1,721,134 research outputs found
Mechanism of endocarp-imposed constraints of germination of Lannea microcarpa seeds
No full textLannea microcarpa, a multipurpose tree species from the dry African savanna, sheds seeds that often display inhibition of germination. The underlying mechanism was investigated using seeds processed from fully matured fruits collected from natural stands in Burkina Faso. Germination of fresh seeds was variable (16¿28%), while they did not germinate after drying and rehydration. Mechanical scarification of the endocarp at the proximal end of the seeds increased germination to 83¿94%. Scarification on the distal end led to delayed radicle emergence through the produced hole in c. 40% of the seeds. The endocarp was permeable to water and respiratory gases. Increased water content in scarified seeds was associated with radicle extension during germination. Intact and scarified non-germinated seeds displayed a moderate rate of respiration with respiratory quotient (RQ) values of c. 1. Respiration increased and RQ decreased to c. 0.7 with radicle emergence. Ethylene evolution peaked in both intact and scarified seeds at the beginning of incubation and then decreased to low values. Inhibition of ethylene production by 1¿5 mM 2-amino-ethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) caused only a partial decrease of germination of the scarified seeds. Intact non-germinated seeds gradually lost viability during incubation at 30°C, but could be rescued by delayed scarification before day 15 of incubation. It is concluded that radicle emergence in dry L. microcarpa seeds is inhibited only mechanically. The mechanical properties of the endocarp are attributed to irreversible structural changes of the lignin¿hemicellulose complex, which occur during drying
Vitality and metabolic properties of binucleate and trinucleate pollen species upon dehiscence
No full textChapter 1Effects of various components upon germination in vitro were studied in order to develop an optimal germination medium for Compositae pollen. Equilibration of pollen in humid air, preceding germination, improved the reliability of results considerably.Irregular germination ability of pollen samples, originating from different collections, was studied by exposing flowering plants to different climatic conditions. High relative humidity and temperature at dehiscence cause a rapid decrease in pollen vitality. Data for an optimal germination medium and for acquisition of good pollen quality are presented.Chapter 2The respiration and vitality of ungerminated bi- and trinucleate pollen were studied in order to determine the influence of relative humidity and temperature on metabolic activity. The gas exchange, gerniination capacity and staining with tetrazolium bromide were followed under standardized conditions.A constant respiration rate occurred under conditions of high relative humidity (97 %). Per mg pollen, the trinucleate grains of Compositae and Gramineae respired 2 to 3 times as intense as 6 species of binucleate grains. Per unit of pollen protein the differences were even larger. In contrast to binucleate pollen, the longevity of trinucleate pollen was very short and the ability to germinate was lost twice as fast as the respiration capacity. This limits the use of tetrazolium bromide as an indicator of viability.At reduced relative humidities respiration was strongly restricted, but the longevity of bi- and trinucleate pollen considerably increased.Pollen of Gramineae, however, was very sensitive to changes in relative humidity; short exposure to low relative humidity decreased both the vitality and the capacity to respire.Chapter 3Bi- and trinucleate pollen generally differ in the extent of their mitochondrial development at anther dehiscence and in the rate of their attainment of maximum-phosphorylative capacity during germination in vitro, as judged from experiments with representatives of both groups.The typically trinucleate pollen of Aster tripolium L. immediately respired at a high rate, maintaining a high energy charge. Mitochondria attained maximum electron-transducing capacity within 2 min of incubation, while tube growth started within 3 min. In contrast, the binucleate pollen of Typha latifolia L. only gradually reached a relatively low rate of respiration, concomitant with a temporary decrease in energy charge, upon immersion in the germination medium. Development of the mitochondrial, electron-transducing system occurred in about 75 min, after which the first pollen tubes emerged. Starting from a poor differentiation, mitochondria became increasingly normal in appearance as germination proceeded.The binucleate pollen of Nicotiana alata Link et Otto and Tradescantia paludosa Anders. et Woods. showed intermediate characteristics: Nicotiana resembled Typha but mitochondria developed at a higher rate; Tradescantia germinated more rapidly and resembled the trinucleate pollen of Aster.Inhibitors of mitochondrial or cytoplasmic protein synthesis failed to affect the development of the mitochondrial, respiratory capacities during pollen germination. It is concluded that the duration of the lag period is determined by the level and rate of mitochondrial development and not by the division of the generative cell.Chapter 4The equal rates of water vapour absorption by both bi- and trinucleate pollen indicate that their widely-differing rates of respiration have an intrinsic, biochemical basis. This was investigated with various metabolic inhibitors that were previously introduced into dry pollen via anhydrous acetoneThe uncoupler, CCCP, inhibited the O 2 uptake of rapidly respiring pollen and stimulated that of slowly respiring types to similar absolute values, that probably reflect the rates of substrate transport across the mitochondrial membranes.The extent of inhibition of the O 2 uptake by oligomycin, DCCD, antimycin A, and SHAM, alone and in combinations, indicates that hardly any oxidative phosphorylation and anabolic activities occur in slowly respiring, binucleate pollen species, having low-developed mitochondria and high EC values. The presence of the alternative pathway was insignificant.In other binucleate pollen species, characterized by recognizable mitochondria and low EC values, a limited ATP synthesis was established. The low EC values point to imbalance between phosphorylative and anabolic activities.In rapidly respiring, trinucleate pollen, containing well- developed mitochondria, a significant activity of the alternative oxidase was found. The EC values were high notwithstanding the large demand for ATP, mounting to 1.7 μmol h -1mg pollen -1.In some pollen species, oligomycin highly stimulated the flow of electrons through the cytochrome pathway, which made an estimation of the ATP synthesis impossible.Chapter 5Under humid conditions both bi- and trinucleate pollen species incorporate very low amounts of leucine, 0.4 pmol min -1mg pollen -1on an average. During germination in vitro , however, the two types of pollen greatly differ in their capacity for protein synthesis.Binucleate pollen species such as Typha , which are characterized by slow respiration in humid air and prolonged lag periods during germination in vitro , contain large amounts of monoribosomes at dehiscence. Polyribosomes are formed soon after the pollen is wetted in the germination medium and a considerable incorporation of leucine is initiated after 10-15 min.More rapidly respiring, binucleate pollen, such as Tradescantia , showing a short lag period, may contain many polysomes at dehiscence already and incorporates leucine within 2 min of incubation.On the contrary, rapidly respiring, trinucleate Compositae pollen contains very limited amounts of ribosomal material and never attains any substantial level of incorporation.Cycloheximide completely inhibited both protein synthesis and tube emergence and growth in the slowly respiring binucleate pollen species. The more rapidly respiring types are less dependent on protein synthesis, while germination of the phylogenetically advanced, trinucleate Compositae pollen proceeds completely independently.It is concluded that the level of phylogenetic advancement of the male gametophyte is characterized by its overall state of metabolic development at dehiscence rather than by the number of its generative cells.</TT
Characterisation of two soybean (Glycine max L.) LEA 4 proteins — circular dichroism and Fourier transform infrared studies
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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