This book explains microbial roles for agricultural sustainability, especially under climate changes, including the role of microorganisms in sustainable agriculture. Major coverage entails microbial enzymatic roles in agriculture, microbial phytohormones as promising sustainable plant bioagents, and phosphate-, potassium-, and calcium-solubilizing microbes as alternative biofertilizers. It introduces microbial solutions to mitigate the biotic and abiotic stress, with high attention to rising temperature and water limitation due to the climate changes. This book Presents a summarized insight into important roles of microbes in facing the climate changes; Describes plant–microbe interaction in sustainability; Highlights roles of microorganisms in limited agriculture water sources; Provides an insight into microbial phytohormones as promising plant-sustainable bioagents; provides comprehensive overviews of microbial bioremediation roles for soil reclamation. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in microbiology, agriculture, and sustainability.
Pharmaceutical active compounds such as diclofenac (DCF) pose serious risks to aquatic ecosystems. Therefore,
the development of safe and inexpensive phytoremediation strategies is essential. This study assessed the effect of
foliar-applied biological gibberellin (BG; 0, 50, 100, and 150 mg L 1), produced by Fusarium proliferatum, on the
remediation capacity of Atriplex lentiformis halophyte grown hydroponically under DCF contamination (0, 15,
and 30 μg L 1). A. lentiformis effectively removed DCF from the medium, while BG implementation further
boosted the DCF removal efficiency, bioaccumulation, and translocation factors. The application of 150 mg L 1
BG to 30 μg L 1 DCF achieved up to 80 % DCF removal and the maximum accumulation of DCF by 154.8 % over
the control. BG also promoted plant growth and photosynthetic pigments while mitigating DCF toxicity by
enhancing non-enzymatic antioxidants (AsA, GSH, phenolics, and proline) and antioxidant enzymes (APX, GPX,
PPO, GR, and PAL), and reducing stress biomarkers (MDA, H2O2, and electrolyte leakage). BG treatments
modified protein patterns and induced new isozyme profiles, reflecting a strengthened antioxidant system.
Overall, BG is a promising solution that serves as an eco-friendly biostimulant to enhance phytoremediation
efficiency. Extending this approach to soil systems may provide a sustainable strategy for managing pharmaceutical
pollution.
Preparation of cobalt(II) and zinc(II) complexes with an asymmetric thiourea ligand, N-phenylpiperidine-1-
carbothioamide, (L), was achieved. The composition and structure of the complexes, [CoL2Cl2] (1) and [ZnL2Cl2]
(2), were determined using various techniques, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction. X-ray structural
analysis revealed a distorted tetrahedral arrangement in the vicinity of the central metal atoms, with coordination
involving two thioamide (L) ligands through their sulfur atoms and two chlorido ligands. Fusarium oxysporum
is one of the most damaging phytopathogens, causing substantial economic losses. Excessive application
of commercial antifungals promotes microbial resistance, making the search for new agents essential. The
bioactivity of the free ligand, the starting metal(II) chlorides, and complexes 1 and 2 (0–200 μg/ml) against
Fusarium oxysporum was evaluated, alongside Cycloheximide as a standard. All compounds exhibited higher
activities than the standard. The complexes were the most effective anti-Fusarium oxysporum agents, with the
highest inhibitions of 46 and 37 mm for 1, and 2, respectively. Experiments on the fungal pathogenicity of wheat
seeds indicated complete inhibition by complex 1 (pathogenicity = zero %), while pathogenicity was only 6.7 %
with complex 2. The phytotoxicity of these compounds was assessed based on the percentage of wheat germination
obtained. Complex 2 demonstrated the best results, being non-toxic to wheat seeds up to 100 μg/ml, but
its phytotoxicity at 200 μg/ml resulted in only 73 % wheat germination.
Detailed field and stratigraphic studies were undertaken on the Upper Cretaceous-lower Paleogene (K-Pg) pre-rift sequences at the Duwi Mountain Range (DMR), Quseir Area, Red Sea Coast, Egypt. Six stratigraphic sections were investigated to cover the
DMR. They are arranged in a south-north profile as follows: Gabal Hamadat, Nasser Mine, Beida Mine, Gabal Anz, Gabal Nakheil and
Wadi Sudmeen. The studied pre-rift (Red Sea Rift) succession is lithostratigraphically represented by the Duwi (uppermost part), Dakhla,
Tarawan, Esna, and Thebes (lowermost part) formations. Biostratigraphically, twenty-one global planktonic foraminiferal zones were
defined. Three syn-sedimentary tectonic events were recorded, the first and second tectonic events (TE I and TE II) were regional and lie
within the Duwi/Dakhla and the uppermost part of the Hamama Member. The TE I occurred at the Campanian/Maastrichtian (C/M) boundary, whereas the TE II occurred at the beginning of the Danian. TE III was local and is recorded only at Wadi Sudmeen within the Beida
Member in the latest Danian. These events were related to the Syrian-Arc Event, which caused the uplift of the DMR as paleo-highs during
this interval.
Magnesium alloys are considered promising candidates for industrial applications due to their mechanical properties and surface tailoring capability. However, magnesium alloys need wettability control because of their low surface energy and rapid oxide layer formation. Additionally, they exhibit poor corrosion resistance and corrode rapidly in chloride environments, causing pitting and structural degradation. Laser surface texturing is one of the unique processes to modify the surface morphology and surface modification of AZ31 Mg alloy. However, the precise control of laser texturing along with chemical surface treatment parameters to tailor the wettability and corrosion behavior of Mg alloys is still a challenge. This study aims to explore the post-treatment strategies for surface modification and the impact of each treatment on surface chemistry, surface morphology, and electrochemical behavior of AZ31 Mg alloy and wettability and corrosion behavior, simultaneously. This multi-step laser/hot water/silicone oil heat treatment surface engineering strategy enabled the surface tunability from hydrophilic (contact angle ≈ 88°) to superhydrophobic (≈ 178°) and significantly reduced the corrosion current density by up to 120 times lower as compared to flat Mg surface while increasing the charge transfer resistance by 30 folds. This facile surface engineering approach can open new pathways for targeted corrosion applications in industrial as well as healthcare applications.
Formaldehyde serves as a key intermediate in numerous industrial processes, leading to a steadily increasing global demand. Consequently, efficient methods for producing both clean hydrogen and water-free formaldehyde are of growing importance. However, a significant hurdle in catalysis remains the selection of materials that can enhance both stability and catalytic performance. So, in this article, we reported zirconium molybdate material (Z1U5 catalyst) as an active, stable, and selective catalyst for the conversion of methanol to formaldehyde. The catalysts were fabricated by hydrothermal method using various ratios of urea. Using TGA, DSC, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HR-TEM, XPS, N2 sorption analysis, and pyridine-TPD, the produced catalysts' structural, morphological, textural, and acidic properties have been analyzed. The catalyst with the highest performance was developed by optimizing several synthesis parameters, including the molar ratio of zirconium to urea, hydrothermal treatment temperature and duration, as well as the annealing temperature. Under the ideal conditions, the catalyst with a Zr:urea ratio of 1:5 (referred to as Z1U5) demonstrated the best activity, achieving a 98 % methanol conversion and 95 % selectivity toward formaldehyde at 300 °C. This outstanding catalytic behavior is ascribed to the presence of Brønsted acid sites of both weak and moderate strength on the catalyst surface. Moreover, the Z1U5 catalyst exhibited excellent long-term durability, maintaining consistent conversion and selectivity over a continuous 160 h operation.
