Graphene-Cu Nanocomposites Induce Tolerance against , Increase Antioxidant Activity, and Decrease Stress in Tomato Plants.

The tomato crop is susceptible to various types of stress, both biotic and abiotic, which affect the morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and genetic regulation of plants. Among the biotic factors, is the phytopathogen f. sp.

Switching Regulator Based on a Non-Inverting Step-Down/Up DC-DC Converter for Lithium-Ion Battery Applications.

A regulator based on a converter with step-down/up characteristics is discussed in this paper, which is suitable for processing energy from a lithium-ion battery pack, where the voltage fluctuates from above or below the nominal value. However, this regulator can also be used for applications such as unregulated line rectifiers and renewable energy sources, among others. The converter consists of a non-cascaded interconnection of boost and buck-boost converters such that part of the input energy is transferred directly to the output without reprocessing.

Passivity-Based Control for Output Voltage Regulation in a Fuel Cell/Boost Converter System.

In this paper, a passivity-based control (PBC) scheme for output voltage regulation in a fuel-cell/boost converter system is designed and validated through real-time numerical results. The proposed control scheme is designed as a current-mode control (CMC) scheme with an outer loop (voltage) for voltage regulation and an inner loop (current) for current reference tracking. The inner loop's design considers the Euler-Lagrange (E-L) formulation to implement a standard PBC and the outer loop is implemented through a standard PI controller.

Response of bioaerosol cells to photocatalytic inactivation with ZnO and TiO impregnated onto Perlite and Poraver carriers.

Unlabelled: Bioaerosols are airborne microorganisms that cause infectious sickness, respiratory and chronic health issues. They have become a latent threat, particularly in indoor environment. Photocatalysis is a promising process to inactivate completely bioaerosols from air.

Expression of the Biologically Active Insulin Analog SCI-57 in .

Diabetes mellitus is a growing problem worldwide; however, only 23% of low-income countries have access to insulin, and ironically it costs higher in such countries than high-income ones. Therefore, new strategies for insulin and insulin analogs production are urgently required to improve low-cost access to therapeutic products, so as to contain the diabetes epidemic. SCI-57 is an insulin analog with a greater affinity for the insulin receptor and lower thermal degradation than native insulin.

Diminution of migration of phthalic acid esters in tequila beverage by the year of production.

The presence of diethyl-phthalate (DEP), dibutyl-phthalate (DBP), butylbenzyl-phthalate (BBP), diethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP) and diisononyl-phthalate (DINP) was determined in 295 tequila samples. They were grouped by age of maturation (white, aged, extra aged or ultra aged) and year of production (between 2013 and 2018). Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry was used for identification and quantification.

Inorganic and organic characterization of Santa Lucía salt mine peloid for quality evaluations.

Santa Lucía peloid is a sediment used in pelotherapy in Cuban primary health care services. Therefore, in addition to physicochemical regulated parameters, other analyses are required to complement their physicochemical characterization and understand potential element mobility, radiological risk, and toxicity as well as likely bioactive compounds present in Santa Lucía peloid. For these purposes, inorganic and organic elements and compounds were considered to evaluate Santa Lucía peloid's quality.

Genetic mapping identifies loci that influence tomato resistance against Colorado potato beetles.

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB; Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), the most economically important insect pest on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), also feeds on other Solanaceae, including cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.).

Environmental Growth Conditions of spp. Affects Indole Acetic Acid Derivatives, Volatile Organic Compounds, and Plant Growth Promotion.

species are soil-borne filamentous fungi widely utilized for their many plant health benefits, such as conferring improved growth, disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance to their hosts. Many species are able to produce the auxin phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and its production has been suggested to promote root growth. Here we show that the production of IAA is strain dependent and diverse external stimuli are associated with its production.

Arsenic and lead contamination in soil and in feathers of three resident passerine species in a semi-arid mining region of the Mexican plateau.

The current study aimed at quantifying arsenic and lead in feathers from three passerine species that are residents from areas exposed to mining activities (Toxostoma curvirostre, Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus, and Melozone fusca). Lead and As contents in bird feathers and in superficial soil samples were measured with AAS. Levels of these metals were compared between sites exposed and unexposed to mining.

The adsorption kinetics of cadmium by three different types of carbon nanotubes.

Oxidized nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (ox-N-MWCNTs), oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes (ox-MWCNTs), and oxidized single-wall carbon nanotubes (ox-SWCNTs) were evaluated via batch adsorption kinetic experiments to determine the effect of nanotube morphology on the adsorption rate of cadmium. The nanotubes were characterized by HRTEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Cadmium adsorption isotherms were determined at pH 6.

Water stress induces up-regulation of DOF1 and MIF1 transcription factors and down-regulation of proteins involved in secondary metabolism in amaranth roots (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.).

Roots are the primary sites of water stress perception in plants. The aim of this work was to study differential expression of proteins and transcripts in amaranth roots (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) when the plants were grown under drought stress.

Heterologous expression and characterization of an alcohol dehydrogenase from the archeon Thermoplasma acidophilum.

Analysis of the Thermoplasma acidophilum DSM 1728 genome identified two putative alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) open reading frames showing 50.4% identity against each other. The corresponding genes Ta0841 and Ta1316 encode proteins of 336 and 328 amino acids with molecular masses of 36.

A novel binary expression vector for production of human IL-10 in Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium longum.

A novel expression vector (pLR) driven by hup promoter and Bifidobacterium beta-galactosidase signal peptide was constructed. The pLR vector was used for the expression of the optimized human IL-10 synthetic gene in Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium longum. In both microorganisms, rhIL-10 was in a soluble form in total extract cells.

Modified penicillin acylase signal peptide allows the periplasmic production of soluble human interferon-gamma but not of soluble human interleukin-2 by the Tat pathway in Escherichia coli.

Production of periplasmic human interferon-gamma (hINF-gamma) and human interleukin-2 (hIL-2) by the Tat translocation pathway in Escherichia coli BL21-SI was evaluated. The expression was obtained using the pEMR vector which contains the Tat-dependent modified penicillin acylase signal peptide (mSPpac) driven by the T7 promoter. The mSPpac-hINF-gamma was processed and the protein was transported to periplasm.

Optimization of culture conditions for a synthetic gene expression in Escherichia coli using response surface methodology: the case of human interferon beta.

A human interferon beta (hINF-beta) synthetic gene was optimized and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-SI using a vector with the T7 promoter. To determine the best culture conditions such as culture medium, temperature, cell density and inducer concentration, we used the response surface methodology and a Box-Behnken design to get the highest hINF-beta production. The maximum hINF-beta production of 61 mg l(-1) was attained using minimum medium and the following predicted optimal conditions: temperature of 32.

Interaction analysis of the AAA ATPase TAA43 by the bacterial two-hybrid system.

The TAA43 ATPase of Thermoplasma acidophilum, an archaeal member of the AAA protein family, is known to have an atypical oligomeric state and a nonspecific association with high-molecular-weight protein complexes. We assessed the in vivo binding pattern of TAA43 using the bacterial two-hybrid system. We found 36 positive isolates interacting with TAA43.