Apical Rooted Cuttings Revolutionize Seed Potato Production by Smallholder Farmers in the Tropics

Potato apical rooted cuttings (ARC) originating from juvenile simple rounded leaf mother plants are a significant new way of transplanting and field growing of seed potatoes under smallholder field conditions in the tropical highlands. The aim of this paper is to highlight the development of the technology by researchers and farmers in Vietnam, Philippines, Kenya and Uganda. The development of cultivars with late blight resistance for which no source of tuber seed was available stimulated the creation of using ARC. The demystification of tissue culture by the 1980s greatly aided this development. The key hurdle was to multiply tissue culture plants in beds of growing media and maintain the physiological young stage of the mother plants from which apical cuttings could be repeatedly taken for several months to produce ARC for sale to farmers who demanded the new cultivars (cvs) with all the desirable attributes. The technology was first developed in warmer climates at lower elevations of less than 1,500 meters above mean sea level (mamsl) but gradually it was successfully developed at cooler climates in East Africa. The technology is well established in the highlands of Vietnam and Philippines. The largest family operation is producing over 4 million ARC annually. These high-quality ARC along with improved cvs have markedly improved yields of smallholder farmers, improving food security and increasing their income levels. In Kenya and Uganda there is a rapid adoption of ARC by seed producers, smallholder farmers and youths. The ARC revolution is bringing a great deal of excitement and promise of prosperity to remote poor highland communities.

Host specific endophytic microbiome diversity and associated functions in three varieties of scented black rice are dependent on growth stage

The compositional and functional role of the endophytic bacterial community, associated with black scented rice, in correlation with its antioxidant property has been elucidated. Community dissimilarity analysis confirmed the overlapping of community in shoot and root tissues at the young stage, but not in mature plants. Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum, in which Agrobacterium, Pleomorphomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Novasphingobium, Caulobacter were the most abundant genera, followed by Cyanobacteria and Planctomycetes in all three different varieties of the black rice. The antioxidant activity of mature plants was found to be higher in comparison to young plants. Intrinsically, the relative abundance of Pleomorphomonas and Streptomyces was positively correlated with total phenol content, while Gemmata, unclassified Pirellulaceae, unclassified Stramenopiles positively correlated with total flavonoid content and negatively correlated with Free radical scavenging activity. Accordingly, functional metagenome analysis of the endophytic microbiome revealed that naringenin -3-dioxygenase and anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase for phenylpropanoid (flavonoid and anthocyanin) synthesis were abundant in the endophytic microbiome of mature plants. Specific enrichment of the antioxidant producing genes in the mature plant endophytic microbiome was assigned to some bacteria such as Streptomyces, Pantoea which might have contributed to the common pathway of flavonoid synthesis. The genomes of endophytic isolates Kluyvera sp.PO2S7, Bacillus subtilis AMR1 and Enterobacter sp. SES19 were sequenced and annotated, and were found to have genes for phenylpropanoid synthesis in their genomes.

Patient with Diabetes Mellitus and Ocular Complications: A Brief review

Diabetes mellitus is metabolic disorder characterised by hyperglycaemia of human blood due to inadequate secretion and action of hormone insulin. Different classes of DM are Type-1, Type-2, neonatal, gestational and maturity onset of diabetes at young stage. The main pathologic cause for the DM is autoimmune destruction of β-cells and insulin deficiency due to resistance of insulin action caused by the abnormalities in metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and lipids which intern cause lack of insulin action on target tissues. Chronic stage of hyperglycaemia is associated with permanent damage, failure and dysfunction of various organs system, which includes heart, blood vessel, eyes, neurones and kidney. Long term DM may causes some health complications in patient such as nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy and other complications like peripheral vasculopathy and ischemia of heart. In current era ocular complications associated with DM are rapid and progressive, becoming world top most cause of morbidity. This article covers brief information regarding ocular complications and vision loss in patient with DM.

GC-MS analyses of young and mature Archidium Ohioense Schimp Ex. C. Mull and Philonotis hastate (Duby) Wijk & Margad extracts

Analyses of the constituents of the crude extracts obtained from young and mature moss species namely: Archidium ohioense and Philonotis hastata were conducted with a view to investigating the effects of maturity stages on their bioactive constituents. The mosses collected from their natural population were air dried at ambient temperature in the laboratory, extracted with methanol and the crude extracts subjected to gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The results of the analyses showed the presence of 20 compounds in young A. ohioense with n-hexadecanoic acid [26.60%], bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [12.47%], bicyclo (3.1.1)heptane 2,6,6-trimethyl-[1r-(1.alpha.,2.beta.,5.alpha.)]- [11.59%] and phytol [9.69%] forming the prominent components while in the mature A. ohioense, 13 compounds were present, from which n-hexadecanoic acid [51.25%], hexadecanoic acid 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)-ethyl ester [9.90%] and n-propyl 9-octadecenoate [7.47%] formed the prominent components. In P. hastata, 20 compounds were identified in the young stage sample with n-hexadecanoic acid [22.46%], bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [20.95%] and phytol [18.14%] as the prominent components while 9 compounds were identified in the mature sample with n-hexadecanoic acid[51.84%], hexadecanoic acid 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethyl ester [18.12%] and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [9.11%] which formed the prominent components. The study indicated that, maturity stages at collection of the mosses affected their bioactive compositions, with the young stage mosses showing more bioactive compounds than the mature ones. Keywords: A. ohioense, P. hastata, Mosses, Maturity stages, Crude extract, GC-MS.

Evolution of the Gut Microbiota and Its Fermentation Characteristics of Ningxiang Pigs at the Young Stage

The current study aimed to investigate the evolution of gut microbiota and its influencing factors for NXP in youth. The results showed that Shannon index increased from d 21 to d 28 whereas the ACE index increased from d 21 until d 60. Firmicutes, mainly Lactobacillus dominated on d 21. The Bacteroides and Spirochetes showed highest relative abundance on d 28. Fiber-degrading bacteria, mainly Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Muribaculaceae, and Oscillospiraceae_UCG−002, dominated the microbial communities at d 28 and d 35. The microbial communities at d 60 and d 75 contained more Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Terrisporobacter and Oscillospiraceae_UCG−005 than other ages, which had significantly positive correlations with acetate and total SCFAs concentration. In conclusion, the evolution of gut microbiota was mainly adapted to the change of dietary factors during NXP growth. The response of fiber-degrading bacteria at different stages may help NXP better adapt to plant-derived feeds.

Extractive Content and Colour Properties of 11-Year-Old Superior Teak Wood

There is a lack of understanding about the properties of fast-growing teak trees harvested in young stage. Superior teak woods (11 years, 5 trees) grown in Pemalang FMU were assessed in vertical and radial positions for its extractive contents and colour properties. Extractions were conducted using a sequence of toluene, ethanol, and hot water. The color evaluation was performed using CIEL*a*b*’s chromaticity system. Toluene-, ethanol-, hot-water-, and total extractive contents ranged between 1.16~5.00%; 0.29~1,04%, and 0.98~2.35%, and 4.03~7.31%, respectively. For color properties, the brightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) indices ranged from 49.50~57.42, 6.08~10.81, and 20.47~25.74, espectively.Toluene- and total extractive contents were greater in heartwood than in sapwood, while the reverse occurred for the hot-water extractive content. Toluene- and total extractive contents were higher in outer heartwood than in inner heartwood. With regard to colour properties, L* and a* values were significantly differed between sapwood and heartwood. Vertical stem analysis of samples obtained at bottom, center, and top showed the toluene extractive content, total extractive content, and a* levels of center part of the tree were found to be lower than other parts. The L* were negatively correlated with extractive contents, with the highest correlation degree (-0.83**) being observed in the total extractive content in the heartwood. It is also noticed that superior teak wood wood was less darker and extractive contents than the heartwood control of a 72-year-old tree. Therefore, the properties measured in the present work might be related with natural durability of the woods.

Morphological structures and histochemistry of roots and shoots in Myricaria laxiflora (Tamaricaceae)

Myricaria laxiflora (Tamaricaceae) is an endangered plant that is narrowly distributed in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges, along the Yangtze River, China. Using bright-field and epifluorescence microscopy, we investigated the anatomical and histochemical features that allow this species to tolerate both submerged and terrestrial environments. The adventitious roots of Myr. laxiflora had an endodermis with Casparian bands and suberin lamellae; the cortex and hypodermal walls had lignified thickenings in the primary structure. In the mature roots, the secondary structure had cork. The apoplastic barriers in stems consisted of a lignified fiber ring and a cuticle at the young stage and cork at the mature stage. The leaves had two layers of palisade tissue, a hyaline epidermis, sunken stomata, and a thick, papillose cuticle. Aerenchyma presented in the roots and shoots. Several Myr. laxiflora structures, including aerenchyma, apoplastic barriers in the roots and shoots, were adapted to riparian habitats. In addition, shoots had typical xerophyte features, including small leaves, bilayer palisade tissues, sunken stomata, a thick, papillose cuticle, and a hyaline epidermis. Thus, our study identified several anatomical features that may permit Myr. laxiflora to thrive in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges, China.

Growth Performance of Daphnia sp. Cultured in Different Concentration of Rice Washing Water

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the administration of rice washing water in culture medium on the growth performance of Daphnia sp. This research using three different doses of rice washing water i.e 1 mL/L, 3mL/L, and 5 mL/L. Daphnia sp. was cultured with an initial density of 20 ind/L. Observed parameters include growth parameters (population density, size and specific growth rate) and water quality. This result showed that a concentration of 3 mL/L created the highest population of Daphnia sp. density about 620±20 ind/L, number small size (young stage) 81.2%, and the highest specific growth rate about 56.68±0.55%. The water quality content of DO, temperature and pH during this study were in the good range of Daphnia sp. life and reproduction. The research has a conclusion that rice washing water can be used to nutritional sources of Daphnia sp. In the future, it is necessary to make further observations about the reproductive performance of Daphnia sp, given rice washing water through clone culture.Keywords: Live food, Population density, Rice washing water, Size of Daphnia sp., Specific growth rate