Response of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plant to bio-fertilizer and plant residues in sandy soil.

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been intensively used to improve peanut productivity. However, the high cost of N fertilizer, and the need for sustainable alternative fertilizer sources have increased the strategic importance of nitrogen fixation (NF). Thus, field experiments were conducted in an experimental farm with a drip irrigation system, at the Atomic Energy Authority, Inshas, Egypt, in order to measure the impact of efficiency symbiotic Bradyrhizobium sp. and asymbiotic Azotobacter sp. on NF, from air and soil, in the presence or absence of plant residues on the growth and yield of peanut plant. All treatments received nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 72 kg N per hectare. Nitrogen dose was applied using ammonium sulphate 15N labeled of 10% atom excess from the peanut. Results indicated that the application of Bradyrhizobium sp. with plant residues significantly increased fresh and dry weight/m2, pod and seed weight/plant-1,100- seed weight, and biological yield kg ha-1, where the highest mean values of seed yield (4648 and 4529 kg ha-1), oil % (52.29 and 52.21%), seed protein percentage (16.09 and 15.89%), as well as nitrogen derived from air (63.14 and 66.20%) in the first and second seasons were recorded under the application of Bradyrhizobium sp, respectively. Bradyrhizobium sp. inoculation showed nearly close portions of Ndfa to those recorded with Azotobacter sp., in both the presence and absence of plant residue application through the two seasons. The investigated yield signs and their properties were significantly enhanced by bacterial inoculation with plant residue application. The present study shows that both possibility of NF of peanut, and nitrogen uptake in the soil are enhanced by field inoculation with effective Bradyrhizobium sp. with plant residue application. In practice, inoculation is a great strategy to improve soil fertility for subsequent planting, since it helps boost the import of nitrogen from plant biomass into the soil.

Multi-center validation of an artificial intelligence system for detection of COVID-19 on chest radiographs in symptomatic patients.

OBJECTIVES: While chest radiograph (CXR) is the first-line imaging investigation in patients with respiratory symptoms, differentiating COVID-19 from other respiratory infections on CXR remains challenging. We developed and validated an AI system for COVID-19 detection on presenting CXR. METHODS: A deep learning model (RadGenX), trained on 168,850 CXRs, was validated on a large international test set of presenting CXRs of symptomatic patients from 9 study sites (US, Italy, and Hong Kong SAR) and 2 public datasets from the US and Europe. Performance was measured by area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). Bootstrapped simulations were performed to assess performance across a range of potential COVID-19 disease prevalence values (3.33 to 33.3%). Comparison against international radiologists was performed on an independent test set of 852 cases. RESULTS: RadGenX achieved an AUC of 0.89 on 4-fold cross-validation and an AUC of 0.79 (95%CI 0.78-0.80) on an independent test cohort of 5,894 patients. Delong's test showed statistical differences in model performance across patients from different regions (p < 0.01), disease severity (p < 0.001), gender (p < 0.001), and age (p = 0.03). Prevalence simulations showed the negative predictive value increases from 86.1% at 33.3% prevalence, to greater than 98.5% at any prevalence below 4.5%. Compared with radiologists, McNemar's test showed the model has higher sensitivity (p < 0.001) but lower specificity (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: An AI model that predicts COVID-19 infection on CXR in symptomatic patients was validated on a large international cohort providing valuable context on testing and performance expectations for AI systems that perform COVID-19 prediction on CXR. KEY POINTS: • An AI model developed using CXRs to detect COVID-19 was validated in a large multi-center cohort of 5,894 patients from 9 prospectively recruited sites and 2 public datasets. • Differences in AI model performance were seen across region, disease severity, gender, and age. • Prevalence simulations on the international test set demonstrate the model's NPV is greater than 98.5% at any prevalence below 4.5%.

Varicose Veins of the Lower Extremity: Doppler US Evaluation Protocols, Patterns, and Pitfalls.

Venous insufficiency is a cause of substantial morbidity and medical expenditures. Diagnostic US evaluation of venous insufficiency requires a thorough understanding of the venous anatomy, including the deep, superficial, and perforator veins. The highly variable venous anatomy requires that operators use sound judgment to expand on protocol images and thus avoid missing important sources of reflux. The US examination requires specific patient positioning and use of provocative maneuvers. A basic understanding of the pathophysiology of venous insufficiency and the various treatment methods helps to identify key observations so that ineffective treatment methods are not pursued. The examination reports should have greater detail than those for the more common lower extremity deep venous thrombosis evaluation, requiring numeric and narrative descriptions of deep and superficial venous patency, reflux, diameter, and pathways. Potential pitfalls include not recognizing or detecting deep venous reflux, misidentifying common femoral vein reflux as deep venous reflux when the reflux is isolated or related to saphenofemoral insufficiency, not recognizing anterior accessory great saphenous vein (AAGSV) involvement in saphenofemoral insufficiency, not recognizing or reporting great saphenous vein or AAGSV superficialization, not suspecting central venous obstruction, and not realizing when provocative maneuvers were ineffective. With knowledge of the lower extremity venous anatomy, venous insufficiency pathophysiology, basic treatment strategies, protocol best practices, patterns of observation, and diagnostic pitfalls, those who interpret venous insufficiency US studies can perform examinations and deliver reports that help patients receive appropriate treatment. Online supplemental material is available for this article. ©RSNA, 2022.

Use of mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus fertilization to improve the yield of onion (Allium cepa L.) plant.

Improving the economical yield of commonly cultivated crops is one of the most pressing social and scientific issues in modern agriculture. This paper was conducted to investigate the bio-efficacy of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in improving phosphorous (P) utilization and increasing the yield of onion plant grown in sandy soil under a drip irrigation system. The obtained results showed that AMF inoculation of onion and application of 120 kg P fertilizer ha-1 significantly increased the fresh and dry weights, chlorophyll content of onion as well as P concentration in the root, shoot, and bulb during two growing seasons. Moreover, AMF increased the bioavailability of P in the rhizosphere and significantly enhanced the N-utilization by the inoculated plant. The economic yield of the onion plant inoculated by AMF and fertilized by different doses of P fertilizer was much higher than that obtained by the control (without AMF). These findings indicated that inoculating the onion plant in the field with AMF could be very effective in increasing the yield of the onion plant. Additionally, this study suggests AMF as a low-cost and promising candidate for the sustainable production of the onion crop using reclaimed sandy soils and a drip irrigation system.

Sphenopalatine Ganglion Nerve Block for the Treatment of Migraine Headaches in the Pediatric Population.

BACKGROUND: Persistent headaches and migraines are common in pediatrics with various treatment options. The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) has been identified as communicating with the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system and pain receptors. In adults, SPG block is an established treatment but there is no published literature in pediatrics. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to analyze the SPG block in pediatrics. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, single-center study. SETTING: This study was conducted at Phoenix Children's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. METHODS: A comprehensive review of patient charts from 2015-2018 of all pediatric SPG blockades performed by interventional radiology were included in the analysis. Utilizing fluoroscopic guidance, a SphenoCath was inserted into each nostril and after confirming position, and 4% lidocaine injected. Pre- and postprocedural pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Immediate and acute complications were documented. RESULTS: A total of 489 SPG blocks were performed in patients between ages 6 and 26 years who were diagnosed with migraine or status migrainosus. One hundred percent technical success was achieved with mean reduction of pain scores of 2.4, which was statistically significant (P < 0.0001). There were no immediate or acute complications. LIMITATIONS: Results of this study were based on retrospective study. The use of VAS may be subjective, and the need of a prospective study may be necessary. CONCLUSIONS: With 100% technical success, statistically significant pain reduction, and no complications, we support SPG block in the pediatric population as a simple, efficacious, and safe treatment option for refractory headaches. It is routinely performed in less than 10 minutes and commonly negates the need for inpatient headache pain management. Given its minimal invasivity, we support the use of SPG blockade as a therapeutic treatment in refractory pediatric migraines as it reduces the need for intravenous medications, prolonged pain control, or hospital admission.

Biosynthetic new composite material containing CuO nanoparticles produced by Aspergillus terreus for 47Sc separation of cancer theranostics application from irradiated Ca target.

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are needed in various fields, especially in the biomedical field. CuO NPs was obtained from Aspergillus terreus filtrate. CuO NPs structure was confirmed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, as well as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD offers the nanoparticles purity of CuO biosynthesis. CuO NPs are spherical when examined with TEM. The average size of CuO NPs from TEM was 15.75 ± 3.95 nm. New composite of P (AA-AN)-NPs CuO was synthesized by biotechnology and the induced γ-radiation. The distribution coefficient value (Kd) of 47Sc(III) as well as 47Ca(II) ions for the synthetic new composite was determined by batch technique. Radiochemical separation of 47Sc(III) from irradiated calcium target was studied using chromatographic column packed with the new composite material. The recovery yield of 78 ± 1.2% for 47Sc(III) was obtained using 1 M HCl. The quality control tests (chemical, radionuclide and radiochemical purities) of the eluted 47Sc confirmed that it's adequate for nuclear medicine applications.

Pharmacological blockade of the aromatase enzyme, but not the androgen receptor, reverses androstenedione-induced cognitive impairments in young surgically menopausal rats.

Androstenedione, the main circulating ovarian hormone present after menopause, has been shown to positively correlate with poor spatial memory in an ovary-intact rodent model of follicular depletion, and to impair spatial memory when administered exogenously to surgically menopausal ovariectomized rats. Androstenedione can be converted directly to estrone via the aromatase enzyme, or to testosterone. The current study investigated the hormonal mechanism underlying androstenedione-induced cognitive impairments. Young adult ovariectomized rats were given either androstenedione, androstenedione plus the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole to block conversion to estrone, androstenedione plus the androgen receptor blocker flutamide to block androgen receptor activity, or vehicle treatment, and were then administered a battery of learning and memory maze tasks. Since we have previously shown that estrone administration to ovariectomized rats impaired cognition, we hypothesized that androstenedione's conversion to estrone underlies, in part, its negative cognitive impact. Here, androstenedione administration impaired spatial reference and working memory. Further, androstenedione did not induce memory deficits when co-administered with the aromatase inhibitor, anastrozole, whereas pharmacological blockade of the androgen receptor failed to block the cognitive impairing effects of androstenedione. Anastrozole alone did not impact performance on any cognitive measure. The current data support the tenet that androstenedione impairs memory through its conversion to estrone, rather than via actions on the androgen receptor. Studying the effects of aromatase and estrogen metabolism is critical to elucidating how hormones impact women's health across the lifespan, and results hold important implications for understanding and optimizing the hormone milieu from the many endogenous and exogenous hormone exposures across the lifetime.