Effect of gelling agents on in vitro development of Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’

In vitro shoot multiplication responses of Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ were studied on media solidifi ed with differentgelling agents. The media were gelled either with 6.8 g l-1 fi brous agar-agar, or 50.0 g l-1 wheat starch, or 20.0 g l-1 Guar gum, or 15 g l-1 Isubgolor 50.0 g l-1 wheat starch mixed with 0.5 g l-1 Phytagel. Shoot cultures were grown for two months, thereafter the multiplication rates (numberof newly developed shoots per explant) were counted and the length of shoots were measured. We found that the highest shoot multiplicationof Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ occurred on media gelled with Guar gum, while the longest shoots developed on media withStarch. About four-fold shoot number were obtained on media with Guar gum compared to the weakest results found on media gelled withIsubgol. Finally, considering all factors (shoot growth parameters, costs) the most economical gelling agent for Amelanchier canadensis‘Rainbow Pillar’ was proved to be wheat starch among the tested alternatives which allows a 75.6% cost reduction

Effect of gelling agents on in vitro development of Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’

In vitro shoot multiplication responses of Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ were studied on media solidifi ed with different gelling agents. The media were gelled either with 6.8 g l-1 fi brous agar-agar, or 50.0 g l-1 wheat starch, or 20.0 g l-1 Guar gum, or 15 g l-1 Isubgol or 50.0 g l-1 wheat starch mixed with 0.5 g l-1 Phytagel. Shoot cultures were grown for two months, thereafter the multiplication rates (number of newly developed shoots per explant) were counted and the length of shoots were measured. We found that the highest shoot multiplication of Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ occurred on media gelled with Guar gum, while the longest shoots developed on media with Starch. About four-fold shoot number were obtained on media with Guar gum compared to the weakest results found on media gelled with Isubgol. Finally, considering all factors (shoot growth parameters, costs) the most economical gelling agent for Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ was proved to be wheat starch among the tested alternatives which allows a 75.6% cost reduction

Genetic Diversity and Relatedness Among Six Ranunculus Species Unraveled by SRAP Markers

The main aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of six Ranunculus species using SRAP markers. The genotyping of 73 Ranunculus accessions showed that 12 primer pairs generated a total number of 212 polymorphic fragments with a 99.53 % level of polymorphism. Nei’s gene diversity ranged between 0.2237 and 0.3436 with an average of 0.3001. The UPGMA method with Nei72’s similarity coefficient ranging from 0.23 to 1.11 separated 73 accessions into two distinct groups (A and B). Cluster-A included R. acris members, while cluster-B included the rest of the tested species. Cluster-B was subsequently divided into two sub-groups (I and II). Subgroup-I consisted of R. carpaticus and R. serpens subsp. nemorosus accessions, while subgroup-II included the members of R. platanifolius, R. polyanthemos, and R. repens. R. polyanthemos and R. repens were founded the most closely related species. These findings provide a brand-new understanding of the evolutionary relationships of above mentioned Ranunculus species and may be useful tools for plant breeding and conservation purposes

Impact of cross-section uncertainties on supernova neutrino spectral parameter fitting in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

A primary goal of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is to measure the $\mathcal{O}(10)$ MeV neutrinos produced by a Galactic core-collapse supernova if one should occur during the lifetime of the experiment. The liquid-argon-based detectors planned for DUNE are expected to be uniquely sensitive to the $\nu_e$ component of the supernova flux, enabling a wide variety of physics and astrophysics measurements. A key requirement for a correct interpretation of these measurements is a good understanding of the energy-dependent total cross section $\sigma(E_\nu)$ for charged-current $\nu_e$ absorption on argon. In the context of a simulated extraction of supernova $\nu_e$ spectral parameters from a toy analysis, we investigate the impact of $\sigma(E_\nu)$ modeling uncertainties on DUNE's supernova neutrino physics sensitivity for the first time. We find that the currently large theoretical uncertainties on $\sigma(E_\nu)$ must be substantially reduced before the $\nu_e$ flux parameters can be extracted reliably: in the absence of external constraints, a measurement of the integrated neutrino luminosity with less than 10\% bias with DUNE requires $\sigma(E_\nu)$ to be known to about 5%. The neutrino spectral shape parameters can be known to better than 10% for a 20% uncertainty on the cross-section scale, although they will be sensitive to uncertainties on the shape of $\sigma(E_\nu)$. A direct measurement of low-energy $\nu_e$-argon scattering would be invaluable for improving the theoretical precision to the needed level.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figure

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

In situ genetic variability and micropropagation of Cerastium banaticum (Rochel) Heuff. (Caryophyllaceae)– a rare and endemic species from Romania

Rare and endemic plant species represent important components of plant biodiversity which require protection to ensure their sustainable conservation. Cerastium banaticum (Rochel) Heuff. is such an endemic and rare species from Romania, for which the genetic variability of two natural populations was studied by SSR markers. Shannon’s information index revealed low levels of genetic diversity in both populations (I = 0.296). As the first attempt in a conservation program a reproducible micropropagation protocol was established starting from seeds, followed by multiplication, rooting, and ex vitro acclimatization. Among the various plant growth regulators tested the highest multiplication coefficient was achieved on a culture medium with 0.5 mg L -1 6-furfurylaminopurine (K) and 1 mg L -1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). On this PGRs concentration a number of 26.6 shoots/individual explant with a mean length of 7.9 cm for new generated shoots was registered. The highest number of roots/indi- vidual initiated shoot was 2.6 and it was recorded on a culture medium with 0.5 mg L -1 2-isopentyl-adenine (2iP) and 0.1 mg L -1 NAA. The outdoor acclimatization was successfully performed in a specially designed rocky area in the ‘Alexandru Borza’ Botanical Garden, Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

Rate of humus accumulation on anthropic protosol from the Capus-Cluj District

The paper presents data on the annual rate of humus accumulation after 10 and 20 years of a strict experimental routine carried out on sterile waste dumps (anthropic protosol) from Cápuş, cultivated with maize, oat and esparcet. Basic dressing applied was the following: V1 - unfertilized, V2- 40 t/ha manure, V3 - 15 t/ha poultry manure, V4 - 40 t/ha manure + N100 P60 K40 , V5 - 15 t/ha poultry manure + N100 P60 K40 , V6 - N100 P60 K0 , V7 - N100 P60 K40, V8 - N200 P120 K80 , V9 - N300 P180 K120. The results obtained revealed that the variant with 40 t/ha manure + N100 P6O K40 (V4) after 10 years accumulated 1.724% humus and after 20 years 4.100% humus. It means that the annual average rate was 0.115% and 0.176%, respectively, at a depth of 0-20 cm. The next variant is the variant with 15 t/ha poultry manure + N100 P60 K40 (V5) where 1.207% of humus was accumulated after 10 years and 3.760% of humus after 20 years; the annual average rate 0.055% and 0.155%, respectively

Gadolinium Accumulation and Toxicity on In Vitro Grown Stevia rebaudiana: A Case-Study on Gadobutrol

Gadolinium-based contrast agents are molecular complexes which are extensively used for diagnostic purposes. Apart from their tremendous contribution to disease diagnostics, there are several issues related to their use. They are extremely stable complexes and potential contaminants of surface and ground waters, an issue which is documented worldwide. The irrigation of fields with contaminated surface waters or their fertilization with sludge from wastewater treatment plants can lead to the introduction of Gd into the human food supply chain. Thus, this study focused on the potential toxicity of Gd on plants. For this purpose, we have studied the molecular effects of gadobutrol (a well-known MRI contrast agent) exposure on in vitro-grown Stevia rebaudiana. The effects of gadobutrol on plant morphology, on relevant plant metabolites such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, ascorbic acids (HPLC), minerals (ICP-OES), and on the generation of free radical species (MDA assay and EPR) were assessed. Exposures of 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 1, and 3 mM gadobutrol were used. We found a correlation between the gadobutrol dose and the plant growth and concentration of metabolites. Above the 0.1. mM dose of gadobutrol, the toxic effects of Gd+3 ions became significant

A Unique Mdm2-Binding Mode of the 3-Pyrrolin-2-one- and 2-Furanone-Based Antagonists of the p53-Mdm2 Interaction

The p53 pathway is inactivated in almost all types of cancer by mutations in the p53 encoding gene or overexpression of the p53 negative regulators, Mdm2 and/or Mdmx. Restoration of the p53 function by inhibition of the p53-Mdm2/Mdmx interaction opens up a prospect for a nongenotoxic anticancer therapy. Here, we present the syntheses, activities, and crystal structures of two novel classes of Mdm2-p53 inhibitors that are based on the 3-pyrrolin-2-one and 2-furanone scaffolds. The structures of the complexes formed by these inhibitors and Mdm2 reveal the dimeric protein molecular organization that has not been observed in the small-molecule/Mdm2 complexes described until now. In particular, the 6-chloroindole group does not occupy the usual Trp-23 pocket of Mdm2 but instead is engaged in dimerization. This entirely unique binding mode of the compounds opens new possibilities for optimization of the Mdm2-p53 interaction inhibitors