Salinity Concentration Research Articles

Exogenous Application of Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Improves the Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Attributes in Lavandula dentata L. under Salinity Stress

Saline water has been proposed as a solution to partially supply plants with their water requirements due to a lack of fresh water for cultivation in arid and semi-arid sites. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid participating in numerous metabolic processes to mitigate the undesirable effects of salinity. A pot experiment was carried out during 2021 and 2022 at Sakha Horticulture Research Station to investigate the effect of foliar application of GABA at 20 and 40 mM on vegetative growth and biochemical changes in French lavender under increasing levels of sea water salinity irrigation treatments (0, 1000, 2000, and 3000 ppm). Results indicated that increasing salinity concentration noticeably decreased plant height, number of branches, herb fresh and dry weight, root length, root fresh and dry weights, photosynthetic pigments, relative water content, and essential oil percentage. On the other hand, accumulation of proline and antioxidant enzymes was increased under increasing salinity concentrations. We conclude that foliar application of GABA acid at 40 mM can alleviate the adverse effects of salinity on the abovementioned French lavender plant characteristics by improving vegetative growth and root characteristics, as well as diminishing chlorophyll degradation, maintaining high leaf relative water content, increasing proline accumulation and antioxidant activity.

Gold Nanoparticles in Porous Silicon Nanotubes for Glucose Detection

Silicon nanotubes (Si NTs) have a unique structure among the silicon nanostructure family, which is useful for diverse applications ranging from therapeutics to lithium storage/recycling. Their well-defined structure and high surface area make them ideal for sensing applications. In this work, we demonstrate the formation of Au nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with 4-Mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPBA) on porous Si NTs (pSi NTs) fabricated using ZnO nanowires as a template. The system was characterized, and the proposed structure was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Varying glucose concentrations in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (0.5–80 mM) were introduced to the Si NT nanocomposite system. The glucose is detectable at low concentrations utilizing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which shows a concentration-dependent peak shift in the benzene ring breathing mode (~1071 cm−1) of MPBA. Complementing these measurements are simulations of the Raman hot spots associated with plasmonic enhancement of the Au NPs using COMSOL. This biocompatible system is envisioned to have applications in nanomedicine and microfluidic devices for real-time, non-invasive glucose sensing.

Quantitative Inversion of Soil Salinity in Different Seasons in Huinong District, Ningxia based on Sentinel-2 satellite

Salinisation of agricultural soils poses an important constraint to sustainable agricultural development, especially in the Huinong region of Ningxia, northwestern China, where salinised soils are widely distributed. However, due to the limitations of monitoring technology, the detailed situation of soil salinisation in this region is not known. Currently, the multispectral instrument (MSI) on board the Sentinel-2 satellite provides a good opportunity for monitoring soil salinity dynamics. Therefore, in this study, the feasibility of using the multispectral instrument (MSI) on board the Sentinel-2 satellite, combined with a machine learning model, to accurately monitor the soil salinity content during the spring and summer seasons was explored. And three additional red-edge bands (B5-B7) were used instead of the traditional red band (B4) to generate potential soil salinity indices. A screening method based on the PLS-VIP criterion was used to screen the spectral covariates, and three machine learning methods, namely, Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), were employed to build the inverse model of soil salt content. The results showed that the Random Forest model based on Sentinel-2 imagery performed the best in the inversion with good prediction results, with R2 and RE of 0.825 and 0.207 and 0.711 and 0.271 in spring and summer, respectively.The study also revealed that soil salinity varied significantly between seasons, and was higher in spring than in summer. This result is of great significance as a guide for soil salinity monitoring and land reclamation in arid or semi-arid regions.

Influence of salinity, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of two Chlorophyceae isolated from Fez freshwater, Morocco

Microalgae are widely exploited for numerous biotechnology applications, including biofuels. In this context, Chlamydomonas debaryana and Chlorococcum sp. were isolated from Fez freshwater (Morocco), and their growth and lipid and carbohydrate production were assessed at different concentrations of NaCl, NaNO3, and K2HPO4. The results indicate a small positive variation in growth parameters linked to nutrient enrichment, with no considerable variation in carbohydrate and lipid levels in both algae. Moreover, a negative variation was recorded at increased salinity and nutrient limitation, accompanied by lipid and carbohydrate accumulation. Chlorococcum sp. showed better adaptation to salt stress below 200 mM NaCl. Furthermore, its growth and biomass productivity were strongly reduced by nitrogen depletion, and its lipid production reached 47.64% DW at 3.52 mM NaNO3. As for Chlamydomonas debaryana, a substantial reduction in growth was induced by nutrient depletion, a maximal carbohydrate level was produced at less than 8.82 mM NaNO3 (40.59% DW). The effect of phosphorus was less significant. However, a concentration of 0.115 mM K2HPO4 increased lipid and carbohydrate content without compromising biomass productivity. The results suggest that growing the two Chlorophyceae under these conditions seems interesting for biofuel production, but the loss of biomass requires a more efficient strategy to maximize lipid and carbohydrate accumulation without loss of productivity.

Comparative studies of four cumin landraces grown in Egypt

One of the significant aromatic plants applied in food and pharma is cumin. Despite its massive trading in Egypt, there are no comprehensive reports on cumin landraces profile screening. This study aimed to investigate the variation in seeds’ physical and biochemical profiles and genetic diversity as well as assess the efficiency of seeds’ germination under salinity stress. Consequently, during the 2020/2021 growing season, four common cumin seed landraces were gathered from various agro-climatic regions: El Gharbia, El Menia, Assiut, and Qena. Results showed a significant variation in physical profile among the four seeds of landraces. In addition, Assiut had the highest percentage of essential oil at 8.04%, whilst Qena had the largest amount of cumin aldehyde, the primary essential oil component, at 25.19%. Lauric acid was found to be the predominant fatty acid (54.78 to 62.73%). According to ISSR amplification, El Menia presented a negative unique band, whereas other landraces offered a positive band. Additionally, the cumin genotypes were separated into two clusters by the dendrogram, with El Gharbia being located in an entirely separate cluster. There were two sub-clusters within the other cluster: El Menia in one and Assiut and Qena in the other. Moreover, the germination sensitivity to the diverse salinity concentrations (control, 4, 8, 12, and 16 dS/m) findings showed that landraces exhibited varying responses to increased salinity when El Gharbia and El Menia showed a moderate response at four dS/m. Whilst, Qena landraces showed supreme values among other landraces under 12 and 16 dS/m. The majority of the examined features had strong positive associations over a range of salinity levels, according to phenotypic correlation coefficient analysis. To accomplish the aims of sustainable agriculture in Egypt, it would be imperative that the potential breeding program for cumin landraces consider this screening study.

Utilizing a Fe3O4 Magnetite Nanoparticle for Anode Modification in a Microbial Desalination Cell to Treat Saltwater.

The microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a bio-electrochemical system that exhibits the ability to oxidize organic compounds, produce energy, and decrease the saline concentrations within the desalination chamber. The selective removal of ions from the desalination chamber is significantly influenced by the anion and cation exchange membranes. In this study, a three-chamber microbial desalination cell was developed to treat seawater using a synthesize Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticle (MNP)-modified anode. The impact of different performance parameters, such as temperature, pH, and concentrations of NPs, has been investigated in order to assess the performance of three-chamber MDCs in terms of energy recovery and salt removal. The evaluation criteria of the system included multiple factors such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), Coulombic efficiency (CE), desalination efficiency, as well as system aspects including voltage generation and power density. The highest COD% removal efficiency was 74% at 37°C, pH = 7, and 30g/L salt concentration with an optimized NPs concentration of 2.0mg/cm2 impregnated on anode. The maximum Coulombic efficiency was 10.3% with the maximum power density of 4.3W/m3. The effect of the nanoparticle concentration impregnated on the anode was clarified by the primary factor of analysis. This research has revealed consistent patterns in the enhancement of voltage generation, COD, and Coulombic efficiencies when incorporating higher concentrations of nanoparticles on the anode at a certain point.

Zooplankton Bio-indicators Against Changing Hydrological Parameters at Bidyadhari River of Indian Sundarbans

Sundarban Estuarine System is influenced by periodic tidal input and fresh water inflow. It is surrounded by world’s largest mangrove ecosystem and harbour naturally grown fishery. The total system is intersected by a network of many rivers and creeks. Bidyadhari is one of the major rivers of Sundarbans that is surrounded by human habitation on both banks. The dynamic condition of the river due to tidal inflow and fresh water input which is further increased many folds due to human interventions. In the present study, 26 zooplankton taxa have been recorded where 16 taxa were found perennial in all three seasons. 19 species showed its highest density in the monsoon season, 4 in post-monsoon and 3 in pre-monsoon season. Considering all seasons, Pseudodiaptomus serricaudatus was found to be the most abundant species in monsoon when there was a marked increase in temperature, nitrate, phosphate, silicate and a decrease in salinity, DO, TDS, EC and chlorophyll-a concentration. On the other hand, Acrocalanus longicornis was most abundant during the post-monsoon season when pH, EC, DO, chlorophyll-a were found to be highest and temperature was lowest of all seasons. Only 3 of the 26 taxa were found in highest concentration during pre-monsoon season when salinity was found in highest concentration. The Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index, Simpson 1_D Index and Margalef Richness Index of zooplankton diversity were found highest in station 3 (nearest to the sea) during all the three seasons. Pearson Correlation Analysis showed some significant correlation between different hydrological parameters and zooplankton diversity indices. The result of the study indicates the presence of organic pollutants and eutrophication in Bidyadhari river that demands regular monitoring of water quality for maintenance of long-term sustainability of one the largest naturally grown fisheries in the world.

Effect of Salinity Stress on the Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Peppermint under Greenhouse Condition

Peppermint is a rich source of valuable compounds with therapeutic, coloring, preservative and other uses for humans. Peppermint is used in food, perfumery and medicine all over the world. Higher plants experience salt stress due to an excessive buildup of sodium chloride; salinity impacts plants through osmotic stress and toxicity. Salinity impacts every major activity in plants, including growth, photosynthesis, lipid metabolism, protein synthesis, energy production, and germination through biomass and seed formation. The experiment was carried out in the research farm of agriculture faculty of Lorestan University, Iran. The aim of the current research was to examine the effect of different levels of salinity (0, 50 and 100 mM) on the morphological and physiological characteristics of peppermint in the greenhouse. The result showed that salinity stress at 50 and 100 millimole (mM), decreased plant height (11.76%, 23.53%), number of leaves (25.11%, 33.92%), leaf surface (24.76%, 56.37%), crown diameter (14.15%, 25.47%), root length (20.61%, 31.58%), leaf fresh weight (14.47%, 30.47%), leaf dry weight (1.16%, 12.69%), fresh weight of stem (10.78%, 21.11%), dry weight of stem (16.32%, 37.76%), chlorophyll a (46.08% and 61.09%), Chlorophyll b (32.48% and 41.65%), total chlorophyll (40.84% and 53.59%) and carotenoid (34.67% and 67.02%) compared to the control conditions respectively. Hence, increase in salinity concentration at 50 and 100 mM, increased the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA) (37.06% and 73.63%), leaf proline (301.50% and 382.09%) and essential oil (100.40% and 80.32% compared to control. The results of this study showed that, the salinity stress had a significant effect on the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of peppermint. The results showed that, increases in the salinity stress, significantly increased the amount of electrolyte leakage, production of essential oil, malondialdehyde and proline. Moreover, increase salinity levels in irrigation water, caused reduction in growth characteristics of peppermint. It is to be concluded that, Peppermint is a semi-salt resistant plant, cultivation of peppermint in the medium saline soil is recommended.

Salt Water Exposure Exacerbates the Negative Response of Phragmites australis Haplotypes to Sea-Level Rise.

The response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise (SLR) largely depends on the tolerance of individual plant species to inundation stress and, in brackish and freshwater wetlands, exposure to higher salinities. Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan wetland reed that grows in saline to freshwater marshes. P. australis has many genetically distinct haplotypes, some of which are invasive and the focus of considerable research and management. However, the relative response of P. australis haplotypes to SLR is not well known, despite the importance of predicting future distribution changes and understanding its role in marsh response and resilience to SLR. Here, we use a marsh organ experiment to test how factors associated with sea level rise-inundation and seawater exposure-affect the porewater chemistry and growth response of three P. australis haplotypes along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. We planted three P. australis lineages (Delta, European, and Gulf) into marsh organs at five different elevations in channels at two locations, representing a low (Mississippi River Birdsfoot delta; 0-13 ppt) and high exposure to salinity (Mermentau basin; 6-18 ppt) for two growing seasons. Haplotypes responded differently to flooding and site conditions; the Delta haplotype was more resilient to high salinity, while the Gulf type was less susceptible to flood stress in the freshwater site. Survivorship across haplotypes after two growing seasons was 42% lower at the brackish site than at the freshwater site, associated with high salinity and sulfide concentrations. Flooding greater than 19% of the time led to lower survival across both sites linked to high concentrations of acetic acid in the porewater. Increased flood duration was negatively correlated with live aboveground biomass in the high-salinity site (χ2 = 10.37, p = 0.001), while no such relationship was detected in the low-salinity site, indicating that flood tolerance is greater under freshwater conditions. These results show that the vulnerability of all haplotypes of P. australis to rising sea levels depends on exposure to saline water and that a combination of flooding and salinity may help control invasive haplotypes.

Chlorella vulgaris in biodesalination: a sustainable future from seawater to freshwater

Demand for freshwater is increasing rapid due to population growth and climate change. A potential solution to this problem is the use of biodesalination, which involves the removal of salt from seawater and brackish water using biological agents. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using Chlorella vulgaris, a green microalga, to remove salt from seawater to produce fresh water. The effects of salinity, light intensity, and nutrient concentration on the growth and salt removal efficiency of C.vulgaris were examined. Our results showed that C. vulgaris was able to grow and remove salt from seawater under salinities of approximately 24ppt and nutrient concentrations of 50%. The highest salt removal efficiency was achieved at a desalination setup involving C. vulgaris and seawater concentration of 1:5 ratio. We also evaluated the economic feasibility of biodesalination using C. vulgaris by estimating the production costs and comparing them with those of conventional desalination technologies. Our results showed that biodesalination using C.vulgaris is potentially a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to conventional desalination technologies. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the potential of C. vulgaris for the biodesalination of seawater, which could contribute to meeting the growing demand for fresh water.

Fluid dynamics and energy efficiency of submerged combustion process for treating wastewater with high salinity and COD concentration

Focusing on submerged combustion technology for the treatment of high salinity and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) wastewater, this study explores the characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow and heat transfer during the submerged combustion process, employing both experimental and numerical simulation methods.Consequently, the impact of essential parameters on the efficacy of submerged combustion in treating wastewater was analyzed. The experimental results show that increasing the fuel flow rate and immersion depth is beneficial to improve the temperature rise rate and shorten the evaporation time. With the increase of the organic solution flow rate and the initial COD value of the organic solution, the COD removal rate decreased, and the effect of the organic solution flow rate on the COD removal efficiency was more obvious. The use of a flat orifice plate or tapered orifice plate immersed tube structure can improve the thermal efficiency by over 10%. However, it is not conducive to the stability of the pressure in the combustor, increasing the fluctuation of the liquid level. Compared with that of traditional single-effect evaporation crystallization, the energy consumption of the submerged combustion device is decreased, and the total operation cost is reduced by 22.5%.

Assessing the air salinity on agro-physiological response of Brassica oleracea var. capitata and Brassica oleracea var. botrytis

Air salinity is one of the problems for horticulture production in coastal areas. Cabbage and Cauliflower are horticulture commodities that have the potential to develop in coastal areas. The present study aimed to examine the agro-physiological response of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) and cauliflower (B. oleracea var. botrytis) to different concentrations of air salinity. This research was a factorial experiment on polybags arranged according to a completely randomized block design with two factors. The first factor was the crop type, namely cabbage (Grand 22) and cauliflower (Larissa F1). The second factor was the concentration of air salinity, namely 0 dS. m-1, 6 dS. m-1, 12 dS. m-1, and 18 dS. m-1. The agro-physiological changes studied were crop yield, leaf chlorophyll content, stomata density, and proline content. A stress tolerance index was measured to determine the level of crop resistance to air salinity stress. The results explained that air salinity was not able to affect crop growth and yield, but it enabled to affect crops physiologically. The highest decrease in leaf chlorophyll content was at 18 dS. m-1 of 29.16% in the vegetative stage and 37.88% in the generative stage. There was an increase in proline accumulation of leaf (1,320.63%) when the air salinity was increased (18 dS. m-1). However, the accumulation of cabbage proline was lower than that of cauliflower. Based on the stress tolerance index, cabbage is included in the category of tolerant, while cauliflower is in the category of moderate tolerance to air salinity.

Fertility and heavy metal pollution in silage maize soil irrigated with different levels of recycled wastewater under conventional and no-tillage practices

AbstractIrrigation with recycled domestic wastewater has been known to obtain positive effects on improving soil fertility, but it may also become a risk factor in case of causing an increase in soil salinity and/or heavy metal concentration of soil. No-tillage can retain soil moisture, helping to reduce irrigation water necessity, and thus lower amounts of heavy metals and salts are added to soil under wastewater irrigation conditions. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of wastewater irrigation at different levels of on silage maize cultivation under conventional tillage and no-tillage conditions by comparing to full irrigation with fresh water. The two-year experiment was planned according to the split-plots design in the random blocks with three replications. The results indicated that full irrigation with wastewater increased soil salinity, organic matter content, total nitrogen, plant available phosphous, exchangeable cations, exchangeable sodium percentage and soil essential and non-essential heavy metal contents, but decreased soil pH and lime content. Increasing rates in organic matter content, total nitrogen, plant available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium were higher, but in electrical conductivity, and heavy metal accumulation were lower in soil under no-tillage as compared to conventional tillage. Contamination and enrichment factors and geographic accumulation index showed that non-essential heavy metal contamination due to cadmium and nickel, increased in full irrigation with wastewater. Irrigation with wastewater also increased heavy metal accumulation in silage maize. No-tillage can be a recommendable water management practice considering that the risks of soil salinity and heavy metal accumulation can be reduced and that soil fertility can be increased. Also, in reducing the risk of accumulation of cadmium and nickel in soil, 33% deficit irrigation with wastewater can make no-tillage more available.

Influence of GA3 (gibberellic acid) and Ca(calcium) on root trait variation and osmotic potential of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under chloride-dominated salinity

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum) is a versatile crop cultivated for its seeds, which are valuable source of ω-3 fatty acids. It adversely affected by soil salinity, as high salt levels can hinder their growth and reduce yields. To assess the potential for mitigating the adverse effects of high salinity concentrations, enhancing the resilience of three genotypes (Shekhar, Sheela, and Kartika) of linseed plants, this research aimed to find out the impact of Gibberellic acid (GA3) and Calcium (Ca) on various aspects of root morphology, osmotic potential of linseed, under varying levels of Cl- dominated salinity. The study employed three salinity levels (0, 5, and 10 dSm-1) and exogenous application of 10−6 M GA3 and/or 10 mg CaCl2 kg-1 in potted plants.The findings indicated that increasing salinity stress significantly (p≤0.05) affected root parameters, including total surface area(43.45%), average diameter(42.06%), total projected area(44.45%), length per volume (66.23%), root length, total root volume (73.23%), tips, forks,fine roots, and osmotic potential(66.67%). Correlations among linseed genotypes were observed between various root morphology and osmotic potential parameters. The application of GA3 and Ca effectively ameliorated the impact of salinity stress at its highest level (10 dSm-1), resulting in increased root parameters while decreasing the osmotic potential (Ψs). Both GA3 and Ca treatments significantly influenced root architecture and maintained optimal osmotic potential. The chloride-dominated salinity exerted inhibitory effects on all three genotypes’ (Shekhar, Sheela, and Kartika) root growth parameters while applying GA3 and Ca successfully mitigated these effects, enhancing root growth.

Effects of adaptive duration to salinity in drinking water on behavior, weight gain and blood biochemical parameters in growing goats.

This experiment aimed to determine the effect of adaptive duration to saline water on behaviors, weight gain and blood biochemical parameters in growing goats. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, which included four treatments with five animals per group. The goats were administered either fresh water (control) or seawater with a salinity of 1.5%, with varying durations of adaptation to seawater. The adaptive durations included an abrupt change (A0) from fresh water to seawater with a salinity of 1.5% or stepwise adaptation either 4 (A4) or 7 (A7) days of increasing saline concentrations. The results showed that dry matter intake in the non-adapted goats (A0 group) was lower than that of the control group or the adapted goats throughout the experiment (p<0.05). In contrast, water intake from drinking saline water was greater than that in the control group (p<0.05). Body weigh did not differ among the treatments; however, non-adapted goats exhibited a lower weight gain than the adapted goats (p<0.05). The goats in the A0 and A4 groups exhibited increased plasma levels of urea, AST, and ALT compared with the control and A7 groups. However, blood electrolyte levels remained unchanged and were within the normal range for goats. Therefore, it is concluded that the stepwise adaptation to seawater with a salinity of 1.5% for 21 days has no influence on productivity and health status of goats.

Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Melilotus albus to Saline and Alkaline Stresses

Sweet clover (Melilotus albus) is a high-quality leguminous forage grass with salinity tolerance, drought tolerance, and cold hardiness. We selected four varieties of sweet clover with different sensitivities (061898, 061930, No. 55 white flower, and Ningxia white flower) and analyzed the effects of different concentrations of three sodium salts (Na2CO3, NaHCO3, and NaCl) on their physiology and biochemistry responses. Growth and development indexes (such as germination rate, root length, shoot length), chlorophyll content, osmotic regulators (proline, soluble sugar), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) were determined under saline–alkali stress. Seed germination and seedling growth of all four clover species were significantly inhibited under saline–alkali stress. During germination, seed germination rate, root length, and shoot length decreased with increasing saline and alkaline concentration. Under saline–alkali stress, chlorophyll content tended to increase and then decrease, cell damage and death increased, and malondialdehyde, soluble sugar, and proline content tended to increase and then decrease. Moreover, the activities of SOD, POD, and CAT all increased and then decreased. Under Na2CO3 stress, the decrease in chlorophyll content of the resistant variety 061898 was less than in the sensitive Ningxia white flower variety. As the concentrations of Na2CO3, NaHCO3, and NaCl increased, the maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII was significantly affected. The resistant 061898 is capable of maintaining higher photosynthetic efficiency. Furthermore, under treatments with the three kinds of saline–alkali solutions, cell damage and death for Ningxia white flower were greater than in 061898. For 061898, the increases in soluble sugar and proline content were greater and the increase in malondialdehyde content was less, while the antioxidant enzyme activities were higher than those in Ningxia white flower. All four sweet clover varieties had higher stress resistance with neutral than with alkaline salts. When stressed by medium to high saline–alkali concentrations, sweet clover seedlings had increased osmotic substance content, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, and regulated physiological metabolism. Additionally, sweet clovers regulated the expression of WRKY33, GH3, CYCD3, OXI1, MKK2, MYC2, JAZ, COI1, PYL, PP2C, TGA, and MPK3 to adapt to the saline–alkali environment and improve saline–alkali tolerance. Our analysis of the sweet clover salinity tolerance mechanism contributes to its further use and is of significant importance for addressing land salinization and promoting sustainable agricultural and pastoral practices in China.

Caatinga, Amazon and Atlantic Forest as natural sources for microbial lignocellulolytic enzymes.

Brazilian biomes are important sources for environmental microorganisms, including efficient metabolic machineries, like actinomycetes. These bacteria are known for their abilities to produce many bioactive compounds, including enzymes with multiple industrial applications. The present work aimed to evaluate lignocellulolytic abilities of actinomycetes isolated from soil and rhizosphere samples collected at Caatinga, Atlantic and Amazon Forest. Laccase (Lac), lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidase (MnP) and cellulase were evaluated for their efficiency. These enzymes have an essential role in lignin decomposition, through oxidation of phenolic and non-phenolic compounds, as well as enzymatic hydrolysis of vegetal biomass. In this sense, a total of 173 actinomycetes were investigated. Eleven (11) of them were selected by their enzymatic performance. The actinomycete AC166 displayed some activity in all analysed scenarios in terms of Lac, MnP and LiP activity, while AC171 was selected as the most promising strain, showing the following activities: 29.7 U.L-1 for Lac; 2.5 U.L-1 for LiP and 23 U.L-1 for MnP. Cellulolytic activities were evaluated at two pH conditions, 4.8 and 7.4, obtaining the following results: 25 U.L-1 and 71 U.L-1, respectively. Thermostability (4, 30 and 60 o C) and salinity concentrations (0 to 4M) and pH variation (2.0 to 9.0) stabilities of the obtained LiP and Lac enzymatic extracts were also verified. The actinomycete strain AC171 displayed an adaptable response in distinct pH and salt profiles, indicating that bacterial LiP was some halophilic type. Additionally, the strain AC149 produced an alkali and extreme halophilic lignin peroxidase, which are promising profiles for their future application under lignocellulosic biomass at bioethanol biorefineries.

Depth dependence of oceanic turbulence optical power spectrum under any temperature and salinity concentration

The Oceanic Turbulence Optical Power Spectrum (OTOPS) with depth variations is acquired under any temperature and salinity concentration. It is supposed that specific medium is the Atlantic Ocean at high latitude and the Pacific Ocean at high, mid and low latitudes. For the OTOPS model, a depth-varying functions that include low-latitude, high- and mid-latitude-summer and mid-latitude-winter salinity and temperature changes are found. With the help of the equations for the temperature and salinity changes, figures are obtained for the eddy diffusivity ratio depth of seawater and OTOPS model against the depth and κ at these media. In the ocean, downlink (uplink) is defined as the optical wireless communication link where the receiver (transmitter) is located at a deeper point than the transmitter (receiver), i.e., in the downlink, optical signal proceeds from a point close to ocean surface to deeper ocean and in the uplink, optical signal proceeds from deeper ocean to a point close to ocean surface. In this paper, the OTOPS model is investigated on how its properties change in the underwater environment in downlink and uplink. Different behavior of the OTOPS model is exhibited.

Overloading effect on the osmo-viscoelastic and recovery behavior of the intervertebral disc.

In vitro studies investigating the effect of high physiological compressive loads on the intervertebral disc mechanics as well as on its recovery are rare. Moreover, the osmolarity effect on the disc viscoelastic behavior following an overloading is far from being studied. This study aims to determine whether a compressive loading-unloading cycle exceeding physiological limits could be detrimental to the cervical disc, and to examine the chemo-mechanical dependence of this overloading effect. Cervical functional spine units were subjected to a compressive loading-unloading cycle at a high physiological level (displacement of 2.5 mm). The overloading effect on the disc viscoelastic behavior was evaluated through two relaxation tests conducted before and after cyclic loading. Afterward, the disc was unloaded in a saline bath during a rest period, and its recovery response was assessed by a third relaxation test. The chemo-mechanical coupling in the disc response was further examined by repeating this protocol with three different saline concentrations in the external fluid bath. It was found that overloading significantly alters the disc viscoelastic response, with changes statistically dependent on osmolarity conditions. The applied hyper-physiological compressive cycle does not cause damage since the disc recovers its original viscoelastic behavior following a rest period. Osmotic loading only influences the loading-unloading response; specifically, increasing fluid osmolarity leads to a decrease in disc relaxation after the applied cycle. However, the disc recovery is not impacted by the osmolarity of the external fluid.

Influence of lactation stages on erythrocyte osmotic fragility of indigenous Badri cattle of Uttarakhand

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of lactation stages on erythrocyte osmotic fragility. The study was carried out using forty healthy Badri cows divided into five groups with eight animals in each group during different stages of lactation, viz. 1 (0 to 60 days), 2 (61 to 120 days), 3 (121 to 180 days), 4 (181 to 240 days) and 5 (non-lactating animals) as control animals. The per cent haemolysis of erythrocytes among different lactation groups was found significant at 0.9% during mid and early late lactation i.e. 2 and 3 group and 0.5% saline concentration during all stages of lactation as well as non- lactating animals.