Evaluation of Various Drying Methods on Bioactives,Ascorbic Acid and Antioxidant Potentials of Talinum triangulare L., foliage

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of different drying methods (room, sun, oven, microwave, cross-flow, infra-red, dehumidifier, and freeze-drying)...     

Effect of Oil Overlay on Inhibition Potential of Roscovitine in Sheep Cumulus‐Oocyte Complexes

Inhibitors of cyclin‐dependent kinases, as roscovitine, have been used to prevent the spontaneous resumption of meiosis in vitro and to improve the oocyte developmental competence. In this study, the interference of oil overlay on the reversible arrest capacity of roscovitine in sheep oocytes as well as its effects on cumulus expansion was evaluated. For this, cumulus‐oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured for 20 h in TCM 199 with 10% foetal bovine serum (Control) containing 75 μm roscovitine (Rosco). Subsequently, they were in vitro matured (IVM) for further 18 h in inhibitor‐free medium with LH and FSH. The culture was performed in Petri dishes under mineral oil (+) or in 96 well plates without oil overlay (?) at 38.5°C and 5% CO₂. At 20 and 38 h, the cumulus expansion and nuclear maturation were evaluated under stereomicroscope and by Hoechst 33342 staining, respectively. No group presented cumulus expansion at 20 h. After additional culture with gonadotrophins, a significant rate of COCs from both Control groups (+/?) exhibited total expansion while in both Rosco groups (+/?) the partial expansion prevailed. Among the oocytes treated with roscovitine, 65.2% were kept at GV in the absence of oil overlay while 40.6% of them reached MII under oil cover (p < 0.05). This meiotic arrest was reversible, and proper meiosis progression also occurred in the Control groups (+/?). So, the culture system without oil overlay improved the meiotic inhibition promoted by roscovitine without affecting the cumulus expansion rate or the subsequent meiosis progression.     

Plant defense activation and management of tomato root rot by a chitin-fortified <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichoderma/Hypocrea</Emphasis> formulation

Tomato root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani is a major soilborne disease resulting in significant yield loss. The culture filtrates of six isolates of Trichoderma/Hypocrea species were evaluated for in vitro production of hydrolytic enzymes. Results demonstrated that all the six isolates were able to produce chitinase, β-1, 3 glucanase and protease in the range of 76–235 μmol GlcNAc min^-1 mg^-1 protein, 31.90–37.72 nmol glucose min^-1 mg^-1 proteins and 63.05–86.22 μmol min^-1 mg^-1 proteins, respectively. Trichoderma/Hypocrea-based formulation(s) were prepared with chitin (1% v:v) and CMC (0.5% w:v) for root rot management in a greenhouse. Root dip application with bioformulation(s) resulted in a significant reduction of the root rot index. In addition, bioformulations increased plant growth attributing traits significantly relative to untreated control. Accumulation of total phenols, peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase increased in chitin-supplemented Trichoderma/Hypocrea formulation-treated plants challenged with R. solani. The results suggest that chitin-fortified bioformulation(s) could be an effective system to control root rot of tomato in an eco-compatible manner.     

Sensitivity analysis and auto-calibration of ORYZA2000 using simulation-optimization framework

There has been an increasing interest to employ crop growth simulation models for taking decision on irrigation water management. The effectiveness of such decisions mainly lies on the efficiency of the model in simulating the crop growth and the yield, which are influenced by the value of the parameters of the model. Therefore, calibration of such models is necessary before it can be employed for any application. This study proposes an auto-calibration procedure for ORYZA2000, a rice crop growth simulation model, for its application in South India. The data employed for calibration is taken from a field experiment conducted for 2 years in an experimental farm in South India. The ORYZA2000 model was integrated within Genetic Algorithm optimizer, which calls the simulator during each generation to evaluate the objective function. The auto-calibrated model was tested for its performance using a validation data set from the same experimental data. The results showed that the calibrated ORYZA2000 model is capable of simulating the full irrigation and water stress condition of rice crop effectively, and can be used to develop deficit irrigation management schedules.     

Lymphoid organ cell culture system from Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) as a platform for white spot syndrome virus and shrimp immune-related gene expression

Shrimp cell lines are yet to be reported and this restricts the prospects of investigating the associated viral pathogens, especially white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). In this context, development of primary cell cultures from lymphoid organs was standardized. Poly-l-lysine-coated culture vessels enhanced growth of lymphoid cells, while the application of vertebrate growth factors did not, except insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Susceptibility of the lymphoid cells to WSSV was confirmed by immunofluoresence assay using monoclonal antibody against the 28 kDa envelope protein of WSSV. Expression of viral and immune-related genes in WSSV-infected lymphoid cultures could be demonstrated by RT-PCR. This emphasizes the utility of lymphoid primary cell culture as a platform for research in virus-cell interaction, virus morphogenesis, up and downregulation of shrimp immune-related genes, and also for the discovery of novel drugs to combat WSSV in shrimp culture.     

Antagonism of detomidine with tolazoline in isoflurane-anaesthetised ponies

The effects of tolazoline (4.0 mg/kg iv) antagonism of detomidine (0.02 mg/kg iv) were evaluated in isoflurane-anaesthetised, ventilated ponies. Each of 6 ponies received both tolazoline and saline treatment during separate anaesthetic episodes only (no surgery was performed). Detomidine administration produced an increase in blood pressure, decrease in heart rate and decrease in P_aO₂ Tolazoline treatment transiently increased heart rate while blood pressure returned to baseline after both treatments. Arterial oxygenation decreased further after tolazoline treatment while oxgenation recovered towards baseline with saline treatment. No other cardiopulmonary effects were detected. Recovery from anaesthesia tended to be more rapid when detomidine was antagonized. The potential benefit of antagonizing detomidine-induced bradycardia with tolazoline, during isoflurane anaesthesia should be weighed against the potential to produce a decrease in arterial oxygenation. The mechanism for this effect is not clear.     

Effect of pH on rheotaxis of bull sperm using microfluidics

The aim of the present research is to study the effect of pH values on the sperm rheotaxis properties. Semen collected from bulls was diluted with SOF medium (1:10). pH of the medium was adjusted using a digital pH meter to the following pH values: 6.0, 6.2, 6.4, 6.4, 6.8, 7.0. All kinetic parameters of sperm (n = 3,385) were determined through a computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system using microfluidic devices with controlled flow velocity. The following parameters were determined: total motility (TM%), positive rheotaxis (PR%), straightline velocity (VSL, μm/s), average path velocity (VAP, μm/s), linearity (LIN, as VSL/VCL, %), beat cross‐frequency (BCF, Hz) and curvilinear velocity (VCL, μm/s). Nitric oxide, calcium and potassium were estimated in semen at different pH values. To confirm the effect of nitric oxide and K⁺, we used sodium nitroprusside (an NO donor) and KCL as (a K⁺ donor) to see their effect on sperm PR%. The results showed no difference in TM% at pH (6–7). The PR% was the lowest at pH 6 and 7. The best parameters for the PR% were at pH 6.4–6.6. The concentration of Ca⁺² did not change at different pH values. The mean NO values decreased with the increase of pH; however, the mean values of K⁺ increased with the increase of pH. Addition of high concentration of NO and K⁺ to the semen media at fixed pH level had a negative effect on TM% and PR%. In conclusion, the bull sperm had the best rheotaxis properties at pH 6.4–6.6 and sensitive to the change of seminal NO and K⁺.     

Simrank: Rapid and sensitive general-purpose k-mer search tool

Background  

Terabyte-scale collections of string-encoded data are expected from consortia efforts such as the Human Microbiome Project . Intra- and inter-project data similarity searches are enabled by rapid k-mer matching strategies. Software applications for sequence database partitioning, guide tree estimation, molecular classification and alignment acceleration have benefited from embedded k-mer searches as sub-routines. However, a rapid, general-purpose, open-source, flexible, stand-alone k-mer tool has not been available.