Silicon Mediated Arsenic Reduction in Rice by Limiting Its Uptake

This study was planned to examine the effects of exogenous silicon supply on growth parameters and arsenic accumulation level in rice. The experiment was conducted in the wire house of Saline Agriculture Research Centre, Institute of Soil and Environmental Science, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. The study was comprised of treatments viz: control;(100 μM Arsenic);(200 μM Arsenic);(5 mM Silicon);(5 mM Silicon + 100 μM Arsenic) and (5 mM Silicon + 200 μM Arsenic). Results revealed that maximum shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight and root dry weight were observed in (5 mM Si) solution. In the same way, maximum number of tillers was also recorded in (5 mM Si) solution;while silicon application failed to alleviate arsenic concentration of rice genotype.

Pancreatic necrosis:Complications and changing trend of treatment

Incidence of acute pancreatitis seems to be increasing in the Western countries and has been associated with significantly increased morbidity. Nearly 80% of the patients with acute pancreatitis undergo resolution; some develop complications including pancreatic necrosis. Infection of pancreatic necrosis is the leading cause of death in these patients. A significant portion of these patients needs surgical interventions. Traditionally, the "gold standard" procedure has been the open surgical necrosectomy, which is now being completed by the relatively lesser invasive interventions. Minimally invasive surgical(MIS) procedures include endoscopic drainage, percutaneous image-guided catheter drainage, and retroperitoneal drainage. This review article discusses the open and MIS interventions for pancreatic necrosis with each having its own respective benefits and disadvantages are covered.

Impact of grazing on soil, vegetation and ewe production performances in a semi-arid rangeland

Controlled grazing is considered a good management strategy to maintain or increase the live weight of livestock and to reduce vegetation degradation of rangelands. The present study investigated soil characteristics, aboveground vegetation biomass dynamics and controlled grazinginduced changes in the live weight of local ewes in the semi-arid rangeland of Ahmadun, Ziarat, Balochistanprovince of Pakistan. An area of 115 ha was protected from livestock grazing in April 2014. In June 2015, soil characteristics within 0-30 cm depth i.e. soil organic matter(SOM), mineral nitrogen, p H and texture in controlled and uncontrolled grazing sites were assessed. Aboveground vegetation biomass measured in early(June) and late summer(August) in 2015 and 2016. The nutritional value i.e. crude protein, phosphorus(P), neutral detergent fiber(NDF), acid detergent fiber(ADF), calcium(Ca), magnesium(Mg) and potassium(K) of dominantplant species were assessed at the beginning of experiment in 2015. Vegetation cover of controlled and uncontrolled grazing sites was also measured during the two years of the study period using the Veg Measure software. From June to November in2015 and 2016, controlled and uncontrolled livestock grazing sites were grazed on a daily basis by local ewes with a stocking rate of 2 and 1 head ha^(-1) respectively. Results reveal that the organic matter contents of coarse-textured, slightly alkaline soil of the study site were in the range of 9.4-17.6 g kg^(-1) soil and showed a strong positive correlation with aboveground vegetation biomass. The biomass of plants was 56.5% and 33% greater at controlled than uncontrolled grazing site in 2015 and 2016 respectively and plant cover was also higher at controlled than uncontrolled grazing site in both years The nutrient contents were significantly(P<0.05)lower in grasses than shrubs. In both years, the controlled grazing increased the weight gain of ewes about two folds compared to the uncontrolled grazing.The results indicate that controlled grazing improved the vegetation biomass production and small ruminant productivity.

Litter decay in rangeland sites with varying history of human disturbance: a study with Hazargangi Chiltan mountain

Hazarganji Chiltan National Park in Balochistan, Pakistan was established in 1980 and the protected area was further extended in 1998. Large area of this mountain is still open for unmanaged human disturbances such as collection of wood for fuel purpose and livestock grazing. Removal of vegetation of rangelands has a significant negative impact on soil organic matter(SOM). This research evaluates litter decomposition in three sites of Hazarganji Chiltan mountain with varying history of human disturbances(unprotected site, young protected site and old protected site). Twigs of Pistacia khinjuk with approximately equal weight and length were placed in litter bags of mesh size 2 mm and were buried in 0-5 cm depth in three sites in January. Half of the twigs of each site received rain simulation in April, August, October, November and January while the other half of the twigs were subjected under natural conditions for 15 months. Twigs from each plot of each treatment of each site were collected from soil after every rain simulation in the previous month of experiment and were processed for weight loss assessment. Results showed that weight loss of twigs by decomposition was significantly higher in the soil of unprotected site as compared to other two sites and there was no difference between rain simulation and control treatments except that loss of weight of twigs of unprotected site was higher under control than rain simulation condition. To confirm that SOM was the major controlling factor for the decomposition of litter decay, soils of each site were collected and burned to remove SOM;thereafter, burned soil samples were mixed with homogenous powder of oven-dried native plants, incubated for 6 months and were provided with dissolved organic matter of the soils of each site. Results showed that there was no difference in the decomposition of litter between soils under controlled laboratory condition, which confirmed that SOM was a major controlling factor for the litter decay in soil under field conditions. The pyrosequencing analysis of the DNA of soils collected from three sites revealed the presence of bacterial species Thermovum composti.

Dock-able linear and homodetic di, tri, tetra and pentapeptide library from canonical amino acids: SARS-CoV-2 Mpro as a case study

Peptide-based therapeutics are increasingly pushing to the forefront of biomedicine with their promise of high specificity and low toxicity.Although noncanonical residues can always be used,employing only the natural 20 residues restricts the chemical space to a finite dimension allowing for comprehensive in silico screening.Towards this goal,the dataset comprising all possible di-,tri-,and tetra-peptide combinations of the canonical residues has been previously reported.However,with increasing computational power,the comprehensive set of pentapeptides is now also feasible for screening as the comprehensive set of cyclic peptides comprising four or five residues.Here,we provide both the complete and prefiltered libraries of all di-,tri-,tetra-,and penta-peptide sequences from 20 canonical amino acids and their homodetic(N-to-C-terminal)cyclic homologues.The FASTA,simplified molecular-input line-entry system(SMILES),and structure-data file(SDF)-three dimension(3D)libraries can be readily used for screening against protein targets.We also provide a simple method and tool for conducting identity-based filtering.Access to this dataset will accelerate small peptide screening workflows and encourage their use in drug discovery campaigns.As a case study,the developed library was screened against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)main protease to identify potential small peptide inhibitors.

Microwave-assisted pre-ionization experiments on GLAST-Ⅲ

GLAss Spherical Tokamak(GLAST-Ⅲ)is a spherical tokamak with an insulating vacuum vessel that has a unique single-passage capability for incident microwaves.In this work,electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH)-assisted plasma pre-ionization in GLAST-Ⅲis explored for three radio-frequency(RF)polarizations(the O-,X-,and M-modes)at different toroidal-field(TF)strengths and filled gas pressures.The optimum hydrogen pressure is identified for efficient plasma pre-ionization.A comparison of the plasma pre-ionizations initiated by the O-,X-,and M-modes shows prominent differences in the breakdown time,location,and wave absorption.In the case of O-mode polarization,microwave absorption occurs for a relatively shorter duration,resulting in a bell-shaped electron-temperature(Te)temporal profile.Microwave absorption is dominant in the case of the X-mode,leading to a broader Te temporal profile.The M-mode discharge contains features of both the X-and O-modes.Efficient plasma pre-ionization is achieved in the X-mode polarization for the intermediate TF strengths(with a central toroidal magnetic field B0=0.075 T).Traces of the electron-number density show a similar tendency,as revealed by Te.These results suggest that the X-mode is the best candidate for efficient plasma pre-ionization at low filled gas pressures(10-2 Pa)in small tokamaks.

Influence of grazing exclosure on vegetation biomass and soil quality

This study investigated the influence of sixteen years exclosure from unmanaged grazing on aboveground vegetation biomass,soil organic matter(SOM),soil aggregation and nitrogen(N)mineralization in arid shrubland of Baluchistan,Pakistan.Sampling was carried out from three sites along the chronosequence of secondary succession.One site was located at open-for-grazing area(grazed site)and the other two sites were located in the area that is protected since 1998.One of the protected site is more remote from grazing(protected site 1)where the land is less disturbed and has thick vegetation than the other protected site(protected site 2).Results showed a significant difference for aboveground vegetation biomass across sites and was in the order of protected site 1>protected site 2>grazed site.Soil organic matter was 53% and 46% higher in protected sites than grazed site.Aggregates larger than 2 mm size were not detected in soil from grazed site but represented 4.5% and 3% of the sample soil profile at the protected site 1 and protected site 2,respectively.Rate of N mineralization was lower in soils at the grazed site as compared to soils at the protected sites.Soil moisture contents were significantly lower at grazed site and showed a strong positive correlation with aboveground vegetation biomass.This study demonstrates that unmanaged grazing severely affected aboveground vegetation biomass,soil organic matter,large-sized soil aggregates,nitrogen mineralization and soil moisture contents.Short term exclosure from grazing(~16 years)can enhance aboveground vegetation biomass and soil quality in terms of soil organic matter accumulation,soil aggregation,retention of soil moisture and nitrogen mineralization in this arid rangeland.