Acacia dealbata Link. Aboveground Biomass Assessment: Sustainability of Control and Eradication Actions to Reduce Rural Fires Risk

Invasive species are an environmental problem affecting worldwide ecosystems. In the case of Acacia dealbata Link., the negative impacts affect the productivity of the forests due to the competition established with native species while contributing to a significant increment in the available fuel load, increasing the risk of fire. In Portugal, chemical and mechanical methods are mostly used in the control of these species. However, the costs are often unsustainable in the medium term, being abandoned before completing the tasks, allowing the recovery of the invasive species. The establishment of value chains for the biomass resulting from these actions was pointed out by several authors as a solution for the sustainability of the control process, as it contributes to reducing costs. However, the problems in quantifying the biomass availability make it challenging to organize and optimize these actions. This work, which started from a dendrometrical analysis carried out in stands of A. dealbata, created a model to assess woody biomass availability. The model proved to be statistically significant for stands with trees younger than 20 years old. However, the amount of data collected and the configuration of the settlements analyzed do not allow extrapolation of the model presented to older settlements.

EFFECT OF HUMIC ACID CONCENTRATION AND SPRAYING STAGES ON SEEDS YIELD AND ITS CONPONENTS OF ALFALFA

A field experiment was conducted at the experimental fields in the collage of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Iraq during the period from mid. March 2019 to to end of July 2020. The main objective was to find out the effect of humic acid (HA) concentration (0, 1, 2 and 3 cm3.L-1) and three stages of foliar application (vegetative, growth, flowers buds emergence and 50% flowering) on seeds yield and its components of alfalfa local variety. Layout of the experiment was R.C.B.D arranged in split-plot, with three replications. Foliar application stages were used as main-plots, while humic acid concentrations were used as sub-plots. Results showed that spraying of HA at conc. 3 cm3.L-1 resulted in a significant increment in number of florets per raceme and number of pods per raceme, in contrast, % of florets abortion in and 1000 seeds weight were not significantly influenced by HA conc. and spraying stages. Highest number of the stems.m-2, number of racemes per stem, seed set and seeds yield (441.0) Kg.ha-1 were obtained from plants sprayed with HA at conc. 3 cm3.L-1. Plants sprayed at vegetative growth produce highest number of stems.m-2 number of raceme per stem, number of seeds per pod and seeds yield (423.6) Kg.ha-1. There was high positive correlation between seeds yield and each of, number of stems.m-2, number of pods per raceme and number of raceme per stem (+0.88**, +0.70** and +0.82**) respectively. There was a significant interaction between HA concentration and spraying stages on seeds yield. The higher seeds yield (485.) Kg.ha-1 was obtained when alfalfa plants were sprayed with HA at the conc. of 2 cm3.L-1 in vegetative growth.

When My Child Has Alzheimer’s Disease

The significant increment in life expectancy, associated to the existence of high-performing older adults, and the appropriate diagnosis of early dementias, lead to an uncommon scenario, of healthy parents accompanying their children with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia to medical consultations. Here, we reported three peculiar clinical vignettes of patients diagnosed with a dementia, who were accompanied by healthy parents. This is a modern situation that tends to become more frequent, and must be properly discussed, since multidisciplinary care and specific training are necessary.

Effectiveness of Workshop on Problem Based Learning for Health Professionals

Background: Problem based learning (PBL) is a self-directed method that help learner to develop critical thinking, problem solving skills and enhance their aptitude. The objective of the study was to measure the effectiveness of workshop in changing the faculties’ knowledge, skills, and attitude on PBL. Methods: A descriptive design with pre-test and post-test was used to examine the objectives of the study. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 23 health professions faculties from various institutions of Institute of Medicine (IOM), Tribhuvan University (TU), affiliated institutions and others of Nepal who attended the workshop. Faculty's feedback on PBL was collected before and after workshop using Likert Scale's 4 and 5 point. Results: The findings of the study were highly significant increment of mean score of post-test compared to pre-test within the group of “can do it confidently” (p≤0.001). Similarly, Majority of participants scored “strongly agreed” in ten statement of feedback on the effectiveness of the PBL after workshop. Conclusion: This PBL workshop training was highly effective to change the faculties' knowledge, skills and attitude towards the integration of PBL in their classes. This training may help to move from traditional way of thinking to PBL for future implementation.

Experiment and Kinetic Modeling of Soil Extract Effects on Dunaliella Primolecta Growth

Recent studies have shown that extracted soil has the potential to enhance microalgae growth. An experiment was conducted, and a kinetic model was developed to understand and predict the growth rate of Dunaliella primolecta with consideration of soil extract effects. Dunaliella primolecta was cultured and mixed with extracted soil from the Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Malaysia. At present, no model of microalgal growth associated with the soil extract effect has been developed to predict cell density and growth rate. A mathematical model was derived to describe the growth rate and cell density production of microalgae with soil extract in the cultured microplate. The prediction model of microalgae concentration agrees with the experimental data, with R2 ranging from 0.94 to 0.98. Culturing microalgae with 1% of soil extract concentration yielded a significant increment of growth rate. However, the growth rate remained constant at a higher concentration, suggesting the percentage as an optimal value. Thus, the soil extract acts as a growth enhancer that doubles the growth rate of cultured microalgae. A parametric study was conducted to characterize the light intensity and temperature effect on the growth model concerning soil extract effect.

Knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) and dietary intake of young university athletes following sports nutrition education

Introduction: Nutrition plays a vital role in sports. Athletes must understand the importance of diet and ensure that they meet the nutrient requirements to enhance sports performance. The lack of understanding in sports nutrition will lead to poor dietary practices that can cause detrimental effects on athletic achievements. This study aims to evaluate the effects of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding sports nutrition and dietary intake among young university athletes. Methods: Twenty-one local university athletes (23.8±3.4 years) were recruited, and their anthropometric and socio-demographic data were assessed. All participants attended a 1-day sports nutrition class. The KAP-Sports nutrition questionnaire was administered. Three days of dietary intake were also recorded at the same timepoints among the participants. Results: There was a significant increment (p<0.05) in the mean scores for KAP among the participants. Total energy and total carbohydrate intakes per day were significantly increased (p<0.05). However, overall protein and fat intakes did not improve as the readings were higher than the recommended values. Conclusion: In this study, sports nutrition education improved participants’ KAP, but not the actual dietary intake. Changes in habit require more effort, with extra attention on protein and fat intakes.

Impact of gamma irradiation pretreatment on biochemical and molecular responses of potato growing under salt stress

Background Previous literatures revealed that gamma rays have an increasing effect on salt tolerance in different plants. In vitro experiment was conducted to study the effect of gamma rays (20 Gray) on salt tolerance of four potato cultivars (Lady Rosetta, Diamante, Gold, and Santana). Results Gamma-treated Santana plantlets were more tolerant to salinity as compared to other cultivars. It showed a significant increment of fresh weight (250% over the untreated). Gamma-treated plantlets of Lady Rosetta, Diamante, and Gold showed higher activity of peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). Isoenzymes analysis showed an absence of POD 3, 4, and 5 in Gold plantlets. The dye of most PODs and PPOs bands were denser (more active) in gamma-treated plantlets of Santana as compared to other cultivars. Both gamma-treated and untreated plantlets showed the absence of PPO1 in Lady Rosetta and Diamante, and PPO 3, 4, and 5 in Gold plantlets. Genetic marker analysis using ISSR with six different primers showed obvious unique negative and positive bands with different base pairs in mutant plantlets as compared to the control, according to primer sequence and potato genotype. The 14A primer was an efficient genetic marker between mutated and unmutated potato genotypes. Santana had a unique fingerprint in the 1430-pb site, which can be a selectable marker for the cultivar. An increment in genetic distance between Gold cultivar and others proved that the mutation was induced because of gamma rays. Conclusion We assume that irradiation of potato callus by 20-Gy gamma rays is an effective process for inducing salt resistance. However, this finding should be verified under field conditions. Graphic Abstract

Investigating the Association of IL-1beta IL-8 & IL 11 with Commonly used Cardiovascular Biomarkers (CK-MB & Troponin) in Patients with Myocardial Infarction (MI)

Background: Myocardial infarction is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. The term myocardial infarction should be used when there is an evidence of myocardial necrosis in a clinical setting consistent with myocardial ischemia. Cardiac troponins (cTn) have emerged as the preferred diagnostic biomarkers. If troponin assays are not available, the best alternative is creatine kinase (CK-MB). Numerous studies have reported the ability of various inflammatory biomarkers to predict future cardiovascular events. Therefore, we have decided to investigate inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8 & IL-11) to compare with routine biomarkers.Methods: 40 patients who were diagnosed with myocardial Infarction (at the first 24 hours), have voluntarily participated in this research project. 5 cc of whole blood was collected, both myocardial routine biomarkers (Tropinin & CK-MB), serum lipid profiles and blood sugar were evaluated after diagnosis of MI. Meanwhile, we have assessed the serum levels of three Interleukins (IL-1β, IL-8 & IL-11) by ELISA method.Results: First we have assessed blood sugar and all lipid profiles. B.S and HDL were higher in males, while TG, Cholesterol and LDL were higher in females. Our data demonstrated that Troponin continued to increase significantly throughout the 72 hours, while CK-MB fell dramatically over the period in question. Our result also revealed the rise in IL-1β serum levels (after 72 hours of MI diagnosis). However, this was not a significant increment. On the other hand, both IL-8 and IL-11 have followed the same decreasing pattern till the end of experiment. It is interesting to note that IL-8 showed a dramatic fall during the experimental period.Conclusion: We concluded that inflammatory cytokines would be a promising diagnostic biomarkers for MI cases. A noticeable changes of IL-8 plasma levels made it a decent candidate for MI diagnosis and follow-up.

P073 An increased autophagy and decreased apoptosis is detected in intestinal fibroblasts from Crohn’s Disease patients

Background Fibrosis is a complication commonly present in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients with a structuring (B2) or penetrating (B3) phenotype, with no effective treatment. This process is characterized by a disequilibrium between the production and degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), mainly regulated by myofibroblasts. We aim to analyse here, the expression of markers of autophagy, apoptosis and proliferation in intestinal fibroblasts from CD patients. Methods Fibroblasts were isolated from the damaged intestinal mucosa of CD patients with a penetrating and stenotic behaviour. Control cells were obtained from the non-damaged intestine of patients with colorectal cancer. Protein levels of markers of autophagy and apoptosis were determined by Western Blot in isolated fibroblasts. The proliferation marker Ki67 was analysed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 5 µm slides of intestinal tissue from control or CD patients. Statistical significance was measured by t-test. Results In fibroblasts from CD patients, we detected a significant decrease in the ratio phospho-mTOR / mTOR (Fig. A) in parallel with a non-significant increment in the LC3 II / LC3 I protein ratio (174% ± 46.5), and a decrease in p62 protein levels (84.8% ± 5.5). When compared between CD behaviours, a significant decreased in the phospho-mTOR / mTOR protein ratio was detected in fibroblasts from B2- compared to that obtained in cells from B3-CD patients (Fig. B). The analysis of the expression of an apoptosis marker, Caspase 3, revealed a decreased of cleaved caspase 3 protein levels in CD fibroblasts compared to levels detected in control cells (Fig C). Finally, we observed in the lamina propria of the intestine from CD patients an increased number of Ki67 positive cells, compared to that detected in control tissue. Conclusion Our data show an increased autophagy and decreased apoptosis in isolated intestinal fibroblasts from CD patients; the high number of cells proliferating in the lamina propria of the intestinal tissue of these patients, strongly suggests a higher viability of these cells in the fibrotic context.

Crystallization behavior of ion beam sputtered HfO2 thin films and its effect on the laser-induced damage threshold

In this work, we present our results about the thermal crystallization of ion beam sputtered hafnia on 0001 SiO2 substrates and its effect on the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT). The crystallization process was studied using in-situ X-ray diffractometry. We determined an activation energy for crystallization of 2.6 ± 0.5 eV. It was found that the growth of the crystallites follows a two-dimensional growth mode. This, in combination with the high activation energy, leads to an apparent layer thickness-dependent crystallization temperature. LIDT measurements @355 nm on thermally treated 3 quarter-wave thick hafnia layers show a decrement of the 0% LIDT for 1 h @773 K treatment. Thermal treatment for 5 h leads to a significant increment of the LIDT values.