Water and Soil Management Practices to Enhance Plant Growth, Berry Development, and Fruit Quality of Northern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)

Drought and mandatory water restrictions are limiting the availability of irrigation water in many important blueberry growing regions and new strategies are needed to maintain yield and fruit quality with less water. Three potential options for reducing water use, including deficit irrigation, irrigation cut-offs, and crop thinning, were evaluated for 2 years in a mature planting of northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. ‘Elliott’). Treatments consisted of no thinning and 50% crop removal in combination with either full irrigation at 100% of estimated crop evapotranspiration (ETsubscript c]), deficit irrigation at 50% ET[subscript c] (applied for the entire growing season), or full irrigation with irrigation cut-off for 4–6 weeks during early or late stages of fruit development. Stem water potential was similar with full and deficit irrigation but, regardless of crop thinning, declined by 0.5–0.6 MPa when irrigation was cut-off early and by > 2.0 MPa when irrigation was cut-off late. In one or both years, the fruiting season was advanced with either deficit irrigation or late cut-off, whereas cutting off irrigation early delayed the season. Yield was not affected by deficit irrigation in plants with a full crop load but was reduced by an average of 35% when irrigation was cut-off late each year. Cutting off irrigation early likewise reduced yield, but only in the second year when the plants were not thinned; however, early cut-off also reduced fruit soluble solids and berry weight by 7% to 24%compared to full irrigation. Cutting off irrigation late produced the smallest and firmest fruit with the highest soluble solids and total acidity among the treatments, as well as the slowest rate of fruit loss in cold storage. Deficit irrigation had the least effect on fruit quality and, based on these results, appears to be the most viable option for maintaining yield with less water (2.5 ML·ha⁻¹ less water per season). A second study was conducted in a 7-year-old field of certified organic highbush blueberry. Two cultivars (‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’) mulched with either porous polyethylene ground cover (“weed mat”) or yard debris compost topped with sawdust (sawdust+compost) and each fertilized with either feather meal or fish emulsion were evaluated. One-year-old fruiting laterals were randomly-selected at three heights (top, middle, and bottom) on the east and west side of the plants. Bud, flower, and fruit development were monitored through fruit harvest. There was relatively little effect of mulch type or fertilizer source on the measured variables. Fruit harvest occurred ≈8 d after the fruit were fully blue and ranged from 2-25 July 2012 and 26 June-3 July 2013 in ‘Duke’ and from 1-20 Aug. 2012 and 17 July-7 Aug. 2013 in ‘Liberty’. Proportionally more fruit buds occurred on middle laterals than upper and lower laterals. The dates of bud swell and bud break were not affected by cultivar or lateral position. ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ produced 6-8 and 7-9 flowers/bud, respectively. Fruit set was high in both cultivars, averaging ≈95%. However, 13-18% and 29-38 % of the initial set fruit dropped in ’Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ in late May to early June. Fruit ripening was more uniform within clusters in ‘Duke’ than in ‘Liberty’, and average fruit size was similar among harvests in ‘Duke’ but decreased by 25-40% between the first and last harvest in ‘Liberty’. Fruit matured 3−5 d earlier on the east side of the canopy than on the west side. The results suggest that pruning proportionally more on the lower part of the canopy than on the upper part will result in larger fruit at harvest than uniform pruning throughout the bush. The final study was conducted to determine the potential of applying micronized elemental sulfur (S°) by chemigation through the drip system to reduce high soil pH in a new planting of ‘Duke’ blueberry. The S° was mixed with water and injected weekly for 2 months prior to planting, as well as 2 years after planting, atrates of 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg·ha⁻¹ per year, and was compared to the conventional practice of incorporating prilled S° into the soil prior to planting (two applications of 750 kg·ha⁻¹ each). Chemigation quickly reduced soil pH (0-10 cm) within a month from 6.6 with no S° to 6.1 with 50 kg·ha-1 S° and 5.8 with 100 or 150 kg·ha⁻¹ S°. The change was short-term, however, and by May of the following year, soil pH averaged 6.7, 6.5, 6.2, and 6.1 with each increasing rate of S° chemigation, respectively. The conventional treatment, in comparison, averaged 6.6 on the first date and 6.3 on the second date. In July of the following year, soil pH ranged from an average of 6.4 with no S° to 6.2 with 150 kg·ha⁻¹ S° and 5.5 with prilled S°. Soil pH declined thereafter to as low as 5.9 with additional S° chemigation and at lower depths (10-30 cm) was similar to the conventional treatment. None of the treatments had any effect on winter pruning weight in year 1 or on yield, berry weight, and plant dry weight in year 2. Chemigation with S° can be used to quickly reduce soil pH following planting and, therefore, may be a useful practice to correct high pH problems in established blueberry fields. However, it was less effective and more time consuming than applying prilled S° prior to planting

Modelling of land use and land cover changes and prediction using CA-Markov and Random Forest

We used the Cellular Automata Markov (CA-Markov) integrated technique to study land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Cholistan and Thal deserts in Punjab, Pakistan. We plotted the distribution of the LULC throughout the desert terrain for the years 1990, 2006 and 2022. The Random Forest methodology was utilized to classify the data obtained from Landsat 5 (TM), Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS), as well as ancillary data. The LULC maps generated using this method have an overall accuracy of more than 87%. CA-Markov was utilized to forecast changes in land usage in 2022, and changes were projected for 2038 by extending the patterns seen in 2022. A CA-Markov-Chain was developed for simulating long-term landscape changes at 16-year time steps from 2022 to 2038. Analysis of urban sprawl was carried out by using the Random Forest (RF). Through the CA-Markov Chain analysis, we can expect that high density and low-density residential areas will grow from 8.12 to 12.26 km2 and from 18.10 to 28.45 km2 in 2022 and 2038, as inferred from the changes occurred from 1990 to 2022. The LULC projected for 2038 showed that there would be increased urbanization of the terrain, with probable development in the croplands westward and northward, as well as growth in residential centers. The findings can potentially assist management operations geared towards the conservation of wildlife and the eco-system in the region. This study can also be a reference for other studies that try to project changes in arid are as undergoing land-use changes comparable to those in this study

Levering proteomic analysis of Pseudomonas fluorescens mediated resistance responses in tomato during pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. oxysporum

The tomato, one of the world’s most extensively cultivated and consumed vegetable crops is negatively impacted by various pathogens. This study aimed to observe the differentially expressed proteins in tomato samples in plant–pathogen-biocontrol interactions. The fungal pathogen associated with wilted plants were isolated and identified based on its morphological and molecular characteristics. Fourteen strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens from agricultural soils were identified and described using biochemical assays, molecular analyses, and screening for antagonistic ability against the Fusarium wilt pathogen. Results demonstrated that the potential of P. fluorescens (TPf12) positively influenced the expression of antagonism against tomato wilt disease. A total of 14 proteins expressed differently were revealed in the 2D-PAGE-MS investigation. Proteins such as nucleoside diphosphate kinase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, protein kinase family protein, Ser/Thr protein kinase-like are unchanged in FOL pathogen interaction, but up-regulated in FOL + TPf12 treated roots, and lipid transfer-like protein, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase were down-regulated in FOL infested roots and upregulated in FOL + TPf12 treated tomato roots. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase protein expression is commonly found in TPf12 bioenriched roots, and FOL + TPf12 treated roots, indicating its role in response to the application of TPf12 in tomato. A GC–MS analysis was performed to detect the bioactive metabolites synthesized by TPf12. Molecular docking investigations were conducted using the maestro’s GLIDE docking module of the Schrodinger Software program. Among the secondary metabolites, Cyclohexanepropanoic acid, 2-oxo-, methyl ester (CAS), and 3-o-(4-o-Beta-D-Galactopyranosyl-Beta-D-Galactopyraosyl)-2-Acetylamino-2-Deoxy-D-Galactose were shown to be top-ranked with a least docking score against each differently expressed proteins. The profiled molecules expressed differently due to plant-pathogen-biocontrol interactions may be directly or incidentally involved in the wilt disease resistance of tomato plants

The Saudi Critical Care Society practice guidelines on the management of COVID-19 in the ICU: Therapy section

BACKGROUND: The rapid increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases during the subsequent waves in Saudi Arabia and other countries prompted the Saudi Critical Care Society (SCCS) to put together a panel of experts to issue evidence-based recommendations for the management of COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: The SCCS COVID-19 panel included 51 experts with expertise in critical care, respirology, infectious disease, epidemiology, emergency medicine, clinical pharmacy, nursing, respiratory therapy, methodology, and health policy. All members completed an electronic conflict of interest disclosure form. The panel addressed 9 questions that are related to the therapy of COVID-19 in the ICU. We identified relevant systematic reviews and clinical trials, then used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach as well as the evidence-to-decision framework (EtD) to assess the quality of evidence and generate recommendations. RESULTS: The SCCS COVID-19 panel issued 12 recommendations on pharmacotherapeutic interventions (immunomodulators, antiviral agents, and anticoagulants) for severe and critical COVID-19, of which 3 were strong recommendations and 9 were weak recommendations. CONCLUSION: The SCCS COVID-19 panel used the GRADE approach to formulate recommendations on therapy for COVID-19 in the ICU. The EtD framework allows adaptation of these recommendations in different contexts. The SCCS guideline committee will update recommendations as new evidence becomes available

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Inspection of reinforced concrete structures using ground penetrating radar: Experimental approach

This study aims to the practical detection of sub-meter scale voids located inside reinforced concrete structures with different diameters and depths using different frequency antennas of 800, 1000, 1200, and 1600 MHz. The experiment was performed on two concrete blocks with medium-sized voids between 70 and 100 mm diameter, and small-sized voids between 10 and 25 mm diameter. A GPR survey was conducted by dividing each block into two grids of profiles with 50- and 100-mm profile spacing. Then, GPR data was collected along both the horizontal and vertical directions of each block with multi-frequency antennas. The gathered data was processed in 2D and 3D to detect the exact location, dimension, and brightness of these voids. The results showed that GPR has the potential to be quite effective in automating the identification and location of embedded voids within concrete blocks. The accuracy with which the system was able to identify void locations depended mainly on the frequency of the antenna used and the diameter of the void, while the depth of penetration was inversely proportional to the frequency of the used antenna, with estimated depths ranging from 25 cm (using a 1600 MHz antenna) to 1.5 m (using 800 MHz antenna). Moreover, a GPR survey was conducted to evaluate two sites inside residential buildings before and after the rehabilitation process. The radar scan exhibited a notable proficiency in identifying the positions of rebar sites, whether they were situated at a single level or two levels, inside certain areas of construction. The study revealed the ability of GPR to identify the depth of the reinforcing steel within the cement material, particularly in areas where the soil has experienced subsidence

Plasticity of Morpho-Physiological Traits and Antioxidant Activity of Hydroponically Sprouted <i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L. When Using Saline Water

Water salinity is a critical cause of the decrease in quality of fodder plants. The use of saline water as an alternative to fresh water requires the production of elite plant varieties that can tolerate excess amounts of sodium chloride. In this study, we evaluated six genotypes of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) used as sprout fodder for their tolerance to saline water conditions. The six genotypes were tested for their germination vigor, α-amylase activity, root system architecture (RSA) phenotyping, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content (ChC), reactive oxygen species accumulation (ROS), and total antioxidant capacity. Increasing the salt concentration caused a significant decrease in the germination time, α-amylase activity, germination percentage, ChC, and RWC of all the genotypes, but significant differences in the RSA and ChC were detected. In addition, the plasticity of these characteristics at the seedling stage increased their potential to select varieties that could produce high amounts of green fodder when fresh water alternatives are used. Strong and positive correlations were detected between the green carpet formed under the salt treatment and ChC at the seedling stage for a local genotype and G134

Impact of organic manure on fruit set, fruit retention, yield, and nutritional status in pomegranate (Punica granatum L. “Wonderful”) under water and mineral fertilization deficits

This research was conducted on mature pomegranate (Punica granatum L. “Wonderful”) trees growing at a site located in North Coast, Matrouh Governorate, Egypt. The aim was to investigate the impacts of different irrigation regimes in combination with different fertilizer regimes on the fruit set, fruit retention, yield, and nutritional status of the trees. The experimental factors were arranged in a split-plot design, with four replicates per treatment combination. The results indicated that all of the characteristics measured, including leaves nutritional status, percentages of fruit set, fruit drop, fruit retention, fruit cracking, fruit sunburn, and marketable fruit, and yield were significantly affected by the interaction between the irrigation treatment which denoted by percentages of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and fertilizer regime. The application of 75% mineral fertilizer + 25% organic manure under deficit irrigation of 80% ETo increased the yield by an average of 18.23% over the 2 years compared with 100% mineral fertilization under full irrigation, while 50% mineral fertilizer + 50% organic matter under 80% ETo gave the maximum percentage of marketable fruit (86.23% and 86.84% in 2018 and 2019, respectively). The maximum water use efficiency was obtained with the 80% ETo treatment combined with 75% mineral fertilizer + 25% organic manure in both seasons with values of 9.69 and 10.06 kg/m3 applied water, respectively. These results demonstrate that under the field conditions at the experimental site, the fruit set and retention could be improved by applying a reduced amount of mineral fertilizer in combination with organic manure and less irrigation water