Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences
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Metal Accumulation in Ekiti State's Three Major Dams' Water and Sediments, the Ecological Hazards Assessment and Consequences on Human Health
Get PDFWater is indispensable to life. Consequently, water and sediment contamination poses severe ecological threats to life. Thus, this investigation aimed to evaluate metal deposition in the sediments and surface water in Ekiti State's three dams and to analyze its potential ecological effects on man's bodily, social, and mental well-being. Metal levels in sediments and dam water were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Average values of the metals in Egbe, Ero, and Ureje dams, except for K, Mn, and Pb (in Ureje dam), were lower than the acceptable boundaries of local and foreign establishments. The values of the risk quotient (HQ) on the skin and consumption contacts with all metals (except Mn for ingestion exposure for children) were less than one in the Egbe, Ero, and Ureje dams for both adults and children. Consumption HQ values were higher than skin HQ values in the three dams for children and grown-ups. The total hazard index (HI) posed adverse non-carcinogenic risk to children in the catchment area of the dams while the adults were not affected by the non-carcinogenic hazard. The highest cancer hazard was found in the Ureje dam, while the lowest was in the Ero dam. Further, adults were prone to higher cancer risk than children. Using multiple pollution indices revealed that the sediments in Egbe, Ero, and Ureje dams were less contaminated by harmful metals in dry and wet periods. There is a need to reduce current polluting anthropogenic activities around the dams
Antioxidant Potential of Chloranthus erectus (Chloranthaceae) from various solvents extract
Get PDFChloranthus erectus is a herbaceous plant that has been used as a medicinal plant in several regions such as China and Southeast Asia. Although it possesses valuable medicinal properties, till now there is not much research has been carried out on the medicinal properties of this plant and the knowledge of this plant is limited among the research fertility. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the phytochemicals, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity of leaf and twig of C. erectus in various solvents extract (hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol). Phytochemical screening of extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, quinones, glycosides, and steroids. The highest phenolic content for leaf and twig samples was determined from the methanolic (9.64 ± 0.15 µg GAE/g) and hexanoic extract (7.39 ± 0.27 µg GAE/g), respectively. Meanwhile, the highest antioxidant activity was reported from the methanolic extract of both leaf (88.36 ± 0.24%) and twig (91.25 ± 0.10%) samples. Hence, the results of the study can be concluded that C. erectus has the potential to become a good natural antioxidant and the information from this study can be utilized by the communities as well as other researchers
iNCOVACC COVID-19 vaccine: A Twitter based Social Media Analysis Using Natural Language Processing, Sentiment Analysis, and Topic Modelling
Get PDFMost, if not all, the vaccine candidates designed to counteract COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 infection require parenteral administration. Mucosal immunity established by vaccination could significantly contribute to containing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which is spread by infected respiratory secretions. The world has been impacted on many fronts by the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020 and has yet to recover entirely from the impact of the crisis. In late 2022 and early 2023, China experienced a new surge of COVID-19 outbreaks, mainly in the country's northeastern region. With the threat of new variants like XBB 1.5 and BF.7, India might experience a similar COVID-19 surge as China and needs to be prepared to avoid destruction again. An intranasal vaccine can elicit multiple immunological responses, including IgG neutralization, mucosal IgA production, and T-cell responses. In order to prevent further infection and the spread of COVID-19, local immune responses in the nasal mucosa are required. iNCOVACC is a recombinant vaccine vectored by an adenovirus that contains a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that has been pre-fusion stabilized. This vaccine candidate has shown promise in both early and late-stage clinical trials. iNCOVACC has been designed for intranasal administration via nasal drops. The nasal delivery system was created to reduce expenses for those living in poor and moderate-income countries. The newly introduced intranasal COVID vaccine will be beneficial in mass immunizing the public as it does not need any syringe and can be proven to be an effective method to boost immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study uses natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze the Indian citizen's perceptions of the newly developed iNCOVACC vaccine in social media. For this study, we have used social media posts (tweets) as data. We have analyzed 125,300 tweets to study the general perception of Indian citizens regarding the iNCOVACC vaccine. Our results have indicated 43.19% of social media posts discussing the COVID-19 nasal vaccine in a neutral tone, nearly 34.29% of social media posts are positive, and 22.5% of social media posts discussions are negative. The general positive feeling that the iNCOVACC vaccine will work and the risks in the new vaccine are the two significant aspects Indian citizens voice out in social media posts about the iNCOVACC vaccine
Seed characteristics and the influence of scarification treatments on the germination of Pterocarpus angolensis in Botswana
Get PDFPterocarpus angolensis, a vital timber tree species of the Miombo and other woodlands, is native to eastern and southern Africa. Gemination studies were carried out at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources to ascertain the seeds’ features and find the most effective scarification treatments that yield the fastest, highest, and most consistent germination of P. angolensis. Ten seed pretreatments were included in the completely randomized design of the experiments. These treatments included nicking, immersion in boiling water for one, three, and five minutes, concentrated sulphuric acid for fifteen, thirty, forty-five, and sixty minutes, and hot water left to cool overnight. Treated seeds were allowed to germinate at room temperature (25 °C) for 30 days. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the raw data. The findings demonstrated that nicking and sulfuric acid treatments significantly increased seed germination (p=0.0001) compared to untreated seeds. The germination rate of the seeds emersed in boiling water for one, three, and five minutes was noticeably lower than that of untreated seeds. Because of their tough seed coat, P. angolensis seeds must be pretreated before sown. This study found that nicking and sulphuric acid treatment were the best techniques for seed germination of P. Angolensis
Root attributes governing drought stress adaptation and the associated molecular markers in chromosome segment substitution lines in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Get PDFThe wild relatives of cultivated rice offer crucial resistance genes for combating stresses like drought. Developing rice varieties with drought tolerance is possible through chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs), which blend the genetic background of a high-yielding parent with specific chromosome segments from a donor parent. This study aimed to study the effect of drought stress on various root traits of chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) and their relationship with specific molecular markers. Ninety-six genotypes, including 80 chromosome segment substitution lines (Curinga x O. rufipogon and Curinga x O. meridionalis), 9 New Rice for Africa (NERICAs) and 7 controls were grown in Basket and PVC pipe methods for phenotyping different root traits. Under drought stress (DS), MER16, MER20, RUF10, RUF16, RUF44, NERICA1, and NERICA3 showed superior performance for most of the root traits. These evaluations were supplemented with association analysis of 17 root trait-linked simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with root phenotypic traits. The marker RM201 is strongly associated with multiple root traits, found to be independent of three growth conditions (well-watered “WW” under Basket, WW condition and DS conditions under PVC pipe). The marker RM316 is associated with root volume, and the marker RM7424 and RM1054 show maximum root length. In conclusion, these markers can be used in marker-assisted breeding programs, and the lines carrying them can be used as parental lines in variety-development programs for drought tolerance
Comprehensive Review of Aquaponic, Hydroponic, and Recirculating Aquaculture Systems
Get PDFHydroponics and aquaponics are emergent agricultural techniques that offer several environmental solutions. It is anticipated that the hydroponic systems will result in a more significant profit from selling vegetables and other plants. The use of new technologies, such as hydroponics and aquaponics, has been demonstrated to increase the number of plants that can be grown. The recirculatory aquaculture system makes it possible to multiply fish production while consuming fewer resources. Essential factors of this technology include higher yield, safety, and water management. In addition, the scope of potential future research in hydroponics and aquaponics has been discussed. Furthermore, the paper identifies and discusses the various applications of hydroponics and aquaponics in agriculture
Assessment of Variability and Genetic Diversity Study in an Advanced Segregating Population in Rice with Blast Resistance Genes Introgression
Get PDFBlast disease caused by a pathogenic fungus, Magnaphorthe oryzae, is the most destructive disease and has resulted in more than 50% of crop losses worldwide, including in Malaysia. The present study was conducted to investigate genetic variability among 36 advanced lines of MR264 × PS2 rice with blast resistance genes introduced at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Traits such as days of maturity, plant height, grain width, and seed setting rate exhibited negative skewness in this study, indicating a doubling of gene effects. Seed setting rate and 1000 grain weight showed positive kurtosis, indicating gene interactions. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits, indicating that environmental influences affect the expression of these traits. High heritability associated with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was observed for filled grains per panicle. In addition, the second-highest value for high heritability and the high genetic advance was observed for the number of tillers. Cluster and principal component analysis revealed that 36 advanced lines were grouped into four clusters based on ten agromorphological traits. Clusters A and C had higher mean values for most of the traits studied than clusters B and D. Desirable recombinants for higher yields with a broad genetic base can be generated by using cross lines from different clusters
Effects of Variety, Spacing and Nitrogen Application on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Growth and Yield in Embu County, Kenya
Get PDFChickpea is a pulse crop that is rich in proteins and helps in fulfilling the requirement of protein for vegetarian people thus yield maximization needed. This study aimed to determine the effects of spacing, nitrogen rates, and their interactive effects on the growth and productivity of the selected chickpea varieties. Field experiments were conducted at Mwea, Kenya between 2017 and 2018 involving four varieties (Saina K, Mwanza 2, Chaina I and Chaina III) at a spacing of 50x10cm, 50x20cm, and 50x30cm, and starter nitrogen-fertilizer application rates 0kg, 30kg, 60kg, and 90kg ha-1. A split-split plot design arranged in a 4x3x4 layout was used in the current study. Data related to plant height, biomass, grain yield, and harvest index were collected and subjected to statistical analysis by GLM in SAS 9.4 computer software. Variations occurred in measured traits like the height of crops (34.81-38.00cm), biomass yield (3.31 - 8.08t ha-1), seed yield (0.14 to 1.9t ha-1), and percent harvest index (5 - 45%) was reported. Mwanza 2 expressed the highest plant height, biomass, and grain yield. The highest plant biomass was obtained under 50x10cm spacing, while the highest grain yield weight was reported under 50x30cm spacing x 60kg N ha-1. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the highest enhanced growth and productivity of chickpea were realized at interactions of Mwanza 2x50x10cmx90kg ha-1 nitrogen rate in the study area
An overview of heat-stress response regulation in Gram-negative bacteria considering Escherichia coli as a model organism
Get PDFResponse to heat stress (HSR) is a key stress response for endurance in Escherichia coli mediated by transcriptional factor σ-32. Even though there has been extensive investigation on the contribution of proteins and chaperones in retaining protein stability in cells under stress conditions, limited information is available regarding the dynamic nature of mechanisms regulating the activity of the highly conserved heat shock proteins (Hsps). Several gene expression-based studies suggest the pivotal role of Hsp70 (DnaK) in the regulation of the expression of heat shock genes (Hsg). Direct interaction of Hsp70 with σ-32 may regulate this function in E. coli. Recent studies revealed that localization of σ-32 to the membrane interior by SRP-dependent pathway enables them to function appropriately in their role as regulators. The contributions of different cellular components including cell membrane remain unknown. Other cellular components or σ-32 interfere with polypeptides which could play a crucial role in cell survival. Sigma factor monitors and preserves outer membrane integrity of E. coli by stimulating the genes regulating outer membrane proteins (OMPs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) assemblage as well as through expression of small RNAs to down-regulate surplus unassembled OMPs. σ-E activity is regulated by the rate at which its membrane-encompassing anti-sigma factor, RseA is degraded. Mutations in rseA are reported to constitutively increase the sigma (E) activity that is validated at both genetic and biochemical levels. In this review, the basic mechanism of heat stress regulation in gram-negative bacteria has been elaborated using E. coli as a model organism
Antiradical and Oxidative Stress Release Properties of Trifolium pratense L. extract
Get PDFLow adaptive capacity and oxidative stress are the factors leading to cellular dysfunction, protein and lipid peroxidation, and the development of diseases. In recent decades, there has been a trend toward the active use of plant-based antioxidants. Trifolium pratense L. is a promising plant for the pharmaceutical and food industry and has anti-radical properties. This work is devoted to studying the antiradical and oxidative stress-released properties of T. pratense in Caenorhabditis elegans under oxidative and temperature stress. The objective of this research was to evaluate the anti-radical properties of the T. pratense extracts and individual BAS (chlorogenic acid, ononin, biochanin A, genistein) and analysis their influences on the oxidative stress of Caenorhabditis elegans in the presence of paraquat. Analysis of the antiradical properties revealed that chlorogenic acid has the maximum ability to neutralize the free radical (35.49µmol). A separate analysis of oxidative stress revealed high ononin activity at concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 µmol at 48 hours of cultivation. Biochanin A increases survival by 13.1% compared to the control. The use of the extract (500µmol) contributed to an increase in survival on day 1 of incubation. Under conditions of thermal stress, ononin (50 and 200 µmol) has a positive effect on the viability of C. elegans. The extract and BAS of T. pratense are characterized by high antiradical activity. In addition, the ability to influence the viability of C. elegans was revealed. Therefore, it is worthwhile to further study the biological properties of T. pratense for use in geroprotective therapy