POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZA FUNGI IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL CULTIVATION

The Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi have a mutualistic relationship with 80% of terrestrial plants. Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi are considered as a biofertilizer source because of their positive effects on plant growth and productivity They can help to reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers by up to 50% due to their ability in enhancing crops to uptake mineral nutrients efficently such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc. . . thereby increasing crop yield. Moreover, this endosymbiotic fungus also shows its potential as a biopesticide due to its ability to biologically antagonize a wide range of fungi, viruses, and nematodes, which cause diseases on plants. Besides, Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi also help plants to resist to abiotic streeses such as drought, salinity, and toxicity of heavy metals. The glomalin compound secreted by mycorrhizal fungi has the ability to bind tiny soil particles together to form a stable soil structure and aggregates, helping to improve soil qualitỵ Thus, Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi have a high use potential in sustainable agricultural development under the context of climate change such as drought, salinity intrusion

Isolation and characterization of a c-repeat binding factor gene from Tevang-1 maize cultivar

C-repeat binding factor (CBF) proteins are transcription factors involved in plant response to abiotic stresses, especially low-temperature condition. In this research, a CBF3-coding gene was isolated from a cold-acclimation maize variety, Zea mays var. Tevang-1 and denoted as ZmCBF3tv. The isolated gene shared 96.49% homology with the B73-reference gene and had no intron in the coding sequence. By using bioinformatic tools, a number of variations in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences were identified. An alignment between ZmCBF3tv and other CBF/DREB1 proteins from various species revealed functional regions and typical features, such as nuclear localization signal (NLS), the AP2 DNA-binding domain, and acidic-amino-acid-rich segments. Additionally, a phylogenetic analysis based on the AP2 domain showed that the maize CBF3 transcription factor had the highest similarity with that from rice and closely related to other DREB1/CBF protein of monocots. The function of the ZmCBF3tv product is suggested to be a CBF/DREB1 transcription factor.    

Simple thermal-electrical model of photovoltaic panels with cooler-integrated sun tracker

This paper presents a simple thermal-electrical model of a photovoltaic panel with a cooler-integrated sun tracker. Based on the model and obtained weather data, we analyzed the improved overall efficiency in a year as well as the performance in each typical weather case for photovoltaic panels with fixed-tilt systems with a tilt angle equal to latitude, fixed-tilt systems with cooler, a single-axis sun tracker, and a cooler-integrated single-axis sun tracker. The results show that on a sunny summer day with few clouds, the performance of the photovoltaic panels with the proposed system improved and reached 32.76% compared with the fixed-tilt systems. On a sunny day with clouds in the wet, rainy season, because of the low air temperature and the high wind speed, the photovoltaic panel temperature was lower than the cooler’s initial set temperature; the performance of the photovoltaic panel with the proposed system improved by 12.55% compared with the fixed-tilt system. Simulation results show that, over one year, the overall efficiency of the proposed system markedly improved by 16.35, 13.03, and 3.68% compared with the photovoltaic panel with the fixed-tilt system, the cooler, and the single-axis sun tracker, respectively. The simulation results can serve as a premise for future experimental models

Stimulation of shoot regeneration through leaf thin cell layer culture of Passiflora edulis Sims.

Passiflora edulis Sims. belonged to the genus Passiflora, is one of the important economic crops of the world as well as Vietnam. Nowadays, the commercial P. edulis is mainly propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting; however, these methods still have some limitations such as genetic degradation and heterogeneity and the spread of pathogenic viruses. Micro-propagation has been used for clonal breeding and disease-free plant breeding, as well as providing a source of materials for Passiflora breeding. In this study, leaf explants of P. edulis Sims. (2.0-month-old) excised from the in vitro culture of ex vitro axillary buds cut longitudinally and transversally into thin cell layers (lTCL and tTCL) were used as plant materials to evaluate the shoot regeneration. In addition, the effects of explant age and lighting condition on shoot regeneration were also investigated. After 8 weeks of culture, the results showed that shoot regeneration rate (100%) and shoot multiplication coefficient (13.33) of the in vitro leaf-tTCL-4 were higher than those of other treatments and control. The shoot regeneration rate of P. edulis Sims. also varied with the change of explant age. The highest shoot regeneration rate (100%) was obtained from leaf explants of 1.5-month-old shoots after 8 weeks of culture. Moreover, the light (fluorescent lamps with photoperiod of 16 hours/day and lighting intensity of 40 - 45 μmol.m-2.s-1) improved not only morphogenesis rate, but also shoot regeneration rate (100%) of leaf explants after 8 weeks of culture. This study provided a novel method for rapid micro-propagation of P. edulis Sims

Effect of the Cultivation Technology on the Yield of Paddy Straw Mushroom (Volvariella volvacea)

The edible paddy straw mushroom Volvariella volvacea (Bull. ex F.) Singer has high nutritional and medicinal values. They are grown on a wide variety of agricultural byproducts using different several methods. The result of this present study showed that type of bed and cultivation condition (outdoor/indoor) had effects on the yield of paddy straw mushrooms grown on the spent oyster mushroom sawdust. The treatment of circular compact bed under indoor cultivation condition (CYIC) had the best yield and biological efficiency (B.E.) with 2,119.2 g/bed and 14.5%, respectively, followed by the treatment of conventional bed under outdoor cultivation condition (COOC) with the yield and B.E. of 1,935.5 g/bed and 13.2%, respectively, but the lowest yield and B.E. were observed in the treatment of conventional bed under indoor cultivation condition (COIC) with 1,226.1 g/bed and 8.4%, respectively. Paddy straw mushrooms cultivated on spent oyster mushroom sawdust should be proper in both outdoor and indoor conditions by conventional and circular compact methods as well. However, in indoor conditions, paddy straw mushrooms should be grown in a circular compact bed to ensure the temperature of the bed is suitable for the mushroom growth

Effect of Camellia flava (Pitard) Sealy flower extract on the degeneration of Islets of Langerhans and insulin resistance in alloxan-induced hyperglycemia model on Swiss albino mice

Diabetes has always been a matter of concern to health experts as well as the community due to the increasing number of patients with diabetes and the severe consequences it may cause. Many attempts have been made to discover new treatment options for diabetes, and herbal medicines are currently considered to have great potential. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Camellia flava flower extract on the degeneration of the islets of Langerhans and insulin resistance in an alloxan-induced hyperglycemia model in Swiss albino mice. Hyperglycemic conditions were induced by alloxan (55 mg/kg, i.v.). The animals were then treated with glibenclamide (10 mg/kg, p.o.) and flower extract at doses of 1.09 and 2.19 g/kg, p.o. The results showed that the blood glucose, AUC, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR levels of two groups of mice receiving flower extract were considerably lower than those of the hyperglycemic untreated group (p < 0.05). The body weights of these two groups were also lower than the untreated group on the last day of the experiment, though the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). However, this was not observed when assessing insulin levels as well as relative organ weights. In biochemical tests, creatinine and AST and ALT concentrations were evaluated. There was no significant variation in creatinine and AST concentrations between the five experimental groups, whereas mice treated with glibenclamide and flower extract at both doses showed a remarkable decline in ALT concentration (p < 0.05). The hepatic histomicrographs were consistent with ALT results, while the H&E staining of kidneys showed no difference between groups. Histomicrographs of the pancreas revealed that the treatment groups using glibenclamide and flower extract had larger islets of Langerhans than those of the alloxan-treated group. Based on these results, this study demonstrated that Camellia flava flower extract exerted several beneficial effects, including blood sugar level reduction, weight loss promotion, and organ protection, hence making it a new potential herbal medication for the management of diabetes

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions