Molecular characterization of stem gall disease caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens (= Agrobacterium biovar 1) on Citrus trees as a new host,in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Citrus (Citrus spp. L.), which has high nutritional and economic value, is one of the most commonly grown fruits in Turkey. In spring 2020, large aerial...     

Investigation into the population growth and its implications for primary schooling in Timor‐Leste by 2020

The nation‐building process of Timor‐Leste, the newest nation in Asia, faces significant demographic challenges due to its high population growth, which is the fastest in Asia. The major contributor for this unprecedented growth is the extremely high total fertility rate of Timor‐Leste, among the highest in the world. It is of great concern that if the current fertility rate and its implied population growth continue the population of Timor‐Leste will double in 17 years. The analysis in this paper clearly shows that the current extremely high dependency ratio will decline only marginally in the next 10 years and this will put tremendous pressure on the government to constantly keep up with the increasing number of children entering school every year. However, as the intrinsic value of human resource development feeds back into the overall society and economy, an adequate public investment in knowledge‐producing services at the earliest stages of life and throughout that life has the potential to change the demographic concern of Timor‐Leste into a future demographic dividend.     

Pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and danofloxacin in premature calves

The aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of enrofloxacin (ENR) and danofloxacin (DNX) following intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) administrations in premature calves. The study was performed on twenty‐four calves that were determined to be premature by anamnesis and general clinical examination. Premature calves were randomly divided into four groups (six premature calves/group) according to a parallel pharmacokinetic (PK) design as follows: ENR‐IV (10 mg/kg, IV), ENR‐IM (10 mg/kg, IM), DNX‐IV (8 mg/kg, IV), and DNX‐IM (8 mg/kg, IM). Plasma samples were collected for the determination of tested drugs by high‐pressure liquid chromatography with UV detector and analyzed by noncompartmental methods. Mean PK parameters of ENR and DNX following IV administration were as follows: elimination half‐life (t_1/2λz) 11.16 and 17.47 hr, area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC_0‐48) 139.75 and 38.90 hr*µg/ml, and volume of distribution at steady‐state 1.06 and 4.45 L/kg, respectively. Total body clearance of ENR and DNX was 0.07 and 0.18 L hr^?1 kg^?1, respectively. The PK parameters of ENR and DNX following IM injection were t_1/2λz 21.10 and 28.41 hr, AUC_0‐48 164.34 and 48.32 hr*µg/ml, respectively. The bioavailability (F) of ENR and DNX was determined to be 118% and 124%, respectively. The mean AUC_0‐48CPR/AUC_0‐48ENR ratio was 0.20 and 0.16 after IV and IM administration, respectively, in premature calves. The results showed that ENR (10 mg/kg) and DNX (8 mg/kg) following IV and IM administration produced sufficient plasma concentration for AUC_0‐24/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and maximum concentration (C_max)/MIC ratios for susceptible bacteria, with the MIC₉₀ of 0.5 and 0.03 μg/ml, respectively. These findings may be helpful in planning the dosage regimen for ENR and DNX, but there is a need for further study in naturally infected premature calves.     

A new dicaffeoylquinic acid butyl ester from Isertia pittieri

A new 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid butyl ester (1) was isolated from an ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Isertia pittieri stems, along with three known compounds, 1,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (2), 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3) and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4).     

Multivariate Optimization of Binary Solvent Microextraction for the Simultaneous Determination of Endocrine Disruptive Phenolic Compounds and Organochlorine Pesticides in Wastewater and Sludge Samples by GC-MS

This study presents the development of a sensitive and accurate dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method using binary solvents for the simultaneous determination of endocrine disruptive compounds by GC-MS. Optimum binary solvent and dispersive solvent amounts were determined using an experimental design. The main effects of these parameters and their interaction effects were assessed using analysis of variance. The detection limits of the analytes under optimal experimental conditions ranged between 0.16–1.5 ng/mL. All analytes exhibited good linearity over broad calibration ranges, and high precision (%RSD?<?8.0%) was obtained for six repeated readings of the lowest concentrations of the calibration plots. The method’s applicability and accuracy were tested on two municipal wastewater samples spiked at 10, 50, and 100 ng/mL. The recovery results obtained ranged between 82 and 108%, indicating that the method can be used to quantify the analytes in wastewater matrix with substantial accuracy. In addition, matrix matching calibration method was used to improve the percent recovery (≈?100%) for a waste sludge sample spiked at 50 ng/mL.     

Determination of Cadmium in Tap,Sea and Waste Water Samples by Vortex-Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid-Solidified Floating Organic Drop Microextraction and Slotted Quartz Tube FAAS After Complexation with a Imidazole Based Ligand

This study presents a combination of dispersive liquid-liquid-solidified floating organic drop microextraction (DLLSFODM) and slotted quartz tube (SQT) with conventional flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) to improve the sensitivity for cadmium determination. A ligand namely 2-(4-methylphenyl)-1H-imidazo-[4,5-f]-[1,10]-phenanthroline which has not been used in trace analyte determination was used to form a cadmium complex. Stepwise optimization of parameters affecting complex formation (pH, ligand, and buffer solution) and extraction (extraction and dispersive solvents, salt effect and mixing) was done to maximize cadmium absorbance. The slotted quartz tube was fitted onto the flame burner and optimized to increase residence time of atoms in the flame. Instrumental parameters such as sample and fuel flow rate were also optimized to further enhance the absorbance signal for cadmium. Using optimal parameters and values, the limits of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.81 and 2.69 μg L^?1, respectively. Low percent relative standard deviations (<?6.0%) indicated good precision for both extraction and instrumental measurements. Recovery tests were used to determine the accuracy of the method and the recovery results obtained were between 88 and 113%.

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Emission Factors of Cement Industry in Turkey

The levels of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, S,Se and Zn in the terrestrial mosses Scleropodium purumand Hypnum cupressiforme, collected from 75 samplingsites in Galicia (NW Spain), were determined. Using thesedata, four statistical methods of estimating backgroundlevels were then compared: one based on the use ofmultifactorial analysis, another that uses modal analysis, athird based on analysis of cumulative frequency curves, andthe last, which involves identifying groups of data with acovariance close to 60%. The first method was discountedbecause of difficulties in interpretation of the resultingdata. Very different estimates of background levels ofelements were obtained depending on which of the remainingmethods was used, and modal analysis was finally chosen asthe most suitable. Background levels varied depending on themoss species used and the levels of Al, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni,Pb and Se in the two species were significantly different(p < 0.001). It was found that the dominant lithology in thesampling area had no influence on the estimated background levels.     

Intravenous pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin following simultaneous administration with flunixin meglumine or diclofenac in sheep

In this study, the pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin (5 mg/kg) was determined following a single intravenous administration of moxifloxacin alone and co-administration with diclofenac (2.5 mg/kg) or flunixin meglumine (2.2 mg/kg) in sheep. Six healthy Akkaraman sheep (2 ± 0.3 years and 53.5 ± 5 kg of body weight) were used. A longitudinal design with a 15-day washout period was used in three periods. In the first period, moxifloxacin was administered by an intravenous (IV) injection. In the second and third periods, moxifloxacin was co-administered with IV administration of diclofenac and flunixin meglumine, respectively. The plasma concentration of moxifloxacin was assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using a two-compartment open pharmacokinetic model. Following IV administration of moxifloxacin alone, the mean elimination half-life (t_1/2β), total body clearance (Cl_T), volume of distribution at steady state (V_dss) and area under the curve (AUC) of moxifloxacin were 2.27 hr, 0.56 L h⁻¹ kg⁻¹, 1.66 L/kg and 8.91 hr*µg/ml, respectively. While diclofenac and flunixin meglumine significantly increased the t_1/2β and AUC of moxifloxacin, they significantly reduced the Cl_T and V_dss. These results suggest that anti-inflammatory drugs could increase the therapeutic efficacy of moxifloxacin by altering its pharmacokinetics.     

The amount of calcium in bony structures used for age determination in Cyprinion macrostomus (Heckel, 1843)

In this study, the ages of 76 individuals belonging to the Cyprinion macrostomus (Heckel, 1843) population caught from Murat River near Bingöl city were determined from six different bony structures and the level of calcium mineral of each bony structure was measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The determined element was statistically examined according to the age, length, weight and sex of the fish. The age, length and weight ranges of the fish were found to be 2–6, 12.0–21.2 mm and 16.3–135.3 g respectively. The relationships between the accumulation of calcium in all bony structures and the fish size (both length and weight) were found to be insignificant (P>0.05). However, a strong relationship was found between fish weight and accumulation of the mineral in vertebra and otolith. A strong correlation was also found between fish length and accumulation of calcium in the dorsal fin ray, followed by the otolith, vertebra and cleithrum bones respectively. Whereas the accumulation of calcium according to the age groups was found to be insignificant for scale and operculum (P>0.05), it was found to be significant for all the other bony structures examined (P<0.05). In conclusion, the accumulation of calcium on some bony structures of C. macrostomus was observed to increase with an increase in age, length and weight of fish, although the increases were not statistically significant at least for some bony structures (P>0.05).     

Removal of reactive orange 16 by immobilized Coprinus plicatilis in the batch shaking bioreactor

Coprinus plicatilis, white rot fungi, capable of removing Reactive Orange 16 (Remazol Brillant Orange 3R) was immobilized in calcium alginate gel beads and used for decolorization of RO16 in aqueous in the Batch Shaking Bioreactor. The optimum conditions for immobilization of the microorganism, such as alginate and calcium ion concentration, initial cell amout, hardening time and bead size, were determined with a view to improving the RO16 removal rate. The characteristics of RO16 decolorization by immobilized fungal cells were investigated. The repeated use of immobilized cells for RO16 decolorization was performed and the results revealed that the bioactivity of immobilized cells was stable over 120 hours in the repeated batch cultivation RO16 removal. At the end of decolorization process, the metabolites of the dye decolorization produced by immobilized C. plicatilis, were analyzed via GC-MS. It was concluded that the removal of the dye by immobilized C. plicatilis was achieved.