Final Percentage Research Articles

Can preoperative cervical spinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices predict surgical outcomes in patients with Hirayama disease? A retrospective cohort study.

ObjectiveAnterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery can effectively prevent disease progression in patients with Hirayama disease (HD) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can quantitatively assess spinal cord function. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between preoperative spinal DTI indices and the clinical outcomes of patients with HD when treated by ACDF.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 35 HD patients treated by ACDF. We collated a range of DTI indices, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, prior to surgery with patients in flexion and neutral positions. Patients were divided into improvement (Im) group and non-improvement (Nim) group according to the Odom score, and the difference in surgical outcomes between the two groups was confirmed by quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Q-DASH) scores. The DTI indices in the two groups of patients were then compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the predictive capability. The correlation between Q-DASH scores and DTI indices was also evaluated.ResultsThe FA values in the two groups of patients differed significantly in the cervical flexion position and the different segments were mainly located in the lower cervical spinal cord including the flexion C5/6 (Im group vs. Nim group: 0.501 ± 0.078 vs. 0.362 ± 0.087, P < 0.001) and C6/7 (Im group vs. Nim group: 0.455 ± 0.097 vs. 0.347 ± 0.102, P = 0.003) FA values, the mean FA value for C4/5-C6/7 (Im group vs. Nim group: 0.471 ± 0.067 vs. 0.372 ± 0.078, P < 0.001), mean FA value for C5/6-C6/7 (Im group vs. Nim group: 0.478 ± 0.076 vs. 0.354 ± 0.083, P < 0.001) and mean FA value for the two minimal segments (Im group vs. Nim group: 0.442 ± 0.078 vs. 0.341 ± 0.081, P = 0.001). The ADC values were similar to FA values. The ROC curve for DTI indices in the lower cervical spinal cord had an AUC > 0.7 including: flexion FA value and ADC value for C5/6 (0.877 and 0.931), flexion FA value and ADC value for C6/7 (0.778 and 0.761), flexion mean FA value and ADC value for C4/5-C6/7 (0.846 and 0.859), flexion mean FA value and ADC value for C5/6-C6/7 (0.861 and 0.905), flexion mean FA value and ADC value for the two minimal/maximal segments (0.815 and 0.892). DTI indices including FA value and ADC value were correlated with the preoperative score, final follow-up score and improvement percentage. Flexion ADC value was correlated with improvement score but flexion FA value was not correlated with improvement score.ConclusionPreoperative DTI indices of the spinal cord, especially those of the lower cervical spinal cord with patients in the flexion position, can predict the clinical outcome of patients with HD post-surgery. In general, a larger FA value and a smaller ADC value indicate a better surgical outcome.

Potassium Nitrate Priming Effect on the Germination of Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum. Mill) cvs. “Mersa” and “Tekeze-1”

To compare the responses of two open-pollinated tomato varieties to germination parameters and shoot growth, seeds of open-pollinated tomato varieties, Mersa and Tekeze-1 were given osmopriming treatments with potassium nitrate (KNO3) in a lab setting. A completely randomized design with four replications was used. The analysis of variance revealed that both tomato varieties responded differently to priming with potassium nitrate concentrations significantly (P&lt;0.05) for almost all measured traits. Potassium nitrate treatments also affected final germination percent (G%) and mean daily germination percent significantly (P&lt;0.05) and germination index (GI) and shoot length (SL) (P&lt;0.001). However, KNO3 did not have a significant effect on time for 50% germination (T50) and mean germination time (MGT). Variety Mersa showed better performance in germination percent (G%) and SL than Tekeze-1; while Tekeze-1 had shorter days for MGT and reached T50 faster than the Mersa variety. Potassium concentrations at 0.5% and 1.5% showed better germination results than the control and at 1% KNO3. The interaction of the Mersa variety with KNO3 at 1.5% and 1% resulted in the highest SL, but the Tekeze-1 variety had the highest shoot length at 0.5% KNO3 concentration, indicating that the varieties have different responses to the applied KNO3 rate. This study confirmed the possibility of enhancing seed germination through externally applied priming agents such as KNO3. Despite being a preliminary finding, this study demonstrated that tomato cultivars differ in how they react to KNO3 priming, and more research, using other tomato varieties and priming agents, is needed.

310 Effects of Stair Step Strategy and Immunomodulatory Feed Ingredient Supplementation on Thermoregulation, Growth, and Reproduction of Grazing Bos Indicus-Influenced Beef Heifers

Abstract This 2-yr study evaluated the combination of stair step supplementation strategy and OmniGen-AF inclusion on body thermoregulation, growth, and reproduction of Bos indicus-influenced beef heifers. Brangus heifers (n = 64/year) were stratified by BW and age (257 ± 20 kg; 271 ± 22 d) and allocated into 16 bahiagrass pastures. Treatments were randomly assigned to pastures in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of concentrate dry matter (DM) supplementation at 1.50% of BW from day 0 to 100 (CON) or concentrate DM supplementation at 1.05% of BW from day 0 to 49 and 1.95% of BW from day 50 to 100 (SST), which included or not OmniGen-AF from day 0 to 100 (OMN; 4 g/45 kg of BW). Heifers were submitted to an estrus synchronization protocol from day 100 to 114, inseminated from day 112 to 114, and exposed to bulls from day 120 to 210. Data were analyzed using SAS GLIMMIX procedure. Heifer BW did not differ (P ≥ 0.49) on days 0 and 56, but on days 100 and 210 it was greater (P ≤ 0.01) for SST vs. CON. Intravaginal temperatures from day 26 to 30, between 0830 and 1600h were least (P ≤ 0.03) for SST offered OMN and did not differ (P ≥ 0.17) among all remaining treatments. Body surface temperature on day 25 and plasma IGF-1 concentrations on day 75 were greater (P ≤ 0.04) for SST vs. CON. Percentage of pubertal heifers, estrus detection, and pregnancy to AI did not differ (P = 0.36) between SST and CON, but final pregnancy percentage was greater (P = 0.04) for SST. Thus, OMN decreased intravaginal temperature of SST heifers but failed to improve their growth and reproduction, whereas the stair step strategy improved body thermoregulation, growth, and final pregnancy percentage of Bos indicus-influenced beef heifers.

119 Change in Serum Total Lipid Profiles in Dogs Supplemented with Camelina, Flaxseed, or Canola oil for 16 Weeks

Abstract There are few data describing the effects of different oils on fatty acid (FA) metabolism in dogs. Our objectives were to assess the effects of camelina (CAM), flaxseed (FLAX), and canola oil (OLA) on the serum total lipid FA profiles over a 16-week feeding study. Thirty healthy, adult dogs of various breeds [17 females, 13 males; 7.2±3.1 years and 27.4±14.0 kg (mean±SD)] underwent a 4-week dietary wash-in period on a commercial, low-fat kibble top dressed with 8.2g sunflower oil/100g food intake. Dogs were blocked by breed, age, and size, and assigned to receive CAM, FLAX, or OLA for 16-weeks at the same dose as wash-in. Serum total FA were measured using gas chromatography from dogs at baseline and week 16. Data were analyzed with ANOVA using PROC GLIMMIX of SAS. In all treatments, the final percent area of pooled and individual omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) FAs were inversely related, with n-3 being greater at week 16 and n-6 less at week 16 compared with baseline (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Conversely, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid showed accumulation at week 16 and docosahexaenoic acid was less at week 16 than baseline for all treatments (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Stearidonic acid was greater in FLAX than OLA but both were similar to CAM, and α-linolenic differed among all treatments (FLAX &amp;gt;CAM &amp;gt;OLA) (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Eicosadienoic acid was less in FLAX than CAM and OLA (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Omega-9 FA were greater at week 16 for all treatments and individual FAs (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Eicosaenoic and mead acid were greater in CAM than FLAX and OLA, and oleic acid was greater in FLAX than OLA, but similar to CAM (p&amp;lt; 0.05). Differences among dogs fed camelina, flax, and canola oils were due to the inherent FA concentrations of the oil and suggest all oils are suitable for increasing serum n-3 concentrations.

Pengaruh Tepung Kulit Buah Naga Merah (Hylocereus polyrhizus) terhadap Potongan Komersial Karkas Ayam Broiler

This research was conducted to determine the effect of red dragon fruit peel meal on the weight and percentage of carcass, lower thigh, upper thigh, wing, breast, and back of broiler carcass. This research used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments and each treatment had 6 replications. The treatments were T0 = basal diet (BD) without dragon fruit peel meal (DPM), T1 = BD+0.5% DPM, T2 = BD+1% DPM and T3 = BD+1.5% DPM. The parameter were final weight, carcass weight and percentage, commercial cuts of carcass weight and percentage. The results of this study showed that the red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel meal in broiler chicken diet had no significantly effect on the final weight, carcass weight and percentage, and commercial cuts of carcass weight and percentage of broiler chicken. The diet with red dragon fruit peel meal up to 1.5% have no negative effect to broiler chickens.

Coronary lithotripsy for the treatment of underexpanded stents: the international & multicentre CRUNCH registry.

Stent underexpansion increases the risk of cardiac adverse events. At present, there are limited options to treat refractory stent underexpansion. In this context, the intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) system might be a safe and effective strategy. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IVL in addressing resistant stent underexpansion due to heavy underlying calcification. This was an international multicentre registry including patients receiving IVL therapy to treat stent underexpansion from December 2017 to August 2020. Angiographic and intracoronary imaging data were collected. The efficacy endpoint was device success (technical success with a final percentage diameter stenosis <50%). The safety endpoint was in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Seventy patients were included, the mean age was 73±9.2 years and 76% were male. The median time from stent implantation to IVL therapy was 49 days (0-2,537). Adjuvant treatment with non-compliant balloon dilatations pre- and post-IVL was performed in 72.3% and 76.8% of patients, respectively, and additional stenting was performed in 22.4%. Device success was 92.3%. Minimum lumen diameter increased from 1.49±0.73 mm to 2.41±0.67 mm (p<0.001) and stent expansion increased by 124.93±138.19% (p=0.016). No IVL-related procedural complications or MACE were observed. The use of bailout IVL therapy directly after stenting and the presence of ostial underexpanded lesions negatively predicted lumen diameter gain. Coronary lithotripsy is safe and effective in increasing lumen and stent dimensions in underexpanded stents secondary to heavily calcified lesions.

Seed germination traits of Pinus heldreichii in two Greek populations and implications for conservation

Seed germination traits were assessed on Pinus heldreichii H. Christ, a Tertiary relict, high-elevation Mediterranean pine, endemic in the western Balkan Peninsula and southern Italy; it is naturally grown at the northern Greece mountains, but also found in shrubby form above the timberline. Closed and mature cones were collected (October) for three consecutive years from Pindos Range and Mt. Olympus populations. Cone and seed morphological traits were recorded along with the seedling cotyledon number. Seed germination tests were performed under various ecologically meaningful temperatures and light regimes; climate change effects on seed germination and seedling development were assessed based on two climate scenarios. Final seed germination was moderate (~55%) on both, untreated seed lots at most favourable conditions (15 and 20 °C). Although cold stratification is not an absolute requirement, seed germination rate and final percentage are promoted by both a month of cold stratification (at least 30 or 45 days) and white light. The predicted climate change suggests that a prolonged drought period (>3 months) might turn out by the end of the century in the populations studied. Although the temperature increase might not have significant effects in the germination window of the species. The rainfall decrease will inevitably expose the young seedlings to the summer drought, thus increasing the potential mortality rate. Both ex situ (e.g., germplasm conservation) and in situ measures of conservation are recommended for the species survival in Greece, with a particular focus on the populations established at lower altitudes.

Efektivitas Aqidah sebagai Dasar Aksiomatik Pendidikan (Studi terhadap SD IT Imam Syafi’i Pekanbaru)

Education is an urgency for everyone, including children who are still in the growth stage. A good education will greatly affect future developments, especially if it provides a basis for religion and belief in the form of aqidah from an early age. So this study measures the effectiveness of aqidah as the axiomatic basis of education at the Imam Syafi'i Integrated Islamic Elementary School Pekanbaru City. This study uses a quantitative approach by referring to field data sources with the object of research being elementary school students. Then the results obtained in this study that the effectiveness of aqidah as the axiomatic basis of education in the Imam Syafi'i Integrated Islamic Elementary School in a small group with the final percentage produced, namely 94.5%, is categorized as very good. Then the presentation result in the middle group was 88.22%. While the test conducted on the broad group is with a percentage of 97.78%. All percentage results are in the range of 81% - 100%. It is concluded that teaching understanding of aqidah as the axiomatic basis of education in Imam Syafi'i Integrated Islamic Elementary School is very effective

Isothermal Quenching of As-Cast Medium Carbon, High-Silicon AR Steel.

Medium carbon high-silicon abrasion resistant (AR) steel was examined by performing dilatometry, light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and hardness measurements after isothermal bainitization and modified martempering and compared to direct quenching technology. A commercial thermodynamic tool was used for hardness prediction and compared to the measured one and revealed a rather good agreement for direct quenching, as was the case for isothermal holdings near to the martensite start (Ms). The predicted martensite start temperatures were in good agreement with the experimental data, the experimental value was 321 °C, while the predicted values were 324 and 296 °C. However, a higher discrepancy appeared for isothermal holding much above the martensite transition in the bainite region resulting in lower measured hardness compared to the predictions related to the actual kinetics and complexity of the formed final volume percentages of phase constituents such as bainite, martensite, and rest austenite, later as a part of unfinished bainite transformation at studied temperature. The predicted hardness values for quenching, isothermal holding at 280, 300 and 350 °C were 50.6, 50.6, 49.4 and 49.4 HRC, while the measured values were 53.3, 48.3, 48 and 43 HRC, respectively. A very good agreement between the thermodynamic prediction was achieved by comparing the measured Ms concerning prior austenite grain size as one of the crucial parameters for setting a proper heat treatment strategy of various isothermal quenchings making thermodynamic predictions for low alloyed steels a powerful tool for optimizing the heat-treating operations.

3D Printing Parameter Optimization Using Taguchi Approach to Examine Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) Mechanical Properties.

Polymer composites with different reinforcements have many applications. By adjusting process settings and adding fibers and fillers, composite properties can be improved. Additive manufacturing is popular in the polymer industry because it can manufacture intricately designed parts with fewer defects and greater strength with less material consumption. Composites use thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoset plastics cannot be reused or recycled; therefore, they are disposed in landfills, creating pollution and environmental harm. In this work, thermoplastic ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) polymer filament is used for FDM 3D printing. The specimens are made by varying five process parameters that affected the materials’ mechanical properties. The tensile, flexural and impact specimens are made using MINITAB software and ASTM requirements. The L18 orthogonal array experimental design, specimens and results were optimized. Infill density and layer height were most influential. Maximum tensile strength of 51.86 MPa, flexural strength of 82.56 MPa and impact strength of 0.180 J/mm2 were obtained by following the software-suggested input factors and compared with the predicted values. Final error percentage was obtained between the predicted and the experimental results and it was found to be under 3%, which is acceptable.

Calcium chloride enhances growth and physio-biochemical performance of barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) under drought-induced stress regimes: a future perspective of climate change in the region

AbstractWater is the fundamental part of living systems and it plays a key role in supporting life on earth; however, fluctuations in climatic conditions lead to limitation of the ground water causing serious concerns. The present research study was aimed at assessing growth and physio-biochemical responses of barley to calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution (10 mM) applied through roots under induced drought stress for 5, 10, and 15 days. CaCl2, being an enhancer of osmolytes and antioxidant enzymes, counteracts the damaging effects caused by abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted by sowing barley under induced drought stress for 5, 10, and 15 days, respectively. Plants exposed to different levels of the induced drought stress condition were treated with 10 mM of CaCl2 solution via roots during the seedling stage. Results indicated that water-limited conditions negatively affected plant growth parameters including final emergence percentage, final germination percentage, and mean emergence time. Moreover, absolute growth rate, relative growth rate, and net assimilation rate were significantly improved under 5, 10, and 15 days of drought stress supplemented with CaCl2 solution. Under drought conditions, an increase was observed in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), glycine betaine (GB), and proline (PRO) content, and in ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and lipid peroxide (LPO) activities. H2O2 and LPO showed a significant decline with CaCl2 application under induced drought stress regimes. On the contrary, GB, PRO, APX, CAT, POD, and SOD contents of root and leaf were significantly improved with CaCl2 application under induced drought stress. In conclusion, CaCl2 solution effectively curbed the damages caused by oxidative stress via accumulating osmolytes and scavenging reactive oxygen species by activating the antioxidant enzymatic defence system of barley.

Screening of Big Onion Varieties for Sodicity Tolerance at Cauvery Delta Zone in South India

Sodicity is a major factor affects crop growth and productivity at global level. Out of 1.5 billion ha of cultivable land at global level, 23% are affected due to salinity and 37% by sodicity. Fourteen Big onion varieties were screened by employing germination test in an osmatic solution of Na2CO3 (Sodium bicarbonate).Simultaneously, all the varieties were allowed to germinate in distilled water (control).Three Replications of 20 seeds of each variety were counted and distributed over two layers of paper towel (21x21 cm) previously moistened with water equivalent to three times the dry weight of the paper and tied both ends with rubber band and kept in a plastic tray with different concentrations ( 0, 25mM, 50mM, 75mM, 100 M ) of Na2CO3. At the end of the 21st day, final germination percent, root length, shoot length, root dry weight, shoot weight, Relative water content and membrane stability index, were recorded in Na2CO3 solution as against the distilled water was calculated. The experiment was designed as a completely randomized design with two factors. As a result a decline in all onion growth paramers, with increasing sodicity stress has been recorded. Significant differences were observed between the varieties and different Na2CO3 concentrations. Irrespective of Na2CO3 concentrations, Bhima Safed recorded significantly maximum stress tolerant index compared to other varieties and minimum stress tolerant index value recorded bhima red variety. Based on stress tolerant index, Bhima safed variety tolerant to sodicity stress and Bhima red variety sensitive to sodicity stress.

Uncharted waters: Inbreeding negatively affects germination performance in Marathrum foeniculaceum (Podostemaceae)

In outcrossing species, inbreeding reduces fitness because homozygous deleterious alleles increase their frequency in what is called inbreeding depression. The theory well predicts this phenomenon; however, it is often unclear what proxies of fitness inbreeding might affect. Inbreeding depression in aquatic plants is not extensively studied. To fill this gap, we evaluated the effect of inbreeding trough experimental crosses (inbreeding vs. selfing) on parameters of seed germination performance (i.e., final germination percentage, germination speed and seed size) of the riverweed Marathrum foeniculaceum (Podostemaceae), using seeds collected in two locations of México. We found that the final percentage of germination is affected negatively by inbreeding, but its effect on the speed of germination and seed size were dependent on the river location. This indicates that, even when evaluating the seed germination of the same species, the population dynamics of each location can be different, which might be the result of their evolutionary history and local environmental conditions. These results are important for the design of effective in situ conservation strategies of Podostemaceae in their natural habitat.

Evaluation of the Quality Management System due to the Implementation of the SLIPTA Program at the Bamenda Regional Hospital Laboratory, Cameroon

Background and Aims: Improving the Quality Management System (QMS) of clinical laboratories and achieving accreditation are important in health care delivery. It can be achieved by implementing the World Health Organizaton Stepwise Laboratory Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA). The SLIPTA program was introduced to the Bamenda Regional Hospital (BRHL) in 2010. Our objectives were to identify improvements and evaluate the QMS at the BRHL. Training, mentorship, and improvement of laboratory infrastructure were considered for the program to succeed.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: Secondary data from the WHO SLIPTA assessment reports of the BRHL between November 2009 and March 2018 were extracted. The assessments were conducted by the WHO African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) SLIPTA certified and competent auditors, using the SLIPTA checklist. The final percentage score(s)/star(s) of the assessments was/were identified as improvements, and the evaluation was done by taking the difference between an absolute score of the Quality System Essentials (QSE) of the baseline recent follow-up assessment.&#x0D; Results: A total of nine SLIPTA assessments were carried out. The results indicated great improvements in the QMS from a baseline score of 18% (0-star) to 82% (3-stars) at the recent follow-up assessment. There were also significant changes in the QSE, with the final absolute scores ≥ 58% in all aspects and the greatest change registered in the management review (94%).&#x0D; Conclusions: We identified incredible improvements and magnificent changes in the QMS at the BRHL that were due to training, mentorship, and improvements in infrastructure resulting from the implementation of the SLIPTA program.

Effects of anaerobic digestion pretreatment on the pyrolysis of Sargassum: Investigation by TG-FTIR and Py-GC/MS

Anaerobic digestion was tentatively used as a pretreatment to change the pyrolysis characteristics of Sargassum in this study. The physicochemical properties of Sargassum with different anaerobic digestion durations were investigated. With the increasing the anaerobic digestion duration from 0 to 21 days, the content of extract and cellulose decreased from 37.5 wt% and 12.63 wt% to 27.82 wt% and 4.73 wt%, respectively. While the content of lignin increased from 9.99 wt% to 14.69 wt%. The apparent structure of Sargassum was altered due to changes in chemical composition, which increased the fiber crystallinity and specific surface area. In addition, the effects of anaerobic digestion durations on the gaseous and liquid products of pyrolysis were analyzed by TG-FTIR and Py-GC/MS, respectively. The thermal stability of Sargassum was enhanced due to the consumption of organic matter during anaerobic digestion. The temperatures of weight loss peak for P1-P4 were 326.83, 335.92, 328.80 and 322.75 °C in the devolatilization step, and the final residual mass percentages of Sargassum digestate (digested for 0, 7, 14 and 21 days) were 37.39, 44.61, 48.89 and 49.29%, respectively. Due to the consumption of biodegradable fractions, the structure of Sargassum was loosened. Thus, mild anaerobic digestion pretreatment facilitated the release of functional groups and gases, whereas excessive consumption of some biodegradable fractions might reduce the corresponding gaseous product. The selectivity of bio-oils composition was also altered by anaerobic digestion pretreatment. The relative content of N-compounds and hydrocarbons was enhanced, and the formation of O-compounds was inhibited with anaerobic digestion pretreatment. This study proved that anaerobic digestion pretreatment could alter the composition and structure of the biomass, which varied the thermal-stability and thus influenced the quality of the pyrolytic products. This new attempt is expected to provide an alternative pretreatment for pyrolysis process.

Treatments of common bean seeds (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with insecticides for managing bean stem maggot [Ophiomyia spp. (Tryon) (Diptera: Agromyzidae)] in SNNPR, Ethiopia

Bean stem maggot (BSM) is one of the main threatening insect pests that cause significant bean plant mortalities and associated grain yield reductions. The field research work was conducted for three successive years (2018 - 2020) in Burji, southern Ethiopia, to decide the effects of insecticide seed treatment in reducing bean plant mortality and severity/damage caused by BSM and enhancing the grain yield of common bean. The research contained seven treatments and was arrayed in a randomized complete block design with three replicas. In 2018, the lowest seedling mortality (SM) (11.78%) and matured plant mortality (MPM) (21.89%) were registered from Diazinone-treated plots. However, it was not statistically varied from Thiram + Carbofuran (13.33% for SM and 22.22% for MPM). Bean seeds treated with Diazinon considerably reduced initial percent severity index (PSIi) by 79.79% and final percent severity index (PSIf) by 79.98%, followed by Thiram + Carbofuran with PSIi by 55.67% and PSIf by 76.98% over untreated plots. Lowest total number of larvae (TNL) (15.00 and 22.67) and pupae (TNP) (11.00 and 13.67) were noted from Diazinone and Thiram + Carbofuran, in that order. Comparable fashions for SM, MPM, PSIi, PSIf, TNL, and TNP were encountered for these insecticides in 2019 and 2020. Grain yields of 2229.37 and 2213.39 kg ha-1 (in 2018) and 2648.29 and 2503.20 kg ha-1 (in 2020) were attained from Diazinone and Thiram + Carbofuran, respectively. Monetary analysis also affirmed that Diazinone ($126,429.52 ha-1) and Thiram + Carbofuran ($122,241.67 ha-1) led to a higher monitory advantage over untreated control and other insecticides. Therefore, Diazinon and Thiram + Carbofuran, one of them as an alternative option, could be advised as a seed treatment to the growers for efficient control of BSM and optimization of grain yield.

A Gene Transfer-Positive Cell Sorting System Utilizing Membrane-Anchoring Affinity Tag.

Gene delivery efficiency is an essential limit factor in gene study and gene therapy, especially for cells that are hard for gene transfer. Here we develop an affinity cell sorting system that allows efficient enrichment of gene transfer-positive cells. The system expresses an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused with an N-terminal high-affinity Twin-Strep-Tag (TST) that will be anchored to the cell membrane at the out-surface through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane-anchoring structure. The EGFP permits microscopy and flow cytometry analysis of the gene transfer-positive cells, and the TST tag at the N terminal of EGFP allows efficient affinity sorting of the positive cells using Strep-Tactin magnetic beads. The cell sorting system enables efficient isolation of gene transfer-positive cells in a simple, convenient, and fast manner. Cell sorting on transfected K-562 cells resulted in a final positive cell percentage of up to 95.0% with a positive cell enrichment fold of 5.8 times. The applications in gene overexpression experiments could dramatically increase the gene overexpression fold from 10 times to 58 times, and in shRNA gene knockdown experiments, cell sorting increased the gene knockdown efficiency from 12% to 53%. In addition, cell sorting in CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing experiments allowed more significant gene modification, with an editing percentage increasing from 20% to 79%. The gene transfer-positive cell sorting system holds great potential for all gene transfer studies, especially on those hard-to-transfect cells.

Effect of ferulic and cinnamic acids on the functional and antimicrobial properties in thermo-processed PLA films

The incorporation of ferulic or cinnamic acids as antimicrobial agents into PLA matrices to produce films with active properties for food packaging applications is evaluated in this study. The acids were incorporated by thermal processing at 1 and 2 wt% presenting good stability with 84–98% retentions. The addition of acids provoked about a 5% reduction of elastic modulus and up to 20% reduction in the resistance to break in the PLA films, slightly decreasing their extensibility. Oxygen and water vapor barrier capacities were enhanced by about 6% and 45% respectively for the highest acid concentrations. The acids did not change the glass transition of the polymer but increased the thermal resistance. No significant antimicrobial activity was detected, despite the proven activity of the acids, due to their limited release into the aqueous culture media. Release kinetic studies revealed that significant release was only achieved in intermediate polarity simulant (50% aqueous ethanol), where the final percentages of the active released increased along with the total amount in the films (15% and 31%, respectively, for 2% of ferulic and cinnamic acids). Further studies are necessary to improve the compound release into food matrices and antimicrobial effectiveness.

Ultrasound-induced changes in rheological behavior and hydrophobic microdomains of Lignosus rhinocerotis polysaccharide

Ultrasound is increasingly applied to modify the structures and physicochemical properties of polysaccharides. Hence, this work investigated the ultrasound-induced changes in the rheological behavior and hydrophobic microdomains of Lignosus rhinocerotis polysaccharide (LRP). With an increase in ultrasonic time, the apparent viscosity, storage modulus, loss modulus, and the final percentage recovery of LRP/water system increased to reach the maximum after 10 min treatment and then decreased. These results indicated that short-term (10 min) ultrasound could increase the strength of the network structure of LRP/water system, while longer-term ultrasound (30 and 60 min) weakened the network structure. The self-healing properties of LRP/water system was not affected by ultrasound treatment according to repeated strain and time sweep data. The critical aggregation concentration of the LRP/water system decreased from 2.5 to 1.8 mg/mL after 10 min ultrasound and the number of hydrophobic microdomains increased, suggesting that ultrasound promoted the hydrophobic aggregation of LRP.

Physiological responses of soybean plants to pretreatment and foliar spraying with Ellagic acid and Seaweed extract under accelerated aging

Loss of quality, viability and irreversible seed vigor over time due to seed aging is one of the main causes of reduction of quality and quantity of agricultural production. A wide range of secondary metabolites such as vitamins, growth regulators and antioxidant compounds were used to reduce the harmful effects of a variety of environmental stresses such as seed aging. These can be applied as seed pretreatment or foliar spraying of plants. To investigate the effect of seaweed extract (Ascophyllum nodosum) and ellagic acid on quality improvement of soybean, an experiment was designed and implemented in the field during 2019 and 2020. A factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Two sets of seeds (un-aged and aged seeds), seed pretreatments and foliar spray treatments with ellagic acid and the seaweed extract to plants produced from aged seeds were conducted at three levels (control (zero), 50 mg/L of ellagic acid and 0.3% seaweed extract). The foliar spraying is done to improve the vigor of plants produced from aged seeds. Seed aging reduced the final emergence percentage under the field conditions. Seed pretreatments with the seaweed extract and ellagic acid increased the emergence. The amount of malondialdehyde, the activity of lipoxygenase, flavonoids and anthocyanins content also increased in the leaves of plants grown from the aged seeds in the field conditions. Seed aging reduced glutathione content, protein yield and seed yield. However, seed pretreatments with ellagic acid and the seaweed extract increased protein yield by 27.2% and 53.4%, respectively. Seed yield in plants grown from seeds treated with ellagic acid increased by 28.2%. Seed yield increased by 53.6% with application of seaweed extract as seed pretreatment. Foliar spray of ellagic acid and the seaweed extract to plants increased protein yield by 20.6% and 21.5%, respectively. Thus seed pretreatments and foliar spray of ellagic acid and the seaweed extract countered the effects of accelerated aging of soybean seed.