Fingerprinting environmental conditions and related stress using stable isotopic composition of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain organic matter

Sea level rise (SLR) is a primary factor responsible for inundation of low-lying coastal regions across the world, which in turn governs the agricultural productivity. In this study, rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated seasonally in the Kuttanad Wetland, a SLR prone region on the southwest coast of India, were analysed for oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotopic ratios (delta O-18, delta H-2 and delta C-13) to distinguish the seasonal environmental conditions prevalent during rice cultivation. The region receives high rainfall during the wet season which promotes large supply of fresh water to the local water bodies via the rivers. In contrast, during the dry season reduced river discharge favours sea water incursion which adversely affects the rice cultivation. The water for rice cultivation is derived from regional water bodies that are characterised by seasonal salinity variation which co-varies with the delta O-18 and delta H-2 values. Rice cultivated during the wet and the dry season bears the isotopic imprints of this water. We explored the utility of a mechanistic model to quantify the contribution of two prominent factors, namely relative humidity and source water composition in governing the seasonal variation in oxygen isotopic composition of rice grain OM. delta C-13 values of rice grain OM were used to deduce the stress level by estimating the intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) of the crop during the two seasons. 1.3 times higher WUE, was exhibited by the same genotype during the dry season. The approach can be extended to other low lying coastal agro-ecosystems to infer the growth conditions of cultivated crops and can further be utilised for retrieving paleo-environmental information from well preserved archaeological plant remains. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The cis-Diammineplatinum(II) Complex of Curcumin: A Dual Action DNA Crosslinking and Photochemotherapeutic Agent

Pt(cur)(NH3)(2)](NO3) (1), a curcumin-bound cis-diammineplatinum(II) complex, nicknamed Platicur, as a novel photoactivated chemotherapeutic agent releases photoactive curcumin and an active platinum(II) species upon irradiation with visible light. The hydrolytic instability of free curcumin reduces upon binding to platinum(II). Interactions of 1 with 5'-GMP and ct-DNA indicated formation of platinum-bound DNA adducts upon exposure to visible light (lambda = 400-700 nm). It showed apoptotic photocytotoxicity in cancer cells (IC50 approximate to 15 mu M), thus forming (OH)-O-center dot, while remaining passive in the darkness (IC50 > 200 mu M). A comet assay and platinum estimation suggest Pt-DNA crosslink formation. The fluorescence microscopic images showed cytosolic localization of curcumin, thus implying possibility of dual action as a chemo-and phototherapeutic agent.

Complex patterns arise through spontaneous symmetry breaking in dense homogeneous networks of neural oscillators

There has been much interest in understanding collective dynamics in networks of brain regions due to their role in behavior and cognitive function. Here we show that a simple, homogeneous system of densely connected oscillators, representing the aggregate activity of local brain regions, can exhibit a rich variety of dynamical patterns emerging via spontaneous breaking of permutation or translational symmetries. Upon removing just a few connections, we observe a striking departure from the mean-field limit in terms of the collective dynamics, which implies that the sparsity of these networks may have very important consequences. Our results suggest that the origins of some of the complicated activity patterns seen in the brain may be understood even with simple connection topologies.

COMPLEX GEODESICS, THEIR BOUNDARY REGULARITY, AND A HARDY-LITTLEWOOD-TYPE LEMMA

We begin by giving an example of a smoothly bounded convex domain that has complex geodesics that do not extend continuously up to partial derivative D. This example suggests that continuity at the boundary of the complex geodesics of a convex domain Omega (sic) C-n, n >= 2, is affected by the extent to which partial derivative Omega curves or bends at each boundary point. We provide a sufficient condition to this effect (on C-1-smoothly bounded convex domains), which admits domains having boundary points at which the boundary is infinitely flat. Along the way, we establish a Hardy-Littlewood-type lemma that might be of independent interest.

Trans-dichlorooxovandium (IV) complex as a novel photoinducible DNA interstrand crosslinker for cancer therapy

Although DNA interstrand crosslinking (ICL) agents such as mitomycin C, cisplatin and psoralen serve as potent anticancer drugs, these agents are known to have dose-limiting toxic effects on normal cells. Moreover, tumor resistance to these agents has been reported. Here, we show that trans-dichlorooxovanadium (IV) complex of pyrenyl terpyridine (VDC) is a novel photoinducible DNA crosslinking agent. By a combination of in vitro and ex vivo experiments including plasmid-based assays, we find that VDC forms monoadducts on the DNA and can be activated by UV-A and visible light to generate DNA interstrand crosslinks. VDC efficiently activates Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway of DNA interstrand crosslink repair. Strikingly, photoinduction of VDC induces prolonged activation of cell cycle checkpoint and a high degree of cell death in homologous recombination (HR)/ICL repair defective cells. Moreover, VDC specifically targets cells that express pathological RAD51C mutants. These data imply that VDC can be potentially used for cancer therapy and suggest that tumors arising in patients with gene mutations in FA and HR repair pathway can be specifically targeted by a photoactivatable VDC.

Mitochondrial selectivity and remarkable photocytotoxicity of a ferrocenyl neodymium(III) complex of terpyridine and curcumin in cancer cells

A series of four novel neodymium(III) complexes of the formulation Nd(R-tpy)(O-O)(NO3)(2)] (1-4), where R-tpy is 4'-phenyl-2,2': 6', 2''-terpyridine (Ph-tpy; 1, 2) and 4'-ferrocenyl-2,2': 6', 2''-terpyridine (Fc-tpy; 3, 4); O-O is the conjugate base of acetylacetone (Hacac; 1, 3) or curcumin (Hcurc; 2, 4), are synthesized and characterized. The single crystal structure of 1 shows that the complex is a discrete mononuclear species with the Nd(III) centre in a nine coordinate environment provided by a set of O6N3 donor atoms. Complexes 1 and 3 having the simple acac ligand are prepared as control compounds. Complex 4, possessing an appended ferrocenyl (Fc) and the curcumin moiety, is remarkably photocytotoxic to HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cells in visible light giving respective IC50 values of 0.7 mu M and 2.1 mu M while being significantly less toxic to MCF-10A normal cells (IC50 = 34 mu M) and in the dark (IC50 > 50 mu M). The phenyl appended complex 2, lacking a ferrocenyl moiety, is significantly less toxic to both the cell lines when compared with 4. Complexes 1 and 3, lacking the photoactive curcumin moiety, do not show any apparent toxicity both in light and in the dark. The cell death is apoptotic in nature and is mediated by the light-induced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Fluorescence imaging experiment with HeLa cells reveals mitochondrial accumulation of complex 4 within 4 h of incubation. The complexes bind to calf thymus (ct) DNA with moderate affinity giving K-b values in the range of 10(4)-10(5) M-1. The curcumin complexes 2 and 4 cleave plasmid supercoiled DNA to its nicked circular form in visible light via O-1(2) and (OH)-O-center dot pathways. The presence of the ferrocenyl moiety is likely to be responsible for the enhanced cellular uptake and photocytotoxicity of complex 4. Thus, the mitochondria targeting complex 4, being remarkably cytotoxic in light but non-toxic in the dark and to normal cells, is a potential candidate for photochemotherapeutic applications.

Complex potentials and singular integral equation for curve crack problem in antiplane elasticity

Four types of the fundamental complex potential in antiplane elasticity are introduced: (a) a point dislocation, (b) a concentrated force, (c) a dislocation doublet and (d) a concentrated force doublet. It is proven that if the axis of the concentrated force doublet is perpendicular to the direction of the dislocation doublet, the relevant complex potentials are equivalent. Using the obtained complex potentials, a singular integral equation for the curve crack problem is introduced. Some particular features of the obtained singular integral equation are discussed, and numerical solutions and examples are given.

Large Eddy Simulation of Complex Turbulent Flows: Physical Aspects and Research Trends

In the current paper, we have primarily addressed one powerful simulation tool developed during the last decades-Large Eddy Simulation (LES), which is most suitable for unsteady three-dimensional complex turbulent flows in industry and natural environment. The main point in LES is that the large-scale motion is resolved while the small-scale motion is modeled or, in geophysical terminology, parameterized. With a view to devising a subgrid-scale(SGS) model of high quality, we have highlighted analyzing physical aspects in scale interaction and-energy transfer such as dissipation, backscatter, local and non-local interaction, anisotropy and resolution requirement. They are the factors responsible for where the advantages and disadvantages in existing SGS models come from. A case study on LES of turbulence in vegetative canopy is presented to illustrate that LES model is more based on physical arguments. Then, varieties of challenging complex turbulent flows in both industry and geophysical fields in the near future-are presented. In conclusion; we may say with confidence that new century shall see the flourish in the research of turbulence with the aid of LES combined with other approaches.

Copper homeostasis in Salmonella is atypical and copper-CueP is a major periplasmic metal complex.

Salmonella enterica sv. typhimurium (S. enterica sv. Typhimurium) has two metal-transporting P(1)-type ATPases whose actions largely overlap with respect to growth in elevated copper. Mutants lacking both ATPases over-accumulate copper relative to wild-type or either single mutant. Such duplication of ATPases is unusual in bacterial copper tolerance. Both ATPases are under the control of MerR family metal-responsive transcriptional activators. Analyses of periplasmic copper complexes identified copper-CueP as one of the predominant metal pools. Expression of cueP was recently shown to be controlled by the same metal-responsive activator as one of the P(1)-type ATPase genes (copA), and copper-CueP is a further atypical feature of copper homeostasis in S. enterica sv. Typhimurium. Elevated copper is detected by a reporter construct driven by the promoter of copA in wild-type S. enterica sv. Typhimurium during infection of macrophages. Double mutants missing both ATPases also show reduced survival inside cultured macrophages. It is hypothesized that elevated copper within macrophages may have selected for specialized copper-resistance systems in pathogenic microorganism such as S. enterica sv. Typhimurium.

Estudio de tres líneas promisorias de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) en comparación con cinco variedades comerciales en condiciones de secano medianamente favorecido

El presente estudio se realizó en fincas de productores privados en tres localidades del departamento de Chinandega. El propósito fue evaluar tres líneas promisorias de Arroz en comparación con cinco variedades comerciales en condiciones de secano medianamente favorecido. El diseño experimental utilizado fue el de bloques completos al azar con tres repeticiones, utilizando una distancia entre surcos de 30 cm con siembra a chorrillo. En base a los resultados obtenidos se llegó a las conclusiones siguientes: el mejor material con respecto a características agronómicas, componentes de rendimiento y rendimiento agrícola fue Altamira-9; la línea CT-5754 es un material muy promisorio debido principalmente a su precocidad, característica muy importante para las zonas en que las precipitaciones son muy erráticas; En Ameya una de las localidades evaluadas, todos los materiales mostraron un mejor comportamiento.

Estudio de observación de ciento doce líneas de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) VIOAL-92, bajo ecosistema de riego en la localidad de Malacatoya

Con el objetivo de evaluar 112 líneas de Arroz de porte semienano, procedentes en su mayoría de Colombia, Vivero IRRI (IIRON), Argentina, Cuba y Perú, y utilizando como testigos internacionales las variedades CICA-8 y ORYZICA-1 y como testigos locales las variedades ALTAM1RA-9, ALTAM1RA-10 y CICA-8 también considerada como testigo local, se llevó a cabo un estudio en la "Finca Venllano", ubicada en Malacatoya, municipio del departamento de Granada, bajo el agroecosistema de riego. A cada línea se le evalúo las características agronómicas (floración, altura, desgrane, senescencia, exerción, acame y aceptabilidad fenotípica) y los componentes del rendimiento ( long de panícula, número de granos por panícula, porcentaje de fertilidad, peso de 1000 granos, rendimiento y rendimiento industrial ( % de arroz integral, % de arroz pulido y % de arroz oro). Se seleccionaron 15 líneas por sus características agronómicas y su potencial de rendimiento, lo que da un 13% de selección del material evaluado. La línea de mejor rendimiento fue la 113 (ECIA 561 con 5980 Kg/ha y la de menor rendimiento fue la línea 30 (CT9508-48-1-1P-2PT) con 3195 Kg/ha. El material de mejor calidad industrial fue la línea 10 (CT8837-1-17-1P-4) con 58.5 % de Arroz Oro y la línea más baja fue la 41 (CT7B05-17-4A-M-4P) con 48.0 % de Arroz Oro.

Evaluación de doce lineas y cuatro variedades de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) en comparación con cuatro testigos comerciales en condiciones de riego

El presente estudio se realizó en la Cooperativa Ornar Torrijos Herrera, localizada en el Valle de Sébaco, departamento de Matagalpa, con el objetivo de evaluar la adaptabilidad y comportamiento agronómico de doce líneas y cuatro variedades promisorias de arroz como prueba observacional de rendimiento, sembrándose en condiciones de riego, con el método de siembra a chorrillo. Para el presente estudio se tomó como parámetro el del Sistema de Evaluación Estandar del CIAT de Colombia evaluandose características como floración, altura de planta, acame, exerción, desgrane, senescencia, aceptabilidad fenotípica y la determinación del rendimiento y sus componentes. En base a los resultados obtenidos en las evaluaciones de las características agronómicas y componentes del rendimiento se seleccionaron 9 líneas A3046, A3047, A3048, A3050, A3051, A3052, A3055 A3057 y A3065 lo que da un total de 75 por ciento de selección del material evaluado. En el caso de las variedades se seleccionaron IR-64, IR-72, IR 59682 y PSBRC-10, equivalente a un 100 por ciento. La línea con rendimiento más alto fue A3047 con 7 272.73 kg/ha y la del menor rendimiento A3034 con 4 090.91 kglha. Respecto a las variedades la de mayor rendimeintofue IR-72 con 7 712.12 kglha y la de menor fue IR-64 con 5424.24 kglha. El material seleccionado se evaluará en una prueba preliminar y avanzada de rendimiento debido a que estos materiales se mantuvieron por encima de los 5 424.24 kglha y no se observaron enfermedades.

Enhanced 10-Gbit/s link performance for directly Modulated complex-coupled DFB lasers via resonance frequency, damping rate, and chirp

This paper demonstrates the respective roles that combined index- and gain-coupling play in the overall link performance of distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. Their impacts on both static and dynamic properties such as slope efficiency, resonance frequency, damping rate, and chirp are investigated. Simulation results are compared with experimental data with good agreement. Transmission-oriented optimization is then demonstrated based on a targeted specification. The design tradeoffs are revealed, and it is shown that a modest combination of index- and gain-coupling enables optimum transmission at 10 Gbit/s.