Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH): an Egyptian patient

Progressive osseous heteroplasia is a rare genetic disorder characterized by cutaneous ossification during infancy and progressive ossification of subcutaneous and deep connective tissue including muscle and fascia during childhood. It is at the severe end of a spectrum of Guanine Nucleotide-binding protein, Alpha-Stimulating activity polypeptide (GNAS) associated ossification disorders that include osteoma cutis and Albright hereditary osteodystrophy. Here we describe a five year old boy with progressive ossification of skin and subcutaneous tissue and progressive limitation of movement of all joints. X-rays revealed extensive calcification of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues involving nearly the whole body. As far as our knowledge, no cases have been reported before in the Middle East. Here we describe the first Egyptian child affected with this disorder.Key Words: Progressive osseous heteroplasia, GNAS1 mutations, Heterotopic ossification

Chromosome 22 microdeletion in children with syndromic congenital heart disease by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)

Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are the most common of all birth defects. Congenital heart disease may occur as an isolated malformation or may be part of a syndrome. One of the most common syndromes associated with CHDs is the 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome, the various conditions associated with del22q11 include DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS), conotruncal anomaly face syndrome (CTAFS), and others. The abnormalities associated with this syndrome include parathyroid hypoplasia, thymic hypoplasia, immune defect, cleft palate, and abnormal facies. The cardiac defects are usually derived from conotruncus. The aim of the study was to detect the prevalence and the most common or frequent clinical manifestations of chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion among children with syndromic congenital heart disease. The study was conducted on 20 children with syndromic CHD presenting to the Menoufiya University Hospitals, Egypt. Their ages ranged from 10 days to 12 years. Cytogenetic study and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed in the patients. The study revealed that 2 patients were with chromosomal aberrations [one with 46,XY, add (13)(p13) & the other with 47,XX,+13]. In addition, FISH revealed 4 patients (20%) with 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome. The congenital heart malformations detected in patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion were somewhat unexpected and included VSD, ASD, PDA, and double outlet right ventricle. The most frequent extracardiac features were hypocalcemia, microcephaly, brain atrophy, epicanthus, low set posteriorly rotated ears, micrognathia, and anemia. The extracardiac features were in some cases subtle. It is concluded that 22q11.2 microdeletion is not uncommon and its manifestations are highly variable. This entails that screening for the microdeletion by FISH should be performed in all patients with syndromic CHD especially those with hypocalcemia, microcephaly, brain atrophy, epicanthus, low set ears, posteriorly rotated ears, micrognathia, and anemia. In addition, patients with minor features and those with non-conotruncal heart disease should not be excluded from the screening for 22 microdeletion.Keywords: Chromosome 22 microdeletion; Syndromic congenital heart disease; DiGeorge syndrome; Hypocalcemia; Velocardiofacial syndrom

NEW HIDING TECHNIQUE IN DIGITAL SIGNATURE BASED ON ZIGZAG TRANSFORM AND CHAOTIC MAPS

Abstract This paper presents a novel approach to digital signature by integrating the ElGamal or Schnorr digital signature algorithms, chaotic systems, and scanning techniques. Briefly, ZZBCRP is a zigzag transformation that is used firstly to construct a permuted transaction, which technique starts from any random position and intersects in both directions, which is more complex than zigzag transform techniques. Then using ElGamal or Schnorr signature schemes based on chaotic maps. This modification aims to make private key and random number dependent on discrete chaotic maps. Even if the private key chosen is small, it is easy by using the huge amount of points in chaotic maps 2-D or 3-D to extract strong and unique key. This change complicates the relationship between the private key, public key and the transaction signature. A two-dimensional trigonometric discrete chaotic map is used that integrated Logistic-sine-cosine maps, and a three-dimensional hyperchaotic map (3-D SCC) which are based on a sine map. Our performance analysis shows that compared to schemes; this scheme not only improves the level of efficiency but also assures safety. The performance analysis shows that our scheme is not only more efficient compared to other related systems, but also safer

Improvement of drought tolerance in five different cultivars of Vicia faba with foliar application of ascorbic acid or silicon

Aim of study: To explore the role of ascorbic acid (AsA) or silicon (Si) in improving drought tolerance in five faba bean cultivars under irrigation water deficit (IWD).Area of study: The experimental farm; 30° 36′ N, 32° 16′ E, Egypt.Material and methods: Three drip irrigation regimes (WW, well-watered, 4000 m3 water ha-1; MD, moderate drought, 3000 m3 water ha-1; and SD, severe drought, 2000 m3 water ha-1) were applied to plants, which were sprayed 25, 40, and 55 days after sowing with 1.5 mM AsA or 2.0 mM Si vs distilled water as a control.Main results: Drought negatively affected physiological attributes (photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters, relative water content, membrane stability index, electrolyte leakage (EL), and lipid peroxidation), which restricted plant growth and yields, and stimulated alterations in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities. However, AsA or Si application mitigated drought effects on physiological attributes, improving growth, yields and water use efficiency by raising antioxidant activities and suppressing lipid peroxidation and EL in stressful cultivars. The mitigating effects of AsA and Si were more pronounced under MD.Research highlights: ‘Nubaria-2’, ‘Giza-843’, and ‘Sakha-3’ were more tolerant than ‘Giza-716’ and ‘Sakha-4’, suggesting the use of AsA or Si to ameliorate the IWD effects on stressful cultivars. Certain physiological traits exhibited positive association with growth and seed yield, demonstrating their importance in enhancing seed yield under irrigation treatments

Physio-Biochemical and agronomic responses of Faba Beans to exogenously applied Nano-Silicon under drought stress conditions

Nano-silicon application is an efficient novel approach to mitigate the deleterious impacts of drought stress on field crops, which is expected to increase owing to climate change, especially in arid regions. Two-season field studies investigated the influence of foliar-applied nano-silicon (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM) on physiological and biochemical attributes and their impacts on crop water productivity (CWP) and the agronomic traits of faba beans (Vicia faba). The plants were evaluated under two irrigation regimes: well-watered (100% ETc giving 406 mm ha−1) and drought stress (65% ETc giving 264 mm ha−1). It was found that drought stress significantly decreased gas exchange (leaf net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and rate of transpiration), water relations (relative water content and membrane stability index), nutrient uptake (N, P, K+, and Ca+2), flavonoids, and phenolic content. In contrast, drought stress significantly increased oxidative stress (H2O2 and O⋅−2) and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities compared with the well-watered treatment. These influences of drought stress were negatively reflected in seed yield-related traits and CWP. However, foliar treatment with nano-silicon, particularly with 1.5 mM, limited the devastating impact of drought stress and markedly enhanced all the aforementioned parameters. Therefore, exogenously applied nano-silicon could be used to improve the CWP and seed and biological yields of faba bean plants under conditions with low water availability in arid environments

Enhancement of drought tolerance in diverse Vicia faba cultivars by inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria under newly reclaimed soil conditions

Water deficit has devastating impacts on legume production, particularly with the current abrupt climate changes in arid environments. The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is an effective approach for producing natural nitrogen and attenuating the detrimental effects of drought stress. This study investigated the influence of inoculation with the PGPR Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae (USDA 2435) and Pseudomonas putida (RA MTCC5279) solely or in combination on the physio-biochemical and agronomic traits of five diverse Vicia faba cultivars under well-watered (100% crop evapotranspiration [ETc]), moderate drought (75% ETc), and severe drought (50% ETc) conditions in newly reclaimed poor-fertility sandy soil. Drought stress substantially reduced the expression of photosynthetic pigments and water relation parameters. In contrast, antioxidant enzyme activities and osmoprotectants were considerably increased in plants under drought stress compared with those in well-watered plants. These adverse effects of drought stress reduced crop water productivity (CWP) and seed yield‐related traits. However, the application of PGPR, particularly a consortium of both strains, improved these parameters and increased seed yield and CWP. The evaluated cultivars displayed varied tolerance to drought stress: Giza-843 and Giza-716 had the highest tolerance under well-watered and moderate drought conditions, whereas Giza-843 and Sakha-4 were more tolerant under severe drought conditions. Thus, co-inoculation of drought-tolerant cultivars with R. leguminosarum and P. putida enhanced their tolerance and increased their yield and CWP under water-deficit stress conditions. This study showed for the first time that the combined use of R. leguminosarum and P. putida is a promising and ecofriendly strategy for increasing drought tolerance in legume crops

Enhancing Drought Tolerance and Water Productivity of Diverse Maize Hybrids (Zea mays) Using Exogenously Applied Biostimulants under Varying Irrigation Levels

This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops at Reproductive Stages and Crop Improvement Strategies[Abstract] Water deficit is a decisive challenge that tremendously affects maize physiological functions and productivity. Hence, it is crucial to ameliorate its tolerance to drought stress, in particular under abrupt climate change and a growing population. The present study aimed to explore the influence of exogenously sprayed moringa seed extract (Moringa oleifera) and α-tocopherol on physio-biochemical, morphological, and yield attributes of six diverse maize hybrids under three irrigation levels in poor-fertility sandy soil. The applied irrigation regimes were based on estimated crop evapotranspiration (ET) using the FAO Penman–Monteith equation. A split–split plot arrangement with a randomized complete block design and three replicates was applied for different treatments. Irrigation levels (100% ET, 75% ET and 50% ET) were established in the main plots, while foliar applications (moringa extract and α-tocopherol) were located in subplots and the assessed hybrids (SC162, SC166, SC167, SC168, SC176, and SC178) in subsubplots. Mild (75% ET) and severe (50% ET) drought stress gradually reduced the gas exchange, photosynthetic efficiency, water relations, and yield traits compared with well-watered conditions (100% ET). However, foliar application of moringa seed extract or α-tocopherol was effective in reinforcing maize tolerance to drought stress by enhancing the accumulation of osmoprotectants, improving antioxidant enzymes, and decreasing levels of peroxidation of membrane lipids and electrolyte leakage compared to untreated control. These positive impacts were reflected in boosting yield traits and crop water productivity under water deficit conditions. The physiological and agronomic performance of the assessed maize hybrids considerably varied under water deficit conditions. The hybrids SC168, SC176, and SC178 exhibited the best performance under mild and severe drought conditions compared with the other hybrids. Consequently, the integration of exogenously applied moringa seed extract or α-tocopherol with tolerant maize hybrids such as SC168, SC176, and SC178 is an efficient approach to ameliorating drought tolerance under water-scarce conditions in arid environments.This research was funded by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSPD-2023R730), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaKing Saud University (Riad, Arabia Saudita); RSPD-2023R73

Agronomic Efficiency Losses by Ammonia Emission from Staple Crops in China as Response to Various Mitigation Strategies: A Meta-Analysis Study

Economic losses and environmental hazards are meaningful problems of emitted ammonia induced by extensive use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. The concept presented as yield scaled fertilizer productivity (YSFP) in our meta-analysis in addition to nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), and productivity of applied nitrogen (PAN) were used to weight ammonia emission (AV)-induced reductions in wheat, maize, and rice production. The comprehensive meta-analysis was used to weight the reductions in these parameters by AV as the difference between observed means of the collected studies and their adjusted means using AV factor. There were higher reductions in agronomic production induced by AV in rice than maize and wheat. AV-induced reductions in PAN of rice, maize, and wheat were decreased by 4.99, 3.71, and 2.42 (kg grains kg−1 N), respectively. YSFP and PAN recorded the highest sensitivity to AV in wheat (R2 = 0.88 for both) and rice (R2 = 0.92 and 0.89, respectively), while NUE was the most efficient parameter in weighting AV induced agronomic effects in maize (R2 = 0.81). Slow-released N fertilizers resulted in the lowest reductions in AV induced agronomic losses followed by organic amendments and then urea while using other synthetic fertilizers recorded the highest reductions by 3.90, 6.40, 1.41, and 4.70 in YSFP, NUE, NAE, and PAN, respectively. Inhibitors had the highest effect on mitigating AV induced agronomic losses compared with biochar and mulching and affected the parameters following that order as percentages of no amendments, YSFP (52.63%) > PAN (47.18%) > NUE (40.83%) > NAE (38.75%). This study outlines the reductions in agronomic production induced by AV and weights the efficiency of various mitigation strategies under various agronomic conditions. The results proved the efficiency of YSFP with NUE parameters to weight the effect of AV on crop yield, while suggesting to find out more applicable parameters in further studies