Mangroves are one of the most important ecosystems in the world being found in the tropical–subtropical belt. Despite their significance, they have been highly disturbed due to many anthropogenic and natural causes. A significant effort has been made to restore mangroves around the world. However, a lack of information on the seed biology of mangrove species has impeded restoration. Thus, this study aimed to produce a seed dormancy profile for selected plant species of mangroves in Sri Lanka. This profile would allow restoration ecologists to better understand what kinds of dormancy are present, how to alleviate dormancy and how to best stimulate germination to generate seedlings for nursery stock or out-planting. Mature fruits/seeds were collected from coastal zone mangroves in Sri Lanka. Germination and imbibition of non-scarified and manually scarified seeds and embryo:seed length (E:S) ratio of fresh and radicle-emerged seeds were evaluated to assess the class of dormancy. Of the 30 species, seeds from 12 (40%) were non-dormant and 18 (60%) were dormant. Three dormancy classes [physiological (PD), physical (PY) and morphophysiological (MPD)] and presence of epicotyl dormancy were identified. Among species producing dormant seeds, most of them showed PD (44%). PY, MPD and presence of epicotyl dormancy were represented by 28, 17 and 11% of the species, respectively. These findings aid practitioners to craft strategies to effectively break dormancy and germinate seeds for conservation and restoration activities of mangroves.

Herbicide resistance has been studied extensively in agronomic crops across North America but is rarely examined in vegetables. It is widely assumed that the limited number of registered herbicides combined with the adoption of diverse weed management strategies in most vegetable crops effectively inhibits the development of resistance. It is difficult to determine whether resistance is truly less common in vegetable crops or whether the lack of reported cases is due to the lack of resources focused on detection. This review highlights incidences of resistance that are thought to have arisen within vegetable crops. It also includes situations in which herbicide-resistant weeds were likely selected for within agronomic crops but became a problem when vegetables were grown in sequence or in adjacent fields. Occurrence of herbicide resistance can have severe consequences for vegetable growers, and resistance management plans should be adopted to limit selection pressure. This review also highlights resistance management techniques that should slow the development and spread of herbicide resistance in vegetable crops.

This article gives a general overview of the current situation in relation to a range of widely recognised and also newly identified types of child maltreatment. The academic and clinical evidence relating to the impact of child maltreatment on the mental and physical health of child victims is substantial and steadily increasing in volume. New types of abuse are being identified, and changing environmental circumstances, which exacerbate the possibility of widely recognised types of child maltreatment occurring, are also being described. These include multi-type maltreatment, female genital mutilation and online child maltreatment. Serious questions may arise regarding neglect of the moral and social development of children and young people who become addicted to online gaming and pornography. Multiple national and local definitions of each of these existing and new forms of maltreatment have been created, some of which are covered here. The impact of these abuses on the physical and mental health and development of child victims in families or settings where abuse or neglect has occurred is discussed.

The current study was undertaken to identify the sources of tolerance to bruchid in cowpea, by screening a set of germplasm accessions as a source for natural resistance. A total of 103 diverse accessions of cowpea were evaluated for resistance to Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. under no-choice artificial infestation conditions. Significant differences among the cowpea accessions were observed for oviposition, adult emergence, exit holes and per cent seed weight loss (PSWL) caused by the bruchid infestation. The accessions showed variation in physical seed parameters viz., colour, shape, testa texture, length, width and seed hardness. Among the seed biochemical parameters studied, per cent sugar content ranged from 0.322 (IC330950) to 1.493 (IC249137), and per cent phenol content ranged from 0.0326 (EC390261) to 1.081 (EC528423). Correlation studies indicated that PSWL had significant positive correlation (r = 0.335) with exit holes, oviposition (r = 0.219), adult emergence (r = 0.534) and seed roundness (r = 0.219). Adult emergence had a significant negative correlation with seed hardness (r = −0.332). Correlation with biochemical parameters indicated that PSWL had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.231) with sugar content and a significant negative correlation with phenol content (r = −0.219). None of the accessions were found to be immune to bruchid infestation. However, out of studied accessions, EC528425 and EC528387 were identified as resistant based on PSWL and moderately resistant based on adult emergence. These resistance sources of cowpea germplasm can be used as potential donors for development of bruchid tolerant/resistant cultivars.

Developing management strategies for invasive plant species requires identifying effective treatment methods (e.g., physical or chemical treatments) and optimally timing their application. For invasive annual plants, effects of treatments on seed production and germinability are paramount to reduce seed banks and subsequent plant establishment. We compared effects of a range of physical and chemical treatments applied to plants containing seeds at different developmental stages at field sites in the Mojave Desert (Nevada and Arizona) for managing the exotic annual forb, African mustard. Effectiveness of physical treatments (hand pulling entire plants, breaking plants, or separating siliques from plants) for reducing African mustard seed size and germination varied by treatment and seed maturity stage at which treatments were applied. With all treated plant material remaining in the field (i.e., not bagged and transported off site), hand pulling or breaking plants resulted in 90 to 100% of developing and developed seeds still able to germinate. Separating siliques from plants, however, resulted in 0% germination of undeveloped and developing seeds. All three tested herbicides (glyphosate, 2,4-D, and metsulfuron) reduced germination to zero or near zero across all seed development stages. Results suggest that physical treatments are most effective at early stages of seed development, whereas several different herbicides are effective across seed developmental stages. Results also highlight the importance of considering the potential for continued seed development and germinability on treated plant material when choosing invasive plant treatment types and timing.

Thermal weed control methods have been incorporated into weed control programs in organic and conventional production systems. Flaming is commonly used, but steaming has been proposed to increase efficiency of heat transfer to weeds and reduce the risk of fire. The objective of this research was to measure injury to leaves of plant species that differ in leaf morphology and to measure injury to plants at different stages of plant development. The study was conducted in a glasshouse and plants were exposed to steaming at 400 C for 0.36 s—equivalent to a steaming speed of 2 km/h. Overall, leaf thickness was the best morphological characteristic to predict injury ( = 0.51), with greater thickness resulting in less injury. For broadleaf species only, species with wider leaves were injured more than species with narrower leaves ( = 0.64). Injury was greatest when plants had fewer than six true leaves and when their shoots were less than 10 cm long. There was a wide range of injury across species, and the grass species bermudagrass and perennial ryegrass were injured (68 to 81%) more than other species such as common purslane and English daisy (23 to 34%). Biomass of all species tested was reduced by approximately 40%, indicating that leaf injury was not the sole effect of steaming on plant growth. These results indicated that considering both visual estimates of injury and morphological characteristics is important to properly assess thermal weed control effectiveness.

Composting is the enhanced biological decomposition of organic materials in a primarily aerobic environment. During the process, microorganisms break down organic materials to stable, usable organic substances in a process which consumes oxygen and releases heat, water, and CO2. Under controlled conditions, the composting process is described in two phases, primary and secondary. Chemical and physical properties of the raw wastes affect the rate of composting. Particle size and surface area of the waste material influence the type of microorganisms involved and the degree of biological activity in the composting process. Composting allows safe disposal of birds and manure and reduces environmental degradation. Composting of poultry manure and dead birds is still a debatable topic, however, with some scientists in favour of composting due to its overwhelming advantages while others are against composting due to certain disadvantages/environmental hazards. The present article is an effort to encompass the overall composting process, its applications as well as troubleshooting various associated issues.

Features consistent with the syndrome known as excited delirium (ExDS) have been associated with law enforcement restraint-related death. The pathophysiology and exact causative factors of restraint-related death associated with ExDS remain unclear. We present a case of successful field resuscitation of a man with ExDS who experienced cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officers. Despite the presence of a severe lactic acidosis on emergency department admission, the patient recovered following prehospital treatment with advanced cardiac life support measures and intravenous sodium bicarbonate, likely in part due to early recognition of the disease process.