BENEFICIALTREATMENTS ON PVX AND PVY INFECTED POTATO(SOLANUM TUBEROSUM L.) PLANTS

This study presents the efficiency of some combined techniques (chemo- and electrotherapy) in decreasing the infection level of PVY and PVX infected plants (cv. Roclas). The infected plantlets were exposed to 100 mA for 5, 10 and 20 minutes (electrotherapy), washed, divided into single node cuttings and multiplied in vitro. Chemotherapy was undertaken with ribavirin (RBV) and oseltamivir (OSMV). Solanum tuberosum L.plantlets regenerated were removed from the culture medium, acclimated in green house. The survivor plants were indexed (DAS ELISA, Bioreba, Switzerland). Distinguished virus elimination rates were obtained for all the material infected, using the most severe variants of electrotherapy (100mA/10minutes; 100mA/20 minutes). The highest values were registered in case of PVX infected material

EFFECTS OF SUCROSE MEDIUM CONTENT AND STERILANT TREATMENT ON MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF SWEET POTATO CULTURES INITIATED IN VITRO

The main objective of this study was finding solutions for reducing the level of microbial contamination occurred during in vitro cultivation of sweet potato introduced from the ex vitro environment. For this purpose, growth medium variants with different concentrations of sucrose (20 g/L, 30 g/L and 40 g/L) were tested as well as different periods of time during the biological material was in contact with the sterilizing agent: 70% ethanol for 3, 4 and 5 minutes followed by 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution for 10, 13 and 16 minutes respectively. Culture medium variants with a sucrose content of 20 g/L and 30 g/L combined with an explants sterilant treatment in 70% ethanol for 4 minutes followed by 1% NaClO for 13 minutes were the most effective in reducing the percentage of microbial contamination

An Innovative System for Monitoring Radon and Indoor Air Quality

Nowadays, a global trend towards increasing the performance of a building is the reduction in energy consumption. In this respect, for existing residential buildings the most common techniques are the application of a thermal insulation layer to the exterior wall of the building and / or window replacements. Unfortunately, their application without proper education of those involved may have a negative effect on the indoor air quality. The use of a continuous monitoring device can give the owner the ability to understand the impact of his behaviour on indoor air quality and, as such, to adjust his routine in order to maintain the indoor air quality at the desired level. This paper introduces a prototype, called ICA system, for continuous, real-time indoor air quality monitoring. The ICA system presents sensors for monitoring the concentration of radon, CO2, CO, VOCs, as well as meteorological parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. Experiments were performed both in laboratory and in situ conditions for testing and validating the proposed system.This work was supported by the project ID P_37_229, Contract No. 22/01.09.2016, with the title “Smart Systems for Public Safety through Control and Mitigation of Residential Radon linked with Energy Efficiency Optimization of Buildings in Romanian Major Urban Agglomerations SMART-RAD-EN” of the POC Programme

The Growth Response of Several Potato Genotypes (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.) to Induced Water Stress Using Sorbitol and Polyethylene Glycol

The current paper aimed to study the in vitro response of potato genotypes to water stress induced by adding sorbitol and polyethylene glycol in the culture medium. The biological material analysed in the experiment was represented by a Romanian line ‘LP 11-1525/1’ and two isogenic lines ‘LI 101’ and ‘LI 102’. For cultures initiation, the line ‘LP 11-1525/1’ was started from meristems and for the other two genotypes true potato seeds were used. The studied potato genotypes behaved differently depending on the analysed parameters and on the treatment applied for drought tolerance. It was noted that the line ‘LP 11-1525/1’ achieved good results for most of the growth parameters studied, and also the lines derived from true potato seeds behaved well, in some cases even exceeding the line derived from meristems. Of the lines derived from true potato seeds, the best performance was noted for line ‘LI 101-6’ in all the analysed parameters, both on sorbitol and PEG medium. In addition, lines ‘LI 101-7’ and ‘LI 102-4’ achieved good results on both variants of medium used to mediate water stress. Therefore, establishing drought tolerance individuals within populations derived from true potato seeds using sorbitol and polyethylene glycol might be applied