Induction and establishment of adventitious and hairy root cultures of Plumbago zeylanica L.

This study was investigated to develop efficient protocols for adventitious and hairy root cultures of Plumbago zeylanica. Adventitious roots were initiated from leaf and stem explants cultured on MS medium with different concentrations and combinations of auxins. The highest number of roots was obtained when the explants was cultured on MS medium with 1.0 mg·L-1 IBA and 0.5 mg·L-1 NAA. Hairy root culture of P. zeylanica was obtained by infecting leaf explants cultured in vitro with Agrobacteriumrhizogenes MTCC 532. The highest frequency of explant transformation was about 93%. The developed culture exhibited fast growth and high lateral branching on growth regulator free MS medium. The rootcultures obtained were inoculated into B5, MS and SH media supplemented with different carbon sources with or without auxins and were placed on a rotary shaker 80 rpm for 35 days under dark or light conditions. Of the three media tested, MS medium sustained better root growth than others and sucrose proved to be the best carbon source. The biomass in hairy root culture was higher than in nontransformed root culture

Effect of soaking of seeds in potassium silicate and uniconazole on germination and seedling growth of tomato cultivars, Seogeon and Seokwang

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of soaking seeds in potassium silicate and uniconazole on seed germination and seedling growth of two tomato cultivars. Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. ‘Seogeon and Seokwang’) seeds were put in a Petri dish filled with 15 ml of a solutions containing either 50 or 100 mg L-1 potassium silicate or uniconazole and were placed in an environment controlled chamber (25°C, 80% RH, dark) for 12 or 24 h. After the soaking treatment, seeds were washed in distilled water and were dried in a growth chamber (25°C, 80% RH, and in the dark) for 4 h. Seeds were sown in 288-cell (11 cc) plug trays containing a Tosilee medium and trays were layed out in a randomized complete block design on beds in a glasshouse. A nutrient solution was supplied uniformly for all treatments once a day through a sub-irrigation system. Soaking seeds in potassium silicate or uniconazole solution reduced germination percentage in both cultivars when compared to the control. In both cultivars, soaking treatment of uniconazole significantly reduced length of stem, hypocotyls, internode, leaf area and dry weight of stem and root, as compared to the control and other treatments. Root length increased significantly in all treatments when compared with the control. Hypocotyl length and plant height of 'Seogeon' seedlings were suppressed in the 100 mg L-1 potassium silicate treatment as compared to the control and water soaking. In contrast, height of ‘Seokwang’ seedlings increased by potassium silicate treatment. The chlorophyll fluorescence ratio (Fv/Fm) increased by low concentration of uniconazole treatment as compared to the control and other treatments. The growth of tomato seedlings was efficiently regulated by uniconazole 50 mg L-1 (12 h soaking) treatment.Key words: Chlorophyll fluorescence, plant growth retardants, plug plants, potassium silicate, seed treatment, silicon, uniconazole

Adventitious shoot regeneration from leaf explants of miniature paprika (Capsicum annuum) ‘Hivita Red’ and ‘Hivita Yellow’

A simple and efficient protocol was developed for in vitro propagation of two miniature paprika cultivars. Seeds of miniature paprika (Capsicum annuum) ‘Hivita Red’ and ‘Hivita Yellow’ were decontaminated and placed in a petri dish containing a half-strength MS medium and then wereincubated in the dark for 7 10 days for germination. Leaf explants excised from one month-old aseptic seedlings were cultured on a MS medium supplemented with TDZ (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 mgL-1) alone or in a combination with NAA (0.1 or 0.01 mgL-1) for four weeks. The highest number of regenerated shoot buds was obtained when leaf explants were cultured on a MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mgL-1 TDZ and 0.1 mgL-1 NAA with an average shoots per explant of 8.0 in ‘Hivita Red’ and 5.6 in ‘Hivita Yellow’. Regenerated shoot buds were separated and transferred onto a MS medium without growth regulators for shoot growth and rooting. Plantlets were successfully acclimatized in a greenhouse andcultivated for three months. After about two months, they started to produce flowers and continuously produced fruits. Morphology and fruit shape of regenerated plants were normal and plants set seeds asthe same as to the seed-raised plants

Towards video-based surgical workflow understanding in open orthopaedic surgery

Safe and efficient surgical training and workflow management play a critical role in clinical competency and ultimately, patient outcomes. Video data in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) have enabled opportunities for vision-based artificial intelligence (AI) systems to improve surgical skills training and assurance through post-operative video analysis and development of real-time computer-assisted interventions (CAI). Despite the availability of mounted cameras for the operating room (OR), similar capabilities are much more complex to develop for recording open surgery procedures, which has resulted in a shortage of exemplar video-based training materials. In this paper, we present a potential solution to record open surgical procedures using head-mounted cameras. Recorded videos were anonymised to remove patient and staff identifiable information using a machine learning algorithm that achieves state-of-the-art results on the OR Face dataset. We then propose a CNN-LSTM-based model to automatically segment videos into different surgical phases, which has never been previously demonstrated in open procedures. The redacted videos, along with the automatically predicted phases, are then available for surgeons and their teams for post-operative review and analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the feasibility of deploying camera recording systems and developing machine learning-based workflow analysis solutions for open surgery, particularly in orthopaedics

Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

β-hairpin-mediated formation of structurally distinct multimers of neurotoxic prion peptides

Protein misfolding disorders are associated with conformational changes in specific proteins, leading to the formation of potentially neurotoxic amyloid fibrils. During pathogenesis of prion disease, the prion protein misfolds into β-sheet rich, protease-resistant isoforms. A key, hydrophobic domain within the prion protein, comprising residues 109–122, recapitulates many properties of the full protein, such as helix-to-sheet structural transition, formation of fibrils and cytotoxicity of the misfolded isoform. Using all-atom, molecular simulations, it is demonstrated that the monomeric 109–122 peptide has a preference for α-helical conformations, but that this peptide can also form β-hairpin structures resulting from turns around specific glycine residues of the peptide. Altering a single amino acid within the 109–122 peptide (A117V, associated with familial prion disease) increases the prevalence of β-hairpin formation and these observations are replicated in a longer peptide, comprising residues 106–126. Multi-molecule simulations of aggregation yield different assemblies of peptide molecules composed of conformationally-distinct monomer units. Small molecular assemblies, consistent with oligomers, comprise peptide monomers in a β-hairpin-like conformation and in many simulations appear to exist only transiently. Conversely, larger assemblies are comprised of extended peptides in predominately antiparallel β-sheets and are stable relative to the length of the simulations. These larger assemblies are consistent with amyloid fibrils, show cross-β structure and can form through elongation of monomer units within pre-existing oligomers. In some simulations, assemblies containing both β-hairpin and linear peptides are evident. Thus, in this work oligomers are on pathway to fibril formation and a preference for β-hairpin structure should enhance oligomer formation whilst inhibiting maturation into fibrils. These simulations provide an important new atomic-level model for the formation of oligomers and fibrils of the prion protein and suggest that stabilization of β-hairpin structure may enhance cellular toxicity by altering the balance between oligomeric and fibrillar protein assemblies

Retinoic Acid Mediates Regulation of Network Formation by COUP-TFII and VE-Cadherin Expression by TGFβ Receptor Kinase in Breast Cancer Cells

Tumor development, growth, and metastasis depend on the provision of an adequate vascular supply. This can be due to regulated angiogenesis, recruitment of circulating endothelial progenitors, and/or vascular transdifferentiation. Our previous studies showed that retinoic acid (RA) treatment converts a subset of breast cancer cells into cells with significant endothelial genotypic and phenotypic elements including marked induction of VE-cadherin, which was responsible for some but not all morphological changes. The present study demonstrates that of the endothelial-related genes induced by RA treatment, only a few were affected by knockdown of VE-cadherin, ruling it out as a regulator of the RA-induced endothelial genotypic switch. In contrast, knockdown of the RA-induced gene COUP-TFII prevented the formation of networks in Matrigel but had no effect on VE-cadherin induction or cell fusion. Two pan-kinase inhibitors markedly blocked RA-induced VE-cadherin expression and cell fusion. However, RA treatment resulted in a marked and broad reduction in tyrosine kinase activity. Several genes in the TGFβ signaling pathway were induced by RA, and specific inhibition of the TGFβ type I receptor blocked both RA-induced VE-cadherin expression and cell fusion. Together these data indicate a role for the TGFβ pathway and COUP-TFII in mediating the endothelial transdifferentiating properties of RA

Electrode modification using nanocomposites of electropolymerised cobalt phthalocyanines supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A polymer of tetra(4)-(4,6-diaminopyrimidin-2-ylthio) phthalocyaninatocobalt(II) (CoPyPc) has been deposited over a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) platform and its electrocatalytic properties investigated side by side with polymerized cobalt tetraamino phthalocyanine (CoTAPc). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry studies were used for characterization of the prepared polymers of cobalt phthalocyanine derivatives and their nanocomposites. L-Cysteine was used as a test analyte for the electrocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites of polymerized cobalt phthalocyanines and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The electrocatalytic activity of both polymerized cobalt phthalocyanines was found to be superior when polymerization was done on top of MWCNTs compared to bare glassy carbon electrode. A higher sensitivity for L-cysteine detection was obtained on CoTAPc compared to CoPyPc