Production of Vegetable Crops by Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizae

In modern agriculture, application of beneficial microorganisms has become more reliable and alternative source to reduce the application of pesticides. Several studies demonstrate that the beneficial microorganisms like arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, Pseudomonas species, Trichoderma species etc. increase the plant growth and their and also improve the quality of soil. Additionally, these microorganisms increase the resistance of host plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present chapter; vegetable crops in horticultural systems were focused. Most of the vegetable crop form symbiotic relationship with mycorrhiza acting as a bridge for the flow of energy and matter between plants and soils. The symbiotic relationship includes most species of vegetables and some species of fungi that have great relevance to soil ecosystem functions, especially nutrient dynamics, microbial processes, plant ecology, and agriculture. AMF can improve the nutrient and water uptake, induce tolerance of abiotic and biotic stress of their host plants. In the sustainable agriculture, the association of soil microorganisms with plant roots can also be exploited and in this way improve plant growth and productivity under normal and stressful environment. As a result, mycorrhizae improves plant growth, root structure development and crop yield and quality in almost any ambient condition. In addition, another benefit of mycorrhizae is that plants are resistant to diseases. it is concluded that arbuscular mycorrhizal infused pepper seedlings have high yield and quality. And also arbuscular mycorrhizae can be recommended for high yield and quality crop

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Associated with Brucellosis in Two Patients with Fever and Pancytopenia

Brucellosis is a disease involving the lymphoproliferative system, which may lead to changes in the hematological parameters; however, pancytopenia is a rare finding. However, malignant diseases in association with brucellosis are rarely the cause of pancytopenia. Herein, two cases with fever and pancytopenia, diagnosed as simultaneous acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brucellosis are presented. Anti-leukemic therapy and brucellosis treatment were administered simultaneously, and normal blood parameters obtained. The first patient is in complete remission; the other recovered from the brucellosis, but later died due to a leukemic relapse

Effectiveness and safety of elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate single-tablet combination among HIV-infected patients in Turkey: results from a real world setting

Background: Efficacy of elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil (E/C/F/TDF) in treatment-naïve and experienced patients with HIV infection was demonstrated in phase 3 trials. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate effectiveness and safety of E/C/F/TDF in real world settings. Methods: Retrospective, observational data collected by the Turkish ACTHIV-IST study group between May 2015 and December 2016 were analysed. Results: A total of 387 patients were prescribed E/C/F/TDF; 210 patients with available data at 6th month were eligible; 91.5% were male, and mean age was 35.2 (SD: 10.8) years; 54.0% of males identified themselves as MSM. Sixty-three percent (133) of the study population were treatment-naïve patients, and 37% (77) were treatment experienced. HIV RNA level was below 100 copies/mL in 78.9% of treatment-naïve patients and 89.9% of treatment experienced patients at month 6. Median increase in CD4 T lymphocyte count was 218 copies/mL in treatment-naïve patients and remained stable or increased in treatment experienced patients. Adverse events were observed in 15% of the patients, and the regimen was discontinued in only six patients. Conclusion: Real world data on the effectiveness and safety of E/C/F/TDF is comparable with the phase 3 trial results Adverse events are uncommon and manageable. Keywords: Elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; HIV; effectiveness; safety

Twelve-month effectiveness and safety of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide in people with HIV: Real-world insights from BICSTaR cohorts

Background: Real-world evidence is an essential component of evidence-based medicine. The aim of the BICSTaR (BICtegravir Single Tablet Regimen) study is to assess effectiveness and safety of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (B/F/TAF) in antiretroviral treatment-naïve (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) people with HIV. Methods: BICSTaR is a prospective, observational cohort study. Participants (≥18 years) are being followed for 24 months. A pooled analysis is presented at 12 months, with the primary endpoint of effectiveness (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL) and secondary endpoints of safety and tolerability (as per protocol). An exploration of patient-reported outcome measures using standardized questionnaires is included. Results: Between June 2018 and May 2021, 1552 people with HIV were enrolled across 12 countries. The analysed population comprised 1509 individuals (279 TN, 1230 TE); most were white (76%), male (84%) and had one or more comorbid conditions (68%). Median age was 47 years. After 12 months of B/F/TAF treatment, HIV-1 RNA was <50 copies/mL in 94% (221/236) of TN participants and 97% (977/1008) of TE participants. Median CD4 cell count increased by 214 cells/μL (p < 0.001) in TN participants and 13 cells/μL (p = 0.014) in TE participants; median CD4/CD8 ratios increased by 0.30 and 0.03, respectively (both p < 0.001). Persistence was high at 12 months (TN, 97%; TE, 95%). No resistance to B/F/TAF emerged. Study drug-related adverse events occurred in 13% of participants through 12 months, leading to B/F/TAF discontinuation in 6%. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide robust real-world evidence to support the broad use of B/F/TAF in both TN and TE people with HIV

Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with obesity and prevalent heart failure: a prespecified analysis of the SELECT trial

Background: Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, reduces the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in people with overweight or obesity, but the effects of this drug on outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure are unknown. We report a prespecified analysis of the effect of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2·4 mg on ischaemic and heart failure cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to investigate if semaglutide was beneficial in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with a history of heart failure compared with placebo; if there was a difference in outcome in patients designated as having heart failure with preserved ejection fraction compared with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; and if the efficacy and safety of semaglutide in patients with heart failure was related to baseline characteristics or subtype of heart failure. Methods: The SELECT trial was a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled, event-driven phase 3 trial in 41 countries. Adults aged 45 years and older, with a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established cardiovascular disease were eligible for the study. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) with a block size of four using an interactive web response system in a double-blind manner to escalating doses of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide over 16 weeks to a target dose of 2·4 mg, or placebo. In a prespecified analysis, we examined the effect of semaglutide compared with placebo in patients with and without a history of heart failure at enrolment, subclassified as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or unclassified heart failure. Endpoints comprised MACE (a composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and cardiovascular death); a composite heart failure outcome (cardiovascular death or hospitalisation or urgent hospital visit for heart failure); cardiovascular death; and all-cause death. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03574597. Findings: Between Oct 31, 2018, and March 31, 2021, 17 604 patients with a mean age of 61·6 years (SD 8·9) and a mean BMI of 33·4 kg/m2 (5·0) were randomly assigned to receive semaglutide (8803 [50·0%] patients) or placebo (8801 [50·0%] patients). 4286 (24·3%) of 17 604 patients had a history of investigator-defined heart failure at enrolment: 2273 (53·0%) of 4286 patients had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, 1347 (31·4%) had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and 666 (15·5%) had unclassified heart failure. Baseline characteristics were similar between patients with and without heart failure. Patients with heart failure had a higher incidence of clinical events. Semaglutide improved all outcome measures in patients with heart failure at random assignment compared with those without heart failure (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72, 95% CI 0·60-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·64-0·98 for the heart failure composite endpoint; 0·76, 0·59-0·97 for cardiovascular death; and 0·81, 0·66-1·00 for all-cause death; all pinteraction&gt;0·19). Treatment with semaglutide resulted in improved outcomes in both the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HR 0·65, 95% CI 0·49-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·58-1·08 for the composite heart failure endpoint) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction groups (0·69, 0·51-0·91 for MACE; 0·75, 0·52-1·07 for the composite heart failure endpoint), although patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction had higher absolute event rates than those with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. For MACE and the heart failure composite, there were no significant differences in benefits across baseline age, sex, BMI, New York Heart Association status, and diuretic use. Serious adverse events were less frequent with semaglutide versus placebo, regardless of heart failure subtype. Interpretation: In patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diease and overweight or obesity, treatment with semaglutide 2·4 mg reduced MACE and composite heart failure endpoints compared with placebo in those with and without clinical heart failure, regardless of heart failure subtype. Our findings could facilitate prescribing and result in improved clinical outcomes for this patient group. Funding: Novo Nordisk

Quality Parameter Levels of Strawberry Fruit in Response to Different Sound Waves at 1000 Hz with Different dB Values (95, 100, 105 dB)

All living organisms perceive mechanical signals, regardless of their taxonomic classifications or life habits. Because of their immobility, plants are influenced by a variety of environmental stresses, such as mechanical stress, during their growth and development. Plants develop physiological behaviors to adapt to their environment for long-term development and evolution. Sound-induced stress&mdash;an abiotic stress factor&mdash;is an example of mechanical stress and is caused by sound waves generated by different sources. This stress has a negative effect on the development and growth of plants. The strawberry plants evaluated in this study were exposed to three different sound intensity levels (95, 100, 105 dB) at a constant frequency of 1000 Hz. In strawberry plants, stress induced by sound waves is thought to trigger increased production of secondary metabolites as a defense mechanism. To determine the effect of sound applications, the fresh and dry weights of the roots and shoots were measured in strawberry plants, and the pH, total soluble solids (Brix), titratable acidity, vitamin C, total sugar, total acid, and total phenols were analyzed in the fruits. Results show that the sound stress, which was produced at a constant frequency (1000 Hz) and different sound levels (95, 100, 105 dB), affects the growth parameters of the plant and several quality parameters of the fruit

Growth, mineral content and antioxidant activity of romaine lettuce in relation to development stage in soilless system

Lettuce is an important vegetable crop worldwide that widely grown hydroponically and usually consumed raw as salad. Developing an optimal harvest strategy could increase lettuce production and nutritional quality. The aim of the present research was to evaluate growth, mineral content, total phenols and flavonoids content and antioxidant activity of soilless (hydroponic) grown romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) leaves at three growth stages (“S1”-28 days after planting (DAP), “S2”-42 DAP, “S3”-56 DAP). Head fresh weight and number of leaves per head were higher at third growth stage; however, at this stage the size of lettuce head and leaf tissue hydration is highest which might affect the consumer choice for the produce. Regarding leaf chemical composition, the highest content of total phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity were observed during the first two growth stages. Mineral content of leaves generally decreased during plant development with significant highest contents being observed during the first growth stage for N and during the first two growth stages for P, K, Ca and Mg. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that chemical composition of lettuce is highly dependent on plant development stage, and harvest stage might be considering for product biomass and bioactivity content to attain consumer’s acceptance

Growth, mineral content and antioxidant activity of romaine lettuce in relation to development stage in soilless system

Lettuce is an important vegetable crop worldwide that widely grown hydroponically and usually consumed raw as salad. Developing an optimal harvest strategy could increase lettuce production and nutritional quality. The aim of the present research was to evaluate growth, mineral content, total phenols and flavonoids content and antioxidant activity of soilless (hydroponic) grown romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) leaves at three growth stages (“S1”-28 days after planting (DAP), “S2”-42 DAP, “S3”-56 DAP). Head fresh weight and number of leaves per head were higher at third growth stage; however, at this stage the size of lettuce head and leaf tissue hydration is highest which might affect the consumer choice for the produce. Regarding leaf chemical composition, the highest content of total phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity were observed during the first two growth stages. Mineral content of leaves generally decreased during plant development with significant highest contents being observed during the first growth stage for N and during the first two growth stages for P, K, Ca and Mg. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that chemical composition of lettuce is highly dependent on plant development stage, and harvest stage might be considering for product biomass and bioactivity content to attain consumer’s acceptance

Preparation and characterization of W/O/W type double emulsion containing PGPR-lecithin mixture as lipophilic surfactant

The objective of this study is to produce double emulsion by combining polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) with lecithin as lipophilic surfactant. Although lecithin alone produced only oil-in-water type emulsion, the mixture of lecithin and PGPR could produce water-in-oil type emulsion as well. Moreover, different emulsification treatments were applied to study the influence of homogenization methods on the physicochemical characteristics. The obtained double emulsions were compared in terms of stability and droplet size. It was found that the homogenization method influenced the physiochemical characteristics of the double emulsion and the most stable double emulsion with the smallest droplet size was obtained by high-speed homogenization method

Unlocking the Potential of Pepper Plants under Salt Stress: Mycorrhizal Effects on Physiological Parameters Related to Plant Growth and Gas Exchange across Tolerant and Sensitive Genotypes

Agriculture is confronted with the challenge of ensuring global food security, yet the rapid expansion of salinity stress undoubtedly restricts plant productivity in cultivable areas, posing a significant threat to crop yields. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) have emerged as a biological tool for enhancing plant salt stress tolerance. To utilize this biological tool, this study evaluated the response in growth and physiological parameters of tolerant (Karaisali) and sensitive (Demre) pepper genotypes. The experiment involved mycorrhizal-treated (Glomus clarium) and non-mycorrhizal (control) plants of both the tolerant and sensitive pepper genotypes. The plants were subjected to two salt doses: 75 and 150 mM. The plant growth and physiological parameters were measured at 40 days after transplanting. The mycorrhizal activity was found to be significantly more effective in the sensitive genotype. We found notable differences in mycorrhizal activity between the pepper genotypes under salt stress conditions, with the sensitive genotype “Demre” showing greater responsiveness to mycorrhizal association compared with the “Karaisali” variety. Under both moderate (75 mM NaCl) and higher salt stress levels (150 mM NaCl), both the “Karaisali” and “Demre” varieties exhibited substantial increases in their shoot dry weights. However, these increases were consistently higher in the “Demre” plants. Moreover, the AMFs demonstrated significant enhancements in photosynthesis rates under both moderate and high salinity levels in both genotypes. Overall, our findings suggest that AMFs play a crucial role in improving plant growth, water status, and photosynthesis characteristics, particularly in salt-sensitive pepper genotypes, under moderate-to-high salinity levels. In conclusion, the plant growth, water status, and photosynthesis characteristics of the salt-sensitive pepper genotype were significantly improved by AMFs at medium and high salinity levels, such as 75 mM and 150 mM NaCl, respectively