Introduction

WOS: 000318196000020Comparative approaches between organic and conventional production systems allow the revealing of suitable crop management systems and perspectives for genetic improvement in grain crop production. For this purpose, two-year-field experiment with five advanced durum wheat lines was conducted under both organic and conventional conditions during 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 growing seasons. Grain yield and yield components (thousand grain weight, spike number per plant and grain number per spike) were determined. Significant positive correlation (r = 0.85**) was found between grain yield of wheat genotypes grown under organic and conventional conditions. Among yield components, a similar correlation (r = 0.74**) was evidenced only in grain number per spike. This suggests that the positive correlation between grain yield of wheat genotypes grown under both conditions is mainly regulated by this yield component. Our finding indicates that any conventional agronomic management which contributes to the increase of grain number per spike, or selected wheat cultivars which have higher value of this parameter may also be advantageous for organic wheat production systems. The critical phenological stage of expression of the character is pointed out, and the practical importance of the finding for facilitating the application of organic systems in durum wheat is underlined

A clinical case report of hypodontia and impacted supernumerary teeth in a patient diagnosed with Yunis-Varon syndrome

Introduction: Yunis-Varon syndrome (YVS) is an extremely rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder affecting many organs and systems (bones, ectodermal structures, the cardiorespiratory system, etc.). Abnormalities include aplasia or hypoplasia of the clavicles, facial dysmorphism, sparse hair, absence or hypoplasia of the thumbs, toes and distal phalanges, prominent auricles, shortened upper lip and other skeletal deformities, such as pelvic dysplasia, kyphosis, scoliosis, etc. Tooth structures and jaws are characterized by marked micrognathia, a narrow high-arched palate, hypodontia, impacted permanent teeth as well as supernumerary teeth.Aim. The present case report aims to describe the clinical and radiographic changes in the masticatory apparatus of a patient diagnosed with Yunis-Varon syndrome.Case Presentation: The subject of this study was а patient, suffering from pain in tooth #38. The clinical intraoral examination revealed hypodontia, but the radiographic image revealed many supernumerary teeth in the anterior and premolar region of both the maxilla and the mandible.Results: In addition to skeletal anomalies and impaired ectodermal structures, this rare syndrome can cause disturbances in the teeth and jaws. For this reason, dental specialists play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from Yunis-Varon syndrome.Conclusion: Early intervention is important in Yunis-Varon syndrome. Future investigation will permit identification of thеsе skeletal and dental abnormalities

XPS study of the nickel oxidation state in the reduced (Ag)NiMg/SiO2 vegetable oil hydrogenation catalysts

Two series of (Ag)NiMg/SiO2 catalysts are synthesized on SiO2 support derived from two silica sources: diatomite activated at 800oC (Series a; Mg/Ni=0.1 and SiO2/Ni=1.07) and synthetic water glass (Series b; Mg/Ni=0.1 and SiO2/Ni=1.15). The modification with silver is made at three molar Ag/Ni ratios, namely 0.0025, 0.025 and 0.1. The effect of the source of SiO2 support as well as of the Ag presence and content on the nickel oxidation state in the co-precipitated (Ag)NiMg/SiO2 catalysts after reduction-passivation procedure are studied by XPS. The peak-fitting of the composite Ni2p level confirms that nickel on the surface is presented in Ni0 and Ni2+ oxidation states. The higher content of Ni0 on the surface of the diatomite supported catalysts shows that the metallic nickel is more stable to oxidation in comparison of the water glass supported ones

Biochar-based fertilizer: Supercharging root membrane potential and biomass yield of rice

Biochar-based compound fertilizers (BCF) and amendments have proven to enhance crop yields and modify soil properties (pH, nutrients, organic matter, structure etc.) and are now in commercial production in China. While there is a good understanding of the changes in soil properties following biochar addition, the interactions within the rhizosphere remain largely unstudied, with benefits to yield observed beyond the changes in soil properties alone. We investigated the rhizosphere interactions following the addition of an activated wheat straw BCF at an application rates of 0.25% (g·g−1 soil), which could potentially explain the increase of plant biomass (by 67%), herbage N (by 40%) and P (by 46%) uptake in the rice plants grown in the BCF-treated soil, compared to the rice plants grown in the soil with conventional fertilizer alone. Examination of the roots revealed that micron and submicron-sized biochar were embedded in the plaque layer. BCF increased soil Eh by 85 mV and increased the potential difference between the rhizosphere soil and the root membrane by 65 mV. This increased potential difference lowered the free energy required for root nutrient accumulation, potentially explaining greater plant nutrient content and biomass. We also demonstrate an increased abundance of plant-growth promoting bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. We suggest that the redox properties of the biochar cause major changes in electron status of rhizosphere soils that drive the observed agronomic benefits

Effect of Different Parts (Leaf, Stem and Stalk) and Seasons (Summer and Winter) on the Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera

Moringa oleifera, Lam. (Moringaceae) is grown world-wide in the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia and Africa and contains abundant various nutrients. This study describes the effect of different parts (leaf, stem and stalk) and seasons (summer and winter) on the chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of M. oleifera grown in Taiwan. The results showed that the winter samples of Moringa had higher ash (except the stalk part), calcium and phenolic compounds (except the leaf part) and stronger antioxidative activity than summer samples. The methanolic extract of Moringa showed strong scavenging effect of DPPH radicals and reducing power. The trend of antioxidative activity as a function of the part of Moringa was: leaf > stem > stalk for samples from both seasons investigated. The Moringa extract showed strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and high Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity except the stalk part

Functional Genomics of Allergen Gene Families in Fruits

Fruit consumption is encouraged for health reasons; however, fruits may harbour a series of allergenic proteins that may cause discomfort or even represent serious threats to certain individuals. Thus, the identification and characterization of allergens in fruits requires novel approaches involving genomic and proteomic tools. Since avoidance of fruits also negatively affects the quality of patients’ lives, biotechnological interventions are ongoing to produce low allergenic fruits by down regulating specific genes. In this respect, the control of proteins associated with allergenicity could be achieved by fine tuning the spatial and temporal expression of the relevant genes

Dufulin Activates HrBP1 to Produce Antiviral Responses in Tobacco

BACKGROUND: Dufulin is a new antiviral agent that is highly effective against plant viruses and acts by activating systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in plants. In recent years, it has been used widely to prevent and control tobacco and rice viral diseases in China. However, its targets and mechanism of action are still poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE) and classical two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) techniques were combined with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify the target of Dufulin. More than 40 proteins were found to be differentially expressed (≥1.5 fold or ≤1.5 fold) upon Dufulin treatment in Nicotiana tabacum K(326). Based on annotations in the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, these proteins were found to be related to disease resistance. Directed acyclic graph (DAG) analysis of the various pathways demonstrated harpin binding protein-1 (HrBP1) as the target of action of Dufulin. Additionally, western blotting, semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and real time PCR analyses were also conducted to identify the specific mechanism of action of Dufulin. Our results show that activation of HrBP1 triggers the salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathway and thereby produces antiviral responses in the plant host. A protective assay based on lesion counting further confirmed the antiviral activity of Dufulin. CONCLUSION: This study identified HrBP1 as a target protein of Dufulin and that Dufulin can activate the SA signaling pathway to induce host plants to generate antiviral responses