2,119 research outputs found
Biological Activity of Extracts from Artemisia arborescens (Vaill.)L.: An Overview about Insecticidal, Antimicrobial, Antifungal and Herbicidal Properties
No full textFollowing their evolutionary process, many plants have oriented their secondary metabolism towards the production of complex molecules, which often show an apparent protective function against pests (insects, fungi, viruses, but also competing plants). The identification and the study of such compounds could play a significant role in the frame of the development of new techniques for sustainable plant protection, where they could help in achieving the goal of a reduction in the use of the most highly-impact chemicals. The Mediterranean basin, with its very large biodiversity, represents a huge reservoir of highly promising plant material, which is scarcely explored as far. Indeed, preliminary trials have allowed to state that a large number of Mediterranean plants possess definite biological activities, that give them a great interest as potential raw matters for many industrial sectors. Among these, Artemisia arborescens (Vaill.) L., a common shrub from the family Asteraceae, was found to exert a wide range of biocidal activities, which may represent the starting point for the best exploitation of this plant. In this paper, a thorough review is made about the studies that have been carried out worldwide about the composition and some of the biological activities of A. arborescens. Original data are included and discussed, concerning trials about the evaluation of the activity of essential oil and water extracts against selected mealybugs, fungal and microbial strains, as well as against the germination capacity of the seeds of several common weeds
A comparison of farming practices and performance for wheat production in Haryana, India
No full textAvailable online: 15 May 2015Abstract not availableD.R. Coventry, R.S. Poswal, Ashok Yadav, Amritbir Singh Riar, Yi Zhou, Anuj Kumar, Ramesh Chand, R.S. Chhokar, R.K. Sharma, V.K. Yadav, R.K. Gupta, Anil Mehta, J.A. Cummin
From third grade to top rate: the discovery of Gupta coin styles, and a mint group study for Kumaragupta I
No full textAsian Studie
Hypericum spp.: A Resource from Wild Mediterranean Flora for the Treatment of Mild Depression
No full textThe genus Hypericum holds about 480 species (Crockett and Robson, 2011), widely spread throughout the world. A large part of them grows wild in the Mediterranean areas: 30 Hypericum taxa (26 species and 4 sub-species) have been detected in Italy, and about one third of them (11 taxa) are native to Sicily (Castellano and Spadaro, 2010). Actually, traditional and folk medicines in many parts of the world use Hypericum species for a plenty of different purposes. The most important are certainly two: the treatment of wounds and burns (because of the strong effects stimulating the formation of new tissue and lenitive of pain), and the therapy of moderate to mild depression (due to its remarkable hypnotic and tranquilizer effect, with specific antidepressant and anxiolytic effects). Besides these well-known actions, other biological effects of Hypericum extracts have been recognized in time, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative activities. Although many compounds have been identified in Hypericum extracts, however, which compound, or mixture of compounds, is exactly responsible for every specific pharmacological action it is not perfectly clear as far. The available literature agrees in ascribing a great importance to three active compounds, namely hypericin and pseudohypericin (two naphthodianthrones), and hyperforin (a phloroglucinol derivative). The occurrence of these substances in Hypericum extracts is highly variable, as an effect of both genetic factors (species and/or subspecies) and environmental conditions (growing site or cropping techniques). This paper makes a review of the information available in the newest literature about botanical and agronomical concerns, chemical composition and biological activity of Hypericum species, with a special emphasis to the treatment of depressive states. Original data about the content of hypericin, pseudohypericin and hyperforin in several Hypericum species and populations coming from different Italian sites are also exposed and discussed
Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a Hartmann duct flow at finite magnetic Reynolds number
No full textThe dynamics of turbulent flow at finite magnetic Reynolds numbers can be very complex due to the coupled nature of the evolution equations for the flow and magnetic fields. In this regime, the Hartmann flow in a straight rectangular duct with streamwise periodicity is studied with the help of direct numerical simulations (DNS) and the effect of magnetic Reynolds number on turbulent statistics is quantified by comparing the results with the numerical results obtained using the quasistatic approximation
Legal Protection of Databases
No full textThe computer-based databases have made significant value addition in information products and services, and have enabled fast access to information. The growing role of databases for information access has brought to the fore questions of legal rights of the owners and users of the databases. The paper examines current developments in the legal protection of databases. The developments in the European Union (EU) and USA show significant departure from the existing practices in many countries. The salient aspects of these developments, the relevant provisions of the international agreements, the proposed WIPO draft database treaty, the legal implications of the protection of databases within the context of promotion and progress of science, and the role of the library and information science profession, are also discussed
The Phenomenon of the Crowd in Russian Psychology: V.K. Sluchevsky's Concept
No full textThe article describes the concept of the crowd proposed by a Russian lawyer and public figure V.K. Sluchevsky (1893). It focuses on its principal differences from other concepts of this initial period and reveals the moral potential of Sluchevsky's views in psychology. Among the issues that were of particular interest to the author of one of the first concepts of spontaneous groups were the specifics of the crowd as a social association, features of the crowd, factors of its formation, changes in personality of individuals, and problems concerning the prevention and punishment of mass crimes
Structural Modeling and Validation of Rep protein of Begomovirus Strains (TLCBV and TYLCTHV)
No full textHomology modeling involves taking a known sequence with an unknown structure and mapping it against a known structure of one or several similar (homologous) proteins. It would be expected that two proteins of similar origin and function would have reasonable structural similarity. Therefore it is possible to use the known structure as a template for modeling the structure of the unknown structure. Proteins that share the same function generally have similar structures. During alignment if two proteins show maximum sequence identity they also show a similar folding pattern. This principal has became the foundation of homology modeling. 
The Geminivirus taxonomic group of plant viruses is characterized by geminate particles and genomes consisting of single-stranded circular DNA molecules of about 2.5 to 2.8 kb in size. Agricultural plants are threatened by many diseases caused by whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses. Since these diseases are in a fast spreading phase, it is urgent to devise rapid diagnosis methods and to produce resistant plants. 

Forms, models and concepts: regionalism and globalism in Gandharan visual culture.
No full textInterpretive models based on diffusionistic views originating from ‘hegemonic’ cultures are often inadequate and inappropriate, especially for their not entailing the multi-centric approach the encounter between different cultures would logically require. This is the case with the ‘Hellenistic’ features of Gandharan art. After more than one hundred years of studies, the interpretation of Gandharan art still depends on Western paradigms which lack the necessary mediation with the context. This is mainly due to a marked imbalance between Western and Oriental disciplines, the former being supported by a highly standardised methodology and terminology based on strong clusters of cross-referenced data, the latter still suffering from serious gaps in the historical and archaeological records, poor in thesauri and repertories, in a word, still on the way to work out its own identity. On the other hand, the richness and internal coherence of the classical studies have created a kind of centripetal, and somehow static, reference point for interpreting any context where artistic forms of Western origin are tracked down, thus excessively characterising uncharted territories of cultural diversity, while at the same time the most challenging issue, i.e. the dynamics, interaction and outcomes of the encounter between diverse cultural universes, remains underrated or even missed. In fact, the so called ‘Hellenism’ of Gandharan art is a far more complex issue than the Western origin of forms and concepts. What we call ‘Gandharan Hellenism’ was rather a living culture which experienced circular phenomena of changes and osmosis over centuries. Hellenism cannot be considered a simple question of fashion or ‘influence’ but rather a conscious adoption of models that, though maintaining some semantic tie with the original sources, were transformed and integrated in other, coherent artistic syntaxes, where they acquire new and specific meanings. Based on archaeological evidence, the article highlights some exemplary cases of little-known or misinterpreted religious architectures and iconographies, making new hypotheses about their contextual meaning
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