Lateness Gene Concerning Photosensitivity Increases Yield, by Applying Low to High Levels of Fertilization, in Rice, a Preliminary Report

Various genes controlling heading time have been reported in rice. An isogenic-line pair of late and early lines “L” and “E” were developed from progenies of the F1 of Suweon 258 × an isogenic line of IR36 carrying Ur1 gene. The lateness gene for photosensitivity that causes the difference between L and E was tentatively designated as “Ex(t)”, although it's chromosomal location is unknown. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of Ex(t) on yield and related traits in a paddy field in two years. Chemical fertilizers containing N, P2O5 and K2O were applied at the nitrogen levels of 4.00, 9.00 and 18.00 g/m2 in total, being denoted by "N4", "N9" and "N18", respectively, in 2014. L was later in 80%-heading by 18 or 19 days than E. Regarding total brown rice yield (g/m2), L and E were 635 and 577, 606 and 548, and 590 and 501, respectively, at N18, N9 and N4, indicating that Ex(t) increased this trait by 10 to 18%. Ex(t) increased yield of brown rice with thickness above 1.5mm (g/m2), by 9 to 15%. Ex(t) increased spikelet number per panicle by 16 to 22% and spikelet number per m2 by 11 to 18%. Thousand-grain weight (g) was 2 to 4% lower in L than in E. L was not significantly different from E in ripened-grain percentage. Hence, Ex(t) increased yield by increasing spikelet number per panicle. It is suggested that Ex(t) could be utilized to develop high yielding varieties for warmer districts of the temperate zone

Oxidation of Catechols at the Air-Water Interface by Nitrate Radicals.

Abundant substituted catechols are emitted to, and created in, the atmosphere during wildfires and anthropogenic combustion and agro-industrial processes. While ozone (O3) and hydroxyl radicals (HO•) efficiently react in a 1 μs contact time with catechols at the air–water interface, the nighttime reactivity dominated by nitrate radicals (NO3) remains unexplored. Herein, online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (OESI-MS) is used to explore the reaction of NO3(g) with a series of representative catechols (catechol, pyrogallol, 3-methylcatechol, 4-methylcatechol, and 3-methoxycatechol) on the surface of aqueous microdroplets. The work detects the ultrafast generation of nitrocatechol (aromatic) compounds, which are major constituents of atmospheric brown carbon. Two mechanisms are proposed to produce nitrocatechols, one (equivalent to H atom abstraction) following fast electron transfer from the catechols (QH2) to NO3, forming NO3– and QH2•+ that quickly deprotonates into a semiquinone radical (QH•). The second mechanism proceeds via cyclohexadienyl radical intermediates from NO3 attack to the ring. Experiments in the pH range from 4 to 8 showed that the production of nitrocatechols was favored under the most acidic conditions. Mechanistically, the results explain the interfacial production of chromophoric nitrocatechols that modify the absorption properties of tropospheric particles, making them more susceptible to photooxidation, and alter the Earth’s radiative forcing

Expression of genes related to Na⁺ exclusion and proline accumulation in tolerant and susceptible wheat genotypes under salt stress

In the present investigation, expression of genes related to Na+ exclusion such as salt overly sensitive (TaSOS1) and Na+/H+ antiporter (TaNHX1) and proline accumulation such as pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) was studied in seedlings of Kharchia 65 (Kh 65, salt tolerant) and HD 2009 (sensitive) under salt stress (ECe, 12 dSm–1) and controlled conditions. As compared to HD 2009, Kh 65 showed significantly lower accumulation of Na+ (p + exclusion in root and compartmentation in leaf and increased proline concentration are associated with tolerance to salinity stress in wheat. The information will be useful for improving wheat genotypes for salt tolerance

Comparison of causes and manifestations of pain in Parkinson’s disease patients to healthy controls

Objective To assess the manifestations of pain in PD (Parkinson’s disease ) patients versus healthy controls.Methods Data on pain was collected from 127 patients and an equivalent number of controls using two self-report questionnaires: the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and a custom-made questionnaire focusing on specific details not covered by the former. Additional analysis was conducted within the patient group only to analyze the potential effects of factors relating to PD on the various measure of interest relating to pain.Results Parkinson disease patients had lower odds of experiencing pain in both arms (ExpB=0.061, p<0.001), greater probability of demonstrating pain in both legs (ExpB=2.409, p=0.024), and an increase difficulty in localizing pain (ExpB=2.958, p=0.030). There was no relationship between duration of pain (F=12.414, p=0.001) or arthritis (ExpB=0.724, p=0.309) and pain in PD. The likelihood of experiencing nagging pain (ExpB=3.533, p=0.028), but not other forms, was much more strongly associated with PD patients than normal controls. When all other types of pain were controlled for, pain in PD is more likely associated with akathesic pain (ExpB=9.046, p<0.001).Conclusion There are major differences between pain in PD patients and pain in normal controls, which could have implications on the pathophysiology and adequate management of pain in different populations.Key words: Healthy controls, movement disorders, pain, Parkinson’s diseas

The involvement of activated microglia in the cardiovascular complications of diabetes and heart failure

Microglia are resident immune cells that protect the central nervous system but also contribute to pathologies when inappropriately and/or chronically activated. I have shown that microglia are specifically activated in cardiovascular control centres in animals with diabetes and following myocardial infarction. I have demonstrated that activated microglia can elevate blood pressure and investigated the mechanisms of microglial activation. Microglia may contribute to cardiovascular disturbances in diabetes and myocardial infarction and inhibiting microglia may be beneficial to humans with these conditions