Alleviating the salt stress effects in Salvia splendens by humic acid application

Salinity stress is a serious problem in urban landscape of arid and semi arid regions. To overcome the adverse impact of salinity, the application of organic matter and plant nutrients in the growth media for improving the plant growth is essential. An experiment was conducted in order to determine the response of Salvia splendens to salinity levels and also the role of humic acid in the salt stress alleviation. In the current experiment, five salinity levels (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mM NaCl) and three humic acid (0, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/l) treatments were prepared. The effects of these treatments were investigated on some growth parameters, physiological characteristics and also biochemical compounds. The results indicated that the growth parameters decreased in saline-treated than control plants. Different salinity levels significantly affected relative water content, evaporation rate and also electrolyte leakage. Salinity caused the increase in proline, malondialdehyde, sugar content, DPPH, total phenol content and decrease in chlorophyll, compare to the control plants. Application of humic acid on Salvia splendens decreased the leaf area and plant height compared to the control plants. Thus, regarding the growth parameters, it is probable that the effect of humic acid on the biochemical compounds is similar to salinity effect. The findings suggest that sage is an ornamental plant sensitive to salinity and humic acid (in the studied levels) could not alleviate the negative effects of salt stress on this plant

Evaluation of drought resistance in Nitraria schoberi as a native plant by irrigation intervals for applying in arid urban landscape

Climate change as a global phenomenon manifested mainly through global warming and water scarcity in the world. Using of native drought resistant plants in the urban landscape of arid and semi-arid regions can help water resources management. We conducted an experiment to investigate drought resistance of a native plant (Nitraria schoberi) in Iran by three irrigation intervals (each 2, 4 and 6 days). Data collection was performed in three stages. Our results indicated that irrigation intervals did not affect significantly the chlorophyll a and b content and ratio of chlorophyll a/b. Generally with increasing in irrigation intervals, carotenoid, proline and sugar content and also RWC were increased in during experiment. It is concluded that due to increase of proline and sugar content with increasing of irrigation interval, Nitraria schoberi is a drought tolerant plant which can be used in urban landscape of arid and semi-arid regions

Accuracy of Transvaginal and Transrectal Ultrasounds in the Diagnosis of Endometriosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of endometriosis are vital and may prevent subsequent complications. Objective: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal ultrasound sonography (TVUS) and transrectal ultrasound sonography for detecting endometriosis considering the age and body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 119 women scheduled for surgery in a tertiary health care center for clinically suspected endometriosis. Married and virgin women underwent TVUS and transrectal ultrasound sonography, respectively, before laparoscopic excision of endometriotic lesions. Results: The accuracy of TVUS in the diagnosis of right endometrioma in women with a normal BMI was superior to that in women with a BMI ≥ 30 (95.6% vs. 75.3%; p lt; 0.001). For the detection of left endometrioma in women with a normal BMI, TVUS demonstrated a sensitivity of 96.9% and a negative predictive value of 92.9%, which was significantly superior to TVUS in women with obesity (sensitivity: 77.4%, negative predictive value: 58.6%). The accuracy of TVUS in the diagnosis of left endometrioma in women under 35 yr was superior to that in women older than 35 yr (93.2% vs. 77.9%; p = 0.04). Similarly, the accuracy of TVUS in the diagnosis of right endometrioma in women under 35 yr was superior to TVUS in women older than 35 yr (86.5% vs. 73.3%; p = 0.04). Conclusion: Ultrasound can be a useful technique for detecting endometriosis when used adjunctively with the patient's history and physical findings, especially age and BMI. Key words: Endometriosis, Ultrasonography, Diagnostic imaging, Body mass index