In this paper, 2-((3-Cyano-4,6-distyrylpyridin-2-yl)thio)acetamide (2) and its cyclized form, 3- amino-4,6-distyrylthieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carboxamide (3), were prepared and their structure characterizations were performed by the means of elemental and spectroscopic analyses. Their biological activity as insecticides against cowpea aphid Aphis craccivora Koch using acetamiprid insecticide as a reference was studied. The bioassay results for compounds (2) and (3) against nymphs of cowpea aphid showed that the LC50 values were 0.192 and 0.841 ppm, respectively, after 24 h of treatment but the LC50 values were 0.041 and 0.095 ppm, respectively, after 48 h of treatment. Furthermore, the bioassay results for compounds (2) and (3) showed that the LC50 values were 1.233 and 2.949 ppm, respectively, after 24 h of treatment and the LC50 values were 0.142 and 0.270 ppm, respectively, after 48 h of treatment against adults of cowpea aphid. Given these observations, it has been found that there is a remarkable relationship between the biological activity and the structure of the used compounds.

The citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a significant pest for Citrus spp. worldwide. Hence, the effectiveness of jasmonic acid (JA) was compared to three pesticides, abamectin, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, against P. citrella infesting mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.) and lime (C. aurantifolia L.) seedlings. Mortality rate was significantly different due to JA and other pesticides treatments. Moreover, on the 3rd day after treatment, JA demonstrated the highest reduction percentage of leafminer (77.08 and 33.33%) on mandarin and lime, respectively. By the 10th day after treatment, JA and abamectin displayed 100% reduction in both plant species. Furthermore, the foliar application of JA enhanced the most vegetative characteristics in the treated seedlings, including growth rate (shoot length/root length), fresh and dry weights of shoot and root as well as the number of leaves/seedling. Moreover, soluble protein content was increased significantly under JA treatment in the two Citrus spp. Jasmonic acid showed a good biological activity, which gives a practical reason to recommend it to be integrated in pest management programs as an alternative product for controlling P. citrella.

The citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a significant pest for Citrus spp. worldwide. Hence, the effectiveness of jasmonic acid (JA) was compared to three pesticides, abamectin, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, against P. citrella infesting mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.) and lime (C. aurantifolia L.) seedlings. Mortality rate was significantly different due to JA and other pesticides treatments. Moreover, on the 3rd day after treatment, JA demonstrated the highest reduction percentage of leafminer (77.08 and 33.33%) on mandarin and lime, respectively. By the 10th day after treatment, JA and abamectin displayed 100% reduction in both plant species. Furthermore, the foliar application of JA enhanced the most vegetative characteristics in the treated seedlings, including growth rate (shoot length/root length), fresh and dry weights of shoot and root as well as the number of leaves/seedling. Moreover, soluble protein content was increased significantly under JA treatment in the two Citrus spp. Jasmonic acid showed a good biological activity, which gives a practical reason to recommend it to be integrated in pest management programs as an alternative product for controlling P. citrella.

The citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a significant pest for Citrus spp. worldwide. Hence, the effectiveness of jasmonic acid (JA) was compared to three pesticides, abamectin, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, against P. citrella infesting mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.) and lime (C. aurantifolia L.) seedlings. Mortality rate was significantly different due to JA and other pesticides treatments. Moreover, on the 3rd day after treatment, JA demonstrated the highest reduction percentage of leafminer (77.08 and 33.33%) on mandarin and lime, respectively. By the 10th day after treatment, JA and abamectin displayed 100% reduction in both plant species. Furthermore, the foliar application of JA enhanced the most vegetative characteristics in the treated seedlings, including growth rate (shoot length/root length), fresh and dry weights of shoot and root as well as the number of leaves/seedling. Moreover, soluble protein content was increased significantly under JA treatment in the two Citrus spp. Jasmonic acid showed a good biological activity, which gives a practical reason to recommend it to be integrated in pest management programs as an alternative product for controlling P. citrella.

The citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a significant pest for Citrus spp. worldwide. Hence, the effectiveness of jasmonic acid (JA) was compared to three pesticides, abamectin, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, against P. citrella infesting mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.) and lime (C. aurantifolia L.) seedlings. Mortality rate was significantly different due to JA and other pesticides treatments. Moreover, on the 3rd day after treatment, JA demonstrated the highest reduction percentage of leafminer (77.08 and 33.33%) on mandarin and lime, respectively. By the 10th day after treatment, JA and abamectin displayed 100% reduction in both plant species. Furthermore, the foliar application of JA enhanced the most vegetative characteristics in the treated seedlings, including growth rate (shoot length/root length), fresh and dry weights of shoot and root as well as the number of leaves/seedling. Moreover, soluble protein content was increased significantly under JA treatment in the two Citrus spp. Jasmonic acid showed a good biological activity, which gives a practical reason to recommend it to be integrated in pest management programs as an alternative product for controlling P. citrella.

A total number of 135 Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) were used to study the effect of dietary supplementation with black cumin seed (Nigella sativa) on growth performance and some blood constituents. The fish were randomly divided into three treatment groups each of 45 fish, and each group was divided into 3 subgroups (15 fish / unit). These groups received N. sativa at 1% (T1) and 2% (T2) and control group (C) which fed on basal diet without N. sativa. Body weight and length were recorded biweekly all over the experimental period (12 weeks). Blood samples from each fish were collected to determine each of hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV%), serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, and alkaline phosphatase. Ten fish were scarified to determine hepatosmatic index (HSI), spleen somatic index (SSI), and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Other ten fish were transported to wet laboratory and reared without oxygen supplementation to determine the resistance under oxygen deficiency. The results showed that there was insignificant increase in body weight, body weight gain, total length, and length increment in T2. Also, the hemoglobin increased insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T2 than the control. Moreover, the serum albumin improved insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T1 and T2 than the control. Serum alkaline phosphatase was significantly (P 0.05) increased in treated fish with N. sativa; while serum glucose decreased significantly (P 0.05) as compared with control ones. The hepatosoatic index (HSI) insignificantly (P > 0.05) decreased in T1 and increased insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T2 compared to the control. Also, the dietary 1 and 2 % N. sativa did not affect spleenosomatic index (SSI). The fish group which reared under oxygen deficiency exhibited remarkable decreased activity and increased random movement elicited by hypoxia changes in direction of swimming, while the fish groups fed diets with N. sativa showed slightly abnormal behavior changes. The mortality rates under oxygen deficiency were 100, 40 and 20% for control, T1 and T2, respectively. Under oxygen deficiency stress, the Hb and glucose did not differ between T1 and T2, while PCV% was increased significantly (P > 0.05) in T2 than that of T1; the same occurred (P 0.05) with serum total protein concentration, globulin, and alkaline phosphatase activity, but serum albumin in T1 was higher than that of T2 (P 0.05). There were no significant (P > 0.05) in HIS, SSI and GSI between treated groups with N. sativa and control ones. To conclude, the dietary supplementation with N. sativa at 1% and 2% displayed slight beneficial effects on growth performance and major effects on some blood constituents of O. niloticus.

A total number of 135 Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) were used to study the effect of dietary supplementation with black cumin seed (Nigella sativa) on growth performance and some blood constituents. The fish were randomly divided into three treatment groups each of 45 fish, and each group was divided into 3 subgroups (15 fish / unit). These groups received N. sativa at 1% (T1) and 2% (T2) and control group (C) which fed on basal diet without N. sativa. Body weight and length were recorded biweekly all over the experimental period (12 weeks). Blood samples from each fish were collected to determine each of hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV%), serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, and alkaline phosphatase. Ten fish were scarified to determine hepatosmatic index (HSI), spleen somatic index (SSI), and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Other ten fish were transported to wet laboratory and reared without oxygen supplementation to determine the resistance under oxygen deficiency. The results showed that there was insignificant increase in body weight, body weight gain, total length, and length increment in T2. Also, the hemoglobin increased insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T2 than the control. Moreover, the serum albumin improved insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T1 and T2 than the control. Serum alkaline phosphatase was significantly (P 0.05) increased in treated fish with N. sativa; while serum glucose decreased significantly (P 0.05) as compared with control ones. The hepatosoatic index (HSI) insignificantly (P > 0.05) decreased in T1 and increased insignificantly (P > 0.05) in T2 compared to the control. Also, the dietary 1 and 2 % N. sativa did not affect spleenosomatic index (SSI). The fish group which reared under oxygen deficiency exhibited remarkable decreased activity and increased random movement elicited by hypoxia changes in direction of swimming, while the fish groups fed diets with N. sativa showed slightly abnormal behavior changes. The mortality rates under oxygen deficiency were 100, 40 and 20% for control, T1 and T2, respectively. Under oxygen deficiency stress, the Hb and glucose did not differ between T1 and T2, while PCV% was increased significantly (P > 0.05) in T2 than that of T1; the same occurred (P 0.05) with serum total protein concentration, globulin, and alkaline phosphatase activity, but serum albumin in T1 was higher than that of T2 (P 0.05). There were no significant (P > 0.05) in HIS, SSI and GSI between treated groups with N. sativa and control ones. To conclude, the dietary supplementation with N. sativa at 1% and 2% displayed slight beneficial effects on growth performance and major effects on some blood constituents of O. niloticus.

The high cost of phosphate fertilizers, as well as pollution with heavy and radioactive elements, motivated us to find clean alternatives for phosphate fertilizers to conserve the environment such as bone char. Also, the groundwater used in the agricultural activity of desert soils is considered to be saline. Therefore, the specific objective of this incubation experiment was to investigate the application of bone char with different levels of water salinity on changes of phosphorus (P) availability and some soil quality indicators of calcareous sandy soil. The results of this study revealed that applying bone char (BC) combined with saline water significantly increased the available P (Olsen-P) in calcareous sandy soil compared to the control (unamended soil) and bone char with distilled water treatment. The P release from bone char increased with increasing water salinity levels. The increase of incubation time results in an increment of Olsen-P concentration at a high level of saline water. Soil pH values declined with the addition of bone char combined with saline water, while the electrical conductivity (EC) of the soil in this study increased gradually with increasing the water salinity level in the presence of bone char. The soluble sulfate (SO42−) increased by applying bone char and saline water. Based on this, we can suggest the use of bone char under the presence of saline water as an alternative to phosphate fertilizer, especially in sustainable agriculture because it is economically and environmentally friendly. The bone char can be a substitute for chemical fertilizers produced from rock phosphate.

Two experiments were carried out to investigate the dietary methionine requirement for fast and slow-growing Chinese yellow-feathered breeds during the starter phase, based on growth variables and regression models. In Experiment 1, a total of 2880 one-day-old Lingnan chicks (fast growing breed) were used to test the methionine requirement from 1 to 21 days of age for males and females separately. Of each gender, 1440 birds were allocated into 6 dietary methionine levels (0.28%, 0.32%, 0.37%, 0.43%, 0.50% and 0.63%), each with 6 pen replicates of 40 chicks. Experiment 2 had the same design with Guangxi chicks (slow growing breed) from 1 to 30 d of age. Results indicated that significant nonlinear or quadratic responses to increasing dietary methionine levels were observed in body weight, daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of both breeds. In summary, the quadratic polynomial regression showed that the optimal methionine requirements for maximal growth performance of Lingnan chickens were 0.52–0.58% in males, 0.51% in females, and 0.53% in mixed genders. The corresponding values for Guangxi breed were 0.53% in males by quadratic polynomial regression and 0.43% in females, and 0.48% to 0.49% in mixed sexes by exponential asymptotic models.

This study investigated the influence of dietary supplementation with some antibiotic alternatives on growth performance, intestinal barrier, and immunity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenged chicks. Wenshi females, aged 4 days, were allocated randomly into eight groups, each with six replicates of 20 birds (n = 120/treatment), which received a basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 0 (LPS), 200 mg/kg aureomycin, 50 mg/kg mushroom polysaccharide, 100 mg/kg mushroom polysaccharide, 500 mg/kg nano-copper, 300 mg/kg copper loaded chitosan, and 500 mg/kg lysozyme for 21 days. On day 18 and 20, the control birds were injected with 0.5 mL saline solution, the other treatments were injected with 0.5 mL saline containing 500 µg LPS/kg body weight (BW). The results indicated that LPS treatment reduced the BW, average daily gain (ADG), and daily feed intake (ADFI) than the controls (p 0.05), and the antibiotic and the tested alternatives could not retrieve the normal BW, ADG, and ADFI. The tested additives reduced several negative effects of LPS; they reduced diamine oxidase activity and inflammatory mediators in plasma, jejunal mucosa, spleen and thymus, increased content of immunoglobulin in plasma and jejunal mucosa, and decreased gene expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and Cyclooxygenase 2 in jejunal mucosa