Rapid micropropagation of three elite Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) varieties by shoot tip culture

Studies were carried out for rapid micropropagation of three sugarcane varieties i.e., HSF-240, CP-77-400 and CPF-237. Shoot tip was used as explant source. Shoot initiation from explant of all threevarieties was achieved at 1 mg/l Kin and 0.1 mg/l GA3. For rapid multiplication the regenerated shoots were transferred on liquid Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2% sucrose, supplemented with BAP in combinations with GA3. Optimum multiplication was observed at 1 mg/l BAP in combination with 0.1 mg/l GA3 for variety HSF-240. Best response of multiplication for variety CP-77-400 was observed at 0.5 mg/l BAP with 0.1 mg/l GA3. Variety CPF-237 was multiplied at 1.0 mg/l BAP with 0.5 mg/l GA3. Rooting response was observed on half strength liquid MS medium with 6% sucrose containing different concentrations of IBA and NAA. The sugarcane plantlets were acclimatized in greenhouse

Sustainable ruminant production to help feed the planet

Ruminant production has been an essential part of human activities worldwide since ancient times. The expected increase in world population and per capita income, with an increase in the amount and prevalence of animal products in human diet, urbanization, with a concentration of population in urban areas and an increase in losses in the supply chain, and the growing concern over the environmental impact of animal farming require a long-term global strategy for a more intensive and sustainable ruminant production. Therefore, solutions to increase the supply of high-quality products of ruminant origin, without harming human health, animal welfare, and environment, should consider the following interconnected issues discussed in this review: a) effects of meat, milk and dairy products consumption on human health, focusing on the imbalance caused by their insufficient consumption, and the alleged increased incidence of certain diseases due to their consumption; b) importance of the sustainable intensification of ruminant production systems (e.g. better feed conversion and higher production output per unit of input introduced into the farming system); c) environmental impact of ruminant production; d) improvement of animal performance by improving animal welfare; e) adaptation of ruminants to climate change; f) sustainable ruminant feeding (e.g. precision feeding techniques, optimization of grazing systems, and use of unconventional feeds); g) challenges posed by production intensification to animal breeding and conservation of animal biodiversity; and h) strategies to increase ruminant production in developing countries, thus achieving food security in vast areas of the planet affected by fast growth of human population

Electrical brain stimulation induces dendritic stripping but improves survival of silent neurons after optic nerve damage

Repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) improves vision in patients with chronic visual impairments and an acute treatment increased survival of retinal neurons after optic nerve crush (ONC) in rodent models of visual system injury. However, despite this protection no functional recovery could be detected in rats, which was interpreted as evidence of "silent survivor" cells. We now analysed the mechanisms underlying this "silent survival" effect. Using in vivo microscopy of the retina we investigated the survival and morphology of fluorescent neurons before and after ONC in animals receiving rtACS or sham treatment. One week after the crush, more neurons survived in the rtACS-treated group compared to sham-treated controls. In vivo imaging further revealed that in the initial post-ONC period, rtACS induced dendritic pruning in surviving neurons. In contrast, dendrites in untreated retinae degenerated slowly after the axonal trauma and neurons died. The complete loss of visual evoked potentials supports the hypothesis that cell signalling is abolished in the surviving neurons. Despite this evidence of "silencing", intracellular free calcium imaging showed that the cells were still viable. We propose that early after trauma, complete dendritic stripping following rtACS protects neurons from excitotoxic cell death by silencing them