Monitoring Movement Behaviour of Caenorhabditis elegans in Response to Formaldehyde at Low Concentrations

Abstract.-This study describes a new approach for assessing toxic response behaviour of Caenorhabditis elegans by automatic recognition of line movement through an image-processing system. The movement behaviour of this nematode is different even at low concentrations of formaldehyde. A comparison of the response behaviour of this animal at different concentrations of formaldehyde has shown concentration-dependent toxicity. This study has identified some sequential line-movements on nematodes that confirmed the toxicological effect on nematode behaviour

Box–Behnken Response Surface Design of Polysaccharide Extraction from Rhododendron arboreum and the Evaluation of Its Antioxidant Potential

© 2020 by the authors. In the present investigation, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions and optimization of Rhododendron arboreum polysaccharide (RAP) yield were studied by a Box–Behnken response surface design and the evaluation of its antioxidant potential. Three parameters that affect the productivity of UAE, such as extraction temperature (50–90 ◦C), extraction time (10–30 min), and solid–liquid ratio (1–2 g/mL), were examined to optimize the yield of the polysaccharide percentage. The chromatographic analysis revealed that the composition of monosaccharides was found to be glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose, and fucose. The data were fitted to polynomial response models, applying multiple regression analysis with a high coefficient of determination value (R2 = 0.999). The data exhibited that the extraction parameters have significant effects on the extraction yield of polysaccharide percentage. Derringer’s desirability prediction tool was attained under the optimal extraction conditions (extraction temperature 66.75 ◦C, extraction time 19.72 min, and liquid–solid ratio 1.66 mL/g) with a desirability value of 1 yielded the highest polysaccharide percentage (11.56%), which was confirmed through validation experiments. An average of 11.09 ± 1.65% of polysaccharide yield was obtained in optimized extraction conditions with a 95.43% validity. The in vitro antioxidant effect of polysaccharides of R. arboreum was studied. The results showed that the RAP extract exhibited a strong potential against free radical damage

Length–Weight Relationships of Twelve Fishes from the River Padma nearRajshahi City, Bangladesh

International audienc

Length–Weight Relationships of Twelve Fishes from the River Padma nearRajshahi City, Bangladesh

International audienc

Heavy Metal Concentration in Two Freshwater Fishes from Wadi Hanifah (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) and Evaluation of Possible Health Hazard to Consumers

Abstract.-The contamination of heavy metals, such as chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were evaluated in the water and tissues of African catfish Clarias gariepinus and Sabaki tilapia Oreochromis spilurus from Wadi Hanifah, Riyadh. The samples were collected from three sampling sites (Namar, Al-Masani and Al-Hair) of Wadi Valley of central Saudi Arabia during May-June 2013. The water and fish samples collected from Al-Masani, nearby a vehicle mechanical industrial area, were found to be more contaminated by Cr, Fe, Zn and Pb than those of other sampling sites. The high concentrations of Fe were detected in all the water and fish samples, followed by Zn, Pb, Cr, Co, Ni and Cd. However, none of the detected HM (heavy metals) concentrations were exceeded the permissible limits set by the different authorities. The estimated daily intake was found to be below the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI), established by the FAO and WHO, indicating that there was no carcinogenic risk for humans

Water Deficit Stress Tolerance Potential of Newly Developed Wheat Genotypes for Better Yield Based on Agronomic Traits and Stress Tolerance Indices: Physio-Biochemical Responses, Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidative Defense Mechanism

Changing environmental conditions, fresh water shortages for irrigation and the rapid increase in world population have created the problems of food insecurity and malnutrition. Different strategies, including the development of water stress-tolerant, high-yielding genotypes through breeding are used to fulfil the world food demand. The present study was conducted for the selection of high-yielding, drought-tolerant wheat genotypes, considering different morpho-physio-biochemical, agronomic and yield attributes in relation to the stress tolerance indices (STI). The experiment was carried out in field in a split-plot arrangement. Water deficit stress was maintained based on the number of irrigations. All genotypes showed a differential decreasing trend in different agronomic traits. However, the increasing or decreasing trend in leaf photosynthetic pigments, non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants under limited water supply also found to be genotype-specific. Genotypes MP1, MP3, MP5, MP8 and MP10 performed better regarding the yield performance under water deficit stress, which was associated with their better maintenance of water relations, photosynthetic pigments and antioxidative defense mechanisms. In conclusion, the physio-biochemical mechanisms should also be considered as the part of breeding programs for the selection of stress-tolerant genotypes, along with agronomic traits, in wheat

Fertigation with Zn-Lysine Confers Better Photosynthetic Efficiency and Yield in Water Stressed Maize: Water Relations, Antioxidative Defense Mechanism and Nutrient Acquisition

Different strategies including the exogenous use of micronutrient-chelated amino acids are being employed for better crop yield with limited fresh water for irrigation. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of foliar-applied Zn-lysine (Zn-Lys) on maize growth and yield under limited irrigation, in relation to physio-biochemical mechanisms such as the plant–water relations, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defense mechanism, amino acid accumulation and nutrient acquisition. The experiment comprised two maize cultivars (MMRI and Pearl), two irrigation levels and three levels of Zn-Lys (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75%). Zn-Lys fertigation was found to be effective in reducing the negative impacts of limited water supply on grain yield, associated with improved photosynthetic efficiency, water relations, antioxidative defense mechanism and reduced lipid peroxidation in both maize cultivars. Zn-Lys-induced improvement in antioxidative mechanisms was associated with improved content of non-enzymatic antioxidants and activities of antioxidant enzymes. Foliar-fertigation with Zn-Lys also significantly improved the contents of various amino acids including Lys, as well as uptake of nutrients in both maize cultivars. In conclusion, the 0.5% level of Zn-Lys was found to be effective in ameliorating the negative impacts of water stress for better grain yield in both maize cultivars that can also be used as an important environment-friendly source of Zn to fulfill maize Zn deficiency