Catalase (CAT) Gene Family in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.): Genome-Wide Analysis,Identification, and Expression Pattern in Response to Multiple Hormones and Abiotic Stress Conditions

Catalase (CAT) is an antioxidant enzyme expressed by the CAT gene family and exists in almost all aerobic organisms. Environmental stresses induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that eventually hinder plant growth and development. The CAT enzyme translates the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to water (H₂O) and reduce the ROS levels to shelter the cells’ death. So far, the CAT gene family has not been reported in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Therefore, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis was conducted to classify the CAT genes in the rapeseed genome. The current study identified 14 BnCAT genes in the rapeseed genome. Based on phylogenetic and synteny analysis, the BnCATs belong to four groups (Groups I–IV). A gene structure and conserved motif analysis showed that Group I, Group II, and Group IV possess almost the same intron/exon pattern, and an equal number of motifs, while Group III contains diverse structures and contain 15 motifs. By analyzing the cis-elements in the promoters, we identified five hormone-correlated responsive elements and four stress-related responsive elements. Further, six putative bna-miRNAs were also identified, targeting three genes (BnCAT4, BnCAT6, and BnCAT8). Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the BnCAT genes were largely related to cellular organelles, ROS response, stimulus response, stress response, and antioxidant enzymes. Almost 10 BnCAT genes showed higher expression levels in different tissues, i.e., root, leaf, stem, and silique. The expression analysis showed that BnCAT1–BnCAT3 and BnCAT11–BnCAT13 were significantly upregulated by cold, salinity, abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellic acid (GA) treatment, but not by drought and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Notably, most of the genes were upregulated by waterlogging stress, except BnCAT6, BnCAT9, and BnCAT10. Our results opened new windows for future investigations and provided insights into the CAT family genes in rapeseed.     

Gurum Seeds: A Potential Source of Edible Oil

Cucurbitaceae family seeds are mostly discarded as agro-industrial wastes. Gurum (Citrullus lanatus var. colocynthoide) is an underutilized wild cucurbit plant, closely related to desert watermelon, which is grown abundantly in some African countries. Gurum seeds can play a significant role in health and nutrition due to their high oil content. This review describes the nutritional composition of gurum seeds and their oil profile. Gurum seeds are a good source of oil (27–35.5%), fiber (26–31%), crude protein (15–18%), and carbohydrates (14–17%). Gurum seeds oil is extracted by supercritical CO₂ (SFE), screw press, and solvent extraction techniques. The gurum seeds oil is composed of unsaturated fatty acids with a high proportion of linoleic acid (C18:2) and oleic acid (C18:1). Gurum seeds oil contains various bioactive compounds, such as tocopherols, phytosterols, and polyphenols. It is reported that solvent extraction gives a higher yield than the screw press and SFE, but the SFE is preferred due to safety issues. More studies are required for producing better quality gurum seeds oil by using novel extraction techniques that can increase oil yield.     

Correction to: Bismuth Yttrium Oxide (Bi3YO6), A New Electrode Material For Asymmetric Aqueous Supercapacitors

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. In line 9 of the abstract, 5% should read as 2%. The...     

Tensile behavior change depending on the varying tungsten content of W–Ni–Fe alloys

Tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) are metal–metal composites consisting of nearly pure spherical tungsten particles embedded in a Ni–Fe–W or Ni–Co–W or Ni–Cu–W ductile matrix. In this dual phase alloy, there are several complicated relations between the ductile matrix and hard tungsten particles. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of varying tungsten content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys. The microstructural parameters (grain size, connectivity, contiguity and solid volume fraction) were measured and were found to have a significant effect on the mechanical properties of tungsten-based heavy alloys. The result shows that the binding strength between the W and the matrix phase has a major influence on the ductility of tungsten-based alloys. The larger this binding force is, the better the ductility is.     

A new method for fast anodic bonding in microsystem technology

Other than temperature and voltage, load plays a key role in anodic bonding process. In this paper we present a new design of top electrode (cathode) for anodic bonding machine by which the bonding time has been reduced up to 30 % in case of bare silicon wafer at ?400 V and approximate 52 % in case of oxidized silicon wafer with Pyrex glass bonding at ?800 V. Experimentally it has been observed there was no bonding in oxidized silicon wafer with Pyrex glass up to ?600 V by using standard design while it has been successfully bonded at same voltage (?600 V) by using new design.     

Towards a distributed multi-agent framework for shared resources scheduling

Nowadays, manufacturers have to share some of their resources with partners due to the competitive economic environment. The management of the availability periods of shared resources causes a problem because it is achieved by the scheduling systems, which assume a local environment where all resources are on the same site. Therefore, distributed scheduling with shared resources is an important research topic. In this communication, we introduce the architecture and behaviour of DSCEP framework (Distributed, Supervisor, Customer, Environment, and Producer) under shared resources situation with disturbances. We are using a simple example of manufacturing system to illustrate the ability of DSCEP framework to solve the shared resources scheduling problem in complex systems.     

Networked event-triggered control: an introduction and research trends

A physical system can be studied as either continuous time or discrete-time system depending upon the control objectives. Discrete-time control systems can be further classified into two categories based on the sampling: (1) time-triggered control systems and (2) event-triggered control systems. Time-triggered systems sample states and calculate controls at every sampling instant in a periodic fashion, even in cases when states and calculated control do not change much. This indicates unnecessary and useless data transmission and computation efforts of a time-triggered system, thus inefficiency. For networked systems, the transmission of measurement and control signals, thus, cause unnecessary network traffic. Event-triggered systems, on the other hand, have potential to reduce the communication burden in addition to reducing the computation of control signals. This paper provides an up-to-date survey on the event-triggered methods for control systems and highlights the potential research directions.     

Asymmetric Sharpless epoxidation of 13S‐hydroxy‐ 9Z, 11E‐octadecadienoic acid (13S‐HODE)

The asymmetric Sharpless epoxidation of methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐9Z, 11E‐octadeca‐dienoate (13S‐HODE, 1 ) with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) catalysed by titanium tetraisopropoxide {Ti(ⁱOPr)₄} in the presence of L(+)‐diisopropyl tartrate (L‐DIPT) gave methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐11S, 12S‐epoxy‐9Z‐octadecenoate 2 (erythro isomer) in 84% diastereomeric excess (de). The epoxidation of 1 with TBHP catalysed by Ti(ⁱOPr)₄ in the presence of D(‐)‐DIPT yielded methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐11RR12R‐epoxy‐9Z‐octadecenoate (threo isomer) 3 in 76% de.     

Interpretation of way-finding healthcare symbols by a multicultural population: Navigation signage design for global health

The interpretation of way-finding symbols for healthcare facilities in a multicultural community was assessed in a cross-sectional study. One hundred participants recruited from Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates were asked to interpret 28 healthcare symbols developed at Hablamos Juntos (such as vaccinations and laboratory) as well as 18 general-purpose symbols (such as elevators and restrooms). The mean age was 27.6 years (16–55 years) of whom 84 (84%) were females. Healthcare symbols were more difficult to comprehend than general-purpose signs. Symbols referring to abstract concepts were the most misinterpreted including oncology, diabetes education, outpatient clinic, interpretive services, pharmacy, internal medicine, registration, social services, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and infectious diseases. Interpretation rates varied across cultural backgrounds and increased with higher education and younger age. Signage within healthcare facilities should be tested among older persons, those with limited literacy and across a wide range of cultures.     

Internal structure of coalitions in competitive and altruistic graphical coalitional games

This paper introduces a certain graphical coalitional game where the internal topology of the coalition depends on a prescribed communication graph structure among the agents. The game Value Function is required to satisfy four Axioms of Value. These axioms make it possible to provide a refined study of coalition structures on graphs by defining a formal graphical game and by assigning a Positional Advantage, based on the Shapley value, to each agent in a coalition based on its connectivity properties within the graph. Using the Axioms of Value the graphical coalitional game can be shown to satisfy properties such as convexity, fairness, cohesiveness, and full cooperativeness. Three measures of the contributions of agents to a coalition are introduced: marginal contribution, competitive contribution, and altruistic contribution. The mathematical framework given here is used to establish results regarding the dependence of these three types of contributions on the graph topology, and changes in these contributions due to changes in graph topology. Based on these different contributions, three online sequential decision games are defined on top of the graphical coalitional game, and the stable graphs under each of these sequential decision games are studied. It is shown that the stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the marginal contribution are any connected graph. The stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the competitive contribution are the complete graph. The stable graphs under the objective of maximizing the altruistic contribution are any tree.