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Cucurbits are economic crops in Nigeria which serve as additional nutritional supplements and also good sources of income for farmers. Viral diseases are a worldwide problem of cucurbits and a major limiting factor for cucurbit production. A survey of farmer’s fields where cucurbit crops were grown was carried out to assess the incidence and severity of virus symptoms and viruses associated with the crops and weeds in selected locations in Ogun and Osun, in southwest Nigeria, in June, 2012. In all, 38 leaf samples were collected in Ogun state and 52 in Osun state from cucurbit crops and weeds. Leaf samples were tested against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV), Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV),Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) using Double Antibody Sandwich (DAS) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the fields surveyed had virus symptom incidences of 100% except for melon fields in Osun state with incidences of between 10 and 30%. In Ogun state, the occurrence of CMV was 5/31 (16.1%) while MNSV was detected in Lagenaria siceraria and T. occidentalis and it occurred in 6.5% of the leaf samples. In Osun state, CMV was detected in watermelon, melon and weeds found in all locations surveyed. The occurrence of CMV was 9/38 (23.7%) in the cucurbit crops and in 78.6% (11/14) of the weeds. PRSV and WMV also occurred in mixed infection with CMV in 7.1% respectively. CMV was the most widespread and prevalent virus infecting cucurbit crops and weeds.Cucurbits are economic crops in Nigeria which serve as additional nutritional supplements and also good sources of income for farmers. Viral diseases are a worldwide problem of cucurbits and a major limiting factor for cucurbit production. A survey of farmer’s fields where cucurbit crops were grown was carried out to assess the incidence and severity of virus symptoms and viruses associated with the crops and weeds in selected locations in Ogun and Osun, in southwest Nigeria, in June, 2012. In all, 38 leaf samples were collected in Ogun state and 52 in Osun state from cucurbit crops and weeds. Leaf samples were tested against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV), Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) using Double Antibody Sandwich (DAS) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the fields surveyed had virus symptom incidences of 100% except for melon fields in Osun state with incidences of between 10 and 30%. In Ogun state, the occurrence of CMV was 5/31 (16.1%) while MNSV was detected in Lagenaria siceraria and T. occidentalis and it occurred in 6.5% of the leaf samples. In Osun state, CMV was detected in watermelon, melon and weeds found in all locations surveyed. The occurrence of CMV was 9/38 (23.7%) in the cucurbit crops and in 78.6% (11/14) of the weeds. PRSV and WMV also occurred in mixed infection with CMV in 7.1% respectively. CMV was the most widespread and prevalent virus infecting cucurbit crops and weeds.

This paper presents a parametric study on fire-tube steam boilers’ heat exchanging unit using Entropy Generation Minimization (EGM) technique. Mathematical equation that models entropy generation rate (Ṡgen), and entropy generation number (Ns), were formulated. The entropy generation number was related to the geometric features of the system. Solving the equations showed the effects of each geometric feature on both pressure drop and Ns. Correlation equation relating dimensionless fire-tube length to dimensionless tube diameter was also obtained. The obtained correlation equation is a tool to be incorporated into fire-tube steam boiler design, so as to account for entropy generation during design.

Lily (Lilium asiatica) is an important plant grown for its range of flower colors and heavy scent. In March 2024, potyvirus-like symptoms consisting of light-yellow mottling and mosaic were noticed on 12/20 lily plants in a private property in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. Two symptomatic plants (WTX1 and WTX2) were sampled randomly for virus diagnosis. The leaf extracts of both samples were negative for the potyvirus group using Agdia's Poty ImmunoStrip® (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN, USA). However, rub-inoculation of the extracts onto healthy Nicotiana benthamiana and Vigna unguiculata plants (n=4, each) induced mild mottle symptoms on the systemic leaves of both herbaceous test plants 20 to 28 days post inoculation, indicating the presence of a mechanically transmissible agent in the samples. No virus-like symptoms were observed on the mock-inoculated plants (n=1, each) of both species. To test for suspected potyvirus infection, 2-µg of total nucleic acid extracts (Dellaporta et al. 1983) from WTX1 and WTX2 were used for complimentary DNA (cDNA) synthesis with Oligo(dT) primer and the PrimeScript 1st strand cDNA synthesis kit (Takara Bio, USA). One microliter aliquot of each cDNA served as template in 12.5-µl conventional PCR reaction volumes with 5 U Taq polymerase (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN), and two pairs of degenerate primers targeting the partial cylindrical inclusion (CI) gene and the helper component protease (HC-Pro) of potyviruses (Ha et al. 2008). The expected ~700-bp DNA product of each gene target was amplified from both samples. The amplicons were excised, gel eluted (Zymoclean™ Gel DNA Recovery kit) and cloned individually into the pJET1.2/Blunt vector (Life Technologies). Recombinant plasmids from two transformed Escherichia coli cells per cloned DNA insert were Sanger sequenced. BLASTn analysis of each gene-specific nucleotide (nt) sequence fragment revealed their identities (83 to 92 % nt) as lily mottle virus (LMoV; genus Potyvirus) at 93 to 98% query coverage. In pairwise comparison, the obtained sequences of LMoV isolates from TX specific to the CI (GenBank accession nos. PQ037260-61) and the HC-Pro (PQ037262-63) shared ~99% nt and 100% amino acid (aa) identities with each other and ~91-92% nt and 98-100% aa identities with the closest isolate, Bate5 (JN127341) from Australia. Based on these results, a pair of LMoV-specific primers (LM_v109-F: 5'-GGCCAGTAATGTGCACAAGC-3' and LM_c527-R: 5'-TCGCTGTAGCTAGCGACGTAC-3') was newly designed to target the partial CI gene, internal to the 700-bp fragment obtained above with the generic primers. The primer pair was used to screen each of the mechanically inoculated test plants by RT-PCR as previously described above. The expected 438-bp fragment of the LMoV CI gene was amplified from all the inoculated plants of both N. benthamiana and V. unguiculata; the results were confirmed by Sanger sequencing as described above. The mock-inoculated plant of each experimental host plant tested negative for LMoV. LMoV is a quarantine pest and was previously reported in the U.S. (Brierley and Smith, 1944) and other lily-producing parts of the world, such as the Netherlands, China, Korea, and Brazil. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed report of the virus in Texas, thus expanding its geographical range. Testing of lily foundation stocks before propagation is essential to prevent further spread of LMoV via planting material.

Crinum sp. (family Amaryllidaceae ) is an ornamental flower bulb that is commonly called crinum lily, cape lily, cemetery plant, spider lily, and swamp lily. In April 2023, two plants of Crinum sp. var. Maiden's Blush with yellow stripe symptoms (Fig. S1) were submitted to the Texas Plant Virus Diagnostic Laboratory, Weslaco, TX for virus diagnosis. Due to the resemblance of the observed symptoms to those described for potyviruses infecting ornamental flower bulbs (Pearson et al. 2009), total RNA extracts were made from each sample using the SpectrumTM Plant Total RNA Kit (Sigma-Aldrich, USA), according to the manufacturer's protocol. Complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized from 2 µg total RNA per sample with Oligo(dT) primers using the PrimeScript™ 1st strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Takara Bio, USA) as recommended by the manufacturer. A 2µL aliquot of each cDNA template was initially subjected to PCR using the generic primer pair CIFor/CIRev (Ha et al., 2008) that targets a fragment of the cylindrical inclusion (CI) body of potyviruses. The expected ~700 bp DNA band was amplified from both samples using the Taq DNA polymerase, dNTPack kit (Sigma-Aldrich). The amplicons were cloned and sequenced (three recombinant clones per sample) as described by Hernandez et al. (2021) and the BLASTX analyses of the consensus sequence (GenBank acc. no. OR137018) returned significant hits only to nerine yellow stripe virus (NeYSV; Potyvirus , Potyviridae ) at 100% query coverage. To further confirm the results, another pair of universal primers (Jordan et al. 2011) was used to amplify the expected ∼1,600 bp product specific to the partial nuclear inclusion body (NIb), coat protein (CP) cistron, and 3' untranslated region of potyviruses from the same samples. The amplicons were similarly cloned, and a consensus sequence obtained (OR137019). In pairwise comparisons, the partial CI sequence of NeYSV from Texas (NeYSV-TX; OR137018) shared 83% nucleotide (nt)/93% amino acids (aa) identities with the corresponding sequences of NeYSV isolate 63 (MT396083) from the United Kingdom. The partial (649 nt) NIb sequences of NeYSV-TX (OR137019) and the complete CP (OR137019) of NeYSV-TX shared 77-94%/88-94% and 83-99%/89-98% nt/aa identities with the corresponding sequences of global NeYSV isolates that were retrieved from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a closer relationship between NeYSV-TX and the isolates Stenomesson (EU042758) and DC (MG012805) from the Netherlands and USA, respectively based on the partial NIb and CP cistrons (Fig. S2), suggesting that NeYSV-TX may have been introduced from foreign and/or domestic sources. NeYSV has been documented previously from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and India; its first report from the United States was a decade ago from Amaryllis belladonna in California (Guaragna et al. 2013). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of NeYSV in Texas, thus expanding the geographical range of the virus in the USA. Anecdotal information from the sample submitter implicated infected crinum lily bulbs as the likely source of NeYSV introduction into the property, with subsequent vegetative propagation of plants resulting in 100% incidence of symptomatic lilies (n>100) over time. Thus, the results underscore the importance of ensuring that only virus-free vegetative plant materials are distributed and propagated by florists to curtail virus spread.