Floral herbivory may have deleterious effects on the reproductive success of flowering plants. However, plants may evolve floral traits that allow them to defend against herbivory in particular conditions. A bumblebee-pollinated subalpine herb, Pedicularis rex (Orobanchaceae), endemic to southwest China, has cup-like bracts that fill with rainwater, which submerges its corolla tubes. We hypothe...

Practical, effective methods that could be implemented in a food service establishment (restaurant or delicatessen) for the surface sanitization of cantaloupes were microbiologically evaluated. Cantaloupes (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulates) were immersed in an inoculum containing Salmonella enterica serovar Poona or Pantoea agglomerans at ca. 10(4) to 10(5) CFU/ml. An efficient method for the r...

O efeito do peróxido de hidrogênio vem sendo muito estudado, mas pouco se sabe sobre o seu na germinação e crescimento inicial sementes meloeiro submetidas ao estresse salino. Neste contexto, objetivou-se avaliar como atenuante salino das meloeiro. trabalho foi realizado no Laboratório Sementes Mudas da Universidade Federal Campina Grande, campus Pombal-PB. experimento conduzido em delineamento...

Microstegium vimineum is a shade tolerant annual C4 invasive grass in the Eastern US, which has been shown to negatively impact species diversity and succession in hardwood forests. To date, empirical studies have shown that population expansion is limited to <1 m yr(-1), which is largely driven by gravity dispersal. However, this likely does not fully account for all mechanisms of population-s...

The role of water erosion on seed loss and on plant establishment and distribution is unknown on the Chinese Loess Plateau, which suffers serious soil erosion. The seed susceptibility of 16 local species to removal by water erosion from loess slopes was determined by rainfall simulation experiments. The experiments were performed on slopes with gradients of 10°, 15°, 20° and 25° for a 60-min du...

OBJECTIVE Food contributes in measurable body burden of the widely used organophosphate pesticides. We designed a randomized controlled open label trial in Mashhad University Hospital in Iran, to study the possible alterations in cholinesterase activity resulting from consuming market melon known to be exposed to diazinon. PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty-three young healthy volunteers were recruit...

MicroRNAs represent a family of small endogenous, non-coding RNAs that play critical regulatory roles in plant growth, development, and environmental stress responses. Hami melon is famous for its attractive flavor and excellent nutritional value, however, the mechanisms underlying the fruit development and ripening remains largely unknown. Here, we performed small RNA sequencing to investigate...

Future emission scenarios can interfere with the yield of major crops. In this study, we investigated future impact increased air temperature and relative humidity on melon phenology water demand in Brazilian semi-arid region. We applied PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impact Studies) climatological model to develop Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change scenarios—B2 optimistic scenario...

Grand Rapids lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa L.) with 6 to 8% water content show no light-induced germination responses, whereas in seeds with 15% or more water content, germination is promoted or retarded by red and far red light respectively. By adjusting seed water content, persistent potentiated responses to light are induced in the seeds at seed water levels much below that required for germ...