Simulation of 1D surface and 2D subsurface water flow and nitrate transport in alternate and conventional furrow fertigation

Increasing water and fertilizer productivity stands as a relevant challenge for sustainable agriculture. Alternate furrow irrigation and surface fertigation have long been identified as water and fertilizer conserving techniques in agricultural lands. The objective of this study was to simulate water flow and fertilizer transport in the soil surface and in the soil profile for variable and fixed alternate furrow fertigation and for conventional furrow fertigation. An experimental data set was used to calibrate and validate two simulation models: a 1D surface fertigation model and the 2D subsurface water and solute transfer model HYDRUS-2D. Both models were combined to simulate the fertigation process in furrow irrigation. The surface fertigation model could successfully simulate runoff discharge and nitrate concentration for all irrigation treatments. Six soil hydraulic and solute transport parameters were inversely estimated using the Levenberg–Marquardt optimization technique. The outcome of this process calibrated HYDRUS-2D to the observed field data. HYDRUS-2D was run in validation mode, simulating water content and nitrate concentration in the soil profiles of the wet furrows, ridges and dry furrows at the upstream, middle and downstream parts of the experimental field. This model produced adequate agreement between measured and predicted soil water content and nitrate concentration. The combined model stands as a valuable tool to better design and manage fertigation in alternate and conventional furrow irrigation.     

Assessing cadmium availability of contaminated saline-sodic soils as influenced by biochar using the adsorption isotherm models

ABSTRACT

In arid/semi-arid regions, soil salinization, sodification and contamination by heavy metals (HMs) are the main constrains to plant growth, crop production and human health. Biochar can affect soil behaviors, e.g. adsorption of HMs that is one of the most effective techniques for reducing their bioavailability. Effect of three levels (0%, 2% and 4% wt) of sugarcane bagasse-derived biochar and two cadmium (Cd) levels (0 and 50 mg Cd kg^?1 soil as Cd(NO₃)₂) on Cd adsorption of saline, sodic, saline-sodic and normal soils were evaluated through studying adsorption isotherms. Six isotherm models were fitted to the data and the best model were chosen. The maximum Cd adsorption (694 mg kg^?1) obtained in sodic soils without biochar treatment. Cadmium removal decreased when dosage of the applied biochar increased. The minimum Cd removal obtained as 17%, 21%, and 23% in control, 2% and 4% biochar-treated saline soils, respectively. Biochar increased Cd adsorption in salt-affected soils. Increasing pH in soil solution after biochar addition resulted in an increase in net negative surface charge and the affinity of soil particles for Cd adsorption. Consequently, 2% biochar could ameliorate Cd contamination. However, Cd adsorption decreased when dosage of the applied biochar increased from 2% to 4%.     

Paclobutrazol application enhances antioxidant enzyme activities in pomegranate plants affected by cold stress

Paclobutrazol (PBZ) is a member of the triazole plant growth inhibitor group that is responsible for inducing tolerance to a number of biotic and abiotic stresses. An experiment was, therefore, conducted to test whether PBZ application at various concentrations (0, 25, 50, or 75 mg L^?1) through foliar spray or soil drench would protect pomegranate (Punica granatum) seedlings cv. Robab, subjected to freezing at ?3°C for 7 hours. PBZ improved the growth rate of pomegranate seedlings subjected to freezing stress and increased relative leaf chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence ratio, relative water content, soluble carbohydrate content, and enzyme activity of ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase compared with the control at the end of experiment. PBZ ameliorated the injury caused by freezing stress by inhibiting increases in proline content and leaf electrolyte leakage, which suggested that PBZ ameliorated the negative effect of freezing stress. The best protection was obtained from plants treated with PBZ at 50 or 75 mg L^?1. The most evaluated parameters were not affected by PBZ application method.     

Evaluation of Outer Membrane Vesicles Obtained from Predominant Local Isolate of Bordetella pertussis as a Vaccine Candidate

Background:Pertussis is a current contagious bacterial disease caused by Bp. Given the prevalence of pertussis, development of new vaccines is important. This study was attempted to evaluate the expression of main virulence factors (PTX, PRN, and FHA) from Bp predominant strains and also compare the expression of these factors in the OMVs obtained from predominant circulating Bp isolate. Methods:The physicochemical features of the prepared OMVs were analyzed by electron microscopy and SDS-PAGE. The presence of the mentioned virulence factors was confirmed by Western blotting. BALB/c mice (n = 21) immunized with characterized OMVs were challenged intranasally with sublethal doses of Bp, to examine their protective capacity. Results:Electron microscopic examination of the OMVs indicated vesicles within the range of 40 to 200 nm. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting demonstrated the expression of all three main protective immunogens (PTX, PRN, and FHA), prevalent in the predominant, challenge, and vaccine strains, and OMVs of the predominant IR37 strain and BP134 vaccine strain. Significant differences were observed in lung bacterial counts between the immunized mice with OMV (30 CFU/lung) compared to the negative control group ((6 10⁴ CFU/lung; p < 0.001). In mice immunized with OMVs (3 µg), the number of lungs recovered colonies after five days dropped at least five orders of magnitude compared to the control group. Conclusion:OMVs obtained from circulating isolates with the predominant profile may constitute a highly promising vaccine quality. They also can be proposed as a potential basic material for the development of new pertussis vaccine candidate. Key Words: Bordetella pertussis, Vaccines, Virulence factors     

Effect of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets on Skin Capillary Parameters in a diabetic wound model: A Novel Preliminary Study

Background:Treatment with BMMSCs has anti-inflammatory, tissue regenerative, angiogenic, and immune-stimulating effects. When using as sheets or accumulate, BMMSCs causes the development of neoangiogenesis in damaged skin tissue. Diabetes, a metabolic disorder, can negatively affect many physiological functions, including the process of skin injury repair. This adverse impact may increase the risk of skin surgery. RSF is commonly used in reconstructive surgery. The terminal part of the RSF is often affected by necrosis because of impaired blood flow, which is exacerbated in diabetes. This study investigated the effect of stem cells, applied as accumulated or cell sheets, along with RSF surgery on skin capillaries in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Methods:Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n = 10): diabetes-RSF control, diabetes-RSF local applied stem cells (loc-BMMSCs), diabetes-RSF applied stem cells as accumulated or cell sheets (ac-BMMSCs). Two weeks after the STZ injection, RSF surgery and stem cell therapy (6 × 10⁹) were carried out (day zero). Furthermore, stereological methods were used to investigate the capillary patterns among the groups. Anti-CD31/PCAM1 immunohistochemistry was also used for further confirmation of changes in capillary parameters. Results:The results demonstrated that capillaries were protected by MSC sheets in the flap tissue, and the thickness of the epidermal layer was improved, indicationg the possible beneficial effects of MSC sheets on diabetic wound treatment. Conclusion:Stem cells, as ac-BMMSCs, may decrease the levels of wound healing complications in diabetes and can be considered as a cell therapy option in such conditions.Key Words: Neoangiogenesis, Skin flap, Transplantation, Wound healing     

Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Variations and Serum Pepsinogen Levels for Risk Assessment in Gastric Cancer

Background:Variations in mtDNA-CN of PBLs, as a potential biomarker for GC screening has currently been subject to controversy. Herein, we have assessed its efficiency in GC screening, in parallel and in combination with sPG I/II ratio, as an established indicator of gastric atrophy. Methods:The study population included GC (n = 53) and non-GC (n = 207) dyspeptic patients. The non-GC group was histologically categorized into CG (n = 104) and NM (n = 103) subgroups. The MtDNA-CN of PBLs was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The sPG I and II levels and anti-H. pylori serum IgG were measured by ELISA. Results:The mtDNA-CN was found significantly higher in GC vs. non-GC (OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.4, 6.4) subjects. Conversely, GC patients had significantly lower sPG I/II ratio than the non-GC (OR = 3.2; CI = 1.4, 7.2) subjects. The combination of these two biomarkers yielded a dramatic amplification of the odds of GC risk in double-positive (high mtDNA-CN-low sPGI/II) subjects, in reference to double-negatives (low mtDNA-CN-high sPGI/II), when assessed against non-GC (OR = 27.1; CI = 5.0, 147.3), CG (OR = 13.1; CI = 2.4, 72.6), or NM (OR = 49.5; CI = 7.9, 311.6) groups. Conclusion:The combination of these two biomarkers, namely mtDNA-CN in PBLs and serum PG I/II ratio, drastically enhanced the efficiency of GC risk assessment, which calls for further validations. Key Words: Biomarkers, DNA copy number variation, Mitochondrial DNA, Stomach neoplasms     

A new ENU-induced mutant mouse with defective spermatogenesis caused by a nonsense mutation of the syntaxin 2/epimorphin (Stx2/Epim) gene

Repro34 is an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced mutation in mice showing male-specific infertility caused by defective spermatogenesis. In the present study, we investigated pathogenesis and molecular lesions in relation to spermatogenesis in the repro34/repro34 homozygous mouse. Histological examination of the testis showed that the seminiferous epithelium of the repro34/repro34 mouse contained spermatogonia and spermatocytes but no round and elongating spermatids. Instead of these haploid cells, multinucleated giant cells occupied the niche of the seminiferous tubules. Immunohistochemical staining for Hsc70t, an elongating spermatid specific protein, confirmed the absence of elongating spermatids. Furthermore, RT-PCR showed that there were significantly reduced expressions of the marker genes specifically expressed in the spermatid and that there was no difference in the expressions of the spermatocyte specific marker genes. These findings indicated interruption of the spermatogenesis during transition from the spermatocyte to spermatid in the repro34/repro34 mouse. The repro34 locus has been mapped on a 7.0-Mb region of mouse chromosome 5 containing the Syntaxin 2/Epimorphin (Stx2/Epim) gene, and targeted disruption of this gene has been reported to cause defective spermatogenesis. We therefore sequenced the entire coding region of the Stx2/Epim gene and found a nucleotide substitution that results in a nonsense mutation of this gene. The expression pattern of the Stx2/Epim gene during the first wave of spermatogenesis, increased expression at later stages of spermatogenesis, was in agreement with the affected phase of spermatogenesis in the adult repro34/repro34 testis. We therefore concluded that the male infertility of the repro34/repro34 mouse is caused by the interruption of spermatogenesis during transition from the spermatocyte to spermatid and that the nonsense mutation of the Stx2/Epim gene is responsible for the interruption of spermatogenesis.     

The ameliorating effects of polyamine supplement on physiological and biochemical parameters of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni under cold stress

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a perennial medicinal herb indigenous to tropical regions of South America. The present study evaluated some physiological changes of the plant under cold in the absence and the presence of polyamine conditions. The results showed photosynthetic pigments and photochemical efficiency of PSII reduced in cold treatment conditions than control, significantly. However, a considerable increase in the parameters was observed in all of polyamine treated goups. Leaf compatible solutes such as proline and glycine betaine that were not shown significantly increasing at cold treatment groups, elevated in the 2 days cold-polyamine-treated group. The similar results were seen for free amino acid and total protein contents of the treated plants. It was also revealed that specific activity of some antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and ascorbate peroxidase increased in cold-treated or cold + polyamine-treated groups than related controls. It caused a significant decrease in H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde contents of the treated plants. The results indicated an increasing in saturated long chain fatty acids after 4 days of cold at 4 °C. It was concluded that the polyamine supplement can induced a considerable tolerance in stevia plants at cold condition.     

Effects of fertilizers on plant diversity,density, and uniformity in Golestan rangelands

One of the management operations in rangeland ecosystems for pastures restoration and improvement is fertilizer application. This study was designed to investigate the effect of fertilizer (50 kg/ha urea and ammonium phosphate fertilizers) on species diversity changes in a 100-ha experimental field of Salmechal Rangeland, Golestan Province. Plant species mean canopy cover was recorded using a 50-m² sampling plot. Statistical analysis was performed using Excel 2007 and PAST software. Fertilizer application increased the number of species present in the region from 21 to 51 and the plant families from 11 to 23. The forbs had the highest proportion (54.91%) and bushes and shrubs had the lowest percentage in the region. Fertilizer application increased plant diversity, uniformity, and coverage of the grasses. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the grass and forbs coverage before and after fertilizer treatments. The results showed that the biological and physiological growth periods of the annual and perennial plants were significantly different before and after fertilizer application (p < 0.01). Also, their proportion in rangeland plant species composition significantly increased after fertilizer application.