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. Quirk , J.P. , 1955 . Significance of surface areas calculated from water vapor sopption isotherms by use of the BET equation . Soil Science . 80 ( 6 ). 423 – 430
In this synopsis several mechanisms of natural resistance of plants to viral infections is outlined. Engineered resistance mechanisms are not treated in this article.
The relationship between the soil seed bank at the onset of the growing season and the structure of the ensuing vegetation under grazing was investigated in an eastern Mediterranean grassland. Species responses to two contrasting cattle grazing regimes were studied through plant trait analyses. Traits included plant size, phenology, seed size and germination fraction. Changes in species composition of the soil seed bank and the vegetation were analyzed using a plant functional group approach. The results showed that seed bank and relative cover of tall annual and perennial grasses increased when grazed late in the growing season. The opposite was noted for short annual grasses, annual legumes, annual thistles, annual crucifers and other annual forbs. Grazing treatments little affected plant cover of herbaceous perennials. Tall annual and tall perennial grasses have large seeds and germination rates over 90%. Short annual grasses showed similarly high germination rates but with smaller seeds. Annual legumes were characterized by medium size seeds and lower germination fractions (<50%). Tall annual grasses showed high competition capabilities at late grazed paddocks due to a combination of regeneration traits that included: high germination fraction, larger seed and seedling size, and inflorescence with morphological defenses. It is proposed that in addition to plant size and palatability, regeneration traits such as seed dormancy, seed and seedling size play an important role in determining the vegetation structure under different grazing regimes, thus contributing to the high plant species diversity characteristic to Mediterranean grasslands.
The hepatocurative potential of ethanolic extract (ETO) and sesquiterpene lactones enriched fraction (SL) of Taraxacum officinale roots was evaluated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The diagnostic markers such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin contents were significantly elevated, whereas significant reduction in the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) and enhanced hepatic lipid peroxidation, liver weight and liver protein were observed in CCl 4 induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Post-treatment with ETO and SL significantly protected the hepatotoxicity as evident from the lower levels of hepatic enzyme markers, such as serum transaminase (ALT, AST), ALP and total bilirubin. Further, significant reduction in the liver weight and liver protein in drug-treated hepatotoxic mice and also reduced oxidative stress by increasing reduced glutathione content and decreasing lipid peroxidation level has been noticed. The histopathological evaluation of the liver also revealed that ETO and SL reduced the incidence of liver lesions induced by CCl 4 . The results indicate that sesquiterpene lactones have a protective effect against acute hepatotoxicity induced by the administration of CCl 4 in mice. Furthermore, observed activity of SL may be due to the synergistic action of two sesquiterpene lactones identified from enriched ethyl acetate fraction by HPLC method.
-mouse Ly6G (1A8), anti-mouse MHCII (M5/114.15.2), anti-mouse RORγt (Q31-378), anti-mouse T-bet (4B10) and anti-mouse Ter119 (TER-119). Live/Dead discrimination was carried out using LIVE/DEAD Fixable Blue Dead Cell Stain (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Surface
Blue sticky traps on 3.0 m high poles were used to determine the characteristics of Thrips tabaci and Frankliniella occidentalis migratory flight in Israel from 2003 to 2007. In an open area, both thrips species were caught from March to November. The dominant species was T. tabaci except during the spring. About 70% of the thrips were caught below 1.0 m above ground. Trapping height appears to reflect thrips’ concentration gradient in the air because it was not affected by setting up the poles over a sticky surface. From April to September the westerly sea breezes usually exceed 10 km/h from late morning to twilight time. As a result, about 85% and 10% of the thrips were caught in the morning and at dusk, respectively. When we used similar traps mounted on wind vanes, at 1.0 m above ground 70% of the thrips were caught on the leeward side. Thus, it appears that thrips fly mainly upwind during their migration. Indeed, while most prevailing winds are from the west, most thrips were caught on the eastern side of the poles (40–50%) and the fewest on the western side (10–20%). This information may be used to focus monitoring and control of these thrips in time and space.
The effects of maternal bilateral adrenalectomy on day 1 of gestation and betamethasone treatment on fetal liver development were compared, in terms of biochemical and morphological parameters. For fetuses 20 days old (E20), absence of maternal glucocorticoids during gestation caused an increase in the number of nuclei in whole livers, and a significantly decrease of both body weight and protein content per nucleus, in comparison with the control group (C). Betamethasone injection on days 15, 16 and 17 of gestation into adrenalectomized pregnant rats (ADX + BET) did not completely prevent these effects. The electron microscopic analysis of the ADX fetal liver (E20) showed some hepatocyte lesions such as loss of cytoplasmic organelles, increase in hematopoietic cell number as well as a lower cellular mat- uration in comparison with the control group. The fetal liver from ADX + BET mothers 20 days after ges- tation displayed a noticeable involution of the hematopoietic component in spite of its relatively imma- ture stage. However, there was no significant change in the degree of fetal hepatocyte lesions. Therefore, supply of maternal glucocorticoids from the beginning of gestation is essential for main- tenance of the integral structure of the rat fetal hepatic parenchyma, for the correct maturation of the blood strains and for the beginning of involution of the hematopoietic tissue at the end of gestation.
Ultrasonic wave attenuation within the flesh of intact greenhouse-grown pepper (Capsicum annum L.) fruits was measured during growth, to try to correlate this attenuation with quality-related physical properties: firmness, dry weight percentage (DW%) and total soluble solids (TSS) contents, and chemical composition. Twenty examples of each of three cultivars were picked weekly during a 7-week growth period, and weight, color, and ultrasonic wave attenuation were recorded, to nondestructively trace the changes during growth, and each intact pepper was then subjected to a relaxation test to determine firmness. Then, small samples of fruit flesh were destructively analyzed to determine DW% and TSS.During the 55th to the 65th day after flowering the fruits of all three cultivars reached their maximum weight, color started to change, and DW% and TSS started to increase rapidly; and the fruits were nondestructively examined by mechanical relaxation and ultrasonically. Principal component regression (PCR) analysis revealed significant (95%) correlation between ultrasonic attenuation, TSS and physical parameters. A TSS prediction model was developed for all three cultivars.
Zhu, Y., Ahlemeyer, B., Bauerbach, E., Krieglstein, J. (2001) TGF-betal inhibits caspase-3 activation and neuronal apoptosis in rat hippocampal cultures. Neurochem. Int. 38 , 227-235. TGF-betal inhibits caspase-3 activation
the naïve T cell will be transformed, by inducing lineage-specific transcription factors. Naïve T cells stimulated in the presence of IL-12 become Th1 cells and express the transcription factor T-bet, while those stimulated in the presence of IL-4
