Growth Habit and Performance of Acacia Mangium and Acacia Auriculiformis Genotypes

Acacia mangium Willd. and A cacia auriculifotmis A. Cunn. ex. Benth. are two of the four fast-growing tropical acacias which have received the highest priority for genetic assessment and improvement. Even though A. mangium was proposed for timber production in a short rotation but experience has shown that it is impeded by its susceptibility to heart rot, the multiple leaders (ML) formation, and the tendency of growth to break off just short of the target of the desired size for sawn timber production. However, the present work investigated the ML formation, its causes and variation and concurrently assessed growth performance and examined the patterns of shoot growth and some physiological traits of eight selected A. mangium and A. auriculiformis genotypes through establishment of a field trial and three related glasshouse experiments. The field trial was a randomized complete block design with four replications utilizing eight genotypes four each of the two species at two sites (burnt and unburned). Results at 23 months showed significant differences (P<0.001) between sites for the number of ML trees/plot, basal diameter, and survival but not for height and between genotypes for ML trees/plot, basal diameter (P<0.001), height (P<0.01) and survival (P<0.05). The site x genotype interaction was significant (P< 0.001) only for ML trees/plot

Stimulation of multiple leader formation in some genotypes of Acacia mangium and Acacia auriculiformis with 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP)

Acacia mangium Willd. and Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex. Benth. are two of the fast-growing tropical acacias which have received priority for genetic assessment and improvement. They were therefore proposed for timber production in a short rotation in Malaysia but were impeded by the multiple leaders (ML) formation which limited their value as sawn timber. This work attempts to investigate the causes of ML formation in four genotypes of A. mangium and A. auriculiformis as related to apical dominance, nutrition and plant growth hormones and their correlations. The effects of 6-benzylaminopurine and decapitation on ML formation of these genotypes were also investigated. 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) as a foliar spray and also decapitation did not stimulate ML formation. However, they significantly increased the number of branches and reduced all other growth traits including height. However, basal diameter was not affected by decapitation. The effects of BAP increased consistently with increasing level of application. BAP at 1500 mg·L-1 resulted in mortality of A. mangium provenances while A. auriculiformis provenances survived and grew normally. Some of the BAP treated plants of both species developed juvenile pinnate leaves. Decapitation of the apical bud resulted in the activation of the lateral bud immediately below the point of decapitation

Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Condemned Camel Livers in Southern Darfur, Sudan 1

Abstract: The objective of this study was to estimate the magnitude of liver condamnination due to bacterial infection and to characterize aerobic bacteria causing camel liver condamnination in Nyala city, South Darfur, Sudan. Eight hundred and ten camel livers were inspected and one hundred and three liver samples were collected in 2008-2010. Bacteriological and serological methods were used to isolate and identify aerobic bacteria causing liver infection. Results showed that the bacterial lesions were found in 36 (35%) samples out of 103 condemned inspected camel livers, the others causes were hydatid cyst 37 (35.9%), fibrosis 26 (25.2%) and calcification 4 (3.9%). Bacterial lesions consist of: abscesses 22 (61.1%), caseated nodules 13 (36.1%) and one (2.8%) congestion. Out of 36 aerobically incubated samples, 29 showed bacterial growth (80.6%) and seven cultures (19.4%) showed no growth. The isolates were identified to Staphylococcus spp. 11 (37.9%) which included; Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) 7 (63.6%), S. haemolyticus 3 (27.3%) and one (9.1%) S. caseolyticus while, Streptococcus pyogenes was found to be nine (31.0%) and Corynebactriumpseudotuberclosissix (20.7%). Mixed cultures (Staphylococcus and Streptococcus) were found to be three (10.3%). Many bacteria seem to be caused camel liver condamnination and the most one is S. aureustherefore, camel liver need carefully inspection and awareness about consumption of raw livermust be rais

Patient Preferences for Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drug Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: To summarize patients’ preferences for disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We conducted a systematic review to identify English-language studies in adult RA patients that measured patients’ preferences for DMARDs or health states and treatment outcomes relevant to DMARD decisions. Study quality was assessed using a published quality assessment tool. Data on the importance of treatment attributes and associations with patient characteristics was summarized across studies. RESULTS: From 7951 abstracts, we included 36 studies from a variety of countries. Most studies were in patients with established RA and were rated as medium (n=19) or high quality (n=12). The methods to elicit preferences varied, with the most common being discrete choice experiment (DCE) (n=13). Despite the heterogeneity of attributes in DCE studies, treatment benefits (disease improvement) were usually more important than both non-serious (6 of 8 studies), and serious adverse events (5 of 8), and route of administration (7 of 9). Amongst the non-DCE studies, some found patients placed high importance on treatment benefits, while others (in patients with established RA) found patients were quite risk averse. Subcutaneous therapy was often, but not always preferred over intravenous therapy. Patient preferences were variable and commonly associated with sociodemographics. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results showed that many patients place a high value on treatment benefits over other treatment attributes including serious or minor side effects, cost or route of administration. The variability in patient preferences highlights the need to individualize treatment choices in RA.Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR

Effects of Indigenous Cultivation Practices on Soil Conservation in the Hilly Semiarid Areas of Western Sudan

In dry regions, it is customary for farmers to use soil water conservation and/or water harvesting techniques. These practices have now become applicable to agriculturalists combating the adverse effects of drought on food production. In the semiarid areas of Zalingei in western Sudan, we quantified the soil erosion using traditional conservation measures, and conducted experiments in two consecutive rainy seasons (2013 and 2014). A split-split plot design was used to quantify the respective influences of each variable on reducing soil erosion: A) three gentle gradients (Slope1 (0.98%), Slope2 (1.81%), and Slope3 (3.1%)); B) two cropping systems (mono-crop and mixed-crops); and C) five indigenous conservation tillage practices&mdash;chisel ploughing (CHP), cross slope tied bonding (CSTB), contour ridge with stone bonds (CRSB), cross slope bonding (CSB), and zero tillage (ZT). Our results showed that there were significant differences between the slopes in season 2 (2014); the soil eroded at Slope3 was more than that of Slope1 and Slope2 by 71% and 27%, respectively. Over two seasons, there were no significant differences between the cropping systems. Conversely, the erosion level observed with CHP was higher than with the other practices. However, the CSTB and CSB erosion levels were only higher in season 2 when compared with those of CRSB and ZT. The study concluded that under the above conditions, the rate of soil erosion was severe and exceeded the erosion tolerance. Based on these results, in western Sudan, CRSB and ZT may be the more effective indigenous conservation practices for the protection of agricultural soils and productivity

Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) Water Uptake under Different Simulated Drought Conditions

The Mesquite plant has been introduced to several parts of the world in order to control land degradation and to stabilize sand dunes. Mesquite has performed well in several locations due to its tolerance to different environmental stresses. However, mesquite is now considered one of the most invasive species in the world. In this study, we attempt to investigate the impact of drought on mesquite water uptake and to select plant indices that can be used to compare the mesquite’s performance under drought conditions with that of Sudanese indigenous species

Active adsorption performance of planetary ball milled Saudi Arabian bentonite clay for the removal of copper ions from aqueous solution

We report the role of local bentonite clay in the removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solution. The fine bentonite clay powder was analysed by XRD, FTIR, SEM and DLS analysis techniques. Further, the adsorption experiments were carried out by varying many factors such as weight and size of bentonite clay, residence time, pH of the solution, stirring rate, temperature, and flow rate. The optimum conditions for effective removal of Cu2+ ions was 1 g dose of bentonite and 63 μm size of bentonite, 50 minutes of residence time and 50 °C temperature at pH 3 with a flow rate of 1 L/min. The data fitted well the Freundlich model and a maximum adsorption capacity of 61.72 mg/g has been obtained. The value of Gibbs free energy changes (${\Delta}G^{\circ}$ ), enthalpy changes (${\Delta}H^{\circ}$ ) and entropy changes (${\Delta}$ S°) were found to be $-3819.86\ \text{J~mol}^{-1}\text{K}^{-1}$ , $+15079.10\ \text{J mol}^{-1}\text{K}^{-1}$ and $+58.60\ \text{J mol}^{-1}\text{K}^{-1}$ , respectively