Effect of chitosan on propagation of zamiifolia as tropical ornamental indoor plant by leaf cutting

Zamiifolia (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) is an ornamental and perennial medicinal plant, which belongs to Araceae family. This plant holds a prominent place in the economic significance of this particular plant family. This study aimed to examine the process of root development and rhizome production through leaf cuttings of zamiifoliain the this experiment. This experiment was conducted as factorial design within a completely randomized framework design with three replications. Experimental treatments composed of chitosan application at three levels (0, 250 and 500 mg L-1), and the positioning of leaflet cuttings along the main axis of the mother leaf (apical, middle, and basal). After the application of the treatments, the leaflet cuttings were subjected to a four-month rooting period. This rooting process took place in a growth medium consisting of a balanced mixture of perlite and cocopeat mixed in a volume ratio of 1:1. The results exhibited significant effects of different chitosan concentrations on several parameters, including rhizome number, rhizome width, the number of roots, and the quality of the mother leaf. In addition, the type of leaflet cutting demonstrated a significant influence on the width and number of rhizomes. These results demonstrated that the application of chitosan at concentrations of 250 and 500 mg L-1 had a positive effect and resulted in increased rhizome number, rhizome width, and number of roots. Overall, it can be concluded that chitosan can promote the growth and development of zamiifolia by stimulating rhizome production and improving root proliferation

Assessing phage therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa using a Galleria mellonella infection model

The Galleria mellonella infection model was used to assess the in vivo efficacy of phage therapy against laboratory and clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In a first series of experiments, Galleria were infected with the laboratory strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 and were treated with varying multiplicity of infection (MOI) of phages either 2 h post-infection (treatment) or 2 h pre-infection (prevention) via injection into the haemolymph. To address the kinetics of infection, larvae were bled over a period of 24 h for quantification of bacteria and phages. Survival rates at 24 h when infected with 10 cells/larvae were greater in the prevention versus treatment model (47% vs. 40%, MOI = 10; 47% vs. 20%, MOI = 1; and 33% vs. 7%, MOI = 0.1). This pattern held true when 100 cells/larvae were used (87% vs. 20%, MOI = 10; 53% vs. 13%, MOI = 1; 67% vs. 7%, MOI = 0.1). By 24 h post-infection, phages kept bacterial cell numbers in the haemolymph 1000-fold lower than in the non-treated group. In a second series of experiments using clinical strains to further validate the prevention model, phages protected Galleria when infected with both a bacteraemia (0% vs. 85%) and a cystic fibrosis (80% vs. 100%) isolate. Therefore, this study validates the use of G. mellonella as a simple, robust and cost-effective model for initial in vivo examination of P. aeruginosa-targeted phage therapy, which may be applied to other pathogens with similarly low infective doses

Things Are Getting Hairy: Enterobacteria Bacteriophage vB_PcaM_CBB

Enterobacteria phage vB_PcaM_CBB is a jumbo phage belonging to the family Myoviridae. It possesses highly atypical whisker-like structures along the length of its contractile tail. It has a broad host range with the capability of infecting species of the genera Erwinia, Pectobacterium, and Cronobacter. With a genome of 355,922 bp, excluding a predicted terminal repeat of 22,456 bp, phage CBB is the third largest phage sequenced to date. Its genome was predicted to encode 554 ORFs with 33 tRNAs. Based on prediction and proteome analysis of the virions, 29% of its predicted ORFs could be functionally assigned. Protein comparison shows that CBB shares between 3338% of its proteins with Cronobacter phage GAP32, coliphages PBECO4 and 121Q as well as Klebsiella phage vB_KleM_Rak2. This work presents a detailed and comparative analysis of vB_PcaM_CBB of a highly atypical jumbo myoviridae phage, contributing to a better understanding of phage diversity and biology.Funding was provided by Cork Institute of Technology as a PhD fellowship to CB

Evaluation of the Relation between Water Pollution and Economic Growth in Developing Countries and Developed Countries

Most studies suggest a form of inverted U relationship between environmental quality and economic growth, entitled as "the environmental Kuzne's curve (EKC)" Given the importance of maintaining environmental quality along with economic growth, this study studies the level of water pollution and economic growth both in developing and developed countries during 2001-1980. Based on theoretical foundations of environmental EKC curve, as in addition to the income variable, the population variable, is also considered as an exogenous variable and the integration method is used for estimating the model. The results indicates that the economic conditions prevailing in both groups of countries are consistent with the EKC. Curve and it this curve. The turning point in developed countries is at 10,622 dollars based on statistical findings, most of the studied countries in this group have crossed the turning point. But as for developing countries, the turning point in this curve is estimated at approximately 901 dollars of national per capita income. Statistical analysis of existing data showed that many countries at this group still have not reached the turning point of the EKC curve and are far from it. Using the results, it seems necessary for the developing countries to adopt more cautious policies to grow and develop their economies, in order to promote the growth of national per capita income, as well as policies to improve quality of water resources, or at least prevent their contamination

Preliminary Evaluation of the Impact of Antioxidants Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Ascorbic Acid on Patch Budding of Persian Walnut

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of antioxidants on the budding success of three walnut genotypes under greenhouse conditions. After stratification, seeds were planted in a greenhouse at the end of autumn. After about 20 months, the seedlings grew up to 80 cm. The budding was done using scions of Z30, Z60, and B21 genotypes. Scions were immersed in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or ascorbic acid in the concentrations 2, 3, and 4 g·dm−3 for 1 h before budding. Percentage of successful budding was determined after one month. The results showed that genotype significantly affected the percentage of budding success, but no interaction between genotype and treatments was found. The antioxidant solutions significantly affected all the parameters studied in this research. Ascorbic acid with 3 g·dm−3 resulted in the highest percentage of budding success (86.66%); no significant differences were observed with 4 g·dm−3 of ascorbic acid and 3 and 4 g·dm−3 of PVP. Furthermore, antioxidant solutions significantly affected the content of chlorophylls, and 3 g·dm−3 of ascorbic acid resulted in the highest content of chlorophylls in scion leaves

Ex-ante Impact Study on the Integrated Natural Resources Management in the Middle East and North Africa Region Rangelands Rehabilitation Project in Iran

The purpose of the Integrated Natural Resources Management program in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENARID) is to bring national investment projects in the field of Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). The impact evaluation study tests whether the selected technology has significantly contributed to restore and maintain of the ecosystem functions and productivity, and whether has improved the economic and social well-being of the targeted communities. We chose Kamkooyeh Village in the Behabad County where a "Village Development Group" (VDG) has been established by following participatory and capacity building approaches such as social mobilization and micro credit mechanism. A set of complementary activities and interventions were recommended and implemented in the site by consultation and active participation of the local communities and beneficiaries. One of the proposed interventions is rangelands rehabilitation project (RRP). The expected benefits and costs of the RRP were predicted through financial valuation and an ex-ante evaluation of socioeconomic impacts. The financial and social benefit-cost ratio of RRP was estimated to be about 0.97 and 2.15, respectively

Exploration and morphologic variation of Iris wild species with ornamental potential

Nowadays, the flower industry is growing so fast that its development requires introducing new varieties to the flower market. Iran is the habitat of numerous species of wild plants that are among the valuable genetics in the breeding process. The identification of native Iris species, investigation of morphological diversity, and distribution method have a significant effect on the introduction of this flower as new and superior cultivars cut flower and bedding plant. The documentation of the most important habitats of Iris in Arak province, identification of morphological characteristics and correlation determination of morphological traits are the most important aims of this research. The results showed that there is a correlation between some of the traits. The highest positive correlation was related to the height of flower and length of the leaf, length of the flowering stem and the length of the leaf and the height of the flower and the length of the flowering stem. The ecotypes of Iris sp. were divided into six groups. Based on the results of the cluster diagram, the bulbous species were separated from rhizome species. Generally, due to the color diversity of Iris sp. and unique beauty of the flowers and the resistance of the native species, they can be used as native foundations. Due to the prominent traits such as high durability of Iris meda, odor of I. hymernospatha Subsp. leptoneura and color diversity of I. persica, I. songarica and height of I. spuria, they can be used to introduce new ornamental species. Iris spuria is the most suitable genotype because of the high height, large flower, high durability, and beautiful flower