Evaluation of Growth Performance of Tomato in Response to Biochar and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Amf) Inoculation

Field experiment was conducted in 2013 and 2014 to evaluate growth performance of two tomato genotypes in response to biochar application and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) inoculation at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design with two tomato genotypes in the main plots, five levels of biochar application in the sub plots and two levels of AMF inoculation in the sub-sub plots. Data on plant height number of leaves and dry matter yields were generated and subjected to analysis of variance and significant means separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 5 % level of significance. The result shows that mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased (p< 0.05) the shoot dry matter yield (2935.8 kg ha-1) when compared with non-mycorrhizal plants, there is no significant difference in number of leaves, height and root dry matter yield. Application of 20 t ha-1 of biochar significantly increased (p< 0.05) the shoot dry matter yields and plant height while no significant differences were observed in number of leaves and root dry matter yield. From the results obtained it can be concluded that AMF can successfully be inoculated into biochar amended soil to improve the performance of tomato plant.Keywords: Biochar; AMF; inoculation; tomato; growth performance

Detrital magnetite and chromite in Jack Hills quartzite cobbles: Further evidence for the preservation of primary magnetizations and new insights into sediment provenance

AbstractThe magnetization of zircons from sedimentary rocks of the Jack Hills (Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia) provide evidence for a Hadean to Paleoarchean geodynamo, 4.0 to 4.2 billion years old. These magnetizations pass a microconglomerate test, attesting to the fidelity of Jack Hills zircons as recorders of these most ancient magnetic signals. The lack of pervasive remagnetization of the Jack Hills is also documented through a positive conglomerate test conducted on cobble-sized clasts. A key element of the latter test is the preservation of a high unblocking temperature magnetization that can survive peak metamorphic temperatures. Rock magnetic studies suggest the mineral carrier is magnetite. Herein, we investigate the magnetic mineral carriers in cobble samples through scanning electron microscope and microprobe analyses, conduct an inter-laboratory paleomagnetic study to evaluate sensitivities required to evaluate the weak magnetizations carried by the Jack Hills sediments, and assess provenance information constrained by the opaque minerals. These data confirm magnetite as a detrital phase and the presence of high unblocking temperature magnetizations, further supporting the posit that the Jack Hills sediments can preserve primary magnetic signatures. We note that some of these magnetizations are near the measurement resolution of standard cryogenic magnetometers and thus exacting laboratory procedures are required to uncover these signals. In addition to magnetite, the cobbles contain an assemblage of Mg poor Cr–Fe chromites, Ni-sulfides and pyrrhotite that suggest a source in a layered intrusion different from the granitoid source of the zircons. Any Hadean rock fragment in these sediments, if present, remains elusive

Ocimum gratissimum Ameliorates Gentamicin-Induced Kidney Injury but Decreases Creatinine Clearance Following Sub-Chronic Administration in Rats

The effects of aqueous extract of Ocimum gratissimum leaf (AOGL) on the renal function of rats with gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity were investigated. This study involved the use of forty five (45) adult male Wistar rats (housed in separate metabolic cages) such that graded doses of OAGL were administered to the experimental groups (p.o.) for 28 days after exposure to gentamicin toxicity (100 mg/kg i.p.) for 1 week. At the end of the study, comparisons of some indices of renal function as well as antioxidant status (GSH and TBARS) were made between the control, toxic and AOGL-treated groups at P < 0.05. The result showed that gentamicin treatment caused significant increase (P < .05) in urine output, urea, creatinine, total protein, relative kidney weight, and TBARS, as well as significant decrease (P < .05) in urine creatinine and GSH levels. Post-treatment with graded doses of AOGL caused significant increase in food consumption, GSH, urine, and plasma creatinine, as well as significant decrease (P < .05) in relative kidney weight, TBARS, and urine total protein. There was an appreciable difference in the kidney histology of the AOGL-treated groups when compared with the toxic control. Hence, the extract has therapeutic potential in the management of gentamicin-induced kidney injury, although a risk profile of renal dysfunction is not unlikely from 28 days of administration as evident by the decrease in creatinine clearance

Biodiesel Fuel from Differently Sourced Local Seed Oils: Characterization, Effects of Catalysts, Total Glycerol Content and Flow Rates

The recently observed depletion in the petroleum resources, which also mainly constituted carbon dioxide emission and global warming problems call for renewable and sustainable alternative fuels. Oils were extracted from various seeds: Jatropha curcas (Botuje), Pentaclethra macrophylla (Apara) and soybean, using petroleum ether (40-60℃). Alkali catalyzed transesterification of the oils (biodiesel pro-duction) in the presence of different kinds of alcohol (methanol, ethanol and propanol) were carried out using sodium hydroxide as catalyst. In the case of Jatropha oil, potassium hydroxide served as catalyst. Effect of catalysts to obtain optimum biofuel was established. In the case of soybean oil, fatty acid methyl ester, FAME, (96%), fatty acid ethyl ester, FAEE, (84%) and fatty acid propyl ester, FAPE, (37.50%) were pro-duced. In waste palm kernel oil, methyl ester (72.92%) and ethyl ester (46.25%) were obtained. In refined palm kernel oil, methyl ester (70.83%), ethyl ester (66.67%) and (14.17%) propyl ester were produced. However, only methyl ester conversion (20.83%) was possible in Pen-taclethra macrophylla oil. In Jatropha curcas using KOH catalyst, only methyl ester (80%) formation was possible. Moreover, yields were af-fected as the alcohol alkyl became bulkier giving relatively lower value of biodiesel. Sulphur content (0.01) obtained for each of the biofuel was satisfactory when compared with ASTM standard (0.05 maximum). The cetane value of soybean oil (45.5), refined palm kernel oil (46) and used oil (44.6) were quite reasonable compared with the special standard (47). The combustion energy of the fuels from refined palm kernel oil, waste palm kernel oil and soybean are 39, 36 and 45.5 respectively. The total glycerol content (Gc) of the methyl and ethyl esters emanat-ed from soybean are quite reasonable and fell within standard

Diversity of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in rhizosphere of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties in Southwest Nigeria

Article Details: Received: 2020-02-05      |      Accepted: 2020-05-07      |      Available online: 2020-06-30https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.02.42-48 Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have the potential to increase crop productivity and play a key role in the functioning and sustainability of most agroecosystems. However, limited information is available on the divervisity of AMF associated with upland rice varieties in Southwest Nigeria. Field survey was conducted to investigate colonization and diversity of AMF in 13 upland rice varieties commonly grown in Southwest Nigeria. Root and soil samples were collected from rice fields in 2012. The results showed natural root colonization of all the rice varieties by AMF with highest root colonization in ITA 157and Ofada. The spore densities retrieved from the different rhizospheres were relatively high, varying from 13 spores in UORW 111 to 174 spores in Ofada with a mean of 67.6 spores per 20 g dry soil. Glomus was observed to be the most abundant AMF genus. Funneliformis mosseae was the most frequently occurring AMF species (96.2%) with relative density (RD) of 32.2%, followed by Glomus intraradices, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, and Glomus clareium. This study showed that AMF naturally colonized the roots of these rice varieties and diversity of different AMF genera in rice rhizosphere. This study will help draw attention to natural colonization of AMF in rice producing areas of Nigeria that can influence future possibility of using inocula of the dominant AMF species in upland rice cultivation.Keywords: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, community structure, diversity, upland rice, spore densityReferences ADEYEMI, N.O. et al. (2020). Effect of commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculant on growth and yield of soybean under controlled and natural field conditions. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 43(4), 487–499, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/019041 67.2019.1685101 ADEYEMI, N.O. et al. (2019). Identification and relative abundance of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with oil-seed crops and maize (Zea mays L.) in derived savannah of Nigeria. Acta fytotechn zootechn, 22(3), 84–89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2019.22.03.84-89 ADEYEMI, N. et al. (2017). Yield and yield attributes responses of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) to elevated CO2 and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation in the humid transitory rainforest. Notulae Scientia Biologicae, 9(2), 233–241. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15835/nsb9210002 BARBER, N.A. et al. (2013). Linking agricultural practices, mycorrhizal fungi, and traits mediating plant-insect interactions. Ecol Appl, 23(7), 1519–1530.BŁASZKOWSKI, J. (2012) Glomeromycota. Kraków: W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences. BOUYOUCOS, G.H. (1951). A recalibration of the hydrometer method for testing mechanical analysis of soils. Agronomy Journal, 43,434–438.BRUNDRETT, M.C. and TEDERSOO, L. (2018) Evolutionary history of mycorrhizal symbioses and global host plant diversity. New Phytol, 220,1108–1115. CAMPOS-SORIANO, L. et al. (2010). Activation of basal defense mechanisms of rice plants by Glomus intraradices does not affect the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. New Phytol, 188(2), 597–614. CHEN, M. et al. (2018) Beneficial services of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi – from ecology to application. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01270DAVISON, J. et al. (2015). Global assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus diversity reveals very low endemism. Science, 349, 970–973. DE ANDRADE-JÚNIOR, J.A. et al. (2018) Fixação de carbono em sistemas agroecológicos na região do Vale do São Patrício, Goiás. Científica – Multidiscip J, 5, 85–98. DE MOURA, J.B. et al. (2018) Taxa de colonização micorrízica sob diferentes sistemas de cultivo no cerrado em cana-deaçúcar. Diálogos & Ciência, 2, 60–66. GIANINAZZI, S. et al. (2010). Agroecology: The key role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in ecosystem services. Mycorrhiza, 20(8), 519–530. INVAM (2018). International culture collection of (vesicular) arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Morgantown: West Virginia University. HAZARD, C. et al. (2013). The role of local environment and  geographical distance in determining community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at the landscape scale. The ISME Journal, 7, 498–508. JIANG, Y.N. et al. (2017). Plants transfer lipids to sustain colonization by mutualistic mycorrhizal and parasitic fungi. Science, 356, 1172–1175. JOHNSON, N.C. (2010). Resource stoichiometry elucidates the structure and function of arbuscular mycorrhizas across scales. New Phytol, 185(3), 631–647. LEKBERG, Y. and KOIDE, R.T. (2005). Is plant performance limited by abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? A metaanalysis of studies published between 1988 and 2003. New Phytol, 168(1). LIN, X. et al. (2012). Long-term balanced fertilization decreases arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in an arable soil in north China revealed by 454 pyrosequencing. Environmental Science & Technology, 46, 5764–5771. LUGINBUEHL, L.H. et al. (2017). Fatty acids in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are synthesized by the host plant. Science, 356, 1175–1178. LUMINI, E. et al. (2011). Different farming and water regimes in Italian rice fields affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal soil communities. Ecol Appl, 21(5), 1696–1707.OEHL, F. et al. (2010). Soil type and land use intensity determine the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42, 724–738. OEHL, F. et al. (2017) Diversity and biogeography of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in agricultural soils. Biol Fertil Soils, (53), 777–797. PEYRET-GUZZON, M. et al. (2016). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities and Rhizophagus irregularis populations shift in response to short term ploughing and fertilisation in a buffer strip. Mycorrhiza, 26, 33–46. PHILLIPS, J.M. and HAYMAN, D.S. (1970). Improved procedures for clearing roots and staining parasitic and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for rapid assessment of infection. Trans Br Mycol Soc., 55,158–IN18. PIVATO, B. et al. (2007). Medicago species affect the community composition of arbuscular myccorhizal fungi associated with roots. New Phytologist 176, 197–210. RILLIG, M.C. and MUMMEY, D.L. (2006). Mycorrhizas and soil structure. New Phytol, 171(1), 41–53. SILVA-FLORES, P. et al. (2019) Factors affecting arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spore density in the Chilean Mediterraneantype ecosystem. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr, 19, 42–50. SMITH, S.E. and READ, D.J. (2008). Mycorrhizal symbiosis. 3rd ed., New York: Academic Press. SNOECK, D. et al. (2010). Temporal changes in VAM fungi in the cocoa agroforestry systems of central Cameroon. Agroforestry Syst., 78, 323–328. SOUZA, B.R. et al. (2016) Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as indicative of soil quality in conservation systems in the region of vale do São Patrício, Goiás. Int J Curr Res, 8, 43307–43311.VALLINO, et al. (2014). Rice flooding negatively impacts root branching and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization, but not fungal viability. Plant Cell Environ, 37(3), 557–572. VAN Der HEIJDEN, M.G. et al. (2015) Mycorrhizal ecology and evolution: the past, the present, and the future. New Phytol 205, 1406–1423. VENTURA, M.V.A, et al. (2018) Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the establishment of pre-broken sugar cane. Poljoprivreda i Sumarstvo, 64,149–157. WALKLEY, A., and BLACK, I.A. (1934). An examination of Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and proposed modification of the chromic acid in soil analysis.1. Experimental soil science, 79, 459–465. WANG, Y.T. et al. (2015). Community dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in high-input and intensively irrigated rice cultivation systems. Appl Environ Microbiol, 81(8), 2958–2965. ZHANG, S.J. et al. (2015). Is resource allocation and grain yield of rice altered by inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? J Plant Ecol, 8(4), 436–448

The importance of low-deformation vorticity in tropical cyclone formation

Studies of tropical cyclone (TC) formation from tropical waves have shown that TC formation requires a wave-relative quasi-closed circulation: the "marsupial pouch" concept. This results in a layerwise nearly contained region of atmosphere in which the modification of moisture, temperature and vorticity profiles by convective and boundary layer processes occurs undisturbed. The pouch concept is further developed in this paper. TCs develop near the centre of the pouch where the flow is in near solid body rotation. A reference-frame independent parameter is introduced that effectively measures the level of solid-body rotation in the lower troposphere. The parameter is the product of a normalized Okubo-Weiss parameter and absolute vorticity (OWZ). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Using 20 yr of ERA-interim reanalysis data and the IBTrACS global TC database, it is shown 95% of TCs including, but not limited to, those forming in tropical waves are associated with enhanced levels of OWZ on both the 850 and 500 hPa pressure levels at the time of TC declaration, while 90% show enhanced OWZ for at least 24 h prior to declaration. This result prompts the question of whether the pouch concept extends beyond wave-type formation to all TC formations world-wide. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Combining the OWZ with a low vertical shear requirement and lower troposphere relative humidity thresholds, an imminent genesis parameter is defined. The parameter includes only relatively large-scale fluid properties that are resolved by coarse grid model data (&gt;150 km), which means it can be used as a TC detector for climate model applications. It is also useful as a cyclogenesis diagnostic in higher resolution models such as real-time global forecast models

Tobacco exposure and sleep disturbance in 498 208 UK Biobank participants

Background: The prevalence of sleep disturbance is high and increasing. The study investigated whether active, former and passive smoking were associated with sleep disturbance. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the UK Biobank: a cohort study of 502 655 participants, of whom 498 208 provided self-reported data on smoking and sleep characteristics. Multivariable multinomial and logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between smoking and sleep disturbance. Results: Long-sleep duration (&gt;9 h) was more common among current smokers [odds ratio (OR): 1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17–1.85; probability value (P) = 0.001] than never smokers, especially heavy (&gt;20/day) smokers (OR: 2.85; 95% CI: 1.66–4.89; P &lt; 0.001). Former heavy (&gt;20/day) smokers were also more likely to report short (&lt;6 h) sleep duration (OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.25–1.60; P &lt; 0.001), long-sleep duration (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.47–2.71; P &lt; 0.001) and sleeplessness (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.38–1.57; P &lt; 0.001) than never smokers. Among never smokers, those who lived with more than one smoker had higher odds of long-sleep duration than those not cohabitating with a smoker (OR: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.26–5.82; P = 0.011). Conclusions: Active and passive exposure to high levels of tobacco smoke are associated with sleep disturbance. Existing global tobacco control interventions need to be enforced

Assessment of the Relationship between Digit Lengths and Circumferences of the Waist and Hip Amongst Ugandans

Abstract: In human hand the second Digit (2D) and the fourth Digit (4D) present a pattern of approximate symmetry around the central axis of the third digit. Many individuals have longer 2D than 4D (2D&gt;1) and many have longer 4D than 2D 2D:4D&lt;1). The former ratio is more common in females and the later ratio is more in males. The 2D:4D ratio is fixed at an early age. There is evidence that 2D:4D is negatively associated with prenatal testosterone and positively with prenatal estrogen and that this ratio differs between male and female and different ethnic groups, with low values found in Black populations. This study sought to assess the relationship between sexually dimorphic traits established early in life and those established at puberty amongst Ugandans in Ishaka Bushenyi. One sixty nine males and one fifty four females Ugandans in Bushenyi district were used for this study. Anthropometric tape was used to measure waist and hip circumferences, a digital venier caliper was used to measure the lengths of the digit. Using Pearson&apos;s correlation, the lengths of the right index or second finger in females was found to have a positive correlation with the hip circumference while the length of the ring or fourth finger in the males was found to have a positive correlation with the waist circumference. This suggests that the lengths of the digit established early in life are positively correlated with the increased waist circumference in males and increased hip circumference in females that occur at puberty. Implying that the sexually dimorphic traits that appear in life during puberty under the influence of testosterone and estrogen is positively correlated with the sexually dimorphic traits that appear early in life due to prenatal exposure to the androgen