Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 10;673:546-552. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Bioremediation, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China. Electronic address:

Calcium carbonate (CaCO) precipitation is an important geochemical process. In the estuary zone and some arid shallow lakes, DOM (dissolved organic matter) and salinity are two frequent changing factors that may affect CaCO precipitation. The joint effect of DOM and salinity on CaCO precipitation kinetics and thermodynamics are still unclear. Read More

PLoS One 2019 17;14(4):e0212743. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India.

Banni, located in the arid western India, is one of the largest tropical grasslands of the Asian continent. The net primary production in this grassland ecosystem is currently mediated by precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). However, timing of the grassland expansion and its link to the intensity of monsoonal precipitation remains enigmatic due to the paucity of datasets. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2019 Apr;30(4):1319-1326

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.

To reveal the effects of coupling nitrogen (N) application and aerated irrigation on soil CO and NO emission, and their relationship with soil temperature and moisture, an experiment was conducted in greenhouse melon fields by using the method of static chamber/gas chromatography to determine the CO and NO emissions of different nitrogen rates under aerated irrigation. There were two irrigation factors (AI: aerated irrigation; CK: conventional irrigation) and three N levels (N: 0; N: 150 kg·hm, the traditional nitrogen application rate was 2/3; N: 225 kg·hm, traditional nitrogen application rate). The results showed that soil CO and NO emissions in AI treatment were higher than those in CK, but no significant difference was observed between the two irrigation methods. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2019 Apr;30(4):1207-1217

College of Water Resources Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China.

Agriculture development in arid and semi-arid saline areas is seriously affected by water resources scarcity and excessive fertilization. Understanding the effects of different irrigation and fertilization levels on soil water and salt distribution and silage maize yield would provide scientific basis for determining appropriate irrigation and fertilization amount. The experiment was carried out in a saline field of the Datong Basin in 2015 and 2016. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2019 Apr;30(4):1199-1206

Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Arid Land Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China.

To improve water and nitrogen (N) fertilizer use efficiency, increase sustainable agricultural production, and explore the appropriate substitution level of inorganic N fertilizer by organic fertilizer in the semi-arid region of the western Loess Plateau, a three-year field experiment was conducted at the Dingxi Agri-ecological Station in 2016-2018. We examined the effects of commercial organic fertilizer substitution on maize grain yield as well as the use efficiency of water and N fertilizer under plastic film fully mulched ridge-furrow in dryland. There were six fertilizer treatments: T, N fertilizer without organic fertilizer; T, substitution 50% inorganic-N with organic-N; T, substitution 37. Read More

PeerJ 2019 9;7:e6712. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.

Soil microbial processes are crucial for understanding the ecological functions of arid and semi-arid lands which occupy approximately 40% of the global terrestrial ecosystems. However, how soil microbial metabolic activities may change across a wide aridity gradient in drylands remains unclear. Here, we investigated three soil microbial metabolic indices (soil organic carbon (SOC)-based microbial respiration, metabolic quotient, and microbial biomass as a proportion of total SOC) and the degree of carbon limitation for microbial respiration along a 3,200 km transect with a wide aridity gradient. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 8;673:230-236. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, PR China.

In this study, the involvement of aluminum-based drinking water treatment residual (DWTR) as substrate in floating treatment wetland (FTW) to enhance its treatment performance was firstly proposed and trialed. A laboratory scale DWTR-FTW fed with synthetic wastewater containing COD, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and mineral salts was operated in three stages of unplanted (1-30 days), planted (31-60 days) and aerated (61-135 days) modes. The results showed that the average removal rates of COD, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) in stage 3 were 88%, 85%, and 90. Read More

Chemosphere 2019 Apr 5;227:256-268. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, 29 Bahman Boulevard, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran.

Recycling of industrial wastewater meeting quality standards for agricultural and industrial demands is a viable option. In this study, paper and pulp industrial wastewater were treated with three biological treatments viz. aerobic, anaerobic and sequential (i. Read More

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2019 Feb;44(3):495-499

School of Pharmacy, Fudan University Shanghai 201203, China.

Twelve alkaloids were isolated from the bulbs of Fritillaria yuminensis by column chromatography over silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20, as well as RP-HPLC. Their structures were identified mainly by NMR and MS analyses as yubeinine(1), imperialine(2), delavinone(3), tortifoline(4), hupehenizioiside(5), imperialine-β-D-glucoside(6), kuroyurinidine(7), pengbeisine A(8), walujewine A(9), peimisine-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(10), solanidine-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside(11), and solanidine-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-β-D-glucopyranoside(12). Compounds 4-12 were obtained from F. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

Cadmium and mercury are non-biodegradable toxic metals that may cause many detrimental effects to the thyroid gland and blood. Vitamin C has been found to be a significant chain-breaking antioxidant and enzyme co-factor against metal toxicity and thus make them less available for animals. The current study was performed to find the effect of individual metals (cadmium and mercury), their co-administration, and the ameliorative effects of vitamin C on some of the parameters that indicate oxidative stress and thyroid dysfunction. Read More

Molecules 2019 Apr 4;24(7). Epub 2019 Apr 4.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China.

Alkylresorcinols (ARs) are beneficial for human health and can be used as biomarkers for whole-grain cereal intake. In previous studies, ARs content in whole-grain flour was determined by milling the seeds into powder, thus destroying their structure. In this paper, we adopted a non-destructive extraction approach. Read More

Molecules 2019 Apr 3;24(7). Epub 2019 Apr 3.

College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Yangling, Xianyang 712000, China.

Flavonoids from plants are particularly important in our diet. Buckwheat is a special crop that is rich in flavonoids. In this study, four important buckwheat varieties, including one tartary buckwheat and three common buckwheat varieties, were selected as experimental materials. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 12;241:99-112. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari, 61100, Pakistan.

This study aims to examine the effect of zeolites in optimizing the process of food waste composting. A novel method of sequential hydrothermal was introduced to modify the natural zeolite and apply to in-vessel compost bioreactors. Raw and modified natural zeolites were applied at 10 and 15% (w/w) of the total waste and compared with un-amended control trial. Read More

Am J Bot 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.

Premise Of The Study: A key question in evolutionary biology is why some clades are more successful by being widespread geographically, biome diverse, or species-rich. To extend understanding of how shifts in area, biomes, and pollinators impact diversification in plants, we examined the relationships of these shifts to diversification across the mega-genus Salvia.

Methods: A chronogram was developed from a supermatrix of anchored hybrid enrichment genomic data and targeted sequence data for over 500 of the nearly 1000 Salvia species. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2019 29;10:370. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Hydrology, Agriculture and Land Observation, Water Desalination and Reuse Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.

With salt stress presenting a major threat to global food production, attention has turned to the identification and breeding of crop cultivars with improved salt tolerance. For instance, some accessions of wild species with higher salt tolerance than commercial varieties are being investigated for their potential to expand food production into marginal areas or to use brackish waters for irrigation. However, assessment of individual plant responses to salt stress in field trials is time-consuming, limiting, for example, longitudinal assessment of large numbers of plants. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2019 22;10:327. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China.

(C. A. Mey. Read More

Uncertain Artif Intell 2018 Aug;2018

Department of Statistics, University of Washington,

The conditional independence structure induced on the observed marginal distribution by a hidden variable directed acyclic graph (DAG) may be represented by a graphical model represented by mixed graphs called maximal ancestral graphs (MAGs). This model has a number of desirable properties, in particular the set of Gaussian distributions can be parameterized by viewing the graph as a path diagram. Models represented by MAGs have been used for causal discovery [22], and identification theory for causal effects [28]. Read More

Carbohydr Polym 2019 Jul 19;215:29-38. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Department of Food Technology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46300, Pakistan.

Flax gum (FG) was extracted and purified from flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) locally called as Alsi. Physicochemical and functional aspects of separated gum were interrogated in detail. Read More

Environ Pollut 2019 Mar 22;250:1-7. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, No.3 Taicheng Road, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.

Plastic film mulching is a common practice to increase crop yield in dryland, while the wide use of plastic film has resulted in ubiquitous phthalate esters (PAEs) releasing into the soil. PAEs in soil could be taken up and accumulated by dietary intake of food crops such as wheat, thus imposing health risks to residents. In the present study, samples from a long-term location-fixed field experiment were examined to clarify the accumulation of PAEs in soil and wheat, and to assess the human health risks from PAEs via dietary intake of wheat grain under plastic film mulching cultivation in dryland. Read More

Conserv Biol 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 4072.

Habitat destruction is among the greatest threats facing biodiversity, affecting common and threatened species alike. However, metrics for communicating its impacts typically overlook the non-threatened component of assemblages. This risks the loss of habitat for species that comprise the majority of assemblages going unreported. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 11;672:883-892. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China. Electronic address:

There have been numerous studies on concentrations of trace elements in aquatic ecosystems, but few have been conducted at a large spatial scale. This study collected 410 samples of five wild freshwater fishes at different trophic levels from middle and eastern China. Concentrations of eight trace elements, chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) and stable isotope ratios (δC and δN) were determined in dorsal muscle of fishes. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 27;672:834-845. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

School of Architecture, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710054, China.

Bacteria are ubiquitous throughout the earth's lower atmosphere. Bacteria, especially pathogenic bacteria, play an important role in human health. The diversity, composition, and dynamics of airborne bacteria has been widely studied; however, the characteristics of pathogenic bacteria remain poorly understood. Read More

Tree Physiol 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.

A growing body of evidence highlights the occurrence of increased widespread tree mortality during climate change-associated severe droughts; however, in situ long-term drought experiments with multispecies communities for the prediction of tree mortality and exploration of related mechanisms are rather limited in natural environments. We conducted a seven-year afforestation trial with 20 drought-resistant broadleaf tree species in an arid limestone habitat in northern China, where the species displayed a broad range of survival rates. The stomatal and xylem hydraulic traits of all the species were measured. Read More

Evol Appl 2019 Apr 26;12(4):733-743. Epub 2018 Dec 26.

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu Province China.

Root system characteristics determine soil space exploration and resource acquisition, and these characteristics include competitive traits that increase individual fitness but reduce population performance. We hypothesize that crop breeding for increased yield is often a form of "group selection" that reduces such "selfish" traits to increase population yield. To study trends in root architecture resulting from plant breeding and test the hypothesis that increased yields result in part from group selection on root traits, we investigated root growth and branching behavior in a historical sequence of wheat () cultivars that have been widely grown in northwestern China. Read More

J Therm Biol 2019 Apr 27;81:82-88. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Department of Veterinary Science, Autonomous Agrarian University Antonio Narro, Torreon, Mexico. Electronic address:

Vulnerable animals to heat stress have been described as ones with dark or black hides due to increasing absorption of solar radiation. The effect of coat color in pluriparous contemporary Holstein cows in a hot environment (mean annual temperature 24.6 °C), on body surface temperature (infrared thermography), physiological and hematological variables as well as milk yield and reproductive performance was assessed using 178 Holstein pluriparous cows (74 predominantly white and 104 predominantly black). Read More

J Therm Biol 2019 Apr 27;81:73-81. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Department of Animal Sciences, Food and Halieutic Resources, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Tunis, Tunisia; Laboratory of Materials, Molecules and Application, Preparatory Institute for Scientific and Technical Studies, Tunis, Tunisia.

This study aims to investigate the thermoprotective properties of Opuntia ficus-indica f. inermis. Extracts were prepared from cladodes (CE) and mesocarps (ME), then subjected to a spectrophotometric and LC-MS analyses. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics 2019 Mar 7;30:262-282. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address:

Peptides are known to contribute to central pattern generator (CPG) flexibility throughout the animal kingdom. However, the role played by receptor diversity/complement in determining this functional flexibility is not clear. The stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of the crab, Cancer borealis, contains CPGs that are models for investigating peptidergic control of rhythmic behavior. Read More

Mol Ecol Resour 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Vetmeduni Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Researchers have assembled thousands of eukaryotic genomes using Illumina reads, but traditional mate-pair libraries cannot span all repetitive elements, resulting in highly fragmented assemblies. However, both chromosome conformation capture techniques, such as Hi-C and Dovetail Genomics Chicago libraries and long-read sequencing, such as Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore, help span and resolve repetitive regions and therefore improve genome assemblies. One important livestock species of arid regions that does not have a high-quality contiguous reference genome is the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius). Read More

Arch Virol 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

University of Brasília, 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil.

A new bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) was detected on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) plants exhibiting bright golden mosaic symptoms on leaves under field conditions in Brazil. Complete consensus sequences of DNA-A and DNA-B components of an isolate of the virus (PE-088) were obtained by nanopore sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The genome components presented the typical genomic organization of New World (NW) begomoviruses. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 11;9(1):6181. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Urban Environment Systems, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 May 19;666:849-857. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Economics, University of Lahore - Sargodha Campus, Sargodha, Pakistan.

Pakistani farmers are using groundwater at an increasing rate to supplement their irrigation needs. This practice has led to overexploitation of groundwater in the country, resulting in many negative externalities and increased resource costs. In response to the growing water shortage, the informal groundwater markets in the arid and semi-arid regions of Punjab have gradually emerged. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 May 21;666:1265-1272. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, United States.

Millions of people in the arid regions of Kenya and Ethiopia face water scarcity and frequent drought. Water resource forecasting and reliable operation of groundwater distribution systems may improve drought resilience. In this study, we examined three remote sensing data sets against in-situ sensor-collected groundwater extraction data from 221 water points serving over 1. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 May 21;666:1169-1177. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

LAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address:

Understanding wetland vegetation phenology and its response to climate change is important to predict the changes of wetland vegetation in wetland regions. Using the NDVI and climate data, this work studied the spatiotemporal change of start date of vegetation growing season (SOS) and explored the possible effects of climate change on the SOS over freshwater marshes of Northeast China. The results showed that the SOS significantly advanced by 0. Read More

Planta 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

GB Pant University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India.

Main Conclusion: Diverse gene pool, advanced plant phenomics and genomics methods enhanced genetic gain and understanding of important agronomic, adaptation and nutritional traits in finger millet. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is an important minor millet for food and nutritional security in semi-arid regions of the world. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2019 Apr 9;191(5):271. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Civil Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani, India.

The work incorporates the field data collection, assessment, and use of interpolation and extrapolation methods in modeling the existence of pollutant in groundwater, namely nitrate, and future prediction. To view the variation of concentration of pollutants in any form, 3D representation is required. However, not many techniques are available to achieve the objective accurately. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 6. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, P.O Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Sub-campus Vehari 61100, Pakistan. Electronic address:

Livestock manure is a valuable source of nutrients for plants. However, poor handling practices during storage resulted in nutrient losses from the manure and decrement in its nitrogen (N) fertilizer value. We explored the influence of divergent storage methods on manure chemical composition, carbon (C) and N losses to the environment as well as fertilizer value of storage products after their application to the wheat. Read More

Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2019 Feb;377(2138):20180335

Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio and Nanotechnology and Biomimetics (NLBB), The Ohio State University , 201 West 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1142 , USA.

Desert beetles and cactus plants collect water from fog in arid regions. The desert beetle uses heterogeneous wettability to transport water to its mouth. A cactus uses conical spines which provide Laplace pressure gradient to transport water to its base. Read More

Nat Prod Res 2019 Apr 10:1-6. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

a Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Chemistry in Arid Regions , Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Urumqi , Xinjiang , PR China.

Five indole derivatives, 1H-indol-7-ol (1), tryptophol (2), 3-indolepropionic acid (3), tryptophan (4), 3,3-di(1H-indol-3-yl)propane-1,2-diol (5) and two diketopiperazines, cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) (6), cyclo[L-(4-hydroxyprolinyl)-L-leucine (7) along with one dihydrocinnamic acid (8) were isolated from Pantoea ananatis VERA8, that endophytic bacteria derived from Baccharoides anthelmintica roots. This is a first report towards an isolation of endophytic strains (funji or bacteria) from the B. anthelmintica herb. Read More

Environ Pollut 2019 Mar 30;249:910-922. Epub 2019 Mar 30.

UNESCO Chair on Groundwater Arsenic within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, 4350, Queensland, Australia.

Elevated inorganic arsenic concentrations in groundwater has become a major public and environmental health concern in different parts of the world. Currently, As-contaminated groundwater issue in many countries and regions is a major topic for publications at global level. However, there are many regions worldwide where the problem has still not been resolved or fully understood due to inadequate hydrogeochemical investigations. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 2;672:572-582. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, PR China; School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, PR China. Electronic address:

Unraveling sorption mechanisms of lead (Pb) to silicon (Si)-rich biochar at molecular scale in aqueous solution are essential for the effective application of the biochars to the remediation of Pb and other metal(loid)s pollution in the environment. Thus, this study investigated the contributions of phytoliths and other compounds to the Pb sorption on Si-rich coconut fiber biochar (CFB500) and the corresponding sorption mechanisms using spectroscopic techniques, including the micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The μ-XRF and XAFS results showed that K, Ca, Cu, Mn, and Fe were released and significantly related to Pb in Pb-loaded CFB500; four major Pb species were formed with similar structures to lead carboxylate (e. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019 Apr 9;13(4):e0007321. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Laboratory of Parasitology and Vector-Borne-Diseases, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco.

Background: Leishmania major is an endemic vector-borne disease in Morocco that causes zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), especially in arid pre-Saharan regions where its unique vector and reservoir are Phlebotomus papatasi and Meriones shawi, respectively, and may cause epidemics. In late 2017, the Zagora province, an endemic focus for ZCL in southern Morocco, had CL outbreak. The main objective of our investigation was to analyze the epidemiological features of this latest ZCL outbreak. Read More

IET Nanobiotechnol 2019 Feb;13(1):46-51

Department of Botany, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan.

With the progression of nanotechnology, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in consumer products has increased dramatically and green synthesis is one of the cheapest and eco-friendly methods to obtain non-hazardous NPs. In the current research zinc (Zn) NPs synthesis was carried out by using the fresh and healthy leaves of L. followed by characterisation through ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy.

Echinophora spinosa (Apiaceae) is a psammophilous species growing along Mediterranean coastal sand dunes. This species secretes essential oils made up of monoterpenoids, phenylpropanoids, and polyacetylenes, which may represent effective, eco-friendly and safe active ingredients for the preparation of green insecticides. Based on this, in the present study, we selected a French accession of E. Read More

Trop Anim Health Prod 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Namibia, P. Bag 13301, Pioneerspark, Windhoek, Namibia.

A retrospective study from 2004 to 2017 investigated the effect of bull age, cow age and breed on conception rates, and calving intervals of beef cattle at Neudamm farm, Khomas region, Namibia. Bulls ranging from 4 to 14 years of age were used to breed cows up to 17 years of age. A total of 1804 pregnancies were diagnosed in Afrikaner (81. Read More

Hortic Res 2019 6;6:45. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

1State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, No. 3, Taicheng Road, 712100 Yangling, Shaanxi China.

Low temperature is a major stress that severely affects plant development, growth, distribution, and productivity. Here, we examined the function of a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase-encoding gene, , in chilling stress responses in tomato ( cv. Alisa Craig [AC]). Read More

Ecol Evol 2019 Mar 19;9(6):3539-3552. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Institut für Molekulare Physiologie Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz Mainz Germany.

Aim: Using the extremophile genus , which includes c. 28 succulent, xerophytic C species, and is widely distributed in arid regions of Northern Africa, Arabia, and Asia, we investigate biogeographical relationships between the Irano-Turanian floristic region (ITfr) and its neighboring regions. We test whether the spread of arid and semi-arid biomes in Eurasia coincides with the biogeography of this drought-adapted genus, and whether the ITfr acted as source area of floristic elements for adjacent regions. Read More

Ecol Evol 2019 Mar 20;9(6):3046-3058. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Center for Conservation Biology University of California Riverside Riverside California.

Multispecies wildlife monitoring across large geographical regions is important for effective conservation planning in response to expected impacts from climate change and land use. Unlike many species of birds, mammals, and amphibians which can be efficiently sampled using automated sensors including cameras and sound recorders, reptiles are often much more challenging to detect, in part because of their typically cryptic behavior and generally small body sizes. Although many lizard species are more active during the day which makes them easier to detect using visual encounter surveys, they may be unavailable for sampling during certain periods of the day or year due to their sensitivity to temperature. Read More

Oxid Med Cell Longev 2019 10;2019:5484138. Epub 2019 Mar 10.

Physiology Division, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasing over time. CVD is a comorbidity in diabetes and contributes to premature death. Citrus flavonoids possess several biological activities and have emerged as efficient therapeutics for the treatment of CVD. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2019 Jul 5;176:364-369. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Center for Environmental Health Research, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, The Ministry of Ecological and Environment of PR China, Guangzhou, 510535, PR China.

Direct immersion solid phase microextraction (DI-SPME) coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is of significant research interest because of its low solvent consumption, simple design, and efficient, sensitive, fast performance. In this work, a combination of these two methods (DI-SPME-LC-MS) for the determination of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in water was developed. Important factors, which included temperature, stirring rate, salt concentration, pH value and adsorption time, were evaluated in for the optimization of solid phase microextraction (SPME) method. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 1;672:283-295. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

CNR Institute of Information Science and Technologies (CNR-ISTI), Via Moruzzi 1, 56024 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address:

The influence of climate change on the availability and quality of both surface- and ground-water resources is well recognized nowadays. In particular, the mitigation of saline water intrusion mechanisms in coastal aquifers is a recurrent environmental issue. In the case of the Nile delta, the presence of sea level rise and the perspective of other human-induced stressors, such as the next operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, are threats to be taken into account for guaranteeing resilient agricultural practices within the future possible scenarios. Read More