Stem Cell Induction and Plant Regeneration Are Affected By Medium Components in Maca (Lepidium Meyenii Walp)

Selection, propagation and conservation of important genotypes are important in medicinal-industrial plants. Nowadays, using tissue culture and regeneration techniques of medicinal plants under in vitro conditions has been able to proliferate medicinal plants widely, which is much higher than traditional methods of vegetative propagation. Maca (Lepidium meyenii), is an industrial plant whose root is the usable part. Maca has valuable medicinal effects such as sexual enhancement and reproductive power, infertility treatment, improved sperm count and quality, anti-stress, osteoporosis prevention and more. This study was conducted to induce callus and regeneration of Maca. First, MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of Kinetin, NAA and 2,4-D (0.5, 1 and 2 μM respectively) and control were compared for callus induction from root and leaves. After 38 days of incubation, the first callus appeared, after 50 days of callus induction and after 79 days regeneration occurred. The callus induction experiment was performed for the study of the effect of three explants (leaf, stem and root) and seven hormone levels. The regeneration experiment was carried out by studying the effect of three explants (leaf, stem and root) on eight levels of the hormone. The results of data analysis on callus induction showed that the effects of explants, hormones and their interactions on callus induction percentage were highly significant but not significant on callus growth rate. The results of regression analysis showed that explants, hormones and their interactions had no significant effect on regeneration percentage.

In vitro Gynogenic Plant Production in Allium tuncelianum (Kollman) Özhatay, Matthew & Şiraneci

Allium tuncelianum (Kollman) Özhatay, Matthew & Şiraneci forms a single-cloved edible white bulb with mild garlic (A. sativum) odour and taste. Its ability to form seeds make it suitable for genetic improvement via classical and modern approaches. A detailed study was carried out to determine the gynogenesis potential of two A. tuncelianum (AT1 and AT2) accessions. Unopened flower buds of A. tuncelianum accessions were cultured in various BDS- and MS-based induction media. A total of 17 (0.09%) gynogenic plantlets were obtained from ~20000 flower buds used in gynogenesis induction experiment. Accessions showed slight differences in their responses to gynogenesis induction cultures. The highest gynogenic plantlet production frequency (0.34 %) in AT1 was achieved flower buds cultured in T12 medium (MS with 100 g/L sucrose, 1 mg/L a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 8 mg/L isopentenyl adenine (2IP). Flower buds of AT2 showed the highest gynogenic plantlet production response (0.44 %) in T2 medium (BDS with 50 g/L sucrose). Eight of 17 gynogenic plantlets continued to grow and became healthy plants with green leaves and well established roots. Flow cytometric (FCM) analysis of well-developed gynogenic plants showed that two were haploid (25 %), four were diploid (50 %), and two were mixoploid (25 %) for haploid and diploid cells. Nine gynogenic plantlets showing abnormal development were diploid. Therefore, formation of gynogenic plantlets with abnormal phenotypes was likely due to genetic factors. Results obtained from this study suggest use of DH technology in the production of homozygous A. tuncelianum inbreeds in variety improvement programs.

Speech as an indicator for psychosocial stress: A network analytic approach

Recently, the possibilities of detecting psychosocial stress from speech have been discussed. Yet, there are mixed effects and a current lack of clarity in relations and directions for parameters derived from stressed speech. The aim of the current study is – in a controlled psychosocial stress induction experiment – to apply network modeling to (1) look into the unique associations between specific speech parameters, comparing speech networks containing fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, mean voiced segment length, and Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio (HNR) pre- and post-stress induction, and (2) examine how changes pre- versus post-stress induction (i.e., change network) in each of the parameters are related to changes in self-reported negative affect. Results show that the network of speech parameters is similar after versus before the stress induction, with a central role of HNR, which shows that the complex interplay and unique associations between each of the used speech parameters is not impacted by psychosocial stress (aim 1). Moreover, we found a change network (consisting of pre-post stress difference values) with changes in jitter being positively related to changes in self-reported negative affect (aim 2). These findings illustrate – for the first time in a well-controlled but ecologically valid setting – the complex relations between different speech parameters in the context of psychosocial stress. Longitudinal and experimental studies are required to further investigate these relationships and to test whether the identified paths in the networks are indicative of causal relationships.

Emotion Recognition Based on Skin Potential Signals with a Portable Wireless Device

Emotion recognition is of great importance for artificial intelligence, robots, and medicine etc. Although many techniques have been developed for emotion recognition, with certain successes, they rely heavily on complicated and expensive equipment. Skin potential (SP) has been recognized to be correlated with human emotions for a long time, but has been largely ignored due to the lack of systematic research. In this paper, we propose a single SP-signal-based method for emotion recognition. Firstly, we developed a portable wireless device to measure the SP signal between the middle finger and left wrist. Then, a video induction experiment was designed to stimulate four kinds of typical emotion (happiness, sadness, anger, fear) in 26 subjects. Based on the device and video induction, we obtained a dataset consisting of 397 emotion samples. We extracted 29 features from each of the emotion samples and used eight well-established algorithms to classify the four emotions based on these features. Experimental results show that the gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT), logistic regression (LR) and random forest (RF) algorithms achieved the highest accuracy of 75%. The obtained accuracy is similar to, or even better than, that of other methods using multiple physiological signals. Our research demonstrates the feasibility of the SP signal’s integration into existing physiological signals for emotion recognition.

A Fructan Sucrase Secreted Extracellular and Purified in One-Step by Gram-Positive Enhancer Matrix Particles

Fructan sucrase is a kind of biological enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of fructan, and fructan is a polysaccharide product with important industrial application value. In this study, the Fructan sucrase gene of Bacillus subtilis was cloned to plasmid PET-28A-ACMA-Z, and three clones were obtained after the transformation of Escherichia coli BL21, namely BS-FF, BSO, and BS. The clones BS-FF and BSO secreted the recombinant enzymes outside the cells, while the clone BS expressed them inside the cells. The induction experiment results showed that the optimum IPTG concentration in the medium was 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM for clones BS-FF and BSO, respectively, while the incubation conditions were at 28 °C for 8 h. The recombinant fructan sucrase was purified one step using a material called GEM particles. The results indicated that 95.25% of fructan sucrase expressed by the clone BS-FF could be secreted into the extracellular area, and even 98.78% by the clone BSO. With the above purification system, the receiving rate of the recombinant enzyme for clones BS-FF and BSO was 97.70% and 84.99%, respectively. As for the bioactivity of recombinant fructan sucrase, the optimum temperature and pH were 50 °C and 5.6, respectively. The Km and Vmax of it were 33.96 g/L and 0.63 g/(L·min), respectively. The engineered strains with the high extracellular secretion of fructan sucrase were constructed, and a one-step method for the purification of the recombinant enzyme was established. The results might provide a novel selection for the enzymatic production of fructan on a large scale.

Impact of Viral Lysis on the Composition of Bacterial Communities and Dissolved Organic Matter in Deep-Sea Sediments

Viral lysis is a main mortality factor for bacteria in deep-sea sediments, leading to changing microbial community structures and the release of cellular components to the environment. Nature and fate of these compounds and the role of viruses for microbial diversity is largely unknown. We investigated the effect of viruses on the composition of bacterial communities and the pool of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by setting up virus-induction experiments using mitomycin C with sediments from the seafloor of the Bering Sea. At the sediment surface, no substantial prophage induction was detected, while incubations from 20 cm below seafloor showed a doubling of the virus-to-cell ratio. Ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry revealed an imprint of cell lysis on the molecular composition of DOM, showing an increase of molecular formulas typical for common biomolecules. More than 50% of these compounds were removed or transformed during incubation. The remaining material potentially contributed to the pool of refractory DOM. Next generation sequencing of the bacterial communities from the induction experiment showed a stable composition over time. In contrast, in the non-treated controls the abundance of dominant taxa (e.g., Gammaproteobacteria) increased at the expense of less abundant phyla. Thus, we conclude that viral lysis was an important driver in sustaining bacterial diversity, consistent with the “killing the winner” model.

A heparinoid from peony roots (Paeonia anomala): effects on polymerization and dissolution of fibrin in thrombosis

Исследование гепаринов и гепариноидов в качестве антитромботических агентов актуально для физиологии и медицины. Многие растения включают гепариноподобные компоненты (гепариноиды), которые препятствуют тромбообразованию. Цель - установление влияния экстракта из корней пиона «Марьин корень» (Paeonia anomala), содержащего гепариноид, на полимеризацию фибрина при процессах тромбообразования ex vivo и определение возможных механизмов его антитромботического действия. Методика. Исследовано влияние гепариноида из пиона (Paeonia anomala) на процессы растворения фибрина в условиях тромбообразования ex vivo. Разработана модель тромбоза (МТ) ex vivo. К плазме крови крыс (объем 0,2 мл) добавляли 2 NIH ед. тромбина (0,05 мл), фибриновый сгусток образовывался в течение 2-3 мин. Экстракт гепариноида из пиона (0,1 мл 0.5%-й) добавляли к предобразованному сгустку через 12 мин после моделирования тромбоза (опыт А), или одновременно с добавлением тромбина к плазме крови (опыт Б). Использовали венозную (из v. jugularis) кровь крыс-самцов Wistar. Полимеризацию фибрина выявляли по тесту фибриндеполимеризационной активности (ФДПА) плазмы крови на нестабилизированном фибрине. В продуктах растворения фибрина под влиянием гепариноида оценивали активность тромбина (по тесту тромбинового времени), cвертывающего фактора XIIIa (по определению активности фактора XIIIa) и ФДПА. Результаты. В опыте А спустя 10 мин после добавления гепариноида к предобразованному сгустку отмечалось появление в нем жидкой фазы, что свидетельствовало о способности исследуемого гепариноида растворять фибрин. В опыте Б сгусток или не образовывался, или же был рыхлым. Полученные данные свидетельствовали об ингибировании процесса полимеризации фибрина под влиянием гепариноида. Выявлены антитромбиновые и антифибринстабилизирующие эффекты гепариноида из пиона при добавлении к фибриновому сгустку. Рассматриваются возможные механизмы действия гепариноида на блокаду полимеризации фибрина. Заключение. Растительный гепариноид препятствовал процессам полимеризации фибрина или растворял образующиеся фибриновые сгустки, что связано с его антитромбиновым и антифибринстабилизирующим действием. Studying heparins and heparinoids as antithrombotic agents is relevant for physiology and medicine. Many plants contain heparin-like components (heparinoids) that prevent thrombosis. The aim of the study was to identify effects of a heparinoid obtained from peony (Maryin root, P. anomala) roots on polymerization of fibrin and fibrinolytic activity of blood plasma and to suggest possible mechanisms of these effects in experimentally induced ex vivo thrombosis in rats. Methods. The effect of peony (Paeonia anomala) root heparinoid on fibrin dissolution was studied in the ex vivo conditions of thrombosis. For ex vivo modeling of thrombosis (MT), 2 NIH units of thrombin (0.05 ml) were added to 0.2 ml of rat plasma. A fibrin clot formed within 2-3 minutes. The peony heparinoid extract (0.5%, 0.1 ml) was added either to the pre-formed clot at 12 min after MT induction (experiment A) or simultaneously with the addition of thrombin to plasma (experiment B). Jugular vein blood from Wistar male rats was used. Fibrin polymerization was detected using a plasma fibrin-depolymerization activity (FDPA) test on non-stabilized fibrin. Thrombin activity (thrombin time test), coagulation factor XIIIa activity, and FDPA were evaluated in products of fibrin dissolution induced by the heparinoid. Results. In experiment A, at 10 min after the addition of heparinoid to the pre-formed clot, a liquid phase emerged, which indicated an ability of the pion heparinoid to dissolve fibrin. In experiment B, the clot either did not form or was liquid. These results indicated inhibition of fibrin polymerization under the action of the heparinoid. Therefore, the peony heparinoid added to the fibrin clot antagonized thrombin and fibrin stabilization. The article addresses possible mechanisms of the heparinoid inhibition of fibrin polymerization. Conclusion. The studied plant heparinoid prevented processes of fibrin polymerization or dissolved formed fibrin clots due to depression of thrombin activity and fibrin stabilization.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIRCULAR WIRE MAGNETIC INDUCTION EXPERIMENT DEVICE AS PHYSICS LEARNING MEDIA

In general, this research aims to produce a valid magnetic induction experimental device as a medium forlearning physics in high school. The experimental device consists of experimental equipment and tool usagemanual. In particular, this research aims to design, build, and validate devices for magnetic inductionexperiments on coiled wire as a physics learning media according to the research development steps. Threeexperts and two physics teachers as users have been involved to provide an assessment of the experimentaldevices that have been built. Assessment is carried out on the construction and content of the experimentaldevice. The results of data analysis showed that every aspect of the assessment of the experimental tool wasdeclared valid with a very good category (index validity 3.34) and the manual for using experimental toolswas also declared valid with a very good category (index of validity 3.47). Thus, it can be said that themagnetic induction experimental device in circular wire is declared valid as a medium for physics learning.

Analysis of female novice extroversion driver’s eye movement characteristics under anxiety

Anxiety is a common emotion of driver, which always affects the safety of driving. Eye movement characteristics can be used to understand the true emotion state of human beings. It is of great significance to study the law of eye movement for realizing active vehicle safety warning and human–machine cooperation. In this article, anxiety-induction experiment, real-vehicle driving experiments, and virtual driving experiments were designed and used to obtain the eye movement data of female novice extroversion driver under calm and anxiety, and mathematical statistics analysis was made on the fixation count, fixation duration, and visit duration in the area of interest within the driver horizon. The results showed that there are significant differences in fixation count and fixation duration of drivers ([Formula: see text], p is the accompanying probability), and the main effect of emotion is significant [Formula: see text].Compared with the situation of calm, fixation area, fixation count, and fixation duration of drivers under anxiety were more focused on the middle area, the fixation count and visit duration on the left area were relatively more, the fixation duration on the right area was relatively longer, and anxiety was more likely to cause driver’s attention bias.

Experimental research on car movement characteristics under the condition of different driving emotions

Emotion is the external way to express human’s inner thoughts, which has a significant influence on human behaviors. It is an important prerequisite for studying the intrinsic affect mechanism of emotions on behaviors certain. In this article, drivers’ emotional induction experiment, actual and virtual driving experiments are designed to obtain the multi-source dynamic data of human–vehicle–environment under the condition of different emotions. The influences of emotions’ changes on car movement characteristics of different types of drivers are explored. Changing law of car movement characteristics under the condition of different emotions can be obtained finally. The research can provide theoretical basis for the future research of driver assistance system, which is of great significance to realize active vehicle safety warning and unmanned driving in the future.