High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minnesota) over three years. We measured vetch cover crop effects on a suite of soil health indicators, including potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), permanganate oxidizable carbon, and microbial biomass. Preliminary results suggest that vetch effects on PMN were highly variable. Soil mineral N, meanwhile, was often lower in the vetch treatment than in a fertilized control, both in spring and in fall. While further work on vetch effects on crop yields is needed, our results suggest that even legume cover crops such as vetch have the potential to reduce nitrate leaching.
Previous studies indicated that supplementation with antioxidants has a protective effects against oxidative stress–induced damage in type 2 diabetes. In this study we evaluated the antioxidant effects of melatonin on the oxidative stress parameters and microalbuminuria in type 2 DM patients. 30 patients with type 2 DM were treated with 3mg/day melatonin for 90 days. Erythrocytes and plasma MDA and glutathione, fasting plasma glucose, %HbAIC, microalbuminuria, total plasma protein and lipid profile were measured each 30 days and compared with those obtained from 20 healthy controls.
A decrease in MDA levels associated with the elevation in GSH levels were observed, compared with the pre–treatment levels.
... Show More
(1)
(1)
Melatonin is a potent scavenger of reactive oxygen species or free radicals like superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. The oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin (meth-Hb) by oxidizing compounds has been widely studied. The present work was designed to evaluate the ability of different concentrations of melatonin to inhibit nitrite–induced oxidation of hemoglobin. Blood samples were obtained from apparently healthy individuals from which erythrocyte hemolysate was prepared. Different concentrations of melatonin (10-9-1.0 mg/ml) were incubated for 10 min with the hemolysate, then to the resultant mixture 1 ml of sodium nitrite (final concentration 0.6 mM) was added, and the
... Show More
The objective of the present study is to determine the anti-obesity effects of Akkermansia munciniphila on some biometric measurements. 40 patients were divided into two groups, each with 20 patients; G1 group consumed the probiotic of A. munciphila and G2 consumed placebo capsules. The results showed significant effects on the body weight (p≤ 0.001), which was reduced by a range of -2.29 to -0.7, whereas non-significant differences were observed in the Waist circumferance . The study also showed significant differences (p≤0.001) between the two groups in the levels of cholesterol (287 vs. 285 mg/dl) , whereas the level of Triglyceride significantly decrease
... Show More
(1)
Traditional programs and the tedious and financially costly processes they require are no longer the best choice for content makers. The continuous development and development have led to the emergence of competitive software that offers capabilities that are more suitable for aesthetic needs, as it breaks down stereotypical frameworks from the familiar to the unfamiliar to be more suitable for graphic subjects in terms of dealing with the requirements of the digital content industry. Video for communication platforms, as it has more advantages than traditional software and the flexibility and high quality it offers at the level of the final product, All of this contributed to supplementing the image with aesthetic employments with data
... Show More
Concentrations of four heavy metals, Zinc , Copper , Lead and Cadimium were determed in water and sediment samples collected bi-weekly from six sampling sites on the lower part of River Diyala during low flow period (August to October) and high flow period (April to June). A reference point site (1) was situated upstream the effects of the effluent. Present work describes the e
... Show MoreIn this study, the potential combined effects of silver (AgNPs) and silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2NPs) on male albino mice which were exposed intraperitoneally to the 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg and mixed concentrations of nanoparticles (NPs) for periods of 2 and 4 weeks, were evaluated. The evaluation was performed by examining the haematological and biochemical parameters, in addition to the bioaccumulation of NPs in the liver and kidney. The results showed that the platelets count significantly increased in all exposed groups, while red blood cell count (RBCs) decreased in most exposed groups. White blood cells (WBCs) and haemoglobin (Hb) showed different levels in the exposed groups. Serum aspartate aminotransfera
... Show More
(2)
(2)
The present study aims to evaluate the effects of methotrexate (MTX) with and without vitamin A (Vit. A) on some biochemical parameters and histological structure in male rabbits liver. Twenty male rabbits weighing 1250-1480 gm were divided into four equal number groups. The first group was given 2 ml distilled water as control group. The second group was given MTX (20 mg/kg), the third group was given Vit. A (5000 IU), while the fourth group was given MTX (20 mg/kg) +Vit. A (5000 IU) in alternative days. Following four weeks of treatment, lipid profile total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), [low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)]; in addition to thyroid hormones tr
... Show More
(2)