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Achievement of a positive identity and its transition to adulthood is the most important task of the adolescent era. This cross-sectional explanatory mixed-method study sought to better understand barriers to identity development in female adolescents in Iran by explaining their own experiences and using a Positive Youth Development model as a framework. A total of 573 female secondary-school students were recruited through multistage sampling and were asked to complete the questionnaire of Developmental Assets Profile (DAP). Positive identity in DAP consists of four assets (personal power, self-esteem, a positive view of the personal future, and sense of purpose). Quantitative data analysis showed that among above mentioned four assets, personal power and self-esteem gained lower scores. A qualitative study held six individual interviews and two focused-group discussions were conducted to explain the barriers to personal power and self-esteem. Results showed that considering personal power, there were two categories as follows: (1) barriers to a sense of control over life and future (subcategories: being limited by failures, deprivation of liberty, and dissatisfaction from being excessively controlled by parents). (2) Barriers to adequately dealing with the challenges and problems (subcategories: expressing feelings inappropriately, isolation, and blaming). Barriers to self-esteem included categories of negative emotions due to weak academic performance, weak religious performance, weak communication with parents, and previous mistakes. The results of the present study highlighted the areas that need intervention in the field of promoting positive identity in adolescent girls and their parents.

Understanding how environmental factors shape patterns of genetic and phenotypic variations in a species is necessary for conservation and plant breeding. However, these factors have not yet been completely understood in tuberous orchid species used to make 'Salep', an important ingredient in traditional medicine and beverages in middle eastern countries and India. In many areas, increasing demand has pushed species to the brink of extinction. In this study, 198 genotypes from 18 populations of the endangered species Orchis mascula L. spanning a large-scale climatic gradient in northern Iran were used to investigate patterns of genetic diversity and plant functional traits. Populations were sampled from three land cover types (woodland, shrubland, and pastureland/grassland). Plant height, stem length, number of flowers, bulb fresh and dry weight, glucomannan, and starch concentrations showed high variation among populations and were significantly related to land cover type. In general, genetic diversity was high, particularly in those from eastern Hyrcanian; additionally, populations showed a high level of genetic differentiation (G'st = 0.35) with low gene flow (Nm = 0.46). The majority of genetic differentiation occurred within populations (49%) and land cover types (20%). The population structural analysis using the AFLP marker data in K = 4 showed a high geographical affinity for 198 O. mascula genotypes, with some genotypes having mixed ancestry. Temperature and precipitation were found to shape genetic and phenotypic variation profoundly. Significant isolation by the environment was observed, confirming the strong effect of environmental variables on phenotypic and genetic variation. Marker-trait association studies based on MLM1 and MLM2 models revealed significant associations of P-TGG + M-CTT-33 and E-AGG + M-CGT-22 markers with plant height and glucomannan content. Overall, a combination of large-scale climatic variables and land cover types significantly shaped genetic diversity and functional trait variation in O. mascula populations.

This study was conducted with the aim to design a parenting training program based on cognitive-emotional mediation and evaluating the effectiveness of this program on increasing mothers' literacy of interaction and children's cognitive modifiability in the field of metacognition and theory of mind. The curriculum was designed with a combination of parenting implications of mediated learning experience theory, developmental, individual differences relationship-based approach, and metacognitive approach. Twenty-five pairs of mother and child participated in the study voluntarily. The children were in the preschool age range (4-6). Mothers learned how to use mediation in daily interactions during 12 sessions of group theoretical training and one session of individual practical training. At the end of the training program, the mothers' literacy of interaction and the children's metacognition and theory of mind were assessed. The results of repeated measures-analysis showed that mothers' participation in the training program increased their literacy of interaction in four dimensions of communication, emotional, cognitive, and sending fundamental love messages. In addition, the implementation of training programs for mothers led to children's cognitive modifiability in the areas of planning, working memory, metacognition, and theory of mind.

Drought stress has devastating impacts on faba bean production, particularly with the current abrupt climate changes in arid environments. Hence, it is essential to identify drought-tolerant genotypes. The present study aimed at assessing six faba bean genotypes under three irrigation levels during two winter successive growing seasons (2018/2019 and 2019/2020). The applied irrigation levels were well-watered (every 4 days (D1), moderate drought every 8 days (D2), and severe drought 12 days (D3)) regimes. The analysis of variance exhibited highly significant differences among genotypes, irrigation treatments, and their interactions for all studied traits, except the number of pods plant−1 in the first season. Yield traits of all assessed genotypes decreased significantly with increasing drought stress. Otherwise, proline content (Pro) increased significantly with increasing drought stress. The genotypes Giza.843, Nubaria.2, and Nubaria.3 recorded the highest values of plant height, number of branches/plant, pods/plant, pods weight/plant, 100 seed weight, seed yield/plant, and seed yield/kg under drought stress. Similarly, the highest Pro was displayed by Giza.843 and Nubaria.3 under drought stress in both seasons. Furthermore, Giza.843, Nubaria.2, and Nubaria.3 genotypes had the highest values for most tolerant indices. Accordingly, these genotypes could be exploited in developing drought-tolerant and high-yielding faba bean genotypes in arid environments through breeding programs.

Tobacco, being a globally cultivated crop, holds significant social and economic importance. Tobacco plants are susceptible to the adverse effects of heavy metals (HMs), particularly cadmium (Cd), which hinders root development, disrupts water balance, and impedes nutrient absorption. Higher concentrations of HMs, especially Cd, naturally accumulate in tobacco leaves due to complex interactions within the plant–soil continuum. The uptake of Cd by plants from the soil is influenced by several factors, including soil type, pH, irrigation water quality, and the chemical composition of the metal involved. Different techniques, such as bioremediation, phytoremediation, and mycoremediation, have been employed to tackle the issue of HMs. The use of biochar offers a practical solution to mitigate this problem. With its large surface area and porous nature, biochar can effectively alleviate HMs contamination. Under biochar application, metal adsorption primarily occurs through physical adsorption, where metal ions are trapped within the pores of the biochar. Additionally, electrostatic attraction, in which negatively charged biochar surfaces attract positively charged metal ions, is another major mechanism of metal remediation facilitated by biochar. In this review, we documented, compiled, and interpreted novel and recent information on HMs stress on tobacco plants and explored biochar's role in alleviating HMs toxicity. By providing a comprehensive review of the persistent threat posed by Cd to tobacco crops and exploring biochar's potential as a remediation measure, this work aims to enhance our understanding of HMs stress in tobacco and contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) both are economically and nutritionally important, these both faces severe losses due to fungal Infections. For several fungal infections, traditional methods of management rely on chemical fungicideswhich have environmental and health risks. The in-vitro antifungal efficacy of myco-synthesized and bacteria-synthesized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles against pathogens impacting chickpea and apricot is aimed to be compared in this review article. Evaluated for their antifungal effectiveness against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris in chickpea and Alternaria solani, myco-synthesized ZnO NPs generated from Trichoderma harzianum and bacteria-synthesized ZnO NPs were using a poisoned food approach, the study evaluated minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and inhibition zone diameter. At lower concentrations, myco-synthesized ZnO NPs shown better antifungal activity than their bacteria-synthesized counterparts, according to results. Surface changes, size, and concentration of nanoparticles were main determinants of antifungal activity. Emphasizing the need of more study to maximize the synthesis and application in agricultural environments, this review underlines the possibilities of ZnO NPs as sustainable substitutes for chemical fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For sustainable genetic improvement of crops like sorghum, assessing genetic variability and knowing the nature and extent of the association between grain yield and yield‐related traits is a prerequisite. However, there needs to be sufficient information about the genetic variability study as well as yield‐related trait correlation and path coefficient analysis for sorghum accessions, especially those from southern Ethiopia. Hence, this field experiment assessed genetic variability, determined the nature and extent of phenotypic–genetic correlation, and analyzed the path coefficients among 17 quantitative traits. A total of 225 sorghum genotypes were tested using a simple lattice design with two replications at the Jinka Agricultural Research Center during the 2021 cropping season. Based on the analysis of variance, most traits showed highly significant (P 0.001) differences, suggesting genetic diversity between the genotypes. High estimates of GCV and PCV were noted for leaf width (3924.50% and 3924.50%), while the lowest GCV and PCV estimates were obtained for days to flowering and days to maturity. High heritability coupled with high GAM estimates was recorded for plant height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, and leaf area. The magnitudes of genotypic correlations were higher than those of phenotypic correlations for most of the studied traits, implying that the traits under study were genetically controlled. Grain yield was positively and significantly correlated with most of the traits at phenotypic and genotypic levels, indicating the presence of a strong inherent association between grain yield and other traits. Phenotypic path coefficient analysis showed that grain filling period and biomass yield exerted a high positive direct effect on grain yield. Genotypic path coefficient analysis revealed that biomass yield, grain filling period, leaf width, and days to flowering had a relatively high positive direct effect on grain yield. However, days to maturity, plant height, leaf number, leaf area, yield per panicle, straw weight, and harvest index exerted a negative direct effect on grain yield. Almost for all the studied traits, genotypic direct and indirect effects were higher than the phenotypic direct and indirect effects, indicating that the studied traits had a genetically inherited relationship with grain yield. Grain yield in sorghum can be improved through indirect selection for traits such as plant height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, and biomass yield. In general, the observed variability and the information obtained from this study can be used for the genetic enhancement of sorghum thereby developing high‐yielding varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) is a potential C4 food and forage crop with high yield and quality, which is expected to improve quality forage supply in southern Kyushu region. However, the use of amaranth as a forage crop is limited in southern Kyushu, Japan. Amaranth was seeded in early May 2020 and 2022 to test its adaptability, yield, and forage quality. These characteristics were compared with those of four typical small‐grained forage species that is foxtail millet (Setaria italica), Japanese barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), and forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). In both years, the highest yield and the rate of crop growth were observed in the first harvest plants in the amaranth. In addition, amaranth also had the highest in vitro​ dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and crude protein (CP) content in addition to the lowest neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content in 2020. Both IVDMD and CP content were lower in 2022, due to the fact that the crops were more mature at harvest, although NDF content was the lowest. Among small‐grained forage plants, forage sorghum had the second highest yield after amaranth and the highest IVDMD in first‐cut plants. The amaranth crop was extensively damaged in 2020, when 31.7% of the crop was lodged by a strong wind from typhoon No. 5. Compared to conventional small grain forage species, amaranth has the potential for high forage yields and quality. However, protecting amaranth plants from typhoon damage requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triticale combines the yield and quality of wheat with the disease resistance of rye. To choose stable and reasonably high‐yielding varieties and to estimate the degree of variation and environmental interactions, five triticale varieties and one local check were assessed at Dita, Chencha, Bonke, and Kamba localities during 2020 and 2021 in Gamo, South Ethiopia. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), the additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model, and interaction principal component analysis (IPCA1 and IPCA2) indicated significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences between habitats, varieties, and their interactions. The contributions of IPCAs 1 and 2 to the overall variety by environment interaction were substantial (p ≤ 0.01) and accounted for 67.3% and 18.1%, respectively. The average grain yield of the varieties Sinan (4085 kg·ha−1) and Dersolign (4081 kg·ha−1) performed better than those of the other varieties without significantly varying, and Minet (3614 kg·ha−1) was next. The Models demonstrated that Dersolign and Minet were stable and recommended for production in a variety of environments with IPCA values close to zero, low (GSI), low AMMI stability value, and high mean grain yield throughout the environments. Dersolign and Minet are hence for broad production due to their high inflexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]