Aggregation operators on group-based generalized q-rung orthopair fuzzy N-soft sets and applications in solar panel evaluation.

Every problem in decision-making has a solution when the information that is available is properly and precisely modeled. This study focuses on non-binary data from N-soft sets and q-rung orthopair fuzzy values, referred to as group-based generalized q-rung orthopair fuzzy N-soft sets (GGq-ROFNSSs). The GGq-ROFNSSs model provides information simultaneously on numerous competing criteria, alternatives, sub-alternatives, and data summarization. We introduce properties of GGq-ROFNSSs such as distinct inclusion features of GGq-ROFNSSs, weak complements of the GGq-ROFNSS, top weak complements the GGq-ROFNSS, bottom weak complements the GGq-ROFNSS. We provide the notion of GGq-ROFNSWA and GGq-ROFNSWG operators as well as their idempotency, monotonicity, and boundedness features. The notion of GGq-ROFNSSs requires a sound methodology of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) since GGq-ROFNSS combines numerous elements of complex decision-making. We provide a MCDM methodology for the GGq-ROFNSWA and GGq-ROFNSWG operators and depict it in a flowchart. The selection of solar panels for a city is a difficult procedure because it depends on several components such as environment, where the area is located, what kinds of needs are being met, etc. We find a solution to the problem of selecting a suitable solar panel for a city with their underlying characteristics. Finally, we provide a comparison of the suggested method with other techniques to demonstrate its advantages.

Preparation, In Vitro Characterization, and Evaluation of Polymeric pH-Responsive Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Release.

The purpose of the current research is to formulate a smart drug delivery system for solubility enhancement and sustained release of hydrophobic drugs. Drug solubility-related challenges constitute a significant concern for formulation scientists. To address this issue, a recent study focused on developing PEG-g-poly(MAA) copolymeric nanogels to enhance the solubility of olmesartan, a poorly soluble drug. The researchers employed a free radical polymerization technique to formulate these nanogels. Nine formulations were formulated. The newly formulated nanogels underwent comprehensive tests, including physicochemical assessments, dissolution studies, solubility evaluations, toxicity investigations, and stability examinations. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) investigations confirmed the successful encapsulation of olmesartan within the nanogels, while thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies verified their thermal stability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed the presence of pores on the surface of the nanogels, facilitating water penetration and promoting rapid drug release. Moreover, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies indicated that the prepared nanogels exhibited an amorphous structure. The nanogel carrier system led to a significant enhancement in olmesartan's solubility, achieving a remarkable 12.3-fold increase at pH 1.2 and 13.29-fold rise in phosphate buffer of pH 6.8 (NGP3). Significant swelling was observed at pH 6.8 compared to pH 1.2. Moreover, the formulated nexus is nontoxic and biocompatible and depicts considerable potential for delivery of drugs and protein as well as heat-sensitive active moieties.

Omega-3 fatty acid supply in pregnancy for risk reduction of preterm and early preterm birth: A position statement by the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG).

Pre-term birth is associated with significant neonatal morbidity and mortality. Pre-term births are associated with significant health and neuro-developmental risks in childhood and adulthood. Women with multiple pregnancies are at much higher risks. Low levels of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are associated with higher risk of pre-term labour and increased consumption of foods rich in omega-3 PUFA or supplements are associated with a 11 % and 42 % risk reduction of early and late preterm births, respectively.

Minimum dietary diversity and associated determinants among children aged 6-23 months in Pakistan.

Pakistan is facing a high prevalence of malnutrition and Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) is one of the core indicators that remain below the recommended level. This study assesses MDD and its associated factors among children aged 6 to 23 months in Pakistan. The study uses a cross-sectional study using the dataset of the latest available Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) for all provinces of Pakistan. Multistage sampling is used to select 18,699 children aged 6 to 23 months. The empirical method is the Logistic Regression Analysis and Chi-Square Test. The dataset is freely and publicly available with all identifier information removed, and no ethics approvals are required. About one-fifth (20%) of infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months had met MDD, this number varies from 17 to 29%, highest in Baluchistan and lowest in Punjab province of Pakistan. The age group (18-23) indicates a 2.45 times greater chance of having MDD. Age (< 0.001), diarrhea (0.01), prenatal care (0.06), mother's education (< 0.001), computer access (< 0.001), wealth quantile (< 0.001), and residence (< 0.001) were significantly associated with meeting MDD. However, gender (0.6) and mother's age (0.4) both were statistically insignificant in meeting MDD. Regarding mothers' education, compared to no education, the chance of MDD is 1.45 times greater for highly educated mothers in the Punjab province. Dietary diversity among children aged 6 to 23 months in Pakistan is low. It is recommended that mothers should be aware and encouraged to use dietary diverse food for infants and younger children.

Archimedean Heronian mean operators based on complex intuitionistic fuzzy sets and their applications in decision-making problems.

In this article, we derive the Archimedean aggregation operators for complex intuitionistic fuzzy sets, for this, first, we evaluate some Archimedean operational laws based on complex intuitionistic fuzzy values and then we discuss their special cases because the Archimedean norms are the general form of all existing norms, for instance, algebraic, Einstein, Hamacher, and Frank operational laws. Furthermore, we present the complex intuitionistic fuzzy Archimedean Heronian aggregation operator and complex intuitionistic fuzzy weighted Archimedean Heronian aggregation operator. Several special cases and the basic properties of the above-proposed operators are also diagnosed, because proposing the Heronian mean operators based on Archimedean norms are very challenging and complicated tasks, because of their features and structure. Additionally, a decision-making process is developed under the identified operators by using complex intuitionistic fuzzy information. Finally, we illustrate several examples to show the multi-attribute decision-making technique is more flexible than the prevailing works with the help of sensitive analysis between explored and certain prevailing works.

Epigenetic insight into floral transition and seed development in plants.

Seasonal changes are crucial in shifting the developmental stages from the vegetative phase to the reproductive phase in plants, enabling them to flower under optimal conditions. Plants grown at different latitudes sense and interpret these seasonal variations, such as changes in day length (photoperiod) and exposure to cold winter temperatures (vernalization). These environmental factors influence the expression of various genes related to flowering. Plants have evolved to stimulate a rapid response to environmental conditions through genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Multiple epigenetic regulation systems have emerged in plants to interpret environmental signals. During the transition to the flowering phase, changes in gene expression are facilitated by chromatin remodeling and small RNAs interference, particularly in annual and perennial plants. Key flowering regulators, such as FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), interact with various factors and undergo chromatin remodeling in response to seasonal cues. The Polycomb silencing complex (PRC) controls the expression of flowering-related genes in photoperiodic flowering regulation. Under vernalization-dependent flowering, FLC acts as a potent flowering suppressor by downregulating the gene expression of various flower-promoting genes. Eventually, PRCs are critically involved in the regulation of FLC and FT locus interacting with several key genes in photoperiod and vernalization. Subsequently, PRCs also regulate Epigenetical events during gametogenesis and seed development as a driving force. Furthermore, DNA methylation in the context of CHG, CG, and CHH methylation plays a critical role in embryogenesis. DNA glycosylase DME (DEMETER) is responsible for demethylation during seed development. Thus, the review briefly discusses flowering regulation through light signaling, day length variation, temperature variation and seed development in plants.

Challenges in timing and mode of delivery in morbidly obese women.

Globally obesity is increasing especially in the reproductive age group. Pregnant women with obesity have higher complication and intervention rates. They are also at increased risk of stillbirth and intrapartum complications. Although organisations like NICE, RCOG, ACOG and WHO have published guidelines and recommendations on care of pregnant women with obesity the evidence from which Grade A recommendations can be made on timing and how to deliver is limited. The current advice is therefore to have discussions with the woman on risks to help her make an informed decision about timing, place, and mode of delivery. Obesity is an independent risk factor for pregnancy complications including diabetes, hypertension and macrosomia. In those with these complications, the timing of delivery is often influenced by the severity of the complication. As an independent factor, population based observational studies in obese women have shown an increase in the risk of stillbirth. This risk increases linearly with weight from overweight through to class II obesity, but then rises sharply in those with class III obesity by at least 10-fold beyond 42 weeks when compared to normal weight women. This risk of stillbirth is notably higher in obese women from 34 weeks onwards compared to normal weight women. One modifiable risk factor for stillbirth as shown from various cohorts of pregnant women is prolonged pregnancy. Research has linked obesity to prolonged pregnancy. Although the exact mechanism is yet unknown some have linked this to maternal dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis leading to hormonal imbalance delaying parturition. For these women the two dilemmas are when and how best to deliver. In this review, we examine the evidence and make recommendations on the timing and mode of delivery in women with obesity. For class I obese women there are no differences in outcome with regards to timing and mode of delivery when compared to lean weight women. However, for class II and III obesity, planned induction or caesarean sections may be associated with a lower perinatal morbidity and mortality although this may be associated with an increased in maternal morbidity especially in class III obesity. Studies have shown that delivery by 39 weeks is associated with lower perinatal mortality compared to delivering after in these women. On balance the evidence would favour planned delivery (induction or caesarean section) before 40 weeks of gestation. In the morbidly obese, apart from the standard lower transverse skin incision for CS, there is evidence that a supraumbilical transverse incision may reduce morbidity but is less cosmetic. Irrespective of the option adopted, it is important to discuss the pros and cons of each.

Partitioned dual Maclaurin symmetric mean operators based on picture fuzzy sets and their applications in multi-attribute decision-making problems.

The partitioned Dual Maclaurin symmetric mean (PDMSM) operator has the supremacy that can justify the interrelationship of distinct characteristics and there are a lot of exploration consequences for it. However, it has not been employed to manage "multi-attribute decision-making" (MADM) problems represented by picture fuzzy numbers. The basic inspiration of this identification is to develop the novel theory of picture fuzzy PDMSM operator, and weighted picture fuzzy PDMSM operator and to identify their important results (Idempotency, Monotonicity, and Boundedness). Further, to identify the best decision, every expert realized that they needed the best way to find the beneficial optimal using the proper decision-making procedure, for this, we diagnosed the MADM tool in the consideration of deliberated approaches based on PF information. Finally, to drive the characteristics of the invented work, several examples are utilized to test the manifest of the comparative analysis with various more existing theories, which is a fascinating and meaningful technique to deeply explain the features and exhibited of the proposed approaches.

Effect of PCSK9 inhibition on plasma levels of small dense low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol.

BACKGROUND: Oxidized forms of cholesterol (oxysterols) are implicated in atherogenesis and can accumulate in the body via direct absorption from food or through oxidative reactions of endogenous cholesterol, inducing the formation of LDL particles loaded with oxidized cholesterol. It remains unknown whether drastic reductions in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with changes in circulating oxysterols and whether small dense LDL (sdLDL) are more likely to carry these oxysterols and susceptible to the effects of PCSK9 inhibition (PCSK9i). OBJECTIVE: We investigate the effect of LDL-C reduction accomplished via PCSK9i on changes in plasma levels of sdLDL-cholesterol (sdLDL-C) and a common, stable oxysterol, 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC), among 134 patients referred to our Preventive Cardiology clinic. METHODS: Plasma lipid panel, sdLDL-C, and 7-KC measurements were obtained from patients before and after initiation of PCSK9i. RESULTS: The intervention caused a significant lowering of LDL-C (-55.4 %). The changes in sdLDL-C levels (mean reduction 51.4 %) were highly correlated with the reductions in LDL-C levels (R = 0.829, p < 0.001). Interestingly, whereas changes in plasma free 7-KC levels with PCSK9i treatment were much smaller than (-6.6 %) and did not parallel those of LDL-C and sdLDL-C levels, they did significantly correlate with changes in triglycerides and very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels (R = 0.219, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a non-preferential clearance of LDL subparticles as a consequence of LDL receptor upregulation caused by PCSK9 inhibition. Moreover, the lack of significant reduction in 7-KC with PCSK9i suggests that 7-KC may be in part carried by VLDL and lost during lipoprotein processing leading to LDL formation.

Dietary methionine sources and levels modulate the intestinal health status of broiler chickens.

Given the key role of methionine in biological processes, adequate methionine should be provided to meet the nutritional requirements. DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid (DL-HMTBA) has been considered as an important source of methionine. However, the effects of different sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal health status have not been clarified yet. An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different dietary sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal epithelial barrier, inflammatory cytokines expression, ileal morphology, microbiota composition, and cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) profiles. For this purpose, 720 male Arbor Acre broiler chicks at 1 d old were randomly assigned to a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 methionine sources (DL-methionine and DL-HMTBA) and 3 total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) levels (80%, 100%, and 120% of Arbor Acre recommendation). The results showed that DL-HMTBA supplementation promoted intestinal physical barrier at both gene expression level of claudin-1 and serum diamine oxidase level (P < 0.05), and the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 mRNA expression was down-regulated by dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation compared with the DL-methionine group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, an upregulated gene expression of claudin-1 and zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) were observed in the low-TSAA treatment on d 14 (P < 0.05), whereas this treatment increased the expression of IL-1ß and IL-6 (P < 0.05). Villus height to crypt depth ratio was high (P < 0.05) in the middle-level TSAA group. Furthermore, DL-HMTBA supplementation optimized the microbiota of the ileum especially the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, where the digestion and absorption were completed, and elevated the concentrations of SCFA (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) in the cecal content on d 21 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation improved the intestinal barrier function, immune homeostasis and optimized the microbiota to promote intestinal health status in broiler chickens.

An exploratory study of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward HPV associated anal cancer among Pakistani population.

Background: Anal cancer, mainly attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, is rising in prevalence among the general population in Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards anal cancer screening and HPV of the general population in Pakistan. Method: We surveyed anal cancer KAP using social media and snowball sampling from December 2022 to May 2023. The questionnaire had 16 knowledge, 12 attitudes, 6 practice questions, and socio-demographic variables. We applied validity criteria for inclusion and exclusion and used cutoffs ≥50% for each KAP category. We analyzed data in R with Guttman's λ2 for reliability, did univariate and bivariate analysis, and reported frequencies, percentages, p-values, coefficients, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals. Results: We surveyed 1620 people and discovered low awareness of HPV and anal cancer causes prevention, and screening (11%-24%), high stigma and embarrassment for screening (54%-70%), strong moral beliefs (89%), condom nonuse (91%), and low engagement in health services and programs (9.1%-14%). Knowledge (75.23%, OR = 1.0984, p = 0.05) was shaped by socio-demographic factors, attitude, and practice, with higher education enhancing knowledge (OR = 1.0984, p = 0.05). Attitude (78.45%, OR = 6.6052, p< 0.001) was influenced by socio-demographic factors, practice, and knowledge as well. Younger females, single, unemployed, students, living with more family members, earning more income, and residing in Islamabad had a more positive attitude (ORs from 1.0115 to 6.6052, p< 0.05), while religion did not affect attitude (p = 0.51). Practice (9.16%, OR = 0.1820, p< 0.001) was determined by socio-demographic factors, knowledge, and attitude. Older males, employed teachers, living with more family members, earning less income, and residing in Islamabad had better practice (ORs from 0.1323 to 3.8431, p< 0.05), but marital status and religion did not influence practice (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Pakistani young adults need more education, awareness, health services, and programs on HPV and anal cancer, as they have low awareness, high stigma, and socio-cultural challenges. In addition, it is recommended for more research and policy initiatives are needed to address socio-cultural factors and increase anal Pap to overcome anal cancer.

Determinants of the food insecurity at household level in Pakistan: A multilevel model approach.

Food insecurity is a major concern for the developing world and around 37% of the population of Pakistan is food insecure. This paper utilizes the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to assess the population prevalence of food insecurity and to identify their risk factors and determinants at the household level in Pakistan. This study employs a multi-level random coefficient model, using the Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS-2010) dataset; representative data from 4,130 households. Factors like; income of the household, gender, education, household size, land ownership, and shocks of food insecurity allow the incidence of idiosyncratic shocks (injuries and/or casualties) at the community level, which affects the food insecurity situation of the community, rather differently were included. The study confirms a statistically significant inverse relationship between household income, household size, and household head education with food insecurity and a positive association of shocks and inflation with food insecurity at the household level. Specifically, with increasing per capita income of the household, food insecurity declines (coefficient: -0.083, statistically significant at 1%) and food insecurity increases with shocks (coefficient: 0.058, statistically significant at 1% significance level). The study also reveals a significant heterogeneity at a one percent significance level in the determinants of food insecurity at the district, community, and household levels. The income of the household, household head gender and education level, household size, household assets, shocks, injuries, and inflationary pressure are important determinants of food insecurity in Pakistan.

Provision of screening services for cervical and breast cancer - A scientific study commissioned by the European Board & College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG).

OBJECTIVE: Cancer screening can play an important role in early detection, improving treatment outcomes and reducing morbidity and mortality. Breast and cervical cancers belong to the most common gynaecological cancers group. Countries provide different screening programmes on its eligible population basis centred on different health care policies. This scientific study aims to assess and understand the health inequalities in the member countries of the European Board & College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) as regards screening programmes of gynaecological cancer, with a special focus on breast and cervical cancers' screening strategies. STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive questionnaire-based study was conducted, addressed to EBCOG member countries. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of the countries have an organized national or regional screening programme for cervical cancer. Of these, 45% of countries use both cytology and testing for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) as screening test, 31% use cytology exclusively and 17% only perform HPV testing. Considerable differences were found regarding the interval of screening test: there are countries performing HPV detection triennially, while others perform only conventional cytology every 5 years. Sixty-nine percent of countries included in this study begin screening for cervical cancer in women aged 25 to 29 years, four of them using HPV detection as the screening test. Six countries begin cervical cancer screening before the age of 25. As regards vaccination against HPV, almost all countries have implemented national HPV vaccination programme, except in Poland and Turkey. The 9-valent HPV vaccine is the most frequently offered (77% of countries) and the majority vaccination programmes include both girls and boys. As regards breast cancer screening, all thirty-two countries have an implemented screening programme. All countries perform mammography as the screening test, 62.5% of them begin in women aged 50 to 54, with a 2-yearly interval in the majority. In five countries, screening programmes are performed biennially, starting between 45 and 49 years old. Seven countries start in women aged 41 to 44. CONCLUSIONS: There are discrepancies around gynaecological cancer screenings provision among EBCOG member countries. It is important to establish European recommendations about screening for gynaecological cancers, in order to standardize the access to equitable better health care in gynaecological cancers within Europe.

EBCOG position statement on Inequalities in screening for cervical and breast cancer.

Gynaecological cancers, namely breast and cervical cancer represent a high burden in women's health. It is well established that cervical and breast cancer screening programmes are effective in reducing morbidity and mortality. It is of the most importance to define strategies to provide a universal access to screening. In European countries, significant progress has been made over the past years concerning screening strategies, namely the choice of screening test, its frequency as well as the age to start and stop the screening. Introduction of Human Papillomavirus vaccination programmes is also making a measurable impact to reduce cervical cancer prevalence and mortality. Our survey has shown a variation among European countries in delivery of cervical and breast cancer screening programmes. These variations can be due to organizational, economic or cultural reasons. The European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology calls for an implementation of a unified policy of prevention, screening and early detection of cervical and breast cancer across Europe to optimize clinical outcomes and reduce variations.

The potential impact of tobacco use on female fertility and pregnancy outcomes: An invited scientific review by EBCOG.

Tobacco use in pregnant women remains prevalent with an estimated prevalence of 8.1 % in the European region. In whatever form it is partaken, tobacco use is associated with significant short- and long-term consequences for both the mother and the progeny thus making the habit an important obstetric and public health concern. It is recommended that an active intervention policy should be adopted by healthcare providers to promote preconception smoking cessation and provide services for counselling with behavioural modification support, and the provision of smoking cessation pharmaceutical services. Women who continue to smoke should have closer antenatal surveillance throughout the whole of pregnancy.

Picture fuzzy soft Bonferroni mean aggregation operators and their applications.

Due to more advanced features of the picture fuzzy soft set and valuable characteristics of aggregation operators, in this article, we present the notion of picture fuzzy soft Bonferroni mean aggregation operators and weighted picture fuzzy soft Bonferroni mean aggregation operators. Moreover, some basic properties of these introduced aggregation operators have been given. As cancer is one of the most rapidly increasing diseases globally. But due to different kinds of cancer diseases, it is very difficult to say which type of cancer disease is increasing rapidly. So to reduce this difficulty in the medical field, we have applied our work to medical diagnosis problems to ensure that fuzzy ideas can also help in the medical field. Also, an algorithm along with a descriptive example is established that conforms to the authenticity of initiated work. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the introduced work has been given to show how this work is more efficient and dominant than other existing theories.

A novel study of spherical fuzzy soft Dombi aggregation operators and their applications to multicriteria decision making.

In many decision-making situations, we are not restricted to two kinds of aspects, such as membership degree or nonmembership degree, and sometimes we need to include the abstinence degree (AD). However, many fuzzy set theories fail to cover issues, such as an intuitionistic fuzzy soft set, Pythagorean fuzzy soft set and q-rung orthopair fuzzy soft set. All the above notions can only consider membership degree and a nonmembership degree in their structures. The spherical fuzzy soft set compensates for these drawbacks in its structure. Moreover, the Dombi t-norm and Dombi t-conorm are the fundamental apparatuses to generalize the basic operational laws of sum and product. Therefore, in this article, based on the dominant features of spherical fuzzy soft sets and valuable features of the Dombi t-norm and Dombi t-conorm, we initially developed the basic Dombi operational laws for spherical fuzzy soft numbers. Moreover, based on these newly developed operational laws, we introduced aggregation operators called spherical fuzzy soft Dombi average (weighted, ordered weighted, hybrid) aggregation operators. We discussed the basic properties of these aggregation operators. Additionally, we have developed a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach using an explanatory example via our approach to show its effective utilization. Furthermore, a comparative study of our approach shows the superiority of our introduced notions.

WASPAS method and Aczel-Alsina aggregation operators for managing complex interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy information and their applications in decision-making.

Aczel-Alsina t-norm and t-conorm are a valuable and feasible technique to manage ambiguous and inconsistent information because of their dominant characteristics of broad parameter values. The main theme of this analysis is to explore Aczel-Alsina operational laws in the presence of the complex interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (CIVIF) set theory. Furthermore, we derive the theory of aggregation frameworks based on Aczel-Alsina operational laws for managing the theory of CIVIF information. The CIVIF Aczel-Alsina weighted averaging (CIVIFAAWA), CIVIF Aczel-Alsina ordered weighted averaging (CIVIFAAOWA), CIVIF Aczel-Alsina hybrid averaging (CIVIFAAHA), CIVIF Aczel-Alsina weighted geometric (CIVIFAAWG), CIVIF Aczel-Alsina ordered weighted geometric (CIVIFAAOWG) and CIVIF Aczel-Alsina hybrid geometric (CIVIFAAHG) operators are proposed, and their well-known properties and particular cases are also detailly derived. Further, we derive the theory of the WASPAS method for CIVIF information and evaluate their positive and negative aspects. Additionally, we demonstrate the multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) strategy under the invented works. Finally, we express the supremacy and dominancy of the invented methods with the help of sensitive analysis and geometrical shown of the explored works.

Endophytic Bacillus atrophaeus CHGP13 and salicylic acid inhibit blue mold of lemon by regulating defense enzymes.

Lemons (Citrus limon L.) are one of the most economically important and consumed fruit worldwide. The species is vulnerable to several postharvest decay pathogens, of which Penicillium italicum associated with blue mold disease is the most damaging. This study investigates the use of integrated management for blue mold of lemon using lipopeptides (LPs) extracted from endophytic Bacillus strains and resistance inducers. Two resistance inducers; salicylic acid (SA) and benzoic acid (BA) were tested at 2, 3, 4, and 5 mM concentrations against the development of blue mold on lemon fruit. The 5 mM SA treatment produced the lowest disease incidence (60%) and lesion diameter (1.4 cm) of blue mold on lemon fruit relative to the control. In an in vitro antagonism assay eighteen Bacillus strains were evaluated for their direct antifungal effect against P. italicum; CHGP13 and CHGP17 had the greatest inhibition zones of 2.30 and 2.14 cm. Lipopeptides (LPs) extracted from CHGP13 and CHGP17 also inhibited the colony growth of P. italicum. LPs extracted from CHGP13 and 5 mM SA were tested as single and combined treatments against disease incidence and lesion diameter of blue mold on lemon fruit. SA + CHGP13 + PI had the lowest disease incidence (30%) and lesion diameter (0.4 cm) of P. italicum on lemon fruit relative to the other treatments. Furthermore, the lemon fruit treated with SA + CHGP13 + PI had the highest PPO, POD, and PAL activities. The postharvest quality analysis of the lemon fruit including fruit firmness, total soluble solids, weight loss, titratable acidity, and ascorbic acid content revealed that the treatment SA + CHGP13 + PI had little effect on fruit quality compared to the healthy control. These findings indicate that Bacillus strains and resistance inducers can be used as components of integrated disease management for the blue mold of lemon.

Dietary supplementation with 2-hydroxy-4-methyl(thio) butanoic acid and DL-methionine improves productive performance, egg quality and redox status of commercial laying ducks.

This experiment aimed to study the effects of supplemental methionine sources, 2-hydroxy-4 methyl(thio) butanoic acid (HMTBa) and DL-Methionine (DL-Met), on productive performance, egg quality, and redox status of laying ducks. A total of 792 healthy 25-wk-old Longyan laying ducks with similar body weights were randomly allotted to 11 treatment groups. Each treatment group had 6 replicates of 12 ducks. The trial lasted for 16 wk. Ducks were fed a basal deficient diet (Met: 0.24%; Met + Cys: 0.51%) or supplemented with DL-Met or HMTBa at 0.05%, 0.12%, 0.19%, 0.26%, and 0.33% of diet, respectively. Compared with the basal diet, supplementation with either DL-Met or HMTBa increased the average egg weight, egg mass, and decreased feed to egg ratio during the whole trial period (P < 0.05). Albumen weight and its ratio to total egg weight were increased, but yolk and shell ratio, albumen height, Haugh unit and shell breaking strength were decreased (P < 0.05). Dietary DL-Met or HMTBa supplementation increased taurine, methionine, leucine, tryptophan and arginine content, and decreased serine and lysine content in plasma (P < 0.05). The redox status of laying ducks was improved by enhancing the glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities, glutathione content and its ratio relative to glutathione (oxidized) content and decreasing malondialdehyde content and increasing mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase-1, glutathione peroxidase-1, hemeoxygenase-1 and nuclear factor-like 2 in liver and ileum with the supplementation of DL-Met or HMTBa (P < 0.05). Liver health status measured by average area proportion lipid droplet was improved with supplementation of DL-Met or HMTBa (P < 0.05). Villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio in the ileum and the ileal gene expression of tight junction protein and occludin were increased with DL-Met or HMTBa supplementation (P < 0.05). Taken together, these results suggested that the efficacy of dietary supplementation of HMTBa was similar to DL-Met, and it ranged from 98% to 100% for productive performance and egg albumen ratio in laying ducks (25 to 41 wk).