Enhancing photosynthesis and root development for better fruit quality, aroma, and lessening of radioactive materials in key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) using Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus thuringiensis.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus thuringiensis alone or with gradual levels of NPK on photosynthesis, growth, fruit quality, aroma improvement and reduced radionuclides of key lime fruits. The lemon seedlings were treated with (T0) without fertilizers as control, (T1) 100g of NPK at 100%, (T2) 5 g of Trichoderma. harzianum at 50% + 50 g of NPK at 50%, (T3) 5 g of Bacillus thuringiensis at 50% + 50 g of NPK at 50 %, (T4) 7.5 g of Trichoderma harzianum at 75% + 25 g of NPK at 25 %, (T5) 7.5 g of Bacillus thuringiensis at 75% + 25 g of NPK at 25 %, (T6) 10 g of Trichoderma harzianum at 100 % and (T7)10 g of Bacillus thuringiensis at 100 %. The results showed that T2 increased net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, internal CO2 concentration, fresh and dry root biomass by 209%, 74%, 56%, 376%, 69.4% and 71.6%, while, T5 increased root volume, root length, and root tip number by 27.1%, 167%, and 67%, respectively over the control trees. The microbial treatments developed cortex, vascular cylinder and tracheal elements of the root. Fruit number, length, diameter, weight, pulp thickness, pulp/peel ratio, juice, total soluble solids (TSS), pigment contents and antioxidant activity increased significantly in the T2 treatment. Vitamin C, total phenols, total flavonoids, and total sugar content increased by 1.59-, 1.66-, 1.44- and 2.07- fold in T5 treated fruits compared to the control. The two microbes increased volatile compounds and decreased radionucleotides in the fruit, moreover, 27 identified and 2 (two) unmatched volatile compounds were identified by GCMS analysis. It is concluded that T. harzianum and B. thuringiensis with 25-50 g NPK treatments improved photosynthesis, root structure, fruit growth, fruit quality, aroma and lessened radionuclides in key lime fruits.

Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction With the New Web-Based Medical Appointment Systems "Mawid" at Primary Health Care Level in Southwest Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Patient satisfaction has become an influential corner in the health services process. Web-based appointment scheduling has been expanded for its benefits and has become a popular research topic. This study's objectives were to assess patients' satisfaction and perception with the new Web-Based Medical Appointment System "Mawid" program and determine the associated factors at the Primary Health Care Centers level in Jazan Southwest Saudi Arabia. Methods An observational cross-sectional survey was implemented among 424 adults aged 18 years and above, attending a randomly selected 12 primary health care centers in the Jizan region, Southwest Saudi Arabia. The study instrument included socio-demographic background information, perception, and level of satisfaction with the new appointment system. Responses were analyzed using the SPSS program by applying descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Results The overall level of satisfaction was very high at 94.3% with 95% C.I. (91.7-96.1). A large proportion of study participants were highly satisfied with the new Web-Based Medical appointment System "Mawid" as nine satisfaction items scored a level of satisfaction of 90% and above. Regarding the perception, 89.1% of the participants agreed that the appointment booking system regulates the number of patients, while 87.7% of participants considered that the appointment system reduces clinic crowding. More than half of respondents (61.8%) agreed that the community culture might limit the scheduling system's use. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that male patients were more likely to have a higher level of satisfaction as compared with female (COR= 2.95, 95% C.I.:1.15-7.60, p = 0.025) and (AOR= 3.12, 95% C.I:1.14-8.52, p = 0.026), respectively. Conclusions In conclusion, this study revealed a high level of satisfaction among study the participants with the new Web-Based Medical Appointment System "Mawid." The system effectively improved patients' satisfaction with registration and reduced waiting times. Patients' satisfaction can be assessed regularly and used systematically as a quality and benchmarking instrument in primary health care.

Cow bone-derived biochar enhances microbial biomass and alters bacterial community composition and diversity in a smelter contaminated soil.

Bone waste could be utilized as a potential amendment for remediation of smelter-contaminated soils. Nevertheless, the influences of cow bone-derived biochar (CB) on soil microbial biomass and microbial community composition in multi-metal contaminated mining soils are still not clearly documented. Hence, the cow bone was used as feedstock material for biochar preparation and pyrolyzed at two temperatures such as 500 °C (CB500) and 800 °C (CB800), and added to a smelter soil at the dosage of 0 (unamended control), 2.5, 5, and 10% (w/w); then, the soil treatments were cultivated by maize. The CB effect on soil biochemical attributes and response of soil microbial biomass, bacterial communities, and diversity indices were examined after harvesting maize. Addition of CB enhanced total nutrient contents (i.e., total nitrogen up to 26% and total phosphorus P up to 27%) and the nutrients availability (i.e., NH4 up to 50%; NO3 up to 31%; Olsen P up to 48%; extractable K up to 18%; dissolved organic carbon up to 74%) in the treated soil, as compared to the control. The CB500 application revealed higher microbial biomass C (up to 66%), P (up to 41%), and bacterial gene abundance (up to 76%) than the control. However, comparatively a lower microbial biomass nitrogen and diversity indices were observed in the biochar (both with CB500 and CB800) treated soils than in the unamended soils. At the phylum level, the highest dose (10% of CB500 and CB800 resulted in contrasting effects on the Proteobacteria diversity. The CB50010 favored the Pseudomonas abundance (up to 793%), Saccharibacteria (583%), Parcubacteria (138%), Actinobacteria (65%), and Firmicutes (48%) microbial communities, while CB80010 favored the Saccharibacteria (386%), Proteobacteria (12%) and Acidobacteria (11%), as compared to the control. These results imply that CB500 and CB800 have a remarkable impact on microbial biomass and bacterial diversity in smelter contaminated soils. Particularly, CB500 was found to be suitable for enhancing microbial biomass, bacterial growth of specific phylum, and diversity, which can be useful for bioremediation of mining soils.

Enhancing Rubisco gene expression and metabolites accumulation for better plant growth in Ficus deltoidea under drought stress using hydrogen peroxide.

Growth improvement of the medicinal plant, Ficus deltoidea (Mas Cotek) under drought conditions is a vital issue in Malaysia since it is a slow-growing plant and disposed to leaf damage under the stresses of drought. Therefore, investigation was done to examine the outcomes of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) application on Rubisco gene expression and metabolites accumulation of stressed F. deltoidea plants, and thereby to record the changes in leaf histology, photosynthesis, biochemical properties, and the growth of the plant. H2O2 at the rates of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mM were foliar sprayed biweekly on the drought stressed plants using a hand sprayer. The application of 20 mM H2O2 amplified leaf number, tallness, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic yield by 143, 24, 88, and 18%, respectively, over the control plant. A reduced transpiration rate and improved chlorophyll fluorescence were also noted in H2O2-treated plants. The treatment produced a greater amount of chlorophyll a, total phenols, total flavonoids, sugar content, and antioxidant activities by 1.61-, 1.30-, 1.98-, 1.92-, and 1.53-fold, respectively. Application of 15 mM H2O2 enhanced net photosynthetic rate and internal CO2 concentrations by 1.05- and 1.25-fold, respectively. Additionally, H2O2 treatments promoted stomatal closure, increased stomata size, the number of stomata, improved vein structure, and reduced the damage of the leaf margin and mesophyll cells of drought stressed plants. The application of H2O2 also accumulated significantly higher contents of sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg+), and iron (Fe2+) in stressed plants. Although the amount of Arsenic (As+) and Antimony (Sb3+) increased to some extent, the increases were not at a toxic level. The use of H2O2 enhanced the Rubisco gene expression to a greater level and the ratio of Rubisco expression increased up to 16-fold. Finally, thirteen (13) identified and five (5) unmatched volatile compounds with a quality score above 70% were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). The GCMS analysis showed that the foliar application of H2O2 accumulates a higher percentage of volatile components in plants which helps to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress. It is concluded that under drought stressed conditions the F. deltoidea plants should be treated with 10-15 mM of H2O2 twice a week to improve leaf histology, photosynthesis, the level of Rubisco gene expression and volatile compounds accumulation, and plant growth and development.

Seasonal Variations of Fine Root Dynamics in Rubber-Flemingia macrophylla Intercropping System in Southwestern China.

Intercropping cover crops with trees enhance land productivity and improves the soil's physio-chemical properties while reducing the negative environmental impact. However, there is a lack of quantitative information on the relationships between fine root biomass and available soil nutrients, e.g., nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), especially in the rubber-Flemingia macrophylla intercropping system. Therefore, this study was initiated to explore the seasonal variation in fine root biomass and available soil nutrients at different stand ages (12, 15, and 24 years) and management systems, i.e., rubber monoculture (mono) and rubber-Flemingia macrophylla intercropping. In this study, we sampled 900 soil cores over five seasonal intervals, representing one year of biomass. The results showed that the total fine root biomass was greater in 12-year-old rubber monoculture; the same trend was observed in soil nutrients P and K. Furthermore, total fine root biomass had a significant positive correlation with available N (p < 0.001) in rubber monoculture and intercropping systems. Thus, it suggests that fine root growth and accumulation is a function of available soil nutrients. Our results indicate that fine root biomass and soil nutrients (P and K) may be determined by the functional characteristics of dominant tree species rather than collective mixed-species intercropping and are closely linked to forest stand type, topographic and edaphic factors. However, further investigations are needed to understand interspecific and complementary interactions between intercrop species under the rubber-Flemingia macrophylla intercropping system.

Hazardous toxic metal(loid)s in top- and deep-soils during the transformation of aquaculture ponds restored to farmland.

The pollution risks due to the soil migration of toxic metal(loid)s (TMs) are a greatly hazard to ecological environment as well as animal and human health. Previous studies have primarily focused on surface contamination while deep soil layers often contain dangerous levels of TMs. We used restored wheat and rice farmlands from aquaculture ponds as a case study to examine the ecological risk and distribution of TMs in soil profiles. The elements Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Hg and As were markedly enriched in the 60-180 cm soil layers of restored farmland, and their concentrations decreased in the several depths as follows: 120-180 cm > 60-120 cm > 0-60 cm. Concentrations of TMs were 9.5-128 % greater in the restored farmlands relative to farmlands not exposed to aquaculture practices. Cadmium and mercury were the most serious contaminants and increased the overall ecological risk. The subsoil of wheat farming system had the highest pollution risk versus the restored rice farmland at 60-120 cm due to elevated levels of Cu, Zn and Pb. Toxic metal(loid)s might be derived from natural sources in deep soil of conventional farmland whereas aquaculture practices were found to constitute the major contribution in the subsoil of restored farmland. Our results indicated that the TMs that were buried in deep soil layers migrated upward and were a significant pollution risk. Urgent actions should be taken to identify and alleviate the contamination sources of these deep soils in addition to the conventional leaching and migration processes of surface contaminants.

Evaluating the resistance mechanism of Atriplex leucoclada (Orache) to salt and water stress; A potential crop for biosaline agriculture.

The development of food and forage crops that flourish under saline conditions may be a prospective avenue for mitigating the impacts of climate change, both allowing biomass production under conditions of water-deficit and potentially expanding land-use to hitherto non-arable zones. Here, we examine responses of the native halophytic shrub Atriplex leucoclada to salt and drought stress using a factorial design, with four levels of salinity and four drought intensities under the arid conditions. A. leucoclada plants exhibited morphological and physiological adaptation to salt and water stress which had little effect on survival or growth. Under low salinity stress, water stress decreased the root length of A. leucoclada; in contrast, under highly saline conditions root length increased. Plant tissue total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content decreased with increasing water stress under low salinity. As salt stress increased, detrimental effects of water deficit diminished. We found that both salt and water stress had increased Na+ and Cl- uptake, with both stresses having an additive and beneficial role in increasing ABA and proline content. We conclude that A. leucoclada accumulates high salt concentrations in its cellular vacuoles as a salinity resistance mechanism; this salt accumulation then becomes conducive to mitigation of water stress. Application of these mechanisms to other crops may improve tolerance and producitivity under salt and water stress, potentially improving food security.

Estimating Nitrogen Use Efficiency, Profitability, and Greenhouse Gas Emission Using Different Methods of Fertilization.

Fertilization is a way to better use nitrogen fertilizers and increase productivity, but in another way, fertilization is also a source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The study was carried out to measure the profitability ratio, technical efficiency, and CO2 from the top dressing (TD) and deep placement (DP) fertilization. The study was based on primary data, which were collected from different respondents and areas through a well-designed questionnaire. The study finds that DP fertilization is more profitable, least costly, and more efficient than TD fertilization. The finding observed that the yield of the TD growers is 727.82 kg/ha more than that of TD respondents. The efficiency score shows that to reach the 90% efficiency level, the farmers of TD need to use DP fertilization. The farmers of TD and DP can still increase their efficiency up to 12% and 9% by using the same inputs. The findings also clarify that manufacturing of synthetic nitrogen (N), direct use of N, Yield, and Area-Scaled greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of synthetic N through TD fertilization are greater than that of the DP group. The farming community needs to be aware of greenhouse gas emissions and how they can be reduced. It is also suggested that farmers need to shift toward DP fertilization to increase yield, profit, efficiency, food security, and reduce GHG emissions.

Leaf Functional Traits of Invasive Grasses Conferring High-Cadmium Adaptation Over Natives.

Heavy metal (HM) contamination resulting from industrialization and urbanization during the Anthropocene along with plant invasion can severely threaten the growth and adaptation of local flora. Invasive alien plant species generally exhibit a growth pattern consistent with their functional traits in non-contaminated environments in the introduced range. However, it remains unclear whether invasive alien plants have an advantage over native plants in contaminated environments and whether this growth pattern is dependent on the adaptation of their leaf functional traits. Here, we selected two congeneric pairs of invasive alien and native grasses that naturally co-exist in China and are commonly found growing in contaminated soil. To evaluate the effect of cadmium (Cd) on the structural and physiological leaf traits, we grew all four species in soil contaminated without or with 80 mg/kg Cd. Invasive plants contained significantly higher concentrations of Cd in all three organs (leaf, stem, and root). They displayed a higher transfer factor and bioconcentration factor (BCF) of shoot and root than natives, indicating that invasive species are potential Cd hyperaccumulators. Invasive plants accumulated polyphenol oxidase (PPO) to higher levels than natives and showed similar patterns of leaf structural and physiological traits in response to changes in Cd bioconcentration. The quantifiable leaf structural traits of invasive plants were significantly greater (except for stomatal density and number of dead leaves) than native plants. Leaf physiological traits, chlorophyll content, and flavonoid content were also significantly higher in invasive plants than in natives under Cd stress conditions after 4 weeks, although nitrogen balance index (NBI) showed no significant difference between the two species. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters decreased, except for the quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII) and the proportion of open photosystem II (qP), which increased under Cd stress conditions in both species. However, invasive plants exhibited higher fluorescence parameters than natives under Cd stress, and the decrement observed in invasive plants under Cd stress was greater than that in natives. High Cd adaptation of invasive grasses over natives suggests that invasive plants possess optimal leaf structural and physiological traits, which enable them to adapt to stressful conditions and capture resources more quickly than natives. This study further emphasizes the potential invasion of alien plants in contaminated soil environments within the introduced range. To a certain extent, some non-invasive alien plants might adapt to metalliferous environments and serve as hyperaccumulator candidates in phytoremediation projects in contaminated environments.

Association of saponin concentration, molecular markers, and biochemical factors with enhancing resistance to alfalfa seedling damping-off.

Fifteen alfalfa populations were tested for resistance to the seedling damping-off disease sourced by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, and Macrophomina phaseolina. In a laboratory experiment, saponin treatment significantly diminished the mycelial growth of the causal fungi of alfalfa damping-off disease. Roots of the fifteen alfalfa populations varied in saponin and lignin content. Selection for the considerably resistant plants leads to the best growth performance, desirable yield, and high nutritive values such as crude protein (CP), crude fier (CF), nitrogen free extract (NFE), ash, and ether extract (EE) contents. For the PCR reaction, 10 SSR pairs of the JESPR series primers and the cDNA-SCoT technique with seven primers were used. SSR and SCoT revealed some unique markers that could be linked to resistance to damping-off disease in alfalfa that appeared in the considerably resistant alfalfa population (the promised pop.). SSR and SCoT markers can be an excellent molecular method for judging genetic diversity and germplasm classification in tetraploid alfalfa. We recommend breeding for saponin concentration in the alfalfa plant may affect resistance to some diseases like root rot and damping-off because saponin might improve plant growth, yield, and nutritional values.

Nitrogen-molybdenum-manganese co-fertilization reduces nitrate accumulation and enhances spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) yield and its quality.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is considered a nitrogen (N) intensive plant with high nitrate (NO3 -) accumulation in its leaves. The current study via a two-year field trial introduced an approach by combining N fertilization from different sources (e.g., ammonium nitrate; 33.5 % N, and urea; 48 % N) at different rates (180, and 360 kg N ha-1) with the foliar spraying of molybdenum (Mo) as sodium molybdate, and/or manganese (Mn) as manganese sulphate at rates of 50 and 100 mgL-1 of each or with a mixture of Mo and Mn at rates of 50 and 50 mg L-1, respectively on growth, chemical constituents, and NO3 - accumulation in spinach leaves. Our findings revealed that the highest rate of N fertilization (360 kg N ha-1) significantly increased most of the measured parameters e.g., plant length, fresh and dry weight plant-1, number of leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1, leaf pigments (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids), nutrients (N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn), total soluble carbohydrates, protein content, net assimilation rate, and NO3 - accumulation, but decreased leaf area ratio and relative growth rate. Moreover, plants received urea-N fertilizer gave the highest values of all previous attributes when compared with ammonium nitrate -N fertilizers, and the lowest values of NO3 - accumulation. The co-fertilization of N-Mo-Mn gave the highest values in all studied attributes and the lowest NO3 - accumulation. The best treatment was recorded under the treatment of 360 kg N-urea ha-1 in parallel with the combined foliar application of Mo and Mn (50 + 50 mg L-1). Our findings proposed that the co-fertilization of N-Mo-Mn could enhance spinach yield and its quality, while reducing NO3 - accumulation in leaves, resulting agronomical, environmental and economic benefits.

Improving integrated management of weed control by determination of weed seed bank in sandy and clay soil.

Knowledge of soil weed seed bank is important for population dynamics studied, establishment of appropriate weed management programs, a little effort in understanding weed seed bank can give valuable information about what weeds to expect in growing season, weed density, and when most weed germination will take place. In this study, a two - year's, two sites were carried out with the aim of assessing weed seed bank status of the soil throughout 2018 and 2019. A site was worked out in Sakha Agriculture Research farm act as a clay soil, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Agriculture Research Center (ARC). Another site was worked out in El-Ismailia Agr; Res; farm act as sandy soil, El-Ismailia Governorate, ARC. At each site, soil samples were selected from nine different places as like three Zigzag shapes divided into three, six and nine sites, "W" to act the whole soil area (30 faddan in Sakha farm, and 15 faddan in El-Ismailia farm). The soil samples were taken from topsoil 0-10 cm depth with an auger (core) 10 cm diameter the soils without tillage and before sowing the summer crop. The result of present the study in two different stations and soils, revealed that the number of soil samples to estimate weed seed banks should be either six or nine sites; each sample weighted 0.50 Kg soil with zigzag shape act a direct seed extraction technique to able recognize the abundance of weed species into the soil and their seed density. The aim is to improve integrated weed control.

Melatonin Rescues Photosynthesis and Triggers Antioxidant Defense Response in Cucumis sativus Plants Challenged by Low Temperature and High Humidity.

Environmental factors such as low temperature (LT) and high humidity (HH) hinder plant growth and development in plastic tunnels and solar greenhouses in the cold season. In this study, we examined the effect of melatonin (MT) on shoot-based tolerance to LT and HH conditions in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedlings and explored its underlying mechanism. LT and HH stress inhibited growth and biomass accumulation, produced leaf chlorosis, led to oxidative stress, lowered chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, reduced photosynthetic and photosystem II (PSII) activities, and increased the level of intercellular carbon dioxide and the non-photochemical quenching of photosystem I (PSI) and PSII. However, foliar application of MT significantly improved the morphological indices and photosynthetic efficiency of cucumber seedlings, which entailed the elevation of electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species accumulation by boosting the antioxidant enzyme defense system under LT and HH conditions. Additionally, the measurement of nitrogen (N), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe) contents in roots and leaves showed that MT significantly augmented the nutrient uptake of cucumber seedlings exposed to LT and HH stresses. Furthermore, MT application increased the transcripts levels of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes under LT and HH conditions, whereas treatment with LT and HH suppressed these genes, suggesting that MT application increases the LT and HH tolerance of cucumber seedlings. Overall, our results suggest that MT application increases the tolerance of cucumber seedlings to LT and HH stress by enhancing the plant morphometric parameters, regulating PSI and PSII, and activating the antioxidant defense mechanism. Thus, the exogenous application of MT could be potentially employed as a strategy to improve the LT and HH tolerance of cucumber.

In vitro study on the effect of cytokines and auxins addition to growth medium on the micropropagation and rooting of Paulownia species (Paulownia hybrid and Paulownia tomentosa).

This study represents an efficient preliminary protocol for in vitro mass production of two Paulownia species (Paulownia hybrid and Paulownia tomentosa) seedlings by using seed explant. Different concentrations of benzyladenine (BA) or Kinetin (Kin) (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 mg/L) were tested during multiplication stage. The number of shoots/explants was significantly increased with increasing either BA or Kin concentration; however, the shoot length significantly decreased. Data show that media fortified by BA (10 mg/L) combined with indole butyric acid (IBA) at 1.0 or 1.5 mg/L recorded the highest number of shoots/explant (9.13 and 9.25, respectively). After six weeks during the multiplication stage, data cleared that media fortified by benzyladenine (10 mg/L) combined with IBA at 0.5 mg/L recorded the highest shoot length (3.23 cm). The inclusion of indole butyric acid (IBA) or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 1.0-1.5 mg/L to the medium significantly increased the number of roots/plantlets and the highest root length. The results indicated that IBA supplementation was more effective than NAA for in vitro rooting of both Paulownia species. The best treatment for multiplication was 10 mg/L and 8.0-10 mg/L BA for P. hybrid and P. tomentosa, respectively. Peat moss and sand (1:1, v/v) or peat moss and sand (1:2, v/v) were investigated as soil mixture during the adaptation stage. The results referred that Paulownia species plantlets were successfully survived (100 %) in soil mixture contained peat moss: sand (1:2, v/v). This mixture recorded the highest values of plantlet height and number of leaves/plantlets.

Characterisation of Flavour Attributes in Egg White Protein Using HS-GC-IMS Combined with E-Nose and E-Tongue: Effect of High-Voltage Cold Plasma Treatment Time.

Egg white protein (EWP) is susceptible to denaturation and coagulation when exposed to high temperatures, adversely affecting its flavour, thereby influencing consumers' decisions. Here, we employ high-voltage cold plasma (HVCP) as a novel nonthermal technique to investigate its influence on the EWP's flavour attributes using E-nose, E-tongue, and headspace gas-chromatography-ion-mobilisation spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) due to their rapidness and high sensitivity in identifying flavour fingerprints in foods. The EWP was investigated at 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 s of HVCP treatment time. The results revealed that HVCP significantly influences the odour and taste attributes of the EWP across all treatments, with a more significant influence at 60 and 120 s of HVCP treatment. Principal component analyses of the E-nose and E-tongue clearly distinguish the odour and taste sensors' responses. The HS-GC-IMS analysis identified 65 volatile compounds across the treatments. The volatile compounds' concentrations increased as the HVCP treatment time was increased from 0 to 300 s. The significant compounds contributing to EWP characterisation include heptanal, ethylbenzene, ethanol, acetic acid, nonanal, heptacosane, 5-octadecanal, decanal, p-xylene, and octanal. Thus, this study shows that HVCP could be utilised to modify and improve the EWP flavour attributes.

Optimizing sowing window, cultivar choice, and plant density to boost maize yield under RCP8.5 climate scenario of CMIP5.

The impacts of climate change and possible adaptations to food security are a global concern and need greater focus in arid and semi-arid regions. It includes scenario of Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 5 (CMIP-RCP8.5). For this purpose, two DSSAT maize models (CSM-CERES and CSM-IXIM) were calibrated and tested with two different maize cultivars namely Single Cross 10 (SC10) and Three Way Cross 324 (TW24) using a dataset of three growing seasons in Nile Delta. SC10 is a long-growing cultivar that is resistant to abiotic stresses, whereas TW24 is short and sensitive to such harsh conditions. The calibrated models were then employed to predict maize yield in baseline (1981-2010) and under future time slices (2030s, 2050s, and 2080s) using three Global Climate Models (GCMs) under CMIP5-RCP8.5 scenario. In addition, the use of various adaptation options as shifting planting date, increasing sowing density, and genotypes was included in crop models. Simulation analysis showed that, averaged over three GCMs and two crop models, the yield of late maturity cultivar (SC10) decreased by 4.1, 17.2, and 55.9% for the three time slices of 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, compared to baseline yield (1981-2010). Such reduction increased with early maturity cultivar (TW24), recording 12.4, 40.6, and 71.3% for near (2030s), mid (2050s), and late century (2080s) respectively relative to baseline yield. The most suitable adaptation options included choosing a stress-resistant genotype, changing the planting date to plus or minus 30 days from baseline planting date, and raising the sowing density to 9 m-2 plants. These insights could minimize the potential reduction of climate change-induced yields by 39% by late century.

Assessment of factors influencing the contribution of primary healthcare physicians in prevention of type 2 diabetes in South of Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: This study was aiming to assess factors influencing the contribution of primary healthcare physicians concerning prevention of type 2 diabetes in the Jazan region, south of Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess physicians' knowledge about evidence-based guidelines concerning diabetes prevention, their attitude towards lifestyle interventions and their practice concerning screening and provision of lifestyle interventions in their clinics. Interviews were conducted to complete a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis involved reviewing open-ended responses of physicians followed by quantitative analysis to assess level of knowledge, attitudes, and practice adherence. RESULTS: A total of 234 physicians from 127 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in the region were recruited. Knowledge of evidence-based clinical indicators for the prevention of diabetes was limited (mean level of knowledge 3.14/8 [SD: 1.2)]. Recruited physicians did have a positive overall attitude to the influence of lifestyle/behavioural therapy on the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The physicians narrated a variety of factors that might influence the effectiveness of this approach, which were related to the community, the patients and the physicians themselves. Only the association between gender of physicians and their levels of knowledge was statistically significant where odds of greater knowledge were higher among female physicians in comparison to males (odds ratio : 1.8, P value = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Most of the physicians in our sample were misinformed about the components of lifestyle/behavioural interventions for diabetes prevention, which mandates designing and implementing lifestyle medicine programmes for the PHC physicians in Jazan region.

Natural Biostimulant Attenuates Salinity Stress Effects in Chili Pepper by Remodeling Antioxidant, Ion, and Phytohormone Balances, and Augments Gene Expression.

A biostimulant is any microorganism or substance used to enhance the efficiency of nutrition, tolerance to abiotic stress and/or quality traits of crops, depending on its contents from nutrients. Plant biostimulants like honey bee (HB) and silymarin (Sm) are a strategic trend for managing stressed crops by promoting nutritional and hormonal balance, regulating osmotic protectors, antioxidants, and genetic potential, reflecting plant growth and productivity. We applied diluted honey bee (HB) and silymarin-enriched honey bee (HB- Sm) as foliar nourishment to investigate their improving influences on growth, yield, nutritional and hormonal balance, various osmoprotectant levels, different components of antioxidant system, and genetic potential of chili pepper plants grown under NaCl-salinity stress (10 dS m‒1). HB significantly promoted the examined attributes and HB-Sm conferred optimal values, including growth, productivity, K+/Na+ ratio, capsaicin, and Sm contents. The antioxidative defense components were significantly better than those obtained with HB alone. Conversely, levels of oxidative stress markers (superoxide ions and hydrogen peroxide) and parameters related to membrane damage (malondialdehyde level, stability index, ionic leakage, Na+, and Cl- contents) were significantly reduced. HB-Sm significantly affects inactive gene expression, as a natural biostimulator silencing active gene expression. SCoT primers were used as proof in salt-treated or untreated chili pepper plants. There were 41 cDNA amplicons selected by SCoT-primers. Twenty of them were EcDNA amplicons (cDNA-amplicons that enhanced their genes by one or more treatments) representing 49% of all cDNA amplicons, whereas 7 amplicons for ScDNA (whose genes were silenced in one or more treatments) represented 17%, and 14 McDNA (monomorphic cDNA-amplicons with control) amplicons were represented by 34% from all cDNA amplicons. This indicates the high effect of BH-Sm treatments in expression enhancement of some inactive genes and their silenced effect for expression of some active genes, also confirming that cDNA-SCoT markers succeeded in detection of variable gene expression patterns between the untreated and treated plants. In conclusion, HB-Sm as a natural multi-biostimulator can attenuate salt stress effects in chili pepper plants by remodeling the antioxidant defense system and ameliorating plant productivity.

Induction of Catharanthus roseus Secondary Metabolites When Calotropis procera Was Used as Bio-Stimulant.

Available information associated with Calotropis procera posted its phytotoxic effect as bio-herbicide scarce works studied its stimulatory/nutritive effect. A pot experiment was performed to assess the validity of using Calotropis procera (C. procera) leaves extract as a bio-stimulant for the growth and quality of a medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) evaluated by some physio-biochemical indices. Different types of C. procera leaves extracts (CLEs) (methanolic, cold water and autoclaved water extracts) were delivered by two different modes of application. The results revealed that application of CLEs as irrigation or foliar spraying caused a stimulation effect on C. roseus plant. Root and shoot length, dry and fresh weight were significantly improved due to CLEs applications. C. roseus bioactive molecules such as anthocyanins, phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione and α-tocopherol were abundance increased significantly with CLEs applications. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) decreased explaining the involvement of CLEs in induction of antioxidant enzymes catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase for modifying cell oxidative status witnessed by lower lipid peroxidation that kept below the untreated plants' baseline reflected the improvement of growth and quality rather than phytotoxic effect. The promotion of wholesome-promoting secondary metabolites by CLEs was closely correlated to elevated phenylalanineammonialyase activity. The comparable efficient effect induced by all treatments might be judged by the relation between C. procera phytochemicals and C. roseus metabolism (donor-receiver relation). It is concluded that application of CLEs can be a promising approach for improving the yield and quality of plants despite using polluting fertilizers. The current investigation may provide a matrix for coming studies to seek illustration of numerous plants' response to C. procera extracts.

Influence of Nano Silicon and Nano Selenium on Root Characters, Growth, Ion Selectivity, Yield, and Yield Components of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Salinity Conditions.

Rice production under salinity stress is a critical challenge facing many countries, particularly those in arid and semi-arid regions. This challenge could be handled by applying novel approaches to overcome yield limiting factors and improve resource use efficiency. The usage of nanoparticles (NPs) could be a beneficial approach to managing the growing problem of soil salinity. The aim of our study was to investigate the advantageous effects of soaking and foliar application of silicon (Si) and selenium (Se), (NPs-Si at 12.5 mg L-1 and NPs-Se at 6.25 mg L-1) on root characteristics, moropho-physiological traits, and yields of two rice varieties (i.e., Giza 177 as a salt sensitive and Giza 178 as a salt tolerant) grown in saline soil compared to untreated plants (control treatment). Results showed that soaking NPs-Se resulted in the highest value of root thickness for Giza 178 (0.90 mm, 0.95 mm) and root volume (153.30 cm3, 154.30 cm3), while Giza 177 recorded 0.83 mm, 0.81 mm for root thickness and 143.30 cm3, 141.30 cm3 for root volume in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively. Soaking NPs-Se, NPs-Si and foliar application of NPs-Se at BT resulted in the highest relative water content and dry matter, while foliar application of NPs-Si at BT gave the highest leaf area index of rice plants compared to the other treatments. Giza 178 (i.e., salt tolerant variety) significantly surpassed Giza 177 (i.e., salt sensitive variety) in the main yield components such as panicle number and filled grains/ panicle, while Giza 177 significantly exceeded Giza 178 in the panicle weight, 1000-grain weight, and unfilled grains number/ panicle. Soaking NPs-Se and foliar application of NPs-Si at BT resulted in the highest grain yield of 5.41 and 5.34 t ha-1 during 2018 and 5.00 and 4.91 t ha-1 during 2019, respectively. The salt sensitive variety (Giza 177) had the highest Na+ leaf content and Na+/K+ ratio as well as the lowest K+ leaf content during both seasons. Applying nano nutrients such as NPs-Si and NPs-Se improved the yield components of the salt sensitive variety (Giza 177) by enhancing its ion selectivity. Both NPs-Si and NPs-Se had almost the same mode of action to mitigate the harmful salinity and enhance plant growth, and subsequently improved the grain yield. In summary, the application of NPs-Si and NPs-Se is recommended as a result of their positive influence on rice growth and yield as well as minimizing the negative effects of salt stress.