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 Radiological Health Risks in Popularly Consumed Brands of Sachet Water in Nigeria.

Radiological investigation of 35 brands of most popularly used sachet drinking water in Ondo state, Nigeria has been carried out using a spectrometric method for evaluating the concomitant health risks to the members of the public. Activity concentrations of the investigated radionuclides 40K, 226R, and 228Ra were in the range from 16.35 ± 4.10 to 199.94 ± 38.40 Bq L-1 with an arithmetic mean (AM) of 66.22 ± 54.99 Bq L-1, from 1.35± 0.79 to 17.06 ± 5.13 Bq L-1 with an AM of 6.88 ± 3.66 Bq L-1, and from 1.95 ± 0.08 to 17.22 ± 3.87 Bq L-1 with an AM of 9.49 ± 4.98 Bq L-1, respectively. The determined annual effective doses and the corresponding excess lifetime cancer risks due to 226Ra and 228Ra were found to exceed the acceptable limits of 0.1 mSv y-1 and 10-3 respectively, as suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). This implies a non-negligible carcinogenic health hazard due to the intake of the surveyed drinking water, especially for the lactating babies (0-1) y and teenagers (12-17) y. The data from this research may form an invaluable component of radiometric values of the database in Nigeria, as well as the world for setting up guidelines and control policies for the use of sachet water.

A Continuously Tunable Full-Color Emission Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots and for Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Detection of Ascorbic Acid.

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots exhibiting excitation-dependent full-color emissions (F-NCDs) were prepared via the one-step hydrothermal method with citric acid and phenylenediamine. Specifically, the emission wavelength of the F-NCDs tuned from 452 nm to 602 nm due to the introduction of new energy levels by C=O and C=N functional groups. We exploited its stability in illumination, ionic strength, and pH, as well as its specificity, sensitivity, especially in ascorbic acid (AA) detection. F-NCDs could measure the AA concentration in the linear ranges of 0~0.1 and 0.1~1 mmol/L with the detection limit (LOD, S/N = 3) as low as 2.6 nmol/L. Additionally, we successfully detected AA in bovine serum with our F-NCDs and obtained the result within 1 min. Because of full-color emission features, we believe our F-NCDs have a great potential in fluorescent sensor detection.