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Trifluoromethyl (CF3) and other fluoroalkyl groups are of great significance in the fields of pharmaceutical chemistry and agricultural chemicals. Fluoroalkyl acids, especially trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is considered the most ideal fluoroalkylation reagent due to its low cost and easy availability. However, the extremely high oxidation potential requirement of TFA limits its wide application. In recent years, since visible-light-induced fluoroalkylation through the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) process can overcome the above limitations, it has become an effective synthetic tool for the construction of fluorinated compounds with complex molecules and structures. In this review, according to the classification of different metal catalysts, we summarize the trifluoromethylation and fluoroalkylation of olefins, heteroaromatics, and terminal alkynes in different metal catalytic systems and their corresponding reaction mechanisms. The photocatalytic fluoroalkylation via LMCT is believed to expedite the development of fluoro-containing drugs, and more novel fluoroalkylation methologies using this strategy will be disclosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a new method for synthesizing halogenated heterocycles, which are important in medicinal, materials, and agricultural chemistry. The authors propose a base-mediated cyclization method that is simple, robust, and scalable, providing good to excellent yields of indoles, benzofurans, and benzothiophenes. The text provides a detailed description of the experimental procedures and characterization data for the synthesis of various compounds, including IR spectra, NMR spectra, and high-resolution mass spectra. This information can be useful for researchers studying organic synthesis and chemical characterization. [Extracted from the article]

To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the hotspots and research progress of tea beverage at home and abroad, this research paper analyzed the annual publication volume, author co-occurrences, co-citations, research institutions, the number of country publications, journals, and research hotspots of 1247 English literature collected by WOS from 2002 to 2022 using the Web of Science core collection database as the data source and the visual data analysis software CiteSpace v 6.1.6R. The results of the analysis showed that the heat for research on tea beverage at home and abroad continued to rise, and the annual number of publications showed a rising trend year by year. The number of core authors with more than four articles was 584, accounting for 82.4% of the total number of authors. The majority of institutional publications came from Chinese universities, of which the first institution with the highest number of publications was Anhui Agricultural University. The People's Republic of China was the most actively published country, followed by USA and JAPAN. The journals with high publication volume were mainly concentrated in the field of agricultural and food chemistry, and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry was the journal with the highest co-citation frequency, with a total of 988 citations. The "caffeine" "acid" and "catechin" were high-frequency keywords in tea beverage research, with research hotspots focusing on the detection and extraction of active substances in tea beverage, fermented teas, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. In summary, research on tea beverage was still on the rise, but existing studies suffered from a lack of cooperation among authors, limited research areas and convergent research methods, etc. Scholars should strengthen multifaceted cooperation and communication to broaden the breadth and depth of the research, and to jointly promote the development of research in this field. This study provided a reference for a more in-depth understanding of the current status of global tea beverage research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veratramine and cyclopamine, two of the most representative members of the isosteroidal alkaloids, are valuable molecules in agricultural and medicinal chemistry. While plant extraction of these compounds suffers from uncertain supply, efficient chemical synthesis approaches are in high demand. Here, we present concise, divergent, and scalable syntheses of veratramine and cyclopamine with 11% and 6.2% overall yield, respectively, from inexpensive dehydro-epi-androsterone. Our synthesis readily provides gram quantities of both target natural products by utilizing a biomimetic rearrangement to form the C-nor-D-homo steroid core and a stereoselective reductive coupling/(bis-)cyclization sequence to establish the (E)/F-ring moiety. Veratramine and cyclopamine are valuable molecules in agricultural and medicinal chemistry, but the efficient chemical synthesis approaches are in high demand. Here, the authors report the concise, divergent, and scalable syntheses of veratramine and cyclopamine with 11% and 6.2% overall yield, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control of potato virus Y (PVY) induced crop failure is a challengeable issue in agricultural chemistry. Although many anti‐PVY agents are designed to focus on the functionally important coat protein (CP) of virus, how these drugs act on CP to inactivate viral pathogenicity, remains largely unknown. Herein, a PVY CP inhibitor ‐3j (S) is disclosed, which is accessed by developing unusually efficient (up to 99% yield) and chemo‐selective (> 99:1 er in most cases) carbene‐catalyzed [3+4] cycloaddition reactions. Compound ‐3j bears a unique arylimidazole‐fused diazepine skeleton and shows chirality‐preferred performance against PVY. In addition, ‐3j (S) as a mediator allows ARG191 (R191) of CP to be identified as a key amino acid site responsible for intercellular movement of virions. R191 is further demonstrated to be critical for the interaction between PVY CP and the plant functional protein NtCPIP, enabling virions to cross plasmodesmata. This key step can be significantly inhibited through bonding with the ‐3j (S) to further impair pathogenic behaviors involving systemic infection and particle assembly. The study reveals the in‐depth mechanism of action of antiviral agents targeting PVY CP, and contributes to new drug structures and synthetic strategies for PVY management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates the literary exchanges between the Irish poet and agronomist George William Tighe and Percy Bysshe Shelley in Pisa, where the former lived with Margaret King Mount Cashell, alias 'Mrs Mason', a radical Irish writer and former pupil of Mary Wollstonecraft. After moving to Pisa in 1820, Shelley began daily visits to the Mason-Tighe household, sourcing from Tighe's library a wealth of reading material on agricultural chemistry and botany, alongside Irish political and historical titles. Tighe's previously unexamined papers showcase his interests in Irish and Italian literature, republicanism, botany, and agriculture and reveal his links with the Lunar Society of Birmingham. Taking as a case study the first poem Shelley composed in Pisa, I argue that Tighe's agricultural pursuits shaped Shelley's political and botanical imagination in 'The Sensitive-Plant' and exerted a significant influence on Shelley's later poetry as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea complexes of magnesium sulfate have been intensively studied due to their application in many areas of life, including agricultural chemistry, pharmacy, medicine, etc. The aim of this study is to add new knowledge about the trends and consistencies in the preparation procedures of MgSO4·nOC(NH2)2·mH2O phases. A set of analytical methods was used to characterize their structure, thermal and spectroscopic properties. The conditions for obtaining the three complexes in pure form were specified and the crystal structures of MgSO4·OC(NH2)2·2H2O and MgSO4·OC(NH2)2·3H2O were determined. The spectroscopic data of the considered compounds were analysed with respect to their structural and chemical properties. Thermal analyses showed that both the melting point and the urea decomposition temperature depend on the OC(NH2)2: H2O ratio in the octahedral environment of the magnesium ion in the studied structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thiazole and piperazine are two important heterocyclic rings that play a prominent role in nature and have a broad range of applications in agricultural and medicinal chemistry. Herein, we report the parallel synthesis of a library of diverse piperazine-tethered thiazole compounds. The reaction of piperazine with newly generated 4-chloromethyl-2-amino thiazoles led to the desired piperazine thiazole compounds with high purities and good overall yields. Using a variety of commercially available carboxylic acids, the parallel synthesis of a variety of disubstituted 4-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)thiazol-2-amine derivatives is described. the screening of the compounds led to the identification of antiplasmodial compounds that exhibited interesting antimalarial activity, primarily against the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistant Dd2 strain. The hit compound 2291-61 demonstrated an antiplasmodial EC50 of 102 nM in the chloroquine-resistant Dd2 strain and a selectivity of over 140. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemistry serves as indispensable basic course for students majoring in agriculture and forestry, with inorganic and analytical chemistry constituting essential components of the chemical curriculum. The quality of instruction in these courses critically influences the overall caliber of chemistry education and further elevates the standards of agricultural and forestry specialization courses. Given the burgeoning body of knowledge in both agricultural and chemical disciplines, alongside ongoing advancements in educational technologies such as digitization and informatization, it is of great significance to adapt and reform the pedagogy of inorganic and analytical chemistry courses. Drawing on an analysis and comparison of current online and offline teaching approaches, as well as identifying existing deficiencies in the curriculum at Zhejiang A & F University, we propose several strategies. These include enhancing curriculum design, promoting interdisciplinary integration between chemistry and specialized courses, addressing student heterogeneity to meet individual learning needs, refining teaching methods, and reinforcing ideological and political dimensions within the course framework. Our findings indicate that these reforms have markedly improved teaching outcomes, as well as students' learning efficiency, problem-solving abilities, and conceptual understanding of chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of difluoromethylated molecules for drug and agrochemical development, much attention has been drawn to the establishment of related synthetic protocols, as exemplified by the CF2H radical‐mediated catalytic difluoromethylation of alkenes. However, most of these difluoromethylations proceed under photocatalytic conditions, whereas those requiring thermal conditions are few. Herein, we developed a general and practical method of Cu‐catalyzed alkene difluoromethylation with difluoroacetic anhydride (DFAA) as a CF2H source, showing that the thus realized amino‐, allylic‐, and oxy‐difluoromethylations involve bis(difluoroacetyl) peroxide (BDFAP) in situ generated from DFAA and H2O2 and further demonstrating the occurrence of carbo‐difluoromethylation under catalyst‐free conditions. The obtained results pave the way to the simple and efficient synthesis of a broad range of difluoromethylated species and thus facilitate their practical applications, including those in medicinal and agricultural chemistry. Moreover, we probed the mechanisms of the observed transformations, rationalized the extraordinary fast decomposition of BDFAP compared to that of diacyl peroxides containing CF3 or CF2Cl groups, and performed DFT calculations to shed light on the low stability and decomposition mode of BDFAP. Finally, we examined the influence of fluorinated radical philicity on the reaction outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C-terminal conformational changes in SCF-D3/MAX2 ubiquitin ligase are required for KAI2-mediated signaling Our I in silico i analyses of KAI2 recruitment by MAX2-CTH show high sequence conservation between 200 KAI2 and D14 sequences both in the engaged and the CTH-dislodged states of MAX2. (e, g) Residues involved in forming the D14/KAI2-MAX2-CTH interface are colored on KAI2 surface by amino acid conservation across 200 KAI2/ D14 sequences (left). Keywords: KAI2; karrikin; MAX2; plant hormones; signaling; strigolactone; ubiquitin ligase EN KAI2 karrikin MAX2 plant hormones signaling strigolactone ubiquitin ligase 2067 2075 9 08/23/23 20230915 NES 230915 Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article. [Extracted from the article]

Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal that creates a water pollutant. It can be released from industrial processes, agricultural chemistry, and community wastes, affecting creatures and human health even at a low concentration. As a result, it is advised that lead be removed before releasing wastewater into the environment. This study synthesized three chitosan bead materials from shrimp shell wastes which were chitosan powder beads (CB), chitosan powder mixed with goethite beads (CFB), and chitosan powder beads coated with goethite (CBF) for removing lead in an aqueous solution. Their surface area, pore volumes, and pore sizes were explored according to Brunauer– Emmett–Teller, and their crystalline formations were investigated using an X-ray diffractometer. Their surface structures were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy and a focus ion beam, and their chemical compositions were determined using an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Their chemical functional groups were identified via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of several factors on removing lead, and the adsorption isotherm and kinetics were also investigated for determining their adsorption pattern and mechanism. In addition, the desorption experiments were studied to confirm their possible material reusability. The CBF demonstrated the highest surface area and smallest pore size compared with the other materials. In addition, the pore sizes of the CFB and CBF were micropores, whereas those of the CB were mesopores. All materials were semicrystalline structures, and the specific goethite peaks were observed in the CFB and CBF. All materials had spherical shapes with heterogeneous surfaces. Six chemical components of O, C, Ca, N, Cl, and Na were discovered in all materials, and Fe was only found in the CFB and CBF because of the addition of goethite. Five main chemical functional groups of N–H, O–H, C–H, C–O, and –COOH were found in all materials. The optimum conditions of the CB, CFB, and CBF for removing lead were 0.5 g, 16 h, pH 5, 0.5 g, 16 h, pH 5, and 0.4 g, 14 h, pH 5, respectively. The results of the batch experiments demonstrated that the CB, CFB, and CBF were high-efficiency adsorbents for removing lead in solution by more than 95%, whereby the CBF showed the highest lead removal of 99%. The Freundlich isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model helped to well explain their adsorption pattern and mechanism. The maximum lead adsorption capacities of the CB, CFB, and CBF were 322.58, 333.33, and 344.83 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, all chitosan materials can be reused for more than three cycles with high lead removal by more than 94%; so, they are potential materials for application in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability, low toxicity, and high solute potential are the fundamental reasons for focusing green chemistry on natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES). The application of NADES ranges from organic chemistry to the agricultural sector and the food industry. In the food industry, the desired food quality can be achieved by the extraction of small molecules, macromolecules, and even heavy metals. The compound yield in Maillard-type model reactions can also be increased using NADES. To extend the so-called "kitchen-type chemistry" field, an inert, food-grade NADES system based on sucrose/D-sorbitol was developed, characterized, and examined for its ability as a reaction medium by evaluating its temperature and pH stability. Reaction boundary conditions were determined at 100 °C for three hours with a pH range of 3.7–9.0. As proof of principle, two Maillard-type model reactions were implemented to generate the taste-modulating compounds N2-(1-carboxyethyl)guanosine 5′-monophosphate) (161.8 µmol/mmol) and N2-(furfuryl thiomethyl)guanosine 5′-monophosphate (95.7 µmol/g). Since the yields of both compounds are higher than their respective taste-modulating thresholds, the newly developed NADES is well-suited for these types of "kitchen-type chemistry" and, therefore, a potential solvent candidate for a wide range of applications in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The battery State of Charge (SoC) is critical information to overcome agricultural robots' limitations related to battery and energy management. Although several SoC estimation methods have been proposed in the literature, the performance of these methods has not been validated for different battery chemistries in agricultural mobile robot applications. Compared to previous work, this paper evaluates the limits of the SoC estimation using the RC model and the Thevenin model for a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery and a Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery. This evaluation used a custom agricultural robot in a controlled indoor environment. Consequently, this work assessed the limitations of two ECM-based SoC estimation methods using battery packs, low-cost sensors and discharge cycles typically used in agricultural robot applications. Finally, the results indicate that the RC model is not suitable for SoC estimation for LFP battery; however, it achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.2% for the SLA battery. On the other hand, the Thevenin model performed properly for both chemistries, achieving MAE lower than 1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organocatalysis has been well established and documented for the asymmetric and non asymmetric synthesis of pharmaceuticals, natural products and fine chemicals. However, relatively a few reports have been reported regarding the synthesis of chiral or achiral agrochemicals while using organocatalysis. With continuous growing interest in modern agricultural chemistry, this review will provide a comprehensive overview of some important reports on the successful applications of organocatalysts for the synthesis of agrochemicals. The review has summarized the organocatalytic approach for both asymmetric and non‐asymmetric synthesis of such chemicals with respect to academic and industrial aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of fungicides is a central topic in agricultural chemistry. In this manuscript, it is shown how the Superposition of Significant Interaction Rules (SSIR) method can serve the generation of new potentially active molecules. By using SSIR, it is shown how the process becomes a simple symbolic procedure without the intervention of sophisticated statistical methods, although the results obtained are comparable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-year field experiment was carried out with maize (Zea mays L.) at two biochar (BC) doses of (5 and 10 t. ha-1) and two nitrogen fertilizer rates (130 and 260 kg. ha-1) in Tsalapitsa village (Plovdiv) on Alluvial-meadow soil (Fluvisol). The aim of the study was to find out the influence of biochar as an aftereffect, as well as nitrogen fertilization on soil physicochemical and agrochemical properties. In order to observe the effect of biochar in the second year, the variants from the first year (B(1)5N130, B(1)10N130, B(1)5N260 and B(1)10N260, without the controls K1N130 and K2N260 were left without the addition of biochar, and for the second year, new variants were set up according to the same scheme. During the vegetation of maize, the influence of biochar as the aftereffect was observed with increase in pH values (0.2 - 0.3 units) in comparison with the control variants (without biochar, nitrogen fertilization only), which was confirmed by its application in the second year. There were positive changes in the mineral N content of the studied treatments as the aftereffect, compared to the controls and the second-year treatments, which may be related to the ability of the biochar to fix nitrogen and protect it from leaching, especially on vulnerable soils such as the Fluvisol studied. A slight increase in organic carbon (0.09-0.32%) was also found at the lower N rate (130 kg. ha-1) in the aftereffect variants. In these variants, a slight increase in cation exchange capacity, exchangeable Ca and the degree of base saturation was also observed. Biochar utilization had little effect on the investigated properties of the Fluvisol. Applying the lower doses of biochar in longer term would have a more significant impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sampling location was Saharsa, which is one of Bihar's most flood-prone area Flooding is the leading source of soil degradation in the district. The current study was carried out in the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry laboratory at Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences. 27 samples were collected from several farmer's fields, and composite sampling was carried out from three depths of 0-15, 15-30, and 30-45 cm. The results revealed that the texture was sandy loam to sandy clay, bulk density ranged from 1.11 to 1.59 Mg/m³, particle density ranged from 2.22 to 2.85 Mg/m³, pore space ranged from 52.60 to 66.50 % and water holding capacity ranged from 61.11 to 78.12 %. The pH ranged from 6.58 to 7.65, E.C. from 0.17 to 0.39 dS/m, (Due to Flooding) Soil Organic Carbon ranged from 0.74 to 1.20 %, Soil has acceptable Bd, Pd, pore space, and water holding capacity. As a result of the beneficial electrical conductivity for plants, the pH of the soil is neutral to alkaline. Sodium is low to medium in range. Low to medium levels of macronutrients are found in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur. By employing the proper management techniques and supplying the soil with enough nourishment for plant growth, farmers must maintain the health of their soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3‐(2H)‐isoxazolone is an important skeletal structure in medicinal and agricultural chemistry. However, its synthetic methodology has limited substrate scope and requires unconventional substrate synthesis. Meanwhile, gold‐catalyzed intramolecular oxidative cross‐coupling involving the 5/6‐endo‐dig cyclization of substrates bearing an ynone structure has not been reported because of an undesirable protonation as a side‐reaction. Thus, we hypothesized that the reactivity of cyclic N‐alkoxypropiolamides would suppress protonation and allow dual functionalization. As a result, sequential gold‐catalyzed 5‐endo‐dig cyclization, oxidative cross‐coupling, and hydroxylation of N‐alkoxypropiolamides was developed to synthesize 4‐aryl‐3‐(2H)‐isoxazolones with a hydroxy group. In an optimization study, dimethylformamide (DMF) and H2O were effective solvents for the sequential reaction. This method enabled 3‐(2H)‐isoxazolone backbone synthesis with the introduction of an aryl and hydroxy group in a single procedure. Moreover, a tolerance toward reactive functional groups, such as ketocarbonyl groups, was observed. Some chemical transformations of the synthesized 4‐aryl‐3‐(2H)‐isoxazolone were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of functional group interconversion, C−C bond formation, and additional heterocycle synthesis. Notably, a fluorescent tetracyclic heterocycle was obtained by intramolecular oxidative cross‐coupling. Control experiments indicated that the reactivity for protonation was suppressed by an alkoxyamide moiety. Therefore, the chemoselectivity of oxyarylation was improved. Finally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to estimate the reaction pathway, which suggested that ring‐opening involving solvents (H2O or DMF) is important for these sequential reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, SASRD, Nagaland University during 2018 to evaluate the seasonal variation of soil physico-chemical properties under forest (natural), pineapple and paddy (low land) land use systems (LUS) of Medziphema block, Dimapur, Nagaland. 432 geo-referenced composite soil samples were collected during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons from surface and sub-surface soil. pH of soils under paddy LUS was found highest (4.95) followed by forest (4.84) and pineapple (4.65) LUS. Significantly minimum values of BD was recorded in forest LUS (1.17 and 1.20 Mg m-3) followed by higher BD (1.21 and 1.25 Mg m-3) in pineapple and maximum in paddy LUS (1.34 and 1.37 Mg m-3) during post-monsoon season at surface and sub-surface soil respectively. Forest LUS recorded maximum average content of organic carbon (16.72 g kg-1). Available nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable calcium and magnesium content was also found maximum in soils of forest LUS. Significant positive correlation among soil fertility parameters were obtained in different seasons. Results of the investigation revealed that the pineapple LUS in the study area can be considered as a sustainable LUS owing to its comparable soil physico-chemical properties with the forest LUS. However, there is need for large scale adoption of location specific soil management practices for sustainable production and management of soil health in order to counteract deterioration of soil fertility under traditionally practiced low land paddy LUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates novel ternary polymer blends based on polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the matrix in combination with lignosulfonate and synthetic zeolite. The blends were prepared by the casting method, and their properties were analysed by various techniques, i.e. FTIR analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, including tests for water solubility and uptake, and determination of adhesion and hardness. The biodegradation of the blends in soil was also evaluated, and an experiment was conducted on plant growth (Sinapis alba). Optical microscopy showed that particles of the synthetic zeolite were relatively evenly distributed in the polymer matrix, forming random networks therein. The FTIR spectra for the blends proved that hydrogen bonding interactions had occurred between the PVP/synthetic zeolite and PVP/lignosulfonate. DSC analysis confirmed the good miscibility of the PVP and lignosulfonate. TGA results indicated that the thermal stability of the PVP was maintained. Lignosulfonate had the effect of reducing the adhesion of the blends. However, it was revealed that effect depends greatly on the presence of zeolite and the concentration of lignosulfonate. The obtained results showed that the optimal composition of the blend is 2.5 wt% of zeolite and 5 wt% of lignosulfonate into the PVP. Its water solubility and uptake was satisfactory from the perspective of handling and further utilization. A respirometric biodegradation test confirmed that the ternary blend was environmentally friendly, in addition to which a germination experiment evidenced that the lignosulfonate and synthetic zeolite promoted the root growth and development of S. alba. From these findings it was concluded that the novel ternary polymer blend was applicable as either as seed carriers (in the form of seed tapes) or as a biocompatible coating to protect seeds. • Novel polymer blends are prepared, based on lignosulfonate, synthetic zeolite and PVP. • Interactions between PVP/LiS/Z arise through hydrogen bonding. • The combination of LiS and Z make the processing and mechanical properties of the blends acceptable. • A respirometric biodegradation test confirms the blends are environmentally friendly. • Observing the plant growth of Sinapis alba reveals that the blends are applicable as a biocompatible seed coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was made into polymeric films based on polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the matrix, in combination with synthetic zeolite and dried or pyrolyzed biocarbon (biochar). The films were prepared by the casting method, and their properties were variously analysed (optical microscopy, FTIR analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, mechanical properties, water solubility, water uptake). Evaluation also encompassed the biological decomposition of the films in the soil environment and their influence on the growth of Sinapis alba. Optical microscopy indicated the particles of the fillers were almost completely evenly distributed in the polymer matrix, therein forming networks randomly. Since the space between the particles decreased as particle content increased, raising the content of the fillers brought about more compact networks. The IR spectra for the films proved the occurrence of hydrogen bonding between the PVP and synthetic zeolite. The processing and mechanical properties of the prepared polymeric films were acceptable. Water solubility and the water uptake of the films were satisfactory regarding handling and further use. Respirometric tests indicated a positive effect by the biocarbon on the biodegradation of the tested films. The proposed combination of synthetic zeolite and biocarbon fillers positively influenced the germination rate of Sinapis alba, while the polymer matrix (PVP) did not hinder further growth. Observations and testing led to the conclusion that the materials based on PVP with fillers (synthetic zeolite/biocarbon) have the potential for agricultural utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of metal-resistant plant growth-promoting bacteria is an efficient method for enhancing crop yields by improving biomass accumulation and plant tolerance to heavy metals. The present study aimed to isolate and characterize these bacteria from rhizosphere soil and root exudates of plants grown on agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals. Plant growth-promoting properties of isolated strains were assayed by evaluating their abilities to solubilize insoluble phosphate, produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and fix nitrogen. Resistance to metals toxicity and metal removal potential of the selected strains were investigated by MIC and MBC values determination and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), respectively. Pantoea agglomeransexhibited the maximum solubilization of insoluble phosphate and IAA production. In the case of Cd2+, the highest MIC value belonged to Enterobacter ludwigi. Pseudomonas taiwanensis, P. agglomerans, and E. ludwigi exhibited the greatest MIC value (8mM) in the case of Pb2+. P. agglomerans and E. ludwigi showed the highest MBC of Pb2+(>120mM) and the greatest MBC of Cd2+ (30mM) belonged to P. agglomerans. Also, E. ludwigi exhibited the highest metal removal percentage for Pb2+ as 31.81% and Cd2+ as 37.58%. As results showed, these four isolated strains can be used as novel and efficient agents for improving plant growth, especially in heavy metals polluted agricultural soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the misconceptions listed here were collected over the course of fifty years, mainly from practising farmers and students of agriculture. Naturally I am not suggesting that the readers of this journal are not clear about the incorrectness of most of these ideas, but some of these errors are the subject of serious debate even among specialists. It is interesting to note that people working in other fields, who have never studied agricultural chemistry, are often more open to new knowledge than those who have. This can be attributed to both deficiencies in the teaching of agricultural chemistry and in the textbooks used, and to the fact that the basic concepts of agricultural chemistry have not been sufficiently clarified. The vast majority of these deficiencies stem from the fact that neither the twodirectional processes constantly taking place between different nutrient forms in the soil nor the quasi stationary balances consequently arising are taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]