Salicylic acid-induced germination, biochemical and developmental alterations in rye (Secale cereale L.)

Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the endogenous plant growth regulators that modulate various metabolic and physiological events. To evaluate the exogenous SA-induced germination, biochemical and developmental alterations, different concentrations (10, 100, 500 and 1000 μM) of SA were applied to rye (Secale cereale L.) seeds in hydroponic culture conditions for 15 days. The observations revealed that seed germination and root elongation were stimulated in 10 μM SA treatment, however they were inhibited in higher concentrations (100 and 500 μM) of SA. Furthermore, there was no germination in 1000 μM SA. The analysis of antioxidant enzymes revealed that although superoxide dismutase activity increased, catalase activity decreased in comparison to control. Besides, lipid peroxidation and peroxidase activity increased in 10 μM SA, whereas they decreased in higher concentrations. Similarly total chlorophyll content increased in 10 μM SA, but it decreased in 100 and 500 μM SA treatments. Moreover anthocyanins and carotenoids increased after SA treatment. In conclusion, exogenous SA application causes developmental and biochemical alterations in rye

Plasmonic biosensor

The present invention relates to a plasmonic biosensor system. The system includes a nano-hole array device comprising at least one nano-hole array (NHA) including at least one or a plurality of nano holes (NH), an image sensor (A3) for capturing light provided by a light source (A1) and transmitted through the nano-hole array (NHA), and at least one or a plurality of nano-particles (NP) configured to be received by the nano-holes (NH) of the nano-hole array (NHA)

Maternal and perinatal characteristics of small-for-gestational-age newborns: Ten-year experience of a single center

Objective: To analyze the maternal and perinatal characteristics of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns compared with appropriate-for-gestational- age (AGA) newborns in singleton pregnancies managed at our hospital between January 2006 and December 2015. Material and Methods: The study (n=456) and control (n=4925) groups included pregnancies resulting in SGA and AGA newborns, respectively. Additionally, two SGA subgroups were defined according to abnormal (n=34) and normal (n=57) Doppler findings. Maternal demographic features; intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) pregnancies; gestational age at delivery; birth weight; major congenital anomalies, karyotype abnormalities, and genetic syndromes; maternal and obstetric problems such as hypertensive disorders, diabetes, oligohydramnios, preterm birth; admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and perinatal mortality were recorded, and the two groups were compared with respect to these parameters. Results: Mean maternal age, parity, gestational age at delivery, and birthweight were significantly lower; the frequencies of ICSI pregnancies, hypertensive disorders, oligohydramnios, preterm delivery, major congenital anomalies, karyotype abnormalities and genetic syndromes, admission to the NICU and perinatal mortality were significantly higher in the study group (p0.05). Conclusion: The association of SGA with ICSI pregnancies, hypertensive disorders, oligohydramnios, preterm delivery, congenital/chromosomal anomalies, NICU admission and perinatal mortality may be important in perinatal care. Clinical suspicion of SGA necessitates appropriate monitorization and management. Although obstetric outcomes were not significantly different between the two SGA subgroups with abnormal and normal Doppler findings in this study, this finding must be evaluated with caution due to the small sizes