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Conservation Agriculture (CA) has got the huge potential to address the issue of global food security with ecological resilience and replenishment. The present study was conducted across 40 counties of the state of Ohio in the United States of America to assess and prioritize the social-ecological factors operating at CA farms, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It has been elucidated from the study that selected owner-farmers of the study area (n = 230) have no hesitation to consider CA as the future of farming to address food security in response to mitigate climate change effects. They have been applying the combination of the CA principles on their farms: 60% of the respondents do not till their field, 80% leave crop residues on the soil surface, and 97% follow crop rotations. Finally, the CA farmers have achieved 10 to > 40% fuel savings during farm operations, having farm soil salinity reduced in the case of 70% of respondents. Apart from this, grazing animals are also integrated to CA systems, adding animal manure to their farms. However, the study indicates that there is a need to encourage the use of CA, which can minimize the negative impacts of dry spells in order to maximize crop production, and polish the strategies and policies in each and every sphere. • Successful adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) depends on the interaction between farm social-ecological factors. • Farmer's own perception drives adoption of conservation agriculture. • CA farmers are being rewarded with 10 to > 40% fuel savings during farm operations. • farm soil salinity reduced in the case of 70% of respondents who are practising CA. • Grazing animals are important to integrate within CA systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of state-of-the-art assays for sensitive and specific detection of disease biomarkers has received significant interest for early detection and prevention of various diseases. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are two examples of proteins and nucleic acid detection assays respectively, which have been widely used for the sensitive detection of target analytes in biological fluids. Recently, immuno-PCR has emerged as a sensitive detection method, where high specificity of sandwich ELISA assays is combined with high sensitivity of PCR for trace detection of biomarkers. However, inherent disadvantages of immuno-PCR assays limit their application as rapid and sensitive detection method in clinical settings. With advances in nanomaterials, nanoparticles-based immunoassays have been widely used to improve the sensitivity and simplicity of traditional immunoassays. Owing to facile synthesis, surface functionalization, and superior optical and electronic properties, gold nanoparticles have been at the forefront of sensing and detection technologies and have been extensively studied to improve the efficacies of immunoassays. This review provides a brief history of immuno-PCR assays and specifically focuses on the role of gold nanoparticles to improve the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA, PCR and immuno-PCR assays. Image 1 • History of PCR and immunoassays. • Role of nanoparticles in PCR and immunoassays. • Gold nanoparticles assisted Immuno-PCR assays. • Enhanced sensitivity, specificity and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]