An insight from tolerance to salinity stress in halophyte Portulaca oleracea L.: Physio-morphological, biochemical and molecular responses.

Salinity represents one of the environmental conditions with adverse effects on the productivity of most crops throughout the world. The response of plants to salt stress is of great interest for research to understand the mechanism involved in tolerance to salinity and highlight insights into the improvement of salt tolerance-crops of importance. In this study, the effect of salt stress was observed in wild and cultivated populations of P. oleracea originated from Tunisia and Italy. The results showed that at various concentrations of NaCl (0 mM, 50 mM, 100 mM and 150 mM), salinity has led to changes in growth parameters marked mainly by an increase in fresh and dry biomass. Beside, one of the salinity-induced side effects corresponds to the competition of Na+ and K+ ions for potassium root transporters. Our results suggested that purslane deployed an important element of tolerance such as the transporters ability to discriminate cations. In addition, the variation of PC5S gene expression tested by semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that proline synthesis is important in plants adaptation in saline conditions. A correlation between the gene expression varying by population and saline concentration and the level of proline assayed on the leaves of P. oleracea was highlighted.

Treatment of textile wastewater by submerged membrane bioreactor: In vitro bioassays for the assessment of stress response elicited by raw and reclaimed wastewater.

The performance of a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) system for the treatment of textile wastewater was investigated. The MBR was continuously operated for 7 months. Very high treatment efficiencies were achieved (color, 100%; chemical oxygen demand (COD), 98%; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 96%; suspended solids (SS), 100%). Furthermore, the MBR treatment efficiency was analyzed from a toxicological-risk assessment point of view, via different In vitro bioassays using Caco-2 cells, a widely used cell model in toxicological studies. Results showed that MBR treatment significantly reduced the raw textile wastewater (RTWW) cytotoxicity on Caco-2 cells by 53% for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 days. Additionally, the RTWW-induced disruption in the barrier function (BF) of the Caco-2 cell monolayer was also significantly reduced after MBR treatment under a HRT of 2 days (no disruption of BF was observed). Moreover, the effect of RTWW and treated wastewater on stress response was investigated using different stress genes: AHSA1, HSPD1, HSPA1A, HSPA5 and HSPA8. The cell exposure to RTWW significantly increased the expression of all used stress genes; interestingly, the treated wastewater (HRT 2 days) did not show any significant modulation of the stress genes.

Bis-[4,4'-(propane-1,3-di-yl)-dipiperidin-ium] ß-octa-molybdate(VI).

The title compound, bis-[4,4'-(propane-1,3-di-yl)-dipiperidin-ium] ß-octa-molybdate(VI), (C(13)H(28)N(2))(2)[Mo(8)O(26)], was produced by hydro-thermal reaction of an acidified aqueous solution of Na(2)MoO(4)·2H(2)O and 4,4'-trimethyl-ene-dipiperidine (L). The structure of the title compound consists of ß-octa-molybdate(VI) anion clusters and protonated [H(2)L](2+) cations. The octa-molybdate anion is located around an inversion center. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the cations and anions ensure the cohesion of the structure and result in a three-dimensional network.

Bis(imidazole-κN)bis-(nitrato-κO)zinc(II).

The title complex, [Zn(NO(3))(2)(C(3)H(4)N(2))(2)], contains a Zn(II) centre with a slightly distorted tetra-hedral coordination environment, involving two N atoms from imidazole ligands and two O atoms from nitrate anions. The imino NH groups participate in inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

2-[(4-Benzhydrylpipérazin-1-yl)méthyl]acrylonitrile.

In the title compound, 2-[(4-benz-hydryl-piperazin-1-yl)-methyl]-acrylo-nitrile, C(21)H(23)N(3), the substituted piperazine ring adopts a chair conformation and the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the aromatic rings is 71.61 (8)°.

1,2-Bis[bis-(methyl-sulfan-yl)methyl-ene]hydrazine.

The title compound, C(6)H(12)N(2)S(4), was obtained as a by-product (8%) during the reaction of the electrogenerated cyano-methyl anion with phenyl-amine, carbon disulfide and methyl iodide. The mol-ecule, with the exception of 8 H atoms, lies on a crystallographic mirror plane and is arranged around an inversion centre located at the mid-point of the N-N bond.