Fusarium root rot, caused by Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., represents one of the most damaging diseases of maize affecting plant growth and yield. In this study, the antagonistic potential of a ...non-aflatoxigenic endophytic Aspergillus flavus YRB2, isolated from Thymelaea hirsuta (L.) Endl., was tested against F. solani in vitro. In addition, its biocontrol activity against Fusarium root rot of maize was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Its impacts on plant molecular, pathological, physiological, and growth levels were also studied. Results obtained revealed a potent antagonistic behavior for A. flavus YRB2 against F. solani in vitro, recording 80% growth inhibition. Seventeen secondary metabolites were detected in the n-hexane extract of A. flavus YRB2 filtered culture broth using GC-MS analysis. Among them, various antifungal secondary metabolites were produced, namely palmitic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, stearic acid, 2, 4-di-tert-butylphenol, diisobutyl phthalate, and heneicosane. In contrast, HPLC analysis showed that no aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2) were detected. Under greenhouse conditions, colonization of maize plants with A. flavus YRB2 exhibited a potential biocontrol activity against Fusarium root rot, recording 73.4% reduction in the disease severity. Triggering of transcriptional expression level of the defense-related genes JERF3 (7.2-fold), CHI II (8-fold), and POD (9.1-fold) was reported, indicating the inducing effect on the plant immunity. In addition, an increment in the antioxidant enzymes POD and PPO, and the total phenolic content in maize roots was also observed in response to this treatment. Moreover, a growth-promoting effect was also observed for colonization of maize plants with A. flavus YRB2. Based on the obtained data, we can conclude that A. flavus YRB2 may represent a promising biocontrol and growth-promoting agent for maize plants against Fusarium root rot. Nevertheless, field evaluation is highly requested before the use recommendation.
Display omitted
•Unique three-dimensional graphene/mixed transition metal oxides modified activated carbon was prepared and characterized.•The nanocomposite electrode shows low charge transfer ...resistance and high specific capacitance.•Analysis of synchrotron-based hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy.•The fabricated nanocomposite exhibits a high electrosorption capacity of 9.34 mg g−1.
Over the last two decades, the capacitive deionization (CDI) technique has been developed into a high performance, low-cost, and environmental-friendly desalination technology. The development of novel advanced nanostructures via the hybridization of diverse carbon materials to improve the performance of CDI technology has attracted considerable attention. In this study, the combination of graphene hydrogel and ZrO2-doped TiO2 nanofibers as efficient dopants into activated carbon (AC), has been achieved through a simple electrospinning technique followed by a post annealing process. The strong interactions between the graphene hydrogel, nanofibers and AC were found to enhance the wettability as well as the electrical conductivity of the AC. The morphology and electrochemical performance of the as-synthesized composite were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). What’s more, the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and synchrotron X-ray absorption structures (XAS) are performed to investigate the atomic and electronic structure of titania and zirconia in order to understand their phase stability. We observed the appearance of anatase structure of titania and cubic structure of zirconia after doping the AC and graphene hydrogel with the nanofibers. The water contact angle of the composite was examined and found to be less than 3°. The introduced nanocomposite showed high electrosorption capacity of 9.34 mg g−1 at the initial solution conductivity of ∼100 μS cm−1, which is much higher compared to the other surveyed materials; these results should be attributed to its significant hydrophilicity, high specific capacitance, and reduced charge transfer resistance.
Disorders of sex development (DSD), are a group of rare congenital conditions. Unlike 46, XX DSD where the cause is usually clear, identification of a cause of XY DSD is often unclear and may be ...attributed to a disorder of gonadal development, androgen synthesis or androgen action. Reaching a firm diagnosis is challenging and requires expertise within a framework that abides by the highest standards of clinical care. Whilst conditions associated with altered sex development have improved our fundamental understanding of sex and gonadal development, it is debatable whether this improvement in our understanding has improved the lives of people with DSD. Thus, there is a need for more emphasis on showing that a firm diagnosis for conditions associated with DSD is associated with a change in clinical practice that benefits the patient. With the rapid advances in diagnostic technology, there is also a need for clearer guidance on the relative merits of biochemical vs genetic evaluation. The standardization and harmonization of complex genetic and biochemical analyses for rare conditions are issues that require further guidance and it is probably that international networks and registries for rare conditions will facilitate the development of this framework.
Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an evolving technology for eradicating salt and toxic heavy metal ions from brackish wastewater. However, traditional CDI electrodes have lower salt adsorption ...capacity and inadequate adsorption of selective metal ions for long-term operations. Herein, Ag nanospheres incorporated pomegranate peel-derived activated carbon (Ag/P-AC) was prepared and implied to the CDI process for removing NaCl, toxic mono-, di-, and trivalent metal ions. Morphological analysis revealed that the 80-100 nm-sized Ag nanospheres were uniformly decorated on the surfaces of P-AC nanosheets. The Ag/P-AC has a higher specific surface area (640 m2 g−1), superior specific capacitance (180 F g−1 at 50 mV s−1) and a lower charge transfer resistance (0.5 Ω cm2). CDI device was fabricated by Ag/P-AC as an anode, which adsorbed anions and P-AC as cathode for adsorption of positively charged ions at 1.2 V in an initial salt concentration of 1000 mg L−1. An asymmetric Ag/P-AC//P-AC exhibited a maximum NaCl adsorption capacity of 36 mg g−1 than symmetric P-AC//P-AC electrodes (22.7 mg g−1). Furthermore, Pb(II), Cd(II), F−, and As(III) ions were successfully removed from simulated wastewater by using Ag/P-AC//P-AC based CDI system. These asymmetric CDI-electrodes have an excellent prospect for the removal of salt and toxic contaminants in industrial wastewater.
•Ag/P-AC electrode was developed for capacitive deionization of salt and heavy metal ions.•Ag/P-AC and P-AC based CDI system exhibits a higher SAC of 36 mg g−1 and ASAR of 1.1 mg g−1 min−1.•CDI can effectively remove Pb(II), Cd(II), F−, and As(III) ions from simulated wastewater.•Simultaneous removal of toxic metal ions was demonstrated in a competitive environment.
Topical therapy in psoriasis Shahriar Ahmed, S; Manchanda, Yashpal; De, Abhishek ...
Indian journal of dermatology,
07/2023, Volume:
68, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Psoriasis is a chronic condition that progresses in remitting and relapsing phases. Most of these patients have mild-to-moderate illness, which can be managed with topical medications or could be ...thought of as continuing therapy after remission. Potential therapeutic efficacy is offered, and systemic treatment's negative side effects are constrained. Topical therapies have recently advanced in tandem with recent advancements in our understanding of psoriasis. To improve the quality of life of patients, appropriate knowledge and application of these topical agents are crucial.
Objectives: To assess local epidemiology and risk factors for bacterial, fungal, and viral infections among the autologous bone marrow transplant population. Methods: This study is a retrospective ...correlational cohort design comprising 150 adult patients who underwent autologous transplants at Princess Noorah Oncology Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between 2014 and 2020. Results: The study findings indicate that bacterial infection prevalence differed significantly across the different disease status pre-salvage as patients with the relapsed disease were more likely to have bacterial infections. The median of engraftment days differed significantly between those who had a bacterial infection and those who did not. Interestingly, previous pneumonia infection had a positive relationship with the number of hospital stays. Conclusion: Bacterial infections are the dominant type of infection among the autologous patient population. The research reflects authentic practice and reports unique characteristics of autologous transplant patients in terms of the prevalence and types of infection these patients experience. Keywords: bone marrow transplantation, lymphoma, infection, relapsed, myeloma phrase omitted
Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 discovered in December, 2019 in Wuhan, China started a world-wide epidemic. It is not clear till now what is the pathogenesis of this virus infection in human or the exact ...strategies of host immune response in combating this novel threat to human beings. However, morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 infections vary widely from asymptomatic, mild to deadly critical. Strangely, children were found to be protected from severe or deadly critical infections, while elderly and immunocompromised adults are most affected badly by this virus. It is necessary to disclose the possible viral and host interactions that lead to such variable morbid effects among patients of COVID-19 infections.
Treating wastewater polluted with organic dyestuffs is still a challenge. In that vein, facile synthesis of a structurally simple composite of chitosan with montmorillonite (CS-MMT) using ...glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker and the magnetized analogue (MAG@CS-MMT) was proposed as versatile adsorbents for the cationic dye, basic Fuchsin (FUS). Statistical modeling of the adsorption process was mediated using Box-Behnken (BB) design and by varying the composite dose, pH, FUS, and contact time. Characterization of both composites showed an enhancement of surface features upon magnetization, substantiating a better FUS removal of the MAG@CS-MMT (%R = 98.43 %) compared to CS-MMT (%R = 68.02 %). The surface area analysis demonstrates that MAG@CS-MMT possesses a higher surface area, measuring 41.54 m2/g, and the surface analysis of the magnetized nanocomposite, conducted using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies, proved the presence of FeO peaks. In the same context, adsorption of FUS onto MAG@CS-MMT fitted-well to the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum adsorption capacities (qm) were 53.11 mg/g for CS-MMT and 88.34 mg/g for MAG@CS-MMT. Kinetics investigation shows that experimental data fitted well to the pseudo-second order (PSO) model. Regeneration study reveals that MAG@CS-MMT can be recovered effectively for repeated use with a high adsorption efficiency for FUS.
There is limited data on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in dental clinics. 1300 specimens from patients, health personnel, and environmental surfaces of a dental clinic ...in Egypt were tested for MRSA. Antibiotic susceptibility, biofilm formation, Staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing, SCCmec typing, and PCR-based assays were used to detect mecA, mecC, vanA, Panton-Valentine Leukocidin toxin (PVL), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (tst) genes. Among 34 mecA-positive MRSA isolates, five (14.7%) were PVL-positive, seventeen (50%) were tst-positive, ten (29.4%) were vanA-positive, while none harboured mecC. MRSA hand carriage rates in patients, nurses, and dentists were 9.8%, 6.6%, and 5%. The respective nasal colonization rates were 11.1%, 6.7%, and 9.7%. 1.3% of the environmental isolates were MRSA-positive. Strong and moderate biofilm-forming isolates represented 23.5% and 29.4% of MRSA isolates. 24 MRSA isolates (70.6%) were multi-resistant and 18 (52.9%) harboured SCCmec IV. Among eight spa types, t223 (26.5%), t267 (23.5%), and t14339 (23.5%) were predominant. We noted an alarming genetic relatedness between 7 (20.6%) MRSA isolates and the epidemic EMRSA-15 clone, as well as a combined occurrence of tst and PVL in 3 (8.8%) isolates. Results suggest high MRSA pathogenicity in dental wards highlighting the need for more efficient surveillance/infection control strategies.
•Solar adsorption desalination-cooling system is investigated theoretically.•TRNSYS software connecting to MATLAB software is used in simulation.•The investigated system is driven by Egyptian ...weather.•Performance analysis for investigated system around the year is presented.
Effect of employing solar hybrid adsorption desalination-cooling system (ADCS) at the Egyptian weather has been investigated using TRNSYS software employing meteorological data of Assiut city at Egypt. A theoretical model of a semi continues hybrid ADCS employing silica gel-water has been used. Maximum specific daily water production (SDWP) is found to be about 10m3/ton of silica gel. Moreover, maximum coefficient of performance and specific cooling power of the system are about 0.5 and 134W/kg respectively. The desalinated water product and cooling effect has been found to be increased with increasing the daily solar radiation. It has been concluded that hybrid ADCS can be driven efficiently by using solar energy of the Egyptian weather.
PDF
