Application of ferrous sulfate alleviates negative impact of cadmium in rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.)

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as cadmium (Cd)] is becoming a serious global problem due to rapid development of social economy. Iron (Fe), being an important element, has been found effective in enhancing plant tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study investigated the extent to which different levels of Ferrous sulphate (FeSO₄) modulated the Cd tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.), when maintained in artificially Cd spiked regimes. A pot experiment was conducted under controlled conditions for 146 days, by using natural soil, mixed with different levels of CdCl₂ [0 (no Cd), 0.5 and 1 mg/kg] together with the exogenous application of FeSO₄ at [0 (no Fe), 1.5 and 3 mg/kg] levels to monitor different growth, gaseous exchange characteristics, oxidative stress, antioxidative responses, minerals accumulation, organic acid exudation patterns of O. sativa. Our results depicted that addition of Cd to the soil significantly (P < 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, gaseous exchange parameters, mineral uptake by the plants, sugars (soluble, reducing, and non-reducing sugar) and altered the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, plastoglobuli, mitochondria, and many other cellular organelles in Cd-stressed O. sativa compared to those plants which were grown without the addition of Cd in the soil. However, Cd toxicity boosted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the indication of oxidative stress in O. sativa and was also manifested by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents and electrolyte leakage to the membrane bounded organelles. Although, activities of various antioxidative enzymes like superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and non-enzymatic antioxidants like phenolics, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin and proline contents increased up to a Cd level of 0.5 mg/kg in the soil but were significantly diminished at the highest Cd level of 1 mg/kg in the soil compared to those plants which were grown without the addition of Cd in the soil. The negative impacts of Cd injury were reduced by the application of FeSO₄ which increased plant growth and biomass, improved photosynthetic apparatus, antioxidant enzymes, minerals uptake together with diminished exudation of organic acids as well as oxidative stress indicators in roots and shoots of O. sativa by decreasing Cd retention in different plant parts. These results shed light on the effectiveness of FeSO₄ in improving the growth and upregulation of antioxidant enzyme activities of O. sativa in response to Cd stress. However, further studies at field levels are required to explore the mechanisms of FeSO₄-mediated reduction of the toxicity of not only Cd, but possibly also other heavy metals in plants.     

FUZZY REASONING USING POSITIONAL INFORMATION

Abstract

The paper argues in favour of reasoning methods that process positional information, i.e. information about the position of the input with respect to the class prototype, and thus achieve a better specification of the corresponding output class. It is shown that such an approach leads to reducing or cancelling unwanted nonlinearities (of input-output characteristic) imposed by reasoning methods, nonlinearities that alter the dependence expressed in the knowledge base. Two methods which use positional information are presented: (a) the mapping of o-cut borders (MACB) (Stoica, 1993, Proc. Fifth IFSA World Congress, pp. 1266-1269), inspired from a particular interpretation of the representation theorem and (b) the Left/Right Centre of Gravity (L/R COG) (Ghanayem, 1995, Proc. IEA/AIE, pp. 41 -45). The methods are tested in implementing a power system stabiliser (PSS) Simulation results show better performance of methods that use positional information, as compared with classic Mamdani (Mamdani, 1975, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 7, 1-13) reasoning. Reflections on a “best” reasoning method conclude the paper.     

EVALUATION OF BIOGENIC AMINES FORMATION BY PROTEOLYTIC ENTEROCOCCI STRAINS ISOLATED FROM RAW DROMEDARY MILKS FROM SOUTHERN ALGERIA

Twenty-three strains of lactic acid enterococci isolated from dromedary raw milks in Southern Algeria were investigated for their proteolytic activity and ability to produce biogenic amines by decarboxylating amino acids: histidine, tyrosine and ornithine. All strains tested displayed proteolytic activities, but none of them were able to produce detectable biogenic amines in the usual adequate laboratory media, namely, Joosten and Northolt medium and Leuschner medium. Polymerase chain reaction experiments indicate a positive correlation between the absence of the hdc and odc genes and the lack of histamine and putrescine production for all tested strains. By contrast, all strains appeared to possess tdc gene, but no correlation was found with a negative expression of tyrosine decarboxylase.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

In foods, biogenic amines are mainly generated by decarboxylation of the corresponding amino acids through substrate-specific enzymes of the microorganisms present in this environment, particularly histidine, tyrosine, lysine, ornithine and arginine, and the capability of enterococci and some other lactic acid bacteria to produce biogenic amines has been described. For this purpose, several qualitative and quantitative methods to determine biogenic amines production by these microorganisms have been developed. There is great interest to identify and to characterize the bacteria strains intended for an industrial use and to verify if they are potentially able to produce biogenic amines in order to prevent it's synthesis and limit the poisoning risk.     

Dynamics and interference of fine-structure wave packets created by strong ultrashort pulses

This work presents a theoretical study of two coherent schemes which allow the manipulation of wave packets created in atomic systems by strong ultrashort pulses. Our three-state system is composed of a ground state and two excited states simultaneously excited by the laser pulses. The corresponding dynamics are described in the bright state-dark state formalism where spectacular effects appear. (1) The wave packet created initially by a first pulse can be completely frozen through the action of a second strong pulse. (2) For pulses with a generalized pulse area equal to (2 p +1)2π (p integer), the population is preferentially transferred from the ground state to the dark state whatever the pulse duration. This is in complete disagreement with the physical interpretation valid in the weak field regime where the wave packet created by an ultrashort pulse is localized in the bright state at the end of the pulse. This effect can be revealed with wave packet interference induced by a second identical pulse. A simple analytical model using squared pulses is used to highlight the physical insight. This model is ‘reinforced’ by numerical simulations on the (4s–4p ² P 1/2,1/3) transitions in potassium atoms excited with Gaussian pulses.     

INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE CONTENT AND STORAGE TEMPERATURE ON THE PRODUCTION OF AFLATOXIN BY ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS EA-81 IN MAIZE AFTER EXPOSURE TO GAMMA RADIATION

The effect of gamma radiation on aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus EA-81 in maize with different initial moisture levels was determined over a 15-day period. The viability of A. flavus on maize decreased over time with increasing moisture contents and storage at 8C. After 45 days at 28C, levels of viable conidiospores of A. flavus increased from 4.5 × 10⁷ to about 3.0 × 10⁸ per gram of maize. Levels of aflatoxin B₁ produced by A. flavus were 10 μg kg^-1 in the maize stored at 8C after 45 days. Production of aflatoxin was highest at 40% moisture and 28C. Irradiation of 1.0 or 2.0 kGy greatly reduced the level of mold growth relative to unirradiated controls. A dose of 4.0 kGy eliminated all viable fungi. Aflatoxin B₁ production decreased with increased levels of irradiation and was negligible at 4.0 kGy. When maize was inoculated after irradiation and stored, the spore counts and aflatoxin levels were higher than in unirradiated and inoculated controls after 30 days. Apparently, the natural competitive microflora prevented growth and thus limited higher concentrations of aflatoxin in maize.     

Nonlinearities in the Impact of Industry Structure: the Case of Concentration and Intra-industry Variability in Rates of Return

This paper addresses the issue of industry concentration andintra-industry variability in rates of return. An inverted ‘U’relationship is hypothesized and tested in which one observeslow levels of variability both at high and low levels of concentration,in one case as a result of collusion and the other as a resultof competition. In the process, the paper highlights the benefitsassociated with combining both industry and firm levels of analyses.     

Kinetics of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 Formation from Metallo-organic Precursors

Kinetics of BaTiO₃ and PbTiO₃ formation from metalloorganic precursors were studied. The fine grain size of the decomposed product and the greater degree of mixing led to very rapid kinetics of compound formation. The kinetics data were fitted to the Carter model for a diffusion-controlled process. Formation of PbTiO₃ was modeled as a two-stage process with a single activation energy, and the formation of BaTiO₃ as a single-stage process.