Effects of AG1 and AG2 QTLs on Nonstructural Carbohydrate and Seed Management Options for Rice Seedling Growth and Establishment under Flooding Stress

Rice (Oryza sativa) plants acquired excess photosynthates in the form of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) in their stems and grain. Despite keen interest in rice NSC, the dynamics of NSC accumulation, translocation and re-accumulation have not yet been well investigated. AG1 and AG2 QTLs associated with flooding tolerance through catalyzing starch into soluble sugar in germinating seeds. Here we conducted three experiments, greenhouse and field to lay the groundwork for large-scale diversity studies on grain NSC and some agronomic traits under direct-seeded rice (DSR) system, using elite lines incorporating AG1, AG2 and AG1-AG2 QTLs into the popular varieties PSB Rc82 and Ciherang-Sub1 along with the donors Kho Hlan On (AG1) and Ma-Zhan Red (AG2). In germinating seedlings, soluble sugars increased, while starch concentration decreased gradually especially in the tolerant checks and AG1-AG2 introgression lines under flooded soil. Soluble sugar accumulation in stem started to increase from the vegetative stage and peaked at the panicle initiation stage then gradually decreased towards the maturity stage. But Sub1-AG lines had higher sugar and starch concentrations at different growth stages than other genotypes in wet season 2016 and dry season 2017. Plant survival rate was positively correlated with the stem NSC at the early vegetative stage (21 days after sowing), and stem NSC was positively associated with plant height at different growth stages. Among the tested seeding rate, the most suitable seeding rate, 4 g/m² with shallow burial depth (0.5 cm), resulted in better seedling establishment, relatively higher seedling vigor index and higher leaf area index under flooding in DSR system. Introgression of AG1-AG2 QTLs had no any negative impact on nonstructural carbohydrate, germination rate, and growth and biomass production.     

Effects of thyroxine,cod liver oil and potassium iodide on growth and survival of juvenile seahorse,Hippocampus barbouri

Low survival at early stage is the bottleneck in seahorse aquaculture, particularly in the feeding aspect since newborn seahorses must feed immediately upon birth to sustain themselves. Seahorses are visual predator, therefore preferred live feed such as zooplankton. In aquaculture, the most common live feed used is Artemia. In this study, two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of different Artemia enrichment on the growth and survival of newborn Hippocampus barbouri. In the first experiment, six treatments using Artemia enriched with Culture Selco Plus? (SELCO), thyroxine (T4), potassium iodide (KI), cod liver oil (CLO), cod liver oil in combination with thyroxine (CLO + T4) and potassium iodide (CLO+KI) were fed to newborn H. barbouri. Newly hatched Artemia were used as control. At the end of first experiment, treatments using CLO + T4 produced juvenile H. barbouri with the best (p < .05) wet weight (0.142 ± 0.000 g), while juvenile in treatment CLO+KI recorded the highest (p < .05) standard length (3.947 ± 0.014 cm). Subsequently, a second experiment was carried out using the two best enrichment (CLO + T4 and CLO + KI) from the first experiment, but given at different frequency (daily, twice a week, once a week, once in 2 weeks). Daily enrichment using both CLO + T4 and CLO + KI showed no significant (p > .05) difference in growth performance and survival of juvenile of H. barbouri. Interestingly, juvenile fed CLO + T4 enriched Artemia at frequency of twice a week also has no significant difference (p > .05) in survival and growth performance (except for final standard length) when compared with treatment CLO + T4 at daily frequency.     

Teleconnection of rainfall time series in the central Nile Basin with sea surface temperature

We investigated teleconnections of rainfall time series in the central Nile Basin (Sudan and South Sudan) with localities in the global sea surface temperature (SST) field, using monthly rainfall data from 11 gauging stations from 1960 to 1999. Annual rainfall ranged from 100 mm in the north to more than 700 mm in the south, and all stations had a strong contrast between rainy and dry seasons with rainless dry periods of several months. Rainfall time series at the stations were categorized as strongly seasonal, with precipitation concentration index exceeding 16 and seasonality index exceeding 0.9. The rainfall stations were classified into four zones on the basis of annual rainfall, seasonality, and cross-correlations among the stations. We calculated cross-correlations of interannual rainfall time series in summer (July and August) with the global SST field. For short lag times (0 or 1 month), summer rainfall in Zones I and II (northern arid regions) had significant correlations with SST over the eastern Mediterranean Sea and southern Indian Ocean, summer rainfall in Zone III (semiarid region) had significant negative correlations with SST over the Indian Ocean, and summer rainfall in Zone IV (southern wet region) had significant correlations with SST over tropical areas and the southwestern Pacific Ocean. For long lag times (3–6 months), Nile Basin summer rainfall time series had significant correlations with SST in various regions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans but not the Pacific Ocean. Rainfall in Zones I and II had positive correlations (significance level?<?0.01) with SST south of Greenland and around the Azores Islands and negative correlations with SST south of Madagascar; rainfall in Zone III had negative correlations with SST in parts of the Indian Ocean; and rainfall in Zone IV had significant positive correlations with SST southwest of South Africa and negative correlations with SST in the southwestern Indian Ocean. In sum, rainfall in three of the zones (I, II, and IV) had significant positive and negative correlations with SST in parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. For each of these zones, one positive correlation and one negative correlation were selected and correlations with the time series of the difference between the two SST records were calculated. Correlations of Nile Basin rainfall with the SST differences were stronger than the original positive and negative correlations. The resulting time series of SST difference were applied to an artificial neural network to predict summer rainfall, yielding satisfactory correlation coefficients between the observed and predicted summer rainfall (r?>?0.70).     

Repeated oral administration of a cathepsin K inhibitor significantly suppresses bone resorption in exercising horses with evidence of increased bone formation and maintained bone turnover

Our investigations evaluated the effect of VEL‐0230, a highly specific irreversible inhibitor of cathepsin K (CatK). The objectives of our study were to determine whether repeated dosing of a CatK inhibitor (CatKI) produced a desired inhibition of the bone resorption biomarker (CTX‐1), and document the effect of repeated dosing on bone homeostasis, structure, and dynamics of bone resorption and formation in horses. Twelve young exercising horses were randomized in a prospective, controlled clinical trial and received 4 weekly doses of a CatKI or vehicle. Baseline and poststudy nuclear scintigraphy, blood sampling and analysis of plasma bone biomarkers (CTX‐1 and osteocalcin), poststudy bone fluorescent labeling, and bone biopsy were performed. Bone specimens were further processed for microcomputed tomography and bone histomorphometry. Each dose of this CatKI transiently inhibited plasma CTX‐1 (reflecting inhibition of bone collagen resorption) and increased bone plasma osteocalcin concentrations, with no detectable adverse effect on normal bone turnover in the face of exercise. Bone morphology, density, and formation rate were not different between control and treated group. Further investigation of CatK inhibition in abnormal bone turnover is required in animals with bone diseases.     

Evaluation of mechanical properties of jute/glass/carbon fibers reinforced hybrid composites

A study on the tensile and flexural properties of jute-glass-carbon fibers reinforced epoxy hybrid composites in inter-ply configuration is presented in this paper. Test specimens were manufactured by hand lay-up process and their tensile and flexural properties were obtained. The effects of the hybridization, different fibers content and plies stacking sequence on the mechanical properties of the tested hybrid composites were investigated. Two-parameter Weibull distribution function was used to statistically analyze the experimental results. The failure probability graphs for the tested composites were drawn. These graphs are important tools for helping the designers to understand and choose the suitable material for the required design and development. Results showed that the hybridization process can potentially improve the tensile and flexural properties of jute reinforced composite. The flexural strength decreases when partial laminas from a carbon/epoxy laminate are replaced by glass/epoxy or jute/epoxy laminas. Also, it is realized that incorporating high strength fibers to the outer layers of the composite leads to higher flexural resistance, whilst the order of the layers doesn’t affect the tensile properties.     

Characterisation of sweet stem sorghum genotypes for bio-ethanol production

In an effort to characterise and select promising sweet stem sorghum genotypes with enhanced biofuel productivity, the present study investigated phenotypic variability present among diverse sweet stem sorghum genotypes based on ethanol production and related agronomic traits. One hundred and ninety genotypes were evaluated. Data were subjected to variance, cluster, correlation, path coefficient and principal component analyses. Significant differences (P?<?0.01) were detected among tested genotypes for all measured traits. Days to flowering varied from 62 to 152 with a mean of 93. Plant height varied from 90 to 420?cm with a mean of 236?cm. Stem diameter ranged from 7 to 31?mm with a mean of 16?mm. Biomass yield varied from 6.668 to 111.2?t?ha^?1 with a mean of 30?t?ha^?1. Stalk dry matter content ranged from 17.2% to 44.2% with a mean of 29.8%, while fibre content varied from 8.92% to 34.8% with a mean of 17.2%. The stalk brix yield varied from 3.3% to 18.9% with a mean of 12.1%. Ethanol productivity ranged from 240.9 to 5500?l?ha^?1 with a mean of 1886?l?ha^?1. The best ethanol producing genotypes were AS203, AS391, AS205, AS251 and AS448. Days to flowering, plant height, stalk brix and stem diameter exerted the greatest indirect effects on ethanol production through higher biomass production. Biomass yield had the greatest direct effect on ethanol production. Therefore, the above traits should be considered during breeding sorghum for bio-ethanol production. Also, the traits had high heritability values, hence selection should provide for good genetic gains. Overall, the above sweet stem sorghum genotypes are useful genetic resources for breeding of sorghum with enhanced bio-ethanol production.     

Analysis of genomic mutation and immunohistochemistry of platelet‐derived growth factor receptors in canine vascular tumours

We examined whether mutation of the platelet‐derived growth factor receptor protein tyrosine kinase (PDGFR)‐α and PDGFR‐β genes contributes to their overexpression in canine vascular tumours. Genomic sequences of trans‐ or juxtamembrane regions of PDGFR‐α and PDGFR‐β were analysed with immunohistochemical staining and polymerase chain reaction‐direct sequencing using DNA from paraffin‐embedded neoplastic tissues of 27 hemangiosarcomas (HSAs) and 20 hemangiomas (HAs). Immunohistochemically, 75% of the HA cases were positive for PDGFR‐α and almost most of the HA cases were negative for PDGFR‐β. Of the HSA cases, 55.6% were negative for PDGFR‐α and 63% were strongly positive for PDGFR‐β. Among the HA cases, 1 missense mutation was detected in PDGFR‐α exon 18 and 1 in PDGFR‐β exon 17. Two HSA cases had missense mutations in exon 14 and 1 in exon 17 of PDGFR‐β. Thus, genomic mutation of trans‐ or juxtamembrane regions of PDGFRs was not the main mechanism driving the activation of receptors in HSA and HA.     

The residual level of isoprothiolane in paddy field surface water and its acute toxicity level on freshwater prawn,Macrobrachium lanchesteri

Paddy and Water Environment - The application of isoprothiolane in rice cultivation may give a risk to the aquatic ecosystem. The present study was undertaken to determine the level of...     

Comparative genome analysis reveals a distinct influence of nucleotide composition on virus–host species‐specific interaction of prawn‐infecting nodavirus

Discovery of species‐specific interaction between the host and virus has drawn the interest of many researchers to study the evolution of the newly emerged virus. Comparative genome analysis provides insights of the virus functional genome evolution and the underlying mechanisms of virus–host interactions. The analysis of nucleotide composition signified the evolution of nodavirus towards host specialization in a host‐specific mutation manner. GC‐rich genome of betanodavirus was significantly deficient in UpA and UpU dinucleotides composition, whilst the AU‐rich genome of gammanodavirus was deficient in CpG dinucleotide. The capsid of MrNV and PvNV of gammanodavirus retains the highest abundance of adenine and uracil at the second codon position, respectively, which were found to be very distinctive from the other genera. ENC‐GC3 plot inferred the influence of natural selection and mutational pressure in shaping the evolution of MrNV RdRp and capsid, respectively. Furthermore, CAI/eCAI analysis predicts a comparable adaptability of MrNV in squid, Sepia officinalis than its natural host, Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Thus, further study is warranted to investigate the capacity of MrNV replication in S. officinalis owing to its high codon adaptation index.     

Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic N-Doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> for Degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5) Dye

Bisphenol A (BPA) and reactive black 5 (RB5) dye are among the most persistent and non-biodegradable contaminants in water which require an urgent need for the development of effective removal method. The ubiquitous existence of both contaminants could interfere with the human health and aquatic environmental balance. Photocatalytic process as one of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) has shown high performance for degradation of organic compounds to the harmless materials under sensible condition. Therefore, this study aims to develop a visible-light-driven photocatalyst that can efficiently degrade BPA and RB5 present in household water. N-doped TiO₂ were successfully synthesized via simple and direct sol–gel method. The prepared TiO₂ nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Brunauere Emmette Teller (BET) analysis. The incorporation of nitrogen in TiO₂ lattice exhibited excellent optical responses to visible region as revealed by UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy absorption capability at 400–600 nm. The photocatalytic activity of the N-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles was measured by photocatalytic degradation of BPA and RB5 in an aqueous solution under visible-light irradiations. Degradation of BPA and RB5 was 91.3% and 89.1%, respectively after 360 min illumination. The degradation of BPA and RB5 by N-doped TiO₂ was increased up to 89.8% and 88.4%, respectively under visible-light irradiation as compared to commercial TiO₂ P25. This finding clearly shows that N-doped TiO₂ exhibits excellent photocatalytic degradation of BPA and RB5 under visible irradiation, hence have a promising potential in removing various recalcitrant contaminants for water treatment to fulfill the public need to consume clean water.

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