Exploring jasmonates in the hormonal network of drought and salinity responses

Present and future food security is a critical issue compounded by the consequences of climate change on agriculture. Stress perception and signal transduction in plants causes changes in gene or protein expression which lead to metabolic and physiological responses. Phytohormones play a central role in the integration of different upstream signals into different adaptive outputs such as changes in the activity of ion-channels, protein modifications, protein degradation, and gene expression. Phytohormone biosynthesis and signaling, and recently also phytohormone crosstalk have been investigated intensively, but the function of jasmonates under abiotic stress is still only partially understood. Although most aspects of jasmonate biosynthesis, crosstalk and signal transduction appear to be similar for biotic and abiotic stress, novel aspects have emerged that seem to be unique for the abiotic stress response. Here, we review the knowledge on the role of jasmonates under drought and salinity. The crosstalk of jasmonate biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways with those of abscisic acid (ABA) is particularly taken into account due to the well-established, central role of ABA under abiotic stress. Likewise, the accumulating evidence of crosstalk of jasmonate signaling with other phytohormones is considered as important element of an integrated phytohormonal response. Finally, protein post-translational modification, which can also occur without de novo transcription, is treated with respect to its implications for phytohormone biosynthesis, signaling and crosstalk. To breed climate- resilient crop varieties, integrated understanding of the molecular processes is required to modulate and tailor particular nodes of the network to positively affect stress tolerance. © 2015 Riemann, Dhakarey, Hazman, Miro, Kohli and Nick

Transition from saturable absorption to reverse saturable absorption of carmoisine dye under low-powered continuous wave laser excitation

Unique nonlinear optics (NLO) properties i.e. intensity-dependent nonlinear absorption and refraction of carmoisine (food dye) is studied using a single beam z-scan technique. A switchover behavior from a saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) is observed by increasing concentration of carmoisine dye. The flip in the absorption response is attributed to the aggregated dye molecules under intense laser beam, which induces the formation of carmoisine dimers. In the UV–Vis absorption analysis, the appearance of two bands at higher concentration confirms the formation of carmoisine dimers. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) suggests the intermolecular charge transfer (ICT) within the naphtyl-azo bonds. Huge magnitude of χ(3) is calculated in the order of 10−5 esu due to ICT process within the dye molecules. Optical limiting (OL) behavior is observed with low OL action threshold ∼0.01 kW/cm2 under continuous wave laser beam. The experimental findings shows that carmoisine dye has potential as an optical material for photonics applications such as an optical limiter under low-powered continuous wave laser

Protective effects of safranal against subchronic thinner inhalation induced oxidative stress in rats

339-348In phytotherapy, research on the effects of components in plant extracts on various diseases gets increasing attention. . Saffron is an herb with antioxidant effects, known to have an increasing significance due to its therapeutic effects. Safranal is one of the components of saffron extract. Here, we explored the effects of subchronic thinner inhalation on the oxidant-antioxidant balance, the relation between toxicity and oxidative stress, and a possible protective effect of safranal against thinner toxication in rats. Sprague−Dawley rats were divided into four groups as follows: control (Gr. I), safranal (Gr. II), thinner (Gr. III) and thinner+safranal Gr. IV). Each group consisted of 10 rats, and the study lasted for 8 weeks. After completing the animal studies malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), toluol, 8OHdG (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine), protein oxidation, nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant capacity (TOC), glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, WBC, VLDL, RBC, HCT, Hb, aspartate amino transferase (AST), and alanine amino transferase (ALT) levels were determined from blood specimens of the rats. Brain and lung tissues were also examined histopathologically. The data obtained from the study were statistically analyzed using SPSS, and both ANCOVA and Bonferroni tests were performed. P <0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. The results indicated that safranal had a protective and balancing effect against thinner inhalation oriented complications in rats

Building the Strategic Pillars for Angkatan Sasterawan 50’s Online Information Services

<p>In this practitioner’s paper, we share why and how Angkatan Sasterawan’ 50 (ASAS 50) has explored and embraced Web 2.0 technologies extensively to showcase the rich Malay‘s cultural and literacy materials from the past. At the same time, the integration of such technology and literacy will help to promote the preservation for the future generation in a conceited effort to raise their awareness of the core values and identities of where and who their fore-fathers’ were. For a period of about six months, we have been spending time to comprehend the historical backdrop of ASAS 50. It includes the rationale of its creation and where it envisioned being in the future. And for the six months that followed, the actual work of design begun. Thus, we conceptualized a general model based on certain known ones such as Porter Five’s Forces to shield ourselves from future coercion (Porter, 2008) and strategic alignment model from Henderson & Venkatraman (1993). The new website is paving ways for marrying new technology with the information needs of the organization. This movement is to promote literacy to the young generation who are more technologically inclined and exposing them to the importance of the Malay’s language, heritage and culture (Delamere, 1996). In order to align with the organization needs and the technology adoption, ASAS 50 is ready to embrace new social technologies. During the initial phase, the site has received a healthy growth in visitor-ships. Social web systems have offered new opportunities for us to engage the community and produce better search relevancy. The paper only captures the sentiments of the local scene. However, our plan does include the foresight of reaching to other countries. Thus, the idea of the portal being conceived from the beginning adopting English as the main medium to break the language differences was a sound move. The content however remained authentic to its value of Malay roots. The paper recommends the steps of implementing social web components into the uncharted domain of the literacy world. It also highlights the success aspects that can be used for any future literacy and technology collaborations by interested parties.</p

Effects of electromagnetic radiation exposure on bone mineral density, thyroid, and oxidative stress index in electrical workers

Halil Kunt,1,* İhsan Şent&uuml;rk,2,* Y&uuml;cel G&ouml;n&uuml;l,3,* Mehmet Korkmaz,4 Ahmet Ahsen,5 &Ouml;mer Hazman,6 Ahmet Bal,7 Abdurrahman Gen&ccedil;,8 Ahmet Songur3 1Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Dumlupinar University, K&uuml;tahya, 2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, 3Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, 4Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dumlupinar University, K&uuml;tahya, 5Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, 6Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, 7Department of General Surgery, 8Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: In the literature, some articles report that the incidence of numerous diseases increases among the individuals who live around high-voltage electric transmission lines (HVETL) or are exposed vocationally. However, it was not investigated whether HVETL affect bone metabolism, oxidative stress, and the prevalence of thyroid nodule.Methods: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) bone density measurements, serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), RANK, RANKL, osteoprotegerin (OPG), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), phosphor, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels were analyzed to investigate this effect.Results: Bone mineral density levels of L1&ndash;L4 vertebrae and femur were observed significantly lower in the electrical workers. ALP, phosphor, RANK, RANKL, TOS, OSI, and anteroposterior diameter of the left thyroid lobe levels were significantly higher, and OPG, TAS, and FT4 levels were detected significantly lower in the study group when compared with the control group.Conclusion: Consequently, it was observed that the balance between construction and destruction in the bone metabolism of the electrical workers who were employed in HVETL replaced toward destruction and led to a decrease in OPG levels and an increase in RANK and RANKL levels. In line with the previous studies, long-term exposure to an electromagnetic field causes disorders in many organs and systems. Thus, it is considered that long-term exposure to an electromagnetic field affects bone and thyroid metabolism and also increases OSI by increasing the TOS and decreasing the antioxidant status. Keywords: bone mineral density, electromagnetic radiation, electrical workers, thyroid, RANK, RANK