Study of Photo and Thermoluminescence Properties to Identify Irradiated Dried-Fishery Products

ABSTRACT

Radiation-specific luminescence properties in irradiated dried-fishery products (pollack, little pollack, clams, and shrimp) were investigated at different dose levels (0–10 kGy). Photostimulated luminescence (PSL) analysis of whole samples was effective for dried clams and shrimp, while low PSL sensitivity was observed in dried pollack and little pollack. Thermoluminescence (TL) analysis was conducted after isolation of silicate minerals, in which the two methods of mineral isolation—density separation and acid hydrolysis—were compared. Irradiated samples were easily distinguishable through the strong TL glow curves, with maximum peaks in temperature range of 150–250°C. TL ratios (TL₁/TL₂) were < 0.1 for nonirradiated samples, while > 0.1 for irradiated. There was a clear effect of applied irradiation dose, with a negligible effect of the method used for mineral separation. The mineral composition showed that feldspar and quartz minerals were mainly responsible for the well-characterized luminescence behavior upon irradiation.     

Assessment of Yield and Yield Component of Soybean Genotypes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Glycine Max</Emphasis> L.) in North of Khuzestan

18 soybean genotypes were examined to investigate the relationships between some principal attributions of morphology with seed yield per soybean, by Random Complete Block Design (RCBD) study. This study was also carried out three replicates to gain reliable results. The results of variance analysis indicated that, there were significance differences among all soybean genotypes. Moreover, the results of correlated analysis revealed that biological yield (0.96), harvest index (0.92), and number of branches (0.92) had the uttermost correlation with seed yield. To data factor analysis, four independent variables justified 99 percent of all data. The first variable, seed yield, justified 96 percent of entire variance. Multiple-Regression Model with method Analytical Regression Model (step-by-step) was utilized to examine soybean seed yield. This model proved that biological yield, thousand seed weight, and harvest index entered into model respectively and justified 98.85 percent of variation of seed yield. Correlated coefficients of considered attributions were equal to 0.96, 0.78, and 0.92, respectively. All of these indexes had significant at 1% in statistical process. Therefore, these traits can be notability used in soybean breeding programs. Also, accordance to cluster analysis, the sample was divided into three groups.     

Genetic appraisal of serological response post vaccination against enterotoxaemia (ET) in Malpura and Avikalin sheep

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Enterotoxaemia (ET) is a fatal enteric disease of small ruminants attributable to a toxigenic type of Clostridium perfringens. The key strategy for...     

Exogenous glycinebetaine application improves yield under water-limited conditions in hybrid sunflower

Limited water availability is a severe threat to the sustainability of crop production. Exogenous application of glycinebetaine (GB) has been found very effective in reducing the adverse affects of water scarcity. This study was conducted to examine the role of exogenous GB application in improving the yield of hybrid sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under different irrigation regimes. There were three levels of irrigation: Control (four irrigations), three irrigations (irrigation missing at budding stage) and two irrigations (irrigation missing at budding and grain formation stage) in the experiment. While GB was applied exogenously at 100 mM GB each at budding and grain formation stages, the Control treatment did not receive any GB application. Data regarding yield, yield components and quality parameters showed that water stress reduced the head diameter, number of achene per head, 1000-achene weight and yield. Nonetheless, it was significantly improved by the exogenous GB application. Among the qualitative characteristics, protein contents were significantly increased by water stress at different growth stages but were reduced by exogenous GB application. Whilst oil contents were reduced by drought at different stages, GB application, however, did not ameliorate the negative effect of drought stress on achene oil contents. The effects of water stress and foliar application of GB were more pronounced when applied at vegetative stage than at the reproductive stage. Moreover, exogenous GB application was only advantageous under stress conditions.     

Neuronal Differentiation of Rat Hair Follicle Stem Cells: the Involvement of the Neuroprotective Factor Seladin-1 (DHCR24)

Background: The seladin-1 (selective Alzheimer disease indicator-1), also known as DHCR24, is a gene found to be down-regulated in brain region affected by Alzheimer disease (AD). Whereas, hair follicle stem cells (HFSC), which are affected in with neurogenic potential, it might to hypothesize that this multipotent cell compartment is the predominant source of seladin-1. Our aim was to evaluate seladin-1 gene expression in hair follicle stem cells. Methods: In this study, bulge area of male Wistar rat HFSC were cultured and then characterized with Seladin-1 immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry on days 8 to 14. Next, 9-11-day cells were evaluated for seladin-1 gene expression by real-time PCR. Results: Our results indicated that expression of the seladin-1 gene (DHCR24) on days 9, 10, and 11 may contribute to the development of HFSC. However, the expression of this gene on day 11 was more than day 10 and on 10^th day was more than day 9. Also, we assessed HFSC on day 14 and demonstrated these cells were positive for β-ш tubulin, and seladin-1 was not expressed in this day. Conclusion: HFSC express seladin-1 and this result demonstrates that these cells might be used to cell therapy for AD in future. Key Words: Seladin-1 (selective Alzheimer disease indicator-1), Alzheimer disease (AD), Hair follicle stem cells     

Characterization of Drought Tolerance in Bread Wheat Genotypes Using Physiological Indices

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a staple food in many countries and is regarded as a vital source of nutrition. Drought is one the most prevalent limitations to wheat growth and development. Herein a two year study was conducted using 25 diverse wheat genotypes obtained from the gene pool of various research institutes of Pakistan to characterize their drought tolerance using various physiological indices like relative water content (RWC), relative dry weight (RDW), water saturation deficit (WSD), relative water loss (RWL), flag leaf area (LA), chlorophyll content index (CC) and their association with the grain yield (GY). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated the presence of significant amount of differences and genetic diversity among genotypes under study. Correlation analysis exposed positive association of CC and LA with GY. However, RWC was shown to have a highly significant and negative association with WSD and RWL. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that out of the 7 PCs only 2 were significant having eigenvalues >?1; cumulatively accounting for 88.70% and 73.03% of the total variation under control and drought stress conditions, respectively. Strikingly the results of the PCA biplots and cluster heat map exposed G1 (Barani-17), G2 (Dharabi-11), G3 (Ehsan-16), G4 (Chakwal-50), G17 (Ujala-2016) and G23 (Kohistan-97) as potential drought tolerant genotypes. Selection of the positively associated indices would be fruitful and the tolerant genotypes having drought tolerance potential could be utilized in future wheat breeding programs to develop high yielding and drought tolerant genotypes.

     

Sensitive variables controlling salinity and water table in a bio-drainage system

Bio-drainage can be considered as an important part of sustainable irrigation water management. Bio-drainage has potential for managing shallow water conditions in arid and semiarid areas especially when traditional subsurface drains are not available. Bio-drainage theory does not go back too far. The relationship between soil characteristics, water management regimes, and climatic conditions is not yet well defined. This study attempted to use a mathematical model (SAHYSMOD) to evaluate factors affecting design and operation of a bio-drainage system and study its sensitivity to different variables. The study showed that the major constraint of bio-drainage is salt accumulation in tree plantation strips in arid and semiarid regions. Maximum soil water salinity which can be controlled by bio-drainage is around 3 dS m^?1 in rather medium run and sustainability may only be achieved where a salt removal mechanism is considered. The study also showed that the effectiveness of the system is higher where the neighboring strips are narrower. It also showed that bio-drainage is very sensitive to the amount of applied water. While the barrier depth does not have an important effect on water table draw down, it does have a great influence on lowering the salinization rate of tree plantation strips. The application of bio-drainage could be economically controversial since in humid areas water is sufficient for agricultural crops, allocating parts of the expensive land to mostly non-fruit trees may not be feasible, while in arid and semiarid regions there is usually enough cheap land to grow trees.     

Volatile organic sulfur-containing constituents in Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. (Rutaceae)

During our screening of plant materials to find new natural fragrance and flavor ingredients, we discovered two series of 3-sulfanylalkyl alkanoates in a peel extract of fruits of wild-growing Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. (Rutaceae), a species closely related to Citrus. The two series belong to alkanoates of 3-methyl-3-sulfanylbutan-1-ol and 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol, respectively, and thus are members of a family of natural molecules having in common a 1,3-positioned O,S moiety. The alkanoate residues comprise all even-numbered saturated fatty acids from C2 (acetate) to C18 (octadecanoate). Among the 20 sulfur-containing compounds identified, 14 are described for the first time as naturally occurring in a botanical species. Several cysteine-S-conjugates were synthesized as hypothetical precursors of the new volatile sulfur-containing constituents, where after S-(3-hydroxy-1,1-dimethylpropyl)-L-cysteine, S-[3-(acetyloxy)-1,1-dimethylpropyl]-L-cysteine, and S-[1-(2-hydroxyethyl)butyl]-L-cysteine were identified in the fruit peel. No cysteine-S-conjugates were detected in the fruit juice.     

Growth and photosynthesis of salt‐stressed sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants as affected by foliar‐applied different potassium salts

In order to assess the effectiveness of foliar‐applied potassium (K⁺, 1.25%) using different salts (KCl, KOH, K₂CO₃, KNO₃, KH₂PO₄, and K₂SO₄) in ameliorating the inhibitory effect of salt stress on sunflower plants, a greenhouse experiment was conducted. Sodium chloride (150 mM) was applied through the rooting medium to 18 d–old plants and after 1 week of salt treatment; different K⁺‐containing salts were applied twice in 1‐week interval as a foliar spray. Salt stress adversely affected the growth, yield components, gas exchange, and water relations, and also caused nutrient imbalance in sunflower plants. However, foliar‐applied different sources of potassium improved shoot and root fresh and shoot dry weights, achene yield, 100‐achene weight, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, water‐use efficiency, relative water content, and leaf and root K⁺ concentrations of sunflower plants grown under saline conditions. Under nonsaline conditions, improvement in shoot fresh weight, achene yield, 100‐achene weight, photosynthetic and transpiration rates, and root Na⁺ concentration was observed due to foliar‐applied different K sources. Of the different salts, K₂SO₄, KH₂PO₄, KNO₃, and K₂CO₃ were more effective than KCl and KOH in improving growth and some key physiological processes of sunflower plants.