Materials Effect in Sensing Performance Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance Using Photonic Crystal Fiber

Plasmonics - This article explores the effect of sensing performances with subject to change in different types of material and this study is carried out by the support of plasmon-coated photonic...     

Transcriptome analysis reveals the molecular mechanisms of combined gamma-tocotrienol and hydroxychavicol in preventing the proliferation of 1321N1, SW1783, and LN18 glioma cancer cells

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry - Gamma-tocotrienol (GTT) and hydroxychavicol (HC) exhibit anticancer activity in glioma cancer cells, where the combination of GTT + HC was shown to be more...     

Alternative Mechanisms for Fast Na+/Ca2+ Signaling in Eukaryotes via a Novel Class of Single-Domain Voltage-Gated Channels

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Optimizing interstitial photodynamic therapy with custom cylindrical diffusers

Interstitial photodynamic therapy (iPDT) has shown promise recently as a minimally invasive cancer treatment, partially due to the development of non‐toxic photosensitizers in the absence of activation light. However, a major challenge in iPDT is the pre‐treatment planning process that specifies the number of diffusers needed, along with their positions and allocated powers, to confine the light distribution to the target volume as much as possible. In this work, a new power allocation algorithm for cylindrical light diffusers including those that can produce customized longitudinal (tailored) emission profiles is introduced. The proposed formulation is convex to guarantee the minimum over‐dose possible on the surrounding organs‐at‐risk. The impact of varying the diffuser lengths and penetration angles on the quality of the plan is evaluated. The results of this study are demonstrated for different photosensitizers activated at different wavelengths and simulated on virtual tumors modeling virtual glioblastoma multiforme cases. Results show that manufacturable cylindrical diffusers with tailored emission profiles can significantly outperform those with conventional flat profiles with an average damage reduction on white matter of 15% to 55% and on gray matter of 23% to 58%.      

Assessment of grain quality in terms of functional group response to elevated [CO2], water,and nitrogen using a meta‐analysis: Grain protein,zinc, and iron under future climate

The increasing [CO₂] in the atmosphere increases crop productivity. However, grain quality of cereals and pulses are substantially decreased and consequently compromise human health. Meta‐analysis techniques were employed to investigate the effect of elevated [CO₂] (e[CO₂]) on protein, zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) concentrations of major food crops (542 experimental observations from 135 studies) including wheat, rice, soybean, field peas, and corn considering different levels of water and nitrogen (N). Each crop, except soybean, had decreased protein, Zn, and Fe concentrations when grown at e[CO₂] concentration (≥550 μmol/mol) compared to ambient [CO₂] (a[CO₂]) concentration (≤380 μmol/mol). Grain protein, Zn, and Fe concentrations were reduced under e[CO₂]; however, the responses of protein, Zn, and Fe concentrations to e[CO₂] were modified by water stress and N. There was an increase in Fe concentration in soybean under medium N and wet conditions but nonsignificant. The reductions in protein concentrations for wheat and rice were ~5%–10%, and the reductions in Zn and Fe concentrations were ~3%–12%. For soybean, there was a small and nonsignificant increase of 0.37% in its protein concentration under medium N and dry water, while Zn and Fe concentrations were reduced by ~2%–5%. The protein concentration of field peas decreased by 1.7%, and the reductions in Zn and Fe concentrations were ~4%–10%. The reductions in protein, Zn, and Fe concentrations of corn were ~5%–10%. Bias in the dataset was assessed using a regression test and rank correlation. The analysis indicated that there are medium levels of bias within published meta‐analysis studies of crops responses to free‐air [CO₂] enrichment (FACE). However, the integration of the influence of reporting bias did not affect the significance or the direction of the [CO₂] effects.     

Isolation and characterisation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) degrading actinomycetes and purification of PHBV depolymerase from newly isolatedStreptoverticillium kashmirense AF1

Streptoverticillium kashmirense AF1 with the ability to degrade a natural polymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) was isolated from municipal sewage sludge by soil burial technique. The PHBV film was degraded by the action of extracellular enzymes secreted by the microorganisms. Degradation of PHBV was evident by the formation of clear zones of hydrolysis on the polymer containing mineral salt agar plates. The extent of PHBV degradation increased up to 30 days of incubation. Maximum production of PHBV depolymerase was observed both at pH 8 and pH 7, 45 °C, 1% substrate concentration and in the presence of lactose as an additional carbon source. Two types of extracellular PHBV depolymerases were purified fromS. kashmirense AF1 by gel permeation chromatography using Sephadex G-75. The molecular weights of the two proteins were found to be 35 and 45 kDa approximately, as determined by SDS-PAGE. The results of the Sturm test also showed more CO₂ production as a result of PHBV degradation, in the test as compared to control. The present findings indicated the degradation capabilities ofS. kashmirense AF1.     

Applying neural networks to predict HPC-I/O bandwidth over seismic data on lustre file system for ExSeisDat

Cluster Computing - HPC or super-computing clusters are designed for executing computationally intensive operations that typically involve large scale I/O operations. This most commonly involves...     

High intrinsic seed Zn concentration improves abiotic stress tolerance in wheat

Plant and Soil - Abiotic stresses are threatening wheat productivity across the globe, which is often associated with nutrient deficiencies. Zinc (Zn) is involved in many physiological processes of...     

Alterations in sucrose metabolizing enzyme activities and total phenol content of Curcuma Ionga L. as affected by different triazole compounds

Changes in the sucrose metabolism of Cur-cuma longa L. plants were studied under treatment with different triazole compounds viz., triadimefon (TDM) and propiconazole (PCZ). Plants were treated with TDM at 15 mg/L and PCZ at 10 mg/L separately by soil drenching on 80, 110, and 140 days after planting (DAP). The plants were harvested randomly on 90, 120, and 150DAP to determine the effect of both the triazoles on sucrose metabolizing enzymes and phenol content. The sucrose metabolism was studied by analyzing sucrose metaboliz-ing enzymes like sucrose synthase and sucrose phosphate synthase. All the analyses were assayed in leaves and tubers of both control and treated plants. It was found that both of the triazole compounds had profound effects on these parameters.     

Effect of physical desiccation on plant regeneration efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety super basmati

This experiment assessed the effect of partial physical desiccation on plant regeneration efficiency in scutellum-derived embryogenic calluses of rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety Super basmati. A number of callusing cultures were developed, and efficient callus induction was observed on MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid. The calluses were proliferated on the same medium for 3 weeks and then shifted to dehydration desiccation treatment for 72 h. The desiccated calluses were cultured on different media for somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration. A medium with 2.0 mg/L α-napthaleneacetic acid, 10.0 mg/L abscisic acid , 2.0 mg/L kinetin was best for somatic embryogenesis only, but not for further plant development. After 10 d, differentiated calluses were sub-cultured on medium with various concentrations and types of carbohydrates (carbon source) in ¹MS_2j medium. A large number of plantlets (14.51±2.81 and 8.56±2.90 plants/callus) were regenerated via chemical desiccation, on MS with 3% maltose+3% sorbitol and 6% sucrose, respectively. Under dehydration on only simple MS (3% sucrose), 11.23±3.22 plants/callus were developed. Under conditions of dehydration and chemical desiccation, plant regeneration rates were higher than the calluses cultured on simple MS medium in the presence of plant growth regulator. After somatic embryogenesis, >25% plants were sterile. The protocol used here may allow maximum regeneration of normal and fertile plantlets of super basmati rice within 3 months.