The common dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a nutrient dense food produced globally as a major pulse crop for direct human consumption, and is an important source of protein and micronutrients for hundreds of millions of people across Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Beans require large amounts of heat energy and time to cook, deterring consumers worldwide from purchasing beans. In regions where consumers rely on expensive fuelwood for food preparation, the yellow bean is often marketed as fast cooking. A Yellow Bean Panel (YBP) was assembled to explore the cooking time and health benefits of the five major seed types within the yellow bean market class (Amarillo, Canary, Manteca, Mayocoba, Njano) over two field seasons. This study shows how the Manteca yellow bean possess a fast cooking phenotype, which could serve a genetic resource for introducing fast cooking properties into a new generation of dry beans with cooking times < 20 minutes when pre-soaked and < 80 minutes unsoaked. Nutritional evaluation revealed fast cooking yellow beans have high iron retention (>80%) after boiling. An in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture bioassay revealed a strong negative association between cooking time and iron bioavailability in the YBP (r values > -0.73). When either pre-soaked or left unsoaked the highest iron bioavailability scores were measured in the fast cooking Manteca genotypes providing evidence that this yellow market class is worthy of germplasm enhancement through the added benefit of improved iron quality after cooking.

Here, we report the prediction of vegetative stages variables of canary bean crop by means of RGB and multispectral images obtained from UAV during the ripening stage, correlating the vegetation indices with biometric variables measured manually in the field. Results indicated a highly significant correlation of plant height with eight RGB image vegetation indices for the canary bean crop, which were used for predictive models, obtaining a maximum correlation of R2 = 0.79. On the other hand, the estimated indices of multispectral images did not show significant correlations.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem. Beans are an important plant-based source of iron, zinc and copper, but their absorption is reduced in the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates, polyphenols and tannins. Soaking and discarding the soaking water before cooking is unanimously recommended, but this can result in mineral loss. Data on the consequences for mineral bioaccessibility is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate iron, zinc and copper bioaccessibility in black beans cooked (regular pan, pressure cooker) with and without the soaking water. Minerals were quantified by ICP-MS, myo-inositol phosphates (InsP₅, InsP₆) by HPLC ion-pair chromatography, total polyphenols using Folin-Denis reagent and condensed tannins using Vanillin assay. Mineral bioaccessibility was determined by in vitro digestion and dialysis. All treatments resulted in a statistically significant reduction of total polyphenols (30%) and condensed tannins (20%). Only when discarding the soaking water a loss of iron (6%) and copper (30%) was observed, and InsP₆ was slightly decreased (7%) in one treatment. Bioaccessibility of iron and zinc were low (about 0.2% iron and 35% zinc), but copper presented high bioaccessibility (about 70%). Cooking beans under pressure without discarding the soaking water resulted in the highest bioaccessibility levels among all household procedures. Discarding the soaking water before cooking did not improve the nutritional quality of the beans.

French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) a member of family Leguminosae is a useful source of protein (∼22%), minerals (folate), vitamins and fibre. Abiotic and biotic stresses are the constraints to high yield and production of French bean. Varieties reluctant to diseases as well as abiotic stresses is among the top breeding objectives for the French bean. Mendelian ratios could know the genetically reliable forms of resistance, whereas it's more robust to understand the intricate kinds, often referred to as quantitative trait loci (QTL). Here, we review and compile the information from the studies related to the identification of QTLs for critical biofortification traits, biotic and abiotic stresses in French bean. Successful map-based cloning requires QTLs represent single genes which could be isolated in near-isogenic lines, and also the genotypes could be unambiguously inferred by progeny testing. Overall, this information will be useful for directing the French bean breeders to select a suitable method for the inheritance evaluation of quantitative traits and determining the novel genes in germplasm resources to ensure that much more potential of genetic information may be uncovered.

Inflammation is an underlying problem for many disease states and has been implicated in iron deficiency (ID). This study aimed to determine whether iron status is improved by epigallocate-chin-3-gallate (EGCG) through reducing inflammation. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 each): positive controls, negative controls, lipo-polysaccharide (LPS, 0.5 mg/kg body weight), and LPS + EGCG (LPS plus 600 mg EGCG/kg diet). Iron status, hepcidin, C - reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. There were no differences in treatment groups compared with control in CRP, hepcidin, and liver iron concentrations. Serum iron concentrations were significantly lower in the LPS (p=0.02) and the LPS+EGCG (p=0.01) than in the positive control group. Compared to the positive control group, spleen iron concentrations were significantly lower in the negative con-trol (p<0.001) but not with both LPS groups. SAA concentrations were significantly lower in LPS + EGCG group compared to LPS alone group. IL-6 concentrations were significantly higher in LPS+EGCG (p= 0.004) than in any of the three groups. EGCG reduced SAA concentrations but did not affect hepcidin or improve serum iron concentration or other iron markers.

Beans are the most widely used protein source in the world and their productivity is directly linked to nitrogen (N). The short crop cycle imposes the need for fast methodologies for N quantification. In this work, we evaluated the performance of four machine learning algorithms in nitrogen prediction using NIR spectroscopy. Increasing doses of nitrogen were applied to the plants and leaf reflectance was collected. Weka software was used to test the algorithms. The selection of the most effective spectral zones was made with the VIP. Considering predictions with the whole NIR, the best results were achieved with RF (R2 = 0,84 and RMSE = 2,69 g kg-1) and KNN (R2 = 0,77 and RMSE = 3,86 g kg-1). The intervals of 700-740 nm and 983-995 nm were considered the most important for the study of N. More efficient predictions were verified when only spectral regions screened by VIP were included, increasing the accuracy of the RF, KNN and M5 models by 6%, 4% and 8%, respectively. The efficiency of N prediction based on NIR reflectance combined with machine learning was verified. This approach can optimize the management of nitrogen fertilization, serving as an important tool in precision agriculture.

Soil salinity is seen as a major restriction for crop production, and with water scarcity this problem becomes more complicated. Mulching is crucial to salinity dynamics management by decreasing evaporation with improving the soil’s characteristics. Using chitosan as an eco-friendly biostimulant can enhance plant defense genes during different abiotic stresses. Recently, agricultural research has recognized nanoparticles as a pioneer material due to their distinctive physicochemical features. Therefore, a lysimeter experiment was conducted to investigate the interactive effects of mulching (UNM: un-mulched, WPM: white plastic, RSM: rice straw and SDM: sawdust) and chitosan foliar application (Ch0: control, Ch1: 250 mg chitosan L-1, Ch2: 125 mg nano chitosan L-1, and Ch3: 62.5 mg nano chitosan L-1) on the biochemical soil characteristics and common beans productivity under salt affected soil conditions. Organic mulching (RSM and SDM) treatments significantly improved the soil's organic carbon, available nutrient content, and total count of bacteria. WPM treatment lowered soil EC to 6.63 dS m-1 and increased soil water content to 34.13%. The application of Ch3 caused considerable increases in the plant height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, grain yield, and nutrient content in the seed. The total fungi count in the soil and Na% in the seed was significantly decreased due to chitosan foliar applications. Moreover, the interactive effect of different mulch materials plus foliar by chitosan applications gave a statistically similar seed yield in both seasons. Overall, this study revealed the potential of the mulching treatments and foliar application of nano chitosan in improved biochemical soil characteristics and common bean productivity under saline soil conditions.

Postharvest 1-MCP treatment can inhibit lignification of fruit and vegetables. It has been suggested that the mode of action of 1-MCP is through inhibiting ethylene production, but the effect of 1-MCP and ethylene on lignification of common bean remain unknown. This work compared the effect of 0.5 μL L-1 1-MCP and 100 μL L-1 ethylene on lignification of common bean during storage. Postharvest 1-MCP significantly inhibited the increase of lignified cell group, sclerenchyma became thicker, vascular bundles thickened and lignified cells grew during storage, while ethylene is the opposite. 1-MCP inhibited the increase in respiration rate, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), sucrose synthase (SuSy), phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), and peroxidase (POD) activities, whereas ethylene hastened all. Ethylene treatment can be stimulated and 1-MCP inhibited the decline of reducing sugar and cellulose content. Expression of genes, including PvACO1, PvAOG1, PvSuSy, PvPAL3, and Pv4CL1, PvCOMT1 together with lignin content were significantly increased in common bean during storage. 1-MCP treatment markedly inhibited expression of PvACO1, PvSuSy2, PvPAL3, Pv4CL1 and PvCOMT1 genes, while strengthened expression of PvETR1 and PvAOG1, while ethylene was opposite. This work provides evidence that ethylene plays a key role in regulating the lignin biosynthesis of common bean, and also provides strategies for the maintenance of fruit quality during storage.

Silicon carbide single crystal (SiC) has been widely used in the field of power devices, while it is difficult to fabricate ultra-flat surface by traditional manufacturing technologies due to its difficult-to-machine property. This paper investigates the interaction process during femtosecond laser ablation of crystalline silicon carbide based on the two-temperature model simulation and experimental study. The findings reveal that parameters such as laser pulse energy, scanning interval, and defocus amount exert significant influence on ablation depth, roughness, and surface morphology. The femtosecond laser proves effective in removing surface defects from cut SiC substrates, albeit resulting in increased surface roughness. However, subsequent polishing treatment of the laser-ablated silicon carbide surface can mitigate this roughness, underscoring the feasibility of laser surface ablation for silicon carbide single crystals.

The bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say.)) is one of the main pests of stored beans in the world. Heterogeneous Inbreed Families (HIF) Population of Near Isogenic Lines (NILs) could be an exceptional strategy to study the inheritance of the resistance against A. obtectus. We developed a HIF population of NILs of R-bufa-80-12 (Phaseolus vulgaris) to study the inheritance related to bean weevil resistance and to search NILs with high resistance to the pest within the HIF population. The objective of this research was to study the inheritance in a HIF population and to identify the best lines to provide weevil resistance in bean breeding for commercial genotypes that could reduce pesticide applications. To achieve this objective, we developed a set of 148 NILs which were near-homozygous in the genome, except in the region under study. The HIF were evaluated in two environments under natural infestation with A. obtectus in free choice bioassays in a warehouse highly infested. The population showed wide variability for the traits studied, from 17.2 to 29.2 g for 100 seed weight, 0.0-0.8 for consumption in grams, 2.0-30.0 for consumption in percent and 1.2-9.6 for preference (number of adults in the bottle to the end of the experiments. The heritabilities for resistance traits were from very low to low 0.0 to 0.19. The heritability for 100 seed weight was the highest, with a value of 0.90. All traits studied in this research have a normal distribution, so they are considered to be quantitatively inherited. However, a great variability was found for the traits studied, which allows selecting lines with a high level of resistance within the R-bufa-80-12 HIF population. All traits studied in present research are of quantitative inheritance. The best lines of the HIF population for resistance to A. obtectus were the Line-45, Line-129, Line-124, Line-108 and Line-47.

In this paper, the deformation behavior of S32750 duplex stainless steel during low cycle fatigue was studied by controlling number of cycles. The microstructure of the specimens under different cycles was characterized by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Microhardness of two phases was measured by a digital microhardness instrument. The results showed that the microhardness of ferrite increases significantly after the first 4000 cycles, while the austenite shows a higher strain hardening rate after fatigue fracture, and the microhardness of ferrite and austenite increases by 23 HV and 87 HV, respectively. Two-phase kernel average misorientation (KAM) diagram showed that the continuous accumulation of plastic deformation easily leads to the initiation of cracks inside the austenite and at the phase boundaries. The evolution of dislocation morphology in two phases was obviously different. With the increase of cycle number, the dislocation in ferrite gradually transforms from dislocation bundles and dislocation array to sub-grain structure, while the dislocation in austenite gradually develops from dipole array to ordered Taylor lattice network structure.

The definition of UTC in 1972 balanced the needs of the time and frequency community for a universal time scale that was traceable to the definition of frequency in the SI system of units with the needs of the astronomical community for a time scale that was closely linked to UT1, a time scale related to the rotation of Earth. The balance between these two considerations has changed very significantly since 1972, and there is widespread agreement that the method of relating UTC to UT1 should be changed by increasing the maximum tolerance between the two scales to more than the current limit of 0.9 s. I propose to realize this decision by means of an algorithmic adjustment process based on the variation in the length of the day over the previous centuries. I use these historical data to extrapolate the length of the day for a century into the future, and to compute a periodic rate adjustment to UTC based on this extrapolation. The adjustment process will not use time steps. The magnitude of the periodic rate adjustment will be re-considered every century, but the basic adjustment algorithm will not change. I suggest a maximum tolerance between UT1 and UTC that is large enough to absorb the irregular and unpredictable variations in the length of the day with respect to the long-term average increase in this value but plays no role in determining the parameters of the adjustment process that is proposed. I also propose that the adjustment be implemented at 12 UTC on 1 January since that is closest to a universal holiday in all time zones.

Berberis vulgaris (L.) has remarkable ethnopharmacological properties and is widely used in traditional medicine. The present study investigates B. vulgaris stem bark (Berberidis cortex) by extraction with 50% ethanol. The main secondary metabolites were quantified, resulting in a polyphenols content of 17.6780 ± 3.9320 mg Eq Tannic acid / 100 g extract, phenolic acids amount of 3.3886 ± 0.3481 mg Eq Chlorogenic acid / 100 g extract and 78.95 µg/g berberine. The dried hydro-ethanolic extract (BVE) was thoroughly analyzed using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC–HRMS/MS) and HPLC and 40 bioactive phenolic constituents were identified. Then, the antioxidant potential of BVE was evaluated using three methods; our results could explain the protective effects of Berberidis cortex EC50FRAP = 0.1398 mg/mL, IC50ABTS = 0.0442 mg/mL, IC50DPPH = 0.2610 mg/mL compared to ascorbic acid (IC50 = 0.0165 mg/mL). Next, the acute toxicity and teratogenicity of BVE and Berberine - Berberine sulfate hydrate (BS) - investigated on Daphnia sp reported significant BS toxicity after 24 h; BVE revealed considerable toxicity after 48 hours and induced embryonic developmental delays. Finally, the anticancer effects of BVE and BS were evaluated on different tumor cell lines after 24 and 48 hours of treatments. The MTS assay evidenced a dose- and time-dependent antiproliferative activity, higher on BS than BVE. The strongest diminution of tumor cell viability was recorded on breast (MDA-MB-231), colon (LoVo) cancer, and OSCC (PE/CA-PJ49) cell lines after 48 h of exposure (IC50 &lt; 100 µg/mL). However, no cytotoxicity was reported on normal epithelial cells (HUVEC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HT-29) cell lines. Extensive data analysis supports our results, showing a significant correlation between the BVE's concentration, phenolic compounds content, antioxidant activity, exposure time, and the viability rate of various normal cells and cancer cell lines.

When the epipelic algae group growing on the concrete inclined side wall, which is typical of urban rivers and open diversion channels, enters the water flow, it will seriously affect the func-tion of the rivers or the channels. It is urgent to predict the transport capacity of epipelic algae group with water flow. However, the current research on the transport of pollutants is mostly based on mathematical models, and the study of the transport of flake epipelic algae group is extremely rare. A generalized hydrodynamic experimental model of a flume with sidewall epi-pelic algae group was established. Through a series of hydraulic experiments, the physical movement form and transport capacity of the suspended epipelic algae group on the side wall of the channel were studied qualitatively and quantitatively by taking the thickness, sheet size and flow rate of the epipelic algae group as the influencing factors. The key influencing factors of the suspension of epipelic algae are clarified, so as to quantitatively analyze the critical conditions of its suspension. Through flow scheduling, the probability of epipelic algae gathering some-where is increased. It provides a theoretical basis for realizing the long-distance migration of epipelic algae and optimizing the mathematical model.

Berberis vulgaris L. (Berberidaceae) is a shrub that has been widely used in European folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent. The purpose of our study was to elucidate the mechanisms of antiproliferative action of the plant’s methanolic root extract (BVR) against colon cancer cells. Cytotoxicity and pro-apoptotic activity were determined in human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (LS180 and HT-29) and control colon epithelial CCD841 CoN cells. According to the MTT assay, after 48 h of cell exposure, the IC50 values were as follows: 4.3; 46.1 and 50.2 µg/mL for LS180, HT-29, and CCD841 CoN cells, respectively, showing the greater sensitivity of cancer cells to BVR. The Cell Death Detection ELISAPLUS kit demonstrated that BVR induced programmed cell death only against HT-29 cells. RT-qPCR with relative quantification method showed significant changes in the expression of genes related to apoptosis in both colon cancer cell lines. The genes BCL2L1 (126.84-366.66%), BCL2L2 (277.08-330.12%), CASP3 (180.36-261.36%) and CASP9 (158.08-213.46%) had significantly elevated expression, while BCL2 (23.08-52.06%) had reduced expression. Furthermore, in a panel of antioxidant tests, BVR showed positive effects (63.93±0.01, 122.92±0.01, and 220.29±0.02 mg Trolox equivalents (TE)/g in the DPPH•, ABTS•+ and ORAC assays, respectively). In the lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibition test, BVR revealed 62,60±0.87% of enzyme inhibition. The chemical composition of BVR was determined using UHPLC-UV-CAD-MS/MS analysis and confirmed the presence of several known alkaloids, including berberine, as well as other alkaloids and two derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid (ferulic and sinapic acid hexosides). This is the first such extensive assessment of the biological activity of BVR. The results are very promising and encourage for the use of BVR as a comprehensive chemopreventive agent (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and pro-apoptotic) in colorectal cancer.

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with millions of people exposed to severe air pollution. (1) Background: Surface ozone, mostly produced photochemically from anthropogenic precursor gases is harmful to both human and vegetation. The phytotoxicity of ozone has been shown to damage plant photosynthesis, induce early leaf death and retard growth. (2) Methods: We use genotypes of bush bean Phaseolus vulgaris with various degrees of sensitivity to ozone to investigate the impacts of ambient ozone on the morphology and development of the bean. We use ozone-induced foliar injury index and measure the flowerings and fruit production to quantify the ozone stress on the plants. (3) Results: We expected that the ozone-sensitive genotype would suffer from a reduction of yield. Results however show that the ozone-sensitive genotype suffers higher ozone-induced foliar damage as expected but produces more pods and beans and heavier beans than the ozone-resistant genotype. (4) Conclusions: It is postulated that the high ozone sensitivity of the sensitive genotype causes stress-induced flowering and therefore results in higher bean yield. A higher-than-ambient concentration of ozone is needed to negatively impact the yield production of the ozone-sensitive genotype. This study demonstrate the usefulness of bioindicators to monitor the phytotoxic effects of ozone pollution in a subtropical city such as Hong Kong.

MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) radar provides much more flexibility than the traditional radar for its ability to realize far more observation channels than the actual number of T/R (transmit and receive) elements. Designing the array of MIMO imaging radar, the commonly used virtual array theory generally assumes that all elements are placed on the same line. However, due to the physical size of the antennas and coupling effect between T/R elements, a certain height difference between T/R arrays is essential, resulting in the defocusing of edge points of the scene. On the other hand, the virtual array theory implies far-field approximation, leading to inevitable high grating lobes in the imaging result of near-field edge points of the scene observed by common MIMO array. To tackle these problems, this paper derives the relationship between target’s PSF (point spread function) and pattern of T/R arrays, by which the design criterion of near-field imaging MIMO array is presented. Firstly, the proper height between T/R arrays is designed to focus the near-field edge points well. Secondly, the far-field array is modified to suppress the grating lobes in the near-field area. Finally, the validity of the proposed methods is verified by simulations and an experiment.

Rosemary is one of the most important medicinal plants for natural therapy due to its multiple pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antiproliferative, antitumor, hepato- and nephroprotective, hypolipidemic, hypocholesterolemic, antihypertensive, anti-ischemic, hypoglycemic, radioprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiallergic, wound healing. Our study reports for the first time, over a 12-month period, the identification and quantification of polyphenols and the investigation of the antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of the Rosmarinus officinalis L. species harvested at flowering from the flora of southwestern Romania (Oltenia Region). Identification and quantification of polyphenolic acids was made by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS). Total phenolic content was determined using the spectrophotometric method. In situ antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and AChE inhibitory assay, respectively, on high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) plates. DPPH radical scavenging activity was also assessed spectrophotometrically. The results revealed significant correlations between specific polyphenolic compounds and the measured biological activities, understanding the role of seasonal variations and providing insights into the optimal harvesting times and medicinal benefits of rosemary. Our research brings new information on the phytochemical profile of R. officinalis, as a natural source of polyphenols with antioxidant and AChE inhibitory properties.

Heterosis of growth traits in economic fish has benefited the production of aquaculture for many years, yet its genetic and molecular basis has been remained obscure. Nowadays, a new germplasm of hybrid Jinhu grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × E. tukula♂), exhibiting paternal-biased growth heterosis, has provided an excellent model for investigating the potential regulatory mechanisms of heterosis. We integrated transcriptome and methylome to unravel the changes of gene expression, epigenetic modification, and subgenome dominance in Jinhu grouper compared with maternal E. fuscoguttatus. Integration analyses showed that the heterotic hybrids showed lower genomic DNA methylation levels than the purebred parent, and the up-regulated genes were mostly DNA hypomethylation. Furthermore, allele-specific expression (ASE) detected paternal subgenome dominance regulated paternal-biased heterosis, and paternal bias differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were wholly up-regulated in the muscle. Muti-omics results highlighted the role of lipid metabolism, particularly “Fatty acid synthesis”, “EPA biosynthesis”, and “Signaling lipids”, in Jinhu grouper heterosis formation. Coherently, our studies have proved that the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) of Jinhu grouper was greater than that of maternal E. fuscoguttatus (8.46% vs 7.46%). Finally, we constructed a potential regulatory network for control of the heterosis formation in Jinhu grouper. Among them, fasn, pparg, dgat1, igf1, pomca, fgf8a, and fgfr4, were identified as key genes. Our results provide new and valuable clues for understanding paternal-biased growth heterosis in Jinhu grouper, taking a significant step towards the molecular basis of heterosis.

It is important to realize the transformation behavior of wüstite because it greatly affects the final structure of the oxide layer and the surface quality of the steel products. In the present study, the transformation behaviors of the wüstite layer are examined under nearly-oxygen-free conditions, to simulate the cooling processes after the hot rolled strip is coiled. As the single phase wüstite was prepared at 950˚C, the 460˚C transformed oxide layer was composed of a mixture of iron and magnetite formed through eutectoid reactions. For the 750˚C-fabricated wüstite, only magnetite was observed after transformation, without iron precipitates and residual wüstite. It is speculated that the unusual transformation behavior of the low-temperature-made wüstite results from the pseudo-structural intermediate phase transformation between wüstite and magnetite. This pseudo-structure is a pre-transformed wüstite and of various concentration of ferrous ion, which is determined by the fabrication conditions. During the hot strip mill process, the so-called wet scale, wüstite, is produced continuously from finish mill to laminar flow sections and ended at 570˚C. Consequently, the final eutectoid transformation below 570˚C is dominantly controlled by the surface temperature ranged from 750˚C to 950˚C for low carbon steel.

Grain legumes are fair sources of protein, amino acids and energy, and can be used as a replacement for soybean meal in poultry feed formulations as the soybean meal becomes short in supply and costly. However, a concern associated with the use of grain legumes in poultry feeding is the presence of antinutritional factors. Effective processing and utilisation of these grain legumes in poultry feeding are well documented. The current review focuses on four selected grain legumes (lupins [Lupinus albus and Lupinus angustifolius], field peas [Phaseolus vulgaris], faba beans [Vicia faba] and chickpeas [Cicer arietinum]) and their nutrient content, the presence of antinutritional factors, processing methods and feeding value, including updated data based on recent research findings.

This study explores novel techniques to improve the detection accuracy of skarn iron deposits using advanced image processing methodologies. Leveraging the capabilities of Aster image, Band Ratio (BR) images, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), alongside the power of 3D Convolutional Neural Networks (3D-CNN), the research aims to enhance the precision and efficiency of ore detection in complex geological environments. The proposed method employs a specific 3D-CNN architecture, accepting input as a 7×7×C image patch, where C represents the combined number of selected Aster image bands, Principal Component (PC) bands, and computed BR images. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, five distinct image bands combinations, including the proposed bands combination, were tested and evaluated based on the overall accuracy (OA), average accuracy (AA), and kappa coefficient. The results demonstrated that while the incorporation of BR images alongside Aster bands initially seemed promising, it introduced significant confusion in certain classifications, leading to unexpected mis-classification rates. Surprisingly, utilizing solely Aster bands as input parameters yielded higher accuracy rates (OA= 93.13%, AA = 91.96%, Kappa = 90.91%) compared to scenarios involving the integration with band ratios (OA = 87.02%, AA = 79.15, and Kappa = 82.60%) or the integration of BR images to PC bands (OA= 87.78%, AA = 82.39%, Kappa = 83.81%). However, the amalgamation of Aster bands with selected PC bands showed slight improvements in accuracy (OA= 94.65%, AA = 92.93%, Kappa = 93.45%), although challenges in accurately classifying certain features persisted. Ultimately, the proposed combination of Aster bands, PC bands, and BR images (proposed bands combination) presented the most visually appealing and statistically accurate results (OA = 96.95%, AA= 94.87%, and Kappa = 95.93%), effectively addressing misclassifications observed in the other combinations. These findings underscore the synergistic contributions of each of the Aster bands, PC bands, and BR images, with Aster bands proving pivotal for optimal skarn classification, PC bands enhancing intrusions classification accuracy, and BR images strengthening wall rock classification accuracy. In conclusion, the proposed combination of input image bands emerges as a robust and comprehensive methodology, demonstrating unparalleled accuracy in the remote sensing detection of skarn iron minerals.

Precision agriculture including camera-guided row detection and hydraulic steering are often used as an alternative because crop damage can be decreased and driving speed can be increased comparable to herbicide applications.The effects of different approaches as uncontrolled (UC), mechanical weed control (MWC), herbicide weed control (HWC) and mechanical + herbicide control (MWC+HWC) on weed density and yield of sugar beet were tested and evaluated in two trials (2021 and 2022) in South Transylvania at the tested intervals BBCH 19 and 31. Weed control efficacy (WCE) depends on the emergence of the weeds and a good timing of weed controls in all the trials and methods, though the highest yield of sugar beet roots was recorded in the treatment MWC+HWC, with an increase up to 12-15% (56.48 t ha-1) yield from HWC (50.22 t ha-1) and a yield increase of more than 35- 40% than MWC (42.34 t ha-1). Our trials show that is possible to increase yield and have less chemical applications with the introduction of the new precision technologies in agriculture included here the sensor-guided mechanical controls.

Researches on the runoff and sediment reduction effects of soil and water conservation measures are being on the rise, which is of great significance for carrying out strategic on soil and water conservation in the Yellow River Basin. Through the analysis of various soil and water conserva-tion measures, runoff, sediment, and rainfall datas in the Sanchuan River Basin from 1960 to 2019, we use the lagrange multiplier method to determining the threshold year of soil and water con-servation measures on runoff and sediment processes. The preliminary conclusion is as follows: The trend of flood season rainfall and annual rainfall in the Sanchuan River Basin is consistent. The 10-year average rainfall in each periods indicates that before 2000, it gradually decreased and then significantly increased. The 10-year average runoff showed a gradual decrease before 2010, followed by a sudden increase, while the 10-year average sediment has shown a decreasing trend years by years, especially after the centralized treatment period. Terrace and dam measures show a trend of first decreasing, then increasing, and then approaching stability during different treat-ment periods, while the trend of forest and grass measures is slightly decreasing and then in-creasing rapidly. The runoff and sediment reduction effects of various soil and water conservation measures during different treatment periods indicate that the runoff reduction effect reached its peak in 2005, while the sediment reduction benefit reached its best in 2015. Based on the compre-hensive benefits of runoff and sediment regulation, 2015 are considered as the threshold year for various soil and water conservation measures, with each measure areas being 4.86 × 104, 17.91 × 104, 1.20 × 104, and 0.83 × 104hm2, respectively. The research results will have certain reference significance for the high-quality development of soil and water conservation in the Yellow River Basin.

The production and quality of Phaseolus vulgaris (snap bean) have been negatively impacted by leaf crumple disease caused by two whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses; cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV) and sida golden mosaic Florida virus (SiGMFV), which often appear as a mixed infection in Georgia. Host resistance is the most economical management strategy against whitefly-transmitted viruses. Currently, information is not available with respect to resistance to these two viruses in commercial cultivars. In two field seasons (2018 and 2019), we screened Phaseolus sp. genotypes (n = 84 in 2018; n = 80 in 2019; most of the genotypes were common in both years with a few exceptions) for resistance against CuLCrV and/or SiGMFV. Twenty genotypes with high- to moderate-levels of resistance (disease severity ranging from 5-50%) to CuLCrV and/or SiGMFV were identified. Twenty-one genotypes were found to be highly susceptible with a disease severity of ≥66%. Adult whitefly counts differed significantly among snap bean genotypes for both years. The whole genome of these Phaseolus sp. (n=82) genotypes was sequenced and genetic variability among them was identified. Over 900 giga-base (Gb) of filtered data were generated and >88% of the resulting data were mapped to the reference genome, and SNP and Indel variants in Phaseolus genotypes were obtained. A total of 645,729 SNPs and 68,713 Indels including 30,169 insertions and 38,543 deletions were identified, which were distributed in 11 chromosomes with chromosome 02 harboring the maximum number of variants. These phenotypic and genotypic information will be helpful in genome-wide association studies that will aid in identifying genetic basis of resistance to these begomoviruses in Phaseolus sp.

Metal, primarily Fe and Zn, deficiencies affect over half of the world's population. Human diets with prevalent cereal products cause micronutrient malnutrition. Biofortification is one of the most effective approaches to alleviate malnutrition. Spring wheat genetically stable (M7) mutant lines developed with 100 and 200 Gy gamma treatments to broaden genetic variation and search for new resources were analyzed for nutritionally important minerals (Ca, Mg, K, Fe, and Zn), their bioavailability, and grain protein content (GPC). The variation was 172.3–883.0 mg/kg for Ca, 472.9–1088 mg/kg for Mg, 3128.6–5487.5 mg/kg for K, 40.9–89.0 mg/kg for Fe, and 22.2–89.6 mg/kg for Zn. In mutant lines, among the investigated minerals, the highest increases in concentrations were observed in Fe, Zn, and Ca when compared to the parent. Some mutant lines, mostly in the 100 Gy-derived germplasm, had two to three times higher Fe, Zn, and Ca concentrations, lower phytic acid concentration (1.4–2.1 times), and 6.5–7% higher GPC compare to the parent. Variation was detected for the Ca:Phy, Mg :Phy, Phy:K, Phy:Fe, and Phy:Zn molar ratios, (1.27–10.41, 5.05–18.68, 1.66–4.87, 1.40–5.32 and 1.78–11.78, respectively). The results showed how the genetic variation could be generated through radiation and be useful to develop biofortification by micronutrient varieties with their appropriate bioavailability to overcome malnutrition.

Water stress is one of the main factors affecting the development of agricultural crops. An inno-vative alternative to improve tolerance to water stress is the application of biostimulants. In the present study, the efficacy and physiological and biochemical responses of different biostimulants were evaluated in beans under moderate and severe stress. The treatments consisted of three types of irrigation: FC100, without water stress, FC75, irrigation reduced by 25% (moderate water stress) and FC50, irrigation reduced by 50% (severe water stress). In the treatments with water deficit, foliar biostimulants were applied: zinc oxide nanoparticles plus chitosan, Codasil®, Osmoplant®, Stimplex® and salicylic acid. Foliar application of ZnO + chitosan nanoparticles benefited biomass accumulation and yield under moderate water stress (FC75) and Codasil® and Osmoplant® under severe water stress (FC50). Proline, free sugars and gas exchange were higher under the application of ZnO + chitosan nanoparticles under moderate water stress and under Codasil® and Osmoplant® under severe water stress. Depending on the severity of water stress, ZnO + chitosan nanoparticles, Codasil® and Osmoplant® are viable products to increase tolerance in green bean cv. Strike plants.

The impact of the presence of Microplastics (Mp's) has become popular due to its presence in all environments, however, its transportation, accommodation and destination is still unknown. This study developed a laboratory-scale experiment, using eco-technologies for the treatment of domestic wastewater and reused for agriculture. A Constructed Wetland System of horizontal subsurface flow conditioned with substrate gravel and with two types of ornamental plants Hippeastrum Hybridum Hort and Heliconia Bihai Marginata, obtained an average 90% efficiency in the removal of pollutants COD, TDS, NH4, NT, PO4 , NO2 and PT; directing water through a drip irrigation system for irrigation of the Phaseolus vulgaris crop, selected for its nutritional importance (36% of daily protein intake), grown in two Growth Beds; The crop irrigated with treated water presented a greater relationship between growth and number of pods; finally identify the presence of Mp's through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis in the different types of water (domestic waste, treated waste and well) and determine the quality of the fruit for consumption with safety tests. Escherichia coli and Salmonella.

Cumulative effects of landscape disturbance in forested source water regions can alter the storage of fine sediment and associated phosphorus in riverbeds, shift nutrient dynamics and degrade water quality. Here, we examine longitudinal changes in major element chemistry and particulate phosphorus (PP) fractions of river-bed sediment in an oligotrophic river during environmentally sensitive low flow conditions. Study sites along 50 km of the Crowsnest River were located below tributary inflows from sub-watersheds and represent a gradient of increasing cumulative sedi-ment pressures across a range of land disturbance types (harvesting, wildfire, and municipal wastewater discharges). Major elements (Si2O, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MnO, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, Ti2O, V2O5, P2O5), loss on ignition (LOI), PP fractions (NH4CI-RP, BD-RP, NaOH-RP, HCI-RP and NaOH(85)-RP) and absolute particle size were evaluated for sediments collected in 2016 and 2017. While total PP concentrations were similar across all sites, bioavailable PP fractions (BD-RP, NaOH-RP) increased downstream with increased concentrations of Al2O3 and MnO and levels of landscape disturbance. This study highlights the longitudinal water quality impacts of increasing landscape disturbance on bioavailable PP in fine riverbed sediments and shows how the convergence of climate (wildfire) and anthropogenic (sewage effluent, harvesting, agriculture) drivers can produce legacy effects on nutrients.

The Hennovation project, an EU H2020 funded thematic network, aimed to explore the potential value of practice-led multi-actor innovation networks within the laying hen industry. The project proposed that husbandry solutions can be practice-led and effectively supported to achieve durable gains in sustainability and animal welfare. It encouraged a move away from the traditional model of science providing solutions for practice, towards a collaborative approach where expertise from science and practice were equally valued. During the 32-month project, the team facilitated 19 multi-actor networks in 5 countries through 6 critical steps in the innovation process: problem identification, generation of ideas, planning, small scale trials, implementation and sharing with others. The networks included farmers, processors, veterinarians, technical advisors, market representatives and scientists. The interaction between the farmers and the other network actors, including scientists, was essential for farmer innovation. New relationships emerged between the scientists and farmers, based on experimental learning and the co-production of knowledge for improving laying hen welfare. The project demonstrated that a practice-led approach can be a major stimulus for innovation with several networks generating novel ideas and testing them in their commercial context. The Hennovation innovation networks not only contributed to bridging the science-practice gap by application of existing scientific solutions in practice but more so by jointly finding new solutions. Successful multi-actor, practice-led innovation networks appeared to depend upon the following key factors: active participation from relevant actors, professional facilitation, moderate resource support and access to relevant expertise. Farmers and processors involved in the project were often very enthusiastic about the approach, committing significant time to the network’s activities. It is suggested that the agricultural research community and funding agencies should place greater value on practice-led multi-actor innovation networks alongside technology and advisor focused initiatives to improve animal welfare and embed best practices.

Understanding the relationship between sugar yield and related traits is crucial for successfully breeding this important industrial crop. Thirteen sugar beet monogram cultivars were evaluated during 2018-2019. The study used a split-factorial design with two planting dates as the main plot, while cultivars and harvesting dates were laid out as CRBD as subplots. Significant differences were observed among the cultivars for all measured traits. The genetic correlation coefficients showed the highest positive and significant correlations between sugar yield and white sugar yield (WSY) (0.88**), sugar content (SC) (0.71**), and white sugar content (0.65**). Conversely, the highest negative and significant correlations were found between sugar yield and molasses sugar content (-0.62**), alkalinity coefficient (-0.58**), and root potassium content (-0.52**). In the stepwise multiple regression analysis, white sugar content (WSC), sugar content (SC), root α-amino nitrogen content, and root yield were included in the regression model, explaining 84% of the total variance in the sugar yield. Path analysis revealed that sugar content (1.12) and root yield (1.03) had the highest direct effects on sugar yield. These traits can be used as key criteria for developing superior hybrids with high economic productivity, thereby accelerating the selection process in various breeding programs.

Selecting road networks in cartographic generalization has consistently posed formidable challenges, driving research towards the application of intelligent models. Despite previous efforts, the accuracy and connectivity preservation in these studies, particularly when dealing with road types of similar sample sizes, still warrant improvement. To address these shortcomings, we introduce a Heterogeneous Graph Attention Network (HAN) for road selection, where feature masking method is initially utilized to assess the significance of road features. Concentrating on the most relevant features, two meta-paths are introduced within the HAN framework: one for aggregating features of the same road type within the first-order neighborhood, emphasizing local connectivity, and another extending this aggregation to the second-order neighborhood, capturing a broader spatial context. For a comprehensive evaluation, we introduce a set of metrics considering both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the road network. Compared to traditional neural networks, our HAN model demonstrates superior accuracy and F1-score, particularly for road types with comparable samples. Additionally, it enhances the overall connectivity of the selected network. In summary, our HAN-based method provides an advanced solution for road network selection, surpassing previous approaches in terms of accuracy and connectivity preservation.

Animal welfare assessment protocols are important for identifying welfare problems in conservation programs. This study aimed to develop a baseline welfare protocol for the assessment of welfare in huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in conservation centers. This protocol is based on the Welfare Quality® (WQ) framework for cattle, considering the available literature on the behaviours, ecology, conservation plans, captive management of this species, and welfare assessment protocols for other ungulate species. As a result, the protocol was specifically developed for huemuls and included four principles, 12 criteria, and 23 animal- and resource-based indicators. The 12 criteria of the WQ protocol were reduced to nine, and three new criteria were added because they were both feasible and essential for welfare assessment in captive huemuls. This protocol is mainly intended to identify welfare problems in endangered species in the context of conservation centers (reproduction, rescue, rehabilitation, or treatment centers). Thus, aggregation of different measures to obtain a global score has not been proposed. However, a scoring system that assigns a value on a 0-2 scale (0= No welfare concern; 1= welfare concern; 2= urgent welfare concern) is proposed for each category. Although further research is still needed to fully validate the protocol, this is the first development of a completed protocol for huemul welfare assessment.

The relaxation process of lithium batteries caused by load variation is considered. It is shown that such processes have strong dependence on internal physical and chemical processes and battery technical conditions. Theoretical expressions of the relaxation process caused by a step-like load variation have been obtained for 1^st and 2^nd order equivalent electrical circuits. The experimental investigations show that the obtained models fit the real relaxation processes and the behavior of the identified parameters could be explained by specific features of physical and chemical processes within the lithium battery. It should be noted that the obtained results can be generalized for a different type of electrochemical power source. The proposed approach makes it possible to provide means for electrochemical power source characterization and diagnostic, the main advantages of which are good time localization of measurement procedures and inexpensive apparatus implementation.

RNA silencing serves key roles in a multitude of cellular processes, including development, stress responses, metabolism, and maintenance of genome integrity. Dicer, Argonaute (AGO), double-stranded RNA binding (DRB), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDR) and DNA-dependent RNA polymerases known as Pol IV and Pol V form core components to trigger RNA silencing. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important staple crop worldwide. In this study, we aimed to unravel the components of the RNA-guided silencing pathway in this non-model plant taking advantage of the availability of two genome assemblies of Andean and Meso-American origin. We identified six PvDCLs, thirteen PvAGOs, 10 PvDRB, 5 PvRDR, in both genotypes, suggesting no recent gene amplification or deletion after the gene pool separation. In addition, we identified one PvNRPD1 and one PvNRPE1 encoding the largest subunits of Pol IV and Pol V, respectively. These genes were categorized into subgroups based on phylogenetic analyses. Comprehensive analyses of gene structure, genomic localization and similarity among these genes were performed. Their expression patterns were investigated by means of expression models in different organs using online data and quantitative RT-PCR after pathogen infection. Several of the candidate genes were up-regulated after infection with the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that originated in Africa but emerged in Latin America in 2015. In this region, other flaviviruses such as Dengue (DENV), West Nile, and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) also circulate, allowing for possible antigenic cross-reactivity to impact viral infections and immune responses. Studies have found antibody mediated enhancement between DENV and ZIKV, but the impact of YFV antibodies on ZIKV infection has not been fully explored. ZIKV infections cause congenital syndromes, such as microcephaly, necessitating further research into ZIKV vertical transmission through the placental barrier. Recent advancements in biomedical engineering have generated co-culture methods that allow for in vitro recapitulation of the maternal: fetal interface. This study utilized a transwell assay, which is a co-culture model utilizing human placental syncytiotrophoblasts, fetal umbilical cells, and a differentiating embryoid body to replicate the maternal: fetal axis. To determine if cross reactive YFV vaccine antibodies impact the pathogenesis of ZIKV across the maternal fetal axis, maternal syncytiotrophoblasts were inoculated with ZIKV or ZIKV incubated with YFV vaccine anti-sera, and viral load was measured 72 hours post inoculation. Here we report that BeWo and HUVEC cells are permissive to ZIKV and that the impact of YFV post-vaccination antibodies on ZIKV replication is cell line dependent. Embryoid bodies are also permissive to ZIKV and the presence of YFV antibodies collected 1 to 6 months post vaccination enhances ZIKV infection. Our data show that each of the cell lines and EBs have a unique response to ZIKV complexed with post-vaccination serum suggesting there may be cell-specific mechanisms that impact congenital ZIKV infections. Since ZIKV infections can cause severe congenital syndromes, it is crucial to understand any potential enhancement or protection offered from cross-reactive, post-vaccination antibodies.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that originated in Africa but emerged in Latin America in 2015. In this region, other flaviviruses such as Dengue (DENV), West Nile, and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) also circulate, allowing for possible antigenic cross-reactivity to impact viral infections and immune responses. Studies have found antibody mediated enhancement between DENV and ZIKV, but the impact of YFV antibodies on ZIKV infection has not been fully explored. ZIKV infections cause congenital syndromes, such as microcephaly, necessitating further research into ZIKV vertical transmission through the placental barrier. Recent advancements in biomedical engineering have generated co-culture methods that allow for in vitro recapitulation of the maternal: fetal interface. This study utilized a transwell assay, which is a co-culture model utilizing human placental syncytiotrophoblasts, fetal umbilical cells, and a differentiating embryoid body to replicate the maternal: fetal axis. To determine if cross reactive YFV vaccine antibodies impact the pathogenesis of ZIKV across the maternal fetal axis, maternal syncytiotrophoblasts were inoculated with ZIKV or ZIKV incubated with YFV vaccine anti-sera, and viral load was measured 72 hours post inoculation. The data show that the impact of YFV on ZIKV replication is cell line dependent. In differentiating embryoids, the presence of YFV antibodies enhanced ZIKV infection. Since viral pathogenesis, and the impact of antigenic cross-reactive antibodies, is cell line specific at the maternal-fetal axis, this suggests there may be discreet mechanisms that impact congenital ZIKV infections.

To mitigate pyrethroid resistance in mosquito vectors of emerging and re-emerging human pathogens, there is an urgent need to discover insecticides with novel modes of action. Natural alternatives, such as extracts derived from plants, may serve as substitutes for traditional synthetic insecticides if they prove to be sustainable, cost-effective, and safe for non-target organisms. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) is a sustainable plant known to produce various secondary metabolites with insecticidal properties, including terpenoids and flavonoids. The goal of this study was to assess the larvicidal activity of hemp leaf extract on 1st instar mosquito larvae from both pyrethroid-susceptible (PS) and pyrethroid-resistant (PR) strains of Aedes aegypti Another goal was to identify which components of the extracts were responsible for any observed larvicidal activity. We found that methanol extract of hemp leaves induced similar concentration-dependent larvicidal activity against PS (LC50: 4.4 ppm) and PR (LC50: 4.3 ppm) strains within 48 hours. Partitioning of the dried leaf extract between methanol and revealed that full larvicidal activity was restricted to the methanol fraction. Analysis of this fraction by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance showed it to be dominated by cannabidiol (CBD). Larvicidal assays using authentic CBD confirmed this compound was primarily responsible for the toxicity of hemp leaf extract against both strains. We conclude that hemp leaf extracts and CBD have the potential to serve as viable sources for the development of novel mosquito larvicides.

Iron (Fe) is co-factor for enzymes of the developing brain necessitating sufficient supply. We investigated the effects of administering ferric derisomaltose/Fe isomaltoside (FDI) subcutaneously to Fe deficient (ID) pregnant rats on cerebral and hepatic concentrations of essential metals and gene expression of ferroportin and hepcidin. Pregnant rats subjected to ID were injected with FDI on the day of mating (E0), 14 days into pregnancy (E14), or the day of birth (Postnatal (P0)). The efficacy was evaluated by determination of cerebral and hepatic Fe in pups on P0 and as adults on P70, and the concentration of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Females fed an ID diet (5.2 mg/kg Fe) had offspring with significantly lower cerebral and hepatic Fe compared to female controls fed a standard diet (158 mg/kg Fe). Cerebral Cu increased irrespective of supplying a standard diet or administering FDI combined with the standard diet. Hepatic hepcidin was significantly lower following ID, whereas cerebral hepcidin was virtually undetectable in all experimental groups. In conclusion, administering FDI subcutaneously to ID pregnant rats on EO normalizes cerebral Fe in the fetus, but when applied at later gestational ages, additional Fe to the offspring is needed to normalize cerebral and hepatic Fe.

Chickpea is an essential legume, a staple food in many cultures and contains nutrients with potential health benefits. The chickpea water (CPW) leached out after cooking is usually discarded, which may potentially have significant anti-cancer and other health beneficial properties. This study compared the in-vitro bioactivity of CPW with chickpea polyphenol extract (CPPE) to evaluate its impact on pathways of colorectal cancer progression and development. Morphological observation by APOPercentage, cell viability detection using a cytotoxic assay and cell migration-scratch assay points to measure rate of metastasis were employed. Overall antioxidant activity of CPW and CPPE were measured using ABTS and DPPH free-radical assays. At 50 µg/mL concentration and above, both CPW and CPPE extracts significantly reduce cell viability in HT-29 colon cancer cell lines (p < 0.05). Moreover, a quantitative analysis of the extent of apoptosis demonstrated that at 250 and 500 μg/mL concentrations, both extracts induced significant apoptosis compared to the untreated control. Meanwhile, the cell migration scratch area decreases by 34.42% and 15.27% when treated with CPW and CPPE, respectively. In summary, CPW demonstrated comparable in vitro anti-cancer properties and antioxidant activity in colorectal cancer cells to CPPE. Further, in vivo studies are warranted to evaluate the physiological bioactivity of CPW and CPPE in targeting pathways of cancer development and progression

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics can pose the risks of spreading mutant strains that show antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with negative impact on management of bacterial infections and economic implications on healthcare systems. Research and development of natural antibacterial agents could be a priority in the next years to improve number of effective antibacterial molecules and to reduce AMR phenomenon and its development. The present study identified the most effective concentration and contact time of Thymus vulgaris L. essential oil (TEO) to obtain bactericidal effect in vitro against different Gram + and Gram – bacterial strains. Six clinically isolated (wild types) bacterial strains, (Citrobacter freundii, Enterococcus feciorum, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter cioffi, Pasteurella putrefaciens, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and two ATCC (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans) were tested after 1min, 3min and 5min of contact with TEO. Preliminary results on S. aureus after 24h incubation revealed a TEO concentration of 9.28mg/mL (w/v) that completely inhibited bacteria growth keeping cell viability. Total suppression of bacterial growth at all tested contact times was observed for all tested bacterial strains and the results were confirmed after 48h incubation. Bacterial growth suppression was confirmed even with presence of organic component. These preliminary results showed in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of TEO against different Gram+ and Gram- bacterial strains. Future studies are necessary to confirm the reproducibility of these results even on other strains and to define exactly the molecular mechanisms of EOs, in order to consider TEO as a valid alternative of classic antibiotic therapies and subsequently to reduce the occurrence of AMR.

Cocoa beans of the CCN-51 clone harvested in the Tumaco region (Nariño, Colombia) were fermented following four different treatments: (1) spontaneously (at room temperature for 120 h) in traditional conditions (Control); (2) traditional processing with a pre-drying (sun-dried for 24 h) treatment (PD); (3) with fermentation (for 120 h) after inoculation of a yeast starter culture (YS); and (4) including both treatments, pre-drying and yeast inoculation (PD+YS). Chemical composition, fatty acids, total polyphenol, methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) and lactic acid content of cocoa beans were determined. Chemical and fatty acid composition and theobromine content were not affected by the different fermentation treatment applied. When analysing total polyphenol content, YS and PD+YS treatments significantly increased the content of these compounds at the end of the fermentation process, while PD treatment decreased the caffeine content of cocoa beans. Finally, lactic acid content decreased as a consequence of both inoculation of yeast starter and mainly the pre-drying treatment. In conclusion, solar pre-drying in the open air and the inoculation of a yeast starter treatments could improve the final quality of coca beans.

While the number of publications on wine and health is steadily increasing, ranging from molecular level to epidemiological studies, often with contradictory results, little attention has been given to an holistic approach. In this review some unusual concepts are considered, such as phytocomplex, vehicle and the Matrix effect. As an example, three mono/polyphenols present in wine, Tyrosol, Hydroxytyrosol and Resveratrol, have been selected and the consequences of respecting, disregarding or ignoring the Matrix effect are shown. Underestimation of the wine Matrix effect could lead to deceiving results, as in the case of de-alcoholized wine or wine-compound-based nutritional supplements,or in emphasizing a single component toxic activity, in this case alcohol, ignoring the specific protective action at molecular level of other compounds (polyphenols) present in the same Matrix. The dark side of Matrix effect is also discussed. It is suggested that specificity of wine should be always taken in consideration by public health Authorities.

This study aims to spatially analyze the distribution characteristics of vacant homes in Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and understand the differences in factors causing vacant homes by type. We use a variety of statistical methods to examine these factors and identify key influencing factors such as the number of vacant stores, changes in overall population, land use complexity, and physical characteristics of land and buildings. The findings reveal that the factors contributing to the occurrence of vacant homes vary significantly by region and property type, highlighting the need for region-specific policies. For instance, in old town areas, small lot ratios and land use complexity are significant, while in rural village, the average number of floors and land use complexity play a major role. This study underscores the diversity of factors influencing vacant homes, suggesting that policies should be tailored to the unique characteristics of different regions to effectively address this issue.

The maintenance of traditional agricultural practices in protected small islands is closely linked to the preservation of the land, the protection of natural resources, and the conservation of local traditions. For this purpose, the Tuscan Archipelago National Park promoted the census of ancient horticultural varieties preserved by some farmers on the island of Elba. The survey revealed a deep-rooted historical, cultural, social, and economic link between this germplasm and the island’s territory. A scientific characterization of the landrace under ethnobotanical, morphological, and genetic aspects was carried out. Among these local varieties, two landraces of the Brassica species and three landraces of the Phaseolus species were identified and analyzed in this study. To ascertain their distinguishability and uniqueness, similar varieties were also identified based on morpho-physiological characteristics or territorial proximity and compared with the Elban landraces. Morpho-phenological data were collected, and molecular analyses were carried out using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers. Ten different SSR loci were considered for the Phaseolus species and nine for the Brassica species. The Tuscan Archipelago landraces showed a high level of internal variability but were clearly distinct from each other and from the analyzed varieties, as shown by AMOVA (Analysis of Molecular Variance). Their distinctness was further highlighted by the UPGMA dendrogram obtained from the genetic distance matrix. The same results were confirmed by Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA). This study confirms the peculiarity of the Elban landraces, their biodiversity is a heritage to be safeguarded, which can also be used in future breeding programs. These ancient Elban landraces were allocated to local farmers (most were young farmers) to protect them from extinction and to promote more resilient varieties cultivation compared to commercial hybrids widely spread in the area. Local farmhouses also play a strategic role in safeguarding the germplasm and dissemination of sustainable agricultural practices. There is high demand for ancient Elban landraces, this has led to the development of a new local economy balanced between agricultural tradition and innovation.

Rice (Oryza spp.) is mostly grown directly from seed and sown on wet or dry seed beds or usually used as transplants on nursery bed. With all the economically important viral diseases in the world, Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), is only prevalent in rice-growing countries in Africa. RYMV had turned out to be the main rice production constraint in Africa, throughout the last 20–25 years, causing yield loss of 10 to 100%, depending on age of the plant at the time of infection, degree of varietal susceptibility and the exiting climatic conditions. Good agricultural practices and utilization of biotechnological tools in the development of improved resistant cultivars have been extensively active in controlling the disease. This review focused on RYMV, its epidemiology, serological and molecular typing, disease management and the way forward for sustainable rice production.

Abstract: Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L) has been known for being a rich source of phytochemicals, minerals and vitamins. This study presents a model system for how the combination of extrac-tion/chromatography/mass spectrometry and NMR offers an efficient way to profile metabolites in the extracts of a natural product, beetroot . Such combination may lead to the identification of more nutritional or medicinal compounds in natural products, and it is essential for our ongoing investigation to study the selective adsorption/desorption of these metabolites on nanoparticles. The aqueous and organic extracts underwent analyses using UV-vis spectroscopy; GC-MS; LC-MS; 1H, 13C, TOCSY, HSQC, and selective TOCSY NMR experiments. Polar Extract: The two forms of betalain pigment were identified by UV-vis and LC MS. Fourteen amino acids, sucrose, and other compounds among which is riboflavin, were identified by LC-MS. 2D TOCSY showed the spin coupling correlations corresponding to some of these compounds. The HSQC spectrum showed 1H/13C spin correlation in sucrose confirming the high abundance of sucrose in beetroot. Organic Extract: GC-MS data enabled the identification of several compounds including six fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) with higher than, on average, 90% similarity score. Selective TOCSY NMR data showed the spin coupling pattern corresponding to oleic, linoleic, and linolenic fatty acids. 31P NMR spectra indicate that phospholipids exist in both the organic and aqueous phases. Keywords: Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L); Total Correlation Spectroscopy (TOCSY); Gas Chromatog-raphy-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS); selective TOCSY, Homonuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC); fatty acid methyl esters (FAME).

(1) Background: There is a risk of Aflatoxin B1(AFB1) pollution in yellow rice wine[1],threatening human life and health, the risk is a major focus of government attention and social concern.The current detection technology cannot meet the needs of large-scale testing due to the disadvantages of high false positive, cumbersome operating procedures or high cost.Therefore, it is urgent to study and establish a high-sensitivity and high-fast detection method for AFB1 to provide technical support for yellow rice wine quality supervision and risk assessment.; (2) Methods: In this study, three-factor and three-level orthogonal experiments were carried out for oscillation time, reaction temperature and tomography time to determine the best reaction conditions for pretreatment.AFB1 detection was carried out by aflatoxin time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatography technology，Through the ratio of the T signal value of the detection line to the C signal value of the quality control line and the natural logarithmic value of the standard solution concentration[2], a rapid detection technology of time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography is established.The technology was methodically assessed, the actual yellow rice wine samples were tested, and the results were compared with the HPLC method; (3) Results: The results show that the optimal reaction conditions for pretreatment are: the sample oscillation time is 20min, the sample reaction temperature is 37°C, and the sample chromatography time is 6min. In the actual sample detection of yellow rice wine, The time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatography detection technology established in this study detects AFB1. The detection limit is 0.3 μg·kg-1,The linear range is 0.8-12.0μg·kg-1,The linear equation of the corresponding standard curve y=-0.1913x+0.5206 (R2=0.9948),The standard deviation is 0.029.The results of the in-batch accuracy and precision of this method show that the addition and recovery rate is 77.9% - 105.7%,The coefficient of variation is in 4.5% - 10.3%; Inter-batch accuracy and precision test results show that the addition recovery rate is75.9% - 85.8%,the coefficient of variation is in 8.1% - 13.9%,explain that the detection technology has good accuracy and precision.Compared with HPLC, the relative error is less than 10%,It shows that aflatoxin time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography technology is in good agreement with the test results of national standard methods; (4) Conclusions:he rapid detection technology of time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography of AFB1 in yellow rice wine is easy to operate with fast detection speed, high sensitivity, good repeatability and stability, and has broad application prospects.

Black-purple carrots possess, apart from carotenoids, high content of other bioactive pigments such as anthocyanins. However, both carotenoids and anthocyanins are modified over cold storage due to their lability. In this work, we investigated the effect of the postharvest elicitation on nutritional and organoleptic quality of purple carrots over storage at 5°C for 21 days. Based on our experience, we considered methyl jasmonate and abscisic acid as elicitors. The values obtained were compared with those provided by the fresh-untreated sample on the treatment day (ie, day 0) and after three-week storage (ie, on day 21), which were used as a reference. As a result, carotenoid content increased naturally in untreated samples over storage whereas anthocyanins maintained invariable. Also, physicochemical parameters reflected apparent organoleptic quality loss. However, the postharvest treatment of purple carrot samples with elicitors resulted in similar carotenoid content in elicited samples to fresh carrots on day 0 as well as lower concentration of anthocyanins and antioxidant activity. Besides, elicitation, particularly with abscisic acid, enabled purple carrot deterioration to be slowed down and, therefore, the organoleptic quality to be preserved. This suggests delaying effect of both elicitors on the spoilage rate of purple carrots over the storage time. These findings indicate that the postharvest application of elicitors may be an interesting conservation method, alternative to traditional procedures, to decelerate decomposition and extend shelf-life of purple carrots.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The use of biomass for cooking carries significant health implications and can lead to adverse environmental issues such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and erosion. Despite these concerns, there is a lack of information about the nature and extent of cooking emissions in many developing countries. To address this gap, a study was conducted to assess cooking emission levels and their associated health effects among households in Dodoma City, Tanzania. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted, involving 285 households in the peri-urban area of Dodoma City, Tanzania. A combination of questionnaires, observational checklists, and sampling devices (Aeroqual series 500 for Carbon Monoxide and Temptop PMD 351 for Particulate Matters) were employed for data collection, adhering to established protocols. Additionally, lung function tests were conducted with consent from the primary household cooks. Collected data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using STATA 17 software. FINDINGS: Out of 285 participants, 74.7% predominantly use charcoal for cooking, with 68.4% having outdoor kitchen setups. Significant differences in pollutant concentrations were observed across various fuel types (P=0.0001), with firewood emitting higher levels of particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide concentrations during cooking were 6 times higher for firewood, 5 times higher for charcoal-gas, and 3 times higher for charcoal compared to WHO daily average limits. Additionally, a positive correlation between pollutant concentrations was noted (P-value = 0.0000). Lung problems 17.8% followed by eye irritation 15.7% were mentioned by those who claimed to know the health effects associated with cooking emissions. In addition, the spirometry test indicated that the majority of the participants had % predicted >80 while only 19% had % predicted below 50. CONCLUSION: Charcoal and firewood remain the primary cooking fuels in the study area despite their significant negative impacts. Our findings highlight a lack of awareness among community members regarding the health effects of biomass cooking emissions and insufficient guidance on constructing healthy kitchens. To address this, enforcing building standards, raising health awareness, and ensuring affordable access to modern fuels are crucial steps. These measures are essential for promoting healthier cooking practices and mitigating the adverse effects on households.

Viruses rely on host cells to replicate their genomes and assemble new viral particles. Thus, they have evolved intricate mechanisms to exploit host factors. Host cells, in turn, have developed strategies to inhibit viruses, resulting in a nuanced interplay of co-evolution between virus and host. This dynamic often involves competition for resources crucial for both host cell survival and virus replication. Iron and iron-containing cofactors, including iron-sulfur clusters, are known to be a heavily battled resource during bacterial infections where control over iron can tug the war in favor of the pathogen or the host. It is logical to assume that viruses also engage in this competition. Surprisingly, our knowledge about how viruses utilize iron (Fe) and iron-sulfur (FeS) clusters remains limited. The handful of reviews on this topic primarily emphasize the significance of iron in supporting the host immune response against viral infections. The aim of this review, however, is to organize our current understanding of how viral proteins utilize FeS clusters, to give perspectives on what questions to ask next and to propose important avenues for future investigations.

Two billion people worldwide suffer from anemia with reproductive-age women being disproportionately affected. Iron plays a crucial role in cellular function and impacts cognition, physical function, and quality of life. Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are associated with adverse effects on pregnancy and fetal development. Oral iron supplementation has been the standard treatment for IDA for decades often producing sub-optimal outcomes. Many babies are still being born with ID and suffer adverse sequelae due to inadequate iron levels in the mothers. Is it time to consider broad scale-up of parenteral iron as a new standard of care?

In recent years, soil addition with organic amendments, such as biochar and compost, has gained attention as an effective agronomic practice to sustain soil fertility, enhance plant growth and crop yield. Well known are the positive effects of compost on yield of a wide crop varieties, while both positive and negative responses are reported for biochar Therefore, the aim of the study was to verify the effect of biochar mixed with three types of compost on quanti-qualitative response of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. cycla), a leafy green vegetable rich in dietary antioxidants, largely consumed worldwide. A factorial experiment in pots with two factors, including biochar (without biochar and with biochar from vine pruning residues) and compost (without compost, with compost from olive pomace, with vermicompost from cattle manure and with compost from cattle anaerobic digestate), was setup. Two growth cycles were considered and a set of quantitative (height of plants, number, area and fresh weight of leaves) and qualitative parameters (carotenoid, chlorophyll, total N and NO3-content of leaves) were analyzed. Biochar decreased plant growth and NO3- leaf content; on the contrary, it increased total N leaf content, while compost improved all the considered parameters. The interactive effect of biochar and compost was evident only on total N and NO3- leaf content. In our experimental conditions, the compost showed to be the best option to improve Swiss chard growth and increase the phytopigments content, while the biochar-compost mixtures didn’t produce the expected effect.

Waste cooking oil (WCO) recycled asphalt is facing issues regarding insufficient thermal oxidation stability and aging resistance. In this research, glycerol esterification was adopted to pretreat WCO, and the consequences of this treatment on the aging resistance and thermal stability of WCO were analyzed. The impacts of varying levels of esterification of WCO on the high-temperature, low-temperature performances, fatigue properties, as well as aging resistance of recycled asphalt were investigated. Furthermore, the mechanisms of regeneration and anti-aging of deeply esterified WCO recycled asphalt were revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) tests. The results indicated that variations in the physical properties of WCO during the aging process were reduced, and its aging resistance was improved following glycerol esterification therapy. The initial thermal decomposition temperature was increased by approximately 115°C, which resulted in the enhancement of thermal stability significantly. Recycled asphalt obtained from deeply esterified WCO exhibited superior high-temperature, low-temperature performances and fatigue properties. Moreover, the thermal oxidation stability and aging resistance of recycled asphalt with deep-esterified WCO could be promoted by reducing the oxidation and volatilization of light components during the aging process.

Polyphenols have been shown to possess outstanding anti-obesity properties. In this study, the effect of blue honeysuckle berry extract (BHBE) with high polyphenol content on lipid accumulation in adipocytes and the underlying mechanism were investigated for the first time. Composition analysis demonstrated that flavonoids (mainly flavonols and anthocyanins) were the primary polyphenols in BHBE, which contributed to its biological functions. The results of Oil Red O staining combined with triglyceride (TG) content determination showed that BHBE exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on intracellular lipid accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. BHBE also reduced the protein level of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and increased the phosphorylation level of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), indicating that lipogenesis was suppressed by BHBE treatment. Moreover, BHBE was found to significantly promote the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and further reduce the expression of key transcription factors (PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP-1c) that regulate lipogenesis. In addition, the expression of beige adipocyte markers (Tmem26 and Cd137) and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) was increased in BHBE-treated adipocytes. In summary, we consider that BHBE inhibits lipid accumulation in adipocytes by suppressing lipogenesis as well as by promoting beiging of adipocytes. These results support blue honeysuckle berry as a candidate functional food against obesity.

Skin photoaging is caused by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. UV-exposed skin appears rough, thick, dry, loose, and shows deep wrinkles, and thickening. Our previous research showed that a Phaseolus angularis seed extract (PASE) effectively inhibits photoaging through UVB protection in HaCaT cells. However, its efficacy has not been evaluated in clinical trials so far. In this single-centered, randomized, double-blind study, we investigated the anti-aging effect of PASE in eye wrinkle areas. To these 21 healthy adult women aged 30 to 65, a PASE cream was applied to the right eye wrinkle area and a placebo to the left eye wrinkle area twice a day (morning and evening) for 12 weeks. The change in thick, deep crease wrinkles around the eyes was confirmed by visual evaluation, skin measurements, and a questionnaire. As a result, the R1 (surface roughness), R2 (maximum roughness), R3 (average roughness), R4 (smoothness depth), and R5 (arithmetic mean roughness) values in the group using the PASE cream all decreased. Particularly, R1, R4, and R5 significantly decreased by 18.1%, 18.6%, and 25.0%. In addition, no participants reported side effects. Our study showed that PASE led to clinically significant levels of wrinkle improvement. In conclusion, as PASE is a natural food, safe, and with few side effects, it can be a good resource for natural anti-wrinkle cosmetics in the future.

Solvent free copolymerization of epoxides derived from fatty acid esters of waste cooking oil with phthalic anhydride using (salen)CrIII Cl as catalyst and n-Bu4NCl/DMAP as co-catalyst was carried out for the first time under microwave irradiation, where reaction time was reduced from number of hours to minutes. The polyesters were obtained with molecular weight (Mw = 3084-6740 g/mol) and dispersity values (D = 1.18-1.92), when (salen)CrIII Cl/n-Bu4NCl was used as catalysts. While in case of DMAP as a co-catalyst, polyesters with improved molecular weight (Mw = 5537-6925 g/mol) and narrow dispersity values (D = 1.07-1.28) were obtained even at reduced concentrations of (salen)CrIII Cl and DMAP. The obtained products were characterized and evaluated by attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) Techniques.

Sweet cherry pomace is a by-product that can be a source of bioactive phenolic compounds. Usually, polyphenols have been extracted using conventional extraction methodologies. However, a significant fraction, called non-extractable polyphenols (NEPs), remains retained in the conventional extraction residues. Therefore, this work is aimed, for the first time, to investigate the release of NEPs from cherry pomace combining pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) using Promod enzyme. A response surface methodology was employed to study the influence of temperature, time, and pH on the NEPs extraction. The response variables were the total phenolic content (TPC) measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method, total proanthocyanidin (PA) content evaluated by vanillin, DMAC, and butanol/HCl assays, and total antioxidant capacity determined by Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and inhibition of hydroxyl radical assays. The results indicated that PLE-EAE was more suitable and selective to obtain NEPs from sweet cherry pomace than PLE alone. In fact, the extracts obtained by PLE-EAE displayed higher TPC, PA content, and bioactivity than the extracts obtained by PLE under the same extraction conditions, and those obtained by conventional methods. Moreover, size-exclusion chromatography profiles showed that the combination of PLE and EAE enabled the recovery of NEPs with higher molecular weight than PLE without EAE treatment.

Fisheries and bottom seawater data were collected in July in 2022 and 2023 from 15 sampling stations in the Huanghe River Estuary and adjacent seas in China. The patterns of functional alpha- and beta-diversity of fish communities in this area and their relationship with environmental factors were studied using trait-based analysis. Five functional classifications, which included 16 functional traits, four functional alpha-diversity indices (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and community-weighted mean), three functional beta-diversity indices (functional beta-diversity and its turnover and nestedness components), and 14 bottom environmental factors were considered. The dominant traits of fish communities were: benthivorous feeding habits, small and front-facing mouths, high trophic level, demersal, anguilliform, low growth coefficient, medium resilience, low vulnerability, and adapted to warm temperate conditions. The dominant migration traits and types of fish eggs varied by year, and fish abundance was the main factor affecting the dominant traits of the communities. The results of multiple regression on distance matrices and variance partitioning analysis indicated that ammonia nitrogen content, total phosphorus content, and pH were the main environmental factors that affected fish functional diversity. The N/P ratio had an upward control effect on fish functional diversity. Our findings also revealed that high pH gradients and distant geographical distances can inhibit trait turnover in fish communities.

During the pandemic, home-cooked meals have received more attention as people get more time for themselves and their families. It cannot deny that people have more time to prepare meals, and it is safer to cook at home since they can avoid direct contact with people who can potentially F0 or F1. For that particular reason, the number of home cooking has increased rapidly. In the article, the author pointed out that in comparison to the previous time, 42.0 percent of respondents said they cooked more frequently during the lockdown, while just 7.0 percent said they cooked less frequently. The increase in cooking frequency had a more significant impact on women than on men (p<0.05). Those who said they cooked more regularly spent more time preparing meals (78\%) and trying new recipes (73.6\%), as well as spending more time baking (67.1 percent ). In particular, the consumption of “comfort” foods (salty snacks, sweets) showed a significant rise, ranging from (23\%) to (60\%) of respondents who declared snacking more studied.Moreover, articles pointed out that in conjunction with the dramatic reduction in energy expenditure due to the impossibility of going out, this situation could have led to energy imbalance and, thus, weight gain. Noticing the massive rise in home cooking, the search for new recipes, and the need for balance meals, the idea for a cooking app called "Cooking Papa" has been proposed. As far as the research goes, the concept of "cooking" seems close but yet not easy to define. The Oxford English Dictionary defines cooking as “to prepare food by the action of heat. However, limited evidence suggests that people interpret the meaning of cooking quite differently. Moreover, the terms ‘homemade’, ‘convenience,’ ‘proper cooking,’ ‘cook,’ ‘basic ingredients,’ and ‘ready prepared’ are not uniformly understood.

Berberis vulgaris L. is currently widely studied for its antioxidant and chemopreventive proper-ties, especially given the beneficial properties of its fruits in this regard. Although the bark and roots have been well known and used in traditional medicine since ancient times, little is known about the other parts of this plant. The aim of the research was to determine the antioxidant and LOX inhibitory activity effects of extracts obtained from leaves, fruits, and stems. Another aim of the work was to carry out the quantitative and qualitative analysis of phenolic acids, flavonoid aglycones, and flavonoid glycosides. Extracts were obtained with the use of ASE (accelerated solvent extraction). The total content of polyphenols was determined and was found to vary de-pending on the organ, with the highest amount of polyphenols found in the leaves extract. The free radical scavenging activity of the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically in relation to the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical, with results ranging from 63.88 mgTE/g for leaves to 65.25 mgTE/g for the stem. Antioxidant activity was also assessed using the ABTS test. The lowest value was recorded for the barberry fruit (117.93 mg TE/g) and the highest level was found for the barberry leaves (140.49 mgTE/g). The oxygen radical absorption capacity test (ORAC) showed the lowest value for the stem (167.70 mgTE/g) and the highest level for the leaves (267.81 mgTE/g). The range of percentage inhibition of LOX was determined as well. The percentage inhibition of the enzyme was positively correlated with the sum of flavonoids, TPC, TFC, and the content of selected flavonoids. For the first time, phenolic acids, flavonoid agly-cones, and flavonoid glycosides were determined qualitatively and quantitatively in individual parts of Berberis vulgaris L. The content of phenolic acids, flavonoid aglycones, and flavonoid glycosides was determined with the LC-MS/MS method. For the first time, the following phenol-ic acids were quantitatively and qualitatively identified in individual parts of Berberis vulgaris: 3-caffeoylquinic acid, protocatechuic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, flavonoid glycosides: eleuthero-side E, rutin, isoquercitin, luteoloside, nar-cissoside, naringenin-7-glucoside, isorhamnetin-3-glucoside, afzeline, and quercitrin. Flavonoid aglycones: catechin, luteolin, and eriodictyol were determined qualitatively and quantitatively for the first time as well.

Modern research achievements support health-promoting effects of natural products and diets rich in polyphenols. Pomegranate (PG) (Punica granatum L.) contain a considerable number of bioactive compounds that exert a broad spectrum of beneficial biological activities, including antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiobesity, and atheroprotective properties. In this view, the reviewed literature shows that PG intake might reduce insulin resistance, cytokine levels, redox gene expression, blood pressure elevation, vascular injuries and lipoprotein oxidative modifications. Lipid parameters corrective capabilities of PG-ellagitannins are also sufficiently reported to be significantly effective in reducing hyperlipidemia (TC, LDL-C, VLDL-C, and TAGs), plasma HDL-C concentrations, TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. The health benevolent effects of pomegranate consumption appear to be produced through the amelioration of adipose tissue endocrine function, fatty acid utilization, GLUT receptor expression, paraoxonase activity enhancement, PPAR and NFκB modulation. Although the results from animal experiments are encouraging, human findings published in this field are inconsistent and still limited in many points of view. The present review discusses and provides a critical analysis of PG's bioeffects on metabolic syndrome components, type-2 diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia, as well as on some cardiovascular-related diseases. A brief overview of the pharmacokinetic properties, safety, and bioavailability of PG-ellagitannins is also included.

This research evaluates the inhibitory effect of L-amino acids (AAs) with different side chain lengths on Fe surface implementing Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. A quantitative and qualitative description of the adsorption behavior of AAs on the iron surface has been carried out. Calculations have shown that the absolute values of the adsorption energy of L-amino acids increase with side chain prolongation; they are also determined by the presence of heteroatoms. AAs from nonpolar and basic groups have the best adsorption ability to the iron surface, which indicates their highest inhibitory efficiency according to the results of MC simulation.

Berberine (BER) is a natural alkaloid found in various Berberis species, used traditionally in herbal medicine and dietary supplements. BER exhibited various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-tumour properties by modulating cellular pathways and influencing gene expression. While BER shows promise in various health applications, its possible toxicity raises concerns. In 2023, EFSA issued a call for data on BER- and protoberberine (PROTBER)-containing products, to comprehensively assess its safety and potential health claims. With these premises, new data was collected by assessing: i) the phytochemical profile of BER- and PROTBER-containing preparations by newly developed HPLC-DAD method; ii) in silico and in vitro investigation of pharmacokinetics properties of BER; iii) in vitro cytotoxicity in different human cell lines and, iv) biological and molecular activities of extracts containing BER and PROTBER in in vitro human non-cancer cells. By testing 16 commercial Berberis extracts, the evidence collected showed a good qualitative reliability in terms of phytochemical profile and limited relapses on cytotoxicity even at 200 µg/ml after a 24h of exposure, while evidencing a good cellular bioavailability and cell migration inhibition. The potential for plant-drug interactions affecting CYP450 proved to be minimal. Overall, our work provides a useful overview to better elucidate potential concerns on botanicals containing BER and minor PROTBER commonly used in food supplement.

Smell loss affects around 15-20% of the population, with a major effect on the quality of life. The most common complaint is the impairment of the eating experience, with around 90% of patients reporting this issue. A study conducted at a specialized taste and smell clinic investigated if food and cooking can have a positive effect on the enjoyment of food, subjective cooking skills, and quality of life in patients with smell loss. The 49 participants in the study received a 5-week cooking school course that focused on emphasizing the other senses to regain the enjoyment of food. Participants gained more confidence in cooking, and their quality of life improved significantly. Positively evaluated recipes were adjusted based on feedback and published as free e-books in Danish, German, and English. Eating and cooking are multisensory experiences, and the perception of food depends on the complex interaction of senses and surroundings. If the olfactory input is reduced or absent, both the enjoyment and cooking experience can be negatively affected. Therefore, focusing on food and cooking can have a positive impact on patients with smell loss.

Cultural heritage is a fundamental part of the society’s identity, and its conservation is of great relevance as it transcends time and memory. To minimize its deterioration, cultural heritage has traditionally undergone diverse preservation and maintenance treatments and the attention of researchers to develop new and innovative methods for state diagnosis and protection treatments has been increasing in the recent decades. Therefore, in this study, a literature review using a bibliometric analysis and LDA methodology was conducted to systematically map scientific research outputs on cultural heritage conservation and protection. Data was retrieved from the Scopus database and the annual publications, countries, most-cited publications, authors, institutions, and keywords have been comprehensively analyzed, leading to the detection of research trends. Findings show an increasing number of studies in this field in the last decades, particularly since 2010. Italy, home to the largest number of UNESCO heritage sites, is the most prolific country. Most of the studies are related to metal, paper and stone as substrate to be protected. Significant progress has been made in understanding the deterioration processes through precise diagnosis and the development of innovative treatments for protection. In this sense, latest trends have been detected such as the use of non-invasive techniques for diagnosis and the use of nanotechnology and nature-based treatments for the conservation treatments.

Jatropha multifida L. is a plant belong to Euphorbiaceae family used in Benin pharmacopoeia because of its medicinal properties. The objective of this work is to appreciate the therapeutic power of this plant through the evaluation of some of its biological activities. After the preliminary phytochemistry, the polyphenols and flavonoids were quantified and identified by the LC-MS-ESI. The antimicrobial power of the extracts was investigated by agar medium diffusion. The antioxidant power of the extracts was evaluated by the reduction of the DPPH radical, the ABTS radical cation, the feric ion (FRAP) and the lipid peroxidation (LPO). Anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by inhibition of protein (albumin) denaturation. Indeed, different phenolic and flavonoid compounds namely, 2-Hydroxybenzoic acid, o-Coumaroylquinic acid, Apigenin-apiosyl-glucoside, Luteolin-galactoside, Luteolin-glucoside, Luteolin-rhamnoside, Quercetin-glucoside, Quercetin-arabinoside, Dicaffeoyquinic acid, Kaempferol-rhamnoside were identify. The J. mutifida extracts has a bactericidal effect with reference strains of wich CMBs vary from 22.67 mg/ml (S. aureus, S. enteridis, L. monocytogenes and C. albicans) to 47.61 mg/ml (E. coli) and with the meat isolated strains (S. equorum, S. saprophiticus, S. haemoliticus, S. cohnii and S. lentus). Ethanolic extract show the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC₅₀ = 0.72±0.03 mg/ml) while methanolic extract showed the highest ferric ion reduction (46.23±1.10 µgEAA/g). Contrary to the FRAP method, the reducing power with ABTS method of water-ethanolic extract was greater (0.49±0.11 mol ET/g). The same extract show the highest albumin denaturation inhibition power (97.31±0.35%) at 1000µg/ml. J. multifida extracts are rich in bioactive compound with good biological activity

Promoting the sustainable development of resource-based cities is of great significance to the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Combining the environmental status and economic development, we objectively evaluate the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin, compare and analysis the main factors affecting the ecological safety of different resource-based cities, and formulate precise and differentiated ecological safety protection measures in river basins to achieve high-quality development. Taking the Yellow River Basin as an example, this paper analyses the ecological level of the Yellow River Basin based on the theory of sustainable development, calculates the ecological safety level of 30 resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020 by TOPSIS model, and makes convergence analysis by classification. Through the DID empirical test of sustainable development planning policy on ecological safety factors, distinguish the development characteristics of different resource-based cities. The results show that: (1) the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is generally developing well, and there are differences among different types of resource-based cities; (2) the kinetic energy of sustainable development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is mainly industrial transformation, and the power of science and technology is insufficient; (3) local governments pay limited attention to environmental protection, and the sustainable development planning of resource-based cities in 2013 mainly promotes the adjustment of industrial structure of resource-based cities.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with Olea europaea L. extract on the animal welfare and milk quality of lactating Italian Holstein-Friesian dairy cows at different calving orders. Cows in mid lactation phase received, for 60 days, the natural olive extract Phenofeed Dry® (500 mg/cow/day) with high antioxidant power. Hormonal and metabolic parameters were determined through ELISA assays, the milk fatty acid profile through gas chromatography, chemical-nutritional and hygienic-sanitary parameters through ultrasonic analyses. The milk lysozyme content was measured through a specific ELISA assay. The administration of the enriched feed did not alter the hormonal balance. Primiparous cows were more sensitive to the treatment and showed a better general health status compared to other calving orders. The enriched feed resulted in a reduction of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and an increase of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), ensuring an adequate nutritional content and, above all, a significantly higher content of the antibacterial protein, lysozyme. Overall, our study demonstrate that the inclusion of natural bioactive molecules such as Olea europaea L. polyphenols contributes to improving the welfare status of dairy cows and ensuring high nutritional and functional quality of animal productions.

Arsenic (As) is the most poisonous metalloid with negative effects on the plant and ecosystem. In the current study, observed that iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) affected the molecular features of rice under arsenic (As) stress. The result showed that 1-D electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) demonstrated variable expression of protein profiles. The polypeptide pattern was altered in the SDS-PAGE under arsenic stress. The findings also showed that low molecular weight polypeptides (MTs) expression was maximum under arsenic stress, while iron oxide NPs decreased the expression of these polypeptides and reduced the arsenic stress. RT-PCR was used to analyse the expression of the MYB transcriptional factor, WRKY, and OsGF14 genes in the rice plant. The results showed that these genes were up-regulated in response to arsenic stress, iron oxide NPs reduced arsenic stress, and Myeloblastosis (MYB), WRKY, and OsGF14 genes had very low expression levels. Our work showed that iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) not only reduced the effects of arsenic stress but also decreased the expression of stress-related genes and metallothioneins (MTs).

The objective is to study the local perceptions on the conservation of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Réserve Naturelle Communautaire de Dindéfélo (RNCD), southeast of Senegal, to design specific actions to improve conservation management. We conducted 338 semi-structured interviews in three main villages of RNCD. Three-fourths of the population were farmers. Of those interviewed, 29% received elementary education. Two of the three villages participated in a project to plant trees as fences. On average, 66% of the respondents were animists. Of the respondents who were afraid to see a chimpanzee, 68% answered because they attack. Seventy-seven percent washed their clothes in the forest river because there was more water than in the village wells. Of the interviewees who threw the old clothes into the forest, 50% did it due to tradition. Ninety-six percent of respondents stated that chimpanzees do not feed from their crops. The main problems of the locals with the Reserve were lack of water and basic resources and not been allow to cut trees in protected areas. There were significant relationships between education (1 relationship), environmental project (4 relationships) and animism (11 relationships) with local perceptions. The 93% of the respondents who had the traditional belief that “if the old clothes were burnt, children would become sick” feel fear of chimpanzees, while those who did not have this animistic belief the 6% are afraid (χ² = 1.57, P < 0.02). These local perceptions allow us to design specific course of action to improve chimpanzee conservation and sustainable coexistence in this complex period of the Anthropocene.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, characterised by beta-amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and oxidative stress. Iron is suspected to enhance disease progression, and chelation may be a potential treatment. We propose that Aloysia citrodora Paláu (AC), a plant in the Verbenaceae family, can act as a moderate chelator of iron. It may reduce the effect of iron on beta-amyloid 1-42 (Aβ1-42) aggregation. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used to demonstrate that AC can interact with iron (II) and iron (III), the two most abundant forms of iron within the body. DPV was also used to characterise Aβ1-42 aggregation, and two main features were obtained. The first is the tyrosine peak (~0.6 V) decreased in magnitude over time, which is a sign of aggregation and folding. The other is a conglomerate of peaks at ~0 V, whose identity is unknown. Furthermore, iron (II) increased the rate of tyrosine peak depreciation, and the addition of AC negated this induced effect. This implied that iron (II) increases Aβ1-42 aggregation into higher order, and AC may be an effective countermeasure.

This study evaluated the physicochemical, mineralogical properties, mobile chemical species’ bioavailability and translocation in Brassica juncea and Spinacea oleracea L plants of a South African coal fired power utility. Coal fly ash (CFA) disposal is associated with various environmental and health risks including air, soil, surface and ground water pollution due to the leaching of toxic chemical species; these ends up in food webs affecting human health, while repeated inhalation causes bronchitis, silicosis, hair loss and lung cancer. The morphology, chemical, and mineralogical composition of CFA were determined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray Diffraction, respectively. In pot culture experiments, S. oleracea L and B. juncea plants were grown in three sets of pots containing CFA (set 1), soil (set 2) and a mixture of CFA plus soil at ratio 1:1 (50% CFA: 50% soil) (set 3), while no plants were grown in set 4 as a control for the leachate samples. SEM showed that surface morphology of CFA has a lower degree of sphericity with irregular agglomerations of many particles. The XRF results revealed that CFA contains 43.65%, 22.68% and 10.89% of SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ respectively which indicate that the CFA is an alumino-silicate material. While XRD showed that the coal CFA contains mullite as a major phase followed by quartz mineral phases. Chemical species such as Fe, Mn, B, Ba and Zn were accumulated highly in most parts of the plant species. However, B. juncea showed higher potential to accumulate chemical species as compared to S. oleracea L. The bioconcentration and translocation factors (BF and TF) showed that B. juncea was the most effective in terms of bioconcentration and translocation of most of the chemical species. This indicates that B. juncea has potential in application for phytoremediation of CFA dumps and could contribute to remediation of CFA dumps and reduction of potential health and environmental impacts associated with CFA.

: Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world; its production is based mainly on varieties of the Coffea arabica species. Mexico stands out for its specialty and organic coffee. In Guerrero the production is given by small indigenous community’s cooperatives that market their product as raw material. Official Mexican Standards stipulate the necessary requirements for its commercialization within the national ter-ritory. In this work, the physical, chemical, and biological characterizations of green, medium, and dark roasted beans from C. arabica varieties were carried out. Analysis of HPLC showed higher chlorogenic acid (55 mg/g) and caffeine (1.8 mg/g) contents in the green beans of the Bourbon and Oro Azteca varieties. The caffeine (3.88 mg/g) and melanoidins (97 and 29 mg/g) contents increased according to the level of roasting; a dissimilar effect was found in the chlorogenic acid content (14.5 mg/g). The adequate nutritional content and the sensory evaluation allowed the classification of dark roasted as premium coffee (84.25 points) and the roasted medium as specialty coffee (86.25 points). The roasted coffees presented antioxidant activity without cytotoxic effect. The results obtained will serve as a basis for making decisions on the improvements of the coffees analyzed.

Transitioning to clean cooking fuels is not only part of achieving SDG7, but also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. The paper contradicts the conventional wisdom that electricity is too expensive to cook with. The paper explores the energy required to cook dishes using different technologies and fuels by analysing data from Cooking Diaries and Controlled Cooking tests conducted under the MECS programme. Electric pressure cookers (EPCs) use least energy when compared with electric hotplates, and a detailed description of how the EPC works explains why this should be. The paper draws out distinctions between African and Asian dishes, notably the impact of energy intensive dishes prepared mostly in Africa. Standard efficiency based approaches to comparing the performance of stoves are not appropriate to modern electric cooking devices so an alternative approach based on specific energy consumptions is proposed e.g. charcoal stoves use 15 times as much energy as EPCs to cook African dishes. Energy ratios provide a basis for estimating carbon emission reductions associated with transitioning to modern cooking fuels. Historical costs show that the cost of cooking with an EPC can be only 20% of the cost of cooking with charcoal, which highlights the potential for modern, energy efficient electric cooking devices to defy the conventional wisdom of the energy ladder.

Polyphenols are the most common organic compounds in wine. They improve both the sensory aspects of wine and human health by activating antioxidant systems. Therefore, there is a great need for a simple, fast and accessible method to determine the polyphenol content of wine. The aim of this study is to characterize polyphenolic compounds in natural wine samples using an electrochemical method and a modified carbon paste electrode with TiO2 nanoparticles. This work is motivated by the promising improvement of the sensing properties of a TiO2 nanoparticle-modified carbon paste electrode observed in the electrooxidation of different polyphenols. Since the voltammetric response of wine is largely irreversible, another motivation was the possibility of improving the processing of voltammograms to obtain data indicative of wine polyphenols, based on the approach described in the seminal work by Espinoza et al. The modified electrode studied provides an improved and reproducible voltammetric response of gallic acid in wine samples and provides a good basis for further development of an integrated sensor/data system with the possibility of wider application for the quantification of gallic acid as a flavor and visually relevant parameter in winemaking.

Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 mRNA binding Protein 1 (IGF2BP1) is a promising candidate gene for influencing economic traits in livestock and poultry. The second intronic region of IGF2BP1 is closely related to growth traits, although the exact mechanism remains unclear. The preliminary resequencing results of goats in our laboratory demonstrated that the IGF2BP1 gene region was subject to strong selection, then we selected multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify. Seven SNPs were located in the conserved region of the second intron, and their functions and relationship with growth traits require further clarification. This study selected 348 Nanjiang Yellow goats as experimental subjects, and chose Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (MALDI-TOF) as the main method. Our results showed that six SNPs were significantly correlated with the growth traits of the Nanjiang yellow goat by association analysis. Among them, the rs652062749(A>G) was identified as the primary locus affecting the later stage of growth traits of Nanjiang yellow goat. Moreover, there was a strong linkage among three SNPs, and the rs638185407 (T>A) mutant type was observed to increase the luciferase activity in H293T cells extremely significantly. The TTAACT, TTCCCC, and ATCACT combination genotypes were dominant combination genotypes, which provided theoretical references for further genetic co-breeding. The results of our study demonstrate the potential role of the IGF2BP1 gene as a functional genetic marker in the breeding programs of Nanjiang Yellow goats.

Polyphenols, long-used components of medicinal plants, have drawn great interest in recent years as potential therapeutic agents because of their safety, efficacy, and wide range of biological effects. Approximately 74% of the world's population still uses plant-based medicines, indicating the ongoing significance of phytochemicals for human health. The study emphasizes the growing body of research examining the role of polyphenols in uncovering their anti-adipogenic and anti-obesity properties. Functions of polyphenols including phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, glycosides, and phenolic acids are distinct due to changes in chemical diversity, and structural characteristics. This review methodically investigates the mechanism of how naturally occurring polyphenols mediate obesity and metabolic function. To this end, hormonal control of hunger has the potential to inhibit pro-obesity enzymes such as pancreatic lipase, the promotion of energy expenditure, and the modulation of adipocytokine production. Specifically, polyphenols affect insulin, a hormone that is essential for regulating blood sugar, and they also play a role in part in a complex web of factors that affect the progression of obesity. This review also explores the immunomodulatory properties of polyphenols, providing insight into their ability to improve immune function. The effects of polyphenols on gut health, improving the number of commensal bacteria, cytokine production suppression, and immune cell mediation, including natural killer cells and macrophages. Taken together, continuous studies are required for prudent and precise mechanisms underlying polyphenols' therapeutic potential in obesity and immunomodulation. In the interim, this review emphasizes the holistic approach to health and promotes the consumption of a wide range of foods and drinks high in polyphenols. This review lays the groundwork for future developments, indicating that the components of polyphenols and their derivatives may provide the answer to urgent worldwide health issues. This compilation of the body of knowledge paves the way for future discoveries in the global treatment of pressing health concerns in obesity and metabolic diseases.

The latest scientific literature outlines a resilient interconnection between cancer modulation and dietary polyphenols by sphingolipid-mediated mechanisms, usually correlated with a modification of their metabolism. We aim to extensively survey this relation to show how it could be advantageous in cancer treatment or prevention by nutrients. Polyphenols, chemically characterized by polyhydroxylated phenolic structure, are well known for their pervasive pharmacological properties: anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiseptic, antitumor, antiallergic, cardioprotective and others. Pervasive is also their distribution in food products especially in plant foods as vegetables, cereals, legumes, fruits, nuts and beverages as wine, cider, beer, tea, cocoa. Recently, sphingolipids have been correlated with cancer by a dysregulation of their rheostat emerging as mediator of cell proliferation in cancer and modulator of chemotherapeutics.

Pretreatment of cells with proteolysis inhibitors diminished intensity and changed shape of DNICs specific EPR signal in a treatment time-dependent manner. The level of DNIC formation was significantly influenced by the presence of protein degradation products. Interestingly, formation of HMWDNICs depended on the availability of LMWDNICs. The extent of glutathione involvement in the in vivo formation of DNICs is minor yet noticeable, aligning with our prior research findings.

Grain quality, cooking quality and nutritional quality traits are some of the major attributes that enhance uptake and utilisation of improved cowpea varieties. Therefore, there is need for a better understanding of the genetic variation and inter-relationships among these quality traits in cowpea to integrate them in cowpea breeding programs. The study was conducted to determine genetic variability among 306 cowpea genotypes for grain quality, cooking quality and nutritional quality traits and to understand the interrelationships among these traits for exploitation in breeding programs. The results showed highly significant differences (P

Iron is an essential nutrient for humans and microbes, such as bacteria. Iron deficiency occurs commonly in critically ill patients, but iron replacement therapy is not considered during the acute phase of critical illness, since it increases iron availability for invading microbes and oxidative stress. However, persistent iron deficiency in the recovery phase is harmful with potential adverse outcomes such as cognitive dysfunction, fatigue and cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Therefore, it is important to treat iron deficiency timely and efficiently. This article reviews current knowledge about iron-related biomarkers in critically ill patients and provides possible criteria to guide decision-making for iron supplementation in the recovery phase of critical illness.

Abstract: Transcription factors are crucial pre-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that can modulate the expression of downstream genes by binding to their promoter regions. DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) proteins are a unique class of transcription factors with extensive roles in plant growth and development. Our previous research indicated a decrease in iron content in chlorotic bamboo leaves. However, to our knowledge, genes related to iron metabolism pathways in bamboo species have not yet been studied. Therefore, in the current study, we identified iron metabolism-related (IMR) genes in bamboo and determined the transcription factors that significantly influence them. Among these, DOFs were found to have widespread effects and potentially significant impacts on their expression. We identified specific DOF members in Dendrocalamus latiflorus with binding abilities through homology with Arabidopsis DOF proteins, and established connections between some of these members and IMR genes using RNA-seq data. Additionally, molecular docking confirmed the binding interactions between these DlDOFs and the DOF binding sites in the promoter regions of IMR genes. The co-expression relationship between the two gene sets was further validated using q-PCR experiments. This study paves the way for research into iron metabolism pathways in bamboo and lays the foundation for understanding the role of DOF transcription factors in D. latiflorus.

Information regarding physiological and molecular plant responses to the treatment with new biofertilizers is limited. In this study a fast-composting soil amendment (FCA), obtained from solid waste by means of a Fenton reaction, was tested to evaluate the effects on the growth of Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia seedlings. Growth rate, leaves and roots biomass, chlorophyll concentration and total soluble proteins of seedlings treated with the 2% FCA soil amendment showed significant increase in comparison with control seedlings. Leaf proteomic analysis revealed that the FCA soil amendment induced the up-regulation of proteins belonging to photosynthesis machinery, carbohydrate metabolism and promoted the up-regulation of the water stress response. Root proteomics indicated that FCA strongly induced the organs morphogenesis and developments; root cap development, lateral root formation, post-embryonic root morphogenesis were the main biological processes enriched by the treatment. Overall, our data suggest that addition of FCA formulation to the base soils might ameliorate plant growth by inducing carbohydrates primary metabolism and the differentiation of a robust root system.

In this work, we report the synthesis of a new thiosemicarbazone-based drug of N'-(di(pyridin-2-yl)methylene)-4-(thiazol-2-yl)piperazine-1-carbothiohydrazide (HL) featuring a thiazole spectator for the efficient coordination with Cu(II) to give [CuCl(L)]2 (1) and [Cu(NO3)(L)]2 (2). Both 1 and 2 exhibit dimeric structures ascribed to the presence of di-2-pyridylketone moieties that demonstrate dual functions of chelation and intermolecular bridging. HL, 1 and 2 are highly toxic against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines Hep-G2, PLC/PRF/5, and HuH-7, with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values as low as 3.26 nmol/mL (HL), 2.18 nmol/mL (1), and 2.54 × 10−5 nmol/mL (2) for PLC/PRF/5. While the free ligand HL may elicit its anticancer effect via sequestration of bio-relevant metal ions (i.e. Fe3+ and Cu2+), 1 and 2 are also capable of generating cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit cancer cell proliferation. Our preliminary pharmacokinetic studies revealed that oral administration (per os, PO) of HL has a significantly longer half-life t1/2 of 21.61 ± 9.4 h, nearly doubled as compared to that of the intravenous (i.v.) administration of 11.88 ± 1.66 h, certifying HL as an effective chemotherapeutic drug via PO administration.

The low water solubility of any pharmacoactive molecules limits their pharmacological potential but the solubility parameter cannot compromise, so different approaches are employed to enhance their bioavailability. Pharmaceutically active molecules with low solubility convey a higher risk of failure for drug innovation and development. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and several other parameters, such as drug distribution, protein binding and absorption, are majorly affected by their solubility. Among all pharmaceutical dosage forms, the oral dosage forms cover more than 50 %, and the drug molecule should be water-soluble. For good therapeutic activity by the drug molecule on the target site, solubility and bioavailability are crucial factors. The pharmaceutical industry screening programs identified that around 40% of new chemical entities (N.C.E.s) face various difficulties at the formulation and development step. These pharmaceuticals are attributed to their less solubility and bioavailability. The bioavailability and drug solubility enhancement are significant challenges in the area of pharmaceutical formulations. According to the Classification of Biopharmaceutics, Class II and IV drugs (APIs) exhibits poor solubility, lower bioavailability, and less dissolution. Various technologies are discussed in this article to improve the solubility of the poorly water-soluble drug, for example, complexation of active molecules, utilization of emulsion formation, micelles, microemulsions, cosolvents, polymeric micelles preparation, particle size reduction technologies, pharmaceutical salts, prodrugs, solid-state alternation technique, soft gel technology, drug nanocrystals, solid dispersion methods, crystal engineering techniques and nanomorph technology. This review mainly describes several other advanced methodologies for solubility and bioavailability enhancement, such as crystal engineering, micronization, solid dispersions, nano sizing, use of cyclodextrins, solid lipid nanoparticles, colloidal drug delivery systems and drug conjugates, by some appropriate research reports.

Many approaches have been developed over time to counter the bioavailability limitations of poorly soluble drugs. With advances in nanotechnology in recent decades, science and industry have been approaching this issue through the formulation of drugs as nanocrystals, which consist of pure drugs and a minimum of surface active agents required for stabilization. They are carrier-free submicron colloidal drug delivery systems with a mean particle size in the nanometer range, typically between 10 and 800 nm. By reducing particle size to nanoscale, the particle surface area available for the molecule dissolution in the direction of dissolution medium is increased, and thus bioavailability is enhanced. This approach has proven successful, as demonstrated by the number of such drug products on the market. R&D and industry have offered many technological solutions to reduce the particle size to nanoscale, and also devised solutions for the handling of particle of nanodimensions, such as methods to accurately measure nanoparticle size and techniques to prevent physicochemical and stability related problems, such as aggregation. The present work provides an overview of the more recent achievements in improving the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs according to their administration route, and describes the methods developed to overcome physicochemical and stability related problems.

Chili peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) are economically important crop worldwide. Pepper yellow leaf cure Thailand virus (PepYLCTHV), a Begomovirus causing yellow leaf mosaic disease of chili pepper has been reported to damage 95% economic loss under favorable epidemic conditions. Thirty-one chili genotypes were screened for resistance to PepYLCTHV disease through challenge inoculation using 10-15 viruliferous whiteflies per plant. We purified two resistant lines (PEP6 and PEP12) through four generations of selfing and selection through challenged inoculations. At the 28 days after inoculations two chili genotypes showed symptoms less based on disease severity and percentage of disease incidence of 30 plants PEP6 showed a disease severity 3.64 with 69.33 % DI and PEP12 showed a disease severity 3.83 with 77.67 % DI. PEP6 and PEP12 were selected for pure-line development for four cycles.Both varieties showed an increase in percentage of the resistant plant 12.78 % and 16.77 %, respectively. These lines have potential for release as resistant lines for improvement chili pepper resistance to PepYLCTHV and for developing maker associated with the resistant trait.

This paper examines the importance of choice of cooking fuels in wellbeing, analysing relationships between the proportion of population with primary reliance on different types of fuels for cooking (predictor variable), and key wellbeing indices (outcome variables) - Personal Health, Social Life, Civic Engagement, Life Evaluation, Negative Experience. By combining two global datasets from Gallup and WHO, the study adds to current evidence by taking a global perspective. Controlling for demographic factors such as income per capita, age, education level, employment, etc., regression modelling of these relationships show that clean cooking fuels are influential in all of the key wellbeing indices with the exception of the Life Evaluation Index. Among the key wellbeing indices, Personal Health and Negative Experience Indices are the most strongly influenced by choice of clean cooking fuels. By adding access to electricity as an additional predictor variable, the analysis highlights the potential for integrating eCooking into national electrification plans as part of sustainable energy transitions, given that health outcomes (Personal health and Negative experience indices) appear to be as closely linked to choice of cooking fuels as to access to electricity.

In numerous instances, the fate of a single cell not only represents its peculiar outcome but also contributes to the overall status of an organism. In turn, cell division cycle and its control strongly influence cell destiny playing a critical role in targeting it towards a specific phenotype. Several factors participate to the control of growth and among them p27 and p57, two proteins modulating various transitions of cell cycle, appear to play key functions. In this review, the major features of p27 and p57 will be described, focusing in particular on their recently identified roles not directly correlated to cell cycle modulation. Then, their possible role as molecular effectors of polyphenols activities are discussed. Polyphenols represent a large family of natural bioactive molecules that have been demonstrated to play promising protective activities against several human diseases. Their use has also been proposed in association with classical therapies for ameliorating their clinical effects and for diminishing their negative side activities. The importance of p27 and p57 in polyphenol cellular effects will be discussed with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of important human diseases, such as cancers, characterized by an altered control of growth.

Microencapsulation of polyherbal formulation (PHF) extract was carried out by freeze drying method, by employing gum arabic (GA), gelatin (GE), and maltodextrin (MD) with their designated different combinations as encapsulating wall materials. Antioxidant components (i.e total phenolic contents (TPC),Total flavonoids contents (TFC), and total condensed contents (TCT)), antioxidant activity (i.e. DPPH, β-carotene & ABTS⁺ assays), moisture contents, water activity (aw), solubility, hygroscopicity, glass transition temperature (T_g), particle size, morphology, in vitro alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibition and bioavailability ratios of the powders were investigated. Amongst all encapsulated products, T_B (5% GA and 5% MD) and T_C (10% GA) has proven to be the best treatments with respect to the highest preservation of antioxidant components and their antioxidant potential by DPPH and β-carotene assays and noteworthy for an ABTS⁺ assays, in addition, the aforesaid treatments also demonstrated lower moisture content, aw, particle size and higher solubility, hygroscopicity and glass transition temperature (T_g). All freeze dried samples showed irregular (asymmetrical) microcrystalline structures. Furthermore, T_B and T_C also illustrated the highest in vitro anti-diabetic potential due to great potency for inhibiting alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase activities. In the perspective of bioavailability, T_A, T_B and T_C demonstrated the excellent bioavailability ratios (%).Futhermore, the phytochemo-profiling of ethanolic extract of PHF was also revealed to find out the bioactive compounds.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating compound extracted from Cannabis sativa, showing antidepressant-like effects in different rodent models. However, inconsistent results have been described depending on the species and the strain used to assess depressive-like behaviour. Moreover, only a few studies have investigated the effect of CBD in female rodents. Therefore, we aimed to i) investigate the effects of CBD in two different strains of mice (Swiss and C57BL/6) and in a rat model of depression based on selective breeding (Flinders Sensitive and Resistant Lines, FSL and FRL) subjected to tests predictive of antidepressant-like effects; and ii) investigate the influence of sex in the effects of CBD in both mice and rats. CBD induced an antidepressant-like effect in male Swiss but not in female Swiss or C57BL/6 mice in the tail suspension test (TST). In male FSL rats, CBD produced an antidepressant-like effect one-hour post-injection. However, in female FSL, CBD induced a bimodal effect, increasing the immobility time at one hour and decreasing it at two hours. Ketamine produced an antidepressant-like effect in male and female FSL rats at different doses. In conclusion, strain, sex, and administration time affect CBD's behavioural response to rodents exposed to tests predictive of antidepressant effects.

Lactic acid (LA) is a significant byproduct in Baijiu fermentation, with both D(-)-lactic acid (D(-)-LA) and L-lactic acid (L(+)-LA) being present due to the diverse microbial metabolism involved. L(+)-LA, a key industrial raw material, is metabolizable by humans, unlike D(-)-LA. This study aims to isolate microorganisms from fermented grains that preferentially produce L(+)-LA and apply these strains to Baijiu fermentation processes. We analyzed 106 commercially available Baijiu samples, along with fermented grains, yellow water, and Baijiu samples from 10 Baijiu factories, confirming the coexistence of D(-)-LA and L(+)-LA in fermentation products. Notably, a strong correlation was found between L(+)-LA in fermented grains and L-ethyl lactate (L(+)-EL) in Baijiu. Microbial community analysis revealed that Lactobacillus and Bacillus were the dominant bacterial groups, with a succession of microbial communities throughout fermentation. Two strains, A6 and B12, identified as Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus cereus, respectively, were isolated for their high selectivity in L(+)-LA production. Both strains demonstrated a high yield of L(+)-LA in fermentation tests. Incorporating these strains into both liquid- and solid-state fermentation systems markedly increased the proportion of L(+)-EL relative to total ethyl lactate in Baijiu. This study successfully isolated and applied L(+)-LA-producing strains to fermentation models, offering a practical strategy for increasing L(+)-LA content in Baijiu.

In recent years, the demand for coffee has increased tremendously. During the production process, green coffee beans are traditionally screened manually for defective beans before they are packed into coffee bean packages; however, this method is not only time-consuming but also increases the rate of human error due to fatigue. Therefore, this paper proposed a lightweight deep convolutional neural network (LDCNN) for the quality detection system of green coffee beans, which combined depthwise separable convolution (DSC), squeeze-and-excite block (SE block), skip block, and other frameworks. To avoid the influence of low parameters of the lightweight model caused by the model training process, rectified Adam (RA), lookahead (LA), and gradient centralization (GC) were included to improve efficiency; the model was also put into the embedded system. Finally, the local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) model was employed to explain the predictions of the model. The experimental results indicated that the accuracy rate of the model could reach up to 98.38% and the F1 score could be as high as 98.24% when detecting the quality of green coffee beans. Hence, it can obtain higher accuracy, lower computing time, and lower parameters. Moreover, the interpretable model verified that the lightweight model in this work is reliable, providing the basis for screening personnel to understand the judgment through its interpretability, thereby improving the classification and prediction of the model.

In the international scenario of agriculture, Brazil stands out as the main producer and consumer of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) The increase in the productive potential of the crop is mainly due to breeding programs. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters, predict genotypic values with REML/BLUP (Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) and, based on these values, study the variability in common bean cultivars with carioca and black grain. Twenty three agromorphological descriptors were evaluated, among them grain yield. Deviance analysis detected significant differences between the cultivars in both groups. Selective accuracy (Ac) was considered high for most of the traits. Broad-sense heritability (h_g² ) ranged from 0.05 to 0.72, but it was low for the trait yield (YLD). In the carioca grain group, the h_g² values for the traits related to plant morphology were higher than in the black group. Nevertheless, the h_g² values in the black group were higher in relation to the pod and seed traits. The correlations for YLD were moderate but different in the two commercial groups studied. In the black group, variables related to the seed morphology were correlated with grain yield, and in the carioca group, traits related to seed quantity. Based on the groupings, variability among the cultivars was observed. Three distinct clusters were formed for the carioca group and four for the black group. Based on the predicted genetic values, genetic variability and the most adapted and stable cultivars were detected among the cultivars in the studied environments.

Chronological frameworks based on artefact typologies are essential for interpreting the archaeological record, but they inadvertently treat transitions between phases as abrupt events and disregard the temporality of transformation processes within and between individual phases. This study presents an absolute chronological investigation of a dynamic material culture from Early Iron Age urnfields in Denmark. The chronological framework of Early Iron Age in Southern Scandinavia is largely unconstrained by absolute dating, primarily due to it coinciding with the so-called ‘Hallstatt calibration plateau’ (c.750 to 400 cal BC), and it is difficult to correlate it with Central European chronologies due to a lack of imported artefacts. This study applies recent methodological advances in radiocarbon dating and Bayesian chronological modelling, specifically a statistical model for wood-age offsets in cremated bone and presents the first large-scale radiocarbon investigation of regional material culture from Early Iron Age in Southern Jutland, Denmark. Dated material is primarily cremated bone from 111 cremation burials from three urnfields. The study presents absolute date ranges for 16 types of pottery and 15 types of metalwork, which include most of the recognised metalwork types from the period. This provides new insights into gradual change in material culture, when certain artefact types were in production and primary use, how quickly types were taken up and later abandoned, and distinguishing periods of faster and slower change. The study also provides the first absolute chronology for the period, enabling correlation with chronologies from other regions. Urnfields were introduced at the Bronze-Iron Age transformation, which is often assumed to have occurred c.530-500 BC. We demonstrate that this transformation took place in the 7^th century BC, however, which revives the discussion of whether the final Bronze Age period VI should be interpreted as a transitional phase to the Iron Age.

This case report describes the successful repair of a radial bone fracture and skin defect in a dog using an ulnar bone graft and an advancement flap. A one-year-old spayed female Poodle dog weighing 1.7 kg was brought in with non-weight-bearing lameness, an open wound, and a frac-ture in the right forelimb. The dog had fallen off the bicycle being ridden by its owner, causing its right forelimb to be caught in the wheel. The treatment included surgical debridement of the necrotic tissue, skin reconstruction with an advancement flap, and radial bone reconstruction with an ulnar bone graft, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), humeral cancellous bone and a ti-tanium T-shaped plate. Postoperative management included antibiotics, pain medication, and activity restriction. The dog made a good recovery and was able to bear weight on the affected limb four months after surgery.

In an era where dietary habits significantly impact health, technological interventions can offer personalized and accessible food choices. This paper introduces Chef Dalle, a recipe recommen-dation system that leverages multimodal human-computer interaction (HCI) techniques to pro-vide personalized cooking guidance. The application integrates voice-to-text conversion via Whisper, ingredient image recognition through GPT-Vision, and employs TF-IDF vectorization alongside cosine similarity for personalized recipe recommendations. These methods enable users to interact with the system using voice, text, or images, accommodating various dietary re-strictions and preferences. Furthermore, the utilization of DALL-E 3 for generating recipe images enhances user engagement. User feedback mechanisms allow for the refinement of future rec-ommendations, demonstrating the system's adaptability. Chef Dalle showcases potential appli-cations ranging from home kitchens to grocery stores and restaurant menu customization, ad-dresses accessibility, promoting healthier eating habits. This paper underscores the significance of multimodal HCI in enhancing culinary experiences, setting a precedent for future developments in the field.

Background: In response to inflammation, the absorption of nutritional iron is restricted. Multiple inflammation-related signaling pathways can lead to ferroptosis, an iron-dependent mechanism of programmed cell death. Since the pathophysiological significance of the presence and uptake of iron in chronic inflammation is still unknown, we tested the effect of a low iron diet on the clinical course of arthritis in the mouse model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Methods: Six- to eight-week-old male DBA/1 mice were fed either a normal or a low iron diet starting three weeks before arthritis induction. From day four after the collagen-booster made on day 25, the development of arthritis was regularly monitored until the end of the experiment (day 34), using a standard clinical arthritis score. The complete blood count was determined as well as Fe2+, Fe3+, oxidized and reduced glutathione (GSH and GSSG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in whole paw tissue by ELISA. Quantitative PCR was performed from whole paw tissue for glutathione peroxidase 4 and other key regulator genes of iron metabolism and ferroptosis. We used nonparametric tests to com-pare markers of iron metabolism and ferroptosis as well as nonlinear regression models for longitu-dinal data for signs of arthritis. Results: Mice fed a low iron diet showed a significantly less severe course of arthritis compared to mice fed a normal iron diet (p

Excess nitrogen in agricultural drainage poses a serious threat to the water quality safety of the Yellow River basin. Utilizing aquatic plants to modify the rhizosphere microbial community structure and facilitate nitrogen transformation is a crucial strategy for mitigating regional water eutrophication. Our results revealed that the denitrification rate (DR), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium rate (DNRAR) and nitrogen fixation rate (NFR) of rhizosphere sediments exhibited a significant increase in artificially cultivated ditch. Compared with those in natural ditches, the richness of the bacterial community and the relative abundances of Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota, Firmicutes, Anaeromyxobacter and Geobacter, which are involved mainly in the nitrogen cycle, in the rhizosphere sediments of artificially cultivated ditch were significantly greater due to improvements in environmental conditions. In artificially cultivated ditch, the dominant functional genes affecting DRNARs in the rhizosphere sediments of P. australis were nrfC and nrfA, while DRs were driven mainly by norB and napA, which were influenced by the nitrogen and carbon levels; and the dominant functional genes affecting NFRs in the rhizosphere sediments of T. orientalis were nifD, nifK and nifH. Our results provide a scientific basis for the use of aquatic plants for mitigating excess nitrogen levels in agricultural drainage.