Environmental issues in relation to agricultural practices and attitudes of farmers: A case study from Saudi Arabia

PurposeThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is continuously in search of environment-friendly farming practices since mass-scale agriculture was initiated. It is imperative to gauge to the level of awareness of the farmers on the agricultural practices causing environmental issue in order to devise new agricultural extension programs. This research aims to identify the attitudes of farmers towards agriculture and environment in Al-Ghat area of Saudi Arabia.MethodologyA simple random sample of 110 farms truly representing the farming community was drawn to meet the objectives of the study. Data were collected by using the pre-tested questionnaire during the face-to-face interviews. In order to understand the message of study, data were analyzed for percentages, arithmetic average and standard deviation in addition to the simple Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsThe results showed that the high proportion (87.3%) of farmers was interested in continuing to work farm and 77.3% of farmers did not consider adopting agriculture their main occupation. The findings of the survey reveal that some 55.5% of the respondent farmers were aware of the agricultural practices and their relation to the environment. Some 57.3% of the surveyed farmers are aware of potential benefits of enhanced utilization of agricultural organic wastes. However, main profession, farm employment (as the independent variables) showed a significant positive correlation with the attitudes of farmers towards their working in agriculture (as a dependent variable). Also a significant negative relationship between the educational levels and the attitudes of the farmers towards working in agriculture was noticed. The study also indicated a significant correlation between education and the degree of awareness of agricultural practices related to the environment and maximizing the optimum utilization of agricultural waste i.e. organic residues.ConclusionsThe study suggested the need for new awareness and orientation programs to educate farmers and extension workers, highlighting the environment- friendly agricultural practices.Recommendation: There is need to offer incentives and facilities to keep the farmers stay in the farming business. Extension staff must keep educating them on beneficial features of organic farm waste and crop residues as organic fertilizers.     

Glycerol alters cytoskeleton and cell adhesion while inhibiting cell proliferation.

Our previous studies with various cell lines and human glioma cells showed that glycerol suppresses cell proliferation. In this study, we examined the effects of glycerol on the cytoskeleton, general morphology and attachment of Baby Hamster Kidney (BHK) cells. In glycerol-treated cells proliferation was suppressed, the microfilament network was extensively reorganized and the microtubule network was more clearly defined, while the cell thickness, as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was decreased. In addition, glycerol treatment resulted in an increase in the number of nucleoli per cell and in the appearance of non-mitotic rounded cells. Glycerol treatment increased the time needed to trypsinize BHK cells from the culture dishes and reduced the time required for cell reattachment. We suggest that glycerol treatment provides a non-toxic tool to examine mechanisms of proliferation arrest.     

Expression and Function of Epithelial Anoctamins

The calcium-activated chloride channel anoctamin1 (ANO1; TMEM16A) is fundamental for the function of epithelial organs. Mice lacking ANO1 expression exhibit transport defects and a pathology similar to cystic fibrosis. They also show a general defect of epithelial electrolyte transport. Here we analyzed expression of all ten members (ANO1–ANO10) in a broad range of murine tissues and detected predominant expression of ANO1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 in epithelial tissues, while ANO2, 3, 4, 5 are common in neuronal and muscle tissues. When expressed in Fisher Rat Thyroid (FTR) cells, all ANO proteins localized to the plasma membrane but only ANO1, 2, 6, and 7 produced Ca²⁺-activated Cl⁻ conductance, as analyzed by ATP-induced iodide quenching of YFP fluorescence. In contrast ANO9 and ANO10 suppressed baseline Cl⁻ conductance and coexpression of ANO9 with ANO1 inhibited ANO1 activity. Patch clamping of ANO-expressing FRT cells indicated that apart from ANO1 also ANO6 and 10 produced chloride currents, albeit with very different Ca²⁺ sensitivity and activation time. We conclude that each tissue expresses a set of anoctamins that form cell- and tissue-specific Ca²⁺-dependent Cl⁻ channels.     

Structure of vaccinia virus thymidine kinase in complex with dTTP: insights for drug design

Background  

Development of countermeasures to bioterrorist threats such as those posed by the smallpox virus (variola), include vaccination and drug development. Selective activation of nucleoside analogues by virus-encoded thymidine (dThd) kinases (TK) represents one of the most successful strategies for antiviral chemotherapy as demonstrated for anti-herpes drugs. Vaccinia virus TK is a close orthologue of variola TK but also shares a relatively high sequence identity to human type 2 TK (hTK), thus achieving drug selectivity relative to the host enzyme is challenging.     

Prevalence of Overweight among Inner City Hispanic‐American Children and Adolescents

Objective: National surveys have pointed to a particularly high risk of pediatric overweight among U.S. Hispanics. However, the data have been primarily from the Mexican‐American community. We studied the prevalence of overweight and clinical comorbidities in children and youth of predominantly El Salvadoran ancestry. Research Methods and Procedures: A sample of 309 Hispanic youth, 6–18 years was surveyed from two inner city Washington, DC, clinics. BMI; triceps skinfold (TSF) and subscapular skinfold thickness (SSSF); bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA); and blood pressure measures were obtained, along with information regarding physical activity, sedentary behavior, dietary history, family, and personal medical history. Results: Thirty‐eight percent were overweight (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) and 22% at risk for overweight (BMI 85–94th percentile). Thirty‐four percent had TSF ≥ 90th percentile and 29% had SSSF ≥ 90th percentile. Fifty‐one percent of males and 70% of females had body fat > 30%. Compared to their nonoverweight counterparts, overweight youth had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (111.4 ± 1.3 vs. 104.5 ± 0.9 mm Hg, p < 0.0001). Among children younger than 11 years, overweight was associated with onset of adrenarche (23% vs. 10%, p = 0.01). Participation in one or more sports teams was negatively correlated with overweight) p = 0.04). Discussion: The prevalence of overweight and at risk for overweight in this sample was twice the national average for U.S. children and 1.7 times greater than that of Mexican‐American children in national surveys. Overweight was associated with advanced pubertal development, high body fat, elevated blood pressure, and decreased sports participation.     

The growth and nodulation ofTrifolium alexandrinum as affected by salinity

The growth and nodulation ofTrifolium alexandrinum were compared at six levels (0 - 1.2 % NaCl) of salinity. Dry mass of shoots and roots, 14 and 20 weeks after the commencement of salinity treatment, increased at low levels of salinity (0.1 - 0.2 % NaCl) but decreased with higher NaCl concentrations (0.4 - 1.2 %). Nodulation occurred at NaCl concentrations up to 0.8 %. Nodule mass decreased with increasing salinity levels. The nodule size remained unaffected at NaCl concentrations up to 0.4 % but was reduced at higher concentrations.     

Über die Ursachen der “Entartung” des Weizens

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