The effects of irrigation water salinity, potassium nitrate fertilization, proline spraying and leaching fraction on the growth and chemical composition of corn grown in calcareous soil

Two pot experiments were conducted to study the effect of irrigation with saline water in relation to KNO3 fertilization, proline spraying and leaching fraction on the growth and Na+, K+, Cl-, NO3 - and proline contents of corn (Zea mays L.) plant grown on a nonsaline calcareous soil. The treatments included irrigation waters of different salinity (0.54, 3.36, 5.88 or 7.95 dS/m), three rates of KNO3 (0, 4 and 8 g/pot) fertilizer and foliar application with three rates of proline (0, 100 and 200 mg/L). The first experiment was irrigated with the water to the field capacity with leaching fraction and the second without leaching fraction. The experimental design was a split split plot with three replications. Also, the effect of these parameters on salt accumulation in soil was discussed. The obtained results showed that the dry weight of shoots was decreased as salinity of irrigation water increased. The highest decreases were attained with waters of 5.88 and 7.95 dS/m as compared with dry weight due to irrigation with 0.54 or 3.36 dS/m water salinity. High salinity of water increased the shoot contents of Na+, Cl-, proline and decreased NO3 - contents with or without leaching fraction, but the values without leaching fraction were higher than those of without leaching fraction. Also, increasing the salinity of irrigation water decreased K content in shoot which was higher with leaching than without leaching. On the other hand, KNO3 fertilization or proline spraying decreased Na+, Cl- contents and increased K+ or NO3 - contents in plant shoot and their values without leaching were higher than with leaching. The EC values of soil were increased with both increasing salinity of irrigation water and KNO3 fertilization. The decreased plant growth due to water salinity was partially offset by KNO3 fertilization, proline spraying and leaching fraction application. Also, KNO3 fertilization was more effective than proline for reducing the adverse effect of water salinity

Prevalence and Characterization of Some Colibactin Genes in Clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Iraqi Patients

                افراد العائلة المعوية تمتلك مجموعة من الجينات تدعى Polyketide synthase (pks). هذه المجموعة من الجينات تكون مسؤولة عن تصنيع الذيفان الذي يطلق عليه Colibactin والذي له دور مهم في استحثاث تكسر اشرطة الدنا المزدوجة DNA والذي يؤدي الى استحثاث ورم او ما يعرف بسرطان القولون، احد عشر من اصل ثمانية وثمانين عزلة  بكتيرية وتمثل (12.5%) كانت قد توزعت 7(8%) عزلة تعود لبكتربا E. coli، 2(2.25%) عزلة تعود لبكتريا K. pneumonia و 2(2.25%) تعود لبكتريا E. aerogenes كانت حاملة لجينات الكولبكتين قيد الدراسة. تم اختبار لتأثير السمي الخلوي لعزلتين كانت موجبة للجينات قيد الدراسة وهي E. coli and E. aerogenes تجاه خط الخلايا السرطاني المعروف بـ HeLa  بينت النائج انخفاض عدد الخلايا وحصول استطالة في انوية الخلايامقارنة بالخلايا الغير معاملة. اظهرت النتائج حصول تغيرات نسيجية في الخلايا بأستخدام صبغة AO/EBr تم ملاحظتها بأستخدام المجهر الفلورسيني: بعض هذه التغيرات تم ملاحظتها في لون كروماتين النواة ومصحوب بتكثف الدنا النووي وكذلك حصول تكسر في النوية، خلايا الـ HeLa التي ظهرت بلون اخضر ولم تحصل فيها اي تغيرات في لون المادة الكروماتينية هي خلايا حية ولم تتم معاملتها مع البكتريا الحاملة للجينات قيد الدراسة، بينما الخلايا المعاملة مع خلايا بكتيرية حاملة للجينات ظهرت انويتها بلون برتقالي داكن وهي خلايا ميتة. يستنتج من ذلك ان عزلات البكتريا المعوية المعزولة من مرضى عراقيين يمكنها ان تفرز مواد سامة (ذيفان الكولبكتين) يمكنها قتل قتل الخلايا السرطانية نوع HeLa وهذا ناتج عن تغيرات حصلت في انوية الخلايا المعرضة للبكتريا وكان واضح في كثافة وتكسر المادة الوراثية للخلايا قيد الدراسة. The members of the family of Eentrobacteriaceae harbour a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island. This cluster is responsible for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin that might have an important role in the induction of double-strand DNA breaks, leading to promote human colorectal cancer (CRC). Eleven out of the eighty eight isolates (12.5%) were pks+, distributed as 7 (8%) isolates of E. coli, 2 (2.25%) of K. pneumoniae and 2 (2.25%) of E. aerogenes. The cytotoxic effects of selected pks+ isolates (E. coli and E. aerogenes) on HeLa cells were represented by decreasing cell numbers and enlarged cell nuclei in comparison to the untreated cells. Cytological changes were observed when the infected HeLa cells cultures were stained with AO/EBr and visualized under fluorescent microscope. Some changes that happened in the color of the nuclear chromatin were accompanied by DNA condensation and degradation and fragmentation of nuclei. HeLa cells with green unchanged nuclear chromatin were alive while those with orange-dark and bright red nuclei were dead. It was concluded that a proportion of the Entreobacteriaceae isolates from Iraqi patients was pks+, which exerted cytotoxic effects upon using them to kill HeLa cells. In this study the microscopic observation of the cell morphology reveals the cellular response to the genotoxic insult, with reduced numbers, striking giant cells phenotype (megalocytosis) and fragmentation of nuclei due to the cell cycle arrest and cellular senescenc

Performances agro-morphologiques des varietes locales et ameliorees de ma\uefs au sud-ouest du Niger

Maize ( Zea mays L.) plays an important role in food security in West Africa. However, its cultivation is declining, thus, threatening food security and leading to loss of genetic resources of maize. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agro-morphological performance of local and improved maize varieties in South-Western Niger. A total of twenty five maize varieties, including two local varieties and twenty three improved varieties produced by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre of Zimbabwe (CIMMYT/Zimbabwe), were evaluated at the Tara Experimental Station (Gaya/Niger). Thirteen agro-morphological descriptors were used in this study. These descriptors include, corncob compactness, ear shape, emergence rate, number of days to 50% tasseling, number of days to 50% silking, plant height, corncob length, corncob diameter, number of corncobs at harvest, weight of corncobs at harvest, grain weight, 100 grain weight and weight of stover. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among varieties for the different agro-morphological traits. The Hierarchical Clustering Analysis (HCA) revealed that this variability is structured into four groups. Groups 1 and 2 included precocious, more productive and high emergence rate varieties. On the other hand, groups 3 and 4 were composed of less precocious, less productive and low emergence rate varieties. Seven promising varieties belonging to groups 1 and 2 were identified, all of which are improved varieties (CZH132163, CZH132194, CZH1262, CZH132150, CZH132139, CZH1155 and CZH1261). These results can be used to support the maize productivity improvement programme of South-West Niger.Le ma\uefs ( Zea mays L.) joue un r\uf4le important dans la s\ue9curit\ue9 alimentaire des populations du Niger. Toutefois, sa culture est en baisse, ce qui constitue une menace \ue0 la s\ue9curit\ue9 alimentaire et aux ressources phytog\ue9n\ue9tiques du ma\uefs. L\u2019objectif g\ue9n\ue9ral de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer les performances agro-morphologiques des vari\ue9t\ue9s locales et am\ue9lior\ue9es du ma\uefs au Sud-Ouest du Niger afin d\u2019identifier les vari\ue9t\ue9s prometteuses sur la base de leurs performances agronomiques. Au total, vingt-cinq vari\ue9t\ue9s de ma\uefs dont deux vari\ue9t\ue9s locales et vingt-trois vari\ue9t\ue9s am\ue9lior\ue9es produites par le Centre International d\u2019Am\ue9lioration du Ma\uefs et du Bl\ue9 du Zimbabwe (CIMMYT/Zimbabwe) ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9valu\ue9es \ue0 la station exp\ue9rimentale de Tara (Gaya/ Niger). Treize caract\ue8res agro-morphologiques dont la compacit\ue9 de l\u2019\ue9pi, la forme du grain, le taux d\u2019\ue9mergence, le nombre de jours \ue0 50% floraison m\ue2le et femelle, la hauteur de la plante, la longueur de l\u2019\ue9pi, le diam\ue8tre de l\u2019\ue9pi, le nombre d\u2019\ue9pis \ue0 la r\ue9colte, le poids des \ue9pis \ue0 la r\ue9colte, le poids des grains, le poids de 100 grains et le poids du fourrage sec ont \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9s. L\u2019analyse de variance a montr\ue9 des diff\ue9rences significatives entre les vari\ue9t\ue9s pour les diff\ue9rents caract\ue8res agro-morphologiques. La classification hi\ue9rarchique ascendante (CHA) a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que cette variabilit\ue9 est structur\ue9e en 4 groupes. Les groupes 1 et 2 regroupent les vari\ue9t\ue9s plus pr\ue9coces, plus productives avec un fort taux d\u2019\ue9mergence. Les groupes 3 et 4 regroupent les vari\ue9t\ue9s moins pr\ue9coces, moins productives et avec un faible taux d\u2019\ue9mergence. Sept vari\ue9t\ue9s prometteuses appartenant aux groupes 1 et 2 ont \ue9t\ue9 identifi\ue9es. Il s\u2019agit toutes des vari\ue9t\ue9s am\ue9lior\ue9es (CZH132163, CZH132194, CZH1262, CZH132150, CZH132139, CZH1155 et CZH1261). Ces r\ue9sultats peuvent \ueatre directement utilis\ue9s pour un programme d\u2019am\ue9lioration de la productivit\ue9 du ma\uefs au Sud-Ouest du Niger

Parity proofs of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem based on the 600-cell

The set of 60 real rays in four dimensions derived from the vertices of a 600-cell is shown to possess numerous subsets of rays and bases that provide basis-critical parity proofs of the Bell-Kochen-Specker (BKS) theorem (a basis-critical proof is one that fails if even a single basis is deleted from it). The proofs vary considerably in size, with the smallest having 26 rays and 13 bases and the largest 60 rays and 41 bases. There are at least 90 basic types of proofs, with each coming in a number of geometrically distinct varieties. The replicas of all the proofs under the symmetries of the 600-cell yield a total of almost a hundred million parity proofs of the BKS theorem. The proofs are all very transparent and take no more than simple counting to verify. A few of the proofs are exhibited, both in tabular form as well as in the form of MMP hypergraphs that assist in their visualization. A survey of the proofs is given, simple procedures for generating some of them are described and their applications are discussed. It is shown that all four-dimensional parity proofs of the BKS theorem can be turned into experimental disproofs of noncontextuality.Comment: 19 pages, 11 tables, 3 figures. Email address of first author has been corrected. Ref.[5] has been corrected, as has an error in Fig.3. Formatting error in Sec.4 has been corrected and the placement of tables and figures has been improved. A new paragraph has been added to Sec.4 and another new paragraph to the end of the Appendi

Parity proofs of the Kochen-Specker theorem based on the 24 rays of Peres

A diagrammatic representation is given of the 24 rays of Peres that makes it easy to pick out all the 512 parity proofs of the Kochen-Specker theorem contained in them. The origin of this representation in the four-dimensional geometry of the rays is pointed out.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures and 3 tables. Three references have been added. Minor typos have been correcte

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Multimessenger NuEM Alerts with AMON

The Astrophysical Multimessenger Observatory Network (AMON), has developed a real-time multi-messenger alert system. The system performs coincidence analyses of datasets from gamma-ray and neutrino detectors, making the Neutrino-Electromagnetic (NuEM) alert channel. For these analyses, AMON takes advantage of sub-threshold events, i.e., events that by themselves are not significant in the individual detectors. The main purpose of this channel is to search for gamma-ray counterparts of neutrino events. We will describe the different analyses that make-up this channel and present a selection of recent results

Accuracy Assessment of the ESA CCI 20M Land Cover Map: Kenya, Gabon, Ivory Coast and South Africa

This working paper presents the overall and spatial accuracy assessment of the European Space Agency (ESA) 20 m prototype land cover map for Africa for four countries: Kenya, Gabon, Ivory Coast and South Africa. This accuracy assessment was undertaken as part of the ESA-funded CrowdVal project. The results varied from 44% (for South Africa) to 91% (for Gabon). In the case of Kenya (56% overall accuracy) and South Africa, these values are largely caused by the confusion between grassland and shrubland. However, if a weighted confusion matrix is used, which diminishes the importance of the confusion between grassland and shrubs, the overall accuracy for Kenya increases to 79% and for South Africa, 75%. The overall accuracy for Ivory Coast (47%) is a result of a highly fragmented land cover, which makes it a difficult country to map with remote sensing. The exception was Gabon with a high overall accuracy of 91%, but this can be explained by the high amount of tree cover across the country, which is a relatively easy class to map