Performances and reliability of a human operator are influenced by
fatigue. Influence of fatigue on the human operátor - car driver as a controller in the steering control loop is discussed. Demonstrated are possibilities of fatigue identification from small compensatory movernents of the steering wheel. Preliminary results of using a fatigue indicator based on the analysis of compensatory movernents of the steering wheel are introduced.
During a 5-20 d growth at moderate salinity (7 dS m‘i) in rice seedlings of salt sensitive cultivars Ratna and Jaya a larger decrease in chlorophyll (Chl) a and b contents was observed than in tolerant cvs. CSR-1 and CSR-3. At higher salinity (14 dS m'i) about 40 % declines in both whole chain electron transport and photosystem (PS) 2 activities were observed in the tolerant cvs. and about 62 to 67 % declines in the sensitive ones. No apparent change in PSI activity was observed due to salinization in the both sets of cultivars. Higher rate of Hill reaction was observed in chloroplasts ffom salt stressed seedlings of tolerant cultivars whereas inhibition in this activity was found in the sensitive ones. Chloroplasts isolated from stressed seedlings of sensitive cultivars showed about 31 % reduction in fluorescence emission at 685 nm as well as a major decrease in absorption with shifts in peaks in the visible region of spectrum. Thus salt sensitivity in rice is associated with decreased contents of Chls and carotenoids, PS2 and Hill reaction activities, and fluorescence emission.
Its high oxidant capacity and ability to generate reactive oxygen species cause ozone toxicity. We studied the effect of ambient ozone on chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, antioxidant enzymes, ascorbate contents, and lipid peroxidation in potatoes grown in open-top chambers in the field. In plants grown in non-filtered air (NFA), the development of non-photochemical quenching brought about a decrease in photosystem 2 (PS2) photochemical efficiency. Also the ability of PS2 to reduce the primary acceptor QA was lower than in charcoal-filtered, ozone-free air (CFA). Changes in Chl fluorescence yield were associated with changes in the thylakoid membrane. Ozone altered chloroplast membrane properties, as indicated by an increase in membrane lipid peroxidation in FNA-leaves compared to CFA plants. The ascorbate pool and activities of antioxidant enzymes were used for an indication of the detoxification system state in NFA and CFA leaves, whereby ozone affects the ascorbate concentration and decreases the antioxidant enzymes activities. The capacity of both detoxifying systems together was not high enough to protect potato plants against ambient ozone concentrations which reduced the photosynthetic yield in this potato cultivar. and A. Calatayud, J. W. Alvarado, E. Barreno.
In the hypocotyls of Rhizophora mucronata Lamk. and R. apiculata Bl. during viviparous germination the concentrations of chlorophyll (Chl) and total sugars, and net photosynthetic rate (P^) were increased quadratically, while linear relationship existed between starch content and the developmental phase. R. apicuiata hypocotyls had a higher value of as well as higher Chl, sugar and starch contents than hypocotyls of R. mucronata.
When exposed to Y-radiation (12, 8 and 3.5 kGy), the growth of beán seedlings {Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was stopped and after some hours or days the plants began to wilt in a dose-dependent manner, starting from the leaf rim. The rate of the dark respiration {R) of leaves increased and that of net photosynthesis {P^ was strongly reduced. The regulation of stomata opening and closure was lost and the stomatal conductance (g^) of the y-ray exposed plants was strongly reduced. The reduced was only partly due to either the partial or almost Ml stomata closure. Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence measurements with a two-wavelength fluorometer and a PAM fluorometer showed an increasingly reduced variable fluorescence Fy, lower values of Rfj, of ground fluorescence Fq, and of the fluorescence ratios Fy/F,n and Fy/F^. This indicated a damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. The increasing loss of photosynthetic pigments in the 350 krad exposed plants was also detected via an increase in the fluorescence ratio F690/F730. The performance of the light driven xanthophyll cycle (violaxanthin/zeaxanthin transformation) proceeded in the y-ray treated plants only at reduced rates. The y-ray damage of plants can best be detected by measurements of stomatal conductance, and various Chl fluorescence ratios such as Rf(j, Fy/Fj, and Fy/F^,.
The effects of drought and the diurnal changes in photosynthetic electron transport were studied in non-nodulated plants of Casuarina equisetifolia. The induction of fluorescence showed a slightly higher I step in water-stressed than control plants, and the time from the start of irradiation to the P step of induction was significantly shortened by drought. The quantum efficiency of photosystem 2 (PS2) in the dark-adapted state (Fv/Fm) was generally not affected by drought, whereas it decreased during the central hours of the day. The decrease in quantum yield of PS2 electron transport (Φ2) in water-stressed plants was associated with decreases in the photochemical efficiency of open (oxidised) PS2 centres (Fv'/Fm') and increases in non-photochemical quenching (qN) rather than with increased closure of PS2 centres (lowered photochemical quenching, qP). In contrast, the changes in quantum yield of electron transport during the day were related to changes in qP rather than in Fv'/Fm'. When chlorophyll fluorescence was measured at the same irradiance during the day, a greater qN was observed at the end of the drying cycle than after watering, and early and late in the photoperiod than in the central hours of the day. The greater qN at the beginning and end of the day did not prevent an increase in energy not used photochemically nor dissipated non-photochemically. Drought did not affect this excess of photon energy. and R. Martínez-Carrasco, J. Sánchez-Rodriguez, P. Pérez.
The size, shape, and number of chloroplasts in the palisade and spongy parenchyma layers of Haberlea rhodopensis leaves changed significantly during desiccation and following rehydration. The chloroplasts became smaller and more rounded during desiccation, and aggregated in the middle of the cell. The size and number of chloroplasts in the palisade parenchyma cells were higher than in spongy parenchyma. The good correlation observed between the size or number of chloroplasts and the cross-sectional area of mesophyll cells, the cross-sectional width of the leaf and its water content suggested that the palisade cells were more responsive to water availability than the spongy cells. Changes in chloroplast number during desiccation and rehydration process are characteristic features for desiccation-tolerant plants (especially in homoiochlorophyllous strategy). and H. Nagy-Déri ... [et al.].
Chloroplasts are commonly the site of the earliest abiotic injury visible in plant ultrastructure. In this study, six inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.) were used to analyze changes in the ultrastructure of chloroplasts and related physiological parameters under conditions of drought stress simulated by 20% polyethylene glycol 6000 (-0.6 MPa) for two days. Chloroplasts of three maize lines proved to be more sensitive. They showed changes in the ultrastructure in response to drought, including damage of thylakoid membranes, an increase in the number and size of plastoglobuli, swelling of thylakoid membranes both stromal and granal, disorganization of the thylakoid membrane system, an obvious increase in the intrathylakoid space, and a decrease in the
length-to-width ratio and area of chloroplasts. In addition, the contents of malondialdehyde increased markedly in the sensitive lines. Contrary to the sensitive lines, stable structures and shapes of chloroplasts were observed in the drought-resistant lines; it could be considered as an advantage contributing to drought tolerance in the plants. In addition, the drought index of leaf fresh mass (LMDI) in the drought-sensitive lines was ≤ 0.5, which was also associated with a lower content of leaf chlorophyll. In contrast, drought tolerance coincided with lesser growth reduction, and higher LMDI and leaf chlorophyll content., R. X. Shao, L. F. Xin, H. F. Zheng, L. L. Li, W. L. Ran, J. Mao, Q. H. Yang., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Changes in chloroplast ultrastructure and total content of endogenous cytokinins (CK) were studied during different phases of plant development in transgenic Pssu-ipt tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Petit Havana SR1). Permanent overproduction of CK was found in both rooted (SE) and grafted (G) Pssu-ipt plants in all phases of plant development with the peak in vegetative and flowering phase in the latter ones. No such a correlation was observed in SE on the contrary to control non-transgenic plants (SR1) and grafts (SRG), which showed also CK increase at juvenile and flowering phases. No significant differences in parameters of chloroplast ultrastructure, such as length of chloroplast, starch content, granum width, and number of thylakoids per granum, were proved between chloroplasts from young mature leaves of control and transgenic tobacco during plant ontogeny. Nevertheless, several anomalies in the ultrastructure of cell organelles were found in Pssu-ipt tobacco. Amoeboid shape of chloroplasts was often observed in connection with "tubular clusters" resembling peripheral reticulum. The distinct crystalline structures located in chloroplasts might be formed by LHC protein aggregates. Smaller crystals of unknown composition were found also in mitochondria. Numerous crystalline cores were present in peroxisomes. The alterations might be the result of imbalance of phytohormone content, degradation effect of CK overproduction, or the example of acclimation to permanent stress. and H. Synková, R. Pechová, R. Valcke.
In seedlings of Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek cultivars ADT-1 and CO-5 exposed to acidic showers (H2SO4 : HNO3 : HCl, 4 : 2 : 1, v/v) of different pH (7.0, 5.5, 4.0, and 2.5) for 10 d, net CO2 uptake and stomatal conductance were reduced. The chlorophyll (Chl) a and b contents were reduced but the carotenoid (Car) content increased. In vivo Chl a fluorescence patterns of both the cultivars were altered. No significant change in photosystem (PS) 1 activity was observed except at pH 2.5 where an inhibition was evident. By contrast, PS2 activities declined rapidly with increasing acidity. The room temperature absorption spectra of isolated chloroplasts showed very little changes. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed depletion of 23, 33, and 55 kDa polypeptides. Cultivar CO-5 was more sensitive to acidic rain than cv. ADT-1. and G. Kumaravelu, M. P. Ramanujam.