Efficient production of transgenic soybean (Glycine max [L] Merrill) plants mediated via whisker-supersonic (WSS) method

The present study was designed to evaluate the transformation efficiency and proof the capability of whisker supersonic (WSS) method as an alternative option for soybean (Glycine max [L] Merrill)transformation. We compared soybean transformation efficiency obtained by WSS-mediated with that of particle bombardment transformation by carrying out molecular analysis of the T0 plants in two independent experiments. For this, we used for both transformation techniques the same genotype, the same plasmid and the same selection method. To assess the efficiency of soybean genetictransformation, we evaluated the efficiency of multi gene transformation by the selection with hygromycin and the expression of green fluorescent protein [sGFP (S65T)] resulted from both techniques. Regenerable embryogenic cells were induced from immature cotyledons of soybean c.v Jack on MSD40 media within 3 weeks then proliferated on FN lite liquid media and engineered with pUHG gene construct through both WSS and particle bombardment-mediated transformation. The pUHG was constructed with pUC 19 and contain the hpt gene conferring resistance to hygromycin as a selective marker and sGFP(S65T) as a reporter gene. Fluorescence microscopy screening after the selection of hygromycin, identified the clearly expression of sGFP(S65T) in the transformed soybean embryos. Stable integration of the transgenes was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) andSouthern blot analysis. The average transformation efficiency achieved with WSS was higher than that obtained by particle bombardment and hence it may represent an alternative method for soybeantransformation

Semi-spectral Chebyshev method in Quantum Mechanics

Traditionally, finite differences and finite element methods have been by many regarded as the basic tools for obtaining numerical solutions in a variety of quantum mechanical problems emerging in atomic, nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, quantum chemistry, etc. In recent years, however, an alternative technique based on the semi-spectral methods has focused considerable attention. The purpose of this work is first to provide the necessary tools and subsequently examine the efficiency of this method in quantum mechanical applications. Restricting our interest to time independent two-body problems, we obtained the continuous and discrete spectrum solutions of the underlying Schroedinger or Lippmann-Schwinger equations in both, the coordinate and momentum space. In all of the numerically studied examples we had no difficulty in achieving the machine accuracy and the semi-spectral method showed exponential convergence combined with excellent numerical stability.Comment: RevTeX, 12 EPS figure

Reduction of chemical networks. I. The case of molecular clouds

We present a new method to analyse and reduce chemical networks and apply this technique to the chemistry in molecular clouds. Using the technique, we investigated the possibility of reducing the number of chemical reactions and species in the UMIST 95 database simultaneously. In addition, we did the same reduction but with the ``objective technique'' in order to compare both methods. We found that it is possible to compute the abundance of carbon monoxide and fractional ionisation accurately with significantly reduced chemical networks in the case of pure gas-phase chemistry. For gas-grain chemistry involving surface reactions reduction is not worthwhile. Compared to the ``objective technique'' our reduction method is more effective but more time-consuming as well.Comment: 15 pages, 7 postscript figures, accepted for publication in A&

Silver mean conjectures for 15-d volumes and 14-d hyperareas of the separable two-qubit systems

Extensive numerical integration results lead us to conjecture that the silver mean, that is, s = \sqrt{2}-1 = .414214 plays a fundamental role in certain geometries (those given by monotone metrics) imposable on the 15-dimensional convex set of two-qubit systems. For example, we hypothesize that the volume of separable two-qubit states, as measured in terms of (four times) the minimal monotone or Bures metric is s/3, and 10s in terms of (four times) the Kubo-Mori monotone metric. Also, we conjecture, in terms of (four times) the Bures metric, that that part of the 14-dimensional boundary of separable states consisting generically of rank-four 4 x 4 density matrices has volume (``hyperarea'') 55s/39 and that part composed of rank-three density matrices, 43s/39, so the total boundary hyperarea would be 98s/39. While the Bures probability of separability (0.07334) dominates that (0.050339) based on the Wigner-Yanase metric (and all other monotone metrics) for rank-four states, the Wigner-Yanase (0.18228) strongly dominates the Bures (0.03982) for the rank-three states.Comment: 30 pages, 6 tables, 17 figures; nine new figures and one new table in new section VII.B pertaining to 14-dimensional hyperareas associated with various monotone metric

Osmoregulators proline and glycine betaine counteract salinity stress in canola

Salt inundation leads to increased salinization of arable land in many arid and semi-arid regions. Until genetic solutions are found farmers and growers must either abandon salt-affected fields or use agronomic treatments that alleviate salt stress symptoms. Here, field experiments were carried out to study the effect of the osmoregulators proline at 200 mg L-1 and glycine betaine at 400 mg L-1 in counteracting the harmful effect of soil salinity stress on canola plants grown in Egypt. We assessed growth characteristics, yield and biochemical constituents. Results show first that all growth characters decreased with increasing salinity stress but applied osmoregulators alleviated these negative effects. Second, salinity stress decreased photosynthetic pigments, K and P contents, whilst increasing proline, soluble sugars, ascorbic acid, Na and Cl contents. Third, application of osmoregulators without salt stress increased photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugars, N, K and P contents whilst decreasing Na and Cl contents. It is concluded that the exogenously applied osmoregulators glycine betaine and proline can fully or partially counteract the harmful effect of salinity stress on growth and yield of canola.© INRA and Springer-Verlag, France 2012

First detection of CO lines in a water fountain star

[Context] Water fountain stars are very young post-AGB stars with high velocity water maser jets. They are the best objects to study the onset of bipolar jets from evolved stars due to their young dynamical ages. [Methods] We use the Arizona Radio Observatory 10m telescope to observe the CO J=2-1 line and compare the line parameters with that of masers. [Results] We report the detection of 12CO and 13COJ=2-1 lines from IRAS 16342-3814. The inferred 12CO mass loss rate is an order of magnitude lower than the infrared and OH mass loss rates, indicating a very cold and thick O-rich circumstellar envelope around the star. We also find a 12CO expansion velocity of Vexp = 46 +- 1 km/s that is too high for an AGB wind and confirm the systemic velocity of 44 +- 1 km/s. In addition we measure a very low 12CO/13CO line ratio of 1.7. [Conclusions] The first detection of CO lines has provided a new way to investigate the water fountain stars. Given the high expansion velocity of the CO gas and its relation to maser velocities, we infer that the CO emission region is co-located with the OH mainline masers in the warm base of the optical bipolar lobes, while the high velocity OH1612MHz and H2O masers are located in the side walls and at the farthest ends of the bipolar lobes, respectively. Further observations are highly desired to understand the very low 12CO/13CO line ratio.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, accepted by A&A Lette

Internal delensing of cosmic microwave background polarization B-Modes with the POLARBEAR experiment

International audienceUsing only cosmic microwave background polarization data from the polarbear experiment, we measure B-mode polarization delensing on subdegree scales at more than 5σ significance. We achieve a 14% B-mode power variance reduction, the highest to date for internal delensing, and improve this result to 22% by applying for the first time an iterative maximum a posteriori delensing method. Our analysis demonstrates the capability of internal delensing as a means of improving constraints on inflationary models, paving the way for the optimal analysis of next-generation primordial B-mode experiments

The TLR2-MyD88-NOD2-RIPK2 signalling axis regulates a balanced pro-inflammatory and IL-10-mediated anti-inflammatory cytokine response to Gram-positive cell walls

Systemic infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae is associated with a vigorous pro-inflammatory response to structurally complex cell wall fragments (PnCW) that are shed during cell growth and antibiotic-induced autolysis. Consistent with previous studies, inflammatory cytokine production induced by PnCW was dependent on TLR2 but independent of NOD2, a cytoplasmic NLR protein. However, in parallel with the pro-inflammatory response, we found that PnCW also induced prodigious secretion of anti-inflammatory IL-10 from macrophages. This response was dependent on TLR2, but also involved NOD2 as absence of NOD2-reduced IL-10 secretion in response to cell wall and translated into diminished downstream effects on IL-10-regulated target gene expression. PnCW-mediated production of IL-10 via TLR2 required RIPK2 a kinase required for NOD2 function, and MyD88 but differed from that known for zymosan in that ERK pathway activation was not detected. As mutations in NOD2 are linked to aberrant immune responses, the temporal and quantitative effects of activation of the TLR2-NOD2-RIPK2 pathway on IL-10 secretion may affect the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to Gram-positive bacteria.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74582/1/j.1462-5822.2008.01189.x.pd

Pre-cooling for endurance exercise performance in the heat: a systematic review.

PMCID: PMC3568721The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/166. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Endurance exercise capacity diminishes under hot environmental conditions. Time to exhaustion can be increased by lowering body temperature prior to exercise (pre-cooling). This systematic literature review synthesizes the current findings of the effects of pre-cooling on endurance exercise performance, providing guidance for clinical practice and further research

Compound K, a Metabolite of Ginseng Saponin, Induces Mitochondria-Dependent and Caspase-Dependent Apoptosis via the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species in Human Colon Cancer Cells

The objective of this study was to elucidate the cytotoxic mechanism of Compound K, with respect to the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the mitochondrial involved apoptosis, in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Compound K exhibited a concentration of 50% growth inhibition (IC50) at 20 μg/mL and cytotoxicity in a time dependent manner. Compound K produced intracellular ROS in a time dependent fashion; however, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) pretreatment resulted in the inhibition of this effect and the recovery of cell viability. Compound K induced a mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway via the modulation of Bax and Bcl-2 expressions, resulting in the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm). Loss of the Δψm was followed by cytochrome c release from the mitochondria, resulting in the activation of caspase-9, -3, and concomitant poly ADP-ribosyl polymerase (PARP) cleavage, which are the indicators of caspase-dependent apoptosis. The apoptotic effect of Compound K, exerted via the activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), was abrogated by specific MAPK inhibitors. This study demonstrated that Compound K-mediated generation of ROS led to apoptosis through the modulation of a mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway and MAPK pathway