Organoclays reduce arsenic bioavailability and bioaccessibility in contaminated soils

Purpose  

Naturally occurring layer silicate clay minerals can be value added by modifying their surface properties to enhance their efficacy in the remediation of environmental contaminants. Silicate clay minerals modified by the introduction of organic molecules into the mineral structure are known as organoclays and show much promise for environmental remediation applications. The present study assesses the extent of decrease in bioavailable and bioaccessible arsenic (As) via enhanced adsorption by soil treated with organoclays.     

Time series analysis of irrigation return flow in a semi-arid agricultural region,Iran

The irrigation return-flow coefficient (IRFC) is based on rule of thumb estimations in most aquifers in Iran. The errors may be significant, and thus misleading for water resources management. We used lysimeters to more accurately predict IRFC. Five wheat and barley farms of different soil textures, which were irrigated using a border system, plus one with a sprinkler system, were selected for the installation of lysimeters. The practices at each farm were applied to the lysimeters. Irrigation return flows (IRF) were measured every other day over two growing seasons. The IRF time series displayed sharp peaks at the initial stages of the growing season and decreasing towards the end. IRFCs were classified into early and late stages. The average IRFC during the early stage was 29.9%, decreasing to 6.5% in the late stage. High IRFC values are due to the limitations of border irrigation to provide a small uniform amount of water, and over-irrigation due to low water demand during the early stage of growth. Variations in annual IRFCs of 0.4 to 38.7% are functions of total applied water, border length, management and soil texture. The early stage IRFC for the sprinkler system was small. Therefore, high early stage IRFCs can be reduced by changing from border irrigation to a sprinkler system.     

Protein synthesis in green beans under salt stress conditions

Salinity is a major agricultural problem in arid and semi‐arid regions, resulting in retarded plant growth and reduced crop yield. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of NaCl stress on nitrogen metabolism and protein synthesis in three varieties of green beans, and to select the most salt tolerant and suitable cultivar among the three for cultural practices. To achieve this goal, protein synthesis and protein‐¹⁵N content of three green bean cultivars (Phasedus vulgaris L., cv. ‘Tender Improved’, ‘Slim Green’, and ‘Kentucky Wonder') were compared. This comparison was done by using ¹⁵N under three different NaCl salinity levels (Control = 0.3, 2.5, and 5.0 bars osmotic pressures), in Hoagland nutrient solution, in a growth chamber. The 7‐day‐old bean seedlings were grown for 7 additional days in complete Hoagland solution before and 7 days after the completion of salinization with NaCl. This was followed by a 15‐day ¹⁵N uptake period after ^1SNH₄ ¹⁵NO₃ addition to the culture solutions. Plant tissues were analyzed for crude protein and protein‐N (total and ¹⁵N) content. The crude protein and protein‐N (total and ¹⁵N) content of plants decreased with increased salinity for all three cultivars, however, the Tender Improved variety was the least severely affected by salinity among the three cultivars. Total crude protein and protein‐N content were substantially higher for shoots than for the roots. Nevertheless, shoots were more severely influenced than roots by salt stress when salinized plants were compared with the controls for each plant part. The adverse effect of salinity on protein synthesis was more severe at the highest (5.0 bars osmotic pressure) level of stress. Based on the results of this study, for growing conditions similar to this experiment, the Tender Improved cultivar appears the most salt tolerant and suitable among these three for cultural practices.     

Prevalence of avian influenza (H9N2) in commercial quail,partridge, and turkey farms in Iran, 2014–2015

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Avian influenza virus (AIV) H9N2 subtype is endemic in Iran and causes substantial economic loss to the growing poultry industry within the country. In this...     

A review of okara (soybean curd residue) utilization as animal feed: Nutritive value and animal performance aspects

Year by year, huge quantities of by-products are generated during the manufacturing process of soybean-based products. Okara is one of the by-products, and it is an insoluble portion of the soybean. It consists of high moisture (8.4–22.9%); on dry matter basis, it contains high metabolizable energy (9.0–14.2 MJ/kg) and other components that include crude protein (20.9–39.1%), crude fiber (12.2–61.3%), crude fat (4.9–21.5%), and ash (3.4–5.3%). Fermentation of okara improves its nutritional quality and reduces its anti-nutrient contents. Due to animals' palatability, okara can be used to replace the soybean meal/concentrate feed partially or completely in ruminant's diet and partially in nonruminant's diet. Okara feeding does not depress the intake, digestibility, growth, milk production, blood metabolic profiles, and meat quality of animals. However, this by-product decays quickly due to its high moisture content, and its heavy weight and sticky nature make it difficult to process and expensive to dry using conventional methods. This paper thoroughly summarizes the utilization of okara as animal feed in the cause of developing a general guideline with favorable levels of inclusion in the diets of animals for its exploitation and valorization. This review will encourage further research to develop eco-friendly and value added feed for animals.     

On Increasing Mustard Productivity with an Inexpensive Source of Leaf—applied Phosphorus

A simple randomized field experiment was conducted for two years to test the comparative efficacy of three sources of leaf-applied phosphorus (sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate, diammonium phosphate and monocalcium superphosphate) on the yield performance of mustard ( Brassica juncea L. Czern. and Coss.) var. Varuna. The quantity of P was 3.5 kg ha⁻¹. In addition, 20 kg N and 2 (or 6) kg S ha⁻¹ were included in the spray applied in two equal splits at 70 and 90 days as supplement to the basal application of 60 kg N, 17.5 kg P and 33.2 kg K ha⁻¹. The two-year data revealed that spray treatments were significantly efficacious in augmenting most of the yield attributing parameters as well as seed and oil yield by about 20% over the water-sprayed control. However, as the three sources of phosphorus proved equally effective, commercial grade monocalcium superphosphate could be preferred over others due to its cost effectiveness and easy availability.     

The effect of alkali pre-treatment on formation and adsorption of silver nanoparticles on cotton surface

This study is an attempt to investigate the feasibility of alkali pre-treatment to activate surface hydroxyl groups of cellulose fibers in order to enhance the deposition efficiency of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto cotton fabrics. Cotton samples were pre-treated with various alkali solutions containing different earth metal hydroxides (LiOH, NaOH, and KOH). The as-prepared samples were then treated with aqueous silver nitrate followed by reduction treatment with aqueous ascorbic acid, which caused in situ formation of AgNPs on fiber surfaces. The surface structure of the fabrics was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and colorimetric data. The amount of silver was measured by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). Antimicrobial activity was measured against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. It was established that alkali pre-treatment had a substantial effect on the formation and adsorption of AgNPs on the fibers. Alkali pre-treated samples were homogeneously coated by AgNPs with high surface coverage. Alkali type had significant effect not only on the amount of AgNPs on the surface but also on its size. High antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains was also demonstrated, even after 10 cycles washing.     

Comparing analgesic effects of a topical herbal mixed medicine with salicylate in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis is the most common cause of disability among people and it is a common disease of joints that can lead to cartilage damage. In this study the analgesic effects of a herbal ointment containing cinnamon, ginger, mastic (Saghez) and sesame oil is compared with Salicylate ointment in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. It was a double-blind randomized controlled trail study. Patients with diagnosed arthritis were involved in the study and they were divided in two groups via block randomization method. For six weeks, twice a day, intervention group applied herbal ointment and control group used Salicylate ointment. The severity of pain, morning stiffness and limited motion were measured using Visual Analog Pain Scale. In order to analyze the trends of these three indexes, repeated measurement test was used. Ninety two participates with the mean age of 52.2 (+/- 12.4) years and with the mean disease period of 30.45 (+/- 30.3) months were involved in the study. There was no significant difference between two groups regarding the distribution of sex, weight, height, BMI and the duration of illness. No statistical difference was observed between two groups regarding pain relief, morning stiffness and limited motion; nevertheless in repeated measurements during second, forth and sixth weeks in both groups the decreasing trend of these three indexes had been statistically significant (p < 0.0001). It seems that using this herbal combination is clinically effective for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis in order to decrease their pain, morning stiffness and limited motion; its effect is comparable with Salicylate ointment.     

Thermo-regulating nanofibers based on nylon 6,6/polyethylene glycol blend

Renewable energies as well as saving energy in suitable forms are of great challenges in the field of energy storage. Phase change materials (PCM) are one of the latent heat storage materials. They can produce high density of energy storage during phase change. However, there is a risk of material leakage during their phase change. Electrospinning could lead to thermo-regulating nanofibers of leakage free form-stable PCMs. For this purpose, polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 as a PCM together with nylon 6,6 as supporting material was electrospun in different blend ratios. Morphology and diameter of the produced nanofibers were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The average nanofibers diameter was in the range of 178 to 507 nm for different blend ratios. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed that the composite samples have high heat capacity and good energy saving properties. As-spun nanofibers were successfully changed to a formstable thermo-regulating nanocomposite using a suitable cross-linking agent.