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Investigating trends in water use efficiency (WUE) and its causality is critical for understanding ecosystem behaviors. Although WUE has shown nonlinear changes in the last several decades across most global ecosystems, the majority of available studies have focused on its linear trend. This study attempted to accurately attribute the linear and nonlinear variations in WUE using normalized driving factors in the Partial Derivative (PD) equation to develop a Normalized Partial Derivative model (NPD-model). Two linear trends obtained from the Linear Regression (LR) and Non-Parametric (NP) and a nonlinear trend obtained from the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) are employed in the NPD-model for attributing WUE change in China. The individual and relative responses of driving factors to WUE change during 2000–2018 are quantified using the China version of the PML-V2 evapotranspiration and gross primary productivity products. The results show that the nonlinear EEMD-based NPD-model with an R2 of 0.83, performs best compared to the LR- and NP-based NPD-models, which have R2 values of 0.64 and 0.7, respectively. WUE increased monotonically in most areas of all vegetation types, with high variability observed in grassland and shrubland. The EEMD-based attribution analysis indicates that leaf area index is the leading factor in regulating WUE in China, followed by CO 2 and climate. The relative contributions revealed that increased WUE in most of China is dominated by the combination of vegetation and environmental factors, covering more than 80% of the study area. These contribution results, however, are largely different from those obtained using the LR- and NP-based NPD-models, as 52% of the study area exhibits cyclic variation in WUE. Therefore, the nonlinear EEMD-based NPD-model provides excellent spatiotemporal attribution of WUE through its driving factors, which is crucial for understanding the ecosystem response to changing environments, potentially assisting in ecosystem and water resource management. • The EEMD-based NPD model performs best. • WUE increased monotonically across most areas of all vegetation types. • Leaf area index is the leading factor in regulating WUE trends in China, followed by CO 2 and climate. • The increased WUE in most of China is dominated by the combined response of vegetation and environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant nutrients availability in soils has always been a factor determining crop growth and development. The availability of plant nutrients becomes limited either due to the indigenous low fertility status of soils or the nature of parent material along with the antagonistic chemical interactions. Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient, while zinc (Zn) is a vital micronutrient for crop growth and development in any agricultural production system. However, their co-existence remains a challenge in acidic as well as alkaline calcareous soils, worldwide. For instance, P precipitates as calcium phosphate (Ca 3 (PO 4) 2) in calcareous soils at high pH, whereas the precipitation of both P and Zn occurs as zinc phosphate (Zn 3 (PO 4) 2) in both alkaline calcareous soils (submerged conditions) and acidic soils owing to low pH conditions. This scenario renders limitations of both these essential nutrients in most of the agricultural soils. Various strategies like integrated nutrient management (INM), enhanced soil organic matter (SOM) incorporation and increased chemical fertilizer applications have been implied to make P and Zn available for crop uptake. Chemical (Inorganic) fertilizer application ensures P and Zn availability during the critical growth stages of plants; however, it results more in fixation rather than their availability. Thus, there is a need to consider the overall P and Zn dynamics in the soil and plant system by exploring their availability, transformation and utilization through soil, rhizosphere and plant processes. In this review, we will discuss the progress in P and Zn transporters/regulators in plants with a potential perspective of their linkage with the practices of P and Zn soil application rates to cope their coexistence constraints in agricultural soils. • The P and Zn regulations from root to shoot focusses the internal P status of plant. • The quantity of soil P and Zn remain disconnected from internal plant regulations. • The soil P and Zn dynamics demand synchronization with related plant transporters. • The soil application of P and Zn require fine-tuning through plant regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Water loss of the Chari River discharge is evaluated using a statistical approach. • The contribution of climate variability and human activities is distinguished. • Previously the contribution of human activities has been underestimated seriously. Abstract Lake Chad was once the sixth largest lake in the world, with a surface area of about 25,000 km2 in the early 1960s. However, it has shrunk to almost only one-twentieth of its maximum area by now. As the biggest river of the Lake Chad basin, the Chari/Logone River contributes approximately 90% of Lake Chad's water input. Consequently, several previous studies have focused on the Chari/Logone River system to investigate the causes of Lake Chad's shrinkage. However, due to the lack of authoritative irrigation and natural runoff observations, it is usually difficult to explain the relative contribution of human activities and climate variability. In this paper, unlike the hydrological modeling approaches used in previous studies, a conceptual and statistical approach was presented to investigate discharge variations and the causes leading to such variations. Specifically, the runoff change caused by climate variability (Δ Q climate ) was estimated using Budyko analysis, while that caused by human activities (Δ Q human ) was estimated using regression analysis. The accuracy of estimation was evaluated through cross validation and comparison with previous studies. The comparison suggests that due to the lack of natural runoff and irrigation withdrawal observations, the runoff simulation produced by previous hydrological models suffers from large errors. The water loss of the Chari/Logone River discharge is dominated by human activities rather than climate variability. On annual average scale, the total water loss caused by climate variability and anthropogenic activities is 16.76 km3. The relative contribution of Δ Q climate and Δ Q human is 26.83% and 73.17%, respectively. The role of human activities is particularly obvious in recent ten years from 2003 to 2013. Due to the increase of rainfall and irrigation withdrawals, the relative contribution of human activities accounts for more than 80% of the total water loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that remote sensing techniques hold the potential to explore the spatial estimation of air temperature ( T a ) with fine spatial and temporal resolution across the world. However, because of the complex interaction of land-atmosphere system and the contamination of cloud cover, the retrieval of daytime T a exclusively from remote sensing data is still far from straight forward, especially under cloudy sky conditions. In this paper, we presented a simple parameterization scheme of daytime T a under all-weather conditions entirely based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. To evaluate its applicability, the scheme was demonstrated in two regions with totally different geomorphological and climatic conditions, the east part of the Qaidam Basin (EQB) in China and the Southern Great Plains (SGP) in the United States of America. The instantaneous T a under clear sky conditions ( T a , clear ) was determined as the average of near surface air temperature ( T a S ) retrieved from MOD07_L2 product and land surface temperature ( T s ) retrieved from MOD06_L2 product. Then a regression model between T a , clear and T s was established, and the instantaneous T a under cloudy sky conditions ( T a , cl oudy ) was estimated by applying the regression model to T s retrieved under cloudy sky conditions. The results showed that the averaging parameterization scheme has significantly improved the accuracy of T a , clear retrievals with MAE = 1.95 °C, RMSE = 2.50 °C, and B = 0.02 in the EQB, and MAE = 2.02 °C, RMSE = 2.56 °C, and B = 0.01 in the SGP. The T a , cloudy estimates also showed good agreement with T a observations in both regions with a correlation coefficient ( r ) higher than 0.91. The values of RMSE calculated for the EQB and SGP were 3.42 °C and 2.91 °C, respectively. The accuracy of both T a , clear and T a , cloudy estimates has reached a level comparable with other traditional statistical approaches that adopt ancillary T a measurements as training dataset. Therefore, it is feasible to estimate daytime T a under all-weather conditions entirely based on MODIS products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium carbide (CaC2) is a well-known source of acetylene and ethylene gases. Its use as a plant growth regulator could be an innovative approach for vegetable production if applied in suitable formulation. Different rates of CaC2 (10, 20, 30 and 40 mg plate-1) were evaluated regarding seed germination and morphological characteristics under controlled conditions. The results showed that germination rate was significantly improved by using low rates of CaC2 (10 to 30 mg CaC2 plate-1) while the highest rate of CaC2 (40 mg plate-1) suppressed germination rate of cucumber seeds. Likewise, lower rates of CaC2 were also found effective in enhancing the root and hypocotyl lengths, number of lateral roots and fresh weight of seedling while the highest rate of CaC2 was proved inhibitory. It was recorded that the CaC2 induced improvement in seed germination was significantly correlated (r = 0.75) with magnitude of ethylene production during imbibition. Moreover, a pot experiment was conducted under natural conditions to select optimum rate and coating material of CaC2 regarding growth and yield parameters of cucumber. It was found that all rates of CaC2, irrespective of coating materials, exhibited new primary branches, early female flowering and fruit maturity. Maximum response regarding female flower count, fruit yield and ethylene emission was obtained by the application of paint coated CaC2 at 300 mg pot-1, which resulted in 34% more fruit yield compared to control plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the examination of flow dynamics and heat transfer characteristics in a 1:4 double lid driven cavity in presence of isoperimetric heated blocks of various shapes. The focus is to identify the optimal shape that enhances the heat transfer in a tall cavity. The parametric settings are chosen in such a way that all the convection regimes including natural, forced and mixed convection could be generated. This cavity has lids positioned at the top and bottom, moving in opposite directions along the x-axis. The physical system is represented as a set of coupled partial differential equations incorporating the rheological properties of the power-law fluids (PL). The governing equations in conjunction with various non-dimensional physical parameters are simulated via Galerkin's Finite Element Method (GFEM) on a very fine hybrid grid. The study includes the computation of the Kinetic Energy and Average Nusselt number to determine the optimal shape. It is concluded that the circular block is superior to the other two in terms of heat transmission efficiency., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In alkaline calcareous soils, ammonia volatilization is the primary nitrogen (N) loss process, resulting in the reduced N use efficiency of crops. This study aimed at assessing the impact of different N sources for top dressing on ammonia volatilization, as well as their effects on wheat growth and yield over two years. In each year, half of the recommended N was applied as a basal dose using diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea. The remaining half was top-dressed 35 days after sowing with various sources: prilled urea (PU), granular urea (GU), ammonium sulfate (AS), and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) in the first year; PU, urea coated with a urease inhibitor from 20 g (VnU-20) and 40 g (VnU-40) leaves of Vachellia nilotica , biochar-coated urea (BU), and urease inhibitor paraphenylenediamine-coated urea (PPDU) in the second year. Ammonia volatilization losses were tracked for up to 12 weeks from sowing. Ammonia losses from basal-applied N remained consistent in both years, comprising around 4% of the applied N. In the first year, top-dressed AS resulted in the highest losses, followed by GU, while losses from urea and CAN were statistically similar. In the second year, coated fertilizers showed lower ammonia losses compared to PU, with VnU-40 displaying the least losses, 48% less than PU. Nitrogen concentration in wheat grain and straw exhibited a negative correlation with ammonia losses. The choice of top-dressed N source influenced tillering, biological, straw, and grain yields of wheat. In the first year, CAN provided maximum yield benefits, and in the second year, VnU-20 exhibited 27% more grain yield than PU. These findings suggest that top dressing with coated urea, especially VnU-20, has the potential to reduce ammonia losses, improve crop nitrogen status, and enhance economic yield compared to other nitrogen sources., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Muhammad Sajid Farooq et al.)

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques into computational science has ushered in a new era of innovation and efficiency in various fields, with particular significance in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Several methods based on AI and Machine Learning (ML) have been standardized in many fields of computational science, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This study aims to couple CFD with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the fluid forces that arise when a flowing fluid interacts with obstacles installed in the flow domain. The momentum equation elucidating the flow has been simulated by adopting the finite element method (FEM) for a range of rheological and kinematic conditions. Hydrodynamic forces, including pressure drop between the back and front of the obstacle, surface drag, and lift variations, are measured on the outer surface of the cylinder via CFD simulations. This data has subsequently been fed into a Feed-Forward Back (FFB) propagation neural network for the prediction of such forces with completely unknown data. For all cases, higher predictivity is achieved for the drag coefficient (CD) and lift coefficient (CL) since the mean square error (MSE) is within ± 2% and the coefficient of determination (R) is approximately 99% for all the cases. The influence of pertinent parameters like the power law index (n) and Reynolds number (Re) on velocity, pressure, and drag and lift coefficients is also presented for limited cases. Moreover, a significant reduction in computing time has been noticed while applying hybrid CFD-ANN approach as compared with CFD simulations only., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The impact of baffles on a convective heat transfer of a non-Newtonian fluid is experimentally studied within a square cavity. The non-Newtonian fluid is pumped into the cavity through the inlet and subsequently departs from the cavity via the outlet. Given the inherent non-linearity of the model, a numerical technique has been selected as the method for obtaining the outcomes. Primarily, the governing equations within the two-dimensional domain have been discretized using the finite element method. For approximating velocity and pressure, we have employed the reliable P 2 - P 1 finite element pair, while for temperature, we have opted for the quadratic basis. To enhance convergence speed and accuracy, we employ the powerful multigrid approach. This study investigates how key parameters like Richardson number (Ri), Reynolds number (Re), and baffle gap b g influence heat transfer within a cavity comprising a non-Newtonian fluid. The baffle gap ( b g ) has been systematically altered within the range of 0.2-0.6, and for this research, three distinct power law indices have been selected namely: 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5. The primary outcomes of the investigation are illustrated through velocity profiles, streamlines, and isotherm visualizations. Furthermore, the study includes the computation of the Nu avg (average Nusselt number) across a range of parameter values. As the Richardson number (Ri) increases, Nu avg also rises, indicating that an increase in Ri results in augmented average heat transfer. Making the space between the baffles wider makes heat flow more intense. This, in turn, heats up more fluid within the cavity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponics is limited due to the elevated nutrient solution temperature (NST). In this regard, non-electric evaporative-cooling techniques were explored to maintain NST in open-air NFT hydroponics. Four cooling setups were employed by wrapping polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grow pipes with one and two layers of either wet or dry jute fabrics and attaching them with coiled aluminum pipe buried inside a) wet sand-filled brick tunnels (Cooling Setup I), b) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots (Cooling Setup II), c) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots externally wrapped with wet jute fabric (Wrapped Cooling Setup II), and d) an earthen pitcher wrapped with wet jute fabric (Cooling Setup III). Wrapping grow pipes with two layers of wet jute fabric reduced NST by 5°C as compared to exposed (naked) grow pipes. The double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes produced 182% more reduction in NST in comparison to single layer-wrapped grow pipes. Additionally, the installation of Wrapped Cooling Setup II and Cooling Setup III outperformed Cooling Setup I and Cooling Setup II through NST reduction of approximately 4°C in comparison to control. Interestingly, Cooling Setup III showed its effectiveness through NST reductions of 193%, 88%, and 23% during 11 a.m.-12 p.m. as compared to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Wrapped Cooling Setup II, respectively. In contrast, Wrapped Cooling Setup II caused NST reductions of 168%, 191%, and 18% during 2-3 p.m. in comparison to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Cooling Setup III, respectively. Thus, the double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes linked with Wrapped Cooling Setup II can ensure summer vegetable cultivation in open-air NFT hydroponics as indicated by the survival of five out of 12 vegetable plants till harvest by maintaining NST between 26°C and 28°C., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Nisar, Mahmood, Tayyab, Anees, Nadeem, Bibi, Waseem, Ahmed, Li and Zhao.)

In terms of delivery systems for active compounds, orally disintegrating films are a great option. The initial stage in creating an oral disintegrating film is selecting a film-forming polymer. The basic polymers combination Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC), which is co-processed with Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium (CMC) and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose were used to create an oral disintegrating film that contains cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), a fat-soluble vitamin that aids in the body's absorption of calcium and phosphorus. The goal of the current inquiry was to develop orally disintegrating films of vitamin D3 to improve patient comfort and compliance for pediatric or elderly patients due to its simplicity of administration. Films containing drugs and made of the appropriate plasticizer and chosen polymers demonstrated outstanding film forming and folding endurance. The dissolution test showed that Vitamin D3 has a rapid disintegration property, with the majority of it dissolving in the medium (pH 6.8) in less than two minutes after being inserted. To verify that the films were successfully formed, a variety of procedures including HPLC, FT-IR and microscopic studies were employed. When kept at 40oC with humidity of 75%, the film showed good stability for at least three months.

Amongst hip fracture admissions, mortality is higher in men than in women. However, sex differences in other care-quality measures have not been well-documented. We aimed to examine sex differences in mortality as well as a wide range of underlying health indicators and clinical outcomes in adults ≥ 60 year of age admitted with hip fractures from their own homes to a single NHS hospital between April-2009 and June-2019. Sex differences in delirium, length of stay (LOS) and mortality in hospital, readmission, and discharge destination, were examined by logistic regression. There were 787 women and 318 men of similar mean age (± SD): 83.1 year (± 8.6) and 82.5 year (± 9.0), respectively (P = 0.269). There were no sex differences in history of dementia or diabetes, anticholinergic burden, pre-fracture physical function, American Society of Anesthesiologists grades, or surgical and medical management. Stroke and ischaemic heart disease, polypharmacy, and alcohol consumption were more common in men. After adjustment for these differences and age, men had greater risk of delirium (with or without cognitive impairment) within one day of surgery: OR = 1.75 (95%CI 1.14-2.68), LOS ≥ 3 weeks in hospital: OR = 1.52 (1.07-2.16), mortality in hospital: OR = 2.04 (1.14-3.64), and readmission once or more after 30 days of a discharge: OR = 1.53 (1.03-2.31). Men had a lower risk of a new discharge to residential/nursing care: OR = 0.46 (0.23-0.93). The present study revealed that, in addition to a greater risk of mortality than women, men also had many other adverse health outcomes. These findings, which have not been well-documented, serve to stimulate future targeted preventive strategies and research., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI).)

Soil urease inhibition slows down the urea hydrolysis and prolongs nitrogen (N) stay in soil, resulting in an increased N uptake by plants. Apart from several chemical urease inhibitors, the urease inhibition potential of plant extracts is rarely reported. In our previous study, the soil urease inhibition by Vachellia nilotica leaf extract was reported; however, its role in relation to growth and yield of wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) under pot and field conditions remains unknown. The acetonic extracts of 10, 20, and 50 g Vachellia nilotica leaves were given code names viz. Vn.Fl-10, Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50, respectively, and coated on 100 g of urea individually. The enhancements of growth (total number of tillers, number of productive tillers, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, and 1000-grains weight) and yield (biological yield, straw yield, and grain yield) parameters of wheat by Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50 coated urea treatments were compared with uncoated urea in a pot experiment. The experiment indicated that the Vachellia nilotica extract coatings were effective at improving N persistence in soil, as reflected by increased grain and straw N concentrations as well as uptakes. The reproduction of the aforementioned results, at the half and full recommended dose of urea under field conditions, reconfirmed the effectiveness of Vachellia nillotica coatings. Moreover, the Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50 coated urea, at the half as well as full recommended dose under field conditions, proved equally effective in terms of higher biological, straw, and grain yield, and grain N uptake. The increments in the total number of tillers, number of productive tillers, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, straw yield, grain yield, grain N concentration, grain N-, and straw N uptake along with nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) components, i.e. nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP), nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), partial nitrogen balance (PNB), and nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) of wheat highlighted the superiority of Vn.Fl-20 coating over the hydroquinone (Hq) coating on urea at the full recommended dose under field conditions. Given the findings of this study, Vachellia nilotica leaf extract coating (Vn.Fl-20) can be used as a natural urease inhibitor to reduce urea hydrolysis and enhance wheat productivity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Rana, Mahmood, Nadeem, Wang, Jin and Liu.)

Nitrogen (N) deficiency is a primary limiting factor for crop production worldwide. Previously, we reported root system architectural modifications of hydroponically cultured foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] to facilitate N translocation under N limitation. Here, we investigated foxtail millet for its shoot adaptation to low N in terms of internal N regulation under hydroponic culture. The results of this study revealed that the shoot N and nitrate (NO 3 - ) concentrations significantly declined as compared to control (CK); however, the shoot over-accumulated ammonium (NH 4 + ) under low N (LN). N shortage resulted in down-regulation of expressions of SiPetA, SiccsA, SipsbA, SirpoB, SipsaA, SiatpA, Sirps16, and SiPEPC which, undermined chloroplast functioning and CO 2 assimilation for the provision of carbon skeleton. Carbon deficiency and lower activities of GS decelerated ammonia assimilation and led to over-accumulation of NH 4 + in the LN-shoot, as indicated by lower concentrations of total amino acids. Thus, enhanced GOGAT activity was to assimilate NH 4 + while, those of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) of NH 4 + toxicity framework. The weakened chloroplast factory eventually minimized photosynthesis and reduced dry mass of the LN shoot. Such regulation of N by the shoot, perhaps, resurrected physiological functions which maintained internal mineral status under nitrogen limitation in foxtail millet., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The reliability of the usage of a splitter plate (passive control device) downstream of the obstacle, in suppressing the fluid forces on a circular obstacle of diameter [Formula: see text] is studied in this paper. The first parameter of the current study is the attachment of a splitter plate of various lengths [Formula: see text] with the obstacle, whereas the gap separation [Formula: see text] between the splitter plate and the obstacle, is used as a second parameter. The control elements of the first and second parameters are varied from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. For the attached splitter plates of lengths [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the oscillatory behavior of transient flow at [Formula: see text] is successfully controlled. For the gap separation, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] similar results are obtained. However, it is observed that a splitter plate of too short length and a plate located at the inappropriate gap from the obstacle, are worthless. A computational strategy based on the finite element method is utilized due to the complicated representative equations. For a clear physical depiction of the problem, velocity and pressure plots have been provided. Drag and lift coefficients the hydrodynamic benchmark values are also evaluated in a graphical representation surrounding the obstacle's peripheral surface as well as the splitter plate. In a conclusion, a splitter plate can function to control fluid forces whether it is attached or detached, based on plate length and gap separation between obstacle and plate, respectively., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

More than 2.1 billion people worldwide are deprived of safe drinking water at homes. The situation is strikingly worse in a developing country like Pakistan where over 69% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. The present study evaluated a perenial herb, Typha angustata (TA), to purify the spring water. For this purpose, 25 water samples were collected. Majority of samples (20/25) were highly contaminated with microbes ranging colony forming units (CFU) per millileter per Petri dish ranged from 85 to 279 with an average of 136.4. Microbial inhibition of water samples treated with the nonmodified plant extract was observed to be better with the average of 55.5% compared to the treatment with NaOH chemically modified plant where average 46.4% inhibition of microbial load was observed. Four species of microbes such as Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas otitidis, and Streptococcus agalactiae were identified after sequencing. We concluded that T. angustata extract may be used as an antibacterial agent/biosorbent for the purification of drinking water to provide safe drinking water to billions of humans. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Spring water samples were collected from 25 different springs. Spring water samples were analyzed for physiochemical parameters. Spring water samples were found to be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, that is, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas otitidis, and Streptococcus agalactiae. Pathogenic bacteria in spring water samples were treated with extract of Typha angustata. Extract of Typha angustata was found as a potential antibacterial agent against pathogenic bacteria., (© 2019 Water Environment Federation.)

Embryonic stem cells provide an ideal system to study various therapies for serious human diseases such as juvenile diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, heart diseases and cancer. Synthetic or natural compounds that affect cell proliferation and/or differentiation of embryonic stem cells are of great value. Focus of the current project was upon the isolation and evaluation of natural components from a medicinal plant; Rhazya stricta on proliferation/ differentiation potential of embryonic stem cells. For this purpose, after a series of fractionation and purification steps, 7 compounds named as RS1-RS7 were isolated from aerial parts of the plant. The effects of these compounds were evaluated on the morphology and rate of cell proliferation of mouse naive embryonic stem cells. Only RS7 inhibited the proliferation of cell and reduced the induction of differentiation of cell. The qPCR analysis confirmed that the expression of the selected pluripotency markers (Oct4, Nanog and Sox2) was down regulated by RS7 treatment as compared to control. Furthermore, upon withdraw of Leukemia inhibitory factor (lif) from medium; effect of RS7 to promote differentiation was enhanced. Through structure elucidation studies, RS7 was found to be ursolic acid. This study first time shows the effect of natural compounds of Rhazya stricta Decne. on mouse embryonic stem cells.

A bacterial consortium BMP1/SDSC/01 consisting of six isolates was isolated from textile effected soil, sludge, and textile effluent from Hudiara drain near Nishat Mills Limited, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan. It was selected because of being capable of degrading and detoxifying red, green, black, and yellow textile dyes. The pH and supplements were optimized to enhance the decolorization ability of the selected consortium. The results indicated that decolorizing ability of consortium for the red, green, black, and yellow dyes was higher as compared to individual strains. The consortium was able to decolorize 84%, 84%, 85%, 85%, and 82% of 200 ppm of red, green, black, yellow, and mixed dyes within 24 h while individual strain required 72 h. On supplementing urea, the consortium decolorized 87, 86, 89, 86, and 83%, respectively, while on supplementing sodium chloride the consortium decolorized 93, 94, 93, 94, and 89% of red, green, black, yellow, and mixed dyes, respectively, which was maximum while in the presence of ascorbic acid and ammonium chloride it showed intermediate results. The effect of untreated and treated dyes was investigated on Zea mays L. (maize) and Sorghum vulgare Pers. (sorghum). This study will help to promote an efficient biotreatment of textile effluents.

In the title complex, [Cd(CH(3)COO)(2)(C(4)H(8)N(2)S)(2)], the Cd(II) cation is coordinated by three acetate O atoms and two S atoms of Diaz [Diaz = 1,3-diazinane-2-thione = 3,4,5,6-tetra-hydro-pyrimidine-2(1H)-thione]. The Cd(II) coordination is augmented by one considerably longer Cd-O bond of 2.782 (3) Å to a carboxyl-ate O atom. The resulting coordination polyhedron around the Cd(II) cations can be described as a highly distorted octa-hedron. The Diaz ligand and the acetate anions are linked by N-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions.

Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is one of the most frequent and serious complication in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites associated with high mortality. Empiric antibiotic therapy should be initiated before the results of ascitic fluid cultures are available, guided by knowledge of the microbial spectrum of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in a particular population., Methods: This is a descriptive study which was carried out in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Postgraduate Medical Institute Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from January 2007 to December 2007. Fifty consecutive patients of established cirrhosis liver with ascites presenting with suspicion and or risk factors for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were included in the study after informed consent. All selected patients were subjected to ascitic fluid tap. Twenty ml of ascitic fluid was aspirated in a heparinised disposable syringe; out of it 10 ml was immediately inoculated into blood culture bottle at bedside and sent for bacterial culture along with the remaining 10 ml for routine biochemical and cytological examination., Results: Out of 50 patients, 28 (56%) were diagnosed to have spontaneous bacterial peritonitis or its variants. Classic spontaneous bacterial peritonitis was present in 11 patients (39.28%), 16 (57.14%) patients were found to have culture negative neutrocytic ascites and one patient (3.57%) had bacterascites. Out of 28 cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis 12 samples of ascitic fluid showed positive culture reports. E. coli was the most frequently cultured organism isolated in 8 (66.66%) cases, Streptococcus pneumonae in 2 patients (16.66%), S taphylococcus aurus and Klebsiella each in 1 case (8.33%)., Conclusion: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and its variants is a common complication of liver cirrhosis with ascites. E. coli is the most frequent offending organism in these cases. Knowledge of the microbial spectrum of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in a particular population is important for the selection of the most appropriate empiric antibiotic regimen.

The title complex salt, [Ni(C(3)H(8)N(2)S)(6)](NO(3))(2), consists of an [Ni(Dmtu)(6)](2+) (Dmtu is N,N'-dimethyl-thio-urea) dication and two nitrate counter-anions. The Ni(II) atom (site symmetry ) is coordinated by the S atoms of six Dmtu ligands within a slightly distorted octa-hedral environment. The crystal structure is characterized by weak intra-molecular N-H⋯S inter-actions and by inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the nitrate anion (site symmetry 3.). These inter-molecular inter-actions lead to the formation of two-dimensional networks lying parallel to the ab plane. The networks are linked via non-classical inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional arrangement.

Background: It is generally believed that repeated exposure of a receptor to a stimulus results in inactivation (suppression or adaptation) of the receptor. Most of the methods of tobacco use are linked to the oral cavity where the taste receptors, a primary site for stimulation of salivary secretion, are constantly exposed to tobacco for long time. The present study was designed to document changes in salivary concentration of total solids in response to this effect in chronic tobacco users, if any., Methods: Subjects of the study were divided into smokers, pan (tobacco-betel-lime quid) chewers, niswar (moist oral snuff) dippers and non tobacco users as controls. The saliva of each subject was collected under resting condition and following application of crude nicotine and citric acid solutions to the tip of his tongue., Results: After stimulation with nicotine all groups showed a decrease in the total solids concentration but the decrease was not significant in any group. After stimulation with citric acid, further decrease was seen in all groups but it was also insignificant statistically., Conclusion: We conclude that the total solids concentration decreases with the increase in salivary flow rates (and vice versa) in long-term tobacco users, salivary reflex is not adversely affected by long-term use of tobacco and this observation is not much different from that in non users.

Background: Almost every individual dislikes excessive and unnecessary noise. Noise exerts various adverse psychological and physiological effects, on human body including a rise in blood pressure., Methods: 117 volunteer medical students, aged 18-23 years were exposed to 90 decibel noise of 4000 hertz for 10 minutes, produced by audiometer in a sound-proof room. Blood pressure was recorded every three minutes., Results: Blood pressure increased during exposure to noise. Average rise in systolic blood pressure was 2.462+/-0.532 mm Hg and average rise in diastolic blood pressure was 3.064+/-1.047 mm Hg. Blood pressure came to resting value within two minutes after stopping exposure to noise in more than 50% of the subjects., Conclusion: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases due to noise exposure.