Comparative Study of Seed Protein Profiles in the Genus Pisum

Seed protein profiles of 24 wild and cultivated taxa of Pisum have been compared by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. No consistent differences were detected either among wild taxa or between wild and cultivated taxa. This shows that Pisum forms a single-species complex on the basis of seed protein profiles.     

Are Global and Regional Improvements in Life Expectancy and in Child,Adult and Senior Survival Slowing?

Improvements in life expectancy have been considerable over the past hundred years. Forecasters have taken to applying historical trends under an assumption of continuing improvements in life expectancy in the future. A linear mixed effects model was used to estimate the trends in global and regional rates of improvements in life expectancy, child, adult, and senior survival, in 166 countries between 1950 and 2010. Global improvements in life expectancy, including both child and adult survival rates, decelerated significantly over the study period. Overall life expectancy gains were estimated to have declined from 5.9 to 4.0 months per year for a mean deceleration of -0.07 months/year²; annual child survival gains declined from 4.4 to 1.6 deaths averted per 1000 for a mean deceleration of -0.06 deaths/1000/year²; adult survival gains were estimated to decline from 4.8 to 3.7 deaths averted per 1000 per year for a mean deceleration of -0.08 deaths/1000/year². Senior survival gains however increased from 2.4 to 4.2 deaths averted per 1000 per year for an acceleration of 0.03 deaths/1000/year². Regional variation in the four measures was substantial. The rates of global improvements in life expectancy, child survival, and adult survival have declined since 1950 despite an increase in the rate of improvements among seniors. We postulate that low-cost innovation, related to the last half-century progress in health–primarily devoted to children and middle age, is reaping diminishing returns on its investments. Trends are uneven across regions and measures, which may be due in part to the state of epidemiological transition between countries and regions and disparities in the diffusion of innovation, accessible only in high-income countries where life expectancy is already highest.     

Cytogenetics of natural populations of Drosophila

D. bipectinata and D. malerkotliana differ from each other by three overlapping inversions in IIL, two included inversions in IIIL and two overlapping inversions in IIIR. These inversions were analysed on the basis of the salivary chromosome maps of D. malerkotliana. Bock's (1971) data revealed that the four members of the bipectinata species complex differ from each other with respect to overlapping inversions. The reason why the ancestral population which may have been heterozygous for common inversions split into at least four groups, each leading to the formation of a new species, and the possible mechanism of the origin of sexual isolation between the groups is discussed.     

On the Performance of Highly Sensitive and Accurate Graphene-on-Aluminum and Silicon-Based SPR Biosensor for Visible and Near Infrared

We demonstrate the numerical analysis of surface plasmon resonance biosensor based on graphene on aluminum and silicon. Employing matrix method, it is found that the proposed sensor exhibits high imaging sensitivity ～400 RIU^?1 to 550 RIU^?1 in a large dynamic range from visible to near IR region. It is observed that the application of monolayer or bilayer graphene over aluminum not only protects it from oxidation but also enhances the adsorption of biomolecules, which results in the detection of large refractive indices ranging from aqueous solution to biomolecules (refractive index 1.330 to 1.480) with overall high performance in terms of imaging sensitivity and detection accuracy.     

Bioprospecting of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diaporthe terebinthifolii</Emphasis> LGMF907 for antimicrobial compounds

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been observed with increasing frequency over the past decades, driving the search for new drugs and stimulating the interest in natural products sources. Endophytic fungi from medicinal plants represent a great source of novel bioactive compounds useful to pharmaceutical and agronomical purposes. Diaporthe terebinthifolii is an endophytic species isolated from Schinus terebinthifolius, a plant used in popular medicine for several health problems. The strain D. terebinthifolii LGMF907 was previously reported by our group to produce secondary metabolites with biological activity against phytopathogens. Based on these data, strain LGMF907 was chosen for bioprospecting against microorganisms of clinical importance and for characterization of major secondary metabolites. In this study, different culture conditions were evaluated and the biological activity of this strain was expanded. The crude extracts demonstrated high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The compounds diaporthin and orthosporin were characterized and also showed activity against the clinical microorganisms evaluated. This study discloses the first isolation of diaporthin and orthosporin from D. terebinthifolii, and revealed the potential of this endophytic fungus to produce secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity.     

Aboveground,belowground biomass and nutrients pool in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salicornia brachiata</Emphasis> at coastal area of India: interactive effects of soil characteristics

The present study determined the plant biomass (aboveground and belowground) of Salicornia brachiata from six different salt marshes distributed in Indian coastal area over one growing season (September 2014–May 2015). The nutrients concentration and their pools were estimated in plant as well as soil. Belowground biomass in S. brachiata was usually lower than the aboveground biomass. Averaged over different locations, highest biomass was observed in the month of March (2.1 t ha^?1) followed by May (1.64 t ha^?1), February (1.60 t ha^?1), November (0.82 t ha^?1) and September (0.05 t ha^?1). The averaged aboveground to belowground ratio was 12.0. Aboveground and belowground biomass were negatively correlated with pH of soil, while positively with soil electrical conductivity. Further, there were positive relationships between organic carbon and belowground biomass; and available sodium and aboveground biomass. The nutrient pools in aboveground were always higher than to belowground biomass. Aboveground pools of carbon (543 kg ha^?1), nitrogen (48 kg ha^?1), phosphorus (4 kg ha^?1), sodium (334 kg ha^?1) and potassium (37 kg ha^?1) were maximum in the month of March 2015. Bioaccumulation and translocation factors for sodium of S. brachiata were more than one showing tolerance to salinity and capability of phytoremediation for the saline soil.     

Quantifying nationwide land cover and historical changes in forests of Nepal (1930–2014): implications on forest fragmentation

This study quantifies the nationwide land cover and long-term changes in forests and its implications on forest fragmentation in Nepal. The multi-source datasets were used to generate the forest cover information for 1930, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2014. This study analyzes distribution of land cover, rate of deforestation, changes across forest types, forest canopy density and pattern of fragmentation. The land cover legend for 2014 is consisting of 21 classes: tropical dry deciduous sal forest, tropical moist deciduous sal forest, subtropical broad-leaved forest, subtropical pine forest, lower temperate broad leaved forest, upper temperate broad leaved forest, lower temperate mixed broad leaved forest, upper temperate mixed broad leaved forest, temperate needle leaved forest, subalpine forest, plantations, tropical scrub, subtropical scrub, temperate scrub, alpine scrub, grassland, agriculture, water bodies, barren land and settlements. The forest cover statistics for Nepal obtained in this study shows an area of 76,710 km² in 1930 which has decreased to 39,392 km² in 2014. A net loss of 37,318 km² (48.6%) was observed in last eight decades. Analysis of annual rate of net deforestation for the recent period indicates 0.01% during 2005–2014. An increase in the number of forest patches from 6925 (in 1930) to 42,961 (in 2014) was noticed. The significant observation is 75.5% of reduction in core 3 forest, whereas, patch, perforated and edge classes show the increase in percentage of fragmentation classes from 1930 to 2014. The results of this work will support the understanding of deforestation and its consequences on fragmentation for maintaining and improving the forest resources of Nepal.