Introgression and hybridization are major impediments to genomic-based species delimitation because many implementations of the multispecies coalescent framework assume no gene flow among species. The sunfish genus Lepomis, one of the world’s most popular groups of freshwater sport fish, has a complicated taxonomic history. The results of ddRAD phylogenomic analyses do not provide support for the current taxonomy that recognizes two species, L. megalotis and L. peltastes, in the L. megalotis complex. Instead, evidence from...

The membrane proteins (MPs) alpha-synuclein (ASYN) and bacteriorhodopsin (BR) were readily incorporated into bicontinuous microemulsions (BMEs) formed by two microemulsion systems: water/heptane/Aerosol-OT (AOT)/CK-2,13 and water/dodecane/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/1-pentanol. (CK-2,13 is an alkyl ethoxylate possessing two alkyl tail groups of carbon chain length 2 and 13 and an average degree of ethoxylation of 5.6.) MPs were encapsulated in BMEs through preparation of Winsor-III systems at optimal salinity, with the anionic surfactants AOT and SDS providing the...

Plastic mulch films contribute to better crop production. Concerns for lack of sustainable disposal methods for conventional polyethylene (PE) mulch led to development of biodegradable plastic mulches (BDMs) that can be soil-incorporated or composted after use. Environmental weathering of BDMs during crop growth reduces their mechanical strength and alters the molecular structure of their polymeric components. However, the impact of weathering on BDMs’ biodegradability is not fully understood. The biodegradability of agriculturally weathered and unweathered...