Asymptotic Behaviour of Colength of Varieties of Lie Algebras

This project was partially supported by RFBR, grants 99-01-00233, 98-01-01020 and 00-15-96128.

A Characterization of Varieties of Associative Algebras of Exponent two

∗The first author was partially supported by MURST of Italy; the second author was par- tially supported by RFFI grant 99-01-00233.

M-Solid Subvarieties of some Varieties of Commutative Semigroups

∗ The research of the author was supported by the Alexander v. Humboldt-Stiftung.

Growth of some varieties of Leibniz-Poisson algebras

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 17A32, 17B63.

A „kivonulás, tiltakozás, hűség” koncepció és a „kapitalizmus változatai” elmélet közti kapcsolat (The connection between the ‘Exit, Voice, and Loyalty’ conception and the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ theory)

Tanulmányunkban az Albert 0. Hirschman által kialakított „kivonulás, tiltakozás, hűség” koncepció metaelméleti felhasználásával a „kapitalizmus változatai” elméletet vesszük bírálat alá. Egyrészt arra mutatunk rá, hogy már a különböző piacgazdasági modellek tipologizálásához használt vállalatelméleti dimenziójú elemzések is építkeznek a Hirschman-trilemmából, másrészt arra hívjuk fel a figyelmet, hogy olyan sajátos eszközről van szó, amely a tőke- és munkaerő-piaci folyamatok elemzésére támaszkodva új perspektívát is kínál a kapitalista gazdaságok komparatív vizsgálatához. A dolgozat terjedelmi okokból az empirikus kutatásokat megalapozó elméleti alapozásra szorítkozik. ____ In our study we deal with the critical analysis of the “varieties of capitalism” theory by using the “exit, voice, and loyalty” meta-theory invented by Albert O. Hirschman. The paper emphasizes that on the one hand the analyses of the theory of the firm and business used for the classification of distinct market models are also building upon the “Hirschman trilemma”, and on the other hand, it draws attention to the fact that the Hirschmanian method based on labor market and capital market offers a new perspective for the comparative analysis of capitalist economies. The focus of the article is only the theoretical foundation of empirical studies as a result of limitation of scope.

Molecular phylogenetics of the palm tribe Geonomeae, and differentiation of Geonoma macrostachys western Amazonian varieties

Phylogenetic analyses were performed on six genera and 46 species of the Neotropical palm tribe Geonomeae. The analyses were based on two low copy nuclear DNA sequences from the genes encoding phosphoribulokinase and RNA polymerase II. The basal node of the tribe was polytomous. Pholidostachys formed a monophyletic group. The currently accepted genera Calyptronoma and Calyptrogyne formed a well-supported clade with Calyptronoma resolved as paraphyletic to Calyptrogyne. Geonoma formed a strongly supported monophyletic group consisting of two main clades. ^ An evaluation of the genetic distinctness between Geonoma macrostachys varieties at a local and regional scale using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers was performed. Clustering, ordination, and AMOVA suggested a lack of genetic distinctness between varieties at the regional level. A hierarchical AMOVA revealed that the genetic diversity mainly lies among the four localities sampled. A significant genetic differentiation between sympatric varieties occurred in one locality only. The current taxonomy of G. macrostachys, which recognizes only one species, was therefore supported. ^ The preferred habitat of sympatric G. macrostachys varieties with respect to edaphic, topographic, and light factors in three Peruvian lowland forests was studied. The two varieties were mostly encountered in different physiographically defined habitats, with variety acaulis occurring more often in floodplain forest and variety macrostachys in the tierra firme. Comparison of means tests revealed that nine to eleven of the 16 environmental variables were significantly different between varieties. Edaphic factors, mainly soil texture and K content, were better contributors than light conditions to distinguish the habitats occupied by the two varieties in all three study sites. It is concluded that habitat differentiation plays a role in the coexistence of these closely related species taxa. ^

Improving income and livelihood of poor farming household in Bangladesh through adoption of improved aquaculture technologies and varieties

Fish are an important part of Bangladeshi culture and diet. Bangladesh ranks among the top five freshwater fish producers in the world. Fish are abundant in the thousands of rivers, ponds, lakes and seasonal floodplains across the country. They are a major source of protein for people living near these water bodies. In Bangladesh, many households depend on fish farming for their livelihood. By growing fish in homestead ponds, households have a consistent supply of nutritious fish and can sell the surplus for an income. The USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) aimed to increase the income of farming households through increased productivity of aquaculture systems. Key activities of the project included developing and disseminating appropriate improved agricultural technology and quality fish seeds to improve livelihoods, food security and nutrition.

Transcriptomic comparison between two Vitis vinifera L. varieties (Trincadeira and Touriga Nacional) in abiotic stress conditions

Predicted climate changes announce an increase of extreme environmental conditions including drought and excessive heat and light in classical viticultural regions. Thus, understanding how grapevine responds to these conditions and how different genotypes can adapt, is crucial for informed decisions on accurate viticultural actions. Global transcriptome analyses are useful for this purpose as the response to these abiotic stresses involves the interplay of complex and diverse cascades of physiological, cellular and molecular events. The main goal of the present work was to evaluate the response to diverse imposed abiotic stresses at the transcriptome level and to compare the response of two grapevine varieties with contrasting physiological trends, Trincadeira (TR) and Touriga Nacional (TN).

Effect of ambient levels of ozone on photosynthetic components and radical scavenging system in leaves of African cowpea varieties

Tropospheric ozone (O3), a main component of photochemical oxidants, adversely affects not only human health but also vegetation. To clarify the long-term effects of ambient levels of tropospheric ozone (O3) on photosynthetic components and radical scavenging system in the leaves of cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.), two African varieties, Blackeye and Asontem, were grown in open-top chambers and exposed to filtered air (FA), non-filtered air (NF) or non-filtered air with additional O3 of approximately 50 nl l-1. Ambient levels of O3 significantly reduced chlorophyll concentration, quantum yield and activity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), thus contributing to the reduction in net photosynthetic rate at the reproductive growth stage of both varieties; with no significant variety difference in the sensitivity to O3. The O3-induced significant reduction in catalase activity was observed in Blackeye at vegetative and reproductive growth stages; and in Asontem at reproductive growth stage. On the other hand, exposure to O3 significantly increased ascorbate peroxidase activity in Blackeye at reproductive stage and did not significantly affect that in Blackeye at vegetative growth stage and that in Asontem at both growth stages. At reproductive growth stage, activities of monodehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase were significantly increased by the exposure to O3 in both varieties. The results obtained in this study suggest that, although ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase played important roles in scavenging O3-induced reactive oxygen species in the leaves, radical scavenging ability of these enzymes is not sufficient to avoid detrimental effects of ambient levels of O3 on photosynthesis in both African cowpea varieties.

GENETIC EVALUATION OF SEED TRAITS FROM INTRASPECIFIC CROSSING OF GENETICALLY DISTINCT WATERMELON VARIETIES

Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura and Nakai (Cucurbitaceae) is an important cucurbit crop worldwide. Global production of watermelon is about 90 million metric tonnes per annum, making it among the top five most consumed fresh fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate seed variability in different segregating populations, and determine heritability of traits of watermelon. Interspecific crosses were made between two cultivars of C. lanatus (Bebu and Wlêwlê Small Seeds (WSS) were performed at Research Station of Nangui Abrogoua University in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. There was wide variability between parental, F1, BC1 (first generation of back-crossing) and F2 seeds. Seeds of all hybrid populations were intermediate versus those of the parents. Also, crossing did not affect F1 and F2 seed characters, but affected those of BC1 because of maternal effects. Thus, back-crossing on Bebu cultivar produced seeds which looked like those of Bebu; while back-crossing on WSS cultivar produced seeds similar to those of WSS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and individuals repartitioning revealed that Bebu and WSS cultivars were genetically distinct and showed three main groups: two groups from each parental line and one from a recombinant line (hybrids). F2 population had a wide individual’s dispersion, and contained seeds of all other populations. High heritability was observed for all evaluated characters.

FIELD TOLERANCE OF SELECTED VARIETIES TO AND FUNGICIDE EFFICACY AGAINST ALTERNARIA BLIGHT OF SWEET POTATO

Alternaria blight (AB) of sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L. ), caused by Alternaria spp., was recently reported in South Africa, but is common in southern and eastern Africa. Elsewhere in the world, AB is controlled primarily using resistant varieties. Twenty-five sweet potato varieties/breeding lines, from different origins were assessed for tolerance to AB. The materials were planted in fields having a history of AB disease and rated for tolerance based on a General Disease Index (GDI), with the lowest scores representing tolerance, and the higher scores representing susceptibility. Variety 199062-1 had the lowest GDI value, and was the most tolerant to AB; while W119 had the highest GDI value and was the most susceptible to the disease. Other varieties/breeding lines showed a variation in GDI values between most tolerant and most susceptible. Among the fungicides tested under field conditions, the mixture azoxystrobin-difenoconazole was the most effective in reducing AB intensity. Fungicides pyraclostrobin-boscalid, unizeb, azoxystrobin-chlorothalonil and cymoxanil-mancozeb were also effective against the disease.

SSR genetic diversity assessment of popular pigeonpea varieties in Malawi reveals unique fingerprints

Background: Pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is a drought tolerant legume of the Fabaceae family and the only cultivated species in the genus Cajanus. It is mainly cultivated in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Oceania, Africa and America. In Malawi, it is grown as a source of food and income and for soil improvement in intercropping systems. However, varietal contamination due to natural outcrossing causes significant quality reduction and yield losses. In this study, 48 polymorphic SSR markers were used to assess the diversity among all pigeonpea varieties cultivated in Malawi to determine if a genetic fingerprint could be identified to distinguish the popular varieties. Results: A total of 212 alleles were observed with an average of 5.58 alleles per marker and a maximum of 14 alleles produced by CCttc019 (Marker 40). Polymorphic information content (PIC), ranged from 0.03 to 0.89 with an average of 0.30. A neighbor-joining tree produced 4 clusters. The most commonly cultivated varieties, which include released varieties and cultivated land races, were well-spread across all the clusters observed, indicating that they generally represented the genetic diversity available in Malawi, although substantial variation was evident that can still be exploited through further breeding. Conclusion: Screening of the allelic data associated with the five most popular cultivated varieties, revealed 6 markers – CCB1, CCB7, Ccac035, CCttc003, Ccac026 and CCttc019 – which displayed unique allelic profiles for each of the five varieties. This genetic fingerprint can potentially be applied for seed certification to confirm the genetic purity of seeds that are delivered to Malawi farmers.

HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis of phenolic compounds in four tomato varieties and evaluation of the antioxidant capacity

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is the second most important vegetable crop worldwide and a key component in the so-called “Mediterranean diet”. In the Northeastern region of Portugal, local populations still prefer to consume traditional tomato varieties which they find very tasty and healthy, as they are grown using extensive farming techniques. A previous study of our research team described the nutritional value of the round (batateiro), long (comprido), heart (coração) and yellow (amarelo) tomato varieties [1], but the phenolic profile was unknown until now. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the phenolic profiles of these four tomato farmers’ varieties by using HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS and evaluate its antioxidant capacity through four in vitro assays based on different reaction mechanisms. A cis p-coumaric acid derivative was the most abundant compound in yellow and round tomato varieties, while 4-O-caffeolyquinic acid was the most abundant in long and heart varieties. The most abundant flavonoid was quercetin pentosylrutinoside in the four tomato varieties. Yellow tomato presented the highest levels of phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, but the lowest antioxidant activity. In turn, the round tomato gave the best results in all the antioxidant activity assays. This study demonstrated that these tomato farmers’ varieties are a source of phenolic compounds, mainly phenolic acid derivatives [2], and possess high antioxidant capacity [1]; being thus key elements in the diet to prevent chronic degenerative diseases associated to oxidative stress, such as cancer and coronary artery disease.