Revolutionizing Agriculture: Nano Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Improvement

The abundant metalloid element silicon (Si) is present in the crust of the Earth and is important for improving many aspects of plant characteristics. The potential of silicon in agriculture is examined in this article with particular attention to how it affects crop improvement, stress management, and plant growth. Under certain pH circumstances, plant roots absorb orthosilicic acid, the form of silicon that is accessible to plants in soil. The benefits of Si application, including improved vegetative growth, development, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, have been demonstrated by numerous studies. Additionally, silica plays a role in decreased transpiration, enhanced photosynthesis, and UV-B radiation protection. Agricultural crops encounter a multitude of difficulties, such as pathogens, pests, drought, flooding, salinity, and metal toxicity, which are frequently intensified by inadequate silicon availability in soils. To remedy this deficiency, si fertilizers are used, which improves plant function. It is further important to fertilize with Si because certain crops actively accumulate Si in their tissues. Applications of Si take into account the fertility of the soil, the amount of moisture present, and the uptake of nutrients, resulting in enhanced growth, productivity, and resilience to stress. Si increases stem strength, stress tolerance, and lodging resistance, for instance, in rice. Moreover, silica boosts water use efficiency in drought-stricken maize and modifies proline levels in upland rice in response to water restrictions. Eventually, Si-based compounds have a great deal of promise to improve crop yield and solve the problems facing contemporary agriculture. The numerous advantages of applying Si in supporting resilient and sustainable agriculture are highlighted in this review

Acetabular morphometry and prevalence of hip dysplasia in the South Asian population

We carried out a cross-sectional study to measure the association of the seven acetabular parameters with pelvic morphometry and prevalence of hip dysplasia in our population. Convenience sampling was carried out and 250 consecutive patients who came to AKUH for intravenous pyelogram and had no complaints in the region of the hip joint were enrolled in the study. Post-micturition standardized plain antero-posterior pelvic radiographs of 250 asymptomatic adults (500 hip joints) was studied. There were 136 males (54.4%) and 114 females (45.6%). Mean age of our study population was 38 years (15-78 years). The average center edge angle was 35.5±6.6° standard deviation (SD), acetabular angle was 37.76±4.37°, depth to width ratio was 0.31±4.6°, roof obliquity was 10.6±6.2°, extrusion index was 0.1±5.8, lateral subluxation 8.9±2.7 mm, and peak to edge distance 17±3.98 mm. There was significant influence (p\u3c0.05) of age in all angles except depth to width ratio. A total of seven hip joints (1.4%) were dysplastic with CE angle \u3c25° while four of the seven hips were severely dysplastic with CE angle \u3c20°. In the dysplastic group there was significant correlation (p\u3c0.05) of CE angle with acetabular angle, depth to width ratio, extrusion index and peak to edge distance. Prevalence of hip dysplasia was found to be very low in our population. These results are consistent with the findings of studies carried out in other Asian countries

Morphology of the proximal femur in a Pakistani population

Purpose: To measure the morphology of the proximal femur in a Pakistani population. Methods: Standardised anteroposterior pelvic radiographs of 116 male and 20 female healthy volunteers aged 20 to 50 (mean, 33) years were taken. Morphologic dimensions of the proximal femur were measured, including canal flare index (CFI), morphological cortical index (MCI), femoral head offset, femoral head diameter, and femoral head position. Results: Based on the CFI, 67% of the subjects had normal canal shapes (CFI, 3.0-4.7), whereas 1% and 33% of the subjects had stovepipe shapes (CFI,2.7). Conclusions: Morphology of the proximal femur in our study population differed significantly from those in western populations, indicating regional variation. It could also be due to the younger age of our population

A Detailed Testing Procedure of Numerical Differential Protection Relay for EHV Auto Transformer

Abstract: In power systems, the programmable numerical differential relays are widely used for the protection of generators, bus bars, transformers, shunt reactors, and transmission lines. Retrofitting of relays is the need of the hour because lack of proper testing techniques and misunderstanding of vital procedures may result in under performance of the overall protection system. Lack of relay’s proper testing provokes an unpredictability in its behavior, that may prompt tripping of a healthy power system. Therefore, the main contribution of the paper is to prepare a step-by-step comprehensive procedural guideline for practical implementation of relay testing procedures and a detailed insight analysis of relay’s settings for the protection of an Extra High Voltage (EHV) auto transformer. The experimental results are scrutinized to document a detailed theoretical and technical analysis. Moreover, the paper also covers shortcomings of existing literature by documenting specialized literature that covers all aspects of protection relays, i.e., from basics of electromechanical domain to the technicalities of the numerical differential relay covering its detailed testing from different reputed manufacturers. A secondary injection relay test set is used for detailed testing of differential relay under test, and the S1 Agile software is used for protection relay settings, configuration modification, and detailed analysis

A Preliminary Study on Effectiveness of a Standardized Multi-Robot Therapy for Improvement in Collaborative Multi-Human Interaction of Children with ASD

This research article presents a preliminary longitudinal study to check the improvement in multi-human communication of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using a standardized multirobot therapy. The research is based on a 3 step framework: 1) Human-Human Interaction, Stage-1 (HHIS1), 2) Human-Robot Interaction, Stage-2 (HRI-S2), and 3) Human-Human Interaction, Stage-3 (HHI-S3). All three stages of the therapy consist of two command sets: 1) Controls commands and 2) Evaluation commands (auditory commands, visual commands, and combination of both). The concept of multiple robots is introduced to help multi-human communication and discourage isolation in ASD children. The joint attention of an ASD child is improved by the robotic therapy in stage 2 considering it as a key parameter for a multi-human communication scenario. The improvement in joint attention results in better command following in a triad multi-human communication scenario in stage 3 as compared to stage 1. The proposed intervention has been tested on 8 ASD subjects with 10 sessions over a period of two and a half months (10 weeks). Each session of human-human interaction (stage 1 and 3) consisted of 14 cues whereas 18 cues were presented by each robot for human-robot interaction (stage 2). The results indicate an overall 86improvement in the social communication skills of ASD children in case of a multi-human scenario. Validation of results and effectiveness of the therapy has been further accomplished through the use of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score

Genetic dissection of Ni toxicity in a spring wheat diversity panel by using 90 K SNP array

Excess Ni intake has harmful implications on human health, which include chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and cancer of lung and nasal sinuses. Like other toxic metals, higher Ni accumulation in grains leads to excess intake by humans when the contaminated grains are consumed as food. There is little information about the genetic factors that regulate Ni uptake in plants. To investigate genetic architecture of Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grain, we performed a genome-wide association study with genotyping from 90 K array in a historical bread wheat diversity panel from Pakistan. We observed that Ni toxicity caused more than 50 % reductions in biological yield and grain yield, other agronomic traits were also partly or severely affected. Genetic association study helped identify 23 SNP-trait associations involved in Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grains. These 23 SNPs covered 15 genomic loci at chromosomes 1A, 2D, 3B, 4A and 4B of wheat. The favorable alleles of these SNPs were randomly distributed in subpopulations indicating no selection pressure for this trait during breeding improvement. These regions had 283 low-confidence and 248 high-confidence protein coding genes. Among these, 156 were annotated using databases of wheat and closely related grass species. Since there is no previous report on genetic information of Ni uptake and translocation, these results provide sufficient grounds for further research of candidate genes and varietal development.Peer reviewe

Identification of Key Gene Networks Associated With Cell Wall Components Leading to Flesh Firmness in Watermelon

Flesh firmness of watermelon is an important quality trait for commercial fruit values, including fruit storability, transportability, and shelf life. To date, knowledge of the gene networks underlying this trait is still limited. Herein, we used weighted genes co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) based on correlation and the association of phenotypic data (cell wall contents) with significantly differentially expressed genes between two materials, a near isogeneic line “HWF” (with high average flesh firmness) and inbred line “203Z” (with low average flesh firmness), to identify the gene networks responsible for changes in fruit flesh firmness. We identified three gene modules harboring 354 genes; these gene modules demonstrated significant correlation with water-soluble pectin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and protopectin. Based on intramodular significance, eight genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis and ethylene pathway are identified as hub genes within these modules. Among these genes, two genes, Cla012351 (Cellulose synthase) and Cla004251 (Pectinesterase), were significantly correlated with cellulose (r2 = 0.83) and protopectin (r2 = 0.81); three genes, Cla004120 (ERF1), Cla009966 (Cellulose synthase), and Cla006648 (Galactosyltransferase), had a significant correlation with water-soluble pectin (r2 = 0.91), cellulose (r2 = 0.9), and protopectin (r2 = 0.92); and three genes, Cla007092 (ERF2a), Cla004119 (probable glycosyltransferase), and Cla018816 (Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase), were correlated with hemicellulose (r2 = 0.85), cellulose (r2 = 0.8), and protopectin (r2 = 0.8). This study generated important insights of biosynthesis of a cell wall structure and ethylene signaling transduction pathway, the mechanism controlling the flesh firmness changes in watermelon, which provide a significant source to accelerate future functional analysis in watermelon to facilitate crop improvement

Mechanistic evaluation of a novel cyclohexenone derivative?s functionality against nociception and inflammation: An in-vitro, in-vivo and in-silico approach

The synthesis of a novel cyclohexanone derivative (CHD; Ethyl 6-(4-metohxyphenyl)-2-oxo-4-phenylcyclohexe-3-enecarboxylate) was described and the subsequent aim was to perform an in vitro, in vivo and in silico pharmacological evaluation as a putative anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory agent in mice. Initial in vitro studies revealed that CHD inhibited both cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes and it also reduced mRNA expression of COX-2 and the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β. It was then shown that CHD dose dependently inhibited chemically induced tonic nociception in the abdominal constriction assay and also phasic thermal nociception (i.e. anti-nociception) in the hot plate and tail immersion tests in comparison with aspirin and tramadol respectively. The thermal test outcomes indicated a possible moderate centrally mediated anti-nociception which, in the case of the hot plate test, was pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and naloxone reversible, implicating GABAergic and opioidergic mechanisms. CHD was also effective against both the neurogenic and inflammatory mediator phases induced in the formalin test and it also disclosed anti-inflammatory activity against the phlogistic agents, carrageenan, serotonin, histamine and xylene compared with standard drugs in edema volume tests. In silico studies indicated that CHD possessed preferential affinity for GABAA, opioid and COX-2 target sites and this was supported by molecular dynamic simulations where computation of free energy of binding also favored the formation of stable complexes with these sites. These findings suggest that CHD has prospective anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties, probably mediated through GABAergic and opioidergic interactions supplemented by COX-2 and 5-LOX enzyme inhibition in addition to reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. CHD may therefore possess potentially beneficial therapeutic effectiveness in the management of inflammation and pain

Efficacy and safety of cardiac resynchronization therapy in chemotherapy‐induced cardiomyopathy: A systematic review

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with chemotherapy‐induced cardiomyopathy (CIC). Methods With the increasing incidence of CIC, the association of CRT with improvement in clinical outcomes, echocardiographic parameters, and New York Heart Classification (NYHA) class was assessed through this qualitative systematic review. Results The five studies included a total of 169 patients who underwent CRT after CIC, and of these, 61 (36.1%) patients were males. All studies showed an improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), among other echocardiographic parameters of LV volume. However, these findings are limited by short follow‐up periods, small sample sizes, and the absence of a control group. Conclusion CRT was associated with improvement in all patient parameters with CIC