Effects of elevated carbon dioxide on photosynthesis and carbon partitioning: a perspective on root sugar sensing and hormonal crosstalk

Plant responses to atmospheric carbon dioxide will be of great concern in the future, as carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO2]) are predicted to continue to rise. Elevated [CO2] causes increased photosynthesis in plants, which leads to greater production of carbohydrates and biomass. Which organ the extra carbohydrates are allocated to varies between species, but also within species. These carbohydrates are a major energy source for plant growth, but they also act as signaling molecules and have a range of uses beyond being a source of carbon and energy. Currently, there is a lack of information on how the sugar sensing and signaling pathways of plants are affected by the higher content of carbohydrates produced under elevated [CO2]. Particularly, the sugar signaling pathways of roots are not well understood, along with how they are affected by elevated [CO2]. At elevated [CO2], some plants allocate greater amounts of sugars to roots where they are likely to act on gene regulation and therefore modify nutrient uptake and transport. Glucose and sucrose also promote root growth, an effect similar to what occurs under elevated [CO2]. Sugars also crosstalk with hormones to regulate root growth, but also affect hormone biosynthesis. This review provides an update on the role of sugars as signaling molecules in plant roots and thus explores the currently known functions that may be affected by elevated [CO2]

Improving medical certification of cause of death: effective strategies and approaches based on experiences from the Data for Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Accurate and timely cause of death (COD) data are essential for informed public health policymaking. Medical certification of COD generally provides the majority of COD data in a population and is an essential component of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. Accurate completion of the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCOD) should be a relatively straightforward procedure for physicians, but mistakes are common. Here, we present three training strategies implemented in five countries supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative at the University of Melbourne (UoM) and evaluate the impact on the quality of certification. METHODS: The three training strategies evaluated were (1) training of trainers (TOT) in the Philippines, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka; (2) direct training of physicians by the UoM D4H in Papua New Guinea (PNG); and (3) the implementation of an online and basic training strategy in Peru. The evaluation involved an assessment of MCCODs before and after training using an assessment tool developed by the University of Melbourne. RESULTS: The TOT strategy led to reductions in incorrectly completed certificates of between 28% in Sri Lanka and 40% in the Philippines. Following direct training of physicians in PNG, the reduction in incorrectly completed certificates was 30%. In Peru, the reduction in incorrect certificates was 30% after implementation and training on an online system only and 43% after training on both the online system and basic medical certification principles. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that a variety of training strategies can produce benefits in the quality of certification, but further improvements are possible. The experiences of D4H suggest several aspects of the strategies that should be further developed to improve outcomes, particularly key stakeholder engagement from early in the intervention and local committees to oversee activities and support an improved culture in hospitals to support better diagnostic skills and practices

Assessing the reliability of causes of death reported by the Vital Registration System in Sri Lanka: Medical Records review in Colombo

Information on causes of death is critical for informed decision making in the health sector. This paper reports findings from a study that measured the accuracy of registered causes of death and quality of medical records for a sample of deaths occurring in hospitals in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Five physicians, trained in medical certification of cause of death, reconstructed death certifi cates for hospital deaths from medical records and assessed the quality of medical records for this purpose. The majority of medical records were found to be of average quality. Concordance between the underlying cause of death in the vital registration data and that from the 'gold standard' (medical records review) diagnosis was 41.4% (n=249). The sensitivity of all leading causes of death and positive predictive value were below 67%. Major misclassifi cation errors were found in identifying deaths due to vascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Certified causes of death in Sri Lanka are frequently incorrect, thus limiting their value for health policy and for monitoring progress towards development goals. Sri Lanka, and other countries at a similar level of statistical development, should consider periodically conducting research to evaluate the quality of cause of death reporting at both local and national levels

Effect of elevated carbon dioxide on plant biomass and grain protein concentration differs across bread, durum and synthetic hexaploid wheat genotypes

Atmospheric carbon dioxide conditions predicted for future climates cause increases in wheat biomass, but also decreases wheat grain protein concentration. We investigated the response of grain protein concentration of wheat to elevated carbon dioxide in nineteen wheat genotypes, including five tetraploid, eleven hexaploid and three synthetic hexaploid genotypes to test whether decreased grain protein is genotype dependent and whether it is caused by biomass dilution. These were grown in ambient and elevated carbon dioxide conditions simultaneously. Shoot biomass and grain samples were taken at maturity. The grain protein concentration, grain biomass, shoot biomass and harvest index were analysed for each genotype. Despite most genotypes increasing in total grain protein (g), the majority of genotypes decreased in grain protein concentration (%) under elevated carbon dioxide. Elevated carbon dioxide caused an increase in grain biomass for all genotypes and total shoot biomass for most genotypes, with harvest index increasing for all genotypes except the two synthetic hexaploids CPI133814 and CPI133811. Most of the differences between wheat types were not statistically significant, suggesting that the individual genotype of wheat plants determines the response to elevated carbon dioxide rather than the wheat type

New insights into the cellular mechanisms of plant growth at elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) significantly influences plant growth, development, and biomass. Increased photosynthesis rate, together with lower stomatal conductance, has been identified as the key factors that stimulate plant growth at elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]). However, variations in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance alone cannot fully explain the dynamic changes in plant growth. Stimulation of photosynthesis at e[CO2] is always associated with post‐photosynthetic secondary metabolic processes that include carbon and nitrogen metabolism, cell cycle functions, and hormonal regulation. Most studies have focused on photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in response to e[CO2], despite the emerging evidence of e[CO2]'s role in moderating secondary metabolism in plants. In this review, we briefly discuss the effects of e[CO2] on photosynthesis and stomatal conductance and then focus on the changes in other cellular mechanisms and growth processes at e[CO2] in relation to plant growth and development. Finally, knowledge gaps in understanding plant growth responses to e[CO2] have been identified with the aim of improving crop productivity under a CO2 rich atmosphere

Effects of Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Photosynthesis and Carbon Partitioning: A Perspective on Root Sugar Sensing and Hormonal Crosstalk

Plant responses to atmospheric carbon dioxide will be of great concern in the future, as carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO2]) are predicted to continue to rise. Elevated [CO2] causes increased photosynthesis in plants, which leads to greater production of carbohydrates and biomass. Which organ the extra carbohydrates are allocated to varies between species, but also within species. These carbohydrates are a major energy source for plant growth, but they also act as signaling molecules and have a range of uses beyond being a source of carbon and energy. Currently, there is a lack of information on how the sugar sensing and signaling pathways of plants are affected by the higher content of carbohydrates produced under elevated [CO2]. Particularly, the sugar signaling pathways of roots are not well understood, along with how they are affected by elevated [CO2]. At elevated [CO2], some plants allocate greater amounts of sugars to roots where they are likely to act on gene regulation and therefore modify nutrient uptake and transport. Glucose and sucrose also promote root growth, an effect similar to what occurs under elevated [CO2]. Sugars also crosstalk with hormones to regulate root growth, but also affect hormone biosynthesis. This review provides an update on the role of sugars as signaling molecules in plant roots and thus explores the currently known functions that may be affected by elevated [CO2]

Emerging Herbal Cosmetic Production in Sri Lanka: Identifying Possible Interventions for the Development of the Herbal Cosmetic Industry

Although the herbal cosmetic industry has exponentially increased globally, manufacturing of herbal cosmetic products in Sri Lanka is still very limited. Therefore, objectives of the study were to recognize plants used in commercialized herbal cosmetic products and major constraints faced by herbal cosmetic manufacturers and to identify possible interventions for the development of herbal cosmetic industry of Sri Lanka. Information was gathered via a semistructured questionnaire by personal interviews with 11 large-scale multiple herbal cosmetic products manufacturers. Collected data were analyzed via frequency index for usage and descriptive statistics. A total of 115 plant species belonging to 56 families were identified. Extensive usage of Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., Coscinium fenestratum (Goetgh.) Colebr., and Santalum album L. (90.91%) was reported among herbal cosmetic manufacturers. The highest number of plants or plant materials was used for manufacturing skin care products (54.78%) followed by hair care (19.13%) and oral care (6.96%). The majority of plants were reported from the plant family Fabaceae (16 species). Leaves (20.87%) were the widely used plant part, whereas 10 plant species were used as whole plants. Inadequacy of 7 plants/plant materials and importation of 8 plant materials for the production were also recognized. As major constraints faced by herbal cosmetic manufacturers, inadequate availability and poor quality of raw materials were emphasized. In conclusion, establishing proper cultivation system, implementing strategies for quality control of raw materials, and conducting ethnobotany, ethnopharmacological surveys to identify cosmetic potential of medicinal plants and partnerships with universities to transfer technology for product development to industries are possible interventions for the development of herbal cosmetic industry of Sri Lanka

Site-specific, genotypic and temporal variation in photosynthesis and its related biochemistry in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Photosynthesis in wheat pericarps may contribute appreciably to wheat grain yield. Consequently, we investigated the temporal variation of traits related to photosynthesis and sucrose metabolism in the pericarps and flag leaves of three wheat genotypes, Huandoy, Amurskaja75 and Greece 25, that are reported to differ in expression of genes related to the C4 pathway in wheat grain. Significant site-specific, genotypic and temporal variation in Vcmax and Jmax were observed early in ontogeny that dissipated by late grain-filling. Although the transcript abundance of rbcS and rbcL in flag leaves was significantly higher than in the pericarps, in line with their photosynthetic prominence, both organ types displayed similar expression patterns among growth stages. The higher N concentrations in the pericarps during grain enlargement suggest that the increased Rubisco; however, expression of rbcS and rbcL indicated the contrary. From heading to 14 dpa, wheat pericarps exhibited a strong, positive correlation between biological capacity for carbon assimilation and expression of key genes related to sucrose metabolism (SPS1, SUS1 and SPP1). The strong correlation between spike dry weight and the biological capacity for carbon assimilation along with other findings of this study suggest that metabolic processes in wheat spikes may play a major role in grain filling, total yield and quality

An assessment of the contribution of an analog forest as a sustainable land use ecosystem for the development of rural green economy in Sri Lanka

The main reason for the forest fragmentation in most natural ecosystems in the wet zone of Sri Lanka is a result of large scale clearing of natural forests for human settlements as well as in the form of tea, rubber and cinnamon plantations. In addition, illegal logging and over-exploitation of natural resources have posed massive threats to both nature and the humans including the loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, landslides, flash floods, land degradation and increasing poverty. This paper discusses about the potential to develop the rural  green economy as a result of consolidating these agricultural lands into analog forests as a sustainable land use practice in a participatory approach model. Bangamukanda Estate (BKE), a manmade analog forest in Galle District was selected for this assessment. Participatory rural appraisal methods were used to obtain information on resource utilization by the local community in nearby Bangamukanda and Liyanagamakanda villages. The past records obtained by the long term ongoing analog forestry establishment programme were also used for analysis the livelihood changes of the people in those villages due to the positive impacts of this analog forest ecosystem.Various interventions had been made in the view of addressing the issues such as encouraging local farm ers to change into sustainable community based cultivation of timber, fruits, spices and medicinal plants, paying them for the environmental services they render and enhancing their income through green employment. Crop diversification helped to stabilize  the economy of the local farmers and minimize the current environmental impact that resulted from mono-crop cultivation. The introduction of new sustainable agricultural activities, such as bee keeping and planting fruits resulted in the production of value added farm products and organic fruits to be sold in the market. Through environmental based tourism activities such as providing accommodation, eco guidance, food and fruit for tourists, assisting environmental research activities, the stakeholders are  earning a better income which trends to the development of the green economy of the country.Key words: Bangamukanda, analog forest, crop diversification, sustainable land use, rural green economy, green employmen