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This paper aims to determine the most tolerant growth stage(s) of wheat to salinity stress with the addition of silicon. The aim was to investigate whether saline water could be used instead of good quality water for irrigation without implicating a greater risk to crop production. Local wheat cv. Gimmiza 11 was germinated and grown in sand cultures. Four different NaCl salinity levels were used as treatments: 0, 60, 90 and 120 mM. This was in the presence of 0 and 0.78 mM Si which added as sodium meta- silicate (Na2SiO3·9H2O). Both the NaCl and Si treatments were carried out using a full strength nutrient solution that was adjusted at pH 6.0 and used for irrigation in four replications. The application of Si with the saline nutrient media significantly enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities in plant leaves at the booting stage compared to the other stages. This was associated with a marked decline in the H2O2 content. At the booting stage, the Si treatment promoted CAT activity in 120 mM NaCl-stressed leaves compared to the leaves treated with only 120 mM NaCl solution. SOD showed greater prevalence at the booting stage when Si was added into the saline media, and it also revealed maximum activity at the milky stage with salinity stress. This was associated with a smaller reduction in shoot fresh and dry weights, greater reduction in the leaf Na+ content and an increase in the K+ content, which ultimately increased the cytosolic K+/Na+ ratio. Chlorophyll a and b and carotenoid (total photosynthetic pigments) were also higher at the booting stage of salt-stressed plants treated with Si compared to other stages. Accordingly, Si application enhanced the salt tolerance of wheat and reduced the inhibitory effect of Na+ and oxidative stress damage as growth proceeded towards maturity, particularly at the booting stage. This shows that saline water can be used for wheat irrigation at the booting stage (much water is consumed) when good quality water is not available for supplemental irrigation. A field study is needed to confirm the greenhouse results.

The dielectric properties of a mixed Zethrene-inspired nanoscale system ( S i Z -1, σ k Z -5/2) have been analyzed in detail using the Monte Carlo approach (MCa) in this study. First, the most stable configurations in different planes were investigated. Then, the influences of the physical factors, namely the coupling interaction factor, on the thermal behaviors of the polarization and the susceptibility of the studied nanostructure have been examined for nonzero temperatures and fixed external electric field values. It was found that the obtained transition temperature point relies weakly on the coupling interaction. Finally, the effects of the physical factors on the electric hysteresis cycles were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Parents have a profound influence on their children’s dietary habits. Parents’ perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors regarding feeding their children a nutritious diet can have a significant impact on their children’s health. The objective of this study was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and feeding practices of parents in relation to nutrition for their children and to determine how these factors influence strategies for preventing obesity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 446 Saudi mothers with children aged 2-12 years were recruited for this study. The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) was administered to mothers via an instant messaging application. RESULTS: Mothers’ age showed a significant difference in perceived responsibility (p < 0.004), perceived parental weight (p = 0.000), perceived child’s weight (p = 0.000), and concern about the child’s weight (p = 0.000). Mothers with postgraduate degrees exhibited a significant difference in perceived child weight (p < 0.003); occupational status showed a significant difference in perceived parental weight (p < 0.004), perceived child weight (p < 0.001), and residence, particularly in Riyadh, which showed a significant difference in perceived parental weight (p < 0.026). There were also significant differences in body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.000) and perceived parental weight in relation to the mother’s age. Mothers’ age was significantly related to food restrictions (p = 0.000), pressure to eat (p = 0.000), and monitoring (p < 0.009). Mothers with only one child displayed significance in relation to pressure to eat (p < 0.019), while government-employee mothers showed a significant relationship with food restrictions (p < 0.005). There was a noteworthy association between the age of the mothers and perceived responsibility (p < 0.001), occupation (p < 0.22), residence (p = 0.000), and the mother’s BMI (p = 0.000) with perceived parental weight. Finally, occupation (p < 0.006) was found to significantly influence food restriction, while the mother’s age was significantly related to the pressure to eat (p < 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Parental attitudes, practices, and beliefs regarding child feeding were strongly associated with maternal age, occupation, and BMI. Targeted interventions should be developed to assist mothers exhibiting these characteristics in establishing healthier and more effective feeding routines for their children. For example, interventions could be designed to educate parents on the latest findings regarding child-feeding habits and help them develop a greater sense of responsibility for their children’s nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study the ground state phase diagrams and the magnetic properties of the mixed spins (S = 3 ∕ 2 , G = 5 ∕ 2) of the silicene–germanene junction-like nanostructure. In the first step, the ground state phase diagrams have been established to show the more stable configurations corresponding in different physical parameter planes. Besides, we have used the Monte Carlo simulations in order to study the magnetization and the susceptibility as a function of the temperature and the exchange coupling interaction and external magnetic field effects. Finally, we have presented and discussed the hysteresis cycles for specific values of the studied physical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Displacement encoded Cardiovascular MR (CMR) can provide high spatial resolution measurements of three-dimensional (3D) Lagrangian displacement. Spatial gradients of the Lagrangian displacement field are used to measure regional myocardial strain. In general, adjacent parallel slices are needed in order to calculate the spatial gradient in the through-slice direction. This necessitates the acquisition of additional data and prolongs the scan time. The goal of this study is to define an analytic solution that supports the reconstruction of the out-of-plane components of the Lagrangian strain tensor in addition to the in-plane components from a single-slice displacement CMR dataset with high spatio-temporal resolution. The technique assumes incompressibility of the myocardium as a physical constraint. Results. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated in a healthy human subject and the results are compared to those of other studies. The proposed method was validated with simulated data and strain estimates from experimentally measured DENSE data, which were compared to the strain calculation from a conventional two-slice acquisition. Conclusion. This analytical method reduces the need to acquire data from adjacent slices when calculating regional Lagrangian strains and can effectively reduce the long scan time by a factor of two. © 2010 Moghaddam et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

This work presents a study of the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of mixed spins (σ = 1 , S = 3 / 2) in a Graphullerene-like nanostructure. Monte Carlo simulations (MCs) were conducted using the Metropolis algorithm in the Blume–Capel model. The ground state phase diagrams were established and illustrated for different physical parameters. Additionally, the corresponding magnetizations, susceptibilities, specific heat, Binder cumulant, magnetic and change entropies were examined versus temperature. The critical temperature was determined, and hysteresis cycles were presented for specific physical parameter values. The results suggest that the structure shows potential as a candidate for magnetic refrigeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing the aggregate piers is one of the methods to improve and increase the bearing capacity of soft soils. The ultimate bearing capacity of these piers is affected by parameters such as the physical properties of the piers, structural conditions, the embedment depth and replacement ratio of piers, which complicates the estimation of bearing capacity. In this study, the Gene Expression Programming method was used for the prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of clay soils reinforced with aggregate piers. For this purpose, two different models were developed, of which the first model (GEP2) utilized two input variables, the undrained shear strength of clay (Su) and replacement ratio (ar), while the second model (GEP4) used four input variables including the undrained shear strength of clay (Su), replacement ratio (ar), slenderness ratio (Sr), and embedment depth of piers (df). The coefficient of determination of the GEP2 model, and the GEP4 model is 0.921 and 0.942, respectively. Besides, comparing the GEP4 model of this research with the developed models of previous studies confirms the superior performance of the GEP4 model, considering both the accuracy and number of input parameters. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the undrained shear strength of clay (Su), replacement ratio (ar), slenderness ratio (Sr), and embedment depth of piers (df) have the highest impact on the prediction of bearing capacity, respectively. Furthermore, the parametric analysis demonstrated that increasing the Su, ar, Sr, and df would improve the bearing capacity of the aggregate piers reinforced clay.

The paper studies the magnetic properties of the ternary FeCoxNi1–x alloy with mixed spins Fe(S = 2), Co(σ = 3/2) and Ni(q = 1), using Monte Carlo simulations under the Metropolis Algorithm. Firstly, we explore the ground state phase diagrams in order to identify all possible and stable configurations based on the minimisation of the system energy in different physical parameters planes. In addition, the magnetisations and the magnetic susceptibilities as a function of the temperature have been studied. Moreover, the effects of the crystal field, the exchange coupling parameters on the magnetizations and the hysteresis loops have been investigated for different values of the concentration ratio x of the Co atoms. It is found that the ratio x affects strongly the magnetisation, the susceptibility, the transition temperature and the hysteresis loops of the studied system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]