Field and genetic analysis of Chinese fast-growing rhizobia

This research investigated the symbiotic effectivity and competitiveness of three strains of Chinese fast-growers (Rhizobium fredii) in the greenhouse and in the field, and evaluated the competitive ability of siderophore over-producing mutants of Chinese fast-growers (developed through transposon-mediated mutation) in an alkaline soil of Iowa. In the greenhouse study on effectiveness, three Chinese fast-growers were tested along with two USDA slow-growers (Bradyrhizobium japonicum) on four soybean cultivars. There was a significant strain-by-cultivar interaction, and two of the fast-growers were as effective as USDA 123 in N fixation on most of the cultivars, but less effective than USDA 110 on all cultivars tested. In the competition studies, the competitiveness of the fast-growers was evaluated in the greenhouse against native bradyrhizobia in six different soils. Nodule occupancy by fast-growers ranged from 1.5 to 38.8%, and there were significant interactions among strains, soils, and cultivars. For field testing, two separate sites each year were selected in the summers of 1987 and 1988, and each of the three fast-growers was introduced into soil at approximately 10[superscript]6 viable cells cm[superscript]-1~ row. Nodule occupancy over the four site-years on the cultivars Corsoy 79 and Williams 82 ranged from 3.8 to 13.3%. Both cultivars responded to N fertilizer with higher yields than the noninoculated controls, which indicated that the native slow-growers were not fixing all the N needed for maximum growth of the plants. The fast-growers persisted reasonably well as saprophytes over a 3-yr period based on nodule occupancy in the greenhouse of field-collected soil. In the siderophore study, only USDA 135 of the three slow-growers tested produced siderophore in liquid culture, which could explain their dominance in alkaline soils where availability of iron is presumed low. In an alkaline soil, two siderophore over-producing mutants, which had retained their symbiotic characteristics and tested positive on Southern hybridization with a Tn5 probe, occupied only one-sixth as many nodules as the wild-type. The symbiotic effectivity of the mutants, however, was not affected by mutation induced by Tn5 insertion. Further characterization of the mutants is necessary to understand why the mutants occupied fewer nodules

Extending snBench to Provide Concurrency Support in the Sensorium Execution Environment (SXE)

The SNBENCH is a general-purpose programming environment and run-time system targeted towards a variety of Sensor applications such as environmental sensing, location sensing, video sensing, etc. In its current structure, the run-time engine of the SNBENCH namely, the Sensorium Execution Environment (SXE) processes the entities of execution in a single thread of operation. In order to effectively support applications that are time-sensitive and need priority, it is imperative to process the tasks discretely so that specific policies can be applied at a much granular level. The goal of this project was to modify the SXE to enable efficient use of system resources by way of multi-tasking the individual components. Additionally, the transformed SXE offers the ability to classify and employ different schemes of processing to the individual tasks

Studies on sandal spike. Part III. The nitrate reductase activity in the normal and pathochemical states of sandal (Santalum album Linn.)

This article does not have an abstract

Tackling colourism through storytelling in an online course for public health professionals

Objective: Strategic storytelling can be used to reframe dominant cultural narratives and improve community health outcomes. This pilot study assessed the impact of an original, online 3-week e-course, delivered from November to December 2021, in increasing learners’ knowledge of and concern for the seriousness of skin-shade discrimination and the use of skin-lightening products in India, increasing learners’ understanding of storytelling-based communication techniques for public health promotion, and increasing learners’ intentions to use strategic storytelling for social change. Design, Setting and Method: The course used case-method pedagogy to address colourism and cosmetic skin lightening. Learners ( N = 25) completed a pre-course baseline survey on their knowledge and concerns regarding colourism and the use of skin-lightening products, as well as their expectations and interests in taking the course. Following course completion, learners completed a post-webinar survey. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to assess differences from pre- to post-course surveys on quantitative items. Open-ended responses were also analysed using qualitative content analysis for recurring themes on learner interest and experience. Results: From pre- to post-course surveys, there were significant improvements in learners’ knowledge of skin shade discrimination and the use of skin-lightening products ( p < .05). Learners indicated being more concerned about the seriousness of skin shade discrimination post-course compared to pre-course. Learners also described a positive learning experience and indicated that the e-course enhanced their understanding of strategic storytelling. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of an original e-course that uses case-method pedagogy to build knowledge and skills that addresses the impacts of colourism on the health of Indian adolescents and provides new directions for future research on health education interventions that aim to tackle colourism

Opportunities to integrate new approaches in genetic toxicology: An ILSI-HESI workshop report

Genetic toxicity tests currently used to identify and characterize potential human mutagens and carcinogens rely on measurements of primary DNA damage, gene mutation, and chromosome damage in vitro and in rodents. The International Life Sciences Institute Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (ILSI-HESI) Committee on the Relevance and Follow-up of Positive Results in In Vitro Genetic Toxicity Testing held an April 2012 Workshop in Washington, DC, to consider the impact of new understanding of biology and new technologies on the identification and characterization of genotoxic substances, and to identify new approaches to inform more accurate human risk assessment for genetic and carcinogenic effects. Workshop organizers and speakers were from industry, academe, and government. The Workshop focused on biological effects and technologies that would potentially yield the most useful information for evaluating human risk of genetic damage. Also addressed was the impact that improved understanding of biology and availability of new techniques might have on genetic toxicology practices. Workshop topics included (1) alternative experimental models to improve genetic toxicity testing, (2) Biomarkers of epigenetic changes and their applicability to genetic toxicology, and (3) new technologies and approaches. The ability of these new tests and technologies to be developed into tests to identify and characterize genotoxic agents; to serve as a bridge between in vitro and in vivo rodent, or preferably human, data; or to be used to provide dose response information for quantitative risk assessment was also addressed. A summary of the workshop and links to the scientific presentations are provided.International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute Committe

Field and genetic analysis of Chinese fast-growing rhizobia

This research investigated the symbiotic effectivity and competitiveness of three strains of Chinese fast-growers (Rhizobium fredii) in the greenhouse and in the field, and evaluated the competitive ability of siderophore over-producing mutants of Chinese fast-growers (developed through transposon-mediated mutation) in an alkaline soil of Iowa. In the greenhouse study on effectiveness, three Chinese fast-growers were tested along with two USDA slow-growers (Bradyrhizobium japonicum) on four soybean cultivars. There was a significant strain-by-cultivar interaction, and two of the fast-growers were as effective as USDA 123 in N fixation on most of the cultivars, but less effective than USDA 110 on all cultivars tested. In the competition studies, the competitiveness of the fast-growers was evaluated in the greenhouse against native bradyrhizobia in six different soils. Nodule occupancy by fast-growers ranged from 1.5 to 38.8%, and there were significant interactions among strains, soils, and cultivars. For field testing, two separate sites each year were selected in the summers of 1987 and 1988, and each of the three fast-growers was introduced into soil at approximately 10[superscript]6 viable cells cm[superscript]-1~ row. Nodule occupancy over the four site-years on the cultivars Corsoy 79 and Williams 82 ranged from 3.8 to 13.3%. Both cultivars responded to N fertilizer with higher yields than the noninoculated controls, which indicated that the native slow-growers were not fixing all the N needed for maximum growth of the plants. The fast-growers persisted reasonably well as saprophytes over a 3-yr period based on nodule occupancy in the greenhouse of field-collected soil. In the siderophore study, only USDA 135 of the three slow-growers tested produced siderophore in liquid culture, which could explain their dominance in alkaline soils where availability of iron is presumed low. In an alkaline soil, two siderophore over-producing mutants, which had retained their symbiotic characteristics and tested positive on Southern hybridization with a Tn5 probe, occupied only one-sixth as many nodules as the wild-type. The symbiotic effectivity of the mutants, however, was not affected by mutation induced by Tn5 insertion. Further characterization of the mutants is necessary to understand why the mutants occupied fewer nodules.</p

DNA damage and pathway-focused gene expression profiling in the heart of F344 rats exposed to doxorubicin

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an antineoplastic drug effective against many human malignancies. DOX’s clinical efficacy is greatly limited because of severe cardiotoxicity. To evaluate if DOX is genotoxic in the heart, approximately 7- week-old, male F344 rats were administered intravenously 1, 2 and 3 mg/kg bw DOX at 0, 24, 48 and 69 hr and the Comet assays in heart, liver, kidney, and testis were conducted. Rats were euthanized at 72 hr and single cells were isolated from multiple tissues for the Comet assays. None of the doses of DOX induced a significant DNA damage in any of the tissues examined by the alkaline Comet assay. Contrastingly, the glycosylase enzymes-modified Comet assay showed a significant dose dependent increase in the oxidative DNA damage in the cardiac tissue (P ≤ 0.05). In the liver, only the top dose induced significant increase in the oxidative DNA damage (P ≤ 0.05). The histopathology showed no severe cardiotoxicity but non-neoplastic lesions were present in both untreated and treated samples. A severe toxicity likely occurred in the bone marrow because no viable reticulocytes could be screened for the MN assay. Gene expression profiling of the heart tissues showed a significant alteration in the expression of 11 DNA damage and repair genes. These results suggest that DOX is genotoxic in the heart and the DNA damage may be induced primarily via the production of reactive oxygen species

A study of heat release rate distribution in open premixed turbulent flames by acoustic measurements

Ph.D.Warren C. Strahl