Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is one of the most underutilized crops in sub-Saharan Africa and an important staple food tropics. Understanding its growth response under selected watering regimes planting densities underpins this research. A study was conducted at Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Embu Centre, during long rains (LR) 2021 short (SR) 2021–2022. f...

In Crocus vernus, a spring bulbous species, prolonged growth at low temperatures results in the development of larger perennial organs and delayed foliar senescence. Because corm growth is known to stop before the first visual sign of leaf senescence, it is clear that factors other than leaf duration alone determine final corm size. The aim of this study was to determine whether reduced growth ...

BACKGROUND Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/Ri) is a serious complication occurring during liver surgery that may lead to liver failure. Hepatic I/Ri induces formation of reactive oxygen species, hepatocyte apoptosis, and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which together causes liver damage and organ dysfunction. A potential strategy to alleviate hepatic I/Ri is to exploit the potent ...

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a physiological messenger with diverse functions in the kidney, including controlling afferent arteriole tone both directly and via tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF). We have reported that CO attenuates TGF, but the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unknown. We hypothesized that CO, acting via cGMP, cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and cGMP-stimulated phosphodiesteras...

The search for new molecules to fight Pseudomonas aeruginosa is of paramount importance. Carbon monoxide (CO) is known to act as an effective inhibitor of the respiratory chain in P. aeruginosa, but the practical use of this gas as an antibacterial molecule is hampered by its toxicity and difficulty to manipulate. Here, we show that a water-soluble CO releaser (CORM-3) possesses bactericidal pr...

Carbon monoxide (CO) has shown various physiological effects including anti-inflammatory activity in several diseases, whereas the therapeutic efficacy of CO on sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) has not been reported as of yet. The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of exogenous CO on sepsis-induced AKI and nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) in...

Future Internet design demands revolutionary approaches unfettered by legacy constraints and concepts. This paper presents a clean-slate Concern-Oriented Reference Model (CORM) for architecting future computer networks based on novel network design principles. CORM realizes the network as a software-dependent complex system. It defines the network design space in terms of function, structure an...

Cerebral ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases lead to impairment or death of neurons in the central nervous system. Stem cell based therapies are promising strategies currently under investigation. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an endogenous product of heme degradation by heme oxygenase (HO) activity. Administration of CO at low concentrations produces several beneficial effects in distinct tissue...

This investigation was carried out to determine the effects of gamma radiation on germination characteristics gladiolus corms. experiment conducted through a factorial design in randomized complete block with three replications. Two factors included cultivars (Red Advance, White Prosperity, Amsterdam, and Rose Supreme) doses (0, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 Gy). The results showed that corm weigh...

Proliferation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) plays a cardinal role during fibrosis development. Therefore, the suppression of PSC growth represents a therapeutic option for the treatment of pancreatic fibrosis. It has been shown that up-regulation of the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) could exert antiproliferative effects on PSCs, but no information is available on the possible role of car...