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Climate change‐induced concurrent drought and salinity stresses significantly threaten global crop yields, yet the physio‐biochemical responses to combined stress in quinoa remain elusive. This study evaluated quinoa responses under four growth conditions: well‐watered, drought stress, salt stress, and drought + salt stress with (15 mM) or without (0 mM) exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) application. All examined stresses (alone or in combination) reduce quinoa growth and net photosynthesis, although salt stress was found to be less destructive than drought and combined stress. Strikingly, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), stomatal conductance (gs), photosynthetic rate (PN), K+ uptake, shoot height, shoot fresh, and dry weight were increased by 46.1%, 22.2%, 101.6%, 12.9%, 12.1%, 22.4%, 7.1%, 14%, and 16.4%, respectively, under combined stress compared to drought alone. In addition, exogenous H2O2 effectively improved gaseous exchange, osmolytes' accumulation, and antioxidant activity, resulting in reduced lipid peroxidation, which eventually led to higher plant growth under all coercive conditions. The principle component analysis (PCA) indicated a strong positive correlation between antioxidant enzymes and inorganic ions, which contributed efficiently to osmotic adjustment, particularly under conditions of salinity followed by combined stress. In short, in combination, salt stress has the potential to mitigate drought‐induced injuries by promoting the absorption of inorganic solutes for osmoregulation in quinoa plants. Furthermore, exogenous application of H2O2 could be opted to enhance quinoa performance to increase its tolerance mechanism against drought and salinity, even under combined stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of anatomical variability in safe clinical practice is underappreciated. A lack of familiarity of anatomical variations is at the center of a multitude of medical and surgical errors. The recent rise in litigation due to such errors suggests that patient care may be compromised. This makes the knowledge of anatomical variation essential to medical education. Empirical studies were identified by searching several databases and repositories, and the Medical Education Research Quality Instrument (MERSQI) was used to assess study quality. Eight studies were eligible for this systematic review; three of which were conference abstracts. Thematic summary of these studies yielded six themes namely: (1) importance of anatomical variation in medical education; (2) the ideal time to introduce anatomical variation in medical education; (3) important anatomical variations to include in medical education; (4) approaches to teaching anatomical variation; (5) assessing knowledge on anatomical variation; (6) barriers to including anatomical variation in medical education. Including anatomical variations in medical education would improve clinical reasoning and surgical outcomes. Following the completion of this review, three recommendations were made: (1) increasing the emphasis of anatomical variation in medical education; (2) developing more resources for anatomical variation education; (3) investigating the implications of lack of knowledge of anatomical variation in medical education through further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tranexamic acid has emerged as a promising treatment for melasma; however, few controlled studies exist. Oral tranexamic acid has been reported to be effective for treating melasma however, the effect of topical tranxemic acid remains controversial. The purposed mechanism is that it reduces the synthesis of melanin by its inhibitory effect on plasminogen-keratinocyte interaction which in turn decreases tyrosinase levels. Objective To determine the efficacy of oral tranexamic acid for management of patients presenting with melasma. Methods A total of 80 patients of moderate to severe melasma, 15 to 50 years of age were included. Patients were given 250 mg tranexamic acid twice daily alongwith sunscreen creams for the duration of 3 months. The patients were followed up every month. Efficacy was assessed by decrease in mMASI score from the baseline. Results Eighty patients with age range from 15 to 50 years were included in the study. Mean age was 31.94±6.29 years. There were 23 (28.75%) males and 57 (71.25%) females with male to female ratio 1:2.5. Mean duration of disease was 10.19 ± 2.09 months. Mean baseline modified melasma area severity index (mMASI) score was 23.04±5.14. Efficacy of oral tranexamic acid in patients with melasma was found in 32 (40.0%) patients. Conclusion Oral tranexamic acid is efficacious, safe and well tolerated treatment option for patients with moderate to severe melasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil and Gas (O&G) is one of the largest industrial sectors around the world and threatens both humans and environment. Both the companies and regulatory authorities consistently commit resources to improve their integrity management programs (IMPs) and safety culture maturity (SCM). Internal and external audits, public surveys, and benchmarking techniques are being used for discretely assessing both the IMPs and SCM. A novel risk-based benchmarking framework establishes logical relationships between IMP components and their contributions toward SCM attributes using failure mode effects analysis (FMEA). The framework evaluates 88 small, medium, and large-sized O&G companies operating in British Columbia (Canada) using the data from compliance audits for the period between 2011 and 2016. The results revealed that effective communication, updated protocols, and strict follow ups by the regulator with the operating companies improve both the IMP and SCM. The framework identifies the underperforming components for effective improvements and is a paradigm shift from the conventional twofold auditing process to a more efficient and time-saving practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malignancies that spread to the lymph nodes may be identified through surgical biopsy, and treatment of metastatic disease may be through lymph node dissection. These surgeries, however, may be associated with significant adverse outcomes, particularly wound complications, the true incidence of which remains unknown. Multiple studies have reported their individual rates of complications in isolation. The aim of this study will be to systematically evaluate data that presents the incidence of wound complications in patients undergoing these surgeries. Methods: We have designed and registered a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies presenting incidence data. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL for relevant articles. Meta-analysis will be undertaken to synthesise an overall incidence of surgical site infection, wound dehiscence, haematoma and seroma. Subgroup analyses will investigate the effects of anatomical location, primary malignancy and study design on pooled incidence. Risk of bias will be evaluated for each included study using bespoke tools matched to the study design. Discussion: The results of this study will provide the incidence of wound complications and secondary complications following lymph node surgery. This will directly impact upon the consent process, and may influence the nature of future research studies aimed at reducing post-operative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scalability and performance requirements are driving tenants to increasingly move their applications to public clouds. Unfortunately, cloud providers do not provide a view of their networking infrastructure to the tenants, rather only provide some generic service level agreements (SLAs). Tenants are, therefore, forced to plan the deployments of their applications based on these SLAs. This limits the performance that the tenants can achieve. Keeping this in view, we present a detailed network measurement study of the largest public cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS). We collected network data to characterize the availability and latency of AWS over a period of 100 days and studied various temporal trends across several geographical locations of AWS throughout the world. We performed our study at all three levels of cloud hierarchy: inside availability zones (AZs), across AZs, and across regions. Our results show that network behavior varies significantly over time at different geographical locations, levels of hierarchy, and temporal granularities. For example, while we observed high availability at monthly granularity, it deteriorates at daily and hourly granularities. This and many other such observations that we present have significant implications for cloud tenants. We further implemented our measurement approach on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to demonstrate that it can be deployed on any cloud platform and present some preliminary comparative observations from this implementation. Based on our observations, we present several recommendations that tenants can use to better deploy their applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two fat sources, soybean oil (SO) and refined poultry oil (RPO), and 4 emulsifiers (control, lysolecithin, lysophospholipid, and bile acids) were used in this experiment. Thirteen hundred and sixty (1360) birds (ROSS - 308) were divided into 8 groups having 5 replicates, 34 birds in each. Energy efficiency, feed conversion (FCR), and protein efficiency ratios were improved in birds receiving SO than RPO diets. Weight gain, FCR, feed intake, and dressing percentage were increased in broiler birds receiving bile acid than those given lyso-phospholipid and lysolecithin (p < 0.05). Cooking loss was greater (p < 0.05) in broiler birds given RPO than those fed SO. Birds receiving bile acid had greater (p < 0.05) water holding capacity of chest meat than other fat emulsifiers. Bile acids in broiler diet presented higher (p < 0.05) digestibility of crude protein and ether extract as compared to other treatments. Bile acid supplemented diets had a minimum (p < 0.05) cost of production per kg live weight than other fat emulsifiers. Therefore, the use of bile acids with RPO diets can increase nutrient digestibility, growth performance, meat quality, and economic efficiency in broiler production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the establishment of a virtual metal casting lab at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and its relevance in engineering education (teaching and research). The main objective of this work is to communicate the importance of virtual metal casting in engineering education and research, and to provide a framework for establishing and developing a lab to expand research in the area. Casting simulation softwares are briefly introduced followed by the details of setting up the lab and utilization of MAGMASoft at KFUPM. This includes methods of acquiring licenses of the software and its training, collaboration with the local industries, learning and capacity building at KFUPM at several stages. The utilization of casting simulations in undergraduate and graduate teaching, and in funded research projects reflects the continuous development of teaching and research skills of students, instructors, and researchers at the institution. Evaluation of virtual casting lab is discussed. Invigorated by encouraging results of the existing lab, an extension in the lab is proposed leading to a virtual casting quality center at KFUPM. It is expected that the results presented in this study will encourage institutes, universities, and industries in the region to develop in‐house virtual casting facilities for expanding research and development in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar is a carbonic recalcitrant product of biomass which is produced by pyrolysis process. In fact, biochar application has the potential to improve soil properties and crop productivity for long term scenarios compared to many other organic amendments. In this review we have tried to explore the role of biochar in the modification of soil properties (physical, chemical and biological), relevant effects of these changes on crop productivity and its future prospects and challenges by considering the existing literature. Addition of biochar as soil amendment has significantly influenced the soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Biochar application reduces the bulk density of soil, increased microbial activity, pH level and water holding capacity; but it varied according to soil texture. Furthermore, increase in soil porosity and infiltration rate has also been observed due to biochar addition. Simultaneously, biochar addition sometimes could have negative impacts on soil properties that appear in the form of crop productivity loss. This study will provide a clear picture about the role of biochar in modifying soil properties and its beneficial impacts on crop growth and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental vermicomposting system was established in purple soil present in Sichuan Basin, China. The purpose of vermicomposting (VC) was to recycle and manage organic waste materials; for instance, animal manure and crop residues are present in great quantity. A particular use of earthworms for VC is a valuable method for retrieving essential plant nutrients. Experimental vermicomposting followed by monitoring was conducted for two months in summer with an interval of fifteen days. Four treatments, COM (compost without earthworms), VCM (using cow manure), VPM (through pig manure), and VBC (using biochar), were applied with agricultural wastes such as rapeseed and wheat straw in combination with cow dung, pig manure, and biochar, respectively. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to statistically analyze and interpret the nutrient change among different treatments. Post hoc analysis was done using Tukey's test. The experimental vermicomposting results revealed that VCM gives increased plant nutrients with a minimum C: N ratio (from 22.13 to 14.38) and a maximum increase in nitrogen concentrations (1.77 to 29.15 g kg−1). A significant decrease in ammonia volatilization was observed in the order VCM > VBC > VPM when compared to COM. It was experimentally established that vermicomposting is the most suitable method for converting organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer with the least environmental pollution load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camelina sativa L. is an oilseed crop with wide nutritional and industrial applications. Because of favorable agronomic characteristics of C. sativa in a water-limiting environment interest in its production has increased worldwide. In this study the effect of different irrigation regimes (I0 = three irrigations, I1 = two irrigations, I2 = one irrigation and I3 = one irrigation) on physio-biochemical responses and seed yield attributes of two C. sativa genotypes was explored under semi-arid conditions. Results indicated that maximum physio-biochemical activity, seed yield and oil contents appeared in genotype 7126 with three irrigations (I0). In contrast water deficit stress created by withholding irrigation (I1, I2 and I3) at different growth stages significantly reduced the physio-biochemical activity as well as yield responses in both C. sativa genotypes. Nonetheless the highest reduction in physio-biochemical and yield attributes were observed in genotype 8046 when irrigation was skipped at vegetative and flowering stages of crop (I3). In genotypic comparison, C. sativa genotype 7126 performed better than 8046 under all I1, I2 and I3 irrigation treatments. Because 7126 exhibited better maintenance of tissue water content, leaf gas exchange traits and chlorophyll pigment production, resulting in better seed yield and oil production. Findings of this study suggest that to achieve maximum yield potential in camelina three irrigations are needed under semi-arid conditions, however application of two irrigations one at flowering and second at silique development stage can ensure an economic seed yield and oil contents. Furthermore, genotype 7126 should be adopted for cultivation under water limited arid and semi-arid regions due to its better adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity extent and severity is rising because of poor management practices on agricultural lands, possibility lies to grow salt‐tolerant crops with better management techniques. Therefore, a highly nutritive salt‐tolerant crop quinoa with immense potential to contribute for future food security was selected for this investigation. Soil drenching of paclobutrazol (PBZ; 20 mg l−1) was used to understand the ionic relations, gaseous exchange characteristics, oxidative defense system and yield under saline conditions (400 mM NaCl) including normal (0 mM NaCl) and no PBZ (0 mg l−1) as controls. The results revealed that salinity stress reduced the growth and yield of quinoa through perturbing ionic homeostasis with the consequences of overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative damages and reduced photosynthesis. PBZ improved the quinoa performance through regulation of ionic homeostasis by decreasing Na+, Cl−, while improving K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ concentration. It also enhanced the antioxidative system including ascorbic acid, phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase, polyphenol oxidase and glutathione peroxidase, which scavenged the ROS (H2O2 and O2•‐) and lowered the oxidative damages (malondialdehyde level) under salinity in roots and more specifically in leaf tissues. The photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance consequently improved (16 and 21%, respectively) in salt‐stressed quinoa PBZ‐treated compared to the non‐treated ones and contributed to the improvement of panicle length (33%), 100‐grain weight (8%) and grain yield (38%). Therefore, PBZ can be opted as a shotgun approach to improve quinoa performance and other crops under high saline conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Availability of per capita water is decreasing in Pakistan very fast. No serious effort has been done after the commissioning of Mangla and Tarbela dams long ago. The efficacy of these dams is also falling fast due to sedimentation. The construction of Kalabagh dam has been made politically controversial and Sindh, KPK and Baluchistan provinces are not even ready to consider the proposal. Successive Governments are dragging their feet on Diamer Bhasha dam due to its cost, long time required for completion and other logistic challenges. India, as upper riparian, is continuing with its designs to impede water flow towards Pakistan by building hydroelectric projects, and at some places even diverting water against the Indus Water Treaty 1960. Pakistan has already entered water stressed zone and experts are since long warning about this fact. It is said that the scarcity of water could prove to be a bigger threat than even the terrorism which Pakistan faced for almost 20 years. If it is politically Kalabagh dam is not feasible Pakistan should find alternatives, as there is no short cut solution to this problem. It has already been delayed for long and further delay shall cause clausal damages to economy, agriculture, industry, environment, ecology and above all national integration, as shortage of water is turning into inter provincial dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Casting of metal products consists of a series of intricate manufacturing processes that need to be precisely conducted and controlled. Rather than doing process design by a hit-and-trial approach, simulations can be run before casting is actually undertaken in a foundry. These simulations allow to model, verify, and validate the entire casting process along with the prediction of possible defects in the cast products. This study is based on casting an adjuster bracket using traditional mold design approach, and also using simulation. A Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model of the casting is developed in SOLIDWORKS and simulated using MAGMASoft. The results obtained are temperature profile within the mold after pouring, solidification sequence, and casting defects such as porosity and hotspots. Good correlation between experimental and simulation results confirmed sufficient model health to virtually optimize the mold through simulations. The optimized mold design completely removed the hotspot and reduced porosity which is within the machining allowance of the final product. However, the casting yield is reduced by 6% by adding a carefully selected riser in the optimized mold design. It can be concluded that simulations are reasonably accurate in modeling casting process, predicting defects, and modifying casting design using optimization techniques available in the advanced casting simulation software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a chronic disease of the respiratory tract that occurs in both children and adults. It is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), in particular low‐risk HPV6 and HPV11, and aggressiveness varies among patients. RRP remains a chronic disease that is difficult to manage. This review provides perspectives on current and future management of RRP. Results: The current standard of care is surgical excision, with adjuvant therapies as needed. Surgical management of RRP has evolved with the introduction of microdebriders and photoangiolytic lasers; the latter can now be used in the office setting. Numerous adjuvant pharmacologic therapies have been utilized with some success. Also, exciting preliminary data show that HPV vaccines may prolong the time to recurrence in the RRP population. There is also optimism that wide‐spread HPV vaccination could reduce RRP incidence indirectly by preventing vertical HPV transmission to newborns. Conclusion: To date, the biology of RRP is not well understood, although it has been noted to become more aggressive in the setting of immune suppression. Additional research is needed to better understand immune system dysfunction in RRP such that immunomodulatory approaches may be developed for RRP management. Level of Evidence: 4 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil and gas (O&G) pipelines are expensive assets that cross through both the ecologically sensitive and densely populated urban areas. The pipeline failure may have potentially significant consequences for both the natural and human environments. In order to maintain the integrity of O&G pipelines, inspection and maintenance processes should be governed by efficient policies. The objective of this paper is to conduct a state-of-the-art review of maintenance policies of O&G pipelines to investigate their advantages, limitations, and associated implementation issues. Maintenance policies can be categorised into corrective, preventive, predictive and proactive. Corrective maintenance policies (1940s) were based on the ‘repair when broke’ philosophy. Economic considerations shifted practice towards preventive maintenance (1970s to 1990s); later with improved inspection techniques and environmental regulations, predictive and proactive or risk-based maintenance (RBM) policies were developed. This review explicates different methodologies for RBM and related issues, e.g. uncertainties and variability, conservative assumptions, etc. Uncertainties associated with investigation and prediction of defects have been more frequently reported in the literature so far. Moreover, existing studies primarily focused on reducing the likelihood and cost of failure, whereas consideration of environmental factors in overall risk has been a relatively less addressed issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermentation profiling is a common tool to identify Lactobacillus paracasei from other related members of Lactobacillus genus. Because of the proximate biochemical characteristics, identification based on the fermentation pattern within L. casei group (L. casei, L. paracasei and L. rahmnosus) has considerable limitation. On the other hand, members of L. casei group are genetically very closely related and sequencing of signature region is the most reliable and rapid method of differentiation. In this study, instead of sequencing entire 16S or 23S ribosomal RNA gene, we have sequenced 16s-23s rRNA intergenic spacer region and compared them across the members of L. casei group. We also compiled thirteen signature sequences within 16s-23s ISR rRNA gene of L. casei group members. Our isolated strain (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei-1) resembled 100% and 99% similarity when compared with 16s-23s rRNA intergenic spacer region of L. paracasei and L. casei respectively. Our study summarizes that sequencing of short 16s-23s rRNA intergenic spacer region carries great significance in identification of closely related probiotic bacteria such as the members of L. casei group. The findings of this research could be very much helpful for food and pharmaceutical industries who are dealing with probiotic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracheotomy is commonly performed for the management of upper airway compromise. Trauma and head and neck cancers are the most frequent indications. The objective of this study was to share our experience with tracheotomy performed for a broad range of malignancies including but not limited to head and neck cancer. This study is a retrospective case series of patients who underwent tracheotomy from January 2004 to June 2012 at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 130 patients were included in the study. Patient demographics, indications for tracheotomy, underlying malignancy, and duration of follow-up were assessed. Main indications were elective (prolonged intubation and/or as a prerequisite for head and neck cancer surgery) and emergency (stridor). Outcome was assessed on a basis of successful decannulation and complications related to tracheotomy. Indications for tracheotomy were elective in 55 (44.7 %) and emergent in 75 (55.3 %) patients. Most common underlying malignancy was leukemia/lymphoma in 38 (29.2 %) patients. There were seven (5.3 %) complications in emergency tracheotomies including bleeding in three, emphysema in two, and dislodgement and infection in one patient each. In the elective setting, three (2.3 %) complications were observed with dislodgement in one and stomal stenosis in two patients. Decannulation was successfully carried out in 23 (18 %) patients. Median follow-up of patients was 1 month (range 0-86). No tracheotomy-related mortality was observed. Tracheotomy was performed with relative safety in cancer patients, but low rate of successful decannulation predominantly due to persistent nature of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In resource limited settings, induction chemotherapy with Gemcitabine and Cisplatinum and concurrent hypofractionated chemoradiation for locally advanced carcinoma of buccal mucosa (BMSCC) are a cost effective option but remain under reported. The objective of this study was to report long term survival outcome after concurrent hypofractionated radiotherapy in locally advanced BMSCC. Between February 2005 and 2009, 63 patients received treatment. Induction chemotherapy (IC) regimen consisted of two drugs: Gemcitabine and Cisplatin. All patients received 55 Gy of radiation in 20 fractions with concurrent single agent Cisplatin (75 mg/m2). Five-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were determined. Based on AJCC staging, 7 (11%) patients were stage III, 31 (49%) stage IV a, and 25 (40%) stage IVb at presentation. After IC, 8 (18%) patients had complete radiological response, 33 (73%) had partial response, and 4 (9%) had stable disease. After concurrent hypofractionated chemoradiation, thirty-nine (62%) patients were complete responders and 24 (38%) had stable disease. With a minimum follow-up of 60 months, 5-year OS, DFS, and PFS were 30%, 49%, and 30%, respectively. In locally advanced buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma, concurrent hypofractionated chemoradiation results in acceptable survival and regimen related toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To share experience with regional failures after selective neck dissection in both node negative and positive previously untreated patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Patients and Methods. Data of 219 patients who underwent SND at Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital from 2003 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient characteristics, treatment modalities, and regional failures were assessed. Expected 5-year regional control was calculated and prognostic factors were determined. Results. Median follow-up was 29 (9-109) months. Common sites were anterior tongue in 159 and buccal mucosa in 22 patients. Pathological nodal stage was N0 in 114, N1 in 32, N2b in 67, and N2c in 5 patients. Fourteen (6%) patients failed in clinically node negative neck while 8 (4%) failed in clinically node positive patients. Out of 22 total regional failures, primary tumor origin was from tongue in 16 (73%) patients. Expected 5-year regional control was 95% and 81% for N0 and N+ disease, respectively (P < 0.0001). Only 13% patients with well differentiated, T1 tumors in cN0 neck were pathologically node positive. Conclusions. Selective neck dissection yields acceptable results for regional management of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Wait and see policy may be effective in a selected subgroup of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defects data and design optimization of gating system are a great challenge in casting. Most significant factors contributing to the volumetric changes and defects are pouring temperature, time, filling pattern, gating system, and casting geometry. The optimized design of gating system facilitates the smooth filling of the mold without air entrapment, material flow hindrance. Conventionally, the foundry method includes design calculations, best practices, and the tedious hit-and-trial method to get the optimum design of pattern/mold for defect-free casting. The design iterations and improvements directly affect the development cost and time, and one of the great challenges of the foundry method is to reduce this time and cost. The numerical simulation techniques embedded in casting simulation software are a powerful tool to overcome these challenges. It predicts the factors such as filling pressure, velocity, cooling rate, hot spots, and inside porosity. This article describes the design, simulation, experimental results, and design improvements for the complex geometries in the sand casting process. Impeller is selected as test case. The gating system was initially designed by using the text book mathematical relations and best practices recommendations. To study the predicted results of effected parameters, MAGMASOFT Software was used as a simulation tool. Three design modifications of mold design were studied. The effect of design including location and size of risers, gates on parameters such as filling pattern, pressure and velocity, cooling rate, solidification and defects such as air entrapment, hot spot, and porosity were studied. The predicted results were then compared with experimental data, and an excellent agreement between them was reported. The article highlighted the effectiveness of simulation to reach an optimal design of mold by passing the costly hit-and-trial conventional practice in the foundry industry and shows the effectiveness of simulations in time compression of casting pattern/development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases (CaM-kinases) are central to various forms of long-term memory (LTM) in a number of evolutionarily diverse organisms. However, it is still largely unknown what contributions specific CaM-kinases make to different phases of the same specific type of memory, such as acquisition, or early, intermediate, and late consolidation of associative LTM after classical conditioning. Here, we investigated the involvement of CaM-kinase II (CaMKII) in different phases of associative LTM induced by single-trial reward classical conditioning in Lymnaea, a well established invertebrate experimental system for studying molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. First, by using a general CaM-kinase inhibitor, KN-62, we found that CaM-kinase activation was necessary for acquisition and late consolidation, but not early or intermediate consolidation or retrieval of LTM. Then, we used Western blot-based phosphorylation assays and treatment with CaMKIINtide to identify CaMKII as the main CaM-kinase, the intrinsic activation of which, in a critical time window (~24 h after learning), is central to late consolidation of LTM. Additionally, using MK-801 and CaMKIINtide we found that acquisition was dependent on both NMDA receptor and CaMKII activation. However, unlike acquisition, CaMKII-dependent late memory consolidation does not require the activation of NMDA receptors. Our new findings support the notion that even apparently stable memory traces may undergo further molecular changes and identify NMDA-independent intrinsic activation of CaMKII as a mechanism underlying this "lingering consolidation." This process may facilitate the preservation of LTM in the face of protein turnover or active molecular processes that underlie forgetting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the molecular properties and enhancement of the thermostability of glutamate dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis by random mutagenesis. An error-prone polymerase chain reaction was performed to improve the stability of the enzyme. Two single mutant enzymes, Q144R and E27F were isolated from the final mutant library. It has been discovered that Q144 can be used as a template gene to modify the substrate specificity of Bs-GluDH for industrial use.

The article reports on the mutation of the Lys80, Gly82 and Met101 residues of glutamate dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis into a series of single mutants. The wild-type enzyme was highly specific for 2-oxoglutarate, whereas G82K and M101S dramatically switched to increased specificity for oxaloacetate. The steady-state kinetics parameters of mutant enzymes in reductive amination reaction are presented.

Deficit irrigation has great significance for sustainable cultivation of cotton in water scarce arid regions, but this technique creates drought situation that induces stress adaptive changes in cotton plants due to indeterminate growth habit. In the present experiment, the impact of drought stress on assimilates partitioning associated vegetative and reproductive development, and yield quality attributes of cotton were examined under desert conditions. Four levels of drip irrigation including 100, 80, 60, and 40% replenishment of depleted water from field capacity were applied to develop drought stress regimes during two growing seasons (2015 and 2016). Results revealed that under limited water supplies, plant’s preference for allocation of photo-assimilates was roots > leaves > fruits that substantially increased root-shoot ratio and hampered reproductive growth. Consequently, boll density (m−2), fresh boll weight and lint yield (kg ha−1) were significantly reduced. An obvious change in partitioning of assimilates inside stressed bolls was observed that indicated relatively more accumulation in seeds than fiber, thus reducing the fiber quality. In addition, decreased starch, oil, and protein contents in seeds of stressed plants markedly reduced 100 seeds weight and also the vigor. Later, seed quality confirmatory tests of subsequent years (2016 and 2017) showed significant reduction in emergence counts (m−2) and seedling biomasses of seeds harvested from deficit drip irrigated cotton. These results suggest that deficit irrigation could necessarily be an appropriate yield optimization and water saving technique for cotton in desert environment but, for the best quality fiber and cottonseeds, full irrigation should be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]