Polygalacturonase-inhibitor protein (PGIP) is a defense protein found in plant cell walls. It prevents the degradation of pectin by modulating the endo-polygalacturonase activity. The present study has used heterologous anti-bean PGIP probes to investigate the role of PGIP in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L) R. Br.] resistance against downy mildew caused by oomycete pathogen Sclerospora gra...

OBJECTIVE Our study provides information on phenotypes of local chickens and guinea fowl and their body measures as well as on major genes in local chickens in northern Ghana. METHODS Qualitative and morphometric traits were recorded on 788 local chickens and 394 guinea fowl in urban households in Tamale, Ghana. RESULTS The results showed considerable variation of color traits and numerous ...

Three experiments were conducted to determine the value of pearl millet grain, grown at either Purdue University or the University of Nebraska, as a substitute for corn in the diets of young pigs. In Exp. 1, 24 crossbred barrows, average initial weight of 20.7 kg, were used to evaluate nutrient digestibility of both sources of pearl millet compared with corn. Nitrogen digestibility was similar ...

Endophytic Trichoderma hamatum UoM 13 isolated from pearl millet roots was evaluated for its efficiency to suppress downy mildew disease. Under laboratory conditions, T. hamatum seed treatment significantly enhanced pearl millet seed germination and seedling vigor. T. hamatum seed treatment resulted in systemic and durable immunity against pearl millet downy mildew disease under greenhouse and ...

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is a staple food and a drought-tolerant cereal well adapted to Sub-Saharan Africa agro-ecosystems. An important diversity of pearl millet landraces has been widely conserved by farmers and therefore could help copping with climate changes and contribute to future food security. Hence, characterizing its genetic diversity and population structure can...

The distribution of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd and As) in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary was investigated. The spatial distribution of heavy metals displayed a decreasing pattern from the turbidity maxima to both upstream and downstream of the estuary, which suggested that suspended sediments played an important role in the trace metal distribution in the Pearl River Estuary. In addition, m...

BACKGROUND One in three patients hospitalised due to acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is readmitted within 90 days. No tool has been developed specifically in this population to predict readmission or death. Clinicians are unable to identify patients at particular risk, yet resources to prevent readmission are allocated based on clinical judgement. METHODS In participating hospitals, conse...

This paper examines the relations between the causal models of Pearl and the settable systems framework recently introduced by White and Chalak. We pay particular attention to the suitability of these two approaches for analyzing the behavior of optimizing, interacting agents, the central concern of economics. We show that Pearl’s causal model is nested in the settable system framework, and we ...

The triangle sail mussel Hyriopsis cumingii (Lea) is the most important mussel species used for commercial freshwater pearl production in China. Mussel color is an important indicator of pearl quality. To identify genes involved in the nacre coloring, we conducted RNA-seq and obtained 541,268 sequences (298 bp average size) and 440,034 sequences (293 bp average size) in secreting purple and whi...

Dear Editor, I read with interest the comment by Lindquist and Sobel (L&S) entitled: “Graphical models, potential outcomes and causal inference” (NeuroImage, 2010) in which they advocate the use of counterfactual language to explicate causal assumptions, and raise doubts on whether graphical models are generally useful for estimating causal effects. Their comment creates the impression, perhaps...