Salt tolerance variation in some common trees

The reduction in seed germination and seedling growth varies with plant species, salinity level and ionic composition of the salts present in soil solutions. Seed germination of Leucaena leucocephala and Prosopis juliflora were affected in soil extract of all halophytic communities. Significant (p < 0.05) reduction in seed germination of Thespesia populnea was found in soil extract of Cressa-Suaeda-Atriplex and Suaeda-Heliotropium-Tamarix community. The root growth of P. juliflora was significantly reduced in soil extract of Haloxylon-Suaeda-Atriplex community. Significant inhibition in shoot growth of L. leucocephala and P. juliflora were found in soil extract of Haloxylon-Suaeda-Atriplex community. L. leucocephala and T. populnea showed low tolerance in soil extract of Cressa-Suaeda-Atriplex community. P. juliflora demonstrated low tolerance in soil extract of Haloxylon-Suaeda-Atriplex community. The soil collected from different community showed variation for soil conductivity and cations. The highest sodium (11,500 µg/g) was observed in Suaeda-Heliotropium-Tamarix community. Salsola-Fagonia- Zygophyllum community exhibited the lowest concentration of sodium and potassium, 500 and 75 µg/g, respectively. It was found that sodium was directly proportional to the conductivity of the soil extract

A Toolbox for Discrete Modelling of Cell Signalling Dynamics

In an age where the volume of data regarding biological systems exceeds our ability to analyse it, many researchers are looking towards systems biology and computational modelling to help unravel the complexities of gene and protein regulatory networks. In order to make such techniques more accessible to mainstream researchers, tools such as the BioModelAnalyzer (BMA) have been developed to provide a user-friendly graphical interface for discrete modelling of biological systems. Here we use the BMA to build a library of target functions of known molecular interactions, translated from ordinary differential equations (ODEs). We then show that these BMA target functions can be used to reconstruct complex networks, which can correctly predict many known genetic perturbations. This new library supports the accessibility ethos behind the creation of BMA, providing a toolbox for the construction of complex cell signalling models without the need for extensive experience in computer programming or mathematical modelling, and allows for construction and simulation of complex biological systems with only small amounts of quantitative data.Royal Societ

Eating Pattern Response to a Low-Fat Diet Intervention and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Normotensive Women: The Women's Health Initiative.

BackgroundWomen without cardiovascular disease (CVD) or hypertension at baseline assigned to intervention in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification (DM) trial experienced 30% lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), whereas results in women with hypertension or prior CVD could have been confounded by postrandomization use of statins.ObjectivesIntervention participants reported various self-selected changes to achieve the 20% total fat goals. Reviewed are intervention compared with comparison group HRs for CHD, stroke, and total CVD in relation to specific dietary changes in normotensive participants.MethodsDietary change was assessed by comparing baseline with year 1 FFQ data in women (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;10,371) without hypertension or CVD at baseline with intake of total fat above the median to minimize biases due to use of the FFQ in trial eligibility screening.ResultsIntervention participants self-reported compensating reduced energy intake from total fat by increasing carbohydrate and protein. Specifically they increased plant protein, with those in the upper quartile (increased total protein by ≥3.3% of energy) having a CHD HR of 0.39 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.71), compared with 0.92 (95% CI: 0.57, 1.48) for those in the lower quartile of change (decreased total protein ≥0.6% of energy), with P-trend of 0.04. CHD HR did not vary significantly with change in percentage energy from carbohydrate, and stroke HR did not vary significantly with any macronutrient changes. Scores reflecting adherence to recommended dietary patterns including the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Trial and the Healthy Eating Index showed favorable changes in the intervention group.ConclusionsIntervention group total fat reduction replaced with increased carbohydrate and some protein, especially plant-based protein, was related to lower CHD risk in normotensive women without CVD who reported high baseline total fat intake. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00000611. Link to the WHI trial protocol: https://www.whi.org/about/SitePages/Dietary%20Trial.aspx

Osteoblast differentiation of equine induced pluripotent stem cells.

Bone fractures occur in horses following traumatic and non-traumatic (bone overloading) events. They can be difficult to treat due to the need for the horse to bear weight on all legs during the healing period. Regenerative medicine to improve fracture union and recovery could significantly improve horse welfare. Equine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have previously been derived. Here we show that equine iPSCs cultured for 21 days in osteogenic induction media on an OsteoAssay surface upregulate the expression of osteoblast associated genes and proteins, including COL1A1, SPARC, SPP1, IBSP, RUNX2 and BGALP We also demonstrate that iPSC-osteoblasts are able to produce a mineralised matrix with both calcium and hydroxyapatite deposition. Alkaline phosphatase activity is also significantly increased during osteoblast differentiation. Although the genetic background of the iPSC donor animal affects the level of differentiation observed after 21 days of differentiation, less variation between lines of iPSCs derived from the same horse was observed. The successful, direct, differentiation of equine iPSCs into osteoblasts may provide a source of cells for future regenerative medicine strategies to improve fracture repair in horses undergoing surgery. iPSC-derived osteoblasts will also provide a potential tool to study equine bone development and disease.Anne Duchess of Cambridge Charitable Trust, Paul Mellon Foundation, Cambridge Turs

Synthesis and formulation of four-arm PolyDMAEA-siRNA polyplex for transient downregulation of collagen type III gene expression in TGF-β1 stimulated tenocyte culture

The natural healing process for tendon repair is associated with high upregulation of collagen type III, leading to scar tissue and tendon adhesions with functionally deficient tendons. Gene delivery systems are widely reported as potential nanotherapeutics to treat diseases, providing a promising approach to modulate collagen type III synthesis. This work investigates a proof-of-concept four-arm cationic polymer-siRNA polyplex to mediate a transient downregulation of collagen type III expression in a tendon cell culture system. The tendon culture system was first supplemented with TGF-β1 to stimulate the upregulation of collagen type III prior to silencing experiments. The four-arm poly[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate] (PDMAEA) polymer was successfully synthesized via RAFT polymerization and then mixed with siRNA to formulate the PDMAEA-siRNA polyplexes. The formation of the polyplex was optimized for the N:P ratio (10:1) and confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The size and solution behavior of the polyplex were analyzed by dynamic light scattering and zeta potential, showing a hydrodynamic diameter of 155 ± 21 nm and overall positive charge of +30 mV at physiological pH. All the polyplex concentrations used had a minimal effect on the metabolic activity of cultured cells, indicating good biocompatibility. The dose and time effects of the TGF-β1 on collagen type III gene expressions were analyzed by qPCR, showing an optimal dose of 10 ng mL–1 TGF-β1 and 3-fold increase of COL3α1 expression at 48 h in cultured tenocytes. The PDMAEA-siRNA polyplex concept observed a limited yet successful and promising efficiency in silencing collagen type III at 48 h compared to PEI-siRNA. Therefore, this concept is a promising approach to reduce tissue scarring and adhesion following injuries

Functional quality of optimized peach‐based beverage developed by application of ultrasonic processing

The influence of thermal treatment (at 90°C for 10 min) and sonication (at 20 kHz and 130 W for 30, 60, and 90 min on room temperature) on the physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and organic acids of fresh formulated functional peach beverage was investigated. The results indicated that conventional pasteurization and sonication treatment did not show any significant changes in pH value and Brix amount of juice, and however, a rise in cloud value was observed under all processing conditions. The thermal treatment caused the decrement in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (assessed by diphenyl dipicryl hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2'‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS)), and organic acids of juice, whereas sonication treatment for 90 min increased maximum the activity of bioactive compounds (TPC: 600.61 µg/100 ml; TFC: 177 µg CE/100 ml), antioxidants (DPPH: 51.87%; FRAP: 506.13 µmol Trolox/L; ABTS: 1,507.375 µmol Trolox/L), and organic acids (malic acid: 998; citric acid: 128; oxalic acid: 145; shikimic acid: 63 µg/100 ml) as compared to other treatment conditions and control. Multivariate data analysis was done by principal component analysis as it identifies patterns in data by comparing data sets which is further expressed based on their similarities and discriminations, respectively

Compressive strength prediction of lightweight short columns at elevated temperature using gene expression programing and artificial neural network

The experimental behavior of reinforced concrete elements exposed to fire is limited in the literature. Although there are few experimental programs that investigate the behavior of lightweight short columns, there is still a lack of formulation that can accurately predict their ultimate load at elevated temperature. Thus, new equations are proposed in this study to predict the compressive strength of the lightweight short column using Gene Expression Programming (GEP) and Artificial neural networks (ANN). A total of 83 data set is used to establish GEP and ANN models where 70% of the data are used for training and 30% of the data are used for validation and testing. The predicting variables are temperature, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, and spacing between stirrups. The developed models are compared with the ACI equation for short columns. The results have shown that the GEP and ANN models have a strong potential to predict the compressive strength of the lightweight short column. The predicted compressive strengths of short lightweight columns using the GEP and ANN models are closer to the experimental results than that obtained using the ACI equations

In vitro regeneration of gladiolus propagules

Gladiolus is a potential cut flower grown throughout the world for its elegant attractive spikes of different hues and good keeping quality. Commercially it is propagated by vegetative mean by corms and cormels. However the multiplication rate of corms and cormels is slow and the conventional methods are insufficient to meet the demand of planting material (corms and cormels). In vitro techniques are applicable for the propagation of corm producing species. These techniques are adopted at commercial level in order to fulfill supply gap of huge demand. A number of in vitro protocols have been developed for regeneration of gladiolus plantlets by using various explants sources of the plant. However, literature is rather scanty on in vitro cormel formation and acclimatization of in vitro propagules

Optimization of Cobalt Nanoparticles for Biogas Enhancement from Green Algae Using Response Surface Methodology

Organic matter may be converted to energy through various methods, but the most preferable one is the Anaerobic Digestion (AD), specifically for biogas production. In sustainable bioenergy production, it can undoubtedly be called one of the most widely used methods from the various feedstock. Over the past years, algae waste has become an increasingly acute environmental problem but luckily it can be used as feedstock to produce bioenergy. In order to improve the energy productivity of green algae, this study is focused on the introduction of cobalt (Co) nanoparticles (NPs) in the AD process. The concentration of Co NPs was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Mesophilic temperature range (25–45 °C), initial pH (5–9) and Co NPs dosage (0.5–2 mg/L) were selected as the independent variables for RSM. The results indicated that at optimized values (Co NPs concentration = 1 mg/L, initial pH = 7, and digestion temperature = 35 °C) produced the highest biogas yield of 298 ml. An experiment was carried out at optimized conditions to explore the effect on biogas production. The results showed that Co NPs had a positive influence on biogas yield. The low concentrations achieved higher biogas production as compared to higher ones. A maximum biogas yield of 678 mL is achieved by Co NPs (1 mg/L). AD performance was further evaluated by the modified Gompertz model. Different kinetic parameters were calculated. The values of the performance indicators confirmed that the mathematical model fitted well with experimental data