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BackgroundBrassica oleracea var. botrytis is an annual or biennial herbaceous vegetable plant in the Brassicaceae family notable for its edible blossom head. A lot of effort has gone into finding defense-associated proteins in order to better understand how cauliflower and pathogens interact. Endophytes are organisms that live within the host plant and reproduce. Endophytes are bacteria and fungi that reside in plant tissues and can either help or harm the plant. Several species have aided molecular biologists and plant biotechnologists in various ways. Water is essential for a healthy cauliflower bloom. When the weather is hot, this plant dries up, and nitrogen scarcity can be detrimental to cauliflower growth.ObjectiveThe study sought to discern plant growth promoting (PGP) compounds that can amplify drought resilience and boost productivity in cauliflower.MethodsInvestigations were centered on endophytes, microorganisms existing within plant tissues. The dual role of beneficial and detrimental Agrobacterium was scrutinized, particularly emphasizing the ethylene precursor compound, 1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACCA).ResultsACCA possessed salient PGP traits, particularly demonstrating a pronounced enhancement of drought resistance in cauliflower plants. Specifically, during the pivotal marketable curd maturity phase, which necessitates defense against various threats, ACCA showcased a binding energy of −8.74 kcal/mol.ConclusionACCA holds a significant promise in agricultural productivity, with its potential to boost drought resistance and cauliflower yield. This could be particularly impactful for regions grappling with high temperatures and possible nitrogen shortages. Future research should explore ACCA’s performance under diverse environmental settings and its applicability in other crops.

Acinic cell carcinoma (ACCA), a type of malignant epithelial neoplasm, tends to occur in the parotid gland, and is occasionally found within the breast. Published literature regarding primary ACCA of the breast is scarce, and the number of reports may be fewer than 100. At present, full clinical details have not been published. As an extremely rare disorder, ACCA cannot be definitively diagnosed depending on microscopic structure alone and often requires the assistance of immunohistochemistry. Currently, universal therapies are not available. Here, we present a 47-year-old patient with a history of a palpable mass in the outer upper quadrant of the left breast for more than 2 years, which had obviously increased in size in the last half year. This patient was definitively diagnosed with primary ACCA of the breast. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was performed preoperatively, and drug sensitivity tests based on primary tumor cells were conducted after surgery and successfully screened chemotherapy schemes for the patient's greater benefit. The whole treatment course followed the guidelines for invasive breast cancer. The patient was free of symptoms for 14 months after surgery. Long-term follow-up is in progress. Altogether, to further broaden the understanding of primary ACCA of the breast, we detail the diagnosis and treatment of one patient and review the relevant literature.

The General Circulation Model (GCM) simulation had shown potential in yielding long-term statistical attributes of Indian precipitation and temperature which exhibit substantial inter-seasonal variation. However, GCM outputs experience substantial model structural bias that needs to be reduced prior to forcing them into hydrological models and using them in deriving insights on the impact of climate change. Traditionally, univariate bias correction approaches that can successfully yield the mean and the standard deviation of the observed variable, while ignoring the interdependence between multiple variables, are considered. Limited efforts have been made to develop bivariate bias-correction over a large region with an additional focus on the cross-correlation between two variables. Considering these, the current study suggests two objectives: (i) To apply a bivariate bias correction approach based on bivariate ranking to reduce bias in GCM historical simulation over India, (ii) To explore the potential of the proposed approach in yielding inter-seasonal variations in precipitation and temperature while also yielding the cross-correlation. This study considers three GCMs with fourteen ensemble members from the Coupled Model Intercomparison project Assessment Report-5 (CMIP5). The bivariate ranks of meteorological pairs are applied on marginal ranks till a stationary position is achieved. Results show that the bivariate approach substantially reduces bias in the mean and the standard deviation. Further, the bivariate approach performs better during non-monsoon months as compared to monsoon months in reducing the bias in the cross-correlation between precipitation and temperature as the typical negative cross-correlation structure is common during non-monsoon months. The study finds that the proposed approach successfully reproduces inter-seasonal variation in metrological variables across India.

Virgil carefully arranges the appearances of the pairs Dido and Anna, Camilla and Acca as an integral part of his commentary on the Trojan progression from Carthage to Italy, and as part of his allegorical reminiscence of Cleopatra at Alexandria and at Actium.

Bird pollination is relatively common in the tropics, and especially in the Americas. In the predominantly Neotropical tribe Myrteae (Myrtaceae), species of two genera, Acca and Myrrhinium, offer fleshy, sugary petals to the consumption of birds that otherwise eat fruits, thus pollinating the plants in an unusual plant-animal interaction. The phylogenetic position of these genera has been problematic, and therefore, so was the understanding of the evolution of this interaction. Here we include new sequences of Myrrhinium atropurpureum in a comprehensive molecular phylogeny based on a balanced sample of two plastid and two nuclear markers, with the aim of providing the historical framework of pollination by frugivorous birds in Myrteae. We developed 13 flower and inflorescence characters that comprehensively depict the macroscopic morphological components of this interaction. Bayesian and parsimony phylogenies concur in placing both Acca and Myrrhinium in a clade with Psidium species; with Myrrhinium sister to Psidium. Mapping of morphological characters indicated some degree of convergence (e.g., fleshy petals, purplish display) but also considerable divergence in key characters that point to rather opposing pollination strategies and also different degrees of specialization in Acca versus Myrrhinium. Pollination by frugivorous birds represents a special case of mutualism that highlights the evolutionary complexities of plant-animal interactions.