Nitrate Accumulation in a Sorghum-Sudangrass Hybrid as Influenced by Nitrogen Fertilization

The effect of nitrogen (N) fertilization and plant stage on nitrate accumulation was studied in a sorghum-Sudan grass hybrid. Grass cv. Dynagrazer was sown at the experimental site of Texas A & M University. Six N levels were applied (0, 112 … 672 Kg. N ha-1). Nitrate concentrations were determined in three harvests, 5– 7 weeks after planting. Maximum levels were 2.1, 3.5 and 4.6 g nitrate-N kg-1 DM, respectively, which is beyond the safe limits for animal consumption. The plots were cut at heading. Regrowth took place on residual N. Nitrate-N accumulation was lowest in the leaves and increased from the top to the bottom of the stem. In forage regrown from plots initially fertilized with 336 kg N ha-1 or more, the nitrate levels in the bottom and central part of the stem exceeded the safety limit for feeding

The Sol Genomics Network (solgenomics.net): growing tomatoes using Perl

The Sol Genomics Network (SGN; http://solgenomics.net/) is a clade-oriented database (COD) containing biological data for species in the Solanaceae and their close relatives, with data types ranging from chromosomes and genes to phenotypes and accessions. SGN hosts several genome maps and sequences, including a pre-release of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv Heinz 1706) reference genome. A new transcriptome component has been added to store RNA-seq and microarray data. SGN is also an open source software project, continuously developing and improving a complex system for storing, integrating and analyzing data. All code and development work is publicly visible on GitHub (http://github.com). The database architecture combines SGN-specific schemas and the community-developed Chado schema (http://gmod.org/wiki/Chado) for compatibility with other genome databases. The SGN curation model is community-driven, allowing researchers to add and edit information using simple web tools. Currently, over a hundred community annotators help curate the database. SGN can be accessed at http://solgenomics.net/

Current Status and Future Prospects of Next-Generation Data Management and Analytical Decision Support Tools for Enhancing Genetic Gains in Crops

Agricultural disciplines are becoming data intensive and the agricultural research data generation technologies are becoming sophisticated and high throughput. On the one hand, high-throughput genotyping is generating petabytes of data; on the other hand, high-throughput phenotyping platforms are also generating data of similar magnitude. Under modern integrated crop breeding, scientists are working together by integrating genomic and phenomic data sets of huge data volumes on a routine basis. To manage such huge research data sets and use them appropriately in decision making, Data Management Analysis & Decision Support Tools (DMASTs) are a prerequisite. DMASTs are required for a range of operations including generating the correct breeding experiments, maintaining pedigrees, managing phenotypic data, storing and retrieving high-throughput genotypic data, performing analytics, including trial analysis, spatial adjustments, identifications of MTAs, predicting Genomic Breeding Values (GEBVs), and various selection indices. DMASTs are also a prerequisite for understanding trait dynamics, gene action, interactions, biology, GxE, and various other factors contributing to crop improvement programs by integrating data generated from various science streams. These tools have simplified scientists’ lives and empowered them in terms of data storage, data retrieval, data analytics, data visualization, and sharing with other researchers and collaborators. This chapter focuses on availability, uses, and gaps in present-day DMASTs

Antiviral Activity and Increased Host Defense against Influenza Infection Elicited by the Human Cathelicidin LL-37

The extensive world-wide morbidity and mortality caused by influenza A viruses highlights the need for new insights into the host immune response and novel treatment approaches. Cationic Host Defense Peptides (CHDP, also known as antimicrobial peptides), which include cathelicidins and defensins, are key components of the innate immune system that are upregulated during infection and inflammation. Cathelicidins have immunomodulatory and anti-viral effects, but their impact on influenza virus infection has not been previously assessed. We therefore evaluated the effect of cathelicidin peptides on disease caused by influenza A virus in mice. The human cathelicidin, LL-37, and the murine cathelicidin, mCRAMP, demonstrated significant anti-viral activity in vivo, reducing disease severity and viral replication in infected mice to a similar extent as the well-characterized influenza virus-specific antiviral drug zanamivir. In vitro and in vivo experiments suggested that the peptides may act directly on the influenza virion rather than via receptor-based mechanisms. Influenza virus-infected mice treated with LL-37 had lower concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the lung than did infected animals that had not been treated with cathelicidin peptides. These data suggest that treatment of influenza-infected individuals with cathelicidin-derived therapeutics, or modulation of endogenous cathelicidin production may provide significant protection against disease

Cationic Host Defence Peptides:Potential as Antiviral Therapeutics

There is a pressing need to develop new antiviral treatments; of the 60 drugs currently available, half are aimed at HIV-1 and the remainder target only a further six viruses. This demand has led to the emergence of possible peptide therapies, with 15 currently in clinical trials. Advancements in understanding the antiviral potential of naturally occurring host defence peptides highlights the potential of a whole new class of molecules to be considered as antiviral therapeutics. Cationic host defence peptides, such as defensins and cathelicidins, are important components of innate immunity with antimicrobial and immunomodulatory capabilities. In recent years they have also been shown to be natural, broad-spectrum antivirals against both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, including HIV-1, influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus and herpes simplex virus. Here we review the antiviral properties of several families of these host peptides and their potential to inform the design of novel therapeutics

Durban a Cogent African City

Durban is a modern city which expresses the complex dynamics of an African city emerging from a historically colonial foundation. This provided an interesting context for engagement of the UNESCO Chair for Sustainable Urban Quality and Culture Notably in Africa. The institutional agreement between the UNESCO Chair, Sapienza University of Rome and the Durban University of Technology (DUT) was formalised in the year 2013, prior to an international workshop in China and the UIA 2014 in Durban, South Africa. The focus of the Chair and the curriculum outcomes of DUT, with regard to urban culture and the evolution thereof, created a mutually opportune association, with the possibility for contribution to the UIA 2014 conference in Durban. After deliberations and the necessary paperwork, the UNESCO Chair, in Association with DUT, were granted official space on the UIA Programme for presentation at the conference. This was received with much enthusiasm, which drew further interest and participation from students and Professors of Sapienza University of Rome and Tsinghua University of Beijing in China. Further representation of academics from Manipal University in India, School of Architecture University of Florida and Hosei University in Japan added much value to the collaboration in Durban. The city of Durban is one of the most intriguing for architects and urban designers, due to its cultural and economic diversity on one the hand and its political evolution since its colonial formalisation, apartheid influences and its post-apartheid evolution, on the other. It is a city that expresses complex narratives in architectural form and expression, seemingly chaotic, yet within and upon a cogent overall structure. Perhaps, it is that very cogency in urban structure which facilitated its complex evolution, or perhaps not. This paradox forms the crux of the studies and applied research part of this book, and which defined the sites of focus for a collaborative studio workshop

Synthesis and pharmacological characterization of O-alkynyloximes of tropinone and N-methylpiperidinone as muscarinic agonists

10.1021/jm9708588Journal of Medicinal Chemistry41173220-3231JMCM