ABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1340641.].
ABSTRACT
The cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponics is limited due to the elevated nutrient solution temperature (NST). In this regard, non-electric evaporative-cooling techniques were explored to maintain NST in open-air NFT hydroponics. Four cooling setups were employed by wrapping polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grow pipes with one and two layers of either wet or dry jute fabrics and attaching them with coiled aluminum pipe buried inside a) wet sand-filled brick tunnels (Cooling Setup I), b) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots (Cooling Setup II), c) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots externally wrapped with wet jute fabric (Wrapped Cooling Setup II), and d) an earthen pitcher wrapped with wet jute fabric (Cooling Setup III). Wrapping grow pipes with two layers of wet jute fabric reduced NST by 5°C as compared to exposed (naked) grow pipes. The double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes produced 182% more reduction in NST in comparison to single layer-wrapped grow pipes. Additionally, the installation of Wrapped Cooling Setup II and Cooling Setup III outperformed Cooling Setup I and Cooling Setup II through NST reduction of approximately 4°C in comparison to control. Interestingly, Cooling Setup III showed its effectiveness through NST reductions of 193%, 88%, and 23% during 11 a.m.-12 p.m. as compared to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Wrapped Cooling Setup II, respectively. In contrast, Wrapped Cooling Setup II caused NST reductions of 168%, 191%, and 18% during 2-3 p.m. in comparison to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Cooling Setup III, respectively. Thus, the double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes linked with Wrapped Cooling Setup II can ensure summer vegetable cultivation in open-air NFT hydroponics as indicated by the survival of five out of 12 vegetable plants till harvest by maintaining NST between 26°C and 28°C.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Homozygous ß thalassemia may lead to a marked reduction or absence of normal ß chain production and accumulation of unpaired alpha-globin chains. A crucial component in the oxidant susceptibility of the thalassemic RBC is the release of heme and iron from the excessive, unpaired α-globin chains. This release can initiate self-amplifying redox reactions, which deplete the cellular reduction potential (e.g., GSH), oxidize additional hemoglobin and accelerate RBC destruction. Furthermore, ß-thalassemia patients are under continuous blood transfusion, which, although life-saving, leads to an iron overload with a resultant increase in non-transferrin-bound iron that may cause greater tissue toxicity than iron in other forms. Iron-induced oxidative stress is known to be one of the most important factors determining cell injury in thalassemic patients. Therefore, we designed this study to obtain a comprehensive picture of the iron overload, antioxidant status and cell damage in ß thalassemia major patients undergoing regular blood transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 48 diagnosed patients of ß thalassemia major and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were included in the study. Estimation of hemoglobin, hematocrit, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD),vitamin E, serum ferritin, total and direct bilirubin, AST and ALT was carried out. RESULTS: The levels of vitamin E, antioxidant enzymes GPX and SOD were significantly lowered in ß thalassemic patients as compared with the control group (P<0.001). Serum total and direct bilirubin, AST and ALT were significantly elevated in thalassemic subjects as compared with the control group, indicating liver cell damage. CONCLUSION: Thus, our findings indicate that thalassemics are in a state of enhanced oxidative stress and that the administration of selective antioxidants would represent a promising approach toward counteracting oxidative damage and its deleterious effects on the disease status.
