Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected fro...Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected from two locations in KwaZulu-Natal （KZN）, South Africa, and planted at two locations, Pietermaritzburg （KZN） and Roodeplaat, Pretoria. Ago-morphological characterisation of vegetative and corm characteristics were done four months after planting and at harvest, respectively. Sampling for DNA fingerprinting using five SSR primers was done using leaf material four months after planting. Agro-morphological characterisation was useful in showing differences between the wild landrace and the two cultivated landraces, as well as identification of dasheen and eddoe types. SSR primer characterisation showed that despite significant morphological difference, the wild Dumbe Lomfula and Umbumbulu landraces were closely related but different from the KwaNgwanase landrace. Although landraces showed great morphological variation, this did not necessarily imply genetic variation. It is concluded that SSR primers are more useful for characterising taro landraces.展开更多
Placic horizons, defined as thin, wavy, hardened layers of iron and organic matter, are rare within the United States, occurring only in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. While ironstone is common in many soils of the s...Placic horizons, defined as thin, wavy, hardened layers of iron and organic matter, are rare within the United States, occurring only in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. While ironstone is common in many soils of the southeastern United States, it is not known to contain appreciable organic matter. As a pilot study evaluating the justification for a larger study on ironstone in Louisiana, a 40 m lateral exposure with suspected placic horizons was evaluated in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. Results of laboratory analysis show elevated levels of iron and organic matter in the suspect horizons that meet the criteria of placic horizons as defined by the Soil Survey Staff. Based on the results of this study, additional evaluation of multiple pedons with similar features is warranted. Should additional pedons demonstrate similar properties, a new great group of 'Petrudepts' would be needed to describe both the placic horizons in the pedon and the udic moisture regime in which they occur.展开更多
AIM： TO characterize a culture model of rat CCA cells, which were derived from a transplantable TTA-induced CCA and designated as Chang Gung CCA （CGCCA）. METHODS： The CGCCA cells were cultured at in vitro passage ...AIM： TO characterize a culture model of rat CCA cells, which were derived from a transplantable TTA-induced CCA and designated as Chang Gung CCA （CGCCA）. METHODS： The CGCCA cells were cultured at in vitro passage 12 times on a culture dish in DMEM medium. To measure the doubling time, 103 cells were plated in a 96-well plate containing the growth medium. The cells were harvested 4 to 10 d after seeding, and a standard MTT assay was used to measure the growth. The phenotype of CACCA cell and xenograft was determined by immunohistochemical study. We also determine the chromosomal alterations of CGCCA, G-banding and spectral karyotyping studies were performed. The CGCCA cell line was transplanted into the nude mice for examining its tumorigenicity. 2-Deoxy-2-（18F）fluoro-D- glucose （FDG） autoradiography was also performed to evaluate the FDG uptake of the tumor xenograft. RESULTS： The doubling time for the CGCCA cell line was 32 h. After transplantation into nude mice, FDG autoradiography showed that the tumors formed at the cell transplantation site had a latency period of 4-6 wk with high FDG uptake excluding necrosis tissue. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining revealed prominent cytoplasmic expression of c-erb-B2, CK19, c-Met, COX-n, EGFR, MUC4, and a negative expression of K-ras. All data confirmed the phenotypic features of the CGCCA cell line coincide with the xenograft mice tumors, indicating cells containing the tumorigenicity of CCA originated from CCA. In addition, karyotypic band- ing analysis showed that the diploid （2n） cell status combines with ring and giant rod marker chromosomes in these clones; either both types simultaneously appeared or only one type of marker chromosome in a pair appeared in a cell. The major materials contained in the marker chromosome were primarily identified from chromosome 4. CONCLUSION： The current CGCCA cell line may be used as a non-K-ras effect CCA model and to obtain information and reveal novel pathways for CCA. Further applications regarding tumor markers or therapeutic targeting of CCA should be addressed accordingly.展开更多
Quality of soil humic substances and compost quality was assessed using different techniques of fluorescence spectroscopy. Emission, excitation, synchronous and emission-excitation matrix help us to characterize diffe...Quality of soil humic substances and compost quality was assessed using different techniques of fluorescence spectroscopy. Emission, excitation, synchronous and emission-excitation matrix help us to characterize different fluorophores in humic substances molecule. Content of stabile carbon forms in soil was assessed by humic substances fractionation. Content of labile water extractable carbon and nitrogen was determined by analyzer Shimadzu TOC-VCSH with chemo-luminescent detection in infrared spectral region. Results showed that compost amendment caused changes in both stabile （recalcitrant） and labile carbon content. Humic substances isolated from compost consist mainly of simple structural components of wide molecular heterogeneity and low molecular weight. Humification degree and content of conjugated fluorophores in compost was lower compared with stabile soil humic substances. The last contained more conjugated aromatic π-electron systems with electron-withdrawing functional groups, which are responsible for the fluorescence shift to lower energy levels or longer wavelengths.展开更多
文摘Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected from two locations in KwaZulu-Natal （KZN）, South Africa, and planted at two locations, Pietermaritzburg （KZN） and Roodeplaat, Pretoria. Ago-morphological characterisation of vegetative and corm characteristics were done four months after planting and at harvest, respectively. Sampling for DNA fingerprinting using five SSR primers was done using leaf material four months after planting. Agro-morphological characterisation was useful in showing differences between the wild landrace and the two cultivated landraces, as well as identification of dasheen and eddoe types. SSR primer characterisation showed that despite significant morphological difference, the wild Dumbe Lomfula and Umbumbulu landraces were closely related but different from the KwaNgwanase landrace. Although landraces showed great morphological variation, this did not necessarily imply genetic variation. It is concluded that SSR primers are more useful for characterising taro landraces.
文摘Placic horizons, defined as thin, wavy, hardened layers of iron and organic matter, are rare within the United States, occurring only in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. While ironstone is common in many soils of the southeastern United States, it is not known to contain appreciable organic matter. As a pilot study evaluating the justification for a larger study on ironstone in Louisiana, a 40 m lateral exposure with suspected placic horizons was evaluated in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. Results of laboratory analysis show elevated levels of iron and organic matter in the suspect horizons that meet the criteria of placic horizons as defined by the Soil Survey Staff. Based on the results of this study, additional evaluation of multiple pedons with similar features is warranted. Should additional pedons demonstrate similar properties, a new great group of 'Petrudepts' would be needed to describe both the placic horizons in the pedon and the udic moisture regime in which they occur.
文摘AIM： TO characterize a culture model of rat CCA cells, which were derived from a transplantable TTA-induced CCA and designated as Chang Gung CCA （CGCCA）. METHODS： The CGCCA cells were cultured at in vitro passage 12 times on a culture dish in DMEM medium. To measure the doubling time, 103 cells were plated in a 96-well plate containing the growth medium. The cells were harvested 4 to 10 d after seeding, and a standard MTT assay was used to measure the growth. The phenotype of CACCA cell and xenograft was determined by immunohistochemical study. We also determine the chromosomal alterations of CGCCA, G-banding and spectral karyotyping studies were performed. The CGCCA cell line was transplanted into the nude mice for examining its tumorigenicity. 2-Deoxy-2-（18F）fluoro-D- glucose （FDG） autoradiography was also performed to evaluate the FDG uptake of the tumor xenograft. RESULTS： The doubling time for the CGCCA cell line was 32 h. After transplantation into nude mice, FDG autoradiography showed that the tumors formed at the cell transplantation site had a latency period of 4-6 wk with high FDG uptake excluding necrosis tissue. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining revealed prominent cytoplasmic expression of c-erb-B2, CK19, c-Met, COX-n, EGFR, MUC4, and a negative expression of K-ras. All data confirmed the phenotypic features of the CGCCA cell line coincide with the xenograft mice tumors, indicating cells containing the tumorigenicity of CCA originated from CCA. In addition, karyotypic band- ing analysis showed that the diploid （2n） cell status combines with ring and giant rod marker chromosomes in these clones; either both types simultaneously appeared or only one type of marker chromosome in a pair appeared in a cell. The major materials contained in the marker chromosome were primarily identified from chromosome 4. CONCLUSION： The current CGCCA cell line may be used as a non-K-ras effect CCA model and to obtain information and reveal novel pathways for CCA. Further applications regarding tumor markers or therapeutic targeting of CCA should be addressed accordingly.
文摘Quality of soil humic substances and compost quality was assessed using different techniques of fluorescence spectroscopy. Emission, excitation, synchronous and emission-excitation matrix help us to characterize different fluorophores in humic substances molecule. Content of stabile carbon forms in soil was assessed by humic substances fractionation. Content of labile water extractable carbon and nitrogen was determined by analyzer Shimadzu TOC-VCSH with chemo-luminescent detection in infrared spectral region. Results showed that compost amendment caused changes in both stabile （recalcitrant） and labile carbon content. Humic substances isolated from compost consist mainly of simple structural components of wide molecular heterogeneity and low molecular weight. Humification degree and content of conjugated fluorophores in compost was lower compared with stabile soil humic substances. The last contained more conjugated aromatic π-electron systems with electron-withdrawing functional groups, which are responsible for the fluorescence shift to lower energy levels or longer wavelengths.
