Cu-nanoparticles enhance the sustainable growth and yield of drought-subjected wheat through physiological progress.

Drought stress (DS) is a significant abiotic stress that limits agricultural productivity worldwide. In semi-arid climates, one potential solution to alleviate the deleterious effects of drought is the use of soil amendments such as nanoparticles. The current research was conducted out to probe the sway of drought at critical growth stages (CGS) of wheat crop (D0: Control, D1: Drought at tillering stage, and D2: Drought at anthesis stage) and the application of Cu-nanoparticles (T0: 0 mg L-1, T1: 300 mg L-1, T2: 700 mg L-1, and T3: 950 mg L-1) in order to improve drought resilience. Results of the study revealed that DS considerably decreased the wheat growth and yield during CGS. However, Cu-nanoparticles application alleviated the detrimental backlash of DS and led to improvements in various aspects of wheat growth and yield, including plant height, spike length, 1000 grain weight, stomatal conductance, leaf chlorophyll content, water use efficiency, leaf turgor potential, relative water content, and ultimately the grain yield. The use of principal component analysis allowed us to integrate and interpret the diverse findings of our study, elucidating the impact of Cu-nanoparticle treatment on wheat growth and yield under drought. Overall, the study concluded that DS during the anthesis stage had the most significant negative impact on crop yield. However, applying Cu-nanoparticles at the rate of 300 mg L-1 proved to be an effective strategy for improving crop productivity by reducing the harmful effects of drought.

Acute Appendicitis in an 86-Year-Old Patient: Uncommon Age for a Common Disease.

Appendicitis, an inflammation of the vermiform appendix, is one of the most common causes of acute abdomen and one of the most frequent indications for emergency abdominal surgery worldwide. Any person older than 65 years old is considered elderly. The elderly population constitutes only 5-10% of total appendicitis cases. The symptoms depend on the location of the appendix. Generally, lower abdominal pain and anorexia are known to be the most common symptoms of appendicitis. Although young adults have a higher prevalence of appendicitis, the elderly have a higher complication rate, 37.5% versus 43.97%. In this article, we report a case of appendicitis in an 86-year-old gentleman known to have type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and prostate cancer. The patient was managed successfully after a complicated hospital course and discharged in an improved and stable condition.

Morpho-physiological and biochemical response of wheat to various treatments of silicon nano-particles under drought stress conditions.

Silicon nanoparticles (Si-NPs) have shown their potential for use in farming under water-deficient conditions. Thus, the experiment was accomplished to explore the impacts of seed priming of Si-NPs on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and yield under different drought levels. The plants were grown in pots under natural ecological environmental conditions and were harvested on 25th of April, 2020. The results revealed that seed priming of Si-NPs (0, 300, 600, and 900 mg/L) suggestively improved, the spike length, grains per spike, 1000 grains weight, plant height, grain yield, and biological yield by 12-42%, 14-54%, 5-49%, 5-41%, 17-62%, and 21-64%, respectively, relative to the control. The Si-NPs improved the leaf gas trade ascribes and chlorophyll a and b concentrations, though decreased the oxidative pressure in leaves which was demonstrated by the diminished electrolyte leakage and upgrade in superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities in leaf under Si-NPs remedies over the control. The outcomes proposed that Si-NPs could improve the yield of wheat under a dry spell. In this manner, the utilization of Si-NPs by seed priming technique is a practical methodology for controlling the drought stress in wheat. These findings will provide the basis for future research and helpful to improve the food security under drought and heat related challenges.

Ameliorating Drought Effects in Wheat Using an Exclusive or Co-Applied Rhizobacteria and ZnO Nanoparticles.

Drought is a major abiotic factor and affects cereal-based staple food production and reliability in developing countries such as Pakistan. To ensure a sustainable and consistent food supply, holistic production plans involving the integration of several drought mitigation approaches are required. Using a randomized complete block design strategy, we examined the drought-ameliorating characteristics of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and nanoparticles (NPs) exclusively or as a combined application (T4) through three stages (D1, D2, and D3) of wheat growth (T1, control). Our field research revealed that Azospirillum brasilense alone (T2) and zinc oxide NPs (T3) improved wheat plant water relations, chlorophyll, proline, phenolics and grain quality, yield, and their allied traits over the stressed treatments. Specifically, the best outcome was observed in the combined treatment of PGPR and ZnO NPs (T4). Interestingly, the combined treatment delivered effective drought mitigation through enhanced levels of antioxidants (15% APX, 27% POD, 35% CAT, 38% PPO and 44% SOD) over controls at the grain-filling stage (GFS, D3 × T1). The 40% improvements were recorded under the combined treatment at GFS over their respective controls. Their combined usage (PGPR and ZnO NPs) was concluded as an effective strategy for building wheat resilience under drought, especially in arid and semi-arid localities.

Assessment of the Current Endodontic Practices among General Dental Practitioners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A contemporary knowledge of root canal treatment (RCT) is a prerequisite for a successful outcome. Studies observed that General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) were not abreast of current endodontic knowledge due to a lack of continuing dental education, not following the treatment protocols that they had learned in their undergraduate program, and overlooking the evidence-based current endodontic practices. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the awareness, attitude, and clinical endodontic practices among General Dental Practitioners in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among all 312 GDPs working in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic details and 23 questions regarding current endodontic practices. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Version 21 (Chicago, IL, USA). The chi-square test was applied to explore the influence of gender, workplace, and the years of professional activity on the materials and techniques employed in the RCT procedure. The study results showed that of all respondents, 159 (51.0%) were males, 153 (49.0%) were females, and 286 (91.7%) were Saudi nationals. Most of the GDPs, i.e., 204 (65.4%) practiced in private hospitals or clinics whereas 108 (34.6%) practiced in Government hospitals. Root canal treatment on all teeth had been performed by 196 (62%) of the practitioners. Association of gender with demographic details and endodontic practices revealed a statistically significant difference between both genders with respect to region, nationality, type of RCT treated on the tooth, and the technique used to measure the working length (p < 0.05). Furthermore, years of professional experience and workplace significantly affect endodontic practices (p < 0.05). This study concluded that most of the general dental practitioners complied with quality standard guidelines showing a positive attitude toward endodontic practices. Furthermore, irrespective of gender, most of the steps in endodontic procedures revealed a significant association with years of professional experience and the workplace.

Biochar enhances wheat crop productivity by mitigating the effects of drought: Insights into physiological and antioxidant defense mechanisms.

Drought stress is a major limitation in wheat production around the globe. Organic amendments could be the possible option in semi-arid climatic conditions to mitigate the adverse effects of drought at critical growth stages. Wheat straw biochar (BC0 = Control, BC1 = 3% biochar and BC2 = 5% biochar) was used to alleviate the drought stress at tillering (DTS), flowering (DFS), and grain filling (DGFS) stages. Drought stress significantly reduced the growth and yield of wheat at critical growth stages, with DGFS being the most susceptible stage, resulting in significant yield loss. Biochar application substantially reduced the detrimental effects of drought by improving plant height (15.74%), fertile tiller count (17.14%), spike length (16.61%), grains per spike (13.89%), thousand grain weight (10.4%), and biological yield (13.1%) when compared with the control treatment. Furthermore, physiological parameters such as water use efficiency (38.41%), stomatal conductance (42.76%), chlorophyll a (19.3%), chlorophyll b (22.24%), transpiration rate (39.17%), photosynthetic rate (24.86%), electrolyte leakage (-42.5%) hydrogen peroxide (-18.03%) superoxide dismutase (24.66%), catalase (24.11%) and peroxidase (-13.14%) were also improved by biochar application. The use of principal component analysis linked disparate scales of our findings to explain the changes occurred in wheat growth and yield in response to biochar application under drought circumstances. In essence, using biochar at 5% rate could be a successful strategy to promote wheat grain production by reducing the hazardous impacts of drought stress.