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This paper aims at exploring and analysing the presence and significance of images of light and darkness as symbolic elements in the short story collection In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway. Many renowned writers incorporate such images into their works, often representing them as distinct polarities or as a unified entity. Given the fact that Hemingway's often omitted elements of the narrative are prone to analysis due to their significance, the main aim of this paper would be to examine what these symbolic elements might be an indication of. By relying on the theory of conceptual metaphor and Jung's coniunctio oppositorum, or the union of opposites, abstract oppositions such as emotions surrounding birth and death, fear and consolation, the fundamental misunderstanding between various married or unmarried couples within these short stories will be analysed within the mentioned framework. Thus, the paper provides an exploration of these notions and sheds light on Hemingway's portrayal of the stereotypical dark/light opposition, as well as the coexistence of these opposing elements within the inner and outer worlds of his characters. Hence, the main conclusions which can be drawn from the analysis include the perspective from which the author creates images of light and darkness in order to draw attention to emotions such as fear or consolation corresponding to the common perception of these images. Nonetheless, depending on the context within different narratives, the author also manipulates the common perception, thus creating the reverse symbolisation. By presenting both of these images, examining their contrast, relatedness, as well as the necessity of their existence, Ernest Hemingway creates a unique short story collection, thus supporting the claim that his narratives can be repeatedly and inexhaustibly reread and reanalysed.

The conceptual development of criminological scholarship has been inextricable with the city. This is particularly apparent in relation to policing, where foundational ideas about police work and culture are derived almost exclusively from research in cities. But how has the ubiquity of the urban context limited our criminological imagination? Drawing on a major ethnography of policing in two remote Scottish archipelagos, this paper explores how the remote island context brings new phenomena within the scope of criminological inquiry, illuminating the selectivity of its dominant preoccupations. It explores the centrality of (1) the weather, light and darkness and (2) immersion in the physical environment in the way island officers perceive the places, people and problems they encounter, and the implications for how they exercise state power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of approaches that frame the Anthropocene in scenic terms ("Anthropo-scene," Una Chaudhuri), this paper examines scenic ecologies in Arno Schmidt's Black Mirrors and Werner Herzog's Lessons of Darkness. Based on the analysis of the spatio-temporality and agency of Schmidt's and Herzog's scenic ecologies, the essay explores the extent to which the chorus facilitates a rethinking of the Anthropo(s)cene. The choral in the Anthropocene is thereby conceptualized in three ways: as a scene of force, "scale critique" (Derek Woods), and the emergence of the ground. Schmidt's and Herzog's eco-scenarios are scenes of darkness. What reworking does the scenic undergo in and out of darkness and what does this imply for ecological thinking? Under the sign of darkness, the ecological scene opens up as one of extinction, a scene of an uncanny ecology, whose scenic vehicle is the chorus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the connections between darkness and sustainability, particularly in contemporary night environments, and the needs of various species. Artificial light plays a vital role in shaping the aesthetics of today's nightscapes. For humans, illumination during night-time serves both practical purposes after sunset and enhances the aesthetic appeal of the night. However, this same artificial lighting poses disturbances to other species. Consequently, using artificial light at night is a significant issue in discussing a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionIndependent mobility is every child's right and has implications for their health, wellbeing, and development. This scoping review addresses children's needs and experiences of light conditions in their everyday outdoor life. The review examines peer-reviewed scientific literature that analyses associations between different light conditions and children's independent mobility (CIM) during dark hours.MethodsBy formulating a Boolean search string, including terms related to children independent mobility, light and outdoor environment, five scientific databases were searched. The search resulted in 67 eligible papers that were analyzed through an inductive, thematic analysis.ResultsFour overarching themes representing the researched topics of the effects of light conditions with importance for CIM during dark hours were identified: (1) physical activity (PA) and active travel, (2) outdoor activities and place use, (3) safety perception, and (4) outdoor risks. The findings highlight that darkness constitutes a major obstacle for CIM, and that fear of darkness is common among children. It restricts the degree of CIM and influences children's safety perception as well as how they navigate through public places outdoors. The findings show that the type and design of outdoor settings during dark hours and children's familiarity with places during daytime could play a role in the degree of CIM after dark. The presence of outdoor lighting is related to children's increased PA and active travel, and outdoor lighting seems to also influence children's place use and interaction with the environment. The presence and extent of outdoor lighting and lighting quality may play a role in children's safety perception, which in turn can influence CIM.DiscussionThe findings suggest that promoting CIM during dark hours might not only contribute to the accumulation of children's PA, confidence, and skills, but also support mental health. The understanding of children's perspectives on the quality of outdoor lighting needs to be deepened to support CIM. Highlighting the child perspective would aid the development of current recommendations for outdoor lighting and the implementation of the Agenda 2030 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages, and making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable throughout the day and seasons.

Environmental stresses dramatically impact the balance between the production of photosynthetically derived energetic electrons and Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBBC) activity; an imbalance promotes accumulation of reactive oxygen species and causes cell damage. Hence, photosynthetic organisms have developed several strategies to route electrons toward alternative outlets that allow for storage or harmless dissipation of their energy. In this work, we explore the activities of three essential outlets associated with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii photosynthetic electron transport: (i) reduction of O2 to H2O through flavodiiron proteins (FLVs) and (ii) plastid terminal oxidases (PTOX) and (iii) the synthesis of starch. Real-time measurements of O2 exchange have demonstrated that FLVs immediately engage during dark-to-light transitions, allowing electron transport when the CBBC is not fully activated. Under these conditions, we quantified maximal FLV activity and its overall capacity to direct photosynthetic electrons toward O2 reduction. However, when starch synthesis is compromised, a greater proportion of the electrons is directed toward O2 reduction through both the FLVs and PTOX, suggesting an important role for starch synthesis in priming/regulating CBBC and electron transport. Moreover, partitioning energized electrons between sustainable (starch; energetic electrons are recaptured) and nonsustainable (H2O; energetic electrons are not recaptured) outlets is part of the energy management strategy of photosynthetic organisms that allows them to cope with the fluctuating conditions encountered in nature. Finally, unmasking the repertoire and control of such energetic reactions offers new directions for rational redesign and optimization of photosynthesis to satisfy global demands for food and other resources.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are ubiquitous in household and medical products because of their antimicrobial activity. A consequence of the high volume of Ag-NP production and usage is increased amounts of Ag-NPs released into the environment. Their small size (1-100 nm) results in unique physiochemical properties that may increase toxicity relative to their bulk counterpart. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to assess the potential toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of Ag-NPs in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Wild-type tropical 5D zebrafish embryos were exposed to Ag-NPs from 4 to 120 h postfertilization at 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, and 3 ppm (mg/L). Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry confirmed concentration-dependent uptake of Ag into zebrafish as well as bioaccumulation over time. A morphological assessment revealed no significant hatching impairment, morphological abnormalities, or mortality at any concentration or time point examined. However, assessment of photomotor behavior at 3 d postfertilization (dpf) revealed significant hyperactivity in the 0.3, 1, and 3 ppm Ag-NP treatment groups. At 4 dpf, significant hyperactivity was observed only in the 3 ppm treatment group, whereas 5 dpf larvae exposed to Ag-NPs displayed no significant abnormalities in photomotor behavior. These findings suggest that nonteratogenic concentrations of Ag-NPs are capable of causing transient behavioral changes during development. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:3018-3024. © 2018 SETAC.

Background: Facility cultivation is widely applied to meet the increasing demand for high yield and quality, with light intensity and light quality being major limiting factors. However, how changes in the light environment affect development and quality are unclear in garlic. When garlic seedlings are grown, they can also be exposed to blanching culture conditions of darkness or low-light intensity to ameliorate their appearance and modify their bioactive compounds and flavor. Results: In this study, we determined the quality and transcriptomes of 14-day-old garlic and blanched garlic seedlings (green seedlings and blanched seedlings) to explore the mechanisms by which seedlings integrate light signals. The findings revealed that blanched garlic seedlings were taller and heavier in fresh weight compared to green garlic seedlings. In addition, the contents of allicin, cellulose, and soluble sugars were higher in the green seedlings. We also identified 3,872 differentially expressed genes between green and blanched garlic seedlings. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis suggested enrichment for plant-pathogen interactions, phytohormone signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, and other metabolic processes. In functional annotations, pathways related to the growth and formation of the main compounds included phytohormone signaling, cell wall metabolism, allicin biosynthesis, secondary metabolism and MAPK signaling. Accordingly, we identified multiple types of transcription factor genes involved in plant-pathogen interactions, plant phytohormone signaling, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites among the differentially expressed genes between green and blanched garlic seedlings. Conclusions: Blanching culture is one facility cultivation mode that promotes chlorophyll degradation, thus changing the outward appearance of crops, and improves their flavor. The large number of DEGs identified confirmed the difference of the regulatory machinery under two culture system. This study increases our understanding of the regulatory network integrating light and darkness signals in garlic seedlings and provides a useful resource for the genetic manipulation and cultivation of blanched garlic seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanin, including both eu‐ and pheomelanin forms, is the most common pigment type in animals and plays numerous adaptive roles. However, the effect of diet on melanin pigmentation is not well reviewed or synthesized. Understanding how diet influences melanin may lead to valuable insights such as explaining intraspecific variation or explaining when melanin‐based traits are plastic or condition dependent versus when they are prioritized or canalized.In order to assess the state of the literature and the current understanding of the effects of diet on melanin pigmentation we conducted a systematic literature search. We use the search results to highlight common patterns across animals. In particular we focus on three questions: Which dietary components can influence melanin? Which aspects of melanin‐based traits are influenced by diet? What factors can mediate the influence of diet on melanin?The effect of diet on melanin is complex and multifaceted. Diet itself can vary in a number of ways including diet quantity, protein content, fatty acid content and amount of metals and other micronutrients. We discuss the mechanisms by which these components influence melanin pigmentation.Diet can influence the size, darkness and colour of melanin‐based traits. Often, diet influences one of these aspects but not another, which may reflect the processes of melanin synthesis and distribution.Factors that mediate whether melanin pigmentation responds to dietary variation include the type of trait, life stage, sex and environmental stress. Methodology (e.g. degree of manipulation relative to natural conditions) can also influence results. These nuances should be considered when developing hypotheses about the effects of diet on melanin pigmentation.We conclude with important areas for future research, including the proximate mechanisms connecting diet and melanin, how diet affects internal melanin, how diet mediates costs of melanin pigmentation and how diet affects the evolution of melanin‐based traits. Overall, diet has important and complex effects on melanin and likely plays an important role in the ecology and evolution of melanin pigmentation. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the therapeutic resources in the natural outdoors that were conducive to the therapeutic process in a multi‐family therapy (MFT) for enhancing the self‐efficacy and collective family efficacy of Chinese families of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Hong Kong. Photo‐elicited interviews with adolescents with ADHD and parent focus groups were employed to explore the participatory experiences of the families. A total of thirteen Chinese families of adolescents (aged 11–15 years) with ADHD participated in this study (fourteen adolescents with ADHD, eight fathers and ten mothers). The present study explored the potential therapeutic resources in the natural outdoors, namely a change in the group environment, spaciousness and darkness. The use of the natural outdoors in MFT proved to be a strategy useful for creating a naturalistic group setting within which family participants can more easily enact changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies on the economic theory of crime have extensively analyzed the importance of the probability of punishment with regard to premeditated criminal activities. Unplanned crimes also occur, however, and this paper will focus on a very serious and widespread example: the hit-and-run road accident. Using police records for every road accident with injuries or mortalities that took place in Italy in the period 1996–2016, we rely on changes in daylight, both when switching between daylight saving time and winter time and across seasons, as an exogenous source of variation affecting the probability of apprehension and find that the likelihood of hit-and-run conditional on an accident taking place increases by around 20% with darkness. Our results suggest that policies increasing the likelihood of apprehension could be effective in reducing hit-and-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life and death has always been one of the main concerns of every thinking person throughout the history of mankind and all the schools of thought, philosophy and religion have tried to explain the meaning of life and specify its goals, and each of them from a different point of view. These coils have looked into each other. However, it is quite clear and obvious that the definition of life without considering death is absurd and futile. But are the concepts of death and life in opposition to each other? And if so, is life superior and more valuable than death? In order to find the above questions, the research, using the analytical-descriptive method and using library sources, first investigated the dual oppositions in structuralist and foundational thinking, and then tried to reread the concepts of life and death in Iranian literature and its corresponding ones. It means there is light and darkness in Iranian architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Filosofía (0185-3481) is the property of Universidad Iberoamericana Cuidad de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A cloudy November evening deep in an old forest. It is really dark, and I try to observe my environment. I discern the difference between the treetops and the dark sky and the snow-covered ground. Everything else is formless. My vision is quite useless, and the other senses are weak in these circumstances. Only the background hum is audible and most aromas are erased by the freezing temperature. In a winter outfit, all I can feel is the moving air on my face. Yet, this is not sensory deprivation, there are things to observe. What is it possible to discern when the visual stimulus is minimized? This article focuses on the aesthetic experience of darkness by analyzing a visit to a deep natural darkness and attempts to connect this distinct case to aesthetic theory. The emphasis is on the descriptive analysis of the challenges of seeing in the darkness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Philological Review (00151807) is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Argument (2067-4252) is the property of Universitatea de Arhitectura si Urbanism "Ion Mincu" Bucuresti and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

RING-finger-type ubiquitin E3 ligase Constitutively Photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) and floral integrators such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF) and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1) have been identified as regulators of stomatal movement. However, little is known about their roles and relationship in dark-induced stomatal closure. Here, we demonstrated that COP1 is required for dark-induced stomatal closure using cop1 mutant. The cop1 mutant closed stomata in response to exogenous nitric oxide (NO) but not hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and H2O2 but not NO accumulated in cop1 in darkness, further indicating that COP1 acts downstream of H2O2 and upstream of NO in dark-induced stomatal closure. Expression of FT, TSF and SOC1 in wild-type (WT) plants decreased significantly with dark duration time, but this process was blocked in cop1. Furthermore, ft, tsf, and soc1 mutants accumulated NO and closed stomata faster than WT plants in response to darkness. Altogether, our results indicate that COP1 transduces H2O2 signaling, promotes NO accumulation in guard cells by suppressing FT, TSF and SOC1 expression, and consequently leads to stomatal closure in darkness. These findings add new insights into the mechanisms of dark-induced stomatal closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed germination is a key stage in the life history of plants, which has a crucial effect on plant community structure. Climate change has substantially altered the surface soil temperature and light availability, which can affect seed germination. However, whether the seed germination of different functional groups is affected by the interactions of light and temperature remains unclear. Under laboratory conditions, we examined the effects of low temperature and darkness, as well as their interaction, on the seed germination of 16 species belonging to three plant functional groups (annual and biennials, perennial grasses, and perennial forbs) in a typical steppe, Northern China. We found that low temperature had a significant negative effect on seed germination of all species. Low temperature significantly decreased the final germination percentage and germinative force of the three plant functional groups, and the germination duration of perennial grasses. Darkness significantly decreased the germinative force of perennial forbs and total seeds, and the germination duration of perennial grasses. The interactive effects of light and temperature on the seed final germination percentage and germinative force of perennial grass indicated that darkness strengthened the inhibitory effect of low temperature on the seed germination of the grass functional group. Our study indicate that the seed germination of different plant functional groups varied greatly in response to changing environmental conditions. Our results suggest that future climate change could alter the regeneration and species composition of plant communities through changing seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TCP (TEOSINTE-LIKE1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR1) is a plant-specific transcription factor that has garnered significant attention due to its wide-ranging involvement in the regulation of plant growth or developmental processes. However, the molecular mechanisms through which TCP genes orchestrate leaf senescence have not been extensively elucidated. BpTCP19 , a member of the PCF subfamily in Betula platyphylla , and has high homology to AtTCP19. BpTCP19 displayed pronounced downregulation in response to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and dark treatment. Overexpressing BpTCP19 in Betula platyphylla led to a delay in leaf senescence, resulting in prolonged leaf greenness under both MeJA and dark conditions. Transcriptome analysis revealed that overexpression of BpTCP19 induced alterations in the expression levels of genes linked to cell proliferation, hormone signaling transduction, and leaf senescence, including the early responsive factor BpWRKY53. Furthermore, through Yeast one-hybrid assays and GUS analysis, BpTCP19 was shown to bind to the promoter region of BpWRKY53 , suppressing its expression and thereby retarding leaf senescence. This study elucidates the physiological and molecular functions of BpTCP19 as a central transcriptional regulatory module in leaf senescence and provides a potential target gene for delaying leaf senescence by mitigating sensitivity to external aging signals such as Jasmonic acid (JA) and darkness. [Display omitted] • BpTCP19 is induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and darkness treatment. • Overexpression of BpTCP19 in birch delays dark and MeJA-induced leaf senescence. • BpTCP19 regulates the expression of senescence genes identified by RNA sequencing. • BpTCP19 binds to the BpWRKY53 promoter and represses its expression, thereby delaying leaf senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caves in temperate regions are characterized by food scarcity compared to surface habitats. Therefore, hypotheses on adaptation to cave life suggest that many characteristics, such as resistance to starvation, reduced energy demand, and increased food-finding ability, have evolved among cave dwellers to cope with food frugality. To test the hypothesis involving increased food-finding ability, the prey detection performances of three surface and three subterranean populations of the Pyrenean newt, Calotriton asper, were compared. First, the rapidity of surface individuals in capturing prey at short distances inside a restricted aquarium under dark and light conditions and their score for capturing prey in a larger aquarium under similar conditions were measured. Simultaneously the scores obtained from individuals in cave populations in darkness were compared. Individuals from one of the surface population were maintained in darkness for approximately five years and retested. The surface C. asper individuals captured prey faster at short distances under light conditions than in total darkness; however, the differences were not significant. The scores of the surface C. asper individuals in the large aquarium were significantly better in darkness than in light conditions. In addition, the scores of cave populations at short distances in darkness were better than those of epigean populations in light conditions; however, the differences were not significant. Finally, the scores of surface individuals maintained in darkness for five years improved. To explain these results, it should be noted that surface C. asper populations forage at night using non-visual cues (e.g., chemical and mechanical cues), further suggesting that vision may somewhat inhibit other senses. This ability to forage at night may be favorable for cave colonization. Moreover, some hypogean populations, when the use of prey-detecting non-visual senses has developed, may start to exhibit adaptivity.

Potato microtuber (MT) development through in vitro techniques are ideal propagules for producing high quality potato plants. MT formation is influenced by several factors, i.e., photoperiod, sucrose, hormones, and osmotic stress. We have previously developed a protocol of MT induction in medium with sucrose (8% w/v), gelrite (6g/L), and 2iP as cytokinin under darkness. To understand the molecular mechanisms involved, we performed a transcriptome-wide analysis. Here we show that 1715 up- and 1624 down-regulated genes were involved in this biological process. Through the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analyses performed in the STRING database (v11.5), we found 299 genes tightly associated in 14 clusters. Two major clusters of up-regulated proteins fundamental for life growth and development were found: 29 ribosomal proteins (RPs) interacting with 6 PEBP family members and 117 cell cycle (CC) proteins. The PPI network of up-regulated transcription factors (TFs) revealed that at least six TFs–MYB43, TSF, bZIP27, bZIP43, HAT4 and WOX9–may be involved during MTs development. The PPI network of down-regulated genes revealed a cluster of 83 proteins involved in light and photosynthesis, 110 in response to hormone, 74 in hormone mediate signaling pathway and 22 related to aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no doubt that the poetry of Nazik al-Malaika is one of the first poems whose topics were discussed and investigated in the history of contemporary Arab literature. Therefore, this research was concerned with the intention of walking into the depths of the Nazik poem; To know the meanings, purposes and connotations that surround it, which are formed, colored and shaded by different shades; According to the many experiences in the life of the poet between tragedy, darkness and complaint, hope, light and songs of life, which were the thread to reach the depths of this research; Which followed the descriptive and analytical approach, including the poet's view of light and the look of darkness. The research included two topics: the first focused on defining light linguistically and idiomatically and the symbolism of light in the poetry of Nazik the angels. The most prominent results, including Most of the poems of Nazik the Angels contain symbolic references, and these symbols are used to denote and suggest life meanings, and their own emotional experiences [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiation and progression of leaf senescence are triggered by various environmental stressors and phytohormones. Jasmonic acid (JA) and darkness accelerate leaf senescence in plants. However, the mechanisms that integrate these two factors to initiate and regulate leaf senescence have not been identified. Here, we report a transcriptional regulatory module centred on a novel tomato WRKY transcription factor, SlWRKY37, responsible for both JA- and dark-induced leaf senescence. The expression of SlWRKY37 , together with SlMYC2 , encoding a master transcription factor in JA signalling, was significantly induced by both methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and dark treatments. SlMYC2 binds directly to the promoter of SlWRKY37 to activate its expression. Knock out of SlWRKY37 inhibited JA- and dark-induced leaf senescence. Transcriptome analysis and biochemical experiments revealed SlWRKY53 and SlSGR1 (S. lycopersicum senescence-inducible chloroplast stay-green protein 1) as direct transcriptional targets of SlWRKY37 to control leaf senescence. Moreover, SlWRKY37 interacted with a VQ motif-containing protein SlVQ7, and the interaction improved the stability of SlWRKY37 and the transcriptional activation of downstream target genes. Our results reveal the physiological and molecular functions of SlWRKY37 in leaf senescence, and offer a target gene to retard leaf yellowing by reducing sensitivity to external senescence signals, such as JA and darkness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caper seeds present difficulties in their germination, which has been studied by several research teams. It is known that light can release dormancy in some seeds, but its effect on caper seed germination has not yet been deeply studied. The main aim of this study was to analyze the response of caper seeds germination to light exposure. The study analyzed the germination response of seeds to lighting with different wavelengths (white, red, blue, red + blue and darkness) and to the He-Ne laser light, using both dry seeds and seeds that had been previously soaked in water. Overall, it could be stated that caper seeds are insensitive to light during the germination process. Thus, germination could be carried out in lightness or darkness, so germination in nurseries could be carried out in the darkness, leading to substantial energy savings. Caper seed irradiation with a He-Ne laser during short exposure times improved the germination percentage for the seeds previously soaked in water, germinating all viable seeds. However, applying a solution of gibberellic acid was always required in all the cases studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark video human action recognition has a wide range of applications in the real world. General action recognition methods focus on the actor or the action itself, ignoring the dark scene where the action happens, resulting in unsatisfied accuracy in recognition. For dark scenes, the existing two-step action recognition methods are stage complex due to introducing additional augmentation steps, and the one-step pipeline method is not lightweight enough. To address these issues, a one-step Transformer-based method named Dark Domain Shift for Action Recognition (Dark-DSAR) is proposed in this paper, which integrates the tasks of domain migration and classification into a single step and enhances the model's functional coherence with respect to these two tasks, making our Dark-DSAR has low computation but high accuracy. Specifically, the domain shift module (DSM) achieves domain adaption from dark to bright to reduce the number of parameters and the computational cost. Besides, we explore the matching relationship between the input video size and the model, which can further optimize the inference efficiency by removing the redundant information in videos through spatial resolution dropping. Extensive experiments have been conducted on the datasets of ARID1.5, HMDB51-Dark, and UAV-human-night. Results show that the proposed Dark-DSAR obtains the best Top-1 accuracy on ARID1.5 with 89.49%, which is 2.56% higher than the state-of-the-art method, 67.13% and 61.9% on HMDB51-Dark and UAV-human-night, respectively. In addition, ablation experiments reveal that the action classifiers can gain ≥1% in accuracy compared to the original model when equipped with our DSM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The acclimation of the green algae Chlamydomoas reinhardtii to high light (HL) has been studied predominantly under continuous illumination of the cells. Here, we investigated the impact of fluctuating HL in alternation with either low light (LL) or darkness on photosynthetic performance and on photoprotective responses. Compared to intervening LL phases, dark phases led to (1) more pronounced reduction of the photosystem II quantum efficiency, (2) reduced degradation of the PsbS protein, (3) lower energy dissipation capacity and (4) an increased pool size of the xanthophyll cycle pigments. These characteristics indicate increased photo-oxidative stress when HL periods are interrupted by dark phases instead of LL phases. This overall trend was similar when comparing long (8 h) and short (30 min) HL phases being interrupted by long (16 h) and short (60 min) phases of dark or low light, respectively. Only the degradation of PsbS was clearly more efficient during long (16 h) LL phases when compared to short (60 min) LL phases., (© 2024 The Author(s). Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Mediator 17 (MED17) is part of the head of the Mediator complex, which regulates transcription initiation in different eukaryotic organisms, including plants. We have previously characterized MED17 roles in Arabidopsis plants exposed to UV-B radiation, revealing its involvement in various aspects of the DNA damage response after exposure. med17 mutant plants showed altered HY5 expression, which encodes a transcription factor with a central role in photomorphogenesis. Our results demonstrate that med17 mutants show altered photomorphogenic responses and also to darkness, when compared to WT plants, and these differences could be due to altered expression of genes encoding key regulators of light and darkness signaling pathways, such as HY5, COP1 and PIF3. Moreover, med17 mutants exhibit transcriptome changes similar to those previously reported in plants exposed to red and blue light, as well as those previously described for photoreceptor mutants. Interestingly, med17 and hy5 mutants show a similar set of differentially expressed genes compared to WT plants, which suggests that both proteins may participate in a common light and dark-induced signaling pathways. Together, our data provides evidence that MED17 is an important regulator of the light and darkness responses in Arabidopsis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Comparing the counts of cyclists travelling at specific times of day is one approach to measuring the impact of ambient light level. Here we investigate one source of variance in the magnitude of change seen in previous research-the choice of case and control hour. This was done through an analysis of cyclist flows using data from multiple automated cyclist counters in five cities (Arlington, Bergen, Berlin, Birmingham and Leeds) to determine the odds ratios (OR) for each combination of case and control hour. The results tend to reveal odds ratios above 1.0 indicating that cycling can be deterred by darkness. The odds ratios varied with the choice of case and control hour. For two cities (Birmingham and Leeds), the impact was small, with little difference in ORs between any case and control hour combination. For three cities the variance in ORs was larger. To represent the impact of darkness on cycling flows across the range of case and control hours we suggest the Mantel-Haenszel pooled odds ratio is used, in which the odds ratio for each combination of case and control hour is weighted by the total number of cyclists in that combination. This suggested a statistically significant (p<0.001) deterrent effect of darkness in all five cities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Fotios et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Early leaf senescence affects photosynthetic efficiency and limits growth during the late production stage of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). Natural variation in photosystem response to senescence represents a valuable resource for improving the aging traits of flag leaves. To explore the natural variation of different phases of photosynthetic electron transport in modern wheat cultivars during senescence, we exposed the flag leaves of 32 wheat cultivars to dark conditions to induce senescence process, and simultaneously measured prompt fluorescence and modulated 820 nm reflection. The results showed that the chlorophyll content, activity of PSII donor side, PSI and electron transfer between PSII and PSI were all decreased during dark-induced senescence, but they showed different sensitivity to dark-induced senescence. Furthermore, natural variation in photosynthetic parameters among the 32 wheat cultivars were also observed and showed by variation coefficient of the different parameters. We observed that PSII and PSI activity showed less sensitivity to dark-induced senescence than electron transfer between them, while PSII and PSI activity exhibit greater natural variation than electron transport between PSII and PSI. It suggests that Cyt b6f might degrade faster and have less variation than PSII and PSI during dark-induced senescence., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the dark-fermentative hydrogen (H 2 ) production potential of isolated and identified Shigella flexneri SPD1 from various pure (glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, and galactose) and biowastes (coconut coir, cotton fiber, groundnut shells, rice-, and wheat-straws)-derived sugars. Among sugars, S. flexneri SPD1 exhibited high H 2 production of up to 3.20 mol/mole of hexose using glucose (5.0 g/L). The pre-treatment of various biowastes using green solvents (choline chloride and lactic acid mixture) and enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in the generation of up to 36.0 g/L of sugars. The maximum H 2 production is achieved up to 2.92 mol/mol of hexose using cotton-hydrolysate. Further, the upscaling of bioprocess up to 5 L of capacity resulted in a maximum yield of up to 3.06 mol/mol of hexose. These findings suggested that S. flexneri SPD1, a novel H 2 -producer, can be employed to develop a circular economy-based approach to produce clean energy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Highveld mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae) are social rodents that inhabit networks of subterranean tunnels. In their natural environment, they are rarely exposed to light, and consequently their visual systems have regressed over evolutionary time. However, in the laboratory they display nocturnal activity, suggesting that they are sensitive to changes in ambient illumination. We examined the robustness of the Highveld mole-rat circadian system by assessing its locomotor activity under decreasing light intensities. Mole-rats were subjected to seven consecutive light cycles commencing with a control cycle (overhead fluorescent lighting at 150 lx), followed by decreasing LED lighting (500, 300, 100, 10 and 1 lx) on a 12 h light:12 h dark (L:D) photoperiod and finally a constant darkness (DD) cycle. Mole-rats displayed nocturnal activity under the whole range of experimental lighting conditions, with a distinct spike in activity at the end of the dark phase in all cycles. The mole-rats were least active during the control cycle under fluorescent light, locomotor activity increased steadily with decreasing LED light intensities, and the highest activity was exhibited when the light was completely removed. In constant darkness, mole-rats displayed free-running rhythms with periods (τ) ranging from 23.77 to 24.38 h, but was overall very close to 24 h at 24.07 h. Our findings confirm that the Highveld mole-rat has a higher threshold for light compared with aboveground dwelling rodents, which is congruent with previous neurological findings, and has implications for behavioural rhythms., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Sleep is regulated via circadian mechanisms, but effects of sleep disruption on physiological rhythms, in particular metabolic cycling, remain unclear. To examine this question, we probed diurnal metabolic alterations of two Drosophila short sleep mutants, fumin and sleepless. Samples were collected with high temporal sampling (every 2 h) over 24 h under a 12:12 light:dark cycle, and profiling was done using an ion-switching LCMS/MS method. Fewer metabolites with 24 h oscillations were noted with short sleep (50 and 46 in fumin and sleepless , BH. Q < 0.2 by RAIN analysis) compared to a wild-type control ( iso 31 , 63 with BH. Q < 0.2), and peak phases of the sleep mutants were consolidated into two major phase peaks at mid-day and middle of night. Overall, altered nicotinate/nicotinamide, alanine/aspartate/glutamate, acetylcholine, glyoxylate/dicarboxylate, and TCA cycle metabolism were observed in the short sleep mutants, indicative of increased energetic demand and oxidative stress compared to wild type. Both changes in cycling and discriminant models suggest unique alterations in the dark period indicative of constrained metabolic networks. Thus, we conclude that sleep loss alters metabolic function uniquely throughout the day, and further examination of specific mechanisms is warranted.

Despite the atheism of renowned abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, the artist was commissioned by Christians to create a sacred space that was originally intended to be used by religious believers: the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. The project started out as a collaboration between Rothko and another atheist: famed architect Phillip Johnson, who designed several prominent religious spaces throughout his distinguished career. While Johnson removed himself from the Chapel project early on, Rothko would have carried his conceptual vision all the way to the end if it were not for his tragic suicide just prior to the Chapel’s completion. Using as a guide the criteria for sacred space set forth in the classic work The Sacred and The Profane by famed historian Mircea Eliade, I will consider the question of how a religious space designed by non-believers can be rightly considered sacred, as well as ways in which it falls short.