Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Chemosphere 2019 Apr 11;227:624-629. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Division of Water Resources Engineering, LTH Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

The use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) containing aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) at fire training facilities can have an adverse impact on the surrounding environment. The aim of the present study was to study the distribution and temporal trend of 26 PFAS in water and sediment cores for a lake and a pond affected by AFFF release from a fire training facility in Luleå, northern Sweden. In the aqueous phase, maximum ΣPFAS concentration was 1. Read More

Chemosphere 2019 Apr 6;227:614-623. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China.

The mining and smelting of lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) ores cause widespread As contamination. The fractions and colloidal distribution of As associated with Fe oxide minerals in Pb-Zn mine-contaminated soils have not been well understood. In this study, As fractions associated with Fe oxide minerals in Pb-Zn tailings- and smelter-contaminated soils were compared using sequential extraction techniques. Read More

Chemosphere 2019 Apr 16;227:589-597. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 4888 Shengbei Rd, Changchun, 130102, China. Electronic address:

WO@MoS/Ag (HW@MA) hollow tubes were successfully engineered to photodegrade bisphenol A (BPA) combined with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the first time. XRD, XPS, TEM and SEM were conducted. The HW@MA tubes present excellent photocatalytic performance on the removal of BPA. Read More

Water Res 2019 Apr 10;158:22-33. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Box 7026, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address:

Explosives used in mining operations release reactive nitrogen (N) that discharge into surrounding waters. Existing pond systems at mine sites could be used for N removal through denitrification and we investigated capacity in tailings and clarification pond sediments at an iron-ore mine site. Despite differences in microbial community structure in the two ponds, the potential denitrification rates were similar, although carbon limited. Read More

Water Res 2019 Apr 12;158:11-21. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China; Joint Research Institute for New Energy and the Environment, East China Normal University and Colorado State University, Shanghai, 200062, China. Electronic address:

The widespread of water borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represents a growing threat to the health of millions of people. Our study detected the relative abundances of 10 ARG subtypes in the Shanghai river network, where the major ARG components were strB, sul1, and ermB. These ARGs were significantly enriched by the combined sewage, tail water from urban wastewater treatment plant and runoff from agricultural areas, which reached the Suzhou (SZ), Dianpu (DP), and Huangpu (HP) River, respectively (one-way ANOVA, P < 0. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 19;241:293-304. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, USA.

Livestock production is important for food security, nutrition, and landscape maintenance, but it is associated with several environmental impacts. To assess the risk and benefits arising from livestock production, transparent and robust indicators are required, such as those offered by life cycle assessment. A central question in such approaches is how environmental burden is allocated to livestock products and to manure that is re-used for agricultural production. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 19;241:273-283. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Civil Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address:

Bauxite residue, the by-product produced in the alumina industry, is a potential low-cost adsorbent in the removal of phosphorus (P) from aqueous solution, due to its high composition of residual iron oxides such as hematite. Several studies have investigated the performance of bauxite residue in removing P; however, the majority have involved the use of laboratory "batch" tests, which may not accurately estimate its actual performance in filter systems. This study investigated the use of rapid, small-scale column tests to predict the dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) removal capacity of bauxite residue when treating two agricultural waters of low (forest run-off) and high (dairy soiled water) phosphorus content. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 19;241:264-272. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, The Sustainability Institute at Ohio State, The Ohio State University, 230C Agricultural Engineering, 590 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH, 43201, USA.

J Proteomics 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China. Electronic address:

Sesame is one of the most important oilseed crops and has high nutritional value. The yield and quality of sesame are severely affected by high salinity in coastal and semi-arid/arid regions. In this study, the phenotypic, physiological, and proteomic changes induced by salt treatment were analyzed in salt-tolerant (G441) and salt-sensitive (G358) seedlings. Read More

Gene 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India. Electronic address:

Identification of splice sites is imperative for prediction of gene structure. Machine learning-based approaches (MLAs) have been reported to be more successful than the rule-based methods for identification of splice sites. However, the strings of alphabets should be transformed into numeric features through sequence encoding before using them as input in MLAs. Read More

Gene 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Grassland Agri-husbandry Research Center, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China. Electronic address:

Arachis species produce flowers aerially, and then grow into the ground, where they develop into fruits; a feature that is unique to Arachis species. We hypothesized that Arachis species evolved genes specifically involved in the control of aerial flowers and the formation of underground fruits. Arachis duranensis is more resistant to biotic and abiotic stressors. Read More

Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Sericultural Science, Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China. Electronic address:

Insect cuticle is considered an adaptable and versatile building material with roles in the construction and function of exoskeleton. Its physical properties are varied, as the biological requirements differ among diverse structures and change during the life cycle of the insect. Although the bulk of cuticle consists basically of cuticular proteins (CPs) associated with chitin, the degree of cuticular sclerotization is an important factor in determining its physical properties. Read More

Microb Pathog 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

In this study, we isolated four Weissella confusa strains from the healthy horse feces to test their potential as equine probiotics. The identification and characteristics of these isolates were determined as per standard methods. Resistance and susceptibility of the isolated strains were tested to low pHs, different heat treatments, commonly used antibiotics and against the pathogenic strains of Salmonella, Pasteurella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. Read More

Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Beijing Key Laboratory of New Technology in Agricultural Application, College of Plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, 102206, China. Electronic address:

Residues and dietary risk assessment of tetraconazole and bifenazate were investigated in strawberry under greenhouse conditions using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD) after QuEChERs extraction in Beijing of China. The effects of different processing factors on the two pesticides were studied. The recoveries of tetraconazole and bifenazate were 87. Read More

J Control Release 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Department of Food Materials and Process Design Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran. Electronic address:

Application of food proteins as a tool to form nanostructures (especially nanotubular shapes) has been an interesting topic for both the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Organic and protein nanostructures have better biocompatibility and biodegradability compared to inorganic counterparts like carbon nanotubes; in addition, they can undergo surface modifications. Several organic nanotubes have been developed, meanwhile, the engineered protein nanotubes in the food science have been prepared from α-lactalbumin, ovalbumin, cyclic peptide nanotubes, collagen, bovine serum albumin, lysozyme and hydrophobins which are of great interest to be applied in the food industry considering their outstanding properties. Read More

J Insect Physiol 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Key Laboratory of Tea Quality and Safety Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310008, China. Electronic address:

Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) are considered to play critical roles in sex pheromone detection. Lepidopteran moths can be divided into two taxa, those that use Type-I sex pheromones, such as C10-C18 unsaturated aldehydes, alcohols and acetates, and those that use Type-II pheromones, which are C17-C23 polyunsaturated hydrocarbons and their epoxide derivatives. To date, nearly all the characterized PBPs have been reported in moths with Type-I sex pheromones, and the physiological functions of PBPs in moths that use Type-II sex pheromones remains unclear. Read More

J Food Sci 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

College of Food Science and Technology, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Bohai Univ., Jinzhou, 121013, China.

Natural protein-based oil-in-water emulsions have recently attracted a lot of attention because of their potential as a synthetic emulsifier replacer. It is, however, unclear how the emulsification process and protein concentration may affect the stability of such emulsions. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of homogenization speeds (4,000, 8,000, 12,000, and 16,000 rpm/min) and myofibrillar protein (MP) concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mg/mL) on the stability of MP-olive oil emulsion. Read More

PLoS One 2019 22;14(4):e0213978. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.

Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is the most frequent exogenous virus that contaminates attenuated vaccines. Therefore, it is extremely important to select REV-free specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicken embryos. Generally, REV infection is assessed by detecting REV antibodies in SPF chickens. Read More

Plant Dis 2019 Apr 19:PDIS10181815RE. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

4 Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, Salinas, CA 93905, U.S.A.

Verticillium wilt caused by spp., also called potato early dying disease, is one of the most serious soilborne diseases affecting potato production in China. The disease has been expanding into most potato production areas over the past few years. Read More

Plant Dis 2019 Apr 19:PDIS06181003RE. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

1 College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by the fungal pathogen f. sp. , is one of the most destructive wheat diseases in China, especially in Sichuan Province. Read More

Biopreserv Biobank 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

1 Yunnan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Animal Genetic Resource Conservation and Germplasm Enhancement, Yunnan Animal Science and Veterinary Institute, Kunming, P.R. China.

The postwarming recovery culture, as one of the steps in cryopreservation process, is directly correlated with the survival and quality of embryos. Generally, recovery medium includes undefined serum or serum components that may cause the instability of results and other problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of knockout serum replacement (KSR) as a substitute for serum during recovery culture on the development and quality of vitrified parthenogenetic porcine blastocysts. Read More

J Food Prot 2019 Apr 22:834-843. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038, USA.

We surveyed chicken livers from various sources for the presence and levels of . The pathogen was recovered from 148 (59.4%) of 249 chicken livers purchased at retail stores in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania over about a 9-month period. Read More

Cancer Biother Radiopharm 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

1 The Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription Effect and Clinical Evaluation of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, P.R. China.

A human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) vaccine is a promising anti-angiogenesis therapy, but the modest therapeutic antitumor efficacy restricts its clinical use. Preclinical evidence supports the combination of antiangiogenic agents and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. In the present study, docetaxel (DOC) was combined with HUVEC vaccine to develop a HUVEC-DOC treatment regime. Read More

Mol Ecol Resour 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Department of Ecosystem Studies, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan.

While various technologies for high-throughput genotyping have been developed for ecological studies, simple methods tolerant to low quality DNA samples are still limited. In this study, we tested the availability of a random PCR-based genotyping-by-sequencing technology GRAS-Di (Genotyping by Random Amplicon Sequencing, Direct). We focused on population genetic analysis of estuarine mangrove fishes, including two resident species, the Amboina cardinalfish (Fibramia amboinensis, Bleeker, 1853) and the Duncker's river garfish (Zenarchopterus dunckeri, Mohr, 1926), and a marine migrant, the blacktail snapper (Lutjanus fulvus, Forster, 1801). Read More

Plant J 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, HB, China.

Pepper is an important vegetable with great economic value and unique biological features. In the past few years, significant development has been made towards understanding the huge complex pepper genome; however, pepper functional genomics has not been well studied. To better understand the pepper gene structure and pepper gene regulation, we conducted full-length mRNA sequencing by PacBio sequencing and obtained 57862 high-quality full-length mRNA sequences derived from 18362 previously annotated and 5769 newly detected genes. Read More

J Cell Biochem 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Life Sciences Institute and Pharmaceutical College, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.

The present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of methyl helicterate (MH) on hepatic stellate cells (HSC-T6), primarily elucidating the underlying mechanism of MH against liver fibrosis. HSC-T6 cells were activated by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulation, and then the effects of MH on cell viability, cytomembrane integrity, colony, migration, apoptosis, and cell cycle were detected. Moreover, the regulative mechanism of MH on HSCs was investigated by detecting the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) signaling pathway. Read More

Equine Vet J 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

Background: Administration of pulsed inhaled nitric oxide (PiNO) improves arterial oxygenation in spontaneously breathing anaesthetised healthy horses and in horses undergoing colic surgery. However, because hypoventilation commonly occurs, horses are often mechanically ventilated to prevent hypercarbia.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of PiNO on arterial oxygenation during anaesthesia in mechanically ventilated healthy horses and horses undergoing colic surgery. Read More

New Phytol 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.

BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1) functions as a key regulator in the brassinosteroid (BR) pathway that promotes plant growth. However, whether BES1 is involved in photoperiodic flowering is unknown. Here we report that BES1 acts as a positive regulator of photoperiodic flowering, but it cannot directly bind FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) promoter. Read More

New Phytol 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201602, China.

The capability to maintain cell wall integrity is critical for plants to adapt to unfavorable conditions. L-arabinose (Ara) is a constituent of several cell wall polysaccharides and many cell wall-localized glycoproteins, but so far the contribution of Ara metabolism to abiotic stress tolerance is still poorly understood. Here, we report that mutations in the MUR4 (also known as HSR8) gene, which is required for the biosynthesis of UDP-Arap in Arabidopsis, lead to a reduced root elongation under high concentrations of NaCl, KCl, NaNO , or KNO . Read More

J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with montmorillonite (MMT) on performance, intestinal endotoxin concentration, gut mucosal oxidation status, intestinal morphology and permeability, and immunological barrier function of laying hens during late production. Four hundred and eighty 75-week-old laying hens (Lohmann Brown) were randomly assigned to five treatments with eight replicates per treatment and 12 hens in each replicate. The hens were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 0. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2019 17;2019:4518163. Epub 2019 Mar 17.

Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.

Inactivation of rabies virus is essential for rabies vaccine preparation where the inactivating compound that is currently recommended for rabies vaccine preparation is -propiolactone (-PL). This compound is considered better than phenol and formalin but it is expensive and potentially carcinogenic. Data revealed that Ascorbic acid (AA) with cupric ions could yield complete and irreversible inactivation of rabies virus without adversely affecting its antigenicity. Read More

Ital J Food Saf 2019 Mar 28;8(1):7724. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan.

The aim of the present research is to propose a new, quick and objective method for the certification of hunted and/or culled wild game meat quality and to monitor its origin and the hunting practices adopted by hunters. The expected deliverable is a new labelling scheme for Italian hunted wild game meat that will guarantee high quality and safety standards for consumers and will decrease transaction costs of the supply chains. During the 2015, 2016 and 2017 hunting seasons, 1,056 hunted wild ungulates were sampled. Read More

Ital J Food Saf 2019 Mar 28;8(1):7654. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa.

Consumers around the world are progressively becoming more concerned and aware about food standards, quality and safety issues. The purpose of this study was to determine consumers' preference regarding safe and quality beef and willingness to pay (WTP) for graded beef in Polokwane municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The research surveyed 150 consumers using a structured questionnaire to collect data on consumer characteristics and responses to different bid levels for graded beef. Read More

Ital J Food Saf 2019 Mar 18;8(1):7326. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Agricultural and Food Science.

This study was carried out to assess the microbiological status of three hot meals served in eight selected school canteens of Mauritius, with two schools randomly selected from each of the four school zones of the island. Three individual samples of farata, panini, or fried noodles were collected at each school during two independent visits. The three individual samples of each food type collected during each visit were then pooled before being subjected to microbiological analyses. Read More

Ital J Food Saf 2019 Mar 22;8(1):7119. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Local Sanitary Authority of Modena.

Primary production has always been considered the weak link in the entire food production chain () and, due also to the grave health and food emergencies that have taken place over the years (BSE, dioxin, avian flu etc.), greater attention has been focused on the production stage, together with the need to regain the consumers' faith. To preserve and support small farms in a local setting and, consistent with the aims of flexibility and respecting the main requisites contained in the EC Regulations (No. Read More

J Microsc Ultrastruct 2019 Jan-Mar;7(1):28-43

Graduate Program in Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), Av. dos Portugueses, 1966, Bacanga, São Luís/MA, Paulínia, São Paulo, Brazil.

The present study investigated the effects of different concentrations of extract on the germinative cells and digestive processes of semi-engorged females. For this experiment, 150 ticks were divided into five groups (30 individuals each). The animals were immersed for 5 min in different concentrations of the extract, distilled water, or ethanol 50%/DMSO 1%, dried, and kept in biological oxygen demand incubator for 7 days. Read More

Glob Food Sec 2019 Mar;20:93-100

European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Via E. Fermi, 2749, 21027 Ispra, VA, Italy.

About one third of the food produced globally is wasted along the food chain, representing a burden for the environment and an inefficiency of the food system. Tackling food waste is a priority on the global political agenda to guarantee food security. Defining a methodology for food waste quantification is key to monitoring progress towards the achievement of reduction targets. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2019 May 27;17(5):4055-4063. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

School of Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, P.R. China.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental and network-level disorder mainly diagnosed in children. The aim of the current study was to develop a computer-aided diagnosis method with high accuracy to distinguish school-aged children (5-12 years) with ASD from those typically developing (TD). The current study used multi-institutional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets of 198 school-aged participants from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange II database and employed enhanced stacked auto-encoders to distinguish between school-aged children with ASD from those TD. Read More

Conserv Lett 2019 Jan-Feb;12(1):e12450. Epub 2018 Mar 25.

Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA United Kingdom.

The management of conflicts between wildlife conservation and agricultural practices often involves the implementation of strategies aimed at reducing the cost of wildlife impacts on crops. Vital to the success of these strategies is the perception that changes in management efforts are synchronized relative to changes in impact levels, yet this expectation is never evaluated. We assess the level of synchrony between time series of population counts and management effort in the context of conflicts between agriculture and five populations of large grazing birds in northern Europe. Read More

Biotechnol Biofuels 2019 10;12:82. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

1Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101 China.

Background: Maize () mutants associated with impaired lignin biosynthesis are a potential source for the breed of novel germplasms with improved cell wall digestibility. The spontaneous mutants had been identified since 2008. However, the gene responsible for the locus, and the comprehensive effects of mutation on lignin biosynthesis, soluble phenolics accumulation, and cell wall degradation have yet to be elucidated. Read More

Food Nutr Res 2019 8;63. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety Control in Storage and Transport Process, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.

Background: Kiwifruit is one of the most commercialized fruits on the international market, which has notable high nutritional and medicinal value with many health benefits. In addition to being consumed fresh, numerous kiwifruit products are popular, such as kiwifruit juice, vinegar, dried slices, jam, wine, yogurt, and jelly. Although many studies have described the nutritional properties of kiwifruit, investigations on the nutritional properties of kiwifruit products remain limited, especially for kiwifruit products made from raw kiwifruit. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2019 Apr 1;35(2):178-187. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Division of Agricultural Microbiology, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju 55365, Korea.

Plants are exposed to biotic stresses caused by pathogen attack and complex abiotic stresses including heat and drought by dynamic climate changes. To alleviate these stresses, we investigated two bacterial stains, H26-2 and H30-3 in two cultivars ('Ryeokkwang' and 'Buram-3-ho') of Chinese cabbage in plastic pots in a greenhouse. We evaluated effects of bacterial strains on plant growth-promotion and mitigation of heat and drought stresses; the role of exopolysaccharides as one of bacterial determinants on alleviating stresses; biocontrol activity against soft rot caused by subsp. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2019 Apr 1;35(2):172-177. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.

A duplex PCR method was developed for simultaneous detection and identification of tobacco root rot pathogens and . The specific primers for were developed based on its internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal gene, gene and gene, while the specific primers for were designed based on its ITS regions and tubulin gene. The specificity of the primers was determined using isolates of , and control samples. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2019 Apr 1;35(2):156-163. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Plant Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea.

Our study investigated the available chlorine content, contact time and difference among strains of each pathogen for sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) to control chemically against soil-borne fungal pathogens, such as Phytophthora rot by , violet root rot by , and white root rot by , causing die-back symptom on apple trees. As a result, the colony growth of was inhibited completely by soaking over 5 s in 31.25 ml/l available chlorine content of NaOCl. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2019 Apr 1;35(2):100-111. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agronomy, University of the Republic, Avenue Garzón 780, Montevideo 12900, Uruguay.

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) caused by spp. is a destructive disease of apple restricted to a few regions worldwide. The distribution and evolution of GLS symptoms were observed for two years in Uruguay. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2019 Apr 1;35(2):91-99. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades in fungi are ubiquitously conserved signaling pathways that regulate stress responses, vegetative growth, pathogenicity, and many other developmental processes. Previously, we reported that the gene, which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) in , plays a central role in pathogenicity against host cabbage plants. In this research, we further characterized the role of in the pathogenicity of this fungus using mutants. Read More

Glob Ecol Biogeogr 2019 Jan 16;28(2):78-95. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Environmental Biology, Department Institute of Environmental Sciences, CML, Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands.

Aim: Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whether four commonly used plant functional groups represent variation in six ecologically important plant traits. Read More

Energy Sustain Dev 2018 Oct 20;46:23-31. Epub 2018 Jun 20.

Hivos.

This paper analyses the Africa Biogas Partnership Program (ABPP) in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. ABPP was established in 2009 to promote adoption of biodigesters by rural households in sub-Saharan Africa. We use the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Implementation, Adoption, Maintenance) with information from literature, internal documents, primary data from user surveys and interviews with sector stakeholders. Read More

Physiol Mol Plant Pathol 2019 Jan;105:102-109

Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, P. O. Box 6226, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

is among the plant parasitic nematodes contributing to yield losses of banana. To determine the status of , a survey was conducted in banana-growing regions of Tanzania and samples collected. The results indicated that in 2015 there was an increase in total counts of extracted from roots compared to that reported in 1999 in Unguja West, North and South. Read More

Physiol Mol Plant Pathol 2019 Jan;105:88-95

Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) caused by (CBSV) and (UCBSV) is the main constraint to cassava ( Crantz) production in Mozambique. Using RT-PCR to amplify partial coat protein nucleotide sequences, we detected for the first time the occurrence of CBSV in two non-cassava perennial wild plant species: () Exell. and (Burm. Read More