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The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of the herbicide triclopyr, nitrogen and their combinations on Striga incidence and sorghum growth.

A greenhouse study was undertaken in season 2013. Sorghum cv Wad Ahmed, urea and triclopyr were employed. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete design with four replicates.

Nitrogen alone suppressed the parasite completely early in the season. Triclopyr at 0.3 and 0.4 kg a.e. ha−1 reduced Striga emergence by 92.9 and 58.3 per cent early and late in the season, respectively. Triclopyr at 0.3 kg a.e. ha−1 applied subsequent to nitrogen at 43.8 kg ha−1 effected poor control of the parasite. Unrestricted Striga parasitism reduced sorghum height and chlorophyll content by 50.38 and 16.62 per cent, respectively. Triclopyr, nitrogen and their combination improved sorghum growth considerably.

The results suggest that the herbicide when applied subsequent to nitrogen afforded the most consistent performance and resulted in the highest suppression of the parasite.

The model incorporates key factors of membrane such as permeability and resistance, feed concentration, fluid viscosity and pressure differentials. Special emphasis is placed on the fouling mechanisms, including pore blockage and cake layer formation, which significantly impact the efficiency of the filtration process.

In this study, we present a numerical analysis of permeate flux through a membrane, focusing on the intricate dynamics of fouling phenomena. Utilizing the Langevin model, we simulate the permeation process to understand how various operational parameters affect the flux rates.

Our results demonstrate that fouling not only reduces the permeate flux but also alters the membrane’s hydraulic resistance over time. The results show that the increasing of the diffusion process on membrane reduces the clogging phenomenon. Hence, the increases of the transmembrane pressure reduce exponentially blocking pore process.

By analyzing these changes, we provide insights into optimizing membrane performance and developing strategies to mitigate clogging membrane. This research contributes to the field of membrane technology by enhancing our understanding of permeate flux behavior under fouling conditions and offering potential pathways for improving long-term operational sustainability.

Argan nutshell wood (ANW) has been used in this study as an agricultural solid waste to remove Congo red (CR) from an aqueous solution in single and mixture binary in the presence of methylene blue (MB) or crystal violet (CV).

The ANW was characterized by Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscope analysis. The effect of ANW dose (8–40 gL⁻¹), contact time (0–180 min), pH of the solution (4–11) and CR dye concentration (100–500 mgL⁻¹) on CR adsorption was studied in batch mode and evaluated by kinetic and isotherm models in a single system. In the binary system, the CR removal was studied from a CR + MB and CR + CV mixture with different percentages of dyes, ranging from 0% to 100%.

The pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir models could best describe the CR sorption onto ANW in a single system. In addition, in the case of the binary system, there is the appearance of a synergistic phenomenon between the CR and the other cationic dyes and the CR adsorption capacity increased until 12.24 mg g-1 and 12.06 mg g-1 in the presence of the MB and CV in the mixture, respectively.

This study demonstrated that ANW prepared can be suggested as an excellent potential adsorbent to remove dyes from wastewaters from single and mixture systems.

This study is original.

This paper aims to examine the association between the dietary inflammatory index, the consumption of Enteral Nutrition Supplemented with probiotics with certain serum inflammation markers and gastrointestinal complications among individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.

This cross-sectional investigation involved 100 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to intensive care units in hospitals. These patients were administered two different types of Enteral Nutrition, so the dietary inflammatory index (DII), gastrointestinal complications and some serum inflammation markers have been compared between two groups.

The mean DII scores in all patients were significantly pro-inflammatory (probiotic formula 2.81 ± 0.01 vs usual formula group 2.93 ± 0.14 p = 0.19). The probiotic formula consumption had an inverse association with High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein concentration (coef = −3.19, 95% CI −1.25, −5.14 p = 0.001) and lead to a reduction of 2.14 mm/h in the serum level of Erythrocyte sedimentation rate compared to normal formula. The incidence of diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting in probiotic formula patients was respectively 94%, 14% and 86% less than in usual formula patients (p = 0.05).

In this cross-sectional study for the first time, the authors found that probiotic formula consumption was inversely associated with serum inflammation markers and gastrointestinal complications incidence. The high DII leads to more gastrointestinal complications incidence and inflammation markers. More studies are needed to prove this relationship.