Trend of soil salinization in Africa and implications for agro-chemical use in semi-arid croplands.

Soil salinization is a gradual degradation process that begins as a minor problem and grows to become a significant economic loss if no control action is taken. It progressively alters the soil environment which eventually negatively affects plants and organism that were not originally adapted for saline conditions. Soil salinization arises from diverse sources such as side-effects of long-term use of agro-chemicals, saline parent rocks, periodic inundation of soil with saline water, etc. In Africa, soil salinization has not been adequately documented particularly in the croplands. The objective of this study was to identify trends of cropland salinization in Africa and how its relationship with long-term land use practices affected the soil environment. The study analysed soil salinization between 1965 and 2020 using measured electrical conductivity (EC), spatial modelling with environmental covariates, and national statistics on cropland expansion and application of mineral fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The results showed increasing trends of EC in Africa due to climatic and land use drivers. Increasing trends of EC, which evidenced salinization, was found in 31 million hectares of topsoils and 18 million hectares of subsoils. About 2 million hectares of croplands were depicted with salinization and >25 million hectares at the risk of salinization in the arid and semi-arid areas. The study also found statistical relationships between semi-arid cropland salinization and trends of agro-chemical use and cropland sizes. There were significant (p < 0.001) positive correlations between semi-arid cropland salinization and trends of cropland expansion and applied nitrogenous fertilizers. It found that increasing trend of applied mineral nitrogenous fertilizers could double the odds of salinization in semi-arid croplands while cropland expansion could increase the odds of semi-arid cropland salinization by >10 %. These findings present ground-breaking baseline information for future works on sustainable land-use practices that can control cropland soil salinization in Africa.

Horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed conjugation of eugenol with basic amino acids.

L-Lysine is shown to yield an adduct with the quinone methide intermediate formed during the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of eugenol (4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol). Adduct formation is evidenced by (i) lysine quenching of the characteristic quinone methide absorption band measured at 350 nm; arginine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, but not alanine or propionic acid showed similar behaviour (ii) lysine-promoted a 400 mV decrease of the eugenol oxidation voltammetric wave (1.00 V), concomitantly with an increase in current intensity and (iii) reverse phase HPLC isolation of the lysine eugenol adduct, followed by GC-MS analysis. The MS spectrum is consistent with a 2:1 lysine:eugenol adduct (MW = 455). If operative in vivo, binding of lysine to eugenol might lead to protein inactivation and possibly be involved in eugenol toxicity.

Host selection by the generalist aphid Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and its subspecies specialized on tobacco, after being reared on the same host.

Decision-making during host selection by phytophagous insects has proved to be related to host range, with specialists taking faster decisions than generalists; however, this pattern fails to materialize in some host selection studies performed with aphids. Differences found in testing designs point to rearing effects on aphid host selection. To test whether specialization patterns derive from the nature of the aphid or as a consequence of rearing environment, host selection behaviours were compared between the generalist Myzus persicae (Sulzer) s.s. and its subspecies specialized on tobacco when reared on a common host and offered the choice of an alternative host and a non-host plant. Pre-alighting (host finding and attraction towards host volatiles) and post-alighting (leaf surface exploration and probing) behaviours did not differ between the generalist and the tobacco-specialist, except in the allocation of time to probing behaviour; furthermore, all specialists chose the host on which they performed best. Thus, although the specialist was not faster than the generalist, it showed a higher level of commitment to its preferred host plant.

Estudio preliminar comparativo entre lagunas de estabilización y reactores tipo UASB simplificados para el tratamiento de aguas residuales domésticas

Presenta breves informes técnicos sobre eficiencias, principalmente en la reducción de organismos patógenos, de los reactores citados, así como los costos relativos de su construcción, operación y mantenimiento. También se presenta un estudio de costos para una población de 7,000 personas. Finalmente, se destacan algunos aspectos en cuanto a las posibilidades alternativas de uso de estos procesos de tratamiento, así como también sus ventajas y desventajas