WorldWideScience

Sample records for euphorbia splendens var

  1. COMPARATIVE ANATOMICAL ASPECTS OF EUPHORBIA MILLI VAR. SPLENDENS (BOJER EX HOOK. URSCH & LEANDRI AND EUPHORBIA PULCHERRIMA WILLD. EX KLOTZSCH SPECIES LEAVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodica BERCU

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a comparative study concerning the leaf structure of two Euphorbia species belonging to Euphorbiaceae family: Euphorbia milli var. splendens (Bojer ex Hook. Ursch & Leandri and Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch. Anatomically, the leaves of the studied species are quite similar in the basic structure. The petiole has a single-layered epidermis, a collenchyma tissue – hypodermis - and three collateral bundles embedded in a basic tissue. Differences occur concerning the relationship between the collateral bundles. The Euphorbia pulcherrima bract petiole has almost the same structure as those of the leaf petiole. The blade is amphistomatic for Euphorbia milli var. splendes and hipostomatic for E. pulcherrima. The heterogeneous mesophyll is isobilateral in Euphorbia milli var. splendens blade and bifacial in E. pulcherrima. The vascular system of the mid rib is represented by one collateral bundle for both species, more developed in Euphorbia milli var. splendens blade. Differences appear concerning the epidermal cells cuticle thickness, the type of mesophyll, the abundance of the non-articulated laticifers and the development of the vascular system. The Euphorbia pulcherrima bract has the same organization plan structure as the leaf blade but some features differences occur.

  2. Evaluation of temporal, seasonal and geographic stability of the molluscicidal property of Euphorbia splendens latex Avaliação da estabilidade temporal, estacional e geográfica da ação moluscicida do latex da Euphorbia splendens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Torres Schall

    1992-06-01

    Full Text Available Laboratory tests with aqueous solutions of Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii latex have demonstrated seasonal stability of the molluscicidal principle, with LD90 values of 1.14 ppm (spring, 1.02 ppm (fall, 1.09 ppm (winter, and 1.07 ppm (summer that have been determined against Biomphalaria tenagophila in the field. Assays on latex collected in Belo Horizonte and Recife yielded LD90 values similar to those obtained with the reference substance collected in Rio de Janeiro (Ilha do Governador, demonstrating geographic stability of the molluscicidal effect. The molluscicidal action of aqueous dilutions of the latex in natura, centrifuged (precipitate and lyophilized, was stable for up to 124 days at room temperature (in natura and for up to 736 days in a common refrigerator at 10 to 12ºC (lyophilized product. A 5.0 ppm solution is 100% lethal for snails up to 13 days after preparation, the effect being gradually lost to almost total inactivity by the 30th day. This observation indicated that the active principle is instable. These properties together with the wide distribution of the plant, its resistance and adaptation to the tropical climate, its easy cultivation and the easy obtention of latex and preparation of the molluscicidal solution, make this a promising material for large-scale use in the control of schistosomiasisTestes de laboratório com soluções aquosas do látex da Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii demonstraram uma estabilidade estacional da atividade moluscicida do produto coletado na Ilha do Governador - RJ, encontrando-se as seguintes DL90: 1,14 ppm (primavera; 1,02 ppm (outono; 1,09 ppm (inverno e 1,07 ppm (verão sobre Biomphalaria tenagophila de campo. Ensaios com o látex da planta coletado em Belo Horizonte e Recife, identificaram DL90 semelhantes aos da substância de referência coletada no Rio, demonstrando uma estabilidade geográfica do efeito moluscicida. Usando diluições aquosas do latex in natura, centrifugado

  3. Chemical Composition and Mosquitocidal activity of n-Hexane and Methanol Extracts from Euphorbia anacampseros var. tmolea, an endemic species of Turkey, against Aedes aegypti

    Science.gov (United States)

    New and safe mosquito control agents are necessary due to increasing resistance to synthetic insecticides and environmental change. The mosquito larvicidal and adulticidal activity and chemical composition of Euphorbia anacampseros var. tmolea extracts are investigated in this article for the first ...

  4. RAPD-PCR analysis of some species of Euphorbia grown in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    family ^____^

    2013-12-04

    Dec 4, 2013 ... This study attempts to identify species of Euphorbia (Euphorbia peplus, Euphorbia helioscopia,. Euphorbia granulata and Euphorbia hirta) grown in University of Baghdad Campus in Jadiriyah and determine the genetic polymorphism among them by using DNA markers generated by polymerase.

  5. Lead tolerance and cellular distribution in Elsholtzia splendens using synchrotron radiation micro-X-ray fluorescence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Jie [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Tian, Shengke [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, Indian River Research and Education Center, Fort Pierce, FL 34945 (United States); Lu, Lingli; Shohag, M.J.I.; Liao, Haibing [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Yang, Xiaoe, E-mail: xyang@zju.edu.cn [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China)

    2011-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Elsholtzia splendens had a good ability of lead tolerance and accumulation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pb was mostly restricted to the vascular bundles and epidermis tissues. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pb and Ca shared most similar distribution patterns in E. splendens. - Abstract: Hydroponic experiments were conducted to investigate the tolerance and spatial distribution of lead (Pb) in Elsholtzia splendens-a copper (Cu) accumulator plant using synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence. According to chlorophyll concentration and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, E. splendens displayed certain tolerance at 100 {mu}M Pb treatment. Lead concentration in roots, stems and leaves of E. splendens reached 45,183.6, 1657.6, and 380.9 mg kg{sup -1}, respectively. Pb was mostly accumulated in the roots, and there were also high concentrations of Pb been transported into stems and leaves. Micro-XRF analysis of the stem and leaf cross section revealed that Pb was mostly restricted in the vascular bundles and epidermis tissues of both stem and leaf of E. splendens. The correlation between distribution of K, Ca, Zn and Pb were analyzed. There were significant positive correlations (P < 0.01) among Pb and Ca, K, Zn distribution both in stem and leaf of E. splendens. However, among the three elements, Ca shared the most similar distribution pattern and the highest correlation coefficients with Pb in both stem and leaf cross section of E. splendens. This suggests that Ca may play an important role in Pb accumulation in stem and leaf of E. splendens.

  6. Antibacterial activity of selected Myanmar medicinal plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nwe Yee Win; Nyunt Wynn; Mar Mar Nyein; Win Myint; Saw Hla Myint; Myint Khine

    2001-01-01

    Thirteen plants which are traditionally used for the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea in Myanmar were selected and tested for antibacterial activity by using agar disc diffusion technique. Polar and nonpolar solvents were employed for extraction of plants. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts with the most significant predominant activity were evaluated by plate dilution method. The plants Eugenia jambolana, Quisqualis indica, Leucaena glauca and Euphorbia splendens var. 1 were found to show significant antibacterial activity. It was also observed that extracts using nonpolar solvents did not show any antibacterial activity and extracts using polar solvents showed antibacterial activity on tested bacteria, indicating that the active chemical compound responsible for the antibacterial action must be a polar soluble compound. (author)

  7. Characterization of the surface and interfacial properties of the lamina splendens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rexwinkle, Joe T.; Hunt, Heather K.; Pfeiffer, Ferris M.

    2017-06-01

    Joint disease affects approximately 52.5 million patients in the United States alone, costing 80.8 billion USD in direct healthcare costs. The development of treatment programs for joint disease and trauma requires accurate assessment of articular cartilage degradation. The articular cartilage is the interfacial tissue between articulating surfaces, such as bones, and acts as low-friction interfaces. Damage to the lamina splendens, which is the articular cartilage's topmost layer, is an early indicator of joint degradation caused by injury or disease. By gaining comprehensive knowledge on the lamina splendens, particularly its structure and interfacial properties, researchers could enhance the accuracy of human and animal biomechanical models, as well as develop appropriate biomimetic materials for replacing damaged articular cartilage, thereby leading to rational treatment programs for joint disease and injury. Previous studies that utilize light, electron, and force microscopy techniques have found that the lamina splendens is composed of collagen fibers oriented parallel to the cartilage surface and encased in a proteoglycan matrix. Such orientation maximizes wear resistance and proteoglycan retention while promoting the passage of nutrients and synovial fluid. Although the structure of the lamina splendens has been explored in the literature, the low-friction interface of this tissue remains only partially characterized. Various functional models are currently available for the interface, such as pure boundary lubrication, thin films exuded under pressure, and sheets of trapped proteins. Recent studies suggest that each of these lubrication models has certain advantages over one another. Further research is needed to fully model the interface of this tissue. In this review, we summarize the methods for characterizing the lamina splendens and the results of each method. This paper aims to serve as a resource for existing studies to date and a roadmap of the

  8. Lasiodiplodia species associated with dying Euphorbia ingens in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Various species of Euphorbia occur in South Africa, including herbaceous, succulent and woody types. The largest of the succulent Euphorbia spp. in South Africa is Euphorbia ingens. These trees have been dying at an alarming rate in the Limpopo province during the course of the last 15 years. Investigations into the ...

  9. Phytotoxin produced by Bipolaris euphorbiae in-vitro is effective against the weed Euphorbia heterophylla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbosa Aneli M.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Four virulent strain isolates of the fungus, Bipolaris euphorbiae (previously identified as a Helminthosporium sp., isolated from host plants in four states within Brazil were screened for the production of phytotoxins that promoted wilting and defoliation of the Brazilian weed, Euphorbia heterophylla, commonly found growing among soyabean crops. Only one isolate, B. euphorbiae Strain I (EUPH petropar from Mato Grosso state, produced phytotoxin in-vitro when grown in stationary culture for 7 d at 28 ° C on minimum salts medium supplemented with 1.5 % glucose as the sole carbon source. Phytotoxin was also produced when the fungal strain was grown on fructose, galactose, mannose, xylose and sucrose. The addition of nitrogen source (yeast extract, peptone or malt extract to the culture medium did not influence phytotoxin production. The phytotoxin produced by Strain I was most active at pH 6.0, stable between pH 3-9, and was highly thermostable, remaining fully active when heated at 90 ° C for 1 h.

  10. Alternative energy sources from plants of Western Ghats (Tamil Nadu, India)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Augustus, G.D.P.S.; Jayabalan, M. [V.H.N.S.N College, Virudhunagar (India). Research Centre in Botany; Seiler, G.J. [USDA-ARS, Northern Crop Science Lab., Fargo, ND (United States)

    2003-06-01

    Twenty-two taxa of Western Ghats plants were screened as potential alternative crops for renewable energy, oil, hydrocarbon and phytochemicals. The highest hydrocarbon yields were observed in Carissa carandas (1.7%), and Jatropha gossypifolia (1.7%). The highest polyphenol fraction was observed in Dodonaea viscosa (17.1%), Carissa carandas (7.7%), Swietenia mahagoni (6.6%), and Jatropha glandulifera (6.2%). The highest oil content was observed in Aganosma cymosa (10.3%), Carissa carandas (5.8%), and Argemone mexicana (5.0%). Swietenia mahagoni yielded the highest protein content with 8.1%. The gross heat value of 4175.0 cal/g(17.5 MJ/kg) for Lochnera rosea (pink flowered var.), and 4112.0 cal/g for Dalbergia sissoo were the highest among the species analysed. NMR spectra of the hydrocarbon fractions of Alstonia scholaris, Carissa carandas, Ichnocarpus frutescens, Plumeria rubra, Thevetia neriifolia (white flowered var.), Vallaris solanacea, Lochnera rosea (pink flowered var.), Euphorbia hirta, E. splendens, Artocarpus integrifolia and Ficus religiosa revealed the presence of cis-polyisoprene (natural rubber), whereas Argemone mexicana showed the presence of trans-polyisoprene (gutta). Several new crop species were identified with potentially useful compounds. The potential exists for growing these alternate crops in areas of under-utilized lands, subsequently stimulating industrial and economic growth. (author)

  11. Phytochemical Composition and Biological Activities of Uvaria chamae and Clerodendoron splendens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donatus Ebere Okwu

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Uvaria chamae P. Beauv and Clerodendron splendens A Cheval are known to have various medicinal and therapeutic properties. Their anti-inflammatory and oxytocic properties were assessed in this study. The extracts and aspirin were found to inhibit carrageenan-induced paw oedema on albino rats and mice with a strong activity in aspirin having (80.43 % inhibition while U. chamae and C. splendens have 69.57% and 47.83% inhibition respectively. The plants extract exhibition and uterine contraction activity on guinea pig. Phytochemical studies on the plants revealed the presence of bioactive components comprising flavonoids (0.70 – 5.70 mg. 100 g-1, alkaloids (0.81-5.40 mg. 100 g-1, tannins (0.40 – 3.60 mg. 100 g-1, saponins (0.38 – 2.10 mg. 100 g-1 and phenols (0.08 – 0.10 mg. 100 g-1. These bioactive compounds may be responsible for the medicinal properties of U. chaemae and C. splendens that form the basis of their use in herbal medicine in Nigeria.

  12. In Vitro Anticancer Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Euphorbia hirta (L ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In the present study, In vitro anticancer effects of Euphorbia hirta were investigated. The objectives of this study are to find the presence of secondary metabolites by preliminary phytochemical investigation and FTIR analysis in the Euphorbia hirta. Ethanolic leaf extract of Euphorbia hirta was tested for its cytotoxicity against ...

  13. EUPHORBIA SINCLAIRIANA, AN OLDER NAME FOR THE WIDESPREAD EUPHORBIA ELATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BERNAL RODRIGO

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available A comparison of collections of Euphorbia elata from accross its range withspecimens of E. sinclairiana from its only known locality, the island of Gorgona,off the Pacific coast of Colombia, shows that the two entities are better treated asconspecific, under the older name E. sinclairiana.

  14. Influence of temperature on Pythium splendens--induced root disease on carambola, Averrhoa carambola.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ploetz, Randy C

    2004-02-01

    A series of glasshouse and incubator studies were conducted to investigate the role played by Pythium splendens in a decline disorder of carambola, Averrhoa carambola. Plants, 4-6 months old, were grown in native calcareous soil either infested or not infested with the pathogen. Isolates recovered from atemoya, carambola and passion fruit grew optimally at 30 degrees C, and significantly (P carambola. Temperature had a profound impact on the latter relationships. Two or more times more necrosis developed at 10 and 15 degrees C than at 25 and 30 degrees C. Total biomass accumulations were over four times greater at 30 degrees C than at 10 degrees C, and were always lower in soil infested with P. splendens. When biomass totals from infested and noninfested soil were compared, relative values were lowest at 15 and 20 degrees C and were almost two times greater at 30 degrees C than at 20 degrees C. Root infection by P. splendens was greatest at 15 and 20 degrees C, far below the species' optimum for growth, and at 30 degrees C was over nine times lower than at 15 and 20 degrees C. This is the first detailed report of P. splendens as a pathogen of carambola.

  15. Influence of container design on predation rate of potential biocontrol agent, Toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) against dengue vector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamad, N; Zuharah, W F

    2014-03-01

    Toxorhynchites splendens larvae are a natural predator of dengue vector mosquito larvae, Aedes albopictus. This study was carried out to evaluate the predation rate of Tx. splendens third instar larvae on Ae. albopictus larvae in 24 h. Each predator was offered prey at a density between 10 to 50 individuals. Predation rate of Tx. splendens were also tested with two manipulated factors; various types of container and different water volumes. The experiment was evaluated in man-made containers (tin cans, plastic drinking glasses and rubber tires) and natural container (bamboo stumps) which were filled with different water volumes (full, half full, 1/4 full, and 1/8 full). The prey density and the characteristics of the container were found as significant factors which influence the predation rate of Tx. splendens. The predator consumed significantly more prey at higher prey densities (40 and 50 preys) compared to the lowest density (10 preys) (F=3.935, df=4, p=0.008). The results showed significantly higher consumption in horizontal shaped container of rubber tire than in vertical shape of bamboo stumps (F=3.100, df=3, p=0.029). However, the water volume had no significant effect on predation rate of Tx. splendens (F=1.736, df=3, p=0.162). We generally suggest that Tx. splendens is best to be released in discarded tires or any other containers with horizontal shape design with wide opening since Tx. splendens can become more effective in searching prey in this type of container design. This predator is also a suitable biocontrol candidates to be introduced either in wet and dry seasons in Malaysia.

  16. Symplasmic and apoplasmic transport inside feather moss stems of Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokolowska, K; Turzanska, M; Nilsson, M-C

    2017-11-10

    The ubiquitous feather mosses Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens form a thick, continuous boundary layer between the soil and the atmosphere, and play important roles in hydrology and nutrient cycling in tundra and boreal ecosystems. The water fluxes among these mosses and environmental factors controlling them are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether feather mosses are capable of internal transport and to provide a better understanding of species-specific morphological traits underlying this function. The impacts of environmental conditions on their internal transport rates were also investigated. Cells involved in water and food conduction in P. schreberi and H. splendens were identified by transmission electron microscopy. Symplasmic and apoplasmic fluorescent tracers were applied to the moss stems to determine the routes of internal short- and long-distance transport and the impact of air humidity on the transport rates. Symplasmic transport over short distances occurs via food-conducting cells in both mosses. Pleurozium schreberi is also capable of apoplasmic internal long-distance transport via a central strand of hydroids. These are absent in H. splendens. Reduced air humidity significantly increased the internal transport of both species, and the increase was significantly faster for P. schreberi than for H. splendens. Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens are capable of internal transport but the pathway and conductivity differ due to differences in stem anatomy. These results help explain their varying desiccation tolerance and possibly their differing physiology and autecology and, ultimately, their impact on ecosystem functioning. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  17. The effect of body coloration and group size on social partner preferences in female fighting fish (Betta splendens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakeslee, C; McRobert, S P; Brown, A C; Clotfelter, E D

    2009-02-01

    Females of the fighting fish Betta splendens have been shown to associate with other B. splendens females in a manner reminiscent of shoaling behavior. Since body coloration varies dramatically in this species, and since body coloration has been shown to affect shoalmate choice in other species of fish, we examined the influence of body coloration on association preferences in female B. splendens. In dichotomous choice tests, B. splendens females spent more time swimming near groups of females (regardless of coloration) than swimming near an empty chamber, and chose to swim near fish of similar coloration to their own when choosing between two distinctly colored groups of females. When examining the interplay between body coloration and group size, focal fish spent more time swimming near larger groups (N=5) of similarly colored fish than swimming near an individual female of similar coloration. However, focal fish showed no preference when presented with an individual female of similar coloration and a larger group of females of dissimilar coloration. These results suggest that association choices in B. splendens females are strongly affected by both body coloration and by group size.

  18. Evolutionary bursts in Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) are linked with photosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, James W; Xi, Zhenxiang; Riina, Ricarda; Peirson, Jess A; Yang, Ya; Dorsey, Brian L; Berry, Paul E; Davis, Charles C; Wurdack, Kenneth J

    2014-12-01

    The mid-Cenozoic decline of atmospheric CO2 levels that promoted global climate change was critical to shaping contemporary arid ecosystems. Within angiosperms, two CO2 -concentrating mechanisms (CCMs)-crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and C4 -evolved from the C3 photosynthetic pathway, enabling more efficient whole-plant function in such environments. Many angiosperm clades with CCMs are thought to have diversified rapidly due to Miocene aridification, but links between this climate change, CCM evolution, and increased net diversification rates (r) remain to be further understood. Euphorbia (∼2000 species) includes a diversity of CAM-using stem succulents, plus a single species-rich C4 subclade. We used ancestral state reconstructions with a dated molecular phylogeny to reveal that CCMs independently evolved 17-22 times in Euphorbia, principally from the Miocene onwards. Analyses assessing among-lineage variation in r identified eight Euphorbia subclades with significantly increased r, six of which have a close temporal relationship with a lineage-corresponding CCM origin. Our trait-dependent diversification analysis indicated that r of Euphorbia CCM lineages is approximately threefold greater than C3 lineages. Overall, these results suggest that CCM evolution in Euphorbia was likely an adaptive strategy that enabled the occupation of increased arid niche space accompanying Miocene expansion of arid ecosystems. These opportunities evidently facilitated recent, replicated bursts of diversification in Euphorbia. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  19. The HYLOCOMIUM SPLENDENS use for research of Ignalina NPP vicinity contamination by Cs 137 and Co 60

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiponas, D.; Marchiulenene, D.

    2002-01-01

    The superficial distribution of Cs 137 and Co 60 and specific activity of these radionuclides in Hylocomium splendens in Ignalina NPP vicinity was investigated. The increase of Cs 137 and Co 60 specific activity in Hylocomium splendens was linked with increasing of these radionuclides activity in atmospheric deposits

  20. Biosynthesis of macrocyclic diterpenoids in Euphorbia lathyris L

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Luo, Dan

    documents the investigation of the biosynthetic pathways of macrocyclic diterpenoids known as Euphorbia factors in Euphorbia lathyris L. (caper spurge). These macrocyclic diterpenoids are the current industrial source of ingenol mebutate, which is approved for the treatment of actinic keratosis...

  1. Ensaios preliminares em laboratório para verificar a ação moluscicida de algumas espécies da flora brasileira Preliminary laboratory tests of the molluscicide activity of some species of Brazilian flora

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelymar Martineli Mendes

    1984-10-01

    Full Text Available Estudou-se em laboratório a atividade moluscicida de 68 extratos de 23 plantas brasileiras. As soluções em água desclorada dos extratos hexânicos e etanólico, nas concentrações de 1, 10 e 100 ppm, foram testadas sobre caramujos adultos e desovas de Biomphalaria glabrata, criados em laboratório. As plantas que demonstraram ação moluscicida na concentração de 100 ppm foram: Arthemisia verlotorum Lamotte, Caesalpinia peltophoroides Benth, Cassia rugosa G.Don., Eclipta alba Hassk, Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd, Euphorbia splendens Bojer, Joannesia princeps Vell, Leonorus sibiricus L.,Macrosiphonia guaranitica Muell,Nerium oleander L., Palicourea nicotianaefolia Cham, e Schlech., Panicum maximum M., Rumex crispus L., Ruta graveolens L., e Stryphnodendron barbatiman M.The molluscicide activity of sixty-eight extracts from twenty-three Brazilian plants was studied in the laboratory. The solutions, in dechlorinated water, of hexanic and ethylic extracts at 1, 10 and 100 ppm concentrations, were tested on adult snails and egg masses of Biomphalaria glabrata, reared in the laboratory. The plants with molluscicide activity on adult snails and/or egg masses at 100 ppm concentration were: Arthemisia verlotorum Lamotte, Caesalpinia peltophoroides Benth, Cassia rugosa G. Don, Eclipta alba Hassk, Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd, Euphorbia splendens Bojer, Joannesia princeps Vell, Leonorus sibiricus L., Macrosiphonia guaranitica Muell, Nerium oleander L., Palicourea nicotianaefolia Cham. and Schlech., Panicum maximum M., Rumex crispus L., Ruta graveolens L. and Stryphnodendron barbatiman M.

  2. Keratouveitis from Euphorbia cyparissias exposure is a temporal phenomenon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fleischman D

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available David Fleischman, Jay J Meyer, W Craig FowlerDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC, USAAbstract: We present the case of an 82-year-old woman with severe keratouveitis secondary to exposure to the plant Euphorbia cyparissias during the month of August. Despite copious irrigation of both eyes, she developed a case of Euphorbia keratouveitis that was typical in its course. Exposure to plant sap from this species should be treated much like an alkaline chemical injury as the pH of the ocular surface may be elevated. E. cyparissias should be carefully handled as it may result in keratouveitis, especially in early autumn.Keywords: Euphorbia cyparissias, sap, keratitis, uveitis

  3. Toxicity and deficiency of copper in Elsholtzia splendens affect photosynthesis biophysics, pigments and metal accumulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hongyun; Kroneck, Peter M H; Küpper, Hendrik

    2013-06-18

    Elsholtzia splendens is a copper-tolerant plant species growing on copper deposits in China. Spatially and spectrally resolved kinetics of in vivo absorbance and chlorophyll fluorescence in mesophyll of E. splendens were used to investigate the copper-induced stress from deficiency and toxicity as well as the acclimation to excess copper stress. The plants were cultivated in nutrient solutions containing either Fe(III)-EDTA or Fe(III)-EDDHA. Copper toxicity affected light-acclimated electron flow much stronger than nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) or dark-acclimated photochemical efficiency of PSIIRC (Fv/Fm). It also changed spectrally resolved Chl fluorescence kinetics, in particular by strengthening the short-wavelength (<700 nm) part of NPQ altering light harvesting complex II (LHCII) aggregation. Copper toxicity reduced iron accumulation, decreased Chls and carotenoids in leaves. During acclimation to copper toxicity, leaf copper decreased but leaf iron increased, with photosynthetic activity and pigments recovering to normal levels. Copper tolerance in E. splendens was inducible; acclimation seems be related to homeostasis of copper and iron in E. splendens. Copper deficiency appeared at 10 mg copper per kg leaf DW, leading to reduced growth and decreased photosynthetic parameters (F0, Fv/Fm, ΦPSII). The importance of these results for evaluating responses of phytoremediation plants to stress in their environment is discussed.

  4. Environmental modulation of the onset of air breathing and survival of Betta splendens and Trichopodus trichopterus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendez-Sanchez, J F; Burggren, W W

    2014-03-01

    The effect of hypoxia on air-breathing onset and survival was determined in larvae of the air-breathing fishes, the three spot gourami Trichopodus trichopterus and the Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens. Larvae were exposed continuously or intermittently (12 h nightly) to an oxygen partial pressure (PO2 ) of 20, 17 and 14 kPa from 1 to 40 days post-fertilization (dpf). Survival and onset of air breathing were measured daily. Continuous normoxic conditions produced a larval survival rate of 65-75% for B. splendens and 15-30% for T. trichopterus, but all larvae of both species died at 9 dpf in continuous hypoxia conditions. Larvae under intermittent (nocturnal) hypoxia showed a 15% elevated survival rate in both species. The same conditions altered the onset of air breathing, advancing onset by 4 days in B. splendens and delaying onset by 9 days in T. trichopterus. These interspecific differences were attributed to air-breathing characteristics: B. splendens was a non-obligatory air breather after 36 dpf, whereas T. trichopterus was an obligatory air breather after 32 dpf. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  5. Survival Rate and Growth of Fighting Fish Larvae (Betta splendens Regan Fed on Various Live Foods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Budiardi

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Larval of fighting fish (Betta splendens Regan requires precise live foods for its growth and survival. In this experiment, fish larvae were fed on either Paramecium + Artemia, Paramecium + Artemia + Tubifex, Paramecium + Moina, or Paramecium + Moina + Tubifex. The fish were fed Paramecium from day-2 till day-7 after hatching. There after, the live food was changed according to the treatments till day-28.  Results showed that fish fed on Paramecium + Artemia significantly had the highest total length (12.63 mm than other treatments (11.86 mm. On the other hand, survival rate of fish had no significant affected by the treatments. Keywords: fighting fish, Betta splendens, Paramecium, Moina, Artemia, Tubifex, larvae   ABSTRAK Larva ikan betta (Betta splendens Regan membutuhkan jenis pakan alami yang tepat bagi kelangsungan hidup dan pertumbuhannya. Pada penelitian ini, larva ikan diberi pakan berupa Paramecium + Artemia, Paramecium + Artemia + Tubifex, Paramecium + Moina, atau Paramecium + Moina + Tubifex.  Ikan diberi pakan pakan berupa Paramecium dari hari ke-2 hingga hari ke-7. Setelah itu, pemberian pakan alami diubah berdasarkan masing-masing perlakuan hingga hari ke-28.  Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ikan yang diberi pakan Paramecium + Artemia memiliki tubuh secara signifikan lebih panjang (12,63 mm dibandingkan perlakuan lainnya (11,86 mm.  Sementara itu, kelangsungan hidup tidak dipengatuhi oleh perlakuan. Kata kunci: ikan betta, Betta splendens, Paramecium, Moina, Artemia, Tubifex, larva

  6. SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY DSSE10 IN HEAD SQUASH TOXORHYNCHITES SPLENDENS USING IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL PEROXIDASE TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tika Fiona Sari

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Dengue virus are transmitted from human to human by the bites of infective female Aedesmosquitoes from subgenus Stegomyia. One of the way to detect Dengue virus antigen is by usingimmunohistochemical technique. This method was reported to detect dengue vims antigen in lowlevels. The aims of this study is to measure sensitivity and specificity of monoclonal antibodyDSSE10 using SBPC to detect antigen Dengue virus in head squash Toxorhynchites splendenswere infected with dengue patient serum and RT-PCR as gold standart. Artificially-infected Tx.splendens mosquitoes with serum positif dengue virus were used as infectious samples and noninfectedTx. splendens mosquitoes were used as control negative. The immunohistochemichalSBPC assay using monoclonal antibody DSSE10 then applied in mosquitoes head squash todetect Dengue vims antigen. RT-PCR as a gold standart was applied in each mosquito thorax.The result were analyzed by descriptive stasistic test and 2x2 diagnostic test table. Monoclonalantibody DSSE10 using immunohistochemical SBPC assay in head squash Tx. splendens wasgave sensitivity 87,09% and specificity 92,5%. Conclussion of this study is DSSE10 Monoclonalantibodies can be used as primary antibodies for the detection of dengue vims antigen inmosquito head squashKeywords: Dengue viruses, SBPC, antibodies DSSE10, head squash, Toxorhynchitessplendens' Virus Dengue ditularkan dari orang ke orang melalui gigitan nyamuk Aedes dari subgenusStegomyia. Salah satu cara untuk mendeteksi antigen vims Dengue adalah dengan menggunakanteknik imunohistokimia. Metode imunohistokimia dilaporkan dapat mendeteksi antigen vimsDengue dalam kadar yang rendah. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah melakukan evaluasi sensitivitasdan spesifitas antibodi monoklonal DSSE10 dengan metode imunohistokimia Streptavidin BiotinPeroxidase Complex (SBPC untuk mendeteksi antigen Dengue melalui scdiaan head squashnyamuk Toxorhynchites splendens yang diinfeksi dengan scrum penderita

  7. Irritant and allergenic potential of some latex producing Indian plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J S Pasricha

    1990-01-01

    Full Text Available The iatex exuding from the freshly sliced stems/leaves of 11 Indian plants was tested on 10 volunteers each by the open patch test and in 5 volunteers each by the 48 hour occluded patch test technique. In the open patch test, there was no reaction with (1 calotropis procera, (2 Alstonia scholaris,(3 Euphorbia splendens, (4 Euphorbia clarkina (5 Nerium indicum, and (6 Padilanthus tithymaloides (Green and white leaf variety, while mild reactions were observed with Euphorbia pulcherrima in 3 volunteers, Ficus elastida in 2 volunteers, and Pedilanthus tithymaloidas (Green leaf variety and Plumeria indica in one volunteer each Sapium sebiferum on the other hand produced severe itching, burning and erythema in all the 10 volunteers. The 48 hour occluded patch test produced definite reactions with Pedilanthus tithymaloides (Green leaf varietyin 2 cases and calotropis procera and Euphorbia clarkina in 1 case each. Sapium sebiferum on the other hand produced cauterization type of reactions in all the cases.

  8. De Novo Transcriptome Sequencing of Desert Herbaceous Achnatherum splendens (Achnatherum Seedlings and Identification of Salt Tolerance Genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangtao Liu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Achnatherum splendens is an important forage herb in Northwestern China. It has a high tolerance to salinity and is, thus, considered one of the most important constructive plants in saline and alkaline areas of land in Northwest China. However, the mechanisms of salt stress tolerance in A. splendens remain unknown. Next-generation sequencing (NGS technologies can be used for global gene expression profiling. In this study, we examined sequence and transcript abundance data for the root/leaf transcriptome of A. splendens obtained using an Illumina HiSeq 2500. Over 35 million clean reads were obtained from the leaf and root libraries. All of the RNA sequencing (RNA-seq reads were assembled de novo into a total of 126,235 unigenes and 36,511 coding DNA sequences (CDS. We further identified 1663 differentially-expressed genes (DEGs between the salt stress treatment and control. Functional annotation of the DEGs by gene ontology (GO, using Arabidopsis and rice as references, revealed enrichment of salt stress-related GO categories, including “oxidation reduction”, “transcription factor activity”, and “ion channel transporter”. Thus, this global transcriptome analysis of A. splendens has provided an important genetic resource for the study of salt tolerance in this halophyte. The identified sequences and their putative functional data will facilitate future investigations of the tolerance of Achnatherum species to various types of abiotic stress.

  9. Nest success of the Indian House Crow Corvus splendens : An ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nest success of the Indian House Crow Corvus splendens was studied in the urban area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in late March to early May 2011. The study investigated nest success of the Indian House Crow in different tree species with varying canopy covers and heights. Fifty-five active nests and 38 inactive nests ...

  10. Acute renal failure by ingestion of Euphorbia paralias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karima Boubaker

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia paralias is known in traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent, a purgative and for its local anesthetic property. To the best our knowledge, renal toxicity of this substance has not been previously reported. In this paper, we report the case of a 29-year-old male who developed renal damage following ingestion of Euphorbia paralias. He had been on follow-up for nephrotic syndrome since 1986, although irregularly, with several relapses but each responding well to steroid therapy. A kidney biopsy had not been performed earlier due to refusal by the patient. He was off steroids since April 2008 because the patient developed osteoporosis. He was admitted with general malaise and oliguria to our department in May 2009, following repeated vomiting and watery diarrhea for three days. On examination, he was edematous but had normal vital signs except for a pulse rate of 120/min. Hemoglobin was only 5.5 g/dL but with normal white cell and platelet counts. Blood biochemistry showed evidence of advanced renal failure with a serum creatinine level of 1835 μmol/L and urea at 44.6 mmol/L, sodium of 132 μmol/L and potassium at 4.3 mmol/L. He had features of nephrotic syndrome with severe hypoproteinamia and 24-h urinary protein of 10.45 g. Ultrasonography revealed enlarged kidneys with a reduced echogenecity of the medulla and the papillae. Subsequently, after hemodialysis with blood transfusion, a kidney biopsy was performed that showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis associated with an acute tubular injury. On intensive interrogation, the patient gave a history of ingesting boiled Euphorbia paralias as a native treatment for edema, ten days prior to the onset of the current illness. A diagnosis of acute renal failure (ARF resulting from the possible nephrotoxic effect of Euphorbia paralias poisoning was made. He was treated with intermittent hemodialysis and corticosteroids. Serum creatinine values improved after 48 days. At six

  11. GROWTH AND COLOUR PERFORMANCE OF THE CROSSBREED MARBLE STRAIN Betta splendens AND Betta imbellis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eni Kusrini

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Betta ornamental fish of marble strain is a strain which is prefered by the hobbyists, because of its unique color, expensive price, and difficult to obtain the fish color strains. Therefore strain marble betta fish is still dominant for export quality for national and international contests. The aim of this study was to observe the growth and color performance of the crossedbreed marble strains of wild betta, Betta imbellis crossed with Betta splendens. The hybrids of B. imbellis (f x B. splendens (m (D had a specific length and weight rate, (1,113 ± 0.04%/day; 2,531 ± 0.14%/day; 26.61 ± 2.02 mm which was better than that of the hybrids B. imbellis (m x B. splendens (f (C (1,099 ± 0.02%/day; 2,244 ± 0.13%/day; 25.97 ± 1.33 mm; and 0.0027 ± 0.0003 mm. However, the survival rate of the C hybrids (42.19 ± 11.42% was higher than those of D (33.67%-17.08%. Based on the obtained results of the color identification the hybrids had as many as 15 characters of color, homozygous strains of marble which became the target of as much as 1%.

  12. Growth of alfonsino Beryx splendens Lowe 1834 in the South-West ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Age and growth of alfonsino Beryx splendens from South-West Indian Ocean seamounts were studied based on whole otolith readings. Ages of the fish under study ranged between one year and 14 years (15.5–43.5cm fork length). Age distribution was related to depth. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters for males were ...

  13. Crescimento e esporulação de Bipolaris euphorbiae cultivado sob diferentes condições nutricionais Growth and sporulation of Bipolaris euphorbiae cultivated under different nutritional conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mara Cristina Penariol

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Apesar de ser considerado um potencial bioagente de controle do amendoim-bravo (Euphorbia heterophylla L. em cultivos de soja no Brasil, pouco se conhece sobre as características nutricionais do fungo Bipolaris euphorbiae Muchovej & Carvalho. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar diferentes fontes de carbono (glicose, amido, sacarose, lactose e maltose, de nitrogênio (nitrato de sódio, nitrato de amônio, sulfato de amônio, fosfato de amônio dibásico, cloreto de amônio, de fósforo (fosfato de potássio monobásico, fosfato de potássio bibásico, fosfato de cálcio, fosfato de sódio, ácido fosfórico, fosfato de amônio e a suplementação do meio de cultivo com fontes orgânicas de macro e micronutrientes, para o crescimento e a esporulação de B. euphorbiae. O amido proporcionou o maior crescimento, sendo também considerada a fonte de carbono mais favorável para a esporulação. O melhor crescimento e esporulação de B. euphorbiae foram obtidos usando o nitrato de sódio como fonte de nitrogênio e fosfato de potássio monobásico e fosfato de cálcio como fonte de fósforo, embora as demais fontes de fósforo analisadas, exceto o ácido fosfórico, tenham igualmente favorecido a esporulação. A suplementação do meio de cultivo com peptona e extrato de levedura resultou em melhor crescimento e esporulação do fungo e a adição de vitaminas favoreceu a produção de conídios.Bipolaris euphorbiae Muchovej & Carvalho is considered a potential bioagent for control of selvage peanuts (Euphorbia heterophylla L. on soybean crops in Brazil. However, little is known about the nutritional characteristics of this fungus. The main objective of this research was to evaluate different sources of carbon (glucose, starch, sucrose, lactose and maltose, of nitrogen (sodium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, bi-basic ammonium phosphate, ammonium chloride, of phosphorus (monobasic potassium phosphate, bi-basic potassium phosphate

  14. The House Crow (Corvus splendens: A Threat to New Zealand?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane L. Fraser

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The house crow (Corvus splendens, a native of the Indian subcontinent, has shown a rapid expansion of habitat range across Eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and Asia. It is an adaptable, gregarious commensal bird which is regarded globally as an important pest species due to its impacts on livestock, agricultural and horticultural crops and indigenous fauna and as a fecal contaminator of human environments and water resources. Two Maxent (v3.3.3k models (A with presence data in Australia and (B with simulated entry data locations in New Zealand and a third ArcGIS model (C with environmental and social layers are used to determine an overall suitability index and establish a niche-based model of the potential spatial distribution for C. splendens within New Zealand. The results show that New Zealand, particularly the northern regions of North Island, has suitable environments for the establishment of the house crow. In order of suitability Model B showed highest potential land area suitability (31.84% followed by Model A (13.79% and Model C (10.89%. The potential for further expansion of this bird’s invasive range is high and, if New Zealand is invaded, impacts are likely to be significant.

  15. The impact of weather conditions on dynamics of Hylocomium splendens annual increment and net production in forest communities of forest-steppe zone in Khakassia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. A. Goncharova

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Dynamics of annual increments of green moss Hylocomium splendens (Hedw. Schimp. in B.S.G. in the Khakassia forest-steppe zone has been studied. The values of the moss linear and phytomass increments were investigated in different habitats for 6 years. The aboveground annual production of the H. splendens in phytocenosis was estimated. Linear increments of the H. splendens growing under the tree canopy and opening between trees were not significantly different. Phytomass increments under the tree canopy are significantly higher than in the openings between trees. The density of moss mats, proportion between leaves and stems were calculated. It was revealed that climatic factors have a different degree and duration influence on the moss increments in different habitats. Linear increments of H. splendens in different habitats synchronously respond to weather factor changes. The air temperature was the most important at the beginning and the end of the vegetation period; the amount of precipitation was more important in the middle of the growth period. Phytomass increments of H. splendens in different habitats respond differently to influence of weather conditions. Phytomass increments under the tree canopy are not sensitive to air temperature, and more sensitive to precipitations in the middle of growth period than one of opening between trees. The specificity of the climatic factors’ influence on the biomass growth depends on habitat conditions.

  16. The effects of Euphorbia hirta on the ultrastructure of the murine liver, kidney and aorta

    Science.gov (United States)

    WONG, J.Y.R.; CHEN, Y.S.; CHAKRAVARTHI, S.; JUDSON, J.P.; L., SANTHANA RAJ; ER, H.M.

    2013-01-01

    Euphorbia hirta is widely used in traditional remedies and has been used cross-culturally for generations against maladies such as asthma, skin ailments and hypertension. Previous studies have demonstrated that Euphorbia hirta has antibacterial activity, and have also indicated certain antimolluscidal, antimalarial and anti-inflammatory properties, the latter of which have been suggested to be more pronounced than those of the rheumatological drug, etanercept. To date, no studies have identified the anatomical effects of this herb on the organs of test animals. This study aimed to identify the effects of Euphorbia hirta on the ultrastructure of the murine liver, kidney and aorta. A total of 32 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups; three groups were fed with aqueous extracts of Euphorbia hirta at doses of 1, 10 and 50 mg/kg, respectively, every alternate day for 50 days, while one group served as a control. The animals were later sacrificed and the liver, kidney and aorta harvested for examination by electron microscopy. The aorta showed no ultrastructural changes across the groups. Renal and hepatic tissue from the treated groups demonstrated dose-dependent injuries, which showed architectural damage beginning in the nuclei and spreading outwards. Taking into consideration the properties of Euphorbia hirta that have been described in previous studies, in addition to the results from the present study, it appears that the herb may exhibit similar effects to those of the quinolone group of antibiotics. Further in-depth investigations are required into the potential effects of Euphorbia hirta, deleterious and otherwise. PMID:24223653

  17. Preliminary results on the ichthyocidal properties of Euphorbia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Euphorbiaceae). Mathew J Ross, Gert J Steyn. Abstract. Euphorbia ingens belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, which includes a variety of latex-producing plants, the majority of them having ichthyocidal properties (Coates-Palgrave 2000). Tests to ...

  18. Antibacterial activity of Euphorbia hirta against Streptococcus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This investigation was conducted to determine the in-vitro effect of aqueous, ethanol and methanol crude extracts of Euphorbia hirta at concentrations ranging from 10mg/ml – 100mg/ml against three pathogenic bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris) using cup plate method.

  19. Survival of Betta splendens fish (Regan, 1910) in domestic water containers and its effectiveness in controlling Aedes aegypti larvae (Linnaeus, 1762) in Northeast Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira Lima, José Wellington; de Góes Cavalcanti, Luciano Pamplona; Pontes, Ricardo José Soares; Heukelbach, Jörg

    2010-12-01

    In Northeast Brazil, large domestic containers used to store water are important breeding sites of Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue fever. The objective of this study was to estimate the survival of Betta splendens (Perciformes: Osphronemidae) fish in domestic containers in Fortaleza (Ceará State), as well as its effectiveness in the control of premature A. aegypti stages. The use of B. splendens was compared to Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) in domestic containers. In a first home visit, B. splendens or Bti were applied to water containers. Two follow-up visits were conducted after 3-4 and 5-6 months to assess the presence of viable fish in the containers and infestation by larvae. Betta splendens fish were still present in 97.6% of containers 45-60 days after application. When the fish was present, the infestation rate was significantly higher (P containers, but that appropriate measures should be taken to assure prolonged survival and the presence of fish in the containers. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  20. Antimicrobial efficacy and tissue reaction of Euphorbia hirta ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    2010-08-02

    Aug 2, 2010 ... Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyo State,. Nigeria. Accepted 22 March, 2010. Antimicrobial efficacy and tissue reaction of crude ethanolic extract of Euphorbia hirta was investigated in canine infected incised wounds. The gross ...

  1. Growth analysis of three species weeds Euphorbia genus = Análise de crescimento de espécies daninhas do gênero Euphorbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Teresa Ferreira

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In sugarcane plantations, species of the genus Euphorbia are reported as weeds able to reduce productivity by up to 85%. Planning the correct strategies for controlling these plants requires knowledge of their biology and growth. The aim of this work therefore, was to evaluate the growth of three weed species of the genus Euphorbia occurring in sugarcane plantations. The study was carried out in a greenhouse, using a completely randomised experimental design in a scheme of lots subdivided over time, with five replications. The factors were three species of Euphorbia (E. heterophylla, E. hyssopifolia and E. hirta and 13 periods of evaluation 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84, 91 and 98 days after sowing (DAS. Each evaluation measured plant height (PH, leaf area (LA, number of leaves (NL and total dry matter (TDM. From the mean values for shoot dry matter (SDM, TDM and LA, the absolute growth rate (AGR and relative growth rate (RGR, leaf area ratio (LAR, and leaf weight ratio (LWR were calculated. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and non-linear regression. E. heterophylla displayed greater PH up to 63 DAS, from this point E. hyssopifolia obtained greater height among the species under study. E. heterophylla was noteworthy for having a greater accumulation of LA, TDM and AGR among the studied species, followed by E. hyssopifolia and E. hirta. Maximum growth in the species under evaluation was at 77 DAS. Among the species, E. heterophylla displays greater growth and development. = Nos canaviais, espécies do gênero Euphorbia são relatadas como plantas daninhas capazes de reduzir a produtividade em até 85%. Para traçar estratégias corretas de controle dessas plantas é necessário o conhecimento tanto da sua biologia quanto do seu crescimento. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o crescimento de três espécies daninhas do gênero Euphorbia ocorrentes nos canaviais. O estudo foi realizado em casa de vegeta

  2. Effects of CaCl2 solutions to alleviate drought stress effects in potted ornamentals Salvia splendens and Ageratum houstonianum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Jędrzejuk

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Bedding plants are often subjected to soil water deficit – either after planting and/or during the market chain. Methods to alleviate the negative water stress effects are sought for to preserve ornamental values of plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of two bedding plants, Ageratum houstonianum Mill. and Salvia splendens Sellow ex Scult., to water stress and treatments with calcium chloride aimed to alleviate drought effects. Plants were subjected either to 45 days of periodical stress (five cycles when watering was off for 5 consecutive days, followed by four cycles on for 5 consecutive days or 10 days of radical drought (complete water withdrawal. On the first day, before the onset of drought, plants were watered with 0.5% Ca or 1% Ca w/v as a solution of calcium chloride (5 g or 10 g Ca per 1 dm3 of the growing substrate. The similarly Ca-treated but routinely watered plants provided controls to evaluate the water shortage effects. Plant height, inflorescence length/number, leaf number, leaf area (in Salvia splendens only, aboveground plant part weight, and root weight (in Salvia splendens only as well as leaf relative water content (RWC were measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiments. Water withdrawal during 10 days of growth (radical drought reduced by half RWC in leaves of withering Salvia splendens and Ageratum houstonianum plants. Its effects on the growth parameters were less pronounced and mitigated by Ca applications. Also in the periodically stressed plants of both species, RWC and most growth parameters were reduced by water shortage but Ca applications alleviated the negative stress effects.

  3. Effect of Euphorbia hirta plant leaf extract on immunostimulant response of Aeromonas hydrophila infected Cyprinus carpio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukumaran, NatarajaPillai

    2014-01-01

    The main objective of the present study is to improve the immune power of Cyprinus carpio by using Euphorbia hirta plant leaf extract as immunostimulants. The haematological, immunological and enzymatic studies were conducted on the medicated fish infected with Aeromonas hydrophila pathogen. The results obtained from the haematological studies show that the RBC count, WBC count and haemoglobin content were increased in the infected fish at higher concentration of leaf extract. The feeds with leaf extract of Euphorbia hirta were able to stimulate the specific immune response by increasing the titre value of antibody. It was able to stimulate the antibody production only up to the 5th day, when fed with higher concentrations of (25 g and 50 g) plant leaf extract. The plant extract showed non-specific immune responses such as lysozyme activity, phagocytic ratio, NBT assay, etc. at higher concentration (50 g) and in the same concentration (50 g), the leaf extract of Euphorbia hirta significantly eliminated the pathogen in blood and kidney. It was observed that fish have survival percentage significantly at higher concentration (50 g) of Euphorbia hirta, when compared with the control. The obtained results are statistically significant at P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 levels. This research work suggests that the plant Euphorbia hirta has immunostimulant activity by stimulating both specific and non-specific immunity at higher concentrations. PMID:25405077

  4. Effect Of Euphorbia Cyparissias Ointments On Acanthosis | Cristina ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... of Euphorbiacae were identified, revealing a large plant family with a polyvalent therapeutic activity. Materials and Methods: The aim of the study was to assess the skin tolerance level to irritation on different testing concentrations, of Euphorbia cyparissias extracts and ointments. Study was accomplished in rats and dogs, ...

  5. Factores de interés referentes a la colonización de Haemagogus Splendens para experimentos de transmisión con virus de fiebre amarilla en el Laboratorio Factores de interés referentes a la colonización de Haemagogus Splendens para experimentos de transmisión con virus de fiebre amarilla en el Laboratorio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osorno-Mesa Ernesto

    1947-12-01

    Full Text Available 1 o Se amplia la distribución geográfica de Haemagogus splendens, conocida hasta hoy, anotando su papel importante como probable vector en la naturaleza. 2 o H. splendens es la especie del genero Haemagogus que biológicamente representa el eslabón entre este genero y Aedes, por la gran similitud de su comportamiento en el laboratorio, con A. aegypti. 3 o Es la especie de más fácil determinación por las hembras. 4 o Se da una técnica para el transporte y posturas de huevos de las hembras de mosquitos. 1o The known geographic distribution of Haemagogus splendens is extended, and its role as a probable vector in natural conditions is established. 2 o H. splendens of all the species of Haemaqogus, is the one that seems to constitute a biological link between that genus and the genus Aedes. (Based on the great similarity of behavior with Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions. 3 o The identification of females is most easy. 4 o A technique for egg laying and transportation of the adults is described.

  6. Antileishmanial activity of piceatannol isolated from Euphorbia lagascae seeds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duarte, Noelia; Kayser, Oliver; Abreu, Pedro; Ferreira, Maria-Jose U.

    In the search for biologically active compounds from Euphorbia lagascae Spreng, an herbaceous plant native to southeast of Iberic Peninsula, a stilbene, two coumarins and two 1-2-deoxyphorbol diterpene esters were isolated by chromatographic methods, from the methanol extracts of its defatted seeds.

  7. Effect of Euphorbia hirta and Thymus vulgaris powders on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The ban placed on the long term use of commercial antibiotics at subtherapeutic levels for diseases control and growth promotion in livestock production necessitated a worldwide search for available, cost effective and efficacious alternatives. Accordingly, the effects of Euphorbia hirta (EH) and Thymus vulgaris (TV) ...

  8. Gama-aminobutyric acid accumulation in Elsholtzia splendens in response to copper toxicity*

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Xiao-e; Peng, Hong-yun; Tian, Sheng-ke

    2005-01-01

    A solution with different Cu supply levels was cultured to investigate gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulation in Elsholtzia splendens, a native Chinese Cu-tolerant and accumulating plant species. Increasing Cu from 0.25 to 500 μmol/L significantly enhanced levels of GABA and histidine (His), but considerably decreased levels of aspartate (Asp) and glutamate (Glu) in the leaves. The leaf Asp level negatively correlated with leaf Cu level, while leaf GABA level positively correlated with le...

  9. Global medicinal uses of Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ernst, Madeleine; Grace, Olwen M; Saslis Lagoudakis, Haris

    2015-01-01

    in Australia, topical application of latex of Euphorbia peplus L. is used as a home treatment for skin cancer and actinic keratosis. Its use in Australian folk medicine has inspired the release of the drug Picato ® (ingenol mebutate), and further fostered interest in natural products and medicinal uses...

  10. Vliv vybraných faktorů na reprodukci ryby Betta splendens

    OpenAIRE

    HOMOLKA, Václav

    2013-01-01

    The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens; order Perciformes, family Osphronemidae) is a fish occurring in the area of south east Asia. Above branchial organ (so-called labyrinth) allowes it to breath an air oxygen. It is a territorial sort of fish, males are brawling to each other. In a breeding fish take alive or frozen food and also artificial feed. The fish is bubblenest, spawns are put into a foam nest, built by a male, that takes care about the posterity for some time. The task of the ...

  11. Effects of chromatographic fractions of Euphorbia hirta on the rat ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effects of the chromatographic fractions of Euphorbia hirta Linn on the serum biochemical parameters in rats were investigated. The ethanolic extract of this plant was subjected to chromatographic separation using the vacuum liquid chromatographic technique, a modified form of classical column chromatography.

  12. Demonstration of the economic feasibility of plant tissue culture for jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) and Euphorbia spp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sluis, C.

    1980-09-01

    The economic feasibility of plant tissue culture was demonstrated as applied to two plants: jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) and Euphorbia spp. The gopher weed (Euphorbia lathyris) was selected as the species of Euphorbia to research due to the interest in this plant as a potential source of hydrocarbon-like compounds. High yield female selections of jojoba were chosen from native stands and were researched to determine the economic feasibility of mass producing these plants via a tissue culture micropropagation program. The female jojoba selection was successfully mass produced through tissue culture. Modifications in initiation techniques, as well as in multiplication media and rooting parameters, were necessary to apply the tissue culture system, which had been developed for juvenile seedling tissue, to mature jojobas. Since prior attempts at transfer of tissue cultured plantlets were unsuccessful, transfer research was a major part of the project and has resulted in a system for transfer of rooted jojoba plantlets to soil. Euphorbia lathyris was successfully cultured using shoot tip cultures. Media and procedures were established for culture initiation, multiplication of shoots, callus induction and growth, and root initiation. Well-developed root systems were not attained and root initiation percentages should be increased if the system is to become commercially feasible.

  13. Updates on the genus Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) in Santa Catarina, Brazil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hassemer, Gustavo; Marques da Silva, Otávio Luis; Funez, Luís Adriano

    2017-01-01

    This contribution presents updates to the knowledge of the species of Euphorbia that occur in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. More specifically, we here typify the names E. cyathophora, E. hirtella, E. paranensis and E. stenophylla, and present the first records of E. cyathophora, E...

  14. Resurgence in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Stephanie P; Cançado, Carlos R X; Lattal, Kennon A

    2014-03-01

    Resurgence of previously reinforced responding was investigated in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Swimming through a ring produced 15-s mirror presentations according to, with different fish, either a fixed-ratio 1 or a variable-interval 60-s schedule of reinforcement. When responding was stable, a differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior schedule was substituted for the mirror-presentation schedule. Following this, mirror presentations were discontinued (extinction). During this latter phase, there were transient increases in the ring-swim response relative to the frequency of such responding during the differential-reinforcement-of-other behavior schedule. Resurgence was similar for the fish exposed previously to the fixed-ratio or to the variable-interval schedule. These results extend to Siamese fighting fish a well-established behavioral phenomenon previously not observed in this species or with this response topography, and only rarely reported following the removal of a non-consumable reinforcer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Antimicrobial activity of Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Euphorbia hirta and Asystasia gangeticum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhakar, M; Rao, Ch V; Rao, P M; Raju, D B; Venkateswarlu, Y

    2006-07-01

    The ethanolic extracts of the dry fruits of Caesalpinia pulcherrima, aerial parts of Euphorbia hirta and flowers of Asystasia gangeticum were tested for antimicrobial activity. The three plants exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, particularly against Escherichia coli (enteropathogen), Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.

  16. Studies on wound healing activity of some Euphorbia species on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Plants of Euphorbiaceae are used in folkloric medicines in variety of ailments and well known for chemical diversity of their isoprenoid constituents. This study was carried out to explore the preliminary wound healing potential of four Euphorbia species (E. consorbina 1, E. consorbina 2, E. inarticulata, ...

  17. Analysis of the essential oil from the dried leaves of Euphorbia hirta ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PRECIOUS

    2009-12-15

    Dec 15, 2009 ... Euphorbia hirta Linn (Euphorbiaceae), a potential medication for asthma. Modupe ... more popularity than ever before as sales figures in some countries, for example the ... obstruction and also cause an associated increase in.

  18. Semi-automated tracking of behaviour of Betta splendens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Durey, Maëlle; Paulsen, Rasmus Reinhold; Matessi, Giuliano

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, a novel software system for animal behaviour tracking is described. It is used for tracking fish filmed in aquariums using a low quality acquisition system. The tracking is based on a multiscale template matching technique that finds both the position and the orientation of the tra......In this paper, a novel software system for animal behaviour tracking is described. It is used for tracking fish filmed in aquariums using a low quality acquisition system. The tracking is based on a multiscale template matching technique that finds both the position and the orientation...... of the tracked fish. The template is matched in the background subtracted frames, where the background is estimated using a median based approach. The system is very stable and has been used in a large behavioural study design to the use of the behavioural pattern known as mate choice copying in Betta splendens....

  19. An evolutionary perspective on drug discovery in the plant genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ernst, Madeleine

    herbivory and physical stresses or to attract pollinators. Consequently, specializedmetabolites, as well as plants used in traditional medicine, are not randomly distributed across phylogenetictrees. Evolutionary approaches to plant-based drug discovery suggest that this informationcan be used to guide...... healthcarethreats, urge for systematic and time-efficient approaches in finding new drug candidates. Manydrugs are derived from plant specialized metabolites, chemical compounds, which are synthesizedby the plants in response to evolutionary adaptation to environmental and ecological factors, for example,to combat...... evolution and diversification. Also, Euphorbia species producean often chemically highly diverse latex exhibiting an exceptional number of biological activities withpharmaceutical interest. In this PhD project, the genus Euphorbia was chosen as a model group forstudying evolutionary approaches to plant...

  20. Interactive effects of copper stress and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on photosynthetic characteristics and chlorphyl fluorescence parameters of elsholtzia splendens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Y.; Jin, Z.; Li, J.

    2017-01-01

    To determine interactive effects of added copper (Cu) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation on the photosynthesis of Elsholtzia splendens, a greenhouse pot experiment was conducted. Four treatments were used, including -Cu-AMF (no Cu addition and no AMF inoculation), +Cu-AMF (Cu addition but no AMF inoculation), -Cu+AMF (no Cu addition and AMF inoculation), and +Cu+AMF (Cu addition and AMF inoculation). Cu addition did not change diurnal variation curves of the net photosynthetic rate(PN), the intercellular CO/sub 2/ concentration (Ci), the stomatal conductance (gs), or the transpiration rate (E); however, it significantly decreased the daily mean PN, gs, E, light-use efficiency (LUE), and carboxylation efficiency (CE). Furthermore, AMF inoculation significantly increased the daily mean PN, gs, LUE, and CE of E. splendens. In response to light, Cu addition significantly decreased the light-saturated net photosynthetic rate (PNmax), the light saturation point (LSP), the light compensation point (LCP), and the apparent quantum yield (AQY), while AMF inoculation significantly increased PNmax and AQY. In response to the CO/sub 2/ concentration, Cu addition significantly decreased PNmax and the CO/sub 2/ saturation point (CSP), while AMF inoculation significantly increased PNmax. Both Cu addition and AMF inoculation significantly decreased the relative chlorophyll content. Compared to the negative control treatment (-Cu-AMF), Cu addition significantly increased the minimal fluorescence, but significantly decreased maximal fluorescence, variable fluorescence,and maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII. These results suggest that AMF inoculations alleviate the inhibitory effect of copper stress on E. splendens plants by weakening its toxic effects on the photosynthetic apparatus and pigments. (author)

  1. Chemical Investigation of Euphorbia schimperi C. Presl

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azza R. Abdel-Monem

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Three triterpenoids; cycloart-25-en-3β,24-diol, cycloart-23-en-3β,25-diol, and a -amyrin, in addition to b -sitosterol- b -D-O-glucoside, scopoletin, luteolin and kampferol were isolated for the first time from the chloroform fraction of the alcoholic extract of Euphorbia schimperi C. Presl (F. Euphorbiaceae. The isolated compounds were identified using different spectroscopic methods (EIMS, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, HMQC, HMBC and COSY. The cytotoxic activity of the chloroform fraction was also studied using brain and breast carcinoma cell lines.

  2. Development of gas exchange and ion regulation in two species of air-breathing fish, Betta splendens and Macropodus opercularis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chun-Yen; Lin, Cheng-Huang; Lin, Hui-Chen

    2015-07-01

    Aquatic air-breathing anabantoids, a group of fish species characterized by the presence of a labyrinth organ and some gills, exhibit morphological variations. This study aimed to examine whether unequal gill growth begins during the early stages and described the sequence of the early gill developmental events in Betta splendens and Macropodus opercularis. To determine when the ion regulatory and gas exchange abilities first appear in the gills, mitochondria-rich cells (MRCs) and neuroepithelial cells (NECs) were examined in young B. splendens. To evaluate the relative importance of the gills and the labyrinth organ under different levels of oxygen uptake stress, the levels of carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) and Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase (NKA) protein expressions in 2 gills and the labyrinth organ were examined in M. opercularis. We found that the first 3 gills developed earlier than the 4th gill in both species, an indication that the morphological variation begins early in life. In B. splendens, the MRCs and NECs clearly appeared in the first 3 gills at 4 dph and were first found in the 4th gill until 11 dph. The oxygen-sensing ability of the gills was concordant with the ionoregulatory function. In M. opercularis, the hypoxic group had a significantly higher air-breathing frequency. CAII protein expression was higher in the labyrinth organ in the hypoxic group. The gills exhibited increased NKA protein expression in the hypoxic and restricted groups, respectively. Functional plasticity in CAII and NKA protein expressions was found between the gills and the labyrinth organ in adult M. opercularis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Euphorbia gummifera. A. gregaria and a new species from Damaraland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. C. Leach

    1975-11-01

    Full Text Available The identity of  Euphorbia gummifera Boiss. and  E. gregaria Marl, is discussed and a new species, E. damarana Leach, is described. A key to the species including  E. carunculifera Leach from southern Angola and a map showing their distribution are provided. The possible significance of these species in the phylogeny of the genus is also discussed.

  4. Beheersing en bestrijding van Botrytis cinerea en van Penicillium in Euphorbia fulgens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wubben, J.P.; Hazendonk, A.; Bosker, I.; Slootweg, C.; Hoope, ten M.

    2002-01-01

    De bloeiwijze van Euphorbia fulgens kent twee belangrijke schimmelbelagers, die problemen in de teelt veroorzaken: Botrytis cinerea en Penicillium. B. cinerea geeft schade in de vorm van smet of pokken, die op de bloemblaadjes verschijnen. Dit zijn kleine donkerbruine/zwarte plekjes van ongeveer 1

  5. Influence de quelques facteurs environnementaux sur la germination d'Euphorbia heterophylla L. (Euphorbiaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ipou Ipou, J.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Influence of some Environmental Factors on Euphorbia heterophylla L. (Euphorbiaceae Seeds Germination. In Ivory Coast, Euphorbia heterophylla appears as a weed in cotton fields. Effects of temperature, light and burying levels on its seed germination were tested. Temperature effects were monitored by means of 4 procedures, using a range of temperatures between 20 and 35 °C. The germination latency period can vary between 1 and 2 days, according to the temperature. After 4 days, germination rates were not longer related to temperature and were very similar. Germination can not happen without light. In order to measure the effect of burying levels, six series of 100 seeds were buried; the first at ground level, the others respectively 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 cm deeper. Optimal germination rates were found for seeds that were buried between 0 and 6 cm.

  6. Fungi and insects associated with Euphorbia ingens die-off in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Euphorbia ingens, landmark succulent trees in savannas of South Africa, have been dying in large numbers over the last 10–15 years. Initial studies conducted in the Limpopo province of South Africa revealed a diverse group of biotic agents including fungi, beetles and moths associated with dying trees, but due to the ...

  7. Role of microbial inoculation and chitosan in phytoextraction of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd by Elsholtzia splendens - a field case

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Fayuan [Agricultural College, Henan University of Science and Technology, 70 Tianjin Road, Luoyang, Henan Province 471003 (China) and Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210008 (China)]. E-mail: wfy1975@163.com; Lin Xiangui [Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210008 (China); Yin Rui [Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210008 (China)

    2007-05-15

    A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of microbial inoculation on heavy metal phytoextraction by Elsholtzia splendens and whether chitosan could have a synergistic effect with the microbial inocula. The microbial inocula consisted of a consortium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and two Penicillium fungi. Three treatments were included: the control, inoculation with microbial inocula, and the inoculation combined with chitosan. Microbial inoculation increased plant biomass especially shoot dry weight, enhanced shoot Cu, Zn and Pb concentrations but did not affect Cd, leading to higher shoot Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd uptake. Compared with microbial inoculation alone, chitosan application did not affect plant growth but increased shoot Zn, Pb and Cd concentrations except Cu, which led to higher phytoextraction efficiencies and partitioning to shoots of Zn, Pb and Cd. These results indicated synergistic effects between microbial inocula and chitosan on Zn, Pb and Cd phytoextraction. - Co-application of microbial inocula and chitosan enhanced heavy metal phytoextraction by E. splendens.

  8. Role of microbial inoculation and chitosan in phytoextraction of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd by Elsholtzia splendens - a field case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fayuan; Lin Xiangui; Yin Rui

    2007-01-01

    A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of microbial inoculation on heavy metal phytoextraction by Elsholtzia splendens and whether chitosan could have a synergistic effect with the microbial inocula. The microbial inocula consisted of a consortium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and two Penicillium fungi. Three treatments were included: the control, inoculation with microbial inocula, and the inoculation combined with chitosan. Microbial inoculation increased plant biomass especially shoot dry weight, enhanced shoot Cu, Zn and Pb concentrations but did not affect Cd, leading to higher shoot Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd uptake. Compared with microbial inoculation alone, chitosan application did not affect plant growth but increased shoot Zn, Pb and Cd concentrations except Cu, which led to higher phytoextraction efficiencies and partitioning to shoots of Zn, Pb and Cd. These results indicated synergistic effects between microbial inocula and chitosan on Zn, Pb and Cd phytoextraction. - Co-application of microbial inocula and chitosan enhanced heavy metal phytoextraction by E. splendens

  9. Measurement of the CP-violation parameter Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibbons, L.K.; Barker, A.R.; Briere, R.A.; Makoff, G.; Papadimitriou, V.; Patterson, J.R.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Somalwar, S.V.; Wah, Y.W.; Winstein, B.; Winston, R.; Woods, M.; Yamamoto, H.; Swallow, E.C.; Bock, G.J.; Coleman, R.; Enagonio, J.; Hsiung, Y.B.; Ramberg, E.; Stanfield, K.; Tschirhart, R.; Yamanaka, T.; Gollin, G.D.; Karlsson, M.; Okamitsu, J.K.; Debu, P.; Peyaud, B.; Turlay, R.; Vallage, B.

    1993-01-01

    A measurement of the CP-violation parameter Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon) has been made using the full E731 data set. We find Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon)=(7.4±5.2±2.9)x10 -4 where the first error is statistical and the second systematic

  10. arXiv Observation of the $\\varXi^{-}_{b}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ decay

    CERN Document Server

    Aaij, Roel; Adinolfi, Marco; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Akar, Simon; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio Augusto; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Andreassi, Guido; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Archilli, Flavio; d'Argent, Philippe; Arnau Romeu, Joan; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Babuschkin, Igor; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Baesso, Clarissa; Baker, Sophie; Balagura, Vladislav; Baldini, Wander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Baryshnikov, Fedor; Baszczyk, Mateusz; Batozskaya, Varvara; Batsukh, Baasansuren; Battista, Vincenzo; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Bel, Lennaert; Bellee, Violaine; Belloli, Nicoletta; Belous, Konstantin; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; Benson, Sean; Berezhnoy, Alexander; Bernet, Roland; Bertolin, Alessandro; Betancourt, Christopher; Betti, Federico; Bettler, Marc-Olivier; van Beuzekom, Martinus; Bezshyiko, Iaroslava; Bifani, Simone; Billoir, Pierre; Bird, Thomas; Birnkraut, Alex; Bitadze, Alexander; Bizzeti, Andrea; Blake, Thomas; Blanc, Frederic; Blouw, Johan; Blusk, Steven; Bocci, Valerio; Boettcher, Thomas; Bondar, Alexander; Bondar, Nikolay; Bonivento, Walter; Bordyuzhin, Igor; Borgheresi, Alessio; Borghi, Silvia; Borisyak, Maxim; Borsato, Martino; Bossu, Francesco; Boubdir, Meriem; Bowcock, Themistocles; Bowen, Espen Eie; Bozzi, Concezio; Braun, Svende; Britsch, Markward; Britton, Thomas; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Buchanan, Emma; Burr, Christopher; Bursche, Albert; Buytaert, Jan; Cadeddu, Sandro; Calabrese, Roberto; Calvi, Marta; Calvo Gomez, Miriam; Camboni, Alessandro; Campana, Pierluigi; Campora Perez, Daniel Hugo; Capriotti, Lorenzo; Carbone, Angelo; Carboni, Giovanni; Cardinale, Roberta; Cardini, Alessandro; Carniti, Paolo; Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Castillo Garcia, Lucia; Cattaneo, Marco; Cavallero, Giovanni; Cenci, Riccardo; Chamont, David; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chatzikonstantinidis, Georgios; Chefdeville, Maximilien; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu-Faye; Chobanova, Veronika; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Cogoni, Violetta; Cojocariu, Lucian; Collazuol, Gianmaria; Collins, Paula; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Cook, Andrew; Coombs, George; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Costa Sobral, Cayo Mar; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Crocombe, Andrew; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Cunliffe, Samuel; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Dall'Occo, Elena; Dalseno, Jeremy; David, Pieter; Davis, Adam; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Serio, Marilisa; De Simone, Patrizia; Dean, Cameron Thomas; Decamp, Daniel; Deckenhoff, Mirko; Del Buono, Luigi; Demmer, Moritz; Dendek, Adam; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Dey, Biplab; Di Canto, Angelo; Dijkstra, Hans; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dreimanis, Karlis; Dufour, Laurent; Dujany, Giulio; Dungs, Kevin; Durante, Paolo; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Déléage, Nicolas; Easo, Sajan; Ebert, Marcus; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Hannah Mary; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Fay, Robert; Fazzini, Davide; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez Prieto, Antonio; Ferrari, Fabio; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fini, Rosa Anna; Fiore, Marco; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fleuret, Frederic; Fohl, Klaus; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forshaw, Dean Charles; Forty, Roger; Franco Lima, Vinicius; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Fu, Jinlin; Funk, Wolfgang; Furfaro, Emiliano; Färber, Christian; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; Garcia Martin, Luis Miguel; García Pardiñas, Julián; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Garsed, Philip John; Gascon, David; Gaspar, Clara; Gavardi, Laura; Gazzoni, Giulio; Gerick, David; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianì, Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Girard, Olivier Göran; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gizdov, Konstantin; Gligorov, Vladimir; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gorelov, Igor Vladimirovich; Gotti, Claudio; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graverini, Elena; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Gruberg Cazon, Barak Raimond; Grünberg, Oliver; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Göbel, Carla; Hadavizadeh, Thomas; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hamilton, Brian; Han, Xiaoxue; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Harrison, Jonathan; Hatch, Mark; He, Jibo; Head, Timothy; Heister, Arno; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hombach, Christoph; Hopchev, P H; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Humair, Thibaud; Hushchyn, Mikhail; Hutchcroft, David; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jaeger, Andreas; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Jiang, Feng; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kandybei, Sergii; Karacson, Matthias; Kariuki, James Mwangi; Karodia, Sarah; Kecke, Matthieu; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenzie, Matthew; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khairullin, Egor; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Kirn, Thomas; Klaver, Suzanne; Klimaszewski, Konrad; Koliiev, Serhii; Kolpin, Michael; Komarov, Ilya; Koopman, Rose; Koppenburg, Patrick; Kosmyntseva, Alena; Kozachuk, Anastasiia; Kozeiha, Mohamad; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreplin, Katharina; Kreps, Michal; Krokovny, Pavel; Kruse, Florian; Krzemien, Wojciech; Kucewicz, Wojciech; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kuonen, Axel Kevin; Kurek, Krzysztof; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; van Leerdam, Jeroen; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Lefèvre, Regis; Lemaitre, Florian; Lemos Cid, Edgar; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Tenglin; Li, Yiming; Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Lindner, Rolf; Linn, Christian; Lionetto, Federica; Liu, Xuesong; Loh, David; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lucchesi, Donatella; Lucio Martinez, Miriam; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Lusiani, Alberto; Lyu, Xiao-Rui; Machefert, Frederic; Maciuc, Florin; Maev, Oleg; Maguire, Kevin; Malde, Sneha; Malinin, Alexander; Maltsev, Timofei; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Manning, Peter Michael; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marinangeli, Matthieu; Marino, Pietro; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martin, Morgan; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Martins Tostes, Danielle; Massacrier, Laure Marie; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathad, Abhijit; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mauri, Andrea; Maurice, Emilie; Maurin, Brice; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; Meadows, Brian; Meier, Frank; Meissner, Marco; Melnychuk, Dmytro; Merk, Marcel; Merli, Andrea; Michielin, Emanuele; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Mitzel, Dominik Stefan; Mogini, Andrea; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Monroy, Ignacio Alberto; Monteil, Stephane; Morandin, Mauro; Morawski, Piotr; Mordà, Alessandro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Morgunova, Olga; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Mulder, Mick; Mussini, Manuel; Müller, Dominik; Müller, Janine; Müller, Katharina; Müller, Vanessa; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nandi, Anita; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Thi Dung; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Nieswand, Simon; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Nogay, Alla; Novoselov, Alexey; O'Hanlon, Daniel Patrick; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Ogilvy, Stephen; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Otto, Adam; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Aranzazu; Pais, Preema Rennee; Palano, Antimo; Palombo, Fernando; Palutan, Matteo; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Pappalardo, Luciano; Parker, William; Parkes, Christopher; Passaleva, Giovanni; Pastore, Alessandra; Patel, Girish; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Penso, Gianni; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Perret, Pascal; Pescatore, Luca; Petridis, Konstantinos; Petrolini, Alessandro; Petrov, Aleksandr; Petruzzo, Marco; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pikies, Malgorzata; Pinci, Davide; Pistone, Alessandro; Piucci, Alessio; Placinta, Vlad-Mihai; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Poikela, Tuomas; Polci, Francesco; Poluektov, Anton; Polyakov, Ivan; Polycarpo, Erica; Pomery, Gabriela Johanna; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Popovici, Bogdan; Poslavskii, Stanislav; Potterat, Cédric; Price, Eugenia; Price, Joseph David; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Pritchard, Adrian; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Quagliani, Renato; Rachwal, Bartolomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rama, Matteo; Ramos Pernas, Miguel; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Ratnikov, Fedor; Raven, Gerhard; Redi, Federico; Reichert, Stefanie; dos Reis, Alberto; Remon Alepuz, Clara; Renaudin, Victor; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Sophie; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Rives Molina, Vicente; Robbe, Patrick; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Lopez, Jairo Alexis; Rodriguez Perez, Pablo; Rogozhnikov, Alexey; Roiser, Stefan; Rollings, Alexandra Paige; Romanovskiy, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Ronayne, John William; Rotondo, Marcello; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Ruf, Thomas; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sadykhov, Elnur; Sagidova, Naylya; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santimaria, Marco; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Saunders, Daniel Martin; Savrina, Darya; Schael, Stefan; Schellenberg, Margarete; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schlupp, Maximilian; Schmelling, Michael; Schmelzer, Timon; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; Schubert, Konstantin; Schubiger, Maxime; Schune, Marie Helene; Schwemmer, Rainer; Sciascia, Barbara; Sciubba, Adalberto; Semennikov, Alexander; Sergi, Antonino; Serra, Nicola; Serrano, Justine; Sestini, Lorenzo; Seyfert, Paul; Shapkin, Mikhail; Shapoval, Illya; Shcheglov, Yury; Shears, Tara; Shekhtman, Lev; Shevchenko, Vladimir; Siddi, Benedetto Gianluca; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Silva de Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo; Simi, Gabriele; Simone, Saverio; Sirendi, Marek; Skidmore, Nicola; Skwarnicki, Tomasz; Smith, Eluned; Smith, Iwan Thomas; Smith, Jackson; Smith, Mark; Snoek, Hella; Soares Lavra, Lais; Sokoloff, Michael; Soler, Paul; Souza De Paula, Bruno; Spaan, Bernhard; Spradlin, Patrick; Sridharan, Srikanth; Stagni, Federico; Stahl, Marian; Stahl, Sascha; Stefko, Pavol; Stefkova, Slavorima; Steinkamp, Olaf; Stemmle, Simon; Stenyakin, Oleg; Stevens, Holger; Stevenson, Scott; Stoica, Sabin; Stone, Sheldon; Storaci, Barbara; Stracka, Simone; Straticiuc, Mihai; Straumann, Ulrich; Sun, Liang; Sutcliffe, William; Swientek, Krzysztof; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szczekowski, Marek; Szumlak, Tomasz; T'Jampens, Stephane; Tayduganov, Andrey; Tekampe, Tobias; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tilley, Matthew James; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Topp-Joergensen, Stig; Toriello, Francis; Tournefier, Edwige; Tourneur, Stephane; Trabelsi, Karim; Traill, Murdo; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Trisovic, Ana; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tully, Alison; Tuning, Niels; Ukleja, Artur; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vacca, Claudia; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valassi, Andrea; Valat, Sebastien; Valenti, Giovanni; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vecchi, Stefania; van Veghel, Maarten; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Venkateswaran, Aravindhan; Vernet, Maxime; Vesterinen, Mika; Viana Barbosa, Joao Vitor; Viaud, Benoit; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Viemann, Harald; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Vitti, Marcela; Volkov, Vladimir; Vollhardt, Achim; Voneki, Balazs; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; de Vries, Jacco; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Waldi, Roland; Wallace, Charlotte; Wallace, Ronan; Walsh, John; Wang, Jianchun; Ward, David; Wark, Heather Mckenzie; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Weiden, Andreas; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wilkinson, Guy; Wilkinson, Michael; Williams, Mark Richard James; Williams, Matthew; Williams, Mike; Williams, Timothy; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wraight, Kenneth; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xing, Zhou; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yao, Yuezhe; Yin, Hang; Yu, Jiesheng; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zarebski, Kristian Alexander; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhang, Yu; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zheng, Yangheng; Zhu, Xianglei; Zhukov, Valery; Zucchelli, Stefano

    2017-09-10

    The observation of the decay $\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ is reported, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3~\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb detector in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8~\\mathrm{TeV}$. The production rate of $\\varXi_{b}^{-}$ baryons detected in the decay $\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ is measured relative to that of $\\varLambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons using the decay $\\varLambda_{b}^{0}\\to J/\\psi \\varLambda$. Integrated over the $b$-baryon transverse momentum $p_{\\rm T}<25~\\mathrm{GeV/}c $ and rapidity $2.0 < y < 4.5$, the measured ratio is \\begin{equation*} \\frac{f_{\\varXi_{b}^{-}}}{f_{\\varLambda_{b}^{0}}}\\frac{\\mathcal{B}(\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-})}{\\mathcal{B}(\\varLambda_{b}^{0}\\to J/\\psi \\varLambda)}=(4.19\\pm 0.29~(\\mathrm{stat})\\pm0.14~(\\mathrm{syst}))\\times 10^{-2}, \\end{equation*}where $f_{\\varXi_{b}^{-}}$ and $f_{\\varLambda_{b}^{0}}$ are the fragmentation fractions of $b\\to\\varXi_{...

  11. A study on effect of ATH on Euphorbia coagulum modified polyester banana fiber composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumari, Sanju; Rai, Bhuvneshwar; Kumar, Gulshan

    2018-02-01

    Fiber reinforced polymer composites are used for building and structural applications due to their high strength. In conventional composites both the binder and the reinforcing fibers are synthetic or either one of the material is natural. In the present study coagulum of Euphorbia royleana has been used for replacing polyester resinas binder in polyester banana composite. Euphorbia coagulum (driedlatex) is rich in resinous mass (60-80%), which are terpenes and polyisoprene (10-20%). Effect of varying percentage of coagulum content on various physico-mechanical properties of polyester-banana composites has been studied. Since banana fiber is sensitive to water due to presence of polar group, banana composite undergoes delamination and deterioration under humid condition. Alkali treated banana fiber along with coagulum content has improved overall mechanical properties and reduction in water absorption. The best physico-mechanical properties have been achieved on replacing 40% of polyester resin by coagulum. An increase of 50% in bending strength, 30% bending modulus and 45% impact strength as well as 68% decrease in water absorption was observed. Incorporation of 20% ATH as flame retardant in coagulum modified banana polyester composite enhanced limiting oxygen index from 20.6 to 26.8% and smoke density reduced up to 40%. This study presents the possibility of utilization of renewable materials for environmental friendly composite development as well as to find out alternative feedstock for petroleum products. Developed Euphorbia latex modified banana polyester composites can have potential utility in hardboard, partition panel, plywood and automotive etc.

  12. LOL2 and LOL5 loci control latex production by laticifer cells in Euphorbia lathyris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelblanque, Lourdes; Balaguer, Begoña; Marti, Cristina; Orozco, Marianela; Vera, Pablo

    2018-06-07

    Laticifers are specialized plant cells capable of indefinite elongation that ramify extensively and are responsible for latex biosynthesis and accumulation. However, the mechanisms underlying laticifer cell differentiation, growth and production of latex remain largely unknown. In a search for mutants showing enhanced accumulation of latex we identified two LOT OF LATEX (LOL) loci in Euphorbia lathyris. lol2 and lol5 mutants show enhanced production of latex contained within laticifer cells. The recessive lol2 mutant carries increased biosynthesis of the plant hormone jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) and therefore establishes a genetic link between jasmonic acid (JA) signaling and latex production in laticifers. Instead, heightened production of latex in lol5 plants obeys to enhanced proliferation of laticifer cells. Phylogenetic analysis of laticifer-expressed genes in E. lathyris and in two other latex-bearing species, Euphorbia corallioides and Euphorbia palustris, allowed the identification of canonical JA responsive elements present in the gene promoter regions of laticifer marker genes. Moreover, we identified that the hormone JA functions not as a morphogen for laticifer differentiation but as a trigger for the fill out of laticifers with latex and the associated triterpenoids. The identification of LOL loci represents a further step towards the understanding of mechanisms controlling latex production in laticifer cells. No claim to original US Government works New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  13. Repellence and toxicity of plant essential oils to the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Munneke, M.E.; Bruin, de A.; Moskal, J.R.; Tol, van R.W.H.M.

    2004-01-01

    Several plant essential oils were tested for their effect on behaviour and mortality of M. euphorbiae. Olfactory and contact experiments were performed to study these effects. We found that host plant and formulation of the different oils have a strong influence on repellence and mortality of the

  14. Experimental study of neuropharmacological profile of Euphorbia pulcherrima in mice and rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kundan Kr Singh

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Euphorbia pulcherrima (EP belongs to the family: Euphorbiaceae and Genus: Euphorbia. Many species of Euphorbia have been reported as having beneficial properties like anticonvulsive effect, central analgesic properties, antipyretic action, central depressant action and strong sedative effect. However, little study has been done and published on EP. Aims: To observe and evaluate various neuropharmacological effects like antinociceptive effect, anticonvulsant effect, motor in-coordination, pentobarbital induced sleeping time and behavioral responses of EP in mice and rats. Setting and Design: Quantitative experimental study in mice and rats by various experimental models. Materials and Methods: Different experimental models were used to assess the antinociceptive effect (hotplate, tail flick and acetic acid induced writhing test, anticonvulsant effect (Maximal Electroshock Seizure test [MES] and Pentylenetetrazole induced seizures [PTZ], motor in-coordination effect (Rota rod test, pentobarbital induced sleeping time and behavioral responses of EP in mice and rats after oral administration of EP crude dried extracts in three different doses (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg. Statistical Analysis Used: The significance of difference with respect to control was evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. A probability (P-value level less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: In MES test model, duration of tonic hind limb extension in mice treated with EP was significantly less as compared to vehicle treated group. EP was most effective in a dose of 1000 mg/kg. There was also significant increase in the latency and decrease in the incidence of convulsions with the use of EP in three different doses in PTZ induced seizure model. Conclusions: This study showed EP (crude dried extracts to possess anticonvulsant properties but no effect on motor co-ordination and anxiety.

  15. Visual reinforcement in the female Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elcoro, Mirari; Silva, Stephanie P; Lattal, Kennon A

    2008-07-01

    Operant conditioning with Betta splendens (Bettas) has been investigated extensively using males of the species. Ethological studies of female Bettas have revealed aggressive interactions that qualitatively parallel those between male Bettas. Given these similarities, four experiments were conducted with female Bettas to examine the generality of a widely reported finding with males: mirror-image reinforcement. Swimming through a ring was reinforced by a 10-s mirror presentation. As with males, ring swimming was acquired and maintained when mirror presentations were immediate (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) and delayed (Experiment 4). The failure of conventional extinction (Experiments 1 and 2) and response-independent mirror presentations (Experiment 3) to maintain responding confirmed the reinforcing properties of mirror presentation. These results extend previous findings of mirror images as reinforcers in males of the same species and illustrate a complementarity between behavioral ecology and the experimental analysis of behavior.

  16. Development and survival of Aulacorthum solani, Macrosiphum euphorbiae and Uroleucon ambrosiae at six temperatures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Conti, de B.F.; Bueno, V.H.P.; Sampaio, M.V.; Lenteren, van J.C.

    2011-01-01

    Temperature is one of the most important factors in determining the survival and developmental rate of aphids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the developmental time and survival of the aphid species Aulacorthum solani (Kaltenbach), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) and Uroleucon ambrosiae

  17. Biological Activities of Aerial Parts Extracts of Euphorbia characias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Barbara Pisano

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-HIV, and cholinesterase inhibitory activities of aqueous and alcoholic extracts from leaves, stems, and flowers of Euphorbia characias. The extracts showed a high antioxidant activity and were a good source of total polyphenols and flavonoids. Ethanolic extracts from leaves and flowers displayed the highest inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, showing potential properties against Alzheimer’s disease. Antimicrobial assay showed that leaves and flowers extracts were active against all Gram-positive bacteria tested. The ethanolic leaves extract appeared to have the strongest antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus with MIC value of 312.5 μg/mL followed by Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus that also exhibited good sensitivity with MIC values of 1250 μg/mL. Moreover, all the extracts possessed anti-HIV activity. The ethanolic flower extract was the most potent inhibitor of HIV-1 RT DNA polymerase RNA-dependent and Ribonuclease H with IC50 values of 0.26 and 0.33 μg/mL, respectively. The LC-DAD metabolic profile showed that ethanolic leaves extract contains high levels of quercetin derivatives. This study suggests that Euphorbia characias extracts represent a good source of natural bioactive compounds which could be useful for pharmaceutical application as well as in food system for the prevention of the growth of food-borne bacteria and to extend the shelf-life of processed foods.

  18. Download this PDF file

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AJTCAM

    3Department of Primary School Teaching, Faculty of Education, Firat ... Euphorbia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. ... is to evaluate the potential antimicrobial activities of E. aleppica, E. szovitsii var.

  19. Atividade residual de diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla Residual activity of diuron, oxyfluorfen, and prometryne for Euphorbia heterophylla control

    OpenAIRE

    R.S. Oliveira Jr.; J.C. Carneiro; J. Constantin; G. Santos; A.C. Francischini; A.M. Oliveira Neto

    2012-01-01

    As aplicações de herbicidas em pré-emergência têm por finalidade a obtenção da atividade residual no início do ciclo das culturas. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a atividade residual dos herbicidas diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne, aplicados isoladamente ou em misturas, no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla. Oito experimentos foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação, aplicando-se doses dos herbicidas ou das misturas aos 30, 20, 10 e 0 dias antes da semeadura da planta daninha (DAS)...

  20. New Compounds from Euphorbia helioscopia and Absolute Configuration Determination by Computational Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Jiangbo; Zhu, Hua Jie; Luo, Gui Fen; Li, Yan; Cheng, Yong Xian; Chen, Hao; Chen, Shaopeng; Lu, Xin; Zhou, Guochun; Liu, Guang Ming

    2010-01-01

    The whole plant of Euphorbia helioscopia is an important traditional Chinese medicine. Fom its BuOH soluble extract, one new lactam, three new terpenoids including a new naturally occurring compound, and three known compounds were isolated. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic evidences. In particular, the absolute configurations of side chain of compounds 1 and 2 were determined using computational methods

  1. Comparative ecomorphology of the cyathial nectaries in eight European Euphorbia species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papp, Nóra; Csete, S; Farkas, Agnes

    2013-03-01

    The morphology and histology of the cyathial nectary were studied in 8 European leafy spurge (Euphorbia) species, revealing that certain histological traits of the glands are in close correlation to each species' habitat, underlining the importance of morphological evidences in determining relevant ecological tolerance spectra of plants.The structure of the cyathial glands was studied in longitudinal sections with light microscopy, and histological parameters were measured and statistically analyzed by appropriate softwares.The nectaries consist of a cuticle-covered epidermis, formed by palisade cells, under which the glandular tissue and parenchyma are composed of isodiametric and anisodiametric cells in all species. Thickness of cuticle, position of nectary stomata and number of rows comprising the glandular tissue vary to a great extent in plants living in xeric, humid or mesic habitats.Although all the studied anatomical features of the nectaries were expected to be in correspondence with the characteristics of habitat types, we have only found the number of glandular cell rows to be in strong correlation with the Ellenberg's ecological indicator values on soil moisture, which varied with species. The recorded anatomical differences among the studied Euphorbia taxa emphasize the ecological significance of glandular tissue in plant adaptation, which can also be relevant for systematic purposes.

  2. Lipid metabolites with free-radical scavenging activity from Euphorbia helioscopia L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cateni, F; Zilic, J; Altieri, T; Zacchigna, M; Procida, G; Gaggeri, R; Rossi, D; Collina, S

    2014-07-01

    The methanolic extract of the plant Euphorbia helioscopia L. exhibited an interesting free-radical scavenging activity. From the aerial parts of Euphorbia helioscopia L. (Euphorbiaceae), a complex mixture of seven cerebrosides together with glucoclionasterol, a digalactosyldiacylglycerol and a diacylmonogalactosylglycerol were identified. The structures of the cerebrosides were characterized as 1-O-β-D-glucosides of phytosphingosines, which comprised (2S, 3S, 4E, 8E)-2-amino-4(E),8(E)-octadecadiene-1,3-diol, (2S, 3S, 4E, 8Z)-2-amino-4(E),8(Z)-octadecadiene-1,3-diol, (2S, 3S, 4R, 8Z)-2-amino-8(Z)-octadecene-1,3,4-triol as long chain bases with seven 2-hydroxy fatty acids of varying chain lengths (C16, C24:1, C26:1, C24, C26, C28:1) linked to the amino group. The glycosylglycerides were characterized as (2S)-2,3-O-di-(9,12,15-octadecatrienoyl)-glyceryl-6-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside and (2S)-2,3-O-di-(9,12,15-octadecatrienoyl)-glyceryl-1-O-β-D-galactopyranoside. The structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic data and chemical reactions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Euphorbia davidii - an invasive weed species in the fields of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vajgand Dragan K.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia davidii Subils (Euphorbiaceae or toothed spurge is a plant native to North America, but in Europe it is an alien weed. The populations of this weed were recorded in the Province of Vojvodina (Serbia for the first time in 2007 in the arable fields in two localities: between the villages of Aleksa Šantić and Pačir and also between the villages of Pačir and Đurđin. There were no previous published data about the occurrence of this species in Serbia, nor about management measures in crops to suppress this agricultural invader. In this paper, we present experiences with several herbicide treatments applied to suppress populations of toothed spurge from the crop fields in Serbia during the last six years. The most effective was treatment with a high concentration of glyphosate in the early phases of toothed spurge growing. The populations of this invasive weed spread and formed more or less dense patches in the crop field, the area of distribution increased from 3 ha to 7 ha. Observations and experiences with treatments suggest that Euphorbia davidii, as an invasive plant, has significant impact on crop fields, therefore further investigation of suppression measures and monitoring of its population is needed.

  4. Inoculation of cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) and poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Trichoderma harzianum

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Dubský, M.; Šrámek, F.; Vosátka, Miroslav

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 48, č. 2 (2002), s. 63-68 ISSN 0370-663X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6005908 Keywords : Cyclamen persicum * Euphorbia pulcherrima * inoculation Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.333, year: 2002

  5. Larval competition between Aphidius ervi and Praon volucre (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) in Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidney, Lívia Alvarenga; Bueno, Vanda Helena Paes; Lins, Juracy Caldeira; Sampaio, Marcus Vinicius; Silva, Diego Bastos

    2010-10-01

    Interspecific competition between parasitoid larvae may influence the size, structure, and stability of the population, leading to a reduction in total parasitism and thus restricting the pest control. Aphidius ervi (Haliday) and Praon volucre (Haliday) are endoparasitoids that possess a wide host range and present considerable potential for the biological control of the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas). The larval competition between A. ervi and P. volucre, and the possible intrinsic competitive superiority of one of the parasitoids in M. euphorbiae, have been studied. In single parasitism experiments, mated parasitoid females (n=10) were maintained individually in contact with M. euphorbiae hosts (n=30) inside petri dishes containing lettuce leaf discs and maintained in environmental chamber at 22 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH, and 12-h photophase. The multiple parasitism experiments consisted of exposing single parasitized aphids (n=120) to the second parasitoid species. Two oviposition events were performed with a 4-h interval between them, namely the following: sequence A (oviposition by A. ervi, followed by P. volucre) and sequence B (oviposition by P. volucre, followed by A. ervi). Oviposition sequence A generated 24 A. ervi and 55 P. volucre adults, whereas oviposition sequence B generated 23 and 49 adults. P. volucre is an intrinsically superior competitor compared with A. ervi, and the use of the two species simultaneously may result in competitive exclusion and influence the stability of the parasitoid population.

  6. Seletividade de sálvia (Salvia splendens ao herbicida oxyfluorfen veiculado à palha de arroz Selectivity of Salvia splendens to oxyfluorfen applied to rice straw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.F.L. Pivetta

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available O manejo de plantas daninhas em canteiros de floríferas é um dos principais aspectos que interferem na manutenção dos jardins. Dessa forma, este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a possibilidade de veiculação do oxyfluorfen à palha de arroz e a seletividade da sálvia (Salvia splendens, uma das principais floríferas produzidas e comercializadas no Brasil, ao herbicida. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, no esquema fatorial 4 x 3, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram quatro quantidades de palha de arroz (0, 4, 6 e 8 t ha-1 combinadas com três doses do herbicida oxyfluorfen (0, 1 e 2 L ha-1. Observou-se que os tratamentos que levaram à veiculação do herbicida (nas duas doses testadas e nas três quantidades de palha apresentaram controle de plantas daninhas sem que efeitos fitotóxicos severos fossem observados nas plantas de sálvia. A pulverização direta do herbicida sobre o solo e as plantas de sálvia não se mostrou viável. O tratamento que proporcionou controle satisfatório de plantas daninhas sem causar danos às plantas de sálvia e que, por isso, pode ser recomendado foi o que recebeu o herbicida na dose de 2 L ha-1, veiculado a 4 t ha-1 de palha de arroz.Weed control is one of the main constrains to flower garden maintenance. This work aimed to study the possibility of translocating oxyfluorfen to rice straw and of selectivity of Salvia splendens, one of the main ornamental species produced and commercialized in Brazil, to the herbicide. A randomized block design was used in the factorial scheme 4 x 3, with four repetitions. The treatments consisted of four amounts of rice straw (0, 4, 6 and 8 t ha-1 combined with three doses of oxyfluorfen (0, 1 and 2 L ha-1. The results showed that the treatments that led to translocation of the herbicide to rice straw showed great weed control, without any high phytotoxicty damage to the salvia plants. The treatment receiving g 4 L ha-1 of herbicide in 2

  7. Assessment of (Fouquieria splendens ssp. breviflora Cell Cultures Response Under to Water Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonor Angélica Guerrero Zúñiga

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Plant cell cultures are homogenous experimental systems, highly controllable that allow the study of short and large water stress adaptations without the interference of the different tissues and development of plants. An approach to understand these adaptations is through the presence of induced proteins; as a result of changes in genetic expression. This work analyze the response of Fouquieria splendens ssp. breviflora cell cultures exposed to abscisic acid (ABA, through the electrophoretic characterization of quantity and quality of stress induced proteins. There were recorded low molecular weight polypeptides (< 35kDa, common in experiments under ABA 10mM, followed by the association with 20 and 30mM ABA conditions, with a particularly response of cell cultures without the stress agent.

  8. Chromatographic study of Euphorbia cyparissias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina, T. Romeo,

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The ectoparasitic population control is very difficult and includes numerous chemical substances and therapeutic techniques. Although efficient at first, the repeated use of acaricidal substances leads to the appearance of resistance. The more and more reduced efficacy of the therapeutic arsenal puts serious problems for the practitionersand increases the need of newer substances on the market. Besides this appears the problem of residues in eggs and meat, which is a serious impediment. Because of this the use of plant extracts is an attractive and promising research path. The investigations tied to the parasitic biocontrol have diversified with the study of the numerous control sources (fungi, plant extracts, volatile oils etc..In this context, the plant extracts can become an alternative source for the acaricidal control knowing that they constitute a rich source of efficient bioactive compounds. Unfortunately although at hand until today, not very much data is known about what determines theacaricidal activity of some plant extracts against the argaside ticks.The present work describes an in vitro CG-MS study for identification of Euphorbia cyparissias’ chemical composition.

  9. Leaf litter is essential for seed survival of the endemic endangered tree Pouteria splendens (Sapotaceae from central Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. J. Sotes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Pouteria splendens (A.DC. Kuntze, the Chilean lúcumo, is an endemic tree and the only member of the Sapotaceae family in Chile. It is considered an endangered species as a consequence of its restricted distribution and small population size. Currently, individuals of P. splendens are immersed in a heterogeneous landscape with rocky mounds and plains located in areas densely populated by humans. Natural regeneration in the species seems to be low, despite the fact that plants are able to produce fruits. The species produces brightly colored fleshy drupes. There is no information about the dispersal pattern and the fate of the seeds. In this work we investigate (i the seed dispersal pattern and (ii the effect of tree canopy and the presence of leaf litter on seed survival, both in rocky mounds and plains. Results indicated an extremely low distance of seed dispersal, with most of the seeds falling down under the canopy. Seed survival under the canopy without leaf litter was very low and even zero in rocky mounds. Nevertheless, the presence of leaf litter covering the seeds increased survival in both habitats. Outside the canopy, seed survival only increased in plains. We suggest that future conservation programs should focus on protecting both adult plants and leaf litter under trees.

  10. Produção de Bipolaris euphorbiae em meios de cultura sólidos e líquidos obtidos de grãos e resíduos agroindustriais Production of Bipolaris euphorbiae in solid and liquid culture media obtained from grains and agricultural industry residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mara Cristina Penariol

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available A introdução de Bipolaris euphorbiae como bioagente de controle de Euphorbia heterophylla é dependente da produção de conídios em grande quantidade. No presente trabalho, objetivou-se definir meios de cultura sólidos e líquidos, obtidos de grãos ou resíduos da agroindústria, eficazes para a produção de conídios de B. euphorbiae. No preparo dos meios sólidos utilizaram-se grãos de arroz, trigo e sorgo, quirelas de arroz, milho e trigo, sorgo moído, farelos de arroz, trigo e soja, cascas de mandioca e soja, casca de mandioca + farelo de soja, bagaço de cana e bagaço de cana + amido solúvel. No preparo dos meios líquidos, utilizaram-se grãos de arroz, sorgo e trigo, quirela de milho, farelos de trigo, soja e arroz, casca de mandioca e soja, vinhaça de cana e água de prensa da mandioca. Avaliaram-se a produção e a viabilidade dos conídios e a virulência do fungo e, nos meios líquidos, também a biomassa. A produção de conídios é influenciada pelo tipo de meio de cultura, sendo acentuadamente maior nos meios sólidos, destacando-se, como substratos, o sorgo em grão (474 x 10(6 conídios g-1 e a casca de soja (472 x 10(6 conídios g-1. Dentre os meios líquidos obteve-se mais produção usando-se farelo de trigo (1,33 x 10(6 conídios mL-1. A virulência e a viabilidade de B. euphorbiae não são afetadas pelo preparo de meios sólidos ou líquidos e pela composição nutricional dos meios de cultura. Na maioria dos meios sólidos ou líquidos obteve-se viabilidade de conídios maior que 98%; apenas os conídios produzidos nos meios sólidos de quirela de arroz, casca de mandioca + farelo de soja e farelo de soja estavam com viabilidade significativamente menor.The introduction of Bipolaris euphorbiae as a bioagent for Euphorbia heterophylla control depends on fungal conidia production in large amount. This work evaluate to solid and liquid culture media obtained from grains and residues from agriculture industries

  11. Weinig VVT-instellingen met VAR : onderzoek naar VAR's in Nederland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corina de Feijter; Pieterbas Lalleman

    V&VN is op zoek gegaan naar alle actieve Verpleegkundige en/of Verzorgende Adviesraden (VAR) in Nederland. Het blijkt dat in totaal 144 zorginstellingen (24%) een VAR hebben. Vooral in de VVT-sector is het aantal VAR’s laag: 13%.

  12. Counting with Colours? Effect of Colours on the Numerical Abilities of House Crows (Corvus splendens) and Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

    OpenAIRE

    Rahman, Nor Amira Abdul; Ali, Zalila; Zuharah, Wan Fatma; Fadzly, Nik

    2016-01-01

    We conducted several aviary experiments to investigate the influence of colours in quantity judgments of two species of birds; house crow (Corvus splendens) and common myna (Acridotheres tristis). Different quantity (in seven different food proportions) of mealworms were presented nonsequentially to all birds using artificially coloured red mealworms, for experiment 1, and using artificially coloured green mealworms, for experiment 2. Both red and green coloured mealworms have no significant ...

  13. Avaliação de cultivares de soja (Glycine max (L. Merril em competição com Euphorbia heterophylla L. sob três densidades e dois períodos de ocorrência Evaluation of soybean (Glycine max (L. Merrill cultivars in competition with Euphorbia heterophylla L. in three densities and two periods of occurrence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. M. Chemale

    1982-12-01

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho, conduzido durante o ano agrícola de 1979/80 na Estação Experimental Agronômica de UFRGS, em Guaíba, RS, apresentou como objetivo testar quatro cultivares de soja (Paraná, Prata, Hood e IAS-4 quanto à sua habilidade em concorrer com Euphorbia heterophylla L. (leiteira, amendoim-bravo estabelecida em três densidades (0, 12 e 54 plan-tas/m2, em média e dois períodos de duração da competição (45 e 115 dias após a emergência da soja. Constatou-se que houve redução no rendimento de grãos de soja por efeito dos dois períodos de competição e das densidades de E. heterophylla L. referidas. Também os números de grãos e de legumes por área foram consideravelmente reduzidos pela presença da planta daninha associada ao período mais prolongado de competição. A espessura do caule e o número de nós das plantas de soja decresceram apenas sob o efeito da maior densidade da Euphorbia; entretanto, o número de ramos e o índice de área foliar, este aos 75 dias após a emergência da cultura, sofreram redução com a infestação de 12 plantas de Euphorbia por m2.A field experiment was performed at the Agronomy Experimental Station of UFRGS, in Guaíba, RS, Brazil, during the 1979/80 growing season, in order to test four soybean cultivars (Paraná, Prata, Hood e IAS-4 in competition with Euphorbia heterophylla L. established in three densities (0, 12 and 54 plants/m2 during two periods (45 and 115 days after soybean emergence. It was observed that soybean cultivars presented reduction of seed yields under the effect of the pe riods of competition and densities of Euphorbia heterophylla L. The number of seeds and pods per area were considerably reduced in the presence of the weed associated with the longest competition period. The stem diameter and number of nodes were reduced only by competition of the highest Euphorbia density; however, the number of branches and leaf area index, this after a period of 75 days

  14. New var reconstruction algorithm exposes high var sequence diversity in a single geographic location in Mali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dara, Antoine; Drábek, Elliott F; Travassos, Mark A; Moser, Kara A; Delcher, Arthur L; Su, Qi; Hostelley, Timothy; Coulibaly, Drissa; Daou, Modibo; Dembele, Ahmadou; Diarra, Issa; Kone, Abdoulaye K; Kouriba, Bourema; Laurens, Matthew B; Niangaly, Amadou; Traore, Karim; Tolo, Youssouf; Fraser, Claire M; Thera, Mahamadou A; Djimde, Abdoulaye A; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Plowe, Christopher V; Silva, Joana C

    2017-03-28

    Encoded by the var gene family, highly variable Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1) proteins mediate tissue-specific cytoadherence of infected erythrocytes, resulting in immune evasion and severe malaria disease. Sequencing and assembling the 40-60 var gene complement for individual infections has been notoriously difficult, impeding molecular epidemiological studies and the assessment of particular var elements as subunit vaccine candidates. We developed and validated a novel algorithm, Exon-Targeted Hybrid Assembly (ETHA), to perform targeted assembly of var gene sequences, based on a combination of Pacific Biosciences and Illumina data. Using ETHA, we characterized the repertoire of var genes in 12 samples from uncomplicated malaria infections in children from a single Malian village and showed them to be as genetically diverse as vars from isolates from around the globe. The gene var2csa, a member of the var family associated with placental malaria pathogenesis, was present in each genome, as were vars previously associated with severe malaria. ETHA, a tool to discover novel var sequences from clinical samples, will aid the understanding of malaria pathogenesis and inform the design of malaria vaccines based on PfEMP1. ETHA is available at: https://sourceforge.net/projects/etha/ .

  15. Delice(Olea europea var. oleaster L.) ile zeytin (Olea europea var.sativa) arasında anatomik ve palinojik ayrıcalıklar (The Anatomic And Palynological Differences Between Olea europea var. oleaster L. AND Olea europea var.sativa)

    OpenAIRE

    Kaya, Zafer

    1991-01-01

    Delice(Olea europea var. oleaster L.) ile zeytin (Olea europea var.sativa) arasında anatomik ve palinojik ayrıcalıklar (The Anatomic And Palynological Differences Between Olea europea var. oleaster L. AND Olea europea var.sativa)

  16. Antibiotic Properties of the endophytic Streptomyces Spp. Isolated from the Leaves of Myanmar Medicinal Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aye Pe; Mar Mar Nyein; Win Maung

    2002-02-01

    Three medicinal plants of Myanmar are selected in the study of endophytic microorganisms and are taxonomically classified and identified to be Sa-ba-lin (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf.), Shazaungtinga- neah (Euphorbia splendens Bojer. ex Hooker) and Ma-shaw (Sauropus grandifolius Pax. and Hoffm.). The screening of endophytic microorganisms is performed according to the ISP method (International Streptomyces Projects 1993). The morphological and physicochemical properties of isolated strains are studied and identified to be the Genus Streptomyces. The test of apparent antimicrobial activity of isolated Streptomyces is done on 18 strains of pathogenic bacteria. It is found that the isolated endophytic Sireptomyces showed the significant antibacterial activity on most of the test organisms. (author)

  17. Ingestion et digestibilité in vivo du Panicum maximum associé à trois compléments: tourteau de Jatophra curcas, tourteau de coton Gossypium hirsutum et Euphorbia heterophylla chez le cobaye Cavia porcellus L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N'G.D.V. Kouakou

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The Intake and the in vivo Digestibility of Panicum maximum Associated with Three Supplements: Jatophra curcas Cake, Gossypium hirsutum Cake and Euphorbia heterophylla (Euph in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus L.. The intake and the in vivo digestibility of Panicum maximum associated with three supplements: Jatropha curcas cake, Gossypium hirsutum cake and Euphorbia heterophylla (Euph in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus L. pigs, its association with Panicum maximum could be popularized wherever its abundance has been reported. In order used weed Euphorbia heterophylla in guinea pigs diet, comparative study of the intake and the in vivo digestibility of four treatments, Panicum maximum (Pan, Panicum maximum and Gossypium hirsutum cake (Pancoton, Panicum maximum and Euphorbia heterophylla (Paneuph and Panicum maximum and Jatropha curcas cake (Panjatro, in male guinea pigs were conducted in Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast. The means of the intake (g DM/d were 64.8 ± 12.5; 74.3 ± 12.9; 73.7 ± 17.8 and 69.1 ± 12.3 respectively for Pan, Pancoton, Paneuph and Panjatro. Pancoton and Paneuph were significantly better ingested than Pan and Panjatro. Euphorbia heterophylla was significantly better ingested than the other two supplements (P< 0.05 and the mean daily weight gain with its association with Panicum maximum of 3.1 ± 0.6 g/d. The rate of substitution of Panicum maximum by Euphorbia heterophylla was nearly to one (1. The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC for dry (68.0 ± 10.5% and organic matter (84.1 ± 5.2% of Paneuph were significantly higher (P< 0.05 than the ADC's for the other three treatments. Given the nutritional value of Euphorbia heterophylla in guinea pigs, its association with Panicum maximum could be popularized wherever its abundance has been reported.

  18. Development of a HS-SPME-GC/MS protocol assisted by chemometric tools to study herbivore-induced volatiles in Myrcia splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza Silva, Érica A; Saboia, Giovanni; Jorge, Nina C; Hoffmann, Camila; Dos Santos Isaias, Rosy Mary; Soares, Geraldo L G; Zini, Claudia A

    2017-12-01

    A headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed and optimized for extraction and analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) of leaves and galls of Myrcia splendens. Through a process of optimization of main factors affecting HS-SPME efficiency, the coating divivnilbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/Car/PDMS) was chosen as the optimum extraction phase, not only in terms of extraction efficiency, but also for its broader analyte coverage. Optimum extraction temperature was 30°C, while an extraction time of 15min provided the best compromise between extraction efficiencies of lower and higher molecular weight compounds. The optimized protocol was demonstrated to be capable of sampling plant material with high reproducibility, considering that most classes of analytes met the 20% RSD FDA criterion. The optimized method was employed for the analysis of three classes of M. splendens samples, generating a final list of 65 tentatively identified VOC, including alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, phenol derivatives, as well as mono and sesquiterpenes. Significant differences were evident amongst the volatile profiles obtained from non-galled leaves (NGL) and leaf-folding galls (LFG) of M. splendens. Several differences pertaining to amounts of alcohols and aldehydes were detected between samples, particularly regarding quantities of green leaf volatiles (GLV). Alcohols represented about 14% of compounds detected in gall samples, whereas in non-galled samples, alcohol content was below 5%. Phenolic derived compounds were virtually absent in reference samples, while in non-galled leaves and galls their content ranged around 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Likewise, methyl salicylate, a well-known signal of plant distress, amounted for 1.2% of the sample content of galls, whereas it was only present in trace levels in reference samples. Chemometric analysis based on Heatmap associated

  19. Clerodendrum splendens: a potential source of antimicrobials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ajaib, M.; Boota, F.

    2014-01-01

    The antimicrobial status of the bark and leaves of Clerodendrum splendens was evaluated.The inquisition had provided that the leaf and bark of the plant had exhibited maximum antimicrobial potential. The antibacterial activity was significant against S. aureus with the maximum effectiveness of 71 ± 0.6 mm displayed by the petroleum ether extracts of bark. Moreover, all the petroleum ether extracts exhibited maximum inhibitory effects against all the bacterial strains. The Gram negative strains, i.e. K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and E. coli had provided good to satisfactory results within the range of 20 ± 0.8 mm to 69 ± 0.9 mm. Excellent activities were exhibited by leaf and bark extracts against the fungal pathogens with the maximum potential displayed by the petroleum ether extracts of leaf i.e. 57 ± 0.5 mm against A. oryzae. The MIC assays were carried out to further authenticate the results obtained by zones of inhibitions. The MIC potential exhibited by Gram negative bacteria for K. pneumoniae was evaluated to be > 0.032 mg/mL while for the S. aureus was roughly evaluated to be > 0.088. Moreover, the MIC activity displayed against other Gram negative bacterial strains was reported > 0.112 ± 0.7 mg/mL for E. coli and > 0.059 ± 1.0 mg/mL for P. aeruginosa. The MIC effectiveness for the fungal strain of A. niger and A. oryzae was evaluated to be 0.118 ± 0.7 mg/mL. (author)

  20. Сhlorenchyma in stem of succulent plants from the genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.О. Kalashnyk

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The necessity of photosynthesis execution by stems causes the structural and functional changes in plants. The stems of majority of succulent plants of the genus Euphorbia L. are covered only with the epidermis for a long time. In plants of some species the palisade parenchyma can appear which can be considered as a secondary or consequential tool to perform photosynthesis function by their stems. The anatomical structure of green annual stems of 23 Euphorbia species was examined. For 12 of them the palisade parenchyma has been established. The palisade parenchyma in the stem differs from such in the leaf by cells form and size as well as cells arrangement. The presence or absence of palisade parenchyma in the primary cortex indicates the level of specialization of stem tissues to perform the assimilation function. As the degree of development of palisade parenchyma depends on the amount of solar radiation, the presence and number of palisade parenchyma does not directly confirm the adaptation to the growth in conditions of a certain degree of aridity. Its appearance is could be caused also by growth under high insolation. Undoubtedly, appearance of palisade parenchyma in the stems of stem-succulent plants is correlated with reduction of leaves and probably is consequence of this.

  1. The Effects of Temperature, Photoperiod, and Vernalization on Regrowth and Flowering Competence in Euphorbia Esula (Euphorbiaceae) Crown Buds

    Science.gov (United States)

    The herbaceous perennial weed Euphorbia esula (Euphorbiaceae) reproduces by vegetative and sexual means; characteristics that are key to its persistence and survival. In this study, we examined environmental effects on dormancy and flowering under controlled conditions to further validate field obse...

  2. Methanic fermentation of Euphorbia tirucalli, a rich and renewable vegetal biomass of the Sahel and arid zones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sow, D. [Dakar Univ. (Senegal); Depeyre, D.; Isambert, A. [Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, 92 - Chatenay-Malabry (France)

    1994-12-31

    A rich and renewable vegetal biomass is existing in Senegal. In fact Euphorbia tirucalli is a latex plant well adapted to sahelian climatic conditions, spread all along the country. In this work, methanic fermentation experimentations are made with this plant in a specific continuous fermentor named Transpaille. A 120 l biodigester was tested at 37 deg C with a piece-broken plant. The registered volumic efficiency is 0.80 l/l.d. With this interesting result, the same experiment was made with real operating conditions on a village digester in a farm. With a bioreactor of 12 m{sup 3}, incubated at ambient temperature, the obtained volumic efficiency is 0.61 l/l.d. The produced biogas of this experiment was used for food cooking and for farm milk cooling. This work shows that a vulgarization policy of the biogas way in rural conditions in Senegal is now possible with Euphorbia tirucalli. (authors). 19 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

  3. Molecular and physiological diversity among Verticillium fungicola var. fungicola and var. aleophilum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Largeteau, M.L.; Baars, J.J.P.; Savoie, J.M.

    2006-01-01

    The genetic and physiological variability of Verticillium fungicola var. aleophilum responsible for Agaricus bisporus dry bubble disease in North America is well documented but little is known about the var. fungicola affecting European crops. Variability was assessed within this variety and

  4. Functional characterization of the Hyles euphorbiae hawkmoth transcriptome reveals strong expression of phorbol ester detoxification and seasonal cold hardiness genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barth, M Benjamin; Buchwalder, Katja; Kawahara, Akito Y; Zhou, Xin; Liu, Shanlin; Krezdorn, Nicolas; Rotter, Björn; Horres, Ralf; Hundsdoerfer, Anna K

    2018-01-01

    The European spurge hawkmoth, Hyles euphorbiae (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae), has been intensively studied as a model organism for insect chemical ecology, cold hardiness and evolution of species delineation. To understand species isolation mechanisms at a molecular level, this study aims at determining genetic factors underlying two adaptive ecological trait candidates, phorbol ester (TPA) detoxification and seasonal cold acclimation. A draft transcriptome of H. euphorbiae was generated using Illumina sequencing, providing the first genomic resource for the hawkmoth subfamily Macroglossinae. RNA expression levels in tissues of experimental TPA feeding larvae and cooled pupae was compared to levels in control larvae and pupae using 26 bp RNA sequence tag libraries (DeepSuperSAGE). Differential gene expression was assessed by homology searches of the tags in the transcriptome. In total, 389 and 605 differentially expressed transcripts for detoxification and cold hardiness, respectively, could be identified and annotated with proteins. The majority (22 of 28) of differentially expressed detox transcripts of the four 'drug metabolism' enzyme groups (cytochrome P450 (CYP), carboxylesterases (CES), glutathione S-transferases (GST) and lipases) are up-regulated. Triacylglycerol lipase was significantly over proportionally annotated among up-regulated detox transcripts. We record several up-regulated lipases, GSTe2, two CESs, CYP9A21, CYP6BD6 and CYP9A17 as candidate genes for further H. euphorbiae TPA detoxification analyses. Differential gene expression of the cold acclimation treatment is marked by metabolic depression with enriched Gene Ontology terms among down-regulated transcripts almost exclusively comprising metabolism, aerobic respiration and dissimilative functions. Down-regulated transcripts include energy expensive respiratory proteins like NADH dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase and ATP synthase. Gene expression patterns show shifts in carbohydrate

  5. Phytogeographical Analysis Of Euphorbia Subgenus Esula (Euphorbiaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geltman Dmitry V.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia subg. Esula is one of four major clades within the genus. A geographical analysis of the 466 species in the subgenus is reported here. Every species was assigned to one of 29 geographical elements clustered in ten groups of elements. This geographical analysis showed that the Tethyan group (comprising nine geographical elements clearly dominates the subgenus and contains 260 species (55.79% of the total number of species. The most numerous geographical elements are Irano-Turanian (105 species and Mediterranean (85. Other significant groups of elements are Boreal (91 species, 19.54%, East Asian (40 species, 8.58%, Madrean (26 species, 5.58%, Paleotropical (23 species, 4.94% and South African (16 species, 3.43%. The area of the Tethyan floristic subkingdom is the center of the modern diversity of E. subg. Esula. It is likely that such diversity is the result of intensive speciation that took place during the Eocene–Miocene.

  6. Reactivation of HIV-1 from Latency by an Ingenol Derivative from Euphorbia Kansui

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Pengfei; Lu, Panpan; Qu, Xiying; Shen, Yinzhong; Zeng, Hanxian; Zhu, Xiaoli; Zhu, Yuqi; Li, Xian; Wu, Hao; Xu, Jianqing; Lu, Hongzhou; Ma, Zhongjun; Zhu, Huanzhang

    2017-01-01

    Cells harboring latent HIV-1 pose a major obstacle to eradication of the virus. The ?shock and kill? strategy has been broadly explored to purge the latent reservoir; however, none of the current latency-reversing agents (LRAs) can safely and effectively activate the latent virus in patients. In this study, we report an ingenol derivative called EK-16A, isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Euphorbia kansui, which displays great potential in reactivating latent HIV-1. A compari...

  7. Euphorbia latex: a possible source of hydrocarbons and rubber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Viaud, P; Teisseire, D

    1975-01-01

    Illustrated descriptions are given of 36 plants of potential economic value in underdeveloped tropical countries, classified by use. The plants are either wild or cultivated on a fairly local scale. Accounts of limitations and special requirements and lists of references, research contacts and sources of germ plasm are included for each species. The following tree and shrub species are included: Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, C. chayamansa and hearts of several edible palm species including Euterpe edulis (vegetables); Durio species, Garcinia mangostana, Solanum quitoense, Bactris gaspiaes, Citrus grandis, Annona muricata and Pourouma cecropiaefolia (fruits); Orbignya martiana, Caryocar species, Jessenia polycarpa and Simmondsia chinensis (oil seeds); Acacia albida, Brosimum alicastrum, Cassia sturtii, Atriplex species and Prosopis tamarungo (forage (browse)); Mauritia flexuosa (fruit, wood, etc.); Euphorbia antisyphilitica (wax); and Parthenium argentatum (rubber).

  8. DNA barcoding in a biodiversity hot spot: potential value for the identification of Malagasy Euphorbia L. listed in CITES Appendices I and II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubriot, Xavier; Lowry, Porter P; Cruaud, Corinne; Couloux, Arnaud; Haevermans, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    The island of Madagascar is a key hot spot for the genus Euphorbia, with at least 170 native species, almost all endemic. Threatened by habitat loss and illegal collection of wild plants, nearly all Malagasy Euphorbia are listed in CITES Appendices I and II. The absence of a reliable taxonomic revision makes it particularly difficult to identify these plants, even when fertile, and thereby compromises the application of CITES regulations. DNA barcoding, which can facilitate species-level identification irrespective of developmental stage and the presence of flowers or fruits, may be a promising tool for monitoring and controlling trade involving threatened species. In this study, we test the potential value of barcoding on 41 Euphorbia species representative of the genus in Madagascar, using the two widely adopted core barcode markers (matK and rbcL), along with two additional DNA regions, nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the chloroplastic intergenic spacer psbA-trnH. For each marker and for selected marker combinations, inter- and intraspecific distance estimates and species discrimination rates are calculated. Results using just the 'official' barcoding markers yield overlapping inter- and intraspecific ranges and species discrimination rates below 60%. When ITS is used, whether alone or in combination with the core markers, species discrimination increases to nearly 100%, whereas the addition of psbA-trnH produces less satisfactory results. This study, the first ever to test barcoding on the large, commercially important genus Euphorbia shows that this method could be developed into a powerful identification tool and thereby contribute to more effective application of CITES regulations. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Cytotoxicity of latex and pharmacobotanical study of leaves and stem of Euphorbia umbellata (Janaúba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lívia E.C. Luz

    Full Text Available AbstractIn southern Brazil, the bottled latex of Synadenium grantii Hook f., Euphorbiaceae, is popularly used as a treatment of all types of cancer. Similarly, Synadenium umbellatum Pax. is used in the central western region of Brazil for the same purpose and in the same manner of use. Both plants are popularly known as janaúba or leitosinha. The objectives of this study were to use pharmacobotanical analysis to verify whether these two species, which are considered to be distinct, are actually the same to determine anatomical markers; to assist in the identification and differentiation of other Euphorbia; and to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of the latex in relation to HeLa and HRT-18 cells. Leaves and stems of the species were collected in Goiânia and Ponta Grossa and were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy techniques. The latex was also collected and analyzed in relation to its cytotoxic effect by employing MTT and NR techniques. The pharmacobotanical study of the specimens in both localities showed that they were the same species, namely Euphorbia umbellata (Pax Bruyns, which is the scientific nomenclature accepted and confirmed by an expert taxonomist who specializes in Euphorbia. The pharmacobotanical characteristics highlighted in this study can assist in the identification of the taxon and contribute to the control of the quality of this plant drug. The evaluation of the latex in relation to HRT-18 cells demonstrated action after 48 h of experiment. In contrast, in relation to HeLa cells its induced cytotoxicity in all times and a dose-dependent manner. The IC50 values (72 h observed were 252.58 ± 18.51 µg/ml and 263.42 ± 15.92 µg/ml to MTT experiment and 250.18 ± 19.48 µg/ml and 430.56 ± 19.71 µg/ml to NR experiment for the HeLa and HRT-18 cells, respectively.

  10. Taxonomical studies on endemic scorzonera pygmaea var. pygmaea and var. nutans stat. nov. (asteraceae) from turkey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyuncu, O.; Kus, G.

    2014-01-01

    The taxonomic status of Scorzonera pygmaea var. pygmaea and var. nutans belonging to the tribe. cichoreae (Asteraceae). S. pygmaea samples were collected from Arayit mountain. We suggest that these two subspecies should be classified as varietes because of their morphological and anatomical characteristics, ecological and geographical similarities. Moreover being together in the same localities of these under species taxa supports our opinion, i.e. S. pygmaea Sibth. and Sm. var. pygmaea stat. nov. and S. pygmaea Sibth. and Sm. var. nutans (Czeczott) O. Koyuncu and Yaylac, stat. nov. (author)

  11. Analysis list: Su(var)205 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Su(var)205 Adult,Embryo,Larvae + dm3 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3.../target/Su(var)205.1.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/target/Su(var)205.5.tsv http://dbarc...hive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/target/Su(var)205.10.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/c...olo/Su(var)205.Adult.tsv,http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/colo/Su(var)205.Embryo.tsv,http:...//dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/colo/Su(var)205.Larvae.tsv http://dbarchive

  12. Competencia de lecheron (Euphorbia dentata en soja Competition of spurge toothed (Euphorbia dentata in soybean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.F. Juan

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia dentata es una maleza anual, de ciclo primavero - estival que está presente en el 85% del área agrícola del partido de Azul, Pcia Buenos Aires Argentina, con densidades que oscilan entre 20 a 200 plantas m-2. Estudios en campo fueron conducidos durante dos años para determinar la relación de competencia entre soja y E. dentata a través de la evaluación del efecto de distintas densidades de la maleza sobre los componentes del rendimiento del cultivo y su biomasa. El peso seco y rendimiento de soja mostraron una respuesta dependiente de la densidad y de la biomasa de la maleza, siendo reducidos al 80% por la interferencia a partir de la densidad de 20 plantas m-2. En el rango de densidades estudiadas se observó una respuesta lineal que fue ajustada a una ecuación de regresión que indica que la producción de semillas de soja decrece 6,73 kg ha-1 por el incremento de cada planta m-2 de E. dentata. De los componentes del rendimiento del cultivo, el número de vainas por planta fue el más severamente afectado por la competencia obteniéndose reducciones del 40% respecto del tratamiento sin maleza. Altos niveles de correlación fueron observados entre el rendimiento de soja, el número de vainas por planta y el peso de 1.000 semillas (98 y 85% respectivamente.Euphorbia dentata is a spring-summer annual weed first detected in Azul Co., Buenos Aires Province, Argentina., in 1983, in an isolated soybean crop spot crops. It is now found as a weed in 85 % of the cropland, with densities ranging from 20 to 200 plants m-2. Two year- field studies were conducted to determine the competition relationship between soybean and E. dentata. The effect of different weed densities was evaluated on yield parameters and biomass. Both soybean dry weight and yield gave a significant response to weed density and biomass, resulting in a reduction of 80% due to interference starting at a density of 20 plants m². It was determined that E. dentata has a

  13. 4D-Var Developement at GMAO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelc, Joanna S.; Todling, Ricardo; Akkraoui, Amal El

    2014-01-01

    The Global Modeling and Assimilation Offce (GMAO) is currently using an IAU-based 3D-Var data assimilation system. GMAO has been experimenting with a 3D-Var-hybrid version of its data assimilation system (DAS) for over a year now, which will soon become operational and it will rapidly progress toward a 4D-EnVar. Concurrently, the machinery to exercise traditional 4DVar is in place and it is desirable to have a comparison of the traditional 4D approach with the other available options, and evaluate their performance in the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) DAS. This work will also explore the possibility for constructing a reduced order model (ROM) to make traditional 4D-Var computationally attractive for increasing model resolutions. Part of the research on ROM will be to search for a suitably acceptable space to carry on the corresponding reduction. This poster illustrates how the IAU-based 4D-Var assimilation compares with our currently used IAU-based 3D-Var.

  14. FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY IN THE OTOLITH WIDTH AND LENGTH OF ADULT TELEOST (Beryx splendens LOWE, 1834 (FAMILY: BERCIDAE COLLECTED FROM THE ARABIAN SEA COASTS OF SULTANATE OF OMAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.K. Albusaidi

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Fluctuating asymmetry was described for the otolith width and length of adult teleost Beryx splendens. The results showed that the level of asymmetry of the otolith width was the highest among the two asymmetry values obtained for the otolith of B. splendens. For the otolith width character, the results showed that the level of asymmetry at its highest value in fish ranging in length between 191–200 mm and in its lowest value in fish ranging in length between 121–180 mm. For the otolith length, the highest value of asymmetry is noticed in fish ranging in length between 231–244 mm and the lowest value in fish within the length of 121–190 mm. The possible cause of the asymmetry in this species has been discussed in relation to different pollutants and their presence in the area. No trend of increase in the asymmetry values with the fish length was noticed for the otolith width, but there is a weak trend of increase with the fish length in case of otolith length character.

  15. Biological parameters and thermal requirements of the parasitoid Praon volucre (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) as host

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Conti, De B.F.; Bueno, V.H.P.; Sampaio, M.V.; Lenteren, van J.C.

    2011-01-01

    The effect of temperature on the biology of Praon volucre (Haliday, 1833) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas, 1878) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) hosts was studied and the thermal requirements of the parasitoid were determined. Experiments were carried out at 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28

  16. New prediction for the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilon prime/var-epsilon and the ΔI=1/2 rule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yue-Liang

    2001-01-01

    The low-energy dynamics of QCD is investigated with special attention paid to the matching between QCD and chiral perturbation theory (ChPT), and also to some useful algebraic chiral operator relations which survive even when we include chiral loop corrections. It then allows us to evaluate the hadronic matrix elements below the energy scale Λ χ ≅1GeV. Based on the new analyses, we present a consistent prediction for both the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon and the ΔI=1/2 rule in kaon decays. In the leading 1/N c approximation, the isospin amplitudes A 0 and A 2 are found to agree well with the data, and the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon is predicted to be large, which also confirms our earlier conclusion. Its numerical value is var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon=23.6 -7.8 +12.4 x10 -4 (Imλ t /= 1.2x10 -4 ) which is no longer sensitive to the strange quark mass due to the matching conditions. Taking into account a simultaneous consistent analysis on the isospin amplitudes A 0 and A 2 , the ratio var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon is in favor of the values var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon=(20±9)x10 -4

  17. Survival and infectivity of Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis and var. hominis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arlian, L G; Runyan, R A; Achar, S; Estes, S A

    1984-08-01

    Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis served as a suitable model for the study of S. scabiei var. hominis survival. S. scabiei var. canis and var. hominis mites were found to survive off the host for 24 to 36 hours at room conditions (21 degrees C and 40% to 80% relative humidity [RH]), and the canine variety survived 19 days at 10 degrees C and 97% RH. Female mites survived decidedly longer than male mites at comparable conditions. Generally, higher RH values and lower temperatures favored survival, whereas higher temperature and lower RH led to early death. Most canine scabies mites that were held off the host for 36 hours at 75% RH and 22 degrees to 24 degrees C remained infective and penetrated when returned to the host. Live mites of the human variety that were recovered from bed linen slept on by infested patients would also penetrate a host after being held off a host for 96 hours in alternating 12-hour periods of room conditions and refrigeration. Penetration required less than 30 minutes for all life stages of both varieties, and it was accomplished by a mite secretion that dissolved the host tissue. Dislodged mites, particularly those in close proximity to the source, can be a likely source of infestation.

  18. Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dispenza, V.; Pasquale, C. de; Fascella, G.; Mammano, M.M.; Alonzo, G.

    2016-01-01

    Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia × lomi Rauh cv. ‘Ilaria’ were grown with different mixtures (v:v) of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants.

  19. Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincenzo Dispenza

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia × lomi Rauh cv. ‘Ilaria’ were grown with different mixtures (v:v of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants.

  20. Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dispenza, V.; Pasquale, C. de; Fascella, G.; Mammano, M.M.; Alonzo, G.

    2016-07-01

    Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia × lomi Rauh cv. ‘Ilaria’ were grown with different mixtures (v:v) of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants.

  1. Extraction, isolation and identification of flavonoid from Euphorbia neriifolia leaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veena Sharma

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The flavonoids contained in Euphorbia neriifolia leaves were extracted, identified and characterized. Direct and sequential soxhlet extraction and its concentrated fractions were subjected to thin layer chromatography and high performance thin layer chromatography. The results showed that maximum yield of the flavonoid (6.53 g was obtained from ethanolic extract. The Rf value of isolated flavonoid and phytochemical screening has been compared with standard Quercetin. Characterization of isolated flavonoid was done by IR, 1H NMR, and MS. On the basis of chemical and spectral analysis structure was elucidated as 2-(3,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-phenyl-3,5-dihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxychromen-4-one, a flavonoid. This compound was isolated for the first time from this plant.

  2. In vitro growth inhibition and cytotoxicity of Euphorbia caducifolia against four human cancer cell lines and its phytochemical characterisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bano, Shaista; Siddiqui, Bina Shaheen; Farooq, Ahsana Dar; Begum, Sabira; Siddiqui, Faheema; Kashif, Muhammad; Azhar, Mudassar

    2017-12-01

    Several Euphorbia species have been used in folklore as cancer remedies, however, scientific studies on the cytotoxicity (in vitro studies) of Euphorbia caducifolia are lacking. In present study, anticancer potential of E. caducifolia aerial parts ethanol extract and its fractions were evaluated against human lung (NCI-H460), breast (MCF-7), prostate (PC-3) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines, using sulphorhodamine-B in vitro cytotoxicity (in vitro studies) assay. The ethanol extract demonstrated growth inhibitory effect against all aforementioned cancer cell lines with IC 50 , 19-135 μg/mL and LC 50 , ~220 μg/mL, and its petroleum ether fraction obtained on bioactivity guided fraction showed highest activity with IC 50 , 28-70 μg/mL and LC 50 , 71 μg/mL against NCI-H460 and MCF-7 cell lines. Its phytochemicals were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The present study provides scientific justification for its traditional use against cancer.

  3. Effects of nitrate on the diurnal vertical migration, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and the photosynthetic capacity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium splendens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cullen, J.J.; Horrigan, S.G.

    1981-01-01

    A non-thecate dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium splendens, was studied in a 12 d laboratory experiment in 2.0 x 0.25 m containers in which light, temperature, and nutrients could be manipulated. Under a 12 h light:12 h dark cycle, the dinoflagellates exhibited diurnal vertical migrations, swimming downward before the dark period began and upward before the end of the dark period. This vertical migration probably involved geotaxis and a diel rhythm, as well as light-mediated behavior. The vertical distribution of nitrate affected the behavior and physiology of the dinoflagellate. When nitrate was present throughout the container, the organisms resembled those in exponential batch culture both in C:N ratios and photosynthetic capacity (P/sub max/); moreover, they migrated to the surface during the day. In contrast, when nitrate was depleted, C:N ratios increased, P/sub max/ decreased, and the organisms formed a subsurface layer at a depth corresponding to the light level at which photosynthesis saturated. When nitrate was present only at the bottom of the tank, C:N ratios of the population decreased until similar to those of nutrient-saturated cells and P/sub max/ increased; however, the dinoflagellates behaved the same as nutient-depleted cells, forming a subsurface layer during the light period. Field measurements revealed a migratory subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer dominated by G. splendens. It was just above the nitracline during the day, and in the nitracline during the night, which concurs with our laboratory observations.

  4. Isolated or combined application of diuron, oxyfluorfen and prometryn for Euphorbia heterophylla control

    OpenAIRE

    Oliveira JR, R.S; Carneiro, J.C; Constantin, J; Santos, G; Martini, P.E; Francischini, A.C; Osipe, J.B

    2011-01-01

    A aplicação em pré-emergência no início do ciclo do algodoeiro é prática consagrada entre os produtores. Embora os herbicidas diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne sejam opções para uso nessa cultura, há informações limitadas referentes à eficácia desses herbicidas no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar a curva de dose-resposta de diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne para o controle de E. heterophylla, bem como analisar a eficiência biológica de misturas ...

  5. Identification and characterization of Euphorbia nivulia latex proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badgujar, Shamkant B; Mahajan, Raghunath T

    2014-03-01

    The protein profile of latex of Euphorbia nivulia Buch.-Ham. is established. Three new proteins viz., Nivulian-I, II and III have been purified to homogeneity from the latex. The relative molecular masses of Nivulian-I, II and III are 31,486.985, 43,670.846 and 52,803.470 Da respectively. Nivulian-I is a simple type of protein while Nivulian-II and III are glycoproteins. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed peptides of these proteins match with Tubulin alpha-1 chain of Eleusine indica, Maturase K of Banksia quercifolia and hypothetical protein of Zea mays respectively. Tryptic digestion profile of Nivulian-I, II and III, infer the exclusive nature of latex origin proteins and may be new and are additive molecules in the dictionaries of phytoproteins or botany. This is the first of its kind, regarding characterization and validation of Nivulian-I, II and III with respect to peptide sequencing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Teucrium pruinosum var. aksarayense var. nov. (Lamiaceae from Central Anatolia, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhittin Dinç

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Teucrium pruinosum var. aksarayense M. Dinç & S. Doğu (Lamiaceae, a new variety from Aksaray in Central Anatolia, is described and illustrated. The new variety is similar to the typical one in its calyx teeth uncinate at tip and subequal to the tube with conspicious midvein. It is readily distinguished from var. pruinosum by its general appearance, indumentum, and floral organ pigmentation. The map showing the distributions of the varieties was given.

  7. Diminished UV-absorbing nets reduce the Spreads and population density of Macrosiphum euphorbiae in lettuce.

    OpenAIRE

    Legarrea, S.; Díaz, B. M.; Plaza, M.; Barrios, L.; Morales, Ignacio; Viñuela Sandoval, Elisa; Fereres Castiel, Alberto

    2012-01-01

    UV-absorbing covers reduce the incidence of injurious insect pests and viruses in protected crops. In the present study, the effect of a UV-absorbing net (Bionet) on the spatio-temporal dynamics of the potato aphid on lettuce plants was evaluated. A field experiment was conducted during three seasons in two identical tunnels divided in four plots. A set of lettuce plants were artificially infested with Macrosiphum euphorbiae adults and the population was estimated by counting aphids on ev...

  8. POTENSI ANTIMIKROBIA KRIM EKSTRAK RANTING PATAH TULANG (Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. TERHADAP Propionibacterium acnes ATCC 11827 DAN Candida albicans ATCC 24433

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melina Scandinovita Setiorini

    2016-04-01

    extracts with cream for testing Candida albicans.The final results were 10% test extract had MIC to Propionibacterium acnes and 6% test extract had MIC in cream to Candida albicans. Keywords: Euphorbia tirucalli L., DMSO, Thymol, antimicrobial potency, cream (o/w, Propionibacterium acnes, Candida albicans

  9. Uncertain population dynamic and state variables of alfonsino (Beryx splendens Dinámica poblacional incierta y variables de estado en alfonsino (Beryx splendens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Wiff

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Alfonsino (Beryx splendens is a species associated with seamounts, with an important fishery in Juan Fernandez archipelago, Chile (33°40'S, 79°00'W. Since 2004, this resource has been managed by catch quotas estimated from stock assessment models. The alfonsino model involves high levels of uncertainty for several reasons including a lack of knowledge of aspects of the population dynamics and poorly informative time-series that feed the proposed evaluation models. This work evaluated three hypotheses regarding population dynamics and their influence on the main state variables (biomass, recruitment of the model using age-structured and dynamic biomass models. The hypotheses corresponded to de-recruitment of older individuals, non-linearity between standardized catch per unit effort, and population abundance as well as variations of the relative importance of length structures. According to the results, the depletion of the spawning biomass between 1998 and 2008 varied between 9 and 56%, depending on the combination of hypotheses used in the model. This indicates that state variables in alfonsino are not robust to the available information; rather, they depend strongly on the hypothesis of population dynamics. The discussion is focused on interpreting the causes of the changes in the state variables in light of a conceptual model for population dynamics in alfonsino and which pieces of information would be necessary to reduce the associated uncertainty.El alfonsino (Beryx splendens es una especie asociada a montes submarinos. En Chile sustenta una importante pesquería en el archipiélago de Juan Fernández (33°40'S, 79°00'W. Desde el año 2004, este recurso es administrado a través de cuotas anuales de capturas, las cuales son estimadas desde un modelo de evaluación de stock. La modelación de la población de alfonsino se caracteriza por una alta incertidumbre, debido a diversas fuentes, como son desconocimiento de aspectos de su din

  10. Hvem var morderen?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lene Vinther

    2014-01-01

    Folkemindesamleren og forfatteren Helene Strange (1874-1943) skrev flere gange om et giftmord på en præst på Nordfalster i 1755. Hun satte spørgsmålstegn ved højesteretsdommen og hævdede, at en uskyldig pige blev dømt, mens den virkelige morder slap fri. Det var folkets uskrevne dom, som i over...... hundrede år var blevet fortalt mundtligt videre på egnen, og hun forsøgte – med forskellige midler – at få bragt denne version af historien frem i offentligheden....

  11. Biomimetic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Endosymbiotic Bacterium Inhabiting Euphorbia hirta L. and Their Bactericidal Potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baker Syed

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present investigation aims to evaluate biomimetic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using endophytic bacterium EH 419 inhabiting Euphorbia hirta L. The synthesized nanoparticles were initially confirmed with change in color from the reaction mixture to brown indicating the synthesis of nanoparticles. Further confirmation was achieved with the characteristic absorption peak at 440 nm using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were subjected to biophysical characterization using hyphenated techniques. The possible role of biomolecules in mediating the synthesis was depicted with FTIR analysis. Further crystalline nature of synthesized nanoparticles was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD with prominent diffraction peaks at 2θ which can be indexed to the (111, (200, (220, and (311 reflections of face centered cubic structure (fcc of metallic silver. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM revealed morphological characteristics of synthesized silver nanoparticles to be polydisperse in nature with size ranging from 10 to 60 nm and different morphological characteristics such as spherical, oval, hexagonal, and cubic shapes. Further silver nanoparticles exhibited bactericidal activity against panel of significant pathogenic bacteria among which Pseudomonas aeruginosa was most sensitive compared to other pathogens. To the best of our knowledge, present study forms first report of bacterial endophyte inhabiting Euphorbia hirta L. in mediating synthesizing silver nanoparticles.

  12. Identification of Phenolic Compounds and Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Euphorbia Tirucalli L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keline Medeiros de Araújo

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Bioactive compounds extracted from natural sources can benefit human health. The aim of this work was to determine total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in extracts of Euphorbia tirucalli L. followed by identification and quantification of the phenolic compounds, as well as their antibacterial activities. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH and ABTS•+ assay. Identification of phenolic compounds was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, and antimicrobial activities were verified by agar dilution methods and MIC values. Total phenolic content ranged from 7.73 to 30.54 mg/100 g gallic acid equivalent. Extracts from dry plants showed higher antioxidant activities than those from fresh ones. The DPPH EC50 values were approximately 12.15 μg/mL and 16.59 μg/mL, respectively. Antioxidant activity measured by the ABTS method yielded values higher than 718.99 μM trolox/g for dry plants, while by the Rancimat® system yielded protection factors exceeding 1 for all extracts, comparable to synthetic BHT. Ferulic acid was the principal phenolic compound identified and quantified through HPLC-UV in all extracts. The extracts proved effective inhibitory potential for Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. These results showed that extracts of Euphorbia tirucalli L. have excellent antioxidant capacity and moderate antimicrobial activity. These can be attributed to the high concentration of ferulic acid.

  13. Myrcia splendens (Sw. DC. (syn. M. fallax (Rich. DC. (Myrtaceae Essential Oil from Amazonian Ecuador: A Chemical Characterization and Bioactivity Profile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Scalvenzi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we performed the chemical characterization of Myrcia splendens (Sw. DC. (Myrtaceae essential oil from Amazonian Ecuador and the assessment of its bioactivity in terms of cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity as starting point for possible applicative uses. M. splendens essential oil, obtained by hydro-distillation, was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS and Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID: the major components were found to be trans-nerolidol (67.81% and α-bisabolol (17.51%. Furthermore, we assessed the cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 (breast, A549 (lung human tumor cell lines, and HaCaT (human keratinocytes non-tumor cell line through 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT test: promising results in terms of selectivity and efficacy against the MCF-7 cell line (IC50 of 5.59 ± 0.13 μg/mL at 48 h were obtained, mainly due to α-bisabolol. Furthermore, antibacterial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria were performed through High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC bioautographic assay and microdilution method: trans-nerolidol and β-cedren-9-one were the main molecules responsible for the low antibacterial effects against human pathogens. Nevertheless, interesting values of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC were noticeable against phytopathogen strains. Radical scavenging activity performed by HPTLC bioautographic and spectrophotometric 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH approaches were negligible. In conclusion, the essential oil revealed a good potential for plant defense and anti-cancer applications.

  14. The Vibrio cholerae var regulon encodes a metallo-β-lactamase and an antibiotic efflux pump, which are regulated by VarR, a LysR-type transcription factor.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Ting Victor Lin

    Full Text Available The genome sequence of V. cholerae O1 Biovar Eltor strain N16961 has revealed a putative antibiotic resistance (var regulon that is predicted to encode a transcriptional activator (VarR, which is divergently transcribed relative to the putative resistance genes for both a metallo-β-lactamase (VarG and an antibiotic efflux-pump (VarABCDEF. We sought to test whether these genes could confer antibiotic resistance and are organised as a regulon under the control of VarR. VarG was overexpressed and purified and shown to have β-lactamase activity against penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, having the highest activity against meropenem. The expression of VarABCDEF in the Escherichia coli (ΔacrAB strain KAM3 conferred resistance to a range of drugs, but most significant resistance was to the macrolide spiramycin. A gel-shift analysis was used to determine if VarR bound to the promoter regions of the resistance genes. Consistent with the regulation of these resistance genes, VarR binds to three distinct intergenic regions, varRG, varGA and varBC located upstream and adjacent to varG, varA and varC, respectively. VarR can act as a repressor at the varRG promoter region; whilst this repression was relieved upon addition of β-lactams, these did not dissociate the VarR/varRG-DNA complex, indicating that the de-repression of varR by β-lactams is indirect. Considering that the genomic arrangement of VarR-VarG is strikingly similar to that of AmpR-AmpC system, it is possible that V. cholerae has evolved a system for resistance to the newer β-lactams that would prove more beneficial to the bacterium in light of current selective pressures.

  15. VaR Methodology Application for Banking Currency Portfolios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Armeanu

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available VaR has become the standard measure that financial analysts use to quantify market risk. VaR measures can have many applications, such as in risk management, to evaluate the performance of risk takers and for regulatory requirements, and hence it is very important to develop methodologies that provide accurate estimates. In particular, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision at the Bank for International Settlements imposes to financial institutions such as banks and investment firms to meet capital requirements based on VaR estimates. In this paper we determine VaR for a banking currency portfolio and respect rules of National Bank of Romania regarding VaR report.

  16. Selected Enzyme Inhibitory Effects of Euphorbia characias Extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonella Fais

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Extracts of aerial part of Euphorbia characias were examined to check potential inhibitors for three selected enzymes involved in several metabolic disorders. Water and ethanol extracts from leaves and flowers showed in vitro inhibitory activity toward α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and xanthine oxidase. IC50 values were calculated for all the extracts and the ethanolic extracts were found to exert the best effect. In particular, for the α-glucosidase activity, the extracts resulted to be 100-fold more active than the standard inhibitor. The inhibition mode was investigated by Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis. E. characias extracts display different inhibition behaviors toward the three enzymes acting as uncompetitive, noncompetitive, and mixed-type inhibitors. Moreover, ethanolic extracts of E. characias showed no cytotoxic activity and exhibited antioxidant capacity in a cellular model. The LC-DAD metabolic profile was also performed and it showed that leaves and flowers extracts contain high levels of quercetin derivatives. The results suggest that E. characias could be a promising source of natural inhibitors of the enzymes involved in carbohydrate uptake disorders and oxidative stress.

  17. Impact of black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) on a local population of Euphorbia bothae in the Great Fish River Reserve, South Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luske, B.L.; Mertens, T.; Lent, P.C.; Boer, de W.F.; Prins, H.H.T.

    2009-01-01

    In the Great Fish River Reserve, South Africa, black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) feed extensively on a local population of Euphorbia bothae. Maintaining the endangered black rhinoceros and the protected E. bothae population are both conservation priorities of the reserve. Therefore, the

  18. [Physiological characteristics of Pinus densiflora var. zhangwuensis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings on sandy lands under salt-alkali stresses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Peng; Li, Yu-Ling; Zhang, Bai-xi

    2013-02-01

    For the popularization of Pinus densiflora var. zhangwuensis, a new afforestation tree species on the desertified and salinized-alkalized lands in Northern China, and to evaluate the salinity-alkalinity tolerance of the tree species and to better understand the tolerance mechanisms, a pot experiment with 4-year old P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis and P. sylvestris var. mongolica was conducted to study their seedlings growth and physiological and biochemical indices under the effects of three types salt (NaCl, Na2CO3, and NaHCO3 ) stresses and of alkali (NaOH) stress. Under the salt-alkali stresses, the injury level of P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis was lower, and the root tolerance index was higher. The leaf catalase (CAT) activity increased significantly by 22. 6 times at the most, as compared with the control; the leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) content had no significant increase; the leaf chlorophyll (Chl) content had a smaller decrement; and the leaf water content (LWC) increased slightly. P. sylvestris var. mongolica responded differently to the salt-alkali stresses. Its leaf CAT activity had less change, MDA content increased significantly, Chl content had significant decrease, and LWC decreased slightly. It was suggested that P. densi-flora var. zhangwuensis had a greater salinity-alkalinity tolerance than P. sylvestris var. mongolica. The higher iron concentration in P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis needles enhanced the CAT activity and Chl content, whereas the higher concentrations of zinc and copper were associated with the stronger salinity-alkalinity tolerance.

  19. dbVar

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — dbVar is a database of genomic structural variation. It accepts data from all species and includes clinical data. It can accept diverse types of events, including...

  20. Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts from Leaves, Stems and Flowers of Euphorbia macroclada against plant pathogenic fungi

    OpenAIRE

    K. Al-Mughrabi

    2003-01-01

    Extracts drawn from dried and powdered flowers, stems and leaves of Euphorbia macroclada with some organic solvents were tested for antimicrobial effect against the fungi Verticillium dahliae, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Stemphylium solani, Cladosporium sp., Mucor sp., and Pythium sp. The strongest inhibitory effect of the extracts was observed against R. solani, V. dahliae, F. oxysporum, Pythium sp. and R. ...

  1. Paulus var kristendommens Lenin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thyssen, Ole

    2017-01-01

    En af Luthers inspirationskilder var Paulus, hvis løsning på lokale problemer fik globale konsekvenser. Han trak en skarp grænse mellem det snavsede kød og den rene sjæl og mellem vantro og tro.......En af Luthers inspirationskilder var Paulus, hvis løsning på lokale problemer fik globale konsekvenser. Han trak en skarp grænse mellem det snavsede kød og den rene sjæl og mellem vantro og tro....

  2. B. oleracea var. capitata monosomic and disomic alien

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Five monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs) of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis – B. oleracea var. capitata were obtained by hybridization and backcrossing between B. rapa ssp. pekinensis (female parent) and B. oleracea var. capitata. The alien linkage groups were identified using 42 B. oleracea var. capitata linkage ...

  3. Quantitative Analysis of Ingenol in Euphorbia species via Validated Isotope Dilution Ultra-high Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Béres, T.; Dragull, K.; Pospíšil, Jiří; Tarkowská, Danuše; Dančák, M.; Bíba, Ondřej; Tarkowski, P.; Doležal, K.; Strnad, Miroslav

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 29, č. 1 (2018), s. 23-29 ISSN 0958-0344 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-14007S; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1204 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : Euphorbia genus * ingenol * isotope-dilution method * mass spectrometry * ultra-high performance liquid chromatography Subject RIV: FD - Oncology ; Hematology OBOR OECD: Analytical chemistry Impact factor: 2.292, year: 2016

  4. Da Danmark var en slavenation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peters, Rikke Louise Alberg; Brunbech, Peter Johan Yding; Poulsen, Jens Aage

    I mere end 250 år var Danmark en stor kolonimagt. Skt. Jan, Skt. Thomas og Skt. Croix, eller U.S. Virgin Islands, som de kaldes i dag, var danske kolonier, hvor der bl.a. blev dyrket sukkerrør og bomuld. Det hårde arbejde blev udført af slaver, som man fra slutningen af 1600-tallet begyndte at tr...

  5. ESTIMASI NILAI VaR PORTOFOLIO MENGGUNAKAN FUNGSI ARCHIMEDEAN COPULA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AULIA ATIKA PRAWIBTA SUHARTO

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Value at Risk explains the magnitude of the worst losses occurred in financial products investments with a certain level of confidence and time interval. The purpose of this study is to estimate the VaR of portfolio using Archimedean Copula family. The methods for calculating the VaR are as follows: (1 calculating the stock return; (2 calculating descriptive statistics of return; (3 checking for the nature of autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity effects on stock return data; (4 checking for the presence of extreme value by using Pareto tail; (5 estimating the parameters of Achimedean Copula family; (6 conducting simulations of Archimedean Copula; (7 estimating the value of the stock portfolio VaR. This study uses the closing price of TLKM and GGRM. At 90% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 0.9562%, 1.0189%, 0.9827% respectively. At 95% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 1.2930%, 1.2522%, 1.3152% respectively. At 99% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 2.0327%, 1.9164%, is 1.8678% respectively. In conclusion estimation of VaR using Clayton copula yields the highest VaR.

  6. Over de verspreiding binnen Nederland van Bidens connata var. fallax (Warnst.) Sherf en var. anomala Farw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ballintijn, Koos (J.) F.

    1997-01-01

    On the basis of recent observations and study of herbarium material it might tentatively be concluded that var. anomala (with erecto-patent barb hairs on achenes as well as on the bristles) is becoming more common since 1954 and might be locally replacing the hitherto more common var. fallax (with

  7. Antifungal and antioxidant activities of mature leaves of Myrcia splendens (Sw. DC.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. C. Pontes

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In recent years, natural products with antifungal and antioxidant activities are being increasingly researched for a more sustainable alternative to the chemicals currently used for the same purpose. The plant pathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata is a causative agent of diseases in citrus, leading to huge economic losses. Antioxidants are important for the production of medicines for various diseases that may be related to the presence of free radicals, such as cancer, and in the cosmetic industry as an anti-aging agent and the food industry as preservatives. This study evaluated the antifungal and antioxidant potential of extracts of mature leaves of Myrcia splendens, a tree species that occurs in the Brazilian Cerrado. The antioxidant potential was analyzed by an assay of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging method, and the antifungal activity was assessed through the evaluation of mycelial growth. Majority of the extracts exhibited a strong antioxidant activity, especially the acetonic extract (4A. The antioxidant activity may be related to the presence of phenolic compounds. However, the extracts showed no inhibitory activity of mycelial growth of the fungus tested, with the exception of dichloromethanic extract (2B, which had an inhibitory effect (10.2% at the end of testing.

  8. Molecular characterization and prevalence of two capulaviruses: Alfalfa leaf curl virus from France and Euphorbia caput-medusae latent virus from South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardo, Pauline; Muhire, Brejnev; François, Sarah; Deshoux, Maëlle; Hartnady, Penelope; Farkas, Kata; Kraberger, Simona; Filloux, Denis; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Galzi, Serge; Ferdinand, Romain; Granier, Martine; Marais, Armelle; Monge Blasco, Pablo; Candresse, Thierry; Escriu, Fernando; Varsani, Arvind; Harkins, Gordon W; Martin, Darren P; Roumagnac, Philippe

    2016-06-01

    Little is known about the prevalence, diversity, evolutionary processes, genomic structures and population dynamics of viruses in the divergent geminivirus lineage known as the capulaviruses. We determined and analyzed full genome sequences of 13 Euphorbia caput-medusae latent virus (EcmLV) and 26 Alfalfa leaf curl virus (ALCV) isolates, and partial genome sequences of 23 EcmLV and 37 ALCV isolates. While EcmLV was asymptomatic in uncultivated southern African Euphorbia caput-medusae, severe alfalfa disease symptoms were associated with ALCV in southern France. The prevalence of both viruses exceeded 10% in their respective hosts. Besides using patterns of detectable negative selection to identify ORFs that are probably functionally expressed, we show that ALCV and EcmLV both display evidence of inter-species recombination and biologically functional genomic secondary structures. Finally, we show that whereas the EcmLV populations likely experience restricted geographical dispersion, ALCV is probably freely moving across the French Mediterranean region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Effect of food on immature development, consumption rate, and relative growth rate of Toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae, a predator of container breeding mosquitoes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Dominic Amalraj

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Food utilization by the larvae of Toxorhynchites splendens (Wiedemann was studied in the laboratory by offering larvae of Aedes aegypti Linnaeus, Anopheles stephensi (Liston, and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say. Quantitative analyses of data indicated that immature development was significantly faster with increase in food availability. The regression analysis showed that the degrees of the relationship between immature duration (Id and food availability were higher when offered early instars of prey (first and second instars than late instars. Consumption rate (Cr of the predator increased with increase in food availability and this relationship was highly significant when larvae of An. stephensi were offered as food. Consumption rate to food level decreased with increase in the age class of the prey. There was a significant negative correlation between Id and Cr. This aspect helps to increase population turnover of T. splendens in a shorter period when the prey is abundant. Conversely, the predator compensated the loss in daily food intake at low food level by extending Id thereby attains the minimum threshold pupal weight for adult emergence. There was an increase in the relative growth rate (RGR of the predator when An. stephensi was offered as prey and this was related to the high protein content of the prey per body weight. There was a positive correlation between Cr and RGR. This adaptive life characteristic strategy of this predator is useful for mass-rearing for large scale field release programmes in the control of container breeding mosquitoes is discussed.

  10. Hybrid VAR compensator with improved efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Burlaka

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In modern electrical networks thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC are most used devices for VAR compensation. These devices don’t contain rotating parts and mechanical contacts, provide a stepwise control of reactive power and no generation of harmonics to the network. However, with the help of TSC it’s not possible to ensure smooth control of reactive power and capacitor banks (CB are exposed to the negative impact of higher harmonic components of the network voltage. Hybrid VAR compensator don’t have such drawbacks. It consists of active filter (AF and capacitor bank with discrete regulation. The main drawback of such systems is the necessity of accessing all six terminals of CB, while most of them are manufactured with three terminals, internally delta-connected. In the article, the topology and control system of hybrid VAR compensator free from beforementioned drawback, is proposed. The control system provides operating modes of overcompensation or undercompensation reactive power. VAR distribution regulator performs redistribution of reactive power between active filter and capacitor banks with the condition to minimize active filter’s power. Scheme of the hybrid VAR compensator, which includes a three-phase three-terminal delta-connected capacitor banks, is shown. Proposed approach allows to provide smooth control of reactive power, isolate the capacitor bank from harmonic currents and use a more effective low-voltage power components

  11. Total phenolic compounds, antioxidant potential and α-glucosidase inhibition by Tunisian Euphorbia paralias L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malek Besbes Hlila

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To examine the potential antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of Tunisian Euphorbia paralias L. leaves and stems extracts and their composition of total polyphenol and flavonoids. Methods: The different samples were tested for their antiradical activities by using 2, 2’- azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH assays. In α-glucosidase activity, α-glucosidase (0.3 IU/mL and substrate, 2500 µmol/ L p-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside were used; absorbance was registered at 405 nm. Results: The leaves acetonic extract exhibited the strongest α-glucosidase inhibition [IC50 = (0.0035 ± 0.001 µg/mL], which was 20-fold more active than the standard product (acarbose [IC50 = (0.07 ± 0.01 µg/mL]. Acetonic extract of the leaves exhibited the highest quantity of total phenolic [(95.54 ± 0.04 µg gallic acid equivalent/mg] and flavonoid [(55.16 ± 0.25 µg quercetin equivalent/mg]. The obtained findings presented also that this extract was detected with best antioxidant capacity [IC50 = (0.015 ± 0.01 µg/mL] against DPPH and a value of IC50 equal to (0.02 ± 0.01 µg/mL against ABTS. Positive relationship between polyphenolic content of the tested Euphorbia paralias L. leaves and stems extracts and its antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS was detected. Elevated positive linear correlation was got between ABTS and total phenolic (R2 = 0.751. Conclusions: The findings clearly demonstrate that the use of a polar solvent enables extraction of significant quantities of phenol compounds and flavonoids.

  12. Var der noget kapløb?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gimpel, Denise; Nielsen, Bent

    2006-01-01

    Hvorfor faldt Kina bagud i kapløbet med Vesten?« spørger David Favrholdt i sidste nummer af Weekendavisen. Var der overhovedet noget kapløb? Forudsætter et kapløb ikke, at man har et fælles mål? Spørgsmålet implicerer, at Vesten har vundet og indplacerer samtidig klodens øvrige kulturer i forhold....... Som en af 1900-tallets største sinologer A. C. Graham skriver i sin bog Disputers of the Tao (La Salle, Ill., 1989) var den videnskabelige revolution »en unik og kompleks begivenhed, som var afhængig af en mangfoldighed af sociale og andre betingelser, herunder et sammenfald af opdagelser (græske......, indiske, kinesiske, arabiske, næsten ingen romerske) koncentreret om kombinationen af indiske tal og aritmetik og græsk logik og geometri« (s. 317). En unik begivenhed, som er forekommet én gang i verdenshistorien. Det giver derfor ingen mening at spørge, hvorfor det ikke skete andre steder. Hvis det var...

  13. Avaliação do impacto na infestação por Aedes aegypti em tanques de cimento do município de Canindé, Ceará, Brasil, após a utilização do peixe Betta splendens como alternativa de controle biológico Evaluation of the impact on Aedes aegypti infestation in cement tanks of the municipal district of Canindé, Ceará, Brazil after using the Betta splendens fish as an alternative biological control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano de Góes Cavalcanti Pamplona

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Canindé apresenta uma população de 71.235 habitantes. Em abril de 2001 iniciou a utilização de peixes larvófagos em tanques de cimento, localizados ao nível do solo, como forma de controle biológico para larvas de Aedes aegypti. Durante a visita do agente, ao invés de se tratar os tanques com larvicida, colocou-se um espécime do peixe Betta splendens por depósito. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os resultados desta intervenção. Com os levantamentos do número de imóveis e depósitos existentes, estimou-se este número mês a mês determinando então o número de depósitos existentes por imóvel. Com esta estimativa e o número de imóveis visitados mensalmente analisou-se a infestação deste tipo de depósito. Em janeiro de 2001, 70,4% dos tanques examinados apresentavam larvas; e apenas 7,4% em janeiro de 2002. Em dezembro de 2002 este índice caiu para 0,2%. Demonstrou-se com clareza a capacidade do Betta splendens como agente de controle biológico, em tanques de cimento, reduzindo 320 vezes a infestação deste tipo de recipiente de grande volume.Canindé has a population of 71,235 inhabitants. In April 2001, the city started using larvivorous fish in cement water tanks, as a means of biological control of Aedes aegypti larvae. During house-to-house visits by health agents, instead of treating the water tank with larvicide, a Betta splendens fish was introduced into each tank. The number of houses and the number of tanks was estimated by monthly surveys. Then, the number of tanks per house was determined. Taking into account this estimated number and the number of houses visited, the infestation level for each kind of deposit was analyzed. In January 2001, 70.4% of the water tanks presented mosquitoes. Following the intervention, in January 2002 only 7.4% were positive and by December 2002 the rate had dropped to 0.2%. The efficacy of Betta splendens as a biological control agent in cement water tanks was

  14. Obtusifoliol related steroids from Euphorbia sogdiana with cell growth inhibitory activity and apoptotic effects on breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB231).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghaei, Mahmoud; Yazdiniapour, Zeinab; Ghanadian, Mustafa; Zolfaghari, Behzad; Lanzotti, Virginia; Mirsafaee, Vahid

    2016-11-01

    From the aerial parts of Euphorbia sogdiana Popov, obtusifoliol (1) and two related steroids (2-3) have been isolated and characterized along with a known cycloartane derivative (4). The chemical structure of the obtusifoliol-related compounds, obtained by 1D and 2D NMR, and MS measurements, have been determined as: 3β,7α-dihydroxy-4α,14α-dimethyl-5α-ergosta-8,24(28)-diene-11-one (2) and 3β-hydroxy-4α,14α-dimethyl-5α-ergosta-8,24(28)-diene-1-one (3). Compound 2 has been previously isolated from Euphorbia chamaesyce while compound 3 was never reported before. The isolated compounds 1-4 were subjected to cytotoxic tests on the breast cancer cells, MCF-7 and MDA-MB231. Further pharmacological tests on the more active compounds 2 and 3 indicated their action to be related to cell growth inhibitory activity and apoptotic effects on the tested cells. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Host Plant Volatiles and the Sexual Reproduction of the Potato Aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Hurley

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In late summer, heteroecious aphids, such as the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, move from their secondary summer host plants to primary host plants, where the sexual oviparae mate and lay diapausing eggs. We tested the hypothesis that volatiles of the primary host, Rosa rugosa, would attract the gynoparae, the parthenogenetic alate morph that produce oviparae, as well as the alate males foraging for suitable mates. In wind tunnel assays, both gynoparae and males oriented towards and reached rose cuttings significantly more often than other odour sources, including potato, a major secondary host. The response of males was as high to rose cuttings alone as to potato with a calling virgin oviparous female. These findings are discussed within the seasonal ecology of host alternating aphids.

  16. Hydropyrolysis of extracted Euphorbia rigida in a well-swept fixed-bed tubular reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gercel, H.F.; Putun, A.E.; Putun, E.

    2002-05-01

    Tubular reactor fixed-bed hydropyrolysis experiments have been conducted on a sample of extracted Euphorbia rigida to determine the possibility of being a potential source of renewable fuels and chemical feedstock. The effects of hydropyrolysis temperature and heating rate on the hydropyrolysis yields and chemical compositions have been investigated. The maximum bio-oil yield of 39.8 wt% was obtained in H{sub 2} atmosphere at a hydrogen pressure of 150 bar, a hydrogen flow rate of 5 dm{sup 3} min{sup -} {sup 1}, a hydropyrolysis temperature of 550{sup o}C, and a heating rate of 100{sup o}C min{sup -1}. Then this bio-oil was characterized by elemental analysis and {sup 1}H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. (author)

  17. Anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidea and var. angustifolia on 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woon, Shiau Mei; Seng, Yew Wei; Ling, Anna Pick Kiong; Chye, Soi Moi; Koh, Rhun Yian

    2014-03-01

    This study examined the anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidia and var. angustifolia, a natural slimming aid, on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methanol and water extracts of leaves of the F. deltoidea varieties were analyzed to determine their total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC), respectively. The study was initiated by determining the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of the methanol and water extracts for 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Possible anti-adipogenic effects were then examined by treating 2-d post confluent 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with either methanol extract or water extract at MNTD and half MNTD (½MNTD), after which the preadipocytces were induced to form mature adipocytes. Visualisation and quantification of lipid content in mature adipocytes were carried out through oil red O staining and measurement of optical density (OD) at 520 nm, respectively. The TFCs of the methanol extracts were 1.36 and 1.97 g quercetin equivalents (QE)/100 g dry weight (DW), while the TPCs of the water extracts were 5.61 and 2.73 g gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g DW for var. deltoidea and var. angustilofia, respectively. The MNTDs determined for methanol and water extracts were (300.0 ± 28.3) and (225.0 ± 21.2) µg/ml, respectively, for var. deltoidea, while much lower MNTDs [(60.0 ± 2.0) µg/ml for methanol extracts and (8.0 ± 1.0) µg/ml for water extracts] were recorded for var. angustifolia. Studies revealed that the methanol extracts of both varieties and the water extracts of var. angustifolia at either MNTD or ½MNTD significantly inhibited the maturation of preadipocytes. The inhibition of the formation of mature adipocytes indicated that leaf extracts of F. deltoidea could have potential anti-obesity effects.

  18. Comparison between 3D-Var and 4D-Var data assimilation methods for the simulation of a heavy rainfall case in central Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzarella, Vincenzo; Maiello, Ida; Capozzi, Vincenzo; Budillon, Giorgio; Ferretti, Rossella

    2017-08-01

    This work aims to provide a comparison between three dimensional and four dimensional variational data assimilation methods (3D-Var and 4D-Var) for a heavy rainfall case in central Italy. To evaluate the impact of the assimilation of reflectivity and radial velocity acquired from Monte Midia Doppler radar into the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model, the quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) is used.The two methods are compared for a heavy rainfall event that occurred in central Italy on 14 September 2012 during the first Special Observation Period (SOP1) of the HyMeX (HYdrological cycle in Mediterranean EXperiment) campaign. This event, characterized by a deep low pressure system over the Tyrrhenian Sea, produced flash floods over the Marche and Abruzzo regions, where rainfall maxima reached more than 150 mm 24 h-1.To identify the best QPF, nine experiments are performed using 3D-Var and 4D-Var data assimilation techniques. All simulations are compared in terms of rainfall forecast and precipitation measured by the gauges through three statistical indicators: probability of detection (POD), critical success index (CSI) and false alarm ratio (FAR). The assimilation of conventional observations with 4D-Var method improves the QPF compared to 3D-Var. In addition, the use of radar measurements in 4D-Var simulations enhances the performances of statistical scores for higher rainfall thresholds.

  19. VAR Methodology Used for Exchange Risk Measurement and Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florentina Balu

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss one of the modern risk measuring techniques Value-at-Risk (VaR. Currently central banks in major money centers, under the auspices of the BIS Basle Committee, adopt the VaR system to evaluate the market risk of their supervised banks. Banks regulators ask all commercial banks to report VaRs with their internal models. Value at risk (VaR is a powerful tool for assessing market risk, but it also imposes a challenge. Its power is its generality. Unlike market risk metrics such as the Greeks, duration and convexity, or beta, which are applicable to only certain asset categories or certain sources of market risk, VaR is general. It is based on the probability distribution for a portfolio’s market value. Value at Risk (VAR calculates the maximum loss expected (or worst case scenario on an investment, over a given time period and given a specified degree of confidence. There are three methods by which VaR can be calculated: the historical simulation, the variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The variance-covariance method is easiest because you need to estimate only two factors: average return and standard deviation. However, it assumes returns are well-behaved according to the symmetrical normal curve and that historical patterns will repeat into the future. The historical simulation improves on the accuracy of the VAR calculation, but requires more computational data; it also assumes that “past is prologue”. The Monte Carlo simulation is complex, but has the advantage of allowing users to tailor ideas about future patterns that depart from historical patterns.

  20. VAR Methodology Used for Exchange Risk Measurement and Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion Stancu

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss one of the modern risk measuring techniques Value-at-Risk (VaR. Currently central banks in major money centers, under the auspices of the BIS Basle Committee, adopt the VaR system to evaluate the market risk of their supervised banks. Banks regulators ask all commercial banks to report VaRs with their internal models. Value at risk (VaR is a powerful tool for assessing market risk, but it also imposes a challenge. Its power is its generality. Unlike market risk metrics such as the Greeks, duration and convexity, or beta, which are applicable to only certain asset categories or certain sources of market risk, VaR is general. It is based on the probability distribution for a portfolio’s market value. Value at Risk (VAR calculates the maximum loss expected (or worst case scenario on an investment, over a given time period and given a specified degree of confidence. There are three methods by which VaR can be calculated: the historical simulation, the variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The variance-covariance method is easiest because you need to estimate only two factors: average return and standard deviation. However, it assumes returns are well-behaved according to the symmetrical normal curve and that historical patterns will repeat into the future. The historical simulation improves on the accuracy of the VAR calculation, but requires more computational data; it also assumes that “past is prologue”. The Monte Carlo simulation is complex, but has the advantage of allowing users to tailor ideas about future patterns that depart from historical patterns.

  1. Estudo botânico, fitoquímico e fisico-químico de Euphorbia hirta L. (Euphorbiaceae)

    OpenAIRE

    Pinto,M.V.; Nogueira,J.C.M.; Tresvenzol,L.M.F.; Fiuza,T.S.; Paula,J.R.; Bara,M.T.F.

    2014-01-01

    Euphorbia hirta L., popularmente conhecida por erva andorinha, tem sido utilizada no tratamento de distúrbios respiratórios e como antiespasmódico. Esse trabalho foi realizado com a finalidade de determinar as características macroscópicas e microscópicas das folhas, caule e raiz dessa planta, uma vez que estas são as partes usadas popularmente. Algumas características de valor na sua diagnose foram apontadas e ilustradas por fotomicrografias. Reações de fitoquímica e a determinação do conteú...

  2. Aplicações seqüenciais de flumicloracpentil para o controle de Euphorbia heterophylla na cultura da soja = Sequential application of flumicloracpentil for Euphorbia heterophylla control in soybeans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rubem Silvério de Oliveira Jr

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia heterophylla destacase como a principal planta daninha na cultura da soja no Estado do Paraná, não só pela sua disseminação, mas também pela natural dificuldade de controle e pela ocorrência de biótipos que apresentam resistência. Em face de tais problemas, buscou se avaliar a eficácia de aplicações seqüenciais em pós emergência de flumicloracpentil no controle dessa planta daninha. As aplicações seqüenciais de flumicloracpentil foram superiores, em termos de eficácia, às doses recomendadas em aplicação única, promovendo no mínimo 86% de controle aos 24 dias após a aplicação dasegunda etapa das seqüenciais. Todas as combinações de doses de flumicloracpentil avaliadas promoveram controle adequado de E. heterophylla, desde que aplicadas no estádio de duas folhas verdadeiras. Comparando se os resultados obtidos em casadevegetaçãoe em estufa, observou se que, em condições de campo, o sombreamento imposto pela soja auxilia no nível de controle final da planta daninha.Wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla is one the most importantweeds in soybean fields in the state of Paraná, not only for its dissemination, but also due to its natural difficulty of controlling features by herbicides and to occurrence of resistant biotypes. Facing those problems, an evaluation of the field and greenhouse trials was carried out in order to check the efficacy of postemergencesequential application of flumicloracpentil to control this weed. Sequential applications of flumicloracpentil were more efficientthan a single application, promoting, at least, 86% of weed control on the 24th day after the second application of the sequential treatments. All the evaluated combinations of flumiclorac rates once sprayed at two true leaves stage, promoted adequate control of E. heterophylla. Comparing the greenhouse and the field results, it was concluded that, under field conditions, the canopy provided by the crop helps to improve the

  3. Study of in vitro antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities of selected Saharan plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palici, Ionut F; Liktor-Busa, Erika; Zupkó, István; Touzard, Blaise; Chaieb, Mohamed; Urbán, Edit; Hohmann, Judit

    2015-12-01

    The aim of the present study was the evaluation of the antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities of selected Saharan species, which are applied in the traditional medicine but not studied thoroughly from chemical and pharmacological point of view. The studied plants, namely Anthyllis henoniana, Centropodia forskalii, Cornulaca monacantha, Ephedra alata var. alenda, Euphorbia guyoniana, Helianthemum confertum, Henophyton deserti, Moltkiopsis ciliata and Spartidium saharae were collected from remote areas of North Africa, especially from the Tunisian region of Sahara. After drying and applying the appropriate extraction methods, the plant extracts were tested in antimicrobial screening assay, performed on 19 Gram-positive and -negative strains of microbes. The inhibition zones produced by plant extracts were determined by disc-diffusion method. Remarkable antibacterial activities were exhibited by extracts of Ephedra alata var. alenda and Helianthemum confertum against B. subtilis, M. catarrhalis and methicillin-resistant and non-resistant S. aureus. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of these two species were also determined. Antiproliferative effects of the extracts were evaluated against 4 human adherent cell lines (HeLa, A431, A2780 and MCF7). Notable cell growth inhibition was found for extract of Helianthemum confertum and Euphorbia guyoniana. Our results provided data for selection of some plant species for further detailed pharmacological and phytochemical examinations.

  4. Morphological and genetic differences between Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia H. Ohba and Coptis japonica var. major Satake in Hokuriku area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitamura, Masashi; Ando, Hirokazu; Sasaki, Yohei

    2018-03-01

    Coptis japonica is widely distributed in Japan, and its dried rhizome is a source of the domestic herbal medicine Coptidis Rhizoma ( Oren). There are three varieties of C. japonica, two of which, namely, C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major, are important as sources of traditional medicines. Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major are distinguishable on the basis of their ternate or biternate compound leaves, respectively. In the Hokuriku area, where both C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major grow naturally, some individual plants cannot be identified unambiguously on the basis of leaf morphology because changes in leaf morphology may occur due to intra-variety variation or crossbreeding between the two varieties. In addition, genetic differences between the two varieties have remained unclear. In this study, we employed new genetic and morphological classification approaches to discriminate between the two varieties. Based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms of the tetrahydroberberine oxidase gene, we found four conserved SNPs between the two varieties and were able to classify C. japonica into two varieties and crossbreeds. Furthermore, we introduced a new leaf type index based on the overall degree of leaflet dissection calculated by surface area of a leaflet and length of leaflet margin and petiolule. Using our new index we were able to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds more accurately than is possible with the conventional discrimination method. Our genetic and morphological classification methods may be used as novel benchmarks to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds.

  5. The site of 2,4-D accumulation in Euphorbia helioscopia L

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakri, F.A.

    1990-01-01

    The distribution and accumulation of the herbicide 2,4-D have been studied by 14 C labelling and by tracing due to the autoradiographic method in young plants of Euphorbia helioscopia L. (milkweed). Milkweed plants were grown in a greenhouse at 30deg C under 16 hrs. photoperiod for about two weeks. The two lower opposite leaves, the cotyledons, were used as sites for 14 C-labelled 2,4-D application. The autoradiograph of the whole plants revealed that labelled 2,4-D movement was predominantly basipetal into the root as well as acropetal into the shoot apex. The 2,4-D movement has by-passed all the matured leaves in its movement from active sources to active sinks. The microautoradiography indicated that 2,4-D can accumulate to a considerable amount both in the parenchyma of the pith and in the cortical cells. It is concluded that 2,4-D is transported through phloem cells when applied to the healthy long leaves. (author)

  6. Biosynthesis, characterization, and acute toxicity of Berberis tinctoria-fabricated silver nanoparticles against the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and the mosquito predators Toxorhynchites splendens and Mesocyclops thermocyclopoides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Palanisamy Mahesh; Murugan, Kadarkarai; Madhiyazhagan, Pari; Kovendan, Kalimuthu; Amerasan, Duraisamy; Chandramohan, Balamurugan; Dinesh, Devakumar; Suresh, Udaiyan; Nicoletti, Marcello; Alsalhi, Mohamad Saleh; Devanesan, Sandhanasamy; Wei, Hui; Kalimuthu, Kandasamy; Hwang, Jiang-Shiou; Lo Iacono, Annalisa; Benelli, Giovanni

    2016-02-01

    Aedes albopictus is an important arbovirus vector, including dengue. Currently, there is no specific treatment for dengue. Its prevention solely depends on effective vector control measures. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized using a cheap leaf extract of Berberis tinctoria as reducing and stabilizing agent and tested against Ae. albopictus and two mosquito natural enemies. AgNPs were characterized by using UV–vis spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. In laboratory conditions, the toxicity of AgNPs was evaluated on larvae and pupae of Ae. albopictus. Suitability Index/Predator Safety Factor was assessed on Toxorhynchites splendens and Mesocyclops thermocyclopoides. The leaf extract of B. tinctoria was toxic against larval instars (I–IV) and pupae of Ae. albopictus; LC50 was 182.72 ppm (I instar), 230.99 ppm (II), 269.65 ppm (III), 321.75 ppm (IV), and 359.71 ppm (pupa). B. tinctoria-synthesized AgNPs were highly effective, with LC50 of 4.97 ppm (I instar), 5.97 ppm (II), 7.60 ppm (III), 9.65 ppm (IV), and 14.87 ppm (pupa). Both the leaf extract and AgNPs showed reduced toxicity against the mosquito natural enemies M. thermocyclopoides and T. splendens. Overall, this study firstly shed light on effectiveness of B. tinctoria-synthesized AgNPs as an eco-friendly nanopesticide, highlighting the concrete possibility to employ this newer and safer tool in arbovirus vector control programs.

  7. Nectar regulation in Euphorbia tithymaloides L., a hummingbird-pollinated Euphorbiaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veiga Blanco, T; Galetto, L; Machado, I C

    2013-09-01

    Floral sexual phases can differ in nectar production and might be under selective pressure by pollinators. We studied Euphorbia tithymaloides, which has inflorescences that are initially female and then hermaphroditic. Volume and concentration of nectar were measured in both stages. Nectar production and the effect of extractions were determined using sets of bagged inflorescences; inflorescences in the hermaphroditic phase had higher values of nectar concentration, volume and sugar mass than inflorescences in the female phase. Nectar resorption was detected in senescent inflorescences. To test for homeostatic nectar regulation, artificial nectar was added and the response assessed after 24 h. The experiments showed that concentration and sugar mass are regulated within a narrow range, and the homeostatic points differ between the two sexual phases. These differences in nectar can be detected by hummingbirds, which prefer the female stage. Resorption and secretion seem to be part of a homeostatic mechanism by which nectar attributes are maintained to optimise sugar recovery. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  8. Some tests for parameter constancy in cointegrated VAR-models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henrik; Johansen, Søren

    1999-01-01

    Some methods for the evaluation of parameter constancy in vector autoregressive (VAR) models are discussed. Two different ways of re-estimating the VAR model are proposed; one in which all parameters are estimated recursively based upon the likelihood function for the first observations, and anot...... be applied to test the constancy of the long-run parameters in the cointegrated VAR-model. All results are illustrated using a model for the term structure of interest rates on US Treasury securities. ......Some methods for the evaluation of parameter constancy in vector autoregressive (VAR) models are discussed. Two different ways of re-estimating the VAR model are proposed; one in which all parameters are estimated recursively based upon the likelihood function for the first observations......, and another in which the cointegrating relations are estimated recursively from a likelihood function, where the short-run parameters have been concentrated out. We suggest graphical procedures based on recursively estimated eigenvalues to evaluate the constancy of the long-run parameters in the model...

  9. Interferência de Euphorbia heterophylla no crescimento e acúmulo de macronutrientes da soja Interference of Euphorbia heterophylla in the growth and macronutrient accumulation of soybean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.B. Carvalho

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available O grau de interferência depende da densidade de plantas daninhas que infestam a soja. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar características de crescimento e nutrição mineral da soja mantida em convivência com densidades crescentes de Euphorbia heterophylla. O experimento foi conduzido em Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil, entre outubro e dezembro de 2008, em vasos mantidos em campo aberto. Os tratamentos consistiram em submeter uma planta de soja por vaso à convivência com 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 e 16 plantas de E. heterophylla por vaso, da semeadura até o início do florescimento. Nesse período, avaliaram-se, apenas na soja, a altura e o número de trifólios, e em ambas as espécies, a matéria seca e o acúmulo de macronutrientes. Observou-se variação na altura de plantas e redução no número de trifólios e no acúmulo de matéria seca e macronutrientes da soja devido ao maior acúmulo de matéria seca e macronutrientes por densidades crescentes de E. heterophylla. Conclui-se que a soja mantida em convivência com E. heterophylla teve o crescimento e o acúmulo de macronutrientes reduzidos em razão da interferência imposta pela planta daninha.The degree of weed interference depends on the density of the weeds infesting the soybean crop. The objective of this work was to evaluate the growth and mineral nutrition characteristics in soybean maintained in coexistence with increasing densities of Euphorbia heterophylla. The experiment was carried out in Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil, from October through December 2008, in pots maintained under open field conditions. The treatments consisted in submitting one soybean plant per pot to coexistence with 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 plants of E. heterophylla per pot, from sowing until the beginning of soybean flowering. At this period, only height and number of leaves were evaluated in soybean, while dry matter and macronutrient accumulation were evaluated in both species. Variation in plant height and reduction in the

  10. Foliar flavonoids from Tanacetum vulgare var. boreale and their geographical variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uehara, Ayumi; Akiyama, Shinobu; Iwashina, Tsukasa

    2015-03-01

    Foliar flavonoids of Tanacetum vulgare var. boreale were isolated. Eight flavonoid glycosides, 7-O-glucosides of apigenin, luteolin, scutellarein and 6- hydroxyluteolin, and 7-O-glucuronides of apigenin, luteolin, chrysoeriol and eriodictyol were identified. Moreover, eight flavonoid aglycones, apigenin, luteolin, hispidulin, nepetin, eupatilin, jaceosidin, pectolinarigenin and axillarin were also isolated and identified. The flavonoid composition of two varieties of T. vulgare, i.e. var. boreale and var. vulgare, were compared. All samples of var. boreale and one sample of var. vulgare had the same flavonoid pattern, and could be distinguished from almost all the samples of var. vulgare. Thus, the occurrence of chemotypes, which are characterized by either the presence or absence of scutellarein 7-O-glucoside, eriodictyol 7-O-glucuronide and pectolinarigenin was shown in T. vulgare sensu lato.

  11. Activation and clustering of a Plasmodium falciparum var gene are affected by subtelomeric sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, Michael F; Tang, Jingyi; Sumardy, Fransisca; Nguyen, Hanh H T; Selvarajah, Shamista A; Josling, Gabrielle A; Day, Karen P; Petter, Michaela; Brown, Graham V

    2017-01-01

    The Plasmodium falciparum var multigene family encodes the cytoadhesive, variant antigen PfEMP1. P. falciparum antigenic variation and cytoadhesion specificity are controlled by epigenetic switching between the single, or few, simultaneously expressed var genes. Most var genes are maintained in perinuclear clusters of heterochromatic telomeres. The active var gene(s) occupy a single, perinuclear var expression site. It is unresolved whether the var expression site forms in situ at a telomeric cluster or whether it is an extant compartment to which single chromosomes travel, thus controlling var switching. Here we show that transcription of a var gene did not require decreased colocalisation with clusters of telomeres, supporting var expression site formation in situ. However following recombination within adjacent subtelomeric sequences, the same var gene was persistently activated and did colocalise less with telomeric clusters. Thus, participation in stable, heterochromatic, telomere clusters and var switching are independent but are both affected by subtelomeric sequences. The var expression site colocalised with the euchromatic mark H3K27ac to a greater extent than it did with heterochromatic H3K9me3. H3K27ac was enriched within the active var gene promoter even when the var gene was transiently repressed in mature parasites and thus H3K27ac may contribute to var gene epigenetic memory. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  12. Rediscovery of Impatiens laevigata var. grandifolia (Balsaminaceae from NE India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Gogoi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Impatiens laevigata var. grandifolia Hook.f. rediscovered after a lapse of 139 years from Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier it was known only – from its type locality in Manipur. Detailed morphological description of I. laevigata var. laevigata and var. grandifolia have been provided based on fresh plant collections.

  13. Genetic analisys of a cross of gaillon (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) with cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis)

    OpenAIRE

    Spini, Vanessa B.M.G.; Kerr, Warwick Estevam

    2000-01-01

    The cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is an annual vegetable cultivated in Southern and Southwestern Brazil with limited production in the Northeast and Centralwest. A variety of Chinese kale, "kaai laan" or "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra), produces seeds at high temperatures and therefore can do so in North and Northeastern Brazil. Gaillon and cauliflower were crossed 55 times using 10 gaillon plants as mothers and 4 cauliflower plants as pollen donors. From these c...

  14. Larvicidal Activity of Isodon japonicus var. glaucocalyx (Maxim ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HP

    Purpose: To determine the larvicidal activity of the essential oil derived from Isodon japonicus var. ... Methods: The essential oil of I. japonicus var. glaucocalyx aerial parts was obtained by ..... µg/mL; G. silvatica leaves, LC50 = 117.9 µg/mL.

  15. ClinVar data parsing [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolei Zhang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This software repository provides a pipeline for converting raw ClinVar data files into analysis-friendly tab-delimited tables, and also provides these tables for the most recent ClinVar release. Separate tables are generated for genome builds GRCh37 and GRCh38 as well as for mono-allelic variants and complex multi-allelic variants. Additionally, the tables are augmented with allele frequencies from the ExAC and gnomAD datasets as these are often consulted when analyzing ClinVar variants. Overall, this work provides ClinVar data in a format that is easier to work with and can be directly loaded into a variety of popular analysis tools such as R, python pandas, and SQL databases.

  16. Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris L. ) as a potential crop plant of oleochemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hondelmann, W.; Dambroth, M.

    1987-01-01

    Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris L.) on account of the high seed oil content and the dominating position of oleic acid (> 80%) calls for special attention as potential creep plant for oleochemistry. In domesticating this wild species the characters 'biennial life cycle' and 'dehiscent fruits' could be eliminated in favour of their corresponding crop plant characters 'annual life cycle' and 'indehiscent fruits'. The genetic variation hitherto available seems to be relatively limited. Very high is the amount of 'variation between populations'. Estimates of heritability generally are high, but response to selection is predominantly lower. Because of the rather low fracture resistance of the seed coat the adaption for harvesting by means of a combine is not yet existing. Furthermore, caper spurge exhibits a strongly expressed seed dormancy. Therefore, selection in favour of a diminished primary dormancy is needed. (orig.)

  17. Pitfalls in VAR based return decompositions: A clarification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engsted, Tom; Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard; Tanggaard, Carsten

    in their analysis is not "cashflow news" but "inter- est rate news" which should not be zero. Consequently, in contrast to what Chen and Zhao claim, their decomposition does not serve as a valid caution against VAR based decompositions. Second, we point out that in order for VAR based decompositions to be valid......Based on Chen and Zhao's (2009) criticism of VAR based return de- compositions, we explain in detail the various limitations and pitfalls involved in such decompositions. First, we show that Chen and Zhao's interpretation of their excess bond return decomposition is wrong: the residual component...

  18. Atividade residual de diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla Residual activity of diuron, oxyfluorfen, and prometryne for Euphorbia heterophylla control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.S. Oliveira Jr.

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available As aplicações de herbicidas em pré-emergência têm por finalidade a obtenção da atividade residual no início do ciclo das culturas. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a atividade residual dos herbicidas diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne, aplicados isoladamente ou em misturas, no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla. Oito experimentos foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação, aplicando-se doses dos herbicidas ou das misturas aos 30, 20, 10 e 0 dias antes da semeadura da planta daninha (DAS. Com o diuron e prometryne, foram observados controles satisfatórios até 20 DAS nas doses a partir de 1,07 e 1,6 kg ha-1, respectivamente. Quanto ao oxyfluorfen, foi registrado um período residual inferior, obtendo-se controle mínimo de 80% até 10 DAS nas doses a partir de 0,324 kg ha-1. Em relação às misturas dos herbicidas, a mistura diuron+prometryne promoveu controle superior a 85% por períodos de até 30 dias, quando aplicada na menor dose (1+2 kg ha-1, e de 20 dias, quando aplicada na dose de 2+1 kg ha-1. Visando obter esse mesmo patamar de controle por 30 dias, foi necessário 1+0,288 kg ha-1 da mistura diuron+oxyfluorfen. A mistura prometryne+oxyfluorfen apresentou um mínimo de 80% de controle no período de 10 dias, quando utilizada a dose de 1+0,192 kg ha-1.Pre-emergence herbicide applications are designed to obtain residual activity at the beginning of the crop cycle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the residual activity of diuron, oxyfluorfen, and prometryne, applied alone or in mixture, to control Euphorbia heterophylla. Eight experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions, by applying herbicide doses or mixtures at 30, 20, 10, and 0 days before weed sowing (DBWS.With diuron and prometryne, satisfactory controls were observed at doses up to 20 DBWS, from 1.07 to 1.6 kg ha-1, respectively. As for oxyfluorfen, a lower residual period was verified, with a minimum gaining control of at least 80% being obtained

  19. Allelopathy of small everlasting (Antennaria microphylla) : Phytotoxicity to leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) in tissue culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, M E; Manners, G D

    1990-03-01

    Media and media extracts from callus cultures of small everlasting (Antennaria microphylla) inhibited leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) callus tissue and suspension culture growth (50 and 70% of control, respectively) and were phytotoxic in lettuce and leafy spurge root elongation bioassays (64 and 77% of control, respectively). Hydroquinone, a phytotoxic compound previously isolated from small everlasting, was also biosynthesized by callus and suspension cultures of this species. Exogenously supplied hydroquinone (0.5 mM) was toxic to leafy spurge suspension culture cells and was only partially biotransformed to its nontoxic water-soluble monoglucoside, arbutin, by these cells. This report confirms the chronic involvement of hydroquinone in the allelopathic interaction between small everlasting and leafy spurge.

  20. What is Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pujadas Salvà, Antonio J.

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck (Orobanchaceae, a problematic taxon described from Algeciras (Cádiz, S Spain is here identified after studying the original material of Wolley-Dod (BM 4476. It is considered to be the same as O. austrohispanica M.J.Y. Foley and better included, as a variety, under O. gracilis Sm. The new combination O. gracilis var. deludens (Beck A. Pujadas is consequently proposed. It mainly parasites Ulex (Fabaceae in the western Mediterranean Region (Iberian Peninsula and NW Africa.Se identifica Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck (Orobanchaceae, un taxon conflictivo descrito de Algeciras (Cádiz, sur de España, a partir del análisis del material original de Wolley-Dod (BM 4476. Se considera que es lo mismo que O. austrohispanica M.J.Y. Foley, y se incluye en O. gracilis Sm. con rango varietal. Se propone la nueva combinación O. gracilis var. deludens (Beck A. Pujadas. Parasita principalmente a especies del género Ulex (Fabaceae en la Región Mediterránea Occidental (Península Ibérica y noroeste de África.

  1. Growth and provenance variation of Pinus caribaea var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    CAMCORE has visited 33 populations of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Seed collections have been made in 29 provenances from 1, 325 mother trees. A total of 21 provenances and sources of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis were ...

  2. Triterpenoid biosynthesis in Euphorbia lathyris latex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawkins, D.R.

    1987-11-01

    The structures of triterpenols, not previously been known, from Euphorbia lathyris latex are reported. A method for quantifying very small amounts of these compounds was developed. Concerning the biochemistry of the latex, no exogenous cofactors were required for the biosynthesis and the addition of compounds such as NADPAH and ATP do not stimulate the biosynthesis. The addition of DTE or a similar anti-oxidant was found to help reduce the oxidation of the latex, thus increasing the length of time that the latex remains active. The requirement of a divalent cation and the preference for Mn in the pellet was observed. The effect of several inhibitors on the biosynthesis of the triterpenoids was examined. Mevinolin was found to inhibit the biosynthesis of the triterpenoids from acetate, but not mevalonate. A dixon plot of the inhibition of acetate incorporation showed an I 50 concentration of 3.2 μM. Fenpropimorph was found to have little or no effect on the biosynthesis. Tridemorph was found to inhibit the biosynthesis of all of the triterpenoids with an I 50 of 4 μM. It was also observed that the cyclopropyl containing triterpenols, cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol were inhibited much more strongly than those containing an 8-9 double bond, lanosterol and 24-methylenelanosterol. The evidence indicates, but does not definetely prove, that lanosterol and 24-methylenelanosterol are not made from cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol via a ring-opening enzyme such as cycloeucalenol-obtusifoliol isomerase. The possibilty that cycloartenol is made via lanosterol was investigated by synthesizing 4-R-4- 3 H-mevalonic acid and incubating latex with a mixture of this and 14 C-mevalonic acid. From the 3 H/ 14 C ratio it was shown that cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol are not made via an intermediate containing as 8-9 double bond. 88 refs., 15 figs., 30 tabs

  3. Empirical analysis on future-cash arbitrage risk with portfolio VaR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rongda; Li, Cong; Wang, Weijin; Wang, Ze

    2014-03-01

    This paper constructs the positive arbitrage position by alternating the spot index with Chinese Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) portfolio and estimating the arbitrage-free interval of futures with the latest trade data. Then, an improved Delta-normal method was used, which replaces the simple linear correlation coefficient with tail dependence correlation coefficient, to measure VaR (Value-at-risk) of the arbitrage position. Analysis of VaR implies that the risk of future-cash arbitrage is less than that of investing completely in either futures or spot market. Then according to the compositional VaR and the marginal VaR, we should increase the futures position and decrease the spot position appropriately to minimize the VaR, which can minimize risk subject to certain revenues.

  4. Quercetin - A Flavonoid Compound from Sarcopyramis bodinieri var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DAPI staining and PARP SDS-PAGE tests showed 60 μM quercetin could induce potential apoptotic activity in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Conclusion: Quercetin was the major cytotoxicity constituent in S. bodinieri var. delicate. Keywords: Apoptotic activity, Quercetin, Sarcopyramis bodinieri var. delicate, HepG2 liver cancer ...

  5. Identification of the relationship between Chinese Adiantum reniforme var. sinense and Canary Adiantum reniforme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ai-Hua; Sun, Ye; Schneider, Harald; Zhai, Jun-Wen; Liu, Dong-Ming; Zhou, Jin-Song; Xing, Fu-Wu; Chen, Hong-Feng; Wang, Fa-Guo

    2015-02-05

    There are different opinions about the relationship of two disjunctively distributed varieties Adiantum reniforme L. var. sinense Y.X.Lin and Adiantum reniforme L. Adiantum reniforme var. sinense is an endangered fern only distributed in a narrowed region of Chongqing city in China, while Adiantum reniforme var. reniforme just distributed in Canary Islands and Madeira off the north-western African coast. To verify the relationship of these two taxa, relative phylogenetic analyses, karyotype analyses, microscopic spore observations and morphological studies were performed in this study. Besides, divergence time between A. reniforme var. sinense and A. reniforme var. reniforme was estimated using GTR model according to a phylogeny tree constructed with the three cpDNA markers atpA, atpB, and rbcL. Phylogenetic results and divergence time analyses--all individuals of A. reniforme var. sinense from 4 different populations (representing all biogeographic distributions) were clustered into one clade and all individuals of A. reniforme var. reniforme from 7 different populations (all biogeographic distributions are included) were clustered into another clade. The divergence between A. reniforme var. reniforme and A. reniforme var. sinense was estimated to be 4.94 (2.26-8.66) Myr. Based on karyotype analyses, A. reniforme var. reniforme was deduced to be hexaploidy with 2n = 180, X = 30, while A. reniforme var. sinense was known as tetraploidy. Microscopic spore observations suggested that surface ornamentation of A. reniforme var. reniforme is psilate, but that of A. reniforme var. sinense is rugate. Leaf blades of A. reniforme var. sinense are membranous and reniform and with several obvious concentric rings, and leaves of A. reniforme var. reniforme are pachyphyllous and coriaceous and are much rounder and similar to palm. Adiantum reniforme var. sinense is an independent species rather than the variety of Adiantum reniforme var. reniforme. As a result, we

  6. Étude de la toxicité des extraits foliaires d’Euphorbia guyoniana Boiss. et Reut. (Euphorbiaceae chez Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål, 1775 (Orthoptera-Acrididea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. KEMASSI

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Study of the toxicity of the crude acetone leaf extract of Euphorbia guyoniana Boiss. and Reut. (Euphorbiaceae in Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål, 1775 (Orthoptera-Acrididea Abstract-This study examines the effect by ingestion of leaf cabbage sprayed with crude acetone extract of Euphorbia guyoniana leaves harvested in the Algerian Sahara on some biological parameters of larvae L5 and adult of desert locusts. The ingestion of cabbage leaves soaked in acetone extract of this Saharan plant generates a 100% mortality in larvae L5 and 66,67% for adult. A significant reduction in food intake was observed in the treated population compared to the control population. It results in a loss of exceptional weight ranging from 26,93% in larvae L5 to 33,09% in adults. Difficulties and anomalies are observed in moulting 16,66% of larvae L5 fed with cabbage leaves soaked in leaf extract of E. guyoniana. Dissection of adult females of the lot processing allows the observation of body regression demonstrating the depressant action of this extract on ovocyte cycle in the desert locust.

  7. INHIBITION EFFECT OF FLAVONOID EXTRACT OF Euphorbia Guyoniana ON THE CORROSION OF MILD STEEL IN H2SO4 MEDIUM

    OpenAIRE

    S. Chihi; N. Gherraf; B. Alabed; S. Hameurlain

    2009-01-01

    The influence of flavonoids extracts of three parts of Euphorbia Guyoniana towards the corrosion of type API 5L X52 steel in 15% H2SO4 has been evaluated by weight loss method and polarization technique. The results showed that extracts are a good inhibitors for API 5L X52 steel in this medium. The corrosion inhibition efficiency increases on increasing plant extracts concentration. The inhibition is attributed to the adsorption of the surface of the metal. Potentiodynamic polarization result...

  8. Foco de leishmaniasis en El Hobo, municipio de El Carmen de Bolívar, Bolívar, Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Alberto Cortés

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Introducción. Se describen las características epidemiológica e importancia de la especies de Lutzomyia presentes en un foco de leishmaniasis en la vereda El Hobo Carmen de Bolívar, departamento de Bolívar. Objetivos. Obtener un conocimiento preliminar de la transmisión de leishmaniasis en la vereda El Hobo Carmen de Bolívar. Materiales y métodos. Se analizaron datos epidemiológicos y se realizaron capturas de flebótomos con trampas CDC y cebo humano en la vereda El Hobo. Para establecer la sero prevalencia de leishmaniasis visceral canina se hizo un estudio en perros mediante la técnica de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Resultados. Se capturaron nueve especies de Lutzomyia: L. trinidadensis, L. evansi, L .cayennensis, L. venezuelensis, L. gomezi,L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, y L. walkeri. Las especie de mayor importancia por sus implicaciones en la transmisión de leishmaniasis cutánea y visceral fueron L. gomezi, y L. evansi respectivamente. Se reporta por primera vez para Bolívar especimenes de L. venezuelensis, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, y L. walkeri. Se determinó una prevalencia de leishmaniasis visceral del 36% en los caninos estudiados. Según los reportes epidemiológicos, en el 2002 en el municipio de Carmen de Bolívar la leishmaniasis cutánea mostró un aumento del 40% y la leishmaniasis visceral canina del 80% de los casos con respecto al 2001, debido al brote presentado en la vereda El Hobo Conclusiones. Los resultados determinan a la vereda El Hobo como una zona de riesgo potencial de transmisión de leishmaniasis cutánea y visceral.

  9. Phosphorylation of SU(VAR3-9 by the chromosomal kinase JIL-1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joern Boeke

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The histone methyltransferase SU(VAR3-9 plays an important role in the formation of heterochromatin within the eukaryotic nucleus. Several studies have shown that the formation of condensed chromatin is highly regulated during development, suggesting that SU(VAR3-9's activity is regulated as well. However, no mechanism by which this may be achieved has been reported so far. As we and others had shown previously that the N-terminus of SU(VAR3-9 plays an important role for its activity, we purified interaction partners from Drosophila embryo nuclear extract using as bait a GST fusion protein containing the SU(VAR3-9 N-terminus. Among several other proteins known to bind Su(VAR3-9 we isolated the chromosomal kinase JIL-1 as a strong interactor. We show that SU(VAR3-9 is a substrate for JIL-1 in vitro as well as in vivo and map the site of phosphorylation. These findings may provide a molecular explanation for the observed genetic interaction between SU(VAR3-9 and JIL-1.

  10. 21 CFR 173.145 - Alpha-Galactosidase derived from Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer. 173.145 Section 173.145 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION... Alpha-Galactosidase derived from Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer. The food additive alpha-galactosidase and parent mycelial microorganism Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer may be safely used...

  11. Comparative ozone responses of cutleaf coneflowers (Rudbeckia laciniata var. digitata, var. ampla) from Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufeld, Howard S; Johnson, Jennifer; Kohut, Robert

    2018-01-01

    Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L. var. digitata) is native to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) and an ozone bioindicator species. Variety ampla, whose ozone sensitivity is less well known, is native to Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO). In the early 2000s, researchers found putative ozone symptoms on var. ampla and rhizomes were sent to Appalachian State University to verify that the symptoms were the result of ozone exposure. In 2011, potted plants were exposed to ambient ozone from May to August. These same plants were grown in open-top chambers (OTCs) in 2012 and 2013, and exposed to charcoal-filtered (CF), non-filtered (NF), elevated ozone (EO), NF+50ppb in 2012 for 47days and NF+30/NF+50ppb ozone in 2013 for 36 and 36days, respectively. Ozone symptoms similar to those found in ROMO (blue-black adaxial stippling) were reproduced both in ambient air and in the OTCs. Both varieties exhibited foliar injury in the OTCs in an exposure-dependent manner, verifying that symptoms resulted from ozone exposure. In two of the three study years, var. digitata appeared more sensitive than var. ampla. Exposure to EO caused reductions in ambient photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (g s ) for both varieties. Light response curves indicated that ozone reduced A, g s , and the apparent quantum yield while it increased the light compensation point. In CF air, var. ampla had higher light saturated A (18.2±1.04 vs 11.6±0.37μmolm -2 s -1 ), higher light saturation (1833±166.7 vs 1108±141.7μmolm -2 s -1 ), and lower Ci/Ca ratio (0.67±0.01 vs 0.77±0.01) than var. digitata. Coneflowers in both Parks are adversely affected by exposure to ambient ozone and if ozone concentrations increase in the Rocky Mountains, greater amounts of injury on var. ampla can be expected. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. VAr reserve concept applied to a wind power plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinez, Jorge; Kjær, Philip C.; Rodriguez, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    to wind power plants. This paper proposes two different VAr reserve control strategies for a wind power plant. The amount of dynamic VAr available most of the operation time, makes the wind power plant (WPP) a good candidate to include a VAr reserve management system. Two different ways of implementing...... a VAr management system are proposed and analyzed. Such a reactive power reserve may be provided by the wind power plant since the amount of reactive power installed for most active power working points exceeds the demand required by the grid operator. Basically, this overrated reactive power capacity...... is a consequence of sizing wind turbine facilities for maximum active power level. The reactive power losses, due to active power transportation inside the plant (normally two transformers), and P-Q wind turbine characteristics define the P-Q reserve chart. By utilizing the intrinsic overrated reactive power...

  13. A comprehensive market-based scheme for VAR management and pricing in the electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Araby, E.E. [Qassim Univ., Alqassim, Meldia (Saudi Arabia). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

    2009-07-01

    In order to enable a power system to operate within an acceptable degree of reliability and security, the provision of VAR ancillary services from the VAR sources in electricity markets is the most effective method. The procurement of VAR services is particularly problematic for transmission operators as it relates to pricing mechanism and various technical issues during system operation. This paper proposed an integrated market-based approach for pricing VAR service in the electricity market. The paper was an extension of the authors' proposal for the provision of the VAR service from dynamic VAR sources in a competitive market-based environment. The formulation was modified to include VAR utilization payment and possible power system transition states multiple base cases and contingencies with their associated occurrence probabilities. The paper discussed the basic terms of the proposed approach including the VAR market objective and generator VAR output and its compensation. The mathematical formulation that considered VAR capacity payment, utilization payment and operating costs under the previous transition states in a unified single problem were introduced. The overall problem formulation and solution algorithm were also presented as a large-scale mixed integer nonlinear optimization problem. It was concluded that the proposed method was suited for the simulation and analysis of the existing VAR market. 8 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs., 2 appendices.

  14. METODE VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE (VAR DALAM PERAMALAN JUMLAH WISATAWAN MANCANEGARA KE BALI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TJOK GDE SAHITYAHUTTI RANANGGA

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research were to model and to forecast the number of foreign tourists (Australia, China, and Japan arrival to Bali using vector autoregressive (VAR method. The estimated of VAR model obtained to forecast the number of foreign tourists to Bali is the sixth order VAR (VAR(6.We used multivariate least square method to estimate the VAR(6’s parameters.The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE in this model were as follows 6.8% in predicting the number of Australian tourists, 15.9% in predicting the number of Chinese tourists, and 9% in predicting the number of Japanese tourists. The prediction of Australian, Chinese, and Japanese tourists arrival to Bali for July 2017 to December 2017 tended  to experience up and downs that were not too high compared to the previous months.

  15. To the issue of increasing efficiency of VAR compensation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Світлана Костянтинівна Поднебенна

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the features of VAR compensation of variable loads. One of the most common non-symmetric non-linear power consumers are welding power sources. Time and duration of the work of these sources vary randomly. To compensate the consumption of reactive power on the basis of consumption data from the three-phase electricity meters is inefficient. Compensation devices power should be calculated taking into account the asymmetrical consumption/generation of reactive power per phase and changing consumption patterns. Thyristor-controlled reactor, thyristor-switched capacitors, hybrid VAR compensators, active compensators (STATCOMs, «dynamic capacitors» can be used as the VAR compensation devices. Thyristor-controlled reactors can provide smooth regulation of reactive power, but they have high weight and size parameters and are additional sources of higher harmonics. Thyristor-switched capacitors provide stepwise adjustment of reactive power and are subject to the current higher harmonics. Hybrid VAR compensators make it possible to isolate capacitors from the higher harmonics and ensure smooth regulation, which is achieved by active filter introduction to the reactive power compensation devices based on thyristor-switched capacitors. However, this increases the cost of a compensator and complicates its control system. STATCOMs provide smooth regulation of reactive power, but they are too expensive.Perspective direction in the development of effective VAR compensation devices is «dynamic capacitor». As a result of a feasibility study the prospects for further research of electrical grids power efficiency through the development of effective devices for VAR compensation have been established

  16. The candelabra tree (Euphorbia ingens: a source of water for black rhinoceros in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.O. Dudley

    1997-08-01

    Full Text Available The introduction of two rhinoceros into a 15 km2 fenced sanctuary within Liwonde National Park provided an opportunity for close observation of the animals feeding on the toxic succulent Euphorbia ingens. Feeding invariably caused the death of the plant and for plants with basal diameters between 5-17 cm, mortality ranged from 40-90 . During the severe drought of 1994 rhinoceros did not drink from the artificial waterhole from approximately 15 July to at least 23 September. As this waterhole was the only source of free water it is believed that the rhinoceros obtained their water from browsing on E. ingens.

  17. Aportacions a la flora de les comarques transibèriques, II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rovira, Ana M.

    1988-01-01

    Full Text Available Not availabe

    [fr] On expose quelques nouveautés taxonomiques et chorologiques pour la Flore des comarques catalanes du Sud de l'Ebre. On décrit deux nouveaux taxa: Brassica repanda (Willd. DC. subsp. dertosensis Molero & Rovira et Helianthemum pilosum (L. Pers. var. pseudoasperum Molero & Rovira. On propose aussi une nouvelle combinaison nomenclaturelle: Reseda lutea L. subsp. vivantii (P. Montserrat A. Rovira. Dans l’aspecte chorologique, Euphorbia lagascae Sprengel est indiquée pour la première fois en Catalogne: la plupart des autres espèces sont des nouveautés pour les comarques catalanes du Sud de l'Ebre. [ca] Presentem un recull de novetats corològiques i taxonòmiques per a les comarques catalanes situades alsud de l'Ebre. Es descriuen dos tàxons nous: Brassica repanda (Willd. DC. subsp. dertosensis Molero & Rovira i Helianthemum pilosum (L. Pers. var. pseudoasperum Molero & Rovira. S'estableix una nova combinació nomenclatural: Reseda lutea L. subsp. vivantii (P. Montserrat A. Rovira. En l'aspecte corològic. Euphorbia lagascae Sprengel representa una novetat per a Catalunya. La majoria de les altres citacions representen novetats pel conjunt d'aquestes comarques catalanes meridio-occidentals.

  18. How can the origin of the decay var-phi →3π be determined?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achasov, N.N.; Kozhevnikov, A.A.

    1992-01-01

    It is shown that the interference pattern in the region √s = 1.05 GeV in the reaction e + e - →ω, var-phi →3π can be used to determine unambiguously whether the decay var-phi →3π occurs because of var-phi ω mixing, var-phi →ω→3π, or because of the direct transition var-phi →3π. 8 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  19. Chronic toxicological effects of ultradiluted solutions of Aveloz (Euphorbia tirucalli Lineu) on healthy mice: a preliminary study Efeitos toxicológicos crônicos de altas diluições de Aveloz (Euphorbia tirucalli L.) em camundongos sadios: estudo preliminar. Efectos toxicológicos crónicos de altas diluciones de Euphorbia tirucalli en ratones sanos: estudio preliminar.

    OpenAIRE

    Morgana Castelo Branco; Ricardo Kuster; Alexandre dos Santos Pyrrho; Paulo Eduardo Mansur Hobaica; Gleyce Moreno Barbosa; Nelson Gomes; Carolina Lessa Aquino; Elaine Daudt; Teresa Gomes; Cristiane Pereira; Fernanda Sales; Marcia CBN Varricchio; Carla Holandino

    2008-01-01

    The latex extracted from Euphorbia tirucalli, a plant popularly known as Aveloz, is used in complementary medicine to induce tumor regression. However, as this latex has toxic effects when administered orally in ponderal doses, the present study was designed to assess the effects of high dilutions in healthy mice over a period of 18 weeks. The Aveloz latex-high diluted solutions (latex-HD) were obtained through the interaction of two processes: 1:100 dilution in mass and succussion, using et...

  20. VAR, stress-testing and supplementary methodologies: uses and constraints in energy risk management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senior, Brian

    1999-01-01

    This chapter lists some of the special risks associated with a range of energy markets, and questions what is risk. Market risk, the use of value-at-risk (VAR) for measuring and managing market risk, use of VAR in the banking sector, back-testing of VAR, the corporate sector, making investment decisions, and the need for additional methods of risk analysis are discussed. Scenario analysis and stress testing, liquidity, and combining VAR and stress-testing are described. Credit risk and the quantitative analysis of credit risk are addressed, and operational risk, and organisational challenges are considered. Panels present examples of a simple VAR calculation and give descriptions of VAR in corporate decisions, the measurement of liquidity, and the use of the Greeks in decisions on day to day trading and risk management

  1. Computing level-impulse responses of log-specified VAR systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wieringa, J.E.; Horvath, C.

    2005-01-01

    Impulse response functions (IRFs) are often used to analyze the dynamic behavior of a vector autoregressive (VAR) system. In many applications of VAR modelling, the variables are log-transformed before the model is estimated. If this is the case, the results of the IRFs do not have a direct

  2. EFEITO FUNGITÓXICO DO ÓLEO DE NIM SOBRE Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum e Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álison Bruno da Silva Santos

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Plague control is based almost exclusively on application of chemical substances, however these products are toxic to men and animals and cause odd effects on environment quality. In Plague Integrated Management (PIM, the use of selected insecticides and entomopathogenic fungi should be considered as one viable strategy for plague control in agriculture. This work aimed to evaluate, in laboratory, the compatibility of the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum and Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae with the oil of Nim. The addition of the product was made to the potato-dextrose-agar medium still liquid (±45°C, in a way that the final concentration obeyed 50% of the producer's recommendation. After fungi inoculation, the dishes were incubated in a cimatized room at 28°C, photophase of 12 hours and relative humidity of 75±5% for 12 day period. The number of conidia per colonie was counted with a Neubauer chamber. Statistic delineament was entirely in random, with two treatments (PDA with insecticide, and a control group (PDA without insecticide, and 9 repetitions for each treatment. The results showed that the insecticide inhibited conidial production in Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae strains when compared to the control group. The diameter of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum colonies suffered significative reduction in its size, compared to control. The tested insecticide, in the concentration and formulation used, presented compatibility with the tested strains.

  3. Overexpression of the AtSHI gene in poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, results in compact plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Islam, M. Ashraful; Lütken, Henrik Vlk; Haugslien, Sissel

    2013-01-01

    of the AtSHI gene into poinsettia by genetic engineering can be an effective approach in controlling plant height without negatively affecting flowering time. This can help to reduce or avoid the use of toxic growth retardants of environmental and human health concern. This is the first report that At......Euphorbia pulcherrima, poinsettia, is a non-food and non-feed vegetatively propagated ornamental plant. Appropriate plant height is one of the most important traits in poinsettia production and is commonly achieved by application of chemical growth retardants. To produce compact poinsettia plants...... integration of transgene was verified by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Reduced plant height (21–52%) and internode lengths (31–49%) were obtained in the transgenic lines compared to control plants. This correlates positively with the AtSHI transcript levels, with the highest levels in the most dwarfed...

  4. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia following probiotic treatment

    OpenAIRE

    Appel-da-Silva, Marcelo C.; Narvaez, Gabriel A.; Perez, Leandro R.R.; Drehmer, Laura; Lewgoy, Jairo

    2017-01-01

    Probiotics are commonly prescribed as an adjuvant in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. We report the case of an immunocompromised 73-year-old patient on chemotherapy who developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia in a central venous catheter during treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis with the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii. Fungemia was resolved after interruption of probiotic administrat...

  5. Genomic resources and draft assemblies of the human and porcine varieties of scabies mites, Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis and var. suis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mofiz, Ehtesham; Holt, Deborah C; Seemann, Torsten; Currie, Bart J; Fischer, Katja; Papenfuss, Anthony T

    2016-06-02

    The scabies mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, is a parasitic arachnid and cause of the infectious skin disease scabies in humans and mange in other animal species. Scabies infections are a major health problem, particularly in remote Indigenous communities in Australia, where secondary group A streptococcal and Staphylococcus aureus infections of scabies sores are thought to drive the high rate of rheumatic heart disease and chronic kidney disease. We sequenced the genome of two samples of Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis obtained from unrelated patients with crusted scabies located in different parts of northern Australia using the Illumina HiSeq. We also sequenced samples of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis from a pig model. Because of the small size of the scabies mite, these data are derived from pools of thousands of mites and are metagenomic, including host and microbiome DNA. We performed cleaning and de novo assembly and present Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis and var. suis draft reference genomes. We have constructed a preliminary annotation of this reference comprising 13,226 putative coding sequences based on sequence similarity to known proteins. We have developed extensive genomic resources for the scabies mite, including reference genomes and a preliminary annotation.

  6. [Autotoxicity of aqueous extracts from plant of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xin-Hui; Lang, Duo-Yong; Chen, Jing; Zhao, Yun-Sheng; Wu, Xiu-Li; Fu, Xue-Yan

    2014-02-01

    To exploring the relationship between continuous cropping obstacle and autotoxicity of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, autotoxic effect of plant aqueous extract were determined. Distilled water (CK), aqueous extract of plant, including root, stem and leaf (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 mg/mL respectively)were applied to testing their effect on early growth of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. Specifically, seed germination rate, germination index, emergence rate, elongation of radical and embryo, and seedling vigor index were determined. The aqueous extract of root, stem, and leaf at 25 mg/mL significantly inhibited the seed germination and seedling growth of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, and this inhibitory effect generally increased with the increase of the concentration of aqueous extracts. To the comprehensive allelopathic effect, the extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus stem were more inhibitory than those from leaf and root. The germination index and seedling vigor index were more sensitive to extract than other determined parameters. Aqueous extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus plant gave inhibitory effects on Astragalus. membranaceus var. mongholicus germination and seedling growth, and this inhibitory effect generally increased with the increases of aqueous extract concentration at a certain ranges. In conclusion, there is an autotoxicity in continuous cropping of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus.

  7. [Photosynthetic parameters and physiological indexes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis influenced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Zheng-xin; Guo, Dong-qin; Li, Hai-feng; Ding, Bo; Zhang, Jie; Zhou, Nong; Yu, Jie

    2015-10-01

    Through potted inoculation test at room temperature and indoor analysis, the photosynthetic parameters and physiological and biochemical indexes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis were observed after 28 arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi were injected into the P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis growing in a sterile soil environment. The results showed that AM fungi established a good symbiosis with P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The AM fungi influenced the photosynthetic parameters and physiological and biochemical indexes of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. And the influences were varied depending on different AM fungi. The application of AM fungi improved photosynthesis intensity of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis mesophyll cells, the contents of soluble protein and soluble sugar, protective enzyme activity of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis leaf, which was beneficial to resist the adverse environment and promote the growth of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Otherwise, there was a certain mutual selectivity between P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis and AM fungi. From the comprehensive effect of inoculation, Racocetra coralloidea, Scutellospora calospora, Claroideoglomus claroideum, S. pellucida and Rhizophagus clarus were the most suitable AM fungi to P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis when P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was planted in the field.

  8. Variabilidade genética em biotipos de leiteiro de Londrina/PR Genetic variability among Euphorbia heterophylla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria José V. de Vasconcelos

    2000-08-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia heterophylla, também conhecida como amendoim-bravo ou leiteira, é considerada planta invasora importante em mais de 56 países, inclusive no Brasil, tendo acarretado perdas de até 33 % na cultura da soja. Fenotipicamente, é uma espécie de características variáveis, especialmente em relação ao formato do limbo foliar. Esta variabilidade fenotípica tem sido utilizada para diferenciar e classificar as plantas, sugerindo a vários autores que a leiteira seria, de fato, constituída por diferentes espécies. Para estudar a variabilidade genética a nível de DNA entre plantas de Euphorbia heterophylla, que apresentam folhas morfologicamente diferentes, foram analisadas dez plantas diferentes coletadas em campos de soja, em Londrina/PR. As plantas foram transplantadas para casa-devegetação e o DNA das folhas foi extraído para análise pela técnica de RAPD. Vinte seis diferentes "primers", de dez nucleotídeos de sequência aleatória, geraram total de 102 bandas de DNA, sendo 38 delas polimórficas. A distância genética entre os indivíduos foi calculada em função da presença e da ausência das bandas, variando de 1 a 39% entre plantas. A análise de agrupamento dividiu as plantas em dois grupos, considerando limite de distância relativa de 22%. Os grupos gerados separaram nitidamente as plantas quanto ao formato do limbo foliar (estreito ou arredondado e quanto á ramificação (densa ou normal.Euphorbia heterophylla is an important weed affecting the performance of annual and perennial crops. It is native from tropical and subtropical regions in the American continent, and has been detected at high densities in 20 different countries worldwide, and at low densities in other 40 countries. In Brazil, it has been inclued among the ten most important weeds affecting different crops, causing yield losses up to 33% in soybean fields. Phenotypically, this species is extremely variable, especially in relation to leaf shape and

  9. The Possibilities to use Euphorbia Tirucalli as an Energy and a Rubber Crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Van Damme

    1990-02-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia tirucalli has been used as a source for natural rubber at different times in history, especially in southern Africa. The latex resin content is too high to guarantee a good quality product and economic production has never taken off as some had hoped. The fact that the plant is very well adapted to arid and semi arid conditions and can be grown on marginal waste lands makes it a potential energy crop which can be turned into biogas without too much investment in costly technology. The first results obtained in the laboratory and in field conditions (Senegal are very promising. The latex contains a number of interesting triterpenes which have a very high energy content and could be used in fuel production. Most of these applications have been tested or used in Africa and can offer long-term solutions for old problems, particularly in the case of renewable energy through biomass fermentation. KEY WORDS: rubber, biomass, biogas, triterpenes, energy crop

  10. Triterpenoid biosynthesis in Euphorbia lathyris latex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawkins, D.R.

    1987-11-01

    The structures of triterpenols, not previously been known, from Euphorbia lathyris latex are reported. A method for quantifying very small amounts of these compounds was developed. Concerning the biochemistry of the latex, no exogenous cofactors were required for the biosynthesis and the addition of compounds such as NADPAH and ATP do not stimulate the biosynthesis. The addition of DTE or a similar anti-oxidant was found to help reduce the oxidation of the latex, thus increasing the length of time that the latex remains active. The requirement of a divalent cation and the preference for Mn in the pellet was observed. The effect of several inhibitors on the biosynthesis of the triterpenoids was examined. Mevinolin was found to inhibit the biosynthesis of the triterpenoids from acetate, but not mevalonate. A dixon plot of the inhibition of acetate incorporation showed an I/sub 50/ concentration of 3.2 ..mu..M. Fenpropimorph was found to have little or no effect on the biosynthesis. Tridemorph was found to inhibit the biosynthesis of all of the triterpenoids with an I/sub 50/ of 4 ..mu..M. It was also observed that the cyclopropyl containing triterpenols, cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol were inhibited much more strongly than those containing an 8-9 double bond, lanosterol and 24-methylenelanosterol. The evidence indicates, but does not definetely prove, that lanosterol and 24-methylenelanosterol are not made from cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol via a ring-opening enzyme such as cycloeucalenol-obtusifoliol isomerase. The possibilty that cycloartenol is made via lanosterol was investigated by synthesizing 4-R-4-/sup 3/H-mevalonic acid and incubating latex with a mixture of this and /sup 14/C-mevalonic acid. From the /sup 3/H//sup 14/C ratio it was shown that cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartenol are not made via an intermediate containing as 8-9 double bond. 88 refs., 15 figs., 30 tabs.

  11. Haavelmo's Probability Approach and the Cointegrated VAR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    Some key econometric concepts and problems addressed by Trygve Haavelmo and Ragnar Frisch are discussed within the general frame- work of a cointegrated VAR. The focus is on problems typical of time- series data such as multicollinearity, spurious correlation and regres- sion results, time......) the plausibility of the multivari- ate normality assumption underlying the VAR, (3) cointegration as a solution to the problem of spurious correlation and multicollinearity when data contain deterministic and stochastic trends, (4) the exis- tence of a universe, (5) the association between Frisch’s con...

  12. Comparison of historically simulated VaR: Evidence from oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costello, Alexandra; Asem, Ebenezer; Gardner, Eldon

    2008-01-01

    Cabedo and Moya [Cabedo, J.D., Moya, I., 2003. Estimating oil price 'Value at Risk' using the historical simulation approach. Energy Economics 25, 239-253] find that ARMA with historical simulation delivers VaR forecasts that are superior to those from GARCH. We compare the ARMA with historical simulation to the semi-parametric GARCH model proposed by Barone-Adesi et al. [Barone-Adesi, G., Giannopoulos, K., Vosper, L., 1999. VaR without correlations for portfolios of derivative securities. Journal of Futures Markets 19 (5), 583-602]. The results suggest that the semi-parametric GARCH model generates VaR forecasts that are superior to the VaR forecasts from the ARMA with historical simulation. This is due to the fact that GARCH captures volatility clustering. Our findings suggest that Cabedo and Moya's conclusion is mainly driven by the normal distributional assumption imposed on the future risk structure in the GARCH model. (author)

  13. Antisense long noncoding RNAs regulate var gene activation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amit-Avraham, Inbar; Pozner, Guy; Eshar, Shiri; Fastman, Yair; Kolevzon, Netanel; Yavin, Eylon; Dzikowski, Ron

    2015-03-03

    The virulence of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the deadliest form of human malaria, is attributed to its ability to evade human immunity through antigenic variation. These parasites alternate between expression of variable antigens, encoded by members of a multicopy gene family named var. Immune evasion through antigenic variation depends on tight regulation of var gene expression, ensuring that only a single var gene is expressed at a time while the rest of the family is maintained transcriptionally silent. Understanding how a single gene is chosen for activation is critical for understanding mutually exclusive expression but remains a mystery. Here, we show that antisense long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) initiating from var introns are associated with the single active var gene at the time in the cell cycle when the single var upstream promoter is active. We demonstrate that these antisense transcripts are incorporated into chromatin, and that expression of these antisense lncRNAs in trans triggers activation of a silent var gene in a sequence- and dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, interference with these lncRNAs using complement peptide nucleic acid molecules down-regulated the active var gene, erased the epigenetic memory, and induced expression switching. Altogether, our data provide evidence that these antisense lncRNAs play a key role in regulating var gene activation and mutually exclusive expression.

  14. Mosquito Passage Dramatically Changes var Gene Expression in Controlled Human Plasmodium falciparum Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, Anna; Petter, Michaela; Krumkamp, Ralf; Esen, Meral; Held, Jana; Scholz, Judith A M; Li, Tao; Sim, B Kim Lee; Hoffman, Stephen L; Kremsner, Peter G; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Duffy, Michael F; Tannich, Egbert

    2016-04-01

    Virulence of the most deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is linked to the variant surface antigen PfEMP1, which is encoded by about 60 var genes per parasite genome. Although the expression of particular variants has been associated with different clinical outcomes, little is known about var gene expression at the onset of infection. By analyzing controlled human malaria infections via quantitative real-time PCR, we show that parasite populations from 18 volunteers expressed virtually identical transcript patterns that were dominated by the subtelomeric var gene group B and, to a lesser extent, group A. Furthermore, major changes in composition and frequency of var gene transcripts were detected between the parental parasite culture that was used to infect mosquitoes and Plasmodia recovered from infected volunteers, suggesting that P. falciparum resets its var gene expression during mosquito passage and starts with the broad expression of a specific subset of var genes when entering the human blood phase.

  15. Genome-wide analysis of SU(VAR)3-9 distribution in chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksimov, Daniil A; Laktionov, Petr P; Posukh, Olga V; Belyakin, Stepan N; Koryakov, Dmitry E

    2018-03-01

    Histone modifications represent one of the key factors contributing to proper genome regulation. One of histone modifications involved in gene silencing is methylation of H3K9 residue. Present in the chromosomes across different eukaryotes, this epigenetic mark is controlled by SU(VAR)3-9 and its orthologs. Despite SU(VAR)3-9 was discovered over two decades ago, little is known about the details of its chromosomal distribution pattern. To fill in this gap, we used DamID-seq approach and obtained high-resolution genome-wide profiles for SU(VAR)3-9 in two somatic (salivary glands and brain ganglia) and two germline (ovarian nurse cells and testes) tissues of Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of tissue and developmental expression of SU(VAR)3-9-bound genes indicates that in the somatic tissues tested, as well as in the ovarian nurse cells, SU(VAR)3-9 tends to associate with transcriptionally silent genes. In contrast, in the testes, SU(VAR)3-9 shows preferential association with testis-specific genes, and its binding appears dynamic during spermatogenesis. In somatic cells, the mere presence/absence of SU(VAR)3-9 binding correlates with lower/higher expression. No such correlation is found in the male germline. Interestingly, transcription units in piRNA clusters (particularly flanks thereof) are frequently targeted by SU(VAR)3-9, and Su(var)3-9 mutation affects the expression of select piRNA species. Our analyses suggest a context-dependent role of SU(VAR)3-9. In euchromatin, SU(VAR)3-9 may serve to fine-tune the expression of individual genes, whereas in heterochromatin, chromosome 4, and piRNA clusters, it may act more broadly over large chromatin domains.

  16. Twenty novel polymorphic microsatellite primers in the critically endangered Melastoma tetramerum var. tetramerum (Melastomataceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narita, Ayu; Izuno, Ayako; Komaki, Yoshiteru; Tanaka, Takefumi; Murata, Jin; Isagi, Yuji

    2016-09-01

    Microsatellite markers were identified for Melastoma tetramerum var. tetramerum (Melastomataceae), a critically endangered shrub endemic to the Bonin Islands, to reveal genetic characteristics in wild and restored populations. Using next-generation sequencing, 27 microsatellite markers were identified. Twenty of these markers were polymorphic in M. tetramerum var. tetramerum, with two to nine alleles per locus and expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.10 to 0.71. Among the 20 polymorphic markers, 15 were applicable to other closely related taxa, namely M. tetramerum var. pentapetalum, M. candidum var. candidum, and M. candidum var. alessandrense. These markers can be potentially useful to investigate the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and reproductive ecology of M. tetramerum var. tetramerum as well as of the three related taxa to provide appropriate genetic information for conservation.

  17. Semi-nonparametric VaR forecasts for hedge funds during the recent crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Brio, Esther B.; Mora-Valencia, Andrés; Perote, Javier

    2014-05-01

    The need to provide accurate value-at-risk (VaR) forecasting measures has triggered an important literature in econophysics. Although these accurate VaR models and methodologies are particularly demanded for hedge fund managers, there exist few articles specifically devoted to implement new techniques in hedge fund returns VaR forecasting. This article advances in these issues by comparing the performance of risk measures based on parametric distributions (the normal, Student’s t and skewed-t), semi-nonparametric (SNP) methodologies based on Gram-Charlier (GC) series and the extreme value theory (EVT) approach. Our results show that normal-, Student’s t- and Skewed t- based methodologies fail to forecast hedge fund VaR, whilst SNP and EVT approaches accurately success on it. We extend these results to the multivariate framework by providing an explicit formula for the GC copula and its density that encompasses the Gaussian copula and accounts for non-linear dependences. We show that the VaR obtained by the meta GC accurately captures portfolio risk and outperforms regulatory VaR estimates obtained through the meta Gaussian and Student’s t distributions.

  18. Development of a Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion Extraction Combined with UPLC/Q-TOF-MS for Determination of Phenolics and Terpenoids from the Euphorbia fischeriana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenjing; Lin, Yu; Wang, Yuchun; Hong, Bo

    2017-09-11

    A method based on a simplified extraction by matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with the quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS) determination is validated for analysis of two phenolics and three terpenoids in Euphorbia fischeriana . The optimized experimental parameters of MSPD including dispersing sorbent (silica gel), ratio of sample to dispersing sorbent (1:2), elution solvent (water-ethanol: 30-70) and volume of the elution solvent (10 mL) were examined and set down. The highest extraction yields of chromatogram information and the five compounds were obtained under the optimized conditions. A total of 25 constituents have been identified and five components have been quantified from Euphorbia fischeriana . A linear relationship (r² ≥ 0.9964) between the concentrations and the peak areas of the mixed standard substances were revealed. The average recovery was between 92.4% and 103.2% with RSD values less than 3.45% ( n = 5). The extraction yields of two phenolics and three terpenoids obtained by the MSPD were higher than those of traditional reflux and sonication extraction with reduced requirement on sample, solvent and time. In addition, the optimized method will be applied for analyzing terpenoids in other Chinese herbal medicine samples.

  19. Comparative anatomy of the leaves of Piper lepturum(Kunth) C.DC. var. lepturum and Piper lepturum var. angustifolium (C.DC.) Yunck.

    OpenAIRE

    Machado, Nelson Santana de Oliveira; Pereira, Flaviane Gomes; Santos, Paulo Roberto Dias dos; Costa, Cecília Gonçalves; Guimarães, Elsie Franklin

    2015-01-01

    This study showed anatomical differences related to Piper lepturumvar. lepturum and P. lepturum var. angustifolium species, sometimes considered varieties and in other cases synonyms. For histological analysis, fully expanded leaves were collected and for analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM), fragments from the midrib were fixed on both leaf surfaces. The two species revealed differences in plant anatomy and it was observed that the stem of P. lepturum var. lepturum showed persisten...

  20. Resistance to Southern Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in Wild Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thies, Judy A; Ariss, Jennifer J; Kousik, Chandrasekar S; Hassell, Richard L; Levi, Amnon

    2016-03-01

    Southern root-knot nematode (RKN, Meloidogyne incognita) is a serious pest of cultivated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) in southern regions of the United States and no resistance is known to exist in commercial watermelon cultivars. Wild watermelon relatives (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) have been shown in greenhouse studies to possess varying degrees of resistance to RKN species. Experiments were conducted over 2 yr to assess resistance of southern RKN in C. lanatus var. citroides accessions from the U.S. Watermelon Plant Introduction Collection in an artificially infested field site at the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, SC. In the first study (2006), 19 accessions of C. lanatus var. citroides were compared with reference entries of Citrullus colocynthis and C. lanatus var. lanatus. Of the wild watermelon accessions, two entries exhibited significantly less galling than all other entries. Five of the best performing C. lanatus var. citroides accessions were evaluated with and without nematicide at the same field site in 2007. Citrullus lanatus var. citroides accessions performed better than C. lanatus var. lanatus and C. colocynthis. Overall, most entries of C. lanatus var. citroides performed similarly with and without nematicide treatment in regard to root galling, visible egg masses, vine vigor, and root mass. In both years of field evaluations, most C. lanatus var. citroides accessions showed lesser degrees of nematode reproduction and higher vigor and root mass than C. colocynthis and C. lanatus var. lanatus. The results of these two field evaluations suggest that wild watermelon populations may be useful sources of resistance to southern RKN.

  1. ESTIMATING RISK ON THE CAPITAL MARKET WITH VaR METHOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinisa Bogdan

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The two basic questions that every investor tries to answer before investment are questions about predicting return and risk. Risk and return are generally considered two positively correlated sizes, during the growth of risk it is expected increase of return to compensate the higher risk. The quantification of risk in the capital market represents the current topic since occurrence of securities. Together with estimated future returns it represents starting point of any investment. In this study it is described the history of the emergence of VaR methods, usefulness in assessing the risks of financial assets. Three main Value at Risk (VaR methodologies are decribed and explained in detail: historical method, parametric method and Monte Carlo method. After the theoretical review of VaR methods it is estimated risk of liquid stocks and portfolio from the Croatian capital market with historical and parametric VaR method, after which the results were compared and explained.

  2. Comparison of historically simulated VaR: Evidence from oil prices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costello, Alexandra [Seminole Canada Energy, Calgary, AB (Canada); Asem, Ebenezer; Gardner, Eldon [Faculty of Management, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB (Canada)

    2008-09-15

    Cabedo and Moya [Cabedo, J.D., Moya, I., 2003. Estimating oil price 'Value at Risk' using the historical simulation approach. Energy Economics 25, 239-253] find that ARMA with historical simulation delivers VaR forecasts that are superior to those from GARCH. We compare the ARMA with historical simulation to the semi-parametric GARCH model proposed by Barone-Adesi et al. [Barone-Adesi, G., Giannopoulos, K., Vosper, L., 1999. VaR without correlations for portfolios of derivative securities. Journal of Futures Markets 19 (5), 583-602]. The results suggest that the semi-parametric GARCH model generates VaR forecasts that are superior to the VaR forecasts from the ARMA with historical simulation. This is due to the fact that GARCH captures volatility clustering. Our findings suggest that Cabedo and Moya's conclusion is mainly driven by the normal distributional assumption imposed on the future risk structure in the GARCH model. (author)

  3. PREVALENCIA DE Strongyloides stercoralis Y OTROS PARÁSITOS INTESTINALES EN INDIGENTES ALCOHÓLICOS DE CIUDAD BOLÍVAR, ESTADO BOLÍVAR, VENEZUELA | PREVALENCE OF Strongyloides stercoralis AND OTHER INTESTINAL PARASITES IN ALCOHOLIC HOMELESS FROM CIUDAD BOLÍVAR, BOLÍVAR STATE, VENEZUELA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo Devera

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Between may and july 2010 a study was performed in order to determine the prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis and other intestinal parasites in alcoholic homeless who attend two Alcoholics Anonymous Centers in Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, Venezuela. Eighty stool samples were collected, which were analyzed using the techniques of direct examination, Kato, micro-Baermann, Rugai and agar plate culture. An estimate of 61.3% of the evaluated population was parasitized. The intestinal parasite most prevalent was the chromist Blastocystis (33.8%. Among the protozoan, the most common was Endolimax nana (21.3% and among the helminths it was Strongyloides stercoralis (12.5%.

  4. EFFECTS OF MONETARY POLICY IN ROMANIA - A VAR APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulian Popescu

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding how monetary policy decisions affect inflation and other economic variables is particularly important. In this paper we consider the implications of monetary policy under the inflation targeting regime in Romania, based on an autoregressive vector method including recursive VAR and structural VAR (SVAR. Therefore, we focus on assessing the extent and persistence of monetary policy effects on gross domestic product (GDP, price level, extended monetary aggregate (M3 and exchange rate. The main results of VAR analysis reflect a negative response of consumer price index (CPI, GDP and M3 and positive nominal exchange rate behaviour to a monetary policy shock, and also a limited impact of a short-term interest rate shock in explaining the consumer prices, production and exchange rate fluctuations.

  5. Da abort ikke var en sag for kvinden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz, Annette Østergaard

    2013-01-01

    Case fra tiden før 1973, hvor der ikke var fri abort i Danmark. Sagen er fundet i Mødrehjælpens arkiv og giver som andre sager indblik i kvindens situation. Led i serien: Nyt i arkivet.......Case fra tiden før 1973, hvor der ikke var fri abort i Danmark. Sagen er fundet i Mødrehjælpens arkiv og giver som andre sager indblik i kvindens situation. Led i serien: Nyt i arkivet....

  6. Optimizing expression of the pregnancy malaria vaccine candidate, VAR2CSA in Pichia pastoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avril, Marion; Hathaway, Marianne J; Cartwright, Megan M; Gose, Severin O; Narum, David L; Smith, Joseph D

    2009-06-29

    VAR2CSA is the main candidate for a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria, but vaccine development is complicated by the large size and complex disulfide bonding pattern of the protein. Recent X-ray crystallographic information suggests that domain boundaries of VAR2CSA Duffy binding-like (DBL) domains may be larger than previously predicted and include two additional cysteine residues. This study investigated whether longer constructs would improve VAR2CSA recombinant protein secretion from Pichia pastoris and if domain boundaries were applicable across different VAR2CSA alleles. VAR2CSA sequences were bioinformatically analysed to identify the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues at the C-termini of DBL domains and revised N- and C-termimal domain boundaries were predicted in VAR2CSA. Multiple construct boundaries were systematically evaluated for protein secretion in P. pastoris and secreted proteins were tested as immunogens. From a total of 42 different VAR2CSA constructs, 15 proteins (36%) were secreted. Longer construct boundaries, including the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues, generally improved expression of poorly or non-secreted domains and permitted expression of all six VAR2CSA DBL domains. However, protein secretion was still highly empiric and affected by subtle differences in domain boundaries and allelic variation between VAR2CSA sequences. Eleven of the secreted proteins were used to immunize rabbits. Antibodies reacted with CSA-binding infected erythrocytes, indicating that P. pastoris recombinant proteins possessed native protein epitopes. These findings strengthen emerging data for a revision of DBL domain boundaries in var-encoded proteins and may facilitate pregnancy malaria vaccine development.

  7. Optimizing expression of the pregnancy malaria vaccine candidate, VAR2CSA in Pichia pastoris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narum David L

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background VAR2CSA is the main candidate for a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria, but vaccine development is complicated by the large size and complex disulfide bonding pattern of the protein. Recent X-ray crystallographic information suggests that domain boundaries of VAR2CSA Duffy binding-like (DBL domains may be larger than previously predicted and include two additional cysteine residues. This study investigated whether longer constructs would improve VAR2CSA recombinant protein secretion from Pichia pastoris and if domain boundaries were applicable across different VAR2CSA alleles. Methods VAR2CSA sequences were bioinformatically analysed to identify the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues at the C-termini of DBL domains and revised N- and C-termimal domain boundaries were predicted in VAR2CSA. Multiple construct boundaries were systematically evaluated for protein secretion in P. pastoris and secreted proteins were tested as immunogens. Results From a total of 42 different VAR2CSA constructs, 15 proteins (36% were secreted. Longer construct boundaries, including the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues, generally improved expression of poorly or non-secreted domains and permitted expression of all six VAR2CSA DBL domains. However, protein secretion was still highly empiric and affected by subtle differences in domain boundaries and allelic variation between VAR2CSA sequences. Eleven of the secreted proteins were used to immunize rabbits. Antibodies reacted with CSA-binding infected erythrocytes, indicating that P. pastoris recombinant proteins possessed native protein epitopes. Conclusion These findings strengthen emerging data for a revision of DBL domain boundaries in var-encoded proteins and may facilitate pregnancy malaria vaccine development.

  8. Facile synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Euphorbia antiquorum L. latex extract and evaluation of their biomedical perspectives as anticancer agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandrasekaran Rajkuberan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study reveals the rapid biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (EAAgNPs using aqueous latex extract of Euphorbia antiquorum L as a potential bioreductant. Synthesized EAAgNPs generate the surface plasmonic resonance peak at 438 nm in UV–Vis spectrophotometer. Size and shape of EAAgNPs were further characterized through transmission electron microscope (TEM which shows well-dispersed spherical nanoparticles with size ranging from 10 to 50 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analysis (EDAX confirms the presence of silver (Ag as the major constituent element. X-ray diffraction (XRD pattern of EAAgNPs corresponding to (111, (200, (220 and (311 planes, reveals that the generated nanoparticles were face centered cubic crystalline in nature. Interestingly, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR analysis shows the major role of active phenolic constituents in reduction and stabilization of EAAgNPs. Phyto-fabricated EAAgNPs exhibits significant antimicrobial and larvicidal activity against bacterial human pathogens as well as disease transmitting blood sucking parasites such as Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (IIIrd instar larvae. On the other hand, in vitro cytotoxicity assessment of bioformulated EAAgNPs has shown potential anticancer activity against human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa. The preliminary biochemical (MTT assay and microscopic studies depict that the synthesized EAAgNPs at minimal dosage (IC50 = 28 μg triggers cellular toxicity response. Hence, the EAAgNPs can be considered as an environmentally benign and non-toxic nanobiomaterial for biomedical applications. Keywords: Crystal structure, Euphorbia antiquorum L., Silver nanoparticles, Anticancer, Human pathogens

  9. Waarnemingen aan Equisetum arvense L. var. serotinum F.W. Meyer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoek, van L.

    1978-01-01

    Observations during six successive years in a cultivated clone of Equisetum arvense L. var. serotinum F. W. Meyer made it possible to study various types of fertile, sterile, and homophyadic stems developing in this clone. As E. arvense var. varium Milde, E. arvense f. sanguineum Luerss., and E.

  10. Een nieuwe naam voor Arenaria serpyllifolia L. var. macrocarpa Lloyd

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gutermann, W.; Mennema, J.

    1983-01-01

    The name Arenaria serpyllifoiia L. var. macrocarpa Lloyd is illegitimate, because of the existence of the earlier non-synonymous A. serpyllifolia0 macrocarpa Godron. As on the level of variety no other name is available, we call the taxon A renaria serpylli/olia L. var. Iloydn (Jord.) Gutermann et

  11. Exact eigenstates and open-quotes trivialityclose quotes of λ(var-phi *var-phi)2 theory in the Feshbach-Villars formulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darewych, J.W.

    1997-01-01

    The complex scalar (Klein-Gordon) quantum field theory (QFT) with a λ(var-phi * var-phi) 2 interaction is considered in the Feshbach-Villars formulation. It is shown that exact few-particle eigenstates of the QFT Hamiltonian can be obtained. The resulting relativistic few-body equations correspond to Klein-Gordon particles interacting via delta-function, or open-quotes contact,close quotes potentials. Momentum-space solutions of the two-body equation yield a open-quotes trivialclose quotes unity S matrix. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  12. Phyllactinia mali and Podosphaera tridactyla var. tridactyla – new hosts of Ampelomyces quisqualis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beata Czerniawska

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In 2002, the occurrence of fungi of the order Erysiphales on plants of the Słowiański Park located in Goorzów Wielkopolski was investigated. Plant samples were collected once a month, from August to November. The samples examined were above ground plant parts colonized by powdery mildew fungi. A total of 78 samples were collected. Apart from 14 species of the order Erysiphales, Ampelomyces quisqualis parasitizing on Erysiphe cichoracearum var. cichoracearum, Phyllactinia mali and Podosphaera tridactyl var. tridactyla was found. Ampelomyces quisqualis affected hyphae, oidia, and young cleistothecia of P. mali. In contrast, in E. cichoracearum var. cichoracearum, Po. tridactyle var. tridactyla, this hyperparasite colonized only hyphae and oidia. This paper for the first trime informs of A. quisqualis parasitizing on P. mali and Po. tridactyla var. tridactyla.

  13. "Var Teatre"--A Pioneer Turns 40.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Pamela L.

    1984-01-01

    Describes the Stockholm Municipal Youth and Children's theatre ("Var Teatre"), an institution of 14 theatres and attendant professional staff devoted exclusively to drama activities for children and teenagers. (PD)

  14. Somatic Embryogenesis in Olive (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea var. sativa and var. sylvestris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rugini, Eddo; Silvestri, Cristian

    2016-01-01

    Protocols for olive somatic embryogenesis from zygotic embryos and mature tissues have been described for both Olea europaea sub. europaea var. sativa and var. sylvestris. Immature zygotic embryos (no more than 75 days old), used after fruit collection or stored at 12-14 °C for 2-3 months, are the best responsive explants and very slightly genotype dependent, and one single protocol can be effective for a wide range of genotypes. On the contrary, protocols for mature zygotic embryos and for mature tissue of cultivars are often genotype specific, so that they may require many adjustments according to genotypes. The use of thidiazuron and cefotaxime seems to be an important trigger for induction phase particularly for tissues derived from cultivars. Up to now, however, the application of this technique for large-scale propagation is hampered also by the low rate of embryo germination; it proves nonetheless very useful for genetic improvement.

  15. INHIBITION EFFECT OF FLAVONOID EXTRACT OF Euphorbia Guyoniana ON THE CORROSION OF MILD STEEL IN H2SO4 MEDIUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Chihi

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available The influence of flavonoids extracts of three parts of Euphorbia Guyoniana towards the corrosion of type API 5L X52 steel in 15% H2SO4 has been evaluated by weight loss method and polarization technique. The results showed that extracts are a good inhibitors for API 5L X52 steel in this medium. The corrosion inhibition efficiency increases on increasing plant extracts concentration. The inhibition is attributed to the adsorption of the surface of the metal. Potentiodynamic polarization results revealed that the studied inhibitors behave as a mixed type.

  16. Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts from Leaves, Stems and Flowers of Euphorbia macroclada against plant pathogenic fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Al-Mughrabi

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Extracts drawn from dried and powdered flowers, stems and leaves of Euphorbia macroclada with some organic solvents were tested for antimicrobial effect against the fungi Verticillium dahliae, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Stemphylium solani, Cladosporium sp., Mucor sp., and Pythium sp. The strongest inhibitory effect of the extracts was observed against R. solani, V. dahliae, F. oxysporum, Pythium sp. and R. stolonifer. The weakest effect was against A. solani. Extracts from the stems had a stronger inhibitory effect than those from the flowers or leaves. Butanol was the best solvent to extract antimicrobial compounds from leaves, stems and flowers and was superior to chloroform, water and petroleum ether. Results clearly indicate that E. macroclada is a promising source of antimicrobial compounds.

  17. VAR Portfolio Optimal: Perbandingan Antara Metode Markowitz dan Mean Absolute Deviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Agus Sartono

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Portfolio selection method which have been introduced by Harry Markowitz (1952 used variance or deviation standard as a measure of risk. Kanno and Yamazaki (1991 introduced another method and used mean absolute deviation as a measure of risk instead of variance. The Value-at Risk (VaR is a relatively new method to capitalized risk that been used by financial institutions. The aim of this research is compare between mean variance and mean absolute deviation of two portfolios. Next, we attempt to assess the VaR of two portfolios using delta normal method and historical simulation. We use the secondary data from the Jakarta Stock Exchange – LQ45 during 2003. We find that there is a weak-positive correlation between deviation standard and return in both portfolios. The VaR nolmal delta based on mean absolute deviation method eventually is higher than the VaR normal delta based on mean variance method. However, based on the historical simulation the VaR of two methods is statistically insignificant. Thus, the deviation standard is sufficient measures of portfolio risk.Keywords: optimalisasi portofolio, mean-variance, mean-absolute deviation, value-at-risk, metode delta normal, metode simulasi historis

  18. Efficient transformation and expression of gfp gene in Valsa mali var. mali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liang; Sun, Gengwu; Wu, Shujing; Liu, Huixiang; Wang, Hongkai

    2015-01-01

    Valsa mali var. mali, the causal agent of valsa canker of apple, causes great loss of apple production in apple producing regions. The pathogenic mechanism of the pathogen has not been studied extensively, thus a suitable gene marker for pathogenic invasion analysis and a random insertion of T-DNA for mutants are desirable. In this paper, we reported the construction of a binary vector pKO1-HPH containing a positive selective gene hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph), a reporter gene gfp conferring green fluorescent protein, and an efficient protocol for V. mali var. mali transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. A transformation efficiency up to about 75 transformants per 10(5) conidia was achieved when co-cultivation of V. mali var. mali and A. tumefaciens for 48 h in A. tumefaciens inductive medium agar plates. The insertions of hph gene and gfp gene into V. mali var. mali genome verified by polymerase chain reaction and southern blot analysis showed that 10 randomly-selected transformants exhibited a single, unique hybridization pattern. This is the first report of A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation of V. mali var mali carrying a 'reporter' gfp gene that stably and efficiently expressed in the transformed V. mali var. mali species.

  19. Dynamics of anti-VAR2CSA immunoglobulin G response in a cohort of senegalese pregnant women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuikue Ndam, N G; Salanti, A; Le-Hesran, J-Y

    2006-01-01

    demonstrated that a single P. falciparum infection was able to trigger a VAR2CSA-specific antibody response. Among women with infected placentas, women with high anti-VAR2CSA IgG levels at enrollment were more likely to present with a past infection than with an acute/chronic infection. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-VAR2...... (VSAPAM). Several studies have shown that 1 var gene, var2csa, is transcribed at high levels and expressed in CSA-binding Plasmodium falciparum parasites. METHODS: Plasma levels of anti-VAR2CSA immunoglobulin G (IgG) in Senegalese women were measured during pregnancy by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay......, using 3 recombinant proteins representing 3 domains of the var2csa gene product. RESULTS: The 3 recombinant proteins were specifically recognized by plasma from pregnant women but not by control plasma. A parity-dependent recognition pattern was observed with 2 of the 3 VAR2CSA antigens. A kinetic study...

  20. Murine Model for Preclinical Studies of Var2CSA-Mediated Pathology Associated with Malaria in Pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dechavanne, Sebastien; Sousa, Patrícia M.; Barateiro, André; Cunha, Sónia F.; Nunes-Silva, Sofia; Lima, Flávia A.; Murillo, Oscar; Marinho, Claudio R. F.; Gangnard, Stephane; Srivastava, Anand; Braks, Joanna A.; Janse, Chris J.; Gamain, Benoit; Penha-Gonçalves, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy leads to abortions, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal mortality. Infected erythrocytes (IEs) accumulate in the placenta by adhering to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) via var2CSA protein exposed on the P. falciparum IE membrane. Plasmodium berghei IE infection in pregnant BALB/c mice is a model for severe placental malaria (PM). Here, we describe a transgenic P. berghei parasite expressing the full-length var2CSA extracellular region (domains DBL1X to DBL6ε) fused to a P. berghei exported protein (EMAP1) and characterize a var2CSA-based mouse model of PM. BALB/c mice were infected at midgestation with different doses of P. berghei-var2CSA (P. berghei-VAR) or P. berghei wild-type IEs. Infection with 104 P. berghei-VAR IEs induced a higher incidence of stillbirth and lower fetal weight than P. berghei. At doses of 105 and 106 IEs, P. berghei-VAR-infected mice showed increased maternal mortality during pregnancy and fetal loss, respectively. Parasite loads in infected placentas were similar between parasite lines despite differences in maternal outcomes. Fetal weight loss normalized for parasitemia was higher in P. berghei-VAR-infected mice than in P. berghei-infected mice. In vitro assays showed that higher numbers of P. berghei-VAR IEs than P. berghei IEs adhered to placental tissue. Immunization of mice with P. berghei-VAR elicited IgG antibodies reactive to DBL1-6 recombinant protein, indicating that the topology of immunogenic epitopes is maintained between DBL1-6–EMAP1 on P. berghei-VAR and recombinant DBL1-6 (recDBL1-6). Our data suggested that impairments in pregnancy caused by P. berghei-VAR infection were attributable to var2CSA expression. This model provides a tool for preclinical evaluation of protection against PM induced by approaches that target var2CSA. PMID:27045035

  1. Structural characterization of rubber from jackfruit and euphorbia as a model of natural rubber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mekkriengkrai, Dararat; Ute, Koiichi; Swiezewska, Ewa; Chojnacki, Tadeusz; Tanaka, Yasuyuki; Sakdapipanich, Jitladda T

    2004-01-01

    A structural study of low molecular weight rubbers from Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and Painted spurge (Euphorbia heterophylla) was carried out as model compounds of natural rubber from Hevea brasiliensis. The rubber content of latex from Jackfruit was 0.4-0.7%, which is very low compared with that of 30-35% in the latex from Hevea tree. The rubber from Jackfruit latex was low molecular weight with narrow unimodal molecular weight distribution (MWD), whereas that obtained from E. heterophylla showed very broad MWD. The 1H and 13C NMR analyses showed that Jackfruit rubber consists of a dimethylallyl group and two trans-isoprene units connected to a long sequence of cis-isoprene units. The alpha-terminal group of Jackfruit rubber was presumed to be composed of a phosphate group based on the presence of 1H NMR signal at 4.08 ppm corresponding to the terminal =CH-CH2OP group.

  2. Fast Responding Voltage Regulator and Dynamic VAR Compensator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Divan, Deepak [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States); Moghe, Rohit [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States); Tholomier, Damien [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States)

    2014-12-31

    The objectives of this project were to develop a dynamic VAR compensator (DVC) for voltage regulation through VAR support to demonstrate the ability to achieve greater levels of voltage control on electricity distribution networks, and faster response compared to existing grid technology. The goal of the project was to develop a prototype Fast Dynamic VAR Compensator (Fast DVC) hardware device, and this was achieved. In addition to developing the dynamic VAR compensator device, Varentec in partnership with researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) successfully met the objectives to model the potential positive impact of such DVCs on representative power networks. This modeling activity validated the ability of distributed dynamic VAR compensators to provide fast voltage regulation and reactive power control required to respond to grid disturbances under high penetration of fluctuating and intermittent distributed energy resources (DERs) through extensive simulation studies. Specifically the following tasks were set to be accomplished: 1) Development of dynamic VAR compensator to support dynamic voltage variations on the grid through VAR control 2) Extensive testing of the DVC in the lab environment 3) Present the operational DVC device to the DOE at Varentec’s lab 4) Formulation of a detailed specification sheet, unit assembly document, test setup document, unit bring-up plan, and test plan 5) Extensive simulations of the DVC in a system with high PV penetration. Understanding the operation with many DVC on a single distribution system 6) Creation and submittal of quarterly and final reports conveying the design documents, unit performance data, modeling simulation charts and diagrams, and summary explanations of the satisfaction of program goals. This report details the various efforts that led to the development of the Fast DVC as well as the modeling & simulation results. The report begins with the introduction in Section II which outlines the

  3. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia following probiotic treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo C. Appel-da-Silva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Probiotics are commonly prescribed as an adjuvant in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. We report the case of an immunocompromised 73-year-old patient on chemotherapy who developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia in a central venous catheter during treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis with the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii. Fungemia was resolved after interruption of probiotic administration without the need to replace the central venous line. Keywords: Saccharomyces, Probiotics, Fungemia, Critical illness, Clostridium difficile

  4. Computing Conditional VaR using Time-varying CopulasComputing Conditional VaR using Time-varying Copulas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Vaz de Melo Mendes

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available It is now widespread the use of Value-at-Risk (VaR as a canonical measure at risk. Most accurate VaR measures make use of some volatility model such as GARCH-type models. However, the pattern of volatility dynamic of a portfolio follows from the (univariate behavior of the risk assets, as well as from the type and strength of the associations among them. Moreover, the dependence structure among the components may change conditionally t past observations. Some papers have attempted to model this characteristic by assuming a multivariate GARCH model, or by considering the conditional correlation coefficient, or by incorporating some possibility for switches in regimes. In this paper we address this problem using time-varying copulas. Our modeling strategy allows for the margins to follow some FIGARCH type model while the copula dependence structure changes over time.

  5. MODEL NON LINIER GARCH (NGARCH UNTUK MENGESTIMASI NILAI VALUE at RISK (VaR PADA IHSG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I KOMANG TRY BAYU MAHENDRA

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In investment, risk measurement is important. One of risk measure is Value at Risk (VaR. There are many methods that can be used to estimate risk based on VaR framework. One of them Non Linier GARCH (NGARCH model. In this research, determination of VaR used NGARCH model. NGARCH model allowed for asymetric behaviour in the volatility such that “good news” or positive return and “bad news” or negative return. Based on calculations of VaR, the higher of the confidence level and the longer the investment period, the risk was greater. Determination of VaR using NGARCH model was less than GARCH model.

  6. [Gene cloning and bioinformatics analysis of SABATH methyltransferase in Lonicera japonica var. chinensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiao-Dan; Jiang, Chao; Huang, Lu-Qi; Qin, Shuang-Shuang; Zeng, Xiang-Mei; Chen, Ping; Yuan, Yuan

    2013-08-01

    To clone SABATH methyltransferase (rLjSABATHMT) gene in Lonicera japonica var. chinensis, and compare the gene expression and intron sequence of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous in L. japonica with L. japonica var. chinensis. It provide a basis for gene regulate the formation of L. japonica floral scents. The cDNA and genome sequences of LjSABATHMT from L. japonica var. chinensis were cloned according to the gene fragments in cDNA library. The LjSABATHMT protein was characterized by bioinformatics analysis. SABATH family phylogenetic tree were built by MEGA 5.0. The transcripted level of SABATHMT orthologous were analyzed in different organs and different flower periods of L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis using RT-PCR analysis. Intron sequences of SABATHMT orthologous were also analyzied. The cDNA of LjSABATHMT was 1 251 bp, had a complete coding frame with 365 amino acids. The protein had the conservative SABATHMT domain, and phylogenetic tree showed that it may be a salicylic acid/benzoic acid methyltransferase. Higher expression of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous was found in flower. The intron sequence of L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis had rich polymorphism, and two SNP are unique genotype of L. japonica var. chinensis. The motif elements in two orthologous genes were significant differences. The intron difference of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous could be inducing to difference of gene expression between L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis. These results will provide important base on regulating active compounds of L. japonica.

  7. A hybrid PSO technique for procuring VAR ancillary service in the deregulated electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Araby, E.E. [Department of Electrical Engineering, Suez Canal University (Egypt); Yorino, Naoto [Department of Artificial Complex Systems Engineering, Hiroshima University (Japan)

    2010-07-15

    This paper develops a new market-based technique for acquiring VAR ancillary service in the electricity market. The main objective of the developed market is to enable transmission operator ''TO'' to procure VAR service in a long term contract from the critical VAR providers that satisfy minimum VAR service payment while maintaining system security. Reactive power control problem for voltage stability is introduced into the VAR market problem in an explicit manner for normal and emergency states. An integration of particle swarm optimization ''PSO'' is presented with successive linear programming ''SLP'' for dealing with the VAR ancillary service problem. The problem is formulated as a large-scale nonlinear constrained optimization problem with a non-differentiable objective function representing VAR payment and operational costs. This type of problem is hard to be treated straightforwardly by the classical optimization methods. Therefore, we propose here a two-layer hybrid PSO/SLP approach, which is suited for carrying out the difficulties associated with non-differentiable and discontinuous objective functions. The proposed method has been examined on the standard IEEE 57 bus-system and compared with GA/SLP method to demonstrate its capability. (author)

  8. An Ingenol Derived from Euphorbia kansui Induces Hepatocyte Cytotoxicity by Triggering G0/G1 Cell Cycle Arrest and Regulating the Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway in Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaojing Yan

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Natural product lingenol, a purified diterpenoid compound derived from the root of Euphorbia kansui, exerts serious hepatotoxicity; however, the molecular mechanisms remain to be defined. In the present study, cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8, inverted phase contrast microscope and flow cytometry were used to demonstrate that lingenol significantly inhibited L-O2 cells proliferation, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Moreover, the results investigated that lingenol markedly disrupted mitochondrial functions by high content screening (HCS. In addition, the up-regulation of cytochrome c, AIF and Apaf-1 and activation of caspases were found in L-O2 cells detected by Western blotting and ELISA assay, which was required for lingenol activation of cytochrome c-mediated caspase cascades and AIF-mediated DNA damage. Mechanistic investigations revealed that lingenol significantly down-regulated the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and enhanced the reactive oxygen species (ROS in L-O2 cells. These data collectively indicated that lingenol modulation of ROS and Bcl-2/Bax ratio led to cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in L-O2 cells in vitro. All of these results will be helpful to reveal the hepatotoxicity mechanism of Euphorbia kansui and to effectively guide safer and better clinical application of this herb.

  9. Arundina graminifolia var. revoluta (Arethuseae, Orchidaceae) has fern-type rheophyte characteristics in the leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yorifuji, Eri; Ishikawa, Naoko; Okada, Hiroshi; Tsukaya, Hirokazu

    2015-03-01

    Morphological and molecular variation between Arundina graminifolia var. graminifolia and the dwarf variety, A. graminifolia var. revoluta, was examined to assess the validity of their taxonomic characteristics and genetic background for identification. Morphological analysis in combination with field observations indicated that A. graminifolia var. revoluta is a rheophyte form of A. graminifolia characterized by narrow leaves, whereas the other morphological characteristics described for A. graminifolia var. revoluta, such as smaller flowers and short stems, were not always accompanied by the narrower leaf phenotype. Molecular analysis based on matK sequences indicated that only partial differentiation has occurred between A. graminifolia var. graminifolia and A. graminifolia var. revoluta. Therefore, we should consider the rheophyte form an ecotype rather than a variety. Anatomical observations of the leaves revealed that the rheophyte form of A. graminifolia possessed characteristics of the rheophytes of both ferns and angiosperms, such as narrower palisade tissue cells and thinner spongy tissue cells, as well as fewer cells in the leaf-width direction and fewer mesophyll cell layers.

  10. An orientin derivative isolated from Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima

    OpenAIRE

    Ramos, Freddy A.; Castellanos, Leonardo; López, César; Palacios, Lizeth; Duque, Carmenza; Pacheco, Ricardo; Guzmán, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    Passiflora tripartita var. mollisima (banana passion fruit) is an edible fruit widespread in the Andean highlands of Colombia and Ecuador. The fruit is used for juices as well as for the sedative properties of the leaves. As a contribution to the chemical characterization of this species, a new compound, 4'- methoxyluteolin-8-C-6”acetylglucopyranoside, was isolated from the ethanolic extract of Passiflora tripartita var. mollisima leaves and identified by spectroscopical data (NMR, MS, UV).

  11. Plasmodium falciparum var Gene Silencing Is Determined by cis DNA Elements That Form Stable and Heritable Interactions ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swamy, Lakshmi; Amulic, Borko; Deitsch, Kirk W.

    2011-01-01

    Antigenic variation in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum depends on the transcriptional regulation of the var gene family. In each individual parasite, mRNA is expressed exclusively from 1 var gene out of ∼60, while the rest of the genes are transcriptionally silenced. Both modifications to chromatin structure and DNA regulatory elements associated with each var gene have been implicated in the organization and maintenance of the silent state. Whether silencing is established at the level of entire chromosomal regions via heterochromatin spreading or at the level of individual var promoters through the action of a silencing element within each var intron has been debated. Here, we consider both possibilities, using clonal parasite lines carrying chromosomally integrated transgenes. We confirm a previous finding that the loss of an adjacent var intron results in var promoter activation and further show that transcriptional activation of a var promoter within a cluster does not affect the transcriptional activity of neighboring var promoters. Our results provide more evidence for the hypothesis that var genes are primarily silenced at the level of an individual gene, rather than by heterochromatin spreading. We also tested the intrinsic directionality of an intron's silencing effect on upstream or downstream var promoters. We found that an intron is capable of silencing in either direction and that, once established, a var promoter-intron pair is stably maintained through many generations, suggesting a possible role in epigenetic memory. This study provides insights into the regulation of endogenous var gene clusters. PMID:21317310

  12. Estratégia de coalimentação na sobrevivência e no crescimento de larvas de Betta splendens durante a transição alimentar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.J. Fosse

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Conduziu-se um experimento com o objetivo de avaliar a influência do período de coalimentação na sobrevivência e no crescimento de larvas de Betta splendens. As larvas foram alimentadas com náuplios de Artemia durante sete dias e, posteriormente, submetidas aos seguintes tratamentos: jejum contínuo; ração contínua; quatro dias de coalimentação + 14 dias de ração; oito dias de coalimentação + 10 dias de ração; 12 dias de coalimentação + seis dias de ração; náuplios de Artemia durante todo o período experimental. Os valores das variáveis de desempenho das larvas do tratamento 12 dias de coalimentação + seis dias de ração e do tratamento náuplios de Artemia foram superiores aos demais tratamentos, exceto para sobrevivência, em que não houve diferença significativa com o tratamento oito dias de coalimentação + 10 dias de ração. Considerando-se apenas o tempo de oferta de Artemia (em dias, obteve-se a equação de regressão para as variáveis analisadas. A sobrevivência e a taxa de crescimento específico (TCE apresentaram efeito quadrático, e as demais variáveis apresentaram efeito linear. O ponto de máxima para sobrevivência foi de 21,7 dias (88,92% e para TCE foi de 26,2 dias (23,47% dia-1. O período de co-feeding influencia no crescimento e na sobrevivência de larvas de Betta splendens. Após o período de 19 dias de oferta de alimento vivo, com 12 dias de coalimentação, as larvas estão aptas a aproveitar de maneira eficiente o alimento inerte sem prejuízos ao crescimento e à sobrevivência.

  13. Can reported VaR be used as an indicator of the volatility of share prices? Evidence from UK banks.

    OpenAIRE

    Ou, Shian Kao

    2006-01-01

    Value at Risk (VaR) is used as an indicator to measure the risks contained in a firm. With the uprising development of VaR theory and computational techniques, the VaR is nowadays adopted by banks and reported in annual reports. Since the method to calculate VaR is questioned, and the reported VaR can not be thoroughly audited, this paper attempts to find the relationship between the reported VaR and the volatility of share price for UK listed banks. This paper reviews literature about VaR an...

  14. Terpenoid biosynthesis in Euphorbia lathyris and Copaifera spp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skrukrud, C.L.

    1987-07-01

    Biosynthesis of triterpenoids by isolated latex of Euphorbia lathyris was investigated. The rate of in vitro incorporation of mevalonic acid into triterpenoids was thirty times greater than acetate incorporation indicating that the rate-limiting step in the pathway occurs prior to mevalonate. Both HMG-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) and HMG-CoA lyase (EC 4.1.3.4) activities were detected in isolated latex. HMG-CoA reductase was localized to a membrane-bound fraction of a 5000g pellet of latex. The rate of conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate by this enzyme is comparable to the overall rate of acetate incorporation into the triterpenoids suggesting that this enzyme is rate-determining in the biosynthesis of triterpenoids in E. lathyris latex. HMG-CoA reductase of E. lathyris vegetative tissue was localized to the membrane-bound portion of a particulate fraction (18,000g), and was solubilized by treatment with 2% polyoxyethylene ether W-1. Differences in the optimal pH for activity of HMG-CoA reductase from the latex and vegetative tissue suggest that isozymes of the enzyme may be present in the two tissue types. Studies of the incorporation of various precursors into leaf discs and cuttings taken from Copaifera spp. show differences in the rate of incorporation into Copaifera sesquiterpenes suggesting that the site of sesquiterpene biosynthesis may differ in its accessibility to the different substrates and/or reflecting the metabolic controls on carbon allocation to the terpenes. Mevalonate incorporation by Copaifera langsdorfii cuttings into sesquiterpenes was a hundred-fold greater than either acetate or glucose incorporation, however, its incorporation into squalene and triterpenoids was also a hundred-fold greater than the incorporation into sesquiterpenes. 119 refs., 58 figs., 16 tabs.

  15. Terpenoid biosynthesis in Euphorbia lathyris and Copaifera spp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skrukrud, C.L.

    1987-07-01

    Biosynthesis of triterpenoids by isolated latex of Euphorbia lathyris was investigated. The rate of in vitro incorporation of mevalonic acid into triterpenoids was thirty times greater than acetate incorporation indicating that the rate-limiting step in the pathway occurs prior to mevalonate. Both HMG-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) and HMG-CoA lyase (EC 4.1.3.4) activities were detected in isolated latex. HMG-CoA reductase was localized to a membrane-bound fraction of a 5000g pellet of latex. The rate of conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate by this enzyme is comparable to the overall rate of acetate incorporation into the triterpenoids suggesting that this enzyme is rate-determining in the biosynthesis of triterpenoids in E. lathyris latex. HMG-CoA reductase of E. lathyris vegetative tissue was localized to the membrane-bound portion of a particulate fraction (18,000g), and was solubilized by treatment with 2% polyoxyethylene ether W-1. Differences in the optimal pH for activity of HMG-CoA reductase from the latex and vegetative tissue suggest that isozymes of the enzyme may be present in the two tissue types. Studies of the incorporation of various precursors into leaf discs and cuttings taken from Copaifera spp. show differences in the rate of incorporation into Copaifera sesquiterpenes suggesting that the site of sesquiterpene biosynthesis may differ in its accessibility to the different substrates and/or reflecting the metabolic controls on carbon allocation to the terpenes. Mevalonate incorporation by Copaifera langsdorfii cuttings into sesquiterpenes was a hundred-fold greater than either acetate or glucose incorporation, however, its incorporation into squalene and triterpenoids was also a hundred-fold greater than the incorporation into sesquiterpenes. 119 refs., 58 figs., 16 tabs

  16. A novel virus-like particle based vaccine platform displaying the placental malaria antigen VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thrane, Susan; Janitzek, Christoph M; Agerbæk, Mette Ø

    2015-01-01

    , this difference was not statistically significant after 3rd immunization. Importantly, the VLP-VAR2CSA induced antibodies were functional in inhibiting the binding of parasites to CSA. This study demonstrates that the described Avi-L1 VLP-platform may serve as a versatile system for facilitating optimal VLP......SA-VAR2CSA vaccines induced higher antibody titers than the soluble naked VAR2CSA vaccine after three immunizations. The VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP vaccine induced statistically significantly higher endpoint titres compared to the soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccine, after 1st and 2nd immunization; however...

  17. iVAR: a program for imputing missing data in multivariate time series using vector autoregressive models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Siwei; Molenaar, Peter C M

    2014-12-01

    This article introduces iVAR, an R program for imputing missing data in multivariate time series on the basis of vector autoregressive (VAR) models. We conducted a simulation study to compare iVAR with three methods for handling missing data: listwise deletion, imputation with sample means and variances, and multiple imputation ignoring time dependency. The results showed that iVAR produces better estimates for the cross-lagged coefficients than do the other three methods. We demonstrate the use of iVAR with an empirical example of time series electrodermal activity data and discuss the advantages and limitations of the program.

  18. Population genomics of the immune evasion (var genes of Plasmodium falciparum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alyssa E Barry

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Var genes encode the major surface antigen (PfEMP1 of the blood stages of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Differential expression of up to 60 diverse var genes in each parasite genome underlies immune evasion. We compared the diversity of the DBLalpha domain of var genes sampled from 30 parasite isolates from a malaria endemic area of Papua New Guinea (PNG and 59 from widespread geographic origins (global. Overall, we obtained over 8,000 quality-controlled DBLalpha sequences. Within our sampling frame, the global population had a total of 895 distinct DBLalpha "types" and negligible overlap among repertoires. This indicated that var gene diversity on a global scale is so immense that many genomes would need to be sequenced to capture its true extent. In contrast, we found a much lower diversity in PNG of 185 DBLalpha types, with an average of approximately 7% overlap among repertoires. While we identify marked geographic structuring, nearly 40% of types identified in PNG were also found in samples from different countries showing a cosmopolitan distribution for much of the diversity. We also present evidence to suggest that recombination plays a key role in maintaining the unprecedented levels of polymorphism found in these immune evasion genes. This population genomic framework provides a cost effective molecular epidemiological tool to rapidly explore the geographic diversity of var genes.

  19. Sporozoite Route of Infection Influences In Vitro var Gene Transcription of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites From Controlled Human Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimonte, Sandra; Bruske, Ellen I; Hass, Johanna; Supan, Christian; Salazar, Carmen L; Held, Jana; Tschan, Serena; Esen, Meral; Flötenmeyer, Matthias; Koch, Iris; Berger, Jürgen; Bachmann, Anna; Sim, Betty K L; Hoffman, Stephen L; Kremsner, Peter G; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Frank, Matthias

    2016-09-15

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the multicopy var gene family. Each parasite possesses about 60 var genes, and switching between active var loci results in antigenic variation. In the current study, the effect of mosquito and host passage on in vitro var gene transcription was investigated. Thirty malaria-naive individuals were inoculated by intradermal or intravenous injection with cryopreserved, isogenic NF54 P. falciparum sporozoites (PfSPZ) generated from 1 premosquito culture. Microscopic parasitemia developed in 22 individuals, and 21 in vitro cultures were established. The var gene transcript levels were determined in early and late postpatient cultures and in the premosquito culture. At the early time point, all cultures preferentially transcribed 8 subtelomeric var genes. Intradermal infections had higher var gene transcript levels than intravenous infections and a significantly longer intrahost replication time (P = .03). At the late time point, 9 subtelomeric and 8 central var genes were transcribed at the same levels in almost all cultures. Premosquito and late postpatient cultures transcribed the same subtelomeric and central var genes, except for var2csa  The duration of intrahost replication influences in vitro var gene transcript patterns. Differences between premosquito and postpatient cultures decrease with prolonged in vitro growth. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Disruption of var2csa gene impairs placental malaria associated adhesion phenotype.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola K Viebig

    Full Text Available Infection with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy is one of the major causes of malaria related morbidity and mortality in newborn and mothers. The complications of pregnancy-associated malaria result mainly from massive adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA present in the placental intervillous blood spaces. Var2CSA, a member of the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1 family is the predominant parasite ligand mediating CSA binding. However, experimental evidence suggests that other host receptors, such as hyaluronic acid (HA and the neonatal Fc receptor, may also support placental binding. Here we used parasites in which var2csa was genetically disrupted to evaluate the contribution of these receptors to placental sequestration and to identify additional adhesion receptors that may be involved in pregnancy-associated malaria. By comparison to the wild-type parasites, the FCR3delta var2csa mutants could not be selected for HA adhesion, indicating that var2csa is not only essential for IE cytoadhesion to the placental receptor CSA, but also to HA. However, further studies using different pure sources of HA revealed that the previously observed binding results from CSA contamination in the bovine vitreous humor HA preparation. To identify CSA-independent placental interactions, FCR3delta var2csa mutant parasites were selected for adhesion to the human placental trophoblastic BeWo cell line. BeWo selected parasites revealed a multi-phenotypic adhesion population expressing multiple var genes. However, these parasites did not cytoadhere specifically to the syncytiotrophoblast lining of placental cryosections and were not recognized by sera from malaria-exposed women in a parity dependent manner, indicating that the surface molecules present on the surface of the BeWo selected population are not specifically expressed during the course of pregnancy-associated malaria. Taken

  1. Does animal-mediated seed dispersal facilitate the formation of Pinus armandii-Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forests?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Fei; Wang, Dexiang; Yi, Xianfeng; Shi, Xiaoxiao; Huang, Yakun; Zhang, Hongwu; Zhang, XinPing

    2014-01-01

    The Pinus armandii and Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata mixed forest is one of the major forest types in the Qinling Mountains, China. P. armandii is considered to be a pioneer species during succession and it is usually invaded by late successional Q. aliena var. acuteserrata. However, the mechanism that underlies its invasion remains unclear. In the present study, we tracked seed dispersal of P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata using coded plastic tags in the western, middle and eastern Qinling Mountains to elucidate the invasion process in the mixed forests. Our results indicated that the seeds of both P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata were removed rapidly in the Qinling Mountains, and there were no differences in the seed removal rates between the two species. There were significant differences in rodent seed-eating and caching strategies between the two tree species. For P. armandii, seeds were more likely to be eaten in situ than those of Q. aliena var. acuteserrata in all plots. By contrast, the acorns of Q. aliena var. acuteserrata were less frequently eaten in situ, but more likely to be removed and cached. Q. aliena var. acuteserrata acorns had significantly longer dispersal distances than P. armandii seeds in all plots. Although P. armandii seeds were less likely to be dispersed into the Q. aliena var. acuteserrata stands, over 30% of the released acorns were transported into the P. armandii stands where they established five seedlings. Based on the coupled recruitment patterns of P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata, we suggest that the animal-mediated seed dispersal contributes to the formation of Pinus armandii-Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forests.

  2. Kalman Filter or VAR Models to Predict Unemployment Rate in Romania?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simionescu Mihaela

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper brings to light an economic problem that frequently appears in practice: For the same variable, more alternative forecasts are proposed, yet the decision-making process requires the use of a single prediction. Therefore, a forecast assessment is necessary to select the best prediction. The aim of this research is to propose some strategies for improving the unemployment rate forecast in Romania by conducting a comparative accuracy analysis of unemployment rate forecasts based on two quantitative methods: Kalman filter and vector-auto-regressive (VAR models. The first method considers the evolution of unemployment components, while the VAR model takes into account the interdependencies between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. According to the Granger causality test, the inflation rate in the first difference is a cause of the unemployment rate in the first difference, these data sets being stationary. For the unemployment rate forecasts for 2010-2012 in Romania, the VAR models (in all variants of VAR simulations determined more accurate predictions than Kalman filter based on two state space models for all accuracy measures. According to mean absolute scaled error, the dynamic-stochastic simulations used in predicting unemployment based on the VAR model are the most accurate. Another strategy for improving the initial forecasts based on the Kalman filter used the adjusted unemployment data transformed by the application of the Hodrick-Prescott filter. However, the use of VAR models rather than different variants of the Kalman filter methods remains the best strategy in improving the quality of the unemployment rate forecast in Romania. The explanation of these results is related to the fact that the interaction of unemployment with inflation provides useful information for predictions of the evolution of unemployment related to its components (i.e., natural unemployment and cyclical component.

  3. PERHITUNGAN VaR PORTOFOLIO SAHAM MENGGUNAKAN DATA HISTORIS DAN DATA SIMULASI MONTE CARLO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WAYAN ARTHINI

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Value at Risk (VaR is the maximum potential loss on a portfolio based on the probability at a certain time.  In this research, portfolio VaR values calculated from historical data and Monte Carlo simulation data. Historical data is processed so as to obtain stock returns, variance, correlation coefficient, and variance-covariance matrix, then the method of Markowitz sought proportion of each stock fund, and portfolio risk and return portfolio. The data was then simulated by Monte Carlo simulation, Exact Monte Carlo Simulation and Expected Monte Carlo Simulation. Exact Monte Carlo simulation have same returns and standard deviation  with historical data, while the Expected Monte Carlo Simulation satistic calculation similar to historical data. The results of this research is the portfolio VaR  with time horizon T=1, T=10, T=22 and the confidence level of 95 %, values obtained VaR between historical data and Monte Carlo simulation data with the method exact and expected. Value of VaR from both Monte Carlo simulation is greater than VaR historical data.

  4. Generation of antigenic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum by structured rearrangement of Var genes during mitosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claessens, Antoine; Hamilton, William L; Kekre, Mihir; Otto, Thomas D; Faizullabhoy, Adnan; Rayner, Julian C; Kwiatkowski, Dominic

    2014-12-01

    The most polymorphic gene family in P. falciparum is the ∼60 var genes distributed across parasite chromosomes, both in the subtelomeres and in internal regions. They encode hypervariable surface proteins known as P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) that are critical for pathogenesis and immune evasion in Plasmodium falciparum. How var gene sequence diversity is generated is not currently completely understood. To address this, we constructed large clone trees and performed whole genome sequence analysis to study the generation of novel var gene sequences in asexually replicating parasites. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were scattered across the genome, structural variants (deletions, duplications, translocations) were focused in and around var genes, with considerable variation in frequency between strains. Analysis of more than 100 recombination events involving var exon 1 revealed that the average nucleotide sequence identity of two recombining exons was only 63% (range: 52.7-72.4%) yet the crossovers were error-free and occurred in such a way that the resulting sequence was in frame and domain architecture was preserved. Var exon 1, which encodes the immunologically exposed part of the protein, recombined in up to 0.2% of infected erythrocytes in vitro per life cycle. The high rate of var exon 1 recombination indicates that millions of new antigenic structures could potentially be generated each day in a single infected individual. We propose a model whereby var gene sequence polymorphism is mainly generated during the asexual part of the life cycle.

  5. [Correlation between distribution of rhizospheric microorganisms and contents of steroidal saponins of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Nong; Qi, Wen-hua; Xiao, Guo-sheng; Ding, Bo; Zhang, Hua; Guo, Dong-qin; Shen, Wei

    2015-03-01

    In this paper, the varying pattern of the amount of rhizospheric microorganisms, including bacteria, actinomycetes and fungus, was observed during the cultivation of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis. And the correlations between number of rhizospheric microorganisms and the quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis were also studied. The results showed that the rhizospheric microorganism source of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was rich. The distribution of rhizospheric microorganisms (soil bacteria, fungus, actinomycetes, potassium-solubilizing bacteria, inorganic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, organic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria) collected from different origin places existed significant difference (P the amount of actinomycetes > the amount of fungus. The medicinal quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was influenced by their habits, and the increase of cultivation years caused the obvious decrease of the quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Therefore, the increase of cultivation years will cause the variation of the soil micro-ecology flora, and decrease the nutrient absorption and the utilization of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, which will make the decrease of the medical quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

  6. A molecular epidemiological study of var gene diversity to characterize the reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in humans in Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donald S Chen

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito.We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1% var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences.Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population exists.

  7. A Molecular Epidemiological Study of var Gene Diversity to Characterize the Reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in Humans in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leliwa-Sytek, Aleksandra; Smith, Terry-Ann; Peterson, Ingrid; Brown, Stuart M.; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Kortok, Moses M.; Marsh, Kevin; Daily, Johanna P.; Ndiaye, Daouda; Sarr, Ousmane; Mboup, Souleymane; Day, Karen P.

    2011-01-01

    Background The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1%) var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences. Conclusions/Significance Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population

  8. Feasibility of Stochastic Voltage/VAr Optimization Considering Renewable Energy Resources for Smart Grid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momoh, James A.; Salkuti, Surender Reddy

    2016-06-01

    This paper proposes a stochastic optimization technique for solving the Voltage/VAr control problem including the load demand and Renewable Energy Resources (RERs) variation. The RERs often take along some inputs like stochastic behavior. One of the important challenges i. e., Voltage/VAr control is a prime source for handling power system complexity and reliability, hence it is the fundamental requirement for all the utility companies. There is a need for the robust and efficient Voltage/VAr optimization technique to meet the peak demand and reduction of system losses. The voltages beyond the limit may damage costly sub-station devices and equipments at consumer end as well. Especially, the RERs introduces more disturbances and some of the RERs are not even capable enough to meet the VAr demand. Therefore, there is a strong need for the Voltage/VAr control in RERs environment. This paper aims at the development of optimal scheme for Voltage/VAr control involving RERs. In this paper, Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method is used to cover full range of variables by maximally satisfying the marginal distribution. Here, backward scenario reduction technique is used to reduce the number of scenarios effectively and maximally retain the fitting accuracy of samples. The developed optimization scheme is tested on IEEE 24 bus Reliability Test System (RTS) considering the load demand and RERs variation.

  9. The Burr X Pareto Distribution: Properties, Applications and VaR Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Ç. Korkmaz

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a new three-parameter Pareto distribution is introduced and studied. We discuss various mathematical and statistical properties of the new model. Some estimation methods of the model parameters are performed. Moreover, the peaks-over-threshold method is used to estimate Value-at-Risk (VaR by means of the proposed distribution. We compare the distribution with a few other models to show its versatility in modelling data with heavy tails. VaR estimation with the Burr X Pareto distribution is presented using time series data, and the new model could be considered as an alternative VaR model against the generalized Pareto model for financial institutions.

  10. Etude comparative de la digestibilité in vivo de l'herbe de guinée (Panicum maximum Jacq.) associée aux feuilles et tiges de patate douce (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) (régime Panipo) ou à l'herbe de lait (Euphorbia heterophylla L.) (régime Paneuph) chez le lapin (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) et le cobaye (Cavia porcellus L.)

    OpenAIRE

    Kouakou, NGDV.; Kouba, M.; Thys, E.

    2016-01-01

    Digestibility of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) associated with sweet potato leaves and stems (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) (Panipo diet) or poison milk (Euphorbia heterophylla L.) (Paneuph diet) in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) and in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus L.). A comparative study of in vivo digestibility of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) associated with sweet potato leaves and stems (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) (Panipo diet) or with poison milk (Euphorbia heterophylla L.)...

  11. Proteases from Latex of Euphorbia spp. and Its Application on Milk Clot Formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fidia Fibriana

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Crude proteases were extracted from Euphorbiaceae family, i.e. E. milii var imperata, E. trigona, and E. maculata. Among those three crude proteases, the activity of protease from E. trigona was the highest (812.50 U/ml, whereas E. milii and E. maculata crude proteases activity were 298.60 U/ml and 95.80 U/ml, respectively. E. maculata protein concentration was the highest among those three crude enzymes (1.206 mg/ml. The optimum pH and temperature of the enzymes were pH 7.0, pH 6.0, pH 6.5 and 60 °C, 50 °C, and 50 °C, respectively. Crude protease from E. milii var imperata, E. trigona, and E. maculata retained proteolytic activity over a wide range of pH (5.0–9.0 and temperature (up to 65 °C with casein as substrate. All crude proteases showed milk clotting activity ranged from 0.58 U/ml to 1.01 U/ml. Thus, these crude proteases are potential to be applied in dairy industries. However, further study on enzyme purification and characterization are necessary to obtain high purity of proteases before its application.Protease kasar berhasil diekstrak dari tanaman family Euphorbiaceae, yaitu E. milii var imperata, E. trigona, dan E. maculata. Diantara ketiga protease tersebut, aktivitas protease tertinggi diperoleh dari E. trigona (812,50 U/ml, sedangkan aktivitas protease dari E. milii dan E. maculata adalah 298,60 U/ml dan 95,80 U/ml, berturut-turut. Konsentrasi total protein tertinggi terdapat pada protease kasar E. maculata (1,206 mg/ml. pH dan suhu optimum ketiga enzim tersebut adalah pH 7.0, pH 6.0, pH 6.5 dan suhu 60 °C, 50 °C, and 50 °C, berturut-turut. Protease kasar dari E. milii var imperata, E. trigona, dan E. maculata menunjukkan aktivitas proteolitik pada rentang pH 5.0–9.0 dan rentang suhu sampai 65 °C menggunakan kasein sebagai substrat. Semua protease kasar menunjukkan aktivitas penggumpalan susu dengan rentang dari 0,58 U/ml sampai 1,01 U/ml. Berdasarkan hasil yang diperoleh, protease kasar dari ketiga jenis tanaman ini

  12. Testing popular VaR models in EU new member and candidate states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saša Žiković

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The impact of allowing banks to calculate their capital requirement based on their internal VaR models, and the impact of regulation changes on banks in transitional countries has not been well studied. This paper examines whether VaR models that are created and suited for developed markets apply to the volatile stock markets of EU new member and candidate states (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey. Nine popular VaR models are tested on five stock indexes from EU new member and candidate states. Backtesting results show that VaR models commonly used in developed stock markets are not well suited for measuring market risk in these markets. Presented findings bear very important implications that have to be addressed by regulators and risk practitioners operating in EU new member andcandidate states. Risk managers have to start thinking outside the frames set by their parent companies or else investors present in these markets may find themselves in serious trouble, dealing with losses that they have not been expecting. National regulators have to take into consideration that simplistic VaR models that are widely used in some developed countries are not well suited for these illiquid and developing stock markets.

  13. Comparison of the specificity of antibodies to VAR2CSA in Cameroonian multigravidae with and without placental malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babakhanyan, Anna; Fang, Rui; Wey, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Antibodies (Ab) to VAR2CSA prevent Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes from sequestrating in the placenta, i.e., prevent placental malaria (PM). The specificity of Ab to VAR2CSA associated with absence of PM is unknown. Accordingly, differences in the specificity of Ab to VAR2......CSA were compared between multigravidae with and without PM who had Ab to VAR2CSA. METHODS: In a retrospective case-control study, plasma collected from Cameroonian multigravidae with (n = 96) and without (n = 324) PM were screened in 21 assays that measured antibody levels to full length VAR2CSA (FV2......), individual VAR2CSA DBL domains, VAR2CSA domains from different genetic backgrounds (variants), as well as proportion of high avidity Ab to FV2. RESULTS: Multigravidae with and without PM had similar levels of Ab to FV2, the six VAR2CSA DBL domains and different variants, while the proportion of high avidity...

  14. Cloning of the Repertoire of Individual Plasmodium falciparum var Genes Using Transformation Associated Recombination (TAR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Christoph D.; Bühlmann, Tobias; Louis, Edward J.; Beck, Hans-Peter

    2011-01-01

    One of the major virulence factors of the malaria causing parasite is the Plasmodium falciparum encoded erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1). It is translocated to It the membrane of infected erythrocytes and expressed from approximately 60 var genes in a mutually exclusive manner. Switching of var genes allows the parasite to alter functional and antigenic properties of infected erythrocytes, to escape the immune defense and to establish chronic infections. We have developed an efficient method for isolating VAR genes from telomeric and other genome locations by adapting transformation-associated recombination (TAR) cloning, which can then be analyzed and sequenced. For this purpose, three plasmids each containing a homologous sequence representing the upstream regions of the group A, B, and C var genes and a sequence homologous to the conserved acidic terminal segment (ATS) of var genes were generated. Co-transfection with P. falciparum strain ITG2F6 genomic DNA in yeast cells yielded 200 TAR clones. The relative frequencies of clones from each group were not biased. Clones were screened by PCR, as well as Southern blotting, which revealed clones missed by PCR due to sequence mismatches with the primers. Selected clones were transformed into E. coli and further analyzed by RFLP and end sequencing. Physical analysis of 36 clones revealed 27 distinct types potentially representing 50% of the var gene repertoire. Three clones were selected for sequencing and assembled into single var gene containing contigs. This study demonstrates that it is possible to rapidly obtain the repertoire of var genes from P. falciparum within a single set of cloning experiments. This technique can be applied to individual isolates which will provide a detailed picture of the diversity of var genes in the field. This is a powerful tool to overcome the obstacles with cloning and assembly of multi-gene families by simultaneously cloning each member. PMID:21408186

  15. Complete mitochondrial genome of Xingguo red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. singuonensis) and purse red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. wuyuanensis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Guang-Fu; Liu, Xiang-Jiang; Li, Zhong; Liang, Hong-Wei; Hu, Shao-Na; Zou, Gui-Wei

    2016-01-01

    The complete mitochondrial genomes of Xingguo red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. singuonensis) and purse red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. wuyuanensis) were sequenced. Comparison of these two mitochondrial genomes revealed that the mtDNAs of these two common carp varieties were remarkably similar in genome length, gene order and content, and AT content. However, size variation between these two mitochondrial genomes presented here showed 39 site differences in overall length. About 2 site differences were located in rRNAs, 3 in tRNAs, 3 in the control region, 31 in protein-coding genes. Thirty-one variable bases in the protein-coding regions between the two varieties mitochondrial sequences led to three variable amino acids, which were mainly located in the protein ND5 and ND4.

  16. Effect of commercial grade endosulfan on growth and reproduction of the fighting fish Betta splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramani, A; Pandian, T J

    2014-09-01

    To study the effects of endosulfan on survival, growth and reproduction of the obligate air-breathing male heterogametic fighting fish Betta splendens, posthatchlings of the fighting fish were discretely immersed for 3 h/day during the labile period on the 2nd, 5th, and 8th day posthatching (dph) at selected concentrations of commercial grade endosulfan ranging from 175 to 1400 ng/L. The immersions at 1,400 ng/L led to 21% mortality, among the 79% of surviving fry, 80% developed into females. The endosulfan reduced the air-breathing frequency of 5- and 8-day old hatchlings, and the reduction in the frequency persisted even after a depuration period of 172 days. In the ovary of the treated females, reduced number of vitellogenic oocytes with increased vacuolar cavities was observed. In the testis of the treated males, the reduced number of spermatogonia with increased vacuolar cavities was observed. The treated male induced the female to spawn a fewer eggs, which were subsequently incubated in his smaller bubble nest. The control females attained puberty on the 138th dph and spawned 120 eggs once in every 15 days, the females, which were previously treated at 1400 ng/L, postponed puberty to the 179th dph and spawned 70 eggs once in every 32 days. During the 240-day experiment, endosulfan is found to reduce significantly the cumulative progeny production from 760 to 144, reducing significantly to 19% of the control. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley company.

  17. Trans-acting GC-rich non-coding RNA at var expression site modulates gene counting in malaria parasite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guizetti, Julien; Barcons-Simon, Anna; Scherf, Artur

    2016-11-16

    Monoallelic expression of the var multigene family enables immune evasion of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in its human host. At a given time only a single member of the 60-member var gene family is expressed at a discrete perinuclear region called the 'var expression site'. However, the mechanism of var gene counting remains ill-defined. We hypothesize that activation factors associating specifically with the expression site play a key role in this process. Here, we investigate the role of a GC-rich non-coding RNA (ncRNA) gene family composed of 15 highly homologous members. GC-rich genes are positioned adjacent to var genes in chromosome-central gene clusters but are absent near subtelomeric var genes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrates that GC-rich ncRNA localizes to the perinuclear expression site of central and subtelomeric var genes in trans. Importantly, overexpression of distinct GC-rich ncRNA members disrupts the gene counting process at the single cell level and results in activation of a specific subset of var genes in distinct clones. We identify the first trans-acting factor targeted to the elusive perinuclear var expression site and open up new avenues to investigate ncRNA function in antigenic variation of malaria and other protozoan pathogens. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  18. Orientation of the Fiscal Policy in Tunisia: Structural VAR Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wissem Khanfir

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to indicate the orientation of fiscal policy in Tunisia, using the structural budget balance, during the period 1972-2014. For this purpose, we estimate a structural VAR model consisting of the fiscal deficit to current GDP ratio and the volume of economic activity represented by the real GDP. We estimate bivariate structural VAR in order to decompose fiscal deficit fluctuations into different disturbances.

  19. Generation of antigenic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum by structured rearrangement of Var genes during mitosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoine Claessens

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The most polymorphic gene family in P. falciparum is the ∼60 var genes distributed across parasite chromosomes, both in the subtelomeres and in internal regions. They encode hypervariable surface proteins known as P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1 that are critical for pathogenesis and immune evasion in Plasmodium falciparum. How var gene sequence diversity is generated is not currently completely understood. To address this, we constructed large clone trees and performed whole genome sequence analysis to study the generation of novel var gene sequences in asexually replicating parasites. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs were scattered across the genome, structural variants (deletions, duplications, translocations were focused in and around var genes, with considerable variation in frequency between strains. Analysis of more than 100 recombination events involving var exon 1 revealed that the average nucleotide sequence identity of two recombining exons was only 63% (range: 52.7-72.4% yet the crossovers were error-free and occurred in such a way that the resulting sequence was in frame and domain architecture was preserved. Var exon 1, which encodes the immunologically exposed part of the protein, recombined in up to 0.2% of infected erythrocytes in vitro per life cycle. The high rate of var exon 1 recombination indicates that millions of new antigenic structures could potentially be generated each day in a single infected individual. We propose a model whereby var gene sequence polymorphism is mainly generated during the asexual part of the life cycle.

  20. Reversal of cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer stem cells by Taxus chinensis var.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Y Q; Xu, X P; Guo, Q M; Xu, X C; Liu, Q Y; An, S H; Xu, J L; Su, F; Tai, J B

    2016-09-02

    Drug resistance in cells is a major impedance to successful treatment of lung cancer. Taxus chinensis var. inhibits the growth of tumor cells and promotes the synthesis of interleukins 1 and 2 and tumor necrosis factor, enhancing immune function. In this study, T. chinensis var.-induced cell death was analyzed in lung cancer cells (H460) enriched for stem cell growth in a defined serum-free medium. Taxus-treated stem cells were also analyzed for Rhodamine 123 (Rh-123) expression by flow cytometry, and used as a standard functional indicator of MDR. The molecular basis of T. chinensis var.-mediated drug resistance was established by real-time PCR analysis of ABCC1, ABCB1, and lung resistance-related protein (LRP) mRNA, and western blot analysis of MRP1, MDR1, and LRP. Our results revealed that stem cells treated with higher doses of T. chinensis var. showed significantly lower growth inhibition rates than did H460 cells (P var. and cisplatin was also significantly inhibited (P var. (P var.-treated stem cells showed significant downregulation of the ABCC1, ABCB1, and LRP mRNA and MRP1, MDR1, and LRP (P var.-mediated downregulation of MRP1, MDR1, and LRP might contribute to the reversal of drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer stem cells.

  1. Metabolomic variation of brassica rapa var. rapa (var. raapstelen) and raphanus sativus l. at different developmental stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jahangir, M.; Farid, I.B.A.

    2014-01-01

    Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and Raphanus sativus (red radish) are being used as food and fodder while also known as model in recent plant research due to the diversity of metabolites as well as genetic resemblance to Arabidopsis. This study explains the change in metabolites (amino acids, organic acids, chlorophyll, carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbic acid, sucrose, phenylpropanoids and glucosinolates) during plant development. In present study the metabolomic variation in relation to plant growth has been evaluated, for Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and red radish (Raphanus sativus) at three different developmental stages. A non-targeted and targeted metabolomic approach by NMR and HPLC in combination with Principal component analysis (PCA) of the data was used to identify phytochemicals being influenced by plant growth. The results lead to the better understanding of metabolic changes during plant development and show the importance of plant age with respect to the metabolomic profile of vegetables. (author)

  2. Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Putative Genes Involved in Steroid Biosynthesis in Euphorbia tirucalli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weibo Qiao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Phytochemical analysis of different Euphorbia tirucalli tissues revealed a contrasting tissue-specificity for the biosynthesis of euphol and β-sitosterol, which represent the two pharmaceutically active steroids in E. tirucalli. To uncover the molecular mechanism underlying this tissue-specificity for phytochemicals, a comprehensive E. tirucalli transcriptome derived from its root, stem, leaf and latex was constructed, and a total of 91,619 unigenes were generated with 51.08% being successfully annotated against the non-redundant (Nr protein database. A comparison of the transcriptome from different tissues discovered members of unigenes in the upstream steps of sterol backbone biosynthesis leading to this tissue-specific sterol biosynthesis. Among them, the putative oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC encoding genes involved in euphol synthesis were notably identified, and their expressions were significantly up-regulated in the latex. In addition, genome-wide differentially expressed genes (DEGs in the different E. tirucalli tissues were identified. The cluster analysis of those DEGs showed a unique expression pattern in the latex compared with other tissues. The DEGs identified in this study would enrich the insights of sterol biosynthesis and the regulation mechanism of this latex-specificity.

  3. Reactivation of HIV-1 from Latency by an Ingenol Derivative from Euphorbia Kansui.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pengfei; Lu, Panpan; Qu, Xiying; Shen, Yinzhong; Zeng, Hanxian; Zhu, Xiaoli; Zhu, Yuqi; Li, Xian; Wu, Hao; Xu, Jianqing; Lu, Hongzhou; Ma, Zhongjun; Zhu, Huanzhang

    2017-08-25

    Cells harboring latent HIV-1 pose a major obstacle to eradication of the virus. The 'shock and kill' strategy has been broadly explored to purge the latent reservoir; however, none of the current latency-reversing agents (LRAs) can safely and effectively activate the latent virus in patients. In this study, we report an ingenol derivative called EK-16A, isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Euphorbia kansui, which displays great potential in reactivating latent HIV-1. A comparison of the doses used to measure the potency indicated EK-16A to be 200-fold more potent than prostratin in reactivating HIV-1 from latently infected cell lines. EK-16A also outperformed prostratin in ex vivo studies on cells from HIV-1-infected individuals, while maintaining minimal cytotoxicity effects on cell viability and T cell activation. Furthermore, EK-16A exhibited synergy with other LRAs in reactivating latent HIV-1. Mechanistic studies indicated EK-16A to be a PKCγ activator, which promoted both HIV-1 transcription initiation by NF-κB and elongation by P-TEFb signal pathways. Further investigations aimed to add this compound to the therapeutic arsenal for HIV-1 eradication are in the pipeline.

  4. Use of raw Euphorbia tirucalli extract for inhibition of ascitic Ehrlich tumor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlando José dos Santos

    Full Text Available Objective: to evaluate the effect of the Euphorbia tirucalli hydroalcoholic extract (ETHE on the development of Ehrlich Tumor, in its ascitic form. Methods: we intraperitoneally inoculated 15 Swiss mice with 10.44 x 107 cells of Ehrlich Tumor and divided them in two groups one day after: ETHE Group (eight mice, treated with a dosage of 125 mg/kg/day of EHTE for five days; and Control Group (seven mice, treated only with 0.9% isotonic saline solution over the same period. The treatment was done by gavage. Ten days after inoculation, four mice from each group were sacrificed for quantification of tumor cell number, ascitic fluid volume and bone marrow cell number. The remaining animals were maintained to evaluate survival. Results: The ascitic fluid volume and the tumor cell number were decreased in the ETHE group when compared with the control group, but with no statistical significance. On the other hand, survival was higher in the ETHE group, as well as the number of bone marrow cells. Conclusion: Treatment with ETHE after inoculation of Ehrlich Tumor decreases its development and increases survival and the bone marrow cellularity, thus reducing the myelosuppression present in the Ehrlich Tumor bearing mice.

  5. Clinical development of a VAR2CSA-based placental malaria vaccine PAMVAC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gbédandé, Komi; Fievet, Nadine; Viwami, Firmine

    2017-01-01

    Background  The antigen VAR2CSA plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) caused by Plasmodium falciparum. A VAR2CSA-based vaccine candidate, PAMVAC, is under development by an EU-funded multi-country consortium (PlacMalVac project). As part of PAMVAC...

  6. In vitro antioxidant and anticancer effects of solvent fractions from Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Yu-Jin; Lee, Eun-Ju; Kim, Haeng-Ran; Hwang, Kyung-A

    2013-11-09

    Recently, considerable attention has been focused on exploring the potential antioxidant properties of plant extracts or isolated products of plant origin. Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina is widely distributed in Korea, Japan, China, and Europe, and it continues to be used to treat inflammation, eye pain, headache, and dizziness. However, reports on the antioxidant activities of P. vulgaris var. lilacina are limited, particularly concerning the relationship between its phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and anticancer activities of an ethanol extract from P. vulgaris var. lilacina and its fractions. Dried powder of P. vulgaris var. lilacina was extracted with ethanol, and the extract was fractionated to produce the hexane fraction, butanol fraction, chloroform fraction and residual water fraction. The phenolic content was assayed using the Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Subsequently, the antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract and its fractions were analyzed employing various antioxidant assay methods including DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, SOD activity and production of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, the extract and fractions were assayed for their ability to exert cytotoxic activities on various cancer cells using the MTT assay. We also investigated the expression of genes associated with apoptotic cell death by RT-PCR. The total phenolic contents of the ethanol extract and water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina were 303.66 and 322.80 mg GAE/g dry weight (or fractions), respectively. The results showed that the ethanol extract and the water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina had higher antioxidant content than other solvent fractions, similar to their total phenolic content. Anticancer activity was also tested using the HepG2, HT29, A549, MKN45 and HeLa cancer cell lines. The results clearly demonstrated that the P. vulgaris var. lilacina ethanol extract induced significant cytotoxic effects

  7. Subcellular distribution and chemical forms of thorium in Brassica juncea var. foliosa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Sai; Kai, Hailu; Zha, Zhongyong; Fang, Zhendong; Wang, Dingna; Du, Liang; Zhang, Dong; Feng, Xiaojie; Jin, Yongdong; Xia, Chuanqin

    2016-01-01

    Brassica juncea var. foliosa (B. juncea var. foliosa) is a promising species for thorium (Th) phytoextraction due to its large biomass, fast growth rate and high tolerance toward Th. To further understand the mechanisms of Th tolerance, the present study investigated the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Th found in B. juncea var. foliosa Our results indicated that in both roots and leaves, Th contents in different parts of the cells follow the order of cell wall > membranes and soluble fraction > organelles. In particular, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis showed that Th was abundantly located in cell walls of the roots. Additionally, when plants were exposed to different concentrations of Th, we have found that Th existed in B. juncea var. foliosa with different chemical forms. Much of the Th extracted by 2% acetic acid (HAc), 1 M NaCl and HCl in roots with the percentage distribution varied from 47.2% to 62.5%, while in leaves, most of the Th was in the form of residue and the subdominant amount of Th was extracted by HCl, followed by 2% HAc. This suggested that Th compartmentation in cytosol and integration with phosphate or proteins in cell wall might be responsible for the tolerance of B. juncea var. foliosa to the stress of Th. - Highlights: • Brassica juncea var. foliosa can adapt to the stress of Th(<200 μM) under hydroponic condition. • Th was selectively distributed on cell wall, membranes and soluble fraction. • Th mainly existed in low-toxicity forms which were benefit for Th tolerance.

  8. Silence, Metaperformance, and Communication in Pedro Almodóvar's "Hable con ella"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellie, Maria C.

    2016-01-01

    Many scenes in Pedro Almodóvar's "Hable con ella" (2002) include shots of metaperformances such as silent films, dances, television shows, concerts, and bullfights. Spectators often observe passive characters who are in turn observing. By presenting these performances within cinematic performance, Almodóvar highlights our role as viewers…

  9. Chemopreventive and Anticancer Activities of Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum Extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun-Jeong; Park, Min Jeong; Park, Hee-Juhn; Chung, Won-Yoon; Kim, Ki-Rim; Park, Kwang-Kyun

    2014-09-01

    Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum is an edible perennial herb and has been used as a vegetable or as a Korean traditional medicine. Allium species have received much attention owing to their diverse pharmacological properties, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. However, A. victorialis var. platyphyllum needs more study. The chemopreventive potential of A. victorialis var. platyphyllum methanol extracts was examined by measuring 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-induced superoxide anion production in the differentiated HL-60 cells, TPA-induced mouse ear edema, and Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity. The apoptosis-inducing capabilities of the extracts were evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, and the DNA fragmentation assay in human colon cancer HT-29 cells. Antimetastatic activities of the extracts were also investigated in an experimental mouse lung metastasis model. The methanol extracts of A. victorialis var. platyphyllum rhizome (AVP-R) and A. victorialis var. platyphyllum stem (AVP-S) dose-dependently inhibited the TPA-induced generation of superoxide anion in HL-60 cells and TPA-induced ear edema in mice, as well as 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) -induced bacterial mutagenesis. AVP-R and AVP-S reduced cell viability in a dose-related manner and induced apoptotic morphological changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HT-29 cells. In the experimental mouse lung metastasis model, the formation of tumor nodules in lung tissue was significantly inhibited by the treatment of the extracts. AVP-R and AVP-S possess antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, proapoptotic, and antimetastatic activities. Therefore, these extracts can serve as a beneficial supplement for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

  10. Amanitin and phallotoxin concentration in Amanita phalloides var. alba mushroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Ertugrul; Yilmaz, Ismail; Sinirlioglu, Zeynep Aydin; Karahan, Selim; Bayram, Recep; Yaykasli, Kursat Oguz; Colakoglu, Serdar; Saritas, Ayhan; Severoglu, Zeki

    2013-12-15

    Although rarely seen, Amanita phalloides var. alba, a variety of A. phalloides type mushrooms, causes mushroom poisoning resulting in death. Since it is frequently confused with some edible mushrooms due to its white colored cap and macroscopic appearance, it becomes important in toxicological terms. Knowledge of the toxin amount contained in this mushroom type is invaluable in the treatment of cases involving poisoning. In this study, we examined the toxin levels of various parts of the A. phalloides var. alba mushroom growing Duzce region of Turkey. Toxin analyses were carried out for A. phalloides var. alba, which were collected from the forests Duzce region of Turkey in 2011, as a whole and also separately in its spore, pileus, gills, stipe and volva parts. The alpha amanitin, beta amanitin, gamma amanitin, phalloidin and phallacidine analyses of the mushrooms were carried out using the RP-HPLC method. A genetic analysis of the mushroom showed that it had similar genetic characteristics as A. phalloides and was a variety of it. The lowest toxins quantity was detected in spores, volva and stipe among all parts of the mushroom. The maximum amount of amatoxins was measured in the gills. The pileus also contained a high amount of amatoxins. Generally, amatoxins and phallotoxin concentrations were lower as compared to A. phalloides, but interestingly all toxins other than gamma toxin were higher in the spores of A. phalloides var. alba. The amount of toxin in all of its parts had sufficient concentrations to cause death. With this study, the amatoxin and phallotoxin concentrations in A. phalloides var. alba mushroom and in its parts have been revealed in detail for the first time. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Subcellular distribution and chemical forms of thorium in Brassica juncea var. foliosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Sai; Kai, Hailu; Zha, Zhongyong; Fang, Zhendong; Wang, Dingna; Du, Liang; Zhang, Dong; Feng, Xiaojie; Jin, Yongdong; Xia, Chuanqin

    2016-06-01

    Brassica juncea var. foliosa (B. juncea var. foliosa) is a promising species for thorium (Th) phytoextraction due to its large biomass, fast growth rate and high tolerance toward Th. To further understand the mechanisms of Th tolerance, the present study investigated the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Th found in B. juncea var. foliosa Our results indicated that in both roots and leaves, Th contents in different parts of the cells follow the order of cell wall > membranes and soluble fraction > organelles. In particular, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis showed that Th was abundantly located in cell walls of the roots. Additionally, when plants were exposed to different concentrations of Th, we have found that Th existed in B. juncea var. foliosa with different chemical forms. Much of the Th extracted by 2% acetic acid (HAc), 1 M NaCl and HCl in roots with the percentage distribution varied from 47.2% to 62.5%, while in leaves, most of the Th was in the form of residue and the subdominant amount of Th was extracted by HCl, followed by 2% HAc. This suggested that Th compartmentation in cytosol and integration with phosphate or proteins in cell wall might be responsible for the tolerance of B. juncea var. foliosa to the stress of Th. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Taxonomic study on Japanese Salvia (Lamiaceae): Phylogenetic position of S. akiensis, and polyphyletic nature of S. lutescens var. intermedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takano, Atsuko

    2017-01-01

    Both Salvia akiensis and S. lutescens (Lamiaceae) are endemic to Japan. Salvia akiensis was recently described in 2014 in the Chugoku (= SW Honshu) region, and each four varieties of S. lutescens distributed allopatrically. Among varieties in S. lutescens , var. intermedia show a disjunctive distribution in the Kanto (=E Honshu) and Kinki (= W Honshu) regions. Recent field studies of S. lutescens var. intermedia revealed several morphological differences between the Kanto and Kinki populations. Here, I evaluated these differences among Salvia lutescens var. intermedia and its allies with morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (internal and external transcribed spacer regions) and plastid DNA ( ycf1-rps15 spacer, rbcL , and trnL-F ) sequences. Both morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that S. lutescens var. intermedia from the Kinki region and var. lutescens were closely related to each other. However, var. intermedia from the Kanto region exhibited an association with S. lutescens var. crenata and var. stolonifera, which also grew in eastern Japan, rather than var. intermedia in the Kinki region. These results indicated that S. lutescens var. intermedia is not a taxon with a disjunctive distribution, but a combination of two or more allopatric taxa. Present study also suggested that S. akiensis was most closely related to S. omerocalyx .

  13. Metabolomic variation of brassica rapa var. rapa (var. raapstelen) and raphanus sativus l. at different developmental stages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jahangir, M.; Abdel-Farid, I.B.; Vos, de C.H.R.; Jonker, H.H.; Choi, Y.H.; Verpoorte, R.

    2014-01-01

    Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and Raphanus sativus (red radish) are being used as food and fodder while also known as model in recent plant research due to the diversity of metabolites as well as genetic resemblance to Arabidopsis. This study explains the change in metabolites (amino acids,

  14. A Novel Virus-Like Particle Based Vaccine Platform Displaying the Placental Malaria Antigen VAR2CSA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Thrane

    Full Text Available Placental malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a major cause of mortality and severe morbidity. Clinical testing of a soluble protein-based vaccine containing the parasite ligand, VAR2CSA, has been initiated. VAR2CSA binds to the human receptor chondroitin sulphate A (CSA and is responsible for sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes in the placenta. It is imperative that a vaccine against malaria in pregnancy, if administered to women before they become pregnant, can induce a strong and long lasting immune response. While most soluble protein-based vaccines have failed during clinical testing, virus-like particle (VLP based vaccines (e.g., the licensed human papillomavirus vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy, suggesting that the spatial assembly of the vaccine antigen is a critical parameter for inducing an optimal long-lasting protective immune response. We have developed a VLP vaccine display platform by identifying regions of the HPV16 L1 coat protein where a biotin acceptor site (AviTagTM can be inserted without compromising VLP-assembly. Subsequent biotinylation of Avi-L1 VLPs allow us to anchor monovalent streptavidin (mSA-fused proteins to the biotin, thereby obtaining a dense and repetitive VLP-display of the vaccine antigen. The mSA-VAR2CSA antigen was delivered on the Avi-L1 VLP platform and tested in C57BL/6 mice in comparison to two soluble protein-based vaccines consisting of naked VAR2CSA and mSA-VAR2CSA. The mSA-VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP and soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccines induced higher antibody titers than the soluble naked VAR2CSA vaccine after three immunizations. The VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP vaccine induced statistically significantly higher endpoint titres compared to the soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccine, after 1st and 2nd immunization; however, this difference was not statistically significant after 3rd immunization. Importantly, the VLP-VAR2CSA induced antibodies were functional in inhibiting the binding of

  15. Parasitosis intestinales en vendedores ambulantes de comida en Ciudad Bolívar, estado Bolívar, Venezuela | Intestinal parasitosis in food handlers from ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar state, Venezuela

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ixora Requena

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A descriptive study was performed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in a sample of apparently healthy individuals who sold food in streets in Los Proceres of Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State. Fecal samples were collected from 85 individuals, which were analyzed by means of direct examination, qualitative Kato, spontaneous sedimentation and Kinyoun staining. Each individual was filled a clinical epidemiological record and underwent anamnesis and oriented clinical examination. The assessed group comprised 50 women and 35 men with ages 14 to 57 years (mean 15.25 ± 4.21 years. From this group, 50 persons (58.82% were parasitized mainly by Blastocystis spp. (42.22%, Endolimax nana (11.11%, Entamoeba coli (6.67%, Giardia intestinalis (11.11%, Cryptosporidium spp. (11.11% and Cystoisospora belli (4.44%. There was no preference for gender or age (p > 0.05, and persons aged 20 to 25 years were the most affected group. Monoparasitism was observed in 56% (n = 28 cases and 44% (n = 22 of cases had other associated parasites, being the most frequent association between Blastocystis spp with Entamoeba coli and Endolimax nana. It is concluded that there is a high prevalence of intestinal parasitosis among street food handlers.

  16. Evidence for in vitro and in vivo expression of the conserved VAR3 (type 3) plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Christian W; Lavstsen, Thomas; Bengtsson, Dominique C

    2012-01-01

    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Members of the Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) adhesion antigen family are major contributors to the pathogenesis of P. falciparum malaria infections. The PfEMP1-encoding var genes are among the most diverse sequences in nature, but three genes......, var1, var2csa and var3 are found conserved in most parasite genomes. The most severe forms of malaria disease are caused by parasites expressing a subset of antigenically conserved PfEMP1 variants. Thus the ubiquitous and conserved VAR3 PfEMP1 is of particular interest to the research field. Evidence...... of VAR3 expression on the infected erythrocyte surface has never been presented, and var3 genes have been proposed to be transcribed and expressed differently from the rest of the var gene family members. METHODS: In this study, parasites expressing VAR3 PfEMP1 were generated using anti-VAR3 antibodies...

  17. Influence of LAR and VAR on Para-Aminopyridine Antimalarials Targetting Haematin in Chloroquine-Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warhurst, David C; Craig, John C; Raheem, K Saki

    2016-01-01

    Antimalarial chloroquine (CQ) prevents haematin detoxication when CQ-base concentrates in the acidic digestive vacuole through protonation of its p-aminopyridine (pAP) basic aromatic nitrogen and sidechain diethyl-N. CQ export through the variant vacuolar membrane export channel, PFCRT, causes CQ-resistance in Plasmodium falciparum but 3-methyl CQ (sontochin SC), des-ethyl amodiaquine (DAQ) and bis 4-aminoquinoline piperaquine (PQ) are still active. This is determined by changes in drug accumulation ratios in parasite lipid (LAR) and in vacuolar water (VAR). Higher LAR may facilitate drug binding to and blocking PFCRT and also aid haematin in lipid to bind drug. LAR for CQ is only 8.3; VAR is 143,482. More hydrophobic SC has LAR 143; VAR remains 68,523. Similarly DAQ with a phenol substituent has LAR of 40.8, with VAR 89,366. In PQ, basicity of each pAP is reduced by distal piperazine N, allowing very high LAR of 973,492, retaining VAR of 104,378. In another bis quinoline, dichlorquinazine (DCQ), also active but clinically unsatisfactory, each pAP retains basicity, being insulated by a 2-carbon chain from a proximal nitrogen of the single linking piperazine. While LAR of 15,488 is still high, the lowest estimate of VAR approaches 4.9 million. DCQ may be expected to be very highly lysosomotropic and therefore potentially hepatotoxic. In 11 pAP antimalarials a quadratic relationship between logLAR and logResistance Index (RI) was confirmed, while log (LAR/VAR) vs logRI for 12 was linear. Both might be used to predict the utility of structural modifications.

  18. BRINE SHRIMP LETHALITY BIOASSAY OF GLAUCIUM GRANDIFLORUM VAR. GRANDIFLORUM

    OpenAIRE

    A. SARI, Ç. ÜNSAL, İ. SARIOĞLU, A. SARI, Ç. ÜNSAL, İ. SARIOĞLU

    2013-01-01

    Türkiye'nin 3 farklı bölgesinden toplanan Glaucium grandiflorum Boiss. et Huet var. grandiflorum örneklerinin toprak üstü kısımlarından elde edilen alkaloit ekstreleri ve bu ekstrelerden elde edilen majör alkaloitler allokriptopin, protopİn, (+)-izokoridin, (+)-korİdin üzerinde brİne shrimp lethality testi yapılarak sitotoksisiteleri İncelenmiştir. Glaucium grandiflorum var. grandiflorum türünün 3 örneği de önemli oranda sitotoksik aktİvite göstermiştir. Allokriptopin, protopin, (+)-izok...

  19. Antioxidant potency of white (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) and Chinese (Brassica rapa L. var. pekinensis (Lour.)) cabbage: The influence of development stage, cultivar choice and seed selection

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šamec, D.; Piljac-Žegarac, J.; Bogovic, M.; Habjanic, K.; Grúz, Jiří

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 128, č. 2 (2011), s. 78-83 ISSN 0304-4238 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN200380801; GA ČR GA301/08/1649 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50380511 Keywords : Antimicrobial activity * Antioxidant capacity * Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata * rapa L. var. pekinensis Lour * Cabbage Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 1.527, year: 2011

  20. Influence of beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. cruenta) on mice leukocytes increase

    OpenAIRE

    Amaro, Jony

    2014-01-01

    Background: Beetroot is a flavonoid-containing Mediterranean plant used for food and medicinal purposes. Objectives: To determine the influence of Beta vulgaris var. cruenta extract consumption in increasing albino mice leukocytes. Design: Experimental study. Setting: School N° 1182 bioterium. Biologic material: Twenty male Balb/c albino mice weighing 24 g average. Interventions: Two groups of ten mice each were formed; the experimental group received Beta vulgaris var. cruenta extract at 250...

  1. [Content and distribution of active components in cultivated and wild Taxus chinensis var. mairei plants].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Shao-Shuai; Sun, Qi-Wu; Zhang, Xiao-Ping; Tian, Sheng-Ni; Bo, Pei-Lei

    2012-10-01

    Taxus chinensis var. mairei is an endemic and endangered plant species in China. The resources of T. chinensis var. mairei have been excessively exploited due to its anti-cancer potential, accordingly, the extant T. chinensis var. mairei population is decreasing. In this paper, ultrasonic extraction and HPLC were adopted to determine the contents of active components paclitaxel, 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine in cultivated and wild T. chinensis var. mairei plants, with the content distribution of these components in different parts of the plants having grown for different years and at different slope aspects investigated. There existed obvious differences in the contents of these active components between cultivated and wild T. chinensis var. mairei plants. The paclitaxel content in the wild plants was about 0.78 times more than that in the cultivated plants, whereas the 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine contents were slishtly higher in the cultivated plants. The differences in the three active components contents between different parts and tree canopies of the plants were notable, being higher in barks and upper tree canopies. Four-year old plants had comparatively higher contents of paclitaxel, 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine (0.08, 0.91 and 0.32 mg x g(-1), respectively), and the plants growing at sunny slope had higher contents of the three active components, with significant differences in the paclitaxel and 7-xylosyltaxol contents and unapparent difference in the cephalomannine content of the plants at shady slope. It was suggested that the accumulation of the three active components in T. chinensis var. mairei plants were closely related to the sunshine conditions. To appropriately increase the sunshine during the artificial cultivation of T. chinensis var. mairei would be beneficial to the accumulation of the three active components in T. chinensis var. mairei plants.

  2. Scleria neesii Kunth var. gadchiroliensis (Cyperaceae, a New Variety from Central India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milind M. Sardesai

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A new variety of Scleria P. J. Bergius (Cyperaceae S. neesii Kunth var. gadchiroliensis from Central India is described here with description, line-drawing, photographic illustration and notes. It resembles with S. neesii Kunth var. neesii in overall morphology but differs in having milky white nuts covered with ribbon like hairs on distinct stalk.

  3. Utilizing nanobody technology to target non-immunodominant domains of VAR2CSA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sisse B Ditlev

    Full Text Available Placental malaria is a major health problem for both pregnant women and their fetuses in malaria endemic regions. It is triggered by the accumulation of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE in the intervillous spaces of the placenta and is associated with foetal growth restriction and maternal anemia. IE accumulation is supported by the binding of the parasite-expressed protein VAR2CSA to placental chondroitin sulfate A (CSA. Defining specific CSA-binding epitopes of VAR2CSA, against which to target the immune response, is essential for the development of a vaccine aimed at blocking IE adhesion. However, the development of a VAR2CSA adhesion-blocking vaccine remains challenging due to (i the large size of VAR2CSA and (ii the extensive immune selection for polymorphisms and thereby non-neutralizing B-cell epitopes. Camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (HcAbs are known to target epitopes that are less immunogenic to classical IgG and, due to their small size and protruding antigen-binding loop, able to reach and recognize cryptic, conformational epitopes which are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. The variable heavy chain (VHH domain is the antigen-binding site of camelid HcAbs, the so called Nanobody, which represents the smallest known (15 kDa intact, native antigen-binding fragment. In this study, we have used the Nanobody technology, an approach new to malaria research, to generate small and functional antibody fragments recognizing unique epitopes broadly distributed on VAR2CSA.

  4. Controlling Kuka Industrial Robots : Flexible Communication Interface JOpenShowVar.

    OpenAIRE

    Sanfilippo, Filippo; Hatledal, Lars Ivar; Zhang, Houxiang; Fago, Massimiliano; Pettersen, Kristin Ytterstad

    2015-01-01

    JOpenShowVar is a Java open-source cross-platform communication interface to Kuka industrial robots. This novel interface allows for read-write use of the controlled manipulator variables and data structures. JOpenShowVar, which is compatible with all the Kuka industrial robots that use KUKA Robot Controller version 4 (KR C4) and KUKA Robot Controller version 2 (KR C2), runs as a client on a remote computer connected with the Kuka controller via TCP/IP. Even though only soft real-time applica...

  5. Working alliance inventory applied to virtual and augmented reality (WAI-VAR): psychometrics and therapeutic outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miragall, Marta; Baños, Rosa M; Cebolla, Ausiàs; Botella, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the psychometric properties of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short (WAI-S) adaptation to Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) therapies (WAI-VAR). The relationship between the therapeutic alliance (TA) with VR and AR and clinically significant change (CSC) is also explored. Seventy-five patients took part in this study (74.7% women, M age = 34.41). Fear of flying and adjustment disorder patients received VR therapy, and cockroach phobia patients received AR therapy. Psychometric properties, CSC, one-way ANOVA, Spearman's Correlations and Multiple Regression were calculated. The WAI-VAR showed a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency and adequate convergent validity. "Not changed" patients scored lower on the WAI-VAR than "improved" and "recovered" patients. Correlation between the WAI-VAR and CSC was moderate. The best fitting model for predicting CSC was a linear combination of the TA with therapist (WAI-S) and the TA with VR and AR (WAI-VAR), due to the latter variable slightly increased the percentage of variability accounted for in CSC. The WAI-VAR is the first validated instrument to measure the TA with VR and AR in research and clinical practice. This study reveals the importance of the quality of the TA with technologies in achieving positive outcomes in the therapy.

  6. On Setting Day-Ahead Equity Trading Risk Limits: VaR Prediction at Market Close or Open?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana-Maria Fuertes

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the information content of the ex post overnight return for one-day-ahead equity Value-at-Risk (VaR forecasting. To do so, we deploy a univariate VaR modeling approach that constructs the forecast at market open and, accordingly, exploits the available overnight close-to-open price variation. The benchmark is the bivariate VaR modeling approach proposed by Ahoniemi et al. that constructs the forecast at the market close instead and, accordingly, it models separately the daytime and overnight return processes and their covariance. For a small cap portfolio, the bivariate VaR approach affords superior predictive ability than the ex post overnight VaR approach whereas for a large cap portfolio the results are reversed. The contrast indicates that price discovery at the market open is less efficient for small capitalization, thinly traded stocks.

  7. Molluscicidal effect of Euphorbia umbellata (Pax Bruyns latex on Biomphalaria glabrata, Schistosoma mansoni host snail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Patrícia Lima Alves Pereira

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Euphorbia umbellata (Pax Bruyns is an easily cultivated shrub, with occurrence in the tropical regions of the American and African continents. Chemical studies have revealed that the latex of this plant is rich in terpene compounds, which are highly toxic to snails Biomphalaria glabrata (Basommatophora: Planorbidae. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and molluscicidal activity of the latex produced by E. umbellata, as well as the safety of its application in aquatic environments. The concentration of latex that killed 90% of the exposed snails after 24 h exposure (LC90 was 3.69 mg/L. Toxicity bioassays using Danio rerio (zebrafish revealed that these animals were less susceptible to latex than planorbids. However, it is important to perform other toxicity tests to ensure the feasibility of using latex to control populations of mollusks that contribute to schistosomiasis transmission. A phytochemical screening performed with the E. umbellata latex identified the triterpenoid and coumarin class. Further studies are warranted to isolate, identify, and test the active compounds of E. umbellata latex in B. glabrata.

  8. Antioxidant activity and concentration of secondary metabolites in the plant parts of Euphorbia cyparissias L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Milan S.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a screening of nine different extracts from the plant parts (leaves, flowers and stems of Euphorbia cyparissias for total phenolic content, concentration of flavonoids and in vitro antioxidant activity. Main reason for this study is the determination of these parameters and their variability among plant parts and plant extracts obtained by different solvents, respectively. Obtained amounts for total phenolic content ranged from 10.76 to 40.72 mg GA/g. The concentration of flavonoids varied from 34.32 to 134.34 mg Ru/g. The IC50 values of antioxidant activity varied from 88.48 to 2891.08 μg/ml. Results obtained from the different plant parts were of uneven value. Great variability of the studied parameters was observed when comparing the effectiveness of the used solvents. The acetone extracts from stems contain the greatest concentrations of phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, and showed high antioxidant activity. According to our research, plant parts from E. cyparissias can be regarded as promising candidates for natural plant sources with high value of biological compounds.

  9. Koolipärimuse kogumisest Noarootsis ja Vormsis 2006. aasta kevadel : Rootsi-Eesti lastenaljade kogumik Det var en ko och det var poängen / Piret Voolaid

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Voolaid, Piret, 1971-

    2007-01-01

    Autor käsitleb artiklis Ahvenamaa Põhjamaade Instituudi (Nordens Institut på Åland) eestvedamisel korraldatud lastepärimuse projekti, mille käigus koguti koolipärimust Soomest Ahvenamaalt ja Rootsist Gotlandilt ning Eestist endistelt rannarootsi aladelt. Kogutu põhjal ilmus rootsikeelne antoloogiline naljakogumik Det var en ko och det var poängen. Artiklis keskendutakse välitööde kogumismetoodikale ja tulemustele Eestis. Välitööd toimusid Noarootsi Koolis ja Vormsi Põhikoolis

  10. Effects of growth retardants and fumigations with ozone and sulfur dioxide on growth and flowering of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cathey, H.M.; Heggestad, H.E.

    1973-01-01

    Eight cultivars of poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., were evaluated for sensitivity to ..cap alpha..-cyclopropyl-..cap alpha.. (4-methoxyphenyl)-5-pyrimidine methanol (ancymidol) and protection from ozone and sulfur dioxide injury afforded by applications of ancymidol and (2-chloroethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride (chlormequat). Foliar sprays of ancymidol were at least 80 to 500 times and the soil drench 1000 times more active than chlormequat in retarding stem elongation. The diam of the bracts was reduced, but branching increased more on plants treated with ancymidol than on untreated plants. The cv. Annette Hegg (AH) was more sensitive to ozone fumigations than was Eckespoint C-1' (C-1). Sulfur dioxide also caused more injury to AH than to C-1. Ancymidol and chlormequat reduced visible injury induced by ozone and sulfur dioxide.

  11. Rendimientos, estructuras de tallas y madurez sexual del alfonsino (Beryx splendens capturado en el cordón submarino de Juan Fernández, Chile Fishing yields, size structures, and sexual maturity of alfonsino (Beryx splendens caught on Juan Fernandez seamounts, Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurora Guerrero

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Se analiza la información recopilada en lances comerciales para la captura de alfonsino (Beryx splendens realizados en montes submarinos del archipiélago de Juan Fernández (Chile, entre los años 2001 y 2003, que corresponden a la etapa de desarrollo inicial de esta pesquería. En dicho período se efectuaron 187 lances, de los cuales en 121 se obtuvo la especie objetivo, capturándose 525,1 ton, que constituyeron el 99,2% de la captura total. Por la configuración irregular de los fondos, los lances de pesca se caracterizaron por su corta duración (0,26-0,50 h, a profundidad media de 469,7 m. En este periodo se analizaron 14.773 ejemplares, 6.064 machos (41% y 8.709 hembras (59%, evidenciando un predominio de hembras. La proporción sexual estructurada a la talla mostró un predominio de machos a tallas inferiores a 24 cm de longitud de horquilla (LH. En machos el tamaño medio fluctuó entre 34,6 y 36,8 cm de LH y en hembras entre 36,2 y 38,4 cm LH. Para determinar la madurez de las gónadas, se utilizó la escala macroscópica propuesta por Lehodey et al. (1997 y se estableció que los machos alcanzaron la primera madurez (TMS50% a 34,3 cm LH y las hembras a los 33,3 cm LH. Los rendimientos promedio en el período analizado correspondieron entre 0,2 y 6,6 ton lance-1 y entre 1,8 y 19,0 ton h.a.-1 , con medias de 4,3 ton lance-1 y 9,2 ton h.a.-1 .We analyzed information collected during commercial hauls targeting alfonsino (Beryx splendens on seamounts of the Juan Fernández Archipelago (Chile from the early stages of the fishery (2001-2003. Of the 187 hauls carried out in this period, 121 were successful; alfonsino catches reached 525.1 ton, constituting 99.2%> of the total catch. Due to the irregularity of the sea bottom, short (0.26-0.50 h fishing hauls were performed at mid-depth (469.7 m. We analyzed 14,773 specimens during the study period: 6,064 males (41% and 8,709 females (59%, the latter being predominan! The size structure was

  12. Penetration, Post-penetration Development, and Reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita on Cucumis melo var. texanus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faske, T R

    2013-03-01

    Cucumis melo var. texanus, a wild melon commonly found in the southern United States and two accessions, Burleson Co. and MX 1230, expressed resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in preliminary experiments. To characterize the mechanism of resistance, we evaluated root penetration, post-penetration development, reproduction, and emigration of M. incognita on these two accessions of C. melo var. texanus. Additionally, we evaluated 22 accessions of C. melo var. texanus for their reaction against M. incognita in a greenhouse experiment. Fewer (P ≤ 0.05) J2 penetrated the root system of C. melo var. texanus accessions (Burleson Co. and MX 1230) and C. metuliferus (PI 482452) (resistant control), 7 days after inoculation (DAI) than in C. melo 'Hales Best Jumbo' (susceptible control). A delayed (P ≤ 0.05) rate of nematode development was observed at 7, 14, and 21 DAI that contributed to lower (P ≤ 0.05) egg production on both accessions and C. metuliferus compared with C. melo. Though J2 emigration was observed on all Cucumis genotypes a higher (P ≤ 0.05) rate of J2 emigration was observed from 3 to 6 DAI on accession Burleson Co. and C. metuliferus than on C. melo. The 22 accessions of C. melo var. texanus varied relative to their reaction to M. incognita with eight supporting similar levels of nematode reproduction to that of C. metuliferus. Cucumis melo var. texanus may be a useful source of resistance against root-knot nematode in melon.

  13. INDUCING RESISTANCE IN COTTON AGAINST COLLETOTRICHUM GOSSYPII VAR. CEPHALOSPORIOIDES WITH ESSENTIAL OILS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. T. Santos

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the potential of essential oils of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, baccharis (Baccharis trimera, lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus, basil (Ocimum basilicum and eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora in inducing resistance in cotton plants against C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides. The inductive effect of the essential oils was evaluated in plants growing in pots in the environment, which were treated with 1% essential oil at 47 days of age. 24 hours after elicitor treatment the plants were inoculated with a suspension of 1.5 x 105 conidia mL-1 of C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides. Five evaluations were performed disease and calculated the area under the disease progress curve. All essential oils showed potential for inducing resistance against cotton C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides.

  14. Application of superconducting coils to VAR control in electric power systems: a proposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boenig, H.J.; Hassenzahl, W.V.

    1979-11-01

    During the last eight years, static VAR-control systems with thyristor-controlled, room-temperature reactors have been used in electrical systems for voltage control and system stabilization. In this proposal, we describe a new static VAR-control system that uses an asymmetrically controlled Graetz bridge and a superconducting dc coil. Preliminary studies indicate that the proposed system will have lower overall losses and that its capital cost and electrical characteristics are comparable to those of a conventional system. Three- and four-year programs for developing the electronic circuitry and superconducting coils for VAR control, culminating in the installation and testing of an approx. 40-MVAR system, are proposed

  15. Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ji, X.

    2014-01-01

    Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana.

    I studied numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and

  16. Interferência de populações de Euphorbia heterophylla e Ipomoea ramosissima isoladas ou em misturas sobre a cultura de soja Interference of populations of Euphorbia heterophylla and Ipomoea ramosissima isolated or in mixture in soybean crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A. Rizzardi

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Dentre as principais espécies daninhas que infestam as lavouras de soja do sul do Brasil, destacam-se Euphorbia heterophylla (leiteira e, mais recentemente, Ipomoea ramosissima (corda-de-viola. Objetivou-se avaliar a habilidade competitiva relativa entre espécies daninhas e soja e quantificar a interferência de infestações mistas de leiteira e corda-de-viola quando em convivência com plantas de soja. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos, comparando associações de leiteira ou corda-de-viola com soja, utilizando-se cinco proporções de plantas de leiteira e soja ou corda-de-viola e soja (0:8; 2:6; 4:4; 6:2; 8:0. Em um terceiro experimento, mantiveram-se constantes quatro plantas de soja por vaso e utilizaram-se cinco proporções de plantas de leiteira e corda-de-viola (0:8; 2:6; 4:4; 6:2; 8:0, estabelecidas em duas épocas de emergência das plantas daninhas em relação à soja. Verificou-se que a redução na biomassa da soja é mais intensa quando em presença de corda-de-viola do que de leiteira e, principalmente, em situações nas quais a planta daninha se estabelece antes que a cultura. Quando em infestação mista, corda-de-viola é mais competitiva do que leiteira.Euphorbia heterophylla (wild poinsettia, and, more recently, Ipomoea ramosissima (morningglory are among the main weeds infesting soybean crop in southern Brazil. This work aimed to evaluate the effects of wild poinsettia and morningglory as single or mixed populations in coexistence with soybean. Two experimentswere conducted to compare associations of wild poinsettia or moningglory with soybean, using five ratios of wild poinsettia plants and soybean or morningglory (0:8, 2:6, 4:4, 6:2 and 8:0. In a third experiment, four soybean plants per pot were kept constant and five ratios of of wild poinsettia and moningglory plants were used (0:8, 2:6, 4:4, 6:2 and 8:0, established in two weed emergence periods related to the soybean. The results indicated that a higher

  17. Aplicações isoladas ou associadas de diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne para o controle de Euphorbia heterophylla Isolated or combined application of diuron, oxyfluorfen and prometryn for Euphorbia heterophylla control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.S Oliveira JR

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available A aplicação em pré-emergência no início do ciclo do algodoeiro é prática consagrada entre os produtores. Embora os herbicidas diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne sejam opções para uso nessa cultura, há informações limitadas referentes à eficácia desses herbicidas no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar a curva de dose-resposta de diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne para o controle de E. heterophylla, bem como analisar a eficiência biológica de misturas desses herbicidas no manejo dessa espécie. O trabalho foi composto por seis experimentos conduzidos simultaneamente em casa de vegetação, sendo três deles com doses crescentes de cada herbicida aplicado isoladamente e três compostos por misturas dos herbicidas dois a dois. A curva de dose-resposta foi ajustada para os dados das avaliações de porcentagem de redução de massa seca aos 28 dias após a aplicação. Determinoaram-se as doses I80 e I95, que correspondem ao controle de 80% e 95%, respectivamente, de controle visual ou redução da massa seca. Diuron, oxyfluorfen e prometryne, aplicados isoladamente, mostraram-se eficientes, dentro do intervalo de doses utilizado, no controle de E. heterophylla. As misturas contendo oxyfluorfen apresentaram-se, de modo geral, como aditivas ou antagonísticas, ao passo que misturas de diuron+prometryne foram aditivas ou sinergísticas. Das três combinações de produtos possíveis, oxyfluorfen+prometryne foi a associação que resultou em menor número de tratamentos que promoveram controle aceitável do leiteiro.Pre-emergence herbicide application at the beginning of the crop cycle is a consecrated practice among cotton farmers. Although herbicides, such as diuron, oxyfluorfen and prometryn, are options for this crop, not much is known about their effect on Euphorbia heterophylla. This work aimed to elaborate dose-response curves for diuron, oxyfluorfen and prometryn in relation to E

  18. [Diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi from Taxus chinensis var. mairei].

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-01

    A total of 628 endophytic fungi were isolated from 480 tissue segments of needles and branches of Taxus chinensis var. mairei. According to morphological characteristics and ITS sequences, they represented 43 taxa in 28 genera, of which 10 Hyphomycetes, 20 Coelomycetes, 12 Ascomycetes and 1 unknown fungus. Phomopsis mali was confirmed as the dominant species. In accordance with relative frequency, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Colletotrichum boninense, C. gloeosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum , Fungal sp., Fusarium lateritium, Glomerella cingulata, Magnaporthales sp. , Nigrospora oryzae, Pestalotiopsis maculiformans, P. microspora, Peyronellaea glomerata and Xylaria sp. 1 were more common in T. chinensis var. mairei. T. chinensis var. mairei were severely infected by endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi were found in 81 percent of plant tissues with a high diversity. Distribution ranges of endophytic fungi were influenced by tissue properties. The colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi in needles were obviously lower than in branches, and kinds of endophytic fungi between branches were more similar than those in needles, thus endophytic fungi had tissue preference. In addition, tissue age influenced the community structure of endophytic fungi. The elder branch tissues were, the higher colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi were. Systematic studying the diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi in T. chinensis var. mairei and clarifying their distribution regularity in plant tissues would offer basic data and scientific basis for their development and utilization. Discussing the presence of fungal pathogens in healthy plant tissues would be of positive significance for source protection of T. chinensis var. mairei.

  19. Essays on Imperfect Knowledge Economics, Structural Change, and Persistence in the Cointegrated VAR Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tabor, Morten Nyboe

    2014-01-01

    conrm the original intuition behind the attempt to combine IKE and the econometric approach based on the cointegrated VAR model, that the parameter-instability of IKE models could potentially be an important source of the persistence found empirically in estimated cointegrated VAR models...

  20. [A survey on ecological environment of wild Adiantum reniforme var. sinense in Three Gorges Reservoir region].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Zhong-de; Jia, Han; Fu, Shao-Zhi; Gao, Wen-Yuan; Zhang, Zhi-Wei; Sun, Wei

    2017-11-01

    The study aims at investigating the ecological environment Adiantum reniforme var. sinense of in Three Gorges Reservoir region, and providing a reference basis for the protection of resources and artificial cultivation of A. reniforme var. sinense. By using the method of investigation, field survey and experimental analysis, the vegetation, natural geographical environment, climate, soil nutrients of A. reniforme var. sinense were studied and analyzed. The survey found that A. reniforme var. sinense distribution area reduced fast in Three Gorges region, a lot of distribution has diminished and vanished due to excessive digging, currently only in 3 towns of Wanzhou there exist 4 wild distribution areas. The growth of A. reniforme var. sinense needs an environment with low altitude, steep slope and thin soil, northeast slope, canopy height and warm and humid climate characteristics, and the soil in distribution has the characteristics of high organic matter, available nitrogen, available potassium, and low available phosphorus content. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  1. Potential for wind extraction from 4D-Var assimilation of aerosols and moisture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaplotnik, Žiga; Žagar, Nedjeljka

    2017-04-01

    We discuss the potential of the four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-Var) to retrieve the unobserved wind field from observations of atmospheric tracers and the mass field through internal model dynamics and the multivariate relationships in the background-error term for 4D-Var. The presence of non-linear moist dynamics makes the wind retrieval from tracers very difficult. On the other hand, it has been shown that moisture observations strongly influence both tropical and mid-latitude wind field in 4D-Var. We present an intermediate complexity model that describes nonlinear interactions between the wind, temperature, aerosols and moisture including their sinks and sources in the framework of the so-called first baroclinic mode atmosphere envisaged by A. Gill. Aerosol physical processes, which are included in the model, are the non-linear advection, diffusion and sources and sinks that exist as dry and wet deposition and diffusion. Precipitation is parametrized according to the Betts-Miller scheme. The control vector for 4D-Var includes aerosols, moisture and the three dynamical variables. The former is analysed univariately whereas wind field and mass field are analysed in a multivariate fashion taking into account quasi-geostrophic and unbalanced dynamics. The OSSE type of studies are performed for the tropical region to assess the ability of 4D-Var to extract wind-field information from the time series of observations of tracers as a function of the flow nonlinearity, the observations density and the length of the assimilation window (12 hours and 24 hours), in dry and moist environment. Results show that the 4D-Var assimilation of aerosols and temperature data is beneficial for the wind analysis with analysis errors strongly dependent on the moist processes and reliable background-error covariances.

  2. [Investigation on Main Cultivation of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus and Commercial Specifications Grades].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, He-ting; Wang, Jian; Cheng, Ming-en; Duan, Hai-yan; Peng, Hua-sheng

    2015-12-01

    To investigate the main cultivation areas of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, and to clarify its present cultivation status and commercial specification grades. Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus cultivated in Hunyuan and Ying County of Shanxi, Longxi, Weiyuan and Min County of Gansu and Wuchuan, Guyang and Chifeng of Inner Mongolia were investigated, including their ecological environment, cultivation history and present situation, harvesting and processing as well as commercial specification grades. The cultivation methods of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus changed greatly in the main cultivation areas. In Gansu and Inner Mongolia, the current major cultivation method was 2 - 3 years of seedling transplantation method, while the 3 - 5 years of seed-directly-sowed method in Inner Mongolia had been almost abandoned, and the 6 - 8 years of mountain direct seeding method was still in application in Hunyuan county of Shanxi province. On the other hand, the harvest method of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus had been gradually changed from manual harvesting in ancient times to the current mechanical harvesting although the latter method did more damage to environment of cultivation areas and the resource of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus in regions Hunyuan county of Shanxi. Through investigating the processing methods of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus in different cultivation areas, it was found that processing method varied from area to area, and no unified specifications had been formulated on processing methods in market. In addition, the current processing method was too complicated in processing the slices of prepared Astragali Radix and most were self processing by farmers themselves, creating market disorders. Moreover, the Astragali Radix products were basically without grading classification but sold as bulk cargo. It is urgent to unify the specifications and grades of Astragali Radix product, and standardize

  3. Anatomical element localization by EDXS in Grevillea exul var. exul under nickel stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabier, J.; Laffont-Schwob, I.; Notonier, R.; Fogliani, B.; Bouraima-Madjebi, S.

    2008-01-01

    Grevillea exul var. exul, an endemic serpentinic Proteaceae of New Caledonia, was chosen to study the spatial distribution of Ni because this species supports strong content of metals, which can allow important absorptions thus detectable by microanalysis. Fine transversal sections of axenic G. exul var. exul plants grown during 15 days on nickel sulphate medium were examined by EDXS microanalysis. It showed that in Ni treated plants, Ni was concentrated mostly in the phloem compared to the xylem and the epidermis, either in roots or in the basal part of the stems and was mostly in the epidermis in the upper part of the stems and not detectable in the leaves. This metal took the place of P and K in the treated plants whereas the localization of these macroelements was quite uniform in control sections. We assume that a mechanism of phloem loading is implicated to restrict Ni accumulation in G. exul var. exul. - Ni resistance mechanism in Grevillea exul var. exul plants depends on a basipetal export mechanism

  4. Anatomical element localization by EDXS in Grevillea exul var. exul under nickel stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rabier, J. [Equipe Biomarqueurs et Bioindicateurs Environnementaux, Institut Mediterraneen d' Ecologie et de Paleoecologie, UMR CNRS 6116, Universite de Provence, Case 17, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Jacques.Rabier@univ-provence.fr; Laffont-Schwob, I. [Equipe Biomarqueurs et Bioindicateurs Environnementaux, Institut Mediterraneen d' Ecologie et de Paleoecologie, UMR CNRS 6116, Universite de Provence, Case 17, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Isabelle.Schwob@univ-provence.fr; Notonier, R. [Service commun de microscopie electronique, Universite de Provence, Case 76, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Roger.Notonier@univ-provence.fr; Fogliani, B. [MABioM, Universite de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, BP R4, 98847 Noumea, New Caledonia (France)], E-mail: bfoglian@univ-nc.nc; Bouraima-Madjebi, S. [MABioM, Universite de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, BP R4, 98847 Noumea, New Caledonia (France)], E-mail: bouraima@univ-nc.nc

    2008-12-15

    Grevillea exul var. exul, an endemic serpentinic Proteaceae of New Caledonia, was chosen to study the spatial distribution of Ni because this species supports strong content of metals, which can allow important absorptions thus detectable by microanalysis. Fine transversal sections of axenic G. exul var. exul plants grown during 15 days on nickel sulphate medium were examined by EDXS microanalysis. It showed that in Ni treated plants, Ni was concentrated mostly in the phloem compared to the xylem and the epidermis, either in roots or in the basal part of the stems and was mostly in the epidermis in the upper part of the stems and not detectable in the leaves. This metal took the place of P and K in the treated plants whereas the localization of these macroelements was quite uniform in control sections. We assume that a mechanism of phloem loading is implicated to restrict Ni accumulation in G. exul var. exul. - Ni resistance mechanism in Grevillea exul var. exul plants depends on a basipetal export mechanism.

  5. Forecasting VaR and ES of stock index portfolio: A Vine copula method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bangzheng; Wei, Yu; Yu, Jiang; Lai, Xiaodong; Peng, Zhenfeng

    2014-12-01

    Risk measurement has both theoretical and practical significance in risk management. Using daily sample of 10 international stock indices, firstly this paper models the internal structures among different stock markets with C-Vine, D-Vine and R-Vine copula models. Secondly, the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of the international stock markets portfolio are forecasted using Monte Carlo method based on the estimated dependence of different Vine copulas. Finally, the accuracy of VaR and ES measurements obtained from different statistical models are evaluated by UC, IND, CC and Posterior analysis. The empirical results show that the VaR forecasts at the quantile levels of 0.9, 0.95, 0.975 and 0.99 with three kinds of Vine copula models are sufficiently accurate. Several traditional methods, such as historical simulation, mean-variance and DCC-GARCH models, fail to pass the CC backtesting. The Vine copula methods can accurately forecast the ES of the portfolio on the base of VaR measurement, and D-Vine copula model is superior to other Vine copulas.

  6. Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens (Roxburgh Hochreutiner (Malvaceae, A Newly Naturalized Plant in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szu-I Hsieh

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens (Roxburgh Hochreutiner is naturalized in abandoned land of central Taiwan. The distinguished characteristics of A. manihot var. pungens include the ovate-lanceolate epicalyx lobes, distinct prickly hairs all over the plant, and even over the margins of its epicalyx lobes. Descriptions, line drawings and photos of this species are provided.

  7. [Study on quality standard of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shi-Hong; Jiang, Wei-Zhe; Lv, Li; Wu, Ling-Ling; Lv, Cong; Shi, Xiao-Xia; Su, Gui-Liang

    2009-03-01

    To provide scientific basis for the utilization and development of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis by establishing its quality control standard. The bioactive constituents were analyzed by TLC and HPLC. Moisture, ash and the extracts of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis were all determined. The TLC spots of levodopa had similar color with the control group at the same position. The results of HPLC quantitative analysis showed that the linear range of levodopa was 26.45 to approximately 132.25 microg/mL, r = 0.9992, and the average recovery rate was 103.8%, RSD = 1.85%. This method is convenient, accurate, reliable with good reproducibility, so it can be used to establish quality standard for the medicinal material.

  8. A Stochastic Dominance Approach to the Basel III Dilemma: Expected Shortfall or VaR?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); J.A. Jiménez-Martín (Juan-Ángel); E. Maasoumi (Esfandiar); M.J. McAleer (Michael); T. Pérez-Amaral (Teodosio)

    2015-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) (2013) recently proposed shifting the quantitative risk metrics system from Value-at-Risk (VaR) to Expected Shortfall (ES). The BCBS (2013) noted that “a number of weaknesses have been identified with using VaR for

  9. Genetic analisys of a cross of gaillon (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa B.M.G. Spini

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available The cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis is an annual vegetable cultivated in Southern and Southwestern Brazil with limited production in the Northeast and Centralwest. A variety of Chinese kale, "kaai laan" or "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, produces seeds at high temperatures and therefore can do so in North and Northeastern Brazil. Gaillon and cauliflower were crossed 55 times using 10 gaillon plants as mothers and 4 cauliflower plants as pollen donors. From these crosses, in the F2 generation, 612 plants with inflorescence like gaillon and 48 plants with inflorescence like cauliflower were obtained, in a proportion similar to 15:1, implying that 2 pairs of genes entered into formation of the cauliflower inflorescence type. In order to study flower color, 339 plants were analyzed: 274 presented white flowers and 65, yellow flowers, denoting that this caracter is determined by 1 pair of genes, white being dominant over yellow; white flowers had a slighly higher adaptive value in our population. The characteristic waxy leaf showed a proportion of 3 waxy plants for 1 not waxy, indicating the action of one pair of genes.A couve-flor (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis é um vegetal anual e tem seu cultivo no Brasil limitado às regiões Sul e Sudeste, com pequena produção no Nordeste e Centro-Oeste. Uma variedade de couve da China, "kaai laan" ou "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, produz sementes em altas temperaturas e, portanto, é apta a produzir sementes no Norte e Nordeste do Brasil. Gaillon e couve-flor foram cruzados. Foram feitos 55 cruzamentos usando 10 plantas de gaillon como mãe e 4 plantas de couve-flor como doadores de pólen. Desses cruzamentos, na geração F2, 612 plantas com inflorescência tipo gaillon e 48 plantas com inflorescência tipo couve-flor foram obtidas, em proporção similar a 15:1, demonstrando que 2 pares de genes estão envolvidos na formação da inflorescência em couve

  10. Characterization of Thermo- and Detergent Stable Antigenic Glycosylated Cysteine Protease of Euphorbia nivulia Buch.-Ham. and Evaluation of Its Ecofriendly Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamkant B. Badgujar

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available An antigenic glycosylated cysteine protease has been purified from the latex of Euphorbia nivulia Buch.-Ham. It exhibits remarkable protease activity in the presence of metal ions, oxidizing agents, organic solvents, and detergents. This enzyme showed potential role in leather processing industry due to its dehairing activity for animal hide without hydrolyzing fibrous proteins, producing, by this way, a better quality product. The enzyme can also be used for silver recovering from X-ray plates. In addition, the stability (temperature and surfactants and hydrolysis of blood stain data also revealed its application in detergent industries. Agriculturally, this protease finds application in biocontrol process against the infectious management of root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Biologically, it shows noticeable wound healing, haemostatic and antibacterial activity.

  11. Larvicidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Cry11Aa toxin against Haemonchus contortus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DE Lara, Ana Paula DE Souza Stori; Lorenzon, Lucas Bigolin; Vianna, Ana Muñoz; Santos, Francisco Denis Souza; Pinto, Luciano Silva; Aires Berne, Maria Elisabeth; Leite, Fábio Pereira Leivas

    2016-10-01

    Effective control of gastrointestinal parasites is necessary in sheep production. The development of anthelmintics resistance is causing the available chemically based anthelmintics to become less effective. Biological control strategies present an alternative to this problem. In the current study, we tested the larvicidal effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Cry11Aa toxin against Haemonchus contortus larvae. Bacterial suspensions [2 × 108 colony-forming units (CFU) g-1 of the feces] of B. thuringiensis var. israelensis and recombinant Escherichia coli expressing Cry11Aa toxin were added to naturally H. contortus egg-contaminated feces. The larvae were quantified, and significant reductions of 62 and 81% (P var. israelensis and recombinant E. coli expressing Cry11Aa toxin were then orally administered to lambs naturally infected with H. contortus. Twelve hours after administration, feces were collected and submitted to coprocultures. Significant larvae reductions (P var. israelensis is a promising new class of biological anthelmintics for treating sheep against H. contortus.

  12. Characterization of the antigenicity of Cpl1, a surface protein of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Jian-Piao; Liu, Ling-Li; To, Kelvin K W; Lau, Candy C Y; Woo, Patrick C Y; Lau, Susanna K P; Guo, Yong-Hui; Ngan, Antonio H Y; Che, Xiao-Yan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

    2015-01-01

    Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans is an important fungal pathogen. The capsule is a well established virulence factor and a target site for diagnostic tests. The CPL1 gene is required for capsular formation and virulence. The protein product Cpl1 has been proposed to be a secreted protein, but the characteristics of this protein have not been reported. Here we sought to characterize Cpl1. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Cpl1 of C. neoformans var. neoformans and the Cpl1 orthologs identified in C. neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii formed a distinct cluster among related fungi; while the putative ortholog found in Trichosporon asahii was distantly related to the Cryptococcus cluster. We expressed Cpl1 abundantly as a secreted His-tagged protein in Pichia pastoris. The protein was used to immunize guinea pigs and rabbits for high titer mono-specific polyclonal antibody that was shown to be highly specific against the cell wall of C. neoformans var. neoformans and did not cross react with C. gattii, T. asahii, Aspergillus spp., Candida spp. and Penicillium spp. Using the anti-Cpl1 antibody, we detected Cpl1 protein in the fresh culture supernatant of C. neoformans var. neoformans and we showed by immunostaining that the Cpl1 protein was located on the surface. The Cpl1 protein is a specific surface protein of C. neoformans var. neoformans. © 2015 by The Mycological Society of America.

  13. Carbon dioxide evolution and temperature factors in early growth of plastic mulched plants. [Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus; Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betts, C.; Ruf, R.H. Jr.

    1966-01-01

    Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa) were grown in the greenhouse in redwood boxes with bare and plastic mulched soil. Soil temperature in the bare boxes was equated to the plastic mulch with buried temperature coils. Bottled CO/sub 2/ was used to bring the concentration around the plants in bare soil up to the concentration around mulched plants. Carbon dioxide was sampled in leaf canopy. The temperature treatment increased the yields of the bare soil so that they were comparable to those of the plastic mulched soil. Yields from the soil with the auxiliary CO/sub 2/ were lower than those of the mulched treatment.

  14. Histopathology and culturable bacteria associated with "big belly" and "skin nodule" syndromes in ornamental Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, H T; Senapin, S; Phiwsaiya, K; Techatanakitarnan, C; Dokladda, K; Ruenwongsa, P; Panijpan, B

    2018-06-02

    The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) is one of the popular aquarium ornamental fish in the global trade. Large numbers of ornamental fish farmed in central Thailand suffered from two common syndromes; preliminarily named skin nodule syndrome (SNS) and big belly syndrome (BBS): they showed noticeable clinical signs of abnormal appearances resulting in depressed saleability. Since very few specifics are known about causative agents of these syndromes, this study aimed at investigating histopathological features and culturable bacteria associated with these fish infected in the process of farming. Histopathologically, SNS fish consistently exhibited necrosis and severe melanization in the muscles and multiple internal organs. Whereas BBS fish exhibited either typical granulomas or tissue damage associated with acid-fast stained bacteria and Gram negative bacteria, respectively. Six different Gram negative bacterial species were recovered from BBS fish while 23 bacterial species belonging to 14 genera were recovered from fish suffering from SNS. Most of the culturable bacteria are new to betta fish and some of them are known to be marine bacteria, suggesting possible entry route via a contaminated live feed, commercial Artemia shrimp. The true causative agents of these syndromes remain unclear. However, histopathological changes and existence of a wide range of bacteria associated with the naturally diseased fish suggest involvement of multiple bacterial infections. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Bioactivity-guided isolation of antioxidant triterpenoids from Betula platyphylla var. japonica bark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Hee Jeong; Kang, Hee Rae; Kim, Ho Kyong; Jung, Eun Bee; Park, Hyun Bong; Kang, Ki Sung; Kim, Ki Hyun

    2016-06-01

    The bark of Betula platyphylla var. japonica (Betulaceae) has been used to treat pneumonia, choloplania, nephritis, and chronic bronchitis. This study aimed to investigate the bioactive chemical constituents of the bark of B. platyphylla var. japonica. A bioassay-guided fractionation and chemical investigation of the bark of B. platyphylla var. japonica resulted in the isolation and identification of a new lupane-type triterpene, 27-hydroxybetunolic acid (1), along with 18 known triterpenoids (2-19). The structure of the new compound (1) was elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis as well as HR-ESIMS. Among the known compounds, chilianthin B (17), chilianthin C (18), and chilianthin A (19) were triterpene-lignan esters, which are rarely found in nature. Compounds 4, 6, 7, 17, 18, and 19 showed significant antioxidant activities with IC50 values in the range 4.48-43.02μM in a DPPH radical-scavenging assay. However, no compound showed significant inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE). Unfortunately, the new compound (1) exhibited no significance in both biological activities. This study strongly suggests that B. platyphylla var. japonica bark is a potential source of natural antioxidants for use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. [Effect of Water Extracts from Rhizosphere Soil of Cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus on It's Seed Germination and Physiological Characteristics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Duo-yong; Fu, Xue-yan; Rong, Jia-wang; Zhang, Xin-hui

    2015-01-01

    To explore the relationship between continuous cropping obstacle and autotoxicity of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. Distilled water(CK), water extracts of rhizosphere soil(50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/mL) were applied to test their effect on early growth and physiological characteristics of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. The water extracts from rhizospher soil of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus significantly increased seedling emergence rate, root length and vigor index of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus seedling when at the concentration of 100 mg/mL or below, however,there was no significant effect at 200 mg/mL or higher. The water extracts from rhizosphere soil of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus significantly reduced the SOD activity in Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus seedling at 400 mg/mL and POD activity at 200 mg/mL and 400 mg/mL,while significantly increased the MDA content. Water extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus rhizosphere soil significantly affected Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus germination and seedling growth in a concentration-dependent manner, generally, low concentrations increased the SOD and POD activity which improved seed germination and seedling growth, while high concentrations caused cell membrane damage of the seedling.

  17. Cryptococcus neoformans in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): colonization by C n. var. gattii and investigation of environmental sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krockenberger, M B; Canfield, P J; Malik, R

    2002-06-01

    This study is the one in a series looking at the relationship among Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii, koalas and the environment. The koala was used as a natural biological sampler in an attempt to understand the dynamics of C. neoformans var. gattii in Australian environments. Evidence of asymptomatic nasal and skin colonization for extended periods by large numbers of C. n. var. gattii was obtained and geographical factors assessed. The key finding was the ability of koalas to amplify numbers of C. n. var. gattii in certain environments. Koalas were not found to be obligatory for the survival of the organism in all environments. Geographical factors alone could not explain differing rates of nasal and skin colonization in koalas in different environments. A strong association between healthy koalas and C. n. var. gattii was confirmed and C n. var. gattii was isolated from novel sources, including the turpentine gum tree (Syncarpia glomulifera), tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys) and flooded gum (E. grandis). It seems likely that as yet undiscovered environmental sources of C. n. var. gattii exist in eastern Australia. Further investigation of host, environmental and organism factors integral to the hostpathogen relationship will assist an understanding of the progression from colonization to tissue invasion and cryptococcosis in all species.

  18. Occurrence of pathotypes of Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella (Jones Boerema in the Olsztyn district

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Furgał-Węgrzycka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The causal agents of leaves and pods spot-pot of peas and field peas in the Olsztyn district was the fungus Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella. Investigated isolates of P. medicaginis var. pinodella differed by macroscopic and microscopic features. From diseases leaves and pods of peas and field peas obtained also saprophytic fungi among which Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum purpurascens, Stemphylium botryosum, Sordaria fimicola and mycelia sterilia were dominated. In the study on the identification and distribution of pathotypes of P. medicaginis var. pinodella six pathotypes were identified among which pathotype 3 were dominated. The identified pathotypes differed by macroscopic and microscopic features.

  19. Is Solanum ferox var. ferox (Solanaceae) extinct?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heiser, C.B.

    2001-01-01

    In 1995 I wrote letters to over 50 people (botanists, agricultural scientists, and former students of Indiana University) in south-eastern Asia trying to obtain a few seeds of Solanumferox L. var. ferox (S. involucratum Blume). I had over 25 replies, five of which included seeds, but none of the

  20. Erasing the Epigenetic Memory and Beginning to Switch—The Onset of Antigenic Switching of var Genes in Plasmodium falciparum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fastman, Yair; Noble, Robert; Recker, Mario; Dzikowski, Ron

    2012-01-01

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum is regulated by transcriptional switches among members of the var gene family, each expressed in a mutually exclusive manner and encoding a different variant of the surface antigens collectively named PfEMP1. Antigenic switching starts when the first merozoites egress from the liver and begin their asexual proliferation within red blood cells. By erasing the epigenetic memory we created parasites with no var background, similar to merozoites that egress from the liver where no var gene is expressed. Creating a null-var background enabled us to investigate the onset of antigenic switches at the early phase of infection. At the onset of switching, var transcription pattern is heterogeneous with numerous genes transcribed at low levels including upsA vars, a subtype that was implicated in severe malaria, which are rarely activated in growing cultures. Analysis of subsequent in vitro switches shows that the probability of a gene to turn on or off is not associated with its chromosomal position or promoter type per se but on intrinsic properties of each gene. We concluded that var switching is determined by gene specific associated switch rates rather than general promoter type or locus associated switch rates. In addition, we show that fine tuned reduction in var transcription increases their switch rate, indicating that transcriptional perturbation can alter antigenic switching. PMID:22461905

  1. [Effects of low-light stress on photosynthetic characteristics of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis in artificial domestication cultivation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Shun-lin; Tian, Meng-liang; Liu, Jin-liang; Zhao, Ting-ting; Zhang, Zhong

    2014-09-01

    To decide on the optimum artificial domestication cultivation light environment for Paris polyphylla var. chinensis through investigating the effect of light intensity on leaf's gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters, light saturation point and compensation point of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. Different low-light stress gradients' effect on the growth of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis was compared with no low-light stress treatment through calculating leaf's gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters, light saturation point and compensation point, and then all these parameters were statistically analyzed. Light intensity had significant influence on the photosynthetic characteristics of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. With the strengthening of the low-light stress, chlorophyll content, gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters P., AQY and light saturation point all gradually increased at first, and then decreased. However, both photosynthetic parameters Rd and light compensation point firstly decreased and then rose again. These results showed that too strong or too weak light intensity affected the optimization of photosynthetic parameters of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. The optimal illuminance for each parameter was not completely same, but they could all reach a relative ideal state when the shading ranges between 40% and 60%. However, photosynthetic parameters deteriorated rapidly when the shading surpass 80%. For artificially cultivating Paris polyphylla var. chinensis in Baoxing,Sichuan or the similar ecological region, shading 40%-60% is the optimal light environment, which can enhance the photosynthesis of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis and promote the accumulation of photosynthetic products.

  2. Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soo-Hyun; Sim, Yun-Beom; Han, Pyung-Lim; Lee, Jin-Koo; Suh, Hong-Won

    2010-06-01

    Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. is widely cultivated in Jeju Island (South Korea) for use in manufacture of health foods. This study described antidepressant effect of two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin levels were increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten or its flavoniods administered orally. In addition, antidepressant activity was studied using tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and rota-rod test in chronically restraint immobilization stress group in mice. After restraint stress (2 hrs/day for 14 days), animals were kept in cage for 14 days without any further stress, bet with drugs. Mice were fed with a diet supplemented for 14 days and during the behavioral test period with kaempferol or quercitrin (30 mg/kg/day). POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin level was increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten and its flavoniods. In addition, immobility time in TST and FST was significantly reduced by kaempferol or quercitrin. In rota-rod test, the time of permanence was maintained to the semblance of control group in turning at 15 rpm. Our results suggest that two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. show a potent antidepressant effect.

  3. Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soo-Hyun; Sim, Yun-Beom; Han, Pyung-Lim; Lee, Jin-Koo

    2010-01-01

    Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. is widely cultivated in Jeju Island (South Korea) for use in manufacture of health foods. This study described antidepressant effect of two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin levels were increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten or its flavoniods administered orally. In addition, antidepressant activity was studied using tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and rota-rod test in chronically restraint immobilization stress group in mice. After restraint stress (2 hrs/day for 14 days), animals were kept in cage for 14 days without any further stress, bet with drugs. Mice were fed with a diet supplemented for 14 days and during the behavioral test period with kaempferol or quercitrin (30 mg/kg/day). POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin level was increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten and its flavoniods. In addition, immobility time in TST and FST was significantly reduced by kaempferol or quercitrin. In rota-rod test, the time of permanence was maintained to the semblance of control group in turning at 15 rpm. Our results suggest that two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. show a potent antidepressant effect. PMID:22110339

  4. The cross-ecosystem impact of deer on an endangered submerged macrophyte, Ranunculus nipponicus var. submersus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hino Takafumi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Macrophytes are a critical component of freshwater ecosystems and are often eaten by cervids. However, the impact of cervids on macrophytes is not well known. In this study, we investigated the effect of sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis on the endangered macrophyte Ranunculus nipponicus var. submersus in a spring stream in southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. We monitored the frequency of stream habitat use by deer by using sensor cameras in photography mode for four seasons. We also monitored deer feeding behavior on R. nipponicus var. submersus using sensor cameras in movie mode. To quantitatively evaluate the impact of deer on R. nipponicus var. submersus, we conducted a field experiment in which deer were excluded from part of the stream. We selected 10 pairs of adjacent patches of R. nipponicus var. submersus and set up exclosures covering one patch in each pair. We assessed the frequency of deer feeding and trampling on the control patches using the sensor cameras in photography mode and measured the mean macrophyte stem length in the exclosure and control patches every month for four seasons. To compare abiotic conditions between the exclosure and control patches, we investigated canopy openness, water depth, water temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, current velocity, and water quality at each patch during the growing season. The frequency of deer in the stream habitat was higher from spring to summer than in other seasons. Direct evidence of deer feeding behavior on R. nipponicus var. submersus was recorded using the sensor cameras. Deer often fed on and trampled on the control patches, particularly from spring to summer. The R. nipponicus var. submersus stem length was longer in the exclosure patches than in control patches (P 0.189. Stem growth of R. nipponicus var. submersus differed among seasons (P <0.001, and was low from winter to spring. In addition, exclosure and seasonality significantly affected stem length (P <0.001, and the

  5. Probiotic Activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii Against Human Pathogens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Rajkowska

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Infectious diarrhoea is associated with a modification of the intestinal microflora and colonization of pathogenic bacteria. Tests were performed for seven probiotic yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, designated for the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea. To check their possible effectiveness against diarrhoea of different etiologies, the activity against a variety of human pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria was investigated in vitro. In mixed cultures with S. cerevisiae var. boulardii, a statistically significant reduction was observed in the number of cells of Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, by even 55.9 % in the case of L. monocytogenes compared with bacterial monocultures. The influence of yeasts was mostly associated with the shortening of the bacterial lag phase duration, more rapid achievement of the maximum growth rates, and a decrease by 4.4–57.1 % (L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, or an increase by 1.4–70.6 % (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella Typhimurium in the exponential growth rates. Another issue included in the research was the ability of S. cerevisiae var. boulardii to bind pathogenic bacteria to its cell surface. Yeasts have shown binding capacity of E. coli, S. Typhimurium and additionally of S. aureus, Campylobacter jejuni and E. faecalis. However, no adhesion of L. monocytogenes and P. aeruginosa to the yeast cell wall was noted. The probiotic activity of S. cerevisiae var. boulardii against human pathogens is related to a decrease in the number of viable and active cells of bacteria and the binding capacity of yeasts. These processes may limit bacterial invasiveness and prevent bacterial adherence and translocation in the human intestines.

  6. Euphorbia neriifolia L.: Review on botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mali, Prashant Y; Panchal, Shital S

    2017-05-01

    The present review is intended to provide information on botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities of various parts of Euphorbia neriifolia (E. neriifolia). E. neriifolia has several ethnomedicinal uses. The latex of E. neriifolia is used as laxative, purgative, rubefacient, carminative and expectorant as well as in treatment of whooping cough, gonorrhoea, leprosy, asthma, dyspepsia, jaundice, enlargement of the spleen, tumours, stone in the bladder, abdominal troubles and leucoderma. Leaves are brittle, heating, carminative, and good for improving the appetite and treatment of tumours, pains, inflammations, abdominal swellings and bronchial infections. Roots are used as symptomatic treatment of snake bite, scorpion sting and antispasmodic. Various plant parts or whole E. neriifolia extract and its isolates have been reported scientifically using various in-vivo and in-vitro experimental methods for anaesthetic, analgesic, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, anti-arthritis, anti-carcinogenic, antidiabetic, anti-diarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiulcer, cytotoxic, death-receptor expression enhancing, dermal irritation, diuretic, haemolytic, immunomodulatory, radioprotective, scorpion venom and wound healing properties. It is reported to have chemical constituents like, neriifolin-S, neriifolin, neriifoliene, euphol, neriifolione, cycloartenol, nerifoliol, lectin, euphonerins A-G, 3-O-acetyl-8-O-tigloylingol, taraxerol, antiquorin, etc. Identified chemical constituents are still required to be explored for their advanced isolation techniques and biological activities. Copyright © 2017 Hainan Medical University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Microscopic processes ruling the bioavailability of Zn to roots of Euphorbia pithyusa L. pioneer plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medas, Daniela; De Giudici, Giovanni; Casu, Maria Antonietta; Musu, Elodia; Gianoncelli, Alessandra; Iadecola, Antonella; Meneghini, Carlo; Tamburini, Elena; Sprocati, Anna Rosa; Turnau, Katarzyna; Lattanzi, Pierfranco

    2015-02-03

    Euphorbia pithyusa L. was used in a plant growth-promoting assisted field trial experiment. To unravel the microscopic processes at the interface, thin slices of E. pithyusa roots were investigated by micro-X-ray fluorescence mapping. Roots and rhizosphere materials were examined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Zn K-edge, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate some features common to all the investigated samples. (i) In the rhizosphere of E. pithyusa, Zn was found to exist in different phases. (ii) Si and Al are mainly concentrated in a rim at the epidermis of the roots. (iii) Zn is mostly stored in root epidermis and does not appear to be coordinated to organic molecules but mainly occurs in mineral phases such as Zn silicates. We interpreted that roots of E. pithyusa significantly promote mineral evolution in the rhizosphere. Concomitantly, the plant uses Si and Al extracted by soil minerals to build a biomineralization rim, which can capture Zn. This Zn silicate biomineralization has relevant implications for phytoremediation techniques and for further biotechnology development, which can be better designed and developed after specific knowledge of molecular processes ruling mineral evolution and biomineralization processes has been gained.

  8. Comparison of supercritical fluid and Soxhlet extractions for the quantification of hydrocarbons from Euphorbia macroclada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozcan, Adnan; Ozcan, Asiye Safa

    2004-10-08

    This study compares conventional Soxhlet extraction and analytical scale supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) for their yields in extracting of hydrocarbons from arid-land plant Euphorbia macroclada. The plant material was firstly sequentially extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide, modified with 10% methanol (v/v) in the optimum conditions that is a pressure of 400atm and a temperature of 50 degrees C and then it was sonicated in methylene chloride for an additional 4h. E. macroclada was secondly extracted by using a Soxhlet apparatus at 30 degrees C for 8h in methylene chloride. The validated SFE was then compared to the extraction yield of E. macroclada with a Soxhlet extraction by using the Student's t-test at the 95% confidence level. All of extracts were fractionated with silica-gel in a glass column to get better hydrocarbon yields. Thus, the highest hydrocarbons yield from E. macroclada was achieved with SFE (5.8%) when it compared with Soxhlet extractions (1.1%). Gas chromatography (GC) analysis was performed to determine the quantitative hydrocarbons from plant material. The greatest quantitative hydrocarbon recovery from GC was obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extract (0.6mgg(-1)).

  9. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurusamy, Raman; Lee, Do-Hyung; Park, SeonJoo

    2016-05-01

    The complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) sequence of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus is an economically important traditional Chinese medicine was reported and characterized. The cpDNA of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus is 149,539 bp, with 36.3% GC content. A pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 24,803 bp is separated by a large single-copy region (LSC, 82,805 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC, 17,128 bp). It encodes 85 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Of 129 individual genes, 13 genes encoded one intron and three genes have two introns.

  10. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 8; Issue 4. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie. Flowering Trees Volume 8 Issue 4 April 2003 pp 89-89. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/008/04/0089-0089. Resonance ...

  11. Identification and characterization of microsatellite markers in Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Pinaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Nian-Hui; Xu, Yu-Lan; Wang, Da-Wei; Chen, Shi; Li, Gen-Qian

    2017-02-01

    Microsatellite primers were developed in Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Pinaceae), a species native to southwestern China, to investigate its genetic diversity and population structure in order to provide information for the conservation and management of this species. Using next-generation sequencing, a total of 2349 putative simple sequence repeat primer pairs were designed. Eighteen polymorphic markers in 60 individuals belonging to four populations of P. kesiya var. langbianensis were identified and characterized with two to 11 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 0.800 and 0.000 to 0.840, respectively. Each of these loci cross-amplified in the closely related species P. massoniana , P. densata , P. tabuliformis , and P. yunnanensis , with one to seven alleles per locus. The new markers are promising tools to study the population genetics of P. kesiya var. langbianensis and related species.

  12. Potential Use of Euphorbia hirta for Dengue: A Systematic Review of Scientific Evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sashini D. Perera

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia hirta commonly known as Tawa-Tawa is a plant used in folklore medicine in the Philippines for the treatment of dengue. Though, E. hirta has been extensively investigated for numerous bioactivities, limited studies have been conducted on the antidengue activity. Thus, the present study provides a comprehensive review of studies conducted on the antidengue activity of E. hirta. A systematic literature survey was carried out in scientific databases, PubMed®, Scopus, and Google Scholar, for research carried on the antidengue activity of E. hirta. The literature search identified a total of 867 articles: databases PubMed = 6, Scopus SciVerse® = 423, and Google Scholar = 437; one additional article was identified by searching reference lists. Eight full papers were entitled to the review; out of those, two studies focused on ethnobotanical surveys, three on animal experiments, one on human trial, and two on in vitro antiviral activities, and one was computational study. The available evidence conclusively demonstrates the potential of E. hirta against dengue as it holds significant antiviral and platelet increasing activities. However, the number of studies conducted to validate its antidengue activity was found to be inadequate. Hence, well-controlled clinical trials and contemporary pharmacological approaches including activity guided fractionation and elucidation of the mode of action are encouraged to establish the use of E. hirta for dengue.

  13. Positive selection of Plasmodium falciparum parasites with multiple var2csa-type PfEMP1 genes during the course of infection in pregnant women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sander, Adam F; Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    multiple genes coding for different VAR2CSA proteins, and parasites with >1 var2csa gene appear to be more common in pregnant women with placental malaria than in nonpregnant individuals. We present evidence that, in pregnant women, parasites containing multiple var2csa-type genes possess a selective...... advantage over parasites with a single var2csa gene. Accumulation of parasites with multiple copies of the var2csa gene during the course of pregnancy was also correlated with the development of antibodies involved in blocking VAR2CSA adhesion. The data suggest that multiplicity of var2csa-type genes...

  14. VaR: Exchange Rate Risk and Jump Risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fen-Ying Chen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Incorporating the Poisson jumps and exchange rate risk, this paper provides an analytical VaR to manage market risk of international portfolios over the subprime mortgage crisis. There are some properties in the model. First, different from past studies in portfolios valued only in one currency, this model considers portfolios not only with jumps but also with exchange rate risk, that is vital for investors in highly integrated global financial markets. Second, in general, the analytical VaR solution is more accurate than historical simulations in terms of backtesting and Christoffersen's independence test (1998 for small portfolios and large portfolios. In other words, the proposed model is reliable not only for a portfolio on specific stocks but also for a large portfolio. Third, the model can be regarded as the extension of that of Kupiec (1999 and Chen and Liao (2009.

  15. [Effects of mycorrhizal colonization and medicine quality of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis inoculated by different foreign AM fungi species].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou Nong; Ding, Bo; Feng, Yuan; Qi, Wen-hua; Zhang, Hua; Guo, Dong-qin; Xiang, Jun

    2015-08-01

    After 28 foreign species of AM fungi were inoculated in sterilized soil, the effects of the AM mycorrhizal colonization and the medicine quality of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis were observed by combination of inoculation test in pot at room temperature and instrumental analysis. The results showed that, compared with control group (CK), the inoculation of foreign AM fungi in the soil influenced the spore density, mycorrhizal infection rate, and colonization intensity of AM fungi in root system of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The inoculation of foreign AM fungi enhanced the mycorrhiza viability of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis by increasing the activity of succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in intraradical hyphae. The content of single steroid saponin in rhizome of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis showed variation after P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was inoculated by different foreign species of AM fungi, which was beneficial for increasing the medicine quality; however, the kinds of steroid saponin showed no difference. In a degree, there was a selectivity of symbiosis between P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis and foreign AM fungi. And we found that the Claroideoglomus claroideum and Racocetra coralloidea were best foreign AM fungi species for cultivating P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis under field condition.

  16. The effect of extract of Punica granatum var. pleniflora for treatment of minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavanji, Shahin; Larki, Behrouz; Bakhtari, Azizollah

    2014-06-01

    Herbal drugs are considered alternative agents and have been used for several years around the world. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is one of the most common problems recognized by dentists and skin specialists. This problem is characterized by recurring, painful, small oral mucosal ulcers with a round or oval aspect that mostly appear in keratinized mucosa, cheeks, and on the surface of the mouth under the tongue. In our experiment, the alcoholic and water extracts of Punica granatum var. pleniflora, P. granatum var. Sweet Alak, and P. granatum var. Saveh Black were tested on minor RAS. The study was carried out using the double-blind method. The study population consisted of 210 participants, of whom 69 were females (32%) and 141 were males (68%). In addition to checking several factors, the pain and the degree of the participant's satisfaction had been determined based on visual analog scale. Data analysis was done in the form of a nonparametric method using Kruskal-Wallis test and SPSS version 20 software. The results show that the alcoholic and water extracts of P. granatum var. pleniflora have a meaningful therapeutic effect on minor RAS. Results from the antioxidant activity and its relation to total phenolics show that P. granatum var. pleniflora and P. granatum var. Sweet Alak are rich in phenols. The water and alcoholic extracts of P. granatum varpleniflora decreased the entire time of complete treatment, and the treatment was meaningfully satisfactory for patients who participated in this experiment.

  17. LitVar: a semantic search engine for linking genomic variant data in PubMed and PMC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allot, Alexis; Peng, Yifan; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Lee, Kyubum; Phan, Lon; Lu, Zhiyong

    2018-05-14

    The identification and interpretation of genomic variants play a key role in the diagnosis of genetic diseases and related research. These tasks increasingly rely on accessing relevant manually curated information from domain databases (e.g. SwissProt or ClinVar). However, due to the sheer volume of medical literature and high cost of expert curation, curated variant information in existing databases are often incomplete and out-of-date. In addition, the same genetic variant can be mentioned in publications with various names (e.g. 'A146T' versus 'c.436G>A' versus 'rs121913527'). A search in PubMed using only one name usually cannot retrieve all relevant articles for the variant of interest. Hence, to help scientists, healthcare professionals, and database curators find the most up-to-date published variant research, we have developed LitVar for the search and retrieval of standardized variant information. In addition, LitVar uses advanced text mining techniques to compute and extract relationships between variants and other associated entities such as diseases and chemicals/drugs. LitVar is publicly available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/Demo/LitVar.

  18. Further elucidation of the taxonomic relationships and geographic distribution of Escobaria sneedii var. sneedii, E. sneedii var. leei, and E. guadalupensis (Cactaceae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marc A. Baker

    2007-01-01

    Individuals of E. sneedii var. sneedii were found to occur in greater abundance within the Guadalupe Mountains than was previously recorded. No additional populations morphologically intermediate between E. guadalupensis and E. sneedii were found. Taxonomic affiliation and geographic...

  19. Efficient gene replacements in ku70 disruption strain of Aspergillus chevalieri var. intermedius

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingqing Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus chevalieri var. intermedius is a dominant filamentous fungal species in Fuzhuan tea and is associated with the quality and health benefits of this tea. The sexual or asexual reproduction of this fungus depends on the osmotic pressure of the tea. Efforts to enhance the beneficial effects of A. chevalieri var. intermedius are hampered by difficulties in disrupting its genes. To address this issue, we identified the A. chevalieri var. intermedius homolog (Acku70 of human Ku70 and generated an Acku70 disruption strain (ΔAcku70, aiming to improve the gene replacement efficiency. ΔAcku70 grew at a slightly lower rate in vitro than the wild-type strain; however, the two strains exhibited similar sensitivity to temperature, osmotic pressure and the effects of ethyl methane sulphonate and H2O2. The replacement efficiency of veA and flbA dramatically increased in ΔAcku70 compared to that in the wild type. The efficiency of flbA replacement increased from 2.6% to 80%, whereas the frequency of veA disruption increased from 15.2% to 83.9% and from 30.8% to 86.8%. Thus, ΔAcku70 is suitable for use as a type strain for large-scale functional genomic analysis of A. chevalieri var. intermedius.

  20. RBF neural network prediction on weak electrical signals in Aloe vera var. chinensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lanzhou; Zhao, Jiayin; Wang, Miao

    2008-10-01

    A Gaussian radial base function (RBF) neural network forecast on signals in the Aloe vera var. chinensis by the wavelet soft-threshold denoised as the time series and using the delayed input window chosen at 50, is set up to forecast backward. There was the maximum amplitude at 310.45μV, minimum -75.15μV, average value -2.69μV and Aloe vera var. chinensis respectively. The electrical signal in Aloe vera var. chinensis is a sort of weak, unstable and low frequency signals. A result showed that it is feasible to forecast plant electrical signals for the timing by the RBF. The forecast data can be used as the preferences for the intelligent autocontrol system based on the adaptive characteristic of plants to achieve the energy saving on the agricultural production in the plastic lookum or greenhouse.

  1. Mutations in the Arabidopsis AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 Gene Cause Leaf Reticulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuang Liang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In higher plants, the development of functional chloroplasts is essential for photosynthesis and many other physiological processes. With a long-term goal of elucidating the genetic regulation of chloroplast development, we identified two allelic leaf variegation mutants, variegated5-1 (var5-1 and var5-2. Both mutants showed a distinct leaf reticulation phenotype of yellow paraveinal regions and green interveinal regions, and the leaf reticulation phenotype correlated with photosynthetic defects. Through the identification of mutation sites in the two mutant alleles and the molecular complementation, we confirmed that VAR5 encodes a CorA family of Mg2+ transporters also known as AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10. Using protoplast transient expression and biochemical fractionation assays, we demonstrated that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 likely localizes to the chloroplast envelope. Moreover, we established that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 forms large molecular weight complexes in the chloroplast and the sizes of these complexes clearly exceed those of their bacterial counterparts, suggesting the compositions of CorA Mg2+ transporter complex is different between the chloroplast and bacteria. Our findings indicate that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 plays an important role in the tissue specific regulation of chloroplast development.

  2. RİSK ÖLÇÜMÜNDE ALTERNATİF YAKLAŞIMLAR: RİSKE MARUZ DEĞER (VaR ve BEKLENEN KAYIP (ES UYGULAMALARI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SEZER BOZKUŞ

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article shows that Value-at-Risk (VaR, the most popular risk measure in practice, has a considerable positive bias when used for a portfolio with fat-tail distribution. Numerical examples, i.e. USD/Euro daily prices and ISE-100 Index monthly returns, are given to demonstrate the use of our method. In the search for a suitable alternative to VaR, Expected Shortfall (ES or conditional VaR has been characterized as the coherent risk measure to dominate VaR. We discuss properties of VaR and ES and compare them in terms of consistency with elimination of tail risk, strengths and weaknesses. We conclude that ES is more applicable than VaR since ES is free of tail risk and consistent under more lenient conditions than VaR is.

  3. Micropropagation of Caralluma stalagmifera var. longipetala : A rare ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An efficient in vitro protocol has been developed for the multiplication of shoots and conservation of a rare succulent medicinal plant Caralluma stalagmifera var. longipetala growing wildly in Karnataka State. Proliferation of multiple shoots was achieved on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with various ...

  4. A measurement of the $C\\!P$ asymmetry difference in $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to pK^{-}K^{+}$ and $p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$ decays

    CERN Document Server

    Aaij, Roel; LHCb Collaboration; Adinolfi, Marco; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Akar, Simon; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Alfonso Albero, Alejandro; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio Augusto; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Andreassi, Guido; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Archilli, Flavio; d'Argent, Philippe; Arnau Romeu, Joan; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Atzeni, Michele; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Babuschkin, Igor; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Baesso, Clarissa; Baker, Sophie; Balagura, Vladislav; Baldini, Wander; Baranov, Alexander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Baryshnikov, Fedor; Batozskaya, Varvara; Battista, Vincenzo; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Beiter, Andrew; Bel, Lennaert; Beliy, Nikita; Bellee, Violaine; Belloli, Nicoletta; Belous, Konstantin; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; Benson, Sean; Beranek, Sarah; Berezhnoy, Alexander; Bernet, Roland; Berninghoff, Daniel; Bertholet, Emilie; Bertolin, Alessandro; Betancourt, Christopher; Betti, Federico; Bettler, Marc-Olivier; van Beuzekom, Martinus; Bezshyiko, Iaroslava; Bifani, Simone; Billoir, Pierre; Birnkraut, Alex; Bizzeti, Andrea; Bjørn, Mikkel; Blake, Thomas; Blanc, Frederic; Blusk, Steven; Bocci, Valerio; Boettcher, Thomas; Bondar, Alexander; Bondar, Nikolay; Bordyuzhin, Igor; Borghi, Silvia; Borisyak, Maxim; Borsato, Martino; Bossu, Francesco; Boubdir, Meriem; Bowcock, Themistocles; Bowen, Espen Eie; Bozzi, Concezio; Braun, Svende; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Brundu, Davide; Buchanan, Emma; Burr, Christopher; Bursche, Albert; Buytaert, Jan; Byczynski, Wiktor; Cadeddu, Sandro; Cai, Hao; Calabrese, Roberto; Calladine, Ryan; Calvi, Marta; Calvo Gomez, Miriam; Camboni, Alessandro; Campana, Pierluigi; Campora Perez, Daniel Hugo; Capriotti, Lorenzo; Carbone, Angelo; Carboni, Giovanni; Cardinale, Roberta; Cardini, Alessandro; Carniti, Paolo; Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Cattaneo, Marco; Cavallero, Giovanni; Cenci, Riccardo; Chamont, David; Chapman, Matthew George; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chatzikonstantinidis, Georgios; Chefdeville, Maximilien; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu Faye; Chitic, Stefan-Gabriel; Chobanova, Veronika; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Chubykin, Alexsei; Ciambrone, Paolo; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Cogoni, Violetta; Cojocariu, Lucian; Collins, Paula; Colombo, Tommaso; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Coombs, George; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Costa Sobral, Cayo Mar; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Crocombe, Andrew; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Da Silva, Cesar Luiz; Dall'Occo, Elena; Dalseno, Jeremy; Davis, Adam; De Aguiar Francisco, Oscar; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Serio, Marilisa; De Simone, Patrizia; Dean, Cameron Thomas; Decamp, Daniel; Del Buono, Luigi; Dembinski, Hans Peter; Demmer, Moritz; Dendek, Adam; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Dey, Biplab; Di Canto, Angelo; Di Nezza, Pasquale; Dijkstra, Hans; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Douglas, Lauren; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dreimanis, Karlis; Dufour, Laurent; Dujany, Giulio; Durante, Paolo; Durham, John Matthew; Dutta, Deepanwita; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziewiecki, Michal; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Easo, Sajan; Ebert, Marcus; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Hannah Mary; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Fazzini, Davide; Federici, Luca; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez, Gerard; Fernandez Declara, Placido; Fernandez Prieto, Antonio; Ferrari, Fabio; Ferreira Lopes, Lino; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fini, Rosa Anna; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fleuret, Frederic; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forty, Roger; Franco Lima, Vinicius; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Fu, Jinlin; Funk, Wolfgang; Furfaro, Emiliano; Färber, Christian; Gabriel, Emmy; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; Garcia Martin, Luis Miguel; García Pardiñas, Julián; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Gascon, David; Gaspar, Clara; Gavardi, Laura; Gazzoni, Giulio; Gerick, David; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianì, Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Girard, Olivier Göran; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gizdov, Konstantin; Gligorov, Vladimir; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gorelov, Igor Vladimirovich; Gotti, Claudio; Govorkova, Ekaterina; Grabowski, Jascha Peter; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graverini, Elena; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Greim, Roman; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Gruber, Lukas; Gruberg Cazon, Barak Raimond; Grünberg, Oliver; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Göbel, Carla; Hadavizadeh, Thomas; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hamilton, Brian; Han, Xiaoxue; Hancock, Thomas Henry; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Hasse, Christoph; Hatch, Mark; He, Jibo; Hecker, Malte; Heinicke, Kevin; Heister, Arno; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hopchev, Plamen Hristov; Hu, Wenhua; Huang, Wenqian; Huard, Zachary; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Humair, Thibaud; Hushchyn, Mikhail; Hutchcroft, David; Ibis, Philipp; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Jiang, Feng; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kandybei, Sergii; Karacson, Matthias; Kariuki, James Mwangi; Karodia, Sarah; Kazeev, Nikita; Kecke, Matthieu; Keizer, Floris; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenzie, Matthew; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khairullin, Egor; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Kirn, Thomas; Klaver, Suzanne; Klimaszewski, Konrad; Klimkovich, Tatsiana; Koliiev, Serhii; Kolpin, Michael; Kopecna, Renata; Koppenburg, Patrick; Kosmyntseva, Alena; Kotriakhova, Sofia; Kozeiha, Mohamad; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreps, Michal; Kress, Felix Johannes; Krokovny, Pavel; Krzemien, Wojciech; Kucewicz, Wojciech; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kuonen, Axel Kevin; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Lefèvre, Regis; Lemaitre, Florian; Lemos Cid, Edgar; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Pei-Rong; Li, Tenglin; Li, Yiming; Li, Zhuoming; Liang, Xixin; Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Lindner, Rolf; Lionetto, Federica; Lisovskyi, Vitalii; Liu, Xuesong; Loh, David; Loi, Angelo; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lucchesi, Donatella; Lucio Martinez, Miriam; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Lusiani, Alberto; Lyu, Xiao-Rui; Machefert, Frederic; Maciuc, Florin; Macko, Vladimir; Mackowiak, Patrick; Maddrell-Mander, Samuel; Maev, Oleg; Maguire, Kevin; Maisuzenko, Dmitrii; Majewski, Maciej Witold; Malde, Sneha; Malecki, Bartosz; Malinin, Alexander; Maltsev, Timofei; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Marangotto, Daniele; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marinangeli, Matthieu; Marino, Pietro; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martin, Morgan; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathad, Abhijit; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mauri, Andrea; Maurice, Emilie; Maurin, Brice; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; Mead, James Vincent; Meadows, Brian; Meaux, Cedric; Meier, Frank; Meinert, Nis; Melnychuk, Dmytro; Merk, Marcel; Merli, Andrea; Michielin, Emanuele; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Millard, Edward James; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Minzoni, Luca; Mitzel, Dominik Stefan; Mogini, Andrea; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Mombächer, Titus; Monroy, Igancio Alberto; Monteil, Stephane; Morandin, Mauro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Morgunova, Olga; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Mulder, Mick; Müller, Dominik; Müller, Janine; Müller, Katharina; Müller, Vanessa; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nandi, Anita; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Thi Dung; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Nieswand, Simon; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Nogay, Alla; O'Hanlon, Daniel Patrick; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Ogilvy, Stephen; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Ossowska, Anna; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Aranzazu; Pais, Preema Rennee; Palano, Antimo; Palutan, Matteo; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Pappalardo, Luciano; Parker, William; Parkes, Christopher; Passaleva, Giovanni; Pastore, Alessandra; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Penso, Gianni; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Pereima, Dmitrii; Perret, Pascal; Pescatore, Luca; Petridis, Konstantinos; Petrolini, Alessandro; Petrov, Aleksandr; Petruzzo, Marco; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pietrzyk, Guillaume; Pikies, Malgorzata; Pinci, Davide; Pisani, Flavio; Pistone, Alessandro; Piucci, Alessio; Placinta, Vlad-Mihai; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Polci, Francesco; Poli Lener, Marco; Poluektov, Anton; Polyakov, Ivan; Polycarpo, Erica; Pomery, Gabriela Johanna; Ponce, Sebastien; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Poslavskii, Stanislav; Potterat, Cédric; Price, Eugenia; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Pullen, Hannah Louise; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Qin, Jia-Jia; Quagliani, Renato; Quintana, Boris; Rachwal, Bartlomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rama, Matteo; Ramos Pernas, Miguel; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Ratnikov, Fedor; Raven, Gerhard; Ravonel Salzgeber, Melody; Reboud, Meril; Redi, Federico; Reichert, Stefanie; dos Reis, Alberto; Remon Alepuz, Clara; Renaudin, Victor; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Sophie; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Robbe, Patrick; Robert, Arnaud; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Lopez, Jairo Alexis; Rogozhnikov, Alexey; Roiser, Stefan; Rollings, Alexandra Paige; Romanovskiy, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Rotondo, Marcello; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Ruf, Thomas; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Ruiz Vidal, Joan; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sadykhov, Elnur; Sagidova, Naylya; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santimaria, Marco; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sarpis, Gediminas; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Saunders, Daniel Martin; Savrina, Darya; Schael, Stefan; Schellenberg, Margarete; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schmelling, Michael; Schmelzer, Timon; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; Schreiner, HF; Schubiger, Maxime; Schune, Marie Helene; Schwemmer, Rainer; Sciascia, Barbara; Sciubba, Adalberto; Semennikov, Alexander; Sepulveda, Eduardo Enrique; Sergi, Antonino; Serra, Nicola; Serrano, Justine; Sestini, Lorenzo; Seyfert, Paul; Shapkin, Mikhail; Shapoval, Illya; Shcheglov, Yury; Shears, Tara; Shekhtman, Lev; Shevchenko, Vladimir; Siddi, Benedetto Gianluca; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Silva de Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo; Simi, Gabriele; Simone, Saverio; Sirendi, Marek; Skidmore, Nicola; Skwarnicki, Tomasz; Smith, Iwan Thomas; Smith, Jackson; Smith, Mark; Soares Lavra, Lais; Sokoloff, Michael; Soler, Paul; Souza De Paula, Bruno; Spaan, Bernhard; Spradlin, Patrick; Sridharan, Srikanth; Stagni, Federico; Stahl, Marian; Stahl, Sascha; Stefko, Pavol; Stefkova, Slavomira; Steinkamp, Olaf; Stemmle, Simon; Stenyakin, Oleg; Stepanova, Margarita; Stevens, Holger; Stone, Sheldon; Storaci, Barbara; Stracka, Simone; Stramaglia, Maria Elena; Straticiuc, Mihai; Straumann, Ulrich; Sun, Jiayin; Sun, Liang; Swientek, Krzysztof; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szumlak, Tomasz; Szymanski, Maciej Pawel; T'Jampens, Stephane; Tayduganov, Andrey; Tekampe, Tobias; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tilley, Matthew James; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Tourinho Jadallah Aoude, Rafael; Tournefier, Edwige; Traill, Murdo; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Trisovic, Ana; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tully, Alison; Tuning, Niels; Ukleja, Artur; Usachov, Andrii; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vacca, Claudia; Vagner, Alexander; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valassi, Andrea; Valat, Sebastien; Valenti, Giovanni; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vecchi, Stefania; van Veghel, Maarten; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Venkateswaran, Aravindhan; Verlage, Tobias Anton; Vernet, Maxime; Vesterinen, Mika; Viana Barbosa, Joao Vitor; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Viemann, Harald; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Vitti, Marcela; Volkov, Vladimir; Vollhardt, Achim; Voneki, Balazs; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; de Vries, Jacco; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Waldi, Roland; Walsh, John; Wang, Jianchun; Wang, Yilong; Ward, David; Wark, Heather Mckenzie; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Weiden, Andreas; Weisser, Constantin; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wilkinson, Guy; Wilkinson, Michael; Williams, Mark Richard James; Williams, Mike; Williams, Timothy; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Winn, Michael Andreas; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xu, Menglin; Xu, Qingnian; Xu, Zehua; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yang, Zishuo; Yao, Yuezhe; Yin, Hang; Yu, Jiesheng; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zarebski, Kristian Alexander; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zheng, Yangheng; Zhu, Xianglei; Zhukov, Valery; Zonneveld, Jennifer Brigitta; Zucchelli, Stefano

    2017-01-01

    The difference between the $C\\!P$ asymmetries in the decays $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to pK^{-}K^{+}$ and $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$ is presented. Proton-proton collision data taken at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8\\,\\mathrm{TeV}$ collected by the LHCb detector in 2011 and 2012 are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3\\,\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The $\\varLambda_{c}^{+}$ candidates are reconstructed as part of the $\\varLambda_{b}^{0} \\to \\varLambda_{c}^{+}\\mu^{-}X$ decay chain. In order to maximize the cancellation of production and detection asymmetries in the difference, the final-state kinematic distributions of the two samples are aligned by applying phase-space-dependent weights to the \\mbox{$\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$} sample. This alters the definition of the integrated $C\\!P$ asymmetry to $A_{C\\!P}^{\\text{wgt}}(p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+})$. Both samples are corrected for reconstruction and selection efficiencies across the five-dimensional $\\varLambda_{c}^{+}$ decay phase s...

  5. VarR controls colonization and virulence in the marine macroalgal pathogen Nautella italica R11

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa eGardiner

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing evidence to suggest that macroalgae (seaweeds are susceptible to infectious disease. However, to date, little is known about the mechanisms that facilitate the colonization and virulence of microbial seaweed pathogens. One well-described example of a seaweed disease is the bleaching of the red alga Delisea pulchra, which can be caused by the bacterium Nautella italica R11, a member of the Roseobacter clade. This pathogen contains a unique luxR-type gene, varR, which we hypothesize controls its colonization and virulence. We show here that a varR knock-out strain is deficient in its ability to cause disease in D. pulchra and is defective in biofilm formation and attachment to a common algal polysaccharide. Moreover complementation of the varR gene in trans can restore these functions to the wild type levels. Proteomic analysis of bacterial cells in planktonic and biofilm growth highlight the potential importance of nitrogen scavenging, mobilization of energy reserves, and stress resistance in the biofilm lifestyle of N. italica R11. Moreover, we show that VarR regulates the expression of a specific subset of biofilm-associated proteins. Taken together these data suggest that VarR controls colonization and persistence of N. italica R11 on the surface of a macroalgal host and that it is an important regulator of virulence.

  6. VAR IPP-IPC Model Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan P. Pérez Monsalve

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This work analyzed the relationship of the two main Price indicators in the Colombian economy, the IPP and the IPC. For this purpose, we identified the theory comprising both indexes to then develop a vector autoregressive model, which shows the reaction to shocks both in itself as in the other variable, whose impact continues propagating in the long term. Additionally, the work presents a simulation of the VAR model through the Monte Carlo method, verifying the coincidence in distributions of probability and volatility levels, as well as the existence correlation over time

  7. Induction of adhesion-inhibitory antibodies against placental Plasmodium falciparum parasites by using single domains of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Morten A; Pinto, Vera V; Resende, Mafalda

    2009-01-01

    between a parasite protein expressed on erythrocytes named variant surface antigen 2-chondroitin sulfate A (VAR2CSA) and CSA on syncytiotrophoblasts. VAR2CSA is a large polymorphic protein consisting of six Duffy binding-like (DBL), domains and with current constraints on recombinant protein production...... which induce antibodies that inhibit CSA binding of different parasite strains. In this study, we produced a large panel of VAR2CSA proteins and raised antibodies against these antigens. We show that antibodies against the DBL4 domain effectively inhibit parasite binding. As the inhibition...... was not limited to homologous parasite strains, it seems feasible to base a protective malaria vaccine on a single VAR2CSA DBL domain....

  8. [Leishmaniasis transmission focus in El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar, Bolívar, Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés, Luis Alberto

    2006-10-01

    The epidemiological characteristics and the importance of the Lutzomyia species present in a leishmaniasis focus in the village El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar, Department of Bolivar, Colombia, are described. To obtain a preliminary assessment of leishmaniasis transmission in the village of El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar. Epidemiological data were analyzed and sandflies were collected with CDC traps and on protected human volunteers in the village of El Hobo. Sero prevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in dogs was evaluated using indirect inmunofluorescence (IFAT). Nine Lutzomyia species were collected: L. trinidadensis, L. evansi, L. cayennensis, L. venezuelensis, L. gomezi, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, and L. walkeri. The species of greater importance based on their implication in the transmission of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis were L. gomezi, and L. evansi respectively. Specimens of L. venezuelensis, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, and L. walkeri are reported for the first time for the Department of Bolivar. The sero prevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs was 36%. According to the epidemiological records, in 2002 the municipality of Carmen de Bolivar presented a 40% increase in cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and an 80% increase in canine visceral leishmaniasis as compared to 2001, due to the outbreak in the village of El Hobo. The results indicate that the village of El Hobo is an area of potential risk for transmission of both cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.

  9. Expression of P. falciparum var Genes Involves Exchange of the Histone Variant H2A.Z at the Promoter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petter, Michaela; Lee, Chin Chin; Byrne, Timothy J.; Boysen, Katja E.; Volz, Jennifer; Ralph, Stuart A.; Cowman, Alan F.; Brown, Graham V.; Duffy, Michael F.

    2011-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum employs antigenic variation to evade the human immune response by switching the expression of different variant surface antigens encoded by the var gene family. Epigenetic mechanisms including histone modifications and sub-nuclear compartmentalization contribute to transcriptional regulation in the malaria parasite, in particular to control antigenic variation. Another mechanism of epigenetic control is the exchange of canonical histones with alternative variants to generate functionally specialized chromatin domains. Here we demonstrate that the alternative histone PfH2A.Z is associated with the epigenetic regulation of var genes. In many eukaryotic organisms the histone variant H2A.Z mediates an open chromatin structure at promoters and facilitates diverse levels of regulation, including transcriptional activation. Throughout the asexual, intraerythrocytic lifecycle of P. falciparum we found that the P. falciparum ortholog of H2A.Z (PfH2A.Z) colocalizes with histone modifications that are characteristic of transcriptionally-permissive euchromatin, but not with markers of heterochromatin. Consistent with this finding, antibodies to PfH2A.Z co-precipitate the permissive modification H3K4me3. By chromatin-immunoprecipitation we show that PfH2A.Z is enriched in nucleosomes around the transcription start site (TSS) in both transcriptionally active and silent stage-specific genes. In var genes, however, PfH2A.Z is enriched at the TSS only during active transcription in ring stage parasites. Thus, in contrast to other genes, temporal var gene regulation involves histone variant exchange at promoter nucleosomes. Sir2 histone deacetylases are important for var gene silencing and their yeast ortholog antagonises H2A.Z function in subtelomeric yeast genes. In immature P. falciparum parasites lacking Sir2A or Sir2B high var transcription levels correlate with enrichment of PfH2A.Z at the TSS. As Sir2A knock out parasites mature the var genes are

  10. Impacts of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis and Bacillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assessed the impact of bio-larvicides- Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) and B. sphaericus (Bs) on anopheline mosquito larval densities in four selected areas of Lusaka urban district. Larval densities were determined using a standard WHO protocol at each study area prior to and after larviciding.

  11. Scalable and Flexible Multiview MAX-VAR Canonical Correlation Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Xiao; Huang, Kejun; Hong, Mingyi; Sidiropoulos, Nicholas D.; So, Anthony Man-Cho

    2017-08-01

    Generalized canonical correlation analysis (GCCA) aims at finding latent low-dimensional common structure from multiple views (feature vectors in different domains) of the same entities. Unlike principal component analysis (PCA) that handles a single view, (G)CCA is able to integrate information from different feature spaces. Here we focus on MAX-VAR GCCA, a popular formulation which has recently gained renewed interest in multilingual processing and speech modeling. The classic MAX-VAR GCCA problem can be solved optimally via eigen-decomposition of a matrix that compounds the (whitened) correlation matrices of the views; but this solution has serious scalability issues, and is not directly amenable to incorporating pertinent structural constraints such as non-negativity and sparsity on the canonical components. We posit regularized MAX-VAR GCCA as a non-convex optimization problem and propose an alternating optimization (AO)-based algorithm to handle it. Our algorithm alternates between {\\em inexact} solutions of a regularized least squares subproblem and a manifold-constrained non-convex subproblem, thereby achieving substantial memory and computational savings. An important benefit of our design is that it can easily handle structure-promoting regularization. We show that the algorithm globally converges to a critical point at a sublinear rate, and approaches a global optimal solution at a linear rate when no regularization is considered. Judiciously designed simulations and large-scale word embedding tasks are employed to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

  12. Molt disruption and mortality of Locusta migratoria var. manilensis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IGRs) on the oriental migratory locust Locusta migratoria var. manilensis were assessed. Under laboratory conditions, at the highest tested dose rate of 300 ppm, the percent mortality and molt inhibition after two weeks for the five tested ...

  13. Immunogenic Properties of Ricinus Communis Var Minor Seed on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof. Ogunji

    1College of Health Technology, Zawan, Plateau State.2Department of ... Ricinus communis var minor seed included in their feed (5g/100g body weight). ... White Blood cell Count (WBC) count and lymphocytosis in the differential count.

  14. A var gene promoter implicated in severe malaria nucleates silencing and is regulated by 3' untranslated region and intronic cis-elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhle, Rebecca A; Adjalley, Sophie; Falkard, Brie; Nkrumah, Louis J; Muhle, Michael E; Fidock, David A

    2009-11-01

    Questions surround the mechanism of mutually exclusive expression by which Plasmodium falciparum mediates activation and silencing of var genes. These encode PfEMP1 proteins, which function as cytoadherent and immunomodulatory molecules at the surface of parasitised erythrocytes. Current evidence suggests that promoter silencing by var introns might play a key role in var gene regulation. To evaluate the impact of cis-acting regulatory regions on var silencing, we generated P. falciparum lines in which luciferase was placed under the control of an UpsA var promoter. By utilising the Bxb1 integrase system, these reporter cassettes were targeted to a genomic region that was not in apposition to var subtelomeric domains. This eliminated possible effects from surrounding telomeric elements and removed the variability inherent in episomal systems. Studies with highly synchronised parasites revealed that the UpsA element possessed minimal activity in comparison with a heterologous (hrp3) promoter. This may result from the integrated UpsA promoter being largely silenced by the neighbouring cg6 promoter. Our analyses also revealed that the DownsA 3' untranslated region further decreased the luciferase activity from both cassettes, whereas the var A intron repressed the UpsA promoter specifically. By applying multivariate analysis over the entire cell cycle, we confirmed the significance of these cis-elements and found the parasite stage to be the major factor regulating UpsA-promoter activity. Additionally, we observed that the UpsA promoter was capable of nucleating reversible silencing that spread to a downstream promoter. We believe these studies are the first to analyse promoter activity of Group A var genes, which have been implicated in severe malaria, and support the model that var introns can further suppress var expression. These data also suggest an important suppressive role for the DownsA terminator. Our findings imply the existence of multiple levels of var

  15. Assimilation of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) Profiles using WRF-Var

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavodsky, Brad; Jedlovec, Gary J.; Lapenta, William

    2008-01-01

    The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model contains a three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation system (WRF-Var), which allows a user to join data from multiple sources into one coherent analysis. WRF-Var combines observations with a background field traditionally generated using a previous model forecast through minimization of a cost function. In data sparse regions, remotely-sensed observations may be able to improve analyses and produce improved forecasts. One such source comes from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), which together with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), represents one of the most advanced space-based atmospheric sounding systems. The combined AIRS/AMSU system provides radiance measurements used as input to a sophisticated retrieval scheme which has been shown to produce temperature profiles with an accuracy of 1 K over 1 km layers and humidity profiles with accuracy of 15% in 2 km layers in both clear and partly cloudy conditions. The retrieval algorithm also provides estimates of the accuracy of the retrieved values at each pressure level, allowing the user to select profiles based on the required error tolerances of the application. The purpose of this paper is to describe a procedure to optimally assimilate high-resolution AIRS profile data into a regional configuration of the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) version 2.2 using WRF-Var. The paper focuses on development of background error covariances for the regional domain and background field type using gen_be and an optimal methodology for ingesting AIRS temperature and moisture profiles as separate overland and overwater retrievals with different error characteristics in the WRF-Var. The AIRS thermodynamic profiles are obtained from the version 5.0 Earth Observing System (EOS) science team retrieval algorithm and contain information about the quality of each temperature layer. The quality indicators are used to select the highest quality temperature and moisture

  16. Several domains from VAR2CSA can induce Plasmodium falciparum adhesion-blocking antibodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Salanti, Ali; Resende, Mafalda; Ditlev, Sisse B

    2010-01-01

    . In this study, it is demonstrated that other domains of VAR2CSA also can induce antibodies with inhibitory activity. METHODS: All VAR2CSA domains from the 3D7 and HB3 parasites were produced in Baculovirus-transfected insect cells. Groups of three rats per protein were immunized and anti-sera were tested...

  17. Transcription of the var genes from a freshly-obtained field isolate of Plasmodium falciparum shows more variable switching patterns than long laboratory-adapted isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Run; Zhang, Dongmei; Chen, Biaobang; Zhu, Yongqiang; Zhang, Yilong; Wang, Shengyue; Pan, Weiqing

    2015-02-07

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum involves switching among multicopy var gene family and is responsible for immune evasion and the maintenance of chronic infections. Current understanding of var gene expression and switching patterns comes from experiments conducted on long laboratory-adapted strains, with little known about their wild counterparts. Genome sequencing was used to obtain 50 var genes from a parasite isolated from the China-Myanmar border. Four clones with different dominant var genes were cultured in vitro in replicates for 50 generations. Transcription of the individual var gene was detected by real-time PCR and then the switching process was analysed. The expression of multicopy var genes is mutually exclusive in clones of a wild P. falciparum isolate. The activation of distinct primary dominant var genes leads to different and favoured switching patterns in the four clones. The on/off rates of individual var genes are variable and the choice of subsequent dominant var genes are random, which results in the different switching patterns among replicates of each clonal wild P. falciparum isolate with near identical initial transcription profiles. This study suggests that the switching patterns of var genes are abundant, which consist of both conserved and random parts.

  18. Optimisation of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Conditions for Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity from Euphorbia tirucalli Using Response Surface Methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuong, Quan V.; Goldsmith, Chloe D.; Dang, Trung Thanh; Nguyen, Van Tang; Bhuyan, Deep Jyoti; Sadeqzadeh, Elham; Scarlett, Christopher J.; Bowyer, Michael C.

    2014-01-01

    Euphorbia tirucalli (E. tirucalli) is now widely distributed around the world and is well known as a source of traditional medicine in many countries. This study aimed to utilise response surface methodology (RSM) to optimise ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions for total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity from E. tirucalli leaf. The results showed that ultrasonic temperature, time and power effected TPC and antioxidant capacity; however, the effects varied. Ultrasonic power had the strongest influence on TPC; whereas ultrasonic temperature had the greatest impact on antioxidant capacity. Ultrasonic time had the least impact on both TPC and antioxidant capacity. The optimum UAE conditions were determined to be 50 °C, 90 min. and 200 W. Under these conditions, the E. tirucalli leaf extract yielded 2.93 mg GAE/g FW of TPC and exhibited potent antioxidant capacity. These conditions can be utilised for further isolation and purification of phenolic compounds from E. tirucalli leaf. PMID:26785074

  19. A re-assessment of gene-tag classification approaches for describing var gene expression patterns during human Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Githinji, George; Bull, Peter C

    2017-01-01

    PfEMP1 are variant parasite antigens that are inserted on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes (IE). Through interactions with various host molecules, PfEMP1 mediate IE sequestration in tissues and play a key role in the pathology of severe malaria. PfEMP1 is encoded by a diverse multi-gene family called var . Previous studies have shown that that expression of specific subsets of var genes are associated with low levels of host immunity and severe malaria. However, in most clinical studies to date, full-length var gene sequences were unavailable and various approaches have been used to make comparisons between var gene expression profiles in different parasite isolates using limited information. Several studies have relied on the classification of a 300 - 500 base-pair "DBLα tag" region in the DBLα domain located at the 5' end of most var genes. We assessed the relationship between various DBLα tag classification methods, and sequence features that are only fully assessable through full-length var gene sequences. We compared these different sequence features in full-length var gene from six fully sequenced laboratory isolates. These comparisons show that despite a long history of recombination,   DBLα sequence tag classification can provide functional information on important features of full-length var genes. Notably, a specific subset of DBLα tags previously defined as "group A-like" is associated with CIDRα1 domains proposed to bind to endothelial protein C receptor. This analysis helps to bring together different sources of data that have been used to assess var gene expression in clinical parasite isolates.

  20. Putative DNA G-quadruplex formation within the promoters of Plasmodium falciparum var genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowe J

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences are capable of folding into an intramolecular four-stranded structure called a G-quadruplex. When found in gene promoter regions, G-quadruplexes can downregulate gene expression, possibly by blocking the transcriptional machinery. Here we have used a genome-wide bioinformatic approach to identify Putative G-Quadruplex Sequences (PQS in the Plasmodium falciparum genome, along with biophysical techniques to examine the physiological stability of P. falciparum PQS in vitro. Results We identified 63 PQS in the non-telomeric regions of the P. falciparum clone 3D7. Interestingly, 16 of these PQS occurred in the upstream region of a subset of the P. falciparum var genes (group B var genes. The var gene family encodes PfEMP1, the parasite's major variant antigen and adhesin expressed at the surface of infected erythrocytes, that plays a key role in malaria pathogenesis and immune evasion. The ability of the PQS found in the upstream regions of group B var genes (UpsB-Q to form stable G-quadruplex structures in vitro was confirmed using 1H NMR, circular dichroism, UV spectroscopy, and thermal denaturation experiments. Moreover, the synthetic compound BOQ1 that shows a higher affinity for DNA forming quadruplex rather than duplex structures was found to bind with high affinity to the UpsB-Q. Conclusion This is the first demonstration of non-telomeric PQS in the genome of P. falciparum that form stable G-quadruplexes under physiological conditions in vitro. These results allow the generation of a novel hypothesis that the G-quadruplex sequences in the upstream regions of var genes have the potential to play a role in the transcriptional control of this major virulence-associated multi-gene family.

  1. Transient Stability Enhancement in Power System Using Static VAR Compensator (SVC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youssef MOULOUDI

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an indirect adaptive fuzzy excitation and static VAR (unit of reactive power, volt-ampere reactive compensator (SVC controller is proposed to enhance transient stability for the power system, which based on input-output linearization technique. A three-bus system, which contains a generator and static VAR compensator (SVC, is considered in this paper, the SVC is located at the midpoint of the transmission lines. Simulation results show that the proposed controller compared with a controller based on tradition linearization technique can enhance the transient stability of the power system under a large sudden fault, which may occur nearly at the generator bus terminal.

  2. MANAGEMENT OF Amburana cearensis var. acreana IN ACRE STATE, BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evaldo Muñoz Braz

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509814586This work has as its objectives: a to assess the geographical distribution and population structure of Amburana cearensis var. acreana; b to calculate sustainable cutting rates, according to stipulated cutting cycles, and c to simulate the projected recovery potential in volume based on the calculated cutting rate. It was used data from sustainable forest management plans, and the results will contribute for future decisions about its endangered condition. The results did not corroborate the information that Amburana cearensis var. acreana is endangered in Acre state. However the management sustainability will only be feasible if considered the ideal remaining population structure and the estimative of the optimal cutting rate according to the cutting cycle.

  3. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie (Combretaceae ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie (Combretaceae) is moderate sized multipurpose hard wood tree of dry deciduous forests with drooping branches and yellow to brownish-yellow flowers. it is endemic to Rajasthan and is considered to be a threatened tree of the region due to over exploitation for timber ...

  4. Spatial and temporal variations of Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta (Ehrenb. 1854 Grunow, 1884 in drift and periphyton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EN. Gari

    Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variations of Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta in drift and periphyton were studied in mountain streams of the Córdoba Province (Argentina. The sampling program was conducted in study sites located on a confluence between different order streams during an annual cycle. Samples were also taken every two hours during the daylight period in high and low water conditions. The relationship between drift and cellular reproduction was evaluated by valve length biometrics analysis. C. placentula var. euglypta drift was continuous; its density was not always dependent on periphyton density in each locality. C. placentula var. euglypta drift could be related to abiotic factors such as temperature and flow during the annual cycle. There were significant differences between periphyton and drift valve lengths. Moreover, drift can be associated with cellular reproduction because density was higher when valve lengths were shorter at different hours of the day. C. placentula var. euglypta epiphytims on Cladophora glomerata also influenced drift density and size distribution, modifying the relationship between periphyton and drift during the late spring when C. placentula var. euglypta was detached from senescent mats.

  5. New xenophytes from Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain, with emphasis on naturalized and (potentially invasive species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verloove, F.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Trabajos recientes de campo en Gran Canaria han facilitado el descubrimiento de nuevas localidades para plantas vasculares no nativas. Agave attenuata, Antigonon leptopus, Atriplex nummularia, Cascabela thevetia, Cenchrus echinatus, Cuscuta campestris, Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, Dysphania anthelmintica (hasta ahora confundida con D. ambrosioides, Eclipta prostrata, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Fagopyrum esculentum, Gossypium barbadense, Lablab purpureus, Lemna minuta, Opuntia leucotricha, Passiflora edulis, Pennisetum glaucum, Phaseolus acutifolius, Pluchea carolinensis, Prosopis juliflora, Salvia microphylla, Schinus terebinthifolius, Senna spectabilis, Solanum chrysotrichum, Tecoma stans, Tipuana tipu, Urochloa mutica, U. plantaginea y Washingtonia se citan por primera vez para las Islas Canarias, mientras que Alopecurus myosuroides, Amaranthus blitoides, Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica, Cardamine flexuosa subsp. debilis, Heliotropium curassavicum, Leonotis nepetifolia, Medicago lupulina, Parkinsonia aculeata, Physalis peruviana, Phytolacca americana y Turnera ulmifolia son nuevas para la flora de la isla de Gran Canaria. Finalmente, se confirma la presencia de Paspalum vaginatum, P. distichum y Cortaderia selloana en Gran Canaria.Trabajos recientes de campo en Gran Canaria han facilitado el descubrimiento de nuevas localidades para plantas vasculares no nativas. Agave attenuata, Antigonon leptopus, Atriplex nummularia, Cascabela thevetia, Cenchrus echinatus, Cuscuta campestris, Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, Dysphania anthelmintica (hasta ahora confundida con D. ambrosioides, Eclipta prostrata, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Fagopyrum esculentum, Gossypium barbadense, Lablab purpureus, Lemna minuta, Opuntia leucotricha, Passiflora edulis, Pennisetum glaucum, Phaseolus acutifolius, Pluchea carolinensis, Prosopis juliflora, Salvia microphylla, Schinus terebinthifolius, Senna spectabilis, Solanum

  6. Clinical laboratories collaborate to resolve differences in variant interpretations submitted to ClinVar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Steven M; Dolinsky, Jill S; Knight Johnson, Amy E; Pesaran, Tina; Azzariti, Danielle R; Bale, Sherri; Chao, Elizabeth C; Das, Soma; Vincent, Lisa; Rehm, Heidi L

    2017-10-01

    Data sharing through ClinVar offers a unique opportunity to identify interpretation differences between laboratories. As part of a ClinGen initiative, four clinical laboratories (Ambry, GeneDx, Partners Healthcare Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, and University of Chicago Genetic Services Laboratory) collaborated to identify the basis of interpretation differences and to investigate if data sharing and reassessment resolve interpretation differences by analyzing a subset of variants. ClinVar variants with submissions from at least two of the four participating laboratories were compared. For a subset of identified differences, laboratories documented the basis for discordance, shared internal data, independently reassessed with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics-Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG-AMP) guidelines, and then compared interpretations. At least two of the participating laboratories interpreted 6,169 variants in ClinVar, of which 88.3% were initially concordant. Laboratories reassessed 242/724 initially discordant variants, of which 87.2% (211) were resolved by reassessment with current criteria and/or internal data sharing; 12.8% (31) of reassessed variants remained discordant owing to differences in the application of the ACMG-AMP guidelines. Participating laboratories increased their overall concordance from 88.3 to 91.7%, indicating that sharing variant interpretations in ClinVar-thereby allowing identification of differences and motivation to resolve those differences-is critical to moving toward more consistent variant interpretations.Genet Med advance online publication 09 March 2017.

  7. Action of Chitosan Against Xanthomonas Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Euphorbia pulcherrima

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanli Wang

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The antibacterial activity and mechanism of two kinds of chitosan were investigated against twelve Xanthomonas strains recovered from Euphorbia pulcherrima. Results indicated that both chitosans markedly inhibited bacterial growth based on OD loss. Furthermore, the release of DNA and RNA from three selected strains was increased by both chitosans. However, the release of intracellular proteins was inhibited by both chitosans at different concentration and incubation times, except chitosan A at 0.1 mg/mL for 0.5 h incubation and 0.2 mg/mL for 2.0 h incubation increased the release of proteins, indicating the complexity of the interaction and cell membranes, which was affected by incubation time, bacterial species, chitosan type and concentration. Transmission electron microscopic observations revealed that chitosan caused changes in protoplast concentration and surface morphology. In some cells, the membranes and walls were badly distorted and disrupted, while other cells were enveloped by a thick and compact ribbon-like layer. The contrary influence on cell morphology may explain the differential effect in the release of material. In addition, scanning electron microscope and biofilm formation test revealed that both chitosans removed biofilm biomass. Overall, this study showed that membrane and biofilm play an important role in the antibacterial mechanism of chitosan.

  8. Effect of Pseudomonas putida on Growth and Anthocyanin Pigment in Two Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramon Zulueta-Rodriguez

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Pseudomonas putida is plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR that have the capacity to improve growth in plants. The purpose of this study was to determine growth and anthocyanin pigmentation of the bracts in two poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima cultivars (Prestige and Sonora Marble using three strains of P. putida, as well as a mixture of the three (MIX. Comparison with the control group indicated for the most part that Prestige grew better than the Sonora Marble cultivars with the PGPR strains. Prestige with the MIX strain grew better compared to control for the number of cyathia (83 versus 70.4, volume of roots (45 versus 35 cm3, number of leaves (78 versus 58, and area of leaf (1,788 versus 1,331 cm2, except for the number of flowers (8.8 versus 11.6. To the naked eye, coloration of plants appeared identical in color compared to the control group. For all plants with P. putida strains, there was less anthocyanin pigment, but biomass was always greater with PGPR strains. Nevertheless, to the naked eye, the coloration of the plants appeared identical in color compared to the control group. This is the first study reporting the positive effects of P. putida rhizobacteria treatments on growth of poinsettia cultivars.

  9. Value at risk (VaR in uncertainty: Analysis with parametric method and black & scholes simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Humberto Banda Ortiz

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available VaR is the most accepted risk measure worldwide and the leading reference in any risk management assessment. However, its methodology has important limitations which makes it unreliable in contexts of crisis or high uncertainty. For this reason, the aim of this work is to test the VaR accuracy when is employed in contexts of volatility, for which we compare the VaR outcomes in scenarios of both stability and uncertainty, using the parametric method and a historical simulation based on data generated with the Black & Scholes model. VaR main objective is the prediction of the highest expected loss for any given portfolio, but even when it is considered a useful tool for risk management under conditions of markets stability, we found that it is substantially inaccurate in contexts of crisis or high uncertainty. In addition, we found that the Black & Scholes simulations lead to underestimate the expected losses, in comparison with the parametric method and we also found that those disparities increase substantially in times of crisis. In the first section of this work we present a brief context of risk management in finance. In section II we present the existent literature relative to the VaR concept, its methods and applications. In section III we describe the methodology and assumptions used in this work. Section IV is dedicated to expose the findings. And finally, in Section V we present our conclusions.

  10. Sub-grouping of Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 var genes based on sequence analysis of coding and non-coding regions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lavstsen, Thomas; Salanti, Ali; Jensen, Anja T R

    2003-01-01

    and organization of the 3D7 PfEMP1 repertoire was investigated on the basis of the complete genome sequence. METHODS: Using two tree-building methods we analysed the coding and non-coding sequences of 3D7 var and rif genes as well as var genes of other parasite strains. RESULTS: var genes can be sub...

  11. JIL-1 and Su(var)3-7 Interact Genetically and Counteract Each Other's Effect on Position-Effect Variegation in Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Huai; Cai, Weili; Wang, Chao; Lerach, Stephanie; Delattre, Marion; Girton, Jack; Johansen, Jørgen; Johansen, Kristen M.

    2010-01-01

    The essential JIL-1 histone H3S10 kinase is a key regulator of chromatin structure that functions to maintain euchromatic domains while counteracting heterochromatization and gene silencing. In the absence of the JIL-1 kinase, two of the major heterochromatin markers H3K9me2 and HP1a spread in tandem to ectopic locations on the chromosome arms. Here we address the role of the third major heterochromatin component, the zinc-finger protein Su(var)3-7. We show that the lethality but not the chromosome morphology defects associated with the null JIL-1 phenotype to a large degree can be rescued by reducing the dose of the Su(var)3-7 gene and that Su(var)3-7 and JIL-1 loss-of-function mutations have an antagonistic and counterbalancing effect on position-effect variegation (PEV). Furthermore, we show that in the absence of JIL-1 kinase activity, Su(var)3-7 gets redistributed and upregulated on the chromosome arms. Reducing the dose of the Su(var)3-7 gene dramatically decreases this redistribution; however, the spreading of H3K9me2 to the chromosome arms was unaffected, strongly indicating that ectopic Su(var)3-9 activity is not a direct cause of lethality. These observations suggest a model where Su(var)3-7 functions as an effector downstream of Su(var)3-9 and H3K9 dimethylation in heterochromatic spreading and gene silencing that is normally counteracted by JIL-1 kinase activity. PMID:20457875

  12. Multiple var2csa-type PfEMP1 genes located at different chromosomal loci occur in many Plasmodium falciparum isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sander, Adam F; Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    in the VAR2CSA protein, sequence variation in the DBL2X region of var2csa genes in 54 P.falciparum samples was analyzed. Chromosome mapping of var2csa loci was carried out and a quantitative PCR assay was developed to estimate the number of var2csa genes in P.falciparum isolates from the placenta of pregnant....... falciparum isolates. One gene is on chromosome 12 but additional var2csa-type genes are on different chromosomes in different isolates. Multiplicity of var2csa genes appears more common in infected placentae than in samples from non-pregnant donors indicating a possible advantage of this genotype...

  13. Analysis of simple sequence repeats in the Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici genome and the development of microsatellite markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Feng, Yanxia; Sun, Haiyan; Deng, Yuanyu; Yu, Hanshou; Chen, Huaigu

    2014-11-01

    Understanding the genetic structure of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici is essential for the establishment of efficient disease control strategies. It is becoming clear that microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), play an important role in genome organization and phenotypic diversity, and are a large source of genetic markers for population genetics and meiotic maps. In this study, we examined the G. graminis var. tritici genome (1) to analyze its pattern of SSRs, (2) to compare it with other plant pathogenic filamentous fungi, such as Magnaporthe oryzae and M. poae, and (3) to identify new polymorphic SSR markers for genetic diversity. The G. graminis var. tritici genome was rich in SSRs; a total 13,650 SSRs have been identified with mononucleotides being the most common motifs. In coding regions, the densities of tri- and hexanucleotides were significantly higher than in noncoding regions. The di-, tri-, tetra, penta, and hexanucleotide repeats in the G. graminis var. tritici genome were more abundant than the same repeats in M. oryzae and M. poae. From 115 devised primers, 39 SSRs are polymorphic with G. graminis var. tritici isolates, and 8 primers were randomly selected to analyze 116 isolates from China. The number of alleles varied from 2 to 7 and the expected heterozygosity (He) from 0.499 to 0.837. In conclusion, SSRs developed in this study were highly polymorphic, and our analysis indicated that G. graminis var. tritici is a species with high genetic diversity. The results provide a pioneering report for several applications, such as the assessment of population structure and genetic diversity of G. graminis var. tritici.

  14. Fiscal developments and financial stress: a threshold VAR analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Afonso, A.; Baxa, Jaromír; Slavík, M.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 2011, č. 1319 (2011), s. 1-60 ISSN 1725-2806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : fiscal policy * financial markets * threshold VAR Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/E/baxa-0364091.pdf

  15. Technology of VAr Compensators for Induction Generator Applications in Wind Energy Conversion Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. F. Zobaa

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Many of today utility interconnected wind farms use induction generator (IG to convert the captured wind mechanical power into electricity. Induction generator has some advantages over the synchronous generator (SG. The main advantages are its robustness and its capability to be synchronized directly to the grid. The main disadvantage, however, is its dependency on the grid for supplying its own reactive power ‘VAr’. Whether fixed or adjustable VAr systems are connected across its terminal, IG must operate at unity power factor at the rated loading while the wind power varies. With supervised control and appropriate coordination, VAr can be used to the benefits of both the wind farm developer and the hosting utility. The incorporation of today adjustable reactive power compensators such as the Static VAr Compensation (SVC and Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM with IG are vital ingredient toward a successful penetration of wind energy in today distribution grid to ensure voltage stability during the steady state and transient periods.

  16. Antioxidant properties and global metabolite screening of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Suprama; Timson, David J; Annapure, Uday S

    2017-07-01

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii is the only yeast species with probiotic properties. It is considered to have therapeutic significance in gastrointestinal disorders. In the present study, a comparative physiological study between this yeast and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4742) was performed by evaluating two prominent traits of probiotic species, responses to different stress conditions and antioxidant capacity. A global metabolite profile was also developed aiming to identify which therapeutically important secondary metabolites are produced. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii showed no significant difference in growth patterns but greater stress tolerance compared to S. cerevisiae. It also demonstrated a six- to 10-fold greater antioxidant potential (judged by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay), with a 70-fold higher total phenolic content and a 20-fold higher total flavonoid content in the extracellular fraction. These features were clearly differentiated by principal component analysis and further indicated by metabolite profiling. The extracellular fraction of the S. cerevisiae var. boulardii cultures was found to be rich in polyphenolic metabolites: vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, phenyl ethyl alcohol (rose oil), erythromycin, amphetamine and vitamin B 6 , which results in the antioxidant capacity of this strain. The present study presents a new perspective for differentiating the two genetically related strains of yeast, S. cerevisiae and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii by assessing their metabolome fingerprints. In addition to the correlation of the phenotypic properties with the secretory metabolites of these two yeasts, the present study also emphasizes the potential to exploit S. cerevisiae var. boulardii in the industrial production of these metabolites. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Transcriptome analysis of Panax vietnamensis var. fuscidicus discovers putative ocotillol-type ginsenosides biosynthesis genes and genetic markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guang-Hui; Ma, Chun-Hua; Zhang, Jia-Jin; Chen, Jun-Wen; Tang, Qing-Yan; He, Mu-Han; Xu, Xiang-Zeng; Jiang, Ni-Hao; Yang, Sheng-Chao

    2015-03-08

    P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus, called "Yesanqi" in Chinese, is a new variety of P. vietnamensis, which was first found in Jinping County, the southern part of Yunnan Province, China. Compared with other Panax plants, this species contains higher content of ocotillol-type saponin, majonoside R2. Despite the pharmacological importance of ocotillol-type saponins, little is known about their biosynthesis in plants. Hence, P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus is a suitable medicinal herbal plant species to study biosynthesis of ocotillol-type saponins. In addition, the available genomic information of this important herbal plant is lacking. To investigate the P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus transcriptome, Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 sequencing platform was employed. We produced 114,703,210 clean reads, assembled into 126,758 unigenes, with an average length of 1,304 bp and N50 of 2,108 bp. Among these 126,758 unigenes, 85,214 unigenes (67.23%) were annotated based on the information available from the public databases. The transcripts encoding the known enzymes involved in triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis were identified in our Illumina dataset. A full-length cDNA of three Squalene epoxidase (SE) genes were obtained using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and the expression patterns of ten unigenes were analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Furthermore, 15 candidate cytochrome P450 genes and 17 candidate UDP-glycosyltransferase genes most likely to involve in triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis pathway were discovered from transcriptome sequencing of P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus. We further analyzed the data and found 21,320 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 30 primer pairs for SSRs were randomly selected for validation of the amplification and polymorphism in 13 P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus accessions. Meanwhile, five major triterpene saponins in roots of P. vietnamensis var. fuscidicus were determined using high performance

  18. Utilizing nanobody technology to target non-immunodominant domains of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ditlev, Sisse B; Florea, Raluca; Nielsen, Morten A

    2014-01-01

    adhesion. However, the development of a VAR2CSA adhesion-blocking vaccine remains challenging due to (i) the large size of VAR2CSA and (ii) the extensive immune selection for polymorphisms and thereby non-neutralizing B-cell epitopes. Camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (HcAbs) are known to target epitopes...... that are less immunogenic to classical IgG and, due to their small size and protruding antigen-binding loop, able to reach and recognize cryptic, conformational epitopes which are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. The variable heavy chain (VHH) domain is the antigen-binding site of camelid HcAbs, the so...

  19. Differential recognition of terminal extracellular Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA domains by sera from multigravid, malaria-exposed Malian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Travassos, Mark A; Coulibaly, Drissa; Bailey, Jason A; Niangaly, Amadou; Adams, Matthew; Nyunt, Myaing M; Ouattara, Amed; Lyke, Kirsten E; Laurens, Matthew B; Pablo, Jozelyn; Jasinskas, Algis; Nakajima, Rie; Berry, Andrea A; Takala-Harrison, Shannon; Kone, Abdoulaye K; Kouriba, Bourema; Rowe, J Alexandra; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Thera, Mahamadou A; Laufer, Miriam K; Felgner, Philip L; Plowe, Christopher V

    2015-06-01

    The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family mediates parasite sequestration in small capillaries through tissue-specific cytoadherence. The best characterized of these proteins is VAR2CSA, which is expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes that bind to chondroitin sulfate in the placental matrix. Antibodies to VAR2CSA prevent placental cytoadherence and protect against placental malaria. The size and complexity of the VAR2CSA protein pose challenges for vaccine development, but smaller constitutive domains may be suitable for subunit vaccine development. A protein microarray was printed to include five overlapping fragments of the 3D7 VAR2CSA extracellular region. Malian women with a history of at least one pregnancy had antibody recognition of four of these fragments and had stronger reactivity against the two distal fragments than did nulliparous women, children, and men from Mali, suggesting that the C-terminal extracellular VAR2CSA domains are a potential focus of protective immunity. With carefully chosen sera from longitudinal studies of pregnant women, this approach has the potential to identify seroreactive VAR2CSA domains associated with protective immunity against pregnancy-associated malaria. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  20. A var gene promoter implicated in severe malaria nucleates silencing and is regulated by 3’ untranslated region and intronic cis-elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhle, Rebecca A.; Adjalley, Sophie; Falkard, Brie; Nkrumah, Louis J.; Muhle, Michael E.; Fidock, David A.

    2009-01-01

    Questions surround the mechanism of mutually exclusive expression by which Plasmodium falciparum mediates activation and silencing of var genes. These encode PfEMP1 proteins, which function as cytoadherent and immunomodulatory molecules at the surface of parasitized erythrocytes. Current evidence suggests that promoter silencing by var introns might play a key role in var gene regulation. To evaluate the impact of cis-acting regulatory regions on var silencing, we generated P. falciparum lines in which luciferase was placed under the control of an UpsA var promoter. By utilizing the Bxb1 integrase system, these reporter cassettes were targeted to a genomic region that was not in apposition to var sub-telomeric domains. This eliminated possible effects from surrounding telomeric elements and removed the variability inherent in episomal systems. Studies with highly synchronized parasites revealed that the UpsA element possessed minimal activity in comparison with a heterologous (hrp3) promoter. This may well result from the integrated UpsA promoter being largely silenced by the neighboring cg6 promoter. Our analyses also revealed that the DownsA 3’ untranslated region further decreased the luciferase activity from both cassettes, whereas the var A intron repressed the UpsA promoter specifically. By applying multivariate analysis over the entire cell cycle, we confirmed the significance of these cis-elements and found the parasite stage to be the major factor regulating UpsA promoter activity. Additionally, we observed that the UpsA promoter was capable of nucleating reversible silencing that spread to a downstream promoter. We believe these studies are the first to analyze promoter activity of Group A var genes which have been implicated in severe malaria, and support the model that var introns can further suppress var expression. These data also suggest an important suppressive role for the DownsA terminator. Our findings imply the existence of multiple levels of

  1. Comparative study on plant latex particles and latex coagulation in Ficus benjamina, Campanula glomerata and three Euphorbia species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georg Bauer

    Full Text Available Among latex-producing plants, mainly the latex of Hevea brasiliensis has been studied in detail so far, while comprehensive comparative studies of latex coagulation mechanisms among the more than 20,000 latex-bearing plant species are lacking. In order to give new insights into the potential variety of coagulation mechanisms, the untreated natural latices of five latex-bearing plants from the families Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae and Campanulaceae were visualised using Cryo-SEM and their particle size compared using the laser diffraction method. Additionally, the laticifers of these plants species were examined in planta via Cryo-SEM. Similar latex particle sizes and shape were found in Ficus benjamina and Hevea brasiliensis. Hence, and due to other similarities, we hypothesize comparable, mainly chemical, coagulation mechanisms in these two species, whereas a physical coagulation mechanism is proposed for the latex of Euphorbia spp. The latter mechanism is based on the huge amount of densely packed particles that after evaporation of water build a large surface area, which accelerates the coagulation procedure.

  2. Characterization of flavonoids in Millettia nitida var. hirsutissima by HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS n

    OpenAIRE

    Ye, Min; Yang, Wen-Zhi; Liu, Ke-Di; Qiao, Xue; Li, Bei-Jia; Cheng, Jun; Feng, Jie; Guo, De-An; Zhao, Yu-Ying

    2011-01-01

    Millettia nitida var. hirsutissima is a Chinese herbal medicine used for the treatment of gynecological diseases. An HPLC/DAD/ESI-MSn method was established for the rapid separation and characterization of bioactive flavonoids in M. nitida var. hirsutissima. A total of 32 flavonoids were detected, of which 14 compounds were unambiguously characterized by comparing their retention time, UV, and MS spectra with those of the reference standards, and the others were tentatively identified based o...

  3. Description of rainfall variability in Br hat -samhita of Varâha-mihira

    OpenAIRE

    Iyengar, RN

    2004-01-01

    Br hat -samhita of Varâha-mihira (5–6th century AD) provides valuable information on the approach in ancient India towards monsoon rainfall, including its measurement and forecasting. In this context, we come across a description of the expected amount of total seasonal rainfall depending on the first rains under the 27 naks atras of Indian astronomy. This provides a rough statistical picture of what might have been the rainfall and its variability in the region around Ujjain, where Varâha-mi...

  4. Bolívar, primer diplomático de la libertad americana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Gómez Hoyos

    1969-03-01

    Full Text Available Don Miguel Luis Amunátegui, primer biógrafo de don Andrés Bello, recopilador y comentarista meritorio de sus obras, nos dejó una falsa visión de Bolívar como diplomático de la libertad. Basado en los recuerdos del anciano humanista, cuando ya le flaqueaba la memoria, o gracias a un error suyo de apreciación, al comentar los incidentes de la misión encomendada ante el gobierno británico por la Junta Suprema de Caracas, nos relata increíble falta de tacto y descuido imperdonable en Simón Bolívar, Jefe de la Misión.

  5. Evidence that the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii may have evolved in Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia P Litvintseva

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Most of the species of fungi that cause disease in mammals, including Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii (serotype A, are exogenous and non-contagious. Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii is associated worldwide with avian and arboreal habitats. This airborne, opportunistic pathogen is profoundly neurotropic and the leading cause of fungal meningitis. Patients with HIV/AIDS have been ravaged by cryptococcosis--an estimated one million new cases occur each year, and mortality approaches 50%. Using phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, we present evidence that C. neoformans var. grubii may have evolved from a diverse population in southern Africa. Our ecological studies support the hypothesis that a few of these strains acquired a new environmental reservoir, the excreta of feral pigeons (Columba livia, and were globally dispersed by the migration of birds and humans. This investigation also discovered a novel arboreal reservoir for highly diverse strains of C. neoformans var. grubii that are restricted to southern Africa, the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane. This finding may have significant public health implications because these primal strains have optimal potential for evolution and because mopane trees contribute to the local economy as a source of timber, folkloric remedies and the edible mopane worm.

  6. Testing for Granger causality in large mixed-frequency VARs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Götz, T.B.; Hecq, A.W.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we analyze Granger causality testing in a mixed-frequency VAR, originally proposed by Ghysels (2012), where the difference in sampling frequencies of the variables is large. In particular, we investigate whether past information on a low-frequency variable help in forecasting a

  7. 40 CFR 180.1243 - Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens strain FZB24; exemption from the requirement of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Bacillus subtilis var... EXEMPTIONS FOR PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1243 Bacillus subtilis... the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens strain...

  8. Accumulation of trehalose in the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum var. coprophilum in response to heat or salt stress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Helene Friborg; Jensen, B.

    2004-01-01

    The disaccharide trehalose, known to be an effective protectant against various kinds of stress, was observed to accumulate in the cytosol of Chaetomium thermophilum var. coprophilum during heat stress. Trehalose was apparently neither involved in the defence of C. thermophilum var. coprophilum...... against high concentrations of sodium chloride nor directly linked to thermophily. In C. thermophilum var. coprophilum three different trehalose hydrolyzing activities were eluted from a mono Q anion exchange column by sodium chloride concentrations of 0.10, 0.15 and 0.24 M, respectively....

  9. Modeling and Analysis of a Three-Phase Solid-State Var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Modeling and Analysis of a Three-Phase Solid-State Var Compensator (SSVC) ... Nigerian Journal of Technology. Journal Home ... The problems associated with the flow of reactive power in transmission and distribution lines are well known.

  10. Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. - uma Cucurbitaceae pouco conhecida na alimentação humana Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae[ign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Lúcia Gomes Klein

    1989-01-01

    Full Text Available São mencionados os diversos usos como alimento dos frutos de Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn., além de sua descrição morfológica e de seus nomes vulgares, objetivando um melhor conhecimento e ou divulgação dessa nova opção entre as fontes já bastantes conhecidas de alimentos.On mention here the food uses of the fruits of "Cyclanthera pedata (L. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. besides the its morphology description and common families having in view the knowing or else the divulgation of new options among the sourrées already wellknown.

  11. Changes in var gene mRNA levels during erythrocytic development in two phenotypically distinct Plasmodium falciparum parasites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahlbäck, Madeleine; Lavstsen, Thomas; Salanti, Ali

    2007-01-01

    , consistent with previous studies of other PfEMP1. Transcription of the pseudogene var1csa could not be detected in NF54VAR2CSA cells. CONCLUSION: The optimal sampling point for analysis of var transcripts using quantitative real-time PCR is the ring-stage, which is encouraging for the analysis of fresh...

  12. A Structured VAR under Changing Monetary Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    The empirical analysis is mainly concerned with the aggregate demand for money relation as part of a small macroeconomic system. Using the theory of cointegrated VAR models for I(2) data the long-run relationships in the data are first investigated, and the ML-estimates of the corresponding coint...... the effects of capital liberalization on the determination of money, income, prices, and interest rates in a small open economy...

  13. Eficácia de herbicidas em diferentes quantidades de palha de cana-de-açúcar no controle de Euphorbia heterophylla Efficacy of herbicides in different amounts of sugar cane straw on Euphorbia heterophylla control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.A. Monquero

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de estudar o efeito de diferentes quantidades de palha de cana-de-açúcar, colhida sem queima prévia do canavial, sobre a eficácia de alguns herbicidas recomendados para esta cultura. O experimento foi conduzido em campo no Centro de Ciências Agrárias/UFSCar, em Araras, SP. Os tratamentos consistiram dos herbicidas trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn (1.463 + 37 g i.a ha-1, imazapic (84 g i.a ha-1, imazapyr (200 g i.a ha-1, ¹diuron + hexazinone (1.170 + 330 g i.a ha-1 e ²diuron + hexazinone (1.330 + 160 g i.a ha-1 aplicados em pré-emergência de Euphorbia heterophylla e sobre cinco quantidades de palha de cana-de-açúcar (0, 5, 10, 15 e 20 t ha-1. A eficácia de controle das plantas daninhas foi avaliada aos 7, 14, 21 e 28 dias após a aplicação dos tratamentos (DAT. A palha (15 e 20 t ha-1 reduziu a população de E. heterophylla. À medida que se aumentou a quantidade de palha, houve redução na eficácia dos herbicidas; com 15 t ha-1 de palha, o controle foi considerado satisfatório (90% apenas para os tratamentos ¹diuron + hexazinone e trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn. Com 20 t ha-1, nenhum herbicida foi eficaz; entretanto, a palha foi eficiente na supressão dessa espécie, verificando-se que o número de plantas emergidas foi menor mesmo na testemunha.This work aimed to study the effect of different amounts of sugar cane straw, collected unburned, on the efficacy of some herbicides recommended for this culture. The experiment was carried out in the field, at the Centro de Ciências Agrárias/UFSCar, Araras, SP. The treatments consisted of herbicides trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn (1,463 + 37 g a.i ha-1, imazapic (84 g a.i ha-1, imazapyr (200 g a.i ha-1, diuron + hexazinone (1,170 + 330 g a.i ha ¹ and ²diuron + hexazinone (1,330 + 160 g a.i ha-1 applied in pre emergence of Euphorbia heterophylla and five increasing amounts of sugar cane straw ( 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 t ha-1.Weed

  14. Molecular dissection of placental malaria protein VAR2CSA interaction with a chemo-enzymatically synthesized chondroitin sulfate library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiura, Nobuo; Clausen, Thomas Mandel; Shioiri, Tatsumasa; Gustavsson, Tobias; Watanabe, Hideto; Salanti, Ali

    2016-12-01

    Placental malaria, a serious infection caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is characterized by the selective accumulation of infected erythrocytes (IEs) in the placentas of the pregnant women. Placental adherence is mediated by the malarial VAR2CSA protein, which interacts with chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycans present in the placental tissue. CS is a linear acidic polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine that are modified by sulfate groups at different positions. Previous reports have shown that placental-adhering IEs were associated with an unusually low sulfated form of chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and that a partially sulfated dodecasaccharide is the minimal motif for the interaction. However, the fine molecular structure of this CS chain remains unclear. In this study, we have characterized the CS chain that interacts with a recombinant minimal CS-binding region of VAR2CSA (rVAR2) using a CS library of various defined lengths and sulfate compositions. The CS library was chemo-enzymatically synthesized with bacterial chondroitin polymerase and recombinant CS sulfotransferases. We found that C-4 sulfation of the N-acetyl-D-galactosamine residue is critical for supporting rVAR2 binding, whereas no other sulfate modifications showed effects. Interaction of rVAR2 with CS is highly correlated with the degree of C-4 sulfation and CS chain length. We confirmed that the minimum structure binding to rVAR2 is a tri-sulfated CSA dodecasaccharide, and found that a highly sulfated CSA eicosasaccharide is a more potent inhibitor of rVAR2 binding than the dodecasaccharides. These results suggest that CSA derivatives may potentially serve as targets in therapeutic strategies against placental malaria.

  15. Antibody levels to recombinant VAR2CSA domains vary with Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia, gestational age, and gravidity, but do not predict pregnancy outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fried, Michal; Kurtis, Jonathan D; Swihart, Bruce; Morrison, Robert; Pond-Tor, Sunthorn; Barry, Amadou; Sidibe, Youssoufa; Keita, Sekouba; Mahamar, Almahamoudou; Andemel, Naissem; Attaher, Oumar; Dembele, Adama B; Cisse, Kadidia B; Diarra, Bacary S; Kanoute, Moussa B; Narum, David L; Dicko, Alassane; Duffy, Patrick E

    2018-03-09

    Maternal malaria is a tropical scourge associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Women become resistant to Plasmodium falciparum pregnancy malaria as they acquire antibodies to the variant surface antigen VAR2CSA, a leading vaccine candidate. Because malaria infection may increase VAR2CSA antibody levels and thereby confound analyses of immune protection, gravidity-dependent changes in antibody levels during and after infection, and the effect of VAR2CSA antibodies on pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. Pregnant women enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study of mother-infant pairs in Ouelessebougou, Mali provided plasma samples at enrollment, gestational week 30-32, and delivery. Antibody levels to VAR2CSA domains were measured using a multiplex bead-based assay. Antibody levels to VAR2CSA were higher in multigravidae than primigravidae. Malaria infection was associated with increased antibody levels to VAR2CSA domains. In primigravidae but not in secundigravidae or multigravidae, antibodies levels sharply declined after an infection. A relationship between any VAR2CSA antibody specificity and protection from adverse pregnancy outcomes was not detected. During malaria infection, primigravidae acquire short-lived antibodies. The lack of an association between VAR2CSA domain antibody reactivity and improved pregnancy outcomes suggests that the recombinant proteins may not present native epitopes targeted by protective antibodies.

  16. Female-Specific Specialization of a Posterior End Region of the Midgut Symbiotic Organ in Plautia splendens and Allied Stinkbugs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashi, Toshinari; Hosokawa, Takahiro; Meng, Xian-Ying; Koga, Ryuichi

    2015-01-01

    Many stinkbugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera) are associated with bacterial symbionts in a posterior region of the midgut. In these stinkbugs, adult females excrete symbiont-containing materials from the anus for transmission of the beneficial symbionts to their offspring. For ensuring the vertical symbiont transmission, a variety of female-specific elaborate traits at the cellular, morphological, developmental, and behavioral levels have been reported from diverse stinkbugs of the families Plataspidae, Urostylididae, Parastrachiidae, etc. Meanwhile, such elaborate female-specific traits for vertical symbiont transmission have been poorly characterized for the largest and economically important stinkbug family Pentatomidae. Here, we investigated the midgut symbiotic system of a pentatomid stinkbug, Plautia splendens. A specific gammaproteobacterial symbiont was consistently present extracellularly in the cavity of numerous crypts arranged in four rows on the midgut fourth section. The symbiont was smeared on the egg surface upon oviposition by adult females, orally acquired by newborn nymphs, and thereby transmitted vertically to the next generation and important for growth and survival of the host insects. We found that, specifically in adult females, several rows of crypts at the posterior end region of the symbiotic midgut were morphologically differentiated and conspicuously enlarged, often discharging the symbiotic bacteria from the crypt cavity to the main tract of the symbiotic midgut. The female-specific enlarged end crypts were also found in other pentatomid stinkbugs Plautia stali and Carbula crassiventris. These results suggest that the enlarged end crypts represent a female-specific specialized morphological trait for vertical symbiont transmission commonly found among stinkbugs of the family Pentatomidae. PMID:25636847

  17. An optimization approach for online identification of harmonic resonance due to pending Volt/VAr operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBee, Kerry D.

    The emphasis on creating a more efficient distribution system has led many utility companies to employ dynamic voltage and VAr compensation (Volt/VAr) applications that reduce energy demand, generation, and losses associated with the transmission and distribution of energy. To achieve these benefits, Volt/VAr applications rely upon algorithms to control voltage support equipment, such as transformer load tap changers, voltage regulators, and capacitor banks. The majority of these algorithms utilize metaheuristic programming methods to determine the Volt/VAr scheme that produces the most energy efficient operating conditions. It has been well documented that the interaction between capacitor bank reactance and the inductive reactance of a distribution system can produce parallel harmonic resonance that can damage utility and customer equipment. The Volt/VAr controlling algorithms that account for harmonics do so in an indirect manner that can mask harmonic resonance conditions. Unlike previous research endeavors, the primary focus of the method described within this dissertation is to identify Volt/VAr schemes that prevent harmonic resonance due to capacitor bank operation. Instead of a metaheuristic approach, the harmonic resonance identification algorithm relies upon constrained mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), which is more suited for analyzing impedance characteristics created by the energized states of a system of capacitor banks. Utilizing a numerical approach improves the accuracy of identifying harmonic resonance conditions, while also reducing the complexity of the process by exclusively relying upon the system's admittance characteristics. The novel harmonic resonance identification method is applicable to distribution systems that are dynamically reconfigured, which can result in a number of unknown harmonic resonance producing conditions, a feature unavailable with existing controlling algorithms. The ability to identify all harmonic

  18. Chloroplast microsatellite markers for Pseudotaxus chienii developed from the whole chloroplast genome of Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qi; Zhang, Hanrui; He, Yipeng; Wang, Ting; Su, Yingjuan

    2017-03-01

    Pseudotaxus chienii (Taxaceae) is an old rare species endemic to China that has adapted well to ecological heterogeneity with high genetic diversity in its nuclear genome. However, the genetic variation in its chloroplast genome is unknown. Eighteen chloroplast microsatellite markers (cpSSRs) were developed from the whole chloroplast genome of Taxus chinensis var. mairei and successfully amplified in four P. chienii populations and one T. chinensis var. mairei population. Of these loci, 10 were polymorphic in P. chienii , whereas six were polymorphic in T. chinensis var. mairei . The unbiased haploid diversity per locus ranged from 0.000 to 0.641 and 0.000 to 0.545 for P. chienii and T. chinensis var. mairei , respectively. The 18 cpSSRs will be used to further investigate the chloroplast genetic structure and adaptive evolution in P. chienii populations.

  19. Development of the WRF-CO2 4D-Var assimilation system v1.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Tao; French, Nancy H. F.; Baxter, Martin

    2018-05-01

    Regional atmospheric CO2 inversions commonly use Lagrangian particle trajectory model simulations to calculate the required influence function, which quantifies the sensitivity of a receptor to flux sources. In this paper, an adjoint-based four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) assimilation system, WRF-CO2 4D-Var, is developed to provide an alternative approach. This system is developed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modeling system, including the system coupled to chemistry (WRF-Chem), with tangent linear and adjoint codes (WRFPLUS), and with data assimilation (WRFDA), all in version 3.6. In WRF-CO2 4D-Var, CO2 is modeled as a tracer and its feedback to meteorology is ignored. This configuration allows most WRF physical parameterizations to be used in the assimilation system without incurring a large amount of code development. WRF-CO2 4D-Var solves for the optimized CO2 flux scaling factors in a Bayesian framework. Two variational optimization schemes are implemented for the system: the first uses the limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) minimization algorithm (L-BFGS-B) and the second uses the Lanczos conjugate gradient (CG) in an incremental approach. WRFPLUS forward, tangent linear, and adjoint models are modified to include the physical and dynamical processes involved in the atmospheric transport of CO2. The system is tested by simulations over a domain covering the continental United States at 48 km × 48 km grid spacing. The accuracy of the tangent linear and adjoint models is assessed by comparing against finite difference sensitivity. The system's effectiveness for CO2 inverse modeling is tested using pseudo-observation data. The results of the sensitivity and inverse modeling tests demonstrate the potential usefulness of WRF-CO2 4D-Var for regional CO2 inversions.

  20. Development of the WRF-CO2 4D-Var assimilation system v1.0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Zheng

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Regional atmospheric CO2 inversions commonly use Lagrangian particle trajectory model simulations to calculate the required influence function, which quantifies the sensitivity of a receptor to flux sources. In this paper, an adjoint-based four-dimensional variational (4D-Var assimilation system, WRF-CO2 4D-Var, is developed to provide an alternative approach. This system is developed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF modeling system, including the system coupled to chemistry (WRF-Chem, with tangent linear and adjoint codes (WRFPLUS, and with data assimilation (WRFDA, all in version 3.6. In WRF-CO2 4D-Var, CO2 is modeled as a tracer and its feedback to meteorology is ignored. This configuration allows most WRF physical parameterizations to be used in the assimilation system without incurring a large amount of code development. WRF-CO2 4D-Var solves for the optimized CO2 flux scaling factors in a Bayesian framework. Two variational optimization schemes are implemented for the system: the first uses the limited memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS minimization algorithm (L-BFGS-B and the second uses the Lanczos conjugate gradient (CG in an incremental approach. WRFPLUS forward, tangent linear, and adjoint models are modified to include the physical and dynamical processes involved in the atmospheric transport of CO2. The system is tested by simulations over a domain covering the continental United States at 48 km  ×  48 km grid spacing. The accuracy of the tangent linear and adjoint models is assessed by comparing against finite difference sensitivity. The system's effectiveness for CO2 inverse modeling is tested using pseudo-observation data. The results of the sensitivity and inverse modeling tests demonstrate the potential usefulness of WRF-CO2 4D-Var for regional CO2 inversions.

  1. Penurunan Garam Klorida Air Laut Dengan Memanfaatkan Modifikasi Pati Dari Limbah Bonggol Pisang Ambon (Musa Paradisiaca Var Sapientum)

    OpenAIRE

    Rabbani, Aulia Husna; -, Alimuddin; Saleh, Chairul

    2015-01-01

    The research of desalination the sea water by utilization of the strach bump a “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” modification has been done. Modification of starch bump “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” had be a ability better than starch bump “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” in the levels of chloride. The variation upon which to do to absorb chloride of sea water which are starch, starch been activated NaOH and starch acetate bump of a “Pisang Ambon...

  2. Positive Selection of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites With Multiple var2csa-Type PfEMP1 Genes During the Course of Infection in Pregnant Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas; Nielsen, Morten A.; Theander, Thor G.; Leke, Rose G. F.; Lo, Yeung Y.; Bobbili, Naveen; Arnot, David E.; Taylor, Diane W.

    2011-01-01

    Placental malaria infections are caused by Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cells sequestering in the placenta by binding to chondroitin sulfate A, mediated by VAR2CSA, a variant of the PfEMP1 family of adhesion antigens. Recent studies have shown that many P. falciparum genomes have multiple genes coding for different VAR2CSA proteins, and parasites with >1 var2csa gene appear to be more common in pregnant women with placental malaria than in nonpregnant individuals. We present evidence that, in pregnant women, parasites containing multiple var2csa-type genes possess a selective advantage over parasites with a single var2csa gene. Accumulation of parasites with multiple copies of the var2csa gene during the course of pregnancy was also correlated with the development of antibodies involved in blocking VAR2CSA adhesion. The data suggest that multiplicity of var2csa-type genes enables P. falciparum parasites to persist for a longer period of time during placental infections, probably because of their greater capacity for antigenic variation and evasion of variant-specific immune responses. PMID:21592998

  3. Estudo botânico, fitoquímico e fisico-químico de Euphorbia hirta L. (Euphorbiaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.V. Pinto

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Euphorbia hirta L., popularmente conhecida por erva andorinha, tem sido utilizada no tratamento de distúrbios respiratórios e como antiespasmódico. Esse trabalho foi realizado com a finalidade de determinar as características macroscópicas e microscópicas das folhas, caule e raiz dessa planta, uma vez que estas são as partes usadas popularmente. Algumas características de valor na sua diagnose foram apontadas e ilustradas por fotomicrografias. Reações de fitoquímica e a determinação do conteúdo de água e de cinzas foram realizadas no pó obtido da planta inteira, parte essa utilizada na fitoterapia Ayuverda. Na prospecção fitoquímica foram encontrados flavonóides, mucilagem, resinas e cumarinas. Na determinação do teor de água, de cinzas totais e de cinzas insolúveis em ácido, os valores encontrados foram 8,99%, 9,35%, 0,75%, respectivamente. Com o desenvolvimento deste trabalho foi possível obter parâmetros para o controle de qualidade das folhas, caule e raízes de E. hirta.

  4. [Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti (L.) strains from Havana to a Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menéndez Díaz, Zulema; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Jinnay; Gato Armas, René; Companioni Ibañez, Ariamys; Díaz Pérez, Manuel; Bruzón Aguila, Rosa Yirian

    2012-01-01

    the integration of chemical and biological methods is one of the strategies for the vector control, due to the existing environmental problems and the concerns of the community as a result of the synthetic organic insecticide actions. The bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis in liquid formulation has been widely used in the vector control programs in several countries and has shown high efficacy at lab in Cuba. to determine the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti collected in the municipalities of La Habana province to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis. fifteen Aedes aegypti strains, one from each municipality, were used including larvae and pupas collected in 2010 and one reference strain known as Rockefeller. The aqueous formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bactivec, Labiofam, Cuba) was used. The bioassays complied with the World Health Organization guidelines for use of bacterial larvicides in the public health sector. The larval mortality was read after 24 hours and the results were processed by the statistical system SPSS (11.0) through Probit analysis. the evaluated mosquito strains showed high susceptibility to biolarvicide, there were no significant differences in LC50 values of Ae. aegypti strains, neither in the comparison of these values with those of the reference strain. the presented results indicate that the use of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis continues to be a choice for the control of Aedes aegypti larval populations in La Habana province.

  5. Multilocus sequence typing analysis reveals that Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans is a recombinant population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cogliati, Massimo; Zani, Alberto; Rickerts, Volker; McCormick, Ilka; Desnos-Ollivier, Marie; Velegraki, Aristea; Escandon, Patricia; Ichikawa, Tomoe; Ikeda, Reiko; Bienvenu, Anne-Lise; Tintelnot, Kathrin; Tore, Okan; Akcaglar, Sevim; Lockhart, Shawn; Tortorano, Anna Maria; Varma, Ashok

    2016-02-01

    Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D) represents about 30% of the clinical isolates in Europe and is present less frequently in the other continents. It is the prevalent etiological agent in primary cutaneous cryptococcosis as well as in cryptococcal skin lesions of disseminated cryptococcosis. Very little is known about the genotypic diversity of this Cryptococcus subtype. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotypic diversity among a set of clinical and environmental C. neoformans var. neoformans isolates and to evaluate the relationship between genotypes, geographical origin and clinical manifestations. A total of 83 globally collected C. neoformans var. neoformans isolates from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Japan, Colombia, and the USA, recovered from different sources (primary and secondary cutaneous cryptococcosis, disseminated cryptococcosis, the environment, and animals), were included in the study. All isolates were confirmed to belong to genotype VNIV by molecular typing and they were further investigated by MLST analysis. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic as well as network analysis strongly suggested the existence of a recombinant rather than a clonal population structure. Geographical origin and source of isolation were not correlated with a specific MLST genotype. The comparison with a set of outgroup C. neoformans var. grubii isolates provided clear evidence that the two varieties have different population structures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A significant positive correlation between endogenous trans-zeatin content and total arsenic in arsenic hyperaccumulator Pteris cretica var. nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuemei; Yang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Hongbin; Li, Qinchun; Wang, Haijuan; Li, Yanyan

    2017-04-01

    A pot experiment was conducted to compare the content of endogenous trans-zeatin (Z), plant arsenic (As) uptake and physiological indices in the fronds of As-hyperaccumulator (Pteris cretica var. nervosa) and non-hyperaccumulator (Pteris ensiformis). Furthermore, a stepwise regression method was used to study the relationship among determined indices, and the time-course effect of main indices was also investigated under 100mg/kg As stress with time extension. In the 100-200mg/kg As treatments, plant height showed no significant difference and endogenous Z content significantly increased in P. cretica var. nervosa compared to the control, but a significant decrease of height and endogenous Z was observed in P. ensiformis. The concentrations of As (III) and As (V) increased significantly in the fronds of two plants, but this increase was much higher in P. cretica var. nervosa. Compared to the control, the contents of chlorophyll and soluble protein were significantly increased in P. cretica var. nervosa but decreased in P. ensiformis in the 200mg/kg As treatment, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the contents of endogenous Z and total As in P. cretica var. nervosa, but such a correlation was not found in P. ensiformis. Additionally, in the time-course effect experiment, a peak value of each index was appeared in the 43rd day in two plants, except for chlorophyll in P. ensiformis, but this value was significantly higher in P. cretica var. nervosa than that in P. ensiformis. In conclusion, a higher endogenous Z content contributed to As accumulation of P. cretica var. nervosa under As stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Phytotoxic effects of aqueous leaf extracts of four Myrtaceae species on three weeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maristela Imatomi

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Research on allelopathic interactions can be useful in the search for phytotoxins produced by plants that may be employed as natural herbicides. The aim of this study was to assess the phytotoxic action of aqueous leaf extract of Blepharocalyx salicifolius, Myrcia multiflora, Myrcia splendens and Myrcia tomentosa on the germination and development of three weeds. The working hypothesis was that leaf extracts of Myrtaceae may negatively influence the development of weed species. Aqueous leaf extracts at 5 and 10% (g mL-1 were tested on the germination and growth of Euphorbia heterophylla, Echinochloa crus-galli and Ipomoea grandifolia and compared with the herbicide oxyfluorfen and distilled water (control. The most extracts caused pronounced delays in seed germination and inhibited the growth of seedlings of E. heterophylla; I. grandifolia and E. crus-galli, with the last target species had no growth shoot inhibited by the extracts. In this study, the potential and efficiency of the tested aqueous leaf extracts were evident because they were more phytotoxic to the weeds than the herbicide. Thus, the aqueous extracts of leaves from Myrtaceae species show potential for the isolation of active compounds that can be used for the production of natural herbicides in the future.

  8. Chemical constituents of leaves of Senna spectabilis (DC) Irwin and Barneby var. excelsa (Schard.) Irwin and Barneby; Constituintes quimicos das folhas de Senna spectabilis (DC) Irwin and Barneby var. excelsa (Schrad.) Irwin and Barneby

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Fabio de Oliveira; Oliveira, Irvila Ricarte de; Silva, Maria Goretti de Vasconcelos, E-mail: mgvsilva@ufc.b [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica Organica e Inorganica; Braz Filho, Raimundo [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil)

    2010-07-01

    From leaves of Senna spectabilis var. excelsa were isolated caffeine, the triterpenes lupeol, {alpha}-amyrin, {beta}-amyrin, cycloeucalenol, friedelin and ursolic, oleanolic and betulinic acids, besides the steroids sitosterol and stigmasterol and their respective glucosides. The structures of these compounds were established by spectroscopic analysis including two-dimensional NMR methods and comparison with published spectral data. This paper deals with the first report of these compounds in S. spectabilis var. excelsa. (author)

  9. Chemical composition of essential oil of Psidium cattleianum var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to investigate the essential oil composition of Psidium cattleianum var. lucidum from South Africa. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and the components were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the chemical composition of the ...

  10. The identity of zostera marina var. angustifolia Hornemann (Potamogetonaceae)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartog, den C.

    1972-01-01

    Since Hornemann (Fl. Dan. 9, 1816, p. 3, pl. 1501) published the name Zostera marina var. angustifolia together with a very poor drawing and the extremely short diagnosis ‘foliis subenerviis’ several interpretations of the identity of this taxon have been given. Some authors regarded it as a

  11. Morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of biofuel plant Euphorbia lathyris to salt stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Jie; Cao, Yan; Yang, Ziyi; Lu, Changmei [Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Nanjing Normal Univ., Nanjing (China)], E-mail: 08134@njnu.edu.cn); Zhang, Weiming; Sun, Lijun [Nanjing Inst. for the Comprehensive Utilization of Wild plants, Nanjing (China)

    2013-05-15

    Saline lands are characterized by salinity and nutrient deficiency and there is an ever increasing need for economical, adaptable plant species to rejuvenate these lands. In this study, we determined the suitability and tolerance of Euphorbia lathyris L. (Caper spurge), a well-known biofuel plant, as a sustainable candidate to colonize saline lands. We investigated the germination rate, seedling growth, solute change and anti-oxidative enzyme activities etc. under salt stress conditions. Our results showed that Caper spurge seeds prefer to germinate under nonsaline environments and high salt stress induced temporary dormancy during germination, but did not completely hamper the viability of the seeds. The seedling biomass increased without any visible distress symptoms in the presence of NaCl not over 171 mM. Further increase in NaCl concentration had a negative impact on the seedling growth. These demonstrate that Caper spurge seedlings have the potential to grow in saline lands. The salinity tolerance of Caper spurge seedlings was closely associated with the regional distribution of Na{sup + }in roots, stable absorption of Ca{sup 2{sup +,}} K{sup + }and Mg{sup 2{sup +,}} accumulation of organic solutes, and increased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes. However, excessive accumulation of Na{sup +,} sharp increase of superoxide (O{sub 2}), H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, malonaldehyde (MDA) and cell membrane leakage, reduction of osmoprotectants, and decreased activities of CAT and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) etc. under high salinity might be the reasons for the restrained seedling growth.

  12. The complete chloroplast genome of traditional Chinese medical plants Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yun; Xu, Jin; Chen, NaiZhong; Li, MingFu

    2017-03-01

    Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis is a perennial medical plant widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genome of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The genome is 157 675 bp in length including a small single-copy region (SSC, 18 319 bp) and a large single-copy region (LSC, 84 108 bp) separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs, 27 624 bp). The genome contained 115 genes, including 81 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA genes, and 30 tRNA genes. Among these genes, 13 harbored a single intron and 2 contained a couple of introns. The overall G + C content of the cpDNA is 37.4%, while the corresponding values of the LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 35.71%, 31.43%, and 41.87%, respectively. A Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis suggested that genus Trillium, Paris, Fritillaria, and Lilium were strongly supported as monophyletic and the P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis is closely related to Trillium.

  13. Nuclear pores and perinuclear expression sites of var and ribosomal DNA genes correspond to physically distinct regions in Plasmodium falciparum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guizetti, Julien; Martins, Rafael Miyazawa; Guadagnini, Stéphanie; Claes, Aurélie; Scherf, Artur

    2013-05-01

    The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum modifies the erythrocyte it infects by exporting variant proteins to the host cell surface. The var gene family that codes for a large, variant adhesive surface protein called P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) plays a particular role in this process, which is linked to pathogenesis and immune evasion. A single member of this gene family is highly transcribed while the other 59 members remain silenced. Importantly, var gene transcription occurs at a spatially restricted, but yet undefined, perinuclear site that is distinct from repressed var gene clusters. To advance our understanding of monoallelic expression, we investigated whether nuclear pores associate with the var gene expression site. To this end, we studied the nuclear pore organization during the asexual blood stage using a specific antibody directed against a subunit of the nuclear pore, P. falciparum Nup116 (PfNup116). Ring and schizont stage parasites showed highly polarized nuclear pore foci, whereas in trophozoite stage nuclear pores redistributed over the entire nuclear surface. Colocalization studies of var transcripts and anti-PfNup116 antibodies showed clear dissociation between nuclear pores and the var gene expression site in ring stage. Similar results were obtained for another differentially transcribed perinuclear gene family, the ribosomal DNA units. Furthermore, we show that in the poised state, the var gene locus is not physically linked to nuclear pores. Our results indicate that P. falciparum does form compartments of high transcriptional activity at the nuclear periphery which are, unlike the case in yeast, devoid of nuclear pores.

  14. Análisis morfológico y toxicológico de cultivos de Pseudo-nitzschia pungens var. pungens (Bacillariophyceae Morphological and toxicological analysis of cultures of Pseudo-nitzschia pungens var. pungens (Bacillariophyceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia A. Sar

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available En el marco de un proyecto de monitoreo de especies de diatomeas nocivas llevado a cabo en el área norte del Golfo San Matías (Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina hemos encontrado a Pseudo-nitzschia pungens (Grunow ex. P.T. Cleve Hasle var. pungens y establecido cultivos monoclonales de esta variedad. Las cepas aisladas a partir de muestras tomadas con red, provenientes de Las Grutas y Piedras Coloradas (Golfo San Matías, fueron cultivadas en medio F/2 con adición de silicatos, y mantenidas a 20 ºC con luz continua, blanca, fría. Los cultivos fueron analizados mediante Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Resolución (HPLC para determinar si la variedad aislada era productora de ácido domoico (DA en el área bajo estudio. Material procedente de campo y de cultivo fue estudiado con microscopios óptico y electrónico de barrido. Una comparación con los taxa más allegados, P . pungens var. cingulata Villac y P . multiseries (Hasle Hasle, y datos sobre la morfología fina del material procedente de los cultivos, son presentados y discutidos. A pesar de que P . pungens var. pungens ha sido reportada como productora de ácido domoico, los resultados del análisis para detección de las toxinas fueron negativos para las cultivos chequeados.In the framework of a project of monitoring of harmful diatom species carried out in the Northern area of the Golfo San Matías (Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina we found and established cultures of Pseudo-nitzschia pungens (Grunow ex. P.T. Cleve Hasle var. pungens . The strains isolated from net phytoplankton samples obtained in Las Grutas and Piedras Coloradas, (Golfo San Matías were cultured in F/2 medium, with silica added, and maintained at 20 ºC, under continuous light supplied by cool-white fluorescent tubes. Cultures were essayed for domoic acid (DA by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC. Materials from field and cultures were studied with light and scanning electron microscopy. Comparison

  15. Potential utilization of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides waste as a novel source of pectin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korish, Mohamed

    2015-04-01

    The Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides is an ancestor type of watermelon. It was investigated as a new source of pectin. It was cultivated in Egypt for seeds only, while the remaining fruits are discarded as waste. Effect of different extraction conditions such as pH, solid: liquid ratio, temperature and extraction time on pectin yield of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides waste was investigated in the present study. The highest yield (19.75 % w/w) was achieved at pH 2, solid: liquid ratio1:15 and 85 °C, for 60 min. Methylation degree and galacturonic acid content of extracted pectin were 55.25 %, w/w and 76.84 %, w/w. The main neutral sugars were galactose followed by arabinose and rhamnose. In addition, glucose, xylose and mannose existed as constituents in the pectin hydrolysate. The results indicated that Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoide waste is a potential new source of pectin.

  16. High avidity antibodies to full-length VAR2CSA correlate with absence of placental malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tutterrow, Yeung Lo; Salanti, Ali; Avril, Marion

    2012-01-01

    VAR2CSA mediates sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in the placenta, increasing the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Naturally acquired antibodies (Ab) to placental parasites at delivery have been associated with improved pregnancy outcomes, but Ab levels and how early...... in pregnancy Ab must be present in order to eliminate placental parasites before delivery remains unknown. Antibodies to individual Duffy-binding like domains of VAR2CSA have been studied, but the domains lack many of the conformational epitopes present in full-length VAR2CSA (FV2). Thus, the purpose...... of this study was to describe the acquisition of Ab to FV2 in women residing in high and low transmission areas and determine how Ab levels during pregnancy correlate with clearance of placental parasites. Plasma samples collected monthly throughout pregnancy from pregnant women living in high and low...

  17. Application of static var compensator on large synchronous motors based on linear optimization control design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soltani, J.; Fath Abadi, A.M.

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the application of static var compensators, on an electrical distribution network containing two large synchronous motors, one of which is excited via a three-phase thyristor bridge rectifier. The second machine is excited via a diode bridge rectifier. Based on linear optimization control, the measurable feedback signals are applied to the control system loops of static var compensators and the excitation control loop of the first synchronous motor. The phase equations method was used to develop a computer program to model the distribution network. Computer results were obtained to demonstrate the system performance for some abnormal modes of operation. These results show that employing static var compensators based on the linear optimization control design for electrical distribution networks containing large synchronous motors is beneficial and may be considered a first stage of the system design

  18. JST Thesaurus Headwords and Synonyms: Brassica rapa var. peruviridis [MeCab user dictionary for science technology term[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available MeCab user dictionary for science technology term Brassica rapa var. peruviridis 名詞... 一般 * * * * コマツナ コマツナ コマツナ Thesaurus2015 200906099324987960 C LS06/LS72 UNKNOWN_2 Brassica rapa var . peruviridis

  19. DGA-based VAR rescheduling for transmission loss reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, S. [Indian Inst. of Technology, Delhi (India); Taylor, G.A. [Brunel Univ., London (United Kingdom). Brunel Inst. of Power Systems; Reddy, J.B.V. [Government of India, New Delhi (India). Dept. of Science and Technology; Naeem, M.H. [Multimedia Univ. (Malaysia). Faculty of Engineering

    2009-07-01

    Power losses in power transmission lines can be minimized by adjusting transformer taps and switchable VAR sources. Optimal power flow (OPF) is a static, nonlinear, multi-objective optimization challenge in which the optimal settings of control variables must be determined for minimizing the cost of generation, emissions, transmission losses and voltage and power flow deviations. OPF is important in power system operation because a small savings per hour can mean a large annual savings. This paper presented a method to reduce transmission power losses using a Differential Genetic Algorithm (DGA) for VAR rescheduling. The New England 39-bus power system was used as a test case. Power losses were minimized by changing the tap settings of various transformers and by varying the injected reactive power. The paper showed that certain buses in the system can improve the voltage profile and reduce transmission losses through reactive power injections from capacitor banks. In this study, minimum reactive power output of generators was maintained at zero to ensure that the generators did not draw reactive power. The DGA was shown to produce better results than the Conventional Genetic Algorithm in terms of power loss minimization. 12 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

  20. Phylogeography of var gene repertoires reveals fine-scale geospatial clustering of Plasmodium falciparum populations in a highly endemic area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tessema, Sofonias K; Monk, Stephanie L; Schultz, Mark B; Tavul, Livingstone; Reeder, John C; Siba, Peter M; Mueller, Ivo; Barry, Alyssa E

    2015-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major global health problem that is being targeted for progressive elimination. Knowledge of local disease transmission patterns in endemic countries is critical to these elimination efforts. To investigate fine-scale patterns of malaria transmission, we have compared repertoires of rapidly evolving var genes in a highly endemic area. A total of 3680 high-quality DBLα-sequences were obtained from 68 P. falciparum isolates from ten villages spread over two distinct catchment areas on the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Modelling of the extent of var gene diversity in the two parasite populations predicts more than twice as many var gene alleles circulating within each catchment (Mugil = 906; Wosera = 1094) than previously recognized in PNG (Amele = 369). In addition, there were limited levels of var gene sharing between populations, consistent with local parasite population structure. Phylogeographic analyses demonstrate that while neutrally evolving microsatellite markers identified population structure only at the catchment level, var gene repertoires reveal further fine-scale geospatial clustering of parasite isolates. The clustering of parasite isolates by village in Mugil, but not in Wosera was consistent with the physical and cultural isolation of the human populations in the two catchments. The study highlights the microheterogeneity of P. falciparum transmission in highly endemic areas and demonstrates the potential of var genes as markers of local patterns of parasite population structure. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Pollination ecology of Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala (leguminosae-papilionoideae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cecília de Chiara Moço

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The pollination ecology of Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala was studied in the restinga of Maricá, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. S. apetala var. apetala is a shrub with asynchronic annual blooming, between the months of November and April (hot-rainy season. Each plant can exhibit more than one blooming episode in this period. Their flowers are hermaphrodites, apetalous, heterantherous, odoriferous, and the pollen represents the only reward offered to visitors. It is pollinized by species of Centris and Xylocopa, solitary and polyletic bees, which collect the pollen by means of vibratory movements. Other bees such as Apis mellifera, Pseudaugochloropsis graminea and Trigona spinipes are only pollen-thieves. In this variety of Swartzia vibrating is an efficient method to collect pollen from the anthers despite non-poricidal dehiscence.. The flowering phenology and the behavior of visitors influence the rate of outcrossing.A ecologia da polinização de Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala foi estudada na restinga de Maricá, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. S. apetala var. apetala é um arbusto com floração do tipo anual assincrônica, entre os meses de novembro e abril (estação quente- chuvosa. Cada planta pode apresentar mais de um episódio de floração neste período. As flores são hermafroditas, apétalas, heterândricas, odoríferas e o polem constitui a única recompensa oferecida aos visitantes. É polinizada por espécies de Centris e Xylocopa, abelhas solitárias e poliléticas, que coletam o polem através do método de vibração. Nesta variedade de Swartzia a vibração é um método eficiente de coleta de polem apesar das anteras apresentarem deiscência rimosa. Outras abelhas, como Apis mellifera, Pseudaugochloropsis graminea e Trigona spinipes, são pilhadoras de pólen. A fenologia da floração e o comportamento dos visitantes florais influenciam a taxa de fertilização cruzada.

  2. 1D-Var temperature retrievals from microwave radiometer and convective scale model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline Martinet

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the potential of ground-based microwave radiometers (MWR for providing accurate temperature retrievals by combining convective scale numerical models and brightness temperatures (BTs. A one-dimensional variational (1D-Var retrieval technique has been tested to optimally combine MWR and 3-h forecasts from the French convective scale model AROME. A microwave profiler HATPRO (Humidity and Temperature PROfiler was operated during 6 months at the meteorological station of Bordeaux (Météo France. MWR BTs were monitored against simulations from the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator 2 radiative transfer model. An overall good agreement was found between observations and simulations for opaque V-band channels but large errors were observed for channels the most affected by liquid water and water vapour emissions (51.26 and 52.28 GHz. 1D-Var temperature retrievals are performed in clear-sky and cloudy conditions using a screening procedure based on cloud base height retrieval from ceilometer observations, infrared radiometer temperature and liquid water path derived from the MWR observations. The 1D-Var retrievals were found to improve the AROME forecasts up to 2 km with a maximum gain of approximately 50 % in root-mean-square-errors (RMSE below 500 m. They were also found to outperform neural network retrievals. A static bias correction was proposed to account for systematic instrumental errors. This correction was found to have a negligible impact on the 1D-Var retrievals. The use of low elevation angles improves the retrievals up to 12 % in RMSE in cloudy-sky in the first layers. The present implementation achieved a RMSE with respect to radiosondes within 1 K in clear-sky and 1.3 K in cloudy-sky conditions for temperature.

  3. Evidence of strain structure in Plasmodium falciparum var gene repertoires in children from Gabon, West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Karen P; Artzy-Randrup, Yael; Tiedje, Kathryn E; Rougeron, Virginie; Chen, Donald S; Rask, Thomas S; Rorick, Mary M; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Luty, Adrian J F; Pascual, Mercedes

    2017-05-16

    Existing theory on competition for hosts between pathogen strains has proposed that immune selection can lead to the maintenance of strain structure consisting of discrete, weakly overlapping antigenic repertoires. This prediction of strain theory has conceptual overlap with fundamental ideas in ecology on niche partitioning and limiting similarity between coexisting species in an ecosystem, which oppose the hypothesis of neutral coexistence. For Plasmodium falciparum , strain theory has been specifically proposed in relation to the major surface antigen of the blood stage, known as Pf EMP1 and encoded by the multicopy multigene family known as the var genes. Deep sampling of the DBLα domain of var genes in the local population of Bakoumba, West Africa, was completed to define whether patterns of repertoire overlap support a role of immune selection under the opposing force of high outcrossing, a characteristic of areas of intense malaria transmission. Using a 454 high-throughput sequencing protocol, we report extremely high diversity of the DBLα domain and a large parasite population with DBLα repertoires structured into nonrandom patterns of overlap. Such population structure, significant for the high diversity of var genes that compose it at a local level, supports the existence of "strains" characterized by distinct var gene repertoires. Nonneutral, frequency-dependent competition would be at play and could underlie these patterns. With a computational experiment that simulates an intervention similar to mass drug administration, we argue that the observed repertoire structure matters for the antigenic var diversity of the parasite population remaining after intervention.

  4. A Bootstrap Cointegration Rank Test for Panels of VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callot, Laurent

    functions of the individual Cointegrated VARs (CVAR) models. A bootstrap based procedure is used to compute empirical distributions of the trace test statistics for these individual models. From these empirical distributions two panel trace test statistics are constructed. The satisfying small sample...

  5. Local cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) populations from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In previous experiments, we were able to augment cabbages (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.) with two new local open pollinated (OP) populations and one cultivar. The type of use indicated that these are cabbages with thinner and juicier leaves, which predisposes their heads for fine grating and also makes their ...

  6. Transcriptome sequence analysis of an ornamental plant, Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, revealed the potential unigenes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jun; Kanakala, S; He, Yehua; Zhang, Junli; Zhong, Xiaolan

    2015-01-01

    Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Red Pineapple) is an important ornamental plant for its colorful leaves and decorative red fruits. Because of its complex genome, it is difficult to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and development. Thus high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is necessary to generate large quantities of transcript sequences for the purpose of gene discovery and functional genomic studies. The Ananas comosus var. bracteatus transcriptome was sequenced by the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We obtained a total of 23.5 million high quality sequencing reads, 1,555,808 contigs and 41,052 unigenes. In total 41,052 unigenes of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, 23,275 unigenes were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database and 23,134 unigenes were annotated in the Swiss-Port database. Out of these, 17,748 and 8,505 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. Functional annotation against Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database identified 5,825 unigenes which were mapped to 117 pathways. The assembly predicted many unigenes that were previously unknown. The annotated unigenes were compared against pineapple, rice, maize, Arabidopsis, and sorghum. Unigenes that did not match any of those five sequence datasets are considered to be Ananas comosus var. bracteatus unique. We predicted unigenes encoding enzymes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The sequence data provide the most comprehensive transcriptomic resource currently available for Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. To our knowledge; this is the first report on the de novo transcriptome sequencing of the Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. Unigenes obtained in this study, may help improve future gene expression, genetic and genomics studies in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus.

  7. Transcriptome sequence analysis of an ornamental plant, Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, revealed the potential unigenes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Ma

    Full Text Available Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Red Pineapple is an important ornamental plant for its colorful leaves and decorative red fruits. Because of its complex genome, it is difficult to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and development. Thus high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is necessary to generate large quantities of transcript sequences for the purpose of gene discovery and functional genomic studies.The Ananas comosus var. bracteatus transcriptome was sequenced by the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We obtained a total of 23.5 million high quality sequencing reads, 1,555,808 contigs and 41,052 unigenes. In total 41,052 unigenes of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, 23,275 unigenes were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database and 23,134 unigenes were annotated in the Swiss-Port database. Out of these, 17,748 and 8,505 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. Functional annotation against Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database identified 5,825 unigenes which were mapped to 117 pathways. The assembly predicted many unigenes that were previously unknown. The annotated unigenes were compared against pineapple, rice, maize, Arabidopsis, and sorghum. Unigenes that did not match any of those five sequence datasets are considered to be Ananas comosus var. bracteatus unique. We predicted unigenes encoding enzymes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.The sequence data provide the most comprehensive transcriptomic resource currently available for Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. To our knowledge; this is the first report on the de novo transcriptome sequencing of the Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. Unigenes obtained in this study, may help improve future gene expression, genetic and genomics studies in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus.

  8. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-Integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, G.; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A.M.R.

    2014-01-01

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio (PLR) co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying vector autoregressive (VAR) model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an independent and individual distributed (i.i.d.) bootstrap resampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co......-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap resampling scheme, when time-varying behavior is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We...

  9. Effect of an alternate weed host, hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides, on the biology of the two most important potato leafroll virus (Luteoviridae: Polerovirus) vectors, Myzus persicae and Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Aphididae: Homoptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, Rajagopalbabu; Alvarez, Juan M; Bosque-Pérez, Nilsa A; Eigenbrode, Sanford D; Novy, Richard G

    2008-04-01

    Hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides (Sendtner), is a ubiquitous weed in potato agro-ecosystems and nonagricultural lands of southeastern Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. This weed increases the complexity of the Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) (Luteoviridae: Polervirus)-potato pathosystem by serving as aphid and virus reservoir. Previous field studies showed higher densities of green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), the two most important vectors of PLRV, on S. sarrachoides compared with potato plants in the same fields. Some of the S. sarrachoides plants sampled in these surveys tested positive for PLRV. Viral infections can alter the physiology of plant hosts and aphid performance on such plants. To understand better the potential effects of S. sarrachoides on the PLRV-potato-aphid pathosystem, the life histories of M. persicae and M. euphorbiae were compared on virus-free and PLRV-infected S. sarrachoides and potato. Individual nymphs of each aphid species were held in clip cages on plants from each treatment to monitor their development, survival, and reproductive output. Nymphal survival for both aphids across plant species was higher on S. sarrachoides than on potato, and, within plant species, it was higher on PLRV-infected plants than on noninfected plants. With a few exceptions, similar patterns occurred for fecundity, reproductive periods, adult longevity, and intrinsic rate of increase. The enhanced performance of aphids on S. sarrachoides and on PLRV-infected plants could alter the vector population dynamics and thus the PLRV-disease epidemiology in fields infested with this weed.

  10. Effect of the irradiation on Salmonella enteretidis var. typhimurium with gamma rays from 60Co

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maliska, C.; Norberg, A.N.; Norberg, J.B.M.; Santos Souza, R.C. dos; Silva Tavares, P.R. da

    1988-01-01

    The use of ionizinf radiation to the destruction of microrganisms responsible for food deterioration, and productive of feeding toxinfections constitute their usefulness for actually peaceful goals of nuclear energy. The feeding toxinfections are, among us, produced in their most part by Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurim. One hundred nineteen samples of milk containing about 150.000 bacteria per ml, by means doses ranging from 100 to 1.100 gy, two samples of surviving bacteria were again irradiated by doses up to 2.5000 Gy. The bacteria not previously irradiated were throughly killed by means of doses of 1.100 Gy. Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurium was inactivated by means of 1.200 and 1.900 Gy doses. It was concluded that 60-Cobalt gamma radiation minimal lethal dose to Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurium is 1.200 Gy; the re-irradiation to the survivors prompts the forthcoming of more resistant germs. (author) [pt

  11. From In Vivo to In Vitro: Dynamic Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum var Gene Expression Patterns of Patient Isolates during Adaptation to Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yufu; Xue, Xiangyang; Yan, He; Sun, Xiaodong; Wang, Jian; McCutchan, Thomas F.; Pan, Weiqing

    2011-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), encoded by the var gene family, plays a crucial role in disease virulence through its involvement in binding to various host cellular receptors during infection. Growing evidence suggests that differential expression of the various var subgroups may be involved in parasite virulence. To further explore this issue, we have collected isolates from symptomatic patients in south China-Myanmar border, and characterized their sequence diversity and transcription profiles over time of var gene family, and cytoadherence properties from the time of their initial collection and extending through a two month period of adaptation to culture. Initially, we established a highly diverse, DBLα (4 cysteines) subtype-enriched, but unique local repertoire of var-DBL1α sequences by cDNA cloning and sequencing. Next we observed a rapid transcriptional decline of upsA- and upsB-subtype var genes at ring stage through qRT-PCR assays, and a switching event from initial ICAM-I binding to the CD36-binding activity during the first week of adaptive cultivation in vitro. Moreover, predominant transcription of upsA var genes was observed to be correlated with those isolates that showed a higher parasitemia at the time of collection and the ICAM-1-binding phenotype in culture. Taken together, these data indicate that the initial stage of adaptive process in vitro significantly influences the transcription of virulence-related var subtypes and expression of PfEMP1 variants. Further, the specific upregulation of the upsA var genes is likely linked to the rapid propagation of the parasite during natural infection due to the A-type PfEMP1 variant-mediated growth advantages. PMID:21674009

  12. Cardiorespiratory physiological phenotypic plasticity in developing air-breathing anabantid fishes (Betta splendens and Trichopodus trichopterus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendez-Sanchez, Jose F; Burggren, Warren W

    2017-08-01

    Developmental plasticity of cardiorespiratory physiology in response to chronic hypoxia is poorly understood in larval fishes, especially larval air-breathing fishes, which eventually in their development can at least partially "escape" hypoxia through air breathing. Whether the development air breathing makes these larval fishes less or more developmentally plastic than strictly water breathing larval fishes remains unknown. Consequently, developmental plasticity of cardiorespiratory physiology was determined in two air-breathing anabantid fishes ( Betta splendens and Trichopodus trichopterus ). Larvae of both species experienced an hypoxic exposure that mimicked their natural environmental conditions, namely chronic nocturnal hypoxia (12 h at 17 kPa or 14 kPa), with a daily return to diurnal normoxia. Chronic hypoxic exposures were made from hatching through 35 days postfertilization, and opercular and heart rates measured as development progressed. Opercular and heart rates in normoxia were not affected by chronic nocturnal hypoxic. However, routine oxygen consumption M˙O2 (~4  μ mol·O 2 /g per hour in normoxia in larval Betta ) was significantly elevated by chronic nocturnal hypoxia at 17 kPa but not by more severe (14 kPa) nocturnal hypoxia. Routine M˙O2 in Trichopodus (6-7  μ mol·O 2 /g per hour), significantly higher than in Betta , was unaffected by either level of chronic hypoxia. P Crit , the PO 2 at which M˙O2 decreases as ambient PO 2 falls, was measured at 35 dpf, and decreased with increasing chronic hypoxia in Betta , indicating a large, relatively plastic hypoxic tolerance. However, in contrast, P Crit in Trichopodus increased as rearing conditions grew more hypoxic, suggesting that hypoxic acclimation led to lowered hypoxic resistance. Species-specific differences in larval physiological developmental plasticity thus emerge between the relatively closely related Betta and Trichopodus Hypoxic rearing increased hypoxic tolerance in

  13. Weed Hosts of Meloidogyne arenaria and M. incognita Common in Tobacco Fields in South Carolina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedford, E C; Fortnum, B A

    1988-10-01

    Thirty-two weed species common in South Carolina and one cultivar of tobacco were evaluated as hosts of Meloidogyne arenaria race 2 and M. incognita race 3 in the greenhouse. Egg mass production and galling differed (P Eleusine indica, Sorghum halepense, Setaria viridis, Digitaria sanguinalis, and Datura stramonium were poor hosts for M. arenaria. Amaranthus palmeri, Amaranthus hybridus, Chenopodium album, Euphorbia maculata, Setaria lutescens, Vicia villosa, Sida spinosa, Rumex crispus, and Portulaca oleracea were moderate hosts and Ipomoea hederacea var. integriuscula, Xanthium strumarium, Cyperus esculentus, Cynodon dactylon, Paspalum notatum, Eleusine indica, Setaria viridis, and Rumex acetosella were poor hosts for M. incognita. None of the above were good hosts for M. incognita. Tobacco 'PD4' supported large numbers of both nematode species.

  14. Understanding mechanisms of rarity in pteridophytes: competition and climate change threaten the rare fern Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum (Aspleniaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Testo, Weston L; Watkins, James E

    2013-11-01

    Understanding the ecology of rare species can inform aspects of conservation strategies; however, the mechanisms of rarity remain elusive for most pteridophytes, which possess independent and ecologically distinct gametophyte and sporophyte generations. To elucidate factors contributing to recent declines of the rare fern Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum, we studied the ecology and ecophysiology of its gametophyte generation, focusing on responses to competition, temperature, and water stress. Gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum, its widespread European relative A. scolopendrium var. scolopendrium, and five co-occurring fern species were grown from spores. Gametophytes were grown at 20°C and 25°C, and germination rates, intra- and interspecific competition, desiccation tolerance, and sporophyte production were determined for all species. Gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum had the lowest rates of germination and sporophyte production among all species studied and exhibited the greatest sensitivity to interspecific competition, temperature increases, and desiccation. Mature gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum grown at 25°C were 84.6% smaller than those grown at 20°C, and only 1.5% produced sporophytes after 200 d in culture. Similar responses were not observed in other species studied. The recent declines and current status of populations of A. scolopendrium var. americanum are linked to its gametophyte's limited capacity to tolerate competition and physiological stress linked to climate change. This is the first study to develop a mechanistic understanding of rarity and decline in a fern and demonstrates the importance of considering the ecology of the gametophyte in plants with independent sporophyte and gametophyte generations.

  15. Analysis of the relationship between Chalcone Isomerase gene expression level and rutin production in Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidea and F. deltoidea var. angustifolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najid, Najihah Mohd; Zain, Che Radziah Che Mohd; Zainal, Zamri

    2016-11-01

    Ficus deltoidea (moraceae) is a herbal plant with medicinal values. Previous studies reported that the F. deltoidea contains a high level of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids. A cDNA encodes for chalcone isomerase was identified from F. deltoidea, designated as FdCHI, which involved in the isomerization of naringenin chalcone to naringenin. Naringenin is a key branch point for the synthesis of rutin, which is believed involved in defense mechanism in the plant. Therefore, we hypothesized that there might be a direct relationship between FdCHI expression level and rutin production in leaves of F. deltoidea var. deltoidea (FDD) and F. deltoidea var. angustifolia (FDA). Our result showed that expression level of FdCHI in leaves FDD was greater than FDA. Analysis of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) revealed that rutin was only detected in FDA leaves. Based on the results between FdCHI expression and rutin production, this study concluded that there is no relationship between FdCHI expression and rutin production in leaves of FDA and FDD.

  16. Identification of a Major Dimorphic Region in the Functionally Critical N-Terminal ID1 Domain of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doritchamou, Justin; Sabbagh, Audrey; Jespersen, Jakob S

    2015-01-01

    The VAR2CSA protein of Plasmodium falciparum is transported to and expressed on the infected erythrocyte surface where it plays a key role in placental malaria (PM). It is the current leading candidate for a vaccine to prevent PM. However, the antigenic polymorphism integral to VAR2CSA poses...... a challenge for vaccine development. Based on detailed analysis of polymorphisms in the sequence of its ligand-binding N-terminal region, currently the main focus for vaccine development, we assessed var2csa from parasite isolates infecting pregnant women. The results reveal for the first time the presence...

  17. Inflows and their Macroeconomic Impact in India a VAR Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narayan Sethi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study attempts to examine the effects of private foreign capital inflows (FINV on macroeconomic variables in India. The study also examines the trends and composition of capital inflows into India. Using the Vector Autoregression (VAR method, this paper specifically examines effects of private foreign capital inflows (FINV on macroeconomic variables in India. This study is based on the monthly data from 1995:04 to 2011:07 and incorporating the macroeconomic variables such as exchange rate (EXR, inflation, money supply (M3, export (EXPO, import (IMP, foreign exchange reserve (FOREX and economic growth (IIP as proxy of GDP. The important observations emerge from the VAR analysis which shows there is dynamic short and long equilibrium relationship between few macroeconomic variables like exchange rate (EXR, foreign exchange reserve (FOREX, index of industrial production (IIP and money supply (M3 with private foreign capital inflows (FINV during the study period from 1995:04 to 2011:07

  18. Phytoremediation potential of Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana and Pteris vittata L. grown at a highly variable arsenic contaminated site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niazi, Nabeel Khan; Singh, Balwant; Van Zwieten, Lukas; Kachenko, Anthony George

    2011-10-01

    This study examined the phytoextraction potential of two arsenic (As) hyperaccumulators, Pteris vittata L. and Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana at a historical As-contaminated cattle dip site in northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Total As concentration in the surface soil (0-20 cm) showed a better spatial structure than phosphate-extractable As in the surface and sub-surface soil at this site. P. calomelanos var. austroamericana produced greater frond dry biomass (mean = 130 g plant(-1)) than P. vittata (mean = 81 g plant(-1)) after 10 months of growth. Arsenic concentration and uptake in fronds were also significantly higher in P. calomelanos var. austroamericana (means = 887 mg kg(-1) and 124 mg plant(-1)) than in P. vittata (means = 674 mg kg(-1) and 57 mg plant(-1)). Our results showed that under the field conditions and highly variable soil As at the site, P. calomelanos var. austroamericana performed better than P. vittata. We predict that P. calomelanos var. austroamericana would take approximately 100 years to reduce the total As to below 20 mg kg(-1) at the site compared to > or =200 years estimated for P. vittata. However, long-term data are required to confirm these observations under field conditions.

  19. Screening of some biological activities of Alyssum fulvescens var. fulvescens known as ege madwort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozay, Cennet; Mammadov, Ramazan

    2017-09-01

    In this research, the phenolic composition, antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic extracts obtained from Alyssum fulvescens var. fulvescens aerial parts known as Ege kuduzotu in western Turkey, were firstly investigated. The antioxidant activity of the extract was determined by DPPH, metal chelating, phosphomolybdenum, β-carotene/linoleic acid and ferric reducing power assays. Moreover, total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the extract were investigated. The brine shrimp (Artemia salina L.) lethality test was used to investigate for the possible cytotoxic activity of the extract. Microdilution broth method was used to study antibacterial potency of extract against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The extract exhibited good biological activities. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the extract were significantly correlated with antioxidant potentials. HPLC analysis showed that chlorogenic acid was the major phenolic in extract tested. The results indicated that the extract of A. fulvescens var. fulvescens may be considered as a potential source of biological agents and in vivo investigations are needed to test the biological effects of A. fulvescens var. fulvescens.

  20. AFLP analysis of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon genetic variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Y Q; Taliaferro, C M; Bai, G H; Anderson, M P

    2004-08-01

    Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon (common bermudagrass) is geographically widely distributed between about lat 45 degrees N and lat 45 degrees S, penetrating to about lat 53 degrees N in Europe. The extensive variation of morphological and adaptive characteristics of the taxon is substantially documented, but information is lacking on DNA molecular variation in geographically disparate forms. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess molecular genetic variation and genetic relatedness among 28 C. dactylon var. dactylon accessions originating from 11 countries on 4 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe). A fluorescence-labeled amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) DNA profiling method was used to detect the genetic diversity and relatedness. On the basis of 443 polymorphic AFLP fragments from 8 primer combinations, the accessions were grouped into clusters and subclusters associating with their geographic origins. Genetic similarity coefficients (SC) for the 28 accessions ranged from 0.53 to 0.98. Accessions originating from Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe formed major groupings as indicated by cluster and principal coordinate analysis. Accessions from Australia and Asia, though separately clustered, were relatively closely related and most distantly related to accessions of European origin. African accessions formed two distant clusters and had the greatest variation in genetic relatedness relative to accessions from other geographic regions. Sampling the full extent of genetic variation in C. dactylon var. dactylon would require extensive germplasm collection in the major geographic regions of its distributional range.

  1. Hidrocefalia conseqüente à varíola incidindo no período fetal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilberto Machado de Almeida

    1964-09-01

    Full Text Available A partir de 1941, muito tem sido escrito a respeito da possibilidade de que uma infecção, incidindo em gestante, determine malformação. O papel da rubéola como causa de embriopatias está comprovado; entretanto, não há, até agora, demonstração cabal de que outras viroses também as determinem. No que diz respeito à possibilidade de existir embriopatia causada por varíola, encontramos apenas o caso de Jellife, para o qual esta etiologia foi sugerida. Com relação às malformações causadas por fetopatias, a toxoplasmose e a citomegalia constituem as únicas bem estudadas e caracterizadas. Morquio, em 1903, registrou três pacientes hidrocefálicos para os quais a etiologia variólica é sugerida; êste trabalho não foi citado na literatura ulterior. A possibilidade de a varíola atingir o feto, determinando hidrocefalia, não foi mais referida, se bem que seja relativamente numerosa a bibliografia a respeito das conseqüências desta virose quando incide durante a gravidez. Dentre 450 pacientes hidrocefálicas que tivemos a oportunidade de examinar, encontramos 15 nos quais pôde ser demonstrado que a varíola, incidindo após o quarto mês de gestação, atingiu o feto determinando fetopatia cujo elemento mais característico foi a hidrocefalia. O quadro clínico e anátomo-patológico apresentado por êstes doentes tem algumas características semelhantes às encontradas em casos de citomegalia e toxoplasmose. O estudo dêstes pacientes e da literatura correlata permitiu chegar às seguintes conclusões: 1. A varíola incidindo em gestante, nos dois últimos trimestres da gravidez, pode atingir o feto determinando lesões encefálicas graves e hidrocefalia. 2. Nos casos de crianças que apresentam sinais de hidrocefalia deve ser indagada a ocorrência de doença eruptiva materna, varíola em particular, durante a gestação. Mesmo quando se trate de mães imunes à varíola por vacinação ou por moléstia anterior e que n

  2. winged eye Induces Transdetermination of Drosophila Imaginal Disc by Acting in Concert with a Histone Methyltransferase, Su(var3-9

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keita Masuko

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Drosophila imaginal disc cells exhibit a remarkable ability to convert cell fates in response to various perturbations, a phenomenon called transdetermination (TD. We previously identified winged eye (wge as a factor that induces eye-to-wing TD upon overexpression in eye imaginal discs, but the molecular mechanisms underlying TD have remained largely unclear. Here, we found that wge induces various histone modifications and enhances the methylation of Lys9 on histone H3 (H3K9, a feature of heterochromatin. A histone methyltransferase, Su(var3-9, is required for wge-mediated H3K9 methylation and eye-to-wing TD. Su(var3-9 is also required for classical wound-induced TD but not for normal development, suggesting its involvement in several types of imaginal disc TDs. Transcriptome analysis revealed that wge represses eye identity genes independently of Su(var3-9 and activates TD-related genes by acting together with Su(var3-9. These findings provide new insights into diverse types of chromatin regulation at progressive steps of cell-fate conversions. : Drosophila imaginal discs switch disc identity by a process known as transdetermination. Masuko et al. demonstrate that expression of the winged eye gene induces transdetermination through histone modifications such as H3K9-methylation. winged eye regulates expression of transdetermination-related genes via a histone methyltransferase, Su(var3-9. Keywords: Drosophila, imaginal disc, transdetermination, heterochromatin, cell fate, winged eye, reprogramming, Su(var3-9

  3. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Giuseppe; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A.M.Robert

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio [PLR] co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying VAR model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an i.i.d. bootstrap re-sampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate...... the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap re-sampling scheme, when time-varying behaviour is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We show that the bootstrap PLR tests are asymptotically correctly sized and...

  4. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-Integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Giuseppe; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A. M. Robert

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio [PLR] co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying VAR model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an i.i.d. bootstrap re-sampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate...... the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap re-sampling scheme, when time-varying behaviour is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We show that the bootstrap PLR tests are asymptotically correctly sized and...

  5. Yunis-Varón syndrome caused by biallelic VAC14 mutations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lines, Matthew A.; Ito, Yoko; Kernohan, Kristin D.; Mears, Wendy; Hurteau-Miller, Julie; Venkateswaran, Sunita; Ward, Leanne; Khatchadourian, Karine; McClintock, Jeff; Bhola, Priya; Campeau, Philippe M.; Boycott, Kym M.; Michaud, Jean; van Kuilenburg, André Bp; Ferdinandusse, Sacha; Dyment, David A.

    2017-01-01

    Yunis-Varón syndrome (YVS) is an autosomal recessive disorder comprising skeletal anomalies, dysmorphism, global developmental delay and intracytoplasmic vacuolation in brain and other tissues. All hitherto-reported pathogenic variants affect FIG4, a lipid phosphatase involved in

  6. Interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, and backcross of Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with B. rapa var. purpurea morphologically recapitulate the evolution of Brassica vegetables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaohui; Liu, Tongjin; Li, Xixiang; Duan, Mengmeng; Wang, Jinglei; Qiu, Yang; Wang, Haiping; Song, Jiangping; Shen, Di

    2016-01-04

    Brassica oleracea and B. rapa are two important vegetable crops. Both are composed of dozens of subspecies encompassing hundreds of varieties and cultivars. Synthetic B. napus with these two plants has been used extensively as a research model for the investigation of allopolyploid evolution. However, the mechanism underlying the explosive evolution of hundreds of varieties of B. oleracea and B. rapa within a short period is poorly understood. In the present study, interspecific hybridization between B. oleracea var. alboglabra and B. rapa var. purpurea was performed. The backcross progeny displayed extensive morphological variation, including some individuals that phenocopied subspecies other than their progenitors. Numerous interesting novel phenotypes and mutants were identified among the backcross progeny. The chromosomal recombination between the A and C genomes and the chromosomal asymmetric segregation were revealed using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers. These findings provide direct evidence in support of the hypothesis that interspecific hybridization and backcrossing have played roles in the evolution of the vast variety of vegetables among these species and suggest that combination of interspecific hybridization and backcrossing may facilitate the development of new mutants and novel phenotypes for both basic research and the breeding of new vegetable crops.

  7. The Advantages of Hybrid 4DEnVar in the Context of the Forecast Sensitivity to Initial Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hyo-Jong; Shin, Seoleun; Ha, Ji-Hyun; Lim, Sujeong

    2017-11-01

    Hybrid four-dimensional ensemble variational data assimilation (hybrid 4DEnVar) is a prospective successor to three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVar) in operational weather prediction centers currently developing a new weather prediction model and those that do not operate adjoint models. In experiments using real observations, hybrid 4DEnVar improved Northern Hemisphere (NH; 20°N-90°N) 500 hPa geopotential height forecasts up to 5 days in a NH summer month compared to 3DVar, with statistical significance. This result is verified against ERA-Interim through a Monte Carlo test. By a regression analysis, the sensitivity of 5 day forecast is associated with the quality of the initial condition. The increased analysis skill for midtropospheric midlatitude temperature and subtropical moisture has the most apparent effect on forecast skill in the NH including a typhoon prediction case. Through attributing the analysis improvements by hybrid 4DEnVar separately to the ensemble background error covariance (BEC), its four-dimensional (4-D) extension, and climatological BEC, it is revealed that the ensemble BEC contributes to the subtropical moisture analysis, whereas the 4-D extension does to the midtropospheric midlatitude temperature. This result implies that hourly wind-mass correlation in 6 h analysis window is required to extract the potential of hybrid 4DEnVar for the midlatitude temperature analysis to the maximum. However, the temporal ensemble correlation, in hourly time scale, between moisture and another variable is invalid so that it could not work for improving the hybrid 4DEnVar analysis.

  8. The Drosophila Su(var)3-7 gene is required for oogenesis and female fertility, genetically interacts with piwi and aubergine, but impacts only weakly transposon silencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basquin, Denis; Spierer, Anne; Begeot, Flora; Koryakov, Dmitry E; Todeschini, Anne-Laure; Ronsseray, Stéphane; Vieira, Cristina; Spierer, Pierre; Delattre, Marion

    2014-01-01

    Heterochromatin is made of repetitive sequences, mainly transposable elements (TEs), the regulation of which is critical for genome stability. We have analyzed the role of the heterochromatin-associated Su(var)3-7 protein in Drosophila ovaries. We present evidences that Su(var)3-7 is required for correct oogenesis and female fertility. It accumulates in heterochromatic domains of ovarian germline and somatic cells nuclei, where it co-localizes with HP1. Homozygous mutant females display ovaries with frequent degenerating egg-chambers. Absence of Su(var)3-7 in embryos leads to defects in meiosis and first mitotic divisions due to chromatin fragmentation or chromosome loss, showing that Su(var)3-7 is required for genome integrity. Females homozygous for Su(var)3-7 mutations strongly impair repression of P-transposable element induced gonadal dysgenesis but have minor effects on other TEs. Su(var)3-7 mutations reduce piRNA cluster transcription and slightly impact ovarian piRNA production. However, this modest piRNA reduction does not correlate with transposon de-silencing, suggesting that the moderate effect of Su(var)3-7 on some TE repression is not linked to piRNA production. Strikingly, Su(var)3-7 genetically interacts with the piwi and aubergine genes, key components of the piRNA pathway, by strongly impacting female fertility without impairing transposon silencing. These results lead us to propose that the interaction between Su(var)3-7 and piwi or aubergine controls important developmental processes independently of transposon silencing.

  9. Euphorbia tirucalli L.-comprehensive characterization of a drought tolerant plant with a potential as biofuel source.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernadetta Rina Hastilestari

    Full Text Available Of late, decrease in mineral oil supplies has stimulated research on use of biomass as an alternative energy source. Climate change has brought problems such as increased drought and erratic rains. This, together with a rise in land degeneration problems with concomitant loss in soil fertility has inspired the scientific world to look for alternative bio-energy species. Euphorbia tirucalli L., a tree with C3/CAM metabolism in leaves/stem, can be cultivated on marginal, arid land and could be a good alternative source of biofuel. We analyzed a broad variety of E. tirucalli plants collected from different countries for their genetic diversity using AFLP. Physiological responses to induced drought stress were determined in a number of genotypes by monitoring growth parameters and influence on photosynthesis. For future breeding of economically interesting genotypes, rubber content and biogas production were quantified. Cluster analysis shows that the studied genotypes are divided into two groups, African and mostly non-African genotypes. Different genotypes respond significantly different to various levels of water. Malate measurement indicates that there is induction of CAM in leaves following drought stress. Rubber content varies strongly between genotypes. An investigation of the biogas production capacities of six E. tirucalli genotypes reveals biogas yields higher than from rapeseed but lower than maize silage.

  10. Phenyl ethers from cultured lichen mycobionts of Graphis scripta var. serpentina and G. rikuzensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takenaka, Yukiko; Tanahashi, Takao; Nagakura, Naotaka; Hamada, Nobuo

    2003-07-01

    Spore-derived mycobionts of the lichen Graphis scripta var. serpentina and G. rikuzensis were cultivated on a malt-yeast extract medium supplemented with 10% sucrose and their metabolites were investigated. 3,3'-Dihydroxy-5,5'-dimethyldiphenyl ether was isolated from the cultures of the mycobionts of G. scripta var. serpentina, while a new phenyl ether, rikuzenol, along with two known diphenyl ethers, violaceol-I and violaceol-II, were isolated from those of G. rikuzensis. The structure of the new compound was determined by spectroscopic methods. Violaceol-I was chemically synthesized and interconversion between violaceol-I and violaceol-II was proven.

  11. Anti-U-like as an alloantibody in S-s-U- and S-s-U+(var) black people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peyrard, Thierry; Lam, Yin; Saison, Carole; Arnaud, Lionel; Babinet, Jérôme; Rouger, Philippe; Bierling, Philippe; Janvier, Daniel

    2012-03-01

    S, s, and U antigens belong to the MNS system. They are carried by glycophorin B (GPB), encoded by GYPB. Black people with the low-prevalence S-s- phenotype, either U- or U+(var), can make a clinically significant anti-U. Anti-U-like, a cold immunoglobulin G autoantibody quite commonly observed in S-s+U+ black persons, was previously described to be nonreactive with ficin-, α-chymotrypsin-, and pronase-treated red blood cells (RBCs); nonreactive or weakly reactive with papain-treated RBCs; and reactive with trypsin-treated RBCs. Here we describe, in S-s- people from different molecular backgrounds, an alloantibody to a high-prevalence GPB antigen, which presents the same pattern of reactivity with proteases as autoanti-U-like. Four S-s- patients with an alloantibody to a high-prevalence GPB antigen were investigated by serologic and molecular methods. An alloantibody was observed in two S-s-U-/Del GYPB, one S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(P2), and one S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(NY) patients. As this alloantibody showed the same pattern of reactivity with proteases as autoanti-U-like, we decided to name it "anti-U-like." Anti-U-like made by the two S-s-U- patients was reactive with the S-s-U+(var) RBCs of the two other patients. S-s-U-/Del GYPB, S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(P2), and S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(NY) patients can make an alloanti-U-like. Anti-U-like made by S-s-U- people appears reactive with GYPB(P2) and GYPB(NY) RBCs, which both express a weak and partial U-like reactivity. We recommend transfusing S-s-U- RBCs in S-s-U- patients showing alloanti-U-like. Our study contributes to a better understanding of alloimmunization to GPB in black people and confirms importance of genotyping in S-s- patients, especially those with sickle cell disease to be frequently transfused. © 2011 American Association of Blood Banks.

  12. Equisetum hyemale L. var. affine (Engelm.) A.A. Eaton in Schoorl

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Swolfs, Aart G.

    1996-01-01

    A giant form of the Northamerican Equisetum hyemale var. affine has been planted a decade ago near the coast, where it has naturalized since. It is suggested that other Northamerican introductions of this extremely variable taxon may have remained unnoticed.

  13. Homology blocks of Plasmodium falciparum var genes and clinically distinct forms of severe malaria in a local population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rorick, Mary M; Rask, Thomas S; Baskerville, Edward B; Day, Karen P; Pascual, Mercedes

    2013-11-06

    The primary target of the human immune response to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), is encoded by the members of the hyper-diverse var gene family. The parasite exhibits antigenic variation via mutually exclusive expression (switching) of the ~60 var genes within its genome. It is thought that different variants exhibit different host endothelial binding preferences that in turn result in different manifestations of disease. Var sequences comprise ancient sequence fragments, termed homology blocks (HBs), that recombine at exceedingly high rates. We use HBs to define distinct var types within a local population. We then reanalyze a dataset that contains clinical and var expression data to investigate whether the HBs allow for a description of sequence diversity corresponding to biological function, such that it improves our ability to predict disease phenotype from parasite genetics. We find that even a generic set of HBs, which are defined for a small number of non-local parasites: capture the majority of local sequence diversity; improve our ability to predict disease severity from parasite genetics; and reveal a previously hypothesized yet previously unobserved parasite genetic basis for two forms of severe disease. We find that the expression rates of some HBs correlate more strongly with severe disease phenotypes than the expression rates of classic var DBLα tag types, and principal components of HB expression rate profiles further improve genotype-phenotype models. More specifically, within the large Kenyan dataset that is the focus of this study, we observe that HB expression differs significantly for severe versus mild disease, and for rosetting versus impaired consciousness associated severe disease. The analysis of a second much smaller dataset from Mali suggests that these HB-phenotype associations are consistent across geographically distant populations, since we find evidence suggesting

  14. Development and detection efficiency of sequence characterized amplified region markers for authentication of medicinal plant Ruta graveolens and its adulterant Euphorbia dracunculoides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irum Gul

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: With the increase in demand of herbal medicines, adulteration in these drugs is also gaining momentum and remains an indispensable problem in domestic and export markets. Correct identification is the first step toward assuring quality, safety, and efficacy of indigenous herbal medicines. Materials and Methods: In this study, sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR markers were developed to discriminate Ruta graveolens from its adulterant Euphorbia dracunculoides. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD was performed and subsequently converted into SCAR markers. Results: After performing RAPD, SCAR primers were designed from the selected unique RAPD amplicons of the genuine drug as well as its adulterant. These primers produced 670 bp and 750 bp SCAR markers with genomic DNA sample of R. graveolens and E. dracunculoides, respectively. Conclusion: Development of these markers will help in the quality control of herbal drugs and monitoring widespread adulteration of these drugs by pharmaceutical industries and government agencies.

  15. Fiscal developments and financial stress: a threshold VAR analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Afonso, A.; Baxa, Jaromír; Slavík, M.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 54, č. 2 (2018), s. 395-423 ISSN 0377-7332 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP402/12/G097 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Fiscal policy * Financial markets * Threshold VAR Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Applied Economic s, Econometrics Impact factor: 0.645, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2018/E/baxa-0488303.pdf

  16. Neuroprotective effect of Cucumis melo Var. flexuosus leaf extract on the brains of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Doaa S

    2017-02-01

    The central nervous system is one of the most vulnerable organs affected by the oxidative stress associated with diabetes mellitus. Healthy food provides an important source for antioxidants. Therefore, the protective effect of Cucumis melo var. flexuosus (C. melo var. flexuosus) leaf extract on the brains of diabetic rats was investigated. Adult male albino rats divided into 5 groups of 6 rats each were assigned into a normal control group and four diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced in rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg bw). One of the four diabetic groups was left untreated and was considered as a diabetic control group while the three other groups were treated with C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract at the doses of 30, 60 and 120 mg/kg bw for a period of 30 days. After completion of experimental duration plasma and brains were used for evaluating biochemical changes. The obtained data showed that C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract treatment lowered blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, brain tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin levels, brain malondialdehyde content and caspase-3 activity. Furthermore, the treatment resulted in a marked increase in plasma dopamine, melatonin, brain vascular endothelial growth factor-A levels, brain catalase and superoxide dismutase activities. From the present study, it can be concluded that the C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract exerts a neuroprotective effect against oxidative damage associated with diabetes.

  17. VarWalker: personalized mutation network analysis of putative cancer genes from next-generation sequencing data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Peilin; Zhao, Zhongming

    2014-02-01

    A major challenge in interpreting the large volume of mutation data identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is to distinguish driver mutations from neutral passenger mutations to facilitate the identification of targetable genes and new drugs. Current approaches are primarily based on mutation frequencies of single-genes, which lack the power to detect infrequently mutated driver genes and ignore functional interconnection and regulation among cancer genes. We propose a novel mutation network method, VarWalker, to prioritize driver genes in large scale cancer mutation data. VarWalker fits generalized additive models for each sample based on sample-specific mutation profiles and builds on the joint frequency of both mutation genes and their close interactors. These interactors are selected and optimized using the Random Walk with Restart algorithm in a protein-protein interaction network. We applied the method in >300 tumor genomes in two large-scale NGS benchmark datasets: 183 lung adenocarcinoma samples and 121 melanoma samples. In each cancer, we derived a consensus mutation subnetwork containing significantly enriched consensus cancer genes and cancer-related functional pathways. These cancer-specific mutation networks were then validated using independent datasets for each cancer. Importantly, VarWalker prioritizes well-known, infrequently mutated genes, which are shown to interact with highly recurrently mutated genes yet have been ignored by conventional single-gene-based approaches. Utilizing VarWalker, we demonstrated that network-assisted approaches can be effectively adapted to facilitate the detection of cancer driver genes in NGS data.

  18. Infections with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy affect VAR2CSA DBL-5 domain-specific T cell cytokine responses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gbédandé, Komi; Cottrell, Gilles; Vianou, Bertin

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Current knowledge of human immunological responses to pregnancy-associated malaria-specific Plasmodium falciparum protein VAR2CSA concerns almost exclusively B cell-driven antibody-mediated activity. Knowledge of VAR2CSA-specific T cell-mediated activity is minimal by comparison, with...

  19. Controlling liquid pool depth in VAR of a 21.6 cm diameter ingot of Alloy 718

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Felipe; Beaman, Joseph; Williamson, Rodney; Taleff, Eric; Watt, Trevor

    It is believed that the final microstructure in vacuum arc remelted (VAR) ingots is strongly influenced by the molten metal pool profile. Thus, if the pool profile was properly controlled during the melt then defect-free microstructures would be obtained. The recent development of a reduced-order model of VAR solidification allowed the design of a pool depth controller to accomplish this task. The controller used a linear quadratic regulator and a Kalman filter to stabilize the melt pool solidification front under the effect of uncertain process dynamics and noisy measurements. Basic Axisymmetric Remelting (BAR), a high-fidelity VAR ingot model, was used in real time to provide pool depth measurements that were incorporated in the control loop. The controller was tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory in a 21.6 diameter Alloy 718 ingot. Details of the controller design will be presented, along with comparisons to experimentally-measured pool depths.

  20. Resistence of Euphorbia Heterophylla L. to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in soybean Resistência de Euphorbia Heterophylla L. aos herbicidas inibidores da ALS na cultura da soja

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerson Augusto Gelmini

    2005-10-01

    Full Text Available Herbicides are widely used in soybean for weed control, and the selection pressure attributed to the repeated use of herbicides with similar modes of action on the same site has caused selection for resistant biotypes within and among previously susceptible species, such as Euphorbia heterophylla L., in relation to ALS enzyme inhibitors, in the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo, Brazil. Seeds of E. heterophylla were collected to examine possible new cases of resistant populations and to test alternative herbicide treatments to manage these populations, in the Caarapó region, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in areas where plants of this species have survived continuous herbicide applications. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, where biotypes with a history of suspected resistance were compared with a known susceptible biotype. Several post-emergence herbicides were sprayed at zero, one, two, four, and eight times the recommended field application rates. Twenty days after application, plants were harvested, and control percentage and fresh weight were determined to establish dose-response curves, in the aim to obtain the resistance factor using CD50 and RD50 data. The chlorimuron-ethyl resistance factor values for the control percentage and fresh weight parameters were higher than 16.5 and 16.9, respectively, while imazethapyr showed resistance factors higher than 25.0 and 23.5, respectively. The resistant biotype showed different resistance levels to chlorimuron-ethyl and imazethapyr, showing cross-resistance to the sulfonylurea and imidazolinone groups. Nevertheless, this biotype was effectively controlled by fomesafen (250 g ha-1, lactofen (120 g ha-1, flumiclorac-pentyl (40 g ha-1, glufosinate-ammonium (150 g ha-1, and glyphosate (360 g ha-1.Os herbicidas constituem a principal medida de controle de plantas daninhas na cultura da soja, mas através da pressão de seleção, o uso contínuo e

  1. Kipling var racist og sexist. Men værd at læse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Michael

    2017-01-01

    For over 100 år siden fik Rudyard Kipling Nobelprisen i Litteratur. Han var særdeles alsidig. Han skrev både digte, noveller og bøger, og han skrev både for børn, teenagere og voksne. Han skrev krigsdigte, han skrev digte, der hyldede erhvervslivet, han skrev digte for at fremme bedre pensioner t...... gamle soldater, og han skrev digte til børn. Også hans bøger var meget varierede. I dag er det vel hovedsagelig ' Junglebogen', som unge mennesker kender Kipling for, og det udelukkende på grund af Disney-filmen. Kiplings ry faldt umådeligt efter hans død...

  2. The design and performance of Static Var Compensators for particle accelerators

    CERN Document Server

    Kahle, Karsten; Genton, Charles-Mathieu

    2015-01-01

    Particle accelerators, and in particular synchrotrons, represent large cycling non-linear loads connected to the electrical distribution network. This paper discusses the typical design and performance of Static Var Compensators (SVCs) to obtain the excellent power quality levels required for particle accelerator operation.

  3. Identification and characterization of the Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 histone H3K9 trimethyltransferase and its effect in AcMNPV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Binbin; Li, Sisi; Yin, Juan; Zhong, Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Histone H3-lysine(9) (H3K9) trimethyltransferase gene Su(var) 3-9 was cloned and identified in three Spodoptera insects, Spodopterafrugiperda (S. frugiperda), S. exigua and S. litura. Sequence analysis showed that Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 is highly conserved evolutionarily. Su(var) 3-9 protein was found to be localized in the nucleus in Sf9 cells, and interact with histone H3, and the heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a) and HP1b. A dose-dependent enzymatic activity was found at both 27 °C and 37 °C in vitro, with higher activity at 27 °C. Addition of specific inhibitor chaetocin resulted in decreased histone methylation level and host chromatin relaxation. In contrast, overexpression of Su(var) 3-9 caused increased histone methylation level and cellular genome compaction. In AcMNV-infected Sf9 cells, the transcription of Su(var) 3-9 increased at late time of infection, although the mRNA levels of most cellular genes decreased. Pre-treatment of Sf9 cells with chaetocin speeded up viral DNA replication, and increased the transcription level of a variety of virus genes, whereas in Sf9 cells pre-transformed with Su(var) 3-9 expression vector, viral DNA replication slow down slightly. These findings suggest that Su(var) 3-9 might participate in the viral genes expression an genome replication repression during AcMNPV infection. It provided a new insight for the understanding virus-host interaction mechanism.

  4. Comparative study of the conformational lock, dissociative thermal inactivation and stability of euphorbia latex and lentil seedling amine oxidases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amani, M; Moosavi-Movahedi, A A; Floris, G; Longu, S; Mura, A; Moosavi-Nejad, S Z; Saboury, A A; Ahmad, F

    2005-04-01

    The thermal stability of copper/quinone containing amine oxidases from Euphorbia characias latex (ELAO) and lentil seedlings (LSAO) was measured in 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) following changes in absorbance at 292 nm. ELAO was shown to be about 10 degrees C more stable than LSAO. The dissociative thermal inactivation of ELAO was studied using putrescine as substrate at different temperatures in the range 47-70 degrees C, and a "conformational lock" was developed using the theory pertaining to oligomeric enzyme. Moreover ELAO was shown to be more stable towards denaturants than LSAO, as confirmed by dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide denaturation curves. A comparison of the numbers of contact sites in inter-subunits of ELAO relative to LSAO led us to conclude that the higher stability of ELAO to temperature and towards denaturants was due to the presence of larger number of contact sites in the conformational lock of the enzyme. This study also gives a putative common mechanism for thermal inactivation of amine oxidases and explains the importance of C-terminal conserved amino acids residues in this class of enzymes.

  5. Analysis of Budget Deficits and Macroeconomic Fundamentals: A VAR-VECM Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manamba Epaphra

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim/purpose - This paper examines the relationship between budget deficits and selected macroeconomic variables in Tanzania for the period spanning from 1966 to 2015. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses Vector autoregression (VAR - Vector Error Correction Model (VECM and variance decomposition techniques. The Johansen's test is applied to examine the long run relationship among the variables under study. Findings - The Johansen's test of cointegration indicates that the variables are cointegrated and thus have a long run relationship. The results based on the VAR-VECM estimation show that real GDP and exchange rate have a negative and significant relationship with budget deficit whereas inflation, money supply and lending interest rate have a positive one. Variance decomposition results show that variances in the budget deficits are mostly explained by the real GDP, followed by inflation and real exchange rate. Research implications/limitations - Results are very indicative, but highlight the importance of containing inflation and money supply to check their effects on budget deficits over the short run and long-run periods. Also, policy recommendation calls for fiscal authorities in Tanzania to adopt efficient and effective methods of tax collection and public sector spending. Originality/value/contribution - Tanzania has been experiencing budget deficit since the 1970s and that this budget deficit has been blamed for high indebtedness, inflation and poor investment and growth. The paper contributes to the empirical debate on the causal relationship between budget deficits and macroeconomic variables by employing VAR-VECM and variance decomposition approaches.

  6. LA REPÚBLICA DEL ORDEN: SIMÓN BOLÍVAR, ANDRÉS BELLO Y LAS TRANSFORMACIONES DEL PENSAMIENTO POLÍTICO DE LA INDEPENDENCIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IVÁN JAKSIC

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores the relationship between Andrés Bello and Simón Bolívar, arguing that their history of friendship and misunderstandings had a profound impact on Bello's decision to come to Chile. It is furthermore argued that Bello would have avoided any references to Bolívar had it not been for the allegations, aired in the press, that he had betrayed the Libertador. However, in the process of responding to the accusations, he conveyed a view of Bolívar that fit well with his own desire to promote the rule of law in Chile and beyond. It is not coincidental, then, that he transmitted highly negative views of Bolívar at the same time that he was about to launch the Civil Code. The essay concludes by suggesting that Bolívar and Bello represent two different perspectives on post-independence republicanism, one informed by classical sources, and the other drawing on emerging liberal views on the centrality of civil legislation for the consolidation of the new order in the continent.

  7. Llama immunization with full-length VAR2CSA generates cross-reactive and inhibitory single-domain antibodies against the DBL1X domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes-Silva, Sofia; Gangnard, Stéphane; Vidal, Marta; Vuchelen, Anneleen; Dechavanne, Sebastien; Chan, Sherwin; Pardon, Els; Steyaert, Jan; Ramboarina, Stephanie; Chêne, Arnaud; Gamain, Benoît

    2014-12-09

    VAR2CSA stands today as the leading vaccine candidate aiming to protect future pregnant women living in malaria endemic areas against the severe clinical outcomes of pregnancy associated malaria (PAM). The rational design of an efficient VAR2CSA-based vaccine relies on a profound understanding of the molecular interactions associated with P. falciparum infected erythrocyte sequestration in the placenta. Following immunization of a llama with the full-length VAR2CSA recombinant protein, we have expressed and characterized a panel of 19 nanobodies able to recognize the recombinant VAR2CSA as well as the surface of erythrocytes infected with parasites originating from different parts of the world. Domain mapping revealed that a large majority of nanobodies targeted DBL1X whereas a few of them were directed towards DBL4ε, DBL5ε and DBL6ε. One nanobody targeting the DBL1X was able to recognize the native VAR2CSA protein of the three parasite lines tested. Furthermore, four nanobodies targeting DBL1X reproducibly inhibited CSA adhesion of erythrocytes infected with the homologous NF54-CSA parasite strain, providing evidences that DBL1X domain is part or close to the CSA binding site. These nanobodies could serve as useful tools to identify conserved epitopes shared between different variants and to characterize the interactions between VAR2CSA and CSA.

  8. De novo characterization of the Iris lactea var. chinensis transcriptome and an analysis of genes under cadmium or lead exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Chun-Sun; Liu, Liang-Qin; Deng, Yan-Ming; Zhang, Yong-Xia; Wang, Zhi-Quan; Yuan, Hai-Yan; Huang, Su-Zhen

    2017-10-01

    Iris lactea var. chinensis (I. lactea var. chinensis) is tolerant to accumulations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). In this study, the transcriptome of I. lactea var. chinensis was investigated under Cd or Pb stresses. Using the gene ontology database, 31,974 unigenes were classified into biological process, cellular component and molecular function. In total, 13,132 unigenes were involved in enriched Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways, and the expression levels of 5904 unigenes were significantly changed after exposure to Cd or Pb stresses. Of these, 974 were co-up-regulated and 1281 were co-down-regulated under the two stresses. The transcriptome expression profiles of I. lactea var. chinensis under Cd or Pb stresses obtained in this study provided a resource for identifying common mechanisms in the detoxification of different heavy metals. Furthermore, the identified unigenes may be used for the genetic breeding of heavy-metal tolerant plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Methods for Detection of Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi on Raspberry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjana Koprivica

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi (Wilcox & Duncan, a causal agent of raspberry root rot, is a serious soil-borne pathogen listed by EPPO as an A2 quarantine pest. Root samples were collected from badly diseased raspberry plants showing a variety of characteristic and often dramatic symptoms during surveys carried out in western Serbia in 2002. Identification of the causal agent was performed in collaboration work with the Scottish Crop Research Institute (S.C.R.I., Dundee, UK. Necrotic roots were plated on selective French bean agar (incorporating ampicilin, ryfamicin, bavistin and hymexasol. Detection of isolates was based on cultural and morphological features compared with referent cultures. DNA was extracted directly from the sampled roots using extraction buffer (200 mM Tris- HCl pH 8.5, 250 mM NaCl, 25 mM EDTA, 0.5% SDS, purified by multi spin separation columns [Thistle Scientific (Axygen] or in 24:1 mixture of chlorophorm- iso-amyl alcohol and amplified by nested PCR (ITS4 and DC6 for first round, DC1and DC5 for second round. Diluted DNA extracts were also amplified by conventional PCR with modified ”universal” Phytophthora primers (ITS 6, ITS 7 and ITS 8, Cooke et al., 2000 and digested with Msp1. Digestion patterns of the universal primers PCR product from infected roots matched those of Scottish strains. P. fragariae var. rubi occured on 8 out of 14 sites. Our results indicate that nested PCR (ITS4 and DC6 for first round, DC1 and DC5 for second round or digestion of the ”universal” Phytophthora primers PCR product for detection of P. fragariae var. rubi are more sensitive and less time-consuming and therefore recommended for use.

  10. Simón Bolívar's Republic: a bulwark against the "Tyranny" of the Majority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Helg

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Based on Bolívar's speeches, decrees, and correspondence as well as on Gran Colombia's constitutions and laws, this essay examines the tensions within Bolívar's vision of Venezuela's and New Granada's society produced by his republican, yet authoritarian and hierarchical ideas, his concern for keeping the lower classes of African descent in check, and his denial of Indian agency. It shows that even in Peru, Bolívar's main concern was to prevent the racial war and social disintegration that allegedly slaves and free Afro-descended people would bring to the newly independent nations. To prevent such an outcome, he advocated all along legal equality through the abolition of the colonial privileges and, since mid-1816, the abolition of slavery, but simultaneously the preservation of the monopole of power by the white creole elite. He secured the perpetuation of the socioracial hierarchy inherited from Spain by a two-edged citizenship: an active citizenship restricted to a tiny literate and skilled minority and an inactive citizenship for the immense majority of (mostly nonwhite men.

  11. Tamarix arborea var. arborea and Tamarix parviflora: Two species valued for their adaptability to stress conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grisafi, Francesca; Oddo, Elisabetta; Gargano, Maria Letizia; Inzerillo, Simone; Russo, Gianni; Venturella, Giuseppe

    2016-03-01

    The choice of stress resistant and highly adaptable species is a fundamental step for landscaping and ornamental purposes in arid and coastal environments such as those in the Mediterranean basin. The genus Tamarix L. includes about 90 species with a high endurance of adversity. We investigated the water relations and photosynthetic response of Tamarix arborea (Sieb. ex Ehrenb.) Bge. var. arborea and T. parviflora DC. growing in an urban environment. Both species showed no evidence of drought or salt stress in summer, and appeared to follow two strategies with T. arborea var. arborea investing in high carbon gain at the beginning of the summer, and then reducing photosynthetic activity at the end of the season, and T. parviflora showing lower but constant levels of photosynthetic activity throughout the vegetative season. For landscaping and ornamental purposes, we suggest T. arborea var. arborea when a fast-growing, high-cover species is necessary, and T. parviflora when less-invasive species are required.

  12. Ochratoxin A production by strains of Aspergillus niger var. niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abarca, M L; Bragulat, M R; Castellá, G; Cabañes, F J

    1994-01-01

    In a survey of the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OA)-positive strains isolated from feedstuffs, two of the 19 isolates of Aspergillus niger var. niger that were studied produced OA in 2% yeast extract-15% sucrose broth and in corn cultures. This is the first report of production of OA by this species. PMID:8074536

  13. Baculovirus-expressed constructs induce immunoglobulin G that recognizes VAR2CSA on Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barfod, Lea; Nielsen, Morten A; Turner, Louise

    2006-01-01

    We raised specific antisera against recombinant VAR2CSA domains produced in Escherichia coli and in insect cells. All were reactive in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, but only insect cell-derived constructs induced immunoglobulin G (IgG) that was reactive with native VAR2CSA on the surface...

  14. Identification and Characterization of the Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 Histone H3K9 trimethyltransferase and Its Effect in AcMNPV Infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Binbin; Li, Sisi; Yin, Juan; Zhong, Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Histone H3-lysine9 (H3K9) trimethyltransferase gene Su(var) 3-9 was cloned and identified in three Spodoptera insects, Spodoptera frugiperda ( S . frugiperda ), S . exigua and S . litura . Sequence analysis showed that Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 is highly conserved evolutionarily. Su(var) 3-9 protein was found to be localized in the nucleus in Sf9 cells, and interact with histone H3, and the heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a) and HP1b. A dose-dependent enzymatic activity was found at both 27 °C and 37 °C in vitro, with higher activity at 27 °C. Addition of specific inhibitor chaetocin resulted in decreased histone methylation level and host chromatin relaxation. In contrast, overexpression of Su(var) 3-9 caused increased histone methylation level and cellular genome compaction. In AcMNV-infected Sf9 cells, the transcription of Su(var) 3-9 increased at late time of infection, although the mRNA levels of most cellular genes decreased. Pre-treatment of Sf9 cells with chaetocin speeded up viral DNA replication, and increased the transcription level of a variety of virus genes, whereas in Sf9 cells pre-transformed with Su(var) 3-9 expression vector, viral DNA replication slow down slightly. These findings suggest that Su(var) 3-9 might participate in the viral genes expression an genome replication repression during AcMNPV infection. It provided a new insight for the understanding virus–host interaction mechanism. PMID:23894480

  15. Cell division arrest by gamma-irradiation in photoautotrophic suspension culture of Euphorbia characias: maintenance of photosynthetic capacity and overaccumulation of sucrose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chagvardieff, P.; Dimon, B.; Carrier, P.; Triantaphylides, C.

    1989-01-01

    Gamma-irradiation (250 Gy) applied to photoautotrophic cell suspensions of Euphorbia characias L. in the exponential growth phase led to the arrest of cell division and to a subsequent overaccumulation of sucrose and dry matter. From the fourth day of culture, the chlorophyll content and gross photosynthesis were not depressed by gamma-treatment nor by sugar accumulation. In both cultures, no difference was observed between oxygen uptake in the light at CO 2 saturating concentration and in the dark, suggesting that no change in energy-dissipative reactions took place after irradiation. A slight increase in oxygen uptake in both light and dark was observed in irradiated cells during the first four days. However, in the absence of limiting factors, the photosynthetic capacities of the dividing and irradiated non-dividing photoautotrophic cells were identical but higher than that of the non-dividing cells in the stationary growth phase. This suggests that gamma-irradiation arrests cell division by a mechanism different to that occurring in stationary-phase cultures. This may be of value in investigating the metabolism of secondary products. (author)

  16. The Complete Chloroplast Genome of a Key Ancestor of Modern Roses, Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, and a Comparison with Congeneric Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Ying Jian

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, an endemic and endangered plant of China, is one of the key ancestors of modern roses and a source for famous traditional Chinese medicines against female diseases, such as irregular menses and dysmenorrhea. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea was sequenced, analyzed, and compared to congeneric species. The cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea is a typical quadripartite circular molecule of 156,590 bp in length, including one large single copy (LSC region of 85,910 bp and one small single copy (SSC region of 18,762 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR regions of 25,959 bp. The GC content of the whole genome is 37.2%, while that of LSC, SSC, and IR is 42.8%, 35.2% and 31.2%, respectively. The genome encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes (PCGs, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA genes, and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA genes. Seventeen genes in the IR regions were found to be duplicated. Thirty-three forward and five inverted repeats were detected in the cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea. The genome is rich in SSRs. In total, 85 SSRs were detected. A genome comparison revealed that IR contraction might be the reason for the relatively smaller cp genome size of R. chinensis var. spontanea compared to other congeneric species. Sequence analysis revealed that the LSC and SSC regions were more divergent than the IR regions within the genus Rosa and that a higher divergence occurred in non-coding regions than in coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the sampled species of the genus Rosa formed a monophyletic clade and that R. chinensis var. spontanea shared a more recent ancestor with R. lichiangensis of the section Synstylae than with R. odorata var. gigantea of the section Chinenses. This information will be useful for the conservation genetics of R. chinensis var. spontanea and for the phylogenetic study of the genus Rosa, and it might also

  17. The Complete Chloroplast Genome of a Key Ancestor of Modern Roses, Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, and a Comparison with Congeneric Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jian, Hong-Ying; Zhang, Yong-Hong; Yan, Hui-Jun; Qiu, Xian-Qin; Wang, Qi-Gang; Li, Shu-Bin; Zhang, Shu-Dong

    2018-02-12

    Rosa chinensis var. spontanea , an endemic and endangered plant of China, is one of the key ancestors of modern roses and a source for famous traditional Chinese medicines against female diseases, such as irregular menses and dysmenorrhea. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea was sequenced, analyzed, and compared to congeneric species. The cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea is a typical quadripartite circular molecule of 156,590 bp in length, including one large single copy (LSC) region of 85,910 bp and one small single copy (SSC) region of 18,762 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,959 bp. The GC content of the whole genome is 37.2%, while that of LSC, SSC, and IR is 42.8%, 35.2% and 31.2%, respectively. The genome encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Seventeen genes in the IR regions were found to be duplicated. Thirty-three forward and five inverted repeats were detected in the cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea. The genome is rich in SSRs. In total, 85 SSRs were detected. A genome comparison revealed that IR contraction might be the reason for the relatively smaller cp genome size of R. chinensis var. spontanea compared to other congeneric species. Sequence analysis revealed that the LSC and SSC regions were more divergent than the IR regions within the genus Rosa and that a higher divergence occurred in non-coding regions than in coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the sampled species of the genus Rosa formed a monophyletic clade and that R. chinensis var. s pontanea shared a more recent ancestor with R. lichiangensis of the section Synstylae than with R. odorata var. gigantea of the section Chinenses . This information will be useful for the conservation genetics of R. chinensis var. spontanea and for the phylogenetic study of the genus Rosa , and it might also facilitate the

  18. Influencia de la betarraga (Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en el aumento de leucocitos, en ratones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jony Amaro

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introducción: La betarraga es una planta oriunda del Mediterráneo utilizada para fines alimenticios y medicinales. Contiene flavonoides. Objetivos: Determinar la influencia del consumo del extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en el incremento de leucocitos, en el ratón albino. Diseño: Estudio experimental. Lugar: Bioterio de la Institución Educativa 1182. Material biológico: Veinte ratones albinos de la cepa balb/c, machos, de peso promedio 24 g. Intervenciones: Se formó dos grupos, experimental y control, cada uno de diez ratones. Al grupo experimental se le administró vía oral extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en dosis de 250 mg/kg, volumen de 2 mL, cada cinco horas durante una semana, alternando con nutrientes, y al grupo control solo se le administró nutrientes. Principales medidas de resultados: Recuento de leucocitos. Resultados: Dentro del periodo de acondicionamiento, se observó un ligero incremento en la media de leucocitos del grupo control (3 681 ± 431,1 frente al grupo experimental (3 579 ± 473,5, cuya diferencia no fue significativa. Luego de administrar al grupo experimental el extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta, alternando con sus nutrientes respectivos, se observó diferencia significativa de la media (7 961 ± 275,4 frente al grupo control (3 693 ± 414,7 (t student p<0,05. Conclusiones: En condiciones experimentales, el consumo del extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta incrementó significativamente el número de leucocitos.

  19. The use of Euphorbia falcata extract as eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor of carbon steel in hydrochloric acid solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Bribri, A.; Tabyaoui, M.; Tabyaoui, B.; El Attari, H.; Bentiss, F.

    2013-01-01

    Euphorbia falcata L. extract (EFE) was investigated as eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor of carbon steel in 1 M HCl using gravimetric, ac impedance, polarization and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The experimental results show that EFE is good corrosion inhibitor and the protection efficiency is increased with the EEF concentration. The results obtained from weight loss and ac impedance studies were in reasonable agreement. Impedance experimental data revealed a frequency distribution of the capacitance, simulated as constant phase element. Polarization curves indicated that EFE is a mixed inhibitor. The corrosion inhibition was assumed to occur via adsorption of EFE molecules on the metal surface. The adsorption of the E. falcata extract was well described by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The calculated ΔG ads o value showed that the corrosion inhibition of the carbon steel in 1 M HCl is mainly controlled by a physisorption process. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • EFE is a good eco-friendly inhibitor for the corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M HCl. • EFE acts as mixed-type inhibitor in 1 M HCl medium. • Weight loss, ac impedance and polarization methods are in reasonable agreement. • The adsorption of EFE is well described by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm

  20. El gasto militar en el Estado de Bolívar 1859-1886

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Miguel Pardo Bueno

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available En el presente artículo, estudio la evolución del gasto militar en el Estado de Bolívar, entre los años de 1859 y 1886, durante los gobiernos del liberalismo radical en los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Para ello, compilé a través de la Gaceta de Bolívar y otros documentos oficiales, los presupuestos públicos anuales del Estado, centrando mi interés en analizar el gasto en el departamento administrativo de la milicia. Mi objetivo principal es mostrar, cómo las políticas del liberalismo radical se enfocaron en la descentralización fiscal y militar, con el fin de fortalecer a los poderes locales, cediéndole a las élites regionales el control y la administración de los recursos del Estado de Bolívar y de su milicia. Para lograr este objetivo, indagué por las formas de financiación de la milicia del Estado y los gastos internos para su funcionamiento, dando cuenta de la escasa partida presupuestal para pagar sueldos, material de guerra, educación y sanidad militar, lo que conllevó a que en la práctica la milicia estatal reclamara de la sociedad a través de recursos privados, las expropiaciones y los empréstitos, los rubros necesarios para su organización y funcionamiento.