growth and is appropriate for the growth of a large variety of plant species. The solution described by Hoagland in 1933 has been modified several times (mainly to add iron chelates and the like, but you can use the salts you normally use for preparing your solutions as long as you append to the concentrations given for each element) but the original concentrations for each element are shown below.

N 210 ppm
K 235 ppm
Ca 200 ppm
P 31 ppm
S 64 ppm
Mg 48 ppm
B 0.5 ppm
Fe 1 to 5 ppm
Mn 0.5 ppm
Zn 0.05 ppm
Cu 0.02 ppm
Mo 0.01 ppm

As you may notice, the Hoaglands solution has a lot of N and K so it is very well suited for the development of large plants like Tomato and Bell Pepper. However, the solution is very good for the growth of plants with lower nutrient demands such as lettuce and aquatic plants with the further dilution of the preparation to 1/4 or 1/5.

Also remember that the amount of iron you use should be in proportion with the amount of phosphate placed inside the solution, when used at higher strength, there exists the possibility of iron precipitation if non adequate chelates are used. If possible, try using DPTA instead of EDTA (which is not so good a chelating agent for hydroponics).

-----------
Hoaglands solutions from Dr. David R. Hershey dh321 at PGSTUMAIL.PG.CC.MD.US
Mon Sep 29 03:13:04 EST 1997


Hoagland had two solutions, #1 has all nitrate; #2 had some ammonium,
which kept the pH lower. Most people now use a modified Hoagland solution
because the originals used iron tartrate instead of a chelate.

I have never seen Hoagland solution sold commercially but have seen other
research-type solutions offered by scientific supply companies at hefty
prices ($7 per liter). Many hydroponic companies offer salt mixtures that
can be used to prepare a hydroponic solution that will grow fine plants.
They are relatively inexpensive with names such as Eco-Grow and Dyna-Gro.
Try Worm's way (1-800-274-9676), Eco Enterprises (1-800-426-6937), or
other hydroponic company. Miracle-Gro is not formulated for hydroponics so
will kill plants if used in solution culture.


Hoagland solution #1 (per liter of nutrient solution):

5 ml of 1 M potassium nitrate
5 ml of 1 M calcium nitrate
1 ml of 1 M monopotassium phosphate
2 ml of 1 M magnesium sulfate
1 ml of micronutrient stock solution (see recipe below)
1 to 5 ml of 1000 mg/liter iron from iron chelate (Fe-EDTA, Fe-DTPA,
or Fe-EDDHA)

Hoagland Solution #2:

6 ml of 1 M potassium nitrate
4 ml of 1 M calcium nitrate
1 ml of 1 M monoammonium phosphate
2 ml of 1 M magnesium sulfate
1 ml of micronutrient stock solution
1 to 5 ml of iron chelate stock solution as for #1

Micronutrient stock solution per liter:

2.86 g boric acid
1.81 g manganese chloride - 4 hydrate
0.22 g zinc sulfate - 7 hydrate
0.08 g copper sulfate - 5 hydrate
0.02 g 85% molybdic acid

When diluted 1:1000 the micronutrient stock solution provides the
following in mg/liter:

Boron 0.5
Manganese 0.5
Zinc 0.05
Copper 0.02
Molybdenum 0.01

David R. Hershey
Snail mail: 6700 Belcrest Road #112, Hyattsville, MD 20782-1340
Adjunct Professor, Biology/Horticulture Dept.
Prince George's Community College, Largo, MD 20772-2199
Email: dh321 at pgstumail.pg.cc.md.us

Read more!

DFO shopping

We went shopping in the DFO (Direct Factory Outlets) at Brisbane airport yesterday.

Here is what we bought:
4 pairs of shoe = $141 (Puma @ Brisbane DFO, made in TW and Vietnam)
Pyrex kitchenware


We tried to buy a Casio G-shot watch (waterproof 200 m) for my husband. We saw one nice one in the first jewelry store and decided to compare the price with other stores. Well, we found out that the first store is the cheapest one and decided to check it again around 4 pm. Unfortunately we were unable to locate the 1st store even we went through this DFO 3-4 times. We don't know why it just disappeared without a trace. Maybe the store already closed? But we have checked every jewelry store on the DFO map and we couldn't find this one. It is a mystery.

Read more!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I want a washer

I don't like to do my laundry in laundry mate. Our landlord does not provide us washer and the granny-flat is kind of small to fit a real washer, so we have to do it in nearby laundry mate. We like the front-load washer, so I asked my husband if we can make our own hand-rotating washer. Here is something we found on internet:

1. Japan's Wonderwash
2. UK's Xeros polymer washer

== Japan's Wonderwash =============

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUVR2vjRJRo
--------
手動式のエコ洗濯機

くるくる回すと圧力が上昇! 繊維の汚れを洗い出す♪

●手まわし洗濯機です。電気代不要で経済的! うるさい音がしないから夜間の洗濯もOK♪
●食べこぼしや泥汚れ、運動靴も短時間でキレイに☆

一見洗濯機とは思えないようなコンパクトでコロッとかわいいこの商品。使い方は簡単!ぬるま湯を入れて、洗濯量にあわせ洗剤を入れます。最後に洗濯物を入れ、圧力蓋を閉めたら、あとはサイドについたハンドルをくるくるまわすだけ。
回すことにより内部の圧力が徐々に上昇。洗濯溶液が繊維の奥深くまで浸透し、繊維の目に入り込んだ汚れを素早くきれいに洗い出します。わずか2分程度の短時間で真っ白に洗い上げるの!電気代が不要で経済的な上、うるさい音がしないので、夜間の洗濯もOK!これなら汚れを発見したらいつでもお洗濯できますね♪

食べこぼしや泥汚れ、運動靴も短時間でキレイに☆ワイシャツなら4~5枚一度に洗えます。ドライ用洗剤を使用すれば、シルク、カシミアなどドライマークの表示があるものも洗えちゃうんですよ!

2台目の洗濯機に、また一人暮らしをはじめるお子様などへの贈り物にもピッタリ!この機会に手に入れて、洗剤1/4、時間1/8の省エネ洗濯機を是非一度試してみてね♪
------------
For people doesn't know Japanese but know traditional Chinese, please see below:
日本人為了顧及鄰居感受而衍生的產品~【挫冰洗衣機】

日本的社會講求一種合群的秩序,生活中很多部分是不能只有自我,而是要嚴謹地考慮到鄰居的觀感。有種嚴以律己、也『嚴』以待人地互相監視彼此的生活。

因此,您會發現日本人在研究家電產品時,對家電所發出的聲響,已經到了吹毛求庛的嚴格要求。像這款【挫冰洗衣機】,主要就是訴求晚上洗衣服時,不會讓洗衣機轟隆隆的聲音吵到鄰居,因為它是用手『挫』的....

【挫冰洗衣機】的體積小小的,但也可以洗上4~5件的襯衫沒問題。使用方法很簡單:將溫水放入洗衣機中、接著放進適量的洗潔精,再將這個【挫冰洗衣機】最特殊的設計~壓力蓋蓋上。

然後用機器旁邊的把手,開始像挫冰一樣,
開始轉動這台無需用電、沒有聲音的手搖洗衣機。

這台洗衣機蓋子是特殊的壓力蓋,所以隨著手搖轉動,內部就會慢慢產生出壓力,讓清潔劑可以快速融入衣服的纖維底部,所以可對付難搞的污垢。還有,如果加入乾洗的清潔劑,也可洗絲質、毛衣等衣物。

只要2分鐘,就可完成洗衣的第一步驟。接著利用機器旁的排水管將水排出,再次裝入溫水,進行二次清洗,也是2分鐘,就可完成洗衣了!

沒有機器洗衣機的聲響與震動,讓晚回家的男主人脫下襯衫就可立即清洗。體積不大的洗衣機是用手來挫,所以省了電,也省了水。這台為了顧及鄰居感受而衍生的產品,在日本購物網售價是日幣4400日圓,下了訂單卻需排隊的熱門產品!

== UK's Xeros ======================
Xeros's Product Development
The Xeros polymer cleaning process can be applied to numerous cleaning sectors - both commercial and domestic. However, the team's first objective is to build a system for the Commercial laundry sector, designed to wash garment loads up to 20 kg per cycle.

Washing garments with the same cleaning and convenience of conventional washing



The Xeros cleaning system is not yet ready for launch. The machine design needs to complete its rapid prototyping phase then be tested in the real and demanding world of commercial laundry premises. Only once the system has been successfully proven and fully optimised will it be available for sale.

Please contact us if you are interested in finding out more or have a cleaning problem that may be solved with our patented polymer cleaning system. We are ready to explore various partnership opportunities and can tailor our R&D activity to meet your particular needs.
----------
超省水洗衣機 只要一杯水 自由時報 June 10, 2008
〔編譯陳泓達/綜合報導〕在地球資源日益稀缺、民生支出水漲船高的時代,英國科學家發明出一種超級省水的洗衣機,號稱只要一杯水即可搞定全部清潔過程,所耗用的水電不到傳統洗衣機的二%,普及後每年將可省下數十億公升的水。

加入塑膠晶片 吸收衣服污垢

英國每日郵報九日報導,英國里茲大學學者研發的這種洗衣新技術,是以數以千計約○.五公分大小的塑膠晶片,吸收並滌去衣物上的污垢。每次洗衣時需加入約四十四磅(二十公斤)的晶片,再加上一杯水和洗衣粉或清潔劑。在洗衣過程中,水會被加熱以協助溶解污垢,然後為塑膠晶片所吸收。

科學家表示,晶片可在每次洗衣結束後回收,重複使用一百次之多,時間長達六個月。

正如一九九○年代中期問世的戴森無袋吸塵器(Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner)改變了家庭清潔用品產業的面貌,這項稱為「Xeros」的洗衣新技術也被視為革命性突破。一旦Xeros走入英國家庭,每年將可省下數十億公升的水。

戴森無袋吸塵器是英國發明家詹姆士.戴森的傑作,它利用離心力吸住垃圾、排出空氣並將吸力最大化,曾被時代雜誌選為二○○二年最酷發明。

據推廣節約用水行動的非政府組織「Waterwise」統計,洗衣機使用率近十五年來成長了二十三%,從一九九○年的每週平均三次增為現在的每週四次。英國家庭平均每天洗衣用水量將近二十一公升,佔總用水量的十三%。加總後,全英國的每日用水量將近四億五千五百萬公升,足以注滿一百四十五個奧運標準規格的游泳池。

Xeros目前仍處於設計和測試階段,但研發人員已成立公司,並開始就商品化問題和廠商接觸,順利的話最快可能在明年上市。

Xeros發明人柏金蕭教授表示,測試結果「令人驚豔」,這種洗衣機可洗淨所有日常的污垢,包括咖啡和口紅等,而且用水量只有傳統洗衣機的零頭。Xeros公司主管魯爾則強調,這項洗衣技術具有顛覆全球洗衣市場的潛力。魯爾透露,該公司已獲得里茲大學建教合作夥伴IP Group公司承諾挹注五十萬英鎊(約台幣三千萬元)資金。此外,引進Xeros也對乾洗店有益,因為後者可據此淘汰往往與癌症相關的有害溶劑。

目前英國每年的洗衣機銷售量超過二百萬台,市場規模達十億英鎊。
--------------
(幾乎)不需用水的洗衣機

英國公司Xeros推 出的「幾近無水洗衣機」即將在北美上市,只要一杯水和一點點洗衣粉就能洗衣服。

清潔的工作由小小的尼龍顆粒負責,它們會將污垢從衣服上拉出然後鎖進尼龍的分子結構裡,且這些尼龍顆粒也不容易被污垢填滿,它們的吸污 能力可禁得起數百次的洗滌。

劍橋顧問公司的專案經理Nathan Wrench捧著Xeros乾洗技術所用的尼龍顆粒。(Credit: Xeros)
這項技術是以英國里茲大學(University of Leeds)的研究為基礎開發出來的,並在劍橋顧問公司(Cambridge Consultants)的幫助下 應用到一台概念洗衣機上。

經過3年的測試之後,里茲大學的衍生企業Xeros與堪薩斯城的GreenEarth Cleaning簽下一份合約,後者明年就會開始在北美販售Xeros的洗衣機(這台概念機星期四會在紐奧良的清潔機械展(Clean Show)上做實際的操作示範)。

不過這台機器目前的客層鎖定商業乾洗店與洗衣店,所以你還不能在家裡用它省水。

GreenEarth Cleaning會將尼龍顆粒洗淨技術加入它專利的、以液態矽樹脂(decamethylpentacyclosiloxane,商業上簡稱為D5)為基 礎的乾洗方法裡。

液態矽樹脂是一種乾洗劑,用來取代舊式的四氯乙烯(perchloroethylene,四氯乙烯不僅會產生有毒的廢水,而且也被視為 是可能的人類致癌物質。

另一個新的替代方法是在高壓下和二氧化碳一起洗,二氧化碳在高壓下會液化,這種方式並不會增加溫室氣體的排放,但缺點是機器太貴。

二氧化碳洗淨法與英國的尼龍顆粒洗淨法共同的優點是衣服在洗乾淨以後幾乎是馬上就乾了。

這很種幾乎無水的洗淨方式很容易讓人覺得和傳統的洗衣方法相比衣物可能會比較容易受傷,但GreenEarth Cleaning堅持並無不同。

GreenEarth Cleaning總裁Tim Maxwell告訴CNET News:「到目前為止所有的測試結果都顯示,用Xeros乾洗技術清洗的衣服,和用傳統方式清洗的衣服相比,在破損程度上並沒有什麼分別,且進一步用絲質、刺繡衣物或其他精緻衣物測試,也顯示沒有不良影響。

Read more!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Middle June 2009 papers

I am slow again. It is the end of financial year and we are promoting Australian economy recently.

Extensive Demethylation of Repetitive Elements During Seed Development Underlies Gene Imprinting, M. Gehring et al., Science 324(5933):1447 - 1451.
Gene function in Arabidopsis endosperm depends on whether a gene is maternally or paternally inherited.

Genome-Wide Demethylation of Arabidopsis Endosperm, T.-F. Hsieh et al., Science 324(5933):1451 - 1454.
The endosperm genome of Arabidopsis shows extensive gene imprinting.

Shining light on a new class of hydrogels, Steven M Jay and W Mark Saltzman, Nature Biotechnology 27, 543 - 544 (2009).
Addition of a photodegradable group to the backbone of synthetic hydrogels enables real-time control of the material's chemical and physical properties.

Inaugural Article: Specific Arabidopsis HSP90.2 alleles recapitulate RAR1 cochaperone function in plant NB-LRR disease resistance protein regulation, David A. Hubert, Yijian He, Brian C. McNulty, Pablo Tornero, and Jeffery L. Dangl, PNAS 106(24):9556-9563.

Research Highlight: Plant genetics: Asexual Arabidopsis, Nature 459:892.
Turning Meiosis into Mitosis, PLoS Biol. 7(6):e1000124 (2009)

EVOLUTION: Uniting Alignments and Trees, Ari Löytynoja and Nick Goldman, Science 324(5934):1528 - 1529.
An iterative method that estimates both sequence alignments and phylogenies leads to improved phylogenetic trees for large data sets.

Rapid and Accurate Large-Scale Coestimation of Sequence Alignments and Phylogenetic Trees, Kevin Liu, Sindhu Raghavan, Serita Nelesen, C. Randal Linder, and Tandy Warnow, Science 324 (5934):1561.
A step-wise algorithm iteratively wraps sequence alignment around a phylogenetic tree to reduce bias caused by errors.

Plant PcG conservation identiFIEd, Development 136:e1403

Regulation of stem cell maintenance by the Polycomb protein FIE has been conserved during land plant evolution, Assaf Mosquna, Aviva Katz, Eva L. Decker, Stefan A. Rensing, Ralf Reski, and Nir Ohad, Development 136:2433-2444.

Read more!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Scalp again

I collected information for scalp problem before. After several years tolerance and after ineffective treatment with Head and Shoulder shampoo (with ZP) for several months, we googled more solutions and decided to buy some other shampoo. The best candidate is Nizoral or Ketopine shampoo (with 2% Ketoconazole, w/w). Unfortunately we could find it in either Coles or Woolworths, so we bought another one, the Selsun Treatment 200 mL with Selenium Sulfide 25mg/mL.

We went to search again in those Chemist or Pharmacy store and found 1% Nizoral but not 2% one sale over-counter. I think it is because 2% ketoconazole requires prescription.

Selsun is used for the treatment of seborrhoeic dermatitis, tinea versicolor, dandruff and as an adjunct in the treatment of tinea capitis. What's all these?

Seborrhoeic dermatitis (脂漏性皮膚炎) (also Seborrheic dermatitis AmE, seborrhea) (also known as "Seborrheic eczema"[1]) is a skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and trunk causing scaly, flaky, itchy, red skin. It particularly affects the sebum-gland rich areas of skin.

Seborrhoeic dermatitis may be visually unpleasant and moderately itchy but is a harmless condition. The condition is often persistent but is easily controlled using readily available medication. After treatment, the condition may recur after a time lapse of months or years.

As with other dermatitis conditions, seborrhoeic dermatitis is often loosely defined as a form of eczema although it differs from other more serious conditions more properly defined as eczema.

Tinea Versicolor (汗斑):汗斑又稱花斑癬,屬於表淺之黴菌(實為一種類似黴菌之酵母菌)感染,好犯小孩及成年人。可能會癢。看起來是白色或棕色之皮屑斑點,可發生在面部、頸、肩、手臂、軀幹及腿上。
Tinea versicolor, pityriasis versicolor or haole rot[1] is a common skin infection that was widely believed to be caused by the yeast Malassezia furfur[2] (formerly termed Pityrosporum ovale). Recent research has shown that the majority of pityriasis versicolor is caused by Malassezia globosa, although M. furfur is responsible for a small number of cases[3][4]. These yeasts are normally found on the human skin and only become troublesome under certain circumstances, such as a warm and humid environment, although the exact conditions that cause initiation of the disease process are poorly understood.

Dandruff (頭皮屑)(also called scurf and historically termed Pityriasis capitis) is due to the excessive shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp. Dandruff can also be caused by frequent exposure to extreme heat and cold. As it is normal for skin cells to die and flake off, a small amount of flaking is normal and in fact quite common. Some people, however, either chronically or as a result of certain triggers, experience an unusually large amount of flaking, which can also be accompanied by redness and irritation. Most cases of dandruff can be easily treated with specialized shampoos.

Tinea capitis (頭癬)(also known as "scalp ringworm")[1] is a superficial fungal infection (dermatophytosis) of the scalp.[2] The disease is primarily caused by dermatophytes in the Trichophyton and Microsporum genera that invade the hair shaft. The clinical presentation is typically a single or multiple patches of hair loss, sometimes with a 'black dot' pattern (often with broken-off hairs), that may be accompanied by inflammation, scaling, pustules, and itching. Uncommon in adults, tinea capitis is predominantly seen in pre-pubertal children, more often in boys than girls.
Over eight species of dermatophytes are commonly associated with tinea capitis. Cases of Trichophyton infection predominate from Central America to the United States and in parts of Western Europe. Infections due to Microsporum species are mainly seen in South America, Southern and Central Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The disease is infectious and can be transmitted by humans, animals, or objects that harbor the fungus. Carrier states also exist where the fungus is present on the scalp but there are no clinical signs or symptoms. Treatment of tinea capitis requires an oral antifungal agent; griseofulvin (also known as Grisovin) is the most commonly used drug, but other newer antimycotic drugs, such as terbinafine (Lamisil in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Romania, United Kingdom, and United States), itraconazole ((marketed as Sporanox by Janssen Pharmaceutica)), and fluconazole (trade name Diflucan or Trican (Pfizer)) have started to gain acceptance.

===========
In 請問哪裏買得到含有二硫化硒的洗髮精??

person 1:
很多人都有頭皮屑的問題,異位性皮膚炎的病人也有頭皮屑的問題,如頭皮同時出現發炎現象,也可歸於脂漏性皮膚炎的範疇內。               
頭皮屑多,最簡單的方法就是勤洗頭。可是有的病人雖然勤洗頭,頭皮屑仍然一樣多,而且脂漏性皮膚炎的患者光靠洗頭很難止癢。那該怎麼辦呢﹖擦類固醇藥水或藥膏的確可以解決頭皮屑及脂漏性皮膚炎的問題,但這樣會不會小題大作呢﹖可否改用藥用洗髮精洗頭來解決問題呢﹖

含藥物的洗髮精有很多種,台灣並非每種都有,現台灣市面上常見的去頭皮屑洗髮精主要有四大類:一以「海倫仙度絲」(Head and Shoulders)為代表,含zinc pyrithione(ZP);另一以「舒聖」(Selsun)為代表,含二硫化硒(selenium disulfide);還有一種以「保麗娜液」(Polytar Liquid)為代表,含煤焦油(tar);最後一種以「仁山利舒」(Nizoralshampoo)為代表,含 Ketoconazole。市面上也有含兩種不同藥物的藥用洗髮精,如「髮潔達」(Fongitar)即含zinc pyrithione及tar。

有的父母就開始著急了:「我的小孩這麼小,可以使用藥用洗髮精來洗頭嗎?」這個問題問得很好,如小孩夠大,已唸國小或邁入青春期,跟大人一樣使用藥用洗髮精當然沒有問題,可是很小的小孩或是嬰幼兒可以使用藥用洗髮精來洗頭嗎?這些藥用洗髮精的仿單都沒特別提及「可用於嬰幼兒」,舒聖的仿單則模稜兩可地寫著「safety for use on infants has not been established」但很奇怪的是這些藥用洗髮精的仿單也一樣沒有提到「不能用於嬰幼兒」,教科書對於這方面更是避而不談,連個模糊的答案都沒有,目前的資料只提到治療嬰幼兒的脂漏性皮膚炎時,用「仁山利舒」安全而且有效。

筆者並不反對小孩使用藥用洗髮精,筆者的看法為:洗髮精留在頭上的時間不長,很快就被沖掉了,且洗髮精也不是大面積地使用於皮膚上,如不常常洗,只短期且間隔用之,其成分被皮膚吸收的量應該有限。所以當小孩子的頭皮屑多到令病人難堪,或是脂漏性皮膚炎癢到讓病人難以忍受,或是小孩子光說頭皮癢,但頭皮上看不到任何皮膚病變時,筆者還是會建議父母親讓病人使用藥用洗髮精洗頭,如病人為嬰幼兒則優先考慮洗「仁山利舒」,等病情控制下來以後,再改用普通的洗髮精或是降低藥用洗髮精的使用頻率,一星期洗一次即可,「兩害相權取其輕」,這樣總比長期擦類固醇好。如果藥用洗髮精無法把病情壓下來,筆者才建議病人擦類固醇。

使用藥用洗髮精 (即去頭皮屑洗髮精) 時,須注意下列事項:

(a)先用藥用洗髮精洗一次頭,把頭髮洗淨後將洗髮精沖掉。接著再用相同的洗髮精洗第二遍,但不要馬上把洗髮精沖掉,要讓洗髮精的泡沫留在頭皮上三五分鐘後再沖掉,這樣效果較好,這也是使用藥用洗髮精最重要的訣竅。很多人洗藥用洗髮精最常犯的錯誤為沒讓洗髮精留在頭皮上一會兒再沖掉,還埋怨為何藥用洗髮精洗了沒有效。

(b)洗頭時不要讓藥用洗髮精流入小孩眼中,以免刺激小孩的眼睛。

(c)雖然藥用洗髮精的仿單寫著「每星期洗二到三次」,如果病情嚴重,一開頭大人或青少年可洗勤一點,先兩天洗一次,甚或天天洗,等洗七到十天後症狀緩和下來了,再依仿單的寫法洗,或一星期使用一次來預防復發。

(d)藥用洗髮精的效果不一定會馬上出來,所以要耐心地洗一段時間,不可半途而廢。臉上有脂漏性皮膚炎的患者在洗頭時,也可順便用藥用洗髮精將臉洗一洗,如此有助於控制脂漏性皮膚炎。更積極的話則拿藥用洗髮精取代洗面乳或洗臉的肥皂,天天用藥用洗髮精洗臉,如果此法有效,可降低臉上使用類固醇的機會。

(e)藥用洗髮精洗久了跟類固醇藥膏擦久了一樣,都會失效,此時就得換用另一種含不同藥物的洗髮精,但原先的洗髮精過一段時間後再使用還是會有效。

(f)藥用洗髮精前面所述的四種成分並非對每一個人都有效,仍有個人差異。所以挑藥用洗髮精不是比牌子,洗了有效最重要,還有雖然一開始有效,洗久了沒效仍然得換用不同成分的他牌來洗。因此買藥用洗髮精時,價格的貴賤並不重要,自己合用的排第一,便宜的不一定比貴的差,故藥用洗髮精的廣告吹噓自家的產品效果最好或是價格最便宜是沒有意義的。

person 2: 二氧化硒毒性很強,皮膚有傷口,會吸收引起中毒,雖然效果佳,但建議使用<仁山利舒>安全而且有效.
===============
真菌性皮膚病

真菌和細菌不同,其基本結構為菌絲及孢子,進行有性或無性繁殖,以腐生或寄生的方式生存。從臨床致辨的情況看來,真菌可分為淺部真菌和深部真菌兩種,而淺部真菌只侵犯毛髮、表皮和甲板。淺部真菌感染是極為常見的疾病,常見的有頭癬、體癬、股癬、手足癬、花斑癬和甲癬等。

頭癬:頭癬(TineaCapitis)是指累及毛髮和頭皮的淺部真菌感染,即俗稱的「瘌痢」。此病是由真菌所引致,是由直接或間接接觸患者或患癬的貓、狗等家畜所傳染。理髮也是傳染的主要途徑之一,也可由共用帽子或梳子而傳染。
頭癬的臨床表現為患處出現丘疹及小膿泡、頭髮乾枯、細黃、變曲、參差不齊,可併發膿癬,多有痕癢,可發展蔓延,亦可自愈。
在診斷方面,根據病發的典型改變,及真菌直接鏡檢驗及濾過紫外線燈檢查結果,診斷應該不難。

體癬及股癬:體癬(TineaCorporis),又名圓癬或錢癬,是指發生於身體的真菌感染。股癬(TineaCruris)是體癬發生在外生殖器、肛門及股部的特殊類型。
體癬多發於面、頸、腰、腹、軀幹及四肢等處,原發損害為丘疹或小水泡,逐漸向周圍擴展蔓延,中心炎症減輕伴脫屑或色素沉殿,邊緣突起呈環狀,自覺瘙癢嚴重,搔抓時可引起繼發感染或局部苔癬化,本病多發於年輕男性,夏季特別嚴重。股癬可單側或對稱分布。基本的損害和體癬相同,但炎症較為顯著。

香港腳及香港手:以香港命名的疾病,應該是以「香港腳」最為大眾所知曉了。「香港腳」就是足癬,和手癬、甲癬一樣,是皮膚癬菌侵犯足部、手部和指/趾甲而引致的。手癬即「香港手」,而甲癬就是一般所謂的「灰甲」了。
這類疾病的主要致病菌是毛癬菌屬與表皮癬菌屬,是由接觸所傳染,由於掌、蹠表皮細胞更替時間長,汗腺又多,足部常穿鞋襪,溫度增高,濕度又大,為真菌的生長創造了條件,如與病者共用拖鞋、毛巾和浴池等,則很容易會被感染。

足癬:足癬多見於成年人,男女皆可發病,夏季特別嚴重。病發時,常於趾間、足蹠及側緣出現水泡,疏散分布或成群發生,有明顯瘙癢,數天後泡液乾涸、脫屑、瘙癢會稍為緩解。後會發生糜爛、多滲液、發出惡臭、瘙癢難忍,易繼發感染,併發淋巴管炎。

手癬:至於手癬的臨床表現,大致與足癬相同,發病初期在手心或二、三指的尖端,會發生小水泡,泡液乾後會脫屑,範圍會擴大,皮膚會變得粗糙增厚,皮紋寬深,失去正常的光澤與柔韌性。手癬和足癬都有可能引致甲癬。受真菌感染的指甲會增厚、翹起、甲板與甲分離,前緣如蟲蝕、殘缺不整,後期甲板可全被破壞,受損指甲多少不一,輕者一、二個,重者大部分或全部分指甲受累。甲癬病程緩慢,如不醫治,會蔓延其他健康的指甲。

治療:
在治療方面,不同類型有不同的方法。如有滲出液體,可用1/8000高錳酸鉀溶液,乾燥後應改用抗真菌的藥膏,如益康唑、咪康唑等。體癬和股癬也可以用這些外塗的藥物治療,但病者亦應該注意個人身體的清潔衛生。
廣泛的手、足、體癬,或者甲癬,可用口服藥物,如灰黃黴素、酮康唑或新的藥物Terbinafine,後者對甲癬尤其有效。
=====================

抗黴菌感染劑 Antifungal drugs

Imidazole group 劑型 含量 廠商
Bifonazole 乳霜 1% Micospor
Clotrimazole 乳霜 1% Canesten
Econazole nitrate 乳霜 1% Pevaryl
Ketoconazole 乳霜 2% Nizoral
Miconazole nitrate 軟膏 2% Daktarin
Sulconazole 軟膏 1% Exelderm
Undecylenic Acid 軟膏

【藥理作用】Imidazole 類藥品為廣效抗黴菌劑,能抑制黴菌生長,在高濃度下,也有直接殺 死黴菌的作用。主要作用機轉可能為干擾黴菌 ergosterol 合成,改變細胞膜的通透 性,高濃度時可能直接作用於細胞膜上,造成細胞內物質外漏或細胞溶解。 Ketoconazole 亦具有抗脂漏性皮膚炎及頭皮屑的藥效,作用機轉尚未確定,可 能是因為 ketoconazole 對 Pityrosporum ovale 的抗菌作用,後者可能與產生脂漏性 皮膚炎或頭皮屑有關。
【適應症】‧治療足癬 (tinea pedis)、股圓癬 (tinea cruris)、體癬 (tinea corporis)、表層的念珠菌感 染 (Sulconazole 除外)、及花斑癬 (汗斑,tinea vesicolor)。 ‧ketoconazole 可用於治療脂漏性皮膚炎 (seborrheic dermatitis) 及頭皮屑。

【禁忌】對藥品或其中成份過敏。

【注意事項】‧懷孕用藥級數:Econozole、ketoconazole、sulconazole,C 級。Clotrimazole,B 級。 ‧Sulconazole:使用於兒童的安全性尚未確立。

【副作用】刺激感、燒灼感、紅疹與搔癢等。

【病患教育資訊】避免接觸眼睛。 ‧若病情惡化或持續,或有皮膚刺激性 (燒灼感、刺痛感、紅腫、搔癢),應停藥並告 知醫師。 ‧應完成全程治療,不宜因病情好轉而自行停藥。股圓癬及體癬經治療 2-3 星期,足癬 4 星期未見改善時,應告知醫師。

【用法與劑量】足癬、股圓癬、體癬及表層的念珠菌感染:塗用適量藥品於患部。 *Econazole, miconazole, clotrimazole:每日使用 2 次 (早晚各 1 次)。 *Bifonazole, ketoconazole:每日使用 1 次。 *Sulconazole:每日使用 1-2 次。(抗念珠菌感染之藥效尚未確立) ‧花斑癬 (汗斑):每日使用 1 次。 ‧大部份的病人在開始治療後不久即能感覺到症狀的改善,但為避免復發,念珠菌感 染及股圓癬、體癬及花斑癬,應使用至少 2 星期;足癬應治療至少 1 個月。使 用 sulconazole 者,應持續治療 3 星期以上。 ‧經過治療而症狀未改善時,應重新評估診斷。
Undecylenic Acid《基》

【適應症】‧治療局部黴菌感染,包括足癬 (香港腳, tinea pedis)及其他皮癬菌 (dermatophytes) 引 起的皮膚感染。 ‧亦曾用於緩解或預防尿布疹、搔癢、灼痛、痱子、輕微的皮膚刺激感或股圓癬 (tinea cruris)。

【禁忌】對 undecylenic acid 過敏。

【副作用】尚無嚴重副作用的報告,應注意是否有局部過敏反應。

【注意事項】避免吸入及接觸眼部或其他黏膜部位。 ‧避免使用於起水泡、開放性傷口、有液體滲出或深部的傷口。 ‧血液循環不良如糖尿病患者及小於 2 歲兒童應小心使用。

【用法與劑量】‧清潔並乾燥患部後,塗抹薄層。依需要使用。

Read more!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Mushroom

I am thinking to grow my own mushrooms. Our small granny-flat doesn't have much space to do that. Hmmm, still thinking about it.

PDA is one of the best medium to culture mushroom. Below is its receipt.

Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) (BAM FDA M127) and potato dextrose broth (abbreviated "PDB") are common microbiological media made from potato infusion, and dextrose (corn sugar). Potato dextrose agar is the most widely used medium for growing fungi and bacteria which attack living plants or decay dead plant matter.

200 g Potato infusion
20 g Dextrose
20 g Agar
Up to 1 L water (ps. In FDA M127, it is dH2O)
(ps. In McKenna's definitive book: Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, it is 250 g potatoes + 15 g agar + 10 g dextrose + 1.5 g nutritional yeast (or yeast extract). There are a few different recipes in this website.)

Potato infusion: boil 200 g scrubbed, sliced and unpeeled potatoes (ps. peel potatoes is for us to make mashed potatoes) in 1 liter water for 30 min. Filter through cheesecloth, saving effluent, which is potato infusion.
-> Mix in other ingredients and boil to dissolve. Take care to not allow the solution to boil over.
-> Add enough water to return the total volume of the solution to one liter. Pour the solution while still hot and liquid into petri plates, baby food jars, or slant culture tubes. Use just enough to cover the bottom of the containers, about 1/4 inch
deep or a little more. The solution may be allowed to cool or sterilized
immediately.
-> It has been suggested to sterilize in this way: use a pressure cooker/canner to substitute for a lab-grade autoclave. 250 degree, 15 psi for 30 MINUTES. (ps. In lab: Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Final pH, 5.6 ± 0.2.) Medium should not be re-melted more than once. The broth is clear to slightly opalescent and yellowish in color.

=============================
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap, just as do store-bought white mushrooms.

Edible mushrooms include thousands of types of mushrooms that are harvested, and others that are not easily cultivated, such as the truffle and the matsutake, which is prized. Some edible mushrooms have an extremely bad taste, such as the Bitter bolete mushroom.
Before assuming that any wild mushroom is edible, check safety rules and be sure of its identification. There is no "test" for edibility other than identifying the species. Even mushrooms that are edible for most people can cause allergic reactions in some individuals. The most common deadly mushrooms to be aware of are in the amanita genus, particularly amanita phalloides or "death cap", which can be confused with edible varieties.
==============

Here are 3 websites for my own references:
我的菇菇小站(菇類栽培DIY)
菇類天地
柏林的台灣人

==============
FastFred's Media Cookbook: A cookbook of media recipes

FastFred's Media Cookbook (v0.97)(8-30-2004) by FastFred

A. Classic Favorite Recipes
Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA)(FDA M127)
Potato Dextrose Yeast (PDY)
Malt Extract Agar (3%)(MEA)(General Microbiology)(FDA M93)
Malt Extract Agar with Yeast (2%)(MEAY)
Sabouraud's Dextrose Broth and Agar (SabDex or SDA)(FDA M133)

B. Special Blends
"Karo Water" (Corn Syrup Broth)
"Dextrose Tek" Liquid Media (Corn Sugar Broth)
Honey Water (Mycotopia Honey Tek)
Malt-Yeast-Peptone Agar (McKenna's MYP)
Malt Yeast Peptone Agar (Stamets MYP)
Grey Cardboard (instead of agar)
Oatmeal Flake Agar
Moonflower's Rice Malt-Alfalfa-Brewer's Yeast Agar
MycoPsycho's Liquid Mycelial Culture Broth [Malt base]
Ragadinks Liquid Medium
Amaranth Soy Agar
EntheoGenesis No.442

C. Food Based Recipies and Variations
Corn Meal Agar (CMA)
Cornmeal Dextrose Agar
Potato Flake Agar
Potato Starch Agar
Potato Flake Agar with Yeast
Potato-Carrot Agar
Barley Flour Malt Extract Agar
Barley Flour Modified Sabouraud's
Oatmeal Agar (OA)
Oatmeal Agar A
Oatmeal Agar [B]
V-8 Oatmeal Agar
V8 Medium
Bean Agar
Faba Bean Dextrose Agar (FDA)
Pea Agar
Cabbage Agar
Dr. Pollock's Modified [Dog Food] Agar

D. Other Media and Alternate Formulations
Potato-Glucose Agar 1
Potato-Peptone Medium
Potato-Peptone-Yeast Agar (PPYA)
------
Malt Agar (MA)(FDA M185)[aka 2% MEA]
Difco Malt Extract Broth (FDA M94)
Malt Extract Agar for Yeasts and Molds (MEAYM)(FDA M182)
Malt Extract Peptone Agar
Raper & Thom MEA (RTMEA)
ISP 2 Medium (Malt, Yeast, Glucose)
------
Yeast Extract Agar (YEA)(FDA M181)
Yeast Glucose Agar
Glucose and Yeast Extract Agar
Glycerin Yeast Agar
------
Manure Tincture
Manure Agar
------
Water Agar (aka Starved Agar)
Gelatin Agar (GA)(FDA M54)
Plate Count Agar (SMA)(aka Standard Methods Agar)(FDA M124)
Nutrient Agar (FDA M112)
Starch Agar (FDA M143)(Nutrient agar with starch)
Starch-Yeast Agar
1/5 Starch-Yeast Agar
Long-term Preservation Medium (FDA M85)
Peptone Meat Agar (Meat Water)

E. Common Solutions
Gentamicin Sulfate Solution (FDA M57)

F. Sources

Section A: Basic recipes

Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA)(FDA M127)
200 g Potato infusion [dilute to 1L total, ~4g solids]
20 g Dextrose
20 g Agar
1 L Distilled water (dH2O)

To prepare potato infusion, boil 200 g scrubbed, sliced(unpeeled) potatoes in 1 liter distilled water for 30 min. Filter through cheesecloth, saving effluent, which is potato infusion (or use commercial dehydrated form). Mix in other ingredients and boil to dissolve. [Dilute to obtain 1 L final volume] Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Dispense 20-25 ml portions into sterile 15 x 100 mm petri dishes. Final pH, 5.6 ± 0.2.

Medium should not be re-melted more than once. Medium powder is available commercially but may require supplementing with extra agar to a final concentration of 20 g/liter. To BBL or Difco dehydrated medium, add 5 g of agar.

The broth is clear to slightly opalescent and yellowish in color. [1][2]

Potato Dextrose Yeast (PDY)
200 g Potato, infusion from [dilute to 1L total]
20 g Dextrose
2 g Yeast extract
20 g Agar
1 L Distilled water (dH2O)

Gently boil for ten minutes or until the solution is clear.
Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. [13]

Malt Extract Agar (3%)(MEA)(General Microbiology)(FDA M93)
30 g Malt extract
20 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Boil to dissolve ingredients. Avoid overheating, which causes softening of agar and darkening of medium color. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Dispense 20-25 ml into sterile 15 x 100 mm petri dishes. Final pH, 5.5 ± 0.2.

This medium is recommended as a general maintenance medium. [1]

Malt Extract Agar with Yeast (2%)(MEAY)
20 g extra light malt extract
2 g yeast
15-20 g agar
1 L water [10]

Sabouraud's Dextrose Broth and Agar (SabDex or SDA)(FDA M133)
40 g Dextrose
10 g Polypeptone or neopeptone
1 L Distilled water

Dissolve completely and dispense 40 ml portions into screw-cap bottles. Final pH, 5.8. Autoclave 15 min at 118-121°C. Do not exceed 121°C.

For Sabouraud's dextrose agar, prepare broth as above and add 15-20 g agar, depending on gel strength desired. Final pH, 5.6 ± 0.2. Dispense into tubes for slants and bottles or flasks for pouring plates. Autoclave 15 min at 118-121 °C. [1]

Sabouraud Dextrose (SabDex) Agar is used for the isolation, cultivation, and maintenance of saprophytic and pathogenic yeasts and fungi.

SabDex Agar is an excellent substitute for Malt or Potato Dextrose Agar, when used by mushroom cultivators to propagate mushroom mycelium.

Sabouraud Dextrose Agar was described by Sabouraud in 1892 and was used for the identification of fungi based on their morphological characteristics. Sabouraud Dextrose Agar is a standard medium used to support the growth of yeasts and molds. It supplies peptone as the protein source and dextrose as the carbohydrate source for nourishment. Bacterial suppression occurs due to the low pH. This media is especially suited for the primary isolation of fungi from normally sterile sites such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Later, Emmons modified the medium by decreasing the dextrose content and adjusting the pH closer to the neutral range. This modification enhances sporulation and is particularly useful for the subculture of fungi that so not develop fruiting structures on other media, and so is useful in their identification. It also serves as a good holding medium for stock cultures. [3]


B. Special Blends

"Karo Water" (Corn Syrup Broth)
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup (Karo Syrup or store brand Light Corn Syrup)
100 ml Purified Water

Mix well until dissolved, sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [17]

"Dextrose Tek" Liquid Media (Corn Sugar Broth)
1 Teaspoon Powdered Dextrose (corn sugar)
75 ml water [17]

Honey Water (Mycotopia Honey Tek)
40 g Honey (or roughly 1 tablespoon per pint of water)
1 L Water

The correct mixture for optimum results is 4% sugars (honey) by weight and 96% water.
Water weighs 1 gram per cc/ml so if you use 100 ml as total weight, then 96 grams/ml/cc of water is mixed with 4 grams of honey, etc.
Sterilize for 30 min at 121°C (15 psi). [14]

Malt-Yeast-Peptone Agar (McKenna's MYP)
7 g malt extract (powdered or syrup)
1 g peptone or soytone
0.5 g yeast extract
15 g agar [11]

Malt Yeast Peptone Agar (Stamets MYP)
20 g extra light malt extract
1 g yeast extract
1 g peptone
15-20 g agar
1 L water [10]

Grey Cardboard (instead of agar)
Here are the detailed steps for making cardboard plates. Note that you can also use small jars in place of Petri dishes.

1) Measure about 100 mls. of tap water into a small jar.
2) For nutrients, , measure another 100 mls. of tap water into a second jar and add one drop of ordinary soy sauce to the water, and a quarter teaspoon (1.25 mls.) of molasses or light malt powder.
3) Find some gray cardboard, the thicker the better, preferably gray on both sides. Trace a Petri plate onto the cardboard with a pencil and cut out several disks to fit into your plates.
4) Weigh one of your disks and record the weight. Multiply this weight by a factor of 1.3 as a rough guide (you may need to experiment with the amounts here), and add the resulting weight of tap water or nutrient solution to each disk in its Petri plate. (Remember, 1 ounce of water equals 28.35 grams; one gram equals one milliliter.) Example: Suppose my disks weighed 0.17 ounces each. Multiplying 0.17 by 1.3, I get 0.22 ounces. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce, so 0.22 ounces x 28.35 equals 6.3 grams. That means I'll add 6.3 milliliters of solution to each disk.
5) Close up the disks in the plates, and let the water or nutrient solution soak in.
6) Pressure-sterilize the jar of plain water, and the Petri plates with moistened newsprint disks inside, for 10 minutes at 15 psi (allowing the cooker to equilibrate steam for 10 minutes before putting on the pressure regulator).
7) Cool the cooker, and remove the plates and jar of plain water.
8) When the water has cooled, add 3.3 mls. 3% peroxide to the jar, using a pasteurized pipette, to give you a final concentration of about 0.1% peroxide in sterile water.
9) Add about one third of the initial weight of the cardboard as 0.1% peroxide to each disk. Let the solution soak completely into the disks. They are now ready to use. [23]

Oatmeal Flake Agar
75 g Oatmeal flakes
20-25 g Agar
1 L water

Stir for 5-10 minutes then filter out the larger particles by pouring it through some mesh, save the broth. [Then add the agar]

This is the best medium for Panaeolus cyanescens I've ever encountered. Beware, this medium will be less firm than the other recipes so extra agar has to be added to compensate. [22]

Moonflower's Rice Malt-Alfalfa-Brewer's Yeast Agar
1 cup alfalfa, infusion from
2 cups rice, infusion from
1 standard dolomite (oyster shell-crushed) tablet
1 pkg of regular baker's yeast

Prepare infusion using approx. 1 1/2 quarts of clean water. Mix in the alfalfa and rice, then allow to soak for 2 hours at room temp with occasional stirring. Filter or strain before adding the infusion.
Prepare yeast by activating in water for around 30 minutes, then strain out solid yeast grains.
Sterilize in pressure cooker for 20 minutes at 15lbs.
This media is reported to produce more "banding" than other media. Will support luxuriant mycelial growth, it is also more than sufficient for starting spores. [19]

MycoPsycho's Liquid Mycelial Culture Broth
1/2 tsp malt (2.5 ml)
3/4 cup water

1. procure a half-pint jar w/ lid & ring and also a spore syringe.
2. drill/punch a hole in the center of the lid large enough for the syringe.
3. mix 3/4 cup of water with 1/2 tsp.(2.5 ml.) malt.
4. put lid & ring on and put aluminum foil over the top of that and then Pressure Cook (PC) for 20 min. @ 15 psi. , when finished let cool to below 90 degrees F.
5. once cool, setup your sterile environment (flow hood, glove box or even your oven will work) with an alcohol lamp, extra alcohol in a dish, paper towels/napkins, small round bandaid and lastly the spore syringe.
6. remove the foil from the jar, shake the needle and then sterilize the point with the alcohol lamp (get it red hot), cool the needle with a wipe & some alcohol and then inject 1-2 cc/mil spore solution into the jar.
7. once injected wipe the needle w/alcohol and put the guard back on it.
8. cover injection site w/ round bandaid (thanks for that tip magash!).
9. put the jars in your incubator set at 82-84 degrees F. for 4-14 days, you should notice growth by then.
10. sterilize empty syringes in your PC for 15-20 @ 15 psi.
11. remove the bandaid from the jar, sterilize your needle again and then suck myc solution into empty syringe(s) for use on PF style jars or substrate bags. [15]

Ragadinks Liquid Medium
16.5 g dextrose
1.5 g yeast
500 ml tap water [16]

Amaranth Soy Agar
20 g amaranth flour
20 g soy flour
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water
Sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [20]

EntheoGenesis No.442
10 g amaranth flour
10 g brown rice flour
10 g potato flour
10 g soy flour
2 g malted barley
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water

Sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [20]

Section C: Food Based Recipes and Variations
Corn Meal Agar (CMA)
2 g Corn Meal, Infusion from [filter]
15 g Agar
1 L dH2O [4]

Cornmeal Dextrose Agar
25 g yellow cornmeal
3 g dextrose
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water [20]

Potato Flake Agar
20.0 g Potato Flakes
10.0 g Dextrose
15.0 g Agar
1.0 L Demineralized Water

Potato Dextrose Agar and Potato Flake Agar are formulations developed to promote sporulation of fungi. The potatoes contained in these media provide nutritious bases for luxuriant growth of fungi. Both media contain dextrose as a growth stimulant.
pH 5.6 +/- 0.2 @ 25°C [7]

Potato Starch Agar
30 g potato starch, soluble
20 g dextrose/glucose
15 g agar, pure (omit for liquid media)
1000 mL (d)H2O

The pH is adjusted following autoclaving to prevent agar hydrolysis by acid. [20]

Potato Flake Agar with Yeast
20 g potato flakes
10 g glucose
1-2 g dried yeast
20 g agar
1 L water [18]

Potato-Carrot Agar
grated potato 20.0 g
grated carrot 20.0 g
Agar 20.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

Boil potato and carrot in 1000.0 ml of water for 1 h, filter, add water to the
initial volume, adjust pH to 7.0 - 7.1 and add agar.
Sterilize at 121°C for 30 min. [6]

Barley Flour Malt Extract Agar
40 g barley flour
2 g malt extract
1 g yeast extract (optional)
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water

Sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [21]

Barley Flour Modified Sabouraud's
25 g barley flour
5 g dextrose
2 g Polypeptone or neopeptone (optional)
1 g yeast extract
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water

Sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [21]

Oatmeal Agar (OA)
60.0 g Oatmeal [filter]
12.5 g Agar [may require more]
1.0 L dH2O

Cook oatmeal 5-10 minutes then filter the liquid into another container using cheesecloth or a metal strainer with a tight mesh. Dilute liquid to 1L, add agar, and heat with swirling until solids dissolve.

This is reported to be a good media for cultivating Panaeolus cyanescens. [5]

Oatmeal Agar A
Oatmeal 20.0g
Agar 20.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

pH 7.2. [6]

Oatmeal Agar B
Oats 30.0g
Agar 15.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

Keep oats on a water bath at 58°C for 1 h, filter through 2 layers of gauze, dilute
to 1000.0 ml and add 15.0 g agar. [6]

V-8 Oatmeal Agar
50 ml V-8 juice
25 g Cream of oats
20 g Agar
1 L Water

Be careful to use a container much larger then the volume of medium, i.e., prepare a 500 ml medium in 2 liter flasks or it will tend to boil over no matter how slowly it is cooled down. [20]

V8 Medium
50 ml V8 Juice
.2 g CaCO3
20 g of agar
1 L Water

The commercial V8 juice is occasionally used for tissue cultures of edible mushrooms. It should be noted that most mushrooms prefer neutral to slightly acid range of medium, that is, a pH of about 5.5 to 6.5. However the straw mushroom, Volvariella volvacea, prefers a high pH medium, 6.8 to 7.8. Therefore, it is important to make sure the acidity or pH of the medium is correct for a particular mushroom. Here be careful to use a container much larger then the volume of medium, i.e., prepare a 500 ml medium in 2 liter flasks or it will tend to boil over no matter how slowly it is cooled down. [20]

Bean Agar
Beans (peas or pulse) 100.0 g [infusion from (filter)]
K2HPO2 0.5g
Sucrose 10.0g
Agar 20.0g
Water 1000.0ml

Prepare infusion from beans. Sterilize at 121°C for 30 min. [6]

Faba Bean Dextrose Agar (FDA)
200 g faba bean seeds or 400 g of faba bean leaves [infusion from]
[autoclave and filter to obtain faba infusion]
20 g of dextrose
18 g agar
1 L water

Method:
a. Weigh out 200 g of faba bean seeds or 400 g of faba bean leaves in a 1.5 1 flask. Add 1L of water, and autoclave at 15 psi. for 30 minutes.
b. Pass the autoclaved beans through a sieve, add 18 g of agar, heat, and stir till dissolved.
c. Add 20 g of dextrose, stir till dissolved, and make up the volume to 11 with tap water. d. Autoclave at 15 psi. for 20 minutes, cool to about 40°C, and pour into petri dishes (normally 40 petri dishes/1).

This medium is used for propagation of B. fabae, A. fabae, and A. tenuis. [12]

Pea Agar
100 g Yellow peas
0.5 g K2HPO2
10.0 g Sucrose
20.0 g Agar
1.0 L Tap water

Boil peas in 1000.0 ml of water, filter through gauze, add water to the
initial volume; add phosphate, sucrose, and agar. Sterilize at 121°C for 30 min. [6]

Cabbage Agar
Cabbage 50.0g
glucose 20.0g
Peptone 10.0g
Agar 20.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

Boil 50.0 g of cabbage in 1000.0 ml of water, filter cabbage, adjust the
volume of broth to the initial value. [6]

Dr. Pollock's Modified [Dog Food] Agar
10 g dried dog food (ground to flour)
10 g amaranth flour
2 g dextrose or malt extract
9 g agar
500 ml potable or distilled water

Sterilize for 20-30 minutes at 15 psi. [20]

Section D: Other Media and Alternate Formulations


Potato-Glucose Agar 1
grated potato 200.0 g
glucose 20.0g
Agar 20.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

Boil potatoes for 1 h in 1 L of water, filter through gauze. add water to
the initial volume, add glucose and agar.
Sterilize at 105°C for 30 min. [6]

Potato-Peptone Medium
Potato decoction 200 ml [infusion from 200g potato]
Yeast extract 1.0 g
Peptone 5.0g
Agar 30.0g
Distilled water 800.0 ml [6]

Potato-Peptone-Yeast Agar (PPYA)
Potato decoction 200 ml [infusion from 200g potato]
200.0 ml
Peptone 5.0g
Yeast extract 1.0 g
Agar 25.0g
Distilled water to 1000.0 ml

pH 8.0. [6]

Malt Agar (MA)(FDA M185)[aka 2% MEA]
20 g Malt extract, powdered
20 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Mix ingredients, steam to dissolve agar and sterilize for 15 min at 121°C. Temper medium to 45°C and pour plates under aseptic conditions.

This medium is recommended as a general maintenance medium. [1]

Difco Malt Extract Broth (FDA M94)
6.0 g Malt extract base
1.8 g Maltose, technical
6.0 g Dextrose
1.2 g Yeast extract
1.0 L Water

Final pH, 4.7 ± 0.2. [1]

Malt Extract Agar for Yeasts and Molds (MEAYM)(FDA M182)
20.0 g Malt extract, powdered
20.0 g Glucose
1.0 g Peptone
20.0 g Agar
1.0 L Distilled water

Mix ingredients, heat to dissolve agar and sterilize at 121°C for 15 min. Temper media to 45°C and pour plates under aseptic conditions. Dehydrated MA is commercially available, but since several MA formulas exist, check for the correct composition.
Final pH 5.4. [1]

Malt Extract Peptone Agar
30 g Malt extract
3 g Soya peptone
15 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Adjust pH to 5.6. Sterilize at 121°C for 10 min. [8]

Raper & Thom MEA (RTMEA)
To 2% MEA add:
Glucose 10g
Soy Peptone 5g [9]

ISP 2 Medium (Malt, Yeast, Glucose)
Malt extract 10.0 g
Yeast extract 4.0 g
Glucose 4.0g
Agar 15.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml

pH 7.2. [6]

Yeast Extract Agar (YEA)(FDA M181)
10.0 g Proteose peptone
3.0 g Yeast extract
5.0 g NaCl
15.0 g Agar
1.0 L Distilled water

Adjust pH to 7.2-7.4. Autoclave at 121°C for 15 min. [1]

Yeast Glucose Agar
Yeast extract 5.0 g
Glucose 10.0g
Peptone 5.0g
Agar 20.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml

pH 7.2. Sterilize at 121°C for 15 min. [6]

Glucose and Yeast Extract Agar
Glucose 20.0g
Yeast extract 10.0 g
CaCO2 20.0g
Agar 17.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml [6]

Glycerin Yeast Agar
Yeast extract 5.0 g
Glycerin 50.0g (also called glycerine or glycerol)
CaCO2 1.0g
Agar 20.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml [6]

Manure Tincture
Cow manure (fresh) 1.0 kg
Distilled water 3000.0 ml

Boil, squeeze through gauze into a bottle and dilute 3 to l. [6]

Manure Agar
Horse manure 100-125 g
Agar 25.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml

Boil manure in 1000.0 ml of water for 10 min, then keep for 16-20 h, filter
through 1-2 layers of filter paper, adjust to the initial volume, add agar.
Sterilize at 121°C for 15 min. [6]

Water Agar (aka Starved Agar)
Agar 20.0g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml

Sterilize at 121°C for 15 min. [6]

Gelatin Agar (GA)(FDA M54)
4 g Peptone
1 g Yeast extract
15 g Gelatin
15 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Suspend ingredients with constant stirring to prevent scorching gelatin, and boil to dissolve gelatin and agar. Adjust to pH 7.2 ± 0.2. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Cool to 45-50°C. Pour plates. [1]

Plate Count Agar (SMA)(aka Standard Methods Agar)(FDA M124)
5.0 g Tryptone
2.5 g Yeast extract
1.0 g Dextrose
15.0 g Agar
1.0 L Distilled water

Heat to dissolve ingredients. Dispense into suitable tubes or flasks. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Final pH, 7.0 ± 0.2.

For viable yeasts and molds, dispense 20-25 ml portions into sterile 15 x 100 mm petri dishes. [1]

Nutrient Agar (FDA M112)
3 g Beef extract
5 g Peptone
15 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Heat to boiling to dissolve ingredients. Dispense into tubes or flasks. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Final pH, 6.8 ± 0.2. [1]

Starch Agar (FDA M143)(Nutrient agar with starch)
23 g Nutrient agar (FDA M112)
10 g Potato starch
1 L Distilled water

Heat to dissolve agar in 500 ml water. Dissolve starch in 250 ml water. Combine and dilute to 1 liter. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C.

Note: add 3 g agar to Difco's dehydrated starch agar. [1]

Starch-Yeast Agar
Yeast extract 2.0 g
Starch (soluble) 10.0 g
Agar 20.0g
Tap water 1000.0 ml

pH 7.3. [6]

1/5 Starch-Yeast Agar
Yeast extract 0.4 g
Soluble starch 2.0 g
Agar 20.0 g
Distilled water 1000.0 ml

pH 7.3. [6]

Long-term Preservation Medium (FDA M85)
3 g Yeast extract, 0.3%
10 g Peptone
30 g NaCl
3 g Agar
1 L Distilled water

Heat to dissolve ingredients. Dispense 4 ml portions to 13 x 100 mm screw-cap tubes. Autoclave 15 min at 121°C. Cool and tighten caps for storage. No pH adjustment is necessary. [1]

Peptone Meat Agar (Meat Water)
Peptone 10.0g
NaCl 5.0g [optional]
Agar 20.0g
Meat water 1000.0 ml

Preparation of meat water: comminute 500 g of meat free of bones, fat and tendons,
add 1000.0 ml of tap water and leave for 12 h at room temperature or in a
thermostat at 30°C, or for 2 h at 37°C. Then squeeze the meat through gauze or
cloth and boil the filtrate for 5 min. The proteins are denatured. Filter the cooled down
mass through a cotton-wool filter and add water to the initial volume. pH 7.2 - 7.4.
Sterilize at 121°C for 30 min. [6]

E. Common Solutions

Gentamicin Sulfate Solution (FDA M57)
5.00 g Gentamicin sulfate
1.00 L Distilled water

Sterilize by filtration through 0.20 µm membrane. Store at -20°C. [1]
Chloramphenicol 0.2g/liter of media survives autoclaving.

F. Sources
[1] Bacteriological Analytical Manual, 8th Edition, Revision A, 1998.
[2] EMD Chemicals [aka Merck]
[3] PML Microbiologicals
[4] Sigma Fine Chemicals
[5] Sigma Fine Chemicals, instructions by FastFred
[6] VKM Media Catalog 2003
[7] remel
[8] DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Germany
[9] Xenova Limited, UK
[10] Paul Stamets (GGMM and/or TMC)
[11] Terence McKenna
[12] Screening Techniques for Disease Resistance in Faba Beans
[13] FastFred
[14] Mycotopia Honey Tek
[15] MycoPsycho (Shroomery)
[16] Ragadinks (Shroomery)
[17] Nan (Nanook)
[18] Pinback (Shroomery)
[19] Moonflower (???)
[20] Unknown (Shroomery)
[21] Unknown (Shroomery) edited by FastFred
[22] [i]Unknown (Shroomery), comments by Una[/i]
[23] Rush Wayne's Peroxi Manual Volume II (Via Hippie3)(Mycotopia)
[24] USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning

Read more!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Early June 2009 papers

Some interest papers.

Snapshots of the cell surface, Allison Doerr, Nature Methods 6:401.
Researchers develop an approach to selectively isolate and profile cell-surface proteins by targeting the glycopeptides, a strategy that could be used to generate an atlas of cell-surface protein 'barcodes'.

BIOSENSORS: Nature's pH meter, Wayne Peng, Nature Methods 6:404 (2009).
A new pH nanosensor changes color in acidic cell compartments by forming an unusual four-stranded DNA structure.

TACLing rare genetic variants, Nicole Rusk, Nature Methods 6:406.
By combining methods for selective genome capture, allele enrichment and array resequencing, researchers create a pipeline for high-throughput variant detection.

A review on transgenic approaches to accelerate breeding of woody plants, H. Flachowsky, M.-V. Hanke, A. Peil, S. H. Strauss, M. Fladung, Plant Breeding 128(3):217 - 226.

Local auxin biosynthesis modulates gradient-directed planar polarity in Arabidopsis, Yoshihisa Ikeda, Shuzhen Men, Urs Fischer, Anna N. Stepanova, Jose M. Alonso, Karin Ljung and Markus Grebe, Nature Cell Biology 11:731 - 738.
Arabidopsis root-hair position and orientation in epithelial cells is directed by an auxin gradient maximum at the root tip. The Raf-like kinase CTR1 negatively regulates local auxin biosynthesis in the root to determine root hair position.

Genomic dissection of drought resistance in durum wheat × wild emmer wheat recombinant inbreed line population, ZVI PELEG, TZION FAHIMA, TAMAR KRUGMAN, SHAHAL ABBO, DAN YAKIR, ABRAHAM B. KOROL, YEHOSHUA SARANGA, Plant, Cell & Environment 32(7):758 - 779.

Unraveling Transcriptional Control in Arabidopsis Using cis-Regulatory Elements and Coexpression Networks, Klaas Vandepoele, Mauricio Quimbaya, Tine Casneuf, Lieven De Veylder, and Yves Van de Peer, Plant Physiol. 150:535-546.

ETR1-Specific Mutations Distinguish ETR1 from Other Arabidopsis Ethylene Receptors as Revealed by Genetic Interaction with RTE1, Maximo Rivarola, Christopher A. McClellan, Josephine S. Resnick, and Caren Chang, Plant Physiol. 150:547-551.

Arabidopsis Chloroplastic Glutathione Peroxidases Play a Role in Cross Talk between Photooxidative Stress and Immune Responses, Christine C.C. Chang, Ireneusz Slesak, Lucia Jorda, Alexey Sotnikov, Michael Melzer, Zbigniew Miszalski, Philip M. Mullineaux, Jane E. Parker, Barbara Karpinska, and Stanislaw Karpinski, Plant Physiol. 150:670-683.

Anatomical and Transcriptomic Studies of the Coleorhiza Reveal the Importance of This Tissue in Regulating Dormancy in Barley, Jose M. Barrero, Mark J. Talbot, Rosemary G. White, John V. Jacobsen, and Frank Gubler, Plant Physiol. 150:1006-1021.

Antisense Down-Regulation of the FaPG1 Gene Reveals an Unexpected Central Role for Polygalacturonase in Strawberry Fruit Softening, Miguel A. Quesada, Rosario Blanco-Portales, Sara Pose, Juan A. Garcia-Gago, Silvia Jimenez-Bermudez, Andres Munoz-Serrano, Jose L. Caballero, Fernando Pliego-Alfaro, Jose A. Mercado, and Juan Munoz-Blanco, Plant Physiol. 150:1022-1032.

Role of Temperature Stress on Chloroplast Biogenesis and Protein Import in Pea, Siddhartha Dutta, Sasmita Mohanty, and Baishnab C. Tripathy, Plant Physiol. 150:1050-1061.

Regulation of a Chemical Defense against Herbivory Produced by Symbiotic Fungi in Grass Plants, Dong-Xiu Zhang, Padmaja Nagabhyru, and Christopher L. Schardl, Plant Physiol. 150:1072-1082.

The Wound-, Pathogen-, and Ultraviolet B-Responsive MYB134 Gene Encodes an R2R3 MYB Transcription Factor That Regulates Proanthocyanidin Synthesis in Poplar, Robin D. Mellway, Lan T. Tran, Michael B. Prouse, Malcolm M. Campbell, and C. Peter Constabel, Plant Physiol. 150:924-941.

Water Flea Boasts Whopper Gene Count, Science 324(5932):1252.
Daphnia pulex, a crustacean common in lakes and ponds around the world, is no bigger than the letters on this page, but its genome contains more genes than some much larger organisms have, scientists reported at the Biology of Genomes meeting.

Some RNA May Play Key Role in Repressing Genes, Slowing Cancer, Science 324(5932):1252 - 1253.
Just as junk DNA proved to be more than junk, at least some non-protein-coding RNA translates into meaningful molecules that may play key roles in turning genes on and off, scientists reported at the Biology of Genomes meeting.

The Bug and the Bacterium: Interdependent Genomes, Science 324(5932):1253.
The newly sequenced DNA of the pea aphid, a common pest of legume crops, reflects a long history of give-and-take between the genomes of the bug and a tiny bacterium called Buchnera aphidicola, scientists reported at the Biology of Genomes meeting.

A Story of Symbiosis, Leigh Krietsch Boerner, Science 324(5932):1270.
The adventures of the Beans in Marder's fanciful world reflect aspects of ecology, culture, invention, and the scientific method.

Fusarium oxysporum hijacks COI1-mediated jasmonate signaling to promote disease development in Arabidopsis, Louise F. Thatcher, John M. Manners, Kemal Kazan, The Plant Journal 58(6):927 - 939.

Stress-induced changes in the Arabidopsis thaliana transcriptome analyzed using whole-genome tiling arrays, Georg Zeller, Stefan R. Henz, Christian K. Widmer, Timo Sachsenberg, Gunnar Rätsch, Detlef Weigel, Sascha Laubinger, The Plant Journal 58(6):1068 - 1082.

Read more!

May 35

Today is June 5. I heard that yesterday was May 35 in some certain places.

Maybe 64=535, 604=535, or anything else?

The difference between those 2 numbers in mathematical world is
|64 - 535| = 471
|604 - 535| = 69
Both can be divided by 3.
Tank Man

Read more!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Swine-Origin 2009 A(H1N1) Influenza Viruses

Hmmm, it did origin from pig and successfully spread among human.

Current information on Tracking the progress of H1N1 swine flu

Antigenic and Genetic Characteristics of Swine-Origin 2009 A(H1N1) Influenza Viruses Circulating in Humans, Published Online May 22, 2009, Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1176225.
Since its identification in April 2009 an A(H1N1) virus containing a unique combination of gene segments from both North American and Eurasian swine lineages has continued to circulate in humans. The lack of similarity between the 2009 A(H1N1) virus and its nearest relatives indicates that its gene segments have been circulating undetected for an extended period. Its low genetic diversity suggests the introduction into humans was a single event or multiple events of similar viruses. Molecular markers predictive of adaptation to humans are not currently present in 2009 A(H1N1) viruses, suggesting previously unrecognized molecular determinants could be responsible for the transmission among humans. Antigenically the viruses are homogeneous and similar to North American swine A(H1N1) viruses but distinct from seasonal human A(H1N1).

The origin of swine flu: Putting the pieces together
May 28th 2009 | NEW YORK, The Economist

YOU are now officially permitted to blame the pigs. .....

A new study, however, suggests pigs really were to blame. Several dozen researchers, led by Rebecca Garten of America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sequenced full or partial genomes of 76 samples of the new virus, which has afflicted almost 13,000 people around the world so far. In a paper published in Science, they confirm that the closest genetic relatives of the new virus are swine-flu strains from both North America and Eurasia. The virus is made of eight gene segments of known provenance but which have not previously been seen in this combination. The genetic material in them is indeed a hotchpotch derived from avian, human and swine sources, but all eight segments come most recently from pigs.

Read more!