A multi-parametric screening platform for photosynthetic trait characterization of microalgae and cyanobacteria under inorganic carbon limitation.

Microalgae and cyanobacteria are considered as important model organisms to investigate the biology of photosynthesis; moreover, they are valuable sources of biomolecules for several biotechnological applications. Understanding the species-specific traits of photosynthetic electron transport is extremely important, because it contributes to the regulation of ATP/NADPH ratio, which has direct/indirect links to carbon fixation and other metabolic pathways and thus overall growth and biomass production. In the present work, a cuvette-based setup is developed, in which a combination of measurements of dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll fluorescence and NADPH kinetics can be performed without disturbing the physiological status of the sample. The suitability of the system is demonstrated using a model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, as well as biofuel-candidate microalgae species, such as Chlorella sorokiniana, Dunaliella salina and Nannochloropsis limnetica undergoing inorganic carbon (Ci) limitation. Inorganic carbon limitation, induced by photosynthetic Ci uptake under continuous illumination, caused a decrease in the effective quantum yield of PSII (Y(II)) and loss of oxygen-evolving capacity in all species investigated here; these effects were largely recovered by the addition of NaHCO3. Detailed analysis of the dark-light and light-dark transitions of NADPH production/uptake and changes in chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics revealed species- and condition-specific responses. These responses indicate that the impact of decreased Calvin-Benson cycle activity on photosynthetic electron transport pathways involving several sections of the electron transport chain (such as electron transfer via the QA-QB-plastoquinone pool, the redox state of the plastoquinone pool) can be analyzed with high sensitivity in a comparative manner. Therefore, the integrated system presented here can be applied for screening for specific traits in several significant species at different stages of inorganic carbon limitation, a condition that strongly impacts primary productivity

Effects of acceleration on the collision of particles in the rotating black hole spacetime

We study the collision of two geodesic particles in the accelerating and rotating black hole spacetime and probe the effects of the acceleration of black hole on the center-of-mass energy of the colliding particles and on the high-velocity collision belts. We find that the dependence of the center-of-mass energy on the acceleration in the near event-horizon collision is different from that in the near acceleration-horizon case. Moreover, the presence of the acceleration changes the shape and position of the high-velocity collision belts. Our results show that the acceleration of black holes brings richer physics for the collision of particles.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, The corrected version accepted for publication in EPJ

performance: An R package for assessment, comparison and testing of statistical models

A crucial part of statistical analysis is evaluating a model’s quality and fit, or performance. During analysis, especially with regression models, investigating the fit of models to data also often involves selecting the best fitting model amongst many competing models. Upon investigation, fit indices should also be reported both visually and numerically to bring readers in on the investigative effort. The performance R-package (R Core Team, 2021) provides utilities for computing measures to assess model quality, many of which are not directly provided by R’s base or stats packages. These include measures like R2, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), root mean squared error (RMSE), or functions to check for vexing issues like overdispersion, singularity, or zeroinflation. These functions support a large variety of regression models including generalized linear models, (generalized) mixed-effects models, their Bayesian cousins, and many others

COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF PTEROCARPUS MARSUPIUM WITH PIOGLITAZONE IN DEXAMETHASONE-INDUCED INSULIN RESISTANCE

ABSTRACTObjective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the preventive effect of heartwood of P. marsupium in dexamethasone-induced hyperinsulinemiaand hyperglycemia and compare it with that of pioglitazone.Methods: Male albino wistar rats were divided into five groups (n=6). Plain control group received gum acacia (2%) orally from d 1 to d 12. Dexacontrol group received gum acacia (2%) orally for d 1 to d 12 and Dexa (8 mg/kg) intraperitoneal (i.p.) from d 7 to d 12, during the study period.Two test groups received ethanolic extract of Pterocarpus marsupium heartwood (PME) (1 and 2 g/kg/) per oral (PO), and standard control groupreceived pioglitazone (60 mg/kg/PO) from d 1 to d 12. During the 12-d study period, the two test groups and standard control group received Dexa(8 mg/kg/i.p.) from d 7 to d 12. On last day of the study, the blood samples were collected by retro-orbital sinus punctureand used for estimation ofserum insulin and glucose levels. Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) method was employed to calculate the degree of insulin resistance(IR).Results were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance followed by Scheffe's multiple comparison test (p<0.05).Results: Treatment with ethanolic extract of P. marsupium and pioglitazone significantly (p<0.05) reduced the elevated insulin and glucose levels aswell as HOMA-IR and HOMA-IS values in dexa treated animals.Conclusion: Ethanolic extract of P. marsupium heartwood effectively countered dexamethasone-induced hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia.Insulin-sensitizing activity of P. marsupium heartwood was found to be more effective than pioglitazone.Keywords: Pterocarpus marsupium, Insulin resistance, Hyperinsulinemia, Hyperglycemia

Global positioning system based spatial and temporal distribution of new leaf curl begomovirus disease on sunflower in Northern Karnataka

Leaf curl disease on sunflower caused by begomovirus genus of the family geminiviridae. Present investigations on field survey for disease incidence, field diagnostic symptoms and its spatial and temporal distribution in major sunflower growing parts of North Eastern Karnataka through GPS system during 2013-14, revealed that the disease was found to occur at all the stages of sunflower under field condition and exhibited symptoms such as vein thickening (enations) on abaxial surface of the leaves, upward curling and reduction in leaf size and severe discoluration of capitulum (Head) followed by bushy appearance. GPS based survey indicated that the % disease incidence varied from location to location (spatial variation) and also from season to season (temporal variation). The low incidence was noticed during Kharif condition which is ranged between 6.34-11.16, with the average incidence of 11.2%, 7.4% and 6.3% in Koppal, Raichur and Ballari districts repectively. Whereas during Rabi/summer season, high magnitude of disease noticed in many of the locations surveyed and is recorded upto 92.9 %. The GPS maps plotted based on PDI scale (0-3) represents high risk areas of the disease in Raichur and adjacent areas of Nort Eastern Karnataka and the result shows that the disease occurrence was more in rabi as compared to Kharif situations irrespective of locations. GPS survey map is an indicator to locate the nature of disease spread so as to conclude the hotspot areas

Bandwidth selection for kernel density estimation with length-biased data

Length-biased data are a particular case of weighted data, which arise in many situations: biomedicine, quality control or epidemiology among others. In this paper we study the theoretical properties of kernel density estimation in the context of length-biased data, proposing two consistent bootstrap methods that we use for bandwidth selection. Apart from the bootstrap bandwidth selectors we suggest a rule-of-thumb. These bandwidth selection proposals are compared with a least-squares cross-validation method. A simulation study is accomplished to understand the behaviour of the procedures in finite samples

Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Asymmetric S_N2-Type O-Alkylations

Bridging the gap: Brønsted acids catalyze an intramolecular SN2-type alkylation of alcohols with ethers by bridging a pentacoordinate transition state, thus simultaneously activating both the leaving group and nucleophile (see scheme). Density functional calculations provide detailed insight into the course of the reaction and the transition-state structure

SUPPORTING DYNAMIC NETWORK SLICING AND POLICY CREATION FOR END DEVICES IN PRIVATE 5G NETWORKS

Described herein are techniques for handling dynamic slicing requirements of User Equipment (UE) by performing remote activation (e.g., Over-the-Air Provisioning (OTAP)) of the logical profiles captured in the embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) which are created for the different slicing needs in private 5G networks. Also described are techniques for installing policies based on the Manufacturer Usage Description (MUD) Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in a private 5G network and efficiently retaining it during a 5G outage