The use of cassava for fuel ethanol production in Nigeria is supported by the Nigerian Biofuel Policy and Incentives (NBPI) of 2007. Because of its food, feed and industrial value, the need to replace cassava with crops/plants that are food and feeds neutral has motivated this research. Starch was extracted from forest anchomanes (FA) (Anchomanes difformis (Bl.) ENGL.) tubers and some of its physicochemical and elemental properties were determined. At present, the plant is uncultivated in Nigeria and other parts of Africa where it is found. Results showed that the starch content in FA tubers varied from 72.12 to 75.83%. Starch granules from all parts of the FA tubers had similar proximate, antinutrients and elemental properties and appeared usable for fuel ethanol production. However, to suggest its potential to sustainably replace cassava, further investigations are needed beyond these initial results.

The study was carried out in a randomized plot design with three replications, with 4 pots in each replication and 3 plants in each pot. A total of 10 applications consisting of liquid compost (25%- 50%), vermicompost (25%-50%), and humic acid (600-1200 ppm) and combining these applications were applied to Zinnia seedlings. The first application was applied as 400 mL per pot when the plants reached 20 cm in size. Applications were made 3 times with an interval of 7 days. When the plants are harvested, flower diameter (mm), stem thickness (mm), number of flowers (piece), stem length (cm), number of branches (pieces), the weight of branches (g), number of leaves (pieces), root length ( cm), root fresh weight (g), root dry weight (g), vase life (days) parameters were examined. As a result of the study, the highest flower diameter (72.27 mm) and SPAD value (34.93) was 600 ppm humic acid application, the highest flower stem thickness (4.67) and flower stem length (45.56 cm) 25% liquid compost + 25% vermicompost application, the highest flower stem thickness (4.67). The number of flowers (6.17 pieces) and root wet weight (8.10 g) were found in 25% vermicompost application, the highest number of branches (7,25) in 1200 ppm humic acid application, the highest branch weight (30.76) in 50% vermicompost application. As a result, it was observed that in applications where 25% of vermicompost was used, it had positive effects on the number of leaves, flowering, and root parameters. In humic acid applications, it has been found to have a positive effect when used at low rates such as 600 ppm. It is stated in the results of the study that the doses used to give better results when applied at low rates.

Black cumin has been used in many countries for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and for thousands of years as a spice, flavoring in products such as bread, and as a food preservative in pickles. Too much delay in the sowing of black cumin has a negative effect on plant growth. In order to determine the most suitable sowing dates for different black cumin genotypes, an experiment was conducted in the open-field conditions of the Eastern Mediterranean region of Türkiye at Çukurova University, for two years, in 2020 and 2021, in three different sowing dates (October 15th, November 01st, and November 15th) with three different black cumin genotypes (Çameli cultivar (G1), Adana population (G2) and Iraq population (G3)). The findings of this research demonstrated significant differences in the agronomic characteristics and overall quality of black cumin. The main components were p-cymene (51.45%-66.33%), trans-4-Methoxythujane (8.40%-11.90%), thymoquinone (0.11%-19.26%), γ-Terpinene (1.28%-9.09%), and limonene (2.93%-4.50%). The main fatty acids were determined as linoleic acid (53.97%-57.56%), oleic acid (20.98-26.40), and palmitic acid (13.73%-15.02%). Consequently, the low number of flowers and the high temperatures observed in May, along with the early spring frosts, negatively affected the fertilization of the flowers. The seed yield was adversely affected because some of the seeds could not mature.

Drought is one of the most prevalent forms of abiotic environmental stress that reduce crop productivity. A pot experiment was performed in two Aman seasons under drought (40% field capacity, FC) and control (100% field capacity, FC) irrigations to study drought tolerance mechanism(s) based on morphological and physiological traits in six aromatic rice genotypes. Twelve treatments (6 genotypes × 2 irrigations) were arranged in Complete Randomized Design and experiment was carried out at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. In the experiment, drought was imposed at panicle initiation stage where morphological and physiological data were recorded. Important morphological (stem and root dry weight) and physiological (photosynthesis and chlorophyl content) attributes were significantly (P>0.05) decreased at 40% FC in both the years. Compared to control, relative reduction at 40% FC in above parameters, genotypes were classified into tolerant (Binadhan-13 and NERICA mutant) and sensitive (RM-100-16, Ukunimodhu, Kalizira, and BRRI dhan34) categories. Tolerant genotypes had smaller reduction in shoot and root dry mater (av. 7.73 and 5.56 %, respectively) than sensitive ones (av. 19.32 and 21.80%, respectively). Low reduction percentages of the traits under drought stress to that of the control discriminated Binadhan-13 and NERICA mutant genotypes consistently as drought tolerant.

Technological developments have accelerated the use of information and communication technologies in the agricultural sector as in all other sectors. However, there is still a lack of information in the literature on measuring the level of digital technology usage by farmers. This study will help to eliminate the lack of information on the indicators and their weights that can be used to determine the level of digitalisation of farmers. The aim of the study is to determine the indicators to be used in measuring the level of digital technology use, the sub-dimensions of these indicators, and the weights of these indicators. The constant-sum scale and expert opinions were used to determine the indicators and their weights to be used in measuring the level of digitalisation. The level of agreement of the opinions expressed by different experts about different digitalisation level indicators and their weights was revealed with the help of Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance. The study results showed that the indicators of internet access facilities, internet speed, smartphone ownership, mobile internet usage, and the ability to use office programs are important variables in measuring the level of digitalisation. The study determined eight main indicators to measure the level of digitalisation and 96 indicators under them, and their weights were put forward. By using the digitalisation indicators and their weights, it will be possible to measure the level of digitalisation in agricultural enterprises reliably.

Traditional milk desserts are one of the most essential dessert groups that Turkish society consumes. Due to foaming activity, it was aimed to investigate the feasibility of the ohmic heating system to produce a semolina dessert with milk. Hence, an ohmic heating treatment was used to heat the milk, semolina, and sugar mix from 20°C to 100°C using three different voltage gradients (15, 17.5, and 20 V/cm) and then boil for two minutes. It was found that the current value escalated from 20°C to approximately 86°C but decreased after 86°C due to foaming. Since the total consumed energy during the ohmic cooking treatment was inversely proportional to the treatment time, the total consumed energy values decreased based on the rising voltage gradient. As a result, the feasibility of the ohmic heating treatment for making a traditional semolina dessert with milk was determined in this study.

For commercial aquaculture, the obtainment of all-female salmonid populations is important in fish farms. After freezing process, variable spermatozoa maturity, higher sperm concentration, low sperm quality, and reduced fertilization success have been observed in sex-reversed female rainbow trout. For these reasons, the objective of this study was to assess effect of dilution rate and supplementation of a N-(2-Mercaptopropionyl)-Glycine (MPG)-based extender on sperm motility and fertilizing capacity of sex-reversed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The supplementation of MPG [0 (control, 0), 1 mM; 2 mM; 4 mM] to extenders and dilution ratio (1:9, 1:15 and 1:25) were tested in sex-reversed female rainbow trout spermatozoa during cryopreservation. For thawing, the straws (0.5 ml) were placed in a water bath at 37°C for 30 s. Our results showed that the best concentration of MPG was 2 mM for post-thaw motility duration (120.67±9.07%), fertilization (62.67±3.10%) and hatching rate (54.33±3.10%) at 1:15 dilution rate. Overall, MPG provided improvements during cryopreservation process and could be used as protective agent.

Quercetin (QU) is a flavonoid found in different fruits and vegetables. Studies report that QU may have positive effects on neurological diseases. However, the effect of QU on 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)-induced neurodegeneration in neuronal cells is still not fully elucidated. In this study, the effects of QU on 4-AP-induced hippocampal neuron damage in vitro and the possible role of oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress in this effect were investigated. The study was carried out using the HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cell line. The effect of pre-treatment with QU on cell viability after 4-AP-induced neuronal damage was determined by the XTT test. Cells were evaluated histopathologically for apoptotic nuclear change (ANC) using DAPI staining. The effects of QU on oxidative stress (total oxidant state (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS)) occurring after neuronal damage were evaluated with colorimetric commercial kits and endoplasmic reticulum stress markers (activating transcription factor 4 (ATF-4) and C/EBP homologous protein). (CHOP) was measured with the ELISA kits. While the cell viability rate decreased in the cells treated with 4-AP, it was determined that pre-treatment with QU reversed this situation. In terms of histopathology, treatment with 4-AP increased the number of ANC, while QU pre-treatment reduced it. In addition, in terms of biochemical evaluations, TOS, ATF-4, and CHOP increased in neuronal cells after 4-AP, and QU was determined to suppress this increase. In addition, QU normalized the decreased TAS levels following the 4-AP application. As a result, in the HT-22 cell line, it was found that QU treatment had a neuroprotective effect by suppressing oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress in 4-AP-induced neuronal damage.

Lipoxygenases (LOX) gene family is a type of nonheme iron-containing dioxygenases, which has a very important aspect in plant development and fruit quality. LOX gene, which is responsible for lipid oxidation, the main role for the biosynthesis pathway of unsaturated fatty acids. Although some studies have investigated the LOX gene family in several species including arabidopsis, soybean, peanut and apple, there is no information from Pistachio; and the phylogeny of this gene family in the Pistacia genus is still not determined. In this study, Arabidopsis thaliana LOX1 gene (NCBI Reference Sequence: NM_104376.3) was selected and used as a query sequence for performing a BLASTN search. Among all sequence query which was found by NCBI platform, 9 sequences were selected for further analysis. Phylogenetic tree of full-length LOX gene sequences from the Pistacia genus was constructed using the Maximum Likelihood method with MEGA software. By using phylogenic analysis, we identified variations in gene structure and revealed the phylogenetic evolutionary relationship of this gene family. Additionally, this may serve as a reference value for assessing the genetic relationships among various LOX genes in Pistacia genus species. This variations provides us the possibility the design the primer to achieve us to find the exact LOX gene in Pistacia genus and future research on the evolutionary history and transgenic research on LOX genes.

Gelişen sanayi faaliyetleri ile birlikte günümüzün en önemli sorunlarından biri haline gelen ağır metal kontaminasyonu tüm canlı organizmalar için ciddi bir tehdittir. Bazı funguslar ağır metallere karşı direnç mekanizmalarına sahiptir ve bu durum iyileştirme süreçleri için sürdürülebilir bir yaklaşım olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı ağır metal kontaminasyonunun yüksek oranlarda olduğu alanlardaki dirençli fungal mikrobiyotayı belirleyerek ağır metallerin biyolojik ıslah yaklaşımlarına ışık tutmaktır. Araştırmada yüksek oranda ağır metal kirliliğine sahip Samsun Organize Sanayi Bölgesinden alınan toprak örneklerindeki Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As ve V ağır metal oranları ICP-OES ile tespit edilmiştir. Toprak fungal mikrobiyotası ise metagenenomik yeni nesil sekanslama teknolojisi kullanılarak belirlenmiştir. Metagenomik sekanslama için illumina MiSeq teknolojisi, istatistiksel mikrobiyom analizi için QIIME 2 2017,4 kullanılmıştır. Ağır metalle kontamine olmuş çalışma alanında en yüksek oranlarda sırasıyla Mortierella %53,90, Halokirschsteiniothelia %18,01, Rhizopogon %2,74, Cladosporium %,1,88, Aspergillus %1,62 ve Gibberella %1,12 cinsleri tespit edilmiştir. Sonuçlar metal konsantrasyonundaki fazlalığa dirençli taksonların ortamda dominant olduğunu göstermektedir.