Traits plasticity of Sodom Apple (Calotropis procera) along the environmental gradient in the semi-arid environment.

Biomass and morphological characteristics of plant species provide essential insight into how well a species adapts to its environment. The study aims to evaluate how environmental variables (viz., altitude, slope, aspect degree, and soil properties) influence the morphological traits and biomass variability of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton in a semi-arid environment. C. procera sample locations were divided into 39 permanent sites (5×5 = 25 m2). Slope, aspect degree, slope aspect, altitude, and soil variables (soil moisture, organic matter, nitrogen (N %), and phosphorus (P) gradients were used to quantify morphological parameters (height, diameters, canopy area, volume, and leave/branch biomass) and aboveground biomass. Environmental variables, i.e., altitude and aspect degree, were the most important factor influencing the biomass variation and affecting soil moisture content; however, they did not directly affect the total biomass of the species. The results also reveal significant plasticity in morphological traits exists concerning elevation and aspect degree at (p< 0.05). Plant volume was a better indicator of species' total biomass revealed from the regression model showing significant at p< 0.05. The study also reveals that soil properties such as soil moisture and Phosphorus have an important role in enhancing the productivity of the studied plant species. The results concluded that plants functional traits and biomass shows significant variation across the altitude and these parameters could be consider in the conservation of this native species.

An Overview of the Characteristics and Potential of Calotropis procera From Botanical, Ecological, and Economic Perspectives.

Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand. (commonly known as the apple of sodom, calotrope, and giant milkweed) is an evergreen, perennial shrub of the family Apocynaceae, mainly found in arid and semi-arid regions. It is a multipurpose plant, which can be utilized for medicine, fodder, and fuel purposes, timber and fiber production, phytoremediation, and synthesis of nanoparticles. It has been widely used in traditional medicinal systems across North Africa, Middle East Asia, and South-East Asia. At present, it is being extensively explored for its potential pharmacological applications. Several reports also suggest its prospects in the food, textile, and paper industries. Besides, C. procera has also been acknowledged as an ornamental species. High pharmacological potential and socio-economic value have led to the pantropical introduction of the plant. Morpho-physiological adaptations and the ability to tolerate various abiotic stresses enabled its naturalization beyond the introduced areas. Now, it is recognized as an obnoxious environmental weed in several parts of the world. Its unnatural expansion has been witnessed in the regions of South America, the Caribbean Islands, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, Seychelles, and several Pacific Islands. In Australia, nearly 3.7 million hectares of drier areas, including rangelands and Savannahs, have been invaded by the plant. In this review, multiple aspects of C. procera have been discussed including its general characteristics, current and potential uses, and invasive tendencies. The objectives of this review are a) to compile the information available in the literature on C. procera, to make it accessible for future research, b) to enlist together its potential applications being investigated in different fields, and c) to acknowledge C. procera as an emerging invasive species of arid and semi-arid regions.

Essential Oil of Calotropis procera: Comparative Chemical Profiles, Antimicrobial Activity, and Allelopathic Potential on Weeds.

Plants are considered green resources for thousands of bioactive compounds. Essential oils (EOs) are an important class of secondary compounds with various biological activities, including allelopathic and antimicrobial activities. Herein, the present study aimed to compare the chemical profiles of the EOs of the widely distributed medicinal plant Calotropis procera collected from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In addition, this study also aimed to assess their allelopathic and antimicrobial activities. The EOs from Egyptian and Saudi ecospecies were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed via GC-MS. The correlation between the analyzed EOs and those published from Egypt, India, and Nigeria was assessed by principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC). The allelopathic activity of the extracted EOs was tested against two weeds (Bidens pilosa and Dactyloctenium aegyptium). Moreover, the EOs were tested for antimicrobial activity against seven bacterial and two fungal strains. Ninety compounds were identified from both ecospecies, where 76 compounds were recorded in Saudi ecospecies and 33 in the Egyptian one. Terpenes were recorded as the main components along with hydrocarbons, aromatics, and carotenoids. The sesquiterpenes (54.07%) were the most abundant component of EO of the Saudi sample, while the diterpenes (44.82%) represented the mains of the Egyptian one. Hinesol (13.50%), trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (12.33%), 1,4-trans-1,7-cis-acorenone (7.62%), phytol (8.73%), and myristicin (6.13%) were found as the major constituents of EO of the Saudi sample, while phytol (38.02%), n-docosane (6.86%), linoleic acid (6.36%), n-pentacosane (6.31%), and bicyclogermacrene (4.37%) represented the main compounds of the Egyptian one. It was evident that the EOs of both ecospecies had potent phytotoxic activity against the two tested weeds, while the EO of the Egyptian ecospecies was more effective, particularly on the weed D. aegyptium. Moreover, the EOs showed substantial antibacterial and antifungal activities. The present study revealed that the EOs of Egyptian and Saudi ecospecies were different in quality and quantity, which could be attributed to the variant environmental and climatic conditions. The EOs of both ecospecies showed significant allelopathic and antimicrobial activity; therefore, these EOs could be considered as potential green eco-friendly resources for weed and microbe control, considering that this plant is widely grown in arid habitats.

Songs of Sodom: Singing About the Unmentionable Vice in the Early Modern Low Countries.

Although sodomy was purportedly an "unmentionable vice" in the early modern period, popular songs from the Low Countries paint a different picture. Bringing musical sources to bear upon the subject adds an extra dimension to the now widely held view that sodomy was a multimedia phenomenon in early modern society. Sodomy was represented in art, literature, poetry, and popular song as well. These songs were pedagogical in that they aimed to encourage performers and audience to live a pious life, and they stimulated the formation of confessional identities. By drawing attention to this neglected chapter in the history of homosexuality-popular song in the early modern Low Countries-this article seeks to contribute to the research on cultural perceptions of sodomy in the period.

"But Oh! What Tales": Portraying the Middle East in U.S. Homophile Periodicals of the 1950s and 1960s.

This essay examines Middle East representations in U.S. homophile periodicals from 1953 to 1964. The essay uses more than 120 Middle East-related items that were published in ONE, Mattachine Review, and The Ladder to address the periodicals' engagement with the region (particularly ancient history and biblical themes) and discuss the types of sexual "knowledge" that the homophile periodicals created about the region. It then assesses the role of periodicals as a genre in the creation of a transnational homophile community, showing both their potential for democratizing participation in this community and their limits. The essay argues that the periodicals made visible the process of assembling a homosexual identity and the fragmentary nature of the parts it strove to unify. Though the views of key U.S. homophile organizations became hegemonic in the international gay rights movement, the periodicals show a more complex, ambivalent, and contested process.

Access to health in city slum dwellers: The case of Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Rapid rural-urban migration of people to cities is a reality around the globe that has increased city slum dwellers. Sodom and Gomorrah is a city slum located in the heart of Accra, Ghana. Like other slums, it lacks basic amenities necessary for dwellers' quality of life. This study describes residents' access to health and factors associated with the use of healthcarefacilities. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered in systematically selected shacks across the entire slum. Data on demographic characteristics, existent health facilities and number of users, health-insured residents and knowledge of common diseases were collected. RESULTS: Majority of the residents were from the northern parts of Ghana, relative to the south and a few of them come from other parts of West Africa. Seventy-one percent of residents had never visited a health facility in the last 5 years. When necessary, they access health care from drug stores (61.1%) or hospitals (33.1%). Residents' age, educational status, income, health knowledge and membership of National Health Insurance Scheme were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the use of healthcare facilities. Younger residents and those without National Health Insurance Scheme membership, formal education, no knowledge of common illnesses and regular income were significantly less likely to use a healthcare facility. For most residents, neither distance (73.2%) nor transportation to health facilities was a problem (74.1%). CONCLUSION: Conditions of profound environmental hazards, overcrowding, poor-quality housing and lack of health care in Sodom and Gomorrah pose grave threats to the health of the inhabitants. Multisectoral interventions and resource mobilisation championed by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development are needed to alter the trend.

Crystal structure of an antifungal osmotin-like protein from Calotropis procera and its effects on Fusarium solani spores, as revealed by atomic force microscopy: Insights into the mechanism of action.

CpOsm is an antifungal osmotin/thaumatin-like protein purified from the latex of Calotropis procera. The protein is relatively thermostable and retains its antifungal activity over a wide pH range; therefore, it may be useful in the development of new antifungal drugs or transgenic crops with enhanced resistance to phytopathogenic fungi. To gain further insight into the mechanism of action of CpOsm, its three-dimensional structure was determined, and the effects of the protein on Fusarium solani spores were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The atomic structure of CpOsm was solved at a resolution of 1.61Å, and it contained 205 amino acid residues and 192 water molecules, with a final R-factor of 18.12% and an Rfree of 21.59%. The CpOsm structure belongs to the thaumatin superfamily fold and is characterized by three domains stabilized by eight disulfide bonds and a prominent charged cleft, which runs the length of the front side of the molecule. Similarly to other antifungal thaumatin-like proteins, the cleft of CpOsm is predominantly acidic. AFM images of F. solani spores treated with CpOsm resulted in striking morphological changes being induced by the protein. Spores treated with CpOsm were wrinkled, and the volume of these cells was reduced by approximately 80%. Treated cells were covered by a shell of CpOsm molecules, and the leakage of cytoplasmic content from these cells was also observed. Based on the structural features of CpOsm and the effects that the protein produces on F. solani spores, a possible mechanism of action is suggested and discussed.