Effect of Nitrogen and Preceding Cropping Pattern on Yield and Yield Components of Rainfed Wheat

Field experiment on carry over effect of preceding cropping pattern (millet, sorghum, mungbean and groundnut as sole and each in combination with groundnut repeated for two consecutive years 2007-2009) and current application of three doses of nitrogen (00, 45 and 90 kg ha-1) on rainfed wheat was conducted at New Developmental Farm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University Peshawar in rabi 2010. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement having three replications. Cropping pattern assigned to main plot while nitrogen levels to sub plot (5m x 1.8m). Soil analysis was carried out before sowing and after harvesting of crop. It showed that plots grown with mungbean (sole) had higher N content at both occasions (before sowing 0.41 g kg-1 and after harvest 0.38 g kg-1) as compared with other cropping patterns. All parameters were significantly affected by cropping pattern and nitrogen application except number of unproductive tillers m-2 were not significantly affected by preceding cropping pattern. Groundnut and mungbean intercropping had significantly delayed anthesis and maturity. Mungbean (sole) or intercropped with groundnut as preceding crop had significantly produced taller plants, more: tillers m-2, productive tillers m-2, grains spike-1, thousand grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. Nitrogen application had significantly increase productive tillers m-2 (225), grains spike-1 (48), thousand grain weight (34g), grain yield (1448kg ha‑1), biological yield (6126kg ha-1) and harvest index (23%) as compared to control. Combination of mungbean as sole and 90 kg N ha-1 produced significantly higher tillers m-2 (263), more productive tillers (234) and higher thousand grain weight (32g). Cropping system of mungbean as sole or intercropping with groundnut as preceding crop and nitrogen application at rate of 90 kg ha-1 seems to be the promising agronomic practices for growing wheat in rainfed areas

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in poultry- an emerging concern related to future epidemic

Methicillin resistant – Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an organism responsible for causing deadly infections in man, poultry and several other animal species. Ever since the discovery of MRSA in decade of 1960’s, it has been isolated and reported in live poultry birds and their meat products worldwide. Strikingly, MRSA recovered from poultry share a common ancestry with MRSA isolates of human and animal origin. Furthermore, MRSA colonizes the skin and mucous membranes of both man and poultry. This colonizing ability of MRSA is not only a cause of non-responsive infections in poultry but it can also be transferred to the humans handling birds at farms and slaughter houses. Moreover, the consumers of poultry meat can also acquire its infection. The cases of cross infections of MRSA between poultry and human has been reported. However, the most important difficulty to control MRSA and its interspecies transmission is the irrational use of antimicrobial drugs and inadequate biosecurity measures. Therefore, rational usage of antimicrobials and good biosecurity measures need to be adopted for prevention and control of zoonotic MRSA infections. This paper reviews the existing status of MRSA in poultry as a possible threat of zoonosis

Rice Seedling Characteristics of Various Genotypes Influenced by Different Sowing Dates in Swat-Pakistan

To study the effect of different sowing dates on rice nursery rising and to evaluate their effect on yield and yield components of rice genotypes, an experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Institute (N) Mingora Swat, Pakistan, during summer 2011. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replications. Seven genotypes (PARC 403, OM5627,IR64,IR8225-9-3-2-3, CIBOGO,GA-5015, and FakhreMalakand) and 5 sowing dates (D1= 25th April, D2= 10th May, D3= 25th May, D4= 9th June, and D5= 24th June) were used. Each genotype was sown in six rows in dry bed nursery. The germination percentage was above 90%. The nursery reached its optimum size up to 30 days and was ready for transplantation.Sowing on either D5 (24th June) or D4(9th June)gave maximum leaf area(9.6 and 9.1 cm2) followed by D3 (7.2 cm2), maximum leaves seedling-1 produced by D3 (5.3) followed by D2 (5.0). Maximum seedling height was gave by sowing on D5 (23.5 cm) followed by D4 (19.9 cm), maximum biomass gave by sowing on D4 (15.3 gm) and D5 (13.8 gm) followed by D2 and D3 (12.8 and 12.2 gm), highest root number gave by D4 (13.0) followed by D2 and D3 (11.3 and 11.5) and highest root length gave by D1 and D2 (10.7 and 10.7 cm) followed by D3 (9.6 cm). Among the rice genotypes FakhreMalakand produced highest seedling height (21.9 cm), highest biomass (14.0 gm), highest root length (12.9 cm) followed by GA-5015 while maximum leaf area gave by genotype PARC 403 (9.8 cm2) and number of leaves (4.9) followed by FakhreMalakand (8.3 cm2 and 4.6) respectively. Later data showed that highest paddy yield (6.49 t ha-1) was produced by FakhreMalakand sown on either D2 or D3 while the other genotypes were at par valued in this order. On the basis of the above results, it is recommended that rice nursery rising should be either D2 or D3May10th or 25th in the agro-ecological conditions of swat valley. Keywords: Rice (Oryza sativa L.), genotypes, sowing dates, biomass, seedlin

Yield and Grain Quality of Divergent Maize Cultivars under Inorganic N Fertilizer Regimes and Zn Application Depend on Climatic Conditions in Calcareous Soil

The variations in temperature and rainfall patterns under climate change are threatening crop production systems, and optimizing fertilization practices is a prerequisite for sustainable cereal production. This two‐year field study investigated the effects of eight treatments (T1: P60K60; T2: P60K60 + Nmin spring; T3: P60K60 + N40autumn + Nmin spring; T4: P60K60 + N60spring; T5: P60K60 + N100spring; T6: P60K60 + N40autumn + N60spring + Zn; T7: P60K60 + N60autumn + N80spring + Zn; and T8: P60K60 + N160spring + Zn) on the grain yield and quality of four divergent maize cultivars (NS‐4023, NS‐640, NS‐6010 and NS‐6030). The observations on climatic data showed substantial variations in monthly and cumulative rainfall only, which was 174 and 226 mm for 2011 and 2012, respectively, and much less than the historical cumulative rainfall of 339 mm. However, temperature during growth years showed little deviation from the historical data. The data showed that treatment and maize cultivar significantly influenced grain yield; however, grain yield remained lower in 2012 than in 2011 for each treatment and cultivar. Applying N as split doses in combination with Zn, resulted in higher grain yields than adding at once. However, the treatments and cultivars affected grain quality variables differently, including oil, thiol SH, phytate, inorganic P, soluble protein, starch, total phenol, protein, total sugars and tryptophan contents. Despite the pronounced difference in grain yields between 2011 and 2012 for each treatment and cultivar, grain quality did not always vary significantly between cultivars. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the relationships between grain yield and grain quality varied significantly during 2011 and 2012. The changes in rainfall patterns at critical growth maize stages seemed to be a more important factor than temperature in regulating the response of maize cultivars in terms of grain yield and quality to various fertilization regimes in this study

Nitrogen Fertilization and Cultivar Interactions Determine Maize Yield and Grain Mineral Composition in Calcareous Soil under Semiarid Conditions

Identifying the contributions of climate factors and fertilization to maize yield is significant for the assessment of climate change impacts on maize production under semiarid conditions. This experiment was conducted with an overall objective to find how N fertilization and cultivar interactions along with climatic conditions determine the mineral composition and maize yield responses of four divergent maize cultivars grown under eight different fertilization levels. The results showed that element contents were significantly affected by year (Y), cultivar (C), N fertilization, and N × C interaction. The element contents of grains were mainly influenced by N rate or N × C interactions. The results showed that maize yield was significantly affected by year (Y), genotype (G), N fertilization (N), and Y × G × N interaction. These results implied that the maize yield was significantly affected by changes in genotypes and environments. Overall, our findings are a result of the interactions of genetic, environmental, and agronomic management factors. Future studies could evaluate more extreme plant densities, N fertilizer levels, and environments to further enhance our understanding of management effects on the mineral composition and maize yield in calcareous soil

Aging Mechanisms: Linking oxidative stress, obesity and inflammation

Aging cannot be defeated in anyway in the world even having new and advanced technology. But molecular mechanism is a successful method to control aging. Many complex and multifunctional factors are the main cause of aging. It is evident that the studies regarding cellular, genetic, and pathological and biochemical changes are exploring more and more pathways linking various diverse mechanism explaining aging. Implications of basic mechanisms of aging for improving both longevity and quality of life in human needs a clear understanding and takes a long time. However, reactive oxygen species (ROS) indicate a growing body even in the presence of fundamental mechanisms. According to oxidative stress theory, advanced and permanent addition of oxidative damage on critical aspects of aging process instigated by ROS influences. Telomeres theory is another, new aging theory that holds many promising possibilities for the field of anti-aging medicine. The theory was originated from the surge of technological breakthroughs in genetics and genetic engineering. Telomeres have also been found related to obesity. Obesity also leads to accelerated cellular processes. A “causative agent in aging” is considered inflammation that underlies a mechanism showing that for survival acute inflammatory response is necessary but long term exposure to different antigens than predicted by evolution cause low-grade inflammatory status which intern contributes to age-associated illness and death. The condition known as “inflammaging”

Allelopathic effects of sunflower water extract integrated with affinity herbicide on weed control and wheat yield

The aim of present study was to investigate the allelopathic impact of sunflower water extract integrated with affinity herbicide on weed management and production of wheat variety TD-1 under field condition. The trial was carried out in a three replicated and the average plot size was kept at 3x5m (15 m2). The obtained data showed that the all the treatments considerably (P<0.05) minimized weed density, weed fresh weight, weed dry weight and weed control up to 90.33, 89.31, 89.61, 90.33% with application of sunflower water extract (1:10) @ 20 L ha-1 (One spray at 25 DAS) + Affinity 50 WP @ 0.75 kg ha-1 (One spray at 25 DAS) than control treatment. The application of sunflower water extract (1:10) @ 20 L ha-1 (One spray at 25 DAS) + Affinity 50 WP @ 0.75 kg ha-1 (One spray at 25 DAS) significantly increased number of tillers (32.34%), plant height (14.59%), spike length (27.89%), grains spike-1 (16.80%), grain weight plant-1 (47%), seed index (19.60%) and grain yield (51%) of wheat as compared with control. Overall results indicated that the sunflower water extract integrated with herbicide can be successfully used to control the narrow and broad leaves in wheat crop

Global, regional, and national sex differences in the global burden of tuberculosis by HIV status, 1990–2019: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Tuberculosis is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, causing more than a million deaths annually. Given an emphasis on equity in access to diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in global health targets, evaluations of differences in tuberculosis burden by sex are crucial. We aimed to assess the levels and trends of the global burden of tuberculosis, with an emphasis on investigating differences in sex by HIV status for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Methods We used a Bayesian hierarchical Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) platform to analyse 21 505 site-years of vital registration data, 705 site-years of verbal autopsy data, 825 site-years of sample-based vital registration data, and 680 site-years of mortality surveillance data to estimate mortality due to tuberculosis among HIV-negative individuals. We used a population attributable fraction approach to estimate mortality related to HIV and tuberculosis coinfection. A compartmental meta-regression tool (DisMod-MR 2.1) was then used to synthesise all available data sources, including prevalence surveys, annual case notifications, population-based tuberculin surveys, and tuberculosis cause-specific mortality, to produce estimates of incidence, prevalence, and mortality that were internally consistent. We further estimated the fraction of tuberculosis mortality that is attributable to independent effects of risk factors, including smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes, for HIV-negative individuals. For individuals with HIV and tuberculosis coinfection, we assessed mortality attributable to HIV risk factors including unsafe sex, intimate partner violence (only estimated among females), and injection drug use. We present 95% uncertainty intervals for all estimates. Findings Globally, in 2019, among HIV-negative individuals, there were 1.18 million (95% uncertainty interval 1.08-1.29) deaths due to tuberculosis and 8.50 million (7.45-9.73) incident cases of tuberculosis. Among HIV-positive individuals, there were 217 000 (153 000-279 000) deaths due to tuberculosis and 1.15 million (1.01-1.32) incident cases in 2019. More deaths and incident cases occurred in males than in females among HIV-negative individuals globally in 2019, with 342 000 (234 000-425 000) more deaths and 1.01 million (0.82-1.23) more incident cases in males than in females. Among HIV-positive individuals, 6250 (1820-11 400) more deaths and 81 100 (63 300-100 000) more incident cases occurred among females than among males in 2019. Age-standardised mortality rates among HIV-negative males were more than two times greater in 105 countries and age-standardised incidence rates were more than 1.5 times greater in 74 countries than among HIV-negative females in 2019. The fraction of global tuberculosis deaths among HIV-negative individuals attributable to alcohol use, smoking, and diabetes was 4.27 (3.69-5.02), 6.17 (5.48-7.02), and 1.17 (1.07-1.28) times higher, respectively, among males than among females in 2019. Among individuals with HIV and tuberculosis coinfection, the fraction of mortality attributable to injection drug use was 2.23 (2.03-2.44) times greater among males than females, whereas the fraction due to unsafe sex was 1.06 (1.05-1.08) times greater among females than males. Interpretation As countries refine national tuberculosis programmes and strategies to end the tuberculosis epidemic, the excess burden experienced by males is important. Interventions are needed to actively communicate, especially to men, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. These interventions should occur in parallel with efforts to minimise excess HIV burden among women in the highest HIV burden countries that are contributing to excess HIV and tuberculosis coinfection burden for females. Placing a focus on tuberculosis burden among HIV-negative males and HIV and tuberculosis coinfection among females might help to diminish the overall burden of tuberculosis. This strategy will be crucial in reaching both equity and burden targets outlined by global health milestone

Cotton–Mouton constant of benzene calculated by free electron wave functions

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Discovery of Potential Chemical Probe as Inhibitors of CXCL12 Using Ligand-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamic Simulation

CXCL12 are small pro-inflammatory chemo-attractant cytokines that bind to a specific receptor CXCR4 with a role in angiogenesis, tumor progression, metastasis, and cell survival. Globally, cancer metastasis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In this study, we targeted CXCL12 rather than the chemokine receptor (CXCR4) because most of the drugs failed in clinical trials due to unmanageable toxicities. Until now, no FDA approved medication has been available against CXCL12. Therefore, we aimed to find new inhibitors for CXCL12 through virtual screening followed by molecular dynamics simulation. For virtual screening, active compounds against CXCL12 were taken as potent inhibitors and utilized in the generation of a pharmacophore model, followed by validation against different datasets. Ligand based virtual screening was performed on the ChEMBL and in-house databases, which resulted in successive elimination through the steps of pharmacophore-based and score-based screenings, and finally, sixteen compounds of various interactions with significant crucial amino acid residues were selected as virtual hits. Furthermore, the binding mode of these compounds were refined through molecular dynamic simulations. Moreover, the stability of protein complexes, Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD), Root Mean Square Fluctuation (RMSF), and radius of gyration were analyzed, which led to the identification of three potent inhibitors of CXCL12 that may be pursued in the drug discovery process against cancer metastasis