2,395 research outputs found
Long-term effects of red- and blue-light emitting diodes on leaf anatomy and photosynthetic efficiency of three ornamental pot plants
Light quality critically affects plant development and growth. Development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) enables the use of narrow band red and/or blue wavelengths as supplementary lighting in ornamental production. Yet, long periods under these wavelengths will affect leaf morphology and physiology. Leaf anatomy, stomatal traits, and stomatal conductance, leaf hydraulic conductance (K-leaf), and photosynthetic efficiency were investigated in three ornamental pot plants, namely Cordyline australis (monocot), Ficus benjamina (dicot, evergreen leaves), and Sinningia speciosa (dicot, deciduous leaves) after 8 weeks under LED light. Four light treatments were applied at 100 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) and a photoperiod of 16 h using 100% red (R), 100% blue (B), 75% red with 25% blue (RB), and full spectrum white light (W), respectively. B and RB resulted in a greater maximum quantum yield (F-v/F-m) and quantum efficiency (Phi(PSII)) in all species compared to R and W and this correlated with a lower biomass under R. B increased the stomata' conductance compared with R. This increase was linked to an increasing stomatal index and/or stomatal density but the stomata' aperture area was unaffected by the applied light quality. Leaf hydraulic conductance (K-leaf) was not significantly affected by the applied light qualities. Blue light increased the leaf thickness of F benjarnina, and a relative higher increase in palisade parenchyma was observed. Also in S. speciosa, increase in palisade parenchyma was found under B and RB, though total leaf thickness was not affected. Palisade parenchyma tissue thickness was correlated to the leaf photosynthetic quantum efficiency (Phi(PSII)). In conclusion, the role of blue light addition in the spectrum is essential for the normal anatomical leaf development which also impacts the photosynthetic efficiency in the three studied species
Structure and substrate selectivity of the 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme of geranyl-CoA carboxylase.
Geranyl-CoA carboxylase (GCC) is essential for the growth of Pseudomonas organisms with geranic acid as the sole carbon source. GCC has the same domain organization and shares strong sequence conservation with the related biotin-dependent carboxylases 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC) and propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC). Here we report the crystal structure of the 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme of GCC, which is similar to MCC but strikingly different from PCC. The structures provide evidence in support of two distinct lineages of biotin-dependent acyl-CoA carboxylases, one carboxylating the α carbon of a saturated organic acid and the other carboxylating the γ carbon of an α-β unsaturated acid. Structural differences in the active site region of GCC and MCC explain their distinct substrate preferences. Especially, a glycine residue in GCC is replaced by phenylalanine in MCC, which blocks access by the larger geranyl-CoA substrate. Mutation of this residue in the two enzymes can change their substrate preferences
Inelastic and reactive scattering of hyperthermal atomic oxygen from amorphous carbon
The reaction of hyperthermal oxygen atoms with an amorphous carbon-13 surface was studied using a modified universal crossed molecular beams apparatus. Time-of-flight distributions of inelastically scattered O-atoms and reactively scattered CO-13 and CO2-13 were measured with a rotatable mass spectrometer detector. Two inelastic scattering channels were observed, corresponding to a direct inelastic process in which the scattered O-atoms retain 20 to 30 percent of their initial kinetic energy and to a trapping desorption process whereby O-atoms emerge from the surface at thermal velocities. Reactive scattering data imply the formation of two kinds of CO products, slow products whose translational energies are determined by the surface temperature and hyperthermal (Approx. 3 eV) products with translational energies comprising roughly 30 percent of the total available energy (E sub avl), where E sub avl is the sum of the collision energy and the reaction exothermicity. Angular data show that the hyperthermal CO is scattered preferentially in the specular direction. CO2 product was also observed, but at much lower intensities than CO and with only thermal velocities
Improving Household Drinking Water Quality: Use of Biosand Filter in Cambodia
The BSF is a robust water treatment technology for use in rural Cambodian households, capable of effective removal of bacteria, and significant reduction of diarrheal disease. BSF performance is comparable to other recommended household water treatment interventions
Development of CMOS Pixel Sensors fully adapted to the ILD Vertex Detector Requirements
CMOS Pixel Sensors are making steady progress towards the specifications of
the ILD vertex detector. Recent developments are summarised, which show that
these devices are close to comply with all major requirements, in particular
the read-out speed needed to cope with the beam related background. This
achievement is grounded on the double- sided ladder concept, which allows
combining signals generated by a single particle in two different sensors, one
devoted to spatial resolution and the other to time stamp, both assembled on
the same mechanical support. The status of the development is overviewed as
well as the plans to finalise it using an advanced CMOS process.Comment: 2011 International Workshop on Future Linear Colliders (LCWS11),
Granada, Spain, 26-30 September 201
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Linoleic acid participates in the response to ischemic brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission.
Linoleic acid (LA; 18:2 n-6), the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in the US diet, is a precursor to oxidized metabolites that have unknown roles in the brain. Here, we show that oxidized LA-derived metabolites accumulate in several rat brain regions during CO2-induced ischemia and that LA-derived 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid, but not LA, increase somatic paired-pulse facilitation in rat hippocampus by 80%, suggesting bioactivity. This study provides new evidence that LA participates in the response to ischemia-induced brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission. Targeting this pathway may be therapeutically relevant for ischemia-related conditions such as stroke
Evaluation of the Impact of the Plastic BioSand Filter on Health and Drinking Water Quality in Rural Tamale, Ghana
A randomized controlled trial of the plastic BioSand filter (BSF) was performed in rural communities in Tamale (Ghana) to assess reductions in diarrheal disease and improvements in household drinking water quality. Few studies of household water filters have been performed in this region, where high drinking water turbidity can be a challenge for other household water treatment technologies. During the study, the longitudinal prevalence ratio for diarrhea comparing households that received the plastic BSF to households that did not receive it was 0.40 (95% confidence interval: 0.05, 0.80), suggesting an overall diarrheal disease reduction of 60%. The plastic BSF achieved a geometric mean reduction of 97% and 67% for E. coli and turbidity, respectively. These results suggest the plastic BSF significantly improved drinking water quality and reduced diarrheal disease during the short trial in rural Tamale, Ghana. The results are similar to other trials of household drinking water treatment technologies
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