Abstract:

Nepeta cyrenaica Quézel & Zaffran (Lamiaceae), an endemic species of Libyan flora, is here characterized for the first time for its phytochemical composition and biological activities. Phenolic composition, antioxidant and enzyme inhibiting effects of extracts, prepared from five-week-old in vitro propagated N. cyrenaica shoots, were evaluated. Extraction was performed using dichloromethane, methanol, 96% ethanol or hot distilled water. LC-MS analysis showed that the methanol extract contained the highest amount of phenolic components, especially ferulic and rosmarinic acids (1300.73 mg/kg and 528.88 mg/kg, respectively), and epigallocatechin gallate (719.05 mg/kg). The strongest antioxidant activity was recorded for aqueous extract in DPPH assay (66.91%) and dichloromethane extract in β-carotene bleaching assay (81.06%), both tested at the concentration of 2 mg/mL. Concerning α-glucosidase inhibition, dichloromethane extract was shown to possess a higher inhibition capacity than acarbose at the concentration of 2 mg/mL (95.33% vs. 88.29%). The aqueous extract exhibited higher acetylcholinesterase inhibition than the other tested extracts, which was lower compared to the positive control, galantamine. Although methanol extract contained the highest amount of polyphenolics, dichloromethane and aqueous extracts were shown to be more suitable for the extraction of bioactive components. In conclusion, endemic N. cyrenaica could be efficiently propagated through in vitro propagation protocols as a polyphenolic-rich plant with valuable medicinal potential.

Keywords: biological activities; extracts; in vitro propagation; Nepeta cyrenaica

This study considers the diagenetic processes and the depositional settings of Lower Jurassic gypsum of the Bi'r Elghanem Formation in the northwestern of Libya. The paleo-environment study has revealed a variety of depositional environment ranging from lagoonal to fluvial deposit and evaporitic basins, which become intensely saline as a result of evaporation due to (semi-) arid environments. Samples were analyzed using elemental analysis, statistical evaluation such as Multiple Correlations, Principal Component Analysis, and mineralogical evidence to determine their mode of environmental deposition, mineralogical and geochemical composition. The geochemical results indicate that gypsum has evidence of mineral substitutions and displacement, suggesting a homologous mechanism for lithofacies and subsequent textural change. The development of gypsum minerals in a variety of lithologies and textures is aided by eustatic fluctuations in lake water level due to regional tectonism and climate.

Water used for crop irrigation is often of insufficient quality in the Mediterranean region, where sea water invades the porous karst matrix and salinizes Sources of soil and water. Measuring the productivity of horticultural crops under saline conditions helps decide if and when crops should be irrigated if water is saline, thus balancing crop water and salt stress. To examine the effects of saline irrigation water on (Vicia faba L.) biomass and yield parameters, a greenhouse pot experiment was set up.NaCl salinity was applied as follows: After 15 days from irrigation, plants were subjected to graded levels of salinity: 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl, applied in stepwise daily increments to avoid induction of salt shock to the seedlings. Height of Plant (cm), The number of lateral branches , number of( leaves, pods, seeds) per plant, shoot weight (g), is correlated with an increase in stressed plant photosynthetic pigments. five weeks after salinity therapy, the weight of the pod (g) and the weight of the seed (g) were determined. Increased irrigation water salinity statistically significantly decreased the calculated parameters (P<0.05) relative to regulation , except for the number of branches and pods. Salinity is associated with an increase in photosynthetic pigments in stressed plants. The productivity of Vicia faba has decreased in proportion to the degree of salinity of irrigation water

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious res-

piratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The disease was first broke out in

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and subsequently spread to all countries

and was considered by WHO as a worldwide pandemic. This study is aimed

to determine the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and the presence of UK va-

riants in Zintan city of Libya taking some risk factors into account. Me-

thods: In a cross-sectional retrospective study, a total of 15486 nasopha-

ryngeal swabs were collected from COVID-19 suspected patients, travelers

and people need disease-free certificates for hospital admission, etc. The

samples were collected during the period from August 2020 to June 2021

and tested using real-time RT -PCR (rRT-PCR) kits for SARS-CoV-2 and

UK variants. Age groups, sex, and monthly weather were considered as risk

factors. Results: The positivity rate of COVID-19 in Zintan city was esti-

mated to be (3891; 25.12%) for the period from August 2020 to June 2021.

Females showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher positivity rate (2100; 54%) as

compared to males (1791; 46%). Out of the 3891 positive cases, 52 were de-

ceased. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 1.33 recorded significantly in cas-

es aged ≥ 65 years which was higher in males (56.66%) than females (43.33%).

The peak of the first wave of infection was recorded in October 2020 (590;

15.15%) whereas the peak of the second wave of infection was recorded in

April 2021 (727; 18.71%). The positivity rate was decreased as the tempera-

ture increased. UK variant is detected firstly in May 2021 with the percen-

tage of 6.2% of tested samples. Conclusions: Health Authorities are en-

crease phase of infection to stop transmission of the virus in the next wave.

Early detection of new variants and studying their genetic characteristics

play a valuable role in prevention and control.

Keywords

SARS

-

CoV

-

2, UK Variant, Epidemiology, Zintan,

Libya, rRT

-

PCR.

Lithostratigraphically, the Sidi As sid Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in the El Zintan section (JabalNafusah, NW Libya) consists of three units: upper marl, middle marl with intercalations of dolostone, and lower dolostone. Based on crystal size and shape, three types of dolomite have been classified. Fine crystalline dolomite (D1) consists of nonplanar dolomites, fine to medium crystalline dolomite (D2), and very coarse, consisting of mostly planar dolomites (D-3). The Cathodoluminescence technique also showed that most of these dolomites have bright yellow to red and dull orange luminescence and zoning. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), all dolomites are relatively well ordered and non to nearly stoichiometric dolomite. The stable isotopic studies and element analysis show that the major elements such as sodium (D1: 412.166 ppm; D2: 175 ppm; D3: 420 ppm), strontium (D1: 107 ppm; D2: 85 ppm; D3: 81.2 ppm), manganese (D1: 271 ppm; D2: 91 ppm; V3: 242 ppm), and iron (D1: 4856.66 ppm; D2: 373 ppm; D3: 3287 ppm) and the values of the stable isotope of oxygen (D1:-2.202‰; D2:-2.131; D3:-4.359‰) and carbon (D1: 2.080; D2: 2.076‰; D3: 1.581‰). The values of major elements and depletion of the carbon and oxygen isotopes can be related to the effects of temperature diagenetic, and mesosaline reflux of dolomitizing fluids during the early diagenesis. These dolomites originated in a tidal environment in this Formation. The major sources of magnesium for the dolomites are seawater and hypersaline fluids.

In this study, we present the new generalized derivative and integral operators which are based on the newly constructed new generalized Caputo fractal–fractional derivatives (NGCFFDs). Based on these operators, a numerical method is developed to solve the fractal–fractional differential equations (FFDEs). We approximate the solution of the FFDEs as basis vectors of shifted Legendre polynomials (SLPs). We also extend the derivative operational matrix of SLPs to the generalized derivative operational matrix in the sense of NGCFFDs. The efficiency of the developed numerical method is tested by taking various test examples. We also compare the results of our proposed method with the methods existed in the literature In this paper, we specified the fractal–fractional differential operator of new generalized Caputo in three categories: (i) different values in  and fractal parameters, (ii) different values in fractional parameter while fractal and  parameters are fixed, and (iii) different values in fractal parameter controlling fractional and  parameters.

The study of integral equations is one of the most important topics that researchers are interested in, it arises in many scientific fields for instance engineering, and mathematical and scientific analysis. The first who mentioned the term integral equations is Du Bois-Reymond (1888). As a result, a lot of interest appeared from researchers, and the most important of these researchers are Laplace, Fourier, Poission, Liouville, and Able. Upadhyay et al., (2015) provided some special types of integral equations. The quadratic integral equation is a special form of integral equations. The initial study appeared by Chandrasekhar (1947). More appearance of Quadratic integral equation was in the theory of radiative transfer, kinetic theory of gases, in the theory of neutron transport, and in the traffic theory, see Argyros (1985), Banaś et al. (2007), El-Sayed et al. (2008).

Medicinal herbs are used for growth promotion, disease control and other health benefits in aquaculture industry.

Here, we examined the effect of dietary laurel-leaf cistus (Cistus laurifolius) ethanolic extract on growth

performance, digestive enzyme activity, haematological profile and nonspecific immune responses in common

carp (Cyprinus carpio). In addition, resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila infection was examined. Common

carp was fed diets containing 0 (Control), 0.1 (CL0.1), 0.5 (CL0.5) and 1 (CL1) g kg􀀀 1 laurel-leaf cistus extract for

45 days. After 30 days, superoxide anion production (SAP) increased in CL0.1 and CL0.5 fish groups and at the

end of the study all experimental fish groups had higher SAP compared to that of the control (P ˂ 0.05).

Lysozyme activity (LA) was elevated in CL0.5 and CL1 treated groups on 30th day (P < 0.05), and this increase

was only observed in C0.1 fish group at the end of study compared to control (P ˂ 0.05). Myeloperoxidase activity

was significantly increased in CL0.5 and CL1 fish groups at the end of study. IL-1βgene expression was

significantly increased in treated fish in a dose-depended manner. Similar results were observed for transcription

of IL-6 and IL-8 (P < 0.05). Anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-10 and TGF-β were highly up-regulated in the intestine

and head kidney of CL treated fish groups compared to control (P < 0.05). At the end of experiment,

significantly higher final body weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate were obtained in CL0.1 treated fish

group compared to control. However, growth was negatively affected in CL1 fish group (P < 0.05). CL1 fish

group had also a significantly higher FCR. Amylase activity was significantly increased in all experimental fish

groups compared to control (P ˂ 0.05). Trypsin activity was decreased in CL0.1 and CL1 fish groups (P ˂ 0.05).

WBC and RBC were significantly increased (P ˂ 0.05) in CL0.5 and CL1 fish groups, whereas haemoglobin,

haematocrit, mean cell, mean cell haemoglobin contents were no significantly changed among control and

treatment groups. Result of challenge test with A. hydrophila exhibited that survival rate in all treatment groups

was significantly higher than that of control. These findings demonstrated that laurel-leaf cistus at 0.1 g kg􀀀 1 can

be a suitable candidate for growth promotion, immune system induction and infection control in fish.

The salinity of irrigation water is a serious problem facing crop plants in the Mediterranean region, where plants are exposed to high temperatures and severe shortage of water in the dry season. So, this study was carried out in order to test the effects of five different salinity levels of sodium chloride (0.0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 mM) on seed germination and early seedling growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Fifty homogenous and cleaned seeds were germinated in Petri dishes inthree replicates. The salt stress decreased seed germination, the response of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) to salt stress and water stress was evaluated at the germination stage. The severe reduction in germination percentage and particularly germination speed with prolonged lag period by moderate salinity level at 100 mM NaCl, suggests that Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a salt-sensitive species during germination. Salinity reduced germination uniformity and germination synchrony and might delay start of germination but accelerates its termination with a consequent shortening of the time spread of germination. The recovery percentage was lo wer but speed of recovery was higher compared with the corresponding parameters of the control seeds. Recovery percentage was slightly improved with increasing in the concentration of NaCl.