Key hormonal components regulate agronomically important traits in barley

Marek Marzec is supported by scholarships funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (424/STYP/10/2015 and DN/MOB/245/IV/2015). Ahmad M. Alqudah supported by Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK).The development and growth of plant organs is regulated by phytohormones, which constitute an important area of plant science. The last decade has seen a rapid increase in the unravelling of the pathways by which phytohormones exert their influence. Phytohormones function as signalling molecules that interact through a complex network to control development traits. They integrate metabolic and developmental events and regulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors. As such, they influence the yield and quality of crops. Recent studies on barley have emphasised the importance of phytohormones in promoting agronomically important traits such as tillering, plant height, leaf blade area and spike/spikelet development. Understanding the mechanisms of how phytohormones interact may help to modify barley architecture and thereby improve its adaptation and yield. To achieve this goal, extensive functional validation analyses are necessary to better understand the complex dynamics of phytohormone interactions and phytohormone networks that underlie the biological processes. The present review summarises the current knowledge on the crosstalk between phytohormones and their roles in barley development. Furthermore, an overview of how phytohormone modulation may help to improve barley plant architecture is also provided.MNiS

A stakeholder perspective on process improvement behaviours: delivering the triple bottom line in SMEs

The primary focus of operations management is to add value through operational processes. Considerable attention has been given to using process improvement (PI) techniques to reduce costs and time, in order to develop a competitive advantage for the wider organisation. However, this narrow definition of value at times overlooks the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) which can result in a number of unintended consequences, specifically issues related to environmental and social measures of performance. To address this, a stakeholder theory lens will be used to analyze PI activities within the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The TBL will be used to complement the stakeholder perspective, to interpret the benefits that are realised from PI activities. This paper highlights both the direct benefits from PI as well as more indirect benefits realised by involving a selection of salient stakeholders in PI. It will show how a developed view of PI can provide an important mechanism for delivering improvements to a firm's TBL. The work concludes by highlighting the contributions made to both PI practice and stakeholder theory, while acknowledging the need for more research on PI, both from a stakeholder perspective, and how it impacts a firm's TBL

Anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure: Insights from the NCDR PINNACLE-AF registry.

BackgroundIn non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients, congestive heart failure (CHF) confers an increased risk of stroke or systemic thromboembolism. This risk is present in both heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). It is unclear if clinicians account for both types of CHF in their NVAF anticoagulation practices. Accordingly, we characterized current outpatient anticoagulation trends in NVAF patients with HFpEF compared to patients with HFrEF.MethodsThe outpatient NCDR PINNACLE-AF registry was analyzed to identify patients with NVAF and CHF. The study population was subdivided into HFpEF (ie, LVEF ≥ 40%) and HFrEF (LVEF < 40%). Anticoagulation rates by CHF group were compared and stratified by CHA2 DS2 -VASc score.ResultsA total of 340 127 patients with NVAF and CHF were identified, of whom 248 136 (73.0%) were classified as HFpEF and 91 991 (27.0%) as HFrEF. Patients with HFpEF had higher mean CHA2 DS2 -VASc scores and were more likely to be female, older, and have hypertension (P < 0.001). Unadjusted anticoagulation rates were significantly lower in patients with HFpEF compared to those with HFrEF (60.6% vs 64.2%, respectively). Lower rates of anticoagulation in the HFpEF group persisted after risk adjustment (RR: 0.93 [95% CI: 0.91, 0.94]). Stratification by CHA2 DS2 -VASc score demonstrated that lower rates of anticoagulation in patients with HFpEF persisted until a score of ≥5.ConclusionsPatients with NVAF and HFpEF have significantly lower anticoagulation rates when compared to their HFrEF counterparts. These findings suggest a potential underappreciation of HFpEF as a risk factor in patients with NVAF

Ferroelectric liquid crystal for use in a new generation of LCDs

The key to improvements in liquid crystalline displays lies in the continuous synthesis and studies of new kinds of liquid crystalline substances. Among them, ferroelectric compounds are the subject of much attention, due to the potential progresses in switching time, colour depth, and other qualities of liquid crystal displays. In this paper we describe the research of the physical properties of 4-(2-methylbutoxy)phenyl 4-(octyloxy)-benzoate for purposes of its potential application in liquid crystal displays

Dielectric properties of healthy and diabetic alloxan-induced lenses in rabbits.

Abstract The dielectric properties of the eye lens were studied for healthy and alloxane-induced diabetic rabbits in the frequency range from 500 Hz to 100 kHz electric field and temperatures from 25 to 50 °C. In the full temperature range, the average relative permittivity and dielectric loss values for a healthy lens are lower than those recorded for diabetic tissue. Dielectric relaxation of polar amino acids on the alpha-crystallin surface with a characteristic frequency of 7 kHz in the range of 25–50 °C for healthy and diabetic samples is accompanied by the activation energy of proton conductivity with an average values of 33 and 39 kJ mol−1, respectively. The permittivity decrement, which characterizes the size of the dielectric dispersion with a central relaxation time of 0.023 ms for a diabetic sample, is more than twice as high as for a healthy sample. Measurements on the rabbit eye lens were carried out at ambient temperature above and below the physiological range, since these conditions provide an appropriate pattern of dielectric behavior for the diagnosis of clinical dysfunction of the human lens

Probing the structure-function relationship of hemoglobin in living human red blood cells

Hemoglobin (Hb) is a key component of respiratory system and as such plays important role in human physiology. The studies of Hb's structure and functions are usually performed on cell-free protein; however, it has been shown that there are functionally relevant differences between isolated Hb and Hb present inside red blood cells (RBCs). It is clear that new experimental approaches are needed to understand the origin of these differences and to gain insight into the structure-function relationship of Hb within intact living cells. In this work we present a novel application of Resonance Raman spectroscopy to study heme active site of different forms of human Hb within living RBCs using laser excitation lines in resonance with their Soret absorption bands. These studies revealed that there are no significant changes in the disposition of the Fe-O-O fragment or the Fe-NHis linkage for Hb molecules enclosed in RBCs and these in free isolated states. However, some changes in the orientation of the heme vinyl groups were observed which might account for the differences in the protein activity and ligand affinity. This work highlights importance of protein-based studies and presents a new opportunity to translate these results to physiological cell systems

Serious Bacterial Infections Acquired During Treatment of Patients Given a Diagnosis of Chronic Lyme Disease - United States.

The term "chronic Lyme disease" is used by some health care providers as a diagnosis for various constitutional, musculoskeletal, and neuropsychiatric symptoms (1,2). Patients with a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease have been provided a wide range of medications as treatment, including long courses of intravenous (IV) antibiotics (3,4). Studies have not shown that such treatments lead to substantial long-term improvement for patients, and they can be harmful (1,5). This report describes cases of septic shock, osteomyelitis, Clostridium difficile colitis, and paraspinal abscess resulting from treatments for chronic Lyme disease. Patients, clinicians, and public health practitioners should be aware that treatments for chronic Lyme disease can carry serious risks

Different route of hydroxide incorporation and thermal stability of new type of water clathrate : X-ray single crystal and Raman investigation

Chlormayenite Ca12Al14O32[♦4Cl2] (♦-vacancy) is partially hydrated micro porouss mineral with hydroxide groups situated at various crystallographic sites. There are few mechanisms describing its hydration. The first one assumes Cl- substitution by OH- at the center of the structural cages (W-site). The second one determines the converting a T1O4 tetrahedron to a T1O3(OH)3 octahedron due to the replacement of oxygen at the O2 site by three OH-groups according to the scheme: (O2O2- + W Cl-) → 3 × O2aOH. The third mechanism, not considered so far in the case of zeolite-like minerals, includes the hydroxide incorporation in form of hydrogarnet defect due to the arrangement of tetrahedral (OH)4 in vacant cages. This yields a strong hydrated phase containing even up to 35% of water more than in any currently known mineral applicable to Portland cement. Moreover, water molecules present in different structural cages are stable up to 355 K while dehydroxylation linked to the gradual loss of only 8% of OH- groups according to 3 O2aOH- → O2O2- + W OH- + gH2O occurs at temperature range from 355 K to 598 K