In this study, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeONPs) were synthesized by using the extract of Melia azedarach leaves, and Acorus calamusas rhizomes, respectively, and investigated for the biological and sustainable control of yellow, or stripe rust, disease in wheat. The green synthesized NPs were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).The SeNPs and CeONPs, with different concentrations (i.e., 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/L), were exogenously applied to wheat infected with Puccinia striformis. SeNPs and CeONPs, at a concentration of 30 mg/L, were found to be the most suitable concentrations, which reduced the disease severity and enhanced the morphological (plant height, root length, shoot length, leaf length, and ear length), physiological (chlorophyll and membrane stability index), biochemical (proline, phenolics and flavonoids) and antioxidant (SOD and POD) parameters. The antioxidant activity of SeNPs and CeONPs was also measured. For this purpose, different concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200 and 400 ppm) of both SeNPs and CeONPs were used. The concentration of 400 ppm most promoted the DPPH, ABTS and reducing power activity of both SeNPs and CeONPs. This study is considered the first biocompatible approach to evaluate the potential of green synthesized SeNPs and CeONPs to improve the health of yellow, or stripe rust, infected wheat plants and to provide an effective management strategy to inhibit the growth of Puccinia striformis.

About half of world’s population intake rice as a staple food. As being water baby, rice need surplus of water to get targeted yield. Water scarcity has become a global issue therefore it has become a need to enhance the rice yield with reduced amount of water. In this research we used ecological parameters e.g., temperature, pressure, actual vapor pressure, sunshine hours and the extraterrestrial radiation to compute net radiations, ground and sensible heat fluxes on daily basis. Net shortwave radiations were observed as 23087 w/m2 in comparison to net longwave radiations which were 4387 w/m2 for the complete Rice Growth Period (RGP). The soil heat flux Go was observed as 3104 w/m2. Go was observed dependent upon the Leaf Area Index (LAI) with inverse relationship between them. Sensible heat flux (H) was measured as 1771 w/m2 throughout the RGP. H was observed dependent upon net radiations with a direct relationship between them. Rn, Go and H were used as input parameters to compute water stress which determines the excess of water in early growth stages of rice crop and water scarcity in the ripening stage. The flow of methodology is easily applicable at domestic level to determine water stress in rice fields.

In the present study, SeNPs were synthesized using Melia azedarach leaf extracts and investigated for growth promotion in wheat under the biotic stress of spot blotch disease. The phytosynthesized SeNPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The in vitro efficacy of different concentrations of phytosynthesized SeNPs (i.e., 100 μg/mL, 150 μg/mL, 200 μg/mL, 250 μg/mL, and 300 μg/mL) was evaluated using the well diffusion method, which reported that 300 μg/mL showed maximum fungus growth inhibition. For in vivo study, different concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/L) of SeNPs were applied exogenously to evaluate the morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters under control conditions and determine when infection was induced. Among all treatments, 30 mg/L of SeNPs performed well and increased the plant height by 2.34% compared to the control and 30.7% more than fungus-inoculated wheat. Similarly, fresh plant weight and dry weight increased by 17.35% and 13.43% over the control and 20.34% and 52.48% over the fungus-treated wheat, respectively. In leaf surface area and root length, our findings were 50.11% and 10.37% higher than the control and 40% and 71% higher than diseased wheat, respectively. Plant physiological parameters i.e., chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content, were increased 14, 133, and 16.1 times over the control and 157, 253, and 42 times over the pathogen-inoculated wheat, respectively. Our findings regarding carotenoid content, relative water content, and the membrane stability index were 29-, 49-, and 81-fold higher than the control and 187-, 63-, and 48-fold higher than the negative control, respectively. In the case of plant biochemical parameters, proline, sugar, flavonoids, and phenolic contents were recorded at 6, 287, 11, and 34 times higher than the control and 32, 107, 33, and 4 times more than fungus-inoculated wheat, respectively. This study is considered the first biocompatible approach to evaluate the potential of green-synthesized SeNPs as growth-promoting substances in wheat under the spot blotch stress and effective management strategy to inhibit fungal growth.

Intoduction: MRSA has become a major cause of nosocomial and community acquired infections in the past few years. Our hypothesis is that MRSA colonization affects the length of stay in hospital thereby adding a strain on the resources.Patients and methods: A retrospective case controlled study was done in which data from the last 20 patients admitted to the Spinal Injury Care Unit (SICU) who were MRSA positive have been analysed and then matched with data from 20 patients who were MRSA negative to compare their total hospital stay and the factors which effect the length of stay in hospital with MRSA and Spinal cord injury.All patients were matched for age, ASIA (American Spine Injury Association (ASIA) scores and the presence of pressure sores.Results: The mean age of the MRSA positive patients was 38.8, which is the same mean age for the MRSA negative patients. The average time between injury and admission in SICU was 76.5 days in the study group compared to 28.7 days in the control. The mean stay duration is 412.15 days in the study group as opposed to 187.2 days in the control. At discharge, 55% of patients in the study group made their way back home while only 40% in the control had did so. On the morbidity front, nearly 45% had developed pressure sores in the study group as compared to 25% in the control group.Conclusion: Our study indicates that MRSA colonisation in spinal injured patients can lead to longer hospital stay, delayed in admission to spinal care units, and development of pressure sores and further infection. These factors have adverse effects on patients rehabilitation. Isolation of MRSA positive patient results in decreased morale and depression. More resources are required to compact MRSA colonisation and subsequent clinical and psychological effects.Trauma is the most common reason for applying a rigid cervical collar. These are generally made a of one-piece rigid polyethylene shell. There are a number of problems commonly associated with conventional designs. The level of immobilization is poor compared with rubber head blocks and straps, they hinder tracheal intubation and are associated with restricted respiration and raised intracranial pressure.We have developed a Head Articulation Control System (HACS) that utilises vacuum and air cells within a semi rigid polymer shell that conforms to the patient and then becomes rigid. The composite structure significantly improves the rigidity, preventing the buckling that occurs in air filled structures. The collar does not apply high forces to the head and neck and has a removable front piece to allow intubation.The performance of the device was evaluated on 5 subjects (4 male, age range 25-48 years) using a Charnwood Dynamics CODA motion tracking system to measure the range of motion (ROM) of the head. Data were recorded from 4 markers attached to the head and trunk during flexion/extension, lateral and rotational head movements. Subjects repeated each movement three times without restraint, with Aspen, Philadelphia and HACS collar, applied in r...

Abstract-The influence of five constant temperatures i.e 16±1°C, 20±1°C, 24±1°C, 28 ±1°C and 32