State Support of Plant Protection (by the Example of Novosibirsk Region)

Modern crop production in the conditions of total reduction of tilled area is one of the priorities in effective farming. The adaptive intensification of crop production, which provides sustainable growth of yield, resource conservation and ecological safety, requires increase of financing and involvement of plant protection measures in the mechanism of state support, the use of genetic selection potential of plants, the use of agrotechnical measures, technical and technological upgrade, for the purpose of adjustment of arable crops growth conditions, improvement of grain quality, as well as soil conservation and enrichment. Scientifically proven measures regarding plant protection against hazardous organisms play a special role in the mechanism of state support and stimulation of agricultural goods producers. This approach will make it possible to abandon abusive application of chemical agents and replace them with biological ones against the same variety of pathogens; it will facilitate increase in arable crops yield, improve of quality of goods produced, cost saving and growth of net profit, in comparison with traditional technologies, as well as mitigate risks related to the influence of chemical agents on the environment. It will increase the field competitiveness both at internal and external market. The offered measures were developed with provision for the WTO requirements which make it bin­ding to implement the methods of state support without distorting influence of activities of companies, i.e. implement the support within the «green box». The «green box» includes the costs of plant protection measures and productive infrastructure formation.

Thinning as Method to Regulate Sweet Cherry Crops – a Review

In perennial fruit crops, bearing can be influenced by various factors, including environmental conditions, germplasm, rootstocks, and cultivation methods. Cherries, one of the most important and popular fruit species from the temperate climate zone, achieve high prices on the market. New agricultural technologies and environmental factors force a change in the approach to cherry cultivation. Old-type cherry orchards with their high demand for water, nutrients and manual work are replaced by orchards of self-pollinating cherry cultivars grown on dwarf rootstocks. These changes make it necessary to search for ways to regulate fruiting, in particular to thin buds, flower and fruit. In view of environmental regulations and consumer pressure, thinning methods are being sought that either do not involve the use of chemicals or that use eco-friendly chemical agents. This review examines recent progress in understanding the effect of thinning methods on the physiology, tree growth and fruit quality of cherries, discusses horticultural practices aimed to ensure regular cropping and their influence on fruit quality, and provides suggestions for future research.

Management of Chemical Terrorism and Chemical Disasters

Though the possibility of terrorist groups obtaining chemical weapons and inflicting mass destruction are relatively low, the relevance of chemical agents still remains high since use of such chemical agents in causing potentially dangerous consequences remains very high. Sporadic chemical attacks and chemical disasters happen all over the world and they cause long lasting damages. Easy accessibility to variety of toxic industrial chemicals and the relatively simple know-how needed to synthesize chemical agents pose a serious threat. However, technological developments and the easy availability of information have empowered the security forces and the law enforcement agencies to formulate responsive mechanism to mitigate the ill effects of chemical disasters. Though the international and national agencies strive hard to ward off the debilitating effects of chemical agents and disasters, the capability of such efforts in addressing the potential risks remains doubtful. This review describes the characteristics and classification of chemical agents and toxic industrial chemicals, their physico – chemical properties, detection, decontamination and response by the security agencies and first responders in addressing the threat to mankind in the form of chemical terrorism and chemical disasters.

Medicinal Plants with Abortifacient or Emmenagogue Activity: A Narrative Review Based on Traditional Persian Medicine

Introduction: Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) has a rich background and has introduced various plants with abortive or emmenagogue activity since ancient times. However, many of them are unknown in modern medicine, and a few trials have been conducted describing their efficacy and safety. These plants may be helpful for the management of incomplete abortion, with potentially lower side effects than chemical agents. Objectives: This review introduced these plants and their potential efficiency to link traditional and modern medicine and suggested further studies. Methods: The search strategy for citations in this narrative review was performed in two steps. At first, medicinal plants used as abortifacient or emmenagogue to manage incomplete abortions or retained products of conception were searched and extracted in the most famous TPM literature, including Al-Qanun Fi at-Tibb, Tuhfat-al-Momenin, and Makhzan-ul-advia. The next step was searching electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar with the same keywords and herbal plants between 1970 and 2021. The overlapped plants between the manual and electronic search were found and briefly described. Results: In TPM literature, 88 plants with abortifacient activity were found, of which 47 were used to manage incomplete abortions or retained products of conception. Also, in the electronic database search, 14 plants were found to have abortifacient or emmenagogue activity. Among them, six plants, including Sesamum indicum L. (Sesame), Commiphora myrrha (myrrh), Lawsonia inermis L. (Henna), Opopanax chironium L. (Jooshir), Plumbago rosea (Shitraj or Stumbag), and Juniperus sabina (Abhal), overlapped with the manual search results. The abortifacient or emmenagogue activity and properties of all these 14 plants were described. Conclusions: The properties of many traditional plants with abortifacient activity are unknown in modern medicine; however, they should not be used in pregnant women. Nonetheless, they may have the power to be entered into modern medicine. Identifying their pharmacology and action mechanisms may be helpful to introduce them as a potential alternative to chemical agents in the management of induced or incomplete abortion with possibly lower side effects.

Role of Nanoparticles Synthesized from Bacteria as Antimicroorganism: A Review

Nanoparticles are one of the most important technologies of today and the future. This groundbreaking technology is considered a very significant domain among all the fields of science due to its tangible capacity in improving products, treating diseases, serving mankind in all spheres of life, and realizing future scientific revolutions in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and other sciences. Therefore, it is truly necessary to take advantage of the distinct properties of nanomaterials. Hence, synthesized nanoparticles have been shown to be enjoying anti-proliferating antioxidant, anti-migration, antioagulant and anti-cancer antipathogenic characteristics in the laboratory. Accordingly, this study came to prominence in this field. The biochemical equipment used in nanoparticle bacterial biosynthesis was subsequently proven. Many of these biochemical types of equipment have been used as part of a cellular detoxification resistance mechanism that involves altering inorganic ions solubility by reducing and/or precipitating soluble toxic to insoluble non-toxic nanostructures. Microorganisms, such as bacteria, are used as an environmentally responsible strategy, and an alternative in the method of chemical agents when nanoparticles are synthesized. Extracellular as well as intracellular biocatalytic (including possible excretion) synthesis involves mainly oxidreductase enzymes like NADH dependent reductase nitrate NADPH, NADPH sulphite reductase alfa (NADPH dependent on sulfite reductase) and cells.

Exogenous Salicylic and Ascorbic Acids Delay Peel Enzymatic Browning and Improve Quality of Dried Figs Under Low-Temperature Storage

Dried figs undergo undesirable changes during storage, particularly browning reactions. An approach to this issue is using, separately, antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and salicylic acid as anti-enzymatic browning agents. The aforementioned chemical agents were tested at the concentrations 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% during 6 weeks-storage at 4 °C, for dried figs sealed within polyethylene terephthalate bags. For both agents, the results demonstrated that a concentration of 0.3% lowered the browning index compared to the control by 55 and 54%, respectively. Compared to other concentrations, the same concentration suppressed polyphenol oxidase to 75 and 80%, respectively. A significant impact (p < 0.05), for both treatments, particularly at 0.3%, was obtained on dried figs quality by lowering the total phenols loss and antioxidant capacity loss during the storage period. The results of vibrational spectroscopy were able to confirm the same pattern of the polyphenols compared to those examined by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, revealing thus a decreasing absorbance. A similar tendency was revealed using integrated intensity around the phenols vibration within the region of 1175–940 cm-1, as the concentrations of anti-browning agents increased. Thus, pre-storage ascorbic and salicylic acids treatments at 0.3% on dried figs could be appropriate to delay enzymatic browning and quality loss and, therefore to extend their shelf-life.

Exposure of cleaning workers to chemical agents and physical conditions in swimming pools and spas

Swimming pools and spas require a high hygiene level, and therefore constant cleaning. In this study, cleaning workers’ exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), trichloramine (TCA), and particulate matter (PM) in the swimming pools and spas were evaluated. Also, statistical methods were employed to determine what activities affect the exposure to disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The study was conducted in 32 swimming pools and spas. The measurement locations were pool areas, bathrooms, and locker rooms, both during cleaning and opening hours. During the cleaning, the total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations were low, on average 96, 251, and 91 µg/m3 for locker rooms, bathrooms, and pool areas, respectively. Similarly, during the opening hours, the TVOC concentrations were on average 78, 125, and 83 µg/m3, for locker rooms, bathrooms, and pool areas, respectively. This is in line with previous studies investigating cleaning work in other environments. The most prevalent compounds during the cleaning were 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol (DEGBE), 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethanol (DEGEE), 2-butyl-1-octanol, trichloromethane (chloroform), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), and carbon tetrachloride. The most prevalent compounds during the opening hours were D5, D-limonene, carbon tetrachloride (bathrooms and pool areas), and trichloromethane (bathrooms and pool areas). The TCA concentrations during the cleaning in the bathrooms and pool areas were on average 60 and 67 µg/m3, respectively, and during the opening hours, 28 and 122 µg/m3, respectively. The use of disinfectants was found to increase the TCA concentration in the bathrooms, while the other cleaning products did not. Even though the TCA concentrations were below the WHO’s guideline and the Finnish occupational exposure limit value of 500 µg/m3, the measured TCA levels were occasionally high enough to pose a risk of irritative symptoms. The PM concentrations were low, both in the real-time monitoring (aerodynamic diameter, Dae ≤ 15 µm) and inhalable dust samples (Dae ≤ 100 µm). Highest measured inhalable dust concentration was 350 µg/m3, well below the Finnish occupational limit value of 5,000 µg/m3 for organic inhalable dust.