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A better understanding of the growth response of rice (Oryza sativa L.) to waterlogged soil conditions is desirable. The objective of this study was to measure the influence of soil water regime on root porosity, growth, and nutrient content of four varieties of rice at various dates after transplanting. Four rice varieties (‘IR8’, ‘Padma’, ‘BC6’, and ‘IR22’) were grown under three soil water regimes (continuous flooding, alternate flooding, and no flooding) in a greenhouse on a clay loam soil. Root porosity, growth of plants and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) content of shoots were determined at four different plant ages (30, 60, 85, and 110 days after transplanting). Root porosity was greatest in plants grown with continuous flooding. Porosity of roots in all four varieties reached maximum values between 30 and 60 days and then started to decline. Padma and BC6 had higher root porosities than IR8 and IR22. High root porosity was associated with greater root length, increased dry weight of roots and shoots, and higher nutrient content in shoots.

Endometriosis is a common benign gynecological disease, characterized by growth and proliferation of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus. With studies showing metabolic changes in various biofluids of endometriosis women, we have set upon to investigate whether endometrial tissue show differences in their metabolic profiles. 1H NMR analysis was performed on eutopic endometrial tissue of women with endometriosis and controls. Analysis was performed on spectral data and on relative concentrations of metabolites obtained from spectra using multivariate and univariate data analysis. Analysis shows that various energy, ketogenic and glucogenic metabolites have significant altered concentrations in various stages of endometriosis. In addition, altered tissue metabolites in minimal and mild stages of endometriosis were explored in serum of these patients to assess their role in disease diagnosis. For Stage I diagnosis alanine was found to have 90% sensitivity (true positives) and 58% specificity (true negatives). For Stage II diagnosis alanine, leucine, lysine, proline and phenylalanine showed significant altered levels in serum. While sensitivity of these serum metabolites varied between 69.2–100% the specificity values ranged between 58.3–91.7%. Further, a regression model generated with this panel of serum markers showed an improved sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 83%, respectively for Stage II diagnosis.

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