The Effects of Salt Stress on Certain Physiological Parameters in Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) Plants

Savory plants were treated with different concentrations of NaCl. Plants were grown under controlled environment and harvested after 42 days for measurements of biochemical and physiological parameters. The essential oil of dryed aerial parts of treated plants were isolated and analyzed with GC/MS. The main essential oil compounds were determined as carvacrol (55.37%) and g-terpinene (32.92%) in control plants. In NaCl treated plants, with increasing NaCl, carvacrol content increased and g-terpinene decreased. In all the plants treated with NaCl, growth parameters, pigments contents and photosynthetic rate were decreased, while, proline and soluble sugars contents increased.Our results indicated that with increasing salinity, carvacrol amount increased which can be considered for medical usages

PLANT BASED-DIVERSITY PRACTICES IN CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC FARMING: A FARMERS’ SURVEY IN FRANCE

Enhancing plant-based diversity within agroecosystems may be an efficient way to achieve the objective of designing more resilient and low-input agricultural systems. The objectives of this study were (i) to describe the plant-based diversity practices implemented in organic or conventional agriculture in France and (ii) to identify the motivations of the farmers to apply such practices. It was also to compare the integration of such practices in organic or conventional farming systems. The survey was carried out in five French regions with 196 farmers that apply at least one plant-based diversification practice. Five diversification practices were studied: diversified crop rotations, use of catch crops, simultaneous intercropping, agroforestry and semi-natural landscape elements. Simultaneous intercropping and agroforestry are less applied compared to catch crops and semi-natural landscape elements because they imply a deeper change in the cropping system. Nevertheless, organic farmers apply more often such practices (simultaneous intercropping and agroforestry) and 40% of them applied more than 4 of these practices at the same time (compared to less than 20% of the conventional farmers). Organic farmers seem thus to be a step further than conventional farmers with regard to the transition towards agroecological systems

Exploring and Developing Measurements for the Dimension of Contract Governance in Malaysia’s Public-Private Partnership Initiatives

Since 1983, Malaysia has been implementing public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives to acquire public infrastructure and services. These partnerships have been successful in improving public services and reducing public expenditure. Many researches have been conducted on the factors influencing the performance of PPP, including contract governance. However, due to the long duration and contractual obligations of PPP initiatives, there is still a lack of understanding about the influence of contract governance on the performance of these partnerships, highlighting a scarcity of study on contract governance in PPP contexts. Based on mono-method quantitative design, this study aims to develop a survey instrument to measure contract governance in PPP initiatives through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A pilot study has been conducted with 115 respondents and the data been analyzed using the Principal Component with the Rotation extraction technique. The results showed that all five components of contract governance in the study had a Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.70, indicating a high level of consistency and reliability. The results of this research provide significant knowledge on the measurement of contract governance on PPP project performance to the body of literature on partnership performance and contract governance, therefore assisting concessionaires and policymakers. Managers overseeing PPP projects should possess the ability to improve the performance of their projects by comprehending the impact of contract. governance on project performance.

Fungicide sensitivity of Mycosphaerella graminicola Tunisian isolates: the importance of drug transporter genes in the process of fungicide tolerance

Seventeen Mycosphaerella graminicola isolates from Tunisia and two reference isolates from Europe (St-Q7-2 and IPO323) were examined for sensitivity to azoxystrobin and tebuconazole and for the importance of the drug transporter genes MgAtr3 (ABC transporter), MgMfs1 (MFS transporter), MgSlt2 (MAP Kinase), MgGpa1 and MgGpb1 (cyclic AMP) in the process of fungicide tolerance. All Tunisian isolates were sensitive to both fungicides, but considerable variability in sensitivity, and evidence for slight multidrug resistance toward both fungicides (r = 0.58), were observed. A gene expression assay revealed that MgAtr3 and MgMfs1 are involved in tolerance to both fungicides. MgAtr3 is likely involved in tolerance to tebuconazole, while MgMfs1 is likely required for tolerance to azoxystrobin. The other genes examined were found more likely to be pathogenicity factors rather than fungicide tolerance factors, except for MgSlt2 which was weakly induced by azoxystrobin treatment. This study has indicated that the Tunisian population of M. graminicola remains more sensitive to strobilurin and azole fungicides than European populations, and reports the importance of the ABC and MFS transporters MgAtr3 and MgMfs1 in the mechanism of fungicide tolerance

Identification of QoI fungicide-resistant genotypes of the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici in Algeria

Septoria tritici blotch caused by Zymoseptoria tritici is currently one of the most damaging diseases on bread and durum wheat crops worldwide. A total of 120 monoconidial isolates of this fungus were sampled in 2012 from five distinct geographical locations of Algeria (Guelma, Annaba, Constantine, Skikda and Oran) and assessed for resistance to Quinone outside Inhibitors (QoI), a widely used class of fungicides for the control of fungal diseases of wheat. Resistance was screened using a mismatch PCR assay that identified the G143A mitochondrial cytochrome b substitution associated with QoI resistance. The isolates were QoI-sensitive, since all possessed the G143 wild-type allele, except for three isolates (two from Guelma and one from Annaba), which had fungicide resistance and possessed the A143 resistant allele. QoI resistance was confirmed phenotypically using a microplate bioassay in which the resistant isolates displayed high levels of half-maximal inhibitory azoxystrobin concentrations (IC50s) when compared to sensitive reference isolates. Genetic fingerprinting of all isolates with microsatellite markers revealed that the three resistant isolates were distinct haplotypes, and were are not genetically distinguishable from the sensitive isolates. This study highlights QoI-resistant genotypes of Z. tritici in Algeria for the first time, and proposes a management strategy for QoI fungicide application to prevent further spread of resistance across the country or to other areas of Northern Africa

Effects of innovation capability and environmental dynamism on the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovation performance in the SMEs service industry

This paper explores the link between entrepreneurial leadership (EL) and innovation performance (IP) in the service industry. Using the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities view (DCV) as theoretical foundations, the study examines the mediating role of innovation capability (IC) and the moderating role of environmental dynamism (ED) in this relationship. A survey of 321 middle-level managers in the SME service sector was conducted to test the hypotheses, employing SMART-PLS structural equation modeling. Results show that EL directly and indirectly affects IP through IC mediation, but no evidence was found for the moderating role of ED. This research contributes to the understanding of how entrepreneurial leaders influence innovation performance and highlights the importance for SME owners and managers to foster and apply entrepreneurial leadership skills

Assessment of the reliability of a novel self-sampling device for performing cervical sampling in Malaysia

Background: The participation of women in cervical cancer screening in Malaysia is low. Self-sampling might be able to overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of self-sampling for cervical smear in our country. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 258 community dwelling women from urban and rural settings who participated in health campaigns. In order to reduce the sampling bias, half of the study population performed the self-sampling prior to the physician sampling while the other half performed the self-sampling after the physician sampling, randomly. Acquired samples were assessed for cytological changes as well as HPV DNA detection. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 40.4±11.3 years. The prevalence of abnormal cervical changes was 2.7%. High risk and low risk HPV genotypes were found in 4.0% and 2.7% of the subjects, respectively. A substantial agreement was observed between self-sampling and the physician obtained sampling in cytological diagnosis (k=0.62, 95%CI=0.50, 0.74), micro-organism detection (k=0.77, 95%CI=0.66, 0.88) and detection of hormonal status (k=0.75, 95%CI=0.65, 0.85) as well as detection of high risk (k=0.77, 95%CI=0.4, 0.98) and low risk (K=0.77, 95%CI=0.50, 0.92) HPV. Menopausal state was found to be related with 8.39 times more adequate cell specimens for cytology but 0.13 times less adequate cell specimens for virological assessment. Conclusions: This study revealed that self-sampling has a good agreement with physician sampling in detecting HPV genotypes. Self-sampling can serve as a tool in HPV screening while it may be useful in detecting cytological abnormalities in Malaysia

Evolution of Mycosphaerella graminicola at the wheat leaf and field levels

The aim of this study was to compare Mycosphaerella graminicola populations at the field and lesion levels. The evolution of M. graminicola populations from a single field in the “Morbihan” county (France), between 2005 and 2006, was first investigated for 37 strains using molecular fingerprinting by microsatellite markers (ST1A4, ST1E3, ST1E7 and ST1D7) and SSCP analysis of partial actin and β-tubulin encoding sequences. Similar gene diversity was observed in the 2005 and 2006 populations, with no common clones between the two years. This indicates frequent sexual recombination by the fungus. When considering each marker independently and comparing marker genetic variability for the two populations, differences in the genetic variability were detected in 2006 population compared to the 2005 population. ST1A4, ST1D7 and the partial sequence of actin presented a decrease in genetic variability of the 2006 strains, while for ST1E3, ST1E7 and the partial sequence of β-tubulin showed an increase, revealing the importance of the chosen markers. In addition, 29 strains collected in 2006 from three distinct lesions on the same wheat leaf in the “Nord” county were also investigated for genetic diversity. MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 were found in the same lesion offering opportunities for sexual contact

Prescribing costs of hypoglycaemic agents and associations with metabolic control in Wales; a national analysis of primary care data

Aims: There has been a dramatic increase in hypoglycaemic agent expenditure. We assessed the variability in prescribing costs at the practice level and the relationship between expenditure and the proportion of patients achieving target glycaemic control. Methods: We utilized national prescribing data from 406 general practices in Wales. This was compared against glycaemic control (percentage of patients achieving a HbA1c level < 59 mmol/mol in the preceding 12 months). Analyses were adjusted for the number of patients with diabetes in each general practice and the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Results: There was considerable heterogeneity in hypoglycaemic agent spend per patient with diabetes, Median = £289 (IQR 247–343) range £31.1–£1713. Higher total expenditure was not associated with improved glycaemic control B(std) = −0.01 (95%CI –0.01, 0.002) p = 0.13. High‐spend practices spent more on SGLT2 inhibitors (16 vs. 9% p < 0.001) and GLP‐1 agonists (13 vs. 11% p < 0.001) and less on insulin (34 vs. 42% p < 0.001), biguanides (9 vs. 11% p = 0.001) and sulphonylureas (2 vs. 3% p < 0.001) than low spend practices. There were no differences in the pattern of drug prescribing between high spend practices with better glycaemic control (mean 68% of patients HbA1c <59 mmol/mol) and those with less good metabolic control (mean 58% of patients HbA1c <59 mmol/mol). Conclusions: Spend on hypoglycaemic agents is highly variable between practices and increased expenditure per patient is not associated with better glycaemic control. Whilst newer, more expensive agents have additional benefits, in individuals where these advantages are more marginal widespread use of these agents has important cost implications

Genome-wide association study in frontal fibrosing alopecia identifies four susceptibility loci including HLA-B*07:02

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a recently described inflammatory and scarring type of hair loss affecting almost exclusively women. Despite a dramatic recent increase in incidence the aetiopathogenesis of FFA remains unknown. We undertake genome-wide association studies in females from a UK cohort, comprising 844 cases and 3,760 controls, a Spanish cohort of 172 cases and 385 controls, and perform statistical meta-analysis. We observe genome-wide significant association with FFA at four genomic loci: 2p22.2, 6p21.1, 8q24.22 and 15q2.1. Within the 6p21.1 locus, fine-mapping indicates that the association is driven by the HLA-B*07:02 allele. At 2p22.1, we implicate a putative causal missense variant in CYP1B1, encoding the homonymous xenobiotic- and hormone-processing enzyme. Transcriptomic analysis of affected scalp tissue highlights overrepresentation of transcripts encoding components of innate and adaptive immune response pathways. These findings provide insight into disease pathogenesis and characterise FFA as a genetically predisposed immuno-inflammatory disorder driven by HLA-B*07:02