Effect of seed priming with Naci on salinity tolerance of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) at seedling stage

An experiment was conducted to improve the hot pepper seed performance under salinity stress conditions. The effects of priming with an optimized dose (1 mM) of sodium chloride (NaCl) were assessed for improving seedling vigour and salt stress tolerance in seedlings of the hot pepper. Seeds primed with NaCl solution (1 mM) were examined at different salinity levels [0, 3, 6 and 9 dS m-1] in relation to early growth stage. Priming with NaCl was effective in alleviating the adverse effects of salinity. Significant increase in germination percentage, germination index and germination speed, vigour index, plumule and radicle length, and dry weight of the seedlings as compared to control was recorded. On the other hand, mean germination time, time to reach 50% germination and fresh weight of seedlings were non-significant against control. In this experiment, it was concluded that seed priming with NaCl has been found to be better treatment as compared to non-primed seeds in case of hot pepper for improving the seedling vigour and seedling establishment under salt-stressed conditions

Positive specific heat of the quantum corrected dilaton black hole

Path integral quantization of dilaton gravity in two dimensions is applied to the CGHS model to the first nontrivial order in matter loops. Our approach is background independent as geometry is integrated out exactly. The result is an effective shift of the Killing norm: the apparent horizon becomes smaller. The Hawking temperature which is constant to leading order receives a quantum correction. As a consequence, the specific heat becomes positive and proportional to the square of the black hole mass.Comment: 18 pages, JHEP style, 1 eps figure, v2: extended the discussion, added new formulas for mass change, added three new references (in particular [35]

Conserved Quasilocal Quantities and General Covariant Theories in Two Dimensions

General matterless--theories in 1+1 dimensions include dilaton gravity, Yang--Mills theory as well as non--Einsteinian gravity with dynamical torsion and higher power gravity, and even models of spherically symmetric d = 4 General Relativity. Their recent identification as special cases of 'Poisson--sigma--models' with simple general solution in an arbitrary gauge, allows a comprehensive discussion of the relation between the known absolutely conserved quantities in all those cases and Noether charges, resp. notions of quasilocal 'energy--momentum'. In contrast to Noether like quantities, quasilocal energy definitions require some sort of 'asymptotics' to allow an interpretation as a (gauge--independent) observable. Dilaton gravitation, although a little different in detail, shares this property with the other cases. We also present a simple generalization of the absolute conservation law for the case of interactions with matter of any type.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX-fil

The use of black pepper (Piper guineense) as an ecofriendly antimicrobial agent to fight foodborne microorganisms

Consumers demand clean-label food products, necessitating the search for new, natural antimicrobials to meet this demand while ensuring food safety. This review aimed at investigating the antimicrobial properties of black pepper (Piper guineense) against foodborne microorganisms. The existence of foodborne illness, food spoilage, food waste, the resulting negative economic impact of these issues, and consumer interests have all pushed the food industry to find alternative, safe, and natural antimicrobials to be used in foods and beverages. Consumers have also influenced the demand for novel antimicrobials due to the perceived association of current synthetic preservatives with diseases and adverse effects on children. They also have a desire for clean-label products. These combined concerns have prompted researchers at investigating plant extracts as potential sources for antimicrobials. Plants possess many antimicrobial properties; therefore, evaluating these plant extracts as a natural source of antimicrobials can lead to a preventative control method in reducing foodborne illness and food spoilage, inclusively meeting consumer needs. In most regions, P. guineense is commonly utilized due to its potent and effective medicinal properties against foodborne microorganisms

Boundary Conditions in Supergravity on a Manifold with Boundary.

We explain why it is necessary to use boundary conditions in the proof of supersymmetry of a supergravity action on a manifold with boundary. Working in both boundary (``downstairs'') and orbifold (``upstairs'') pictures, we present a bulk-plus-boundary/brane action for the five-dimensional (on-shell) supergravity which is supersymmetric with the use of fewer boundary conditions than were previously employed. The required Gibbons-Hawking-like Y-term and many other aspects of the boundary/orbifold picture correspondence are discussed.Comment: 60 pages. JHEP format. References and clarifications added. To be published in JHE