Storage behavior of tomato inside a zero energy cool chamber

Tomato fruits were harvested at the middle-ripe stage and stored inside the “Zero energy cool chamber (ZECC)” which has a shelf-life of only about 7 days at ambient temperature (25°C). Storing tomato inside the ZECC could be a practical technique at farmer’s field to extend storage life by reducing the quality degradation. Physiological loss in weight (PLW) was faster for fruits held at ambient temperature. Weight loss during the storage at ambient temperature was 5.4%, but untreated fruits at ZECC over the same period showed at 2.6% loss. Although soluble solids increased over the storage period, there were no significant differences between ZECC and ambient temperature. However effect of hot water treatment on quality of tomatoes was clearly visible by increasing storage life up to 29 days. It reduced weight loss and decay, inhibited color development and maintained firmness of tomatoes but had no effect on total soluble solids content and pH level. Hot water treatment slightly reduced the mold growth of tomatoes stored inside ZECC

Performance of Long Short-Term Memory Networks for Modeling the Response of Plant Growth to Nutrient Solution Temperature in Hydroponic

This study examines the development of an approach for modeling the response of plant growth to nutrient solution temperature in hydroponic cultivation in a dynamic system. Nutrient solution temperature is one of the essential manipulating factors for plant growth in hydroponic cultivation. Determining the optimal control strategy of nutrient solution temperature during cultivation could lead to maximize the growth of the plant. By identifying the process using a dynamic system, the optimal control strategy can be determined. However, developing a dynamic model of plant growth to nutrient solution temperature is not easy due to physiological behavior between them are quite complex and uncertain. We propose the long short-term memory (LSTM) networks to identify and develop a model of dynamic characteristics of plant growth as affected by the nutrient solution temperature. Chili pepper plants were used to obtain time-series data of plant growth, with five different types of dynamic nutrient solution temperature patterns for system identification. The results showed that the proposed LSTM model provides promising performance in predicting the response of plant growth to nutrient solution temperature in hydroponic cultivation

Transplantation for Congenital Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes

Congenital bone marrow failure syndromes (BMFSs) are relatively rare disorders characterized by aberrant development in one or more hematopoietic lineages. Genetic alterations have now been identified in most of these disorders although the exact role of the molecular defects has yet to be elucidated. Most of these diseases are successfully managed with supportive care, however, treatment refractoriness and disease progression—often involving malignant transformation—may necessitate curative treatment with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Due to the underlying molecular defects, the outcome of transplantation for BMFS may be dramatically different than those associated with transplantation for more common diseases, including leukemia. Given recent improvements in survival and molecular diagnosis of bone marrow failure syndrome patients presenting at adult ages without physical stigmata, it is important for both pediatric and adult hematologists to be aware of the possible diagnosis of BMF syndromes and the unique approaches required in treating such patients

Change of Waterline and Water Depth at Izmit Bay Due to 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake in Turkey

The 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake of August 17,1999 hit the western part of Turkey causing very great damages. From a result of our investigation and survey, typical geotechnical damages on this earthquake were pointed up except structural damage due to inertia force. One was a settlement andfor tilting of buildings induced by the ground deformation such as soil liquefaction or bearing failure in Adapazari City. Another was a widespread land loss in the south of coast in Izmit Bay, induced by the fault movement. In this paper we deal with the widespread land loss around Izmit Bay. The authors check into the relationship between the submerged area and the rupture of the fault, and then carried out the measurement of water depth at several cross sections of offshore in Izmit Bay. In order to clarify the aspect of loss of the coastal land, the topography of the seabed before and after the earthquake were compared. And then, some in-situ tests were conducted near the submerged area. From the result of the measurements, in-situ tests and the field survey, the causes of the loss of coastal land could be anticipated

Structural Insights into Methylated DNA Recognition by the Methyl-CpG Binding Domain of MBD6 from Arabidopsis thaliana

Cytosine methylation is an epigenetic modification essential for formation of mature heterochromatin, gene silencing, and genomic stability. In plants, methylation occurs not only at cytosine bases in CpG but also in CpHpG and CpHpH contexts, where H denotes A, T, or C. Methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) proteins, which recognize symmetrical methyl-CpG dinucleotides and act as gene repressors in mammalian cells, are also present in plant cells, although their structural and functional properties still remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, in this study, we determined the solution structure of the MBD domain of the MBD6 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana and investigated its binding properties to methylated DNA by binding assays and an in-depth NMR spectroscopic analysis. The AtMBD6 MBD domain folds into a canonical MBD structure in line with its binding specificity toward methyl-CpG and possesses a DNA binding interface similar to mammalian MBD domains. Intriguingly, however, the binding affinity of the AtMBD6 MBD domain toward methyl-CpG-containing DNA was found to be much lower than that of known mammalian MBD domains. The main difference arises from the absence of positively charged residues in AtMBD6 that supposedly interact with the DNA backbone as seen in mammalian MBD/methyl-CpG-containing DNA complexes. Taken together, we have established a structural basis for methyl-CpG recognition by AtMBD6 to develop a deeper understanding how MBD proteins work as mediators of epigenetic signals in plant cells