New spin Calogero-Sutherland models related to B_N-type Dunkl operators

We construct several new families of exactly and quasi-exactly solvable BC_N-type Calogero-Sutherland models with internal degrees of freedom. Our approach is based on the introduction of two new families of Dunkl operators of B_N type which, together with the original B_N-type Dunkl operators, are shown to preserve certain polynomial subspaces of finite dimension. We prove that a wide class of quadratic combinations involving these three sets of Dunkl operators always yields a spin Calogero-Sutherland model, which is (quasi-)exactly solvable by construction. We show that all the spin Calogero-Sutherland models obtainable within this framework can be expressed in a unified way in terms of a Weierstrass P function with suitable half-periods. This provides a natural spin counterpart of the well-known general formula for a scalar completely integrable potential of BC_N type due to Olshanetsky and Perelomov. As an illustration of our method, we exactly compute several energy levels and their corresponding wavefunctions of an elliptic quasi-exactly solvable potential for two and three particles of spin 1/2.Comment: 18 pages, typeset in LaTeX 2e using revtex 4.0b5 and the amslatex package Minor changes in content, one reference adde

Micro-propagation of Aquatic Plant Brazilian Micro Sword (Lileaopsis brasiliensis)

Lileaopsis brasiliensis is one of the ornamental aquatic plants and yet still being commercialized in Malaysia because of the grassy foreground features. This study is conducted to propagate higher quantity and quality of L. brasiliensis and to determine the optimum concentration of plant growth regulator for the micro-propagation in Murashige and Skoog (MS) (1962) basal media with different concentration of Naphteneacetic acid (NAA) and 6- Benzylaminopurine (BAP) for four weeks period following with subculture procedure. All treatments for 1 L MS media were adjusted to pH 5.7-5.8, adding sucrose and pytagel with 30 g/L and 2.5 g/L, respectively. The explants were sub-cultured at least three times within five months. The results of the quality and quantity of this species within different concentration of NAA and BAP have been determined. For shoot regeneration, the highest number of shoot induced in initial culture (C0), first (C1), second (C2) and the third subculture (C3) were 103, 102, 104 and 137 respectively. There was no significant different of shoot regeneration in different concentration of NAA and BAP combination. However, the high number of shoot regeneration was obtained from the following concentration NAA: BAP: zero concentration in both C0 (103.0±5.3) and C2 (104.0±14.2), 1.5: 0.0 mg/L with 102.0±4.4 and1.5:0.5 mg/L with 137.0±41.2 in C1 and C3, respectively. Based on the results, it can be concluded that shoot regeneration was observed even though in very low concentration of NAA and BAP. Keywords: Aquatic plants, lilaeopsis brasiliensis, micro-propagation, plant growth regulator

Effect of short-term bee bread on testicular cell development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats

Bee bread has been widely traditionally used for male fertility enrichment although limited scientific data are available on its effectiveness. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of bee bread on testicular cell development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats. In this study, 24 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and divided equally into four treatment groups (n = 6/group) which were Control (C: 0 g of bee bread/kg body weight), Treatment 1 (T1: 1 g of bee bread /kg body weight), Treatment 2 (T2: 2 g of bee bread /kg body weight) and Treatment 3 (T3: 3 g of bee bread /kg body weight). The bee bread was administered daily and orally according to the designated treatment groups using oral gavage for 28 days. After 28 days of treatment, rats were euthanised and testicular cell development and testosterone level were measured. Results showed that rats in the T2 group had thicker (P<0.05) seminiferous tubular diameter (STD) than the control group and higher (P<0.05) seminiferous epithelial height (SEH) compared to C and T1 groups. The testosterone level in the T1, T2 and T3 groups was significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to control. In conclusion, this study suggests that supplemented with 2 g of bee bread per kg body weight is likely to give a positive effect by improving testicular cells development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats

A cotton leaf nitrogen monitoring model based on spectral-fluorescence data fusion

In the present study, hyperspectral imaging and remote sensing of fluorescence were integrated to monitor the nitrogen content in leaves of drip-irrigated cotton at different growth periods in northern Xinjiang, China. Based on the spectrum and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of nitrogen content in cotton leaves of different growth periods obtained through the shuffled frog-leaping algorithm (SFLA), the successive projection algorithm (SPA), grey relational analysis (GRA), and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), a monitoring model of nitrogen content in cotton leaves was established via on hyperspectral imaging, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and spectral-fluorescence data fusion. The results showed that: (1) there were significant positive correlations between the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fv'/Fm', Fv/Fm, Yield, Fm, NPQ, and the nitrogen content at each growth period. (2) The effectiveness of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in inversion of nitrogen content was the highest at the budding period and the blooming period, and the coefficients of determination (R2) of the validation sets were 0.745 and 0.709, respectively. (3) In the monitoring model for cotton leaf nitrogen in the blooming period that was established based on the decision-level algorithm and spectral-fluorescence data fusion, the R2 value of the training set reached 0.961, and that of the validation set was 0.828. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that the feature-level fusion and decision-level fusion algorithms of spectral-fluorescence data can effectively improve the accuracy and reliability of cotton leaf nitrogen monitoring

Skeletal Deformities in Cultured Juvenile African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

Skeletal deformities in cultured fish are known worldwide and it had affected the survival, growth and appearance of the fish which contribute to production loss. Clarias gariepinus is known as number one farmed fish in Malaysia. C. gariepinus also effected in these deformities especially in cultured species. The objectives of this study are to identify the skeletal deformities that occur in juvenile stages and to compare the bone structure between the normal and deformed fish. A total of 50 juveniles’ fish were collected from Aquaculture Extension and Community Centre Machang, Kelantan. The juvenile was measured before undergo staining process. The fish were starved for one day then fixed in 70% ethanol for two weeks. The fish were then stained with alizarin red S for cartilage and Alcian blue for bone. The specimens were photographed in order to observe the deformities. The data showed only 13.0% juveniles have skeletal deformities, 10.9% with lordosis and 2.2% scoliosis. The cause of the deformities may be due to the heterogenous growth but other factors might also contribute to the problem. As the conclusion, the skeletal deformities observed in juvenile C. gariepinus were detected with the whole-mount staining method ranged from size 7.3 and 26.0 cm in total length. This study shows there is heterogenous growth rearing at low percentage even from skilled farm. Further study should concentrate on hidden factors that affected the deformity rate and mineralization of the juvenile fish

In Vitro Micropropagation of Aquarium Plants Pearl Grass Hemianthus micranthemoides (Nuttall) and Micro Sword Grass Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Glaziou) Affolter (Apiaceae)

Hemianthus micranthemoides and Lileaopsis brasiliensis are nowadays sold in the form of tissue culture production by aquaria and ornamental trade in Malaysia. However, there is no to limited report about in vitro micropropagation of both aquarium plants. In this study, an experimental procedure for micropropagation of both plants was documented. The propagation were done in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with eight combination of different concentration of 6-Benzylaminopurine with Naphteneacetic acid (BAP-NAA) and 1-phenyl-3-1,2,3- thiadizol-5-yl urea with Naphteneacetic acid (TDZ-NAA) following the rooting technique for 42 days. All treatments for 1 L MS medium were regulated to pH 5.7 to 5.8 and added with sucrose (30 g/L) and phytagel (2.5 g/L). All combination treatments had induced rooting. There was a significance different in the shoot regeneration of H. micranthemoides in all treatment (95% confidence level, F = 13.907, n = 240, p = 0.000), on the contrary there was no different were observed in shoot regeneration of L. brasiliensis treatment. Overall, all treatment of TDZ- NAA were significantly higher in the shoot regeneration than those in BAP-NAA treatment. Particularly the T7 (TDZ-NAA, 0.075: 0.1 mg/L) given highest result in diameter (1.626±0.213 cm) and area (1.724±0.308 cm2) of shoot clumps in H. micranthemoides, and formation of shoots (51.5±4.95), nodes (20.0±2.83) and roots (45.5±13.4) in L. brasiliensis. Hardening of in vitro cultured plantlets was done in aquatic laboratory. All of the plants survived and transferred into aquarium. This study has provided beneficial information in further micropropagation protocol for the mass production of both aquarium plants.   Keywords: Aquarium plants, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Micropropagatio

Durability of Slag Based Geopolymer Stabilized Clay with High Moisture Condition

Clay soils, characterized by their cohesiveness and water retention capacity, exhibit low aeration and tend to swell when water is absorbed, leading to subsequent contraction. The moisture content significantly affects the properties of marine clay, resulting in low strength and high compressibility. Traditional stabilizers like lime, cement, gypsum, fly ash, GGBS, and zeolite have been extensively studied for their ability to enhance the compressive strength, reduce swelling potential, and improve the overall durability of the soil. These stabilizers offer numerous benefits in terms of soil properties and have been extensively researched. A total of 27 GGBS-treated specimens and 7 cement-treated specimens were cast and tested for the strength and durability characteristic. In the study, the variables are binder content of 10%, 20%, and 30%, activator/binder ratio of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0, and initial moisture content of 0.75wL, wL, and 1.25wL. Several kinds of experiments were carried out in order to investigate the qualities of stabilized clays, such as their unconfined compressive strength and their resistance to the effects of wetting and drying cycles. As the initial moisture content of the soil increased, the strength of the treated specimens decreased under unconfined compression and flexure. As a result, increasing the binder dose was necessary in order to achieve the strength requirements for high water content soils. Thus, it showed the use of a slag-geopolymer binder for the purpose of stabilizing soft soil is an alternative that is both effective and environmentally friendly