Genome integrity is crucial for cellular survival and the faithful transmission of genetic information. The eukaryotic cellular response to DNA damage is orchestrated by the DNA damage checkpoint kinases ATAXIA TELANGIECTASIA MUTATED (ATM) and ATM AND RAD3-RELATED (ATR). Here we identify important physiological roles for these sensor kinases in control of seed germination. We demonstrate that d...

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is a serious pest of fruits and vegetables. Methyl eugenol (ME), a male attractant, is used to against this fly by mass trapping. Control effect may be influenced by learning, which could modify the olfactory response of the fly to this attractant. To collect the behavioral evidence, studies on the capability of this fly for olfactory learning are ne...

Endosperm cap (CAP) weakening and embryo elongation growth are prerequisites for the completion of lettuce seed germination. Although it has been proposed that the cell wall loosening underlying these processes results from an enzymatic mechanism, it is still unclear which enzymes are involved. Here it is shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are non-enzymatic factors, may be involved...

Among various investigations hydrogels have attracted much attention Hydrogels are three-dimensional, hydrophilic, polymeric networks capable of imbibing large amounts of water or biological fluid and swell. When swelled, they are soft & rubbery and resemble the living tissue. The various preparation techniques adopted are physical cross-linking, chemical cross-linking, grafting polymerization,...

Ethylene glycol (EG) consumption is commonly employed as an experimental regimen to induce hyperoxaluria in animal models of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. This approach has, however, been criticized because EG overdose induces metabolic acidosis in humans. We tested the hypothesis that EG consumption (0.75% in drinking water for 4 wk) induces metabolic acidosis by comparing arterial blood ga...

The paper explores the usefulness of hybridizing two distinct nature inspired computational intelligence techniques viz., Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Genetic Algorithms (GA) for modeling slump of Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) based on its design mix constituents viz., cement, fly ash, sand, coarse aggregates, admixture and water-binder ratio. The methodology utilizes the universal function ...

The amino acid composition and the physicochemical and functional properties of quinoa protein isolates were evaluated. Protein isolates were prepared from quinoa seed by alkaline solubilization (at pH 9, called Q9, and at pH 11, called Q11) followed by isoelectric precipitation and spray drying. Q9 and Q11 had high levels of essential amino acids, with high levels of lysine. Both isolates show...

Meiosis I metaphase spindles were isolated from oocytes of the sea-star Pisaster ochraceus by a method that produced no detectable net loss in spindle birefringence. Some of the spindles were fixed immediately and embedded and sectioned for electron microscopy. Others were laminated between gelatine pellicles in a perfusion chamber, then fixed and sequentially and reversibly imbibed with a seri...

The Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is an economically important pest of food, fiber, and ornamental crops. This pest has evolved a number of adaptations to overcome physiological challenges, including 1) the ability to regulate osmotic stress between gut lumen and hemolymph after imbibing large quantities of a low nitrogen, sugar-rich liquid diet; 2) the a...