Allelopathic potentials of residues of 6 brassica species on johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.]

Johnsongrass ( Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.) is a troublesome weed species of many crops in Turkey as well as worldwide. Allelopathic potential of residues of some brassica species, which are round white radish (Raphanus sativus L.), garden radish (R. sativus L.), black radish (R. sativus L. var. niger), little radish (R. sativus L. var. radicula, turnip (Brassica campestris L. subsp. rapa) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L. oleifera DC.) on johnsongrass were investigated under both laboratory and field conditions. All species suppressed johnsongrass in field and laboratory conditions. The lowest suppression was from garden radish, which has already been used to control johnsongrass by few farmers in Turkey. It is concluded that the plants studied can be used to control johnsongrass. Higher amount of isothiocyanates (isothiocyanate benzyl, Isothiocyanate allyl) in black radish extract and lower amount of isothiocyanates at garden radish extract were determined. Parallel results for johnsongrass suppression and amount of isothiocyanates show that allelopathy play roles in johnsongrass suppression by brassica species

Prevalence and Determinants of Metabolic Syndrome among Women in Chinese Rural Areas

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is prevalent in recent years but few data is reported in the rural areas in China. The aim of this study was to examine MS prevalence and its risk factors among women in rural China. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Nantong Metabolic Syndrome Study (NMSS), a population based cross-sectional study, was conducted during 2007-2008 in Nantong, China. In person interviews, blood glucose and lipid measurements were completed for 13,505 female participants aged 18-74 years. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the US Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program, the Adult Treatment Panel (ATPIII) and modified ATPIII for Asian population has determined three criteria of MS. These criteria for MS were used and compared in this study. The prevalence of MS was 22.0%, 16.9% and 23.3% according to IDF, ATPIII and ATPIII-modified criteria, respectively. Levels of agreement of these criteria for MS were above 0.75. We found that vigorous-intensity of occupational physical activity was associated with a low prevalence of MS with OR of 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63-0.91). Rice wine drinkers (alcohol >12.8 g/day) had about 34% low risks of developing MS with OR of 0.66 (95% CI: 0.48-0.91), compared with non-drinkers. Odds ratio of MS was 1.81 (95% CI: 1.15-2.84) in women who smoked more than 20 pack-years, compared to non-smokers. Odds ratio of MS was 1.56 (95% CI: 1.25-1.95) in women who had familial history of diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and stroke, compared to women without familial history of those diseases. CONCLUSION: MS is highly prevalent among women in rural China. Both physical activity and rice wine consumption play a protective role, while family history and smoking are risk factors in MS development. Educational programs should be established for promoting healthy lifestyles and appropriate interventions in rural China

Estimating soil temperature using neighboring station data via multi-nonlinear regression and artificial neural network models

PubMedID: 22322408The aim of this study is to estimate the soil temperatures of a target station using only the soil temperatures of neighboring stations without any consideration of the other variables or parameters related to soil properties. For this aim, the soil temperatures were measured at depths of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 cm below the earth surface at eight measuring stations in Turkey. Firstly, the multiple nonlinear regression analysis was performed with the "Enter" method to determine the relationship between the values of target station and neighboring stations. Then, the stepwise regression analysis was applied to determine the best independent variables. Finally, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to estimate the soil temperature of a target station. According to the derived results for the training data set, the mean absolute percentage error and correlation coefficient ranged from 1.45% to 3.11% and from 0.9979 to 0.9986, respectively, while corresponding ranges of 1.685-3.65% and 0.9988-0.9991, respectively, were obtained based on the testing data set. The obtained results show that the developed ANN model provides a simple and accurate prediction to determine the soil temperature. In addition, the missing data at the target station could be determined within a high degree of accuracy. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Use of factor analysis scores in multiple regression model for estimation of body weight from some body measurements in lizardfish

The aim of the study is to find out, the utility function of factor analysis scores in multiple linear regression model that were used to estimate body weight with respect to some body measurements (total length, standard length, fork length, head length, body depth, body circuit, body height) measured from Lizardfish in Iskenderun Bay. The results of the factor analysis showed that 3 factor with eigenvalues greater than 1 can be selected as explanatory variables and used to estimate body weight of Lizardfish in multiple linear regression model. The factors accounted for 98.4% of total variation in the body weight. © Medwell Journals, 2009

Allelopathic Potential of Rapeseed Cultivars on Germination and Seedling Growth of Weeds

Allelopathic suppression of weeds is receiving greater attention as a possible alternative for weed management. Rapeseed (Brassica napus L., var. oleifera) contains allelochemicals that inhibits germination and growth of weed species. Allelopathic potential of 25 rapeseed cultivars on the seed germination, shoot and root growth of Amaranthus retroflexus L. (redroot pigweed). Solanum nigrum L. (black nightshade), Portulaca oleracea L. (common purslane), Physalis angulata L. (cutleaf, ground cherry) and Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link. (junglerice) were investigated with shoot and root extracts. All rapeseed cultivars examined inhibited seed germination, shoot and root growth of tested weed species. However, inhibition rates significantly varied among rapeseed cultivars. Significant reductions in seed germination, shoot and root growths were observed as the extract concentration increased. Extracts from both above and below ground parts of rapeseed had inhibitory effect on the tested weed species, but shoot extracts had slightly higher inhibition rates than that of root extracts. Root exudates had also inhibited germination of the tested weed species, but inhibitory effects are not as high as shoot and root extracts. Relative to the germination inhibition of weed seeds, the rapeseed cultivars were categorized as having highly, moderately and low allelopathic potential. Cultivar Westar was found to be highly allelopathic while cultivars Jumbuck, Tobin, Lisoune and Galant were found to be less allelopathic on the tested weed species. Rapeseed cultivars differed in isothiocyanate benzyl and isothiocyanate allyl. Cultivars containing higher level of isothiocyanate benzyl and isothiocyanate allyl had stronger allelopathic capacity. The result of this study showed that a great deal of success could be obtained by incorporation of highly allelopathic rapeseed cultivars into crop rotations to control weeds

A comparative study of estimation methods for parameters in multiple linear regression model

This paper investigated least squares method, non-parametric method and robust regression methods to predict the parameters of multiple regression models. To evaluate these methods, measurements of body weight, total length and fork length of fishes collected from Serranus cabrilla were used. In these regression models, body weight was dependent variable whereas total length and fork length were independent variables. The results show that non-parametric regression method, general additive model, has minimum R2 value and least median squares has maximum R2 value, 0.334 and 0.855, respectively. © GSP, India

Effective antibacterial and antioxidant properties of methanolic extract of Laurus nobilis seed oil

This study was carried out to determine the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil, seed oil, and methanolic extract of seed oil obtained from Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae). The methanolic extract of seed oil exhibited more effective antibacterial activity comparing to essential oil and seed oil. GC-MS analyses of the essential oil resulted in the identification of 25 compounds. 1.8-Cineol (44.72%), a-Terpinyl acetate (12.95%), Sabinene (12.82%) were the main components. The fatty acid composition was characterized with the high content of linoleic acid (40.79%) and lauric acid (38.08%). The 50% (IC50) inhibition activity of the essential oil on the free radical DPPH was determined as 94.655 mgml(-1), whereas IC50 value of methanolic extract of seed oil was found unstable. In the case of the linoleic acid system, oxidation of linoleic acid was inhibited by essential oil and methanolic extract of seed oil, which showed 64.28 and 88.76% inhibition, respectively The inhibition value of the methanolic extract of seed oil was quite close to the synthetic antioxidant BHT, 92.46% inhibition

Primary hypogonadism in a case with XLAG syndrome

Patients with X-linked lissencephaly with ambiguous genitalia (XLAG) syndrome present with lissencephaly, agenesis of the corpus callosum, refractory epilepsy of neonatal onset, microcephaly, and male genotype with ambiguous genitalia. The basis of the ambiguous genitalia in XLAG syndrome is not well-known. We report a case of the fourth child of healthy consanguineous parents who was presented to the hospital because of non-febrile seizures at 2 months of life. On physical examination, microcephaly, some dysmorphic face features, and ambiguous genitalia were determined. The cranial magnetic resonance imaging of the patient showed lissencephaly, agenesis of the corpus callosum, and enlarged ventricles. His karyotype was 46, XY. He had undetectable testosterone levels and elevated gonadotropins. Neither testicular tissue nor any testosterone response to human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation test was observed. These findings suggest that the hypogonadism in this patient with XLAG syndrome is primary hypogonadism due to gonadal agenesis or dysgenesis