Ultraviolet vision in larval Neogonodactylus oerstedii

Stomatopod crustaceans have among the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom, with up to twelve different color detection channels. The capabilities of these unique eyes include photoreception of ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths (<400 nm). UV vision has been well characterized in adult stomatopods but has not been previously demonstrated in the comparatively simpler larval eye. Larval stomatopod eyes are developmentally distinct from their adult counterpart and have been described as lacking the visual pigment diversity and morphological specializations found in adult eyes. However, recent studies have provided evidence that larval stomatopod eyes are more complex than previously thought and warrant closer investigation. Using electroretinogram recordings in live animals we found physiological evidence of blue and UV sensitive photoreceptors in larvae of the Caribbean stomatopod species Neogonodactylus oerstedii. Transcriptomes of individual larvae were used to identify the expression of three distinct UV opsins transcripts, which may indicate the presence of multiple UV spectral channels. This is the first paper to document UV vision in any larval stomatopod, expanding our understanding of the importance of UV sensitivity in plankton. Similar to adults, larval stomatopod eyes are more complex than expected and contain previously uncharacterized molecular diversity and physiological functions.

Evidences of Microplastic in Air and Street Dust: A Case Study of Varanasi City, India

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in our environment. Its presence in air, water and soil makes it a serious threat to living organisms. The present study aimed to assess the availability of MPs in air and street dust of a metropolitan city Varanasi, India. Suspended dust samples and street dust samples were collected from various sampling sites. The assessment of MPs was conducted by for physical identification binocular microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), while elemental analysis done by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX). and finally, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for functional group analysis. the presence of MPs in both suspended dust and street dust samples of all selected sampling sites was confirmed by results. MPs of different color with the shape of Fragments, Films, Spherules and Fibers were observed in the study. However, most of the MPs were less than 1mm in size. The MPs identified in our study were majorly polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride. EDX analysis showed presence of trace elements like aluminum, cadmium, magnesium, sodium, and silicon apart from carbon and oxygen, which indicates the presence of additives or adsorption capacity of MPs. Confirmation of MPs in the air of a locality of Varanasi explains the need of deep research in this concerned field to protect our future from negative impacts of breathing MPs.

Investigation of the effect of light fastness on the color changes of maps prepared by electrophotographic digital printing

In this study the prints were made on paper substrates, which were thought as map substrate alternatives, with 3 different surface properties at 1200 dpi by using the electrophotographic printing system. Color and gloss values of the samples were determined both before and after exposure to light for a period of 42 hours to determine the light fastness of the substrate and the print on it. The studies revealed that after the light fastness tests (i) the width of the color universe of the papers with matte surfaces is more than that of the papers with glossy surfaces, (ii) the loss of brightness of woodfree paper is higher than that of the other paper samples and (iii) the print chroma values obtained in woodfree paper is lower than those of the coated surfaces. Moreover, (iv) the delta E 00 {E_{00}} measurements revealed that all paper samples experienced different color losses in different colors, and the most significant differences in these color losses were in magenta and black.

Twice lost, twice found: A new species of Gonolobus (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) with a reappraisal of the genus in the Yucatan Peninsula Biotic Province

Gonolobus is reassessed in the Yucatan Peninsula Biotic Province (YPBP). The genus consists of seven taxa in the area: six species and two subspecies. These include a taxon that we propose here as a new species and the treatment of G. yucatanensis as a subspecies of G. stenanthus and the new combination G. stenanthus subsp. yucatanensis is proposed. These two taxa are endemic to the YPBP. The other species are G. barbatus (for which we propose a lectotype), G. cteniophorus, G. fraternus, G. glaberrimus, and G. leianthus. The new species is G. caamalii Carnevali & R. Duno, restricted to the Yucatán state in Mexico and distinguished by its corolla lobes with a dark purple (almost black) longitudinal, callose band along the proximal 2/3 on the right side of the lobes and a 1.1–1.3 mm broad, annular, continuous dark purple-black band surrounding the gynostemium and corona at the base of the corolla lobes. It appears related to G. leianthus from southern Megamexico, a species from humid forests at higher elevations and that differs in its larger flowers with broader corolla lobes and a strikingly different color pattern in the flowers. The new species is described, illustrated, and discussed. Entries for all Gonolobus species from the YPBP include a brief discussion and specimen citations. The conservation status of the Gonolobus taxa endemic to the YPBP are assessed either as as Endangered (EN) or as Near threatened (NT). Distributional maps for all Gonolobus from the area covered are presented. Finally, we offer a key to Gonolobus of the YPBP.

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Competitive Growth Advantage of Non-pigmented Serratia marcescens Mutants

Serratia marcescens is a common bacterium well-known for the red secondary metabolite prodigiosin. However, color mutants have long been described. Non-pigmented strains can be found to exist both naturally and under laboratory conditions. It is unclear why S. marcescens loses prodigiosin synthesis capacity in certain conditions. In the present study, we find that the spontaneous color mutants arise within a few generations (about five passages) and rapidly replace the wild-type parent cells (about 24 passages), which indicates a growth advantage of the former. Although, the loss of prodigiosin synthesis genes (pigA-N) is frequently reported as the major reason for pigment deficiency, it was unexpected that the whole gene cluster is completely preserved in the different color morphotypes. Comparative transcriptomic analysis indicates a dramatic variation at the transcriptional level. Most of the pig genes are significantly downregulated in the color morphotypes which directly lead to prodigiosin dyssynthesis. Besides, the transcriptional changes of several other genes have been noticed, of which transcriptional regulators, membrane proteins, and nearly all type VI secretion system (T6SS) components are generally downregulated, while both amino acid metabolite and transport systems are activated. In addition, we delete the transcription regulator slyA to generate a non-pigmented mutant. The ΔslyA strain loses prodigiosin synthesis capacity, but has a higher cell density, and surprisingly enhances the virulence as an entomopathogen. These data indicate that S. marcescens shuts down several high-cost systems and activates the amino acid degradation and transport pathways at the transcriptional level to obtain extra resources, which provides new insights into the competitive growth advantage of bacterial spontaneous color mutants.

Medium evolution of a static quark-antiquark pair in the large Nc limit

We study the transitions between the different color states of a static quark-antiquark pair, singlet and octet, in a thermal medium. This is done non-perturbatively exploiting the infinite mass limit of QCD. This study is interesting because it can be used for future developments within the framework of Effective Field Theories (EFTs) and because it can be combined with other techniques, like lattice QCD or AdS/CFT, to gain non-perturbative information about the evolution of quarkonium in a medium. We also study the obtained expressions in the large Nc limit. This allows us to learn lessons that are useful to simplify phenomenological models of quarkonium in a plasma.

Determination of Fractional Chromatic Numbers in the Operation of Adding Two Different Graphs

The development of graph theory has provided many new pieces of knowledge, one of them is graph color. Where the application is spread in various fields such as the coding index theory. Fractional coloring is multiple coloring at points with different colors where the adjoining point has a different color. The operation in the graph is known as the sum operation. Point coloring can be applied to graphs where the result of operations is from several special graphs. In this case, the graph summation results of the path graph and the cycle graph will produce the same fractional chromatic number as the sum of the fractional chromatic numbers of each graph before it is operated.

Color and antibacterial activity of annatto extracts at various pH of distilled water solvent and extraction temperature

Annato (Bixa orrelana L.) has been renowned as a tropical plant rich in carotenoid pigments such as nonpolar bixin and polar norbixin. This study was aimed to obtain natural colorant and antimicrobials from annatto extracts. The extraction was carried out by maceration for 10 mins using distilled water as the extraction solvent at various pH and extraction temperatures. The variations of solvent pH used in this research were 4, 7, and 9, while that of extraction temperatures were 70, 80, and 90oC. The potential of annatto extract as an antimicrobial agent was tested by analyzing the extract's ability to inhibit pathogens and its phytochemical compounds. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used as the pathogenic bacteria by using the agar diffusion method. The color of annatto extracts was measured using Munsel Chard to determine the level of hue (color), value (brightness), and chroma (intensity), as well as maximum absorbance. The results showed that all extracts have the potential to inhibit E. coli and S aureus (weak-moderate). The observed annatto extracts had different color intensities as indicated by the hue, value, and chroma and a maximum absorbance at a wavelength of 400 nm.

Strong chromatic index of generalized Jahangir graphs and generalized Helm graphs

The strong edge coloring of a graph G is a proper edge coloring that assigns a different color to any two edges which are at most two edges apart. The minimum number of color classes that contribute to such a proper coloring is said to be the strong chromatic index of G. This paper defines the strong chromatic index for the generalized Jahangir graphs and the generalized Helm graphs.

Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of the Anthocyanin Regulatory Networks in Malus Domestica Borkh. Peel with Different Color Patterns

Background:Coloring is an important external quality of ‘Fuji’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) and there are two color patterns of apple peels, i.e., stripe and blush. The objectives of this study were to reveal the anthocyanin biosynthesis metabolic pathway in striped and blushed peels of Malus domestica using metabolomics and transcriptomics, to identify different anthocyanin metabolites, and to analyze the differentially expressed genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis.Result:The metabolite concentration and gene expression were profiled in the striped and blushed fruit peels of apple harvested at three ripening periods to elucidate the color formation mechanism. At the green fruit period, there were 83 DAMs,including 30 flavonoids, 674 DEGs (521 up-regulated and 153 down-regulated),including 3 MYB related genes (up-regulated, LOC103415449, LOC103421948, LOC103432338) and 2 bHLH genes(up-regulated, LOC103436250, LOC103437863) between striped and blushed apple.At the color turning period, there were 48 DAMs,including 20 flavonoids, 880 DEGs (274 up-regulated and 606 down-regulated), including 3 differentially expressed E2.3.1.133, HCT genes(down-regulated), 2 differentially expressed F3H genes (down-regulated), 1 differentially expressed BZ1 gene (down-regulated) and 2 differentially expressed ANS genes (up-regulated) and 2 up-regulated MYB related genes (LOC103411576, LOC103412495), 5 down-regulated MYB related genes(LOC103400953, LOC103408672, LOC103415404, LOC103420697, LOC103421948), 1 differentially expressed bHLH gene(down-regulated, LOC103400870). At the complete coloring period，there were 95 DAMs,including 34 flavonoids, 2258 DEGs (1159 up- and 1099 down-regulated), including 3 differentially expressed E2.3.1.133, HCT genes(down-regulated), 1 differentially expressed E2.3.1.133, HCT genes(up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed CYP98A genes (up-regulated), 4 differentially expressed CHS genes (up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed E5.5.1.6 genes(up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed CYP75B1 genes (up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed F3R genes (up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed ANS genes (up-regulated), 1 differentially expressed DFR genes (up-regulated), 2 differentially expressed BZ1 genes (up-regulated) and 1 differentially expressed MYB related gene (up-regulated, LOC103401575) .There were both 10 kinds of cyanidin in apple peel at color turning period and complete coloring period, Keracyanin and Cyanin were up-regulated at color turning period and Cyanidin-3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)glucoside was up-regulated at complete coloring period.Conclusions: Our researches provide important information on the anthocyanin metabolites and the candidate genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways of Fuji apple in M.domestcia.