Plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi association is one of the oldest symbiotic relationships between organisms. This relationship may be more important under stress conditions such as drought and ...can help the host plant tolerate drought. This study was conducted in 2016 and 2017 at the Agricultural Research Farm of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran to evaluate the effect of AM fungi (AMF) inoculation (with either Funneliformis mosseae or Rhizophagus intraradices) on some physio-biochemical traits of three sunflower cultivars under different soil irrigation treatments (severe water deficit stress, mild water deficit stress and well-watered). In both years, water deficit conditions significantly reduced leaf relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll concentrations (a, b and total) and shoot phosphorus concentration (SPC) while simultaneously increasing shoot proline levels and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. AMF inoculation had positive effects on RWC, chlorophyll concentrations and SPC irrespective of sunflower cultivar and irrigation treatment. Shoot proline concentration and MDA reduced more in AM than non-AM plants. In most cases F. mosseae performed better than R. intraradices in terms of plant performance. Moreover, the improvements caused by AM fungi were more evident under water deficit than well-watered condition. It may be concluded that AM inoculation can alleviate the negative effects of water deficit stress on some important physio-biochemical traits of sunflower grown in the field, and can be considered as a practical and economical approach to improve crop performance in environments exposed to water limitations.
Water stress is a major factor that limits agricultural crop production. Silicon (Si) is generally considered as a beneficial element for the growth of higher plants, especially for those grown under ...stressful environment. This study was conducted to examine the effects of Si on growth and development of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa ‘Camarosa’) under water stress conditions. A factorial experiment, in a completely randomized design, was used to investigate the effects of three irrigation levels and four Si treatments consisting of 0, 5, 10, and 15 mmol·L−1 potassium silicate (K2SiO3). The results showed that an increase in the levels of water stress caused a decrease in most of the quantitative characteristics such as specific leaf area, chlorophyll fluorescence, net photosynthesis rate, and stomata conductance; addition of Si significantly increased most of the mentioned factors; water stress increased electrolyte leakage, proline, and water use efficiency (WUE); Si treatment significantly decreased transpiration rate and improved chlorophyll content and WUE. Water stress stimulated mineral nutrient absorption whereas Si application decreased it under water stress. In conclusion, it was found that in most of the investigated factors, 10 mmol·L−1 potassium silicate had the best effect on growth and development of strawberry. Besides, Si application had beneficial effects on strawberry plants and the addition of it could alleviate water stress.
The pH of reaction solutions played a vital role and determines the nature of the final product formed. According to our experimental findings, we were able to control energy band gap, size and ...configuration of cobalt selenide thin films from aqueous solutions by suitable control of last solution pH. We present a simple solution processed synthesis route for cobalt selenide nanostructure thin films using chemical bath deposition method. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–visible spectroscopy for energy band gap estimation and scanning electron microscopy to surface morphology investigation. In this work, the size of the nanosphers and other nanoparticles are relatively easy to control by pH controlling.
An extended-release tablet of tacrolimus as once-daily dosing was fabricated using 3D printing technology. It was developed by combining two 3D-printing methods in parallel. Indeed, an optimized ...mixture of PVA, sorbitol, and magnesium stearate as a shell compartment was printed through a hot-melt extrusion (HME) nozzle while an HPMC gel mixture of the drug in the core compartment was printed by a pressure-assisted micro-syringe (PAM). A 3D-printed tablet with an infill of 90% was selected as an optimized formula upon the desired dissolution profile, releasing 86% of the drug at 12 h, similar to the commercial one. The weight variation, friability, hardness, assay, and content uniformity determination met USP requirements. A microbial evaluation showed that the 3D-printed tablet does not support microbial growth. SEM analysis showed smooth surfaces with multiple deposited layers. No peak interference appeared based on FTIR analysis. No decomposition of the polymer and drug was observed in the printing temperature, and no change in tacrolimus crystallinity was detected based on TGA and DSC analyses, respectively. The novel, sTable 3D-printed tablet, fabricated using controllable additive manufacturing, can quickly provide tailored dosing with specific kinetic release for personalized medicine at the point-of-care.
Since World War II up to now, the relation between Russia and America has been among the most important international problems and it has affected the international policy and even the relations of ...other governments more than any other relation. The major part of this significance goes back to its systemic outcomes for the global system and political and security problems. Because, the effects of the relations of these two countries on the international system and its different problems indifferent domains can help to the formation of crises or their ending. Also, over time, one of the most complicated political and security challenges in the region is Syria crisis. On the other hand, political changes of Syria have provided an arena for the composition of regional and trans-regional powers. Each one of these powers has applied different procedures regarding Syria that America and Russia’ functions are of significant importance as two global superpowers. The aim of this paper is evaluating the effect of probable alignment of America and Russia in Trump era (2016-2020) in fighting against Daish on the foreign policy of Arabia. From many analysts’ point of view, foreign policy of America has been so ambiguous versus civil war in Syria. We concluded that we could predict the future relation of America and Russia in Trump era based on Trump’s viewpoint. Trump declared that this country’s policy in Syria should have been concentrated on fighting against Daish terrorist group and not Assad’s regime.
A new form CPW-fed broadband circularly polarized square slot antenna (CPSSA) with three inverted-L-shape grounded strips around the corners of the slot is proposed and fabricated. In comparison to ...the previous CPSSA structures, the axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth of the antenna is increased, which is two times wider than the previous proposed design. By embedding the L-shape strip to the ground plane and using the vertical stub to the feed line, very good axial-ratio bandwidth is obtained. The measured impedance bandwidth and AR of the realized CPSS antenna with optimized parameters is from 2 to 7 GHz (3.5:1, 110%) for VSWR ≤ 2 and 2-5 GHz (2.5:1; 85%) for AR ≤ 3 dB respectively. Throughout this letter, the improvement process of the AR and S 11 properties is completely presented and discussed.
A compact printed dipole antenna using an integrated balun is introduced in this work, which is achieved three frequency bands by using C‐shaped resonators. The total dimension of the proposed ...antenna is 42 × 72 mm2, and it covers the frequency bands of 1.62–1.88, 2.36–2.81, and 5.15–6.16 GHz with S11 < −10 dB. Furthermore, the measured peak gains of the antenna in three frequency bands are equal to 8.52, 9.46, and 6.81 dB, respectively. Dipole antennas with integrated baluns have a main frequency band based on the length of the dipole arms. Nevertheless, in the presented design, two additional frequency bands have been created for the antenna, by producing suitable magnetic couplings between the C‐shaped resonators and the Γ‐shaped feed line innovatively, which has a better radiation behavior, unlike traditional triple‐band antennas. An equivalent circuit of the introduced antenna has been investigated and afterward, the optimized antenna has been fabricated and tested.
Abstract
The optical behaviour, stoichiometry, surface configuration of Cu
2
Se nanostructured thin layers prepared at different reaction times by the chemical process has been considered. The ...optical band gap of the deposited thin films decreases from 2.92 eV to 2.08 eV for the first transition and from 2.18 to 1.2 eV for the second transition. In addition, it was shown that Urbach energy is independent from the film thickness, and tail values of the localized states has decreased from 1.15 to 0.33 eV. It was found that the concentration of Cu: Se remains approximately constant across the depth of the deposited film at higher deposition time. The degradation efficiency of 98% was achieved by Congo red for the prepared Cu2Se thin film at optimal condition which make it a good candidate for organic dye. From these measurements and by controlling the band gap energy, the Cu2Se can find application in solar cell application.
·Novel tricyclic pyrazolopyranopyrimidines are synthesized via a one-pot, four-component reaction.·Two biologically important moieties, pyranopyrazole and pyranopyrimidine, are located in the ...structure of target compounds.·Using DABCO as catalyst, products were obtained in high yields with straightforward work-up procedure.·Water as solvent appeared superior to other solvents in both reaction progress and work-up process.
Novel tricyclic fused pyrazolopyranopyrimidines containing both biologically active pyranopyrazole and pyranopyrimidine templates are synthesized using a one-pot, four-component reaction involving ethyl acetoacetate, hydrazine hydrate, benzaldehydes, and barbituric acid catalyzed by DABCO in water. Pure target compounds are obtained in very good to excellent yields over short reaction times and with a straightforward work-up procedure.
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