Salt stress is a major limiting factor for alfalfa yield due to its relatively low salt tolerance. High soil salinity adversely impacts alfalfa growth and development, leading to reduced yield. Melatonin (MT) is known to play a significant role in enhancing plant resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated abiotic stress responses, particularly salt stress, are not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study focusing on germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress. Physiological indexes and transcriptomics analyses were carried out on the germinated seeds to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions. Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress. Moreover, key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were enhanced, while levels of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased. Transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes in the salt-treated group, with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes, while the MT-treated group showed 2896 differentially expressed genes, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated. Further, KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of differentially expressed genes in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism, and the MAPK signaling pathway, with these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group. These findings collectively suggest that melatonin plays a crucial role in alfalfa's response to salt stress and offer new insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated salt tolerance in alfalfa.

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that lead to crop yield reduction worldwide. Melatonin (MT), an endogenous hormone synthesized in plants, plays an important role in responding to abiotic stimuli such as drought, salinity, heat, cold, etc. However, the molecular mechanisms of MT-mediated abiotic stresses remain to be better understood. In order to explore the key genes and pathways of melatonin in alleviating salt stress, physiological and biochemical indicators as well as transcriptomics profile were conducted in alfalfa seedlings. The results showed that the germination rate, bud length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings added with melatonin were higher than those treated with salt alone. In addition, Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide anion (O2-) contents also displayed a decreasing trend. The activity and content of Superoxide dismutase (SOD)、peroxidase (POD) and Glutathione (GSH) increased to varying degrees. In order to further reveal the molecular mechanism of MT-mediated salt tolerance of alfalfa, transcriptome analysis was performed on alfalfa seedlings. 2,181 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the salt-treated group, including 780 upregulated genes and 1,401 down-regulated genes, while 4,422 DEGs were obtained in the MT group, among which 1,438 were upregulated and 2,984 were downregulated. By using GO functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment, we found that DEGs were mainly enriched in the biosynthesis of flavonoids, isoflavones, plant hormones, Glutathione (GSH), soluble sugars and other substances, as well as in the ABC transporter and MAPK signaling pathways. Among them, the DEGs in the MT group was more enriched in these pathways, suggesting that MT can combat salt stress by regulating the expression of genes related to phytohormone and antioxidant capacity, which has important reference value for the breeding of salt-tolerant alfalfa and other crops.

In this study, global response analysis was performed to explore the mechanism of action of Usnic acid and its synergy with Norfloxacin, a well-known quinolone antibiotic to which MRSA clinical isolates showed resistance (MIC, 500 µg/mL). Microdilution assay, growth kinetics, microscopic analysis, and cell-based assays consistently showed that Usnic acid possess strong anti-staphylococcal activity (MIC, 7.8 µg/ml), causes cell leakage, modulates efflux pump activity, and synergizes with Norfloxacin against multi-drug resistant clinical isolate MRSA 2071. Whole cell proteome profiling using gel-free based nano-LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS revealed several proteins whose expression was significantly modulated by Usnic acid and Norfloxacin alone or in combination. Usnic acid downregulated the abundance of RNA polymerase subunits (RpoB, RpoC), carbamoyl phosphate synthase large subunit (PyrAB), chaperone (GroEL), and adenylosuccinate synthetase (PurA). Interestingly, proteins found to be upregulated in the presence of Usnic acid and Norfloxacin included oxidative stress-related proteins such as peroxidase (Tpx), alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AphC), and general stress protein (UspA). This study clearly showed that Usnic acid affects numerous cellular targets and can potentiate the action of Norfloxacin. Furthermore, an in-vivo study emphasized the use of Usnic acid to develop as a safe phytopharmaceutical to repurpose old antibiotics through combination therapy against MRSA infections.

Cinnamomum tamala leaf (CTL), also known as tejpat and Indian bay leaf, is used all over the world for seasoning, flavouring, and medicinal purposes. Numerous researchers are interested in exploring the nutritional and medicinal benefits of CTL due to their potential as nutraceuticals. These characteristics could be explained by the presence of several essential bioactive substances and lipid derivatives. There are no reports available on this species about its metabolites profile. In this work, rapid screen and identify chemical compounds in supercritical (SC)-CO2 extracts of CTL by use of UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE with multivariate statistical analysis approach was established in both negative and positive mode. As a results, a total of 166 compounds, including 66 monocarboxylic fatty acids, 52 dicarboxylic fatty acids, 27 fatty acid amides, and 21 others were tentatively identified based on accurate mass, and the mass spectrometric fragmentation pattern, out of which 142 compounds are common and found in all five CTL extracts. They displayed robust [M+H]+ and/or [M-H]- ions in both low- and high-energy collision-induced dissociations (CIDs). Based on chemical profiling and chemometric analysis, CTL4 (300bar/55°C) extract was found significantly more potent in other CTL’s extracts. A new mono- and di-carboxylic fatty acids, fatty acid amides and other essential bioactive compounds were separated within 20 min runtime and identified in CTL for the first time. The combination of UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE and chemometric analysis is a powerful method to rapidly screen the metabolites profile for the quality control of C. tamala leaf.

In Germany, the phloem sucking planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) currently represents the epidemiological driver for the spread of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” in sugar beet, which results in a reduced sugar content and an economic loss for the farmers. This disease is associated with the γ-proteobacterium ‘Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus’ and the Stolbur phytoplasma ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. Recently, P. leporinus was found in potato fields in Germany associated with Stolbur-like symptoms in this crop. In this study, we confirmed that the vector completes its lifecycle on sugar beet as well as on potato when reared under controlled conditions. Transmission experiments with adults of this vector combined with molecular analyses showed for the first time that both pathogens are transmitted by this vector to potato. For an accurate assessment of the Ca. P. solani and Ca. A. phytopathogenicus titers in the vector and host plants, gBlocks derived from the hsp20- and 16S rRNA gene were employed, respectively. For Ca. P. solani the limit of detection was determined in potato and sugar beet material. The results of this study will further research on the epidemiology of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” and “Stolbur” diseases and the response of host plants and vector insects to both pathogens.

Vernonia mespilifolia is widely used in folk medicine in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological activity of the acetone, aqueous and ethanol extracts of Vernonia mespilifolia using brine shrimp hatchability and lethality assay. The result showed hatching success in this order: aqueous extract (48.6%) > acetone extract (38.2%) > ethanol extract (26.8%). The LC₅₀ of the lethality assay were in this order: acetone extract (67.8 µg/mL) > aqueous extract (132 µg/mL) > ethanol extract (383 µg/mL). According to Meyer’s toxicity index (using brine shrimps), LC₅₀ < 1000 µg/ mL is toxic. Therefore, the results of the three solvent extracts could be said to be toxic as do have LC₅₀ < 1000 µg/ mL. However, the toxicity of the crude extracts could suggest or confer some antitumor properties, hence further in vitro, in vivo and antitumour assays are recommended to further substantiate these claims.

The serendipitous discovery of antiparasitic drugs, such as quinine and artemisinin from plant origin reveals that the search for new chemical pharmacophores from medicinal plants is valuable. The present study sought to explore the antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, and antitrypanosomal activities of extracts from Lippia adoensis. Crude extracts of L. adoensis leaves and twigs, which were obtained by extraction using 70% ethanol in water, were assayed for antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum 3D7 and Dd2 through the SYBR green I-based fluorescence assay; and for antileishmanial, antitrypanosomal, and cytotoxic effects on Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, and Vero cells, respectively, using the resazurin colorimetric assays. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts was performed using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) feature-based detection and molecular networking flow on Global Natural Product Social (GNPS). As a result, the crude extracts from L. adoensis inhibited growth of P. falciparum (3D7 and Dd2) (IC50s; (3D7): 10.008 and 97.467 μg/mL; (Dd2): 29.48 and 26.96 μg/mL), L. Donovani (IC50s: 22.879-10.522 μg/mL), and T. brucei brucei (IC50s: 2.3085-55.06 μg/mL). The extracts were found to be non-cytotoxic to Vero cells, thus yielding median cytotoxic concentrations (CC50s) above 100 μg/mL. The LC-MS tandem molecular networking flow predicted that the extracts contain valsafungin A and bacillamidin on the first cluster, and fatty acids, ketone and aldehyde derivatives on the second cluster. Overall, the present study demonstrated the antiparasitic effects of L. adoensis extracts, thus justifying the use of this plant in the traditional treatment of fever and malaria conditions. Nevertheless, detailed metabolomic studies and antiparasitic mechanisms of action of the extracts are expected to unveil the potential antiparasitic hit compounds.

Changes in the dates of phenological phases of plants and insects reflect changes in climate. The aim of the study was to determine the phenological patterns and interrelationships of spring-flowering entomophilous plants (Corylus avellana L., Alnus incana Moench., Tussilago farfara L., Salix caprea L., Acer platanoides L., Taraxacum officinale L., Prunus L., Malus domestica Mill.) and the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) in response to climate change. The research was carried out at Vokė Branch of the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, using data from phenological observations during 1961–2020. The results of the studies showed that over a 60-year period, a trend towards earlier dates of all phenological events studied was observed. Significant and larger-scale changes occurred starting from the decade 1981–1990. Throughout the entire study period, with the exception of one decade, the dates of honeybee emergence on flowers correlated reliably with the dates of entomophilous plant phenophases. Due to the advance of plants phenophase dates the synchrony with honeybee emergence dates changes however, these changes had a positive effect on the foraging conditions of overwintering honeybees.

The present study aimed at investigating the in vitro and in vivo susceptibility of malaria parasites to crude extracts and fractions from Polyalthia suaveolens, Uvaria angolensis, and Monodora tenuifolia. The ethanolic extracts were prepared by maceration, and were further partitioned using water, dichloromethane, hexane, and methanol. The most promising fraction was subjected to column chromatography and the sub-fractions tested for activity in vitro. The antiplasmodial effect of extracts and fractions was tested against the Chloroquine resistant (PfK1) strain in 96 wells microtiter plate format using SYBR green florescence assay. The promising fraction was further assessed for cytotoxicity and acute toxicity in Swiss albino mice and subsequently against the rodent malaria parasite, P. berghei. Qualitative phytochemical screening was also performed on the promising fraction. The methanol fractions exerted the overall better effect with that of the twigs of P. suaveolens (PStw(Ace)) showing the highest potency with a IC50 value of 3.24 µg/mL followed by the fractions of leaf of M. tenuifolia (MoTel(Ace), IC50= 3.84 µg/ml) and stem bark of P. suaveolens (IC50= 4.90 µg/ml). The phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, lactones, and phenols in the more active fraction of P. suaveolens (PStw(Ace)). The chromatographic fractionation of this fraction led to 12 sub-fractions with PS8 sub-fraction being the most active (IC50= 4.42 µg/mL). In vivo, oral administration of 2000 mg/kg b.w of fraction PStw(Ace) in mice showed no signs of toxicity. Also, fraction PStw(Ace) at 400 mg/kg b.w exerted the highest suppressive effect against P. berghei strain B throughout the 4 days experiment (% parasitaemia below 5.2%). Overall, the results achieved supported the use of the three plants in the traditional treatment of malaria in Cameroon. More interestingly, the methanolic fraction of the twigs extract from P. suaveolens might be of interest in future development of an antimalarial phytodrug.

The formula Chong-Lou-Yao-Fang (CLYF) is an herbal medicinal formulation developed by the indigenous Naxi people for treating liver cancer. This study is to reveal the biological activity, potential targets, and molecular mechanisms of CLYF for cancer treatment through network pharmacology, molecular docking and in vitro experiments. 35 key compounds were screened from 176 active ingredients in CLYF, which played a vital role in the treatment of cancer, 20 core targets were filtered through protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. The enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) indicated that PI3K-Akt, MAPK, hepatitis B, hepatitis C might be effective in liver cancer treatment. Mo-lecular docking revealed stable binding between EGFR, TP53, and AKT1 with active ingredients. Experiments with cell cultures confirmed that CLYF-A suppressed the proliferation of HepG2 cells, which is consistent with the network pharmacology approach undertaken and the predictions of molecular docking. CLYF-A also induced significant apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cells, which was associated with the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. This study explored the biological activity, potential targets, and molecular mechanisms of CLYF for cancer treatment. Our results may provide a scientific basis for the clinical use of CLYF for cancer treatment and have important implications for developing pharmaceutical preparations, which also need more phar-macological experiments.

Zanthoxylum armatum is an forest tree with apomixis characteristic, and RWP-RKs are plant-specific transcription factors known to regulate nitrogen response and embryonic development. However, the genome-wide analysis of RWP-RK family genes in Z.armatum is unclear. In this study, 36 ZaRWP-RK transcription factors were identified in the genome of Z.armatum, among which 15 genes were belonged to the RKD subfamily and 21 belonged to the NLP subfamily. Duplication events of ZaRWP-RK genes were mainly segmental duplication, and synteny analysis revealed close phylogenetic relationship between Z.armatum and Arabidopsis. The analysis of cis-elements indicated that ZaRWP-RK genes may be involved in the regulation of embryonic development of Z.armatum by responding to plant hormones such as abscisic acid, auxin, and gibberellin. Real-time PCR showed that the expression levels of most ZaRWP-RK genes were significantly increased from flowers to young fruits. Protein-protein interaction network analysis further revealed the potential roles of the ZaRWP-RK proteins in apomixis. Collectively, this study provide a theoretical basis for future investigations into the ZaRWP-RK genes and their regulatory mechanisms in the apomixis process of Z.armatum.

Taking into account modern technologies in the mining industry and in the processing of industrial waste, we propose to reprocess cemented low- and intermediate level radioactive waste by extracting all chemical compounds from them. Because of the low cost of space flights in the near future, we propose to use chemical compounds, extracted from radioactive waste, in the production of space electronics and structural materials for automatic space probes and rovers. At the same time, since nano- and micro powders, as well as composites with these fillers, are widely used today in electronics and technology, including in the space industry, the production of radioactive powders and composites will provide new scientific results in the field of materials science and solid-state physics, since nothing is known today about the properties of radioactive powders and composites containing radioactive sources inside.

Honey bee colonies rapidly decline when confined to greenhouses, increasing pollination rental costs as they need to be replaced frequently. We tested a hive system with entrances that can be manipulated to direct bees to inside or outside greenhouses containing a zucchini crop. In one greenhouse, the bees could only forage inside for 15 days; in another, bees were directed to the inside from 5 to 9 AM, after which they foraged outside. This procedure was repeated two more times in each greenhouse with new hives. Data was collected on how the number of bee flower visits affected fruit production, the frequency of flower visits, and the amount of bee brood and food in the hives. Flowers visited by bees four times or more set more and larger fruit. The frequency of flower visits by bees from the hives confined to the greenhouse was reduced after eight days; it was not reduced in the greenhouse with bees that could forage outside. Bee brood area was reduced in the colonies that were confined to the greenhouse, while it was maintained in the semiconfined hives. The hive system with controllable entrances proved effective for pollination, while causing less damage to the bees.

A method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) was developed for quantitative analysis of five active compounds and chemical fingerprint analysis of Rosa rugosa. Ten batches of Rosa rugosa collected from different plantations in the Xinjiang region of China were used to establish the fingerprint. The feasibility and advantages of the used UPLC fingerprint were verified for its similarity evaluation by systematically comparing chromatograms with professional analytical software recommended by State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) of China. In quantitative analysis, the five compounds showed good regression (R²=0.999 5) within the test ranges and the recovery of the method was in the range of 94.2–103.8%. The similarities of the fingerprints of 10 batches of the samples were more than 0.981. The developed UPLC fingerprint method is simple, reliable and validated for the quality control and identification of Rosa rugosa. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of five major bioactive ingredients in the Rosa rugosa samples was conducted to interpret the consistency of the quality test. The results indicated that the UPLC fingerprint as a characteristic distinguishing method combining similarity evaluation and quantification analysis, can be successfully used to assess the quality and to identify the authenticity of Rosa rugosa.

Diarrhea remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, especially among children. Recent epidemiological studies conducted in developing countries identified Shigella species as the most predominant pathogenic bacteria responsible for diarrhea. Antimicrobial therapy is necessary for Shigella infections; however, the rapid emergence of resistance against existing antimicrobials in Shigella spp. poses a serious global health problem. To identify alternative antimicrobial compounds with activity against Shigella species, the pathogens responsible for bacterial diarrhea. In this study, we have applied antibacterial phenotypic screening to identify potent anti-Shigella compounds across a broad chemical diversity, including selected acetaminophen derivatives containing benzothiazoles backbone, and their combination with certain antibiotics. In continuation to our effort in searching potent antimicrobial compounds, we have found this time around that two acetaminophen derivatives containing benzothiazoles backbone (4a and 4b) could inhibit the growth of Shigella flexneri with common MIC value of 12.5 µg/ml. These compounds were established through a time-kill kinetics’ study to be bactericidal. Meanwhile, the 2-aminobenzothiazoles (1a and 1b) used for the synthesis of compounds 4 (a & b) were found to be poorly active (MIC: 100 µg/ml) against this pathogen. Combination studies of 4a and 4b with the least susceptible antibiotics (ceftriaxone and cotrimoxazole) demonstrated synergistic anti-Shigella activity. The present study demonstrates that the azobenzothiazole dyes 4 (a & b) can be repurposed as potential anti-Shigella compounds, which can serve as scaffolds for the development of new agents against infectious diarrhea caused by Shigella and other enteric pathogens, especially in developing countries.

Microsporidia are intracellular parasites infecting a wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates. In bees, they cause a diarrheal disease called nosematosis, which represents a growing problem contributing to the decline of bee colonies. This parasitic disease infects the gastrointestinal tract of bees, disrupts their immune system, weakens them, and shortens their lifespan. There are two known species of this microsporidial parasite with a global distribution: Vairimorpha apis and Vairimorpha ceranae, with current research indicating that the species V. ceranae is gradually replacing V. apis. In this study, we focused on the detection and occurrence of Vairimorpha spp. in bee colonies kept in different environments, as well as on comparing the impact of hive location on its occurrence. The methods used included sampling from winter bee carcasses, microscopic examination of bee gut contents, and subsequent molecular duplex PCR analysis. Altogether, we examined 82 hives located at 4 different sites and focused on the impact of transportation as an abiotic factor disturbing bees leading to the development of Vairimorpha spp. disease. The results indicate an increased occurrence of this parasite in hives located in urban sites and hives situated in intravillage locations, which may be attributed to transportation and associated vibrations as an abiotic stress factor. Detection revealed that all samples were positive for Vairimorpha ceranae.

Metabolites present in the hemolymph of honey bees play a crucial role in modulating the metamorphic process within the species. However, the precise alterations in metabolite composition, along with the associated variances and regulatory pathways implicated during the larvae-to-pupae metamorphosis of honey bees, remain incompletely elucidated. In this investigation, we gathered hemolymph samples from honey bee larvae at three distinct physiological stages-feeding, prepupal, and pupae and subjected them to metabolite analysis utilizing the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technique. Employing principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), we identified significant differential metabolites and conducted a metabolic pathway analysis on those differentially up-regulated during the prepupal and pupae stages. Notably, metabolites up-regulated in the hemolymph of prepupal stage larvae primarily governed glucose metabolism and fat digestion and absorption, while those in pupae stage larvae were involved in regulating chitin and lipopolysaccharide precursor formation, as well as the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. These findings bear significant implications for advancing our comprehension of the metamorphic processes in honey bees.

P-band radar remote sensing applied during the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission has shown great potential for estimation of root zone soil moisture. When retrieving the soil moisture profile (SMP) from P-band radar, a mathematical function describing the vertical moisture distribution is required. Because only a limited number of observations are available, the number of free parameters of the mathematical model must not exceed the number of observed data. For example, a second order polynomial that contains 3 free parameters was presumed based on in-situ SMP data. The polynomial is currently parameterized based on 3 backscatter observations provided by AirMOSS (i.e. one frequency at three polarizations of HH, VV and HV). In this paper, a more realistic, physically-based SMP model containing 3 free parameters is derived based on a solution to Richards’ equation for unsaturated flow in soils. Evaluation of the new SMP model based on both numerical simulations and measured data revealed that it exhibits greater flexibility for fitting measured and simulated SMPs than the currently applied polynomial. It is also demonstrated that the new SMP model can be reduced to a second order polynomial at the expense of fitting accuracy.

Commercially cultivated Prunus species are commonly grown in adjacent or mixed orchards, and can be infected with unique or commonly shared viruses. Apple (Malus domestica), another member of the Rosacea and distantly related to Prunus, can share the same growing regions and common pathogens. Pollen can be a major route for virus transmission, and analysis of the pollen virome in tree fruit orchards can provide insights into these virus pathogen complexes from mixed production sites. Commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera) pollination is essential for improved fruit set and yield in tree fruit production systems. Here we describe the metagenomics-based detection of plant viruses through bee and pollen samples collected during the spring bloom period from a mixed Prunus and Malus orchard. Twenty-one unique viruses were detected in samples collected during apricot (Prunus armeniaca), sweet cherry (Prunus avium), peach (Prunus persica), and apple blooms. Ilarviruses prune dwarf virus (PDV) and prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), Secoviridae family members tomato necrotic ringspot virus, tobacco necrotic ringspot virus, and prunus virus F, and Capillovirus cherry virus A (CVA) were detected in all time points, while other viruses were detected with restricted ranges. These results demonstrate the benefits of area-wide monitoring through bee pollination activities, and provide new insights into the diversity of viruses in tree fruit pollination ecosystems.

Common rust (CR), caused by Puccina sorghi, is one of the major foliar diseases in maize, leading to quality deterioration and yield losses. To dissect the genetic architecture of CR resistance in maize, this study utilized the susceptible temperate inbred line Ye107 as the male parent crossed with three resistant tropical maize inbred lines (CML312, D39, and Y32) to generate 627 F7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), aiming to identify maize disease-resistant loci and candidate genes for common rust. Phenotypic data exhibited good segregation between resistance and susceptibility, with varying degrees of resistance observed across different subpopulations. Significant genotype effects and genotype × environment interactions were noted with heritability ranging from 85.7% to 92.2%. Linkage analysis and genome-wide association analysis across three environments identified 20 QTLs and 62 significant SNPs. Among them, seven major QTLs explained 66% of the phenotypic variance. Comparison with six SNPs repeatedly identified across different environments revealed overlap between qRUST3-3 and Snp-203,116,453, and Snp-204,202,469. Haplotype analysis indicated two significantly different haplotypes for CR resistance for both of these SNPs. Based on LD decay plots, three co-located candidate genes, namely Zm00001d043536, Zm00001d043566, and Zm00001d043569, were identified within 20 kb up-stream and downstream of these two SNPs. Zm00001d043536 regulates hormone regulation, Zm00001d043566 controls stomatal opening and closure, related to trichome, and Zm00001d043569 is associated with plant disease immune responses. Additionally, we performed candidate gene screening for five additional SNPs repeatedly detected across different environments, resulting in the identification of five candidate genes. These findings contribute to the development of genetic resources for common rust resistance in maize breeding programs.

Crop rotation diversification using legumes has been advocated as one of the solutions to improve the resilience of the crop system to various environmental stresses and the use of nitrogen resources. However, when forage legumes or grass-legumes are ploughed, there is a high risk of nitrate leaching, especially in sandy soils. The aim of the study was to determine the effect strip tillage intercropping management on soil mineral nitrogen (SMN), water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC) content and winter wheat (WW, Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield compared to forage legume and WW monocropping with conventional tillage. In intercropping was used winter wheat - black medick (Medicago lupulina L.) WW+BM, winter wheat - white clover (Trifolium repens L.) WW+WC, and winter wheat - Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) WW+EC. Research was repeated in two experiments. The results showed that after strip tillage and WW sowing less or similar SMN content cud be detected, as in conventional tillage and WW + forage legumes intercropping. WW grain yield in intercrops decreased, compared to the grasses monocultures that were ploughed before WW sowing. The highest amount of WEOC was in intercropping soil growing WW+WC or in all fields (except WW+EC) after applying strip tillage. During the research period, the amounts of mobile humic substances (HSs) and mobile humic acids (HAs) changed analogously. Their content increased substantially in fields with WC and EC, regardless of whether the grasses were ploughed or grown with WW.

Polyploidy means having more than two basic sets of chromosomes. Polyploid plants may be artificially obtained through chemical, physical and biological (2n gametes) methods. This approach allows an increased gene scope and expression, thus resulting in phenotypic changes such as yield and product quality. Nonetheless, breeding new cultivars through induced polyploidy should overcome deleterious effects that are partly contributed by genome and epigenome instability after polyploidization. Furthermore, shortening the time required from early chromosome set doubling to the final selection of high yielding superior polyploids is a must. Despite these hurdles, plant breeders have successfully obtained polyploid bred-germplasm in broad range of forages after optimizing methods, concentration and time, particularly when using colchicine. These experimental polyploids are a valuable tool for understanding gene expression, which seems to be driven by dosage dependent gene expression, altered gene regulation and epigenetic changes. Isozymes and DNA-based markers facilitated the identification of rare alleles for particular loci when compared with diploids, and also explained their heterozygosity, phenotypic plasticity and adaptability to diverse environments. Experimentally induced polyploid germplasm could enhance fresh herbage yield and quality, e.g. leaf protein content, leaf total soluble solids, water soluble carbohydrates and sucrose content. Offspring of experimentally obtained hybrids should undergo selection for several generations to improve their performance and stability.

Relationships of the three bryophyte lineages (liverworts, mosses, and hornworts) to vascular plants is a pivotal question in the study of origin and evolution of land plants. In recent decades, this question has been subject to intense phylogenetic analyses using morphological characters, multigene DNA sequences, and genome structural characters. A tentative consensus reached ten years ago suggested that bryophytes are a paraphyletic group, with liverworts being sister to all other land plants and hornworts being sister to vascular plants. However, several more recent nuclear phylogenomic studies have concluded that bryophytes represent a monophyletic group that is sister to vascular plants. A discussion is presented here on strengths and weaknesses of different types of characters (morphological traits, nucleotide sequences, and genome structural arrangements), and their suitability for resolving deep phylogenetic relationships. Moreover, several criteria for credible phylogenetic reconstruction are proposed. Strong statistical support for reconstructed relationships should be derived from high quality, independent characters selected for suitability to the particular question being addressed. The relationships inferred in a study should be congruent with those from as many other lines of phylogenetic evidence as possible. Any incongruities should be explicable by well-understood biological mechanisms. It is concluded that the relationships of the three bryophyte lineages to vascular plants should currently be viewed as unresolved. This is a difficult phylogenetic problem; the land plants underwent a rapid radiation a long time ago. Yet, further exploration of analytical methods and careful choice of characters should lead to eventual elucidation of diversification patterns among early land plants.

Pollen, a remarkably versatile natural compound collected by bees for its abundant source of proteins and nutrients, represents a rich reservoir of diverse bioactive compounds with noteworthy chemical and therapeutic potential. Its large range of biological effects has been known and exploited since ancient times. Today, there is an increased interest in finding natural compounds agaisnt oxidative stress, a factor that contributes to various diseases. Recent research has unraveled a multitude of biological activities associated with bee pollen, ranging from antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties to potential antiviral and anticancer applications. Comprehending the extensive repertoire of biological properties across various pollen sources remains a challenge. By investigating a spectrum of pollen types and their chemical composition, this review produces an updated analysis of the bioactive constituents and the therapeutic prospects they offer. The findings of this review emphasize the necessity for further exploration and standardization of diverse pollen sources and bioactive compounds that could contribute to the development of innovative therapies.

The effects of shade netting on the morphological and chemical composition (organic acids, sugars, total polyphenols, total and certain anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins) and in vitro antioxidant activity of raspberries and blackberries was conducted in the southeastern region of the Republic of North Macedonia. HPLC analysis confirmed a significant effect of shading nets on the amount of the most dominant anthocyanin in blackberries and raspberries. The amount of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in blackberries covered with shading nets was significantly higher in comparison to the amount of the same anthocyanins in uncovered blackberries. The same tendency was observed for cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside for covered and uncovered raspberries from 2023. However, an opposite relationship was noticed for total anthocyanin content in favor of uncovered blackberry and raspberry from 2023. From all examined organic acids, the amount of acetic acid was the most affected in covered raspberries. The shade netting had a significant influence on polyphenolic content (such as high molecular proanthocyanidins, total and particular anthocyanins), the amounts of sugars (glucose and fructose), and organic acids as well as the intensity of color in blackberry and raspberry. Although net shading significantly influenced particular phenolic compounds presented in examined berry fruits, antioxidant activity was weakly correlated to this environmental change.

The Midwestern region of the United States has been experiencing periodic forage shortages due to frequent droughts, a growing livestock population, and reliance on traditional farming practices. This study evaluated the dry matter yield (DMY), forage nutritive value, water use efficiency (WUE), and economic viability of forage soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in a no-till winter wheat-based rainfed cropping system in the Midwest, USA. The research aimed to identify alternative summer forage crops that are drought-resilient, require lower inputs, mitigate seasonal gaps, and provide higher DMY and forage nutritive value compared to traditional forages. A four-year field experiment in a randomized complete block design with four replications assessed these parameters at various growth stages and planting dates. Results showed that forage soybean had a high DMY (~13 Mg ha-1), especially when optimally planted and harvested at the R3 stage. Forage nutritive value, including crude protein (CP), in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), and relative feed value (RFV), was highest at early vegetative stages (V2-V3), meeting livestock nutritional requirements. Forage soybean also demonstrated good WUE (21 kg ha-1 mm-1), making it suitable for water-limited regions. Economic analysis indicated substantial net profits ($322 per hectare), confirming its economic viability. The study concludes that forage soybean is a promising summer forage option for Midwest growers, offering high-quality forage, efficient water use, and economic benefits. Further research, particularly animal feeding trials, is recommended to validate its potential for widespread adoption in cropping systems.

Background: The official standard for quality control of honey is currently based on physicochemical properties. However, this method is time-consuming, cost intensive, and do not lead to information on the originality of honey. This study aims to classify raw stingless bee honeys by bee species origins as a potential classifier using NMR-LCMS-based metabolomics approach. Methods: Raw stingless bee honeys were analysed and classified by bee species origins using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy and an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF MS) in combination with chemometrics tools. Results: The honey samples were able to be classified into three different groups based on the bee species origins of Heterotrigona itama, Geniotrigona thoracica, and Tetrigona apicalis. D-Fructofuranose (H. itama honey), β-D-Glucose, D-Xylose, α-D-Glucose (G. thoracica honey), and L-Lactic acid, Acetic acid, L-Alanine (T. apicalis honey) identified via 1H NMR data and the diagnostic ions of UHPLC-QTOF MS were characterized as the discriminant metabolites or putative chemical markers. Conclusion: It could be suggested that the quality of honey in terms of originality and purity can be rapidly determined using classification technique by bee species origins via 1H NMR- and UHPLC-QTOF MS-based metabolomics approach.

In an effectively managed grazing system, goats as grazers can benefit the land's physical, chemical, biological, and economic aspects. However, little research has evaluated rotational and continuous goat grazing in Kentucky. This observational study investigated the impact of rotational and continuous grazing on forage production and goat performance. One group of 10 does was placed on a rotational pasture, and another group of 10 does were placed on a continuous pasture, each pasture measuring two acres. The pastures were side-by-side with similar forage types and compositions. Goat performance was measured by body weight and eye color score (FAMCHA). Forage production was measured weekly by collecting forage heights at three random spots in each pasture. The rotational grazing field displayed a more evenly grazing pattern, while the continuous field experienced overgrazing in some areas and overgrown of the less desired forage. Goats on the continuous field had a decrease in body weight, while the weights were more consistent in the rotational grazing field. The FAMACHA score was temporarily reduced on the rotational grazing pasture, indicating that properly managed rotational grazing may prevent anemia, possibly by reducing the shedding of gastrointestinal parasites. However, due to drought and lack of forage, the FAMACHA score of goats in the rotational grazing system reverted to its original status by the end, indicating that more extensive management and timely adjustments are necessary to ensure optimal goat performance. Our results suggest that rotational grazing may support more consistent forage yields and body weights of goats and has the potential to reduce the incidence of anemia and parasitic infestations in goats in Kentucky.

The fields of electronics and information technology have witnessed rapid development during the last decades, providing significant technical support to the field of biological sciences. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been used to automate the monitoring of animal location and behaviors in a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, including social insects such as ants and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) This technology relies on electromagnetic fields to identify and track transponders attached to objects automatically. Implementing new technologies to serve research purposes could be time-consuming and require technical expertise from entomologists and researchers. Herein, we present a detailed description on how to harness RFID technology to serve honey bee research effectively. We describe how to build and operate a 32-antenna RFID system used to monitor various honey bee behaviors such as foraging, robbing, queen and drone mating, which can be used in other social insects as well. Preliminary data related to queen nuptial flights were obtained using this unit and presented in this study. Virgin queens labeled with ~5mg transponders performed multiple (1-4) nuptial/orientation flights a day (9 am to 5 pm) ranging from 8 to 145 seconds each. Contrary to virgin queens, no hive exit was recorded for mated-queens. At full capacity, this unit can monitor up to 32 honey bee colonies concurrently and is self-sustained by a solar panel to work in remote areas. All materials, hardware and software needed to build and operate this unit are detailed in this study, offering researchers and beekeepers a practical solution and a comprehensive source of information enabling the implementation of RFID technology in their research perspective.

This paper aims to investigate appropriate mathematical models devoted to optimization of some cleaning processes related to pharmaceutical contaminants removal. In our previous recent works has been reported that a possibility for removal from water sources of this type of micropollutants is to rehabilitate the existing cleaning plants by introducing efficient techniques such as adsorption on granulated active carbon filters, micro-, nano- or ultrafiltration. To have such processes under a better control and to pass from small to large scale treatment stations, specific mathematical models are necessary. Starting from Navier-Stokes equations and imposing proper boundary conditions, some mathematical physics problems are obtained for which adequate solving methods via variational methods and surjectivity results are proposed. The importance of these solution characterizations consists in their continuation in a numerical method and the possibility to visualize the result by using CFD program.

The cattle sector is strategic sector for both the economic development and food security of Africa. However, the low availability and quality of forage puts the most vulnerable population in the field at risk. Hybrid forages have proven to be a real alternative for enhancing both the food security and sustainability of the sector. They are the product of genetic improvements and combine the superior traits of different materials. In 1987, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) began this line of research and together with the private sector various ma-terials have been released until today. Despite their beforementioned potential, forage hybrid adoption levels are still low in Africa, which is related to various factors among which the availability of seeds and planting material stands out. This document analyzes the potential markets for new forage hybrids adapted to the environmental conditions of eastern Africa and partially western Africa. Likewise, an estimation of the commercial value of these markets is provided. The results show a potential market of 414,388 ha for new interspecific hybrids of Urochloa and 528,409 ha for potential hybrids of Megathyrsus maximus, with approximate values of 73.5 and 101.1 million dollars, respectively. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya have a 70% market share for Urochloa, while South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Tanzania have a 67% share for Megathyrsus maximus. The results will help different actors in decision-making, i.e., regarding private sector investments in forage seed commercialization or public sector incentives supporting adoption processes, and thus contribute to increasing food security and sustainability in the region.

With ongoing colony losses driven in part by the Varroa mite and the associated exacerbation of virus load, there is an urgent need to protect honey bees (Apis mellifera) from fatal levels of virus infection and from nontarget effects of insecticides used in agricultural settings. A continuously replicating cell line derived from the honey bee would provide a valuable tool for study of molecular mechanisms of virus – host interaction, for screening of antiviral agents for potential use within the hive, and for assessment of the risk of current and candidate insecticides to the honey bee. However, the establishment of a continuously replicating, honey bee cell line has proved challenging. Here we provide an overview of attempts to establish primary and continuously replicating hymenopteran cell lines, methods (including recent results) for establishing honey bee cell lines, challenges associated with the presence of latent viruses (especially Deformed wing virus), in established cell lines and methods to establish virus-free cell lines. We also describe the potential use of honey bee cell lines in conjunction with infectious clones of honey bee viruses for examination of fundamental virology.

Oilseed plants of the Brassicaceae plant family are cultivated for food, feed and industrial purposes on large-scale in Europe. This review gives an overview of current market-oriented applications of new genomic techniques (NGTs) in relevant Brassicaceae oilseed crops based on a literature survey. In this respect, changes in oil quality, yield, growth and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress are goals in oilseed rape (B. napus) and camelina (C. sativa). Environmental risk assessment scenarios are developed for specific NGT applications in Brassicaceae oilseed crops with either a changed oil composition or with fitness related traits. In case of a changed oil composition an increase or decrease of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) demonstrates risks for health and survival of pollinators. In case of fitness related traits other risks were identified, i. e. an increased risk of spread and persistence of NGT plants. Furthermore, there are indications for potential disturbance of interactions with the environment, involving signalling pathways and reaction to stress conditions. It is shown that for a comprehensive risk assessment the technological potential of NGTs, the plants’ biology and the scale of releases have to be considered in combination. Therefore, the release of NGT plants into the environment for agricultural purposes will require risk assessment and monitoring of single traits as well as of combinatorial and long-term cumulative effects. In addition, risk management should develop concepts and measures to control and potentially restrict the scale of releases. This is especially relevant for NGT Brassicaceae in Europe which is a centre of diversity of this plant family.

This study, conducted with meticulous attention to detail, comprehensively examines the state of plants and their adaptation to Kazakhstan's extra-arid climatic zone of the Mangistau. It uses the collections of woody plants from the Mangyshlak Experimental Botanical Garden in Aktau as a case study and extrapolates the results to the entire region. The study area is arid and unsuitable for many plants, so examining physiological adaptation mechanisms and strategies for preserving plants in unfavourable conditions is crucial. The study employed a range of methods, including the measurement of the intensity of transpiration, leaf hydration, and the content of chlorophyll A, B, and carotenoids. These methods were chosen for their proven effectiveness in similar studies and their ability to provide accurate and reliable data. The samples were also assessed using a point system for resistance to drought, phytophagy, gas tolerance, salt tolerance, winter hardiness, and soil fertility. The results obtained and entered into the IEBG platform “DinTseR” to assess the value of the introduction using a diagnostic scale revealed a high variability (up to 51.7-52.2%) of physiological indicators of growth and development. The highest values of transpiration intensity were observed in deciduous trees and shrubs, rose varieties (205-243 mg/g fresh leaf mass per hour), leaf water content - in climbing plants (68.9%), chlorophyll A and B content - in deciduous plants, and plants - old trees, fruit trees and varietal roses (3.46-3.93 and 1.34-1.84%). Their concentration in coniferous species is almost two times lower (0.63%). A correlation was also made between various significant factors. Twenty regression equations and forecasts have been identified that can be used to diagnose and assess resistance, thereby reducing the cost of determining the introduction value in the conditions of Mangistau. These findings are essential in understanding and preserving the unique flora of the Mangistau region.

The amino acid proline accumulates in plants during abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity and is considered a reliable marker of environmental stress. While its accumulation is well established, its precise role in stress tolerance and its underlying molecular mechanism remain less clear. To address these issues, we performed a meta-analysis - a robust statistical technique that synthesizes results from multiple independent studies while accounting for experimental differences. We focused on 16 physiological and morphological parameters affected by drought and salt stress in transgenic plants expressing proline metabolic genes. For each parameter, we calculated the effect size as the response ratio (RR), which represents the logarithm of the mean value in the transgenic group over the mean value of the control group (lnRR). Under stress, most parameters exhibited significantly higher response ratios in the transgenic group, confirming the beneficial effects of proline during drought and salt stress. Surprisingly, under non-stressed conditions, most stress markers showed no significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic plants, despite elevated proline levels in the former. These results suggest that the benefits of proline may be related to proline catabolism or may only become apparent during stress, possibly due to interactions with reactive oxygen species (ROS), which accumulate predominantly under stress conditions.

Summer annual species are the most widely grown crops in the Upper Midwest, but reliance on a summer annual system has led to excessive soil and nutrient loss when crops are not present. Integrating winter rye (Secale cereale L.), known for its hardiness and environmental benefits, into the rotation can address these issues. However, there's limited understanding of the phenotypic diversity in winter rye during key growth stages that overlap with the typical planting dates for corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr], and late-planted crops like dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate changes in biomass accumulation and quality of winter rye and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) cultivars at three growth stages. Twenty cultivars were assessed over the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 growing seasons across three environments in Minnesota. Winter rye and triticale were harvested for biomass at the tillering, booting, and soft dough growth stages and rye biomass yield and quality [i.e., crude protein, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and 48-hour digestibility (NDFD)] were determined following harvest. Overall, there was little variation in each parameter among the cultivars within a location and growth stage. NDFD had some variation at the soft dough stage where digestibility ranged from 273 to 324 g kg-1 at the Crookston site and 332 to 406 g kg-1 at the St. Paul site. The lack of difference between cultivars indicates a wide range of choice when selecting a winter rye cultivar.

Plants from the Myrtaceae family are well known to contain considerable amounts of volatile compounds, ranging from oxygenated monoterpenes to hydrogenated sesquiterpenes, and others, which exhibit antimicrobial activity. One such plant includes Syzygium aromaticum that has been extensively used to treat a number of disorders, including bacterial and fungal infections. Thus, the scientific validation of the essential oil (EO) of Syzygium aromaticum vis-à-vis Candida and Cryptococcus species is valuable. To this end, the present study sought to investigate the antifungal activity of EO from S. aromaticum (clove) leaves and flower buds against Candida and Cryptococcus species. The antioxidant activity of S. aromaticum’s essential oils is also elucidated. The EO was extracted from fresh leaves and floral buds of S. aromaticum using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The as-prepared essential oils were further evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species using a microdilution method. The phytochemical analysis of the EOs was assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antioxidant activities of the EOs were evaluated using standard methods. As a result, the GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of volatile compounds, such as eugenol (87.08%), β-caryophyllene (6.40%) and acetyleugenol (4.45%) as the major constituents of EO from the flower buds ; and eugenol (90.54%) and β-caryophyllene (24.65%) as the major components of the leaf’s EO. The eugenol-rich essential oils exhibited significant antifungal effects against Candida species (common MIC value: 200 ppm) and Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC value: 50 ppm), as well as antioxidant activity. Overall, essential oils of S. aromaticum demonstrated an-tioxidant and antifungal effects, thus validating the ethnopharmacological use of this plant in the treatment of fungal infections. However, antifungal mechanisms of action, in-depth toxicity and in vivo experiments, and pharmacokinetics are warranted to support the use of this plant in ethnomedicine.

The study was conducted to evaluate the agronomic performance, forage yield, and nutritive values of Desho grass varieties under supplementary irrigation at Dambi Dollo University experimental site, Western Ethiopia. Three Desho grass varieties (Areka /DZF#590, Kindu kosha-1/DZF #591, and Kulumsa /DZF #592) were arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The CROPWAT 8.0 model, local climate data, forage data, and soil data were used to determine Desho grass water requirements and irrigation schedules. The agronomic parameters, yield, chemical composition, and in vitro digestibility of the feed samples at standardization cut were determined following the standard procedures. The results showed significant differences (p

A two-year study was conducted in Maine wild blueberry fields (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) on the health of migratory honey bee colonies in 2014 and 2015. In each year 3-5 colonies were monitored at each of 9 wild blueberry field locations during bloom (mid-May until mid-June). Colony health was measured by assessing percent worker and sealed brood rate of change from the beginning of bloom until the end of bloom. Potential factors that might affect colony health were queen failure or supersedure; pes-ticide residues on trapped pollen, wax comb, and bee bread; and parasites and pathogens. We found that Varroa mite and pesti-cide residues on trapped pollen were significant predictors of colony health as measured by the percent rate of change of sealed brood during bloom. These two factors explained 71% of the variance in colony health over the two years. Pesticide exposure was different in each year as were pathogen prevalence and incidence. We detected high prevalence and abundance of two recently discovered pathogens and one recently discovered parasite, the trypanosome Lotmaria passim Schwartz, the Sinai virus, and the phorid fly, Apocephalus borealis Brues.

This paper introduces both a hardware and a software system designed to allow low-cost electronic monitoring of social insects using RFID tags. Data formats for individual insect identification and their associated experiment are proposed to facilitate data sharing from experiments conducted with this system. The antenna's configuration and their duty cycle ensure a high degree of detection rates. Other advantages and limitations of this system are discussed in detail in the paper.

Bee products have a millennial tradition in human use due to their numerous heal-ing properties. The paper presents the chemical characterization, antioxidant, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory potential of royal jelly, apilarnil and propolis. These were obtained in the Banat area, Romania, in 2022. Royal jelly and apilarnil were analyzed in pure and lyophilized form and propolis in pure form and tincture. The percentage of moisture, dry matter, pH, acidity, content of impurities, sugars, proteins, ash, macro and micro minerals, total amino acids, polyphenols and flavo-noids were studied. The samples analyzed by us have a very well developed antiox-idant and according to the analysis of the mineral content of beekeeping products, an increased variability of macro and microminerals was determined, but also the lack of Pb in their composition. The flavonoid content of the samples was between 2.61519 mg QE/g sample for commercial pure apilarnil and 279.56115 mg QE/g sample for propolis harvested in 2021, and that of polyphenols between 0.63507 mg QE/g sample for natural royal jelly and 42.82186 mg QE/g sample in propolis with harvest in 2021. Propolis acts as a good antimicrobial and antiinflammatory agent, a fact that deserves to be researched in detail and exploited as a product with an ap-itherapeutic role for various microbial and inflammatory conditions.

Recent studies have emphasized the influence of resettlement factors on the mental health of refugees resettling in developed countries. However, little research has addressed gender differences in the nature and influence of resettlement stressors and sources of resilience. We address this gap in knowledge by investigating how gender moderates and mediates the influence of several sources of distress and resilience among 259 Afghan refugees residing in northern California. Gender moderated the effects of four factors on levels of distress. Intimate and extended family ties have little correlation with men’s distress levels, but are strongly associated with lower distress for women. English ability is positively associated with lower distress for women, but not men. In terms of gender ideology, traditionally oriented women and egalitarian men have lower levels of distress. And experiencing greater dissonant acculturation increases distress for men, but not women. The influence of gender interaction terms is substantial and patterns may reflect difficulty adapting to a different gender order. Future studies of similar populations should investigate gender differences in sources of distress and resilience, and efforts to assist new arrivals might inform them of changes in gender roles they may experience, and facilitate opportunities to renegotiate gender roles.

In this paper we show the results of investigating the presence of organochlorine pesticides in honey and pollen samples from managed colonies of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. and of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona Mexicana Guérin. We found that 88.44% and 93.33% of honey samples, and 22.22% and 100% of pollen samples of S. mexicana and A. mellifera, respectively, resulted positive to at least one organochlorine. The most abundant pesticides were DDE, DDT, Endrin and heptaclor. Despite the low foraging range of S. mexicana the number of pesticides detected in the honey samples was similar to that of A. mellifera. Paradoxically we a found a small number of organochlorines in pollen samples of S. mexicana, perhaps indicating a rapid turnover of this material as compared to A. mellifera.

Due to an increase in the consumption of food, feed, and fuel and to meet global food security needs for the rapidly growing human population, there is a necessity to obtain high-yielding crops that can adapt to future climate changes. Currently, the main feed source used for ruminant livestock production is forage grasses. In temperate climate zones, perennial grasses grown for feed are widely distributed and tend to suffer under unfavorable environmental conditions. Gene editing has been shown to be an effective tool for the development of abiotic stress-resistant plants. The highly versatile CRISPR-Cas system enables increasingly complex modifications in genomes while maintaining precision and low off-target frequency mutations. In this review, we provide an overview of forage grass species that have been subjected to gene editing. We offer a perspective view on the generation of plants resilient to abiotic stresses. Due to the broad factors contributing to these stresses the review focuses on drought, salt, heat, and cold stresses. The application of new genomic techniques (e.g., CRISPR-Cas) allows addressing several challenges caused by climate change and abiotic stresses for developing forage grass cultivars with improved adaptation to the future climatic conditions. Gene editing will contribute towards developing safe and sustainable food systems.

Energy from biogas is one of the most promising renewable energy sources. Significant, for technical, economic, and environmental reasons, is the construction of agricultural microgas plants next to households specialising in cattle rearing. The availability of free substrate makes it possible not only to produce one's electricity and heat but also to produce a more environmentally and human-friendly manure. The operation of biogas plants is, unfortunately, associated with technical problems. This paper presents the results of a study of the quality of electricity generated in an agricultural biogas plant built at a farm specialising in dairy cows, where the owner reported a problem with the voltage in the power supply network. Therefore, selected power quality parameters occurring at the connection point of the biogas plant were analysed in detail. As the authors' research showed, in the case in question, the agricultural biogas plant was connected via a cable with too small a conductor cross-section, which resulted in significant voltage exceedances, making it impossible to switch on the second of the biogas plant's generators. Replacement of the feed-in cable has enabled both generators to run, but significant fluctuations in the feed-in voltage values were still noticeable. Analysis of the subsequent measurements revealed the need for changes in the design of the digester itself. The proposal for change is to replace the two current digester mixers (each rated at 9 kW) with more mixers of lower power. The new mixers would operate in an alternating system, where only one would always be activated.

Genetic engineering has become an essential element in developing climate-resilient crops and environmental sustainable solutions to respond to the increasing need for global food security. Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas [Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein (Cas)] technology is being applied to a variety of organisms, including plants. This technique has become popular because of its high specificity, effectiveness, and low production cost. Therefore, this technology has the potential to revolutionize agriculture and contribute to global food security. Over the past few years, increasing efforts have been seen in its application in developing higher-yielding, nutrition rich, disease resistant, stress-tolerant “crops” fruits and vegetables. Cas proteins such as Cas9, Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14, among others, have distinct architectures and have been used to create new genetic tools that improve features that are important for agriculture. The versatility of Cas has accelerated genomic analysis and facilitated the use of CRISPR/Cas to manipulate and alter nucleic acid sequences in cells of different organisms. This review provides the evolution of CRISPR technology exploring its mechanisms and contrasting it with traditional breeding and transgenic approaches to improve different stress tolerance. We have also discussed the CRISPR/Cas system and explored three Cas proteins that are currently known to exist: Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14 and their potential to generate foreign DNA free or non-transgenic crops that could be easily regulated for commercialization in most countries.

The use of biological methods to control plant disease is an option to reduce the pesticide residues in an environment. The objective of this research is to develop the bio-products for the elimination and/or replacement of pesticides. All the 182 strains of beneficial bacteria were screened from 20 samples of chili. The samples were divided into 8 groups. The strain SP-TU6, SP-TU7, and SP-TU3 were high efficacy inhibited mycelium growth of Colletotrichum capsici P-TU008 with 98.93, 94.62, and 95.69%, respectively as chemical control (carbendazim). The development of 3 bio-products that can promote the growth of economic crops are including Bioproduct 1 = talcum: CaCO3: CMC (9.75:1.5:1), Bioproduct 2 = corn flour: talcum: CaCO3: CMC (10:87.5:1.5:1), and Bioproduct 3 = corn flour: talcum: CaCO3: CMC (20:87.5:1.5:1). All bioproducts showed the best level of solubility in water, distribution, and sedimentation. Found that, the bioproduct 1 was suitable for survival of beneficial bacteria SP-TU3 and SP-TU6 with a population of 4.5x1012 and 3.2x1013 cfu/g respectively, and bioproduct 2 was suitable for strain SP-TU7 (2.4x1012 cfu/g) after storage for 3 months. The strain SP-TU3 in bioproduct 1 can induce seed germination and growth parameter of chili (Capsicum spp.) were 95% and 1.86, respectively, and SP-TU7 in in bioproducts 2 had the highest efficiency to induce seed germination and growth parameter of ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) with 62% and 6.51 respectively, and strain SP-TU6 was the most effective germination and growth parameter of B. chinesis and B. oleracea with 98%, 88%, and 3.62, 88.00, respectively.

Social insects, such as honey bees exhibit complex behavioral patterns and their inconspicuous coordination enables decision-making on the colony level. It is thus proposed, that a high-level description of their collective behavior might share commonalities with neural processes in the brains. At the same time, recent research concerning overarching features of neural activity implies that brains are poised at the edge of the critical phase transition and that such a state is enabling maximal computational power and adaptability. In our research, we applied some tools developed in the computational neuroscience field to the dataset of bee trajectories recorded within the hive, during the course of many days. Our results imply that certain characteristics of the system are remarkably similar to the Ising model when it operates at critical temperature and also shares some of the features with the human brain at the resting state

Forage fish are crucial to human nutrition, especially in developing countries. However, in these countries, most forage fish catches are used to make aquafeeds for aquaculture, which leaves only a small quantity for direct human consumption. This practice increases fish prices in local markets and undermines people's nutrition. Overfishing forage fish for industrial purposes harms the ecosystem, reduces the catch of larger fish, and marginalizes local fishermen. Although previous discussions have touched qualitatively on the ethics and injustice of this practice, this article provides quantitative scales to measure the impact of the practice on the finances and forage fish consumption of low-income consumers using reasonable assumptions and literature values. Increasing the annual supply of forage fish by 25% to the 5 million MT of fresh fish markets globally could save consumers several billion US dollars annually. Families could consume a higher percentage of nutritious fish for less money. Furthermore, leaving forage fish in the sea could benefit wildlife and increase the capture of larger fish, such as mackerel, which are in demand in local markets and fished by local fishermen. The unintentional and involuntary contributions of low-income societies to enable the growth of high-value fish and shrimp for affluent societies seem unjust and warrant further investigation.

To explore the forage quality of wild oat populations under different growth environments, the basic nutrient composition and forage quality of five wild oat populations in Israel were compared. Ash, crude protein, and soluble sugar content of oats were significantly (P<0.05) related to some forage quality and possible environment of population origin. Among them, the environmental factors of origin had significant effects on the indicators of ash, crude protein, and soluble sugars of oat straw, but less on the contents of crude fat, total phosphorus, and total potassium. Meanwhile, the annual rainfall and the number of days of rainfall in the country of origin greatly influenced the cellulose content. Finally, we investigated the similarity of feeding values of different populations using PCA analysis. The results showed that, in conclusion, the higher variability of wild oat populations may be a new possibility brought by feeding oats.

The evaluation of forage crops for adaptability and performance across production systems and environments is one of the main strategies used to improve forage production. To enhance the genetic resource base and identify traits responsible for increased feed potential of Napier grass, forty-five genotypes from EMBRAPA, Brazil, were evaluated for forage biomass yield and feed nutritional quality in a replicated trial under wet and dry season conditions in Ethiopia. The results revealed significant variation in forage yield and feed nutritional qualities among the genotypes and between the wet and dry seasons. Feed fibre components were lower in the dry season while crude protein, in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy were higher. Based on the cumulative biomass yield and metabolizable energy yield, top performing genotypes were identified that are candidates for future forage improvement studies. Furthermore, the marker-trait association study identified diagnostic SNP and SilicoDArT markers and potential candidate genes that could differentiate high biomass yielding and high metabolizable energy genotypes in the collection.

In the struggle for survival, all organisms have evolved adaptations for protection from predation. Angiosperms are among the most abundant producers on the planet, but they are trapped in a precarious symbiosis with animals for pollination and fruit dispersal, while also having to deter herbivory. About 10% of all angiosperms produce the deterrent latex from ubiquitous isoprene precursors. Latex is an aqueous suspension of rubber particles and other compounds which works as an antifeedant by clogging chewing mouthparts and by coagulating into a solid in stomach acid. A survey of stomach pHs from various animals supports the hypothesis that foregut-fermenting ruminants have evolved the capacity to evade latex coagulation due to the presence of anterior digestive chambers with near-neutral to alkaline pH before it enters the acidic abomasum. Hindgut-fermenting animals lack this adaptation and have to eat forage which is low in latex, such as grasses. The latex-adaptive foregut browsers vs. latex-maladapted hindgut grazer hypothesis has implications for both livestock and zoo animals which may be provided with forage that is not optimal for their gut health. Further, ruminants and herbivorous tadpoles are at risk for damage by popular bioinsecticides such as Bt which are activated by alkaline gut pH.

Retiring coal power plants can reduce air pollution and health damages. However, the spatial distribution of those impacts remains unclear due to complex power system adjustments and pollution chemistry and transport. Focusing on coal retirements in Pennsylvania (PA), we analyze six counterfactual scenarios for 2019 that differ in retirement targets (e.g., reducing 50% of coal-based installed capacity vs. generation) and priorities (e.g., closing plants with higher cost, closer to Environmental Justice Areas, or with higher CO₂ emissions). Using a power system model of the PJM Interconnection, we find that coal retirements in PA shift power generation across PA and the Rest of PJM region leading to scenario-varying changes in the plant-level release of several air pollutants. Due to air pollution chemistry and transport and socio-demographics, these changes in turn give rise to a reduction of 10 to 182 PM_2.5-attributable deaths in PJM across the six scenarios, with most reductions occurring in PA. Scenarios that reduce more coal power generation yield greater aggregate health benefits due to air quality improvements in PA and adjacent downwind regions. In addition, vulnerable populations—in both PA and Rest of PJM—benefit most in scenarios that prioritize plant closures in PA near Environmental Justice Areas. These results demonstrate the importance of considering cross-regional linkages and socio-demographics in designing equitable retirement strategies.

The Australian tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) is home to approximately 18 percent of the nation’s total vascular plant species. Over the past century, human activity and industrial development have caused global climate changes, posing a severe and irreversible danger to the entire land-based ecosystem, and WTWHA is no exception. The current average annual temperature of WTWHA in FNQ is 24 °C. However, in the coming years (by 2030), the average annual temperature increase is estimated to be between 0.5 and 1.4 °C compared to the climate observed between 1986 and 2005. Looking further ahead to 2070, the anticipated temperature rise is projected to be between 1.0 and 3.2 °C, with the exact range depending on future emissions. We identified 84 plant species endemic to the WTWHA in FNQ, which are already experiencing climate change threats. Few of these plants are used in herbal medicines. This study comprehensively reviewed metabolomics studies conducted on these 84 plant species until now toward understanding their physiological and metabolomics responses to global climate change. This review also discusses: i) recent developments in plant metabolomics studies that can be applied to study and understand the interactions of wet tropical plants with climatic stress, ii) medicinal plants and isolated phytochemicals with structural diversity, and iii) reported biological activities of crude extracts and isolated compounds.

Preventive Maintenance (PM) is a periodic maintenance strategy, which has great results for devices in extending their life, increasing productivity, and most importantly, help avoid unexpected breakdowns and their costly consequence. A preventive maintenance scheduling (PMS) is determining the time for carrying out PM, and it represents a sensitive issue in terms of impact on production if the time for the PM process is not optimally distributed. In this study, hybrid heuristic methods were used to solve the PMS problem, as genetic algorithm and Tabu research were adopted. The optimal solution was reached in a short time compared to previous studies in which optimal methods were used, integer programming and nonlinear integer programming. Also, sensitivity analysis was applied to measure the robustness and strength of the method used, where an optimal solution was obtained for all experiments and in record time. This method can be used for power plants in privet or public sectors, to generate an optimal PMS, to save money, and to avoid water or electricity cuts.

Adulteration of food products, including honey, is a serious problem in today’s economy. Honey has become the third most counterfeited food product in the world, which requires effective authentication methods. This article presents considerations regarding the development of meteorology to test the quality of honey based on the analysis of bee pollen. The justification for conducting such analyses is the relatively high need for the authentication of honey and its derivatives. It turns out that the honey market and honey itself are the third products in the world in which undesirable, inappropriate, and quality-reducing components may appear, affecting the final quality of a product such as honey. The analyses mentioned above thus come down to issues related to the analysis and processing of images. A certain novelty of the approach to this analysis is an attempt to parameterize them using the so-called Hjorth descriptors, which have been a tool known for almost 50 years from the analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. In this paper, after an introduction to the issues related to testing honey, the issues related to the method of obtaining bee pollen images, improving their quality by applying appropriate filtration, performing normalization, and finally calculating Hjorth distributors such as: Activity, Mobility, and Complexity will be discussed. In the next stage described in this article, the authors perform a detailed statistical analysis leading to the initial construction of a simple classifier that distinguishes defined gropus of bee pollen images.

The COLOSS research association has been assessing honey bee colony losses, associated risk factors and management, focusing on Western countries but with a progressive international expansion. Here, we report the first survey on the loss rates of colonies in 2022/23 in Ethiopia using COLOSS monitoring survey tools. A face-to-face interview questionnaire survey was conducted on 64 beekeepers selected from Oromia and Tigray regions. This covered 1,713 honey bee colonies distributed in 68 apiaries. The percentages of colonies lost were significantly different between Oromia (24.1%) and Tigray (66.4%) regions. Colony losses were attributed as unsolvable queen problems (8% in Oromia; 10% in Tigray), natural disaster (32%; 82%), and empty hives or dead colonies (60%; 8%). The loss rate was significantly affected by queen replacement (p

Recently the number of studies investigating triterpenoid saponins has drastically increased due to their diverse and potentially attractive biological activities. Currently the literature contains chemical structures of few hundreds of triterpenoid saponins of plant and animal origin. Triterpenoid saponins consist of a triterpene aglycone with one or more sugar moieties attached to it. However, due to similar physico-chemical properties, isolation and identification of a large diversity of triterpenoid saponins remain challenging. This study demonstrates a methodology to screen saponins using hyphenated analytical platforms, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and LC-SPE-NMR/MS, in the example of two different phenotypes of the model plant Barbarea vulgaris (winter cress), glabrous (G) and pubescent (P) type that are known to differ by their insect resistance. The proposed methodology allows for detailed comparison of saponin profiles from intact plant extracts as well as saponin aglycone profiles from hydrolysed samples. Continuously measured 1D proton NMR data during LC separation along with mass spectrometry data revealed significant differences, including contents of saponins, types of aglycones and numbers of sugar moieties attached to the aglycone. A total of 49 peaks were tentatively identified as saponins from both plants; they are derived from eight types of aglycones and with 2–5 sugar moieties. Identification of two previously known insect-deterrent saponins, hederagenin cellobioside and oleanolic acid cellobioside, demonstrated the applicability of the methodology for relatively rapid screening of bioactive compounds.

Stingless bee beekeeping provides new opportunities to improve the incomes of many households in Malaysia through the sale of honey and other bee products. While Heterotrigona itama is one of the most commonly cultured species of stingless bees, its behavior is not very well understood. Hence, we conducted this study to investigate the behavior of H. itama in exploiting food sources by ascertaining the nectar sugar concentration preferred by the bee. We also aimed to determine the preferred distance of food source from the bee hive. Our results suggest that H. itama prefers high sugar concentrations of 35% and above, and they would fly up to 7 m from the hive to collect food. We discuss how nectar concentration and food distance influence the number of bees exploiting food sources and the overall foraging pattern of H. itama.

The cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is an important element of biodiversity conservation. One species in need of conservation is the honey bee Apis mellifera L. Changing environmental factors, especially the anthropogenic factor, have led to a reduction in the numbers of this insect species. In this study, we provide an example of the creation of a biobank of honey bee drone sperm. For sperm cryopreservation, drones of the most common subspecies of honey bees common in Russia were selected. These were the dark forest bee, Apis mellifera mellifera from the Republic of Bashkortostan, with three subspecies (A. m. carnica, A. m. carpatica, and A. m. caucasica) from the southern regions of Russia, as well as two breeding stocks, the Far Eastern bee and Prioksky bee. For subspecies identification, morphometric and genetic methods were used. The subspecies of the studied samples were confirmed by the analysis of the tRNAleu-COII locus of mitochondrial DNA and nine microsatellite markers of nuclear DNA. It was shown that bees of the Prioksky breeding stock belong to the subspecies A. m. caucasica based on phylogenetic analysis, and the Far Eastern breeding stock is a stable hybrid, descending on the maternal line from the evolutionary lineage C or O. The results of the morphometric analysis are consistent with the results of the genetic analysis. For the cryopreservation of sperm, we used a honey diluent. As a result, the viability of frozen–thawed sperm decreased by 20.3% compared to fresh sperm, and overall motility decreased by 25-fold. The measurement of the sperm concentration in the spermatheca of artificially inseminated queens showed that it varied from 0.22 to 4.4 million/μL. Therefore, the use of honey in sperm cryopreservation has great potential.

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is one of the major migratory polyphagous insect pests of various crops. The essential nutrient and mineral profile of host plants determines the feeding fitness of herbivorous insects. As a result, growth and development of insects is affected. To determine the effect of nutrient and mineral profile of different host plants (maize, castor bean, cotton, cabbage, okra and sugarcane) on the growth and development of S. frugiperda, biological parameters like larval weight, pupal weight (male/female), feeding and growth indices were calculated. The proximate compositions and mineral contents of the tested host plants showed a significant difference (p&lt;0.5). Better nutrients were observed in castor bean and maize host plants. The growth indices on these host plants also showed the statistical difference (p&lt;0.05) except efficiency of ingested food (p&gt;0.05). The maximum relative growth rate (RGR), relative consumption rate (RCR) and consumption index (CI) were recorded in S. frugiperda larvae that fed on maize and castor bean leaves. Larval, male and female pupal weights were the maximum in the larvae feeding on castor bean host plant. In case of fitness indices, the highest larval growth, pupal growth, standard growth and fitness indices were observed in S. frugiperda larvae that fed on maize. The findings of the present study highlight the dynamic growth and development of S. frugiperda larvae on maize plants and provide novel information based on nutritional ecology to develop sustainable integrated pest management strategies using selective crop rotation and limiting alternative host plants.

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.

The chemical investigation of the anti-yeast methanol extract from the stem bark of Terminalia mantaly led to the isolation of seven compounds: 3-O-methyl-4-O-α-rhamnopyranoside ellagic acid (1), 3-O-mehylellagic acid (2), arjungenin or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oïc acid (3), arjunglucoside or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oïc acid glucopyranoside (4), 2α,3α,24-trihydroxyolean-11,13(18)-dien-28-oïc acid (5), stigmasterol (6), stigmasterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7). Their structures were established by means of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with published data. Compounds 1-5 were tested in vitro for activity against three pathogenic yeast isolates, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei. The activity of compounds 1, 2 and 4 were comparable to that of the reference compound fluconazole (MIC values below 32 µg/ml) against the three tested yeast isolates. They were also tested for inhibitory properties against four enzymes of metabolic significance: Glucose-6-Phosphate Deshydrogenase (G6PD), human erythrocyte Carbonic anhydrase I and II (hCA I and hCA II), Glutathione S-transferase (GST). Compound 4 showed highly potent inhibitory property against the four tested enzymes with overall IC₅₀ values below 4 µM and inhibitory constant (Ki) <3 µM.

Vertical Indoor Farming (VIF) with hydroponics offers a promising perspective for sustainable food production. Intelligent control of VIF system components plays a key role in reducing operating costs and increasing crop yields. Modern machine vision (MV) systems use Deep Learning (DL) in combination with camera systems for various tasks in agriculture, such as disease and nutrient deficiency detection, and flower and fruit identification and classification for pollination and harvesting. This study presents the applicability of MV technology with DL modelling to detect the growth stages of chilli plants using YOLOv8 networks. The influence of different bird’s eye and side view datasets and different YOLOv8 architectures was analysed. To generate the image data for training and testing the YOLO models, chilli plants were grown in a hydroponic environment and imaged throughout their life cycle using four camera systems. The growth stages were divided into growing, flowering and fruiting classes. All trained YOLOv8 models showed reliable identification of growth stages with high accuracy. The results indicate that models trained with data from both views show better generalisation. YOLO’s middle architecture achieved the best performance.

Before the Bronze age, when agricultural practices spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula, the diet of natives was based on hunting, fishing and gathering wild plants. On spite of modern agriculture, the popular gathering of wild species for medical use, feeding, craftwork, etc. for centuries, has left a deep knowledge on the use of many of those species. Of the 6.176 Angiosperms native to the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, over 200 species were introduced into cultivation from the Neolithic outside the Iberian Peninsula. The name of 30 of the progenitors still popularly used as food, are listed in this paper, together with the name of the derived crops. Special attention is paid to five wild species, including their composition and pharmacological properties, collected as food from ancient times, that in response to their great demand, have been recently introduced into cultivation in Spain and are now harvested and commercialized as new crops.

The purpose of this study is to identify the different effects exerted by planting density and nitrogen fertilization on high-salinity Reclaimed Paddy Fields(RPF) and General Paddy Fields(GPF), and to find the amount of fertilization and the planting density suitable for the growth of forage rice in each paddy field. In both experimental locations, there was no significant change in the soil due to N treatment, but in the case of RPF, electrical conductivity(EC) decreased significantly from more than 5dS/m to up to 2.87dS/m during the yellow ripe stage due to the influence of floods and concentrated precipitation on the fields. In all soils, as both the amount of N treatment and the planting density increased, there was a proportional relationship in which the number of tillers and the dry weight also increased, with the occurrence of lodging also being increased. The dry weight, as expected, was 1.5 times higher at a planting distance of 10 cm, rather than 16 cm. In addition, in both locations N treatment led to an increase in the dry weight, but when N treatment reached 400kg/ha (2.0), the dry weight decreased instead. Moreover, although there was no clear difference in feed value according to N treatment, in RPF, neutral detergent fiber(NDF) was higher than 60%, RFV was less than 98, and TDN was also low, confirming that the quality of rice was higher in GPF.

The manuscript presents the review of the impact of dormancy, seed storage, and pathogens on seed quality of perennial grasses and forage legumes. The outcomes of earlier studies to enhance the germination of seeds from these species are listed. Numerous studies around the world show that seed dormancy, environmental conditions, storage time after seed harvest, and the presence of pathogens on seeds, affecting the reduction of seed quality of these two groups of plants. This article discusses the possibility to partially or fully controlling impact of different factors on seed quality. Tests and experience of the presence of pathogens (especially Fusarium spp.) indicates a small percentage of infected seed of perennial grasses and legumes, which would not justify the cost of fungicides during seed processing. By applying the optimal concentration of acid in the seed, in combination with the time of exposure, it is possible to improve seed germination for more than 25% in forage grasses and legumes. Similar effects on the increase seed germination of both groups of plants can be achieving by optimal temperature treatments. Mechanical damage to the seed coat on the seeds of these crops can potentially increase germination, but new approaches are also being investigated.

Background Globally the average age of the worlds’ population of older persons continues to upsurge and social support becomes increasingly relevant. Overall, in Malaysia, social support and networking prevalence was found to be lower among older persons at 30.76%. In view of the scarce data on social support and its association with smoking status and its associated factors among the older Malaysian population this study was conducted. Methods Data from the National Health and Morbidity (NHMS) 2018 survey on health of older Malaysian adults was analyzed. This was a cross sectional population-based study using a two-stage stratified random sampling design. Elderly population aged 60 years and above was selected. Data were collected were sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status, and social support. A validated Malay language, interviewer-administered questionnaire of 11-item Duke Social Support Index was applied for assessing social support among the elderly. A complex sampling design analysis was used for the descriptive statistics. The associated risk factors for social support were identified using Multiple Logistic Regression analysis. Results A total of 3923 elderly respondents participated in the study. The prevalence of good social support was significantly higher among the 60-69 years old respondents compared to the > 80 years old (73.1%, 95% CI :69.3% -76.5% vs 50.1 %, 95% CI:41.7 %- 58.6%).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of poor social support were 1.7 times (aOR: 1.72 % ,95%CI: 1.19 -2.48) higher for the respondents aged > 80 years old, than those aged 60-69 years. Respondents with no formal education were 1.93 higher odds of poor social support than the respondents with tertiary education (aOR: 1.93%, 95%CI: 1.13,3.30). Respondents with income < RM 1000 were 1.94 times more likely to have poor social support compared to respondents with income > RM 3000 (aOR: 1.94, 95% CI : 1.21 -3.13). Former smokers have good social support compared to current smokers (73.6% ,95% CI: 67.7-78.7 vs 65.1 %, 95%CI:58.4 -71.2). For current smokers, the odds of poor social support were 42.0% higher than for non-smokers (aOR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.05 -1.91. Conclusion There is poor social support among the older persons who are current smokers, advancing age, no formal education and low income However, further longitudinal studies are needed to determine the exact effects of the studied variables. These findings could assist the policymakers to develop strategies at the national level to enhance social support among the older smokers to ensure cessation of smoking.

Mosquitoes are a family of the order Diptera, which includes more than 3500 species. Two groups able to suck human blood and transmit diseases: the anophelines and the culicines comprise several genera such as Culex, Aedes and Aedes communis (Ac). Previous study has demonstrated a significant relationship between Ac sensitization and either extract or single bee venom components suggesting a “bee-mosquito syndrome” occurrence. It is well known that CCD can interference with the measurement of quantitative IgE results. Hence, it has been hypnotized that the presence of sIgE to CCD could have a role in the Bee-Mosquito syndrome. Method Serum from 21 different Mosquito and Ape melifera allergic individuals were combined with extracts of Mosquito (in house) and Apis melifera. SDS-PAGE and Immunoblot (IB) were carried out without and with with CCD-Inhibitor. Results The data would suggest IgE binding to common bands between Culex male, Culex female and Aedes species mosquitos of approximate molecular weight ~21kDa, ~35kDa, ~40kDa and ~55kDa. Whilst IgE binding has been observed to protein bands from the Apis melifera extract, these bands do not align with any present in the mosquito extracts. The use of a CCD-Inhibitor results in differences in IgE binding. Specifically, bands that were previously observed in the Apis melifera venom sample without use of CCD-Inhibitor at 40kDa and 90kDa are no longer observed when CCD-Inhibitor is used. Two bands of the Apis melifera venom remain present between 15-20kDa. No major differences in banding pattern were observed for the mosquito samples with or without CCD-Inhibitor, although the blot appears cleaner with less background when CCD-Inhibitor is used. Conclusion Further experiments have to be done to determine whether the reactive bands from Apis melifera are unrelated proteins or whether the proteins are related homologues of varying molecular weight.

Structural and functional asymmetries are traceable in every form of life and, at all cases, are a phenomenon of homology. Functionally speaking, the division of labour between the two halves of the brain is a basic characteristic of the nervous system that arose even before the appearance of vertebrates. The most prominent consequence of this specialization in humans and animals is handedness. Even if handedness is far more commonly associated with the presence of a nervous system, it is also observed in aneural organism such as plants. To date, little is known regarding the possible functional significance of handedness in plants, and many questions remain open (among these, whether it reflects a generalized behavioural asymmetry). Here, we propose a comparative perspective to the study of handedness, including plants, by taking advantage of the experimental models and paradigms already used to study laterality in humans and various animal species. By taking this approach, we aim to enrich our knowledge on the concept of handedness across natural kingdoms.

As the global demand for renewable energy continues to rise, biogas technology has emerged as a promising solution for sustainable energy generation. This review article presents the advantages of biogas technologies and extensively discusses the main principles of biogas production in the methane fermentation process. In this respect, the main parameters of the process, which require monitoring and are at the same time decisive for its course and efficiency are described, the principles of substrate selection are discussed and the necessity and advantages of the use of organic waste according to the model of a circular economy and the concept of sustainable development, are indicated. The part on biogas production is summarised with an explanation of the necessity to treat and purify biogas, taking into account the share of methane extracted. A special place in this paper is devoted to the design, construction, functioning and operation of biogas plants, based on both scientific and practical aspects. In conclusion of this chapter, the economic aspects and profitability of operating biogas plants are discussed, taking into account, in a theoretical balance sheet – in addition to investment and operating costs and the availability and cost of raw materials – the possibilities of producing and using electricity and heat, as well as environmental and social benefits. The article concludes with a discussion of opportunities and barriers to the development of biogas plants, pointing to: financial issues, access to feedstock, political regulations, public awareness and the geopolitical situation as key factors issues related to biogas plants – in different regions of the world.

This article presents an in-depth review of Virtual Power Plant (VPP), its organization in the energy system and its prospects in the face of the promising future of the increasing bidirectional complexity exposed in the current scenario. A new paradigm for the operations of modern power distribution and transmission systems requires greater grid flexibility that is accompanying an extensive change in the structure of electricity markets, the fruit of the development of the renewable industry and of the growing photovoltaic systems popularized, but in contrast due to the intermittent nature cause variable uncertainties in the power system. Innovative concepts like VPP are becoming a reality, establishing an efficient and effective mechanism. The objectives and components are described in a comprehensive way, and some of the most important are pointed out and presented in detail to contribute with a description of the energy systems and the implicit research needed for sustainability and resilience in the eminent energy scenario with this technology. In addition, the literature and studies of this technology already indicate a direction of this new tool as a promising solution to manage the uncertainties of the renewable energies.

Vegetative desiccation tolerance has evolved within the genus Craterostigma and Lindernia. A centre of endemism and diversification for these plants appears to occur in ancient tropical montane rainforests of east Africa in Kenya and Tanzania. Lindernia subracemosa, a desiccation-sensitive relative of C. plantagineum, occurs in these rainforests and experiences adequate rainfall and thus does not require desiccation tolerance. However, sharing this inselberg habitat, another species Lindernia brevidens does retain vegetative desiccation tolerance and is also related to the resurrection plant C. plantagineum found in South Africa. Leaf material was collected from all three species at different stages of hydration: fully hydrated, half-dry (ca. 45% relative water content), and fully desiccated. Cell wall monosaccharide datasets were collected from all three species. Comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) was performed using ca. 27 plant cell wall specific antibody and carbohydrate binding module probes. Global datasets do not show significant differences between the selected species suggesting that cell wall modifications in response to vegetative desiccation involve subtle cell wall remodelling not reflected by compositional analysis and that the plants and their walls are constitutively protected against desiccation.

This study examines the potential of implementing a systematic approach to piloting desalination plants, with the objective of evaluating energy improvements in water desalination processes. The global scarcity of freshwater resources has significantly influenced the development of desalination technologies, with reverse osmosis emerging as one of the most prevalent and highly regarded methods. Pilot tests with the latest generation of reverse osmosis membranes in large desalination plants are becoming increasingly common. This is due to the fact that small-scale experiments are being carried out on the operation of new generation membranes with better salt rejection and lower energy consumption. The objective of this approach is to achieve the optimal water quality standard at the lowest possible cost. In this manner, pilot tests are being conducted prior to the determination of whether to alter the reverse osmosis membranes, as this represents a substantial investment. The objective of these tests is to minimise the risk of making an erroneous decision and to ensure optimal results in terms of energy consumption, operating costs and reduction of environmental impact, while complying with the requisite water quality standards. In this case, the Pareto analysis is employed to identify the two or three most significant causes whose treatment affects more than 80% of the potential energy savings to be implemented. This article introduces a novel approach to studying a total of 180 desalination plants at the territorial level in the Canaries.

Green electrospun materials are gaining popularity in the quest for a more sustainable environment for human life. Bee pollen (BP) is a valuable apitherapeutic product, and has many beneficial features such as, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Alginate is a natural and low-cost polymer. Both natural materials show good compatibility with human tissues for biomedical applications and have no toxic effect on the environment. In this study, bee pollen-loaded sodium alginate and polyvinyl alcohol (SA/PVA) nanofibrous mats were fabricated by the electrospinning technique. The green electrospun nanofibrous mats were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). According to the findings of the study, the toxin-free electrospinning method is suitable for producing green nanomaterial. Because of the useful properties of the bee pollen and the favorable biocompatibility of the alginate fibers, the bee pollen-loaded SA/PVA electrospun mats have the potential for use in a variety of biomedical applications

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a key pathological feature of several of the leading causes of vision loss including neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Here we show that a calreticulin anti-angiogenic domain (CAD)-like peptide 27, CAD27, inhibited in vitro angiogenic activities, including tube formation and migration of endothelial cells, and suppressed vascular sprouting from rat aortic ring explants. In rat model of laser-induced CNV, we demonstrate that intravitreal injection of CAD27 significantly attenuated the formation of CNV lesions as measured via fundus fluorescein angiography and choroid flat-mounts (19.5% and 22.4% reductions at 10μg and 20μg of CAD27 injected, respectively). Similarly, the reduction of CNV lesions was observed in the groups of rats that had received topical applications of CAD27 (choroid flat-mounts: 17.9% and 32.5% reductions at 10μg/mL and 20μg/mL of CAD27 installed, respectively). Retinal function was unaffected, as measured using electroretinography in both groups received interareal injection or topical applications of CAD27 at least for 9 days. These findings show that CAD27 can be used as a potential therapeutic alternative for targeting CNV in the diseases such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Crop production has become a priority issue in the last few years due to the exponential growth of the world population and the need to substitute chemical fertilizers. This last matter is under the spotlight to achieve a more sustainable approach in a cost-effective way. Biostimulants have gained attention as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. Although they are not considered fertilisers as inputs of nutrients, they stimulate plants’ nutrition and tolerance to stress, among other characteristics. Amino acid-based biostimulants have been found to be effective in literature. This review focuses on the effectiveness of biostimulants, their presence in the global market, and mainly in their production with fish by-products as a source, using enzymatic hydrolysis and autolysis, focusing especially on fish viscera, their possibilities in the agricultural sector and their availability in Europe for possible opportunities. Fish viscera protein hydrolysates for biostimulant production seems a feasible alternative to fishmeal production in Europe, mainly in areas located far away from fishmeal plants.

Potentially, traditional medicine is used to manage multidrug resistance (MDR) bacterial infections. This study determined the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Thymus schimperi (Ts), Rhamnus prinoides (Rp) and Justicia schimperiana (Js) from Addis Ababa against MDR-Uropathogenic Bacteria. Hydromethanolic extracts were prepared. Quantitative determination of phytochemicals and DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays for antioxidant activities were carried out. In vitro, antibacterial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were performed. Ts had the highest total phenolic (TPC), flavonoid (TFC) and proanthocyanidin content. GC-MS analyses identified 14 bioactive-compounds: in Ts extract, with hexanedioic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, thymol, and o-cymen-5-ol being the most predominant, respectively; in Rp extract (6 compounds; hexanedioic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, β-D-glucopyranoside, methyl and desulphosinigrin respectively); and in Js extract (5 bioactive-compounds: hexanedioic acid, mono (2-ethylhexyl) ester, debrisoquine, and 8,11,14-heptadecatrienoate, methyl ester) being predominant, respectively. The extracts' TPC showed a strong negative correlation with the DPPH assay (r= -0.999; p=0.023), while its TFC correlated significantly with the ABTS assay (r=0.999; p= 0.032). Ts showed the highest antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae ESBL at 1000 mg/mL, and TS had the lowest MIC (4 mg/mL) among evaluated extracts against E. coli (ATCC25922). In conclusion, Ts and Rp showed activity against patient-isolated MDR-uropathogenic E. coli and K. pneumoniae ESBL.

Pakistan flora is enriched with potent bioactive compounds that must be explored while Alzheimer's disease (AD) poses a global challenge driven by neurochemical imbalances. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors traditionally alleviate symptoms, but addressing the root cause remains elusive. This gap has led to the exploration of herbal sources for interventions. In this context, we analyzed fifty 50 medicinal plants for their phytochemical composition and antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activities. AChE activity was measured using Ellman’s method. Santalum album exhibited significant AChE inhibition (86.2%), surpassing galantamine hydrobromide (81.8%). Promising inhibition was also seen in Bombax ceiba (77.8%), Acacia karoo (52.9%), and Phaseolus lunatus (50.1%). Detailed analysis revealed Santalum album's abundance in terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, and phenolics, potentially correlating with its antioxidant and AChE inhibitory effects. Acacia karoo demonstrated elevated levels of total alkaloids, antioxidants, terpenoids, and tannins. Both Acacia karoo and Santalum album show promise for AD intervention due to their AChE inhibitory activities and unique phytochemical attributes, warranting further exploration, particularly for Acacia karoo's novel potential in AChE inhibition, to advance targeted AD therapeutics utilizing natural resources. This study contributes to the search for effective AD strategies from nature's pharmacological resources.

Recent pollinator declines have focused efforts on their conservation which require clear estimates of pollination value to agriculture. Our socio-economic producer surveys and agronomic field research data were used to present a new way of estimating ecosystem service value of native pollinators. Using two regionally important U.S.A. crops, Maine wild blueberry and Massachusetts cranberry as models, we present perceived values of native bee pollinators from both consumer and producers. Wild blueberry’s Replacement Cost (RC) was greater than Attributable Net Income (ANI), since greater rented honey bee stocking densities are required. Attributable Net Income for native bees were similar for wild blueberry ($613/ha) and cranberry ($689/ha). Marginal Net Farm Income (MNFI) from incrementally adding more hives per ha was greater from stocking a third/fourth hive per ha for cranberry ($6,206) than stocking a ninth/tenth hive per ha for wild blueberry ($556), given greater responsiveness of yield, revenue, and profit to using rented honey bee hives in cranberry compared to wild blueberry. Both crops’ producers were only willing to annually invest $140–188/ha in native pollination enhancements on their farms, justifying government support. Consumers are willing to pay ~6.7 times more to support native bees than producers, supporting market-based support for invertebrate conservation.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence combined with behavioral sciences have led to the development of cutting-edge tools for recognizing human emotions based on text, video, audio, and physiological data. However, these data sources are expensive, intrusive, and regulated, unlike plants which have been shown to be sensitive to human steps and sounds. A methodology is proposed to use plants as human emotion detectors. Electrical signals from plants are tracked and labeled based on video data. Labeled data are then used for classification. MLP, biLSTM, MFCC-CNN, MFCC-ResNet, and additionally, Random Forests, 1-Dimensional CNN, and biLSTM without windowing models are set using a grid search algorithm with cross-validation. Finally, best-parameterized models are trained and used with the test set for classification. The performance of this methodology is measured with a case study with 54 participants, who were watching an emotionally charged video, as ground truth their facial emotions were simultaneously measured using face emotion analysis. The Random Forest model shows the best performance, particularly in recognizing high-arousal emotions, achieving an overall weighted accuracy of 55.2% and demonstrating high weighted recall in emotions such as fear 61.0% and happiness 60.4%. The MFCC-ResNet model offers decently balanced results, with Accuracy(MFCC-ResNet)=0.318 and Recall (MFCC-ResNet)=0.324. With the MFCC-ResNet model fear and anger are recognized with 75% and 50% recall respectively. Thus, using plants as an emotion recognition tool seems worth investigating, addressing both cost and privacy concerns.

The cyclamen mite, Phytonemus pallidus, is one of the important pests in strawberry cultivation in Canada. This insect pest hides on young strawberry leaves that have not yet opened, which limits their control. In addition, the fight against the latter involves the use of synthetic chemicals that are not without effect on the environment, human health and beneficial organisms. We hypothesized that vectorization by bees could reduce the number of applications, product runoff and provide targeted control of these pathogens. To do this, field trials were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of bumblebees Bombus terrestris in propagating Beauveria bassiana to control this pest. Our results showed that bumblebees were able to disseminate the inoculum on strawberry plants. Also, all the products used (B. bassiana and neem oil) were effective on P. pallidus. It should be noted that high mortality has been noted on this pest thanks to the application of this entomopathogen by spraying. In addition, neither of the two products tested had a significant effect on lady beetles C. septempunctata. These results therefore suggest the use of bee vectoring and neem essential oils in the sustainable management of strawberry mites.

Forest-grass intercropping patterns of protected cultivation has been widely used to increase productivity and sustainability in modern agriculture. However, there have been few studies of wolfberry (L. barbarum) intercropping and it is cultivated mostly by clean tillage. This paper takes 10 kinds of wolfberry-forage intercropping patterns, compares the effects of different planting modes on the growth, yield, photosynthetic characteristics, nutritional quality, and the degree of occurrence of diseases and pests, which aims to make clear the effects of wolfberry-forage intercropping patterns on wolfberry. The results showed that different intercropping combinations had different effects on wolfberry. The overall effect of Wolfberry-forage intercropping patterns on the growth of wolfberry were promote the photosynthetic characteristics. Ryegrass could increase the branch number, Lvyuan 5 and mangel increase branch length; Mangel, clover, sweet sorghum, ryegrass and stipas could reduce the damage of powdery mildew by 69%, and alfalfa, stipa and ryegrass could reduce the occurrence of aphids by 67% (P<0.05). Intercropping could increase carotenoids, flavonoids and ascorbic acid contents to improve wolfberry quality by 21%, 53% and 127%, respectively (P<0.05). Among all the performances, wolfberry-mangel intercropping has absolute advantages in promoting wolfberry yield and quality increase. Therefore the best patterns of wolfberry-mangel, wolfberry-ryegrass, wolfberry-alfalfa and wolfberry-clover were chosen.

About 10% of angiosperms, an estimated 20,000 species, produce latex from ubiquitous isoprene precursors. Latex, an aqueous suspension of rubber particles and other compounds, functions as an antifeedant and herbivory deterrent. Here, I propose that the solubility of latex in neutral to alkaline pH supports the hypothesis that foregut-fermenting herbivores such as ruminants, kangaroos, sloths, insect larvae and tadpoles have evolved to adapt to the ingestion of latex with the evolution of alkaline anterior digestive chamber(s). However, they consequently become susceptible to the action of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) -endotoxin and related bioinsecticides which are activated in alkaline environments. By contrast, hindgut-fermenting herbivores such as horses and rabbits have acidic anterior digestive chambers in which latex coagulates and may cause gut blockage, but in which Bt is not activated. The latex-adapted foregut herbivore vs. latex-maladapted hindgut herbivore hypothesis developed in this paper has implications for foregut-fermenting husbanded livestock and zoo animals which may be provided with latex-containing forage that is detrimental to their gut health. Further, ruminants and herbivorous tadpoles with alkaline anterior chambers are at risk for damage by the supposedly “environmentally-friendly” Bt bioinsecticide which is widely disseminated, or engineered into crops which may enter animal feed streams.

Metabolomics is now considered to be a wide-ranging, sensitive and practical approach to acquire useful information on the composition of a metabolite pool present in any organism, including plants. Investigating metabolomic regulation in plants is essential to understand their adaptation, acclimation and defense response to environmental stresses through the production of numerous metabolites. Moreover, metabolomics can be easily applied for the phenotyping of plants; and thus, it has great potential to be used in molecular breeding and genome editing programs to develop superior next generation crops. This review describes the recent analytical tools and techniques available to study plants metabolome, along with their significance of sample preparation using targeted and non-targeted method. Advanced analytical tools, like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography mass-spectroscopy (LC-MS), capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS), fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) have speed up metabolic profiling in plants. Further, we deliver a complete overview of bioinformatics tools and plant metabolome database that can be utilized to advance our knowledge to plant biology.

The antioxidant properties and polyphenol content of some selected aromatic plants grown in Greece were studied. Plants were refluxed with 60% methanol after acid hydrolysis. The phenolic substances were quantified by HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was determined with the Rancimat test using sunflower oil as substrate. Free radical scavenging activity was measured using the stable free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Results were compared with standard BHT and ascorbic acid. Total phenol concentration of the extracts was estimated with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent using gallic acid as standard.

This study aimed to select the most effective metabolites for controlling honey bee nosemosis using culture extracts from 342 entomopathogenic fungi of 24 species from 18 genera. The germination inhibitory activity of the fungal culture extract against Nosema ceranae spores was evaluated using an in vitro germination assay method. Among 89 fungal culture extracts showing germination inhibitory activity of approximately 80% or more, 44 culture extracts that maintained their inhibitory activity even at a concentration of 1% were selected. Finally, the honey bee nosemosis inhibitory activity was evaluated using the cultured extracts of 5 fungal isolates having a Nosema inhibitory activity of approximately 60% or more even when the extract was removed after treatment. As a result, the proliferation of Nosema spores was reduced by all fungal culture extract treatments. However, only the treatment of the culture extracts from Paecilomyces marquandii 364 and Pochonia bulbillosa 60 showed a reduction in honey bee mortality due to nosemosis. In particular, the extracts of these two fungal isolates also increased the survival of honey bees.

Garcinia indica (Thouars) Choisy (commonly known as Kokum) is an important medicinal plant in Ayurvedic medicine and belonging to the Clusiaceae family. Kokum is a highly traded medicinal plant species of India, dried rind of fruits and butter from seeds are traded in the markets. This study aimed to assemble the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of G. indica and compare it with the previously published cp genome within the Garcinia taxa to identify the potential species-specific barcode marker for Kokum authentication. The assembled cp genome, with a size of 1,56,891 bp, exhibits a typical quadripartite structure. The large single-copy (LSC) region spans 85,580 bp, and the small single-copy (SSC) region spans 17,181 bp, together comprising 64.5% of the genome. The pair of inverted repeats (IRA and IRB) are each 27,065 bp, covering the remaining 35.5% of the genome. A total of 126 unique genes were identified, including 86 protein-coding genes, 32 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis using complete cp genomes from 12 species in the Clusiaceae family indicated that 10 Garcinia species form a sister clade. Notably, the ycf1 gene in the LSC region was more divergent within the Garcinia species. This study presents the first report on the chloroplast genome of G. indica. This chloroplast genome resource provides a basis for identifying new DNA barcode marker as well as species-specific marker for herbal drug authentication of Kokum, and species delineation within the Garcinia genus.

The vegetation in constructed wetlands (CWs) plays an important role in wastewater treatment. Popularly, the common emergent plants in CWs have been vegetation of natural wetlands. However, there are ornamental flowering plants that have some physiological characteristics similar to the plants of natural wetlands that can stimulate the removal of pollutants in wastewater treatments; such importance in CWs is described here. A literature survey of 87 CWs from 21 countries showed that the four most commonly used flowering ornamental vegetation genera were Canna, Iris, Heliconia and Zantedeschia. In terms of geographical location, Canna spp. is commonly found in Asia, Zantedeschia spp. is frequent in Mexico (a country in North America), Iris is most commonly used in Asia, Europe and North America, and species of the Heliconia genus are commonly used in Asia and parts of the Americas (Mexico, Central and South America). This review also compares the use of ornamental plants versus natural wetland plants and systems without plants for removing pollutants (COD, BOD, nitrogen and phosphorous compounds). The removal efficiency was similar between flowering ornamental and natural wetland plants. However, pollutant removal was better when using ornamental plants than in unplanted CWs. The use of ornamental flowering plants in CWs is an excellent option, and efforts should be made to increase the adoption of these system types and use them in domiciliary, rural and urban areas.

(1) Background: There is insufficient empirical evidence on the correlates of health care utilization of irregular migrants currently living in Turkey. The aim of this study was to identify individual level determinants associated with health service and medication use. (2) Methods: 155 Afghans completed surveys assessing service utilization including encounters with primary care physicians and outpatient specialists in addition to the use of prescription and nonprescription medicines. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to examine associations between service use and a range of predisposing, enabling, and perceived need factors. (3) Results: Health services utilization was lowest for outpatient specialists (20%) and highest for nonprescription medications (37%). Female gender and higher income predicted encounters with primary care physicians. Income, and other enabling factors such as family presence in Turkey predicted encounters with outpatient specialists. Perceived illness-related need factors had little to no influence on use of services; however, asylum difficulties increased the likelihood for encounters with primary care physicians, outpatient services, and the use of prescription medications. 4) Conclusion: This study suggests that health services use among Afghan migrants in Turkey is low considering the extent of their perceived illness-related needs, which may be further exacerbated by the precarious conditions in which they live.

Tigrai region is one of the potential beekeeping areas in Ethiopia, which is endowed with diversified honeybee plant species. However, its honeybee plants are deforested and degraded due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. Area exclosures (AEs) has been practicing for the last three decades restore degraded habitats of the plant species in Ethiopia. Empirical data on the effectiveness of AE is still limited for restoration of honey bee plant species; this study was conducted to assess the roles of AE for species composition, density, and diversity and regeneration status of honeybee floras. Sixty quadrats were installed, 36 in AE and 24 in CGL (communal grazing lands) using a systematic sampling method. The study showed that a total of 42 honey bee plant species belonging to 23 families in AE and 33 species belonging to 17 families in CGL were recorded. The study also indicated a significant increase in the abundance, diversity, regeneration and the structure of the honey bee plant species was found in the AEs. The list presented herein provides a guide to stakeholders in establishing of AE for the foraging resource of honeybee in order to enhance the abundance, diversity and regeneration and structure. Thus, AE has made a significant contribution to solving the shortage of honeybee forages in the beekeeping industry. Therefore, the development of beekeeping is integrated with conservation of natural resources.

Insect behavior is coordinated mainly by smell, through the diverse odor-binding proteins (OBP) that allow them to identify and recognize their environment. Sensory information collected through smell is then analyzed and interpreted in the brain, allowing for correct insect functioning. The behavior of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) can be affected by different pathogens, such as deformed wing virus (DWV). In particular, DWV variant A (DWV-A) is capable of altering olfactory sensitivity, reducing the gene expression of different OBPs, including those associated with nursing behavior. DWV is also capable of replicating itself in the sensory lobes of the brain, further compromising the processing of sensory information. This study evaluated the behavioral response of nurse honey bees exposed to a pheromone compound and the alterations in the gene expression of pre- and post-synaptic neuronal genes neuroxins-1 and neurogilin-1 in the bee heads and OBP proteins in antennae of nurse bees inoculated with DWV-A. The behavioral response of nurse bees exposed to the larval pheromone compounds benzyl alcohol was analyzed using a Y-tube olfactometer. The viral load, gene expression of OBP5 and OBP11 in antennae and the neuroxins-1 and neurogilin-1 in the bee heads were analyzed by qPCR. High viral loads significantly reduced the ability of 10- and 15-day-old nurse honey bees to choose the correct pheromone compound. Also, the gene expression of OBP5, OBP11, neuroxin-1 and neurogilin-1 in nurse honey bees decreased when they were highly infected with DWV-A. These results suggest that a DWV-A infection can disturb information processing and cause nurse honey bees to reduce their activity inside the hive, altering internal cohesion.

In this Case Report we analyze the possible causes of the poor health status of a professional Apis mellifera iberiensis apiary located in Gajanejos (Guadalajara, Spain). Several factors that potentially favor colony collapse were identified, including Nosema ceranae infection, alone or in combination with other factors (eg, BQCV and DWV infection), and the accumulation of acaricides commonly used to control Varroa destructor in the beebread (coumaphos and tau-fluvalinate). Based on the levels of residues, the average toxic unit estimated for the apiary, suggests a possible increase in vulnerability to infection by N. ceranae due to the presence of high levels of acaricides. These data highlight the importance of evaluating these factors in future monitoring programs, as well as the need to adopt adequate preventive measures as part of national and international welfare programs aimed at guaranteeing the health and fitness of bees.

Astragalus plants belong to the legume family and have obvious rhizosphere effect. The northwestern area of Yunnan China is the main distribution region of Astragalus plants with high application value, but low recognition and resource reserves. The aim of this research is to explore the species diversity of cultivable rhizosphere fungi derived from A. acaulis, A. forrestii, and A. ernestii growing in special high-cold environment of northwest Yunnan, and discover anti-infective components from these fungi. A total of 93 fungal strains belonging to 38 species in 18 genera were isolated and identified. Antibacterial and antimalarial screening yielded 10 target strains. Among them, the ethyl acetate crude extract of the fungus Aspergillus calidoustus AA12 from A. acaulis fermentation substance showed a broad antibacterial spectrum and the best antimalarial activity. Further chemical investigation led to the first discovery of seven compounds from the species of A. calidoustus, including a sesterterpine 6-epi-ophiobolin G (1), two sesquiterpenes penicisochroman A (2), pergillin (3) and 7-methyl-2-(1-methylethylethlidene)-furo[3,2-H]isoquinoline-3-one (4), and three polyketides trypacidin (5), 1,2-seco-trypacidin (6) and questin (7). Compound 1 exhibited moderate to strong antibacterial activity against six Gram-positive pathogens with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 25 to 6.25 μg/mL, and prominent inhibitory effect on the biofilm of Streptococcus agalactiae at MIC value of 3.125 μg/mL. This compound also displayed potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains 3D7 and chloroquine-resistant Dd2 at the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 3.319 and 4.340 µmol/L at 72 h, respectively. This study contributed to our understanding of the cultivable rhizosphere fungi Astragalus-derived in special high-cold environment and further increased the library of fungi available for natural anti-infectious products screening.

Verticillium wilt is a soil borne disease caused by distinct vegetative compatibility groups (VCG) of the fungus Verticillium dahliae. Two V. dahliae isolates were recovered from symptomatic cot-ton plants in Australian cotton fields and were assigned to two distinct vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). One corresponding to the defoliating (VCG 1A) and the other non-defoliating (VCG 2A) pathotypes of Verticillium, have been transformed with Red and Green Fluorescent protein genes, respectively. The transformants maintained their ability to infect cotton and both strains were observed to colonise the xylem vessels of cotton plants. Moreover, we observed that the cotton V. dahliae strains could also infect some sampled non-Gossypium species found in the Australian landscape. The fluorescently labelled strains of V. dahliae will allow us to gain a thorough understanding of the infection processes of this important pathogen.

Increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by improving agricultural practices, soil knowledge and implementing precision agriculture, is essential to reduce the overuse of fertilisers and increase nutrient retention. This study aimed to optimise N management in agriculture by establishing a critical N dilution curve (CNDC) and analysing variations in NUE and N nutrition index (NNI) among different crops under various treatments. Using a Bayesian model, the CNDC was determined as %Nc = 3.63 * PDM-0.71. The results presented that plant dry matter (PDM) and plant N content (PNC) varied significantly with crop type and sampling moments. Strong positive correlations are presented by PDM with N uptake (NUp) (0.89) and NNI (0.88), along with an inverse correlation with critical N concentration (-0.95). The study found that crops under irrigation conditions had higher NUp and higher NNI. This study provides valuable insights into the influence of key management decisions on the N nutritional status of annual ryegrass-based forage crops. The results highlight the critical role of accurate and conscious decision-making in improving NUE and crop yields, emphasising the complex interactions between biomass production and N dynamics in crops. The conclusions allow significant benefits to be realised, contributing to the sustainability of agricultural systems.

In order to ensure food security worldwide in the face of current climatic changes, a higher quality and quantity of crops is necessary to sustain the growing human population. By developing a sustainable circular economy and biorefinery approaches, we can move from a petroleum-based to a bio-based economy. Plant biostimulants have long been considered an important source of plant growth stimulants in agronomy and agro-industries with both macroalgae (seaweeds) and microalgae (microalgae). There has been extensive exploration of macroalgae biostimulants. A lack of research and high production costs have constrained the commercial implementation of microalgal biostimulants, despite their positive impact on crop growth, development and yields. The current knowledge on potential biostimulatory compounds, key sources and their quantitative information from algae is summarized in the present review. Our goal is to provide a brief overview of the potential for microalgal biostimulants to improve crop production and quality. A number of key aspects are discussed, including the biostimulant effects caused by microalgae extracts, as well as the feasibility and potential for cocultures and coapplication with other biostimulants and biofertilizers. This article also discusses the current knowledge, recent developments and achievements in extraction techniques, types of applications, timings of applications. Ultimately, this review highlights the potential for microalgal biostimulants for sustainable agricultural practices, the algal biochemical components contributing to these traits, and finally bottlenecks and involved prospects in commercializing microalgal biostimulants.

Besides a diffuse research activity on drug discovery and biodiversity carried out in natural contexts, more recently investigations concerning endophytic fungi have started considering their occurrence in crops based on the major role that these microorganisms have been recognized to play in plant protection and growth promotion. Fruit growing is particularly involved in this new wave, by reason that the pluriannual crop cycle implies a likely higher impact of these symbiotic interactions. Aspects concerning occurrence and effects of endophytic fungi associated with citrus species are revised in the present paper.

This paper describes preliminary results of measuring the impact of human body movements on plants. In particular, we analyze the influence of eurythmic gestures of human actors on lettuce and beans. In an eight week experiment, we exposed rows of lettuce and beans to weekly eurythmic movements (similar to Qi Gong) of a eurythmist, while at the same time measuring changes in voltage between the roots and leaves of lettuce and beans using the plant spikerbox (https://backyardbrains.com/products/plantspikerbox). We compared this experimental group of vegetables with a control group of vegetables whose voltage differential was also measured while never being exposed to eurythmy. Using t-tests, we found a clear difference between the experimental and the control group which was also verified with a machine learning model. In other words, the vegetables showed a noticeably different pattern in electric potentials in response to eurythmic gestures.

Insecurity, corruption, and rising unemployment have resulted in a mass exodus of young adult Afghans seeking asylum in western nations. This has depleted Afghanistan of generations of young people which are critical to rebuild the country. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of young adult Afghans with no immediate intentions of seeking international asylum; that is, individuals who intend to stay in Afghanistan. In a cross-sectional study conducted in Kabul, we surveyed 232 young adults between 18 and 35 years of age. Surveys included measures assessing standard socio-demographic and -economic factors, as well as health and psychological factors. Univariate logistic regression analyses suggest that participants with an intent to stay in Afghanistan are more likely to be financially stable, possess higher health-related quality of life, lower psychological distress, and higher levels of hope and optimism, as well as higher resilience. When controlling for all other variables in the model, only hope, optimism, and higher resilience remained as significant correlates of intending to stay. Our findings suggest that young people who intend to stay in their country look forward to a better future, which provides strong evidence for the need to strengthen the social contract by fostering resilience, hope and optimism in war-affected communities, in order to prevent a generation of talented young people from seeking asylum in western nations.