This study examined the effect of cosmetic therapy on frontal lobe activation as revealed by topographic near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We evaluated emotional responses to a photograph of a face with/without makeup by 22 healthy female volunteers (mean age, 52 ± 10.5 years). The results of the first-round analysis showed a significant increase of oxy-Hb in the frontal lobe area when the sub...

An investigation was initiated to examine the effects of carbon soot collected from exhaust tube of 15 years old petrol and diesel operated vehicles on gram seed germination and biochemical changes of seedling. In view of the widespread cultivation of gram seed in India and long-term impact of black carbon is the warming of the atmosphere as per the recommendation of IPCC (2007). Black soot wer...

The objective of this research was to develop an appropriate tetrazolium methodology for viability and vigor evaluation of squash seeds. The following procedures were tested for preconditioning of the seeds: moistening in wet paper towel for 16 to 24h at 25°C; immersion in water for 15, 30 and 60 minutes at 40°C for tegument removal, and for 30 and 60 minutes for removal of the embryo surroundi...

A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to account for the extension of life span in seeds (seed longevity). In this work, we used Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds as a model and carried out differential proteomics to investigate this trait, which is of both ecological and agricultural importance. In our system based on a controlled deterioration treatment (CDT), we compared seed sam...

Our goal in this essay is to review the hypothesis that females choose mates by the evaluation of male motor performance. We define motor performance as vigor, the ability to perform energetically expensive acts repeatedly, or as skill, the ability to perform difficult motor tasks well. Motor performance reflects most aspects of whole-organism performance that relate to survival, and thus shoul...

The vigor with which humans and animals engage in a task is often a determinant of the likelihood of the task's success. An influential theoretical model suggests that the speed and rate at which responses are made should depend on the availability of rewards and punishments. While vigor facilitates the gathering of rewards in a bountiful environment, there is an incentive to slow down when pun...

High seed vigor is important for agricultural production due to the associated potential for increased growth and productivity. However, a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is required because the genetic basis for seed vigor remains unknown. We used single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for four seed vigor traits in two con...

The objective of this investigation was to study the effects of nitrogen on tolerance to water-stress in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seedlings. Growth chamber studies with pots of washed sand were carried out in Fayetteville, USA, and Nanjing, Chinawith three water conditions (well-watered, drought-stressed, and waterlogging), and three nitrogen rates, low nitrogen (16 mM, approximately 224 ...