A recent insight of applications of gold nanoparticles in glioblastoma multiforme therapy.

The application of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in cancer therapy, particularly targeted therapy of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is an up-and-coming field of research that has gained much interest in recent years. GBM is a life-threatening malignant tumour of the brain that currently has a 95 % death rate with an average of 15 months of survival. AuNPs have proven to have wide clinical implications and compelling therapeutic potential in many researches, specifically in GBM treatment. It was found that the reason why AuNPs were highly desired for GBM treatment was due to their unique properties that diversified the applications of AuNPs further to include imaging, diagnosis, and photothermal therapy. These properties include easy synthesis, biocompatibility, and surface functionalization. Various studies also underscored the ability of AuNPs to cross the blood-brain-barrier and selectively target tumour cells while displaying no major safety concerns which resulted in better therapy results. We attempt to bring together some of these studies in this review and provide a comprehensive overview of safety evaluations and current and potential applications of AuNPs in GBM therapy that may result in AuNP-mediated therapy to be the new gold standard for GBM treatment.

A novel synthesized Vanillin-Based Deep Eutectic Agent (V-DEA) mitigates postharvest fungal decay and improve shelf life and quality of cherry tomatoes.

Fusarium oxysporum and Botrytis cinerea are the main pathogens that cause fruit decay and reduce the postharvest shelf life of cherry tomatoes. Boosting the potency of natural products requires implementing structural modification to combat postharvest pathogens. Herein, we developed a novel Vanillin-Deep Eutectic Agent (V-DEA) from natural compounds and evaluated its effectiveness against tomato fruit rot pathogens. The results demonstrated that V-DEA suppressed mycelium growth and spore germination of F. oxysporum and B. cinerea by enhancing cell membrane permeability, increasing lipid peroxidation, and inhibiting enzyme activities. Importantly, using 8-mM V-DEA successfully prevented postharvest decay in cherry tomatoes, while 4-mM significantly extended their shelf life by reducing weight loss and shriveling, and enhancing key fruit qualities such as total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, and lycopene. In conclusion, V-DEA exhibits dual properties as a potent pathogen inhibitor and antioxidant activity, thus prolonging the shelf life of cherry tomatoes.

Preparation and application of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose blended with beeswax and essential oil edible coating to enhance the shelf life of sweet cherries.

The study involved preparing and applying edible nano-emulsion coatings containing hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), beeswax (BW), and essential oils (thyme, cinnamon, clove, and peppermint) onto sweet cherries. The application was conducted at 4 °C, and the coated cherries were stored for 36 days. This research examines synthesized nano-emulsions physicochemical properties and antibacterial and antifungal activities (C1, C2, and C3). Additionally, it evaluates the quality parameters of control and coated sweet cherry samples. The features of the three edible coatings were assessed, and the findings from the zeta sizer, zeta potential, FTIR, and SEM analyses were deemed satisfactory. It was observed that the application of nano-emulsion coating C1 yielded positive results in maintaining quality attributes such as total suspended solids (TSS), total solids (TS), color, weight loss, respiration rate, firmness, total phenolic contents, and sensory evaluations. Nano-emulsion coating C1 demonstrated efficacy as an antibacterial and antifungal agent against foodborne pathogens E. coli and A. niger, respectively. The current research results are promising and applicable in food industries. The implications suggest that composite nano-emulsion, specifically nano-emulsion edible coatings, can be extensively and effectively used to preserve the quality and shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, the environmental waste from conventional food packaging will be minimized using edible packaging applications.

Identification of a 1-acyl-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a key enzyme involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis.

Latent tuberculosis, caused by dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), poses a threat to global health through the incubation of undiagnosed infections within the community. Dormant Mtb, which is phenotypically tolerant to antibiotics, accumulates triacylglycerol (TAG) utilizing fatty acids obtained from macrophage lipid droplets. TAG is vital to mycobacteria, serving as a cell envelope component and energy reservoir during latency. TAG synthesis occurs by sequential acylation of glycerol-3-phosphate, wherein the second acylation step is catalyzed by acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (AGPAT), resulting in the production of phosphatidic acid (PA), a precursor for the synthesis of TAG and various phospholipids. Here, we have characterized a putative acyltransferase of Mtb encoded by Rv3816c. We found that Rv3816c has all four characteristic motifs of AGPAT, exists as a membrane-bound enzyme, and functions as 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase. The enzyme could transfer the acyl group to acylglycerol-3-phosphate (LPA) from monounsaturated fatty acyl-coenzyme A of chain length 16 or 18 to produce PA. Complementation of Escherichia coli PlsC mutant in vivo by Rv3816c confirmed that it functions as AGPAT. Its active site mutants, H43A and D48A, were incapable of transferring the acyl group to LPA in vitro and were not able to rescue the growth defect of E. coli PlsC mutant in vivo. Identifying Rv3816c as AGPAT and comparing its properties with other AGPAT homologs is not only a step toward understanding the TAG biosynthesis in mycobacteria but has the potential to explore it as a drug target.

Optimization of electrochemical regeneration of intercalated MXene for the adsorptive removal of ciprofloxacin: Prospective mechanism.

2D-Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets intercalated with sodium ions (SI-Ti3C2Tx) were synthesized and utilized in simultaneous adsorption and electrochemical regeneration with ciprofloxacin (CPX). The primary focus of this study is to investigate the long-term stability of SI-Ti3C2Tx MXene and to propose the underlying regeneration mechanisms. The successful synthesis of Ti3AlC2, Ti3C2Tx MXene, and SI-Ti3C2Tx MXene was confirmed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Electrochemical regeneration parameters such as charge passed, regeneration time, current density, and electrolyte composition were optimized with values of 787.5 C g-1, 7.5 min, 10 mA cm-2, and 2.5w/v% sodium chloride, respectively, enabling the complete regeneration of the SI-Ti3C2Tx MXene. In addition, the electrochemical regeneration significantly enhanced CPX removal from the SI-Ti3C2Tx MXene owing to partial amorphization, disorderliness, increased functional groups, delamination, and defect creation in the structure. Thus, the synthesized nano-adsorbent has proven helpful in practical water treatment with optimized electrochemical regeneration processes.

In Situ Synthesis of Crystalline MoS2@ZIF-67 Nanocomposite for the Efficient Removal of Methyl Orange Dye from Aqueous Media.

The zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) adsorbent and its composites are known to effectively remove organic dyes from aqueous environments. Here, we report a unique crystalline MoS2@ZIF-67 nanocomposite adsorbent for the efficient removal of methyl orange (MO) dye from an aqueous medium. In situ synthetic techniques were used to fabricate a well-crystalline MoS2@ZIF-67 nanocomposite, which was then discovered to be a superior adsorbent to its constituents. The successful synthesis of the nanocomposite was confirmed using XRD, EDX, FTIR, and SEM. The MoS2@ZIF-67 nanocomposite exhibited faster adsorption kinetics and higher dye removal efficiency compared with its constituents. The adsorption kinetic data matched well with the pseudo-second-order model, which signifies that the MO adsorption on the nanocomposite is a chemically driven process. The Langmuir model successfully illustrated the MO dye adsorption on the nanocomposite through comparing the real data with adsorption isotherm models. However, it appears that the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model was also in competition with the Langmuir model. According to the acquired thermodynamics parameters, the adsorption of MO on the MoS2@ZIF-67 nanocomposite surface was determined to be spontaneous and exothermic. The findings of this research open an avenue for using the MoS2@ZIF-67 nanocomposite to efficiently remove organic dyes from wastewater efflux.

Lithium-induced alterations in soybean nodulation and nitrogen fixation through multifunctional mechanisms.

The increasing footprints of lithium (Li) in agroecosystems combined with limited recycling options have raised uncertain consequences for important crops. Nitrogen (N2)-fixation by legumes is an important biological response process, but the cause and effect of Li exposure on plant root-nodule symbiosis and biological N2-fixation (BNF) potential are still unclear. Soybean as a model plant was exposed to Li at low (25 mg kg-1), medium (50 mg kg-1), and high (100 mg kg-1) concentrations. We found that soybean growth and nodulation capacity had a concentration-dependent response to Li. Li at 100 mg kg-1 reduced the nodule numbers, weight, and BNF potential of soybean in comparison to the low and medium levels. Significant shift in soybean growth and BNF after exposure to Li were associated with alteration in the nodule metabolic pathways involved in nitrogen uptake and metabolism (urea, glutamine and glutamate). Importantly, poor soybean nodulation after high Li exposure was due in part to a decreased abundance of bacterium Ensifer in the nodule bacterial community. Also, the dominant N2-fixing bacterium Ensifer was significantly correlated with carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathways. The findings of our study offer mechanistic insights into the environmental and biological impacts of Li on soybean root-nodule symbiosis and N2-acquisition and provide a pathway to develop strategies to mitigate the challenges posed by Li in agroecosystems.

Plants can talk: a new era in plant acoustics.

Plants release chemical signals to interact with their environment when exposed to stress. Khait and colleagues unveiled that plants 'verbalize' stress by emitting airborne sounds. These can train machine learning models to identify plant stressors. This unlocks a new path in plant-environment interactions research with multiple possibilities for future applications.

Estrogens in plants and emerging risks to human health.

Steroid estrogens (SEs) accumulate in agro-food systems through wastewater treatment and dairy manure, but very little is known about their potential impact on plants and dietary risk to human health. We conducted a meta-analysis to address key questions including, how plants respond to SEs under different environmental conditions, what is the accumulation potential of SEs in distinct plant families, and associated daily dietary intake risks to humans. Based on 517 endpoints, we revealed that various crop species show a heterogeneous response to SEs types (n = 140), SEs concentrations (n = 141), and exposure medium (n = 166). A subsidy-stress response was observed in terms of SEs accumulation for plant growth. The bioaccumulation of SE in plants was shown to be greatest in sand, followed by soil, and hydroponic media. Plants exposed to SEs exhibit considerable changes in physiological and biochemical characteristics. Surprisingly, food crops such as carrot and potato were found as major source of SEs daily intake in food chain but their consequences remains largely unknown. Further field-oriented research is needed to unveil the threshold levels for SEs in soil-plant systems as it may pose a global threat to human health. The state of knowledge presented here may guide towards urgently needed future investigations in this field for reducing the risk in SEs in agro-food systems.

Testing of Sr-Doped ZnO/CNT Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution from Water Splitting under Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Plasma Exposure.

Nonthermal plasma is a well-recognized environmentally advantageous method for producing green fuels. This work used different photocatalysts, including PZO, SxZO, and SxZCx for hydrogen production using an atmospheric argon coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-based light source. The photocatalysts were produced using a sol-gel route. The DBD discharge column was filled with water, methanol, and the catalyst to run the reaction under argon plasma. The DBD reactor was operated with a 10 kV AC source to sustain plasma for water splitting. The light absorption study of the tested catalysts revealed a decrease in the band gap with an increase in the concentration of Sr and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the Sr/ZnO/CNTs series. The photocatalyst S25ZC2 demonstrated the lowest photoluminescence (PL) intensity, implying the most quenched recombination of charge carriers. The highest H2 evolution rate of 2760 µmol h-1 g-1 was possible with the S25ZC2 catalyst, and the lowest evolution rate of 56 µmol h-1 g-1 was observed with the PZO catalyst. The photocatalytic activity of S25ZC2 was initially high, which decreased slightly over time due to the deactivation of the photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity decreased from 2760 to 1670 µmol h-1 g-1 at the end of the process.

Integrating nanotechnology with plant microbiome for next-generation crop health.

Nanotechnology has enormous potential for sustainable agriculture, such as improving nutrient use efficiency, plant health, and food production. Nanoscale modulation of the plant-associated microbiota offers an additional valuable opportunity to increase global crop production and ensure future food and nutrient security. Nanomaterials (NMs) applied to agricultural crops can impact plant and soil microbiota, which offers valuable services to host plants, including the acquisition of nutrients, abiotic stress tolerance, and disease suppression. Dissecting the complex interactions between NMs and plants by integrating multi-omic approaches is providing new insights into how NMs can activate host responses and functionality as well as influence native microbial communities. Such nexus and moving beyond descriptive microbiome studies to hypothesis-driven research will foster microbiome engineering and open up opportunities for the development of synthetic microbial communities to provide agronomic solutions. Herein, we first summarize the significant role of NMs and the plant microbiome in crop productivity and then focus on NMs effects on plant-associated microbiota. We outline three urgent priority research areas and call for a transdisciplinary collaborative approach, involving plant scientists, soil scientists, environmental scientists, ecologists, microbiologists, taxonomists, chemists, physicists, and stakeholders, to advance nano-microbiome research. Detailed understanding of the nanomaterial-plant-microbiome interactions and the mechanisms underlying NMs-mediated shifts in the microbiome assembly and functions may help to exploit the services of both nano-objects and microbiota for next-generation crop health.

Enhanced bio-electrochemical performance of microbially catalysed anode and cathode in a microbial electrosynthesis system.

Most bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) use biotic/abiotic electrode combinations, with platinum-based abiotic electrodes being the most common. However, the non-renewability, cost, and poisonous nature of such electrode systems based on noble metals are major bottlenecks in BES commercialisation. Microbial electrosynthesis (MES), which is a sustainable energy platform that simultaneously treats wastewater and produces chemical commodities, also faces the same problem. In this study, a dual bio-catalysed MES system with a biotic anode and cathode (MES-D) was tested and compared with a biotic cathode/abiotic anode system (MES-S). Different bio-electrochemical tests revealed improved BES performance in MES-D, with a 3.9-fold improvement in current density compared to that of MES-S. Volatile fatty acid (VFA) generation also increased 3.2-, 4.1-, and 1.8-fold in MES-D compared with that in MES-S for acetate, propionate, and butyrate, respectively. The improved performance of MES-D could be attributed to the microbial metabolism at the bioanode, which generated additional electrons, as well as accumulative VFA production by both the bioanode and biocathode chambers. Microbial community analysis revealed the enrichment of electroactive bacteria such as Proteobacteria (60%), Bacteroidetes (67%), and Firmicutes + Proteobacteria + Bacteroidetes (75%) on the MES-S cathode and MES-D cathode and anode, respectively. These results signify the potential of combined bioanode/biocathode BESs such as MES for application in improving energy and chemical commodity production.

Dynamics of heavy metals during the development and decomposition of leaves of Avicennia marina and Kandelia obovata in a subtropical mangrove swamp.

In mangrove wetlands, leaves make up a high proportion of the plant biomass and can accumulate heavy metals from contaminated sediment. Despite this, it is still unclear how heavy metal concentrations in leaves change as they develop and how metals in senescence leaves are recycled back into the mangrove ecosystems during decomposition. The present study aims to investigate the dynamics of six heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, and Pb) in leaves of two common mangrove plants, Avicennia marina and Kandelia obovata, at different stages of development (young, mature, and senescent) and leaf litter decomposition (from 0 to 20 weeks). Based on litterbag experiments in a subtropical mangrove swamp, both plant species showed similar trends in alternations of the six heavy metals during leaf development, that was, decreased in Cu and Zn but increased in Pb, while Cr, Ni, and Cd remained steady. All heavy metals in litter gradually increased in concentration during decomposition. By the end of the 20-weeks decomposition, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Cd in decayed leaves were comparable to those in sediment, with Cu, Zn, and Cd at approximately 18, 75, and 0.2 mg·kg-1, respectively, while Cr (66 mg·kg-1), Ni (65 mg·kg-1), and Pb (55 mg·kg-1) were lower than those in sediment, indicating that metals were not retained in litter but recycled back to the sediment. Tannins in mangrove leaf litter might chelate heavy metals, affecting their migration and transformation of heavy metals in estuarine mangrove wetlands. The findings of our study provide insight into the interactions between toxic heavy metals and mangrove plant species during leaf development, representing the first example of how most metals would be retained in leaf litter during decomposition, thereby reducing their release to estuarine and marine ecosystems.

Interplay of higher plants with lithium pollution: Global trends, meta-analysis, and perspectives.

Lithium (Li) is gaining attention due to rapid rise in modern industries but their ultimate fingerprints on plants are not well established. Herein, we executed a meta-analysis of the existing recent literature investigating the impact of Li sources and levels on plant species under different growth conditions to understand the existing state of knowledge. Toxic effects of Li exposure in plants varies as a function of medium and interestingly, more negative responses are reported in hydroponic media as compared to soil and foliar application. Additionally, toxic effects of Li vary with Li source materials and LiCl more negatively affected plant development parameters such as plant germination (n = 48) and root biomass (n = 57) and recorded highly uptake in plants (n = 78), while LiNO3 has more negative effects on shoot biomass. The Li at <50 mg L-1 concentrations significantly influenced the plant physiological indicators including plant germination and root biomass, while 50-500 mg L-1 Li concentration influence the biochemical parameters. The dose-response relationship (EC50) ranges regarding the exposure medium of Li sources in plant species were observed 24.6-196.7 ppm respectively. The uptake potential of Li is dose-dependent and their translocation/bioaccumulation remains unknown. Future work should include full life cycle studies of the crops to elucidate the bioaccumulation of Li in edible tissues and to investigate possible trophic transfer of Li.

Root-Zone Restriction Regulates Soil Factors and Bacterial Community Assembly of Grapevine.

Root-zone restriction induces physiological stress on roots, thus limiting the vegetative and enhancing reproductive development, which promotes fruit quality and growth. Numerous bacterial-related growth-promoting, stress-mitigating, and disease-prevention activities have been described, but none in root-restricted cultivation. The study aimed to understand the activities of grapevine bacterial communities and plant-bacterial relationships to improve fruit quality. We used High-throughput sequencing, edaphic soil factors, and network analysis to explore the impact of restricted cultivation on the diversity, composition and network structure of bacterial communities of rhizosphere soil, roots, leaves, flowers and berries. The bacterial richness, diversity, and networking were indeed regulated by root-zone restriction at all phenological stages, with a peak at the veraison stage, yielding superior fruit quality compared to control plants. Moreover, it also handled the nutrient availability in treated plants, such as available nitrogen (AN) was 3.5, 5.7 and 0.9 folds scarcer at full bloom, veraison and maturity stages, respectively, compared to control plants. Biochemical indicators of the berry have proved that high-quality berry is yielded in association with the bacteria. Cyanobacteria were most abundant in the phyllosphere, Proteobacteria in the rhizosphere, and Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in the endosphere. These bacterial phyla were most correlated and influenced by different soil factors in control and treated plants. Our findings are a comprehensive approach to the implications of root-zone restriction on the bacterial microbiota, which will assist in directing a more focused procedure to uncover the precise mechanism, which is still undiscovered.

Efficacy of metallic nanoparticles in attenuating the accumulation and toxicity of chromium in plants: Current knowledge and future perspectives.

Nanoparticles have emerged as cutting-edge technology for the improvement of crops yield and safe cultivation of agricultural plants, especially in peripheral areas impaired with toxic heavy metals including chromium (Cr). The uncontrolled release of Cr mainly from anthropogenic factors is substantially polluting the surrounding environment, thereby extensively accumulated in soil-plant system. The excessive Cr-accretion in plant tissues disturbed the morph-physiological, biochemical, cellular, metabolic and molecular processes, and impaired the plants functionality. Therefore, it is obligatory to restrict the accumulation and toxic effects of Cr in plant organs. Recent studies on metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) such as iron oxide, silicon dioxide, copper oxide and zinc oxide have approved their efficacy as potent pool to curb the Cr-induced phytotoxicities and improved the plant tolerance. MNPs attenuated the bioaccumulation and phytotoxicity of Cr by utilizing key mechanisms such as improved photosynthetic machinery, regulation of cellular metabolites, greater chelation capacity to bind with Cr, release of corresponding metallic ions, upsurge in the uptake of essential nutrients, activation of antioxidants (enzymatic and non-enzymatic), reduction in oxidative stress, and cellular injuries, thus improvement in plant growth performances. We have briefly discussed the current knowledge and research gaps in existing literature along with possible recommendations for future research. Overall, Cr-detoxification by MNPs may depends upon the target plant species, Cr speciation, plant growth stages (seedling, vegetative and ripening etc.), treatment methods (foliar spray, seed priming and nutrient solution etc.), type, size, dose and coating of applied MNPs, and conditions (hydroponic and soil environment etc.). This review would help plant scientists to develop MNPs based strategies such as nano-fertilizers to alleviate the Cr-accumulation and its toxic impacts. This may leads to safe and healthy food production. The review outcomes can provide new horizons for research in the applications of MNPs for the sustainable agriculture.

Deep Learning for Diabetic Retinopathy Analysis: A Review, Research Challenges, and Future Directions.

Deep learning (DL) enables the creation of computational models comprising multiple processing layers that learn data representations at multiple levels of abstraction. In the recent past, the use of deep learning has been proliferating, yielding promising results in applications across a growing number of fields, most notably in image processing, medical image analysis, data analysis, and bioinformatics. DL algorithms have also had a significant positive impact through yielding improvements in screening, recognition, segmentation, prediction, and classification applications across different domains of healthcare, such as those concerning the abdomen, cardiac, pathology, and retina. Given the extensive body of recent scientific contributions in this discipline, a comprehensive review of deep learning developments in the domain of diabetic retinopathy (DR) analysis, viz., screening, segmentation, prediction, classification, and validation, is presented here. A critical analysis of the relevant reported techniques is carried out, and the associated advantages and limitations highlighted, culminating in the identification of research gaps and future challenges that help to inform the research community to develop more efficient, robust, and accurate DL models for the various challenges in the monitoring and diagnosis of DR.

Intercropping Walnut and Tea: Effects on Soil Nutrients, Enzyme Activity, and Microbial Communities.

The practice of intercropping, which involves growing more than one crop simultaneously during the same growing season, is becoming more important for increasing soil quality, land-use efficiency, and subsequently crop productivity. The present study examined changes in soil physicochemical properties, enzymatic activity, and microbial community composition when walnut (Juglans spp.) was intercropped with tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plants in a forest and compared with a walnut and tea monocropping system. The results showed that walnut-tea intercropping improved the soil nutrient profile and enzymatic activity. The soil available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), organic matter (OM) content, and sucrase activity were significantly boosted in intercropped walnut and tea than in monocropping forests. The interaction between crops further increased bacterial and fungal diversity when compared to monoculture tea forests. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Chlamydiae, Rozellomycota, and Zoopagomycota were found in greater abundance in an intercropping pattern than in monoculture walnut and tea forest plantations. The walnut-tea intercropping system also markedly impacted the abundance of several bacterial and fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were previously shown to support nutrient cycling, prevent diseases, and ameliorate abiotic stress. The results of this study suggest that intercropping walnut with tea increased host fitness and growth by positively influencing soil microbial populations.

Titanium Application Increases Phosphorus Uptake Through Changes in Auxin Content and Root Architecture in Soybean (Glycine Max L.).

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient needed for plant growth, development, and production. A deficiency of P causes a severe impact on plant development and productivity. Several P-based fertilizers are being used in agriculture but limited uptake of P by the plant is still a challenge to be solved. Titanium (Ti) application increases the nutrient uptake by affecting the root growth; however, the role of Ti in plant biology, specifically its application under low light and phosphorus stress, has never been reported. Therefore, a pot study was planned with foliar application of Ti (in a different concentration ranging from 0 to 1,000 mg L-1) under different light and P concentrations. The result indicated that under shade and low P conditions the foliar application of Ti in different concentrations significantly improves the plant growth parameters such as root length, root surface area, root dry matter, and shoot dry matters. The increase was observed to be more than 100% in shade and low P stressed soybean root parameter with 500 mg L-1 of Ti treatment. Ti was observed to improve the plant growth both in high P and low P exposed plants, but the improvement was more obvious in Low P exposed plants. Auxin concentration in stressed and healthy plant roots was observed to be slightly increased with Ti application. Ti application was also observed to decrease rhizosphere soil pH and boosted the antioxidant enzymatic activities with an enhancement in photosynthetic efficiency of soybean plants under shade and P stress. With 500 mg L-1 of Ti treatment, the photosynthetic rate was observed to improve by 45% under shade and P stressed soybean plants. Thus, this work for the first time indicates a good potential of Ti application in the low light and P deficient agricultural fields for the purpose to improve plant growth and development parameters.

Pharmacological basis for the antihypertensive activity of Grewia asiatica fruit extract.

In the management of cardiovascular disorders, medicines from herbal sources have played a vital role through centuries. The following study was commenced in order to lay possible pharmacological foundation associated with medicinal uses of edible fruit of Grewia asiatica in hypertension through in-vitro method. In this study isolated atrial preparation of Guinea pig was used where crude ethanolic extract of Grewia asiatica fruit (Ga.Cr) decreased the force and rate of spontaneous atrial contractions (0.03-10mg/kg). In isolated rat aortic ring preparations previously vasoconstricted by phenylephrine and High K+, it also resulted in dose dependent vasodilation (0.01-10 mg/kg).In the presence of L-NAME, the relaxation curve of Ga.Cr was partially inhibited showing involvement of Nitric oxide (NO) mediated pathway. The speculative analysis contemplated that Ga.Cr has blood pressure reducing potentials through inhibition of Ca++ influx via Ca++ channels, its release from intracellular stores and through other means like NO mediated pathways.