Effect of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) on Growth, Mineral Composition, and Nutritional Value of Wheat & Lentil Sprouts

Sprouts are ready-to-eat and are recognized worldwide as functional components of the human diet.Recent advances in innovative agricultural techniques could enable an increase in the production of healthy food.The use of light-emitting diode(LED)in indoor agricultural production could alter the biological feedback loop,increasing the functional benefits of plant foods such as wheat and lentil sprouts and promoting the bioavailability of nutrients.The effects of white(W),red(R),and blue(B)light were investigated on the growth parameters and nutritional value of wheat and lentil sprouts.In the laboratory,seeds were sown under three different LED treat-ments:white,red,and blue light,while normal incandescent light served as a control.Percentage seed germina-tion improved by 18.34%and 12.67%for wheat and 18.34%and 12.67%for lentil sprouts under LED treatments R and B,respectively.An increase in total soluble protein and sugar by 33.4%and 9.23%in wheat and by 31.5%and 5.87%in lentils was observed under the R LED treatment.Vitamin C concentrations in wheat and lentils were significantly increased by R LED compared to all other treatments.Other parameters,including potassium and sodium concentrations,were significantly increased under red and blue light compared to the control;white light,on the other hand,significantly decreased all these parameters.According to the experimental data,red and blue LED light could be beneficial in the production of functional wheat and lentil sprouts with high nutrient concentrations.

Aluminum Toxicity:A Case Study on Tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Aluminum is an abundant metal in the earth’s crust that turns out to be toxic in acidic environments.Many plants are affected by the presence of aluminum at the whole plant level,at the organ level,and at the cellular level.Tobacco as a cash crop(Nicotiana tabacum L.)is a widely cultivated plant worldwide and is also a good model organism for research.Although there are many articles on Al-phytotoxicity in the literature,reviews on a single species that are economically and scientifically important are limited.In this article,we not only provide the biology associated with tobacco Al-toxicity,but also some essential information regarding the effects of this metal on other plant species(even animals).This review provides information on aluminum localization and uptake process by different staining techniques,as well as the effects of its toxicity at different compartment levels and the physiological consequences derived from them.In addition,molecular studies in recent years have reported specific responses to Al toxicity,such as overexpression of various protective proteins.Besides,this review discusses data on various organelle-based responses,cell death,and other mechanisms,data on tobacco plants and other kingdoms relevant to these studies.

A popular reaction-difusion model fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo equation:analytical and numerical treatment

The main objective of this article is to obtain the new analytical and numerical solutions of fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo equation which arises as a model of reaction-ifusion systems,transmission of nerve impulses,circuit theory,biology and the area of population genetics.For this aim conformable derivative with fractional order which is a well behaved,understandable and applicable definition is used as a tool.The analytical solutions were got by utilizing the fact that the conformable fractional derivative provided the chain rule.By the help of this feature which is not provided by other popular fractional derivatives,nonlinear fractional partial differential equation is turned into an integer order differential equation.The numerical solutions which is obtained with the aid of residual power series method are compared with the analytical results that obtained by performing sub equation method.This comparison is made both with the help of three-dimensional graphical representations and tables for different values of theγ.

Vegetative Compatibility and Virulence Diversity of Verticillium dahliae from Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Plantations in Turkey and Evaluation of Okra Landraces for Resistance to V. dahliae

Forty-four V.dahliae isolates were collected from symptomatic vascular tissues of okra plants each from a different field in eight provinces located in the eastern Mediterranean and western Anatolia regions of Turkey during 2006-2009.Nitrate-nonutilizing(nit)mutants of V.dahliae from okra were used to determine heterokaryosis and genetic relatedness among isolates.All isolates from okra plants were grouped into two vegetative compatibility groups(VCGs)(1 and 2)and three subgroups as 1A(13.6%,6/44),2A(20.5%,9/44)and 2B(65.9%,29/44)according to international criteria.Pathogenicity tests were performed on a susceptible local okra(A.esculentus)landrace in greenhouse conditions.All isolates from VCG1A and VCG2B induced defoliation(D)and partial defoliation(PD)symptoms,respectively.Other isolates from VCG2A gave rise to typical leaf chlorosis symptoms without defoliation.The obtained data showed that the virulence level of V.dahliae isolates from okra was related to their VCG belongings.Eighteen okra landraces from diverse geographical origins were screened for resistance to VCG2B and VCG1A of V.dahliae.The results indicated that all landraces were more susceptible to highly virulent VCG1A-D pathotype displaying D or PD symptoms depending on their susceptibility levels with a mean disease severity index of 3.52 than to less virulent VCG2B-PD pathotype of V.dahliae displaying PD and ND symptoms with a mean disease severity index of 2.52.Significant differences were observed among the landraces;however,none of them exhibited a level of resistance.Okra landraces;Çorum,Hatay Has and Sanlıurfa displayed the lowest level of susceptibility or little tolerance to both D and PD pathotypes.VCG2B of PD was prevailing in the surveyed areas and VCG1A of D was the most virulent of the VCGs identified.Introduction of resistant genotypes to Turkish okra germplasm from different sources and breeding new resistant okra cultivars are critical for the sustainability of okra production.

Trace Elements in the Soil-Plant Systems of Copper Mine Areas-A Case Study From Murgul Copper Mine From the Black Sea Region of Turkey

This study presents a case study on the heavy metal analysis of soil and plant samples around the Murgul copper mine,one of the first and most important mining areas in Turkey.An attempt has been made to investigate the status of trace elements like Al^(3+),Fe^(2+),Cu^(2+),Zn^(2+),Pb^(2+),Ni^(2+),Co^(2+)and Cd^(2+)in soils and plants.The sampling localities were taken from 500 m,600 m,and 1000 m altitudes around the factory and at 1400 m in the forest zone.The aboveground parts and foliage ash of Silene compacta,Tussilago farfara,Smilax excelsa,Rhododendron ponticum,R.luteum,and herbal mix were analysed.The results of analysis have revealed the minimum and maximum concentrations measured in the plants as follows;aluminium(20-8985 mg kg^(-1)),cadmium(0.0-0.5 mg kg^(-1)),cobalt(0.0-5.5 mg kg^(-1)),copper(0.0-347.5 mg kg^(-1)),iron(25-9320 mg kg^(-1)),lead(2-51 mg kg^(-1)),nickel(1.5-16.5 mg kg^(-1)),and zinc(13.0-221.0 mg kg^(-1)).In the soil the concentrations of aluminium,cadmium,cobalt,copper,iron,lead,nickel,and zinc vary between 33-457,0.0-0.0,0.0-0.4,0.1-88.7,14-50,0.3-4.1,0.2-0.8,and 4.0-20.3 mg kg^(-1) respectively.These findings enlighten the fact that copper is generally toxic in the soils as well as plants.Silene compacta has been recorded as a high copper accumulator,behaving as a healthy plant on the polluted sites of the area alongside the Murgul creek(especially at 600 m).This study stresses the fact that it is imperative to assess and monitor the levels of heavy metals in the environment due to anthropogenic activities,including mining,for evaluation of human exposure and for sustainable environment.

Clustering of halophytic species from Cyprus based on ionic contents

This paper presents the work conducted on the chemical constituents of some common and widely distributed halophyte taxa from Cyprus with the aim that these studies will help in the evaluation of halophytes for different economical purposes.The plant species of Crithmum maritimum L.,Limbarda crithmoides(L.)Dumort,Atriplex portulacoides L.,Salsola kali L.,Atriplex halimus L.,Limonium oleifolium Mill.,L.meyeri(Boiss.)Kuntze;and Tetraena alba(L.f.)Beier&Thulin were collected in the middle of July.The shoot tissue and leaf samples were collected from the natural habitats and left for drying under air circulation followed by placing them in oven at 60°C for 96 hours.The material was crushed using mortar and pestle and subjected to an analysis of macro-and micro-nutrients and biochemical compounds.K+/Na+in the leaf tissues of the dicot species showed relatively high values depicting their behavior as Na+includes but very low Cl-levels were recorded.Out of the species investigated here in 4 TFAA content was rather high.Values ranging from 0.5%to 1%dry weight were exhibited in one species.However,only 3 species showed very low TFAA values.Later may be due to low nitrogen availability in their environment.The phenetic analyses of eight halophyte species performed on the data matrix using Ntsys-pc program version 2.1 revealed that,cluster analysis of the overall results obtained here leads to 2 clusters.This discrimination appears to be as a result of their different abilities to accumulate either proline or glycine betaine.

The Effect of the Trace Elements Concentrations on the Cancerous and Healthy Tissues in Radiotherapy

The study is aimed to investigate the effect of the trace element concentrations in healthy and cancerous prostate tissues on dose distributions in radiotherapy. In this work, the trace element compounds completely soluble in the water were used and their concentrations given in the literature were mixed homogeneously with pure water. This is the first time study in literature as far as we know. The percent depth dose (PDD) measurements were performed using Elekta Synergy Platform Linac device for 6 and 18 MV photon energies. We also obtained the PDDs results by choosing higher trace element concentrations than given in literature in cancerous prostate tissue to see the effect on radiotherapy. The experimental measurements were compared with the results obtained from the GATE simulation code. The TPR20/10 was calculated for 10 × 10 cm2 field size at 6/18 MV energies photons and compared with simulation results. The differences between simulation and measurement for 6 MV and 18 MV photons are 1.75% and 1.82% respectively. The experimental results and simulations were presented an uncertainty lower than 3%. Simulated dose values are in good agreement with less than 2% differences with the experimental results. We see that the trace element concentrations of healthy and cancerous tissues did not affect the dose distribution at high-energy photons. This is expected and well known result. We believe that this in vitro study is important for proving the reliability of the dose given in radiotherapy treatment once again.

Distribution,Etiology,Molecular Genetics and Management Perspectives of Northern Corn Leaf Blight of Maize(Zea mays L.)

Maize is cultivated extensively throughout the world and has the highest production among cereals.However,Northern corn leaf blight(NCLB)disease caused by Exherohilum turcicum,is the most devastating limiting factor of maize production.The disease causes immense losses to corn yield if it develops prior or during the tasseling and silking stages of crop development.It has a worldwide distribution and its development is favoured by cool to moderate temperatures with high relative humidity.The prevalence of the disease has increased in recent years and new races of the pathogen have been reported worldwide.The fungus E.turcicum is highly variable in nature.Though different management strategies have proved effective to reduce economic losses from NCLB,the development of varieties with resistance to E.turcicum is the most efficient and inexpensive way for disease management.Qualitative resistance for NCLB governed by Ht genes is a race-specific resistance which leads to a higher level of resistance.However,some Ht genes can easily become ineffective under the high pressure of virulent strains of the pathogen.Hence,it is imperative to understand and examine the consistency of the genomic locations of quantitative trait loci for resistance to NCLB in diverse maize populations.The breeding approaches for pyramiding resistant genes against E.turcicum in maize can impart NCLB resistance under high disease pressure environments.Furthermore,the genome editing approaches like CRISPR-cas9 and RNAi can also prove vital for developing NCLB resistant maize cultivars.As such this review delivers emphasis on the importance and current status of the disease,racial spectrum of the pathogen,genetic nature and breeding approaches for resistance and management strategies of the disease in a sustainable manner.

Soliton solutions for time fractional ocean engineering models with Beta derivative

In this study,the authors obtained the soliton and periodic wave solutions for time fractional symmetric regularized long wave equation(SRLW)and Ostrovsky equation(OE)both arising as a model in ocean engineering.For this aim modified extended tanh-function(mETF)is used.While using this method,chain rule is employed to turn fractional nonlinear partial differential equation into the nonlinear ordinary differential equation in integer order.Owing to the chain rule,there is no further requirement for any normalization or discretization.Beta derivative which involves fractional term is used in considered mathematical models.Obtaining the exact solutions of these equations is very important for knowing the wave behavior in ocean engineering models.