Many explanations in science make use of mathematics. But are there cases where the mathematical component of a scientific explanation is explanatory in its own right? This issue of mathematical explanations in science has been for the most part neglected. I argue that there are genuine mathematical explanations in science, and present in some detail an example of such an explanation, taken fro...

Melia volkensii Gurke is a drought-tolerant tree native to East Africa's arid and semiarid lands (ASALs), with vast but underutilized potential for agroforestry and sustainable livelihoods in the ASALs. Its cultivation is limited by difficulties in propagation via conventional means. Full exploitation of the ability of thidiazuron (TDZ) to elicit regeneration in plant tissue cultures, as sole p...

Cryopreservation of germplasm in liquid nitrogen (LN) is a perfect method for the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources. Lily [Lilium ledebourii (Baker) Bioss.], Persian lilac (Melia azedarach L.), and tea (Camellia sinensis L.) were evaluated for long-term storage in liquid nitrogen (LN) at -196oC. Encapsulation within alginate beads was shown to be beneficial in all studied specie...

Screening of phenolic constituents in leaves of Cedrela serrata, Toona ciliata, Azadirachta indica and Melia azedarach was done by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The phenolic compounds were identified by comparison with authentic standards. The phenolic acids identified in all plants leaves extract were gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxy benzoic acid, ...

In semi-arid regions, trees often wither during the dry season. Withering is sometimes manifest as die-back, whereby whithering results in shoot death, which progresses downward from the uppermost part of the crown. In this study, we measured the relationships between height growth and diameter at breast height, die-back frequency and severity, vessel size and specific hydraulic conductivity of...