EFFECT OF NITROGEN ON SAFFLOWER PHYSIOLOGY AND PRODUCTIVITY

Safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius ) L. is an oil-crop suitable for semi-arid agriculture, but its physiological re- sponse to agronomic inputs has yet to be fully evaluated. The effect of fertiliser on the physiology and produc- tion of Safflower grown in pots filled with standard grade perlite inside a semi-controlled glass house was studied. Plants were initially irrigated with 20-100 ml standard hydroponic solution and then one month after germination plants were irrigated using 50-200 ml complete Hoagland\u2019s solution, supplemented with one of eight levels of nitrogen (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 kg N ha-1) in the form of ammonium nitrate. Elevating nitrogen to 100 kg N ha-1 significantly increased the assimilation rate by about 42 %, transpiration rate by 32%, stomatal conductance by 52% and LAI by 42% compared with the control. The above ground dry weight, seed yield and Water Use Efficiency (WUE) increased incrementally with increases in nitrogen rate. Above ground dry weight increased by an average of 42%, seed yield by 76% and WUE by 41% at harvest compared with the control. This study clearly demonstrates how nitrogen fertilisation can affect physiology of Safflower leading to im- provement in seed yield.Le carthame ( Carthamus tinctorius ) L.) est une culture ol\ue9agineuse appropri\ue9e \ue0 l\u2019agriculture semi aride, mais sa r\ue9ponse physiologique aux intrants agronomiques reste \ue0 \ue9valuer. L\u2019effet de fertilisants sur la physiologie et la production du carthame cultiv\ue9 en pots rempli de perlites de niveau standard \ue0 l\u2019int\ue9rieur d\u2019une serre semi contr\uf4l\ue9e \ue9tait \ue9tudi\ue9. Les plants \ue9taient initialement irrigu\ue9s avec 20-100 ml de solution hydroponique standard et, ensuite, un mois apr\ue8s la germination des plants \ue9taient irrigu\ue9s avec 50-200 ml de solution de Hoagland compl\ue8te et un suppl\ue9ment de huit niveau d\u2019azote (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 kg N ha-1) sous forme du nitrate d\u2019ammonium. L\u2019utilisation de la dose de 100 kg N ha-1 a significativement accru le taux d\u2019assimilation d\u2019environ 42 %, le taux de transpiration de 32 %, la conductance stomatale de 52 % et l\u2019index de la surface foliaire de 42 % en comparaison avec le t\ue9moin. Le poids sec de la biomasse a\ue9rienne, le rendement en grain et le Water Use Efficieny (WUE) avait augment\ue9 avec la dose d\u2019azote. Le poids sec de la biomasse a\ue9rienne a en moyenne augment\ue9 de 42% pendant que le rendement en grains et le WAE ont augment\ue9 \ue0 la r\ue9colte de 76% et 41% , respectivement, en comparaison avec le t\ue9moin. Cette \ue9tude d\ue9montre clairement comment la fertilisation azot\ue9e peut affecter la physiologie du carthame conduisant \ue0 l\u2019am\ue9lioration du rendement en grains

Modelling and control of a multi-stage interleaved DC-DC converter with coupled inductors for super-capacitor energy storage system

Interleaved converters with coupled inductors are widely used to share load current in high power applications. It offers high equivalent switching frequency and reduced output current ripples using small size magnetic components. Due to smaller common-mode inductance, control system can be designed to achieve fast dynamic response. This paper proposes 8 channel interleaved DC/DC converter for interfacing super-capacitor energy storage system to a 400V DC voltage bus. Multi-stage interleaving magnetic circuit with two-phase coupling inductor as a building block is proposed. A methodology is developed to construct the model of the multi-stage magnetic circuit from the basic two-phase coupled inductor model. The derived model is successfully used to evaluate the system power losses and to design the magnetic circuit parameters and its current controller to fulfil the DC/DC converter steady state and dynamic performance specifications. A 20kW/four stage/8 channel DC/DC converter laboratory prototype has been built to connect a super-capacitor stack to 400V DC voltage bus. Experimental investigation validates the modeling, the system losses calculations and the design specifications of the system

Non-linear adsorption characteristics of modified pine wood sawdust optimised for adsorption of Cd(II) from aqueous systems

A chemically-modified adsorbent (SDTMA), produced from the treatment of pinewood sawdust with maleic acid, was tested in batch adsorption experiments to remove Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution. SDTMA was characterised for the pH of zero point charge (pHZPC), spectroscopic evaluation of the surface functionalisation, structural and morphological features. Factors affecting adsorption behaviour, such as adsorbent dose, pH of solution, contact time and Cd(II) ion concentration were investigated. Results obtained show that adsorption rate to be comparatively fast, with equilibrium achieved after ~35 min. Subsequent analysis, showed Langmuirian behaviour and a monolayer adsorption capacity of 180.4 mg g-1, at pH 6; while data derived from two-parameter (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R)) and three-parameter (Redlich-Peterson (R-P), Toth Khan and Sips) isotherm models was evaluated using non-linear regression methods, with error analysis, to determine the most appropriate model and allow prediction of optimum parameters. The Sips isotherm model proved the most appropriate in describing the experimental data obtained in the study. Additionally, the rate of adsorption was analysed using a range of kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intra-particle diffusion, Bangham and Elovich) in their non-linear forms to provide insight into the adsorption mechanism and showing pseudo-second order behaviour is observed. In conclusion, the SDTMA adsorbent material produced in this study offers high potential for the removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution due to the carboxylic functionalities incorporated into the material, which is optimised by solution pH and adsorbent dose

Nutritional Outcomes Related to Household Food Insecurity among Mothers in Rural Malaysia

During the past two decades, the rates of food insecurity and obesity have risen. Although a relationship between these two seemingly-paradoxical states has not been repeatedly seen in men, research suggests that a correlation between them exists in women. This study examines nutritional outcomes of household food insecurity among mothers in rural Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey of low-income households was conducted, and 223 households with mothers aged 18\u201355 years, who were non-lactating, non-pregnant, and had at least one child aged 2\u201312 years, were purposively selected. A questionnaire was administered that included the Radimer/Cornell Scale, items about sociodemographic characteristics, and anthropometric measurements. Of the households, 16.1% were food-secure whereas 83.9% experienced some kind of food insecurity: 29.6% of households were food-insecure, 19.3% contained individuals who were foodinsecure, and 35.0% fell into the \u2018child hunger\u2019 category. The result reported that household-size, total monthly income, income per capita, and food expenditure were significant risk factors of household food insecurity. Although there was a high prevalence of overweight and obese mothers (52%) and 47.1% had at-risk waist-circumference ( 6580 cm), no significant association was found between food insecurity, body mass index, and waist-circumference. In conclusion, the rates of household food insecurity and overweight and obesity were high in the study population, although they are looking paradoxical. Longitudinal studies with larger sample-sizes are recommended to further examine the relationship between food insecurity and obesity

Myotube growth is associated with cancer-like metabolic reprogramming and is limited by phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase

Funding Information: Brendan M. Gabriel was supported by fellowships from the Novo Nordisk Foundation ( NNF19OC0055072 ) & the Wenner-Gren Foundation , an Albert Renold Travel Fellowship from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes , and an Eric Reid Fund for Methodology from the Biochemical Society . Abdalla D. Mohamed was funded initially by Sarcoma UK (grant number SUK09.2015 ), then supported by funding from Postdoctoral Fellowship Program ( Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany ), and currently by Cancer Research UK . Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The AuthorsPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Identificación de QTl involucrados en la domesticación y evolución del melón

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Search for Doubly-Charged Higgs Boson Production at HERA

A search for the single production of doubly-charged Higgs bosons H^{\pm \pm} in ep collisions is presented. The signal is searched for via the Higgs decays into a high mass pair of same charge leptons, one of them being an electron. The analysis uses up to 118 pb^{-1} of ep data collected by the H1 experiment at HERA. No evidence for doubly-charged Higgs production is observed and mass dependent upper limits are derived on the Yukawa couplings h_{el} of the Higgs boson to an electron-lepton pair. Assuming that the doubly-charged Higgs only decays into an electron and a muon via a coupling of electromagnetic strength h_{e \mu} = \sqrt{4 \pi \alpha_{em}} = 0.3, a lower limit of 141 GeV on the H^{\pm\pm} mass is obtained at the 95% confidence level. For a doubly-charged Higgs decaying only into an electron and a tau and a coupling h_{e\tau} = 0.3, masses below 112 GeV are ruled out.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Physicochemical characterization and cancer cell antiproliferative effect of silver-doped magnesia nanoparticles

Silver-doped magnesia nanoparticles (Ag/MgO) were synthesized using the precipitation method and characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunner-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, and dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The morphology of Ag/MgO nanoparticles was determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, which revealed cuboidal shaped nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 31 to 68 nm and an average size of 43.5 ± 10.6 nm. The anticancer effects of Ag/MgO nanoparticles were evaluated on human colorectal (HT29) and lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cell lines, and their caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities, as well as Bcl-2, Bax, p53, cytochrome C protein expressions were estimated. Ag/MgO nanoparticles showed selective toxicity towards HT29 and A549 cells while remaining relatively innocuous towards the normal human colorectal, CCD-18Co, and lung, MRC-5 cells. The IC50 values of Ag/MgO nanoparticles on the HT29 and A549 cells were found to be 90.2 ± 2.6 and 85.0 ± 3.5 μg/mL, respectively. The Ag/MgO nanoparticles upregulated caspase-3 and -9 activities, downregulated Bcl-2, upregulated Bax and p53 protein expressions in the cancer cells. The morphology of the Ag/MgO nanoparticle treated HT29 and A549 cells was typical of apoptosis, with cell detachment, shrinkage, and membrane blebbing. The results suggest that Ag/MgO nanoparticles induce apoptosis in cancer cells and exhibit potential as a promising anticancer agent.The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library

The impact of the metabotropic glutamate receptor and other gene family interaction networks on autism

Although multiple reports show that defective genetic networks underlie the aetiology of autism, few have translated into pharmacotherapeutic opportunities. Since drugs compete with endogenous small molecules for protein binding, many successful drugs target large gene families with multiple drug binding sites. Here we search for defective gene family interaction networks (GFINs) in 6,742 patients with the ASDs relative to 12,544 neurologically normal controls, to find potentially druggable genetic targets. We find significant enrichment of structural defects (P≤2.40E-09, 1.8-fold enrichment) in the metabotropic glutamate receptor (GRM) GFIN, previously observed to impact attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. Also, the MXD-MYC-MAX network of genes, previously implicated in cancer, is significantly enriched (P≤3.83E-23, 2.5-fold enrichment), as is the calmodulin 1 (CALM1) gene interaction network (P≤4.16E-04, 14.4-fold enrichment), which regulates voltage-independent calcium-activated action potentials at the neuronal synapse. We find that multiple defective gene family interactions underlie autism, presenting new translational opportunities to explore for therapeutic interventions