Biochemical Characterization, Antifungal Activity, and Relative Gene Expression of Two Mentha Essential Oils Controlling Fusarium oxysporum, the Causal Agent of Lycopersicon esculentum Root Rot

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is important food in daily human diets. Root rot disease by Fusarium oxysporum caused huge losses in tomato quality and yield annually. The extensive use of synthetic and chemical fungicides has environmental risks and health problems. Recent studies have pointed out the use of medicinal plant essential oils (EOs) and extracts for controlling fungal diseases. In the current research, Mentha spicata and Mentha longifolia EOs were used in different concentrations to control F. oxysporum. Many active compounds are present in these two EOs such as: thymol, adapic acid, menthol and menthyl acetate. These compounds possess antifungal effect through malformation and degradation of the fungal cell wall. The relative expression levels of distinctly upregulated defense-related WRKY genes (WRKY1, WRKY4, WRKY33 and WRKY53) in seedling root were evaluated as a plant-specific transcription factor (TF) group in different response pathways of abiotic stress. Results showed significant expression levels of WRKY, WRKY53, WRKY33, WRKY1 and WRKY4 genes. An upregulation was observed in defense-related genes such as chitinase and defensin in roots by application EOs under pathogen condition. In conclusion, M. spicata and M. longifolia EOs can be used effectively to control this plant pathogen as sustainable and eco-friendly botanical fungicides

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Effects of UV-Light, Temperature and Storage on the Stability and Biological Effectiveness of Some Insecticides

The degradation and biological effectiveness of five insecticides, ES-Fenvalerate (Soumi Gold), pirimicarb (Afox), imidacloprid (Emax), buprofenzin (Ablloud) and methomyl (Methiolate) in their aqueous preparations and emulsifiable concentrates, on immature stages of whitefly insect Bemisia tabaci. when exposed to UV-light, two different temperatures and daylight and dark storage after exposure intervals was studied. The results indicated the degradation rates of the five tested insecticides varied according to the chemical structure, time of exposure and wavelength of UV-rays used. Of all the five insecticides, methomyl was the most affected by UV-rays. Losses of ES-Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid, buprofenzin and methomyl within this period were 11.30, 14.80, 29.03, 31.83 and 39%, respectively after one hour to UV-ray exposure. A significant increase in LC50 value was obtained when ES-Fenvalerate in aqueous preparation was exposed to UV-light for 6 hr. The LC50 values and their confidence ranges in aqueous preparations and emulsifiable concentrates were 107.5 ppm (51.7-199.2) and 93.10 ppm (48.3-150.4). The residual level of Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid, buprofenzin and methomyl were 13.52, 17.54 ppm; 12.67, 15.87 ppm; 11.78, 16.47 ppm; 11.38, 14.73 ppm; and 11.36, 11.83 ppm for two days exposed to daylight and dark storage. Insecticides could be arranged according to LC50 values at zero-time as follow: ES-Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid, buprofenzin and methomyl. The corresponding values of LC50 were 3.40, 15.4, 15.6, 16.2 and 23.5 ppm for daylight storage. On the other hand, the dark storage exposure for the tested insecticides could be arranged according to LC50 values as follow: ES-Fenvalerate, imidacloprid, pirimicarb, buprofenzin and methomyl. The corresponding LC50 were 3.20, 14.8, 14.9, 15.9 and 21.3 ppm, respectively. In general, the amount recovered after a one day, 45°C exposure were 14.63, 12.84, 12.79, 12.14 and 11.76 ppm, for ES-Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid, buprofenzin and methomyl, respectively. While the amounts recovered after a three day 45°C exposure were 9.28, 8.34, 7.76, 7.72 and 5.83 ppm for ES-Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid, buprofenzin and methomyl, respectively. Efficiency against whitefly insect, B. tabaci immature stages was affected when aqueous preparations of the five tested insecticides were stored at 45°C for one and three days, compared to those stored under normal condition of 25°C for the same periods of time. Generally it could be concluded that buprofenzin n and methomyl, were more affected by UV-light, storage and temperature than ES-Fenvalerate, pirimicarb, imidacloprid