scholarly journals The Effect of a Biomass Increase on The Carbon Fixation Rates of A. Thaliana

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Lewis ◽  
Patricia Talarczyk

Arabidopsis Thaliana, a model organism for genetic modification, was tested to discover whether or not a genetic increase in biomass affects the plant’s rate of carbon fixation. An experimental design was employed, involving the testing of the carbon fixation rates from 4 separate experimental groups, genetically modified and a control group, both sterilized and unsterilized. Sterile water and a 50% bleach solution were used for seed sterilization, and once complete, all types of seeds were given a week long cold treatment. After the cold treatment had concluded, these plants were grown on moist fertilized soil, and were watered using a glass tray. Water was added into the flat surface every 2 days, and this nourishment was absorbed by the soil through holes in 4.409 x 3.937 terracotta pots. This absorption allowed for dry soil to remoisten, ultimately providing hydration to A. Thaliana. Growth measurements of the observed largest leaf were taken each week for a 4 week growth period. Once fully grown, a procedure known as photosynthetic flotation was used to uncover carbon fixation rates between the experimental groups, involving 0.5 cm leaf disks rising in a bicarbonate solution as carbon dioxide was converted to oxygen. The faster the leaf disk rose, the more rapidly carbon dioxide was fixated. Overall, data gathered from this experiment showed little difference between carbon fixation rates of biomass genetic modification and a control group, causing for this genetic modification only being able to be used to combat overpopulation with larger food being produced, but not that of reversing climate change. However, there was a significant gap in terms of the time to rise of leaf disks between sterilized and unsterilized groups, revealing that a more specific study in regards to this variable must be conducted.  

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6434) ◽  
pp. 1456-1459 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Papanatsiou ◽  
J. Petersen ◽  
L. Henderson ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
J. M. Christie ◽  
...  

Stomata serve dual and often conflicting roles, facilitating carbon dioxide influx into the plant leaf for photosynthesis and restricting water efflux via transpiration. Strategies for reducing transpiration without incurring a cost for photosynthesis must circumvent this inherent coupling of carbon dioxide and water vapor diffusion. We expressed the synthetic, light-gated K+ channel BLINK1 in guard cells surrounding stomatal pores in Arabidopsis to enhance the solute fluxes that drive stomatal aperture. BLINK1 introduced a K+ conductance and accelerated both stomatal opening under light exposure and closing after irradiation. Integrated over the growth period, BLINK1 drove a 2.2-fold increase in biomass in fluctuating light without cost in water use by the plant. Thus, we demonstrate the potential of enhancing stomatal kinetics to improve water use efficiency without penalty in carbon fixation.


Endoscopy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaopeng Liu ◽  
Tao Dong ◽  
Yupeng Shi ◽  
Hui Luo ◽  
Xianmin Xue ◽  
...  

<b>Background and study aims</b> Single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) is a valuable but difficult modality for the diagnosis and treatment of small-bowel diseases. The water exchange (WE) method has the advantage of facilitating intubation during colonoscopy. Here, we evaluated the effects of WE on procedure-related variables related to SBE. <b>Patients and methods</b> This randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary-care referral center in China. Patients with attempt at total enteroscopy (ATE) were randomly allocated to undergo WE-assisted (WE group) or carbon dioxide-insufflated enteroscopy (CO<sub>2</sub> group). All patients were planned to undergo both antegrade and retrograde procedures. The primary outcome was the total enteroscopy rate (TER). Secondary outcomes included maximal insertion depth, positive findings, procedural time and adverse events. <b>Results</b> In total, 110 patients were enrolled, with 55 in each group. Baseline characteristics between the two groups were comparable. TER was achieved in 58.2% (32/55) of the WE group and 36.4% (20/55) of the control group (p=0.022). The estimated intubation depth was 521.2±101.4 cm in the WE group and 481.6±95.2 cm in the CO<sub>2</sub> group (p=0.037). The insertion time was prolonged in the WE group compared with CO<sub>2</sub> group (178.9±45.1 min vs. 154.2±27.6 min, p<0.001). Endoscopic findings and adverse events were comparable between the two groups. <b>Conclusions</b> The WE method improved TER and increased intubation depth during SBE. The use of WE did not increase complications of enteroscopy. Clinical trial registation: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, NCT01942863.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Chiara Binelli

Several important questions cannot be answered with the standard toolkit of causal inference since all subjects are treated for a given period and thus there is no control group. One example of this type of questions is the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on global warming. In this paper, we address this question using a machine learning method, which allows estimating causal impacts in settings when a randomized experiment is not feasible. We discuss the conditions under which this method can identify a causal impact, and we find that carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for an increase in average global temperature of about 0.3 degrees Celsius between 1961 and 2011. We offer two main contributions. First, we provide one additional application of Machine Learning to answer causal questions of policy relevance. Second, by applying a methodology that relies on few directly testable assumptions and is easy to replicate, we provide robust evidence of the man-made nature of global warming, which could reduce incentives to turn to biased sources of information that fuels climate change skepticism.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvind Singh ◽  
Lennart T. Bach ◽  
Carolin R. Löscher ◽  
Allanah J. Paul ◽  
Narendra Ojha ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 107858
Author(s):  
Cam Van T. Do ◽  
Nham Tuat T. Nguyen ◽  
Thuan Dang Tran ◽  
Mai Huong T. Pham ◽  
Thanh Yen T. Pham

2020 ◽  
Vol 846 ◽  
pp. 207-212
Author(s):  
Ming Gin Lee ◽  
Yung Chih Wang ◽  
Wan Xuan Xiao ◽  
Ming Ju Lee ◽  
Tuz Yuan Huang

This study was conducted to assess the effect of CO2 curing on the compressive strength of high strength pervious concrete. The factors studied to evaluate compressive strength of concrete on CO2 curing pressure, curing time, and age of specimen at testing. Three Aggregate sizes, three CO2 curing pressures, three CO2 curing time, and three testing ages were used in this investigation. The research tried to produce a high strength pervious concrete and use carbon dioxide for curing to find out whether it could enhance the compressive strength. The results show that the compressive strength of the control group increases rapidly and its 90-day compressive strength closed to 60 MPa. The 1-day compressive strength has a major impact after CO2 curing and their strength decreased by about 0% to 50% as compared to the control group. However, it is observed that there is only slight difference in relationship between modulus of elasticity and compressive strength obtained from 100 by 200mm cylinders with CO2 curing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 71-72
Author(s):  
Kingsley E Ekwemalor ◽  
Emmanuel K Asiamah ◽  
Sarah Adjei-Fremah ◽  
Eboghoye ElukaOkoludoh ◽  
Mulumebet Worku

Abstract Galectins (GAL) constitute an evolutionarily conserved family of β-galactoside-binding proteins that are secreted. They are involved in the regulation of homeostasis, innate and adaptive immune responses to infectious challenge. The mushroom Coriolus versicolor (CV) has been reported to boost suppressed immune function, extending the survival rate and improving quality of life in man. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of mushroom probiotics on the secretion of Galectins in goat blood. Ten BoerXSpanish female goats (5 weeks of age) were used for this study. Powdered CV was soaked in cold water and sterile filtered. Following initial screening for infection, goats were assigned to two groups of five (n = 10). Goats were drenched daily with 10 mL cold (treatment I) extract for 4 weeks. A control group of five age-matched goats received sterile water (treatment II). Blood samples were collected on a weekly basis. The concentration plasma protein was determined by using Pierce BCA kit (Thermo Scientific Pierce, Rockford, IL). Galectins-1, -3, -8, -9 and -12 concentration was detected by using a commercial ELISA kits (ABclonal Biotechnology, Woburn, MA). There was an effect of treatment in total plasma protein concentration when compared to the control group (P &lt; 0.02). Galectins tested were secreted in both control and treatment groups. Treatment with CV decreased the concentration of Gal-1, 8 and 9 and increased the concentration of Gal-3 and -12 (P &lt; 0.05). Results from this study indicate that mushroom probiotics can modulate the secretion of GAL.


1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Van Eenaeme ◽  
M. Evrard ◽  
J. L. Hornick ◽  
P. Baldwin ◽  
M. Diez ◽  
...  

Nitrogen balance and myofibrillar protein breakdown were studied in 16 double-muscled Belgian Blue bulls during a low growth period (0.5 kg d−1) (LGP) of 4 mo (L4), 8 mo (L8), or 14 mo (L14) and the subsequent fattening period (rapid growth period, RGP). The control group (CG) was given a conventional fattening diet; the others received a low-energy, low-protein diet during LGP, and the same diet as the CG during RGP. Measurements were made halfway through the LGP, l mo after the beginning of the fattening period, and 1 mo before slaughter. Nitrogen balance was about half of CG (P < 0.001) during LGP, e.g., 50.8, 21.3, 25.8, and 23.8 g d−1, for CG, L4, L8, and L14, respectively. Between LGP and RGP, N balance increased by about 18 g N d−1 above the control in the compensating groups L4, L8 and L14. This was due to the higher digestibility and the higher metabolizability of the nitrogen in the fattening diet. Lower muscle protein accretion during the LGP resulted from decreased synthesis (P < 0.001) and degradation (P < 0.05) compared with the GC. When changing to RGP different evolution patterns were observed in the three formerly restricted groups, e.g. after a short restriction (L4) both synthesis and degradation rose during the RGP but declined towards the end. After a longer restriction (L8 and L14), synthesis and degradation increased and remained high. The magnitude of these increases was inversely proportional to the length of the restriction period. Key words: Belgian Blue bulls, compensatory growth, nitrogen balance, muscle, muscle protein breakdown


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 138 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Xu ◽  
Guanghui Zheng ◽  
Liangliang Wu ◽  
Xiangshao Fang ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
...  

Introduction: Abnormal levels of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO 2 ) may reflect a derangement in perfusion, metabolism, or gas exchange. It is unclear if ETCO 2 can be used for fluid resuscitation (FR) compared with traditional mean arterial pressure (MAP) as an outcome predictor in sepsis. Hypothesis: Use of ETCO2 is better than MAP in guiding fluid resuscitation to improve lactate levels and microcirculatory blood flow in sepsis. Methods: Thirty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 350-400g were randomized to: 1) SHAM, n=5; 2) cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) Control group (with CLP, without FR, n=10); 3) ETCO 2 group (with CLP, FR began when ETCO 2 ≤25 mmHg, n=10) and 4) MAP group (with CLP, FR began when MAP≤100 mmHg, n=10). Lactate level, cardiac output (CO), perfused small vessel density (PSVD) and sublingual microvascular flow index (MFI) was assessed at baseline, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 10 h and 12 h post-CLP. Survival duration was recorded. Results: After FR,CO in the ETCO 2 group increased compared with the MAP group 12h after CLP while lactate levels decreased compared with the Control and MAP groups (p<0.05) (Figure-1). Both sublingual PSVD and MFI decreased after CLP in the control group and MAP group but significantly improved in the ETCO 2 group 8h post-CLP. The average survival time in the ETCO 2 group was significantly greater than MAP group (Figure-2). Conclusions: ETCO 2 guided FR was associated with improved CO, lactate, microcirculatory flow, and survival time compared to MAP guided FR in a CLP-induced rat model of sepsis.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heru Syarli Lesmana ◽  
Gadis Meinar Sari ◽  
Choesnan Effendi ◽  
Shinta Arisant

Bone is a complex tissue consisting of cells and matrix. Mass and thick bone mass has a dynamic addition and subtraction through the process of remodeling (bone matrix absorbed and formed again). Bone is formatted by osteoblast cell and resorption by osteoclast cell. Osteoblasts produce a matrix of osteoid, which is composed mainly of type I collagen, and osteoclast removes bone tissue by removing its mineralized matrix and breaking up the organic bone. Bone remodeling purpose to defend shape and structure of bone. the purpose of this study is to prove that submaximal-intensity exercise and salmon calcitonin improve bone density in growing rat this research method uses design of the randomize posttest only control group design. We compered femur bone density in 24 male norvegicus rats aged 6 weeks that were divided into 4 groups: controls, calcitonin, exercise, combine. Exercise group swam 3 times a week in submaximal intensity, calcitonin group injected synthetic salmon calcitonin 2 iu /100 gram of rat weight every day and combine group did both of it. After 8 weeks, rat femur bone density measured using ultrasound. the result: there are significant differences in bone density between group 1 (control) and group 4 (combine) with p = 0.001, thus the p value &lt;0.05 indicates that there is a significant difference to the average density in both groups. While comparisons to other groups found no significant difference because the value of p&gt; 0.05. the benefits of this research are calcitonin salmon and submaximal-intensity exercise increase the density bone in the growth period. High bone density is mean the bone is strong and health, not porous and fragile so decrease bone fracture risk. increase the bone density in of growth period make the bone get the best mass, and avoid from early osteoporosis.


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