Exploring the potential of Meyerozyma guilliermondii on physiological performances and defense response against Fusarium Crown Rot on Durum Wheat

Coating seeds with bio-control agents is a potentially effective approach to reduce the usage of pesticides and fertilizers applied and protect the natural environment. This study evaluated the effect of seed coating with Meyerozyma guilliermondii, strain INAT (MT731365), on seed germination, plant growth and photosynthesis, and plant resistance against Fusarium culmorum, in durum wheat under controlled conditions. Compared to control plants, seed coating with M. guilliermondii promoted the wheat growth (shoot and roots length and biomass), and photosynthesis and transpiration traits (chlorophyll, ɸPSII, rates of photosynthesis and transpiration, etc.) together with higher nitrogen balance index (NBI) and lower flavonols and anthocyanins. At 21 days post infection with Fusarium, M. guilliermondii was found to reduce the disease incidence and the severity, with reduction rates reaching up to 31.2% and 30.4%, respectively, as well as to alleviate the disease damaging impact on photosynthesis and plant growth. This was associated with lower ABA, flavonols and anthocyanins, compared to infected control. A pivotal function of M. guilliermondii as an antagonist of F. culmorum and a growth promoter is discussed

A novel aspect of essential oils: Coating seeds with thyme essential oil induces drought resistance in wheat

Coating seeds with biostimulants is among the promising approaches in crop production to increase crop tolerance to drought stress. In this study, we evaluated the potential of coating durum wheat seeds of the cultivar 'Karim' with thyme essential oil on enhancing seed germination and seedling growth, and on plant growth promotion and induction of drought resistance. Coated seeds were pre-germinated, grown in hydroponics, and grown in pots under controlled well-watered and progressive water/nutrient stress conditions. Seed coating with thyme oil increased germination rate and enhanced seedling growth development in hydroponics. In the pot experiment, thyme oil increased, when well watered, root and shoot development, chlorophyll, nitrogen balance index (NBI), abscisic acid (ABA), anthocyanins and flavonoids in leaves, decreased nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) and increased carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of shoots. Increasing water/nutrient stress in control plants induced higher accumulation of ABA and anthocyanins coupled with a transient decrease in chlorophyll and NBI, a decrease in shoot and root development, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), shoot C content, δ15N, and an increase in δ13C, revealing the avoidance strategy adopted by the cultivar. Thyme oil had the potential to enhance the avoidance strategy by inducing roots elongation, reducing the loss of shoot and roots dry matter and chlorophyll, maintaining balanced NBI, an decreasing anthocyanins, flavonoids, and δ13C via maintaining lower ABA-mediated-stomatal closure. Thyme oil increased shoot N content and δ15N indicating preferential uptake of the 15N enriched NH4+. Coating seeds with thyme oil is suggested as a promising alternative approach to improve plant's water and nutrient status and to enhance drought resistance

Evaluation of extra-virgin olive oils shelf life using an electronic tongue-chemometric approach

Physicochemical quality parameters, olfactory and gustatoryretronasal positive sensations of extra-virgin olive oils vary during storage leading to a decrease in the overall quality. Olive oil quality decline may prevent the compliance of olive oil quality with labeling and significantly reduce shelf life, resulting in important economic losses and negatively condition the consumer confidence. The feasibility of applying an electronic tongue to assess olive oils usual commercial light storage conditions and storage time was evaluated and compared with the discrimination potential of physicochemical or positive olfactory/gustatory sensorial parameters. Linear discriminant models, based on subsets of 58 electronic tongue sensor signals, selected by the meta-heuristic simulated annealing variable selection algorithm, allowed the correct classification of olive oils according to the light exposition conditions and/or storage time (sensitivities and specificities for leave-one-out cross-validation: 8296 %). The predictive performance of the E-tongue approach was further evaluated using an external independent dataset selected using the KennardStone algorithm and, in general, better classification rates (sensitivities and specificities for external dataset: 67100 %) were obtained compared to those achieved using physicochemical or sensorial data. So, the work carried out is a proof-of-principle that the proposed electrochemical device could be a practical and versatile tool for, in a single and fast electrochemical assay, successfully discriminate olive oils with different storage times and/or exposed to different light conditions.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, from Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984—Associate Laboratory LSRELCM funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI)—and by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and under the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit. Nuno Rodrigues thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for the Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/104038/2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Culex pipiens, an Experimental Efficient Vector of West Nile and Rift Valley Fever Viruses in the Maghreb Region

West Nile fever (WNF) and Rift Valley fever (RVF) are emerging diseases causing epidemics outside their natural range of distribution. West Nile virus (WNV) circulates widely and harmlessly in the old world among birds as amplifying hosts, and horses and humans as accidental dead-end hosts. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) re-emerges periodically in Africa causing massive outbreaks. In the Maghreb, eco-climatic and entomologic conditions are favourable for WNV and RVFV emergence. Both viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the Culex pipiens complex. We evaluated the ability of different populations of Cx. pipiens from North Africa to transmit WNV and the avirulent RVFV Clone 13 strain. Mosquitoes collected in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia during the summer 2010 were experimentally infected with WNV and RVFV Clone 13 strain at titers of 107.8 and 108.5 plaque forming units/mL, respectively. Disseminated infection and transmission rates were estimated 14–21 days following the exposure to the infectious blood-meal. We show that 14 days after exposure to WNV, all mosquito st developed a high disseminated infection and were able to excrete infectious saliva. However, only 69.2% of mosquito strains developed a disseminated infection with RVFV Clone 13 strain, and among them, 77.8% were able to deliver virus through saliva. Thus, Cx. pipiens from the Maghreb are efficient experimental vectors to transmit WNV and to a lesser extent, RVFV Clone 13 strain. The epidemiologic importance of our findings should be considered in the light of other parameters related to mosquito ecology and biology

Effect of Pollution on the Quality of Olive Oils from Trees Grown Near a Phosphoric Acid Factory

Given the importance of olive oil as a food product worldwide and given the exposure of many productive olive orchards to many pollution sources, this work is a contribution to the clarification of atmospheric metal pollution effects on the quality of olive oil and its possible toxicity for human beings. This work is carried out on olive orchards (Olea europaea L., cv. Chemlali) situated in a polluted region close to a fertilizer factory and in a controlled, unpolluted area, managed with comparable cultivation techniques during two successive years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017). Pollution negatively affects the oxidative stability and nutritional value of olive oil, especially by decreasing the contents of antioxidant compounds and the fatty acid composition. Atmospheric metals are confirmed to have a negative effect on olive oil chemicals; oils show a disruption of their squalene, tocopherols, and triglyceride composition in comparison with control oils. Practical Applications: This study is carried out in two olive orchards (Olea europaea L., cv. Chemlali) located in a polluted area near a fertilizer factory and in a control unpolluted site, managed with similar cultivation techniques. The aim is to investigate the physiological and biochemical responses of polluted oils (PO), exposed to atmospheric metal contamination as compared to control oils (CO). The results of this study emanate from the accidental exposure to contamination sources, such as the direct contact of olives, with an elevated polluted environment that might be made more severe by gaseous air pollutants emitted by the factory. Then, air contamination avoidance from factories should be examined together with any possible probable methodologies to decrease plant tissue contamination. The SIAPE is the main pollution source in Sfax city. Vegetation developed around the city is continuously exposed to air pollution. Therefore, olive fruits are contaminated by the chemical pollution which affects the quality of olive oils.The authors thank the Ministry of Higher Education Scientific Research (Laboratory LR14ES08), Tunisia, and ARIMNet 2 MedOOmics “Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil Omics: profiling and fingerprinting” ‐ “Arimnet2/0001/2015” for the support of this research work. They are also grateful to Dr. Hazem Jabeur from the Sfax National Office of Olive Oil for their precious help with GC analyses for fatty acid and Triglycerids composition and, squalene and tocopherols contents. The authors would like to extend their thanks to Mrs. Leila Mahfoudhi, Teacher of English at the Sfax Faculty of Science, for proofreading and polishing the language of the manuscript.Peer Reviewe

Pengaruh kepemimpinan terhadap kinerja karyawan melalui variabel kompensasi di PT. Citiplan Indonesia Malang

INDONESIA: Didalam sebuah organisasi perusahaan terdapat faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi terhadap kinerja karyawan. Diantara faktor-faktor yang mampu meningkatkan kinerja karyawan adalah faktor kepemimpinan dan kompensasi. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh kepemimpinan terhadap kompensasi, menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh kompensasi terhadap kinerja karyawan, menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh kepemimpinan terhadap kinerja karyawan, dan menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh kepemimpinan terhadap kinerja karyawan melalui variabel kompensasi. Metode kuantitatif adalah metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini dengan menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif. Ada jumlah sample sebanyak 62 dengan menggunakan tekhnik pengambilan sample jenuh. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah data primer dan sekunder. Model analisis jalur (path analysis) merupakan model yang dipakai dalam penelitian ini menggunakan alat bantu SPSS 16. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel kepemimpinan (X) berpengaruh terhadap kompensasi (Z) dengan signifikansi 0,001<0,05. Kompensasi (Z) berpengaruh terhadap kinerja karyawan (Y) dengan nilai signifikansi 0,000<0,05. Kepemimpinan (X) berpengaruh terhadap kinerja karyawan (Y) dengan nilai signifikansi 0,000<0,05. Sedangkan uji kepemimpinan (X) secara tidak langsung melalui variabel kompensasi (Z) terhadap kinerja karyawan (Y) menunjukkan hasil positif atau diterimanya variabel kompensasi sebagai variabel intervening atas hubungan kepemimpinan terhadap kinerja karyawan. Bisa diambil kesimpulan bahwa kompensasi (Y) bisa menjadi variabel intervening antara hubungan kepemimpinan (X) terhadap kinerja karyawan (Y). ENGLISH: Within a company organization there are factors that affect employee performance. Among the factors that can improve employee performance are leadership and compensation factors. The purpose of this study is to test and analyze the influence of leadership on compensation, test and analyze the effect of compensation on employee performance, test and analyze the influence of leadership on employee performance, and test and analyze the influence of leadership on employee performance through compensation variables. Quantitative method is a method used in this research using a descriptive approach. There is a total sample size of 62 using saturated sampling techniques. The data used in this study are primary and secondary data. The path analysis model is a model used in this study using the SPSS 16 tool. The results showed that the leadership variable (X) had an effect on compensation (Z) with a significance of 0.001 <0.05. Compensation (Z) affects employee performance (Y) with a significance value of 0.000 <0.05. Leadership (X) affects employee performance (Y) with a significance value of 0.000 <0.05. While the leadership test (X) indirectly through the compensation variable (Z) on employee performance (Y) shows positive results or acceptance of the compensation variable as an intervening variable on the relationship between leadership and employee performance. It can be concluded that compensation (Y) can be an intervening variable between the relationship between leadership (X) and employee performance (Y). ARABIC: داخل مؤسسة الشركة هناك عوامل تؤثر على أداء املوظف. من بني العوامل اليت ميكن أن حتسن أداء املوظف هي عوامل القيادة واملكافآت. كلما كان مستوى القيادة الذي يفرضه القائد أكثر احرتافًا ونضجًا ، زاد أتثريه على أداء املوظف ، وكلما كان مستوى القيادة أسوأ ، اخنفض أداء املوظف. غرض من هذه الدراسة هو اختبار وحتليل أتثري القيادة على التعويض ، واختبار وحتليل أتثري التعويض على أداء املوظف ، واختبار وحتليل أتثري القيادة على أداء املوظف. من خالل متغريات التعويضالطريقة الكمية هي طريقة مستخدمة يف هذا البحث ابستخدام املنهج الوصفي. يوجد حجم إمجايل للعينة يبلغ 62 ابستخدام تقنيات أخذ العينات املشبعة. البياانت املستخدمة يف هذه الدراسة هي بياانت أولية واثنوية.حتليل املسار منوذجهو النموذج املستخدم يف هذه الدراسة ابستخدام. SPSS 16 وأظهرت النتائج أن القيادة متغري (X) هلا أتثري على تعويض (Z) مع أمهية <0.05. 0.001 يؤثر التعويض (Z) على أداء املوظف (Y) بقيمة داللة تبلغ <0.05 . 0.000 تؤثر القيادة (X)على أداء املوظف (Y) بقيمة داللة تبلغ <0.05 . 0.000 بينما يظهر اختبار القيادة (X)بشكل غري مباشر من خالل متغري التعويض (Z) على أداء املوظف (Y) نتيجة إجيابية أو قبول متغري التعويض كمتغري متداخل على العالقة بني القيادة وأداء املوظف. ميكن استنتاج أن التعويض (Y) ميكن أن يكون متغريًا متداخالً بني العالقة بني القيادة (X) وأداء املوظف

MultispeQ for Tracing Biostimulants Effect on Growth Promoting and Water Stress Tolerance in Wheat

Due to the multi-target effect of biostimulants, an efficient, low-cost, and rapid approach for tracking their mode of action is required. In this paper, the effect of seed coating with thyme essential oil and the bacterium Paraburkholderia phytofirmans on plant growth as well as water stress tolerance was investigated using MultispeQ device in wheat seedling grown under controlled conditions. Both treatments enhanced photosynthesis efficiency and tolerance to water stress through reducing plant damage. Plants coated with P. phytofirmans tend to maintain photosynthesis rate, while plants coated with thyme oil tend to maintain water content and reduce energy-demanding processes. All results correlated with previous biochemical, isotopic, and molecular analysis results highlighting MultispeQ reliability