bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of feed made from a mixture of cereals and legumes by fresh cows
Authors: Kosolapov Vladimir , Ishmuratov Khalyaf , Kosolapova Valentina , Zverkova Zinaida
Published: November 2021

The ratios of pea and barley seeds for growing in mixed crops for the purpose of preparing juicy feed and obtaining grain fodder in the conditions of low-lying peatlands of the North-East of the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia are determined. Heat treatment of grain fodder from peas and barley in a ratio of 50:50 at a coolant temperature of 1100 C a duration of 30 minutes, as well as preservation of silage with LMAC (low molecular acid concentrate) reduced the solubility and cleavability of raw protein in the rumen, contributed to an increase in the use of nitrogen and energy for productive purposes when feeding lactating cows. Feeding of pea and barley silage processed with LMAC in the ratio (25:75) and processed grain mixture (50:50) as part of the main feeding diet of new – bodied cows increased the use of nitrogen taken – by 5.29%, digested-by 8.27 %. During the experiment period, the average daily milk yield of natural milk in the control group averaged 21.18 kg, in II-23.06 and in III – 25.49 kg. The difference in favor of the experimental group III was 4.31 kg (p < 0.05), and in II – 1.88 kg (p < 0.05) or 11.89 and 3.29%, respectively, in terms of 4% milk, the difference was 5.06 and 2.19 kg or 25.08 and 10.86 %. At the same time, the costs of exchange energy for obtaining 1 kg of milk with 4% fat content decreased by 10%, raw protein by more than 7 %.
To The Characteristic Of Cenopopulations Dactylorhiza Dactylorhiza Fuchsii (Druce) Soo Of The Middle And Southern Taiga
Authors: Kosolapova N V , Gudovskikh Yu V , Egoshina T L , Kislitsyna A V , Luginina E A
Published: November 2021

The article presents materials on the ecological and phytocenotic characteristics of Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Druce) Soo in the southern and middle taiga phytocenoses of the Kirov region. In the course of the study, the typical habitats of the species were established. Vegetation analysis carried out using phytoindication scales by D.N. Tsyganov (1983), made it possible to establish fragments of ecological niches in the conditions of the southern and middle taiga. It was found that in the middle taiga phytocenoses, the species is more sensitive to changes in soil factors given by the researcher than in the southern taiga. Analysis of vegetation in terms of hemerobicity indicates the relative resistance of the species to anthropogenic impact.
Comparative characteristics of yellow alfalfa accessions in the nursery of competitive variety testing
Authors: Saprykin S V , Saprykina N V , Zolotarev V N , Lyubtseva O N
Published: November 2021

In the context of the progressive trend of aridization of the climate of the main agricultural regions in the forest-steppe and steppe zones, the problem of increasing and stabilizing the high productivity of forage crops is becoming more acute. Yellow alfalfa (Medicago falcata L.) is highly resistant to abiotic stresses such as drought and low temperatures. This crop is resistant to extremely stressful conditions for cultivation in arid conditions, high production potential for the production of various types of bulky forage. The limiting factor of the effective economic use of yellow alfalfa in the Central Black Earth region of Russia is the insufficient number of zoned varieties, only three. The zoned varieties of alfalfa that exist today do not fully meet the requirements of modern forage production, and the tasks of developing new varieties with increased productivity, competitive ability in grass mixtures and increased longevity are becoming urgent. A highly productive variety of yellow alfalfa Pavlovskaya 7 was previously created at the Voronezh Experimental Station for perennial grasses. The Pavlovskaya 7 variety is characterized by high resistance to fungal diseases and mycoplasmosis, drought resistance, and long (up to 12 years) productive longevity. Currently, the station is completing selection work to develop a new variety of yellow alfalfa with a complex of economically valuable traits and properties for conditions of insufficient moisture.
Application of SCoT markers for accessing of genetic diversity of gramineous forage grass species
Authors: Mavlyutov Yu M , Shamustakimova A O , Klimenko I A
Published: November 2021

Using the SCoT marker system, 8 varieties of cereal grasses belonging to 5 species were analyzed: Festuca pratensis, Lolium perenne, Lolium multiflorum, Festuca rubra, Festulolium. Of the 10 tested SCoT markers, 7 informative markers were selected that reveal interspecies genetic polymorphism. According to the results of the analysis, DNA profiles characteristic of each studied species were obtained, and primers allowing to detect intervarietal differences for subsequent identification and molecular genetic passportization were selected.
Agrolandscapes of the East Sayan Mountain Province of Eastern Siberia and the Far East of Russian
Authors: Trofimov I A , Trofimova L S , Yakovleva E P , Teberdiev D M , Kutuzova A A , Privalova K N , Sabitov G A , Rodionova A V , Provornaya E E , Zhezmer N V , Karimov R R , Sedova E G , Shchannikova M A , Zapivalov S A
Published: November 2021

According to the data of the agro-landscape and ecological zoning of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, conducted by the authors, the spatial distribution of biological and ecological patterns in the East Sayan Mountain province was established. The province is located in the Eastern Sayan mountain system within the Southern Taiga zone. Its area is 17022.5 thousand hectares. Mountains occupy 76% of the province’s territory, plains – 24%. In the structure of land forests occupy more than 68% of the area of the province . Other land (mainly rocks and glaciers) occupies 20%. Under water is 3.4% of the area, swamps occupy 2.8%. Shrubs occupy less than 1%, mountain deer pastures – 0.8% of the area of the province. Agricultural land occupies 4.5% of the total area of the province. Including arable land – 0.9%, pastures – 2.6%, hayfields – 1%. The structure of natural forage lands (NFL) is dominated by mountain pastures on mountain soils (76%). The plains and foothills of the province are dominated by dry southern taiga meadows (13%). Floodplain meadows (5%) and swampy meadows (5%) are also represented. The ecological state of the province’s landscapes is good and satisfactory. In particular, NFL – good and satisfactory, forests – good and satisfactory, mountain deer pastures – good. The ecological state of arable land is tense. The established patterns are the necessary information basis for the development and implementation of innovative technologies for sustainable agricultural development, rational nature management and environmental protection in the East Sayan Mountain Province of Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
Influence of root feeding fertilizers on yield and quality of winter wheat grain in conditions of the central zone of Orenburg region
Authors: Sidorenko A V , Yartsev G F , Baikasenov R K , Aysuvakova T P , Karta-bayeva B B , Kostomakhin M N , Kosolapov V M
Published: November 2021

Agriculture continues to move forward confidently. Before our eyes, the agrarian industry is reviving, becoming stronger, taking a strong position at the forefront of the Russian economy. The most important achievement of 2017 was a record grain harvest of 130 million tons. This result was achieved not only by increasing the cultivated areas, which increased by 620 thousand hectares in 2017, but also thanks to the record yield, which amounted to 28 kg / ha, which is 80% higher than in 2000. The maximum harvest in the history of new and Soviet Russia, which will ensure our country a strong leadership in the world wheat market. Russian agriculture remains a driver of the country’s economic development. For the second year in a row, we get a record harvest of not only grain, but also sugar beets and sunflowers, the production of soybeans, rapeseed and greenhouse vegetables is growing. In the new season, grain exports will reach 45 million tons, including more than 35 million tons of wheat. Russia is expanding the geography of its presence, having mastered new directions for the supply of agricultural products. At the end of 10 months of 2017, grain exports increased by 22% compared to the same period in 2016 and amounted to 32 million tons. During the same time, the export of Russian wheat exceeded 24 million tons, which is 23% more than a year earlier. … In Russia, over 17 years, the volume of grain production increased 2 times, sugar beet and sunflower - 2-3 times, soybeans and rapeseed - 10, greenhouse vegetables - 1.8, poultry meat - 6, pork - 2. Fish - 2 times. Greenhouse vegetable growing and horticulture are developing intensively. Progress is being made in the development of animal husbandry and aquaculture. The dairy industry is undergoing a significant transformation, and production volumes on farms are growing. These are new growth points for the agro-industrial complex. Thanks to the achievements of domestic scientists, grain production of agricultural crops can be increased due to many factors. One of the factors is foliar dressing with liquid micro- and macro-fertilizers. Therefore, we studied various combinations of liquid micro-, macrofertilizers, as well as the bio-logical product Albit, in order to identify the best option and recommend it for produc-tion.
The influence of the timing and methods of harvesting the seed grass of the eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientales Lam.) on the yield and sowing quality of seeds
Authors: Zolotarev V N
Published: November 2021

Eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientales Lam.) possesses high fodder productivity and accumulates a large amount of vegetative mass with high humidity for harvesting for seeds. This greatly complicates the harvesting of grass stand for seeds. One of the ways to solve this problem is to carry out desiccation of the grass stand. A complicating factor in choosing the optimal harvesting period is the extended flowering and ripening period of goat’s rue beans, the duration of which reaches 25-35 days. The use of the drug Reglon Super based on diquat is a highly effective agrotechnical method that allows increasing the collection of seeds by 24%. The desiccation of the herbage contributes to the production of seeds with high sowing qualities. The seeds with the best sowing qualities are found in beans with yellow, brown, brown or dark brown color of the beans. In light green beans, the seeds are fully formed, but have a high moisture content. Goat’s rue beans do not crack or crumble at the onset of the full ripeness phase. This allows the seed to be harvested when most of the beans are ripe. A comparative assessment of the timing and method of harvesting the seed herbage of the goat’s rue showed that with a ripening of 39% and the presence of 47% of light green and yellow beans, the yield losses ranged from 26 to 56%. The highest seed yield in one confidence interval of 422-453 kg / ha and 444 kg / ha was obtained, respectively, by direct threshing with preliminary desiccation of the grass stand in the ripening phase of 74-97% of beans or by separate harvesting when mowing into swaths during ripening 74 % beans.
Selection of festulolium for the steppe conditions of the Central Black Earth region
Authors: Ivanov I S , Zolotarev V N , Saprykin S V
Published: November 2021

In recent decades, a new fodder crop, festulolium, has become widespread in fodder production in Russia. (×Festulolium F. Aschers. et Graebn.).In this regard, an important task is the permanent creation of a line of varieties of festulolium, ensuring high efficiency of the use of this crop in various climatic and environmental conditions. Festulolium breeding has gained great importance in recent years as a means of combating climate change and increasing the efficiency of using perennial grasses to obtain high quality animal feed. The article presents material on the assessment of the initial material of festulolium in the steppe conditions of the Central Black Earth region. In recent years, 22 specimens have undergone a comprehensive assessment of festulolium in the collection and selection nurseries of the station. Of these, according to a complex of economically valuable traits, first of all - the productivity of green mass and seeds in arid conditions, 12 best were selected, which are further evaluated in order to create a new promising variety.
Influence of inbreeding on the morphobiological characteristics of meadow clover (Trifolium pratense L.)
Authors: Yu Novoselov M , Drobysheva LV , Starshinova OA
Published: November 2021

The influence of inbreeding on the morphobiological characteristics of meadow clover was revealed. Self-pollination, repeated in the number of successive generations, leads to an increase in homozygosity and to inbred depression, which increases from I1 to I3 generation and stabilizes in the I4 generation. It was found that in the I1 generation, according to the main morphobiological characteristics, there is no inward depression, but the maximum release of recessive lethal mutations is manifested, which amounted to 6.2%, and the survival rate of seedlings decreases (91.7%). By the I4 generation, the number of chlorophyll-free seedlings decreases to 1.4%. All the main morpho-biological indicators that determine the productivity of plants decrease from generation I1 to generation I3 by 1.5-2 times and stabilize in generation I4. Obtaining hybrid F1 offspring by crossing a linear material with an I4 induction level leads to the restoration of plant productivity indicators. When creating a linear material, an increase in the number of highly self-compatible genotypes from I1 to I4 generation by 60% is clearly traced. The data obtained make it possible to take into account the survival rate of seedlings, the cleavage of lethal and semi-lethal mutations, the degree of inbred depression in the formation of sample volumes when creating a linear material of meadow clover.
Productivity Of Various Varieties Of Spring Durum Wheat In The Conditions Of The Central Zone Of Orenburg Region
Authors: Kalzhanov K A , Yartsev G F , Baikasenov R K , Aysuvakova T P , Kartabayeva B B , Tseiko V I , Kosolapov V M
Published: November 2021

Spring wheat is one of the most important food grain crops. Hard spring wheat is used to produce cereals, pasta and vermicelli. The grain of this crop contains a lot of protein (14-16%soft, 15-18% hard) and gluten-28-40%.

This crop is grown mainly in the following regions: the Volga region, the Southern Urals, Western and Eastern Siberia. Average yields are obtained here due to lack of moisture, but the grain contains a lot of protein and gluten. When growing it in the Non-Chernozem zone, higher yields are obtained, but the quantity and quality of gluten is usually lower. In those regions (the North Caucasus, the Central Asian Republic) where winter wheat yields higher yields, spring wheat is considered one of the insurance products in case of its re-sowing in case of poor wintering.
The Importance Of The Variety Of Spring Hard Wheat In The Formation Of Yield And Quality Of Grain In The Southern Chernozem Of The Orenburg Region
Authors: Izbasarov D O , Yartsev G F , Baikasenov R K , Aisuvakova T P , Kartabaeva B B , Tseiko V I , Kosolapov V M
Published: November 2021

Wheat is a plastic crop and therefore occupies a huge area, spreading in the north to the cold pole (Verkhoyansk), and in the south to the border of cultivation of cultivated plants. In some regions of Azerbaijan, it is sown in fields below sea level, and in Peru, it rises in the mountains up to 4000 m. Cultivation of wheat on a huge territory is possible due to the high adaptive properties of the culture, its resistance to frost and drought.

Almost half of the bread composition is represented by carbohydrates, in which starch takes the main place (up to 80%). Under the influence of enzymes, it is broken down to simple sugars that the body needs. The total digestibility of bread carbohydrates reaches 90-92%. The protein substances of bread are of the utmost importance, thanks to which a third of a person’s daily needs are often covered in our diet. Bread is the main source of supply for the body with vitamins B1, B2, PP. It is rich in phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur.
Climatic Factors Of The Formation Of The Ravine-Beam System Of The Lower Volga Region
Authors: Sviridova L L
Published: November 2021

The Lower Volga regional natural complex has a heterogeneity of the relief, which, combined with the climate feature, leads to the degradation of soil covers. Disturbed soil cover with loose rocks is a fast mechanism for the formation of a gully-beam system. Natural natural conditions combined with human activity have led to catastrophic consequences of the withdrawal of land from land use. To prevent the development of these forms, it is necessary to conduct a study of each formation with tracking in a time period.
Fluxes of 15N, soil nitrogen in sod-podzolic soil in spring wheat crops under inoculation with Rhyzoagrin
Authors: Alferov A A , Chernova L S
Published: November 2021

In a microfield experiment using a labeled nitrogen 15N fertilizer on sod-podzolic light loamy soil for 11 years during the cultivation of spring wheat and the use of a biological product based on a strain belonging to the genus Agrobakterium radiobakter (strain 204), nitrogen flows in the fertilizer – soil – plant system were studied. The utilization rate of spring wheat labeled with 15N ammonium nitrate averaged 40% of the amount applied. The absolute size of the immobilization in the structure of the labeled nitrogen balance of the mineral fertilizer was 27-30%. Inoculation with Rhyzoagrin does not significantly affect the nitrogen immobilization of the mineral fertilizer. The gaseous losses of labeled nitrogen of the mineral fertilizer were 33% of those applied to the background of the phosphorus and potash fertilizers and decreased with inoculation with Rhyzoagrin to 29%. The use of an integral assessment showed that the agroecosystem functioned in the resistance mode on sod-podzolic light-loamy soil when using mineral nitrogen fertilizer. The dependence of the indicator RI: M, % of the HTC (hydrothermal coefficient) expressed by the equation
y = -24, 506x2 + 43,462 x + 15,251
at
R2 = 0.7416
is established.
Use of Digital Technologies to Improve Efficiency of Potato Production on Private Plots
Authors: Kuznetsova M A , Rogozhin A N , Borovsky K V , Statsyuk N V
Published: November 2021

In Russia, potato is the second economically important crop, which is widely cultivated not only on commercial fields, but also on numerous private plots, which produce a doubled potato yield comparing to agricultural companies. Nevertheless, during the last 30 years, the total potato production in Russia reduced by 40%. In the case of private plots, potato production reduced by even more then 50%. One of the possible reasons is that potato is difficult in cultivation and is susceptible for a number of diseases able to significantly reduce the yield quantity and quality. This paper describes a new approach to the crop protection based on the use of digital technologies to control the early and late blight of potato and to reduce the negative influence of excess fungicides on the human health and environment.
Use of Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) Model to Estimate Soil Erosion in Jibab Wadi Basin West of Iraq
Authors: Alalwanya A A M , Abdel Ghani E T , Ali K A , Al-Bayati A H I
Published: November 2021

The study dealt with one of the most important environmental problems that leads to soil deterioration, increase in the degree of desertification and the loss of large areas of lands that suffer from dry and semi-arid areas. This study aims to calculate the amount of soil transported using the revised universal equation model of erosion RUSLE, and five representative surface samples were obtained. For all the watershed of the valley, analyses were carried out for the general equation of erosion, and the climatic data of the Anah meteorological station were used, whose values ranged between (0.0554-0.4923), as well as the values of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) between its high and low values (0.10084-0.645161). Maps were created from the general equation factors (RUSLE) and their units were classified according to water erosion rates to investigate the susceptibility of soil to erosion and the risk of soil erosion.
The Effect of Different Nano-irrigation Systems on Some Hydraulic Parameters for Evaluaing Drip Irrigation Systems
Authors: El-Shaabani E M , AL-Obeid A K
Published: November 2021

A field experiment was conducted in Al-Habbaniyah district/Al-Khalidiya district/Al-Anbar governorate, western Iraq, in Silty loam soil during the fall season 2020, to study the effect of surface and subsurface drip irrigation and perfusion irrigation with nanotechnology on some international standards to evaluate the performance of the work of irrigation systems after using them in plowed and uncultivated soils. plowed. Perfusion was done when 50% of the prepared water was depleted, the treatments were distributed according to the Nested-Factorial Experiments Design (NFED) with three replications. The yellow corn, cultivar Euphrates, was planted on 15/7/2020. The American evaporation basin, class A, was used in the timing of irrigation. According to the rate of water consumption in terms of the equivalent depth of the added water, the total yield and the efficiency of water use. The results showed giving the best discharge rate, homogeneity coefficient and percentage variation in the system drainage before planting at pressure of 100 kPa, which amounted to 2.27 L hr-1, 98.91 and 7.69%, respectively, while these parameters decreased after planting and reached the best in the perfusion irrigation system, which amounted to 2.25 L hr-1, 98.11 and 16.31% at the same operating pressure sequentially, while the lowest amount of these parameters after planting was 1.90 L hr-1, 90.95 and 41.66% respectively in the surface drip irrigation system under an operating pressure of 50 K Pas.
An Epidemiological and Therapeutic Study of Fasciola hepatica Parasite in Goats of Anbar Province-Iraq
Authors: Shahatha S S , Ayyed I M , Mousa M O
Published: November 2021

This study was conducted to find out the prevalence ofFasciola hepaticain goats in Anbar province-Iraq, via routine examination of the livers taken from goats slaughtered in central slaughterhouses in the province to ensure that they were infected with hepatic helminths. The results indicated that a total infection rate of 43.5%. Ramadi area had the highest infection rate, moreover, the highest infection rate was 69.9% for ages 6-8 years. Significant differences were found in the average numbers of helminths in the bile sac and liver of both males and females of infected goats. On the other hand, It has been proven that the concentrations of (0.5-10) mg/ml of the alcoholic extract of the plantAizoon hispanicumhad a significant effect on the vitality of the helminths in vitro, as the concentration 10 mg/ml leads to the complete inhibitory for the vitality of helminths where after 36 hours it led to a 100% killing rate. The current study concluded that the goats in the study areas are infected with theF. hepaticaparasite at a high rate, and this calls for finding safe treatment methods using medicinal herbs and plants because they contain many active compounds that affect the helminths and lead to their death, and they are safe strategic alternatives to harmful chemical drugs. This necessitates the establishment of an integrated control approach through treatment with effective plant extracts to eliminate these parasites and their health and economic damage.
Germination and Seedling Parameters of Wheat as Affected by Storage Conditions
Authors: Seadh S E , Badawi M A , Abdel-Moneamand M A , Borham M M E
Published: November 2021

A storage experiment was carried out from 27th April to 27thDecember, 2019 to study the effect of storage conditions i.e. methods (open air, under sunshade and in stores), packages type (normal, gunny, polyethylene and metal containers) and periods of seeds fumigation with phosphine (15, 30 and 45 days) on germination and seedling parameters of wheat. The experiment was arranged in a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D.) with four replications. Stored wheat seeds under sunshade produced the highest values of final germination percentage, germination index, mean germination time, plumule length, radical length, seedling vigor index and seedlings dry weight, followed by stored wheat seeds in stores. The highest germination index, mean germination time, plumule and radical lengths, seedling vigor index and seedlings dry weight were recorded in the samples of wheat seeds sealed stored in metal containers, followed by normal stored in gunny packages. The highest percentage of final germination was obtained by normal stored in gunny packages, followed by sealing storage in metal containers. The highest final germination percentage, germination index, mean germination time, plumule length, radical length, seedling vigor index and seedlings dry weight and the lowest abnormal seedlings percentage, rotten and sold seeds percentages, speed germination index, co-efficient of germination and germination energy percentage were recorded when treated with phosphine at the rate of 3 tablets/m3after 15 days from beginning the storage. This study recommended that stored wheat seeds under sunshade in metal packages and treating with phosphine at the rate of 3 tablets/m3 after 15 days from beginning the storage to enhance germination and seedlings parameter of wheat under the environmental conditions of Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt.
Spatial Distribution of Grain Size Within Nitraria retusa Coppice Dune in Kuwait
Authors: Al Saleh A , Farsi Modi Al , Dousari N Al , Almutairi G , Almutairi A , William T
Published: November 2021

Nabkhas are desert and sabkha perennial plants that form stabilized dunes. A total of 23 sediment samples were taken from the surface and subsurface (30 cm depth) of nabkha that formed around Nitraria retusa as the dominant perennial plant species in Ghudai-Kuwait. The morphological and ecological functions of sabkha nabkha are distinguishable. The existence of shallow fresh groundwater that floats atop the saline water bodies and is recharged by rainwater and surface drainage routes is due to the presence of thriving nabkhas within a salty sabkha environment. the selected non-protected Nitraria nebkhas have an elongated dome shape with a height of 1.30 m and an average length of 11.80 m. also, the greatest distances between isolated nabkhas are found in Nitraria dominated coppice dunes. There are three types of Nitraria dominated coppice dunes, namely: single (one plant), coupled (two plants), and complex (three or more). Nitraria is considered one of Kuwait’s most effective plant species for trapping mobile sand, Nitraria can to tarp to 21 m3 of mobile sand and dust. The variations in grain size sediments in Nitraria retusa between surface and root zone, border and crest, upwind and downwind, are efficient for retaining water. Furthermore, Nitraria retusa from the sabkha environment is the most effective in collecting mobile sand in the region.
A Study of the Water Requirement of the Eggplant Crop (Solanum melongena) Using the Techniques of Localized Drip Irrigation and its Comparison with the Traditional Surface Irrigation
Authors: Salim S A , Alalwany A A
Published: November 2021

The results showed that the total water consumptive use of the drip irrigation technique (irrigation line to planting line) was 5967 m3 ha-1, while the production approached 121.06 tons ha- \ The total water use efficiency was 20.3 kg m-3 ha-1, and the percentage of irrigation water savings compared to the control was 42.6%. The increase in production over the control was 20%, and the yield per square meter was 12.1 kg, while the total water consumption of the drip irrigation technology (irrigation line for two cultivation lines) was 6679 m3 ha-1 with a yield of 110.78 tons ha-1. The total water use efficiency was 16.6 kg m-3 ha-1 and the percentage of irrigation water savings compared to the control was 35.4%, the increase in production compared to the control was 9%, and the yield per square meter was 11.1 kg, while the total water consumption of the (traditional surface irrigation) technology reached 10,965 m3 ha-1 with a yield of 101.22 tons ha-1. The total water use efficiency was 9.2 kg m-3 ha-1 and the yield per square meter was 10.1 kg. It was found that the drip irrigation technique (an irrigation line for a planting line) gave the highest production with the least amount of irrigation water compared to other methods, taking into account that the drip irrigation technique (a hazardous for two planting lines) was better in terms of saving in the cost of the lines.
Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer Sources, Lead and Cadmium Pollution on Some Properties of Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
Authors: AI-Qasi B A , Sharqi M M , Faiath S E
Published: November 2021

The study was conducted in the Department of biology - College of Education for Girls - University of Anbar in order to study the effect of cadmium and lead pollution and nitrogen fertilizer sources on the accumulation of heavy metals in the root, the vegetative part, yield and its components of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) during growing season 2020-2021, Where the experiment was carried out in pots containing 20 kg of soil. The experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design and in the order of factorial experiments with three replications. The experiment included two factors, the first factor is three concentrations of the elements lead and cadmium (0, 40, 80 mg liter -1), and the second factor is three types of nitrogen fertilizer sources are (ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, ammonium nitrate NH4NO3 and urea CO(NH2)2). The experiment was planted and irrigated with the three nitrogen fertilizer sources on 1/11/2020. After 14 days of planting, heavy metals were added to the soil in the above-mentioned concentrations in the form of two batches. The weight of 1000 grains/g and the concentration of heavy elements (Pb, Cd) in the root, vegetative and grains after harvest were calculated. The results of the study showed: The barley plant had the ability to accumulate heavy elements in the different parts of the plant, and their concentration in the root system was the highest, then the vegetative system, then the grain. However, the accumulated amounts of lead were less than cadmium in the roots, as the highest concentrations of lead and cadmium in the roots were (24.78 and 37.22 mg kg-1) and (61.13 and 92.3 mg kg-1). for the concentrations (40 and 80 mg L-1) respectively.
The Effect of Amino Acids and The Date of Planting on Some Growth Characteristics of The Three Varieties of Maize
Authors: Al-Janabi Y A , Abood N M , Hamdan M I
Published: November 2021

A field experiment was carried out at the Field Crops Research Station of the Agricultural Research Department - Abu Ghraib during the spring season for the years 2019 and 2020. With the aim of studying the effect of amino acids and planting dates on some growth characteristics, for three varieties of maize. A split-split plot was used according to a randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D) with three replications. The experiment included three planting dates (March 15, March 25 and April 5) that represented the main plot, while amino acids (proline and arginine) and the control treatment (distilled water) occupied the subplot. Whereas, the three varieties (Rabi’, Baghdad 3, and Fajr 1) allocated to the sub-sub plot. The Rabi cultivar gave the fewest days to reach 75% male and female flowering (70.33 and 72.78 days) respectively. The Fajr 1 variety scored the highest average percentage of proline and arginine in leaves for the first season. Plants sprayed with proline at a concentration of 200 mg achieved the highest mean number of leaves, leaf area, chlorophyll content in leaves, and proline concentration in leaves for both seasons. When spraying arginine, its percentage increased in leaves. Planting dates affected most of the studied traits, planting plants on March 15 achieved a significant increase in all growth traits. The two and three way interactions had a significant effect on most growth traits, and the best interaction was for the Rabi variety when planted on March 15 th and sprayed with proline.
Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide and Zinc Spraying on the Growth, Yield and Antioxidant Enzyme of Wheat Triticum aestivum L
Authors: Al-Mansouri M A , Ali I M
Published: November 2021

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops in the world. Thus, the importance of this study stems from its attempt to investigate the effect of foliar spraying with hydrogen peroxide and foliar application of zinc on some growth, yield and antioxidant enzymes of the wheat crop. A field experiment was organized in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications with Split plot arrangement. The first factor was three concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (25, 50, and 75) ppm as well as the control treatment that was sprayed with distilled water only. The second factor was three concentrations of zinc (Zn) (50, 100, and 150) mg. L-1 as well as the control treatment that was sprayed with distilled water only. The result of this study showed that the higher concentrations of H2O2 gave low value of plant height, number of spikes per m2 and grain yield, while they increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and also increased the proline content. The higher concentration of Zn application significantly increased the plant height, SOD, CAT, proline content, number of spikes per m2 and grain yield.
Effects of game-based interventions on functional capacity in acutely hospitalised older adults: results of an open-label non-randomised clinical trial
Authors: Cuevas-Lara César , Sáez de Asteasu Mikel L , Ramírez-Vélez Robinson , Izquierdo Mikel , Zambom-Ferraresi Fabiola , Antoñanzas-Valencia Cristina , Galbete Arkaitz , Zambom-Ferraresi Fabricio , Martínez-Velilla Nicolás
Published: November 2021

Background

Hospitalisation-associated disability due to reduced physical activity levels and prolonged bedrest episodes are highly prevalent in older adults.

Objective

To assess the effect of gamified interventions on functional capacity in hospitalised older adults.

Methods

A three-armed non-randomised controlled trial with two experimental intervention groups and a control group was conducted in a tertiary public hospital in Navarre, Spain. Participants were allocated to a simple gamification group (SGG) (n = 21), a technology-based gamification group (TGG) (n = 23) or a control group (CG) (n = 26). The end points were changes in functional capacity, muscle strength, cognition, mood status and quality of life.

Results

Seventy patients (mean age 86.01 ± 4.27 years old) were included in the study; 29 (41.4%) were women. At discharge, compared to CG, a mean increase of 1.47 points (95%CI, 0.15–2.80 points) and 2.69 points (95%CI, 1.32–4.06 points) was observed (SGG and TGG, respectively) in the SPPB test; as well as an increase of 5.28 points (95%CI, 0.70–9.76 points) in the Barthel Index and 2.03 kg (95%CI, 0.33–3.72 kg) in handgrip strength in the TGG. Regression mediation analyses demonstrated that muscle strength changes (β = 1.30; 95%CI, 0.45–2.14; indirect effect 0.864; 95%CI, 0.09–1.90) significantly mediated the TGG effect on the SPPB score.

Conclusions

The TGG intervention programme may provide significant benefits in physical and muscle function over usual care and seems to reverse the functional decline frequently associated with acute hospitalisation in older adults.
Declining daily functioning as a prelude to a hip fracture in older persons—an individual patient data meta-analysis
Authors: Ravensbergen Willeke M , Blom Jeanet W , Kingston Andrew , Robinson Louise , Kerse Ngaire , Teh Ruth O , Groenwold Rolf H H , Gussekloo Jacobijn ,   the TULIPS consortium
Published: November 2021

Background

Daily functioning is known to decline after a hip fracture, but studies of self-reported functioning before the fracture suggest this decline begins before the fracture.

Objective

Determine whether change in functioning in the year before a hip fracture in very old (80+) differs from change in those without a hip fracture.

Design

Two-stage individual patient data meta-analysis including data from the Towards Understanding Longitudinal International older People Studies (TULIPS)-consortium.

Setting

Four population-based longitudinal cohorts from the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK.

Subjects

Participants aged 80+ years.

Methods

Participants were followed for 5 years, during which (instrumental) activities of daily living [(I)ADL] scores and incident hip fractures were registered at regular intervals. Z-scores of the last (I)ADL score and the change in (I)ADL in the year before a hip fracture were compared to the scores of controls, adjusted for age and sex.

Results

Of the 2,357 participants at baseline, the 161 who sustained a hip fracture during follow-up had a worse (I)ADL score before the fracture (0.40 standard deviations, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.61, P = 0.0002) and a larger decline in (I)ADL in the year before fracture (−0.11 standard deviations, 95% CI −0.22 to 0.004, P = 0.06) compared to those who did not sustain a hip fracture.

Conclusions

In the very old a decline in daily functioning already starts before a hip fracture. Therefore, a hip fracture is a sign of ongoing decline and what full recovery is should be seen in light of the pre-fracture decline.
Adult sex ratio and male body condition affect alternative reproductive tactics in a spider
Authors: Heimerl Daniel , Dudová Pavla , Wacker Karoline , Schenkel Elisa , Despréaux Garance , Tuni Cristina
Published: November 2021

Biases in adult sex ratios can alter the intensity of sexual selection by enhancing competition for mates. Under intense competition males increase their investment in behaviors to outcompete rivals (e.g., fighting). Yet, given that in male-biased environments mating opportunities are rare males may alternatively reduce costly courtship and/or adopt alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). Males of the spider Pisaura mirabilis adopt different mating tactics, offering females genuine nuptial gifts (prey), nutritionally worthless gifts (prey leftovers), or no gifts. To test whether behavioral shifts between gift tactics are triggered by changes in the competitive environment, we established replicate spider populations under natural conditions at varying adult sex ratios (male-biased, female-biased and equal) and sampled gift tactics repeatedly over time. We additionally explored how male individual traits, such as body size and condition, affect the expression of ARTs. In male-biased populations males produced more gifts but of low quality, suggesting competition to trigger increased mating effort to ensure mate acquisition and fertilizations, but through a worthless gift tactic. Production of gifts and of genuine gifts was favored by high body condition, pointing to energetic limitations as being central for male reproductive capacity. We hence highlight two co-existing mechanisms at play to explain ARTs in this system, the competitive social environment where expression of gift tactics is based on optimal-decision making to overcome competition, and a conditional strategy linked to the individual’s energetic state.
HINGRL: predicting drug–disease associations with graph representation learning on heterogeneous information networks
Authors: Zhao Bo-Wei , Hu Lun , You Zhu-Hong , Wang Lei , Su Xiao-Rui
Published: November 2021

Identifying new indications for drugs plays an essential role at many phases of drug research and development. Computational methods are regarded as an effective way to associate drugs with new indications. However, most of them complete their tasks by constructing a variety of heterogeneous networks without considering the biological knowledge of drugs and diseases, which are believed to be useful for improving the accuracy of drug repositioning. To this end, a novel heterogeneous information network (HIN) based model, namely HINGRL, is proposed to precisely identify new indications for drugs based on graph representation learning techniques. More specifically, HINGRL first constructs a HIN by integrating drug–disease, drug–protein and protein–disease biological networks with the biological knowledge of drugs and diseases. Then, different representation strategies are applied to learn the features of nodes in the HIN from the topological and biological perspectives. Finally, HINGRL adopts a Random Forest classifier to predict unknown drug–disease associations based on the integrated features of drugs and diseases obtained in the previous step. Experimental results demonstrate that HINGRL achieves the best performance on two real datasets when compared with state-of-the-art models. Besides, our case studies indicate that the simultaneous consideration of network topology and biological knowledge of drugs and diseases allows HINGRL to precisely predict drug–disease associations from a more comprehensive perspective. The promising performance of HINGRL also reveals that the utilization of rich heterogeneous information provides an alternative view for HINGRL to identify novel drug–disease associations especially for new diseases.
DeepDISOBind: accurate prediction of RNA-, DNA- and protein-binding intrinsically disordered residues with deep multi-task learning
Authors: Zhang Fuhao , Zhao Bi , Shi Wenbo , Li Min , Kurgan Lukasz
Published: November 2021

Proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are common among eukaryotes. Many IDRs interact with nucleic acids and proteins. Annotation of these interactions is supported by computational predictors, but to date, only one tool that predicts interactions with nucleic acids was released, and recent assessments demonstrate that current predictors offer modest levels of accuracy. We have developed DeepDISOBind, an innovative deep multi-task architecture that accurately predicts deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-, ribonucleic acid (RNA)- and protein-binding IDRs from protein sequences. DeepDISOBind relies on an information-rich sequence profile that is processed by an innovative multi-task deep neural network, where subsequent layers are gradually specialized to predict interactions with specific partner types. The common input layer links to a layer that differentiates protein- and nucleic acid-binding, which further links to layers that discriminate between DNA and RNA interactions. Empirical tests show that this multi-task design provides statistically significant gains in predictive quality across the three partner types when compared to a single-task design and a representative selection of the existing methods that cover both disorder- and structure-trained tools. Analysis of the predictions on the human proteome reveals that DeepDISOBind predictions can be encoded into protein-level propensities that accurately predict DNA- and RNA-binding proteins and protein hubs. DeepDISOBind is available at https://www.csuligroup.com/DeepDISOBind/
Artificial intelligence in clinical research of cancers
Authors: Shao Dan , Dai Yinfei , Li Nianfeng , Cao Xuqing , Zhao Wei , Cheng Li , Rong Zhuqing , Huang Lan , Wang Yan , Zhao Jing
Published: November 2021

Several factors, including advances in computational algorithms, the availability of high-performance computing hardware, and the assembly of large community-based databases, have led to the extensive application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the biomedical domain for nearly 20 years. AI algorithms have attained expert-level performance in cancer research. However, only a few AI-based applications have been approved for use in the real world. Whether AI will eventually be capable of replacing medical experts has been a hot topic. In this article, we first summarize the cancer research status using AI in the past two decades, including the consensus on the procedure of AI based on an ideal paradigm and current efforts of the expertise and domain knowledge. Next, the available data of AI process in the biomedical domain are surveyed. Then, we review the methods and applications of AI in cancer clinical research categorized by the data types including radiographic imaging, cancer genome, medical records, drug information and biomedical literatures. At last, we discuss challenges in moving AI from theoretical research to real-world cancer research applications and the perspectives toward the future realization of AI participating cancer treatment.
AMDBNorm: an approach based on distribution adjustment to eliminate batch effects of gene expression data
Authors: Zhang Xu , Ye Zhiqiang , Chen Jing , Qiao Feng
Published: November 2021

Batch effects explain a large part of the noise when merging gene expression data. Removing irrelevant variations introduced by batch effects plays an important role in gene expression studies. To obtain reliable differential analysis results, it is necessary to remove the variation caused by technical conditions between different batches while preserving biological variation. Usually, merging data directly with batch effects leads to a sharp rise in false positives. Although some methods of batch correction have been developed, they have some drawbacks. In this study, we develop a new algorithm, adjustment mean distribution-based normalization (AMDBNorm), which is based on a probability distribution to correct batch effects while preserving biological variation. AMDBNorm solves the defects of the existing batch correction methods. We compared several popular methods of batch correction with AMDBNorm using two real gene expression datasets with batch effects and analyzed the results of batch correction from the visual and quantitative perspectives. To ensure the biological variation was well protected, the effects of the batch correction methods were verified by hierarchical cluster analysis. The results showed that the AMDBNorm algorithm could remove batch effects of gene expression data effectively and retain more biological variation than other methods. Our approach provides the researchers with reliable data support in the study of differential gene expression analysis and prognostic biomarker selection.