Spatio-Temporal Variation in the Phyllospheric Microbial Biodiversity of Alternaria Alternata-Infected Tobacco Foliage

Phyllospheric microbial composition of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is contingent upon certain factors, such as the growth stage of the plant, leaf position, and cultivar and its geographical location, which influence, either directly or indirectly, the growth, overall health, and production of the tobacco plant. To better understand the spatiotemporal variation of the community and the divergence of phyllospheric microflora, procured from healthy and diseased tobacco leaves infected by Alternaria alternata, the current study employed microbe culturing, high-throughput technique, and BIOLOG ECO. Microbe culturing resulted in the isolation of 153 culturable fungal isolates belonging to 33 genera and 99 bacterial isolates belonging to 15 genera. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the phyllosphere of tobacco was dominantly colonized by Ascomycota and Proteobacteria, whereas, the most abundant fungal and bacterial genera were Alternaria and Pseudomonas. The relative abundance of Alternaria increased in the upper and middle healthy groups from the first collection time to the third, whereas, the relative abundance of Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Methylobacterium from the same positions increased during gradual leaf aging. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDs) showed clustering of fungal communities in healthy samples, while bacterial communities of all diseased and healthy groups were found scattered. FUNGuild analysis, from the first collection stage to the third one in both groups, indicated an increase in the relative abundance of Pathotroph-Saprotroph, Pathotroph-Saprotroph-Symbiotroph, and Pathotroph-Symbiotroph. Inclusive of all samples, as per the PICRUSt analysis, the predominant pathway was metabolism function accounting for 50.03%. The average values of omnilog units (OUs) showed relatively higher utilization rates of carbon sources by the microbial flora of healthy leaves. According to the analysis of genus abundances, leaf growth and leaf position were the important drivers of change in structuring the microbial communities. The current findings revealed the complex ecological dynamics that occur in the phyllospheric microbial communities over the course of a spatiotemporal varying environment with the development of tobacco brown spots, highlighting the importance of community succession

Faktor-Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Pengungkapan Tanggung Jawab Sosial

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi luasnya tingkat pengungkapan tanggung jawab sosial Perusahaan (Corporate Social Responsibility) dengan menguji pengaruh ukuran Perusahaan, profitabilitas, leverage, kepemilikan insti­tusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, ukuran dewan direksi, dan ukuran komite audit. Sampel yang digunakan adalah Perusahaan sektor pertambangan terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia selama 2010-2012. Data diperoleh dari laporan keuangan auditan dan laporan tahunan serta laporan keberlanjutan (sustainability report) jika ada. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan analisis regresi linear berganda. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ukuran Perusahaan dan komite audit memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap peng­ungkapan tanggung jawab sosial. Tidak ditemukan bukti pengaruh profitabilitas, leverage, kepemilikan institusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, dan ukuran dewan direksi terhadap terhadap pengungkapan tanggung jawab sosial

Effect of Multifrequency Ultrasonic-Assisted Vacuum Cooking on the Muscle Fiber Structure and Water-Holding Capacity of Stewed Marinated Beef

The effect of multifrequency ultrasonic-assisted vacuum cooking on the muscle fiber structure and water-holding capacity of stewed marinated beef was studied. Changes in the muscle fiber structure, texture properties and moisture content of stewed marinated beef prepared from beef shank under different ultrasonic frequencies (40/52/68, 40/52, 40/68, 52/68, 40, 52, 68 and 0 kHz) were measured. The results showed that with increasing the number of ultrasound frequencies, myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), the contents of β-turn and random coil increased, and the texture attribute of elasticity tended to increase, while the contents of α-helix and β-sheet decreased, and so did the hardness, chewiness, and cohesiveness of stewed marinated beef. Meanwhile, the solubility of connective tissue on the surface of muscle fibers increased, the separation and fracture of muscle fibers became more apparent. Low field-nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) results showed that ultrasound treatment caused a leftward shift of the transverse relaxation time (T2) and shortened it, thus changing the water distribution. As the number of ultrasonic frequencies increased, the shifting range of transverse relaxation time to the left increased, and the contents of bound water and free water also increased, while the content of quasi-bound water correspondingly decreased. Cooking loss was significantly lower in the triple-frequency group than in the dual-frequency and single-frequency groups, while the product yield showed an opposite trend, the highest value being found in the triple-frequency group. In summary, ultrasound treatment destroyed the muscle fiber structure and improved the water-holding capacity of stewed beef; the more the number of ultrasonic frequencies, the more pronounced the effect

A scheme for dense coding in the non-symmetric quantum channel

We investigate the dense coding in the case of non-symmetric Hilbert spaces of the sender and receiver's particles sharing the quantum maximally entangled state. The efficiency of classical information gain is also considered. We conclude that when a more level particle is with the sender, she can get a non-symmetric quantum channel from a symmetric one by entanglement transfer. Thus the efficiency of information transmission is improved

Titanium trisulfide monolayer: A new direct-gap semiconductor with high and anisotropic carrier mobility

A new two-dimensional (2D) layered material, namely, titanium trisulfide (TiS$_3$) monolayer sheet, is predicted to possess desired electronic properties for nanoelectronic applications. On basis of the first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory and deformation theory, we show that the TiS$_3$ 2D crystal is a direct gap semiconductor with a band gap of 1.06 eV and high carrier mobility. More remarkably, the in-plane electron mobility of the 2D TiS$_3$ is highly anisotropic, amounting to $\sim$10,000 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ in the \emph{b} direction, which is higher than that of the MoS$_2$ monolayer. Meanwhile, the hole mobility is about two orders of magnitude lower. We also find that bulk TiS$_3$ possesses lower cleavage energy than graphite, indicating high possibility of exfoliation for TiS$_3$ monolayers or multilayers. Both dynamical and thermal stability of the TiS$_3$ monolayer is examined via phonon-spectrum calculation and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation in \emph{NPT} ensemble. The predicted novel electronic properties render the TiS$_3$ monolayer an attractive 2D material for applications in future nanoelectronics.Comment: 4 figure

Comprehensive transcriptomic analysis revealing the regulatory dynamics and networks of the pituitary-testis axis in sheep across developmental stages

Spermatogenesis is a complex process intricately regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis (HPT) axis. However, research on the regulatory factors governing the HPT axis remains limited. This study addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive analysis of transcriptomes from the pituitary and testis tissues across various developmental stages, encompassing embryonic day (E120), neonatal period (P0), pre-puberty (P90), and post-puberty day (P270). Utilizing edgeR and WGCNA, we identified stage-specific genes in both the pituitary and testis throughout the four developmental stages. Notably, 380, 242, 34, and 479 stage-specific genes were identified in the pituitary, while 886, 297, 201, and 3,678 genes were identified in the testis. Subsequent analyses unveiled associations between these stage-specific genes and crucial pathways such as the cAMP signaling pathway, GnRH secretion, and male gamete generation. Furthermore, leveraging single-cell data from the pituitary and testis, we identified some signaling pathways involving BMP, HGF, IGF, and TGF-β, highlighting mutual regulation between the pituitary and testis at different developmental stages. This study sheds light on the pivotal role of the pituitary-testis axis in the reproductive process of sheep across four distinct developmental stages. Additionally, it delves into the intricate regulatory networks governing reproduction, offering novel insights into the dynamics of the pituitary-testis axis within the reproductive system

Probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle state via POVM

We propose a scheme for probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle state with partly entangled four-particle state via POVM. In this scheme the teleportation of unknown two-particle state can be realized with certain probability by performing two Bell state measurements, a proper POVM and a unitary transformation.Comment: 5 pages, no figur

PACIAE 2.0: An updated parton and hadron cascade model (program) for the relativistic nuclear collisions

We have updated the parton and hadron cascade model PACIAE for the relativistic nuclear collisions, from based on JETSET 6.4 and PYTHIA 5.7 to based on PYTHIA 6.4, and renamed as PACIAE 2.0. The main physics concerning the stages of the parton initiation, parton rescattering, hadronization, and hadron rescattering were discussed. The structures of the programs were briefly explained. In addition, some calculated examples were compared with the experimental data. It turns out that this model (program) works well.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Enhanced photocatalysis by coupling of anatase TiO2 film to triangular Ag nanoparticle island

In order to overcome the low utilization ratio of solar light and high electron-hole pair recombination rate of TiO(2), the triangular Ag nanoparticle island is covered on the surface of the TiO(2) thin film. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of the Ag/TiO(2) nanocomposite system is observed. The increase of electron-hole pair generation is caused by the enhanced near-field amplitudes of localized surface plasmon of the Ag nanoparticles. The efficiently suppressed recombination of electron-hole pair caused by the metal-semiconductor contact can also enhance the photocatalytic activity of the TiO(2) film