Reintroducing resurrected species: selecting DeExtinction candidates.

Science.gov (United States)

Seddon, Philip J; Moehrenschlager, Axel; Ewen, John

2014-03-01

Technological advances have raised the controversial prospect of resurrecting extinct species. Species DeExtinction should involve more than the production of biological orphans to be scrutinized in the laboratory or zoo. If DeExtinction is to realize its stated goals of deep ecological enrichment, then resurrected animals must be translocated (i.e., released within suitable habitat). Therefore, DeExtinction is a conservation translocation issue and the selection of potential DeExtinction candidates must consider the feasibility and risks associated with reintroduction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Guidelines on Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations provide a framework for DeExtinction candidate selection. We translate these Guidelines into ten questions to be addressed early on in the selection process to eliminate unsuitable reintroduction candidates. We apply these questions to the thylacine, Yangtze River Dolphin, and Xerces blue butterfly. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in some thylakoid membrane proteins and pigments upon desiccation of the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgieva, Katya; Röding, Anja; Büchel, Claudia

2009-09-15

The changes in some proteins involved in the light reactions of photosynthesis of the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis were examined in connection with desiccation. Fully hydrated (control) and completely desiccated plants (relative water content (RWC) 6.5%) were used for thylakoid preparations. The chlorophyll (Chl) a to Chl b ratios of thylakoids isolated from control and desiccated leaves were very similar, which was also confirmed by measuring their absorption spectra. HPLC analysis revealed that beta-carotene content was only slightly enhanced in desiccated leaves compared with the control, but the zeaxanthin level was strongly increased. Desiccation of H. rhodopensis to an air-dried state at very low light irradiance led to a little decrease in the level of D1, D2, PsbS and PsaA/B proteins in thylakoids, but a relative increase in LHC polypeptides. To further elucidate whether the composition of the protein complexes of the thylakoid membranes had changed, we performed a separation of solubilized thylakoids on sucrose density gradients. In contrast to spinach, Haberlea thylakoids appeared to be much more resistant to the same solubilization procedure, i.e. complexes were not separated completely and complexes of higher density were found. However, the fractions analyzed provided clear evidence for a move of part of the antenna complexes from PSII to PSI when plants became desiccated. This move was also confirmed by low temperature emission spectra of thylakoids. Overall, the photosynthetic proteins remained comparatively stable in dried Haberlea leaves when plants were desiccated under conditions similar to their natural habitat. Low light during desiccation was enough to induce a rise in the xanthophyll zeaxanthin and beta-carotene. Together with the extensive leaf shrinkage and some leaf folding, increased zeaxanthin content and the observed shift in antenna proteins from PSII to PSI during desiccation of Haberlea contributed to the integrity of the

Classical Imagery and the Joy of the Resurrection. Arsenios' Stichoi on the Sunday of the Resurrection

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Nicholas Newman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In the Stichoi on the Sunday of the Resurrection, Arsenios of Corfu alludes to several couples from Classical mythology in the context of a springtime idyll. These mythological couples are not the ideal lovers the paradisic context of the poem makes them seem to be. This paper examines these allusions and discusses how Arsenios uses their mythological context to create a juxtaposition of the frustrated eroticism of Classical myth and the fulfillment of Pascha.

The Resurrection of the Dead, Based on Avicenna’s and Thomas Aquinas’ View

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Mohammad Mahdi Meshkati

2013-02-01

Full Text Available ’Resurrection’ is one of the most important issue among the religious, philosophical and theological issues. As an aim, this essay has to compare some opinions of the two prominent thinkers in Islam and Christianity. Avicenna and Aquinas, in regard with the Resurrection. Exept in respect to badily Resurrection, Avicenna’s method of dispute is an absolutely philosophical one whereas Aquinas’ is a theological- philosophical method. Avicenna and Aquinas are both agreed that the soul is and incorporeal substance, so that it won’t be destroyed, supposing destruction of the body. Moreover, they both have the view that the soul is created and are agreed that it is eternal. There is no place for purgatory, bodily paradise and hell in Avicena’s philosophy. But, Aquinas, according to the narrative texts, accepts them and deals with thire’s details. As Aquinas, Avicenna believe in necessity of the Resurrection, but he thinks that the only way of accepting bodily Resurrection is to have earnest trust in our religious tradition. His main obstacle is the materiality of imagination. But, while insisting on the point that, man is a compound of soul and body, and that we cannot obtain perfect happiness in this world, Aquinas, consequently, arrives at necessity of bodily Resurrection accepthing, of course, some differences between corporeality in this world and corporeality in the Resurrection.Concerning spiritual Resurrection, Avicenna, proves immateriality of the soul and so he guarantees it’s permanence. Then, by proposing some principles, he claimes the existence of intelctual enjoyment and intellectual pain or, the human soul’s misery and happiness . On the other hand, Aquinas, by denying various probable cases of happiness he concludes that the last happiness will not happen unless you have an immediate intelectual vision of God’s entity, and this occurs only in Resurrection and by Divine illumination.

The Kurdish Resurrection Society (1942-1945)

OpenAIRE

Sohrab Yazdani; Amir Sajjadi

2017-01-01

The Kurdish Resurrection Society (known as Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd) was the first political society that was founded after August and September 1941 and following the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran. This society arose from traditional and modern strata of urban Kurdish petty bourgeois in Mahabad. The present study aims at discussing the following questions applying a descriptive-analytical approach and using the historical resources and studies: 1. What is the role of the new social and histori...

Using Resurrected Ancestral Proviral Proteins to Engineer Virus Resistance

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Asunción Delgado

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Proviral factors are host proteins hijacked by viruses for processes essential for virus propagation such as cellular entry and replication. Pathogens and their hosts co-evolve. It follows that replacing a proviral factor with a functional ancestral form of the same protein could prevent viral propagation without fatally compromising organismal fitness. Here, we provide proof of concept of this notion. Thioredoxins serve as general oxidoreductases in all known cells. We report that several laboratory resurrections of Precambrian thioredoxins display substantial levels of functionality within Escherichia coli. Unlike E. coli thioredoxin, however, these ancestral thioredoxins are not efficiently recruited by the bacteriophage T7 for its replisome and therefore prevent phage propagation in E. coli. These results suggest an approach to the engineering of virus resistance. Diseases caused by viruses may have a devastating effect in agriculture. We discuss how the suggested approach could be applied to the engineering of plant virus resistance.

Sex and the City (of God): is sex forfeited or fulfilled in Augustine's resurrection of body?

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Margaret R

2005-01-01

Reading Augustine’s hypothetical description of resurrection bodies through Freud and his critics’ construction of "sexuality," I suggest that Augustine’s mature writings on the resurrection include some-thing like post-Freudian ideas of sexuality, even though the concept itself was not part of Augustine’s conceptual universe. Historicizing "sexuality" frees the concept for revision so that sexuality can be thought of as embedded in social assumptions and arrangements rather than individual, as part rather than essence of the self, and as gendered rather than universal. Collecting and composing hints and clues scattered in Augustine’s sermons and treatises, I sketch a post-Augustinian proposal for an ideal sexuality that is not incompatible with, but extends, elaborates, and refines Augustine’s description of resurrection bodies.

Cura animarum as hope care: Towards a theology of the resurrection within the human quest for meaning and hope

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Daniel J. Louw

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The following critical questions are posed: is hope the antidote of dread and despair or a kind of escapism from the harsh realities of anguish and suffering? What is meant by hope in Christian spirituality and how is hope connected to a theology of the resurrection? Is resurrection hope merely a kind of cheap triumphantalism and variant of a theologia gloriae? The basic assumption is that the notion of the resurrection can contribute to ‘the thickening of alternative stories of faith’. A theologia resurrectionis is about the reframing of life by means of a radical paradox: ‘Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?’ If pastoral caregiving is indeed about change and hope, the resurrection describes an ontology of hope by which human beings are transformed into a total new being. Beyond the discriminating and stigmatising categories of many social and cultural discourses on our being human, resurrection theology defines hope as a new state of mind and being. The identity of human beings is therefore not determined by descent, gender, race or social status, but by eschatology (new creation. Hope care is primarily about a new courage to be. It opens up different frameworks for meaningful living within the realm of human suffering.

the resurrection as christ's entry into his glory (lk. 24:26)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

with general remarks about the mystical nature of the resurrection in Luke's writings. 1. ... angels, the operations of the natural elements and with historical surveys.2 ..... To understand this better, two aspects of the short, introductory episode.

Using Resurrected Ancestral Proviral Proteins to Engineer Virus Resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Asunción; Arco, Rocio; Ibarra-Molero, Beatriz; Sanchez-Ruiz, Jose M

2017-05-09

Proviral factors are host proteins hijacked by viruses for processes essential for virus propagation such as cellular entry and replication. Pathogens and their hosts co-evolve. It follows that replacing a proviral factor with a functional ancestral form of the same protein could prevent viral propagation without fatally compromising organismal fitness. Here, we provide proof of concept of this notion. Thioredoxins serve as general oxidoreductases in all known cells. We report that several laboratory resurrections of Precambrian thioredoxins display substantial levels of functionality within Escherichia coli. Unlike E. coli thioredoxin, however, these ancestral thioredoxins are not efficiently recruited by the bacteriophage T7 for its replisome and therefore prevent phage propagation in E. coli. These results suggest an approach to the engineering of virus resistance. Diseases caused by viruses may have a devastating effect in agriculture. We discuss how the suggested approach could be applied to the engineering of plant virus resistance. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Two intercultural performances: Double Nora and Resurrection Day

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Mitsuya Mori

2015-02-01

Full Text Available I have so far directed two plays of Ibsen as the intercultural performance, that is, the collaboration of the modern theatre with noh, a traditional Japanese theatre, which was established as an artistic theatre form in the 14th century. The first production was Double Nora, based on A Doll’s House, which premiered at a noh theatre in Tokyo in 2005, and the second was Resurrection Day, based on When We Dead Awaken, performed at the Ibsen Festival in Tokyo in 2010. In both productions, professional noh and modern theatre actors appeared together in their own acting styles. At the Ibsen Conference in Tromsø in June 2012, brief scenes of the two productions were shown. But here in the present article the performances are partly described, and the interactive relationship between different acting styles of noh and modern theatre is examined. A new and difficult experiment of Resurrection Day was to try a conversation between the main noh actor and the modern actress. The experiment was possible because the performance took place not on a noh stage in a unique form but on an ordinary stage in a modern theatre. Thus, some problems involved in the intercultural performance of Ibsen are investigated.

Regeneration and resurrection in Matthew – Peasants in campo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The article aimed to describe the distinctive element in the use of the motif of the resurrection in the Gospel of Matthew in comparison with Mark, Luke and the Sayings Gospel Q. It argued that the distinctive element occurs where parallel texts in Luke 22:24–30, Matthew 19:27–29 and Mark 10:28–31 converge.

Building Keypoint Mappings on Multispectral Images by a Cascade of Classifiers with a Resurrection Mechanism

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Yong Li

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the boosting technique for detecting objects, this paper proposes a cascade structure with a resurrection mechanism to establish keypoint mappings on multispectral images. The cascade structure is composed of four steps by utilizing best bin first (BBF, color and intensity distribution of segment (CIDS, global information and the RANSAC process to remove outlier keypoint matchings. Initial keypoint mappings are built with the descriptors associated with keypoints; then, at each step, only a small number of keypoint mappings of a high confidence are classified to be incorrect. The unclassified keypoint mappings will be passed on to subsequent steps for determining whether they are correct. Due to the drawback of a classification rule, some correct keypoint mappings may be misclassified as incorrect at a step. Observing this, we design a resurrection mechanism, so that they will be reconsidered and evaluated by the rules utilized in subsequent steps. Experimental results show that the proposed cascade structure combined with the resurrection mechanism can effectively build more reliable keypoint mappings on multispectral images than existing methods.

Research on the resurrection evolution mechanism of Gendakan ancient landslide in the upstream on Lancang River, China

Science.gov (United States)

H, D.

2017-12-01

The Gendakan ancient landslide is located on the West bank of the upstream on Lancang River and about 4 km downstream from the Gushui hydropower station dam site. The ancient landslide is 850 m long and 700 m wide, the drill cores show that the maximum thickness of the landslide body is 107 m, with a mean thickness of approximately 80 m. Thus, the overall volume is about 3000×104m3. At present, the landslide has obvious deformation and failure signs, the leading edge is collapsing step by step. Once the landslide is unstable, it will affect the construction and operation of the Gushui hydropower station. In this paper, the development characteristics of the landslide accumulation body and the characteristics of the resurrection deformation are summarized in detail from the regional geological environment of the Gandakan landslide accumulation body. The three-dimensional geological model is established to analyze the stress and strain, displacement change and deformation failure characteristics and further evaluate its resurrection evolution trend , Combined with the developmental characteristics of the typical rock mass in the nearshore slope of the engineering area, analyzes the process of the resurrection and evolution of the rooted landslide accumulation. The FLAC-3D finite difference software was used to analyze the shear strain increment, displacement and plastic zone of the landslide accumulation body under natural conditions and rainfall conditions. The results show: the Gendakan landslide is stable in the natural state, and its deformation and failure are mainly caused by the tensile and shearing of the surface, under the rainfall condition, the local deformation and failure of the landslide accumulation body is obvious and the resurrection deformation Intensified. The resurrection evolutionary process of Gendakan ancient landslide includes three steps below. 1) The landslide body trailing edge creep cracking, leading edge shear deformation. 2) Sliding

Desiccation tolerance in seeds and plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dias Costa, M.C.

2016-01-01

The interest of research groups in desiccation tolerance (DT) has increased substantially over the last decades. The emergence of germinated orthodox seeds and resurrection plants as main research models has pushed the limits of our knowledge beyond boundaries. At the same time, new questions and

The Tectonics of Love in Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection

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Głąb Anna

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The text analyzes Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection focusing on the feelings expressed in the novel. It focuses on: (I the ways in which the content of the novel is expressed through artistic means; (II Tolstoy’s anthropology; (III the notion of love presented by Ronald de Sousa in his last book Love. A Very Short Introduction: the difference between love and mood or emotion; the classification of love (philia, storge, agape, eros; the distinction between love and lust; love as a reason-free desire; and the notion of the historicity of love.

The emerging Jewish views of the messiahship of Jesus and their bearing on the question of his resurrection

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David Mishkin

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article surveys the beliefs of Jewish scholars who have written about the historical Jesus. Specifically, it explores the modern Jewish scholarship on the person and role of the Messiah and how this relates to the study of the resurrection of Jesus. Many of the traditional beliefs about the messiah preclude a discussion of the resurrection of Jesus. However, with more understanding of the background of Second-Temple Judaism, many long-held beliefs about the messiah are being re-evaluated. The three main issues discussed in this article are the concept of a pagan messiah, the death of the messiah and the possibility of a divine messiah.

Inferring the palaeoenvironment of ancient bacteria on the basis of resurrected proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Gaucher, Eric A.; Thomson, J. Michael; Burgan, Michelle F.; Benner, Steven A.

2003-01-01

Features of the physical environment surrounding an ancestral organism can be inferred by reconstructing sequences of ancient proteins made by those organisms, resurrecting these proteins in the laboratory, and measuring their properties. Here, we resurrect candidate sequences for elongation factors of the Tu family (EF-Tu) found at ancient nodes in the bacterial evolutionary tree, and measure their activities as a function of temperature. The ancient EF-Tu proteins have temperature optima of 55-65 degrees C. This value seems to be robust with respect to uncertainties in the ancestral reconstruction. This suggests that the ancient bacteria that hosted these particular genes were thermophiles, and neither hyperthermophiles nor mesophiles. This conclusion can be compared and contrasted with inferences drawn from an analysis of the lengths of branches in trees joining proteins from contemporary bacteria, the distribution of thermophily in derived bacterial lineages, the inferred G + C content of ancient ribosomal RNA, and the geological record combined with assumptions concerning molecular clocks. The study illustrates the use of experimental palaeobiochemistry and assumptions about deep phylogenetic relationships between bacteria to explore the character of ancient life.

Life and death of the resurrection plate: Evidence for its existence and subduction in the northeastern Pacific in Paleocene-Eocene time

Science.gov (United States)

Haeussler, P.J.; Bradley, D.C.; Wells, R.E.; Miller, M.L.

2003-01-01

Onshore evidence suggests that a plate is missing from published reconstructions of the northeastern Pacific Ooean in Paleocene- Eocene time. The Resurrection plate, named for the Resurrection Peninsula ophiolite near Seward, Alaska, was located east of the Kula plate and north of the Farallon plate. We interpret coeval near-trench magmatism in southern Alaska and the Cascadia margin as evidence for two slab windows associated with trench-ridge-trench (TRT) triple junctions, which formed the western and southern boundaries of the Resurrection plate. In Alaska, the Sanak-Baranof belt of near-trench intrusions records a west-to-east migration, from 61 to 50 Ma, of the northern TRT triple junction along a 2100-km-long section of coastline. In Oregon, Washington, and southern Vancouver Island, voluminous basaltic volcanism of the Siletz River Volcanics, Crescent Formation, and Metchosin Volcanics occurred between ca. 66 and 48 Ma. Lack of a clear age progression of magmatism along the Cascadia margin suggests that this southern triple junction did not migrate significantly. Synchronous near-trench magmatism from southeastern Alaska to Puget Sound at ca. 50 Ma documents the middle Eocene subduction of a spreading center, the crest of which was subparallel to the margin. We interpret this ca. 50 Ma event as recording the subduction-zone consumption of the last of the Resurrection plate. The existence and subsequent subduction of the Resurrection plate explains (1) northward terrane transport along the southeastern Alaska-British Columbia margin between 70 and 50 Ma, synchronous with an eastward-migrating triple junction in southern Alaska; (2) rapid uplift and voluminous magmatism in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia prior to 50 Ma related to subduction of buoyant, young oceanic crust of the Resurrection plate; (3) cessation of Coast Mountains magmatism at ca. 50 Ma due to cessation of subduction, (4) primitive mafic magmatism in the Coast Mountains and Cascade

THE CULTURAL UNCONSCIOUS AND RESURRECTION OF RUSSIA

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Esaulov I. A.

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In the article the author polemicizes with the ideas of formalists, which claim the existence of a law of destruction of meaning through form in the works of art. These views of the necessary deformation of the meaning are put in the historical context of destruction of the Russian tradition in the USSR. The author emphasizes two periods of the deformation of the Russian tradition in the Soviet culture and sets against this deformation the works of Russian authors in exile: Bunin, Shmelev, B. Zaytsev. The latter have depicted the conciliar (sobornaya Russia in their creative works. In the article the Bakhtin’s concept of outsidedness ('vnenakhodimost' of the author is corrected from the Christian standpoint and the receptive mechanism of the resurrection of historical Russia is shown based on the material of Bunin’s texts.

The mechanistic basis of hemoglobin adaptation in the high-flying barheaded goose: insights from ancestral protein resurrection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Kumar, Amit; Moriyama, Hideaki

2016-01-01

the functional effects of causative mutations on the genetic background in which they actually occurred during evolution (i.e., in the BHG ancestor). An alternative ‘vertical’ approach is to reconstruct and resurrect ancestral proteins to test the effects of historical mutations on the genetic background...

Resurrecting ancestral genes in bacteria to interpret ancient biosignatures

Science.gov (United States)

Kacar, Betul; Guy, Lionel; Smith, Eric; Baross, John

2017-11-01

Two datasets, the geologic record and the genetic content of extant organisms, provide complementary insights into the history of how key molecular components have shaped or driven global environmental and macroevolutionary trends. Changes in global physico-chemical modes over time are thought to be a consistent feature of this relationship between Earth and life, as life is thought to have been optimizing protein functions for the entirety of its approximately 3.8 billion years of history on the Earth. Organismal survival depends on how well critical genetic and metabolic components can adapt to their environments, reflecting an ability to optimize efficiently to changing conditions. The geologic record provides an array of biologically independent indicators of macroscale atmospheric and oceanic composition, but provides little in the way of the exact behaviour of the molecular components that influenced the compositions of these reservoirs. By reconstructing sequences of proteins that might have been present in ancient organisms, we can downselect to a subset of possible sequences that may have been optimized to these ancient environmental conditions. How can one use modern life to reconstruct ancestral behaviours? Configurations of ancient sequences can be inferred from the diversity of extant sequences, and then resurrected in the laboratory to ascertain their biochemical attributes. One way to augment sequence-based, single-gene methods to obtain a richer and more reliable picture of the deep past, is to resurrect inferred ancestral protein sequences in living organisms, where their phenotypes can be exposed in a complex molecular-systems context, and then to link consequences of those phenotypes to biosignatures that were preserved in the independent historical repository of the geological record. As a first step beyond single-molecule reconstruction to the study of functional molecular systems, we present here the ancestral sequence reconstruction of the

How to Speak with Intellectual and Theological Decency on the Resurrection of Christ? A Comparison of Swimburne and Wright

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Brink, G.

2008-01-01

In recent scholarship the spiritual reading of the New Testament resurrection stories has come under pressure from new studies of the relevant data. In this article, two of the most conspicuous of these studies are compared and evaluated. First, Richard Swinburne's monograph opens our eyes to the

The death and resurrection of 'economics with psychology': remarks from a methodological standpoint

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Roberta Muramatsu

2009-03-01

Full Text Available One of the merits of contemporary economic analysis is its capacity to offer accounts of choice behavior that dispense with details of the complex decision machinery. The starting point of this paper is the concern with the important methodological debate about whether economics might offer accurate predictions and explanations of actual behavior without any reference to psychological presuppositions. Inspired by an exercise of rational reconstruction of ideas, I aim to offer an interpretation of the process of freeing economic analysis from psychology at the end of the 19th century and the contemporary resurrection of behavioral approaches in the late 1980s.

The role of SDG8i from the resurrection grass Sporobolus stapfianus in ectopic expression system of Arabidopsis

OpenAIRE

Islam, Sharmin

2017-01-01

Isolation of gene transcripts from desiccated leaf tissue of the resurrection grass Sporobolus stapfianus Gandoger, resulted in the identification of the gene, SDG8i, encoding a Group 1 glycosyltransferase (UGT). Glycolsyltransferases transfer a sugar to a number of acceptor molecules, including hormones and secondary metabolites, changing the solubility, stability and biological activity of these compounds. Functional analysis of the SDG8i was undertaken in Arabidopsis thaliana because no pr...

Increased biomass, seed yield and stress tolerance is conferred in Arabidopsis by a novel enzyme from the resurrection grass Sporobolus stapfianus that glycosylates the strigolactone analogue GR24.

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Sharmin Islam

Full Text Available Isolation of gene transcripts from desiccated leaf tissues of the resurrection grass, Sporobolus stapfianus, resulted in the identification of a gene, SDG8i, encoding a Group 1 glycosyltransferase (UGT. Here, we examine the effects of introducing this gene, under control of the CaMV35S promoter, into the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Results show that Arabidopsis plants constitutively over-expressing SDG8i exhibit enhanced growth, reduced senescence, cold tolerance and a substantial improvement in protoplasmic drought tolerance. We hypothesise that expression of SDG8i in Arabidopsis negatively affects the bioactivity of metabolite/s that mediate/s environmentally-induced repression of cell division and expansion, both during normal development and in response to stress. The phenotype of transgenic plants over-expressing SDG8i suggests modulation in activities of both growth- and stress-related hormones. Plants overexpressing the UGT show evidence of elevated auxin levels, with the enzyme acting downstream of ABA to reduce drought-induced senescence. Analysis of the in vitro activity of the UGT recombinant protein product demonstrates that SDG8i can glycosylate the synthetic strigolactone analogue GR24, evoking a link with strigolactone-related processes in vivo. The large improvements observed in survival of transgenic Arabidopsis plants under cold-, salt- and drought-stress, as well as the substantial increases in growth rate and seed yield under non-stress conditions, indicates that overexpression of SDG8i in crop plants may provide a novel means of increasing plant productivity.

Quantitative market survey of non-woody plants sold at Kariakoo Market in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Posthouwer, Chantal; Veldman, Sarina; Abihudi, Siri; Otieno, Joseph N; van Andel, Tinde R; de Boer, Hugo J

2018-04-30

In Tanzania, traditional medicine plays a significant role in health care and local economies based on the harvesting, trade and sale of medicinal plant products. The majority of this plant material is said to originate from wild sources, and both traditional healers and vendors are concerned about the increasing scarcity of certain species. A market survey of non-powdered, non-woody medicinal plants was conducted at Kariakoo Market in Dar es Salaam, the major hub for medicinal plant trade in Tanzania, to assess sustainability of traded herbal medicine. For this study, fresh and dried herbs, seeds and fruits were collected and interviews were conducted to obtain information on vernacular names, preparation methods, monthly sales, uses and prices. Bundles of herbal medicine offered for sale were weighed and counted to calculate the value and volumes of daily stock at the market. A total of 71 medicinal plant products belonging to 62 to 67 different species from at least 41 different plant families were identified. We identified 45 plant products to species level, 20 products to genus level and four to family level. Plant species most encountered at the market were Suregada zanzibariensis, Myrothamnus flabellifolia and Sclerocarya birrea. The major use categories reported by the vendors were ritual purposes, digestive disorders and women's health. Annual sales are estimated to be in excess of 30 t and close to 200,000 USD, and trade in herbal medicine at Kariakoo Market provides subsistence income to many local vendors. A large diversity of wild-harvested plant species is traded as medicinal products in Tanzania, including species listed on CITES Appendices. Identifying and monitoring temporal changes in availability per season and from year to year will reveal which species are most affected by this trade, and help relevant authorities in Tanzania to find alternative sources of income for dependent stakeholders and initiate targeted efforts to protect threatened

The Islamophobic Inheritance of the Resurrected Saint Paul: From F.C. Baur’s Judeo-Christianity to Badiou and Žižek’s Event

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Topolski, A.R.

2017-01-01

It is my aim to demonstrate how the nineteenth-century theologian F. C. Baur's influence reappears in the resurrected Paul which has a central role in Badiou and Žižek's respective projects. This essay begins with a sketch of the historical, theological, and political context of F. C. Baur's

Death and resurrection of the human IRGM gene.

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Cemalettin Bekpen

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Immunity-related GTPases (IRG play an important role in defense against intracellular pathogens. One member of this gene family in humans, IRGM, has been recently implicated as a risk factor for Crohn's disease. We analyzed the detailed structure of this gene family among primates and showed that most of the IRG gene cluster was deleted early in primate evolution, after the divergence of the anthropoids from prosimians ( about 50 million years ago. Comparative sequence analysis of New World and Old World monkey species shows that the single-copy IRGM gene became pseudogenized as a result of an Alu retrotransposition event in the anthropoid common ancestor that disrupted the open reading frame (ORF. We find that the ORF was reestablished as a part of a polymorphic stop codon in the common ancestor of humans and great apes. Expression analysis suggests that this change occurred in conjunction with the insertion of an endogenous retrovirus, which altered the transcription initiation, splicing, and expression profile of IRGM. These data argue that the gene became pseudogenized and was then resurrected through a series of complex structural events and suggest remarkable functional plasticity where alleles experience diverse evolutionary pressures over time. Such dynamism in structure and evolution may be critical for a gene family locked in an arms race with an ever-changing repertoire of intracellular parasites.

THE RESURRECTION PLANT TRIPOGON SPICATUS (POACEAE HARBORS A DIVERSITY OF PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING BACTERIA IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZILIAN CAATINGA

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Paulo Ivan Fernandes-Júnior

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Plant species that naturally occur in the Brazilian Caatinga(xeric shrubland adapt in several ways to these harsh conditions, and that can be exploited to increase crop production. Among the strategic adaptations to confront low water availability, desiccation tolerance stands out. Up to now, the association of those species with beneficial soil microorganisms is not well understood. The aim of this study was to characterize Tripogon spicatusdiazotrophic bacterial isolates from the Caatingabiome and evaluate their ability to promote plant growth in rice. Sixteen bacterial isolates were studied in regard to their taxonomic position by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, putative diazotrophic capacity, in vitro indole-acetic acid (IAA production and calcium phosphate solubilization, metabolism of nine different C sources in semi-solid media, tolerance to different concentrations of NaCl to pHs and intrinsic resistance to nine antibiotics. Finally, the ability of the bacterial isolates to promote plant growth was evaluated using rice (Oryza sativa as a model plant. Among the 16 isolates evaluated, eight of them were classified as Enterobacteriaceae members, related to Enterobacter andPantoeagenera. Six other bacteria were related toBacillus, and the remaining two were related toRhizobiumand Stenotrophomonas.The evaluation of total N incorporation into the semi-solid medium indicated that all the bacteria studied have putative diazotrophic capacity. Two bacteria were able to produce more IAA than that observed for the strain BR 11175Tof Herbaspirillum seropedicae.Bacterial isolates were also able to form a microaerophilic pellicle in a semi-solid medium supplemented with different NaCl concentrations up to 1.27 mol L-1. Intrinsic resistance to antibiotics and the metabolism of different C sources indicated a great variation in physiological profile. Seven isolates were able to promote rice growth, and two bacteria were more efficient than the

Taxonomic review of Lutzomyia walkeri (Newstead, 1914) [= Lutzomyia marajoensis (Damasceno & Causey, 1944)] and the resurrection of Lutzomyia dubitans (Sherlock, 1962) (Diptera: Psychodidae)

OpenAIRE

Feliciangeli,M. Dora

1985-01-01

Examination of the holotype of Lutzomyia marajoensis (Damasceno & Causey, 1944) shows this species to be identical to Lutzomyia walkeri (Newstead, 1914). The name Lutxomyia dubitans (Sherlock, 1962) is resurrected for another sand fly which has been incorrectly named L. marajoensis since 1961. Newly discovered structural differences between males and females of L walkeri from L. dubitans are presented.Examinando o holótipo de Lutzomyia marajoensis (Damasceno & Causey, 1944), observou-se que e...

Resurrection of DNA function in vivo from an extinct genome.

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Andrew J Pask

2008-05-01

Full Text Available There is a burgeoning repository of information available from ancient DNA that can be used to understand how genomes have evolved and to determine the genetic features that defined a particular species. To assess the functional consequences of changes to a genome, a variety of methods are needed to examine extinct DNA function. We isolated a transcriptional enhancer element from the genome of an extinct marsupial, the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus or thylacine, obtained from 100 year-old ethanol-fixed tissues from museum collections. We then examined the function of the enhancer in vivo. Using a transgenic approach, it was possible to resurrect DNA function in transgenic mice. The results demonstrate that the thylacine Col2A1 enhancer directed chondrocyte-specific expression in this extinct mammalian species in the same way as its orthologue does in mice. While other studies have examined extinct coding DNA function in vitro, this is the first example of the restoration of extinct non-coding DNA and examination of its function in vivo. Our method using transgenesis can be used to explore the function of regulatory and protein-coding sequences obtained from any extinct species in an in vivo model system, providing important insights into gene evolution and diversity.

Maltase protein of Ogataea (Hansenula) polymorpha is a counterpart to resurrected ancestor protein ancMALS of yeast maltases and isomaltases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Viigand, Katrin; Visnapuu, Triinu; Mardo, Karin

2016-01-01

and mutation of the genes. We studied substrate specificity of the maltase protein MAL1 from an earlier diverged yeast, Ogataea polymorpha (Op), in the light of this hypothesis. MAL1 has extended substrate specificity and its properties are strikingly similar to those of resurrected ancMALS. Moreover, amino......, indicating the power of the method to predict substrate binding. Deletion of either the maltase (MAL1) or α-glucoside permease (MAL2) gene in Op abolished the growth of yeast on MAL1 substrates, confirming the requirement of both proteins for usage of these sugars....

One Day Every 216 Years, Three Days Each Decan. Rebirth Cycle of Pythagoras, Phoenix, Hazon Gabriel, and Christian Dogma of Resurrection Can Be Explained by the Metonic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Rothwangl, S.

2009-08-01

This article explains how the Metonic cycle is at the base of the period of 216 years Pythagoras believed in being reborn after that period. It shows how this period calendrically is related to other mythological worldviews such as the Phoenix myth, the Hebrean Hazon Gabriel, and the Christian dogma of resurrection on the third day.

Resurrection of Anolis ustus Cope, 1864 from synonymy with Anolis sericeus Hallowell, 1856 (Squamata, Dactyloidae).

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Lara-Tufiño, José Daniel; de Oca, Adrián Nieto-Montes; Ramírez-Bautista, Aurelio; Gray, Levi N

2016-01-01

In this study, based on a morphological analysis, the resurrection of the name Anolis ustus Cope 1864, is proposed for populations from the Yucatán Peninsula (Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Belize), formerly referred as Anolis sericeus Hallowell, 1856. Anolis ustus differs from Anolis sericeus by its mean snout-vent length and number of gorgetal scales in males, in tibia length and head width in females, and dorsal and ventral scales for both sexes. In addition, Anolis ustus has a small dewlap of similar size between males and females, whereas in Anolis sericeus males have a dewlap much larger than that of the females. These characteristics allow Anolis ustus to be identified within the Anolis sericeus complex. In this study, a description of the characteristics of the hemipenis is also provided, and its importance in the taxonomy of Anolis is discussed.

Convergent evolution of caffeine in plants by co-option of exapted ancestral enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ruiqi; O'Donnell, Andrew J; Barboline, Jessica J; Barkman, Todd J

2016-09-20

Convergent evolution is a process that has occurred throughout the tree of life, but the historical genetic and biochemical context promoting the repeated independent origins of a trait is rarely understood. The well-known stimulant caffeine, and its xanthine alkaloid precursors, has evolved multiple times in flowering plant history for various roles in plant defense and pollination. We have shown that convergent caffeine production, surprisingly, has evolved by two previously unknown biochemical pathways in chocolate, citrus, and guaraná plants using either caffeine synthase- or xanthine methyltransferase-like enzymes. However, the pathway and enzyme lineage used by any given plant species is not predictable from phylogenetic relatedness alone. Ancestral sequence resurrection reveals that this convergence was facilitated by co-option of genes maintained over 100 million y for alternative biochemical roles. The ancient enzymes of the Citrus lineage were exapted for reactions currently used for various steps of caffeine biosynthesis and required very few mutations to acquire modern-day enzymatic characteristics, allowing for the evolution of a complete pathway. Future studies aimed at manipulating caffeine content of plants will require the use of different approaches given the metabolic and genetic diversity revealed by this study.

Regeneration and resurrection in Matthew – Peasants in campo hearing time signals from scribes

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Andries G. van Aarde

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The article aimed to describe the distinctive element in the use of the motif of the resurrection in the Gospel of Matthew in comparison with Mark, Luke and the Sayings Gospel Q. It argued that the distinctive element occurs where parallel texts in Luke 22:24–30, Matthew 19:27–29 and Mark 10:28–31 converge. The distinctive element pertains particularly to the meaning of the Greek expression ‘en tē palingenesia’ in Matthew 19:28. By elaborating on time as a social construct, the article showed how Matthew deals with the conception of time differently than both Mark and Luke. It illustrated that the Gospel of Matthew represents a storyline consisting of a circular movement between ‘genesis’ (Mt 1:1 and ‘palingenesia’ (Mt 19:28, where the word ‘palingenesia’ denotes the meaning ‘regeneration’ rather than ‘resurrection’. Matthew does not narrate an abrupt transition from linear time to clock time. Both co-existed in a world where illiterate peasants and literate scribes scheduled their lives in terms of motifs pertaining to a linear and a punctual conception of time.

Chemical intervention in plant sugar signalling increases yield and resilience

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Griffiths, Cara A.; Sagar, Ram; Geng, Yiqun; Primavesi, Lucia F.; Patel, Mitul K.; Passarelli, Melissa K.; Gilmore, Ian S.; Steven, Rory T.; Bunch, Josephine; Paul, Matthew J.; Davis, Benjamin G.

2016-12-01

The pressing global issue of food insecurity due to population growth, diminishing land and variable climate can only be addressed in agriculture by improving both maximum crop yield potential and resilience. Genetic modification is one potential solution, but has yet to achieve worldwide acceptance, particularly for crops such as wheat. Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P), a central sugar signal in plants, regulates sucrose use and allocation, underpinning crop growth and development. Here we show that application of a chemical intervention strategy directly modulates T6P levels in planta. Plant-permeable analogues of T6P were designed and constructed based on a ‘signalling-precursor’ concept for permeability, ready uptake and sunlight-triggered release of T6P in planta. We show that chemical intervention in a potent sugar signal increases grain yield, whereas application to vegetative tissue improves recovery and resurrection from drought. This technology offers a means to combine increases in yield with crop stress resilience. Given the generality of the T6P pathway in plants and other small-molecule signals in biology, these studies suggest that suitable synthetic exogenous small-molecule signal precursors can be used to directly enhance plant performance and perhaps other organism function.

Description of a new species of Petrolisthes in the Indo-West Pacific with a redefinition of P.hastatus Stimpson, 1858 and resurrection of P.inermis (Heller, 1862) (Crustacea, Anomura, Porcellanidae).

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Werding, Bernd; Hiller, Alexandra

2015-01-01

The porcellanid crab Petrolistheshastatus Stimpson, 1858, has been traditionally viewed as a highly variable species with a wide distribution in the West Pacific. For more than a century there has been taxonomic confusion of this species with morphologically similar taxa, some of which were synonymized with Stimpson's taxon. We redefine Petrolistheshastatus, resurrect Petrolisthesinermis as a valid species, discuss the status of Petrolisthestenkatei De Man, 1893, and describe a new species as Petrolistheselegantissimus from Indonesia.

Back from the Crocodile’s Belly: Christian formation meets indigenous resurrection

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S. Lily Mendoza

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Undoing all forms of domination – including, in particular, religious domination – remains a crucial imperative of our time, given that domination constitutes a spirit-killing dynamic that distorts, oppresses and throws living beings (both human and non-human alike out of synch with themselves. One form of domination in colonial contexts is the totalising claim to a monopoly of ‘the’ truth that effectively delegitimises and demonises all other ways of seeing the world. This essay grapples with the question: What happens when the ‘One True Story’ encounters other faith stories? Riffing off my (coedited anthology, Back from the Crocodile’s Belly: Philippine Babaylan Studies and the Struggle for Indigenous Memory (dedicated to the memory of the Filipino indigenous women and men healers impaled on stakes by early Spanish missionaries and left on river banks for crocodiles to feast on, I narrate my personal journey growing up as a Filipina Methodist pastor’s kid, becoming a born-again believer and an aspiring Christian missionary trained by Philippine Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and the Navigators, and belatedly coming to grips with my relationship to my country’s colonial history and its consequences for me and my people’s struggle for wholeness and authenticity. What happens when my wholly formed Christian subjectivity becomes challenged by the resurrecting call of spirit to indigenous and earth well-being? Informed by a multilayered cultural memory, I trace my faith learnings from an encounter with deep ancestry in the ‘belly of the beast’ and its larger significance for today’s social movement struggles for sustainability and global coexistence.

Rise, fall and resurrection of chromosome territories: a historical perspective. Part I. The rise of chromosome territories

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T Cremer

2009-06-01

Full Text Available It is now generally accepted that chromosomes in the cell nucleus are organized in distinct domains, first called chromosome territories in 1909 by the great cytologist Theodor Boveri. Yet, even today chromosomes have remained enigmatic individuals, whose structures, arrangements and functions in cycling and post-mitotic cells still need to be explored in full detail. Whereas numerous recent reviews describe present evidence for a dynamic architecture of chromosome territories and discuss the potential significance within the functional compartmentalization of the nucleus, a comprehensive historical account of this important concept of nuclear organization was lacking so far. Here, we describe the early rise of chromosome territories within the context of the discovery of chromosomes and their fundamental role in heredity, covering a period from the 1870th to the early 20th century (part I, this volume. In part II (next volume we review the abandonment of the chromosome territory concept during the 1950th to 1980th and the compelling evidence, which led to its resurrection during the 1970th to 1980th.

Dehydration survival of crop plants and its measurement.

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Blum, Abraham; Tuberosa, Roberto

2018-01-08

Dehydration survival under drought stress is defined in this review as the transition from plant activity into a quiescent state of life preservation, which will be terminated by either recovery or death, depending on the stress regime and the plant's resilience. Dehydration survival is a popular phenotype by which functional genomics attempts to test gene function in drought resistance and survival. The available reports on phenotyping and genotyping of dehydration survival in genomic studies indicate that the measurement of this trait is often biased to the extent that misguided interpretations are likely to occur. This review briefly discusses the physiological basis of dehydration survival in resurrection plants and crop plants, and concludes that in phenotyping dehydration survival there is a need to distinguish between dehydration avoidance and dehydration tolerance (also termed desiccation tolerance) in affecting survival and recovery. Without this distinction, functional genomics studies of the trait might be biased. Survival due to dehydration avoidance is expressed by the capacity to maintain a relatively high plant water status as the plant is desiccated. Survival due to dehydration tolerance is expressed by delayed mortality (mortality at a relatively low plant water status) as affected by the resilience of plant metabolism. The common test of dehydration survival, using the relative recovery after a given number of stress days, is therefore insufficient because it is mainly driven by dehydration avoidance and so ignores a possible role for dehydration tolerance. Conceivable methods for more accurate phenotyping of the two components of dehydration survival are proposed and discussed. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Description of a new species of Petrolisthes in the Indo-West Pacific with a redefinition of P. hastatus Stimpson, 1858 and resurrection of P. inermis (Heller, 1862 (Crustacea, Anomura, Porcellanidae

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Bernd Werding

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The porcellanid crab Petrolisthes hastatus Stimpson, 1858, has been traditionally viewed as a highly variable species with a wide distribution in the West Pacific. For more than a century there has been taxonomic confusion of this species with morphologically similar taxa, some of which were synonymized with Stimpson’s taxon. We redefine P. hastatus, resurrect P. inermis as a valid species, discuss the status of P. tenkatei De Man, 1893, and describe a new species as P. elegantissimus from Indonesia.

Resurrection of the name Albula pacifica (Beebe, 1942 for the shafted bonefish (Albuliformes: Albulidae from the eastern Pacific

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Edward Pfeiler

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The name Albula nemoptera (Fowler, 1911 is currently applied to the Shafted, or Threadfin, Bonefish (Albuliformes: Albulidae inhabiting the tropical coastal waters of both the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the present paper I provide a brief review of the taxonomy and nomenclature of A. nemoptera, and argue that the available morphological, biogeographical and molecular evidence supports resurrecting the name A. pacifica (Beebe, 1942 for the population of A. nemoptera from the eastern Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2: 839-844. Epub 2008 June 30.El nombre Albula nemoptera (Fowler, 1911 se aplica actualmente a las poblaciones del macabí de hebra (Albuliformes: Albulidae de las aguas costeras tropicales del Atlántico Occidental y el Pacifico Oriental. En este artículo se presenta una revisión breve de la taxonomía y nomenclatura de A. nemoptera, y se sugiere que la evidencia morfológica, biogeográfica y molecular apoya el reestablecimiento del nombre A. pacifica (Beebe, 1942 para la población de A. nemoptera del Pacifico Oriental.

Developmental Peculiarities and Seed-Borne Endophytes in Quinoa: Omnipresent, Robust Bacilli Contribute to Plant Fitness

Science.gov (United States)

Pitzschke, Andrea

2016-01-01

Among potential climate change-adapted crops for future agriculture, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), a facultative halophyte plant with exceptional nutritional properties, stands out as a prime candidate. This work examined how quinoa deals with extreme situations during seed rehydration. Quinoa distinguishes itself from other plants in multiple ways. It germinates within minutes, even under extremely hostile conditions. Broken seeds/split embryos are able to regenerate. Furthermore, quinoa seedlings are resurrection-competent. These peculiarities became in part explainable upon discovery of seed-borne microorganisms. 100% of quinoa seeds, from different sources, are inhabited by diverse members of the genus Bacillus. These endophytes are motile and reside in all seedling organs, indicating vertical transmission. Owing to their high catalase activities and superoxide contents the bacteria potentially manipulate the host’s redox status. Superoxide-driven cell expansion enables quinoa to overcome a critical period in development, seedling establishment. Quinoa’s immediate confrontation with “foreign” reactive oxygen species and bacterial elicitors likely induces a naturally primed state, enabling plants to withstand extreme situations. The endophytic bacteria, which are cultivable and highly robust themselves, have high potential for application in agriculture, food (amylase) and cosmetics (catalase) industry. This work also discusses the potential of transferring quinoa’s microbiome to improve stress resistance in other plant species. PMID:26834724

Global change and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Matesanz, Silvia; Gianoli, Ernesto; Valladares, Fernando

2010-09-01

Global change drivers create new environmental scenarios and selective pressures, affecting plant species in various interacting ways. Plants respond with changes in phenology, physiology, and reproduction, with consequences for biotic interactions and community composition. We review information on phenotypic plasticity, a primary means by which plants cope with global change scenarios, recommending promising approaches for investigating the evolution of plasticity and describing constraints to its evolution. We discuss the important but largely ignored role of phenotypic plasticity in range shifts and review the extensive literature on invasive species as models of evolutionary change in novel environments. Plasticity can play a role both in the short-term response of plant populations to global change as well as in their long-term fate through the maintenance of genetic variation. In new environmental conditions, plasticity of certain functional traits may be beneficial (i.e., the plastic response is accompanied by a fitness advantage) and thus selected for. Plasticity can also be relevant in the establishment and persistence of plants in novel environments that are crucial for populations at the colonizing edge in range shifts induced by climate change. Experimental studies show taxonomically widespread plastic responses to global change drivers in many functional traits, though there is a lack of empirical support for many theoretical models on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Future studies should assess the adaptive value and evolutionary potential of plasticity under complex, realistic global change scenarios. Promising tools include resurrection protocols and artificial selection experiments. © 2010 New York Academy of Sciences.

Methods for growth regulation of greenhouse produced ornamental pot- and bedding plants – a current review

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Bergstrand Karl-Johan I.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Chemical plant growth regulators (PGRs are used in the production of ornamental potted and bedding plants. Growth control is needed for maximizing production per unit area, reducing transportation costs and to obtain a desired visual quality. However, the use of PGRs is associated with toxicity risks to humans and the environment. In many countries the availability of PGRs is restricted as few substances are registered for use. A number of alternative methods have been suggested. The methods include genetic methods (breeding and crop cultivation practices such as fertigation, temperature and light management. A lot of research into “alternative” growth regulation was performed during the 1980-1990s, revealing several possible ways of using different climatic factors to optimize plant growth with respect to plant height. In recent years, the interest in climatic growth regulation has been resurrected, not least due to the coming phase-out of the plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride (CCC. Today, authorities in many countries are aiming towards reducing the use of agrochemicals. At the same time, there is a strong demand from consumers for products produced without chemicals. This article provides a broad overview of available methods for non-chemical growth control. It is concluded that a combination of plant breeding and management of temperature, fertigation and light management has the potential of replacing chemical growth regulators in the commercial production of ornamental pot- and bedding plants.

Anhydrobiosis and programmed cell death in plants: Commonalities and Differences

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Samer Singh

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Anhydrobiosis is an adaptive strategy of certain organisms or specialised propagules to survive in the absence of water while programmed cell death (PCD is a finely tuned cellular process of the selective elimination of targeted cell during developmental programme and perturbed biotic and abiotic conditions. Particularly during water stress both the strategies serve single purpose i.e., survival indicating PCD may also function as an adaptive process under certain conditions. During stress conditions PCD cause targeted cells death in order to keep the homeostatic balance required for the organism survival, whereas anhydrobiosis suspends cellular metabolic functions mimicking a state similar to death until reestablishment of the favourable conditions. Anhydrobiosis is commonly observed among organisms that have ability to revive their metabolism on rehydration after removal of all or almost all cellular water without damage. This feature is widely represented in terrestrial cyanobacteria and bryophytes where it is very common in both vegetative and reproductive stages of life-cycle. In the course of evolution, with the development of advanced vascular system in higher plants, anhydrobiosis was gradually lost from the vegetative phase of life-cycle. Though it is retained in resurrection plants that primarily belong to thallophytes and a small group of vascular angiosperm, it can be mostly found restricted in orthodox seeds of higher plants. On the contrary, PCD is a common process in all eukaryotes from unicellular to multicellular organisms including higher plants and mammals. In this review we discuss physiological and biochemical commonalities and differences between anhydrobiosis and PCD.

The Complete Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genome Sequences of Boea hygrometrica: Insights into the Evolution of Plant Organellar Genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xumin; Deng, Xin; Zhang, Xiaowei; Hu, Songnian; Yu, Jun

2012-01-01

The complete nucleotide sequences of the chloroplast (cp) and mitochondrial (mt) genomes of resurrection plant Boea hygrometrica (Bh, Gesneriaceae) have been determined with the lengths of 153,493 bp and 510,519 bp, respectively. The smaller chloroplast genome contains more genes (147) with a 72% coding sequence, and the larger mitochondrial genome have less genes (65) with a coding faction of 12%. Similar to other seed plants, the Bh cp genome has a typical quadripartite organization with a conserved gene in each region. The Bh mt genome has three recombinant sequence repeats of 222 bp, 843 bp, and 1474 bp in length, which divide the genome into a single master circle (MC) and four isomeric molecules. Compared to other angiosperms, one remarkable feature of the Bh mt genome is the frequent transfer of genetic material from the cp genome during recent Bh evolution. We also analyzed organellar genome evolution in general regarding genome features as well as compositional dynamics of sequence and gene structure/organization, providing clues for the understanding of the evolution of organellar genomes in plants. The cp-derived sequences including tRNAs found in angiosperm mt genomes support the conclusion that frequent gene transfer events may have begun early in the land plant lineage. PMID:22291979

Predators induce interspecific herbivore competition for food in refuge space

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pallini, A.; Janssen, A.; Sabelis, M.W.

1998-01-01

Resource competition among herbivorous arthropods has long been viewed as unimportant because herbivore populations are controlled by predators. Although recently resurrected as an organizing force in arthropod communities on plants, there is still general agreement that resource competition among

Protection of thylakoids against combined light and drought by a lumenal substance in the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis

Science.gov (United States)

Georgieva, Katya; Sárvári, Éva; Keresztes, Áron

2010-01-01

Background and Aims Haberlea rhodopensis is a perennial, herbaceous, saxicolous, poikilohydric flowering plant that is able to survive desiccation to air-dried state under irradiance below 30 µmol m−2 s−1. However, desiccation at irradiance of 350 µmol m−2 s−1 induced irreversible changes in the photosynthetic apparatus, and mature leaves did not recover after rehydration. The aim here was to establish the causes and mechanisms of irreversible damage of the photosynthetic apparatus due to dehydration at high irradiance, and to elucidate the mechanisms determining recovery. Methods Changes in chloroplast structure, CO2 assimilation, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, fluorescence imaging and the polypeptide patterns during desiccation of Haberlea under medium (100 µmol m−2 s−1; ML) irradiance were compared with those under low (30 µmol m−2 s−1; LL) irradiance. Key Results Well-watered plants (control) at 100 µmol m−2 s−1 were not damaged. Plants desiccated at LL or ML had similar rates of water loss. Dehydration at ML decreased the quantum efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry, and particularly the CO2 assimilation rate, more rapidly than at LL. Dehydration induced accumulation of stress proteins in leaves under both LL and ML. Photosynthetic activity and polypeptide composition were completely restored in LL plants after 1 week of rehydration, but changes persisted under ML conditions. Electron microscopy of structural changes in the chloroplast showed that the thylakoid lumen is filled with an electron-dense substance (dense luminal substance, DLS), while the thylakoid membranes are lightly stained. Upon dehydration and rehydration the DLS thinned and disappeared, the time course largely depending on the illumination: whereas DLS persisted during desiccation and started to disappear during late recovery under LL, it disappeared from the onset of dehydration and later was completely lost under ML. Conclusions Accumulation of DLS

Plant Provocations: Botanical Indigeneity and (Decolonial Imaginations

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Narendran Kumarakulasingam

Full Text Available Abstract Abstract: This paper examines the possibilities and limitations of an emergent global discourse of indigeneity to offer an oppositional praxis in the face of the depredations of settler colonialism in post-apartheid South Africa. Self-conscious articulations of indigeneity, we argue, reveal the fraught relationship between increasingly hegemonic and narrow understandings of the indigenous and the carceral logic of apartheid. We examine this by focusing on the meanings and attachments forged through indigenous plants in two realms: the world of indigenous gardening practised by white suburban dwellers and that of subsistence farming undertaken by rural black women. This juxtaposition reveals that in contrast to the pervasive resurrection of colonial time that defines metropolitan indigenous gardening, the social relations of a subsistence cultivator challenge the confines of colonial temporality, revealing a creative mode of dissent structured around dreams, ancestral knowledge, and the commons. Our exploration of struggles around botanical indigeneity suggests that anticolonial modes of indigeneity do not necessarily inhere in recognisable forms and that studies of the indigenous need to proceed beyond those that bear familial resemblance to emergent global understandings.

Effect of gibberellic acid and potassium nitrate on seed germination ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ramonda serbica and Ramonda nathaliae are rare resurrection plants, endemic and relict species from Balkan Peninsula. The effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) were conducted to determine the seed germination response for these two species. An experiment was conducted with four ...

Rapid evolution leads to differential population dynamics and top-down control in resurrected Daphnia populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Goitom, Eyerusalem; Kilsdonk, Laurens J; Brans, Kristien; Jansen, Mieke; Lemmens, Pieter; De Meester, Luc

2018-01-01

There is growing evidence of rapid genetic adaptation of natural populations to environmental change, opening the perspective that evolutionary trait change may subsequently impact ecological processes such as population dynamics, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. To study such eco-evolutionary feedbacks in natural populations, however, requires samples across time. Here, we capitalize on a resurrection ecology study that documented rapid and adaptive evolution in a natural population of the water flea Daphnia magna in response to strong changes in predation pressure by fish, and carry out a follow-up mesocosm experiment to test whether the observed genetic changes influence population dynamics and top-down control of phytoplankton. We inoculated populations of the water flea D. magna derived from three time periods of the same natural population known to have genetically adapted to changes in predation pressure in replicate mesocosms and monitored both Daphnia population densities and phytoplankton biomass in the presence and absence of fish. Our results revealed differences in population dynamics and top-down control of algae between mesocosms harboring populations from the time period before, during, and after a peak in fish predation pressure caused by human fish stocking. The differences, however, deviated from our a priori expectations. An S-map approach on time series revealed that the interactions between adults and juveniles strongly impacted the dynamics of populations and their top-down control on algae in the mesocosms, and that the strength of these interactions was modulated by rapid evolution as it occurred in nature. Our study provides an example of an evolutionary response that fundamentally alters the processes structuring population dynamics and impacts ecosystem features.

A hermeneutical reflection on the resurrection of Jesus Christ in question and answer 45 of the Heidelberg Catechism

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Kobus Labuschagne

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This article is an attempt to elaborate hermeneutically on the different historical contexts, related the one to the other and to the centre point of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in question and answer 45 of the Heidelberg Catechism. The aim is not only to find the true meaning that the Heidelberg Catechism intends to convey in the mentioned question and answer, but also to explain the underlying hermeneutical thinking as well as to bring to the surface and explain alternative assumptions that ordinary church-going Christians experience as the unusual outcome of an unknown and different kind of approach. Different hermeneutical processes lead to different outcomes of understanding − sometimes worlds apart. Vanuit die sentrale punt van die opstanding van Jesus Christus in vraag en antwoord 45 van die Heidelbergse Kategismus, wil hierdie artikel in ’n hermeneutiese besinning oor die verskillende verbandhoudende historiese kontekste uitbrei. Die doel is nie slegs om die ware betekenis te vind van wat die Heidelbergse Kategismus in genoemde vraag en antwoord poog om weer te gee nie, maar ook om die onderliggende hermeneutiese denke te verduidelik en alternatiewe aannames, wat gewone Christen-kerkgangers as ’n vreemde en verskillende benaderings ervaar, na die oppervlakte te bring en te verduidelik. Verskillende hermeneutiese prosesse lei tot verskillende uitkomste van verstaan – soms wêrelde van mekaar verwyderd.

Wild medicinal and food plants used by communities living in Mopane woodlands of southern Angola: Results of an ethnobotanical field investigation.

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Urso, Valeria; Signorini, Maria Adele; Tonini, Matteo; Bruschi, Piero

2016-01-11

diseases (25, 54). The highest values of FIC were recorded for body care (FIC=1.0), circulatory diseases (FIC=0.91), malaria (FIC=0.81) and digestive disorders (FIC=0.55). The plants showing the highest informants' consensus (FL) were Myrothamnus flabellifolia used to treat colds and respiratory diseases (FL=100%), Terminalia prunioides for digestive diseases (93%) and Euphorbia subsalsa for backache (86%). For five plants cited as medicinal by the informants, no reports were found in the consulted ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological literature; many uses of several already known medicinal plants were also unrecorded. Food products obtained from wild plants include fresh fruit (20 ethnospecies, 287 citations), alcoholic (11, 107) and non-alcoholic (10, 44) beverages, massa, i.e. a kind of mash, (4, 65), vegetables (10, 40), and others. Results show that people living in Mopane communities of southern Angola hold a valuable knowledge of the uses of plant resources and that some of the plants cited by the informants represent an important component of the local livelihood strategies. We also found some plants worthy of more in-depth investigations on their possible pharmacological activity, including: (i) those used to treat diseases which reached the highest FIC, like malaria and various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract; (ii) plants with a high FL; (iii) plants not previously reported in ethnomedical literature, especially those cited by different informants; (iv) plants with possible nutraceutical or pharma-food properties, i.e. plants with considerable contents in vitamins and/or micronutrients and plants whose food and medicinal uses are closely related. Anthropological and historical studies in ethnopharmacology, quality traditional medicines. Botany, Traditional medicine, Africa, Diarrhea, Malaria. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcriptomes of the desiccation- tolerant resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodriguez, M. C.; Edsgard, Stefan Daniel; Hussain, S. S.

2010-01-01

the transcriptomes of C. plantagineum leaves at four stages of dehydration and rehydration. This reveals that genes involved in several pathways, such as those required for vitamin K and thiamin biosynthesis, are tightly regulated at the level of gene expression. Our analysis also provides a comprehensive picture...

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Chondracanthus (Rhodophyta), focusing on the resurrection of C. okamurae and the description of C. cincinnus sp. nov.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mi Yeon; Kim, Myung Sook

2016-09-01

Determining the taxonomic status of the red algal genus Chondracanthus based on morphological characters is challenging due to the similarity and high degree of plasticity of the thallus. Since the taxonomic history of several Chondracanthus species remains unclear, we analyzed the plastid rbcL and mitochondrial COI genes of the specimens from Korea and Japan, in combination with morphological observations, to examine their phylogenetic relationships. Our results confirmed the distinction of C. okamurae, which is separated from C. intermedius, and identified a novel species, C. cincinnus sp. nov. Three species ( C. okamurae, C. intermedius and C. cincinnus) formed a monophyletic clade with C. tenellus. C. okamurae is distinguished by linear, narrow, cylindrical to compressed, slightly recurved axes, and a high-intertidal to subtidal distribution. It was collected from Korea and Japan, while C. intermedius was identified from Japan only. A new species, Chondracanthus cincinnus sp. nov., is characterized by linear, compressed, strongly recurved axes, and a low-intertidal to subtidal distiribution. Based on the molecular phylogeny using rbcL and COI data, we herein resurrect C. okamurae as a distinct species and identify C. cincinnus as a new species.

Historicizing Chicago’s Resurrection of the Film Musical, or, Thinking in Fragments, from Vaudeville to MTV

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Vagelis Siropoulos

2009-10-01

Full Text Available

Abstract:
With its 2003 Oscar triumph and its success in the international box office, Chicago
managed to resurrect the film musical. One of the reasons for the film’s success is its
dynamic visual vocabulary, which exhibits the influence of a postmodern mode of
fragmentation, best exemplified in MTV videos. Chicago uses this video aesthetic in
order to communicate the dynamism of the vaudeville act, which, interestingly, was
the first form of mass entertainment that systematically explored the dynamics of the
fragment as an aesthetic device. In this way, Chicago creates a sense of diachrony that
invites us to reconstitute a history of the fragment from the “primitive” popular
culture of the early-twentieth century to the digitalized one of the twenty-first.

Résumé:
Le triomphe de Chicago aux Oscars 2003 et son succès commercial international ont
signifié la résurrection du film musical. Une des raisons du succès du film est le
dynamisme de ses images, qui trahit l’influence de la mode postmoderne de la
fragmentation déjà illustrée par les clips de MTV. Chicago se sert de l’esthétique
vidéo pour communiquer la vivacité des numéros de vaudeville, sans doute la
première forme de divertissement populaire à explorer le dynamisme du fragment
comme technique esthétique. Chicago fait naître ainsi une conscience de la diachronie
du genre qui nous invite à reconstituer l’histoire du fragment depuis les formes
« primitives » de la culture populaire au début du XXe siècle aux formes numériques
du début du XXIe.

Developmental peculiarities and seed-borne endophytes in quinoa: Omnipresent, robust bacilli contribute to plant fitness.

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Andrea ePitzschke

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Among potential climate change-adapted crops for future agriculture, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa, a facultative halophyte plant with exceptional nutritional properties, stands out as a prime candidate. This work examined how quinoa deals with extreme situations during seed rehydration. A seed-borne microbiome was discovered and its potential role in early development and stress resistance investigated.Methods involved germination and drought exposure assays, histochemical detection of reactive oxygen species, and diverse tests with seed(ling material to assess microbial occurrence, release and proliferation. Quinoa´s microbial partners were biochemically, microscopically and taxonomically characterized.Quinoa distinguishes itself from other plants in multiple ways. It germinates within minutes, even under extremely hostile conditions. Broken seeds/split embryos are able to regenerate. Furthermore, quinoa seedlings are resurrection-competent. These peculiarities became in part explainable upon discovery of seed-borne microorganisms. 100% of quinoa seeds, from different sources, are inhabited by bacteria of the genus Bacillus. These endophytes are mobile and reside in all seedling organs, indicating vertical transmission. Owing to their strong catalase activity and high superoxide contents they can modify host redox properties. One outcome is cell expansion, enabling quinoa to overcome a critical period in development, seedling establishment.Quinoa´s immediate confrontation with foreign ROS and bacterial elicitors likely induces a naturally primed state, enabling plants to withstand extreme situations. The endophytic bacteria, which are cultivable and highly robust themselves, have high potential for application in agriculture, food (amylase and cosmetics (catalase industry. An exciting question arising from this work is: Can quinoa´s microbiome be transferred to improve stress resistance in other plant species?

Redescription and resurrection from synonymy, of Aedes (Ochlerotatus Rhyacophilus Costa Lima, 1933 Redescrição e revalidação de Aedes (Ochlerotatus rhyacophilus Costa Lima, 1933

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Maria Anice Mureb Sallum

1988-03-01

Full Text Available Aedes (Ochlerotatu rhyacophilus Costa Lima i resurrected from the synonymy with Aedes (Ochlerotatus scapularis (Rondani. Lectotype and paralectotypes are designated Larval, pupal and both sexes of adult stages are redescribed and illustrated. Bionomics include a picture of a brreding place. Diagnostic characters for distinguishing rhyacophilus from other species of the Scapularis Group are provided. Some data about known distribution are presented.Aedes (Ochlerotatus rhyacophilus Costa Lima é retida da sinonímia con Aedes (Ochlerotatus scapularis (Rondani. São designados lectótipo e paralectótipos. As formas larval, pupal e adulta de ambos os sexos são redescritas e acompanhadas de ilustrações representativas desses estádios, além do aspecto de um criadouro natural. Apresentam-se caracteres diagnósticos que permitem separar rhyacophilus das outras espécies do Grupo Scapularis, e alguns dados sobre a distribuição geográfica até agora conhecida.

The resurrection genome of Boea hygrometrica: A blueprint for survival of dehydration

Science.gov (United States)

The dicot, Boea hygrometrica, is an important plant model for the discovery of genes central to desiccation tolerance in plants; an essential trait in land plant evolution and the foundation for global agriculture. We used a vegetative clonal line to uncover the sequence and characterize the respons...

Comparison of oxide- and metal-core behavior during CRBRP [Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant] station blackout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polkinghorne, S.T.; Atkinson, S.A.

1986-01-01

A resurrected concept that could significantly improve the inherently safe response of Liquid-Metal cooled Reactors (LMRs) during severe undercooling transients is the use of metallic fuel. Analytical studies have been reported on for the transient behavior of metal-fuel cores in innovative, inherently safe LMR designs. This paper reports on an analysis done, instead, for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP) design with the only innovative change being the incorporation of a metal-fuel core. The SSC-L code was used to simulate a protected station blackout accident in the CRBRP with a 943 MWt Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) metal-fuel core. The results, compared with those for the oxide-fueled CRBRP, show that the margin to boiling is greater for the IFR core. However, the cooldown transient is more severe due to the faster thermal response time of metallic fuel. Some additional calculations to assess possible LMR design improvements (reduced primary system pressure losses, extended flow coastdown) are also discussed. 8 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs

How to read Hasan or the resurrection of a contingent apparition of real readers

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Vedad Spahić

2017-10-01

Full Text Available How to read Hasan or the resurrection of a contingent apparition of real readers A fragment from the novel Death and the Dervish, the famous monologue by Hasan about the Bosniak identity, to which this review is dedicated, is exceptionally appropriate for an interpretative manipulation. We have approached it from two different methodological starting points. The first reading (the inner approach attempts to shed light on the aesthetic efficiency of Hasan’s soliloquy in the context of the structure/totality of the novel. The second starting point (the outer approach is reading the monologue as an auto-imagological, politically instrumentalized discourse. The text should also be understood as an implicit answer to the question of whether it is possible to plausibly combine these approaches despite the incompatibility of the analytical points, while considering the fact that the compatibility of the writer’s and reader’s worldview is not a necessary prerequisite for aesthetic communication.   Jak czytać Hasana albo zmartwychwstanie przypadkowego widma rzeczywistych czytelników Fragment powieści Derwisz i śmierć M. Selimovicia, słynny monolog Hasana na temat bośniackiej tożsamości, któremu poświęcono niniejszy artykuł, jest wyjątkowo podatny na manipulacje interpretacyjne. W tekście dokonano jego analizy, obierając dwa różne metodologiczne punkty wyjścia. Pierwszy typ lektury (podejście wewnętrzne jest próbą rzucenia światła na estetyczną skuteczność soliloqium Hasana w kontekście struktury całości powieści. Drugi punkt wyjścia (podejście zewnętrzne to odczytanie monologu jako autoimagologicznego, politycznie zinstrumentalizowanego dyskursu. Celem tekstu jest także (implicit próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy – mimo niezgodności punktów analitycznych – możliwe jest wiarygodne połączenie tych dwóch podejść, biorąc pod uwagę fakt, że zgodność poglądów pisarza i czytelnika nie jest koniecznym

Forgotten in the taxonomic literature: Resurrection of the scleractinian coral genus Sclerophyllia (Scleractinia, Lobophylliidae) from the Arabian Peninsula and its phylogenetic relationships

KAUST Repository

Arrigoni, Roberto

2014-11-21

The monospecific scleractinian coral genus Sclerophyllia Klunzinger, 1879 was originally described from Al-Qusayr (Egypt) in the Red Sea based on a series of solitary specimens. Thenceforth, it has been considered a junior synonym of Symphyllia and Cynarina based on corallum macromorphology. In this study, several specimens of Sclerophyllia margariticola were collected on the coasts of Saudi Arabia in the northern and central Red Sea. Four molecular markers were sequenced, COI and the intergenic spacer between COI and l-rRNA from mitochondrial DNA and Histone H3 and ribosomal ITS2 from nuclear DNA. Phylogenetic trees and haplotype network analyses show that S. margariticola belongs to the family Lobophylliidae and that it is closely related to Acanthastrea maxima, an uncommon species from waters around the Arabian peninsula (the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf). Sclerophyllia margariticola and A. maxima share several macro- and micromorphological characters, such as the presence of free septa, high elliptical septal teeth perpendicular to the septal margin, irregular lobate tips, very wide tooth spacing, a very strong granulation with granules scattered all along the septal sides, and a palisade interarea structure, and their micromorphology differs substantially from that of Acanthastrea echinata, the type species of Acanthastrea. Therefore, we formally resurrect Sclerophyllia, provide a revised diagnosis for the genus, and move A. maxima into Sclerophyllia.

Resurrection of Anopheles goeldii from synonymy with Anopheles nuneztovari (Diptera, Culicidae and a new record for Anopheles dunhami in the Brazilian Amazon

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Daniéla C Calado

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2 rDNA and partial sequences of the cytochrome coxidase subunit I (COI mtDNA and white gene nDNA were obtained from specimens of Anopheles nuneztovari A collected in Macapá (state of Amapá, Óbidos, Prainha and Almeirim (state of Pará, Itacoatiara and Parintins (state of Amazonas, Brazil, and compared with previously published sequences of A. nuneztovari s.l. Results of the Bayesian phylogenetic analyses performed using either COI or combined ITS2, COI and white gene sequences suggest that An. nuneztovari B/C is distinct from specimens obtained in the Amazonas/Solimões River basin. Anopheles goeldii, currently in synonymy with An. nuneztovari, was described from individuals collected in Belterra (= Fordlândia in the Tapajós River, state of Pará, Southern Amazonas River. Morphological comparisons of the characteristics of the male genitalia indicated that An. nuneztovari A and An. goeldii are similar but distinct from An. nuneztovariB/C by the apex of the aedeagus. In considering the results of the phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons, An. goeldii is resurrected from synonymy with An. nuneztovari. Additionally, Anopheles dunhamiis reported for the first time in Parintins. This species can be distinguished from An. goeldiiby characters of the male genitalia and molecular data.

Les sources des Citations peintes sur les phylactères des Saints de la rangée inférieure de la façade de l’Eglise de La Résurrection de Dieu du Monastère de Suceviţa / The Sources of the Quotations Painted on the Phylacteries of the Saints of the Lower Row of the Façade of the Church of the Resurrection of God of the Monastery of Suceviţa

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Constantin I. Ciobanu

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Sources of the Quotations Painted on the Phylacteries of the Saints of the Lower Row of the Façade of the Church of the Resurrection of God of the Monastery of Suceviţa. This study aims to discover the literary sources of the quotations painted on the phylacteries of the saints on the bottom row of the regarding the façade of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ of Suceviţa Monastery. This study is part of a series regarding the sayings of the fathers from the desert, the confessors, the anchorites and the stylites painted on the southern façade of the Church of The Annunciation of the Virgin from Moldoviţa . The author of the study shows that the quotes from Suceviţa are largely drawn from the Alphabetical Collection of the Sentences of the Fathers of the Desert.

Predators induce interspecific herbivore competition for food in refuge space

OpenAIRE

Pallini, A.; Janssen, A.; Sabelis, M.W.

1998-01-01

Resource competition among herbivorous arthropods has long been viewed as unimportant because herbivore populations are controlled by predators. Although recently resurrected as an organizing force in arthropod communities on plants, there is still general agreement that resource competition among herbivores is reduced by predators. Here we show the reverse: predators induce interspecific resource competi-tion among herbivores. We found that thrips larvae (Frankliniella occidentalis) use the ...

Resurrection and re-description of Plethodontohyla laevis (Boettger, 1913 and transfer of Rhombophryne alluaudi (Mocquard, 1901 to the genus Plethodontohyla (Amphibia, Microhylidae, Cophylinae

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Adriana Bellati

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The systematics of the cophyline microhylid frog genera Plethodontohyla and Rhombophryne have long been intertwined, and their relationships have only recently started to become clear. While Rhombophryne has received a lot of recent taxonomic attention, Plethodontohyla has been largely neglected. Our study is a showcase of just how complex the taxonomic situation between these two genera is, and the care that must be taken to resolve taxonomic conundrums where old material, multiple genus transitions, and misattribution of new material obfuscate the picture. We assessed the identity of the historic names Dyscophus alluaudi (currently in the genus Rhombophryne, Phrynocara laeve and Plethodontohyla laevis tsianovohensis (both synonyms of Rhombophryne alluaudi based on an integrative taxonomic approach harnessing genetics, external morphology, osteological data obtained via micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT and bioacoustics. We show that (1 the holotype of Dyscophus alluaudi is a member of the genus Plethodontohyla; (2 the Rhombophryne specimens from central Madagascar currently assigned to Rhombophryne alluaudi have no affinity with that species, and are instead an undescribed species; and (3 Phrynocara laeve and Dyscophus alluaudi are not synonymous, but represent closely related species, whereas Plethodontohyla laevis tsianovohensis is tentatively confirmed as synonym of D. alluaudi. We resurrect and re-describe Plethodontohyla laevis, and re-allocate and re-describe Plethodontohyla alluaudi on the basis of new and historic material.

Heliconema anguillae Yamaguti, 1935, a physalopterid nematode found in Japanese eels: taxonomic resurrection with a note on the third-stage larva from intertidal crabs in western Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Katahira, Hirotaka; Nagasawa, Kazuya

2015-01-01

A parasitic nematode from the stomach of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica Temminck et Schlegel in western Japan, previously identified as Heliconema longissimum (Ortlepp, 1922), was morphologically re-examined and compared with the previous descriptions. In addition, the third-stage larva of this nematode is described, based on the specimens of encapsuled larvae found in musculature of two crabs, Hemigrapsus sp. and Perisesarma bidens (De Haan), caught from the upper-intertidal zone of the same locality. As a result of the morphological observation, seven pairs of postcloacal papillae in adult males are confirmed. This matches with the character of H. longissimum, but the shape of the fifth postcloacal papillae differs between the present material and H. longissimum; the former possesses pedunculate papillae in the fifth pair whereas the latter has sessile papillae. Since the pedunculate papillae can be found in the original description and the syntype specimens of H. anguillae Yamaguti, 1935 that has been synonymised with H. longissimum, we thus here resurrect H. anguillae as an accepted species. For the life-cycle of the present nematode, littoral crabs, including the two infected species, are likely to be the source of infections for Japanese eels, acting as intermediate hosts.

Functional Analyses of Resurrected and Contemporary Enzymes Illuminate an Evolutionary Path for the Emergence of Exolysis in Polysaccharide Lyase Family 2.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Richard; Hobbs, Joanne K; Suits, Michael D; Tuomivaara, Sami T; Jones, Darryl R; Boraston, Alisdair B; Abbott, D Wade

2015-08-28

Family 2 polysaccharide lyases (PL2s) preferentially catalyze the β-elimination of homogalacturonan using transition metals as catalytic cofactors. PL2 is divided into two subfamilies that have been generally associated with secretion, Mg(2+) dependence, and endolysis (subfamily 1) and with intracellular localization, Mn(2+) dependence, and exolysis (subfamily 2). When present within a genome, PL2 genes are typically found as tandem copies, which suggests that they provide complementary activities at different stages along a catabolic cascade. This relationship most likely evolved by gene duplication and functional divergence (i.e. neofunctionalization). Although the molecular basis of subfamily 1 endolytic activity is understood, the adaptations within the active site of subfamily 2 enzymes that contribute to exolysis have not been determined. In order to investigate this relationship, we have conducted a comparative enzymatic analysis of enzymes dispersed within the PL2 phylogenetic tree and elucidated the structure of VvPL2 from Vibrio vulnificus YJ016, which represents a transitional member between subfamiles 1 and 2. In addition, we have used ancestral sequence reconstruction to functionally investigate the segregated evolutionary history of PL2 progenitor enzymes and illuminate the molecular evolution of exolysis. This study highlights that ancestral sequence reconstruction in combination with the comparative analysis of contemporary and resurrected enzymes holds promise for elucidating the origins and activities of other carbohydrate active enzyme families and the biological significance of cryptic metabolic pathways, such as pectinolysis within the zoonotic marine pathogen V. vulnificus. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

A Narrative about a “Resurrected Woman” in the Reception of D.V. Batov, an Old Believer of Tula

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Alexander V. Pigin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article deals with one of the genres of Russian folklore, the so-called obmiraniye narratives about a human soul visiting the other world during the lethargy state. It dis- cusses the problem of perception of such texts on the example of the following case study. At the turn of the century, a famous Tula-based Old Believer and publisher D.V. Batov (1825–1910 wrote a short article “On the Reading of Brochure Phrases” (reprinted as “On the Reading of Fictitious Brochures”. In this article, he strongly criticized the nar- rative about a “resurrected woman” recorded by Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharyov of Altai in the early 1830s. In this narrative, a local Cossack’s wife sank into lethargy and was ascended to heaven where she met the Lord who heard the prayers for her and let her go back but instead ordered to bring him the soul of a different woman bearing the same name. D.V. Batov interpreted this obmiraniye narrative as sheer fiction circulated by the dominant church, alongside other fictitious stories, and causing damage to the faith. The article examines other D.V. Batov’s arguments against this text: the main one is dis- crepancy between the narrative and the Orthodox doctrine of the soul’s afterlife ordeals as represented in the Byzantine Life of Vassily Novy (10 th century. The Old Believer of Tula reads a text belonging to folk culture through the lenses of church literature and bookish topoi. Thus, the process of text verification by the bearer of religious conscious- ness consists in its juxtaposing with the tradition that the recipient sees as the only true one. The article also analyzes the actual obmiraniye narrative recorded by Archimandrite Macarius and finds its parallels in oral and written texts of the visionary genre.

Identification of proteins involved in desiccation tolerance in the red seaweed Pyropia orbicularis (Rhodophyta, Bangiales).

Science.gov (United States)

López-Cristoffanini, Camilo; Zapata, Javier; Gaillard, Fanny; Potin, Philippe; Correa, Juan A; Contreras-Porcia, Loretto

2015-12-01

Extreme reduction in cellular water content leads to desiccation, which, if persistent, affects the physiology of organisms, mainly through oxidative stress. Some organisms are highly tolerant to desiccation, including resurrection plants and certain intertidal seaweeds. One such species is Pyropia orbicularis, a rhodophycean that colonizes upper intertidal zones along the Chilean coast. Despite long, daily periods of air exposure due to tides, this alga is highly tolerant to desiccation. The present study examined the proteome of P. orbicularis by 2DE and LC-MS/MS analyses to determine the proteins associated with desiccation tolerance (DT). The results showed that, under natural conditions, there were significant changes in the protein profile during low tide as compared to naturally hydrated plants at high tide. These changes were mainly in newly appeared proteins spots such as chaperones, monodehydroascorbate reductase, and manganese superoxide dismutase, among others. Previously undescribed proteins under desiccation conditions included phycobiliproteins, glyoxalase I, and phosphomannomutase. These changes evidenced that several physiological responses involved in DT are activated during low tide, including decreased photosynthetic activity, increased antioxidant capacity, and the preservation of cell physiology by regulating water content, cell wall structure, and cell volume. Similar responses have been observed in resurrection plants and bryophytes exposed to desiccation. Therefore, the coordinated activation of different desiccation tolerance pathways in P. orbicularis could explain the successful biological performance of this seaweed in the upper intertidal rocky zones. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The prince, the glamour model and the Vikings’ lost language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kroonen, Guus

2015-01-01

The marriage of Sofia Hellqvist to Prince Carl Philip of Sweden could help resurrect the once-banned Elfdalian tongue......The marriage of Sofia Hellqvist to Prince Carl Philip of Sweden could help resurrect the once-banned Elfdalian tongue...

Seed dispersal and establishment of endangered plants on Oceanic Islands: the Janzen-Connell model, and the use of ecological analogues.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis M Hansen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Janzen-Connell model states that plant-specific natural enemies may have a disproportionately large negative effect on progeny close to maternal trees. The majority of experimental and theoretical studies addressing the Janzen-Connell model have explored how it can explain existing patterns of species diversity in tropical mainland areas. Very few studies have investigated how the model's predictions apply to isolated oceanic islands, or to the conservation management of endangered plants. Here, we provide the first experimental investigation of the predictions of the Janzen-Connell model on an oceanic island, in a conservation context. In addition, we experimentally evaluate the use of ecological analogue animals to resurrect the functional component of extinct frugivores that could have dispersed seeds away from maternal trees. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In Mauritius, we investigated seed germination and seedling survival patterns of the critically endangered endemic plant Syzygium mamillatum (Myrtaceae in relation to proximity to maternal trees. We found strong negative effects of proximity to maternal trees on growth and survival of seedlings. We successfully used giant Aldabran tortoises as ecological analogues for extinct Mauritian frugivores. Effects of gut-passage were negative at the seed germination stage, but seedlings from gut-passed seeds grew taller, had more leaves, and suffered less damage from natural enemies than any of the other seedlings. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We provide the first experimental evidence of a distance-dependent Janzen-Connell effect on an oceanic island. Our results potentially have serious implications for the conservation management of rare plant species on oceanic islands, which harbour a disproportionately large fraction of the world's endemic and endangered plants. Furthermore, in contrast to recent controversy about the use of non-indigenous extant megafauna for re

Maltase protein of Ogataea (Hansenula) polymorpha is a counterpart to the resurrected ancestor protein ancMALS of yeast maltases and isomaltases

Science.gov (United States)

Viigand, Katrin; Visnapuu, Triinu; Mardo, Karin; Aasamets, Anneli

2016-01-01

Abstract Saccharomyces cerevisiae maltases use maltose, maltulose, turanose and maltotriose as substrates, isomaltases use isomaltose, α‐methylglucoside and palatinose and both use sucrose. These enzymes are hypothesized to have evolved from a promiscuous α‐glucosidase ancMALS through duplication and mutation of the genes. We studied substrate specificity of the maltase protein MAL1 from an earlier diverged yeast, Ogataea polymorpha (Op), in the light of this hypothesis. MAL1 has extended substrate specificity and its properties are strikingly similar to those of resurrected ancMALS. Moreover, amino acids considered to determine selective substrate binding are highly conserved between Op MAL1 and ancMALS. Op MAL1 represents an α‐glucosidase in which both maltase and isomaltase activities are well optimized in a single enzyme. Substitution of Thr200 (corresponds to Val216 in S. cerevisiae isomaltase IMA1) with Val in MAL1 drastically reduced the hydrolysis of maltose‐like substrates (α‐1,4‐glucosides), confirming the requirement of Thr at the respective position for this function. Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) of the catalytically inactive mutant Asp199Ala of MAL1 in the presence of its substrates and selected monosaccharides suggested that the substrate‐binding pocket of MAL1 has three subsites (–1, +1 and +2) and that binding is strongest at the –1 subsite. The DSF assay results were in good accordance with affinity (K m) and inhibition (K i) data of the enzyme for tested substrates, indicating the power of the method to predict substrate binding. Deletion of either the maltase (MAL1) or α‐glucoside permease (MAL2) gene in Op abolished the growth of yeast on MAL1 substrates, confirming the requirement of both proteins for usage of these sugars. © 2016 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:26919272

The genus Clathria from the Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean, with redescription and resurrection of Clathria carteri (Poecilosclerida: Microcionidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Patricia

2014-04-16

The present study deals with the morphologic variability of eight Clathria species from the southern Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean. Clathria (Clathria) foliacea, C. (C.) carteri, C. (Microciona) calla, C. (M.) echinata, C. (M.) spinosa, C. (Thalysias.) venosa, and C. (T.) virgultosa were collected by scuba diving and dredging from the southern Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz, Campeche Bank, Yucatan) to the Caribbean coast (Quintana Roo) from shoreline to 120 m depth. The population of Clathria seems to be neither abundant nor diverse in the studied area. However, the seven species considered here are presumed to have a slight morphologic variability, and the interspecific relationships had not been fully resolved. The present study focuses on their differentiation through comparison of external morphology, skeletal architecture, spiculation and measurements of characters as well as scanning electronic microscopy.    Comparisons were made among intra- and interspecific material and with the available type material. In particular, C. carteri Topsent (1889), previously synonymized with C. foliacea, is resurrected by establishing a neotype from material from the type locality, Campeche Bank; this has not been studied since its original description and is here redescribed for the first time. Another neotype is assigned for C. foliacea from Campeche also, since the original material is no longer available, and this species is redescribed also. Significant differences in spiculation between C. foliacea and C. carteri were found by one-way ANOVA. Although C. (T.) venosa resembles C. (T.) raraechelae in spiculation, these two species differ in measurements and skeletal organization. C. (T.) virgultosa is typified by a peculiar acanthostyle that is markedly spined on distal parts of the shaft, and by two types of tiny microscleres. This study has extended the known geographic distribution of each of these Clathria spp. within the lower Gulf of Mexico.

Monitoring adaptive genetic responses to environmental change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, M.M.; Olivieri, I.; Waller, D.M.

2012-01-01

Widespread environmental changes including climate change, selective harvesting and landscape alterations now greatly affect selection regimes for most organisms. How animals and plants can adapt to these altered environments via contemporary evolution is thus of strong interest. We discuss how...... for selection and establishing clear links between genetic and environmental change. We then review a few exemplary studies that explore adaptive responses to climate change in Drosophila, selective responses to hunting and fishing, and contemporary evolution in Daphnia using resurrected resting eggs. We...

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Taenia (Cestoda: Taeniidae): proposals for the resurrection of Hydatigera Lamarck, 1816 and the creation of a new genus Versteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakao, Minoru; Lavikainen, Antti; Iwaki, Takashi; Haukisalmi, Voitto; Konyaev, Sergey; Oku, Yuzaburo; Okamoto, Munehiro; Ito, Akira

2013-05-01

The cestode family Taeniidae generally consists of two valid genera, Taenia and Echinococcus. The genus Echinococcus is monophyletic due to a remarkable similarity in morphology, features of development and genetic makeup. By contrast, Taenia is a highly diverse group formerly made up of different genera. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses strongly suggest the paraphyly of Taenia. To clarify the genetic relationships among the representative members of Taenia, molecular phylogenies were constructed using nuclear and mitochondrial genes. The nuclear phylogenetic trees of 18S ribosomal DNA and concatenated exon regions of protein-coding genes (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and DNA polymerase delta) demonstrated that both Taenia mustelae and a clade formed by Taenia parva, Taenia krepkogorski and Taenia taeniaeformis are only distantly related to the other members of Taenia. Similar topologies were recovered in mitochondrial genomic analyses using 12 complete protein-coding genes. A sister relationship between T. mustelae and Echinococcus spp. was supported, especially in protein-coding gene trees inferred from both nuclear and mitochondrial data sets. Based on these results, we propose the resurrection of Hydatigera Lamarck, 1816 for T. parva, T. krepkogorski and T. taeniaeformis and the creation of a new genus, Versteria, for T. mustelae. Due to obvious morphological and ecological similarities, Taenia brachyacantha is also included in Versteria gen. nov., although molecular evidence is not available. Taenia taeniaeformis has been historically regarded as a single species but the present data clearly demonstrate that it consists of two cryptic species. Copyright © 2013 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural Resurrection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2007-01-01

"Who are we?Where are we from?"Humans have been pondering these questions since the day they first came into being.One of the ways we preserve memories of the past is through our cul- tural heritage that has been passed on from generation to genera- tion.Intangible cultural heritage,as well as tangible cultural her- itage,is essential to the continuity of human civilization. Since the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)unveiled the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001,China has had Kunqu opera,Guqin and its music,the art of Uygur Muqam of Xinjiang and the traditional Mongolian folk song Long Song added to UNESCO’s protection list.It is now one of the coun-

Resurrecting Legacy Code Using Ontosoft Knowledge-Sharing and Digital Object Management to Revitalize and Reproduce Software for Groundwater Management Research

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, N.; Gentle, J.; Pierce, S. A.

2015-12-01

Software code developed for research is often used for a relatively short period of time before it is abandoned, lost, or becomes outdated. This unintentional abandonment of code is a valid problem in the 21st century scientific process, hindering widespread reusability and increasing the effort needed to develop research software. Potentially important assets, these legacy codes may be resurrected and documented digitally for long-term reuse, often with modest effort. Furthermore, the revived code may be openly accessible in a public repository for researchers to reuse or improve. For this study, the research team has begun to revive the codebase for Groundwater Decision Support System (GWDSS), originally developed for participatory decision making to aid urban planning and groundwater management, though it may serve multiple use cases beyond those originally envisioned. GWDSS was designed as a java-based wrapper with loosely federated commercial and open source components. If successfully revitalized, GWDSS will be useful for both practical applications as a teaching tool and case study for groundwater management, as well as informing theoretical research. Using the knowledge-sharing approaches documented by the NSF-funded Ontosoft project, digital documentation of GWDSS is underway, from conception to development, deployment, characterization, integration, composition, and dissemination through open source communities and geosciences modeling frameworks. Information assets, documentation, and examples are shared using open platforms for data sharing and assigned digital object identifiers. Two instances of GWDSS version 3.0 are being created: 1) a virtual machine instance for the original case study to serve as a live demonstration of the decision support tool, assuring the original version is usable, and 2) an open version of the codebase, executable installation files, and developer guide available via an open repository, assuring the source for the

Endovascular Revascularization of Chronically Thrombosed Arteriovenous Fistulas and Grafts for Hemodialysis: A Retrospective Study in 15 Patients With 18 Access Sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng Meijui; Chen, Matt Chiung-Yu; Chi Wenche; Liu Yichun; Liang, Huei-Lung; Pan, Huay-Ben

2011-01-01

The current study retrospectively evaluated whether endovascular revascularization of chronically thrombosed and long-discarded vascular access sites for hemodialysis was feasible. Technical and clinical success rates, postintervention primary and secondary patency rates, and complications were reported. During a 1-year period, we reviewed a total of 924 interventions performed for dysfunction and/or failed hemodialysis vascular access sites and permanent catheters in 881 patients. In patients whose vascular access-site problems were considered untreatable or were considered treatable with a high risk of failure and access-site abandonment, we attempted to revascularize (resurrect) the chronically occluded and long-discarded (mummy) vascular access sites. We attempted to resurrect a total of 18 mummy access sites (mean age 46.6 ± 38.7 months; range 5–144) in 15 patients (8 women and 7 men; mean age 66.2 ± 11.5 years; age range 50–85) and had an overall technical success rate of 77.8%. Resurrection failure occurred in 3 fistulas and in 1 straight graft. The clinical success rate was 100% at 2 months after resurrection. In the 14 resurrected vascular access sites, 6 balloon-assisted maturation procedures were required in 5 fistulas; after access-site maturation, a total of 22 interventions were performed to maintain access-site patency. The mean go-through time for successful resurrection procedures was 146.6 ± 34.3 min (range 74–193). Postmaturation primary patency rates were 71.4 ± 12.1% at 30 days, 57.1 ± 13.2% at 60 days, 28.6 ± 13.4% at 90 days, and 19 ± 11.8% at 180 days. Postmaturation secondary patency rates were 100% at 30, 60, and 90 days and 81.8 ± 11.6% at 180 days. There were 2 major complications consisting of massive venous ruptures in 2 mummy access sites during balloon dilation; in both cases, prolonged balloon inflation failed to achieve hemostasis, but percutaneous N-butyl cyanoacrylate glue seal-off was performed successfully

Resurrection of Scolopendra longipes Wood and Scolopendra cubensis Saussure from synonymy with Scolopendra alternans Leach (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae): an enigmatic species-group needing phylogeographic analysis, with an overview on the origin and distribution of centipedes in the Caribbean region.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercurio, Randy J

2016-05-12

Resurrection of Scolopendra longipes Wood, 1862, and Scolopendra cubensis Saussure, 1860, from junior synonymy with Scolopendra alternans Leach, 1815, is proposed. A neotype specimen of Scolopendra longipes is designated. Scolopendra longipes has a restricted range from the Dry Tortugas up through the Florida Keys of Monroe County into the mainland Florida counties of Collier and Dade southeast to the Bahamas, while Scolopendra cubensis is endemic to Cuba. Characters distinguishing S. longipes, and S. cubensis from S. alternans are illustrated and compared using digital photography, micrography and morphometric data. It is suggested that what has been considered Scolopendra alternans from southern Florida through the Caribbean and into northern South America is probably an evolving species-group that has undergone major diversification sometime during the Paleocene and early Eocene ~65.5-50 million years ago (Ma), mainly due to geographic isolation caused by a combination of plate tectonics and 100,000 year cycles of glaciation/deglaciation.

Purification and cloning of the two domain glyoxalase I from wheat bran

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, K.S.; Svendsen, I.; Rasmussen, S.K.

2000-01-01

induced by desiccation of the resurrection grass Sporobulus stapfianus, suggesting a role for glyoxalase in de- or rehydration of plant tissue. The 37 kDa wheat enzyme belongs to a group of monomeric glyoxalases and is composed of two similar halves each representing the full-length human glyoxalase I...... U/mg protein (1U = 1 mu mol S-lactoyl glutathione formed/min). Degenerate primers were designed and used for PCR-RACE-based cloning of the corresponding composite cDNA sequence (AJ243528). The wheat bran glyoxalase I amino acid sequence is very similar to the translated sequence of a RNA transcript...

Resurrections and Rebirths

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forlenza, Rosario; Thomassen, Bjørn

2017-01-01

The Risorgimento was the process of independence and unification of the Italian nation between 1848 and 1860, and has remained a powerful symbol of Italian politics ever since. Elaborating on Jan Assmann’s concept of cultural memory, the article discusses the Risorgimento at crucial moments...... in twentieth-century Italian politics: the 1911 anniversary of unification, the elaboration of the Risorgimento during fascism, the re-appropriation of the Risorgimento by the left and by the Resistance during the 1930s and 1940s, the general semantic space carved by the post-war democratic forces on both...... right and left with reference to the Risorgimento, and the sudden return to the memory of the Risorgimento in the 1990s and afterwards. The aim of the article is to understand both continuities and changes in the reference to the Risorgimento in twentieth-century political discourse, and to put...

Resurrecting deadly carrots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weitzel, Corinna; Rønsted, Nina; Spalik, Krysztof

2014-01-01

Thapsia L. circumscribes a small genus of herbaceous perennials in the taxonomically difficult family Apiaceae. Thapsia occurs around the Mediterranean, extending from the Atlantic coasts of Portugal and Morocco to Crete and other Greek Islands in the East. Thapsia is commonly known as deadly...

Comments on Timothy F. Murphy's 'the afterlife of embryonic persons: what a strange place heaven must be'.

Science.gov (United States)

Head, Ivan F

2012-12-01

In this issue, Timothy F. Murphy has written a thought-provoking and carefully nuanced article that focuses on the question of a link between a first moment of conception and an end-state beyond death in the resurrection of a human person. He is particularly concerned to probe the theological implications of asserting that the person exists from the moment of conception, and he does so by asking the reader to imagine what kind of resurrected persons would thus populate a heaven filled with, for instance, the resurrected that had in this biotic life lived but a few hours post conception, or had, say, a CV that covered no more than 5 days of cellular replication. By implication, he asks us to imagine a resurrected person whose earthly life lacked memory, consciousness or bodily form, and rather had persisted as a cluster of undifferentiated pluripotent cells. Murphy's candid and fair treatment of these topics is a helpful invitation to some theologians to follow more thoroughly all implications of dogmatically held positions and to consider more thoroughly new ways of thinking of the person as an emergent reality. Copyright © 2012 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resurrección: apuntes entre cristología y apocalíptica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Alejandro Arias J.

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This article is an approach to the resurrection from the Christological and the apocalyptic perspective. The basis for this paper lies in the thought of Wolfhart Pannenberg, and some conclusions on the problem of death and resurrection of Jesus. The starting point is a reflection on procedural horizons of Christology, for it to place the theologian Pannenberg, who outlines the criticism to which it is subjected and the points defined by him in his own favor. The second point is a review summary of what the binomial Death-Resurrection is in the amplitude of the apocryphal literature, literary and historical fundamentals and the diversity of perspectives and schemes that identified the first community to read their founding event; and in a third point, the elements of the apocalyptic as an appropriate genre to the experience and communication of Kerygma.

Jona se “opstanding uit die dood”: Perspektiewe op die “opstandings-geloof” vanuit die Ou Testament Dirk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk J. Human

2004-10-01

The Jonah novelette tends to be one of the First Testament’s primary witnesses on the resurrection faith. This faith portrays the omnipotent power of God over all other threatening powers of death and chaos, be they human or divine. Only God can raise the dead from death. Jonah’s resurrection from death illustrates how Yahweh alone is responsible for this endeavour. This article focuses on Jonah’s prayer (2:3-10. It argues that the reader is persuaded to see Jonah’s flight from Yahweh and his commission ultimately leading to his ending up behind the bars of death (2:7b. Embedded in fictitious and mythological descriptions is Yahweh who delivered Jonah from the pit of death, namely Sheol (2:7c. Resurrection faith narratives in the Second Testament confirm these perspectives in the First Testament.

Immortality in view of Maimonides and Spinoza

OpenAIRE

Morteza Shajari; Yousef Nozohur; Abbas Fanni Asl

2014-01-01

Desire for immortality can be seen as the essential natural impulse. Therefore, different religions and thinkers have attempted to see the issue from different viewpoints. The great Jewish philosopher. Maimonides, due to deep fixation to Judaism, has tried to express their issues to be consistent with the Bible and his own community believes. He, in his discussion of resurrection, believed to three basic steps: The Messiah, the resurrection, and the world hereafter. His standpoint of eternity...

Skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe – beoordeel vanuit die gereformeerde teologie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carel Coetzee

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Hierdie artikel ondersoek die aard en omvang van skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe binne die Suid-Afrikaanse teologie. Spesifieke klem word op die konsekwensies gelê wat skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe vir die kernleerstukke van die Christelike geloof inhou. Verdere konsekwensies raak die hart van die individu se daaglikse geloofslewe en die praktyk van die kerk. Ten einde hierdie doel te bereik, word enkele skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe kortliks gestel. Standpuntstelling word deur ’n beoordeling van elke standpunt vanuit ’n skrifverantwoorde teologie gevolg. Die standpunt word gestel dat skrifkritiese teoloë dikwels die ryke betekenis van Christus se opstanding ontken of onderbeklemtoon. Die navorsing vir hierdie artikel het verder getoon dat skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe verreikende negatiewe konsekwensies vir ’n skrifverantwoorde teologie inhou. Die gevolgtrekking is dat skrifkritiese opstandingsperspektiewe onversoenbaar met die tradisioneel-reformatoriese leer van die Christologie is. This article investigates the nature and extent of scripture-critical views of the resurrectioni n the context of South African theology. Special attention is given to the consequences that a scripture-critical view of the resurrection has on the core doctrines of reformed theology. Further consequences also affect the day-to-day faith of believers and the mission and effectiveness of the church. In order to conclude this investigation a number of scripturecritical views of the resurrection are critically investigated and evaluated from the perspective of the paradigm of reformed Dogmatics. Research has proven that scripture-critical scholars of theology displace or undervalue the impactful meaning of Christ’s resurrection. Scripturecritical views of the resurrection have numerous negative consequences for the traditional doctrines of reformed theology. This article has determined that a scripture-critical view of the

D.H.Lawrence's Quest for "a Beyond"

OpenAIRE

中山, 本文; Motofumi, NAKAYAMA

2003-01-01

Some critics show interest in the change of the author's attention from the "perfect union" between both sexes to the "great world" of nature in Women in Love, referring to the passage showing the resurrection of the hero Birkin through the delicate touch with vegetation life. But the resurrection scene in the vegetation world does not necessarily mean the abandonment of the "perfect union." When consideration is given to the fact that the rest of the work centers about the establishment of a...

An argument supporting de-extinction and a call for field research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charli N. Davis

2016-10-01

Full Text Available With recent advances in biotechnology, the resurrection of recently extinct species has become a possibility, provoking a debate about the wisdom of what has become known as de-extinction. Regardless of the current feasibility and ethical controversies over de-extinction, ongoing technological advancement is likely to result in resurrected species in the near future. In our opinion, de-extinction will be followed by proposals for reintroduction into the wild. We argue that this development could be valuable for the advancement of ecological understanding and conservation.  However, the current conversations are happening in a vacuum. We therefore call for the initiation of field experiments using physiological and ecological surrogates. This type of research could shed light on the potential impacts of resurrected animals on modern ecosystems. While this research would have challenges, it could provide valuable information on th ecology of the past and better prepare scientists and wildlife managers for de-extinction.

What’s so special about reconstructing a mammoth?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gamborg, Christian

2014-01-01

Resurrection efforts are not just about ways of changing animals but about ways of changing nature. The re-creation of extinct species seems to steer right into a long-standing ethical debate about the (right) use of technology, about what constitutes a fair distribution of harms and benefits......, and about the nature and extent of our responsibilities. This debate concerns on the one hand the moral status of (resurrected) animals and issues about how they should be treated; and on the other hand the value of nature and what kind of meddling is considered acceptable...

Resurrecting Equilibria Through Cycles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnett, Richard C.; Bhattacharya, Joydeep; Bunzel, Helle

equilibria because they asymptotically violate some economic restriction of the model. The literature has always ruled out such paths. This paper studies a pure-exchange monetary overlapping generations economy in which real balances cycle forever between momentary equilibrium points. The novelty is to show...... that segments of the offer curve that have been previously ignored, can in fact be used to produce asymptotically valid cyclical paths. Indeed, a cycle can bestow dynamic validity on momentary equilibrium points that had erstwhile been classified as dynamically invalid....

Dynamics of Endogenous Phytohormones during Desiccation and Recovery of the Resurrection Plant Species Haberlea rhodopensis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Djilianov, D.L.; Dobrev, Petre; Moyankova, D.P.; Vaňková, Radomíra; Georgieva, D.T.; Gajdošová, Silvia; Motyka, Václav

2013-01-01

Roč. 32, č. 3 (2013), s. 564-574 ISSN 0721-7595 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/11/0774; GA ČR GA522/09/2058; GA ČR GA206/09/2062 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50380511 Keywords : Abscisic acid * Auxin * Desiccation tolerance * Cytokinin Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 2.058, year: 2013

The Death and Resurrection of the album cover / Muerte y resurrección de la portada de discos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismael López Medel

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The recording industry is facing yet another pivotal moment of redefinition. Imagery has been one of its key elements, whether through graphic design, album art design, posters, videos and applications for digital devices. Throughout the more than hundred years of existence, music and images have shared a common space, in an ever-changing and evolving relationship. The main goal of the paper is to present how album cover design has expanded its boundaries far beyond its initial rol in the music industry, to trespass now into the textile, decoration and popular culture industries. We also aim to prove the evolution of the álbum cover and its reinterpreattion as objects of popular culture. Therefore, the paper is divided in three acts. We begin explaining the origin, evolution and significance of the discographic design from the outset of the industry. In the following act, we explain the death of the album cover due to the crisis experienced by the industry in the nineties. The final act studies the surprising comeback of the format, yet in another context, possessed with a much more symbolic function. This resurrection is part of the vinyl revival, pushed by elite consumers who are now looking for something else in music, apart from the music itself. As a result, we will witness how record covers have migrated from their original function and are now part of the realm of popular culture.La industria musical se encuentra de nuevo en un momento de redefinición. Uno de sus elementos claves ha sido el componente visual de la música a través del diseño gráfico, cubiertas de discos, posters, videos, aplicaciones, etc. A lo largo de los más de cien años de industria, la música y la imagen han ido de la mano, si bien dicha relación ha ido evolucionando con el tiempo. El objetivo principal es confirmar que el diseño discográfico ha conquistado otros campos más allá de la propia música (el textil, la decoración, la cultura popular, y ha

Insights on the neuromodulatory propensity of Selaginella (Sanjeevani) and its potential pharmacological applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandran, Girish; Muralidhara

2014-02-01

Exploiting the potential of natural compounds to attenuate endogenous redox status to achieve neuroprotection is a novel concept in human disease therapy. This has necessitated a need to identify newer efficient phytochemicals possessing propensity to act on various biochemical therapeutic targets with low or no toxicity. Selaginella is a lithophytic pteridophyte which grows on constantly irrigated rocks in high altitude zones in different parts of the world. It is appraised to be "Sanjeevani" (the resurrection herb) based on its mythological reference in the Indian epic "Ramayana". Due to the presence of a unique disaccharide, trehalose, most species of Selaginella can survive severe drought conditions, maintaining the plant's structural stability and resurrect during rains. Several species of the genus are used in ethnic medicine for the therapy of jaundice, chronic trachitis, lung cancer, labor pain and wound healing. The major natural compounds in the genus Selaginella are characteristic flavonoid-dimers, called 'biflavonoids'. Although various biological effects of Selaginella have been documented in vitro, studies on its neuromodulatory properties are nonexisting despite the presence of potentially therapeutic biflavonoids. We have reviewed the existing literature on the possible pharmacological properties of Selaginella. Further, recent evidence gathered from our laboratory on the neuromodulatory propensity of S. delicatula employing in vivo models of chemically induced neurodegenerative diseases in rodents and Drosophila are discussed. Our findings point to a mechanism which modulates redox status and mitochondrial dysfunction suggesting their possible therapeutic use in oxidative stress-mediated neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease.

Plant host finding by parasitic plants: a new perspective on plant to plant communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Mescher, Mark C; Runyon, Justin B; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2006-11-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-documented examples of plant-to-plant communication via volatiles, and the ecological significance of such interactions has been much debated. To date, nearly all studies of volatile-mediated interactions among plant species have focused on the reception of herbivore-induced volatiles by neighboring plants. We recently documented volatile effects in another system, demonstrating that the parasitic plant Cuscuta pentagona uses volatile cues to locate its hosts. This finding may broaden the discussion regarding plant-to-plant communication, and suggests that new classes of volatile-meditated interactions among plant species await discovery.

Plant Host Finding by Parasitic Plants: A New Perspective on Plant to Plant Communication

OpenAIRE

Mescher, Mark C; Runyon, Justin B; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2006-01-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-documented examples of plant-to-plant communication via volatiles, and the ecological significance of such interactions has been much d...

Muusikamaailm : Wiesbadeni maifestival. Olukord Royal Operas rahuneb. Uus ooper Houstonis. Grame"i festival Lyonis / Priit Kuusk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kuusk, Priit, 1938-

1999-01-01

Saksamaal toimuvast Wiesbadeni maifestivalist. Muutustest Londoni Kuninglikus Ooperiteatris. T. Machoveri ooperi "Resurrection" maailmaesiettekandest Houstoni Grand Operas. Grame'i uue muusika festivalist Lyonis

Plant host finding by parasitic plants: A new perspective on plant to plant communication

Science.gov (United States)

Mark C. Mescher; Justin B. Runyon; Consuelo M. De Moraes

2006-01-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-...

Plant stress signalling: understanding and exploiting plant-plant interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickett, J A; Rasmussen, H B; Woodcock, C M; Matthes, M; Napier, J A

2003-02-01

When plants are attacked by insects, volatile chemical signals can be released, not only from the damaged parts, but also systemically from other parts of the plant and this continues after cessation of feeding by the insect. These signals are perceived by olfactory sensory mechanisms in both the herbivorous insects and their parasites. Molecular structures involved can be characterized by means of electrophysiological assays, using the insect sensory system linked to chemical analysis. Evidence is mounting that such signals can also affect neighbouring intact plants, which initiate defence by the induction of further signalling systems, such as those that increase parasitoid foraging. Furthermore, insect electrophysiology can be used in the identification of plant compounds having effects on the plants themselves. It has been found recently that certain plants can release stress signals even when undamaged, and that these can cause defence responses in intact plants. These discoveries provide the basis for new crop protection strategies, that are either delivered by genetic modification of plants or by conventionally produced plants to which the signal is externally applied. Delivery can also be made by means of mixed seed strategies in which the provoking and recipient plants are grown together. Related signalling discoveries within the rhizosphere seem set to extend these approaches into new ways of controlling weeds, by exploiting the elusive potential of allelopathy, but through signalling rather than by direct physiological effects.

Organ specific proteomic dissection of Selaginella bryopteris undergoing dehydration and rehydration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farah eDeeba

2016-04-01

Full Text Available To explore molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological response of Selaginella bryopteris, a comprehensive proteome analysis was carried out in roots and fronds undergoing dehydration and rehydration. Plants were dehydrated for 7 days followed by 2 h and 24 h of rehydration. In roots out of 59 identified spots, 58 protein spots were found to be up-regulated during dehydration stress. The identified proteins were related to signaling, stress and defense, protein and nucleotide metabolism, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, storage and epigenetic control. Most of these proteins remained up-regulated on first rehydration, suggesting their role in recovery phase also. Among the 90 identified proteins in fronds, about 49% proteins were up-regulated during dehydration stress. Large number of ROS scavenging proteins was enhanced on dehydration. Many other proteins involved in energy, protein turnover and nucleotide metabolism, epigenetic control were also highly upregulated. Many photosynthesis related proteins were upregulated during stress. This would have helped plant to recover rapidly on rehydration. This study provides a comprehensive picture of different cellular responses elucidated by the proteome changes during dehydration and rehydration in roots and fronds as expected from a well-choreographed response from a resurrection plant.

Plant-soil feedbacks: role of plant functional group and plant traits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cortois, R.; Schröder-Georgi, T.; Weigelt, A.; van der Putten, W.H.; De Deyn, G.B.

2016-01-01

Plant-soil feedback (PSF), plant trait and functional group concepts advanced our understanding of plant community dynamics, but how they are interlinked is poorly known. To test how plant functional groups (FGs: graminoids, small herbs, tall herbs, legumes) and plant traits relate to PSF, we grew

Quotations from the songs about Servant of Yahwe in Synoptic Gospels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dariusz Adamczyk

2011-03-01

Full Text Available We don’t get to know from Isaiah’s songs, who is the Servant of Yahwe. In Synoptic Gospels quotations are contained from the first and fourth songs about the Servant of Yahweh. Synopticians interpreted in a new way Old Testament texts in light of Christs resurrection. They see prophetic announcement and the same type of Jesus Christ, Messiah and Saviour in Isaiah’s Servant. In Jesus Christ is filled out in a perfect and final way everything the Old Testament has announced about the Servant of Yahweh. The evangelical context of these quotations allows one to see in the suffering of the Servant of God, announcement of the redemptive fatigue, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Diriliş Kuramları ve Gerçeklik Bağlamında Kur'an'ın Ahiret Hakkındaki Anlatımları

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erkan Yar

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The belief of resurrection after death has been explained clearly in the Quran, but the problem is if the Quranic eschatological expressions are literal or symbolical. Although the Muslim theologians say that these expressions should be accepted as literal, Muslim philosophers say that they are symbolic. This is one of the discussion subjects that Ghazali explained incoherence of the philosophers. There are equivalences in the phenomenical world of the Quranic eschatological expressions. The Quran explains the resurrection with the objects that exist in the human knowledge and experiences. That means all of the Quranic eschatological expressions are symbolic and these symbolic expressions refer to the actualities beyond these objects

Should Psychiatrists Resurrect the Body?

Science.gov (United States)

Benning, Tony B

2016-01-01

The current article interrogates the mind-body dualism that characterizes modern psychiatry and contends that the dualism is manifested by the relative neglect by psychiatrists of the body, or soma. The article argues that the state of affairs has several consequences, including psychiatrists' underappreciation of the somatic manifestations of mental disorders and of the therapeutic potential of somatic or body-based therapies. Empirical data attest to the association of a range of mental illnesses with somatic pathologies, as does the fact that a range of somatic therapies, including yoga and t'ai chi, are increasingly being shown to be efficacious in the treatment of a range of mental illnesses. The current article contextualizes contemporary Western psychiatry's relative neglect of the body by drawing on some historical as well as cross-cultural perspectives. Although their overall effect has been minimal, various theoretical perspectives in Western psychiatry, including Jungian thought, psychoanalytical psychosomatics, Reichian and related schools, and the phenomenological tradition, have sought to overcome psychiatry's mind-body dualism. Neither has psychiatry incorporated the values of various non-Western schools of medicine that maintain a far more integrated conceptualization of the relationship between mind and body than is seen in modern Western psychiatry. The field of psychosomatics could potentially influence general psychiatry to reverse its bifurcated mind-body relationship, but that field's increasingly narrow mandate and organizational separation from general psychiatry conspire to militate against the latter's incorporation of psychosomatic medicine's conceptual advances or pragmatic insights in any convincing or enduring manner.

Resurrecting past futures / Thomas Cubbin

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Cubbin, Thomas, 1987-

2011-01-01

Näitused "Modernisation. Baltic Art, Design and Architecrure in the 1960s-1970s" (kuraatorid Lolita Jablonskienė, Kai Lobjakas, Iliana Veinberga) ja "Our Metamorphic Futures: Design, technical aesthetics and experimental architecture in the Soviet Union 1960-1980" (kuraatorid Andres Kurg, Mari Laanemets) Vilniuse Rahvusgaleriis 9.12.2011-12.02.2012

LNG plant combined with power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aoki, I; Kikkawa, Y [Chiyoda Chemical Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-06-01

The LNG plant consumers a lot of power of natural gas cooling and liquefaction. In some LNG plant location, a rapid growth of electric power demand is expected due to the modernization of area and/or the country. The electric power demand will have a peak in day time and low consumption in night time, while the power demand of the LNG plant is almost constant due to its nature. Combining the LNG plant with power plant will contribute an improvement the thermal efficiency of the power plant by keeping higher average load of the power plant, which will lead to a reduction of electrical power generation cost. The sweet fuel gas to the power plant can be extracted from the LNG plant, which will be favorable from view point of clean air of the area. (Author). 5 figs.

LNG plant combined with power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, I.; Kikkawa, Y.

1997-01-01

The LNG plant consumers a lot of power of natural gas cooling and liquefaction. In some LNG plant location, a rapid growth of electric power demand is expected due to the modernization of area and/or the country. The electric power demand will have a peak in day time and low consumption in night time, while the power demand of the LNG plant is almost constant due to its nature. Combining the LNG plant with power plant will contribute an improvement the thermal efficiency of the power plant by keeping higher average load of the power plant, which will lead to a reduction of electrical power generation cost. The sweet fuel gas to the power plant can be extracted from the LNG plant, which will be favorable from view point of clean air of the area. (Author). 5 figs

A Russian Man on Horseback: The Rise of General Alexander Lebed

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

O'Malley, Kevin

1997-01-01

General Alexander Lebed burst upon the Russian political scene like a man on horseback, promising to restore order out of chaos, crack down on crime and corruption, and resurrect Russian nationalism...

Plant-plant competition outcomes are modulated by plant effects on the soil bacterial community.

Science.gov (United States)

Hortal, S; Lozano, Y M; Bastida, F; Armas, C; Moreno, J L; Garcia, C; Pugnaire, F I

2017-12-19

Competition is a key process that determines plant community structure and dynamics, often mediated by nutrients and water availability. However, the role of soil microorganisms on plant competition, and the links between above- and belowground processes, are not well understood. Here we show that the effects of interspecific plant competition on plant performance are mediated by feedbacks between plants and soil bacterial communities. Each plant species selects a singular community of soil microorganisms in its rhizosphere with a specific species composition, abundance and activity. When two plant species interact, the resulting soil bacterial community matches that of the most competitive plant species, suggesting strong competitive interactions between soil bacterial communities as well. We propose a novel mechanism by which changes in belowground bacterial communities promoted by the most competitive plant species influence plant performance and competition outcome. These findings emphasise the strong links between plant and soil communities, paving the way to a better understanding of plant community dynamics and the effects of soil bacterial communities on ecosystem functioning and services.

Apoplastic interactions between plants and plant root intruders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanako eMitsumasu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Numerous pathogenic or parasitic organisms attack plant roots to obtain nutrients, and the apoplast including the plant cell wall is where the plant cell meets such organisms. Root-parasitic angiosperms and nematodes are two distinct types of plant root parasites but share some common features in their strategies for breaking into plant roots. Striga and Orobanche are obligate root parasitic angiosperms that cause devastating agricultural problems worldwide. Parasitic plants form an invasion organ called a haustorium, where plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs are highly expressed. Plant-parasitic nematodes are another type of agriculturally important plant root parasite. These nematodes breach the plant cell walls by protruding a sclerotized stylet from which PCWDEs are secreted. Responding to such parasitic invasion, host plants activate their own defense responses against parasites. Endoparasitic nematodes secrete apoplastic effectors to modulate host immune responses and to facilitate the formation of a feeding site. Apoplastic communication between hosts and parasitic plants also contributes to their interaction. Parasitic plant germination stimulants, strigolactones (SLs, are recently identified apoplastic signals that are transmitted over long distances from biosynthetic sites to functioning sites. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding the importance of apoplastic signals and cell walls for plant-parasite interactions.

Apoplastic interactions between plants and plant root intruders.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsumasu, Kanako; Seto, Yoshiya; Yoshida, Satoko

2015-01-01

Numerous pathogenic or parasitic organisms attack plant roots to obtain nutrients, and the apoplast including the plant cell wall is where the plant cell meets such organisms. Root parasitic angiosperms and nematodes are two distinct types of plant root parasites but share some common features in their strategies for breaking into plant roots. Striga and Orobanche are obligate root parasitic angiosperms that cause devastating agricultural problems worldwide. Parasitic plants form an invasion organ called a haustorium, where plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) are highly expressed. Plant-parasitic nematodes are another type of agriculturally important plant root parasite. These nematodes breach the plant cell walls by protruding a sclerotized stylet from which PCWDEs are secreted. Responding to such parasitic invasion, host plants activate their own defense responses against parasites. Endoparasitic nematodes secrete apoplastic effectors to modulate host immune responses and to facilitate the formation of a feeding site. Apoplastic communication between hosts and parasitic plants also contributes to their interaction. Parasitic plant germination stimulants, strigolactones, are recently identified apoplastic signals that are transmitted over long distances from biosynthetic sites to functioning sites. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding the importance of apoplastic signals and cell walls for plant-parasite interactions.

Chemical signaling between plants and plant-pathogenic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Venturi, Vittorio; Fuqua, Clay

2013-01-01

Studies of chemical signaling between plants and bacteria in the past have been largely confined to two models: the rhizobial-legume symbiotic association and pathogenesis between agrobacteria and their host plants. Recent studies are beginning to provide evidence that many plant-associated bacteria undergo chemical signaling with the plant host via low-molecular-weight compounds. Plant-produced compounds interact with bacterial regulatory proteins that then affect gene expression. Similarly, bacterial quorum-sensing signals result in a range of functional responses in plants. This review attempts to highlight current knowledge in chemical signaling that takes place between pathogenic bacteria and plants. This chemical communication between plant and bacteria, also referred to as interkingdom signaling, will likely become a major research field in the future, as it allows the design of specific strategies to create plants that are resistant to plant pathogens.

The late Quaternary extinction and future resurrection of birds on Pacific islands

Science.gov (United States)

Steadman, David W.; Martin, Paul S.

2003-04-01

People have lived on tropical Pacific islands over the past 30,000 years (Bismarcks, Solomons) or 3000 to 1000 years (the rest of Oceania). Their activities have led to the loss of many thousands of populations and as many as 2000 species of birds that probably otherwise would exist today. This extinction event is documented by avian fossils from archaeological (cultural) and paleontological (noncultural) sites from nearly 70 islands in 19 island groups. Extinction of birds in Oceania rivals the late Pleistocene loss of large mammals in North America as the best substantiated rapid extinction episode in the vertebrate fossil record. Some avian extinctions in Oceania occurred within a century or less after human arrival, while others required millennia or even tens of millennia. Any of these time frames is rapid in an evolutionary or geochronological sense. Inter-island differences in the speed and extent of extinction can be explained by variation in abiotic (A), biotic (B), and cultural (C) factors. Levels of extinction on large, near islands can be comparable to those on small, remote islands when C factors (such as high human population density and introduction of invasive plants and animals) override A factors (such as large land area or little isolation) or B factors (such as rich indigenous floras and faunas). An innovative, proactive conservation strategy is needed not only to prevent further extinctions of birds in Oceania, but also to restart evolution of some of the lineages that have suffered the most loss, such as flightless rails. This strategy should focus on islands with ABC traits that retard rather than enhance extinction.

Hizb ut-Tahrir: A Threat Behind a Legal Facade?

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schneider, Frank

2006-01-01

.... Its objectives are strictly political, and its main goal is to topple an existing regime to resurrect the caliphate with structures and conditions similar to the ones of early 7th century Islam...

Four planting devices for planting no-till maize

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osei Bonsu Patterson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available An experiment was conducted at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI Experimental station at Ejura in Ghana to compare the efficiency of four devices for planting no-till maize: Tractor drawn seeder, Chinese made jab planter, Locally made jab planter and a Cutlass. It took two (2 hours 48 minutes to plant one hectare of maize with the tractor drawn seeder, which was significantly (p less than 1% faster than all the planting methods. Cutlass was the slowest planting device lasting more than 14 hours per hectare. There was no significant difference in planting time between the Chinese planter and local planter. Economic analysis showed that cutlass planting produced the highest net benefit, whilst tractor drawn seeder produced the least benefit. In this study cutlass planting was done with precision by collaborating farmers. In actual farm situation however, hired laborers (planting gangs often plant in haste which often results in poor plant population leading to low yields. Tractor drawn seeders or jab planters could reduce drudgery in planting and encourage farm expansion.

The study of desiccation-tolerance in drying leaves of the desiccation-tolerant grass Sporobolus elongatus and the desiccation-sensitive grass Sporobolus pyramidalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghasempour, Hamid Reza; Kianian, Jahanbakheshe

2007-03-01

Hydrated leaves of the resurrection grass Sporobolus elongatus are not desiccation tolerant (DT), but moderate to severe drought stress can induce their DT with the leaves remain attach to drying intact plants. In vivo protein synthesis was studied with SDS-page of extracts of leaves of intact drying plants of S. elongatus (a desiccation-Tolerant grass (DT)) and S. pyramidalis (a desiccation-sensitive species (DS)). Free proline increased in drying leaves. Soluble sugar contents also increased with drying but were less than fully hydrated leaves at 8% RWC. Total protein also showed an increase with an exception at 8% RWC which showed a decrease. SDS-page of extracts of drying leaves of both DT and DS plants were studied as relative water contents (RWC) decreased. In first phase, DT species at 58% RWC (80-51% RWC range), two proteins increased in contents. In the second phase, at 8% (35-4% RWC range) two new bands increased and two bands decreased. In leaves of DS species some bands decreased as drying progressed. Also, as drying advanced free proline increased in DT species. Total protein increased as drying increased but at 8% RWC decreased. All data of results are consistent with current views about studied factors and their roles during drying and induction of desiccation tolerance in DT plants.

What was the Origin of Number 153?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Marek Mucha

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The number 153 in John 21 : 11 is the numerical value of two key words of the Greek title “the Mother of the Lord.” This interpretation is based on serious arguments, above all on the analogy between Luke 1 : 43 and John 21 : 2. There are two key clues, or patterns, in John 21 : 2 which help to encrypt the Marian dignity as “the Mother of the Lord”: the primary pattern 3 + 2 and the secondary pattern 5 + 2. These patterns were very well known and they were used in the main structure of Matthew, composition of the Miracle Chapters (Mt 8 : 1–9 : 34, the Matthean genealogy, Feeding the Multitude and John 21 : 9–13. In Matthew and John there are indirect analogies to the Greek title “the Mother of the Lord,” too. There is no doubt that at the beginning of Christianity Mary was merely called the “Mother of Jesus” or “His Mother.” It was much later in the apostolic times that the title “the Mother of the Lord” was emphasised. The view on Jesus’ resurrection was changed as well. In the early creedal formula the resurrection of Jesus was seen as the act of God who resurrected Jesus. Not until the Assumption of Mary was it perceived as an act of Jesus himself, who raised from the dead. The Assumption of Mary explains the change of the theological view on Mary and the resurrection of Jesus. Her body was raised from the dead, just like the body of Jesus, Her Son, the Lord, so She really is the Mother of the Lord. John’s patterns emphasise the dignity of Mary as “the Mother of the Lord” in the Gospels and they prove that Matthew, Luke and John knew about the Assumption of Mary.

Tekste, ko-tekste en kon-tekste van die leë graf in die Jesus-tradisie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.G. Van Aarde

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Texts, co-texts, and con-texts of the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition An investigation of texts, co-texts and con-texts of the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition provides a “situation-specific common background knowledge” (Auer, 1996:18-19 from which perspective this article is written. The article aims to argue that the myth behind the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition deploys a trajectory of five links. Its origin, the first of the five links, is to be found in the metaphorical use of the motif of recreation analogous to the foundational narrative in Israel’s historical memoirs of God’s “creatio ex nihilo”. The foundational narrative consists of a collective anthropological facet and an indivdual psychological facet. The anthropological facet is manifested in the memoir of the suppression of Israel as a downtrodden nation. The individual facet pertains to the martyred heroes in Israel’s history. In this article the five links of the trajectory are conceptualised in five chronological phases represented by specific textual evidence. They are, firstly, the descent of a corpse into the sheol; secondly, the objectifying of metaphorical language about the resurrection of the dead, which refers to either Israel as a “corporate personality” or individuals; thirdly, the Hellenisation of the resurrection belief pattern which existed in the Semitic, Eastern-Mediterranean world, in the light of the theology of apotheosis/divinisation and ideas about immortality and reincarnation; and fourthly, the empowerment of suffering righteous mortals when participating in the renewed life of resurrected/ascended divine heroes. The fifth phase pertains to the period when the other four phases reached an apogee and resurrection belief served as a kind of coping-healing. The article aims to argue that the hermeneutical significance of the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition is to be found in the third phase. The modes in terms of which Jesus’ empty

Tekste, ko-tekste en kon-tekste van die leë graf in die Jesus-tradisie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.G. Van Aarde

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Texts, co-texts, and con-texts of the empty tomb in the Jesus traditionAn investigation of texts, co-texts and con-texts of the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition provides a “situation-specific common background knowledge” (Auer, 1996:18-19 from which perspective this article is written. The article aims to argue that the myth behind the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition deploys a trajectory of five links. Its origin, the first of the five links, is to be found in the metaphorical use of the motif of recreation analogous to the foundational narrative in Israel’s historical memoirs of God’s “creatio ex nihilo”. The foundational narrative consists of a collective anthropological facet and an indivdual psychological facet. The anthropological facet is manifested in the memoir of the suppression of Israel as a downtrodden nation. The individual facet pertains to the martyred heroes in Israel’s history. In this article the five links of the trajectory are conceptualised in five chronological phases represented by specific textual evidence. They are, firstly, the descent of a corpse into the sheol; secondly, the objectifying of metaphorical language about the resurrection of the dead, which refers to either Israel as a “corporate personality” or individuals; thirdly, the Hellenisation of the resurrection belief pattern which existed in the Semitic, Eastern-Mediterranean world, in the light of the theology of apotheosis/divinisation and ideas about immortality and reincarnation; and fourthly, the empowerment of suffering righteous mortals when participating in the renewed life of resurrected/ascended divine heroes. The fifth phase pertains to the period when the other four phases reached an apogee and resurrection belief served as a kind of coping-healing. The article aims to argue that the hermeneutical significance of the empty tomb in the Jesus tradition is to be found in the third phase. The modes in terms of which Jesus’ empty

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies - Vol 67, No 3 (2011)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Regeneration and resurrection in Matthew – Peasants in campo hearing time signals from scribes · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. AG van Aarde ...

Konsep Persatuan Dengan Kematian Dan Kebangkitan Kristus Berdasarkan Roma 6:1-14

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanny Frederik

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Persatuan orang percaya dengan Kristus adalah doktrin yang merupakan pemikiran kunci dalam ajaran Tuhan bahkan sangat penting bagi teologi Paulus sehingga seorang penafsir, James S. Stewart menyebutnya sebagai “inti dari agama Paulus.” Menurut hasil uraian tentang konsep persatuan dengan kematian dan kebangkitan Kristus berdasarkan Roma 6:1-14, maka penulis menarik beberapa kesimpulan sebagai berikut: Pertama, orang percaya telah dipersatukan dengan kematian dan kebangkitan Kristus melalui baptisan, yang berarti ia turut serta mengalami peristiwa-peristiwa yang dialami oleh Kristus dalam sejarah, yakni penyaliban, kematian, penguburan dan kebangkitan Kristus. Kedua, persatuan dengan kematian dan kebangkitan Kristus mengakibatkan berlalunya ciptaan lama, yaitu kematian manusia lama sebagai status atau kedudukan seseorang dalam persekutuannya dengan Adam. Kematian Kristus adalah kematian bagi dosa, karena itu dalam persatuan dengan kematian Kristus, orang percaya juga telah mati bagi dosa. Ketiga, persatuan dengan kematian dan kebangkitan Kristus menghasilkan ciptaan baru, yaitu kehidupan baru sebagai status atau kedudukan orang percaya dalam persekutuan dengan Kristus. Keempat, kehidupan yang berpadanan dengan status baru orang percaya dalam Kristus adalah kehidupan dalam pengudusan yang meliputi hidup dalam pertobatan dan hidup untuk melayani Allah.The unity of the believer with Christ is a doctrine which is a key thought in the teaching of Jesus, moreover it is very important for Paul’s theology such that one commentator, James S. Stewart, delineates it as the “Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul’s Religion.” Based upon the results of an analysis about the concept of unity in the death and resurrection of Christ based upon Romans 6: 1-14, the author draws several conclusions as follows: First, believers have been made one with the death and resurrection of Christ through baptism, which means the believer participates in

Plant aquaporins: roles in plant physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guowei; Santoni, Véronique; Maurel, Christophe

2014-05-01

Aquaporins are membrane channels that facilitate the transport of water and small neutral molecules across biological membranes of most living organisms. Here, we present comprehensive insights made on plant aquaporins in recent years, pointing to their molecular and physiological specificities with respect to animal or microbial counterparts. In plants, aquaporins occur as multiple isoforms reflecting a high diversity of cellular localizations and various physiological substrates in addition to water. Of particular relevance for plants is the transport by aquaporins of dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide or metalloids such as boric or silicic acid. The mechanisms that determine the gating and subcellular localization of plant aquaporins are extensively studied. They allow aquaporin regulation in response to multiple environmental and hormonal stimuli. Thus, aquaporins play key roles in hydraulic regulation and nutrient transport in roots and leaves. They contribute to several plant growth and developmental processes such as seed germination or emergence of lateral roots. Plants with genetically altered aquaporin functions are now tested for their ability to improve plant resistance to stresses. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Aquaporins. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated Gasification SOFC Plant with a Steam Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud; Pierobon, Leonardo

2011-01-01

A hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Steam Turbine (ST) plant is integrated with a gasification plant. Wood chips are fed to the gasification plant to produce biogas and then this gas is fed into the anode side of a SOFC cycle to produce electricity and heat. The gases from the SOFC stacks...... enter into a burner to burn the rest of the fuel. The offgases after the burner are now used to generate steam in a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). The generated steam is expanded in a ST to produce additional power. Thus a triple hybrid plant based on a gasification plant, a SOFC plant...... and a steam plant is presented and studied. The plant is called as IGSS (Integrated Gasification SOFC Steam plant). Different systems layouts are presented and investigated. Electrical efficiencies up to 56% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional integrated gasification combined...

Plant ecdysteroids: plant sterols with intriguing distributions, biological effects and relations to plant hormones.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarkowská, Danuše; Strnad, Miroslav

2016-09-01

The present review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones. Plant ecdysteroids (phytoecdysteroids) are natural polyhydroxylated compounds that have a four-ringed skeleton, usually composed of either 27 carbon atoms or 28-29 carbon atoms (biosynthetically derived from cholesterol or other plant sterols, respectively). Their physiological roles in plants have not yet been confirmed and their occurrence is not universal. Nevertheless, they are present at high concentrations in various plant species, including commonly consumed vegetables, and have a broad spectrum of pharmacological and medicinal properties in mammals, including hepatoprotective and hypoglycaemic effects, and anabolic effects on skeletal muscle, without androgenic side-effects. Furthermore, phytoecdysteroids can enhance stress resistance by promoting vitality and enhancing physical performance; thus, they are considered adaptogens. This review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones.

Plant toxicity, adaptive herbivory, and plant community dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Z.; Liu, R.; DeAngelis, D.L.; Bryant, J.P.; Kielland, K.; Stuart, Chapin F.; Swihart, R.K.

2009-01-01

We model effects of interspecific plant competition, herbivory, and a plant's toxic defenses against herbivores on vegetation dynamics. The model predicts that, when a generalist herbivore feeds in the absence of plant toxins, adaptive foraging generally increases the probability of coexistence of plant species populations, because the herbivore switches more of its effort to whichever plant species is more common and accessible. In contrast, toxin-determined selective herbivory can drive plant succession toward dominance by the more toxic species, as previously documented in boreal forests and prairies. When the toxin concentrations in different plant species are similar, but species have different toxins with nonadditive effects, herbivores tend to diversify foraging efforts to avoid high intakes of any one toxin. This diversification leads the herbivore to focus more feeding on the less common plant species. Thus, uncommon plants may experience depensatory mortality from herbivory, reducing local species diversity. The depensatory effect of herbivory may inhibit the invasion of other plant species that are more palatable or have different toxins. These predictions were tested and confirmed in the Alaskan boreal forest. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

[Development of Plant Metabolomics and Medicinal Plant Genomics].

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Kazuki

2018-01-01

 A variety of chemicals produced by plants, often referred to as 'phytochemicals', have been used as medicines, food, fuels and industrial raw materials. Recent advances in the study of genomics and metabolomics in plant science have accelerated our understanding of the mechanisms, regulation and evolution of the biosynthesis of specialized plant products. We can now address such questions as how the metabolomic diversity of plants is originated at the levels of genome, and how we should apply this knowledge to drug discovery, industry and agriculture. Our research group has focused on metabolomics-based functional genomics over the last 15 years and we have developed a new research area called 'Phytochemical Genomics'. In this review, the development of a research platform for plant metabolomics is discussed first, to provide a better understanding of the chemical diversity of plants. Then, representative applications of metabolomics to functional genomics in a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, are described. The extension of integrated multi-omics analyses to non-model specialized plants, e.g., medicinal plants, is presented, including the identification of novel genes, metabolites and networks for the biosynthesis of flavonoids, alkaloids, sulfur-containing metabolites and terpenoids. Further, functional genomics studies on a variety of medicinal plants is presented. I also discuss future trends in pharmacognosy and related sciences.

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section... INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS § 302.2 Movement of plants and plant products. Inspection or documentation of the plant health status of...

PLANT BIOPRINTING: NOVEL PERSPECTIVE FOR PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adhityo WICAKSONO

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Bioprinting is a technical innovation that has revolutionized tissue engineering. Using conventional printer cartridges filled with cells as well as a suitable scaffold, major advances have been made in the biomedical field, and it is now possible to print skin, bones, blood vessels, and even organs. Unlike animal systems, the application of bioprinting in simple plant tissue cells is still in a nascent phase and has yet to be studied. One major advantage of plants is that all living parts are reprogrammable in the form of totipotent cells. Plant bioprinting may improve scientists’understanding of plant shape and morphogenesis, and could serve for the mass production of desired tissues or plants, or even the production of plant-based biomaterial for industrial uses. This perspectives paper explores these possibilities using knowledge on what is known about bioprinting in other biosystems.

Plant responses to plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loon, L.C. van

2007-01-01

Non-pathogenic soilborne microorganisms can promote plant growth, as well as suppress diseases. Plant growth promotion is taken to result from improved nutrient acquisition or hormonal stimulation. Disease suppression can occur through microbial antagonism or induction of resistance in the plant.

KERMANSHAH IN THE CONTEXT OF CHAIN OF TRIALS, RESURRECTION AND INTERTEXTUALITY İMTİHANLAR ZİNCİRİ BAĞLAMINDA KİRMANŞAH, YENİDEN DOĞUM ve METİNLERARASILIK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erol AKSOY

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Being based on thousand and one night stories at the point of the topic and frequently including unreal elements, Kermanshah tale is the one of our both heroism and love based folk tales. In this work, Campbell's Hero's Journey Monomyth systematized with “separation / departure, initiation, return” model of adventure folk tale applied on Kermanshah with Behçet Mahir’s narration. Kermanshah’s enlightenment, self-realization and his adventures on his way to return to the folk he left after finding himself, his breaking of the chain of the trials and his way to his resurrection (freedom to live prove Kermanshah’s conformity to Campbell’s model. By the way, in this work it is also to get attention that narrator made an intertextual relation with other sub-texts and this relation’s influences on tale’s development, outcome and the hidden message in the tale Konusunu Bin Bir Gece Masalları’ndan alan ve içerisinde masalsı unsurları yoğun bir şekilde barındıran Kirmanşah Hikâyesi, hem kahramanlık hem aşk konulu halk hikâyelerimizdendir. Bu çalışmada Joseph Campbell’in halk anlatılarındaki kahramanların ayrılma-erginlenme-dönüş sırasıyla sistemleştirdiği mitolojik macera modeli, halk hikâyelerimizden Kirmanşah’ın Behçet Mahir anlatması üzerine uygulanmıştır. Kirmanşah’ın aydınlanma, kendini gerçekleştirme ve ayrıldığı topluma benliğini bularak dönme yolunda yaşadığı türlü mücadeleler, imtihanlar zincirini kırıp yeniden doğuşuna uzanması, kahramanın yolculuğunun Campbell modeline uygunluğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Bunun yanında çalışmada, anlatıcının başka alt metinlerle kurduğu metinlerarasılık ilişkisine de dikkatler çekilerek bu ilişkinin hikâyenin gelişimi, sonucu ve mesajı üzerindeki etkileri de değerlendirilmiştir.

Resurrection of neutrinos as dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.

1986-05-01

It is shown that new observations of large scale structure in the universe (voids, foam, and large-scale velocity fields) are best understood if the dominant matter of the universe is in the form of massive (9eV less than or equal to m/sub nu/ less than or equal to 35 eV) neutrinos. Cold dark matter, even with biasing, seems unable to duplicate the combination of these observations (although a fine-tuned loophole with cold matter and percolated explosions may also marginally work.) The previous fatal problems of galaxy formation with neutrinos can be remedied by combining them with either cosmic strings or explosive galaxy formation. The former naturally gives the scale-free correlation function for galaxies, clusters, and superclusters, and gives large, but not necessarily spherical voids. The latter naturally gives spherical voids, but requires fine tuning and percolation to get the large scales and the scale-free correlation function. 39 refs

Renal Sympathetic Denervation: Hibernation or Resurrection?

Science.gov (United States)

Papademetriou, Vasilios; Doumas, Michael; Tsioufis, Costas

The most current versions of renal sympathetic denervation have been invented as minimally invasive approaches for the management of drug-resistant hypertension. The anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of renal sympathetic innervation provide a strong background supporting an important role of the renal nerves in the regulation of blood pressure (BP) and volume. In addition, historical data with surgical sympathectomy and experimental data with surgical renal denervation indicate a beneficial effect on BP levels. Early clinical studies with transcatheter radiofrequency ablation demonstrated impressive BP reduction, accompanied by beneficial effects in target organ damage and other disease conditions characterized by sympathetic overactivity. However, the failure of the SYMPLICITY 3 trial to meet its primary efficacy end point raised a lot of concerns and put the field of renal denervation into hibernation. This review aims to translate basic research into clinical practice by presenting the anatomical and physiological basis for renal sympathetic denervation, critically discussing the past and present knowledge in this field, where we stand now, and also speculating about the future of the intervention and potential directions for research. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Bankruptcy regimes and gambling on resurrection

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Knot, Ondřej; Vychodil, Ondřej

-, č. 290 (2006), s. 1-66 ISSN 1211-3298 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : corporate bankruptcy * debt contracts * monitoring Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp290.pdf

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Stephen A.; Vaughn, Matthew; McKay, Sheldon; Lyons, Eric; Stapleton, Ann E.; Gessler, Damian; Matasci, Naim; Wang, Liya; Hanlon, Matthew; Lenards, Andrew; Muir, Andy; Merchant, Nirav; Lowry, Sonya; Mock, Stephen; Helmke, Matthew; Kubach, Adam; Narro, Martha; Hopkins, Nicole; Micklos, David; Hilgert, Uwe; Gonzales, Michael; Jordan, Chris; Skidmore, Edwin; Dooley, Rion; Cazes, John; McLay, Robert; Lu, Zhenyuan; Pasternak, Shiran; Koesterke, Lars; Piel, William H.; Grene, Ruth; Noutsos, Christos; Gendler, Karla; Feng, Xin; Tang, Chunlao; Lent, Monica; Kim, Seung-Jin; Kvilekval, Kristian; Manjunath, B. S.; Tannen, Val; Stamatakis, Alexandros; Sanderson, Michael; Welch, Stephen M.; Cranston, Karen A.; Soltis, Pamela; Soltis, Doug; O'Meara, Brian; Ane, Cecile; Brutnell, Tom; Kleibenstein, Daniel J.; White, Jeffery W.; Leebens-Mack, James; Donoghue, Michael J.; Spalding, Edgar P.; Vision, Todd J.; Myers, Christopher R.; Lowenthal, David; Enquist, Brian J.; Boyle, Brad; Akoglu, Ali; Andrews, Greg; Ram, Sudha; Ware, Doreen; Stein, Lincoln; Stanzione, Dan

2011-01-01

The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant) is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006). iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services. PMID:22645531

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Stephen A; Vaughn, Matthew; McKay, Sheldon; Lyons, Eric; Stapleton, Ann E; Gessler, Damian; Matasci, Naim; Wang, Liya; Hanlon, Matthew; Lenards, Andrew; Muir, Andy; Merchant, Nirav; Lowry, Sonya; Mock, Stephen; Helmke, Matthew; Kubach, Adam; Narro, Martha; Hopkins, Nicole; Micklos, David; Hilgert, Uwe; Gonzales, Michael; Jordan, Chris; Skidmore, Edwin; Dooley, Rion; Cazes, John; McLay, Robert; Lu, Zhenyuan; Pasternak, Shiran; Koesterke, Lars; Piel, William H; Grene, Ruth; Noutsos, Christos; Gendler, Karla; Feng, Xin; Tang, Chunlao; Lent, Monica; Kim, Seung-Jin; Kvilekval, Kristian; Manjunath, B S; Tannen, Val; Stamatakis, Alexandros; Sanderson, Michael; Welch, Stephen M; Cranston, Karen A; Soltis, Pamela; Soltis, Doug; O'Meara, Brian; Ane, Cecile; Brutnell, Tom; Kleibenstein, Daniel J; White, Jeffery W; Leebens-Mack, James; Donoghue, Michael J; Spalding, Edgar P; Vision, Todd J; Myers, Christopher R; Lowenthal, David; Enquist, Brian J; Boyle, Brad; Akoglu, Ali; Andrews, Greg; Ram, Sudha; Ware, Doreen; Stein, Lincoln; Stanzione, Dan

2011-01-01

The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant) is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006). iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services.

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen A Goff

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006. iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services.

Aboveground mechanical stimuli affect belowground plant-plant communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhakeem, Ali; Markovic, Dimitrije; Broberg, Anders; Anten, Niels P R; Ninkovic, Velemir

2018-01-01

Plants can detect the presence of their neighbours and modify their growth behaviour accordingly. But the extent to which this neighbour detection is mediated by abiotic stressors is not well known. In this study we tested the acclimation response of Zea mays L. seedlings through belowground interactions to the presence of their siblings exposed to brief mechano stimuli. Maize seedling simultaneously shared the growth solution of touched plants or they were transferred to the growth solution of previously touched plants. We tested the growth preferences of newly germinated seedlings toward the growth solution of touched (T_solution) or untouched plants (C_solution). The primary root of the newly germinated seedlings grew significantly less towards T_solution than to C_solution. Plants transferred to T_solution allocated more biomass to shoots and less to roots. While plants that simultaneously shared their growth solution with the touched plants produced more biomass. Results show that plant responses to neighbours can be modified by aboveground abiotic stress to those neighbours and suggest that these modifications are mediated by belowground interactions.

Aboveground mechanical stimuli affect belowground plant-plant communication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Elhakeem

Full Text Available Plants can detect the presence of their neighbours and modify their growth behaviour accordingly. But the extent to which this neighbour detection is mediated by abiotic stressors is not well known. In this study we tested the acclimation response of Zea mays L. seedlings through belowground interactions to the presence of their siblings exposed to brief mechano stimuli. Maize seedling simultaneously shared the growth solution of touched plants or they were transferred to the growth solution of previously touched plants. We tested the growth preferences of newly germinated seedlings toward the growth solution of touched (T_solution or untouched plants (C_solution. The primary root of the newly germinated seedlings grew significantly less towards T_solution than to C_solution. Plants transferred to T_solution allocated more biomass to shoots and less to roots. While plants that simultaneously shared their growth solution with the touched plants produced more biomass. Results show that plant responses to neighbours can be modified by aboveground abiotic stress to those neighbours and suggest that these modifications are mediated by belowground interactions.

Design of plant safety model in plant enterprise engineering environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabbar, Hossam A.; Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Shimada, Yukiyasu

2001-01-01

Plant enterprise engineering environment (PEEE) is an approach aiming to manage the plant through its lifecycle. In such environment, safety is considered as the common objective for all activities throughout the plant lifecycle. One approach to achieve plant safety is to embed safety aspects within each function and activity within such environment. One ideal way to enable safety aspects within each automated function is through modeling. This paper proposes a theoretical approach to design plant safety model as integrated with the plant lifecycle model within such environment. Object-oriented modeling approach is used to construct the plant safety model using OO CASE tool on the basis of unified modeling language (UML). Multiple views are defined for plant objects to express static, dynamic, and functional semantics of these objects. Process safety aspects are mapped to each model element and inherited from design to operation stage, as it is naturally embedded within plant's objects. By developing and realizing the plant safety model, safer plant operation can be achieved and plant safety can be assured

Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies, (IJOURELS) Vol.3 No.1, 2013, Pp ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

mr tomir

Christians should be hopeful of this without any prejudice to some kinds of philosophy that ..... This belief makes the traditional Urhobo man to pray calling the ... There are several nuances of the Urhobo grammar for resurrection. First, erhovwo ...

Aquatic plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, T. V.; Sand-Jensen, K.

2006-01-01

Aquatic fl owering plants form a relatively young plant group on an evolutionary timescale. The group has developed over the past 80 million years from terrestrial fl owering plants that re-colonised the aquatic environment after 60-100 million years on land. The exchange of species between terre...... terrestrial and aquatic environments continues today and is very intensive along stream banks. In this chapter we describe the physical and chemical barriers to the exchange of plants between land and water.......Aquatic fl owering plants form a relatively young plant group on an evolutionary timescale. The group has developed over the past 80 million years from terrestrial fl owering plants that re-colonised the aquatic environment after 60-100 million years on land. The exchange of species between...

Plants, plant pathogens, and microgravity--a deadly trio

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, J. E.; Ryba-White, M.; Sun, Q.; Wu, C. J.; Hilaire, E.; Gartner, C.; Nedukha, O.; Kordyum, E.; Keck, M.; Leung, H.;

Plant life management optimized utilization of existing nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watzinger, H.; Erve, M.

1999-01-01

For safe, reliable and economical nuclear power generation it is of central importance to understand, analyze and manage aging-related phenomena and to apply this information in the systematic utilization and as-necessary extension of the service life of components and systems. An operator's overall approach to aging and plant life management which also improves performance characteristics can help to optimize plant operating economy. In view of the deregulation of the power generation industry with its increased competition, nuclear power plants must today also increasingly provide for or maintain a high level of plant availability and low power generating costs. This is a difficult challenge even for the newest, most modern plants, and as plants age they can only remain competitive if a plant operator adopts a strategic approach which takes into account the various aging-related effects on a plant-wide basis. The significance of aging and plant life management for nuclear power plants becomes apparent when looking at their age: By the year 2000 roughly fifty of the world's 434 commercial nuclear power plants will have been in operation for thirty years or more. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, as many as 110 plants will have reached the thirty-year service mark by the year 2005. In many countries human society does not push the construction of new nuclear power plants and presumably will not change mind within the next ten years. New construction licenses cannot be expected so that for economical and ecological reasons existing plants have to be operated unchallengeably. On the other hand the deregulation of the power production market is asking just now for analysis of plant life time to operate the plants at a high technical and economical level until new nuclear power plants can be licensed and constructed. (author)

Dipping Strawberry Plants in Fungicides before Planting to Control Anthracnose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myeong Hyeon Nam

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Anthracnose crown rot (ACR, caused by Colletotrichum fructicola, is a serious disease of strawberry in Korea. The primary inoculums of ACR were symptomless strawberry plants, plant debris, and other host plants. To effectively control anthracnose in symptomless transplanted strawberries, it is necessary to use diseasefree plants, detect the disease early, and apply a fungicide. Therefore, in 2010 and 2011, we evaluated the efficacy of pre-plant fungicide dips by using strawberry transplants infected by C. fructicola for the control of anthracnose. Dipping plants in prochloraz-Mn for 10 min before planting was most effective for controlling anthracnose in symptomless strawberry plants and resulted in more than 76% control efficacy. Azoxystrobin showed a control efficacy of over 40%, but plants treated with pyraclostrobin, mancozeb and iminoctadine tris showed high disease severity. The control efficacy of the dip treatment with prochloraz-Mn did not differ with temperature and time. Treatment with prochloraz-Mn for more than an hour caused growth suppression in strawberry plants. Therefore, the development of anthracnose can be effectively reduced by dipping strawberry plants for 10 min in prochloraz-Mn before planting.

The intermediate state in Patd

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Again, there exists in these writings a great variety of speculations pertaining to the interim ..... to 'remember' him, that is, at the resurrection (Ellis 1974: 268; Gelden- huys 1951: 611). ...... Word pictures in the New Testament. Vol 2, The Gospel ...

Plant traits related to nitrogen uptake influence plant-microbe competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, Delphine; Pivato, Barbara; Bru, David; Busset, Hugues; Deau, Florence; Faivre, Céline; Matejicek, Annick; Strbik, Florence; Philippot, Laurent; Mougel, Christophe

2015-08-01

Plant species are important drivers of soil microbial communities. However, how plant functional traits are shaping these communities has received less attention though linking plant and microbial traits is crucial for better understanding plant-microbe interactions. Our objective was to determine how plant-microbe interactions were affected by plant traits. Specifically we analyzed how interactions between plant species and microbes involved in nitrogen cycling were affected by plant traits related to 'nitrogen nutrition in interaction with soil nitrogen availability. Eleven plant species, selected along an oligotrophic-nitrophilic gradient, were grown individually in a nitrogen-poor soil with two levels of nitrate availability. Plant traits for both carbon and nitrogen nutrition were measured and the genetic structure and abundance of rhizosphere. microbial communities, in particular the ammonia oxidizer and nitrate reducer guilds, were analyzed. The structure of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere differed significantly between plant species and these differences depended on nitrogen availability. The results suggest that the rate of nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass and per day is a key plant trait, explaining why the effect of nitrogen availability on the structure of the bacterial community depends on the plant species. We also showed that the abundance of nitrate reducing bacteria always decreased with increasing nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass per day, indicating that there was competition for nitrate between plants and nitrate reducing bacteria. This study demonstrates that nitrate-reducing microorganisms may be adversely affected by plants with a high nitrogen uptake rate. Our work puts forward the role of traits related to nitrogen in plant-microbe interactions, whereas carbon is commonly considered as the main driver. It also suggests that plant traits related to ecophysiological processes, such as nitrogen uptake rates, are more

Status report - expert knowledge of operators in fuel reprocessing plants, enrichment plants and fuel fabrication plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preuss, W.; Kramer, J.; Wildberg, D.

1987-01-01

The necessary qualifications of the responsible personnel and the knowledge required by personnel otherwise employed in nuclear plants are among the requirements for licensing laid down in paragraph 7 of the German Atomic Energy Act. The formal regulations for nuclear power plants are not directly applicable to plants in the fuel cycle because of the differences in the technical processes and the plant and work organisation. The aim of the project was therefore to establish a possible need for regulations for the nuclear plants with respect to the qualification of the personnel, and to determine a starting point for the definition of the required qualifications. An extensive investigation was carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany into: the formal requirements for training; the plant and personnel organisation structures; the tasks carried out by the responsible and otherwise employed personnel; and the state of training. For this purpose plant owners and managers were interviewed and the literature and plant specific documentation (e.g. plant rules) were reviewed. On the basis of literature research, foreign practices were determined and used to make comparative evaluations. The status report is divided into three separate parts for the reprocessing, the uranium enrichment, and the manufacture of the fuel elements. On the basis of the situation for reprocessing plants (particularly that of the WAK) and fuel element manufacturing plants, the development of a common (not uniform) regulation for all the examined plants in the fuel cycle was recommended. The report gives concrete suggestions for the content of the regulations. (orig.) [de

Conservation law of plants' energy value dependence of plants ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The plants differences in biochemical composition are analyzed, and the conservation law of energy value in plants is obtained. The link between the need for the nutrients and the plants biochemical composition is examined, Liebig's law is specified. Keywords: plant's biochemical composition, biochemistry, energy value in ...

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei-Tai; Yeh, Yu-Hui F; Liu, Ting-Yu; Lin, Ta-Te

2016-01-01

In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analog electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications.

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Tai eChen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analogue electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications.

Plant walkdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostov, M.

2000-01-01

This report covers the following: preparatory steps for performing plant walk-down; the objective of the first plant walk-down; plant walk-down procedures; earthquake screening evaluation; walk-down documentation; second plant walk-down. The following objectives concerning the plant walk-down(s) were achieved. The plant system configuration is verified in order to proceed with event tree and fault tree analyses. Systems interactions, other types of dependencies or plant unique features are identified. he safety related components that are judged to generically possess high capacities (i.e., larger than the earthquake review level) have been verified to contain no weaknesses. Further analyses needed to establish the capacities of remaining safety-related components are identified and necessary field data are obtained. Information on components is obtained to assist in HCLPF (fragility) evaluation and peer review of the seismic margin study

Advanced plant design recommendations from Cook Nuclear Plant experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, W.L.

1993-01-01

A project in the American Electric Power Service Corporation to review operating and maintenance experience at Cook Nuclear Plant to identify recommendations for advanced nuclear plant design is described. Recommendations so gathered in the areas of plant fluid systems, instrument and control, testing and surveillance provisions, plant layout of equipment, provisions to enhance effective maintenance, ventilation systems, radiological protection, and construction, are presented accordingly. An example for a design review checklist for effective plant operations and maintenance is suggested

PlantDB – a versatile database for managing plant research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gruissem Wilhelm

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research in plant science laboratories often involves usage of many different species, cultivars, ecotypes, mutants, alleles or transgenic lines. This creates a great challenge to keep track of the identity of experimental plants and stored samples or seeds. Results Here, we describe PlantDB – a Microsoft® Office Access database – with a user-friendly front-end for managing information relevant for experimental plants. PlantDB can hold information about plants of different species, cultivars or genetic composition. Introduction of a concise identifier system allows easy generation of pedigree trees. In addition, all information about any experimental plant – from growth conditions and dates over extracted samples such as RNA to files containing images of the plants – can be linked unequivocally. Conclusion We have been using PlantDB for several years in our laboratory and found that it greatly facilitates access to relevant information.

Top 10 plant viruses in molecular plant pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholthof, Karen-Beth G; Adkins, Scott; Czosnek, Henryk; Palukaitis, Peter; Jacquot, Emmanuel; Hohn, Thomas; Hohn, Barbara; Saunders, Keith; Candresse, Thierry; Ahlquist, Paul; Hemenway, Cynthia; Foster, Gary D

2011-12-01

Many scientists, if not all, feel that their particular plant virus should appear in any list of the most important plant viruses. However, to our knowledge, no such list exists. The aim of this review was to survey all plant virologists with an association with Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate which plant viruses they would place in a 'Top 10' based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated more than 250 votes from the international community, and allowed the generation of a Top 10 plant virus list for Molecular Plant Pathology. The Top 10 list includes, in rank order, (1) Tobacco mosaic virus, (2) Tomato spotted wilt virus, (3) Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, (4) Cucumber mosaic virus, (5) Potato virus Y, (6) Cauliflower mosaic virus, (7) African cassava mosaic virus, (8) Plum pox virus, (9) Brome mosaic virus and (10) Potato virus X, with honourable mentions for viruses just missing out on the Top 10, including Citrus tristeza virus, Barley yellow dwarf virus, Potato leafroll virus and Tomato bushy stunt virus. This review article presents a short review on each virus of the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intent of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant virology community, as well as laying down a benchmark, as it will be interesting to see in future years how perceptions change and which viruses enter and leave the Top 10. © 2011 The Authors. Molecular Plant Pathology © 2011 BSPP and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

Data concerning the existing nuclear power plants in the world are presented. The data was retrieved from the SIEN (Nuclear and Energetic Information System) data bank. The information are organized in table forms as follows: nuclear plants, its status and type; installed nuclear power plants by country; nuclear power plants under construction by country; planned nuclear power plants by country; cancelled nuclear power plants by country; shut-down nuclear power plants by country. (E.G.) [pt

Evolutionary responses of native plant species to invasive plants : a review

OpenAIRE

Oduor, Ayub M. O.

2013-01-01

Strong competition from invasive plant species often leads to declines in abundances and may,in certain cases, cause localized extinctions of native plant species. Nevertheless, studies have shown that certain populations of native plant species can co-exist with invasive plant species, suggesting the possibility of adaptive evolutionary responses of those populations to the invasive plants. Empirical inference of evolutionary responses of the native plant species to invasive plants has invol...

[Review on application of plant growth retardants in medicinal plants cultivation].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Yu-Yao; Guo, Bao-Lin; Cheng, Ming

2013-09-01

Plant growth retardants are widely used in cultivation of medicinal plant, but there is still lack of scientific guidance. In order to guide the use of plant growth retardants in medicinal plant cultivation efficiently and reasonably, this paper reviewed the mechanism, function characteristic, plant and soil residue of plant growth retardants, such as chlorocholine chloride, mepiquat chloride, paclobutrazol, unicnazle and succinic acid, and summarized the application of plant growth retardants in medicinal plants cultivation in recent years, with focus on the effect of growth and yield of the officinal organs and secondary metabolites.

Evolutionary responses of native plant species to invasive plants: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Oduor, Ayub M O

2013-12-01

Strong competition from invasive plant species often leads to declines in abundances and may, in certain cases, cause localized extinctions of native plant species. Nevertheless, studies have shown that certain populations of native plant species can co-exist with invasive plant species,suggesting the possibility of adaptive evolutionary responses of those populations to the invasive plants. Empirical inference of evolutionary responses of the native plant species to invasive plants has involved experiments comparing two conspecific groups of native plants for differences in expression of growth/reproductive traits: populations that have experienced competition from the invasive plant species (i.e. experienced natives) versus populations with no known history of interactions with the invasive plant species (i.e. naıve natives). Here, I employ a meta-analysis to obtain a general pattern of inferred evolutionary responses of native plant species from 53 such studies. In general, the experienced natives had significantly higher growth/reproductive performances than naıve natives, when grown with or without competition from invasive plants.While the current results indicate that certain populations of native plant species could potentially adapt evolutionarily to invasive plant species, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that probably underlie such evolutionary responses remain unexplored and should be the focus of future studies.

An Experimental Evaluation of Stress-Management Training for the Airborne Soldier

Science.gov (United States)

1980-06-01

4 State of the Art............................4 Transcendental Meditation ......................5 The Relaxation...Response ................... 5 Autogenic Training .......................... 6 Progressive Relaxation ........................ 6 The Quieting Response...as suspect, at best, or hokum, at worst. A partial listing of these new or scientifically resurrected techniques follows: Transcendental Meditation

The Rescue from Relativism: Two Failed Attempts and an Alternative Strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Donmoyer, Robert

1985-01-01

Critiques attempts to resurrect aspects of positivism and argues that the work of certain post-positivist philosophers (in particular, Toulmin's discussions of the role that purpose plays in rational decisionmaking) provides a more adequate response to the problems associated with relativism. (Author/GC)

Muusikamaailm : James Levine 25 aastat Metis. Taveneri ja MacMillani millenniumiteosed. Avafestival Sydneys / Priit Kuusk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kuusk, Priit, 1938-

2000-01-01

J. Harbisoni ooperi "The Great Gatsby" esmalavastusega tähistab New Yorgi Metropolitan Opera oma 25-aastast koostööd J. Levine'iga. J. Taveneri uudisteosest "The Fall and Resurrection", J. MacMillani millenniumiteose "Magnificat" maailmaesiettekandest. 5.-26. jaan. toimuvast Sydney muusikafestivalist

Analysis of plant height between male sterile plants obtained by space flight and male fertile plants in Maize

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Moju; Huang Wenchao; Pan Guangtang; Rong Tingzhao; Zhu Yingguo

2004-01-01

F 2 fertility segregation population and the sister-cross fertility segregation population, which descended from the male sterile material, were analysed by their plant height of different growing stage between 2 populations of male sterile plants and male fertile plants. The plant height of different fertility plants come to the significance at 0.01 level in different stage through the whole growing period. The differences become more and more large with the development of plants, the maximum difference happens in adult stage. The increasing amount of different stage also shows significance at 0.01 level between two kinds of different fertility plants

Configuration management of plant modifications for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritsch, W.J.

1987-01-01

Due to the increasing complexity of nuclear power plant operation, regulatory pressure, and the large numbers of people required to operate and support the stations, the control of plant modifications at these plants needs to be expanded and improved. The aerospace and defense industries, as well as the owners or operators of large energy projects have established configuration management programs (CMPs) to control plant design changes. These programs are composed of well-defined functions for identifying, evaluating, recording, tracking, issuing, and documenting the established baseline conditions, as well as required changes to these baseline conditions. The purpose of this paper is to describe a recommended CMP for plant modifications consisting of a computerized data base installed on the utility's computer to provide a central storage of plant design and operations data necessary to control the following activities as they are affected by plant design changes: training; record management; operations; maintenance; health physics; planning/scheduling; procurement/inventory control; outage management (including modifications); and emergency response

Plant diversity surpasses plant functional groups and plant productivity as driver of soil biota in the long term.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nico Eisenhauer

2011-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most significant consequences of contemporary global change is the rapid decline of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Knowledge of the consequences of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems is largely restricted to single ecosystem functions. Impacts of key plant functional groups on soil biota are considered to be more important than those of plant diversity; however, current knowledge mainly relies on short-term experiments.We studied changes in the impacts of plant diversity and presence of key functional groups on soil biota by investigating the performance of soil microorganisms and soil fauna two, four and six years after the establishment of model grasslands. The results indicate that temporal changes of plant community effects depend on the trophic affiliation of soil animals: plant diversity effects on decomposers only occurred after six years, changed little in herbivores, but occurred in predators after two years. The results suggest that plant diversity, in terms of species and functional group richness, is the most important plant community property affecting soil biota, exceeding the relevance of plant above- and belowground productivity and the presence of key plant functional groups, i.e. grasses and legumes, with the relevance of the latter decreasing in time.Plant diversity effects on biota are not only due to the presence of key plant functional groups or plant productivity highlighting the importance of diverse and high-quality plant derived resources, and supporting the validity of the singular hypothesis for soil biota. Our results demonstrate that in the long term plant diversity essentially drives the performance of soil biota questioning the paradigm that belowground communities are not affected by plant diversity and reinforcing the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning.

Perspectives on plant vulnerabilities ampersand other plant and containment improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaChance, J.; Kolaczkowski, A.; Kahn, J.

1996-01-01

The primary goal of the Individual Plant Examination (IPE) Program was for licensees to identify plant-unique vulnerabilities and actions to address these vulnerabilities. A review of these vulnerabilities and plant improvements that were identified in the IPEs was performed as part of the IPE Insights Program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The purpose of this effort was to characterize the identified vulnerabilities and the impact of suggested plant improvements. No specific definition for open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes was provided in NRC Generic Letter 88-20 or in the subsequent NRC IPE submittal guidance documented in NUREG-1335. Thus licensees were left to use their own definitions. Only 20% of the plants explicitly stated that they had vulnerabilities. However, most licensees identified other plant improvements to address issues not explicitly classified as vulnerabilities, but pertaining to areas in which overall plant safety could potentially be increased. The various definitions of open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes used by the licensees, explicitly identified vulnerabilities, proposed plant improvements to address these vulnerabilities, and other plant improvements are summarized and discussed

Life management plants at nuclear power plants PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esteban, G.

2014-01-01

Since in 2009 the CSN published the Safety Instruction IS-22 (1) which established the regulatory framework the Spanish nuclear power plants must meet in regard to Life Management, most of Spanish nuclear plants began a process of convergence of their Life Management Plants to practice 10 CFR 54 (2), which is the current standard of Spanish nuclear industry for Ageing Management, either during the design lifetime of the plant, as well as for Long-Term Operation. This article describe how Life Management Plans are being implemented in Spanish PWR NPP. (Author)

Pan-Africanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Diaz Guevara

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This essaic-article goes against established conventions that there is anything ethno-cultural (and hence national about the so-called African tribes. Drawing largely from the culture history of precolonial/prepolitical Africans—that is, the Bantu/Cushitic-Ethiopians (Azanians—the author has demonstrated vividly that far from being distinct ethno-culture national communities, the so-called tribes of African states are better considered subculture groups, whose regional culture practices erstwhile paid tribute to their nation’s main culture center in Karnak. For example, using the culture symbols and practices of some local groups and linking them to the predynastic and dynastic Pharaonic periods, I argued that there is compelling evidence against qualifying Africa’s tribes as distinct ethno-culture national entities. In genuine culture context, I stressed that the Ritual of Resurrection and its twin culture process of the mummification of deceased indigenous Pharaohs tend to suggest that the object of the Bantu/Cushitic-Ethiopians national culture was life (in its eternal manifestation and then resurrection later, and that there are recurring (culturally sanctioned ethical examples among the culture custodians of these subculture groups that generally pay tribute to the overarching culture norm. Furthermore, the fact that the Ritual of Resurrection began in the Delta region and ended at the Sources of the Nile, where the spirit of the deceased indigenous Pharaohs was introduced into the spiritual world of their ancestors, contradicts conventional perceptions that ancient Egypt was a distinct national community isolated from precolonial/prepolitical Africa/Azania.

Historical plant cost and annual production expenses for selected electric plants, 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This publication is a composite of the two prior publications, Hydroelectric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses and Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses. Beginning in 1979, Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses contained information on both steam-electric and gas-turbine electric plant construction cost and annual production expenses. The summarized historical plant cost described under Historical Plant Cost in this report is the net cumulative-to-date actual outlays or expenditures for land, structures, and equipment to the utility. Historical plant cost is the initial investment in plant (cumulative to the date of initial commercial operation) plus the costs of all additions to the plant, less the value of retirements. Thus, historical plant cost includes expenditures made over several years, as modifications are made to the plant. Power Production Expenses is the reporting year's plant operation and maintenance expenses, including fuel expenses. These expenses do not include annual fixed charges on plant cost (capital costs) such as interest on debt, depreciation or amortization expenses, and taxes. Consequently, total production expenses and the derived unit costs are not the total cost of producing electric power at the various plants. This publication contains data on installed generating capacity, net generation, net capability, historical plant cost, production expenses, fuel consumption, physical and operating plant characteristics, and other relevant statistical information for selected plants

Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. Allelopathic Aquatic Plants for Aquatic Plant Management: A Feasibility Study

Science.gov (United States)

1989-10-01

1978. " Ecotoxicology of aquatic plant communi- ties," Principles of Ecotoxicology , SCOPE Report 12, Chapter 11, pp 239-255. [Heavy metals, Pollutants...Phragmites communis and Equisetum limosum were cultivated . They found plant-plant influences depend on soil type. Typha latifolia, S. A2 lacustris, and

Making Plant-Support Structures From Waste Plant Fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Robert C.; < oscjmocl. < attjew K/; {ertzbprm. A,amda; Ej (e. Cjad); Hunt, John

2006-01-01

Environmentally benign, biodegradable structures for supporting growing plants can be made in a process based on recycling of such waste plant fiber materials as wheat straw or of such derivative materials as paper and cardboard. Examples of structures that can be made in this way include plant plugs, pots, planter-lining mats, plant fences, and root and shoot barriers. No chemical binders are used in the process. First, the plant material is chopped into smaller particles. The particles are leached with water or steam to remove material that can inhibit plant growth, yielding a fibrous slurry. If the desired structures are plugs or sheets, then the slurry is formed into the desired shapes in a pulp molding subprocess. If the desired structures are root and shoot barriers, pots, or fences, then the slurry is compression-molded to the desired shapes in a heated press. The processed materials in these structures have properties similar to those of commercial pressboard, but unlike pressboard, these materials contain no additives. These structures have been found to withstand one growth cycle, even when wet

Chapter 15. Plant pathology and managing wildland plant disease systems

Science.gov (United States)

David L. Nelson

2004-01-01

Obtaining specific, reliable knowledge on plant diseases is essential in wildland shrub resource management. However, plant disease is one of the most neglected areas of wildland resources experimental research. This section is a discussion of plant pathology and how to use it in managing plant disease systems.

Biogeographical diversity of plant associated microbes in arcto-alpine plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kumar, Manoj Gopala Krishnan

2016-01-01

Terrestrial plants and microbes have co-evolved since the emergence of the former on Earth. Associations with microorganisms can be either beneficial or detrimental for plants. Microbes can be found in the soil surrounding the plant roots, but also in all plant tissues, including seeds. In

Why First Language Learning Is Not Second Language Learning--Wittgenstein's Rejection of St. Augustine's Conception of Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Erneling, Christina

1993-01-01

Paper shows that Wittgenstein, in discussing ostensive definition, understanding, and the private language argument, attacks Saint Augustine's notion of learning. Recently, the Augustinian conception has been resurrected in cognitive theories postulating an innate language of thought, making Wittgenstein's claims that this conception of learning…

The lymphopenic mouse in immunology: from patron to pariah.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Nevil J; Schwartz, Ronald H

2006-12-01

A recent surge of interest in the behavior of T and B cells in lymphopenic model systems has resurrected a certain cynicism about the validity of using such models to answer important immunological questions. Here we discuss this skepticism in a broader historical context.

Exotic plant species attack revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas

Science.gov (United States)

Yusuf, Muhammad; Arisoesilaningsih, Endang

2017-11-01

This study aimed to explore some invasive exotic plant species that have the potential to disrupt the growth of revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas. This research was conducted in a revegetation area of PT, Amanah Anugerah Adi Mulia (A3M) Kintap site, South Borneo. Direct observation was carried out on some revegetation areas by observing the growth of revegetation plants disturbed by exotic plant species and the spread of exotic plant species. Based on observation, several invasive exotic plant species were identified including Mikania cordata, Centrosema pubescence, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mimosa pudica, Ageratum conyzoides, and Chromolaena odorata. These five plant species grew wild in the revegetation area and showed ability to disrupt the growth of other plants. In some tree species, such as Acacia mangium, Paraserianthes falcataria, M. cordata could inhibit the growth and even kill the trees through covering the tree canopy. So, the trees could not receive optimum sun light for photosynthesis processes. M. cordata was also observed to have the most widespread distribution. Several exotic plant species such as C. mucunoides, M. pudica, and A. conyzoides were observed to have deep root systems compared with plant species used for revegetation. This growth characteristic allowed exotic plant species to win the competition for nutrient absorption with other plant species.

Electronic plants

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrinidou, Eleni; Gabrielsson, Roger; Gomez, Eliot; Crispin, Xavier; Nilsson, Ove; Simon, Daniel T.; Berggren, Magnus

2015-01-01

The roots, stems, leaves, and vascular circuitry of higher plants are responsible for conveying the chemical signals that regulate growth and functions. From a certain perspective, these features are analogous to the contacts, interconnections, devices, and wires of discrete and integrated electronic circuits. Although many attempts have been made to augment plant function with electroactive materials, plants’ “circuitry” has never been directly merged with electronics. We report analog and digital organic electronic circuits and devices manufactured in living plants. The four key components of a circuit have been achieved using the xylem, leaves, veins, and signals of the plant as the template and integral part of the circuit elements and functions. With integrated and distributed electronics in plants, one can envisage a range of applications including precision recording and regulation of physiology, energy harvesting from photosynthesis, and alternatives to genetic modification for plant optimization. PMID:26702448

Stress tolerant plants

OpenAIRE

Rubio, Vicente; Iniesto Sánchez, Elisa; Irigoyen Miguel, María Luisa

2014-01-01

[EN] The invention relates to transgenic plants and methods for modulating abscisic acid (ABA) perception and signal transduction in plants. The plants find use in increasing yield in plants, particularly under abiotic stress.

The application of plant information system on third Qinshan nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wangtian

2005-01-01

Plant overall control has been applied in Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, which enhances the security of plant operation, but it is not enough to improve the technical administration level. In order to integrate the overall information and to improve the technical administration level more. Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant applies the plant information system. This thesis introduces the application of plant information system in Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the effect to the plant after the system is carried into execution, in addition, it does more analysis and exceptions for application of plant information system in the future. (authors)

Linking plant nutritional status to plant-microbe interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalhais, Lilia C; Dennis, Paul G; Fan, Ben; Fedoseyenko, Dmitri; Kierul, Kinga; Becker, Anke; von Wiren, Nicolaus; Borriss, Rainer

2013-01-01

Plants have developed a wide-range of adaptations to overcome nutrient limitation, including changes to the quantity and composition of carbon-containing compounds released by roots. Root-associated bacteria are largely influenced by these compounds which can be perceived as signals or substrates. Here, we evaluate the effect of root exudates collected from maize plants grown under nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), iron (Fe) and potassium (K) deficiencies on the transcriptome of the plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42. The largest shifts in gene expression patterns were observed in cells exposed to exudates from N-, followed by P-deficient plants. Exudates from N-deprived maize triggered a general stress response in FZB42 in the exponential growth phase, which was evidenced by the suppression of numerous genes involved in protein synthesis. Exudates from P-deficient plants induced bacterial genes involved in chemotaxis and motility whilst exudates released by Fe and K deficient plants did not cause dramatic changes in the bacterial transcriptome during exponential growth phase. Global transcriptional changes in bacteria elicited by nutrient deficient maize exudates were significantly correlated with concentrations of the amino acids aspartate, valine and glutamate in root exudates suggesting that transcriptional profiling of FZB42 associated with metabolomics of N, P, Fe and K-deficient maize root exudates is a powerful approach to better understand plant-microbe interactions under conditions of nutritional stress.

Plant diversity and plant identity influence Fusarium communities in soil.

Science.gov (United States)

LeBlanc, Nicholas; Kinkel, Linda; Kistler, H Corby

2017-01-01

Fusarium communities play important functional roles in soil and in plants as pathogens, endophytes, and saprotrophs. This study tests how rhizosphere Fusarium communities may vary with plant species, changes in the diversity of the surrounding plant community, and soil physiochemical characteristics. Fusarium communities in soil associated with the roots of two perennial prairie plant species maintained as monocultures or growing within polyculture plant communities were characterized using targeted metagenomics. Amplicon libraries targeting the RPB2 locus were generated from rhizosphere soil DNAs and sequenced using pyrosequencing. Sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and assigned a taxonomy using the Evolutionary Placement Algorithm. Fusarium community composition was differentiated between monoculture and polyculture plant communities, and by plant species in monoculture, but not in polyculture. Taxonomic classification of the Fusarium OTUs showed a predominance of F. tricinctum and F. oxysporum as well of the presence of a clade previously only found in the Southern Hemisphere. Total Fusarium richness was not affected by changes in plant community richness or correlated with soil physiochemical characteristics. However, OTU richness within two predominant phylogenetic lineages within the genus was positively or negatively correlated with soil physiochemical characteristics among samples within each lineage. This work shows that plant species, plant community richness, and soil physiochemical characteristics may all influence the composition and richness of Fusarium communities in soil.

Plant Density Effect in Different Planting Dates on Growth Indices, Yield and

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Azizi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In order to determine the appropriate plant density in different planting dates for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in split plot lay out with three replications at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj in 2006. Three planting dates (22 May, 5 June and 22 June were assigned as main plots and three plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plants per hectare were considered as sub plots. Effect of planting date on row/ear, 1000 kernels weight, biological yield and harvest index was significant at 1% probability level and it was significant at 5% probability level for kernels/ear row and grain yield. All traits decreased with postponement of planting date to 5 June except for row/ear, kernels/row and grain yield. More delay in planting from 22 May to 22 June caused that grain yield was decreased significantly about 32.5% (from 14.45 to 9.78 ton/ha. Effect of plant density was significant at 1% probability level for all the traits. All of the traits decreased significantly with increasing plant density except for biological yield. The highest grain yield was resulted from 65000 plants per hectare density (14.20 ton/ha. Interaction effect of planting date and plant density was significant at 5% probability level for biological yield and harvest index but it wasn’t significant for the other traits. Growth indices decreased with delay in planting date and increasing plant density. Only leaf area index increased in more plant densities. From the results of this experiment it might be resulted that appropriate planting date to produce the highest grain yield is 22 May to 5 June for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su and also the highest grain yield can obtain from 65000 plants per hectare density.

Medicinal Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillipson, J. David

1997-01-01

Highlights the demand for medicinal plants as pharmaceuticals and the demand for health care treatments worldwide and the issues that arise from this. Discusses new drugs from plants, anticancer drugs, antiviral drugs, antimalarial drugs, herbal remedies, quality, safety, efficacy, and conservation of plants. Contains 30 references. (JRH)

Regulatory requirements for desalination plant coupled with nuclear reactor plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yune, Young Gill; Kim, Woong Sik; Jo, Jong Chull; Kim, Hho Jung; Song, Jae Myung

2005-01-01

A small-to-medium sized reactor has been developed for multi-purposes such as seawater desalination, ship propulsion, and district heating since early 1990s in Korea. Now, the construction of its scaled-down research reactor, equipped with a seawater desalination plant, is planned to demonstrate the safety and performance of the design of the multi-purpose reactor. And the licensing application of the research reactor is expected in the near future. Therefore, a development of regulatory requirements/guides for a desalination plant coupled with a nuclear reactor plant is necessary for the preparation of the forthcoming licensing review of the research reactor. In this paper, the following contents are presented: the design of the desalination plant, domestic and foreign regulatory requirements relevant to desalination plants, and a draft of regulatory requirements/guides for a desalination plant coupled with a nuclear reactor plant

Plant simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukumitsu, Hiroyuki

1998-01-01

A simulator of a reactor plant of the present invention comprises a plurality of distributed computers, an indication processing section and an operation section. The simulation calculation functions of various kinds of plant models in the plant are shared by the plurality of computers. The indication processing section controls collection of data of the plant simulated by the computers and instructions of an operator. The operation section is operated by the operator and the results of operation are transmitted to the indication processing section, to conduct operation trainings and display the results of the simulation. Each of the computers and the indication processing portion are connected with each other by a network having a memory for common use. Data such as the results of calculation of plant models and various kinds of parameters of the plant required commonly to the calculators and the indication processing section are stored in the common memory, and adapted to be used by way of the network. (N.H.)

[Distribution of HCB discharged from a chemical plant in plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jing; Wang, Lin-Ling; Lu, Xiao-Hua; Yuan, Song-Hu; Liu, Xi-Xiang; Wang, Yue; Zhao, Qian; Mei, Ling-Fang

2009-04-15

The distribution characteristics of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in plant and rhizosphere soil in contamination conduit, a nearby river and a cropland were studied and the impact factors were also discussed. The results are summarized as follows: the range of the HCB concentration in plant and rhizosphere soil in investigation area were respectively from 4.45 microg x kg(-1) to 1,189.89 microg x kg(-1) (dw) and from 27.93 microg x kg(-1) to 3,480.71 microg x kg(-1) (dw). Higher enrichment of HCB in woodplant than herbs due to higher fat concentration in woodplant in the contamination conduit and the rich concentrtion factor of woodplant and herbs were 0.41-2.55 and 0.01-1.34. The range of HCB concentrations in plants in nearby croplands was significantly wide (4.45-333.1 microg x kg(-1)) while HCB concentrations in different parts of plant were various, e.g. HCB concentrations in fruit, root and shoot of taro were 318.77 microg x kg(-1), 281.02 microg x kg(-1) and 10.94 microg x kg(-1). There was a remarkable positive relation between the concentrations of HCB in plant and fat concentration of plant while no relativity between the concentrations of HCB in plant and those in ground soils in the contamination conduit and cropland. The concentration levels of HCB in plant and rhizosphere soil in river were dramatically decreased with increasing distance from contaminated conduit. There was a remarkable positive relation between the concentrations of HCB in plant and those in ground soils but no relation between concentrations of HCB in plant and fat concentration of plant in river. The distribution characteristics of HCB in plants were influenced by contaminated levels, fat concentration and Partition-transfer model.

Plant extraction process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2006-01-01

A method for producing a plant extract comprises incubating a plant material with an enzyme composition comprising a lipolytic enzyme.......A method for producing a plant extract comprises incubating a plant material with an enzyme composition comprising a lipolytic enzyme....

Integrating Studies on Plant-Pollinator and Plant-Herbivore Interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lucas-Barbosa, Dani

2016-01-01

Research on herbivore-induced plant defence and research on pollination ecology have had a long history of separation. Plant reproduction of most angiosperm species is mediated by pollinators, and the effects of herbivore-induced plant defences on pollinator behaviour have been largely neglected.

On-line acquisition of plant related and environmental parameters (plant monitoring) in gerbera: determining plant responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baas, R.; Slootweg, G.

2004-01-01

For on-line plant monitoring equipment to be functional in commercial glasshouse horticulture, relations between sensor readings and plant responses on both the short (days) and long term (weeks) are required. For this reason, systems were installed to monitor rockwool grown gerbera plants on a

Plutonium Plant, Trombay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, J.S.; Agarwal, K.

2017-01-01

The journey of Indian nuclear fuel reprocessing started with the commissioning of Plutonium Plant (PP) at Trombay on 22"n"d January, 1965 with an aim to reprocess the spent fuel from research reactor CIRUS. The basic process chosen for the plant was Plutonium Uranium Reduction EXtraction (PUREX) process. In seventies, the plant was subjected to major design modifications and replacement of hardware, which later met the additional demand from research reactor DHRUVA. The augmented plutonium plant has been operating since 1983. Experience gained from this plant was very much helpful to design future reprocessing plant in the country

New Grand Narratives: The Metaphysical Worldview of 'Avatar' and 'Cloud Atlas'

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Früchtl, J.

2016-01-01

Referring to the films Avatar (2009) and Cloud Atlas (2012), the author will demonstrate that a new era of metaphysical holism follows Postmodernism. These films celebrate a resurrection of the flesh with 3-D technology and a reincarnation of souls with the aesthetic technique of morphing. However

The Challenges of Haiti's Future: Implications for U.S. Policy and Strategy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Simmons, J

2002-01-01

.... Unfortunately, Haiti's immediate future is quite bleak. Unless President Aristide can establish internal security, implement meaningful political reforms, and resurrect the dormant economy, the prospects for Haiti remain dim. So far, President Aristide has proven incapable of providing the requisite leadership necessary to make a difference.

The Complexity of Integrity Culture Change: A Case Study of a Liberal Arts College

Science.gov (United States)

Bertram Gallant, Tricia

2007-01-01

The concept of academic integrity has been resurrected in both literature and practice in response to a perceived problem of student academic dishonesty. Most specifically, academic integrity advocates suggest changing the student academic culture to normalize academic integrity and reduce occurrences of academic dishonesty. Theories of…

[Intoxications with plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Kupper, Jacqueline; Reichert, Cornelia

2009-05-01

Ingestions of plants rarely lead to life-threatening intoxications. Highly toxic plants, which can cause death, are monkshood (Aconitum sp.), yew (Taxus sp.) and autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Lethal ingestions of monkshood and yew are usually suicides, intoxications with autumn crocus are mostly accidental ingestions of the leaves mistaken for wild garlic (Allium ursinum). Severe intoxications can occur with plants of the nightshade family like deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), angel's trumpet (Datura suaveolens) or jimsonweed (Datura stramonium). These plants are ingested for their psychoactive effects. Ingestion of plant material by children most often only causes minor symptoms or no symptoms at all, as children usually do not eat great quantities of the plants. They are especially attracted by the colorful berries. There are plants with mostly cardiovascular effects like monkshood, yew and Digitalis sp. Some of the most dangerous plants belong to this group. Plants of the nightshade family cause an anticholinergic syndrome. With golden chain (Laburnum anagyroides), castor bean (Ricinus communis) and raw beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) we see severe gastrointestinal effects. Autumn crocus contains a cell toxin, colchicine, which leads to multiorgan failure. Different plants are irritative or even caustic to the skin. Treatment is usually symptomatic. Activated charcoal is administered within one hour after ingestion (1 g/kg). Endoscopic removal of plant material can be considered with ingestions of great quantities of highly toxic plants. Administration of repeated doses of charcoal (1-2 g/h every 2-4 hours) may be effective in case of oleander poisoning. There exist only two antidotes: Anti-digoxin Fab fragments can be used with cardenolide glycoside-containing plants (Digitalis sp., Oleander). Physostigmine is the antidote for severe anticholinergic symptoms of the CNS. Antibodies against colchicine, having been developed in France, are not available at

T'ao-t'ieh, a motif of Chinese funerary art as the iconographic counterpart of Cinnabar, an alchemical drug.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahdihassan, S

1982-01-01

The agency conferring resurrection is soul or its emblem. The earliest conception of soul is blood. Its Redness penetrates subsoil and is taken up by serpent, from whence arises snake-soul, later snake-god. Blood vapours is the other fraction arising upwards. It becomes wraith bird, later soul bird, and finally bird god. Blood as whole gave snake-god plus bird-god. A winged-cobra became snake-god and bird-god or together, one-as-all. Red Cock was its equivalent. As substance came cinnabar, red like blood and sublimable like soul. Dragon was idealized snake-god. Then Dragon-god plus Bird-god became the equal of blood soul, the magical power. T'ao-t'ieh is Dragon-plus-Bird, snake-god plus bird-god, the equivalent of Cosmic soul. Then cinnabar as the equal of blood soul and T'ao-t'ieh, the emblem of Cosmic soul, each were capable of conferring resurrection and have been interred in Chinese graves.

Restoration of oscillation in network of oscillators in presence of direct and indirect interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majhi, Soumen; Bera, Bidesh K. [Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata-700108 (India); Bhowmick, Sourav K. [Department of Electronics, Asutosh College, Kolkata-700026 (India); Ghosh, Dibakar, E-mail: diba.ghosh@gmail.com [Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata-700108 (India)

2016-10-23

The suppression of oscillations in coupled systems may lead to several unwanted situations, which requires a suitable treatment to overcome the suppression. In this paper, we show that the environmental coupling in the presence of direct interaction, which can suppress oscillation even in a network of identical oscillators, can be modified by introducing a feedback factor in the coupling scheme in order to restore the oscillation. We inspect how the introduction of the feedback factor helps to resurrect oscillation from various kinds of death states. We numerically verify the resurrection of oscillations for two paradigmatic limit cycle systems, namely Landau–Stuart and Van der Pol oscillators and also in generic chaotic Lorenz oscillator. We also study the effect of parameter mismatch in the process of restoring oscillation for coupled oscillators. - Highlights: • Amplitude death is observed using direct and indirect coupling. • Revival of oscillation using feedback parameter is discussed. • Restoration of oscillation is observed in limit cycle and chaotic systems.

Production of healthy cloned mice from bodies frozen at -20 degrees C for 16 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakayama, Sayaka; Ohta, Hiroshi; Hikichi, Takafusa; Mizutani, Eiji; Iwaki, Takamasa; Kanagawa, Osami; Wakayama, Teruhiko

2008-11-11

Cloning animals by nuclear transfer provides an opportunity to preserve endangered mammalian species. However, it has been suggested that the "resurrection" of frozen extinct species (such as the woolly mammoth) is impracticable, as no live cells are available, and the genomic material that remains is inevitably degraded. Here we report production of cloned mice from bodies kept frozen at -20 degrees C for up to 16 years without any cryoprotection. As all of the cells were ruptured after thawing, we used a modified cloning method and examined nuclei from several organs for use in nuclear transfer attempts. Using brain nuclei as nuclear donors, we established embryonic stem cell lines from the cloned embryos. Healthy cloned mice were then produced from these nuclear transferred embryonic stem cells by serial nuclear transfer. Thus, nuclear transfer techniques could be used to "resurrect" animals or maintain valuable genomic stocks from tissues frozen for prolonged periods without any cryopreservation.

Plant life management and maintenance technologies for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikegami, Tsukasa; Aoki, Masataka; Shimura, Takao; Kaimori, Kimihiro; Koike, Masahiro

2001-01-01

Nuclear power generation occupying an important position for energy source in Japan and supplying about one third of total electric power usage is now required for further upgrading of its economics under regulation relaxation of electric power business. And, under execution retardation of its new planning plant, it becomes important to operate the already established plants for longer term and to secure their stability. Therefore, technical development in response to the plant life elongation is promoted under cooperation of the Ministry of Economics and Industries, electric power companies, literate, and plant manufacturers. Under such conditions, the Hitachi, Ltd. has progressed some technical developments on check inspection, repairs and maintenance for succession of the already established nuclear power plants for longer term under securing of their safety and reliability. And in future, by proposing the check inspection and maintenance program combined with these technologies, it is planned to exert promotion of maintenance program with minimum total cost from a viewpoint of its plant life. Here were described on technologies exerted in the Hitachi, Ltd. such as construction of plant maintenance program in response to plant life elongation agreeing with actual condition of each plant, yearly change mechanism grasping, life evaluation on instruments and materials necessary for maintenance, adequate check inspection, repairs and exchange, and so forth. (G.K.)

Plant life management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charbonneau, S.; Framatome, J.B.

1992-01-01

Plant life assessment and extension studies have been performed by numerous companies all over the world. Critical equipment has been identified as well as various degradation mechanisms involved in the plant aging process. Nowadays one has to think what to implement to improve the existing situation in the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). FRAMATOME has undertaken this thought process in order to find the right answers and bring them to utilities facing either critical concern for plant life extension or the problem of management of power plant potential longevity. This is why we prepared a Plant Life Improvement Action Plan, comprising 10 (ten) major items described hereafter using examples of work performed by FRAMATOME for its utility customers desiring to manage the lives of their plants, both in France with EDF and abroad

Plant Research '75

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1975-01-01

Research is reported on stomatal regulation of the gas exchanges between plant and environment; inhibitory effects in flower formation; plant growth and development through hormones; hormone action; development and nitrogen fixation in algae; primary cell wall glycoprotein ectensin; enzymic mechanisms and control of polysaccharide and glycoprotein synthesis; molecular studies of membrane studies; sensory transduction in plants; regulation of formation of protein complexes and enzymes in higher plant cell and mechanism of sulfur dioxide toxicity in plants. (PCS)

Shattering the idols: Confronting the obstinate hold of dehumanising powers on post-apartheid South Africans with the living presence of the crucified and resurrected Lord

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferdinand P. Kruger

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This practical-theological article focuses on the spiritual dimension of forces that are influencing the social fabric of post-apartheid South Africans. Working with Eswine’s assumption, we reflect on the hold of idols on the hearts and minds of people. The spiritual powers at work in society develop into idols and place their own desires above God’s purpose for humanity and creation. Rather than serving the ends of human life, the powers exercise dominion over human beings, restricting and dehumanising them and destroying the fabric of integrated social life by means of the blinding and hardening hold of idolatry. In the post-apartheid South African society this idolatry manifests in the illusion of power flowing from entitling oneself to self-aggrandisement and in the false sense of stability flowing from the efforts of the middle class in establishing a sophisticated first-world enclave aimed at protecting themselves from the third-world masses. The purpose is to develop the contours for a homiletic theory aimed at shattering the obstinate hold of idols by means of the prophetic act of ministering the living presence of the crucified and resurrected Christ in the hearts and minds of preachers and listeners. A theory is envisioned for an iconoclast action that originates from a different power and wisdom base than is the case with the dominating forces and the hold of their idols,namely a field of force with the integrating presence of the risen Christ at its heart; a space where a liberated and reconciled humanity will be able to flourish. Die verbryseling van die afgode: Die konfrontering van die hardnekkige houvas van verontmenslikende kragte op post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaners met die lewende teenwoordigheid van die gekruisigde en opgestane Here. Hierdie prakties-teologiese artikel, fokus op die geestelike dimensie van magte wat in ’n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing ’n invloed op die sosiale omgewing uitoefen. Die

Plant air systems safety study: Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-05-01

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Air System facilities and operations are reviewed for potential safety problems not covered by standard industrial safety procedures. Information is presented under the following section headings: facility and process description (general); air plant equipment; air distribution system; safety systems; accident analysis; plant air system safety overview; and conclusion

PlantCV v2: Image analysis software for high-throughput plant phenotyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malia A. Gehan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Systems for collecting image data in conjunction with computer vision techniques are a powerful tool for increasing the temporal resolution at which plant phenotypes can be measured non-destructively. Computational tools that are flexible and extendable are needed to address the diversity of plant phenotyping problems. We previously described the Plant Computer Vision (PlantCV software package, which is an image processing toolkit for plant phenotyping analysis. The goal of the PlantCV project is to develop a set of modular, reusable, and repurposable tools for plant image analysis that are open-source and community-developed. Here we present the details and rationale for major developments in the second major release of PlantCV. In addition to overall improvements in the organization of the PlantCV project, new functionality includes a set of new image processing and normalization tools, support for analyzing images that include multiple plants, leaf segmentation, landmark identification tools for morphometrics, and modules for machine learning.

Are atomic power plants saver than nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roeglin, H.C.

1977-01-01

It is rather impossible to establish nuclear power plants against the resistance of the population. To prevail over this resistance, a clarification of the citizens-initiatives motives which led to it will be necessary. This is to say: It is quite impossible for our population to understand what really heappens in nuclear power plants. They cannot identify themselves with nuclear power plants and thus feel very uncomfortable. As the total population feels the same way it is prepared for solidarity with the citizens-initiatives even if they believe in the necessity of nuclear power plants. Only an information-policy making transparent the social-psychological reasons of the population for being against nuclear power plants could be able to prevail over the resistance. More information about the technical procedures is not sufficient at all. (orig.) [de

Stem parasitic plant Cuscuta australis (dodder) transfers herbivory-induced signals among plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Hettenhausen, Christian; Li, Juan; Zhuang, Huifu; Sun, Huanhuan; Xu, Yuxing; Qi, Jinfeng; Zhang, Jingxiong; Lei, Yunting; Qin, Yan; Sun, Guiling; Wang, Lei; Baldwin, Ian T; Wu, Jianqiang

2017-08-08

Cuscuta spp. (i.e., dodders) are stem parasites that naturally graft to their host plants to extract water and nutrients; multiple adjacent hosts are often parasitized by one or more Cuscuta plants simultaneously, forming connected plant clusters. Metabolites, proteins, and mRNAs are known to be transferred from hosts to Cuscuta , and Cuscuta bridges even facilitate host-to-host virus movement. Whether Cuscuta bridges transmit ecologically meaningful signals remains unknown. Here we show that, when host plants are connected by Cuscuta bridges, systemic herbivory signals are transmitted from attacked plants to unattacked plants, as revealed by the large transcriptomic changes in the attacked local leaves, undamaged systemic leaves of the attacked plants, and leaves of unattacked but connected hosts. The interplant signaling is largely dependent on the jasmonic acid pathway of the damaged local plants, and can be found among conspecific or heterospecific hosts of different families. Importantly, herbivore attack of one host plant elevates defensive metabolites in the other systemic Cuscuta bridge-connected hosts, resulting in enhanced resistance against insects even in several consecutively Cuscuta -connected host plants over long distances (> 100 cm). By facilitating plant-to-plant signaling, Cuscuta provides an information-based means of countering the resource-based fitness costs to their hosts.

PlantPAN: Plant promoter analysis navigator, for identifying combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with distance constraint in plant gene groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Hsien-Da

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The elucidation of transcriptional regulation in plant genes is important area of research for plant scientists, following the mapping of various plant genomes, such as A. thaliana, O. sativa and Z. mays. A variety of bioinformatic servers or databases of plant promoters have been established, although most have been focused only on annotating transcription factor binding sites in a single gene and have neglected some important regulatory elements (tandem repeats and CpG/CpNpG islands in promoter regions. Additionally, the combinatorial interaction of transcription factors (TFs is important in regulating the gene group that is associated with the same expression pattern. Therefore, a tool for detecting the co-regulation of transcription factors in a group of gene promoters is required. Results This study develops a database-assisted system, PlantPAN (Plant Promoter Analysis Navigator, for recognizing combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with a distance constraint in sets of plant genes. The system collects the plant transcription factor binding profiles from PLACE, TRANSFAC (public release 7.0, AGRIS, and JASPER databases and allows users to input a group of gene IDs or promoter sequences, enabling the co-occurrence of combinatorial transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs within a defined distance (20 bp to 200 bp to be identified. Furthermore, the new resource enables other regulatory features in a plant promoter, such as CpG/CpNpG islands and tandem repeats, to be displayed. The regulatory elements in the conserved regions of the promoters across homologous genes are detected and presented. Conclusion In addition to providing a user-friendly input/output interface, PlantPAN has numerous advantages in the analysis of a plant promoter. Several case studies have established the effectiveness of PlantPAN. This novel analytical resource is now freely available at http://PlantPAN.mbc.nctu.edu.tw.

Los Alamos Nuclear Plant Analyzer: an interactive power-plant simulation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinke, R.; Booker, C.; Giguere, P.; Liles, D.R.; Mahaffy, J.H.; Turner, M.R.

1984-01-01

The Nuclear Plant Analyzer (NPA) is a computer-software interface for executing the TRAC or RELAP5 power-plant systems codes. The NPA is designed to use advanced supercomputers, long-distance data communications, and a remote workstation terminal with interactive computer graphics to analyze power-plant thermal-hydraulic behavior. The NPA interface simplifies the running of these codes through automated procedures and dialog interaction. User understanding of simulated-plant behavior is enhanced through graphics displays of calculational results. These results are displayed concurrently with the calculation. The user has the capability to override the plant's modeled control system with hardware-adjustment commands. This gives the NPA the utility of a simulator, and at the same time, the accuracy of an advanced, best-estimate, power-plant systems code for plant operation and safety analysis

Nuclear Plant Analyzer: an interactive TRAC/RELAP Power-Plant Simulation Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinke, R.; Booker, C.; Giguere, P.; Liles, D.; Mahaffy, J.; Turner, M.; Wiley, R.

1984-01-01

The Nuclear Plant Analyzer (NPA) is a computer-software interface for executing the TRAC or RELAP5 power-plant systems codes. The NPA is designed to use advanced supercomputers, long-distance data communications, and a remote workstation terminal with interactive computer graphics to analyze power-plant thermal-hydraulic behavior. The NPA interface simplifies the running of these codes through automated procedures and dialog interaction. User understanding of simulated-plant behavior is enhanced through graphics displays of calculational results. These results are displayed concurrently with the calculation. The user has the capability to override the plant's modeled control system with hardware adjustment commands. This gives the NPA the utility of a simulator, and at the same time, the accuracy of an advanced, best-estimate, power-plant systems code for plant operation and safety analysis

Gas turbine cogeneration plant for textile dyeing plant in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tonetti, P.E.

1991-01-01

This paper reports the information (i.e., notes on specific plant component weaknesses and defects, e.g., exchanger tube fouling, improper positioning of temperature probes, incorrect choice of flow valves, etc., and relative remedial actions) gained during a one year cogeneration plant debugging campaign at the Colorama textile dyeing plant in Italy. The cogeneration plant consists of a Solar Saturn MK III gas turbine (1,080 kw at terminals, 500 degrees C exhaust gas temperature); a double (steam and hot water) circuit waste heat boiler contemporaneously producing, with 100 degrees C supply water, 4 tonnes/h steam at 5 bars and 9 cubic meters/h of 20 to 80 degrees C hot water; and a 1,470 kVA generator operating at 3 kV connected by a 3kV/15kV transformer to the national grid. The plant is protected against fire by independent halon fire protection systems, one for the gas turbine plant, the other, for the control room. A modem connects the plant control and monitoring system with the firm which supplied the equipment. The plant operator cites an urgent national requirement for trained cogeneration equipment technical consultants and designers in order to better promote the use of innovative cogeneration technology by Italian industry

Plant-phytopathogen interactions: bacterial responses to environmental and plant stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Simon; Hommais, Florence; Nasser, William; Reverchon, Sylvie

2017-05-01

Plant pathogenic bacteria attack numerous agricultural crops, causing devastating effects on plant productivity and yield. They survive in diverse environments, both in plants, as pathogens, and also outside their hosts as saprophytes. Hence, they are confronted with numerous changing environmental parameters. During infection, plant pathogens have to deal with stressful conditions, such as acidic, oxidative and osmotic stresses; anaerobiosis; plant defenses; and contact with antimicrobial compounds. These adverse conditions can reduce bacterial survival and compromise disease initiation and propagation. Successful bacterial plant pathogens must detect potential hosts and also coordinate their possibly conflicting programs for survival and virulence. Consequently, these bacteria have a strong and finely tuned capacity for sensing and responding to environmental and plant stimuli. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the signals and genetic circuits that affect survival and virulence factor expression in three important and well-studied plant pathogenic bacteria with wide host ranges and the capacity for long-term environmental survival. These are: Ralstonia solanacerarum, a vascular pathogen that causes wilt disease; Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a biotrophic tumorigenic pathogen responsible for crown gall disease and Dickeya, a brute force apoplastic pathogen responsible for soft-rot disease. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Plant diagnosis device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tozuka, Shin-ichi.

1996-01-01

Standard data approximately defined are inputted as 1:1 functional data between at least two or more plant data and each of plant data are inputted. Diagnosis data corresponding to each of process data are formed based on the functional data. Limit value data to be a threshold value which determines whether the diagnosis data are in a predetermined state or not are formed. The diagnosis data and the limit value data are displayed in a recognizable state. If diagnosis data of a plurality of plants are displayed simultaneously, all of the plant data are substantially the same value with one standard datum if the plant is in a normal state. When abnormality should occur in the plant, the difference between the diagnosis data and the standard data is remarkable, and the difference between the diagnosis data of other normal plant data and the standard data are also made remarkably, accordingly, the display of a plurality of diagnosis data is scattered thereby capable of diagnosing the abnormality of the plant. (N.H.)

Interannual variability of plant phenology in tussock tundra: modelling interactions of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijk, van M.T.; Williams, M.; Laundre, J.A.; Shaver, G.R.

2003-01-01

We present a linked model of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw in order to estimate interannual variability of arctic plant phenology and its effects on plant productivity. The model is tested using 8 years of soil temperature data, and three years of bud break data of

Methylobacterium-plant interaction genes regulated by plant exudate and quorum sensing molecules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuella Nóbrega Dourado

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Bacteria from the genus Methylobacterium interact symbiotically (endophytically and epiphytically with different plant species. These interactions can promote plant growth or induce systemic resistance, increasing plant fitness. The plant colonization is guided by molecular communication between bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-plants, where the bacteria recognize specific exuded compounds by other bacteria (e.g. homoserine molecules and/or by the plant roots (e.g. flavonoids, ethanol and methanol, respectively. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of quorum sensing molecules (N-acyl-homoserine lactones and plant exudates (including ethanol in the expression of a series of bacterial genes involved in Methylobacterium-plant interaction. The selected genes are related to bacterial metabolism (mxaF, adaptation to stressful environment (crtI, phoU and sss, to interactions with plant metabolism compounds (acdS and pathogenicity (patatin and phoU. Under in vitro conditions, our results showed the differential expression of some important genes related to metabolism, stress and pathogenesis, thereby AHL molecules up-regulate all tested genes, except phoU, while plant exudates induce only mxaF gene expression. In the presence of plant exudates there is a lower bacterial density (due the endophytic and epiphytic colonization, which produce less AHL, leading to down regulation of genes when compared to the control. Therefore, bacterial density, more than plant exudate, influences the expression of genes related to plant-bacteria interaction.

Plant dynamics studies towards design of plant protection system for PFBR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Natesan, K., E-mail: natesan@igcar.gov.in [Nuclear and Safety Engineering Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603 102 (India); Kasinathan, N.; Velusamy, K.; Selvaraj, P.; Chellapandi, P. [Nuclear and Safety Engineering Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603 102 (India)

2012-09-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Analysis of various design basis events in a fast breeder reactor towards design of plant protection system. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Plant dynamic modeling of a sodium cooled fast breeder reactor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Selection of optimum set of plant parameters for considering best plant availability. - Abstract: Prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) is a 500 MWe (1250 MWt) liquid sodium cooled pool type reactor currently under construction in India. For a safe and efficient operation of the plant, it is necessary that the reactor is protected from all the transients that may occur in the plant. In order to accomplish this, adequate number of SCRAM parameters is required in the plant protection system with reliable instrumentation. For identifying the SCRAM parameters, the neutronic and thermal hydraulic responses of the plant for various possible events need to be established. Towards this, a one dimensional plant dynamics code DYANA-P has been developed with thermal hydraulic models for reactor core, hot and cold pools, intermediate heat exchangers, pipelines, steam generator, primary sodium circuits and secondary sodium circuits. The code also incorporates neutron kinetics and reactivity feedback models. By a comprehensive plant dynamics study an optimum list of SCRAM parameters and the maximum permissible response time for various instruments used for deriving them have been arrived at.

Possession, Attraction, and the Thrill of the Chase: Gendered Myth-Making in Film and Television Comedy of the Sexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Scodari, Christine

1995-01-01

Examines articulations of "egalitarian" courtship in romantic comedy films of the 1930s and 1940s and recent television series resurrecting their conventions. Gauges the extent to which such texts are open to a negotiated reading that recontextualizes heterosexual monogamy in anarchic rather than patriarchal terms. Suggests that the…

Employing modern power plant simulators in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niedorf, V.; Storm, J.

2005-01-01

At the present state of the art, modern power plant simulators are characterized by new qualitative features, thus enabling operators to use them far beyond the traditional field of training. In its first part, this contribution presents an overview of the requirements to be met by simulators for multivalent uses. In part two, a survey of the uses and perspectives of simulation technology in power plants is presented on the basis of experience accumulated by Rheinmetall Defence Electronics (RDE).Modern simulators are shown to have applications by far exceeding traditional training areas. Modular client - sever systems on standard computers allow inexpensive uses to be designed at several levels, thus minimizing maintenance cost. Complex development and running time environments, like the SEMS developed by RDE, have made power plant simulators the workhorses of power plant engineers in all power plant areas. (orig.)

Plant-plant interactions in the restoration of Mediterranean drylands

Science.gov (United States)

Valdecantos, Alejandro; Fuentes, David; Smanis, Athanasios

2014-05-01

Plant-plant interactions are complex and dependent of both local abiotic features of the ecosystem and biotic relationships with other plants and animals. The net result of these interactions may be positive, negative or neutral resulting in facilitation, competition or neutralism, respectively (role of phylogeny). It has been proposed that competition is stronger between those individuals that share functional traits than between unrelated ones. The relative interaction effect of one plant on a neighbour may change in relation to resource availability - especially water in drylands. In addition, plants develop above and belowground biomass with time increasing the level and, eventually, changing the intensity and/or the direction of the interaction. In the framework of the restoration of degraded drylands, many studies have focused on the positive (nurse) effects of adult trees, shrubs and even grasses on artificially planted seedlings by improving the microclimate or providing protection against herbivores, but little is known about the interactions between seedlings of different life traits planted together under natural field conditions. In 2010 we established planting plots in two contrasted sites under semiarid Mediterranean climate and introduced one year old seedlings in different combinations of three species, two shrubs (Olea europaea and Pistacia lentiscus) and one grass (Stipa tenacissima). Half of the planting holes in each site were implemented with low-cost ecotechnological inputs to increase water availability by forcing runoff production and promoting deep infiltration (small plastic fabric + dry well). This resulted in four levels of abiotic stress. Biotic interactions were assessed by monitoring seedling survival and growth for three years after planting. The Relative Interaction Index (RII) of S. tenacissima on O. europaea was almost flat and close to 0 along the stress gradient since the beginning of the study suggesting limited interaction

Plant Phenotype Characterization System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daniel W McDonald; Ronald B Michaels

2005-09-09

This report is the final scientific report for the DOE Inventions and Innovations Project: Plant Phenotype Characterization System, DE-FG36-04GO14334. The period of performance was September 30, 2004 through July 15, 2005. The project objective is to demonstrate the viability of a new scientific instrument concept for the study of plant root systems. The root systems of plants are thought to be important in plant yield and thus important to DOE goals in renewable energy sources. The scientific study and understanding of plant root systems is hampered by the difficulty in observing root activity and the inadequacy of existing root study instrumentation options. We have demonstrated a high throughput, non-invasive, high resolution technique for visualizing plant root systems in-situ. Our approach is based upon low-energy x-ray radiography and the use of containers and substrates (artificial soil) which are virtually transparent to x-rays. The system allows us to germinate and grow plant specimens in our containers and substrates and to generate x-ray images of the developing root system over time. The same plant can be imaged at different times in its development. The system can be used for root studies in plant physiology, plant morphology, plant breeding, plant functional genomics and plant genotype screening.

PlantNATsDB: a comprehensive database of plant natural antisense transcripts.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dijun; Yuan, Chunhui; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Zhao; Bai, Lin; Meng, Yijun; Chen, Ling-Ling; Chen, Ming

2012-01-01

Natural antisense transcripts (NATs), as one type of regulatory RNAs, occur prevalently in plant genomes and play significant roles in physiological and pathological processes. Although their important biological functions have been reported widely, a comprehensive database is lacking up to now. Consequently, we constructed a plant NAT database (PlantNATsDB) involving approximately 2 million NAT pairs in 69 plant species. GO annotation and high-throughput small RNA sequencing data currently available were integrated to investigate the biological function of NATs. PlantNATsDB provides various user-friendly web interfaces to facilitate the presentation of NATs and an integrated, graphical network browser to display the complex networks formed by different NATs. Moreover, a 'Gene Set Analysis' module based on GO annotation was designed to dig out the statistical significantly overrepresented GO categories from the specific NAT network. PlantNATsDB is currently the most comprehensive resource of NATs in the plant kingdom, which can serve as a reference database to investigate the regulatory function of NATs. The PlantNATsDB is freely available at http://bis.zju.edu.cn/pnatdb/.

Effects of plant diversity on the concentration of secondary plant metabolites and the density of arthropods on focal plants in the field

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kostenko, O.; Mulder, Patrick P. J.; Courbois, Matthijs; Bezemer, T. Martijn

2017-01-01

1.The diversity of the surrounding plant community can directly affect the abundance of insects on a focal plant as well as the size and quality of that focal plant. However, to what extent the effects of plant diversity on the arthropod community on a focal plant are mediated by host plant quality

Plant synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wusheng; Stewart, C Neal

2015-05-01

Plant synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines engineering principles with plant biology toward the design and production of new devices. This emerging field should play an important role in future agriculture for traditional crop improvement, but also in enabling novel bioproduction in plants. In this review we discuss the design cycles of synthetic biology as well as key engineering principles, genetic parts, and computational tools that can be utilized in plant synthetic biology. Some pioneering examples are offered as a demonstration of how synthetic biology can be used to modify plants for specific purposes. These include synthetic sensors, synthetic metabolic pathways, and synthetic genomes. We also speculate about the future of synthetic biology of plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dem Bones: Forensic Resurrection of a Skeleton.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Alease

2001-01-01

Presents an activity for students to determine the sex and age of an individual from a collection of bones. Simulates some of the actual procedures conducted in a forensic anthropologist's lab, examining and identifying bones through a series of lab activities. (Author/ASK)

Resurrection of vitamin D deficiency and rickets

Science.gov (United States)

Holick, Michael F.

2006-01-01

The epidemic scourge of rickets in the 19th century was caused by vitamin D deficiency due to inadequate sun exposure and resulted in growth retardation, muscle weakness, skeletal deformities, hypocalcemia, tetany, and seizures. The encouragement of sensible sun exposure and the fortification of milk with vitamin D resulted in almost complete eradication of the disease. Vitamin D (where D represents D2 or D3) is biologically inert and metabolized in the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], the major circulating form of vitamin D that is used to determine vitamin D status. 25(OH)D is activated in the kidneys to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], which regulates calcium, phosphorus, and bone metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency has again become an epidemic in children, and rickets has become a global health issue. In addition to vitamin D deficiency, calcium deficiency and acquired and inherited disorders of vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus metabolism cause rickets. This review summarizes the role of vitamin D in the prevention of rickets and its importance in the overall health and welfare of infants and children. PMID:16886050

Royal Numico N.V. : Resurrecting shareholder value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lachotzki, F.; Olson, M.A.

2008-01-01

This case presents the extraordinary turn-around engineered at Royal Numico (a specialized nutrition company, previously covered in another Nyenrode case under its old name Nutricia) by a team of managers formed and led by Jan Bennink. Company fortunes were at a low ebb by the beginning of 2002, as

Mayoral controversy resurrects political hostility / Steven Paulikas

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Paulikas, Steven

2004-01-01

Vilniuse linnapea Arturas Zuokas kuulati üle seoses võimaliku häälteostmisega kohalike omavalitsuste valimistel. A. Zuokas peab ülekuulamise põhjuseks president Rolandas Paksase survet uurimisorganitele

Autopsies of the real: Resurrecting the dead

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valis, Noël

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The sense of the real, or the material—the dead body—as an inextricable part of the sacred does not disappear in the secular environment of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This article analyzes specific humanitarian narratives centered on the practice of autopsy and mummification, in which the traces of Catholicism act as a kind of spectral discourse of the imagination, where the real is configured in forms of the uncanny, the monstrous or the sacred.

El sentido de lo real, de lo material —el cuerpo sin vida— como una inextricable parte de lo sagrado, no desaparece del ambiente secular de los siglos XIX y XX. En los relatos analizados en este artículo se estudia cómo en determinadas narrativas humanitarias centradas en la práctica de la autopsia y la momificación, las huellas del catolicismo actúan como una suerte de discurso espectral de la imaginación, en que lo real se configura en formas de lo siniestro, lo monstruoso o lo sagrado.

Plant neurobiology and green plant intelligence : science, metaphors and nonsense

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Struik, P.C.; Yin, X.; Meinke, H.B.

2008-01-01

This paper analyses the recent debates on the emerging science of plant neurobiology, which claims that the individual green plant should be considered as an intelligent organism. Plant neurobiology tries to use elements from animal physiology as elegant metaphors to trigger the imagination in

Improvement of plant reliability in PT. Badak LNG plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achmad, S.; Somantri, A.

1997-01-01

PT. Badak's LNG sales commitment has been steadily increasing, therefore, there has been more emphasis to improve and maintain the LNG plant reliability. From plant operation historical records, Badak LNG plant experienced a high number of LNG process train trips and down time for 1977 through 1988. The highest annual number of LNG plant trips (50 times) occurred in 1983 and the longest LNG process train down time (1259 train-hours) occurred in 1988. Since 1989, PT. Badak has been able to reduce the number of LNG process train trips and down time significantly. In 1994 the number of LNG process train trips and was 18 times and the longest LNG process train down time was 377 train-hours. This plant reliability improvement was achieved by implementing plant reliability improvement programs beginning with the design of the new facilities and continuing with the maintenance and modification of the existing facilities. To improve reliability of the existing facilities, PT. Badak has been implementing comprehensive maintenance programs, to reduce the frequency and down time of the plant, such as Preventive and Predictive Maintenance as well as procurement material improvement since PT. Badak location is in a remote area. By implementing the comprehensive reliability maintenance, PT. Badak has been able to reduce the LNG process train trips to 18 and down time to 337 train hours in 1994 with the subsequent maintenance cost reduction. The average PT. Badak plant availability from 1985 to 1995 is 94.59%. New facilities were designed according to the established PT. Badak design philosophy, master plan and specification. Design of new facilities was modified to avoid certain problems from past experience. (au)

Ecology and Genomic Insights into Plant-Pathogenic and Plant-Nonpathogenic Endophytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Brader, Günter; Compant, Stéphane; Vescio, Kathryn; Mitter, Birgit; Trognitz, Friederike; Ma, Li-Jun; Sessitsch, Angela

2017-08-04

Plants are colonized on their surfaces and in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere by a multitude of different microorganisms and are inhabited internally by endophytes. Most endophytes act as commensals without any known effect on their plant host, but multiple bacteria and fungi establish a mutualistic relationship with plants, and some act as pathogens. The outcome of these plant-microbe interactions depends on biotic and abiotic environmental factors and on the genotype of the host and the interacting microorganism. In addition, endophytic microbiota and the manifold interactions between members, including pathogens, have a profound influence on the function of the system plant and the development of pathobiomes. In this review, we elaborate on the differences and similarities between nonpathogenic and pathogenic endophytes in terms of host plant response, colonization strategy, and genome content. We furthermore discuss environmental effects and biotic interactions within plant microbiota that influence pathogenesis and the pathobiome.

MIPS PlantsDB: a database framework for comparative plant genome research.

Science.gov (United States)

Nussbaumer, Thomas; Martis, Mihaela M; Roessner, Stephan K; Pfeifer, Matthias; Bader, Kai C; Sharma, Sapna; Gundlach, Heidrun; Spannagl, Manuel

2013-01-01

The rapidly increasing amount of plant genome (sequence) data enables powerful comparative analyses and integrative approaches and also requires structured and comprehensive information resources. Databases are needed for both model and crop plant organisms and both intuitive search/browse views and comparative genomics tools should communicate the data to researchers and help them interpret it. MIPS PlantsDB (http://mips.helmholtz-muenchen.de/plant/genomes.jsp) was initially described in NAR in 2007 [Spannagl,M., Noubibou,O., Haase,D., Yang,L., Gundlach,H., Hindemitt, T., Klee,K., Haberer,G., Schoof,H. and Mayer,K.F. (2007) MIPSPlantsDB-plant database resource for integrative and comparative plant genome research. Nucleic Acids Res., 35, D834-D840] and was set up from the start to provide data and information resources for individual plant species as well as a framework for integrative and comparative plant genome research. PlantsDB comprises database instances for tomato, Medicago, Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, Sorghum, maize, rice, barley and wheat. Building up on that, state-of-the-art comparative genomics tools such as CrowsNest are integrated to visualize and investigate syntenic relationships between monocot genomes. Results from novel genome analysis strategies targeting the complex and repetitive genomes of triticeae species (wheat and barley) are provided and cross-linked with model species. The MIPS Repeat Element Database (mips-REdat) and Catalog (mips-REcat) as well as tight connections to other databases, e.g. via web services, are further important components of PlantsDB.

Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Bucksch, Alexander; Atta-Boateng, Acheampong; Azihou, Akomian F.; Battogtokh, Dorjsuren; Baumgartner, Aly; Binder, Brad M.; Braybrook, Siobhan A.; Chang, Cynthia; Coneva, Viktoirya; DeWitt, Thomas J.; Fletcher, Alexander G.; Gehan, Malia A.; Diaz-Martinez, Diego Hernan; Hong, Lilan; Iyer-Pascuzzi, Anjali S.; Klein, Laura L.; Leiboff, Samuel; Li, Mao; Lynch, Jonathan P.; Maizel, Alexis; Maloof, Julin N.; Markelz, R. J. Cody; Martinez, Ciera C.; Miller, Laura A.; Mio, Washington; Palubicki, Wojtek; Poorter, Hendrik; Pradal, Christophe; Price, Charles A.; Puttonen, Eetu; Reese, John B.; Rellán-Álvarez, Rubén; Spalding, Edgar P.; Sparks, Erin E.; Topp, Christopher N.; Williams, Joseph H.; Chitwood, Daniel H.

2017-01-01

The geometries and topologies of leaves, flowers, roots, shoots, and their arrangements have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. As such, plant morphology is inherently mathematical in that it describes plant form and architecture with geometrical and topological techniques. Gaining an understanding of how to modify plant morphology, through molecular biology and breeding, aided by a mathematical perspective, is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems is vital to modeling a future with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin with an overview in quantifying the form of plants and mathematical models of patterning in plants. We then explore the fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the movement of leaves in air streams. We end with a discussion concerning the education of plant morphology synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics. PMID:28659934

Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Bucksch

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The geometries and topologies of leaves, flowers, roots, shoots, and their arrangements have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. As such, plant morphology is inherently mathematical in that it describes plant form and architecture with geometrical and topological techniques. Gaining an understanding of how to modify plant morphology, through molecular biology and breeding, aided by a mathematical perspective, is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems is vital to modeling a future with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin with an overview in quantifying the form of plants and mathematical models of patterning in plants. We then explore the fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the movement of leaves in air streams. We end with a discussion concerning the education of plant morphology synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics.

Reassessing apoptosis in plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickman, Martin; Williams, Brett; Li, Yurong; de Figueiredo, Paul; Wolpert, Thomas

2017-10-01

Cell death can be driven by a genetically programmed signalling pathway known as programmed cell death (PCD). In plants, PCD occurs during development as well as in response to environmental and biotic stimuli. Our understanding of PCD regulation in plants has advanced significantly over the past two decades; however, the molecular machinery responsible for driving the system remains elusive. Thus, whether conserved PCD regulatory mechanisms include plant apoptosis remains enigmatic. Animal apoptotic regulators, including Bcl-2 family members, have not been identified in plants but expression of such regulators can trigger or suppress plant PCD. Moreover, plants exhibit nearly all of the biochemical and morphological features of apoptosis. One difference between plant and animal PCD is the absence of phagocytosis in plants. Evidence is emerging that the vacuole may be key to removal of unwanted plant cells, and may carry out functions that are analogous to animal phagocytosis. Here, we provide context for the argument that apoptotic-like cell death occurs in plants.

Ethno-Botanical Survey Of Medicinal Plants In The Plant Genetic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The ethno-botanical uses and mode of administration of twenty-nine medicinal plants found in the arboretum of the Plant Genetic Resource Centre located at Bunso in the Eastern region of Ghana against some disease conditions are hereby documented. Key words: Ethnobotany, medicinal plants, arboretum, Ghana. Nig.

Kansas Power Plants

Data.gov (United States)

Kansas Data Access and Support Center — The Kansas Power Plants database depicts, as point features, the locations of the various types of power plant locations in Kansas. The locations of the power plants...

Gender in Plants

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

What is the difference between plant sex and plant gender? Why does stress .... environmental sex determination is often predictable. Sunlit patches favour .... ensures that these self-incompatible plants receive cross-pollen only. i emporal ...

Hydroelectric Power Plants Dobsina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majercak, V.; Srenkelova, Z.; Kristak, J.G.

1997-01-01

In this brochure the Hydroelectric Power Plants Dobsina, (VED), subsidiary of the utility Slovenske Elektrarne, a.s. (Slovak Electric, plc. Bratislava) are presented. VED is mainly aimed at generating peak-load electrical energy and maintenance of operational equipment. Reaching its goals, company is first of all focused on reliability of production, economy and effectiveness, keeping principles of work safety and industry safety standards and also ecology. VED operates eight hydroelectric power plants, from which PVE Ruzin I and PVE Dobsina I are pump storage ones and they are controlled directly by the Slovak Energy Dispatch Centre located in Zilina thought the system LS 3200. Those power plants participate in secondary regulation of electrical network of Slovakia. They are used to compensate balance in reference to foreign electrical networks and they are put into operation independently from VED. Activity of the branch is focused mainly on support of fulfilment of such an important aim as electric network regulation. Beginnings of the subsidiary Hydroelectric Power Plants Dobsina are related to the year of 1948. After commissioning of the pump storage Hydroelectric Power Plants Dobsina in 1953, the plant started to carry out its mission. Since that time the subsidiary has been enlarged by other seven power plants, through which it is fulfilling its missions nowadays. The characteristics of these hydroelectric power plants (The pump-storage power plant Dobsina, Small hydroelectric power plant Dobsina II, Small hydroelectric power plant Rakovec, Small hydroelectric power plant Svedlar, Hydroelectric power plant Domasa, The pump-storage power plant Ruzin, and Small hydroelectric power plant Krompachy) are described in detail. Employees welfare and public relations are presented

Not all GMOs are crop plants: non-plant GMO applications in agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Hokanson, K E; Dawson, W O; Handler, A M; Schetelig, M F; St Leger, R J

2014-12-01

Since tools of modern biotechnology have become available, the most commonly applied and often discussed genetically modified organisms are genetically modified crop plants, although genetic engineering is also being used successfully in organisms other than plants, including bacteria, fungi, insects, and viruses. Many of these organisms, as with crop plants, are being engineered for applications in agriculture, to control plant insect pests or diseases. This paper reviews the genetically modified non-plant organisms that have been the subject of permit approvals for environmental release by the United States Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service since the US began regulating genetically modified organisms. This is an indication of the breadth and progress of research in the area of non-plant genetically modified organisms. This review includes three examples of promising research on non-plant genetically modified organisms for application in agriculture: (1) insects for insect pest control using improved vector systems; (2) fungal pathogens of insects to control insect pests; and (3) virus for use as transient-expression vectors for disease control in plants.

Air pollution impedes plant-to-plant communication, but what is the signal?

Science.gov (United States)

Blande, James D; Li, Tao; Holopainen, Jarmo K

2011-07-01

Since the first reports that undamaged plants gain defensive benefits following exposure to damaged neighbors, the idea that plants may signal to each other has attracted much interest. There has also been substantial debate concerning the ecological significance of the process and the evolutionary drivers. Part of this debate has centered on the distance over which signaling between plants occurs in nature. In a recent study we showed that an ozone concentration of 80 ppb, commonly encountered in nature, significantly reduces the distance over which plant-plant signaling occurs in lima bean. We went on to show that degradation of herbivore-induced plant volatiles by ozone is the likely mechanism for this. The key question remaining from our work was that if ozone is degrading the signal in transit between plants, which chemicals are responsible for transmitting the signal in purer air? Here we present the results of a small scale experiment testing the role of the two most significant herbivore-induced terpenes and discuss our results in terms of other reported functions for these chemicals in plant-plant signaling.

Physician strives to create lean, clean health care machine. Studies of manufacturing processes may one day help make your practice more efficient.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, D

2001-01-01

Elisabeth Hager, MD, MMM, CPE, is teaming up with scientists and industrialists to teach physicians how to apply principles of lean, total-quality manufacturing to their practices. She believes innovation and efficiencies can help doctors resurrect their profession's image and their control over it--and perhaps even reinvent American health care.

Pedagogy of Hate

Science.gov (United States)

Neary, Mike

2017-01-01

This paper is a critical engagement with Peter McLaren's book "Pedagogy of Insurrection: From Resurrection to Revolution". The paper focusses on a number of key themes in the book: the historical Jesus; the dialectic of love and hate; cognition and consciousness; and the relationship between capitalist abstraction and revolutionary…

Paramilitary Organizations in Germany from 1871-1945

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-01

After Röhm’s release from prison in April 1924, he traveled through the country to resurrect SA units. Röhm structured his revived paramilitary...These factors are once more in playas of this writing in 2014 in such places as Greece, Hungary, Ukraine and Russia, and collide with an extraordinary

The improbability of dorso-ventral axis inversion during animal evolution, as presumed by Geoffroy Saint Hilaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biggelaar, van den J.A.M.; Edsinger-Gonzales, E.; Schram, F.R.

2002-01-01

Recent discoveries in the field of developmental genetics have lead to the resurrection of the old idea, first proposed in the early 19th century, that the dorso-ventral axis of deuterostomes, such as vertebrates, has been inverted during the course of evolution from that noted in protostomes, i.e.,

Zoroastrianism: The Rediscovery of Missing Chapters in Man's Religious History. Teaching Aids for the Study of Inner Asia, No. 6.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, Mary

Some modern scholars of Zoroastrianism, a faith still practiced in Iran and India today, are convinced that the doctrines of post-exilic Judaism and Christianity concerning monotheism, righteousness, and the final judgment and resurrection have roots in this ancient religion. Beginning with Martin Haug, a 19th centurey German philologist, the…

“ONE IN CHRIST”: FEDSEM SPIRITUALITIES OF SOLIDARITY

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The native school that caused all the trouble (Denis & Duncan 2011) virtually ignored .... there had been moves in the international and national ecumenical ... [T]he Community of the Resurrection is called specially to public, .... and reality of disunity – and thus brought an element of penitence and ...... William Cullen Library.

Effects of planting date and plant density on crop growth of cut chrysanthemum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, J.H.; Heuvelink, E.; Challa, H.

2002-01-01

The effects of planting date (season) and plant density (32, 48 or 64 plants m-2) on growth of cut chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum (Indicum group)) were investigated in six greenhouse experiments, applying the expolinear growth equation. Final plant fresh and dry mass and number of flowers per plant

Plant diversity increases spatio?temporal niche complementarity in plant?pollinator interactions

OpenAIRE

Venjakob, Christine; Klein, Alexandra?Maria; Ebeling, Anne; Tscharntke, Teja; Scherber, Christoph

2016-01-01

Ongoing biodiversity decline impairs ecosystem processes, including pollination. Flower visitation, an important indicator of pollination services, is influenced by plant species richness. However, the spatio-temporal responses of different pollinator groups to plant species richness have not yet been analyzed experimentally. Here, we used an experimental plant species richness gradient to analyze plant-pollinator interactions with an unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution. We observed four...

Alien plant invasions and native plant extinctions: a six-threshold framework

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, Paul O.; Richardson, David M.

2016-01-01

Biological invasions are widely acknowledged as a major threat to global biodiversity. Species from all major taxonomic groups have become invasive. The range of impacts of invasive taxa and the overall magnitude of the threat is increasing. Plants comprise the biggest and best-studied group of invasive species. There is a growing debate; however, regarding the nature of the alien plant threat—in particular whether the outcome is likely to be the widespread extinction of native plant species. The debate has raised questions on whether the threat posed by invasive plants to native plants has been overstated. We provide a conceptual framework to guide discussion on this topic, in which the threat posed by invasive plants is considered in the context of a progression from no impact through to extinction. We define six thresholds along the ‘extinction trajectory’, global extinction being the final threshold. Although there are no documented examples of either ‘in the wild’ (Threshold 5) or global extinctions (Threshold 6) of native plants that are attributable solely to plant invasions, there is evidence that native plants have crossed or breached other thresholds along the extinction trajectory due to the impacts associated with plant invasions. Several factors may be masking where native species are on the trajectory; these include a lack of appropriate data to accurately map the position of species on the trajectory, the timeframe required to definitively state that extinctions have occurred and management interventions. Such interventions, focussing mainly on Thresholds 1–3 (a declining population through to the local extinction of a population), are likely to alter the extinction trajectory of some species. The critical issue for conservation managers is the trend, because interventions must be implemented before extinctions occur. Thus the lack of evidence for extinctions attributable to plant invasions does not mean we should disregard the broader

Design and simulation of a plant control system for a GCFR demonstration plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrine, E.A.; Greiner, H.G.

1980-02-01

A plant control system is being designed for a 300 MW(e) Gas Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCFR) demonstration plant. Control analysis is being performed as an integral part of the plant design process to ensure that control requirements are satisfied as the plant design evolves. Plant models and simulations are being developed to generate information necessary to further define control system requirements for subsequent plant design iterations

Anatomical Alterations in Plant Tissues Induced by Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan E. Palomares-Rius

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs interact with plants in different ways, for example, through subtle feeding behavior, migrating destructively through infected tissues, or acting as virus-vectors for nepoviruses. They are all obligate biotrophic parasites as they derive their nutrients from living cells which they modify using pharyngeal gland secretions prior to food ingestion. Some of them can also shield themselves against plant defenses to sustain a relatively long lasting interaction while feeding. This paper is centered on cell types or organs that are newly induced in plants during PPN parasitism, including recent approaches to their study based on molecular biology combined with cell biology-histopathology. This issue has already been reviewed extensively for major PPNs (i.e., root-knot or cyst nematodes, but not for other genera (viz. Nacobbus aberrans, Rotylenchulus spp.. PPNs have evolved with plants and this co-evolution process has allowed the induction of new types of plant cells necessary for their parasitism. There are four basic types of feeding cells: (i non-hypertrophied nurse cells; (ii single giant cells; (iii syncytia; and (iv coenocytes. Variations in the structure of these cells within each group are also present between some genera depending on the nematode species viz. Meloidogyne or Rotylenchulus. This variability of feeding sites may be related in some way to PPN life style (migratory ectoparasites, sedentary ectoparasites, migratory ecto-endoparasites, migratory endoparasites, or sedentary endoparasites. Apart from their co-evolution with plants, the response of plant cells and roots are closely related to feeding behavior, the anatomy of the nematode (mainly stylet size, which could reach different types of cells in the plant, and the secretory fluids produced in the pharyngeal glands. These secretory fluids are injected through the stylet into perforated cells where they modify plant cytoplasm prior to food removal

The microbiome of medicinal plants: diversity and importance for plant growth, quality and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Köberl, Martina; Schmidt, Ruth; Ramadan, Elshahat M; Bauer, Rudolf; Berg, Gabriele

2013-12-20

Past medicinal plant research primarily focused on bioactive phytochemicals, however, the focus is currently shifting due to the recognition that a significant number of phytotherapeutic compounds are actually produced by associated microbes or through interaction with their host. Medicinal plants provide an enormous bioresource of potential use in modern medicine and agriculture, yet their microbiome is largely unknown. The objective of this review is (i) to introduce novel insights into the plant microbiome with a focus on medicinal plants, (ii) to provide details about plant- and microbe-derived ingredients of medicinal plants, and (iii) to discuss possibilities for plant growth promotion and plant protection for commercial cultivation of medicinal plants. In addition, we also present a case study performed both to analyse the microbiome of three medicinal plants (Matricaria chamomilla L., Calendula officinalis L., and Solanum distichum Schumach. and Thonn.) cultivated on organically managed Egyptian desert farm and to develop biological control strategies. The soil microbiome of the desert ecosystem was comprised of a high abundance of Gram-positive bacteria of prime importance for pathogen suppression under arid soil conditions. For all three plants, we observed a clearly plant-specific selection of the microbes as well as highly specific diazotrophic communities that overall identify plant species as important drivers in structural and functional diversity. Lastly, native Bacillus spec. div. strains were able to promote plant growth and elevate the plants' flavonoid production. These results underline the numerous links between the plant-associated microbiome and the plant metabolome.

Plant-based raw material: Improved food quality for better nutrition via plant genomics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meer, van der I.M.; Bovy, A.G.; Bosch, H.J.

2001-01-01

Plants form the basis of the human food chain. Characteristics of plants are therefore crucial to the quantity and quality of human food. In this review, it is discussed how technological developments in the area of plant genomics and plant genetics help to mobilise the potential of plants to

Fiscal 1981 Sunshine Project research report. Development of hydrothermal power plant. Development of binary cycle power plant. Conceptual plant design; 1981 nendo nessui riyo hatsuden plant no kaihatsu / binary cycle hatsuden plant no kaihatsu seika hokokusho . Plant gainen sekkei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1982-03-01

Conceptual design was made on a 10MW class binary cycle power plant for a demonstration plant superior in reliability and profitability, under most realistic current geothermal field conditions. In the design, study was made on heat balance, main pipe system, equipment allocation, and electric system for a plant system configuration, and study was also made on preheater, evaporator, condenser, turbine and others for plant component equipment. Further study was made on optimization of mist cooling condenser, instrumentation, control, utility, and environmental measures. The following basic data were obtained through the conceptual design: plant inlet hot water temperature: 130 degrees C, plant outlet hot water temperature: 70 degrees C, hot water flow rate: 1,415t/h, working fluid: R-114, R-114 pressure in evaporator: 11.98kg/cm{sup 2} abs, R-114 evaporation temperature: 91.1 degrees C, R-114 condensation temperature: 31.0 degrees C, R- 114 flow rate: 2,265t/h, site area: 106.5m x 102.4m, building area: 48.7m x 16.8m, and building height: 13.0m. (NEDO)

Native plant community response to alien plant invasion and removal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jara ANDREU

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Given the potential ecological impacts of invasive species, removal of alien plants has become an important management challenge and a high priority for environmental managers. To consider that a removal effort has been successful requires both, the effective elimination of alien plants and the restoration of the native plant community back to its historical composition and function. We present a conceptual framework based on observational and experimental data that compares invaded, non-invaded and removal sites to quantify invaders’ impacts and native plant recover after their removal. We also conduct a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of plant invaders and the consequences of their removal on the native plant community, across a variety of ecosystems around the world. Our results that invasion by alien plants is responsible for a local decline in native species richness and abundance. Our analysis also provides evidence that after removal, the native vegetation has the potential to recover to a pre-invasion target state. Our review reveal that observational and experimental approaches are rarely used in concert, and that reference sites are scarcely employed to assess native species recovery after removal. However, we believe that comparing invaded, non-invaded and removal sites offer the opportunity to obtain scientific information with relevance for management.

Measuring competition in plant communities where it is difficult to distinguish individual plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Christian

2011-01-01

A novel method for measuring plant-plant interactions in undisturbed semi-natural and natural plant communities where it is difficult to distinguish individual plants is discussed. It is assumed that the ecological success of the different plant species in the plant community may be adequately...... measured by plant cover and vertical density (a measure that is correlated to the 3-dimensional space occupancy and biomass). Both plant cover and vertical density are measured in a standard pin-point analysis in the beginning and at the end of the growing season. In the outlined competition model....... The method allows direct measurements of the competitive effects of neighbouringzplants on plant performance and the estimation of parameters that describe the ecological processes of plantplant interactions during the growing season as well as the process of survival and recruitment between growing seasons...

Role of land-based prototype plants in propulsion nuclear power plants engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voronin, V.E.; Prokhorov, Yu.A.

1993-01-01

Prototype plants provide a powerful tool for accomplishing tasks of development and construction of newly designed new power plants (NPPs). Leaving aside momentary political or economical considerations, one should admit that the use of prototype plants in testing of new NPPs is quite a necessity. To make the most of prototype plant, its commissioning should precede lead plant construction by 2-3 years. To make good use of prototype plants, a set of basic requirements should be fulfilled: greatest possible identity beteen the facility under test and a new series NPP; provision of high performance data acquisitoin, processing and storage firmware and a modelling system using update computer technique; and developed science infrastructure, engineering support and adequate maintenance. Prototype plants should comply with safety requirements to meet environmental protection standards

The use of plants to protect plants and food against fungal pathogens

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Plant fungal pathogens play a crucial role in the profitability, quality and quantity of plant production. These phytopathogens are persistent in avoiding plant defences causing diseases and quality losses around the world that amount to billions of US dollars annually. To control the scourge of plant fungal ...

Origin and evolution of female plant from an identical male plant, in carica papaya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tariq, R.M.

2014-01-01

A field study was carried during January 2011 to March, 2013, to confirm the origin and evolution of female plant from an identical male plant in, a dioecious plant, the Carica papaya L. The plants were grown from the seeds of a normal female plant fruit. The grown, plants were identified as XX, XY and XYh (in March - April, 2012) on the basis of male and female flower bearing. The identical male plants, which usually bear only male (unisexual) flowers having calyx, corrolla and androecium, were observed also to bear bisexual flower, having calyx, corrolla, and gynoecium (ovary fused with androecium ). The fruits were set having the bisexual flowers in the identical male (hermaphrodite) plant. These fruits were kept under observation from setting to ripening stage. The ripened fruits were harvested from the identical male plants and 90-95% fruits from these plants were found with the seeds. Plants grown from these male fruit seeds produced all three type of plants i.e., male, female and hermaphrodite. This study indicated that an identical male (XYh) plant produced the female (XX) plant naturally, because of the XXY= XYh condition, which can contribute basic genetic material to male and female plants i.e an identical male (XYh = XXY= 2N +1 = 18+1= 19) produced all three type of plants, the pure male, the hermaphrodite and the female plant, originated from a single source of an identical male, as shown here. XYh = XXY g XY + XX + XXY. The propagation of all three sexes of Carica papaya from a single source of an identical male plant seeds is the first report in the world. (author)

Design of comprehensive plant information system considering maintenance indicators in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takata, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Akira; Yamamoto, Akio

2013-01-01

A safety of a nuclear power plant must be ensured and maintained through its entire plant life. For this plant life cycle safety (PLCS), a comprehensive plant information system, in which an each maintenance record of the plant is taken into consideration, is of importance. In this paper, a development of a plant chart, which is a part of the information system, has been developed based on a defense-in-depth concept that is one of the most important concept to ensure the plant safety. In the chart, an updated probability of loss of a component or function is used as a maintenance indicator and a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) method is applied to quantify the plant status in the chart. (author)

[Psychoactive plant species--actual list of plants prohibited in Poland].

Science.gov (United States)

Simonienko, Katarzyna; Waszkiewicz, Napoleon; Szulc, Agata

2013-01-01

According to the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction (20-th of March, 2009, Dz. U. Nr 63 poz. 520.) the list of federally prohibited plants in Poland was expanded to include 16 new species. Until that time the only illegal plant materials were cannabis, papaver, coca and most of their products. The actual list of herbal narcotics includes species which significantly influence on the central nervous system work but which are rarely described in the national literature. The plants usually come from distant places, where--among primeval cultures--are used for ritual purposes. In our civilization the plants are usually used experimentally, recreationally or to gain particular narcotic effects. The results of the consumption vary: they can be specific or less typical, imitate other substances intake, mental disorders or different pathological states. The plant active substances can interact with other medicaments, be toxic to internal organs, cause serious threat to health or even death. This article describes the sixteen plant species, which are now prohibited in Poland, their biochemical ingredients and their influence on the human organism.

TRANSGENIC PLANT CONTAINMENT

Science.gov (United States)

The new technology using plant genetics to produce chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and therapeuitics in a wide array of new plant forms requires sufficient testing to ensure that these new plant introductions are benign in the environment. A recent effort to provide necessary guidan...

Biofuelled heating plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulliksson, Hans; Wennerstaal, L.; Zethraeus, B.; Johansson, Bert-Aake

2001-11-01

The purpose of this report is to serve as a basis to enable establishment and operation of small and medium-sized bio-fuel plants, district heating plants and local district heating plants. Furthermore, the purpose of this report is to serve as a guideline and basis when realizing projects, from the first concept to established plant. Taking into account all the phases, from selection of heating system, fuel type, selection of technical solutions, authorization request or application to operate a plant, planning, construction and buying, inspection, performance test, take-over and control system of the plant. Another purpose of the report is to make sure that best available technology is used and to contribute to continuous development of the technology. The report deals mainly with bio-fuelled plants in the effect range 0.3 to10 MW. The term 'plant' refers to combined power and heating plants as well as 'simpler' district heating plants. The last-mentioned is also often referred to as 'local heating plant'. In this context, the term bio fuel refers to a wide range of fuel types. The term bio fuel includes processed fractions like powders, pellets, and briquettes along with unprocessed fractions, such as by-products from the forest industry; chips and bark. Bio fuels also include straw, energy crops and cereal waste products, but these have not been expressly studied in this report. The report is structured with appendixes regarding the various phases of the projects, with the purpose of serving as a helping handbook, or manual for new establishment, helping out with technical and administrative advice and environmental requirements. Plants of this size are already expanding considerably, and the need for guiding principles for design/technology and environmental requirements is great. These guiding principles should comply with the environmental legislation requirements, and must contain advice and recommendations for bio fuel plants in this effect range, also in

Annual Plant Reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

, three dimensional structures and functions of each protein in a biological system. In plant science, the number of proteome studies is rapidly expanding after the completion of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequence, and proteome analyses of other important or emerging model systems and crop plants...... are in progress or are being initiated. Proteome analysis in plants is subject to the same obstacles and limitations as in other organisms, but the nature of plant tissues, with their rigid cell walls and complex variety of secondary metabolites, means that extra challenges are involved that may not be faced when...... analysing other organisms. This volume aims to highlight the ways in which proteome analysis has been used to probe the complexities of plant biochemistry and physiology. It is aimed at researchers in plant biochemistry, genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics who wish to gain an up-to-date insight...

On-line acquisition of plant related and environmental parameters (plant monitoring) in gerbera: determining plant responses

OpenAIRE

Baas, R.; Slootweg, G.

2004-01-01

For on-line plant monitoring equipment to be functional in commercial glasshouse horticulture, relations between sensor readings and plant responses on both the short (days) and long term (weeks) are required. For this reason, systems were installed to monitor rockwool grown gerbera plants on a minute-to-minute basis from July 2002 until April 2003. Data collected included, amongst others, crop transpiration from lysimeter data (2 m2), canopy temperature using infrared sensors, rockwool water...

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Evaluation of Siting a HTGR Co-generation Plant on an Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demick, L.E.

2011-01-01

This paper summarizes an evaluation by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project of siting a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) plant on an existing nuclear plant site that is located in an area of significant industrial activity. This is a co-generation application in which the HTGR Plant will be supplying steam and electricity to one or more of the nearby industrial plants.

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Evaluation of Siting a HTGR Co-generation Plant on an Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L.E. Demick

2011-10-01

This paper summarizes an evaluation by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project of siting a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) plant on an existing nuclear plant site that is located in an area of significant industrial activity. This is a co-generation application in which the HTGR Plant will be supplying steam and electricity to one or more of the nearby industrial plants.

Novel weapons testing: are invasive plants more chemically defended than native plants?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric M Lind

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Exotic species have been hypothesized to successfully invade new habitats by virtue of possessing novel biochemistry that repels native enemies. Despite the pivotal long-term consequences of invasion for native food-webs, to date there are no experimental studies examining directly whether exotic plants are any more or less biochemically deterrent than native plants to native herbivores.In a direct test of this hypothesis using herbivore feeding assays with chemical extracts from 19 invasive plants and 21 co-occurring native plants, we show that invasive plant biochemistry is no more deterrent (on average to a native generalist herbivore than extracts from native plants. There was no relationship between extract deterrence and length of time since introduction, suggesting that time has not mitigated putative biochemical novelty. Moreover, the least deterrent plant extracts were from the most abundant species in the field, a pattern that held for both native and exotic plants. Analysis of chemical deterrence in context with morphological defenses and growth-related traits showed that native and exotic plants had similar trade-offs among traits.Overall, our results suggest that particular invasive species may possess deterrent secondary chemistry, but it does not appear to be a general pattern resulting from evolutionary mismatches between exotic plants and native herbivores. Thus, fundamentally similar processes may promote the ecological success of both native and exotic species.

Competition overwhelms the positive plant-soil feedback generated by an invasive plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Kerri M; Knight, Tiffany M

2017-01-01

Invasive plant species can modify soils in a way that benefits their fitness more than the fitness of native species. However, it is unclear how competition among plant species alters the strength and direction of plant-soil feedbacks. We tested how community context altered plant-soil feedback between the non-native invasive forb Lespedeza cuneata and nine co-occurring native prairie species. In a series of greenhouse experiments, we grew plants individually and in communities with soils that differed in soil origin (invaded or uninvaded by L. cuneata) and in soils that were live vs. sterilized. In the absence of competition, L. cuneata produced over 60% more biomass in invaded than uninvaded soils, while native species performance was unaffected. The absence of a soil origin effect in sterile soil suggests that the positive plant-soil feedback was caused by differences in the soil biota. However, in the presence of competition, the positive effect of soil origin on L. cuneata growth disappeared. These results suggest that L. cuneata may benefit from positive plant-soil feedback when establishing populations in disturbed landscapes with few interspecific competitors, but does not support the hypothesis that plant-soil feedbacks influence competitive outcomes between L. cuneata and native plant species. These results highlight the importance of considering whether competition influences the outcome of interactions between plants and soils.

Plant foods and plant-based diets: protective against childhood obesity?

Science.gov (United States)

Newby, P K

2009-05-01

The objective of this article is to review the epidemiologic literature examining the role of plant foods and plant-based diets in the prevention of childhood obesity. Available data suggest a protective effect of ready-to-eat cereal on risk of obesity, although prospective studies are still needed. Studies on fruit and vegetables; grains other than cereal; high-protein foods, including beans, legumes, and soy; fiber; and plant-based dietary patterns are inconsistent or generally null. The evidence base is limited, and most studies are fraught with methodologic limitations, including cross-sectional design, inadequate adjustment for potential confounders, and lack of consideration of reporting errors, stage of growth, and genetic influences. Well-designed prospective studies are needed. The lack of evidence showing an association between plant-based diets and childhood obesity does not mean that such diets should not be encouraged. Plant foods are highlighted in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and children do not meet the current recommendations for most plant foods. Although the advice to consume a plant-based, low-energy-dense diet is sound, ethical questions arise concerning the relatively high price of these diets in the United States and the way in which such diets are perceived in other parts of the world. Reducing the burden of childhood obesity, eliminating health disparities, and preventing the further spread of the disease around the globe will require not only policy interventions to ensure that plant foods are affordable and accessible to children of all income levels but also awareness of sociocultural norms that affect consumption.

THE USE OF PLANTS TO PROTECT PLANTS AND FOOD AGAINST FUNGAL PATHOGENS: A REVIEW.

Science.gov (United States)

Shuping, D S S; Eloff, J N

2017-01-01

Plant fungal pathogens play a crucial role in the profitability, quality and quantity of plant production. These phytopathogens are persistent in avoiding plant defences causing diseases and quality losses around the world that amount to billions of US dollars annually. To control the scourge of plant fungal diseases, farmers have used fungicides to manage the damage of plant pathogenic fungi. Drawbacks such as development of resistance and environmental toxicity associated with these chemicals have motivated researchers and cultivators to investigate other possibilities. Several databases were accessed to determine work done on protecting plants against plant fungal pathogens with plant extracts using search terms "plant fungal pathogen", "plant extracts" and "phytopathogens". Proposals are made on the best extractants and bioassay techniques to be used. In addition to chemical fungicides, biological agents have been used to deal with plant fungal diseases. There are many examples where plant extracts or plant derived compounds have been used as commercial deterrents of fungi on a large scale in agricultural and horticultural setups. One advantage of this approach is that plant extracts usually contain more than one antifungal compound. Consequently the development of resistance of pathogens may be lower if the different compounds affect a different metabolic process. Plants cultivated using plants extracts may also be marketed as organically produced. Many papers have been published on effective antimicrobial compounds present in plant extracts focusing on applications in human health. More research is required to develop suitable, sustainable, effective, cheaper botanical products that can be used to help overcome the scourge of plant fungal diseases. Scientists who have worked only on using plants to control human and animal fungal pathogens should consider the advantages of focusing on plant fungal pathogens. This approach could not only potentially increase

Density-dependency and plant-soil feedback: former plant abundance influences competitive interactions between two grassland plant species through plant-soil feedbacks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Xue, W.; Bezemer, T.M.; Berendse, Frank

2018-01-01

Backgrounds and aims Negative plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) are thought to promote species coexistence, but most evidence is derived from theoretical models and data from plant monoculture experiments. Methods We grew Anthoxanthum odoratum and Centaurea jacea in field plots in monocultures and in

Development of the Chinshan plant analyzer and its assessment with plant data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shihjen Wang; Chunsheng Chien; Jungyuh Jang; Shawcuang Lee

1993-01-01

To apply fast and accurate simulation techniques to Taiwanese nuclear power plants, plant analyzer technology was transferred to Taiwan from the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) through a cooperative program. The Chinshan plant analyzer is developed on the AD100 peripheral processor systems, based on the BNL boiling water reactor plant analyzer. The BNL plant analyzer was first converted from MPS10 programming for AD10 to ADSIM programming for AD100. It was then modified for the Taiwan Power Company's Chinshan power station. The simulation speed of the Chinshan plant analyzer is eight times faster than real time. A load rejection transient performed at 100% of full power during startup tests was simulated with the Chinshan plant analyzer, and the results were benchmarked against test data. The comparison shows good agreement between calculated results and test data

Major plant retrofits at Monticello nuclear generating plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, D.E.; Hogg, C.B.

1986-01-01

For the past several years, Northern States Power (NSP) has been making major plant retrofits to Monticello Nuclear generating Station in order to improve plant availability and upgrade the plant components for the potential extension of the operating license (life extension). This paper discusses in detail three major retrofits that have been completed or in the process of completion; recirculation loop piping replacement, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) water level-instrumentation modification, core spray piping replacement, the authors will address the scope of work, design and installation concerns, and life extension considerations during the design and procurement process for these three projects

Patterns and Environmental Determinants of Medicinal Plant : Vascular Plant Ratios in Xinjiang, Northwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bengang; Xiao, Peigen; Qi, Yaodong; Zhang, Zhao; Liu, Haitao; Li, Xiaojin; Wang, Guoping; Terwei, André

2016-01-01

With both a full collection of native vascular plant distributions and a full checklist of source plants of the Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), the Uygur Medicine (UM), and the Kazak Medicine (KM) for the Xinjiang region, we defined medicinal plant: vascular plant ratios (simplified as medicinal plant ratios hereafter) as the value of medicinal plant richness divided by vascular plant richness. We aimed to find whether the ratios are constant or change in different environments, which environmental variables determine medicinal plant ratios, and whether the ratios are more influenced by human or by natural environments. Finally, suggestions for medicinal plant conservation were addressed. We found that (1) medicinal plant ratios were not constant, and they were high in the Tarim Basin which was largely covered by desert, while they were relatively low in mountainous areas, especially in the Tianshan Mountains where the general species richness was high; (2) medicinal plant ratios were not significantly influenced by human activities, indicated by human population density distributions, but they were highly correlated with plant species richness and climate, i.e. ratios decreased with plant species richness and MAP, and were related quadratically with MAT; (3) CMM ratio and UM ratio were more influenced by plant richness than by climate, while KM ratio was more influenced by climate. We concluded that the percentages of plants used as medicines were not influenced by distances from human settlements, but were determined by species richness or climate. We suggest that (1), in general, the medicinal plant ratio could be a complementary indicator for medicinal plant conservation planning and (2), for the region of Xinjiang, not only high diversity areas, but also some extreme environments should be considered as compensation for a better protection of medicinal plants. PMID:27391239

Patterns and Environmental Determinants of Medicinal Plant : Vascular Plant Ratios in Xinjiang, Northwest China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liping Li

Full Text Available With both a full collection of native vascular plant distributions and a full checklist of source plants of the Chinese Materia Medica (CMM, the Uygur Medicine (UM, and the Kazak Medicine (KM for the Xinjiang region, we defined medicinal plant: vascular plant ratios (simplified as medicinal plant ratios hereafter as the value of medicinal plant richness divided by vascular plant richness. We aimed to find whether the ratios are constant or change in different environments, which environmental variables determine medicinal plant ratios, and whether the ratios are more influenced by human or by natural environments. Finally, suggestions for medicinal plant conservation were addressed. We found that (1 medicinal plant ratios were not constant, and they were high in the Tarim Basin which was largely covered by desert, while they were relatively low in mountainous areas, especially in the Tianshan Mountains where the general species richness was high; (2 medicinal plant ratios were not significantly influenced by human activities, indicated by human population density distributions, but they were highly correlated with plant species richness and climate, i.e. ratios decreased with plant species richness and MAP, and were related quadratically with MAT; (3 CMM ratio and UM ratio were more influenced by plant richness than by climate, while KM ratio was more influenced by climate. We concluded that the percentages of plants used as medicines were not influenced by distances from human settlements, but were determined by species richness or climate. We suggest that (1, in general, the medicinal plant ratio could be a complementary indicator for medicinal plant conservation planning and (2, for the region of Xinjiang, not only high diversity areas, but also some extreme environments should be considered as compensation for a better protection of medicinal plants.

Patterns and Environmental Determinants of Medicinal Plant : Vascular Plant Ratios in Xinjiang, Northwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liping; Zhang, Bengang; Xiao, Peigen; Qi, Yaodong; Zhang, Zhao; Liu, Haitao; Li, Xiaojin; Wang, Guoping; Terwei, André

2016-01-01

With both a full collection of native vascular plant distributions and a full checklist of source plants of the Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), the Uygur Medicine (UM), and the Kazak Medicine (KM) for the Xinjiang region, we defined medicinal plant: vascular plant ratios (simplified as medicinal plant ratios hereafter) as the value of medicinal plant richness divided by vascular plant richness. We aimed to find whether the ratios are constant or change in different environments, which environmental variables determine medicinal plant ratios, and whether the ratios are more influenced by human or by natural environments. Finally, suggestions for medicinal plant conservation were addressed. We found that (1) medicinal plant ratios were not constant, and they were high in the Tarim Basin which was largely covered by desert, while they were relatively low in mountainous areas, especially in the Tianshan Mountains where the general species richness was high; (2) medicinal plant ratios were not significantly influenced by human activities, indicated by human population density distributions, but they were highly correlated with plant species richness and climate, i.e. ratios decreased with plant species richness and MAP, and were related quadratically with MAT; (3) CMM ratio and UM ratio were more influenced by plant richness than by climate, while KM ratio was more influenced by climate. We concluded that the percentages of plants used as medicines were not influenced by distances from human settlements, but were determined by species richness or climate. We suggest that (1), in general, the medicinal plant ratio could be a complementary indicator for medicinal plant conservation planning and (2), for the region of Xinjiang, not only high diversity areas, but also some extreme environments should be considered as compensation for a better protection of medicinal plants.

Better plants through mutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

This is a public relations film describing problems associated with the genetic improvement of crop plants through induced mutations. Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation in plants. Mutation induction is now established as a practical tool in plant breeding. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division and the IAEA's laboratory at Seibersdorf have supported research and practical implementation of mutation breeding of both seed propagated and vegetatively propagated plants. Plant biotechnology based on in vitro culture and recombinant DNA technology will make a further significant contribution to plant breeding

Does chemical aposematic (warning) signaling occur between host plants and their potential parasitic plants?

Science.gov (United States)

Lev-Yadun, Simcha

2013-07-01

Aposematism (warning) signaling is a common defensive mechanism toward predatory or herbivorous animals, i.e., interactions between different trophic levels. I propose that it should be considered at least as a working hypothesis that chemical aposematism operates between certain host plants and their plant predators, parasitic plants, and that although they are also plants, they belong to a higher trophic level. Specific host plant genotypes emit known repelling chemical signals toward parasitic plants, which reduce the level of, slow the directional parasite growth (attack) toward the signaling hosts, or even cause parasitic plants to grow away from them in response to these chemicals. Chemical host aposematism toward parasitic plants may be a common but overlooked defense from parasitic plants.

New plant releases from the USDA-NRCS Aberdeen, Idaho, Plant Materials Center

Science.gov (United States)

L. St. John; P. Blaker

2001-01-01

The Plant Materials Center at Aberdeen, Idaho, is operated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. The purpose of the Plant Materials Center is to evaluate and release plant materials for conservation use and to develop and transfer new technology for the establishment and management of plants. The Center serves portions...

The microbiome of medicinal plants: diversity and importance for plant growth, quality and health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina eKöberl

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Past medicinal plant research primarily focused on bioactive phytochemicals, however the focus is currently shifting due to the recognition that a significant number of phytotherapeutic compounds are actually produced by associated microbes or through interaction with their host. Medicinal plants provide an enormous bioresource of potential use in modern medicine and agriculture, yet their microbiome is largely unknown. The objective of this review is i to introduce novel insights into the plant microbiome with a focus on medicinal plants, ii to provide details about plant- and microbe-derived ingredients of medicinal plants, and iii to discuss possibilities for plant growth promotion and plant protection for commercial cultivation of medicinal plants. In addition, we also present a case study performed both to analyse the microbiome of three medicinal plants (Matricaria chamomilla L., Calendula officinalis L. and Solanum distichum Schumach. and Thonn. cultivated on organically managed Egyptian desert farm and to develop biological control strategies. The soil microbiome of the desert ecosystem was comprised of a high abundance of Gram-positive bacteria of prime importance for pathogen suppression under arid soil conditions. For all three plants, we observed a clearly plant-specific selection of the microbes as well as highly specific diazotrophic communities that overall identify plant species as important drivers in structural and functional diversity. Lastly, native Bacillus spec. div. strains were able to promote plant growth and elevate the plants’ flavonoid production. These results underline the numerous links between the plant-associated microbiome and the plant metabolome.

Applicability of the 'constructional fire prevention for industrial plants' to power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammacher, P.

1978-01-01

Power plants, especially nuclear power plants, are considered because of their high value and large construction volume to be among the most important industrial constructions of our time. They have a very exposed position from the point of view of fire prevention because of their constructional and operational concept. The efforts in the Federal Republic of Germany to standardize laws and regulations for fire prevention in industrial plants (industrial construction code, DIN 18230) must be supported if only because they would simplify the licensing procedure. However these regulations cannot be applied in many cases and especially in the main buildings of thermal power plants without restricting or even endangering the function or the safety of such plants. At the present state of the art many parts of the power plant can surely be defined as 'fire safe'. Fire endangered plant components and rooms are protected according to their importance by different measures (constructional measures, fire-fighting equipments, extractors for flue gases and for heat, fire-brigade of the plant). (orig.) [de

Plant or Animal?

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Frank; Matthews, Catherine E.

1996-01-01

Presents activities that use marine organisms with plant-like appearances to help students build classification skills and illustrate some of the less obvious differences between plants and animals. Compares mechanisms by which sessile plants and animals deal with common problems such as obtaining energy, defending themselves, successfully…

Stainless steels in power plant and plant construction. Papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The conference report comprises 14 papers on the corrosion characteristics of stainless steels in power plant and plant engineering. 9 papers are available as separate records in the ENERGY database. (MM) [de

PLANT-MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS IN THE RHIZOSPHERE – STRATEGIES FOR PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius Stefan

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR are a group of bacteria that can actively colonize plant rootsand enhance plant growth using different mechanisms: production of plant growth regulators like indoleacetic acid,gibberellic acid, cytokinins and ethylene(Zahir et al., 2003, providing the host plant with fixed nitrogen, solubilizationof soil phosphorus, enhance Fe uptake, biocontrol, reducing the concentration of heavy metals. PGPR are perfectcandidates to be used as biofertilizers – eco-friendly alternative to common applied chemical fertilizer in today’sagriculture. The most important benefit of PGPR usage is related to the reduction of environmental pollution in conditionof increasing crop yield. This review presents the main mechanisms involved in PGPR promotion of plant growth.

Alien plant invasions and native plant extinctions: a six-threshold framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, Paul O; Richardson, David M

2016-01-01

Biological invasions are widely acknowledged as a major threat to global biodiversity. Species from all major taxonomic groups have become invasive. The range of impacts of invasive taxa and the overall magnitude of the threat is increasing. Plants comprise the biggest and best-studied group of invasive species. There is a growing debate; however, regarding the nature of the alien plant threat-in particular whether the outcome is likely to be the widespread extinction of native plant species. The debate has raised questions on whether the threat posed by invasive plants to native plants has been overstated. We provide a conceptual framework to guide discussion on this topic, in which the threat posed by invasive plants is considered in the context of a progression from no impact through to extinction. We define six thresholds along the 'extinction trajectory', global extinction being the final threshold. Although there are no documented examples of either 'in the wild' (Threshold 5) or global extinctions (Threshold 6) of native plants that are attributable solely to plant invasions, there is evidence that native plants have crossed or breached other thresholds along the extinction trajectory due to the impacts associated with plant invasions. Several factors may be masking where native species are on the trajectory; these include a lack of appropriate data to accurately map the position of species on the trajectory, the timeframe required to definitively state that extinctions have occurred and management interventions. Such interventions, focussing mainly on Thresholds 1-3 (a declining population through to the local extinction of a population), are likely to alter the extinction trajectory of some species. The critical issue for conservation managers is the trend, because interventions must be implemented before extinctions occur. Thus the lack of evidence for extinctions attributable to plant invasions does not mean we should disregard the broader threat

Nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Margulova, T.Ch.

1976-01-01

The textbook focuses on the technology and the operating characteristics of nuclear power plants equiped with pressurized water or boiling water reactors, which are in operation all over the world at present. The following topics are dealt with in relation to the complete plant and to economics: distribution and consumption of electric and thermal energy, types and equipment of nuclear power plants, chemical processes and material balance, economical characteristics concerning heat and energy, regenerative preheating of feed water, degassing and condenser systems, water supply, evaporators, district heating systems, steam generating systems and turbines, coolant loops and pipes, plant siting, ventilation and decontamination systems, reactor operation and management, heat transfer including its calculation, design of reactor buildings, and nuclear power plants with gas or sodium cooled reactors. Numerous technical data of modern Soviet nuclear power plants are included. The book is of interest to graduate and post-graduate students in the field of nuclear engineering as well as to nuclear engineers

Plant analyzer for high-speed interactive simulation of BWR plant transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, H.S.; Lekach, S.V.; Mallen, A.N.; Wulff, W.; Cerbone, R.J.

1984-01-01

A combination of advanced modeling techniques and modern, special-purpose peripheral minicomputer technology was utilized to develop a plant analyzer which affords realistic predictions of plant transients and severe off-normal events in LWR power plants through on-line simulations at speeds up to 10 times faster than actual process speeds. The mathematical models account for nonequilibrium, nonhomogeneous two-phase flow effects in the coolant, for acoustical effects in the steam line and for the dynamics of the entire balance of the plant. Reactor core models include point kinetics with reactivity feedback due to void fraction, fuel temperature, coolant temperature, and boron concentration as well as a conduction model for predicting fuel and clad temperatures. Control systems and trip logic for plant protection systems are also simulated. The AD10 of Applied Dynamics International, a special-purpose peripheral processor, is used as the principal hardware of the plant analyzer

"Everything Is in Parables": An Exploration of Students' Difficulties in Understanding Christian Beliefs Concerning Jesus

Science.gov (United States)

Freathy, Rob; Aylward, Karen

2010-01-01

This article reports the findings of interviews conducted with students (aged 11-13) in four English secondary schools, examining reasons why young people find it difficult to understand Christian beliefs regarding Jesus' miracles, resurrection, and status as the Son of God. For the students in this sample, understanding and belief are closely…

Europe’s changing lessons from the past

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sierp, Aline

2016-01-01

This special issue brings together scholars who concentrate on the way ‘lessons from the past’ have been framed in different national contexts in Central and Eastern Europe. In the wake of crisis in Europe, bits and pieces of the past are being resurrected as a means of understanding the present and

ISOLATION OF TYPICAL MARINE-BACTERIA BY DILUTION CULTURE - GROWTH, MAINTENANCE, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ISOLATES UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

SCHUT, F; DEVRIES, EJ; GOTTSCHAL, JC; ROBERTSON, BR; HARDER, W; PRINS, R A; BUTTON, DK

Marine bacteria in Resurrection Bay near Seward, Alaska, and in the central North Sea off the Dutch coast were cultured in filtered autoclaved seawater following dilution to extinction. The populations present before dilution varied from 0.11 x 10(9) to 1.07 x 10(9) cells per liter. The mean cell

77 FR 42790 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Last Days of Pompeii...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-20

..., Apocalypse, Resurrection,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... Museum, Malibu, California, from on or about September 12, 2012, until on or about January 7, 2013, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, from on or about February 24, 2013, until on or about May 19, 2013...

LHCB : Exotic hadrons at LHCb

CERN Multimedia

Salazar De Paula, Leandro

2015-01-01

The latest years have seen a resurrection of interest in searches for exotic states motivated by tantalising observations by Belle and CDF. Using the data collected at pp collisions at 7 and 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment we present the unambiguous new observation of exotic charmonia hadrons produced in B decays.

47 A DISCUSSION OF JAMES 1: 27 AND ITS IMPACT ON ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP

Christ as one's personal Saviour, trust in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus .... who began their work of evangelization in 1834, and the Bremen Mission ... the fundamental principles of the Christian faith to the culture and needs of the ... James' notion of pure Christianity or religion seems to be somewhat different.

Do invasive alien plants benefit more from global environmental change than native plants?

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanjie; Oduor, Ayub M O; Zhang, Zhen; Manea, Anthony; Tooth, Ifeanna M; Leishman, Michelle R; Xu, Xingliang; van Kleunen, Mark

2017-08-01

Invasive alien plant species threaten native biodiversity, disrupt ecosystem functions and can cause large economic damage. Plant invasions have been predicted to further increase under ongoing global environmental change. Numerous case studies have compared the performance of invasive and native plant species in response to global environmental change components (i.e. changes in mean levels of precipitation, temperature, atmospheric CO 2 concentration or nitrogen deposition). Individually, these studies usually involve low numbers of species and therefore the results cannot be generalized. Therefore, we performed a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis to assess whether there is a general pattern of differences in invasive and native plant performance under each component of global environmental change. We compiled a database of studies that reported performance measures for 74 invasive alien plant species and 117 native plant species in response to one of the above-mentioned global environmental change components. We found that elevated temperature and CO 2 enrichment increased the performance of invasive alien plants more strongly than was the case for native plants. Invasive alien plants tended to also have a slightly stronger positive response to increased N deposition and increased precipitation than native plants, but these differences were not significant (N deposition: P = 0.051; increased precipitation: P = 0.679). Invasive alien plants tended to have a slightly stronger negative response to decreased precipitation than native plants, although this difference was also not significant (P = 0.060). So while drought could potentially reduce plant invasion, increases in the four other components of global environmental change considered, particularly global warming and atmospheric CO 2 enrichment, may further increase the spread of invasive plants in the future. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Plants and men in space - A new field in plant physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Andre, M.; Macelroy, R. D.

1990-01-01

Results are presented on a comparison of nutritional values of and human psychological responses to algae and of higher plants considered for growth as food on long-term missions in space, together with the technological complexities of growing these plants. The comparison shows the advantages of higher plants, with results suggesting that a high level of material recycling can be obtained. It is noted that the issue of space gravity may be not a major problem for plants because of the possibility that phototropism can provide an alternative sense of direction. Problems of waste recycling can be solved in association with plant cultivation, and a high degree of autonomy of food production can be obtained.

Countermeasure to plant life management of the nuclear power plants out of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

Some investigations on countermeasure to plant life management of the nuclear power plants were begun since beginning of 1990s under cooperation with Ministry of International Trade and Industry and all electric power companies under consideration of recent state on abroad and at concept of preventive conservation implementation against the plant life management. As a result, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Kansai Electric Power Company and the Japan Atomic Power Company settled each program on countermeasure to plant life management of the Fukushima-1 Power Plant, the Mihama-1 Power Plant and the Tsuruga-1 Power Plant, respectively, which were reported to the Atomic Energy Safety Commission to issue on February, 1999, after deliberation in the Adviser Group of Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Such investigations on countermeasure to the plant life management are also conducted out of Japan in parallel to those in Japan, which contain programs reflecting states of operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants and atmosphere around atomic energy in each country. Here were described on some present states of the countermeasures to plant life management in U.S.A., France, Germany, Sweden, England and so forth. (G.K.)

Evaluation of the anticonvulsant activity of the essential oil of Myrothamnus moschatus in convulsion induced by pentylenetetrazole and picrotoxin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Randrianarivo

2016-06-01

Conclusions: The results confirmed at least partly the traditional uses of the smoke of M. moschatus for the management of convulsion, and implied that the essential oil may inhibit the convulsion by GABAergic neuromodulation.

Experimental plant for sludge composting. Plant experimental de compostaje de lodos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadenas, A.; Caellas, N.; Amengual, A.; Calafact, J.

1993-01-01

Results and expertise collected during the first year of exploitation of a compost experimental plant located in Mallorca (Spain): The plant is treating sludge from the biological treatment plant of water at the town of Felanitx and the compost produced is used in agriculture. (Author)

PlantCARE, a plant cis-acting regulatory element database

OpenAIRE

Rombauts, Stephane; Déhais, Patrice; Van Montagu, Marc; Rouzé, Pierre

1999-01-01

PlantCARE is a database of plant cis- acting regulatory elements, enhancers and repressors. Besides the transcription motifs found on a sequence, it also offers a link to the EMBL entry that contains the full gene sequence as well as a description of the conditions in which a motif becomes functional. The information on these sites is given by matrices, consensus and individual site sequences on particular genes, depending on the available information. PlantCARE is a relational database avail...

Fuel Gas Demonstration Plant Program. Volume I. Demonstration plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-01-01

The objective of this project is for Babcock Contractors Inc. (BCI) to provide process designs, and gasifier retort design for a fuel gas demonstration plant for Erie Mining Company at Hoyt Lake, Minnesota. The fuel gas produced will be used to supplement natural gas and fuel oil for iron ore pellet induration. The fuel gas demonstration plant will consist of five stirred, two-stage fixed-bed gasifier retorts capable of handling caking and non-caking coals, and provisions for the installation of a sixth retort. The process and unit design has been based on operation with caking coals; however, the retorts have been designed for easy conversion to handle non-caking coals. The demonstration unit has been designed to provide for expansion to a commercial plant (described in Commercial Plant Package) in an economical manner.

Plant innate immunity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Plants are invaded by an array of pathogens of which only a few succeed in causing disease. The attack by others is countered by a sophisticated immune system possessed by the plants. The plant immune system is broadly divided into two, viz. microbial-associated molecular-patterns-triggered immunity (MTI) and ...

Plant life extensions for German nuclear power plants? Controversial discussion profit taking of nuclear power plant operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matthes, Felix C.

2009-10-01

The discussion on the plant life extensions for German nuclear power plants beyond the residual quantity of electricity particularly focus on three aspects: Effects for the emission of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas; Development of the electricity price for which a reduction or attenuation is postulated due to a plant life extension; Skimming of additional profits at operating companies and their use in the safeguarding of the future (development of renewable energies, support of energy efficiency, promotion of the research, consolidation of the public budget, and so on). Under this aspect, the author of the contribution under consideration reports on the profit taking of nuclear power plant operators. The presented analysis considers three aspects: (a) Specification of the quantity structures for the investigated model of plant life extension; (b) The decisive parameter is the revenue situation and thus the price development for electricity at wholesale markets; (c) Determination and evaluation of the course in time of the profit taking.

Plant-to-plant communication triggered by systemin primes anti-herbivore resistance in tomato.

Science.gov (United States)

Coppola, Mariangela; Cascone, Pasquale; Madonna, Valentina; Di Lelio, Ilaria; Esposito, Francesco; Avitabile, Concetta; Romanelli, Alessandra; Guerrieri, Emilio; Vitiello, Alessia; Pennacchio, Francesco; Rao, Rosa; Corrado, Giandomenico

2017-11-14

Plants actively respond to herbivory by inducing various defense mechanisms in both damaged (locally) and non-damaged tissues (systemically). In addition, it is currently widely accepted that plant-to-plant communication allows specific neighbors to be warned of likely incoming stress (defense priming). Systemin is a plant peptide hormone promoting the systemic response to herbivory in tomato. This 18-aa peptide is also able to induce the release of bioactive Volatile Organic Compounds, thus also promoting the interaction between the tomato and the third trophic level (e.g. predators and parasitoids of insect pests). In this work, using a combination of gene expression (RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR), behavioral and chemical approaches, we demonstrate that systemin triggers metabolic changes of the plant that are capable of inducing a primed state in neighboring unchallenged plants. At the molecular level, the primed state is mainly associated with an elevated transcription of pattern -recognition receptors, signaling enzymes and transcription factors. Compared to naïve plants, systemin-primed plants were significantly more resistant to herbivorous pests, more attractive to parasitoids and showed an increased response to wounding. Small peptides are nowadays considered fundamental signaling molecules in many plant processes and this work extends the range of downstream effects of this class of molecules to intraspecific plant-to-plant communication.

Limiting conditions for nuclear power plant competitiveness vs. fossil and wind plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feretic, Danilo; Cavlina, Nikola

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is to compare potential energy options for future electricity generation. The paper considers comparison of discounted total cost of electricity generated by nuclear power plant and by combined natural gas and wind plants, having in total equal electricity generation. Large uncertainty in the future fuel costs makes planning of optimal power generating mix very difficult to justify. Probabilistic method is used in the analysis which allows inclusion of uncertainties in future electricity generating cost prediction. Additionally, an informative functional relation between nuclear plant investment cost, natural gas price and wind plant efficiency, that determines competitive power generation between considered options, is also shown. Limiting conditions for nuclear power plant competitiveness vs. fossil and wind plants are presented. (authors)

Community-level plant-soil feedbacks explain landscape distribution of native and non-native plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulmatiski, Andrew

2018-02-01

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) have gained attention for their potential role in explaining plant growth and invasion. While promising, most PSF research has measured plant monoculture growth on different soils in short-term, greenhouse experiments. Here, five soil types were conditioned by growing one native species, three non-native species, or a mixed plant community in different plots in a common-garden experiment. After 4 years, plants were removed and one native and one non-native plant community were planted into replicate plots of each soil type. After three additional years, the percentage cover of each of the three target species in each community was measured. These data were used to parameterize a plant community growth model. Model predictions were compared to native and non-native abundance on the landscape. Native community cover was lowest on soil conditioned by the dominant non-native, Centaurea diffusa , and non-native community cover was lowest on soil cultivated by the dominant native, Pseudoroegneria spicata . Consistent with plant growth on the landscape, the plant growth model predicted that the positive PSFs observed in the common-garden experiment would result in two distinct communities on the landscape: a native plant community on native soils and a non-native plant community on non-native soils. In contrast, when PSF effects were removed, the model predicted that non-native plants would dominate all soils, which was not consistent with plant growth on the landscape. Results provide an example where PSF effects were large enough to change the rank-order abundance of native and non-native plant communities and to explain plant distributions on the landscape. The positive PSFs that contributed to this effect reflected the ability of the two dominant plant species to suppress each other's growth. Results suggest that plant dominance, at least in this system, reflects the ability of a species to suppress the growth of dominant competitors

Kenyan medicinal plants used as antivenin: a comparison of plant usage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kisangau Daniel P

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract The success of snake bite healers is vaguely understood in Kenya, partly due to their unknown materia medica and occult-mystical nature of their practice. A comparison is made of plants used in snake bite treatments by two culturally distinct African groups (the Kamba and Luo. Thirty two plants used for snakebite treatment are documented. The majority of the antidotes are prepared from freshly collected plant material – frequently leaves. Though knowledge of snake bite conditions etiological perceptions of the ethnic groups is similar, field ethnobotanical data suggests that plant species used by the two ethnic groups are independently derived. Antivenin medicinal plants effectively illustrate the cultural context of medicine. Randomness or the use of a variety of species in different families appears to be a feature of traditional snake bite treatments. A high degree of informant consensus for the species was observed. The study indicates rural Kenya inhabitants rely on medicinal plants for healthcare.

Economics of farm biogas plants. Status of 4 plants 1988-92

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hjort-Gregersen, K.

1994-06-01

For the four biogas plants balance sheets have been prepared to show the operating results. Operating income and cost are a mixture of actual accounts, estimates, and calculations. The results are shown both with and without taxes. Only one of the four plants can present a positive result before tax. Three of the plants, however, have positive results after tax. This stresses the importance of the fact that the part of the energy production that is used on the farm is not taxed. The analyses show that one of the plants in 1992 obtained an income, that makes it feasible to assume that the plant would be profitable provided in gets 30% of investment subsidy. An important condition for this is a relatively high gas yield which hardly can be obtained by digesting manures alone. Some of the most important unsolved problems of farm-based biogas plants are the missing possibilities of selling heat, the operating reliability, and the repair costs for generators. (LN)

The prediction of the LWR plant accident based on the measured plant data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miettinen, J.; Schmuck, P.

2005-01-01

In case of accident affecting a nuclear reactor, it is essential to anticipate the possible development of the situation to efficiently succeed in emergency response actions, i.e. firstly to be early warned, to get sufficient information on the plant: and as far as possible. The ASTRID (Assessment of Source Term for Emergency Response based on Installation Data) project consists in developing a methodology: of expertise to; structure the work of technical teams and to facilitate cross competence communications among EP players and a qualified computer tool that could be commonly used by the European countries to reliably predict source term in case of an accident in a light water reactor, using the information available on the plant. In many accident conditions the team of analysts may be located far away from the plant experiencing the accident and their decision making is based on the on-line plant data transmitted into the crisis centre in an interval of 30 - 600 seconds. The plant condition has to be diagnosed based on this information, In the ASTRID project the plant status diagnostics has been studied for the European reactor types including BWR, PWR and VVER plants. The directly measured plant data may be used for estimations of the break size from the primary system and its locations. The break size prediction may be based on the pressurizer level, reactor vessel level, primary pressure and steam generator level in the case of the steam generator tube rupture. In the ASTRID project the break predictions concept was developed and its validity for different plant types and is presented in the paper, when the plant data has been created with the plant specific thermohydraulic simulation model. The tracking simulator attempts to follow the plant behavior on-line based on the measured plant data for the main process parameters and most important boundary conditions. When the plant state tracking fails, the plant may be experiencing an accident, and the tracking

Proteomic Contributions to Medicinal Plant Research: From Plant Metabolism to Pharmacological Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akiko Hashiguchi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Herbal medicine is a clinical practice of utilizing medicinal plant derivatives for therapeutic purposes. It has an enduring history worldwide and plays a significant role in the fight against various diseases. Herbal drug combinations often exhibit synergistic therapeutic action compared with single-constituent dosage, and can also enhance the cytotoxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. To explore the mechanism underlying the pharmacological action of herbs, proteomic approaches have been applied to the physiology of medicinal plants and its effects on animals. This review article focuses on the existing proteomics-based medicinal plant research and discusses the following topics: (i plant metabolic pathways that synthesize an array of bioactive compounds; (ii pharmacological action of plants tested using in vivo and in vitro studies; and (iii the application of proteomic approaches to indigenous plants with scarce sequence information. The accumulation of proteomic information in a biological or medicinal context may help in formulating the effective use of medicinal plants.

Plant Physiology and Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taiz, Lincoln; Zeiger, Eduardo; Møller, Ian Max

Throughout its twenty-two year history, the authors of Plant Physiology have continually updated the book to incorporate the latest advances in plant biology and implement pedagogical improvements requested by adopters. This has made Plant Physiology the most authoritative, comprehensive......, and widely used upper-division plant biology textbook. In the Sixth Edition, the Growth and Development section (Unit III) has been reorganized and expanded to present the complete life cycle of seed plants from germination to senescence. In recognition of this enhancement, the text has been renamed Plant...... Physiology and Development. As before, Unit III begins with updated chapters on Cell Walls and Signals and Signal Transduction. The latter chapter has been expanded to include a discussion of major signaling molecules, such as calcium ions and plant hormones. A new, unified chapter entitled Signals from...

Plants get sick too!

Science.gov (United States)

Although many people may never have given consideration to plant health, plants can suffer from a wide range of diseases. These plant diseases are caused by micro-organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The audience will be introduced to short case studies of several plant diseases that m...

A retrospective of an unconventionally trained plant pathologist: plant diseases to molecular plant pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouchi, Seiji

2006-01-01

Plant pathology evolved from its mycology-oriented origins into a science dealing with biochemical mechanisms of diseases, along with enhanced crop production through disease control. This retrospective describes first my personal experience from my introduction to plant pathology, to the establishment of the concept of accessibility as a model pertaining to genetically defined basic compatibility induced by pathogens. I then refer to the development of molecular plant pathology from physiological and biochemical plant pathology fostered by the growth in recombinant technology in the second half of the past century. This progress was best reflected by the U.S.-Japan Seminar Series held at 4-5-year intervals from 1966 to 2003 and documented by publications in major journals of our discipline. These seminars emphasized that progress in science has always been supported by the invention of novel techniques and that knowledge integrated from modern genomics and subsequent proteomics should contribute to the progress of basic life sciences and, more importantly, to the elaboration of rational measures for disease control.

Plants and fluorine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garber, K

1962-01-01

A report is given about the contents of fluorine in soil and different plants. It is stated that spinach and several spice herbages are rich in fluorine (0.98 - 21.8 ppm) while in other plants are not more than 5 ppm maximum. An exception is found in Thea sinensis with 178 ppm and more. Tea is, therefore, a source of fluorine for contamination of the human body. An increase of the fluorine contents of plants by manuring with F-salts or mineral manure is possible but of long duration. Damage to plants by uptake of fluorine from soil as well as in a gaseous condition from the atmosphere are described. The rate of damage is related to the type of soil in which the plant is grown.

Plant Biology Science Projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hershey, David R.

This book contains science projects about seed plants that deal with plant physiology, plant ecology, and plant agriculture. Each of the projects includes a step-by-step experiment followed by suggestions for further investigations. Chapters include: (1) "Bean Seed Imbibition"; (2) "Germination Percentages of Different Types of Seeds"; (3)…

Plant Betterment as Anticipated Measure For Plant Life Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Louvat, J. P.

1991-01-01

A lot of modifications have been made since critically on each of the 28 standardized 900 MW class PWR units in France. Most of this technical upgrading was accomplished to facilitate operation, improve availability, or bring the unit design in line with evolving regulatory requirements, but a substantial part of the modifications was dedicated to Plant Life Management. As part of the program launched by EDF for plant life management, this paper introduces the Frustum's contribution for plant betterment and enhancement of reactor operation concurrently to ensure or extend plant service life. The solutions contemplated in this field are provided to reduce the frequency of unexpected reactor trip occurrences, to mitigate their negative effects or to smooth off the reactor operation and thus the magnitude of associated transients. The lifetime evaluation of NPP is basically an economical exercise, which tries to determine how long the operation of the plant will remain competitive, taking into account the long term perspective maintenance costs. There cannot be any conflict between lifetime and safety considerations, based upon the pituitary requisite that the safety requirement must be met at any time of the operation. Plant life management needs a consistent approach that can not be improvised on a case by case basis. Instead, it must be kept in mind from the very beginning of unit operation. This is the sense of the backfitting and technical upgrading carried out in France for the PWRs of the 900 MW class. It is thanks to this necessary anticipation that plant life will be actually managed, giving benefit both from the standpoint of availability and from that of the service lives of sensitive components. Substantial savings will thus be obtained

Top 10 plant pathogenic bacteria in molecular plant pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansfield, John; Genin, Stephane; Magori, Shimpei; Citovsky, Vitaly; Sriariyanum, Malinee; Ronald, Pamela; Dow, Max; Verdier, Valérie; Beer, Steven V; Machado, Marcos A; Toth, Ian; Salmond, George; Foster, Gary D

2012-08-01

Many plant bacteriologists, if not all, feel that their particular microbe should appear in any list of the most important bacterial plant pathogens. However, to our knowledge, no such list exists. The aim of this review was to survey all bacterial pathologists with an association with the journal Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate the bacterial pathogens they would place in a 'Top 10' based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated 458 votes from the international community, and allowed the construction of a Top 10 bacterial plant pathogen list. The list includes, in rank order: (1) Pseudomonas syringae pathovars; (2) Ralstonia solanacearum; (3) Agrobacterium tumefaciens; (4) Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae; (5) Xanthomonas campestris pathovars; (6) Xanthomonas axonopodis pathovars; (7) Erwinia amylovora; (8) Xylella fastidiosa; (9) Dickeya (dadantii and solani); (10) Pectobacterium carotovorum (and Pectobacterium atrosepticum). Bacteria garnering honourable mentions for just missing out on the Top 10 include Clavibacter michiganensis (michiganensis and sepedonicus), Pseudomonas savastanoi and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. This review article presents a short section on each bacterium in the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intention of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant bacteriology community, as well as laying down a benchmark. It will be interesting to see, in future years, how perceptions change and which bacterial pathogens enter and leave the Top 10. © 2012 The Authors. Molecular Plant Pathology © 2012 BSPP and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Plant growth and gas balance in a plant and mushroom cultivation system

Science.gov (United States)

Kitaya, Y.; Tani, A.; Kiyota, M.; Aiga, I.

1994-11-01

In order to obtain basic data for construction of a plant cultivation system incorporating a mushroom cultivation subsystem in the CELSS, plant growth and atmospheric CO2 balance in the system were investigated. The plant growth was promoted by a high level of CO2 which resulted from the respiration of the mushroom mycelium in the system. The atmospheric CO2 concentration inside the system changed significantly due to the slight change in the net photosynthetic rate of plants and/or the respiration rate of the mushroom when the plant cultivation system combined directly with the mushroom cultivation subsystem.

Plant neighbor identity influences plant biochemistry and physiology related to defense.

Science.gov (United States)

Broz, Amanda K; Broeckling, Corey D; De-la-Peña, Clelia; Lewis, Matthew R; Greene, Erick; Callaway, Ragan M; Sumner, Lloyd W; Vivanco, Jorge M

2010-06-17

Chemical and biological processes dictate an individual organism's ability to recognize and respond to other organisms. A small but growing body of evidence suggests that plants may be capable of recognizing and responding to neighboring plants in a species specific fashion. Here we tested whether or not individuals of the invasive exotic weed, Centaurea maculosa, would modulate their defensive strategy in response to different plant neighbors. In the greenhouse, C. maculosa individuals were paired with either conspecific (C. maculosa) or heterospecific (Festuca idahoensis) plant neighbors and elicited with the plant defense signaling molecule methyl jasmonate to mimic insect herbivory. We found that elicited C. maculosa plants grown with conspecific neighbors exhibited increased levels of total phenolics, whereas those grown with heterospecific neighbors allocated more resources towards growth. To further investigate these results in the field, we conducted a metabolomics analysis to explore chemical differences between individuals of C. maculosa growing in naturally occurring conspecific and heterospecific field stands. Similar to the greenhouse results, C. maculosa individuals accumulated higher levels of defense-related secondary metabolites and lower levels of primary metabolites when growing in conspecific versus heterospecific field stands. Leaf herbivory was similar in both stand types; however, a separate field study positively correlated specialist herbivore load with higher densities of C. maculosa conspecifics. Our results suggest that an individual C. maculosa plant can change its defensive strategy based on the identity of its plant neighbors. This is likely to have important consequences for individual and community success.

Plant monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moriyama, Kunio.

1991-01-01

The monitoring device of the present invention is most suitable to early detection for equipment abnormality, or monitoring of state upon transient conditions such as startup and shutdown of an electric power plant, a large-scaled thermonuclear device and an accelerator plant. That is, in existent moitoring devices, acquired data are stored and the present operation states are monitored in comparison. A plant operation aquisition data reproduction section is disposed to the device. From the past operation conditions stored in the plant operation data aquisition reproducing section, the number of operation cycles that agrees with the present plant operation conditions is sought, to determine the agreed aquired data. Since these aquired data are time sequential data measured based on the standard time determined by the operation sequence, aquired data can be reproduced successively on every sample pitches. With such a constitution, aquired data under the same operation conditions as the present conditions are displayed together with the measured data. Accordingly, accurate monitoring can be conducted from the start-up to the shutdown of the plant. (I.S.)

Plant Metabolomics: An Indispensable System Biology Tool for Plant Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Hong

2016-06-01

Full Text Available As genomes of many plant species have been sequenced, demand for functional genomics has dramatically accelerated the improvement of other omics including metabolomics. Despite a large amount of metabolites still remaining to be identified, metabolomics has contributed significantly not only to the understanding of plant physiology and biology from the view of small chemical molecules that reflect the end point of biological activities, but also in past decades to the attempts to improve plant behavior under both normal and stressed conditions. Hereby, we summarize the current knowledge on the genetic and biochemical mechanisms underlying plant growth, development, and stress responses, focusing further on the contributions of metabolomics to practical applications in crop quality improvement and food safety assessment, as well as plant metabolic engineering. We also highlight the current challenges and future perspectives in this inspiring area, with the aim to stimulate further studies leading to better crop improvement of yield and quality.

Plant Metabolomics: An Indispensable System Biology Tool for Plant Science

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Jun; Yang, Litao; Zhang, Dabing; Shi, Jianxin

2016-01-01

As genomes of many plant species have been sequenced, demand for functional genomics has dramatically accelerated the improvement of other omics including metabolomics. Despite a large amount of metabolites still remaining to be identified, metabolomics has contributed significantly not only to the understanding of plant physiology and biology from the view of small chemical molecules that reflect the end point of biological activities, but also in past decades to the attempts to improve plant behavior under both normal and stressed conditions. Hereby, we summarize the current knowledge on the genetic and biochemical mechanisms underlying plant growth, development, and stress responses, focusing further on the contributions of metabolomics to practical applications in crop quality improvement and food safety assessment, as well as plant metabolic engineering. We also highlight the current challenges and future perspectives in this inspiring area, with the aim to stimulate further studies leading to better crop improvement of yield and quality. PMID:27258266

From IPE [individual plant examinations] to IPEEE [individual plant examination of external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newton, I.M.

1994-01-01

In addition to doing individual plant examinations (IPEs) which assess risk to nuclear plants from internal factors, all US plants are now also required to analyse external events and submit an IPEEE (Individual Plant Examination of External Events). Specifically, the IPEEEs require an assessment of plant-specific risks from the following types of initiating events: seismic events; fire; wind; tornadoes; flooding; accidents involving transportation or nearby facilities, such as oil refineries. (author)

Phase I: the pipeline-gas demonstration plant. Demonstration plant engineering and design. Volume 18. Plant Section 2700 - Waste Water Treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1981-05-01

Contract No. EF-77-C-01-2542 between Conoco Inc. and the US Department of Energy provides for the design, construction, and operation of a demonstration plant capable of processing bituminous caking coals into clean pipeline quality gas. The project is currently in the design phase (Phase I). This phase is scheduled to be completed in June 1981. One of the major efforts of Phase I is the process and project engineering design of the Demonstration Plant. The design has been completed and is being reported in 24 volumes. This is Volume 18 which reports the design of Plant Section 2700 - Waste Water Treatment. The objective of the Waste Water Treatment system is to collect and treat all plant liquid effluent streams. The system is designed to permit recycle and reuse of the treated waste water. Plant Section 2700 is composed of primary, secondary, and tertiary waste water treatment methods plus an evaporation system which eliminates liquid discharge from the plant. The Waste Water Treatment Section is designed to produce 130 pounds per hour of sludge that is buried in a landfill on the plant site. The evaporated water is condensed and provides a portion of the make-up water to Plant Section 2400 - Cooling Water.

78 FR 41866 - Restructuring of Regulations on the Importation of Plants for Planting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-12

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 7 CFR Parts 319 and 340 [Docket No. APHIS-2008-0011] RIN 0579-AD75 Restructuring of Regulations on the Importation of Plants for Planting AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of...

Sizes of secondary plant components for modularized IRIS balance of plant design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williamson, Martin; Townsend, Lawrence

2003-01-01

Herein we report on a conceptual design for a balance of plant (BOP) layout to coordinate with IRIS-like plants. The report consists of results of calculations that sizes of various BOP components. These calculations include the thermodynamic analyses and general sizing of the components in order to determine plant capability and plant layout for studies on modularity and transportability. Mathematical modeling of the BOP system involves a modified ORCENT2 code as well as standard heat transfer methods. Using typical values for PWR type plants, a general BOP design, and IRIS steam generator values, an ORCENT2 heat balance is carried out for the secondary side of the plant. Using the ORCENT2 output, standard heat transfer methods are then used to calculate system performance and component sizes. (author)

Comparative studies between nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menegassi, J.

1984-01-01

This paper shows the quantitative evolution of the power plants in the main countries of the world. The Brazilian situation is analysed, with emphasys in the technical and economical aspects related to power production by hidroelectric or nuclear power plants. The conclusion is that the electricity produced by hidro power plants becomes not economics when is intended to be produced at large distances from the demand centers. (Author) [pt

Plants' essential chemical elements

Science.gov (United States)

Kevin T. Smith

2007-01-01

Every garden center and hardware store sells fertilizer guaranteed to "feed" plants. In a strict sense, we can't feed plants. Food contains an energy source. Green plants capture solar energy and make their own food through photosynthesis! Photosynthesis and other metabolic processes require chemical elements in appropriate doses for plants to survive...

Exotic plant species receive adequate pollinator service despite variable integration into plant-pollinator networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Amibeth H; Knight, Tiffany M

2018-05-01

Both exotic and native plant species rely on insect pollinators for reproductive success, and yet few studies have evaluated whether and how exotic plant species receive services from native pollinators for successful reproduction in their introduced range. Plant species are expected to successfully reproduce in their exotic range if they have low reliance on animal pollinators or if they successfully integrate themselves into resident plant-pollinator networks. Here, we quantify the breeding system, network integration, and pollen limitation for ten focal exotic plant species in North America. Most exotic plant species relied on animal pollinators for reproduction, and these species varied in their network integration. However, plant reproduction was limited by pollen receipt for only one plant species. Our results demonstrate that even poorly integrated exotic plant species can still have high pollination service and high reproductive success. The comprehensive framework considered here provides a method to consider the contribution of plant breeding systems and the pollinator community to pollen limitation, and can be applied to future studies to provide a more synthetic understanding of the factors that determine reproductive success of exotic plant species.

Remediation Using Plants and Plant Enzymes: A Progress Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1995-01-01

.... In every case, the sources are plants growing near the sediment. The use of plants for remediation of hazardous materials such as TNT or other munitions like RDX and HMX has led to a new approach to remediation-- phytoremediation...

Nuclear power plants. The market for services, retrofitting, construction of new plants and dismantling of older plants in Europe through 2030

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briese, Dirk; Hoemske, Tom

2010-01-01

The power plant scene in Europe is characterized by new power plant projects and retrofitting projects everywhere. This is due to the ageing of existing power plants and to increasing energy demand. Currently, there are projects for 48 power plant units with an installed capacity of 70 GW. According to a study of the nuclear power plant sector, about 16 GW will probably be constructed prior to 2030. The reference scenario presented in this article assumes a dynamic increase of 15 thousand million Euros per annum through 2016/2018. (orig.)

Multinationals and plant survival

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bandick, Roger

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate how different ownership structures affect plant survival, and second, to analyze how the presence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) affects domestic plants’ survival. Using a unique and detailed data set on the Swedish manufacturing...... sector, I am able to separate plants into those owned by foreign MNEs, domestic MNEs, exporting non-MNEs, and purely domestic firms. In line with previous findings, the result, when conditioned on other factors affecting survival, shows that foreign MNE plants have lower survival rates than non......-MNE plants. However, separating the non-MNEs into exporters and non-exporters, the result shows that foreign MNE plants have higher survival rates than non-exporting non-MNEs, while the survival rates of foreign MNE plants and exporting non-MNE plants do not seem to differ. Moreover, the simple non...

Plants and people

Science.gov (United States)

Kathryn Lynch

2012-01-01

Salal! Salmonberries! Sword ferns! The Northwest is home to a great number of native plant species that humans have used for centuries. Sadly, many local children are unaware of the history and culture connecting people and plants. Yet, from the beginning of time, plants have provided us food, medicine, and material for clothing, shelter, transportation, decoration,...

Diagnosing plant problems

Science.gov (United States)

Cheryl A. Smith

2008-01-01

Diagnosing Christmas tree problems can be a challenge, requiring a basic knowledge of plant culture and physiology, the effect of environmental influences on plant health, and the ability to identify the possible causes of plant problems. Developing a solution or remedy to the problem depends on a proper diagnosis, a process that requires recognition of a problem and...

Muusikamaailm : "Väike Bayreuth" Berliinis. Metropolitan Opera hooaeg lõppemas. "Millenniumi" teosed Londonis. Viini Filharmoonikute kolmas auliige. Leiti Beethoveni kiri / Priit Kuusk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kuusk, Priit, 1938-

1999-01-01

Dirigendi algatatud festivalist Berliinis, kus pannakse pearõhk Wagneri ooperite ettekandele. New Yorgi Metropolitan Opera kevadhooaja 1999 viimastest etendustest. Londonis Royal Festival Hallis toimus R.Caustoni teose "Millennium Scenes" maailmaesiettekanne. J.Taveneri teosest "Fall and resurrection". Orkester valis oma kolmandaks auliikmeks A.Brendeli. Baseli ülikool sai enda valdusse Beethoveni kirja Nikolaus Zmeskallile 1816. aastast

Foundations of an Idea: Galileo and Freedom of Expression.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Beverly

This paper examines the origins of the principle of free expression as worked out by Galileo. It is intended to supplement standard histories of the development of free expression and to recover its history as part of the political project of postmodernism. The paper resurrects Galileo's encounters with entrenched beliefs in order to position free…

Alexandria revived: new realizations of an ancient city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beverley Butler

1998-11-01

Full Text Available The city of Alexandria exerts a powerfl hold on the Western imagination, as part of, but distinct from, the rest of Egypt. The recent undersea discovery of part of the Pharos (lighthouse and Cleopatra's palace, and the resurrection on land of the ancient Mouseion-Library, are transforming perceptions of Alexandria's cultural heritage.

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 551 - 600 of 629 ... Vol 23, No 2 (2003):, The relevance of the Dead Sea scrolls for New Testament interpretation; with a bibliographical appendix: research, Abstract. J Frey. Supplementum 15, The resurrection as ... Vol 35, No 2 (2015), Together towards new life for missiology? Mission and missiology in the light of the ...

Das Sacrum in der Kultur der traditionellen Feste zu Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Frolcová, Věra; Večerková, E.

2010-01-01

Roč. 33, - (2010), s. 17-33 ISSN 1335-4116 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA404/05/0182 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z90580513 Keywords : Central European Ethnology * Liturgic Year and folk customs * Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus * the cult of Virgin Mary * Judas Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology

Plant ABC transporters enable many unique aspects of a terrestrial plant's lifestyle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hwang, Jae-Ung; Song, Won-Yong; Hong, Daewoong

2016-01-01

Terrestrial plants have two to four times more ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes than other organisms, including their ancestral microalgae. Recent studies found that plants harboring mutations in these transporters exhibit dramatic phenotypes, many of which are related to developmental...... to propose that diverse ABC transporters enabled many unique and essential aspects of a terrestrial plant's lifestyle, by transporting various compounds across specific membranes of the plant....

Rhizosphere Microbiomes Modulated by Pre-crops Assisted Plants in Defense Against Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Elhady

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Plant-parasitic nematodes cause considerable damage to crop plants. The rhizosphere microbiome can affect invasion and reproductive success of plant-parasitic nematodes, thus affecting plant damage. In this study, we investigated how the transplanted rhizosphere microbiome from different crops affect plant-parasitic nematodes on soybean or tomato, and whether the plant’s own microbiome from the rhizosphere protects it better than the microbiome from fallow soil. Soybean plants growing in sterilized substrate were inoculated with the microbiome extracted from the rhizosphere of soybean, maize, or tomato. Controls were inoculated with extracts from bulk soil, or not inoculated. After the microbiome was established, the root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans was added. Root invasion of P. penetrans was significantly reduced on soybean plants inoculated with the microbiome from maize or soybean compared to tomato or bulk soil, or the uninoculated control. In the analogous experiment with tomato plants inoculated with either P. penetrans or the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, the rhizosphere microbiomes of maize and tomato reduced root invasion by P. penetrans and M. incognita compared to microbiomes from soybean or bulk soil. Reproduction of M. incognita on tomato followed the same trend, and it was best suppressed by the tomato rhizosphere microbiome. In split-root experiments with soybean and tomato plants, a systemic effect of the inoculated rhizosphere microbiomes on root invasion of P. penetrans was shown. Furthermore, some transplanted microbiomes slightly enhanced plant growth compared to uninoculated plants. The microbiomes from maize rhizosphere and bulk soil increased the fresh weights of roots and shoots of soybean plants, and microbiomes from soybean rhizosphere and bulk soil increased the fresh weights of roots and shoots of tomato plants. Nematode invasion did not affect plant growth in these short-term experiments. In

Plant DB link - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available List Contact us PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods ...e Site Policy | Contact Us Plant DB link - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive ...

Plant-soil feedbacks and the coexistence of competing plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Revilla Rimbach, Tomas; Veen, G. F. (Ciska); Eppinga, Maarten B.; Weissing, Franz J.

Plant-soil feedbacks can have important implications for the interactions among plants. Understanding these effects is a major challenge since it is inherently difficult to measure and manipulate highly diverse soil communities. Mathematical models may advance this understanding by making the

Plant physiology meets phytopathology: plant primary metabolism and plant-pathogen interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Susanne; Sinha, Alok K; Roitsch, Thomas

2007-01-01

Phytopathogen infection leads to changes in secondary metabolism based on the induction of defence programmes as well as to changes in primary metabolism which affect growth and development of the plant. Therefore, pathogen attack causes crop yield losses even in interactions which do not end up with disease or death of the plant. While the regulation of defence responses has been intensively studied for decades, less is known about the effects of pathogen infection on primary metabolism. Recently, interest in this research area has been growing, and aspects of photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, and source-sink regulation in different types of plant-pathogen interactions have been investigated. Similarly, phytopathological studies take into consideration the physiological status of the infected tissues to elucidate the fine-tuned infection mechanisms. The aim of this review is to give a summary of recent advances in the mutual interrelation between primary metabolism and pathogen infection, as well as to indicate current developments in non-invasive techniques and important strategies of combining modern molecular and physiological techniques with phytopathology for future investigations.

Are Famine Food Plants Also Ethnomedicinal Plants? An Ethnomedicinal Appraisal of Famine Food Plants of Two Districts of Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Azam, Fardous Mohammad Safiul; Biswas, Anup; Mannan, Abdul; Afsana, Nusrat Anik; Jahan, Rownak

2014-01-01

Plants have served as sources of food and medicines for human beings since their advent. During famines or conditions of food scarcity, people throughout the world depend on unconventional plant items to satiate their hunger and meet their nutritional needs. Malnourished people often suffer from various diseases, much more than people eating a balanced diet. We are hypothesizing that the unconventional food plants that people eat during times of scarcity of their normal diet are also medicinal plants and thus can play a role in satiating hunger, meeting nutritional needs, and serving therapeutic purposes. Towards testing our hypothesis, surveys were carried out among the low income people of four villages in Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts of Bangladesh. People and particularly the low income people of these two districts suffer each year from a seasonal famine known as Monga. Over 200 informants from 167 households in the villages were interviewed with the help of a semistructured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. The informants mentioned a total of 34 plant species that they consumed during Monga. Published literature shows that all the species consumed had ethnomedicinal uses. It is concluded that famine food plants also serve as ethnomedicinal plants. PMID:24701245

Are Famine Food Plants Also Ethnomedicinal Plants? An Ethnomedicinal Appraisal of Famine Food Plants of Two Districts of Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fardous Mohammad Safiul Azam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Plants have served as sources of food and medicines for human beings since their advent. During famines or conditions of food scarcity, people throughout the world depend on unconventional plant items to satiate their hunger and meet their nutritional needs. Malnourished people often suffer from various diseases, much more than people eating a balanced diet. We are hypothesizing that the unconventional food plants that people eat during times of scarcity of their normal diet are also medicinal plants and thus can play a role in satiating hunger, meeting nutritional needs, and serving therapeutic purposes. Towards testing our hypothesis, surveys were carried out among the low income people of four villages in Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts of Bangladesh. People and particularly the low income people of these two districts suffer each year from a seasonal famine known as Monga. Over 200 informants from 167 households in the villages were interviewed with the help of a semistructured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. The informants mentioned a total of 34 plant species that they consumed during Monga. Published literature shows that all the species consumed had ethnomedicinal uses. It is concluded that famine food plants also serve as ethnomedicinal plants.

Sirius Rising 139 AD: Hadrian, Tivoli, and the Tazza Farnese

Science.gov (United States)

Aakhus, P. L.

2011-06-01

The heliacal rising of Sirius in 139 AD, intersecting with the beginning of the Egyptian year after an interval of 1461 years, signaled abundant fertility derived from the flooding of the Nile and the resurrection of Osiris. Hadrian's preparation for this event, which he did not live to see, at his villa in Tivoli was concurrent with the establishment of the cult of Antinoos assimilated to Osiris, Hermes and Master of the Hounds, following his drowning in the Nile. The site of the obelisk marking Antinoos' tomb and describing his resurrection has recently been discovered near the so-called "Canopus" at Tivoli , where the prominent placement of Demeter/Isis/Sothis and Antinoos/Osiris suggests the rising of Sirius on 20 July 139 AD and flooding of the Nile. Furthermore, this astronomical-cultural event shown on coins and gems of the period, may also be represented in the much debated iconography of the Tazza Farnese, a carved Hellenistic sardonyx libation bowl owned by a prince of Samarkand, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Frederick II, and said to have been found in Hadrian's tomb.

Death is swallowed up in victory : scenes of death in early Christian art and the emergence of crucifixion iconography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McGowan, Felicity Harley

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Christianity, and the instrument of Jesus’ death, the cross, remains the pivotal, and universally recognised, symbol of the Christian Church. Yet pictorial representations of the death of Jesus are conspicuously rare in the earliest Christian art. Moreover, the earliest surviving images of Jesus’ Crucifixion do not depict him dead on the cross, but defiantly alive – a visual interpretation of the event that incorporates both the means of his execution and his subsequent victory over death in the Resurrection. This article examines the iconography of a small ivory plaque, carved in Rome in the early fifth century, whereon the Crucifixion is juxtaposed with the suicide of Jesus’ betrayer, Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27 3:5 to effect a powerful visual interpretation of Jesus’ death. As the earliest surviving visual narration of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, the ivory will be shown to preserve critical information regarding the interpretation of Christ’s death in the early Christian church - incorporating symbols and visual motifs from pagan funerary sculpture, while illustrating the development of a specifically Christian visual language for the representation of Jesus’ death.

ACCUMULATION OF PERCHLORATE IN TOBACCO PLANTS: DEVELOPMENT OF A PLANT KINETIC MODEL

Science.gov (United States)

Previous studies have shown that tobacco plants are tolerant of perchlorate and will accumulate perchlorate in plant tissues. This research determined the uptake, translocation, and accumulation of perchlorate in tobacco plants. Three hydroponics growth studies were completed u...

Sea water pumping-up power plant system combined with nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichiki, Tadaharu; Tanaka, Masayuki.

1991-01-01

It is difficult to find a site suitable to construction for a sea water pumping-up power plant at a place relatively near the electric power consumption area. Then, a nuclear power plant is set at the sea bottom or the land portion of a sea shore near the power consumption area. A cavity is excavated underground or at the bottom of the sea in the vicinity of the power plant to form a lower pond, and the bottom of the sea, as an upper pond and the lower pond are connected by a water pressure pipe and a water discharge pipe. A pump water turbine is disposed therebetween, to which electric power generator is connected. In addition, an ordinary or emergency cooling facility in the nuclear power plant is constituted such that sea water in the cavity is supplied by a sea water pump. Accordingly, the sea water pumping-up plant system in combination with the nuclear power plant is constituted with no injuring from salts to animals and plants on land in the suburbs of a large city. The cost for facilities for supplying power from a remote power plant to large city areas and power loss are decreased and stable electric power can be supplied. (N.H.)

[Plant hydroponics and its application prospect in medicinal plants study].

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Yan; Guo, Lan-Ping; Huang, Lu-Qi; Sun, Yu-Zhang

2007-03-01

This article introduced the theorem and method of hydroponics. Some examples of studies in agriculture and forestry were presented, the effects of elements, environmental stress and hormones on physiology of medicinal plants by using hydroponics were analyzed. It also introduced the feasibility and advantage of hydroponics in intermediate propagation and allelopathy of medicinal plant. And finally it made the conclusion that the way of hydroponics would be widely used in medicinal plant study.

Plant lectins: the ties that bind in root symbiosis and plant defense.

Science.gov (United States)

De Hoff, Peter L; Brill, Laurence M; Hirsch, Ann M

2009-07-01

Lectins are a diverse group of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are found within and associated with organisms from all kingdoms of life. Several different classes of plant lectins serve a diverse array of functions. The most prominent of these include participation in plant defense against predators and pathogens and involvement in symbiotic interactions between host plants and symbiotic microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Extensive biological, biochemical, and molecular studies have shed light on the functions of plant lectins, and a plethora of uncharacterized lectin genes are being revealed at the genomic scale, suggesting unexplored and novel diversity in plant lectin structure and function. Integration of the results from these different types of research is beginning to yield a more detailed understanding of the function of lectins in symbiosis, defense, and plant biology in general.

Plant analyzer development for high-speed interactive simulation of BWR plant transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wulff, W.; Cheng, H.S.; Mallen, A.N.

1986-01-01

Advanced modeling techniques have been combined with modern, special-purpose peripheral minicomputer technology to develop a plant analyzer which provides realistic and accurate predictions of plant transients and severe off-normal events in nuclear power plants through on-line simulations at speeds of approximately 10 times faster than actual process speeds. The new simulation technology serves not only for carrying out routinely and efficiently safety analyses, optimizations of emergency procedures and design changes, parametric studies for obtaining safety margins and for generic training but also for assisting plant operations. Five modeling principles are presented which serve to achieve high-speed simulation of neutron kinetics, thermal conduction, nonhomogeneous and nonequilibrium two-phase flow coolant dynamics, steam line acoustical effects, and the dynamics of the balance of plant and containment systems, control systems and plant protection systems. 21 refs

GenoCAD Plant Grammar to Design Plant Expression Vectors for Promoter Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Coll, Anna; Wilson, Mandy L; Gruden, Kristina; Peccoud, Jean

2016-01-01

With the rapid advances in prediction tools for discovery of new promoters and their cis-elements, there is a need to improve plant expression methodologies in order to facilitate a high-throughput functional validation of these promoters in planta. The promoter-reporter analysis is an indispensible approach for characterization of plant promoters. It requires the design of complex plant expression vectors, which can be challenging. Here, we describe the use of a plant grammar implemented in GenoCAD that will allow the users to quickly design constructs for promoter analysis experiments but also for other in planta functional studies. The GenoCAD plant grammar includes a library of plant biological parts organized in structural categories to facilitate their use and management and a set of rules that guides the process of assembling these biological parts into large constructs.

The impact of whole-plant instruction of preservice teachers' understanding of plant science principles

Science.gov (United States)

Hypolite, Christine Collins

The purpose of this research was to determine how an inquiry-based, whole-plant instructional strategy would affect preservice elementary teachers' understanding of plant science principles. This study probed: what preservice teachers know about plant biology concepts before and after instruction, their views of the interrelatedness of plant parts and the environment, how growing a plant affects preservice teachers' understanding, and which types of activity-rich plant themes studies, if any, affect preservice elementary teachers' understandings. The participants in the study were enrolled in two elementary science methods class sections at a state university. Each group was administered a preinstructional test at the beginning of the study. The treatment group participated in inquiry-based activities related to the Principles of Plant Biology (American Society of Plant Biologists, 2001), while the comparison group studied those same concepts through traditional instructional methods. A focus group was formed from the treatment group to participate in co-concept mapping sessions. The participants' understandings were assessed through artifacts from activities, a comparison of pre- and postinstructional tests, and the concept maps generated by the focus group. Results of the research indicated that the whole-plant, inquiry-based instructional strategy can be applied to teach preservice elementary teachers plant biology while modeling the human constructivist approach. The results further indicated that this approach enhanced their understanding of plant science content knowledge, as well as pedagogical knowledge. The results also showed that a whole-plant approach to teaching plant science concepts is an instructional strategy that is feasible for the elementary school. The theoretical framework for this study was Human Constructivist learning theory (Mintzes & Wandersee, 1998). The content knowledge and instructional strategy was informed by the Principles of Plant

Safe genetically engineered plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosellini, D; Veronesi, F

2007-01-01

The application of genetic engineering to plants has provided genetically modified plants (GMPs, or transgenic plants) that are cultivated worldwide on increasing areas. The most widespread GMPs are herbicide-resistant soybean and canola and insect-resistant corn and cotton. New GMPs that produce vaccines, pharmaceutical or industrial proteins, and fortified food are approaching the market. The techniques employed to introduce foreign genes into plants allow a quite good degree of predictability of the results, and their genome is minimally modified. However, some aspects of GMPs have raised concern: (a) control of the insertion site of the introduced DNA sequences into the plant genome and of its mutagenic effect; (b) presence of selectable marker genes conferring resistance to an antibiotic or an herbicide, linked to the useful gene; (c) insertion of undesired bacterial plasmid sequences; and (d) gene flow from transgenic plants to non-transgenic crops or wild plants. In response to public concerns, genetic engineering techniques are continuously being improved. Techniques to direct foreign gene integration into chosen genomic sites, to avoid the use of selectable genes or to remove them from the cultivated plants, to reduce the transfer of undesired bacterial sequences, and make use of alternative, safer selectable genes, are all fields of active research. In our laboratory, some of these new techniques are applied to alfalfa, an important forage plant. These emerging methods for plant genetic engineering are briefly reviewed in this work

Safe genetically engineered plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosellini, D; Veronesi, F [Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale e Biotecnologie Agroambientali e Zootecniche, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX giugno 74, 06121 Perugia (Italy)

2007-10-03

The application of genetic engineering to plants has provided genetically modified plants (GMPs, or transgenic plants) that are cultivated worldwide on increasing areas. The most widespread GMPs are herbicide-resistant soybean and canola and insect-resistant corn and cotton. New GMPs that produce vaccines, pharmaceutical or industrial proteins, and fortified food are approaching the market. The techniques employed to introduce foreign genes into plants allow a quite good degree of predictability of the results, and their genome is minimally modified. However, some aspects of GMPs have raised concern: (a) control of the insertion site of the introduced DNA sequences into the plant genome and of its mutagenic effect; (b) presence of selectable marker genes conferring resistance to an antibiotic or an herbicide, linked to the useful gene; (c) insertion of undesired bacterial plasmid sequences; and (d) gene flow from transgenic plants to non-transgenic crops or wild plants. In response to public concerns, genetic engineering techniques are continuously being improved. Techniques to direct foreign gene integration into chosen genomic sites, to avoid the use of selectable genes or to remove them from the cultivated plants, to reduce the transfer of undesired bacterial sequences, and make use of alternative, safer selectable genes, are all fields of active research. In our laboratory, some of these new techniques are applied to alfalfa, an important forage plant. These emerging methods for plant genetic engineering are briefly reviewed in this work.

Using a plant health system framework to assess plant clinic performance in Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danielsen, Solveig; Matsiko, Frank B.

2016-01-01

and expand, new analytical frameworks and tools are needed to identify factors influencing performance of services and systems in specific contexts, and to guide interventions. In this paper we apply a plant health system framework to assess plant clinic performance, using Uganda as a case study...... factors, influenced by basic operational and financial concerns, inter-institutional relations and public sector policies. Overall, there was a fairly close match between the plant health system attributes and plant clinic performance, suggesting that the framework can help explain system functioning....... A comparative study of plant clinics was carried out between July 2010 and September 2011 in the 12 districts where plant clinics were operating at that time. The framework enabled us to organise multiple issues and identify key features that affected the plant clinics. Clinic performance was, among other...

An automated, high-throughput plant phenotyping system using machine learning-based plant segmentation and image analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Unseok; Chang, Sungyul; Putra, Gian Anantrio; Kim, Hyoungseok; Kim, Dong Hwan

2018-01-01

A high-throughput plant phenotyping system automatically observes and grows many plant samples. Many plant sample images are acquired by the system to determine the characteristics of the plants (populations). Stable image acquisition and processing is very important to accurately determine the characteristics. However, hardware for acquiring plant images rapidly and stably, while minimizing plant stress, is lacking. Moreover, most software cannot adequately handle large-scale plant imaging. To address these problems, we developed a new, automated, high-throughput plant phenotyping system using simple and robust hardware, and an automated plant-imaging-analysis pipeline consisting of machine-learning-based plant segmentation. Our hardware acquires images reliably and quickly and minimizes plant stress. Furthermore, the images are processed automatically. In particular, large-scale plant-image datasets can be segmented precisely using a classifier developed using a superpixel-based machine-learning algorithm (Random Forest), and variations in plant parameters (such as area) over time can be assessed using the segmented images. We performed comparative evaluations to identify an appropriate learning algorithm for our proposed system, and tested three robust learning algorithms. We developed not only an automatic analysis pipeline but also a convenient means of plant-growth analysis that provides a learning data interface and visualization of plant growth trends. Thus, our system allows end-users such as plant biologists to analyze plant growth via large-scale plant image data easily.

Plant neighbor identity influences plant biochemistry and physiology related to defense

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Callaway Ragan M

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chemical and biological processes dictate an individual organism's ability to recognize and respond to other organisms. A small but growing body of evidence suggests that plants may be capable of recognizing and responding to neighboring plants in a species specific fashion. Here we tested whether or not individuals of the invasive exotic weed, Centaurea maculosa, would modulate their defensive strategy in response to different plant neighbors. Results In the greenhouse, C. maculosa individuals were paired with either conspecific (C. maculosa or heterospecific (Festuca idahoensis plant neighbors and elicited with the plant defense signaling molecule methyl jasmonate to mimic insect herbivory. We found that elicited C. maculosa plants grown with conspecific neighbors exhibited increased levels of total phenolics, whereas those grown with heterospecific neighbors allocated more resources towards growth. To further investigate these results in the field, we conducted a metabolomics analysis to explore chemical differences between individuals of C. maculosa growing in naturally occurring conspecific and heterospecific field stands. Similar to the greenhouse results, C. maculosa individuals accumulated higher levels of defense-related secondary metabolites and lower levels of primary metabolites when growing in conspecific versus heterospecific field stands. Leaf herbivory was similar in both stand types; however, a separate field study positively correlated specialist herbivore load with higher densities of C. maculosa conspecifics. Conclusions Our results suggest that an individual C. maculosa plant can change its defensive strategy based on the identity of its plant neighbors. This is likely to have important consequences for individual and community success.

Registered plant list - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available List Contact us PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods ...the Plant DB link list in simple search page) Genome analysis methods Presence or... absence of Genome analysis methods information in this DB (link to the Genome analysis methods information ...base Site Policy | Contact Us Registered plant list - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive ...

Suppression of Plant Defenses by Herbivorous Mites Is Not Associated with Adaptation to Host Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jéssica T. Paulo

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Some herbivores suppress plant defenses, which may be viewed as a result of the coevolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores. However, this ability is usually studied in a one-herbivore-one-plant system, which hampers comparative studies that could corroborate this hypothesis. Here, we extend this paradigm and ask whether the herbivorous spider-mite Tetranychus evansi, which suppresses the jasmonic-acid pathway in tomato plants, is also able to suppress defenses in other host plants at different phylogenetic distances from tomatoes. We test this using different plants from the Solanales order, namely tomato, jimsonweed, tobacco, and morning glory (three Solanaceae and one Convolvulaceae, and bean plants (Fabales. First, we compare the performance of T. evansi to that of the other two most-commonly found species of the same genus, T. urticae and T. ludeni, on several plants. We found that the performance of T. evansi is higher than that of the other species only on tomato plants. We then showed, by measuring trypsin inhibitor activity and life history traits of conspecific mites on either clean or pre-infested plants, that T. evansi can suppress plant defenses on all plants except tobacco. This study suggests that the suppression of plant defenses may occur on host plants other than those to which herbivores are adapted.

Radioactive uptake by plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horak, O

1986-01-01

The fundamentals of radionuclide uptake by plants, both by leaves and roots are presented. Iodine, cesium, strontium and ruthenium are considered and a table of the measured concentrations in several agricultural plants shortly after the Chernobyl accident is presented. Another table gives the Cs and Sr transfer factors soil plants for some plants. By using them estimates of future burden can be obtained.

Plant critical concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Regan, P.J.

1996-01-01

The objective of the effort summarized in this paper is to support O and M cost reduction efforts by focusing resources on components and processes critical to plant performance. This effort will identify where resources on nonplant critical components and processes can be reduced or eliminated. This method will use a functional assessment as the basis for component-specific evaluations and ranking. This effort consists of two stages conducted in series. The first stage is to deterministically identify that set of plant components that are relevant from a plant performance perspective (i.e., safety, economics, reliability). The second stage probabilistically ranks that set of plant components from an importance perspective, where importance pertains to the particular application and is probabilistically weighted. The results of a pilot study identified that only a relatively small set of components are truly critical from an integrated plant performance perspective. These results are consistent with work being conducted at other nuclear power plants, as well as other commercial facilities. Initial implementation of this effort is estimated to reduce O and M costs on the order of $1 million per year. Subsequent applications are anticipated to increase that savings to $4--$5 million per year

Plant monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Toru.

1994-01-01

The device of the present invention comprises a data collecting section for periodically collecting processed data sent from plant equipments, a top node induction and processing section for an important plant function model for inducing the plant function to be noted particularly by an operator from important plant function models by using process data and a window screen selection section for selecting a window screen to be displayed based on the result of the evaluation for each of function nodes based on the processing described above and determining the layout and automatically forming the display screen. It is constituted so that the kind and the layout of the window under display are checked if they are the same as those one cycle before or not and, if they are different, the screen is automatically switched to a new screen display. Then, operator's psychological burdens such as selection of information and judgement for the operation upon occurrence of plant abnormality and accident can be mitigated, to provide a safe operation circumstance having reinforced monitoring of the function of the whole plant can be provided. (N.H.)

Plant control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Masuo; Ono, Makoto.

1995-01-01

A plant control device comprises an intellectual instrumentation group for measuring a predetermined process amount, an intellectual equipment group operating in accordance with a self-countermeasure, a system information space for outputting system information, a system level monitoring and diagnosing information generalization section for outputting system information, a system level maintenance information generalization section for outputting information concerning maintenance, a plant level information space and a plant level information generalization section. Each of them determines a state of the plant autonomously, and when abnormality is detected, each of the intellectual instrumentation, equipments and systems exchange information with each other, to conduct required operations including operations of intellectual robots, as required. Appropriate countermeasures for gauges, equipments and systems can be conducted autonomously at a place where operators can not access to improve reliability of complicate operations in the working site, as well as improve plant safety and reliability. (N.H.)

Plants cultivation in controlled containments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The plants cultivation in controlled containments permits to the - Departement d'Ecophysiologie Vegetale et de Microbiologie (DVEM) - of the CEA to lead several topics of research. The works of DVEM which are based on the molecular labelling, technique adapted to plants, contribute to understand the plant - soil relationships and the plant growth process. In addition, the staff of DVEM study the impact of pollutant heavy metals, existing in the soil, on plants and the plant stress induced by oxygen, light, ionizing radiations,... and defence mechanisms of plants (F. M.)

Owners of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, R.S.

1991-07-01

This report indicates percentage ownership of commercial nuclear power plants by utility companies. The report includes all plants operating, under construction, docketed for NRC safety and environmental reviews, or under NRC antitrust review, but does not include those plants announced but not yet under review or those plants formally cancelled. Part 1 of the report lists plants alphabetically with their associated applicants or licensees and percentage ownership. Part 2 lists applicants or licensees alphabetically with their associated plants and percentage ownership. Part 1 also indicates which plants have received operating licenses (OLS)

Fuel reprocessing plant: No qualitative differences as compared to other sensitive process plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schweinoch, J.

1986-01-01

Nuclear power plants like the fuel reprocessing plant belong to the highly sensitive installations in respect of safety, but involve the same risks qualitatively as liquid-gas plants or chemical plants. Therefore no consequences for basic rights are discernible. The police can take adequate preventive measures. The regulations governing police action provide proper and sufficient warrants. (DG) [de

Plant control system upgrades in the context of industry trends towards plant life-extension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Grosbois, J.; Basso, R.; Hepburn, A.; Kumar, V.

2002-01-01

Domestic CANDU nuclear plants were brought online between 1972 and 1986. Over the next decade, most of these stations will be nearing the end of their designed operating life. Effort has traditionally been placed on ensuring that the existing installed plant control system equipment could operate reliably until the end of this design life. Until recently, little attention has been given to plant control system upgrades or replacements to meet the expected requirement for 30+ years of additional plant operation following potential plant refurbishments. Industry developments are changing this thinking. The combination of expected increases in electricity demand (and prices), and the many recent successful turnaround stories of U.S. nuclear power plants has resulted in new interest in plant life improvement and plant life extension programs. Plant control system upgrade decisions are now being driven by the need to replace or upgrade these systems to support plant life extension. This article is the first of several that investigate aspects of plant control system upgrades or replacement, specifically in the context of the CANDU station digital control computers (DCCs). It sets the context for the discussion in the subsequent articles by providing a brief review of industry trends favouring plant refurbishment, by outlining the basic issues of aging and obsolescence of control system equipment, by establishing the need for upgrades and replacements, and by introducing some of the basic challenges to be addressed by the industry as it moves forward. (author)

Towards plant wires.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamatzky, Andrew

2014-08-01

In experimental laboratory studies we evaluate a possibility of making electrical wires from living plants. In scoping experiments we use lettuce seedlings as a prototype model of a plant wire. We approximate an electrical potential transfer function by applying direct current voltage to the lettuce seedlings and recording output voltage. We analyse oscillation frequencies of the output potential and assess noise immunity of the plant wires. Our findings will be used in future designs of self-growing wetware circuits and devices, and integration of plant-based electronic components into future and emergent bio-hybrid systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant Habitat (PH)

Science.gov (United States)

Onate, Bryan

2016-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon have a platform for conducting fundamental research of Large Plants. Plant Habitat (PH) is designed to be a fully controllable environment for high-quality plant physiological research. PH will control light quality, level, and timing, temperature, CO2, relative humidity, and irrigation, while scrubbing ethylene. Additional capabilities include leaf temperature and root zone moisture and oxygen sensing. The light cap will have red (630 nm), blue (450 nm), green (525 nm), far red (730 nm) and broad spectrum white LEDs. There will be several internal cameras (visible and IR) to monitor and record plant growth and operations.

Plant Transporter Identification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Bo

Membrane transport proteins (transporters) play a critical role for numerous biological processes, by controlling the movements of ions and molecules in and out of cells. In plants, transporters thus function as gatekeepers between the plant and its surrounding environment and between organs......, tissues, cells and intracellular compartments. Since plants are highly compartmentalized organisms with complex transportation infrastructures, they consequently have many transporters. However, the vast majority of predicted transporters have not yet been experimentally verified to have transport...... activity. This project contains a review of the implemented methods, which have led to plant transporter identification, and present our progress on creating a high-throughput functional genomics transporter identification platform....

Less power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TASR

2003-01-01

In the Slovak Republic the number of company power plants decreased as against 2001 by two sources. In present time only 35 companies have their own power plants. The companies Slovnaft, Kappa Sturovo, Slovensky hodvab Senica, Matador Puchov, Maytex Liptovsky MikuIas, Kovohuty Krompachy, Chemko Strazske and some Slovak sugar factories belong to the largest company power plants in force of distributing companies. Installed output of present 35 company sources is 531 MW. The largest of separate power plants as Paroplynovy cyklus Bratislava (218 MW) and VD Zilina (72 MW) belong to independent sources. Total installed output of Slovak sources was 8306 MW in the end of last year

Plant life management (PLIM) in Swiss nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stejskal, Jan; Steudler, Daniel; Thoma, Kurt; Fuchs, Reinhard

2002-01-01

Full text: The Swiss Utility Working group for ageing Management (AM) presented their programme for the first time at the PLIM/PLEX 93. In the meantime the key guideline documents have been prepared and the most so called S teckbrief - files for Safety Class 1 (SC1) are issued. The 'Steckbrief' file is a summary of the component history and includes the results of the Reviews performed and measures taken or planned to counteract ageing mechanisms. The scope of these activities does not only serve the important aspect of reliable plant service but also facilitates component and plant life extension feasibility. The older plants have been operated now for up to 30 years, so PLEX will become a more important topic for Swiss NPP. It is very encouraging, that there is an official memorandum of the Swiss authority with the clear statement, that they could not identify any technical reason, why the older plants should not extend their design life of 40 years for at least 10 and the younger for 20 years. The result of this is that a well established Ageing Management Programme (AMP) provide a good basis for Plant Life Extension (PLEX), e.g. the Swiss AMP has to be seen as a PLIM. (author)

Photochemical smog and plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sawada, T.

1974-07-01

Surveys of plant damage due to photochemical smog are summarized. The components of smog which appear to be responsible for plant damage include ozone and peroxyacyl nitrates. Their phytotoxic effects are much greater than those due to sulfur oxides. Damage surveys since 1970 reveal the following symptoms appearing on herbaceous plants (morning glory, cocks comb, dahlia, knotweed, petunia, chickweed, Welsh onion, spinach, Chinese cabbage, chard, taro): yellowish-white leaf discoloration, white and brown spots on matured leaves, and silvering of the lower surfaces of young leaves. Symptoms which appear on arboraceous plants such as zelkova, poplar, ginkgo, planetree, rose mallow, magnolia, pine tree, and rhododendron include early yellowing and reddening, white or brown spots, and untimely leaf-fall. The above plants are now utilized as indicator plants of photochemical smog. Surveys covering a broad area of Tokyo and three other prefectures indicate that plant damage due to photochemical smog extends to relatively unpolluted areas.

Modification of water treatment plant at Heavy Water Plant (Kota)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gajpati, C.R.; Shrivastava, C.S.; Shrivastava, D.C.; Shrivastava, J.; Vithal, G.K.; Bhowmick, A.

2008-01-01

Heavy Water Production by GS process viz. H 2 S - H 2 O bi-thermal exchange process requires a huge quantity of demineralized (DM) water as a source of deuterium. Since the deuterium recovery of GS process is only 18-19%, the water treatment plant (WTP) was designed and commissioned at Heavy Water Plant (Kota) to produce demineralized water at the rate of 680 m 3 /hr. The WTP was commissioned in 1980 and till 2005; the plant was producing DM water of required quality. It was having three streams of strong cation resin, atmospheric degasser and strong anion exchange resin with co-current regeneration. In 2001 a new concept of layered bed resin was developed and engineered for water treatment plant. The concept was attractive in terms of saving of chemicals and thus preservation of environment. Being an ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 plant, the modification of WTP was executed in 2005 during major turn around. After modification, a substantial amount of acid and alkali is saved

Application of plant cell and tissue culture for the production of phytochemicals in medicinal plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Pant, Bijaya

2014-01-01

Approximately 80% of the world inhabitants depend on the medicinal plants in the form of traditional formulations for their primary health care system well as in the treatment of a number of diseases since the ancient time. Many commercially used drugs have come from the information of indigenous knowledge of plants and their folk uses. Linking of the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants to modern research activities provides a new reliable approach, for the discovery of novel drugs much more effectively than with random collection. Increase in population and increasing demand of plant products along with illegal trade are causing depletion of medicinal plants and many are threatened in natural habitat. Plant tissue culture technique has proved potential alternative for the production of desirable bioactive components from plants, to produce the enough amounts of plant material that is needed and for the conservation of threatened species. Different plant tissue culture systems have been extensively studied to improve and enhance the production of plant chemicals in various medicinal plants.

Offshore atomic power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

Various merits of offshore atomic power plants are illustrated, and their systems are assessed. The planning of the offshore atomic power plants in USA is reviewed, and the construction costs of the offshore plant in Japan were estimated. Air pollution problem may be solved by the offshore atomic power plants remarkably. Deep water at low temperature may be advantageously used as cooling water for condensers. Marine resources may be bred by building artificial habitats and by providing spring-up equipments. In the case of floating plants, the plant design can be standardized so that the construction costs may be reduced. The offshore plants can be classified into three systems, namely artificial island system, floating system and sea bottom-based system. The island system may be realized with the present level of civil engineering, but requires the development of technology for the resistance of base against earthquake and its calculation means. The floating system may be constructed with conventional power plant engineering and shipbuilding engineering, but the aseismatic stability of breakwater may be a problem to be solved. Deep water floating system and deep water submerging system are conceivable, but its realization may be difficult. The sea bottom-based system with large caissons can be realized by the present civil engineering, but the construction of the caissons, stability against earthquake and resistance to waves may be problems to be solved. The technical prediction and assessment of new plant sites for nuclear power plants have been reported by Science and Technology Agency in 1974. The construction costs of an offshore plant has been estimated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to be yen71,026/kW as of 1985. (Iwakiri, K.)

Herbivore specificity and the chemical basis of plant-plant communication in Baccharis salicifolia (Asteraceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Xoaquín; Nell, Colleen S; Katsanis, Angelos; Rasmann, Sergio; Mooney, Kailen A

2016-09-06

It is well known that plant damage by leaf-chewing herbivores can induce resistance in neighbouring plants. It is unknown whether such communication occurs in response to sap-feeding herbivores, whether communication is specific to herbivore identity, and the chemical basis of communication, including specificity. We carried out glasshouse experiments using the California-native shrub Baccharis salicifolia and two ecologically distinct aphid species (one a dietary generalist and the other a specialist) to test for specificity of plant-plant communication and to document the underlying volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We show specificity of plant-plant communication to herbivore identity, as each aphid-damaged plant only induced resistance in neighbours against the same aphid species. The amount and composition of induced VOCs were markedly different between plants attacked by the two aphid species, providing a putative chemical mechanism for this specificity. Furthermore, a synthetic blend of the five major aphid-induced VOCs (ethanone, limonene, methyl salicylate, myrcene, ocimene) triggered resistance in receiving plants of comparable magnitude to aphid damage of neighbours, and the effects of the blend exceeded those of individual compounds. This study significantly advances our understanding of plant-plant communication by demonstrating the importance of sap-feeding herbivores and herbivore identity, as well as the chemical basis for such effects. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

Plant embryogenesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, de Sacco C.; Weijers, Dolf

2017-01-01

Land plants are called ‘embryophytes’ and thus, their collective name is defined by their ability to form embryos. Indeed, embryogenesis is a widespread phenomenon in plants, and much of our diet is composed of embryos (just think of grains, beans or nuts; Figure 1). However, in addition to embryos

Plant actin cytoskeleton re-modeling by plant parasitic nematodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Engler, Janice de Almeida; Rodiuc, Natalia; Smertenko, Andrei; Abad, Pierre

2010-03-01

The cytoskeleton is an important component of the plant's defense mechanism against the attack of pathogenic organisms. Plants however, are defenseless against parasitic root-knot and cyst nematodes and respond to the invasion by the development of a special feeding site that supplies the parasite with nutrients required for the completion of its life cycle. Recent studies of nematode invasion under treatment with cytoskeletal drugs and in mutant plants where normal functions of the cytoskeleton have been affected, demonstrate the importance of the cytoskeleton in the establishment of a feeding site and successful nematode reproduction. It appears that in the case of microfilaments, nematodes hijack the intracellular machinery that regulates actin dynamics and modulate the organization and properties of the actin filament network. Intervening with this process reduces the nematode infection efficiency and inhibits its life cycle. This discovery uncovers a new pathway that can be exploited for the protection of plants against nematodes.

Plant life management study of Japanese nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, Toshihiko

1999-01-01

Already more than twenty-five years have passed since the first commercial LWR plant went into operation in Japan. In this situation, MITI and 3 electric utilities (Tokyo Electric Power Company, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc, Japan Atomic Power Company) have started a plant life management (PLM) study from 1994 to evaluate the long-term integrity of major systems, structures and components of aged LWR plants and ensure the safe, steady and highly reliable long-term operation. It consists of two phases: part 1 study and part 2 study. The part 1 study started in 1994 and focused on seven typical safety-related components. The part 1 study reports were made public in 1996. The part 2 study started in 1997. In this study we reviewed not only safety-related components but also plant reliability related components. The part 2 study reports were opened to the public in February 1999. This paper shows a summary of the part 2 study and our future PLM program. (author)

Improvement of the nuclear plant analyzer for Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sung Soo; Han, Byoung Sub; Suh, Jae Seung; Son, Dae Seong

2005-04-01

Accurate analysis of the operating characteristics of Nuclear Power Plants provides valuable information for both norman and abnormal operation. The information can be used for the enhancement of plant performance and safety. Usually, such analysis is performed using computer codes used for plant design or simulators. However, their usages are limited because special expertise is required to use the computer codes and simulators are not portable. Therefore, it deemed necessary to develop an NPA which minimizes those limitations and can be used for the analysis and simulation of Nuclear Power Plants. The purpose of this study is to develop a real-time best-estimate NPA for the Korean Nuclear Power Plants(KSNP). The NPA is an interactive, high fidelity engineering simulator. NPA combines the process model simulating the plant behavior with the latest computer technology such as Graphical User Interface(GUI) and simulation executive for enhanced user interface. The process model includes models for a three-dimensional reactor core, the NSSS, secondary system including turbine and feedtrain, safety auxiliary systems, and various control systems. Through the verification and validation of the NPA, it was demonstrated that the NPA can realistically simulate the plant behaviors during transient and accident conditions

Cura animarum as hope care: Towards a theology of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-04-14

Apr 14, 2014 ... us, or we might say of the agape [Christian love]. (Marcel ... our being human in history and time, it seems that a ..... concreteness and humanness), but as a new vision of all things, .... resurrection does not inspire people to ignore their suffering: .... in order to proceed with life in terms of an enduring faith.

"Dangerous Presumptions": How Single-Sex Schooling Reifies False Notions of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Janna

2010-01-01

Due to the recent changes in federal regulations about gender equity in education in the USA, some policy makers have resurrected single-sex public education. Because single-sex schooling ignores the complexity of sex, gender, and sexuality, it sets up a "separate but equal" system that is anything but. Discounting the ways in which gender is…

The Jesus of Paul: A contribution from the social sciences | Guijarro ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article will focus on two of these factors: the configuration of the Christian communities of the Diaspora as foreign cults in a context of religious plurality and the ... In them, in fact, the apostle moves from the incarnation to the death and resurrection, leaving in the shadows the activity and teaching of Jesus to which the ...

Phytochrome, plant growth and flowering

Science.gov (United States)

King, R. W.; Bagnall, D. J.

1994-01-01

Attempts to use artificially lit cabinets to grow plants identical to those growing in sunlight have provided compelling evidence of the importance of light quality for plant growth. Changing the balance of red (R) to far-red (FR) radiation, but with a fixed photosynthetic input can shift the phytochrome photoequilibrium in a plant and generate large differences in plant growth. With FR enrichment the plants elongate, and may produce more leaf area and dry matter. Similar morphogenic responses are also obtained when light quality is altered only briefly (15-30 min) at the end-of-the-day. Conversely, for plants grown in natural conditions the response of plant form to selective spectral filtering has again shown that red and far-red wavebands are important as found by Kasperbauer and coworkers. Also, where photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of sunlight have been held constant, the removal of far-red alone alters plant growth. With FR depletion plants grown in sunlight are small, more branched and darker green. Here we examine the implications for plant growth and flowering when the far-red composition of incident radiation in plant growth chambers is manipulated.

Phytochrome, plant growth and flowering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, R.W.; Bagnall, D.J. [CSIRO, Canberra (Australia)

1994-12-31

Attempts to use artificially lit cabinets to grow plants identical to those growing in sunlight have provided compelling evidence of the importance of light quality for plant growth. Changing the balance of red (R) to far-red (FR) radiation, but with a fixed photosynthetic input can shift the phytochrome photoequilibrium in a plant and generate large differences in plant growth. With FR enrichment the plants elongate, and may produce more leaf area and dry matter. Similar morphogenic responses are also obtained when light quality is altered only briefly (15-30 min) at the end-of-the-day. Conversely, for plants grown in natural conditions the response of plant form to selective spectral filtering has again shown that red and far-red wavebands are important as found by Kasperbauer and coworkers. Also, where photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of sunlight have been held constant, the removal of far-red alone alters plant growth. As shown for chrysanthemum, with FR depletion plants grown in sunlight are small, more branched and darker green. We examine the implications for plant growth and flowering when the far-red composition of incident radiation in plant growth chambers is manipulated.

The year 2000 power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roman, H.T.

1989-01-01

Every utility seeks extended service life from its existing power plants before building new ones. It is not easy to justify a new power plant. The licensing and cost of new plants have become uncertain. In response to these conditions, electric utilities are undertaking plant life-extension studies and, in some cases, reconditioning/upgrading old power plants to significantly increase useful service life. Other technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence/expert systems are also being developed to reduce operating and maintenance (O and M) expenses, to remove workers from potentially hazardous environments, and to reduce plant downtime. Together, these steps represent an interim solution, perhaps providing some relief for the next few decades. However, there are serious physical and economic limits to retrofitting new technology into existing power plants. Some old plants will simply be beyond their useful life and require retirement. In nuclear plants, for instance, retrofit may raise important and time-consuming licensing/safety issues. Based on their robotics and artificial intelligence experience, the authors of this article speculate bout the design of the year 2000 power plant - a power plant they feel will naturally incorporate liberal amounts of robotic and artificial intelligence technologies

Engineered Plants as Biosensors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stewart, C

2003-01-01

The aim of the research was the creation of a model biosensing plant that could detect plant diseases and to characterize the utility of laser induced fluorescence imaging for detecting the inducible (LIFI) plant signal...

Revisiting the plant hyperaccumulation criteria to rare plants and earth abundant elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Branquinho, Cristina [Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Centro de Ecologia e Biologia Vegetal, Campo Grande C2, Piso 4, 1749-016 Lisbon (Portugal) and Universidade Atlantica, Antiga Fabrica da Polvora de Barcarena, 2745-615 Barcarena (Portugal)]. E-mail: cmbranquinho@fc.ul.pt; Serrano, Helena Cristina [Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Historia Natural, Jardim Botanico (Portugal); Pinto, Manuel Joao [Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Historia Natural, Jardim Botanico (Portugal); Martins-Loucao, Maria Amelia [Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Centro de Ecologia e Biologia Vegetal, Campo Grande C2, Piso 4, 1749-016 Lisbon (Portugal); Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Historia Natural, Jardim Botanico (Portugal)

2007-03-15

The several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied to a rare and endangered species, Plantago almogravensis, and to the 3rd most abundant element in the earth crust, Al. Using the most common criteria, P. almogravensis undoubtedly is an Al hyperaccumulator plant. If the recent proposed requirements were considered, most of them matching those for a plant to be used in phytoextraction, it can only be considered an unusual accumulator of Al. A discussion is made concerning the several criteria of a hyperaccumulator plant in order to include rare and endemic ones and abundant elements. In ecological terms, the enrichment in Al and Fe observed may account for the differences in the vegetation pattern. Due to the rarity and endangered nature of this plant, the contribution of this work is also relevant for the ecological understanding and the development of conservation options of this endemic species. - Revisiting plant hyperaccumulation criteria.

Revisiting the plant hyperaccumulation criteria to rare plants and earth abundant elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branquinho, Cristina; Serrano, Helena Cristina; Pinto, Manuel Joao; Martins-Loucao, Maria Amelia

2007-01-01

The several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied to a rare and endangered species, Plantago almogravensis, and to the 3rd most abundant element in the earth crust, Al. Using the most common criteria, P. almogravensis undoubtedly is an Al hyperaccumulator plant. If the recent proposed requirements were considered, most of them matching those for a plant to be used in phytoextraction, it can only be considered an unusual accumulator of Al. A discussion is made concerning the several criteria of a hyperaccumulator plant in order to include rare and endemic ones and abundant elements. In ecological terms, the enrichment in Al and Fe observed may account for the differences in the vegetation pattern. Due to the rarity and endangered nature of this plant, the contribution of this work is also relevant for the ecological understanding and the development of conservation options of this endemic species. - Revisiting plant hyperaccumulation criteria

Ornamental Plant Breeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávia Barbosa Silva Botelho

2015-04-01

Full Text Available World’s ornamental plant market, including domestic market of several countries and its exports, is currently evaluated in 107 billion dollars yearly. Such estimate highlights the importance of the sector in the economy of the countries, as well as its important social role, as it represents one of the main activities, which contributes to income and employment. Therefore a well-structured plant breeding program, which is connected with consumers’ demands, is required in order to fulfill these market needs globally. Activities related to pre-breeding, conventional breeding, and breeding by biotechnological techniques constitute the basis for the successful development of new ornamental plant cultivars. Techniques that involve tissue culture, protoplast fusion and genetic engineering greatly aid conventional breeding (germplasm introduction, plant selection and hybridization, aiming the obtention of superior genotypes. Therefore it makes evident, in the literature, the successful employment of genetic breeding, since it aims to develop plants with commercial value that are also competitive with the ones available in the market.

Plant for retention of 14C in reprocessing plants for LWR fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, H.; Gutowski, H.; Bonka, H.; Gruendler, D.

1983-01-01

The 14 C produced from nuclear power plants is actually totally emitted from nuclear power plants and reprocessing plants. Using the radiation protection principles proposed in ICRP 26, 14 C should be retained at heavy water moderated reactors and reprocessing plants due to a cost-benefit analysis. In the frame of a research work to cost-benefit analysis, which was sponsored by the Federal Minister of the Interior, an industrial plant for 14 C retention at reprocessing plants for LWR fuel elements has been planned according to the double alkali process. The double alkali process has been chosen because of the sufficient operation experience in the conventional chemical technique. In order to verify some operational parameters and to gain experiences, a cold test plant was constructed. The experiment results showed that the double alkali process is a technically suitable method with high operation security. Solidifying CaCO 3 with cement gives a product fit for final disposal

Plant designer's view of the operator's role in nuclear plant safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corcoran, W.R.; Church, J.F.; Cross, M.T.; Porter, N.J.

1981-01-01

The nuclear plant operator's role supports the design assumptions and equipment with four functional tasks. He must set up th plant for predictable response to disturbances, operate the plant so as to minimize the likelihood and severity of event initiators, assist in accomplishing the safety functions, and feed back operating experiences to reinforce or redefine the safety analyses' assumptions. The latter role enhances the operator effectiveness in the former three roles. The Safety Level Concept offers a different perspective that enables the operator to view his roles in nuclear plant safety. This paper outlines the operator's role in nuclear safety and classifies his tasks using the Safety Level Concept

Late Palaeozoic plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Zhuo

2017-09-11

Land plants are one of the major constituents of terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, and play an irreplaceable role in human activities today. If we are to understand the extant plants, it is imperative that we have some understanding of the fossil plants from the deep geological past, particularly those that occurred during their early evolutionary history, in the late Palaeozoic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards a reference plant trait ontology for modeling knowledge of plant traits and phenotypes

Science.gov (United States)

Ontology engineering and knowledge modeling for the plant sciences is expected to contribute to the understanding of the basis of plant traits that determine phenotypic expression in a given environment. Several crop- or clade-specific plant trait ontologies have been developed to describe plant tr...

Terrestrial plant methane production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard; Bruhn, Dan; Møller, Ian M.

We evaluate all experimental work published on the phenomenon of aerobic methane (CH4) generation in terrestrial plants. We conclude that the phenomenon is true. Four stimulating factors have been observed to induce aerobic plant CH4 production, i.e. cutting injuries, increasing temperature...... the aerobic methane emission in plants. Future work is needed for establishing the relative contribution of several proven potential CH4 precursors in plant material....

Accident prevention in power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyrer, H.

Large thermal power plants are insured to a great extent at the Industrial Injuries Insurance Institute of Instrument and Electric Engineering. Approximately 4800 employees are registered. The accident frequency according to an evaluation over 12 months lies around 79.8 per year and 1000 employees in fossil-fired power plants, around 34.1 per year and 1000 employees in nuclear power plants, as in nuclear power plants coal handling and ash removal are excluded. Injuries due to radiation were not registered. The crucial points of accidents are mechanical injuries received on solid, sharp-edged and pointed objects (fossil-fired power plants 28.6%, nuclear power plants 41.5%), stumbling, twisting or slipping (fossil-fired power plants 21.8%, nuclear power plants 19.5%) and injuries due to moving machine parts (only nuclear power plants 12.2%). However, accidents due to burns or scalds obtain with 4.2% and less a lower portion than expected. The accident statistics can explain this fact in a way that the typical power plant accident does not exist. (orig./GL) [de

Methodology and application of surrogate plant PRA analysis to the Rancho Seco Power Plant: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gore, B.F.; Huenefeld, J.C.

1987-07-01

This report presents the development and the first application of generic probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) information for identifying systems and components important to public risk at nuclear power plants lacking plant-specific PRAs. A methodology is presented for using the results of PRAs for similar (surrogate) plants, along with plant-specific information about the plant of interest and the surrogate plants, to infer important failure modes for systems of the plant of interest. This methodology, and the rationale on which it is based, is presented in the context of its application to the Rancho Seco plant. The Rancho Seco plant has been analyzed using PRA information from two surrogate plants. This analysis has been used to guide development of considerable plant-specific information about Rancho Seco systems and components important to minimizing public risk, which is also presented herein

Diverse urban plantings managed with sufficient resource availability can increase plant productivity and arthropod diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathon eMuller

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Buildings structures and surfaces are explicitly being used to grow plants, and these ‘urban plantings’ are typically designed for aesthetic value. Urban plantings also have the potential to contribute significant ‘ecological values’ by increasing urban habitat for animals such as arthropods and by increasing plant productivity. In this study, we evaluated how the provision of these additional ecological values is affected by plant species richness; the availability of essential resources for plants, such as water, light, space; and soil characteristics. We sampled 33 plantings located on the exterior of three buildings in the urban centre of Brisbane, Australia (subtropical climatic region over two, six week sampling periods characterised by different temperature and rainfall conditions. Plant cover was estimated as a surrogate for productivity as destructive sampling of biomass was not possible. We measured weekly light levels (photosynthetically active radiation, plant CO2 assimilation, soil CO2 efflux, and arthropod diversity.Differences in plant cover were best explained by a three-way interaction of plant species richness, management water regime and sampling period. As the richness of plant species increased in a planter, productivity and total arthropod richness also increased significantly - likely due to greater habitat heterogeneity and quality. Overall we found urban plantings can provide additional ecological values if essential resources are maintained within a planter such as water, light and soil temperature. Diverse urban plantings that are managed with these principles in mind can contribute to the attraction of diverse arthropod communities, and lead to increased plant productivity within a dense urban context.

Does plant-Microbe interaction confer stress tolerance in plants: A review?

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Akhilesh; Verma, Jay Prakash

2018-03-01

The biotic and abiotic stresses are major constraints for crop yield, food quality and global food security. A number of parameters such as physiological, biochemical, molecular of plants are affected under stress condition. Since the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture practices cause degradation of soil fertility and environmental pollutions. Hence it is necessary to develop safer and sustainable means for agriculture production. The application of plant growth promoting microbes (PGPM) and mycorrhizal fungi enhance plant growth, under such conditions. It offers an economically fascinating and ecologically sound ways for protecting plants against stress condition. PGPM may promote plant growth by regulating plant hormones, improve nutrition acquisition, siderophore production and enhance the antioxidant system. While acquired systemic resistance (ASR) and induced systemic resistance (ISR) effectively deal with biotic stress. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) enhance the supply of nutrients and water during stress condition and increase tolerance to stress. This plant-microbe interaction is vital for sustainable agriculture and industrial purpose, because it depends on biological processes and replaces conventional agriculture practices. Therefore, microbes may play a key role as an ecological engineer to solve environmental stress problems. So, it is a feasible and potential technology in future to feed global population at available resources with reduced impact on environmental quality. In this review, we have attempted to explore about abiotic and biotic stress tolerant beneficial microorganisms and their modes of action to enhance the sustainable agricultural production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The plant-window system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, R.T.; Mullens, J.A.; Naser, J.A.

1995-01-01

Power plant data, and the information that can be derived from it, provide the link to the plant through which the operations, maintenance and engineering staff understand and manage plant performance. The increasing use of computer technology in the U.S. nuclear power industry has greatly expanded the capability to obtain, analyze, and present data about the plant to station personnel. However, it is necessary to transform the vast quantity of available data into clear, concise, and coherent information that can be readily accessed and used throughout the plant. This need can be met by an integrated computer workstation environment that provides the necessary information and software applications, in a manner that can be easily understood and used, to the proper users throughout the plant. As part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Electric Power Research Institute, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed functional requirements for a Plant-Wide Integrated Environment Distributed On Workstations (Plant-Window) System. The Plant-Window System (PWS) can serve the needs of operations, engineering, and maintenance personnel at nuclear power stations by providing integrated data and software applications (e.g., monitoring, analysis, diagnosis, and control applications) within a common environment. The PWS requirements identify functional capabilities and provide guidelines for standardized hardware, software, and display interfaces to define a flexible computer environment that permits a tailored implementation of workstation capabilities and facilitates future upgrades

Plant state display device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadota, Kazuo; Ito, Toshiichiro.

1994-01-01

The device of the present invention conducts information processing suitable for a man to solve a problem in a plant such as a nuclear power plant incorporating a great amount of information, where safety is required and provides information to an operator. Namely, theories and rules with respect to the flow and balanced state of materials and energy upon plant start-up, and a vapor cycle of operation fluids are symbolized and displayed on the display screen of the device. Then, the display of the plant information suitable to the information processing for a man to dissolve problems is provided. Accordingly, a mechanism for analyzing a purpose of the plant is made more definite, thereby enabling to prevent an erroneous judgement of an operator and occurrence of plant troubles. In addition, a simular effect can also be expected when the theories and rules with respect to the flow and the balanced state of materials and energy and thermohydrodynamic behavior of the operation fluids in a state of after-heat removing operation during shutdown of the plant are symbolized and displayed. (I.S.)

Conditional sterility in plants

Science.gov (United States)

Meagher, Richard B.; McKinney, Elizabeth; Kim, Tehryung

2010-02-23

The present disclosure provides methods, recombinant DNA molecules, recombinant host cells containing the DNA molecules, and transgenic plant cells, plant tissue and plants which contain and express at least one antisense or interference RNA specific for a thiamine biosynthetic coding sequence or a thiamine binding protein or a thiamine-degrading protein, wherein the RNA or thiamine binding protein is expressed under the regulatory control of a transcription regulatory sequence which directs expression in male and/or female reproductive tissue. These transgenic plants are conditionally sterile; i.e., they are fertile only in the presence of exogenous thiamine. Such plants are especially appropriate for use in the seed industry or in the environment, for example, for use in revegetation of contaminated soils or phytoremediation, especially when those transgenic plants also contain and express one or more chimeric genes which confer resistance to contaminants.

Plant status monitor system description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prather, W.A.; Sly, G.A.

1987-01-01

In today's regulatory and financial environment, improving plant efficiency and safety are necessary elements of plant operations. Public utility commissions are making rate rulings based, in part, on plant availability performance; and the NRC is putting more emphasis on plant operational aspects. This comes at a time when operating, maintaining, and managing a plant are becoming increasingly complex; moreover, the desired number of experienced plant personnel are becoming more difficult to find. This situation can be partially resolved by using computer software tools to assist operations, maintenance, engineering, and management personnel. These software tools provide information and interpretations based on plant and equipment status. They support improved plant availability, technical specification compliance, and administrative functions. A key element or computerization is the ability to operate on integrated information

Building of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Takashi.

1997-01-01

A first nuclear plant and a second nuclear power plant are disposed in adjacent with each other in a building for a nuclear reactor. A reactor container is disposed in each of the plants, and each reactor container is surrounded by a second containing facility. A repairing chamber capable of communicating with the secondary containing facilities for both of the secondary containing facilities is disposed being in contact with the second containing facility of each plant for repairing control rod driving mechanisms or reactor incorporated-type recycling pumps. Namely, the repairing chamber is in adjacent with the reactor containers of both plants, and situated between both of the plants as a repairing chamber to be used in common for both plants. Air tight inlet/exit doors are formed to the inlets/exits of both plants of the repairing chamber. Space for the repairing chamber can be reduced to about one half compared with a case where the repairing chamber is formed independently on each plant. (I.N.)

Plant Breeding Goes Microbial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, Zhong; Jousset, Alexandre

Plant breeding has traditionally improved traits encoded in the plant genome. Here we propose an alternative framework reaching novel phenotypes by modifying together genomic information and plant-associated microbiota. This concept is made possible by a novel technology that enables the

Native Plants and Seeds, Oh My! Fifth Graders Explore an Unfamiliar Subject While Learning Plant Basics

Science.gov (United States)

Pauley, Lauren; Weege, Kendra; Koomen, Michele Hollingsworth

2016-01-01

Native plants are not typically the kinds of plants that are used in elementary classroom studies of plant biology. More commonly, students sprout beans or investigate with fast plants. At the time the authors started their plant unit (November), the school-yard garden had an abundance of native plants that had just started seeding, including…

Selenium accumulation by plants.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Philip J

2016-02-01

Selenium (Se) is an essential mineral element for animals and humans, which they acquire largely from plants. The Se concentration in edible plants is determined by the Se phytoavailability in soils. Selenium is not an essential element for plants, but excessive Se can be toxic. Thus, soil Se phytoavailability determines the ecology of plants. Most plants cannot grow on seleniferous soils. Most plants that grow on seleniferous soils accumulate plant species have evolved tolerance to Se, and commonly accumulate tissue Se concentrations >100 mg Se kg(-1) dry matter. These plants are considered to be Se accumulators. Some species can even accumulate Se concentrations of 1000-15 000 mg Se kg(-1 )dry matter and are called Se hyperaccumulators. This article provides an overview of Se uptake, translocation and metabolism in plants and highlights the possible genetic basis of differences in these between and within plant species. The review focuses initially on adaptations allowing plants to tolerate large Se concentrations in their tissues and the evolutionary origin of species that hyperaccumulate Se. It then describes the variation in tissue Se concentrations between and within angiosperm species and identifies genes encoding enzymes limiting the rates of incorporation of Se into organic compounds and chromosomal loci that might enable the development of crops with greater Se concentrations in their edible portions. Finally, it discusses transgenic approaches enabling plants to tolerate greater Se concentrations in the rhizosphere and in their tissues. The trait of Se hyperaccumulation has evolved several times in separate angiosperm clades. The ability to tolerate large tissue Se concentrations is primarily related to the ability to divert Se away from the accumulation of selenocysteine and selenomethionine, which might be incorporated into non-functional proteins, through the synthesis of less toxic Se metabilites. There is potential to breed or select crops

Plants under dual attack

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ponzio, C.A.M.

2016-01-01

Though immobile, plants are members of complex environments, and are under constant threat from a wide range of attackers, which includes organisms such as insect herbivores or plant pathogens. Plants have developed sophisticated defenses against these attackers, and include chemical responses

Selenium accumulation by plants

Science.gov (United States)

White, Philip J.

2016-01-01

Background Selenium (Se) is an essential mineral element for animals and humans, which they acquire largely from plants. The Se concentration in edible plants is determined by the Se phytoavailability in soils. Selenium is not an essential element for plants, but excessive Se can be toxic. Thus, soil Se phytoavailability determines the ecology of plants. Most plants cannot grow on seleniferous soils. Most plants that grow on seleniferous soils accumulate 100 mg Se kg–1 dry matter. These plants are considered to be Se accumulators. Some species can even accumulate Se concentrations of 1000–15 000 mg Se kg–1 dry matter and are called Se hyperaccumulators. Scope This article provides an overview of Se uptake, translocation and metabolism in plants and highlights the possible genetic basis of differences in these between and within plant species. The review focuses initially on adaptations allowing plants to tolerate large Se concentrations in their tissues and the evolutionary origin of species that hyperaccumulate Se. It then describes the variation in tissue Se concentrations between and within angiosperm species and identifies genes encoding enzymes limiting the rates of incorporation of Se into organic compounds and chromosomal loci that might enable the development of crops with greater Se concentrations in their edible portions. Finally, it discusses transgenic approaches enabling plants to tolerate greater Se concentrations in the rhizosphere and in their tissues. Conclusions The trait of Se hyperaccumulation has evolved several times in separate angiosperm clades. The ability to tolerate large tissue Se concentrations is primarily related to the ability to divert Se away from the accumulation of selenocysteine and selenomethionine, which might be incorporated into non-functional proteins, through the synthesis of less toxic Se metabilites. There is potential to breed or select crops with greater Se concentrations in their edible tissues, which

Reprocessing plants safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, A.G.; Leighton, C.; Millington, D.

1989-01-01

The reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) Sellafield site consists of a number of relatively self-contained activities carried out in separate plants across the site. The physical conditions and time scales applied in reprocessing and storage make it relatively benign. The potential for minor releases of radioactivity under fault conditioning is minimised by plant design definition of control procedures, training and supervision. The risks to both the general public and workforce are shown to be low with all the safety criteria being met. Normal operating conditions also have the potential for some occupational radiation exposure and the plant and workers are monitored continuously. Exposure levels have been reduced steadily and will continue to fall with plant improvements. (U.K.)

Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta and their interaction with susceptible and resistant host plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina eKaiser

2015-02-01

Full Text Available By comparison with plant-microbe interaction, little is known about the interaction of parasitic plants with their hosts. Plants of the genus Cuscuta belong to the family of Cuscutaceae and comprise about 200 species, all of which live as stem holoparasites on other plants. Cuscuta spp. possess no roots nor fully expanded leaves and the vegetative portion appears to be a stem only. The parasite winds around plants and penetrates the host stems via haustoria, forming direct connections to the vascular bundles of their hosts to withdraw water, carbohydrates and other solutes. Besides susceptible hosts, a few plants exist that exhibit an active resistance against infestation by Cuscuta spp. For example, cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum fends off Cuscuta reflexa by means of a hypersensitive-type response occurring in the early penetration phase. This report on the plant-plant dialogue between Cuscuta spp. and its host plants focuses on the incompatible interaction of Cuscuta reflexa with tomato.

Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta and their interaction with susceptible and resistant host plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Bettina; Vogg, Gerd; Fürst, Ursula B; Albert, Markus

2015-01-01

By comparison with plant-microbe interaction, little is known about the interaction of parasitic plants with their hosts. Plants of the genus Cuscuta belong to the family of Cuscutaceae and comprise about 200 species, all of which live as stem holoparasites on other plants. Cuscuta spp. possess no roots nor fully expanded leaves and the vegetative portion appears to be a stem only. The parasite winds around plants and penetrates the host stems via haustoria, forming direct connections to the vascular bundles of their hosts to withdraw water, carbohydrates, and other solutes. Besides susceptible hosts, a few plants exist that exhibit an active resistance against infestation by Cuscuta spp. For example, cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fends off Cuscuta reflexa by means of a hypersensitive-type response occurring in the early penetration phase. This report on the plant-plant dialog between Cuscuta spp. and its host plants focuses on the incompatible interaction of C. reflexa with tomato.

Development of hot water utilizing power plant in fiscal 1998. Development of a binary cycle power generation plant (development of a 10-MW class plant); 1998 nendo nessui riyo hatsuden plant nado kaihatsu. Binary cycle hatsuden plant no kaihatsu (10MW kyu plant no kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

This paper summarizes the achievements in fiscal 1998 on developing a 10-MW geothermal power plant in the Hohi-Sugawara area being a representative area of middle-to-high temperature hot water resources. In designing the plant, domestic and overseas surveys were carried out on media suitable for binary cycle power plants, thermal cycle characteristics, construction cost, environmental effects, safety, operation, maintenance and control. Latest technologies were also surveyed and analyzed. The plant construction performed development construction around the testing devices, new construction of a plant control room building, constructions for installing electrical machines including the hot water system testing devices, river water intake facility construction, and cooling water intake facility installing construction. The environmental effect investigation included investigations on rain falls, river flow rates, hot springs, spring water, monitoring during the construction, and the state of transplantation of precious plants, and observation on groundwater variation. In verifying the geothermal water pumping system, factory tests were carried out on DHP3 demonstration machine which couples the pump section of a down-hole pump with the motor section, whose performance and functions were verified. (NEDO)

Individual plant examination: Submittal guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-08-01

Based on a Policy Statement on Severe Accidents Regarding Future Designs and Existing Plants, the performance of a plant examination is requested from the licensee of each nuclear power plant. The plant examination looks for vulnerabilities to severe accidents and cost-effective safety improvements that reduce or eliminate the important vulnerabilities. This document delineates guidance for reporting the results of that plant examination. 38 refs., 2 tabs

Towards plant wires

OpenAIRE

Adamatzky, Andrew

2014-01-01

In experimental laboratory studies we evaluate a possibility of making electrical wires from living plants. In scoping experiments we use lettuce seedlings as a prototype model of a plant wire. We approximate an electrical potential transfer function by applying direct current voltage to the lettuce seedlings and recording output voltage. We analyse oscillation frequencies of the output potential and assess noise immunity of the plant wires. Our findings will be used in future designs of self...

Plant Materials are Sustainable Substrates Supporting New Technologies of Plant-Only-Based Culture Media for in vitro Culturing of the Plant Microbiota.

Science.gov (United States)

Mourad, Elhussein F; Sarhan, Mohamed S; Daanaa, Hassan-Sibroe A; Abdou, Mennatullah; Morsi, Ahmed T; Abdelfadeel, Mohamed R; Elsawey, Hend; Nemr, Rahma; El-Tahan, Mahmoud; Hamza, Mervat A; Abbas, Mohamed; Youssef, Hanan H; Abdelhadi, Abdelhadi A; Amer, Wafaa M; Fayez, Mohamed; Ruppel, Silke; Hegazi, Nabil A

2018-03-29

In order to improve the culturability and biomass production of rhizobacteria, we previously introduced plant-only-based culture media. We herein attempted to widen the scope of plant materials suitable for the preparation of plant-only-based culture media. We chemically analyzed the refuse of turfgrass, cactus, and clover. They were sufficiently rich to support good in vitro growth by rhizobacteria isolates representing Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. They were also adequate and efficient to produce a cell biomass in liquid batch cultures. These culture media were as sufficient as artificial culture media for the cultivation and recovery of the in situ rhizobacteria of barley (Hordeum murinum L.). Based on culture-dependent (CFU plate counting) and culture-independent analyses (qPCR), mowed turfgrass, in particular, supported the highest culturable population of barley endophytes, representing >16% of the total bacterial number quantified with qPCR. This accurately reflected the endophytic community composition, in terms of diversity indices (S', H', and D') based on PCR-DGGE, and clustered the plant culture media together with the qPCR root populations away from the artificial culture media. Despite the promiscuous nature of the plant materials tested to culture the plant microbiome, our results indicated that plant materials of a homologous nature to the tested host plant, at least at the family level, and/or of the same environment were more likely to be selected. Plant-only-based culture media require further refinements in order to provide selectivity for the in vitro growth of members of the plant microbiome, particularly difficult-to-culture bacteria. This will provide insights into their hidden roles in the environment and support future culturomic studies.

Functional diversity of microbial decomposers facilitates plant coexistence in a plant-microbe-soil feedback model.

Science.gov (United States)

Miki, Takeshi; Ushio, Masayuki; Fukui, Shin; Kondoh, Michio

2010-08-10

Theory and empirical evidence suggest that plant-soil feedback (PSF) determines the structure of a plant community and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. The plant community alters the nutrient pool size in soil by affecting litter decomposition processes, which in turn shapes the plant community, forming a PSF system. However, the role of microbial decomposers in PSF function is often overlooked, and it remains unclear whether decomposers reinforce or weaken litter-mediated plant control over nutrient cycling. Here, we present a theoretical model incorporating the functional diversity of both plants and microbial decomposers. Two fundamental microbial processes are included that control nutrient mineralization from plant litter: (i) assimilation of mineralized nutrient into the microbial biomass (microbial immobilization), and (ii) release of the microbial nutrients into the inorganic nutrient pool (net mineralization). With this model, we show that microbial diversity may act as a buffer that weakens plant control over the soil nutrient pool, reversing the sign of PSF from positive to negative and facilitating plant coexistence. This is explained by the decoupling of litter decomposability and nutrient pool size arising from a flexible change in the microbial community composition and decomposition processes in response to variations in plant litter decomposability. Our results suggest that the microbial community plays a central role in PSF function and the plant community structure. Furthermore, the results strongly imply that the plant-centered view of nutrient cycling should be changed to a plant-microbe-soil feedback system, by incorporating the community ecology of microbial decomposers and their functional diversity.

Beaver herbivory on aquatic plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, John D; Caudill, Christopher C; Hay, Mark E

2007-04-01

Herbivores have strong impacts on marine and terrestrial plant communities, but their impact is less well studied in benthic freshwater systems. For example, North American beavers (Castor canadensis) eat both woody and non-woody plants and focus almost exclusively on the latter in summer months, yet their impacts on non-woody plants are generally attributed to ecosystem engineering rather than herbivory. Here, we excluded beavers from areas of two beaver wetlands for over 2 years and demonstrated that beaver herbivory reduced aquatic plant biomass by 60%, plant litter by 75%, and dramatically shifted plant species composition. The perennial forb lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus) comprised less than 5% of plant biomass in areas open to beaver grazing but greater than 50% of plant biomass in beaver exclusions. This shift was likely due to direct herbivory, as beavers preferentially consumed lizard's tail over other plants in a field feeding assay. Beaver herbivory also reduced the abundance of the invasive aquatic plant Myriophyllum aquaticum by nearly 90%, consistent with recent evidence that native generalist herbivores provide biotic resistance against exotic plant invasions. Beaver herbivory also had indirect effects on plant interactions in this community. The palatable plant lizard's tail was 3 times more frequent and 10 times more abundant inside woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) tussocks than in spatially paired locations lacking tussocks. When the protective foliage of the woolgrass was removed without exclusion cages, beavers consumed nearly half of the lizard's tail leaves within 2 weeks. In contrast, leaf abundance increased by 73-93% in the treatments retaining woolgrass or protected by a cage. Thus, woolgrass tussocks were as effective as cages at excluding beaver foraging and provided lizard's tail plants an associational refuge from beaver herbivory. These results suggest that beaver herbivory has strong direct and indirect impacts on populations and

Plant critical concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Regan, P.J.

1995-01-01

The achievement of operation and maintenance (O ampersand M) cost reductions is a prime concern for plant operators. Initiatives by the nuclear industry to address this concern are under way and/or in development. These efforts include plant reliability studies, reliability-centered maintenance, risk ranking and testing philosophies, performance-based testing philosophies, graded quality assurance, and so forth. This paper presents the results of an effort to develop a methodology that integrates and applies the common data and analysis requirements for a number of risk-based and performance-based initiatives. This initial phase of the effort applied the methodology and its results to two initiatives. These were the procurement function and the preventive maintenance function. This effort integrated multiple programs and functions to identify those components that are truly critical from an integrated plant performance perspective. The paper describes the scope of the effort, the development of a methodology to identify plant critical components, and the application of these results to the maintenance rule compliance, preventive maintenance, and procurement functions at the candidate plant