We report on specific magneto-capturing followed by Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) for the analysis of surface-exposed proteins of intact cells of the bacterial opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The magneto-separation of cell envelope fragments from the soluble cytoplasmic fraction allowed the MudPIT identification of the captured and neighboring proteins. Remarkably, we identified 63 proteins captured directly by nanoparticles and 67 proteins embedded in the cell envelope fragments. For a high number of proteins, our analysis strongly indicates either surface exposure or localization in an envelope district. The localization of most identified proteins was only predicted or totally unknown. This novel approach greatly improves the sensitivity and specificity of the previous methods, such as surface shaving with proteases that was also tested on P. aeruginosa. The magneto-capture procedure is simple, safe, and rapid, and appears to be well-suited for envelope studies in highly pathogenic bacteria.

Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as a feasible strategy for promoting adaptive capacities of cities to climate change by alleviating urban heat island (UHI) and thus heat stress for humans. However, GI can also intensify the winter cold stress. To understand the extent of UHI within a city as well as the link between outdoor thermal stress both diurnally and seasonally, we carried out an empirical study in Würzburg, Germany from 2018 to 2020. At sub-urban sites, relative humidity and wind speed (WS) was considerably higher and air temperature (AT) lower compared to the inner city sites. Mean AT of inner city sites were higher by 1.3 °C during summer and 5 °C during winter compared to sub-urban sites. The magnitude followed the spatial land use patterns, in particular the amount of buildings. Consequently, out of 97 hot days (AT > 30 °C) in 3 years, 9 days above the extreme threshold of wet bulb globe temperature of 35 °C were recorded at a centre location compared to none at a sub-urban site. Extreme heat stress could be halved with 30–40% cover of greenspaces including grass lawns, green roofs, and green walls with little compromise in increasing winter cold stress.

Crown shapes of common European urban tree species differ from tree species to tree species and are modified by the age of a tree and its local environment. A tree’s crown shape has a great influence on the crown volume and thus on the ecosystem service provision of a tree such as the shade area or the shade density. We used the data of 3852 tree individuals from eight German cities and the crown shape data of 528 trees for the species Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus, Aesculus hippocastanum, Fraxinus excelsior, Platanus × acerifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia and Tilia cordata to analyze tree structural dimensions and the crown volume and shade dependency on a tree’s crown shapes. Ovoid (57% of all tree individuals) and spherical (24%) crown shapes were mostly observed. However, columnar shape was observed for light-demanding R. pseudoacacia in close proximity of objects. The greatest shade areas were measured for spherical shape and the highest shade density for ovoid shape. Logistic regression analysis showed significant effects of age and distance to objects on crown shapes. Significant probability of crown shapes was found for different tree species, e.g., A. hippocastanum strongly showed half-ellipsoid crown shapes.

Urban forests play a critical role in improving the quality of life in cities, but in arid environments, little is known about the potential benefits and growth conditions of different tree species. Our study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the relationships between tree dimensions, above-ground biomass carbon storage, and shading potential in three common urban trees in the arid city of Jericho, Palestine, (i.e., Ficus nitida, Delonix regia, and Phoenix dactylifera). The trees were chosen according to their distribution in urban locations and tree vitality, with ages ranging from 20 to 90 years. Based on the results from tree structure measurements, the carbon storage and shading potential were calculated using the City Tree model. The results indicate a moderate to strong relationship between tree height, crown diameter, and crown volume for F. nitida and D. regia (R2 = 0.28–0.66), but no relationship for P. dactylifera (R2 = 0.03–0.06). The findings suggest that the analyzed tree species can considerably contribute to the potential benefits of trees in improving the climate of an arid city: D. regia shows a higher median of above-ground biomass carbon storage of 155 kg C tree−1, while P. dactylifera 91 kg C and F. nitida 76 Kg C. D. regia and F. nitida have a higher median of shading potential, (31 m2–41 m2), respectively. Information on the ecosystem services from urban trees and their relationships in terms of species, age, and tree planting urban location are very important for city planners, in relation to sustainable urban green spaces in arid cities.

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