Flower-visiting insects may be pollinators or, conversely, unrelated to the reproductive process of plants. Interactions between pollinating and non-pollinating flower visitors can negatively influence pollen transfer. Little is known about the effects of bee visits on pollination of squash (Cucurbita spp.) flowers and their interactions with the presence of other floral visitors. The study was conducted at the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias (Universidad Nacional de Rosario) in the south of Santa Fe (Argentina) and evaluated the effect of the presence of non-pollinating floral visitors on bee foraging in the flowers of two cultivated squash species. Flower sex and squash species C. maxima and C. moschata were included as variables. A total of 937 visitors were recorded in 403 flowers. Bees of the tribes Eucerini and Apini were the most abundant pollinators with an average of 2.3 individuals per flower during 10 minutes of observation. Diptera, flower sex and squash species did not influence the number of bee visits, whereas the prolonged stay of coleoptera and formicids negatively affected the presence of bees on both squash species. The presence of coleoptera reduced bee visits by 38%, while in the presence of ants, bees did not visit the flowers. The theft of nectar and pollen by non-pollinating floral visitors could have a negative effect on the reproductive success of squash.

European commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, told Le Journal du Dimanche in January 2022, “Existing nuclear plants alone will need 50 billion euros of investment from now until 2030. And new generation ones will need 500 billion”. This paper considers whether these values are realistic. Further, it asks whether these investments would yield an internationally competitive European nuclear power infrastructure given that the nuclear power industries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries have lost global nuclear market share to Russian and Chinese firms since 1995.The paper investigates whether the European nuclear industry even with massive investment can compete with the Chinese nuclear industries. It concludes that the European (in particular, the French) nuclear power industry will be unlikely to be cost competitive with the Chinese nuclear power industry unless financing and new plant orders are immediately forthcoming. To achieve carbon neutrality, the issue becomes whether European Union countries can afford indigenous nuclear technologies or will need to import nuclear power plants from Asia.

Antioxidants are derivatives of vitamin C or beta-carotene that prevent reactions stimulated by oxygen, peroxides, or free radicals, thus reducing the oxidative stress. They have found their way into many uses in treating several human diseases and reducing the risk of developing diseases like cancer. In view of this property, the present study was focussed in identifying several plants possessing antioxidative properties and which were also conserved in the ex-situ park of CSIR – Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, India. Fifteen medicinal plants including herbs, shrubs and grasses are reported in this paper, and a collective insight has been presented about their antioxidant properties and the present state of their pharmacological applications. The specific chemical constituents abundant in the leaves, roots, stems, seeds and fruits of each of these plants have also been dealt with. To report a few antioxidant pharmacological preparations from Ayurvedic literature are Vimang, Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK4, MAK5), Maharishi Ayurved (MA631, MA47), MA Raja’s Cup, MA Student Rasayana and MA Ladies Rasayana. This review has been attempted to enhance the importance of the plants which are generally being neglected, so that it can used by the local people in rural areas for their cultivation and it will also pave the pathway for their subsequent future use in medicinal and research industry for drug formulation.

The study evaluated the aseptic establishment of Monstera acuminata Koch and Monstera deliciosa Liebm (Araceae) from leaves and the induction of in vitro organogenesis of M. acuminata K. from stem discs of young shoots. For this purpose, different disinfection protocols were applied to mature leaves and young shoots, from which leaf explants of approximately 1 cm² and stem discs of approximately 1 mm thickness were extracted. The explants were established in semi-solid media with different hormone treatments during the aseptic establishment stage and induction of organogenesis. Disinfection with 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for 20 min and 50% Murashige and Skoog^[1] medium with plant tissue culture preservative (PPM) favored less oxidation in leaf explants of both species. All explants of M. deliciosa in both treatments grown in PPM-added medium and at different disinfection protocols survived, showed no contamination and more than 80% retained cellular activity up to 49 days of culture age. At 35 days of culture, with disinfection in Tween-20 + 20% ethanol + 2.5% NaClO, and seeding of explants in MS medium added with 1 mg/L of BAP, 0.5 mg/L of AIA and 0.1 mg/L of ANA, seven new shoots of stem discs were induced. Monstera deliciosa was more adaptable to in vitro conditions. Advances in aseptic establishment and induction of organogenesis in native Araceae for wicker production are the basis for ex situ conservation of local populations.

In this study, daily averages of air quality parameters were measured in two stations (S1 and S2) of the organized industrial district in Samsun. The meteorological variables were measured at only one station (S1), such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, and ambient pressure in 2007, and the daily promised limit for nitrogen dioxide has been especially exceeded at 206 times for 1^st station. However, exceeds of the limit value in 2006 for 1^st station was reduced by approximately 3.5 times. The daily nitrogen dioxide concentration did not exceed the daily limit of WHO^[1] as for 2^nd station. The results obtained showed that under the influence of dominant wind direction, the second station measurement results are higher than that of the first station. To determine all of the possible environmental effects, the measurements should be analyzed from a multi-point perspective.