Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable and feasible technology to treat livestock manure. However, the effects of coexisting ammonia and antibiotics on the AD process of livestock manure are still unclear. A potential ammonia-antibiotics synergistic co-inhibition might occur. Therefore, the individual and combined effects of different ammonia (1000–7000 mg NH₄⁺-N/L) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) concentrations (0.1–20 mg SMX/L) on the biomethanation process were explored. The results indicated that a significant reduction (43.83%) in methane production was observed under individual 5000 mg NH₄⁺-N/L (A5000 +SMX0.1), while a 20.11% increase was achieved by individual 0.5 mg SMX/L (A1000 +SMX0.5). Under the combined 5000 mg NH₄⁺-N/L and 0.5 mg SMX/L (A5000 +SMX0.5), ammonia inhibition was alleviated with methane production increasing by 58.46% compared with A5000 +SMX0.1 (still 25.89% lower than A1000 +SMX0.5). However, combined high SMX concentrations (≥ 5 mg/L) and ammonia levels (≥ 5000 mg NH₄⁺-N/L) might exacerbate the inhibition of the AD process. Moreover, microbial analyses revealed that A1000 +SMX0.5 improved the acetoclastic methanogenic pathway by enriching key acetoclastic methanogens (Methanothrix), syntrophic bacteria (Syntrophomonas) and hydrolytic-acidogenic bacteria (norank_f__Bacteroidetes_vadinHA17) under high ammonia stress. Conversely, under 5 mg SMX/L the abundances of these functional microorganisms decreased. Metagenomic results further suggested that 0.5 mg SMX/L was associated with increased abundances of critical metabolic genes (glk, ak, acs, and mtr ), which were responsible for improving hydrolysis-acidogenesis, acetogenesis and acetoclastic methanogenesis and contributed to alleviation of ammonia inhibition. Overall, these batch-scale results could benefit future evaluation and optimization of continuous-flow anaerobic digesters treating substrates coexisting with ammonia and antibiotics.

Male same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) is widespread among animal species, but its proximate (mechanistic) and ultimate (evolutionary) explanations remain unclear. A prevailing view is that SSB reflects impaired sex recognition, especially in insects. By unbiased behavioral screening, we identified a Drosophila species, D. santomea, in which males seldom attack and spontaneously court males vigorously, in addition to females. Behavioral, chemical, and optogenetic neuronal manipulations indicate that D. santomea males can distinguish conspecific sex and retain functional aggression circuitry. Instead, male SSB reflects three evolved pheromonal changes affecting two separate signaling systems, resulting in both reduced pheromone production and behavioral valence reversal. One of these occurs unexpectedly in females and may have evolved to prevent hybridization with an interfertile, geographically overlapping sibling species. Remarkably, male SSB and similar pheromonal changes also selectively co-occur in D. persimilis, a geographically and phylogenetically distant species and member of another sympatric sibling pair, implying evolutionary convergence in the two young taxa. The results identify a pheromonal mechanism for rapid social evolution in Drosophila and suggest a plausible evolutionary origin for male SSB as arising in concert with female adaptations that ensure reproductive isolation during speciation.

Pot trials were performed to explore the impacts of seed priming (SPr) plus leaf treatment (LTr) with trans-zeatin-type cytokinin (tZck; 0.05 mM) and silymarin (Sim; 0.5 mM) on growth, yield, physio-biochemical responses, and antioxidant defense systems in Cd-stressed wheat. tZck + Sim applied as SPr + LTr was more effective than individual treatments, and the impacts were more pronounced under stress conditions. Cd stress (0.6 mM) severely declined growth and yield traits, and photosynthesis efficiency (pigment contents, instantaneous carboxylation efficiency, and photochemical activity) compared to the control. These negative impacts coincided with increased levels of Cd²⁺, O₂^•− (superoxide), H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide), MDA (malondialdehyde), and EL (electrolyte leakage). Non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant activities, and tZck and Sim …

This research was carried out at Kharga and Dakhla, in the western Egyptian desert. The species investigated include basically those of different ecological affiliations as well as different life forms, in order to have comparative indications in the ionic means of adjustment. During winter and summer, the water soluble ions in both soil and plants were analyzed. Also, the total osmotic water potential and the share of ionic radicals of plants were calculated. The data revealed that, halophytic species maintain osmotic adjustment due to accumulation of ions depending on seasonal and species variation and ionic osmotic potential which were related to chlorides, sodium and potassium. The seasonality or location has the dominant effect on Na+, K+, Cl- and SO4-2 concentrations in halophytes Suaeda and Cressa and affected by the interaction (S x L) in case of Z.coccenium. The ionic osmotic potential of Na+/K+ and Cl- / SO4-2 ratios for salt tolerance in studied species were discussed.

Selenium (Se) enhances the resistance of plants exposed to metal stress and can be used to lessen the impacts of toxic elements and to enhance the effectiveness of the plants used to clean up polluted sites. There is no information available about the optimum dose and form of Se to stimulate the camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum Medik) plant, which is one of the plants used in the phytostabilization of toxic elements. The impacts of selenate (Se-VI) and selenite (Se-IV) on the phytoremediation of toxic metals from loamy soils by camelthorn were investigated in a pot experiment. Se-VI and Se-IV were added to the soil at doses of 0, 5, and 10 mg Se kg⁻¹ soil, and each treatment was repeated five times. Se-VI and Se-IV, significantly increased plant growth and nutrient uptake. The addition of Se, either from Se-VI or Se-IV, significantly increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes, and the …