Evaluation of Heavy Metal Concentration in Drinking Water Collected from Local Wells and Boreholes of Dutse Town, North West, Nigeria

Water samples collected from Dutse Town, Jigawa State, were studied and analyzed for heavy metals. A total of 48 samples were collected from 24 different sampling sites in Dutse town namely: FUD, Gidan Dubu Yadi, Bakwato 1, Bakwato 2, Tashar Danwake, Fatara, Kargo, Garu/Emir palace, Fagoji 1, Fagoji 2, Zai, Jigawa Sarki, Kachi, Limawa, Galamawa, Dasina, Takur Adua, Jigawar Tsada, Takur Site, Dan Masara, Mopol Base, G-9 Site and Aminu Kano Way/Cikin Gari. The samples were studied and analyzed for eight (8) heavy metals namely; Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) and Nickel (Ni). The results obtained were compared with the international standards. The samples were analyzed at the Central Laboratory, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) was used in this study and the average concentration of these heavy metals  are 0.0034, 0.0409, 0.0151, 1.8241, 0.01471, 0.2731, 2.2829 and 0.0433 mg/l for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg and Ni respectively. Among the analyzed heavy metals, Cd, Co, Cu and Ni were below the recommended level set by United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) while Fe, Pb, Mn and Hg were higher than the recommended level set by USEPA and WHO for safe drinking water. This imply that the water collected from these sampling areas were contaminated with heavy metals which may have serious health hazard to the people using such water for drinking and other domestic activities. Keywords: Heavy metals, Wells, Boreholes, Drinking Water, Dutse Tow

Identification of rice blast disease-suppressing bacterial strains from the rhizosphere of rice grown in Pakistan.

Sixteen bacterial strains isolated from the roots and rhizosphere of rice plants growing in saline and non-saline soils from the Shorkot area of Pakistan were tested for their ability to promote plant growth and reduce the incidence of rice blast disease. When applied to the soil, many of the isolated rhizobacterial strains increased seedling growth and/or suppressed rice blast disease in greenhouse-grown plants of the cultivars Super Basmati and Azucena, but each cultivar responded to different subsets of the bacteria. In the cv Super Basmati, increased blast resistance was correlated with the production of siderophores by the rhizobacteria. Several strains inhibited the growth of the causative agent of rice blast disease, the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, in an in vitro dual culture assay. Direct bioantagonism was correlated with disease resistance in Super Basmati, but not in Azucena, and direct antagonism as a cause for the reduced disease incidence is also unlikely since no epiphytic colonisation of leaves was detected. Rhizosphere colonisation by the bacteria in plants grown in sterile sand was correlated with disease resistance in Super Basmati, but not in Azucena. As well as the differences in strains that protected each cv against blast disease, we also found that there were differences in the ability of some strains to protect plants against blast depending on soil type. Hence, there are complex interactions between rhizobacteria and rice plants with respect to biocontrol of rice blast disease, dependent upon both rice cv and soil type. The identity of strains that promoted high levels of disease protection, including three that performed well across all plant cultivars and growth conditions, was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing

SUPPRESSION OF INCIDENCE OF RHIZOCTONIA SOLANI IN RICE BY SIDEROPHORE PRODUCING RHIZOBACTERIAL STRAINS BASED ON COMPETITION FOR IRON

Rice is a major crop in much of the developing world, where disease management using agrochemicals is not economically practical, nor environmentally safe. The identification of biocontrol agents therefore presents a useful alternative. Here, we screened bacterial strains isolated from the rhizosphere of rice plants, and identified a number of these that exhibit antagonistic activity towards the fungal pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani, the causative agent of rice sheath blight disease. Correlation analysis with different metabolites produced by these bacteria revealed that antagonism was strongly correlated with the quantity of siderophores produced by individual strains, and was increased under iron-limiting conditions. Selected high-siderophore-producing strains were found to promote the growth of rice plants, possibly via the solubilisation of soil phosphates, nitrogen fixation and the production of phytohormones. These same PGPR also conferred resistance against sheath blight disease, which resulted in significant yield increases in infected plants. A consortium of the selected strains was especially effective in both growth promotion and disease suppression, and generally performed better than treatment with the fungicide, benlate. Molecular analysis indicated that the PGPR strains tested enhance plant defence gene expression, and may therefore activate induced systemic resistance in rice. Our work has identified a series of rhizobacterial strains able to promote plant growth and provide effective resistance against sheath blight disease in rice and which therefore have potential for application as biocontrol agents in agriculture

SUPPRESSION OF INCIDENCE OF RHIZOCTONIA SOLANI IN RICE BY SIDEROPHORE PRODUCING RHIZOBACTERIAL STRAINS BASED ON COMPETITION FOR IRON

Rice is a major crop in much of the developing world, where disease management using agrochemicals is not economically practical, nor environmentally safe. The identification of biocontrol agents therefore presents a useful alternative. Here, we screened bacterial strains isolated from the rhizosphere of rice plants, and identified a number of these that exhibit antagonistic activity towards the fungal pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani, the causative agent of rice sheath blight disease. Correlation analysis with different metabolites produced by these bacteria revealed that antagonism was strongly correlated with the quantity of siderophores produced by individual strains, and was increased under iron-limiting conditions. Selected high-siderophore-producing strains were found to promote the growth of rice plants, possibly via the solubilisation of soil phosphates, nitrogen fixation and the production of phytohormones. These same PGPR also conferred resistance against sheath blight disease, which resulted in significant yield increases in infected plants. A consortium of the selected strains was especially effective in both growth promotion and disease suppression, and generally performed better than treatment with the fungicide, benlate. Molecular analysis indicated that the PGPR strains tested enhance plant defence gene expression, and may therefore activate induced systemic resistance in rice. Our work has identified a series of rhizobacterial strains able to promote plant growth and provide effective resistance against sheath blight disease in rice and which therefore have potential for application as biocontrol agents in agriculture

The role of place branding and image in the development of sectoral clusters: the case of Dubai

This paper contextualizes how place branding and image influence the development of Dubai’s key sectoral clusters, including the key determinants of growth and success under the impression of Porter’s cluster theory. The approach is exploratory and of a qualitative inductive nature. Data was collected through conducting 21 semi-structured interviews with Dubai’s marketing/communication managers and stakeholders. Findings suggest that Dubai’s traditional clusters, namely, trading, tourism and logistics that have strong place branding and image show strong signs of success owing to Dubai’s geographical location (i.e., physical conditions). Among the new clusters, the financial sector is also benefitting from place branding. The results suggest that the success of traditional clusters have a positive spill over effect on the new clusters, in particular on construction and real estate. For policy makers it is worth to note that the recent success of the financial services cluster in Dubai will have positive impact on both, the traditional as well new clusters. The marketing and brand communication managers must consider the correlation and interplay of strength of activities amongst trading, tourism and logistics clusters and its implication while undertaking place branding for clients in their sector

Prevalence and management of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in different wheat genotypes and their impact on yield and related traits.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production is significantly altered by the infestation of sucking insects, particularly aphids. Chemical sprays are not recommended for the management of aphids as wheat grains are consumed soon after crop harvests. Therefore, determining the susceptibility of different wheat genotypes and selecting the most tolerant genotype could significantly lower aphid infestation. This study evaluated the susceptibility of six different wheat genotypes (‘Sehar-2006’, ‘Shafaq-2006’, ‘Faisalabad-2008’, ‘Lasani-2008’, ‘Millat-2011’ and ‘Punjab-2011’) to three aphid species (Rhopalosiphum padi Linnaeus, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, Sitobion avenae Fabricius) at various growth stages. Seed dressing with insecticides and plant extracts were also evaluated for their efficacy to reduce the incidence of these aphid species. Afterwards, an economic analysis was performed to compute cost-benefit ratio and assess the economic feasibility for the use of insecticides and plant extracts. Aphids’ infestation was recorded from the seedling stage and their population gradually increased as growth progressed towards tillering, stem elongation, heading, dough and ripening stages. The most susceptible growth stage was heading with 21.89 aphids/tiller followed by stem elongation (14.89 aphids/tiller) and dough stage (13.56 aphids/tiller). The genotype ‘Punjab-2011’ recorded the lower aphid infestation than ‘Faisalabad-2008’, ‘Sehar-2006’, ‘Lasani-2008’ and ‘Shafaq-2006’. Rhopalosiphum padi appeared during mid-February, whereas S. graminum and S. avenae appeared during first week of March. Significant differences were recorded for losses in number of grains/spike and 1000-grain weight among tested wheat genotypes. The aphid population had non-significant correlation with yield-related traits. Hicap proved the most effective for the management of aphid species followed by Hombre and Husk among tested seed dressers, while Citrullus colocynthis L. and Moringa oleifera Lam. plant extracts exhibited the highest efficacy among different plant extracts used in the study. Economic analysis depicted that use of Hombre and Hicap resulted in the highest income and benefit cost ratio. Therefore, use of genotype Punjab-2011’ and seed dressing with Hombre and Hicap can be successfully used to lower aphid infestation and get higher economic returns for wheat crop

Spatial and Functional Distribution of MYBPC3 Pathogenic Variants and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Background - Pathogenic variants in MYBPC3, encoding cardiac MyBP-C, are the most common cause of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A large number of unique MYBPC3 variants and relatively small genotyped HCM cohorts have precluded detailed genotype-phenotype correlations. Methods - Patients with HCM and MYBPC3 variants were identified from the Sarcomeric Human Cardiomyopathy Registry (SHaRe). Variant types and locations were analyzed, morphologic severity was assessed, and time-event analysis was performed (composite clinical outcome of sudden death, class III/IV heart failure, LVAD/transplant, atrial fibrillation). For selected missense variants falling in enriched domains, myofilament localization and degradation rates were measured in vitro. Results - Among 4,756 genotyped HCM patients in SHaRe, 1,316 patients were identified with adjudicated pathogenic truncating (N=234 unique variants, 1047 patients) or non-truncating (N=22 unique variants, 191 patients) variants in MYBPC3. Truncating variants were evenly dispersed throughout the gene, and hypertrophy severity and outcomes were not associated with variant location (grouped by 5' - 3' quartiles or by founder variant subgroup). Non-truncating pathogenic variants clustered in the C3, C6, and C10 domains (18 of 22, 82%, p<0.001 vs. gnomAD common variants) and were associated with similar hypertrophy severity and adverse event rates as observed with truncating variants. MyBP-C with variants in the C3, C6, and C10 domains was expressed in rat ventricular myocytes. C10 mutant MyBP-C failed to incorporate into myofilaments and degradation rates were accelerated by ~90%, while C3 and C6 mutant MyBP-C incorporated normally with degradation rate similar to wild-type. Conclusions - Truncating variants account for 91% of MYBPC3 pathogenic variants and cause similar clinical severity and outcomes regardless of location, consistent with locus-independent loss-of-function. Non-truncating MYBPC3 pathogenic variants are regionally clustered, and a subset also cause loss-of-function through failure of myofilament incorporation and rapid degradation. Cardiac morphology and clinical outcomes are similar in patients with truncating vs. non-truncating variants