Genetic variability among lowland sorghum accessions collected from southern Ethiopia for grain quality traits

The study was carried out to assess the nature and magnitude of genetic variability for grain quality traits in lowland sorghum accessions. Understanding genetic diversity and trait association is crucial to designing an effective breeding plan to develop nutrient-rich varieties. Two hundred twenty-five accessions were evaluated using a simple lattice design with two replications at Weioto. Prepared samples per replication were scanned by mixing the grains and repacking the sample cup after each scan. Analysis of grain quality traits revealed significant (P ≥ 0.01) differences among the genotypes indicating a good chance for genetic improvement. Genotypic means of nutritional content showed that amylose (Am) content ranged from 19.11 to 20.80%, ash value ranged from 0.37 to 3.14%, starch content ranged from 42.29 to 72.77%, and protein (pr) in dry basis ranged from 2.62 to 10.45%. Similarly, iron (Fe) ranged from 1.38 to 73.21 ppm, zinc (Zn) ranged from 16.8 to 66.02 ppm, and tannin content ranged between -0.08 and 9105.21%. Broad-sense heritability (h2b) of all grain quality attributes such as amylose; ash; starch; moisture; iron; zinc; protein, and tannin was in the range of 13-92%. Principal component analysis showed the first three principal components with an eigenvalue equal to or greater than unity adequately explain the variation in the data. Significant positive genetic correlations (P < 0.001) with amylase, starch, iron, and zinc, while tannin had a weak association with grain yield. This result declares/signifies/a good prospect of southern Ethiopia lowland sorghum accessions for genetic improvement in grain yield and quality traits.

Efficacy of different remineralizing agents on primary teeth exposed to therapeutic gamma radiation: An in vitro randomized control study

Background

Therapeutic radiation-induced caries is a major side effect. Dental and oral heath are adversely affected by the direct effects of radiotherapy. Preventive procedures are preferred to reinforce dental tissue resistance against radiation damage.

Objective

Research aim is to test the impact of different remineralizing protocols on the mineral content of deciduous enamel exposed to a therapeutic dose of gamma radiation.

Methods

Thirty deciduous enamel specimens were divided randomly into three experimental categories based on the type of remineralizing agent used. Group I (gamma irradiated teeth, then painted with fluoride varnish), Group II (gamma irradiated teeth, then treated with bioactive glass) and Group III (gamma irradiated teeth, and then treated with a diode laser 980 nm). Prepared specimens were assessed for mineral content by environmental Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis. SEM photomicrographs were performed simultaneously. Results were investigated concerning pre- and post-irradiation values difference. The paired-samples t-test was performed to compare the atomic and weight percentages of the selected elements obtained from the samples in the control groups before and after therapeutic radiation. One-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey tests were used to compare between the categories regarding weight and atomic percentages.

Results

Calcium/Phosphorus (Ca/P) ratio and Fluoride content decreased significantly after radiotherapy. Fluoride content significantly increased after remineralizing agents' application with the greatest increase in Bioactive glass group followed by fluoride varnish (F.varnish) group and the least increase was in diode laser group. Significant increase in Ca/P ratio in bioactive glass group followed by insignificant increase in F.varnish group (I) with the least increase noticed in the Diode laser group.

Conclusion

Therapeutic radiation caused marked decrease in enamel mineral content. However, the reminralizing agents applied have an improving effect on the caused damage.

Nutritional profile of the land snail Cyclophorus saturnus, a rich-in-nutrients food item from Thailand

Cyclophorus saturnus is an edible land snail traditionally harvested for human food, yet little is known about its nutritional value, especially in Thailand. This study aimed to investigate its nutritional potential as an alternative food resource. In the present study, proximate composition, essential mineral content, amino acid, and lipid profiles of the meat were evaluated. Proximate analysis showed that C. saturnus contained 80.04% moisture, 11.88% protein, 6.04% carbohydrate, and 0.93% fat, with 80.01 kcal/100 g fresh matter. For minerals, calcium was the most abundant element in the meat. Its protein contained glutamic and aspartic as the major amino acids, while it was not a good source of tryptophan and methionine but was considered a very rich source of other essential amino acids (amino acid scores greater than 100). Its lipid fraction showed a higher proportion of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA and PUFA, 67.69%) and a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (32.31%). The PUFA/SFA ratio (1.56), hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (HH; 5.58), atherogenicity index (AI; 0.48), and thrombogenicity index (TI; 0.20) are considered nutritionally healthy for humans. Overall, this study demonstrates the nutritional potential of C. saturnus to serve as a nutritious part of the human diet and as an alternative ingredient in food systems; therefore, its production and consumption should be more extensively promoted.

Effect of Foliage Dressing in Nano-Potassium Molybdate on Daily Gain and Antioxidant Function in Grazing the Chinese Merino Sheep

The study was implemented for exploring influences of nano-K₂MoO₄ on the daily gain and antioxidant function of Chinese merino sheep in the native pasture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Northwest of China. Eighty of the sheep, weight of (45.56 ± 2.35) kg, were randomly distributed to the tested areas for 90 days, 20 sheep/group. The findings showed that the contents of Mo and N in the forage of applying nano-K₂MoO₄ were extremely higher than those in the control pastures (P <0.01). The daily gain in the fertilized groups were remarkably lower than that in the control group (P <0.01). The harvest of forage in the fertilized pastures were significantly higher than those in control (P <0.01). The contents of Mo in blood and liver in grazing the Chinese merino sheep were extremely higher than those from the control group (P <0.01). The contents of Cu in blood and liver in grazing the Chinese merino sheep were extremely lower than those in the unfertilized pastures (P <0.01). The levels of hemoglobin (Hb), blood platelet (PLT), and erythrocyte count (RBC) in animals from the fertilized pastures were extremely lower than those in the control pastures (P < 0.01). The activities of SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT in serum were significantly lower than those in group C. The serum MDA levels were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the application of nano-K₂MoO₄ in pastures can greatly improve the yield of forage, but strikingly decreased the daily gain and antioxidant function in grazing the Chinese merino sheep.

Multidimensional Scaling of the Mineral Nutrient Status and Health Risk Assessment of Commonly Consumed Fruity Vegetables Marketed in Kyrgyzstan

Intensive production of fruits and vegetables causes heavy metal accumulation. Consumption of this kind of foodstuff is a growing concern of the modern world with the additional distress of the supply of enough foodstuffs. To contribute to this global purpose, this research aimed to find out the mineral nutrient and heavy metal concentrations of commonly consumed fruity vegetables in Kyrgyzstan. Totally, ten different fruity type vegetables were collected from five different large bazaars of Kyrgyzstan. From these, 20 samples, including washed/unwashed rinds of vegetables, were quantified in terms of their B, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn contents by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The concentrations of the fruity vegetables were found in the following range: B (1.392-25.816), Ca (92.814-4095.466), Cd (0.007-0.086), Cr (0.009-0.919), Cu (0.351-8.351), Fe (4.429-126.873), K (920.124-10,135.995), Mg (61.973-879.085), Mn (1.113-78.938), Na (36.132-266.475), Ni (0.039-1.215), Pb (0.081-2.906), and Zn (1.653-87.107) (mg kg^-1). It was determined that red capia pepper was the vegetable having the highest daily nutritional value according to evaluation done in our study. Taking into account of the HI values, all of the vegetables analyzed were determined to be lower than the limit value of 1 that falls into acceptable limits in terms of being safe. Peppers demonstrated the highest variation in terms of the elemental content. The high Cr content rendered hot pepper risky for consumption by both genders regarding with CR, and in terms of CR, it has been observed that nickel contents being found in vegetables including tomatoes pose a moderate risk for consumption. Quite lower risk was detected in red/Brandy-wine tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumber for both genders. As most striking result in our study, the Brandy-wine type tomato was found to be healthiest (as well as safest) and nutritious vegetable looking from the viewpoint of consumption in Kyrgyzstan.

Low pH alleviated salinity stress of ginger seedlings by enhancing photosynthesis, fluorescence, and mineral element contents

We investigated the effects of low pH on the photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, and mineral contents of the leaves of ginger plants under salt stress. This experiment involved four treatments: T1 (pH 6, 0 salinity), T2 (pH 4, 0 salinity), T3 (pH 6, 100 mmol L⁻¹ salinity) and T4 (pH 4, 100 mmol L⁻¹ salinity). This study showed that photosynthesis (Pn, Gs, WUE and Tr) and chlorophyll fluorescence (qP, Φ PSII, and Fv/Fm) significantly decreased under salt stress; however, all the parameters of the ginger plants under the low-pH treatment and salt stress recovered. Moreover, low pH reduced the content of Na and enhanced the contents of K, Mg, Fe and Zn in the leaves of ginger plants under salt stress. Taken together, these results suggest that low pH improves photosynthesis efficiency and nutrient acquisition and reduces the absorption of Na, which could enhance the salt tolerance of ginger.

Dataset of mineral contents of fine-sand and silt-sized soil particles from deserts in China and Mongolia

There are over 70 types of mineral species in desert soils. Previous data have focused on major mineral contents and thus, the identification of minor mineral species is lacking. The diversity of minor mineral species was investigated in 19 surficial sediments from deserts in China and Mongolia. A modern scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based in-situ mineral mapping technique was used to determine the minor mineral species concentrations. For further analysis and interpretation, the identified species were grouped into felsic, mica, carbonate, heavy, rare earth, and salt-type minerals. The data in this article demonstrate that the concentrations of felsic, mica, and carbonate minerals are higher than those of the other mineral groups, and thus can be used to provide evidence of sediment provenance. The obtained mineral concentrations were converted from the relative area percentage for each mineral species using standard mineral density data. Mineral mapping was performed using the mineral liberation analysis platform, and on average, approximately 40,000 single particles per sample were analyzed to achieve an accurate quantification of the mineral concentrations. For each of the analyzed single particles, the particle shape parameters, such as particle length and width, were stored and can be used to trace the sediment transport process. For a deeper interpretation of the data presented herein, please see the related research article “Provenance of Fe in Chinese Deserts: Evidence from the geochemistry and mineralogy of soil particles” [1].

Transport and retention of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in natural soils: Importance of soil organic matter and mineral contents, and solution ionic strength

Effects of soil organic matter and mineral contents, and solution ionic strength on the transport of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in different types of soils (i.e., desert soil, black soil, and red soil) were systematically investigated with a set of laboratory column experiments. The retention of PFOA in the soils under two solution ionic strengths conditions (1.0 mM and 10.0 mM CaCl₂) followed an order of red soil > black soil > desert soil (expect red soil in 10 mM CaCl₂). PFOA retention in the black soil (soil organic carbon content: 2.57%) was higher than that in the desert soil (soil organic carbon content: 0.05%). In addition, PFOA also showed higher mobility in treated black soils with lower organic carbon contents. These results suggest that the hydrophobic interaction is a key mechanism governing PFOA retention and transport in soils. Besides, more PFOA retention in the red soil (zeta potential: 7.25 ± 0.10 mV and 14.80 ± 0.20 mV) than the desert soil (-15.70 ± 0.10 mV and - 9.11 ± 0.10 mV) was observed, suggesting that electrostatic interaction may be another important mechanism for PFOA retention and transport in soils. Increasing ionic strength slightly increased the retention of PFOA in negatively charged desert and black soils, but significantly decreased the retention of PFOA in the positively charged red soil. Findings of this study point to the importance of soil physiochemical properties to the fate and transport of PFOA in natural soils.

Proximate composition and mineral contents in the body wall of two species of sea cucumber from Oman Sea

The proximate composition and mineral contents of Stichopus horrens and Holothuria arenicola from Chabahar Bay were analyzed and investigated. During the present study, we aimed to demonstrate the nutritive value. The approximate percent composition of moisture, protein, fat, and ash were 92.8, 3.47, 0.4, and 3.33% in S. horrens and 93, 4.4, 0.6, and 2% in H. arenicola, respectively. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry of the ashes indicated the body wall of two species of sea cucumbers contained higher amounts of both macro minerals (92.5 mg/100 g Mg in S. horrens and 115 mg/100 g Mg in H. arenicola; 106.25 mg/100 g Ca in S. horrens and 83.25 mg/100 g Ca in H. arenicola) and trace elements (521.781 mg/100 g Fe in S. horrens; 60.354 mg/100 g Fe in H. arenicola, and 0.096 mg/100 g Zn in S. horrens; 0.04 mg/100 g Zn in H. arenicola). For both species, there were high content of protein and essential mineral. Also, they have low content of fat in the body wall of two species in the experiment.