An effective procedure for producing transformed Centaurium erythraea plants from synthetic seeds is described. Explants were encapsulated in 3% sodium alginate with 3% sucrose. Encapsulated hairy roots were cultured on half-strength Murashige and Skoog (1/2 MS) or Woody Plant (WPM) agar-solidified regeneration media supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) or without the cytokinin. The use of WPM with 0.5 mg/L of BAP gave the best shoot formation frequency (86%) and mean number of shoots (15) per root segment. Shoots rooted with 97% frequency on 1/2 MS without growth regulators. Encapsulated shoot buds were cultured on onethird- strength MS agar medium (1/3 MS) supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.05 mg/L). The plantlet conversion frequency was 32%. The encapsulated hairy roots and shoot buds were stored for 4, 6 or 14 weeks at 4°C. Synthetic seeds encapsulated with 3% sodium alginate with 3% sucrose stored at 4°C remained viable for 6 weeks but their developmental parameters significantly decreased. Adding nutrient medium and growth regulator to the alginate matrix increased plantlet recovery from both non-stored and stored synthetic seeds: synthetic seeds retained their viability and ability to form plantlets even after 14 weeks of storage. Regenerated transformed plantlets of C. erythraea were acclimatized in the greenhouse.

In this paper, pole placement-based design and analysis of a free piston Stirling engine (FPSE) is presented and compared to the well-defined Beale number design technique. First, dynamic and thermodynamic equations governing the engine system are extracted. Then, linear dynamics of the free piston Stirling engine are studied using dynamic systems theory tools such as root locus. Accordingly, the effects of variations of design parameters such as mass of pistons, stiffness of springs, and frictional damping on the locations of dominant closed-loop poles are investigated. The design procedure is thus conducted to place the dominant poles of the dynamic system at desired locations on the s-plane so that the unstable dynamics, which is the required criterion for energy generation, is achieved. Next, the closed-loop poles are selected based on a desired frequency so that a periodical system is found. Consequently, the design parameters, including mass and spring stiffness for both power and displacer pistons, are obtained. Finally, the engine power is calculated through the proposed control-based analysis and the result is compared to those of the experimental work and the Beale number approach. The outcomes of this work clearly reveal the effectiveness of the control-based design technique of FPSEs compared to the well-known approaches such as Beale number.

Resistance genes in response to root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) infection suppress one or more of several critical steps in nematode parasitism and their reproduction rate. The reaction of seven commercial tomato genotypes to M. javanica infection was investigated under greenhouse conditions. Current results classified these genotypes as: three resistant (Jampakt, Malika and Nema Guard), one moderately resistant (Fayrouz), and three susceptible (Castle Rock, Super Marmande and Super Strain B). Except Nema Guard, nematode infection significantly reduced plant height, fresh and dry weights of shoots of the other tomato genotypes. Leaf area was significantly reduced for all examined tomato genotypes except Malika and Nema Guard. Total chlorophyll was reduced in all tested tomato genotypes except Jampakt. Infection parameters of M. javanica and their population were significantly reduced on all nematode-resistant tomato genotypes compared to the susceptible genotypes. Also, the maturation rate of M. javanica was suppressed in the resistant genotypes compared to the susceptible genotypes. These results were confirmed by histological study that illustrated a delay in nematode development and their maturation. Total phenolic content significantly increased in nematode infected roots of both resistant and susceptible genotypes except Malika. Among non-infected roots, Malika showed the highest level of total phenols while after M. javanica infection, Nema Guard revealed the highest level of total phenols. Among infected roots, the highest level of total phenols was recorded in Castle Rock. These results suggested that using nematode-resistant tomato genotypes could provide an efficient and nonpolluting method to control root-knot nematodes.

The main issue of this article are eco-bridges, pedestrian-friendly imaginary sites (enclave) of greenery in urban tissues. Discussed cases include the implementations of projects such as: the High Line in New York and the Garden Bridge in London. The main theme of the article is to compare the green bridges in the urban tissue embedded with “living root bridges”. The author of the article highlights the potential limits for “living root bridges” in the urban tissue, resulting from the climate, time of their creation and limits of urban space. She also notes the strong tendency to create green areas in the “concrete” urban structure, but also the use of artificial materials in tissue of “living root bridges”.

We compared the biochemical profiles of Physalis ixocarpa hairy roots transformed with Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC and A4 strains with non-transformed root cultures. The studied clones of A4- and ATCC-induced hairy roots differed significantly; the latter showed greater growth potential and greater ability to produce secondary metabolites (tropane alkaloids) and to biotransform hydroquinone to arbutin. We compared glucose content, alanine and aspartate aminotransferase activity, and L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity. We analyzed markers of prooxidant/antioxidant homeostasis: catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, oxidase, glutathione peroxidase and transferase activity, and the levels of ascorbate, glutathione, tocopherol and lipid peroxidation. We found that transformation induced strain-specific regulation, including regulation based on redox signals, determining the rate of allocation of carbon and nitrogen resources to secondary metabolism pathways. Our results provide evidence that A. rhizogenes strain-specific modification of primary metabolites contributed to regulation of secondary metabolism and could determine the ability of P. ixocarpa hairy root clones to produce tropane alkaloids and to convert exogenously applied hydroquinone to pharmaceutically valuable arbutin. Of the studied parameters, glucose content, L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity and alanine aminotransferases activity may be indicators of the secondary metabolite-producing potential of different P. ixocarpa hairy root clones.

We examined whether allelochemical stress leads to increased lipoxygenase activity in roots of sweet maize (Zea mays L. ssp. saccharata), pea (Pisum sativum L.) and radish (Raphanus sativum L. var. radicula). The lipoxygenase activity of soluble and membrane-bound fractions was assessed in roots after exposure to ferulic and p-coumaric acids. Lipid peroxidation and membrane injury were determined as indicators of stress. Increased lipoxygenase activity of both studied fractions was followed by lipid peroxidation and plasma membrane injury. The results suggest the key role of lipoxygenase in plasma membrane injury during allelochemical stress caused by administration of hydroxycinnamic acids.

In this article I will try to describe the lesson learnt by the corporations from the grass root movements in the cities. In the proposed analysis I will refer to the conception of recuperation and a soul of capitalism – by Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello. Besides it I will refer to the works of these authors who analyse the beginnings and the activism of the city grass-root movements in a context of critique of capitalism and neoliberal system.

Actinomycetes are considered to be the biggest producer of bioactive compounds which are expected to have antifungal activity for controlling many fungi such as Rhizoctonia solani. The objective of this study was to obtain potential soybean rhizosphere actinomycetes as a biocontrol agent for R. solani which cause damping-off disease both in vitro and in vivo, including their ability to produce siderophore, chitinase, and HCN. Out of 26 isolates, 18 (56%) showed diverse antifungal activities against R. solani with percentages of inhibition radial growth (PIRG) from 18.9 to 64.8%, as evaluated by a dual culture method. Ten isolates with the strongest antifungal activity were numbered for further characterization. All the tested isolates were not antagonistic towards Bradyrhizobium japonicum. These isolates were able to suppress damping-off disease caused by R. solani in the greenhouse experiment. Isolate ASR53 showed the highest disease suppression, 68% and 91% in sterile and non-sterile soil, respectively. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis this isolate belonged to Streptomyces violaceorubidus LMG 20319 (similarity 98.8%) according to GenBank data base available at www.ncbi.nlm.gov.nih. Furthermore, isolate ASR53 had significantly longer roots and shoots, as well as greater fresh and dry weights of seedlings than the control. Crude extract derived from ASR53 isolates contained 10 dominant compounds that were biologically active against fungal pathogens. Thus, this study suggests that the application of potential actinomycetes of the soybean rhizosphere can act as a promising biocontrol agent against damping-off disease caused by R. solani.

This publication begins a series of works devoted to the analysis of the semantic derivation of selected Proto-Slavic roots in Macedonian and Polish. The aim of this work is to capture the parallels and differences in the evolution of the two confronted – though rather distant – languages. We obtain Macedonian and Polish visualizations of the world.