The desirable physical and physiochemical properties of clay minerals have led them to play a substantial role in pharmaceutical formulations. Clay minerals like kaolin, smectite and palygorskite-sepiolite are among the world's most valuable industrial minerals and of considerable importance. The elemental features of clay minerals which caused them to be used in pharmaceutical formulations are high specific area, sorption capacity, favorable rheological properties, chemical inertness, swelling capacity, reactivity to acids and inconsiderable toxicity. Of course, these are highly cost effectual. This special report on clay minerals provides a bird's eye view of the chemical composition and structure of these minerals and their influence on the release properties of active medicinal agents. Endeavor has been made to rope in myriad applications depicting the wide acceptability of these clay minerals.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity has been considered an important factor in limiting the growth and nutrient acquisition of sensitive tree species in acidic soils. Mycorrhizal fungi may offset the negative impacts of Al in the root zone. Here, we report our studies on the effect of Al on the growth and mineral nutrition of Populus deltoides in the presence of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. Mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants were exposed to Al levels of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l for 10 weeks. The biomass of mycorrhizal plants increased significantly than non-mycorrhizal plants. The mycorrhizal plants showed higher levels of mineral nutrients such as phosphorus, calcium and magnesium compared to nonmycorrhizal plants in different concentrations of Al. Al content significantly decreased in shoots of mycorrhizal plants compared to non-mycorrhizal plants. The oxalic acid concentration was significantly increased in mycorrhizal plants over non-mycorrhizal plants. These results suggest that ectomycorrhizal colonization confer Al tolerance to P. deltoides plants and Al induced enhancement of organic acids by P. involutus is very likely to be associated with Al tolerance.

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Subsurface (tile) drained agricultural landscapes within the U.S. Midwest are challenged with addressing both deficit and excess water conditions while minimizing negative impacts on water quality. Drainage water recycling (DWR) provides an opportunity to improve water quality along with potential increased crop yield resiliency. This research evaluated the effect of drainage water recycling (DWR) using drainage plus subirrigation and free drainage (FD) on grain yield production and crop nutrient removal compared to nondrained (ND) soil under a continuous corn (Zea mays L.) cropping system in upstate Missouri. A 26 and 20% increase in corn grain yield with DWR (9.3 Mg ha−1) and FD (8.6 Mg ha−1) was observed over the 6‐yr study compared to ND (6.9 Mg ha−1). A significant (P = .04) year × treatment interaction showed the substantial effect of variable precipitation on yields within a growing season and over the study period. No significant effect of treatment was found on grain nutrient concentration or grain quality (oil, protein, or starch concentrations). Plant biomass (P = .85), nutrient concentrations, and plant nutrient uptake (P > .05) were similar among drainage water management treatments; however, grain nutrient (total nitrogen [TN], total carbon [TC], P, and K) removal with DWR and FD was greater than ND. As farmers experience more extreme weather conditions, such as drought and more intense rainfall events, improved drainage and DWR can increase corn grain yield resiliency.

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