Appraisal of Agriglass in Promoting Maize Production Under Abiotic Stress Conditions

An agriglass composition containing different oxides acts as a slow release for macro and micro nutrients and was chosen to improve maize yield under most important abiotic stresses which affecting agriculture development; salinity and drought. A field experiment was performed in salt affected soil (EC =?7.5 dSm^??1) by using different water deficit rates (I1 = 100, I2 = 85 and I3 = 70% of maize water requirements). Irrigation levels were located in main plots. Every main-plot divided into six sub-plots contained glassy fertilizer treatments [F1 = 55 kg fed^?1 with 1/2 mm diameter of agriglass (fed. =?4200 m²), F2 = 55 kg fed^?1 with 1 mm diameter, F3 = 80 kg fed^?1 with 1/2 mm diameter, F4 = 80 kg fed^?1 with 1 mm diameter, F5 = Recommendations of Ministry of Agriculture and F6 = control]. The experimental results demonstrated that, ears, straw, grains and biological yields increased with increasing both water and agriglass rates. Application of agriglass as a slow release fertilizer improved yield more than mineral fertilizer. Some growth parameters, water use efficiency (IWUE), macronutrients concentration and their relations were included. Other studies on residual effect of agriglass and the annual application rates to withstand salinity and drought stress by strategic crops are required.     

Frequency dependence of the complex dielectric constant of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose

The dielectric constant, ε′, and dielectric loss, ε″, were determined for three solid carboxymethyl cellulose samples having different levels of substitution and different degrees of polymerization over a frequency range of 0.1 – 10 000 kHz at temperatures from 10–60°C. In contrast to the two relaxation processes, γ and β, previously observed in native cotton cellulose, only one relaxation process within a frequency range of 0.1 – 1 kHz was identified. It was found that the dielectric properties do not only depend on the degree of substitution, but also on the weight-average degree of polymerization and uniformity of distribution.     

Development of Anticandidal Delivery Systems: (I) Anticandidal Activities of Antifungal Agents and Synergistic Combination with Other Drugs

Susceptibility testing with antifungal agents, e. g., minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination, is performed to obtain reliable data that permit selection of the most suitable agents for treatment of an infective condition. To determine the drugs that provide maximum effectiveness against oral candidiasis, the MICs of various antifungal agents were determined. Also, synergism between two chosen antifungal agents was evaluated, and the effect of benzocaine, an anesthetic, and hydrocortisone, an antiinflammatory agent, on their MICs was examined. It was observed that among all the drugs tested, clotrimazole was the most promising candidate for use as an oral local antifungal. The combination of clotrimazole and chlorhexidine resulted in a decrease in the MIC. While the addition of hydrocortisone to this combination resulted in a slight increase in the MIC, the inclusion of benzocaine resulted in a substantial decrease in the MIC of the antifungal agent combination.     

Parental Problem Drinking and Children's Adjustment: Attachment and Family Functioning as Moderators and Mediators of Risk.

Children's perceived attachments with parents, and family cohesion and adaptability were examined as predictors, mediators, and moderators in the parental problem drinking-child outcomes link. A total of 216 6- to 12-year-olds (110 boys, 106 girls) participated. Data were obtained from children and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. A higher level of family cohesion and adaptability functioned as (a) a robust protective factor against adjustment and cognitive difficulties otherwise associated with problem drinking and (b) a mediator of adjustment problems. Children's perceptions of attachments to mothers and fathers were consistent predictors of behavioral, social, and cognitive problems and further moderated relations between problem drinking and child functioning. The results support that child-parent and family functioning variables act as either pathways and/or vulnerability and protective factors for children exposed to a high-risk environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the kinetics of the autoxidation of fats: influence of pro‐oxidants,antioxidants and synergists

The influence of minor amounts of pro‐ and anti‐oxidants on the kinetics of the autoxidation of fat has been evaluated. The reaction rates of oxygen with the substrates were found to follow the same basic equation, hitherto established for pure substrates. There is evidence that the surface of the reaction vessel also acts as a reaction catalyst and its effect is proportional to the area of glass in contact with lipids. Oxidation is enhanced by trace metal ions as well as by surface‐active compounds (e.g. hydroperoxides and sterols). Antioxidants such as α‐tocopherol and butylated hydroxyanisole inhibit the oxidation by delaying the start of oxygen consumption (the induction period) while retarders like amino acids only decrease the rate of oxidation. Thus pro‐ and anti‐ oxidants affect either the start or the rate of oxygen consumption. The empirical formula dx/dt = k [O₂] (1‐x/n) f′(t) was found applicable to the different stages of oxidation.     

Iterative interference cancellation for high spectral efficiencysatellite communications

The problem of efficient utilization of the frequency spectrum for satellite systems is investigated; one which results as a consequence of highly crowding adjacent channels. An analytical characterization of the resulting interference channel is introduced and then exploited for interference cancellation. Two classes of cancelers are investigated. The first approach does not benefit from the forward error control (FEC) coding information which limits the performance gain. This motivates the second approach where a joint implementation of interference cancellation and decoding is developed using soft-input-soft-output (SISO) modules along with the iterative structure. It is shown that iterative interference cancellation techniques can achieve significant gains compared with the single-user matched filter receiver     

On Iron Metabolism and Its Regulation

Iron is a critical metal for several vital biological processes. Most of the body’s iron is bound to hemoglobin in erythrocytes. Iron from senescent red blood cells is recycled by macrophages in the spleen, liver and bone marrow. Dietary iron is taken up by the divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) in enterocytes and transported to portal blood via ferroportin (FPN), where it is bound to transferrin and taken up by hepatocytes, macrophages and bone marrow cells via transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). While most of the physiologically active iron is bound hemoglobin, the major storage of most iron occurs in the liver in a ferritin-bound fashion. In response to an increased iron load, hepatocytes secrete the peptide hormone hepcidin, which binds to and induces internalization and degradation of the iron transporter FPN, thus controlling the amount of iron released from the cells into the blood. This review summarizes the key mechanisms and players involved in cellular and systemic iron regulation.     

Physicochemical investigation of the decomposition products of ammonium metal carboxylates: ammonium ferric citrate hydrate

The thermal decomposition up to 400 °C of ammonium ferric citrate hydrate, of unknown structure and formula weight, was studied by thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. The possible identities of the formula weight and the intermediate products of calcination are discussed. The results revealed that the parent material is amorphous and contains two moles of water and two moles of ammonia. Decomposition takes place via six weight-loss processes, three endothermic (90–230 °C) and three exothermic (240–298 °C), leading eventually to the formation of Fe₂O₃. The intermediate solid products are mainly unstable amorphous oxycarbonates, as indicated by X-ray and IR spectroscopies. The gas-phase decomposition products identified by IR spectroscopy are NH₃, CO₂, CO, CH₃COCH₃, CH₄ and NH₄OH. Surface area measurement and scanning electron microscopy showed that Fe₂O₃, the final product at 400 °C, hada surface area of 40 m²/g and good crystalline and porous character.     

Lignan contents in sesame seeds and products

Sesame seed (Sesamum indicum L.) is a rich source of furofuran lignans with a wide range of potential biological activities. The major lignans in sesame seeds are the oil‐soluble sesamin and sesamolin, as well as glucosides of sesaminol and sesamolinol that reside in the defatted sesame flour. Upon refining of sesame oil, acid‐catalyzed transformation of sesamin to episesamin and of sesamolin to epimeric sesaminols takes place, making the profile of refined sesame oils different from that of virgin oils. In this study, the total lignan content of 14 sesame seeds ranged between 405 and 1178 mg/100 g and the total lignan content in 14 different products, including tahini, ranged between 11 and 763 mg/100 g. The content of sesamin and sesamolin in ten commercial virgin and roasted sesame oils was in the range of 444–1601 mg/100 g oil. In five refined sesame oils, sesamin ranged between 118 and 401 mg/100 g seed, episesamin between 12 and 206 mg/100 g seed, and the total contents of sesaminol epimers between 5 and 35 mg/100 g seed, and no sesamolin was found. Thus, there is a great variation in the types and amounts of lignans in sesame seeds, seed products and oils. This knowledge is important for nutritionists working on resolving the connection between diet and health. Since the consumption of sesame seed products is increasing steadily in Europe and USA, it is important to include sesame seed lignans in databases and studies pertinent to the nutritional significance of antioxidants and phytoestrogens. It is also important to differentiate between virgin, roasted and refined sesame oils.