Spray-dried soy molasses (SDSM) contains the sugars dextrose, sucrose, fructose, pinitol, raffinose, verbascose, melibiose, and stachyose. Of the 746 g kg(-1) total sugars in SDSM, 434 g kg(-1) is fermentable using Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. SDSM was used to produce acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) by C. beijerinckii BA101 in batch cultures. Using 80 g l(-1) SDSM, 10.7 g l(-1) ABE was produced in P2 medium. Higher concentrations of SDSM resulted in poor solvent production due to the presence of excessive salt and inhibitory components. C. beijerinckii BA101 in SDSM at 80 g l(-1) concentration produced 22.8 g l(-1) ABE when supplemented with 25.3 g l(-1) glucose. SDSM contains 57.4 g kg(-1) mineral ash and 2% tri-calcium phosphate. Tri-calcium phosphate up to 43.1 g l(-1) was not inhibitory and at a tri-calcium phosphate concentration of 28.8 g l(-1), the culture produced more solvents (30.1 g l(-1)) than the control experiment (23.8 g l(-1)). In contrast, sodium chloride was a strong inhibitor of C. beijerinckii BA101 cell growth. At a concentration of 10 g l(-1) sodium chloride, a maximum cell concentration of 0.6 g l(-1) was achieved compared to 1.7 g l(-1) in the control experiment. The effects of two salts on specific growth rate constant (mu) and specific rate of ABE production (nu) for C. beijerinckii BA101 were examined.

The Atlanto-Mediterranean holothurian Holothuria tubulosa is among the conspicuous benthic invertebrates in the shallow sublittoral zone. It is an edible species, harvested at the Aegean Sea and utilized as fishing bait. Considering the lack of information for the Aegean populations, a one-year survey, based on monthly or semimonthly samples, was carried out focusing on population structure, allometric relationships and reproductive status of H. tubulosa stocks in Pagasitikos Gulf. Population density varied around 9.93 individuals/100 m2. This value was rather low compared with other studied Mediterranean populations of the species, possibly due to the scarcity of seagrass meadows in the area studied. All measured biometric characters showed high plasticity, and all the examined morphometric relationships followed negative allometry indicating a change to the shape of the animal's body as it grows. Holothurians’ length was a moderate predictor of biomass since r values reached 60%; in contrast a very strong relation was observed between drained and gutted weight. Size–frequency distribution analysis was unimodal with the exception of spring where a second mode of larger sized individuals appeared. The gonadosomatic index showed a single spawning season per year, in late summer; accordingly the reproductive cycle of the species showed a clear annual pattern which was highly correlated with the seasonal variations of temperature.

In this work, tensile and yield stress and tensile and yield strain of oblique layer functionally graded steels produced by electroslag remelting were investigated. Functionally graded steels containing ferrite, austenite, bainite, and/or martensite layers may be fabricated via diffusion of alloying elements during the remelting stage. Tensile and yield stress and tensile and yield strain of functionally graded steels depend on the composition, containing layers, and angles of oblique layers. By increasing the angle of layers with respect to the load axis, the tensile and yield stresses of functionally graded steels were decreased.

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Acute toxicity and inhibition on growth of Artemia franciscana nauplii (Instar I-II) after exposure to the reference toxicants bisphenol a (BPA) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were studied. LC 50 values were calculated and differences in body growth were recorded after 24, 48, and 72 h of exposure to the toxicants. The results indicated that BPA had lower toxicity than SDS. Development of the nauplii was clearly influenced by duration of exposure. Growth inhibition was detected for both toxicants. Abnormal growth of the central eye of several Artemia nauplii after 72 h of exposure to BPA was also detected. Our results indicate that growth inhibition could be used as a valid endpoint for toxicity studies.

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Barnacles are key space-occupiers in rocky shore communities on European coasts. Barnacles of the species Chthamalus stellatus (Poli, 1791) were collected between June 2014 and May 2015 from two sites, two stations per each site with varying degree of exposure to wave action and anthropogenic pressure (trampling), in the Eastern Mediterranean (Pagasitikos Gulf, Central Greece). This study addresses a knowledge gap in population characteristics of C. stellatus populations in the Eastern Mediterranean, assessing population structure and allometric relationships. Patterns of distribution and abundance (density and percentage cover) were studied both temporally (seasonally) and spatially (water level and site). Morphometric characteristics exhibited spatiotemporal variation. Population density was significantly higher at the site with higher wave exposure. The population cover exhibited high levels of similarity among shore levels, both spatially and temporally. Spatial distribution exhibited a clumped pattern of dispersion in autumn, winter, and spring, mainly in the sheltered site. Six dominant age groups were identified, with the dominant cohort in the third-year class. Significant negative allometric relationships were exhibited between all morphometric characteristics. Differences in growth patterns among populations were indicated, with a higher rate of growth at the site of lower wave exposure.

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