Competition between Rhizobium strain NGR234 and Bradyrhizobium strain CP283 for nodulation in Siratro investigated with the GUS reporter gene

The use of the GUS reporter gene was found to be very suitable for studying the competitiveness of the Rhizobium strain NGR234 and Bradyrhizobium strain CP283 for nodulation in siratro. However, the expression from the transposon mTn5SSgusA20 declined in the nodules of old plants, particularly the nodules at 35 d after inoculation and onward. Siratro inoculated with both gusA-marked NGR234 and CP283 strains showed a similar nodulation and acetylene reduction activity (ARA) to those of their parental strains. No major changes in nodulation and symbiotic properties in these marked strains were observed. When the Rhizobium strain NGR234 and Bradyrhizobium strain CP283 were inoculated separately to siratro, both of them were found equally effective for nodulation in the plant. But when the Rhizobium strain NGR234, and gusAmarked Bradyrhizobium strain CP283 were co-inoculated to the plants in a ratio of 1:1, the strain NGR234 occupied 75% of the nodules, while, the strain CP283 occupied only 25%, irrespective of the growth stages and inoculum concentrations. Similar results were also observed in the plants in which the Bradyrhizobium strain CP283 and gusA-marked Rhizobium strain NGR234 had been co-inoculated. Thus, the Rhizobium strain NGR234 was more competitive for nodulation in siratro.     

Impact of tillage and nitrogen on cotton yield and quality in a wheat-cotton system,Pakistan

Growing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) after wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important cropping system in Pakistan. However, numerous tillage practices commonly applied for cotton production are not productive. Conservation tillage may optimize cotton yield and quality if nitrogen (N) is not a limiting factor. Field experiments were conducted on silty clay soil (Hyperthermic, and Typic Torrifluvents) of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan to study the impact of tillage techniques (zero (ZT), reduced (RT), and conventional tillage (CT)) and nitrogen, namely 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kg ha^–1 on cotton yield and quality. Mean values for N revealed that bolls plant^–1, boll weight, seed cotton yield, ginning out turn (GOT), fiber length, strength, and micronaire were highest at 150–200 kg N ha^–1. Averaged over years, tillage × nitrogen revealed that RT had higher bolls plant^–1, boll weight, GOT, fiber length, and strength at 150–200 kg N ha^–1 compared to other tillage system. The micronaire revealed that RT had no adverse effect on fiber fineness compared to ZT/CT. RT had accumulated higher soil organic matter and total soil N compared to CT. RT with 150–200 kg N ha^–1 may be a sustainable and environmentally safe strategy to enhance cotton yield and quality.     

Acid-induced gelation of enzymatically modified, preheated whey proteins

Low-pH whey protein gels are formulated using a sequential protocol of heat treatment, enzyme incubation, and cold-set acidification. The heat-induced disulfide and enzyme-catalyzed epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine linkages, both at neutral pH, produce a polymerized protein solution. The molecular weights of these samples show an exponential increase with protein concentration. The additional enzyme-catalyzed cross-links cause little change in molecular weight from that of heat-treated samples at low protein concentrations, indicating predominant intramolecular cross-linking. Enzyme treatment at higher protein concentration however causes increase in molecular weight, possibly due to formation of intermolecular cross-links. Acidification of the polymerized protein solutions through glucono-delta-lactone acid leads to gel formation at pH 4. The elastic (G') and viscous (G' ') moduli of gels with and without enzyme treatment show similar frequency dependence, indicating comparable microstructures, consistent with all samples exhibiting similar fractal dimensions of approximately 2 obtained independently using rheology and confocal microscopy. A substantial increase in fracture strain and stress of the gel is achieved by enzyme treatment. However, the elastic modulus (G') is only slightly larger after enzyme treatment compared with heat-treated samples. These results indicate that factors responsible for fracture properties may not be apparent in the gel microstructure and linear viscoelastic properties.     

Improved diffusion methods for determination of inorganic nitrogen in soil extracts and water

Diffusion methods previously developed for inorganic-N analysis of soil extracts were modified to improve reliability, increase the dynamic range, extend the scope of applications, and simplify the processing of samples for N-isotope analysis. In these methods, the soil extract is treated with MgO, or MgO plus Devarda‘s alloy, in a 473-ml (1-pint) wide-mouth Mason jar to convert NH₄ ⁺-N, NO₃ ^–-N, and/or NO₂ ^–-N to NH₃-N. The NH₃ thereby liberated is collected in H₃BO₃-indicator solution in a Petri dish suspended from the Mason-jar lid and determined quantitatively by acidimetric titration. With the modifications described, analyses can be performed on 10- to 100-ml samples of water, 0.5MK₂SO₄, 1MKCl, 2MKCl, or 4MKCl, at temperatures between 20 and 30°C. Recovery from 10 or 20ml was quantitative in 18–80h with up to 4mgN; recovery from 50 or 100ml was quantitative in 3–13 days with up to 2mgN. Removal of H₃BO₃ for N-isotope analysis by the Rittenberg process was effected using methanol. Mason-jar diffusion methods are much simpler and more convenient than conventional steam distillations. Comparative studies showed that quantitative determinations are more accurate and precise by diffusion than by distillation. Received: 15 May 1996     

Modification and characterization of biodegradable methylcellulose films with trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) by γ radiation: effect of nanocrystalline cellulose

Methylcellulose (MC)-based films were prepared by solution casting from its 1% aqueous suspension containing 0.25% glycerol. Trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) monomer (0.1-2% by wt) along with the glycerol was added to the MC suspension. The films were cast and irradiated from a radiation dose varied from 0.1 to 10 kGy. Then the mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), and elongation at break (Eb) and barrier properties of the films were evaluated. The highest TS (47.88 PMa) and TM (1791.50 MPa) of the films were found by using 0.1% monomer at 5 kGy dose. The lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) of the films was found to be 5.57 g·mm/m(2)·day·kPa (at 0.1% monomer and 5 kGy dose), which is 12.14% lower than control MC-based films. Molecular interactions due to incorporation of TMPTMA were supported by FTIR spectroscopy. A band at 1720 cm(-1) was observed due to the addition of TMPTMA in MC-based films, which indicated the typical (C═O) carbonyl stretching. For the further improvement of the mechanical and barrier properties of the film, 0.025-1% nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was added to the MC-based suspension containing 1% TMPTMA. Addition of NCC led to a significant improvement in the mechanical and barrier properties. The novelty of this investigation was to graft insoluble monomer using γ radiation with MC-based films and use of biodegradable NCC as the reinforcing agent.     

Optimizing nitrogen levels combined with gibberellic acid for enhanced yield, photosynthetic attributes, enzyme activities, and artemisinin content of Artemisia annua

Artemisia annua L. is an aromatic-antibacterial herb that destroys malarial parasites, lowers fever, and checks bleeding, and from which the secondary compound of interest is artemisinin. It has become increasingly popular as an effective and safe alternative therapy against malaria, and its derivatives are effective against multidrug resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains. Nitrogen is required by the plants in the largest quantity and is most limiting where biomass production is desired. On the other hand, gibberellic acid plays an important role in flowering, growth, and development and also in other physiological and biochemical processes. The feasibility of foliar GA₃ (75 mg·L⁻¹) alone or with varying levels of soil applied nitrogen (40, 80, and 120 mg·kg⁻¹ soil) was tested on A. annua in the present study. The application of GA₃ proved effective in alleviating the growth, photosynthesis, and enzyme activities of A. annua. However, N levels combined with GA₃ showed better responses, and further improvement in these parameters was observed. Furthermore, the most important task we were interested in was to increase the artemisinin content and its yield on a per plant basis. The N combination (80 mg·kg⁻¹ soil) together with GA₃ augmented the content (21.8% more) and yield (55.8% more); this is true for both the treated plants, which were more than the control.     

苏丹GNPOC原油管道减阻剂工业试验及应用

介绍了在苏丹GNPOC原油长输管道超长管段上采用EP W2 0 3减阻剂进行工业试验及其应用情况。先后在 1号站和 3号站间进行 1号站单点注入减阻试验与增输试验 ,在 1号站和 2号站进行两点注入增输试验。其后开始例行两点注入工业应用。分析了减阻剂工业应用中存在的问题 ,由于原油来源发生变化 ,原油粘度升高 ,同时受到雨季环境条件的影响 ,导致该管道 2号、3号站间原油雷诺数大大降低 ,因此降低了减阻剂的作用效果     

Population dynamics of citrus leaf miner on different varieties of citrus in correlation with abiotic environmental factors in Sargodha District,Punjab, Pakistan

From January 2010 to December 2011, samples of leaves from citrus varieties Kinnow, Musambi and Feutral were taken from the five tehsils (administrative subdivisions) of Sargodha District in Pakistan including Sargodha, Bahalwal, Silanwalli, Sahiwal and Kotmomin, to study the population trends in citrus leaf miner (CLM), Phyllocnistis citrella (Stainton) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), and its correlation with various environmental factors: (temperature, humidity and rainfall); plant morphological factors: moisture contents of leaves, leaf thickness, surface area (cm ² ), and biochemical percentage of calcium, potassium and magnesium in leaves. The maximum population of CLM was observed on Kinnow and Feutral, followed by Musambi. The effect of these factors on the larval population was 8.39- 2.30(Mg)+2.73(K)-0.398(Ca)-0.100(Temp)0.038(Humidity)+0.567(Rain)+0.07(Moist) 1.01 (Thickness)-0.022(Surface area). This equation revealed that magnesium, calcium, temperature, humidity, leaf thickness and leaf surface area are negatively correlated with larvae population, whereas potassium, rainfall and moisture are positively correlated with larvae population.     

Mixed-function oxidase activity toward cyclodiene insecticides in bass and bluegill sunfish

Microsomal mixed-function oxidase (MFO) was characterized in liver of freshwater fishes, bass, Micropterus dolomeiux, and bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, using the chlorinated cyclodiene insecticide aldrin as a substrate.The MFO activity of bluegill adults, bluegill fry, and bass fry using cyclodienes as substrates was compared with that of mouse. Aldrin epoxidase activity was found to be high in bluegill fry (73% of the activity in mouse) compared to bluegill adults (13% of the activity in mouse).Chlordene was found to be metabolized by both fish and mouse MFO to chlordene 2,3-epoxide and 1-hydroxychlordene.Competitive inhibition between various cyclodiene substrates studied in mouse and fish showed that endrin was a potent inhibitor of aldrin epoxidation in vitro.