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Desert wadis serve as essential ecosystems for socioeconomic development because of their biological value, physiographic heterogeneity, and environmental gradients. The study aims to evaluate Wadi Murr, the largest wadi ecosystem in Makkah, as a plant diversity hotspot regarding floristic diversity and vegetation along the prevailing environmental gradients. Data were collected from 102 stands across 17 sampling sites, representing the vegetation physiognomy along the wadi. About 118 species related to 81 genera and 35 families have been recognized, the Poaceae family notably prevailing in dominance. Therophytes prevailed among other life forms, and biregional taxa exhibited dominance among other chorotypes. The Two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) revealed 13 distinct vegetation groups (VGs) segregation along the two Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DECORANA) axes. Seven VGs (D, F, H, I, K, L, M) were dominated by halophytic species of family Zygophyllaceae, while VG (A) was dominated by the rocky community Capparis decidua, and VG (B and G) was dominated by the tree's communities Vachellia seyal and Senna italica. Besides, VG (E) is dominated by a grass community (Aristida pennei), and VG (J) is dominated by the medicinal herb Citrullus colocynthis. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ordination explained that Cl-, SO4 2-, pH, EC, fine sand, silt, and gravel significantly influenced the plant communities. Furthermore, certain plant communities, such as Capparis decidua and Senna italica exhibited positive responses to the following soil variables: Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+. In contrast, others, such as Tribulus pentandrus were negatively affected by gravels, coarse sand, and fine sand. The species richness ranged from 1.3 species stand-1 in Capparis decidua-Cenchrus divisus group (VG A) to 13.1 species stand-1 in Senna italica-Stipagrostis hirtigluma (VG: G). The limited species diversity observed in certain plant communities implies the eradication of the original vegetation, emphasizing the pressing need for habitat rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, studying the macrophytes distribution climatic change reducing effect through land surface temperature is vital. 17 locations with 102 stands were randomly chosen to illustrate the vegetation physiognomy in Wadi Al-Sharaea, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia. A total of 110 species from 77 genera and 33 families were detected during the field study, with the Poaceae family predominant. Therophytes were the dominant life form (38.2% of the total species), followed by chamaephytes (30.0%), and bioregional elements were the dominant chorotype. Remote sensing data were acquired to evaluate land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 2002 and 2018. The study assesses the relationship between organic matter, plant diversity species, vegetation cover, and LST. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, and the obtained data showed that PCA1 and PCA2 represent about 25.29% and 16.34%, respectively. Cluster analysis was used to identify the commonality of the groups among the data from points clustered into four significant clusters. On the other hand, LST correlated with the distribution of some families, such as Caryophyllaceae, Boraginaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Molluginaceae. The families that correlated to LST show the tolerance of these families to high temperatures. Results showed that Limeaceae, Poaceae, and Zygophyllaceae families grow in soil with high organic matter. These findings indicated fundamental advances in understanding the temperature response of organic matter and plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study focused on the optical behavior, methylene blue (MB) dye degradation potential, antibacterial performance, and silver and trioxide mineral interaction with different bacterial species. We found that the addition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to neodymium oxide (Nd2O3) resulted in a significant response, with an enlargement of the inhibition zone for bacterial species such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Specifically, the inhibition zone for S. aureus increased from 9.3 ± 0.5 mm for pure Nd2O3 to 16.7 ± 0.4 mm for the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite, while for E. coli, it increased from 8.8 ± 0.4 mm for Nd2O3 to 15.9 ± 0.3 mm for Ag/Nd2O3. Furthermore, the optical behavior of the composites showed a clear band-gap narrowing with the addition of Ag NPs, resulting in enhanced electronic localization. The direct and indirect transitions reduced from 6.7 to 6.1 eV and from 5.2 to 2.9 eV, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite has potential applications in sensor industries and water treatment, thanks to its enhanced optical behavior, antibacterial performance, and efficient MB degradation capabilities. In terms of MB degradation, the Ag/Nd2O3 mixed system exhibited more efficient degradation compared to pure Nd2O3. After 150 min, the MB concentration in the mixed system decreased to almost half of its starting point, while pure Nd2O3 only reached 33%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HAP), vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), and graphene oxide (GO) are three biocompatible materials. The antibacterial is the main characteristics of the produced TNC. Furthermore, the structural investigation was done by x-ray diffraction patterns (XRD). The investigation showed inhibition in the growth of V2O5 and in contrast with HAP, where high growth was noticed. According to XRD data, the crystallite size of HAP was grown from 6 to 8.2 nm starting with the HAP composition to TNC. The nanorod shapes of HAP reached an average of 141 and 30 nm for length and diameter. In addition, the roughness average parameter (Ra) reached 47.5 nm. The microhardness has been evaluated. It started from 3.3 ± 0.2 GPa for pure HAP and decreased to 2.9 ± 0.3 GPa for the dual composite of HAP/V2O5, and improved to 4.1 ± 0.2 GPa for the ternary combination of HAP/V2O5/GO. The biological response was represented in the cell viability measurements which increased from 96.5 ± 4 to 99.7 ± 5% at the final NC (TNC). In addition, the measurements were done toward the human osteoblast cell line in vitro. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity was measured against negative gram and positive gram strains. The inhibition zone reached 17.1 ± 1.5 and 16.3 ± 1.4 mm against E. coli and S. aureus. The results refer to the ability to be suggested TNC for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nanocomposite hydroxyapatite (HAP)/Er2O3/graphene oxide (GO) is synthesized to be suggested for bone replacement applications. HAP/Er2O3/GO is analyzed with XRD, FTIR, and XPS scan to prove the uniform distribution of HAP and Er2O3 within the GO sheet. TEM graphs illustrate the morphological alteration that occurred upon combining HAP and Er2O3 with GO sheets. The ternary composite shows an average diameter of 8-16 nm and length of 20–40 nm for HAP and a diameter of 4 nm for Er2O3. The SEM graphs showed the uniform distribution of HAP and Er2O3 particles over the GO sheets with a diameter of 0.3 μm for HAP and 0.4 μm for Er2O3. In addition, the roughness average (Ra) of the triple nanocomposite is 9.85 ± 0.40 nm. Further, HAP/Er2O3/GO cell viability is 96.9 ± 1%. Furthermore, its antibacterial activity shows a maximum value of 14.9 ± 1.9 mm against E. coli and 14.4 ± 1.4 mm against S. aureus. Moreover, HAP/Er2O3/GO obtained the maximum value in the hardness study of 5.3 ± 0.4 GPa. Therefore, HAP/Er2O3/GO shows a noticeable enhancement in surface roughness and hardness parameters as well as exhibiting antibacterial properties. Besides, the improvement in cell viability consequently enhances biocompatibility and bioactivity. Hence, HAP/Er2O3/GO composition is a promising bone implant material for bone replacement applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-sized materials such as bismuth oxide nanoparticles (Bi2O3NPs) have been extensively used in optical, chemical, electronic, and engineering area In this work poly ethylene oxide /Carboxymethyl Cellulose (PEO/CMC: 50/50%) nanocomposite films were prepare via dispersing Bi2O3 NPs inside via One-Pot Pulsed Laser Ablation route (OPPLA). The physical characterization of the fabricated samples were analysis. XRD confirm the semicrystalline shape of nanocomposites samples. The estimated Bi2O3NPs size as evaluated via XRD was 16 ± 6 nm. The FTIR spectra showed the decreased of the peak intensity with increasing bismuth oxide nanoparticles denotes the intermolecular interactions between Bi2O3NPs and PEO/CMC composite. Optical energy gap (Eg) of PEO/CMC–Bi2O3NPs nanocomposites showed decrease as Bi2O3NPs wt. % increases. TGA analysis of filled sample showed refinement in their thermal stability in air compared to the pure samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]