Soil Quality and Region Influence Performance and Ranking of Switchgrass Genotypes

Development of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a dedicated bioenergy feedstock requires intensive and extensive breeding programs that include careful and thoughtful consideration of appropriate target populations of environments (TPEs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate region (climate), soil quality, and N fertilization level as potential factors influencing the choice of TPE. A total of 45 switchgrass genotypes were evaluated in uniform field studies at six field sites defined as prime or marginal soils in New Jersey, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Region and soil quality had strong interactions with genotype, but N fertilization had little impact on genetic variation or ranking of genotypes. Lowland genotypes were considerably more sensitive than upland genotypes to interactions with environmental factors, probably due to these field sites being outside of the traditional lowland adaptation zones. Genotype rankings were highly inconsistent across regions and soil types, indicating that breeding programs that target marginal soils should be located on soils that represent the appropriate TPE. Furthermore, interactions across the three regions suggest that breeding programs for the lowland ecotype should be subdivided into different sets of TPEs, which are largely a function of hardiness zone and annual precipitation. Lastly, even with negligible interactions involving N fertilization level, future definitions of TPEs should be based on minimal or no N fertilizer applications to allow breeders to select plants with greater N-use efficiency, N-scavenging ability, and N-recycling efficiency

Development of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems with olive vegetable oil for cutaneous application

ABSTRACT Liquid-Crystalline Systems represent active compounds delivery systems that may be able to overcome the physical barrier of the skin, especially represented by the stratum corneum. To obtain these systems, aqueous and oily components are used with surfactants. Of the different association structures in such systems, the liquid-crystalline offer numerous advantages to a topical product. This manuscript presents the development of liquid-crystalline systems consisting, in which the oil component is olive oil, its rheological characterizations, and the location of liquid crystals in its phase map. Cytotoxic effects were evaluated using J-774 mouse macrophages as the cellular model. A phase diagram to mix three components with different proportions was constructed. Two liquid crystalline areas were found with olive oil in different regions in the ternary diagram with two nonionic surfactants, called SLC1 (S1) and SLC2 (S2). These systems showed lamellar liquid crystals that remained stable during the entire analysis time. The systems were also characterized rheologically with pseudoplastic behavior without thixotropy. The texture and bioadhesion assays showed that formulations were similar statistically (p < 0.05), indicating that the increased amount of water in S2 did not interfere with the bioadhesive properties of the systems. In vitro cytotoxic assays showed that formulations did not present cytotoxicity. Olive oil-based systems may be a promising platform for skin delivery of drugs

The current state of the use of large wood in river restoration and management

Trees fall naturally into rivers generating flow heterogeneity, inducing geomorphological features, and creating habitats for biota. Wood is increasingly used in restoration projects and the potential of wood acting as leaky barriers to deliver natural flood management by “slowing the flow” is recognised. However, wood in rivers can pose a risk to infrastructure and locally increase flood hazards. The aim of this paper is to provide an up-to-date summary of the benefits and risks associated with using wood to promote geomorphological processes to restore and manage rivers. This summary was developed through a workshop that brought together academics, river managers, restoration practitioners and consultants in the UK to share science and best-practice on wood in rivers. A consensus was developed on four key issues: (i) hydro-geomorphological effects, (ii) current use in restoration and management, (iii) uncertainties and risks, and (iv) tools and guidance required to inform process-based restoration and management