SUCCESSFUL ACCLIMATIZATION OF IN-VITRO ROOTED STEM CUTTINGS OF CINNAMON (Cinnamomum verum Presl)

Hardening of regenerated plantlets for successful field transfer is consideredto be a major obstacle in clonal micro-propagation of cinnamon. In-vitroinduced roots are rarely functional, lack of root hairs, fragile and aregenerally damaged during transfer to the soil. Therefore, objectives of presentexperiments were to develop an appropriate acclimatization procedure and toselect a suitable potting media for successful field establishment of Cinnamon plantlets.In-vitro rooted stem cuttings were transferred in to four different pottingmedia of Soil, Coir dust, Sand: Coir dust - (1: 1) and Soil: Sand - (1: 1)Sealed containers with sterilized potting media were used to maintain >80 %Relative humidity for 2 weeks and then gradually acclimatized to fieldconditions. Three different procedures (1) lid removed and kept in shade after2 weeks of transplanting (2) lid removed only at nights after 2 weeks oftransplanting, and (3) lid removed after 4 weeks of transplanting were used astreatments.At the end of 4th week, plantlets in coir dust medium showed the highestsurvival rate (87.5 %). Higher number of new leaf formation was observed incoir dust medium and overall appearance of the plantlets was very good.Most plantlets in soil medium were dead at the end of the 4th week, andremaining plantlets were very weak. Acclimatization procedure did notsignificantly affect on growth or overall appearance of plantlets. Resultsrevealed that coir dust medium provided with two weeks of humid conditionsis the best for successful acclimatization of in-vitro Cinnamon plantlets

Statistical Analysis of Repeated Measures

Repeated measurements are quite common in biological experimentation. Usually, theresponses are taken over time, as in weekly growth measurements to establish growth curves.Furthermore, because of these observations are taken from the same experimental units, theyare not independent. It is important to note in this context that important assumptions are notthe independence of measurements but independence of errors. There are several statisticalmethods used for analysing repeated measures data including separate analyses at each timepoint, univariate analysis of variance, analyses of time contrast variables and multivariatemethod.In this study, plant height of Chrysanthemum (Kapuru) plants was used to compare fourmethods of repeated measures analysis and their respective advantages and shortcomings.The data was from an experiment that investigated effects of eight day lengths on plant heightwith ten replications for each treatment. The statistical analysis methods illustrated in thisstudy focus on treatment comparisons at specific times, treatment comparisons averaged overtimes and on changes over time in specific treatments. Differences between treatments werecomputed at individual times and averaged across times. Standard errors were computedbased on each of the methods of analysis.Firstly the data were analysed in a CRD at each time point examines treatment effectsseparately at individual observation times and makes no statistical comparisons among times.There was no inference is drawn about trends over time, so this method is not truly a repeatedmeasures analysis. Therefore it was not a preferred method for final publication because itdoes not address time effects. In univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), the data isanalysed as a split-plot design for repeated measurements in a CRD. The treatment wasconsidered the main "plot" and time was considered as the sub-plot. The means of thedependent variable over time was changed violating Huynh-Feldt (H-F) condition. Thereforethe effect of time and time and treatment interaction were invalid. The "Analysis ofContrasts" method transforms the data to remove subject and time variance. According to theresults the interaction effect of time and treatment and their main effects were all significant(P<0.05). As their validity depends on whether or not the covariance structure satisfies thesphericity condition, Mauchlys Criterion was used to check for this condition and thesphericity condition was not met. Therefore the multivariate methods of repeated meaursanalysis were done. In this study, how to choose the correct method depending on the datastructure and underlying statistical assumptions was classified in repeated measurements.

STUDIES OF IN-VIVO AND IN-VITRO GERMINATION ABILITY OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus)

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) is a well-popularized fruit species incountries like Thailand, China and have a great potential for cultivation insemi-arid regions of Sri Lanka. Plant propagation studies have not beencarried out in Sri Lanka, and hence objective of this research was to study thein-vivo and in-vitro germination of Dragon fruit seeds and to select a suitablemedia for in-vitro establishment. Wet filter papers, wet sand, and wet coirdust were used to study the in-vivo germination and Hormone free, MSmedium, Anderson's Rhododendron medium, and McCown Woody Plantmedium incorporated with 1 g/l of activated charcoal was used to study invitrogermination. In-vitro germination percentage was higher (lOa % inAnderson, 98.5 % in MS, and 96 % in WP) when compared to seedsgerminated in in-vivo conditions (50 %in Filter paper method, 45 % in Sand,and 35 % in Coir dust). Seedlings germinated in in-vitro conditions showedhealthy vigorous growth and 15, 14, and 11 mm seedling heights wereobserved with fully opened cotyledons at the end of second week inAnderson, MS, and WP medium respectively. Though similar plant heights(l5±2 mm) were observed, appearance of the seedlings was very weak, andcotyledons had not fully opened under in-vivo conditions. In both in-vivo andin-vitro conditions root system development was similar and root formationwas observed within 6 days with 4±2 mm root length. Germination, plantheight, and appearance of plants were best in Anderson medium. Resultsrevealed that seeds could be successfully germinated in in-vitro conditionsusing Anderson medium supplemented with 1 mg/l activated charcoal as theestablishment medium

IN-VITRO CALLUS FORMATION OF RED SANDALWOOD (Pterocarpus santalinus L.) AS AFFECTED BY EXPLANT TYPE AND DIFFERENT LEVELS OF 2,4-D AND BAP

Pterocarpus santalinus is a valuable medicinal plant, now included in red listof endangered plants under IUCN guidelines. Distribution of this plant in SriLanka is very limited and the local demand for ayurvedic purposes is stillunreached. As conventional propagation techniques are not satisfactory,possibilities in in-vitro techniques seem to be promising, and callus culture isone aspect that has to be studied. Leaf parts, cotyledon parts, root segments,inter-nodal segments, and nodal segments from in-vitro seedlings were usedas explants. 2,4-D and BAP were used separately in six differentconcentrations (1 mg/l - 6 mg/l) for callus initiation Full strength MS medium(Murashige and Skoog, 1962) was used with 30 g/l of sucrose and 8 g/l agaras the culture medium. Callus formation could be observed in every explant.However, large clumps of creamy white callus were obtained from nodalsegments. Callus formation in root segments was very poor and showedbrown color. In nodal segments, callus formation was started within twoweeks and large clumps of callus were observed while slight swellin~occurring on root segments, leaf parts and in cotyledon parts at the end of 41week. Callus formation was best when the culture medium was supplementedwith 3 mg/l of BAP. Though callus formation could be observed in 2,4-D,amount of callus formed was poor. Present studies revealed that MS mediumsupplemented with 3 mg/l BAP is ideal for callus induction in Pterocarpussantalinus and possibility of using nodal segments as initial explants

Lie symmetry analysis and numerical solutions for thermo-solutal chemicallyreacting radiative micropolar flow from an inclined porous surface

Steady, laminar, incompressible thermo-solutal natural convection flow of micropolar fluid from an inclined perforated surface with convective boundary conditions is studied. Thermal radiative flux and chemical reaction effects are included to represent phenomena encountered in high-temperature materials synthesis operations. Rosseland’s diffusion approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. A Lie scaling group transformation is implemented to derive a self-similar form of the partial differential conservation equations. The resulting coupled nonlinear boundary value problem is solved with Runge-Kutta fourth order numerical quadrature (shooting technique). Validation of solutions with an optimized Adomian decomposition method algorithm is included. Verification of the accuracy of shooting is also conducted as a particular case of non-reactive micropolar flow from a vertical permeable surface. The evolution of velocity, angular velocity (micro-rotation component), temperature and concentration are examined for a variety of parameters including coupling number, plate inclination angle, suction/injection parameter, radiation-conduction parameter, Biot number and reaction parameter. Numerical results for steady state skin friction coefficient, couple stress coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are tabulated and discussed. Interesting features of the hydrodynamic, heat and mass transfer characteristics are examined

Hemorheology and Microvascular Disorders

The present review presents basic concepts of blood rheology related to vascular diseases. Blood flow in large arteries is dominated by inertial forces exhibited at high flow velocities, while viscous forces (i.e., blood rheology) play an almost negligible role. When high flow velocity is compromised by sudden deceleration as at a bifurcation, endothelial cell dysfunction can occur along the outer wall of the bifurcation, initiating inflammatory gene expression and, through mechanotransduction, the cascade of events associated with atherosclerosis. In sharp contrast, the flow of blood in microvessels is dominated by viscous shear forces since the inertial forces are negligible due to low flow velocities. Shear stress is a critical parameter in microvascular flow, and a force-balance approach is proposed for determining microvascular shear stress, accounting for the low Reynolds numbers and the dominance of viscous forces over inertial forces. Accordingly, when the attractive forces between erythrocytes (represented by the yield stress of blood) are greater than the shear force produced by microvascular flow, tissue perfusion itself cannot be sustained, leading to capillary loss. The yield stress parameter is presented as a diagnostic candidate for future clinical research, specifically, as a fluid dynamic biomarker for microvascular disorders. The relation between the yield stress and diastolic blood viscosity (DBV) is described using the Casson model for viscosity, from which one may be able determine thresholds of DBV where the risk of microvascular disorders is high

MHD dissipative flow and heat transfer of casson fluids due to metachronal wave propulsion of beating cilia with thermal and velocity slip effects under an oblique magnetic field

A theoretical investigation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heat transfer of electrically-conducting viscoplastic fluids through a channel is conducted. The robust Casson model is implemented to simulate viscoplastic behavior of fluids. The external magnetic field is oblique to the fluid flow direction. Viscous dissipation effects are included. The flow is controlled by the metachronal wave propagation generated by cilia beating on the inner walls of the channel. The mathematical formulation is based on deformation in longitudinal and transverse velocity components induced by the ciliary beating phenomenon with cilia assumed to follow elliptic trajectories. The model also features velocity and thermal slip boundary conditions. Closed-form solutions to the non-dimensional boundary value problem are obtained under physiological limitations of low Reynolds number and large wavelength. The influence of key hydrodynamic and thermo-physical parameters i.e. Hartmann (magnetic) number, Casson (viscoplastic) fluid parameter, thermal slip parameter and velocity slip parameter on flow characteristics are investigated. A comparative study is also made with Newtonian fluids (corresponding to massive values of plastic viscosity). Stream lines are plotted to visualize trapping phenomenon. The computations reveal that velocity increases with increasing the magnitude of Hartmann number near the channel walls whereas in the core flow region (centre of the channel) significant deceleration is observed. Temperature is elevated with greater Casson parameter, Hartmann number, velocity slip, eccentricity parameter, thermal slip and also Brinkmann (dissipation) number. Furthermore greater Casson parameter is found to elevate the quantity and size of the trapped bolus. In the pumping region, the pressure rise is reduced with greater Hartmann number, velocity slip, and wave number whereas it is enhanced with greater cilia length