Distribution of mosquito larvae in rice field habitats: A spatial scale analysis in semi-field condition

The distribution of the mosquito larvae in the breeding habitats varies at the spatial scale depending on the availability of the resources and the predators. This proposition was assessed through the observation of the spatial distribution of Culex larvae (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) in artificially constructed rice field habitats. Using a binomial generalized linear model with logit link, the disparity in the abundance of the larvae was evaluated to justify the effects of light (light vs shade), vertical (surface vs bottom), and horizontal (wall vs center) distribution as explanatory variables. Under light availability, the spatial occupancy of the mosquito larvae was higher in the center than in the walls of the mesocosms. However, the larval orientation was higher on the surface than at the bottom of the mesocosms in all instances. In comparison to open spaces, the larval aggregation was higher in the presence of the floating vegetations like Azolla and Lemna, indicating that the habitat heterogeneity of the mesocosms influenced the distribution of the mosquito larvae in the available spaces. A reduction in the larval aggregation pattern in the spaces was observed in the presence of the predator (Anisops sp.) reflecting the possible evasion tactics of the mosquito larvae. The observations suggest that the mosquito larvae may utilize the vegetation in the rice field habitats quite effectively and occupy empty spaces of predators. The results may be considered as a prototype of the prospective localization of the mosquito larvae in the rice fields and help to frame the strategies of spraying the biopesticides to achieve optimal efficacy in mosquito regulation

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Verbal Cinema: Film Techniques in the Major Novels

Englis

Tyr(b10) Prevents Stabilization of Bound Oxygen in Soybean Leghemoglobin

Root nodules are complex structures that occur on roots of many agronomically important plants such as soybeans. Root nodules are a symbiosis between the plant and soil-borne bacteria. Once formed, and functional, root nodules can fix atmospheric nitrogen and provide the plant with a pollution-free source of nitrogen for seed production. A basic component of functional and efficient root nodules are the heme proteins called leghemoglobins. Leghemoglobins can bind to, and transport molecular oxygen and thereby maintain a low oxygen environment within the root nodule, permitting the microaerobic bacteria to convert atmospheric dinitrogen into ammonia, which is then assimilated by the plant for growth. Thus understanding the oxygen-binding characteristics of leghemoglobin are of major importance from both a basic and applied point of view. In this paper we have shown that specific amino acid residues are critical for allowing the orderly binding and transfer of oxygen from leghemoglobins. Although several hypotheses have been advanced to account for the biochemical properties of leghemoglobins, this work is the first that clearly demonstrates the molecular consequences of amino acids that surround the heme-pocket. Using engineered mutant proteins and spectroscopy, the role of Tyr (B10) has been investigated in detail for several vertebrate and plant hemoglobins

Age associated oxidative damage in lymphocytes

Lymphocytes are an important immunological cell and have been played a significant role in acquired immune system; hence, may play in pivotal role in immunosenescence. Oxidative stress has been reported to increase in elderly subjects, possibly arising from an uncontrolled production of free radicals with aging and decreased antioxidant defenses. This study was aimed to evaluate the level of lipid-protein damage and antioxidant status in lymphocytes of healthy individuals to correlate between oxidative damage with the aging process. Twenty healthy individuals of each age group (11–20; 21–30; 31–40; 41–50; and 51–60 years) were selected randomly. Blood samples were drawn by medical practitioner and lymphocytes were isolated from blood samples. Malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PC) level were evaluated to determine the lipid and protein damage in lymphocytes. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione and glutathione dependent enzymes were estimated to evaluate the antioxidant status in the lymphocytes. Increased MDA and PC levels strongly support the increased oxidative damage in elderly subject than young subjects. The results indicated that, balance of oxidant and antioxidant systems in lymphocytes shifts in favor of accelerated oxidative damage during aging. Thus oxidative stress in lymphocytes may particular interest in aging and may play important role in immunosenescence

Characterisation of Residual Stress in Electron Beam Welded P91 Plates by Neutron Diffraction

Abstract This paper describes the characterisation of residual stress in electron beam welded P91 ferritic -martensitic steel plates (9 mm thick) by neutron diffract ion. The novelty of the work lies in revealing the residual stress profile at a fine length scale associated with a ~ 1 mm wide fusion zone. A characteristic 'M' shaped distribution of stresses across the weld line is observed with high tensile peaks situated just beyond the HAZ/parent material boundary. Measured stresses close to the weld centre-line are significantly less tensile than the adjacent peaks owing to martensitic phase transformat ion during cool-down of the weld region. The effect of applying a second smoothing electron beam weld pass is shown to be undesirable because it increases the tensile magnitude and spread of residual stress

Effect of phosphorylation on the structure and fold of transactivation domain of p53

Several phosphorylations are known to occur in the N-terminal transactivation domain of human p53. To explore the structural effects of these phosphorylations, we have chemically synthesized the unphosphorylated p53-(1-39) and its three phosphorylated analogs, phosphorylated at Ser-15, Thr-18, and Ser-20. p53-(1-39) and its Ser-15 and Thr-18 phosphorylated analogs were tested for interaction with p300. The order of binding affinities was similar to that derived from biochemical experiments with the whole protein, indicating functional integrity of the domain. Differences in chemical shifts and coupling constants indicate significant structural changes upon phosphorylations. The single tryptophan in the unphosphorylated domain has an emission maximum and a Stern-Volmer constant that are characteristics of tryptophans situated in protein interiors. The diffusion constant is monomer-like, with an axial ratio of 1:7.5, indicating a significant degree of compaction. Upon phosphorylations, the emission maximum and diffusion constant change significantly toward values that indicate more open conformations. Binding of the hydrophobic probe bis-1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate to the unphosphorylated and one of the phosphorylated domains is also significantly different, suggesting different conformations. We propose that phosphorylations switch the largely folded transactivation domain to more open conformations that interact with transcription factors such as p300/cAMP- responsive element-binding protein-binding protein, leading to enhancement of gene expression

Probing Universal Extra Dimension at the International Linear Collider

In the context of an universal extra-dimensional scenario, we consider production of the first Kaluza-Klein electron positron pair in an $e^+e^-$ collider as a case-study for the future International Linear Collider. The Kaluza-Klein electron decays into a nearly degenerate Kaluza-Klein photon and a standard electron, the former carrying away missing energy. The Kaluza-Klein electron and photon states are heavy with their masses around the inverse radius of compactification, and their splitting is controlled by radiative corrections originating from bulk and brane-localised interactions. We look for the signal event $e^+e^- +$ large missing energy for $\sqrt s = 1$ TeV and observe that with a few hundred fb$^{-1}$ luminosity the signal will be readily detectable over the standard model background. We comment on how this signal may be distinguished from similar events from other new physics.Comment: latex, 6 pages, 2 figures; v2: Numerical errors corrected, Figs redrawn, SM background analysis improved, new section on LHC/ILC synergy, updated refs, version to appear in PL