Effects of a long-term fire retardant chemical (Fire-Trol 934) on seed viability and germination of plants growing in a burned Mediterranean area

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Luna ◽  
José M. Moreno ◽  
Alberto Cruz ◽  
Federico Fernández-González
Keyword(s):  
Life Form ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Fire Retardant ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Progressive Decrease ◽  
Plant Groups ◽  
Distribution Ranges ◽  
High Concentrations

This work documents the effect of a common, long-term fire retardant chemical, Fire-Trol 934, on seed viability and germination of 36 plant species growing in a burned Mediterranean area, covering different life-form types, regenerative strategies and distribution ranges. Seeds were subjected to four treatments: control, and application of Fire-Trol 934 at concentrations of 0.02, 0.2 and 2%. Fire-Trol 934 significantly decreased both seed viability and germination in the group of species studied, which suggests that Fire-Trol 934 may be toxic for seeds, at least when applied at high concentrations. Whereas seed viability generally showed a progressive decrease with increased Fire-Trol 934 concentration, germination percentages generally increased when intermediate Fire-Trol 934 concentrations were used, but tended to be drastically reduced when seeds were exposed to the highest (2%) concentration. The reduction observed in germination at the highest Fire-Trol 934 concentration was greater than that observed in viability, which suggests that the effect of Fire-Trol 934 on seeds may not be lasting. Little differences in the response to Fire-Trol 934 emerged among plant groups, all of which followed the general tendency described above.

Anticancer Effects & Comparative Study of Thymoquinone, Cordyceps, Spirulina, Ganoderma Lucidium, Poria Cocos, and Lion’s Mane on Human Nasal Cancer Cells (RPMI-2650)

2020 ◽  
pp. 62-78
Author(s):  
سعيد مزعل موازي ◽  
يحيى فائق حسين ◽  
عبد المنعم دولاني ◽  
سيف يوسف عبدالله السويدي
Keyword(s):  
Term Treatment ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Anticancer Effect ◽  
Short Term Treatment ◽  
Poria Cocos ◽  
Nasal Cancer ◽  
Antineoplastic Effect ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
High Concentrations

Recently, many studies have been conducted to discover or improve cancers treatment. The current study aims to investigate the anticancer effect of thymoquinone, cordyceps, spirulina, ganoderma lucidium, poria cocos, and lion’s mane in four different concentrations 4, 8, 16, and 32 ug (equivalent to 1 mg/mL) in two different time treatments (48 and 96 hours) on human nasal epithelial cell line RPMI 2650. By using cell culture cytotoxicity techniques and assay, the highest anticancer effect on RPMI 2650 was obtained by thymoquinone. The lowest anticancer effect was demonstrated by poria cocos and cordyceps. However, these two medications showed higher anticancer effect when given in short-term treatment (48 hours) compared to long-term treatment (96 hours). Ganoderma lucidium and spirulina showed better impact than poria cocos, cordyceps, and lion’s mane in term of cells cytotoxicity. Mild to moderate antineoplastic effect was seen by utilizing lion’s mane treatment compared other drugs. Therefore, adopting a long-term treatment of high concentrations and doses of thymoquinone, cordyceps, spirulina, ganoderma lucidium, poria cocos, and lion’s mane can be more effective in the treatment of nasal cancer. In conclusion, these drugs were found to be a promising cancer remedy; therefore, they can be utilized as alternative treatment for nasal cancer or any other type of cancer therapy.

scholarly journals Bioactive Compounds in Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve: A Mediterranean Edible Euhalophyte

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 410
Author(s):  
Irene Sánchez-Gavilán ◽  
Esteban Ramírez ◽  
Vicenta de la Fuente
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Total Phenolic ◽  
Tinto River ◽  
New Findings ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Salicornia Patula ◽  
First Time

Many halophytes have great nutritional and functional potential, providing chemical compounds with biological properties. Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve is a common euhalophyte from saline Mediterranean territories (Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy). In the present work we quantified for the first time the bioactive compounds in S. patula (total phenolic compounds and fatty acids), from Iberian Peninsula localities: littoral-coastal Tinto River basin areas (southwest Spain, the Huelva province), and mainland continental territories (northwest and central Spain, the Valladolid and Madrid provinces). Five phenolic acids including caffeic, coumaric, veratric, salicylic, and transcinnamic have been found with differences between mainland and coastal saltmarshes. S. patula contain four flavonoids: quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol/luteolin, apigenin 7-glucoside, and pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside. These last two glycosylated compounds are described for the first time in this genus of Chenopodiaceae. The fatty acid profile described in S. patula stems contains palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids in high concentrations, while stearic and long-chain fatty acids were detected in low amounts. These new findings confirm that S. patula is a valuable source of bioactive compounds from Mediterranean area.

scholarly journals Barley Seeds miRNome Stability during Long-Term Storage and Aging

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4315
Author(s):  
Marta Puchta ◽  
Jolanta Groszyk ◽  
Magdalena Małecka ◽  
Marek D. Koter ◽  
Maciej Niedzielski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Viability ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Seed Aging ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Novel Mirna ◽  
Complex Biological Process ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Term Storage

Seed aging is a complex biological process that has been attracting scientists’ attention for many years. High-throughput small RNA sequencing was applied to examine microRNAs contribution in barley seeds senescence. Unique samples of seeds that, despite having the same genetic makeup, differed in viability after over 45 years of storage in a dry state were investigated. In total, 61 known and 81 novel miRNA were identified in dry seeds. The highest level of expression was found in four conserved miRNA families, i.e., miR159, miR156, miR166, and miR168. However, the most astonishing result was the lack of significant differences in the level of almost all miRNAs in seed samples with significantly different viability. This result reveals that miRNAs in dry seeds are extremely stable. This is also the first identified RNA fraction that is not deteriorating along with the loss of seed viability. Moreover, the novel miRNA hvu-new41, with higher expression in seeds with the lowest viability as detected by RT-qPCR, has the potential to become an indicator of the decreasing viability of seeds during storage in a dry state.

Long-term stress level in a small mammal species undergoing range expansion

Mammalia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien André ◽  
Johan Michaux ◽  
Jorge Gaitan ◽  
Virginie Millien
Keyword(s):  
Stress Level ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Distribution Ranges ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Small Mammal Species ◽  
White Footed Mouse

Abstract Rapid climate change is currently altering species distribution ranges. Evaluating the long-term stress level in wild species undergoing range expansion may help better understanding how species cope with the changing environment. Here, we focused on the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), a widespread small mammal species in North-America whose distribution range is rapidly shifting northward. We evaluated long-term stress level in several populations of P. leucopus in Quebec (Canada), from the northern edge of the species distribution to more core populations in Southern Quebec. We first tested the hypothesis that populations at the range margin are under higher stress than more established populations in the southern region of our study area. We then compared four measures of long-term stress level to evaluate the congruence between these commonly used methods. We did not detect any significant geographical trend in stress level across our study populations of P. leucopus. Most notably, we found no clear congruence between the four measures of stress level we used, and conclude that these four commonly used methods are not equivalent, thereby not comparable across studies.

scholarly journals Financial losses for Dutch stakeholders during the 2013 aflatoxin incident in Maize in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Focker ◽  
H. J. van der Fels-Klerx ◽  
A. G. J. M. Oude Lansink
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Uncertain Data ◽  
Feed Industry ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Bulk Milk ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Aflatoxin B ◽  
Financial Losses

AbstractEarly 2013, high concentrations of aflatoxin M1 were found in the bulk milk of a few dairy farms in the Netherlands. These high concentrations were caused by aflatoxin B1 contaminated maize from Eastern Europe that was processed into compound feed, which was fed to dairy cows. Since the contamination was discovered in the downstream stages of the supply chain, multiple countries and parties were involved and recalls of the feed were necessary, resulting into financial losses. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct short-term financial losses related to the 2013 aflatoxin incident for the maize traders, the feed industry, and the dairy sector in the Netherlands. First, the sequence of events of the incident was retrieved. Then, a Monte Carlo simulation model was built to combine the scarce and uncertain data to estimate the direct financial losses for each stakeholder. The estimated total direct financial losses of this incident were estimated to be between 12 and 25 million euros. The largest share, about 60%, of the total losses was endured by the maize traders. About 39% of the total losses were for the feed industry, and less than 1% of the total losses were for the dairy sector. The financial losses estimated in this study should be interpreted cautiously due to limitations associated with the quality of the data used. Furthermore, this incident led to indirect long-term financial effects, identified but not estimated in this study.

scholarly journals Six-year source apportionment of submicron organic aerosols from near-continuous measurements at SIRTA (Paris area, France)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunjiang Zhang ◽  
Olivier Favez ◽  
Jean-Eudes Petit ◽  
Francesco Canonaco ◽  
Francois Truong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Source Apportionment ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Carbonaceous Aerosols ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Pronounced Increase ◽  
Paris Area ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
High Concentrations

Abstract. Organic aerosol (OA) particles are recognized as key factors influencing air quality and climate change. However, highly-time resolved year-round characterizations of their composition and sources in ambient air are still very limited due to challenging continuous observations. Here, we present an analysis of long-term variability of submicron OA using the combination of Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and multi-wavelength aethalometer from November 2011 to March 2018 at a background site of the Paris region (France). Source apportionment of OA was achieved via partially constrained positive matrix factorization (PMF) using the multilinear engine (ME-2). Two primary OA (POA) and two oxygenated OA (OOA) factors were identified and quantified over the entire studied period. POA factors were designated as hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and biomass burning OA (BBOA). The latter factor presented a significant seasonality with higher concentrations in winter with significant monthly contributions to OA (18–33 %) due to enhanced residential wood burning emissions. HOA mainly originated from traffic emissions but was also influenced by biomass burning in cold periods. OOA factors were distinguished between their less- and more-oxidized fractions (LO-OOA and MO-OOA, respectively). These factors presented distinct seasonal patterns, associated with different atmospheric formation pathways. A pronounced increase of LO-OOA concentrations and contributions (50–66 %) was observed in summer, which may be mainly explained by secondary OA (SOA) formation processes involving biogenic gaseous precursors. Conversely high concentrations and OA contributions (32–62 %) of MO-OOA during winter and spring seasons were partly associated with anthropogenic emissions and/or long-range transport from northeastern Europe. The contribution of the different OA factors as a function of OA mass loading highlighted the dominant roles of POA during pollution episodes in fall and winter, and of SOA for highest springtime and summertime OA concentrations. Finally, long-term trend analyses indicated a decreasing feature (of about 200 ng m−3 yr−1) for MO-OOA, very limited or insignificant decreasing trends for primary anthropogenic carbonaceous aerosols (BBOA and HOA, along with the fossil fuel and biomass burning black carbon components), and no trend for LO-OOA over the 6+-year investigated period.

scholarly journals Seed longevity of maize conserved under germplasm bank conditions for up to 60 years

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Guzzon ◽  
Maraeva Gianella ◽  
Jose Alejandro Velazquez Juarez ◽  
Cesar Sanchez Cano ◽  
Denise E Costich
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Plant Genetic Resources ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Seed Longevity ◽  
Germplasm Bank ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Germination Experiments

Abstract Background and Aims The long-term conservation of seeds of plant genetic resources is of key importance for food security and preservation of agrobiodiversity. Nevertheless, there is scarce information available about seed longevity of many crops under germplasm bank conditions. Methods Through germination experiments as well as the analysis of historical monitoring data, we studied the decline in viability manifested by 1000 maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) seed accessions conserved for an average of 48 years at the CIMMYT germplasm bank, the largest maize seedbank in the world, under two cold storage conditions: an active (–3 °C; intended for seed distribution) and a base conservation chamber (–15 °C; for long-term conservation). Key Results Seed lots stored in the active chamber had a significantly lower and more variable seed germination, averaging 81.4 %, as compared with the seed lots conserved in the base chamber, averaging 92.1 %. The average seed viability detected in this study was higher in comparison with that found in other seed longevity studies on maize conserved under similar conditions. A significant difference was detected in seed germination and longevity estimates (e.g. p85 and p50) among accessions. Correlating seed longevity with seed traits and passport data, grain type showed the strongest correlation, with flint varieties being longer lived than floury and dent types. Conclusions The more rapid loss of seed viability detected in the active chamber suggests that the seed conservation approach, based on the storage of the same seed accessions in two chambers with different temperatures, might be counterproductive for overall long-term conservation and that base conditions should be applied in both. The significant differences detected in seed longevity among accessions underscores that different viability monitoring and regeneration intervals should be applied to groups of accessions showing different longevity profiles.

scholarly journals Diversity of Segetal Flora in Salix viminalis L. Crops Established on Former Arable and Fallow Lands in Central Poland

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Maria Janicka ◽  
Aneta Kutkowska ◽  
Jakub Paderewski
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Life Form ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Salix Viminalis ◽  
Central Poland ◽  
Plant Groups ◽  
Fallow Lands ◽  
Historical Group ◽  
Phytosociological Relevés ◽  
Segetal Flora

The flora of willow (Salix viminalis L.) plantations consists of various plant groups, including plants related to arable land, called segetal plants. Knowledge of this flora is important for maintaining biodiversity in agroecosystems. The aim of the study was to assess the segetal flora of the willow plantations in central Poland, depending on the land use before the establishment of the plantations (arable land or fallow) and the age of the plantations. Moreover, the aim was also to check for the presence of invasive, medicinal, poisonous and melliferous species. The vegetation accompanying willow was identified based on an analysis of 60 phytosociological relevés performed using the Braun-Blanquet method. For each species, the following parameters were determined: the phytosociological class; family; geographical and historical group; apophyte origin; biological stability; life-form; and status as an invasive, medicinal (herbs), poisonous or melliferous species. The results were statistically processed. Segetal species accounted for 38% of the flora accompanying willow. The plantations on former arable land were richer in segetal species than those on fallow. Mostly, short-lived and native species dominated. In line with the age of the plantations, the number of segetal species decreased. The share of apophytes increased, and anthropophytes decreased. Furthermore, many valuable plants were found among the flora accompanying willow.

Oxygen in the home

1982 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 65-67 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Disease ◽  
Oxygen Therapy ◽  
Chronic Respiratory Disease ◽  
Term Therapy ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Long Term Therapy ◽  
Benefits And Costs ◽  
Portable Oxygen

The provision of high concentrations of oxygen is often part of the treatment of cardiac or respiratory disease. The use of domiciliary oxygen is generally limited to those patients with advanced chronic respiratory disease. It can be given in a number of ways - as continuous long-term therapy, as portable oxygen therapy, or intermittently for short periods. This article discusses the benefits and costs.

scholarly journals CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE: FARMER PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF INTRA-SEASONAL VARIABILITY IN RAINFALL AND ASSOCIATED RISK IN SEMI-ARID KENYA

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. C. RAO ◽  
W. G. NDEGWA ◽  
K. KIZITO ◽  
A. OYOO
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Climate Variability And Change ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Probabilistic Nature ◽  
Semi Arid

SUMMARYThis study examines farmers’ perceptions of short- and long-term variability in climate, their ability to discern trends in climate and how the perceived trends converge with actual weather observations in five districts of Eastern Province in Kenya where the climate is semi-arid with high intra- and inter-annual variability in rainfall. Field surveys to elicit farmers’ perceptions about climate variability and change were conducted in Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Mwingi and Mutomo districts. Long-term rainfall records from five meteorological stations within a 10 km radius from the survey locations were obtained from the Kenya Meteorological Department and were analysed to compare with farmers’ observations. Farmers’ responses indicate that they are well aware of the general climate in their location, its variability, the probabilistic nature of the variability and the impacts of this variability on crop production. However, their ability to synthesize the knowledge they have gained from their observations and discern long-term trends in the probabilistic distribution of seasonal conditions is more subjective, mainly due to the compounding interactions between climate and other factors such as soil fertility, soil water and land use change that determine the climate's overall influence on crop productivity. There is a general tendency among the farmers to give greater weight to negative impacts leading to higher risk perception. In relation to long-term changes in the climate, farmer observations in our study that rainfall patterns are changing corroborated well with reported perceptions from other places across the African continent but were not supported by the observed trends in rainfall data from the five study locations. The main implication of our findings is the need to be aware of and account for the risk during the development and promotion of technologies involving significant investments by smallholder farmers and exercise caution in interpreting farmers’ perceptions about long-term climate variability and change.

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