Natural products have gained great interest due to their broad spectrum of biological activities and bioactive compounds. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using Astragalus logopodioides L. by green approach. The structure of AgNPs was elucidated by spectroscopic techniques. UV-Vis spectrum presented the maximum absorption of AgNPs as 419 nm. The crystal structure of AgNPs was assigned as face centered cubic by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) established morphology of AgNPs with an average size of 36.4 nm. A. logopodioides included the bioactive compounds, So, AgNPs capped by these compounds could be valuable substances for food and pharmaceutical applications.

Ethiopia is considered as the possible origin and center of diversity for okra. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objectives of determining the genetic distance between indigenous okra collections and exotic commercial varieties and assessing genetic diversity of okra genotypes. The field experiment was conducted at Dire Dawa in 2016 using 14 indigenous collections and 11 exotic varieties in 5 x 5 triple lattice design. Data were collected on 9 and 29 qualitative and quantitative traits, respectively. The genetic distance measured by Euclidean distance ranged from 3.1 to 12.6 with a mean of 7.2. The highest genetic distances were observed between indigenous okra collections and exotic varieties viz. Guba-12 and NamdHari (12.6) followed by Guba-12 and Vellayani (12.3) and Mythri and Guba-12 (11.8). Dendrogram constructed by Unweighted Pair-group Method with Arithmetic Means grouped the 25 genotypes into seven major clusters in which the three clusters (Cluster II, III and V) were solitary, consisted of one genotype each, Cluster I consisted of six Indian commercial varieties, Cluster IV comprised of seven genotypes (four indigenous okra collections, one variety from USA and two from India), while Cluster VI and VII comprised of 5 and 4 indigenous okra collections, respectively. This study revealed the presence of wide genetic diversity among indigenous okra collections and exotic commercial varieties.

Considering the importance of water in the world, the amount of usable water is not sufficient throughout the world, the existing available fresh water resources are not enough, therefore, water shortages may be encountered in the following years. Keeping the quality of water as it is demanded gains more importance than before. Particularly, heavy metals begin to interfere with groundwater resources, and the quantity of pollution growing due to industrialization, and urbanization. In the present study, the quantitative analysis of heavy metals in harvested rainwater from the rooftop of public buildings in Bornova, Izmir is investigated. The results show that a minimum of 5 μg of copper, 4 μg of zinc, 2.69 μg of lead, 0.095 μg of cadmium, 0.55 μg of chromium, 89,7 μg of iron, 0.96 μg of arsenic, 0.0119 μg of mercury and 3.88 μg of nickel should be tossed away for obtaining a liter of potable water. In conclusion, first flush diverters are recommended to convert these non-point pollutants to point source. Thus, municipalities can take necessary measures to protect the environment such as using phytoremediation and hyperaccumulator plants in sewages.

The objective of this study was to find out the effects of torque rise on lugging ability of tractors. In British terminology, torque rise refers to torque back-up or torque reserve. Torque rise is the amount of torque that the engine can produce above the manufacturers rated amount of torque. It is the percent increase in torque, from rated torque to peak torque. In order to meet the above objective, two tractor reports issued by Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory were used. Powertrain schemas obtained from three different tractor manufacturers were used and the total transmission ratios from these schemas were calculated. The effect of torque rise on lugging ability of the two tractors with four different gear boxes was studied. From the study, it was concluded that higher torque rise enables the tractor to run in a wide range of torque and the gear box to be chosen should be such that it can match with the engine.

Frost events are of particular importance for plants. Its occurrence determines growing season. Early or late frost events may cause injuries and damage in plants which have not yet entered dormancy in fall/winter, and for plants in flowering period in winter/spring. Global average temperature increase has been accompanied by changes in extreme temperature events. Observations have shown that there has been a decreasing pattern in frequencies and intensities of frost events. In this sense, it is aimed in this study to analyse probabilities of frost occurrences within the latest 30-year climatic normal period, from the cold period of 1991-1992 to that of 2020-2021, at five locations (Aydın, Kuşadası, Nazilli, Söke ve Sultanhisar) in the province Aydın, western Türkiye. Six frost indices were selected, and three temperature thresholds to define frost were considered when daily minimum temperature (TMIN) being equal to or less than 0.0, -1.2 or -2.3°C.The selected frost indices are first fall frost (FFF), last spring frost (LSF), frost period (FP), number of frost days (NFD), dates of frost occurrences (DFO) and consecutive frost days (CFD). The results revealed that Nazilli and Sultanhisar are characterized by the highest probabilities of frost in terms of frequency, intensity and duration, along with the earliest occurrence of first fall frost and latest occurrences of last spring frost, and with longest duration of frost period. On the other hand, Kuşadası and Söke have opposite characteristics in comparison to Nazilli an Sultanhisar. Aydın lies in between them. The results are expected to provide information to schedule the agricultural activities, and to avoid detrimental impacts of frost events.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, belonging to the Pseudomonadaceae family, is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic, endospore negative, oxidase and catalase positive. It is widely found in nature and isolated from soil, plants, water and animals. It can grow rapidly on the surface of the food and form oxidized products and mucous substances. P. aeruginosa, one of the leading foodborne pathogens, causes important concerns in food safety due to being a source of contamination, causing food poisoning and antimicrobial resistance in animals, forming biofilms and difficulties in preventing biofilms. In this review, information on history, microbiological, cultural and biochemical characteristics, virulence factors and pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa are given. In addition, infections caused by P. aeruginosa and its presence in food are described.

Phloxine is used as a food dye. In this study, genotoxicity of phloxine at the root tip of Allium cepa L. was investigated. A. cepa L. meristematic root tip cells were treated with ten different doses of phloxine. In this way, the EC50 value was determined. Then, phloxine was applied to root tips at EC50/2, EC50 and EC50×2 doses. Treatment time was determined as 24, 48 and 72 hours. As a result, it was revealed that phloxine caused chromosomal aberrations in cells in mitotic cycle at the root tip of A. cepa. There are equatorial plate shifting in metaphase, laggard chromosome, disturbed spindle, chromosome stickiness, C-mitosis, polar shifting among the observed chromosomal aberrations. It was stated that the % chromosomal aberration index (CAI) increased depending on concentration increase. It has been demonstrated that the highest % chromosomal aberration index occurred at the EC50×2 dose for 72 hours. According to the research, it was revealed that phloxine has a genotoxic effect on the root cells of A. cepa. For this reason, it can be emphasized that care should be taken in its use in foods.

demand for its essential oil continues to grow on a global scale. The fact remains that harvesting at the right time of growth is critical to maximizing the rate of active ingredients found in the plant. Thus, in the current study, L. angustifolia plants were collected at various growth stages (pre-flowering, mid-flowering, and post-flowering) from Adana, Turkey in order to determine the most suitable harvest time for the highest amount of essential oils and its important compounds. The highest flower essential oil content (7.50 mL 100 g-1) was obtained at mid-flowering of the third year of plantation. The major compounds for L. angustifolia were linalyl acetate (25.63-31.63%), linalool (16.33-24.79%), nerol (8.83-13.43%), beta-farnesene (3.67-5.70%), β-cis-ocimene (1.76-8.14%), respectively. The obtained data have been inquired by principal components analysis (PCA), allowing differentiation of plantation ages and growth stages. Compared to the plantation ages, essential oil content and linalool content increased significantly in the third year of cultivation. As a result, the most suitable harvest time may be considered as mid-flowering in terms of essential oil content and in terms of high linalyl acetate and linalool content.

As a part of prospecting bioactive molecules from natural resources, the phytochemical composition and antioxidant properties of extracts of leaves and berries oilcake of Pistacia lentiscus L., collected from two sites (Mechat and Bordj-Ali) in the northeast region of Algeria, were investigated. Dried leaves and berries oilcake obtained after removing the oily part by mean of Soxhlet apparatus were macerated in methanol in order to recover their respective active extracts. The phytochemical content analysis showed that lentisk leaves of both sites were relatively rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, flavonols and proanthocyanidins. The phytochemical content of berries oilcake extract was lower than that of leaves, yet, samples of Bordj-Ali displayed higher values for all assayed phytochemicals compared to those of Mechat. The P. lentiscus leaves extract exhibited a strong radical-scavenging activity (IC50 = 10.46 µg/mL) against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and a substantial inhibitory activity against H2O2 free radicals (20.23 - 25.92%). Furthermore, these extracts displayed a very strong reducing power (EC50 = 28.08 µg/mL) and total antioxidant capacity (104.07 - 159.39 mg EAA/g DW). The observed results correlated positively with total phytochemical content strongly plead in favor of valorization of this wild plant as a potential natural source of active biomolecules for food, cosmetics, and medicinal industry sectors.

Global climate change, the effect of which has been increasingly felt in the last ten years, has made itself felt more in many regions in Turkey, especially in 2020 and 2021, and a serious temperature increase, floods and forest fires have been seen. Climate change affects the most vulnerable agricultural production. Since the adaptation of farmers to climate change is important in terms of food prices and sustainability of agricultural production, it is important to identify the barriers to adaptation of farmers to climate change. The aim of this research is to investigate the barriers to the adaptation to climate change of wheat producing farmers in Çorum province, where wheat is produced on 37% of the total agricultural land. In order to achieve this aim, 424 farmers were interviewed and their climate change 'understanding', 'perceptions', 'attitudes' and climate change adaptation 'barriers' were examined. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the farmers perceive climate change as "drying of water resources" and “increase in drought”, and they have an attitude that "we should strive together to adapt to the changing climate" rather than an individual struggle. In addition to these, it has been determined that “climate change is perceived as a serious problem” by the farmers and as a result of all these, the lack of “access to water resources” is the most important obstacle in adapting to climate change. In order to accelerate the adaptation of farmers to climate change, to protect them against the negative effects of climate change and to make local adaptation strategic plans, politicians, non-governmental organizations, public, private sector, universities, national and international organizations have important duties.