Influence of Auxins on Rooting of Stem Cuttings of the Small- Leaved White Crossby (Gudaim), Grewia tenax (Forsk)

The small-leaved white crossberry (Gudaim), Grewia tenax (Forsk( Fiori , is a deciduous, tropical shrub or tree valued for its fruit. Being high in iron content, the fruit is considered as a simple safeguard against iron-deficiency anemia. In spite of this, the fruit is exploited from the wild and there have been little or no efforts to domesticate and cultivate this species. Information on the vegetative propagation of this species is not available at the present time. A series of nursery experiments were conducted during March-June 2003 to assess the effects of auxin source ]indole acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and -phthalene acetic acid (NAA)], concentration (0, 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm( duration of exposure (quick dip, one-minute dip and five-minutes dip )and form (liquid versus powder) on adventitious root formation in stem cuttings. Significant stimulation of rooting was observed with IBA at all concentrations and with IAA at 1000 and 1500 ppm. NAA, at all concentrations, was ineffective in promoting root formation. Maximum rooting success with IBA was achieved at 1500 ppm (43%) and with IAA at 1000 ppm (37%). Short-term exposure (quick dip or one-minute dip( of the cut surface to 1500 ppm IBA solution resulted in greater rooting success (57%-61%) than a five-minutes dip (32%). IBA talcum powder worked slightly better than in liquid form (56% versus 52%). It was concluded that application of 1500 ppm IBA as a quick dip in liquid or powder form is the most suitable treatment for rooting of stem cuttings of this species.   &nbsp

The role of integrated programs in the prevention of COVID-19 in a humanitarian setting

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe depletion to health systems worldwide. In the South Kordofan state, a war-torn humanitarian region in Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the WHO Emergencies Programme have led the development of integrated programs for health, peace and rehabilitation by training rapid response teams to strengthen both surveillance system and response capacities, engaging the communities at risk with health education and promotion activities, as well as following proper infection, prevention and control measures during case investigation. Also, Early Help Assessment coordinators met with health services managers and recruited 14 teams who were trained to ensure a rapid response to COVID-19. Also, the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene services was upscaled. Although the local community of South Kordofan is fragile and at high risk of infectious diseases, the limited numbers of detected cases of COVID-19 and COVID-19 deaths could be attributed to the early preparation and integration of programs that helped to prevent the local spread of COVID-19. This lesson needs to be thoroughly investigated to estimate whether it is cost-effective and to determine the feasibility of it being successfully implemented in other humanitarian settings.</p

The role of integrated programs in the prevention of COVID-19 in a humanitarian setting

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe depletion to health systems worldwide. In the South Kordofan state, a war-torn humanitarian region in Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the WHO Emergencies Programme have led the development of integrated programs for health, peace and rehabilitation by training rapid response teams to strengthen both surveillance system and response capacities, engaging the communities at risk with health education and promotion activities, as well as following proper infection, prevention and control measures during case investigation. Also, Early Help Assessment coordinators met with health services managers and recruited 14 teams who were trained to ensure a rapid response to COVID-19. Also, the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene services was upscaled. Although the local community of South Kordofan is fragile and at high risk of infectious diseases, the limited numbers of detected cases of COVID-19 and COVID-19 deaths could be attributed to the early preparation and integration of programs that helped to prevent the local spread of COVID-19. This lesson needs to be thoroughly investigated to estimate whether it is cost-effective and to determine the feasibility of it being successfully implemented in other humanitarian settings.</p

Improving Tenderness of Spent Layer Hens Meat Using Papaya Leaves (Carica papaya)

Two experiments were performed to study the use of papaya leaves as a meat tenderizer. The first experiment was to evaluate the effect of papaya dry leaves added to hen’s diet before slaughter. Spent hens (n=48) were used, half of them were fed a concentrate ration containing10% dried papaya leaves powder (DPLP) while others received layer ration (Control), for 10 days. The second experiment involved a comparison between papaya leaves juice (PLJ), fresh papaya leaves (FPL) and vinegar solution (VS) as marinades applied to meat for one or two hours before cooking. Spent layer hens (n=42) were used for tenderness evaluation method. After slaughtering and preparing the chickens two methods of cooking were used (oven and moist cooking). The cooked parts (breast, thigh and drumstick) were subjected to a panel test evaluation according to a designed questionnaire. Addition of dried papaya leaves powder to spent layer hens ration significantly (P≤0.05) increased the level of meat tenderness. Moist cooking had significantly (P≤0.05) improved meat tenderization compared to oven cooking. Meat treated with fresh papaya leaves had significantly (P≤0.05) improved tenderness. It was concluded that wrapping the tough meat of spent layer hens with fresh papaya leaves for one hour and moist cooking improve tenderness of meat

Effects of skipping one irrigation at different growth stages on yield and water productivity of some maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars under heavy clay soils of central Sudan

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Crop production in arid and semi-arid regions faces the challenge to ensure high yields with limited supply of water. This study was conducted at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Gezira, during seasons 2014/15 and 2015/16. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of skipping one irrigation on yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.). A split-plot design with four replicates was used. Main plots were assigned to the cultivars namely: Hudaiba1, Hudaiba2 and Mogtamaa -45, and sub-plots to irrigation treatments which consisted of (T1) irrigation every 10 days throughout the season (control), skipping one irrigation at: Vegetative (T2), flowering (T3) and grain filling (T4) stages. The results indicated that irrigation treatments and cultivars had highly significant effects on all parameters tested. Irrigation every 10 days resulted in the highest values of plant height, cob length, number of grains per cob, 100 seed weight, grain yield and water productivity. Hudaaiba2 outyielded the other two cultivars. Skipping one irrigation at flowering (T3) stage gave the lowest values of the tested parameters. The highest grain yield was obtained when frequent irrigation (control) and Hudaiba 2 was practiced and the lowest was obtained by skipping of irrigation at flowering, which reflected the sensitivity of this stage for water deficit. Hence, it is recommended to grow Hudaiba2 maize cultivar and irrigate every 10 days

In Vitro Ultramorphological Assessment of Apoptosis on CEMss Induced by Linoleic Acid-Rich Fraction from Typhonium flagelliforme Tuber

The plant Typhonium flagelliforme, commonly known as “rodent tuber” in Malaysia, is often used as a health supplement and traditional remedy for alternative cancer therapies, including leukemia. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro anti-leukemic activity of dichloromethane extract/fraction number 7 (DCM/F7) from T. flagelliforme tuber on human T4 lymphoblastoid (CEMss) cell line. The DCM extract of tuber has been fractionated by column chromatography. The obtained fractions were evaluated for its cytotoxicity toward CEMss cells as well as human primary blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Assessment of apoptosis produced by the most active fraction was evaluated by various microscopic techniques and further confirmation of apoptosis was done by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Phytochemical screening was done by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results shows that 7 out of 12 fractions showed significant cytotoxicity against the selected cell line CEMss, in which fractions DCM/F7, DCM/F11 and DCM/F12 showed exceptional activity with 3, 5 and 6.2 μg ml−1, respectively. Further studies in the non-cancerous PBL exhibited significant selectivity of DCM/F7 compared to other fractions. Cytological observations showed chromatin condensation, cell shrinkage, abnormalities of cristae, membrane blebbing, cytoplasmic extrusions and formation of apoptotic bodies as confirmed collectively by double-staining of acridine orange (AO)/propidium iodide (PI), SEM and TEM. In addition, DCM/F7 has increased the cellular DNA breaks on treated cells. GC-MS revealed that DCM/F7 contains linoleic acid, hexadecanoic acid and 9-hexadecanoic acid. The present results indicate that T. flagelliforme possess a valuable anti-leukemic effect and was able to produce distinctive morphological features of cell death that corresponds to apoptosis

Determination of the frequency of β-lactamase genes (bla SHV, bla TEM, bla CTX-M) and phylogenetic groups among ESBL-producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from outpatients

Escherichia coli accounts for 70-95 of community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs). Recently, there has been an increase in the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) in the community which required an accurate identification for better management. Therefore, the current study was performed to determine the antimicrobial resistance pattern, investigate ESBL phenotypes and genotypes (blaCTX-M, bla TEM and bla SHV genes) and determine the phylogenetic groups among ESBL-positive isolates from outpatients. One hundred and eighty-three positive urine samples were collected from 4450 outpatient clinic attendees. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined and ESBL phenotype screening was carried out using disk diffusion agar and combination disk techniques, respectively. The assessment of the presence of the blaCTX-M, bla TEM and blaSHV genes and phylogenetic grouping were performed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Out of 183 E. coli isolates, 59 (32.2) showed a positive ESBL phenotype. The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli was higher in males (57.4). Fifty-seven of the ESBL-producing strains carried at least one of the β-lactamase genes (bla CTX-M, bla TEM, bla SHV). Phylotyping of multi-drug resistant isolates indicated that the isolates belonged to B2, A and D phylogroups. Analysis of resistance patterns among these phylogroups revealed that 74.4, 55.3 and 29.7 of the isolates in the B2 group were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin, respectively. Most of the strains in the phylogroup B2 carried the bla CTX-M gene. All the ESBL-producing isolates were placed in one of the four phylogenetic groups. The presence of CTX-M and resistance to quinolones were more frequent in B2 strains than in non-B2 strains. © 2020 Azam Fattahi et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston

Improving Tenderness of Spent Layer Hens Meat Using Papaya Leaves (Carica papaya)

Two experiments were performed to study the use of papaya leaves as a meat tenderizer. The first experiment was to evaluate the effect of papaya dry leaves added to hen&apos;s diet before slaughter. Spent hens (n=48) were used, half of them were fed a concentrate ration containing10% dried papaya leaves powder (DPLP) while others received layer ration (Control), for 10 days. The second experiment involved a comparison between papaya leaves juice (PLJ), fresh papaya leaves (FPL) and vinegar solution (VS) as marinades applied to meat for one or two hours before cooking. Spent layer hens (n=42) were used for tenderness evaluation method. After slaughtering and preparing the chickens two methods of cooking were used (oven and moist cooking). The cooked parts (breast, thigh and drumstick) were subjected to a panel test evaluation according to a designed questionnaire. Addition of dried papaya leaves powder to spent layer hens ration significantly (P≤0.05) increased the level of meat tenderness. Moist cooking had significantly (P≤0.05) improved meat tenderization compared to oven cooking. Meat treated with fresh papaya leaves had significantly (P≤0.05) improved tenderness. It was concluded that wrapping the tough meat of spent layer hens with fresh papaya leaves for one hour and moist cooking improve tenderness of meat