In vitro recalcitrance is the inability of plant cells, tissues and organs to respond to tissue culture manipulations. With respect to plant regeneration, recalcitrance can be a major limiting factor for the biotechnological exploitation of economically important plant species and it can also impair the wider application of in vitro conservation techniques. This first paper introduces a compilation of Symposium papers, collectively entitled “Do we understand in vitro plant recalcitrance?”, presented at the 1999 Congress of the Society for In Vitro Biology. The Symposium reviewed recalcitrance in the context of genetic predeterminism, molecular markers and gene expression patterns, whole and explant physiology, stress physiology, habituation, neoplastic progression and plant cancer. The symposium contributors present fundamental and applied investigative approaches which have the potential to enhance our current understanding of in vitro recalcitrance and to assist in overcoming the problems associated with nonresponsive plant cultures. This introductory paper presents the general concept of recalcitrance in relation to whole-plant and explant physiology and considers basic aspects of tissue culture manipulations in the context of recalcitrance problems.

Sepecial symposium: In vitro plant recalcitrance in vitro plant recalcitrance: An introduction

https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2903119/view

Effect of soil washing with biodegradable chelators on the toxicity of residual metals and soil biological properties.

Treasure from garden: Bioactive compounds of buckwheat

One-pot synthesis of nZVI-embedded biochar for remediation of two mining arsenic-contaminated soils: Arsenic immobilization associated with iron transformation.

An increasing number of pesticides have been used in agriculture for protecting the crops from pests, weeds, and diseases but as much as 80 to 90% of applied pesticides hit non-target vegetation and stay as pesticide residue in the environment which is potentially a grave risk to the agricultural ecosystem. This review gives an overview of the pollution in agricultural soils by pesticides, and the remediation techniques for pesticide-contaminated soils. Currently, the remediation techniques involve physical, chemical, and biological remediation as well as combined ways for the removal of contaminants. The microbial functions in rhizosphere including gene analysis tools are fields in remediation of pesticide-contaminated soil which has generated a lot of interest lately. However, most of those studies were done in greenhouses; more research work should be done in the field conditions for proper evaluation of the efficiency of the proposed techniques. Long-term monitoring and evaluation of in situ remediation techniques should also be done in order to assess their long-term sustainability and practical applications in the field.

Pesticide Pollution in Agricultural Soils and Sustainable Remediation Methods: a Review

Arsenic bio-accessibility and bioaccumulation in aged pesticide contaminated soils: A multiline investigation to understand environmental risk.

The green plant regeneration ability from anthers of BR-7, a high yielding indica cultivar, Binnatoa (BA), a salt tolerant indica land race and IR-43 was tested in N6, M8, He2 and R2 media. The response was calculated on the basis of number of anthers producing green plants. The number of green plants per responding anther was also recorded. The response of BR-7 and BA was poor compared to the indica cultivar IR-43 in three of the media that were tested. In N6 medium, green plant regeneration of BA and BR-7 was respectively 10-fold and 100-fold less than the japonica cultivar Taipei 309 (T-309). No anther-derived green regenerant was obtained from another salt tolerant indica land race, Rajashail (RAJ). The N6 medium was selected to test green plant regeneration frequency from anthers obtained from the F1 crosses of T-309 × BR-7, T-309 × BA, T-309 × RAJ and T-309 × BR-7 AC regenerants backcrossed with BA. Our objective was to combine the salt tolerant trait of BA and the high yield of BR-7 in a single line. The intermediate crossing step with T-309 was performed to increase the green plant regenerability of the anthers. All F1 progeny from the crosses with T-309 showed significantly increased callus induction compared to the indica parent although the values were lower than the midparent means. Green plant regeneration compared to their respective indica parents either increased or decreased but never approached the level of T-309.

Variations in green plant regeneration response from anthers of indica rice and their hybrids with japonica cv. Taipei 309

Stem lignin content of a mature jute plant was found to be around 29% giving a deposition rate of 0.21% per day. The study was made on individual plants of different ages starting from five weeks when they were big enough to produce sufficient dry mass for lignin estimation to 16 weeks of age when a jute plant is ready for retting. An intense rate of increase (1.15%) was found during the 7th week of growth, probably due to a rise in temperature. Present data and the average rate of increase of lignin production can be considered as a reference value for projects working on producing low-lignin - jute varieties. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjb.v43i3.21603 Bangladesh J. Bot. 43 (3): 309-314, 2014 (December)

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Jute (corchorus olitorius var. o-72) stem lignin: variation in content with age

Papillary muscle rupture and dysfunction can lead to complications of prolapsed atrioventricular valve and valvular regurgitation. Morphology, measurements and attachments of papillary muscles in both tricuspid and bicuspid valve gains utmost importance in cardiac surgeries and variations in the papillary muscle morphology is one of causes for myocardial infarction in recent time. Therefore, it is important to know both the normal anatomy and variations of papillary muscles. The study was carried out in the department of Anatomy, Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh from July 2013 to June 2014. A total 80 human hearts were collected by purposive sampling method, among them 49 were male and 31 were female. The specimens were collected from Bangladeshi cadavers of age ranging from 6 months to 60 years, from autopsy laboratory of the Department of Forensic Medicine of Mymensingh Medical College. All the specimens were grouped into three categories Group A (upto 20 years), Group B (21 to 40 years) and Group C (41 to 60 years) according to age. Dissection was performed according to standard autopsy techniques. Length of each papillary muscle was measured in both ventricles in different age groups. In present study the mean length of the anterior papillary muscles of right ventricle was higher than both the posterior and septal papillary muscles among the age groups. The mean±SD length of the anterior papillary muscle was 1.07±0.48, 1.50±0.37 and 1.60±0.25cm in Group A, B and C respectively. The mean±SD length of the posterior papillary muscle was 1.02±0.35, 1.31±0.40 and 1.37±0.34cm in Group A, B & C respectively. The mean±SD length of the septal papillary muscle in right ventricle was 0.51±0.42, 0.65±0.31 and 0.81±0.35cm in Group A, B & C respectively. It was also observed that the mean length of anterior, posterior and septal papillary muscle was increased with age. In present study the mean length of the anterior papillary muscles in left ventricle was higher than that of the posterior papillary muscle among the age groups. The mean±SD length of the anterior papillary muscle was 1.53±0.34, 2.05±0.39 and 2.01±0.25cm in Group A, B and C respectively. The mean±SD length of the posterior papillary muscle was 1.33±0.34, 1.95±0.89 and 1.81±0.76cm in Group A, B and C respectively and it was also observed that the mean length of both anterior and posterior papillary muscle was increased with age. In statistical analysis, differences between age groups were calculated by using one way ANOVA test.

Length of papillary muscles in both ventricles of different age group on Bangladeshi cadaver.

The spleen is the most frequently injured organ in the abdomen. Splenic rupture is usually precipitated by a crushing injury or severe blow. If ruptured the spleen will bleed profusely because its capsule is thin and its parenchyma is soft and pulpy. Such "spontaneous ruptures" never occur in truly normal spleen but rather than from some minor physical insult to a spleen that has been rendered fragile by an underlying condition. The most common predisposing conditions are infectious mononucleosis, malaria, typhoid fever and lymphoid neoplasms. These diverse entities can all cause rapid splenic enlargement, producing a thin, tense splenic capsule that is susceptible to rupture. Understanding of splenic capsular structure may help explain mechanical properties of the normal and diseased spleen. Histological changes are evident in advancing age along with functional capability of the human spleen. This cross sectional descriptive study was done to measure the thickness of splenic capsule to establish the difference between sexes of different age groups in Bangladeshi cadaver. The study was carried out in the department of Anatomy, Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh from June 2013 to July 2014. A total 30 human spleen were collected by purposive sampling technique from October 2013 to April 2014, among them 14 were male and 16 were female. The specimens were collected from Bangladeshi cadavers of age ranging from 6 months to 60 years, from autopsy laboratory of the Department of Forensic Medicine of Mymensingh Medical College. For convenience of differentiating the thickness of splenic capsule in relation to age and sex, the collected specimens were divided into three groups like Group A (upto 20 years), Group B (21 to 40 years) & Group C (41 to 60 years). Each group was again divided into male & female groups. In this study 10 slides from each age group were chosen for measuring the thickness of splenic capsule and examined under low power objective. In present study the mean capsular thickness of spleen was 107.71±8.70, 125.71±31.29 and 136.39±6.49 μm in Group A, B and C respectively. The mean difference of capsular thickness of spleen between Group A & B, Group B & C was statistically non-significant but the difference between C & A was highly significant (p<0.001). From this study it was also observed that the mean±SD thickness of splenic capsule was higher in male than that of female among the age groups but there was no significant difference between sexes. In statistical analysis, differences between age groups and sexes were calculated by using one way ANOVA test and unpaired 't' test respectively.

T Farzana

Papers

Arsenic bio-accessibility and bioaccumulation in aged pesticide contaminated soils: A multiline investigation to understand environmental risk.

Variations in green plant regeneration response from anthers of indica rice and their hybrids with japonica cv. Taipei 309

Jute (corchorus olitorius var. o-72) stem lignin: variation in content with age

Length of papillary muscles in both ventricles of different age group on Bangladeshi cadaver.

Variations of Thickness of Splenic Capsule of Different Age and Sex in Bangladeshi Cadaver.