Expression of the High-Affinity K+ Transporter 1 (PpHKT1) Gene From Almond Rootstock ‘Nemaguard’ Improved Salt Tolerance of Transgenic Arabidopsis

Soil salinity affects plant growth and development, which directly impact yield. Plants deploy many mechanisms to cope with, or mitigate, salt stress. One of such mechanism is to control movement of ions from root to shoot by regulating the loading of Na+ in the transpiration stream. The high-affinity K+ transporter 1 (HKT1) is known to play a role in the removal of Na+from the xylem and bring it back to the root. As almond is a salt-sensitive crop, the rootstock plays an important role in successful almond cultivation in salt-affected regions. We currently lack knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in salt tolerance of almond rootstocks. In this study, we complemented the Arabidopsis athkt1 knockout mutant with HKT1 ortholog (PpHKT1) from the almond rootstock ‘Nemaguard’. Arabidopsis transgenic lines that were generated in athkt1 background with the constitutive promoter (PpHKT1OE2.2) and the native promoter (PpHKT1NP6) were subjected to different salt treatments. Both transgenic lines survived salt concentrations up to 120 mM NaCl, however, the mutant athkt1 died after 18 days under 120 mM NaCl. At 90 mM NaCl, the dry weight of athkt1 decreased significantly compared to the transgenic lines. Both transgenic lines showed significantly longer lateral roots compared to the athkt1 mutant at 80 mM NaCl treatment. The transgenic lines, PpHKT1OE2.2 and PpHKTNP6 had lower electrolyte leakage and higher relative water content compared to athkt1, suggesting that transgenic plants coped well with increased salt concentration by maintaining the integrity of the membranes. The expression analyses showed that PpHKT1 was induced in PpHKT1OE2.2 and PpHKTNP6 lines under salt treatment, which confirmed that both over-expression and native expression of PpHKT1 in the Arabidopsis mutant can complement salt tolerance function

Multistep microsatellite mutation in the maternally transmitted locus D13S317: a case of maternal allele mismatch in the child

Examination of a case of a paternity dispute with 17 autosomal short tandem repeats (STR) loci revealed a mismatch of the maternally transmitted allele at the locus D13S317 in the questioned child. The composition of the alleles of this locus in the mother, questioned child and suspected father was 8/8, 11/11 and 8/11, respectively. The sequence analysis of the regions flanking the locus D13S317 and peak height measurements of the paternal, maternal and child alleles at this locus excluded the possibility of null allele as a cause of the allelic mismatch inherited by the child. The results suggested expansion of the microsatellite repeat motif, TATC by three repeat units as a probable cause for the allelic mismatch in the child. This is a rare case of maternally transmitted multistep microsatellite mutation reported for the first time for this locus in the forensic DNA analysis. The mutation rate at D13S317 locus in maternal and paternal meiosis was 0.04 and 0.14%, respectively, and overall mutation rate was 0.15%. The probability of maternity and paternity were 0.999999 and 0.999999, respectively, for all the 17 autosomal STR loci analyzed. Furthermore, the sequence of two hypervariable regions of mitochondrial DNA, HV1 and HV2 and the maternal alleles of six X chromosome STR loci in the questioned child matched completely with the mother. These results conclusively proved that the mother and suspected father are the biological parents of the questioned child

Elemental Analysis of Nanomaterial Using Photon-Atom Interaction Based EDXRF Technique

Presence of trace amount of foreign impurities (both metallic and non-metallic) in standard salts used for sample preparation and during the synthesis process can alter the physical and chemical behavior of the pure and doped nano-materials. Therefore, it becomes important to determine concentration of various elements present in synthesized nano-material sample. In present work, the elemental and compositional analysis of nano-materials synthesized using various methods has been performed using photon-atom interaction based energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technique. This technique due to its multielement analytical capability, lower detection limit, capability to analyze metals and non-metals alike and almost no sample preparation requirements can be utilized for analysis of nano-materials. The EDXRF spectrometer involves a 2.4 kW Mo anode x-ray tube (Pananalytic, Netherland) equipped with selective absorbers as an excitation source and an LEGe detector (FWHM = 150 eV at 5.895 keV, Canberra, US) coupled with PC based multichannel analyzer used to collect the fluorescent x-ray spectra. The analytical results showed good agreements with the expected values calculated on the basis of the precursor used in preparation of nano-materials

The Intersection of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease—A Focus on New Therapies

Diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and its associated morbidity. While the medical community has had access to numerous glucose lowering therapies over the last decades, it was not until recently that newer agents demonstrated improvement in cardiovascular outcomes. In particular, diabetes care and management of its attendant cardiovascular risk is now being revolutionized with the development and provision of the SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP1-receptor agonists. Given the exciting data with these new classes of diabetes therapeutics, there is a clear need to improve education and utilization of these evidence-based medications across a wide spectrum of clinicians, including cardiologists. The aim of this review is to familiarize the cardiovascular specialist with the benefits and harms of the most commonly used oral anti- hyperglycemic medications, with an emphasis on SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists

Development of sunlight-driven eutectic phase change material nanocomposite for applications in solar water heating

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) have been utilized as latent heat energy storage medium for effective thermal management. In this work, a PCM nanocomposite, consisting of a mixture of two organic PCMs (referred to as eutectic gel PCM) and minimal amount (0.5 wt%) of nanographite (NG) as a supporting material, was prepared. Differential scanning calorimeter was used to determine the melting temperature and latent heat of pristine PCM, paraffin (61.5 °C and 161.5 J/g), eutectic gel PCM (54 °C and 158 J/g) and eutectic gel PCM nanocomposite (53.5 °C and 155 J/g). The prepared PCM nanocomposites exhibited enhanced thermal conductivity and ultrafast thermal charging characteristics. The nanocomposites were employed for two different applications: (i) providing hot water using an indigenously fabricated solar water heating (SWH) system and (ii) solar rechargeable glove that can be rapidly warmed and used. Experimental results on SWH system show that the use of PCM nanocomposites helps to increase the charging rate of PCM while reducing the discharging rate of heat by PCM to water, thus enhancing the maximum utilization of solar energy and hence improving the efficiency of the SWH system. The experimental results on solar rechargeable glove revealed that the glove has the ability to retain the temperature up to 3 hours

Analysis of variability and correlations among different forage traits in guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.Taub.)

The present study was conducted with 15 genotypes at experimental area of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during Kharif 2021 with an objective to assess the variability, correlations and path coefficients among different forage and quality traits. The traits like leaf stem ratio followed by number of branches per plant, stem girth, number of leaves per plant, dry matter yield and green fodder yield exhibited high PCVand GCVvalues. High heritability (> 90%) was observed for plant height, number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, stem girth, days to flowering and leaf stem ratio while more than 85% heritability was observed for green fodder yield. Higher genetic advance was observed for leaf stem ratio (48.9%) followed by number of branches per plant (35.9%), stem girth (32.1%) and number of leaves per plant (25.3%). Traits like plant height (0.42), number of branches per plant (0.75), stem girth (0.61) had significant positive correlation with green fodder yield. High positive direct effects were observed for number of branches per plant (0.890), acid detergent fiber (0.620), Leaf stem ratio (0.514), dry matter yield (0.508) and number of leaves (0.419).The results revealed that traits like number of leaves per plant, leaf stem ratio and number of branches per plant are the main forage yield components which can be improved through selection

Molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of statins in the central nervous system

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, commonly referred to as statins, are widely used in the treatment of dyslipidaemia, in addition to providing primary and secondary prevention against cardiovascular disease and stroke. Statins’ effects on the central nervous system (CNS), particularly on cognition and neurological disorders such as stroke and multiple sclerosis, have received increasing attention in recent years, both within the scientific community and in the media. Current understanding of statins’ effects is limited by a lack of mechanism-based studies, as well as the assumption that all statins have the same pharmacological effect in the central nervous system. This review aims to provide an updated discussion on the molecular mechanisms contributing to statins’ possible effects on cognitive function, neurodegenerative disease, and various neurological disorders such as stroke, epilepsy, depression and CNS cancers. Additionally, the pharmacokinetic differences between statins and how these may result in statin-specific neurological effects are also discussed

Growth and yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) intercropped in poplar (Populus deltoides Bartram ex Marshall) plantation at Punjab

The effect of planting dates and methods of planting of turmeric (Curcuma longa) intercroppedin poplar (clone Udai) (Poplulus deltoides) plantation was studied at Ludhiana (Punjab,India). The treatments consisted of three planting dates namely, 20th March, 20th April and20th May and two methods of planting, namely, ridge and flat method (60 cm x 10 cm) inpoplar plantation. The study revealed that in first year of plantation (2004-05), a fresh rhizomeyield of 9.96 t ha-1 was obtained in 20th April planting which was  significantly more thanthat of 20th May planting (9.45 t ha-1). During 2005-06, a fresh rhizome yield of 8.15, 11.61and 13.95 t ha-1 was produced in 20th March, 20th April and 20th May planting dates, respectively.During 2006-07, the yields were lower and the differences in fresh rhizome yield due to 20thMay (6.33 t ha-1) and 20th April (6.43 t ha-1) planting  were not significant but both theplanting dates were significantly better than 20th March (5.6 t ha-1) planting. The ridge methodof planting produced 8.0%, 11.0% and 9.8% more yield which was significantly higher thanflat method of planting during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively. &nbsp