Superabsorbent composites based on rice husk for agricultural applications: Swelling behavior, biodegradability in soil and drought alleviation

Abstract Low-cost composites with high water absorption capacity were prepared by free radical copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM) and gelatin in aqueous media using N,N' methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker, potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator and rice husk (RH) as a filler. The composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of different parameters such as the alkaline treatment on the rice husk, the media pH and salinity and the composition of the composites on their water absorption capacity were investigated. The water retention and biodegradation tests in soil were also carried out. The optimized composite containing treated RH showed a maximum water uptake value of 825 g∙g−1 in distilled water and good resistance in saline solutions and in the pH range of 6–10. Positive effects on the soil water retention were obtained after 30 days samples of soil containing 1 wt% of superabsorbent composites still contained about 7% of the initial absorbed water. Growth attributes, photosynthetic pigments and nodulation traits of droughted peanut were improved by 60 kg∙ha−1 dosage of SAC. On the basis of the good results of water retention and controlled biodegradability in the soil, the developed composites have the potential to be used in agriculture for better water management, with relevant environmental benefits

Regions of very low H3K27me3 partition the Drosophila genome into topological domains

It is now well established that eukaryote genomes have a common architectural organization into topologically associated domains (TADs) and evidence is accumulating that this organization plays an important role in gene regulation. However, the mechanisms that partition the genome into TADs and the nature of domain boundaries are still poorly understood. We have investigated boundary regions in the Drosophila genome and find that they can be identified as domains of very low H3K27me3. The genome-wide H3K27me3 profile partitions into two states; very low H3K27me3 identifies Depleted (D) domains that contain housekeeping genes and their regulators such as the histone acetyltransferase-containing NSL complex, whereas domains containing moderate-to-high levels of H3K27me3 (Enriched or E domains) are associated with regulated genes, irrespective of whether they are active or inactive. The D domains correlate with the boundaries of TADs and are enriched in a subset of architectural proteins, particularly Chromator, BEAF-32, and Z4/Putzig. However, rather than being clustered at the borders of these domains, these proteins bind throughout the H3K27me3-depleted regions and are much more strongly associated with the transcription start sites of housekeeping genes than with the H3K27me3 domain boundaries. While we have not demonstrated causality, we suggest that the D domain chromatin state, characterised by very low or absent H3K27me3 and established by housekeeping gene regulators, acts to separate topological domains thereby setting up the domain architecture of the genome.This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (https://wellcome.ac.uk/, grant 089834/Z/09/Z to RW, SR), by the University of Malaya High Impact Research (hir.um.edu.my, grant UM.C/625/HIR/MOHE/CHAN-08 to SWC) from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, and by the BBSRC (www.bbsrc.ac.uk, grant BB/M007081/1 to RW, SR). BU was funded by a Cambridge Marshall Scholarship

Deficit Irrigation to Enhance Fruit Quality of the ‘African Rose’ Plum under the Egyptian Semi-Arid Conditions

Evolved in South Africa and released to market in 2009, the ‘African Rose’ plum has been introduced and grown under the Egyptian semi-arid conditions since 2010. Within that time, this cultivar has faced significant fruit quality issues, mainly poor color and low total soluble solids (TSS). Several trials using foliarly applied growth regulators have been conducted, but with little conspicuous results on fruit yield and quality. There is very limited information about the relationship between irrigation regime and fruit quality for this cultivar. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of deficit irrigation on the quality of the ‘African Rose’ plum during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Five-year-old hedge growing trees were subjected to three deficit irrigation regimes: 100% (control), 80%, and 60% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) after the pit hardening stage until the end of the harvest season (May to June period) were evaluated. Results indicated that deficit irrigation positively enhanced the levels of abscisic acid (ABA), total phenols, and anthocyanins with improved fruit TSS and maturity index, although fruit yield, acidity, size, and firmness were decreased. Deficit irrigation could be suggested as a sustainable novel solution to improve the fruit quality of the ‘African Rose’ plum grown under the semi-arid conditions of Egypt. Although the total yield and some quality characteristics were not improved, the early harvested fruit with enhanced color and taste could be a good start for additional research to solve other quality-related issues under such conditions

Mitigating the Growth, Biochemical Changes, Genotoxic and Pathological Effects of Copper Toxicity in Broiler Chickens by Supplementing Vitamins C and E

This experiment was carried out to explore the efficiency of an individual or combined doses of vitamin C (Vit. C) and vitamin E (Vit. E) in alleviating biochemical, genotoxicity, and pathological changes in the liver induced by copper sulfate (CuSO4) toxicity in broiler chickens. Two hundred and fifty-one-day-old broiler chicks were haphazardly allotted into five groups (five replicates/group, ten chicks/replicate). The birds were fed five experimental diets; (1) basal diet with no additives (CON), (2) basal diets supplemented with 300 mg CuSO4/kg diet (CuSO4), (3) basal diets supplemented with 300 mg CuSO4/kg diet + 250 mg Vit. C /kg diet, (4) basal diets supplemented with 300 mg CuSO4/kg diet +250 mg Vit. E /kg diet, (5) basal diets supplemented with 300 mg CuSO4/kg diet + 250 mg Vit. C /kg diet + 250 mg Vit. E /kg diet for six weeks. The results displayed that CuSO4-intoxicated birds had significantly (p < 0.05) decreased bodyweight, weight gain, and feed intake with increased feed conversion ratio from the 2nd week till the 6th week compared with the CON. However, these changes were minimized by single or combined supplementation of vitamin C and E. The FCR was insignificantly different in birds-fed diets complemented with vitamin C and E singly or in combination from the 3rd week of age compared to the CON. Serum aminotransferases (ALT, AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were elevated in CuSO4-intoxicated birds (p < 0.05). Additionally, they showed a drop in serum total protein (TP), albumin, globulins, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels compared to the CON (p < 0.05). Concomitantly, histopathological and DNA changes were perceived in the liver of CuSO4-intoxicated birds. Co-supplementation of Vit. C and Vit. E single-handedly or combined with CuSO4-intoxicated chickens enhanced the performance traits and abovementioned changes, especially with those given combinations of vitamins. From the extant inquiry, it could be established that supplementation of vitamin C and E was beneficial for mitigating the harmful effects of CuSO4 toxicity on growth performance and liver histoarchitecture in broiler chickens

Dynamical Hybrid System for Optimizing and Controlling Efficacy of Plant-Based Protein in Aquafeeds

In this paper, a mathematical model was used to evaluate a dynamical hybrid system for optimizing and controlling the efficacy of plant-based protein in aquafeeds. Fishmeal (FM), raw rapeseed meal (RM), and a fermented meal with yeast (RM-Yeast) and fungi (Aspergillus oryzae RM-Koji) were used as test ingredients for the determination of apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter, crude protein, crude lipid, energy, and essential amino acids (EAA) for olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus, 7 ± 0.02 g) using diets containing 0.5% Cr2O3 as an inert indicator. Among all ingredients tested, FM had the maximum ADC of dry matter (P0.05), and energy (P>0.05). Fermented meals (RM-Yeast and RM-Koji) showed higher ADC (P0.05). Amino acid digestibility reflects protein digestibility in most cases. Interestingly, protease, lipase, and amylase activities were better expressed in RM-Koji, RM-Yeast, and FM over RM, respectively. The current results deliver important information on nutrients and energy bioavailability in raw and fermented RM, which can be implemented to accurately formulate applied feeds for olive flounder. Compared with other applicable systems, the complexity of the approach implemented has been considerably reduced

Superabsorbent composites based on rice husk for agricultural applications: Swelling behavior, biodegradability in soil and drought alleviation

Low-cost composites with high water absorption capacity were prepared by free radical copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM) and gelatin in aqueous media using N,N' methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker, potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator and rice husk (RH) as a filler. The composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of different parameters such as the alkaline treatment on the rice husk, the media pH and salinity and the composition of the composites on their water absorption capacity were investigated. The water retention and biodegradation tests in soil were also carried out. The optimized composite containing treated RH showed a maximum water uptake value of 825 g∙g−1 in distilled water and good resistance in saline solutions and in the pH range of 6–10. Positive effects on the soil water retention were obtained after 30 days samples of soil containing 1 wt% of superabsorbent composites still contained about 7% of the initial absorbed water. Growth attributes, photosynthetic pigments and nodulation traits of droughted peanut were improved by 60 kg∙ha−1 dosage of SAC. On the basis of the good results of water retention and controlled biodegradability in the soil, the developed composites have the potential to be used in agriculture for better water management, with relevant environmental benefits