Non-Thermal Plasma Sources Based on Cometary and Point-to-Ring Discharges

A non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a promising tool against the development of bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases. The recently revealed development of microbial resistance to traditional drugs has increased interest in the use of NTPs. We have studied and compared the physical and microbicidal properties of two types of NTP sources based on a cometary discharge in the point-to-point electrode configuration and a corona discharge in the point-to-ring electrode configuration. The electrical and emission properties of both discharges are reported. The microbicidal effect of NTP sources was tested on three strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (including the methicillin-resistant strain), the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the yeast Candida albicans, and the micromycete Trichophyton interdigitale. In general, the cometary discharge is a less stable source of NTP and mostly forms smaller but more rapidly emerging inhibition zones on agar plates. Due to the point-to-ring electrode configuration, the second type of discharge has higher stability and provides larger affected but often not completely inhibited zones. However, after 60 min of exposure, the NTP sources based on the cometary and point-to-ring discharges showed a similar microbicidal effect for bacteria and an individual effect for microscopic fungi.

Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) from SAGE III on the ISS to a Free Flying SAGE IV Cubesat

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) on the International Space Station (ISS) is widely accepted as a stable source for high-quality stratospheric ozone, aerosol, and water vapor measurements since it was installed on the ISS in 2017. The ISS is a unique platform that provides access for hosted payloads while furnishing infrastructure for power, uplink, downlink, etc. for instrument operations. The opportunities, risks, and challenges from operating on the ISS are described in addition to comprehensive lessons learned. In addition, SAGE IV is presented as an option for the future of the SAGE lineage where the lessons learned from SAGE III and technological advances have enabled the instrument to fit into a 6U CubeSat yielding a significantly smaller and cheaper form-factor to preserve the continuity of critical atmospheric measurements.

Emerging Minor Diseases of Rice in India: Losses and Management Strategies

Rice (Oryza sativa L) being one of the imperative food crops of the word contributes immensely to the food and nutritional security of India. The cultivation of rice is changed over the decades from a simple cultivation practices to the advanced cultivation to increase yield. Increased in rice yields especially after 1960s is mainly due to the introduction of high yielding semi-dwarf varieties which requires more inputs like chemical fertilizers, water and other resources. As a result, India achieved self sufficiency in rice and currently producing more than 115 MT of rice to meet country’s demand. Now India is exporting rice to other nations and earning foreign returns. With the change in rice cultivation practices, problems also aroused side by side. A number of biotic and abiotic stresses emerged as major constraints for rice cultivation in diverse agro-climatic conditions and growing ecologies. Diseases are the major biotic constraints to rice which can reduce the yields by 20–100% based on severity. Major diseases like blast, brown spot, bacterial blight, sheath blight and tungro still causing more damage and new minor diseases like bakanae, false smut, grain discoloration, early seedling blight, narrow brown spot, sheath rot have emerged as major problems. The losses due to these diseases may 1–100% based on the growing conditions, varietal susceptibility etc.., At present no significant source of resistance available for any of the above emerging diseases. But looking into the severity of these diseases, it is very important to address them by following integrated management practices like cultural, mechanical, biological and finally chemical control. But more emphasis has to be given to screen gerrmplasm against these diseases and identify stable source of resistance. Finally utilizing these sources in resistance breeding program by employing molecular breeding tools like marker assisted selection (MAS), marker assisted back cross breeding (MABB), gene pyramiding and transgenic tools. The present chapter discusses the importance of these emerging minor diseases of rice, the losses and possible management measures including resistance breeding.

Joint full-waveform GPR and ER inversion applied to field data acquired on the surface

We exploit the different but complementary data sensitivities of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity (ER) by applying a multi-physics, multi-parameter, simultaneous 2.5D joint inversion without invoking petrophysical relationships. Our method joins full-waveform inversion (FWI) GPR with adjoint derived ER sensitivities on the same computational domain. We incorporate a stable source estimation routine into the FWI-GPR.We apply our method in a controlled alluvial aquifer using only surface acquired data. The site exhibits a shallow groundwater boundary and unconsolidated heterogeneous alluvial deposits. We compare our recovered parameters to individual FWI-GPR and ER results, and to log measurements of capacitive conductivity and neutron-derived porosity. Our joint inversion provides a more representative depiction of subsurface structures because it incorporates multiple intrinsic parameters, and it is therefore superior to an interpretation based on log data, FWI-GPR, or ER alone.

Stability analysis of reference genes for RT-qPCR assays involving compatible and incompatible Ralstonia solanacearum-tomato ‘Hawaii 7996’ interactions

Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is an analytical tool for gene expression quantification. Reference genes are not yet available for gene expression analysis during interactions of Ralstonia solanacearum with ‘Hawaii 7996’ (the most stable source of resistance in tomato). Here, we carried out a multi-algorithm stability analysis of eight candidate reference genes during interactions of ‘Hawaii 7996’ with one incompatible/avirulent and two compatible/virulent (= resistance-breaking) bacterial isolates. Samples were taken at 24- and 96-h post-inoculation (HPI). Analyses were performed using the ∆∆Ct method and expression stability was estimated using BestKeeper, NormFinder, and geNorm algorithms. TIP41 and EF1α (with geNorm), TIP41 and ACT (with NormFinder), and UBI3 and TIP41 (with BestKeeper), were the best combinations for mRNA normalization in incompatible interactions at 24 HPI and 96 HPI. The most stable genes in global compatible and incompatible interactions at 24 HPI and 96 HPI were PDS and TIP41 (with geNorm), TIP41 and ACT (with NormFinder), and UBI3 and PDS/EXP (with BestKeeper). Global analyses on the basis of the three algorithms across 20 R. solanacearum-tomato experimental conditions identified UBI3, TIP41 and ACT as the best choices as reference tomato genes in this important pathosystem.

The ways of improving and stabilization the productivity of pasture reclamation and forage plantations in the agricultural landscapes of the Lower Volga region

The goal of the research is the development of effective methods of stabilization and determining ways to increase productive productivity in natural and designed agrocenosis. It is necessary to choose the promising composition of the pasture reclamation and forage plantations, taking into account their seasonality and the optimal seizures of the seizure of phytomass. The objects of research chosen pasture phytocenoses of the Astrakhan Volga region, the northern part of the Harabali district, the Burley plot (47° 33' N.; 47° 16' E), and vegetative sites of the hydrological complex of the Federal research center of agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Volgograd (48 ° 65' N., 44 ° 44' E.). Ecological and biological features of the dominant forage shrubs of Eurotia Ceratoides L. and Kochia Prostrata L. Schrad, Artemisia Lercheana Web., and the herbs of the Poaceae family studied according to generally accepted techniques. As a result of research, it was found that in the vegetative sites with a black soil soil substrate, the best conditions for the growth and development of herbage with the average productivity of the green mass of 1.1 t / ha for vegetation are formed, where more than 70% of the phytomass shape Poaceae. The smallest average productivity is marked on the light-chestnut soup substrate "Spring-Summer" pasture – 0.73 t / ha. Conclusion. The use of pastures is different, so the composition of agrocenoses must be chosen based on the season of operation, optimizing the load on the pasture. At the moment, the maximum adapted composition of the pasture reclamation and forage plantations, promising to create multi-tiered communities. The presented assortment serves as a stable source of additional and stable animal feed on the pasture, while at the same time rendering a positive phytomeliorative effect. The design of pasture agrocenoses allows to achieve productivity of at least 0.73 t / ha. In the structure of their phytomass, cereal species dominate, and shrubs and semi-stares perform a stabilizing role, contributing to the acceleration of the processes for the restoration of degraded pasture phytocenoses.

Prospect of renewable energy resources in Bangladesh

<span lang="EN-GB">The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of renewable energy resources in Bangladesh, as well as to examine various forms of renewable energies in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of how to address Bangladesh's power crisis issues in a sustainable manner. Electricity is currently the most useful kind of energy in Bangladesh. It has a substantial influence on a country's socioeconomic standing and living standards. Maintaining a stable source of energy at a cost that is affordable to everyone has been a constant battle for decades. Bangladesh is blessed with a wealth of natural resources. Bangladesh has a huge opportunity to accelerate its economic development while increasing energy access, livelihoods, and health for millions of people in a sustainable way due to the renewable energy system.</span>

Problems and perspectives of artificial reproduction and conservation of the european eel (Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758)) (a review)

Purpose. Rearing of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a promising area of aquaculture, the development of which in Ukraine and the world is constrained by several factors. Spawning, egg incubation, lack of a stable source of supply of fish seeds – these and other problems, as well as the importance of such studies form a basis for finding approaches for their solution and conducting new large-scale studies. This area attracts attention of scientists, there are certain results and achievements; however, they are still not enough to solve the problems of artificial reproduction of the European eel. Findings. The authors revised, analysed and systematized literature sources focused on the study of the European eel. As a result, it was possible to identify the main achievements and shortcomings in this area, which are promising for further study. In addition, we identified some obstacles faced by scientists and analysed available methods for their solving. Practical value. This review can be used to stimulate new studies and technological development towards industrial cultivation of eel in Ukraine, which will allow reducing the impact on natural populations of this species and stabilize its number in the natural environment. In addition, the authors of the article intend to draw attention of scientists and manufacturers to the perspectives and problems of growing and studying the European eel. Key words: European eel, glass eel, leptocephali, migration, Sargasso Sea, cultivation, fish seeds.

Isolation, identification, preservation and determinations of lactic acid bacteria from chicken’s gut content at 26 days old

Chichens’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract presents a large bacterial diversity and can be a beneficial source in order to the isolation of probiotics candidates. In this study, twentythree strains from Lactobacillus genus (one strain of L. acidophilus biotype 1, eight strains of L. acidophilus biotype 3, one of L. crispatus, five of L. fermentum biotype 1, two of L. brevis biotype 2, five of L. salivarius and one strain of L. delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii) were isolated, cultured, and conserved from ileum and cecum digesta of sixteen chickens, 26 days old, based on their phenotypic characters. The strains confirmation was done by apiwebTM API 50 CHL V.5.1, BioMerieux (France) software, and ABIS online soft. The Lactobacillus strains (106 -108 CFU/g intestinal content) level in the selective medium were determined. The growth of Lactobacillus strains conserved at 4°C (from 48 days to 7 months) and room temperature (from 48 to 90 days) was evaluated. This study showed that chickens can be a stable source for isolating possibly active probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). From Lactobacillus strains isolated and identified, respectively L. fermentum biotype 1 and L. brevis biotype 2 are theoretically suitable for continual testing of probiotic properties.

Potential and challenges of specifically isolating extracellular vesicles from heterogeneous populations

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted interest due to their ability to provide diagnostic information from liquid biopsies. Cells constantly release vesicles divers in size, content and features depending on the biogenesis, origin and function. This heterogeneity adds a layer of complexity when attempting to isolate and characterize EVs resulting in various protocols. Their high abundance in all bodily fluids and their stable source of origin dependent biomarkers make EVs a powerful tool in biomarker discovery and diagnostics. However, applications are limited by the quality of samples definition. Here, we compared frequently used isolation techniques: ultracentrifugation, density gradient centrifugation, ultrafiltration and size exclusion chromatography. Then, we aimed for a tissue-specific isolation of prostate-derived EVs from cell culture supernatants with immunomagnetic beads. Quality and quantity of EVs were confirmed by nanoparticle tracking analysis, western blot and electron microscopy. Additionally, a spotted antibody microarray was developed to characterize EV sub-populations. Current analysis of 16 samples on one microarray for 6 different EV surface markers in triplicate could be easily extended allowing a faster and more economical method to characterize samples.