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Key Clinical Message Blunt chest trauma caused ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction. Diagnosis of intramural hematoma (IMH) using computed tomography was confirmed using electrocardiography, cardiac marker tests, and subsequent coronary angiography. After conservative treatment, the hematoma was completely resolved 1 year later. Differentiating IMH from other arterial injuries is critical for appropriate management.

Geckos and their products have been used in Asian traditional medicine. Medicinal properties of desert-dwelling Gecko species, Crossobamon orientalis remain unexplored. In this study, natural bioactive macromolecules present in oil extracted from C. orientalis (COO) and their biological activities were evaluated. Chemical constitution of COO was explored by using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Antioxidant, antiviral, and antibacterial activities of COO extracts were assessed using various assays, including DPPH free-radical-protocol, HET-CAM method, in ovo-antiviral technique, and disc-diffusion method. GC-MS study reported 40 different compounds in COO. n-hexane and methanol extracts of COO demonstrated highest DPPH radical inhibition, with values of 70 and 63.3%, respectively. Extracts of COO in solvents, namely 1-butanol, methanol, diethyl ether, and n-hexane significantly inhibited the proliferation of four pathogenic viruses. Maximum zone of inhibition was observed for Escherichia coli (13.65 ± 0.57 mm). These findings suggest that COO possesses potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties against viral and bacterial strains, thanks to its biologically active components having no side effects. Further studies are essential to isolate and identify individual bioactive compounds present in COO and to investigate their potential as therapeutic agents.

Root-knot nematodes pose a severe threat to worldwide agricultural development. Due to the high toxicity of chemical nematicides, eco-friendly control strategies against root-knot nematodes need to be established. A pot and in vitro experiment were performed to estimate nematicidal potential of Pochonia chlamydosporia. P. chlamydosporia was used alone or in combination with two botanicals for controlling Meloidogyne incognita in chickpea. The laboratory assessment was performed with four prepared concentrations (S, S/2, S/10, S/25) of fungal inoculum of P. chlamydosporia against egg hatching and second-stage juvenile's mortality of M. incognita. All four concentrations reduced egg hatching and increased mortality of J2s. In pot experiment, P. chlamydosporia was used with chopped leaves of two botanicals viz., Ageratum conyzoides and Eichhornia crassipes against M. incognita in chickpea. All the treatments found significantly suppressed root infestation caused by M. incognita and improved growth and physiological attributes of chickpea. The combined application of P. chlamydosporia + A. conyzoides was found highly effective, and E. crassipes alone was least. Therefore, using P. chlamydosporia with botanicals is a promising sustainable strategy in agriculture against M. incognita infected chickpea.

This study was planned to investigate the efficacy of various concentrations of Trichoderma virens against Meloidogyne incognita in vitro. The five concentrations viz., S, S/2, S/ 10, S/25, S/50 were prepared and planned for in vitro study to test the potential of T. virens against hatching and mortality of second-staged juveniles of M. incognita. It was observed a reduction in second-staged juveniles hatching within all tested aqueous concentrations of T. virens. The second-stage juvenile mortality was also recorded in the above-given concentrations of T. virens. The maximum decrease in second-stage juveniles hatching was found in standard aqueous fungal concentration (S). Moreover, in the same T. virens concentration (S), mortality of juveniles was also recorded as highest, and was followed by S/2, S/10, S/25 and S/50. Additionally, the application of T. virens as an individual, simultaneous, and sequential order with M. incognita was also investigated in pot-grown chickpea plants and found that its use was significantly effective in suppressing root-galling disease and improved the plants' growth and physiological attributes. According to the correlation coefficient analysis, the root-knot index correlated significantly with the per cent reduction of the plants' growth and physiological attributes.

This investigation explains the green synthesis, characterization and biocontrol potential of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) against second-stage juveniles (J2s) of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita infesting chickpea. Mono-disperse, spherical, pure CuONPs were synthesized from Jatropha curcas leaf with particle sizes ranging from 5 to 15 nm in diameter. Antagonistic activities of synthesized CuONPs were studied against Meloidogyne incognita. The highest mortality of J2s was found in the 200 ppm concentration of CuONPs at 24 h of exposure. The exact concentration also showed maximum inhibition of J2s hatching from egg masses after six days of exposure. It was worth noting that 25 ppm concentration was the least effective. The pot experiment showed that CuONPs significantly reduced the root infection caused by M. incognita and enhanced chickpea plants’ growth and physiological attributes (Chlorophyll and carotenoid content). The results depicted when the concentration of CuONPs was increased, J2s mortality rate was also increased. We highlighted the antinematode influence of green synthesized CuONPs. Thus, it will offer an excellent eco-friendly strategy to optimize yield under pathogens attack and provide prospects of green synthesized-based nanoparticles development for pests control. Plants mediated CuONPs will also help in resolving the current toxicity concerns and future challenges in the agriculture.

Introduction: There has been limited research conducted on the identifications/methodological approaches of using plant species as indicators of the presence of economically, important mineral resources. Objectives: This study set out to answer the following questions (1) Do specific plant species and species assemblages indicate the presence of mineral deposits? and (2) if yes, then what sort of ecological, experimental, and statistical procedures could be employed to identify such indicators? Methods: Keeping in mind these questions, the vegetation of subtropical mineral mines sites in northern Pakistan were evaluated using Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results: A total of 105 plant species belonging to 95 genera and 43 families were recorded from the three mining regions. CA and TWCA classified all the stations and plants into three major mining zones, corresponding to the presence of marble, coal, and chromite, based on Jaccard distance and Ward’s linkage methods. This comprehended the following indicator species: Ficus carica, Isodon rugosus and Ajuga parviflora (marble indicators); Olea ferruginea, Gymnosporia royleana and Dicliptera bupleuroides (coal indicators); and Acacia nilotica, Rhazya stricta and Aristida adscensionis (chromite indicators) based on calculated Indicator Values (IV). These indicators were reconfirmed by CCA and SEM analysis. Conclusion: It was concluded that ISA is one of the best techniques for the identification/selection of plant indicator species, followed by reconfirmation via CCA and SEM analysis. In addition to establishing a robust approach to identifying plant indicator species, our results could have application in mineral prospecting and detection.

The recent identification of the involvement of the immune system response in the severity and mortality of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection highlights the importance of cytokines and chemokines as important factors in the clinical outcomes of COVID-19. However, the impact and roles of the BAFF/APRIL cytokine system, homeostatic chemokines (CXCL12, CXCL13, CCL19, and CCL21), as well as Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3/4 in COVID-19, have not been investigated. We sought to assess the expression levels and roles of TLR3/4, BAFF, APRIL, IFN-β, homeostatic chemokines (CXCL12, CXCL13, CCL19, and CCL21), SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies in patients with critical (ICU) and non-ICU (mild) COVID-19 and their association with mortality and disease severity. Significant high levels of TLR-4 mRNA, IFN-β, APRIL, CXCL13, and IgM and IgG antibodies were observed in ICU patients with severe COVID-19 compared to non-ICU COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. On the other hand, BAFF and CCL21 expression were significantly upregulated in non-ICU patients with COVID-19 compared with that in critical COVID-19 patients. The two groups did not differ in TLR-3, CXCL12, and CCL19 levels. Our findings show high expression levels of some inflammatory chemokines in ICU patients with COVID-19. These findings highlight the potential utility of chemokine antagonists as an immune-based treatment for the severe form of COVID-19. We also believe that selective targeting of TLR/spike protein interactions might lead to the development of a new COVID-19 therapy.

This study investigates the inhibitory effects of thalli and their extracts of the macroalga Turbinaria ornata on the germination of dinoflagellate cysts, previously isolated from Red Sea surface sediments. The experiments were conducted on cysts of five harmful dinoflagellate species including Alexandrium catenella, Cochlodinium polykrikos, Dinophysis accuminata, Prorocentrum cordatum and Scrippsiella trochoidea. The results showed neither macroalgal thalli nor their extracts had direct impact on the cyst germination of all species. Instead, these macroalgal materials remarkably affected the germling viability and culturability of progeny cells of these cysts. Dry macroalgal thalli exhibited stronger inhibitory effects on germling viability and cell culturability (IC50= 0.235–0.543, 0.385–1.43 mg mL−1, respectively) than fresh thalli (IC50=2.201–4.716, 2.17–7.18 mg mL−1, respectively). The macroalgal ethanol extract was approximately 2-5 times more effective (IC50 = 0.012–0.047 and 0.024–0.089 mg mL−1, respectively) than aqueous extract (IC50 = 0.04–0.1 and 0.054–0.207 mg mL−1, respectively) against the germling viability and vegetative progeny cells of all cyst species. Among different species, A. catenella and C. polykrikos germlings were more sensitive to macroalgal thalli and their extracts than those of S. trochoidea, P. cordatum and D. acuminata. Meanwhile, progeny cells of A. catenella exhibited the highest sensitivity to all macroalgal materials. Our results suggest that the use of T. ornata may be a promising strategy for inhibiting the division of progeny cells of dinoflagellate cysts and impairing the recurrence of HABs in confined coastal areas.

The Bt-cotton RH-647 was developed by Cotton Research Institute CRI, Khanpur has been acknowledged for its possesses superior plant characteristics and potential to yield out under harsh agro-climatic conditions of cotton productive district of Rahimyar Khan in Bahawalpur Division and southern Punjab in 2016. RH- 647 for its novel plant structure and improved fiber quality heat and drought tolerant to withstand successfully sustain yield out in harsh, highly variable hot and dry climatic conditions of and harsh seasoned. RH-647 was developed through one-way hybridization of elite parental genotypes accompanied by pedigree selection method through gene pyramiding technique for incorporation of excellent combinations of fiber traits and CLCuV disease tolerance with higher yield potential right from F1 population. The superior plant combinations were selected in F2-F6 generations were entirely based on phenotypic plant traits and progeny yield potential in field, plant shape, number of bolls per plant, average boll weight (g) and fiber quality traits over standard varieties. The single plant progenies were selected 56 sister lines were tested for Bt-gene (Cry1 Ac) were evaluated for high yielding performance for this superior cross and finally RH-647 as superior breeding line was bulked in year 2010. The strain was evaluated in Randomized Complete Block Design in preliminary yield trials (PYT) and two years in Advance Yield Trials (AYT) trials and Zonal Varietal trials for two years. The superior line 647/10 was ensued for performance in variety attestation tests as RH-647. RH-647 performed best in two years varietal trials (NCVT and PCCT and DUS) conducted for two successive growing seasons (2014–2015 and 2015–2016). RH-647 yielded out significantly compared with standard varieties MNH-886, FH-142 and CIM 602. After completion of mandatory trials in year 2016, RH-647 was approved as new Bt. cotton variety “RH-647”. RH-647 is early in maturity with high yield potential and best suited for wheat-cotton cropping pattern. It has fluffy opening and is easy to pick, strongly tolerant to CLCuV disease, high Ginning out turn GOT% (40.2%) with improved fiber traits; staple length (28.3 mm), fiber strength (4.2ug/inch) is duly capable to fulfill all industrial requisitions.

The experiment was conducted at Cotton Research Station, Multan to study the impact of weather factors and Hemipterous bug on development of cotton boll disease in cotton variety bt- 886 for three consecutive years i.e., 2012, 2013 and 2014. The results revealed that the population of Red Cotton Bug (RCB) per plant remain 0.50 and 0.34 during years 2012 and 2013, respectively but increased during 2014 i.e., 3.21 per plant. The number of unopened bolls (UOB) were more during 2012 i.e., 13.43% with yellowish lint (YL) 76.30% and whitish lint (WL) 23.70% at average maximum temperature of 34.73◦C, minimum temperature of 22.83◦C, RH of 77.43% and 11.08 mm rainfall. Similarly during 2013, the number of unopened bolls were less i.e., 0.34 per plant with YL 1.48 and WL 99.53 per plant when average maximum temperature 34.60◦C, minimum temperature 23.37◦C, RH 73.01% and 9.95 mm rainfall. During 2014, RCB population per plant was 3.22 with no UOB and YL was 0.00% and WL was 100% when average maximum temperature 23.70◦C, minimum temperature 23.18◦C, RH 71.67% and 4.55 mm rainfall. So our results concluded that the cotton bolls rot disease was more during 2012 due to abrupt changes in environmental factors. The RCB may be the carrier of boll rot disease pathogen during more rainfall.

Heavy metals (HMs) toxicity is serious abiotic stress that is significantly reducing crop productivity and posing a serious threat to human health, soil and environmental quality. Therefore, it is urgently needed to find appropriate measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of HMs on soil, plants, humans and the environment. Biochar (BC) has emerged as an excellent soil amendment to minimize the adverse impacts of HMs and to improve soil fertility and environmental quality. Biochar application decreases HMs uptake and their translocation to plant parts by forming complexes and precipitation. Biochar also has improved soil pH, soil fertility and soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and it also increases adsorption of HMs thus reduces their mobility and subsequent availability to plants. BC application also maintains membrane stability and improves uptake of nutrients, osmolytes accumulation, antioxidant activities, and gene expression, therefore, improves the plant performance under HMs stress. Biochar application also improves the photosynthetic performance by increasing the synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, stomata conductance and increasing the water uptake by plants. Besides this, BC also scavenges ROS by increasing the antioxidant activities, gene expression, and accumulation of proline in HMs contaminated soils. This review highlights the role of BC to mitigate the HMs toxicity in plants. We have discussed the role of BC in the modification of soil properties to induce tolerance against HMs toxicity. Moreover, we have discussed various mechanisms mediated by BC at the plant level to induce tolerance against HMs. Additionally, we also identified research gaps that must be fulfilled in future research studies.

In Pakistan, oilseed cultivations belonging to Brassica genus (Rapeseed, Mustard and Canola) are the most essential crops with respect to eatable oil production. In Indo-Pak, such cultivations have considered as chief oil origins over centuries. This trail was executed at the Ghazi University, D. G. Khan, and Air-Port Campus farming area. The outcomes revealed that insecticidal based treatments significantly reduced the aphid population by the application Bifenthrin and Acetamaprid. In case of botanical extracts, Allium cepa and Moringa oleifera induced mortality of aphid. Moreover, insecticide based treatments reduced percent predator population increasingly than botanical extracts.

Virus is the most menacing factor for plant, which causes enormous economic losses in agriculture worldwide. Tobacco mosaic virus is most hazardous virus among the plants that can spread through biological and non-biological sources. TMV is ancient virus that causes huge economic losses to pepper cucumber ornamental crops and tobacco. It can be controlled by reducing the population of vector through pesticide application. However, the rapid usage of synthetic chemicals causes environmental pollution and destroys our ecosystem. Consequently, different approaches just like natural derivatives should be adopted for the environmental friendly management for TMV. This in vitro study demonstrated the potential role of natural metabolites such as poultry manure and plant extracts such as salicylic acid and citric acid for the control of TMV. Two different concentrations of poultry manure 60G and 30G were used. Poultry manure was mixed with the soil at the time of sowing. Disease severity was minimum at maximum concentration as compared to the control. Meanwhile, two different concentrations of salicylic acid and citric acid 60% and 90% were applied by foliar sprayer after three-leaf stages. Disease severity was observed after 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 days after disease inoculation. Here also maximum concentration showed the minimum disease severity and higher concentration of both animal and plants extracts were used for following experiment. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) results demonstrated that different plant defense-related genes such as PR1a, PAL, PR5, NPR1, PRIb, and PDF1.2 were up-regulated. Furthermore, applications of each treatment-induced systemic resistance against a wide range of pathogen including TMV and fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea.

Environmental contamination caused by various pollutants due to automobile emissions is an alarming issue. One important type of the pollutants are heavy metals, including chromium (Cr) added by the exhaust of toxic smoke of vehicles. These pollutants are added to forage crops cultivated near roadsides, soil and irrigation water. However, rare studies have been conducted to infer Cr accumulation near heavy automobile emission areas. This study was conducted to determine Cr concentration in irrigation water, soil and forage. Water, forage and soil samples were collected from area impacted by heavy traffic. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to appraise Cr values in the collected samples. Chromium values ranged from 0.50 to 1.14 mg/kg in water samples and from 0.04 to 2.23 mg/kg in soil samples. It was highest in Zea mays grown soil, whereas minimum in Brassica campestris soil. The Cr values in forages ranged from 0.09 to 1.06 mg/kg. Z. mays observed the highest Cr accumulation, whereas the lowest Cr accrual was noted for B. campestris. The pollution load index (PLI) was the highest for Trifolium alexandrinum, while the lowest for Z. mays. Bio-concentration factor (BCF) ranged from 0.14 to 8.63. The highest BCF was noted for T. alexandrinum, while the lowest for Z. mays. The highest and the lowest daily intake of metal (DIM) was noted for Z. mays at different sites. Health risk index (HRI) was highest for Z. mays and lowest for B. campestris. The results add valuable information on heavy metal accumulation in water, soil and forage samples near to automobile emission area.

Salinity stress (SS) is a major and increasing abiotic stress adversely affecting plant growth and productivity across the globe. The application of organic amendments (OA) is considered to be an important practice to mitigate the adverse impacts of SS. Therefore, this study was performed to assess the impact of different OA on growth, physiology and anti-oxidant activities of maize plants grown under SS. The study was comprised of diverse SS levels; 0, 6 and 12 dS m-1, and different OA; control, cow manure (CM: 5%), sugarcane pressmud (SPM: 5%) and combination of CM (2.5%) + SPM (2.5%). The study was conducted in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement having three replications. The results indicated that SS reduced the growth and biomass production, relative water contents (RWC), chlorophyll contents, free amino acids (FAA), total soluble proteins (TSP) and increased the electrolyte leakage (EL: 40.92%), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2: 68.49%), malondialdehyde (MDA: 42.13%), and catalase (CAT: 34.24%) and ascorbate peroxide (APX: 25.70%). The application of OA significantly improved the maize growth under SS. However, the application of SPM (5%) significantly increased growth and biomass production by decreasing EL, MDA and H2O2 accumulation and increasing RWC, chlorophyll, CAT, POD, and anthocyanin, TSP and FAA. These findings suggest that application of SPM improved the growth and biomass production of maize by improving anti-oxidant activities, photosynthetic pigments, TSP, FAA reducing lipid peroxidation and EL.

The Geminiviridae family has become the largest family of plant viruses, with >300 species and nine genera. This classification is based on genome organization, host range and insect-vectors. The capsid structure of geminiviruses is unique and constructed from twinned icosahedral with 110 duplicates of coat protein. The function of coat protein in geminiviruses is multidirectional which helps to cause the infection in wide range of host plants. The begomoviruses is one of the leading genera having ∼320 species of family geminiviridae. This review comprehensively describes viral pathogenesis, gene function, host-virus-vector interactions of geminiviruses and their increasing diversity. Several species of begomoviruses and their associated satellites are responsible to cause huge losses. Cotton leaf curl Multan virus (CLCuMuV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCnV) are leading plant viruses to infect many alternate hosts. Modern mechanisms have been identified to disclose the hidden aspects of plant genomics. From these mechanisms, genome editing by “clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats” (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated nuclease 9 (Cas9) CRISPR/Cas9 has unfastened the fresh vistas for crop improvement and functional genomics. This review will be helpful for microbiologists and pathologists to understand the complex molecular biology of geminiviruses.

Cotton is a cash crop and its raw material is extremely important for use in textile industry. Pakistan comes in top exporter of cotton. Cotton crop is under different stresses during its production out of which pest pressure is most important to deal with. Rural Education & Economic Development Society (REEDS) Pakistan is working for production of better of cotton along with promotion of less pesticide use thus mitigating the environmental pollution. REEDS has established field study for use of neem extract as botanical spray against sucking pests and diseases. This experiment was done on farmer fields of Vehari and Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab and Dadu, Sindh. Botanical spray was used against sucking pests to delay the application of first pesticide for maximum number days. Which would ultimately reduce the number of pesticides applied along with less residual effects on humans and environment. The pest scouting data of trial plot clearly show the decrease in pest population after application of neem extract up to 79 days after sowing in comparison to control plot. Similarly, number of total pesticides used in trail plots were less in comparison to control plots.

ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection affects the stimulatory levels of cellular-mediated immunity, which plays an essential role in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection. In fact, several studies have shown the association of lymphopenia with severe COVID-19 in patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the response of the immune system, including cell-mediated immunity and antibody production, during different stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Peripheral blood and serum samples were collected from patients with moderate infection, patients under medication (hospitalized), patients who had recovered, and healthy individuals (n = 80). Flow cytometry analysis was performed on peripheral blood samples to determine the cellular immunity profile of each patient. The data showed a significant reduction in the levels of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells and CD45+ cells in the moderate and under-medication groups, suggesting lymphopenia in those patients. Also, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted on the serum samples to measure the levels of antibodies, including IgM and IgG, in each patient. The results revealed a significant increase in the levels of IgM in the moderate infection and under-medication patients, thus indicating the production of IgM during the first week of infection. Furthermore, changes in the levels of IgG were significantly detected among recovered patients, indicating therefore a remarkable increase during the recovery stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection and thus a strong humoral-mediated immunity. In summary, the results of this study may help us to understand the main role of the cellular immune responses, including CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells, against SARS-CoV-2 infection. This understanding might support the development of SARS-CoV-2 treatments and vaccines in the near future. IMPORTANCE Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2019 in China. This virus is a serious threat to people not only in China but also worldwide, where it has been detected in over 222 countries. It has been reported that ∼3.4% of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients have died. The significance of our study relies on the fact that an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry were used to measure the levels of antibodies and cellular immune response, respectively, from clinical samples of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Citrus bent leaf viroid (CBLVd) is an emerging and widely distributed viroid along with its variants in citrus growing areas of world. Activation of defense mechanism is associated with different enzymes and inhibitors, accumulated in the infected host. Limited studies were found on biochemical characterization of citrus viroids. Therefore, study was focused on the biochemical activities such as determination of chlorophyll contents, total soluble phenolics (TSP), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in three citrus cultivars kinnow (C. reticulate), feutrell’s early (C. reticulate) and mosambi (C. sinensis) infected with CBLVd from Sargodha, Pakistan. The results showed that chlorophyll contents were significantly lower in the diseased leaves samples of all the citrus cultivars as compared to healthy ones. Whereas, TSP was found in higher concentration in the CBLVd infected samples of citrus cultivars. Similarly, activities of PPO and PAL was increased significantly in leaves of citrus cultivars infected with CBLVd as compared to healthy. These findings were in confirmation that chlorophyll contents, enzymes and inhibitors were associated to response of plants towards pathogen infection. To the best of our knowledge, these biochemical alterations in host plants against CBLVd were studied for the first time not only in the Asian region but also in Pakistan. The results will lead to investigate the biochemical alterations in other citrus viroids infection.

The tomatoes grown under greenhouse conditions require supplemental bee pollination for the better fruit set. The present study was conducted to evaluate the optimized role of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) for tomato pollination under greenhouse conditions. The impact of increasing number of floral visits (i.e. 1 to 5) on physical and biochemical properties of tomato was studied on tomato variety ‘Grande’ grown on an area of 500 m2. The self-pollination and hand vibration treatments were maintained for the comparison. The foraging behavior in terms of colony traffic, stay time and visitation rate was also studied. The maximum average outgoing bumblebees (7.38 individuals) were recorded at 10:00 while the maximum average incoming (6.75) were recorded at 2:00 pm. The three visits of bumblebees on a single flower resulted in the maximum improvement in physical (higher fruit length, fruit weight, fruit weight, number of seeds per fruit, weight of 100 seeds) and biochemical properties (vitamin C, shelf life) as compared to hand vibration and self-pollination treatments. There was no improvement in physical and biochemical properties in fourth or fifth visit. Bumble bee pollinated fruits had low TSS, pH and postharvest weight loss than that of self-pollinated and hand vibrated treatments. Therefore, three visits of bumblebees per flower are enough to get the optimum production of tomato under greenhouse conditions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the awareness and perception of malaria and dengue fever in Multan Punjab, Pakistan while taking into account the important role of government policies and other variables. The goal of this study is to examine the awareness of students in Multan, Pakistan on malaria and dengue. This study is based on a quantitative approach of secondary evidence from scientific journals and questionnaire surveys. It is also based on observational evidence gathered in Multan Punjab Pakistan, in a field study. The survey with school children, teachers and healthcare professionals were both formal and semi-structuralize. Studies have found that malaria and dengue mainly affect children's schooling through their absence, but can also induce brain loss and cognitive disability. In questionnaires, students were seen to have different understanding of the illness, but also to be able to serve as agents of health reform only through teachers. A sample size of 500 respondents has been selected from different colleges of district Multan Punjab, Pakistan. Correlation technique is used for the data analysis. According to our results it is concluded that the students at college level are aware of malaria and dengue diseases, but they are not capable of engaging and serving as agents for health reform. On the basis of results it is recommended that students must teach about epidemics diseases regarding how to handle these diseases.

The current study was directed to investigate the effect of temperature and humidity on insect pest complex of cotton. This study was carried out on the farmer field of a farmer of MouzaMehraywala tehsil and district Rajanpur southern part of the Punjab, Pakistan (29.1044° N, 70.3301° E) in the month of May, 2019 to November 2019. The climatic conditions of the study site were; a Rajanpur lie on 96m above sea level Rajanpur has a desert climate. During the year, there is virtually no rainfall. The average temperature in Rajanpur is 26.0°C | 78.8°F. Precipitation here is about 205 mm / 8.1 inch per year. Our results indicate that's the correlation of temperature (minimum and maximum), humidity (minimum and maximum), rainfall and weather condition (clear or cloud), it is clear that except temperature there is a positive correlation of jassid population. While among the relation of jassid with different factor there is very weak relation with jassid population regarding temperature (-0.001), the relation of humidity, rainfall and sky condition with jassid population is positive and moderate (0.520, 0.668 & 0.575 respectively), while the relation of jassid population among these factor is significant except temperature. The results indicate that's the correlation of temperature, humidity, rainfall and weather condition, it is clear that there is positive correlation of thrips population. While among the relation of thrips with different factor there is very weak relation of thrips population with temperature (.103), the relation of humidity, rainfall and sky condition with thrips population is positive and moderate (.515.751& .577 respectively), while the relation thrips population among these factor is significant except temperature. The results indicate that's correlation of temperature, humidity, rainfall and weather condition, it is clear that there is positive correlation of Whitefly population. While among the relation of Whitefly with different factors there is very moderate relation of Whitefly population with temperature (.076), the relation of humidity, rainfall and sky condition with Whitefly population is negative and moderate (-.051.-.368 & -.559 respectively), while the relation Whitefly population among these factor is significant except temperature.

Weeds are important components of the agroecosystems due to their role as primary producers within the farming systems, yet they are considered as major constraints to crop production. A phytosociological study was conducted to assess the composition and spatial distribution of existing weed species under the influence of various edaphic factors in the 15 wheat fields. Quadrat method was applied and different phytosociological attributes including abundance, density, and frequency were estimated by randomly laying down 10 square-shaped quadrats of size 1m2 in each wheat field. A total of 34 weed species belonging to 17 families and 30 genera were explored from 150 quadrats. Fabaceae and Asteraceae were ubiquitous plant families. Various edaphic factors such as; soil texture, electrical conductivity, soil pH, total dissolved solids, nitrogen, calcium carbonate, organic matter, NaCl, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc were determined. Pearson's correlation was employed to correlate weeds and the potential edaphic variables. The results depicted that most of these weed pairs' associations correlated positively. Simultaneously, the abundant weed species including Trifolium repens, Coronopus didymus, and Urtica dioica showed a positive correlation with most of the investigated ecological variables.

Background: The increasing rate of breast cancer globally requires extraordinary efforts to discover new effective sources of chemotherapy with fewer side effects. Glutaminase-free l-asparaginase is a vital chemotherapeutic agent for various tumor malignancies. Microorganisms from extreme sources, such as marine bacteria, might have high l-asparaginase productivity and efficiency with exceptional antitumor action toward breast cancer cell lines. Results: l-Asparaginase-producing bacteria, Bacillus velezensis isolated from marine sediments, were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. l-Asparaginase production by immobilized cells was 61.04% higher than that by free cells fermentation. The significant productivity of enzyme occurred at 72 h, pH 6.5, 37°C, 100 rpm. Optimum carbon and nitrogen sources for enzyme production were glucose and NH4Cl, respectively. l-Asparaginase was free from glutaminase activity, which was crucial medically in terms of their severe side effects. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme is 39.7 KDa by SDS-PAGE analysis and was ideally active at pH 7.5 and 37°C. Notwithstanding, the highest stability of the enzyme was found at pH 8.5 and 70°C for 1 h. The enzyme kinetic parameters displayed Vmax at 41.49 μmol/mL/min and a Km of 3.6 × 10−5 M, which serve as a proof of the affinity to its substrate. The anticancer activity of the enzyme against breast adenocarcinoma cell lines demonstrated significant activity toward MDA-MB-231 cells when compared with MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 12.6 ± 1.2 μg/mL and 17.3 ± 2.8 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: This study provides the first potential of glutaminase-free l-asparaginase production from the marine bacterium Bacillus velezensis as a prospect anticancer pharmaceutical agent for two different breast cancer cell lines.How to cite: Mostafa Y, Alrumman S, Alamri S, et al. Enhanced production of glutaminase-free L-asparaginase by marine Bacillus velezensis and cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cell lines. Electron J Biotechnol 2019;42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2019.10.001. Keywords: Asparaginase, Bacillus velezensis, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy, Fermentation, Glutaminase, Immobilization, Marine, MCF-7 cells, Nitrogen, Production, Purification

The increasing trend of extreme heat events poses serious implications for rice production in China, especially when it coincides with the heat-sensitive reproductive growth period (RGP) leading to high temperature-induced spikelet sterility. (2) Methods: This study analyzed the long-term meteorological data of Jiangsu province, located at lower reaches of Yangtze River Valley, to ascertain changing trends in temperature extremes. Moreover, stress days and nights were derived from temperature extremes, during RGP as a proxy of rice sterility in the province. The stress days were defined in three ways, with higher daily maximum (≥35 °C, hot day, HD), and minimum temperature (≥28 °C, hot night, HN) and days with both critical limits (severe hot day, SHD). (3) Results: The analysis of data revealed that a definite warming hiatus period in the 1970s and a transitional phase in 1980s were evident for daily maximum temperatures (TMX) in the province. Warm phases since 1990s were evident for both day and night temperature extremes. Asymmetric warming of TMX and daily minimum (TMN) temperatures reduced diurnal temperature range (DTR) over time. The slight negative trend for TMX and HD were observed, while trends for TMN, HN and SHD were strongly positive in the province with regional variations. (4) Conclusion: Observed increasing trends of TMN, HNs, and SHDs, as well as the decreasing DTR during rice RGP can be a threat to rice production in the province. Rice crop in the Southern Jiangsu is more vulnerable to higher temperature extremes while in the northern Jiangsu, decreasing DTR can be crucial. These findings could have useful implications for improving rice yield under changing climate.

Grape plant (Vitis vinifera L.) is a species of the family Vitaceae. It is an economically important fruit plant abundantly grown all over the world. Vitaceae comprised of 900 species distributed across tropical, sub-tropical and partially temperate sorts of climatic zones. In the current study we aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activities of grape leaves extract from different Pakistani varieties.We have analyzed the crude methanolic extract from the leaves of Pakistani grape varieties (i.e. NARC Black, Sundar Khani, Shogran-1, Shogran-2, Haita, Sheghali, Perlette, and Sultania-C) cultivated in various soil compositions. Total phenolic contents (TPC) of the extract were determind by using Folin-ciocalteu reagent method. Total flavonoid contents (TFC) were determind by the Aluminum Chloride Calorimetric method. Antioxidant activities of the extracts of different concentration were evaluated using Phosphomolybdenum method, Reducing power and DPPH (2, 2-disphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) assays. Assays performed for grape varieties showed great antioxidant potential. All varieties significantly depicted with variation in polyphenolic contents and antioxidant potential with changes in the soil conditions. The highest TPC and TFC were quantified in Shogran-1 97.58 ± 0.09 (GAE, g−1) and Sultania-C 97.47 ± 0.12 (µg QE/g DE) varieties respectively which were grown in (T6) and (T5), while lower were recorded in Sundar khani 5.16 ± 0.23 in (T6). Likewise, Shogran-1 128.26 ± 0.23 (µg AAE/g extract) variety grown in (T6) depicted highest total antioxidant capacity, NARC black 182.06 ± 0.24 (µg AAE/g extract) variety grown in (T6) resulted in maximum reducing power while DPPH free radical scavenging potential were determinded in Sultania-C 80.91 ± 0.10 (T4) equivalent µg/g. In the terms of bioassays, the promising results were showed by compost + sand + clay (T4), compost + clay + dung (T5) and sand + clay + dung (T6). Therefore, we conclude that variation in soil composition has a significant contribution in the quantity of phytochemicals and antioxidants expression. Our study further suggest that use of organic fertilizer (Compost) and loamy sort of soil enhance functioning of most of the varieties in terms of important phytochemicals.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus led to a global pandemic. HCQ and FPV were used early in the pandemic as a treatment modality for COVID-19. Various studies evaluated the HCQ and FPV effectiveness, based on the mortality endpoint and showed conflicting results. We hypothesize that analyzing the difference in the LOS as a significant endpoint would be of a major interest, especially for healthcare providers, to prevent a lengthy hospitalization and disease progression. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study, conducted via a medical chart review of COVD-19 patients who were admitted between April 2020 and March 2021 with a moderate to severe illness. The LOS endpoint was tested using the paired Wilcoxon signed-rank (WSR) model. Prior to using the WSR model, the balance between the HCQ and FPV groups, the propensity score matching, the LOS distribution, and the normality assumptions were tested. Two sensitivity statistical analyses were conducted to confirm the results (stratified log-rank test and U Welch test after transforming the LOS by the squared root values). Results: A total of 200 patients were included for the analysis: 83 patients in the HCQ group and 117 patients in the FPV group. Thirty-seven patients were matched in each group. The LOS data was positively skewed and violated the normality (Shapiro–Wilk p < 0.001) and had an unequal variance (Levene’s test, p = 0.019). The WSR test showed no statistical significance in the LOS endpoint, with a median of −0.75 days (95% confidence interval: −4.0 to 2.5, p = 0.629), in favor of the HCQ group (four days), in comparison to seven days of the FPV group. The WSR findings were further confirmed with the stratified log rank test (p = 740) and the U Welch test (p = 391). Conclusions: The study concluded that the HCQ and FPV treatments have a comparable effectiveness in terms of the LOS in the moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. This study highlights the importance of analyzing the LOS as a relevant endpoint, in order to prevent the costs of a lengthy hospitalization and disease progression. The current study also emphasizes the importance of applying the appropriate statistical testing when dealing with two-sample paired data and analyzing non-parametric data such as the LOS.

The mechanism underlying the mediation of the behavior and fitness of non-vector herbivores by fungal pathogen-infected host plants is still unclear. In this study, we experimentally assessed the effects of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plant infection status on non-vector herbivores using tomato powdery mildew disease fungus (Oidium lycopersici) and the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum as a model multitrophic plant-pathogen, non-vector herbivore interaction. In behavioral bioassays, powdery mildew-infected plants (PM) and plants damaged by combined attack of powdery mildew and whiteflies (PMWF) attracted significantly more whiteflies (32.6% and 58.1% for PM and PMWF, respectively) than control (Con) plants (16.5%) or plants damaged only by whiteflies (WF) (24.2%). Whiteflies feeding on PM or PMWF plants secreted almost twice as much honeydew as on the Con or WF plants. This indicated that whiteflies fed more on diseased plants than healthy plants. However, the preferences and increased feeding did not increase the fitness and immature growth of T. vaporariorum, but significantly prolonged their immature developmental durations, compared with those of whiteflies that developed on Con plants or WF plants. The results showed that powdery mildew infestation attracted more whiteflies but reduced their development and fitness.

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a specialty crop capable of providing healthy food and metabolites. The goal of our study was to explore the possibility of expanding seed yield, oil production, and metabolites of chia in response to amino acid, barthenosteriode, and algae extract treatments used as bio-stimulants. The experiment was conducted in the field in a randomized complete block design with three repeats. The treatments were (1) control (spray only with water), (2) amino acids with nutrients (2 mL/L vs. 4 mL/L), (3) brassinolide (5 mL/L vs. 10 mL/L), and algae extract (2 mL/L vs. 4 mL/L). The growth and yield measurements of chia, such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, amino acids, indoles, phenols, macro- and micronutrients, carbohydrates, total oil, and fatty acids were analyzed. The chia plants sprayed with growth stimulant materials showed increases in most studied characteristics, particularly algae extract at 4 mL/L, followed by algae extract at 2 mL/L during the first and second seasons. Meanwhile, amino acids at 4 mL/L led to the third-highest increases in most cases. Conversely, all bio-stimulant treatments decreased total phenols in leaves (mg/100 g f.w.), especially seaweed at 4 mL/L, compared to high levels in the control during both seasons. Control plants showed the lowest levels of the measurements mentioned previously when scored by barthenosteriode at 5 mL/L during the first and second seasons. GLC for fixed oil in chia showed the recognition of four biocomponents. i.e., oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and α-α linolenic acids. The main biocomponent was α-α linolenic acid and reach (49.7 to 57.9%). The application of seaweed at 4 mL/L could be exploited to improve growth, seed crop, fixed oil production, chemicals and bio-constituents, especially the fixed oil composition of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) plant.

It was hypothesized that multiple environmental factors influence distribution and abundance of plant species in different vegetation layers of the forest ecosystem=. Here, we have assessed plant diversity, abundance and its relationship with multiple factors through an integrative modeling approach. To substantiate or negate our hypothesis, Quadrat quantitative ecological methods were carried out for the sampling of vegetation in Humid Forest Ecosystem of the Western Himalayas. Rectangular plots of 100 m, 50 m and 1 m were established for trees, shrubs and herb species, respectively. All the edaphic, topographic, climatic and disturbance factors were determined using different standard procedures and protocols. We have applied multiple linear regression and structural equation models using R-Software on most abundant plant species each from trees, shrubs and herbs. Preliminary, integrative modeling showed that the species abundance is significantly associated with a set of soil nutrients (physio-chemical variables), topography (aspect, slope, elevation) and disturbance factors (anthropogenic and grazing pressure). The species dominance effects were synchronously influenced (p˂0.025) by the soil physical characters (sand, silt and clay), canopy and regeneration potentials compared to other factors. Our results provide bases to understand the underlying mechanisms of species abundance and its importance of the forest ecosystem in the western Himalayas. This work concludes that ecological diversity is overall the result of multiple factors but climatic, topographic, anthropogenic and grazing pressures primarily shape the diversity and functioning in a forest ecosystem. Additionally, we found a clear pattern that variations in edaphic factors cause the abundance of certain species over others.

Ecological consideration is of key importance in finding fungi and other entomopathogens for managing insect pests. The probability of finding entomopathogenic fungi is increased by knowing the soil characteristics supporting fungal survival and diversity. Many opportunistic fungi are closely associated with EPF in soil. Diversity and occurrence of fungi were carried out from soil samples (145) and dead insects (225) collected from natural and cultivated areas of south Punjab. The relative research for the presence and abundance of EPF in samples of soils collected from cultivated to non-cultivated hilly lands show that fruit orchid can be considered as a richer in these fungal species. The EPF was mainly isolated from the collected (225) insect cadavers belonging to six insect orders out of which only 94 were positive for any category of fungus isolated. Insects from Coleoptera were reported with maximum occurrence (44.68%) for harboring any kind of the fungus followed by Lepidoptera (36.17%). Aspergillus niger (27.50%) was the most occurring taxa among all isolates, while Fusarium oxysporium was dominantly occurring specie (17.02%). It can be concluded that orchard soils that are least disturbed (tillage, weeding, etc) and supplied with ample moisture should be preferred for sampling in order to isolate the entomopathogens. Furthermore, insect cadavers from coleoptera and lepidoptera should be preferred for collection for the sake of entomopathogenic fungi.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in late 2012 in Saudi Arabia. The virus is a serious threat to people not only in the Middle East but also in the world and has been detected in over 27 countries.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), the Queen of oilseeds, is infected with different pathogens, restricting its yield. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. sesami is the most destructive disease of sesame worldwide, causing economic losses. This work aimed to develop new high-yielding strains, resistant and/or tolerant to Fusarium. Two cycles of pedigree selection were achieved under infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. sesami. Two populations in the F2 (600 plants each) were used. The selection criteria were five single traits and another three restricted by yield. The restricted selection was better in preserving variability than the single trait selection. The observed genetic gain in percentage from the mid-parent in the F4-generation was significant for the eight selection criteria. Single trait selection proved to be an effective method for improving the selection criterion, but it caused deleterious effects on the other correlated traits in most cases. The seed yield increased by 30.67% and 20.31% from the better parent in the first and second populations, respectively. The infection% was significantly reduced by 24.04% in the first, and 9.3% in the second, population. The selection index improved seed yield, and its attributes can be recommended.

Well-defined silver nanoparticles were doped into bio-based amorphous silica (Ag-b-SiO2) with different silver contents (from 2 to 20 wt%) by a solvent-free procedure. The four as-synthetized samples were hydrogenated at 300 °C to ensure the formation of zero-valent Ag nanoparticles. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, N2 sorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The characterization data confirmed the formation of well-defined zero-valent silver nanoparticles in the range of 3–10 nm in the low-loading samples, while in high-loading samples, bulky particles of silver in the range of 200–500 nm were formed. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of the Ag-b-SiO2 samples were tested against the tumor cell lines of breast (MCF-7), liver (HepG2), and colon (HCT 116) over a concentration range of 0.01 to 1000 g. The prepared samples exhibited a wide range of cytotoxic activities against cancer cells. An inverse relationship was observed between the silver nanoparticles’ size and the cytotoxic activity, while a direct relationship between the silver nanoparticles’ size and the apoptotic cell death was noticed.

Wheat is the most extensively cultivated crop and occupies a central place in human nutrition providing 20% of the daily food calories. This study was conducted to find both T and ψ effects on wheat germination and the cardinal Ts value; a lab experiment was accomplished using HTT models. Cultivars were germinated under different accelerated aging periods (AAP, 0, 24, 48, and 72 h) at each of the following constant Ts of 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C at each of the ψs of 0, −0.05, −0.1, −0.15, and −0.2 MPa. GR, GP, and other germination parameters (GI, GRI, CVG, SVI-I, SVI-II, GE, and MGT) were significantly determined by solute potential, temperature, and reciprocal action in both cultivars (p ≤ 0.01). Depending on the confidence interval of the model co-efficiently between cultivars, there was no significant difference. Hence, the average of cardinal Ts was 15, 20, and 35 °C for the Tb, To, and Tc, respectively, in the control condition (0 MPa). Hydro-time values declined when Ts was raised to To in cultivars, then remained constant at Ts ≥ To (2.4 MPah−1 in Pirsabak 15 and 0.96 MPah−1 in Shahkar). The slope of the relationship between ψb(50) and TTsupra with temperature when Ts is raised above To and reaches 0 at Tc. In conclusion, the assessed parameter values in this study can easily be used in simulation models of wheat germination to quantitatively characterize the physiological status of wheat seed populations at different Ts and ψs.

Heat stress (HS) is a serious environmental stress that negatively affects crop growth and productivity across the globe. The recent increase in atmospheric temperature caused by global warming has increased its intensity, which is a serious challenge that needs to be addressed. Plant growth and development involves a series of physiological, metabolic, and biochemical processes that are negatively affected by heat-induced oxidative stress, disorganization of cellular membranes and disturbed plant water relations, nutrient uptake, photosynthetic efficiency, and antioxidant activities. Plant tolerance to abiotic stresses can be substantially increased by the application of bio-stimulants, without posing a threat to the ecosystem. Melatonin (MT) is a multi-functional signaling molecule that has the potential to protect plants from the adverse impacts of HS. MT protects the cellular membranes, maintains the leaf water content, and improves the water use efficiency (WUE) and nutrient homeostasis; thereby, improving plant growth and development under HS. Moreover, MT also improves gene expression, crosstalk of hormones, and osmolytes, and reduces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by triggering the antioxidant defense system, which provides better resistance to HS. High endogenous MT increases genes expression and antioxidant activities to confer HS tolerance. Thus, it is important to understand the detailed mechanisms of both exogenous and endogenous MT, to induce HS tolerance in plants. This review highlights the versatile functions of MT in various plant responses, to improve HS tolerance. Moreover, we also discussed the MT crosstalk with other hormones, antioxidant potential of MT, and success stories of engineering MT to improve HS tolerance in plants. Additionally, we also identified various research gaps that need to be filled in future research using this important signaling molecule. Thus, this review will help the readers to learn more about MT under changing climatic conditions and will provide knowledge to develop heat tolerance in crops.

Bio-based silica, lignocellulose, and activated carbon were simply produced via the recycling of Hassawi rice biomass waste of Al-Ahsa governorate in the eastern Saudi Arabia region using a fast chemical treatment procedure. Rice husk and rice straw wastes were collected, ground, and chemically treated with sodium hydroxide to extract silica/silicate from the dried plant tissues. The liquid extract is then treated with acid solutions in order to precipitate silica/silicate at neutral medium. Lowering the pH of the supernatant to 2 resulted in the precipitation of lignocellulose. Thermal treatment of the biomass residue under N2 gas stream resulted in activated carbon production. Separated products were dried/treated and characterized using several physical examination techniques, such as FT-IR, SEM/EDX, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy in order to study their structure and morphology. Silica and lignocelluloses products were then preliminarily used in the treatment of wastewaters and water-desalination processes.

Gossypium hirsutum L. is also called upland cotton or Mexican cotton. It is the most widely cultivated species of cotton in the whole world. Globally, about 90% of all cotton production comes from the cultivars derived from this species. Some genetic parameters like monopodial branches per plant, sympodial branches per plant, sympodial branch length, bolls per plant, boll weight, sympo-boll distance, Ginning Out Turn%, staple length (rg = 0.9199**), and fiber strength along with seed cotton yield were evaluated for their potential utilization via selection in seed cotton yield improvement. Significant positive genetic correlations were estimated for monopodial branches per plant (rg = 0.9722**), sympodial branches per plant (rg = 0.7098**), sympodial branch length (rg = 0.617**), bolls per plant (rg = 0.8271**), boll weight (rg = 0.8065**), sympo-boll distance (rg = 0.6507**), Ginning Out Turn (GOT)% (rg = 0.7541**), staple length (rg = 0.9199**), and fiber strength (rg = 0.7534**) with seed cotton yield. A path analysis of all the yield traits under study revealed strong positive direct effects of monopodial branch length (1.1556), sympo-boll distance (0.8173) and staple length (0.7633), while plant height exerted a highly strong direct negative effect (-1.2096) on yield. It is concluded that a direct selection based on monopodial branch length and sympo-boll distance, and staple length is effective, whereas, monopodial branch length, and sympodial branch length are good selection indicators via bolls per plant for yield improvement in cotton.

Effective biosafe management strategies are used to decrease world crop damage produced by plant-parasitic nematodes. This study evaluated the efficiency of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (n-HAP) and mycorrhizal fungi to control the Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato plants. Application of n-HAP significantly increased the juveniles’ mortality (195.67%) and egg hatching inhibition percentage (80.71%) compared to the untreated control, in vitro. Mycorrhizal and/or n-HAP treatments increased the plant growth parameters (root and shoot length, dry weight, and leaf area) and reduced the negative consequence of nematode infection. This may be due to indirect mechanisms through increasing plant nutrient uptake efficiency and increasing the internal plant resistance against nematode infection. In dual-treated plants, phosphorus, nitrogen, and calcium content recorded the highest value in the nematode-infected plants. Whereas the dual inoculation significantly increased mineral contents in tomato plants compared with control, this may induce the strength of the cell wall of the epidermal layer and cortex and consequently increase the plant resistance against nematode infection. Our results revealed that the application of the plant resistance-stimulants enhanced the plant growth parameters and internal nutrient content and reduced the nematode’s criteria. Consequently, the internal plant resistance against nematode infection was induced.

Red palm weevil (RPW) is a dangerous pest that infects the date palm tree and makes tunnels in the tree’s trunk. RPW infection is followed by secondary invaders of microorganisms that cause degradation of the trunk tissues leading to toppling the crown and death of the tree in a short time. This study showed that Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. was the common fungal species isolated from the root and trunk tissues of the date trees infested with RPW, which recorded 100% of frequency. Pathogenicity of 4 isolates of F. oxysporum was confirmed on date palm seeds and seedlings. The results confirmed that all isolates involved in rot of the germinated seeds (40–100% incidence), root rot, and death of palm seedlings (20–100%) under artificial infection as well as degradation of date palm petioles. Application of 20 L/palm of systemic fungicide (Topsin) at 1% as foliar and soil drench of date palm for successive three times successfully reduced development of the deterioration and suppressed the growth of F. oxysporum. Interestingly this fungicide did not suppress the growth of Trichoderma viride Pers. So, our results recommend this fungicide to suppress the pathological and degradable activities of F. oxysporum during the integrated pest management of RPW on date palm trees.

The ecosystem is considerably affected due to the extensive use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. As an alternative strategy, this study aimed to assess the biocontrol potential of the bioagents arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting Trichoderma harzianum MZ025966 against tomato root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne javanica). T. harzianum showed a great potentiality to produce indole acetic acid (IAA) (12.11 ± 2.12 μg/mL) and exhibited a noticeable activity of ammonification. Furthermore, T. harzianum revealed protease and lipase enzymatic activity of 28.36 ± 2.82 U/mL and 12.30 ± 0.31 U/mL, respectively, which may illustrate the control mechanism of nematode eggs and juveniles. As in mycorrhizal and/or T. harzianum inoculated tomato plants, the penetration rates of nematodes, as well as the number of juveniles, females, egg mass, and galls were significantly reduced. The lowest number of juveniles was observed in the case of either single mycorrhizal inoculation (45%) or in combination with T. harzianum (55%). The enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase and catalase was enhanced in tomato plants inoculated with the bioagents to overcome the negative impact of nematode parasitism. Our results proved that the application of biocontrol agents not only reduced the nematode population and penetration rate but also improved the plant growth, increased the nutritional elemental content and stimulated the plant’s systematic resistance.

Salicylic acid or proline enhances plant performance and encourages resistance to abiotic stress in plants. This investigation tests the influence of soaking kernels in salicylic acid (0.1 mM) or proline (10 mM) on the growth and performance of wheat plants grown in open field under full irrigation (100% of ETc) or deficit irrigation (50% of ETc). The results revealed that plants under field deficit irrigation (FDI) stress showed a decline in growth, kernel yield, relative water content, total content of chlorophylls and carotenoids, as well as negative changes in the anatomy of leaf and stem. Addition of salicylic acid or proline notably increased water use efficiency (WUE) and mitigated the stress created by FDI. Field deficit irrigation stress greatly increased electrolyte leakage, total soluble phenols, proline, and total soluble sugar contents and activities of enzymes SOD, CAT, and POX. Salicylic acid was the more efficient in mitigating FDI stress than proline. The results conclude that salicylic acid, as a growth regulator, could be used to alleviate the negative effect of limited water-availability in soil on wheat as well as improving the growth and yield of the crop.

κ-carrageenan is useful for its superior gelling, hydrogel, and thickening properties. The purpose of the study was to maximize the hydrogel properties and water-absorbing capacity of κ-carrageenan by blending it with starch from potato peels to be used as safe and biodegradable water-absorbent children’s toys. The prepared materials were analyzed using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to analyze the functional groups. Results showed that there was a shift in the characteristic peaks of starch and κ-carrageenan, which indicated their proper reaction during blend formation. In addition, samples show a peak at 1220 cm−1 corresponding to the ester sulfate groups, and at 1670 cm−1 due to the carbonyl group contained in D-galactose. SEM micrographs showed the presence of rough surface topology after blending the two polymers, with the appearance of small pores. In addition, the presence of surface cracks indicates the biodegradability of the prepared membranes that would result after enzymatic treatment. These results are supported by surface roughness results that show the surface of the κ-carrageenan/starch membranes became rougher after enzymatic treatment. The hydrophilicity of the prepared membranes was evaluated from contact angle (CA) measurements and the swelling ratio. The swelling ratio of the prepared membranes increased gradually as the starch ratio increased, reaching 150%, while the water-uptake capacity increased from 48 ± 4% for plain κ-carrageenan to 150 ± 5% for 1:2 κ-carrageenan/starch blends. The amylase enzyme showed an effective ability to degrade both the plain κ-carrageenan and κ-carrageenan/starch membranes, and release glucose units for up to 236 and 563, respectively. According to these results, these blends could be effectively used in making safe and biodegradable molded toys with superior water-absorbing capabilities.

Recently, there have been urgent economic and scientific demands to decrease the use of chemical fungicides during the treatment of phytopathogens, due to their human health and environmental impacts. This study explored the biocontrol efficacy of novel and eco-friendly preen (uropygial) oil and endophytic Bacillus safensis in managing postharvest Botrytis grey mold in strawberry fruit. The preen oil (25 μL/mL) showed high antifungal activity against B. cinerea Str5 in terms of the reduction in the fungal radial growth (41.3%) and the fungal colony-forming units (28.6%) compared to the control. A new strain of Bacillus safensis B3 had a good potential to produce chitinase enzymes (3.69 ± 0.31 U/mL), hydrolytic lipase (10.65 ± 0.51 U/mL), and protease enzymes (13.28 ± 0.65 U/mL), which are responsible for the hydrolysis of the B. cinerea Str5 cell wall and, consequently, restrict fungal growth. The in vivo experiment on strawberry fruit showed that preen (uropygial) oil reduced the disease severity by 87.25%, while the endophytic bacteria B. safensis B3 reduced it by 86.52%. This study reports the efficiency of individually applied bioagents in the control of phytopathogenic fungi for the first time and, consequently, encourages their application as a new and innovative strategy for prospective agricultural technology and food safety.

This research evaluated the efficacy of essential oils in the management of cucumber powdery mildew. Essential oils of lemongrass, lemon, thyme, peppermint, abundance blend, purification blend, and thieves blend were tested in vitro and under greenhouse conditions in two separate experiments. The effects of essential oils were tested against powdery mildew disease at concentrations of 1.0–2.5 mL/L, and the consequent impact of the oils on plant growth was evaluated. Powdery mildew fungus, Podosphaera xanthii, was identified using sequencing of the ITS region. The essential oils significantly reduced disease incidence up to 77.3% compared with the positive control (p < 0.5). Moreover, the essential oils increased the plant length (up to 187 cm), leaf area (up to 27.5 cm2), fresh weight (up to 123 g), dry weight (up to 22.5 g), number of flowers (16.3), and metabolite content compared with the positive control (p < 0.5). Cell membrane injury decreased significantly in the oil-treated pants (p < 0.5), indicating the protective effect of essential oils. This study recommends the application of essential oils in an appropriate dose (2.5 mL/L) to protect cucumber plants against powdery mildew. Overdose of the oils (more than 2.5 mL/L) should be avoided due to adverse effects.

Pathogenic infestations are significant threats to vegetable yield, and have become an urgent problem to be solved. Rhizoctonia solani is one of the worst fungi affecting tomato crops, reducing yield in some regions. It is a known fact that plants have their own defense against such infestations; however, it is unclear whether any exogenous material can help plants against infestation. Therefore, we performed greenhouse experiments to evaluate the impacts of R. solani on 15- and 30-day old tomato plants after fungal infestation, and estimated the antifungal activity of nanoparticles (NPs) against the pathogen. We observed severe pathogenic impacts on the above-ground tissues of tomato plants which would affect plant physiology and crop production. Pathogenic infection reduced total chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, which subsequently disturbed plant physiology. Further, total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were significantly increased in pathogen treatments. Constitutively, enhanced activities were estimated for catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in response to reactive oxygen species (ROS)in pathogen-treated plants. Moreover, pathogenesis-related genes, namely, chitinase, plant glutathione S-transferase (GST), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL1), pathogenesis-related protein (PR12), and pathogenesis-related protein (PR1) were evaluated, with significant differences between treated and control plants. In vitro and greenhouse antifungal activity of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), chitosan nanoparticles, and Ag NPs/CHI NPs composites and plant health was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry. We found astonishing results, namely, that Ag and CHI have antifungal activities against R. solani. Overall, plant health was much improved following treatment with Ag NPs/CHI NPs composites. In order to manage R. solani pathogenicity and improve tomato health, Ag/CHI NPs composites could be used infield as well as on commercial levels based on recommendations. However, there is an urgent need to first evaluate whether these NP composites have any secondary impacts on human health or the environment.

The release of harmful wastes via different industrial activities is the main cause of heavy metal toxicity. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of heavy metal stress on the plant growth traits, antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll content and proline content of Sesbania sesban with/without the inoculation of heavy-metal-tolerant Bacillus gibsonii and B. xiamenensis. Both PGP strains showed prominent ACC-deaminase, indole acetic acid, exopolysaccharides production and tolerance at different heavy metal concentrations (50–1000 mg/L). Further, in a pot experiment, S. sesban seeds were grown in contaminated and noncontaminated soils. After harvesting, plants were used for the further analysis of growth parameters. The experiment comprised of six different treatments. The effects of heavy metal stress and bacterial inoculation on the plant root length; shoot length; fresh and dry weight; photosynthetic pigments; proline content; antioxidant activity; and absorption of metals were observed at the end of the experiment. The results revealed that industrially contaminated soils distinctly reduced the growth of plants. However, both PGPR strains enhanced the root length up to 105% and 80%. The shoot length was increased by 133% and 75%, and the fresh weight was increased by 121% and 129%. The proline content and antioxidant enzymes posed dual effects on the plants growing in industrially contaminated soil, allowing them to cope with the metal stress, which enhanced the plant growth. The proline content was increased up to 190% and 179% by the inoculation of bacterial strains. Antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, increased to about 216% and 245%, while POD increased up to 48% and 49%, respectively. The results clearly show that the utilized PGPR strains might be strong candidates to assist S. sesban growth under heavy metal stress conditions. We highly suggest these PGPR strains for further implementation in field experiments.

The present study involved the bio-fabrication of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by using the Euphorbia helioscopia L. leaves aqueous extract to improve the production of secondary metabolites in industrially important sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants. Phyto-fabrication of AgNPs was confirmed by using spectrophotometry, SEM imaging and X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphological and optical characterization manifested that the AgNPs are crystalline and exist in the size range of 30–100 nm. Various concentrations (10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mg/L) of AgNPs were applied in combinations on sunflower seeds and crop plants. The effects of biosynthesized AgNPs were evaluated for agro-morphological parameters (plant height, flowering initiation and seed weight), biochemical metabolites (chlorophyll, proline, soluble sugar, amino acid and protein contents) and enzymatic activities (superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase) in sunflower and 60 mg/L concentration of AgNPs on sunflower seeds and foliar sprays on plants in combination were found to be effective to elicit biochemical modifications to improve secondary metabolites. It was also observed experimentally that 60 mg/L concentration of AgNPs improved the biochemical, fatty acid and enzymatic attributes of sunflower plants, which in turn improved the plant agro-morphological parameters. Near-infrared spectroscopic analysis results confirmed the improvement in the seed quality, oil contents and fatty acid composition (palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid) after the applications of AgNPs. The findings of the present investigation confirm the exogenous applications of bio-fabricated AgNPs in combinations on seeds and plants to improve the plant yield, seed quality and secondary metabolite contents of the sunflower plants.

We are currently facing an obesity pandemic, with worldwide obesity rates having tripled since 1975. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases, which are now the leading cause of death worldwide. This calls for urgent action towards understanding the underlying mechanisms behind the development of obesity as well as developing more effective treatments and interventions. Appetite is carefully regulated in humans via the interaction between the central nervous system and peripheral hormones. This involves a delicate balance in external stimuli, circulating satiating and appetite stimulating hormones, and correct functioning of neuronal signals. Any changes in this equilibrium can lead to an imbalance in energy intake versus expenditure, which often leads to overeating, and potentially weight gain resulting in overweight or obesity. Several lines of research have shown imbalances in gut hormones are found in those who are overweight or obese, which may be contributing to their condition. Therefore, this review examines the evidence for targeting gut hormones in the treatment of obesity by discussing how their dysregulation influences food intake, the potential possibility of altering the circulating levels of these hormones for treating obesity, as well as the role of short chain fatty acids and protein as novel treatments.