The Orthodox Dry Seeds Are Alive: A Clear Example of Desiccation Tolerance

To survive in the dry state, orthodox seeds acquire desiccation tolerance. As maturation progresses, the seeds gradually acquire longevity, which is the total timespan during which the dry seeds remain viable. The desiccation-tolerance mechanism(s) allow seeds to remain dry without losing their ability to germinate. This adaptive trait has played a key role in the evolution of land plants. Understanding the mechanisms for seed survival after desiccation is one of the central goals still unsolved. That is, the cellular protection during dry state and cell repair during rewatering involves a not entirely known molecular network(s). Although desiccation tolerance is retained in seeds of higher plants, resurrection plants belonging to different plant lineages keep the ability to survive desiccation in vegetative tissue. Abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in desiccation tolerance through tight control of the synthesis of unstructured late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, heat shock thermostable proteins (sHSPs), and non-reducing oligosaccharides. During seed maturation, the progressive loss of water induces the formation of a so-called cellular “glass state”. This glassy matrix consists of soluble sugars, which immobilize macromolecules offering protection to membranes and proteins. In this way, the secondary structure of proteins in dry viable seeds is very stable and remains preserved. ABA insensitive-3 (ABI3), highly conserved from bryophytes to Angiosperms, is essential for seed maturation and is the only transcription factor (TF) required for the acquisition of desiccation tolerance and its re-induction in germinated seeds. It is noteworthy that chlorophyll breakdown during the last step of seed maturation is controlled by ABI3. This update contains some current results directly related to the physiological, genetic, and molecular mechanisms involved in survival to desiccation in orthodox seeds. In other words, the mechanisms that facilitate that an orthodox dry seed is a living entity.

Implantable Microfluidic Device: An Epoch of Technology

: Implantable microfluidic devices are milestones in developing devices that can either measure parameters like ocular pressure and blood glucose level or deliver various components for therapeutic needs or behavioral modification. Researchers are currently focusing on the miniaturization of almost all its tools for a better healthcare platform. Implantable microfluidic devices are a combination of various systems including, but not limited to, microfluidic platforms, reservoirs, sensors, and actuators, implanted inside the body of a living entity (in vivo) with the purpose of directly or indirectly helping the entity. It is a multidisciplinary approach with immense potential in the area of the biomedical field. Significant resources are utilizing on for the research and development of these devices for various applications. The induction of an implantable microfluidic device into an animal would enable us to measure the responses without any repeated invasive procedures. Such data would help in the development of a better drug delivery profile. Implantable microfluidic devices with reservoirs deliver specific chemical or biological products to treat situations like cancers and diabetes. They can also deliver fluorophores for specific imaging inside the body. Implantable microfluidic devices help provide a microenvironment for various cell differentiation procedure. These devices know no boundaries, and this article reviews these devices based on their design and applications.

Richard Rorty’s Critique of the Self in Term of Interaction Between the Self and Others

The experiential self in interaction with an object is not, as Richard Rorty emphasizes, an inherent attribute that exists before real interactions, nor is it an entity with fixed characteristics. What Rorty constantly highlights is that the interaction in forming the self must achieve self-awareness as an entity impacted, acknowledged, and evaluated by others. This line of interpretation leads to two important concepts regarding the self’s formation that need to be clarified: First, when an individual expands his/her ability to manage space outside the reach of his/her physical person and visual perception, it is imperative that the individual is aware that he/she is controlling his/her own body. Second, the reciprocal effect from others cannot make the individual self-aware of his/her own existence as an independent entity if there is a lack of the other’s skepticism and questioning of the subject himself/herself. In this step of the self-experience process, the self’s attributes and its existence in relation to its surroundings are questioned. This article will focus on the explanation of the feasibility of perceiving the self as a form made up of biological premises and the awareness of the self as a living entity with contingent and flexible characteristics.

Quantum Entangled Frequencies and Coherence in Bioenergetic Systems

Holistic Health can be understood as the coherence of the human being as a whole including his organism, mind, and relationship to his environment. Quantum entanglement of subsystems on all levels of the human being is responsible for the wholeness of the living entity. The sum total of entanglements is defined here as an individual Information Field which corresponds to the ancient vedic concept of akasha. Entangled frequencies might be able to resonate with and influence human bioenergetic processes and systems with the aim of creating coherence of the bioenergetic system, both within the individual and between the individual and the surrounding fields. Here a bioenergetic process is proposed that uses entangled frequencies to increase the coherence of living systems selected through biofeedback of a Quantum Noise Generator, which seems to be correlated to the ancient vedic concept of prana. It has been tested in a controlled observation study for its effect on the sense of coherence of 3545 participants. The promising results of this study are additionally presented here.

The Concept of THOUGHT in the Mirror of Cultural Codes (based on the Texts of Fiction)

Modern linguistics, within the framework of the anthropocentric paradigm, tries to solve the fundamental issues of the trichotomy "reality-consciousness-language", therefore, the issues of consideration of various concepts presented in language are of particular relevance. The conceptual analysis of abstract concepts is difficult for researchers, so the problem of reflecting the inner world of a person in the language of concepts is of particular interest. The purpose of this study is not to describe the entire structure of the concept of THOUGHT in its linguistic expression, but only to analyze the cultural codes that this concept, which relates to the mental sphere of the inner world, is represented in language. The study showed that the mental concept of THOUGHT, passing through the prism of metaphorical comparison, is represented through such cultural codes as cosmic, natural, biomorphic and objective. The conclusion is made that in the consciousness of the Russian person there are ideas about the universal mind, about thought as a material, living entity, capable of continuing to live after the death of its bearer and becoming the property of other people.

Nanopillar templating of biopolymer hydrogels augments stiffness and strength

In nature, structural biopolymers are highly organized to allow for the development of complex tissues within a living entity, including the human body. To match the properties found in these fibrous structural tissues, synthetic biomimetic hydrogels must have an optimal combination of stiffness, strength, and toughness; though an ideal combination remains challenging to achieve. Here, we report a general strategy to design stiff, strong, and tough hydrogels by confining biopolymers with a balance of rigid and weak domains into nanopillar topography. The confinement within nanopillars templates the fiber assembly process throughout the bulk of the film. Compared to a flat control, the application of the nanopillar topography increases the bulk stiffness ~ 160% to 20 MPa, strength ~ 350% to 36 MPa, and toughness ~ 450% to 8,500 kJ m− 3. This simple templating strategy is suitable for a vast range of hydrogels, opening up the potential applications for a diverse array of materials.

A Review Over the effect of Heavy Metal in Metabolism of Brassica juncea (L.) and Myristica fragrans

Brassica juncea (L.) and Myristica fragrans are common plants found in India where the concentration of heavy metals in water and soil is observed more frequently and in sufficient amounts to cause bad effects to the living entity. In plants various kinds of bad effects such as dwarfness, yellowish leaves, dead leaves, brownish and dead stem. These are kinds of symptoms that one can observe in plants suffering from the bad effects of heavy metal absorption. At a specific time, they should be identified and treated for the same otherwise this may cause an increase in dead material in the plant, day by day. This review summarizes the bad effects of heavy metals in plants like these two.

The influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the development of voluntary sustainability accounting reporting rules

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show the impact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have on the evolution of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI is a sustainability report disclosed by business organizations to meet the demands and interests of various stakeholders. These stakeholders’ needs have influenced GRI and its guidelines.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology for this paper is library-based archival research. It is qualitatively and analytically descriptive of prior academic research and published literature on the subject.FindingsSustainability accounting rulemaking has evolved overtime resulting in proliferation of reporting rules. These rules have improved the extent and scope of environmental and economic performances that businesses disclose in GRI.Originality/valueGRI has provided the foundation for integrated reporting (IR). Both GRI and IR have ecological and functional dimensions. Sustainability is functionally inherent in the accounting principle of materiality, when disclosed in external reporting. The ongoing concern of business assumes an organization is systemic and operates as a living entity only when it can provide sustainable performance that benefits stakeholders and society.

The Emergence of AGHE's Basic-Competencies Guidelines in Gerontology

This presentation will explore the development of AGHE’s major contemporary contribution: AGHE’s basic-competency guidelines and their role in program review and program enhancement. The presenter will describe in detail the steps in creating objective student learning outcomes and will explore how meeting these competencies improve instruction, self-reflection, program analysis and faculty discussion and ultimately gerontology programs. These guidelines and policies embody a living entity that is always evolving. Future iterations will be anticipated and discussed. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Geriatric Education Interest Group.

Dreaming with drones: Palestine under the shadow of unseen war

This article discusses how the first-person genre, especially a Gazan wartime diary, allows both writer and reader to imagine new possibilities for understanding contemporary colonial drone warfare, which is instrumental in the strategic silencing and invisibilization of war victims. By creating this zone of invisibilization (one that I will name the “dronesphere”) through obfuscating loss of life, war perpetrators aim to drown out the voices of opposition and resistance in Gaza. This is precisely why an increasing autonomy of military technologies that I call the “anthropomorphizing of drones” has triggered fierce debates over the unaccountability for war crimes committed against those on the receiving end of such autonomous weaponry. One specific case that deserves serious attention in this regard is the deafening silence surrounding Israel’s use of lethal drones to assassinate people in Palestine, which has led to the strategic silencing and invisibility of Palestinian deaths and a struggle for survival through the use of top-down control via drones in the region. However, Atef Abu Saif’s use of “strategic anthropomorphism” in his wartime diary The Drone Eats with Me: A Gaza Diary does not grant the drone absolute autonomy in death-dealing but imagines Drone as a fictional character. Instead, the execution of Gazans is presented as a prolonged reconnaissance performance, which not only allows Gazans to see drones as an extension of (absent) drone operators’ bodies, but also to register their protest against the Israeli authorities by imagining Drone as a living entity. Therefore, using the authority of direct experience that Youval Noah Harari calls “flesh witnessing” (2008), Abu Saif’s wartime diary enables the formation of Palestinian subjectivities held under the sign of erasure, thereby claiming their rights as social and political human bodies.