Ein anders unfester Text

Printed anonymously in 1587, the henceforth immensely successful Historia von D. Johann Fausten is both a textual and a narratologic provocation. This is brought about by the polyphony of sources and genres compiled by its author which do not produce a homogeneous whole. But it is also the result of a specific, hybrid conception of text and narration, which intendedly creates ambiguity and scatters irritation everywhere. A valid interpretation is thereby sheerly impossible, which presumably is the most significant reason for the long and controversial discussions among readers and re-tellers, running from Christopher Marlowe (1592) and the Wagnerbuch (1593) up to Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus (1947). This article explores some essential textual aspects of this inexhaustible narrative, such as the discursive and hermeneutic predominance of intradiegetic instances (first of all Mephostophiles) and the decommissioning of the narrator by inserted documents, transtextual references, and primarily by paratexts which almost lead a life of their own on the margins of the story in a proper sense. In this way, the text gets fluid, and its reception becomes an endless search for a coherent meaning which isn’t right there.

Minor Compounds of Palm Oil: Properties and Potential Applications

The oil contained in ripe fruits produced by cultivars of African oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq., as well as that obtained from fresh fruit bunches of certain inter-specific hybrid cultivars derived from crossbreeding between Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés and E. guineensis Jacq., have shown to be lipid substrates rich in valuable phytochemicals with exceptional biological properties and functional applications for multiple human health tasks. Eight isoforms of vitamin E (four tocopherols and four tocotrienols), α- and β-carotene, squalene, and various phenolic structures, make up the largest group of minor compounds in palm oil and are essential nutrients with physiological functions that include, but are not limited to their antioxidant properties. Vitamin E regulates the redox (oxidation-reduction) balance in the body, and compounds such as squalene and carotenoids are ubiquitously distributed throughout the body, including cell membranes and lipoproteins. Several studies suggest that regular intake of foods rich in this group of phytonutrients minimizes the reactivity of oxidative chemical species at the cellular level and serves as an effective adjunct in the treatment of oxidative stress.

Physiological response of Bajra-Napier Hybrids and Tri-Specific Hybrid to salinity stressPhysiological response of Bajra-Napier Hybrids and Tri-Specific Hybrid to salinity stress

Physiological responses of 3 Bajra-Napier (Cenchrus spp., syn. Pennisetum spp.) hybrid varieties, viz. BNH-3, BNH-6, BNH-10, and 1 ttri-specific hybrid (TSH) were tested under different gradients of soil salinity, i.e. Control, 4, 6 and 8 dS/m electric conductivity (EC), in a pot trial. The experiment was laid out in a factorial completely randomized design with 3 replications. Shoot dry weight, root dry weight, root:shoot ratio and chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations were reduced with increasing salinity level as compared with Control. However, the concentration of Na+ in leaves increased and K+ concentration decreased with increasing salinity level. Physiological parameters, i.e. relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll stability index, carotenoid stability index and K+: Na+ ratio, in leaves tended to be higher in the BNH-3 variety than in other varieties. Shoot dry weight showed highly positive significant correlation with RWC, MSI, K+ concentration and K+:Na+ ratio, while it was negatively correlated with Na+ concentration (P<0.01) All BN hybrid varieties and the tri-specific hybrid studied were susceptible to salinity stress, showing marked reductions in growth as the level of salinity increased above 4 dS/m. However, even at salinity levels producing EC of 8 dS/m these varieties still produced 25‒44% DM yields. There are prospects for improving forage yields from saline soils by planting these hybrids but further breeding studies are warranted to identify germplasm with greater tolerance of saline conditions if these soils are to be utilized effectively to contribute more to supplying forage to support the world’s ruminant population.

Microsatellite Marker Based DNA Fingerprinting of Cotton (Gossypium Spp.) Hybrids and Their Parents

Cotton production in India by vast majority comes from cotton hybrids whose genetic purity is of great significance in seed production chain and trade. Therefore, there is need to develop a rapid, reliable and reproducible technique to assess the genetic purity of cotton hybrids as traditional, morphological traits-based ‘Grow-Out Test’ is resource intensive, time consuming, tedious and not an infallible procedure. In this regard, a study was planned to understand the genetic diversity among the hybrids and their parents, and also to identify SSR markers for confirmation of genetic purity or hybridity. One intra-arboreum hybrid, CICR2 (DS 5 GMS × LD 327 Sel.), four intra-hirsutum hybrids viz., CSHH198 (CSH 19 × CSH 8), CSHH238 (SH 2379 9Y × PIL 8 Sel.), CSHH243 (CSH 2013 × CSH 43), CSHH1862 (GMS 16A × CB 33) and one hirsutum × barbadense hybrid, Phule 388 (RHC-006 × RHCb-001) along with their respective parental lines were selected for molecular characterization. Of the total 215 SSR markers surveyed, 60 markers conveyed polymorphism. The information conveyed by the polymorphic SSR markers was utilized to assess the molecular divergence among the study material. Maximum genetic dissimilarity of 0.66 was noted between Phule 388 and LD 327 (Sel.), and between RHC-006 and DS 5 (GMS). Minimum genetic dissimilarity of 0.07 was observed between CSHH1862 with CB 33, followed by 0.11 between CICR2 with DS 5 (GMS). SSR markers were highly efficient in capturing both intra-species and inter-species level diversity. The clustering and factorial analysis was in congruence with the species of Gossypium. The diploid species genotypes were clustered separately and distinctly from the rest of the genotypes. All the hirsutum hybrids and their respective parents were found closely clustered. The inter-specific hybrid, Phule 388 along with its parents was found grouped closely. The genetic purity of the hybrids was confirmed using identified SSR markers [GH486, BNL1421, BNL3594, JESPR151 for G. hirsutum hybrid CSHH198; GH486, BNL2449, JESPR151, TMB0436 for G. hirsutum hybrid CSHH238; BNL2449, JESPR151, JESPR152 for G. hirsutum hybrid CSHH243; and, GH527, BNL3812, TMB1484, TMB1645, NAU1190, BNL3816 for inter-specific G. hirsutum × G. barbadense hybrid Phule 388]. The SSR markers were efficient in analysis of hybrid seed purity. The information generated in the present study about genetic diversity and genetic purity testing will greatly facilitate quality seed production of these cotton hybrids and thus, better cotton production.

A cooperative coevolution algorithm for complex hybrid seru-system scheduling optimization

Under the current volatile business environment, the requirement of flexible production is becoming increasingly urgent. As an innovative production mode, seru-system with reconfigurability can overcome the lack of flexibility in traditional flow lines. Compared with pure seru-system, the hybrid seru-system composed of both serus and production lines is more practical for adapting to many production processes. This paper addresses a specific hybrid seru-system scheduling optimization problem (HSSOP), which includes three strongly coupled sub-problems, i.e., hybrid seru formation, seru scheduling and flow line scheduling. To minimize the makespan of the whole hybrid seru-system, we propose an efficient cooperative coevolution algorithm (CCA). To tackle three sub-problems, specific sub-algorithms are designed based on the characteristic of each sub-problem, i.e., a sub-space exploitation algorithm for hybrid seru formation, an estimation of distribution algorithm for seru scheduling, and a first-arrive-first-process heuristic for flow line scheduling. Since three sub-problems are coupled, a cooperation coevolution mechanism is proposed for the integrated algorithm by information sharing. Moreover, a batch reassign rule is designed to overcome the mismatch of partial solutions during cooperative coevolution. To enhance the exploitation ability, problem-specific local search methods are designed and embedded in the CCA. In addition to the investigation about the effect of parameter setting, extensive computational tests and comparisons are carried out which demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the CCA in solving the HSSOP.

Rat PRDM9 shapes recombination landscapes, duration of meiosis, gametogenesis, and age of fertility

BackgroundVertebrate meiotic recombination events are concentrated in regions (hotspots) that display open chromatin marks, such as trimethylation of lysines 4 and 36 of histone 3 (H3K4me3 and H3K36me3). Mouse and human PRDM9 proteins catalyze H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 and determine hotspot positions, whereas other vertebrates lacking PRDM9 recombine in regions with chromatin already opened for another function, such as gene promoters. While these other vertebrate species lacking PRDM9 remain fertile, inactivation of the mousePrdm9gene, which shifts the hotspots to the functional regions (including promoters), typically causes gross fertility reduction; and the reasons for these species differences are not clear.ResultsWe introducedPrdm9deletions into theRattus norvegicusgenome and generated the first rat genome-wide maps of recombination-initiating double-strand break hotspots. Rat strains carrying the same wild-typePrdm9allele shared 88% hotspots but strains with differentPrdm9alleles only 3%. AfterPrdm9deletion, rat hotspots relocated to functional regions, about 40% to positions corresponding toPrdm9-independent mouse hotspots, including promoters. Despite the hotspot relocation and decreased fertility,Prdm9-deficient rats of the SHR/OlaIpcv strain produced healthy offspring. The percentage of normal pachytene spermatocytes in SHR-Prdm9mutants was almost double than in the PWD male mouse oligospermic sterile mutants. We previously found a correlation between the crossover rate and sperm presence in mousePrdm9mutants. The crossover rate of SHR is more similar to sperm-carrying mutant mice, but it did not fully explain the fertility of the SHR mutants. Besides mild meiotic arrests at rat tubular stages IV (mid-pachytene) and XIV (metaphase), we also detected postmeiotic apoptosis of round spermatids. We found delayed meiosis and age-dependent fertility in both sexes of the SHR mutants.ConclusionsWe hypothesize that the relative increased fertility of rat versus mousePrdm9mutants could be ascribed to extended duration of meiotic prophase I. While rat PRDM9 shapes meiotic recombination landscapes, it is unnecessary for recombination. We suggest that PRDM9 has additional roles in spermatogenesis and speciation—spermatid development and reproductive age—that may help to explain male-specific hybrid sterility.