Electrophoretic variation of isozymes in plumules of rice (Oryza saliva L.) - a key to the identification of 76 alleles at 24 loci

A simple and efficient method has been developed for studying isozyme variation in rice. It involves starch gel electrophoresis of crude rice plumule extracts, followed by staining of 13 enzymes. It permits monitoring the variation at 24 polymorphic loci distributed on at least 8 chromosomes. Technical procedures are described, and the zymograms obtained from materials containing all known alleles are shown. A total of 76 alleles can be readily identified

DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF GLYOXYLATE ENZYMES IN SUGAR BEET RELATED TO SEEDLING VIGOUR

ABSTRACT One component of seedling vigour is the efficient utilization of the seed storage reserves to provide energy necessary for growth This study examined the relationship between the genes of energy metabolism and differences in seedling vigour of sugar beet hybrids under different stress germination regimes Analyses of 1,718 5' Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from subtracted eDNA libraries, combined with gene expression profiling by northern blots and enzyme activity assays indicated that stress drastically reduces the expression of a u-amylase in a poor-emerging sugarbeet cultivar In contrast, a good emerging variety exhibited only a moderate reduction in ex-amylase gene expression This pattern of gene expression indicates that mobilization of energy from stored carbohydrates can be limited to various extents by abiotic stresses. As mechanism to cope with reduced carbohydrate catabolism, the good-emerging, but not the poor-emerging, variety appeared to catabolize lipids as supplementary source of energy for respiration and biosynthetic processes Induction of glyoxylate cycle activity, whose pathway bridges lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in germinating seeds, was indicated by high transcript levels and increased enzyme activity for the key glyoxylate cycle enzymes isocitrate lyase and malate synthase The differential activity of the glyoxylate cycle is a potential physiological marker to differentiate between high-and lowvigour sugarbeet cultivars

CHANGING MOBILITY OF FILIPINO PROFESSIONALS IN RESPONSE TO K TO 12 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Professional Mobility is considered an intrinsic trait or character of a worker that pushes to make a decision to career change (Kumlai, 2007). This study analyzes the changing professional mobility of working professionals, who take 18 units in Professional Education, to qualify the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET) as a requirement in teaching for basic education (RA, 7836). It seeks to answer the following objectives: (1) describe the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, personal and alma-mater status, professional degrees earned and professional satisfaction, (2) analyze the factors that affected their decision to take the Diploma in Professional Education (DPE), (3) ascertain their propensity to teach and (4) generate respondents’ expectations to the teaching profession. This study employed a descriptive survey method using a purposive sampling of 133 professionals. A survey questionnaire was used as a primary tool. Young Filipino professionals change their career to teaching due to dissatisfaction attributed by unemployment, underemployment, low salaries, boredom, work suffocation and unfulfilled expectations. The competent salary package of the public school teacher is the number one attraction that led to the changing professional mobility. Working professionals have the potentiality to shine in the teaching profession and become passionate, altruistic, and stable with life-changing outlook for both personal and professional growth. Their propensity to teach provides a modest tolerance, a passion for integrity, a culture of excellence and a resolute stewardship for learning, which are vital indicators for a prospective self-efficacy in teaching

CHANGING MOBILITY OF FILIPINO PROFESSIONALS IN RESPONSE TO K TO 12 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Professional Mobility is considered an intrinsic trait or character of a worker that pushes to make a decision to career change (Kumlai, 2007). This study analyzes the changing professional mobility of working professionals, who take 18 units in Professional Education, to qualify the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET) as a requirement in teaching for basic education (RA, 7836). It seeks to answer the following objectives: (1) describe the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, personal and alma-mater status, professional degrees earned and professional satisfaction, (2) analyze the factors that affected their decision to take the Diploma in Professional Education (DPE), (3) ascertain their propensity to teach and (4) generate respondents’ expectations to the teaching profession. This study employed a descriptive survey method using a purposive sampling of 133 professionals. A survey questionnaire was used as a primary tool. Young Filipino professionals change their career to teaching due to dissatisfaction attributed by unemployment, underemployment, low salaries, boredom, work suffocation and unfulfilled expectations. The competent salary package of the public school teacher is the number one attraction that led to the changing professional mobility. Working professionals have the potentiality to shine in the teaching profession and become passionate, altruistic, and stable with life-changing outlook for both personal and professional growth. Their propensity to teach provides a modest tolerance, a passion for integrity, a culture of excellence and a resolute stewardship for learning, which are vital indicators for a prospective self-efficacy in teaching

Charge transfer state emission dynamics in blue-emitting functionalized silicon nanocrystals

We explore the dynamics of blue emission from dodecylamine and ammonia functionalized silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) with average diameters of ∼3 and ∼6 nm using time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectroscopy. The Si NCs exhibit nanosecond PL decay dynamics that is independent of NC size and uniform across the emission spectrum. The TRPL measurements reveal complete quenching of core state emission by a charge transfer state that is responsible for the blue PL with a radiative recombination rate of ∼5 × 10^7 s^(−1). A detailed picture of the charge transfer state emission dynamics in these functionalized Si NCs is proposed

An early response regulatory cluster induced by low temperature and hydrogen peroxide in seedlings of chilling-tolerant japonica rice

10.1186/1471-2164-8-175BMC Genomics817

Impact of prematurity and perinatal antibiotics on the developing intestinal microbiota: A functional inference study

The microbial colonization of the neonatal gut provides a critical stimulus for normal maturation and development. This process of early microbiota establishment, known to be affected by several factors, constitutes an important determinant for later health. Methods: We studied the establishment of the microbiota in preterm and full-term infants and the impact of perinatal antibiotics upon this process in premature babies. To this end, 16S rRNA gene sequence-based microbiota assessment was performed at phylum level and functional inference analyses were conducted. Moreover, the levels of the main intestinal microbial metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, propionate and butyrate, were measured by Gas-Chromatography Flame ionization/Mass spectrometry detection. Results: Prematurity affects microbiota composition at phylum level, leading to increases of Proteobacteria and reduction of other intestinal microorganisms. Perinatal antibiotic use further affected the microbiota of the preterm infant. These changes involved a concomitant alteration in the levels of intestinal SCFA. Moreover, functional inference analyses allowed for identifying metabolic pathways potentially affected by prematurity and perinatal antibiotics use. Conclusion: A deficiency or delay in the establishment of normal microbiota function seems to be present in preterm infants. Perinatal antibiotic use, such as intrapartum prophylaxis, affected the early life microbiota establishment in preterm newborns, which may have consequences for later healt

Antibiotic Resistance Profiling of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Clinical Specimens in a Tertiary Hospital from 2010 to 2012

MRSA infection can affect a wide array of individuals that may lead to treatment failure. Also, the infection has the potential to spread from one area to another particularly health care facilities or communities eventually causing minor outbreaks. With this premise, the study aimed to describe MRSA infections using the hospital-based data of a tertiary hospital in Bacolod City, Philippines, from 2010 to 2012. Specifically, this study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus isolated from clinical specimens and to put emphasis on the prevalence of MRSA and Inducible Clindamycin Resistance. A total of 94 cases from 2010 to 2012 were diagnosed to have S. aureus infection using conventional bacteriologic methods. From these cases, 38 (40.6%) were identified as MRSA and 37 (39.4%) were inducible clindamycin resistant. Wounds and abscesses were considered to be the most common specimens with MRSA infections having 71.05% while blood was the least with 5.3%. For drug susceptibility, out of the 94 S. aureus cases, including MRSA, 100% were susceptible to linezolid making it the drug of choice for this study. It was then followed by tetracycline having a mean susceptibility of 95%;, while penicillin G was ineffective with 94 cases having 0% susceptibility

Structural basis for tunable control of actin dynamics by myosin-15 in mechanosensory stereocilia

The motor protein myosin-15 is necessary for the development and maintenance of mechanosensory stereocilia, and mutations in myosin-15 cause hereditary deafness. In addition to transporting actin regulatory machinery to stereocilia tips, myosin-15 directly nucleates actin filament (“F-actin”) assembly, which is disrupted by a progressive hearing loss mutation (p.D1647G, “jordan”). Here, we present cryo–electron microscopy structures of myosin-15 bound to F-actin, providing a framework for interpreting the impacts of deafness mutations on motor activity and actin nucleation. Rigor myosin-15 evokes conformational changes in F-actin yet maintains flexibility in actin’s D-loop, which mediates inter-subunit contacts, while the jordan mutant locks the D-loop in a single conformation. Adenosine diphosphate–bound myosin-15 also locks the D-loop, which correspondingly blunts actin-polymerization stimulation. We propose myosin-15 enhances polymerization by bridging actin protomers, regulating nucleation efficiency by modulating actin’s structural plasticity in a myosin nucleotide state–dependent manner. This tunable regulation of actin polymerization could be harnessed to precisely control stereocilium height

Prospects for Observations of Pulsars and Pulsar Wind Nebulae with CTA

The last few years have seen a revolution in very-high gamma-ray astronomy (VHE; E>100 GeV) driven largely by a new generation of Cherenkov telescopes (namely the H.E.S.S. telescope array, the MAGIC and MAGIC-II large telescopes and the VERITAS telescope array). The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project foresees a factor of 5 to 10 improvement in sensitivity above 0.1 TeV, extending the accessible energy range to higher energies up to 100 TeV, in the Galactic cut-off regime, and down to a few tens GeV, covering the VHE photon spectrum with good energy and angular resolution. As a result of the fast development of the VHE field, the number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) detected has increased from one PWN in the early '90s to more than two dozen firm candidates today. Also, the low energy threshold achieved and good sensitivity at TeV energies has resulted in the detection of pulsed emission from the Crab Pulsar (or its close environment) opening new and exiting expectations about the pulsed spectra of the high energy pulsars powering PWNe. Here we discuss the physics goals we aim to achieve with CTA on pulsar and PWNe physics evaluating the response of the instrument for different configurations.Comment: accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic