A herbarium is a library of preserved dried samples of vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, algae and/or lichens and is maintained for educational and scientific purposes, and provides detailed information on taxonomy, systematic, biodiversity, ecological and evolutionary research studies. Globally, there are more than 3,000 active public herbaria that preserve around 400 million exsiccates. In Brazil there are 216 active herbaria, of which 162 are indexed in the Index Herbariorum and in the Central region there are 21 herbaria. In this context, the Herbarium of the University of Brasília (international code UB) was founded in 1963 together with the Department of Botany of UnB and is located at the Institute of Biological Sciences of the Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília and it is fifth largest herbarium in Brazil and presents approximately 277 thousand samples. In this study, we present here the bryophytes collection at the UB Herbarium. The collection of bryophytes of UB herbarium has 30,902 samples of all continents and 79 countries and most come from Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, United States of America and Argentina.

From a thermodynamic point of view, living cell life is no more than a cyclic process. It starts with the newly separated daughter cells and restarts when the next generations grow as free entities. In this cycle the cell changes its entropy. In cancer the growth control is damaged. In this paper we analyze the role of the volume-area ratio in cell in relation to the heat exchange between cell and its environment in order to point out the effect on the cancer growth. The result holds to a possible control of the cancer growth based on the heat exchanged by the cancer towards its environment, and the membrane potential variation, with the consequence of controlling the ions fluxes and the related biochemical reactions. This second law approach could represent a starting point for a possible future support for the anticancer therapies, in order to improve their effectiveness for the untreatable cancers.

The search for biological markers, which allow a relatively accurate assessment of the individual course of pulmonary sarcoidosis at the time of diagnosis remains one of the research priorities in this field of pulmonary medicine. The aim of our study was to investigate possible prognostic factors for pulmonary sarcoidosis with a special focus on cellular immune inflammation markers. 2 years follow-up of the study population after initial prospective and simultaneous analysis of lymphocyte activation markers expression in the blood, as well as bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung biopsy tissue of patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis, was done. We found that some blood and BAL fluid immunological markers and lung computed tomography (CT) patterns have been associated with a different course of sarcoidosis. We revealed five markers that had a significant negative association with the course of sarcoidosis (worsening pulmonary function tests and/or the chest CT changes) – blood CD4+CD31+ and CD4+CD44+ T lymphocytes, BALF CD8+CD31+ and CD8+CD103+ T lymphocytes and a number of lung nodules on chest CT at the time of the diagnosis. Cut-off values, sensitivity, specificity, and odds ratio for predictors of sarcoidosis progression were calculated. These markers may be reasonable predictors of sarcoidosis progression.

This study aimed to verify the responsiveness of common bean plants subjected to re-inoculation of Rhizobium in topdressing applied at different stages in edaphoclimatic conditions of the Cerrado. A randomized block design was used, with four replications: T1=uninoculated control; T2=inoculation via seed (VS); T3=VS + reinoculation at the V4 stage; T4=VS + reinoculation at the R5 stage; T5=VS + reinoculation at the R6 stage; T6=VS + reinoculation in at V4 and R5 stages; T7=VS + re-inoculation at V4 and R6 stage; T8=VS + reinoculation at R5 and R6 stages; T9=VS + reinoculation at V4, R5, and R6 stages, and T10=mineral nitrogen fertilization. Nodulation and morphological variables were evaluated at the R7 stage and agronomic variables at R9 at harvest. The use of reinoculation, in addition to inoculation, positively influenced the bean nodulation process. The morphological characteristics of the plants showed good development with the supply of N performed by inoculation and reinoculation, equivalent to the addition of mineral nitrogen fer-tilizer. Reinoculation from R5 to R7 stagesproved ineffective in supplying N to the common bean crop. Inoculation associated with reinoculation at the V4 stage provided higher yields and could replace mineral nitrogen fertilizer.

The purpose of our study is to determine the effectiveness of various types of psychocorrection measures: social and psychological training, a method of biological feedback and Sandplay for the indicators of childhood anxiety among younger schoolchildren. The study was conducted in the school of Magadan, North East of Russia (9-10 year old students, n = 43). We used a standardized method of Multidimensional Assessment of Child Anxiety which included 10 scales. The correction methods were used: socio-psychological training (SPT), biofeedback method (BFB), individual and group Sandplay. Students of group I (n = 12) participated only in the SPT. Students of group II (n = 11) participated in the SPT and underwent a course of training in self-regulation using the BFB method. In correction work with the students of group III (n = 20), the SPT, BFB, individual and group Sandplay were used. In group I, after the correction activities, a significant decrease in anxiety was observed in 3 of 10 scales (2, 6, 7; (p <0.05). In group II it was seen in 5 scales (1, 3, 6, 7, 8; p <0.05). In group III, a significant improvements took place in 7 scales (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10; p <0.01–p <0.05). The present study has shown the different efficacy of applying the remedial techniques separately and in combination. The use of methods in the complex enhances the impact on the types of the child anxiety.

With the liberalization of the mining sector, a considerable demographic explosion is witnessed in Lubumbashi city (southeastern of the D.R. Congo). The resulting spatial urban expansion is unplanned, reducing the vegetation cover abundance within and around the city. To address this situation, Acacia auriculiformis, an alien species, has been planted without planning and monitoring. We quantify the spatio-temporal pattern dynamics of A. auriculiformis along the urban-rural gradient from the digitisation of Google Earth images from 2006, 2014 and 2021, and evaluate tree diversity through floristic inventory. Results showed that the plantation of A. auriculiformis, belonging to park, street trees and green spaces-types, increased in patch number and acreage, mostly in urban zone. The values of the patch which were highest in 2006 decreased in 2021, especially in the urban zone. Thirty-nine trees species were founded on A. auriculiformis plantations, with Albizia lebbeck, Albizia alba and Leucaena leucocephala being the most common. However, results showed that 20 species out of 39 species found are exotic, half of which are invasive species. However, 19 trees species are indigenous, mainly found in peri-urban zones. Although most tree species were observed in urban zones, the average diameters were greater in the peri-urban zone. Overall, obtained results appear to suggest that the sustainability of A. auriculiformis within the urban and peri-urban zones of Lubumbashi city appears uncertain since a considerable number of attracted species are found to be alien invasive trees that pose a threat to biodiversity conservation. There is an urgent need for adoption of a master plan for sustainable integration and monitoring of trees plantations for limiting erosion of indigenous phytodiversity and the spread of alien invasive species populations in the adjacent rural area.

Lomefloxacin (F1) and pefloxacin (F2) have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we investigated the complexation mode, morphological and biological properties of four metal-based complexes of F1 and F2 molecules with Mg(II), Ca(II), Zn(II), and Fe(III) metal ions. These complexes were prepared at ~60–70°C in a neutral medium using a 5% NH3 solution at pH ~7-8 with a 1:1 ratio. Multiple physicochemical methods were employed to characterize the binding mode between F1 and F2 with the metal ions under investigation. The results of these methods suggested that the gross formula of the complexes obtained with the metal ions were [MgF1(H2O)Cl]2H2O, [CaF1(H2O)Cl]3H2O, [ZnF1(H2O)Cl], [FeF1(H2O)2Cl2]Cl2H2O, [MgF2(H2O)Cl]2H2O, [CaF2(H2O)Cl]3H2O, [ZnF2(H2O)Cl], and [FeF2(H2O)2Cl2]Cl2H2O. The microscopic characterizations indicated that the Ca(II)-F1 complex had an interesting surface topography. Its particles had a homogenous, short, rod-like shaped structure that clustered together to form a tree shape. Using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion protocol, the synthesized metal-based complexes were screened in vitro against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial and fungal species. The antimicrobial profile of the Fe(III)-F1 complex indicated that it had remarkable inhibitory activity against all the tested bacterial and fungal species with potency equal to that of the standard drugs (streptomycin and ketoconazole).

By definition, a cell is the smallest unit of biological life. This means that every living thing can be fundamentally narrowed down to a composition of cells working together for the furtherance of that being in existence. With the dawn dawn of the evolutionary theory that bespeaks of life commencing some 〜3.8 billion years ago with RNA strands that underwent evolution to become DNA, which led to what we have now as life in the world, or with the Panspermia hypothesis, assuming that life on Earth was seeded from space, what is being considered in this work pertains to the origin of life. In addition to the plethora of intuitive stances that concern the origin story of life, this work will only add to the these. The major hypothesis in this work is that the continuity of life, as pertaining to its procession from parent to offspring provides fundamental links to the origin of life and this is the major consideration that will be given. It is thus apparent that the cells that would be considered are germ cells and not somatic cells. A cursory look at the continuity of life, should give us clues as regards how life originated. We nonetheless, take into consideration the fact that some features due to its non-use have gone extinct, thus taking with them the needed knowledge to breaking even as regards our inquiry. Even at that, we propose that conjectures, hypothetically, can be made based on the physical evidence that is available to us today.

In a large variety of organisms, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are primary defences against pathogens. BP100 (KKLFKKILKYL-NH2), a short, synthetic, and cationic AMP, is active against bacteria and displays low toxicity towards eukaryotic cells. BP100 acquires an α-helical conformation upon interaction with membranes and increases membrane permeability. Despite the volume of information available, the mechanism of action of BP100, the selectivity of its biological effects, and its applications are far from consensual. In this work, we synthesized a fluorescent BP100 analog containing naphthalimide linked to its N-terminal end, Napht-BP100 (Napht-AAKKLFKKILKYL-NH2). The fluorescence properties of naphthalimides, especially their spectral sensitivity to microenvironment changes, are well established, and their biological activities against different types of cells are known. A wide variety of techniques were used to demonstrate that a-helical Napht-BP100 was bound and permeabilized POPC and POPG LUV. Napht-BP100, different from that observed for BP100, was bound to, and permeabilized POPC LUV. With zwitterionic (POPC) and negatively charged (POPG) containing LUVs, membrane surface high peptide/lipid ratios triggered complete disruption of the liposomes in a detergent-like manner. This disruption was driven by charge neutralization, lipid aggregation, and membrane destabilization. Napht-BP100 also interacted with double-stranded DNA, indicating that this peptide could also affect other cellular processes in addition to membrane destabilization. Napht-BP100 showed superior antibacterial activity, increased hemolytic activity compared to BP100, and may constitute an efficient antimicrobial agent for dermatological use. By conjugating BP100 and naphthalimide antimicrobial properties, Napht-BP100 was bound more efficiently to the bacterial membrane and could destabilize the membrane and enter the cell by interacting with its cytoplasm- exposed DNA.

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet much is still unknown about its mechanism of establishment and destruction. Recently, studies had shown that tumor cells cannot survive under the high temperature conditions. This treatment technique is called Hyperthermia. This report presents the case of radiative microwave heating of hyperthermia therapy on breast cancer in a porous medium. In this study, the steady state is solved analytically while unsteady state is solved using semi-implicit finite difference to get a more accurate prediction of blood temperature distributions within the breast tissues. A moderate temperature hyperthermia treatment is apply which results into cell death due to an increase in the level of cell sensitivity to radiation therapy and blood flow in tumor and oxygen. The results show that by applying metabolic heat generation rate of $3.97 X 10^{5}Wm^{-3}$, it takes upto 2 minutes for the tumor cells to get the require therapeutic temperature point.

This study introduces the MuhdoAge clock, a novel saliva-based epigenetic clock, designed to predict biological age with strong correlations in a healthy, disease-free cohort. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset from Muhdo Health, this research analyses saliva samples utilising the Illumina MethylationEPIC array. Through robust statistical methods, 237 significant CpG sites were identified that correlate with age-related methylation changes, exhibiting a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.652 after outlier removal, with tiered algorithmic design improving this further to 0.726 in a new dataset that combined pathologic and healthy individuals (n=2682). Comparatively, the MuhdoAge clock was evaluated against other known epigenetic clocks, demonstrating high precision in predicting biological age within healthy individuals (R² = 0.878, n=1844), emphasising its potential utility in non-invasive, large-scale applications. The clock shows promise for integration into public health strategies for monitoring and potentially mitigating age-related decline, facilitated by its ease of use and accessibility through saliva sampling. Furthermore, this study highlights the impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on biological ageing, highlighting the importance of personalised health interventions. Future research is to focus on longitudinal studies to validate these findings and explore the mechanisms underlying epigenetic age acceleration.

The indole nucleus is an important element of many natural and synthetic molecules with significant biological activity. Nonetheless, the co-presence of transitional metals in organic scaffold may represent an important factor in the development of effective medicinal agents. This review covers some of the relevant and recent achievements in the biological, chemical and pharmacological activity of important indole-based metal complexes in the area of drug discovery.

In recent years, cancer therapy has witnessed significant advancements, with a focus on personalized and targeted treatment strategies. One promising approach involves the use of stimuli-responsive biomaterials for site-specific drug release. Among these biomaterials, pH, and redox-triggered polymer-nano composites have gained immense attention due to their ability to respond to the specific tumor microenvironment, enhancing therapeutic efficacy while reducing off-target effects. Cancer cells often exhibit anomalous biochemical properties, attributed to lower cytosolic pH (acidic) and elevated redox potential through the epitomized upregulation of undesired genes. Such biological process substantially imbalance the level ions (protons) and biological thiols glutathione (GHS) in the cytoplasm as well as in the subcellular organelles. Superfluous accumulation of ions and redox imbalance is associated with proliferation, invasion, and growth of tumor. Because of high surface area, deep tissue penetration capability, higher hydrophilicity, hydrophobic interior for drug/gene efficient loading, biocompatibility and site-specific targeting efficiency, functionalized polymer nanocomposites are superior to conventional small molecular materials. Paradoxically conventional methods of drug delivery aided therapeutics accompanied with inherent drug/genes are encapsulated in biocompatible carrier or suitable transfecting agents generally suffered with low bioavailability, uncontrolled drug release, low cellular penetration, cellular internalization, toxicity, and poor drug loading efficiency. To overcome these issues, recently various multifunctional nanomaterials were developed, based on synergistic stimuli responsive aided drug release in a specified cellular or subcellular system. High therapeutic efficacy, of nanoparticles (NPs) mainly associated with surface functionalization through biocompatible polymeric materials, site-specific targeting units accompanied with stimuli responsive components. Followed by therapeutically important drug or genetic materials were loaded into NPs either in covalent or non-covalent approach. Intriguingly, combined pH and redox dual stimuli based functional materials specially based on polymeric nanocomposites for cancer therapeutics scarcely reported. This article provides the recent progress in pH and redox-responsive polymer-nano composites for site-specific drug delivery in cancer therapy. It explores design principles, fabrication methods, mechanism of action, and prospects of these dual-stimuli responsive biomaterials.

Estimating age at death is essential to establish a biological profile from human skeletal remains in both forensic and archeological settings. Imaging studies of skeletal age changes in adults have described metamorphosis of trabecular bone structure and bone loss in the proximal femur , as well as changes in morphology during different stages of life. This study aims to assess the utility of a digital representation of conventional X-ray films of the proximal femur for the estimation of age at death in a sample of 91 adult individuals (47 females and 44 males) of the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection. The proposed approach showed a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 17.32 years (and mean absolute error of 13.47 years) for females and an RMSE of 14.06 years (mean absolute error of 11.08 years) for males. The main advantage of this approach is the consistency in the feature detection and extraction, as X-ray images projected on the femora space will always produce the same set features to be analyzed for age estimation while more traditional methods rely heavily on operator experience which can lead to inconsistent age estimates among experts.

Fibrosis is the end result of persistent inflammatory responses induced by a variety of stimuli, including chronic infections, autoimmune reactions, and tissue injury. Fibrotic diseases affect all vital organs and are characterized by a high rate of morbidity and mortality in the developed world, although currently there are no approved antifibrotic therapies. In recent years, high levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) have been associated with chronic inflammatory diseases with fibrotic complications, that culminate in organ failure. In this review, we provide an update on the role of IL-17 in fibrotic diseases, with particular attention to the most recent lines of research in the therapeutic field represented by the epigenetic mechanisms that control IL-17 levels in fibrosis. A better knowledge of the IL-17 signalling pathway implications in fibrosis could design new strategies for therapeutic benefits.

Neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2) is a hemeprotein comprising a basic helix-loop-helix domain (bHLH) and two heme-binding sites, the PAS-A and PAS-B domains. This protein acts as a pyridine nucleotide-dependent and gas-responsive CO-dependent transcription factor and is encoded by a gene whose expression fluctuates with circadian rhythmicity. NPAS2 can heterodimerize with ARNTL in the activating limb of the transcriptional/translational feedback loop operating the circadian clock circuitry. NPAS2 can functionally substitute for the core transcription factor and histone/protein acetylase CLOCK in the molecular clockwork endowing central oscillators in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of hypothalamus as well as in peripheral oscillators in the cell of other body tissues, such as the liver and kidney.

Rat is one of the most commonly used model animals for biological research. The organs and systems of human being are somewhat similar to that of rat in structure as well as functions, making it a valuable choice for research experimentation in biological sciences. A number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the potential risks and toxicity of different elements on the physiology and histology of rats. There is need to address certain environmental factors affecting rats condition during experimentation. Reproduction along with its pathologies is under investigation on larger scale throughout the world, being central for the existence of a species. These studies focus on the major factors that influence reproductive function. Review of literature clearly indicated the unwanted consequences of over nutrition, malnutrition, high or low temperature, non-enriched housing, improper handling, intense or poor light exposure and environmental pollution on histology and hormonal profile of reproductive system of rats.

Prior research shows that individuals who have exhibited antisocial behavior are in poorer health than their same-aged peers. A major driver of poor health is aging itself, yet research has not investigated relationships between offending trajectories and biological aging. We tested the hypothesis that individuals following a life-course persistent (LCP) antisocial trajectory show accelerated aging in midlife. Trajectories of antisocial behavior from age 7 to 26 years were studied in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort (N=1037). Signs of aging were assessed at age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. First, we tested whether the association between antisocial behavior trajectories and midlife signs of faster aging represented a decline from initial childhood health. We then tested whether decline was attributable to tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, debilitating illnesses in adulthood, adverse exposures in childhood (maltreatment, socioeconomic disadvantage) and adulthood (incarceration), and to childhood self-control difficulties. Study members with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging by midlife, and this was most evident among individuals following the LCP trajectory (β, .22, 95%CI, .14, .28, p.001). This amounted to 4.3 extra years of biological aging between ages 25-45 years for Study members following the LCP trajectory compared to low-antisocial trajectory individuals. LCP offenders also experienced more midlife difficulties with hearing (β, -.14, 95%CI, -.21, -.08, p.001), balance (β, -.13, 95%CI, -.18, -.06, p.001), gait speed (β, -.18, 95%CI, -.24, -.10, p.001), and cognitive functioning (β, -.25, 95%CI, -.31, -.18, p.001). Associations represented a decline from childhood health. Associations persisted after controlling individually for tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, midlife illnesses, maltreatment, socioeconomic status, incarceration, and childhood self-control difficulties. However, the cumulative effect of these lifestyle characteristics together explained why LCP offenders have a faster Pace of Aging than their peers. While older adults typically age-out of crime, LCP offenders will likely age-into the healthcare system earlier than their chronologically same-aged peers. Preventing young people from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health, and people engaging in a LCP trajectory of antisocial behaviors might be the most in need of health promotion programs. We offer prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the financial burden of offenders on health care systems and improve their wellbeing.

Living cells are complex systems that may be characterized by fluids crowded by hundreds of different elements in particular by a high density of polymers; they are an excellent and challenging laboratory to study exotic emerging physical phenomena where entropic forces emerge from organization processes of many-body interactions. The competition between microscopic and entropic forces may generate complex behaviors like phase transitions that living cells may use to accomplish their functions. In the era of the big data, when biological information abounds but general principles and precise understanding of the microscopic interactions scarce, the entropy methods may offer significant information. In this work we develop a model where the thermodynamic equilibrium results from the competition between an effective electrostatic shortrange interaction and the entropic forces emerging in a fluid crowded by different size polymers. The target audience for this article are interdisciplinary researchers in complex systems, particularly in thermodynamics and biophysics modeling.

In this review article, the occurrence of nor-lignans and their biological activities are explored and described. Nor-lignans have proven to be present in several different families also belonging to chemosystematically distant orders as well as to have many different beneficial pharmacological activities. This review article represents the first one on this argument and is thought to give a first overview on these compounds with the hope that their study may continue if not raise after this.

Objective: Main purpose of this study is to identify the ruderal plant species which spontaneously grows on the wall and roof surfaces in urban and sub-urban areas due to their limited ecological needs and to contribute to the creating of the sustainable green areas in urban environments by understanding the parameters that ruderals depend on while they require little maintenance and irrigation support if not no. Material and Methods: The main material of this study is the ruderal plants which were collected from totally 60 walls and 36 roof surfaces within six districts of Trabzon city –Akçaabat, Arsin, Çaykara, Of, Ortahisar and Yomra in Turkey. From these 96 habitats, 1540 plants samples form the walls and 448 plant samples from the roofs were collected. All the plant samples collected from the research area were identified in the herbarium of the faculty of forestry in Karadeniz Technical University. Apart from this, parametres affecting coverage rate of common species on three different habitats were analysed.Results: It was found that 448 samples from the roof surfaces distributed into 61 species while 1540 samples from the walls distributed into 196 species. Plus, according to the analyses, 28 species were found on all three different habitats. As a result of the observations, measurements and analyses, it is clear from the study that coverage rate of the plant species depends on anthropogenic interaction, daylight period and depth of the media but there is no relation with the number of the species on the surfaces.Conclusion: Ruderal plants are definitely important to study on, if the world wants the term sustainability to find its real meaning as they require nearly nothing to grow in hard conditions. In urban life, maintenance is getting more and more expensive for green areas in urban life and this makes it difficult for them to survive especially when cities have limited budget on this, which has often occurred all over the world recently. There is no doubt that ruderal plants offer a great opportunity for modern era urban areas with their limited needs to grow in hard conditions. Furthermore, when thinking about the fact a serious amount of the ruderal plants detected on all three basic habitats has a great landscape plant characteristics, the approaches to their usage in urban areas are really critical.

Despite increasing research efforts, there is a lack of consensus on defining aging or health. To understand the underlying processes, and to foster the development of targeted interventions towards increasing one’s health, there is an urgent need: (1) to find a broadly acceptable and useful definition of health, based on a list of features (which may or may not be molecular); (2) to operationalize features of health so that it can be measured; (3) to identify predictive biomarkers and (molecular) pathways of health, and (4) to suggest interventions, such as nutrition and exercise, targeted at putative causal pathways and processes. Based on a survey of the literature, we propose to define health as a state of an individual characterized by the core features of (a) physiological function, (b) cognitive function and (c) physical function, amended, specifically in case of humans, by (d) lack of disease, and by (e) reproductive function. Often used concepts such as lack of frailty, allostatic load, or self-reported health (in case of human), and indices such as the Healthy Aging Index can be viewed as projections or surrogates of our definition. We further define aging as the set of all processes in an individual that reduce its “wellbeing”, that is, its health or survival or both. We define biomarkers of health by their attribute of predicting future health better than chronological age. We define healthspan pathways as molecular features of health that relate to each other, specifically by belonging to the same molecular pathway. Our conceptual framework may integrate diverse operationalizations of health and guide precision prevention efforts that are a key to reducing the need for medical and nursing care.

We provide here a current overview of marmoset (Callithrix) evolution, hybridization, species biology, basic/biomedical research, and conservation initiatives. Composed of two subgroups, the aurita group (C. aurita and C. flaviceps) and the jacchus group (C. geoffroyi, C. jacchus, C. kuhlii and C. penicillata), this relatively young primate radiation is endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Significant impacts on Callithrix within these biomes resulting from anthropogenic activity include: (1) population declines, particularly for the aurita group; (2) widespread geographic displacement, biological invasions, and range expansions of C. jacchus and C. penicillata; (3) anthropogenic hybridization; and (4) epizootic Yellow Fever and Zika viral outbreaks. A number of Brazilian legal and conservation initiatives are now in place to protect the threatened aurita group and increase research about them. Due to their small size and rapid life history, marmosets are prized biomedical models. As a result, there are increasingly sophisticated genomic Callithrix resources available and burgeoning marmoset functional, immuno-, and epi- genomic research. In both the laboratory and the wild, marmosets have given us insight into cognition, social group dynamics, human disease, and pregnancy. Callithrix jacchus and C. penicillata are emerging Neotropical primate models for arbovirus disease, including Dengue and Zika. Wild marmoset populations are helping us understand sylvatic transmission and human spillover of Zika and Yellow Fever viruses. All of these factors are positioning marmosets as preeminent models to facilitate understanding of facets of evolution, hybridization, conservation, human disease, and emerging infectious diseases.

Tomato is considered the most important vegetable crop worldwide. Improving the nutritional value of fruits must be based on sustainable production in terms of varieties and fertilization management. This study aimed to improve the nutritional value (total soluble solids, acidity, lycopene, β-carotene, polyphenols, macro and microelements) of two tomato varieties (‘Cristal’ and ‘Siriana’) under three fertilization types (NPK chemical fertilizer, chicken manure and biological fertilizer with microorganisms) for the greenhouse. Primary metabolism compounds do not vary significantly according to the type of fertilizer used. The results for the antioxidant compounds showed a better effect of biological fertilization compared to chemical fertilizer and control unfertilized. The tomato fruits from the local cultivar (‘Siriana’) are richer in nutritional compounds such as rutin, regardless of the type of fertilization, which denotes a good ability to adapt to crop conditions. Tomato cultivars reacted positively to microbiological fertilization compare to chemical, thus producing nutritious fruits under sustainable management. Tomato fruits were richer in the quality of microelement contents.

The structure characterization of two new polysaccharides from Agrocybe aegerita (AA-P) and Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus (HO-P) by HPGPC, GC-MS, NMR and FT-IR indicated that AA-P was composed of Galactose, Glucose and Arabinose, in the ratio of 3:2:1. Its skeleton structure was consisted of (1→4)-Arap, (1→4,6)-Glup and (1→6)-Galp with one branched chain. The HO-P was consisted of mannose, galactose and glucose in a ratio of 1:1:2. Its skeleton structure was consisted of (1→6)-Galactose residues, (→1)-glucose residues, (1→4)-glucose residues and (1→4,6)-D-mannose residues. There were two branched chains connected to the main chain. AA-P and HO-P had the best stimulation effect on B cells and RAW264.7 cells, respectively, and could both mainly by impacting and reducing G0/G1 phase which lead to a significant proliferation of B cells, T cells and RAW264.7 cells. In addition, AA-P and HO-P could significantly promote the secretion of TNF-α from T cells, the secretion of IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM from B cells, and the secretion of TNF-α from RAW264.7 cells, but neither of them could impact the secretion of IL-1β from RAW264.7 cells.

The aim of the study was to verify whether a 20 and 40% reduction of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate will be sufficient to maintain soil basic chemical features, fertility, and yielding in monoculture maize cultivation in the no-tillage (NT) system versus the traditional plowing (PL) system. In addition, it was examined which tillage system (PL, NT) allows reduction of fertilization while maintaining good yields of the tested soils. Two fields (10 ha each) were established for PL and NT maize cultivation and soils (0-20 cm) were sampled two times per year - in spring (before maize sowing) and in autumn (after maize harvesting). A broad range of chemical and biological parameters (i.e. pH, forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, content of selected macronutrients and humic substances, respiration activity) were monitored during the experiment. It was evidenced that the 20% reduction in N fertilization does not have an adverse effect on the chemical and biological characteristics of soils. In turn, the maize yield was mainly the result of both the tillage system and the N rate, i.e. it was significantly higher in the PL system.

Background: The effect of rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC), a plant-based immunomodulator, on the quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients and underlying physiological pathways remains unclear. Trial design: The RBAC-QoL study is a double-blind, randomised, controlled pilot feasibility study. The aim is to determine RBAC’s effects on QoL and the associated action mechanisms. Primary outcomes are the EORTC QLQ-C30 functional, symptom, and global QoL scores with inflammatory, nutritional, and cytokine parameters as secondary and exploratory outcomes. Methods: Recruitment targets adults diagnosed with solid organ tumours (≥ stage II) undergoing active treatment in several outpatient centres in New South Wales, Australia. Interventions are RBAC or matched placebo at 3g/day for 24 weeks allocated through stratified randomisation with participants, oncologists, and data collectors blinded. Data is collected from five study visits six weeks apart. The trial is ongoing. An interim intention-to-treat analysis was performed using repeated measure ANOVA with pairwise comparisons where statistical significance is observed and adjusted with covariates. Results: Global QoL scores from currently available data (n = 16; RBAC = 7, placebo = 9) were statistically different between groups (F[1,8] = 8.6, p = 0.019, eta2[g] = 0.267). Pairwise comparisons found significant differences at week 6 (p = 0.032, Cohen’s d = 1.454) and marginally at week 12 (p = 0.069, d = 1.427). Age-adjusted analysis showed a continuous upward trend in QoL improvement over time with RBAC, while the placebo group did not deviate from baseline QoL. Significant elevations of serum white blood cell count (week 18) and total protein (weeks 12 and 18) were detected in the RBAC group compared to placebo. The total protein levels correlated highly with white blood cell count (Pearson’s r = 0.539, p < 0.001) and moderately with the global QoL scores (r = 0.338, p = 0.01). No intervention-related adverse events were reported in both groups. Conclusions: RBAC improves QoL beyond placebo during active cancer treatment, possibly through the immuno-nutritional pathway. These findings are preliminary but valuable for future research. Funding and registration: Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Japan; BioMedica Nutraceuticals Pty Ltd., Australia. ANZCTR Reg No: ACTRN12619000562178p.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a pathogen that causes bacterial wilt producing severe damage in staple solanaceous crops. Traditional control has low efficacy and/or environmental impact. Recently, the bases of a new biotechnological method by lytic bacteriophages vRsoP-WF2, vRsoP-WM2 and vRsoP-WR2 with specific activity against R. solanacearum were established. However, some aspects remain unknown, such as the survival and maintenance of the lytic activity after submission to a preservation method as the lyophilization. To this end, viability and stability of lyophilized vRsoP-WF2, vRsoP-WM2 and vRsoP-WR2 and their capacity for bacterial wilt biocontrol have been determined against one pathogenic Spanish reference strain of R. solanacearum in susceptible tomato plants in different conditions and making use of various cryoprotectants. The assays carried out have shown satisfactory results with respect to the viability and stability of the bacteriophages after the lyophilization process, maintaining high titres throughout the experimental period, also with respect to the capacity of the bacteriophages for the biological control of bacterial wilt, controlling this disease in more than 50% of the plants. The results offer good prospects for the use of lyophilization as a conservation method for the lytic bacteriophages of R. solanacearum in view of their commercialization as biocontrol agents.

The potato tuber moth PTM, Phthorimaea operculella, is one of the most economically important potato pests worldwide. In the present study, the potential of Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae for controlling PTM in potato tubers was evaluated compared to alpha-cypermethrin. Steinernema carpocapsae in both concentrations (12.6×10⁶IJs and 6.2×10⁶IJs) showed a lower number of emerged insects than alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1). Alpha-cypermethrin (20 mg ai l^-1) showed the highest efficacy against PTM (81.17%), S.carpocapsae (12.6×10⁶IJs), and alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1) showed similar efficacy (72.53%) while S. feltiae (6.2×10⁶IJs) showed the lowest efficacy (39.04%). The results showed that S.carpocapsae in both concentrations and S. feltiae (12.6×10⁶IJs) were efficient the same as alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1) having no environmental and health adverse impacts issued in the chemical insecticides usage. Both concentrations of alpha-cypermethrin and S. carpocapsae showed the least tuber damage with no significant differences, while it was as high as the control (59.26%) in both concentrations of S. feltiae. This promising finding introduces EPNs as a part of the potato tuber protection program in storage. Accordingly, EPNs can be considered as an appropriate alternative to synthetic chemicals for PTM control without any residue and health problems.

Due to the rapid development of nanotechnologies, materials, in particular , solid dispersions (SDs), which are actively introduced into the life of modern man, have been obtained. Special progress in this area is observed in industry and medicine. The use of SDs in agriculture is lagging far behind, despite the growing number of scientific papers on this topic. At the same time, the prospects for the introduction of SDs in the agro-industrial complex are obvious. The review presents the results of research on the development of innovative preparations based on SD to protect plants from diseases and pests of cultivated plants, as well as parasiticides to protect animal health based on modern achievements of nanotechnology. One of these technologies is the methods of mechanochemistry, which improve the properties of poorly soluble biologically active substances by their joint mechanical treatment with water-soluble polymers and auxiliary substances.

Cadmium(Cd) is a highly toxic and cumulative environmental pollutant. Siderophores are heavy metal chelators with high tolerance to heavy metals such as Cd. Furthermore, ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) has potential remediation capacity for soils contaminated by heavy metals. Consequently, using ryegrass alongside beneficial soil microorganisms that produce siderophores may be an effective means to remediate soils contaminated with Cd. In this study, Bacillus strains WL1210 and CD303 that were previously isolated from the rhizospheres of Nitraria tangutorum in Wulan and Peganum harmala L in Dachaidan, respectively, both arid sandy environments, were evaluated for heavy metal pollution mitigation. The results indicate that both strains of Bacillus exhibit favorable biological characteristics and stress resistance, and they are both producers of siderophores, which promote the growth of ryegrass under Cd stress.

The flower of Syringa pubescens Turcz. is a Chinese folk medicine and also used as flower tea for healthcare. The effects of five drying methods on the active compound contents, the antioxidant abilities, anti-inflammatory properties and enzyme inhibitory activities were evaluated. The plant materials were treated using shade-drying, microwave drying, sun-drying, infrared drying and oven drying. The seven active compounds were simultaneously determined by an HPLC method. Furthermore, the chemicals differences were assessed using Scanning electron microscopy, UV spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The antioxidant capacities and protective effects on L02 cells induced by hydrogen peroxide were measured. The anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells were investigated. The enzyme inhibitory activities were determined against α-amylase, α-glucosidase cholinesterases and tyrosinase. The results indicated that drying methods had significantly influences on the active compound contents and biological properties. In consideration of the contents of bioactive compound, the suitable drying methods were SHD, SD, OD and MD. The SHD sample exhibited stronger radical scavenging ability on DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl and superoxide anions and higher reducing power compared with other samples prepared by SD, OD, MD and IRD. Moreover, SHD sample had strong protective effects against L02 cells damage induced by H2O2. SPF samples, especially SHD sample, significantly inhibited inflammatory factor secretion in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cell. All studied SPF sample exhibited evidently inhibitory effects on the four enzymes. SHD sample possessed the highest inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase and α-amylase. While SHD and SD samples had the potential inhibitory effects on cholinesterases and tyrosinase. In consideration of active compound contents and biological activities, it was recommended that SHD and SD were applied for drying SPF at an industrial scale.

The anthropogenic deterioration of aquatic ecosystems affects water resources due to agricultural malpractices, pollution from domestic septic tanks, recreational activities, and poor watershed management, among others. This study examines the management of Las Curias Reservoir (176,974 m2), San Juan, Puerto Rico, post the 2016 arrival of the invasive aquatic fern Salvinia molesta. In December 2019, a community-led initiative introduced the Cyrtobagous salviniae weevil, an effective biological control agent for S. molesta, and commenced a mechanical removal campaign using an aquatic harvester. Limnological sampling (September 2019 to March 2022) and drone flights were employed to measure physicochemical and floating plant cover changes, respectively, in the reservoir. Monitoring of weevils in the reservoir demonstrated a rapid establishment and dispersal, which resulted in visible damage including browning of plants and eventually sinking of entire mats. By January 29, 2021, 71% (125,652 m2) of the reservoir surface was covered by salvinia. In 2022, the reservoir recorded an average dissolved oxygen concentration of 2.38 mg/L -1 (± 0.021, n = 144), the highest in the study period and indicative of ecosystem recovery. After three years of control efforts, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance returned to levels recorded prior to Salvinia molesta introduction. This ecosystem recovery, a first in Puerto Rico, could be attributed to an early use of mechanical control and a long-term impact of biological control.

Arbutus unedo L. is a resilient tree with a circum-Mediterranean distribution. Besides its ecological relevance, it is vital for local economies as a fruit tree. Several microorganisms are responsible for strawberry tree diseases leading to production constrictions. Thus, the development of alternative plant protection strategies is necessary and bacteria endophytes may increase their host overall fitness and productivity. As agricultural practices are a driving factor of microbiota, this paper aimed to isolate, identify and characterize endophytic bacteria from strawberry tree leaves from plants growing spontaneously in a natural environment as well as from plants growing on orchards. 62 endophytes were isolated from leaves and identified as Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas and Staphylococcus. Although a slightly higher number of species was found in wild plants, no differences in terms of diversity indexes were found. Sixteen isolates were tested in vitro for their antagonistic effect against A. unedo mycopathogens. B. cereus was the most effective antagonist causing a growth reduction of 20% in Glomerella cingulata and 40% in Phytophthora cinnamomi and Mycosphaerella aurantia. Also, several endophytic isolates exhibited plant growth-promoting potential. This study provides insights into the diversity of endophytic bacteria in A. unedo leaves and their potential role as growth-promoters and pathogen antagonists.

Acute and chronic graft versus host disease (a/cGVHD) are major complications of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and a frequent cause of non relapse-mortality. The treatment of a/cGVHD consists of steroid administration at full dose. In the case of aGVHD, around 60 % of patients with grade III/IV fails to respond (steroid-resistant, SR), requiring a second line therapy. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) represents a good option for second line treatment, leading to multiorgan response in several patients. Here, we have evaluated the performances of a cytofluorimetric quality control of the first ECP procedure in 29 patients with severe SR aGVHD who underwent ECP. The quality control represents a check control of in vitro cell apoptosis/death induction in collected and irradiated CD3+ cells by ECP. Our analysis shows that in more than 70 % quality controls a relevant apoptotosis/death of CD3+ cells was observed after cell irradiation, as compared to non-irradiated controls. Albeit observed in a small patients’ series, the occurrence of relevant in vitro effect after ECP relates to less procedures and/or to a better survival on ECP. Age, disease, gender, aGVHD grade and time from transplant to the first ECP had not impact on ECP efficacy in this patients’ series.

Marine yeasts have versatile applications in industrial, medical and environmental fields, but have received little attention compared to terrestrial yeasts and filamentous fungi. In this study, a phylogenetic analysis of 11 marine-derived yeasts was conducted using internal transcribed spacers and nuclear large subunit rDNA, and their bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and tyrosinase inhibition activities, were investigated. The 11 marine-derived yeasts were identified to belong to seven species including Geotrichum candidum, Metschnikowia bicuspidata, Papiliotrema fonsecae, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Vishniacozyma carnescens, Yamadazyma olivae, and Yarrowia lipolytica, and three strains of these were candidates for new species of the genera Aureobasidium, Rhodotorula, and Vishniacozyma. Most extracts showed antioxidant activity, whereas seven strains exhibited antibacterial activities against Bacillus subtilis. Only Aureobasidium sp. US-Sd3 among the 11 isolates showed tyrosinase inhibition. Metschnikowia bicuspidata BP-Up1 and Yamadazyma olivae K2-6 showed notable radical-scavenging activity, which has not been reported previously. Among the isolates, Aureobasidium sp. US-Sd3 exhibited the highest antibacterial and tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of marine-derived yeasts as a source of bioactive compounds for improving industrial applications.

Mushrooms are unexploited treasures of secondary metabolites. Analysis of the chemical constituents of these mushrooms would be necessary for the assessment of their pharmacological and biological activities. This study aimed at profiling of mycochemical constituents of five wild mushroom extracts thereby understanding their biological and pharmacological properties. Mushrooms were collected from Arabuko-Sokoke and Kakamega National Reserved Forests, Kenya. Specimens were identified by both morphological and molecular methods. Bioactive compounds were extracted using chloroform, 70% ethanol, and hot water solvents. Chloroform, 70% ethanol, and hot water extracts of Auricularia auricula-judae, Microporus xanthopus, Termitomyces umkowaani, Trametes elegans, and Trametes versicolor were determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). From all extracts, a total of fifty-one (51) compounds were identified and grouped into carboxylic acids, esters, phenols, fatty acids, alcohol, epoxides, aldehyde, fatty aldehyde, isoprenoid lipids, and steroid. Of the total compounds, Oleic acid (72.90%) from Trametes elegans was detected abundantly. Most of the compounds obtained from the chloroform extract of Trametes elegans and 70% ethanol extract of T. umkowaani are fatty acids. The identified compounds have revealed many biological and pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, anti-helminthic, larvicidal, vasodilator, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, anticancer, antidiabetic, antifertility anti-diuretic, antiasthma, antifouling, anti-dermatophytic, antispasmodic, anti-hypocholesterolemic, nematicide, pesticide, immunostimulant, antiarthritic, and antihistaminic. These fatty acids are particularly playing important roles in the anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic anticancer, and anti-biofilm formation activities. The presence of these bioactive components suggests that the extracts of five wild mushrooms could be good sources of secondary metabolites for drug discovery.

Germanium is an essential microelement, and its deficiency can result in numerous diseases, particularly oncogenic conditions. Consequently, water-soluble germanium compounds, including inorganic and coordination compounds, have attracted significant attention due to their biological activity. The review analyzes the primary research from the last decade related to the anticancer activity of germanium compounds. Furthermore, the review clarifies their actual toxicity, identifies errors and misconceptions that have contributed to the discrediting of their biological activity, and suggests a putative mechanism of germanium-mediated protection from oxidative stress. Finally, the review provides clarifications on the discovery history of water-soluble organic germanium compounds, which was distorted and hushed up for a long time.

The great Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE) is almost unanimously acclaimed as the founder of zoology. There is a consensus that he was interested in attributes of animals, but whether or not he tried to develop a zoological taxonomy remains controversial. Fürst von Lieven and Humar compiled a data matrix and showed, through a parsimony analysis published in 2008, that these data produced a hierarchy that matched several taxa recognized by Aristotle. However, their analysis leaves some questions unanswered because random data can sometimes yield fairly resolved trees. In this study, we update the scores of many cells and add four new characters to the data matrix (147 taxa scored for 161 characters) and quote passages from Aristotle’s Historia animalium to justify these changes. We confirm the presence of a phylogenetic signal in these data through a test using skewness in length distribution of a million random trees, which shows that many of the characters discussed by Aristotle were systematically relevant. Our parsimony analyses on the updated matrix recover far more trees than reported by Fürst von Lieven and Humar, but their consensus includes many taxa that Aristotle recognized and apparently named for the first time, such as selachē (selachians) and dithyra (Bivalvia). This study suggests that even though taxonomy was clearly not Aristotle’s chief interest in Historia animalium, it was probably among his secondary interests. These results may pave the way for further taxonomic studies in Aristotle’s zoological writings in general. Despite being almost peripheral to Aristotle’s writings, his taxonomic contributions are clearly major achievements.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) has higher bioavailability and safety than inorganic selenium, and was widely used in medical, agricultural, nutritional supplements, and antibacterial fields. The present study screened a strain L11 producing SeNPs from a selenium rich dairy cow breeding base in Hubei Province, China. The strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis through physiological, biochemical, and molecular biology analysis. Through optimization of cultivation conditions, the optimal cultivation parameters for L11 to produce SeNPs were pH=6, cultivation temperature of 37 °C, 4 mmol/L Na2SeO3, and cultivation for 48 hours. XPS, SEM-EDS, and TEM were used to verify that the Se particles produced by L11 are SeNPs with diameters ranging from 50 to 200 nm. The combination of protein analysis of different cell components and TEM analysis showed that L11 mainly produces SeNPs through the transformation of the cell's periplasmic space, cell membrane, and cell wall. Adding L11 SeNPs complex to sheep feed can significantly enhance the antioxidant activity and immunity of sheep, and increase the Se content in the neck muscles, liver, and spleen tissues.

The aim of the study was to verify whether a reduced nitrogen (N) fertilization rate according to the EU recommendation (“From field to table” directive) may guarantee good yields and will be sufficient to maintain soil fertility in monoculture maize cultivation in the no-tillage (NT) system versus the traditional plowing (P) system. Two fields (10 ha each) were established for P and NT maize cultivation where the following N doses were applied: 0.0; 69.0, 92.0, and 115.0 kg ha-1. Soils (0-20 cm) were sampled two times per year - in spring (before maize sowing) and in autumn (after maize harvesting). A broad range of chemical (reaction, water holding capacity, total and easily degradable carbon, ammonium, nitrates, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sulfur) and biological (respiration, humic acids) parameters were monitored during the experiment. The vast majority of these factors had higher values in autumn than in spring. Although the role of reduced fertilization was not shown to be significant, the correlation analysis revealed some relationships between yield and nutrient availability. The 20% reduction in N fertilization does not have an adverse effect on the chemistry and biological characteristics of soils and does not worsen their chemical and biological quality.

Microplastics are widespread in freshwater environments and could impact these ecosystems. Bivalves are freshwater organisms that are particularly exposed to microplastic contamination. Therefore, in this preliminary study, the accumulation of microplastics, plasticizers, and additives in the freshwater bivalves Anodonta cygnea through active biomonitoring was investigated. Specimens commercially bought were exposed in three rivers in Central Italy for different exposure times: short (1 month) and long (3 months). The gills and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) were analyzed separately to evaluate the possible uptake and ingestion of particles via Micro-FTIR. For the first time, small microplastics (SMPs, 5-100 µm), plasticizers, additives, and other micro-litter components, e.g., natural and non-plastic synthetic fibers (APFs) were identified in the bivalve A. cygnea. The most abundant polymer in the gills (94.4%), and GITs (66.1%) was polyamide, which had the highest concentration in each river. A decrease in SMPs' abundance was observed over time in the gills in each river, while the abundance in GIT increased. Compared to polymers, a greater variety of APFs was observed in rivers. The APFs changed during the time of exposure and between different rivers more evidently than polymers, allowing a clearer identification of the possible sources. These results highlighted plastic pollution by SMPs using freshwater bivalves as sentinel organisms and the need to investigate further the additives that can be proxies of the presence of microplastics in the environment and biota.

Spodoptera frugiperda is a widely distributed insect pest that causes major economic losses in various crops, particularly maize. On the other hand, Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus that establishes symbiotic associations with many plants and contributes to tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present work, under field conditions, 1x106 (first trial) and 1x10⁸ (second trial) of B. bassiana (GHA strain) blastospores were used for corn’s seed inoculation. In the first field trial, a higher number of larvae were present in the negative control plants in comparison with those in B. bassiana-treated plants. No larvae were found in negative control and B. bassiana-treated plants in the second field trial. In further laboratory experiments, the effects of the B. bassiana strains GHA, in addition to a native strain (PTG4) also delivered via seed treatment in maize seedlings, on S. frugiperda growth, development, and mortality were evaluated. 1x10⁶ B. bassiana blastospores were used to inoculate maize seeds, which were germinated and grown to seedlings under growth chamber conditions. Third-instar S. frugiperda larvae were allowed to feed on B. bassiana-treated and -untreated (negative control) seedlings until reaching 6th instar and transferred to artificial diet until reaching adult stage. Results showed that larvae feeding on B. bassiana strain PTG4 prolonged their larval stage. Furthermore, feeding with plants treated with B. bassiana strains yielded fewer S. frugiperda male moths and the female moths emerged with altered wings, compared with the untreated control. In conclusion, seed treatment with B. bassiana in maize reduced S. frugiperda infestation of maize plants in field trials. Besides S. frugiperda development was affected in laboratory trials.

For a hierarchy of large scale structures, like galaxies, galaxy clusters, super-clusters, etc. the requirement that their gravitational (binding) self-energy density must at least equal or exceed the background repulsive dark energy density implies a universal mass-radius relation given by M/R² ~ 1g/cm². Here we point out that this mass-radius relation also holds for important individual biological structures, and even various organisms as a whole such as humans, trees, and to behemoths like whales, even though the physics is different. Here we try to understand this universality from two different physical considerations. We also point out the coincidence that the densities of most biological entities are close to that of water, and that the average density of main-sequence stars and giant planets are close to this density. We give a physical basis for the same.

The first hyperpolarizability of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) suspended in water was determined using the hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) technique. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of the HRS technique to characterize GQDs. Two commercial GQDs (Acqua-Cyan and Acqua-Green) with different compositions were studied. The HRS experiments were performed with an excitation laser at 1064 nm. The measured hyperpolarizabilities were (1.0±0.1) × 10^(-27) esu and (0.9±0.1) × 10^(-27) esu for Acqua-Cyan and Acqua-Green, respectively. The results were used to estimate the hyperpolarizability per nanosheet obtained by assuming that each GQDs has five nanosheets with 0.3 nm thickness. The two-level model, used to calculate the static hyperpolarizability per nanosheet, provides the values of (2.4±0.1) × 10^(-28) esu (Acqua-Cyan) and (0.5±0.1) × 10^(-28) esu (Aqua-Green). The origin of the nonlinearity is discussed on the basis of polarized resolved HRS experiments, and an electric quadrupolar behavior with a strong dependence on surface effects is found. The nontoxic characteristics and order of magnitude indicate that these GQDs may be useful for biological microscopy imaging.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a promising binary disease-targeted therapy, as neutrons preferentially kill cells labeled with boron (¹⁰B), which makes it a precision medicine treatment modality that provides a therapeutic effect exclusively on patient-specific tumor spread. Contrary to what is usual in radiotherapy, BNCT proposes cell-tailored treatment planning rather than to the tumor mass. The success of BNCT depends mainly on the sufficient spatial biodistribution of ¹⁰B located around or within neoplastic cells to produce a high-dose gradient between the tumor and healthy tissue. However, it is not yet possible to precisely determine the concentration of ¹⁰B in a specific tissue in real-time using noninvasive methods. Critical issues remain to be resolved if BNCT is to become a valuable, minimally invasive, and efficient treatment. Moreover, functional imaging technologies such as PET can be applied to determine biological information that can be used for the combined-modality radiotherapy protocol for each specific patient. Anyway, not only imaging methods but also proteomics and gene expression methods will facilitate BNCT becoming a modality of personalized medicine. This work provides an overview of the fundamental principles, recent advances, and future directions of BNCT as cell-targeted cancer therapy for personalized radiation treatment.

Rivea hypocrateriformis (Desr.) Choisy is a robust woody climbing shrub of the genus Rivea which is found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. R. hypocrateriformis is a promising medicinal herb with enormous helpful and wellbeing advancing impacts. R. hypocrateriformis has been utilized as a customary medication for a long time to treat rheumatic pain, fever, urogenital problem, snake bite, cough, piles, malaria, and skin disease. Apart from the traditional uses its leaves and young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable and for preparation of bread with millet flour. This review comprehensively summarizes the up-to-date information on the botanical characterization, distribution, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicity study of R. hypocrateriformis. Phytochemical investigation has been revealed that alkaloids, glycosides, coumarins, flavonoids, xanthones, stilbenes, and other organic compounds are contained in R. hypocrateriformis. Crude extracts and isolated compounds have exhibited numerous pharmacological activities such as anovulatory effect, antifertility activity, antiarthritic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antilithiatic, antimitotic. R. hypocrateriformis is a promising restorative spice with monstrous remedial and wellbeing advancing impacts. Along these lines, further investigations on the bioactive mixtures and systems of R. hypocrateriformis are justified. Extra clinical and toxicological examinations are expected to assess its wellbeing.

Information on how bacteria in plants and soil, along with extracellular enzymes, affect nutrient cycling in Encephalartos villosus growing in nutrient-poor and acidic scarp forests is lacking. Bacteria in coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils were isolated to determine the potential role of soil bacterial communities and their associated enzyme activities in nutrient contributions in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils. The role of soil characteristics and associated bacteria on E. villosus nutrition and nitrogen source reliance was investigated. Encephalartos villosus leaves, coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils were collected at two scarp forests. Leaf nutrition, nitrogen source reliance, soil nutrition and extracellular enzyme activities were assayed. A phylogenetic approach was used to determine the evolutionary relationship between identified bacterial nucleotide sequences. Twenty, twelve and seven different bacterial genera were isolated from rhizosphere, non-rhizosphere, and coralloid roots, respectively. Phosphorus and nitrogen cycling enzyme activities in E. villosus rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils were insignificant. More than 70% of the leaf nitrogen was derived from the atmosphere. This study revealed that plant-associated bacteria with plant growth-promoting functions, soil bacteria, and associated extracellular enzymes play a role in E. villosus nutrition and nitrogen source reliance and contribute to E. villosus rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil nutrition.

Causal molecular interactions represent key building blocks used in computational modeling, where they facilitate the assembly of regulatory networks. These regulatory networks can then be used to predict biological and cellular behavior by system perturbations and in silico simulations. Today, broad sets of these interactions are being made available in a variety of biological knowledge resources. Moreover, different visions, based on distinct biological interests, have led to the development of multiple ways to describe and annotate causal molecular interactions. Therefore, data users can find it challenging to efficiently explore resources of causal interaction and to be aware of recorded contextual information that ensures valid use of the data. This manuscript presents a review of public resources collecting causal interactions and the different views they convey, together with a thorough description of the export formats established to store and retrieve these interactions. Our goal is to raise awareness amongst the targeted audience, i.e., logical modelers, but also any scientist interested in molecular causal interactions, about existing data resources and how to get familiar with them.

Immunological aging type definition requires establishing reference intervals from the distribution of immunosenescence biomarkers conditional on age. For 1,605 individuals (18–97 years), we determined the comprehensive IMMmune Age indeX IMMAX from flow cytometry-based blood cell sub-populations, and identified age-specific centiles by fitting generalized additive models for location, scale and shape. The centiles were uncorrelated with age, and facilitated the categorization of individuals as immunologically slow or fast aging types. Using its 50th percentile as reference, we rescaled IMMAX to equivalent years-of-life (EYOL), and computed the immunological age gap as difference between EYOL and chronological age. Applied to preliminary baseline and follow-up measurements from 53 participants of the Dortmund Vital Study (Clinical-Trials.gov Identifier: NCT05155397), the averaged changes in IMMAX and EYOL conformed to the 5-year follow-up period, whereas no significant changes occurred concerning IMMAX centiles and age gap. This suggested that the participants immunologically adapted to aging, and kept their relative positions within the cohort. Sex was non-significant. Methodical comparisons indicated that future confirmatory analyses with the completed follow-up examinations could rely on percentile curves estimated by simple linear quantile regression, while the selection of the immunosenescence biomarker will greatly influence the outcome, with IMMAX representing the preferable choice.

Application of chemical pesticides to protect agricultural crops from pests and diseases is discouraged due to their harmful effects on human and environment. Therefore, alternative approaches for crop pro-tection through microbial or microbe originated pesticides have been gaining momentum. Wheat blast is a destructive fungal disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum (MoT) pathotype, which poses a seri-ous threat to global food security. Screening of secondary metabolites against MoT revealed that antimy-cin A isolated from a marine Streptomyces sp. had significant inhibitory effect on mycelial growth in vitro. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects of antimycin A on some critical life stages of MoT and evaluate the efficacy of wheat blast disease control by this natural product. Bioassay indicated that antimycin A suppressed mycelial growth, conidiogenesis, germination of conidia and formation of ap-pressoria in germinated conidia of MoT in a dose-dependent manner with minimum inhibitory concen-tration 0.005 μg/disk. If germinated, antimycin A induced abnormal germ tubes (4.8%) and suppressed the formation of appressoria. Interestingly, application of antimycin A significantly suppressed wheat blast disease in both seedling and heading stages of wheat supporting the results from invitro study. This is the first report on inhibition of mycelial growth, conidiogenesis, conidia germination, detrimental morphological alterations in germinated conidia, and suppression of wheat blast disease caused by a Triticum pathotype of M. Oryzae. Further study is required to unravel the precise mode of action of this promising natural compound for considering it as a biopesticide to combat wheat blast.

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum L. Myrtaceae) is an aromatic plant widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries, rich in volatile compounds and antioxidants such as eugenol, β-caryophyllene, and α-humulene. Clove essential oil has received considerable interest due to its wide application in the perfumery, cosmetic, health, medical, flavoring, and food industries. Clove essential oil has relevant biological activities to human health, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and insecticide. This review describes the effect of the extraction method (hydrodistillation, steam distillation, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, cold pressing, and supercritical fluid extraction) on the chemical composition of essential oil and its correlation with their biological activities. Likewise, are summarized the main compounds and their reported biological activities. Furthermore, the main applications in clove essential oil in the food industry are presented. Finally, this review presents the new biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anesthetic, antinociceptive and anticancer, which are beneficial for human health. This review aims to compile the effect of different methods of extracting clove essential oil on chemical composition, food applications, as well as a current description of biological activities of interest to human health. Biological activities have increased interest in research into this essential oil and its future applications in the food or pharmaceutical industry.

Cells occupy a prominent place in the history of life on planet Earth. The central role of cellular organization is observed by the fact that “cellular life” is often used as a synonym for life itself. Thus, most characteristics used to define cells overlap with the ones used to define life. Notwithstanding, new scenarios about the origin of life are bringing alternative views to describe how cells may have evolved from the open biological systems named progenotes. Here, using a logical and conceptual analysis, we re-evaluate the characteristics used to infer a single origin for cells. We argue that some evidences used to support cell monophyly, such as the presence of elements from both the translation mechanism and the universality of the genetic code, actually indicate a unique origin for all “biological systems”, a term used to define not only cells, but also virus and progenotes. Besides, we present evidence that at least two biochemical pathways as important as (i) DNA replication and (ii) lipid biosynthesis may not homologous between Bacteria and Archaea. The identities observed between the proteins involved in those pathways along representatives of these two ancestral Domains are too low to indicate common genic ancestry. Altogether these facts can be seen as an indication that cellular organization has possibly evolved two or more times and that LUCA (the Last Universal Common Ancestor) might not have existed as a cellular entity. Thus, we aim to consider the possibility that different strategies acquired by biological systems to exist, such as viral, bacterial and archaeal were originated independently from the evolution of different progenote populations.

Background: Recent infectious disease outbreaks have brought increased attention to strengthening the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to natural biological threats. However, deliberate biological events also represent a significant global threat that have received relatively little attention. The Biological Weapons Convention provides a foundation for the response to deliberate biological events, but the political mechanisms to respond to and recover from such an event are poorly defined. Methods: We performed an analysis of the epidemiological timeline, the international policies triggered as a notional deliberate biological event unfolds, and the corresponding stakeholders and mandates assigned by each mandate. Findings: The results of this analysis identify a significant gap in both policy and stakeholder mandates: there is no single policy nor stakeholder mandate for leading and coordinating the response activities associated with a deliberate biological event. These results were visualized using an open source web-based tool published at https://dbe.talusanalytics.com. Interpretation: While there are organizations and stakeholders responsible for roles in leading security or public health response, these roles are non-overlapping and are led by organizations not with limited interaction outside such events. The lack of mandates highlights a gap in the mechanisms available to coordinate response and a gap in guidance for managing the response. The results of the analysis corroborate anecdotal evidence from stakeholder meetings and highlight a critical need and gap in deliberate biological response policy.

Metal nanoparticles are extensively studied due to their unique chemical and physical properties, which differ from the properties of their respective bulk materials. Likewise, the properties of heterogeneous bimetallic structures are far more attractive than those of single-component nanoparticles. The incorporation of a second metal into the nanoparticle structure alters the surface plasmon resonance and magnetic properties of the bimetallic composite. This review focuses on the enhanced optical and magnetic properties offered by bimetallic nanoparticles and their corresponding impact on biological applications. We summarize the predominant structures of bimetallic nanoparticles, outline their synthesis methods, and highlight their use in biological applications, both diagnostic and therapeutic, which are dictated by their various optical and magnetic properties.

The rhizosphere is a rich source of actinomycetes which can produce several potential biologically-active secondary metabolites. The principal goals for this research are to extract, purify and characterize the bioactive secondary metabolites produced by three different strains of actinomycetes isolated from the rhizosphere of rosemary, black locust and olive. The plant growth-promoting effect (PGPE) of the studied strains of actinomycetes on Ocimum basilicum L. (basil) and disease-control effect on necrotic stem lesions of “black leg” caused by Fusarium tabacinum on basil, were in silico evaluated. The cell-free culture filtrates from the studied actinomycetes isolates were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against some common phytopathogens. The secondary metabolites obtained from the cell-free culture filtrates have been chemically characterized using high‐resolution electrospray ionization of liquid-chromatography/mass-spectrometric detection (ESI-(HR)Orbitrap-MS). Results of in silico trial showed that all studied isolates demonstrated PGPE on basil seedlings improving some Eco-physiological characteristics and reduced the disease incidence of F. tabacinum. The extracted metabolites from the studied actinomycetes demonstrated antimicrobial activity in Petri-plates assay. The chemical analysis revealed the presence of totally 20 different components. This research emphasizes how valuable the examined isolates are for producing bioactive compounds, indicating their putative antimicrobial activity and their potential employment as fungal-biocontrol agents. In particular, the obtained results revealed the possibility of green-synthesis of some important secondary metabolites such as N-Acetyl-L-histidinol, Rhizocticin A and Eponemycin from actinomycetes. The bioactive metabolites may be successively used to develop novel bio-formulations for both crop protection and/or PGPE.

Aging rate differs greatly between species, indicating that the process of senescence is largely genetically determined. Senescence evolves in part due to antagonistic pleiotropy (AP), where selection favors gene variants that increase fitness earlier in life but promote pathology later. Identifying the biological mechanisms by which AP causes senescence is key to understanding the endogenous causes of aging and its attendant diseases. Here we argue that the frequent occurrence of AP as a property of genes reflects the presence of constraint in the biological systems that they specify. This arises particularly because the functionally interconnected nature of biological systems constrains the simultaneous optimization of coupled traits (interconnection constraints), or because individual traits cannot evolve (impossibility constraints). We present an account of aging that integrates AP and biological constraint with recent programmatic aging concepts, including costly programs, quasi-programs, hyperfunction and hypofunction. We argue that AP mechanisms of costly programs and triggered quasi-programs are consequences of constraint, in which costs resulting from hyperfunction or hypofunction cause senescent pathology. Impossibility constraint can also cause hypofunction independently of AP. We also describe how AP corresponds to Stephen Jay Gould’s constraint-based concept of evolutionary spandrels, and argue that pathologies arising from AP are bad spandrels. Biological constraint is a missing link between ultimate and proximate causes of senescence, including diseases of aging. That this was not realized previously may reflect a combination of hyperadaptationism among evolutionary biologists, and the erroneous assumption by biogerontologists that molecular damage accumulation is the principal primary cause of aging.

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

The coffee leaf miner (CLM) Leucoptera coffeella moth is a major threat to coffee production. Insect damage is related to the feeding behavior of the larvae on the leaf. During the immature life stages, the insect feeds in the mesophyll, triggering necrosis and causing loss of photosynthetic capacity, defoliation, and significant yield loss to coffee crops. Chemical control is mandatory to sustain the coffee production chain, though market requirements move towards conscious consumption, claiming for more sustainable methods. In this overview, we discuss aspects about the CLM concerning biology, history, geographical distribution, economic impacts, and the most relevant control strategies in progress. Insights to develop an integrate approach for a safer and eco-friendly control of the CLM are discussed, including bio-extracts, nanotechnology, pheromones, and tolerant cultivars.

The estuarine exchange flow increases longitudinal dispersion of passive tracers and traps sinking particles, potentially creating an estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM): a localized maximum of suspended particulate matter concentration in an estuary. The ETM can have many implications - dead zones due to increased turbidity or hypoxia from organic matter decomposition, naval navigation challenges, and other water quality problems. Using timescales, we investigate how the interaction between exchange flow and particle sinking leads to ETMs by modeling a sinking tracer in an idealized box model of the Total Exchange Flow (TEF) first developed by Parker MacCready. Results indicate that the balance of particle sinking and vertical mixing is critical to determining ETM size and location. We then focus on the role of ecology in ETM formation through the use of The Peter-Parker Model: a new biophysical model which combines the TEF box model with a Nutrient-Phytoplankton-Zooplankton-Detritus (NPZD) model, the likes of which were first developed by Peter J.S. Franks. Detritus sinking rates similarly influence detritus peak concentration and location (an ETM), but detritus ETMs occur in a different location than the sinking tracer due to the influence of the biological factors which create a time lag of about 1 day. Lastly, we characterize the flow of the models with a dimensionless parameter that compares timescales and summarizes the dynamics of the sinking tracer in ETM formation and can be used across systems.

Phytoalexins are naturally-occurring molecules with antimicrobial activity deriving from the secondary metabolism of plants, which are synthesized in response to physical agents or stresses, phytopathogenic agents (fungi, bacteria and viruses) as well as numerous chemical compounds and biological control agents. Among these, grapevine phytoalexins, which belong to the chem-ical group of stilbenes, exhibit biocidal activity against a large number and a variety of plant pathogens. An important issue in research on these compounds is to be able to stimulate their synthesis in planta and to determine whether the induction of their production can serve as a basis for protecting that plant against its pathogens. Quite a few chemical compounds, derivatives of phytohormones bio-elicitors as well as biocontrol agents have been used to induce the synthesis of stilbene phytoalexins with the aim of conferring protection to grapevine against its main dis-eases (gray mold, downy mildew, powdery mildew and esca). This article reviews the experi-ments that have been carried out in this direction during the last thirty years and shows that the observed protective effects towards pathogens are generally linked to induction and priming of the grapevine phytoalexin response, confirming the interest of using, in a more general way, stimulation of the production of phytoalexins in plants as a basis for crop protection.

Sulfated polysaccharides from seaweed are highly active natural substances having valuable applications. In the present paper, attempts have been made to discuss the physicochemical and structural features of polysaccharides isolated from red marine alga Alsidium corallinum (ACPs) and its protective effect in hepatic impairments induced by tebuconazole (TBZ) in rats. Structural features were determined using High performance liquid chromatography, Fourier transformed infrared, and solid state ¹H and ¹³C-Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. ACPs are found to be hetero-sulfated-anionic polysaccharides that contained carbohydrates, sulfate groups and uronic acids. In vitro biological activities suggested the effective antioxidant and antimicrobial capacities of ACPs. For antioxidant testing in vivo, the biochemical analysis and plasma profiles displayed that oral administration of ACPs could mitigate blood lipid indicators, including total cholesterol, triglyceride, low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, bilirubin, liver function indexes involving alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, showed that ACPs possessed obvious antioxidant activities. Besides, the intervention of ACPs potentially inhibited lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, key enzymes of lipid metabolism (<0.001) and increased levels and antioxidant status (<0.05). Histomorphological observation confirmed that ACPs intervention could partially repair liver injuries caused by TBZ. The computational results showed that A. corallinum monosaccharides bound 1JIJ, 1HD2 and 1WL4 receptors with acceptable affinities, which together with deep embedding and molecular interactions support the antioxidant, antimicrobial and hypolipidemic outlined effects in the in vitro and in vivo findings. In view of their prominent antioxidant effects, ACPs stand for promising candidates in liver diseases and need be considered in pharmaceutical applications.

DNA-methylation clocks inform not only about chronological but also biological age, which brings a high resolution and precise understanding of age-related pathology and physiology. Attempts based on transcriptomic and epigenetic approaches arise as integrative biomarkers linking the quantification of stress response with a given fitness trait and may help to identify biological age markers, also considered welfare indicators. In gilthead sea bream, targeted gene expression and DNA-methylation analyses in white skeletal muscle proved sirt1 as a reliable marker of age-mediated changes of energy metabolism. To complete the list of welfare auditing biomarkers, wide-analyses of gene expression and DNA-methylation in one- and three-year old fish were combined. After discriminant analysis, 668 differentially expressed transcripts were matched with those containing differentially methylated (DM) regions (14,366), and 172 were overlapping. Through enrichment analyses and selection, two sets of genes were retained: 33 showing an opposite trend for DNA-methylation and expression, and 57 down-regulated and hypo-methylated. The first set displayed apparently a more reproducible and reliable pattern and 10 multifunctional genes with DM CpG in regulatory regions (sirt1, smad1, ramp1, psmd2 – up-regulated; col5a1, calcrl, bmp1, thrb, spred2, atp1a2 – down-regulated) were deemed candidate biological age markers for an improved welfare auditing in gilthead sea bream.

Background: Kidney damage is considered to be one of the risk factors for severity and mortality among COVID-19 patients. However, molecular nature of such observations remains unknown. Hypothesis: Altered gene expressions due to infection and in chronic kidney disease could explain severity in COVID-19 with kidney defects. Methods: We collected gene expression data from publicly available resources Gene Expression Omnibus CKD, Enrichr for deregulated genes in SARS-CoV infected cells in vitro, DisGeNET and others and carried out enrichment analysis using Enrichr. Result: Number of common genes altered in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and SARS-CoV infected cells was 2834. Enrichment analysis revealed that biological processes related viral life cycle and growth, cytokines, immunity, interferon, inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, oxidative stress and others were significantly enriched with common deregulated genes. Similarly, significantly enriched pathways related to viral and bacterial infections, immunity and inflammation, cell cycle, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, signaling pathways like Relaxin signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway were enriched with the common deregulated genes. These processes and pathways are known to be related to kidney damage. DisGeNET terms enriched include and related to Dengue fever, chronic Hepatitis, measles, retroviridae infections, respiratory syncytial virus Infections and many others. Kidney dysfunction related terms ischemia of kidney, renal fibrosis and diabetic nephropathy. Conclusion: Common deregulated genes in SARS-CoV infected cells and chronic kidney disease, as well as their enrichment with molecular processes and pathways relevant for viral pathogenesis and renal dysfunctions, could explain the severity of COVID-19 with kidney disease. This observation not only provides molecular relation of severity in COVID-19 with renal dysfunctions but might also help in the management and treatment targets for these cases.

The discovery of interesting inter-relationships between the different malaria epidemiological parameters is essential towards the disease control. However, existing associative rule-based machine learning algorithms for pattern discovery are slow while working on high-dimensional Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) data, with the further challenge of data under fitting and inadequate result visualization. Hence, this work proposed a novel and efficient associative rule-based machine-learning algorithm with enhanced graphical visualization capacity for rigorous and confident biological result interpretation for malaria control. Through empirical and asymptotic comparative time-complexity performance evaluations, the proposed algorithm scaled better than other existing associative rule-based machine learning algorithms while maintaining its accuracy. The algorithm was applied to two real MIS data sets obtained from the Demographic and Health Survey repository and other supplementary literature source using Nigeria as a case study. The resulting interesting malaria epidemiological discovered novel trends were: a) the malaria disease might not be associated with the anemia symptom; b) there was no significant association between the anemia symptom and the wealth indices of individuals; c) there were other parameters associated with the insecticide resistance capacity of the malaria vector asides the knock down resistance alleles; d) the population dynamics of the malaria vector was not associated with the malaria disease endemicity. In conclusion, this work developed a computationally efficient and user-friendly associative rule-based machine-learning algorithm called E_Apriori for the control of the malaria disease.

Zephyranthes citrina Baker is a bulbous herb, commonly known as yellow rain lily belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae. It is a native of tropical and subtropical America but nowadays it is cultivated as a popular ornamental herb in several parts of the world including India. This herb represents one of the richest sources of phytochemicals, especially alkaloids and possesses great potential for pharmaceutical applications. It shows remarkable antiprotozoal, antimicrobial, anti-Alzheimer, cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and dye removal activities. This review is an effort to give a detailed study of the literature on the biological activities of Zephyranthes citrina. This review concludes that Zephyranthes citrina has a great potential to treat various diseases and could be used as a source for novel healthcare products in the near future, which requires further experimentation.

The Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) prickly pear peel, is a residue product and was used as a substrate in solid-state fermentation (SSF) to obtain bioactive compounds of interest due to its antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. A Box Hunter &amp; Hunter design to evaluate the independent factors was used. These factors were temperature (°C), inoculum (spores/g), humidity (%), pH, NaNO3 (g/L), MgSO4 (g/L), KCl (g/L) and KH2PO4 (g/L). The response factors were hydrolyzable and condensed tannins amount. In addition, the fermentation extracts the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity were evaluated. The results showed that the humidity (%), inoculum (spores/g) and temperature (°C) affect the release of hydrolyzable and condensed tannins. The treatments 13 and 16 were the best to accumulate condensed (43 mg/g) and hydrolyzable tannins (3.8 mg/g) respectively. Besides, the fermented extracts showed a higher antioxidant activity compared than the unfermented peel extracts, as well as a high inhibition versus E. coli, Alternaria sp. and Botrytis spp. The use of the fermentation process is a good alternative for the recovery of waste and the accumulation of bioactive molecules with potential industrial application.

The Self-Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactor (SFD MBR) is a cost-effective alternative to conventional MBR, where the synthetic membrane is replaced by the “cake layer”, an accumulation of the biological suspension over a surface of inert low-cost support, caused by a suction force. Under optimized conditions, the cake layer reveals easy to remove and quick to form again, resulting a “dynamic membrane”. The permeate of SFD MBR has chemo-physical characteristics comparable to those of conventional MBR. In this paper, two nylon meshes with a pore-size of 20 and 50 µm respectively were tested in a bench scale SFD MBR where a periodic air mass load (AML) was supplied tangential to the filtration surface to maintain filtration effectiveness. The SFD MBR equipped with the 20 µm nylon mesh coupled to 5 min of AML every 4 hours showed the best performance both ensuring a permeate with turbidity values always below 3 NTU and revealing no critical fouling. A benchmark test, conducted in the same experimental time, with identical operating conditions, and the only difference of a suction break (relaxation) instead of the AML. This latter test produced a permeate of very good quality, but it needed frequent mesh cleanings, showing that a periodic AML coupled with the use of a 20 µm mesh can be a good strategy for long term operation of SFD MBR.

Static standing postural stability has been measured by multiscale entropy (MSE), which is used to measure complexity. In this study, we used the average entropy (AE) to measure the static standing postural stability, as AE is a good measure of disorder. The center of pressure (COP) trajectories were collected from 11 subjects under four kinds of balance situation, from stable to unstable: bipedal with open eyes, bipedal with closed eyes, unipedal with open eyes, and unipedal with closed eyes. The AE, entropy of entropy (EoE), and MSE methods were used to analyze these COP data, and EoE was found to be a good measure of complexity. The AE of the 11 subjects sequentially increased by 100%as the balance situations progressed from stable to unstable, but the results of EoE and MSE did not follow this trend. Therefore, AE, rather than EoE or MSE, is a good measure of static standing postural stability. Furthermore, the comparison of EoE and AE plots exhibited an inverted U curve, which is another example of a complexity versus disorder inverted U curve.

Bacteria belonging to the genus Micromonospora are recognized as microorganisms with potential to be used in biotechnology processes, including their beneficial influence on plant growth and biocontrol of phytopathogens. In this study, nineteen Micromonospora isolates originating from root nodules of white clover plants were taxonomically assigned based on the phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and four housekeeping genes. The antifungal properties of the bacteria against phytopathogenic Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium equiseti, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Verticillium albo-atrum were tested with the agar plug test and the dual culture test. The ability to produce various metallophores was determined with the agar plug diffusion test on modified CAS agar medium. ISP2 broth amended with 0.2% L-tryptophan was used to indicate the bacterial ability to produce auxins. Strains belonging to M. tulbaghiae, M. inaquosa, and M. violae showed in vitro potential as antimicrobial agents against the tested fungi. M. inaquosa strain 152, M. violae strain 126, M. violae strain 66 and M. violae strain 45 were recognized as the most efficiency metallophores producers. M. alfalfae strain 55 and M. lupini strain 5052 were identified as the most promising auxin compound producers and, therefore, as potential plant growth promoting bacteria.

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article’s main findings; (4) Conclusions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective representation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

In the absence of a treaty protocol or verification regime, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) instituted Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) as a mechanism to increase confidence in compliance, by enhancing transparency and mitigating ambiguities regarding states parties’ biological activities. While a promising tool to support treaty compliance, low participation, concerns regarding the completeness and accuracy of CBM submissions, a dearth of analysis, and restricted access to many submissions have limited CBMs’ value. Through interviews with 53 international experts—38 from BWC delegations and 15 independent experts—we identified concrete opportunities to increase CBMs’ value while mitigating the burden on states parties. This study supports states parties’ efforts in the BWC Working Group on the Strengthening of the Convention, as part of a series of research on BWC assurance that aims to characterize challenges around BWC verification and increase certainty in BWC compliance.

Fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora, is a devastating bacterial disease that threatens world-wide production of apples and pears. In Canada and the US, streptomycin and kasugamycin are commonly used for the control of this pathogen. There is an urgent need for development of biocontrol agents (BCAs) that can be easily incorporated into integrated pest management pro-grams with high efficacy against streptomycin sensitive and resistant strains of E. amylovora. In addition, excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture has increased awareness of the possibility of antibiotic resistance gene transfer to human, animal and environmental microbes. To address this issue, a phage-carrier system (PCS) that combines Pantoea agglomerans as an antagonistic bacterial carrier of Erwinia phages as a double-pronged treatment for fire blight have been de-veloped. The low viability of P. agglomerans cells following spray drying challenged the industrial scale production of this PCS. In the present research, a spray drying protocol was developed for P. agglomerans by modifying the growth medium and the bacterial cell formulation using D(+)-trehalose and maltodextrin. The developed protocol is amenable to industrial scale pro-duction of the BCA/PCS. The P. agglomerans viability was greater than 90% after spray drying, had a prolonged shelf life of 4 months at 4 C, and the reconstituted cells showed an approximate 3 log reduction in E. amylovora counts with a green pear disc challenge assay.

Human and animal waste, including waste products originating from human or animal digestive systems such as urine, feces, and animal manure, have constituted a nuisance to the environment. Inappropriate disposal and poor sanitation of human and animal waste often cause negative impacts on human health through contamination of the terrestrial environment, soil, and water bodies. Therefore, it is necessary to convert these wastes into useful resources to mitigate their adverse environmental effect. The present study provides an overview and research progress of different thermochemical and biological conversion pathways for the transformation of human- and animal-derived waste into valuable resources. The physicochemical properties of human and animal waste are meticulously discussed as well as nutrient recovery strategies. In addition, a bibliometric analysis is provided to identify the trends in research and knowledge gaps. The results reveal that the U.S.A, China and England are the dominant countries in the research areas related to resource recovery from human or animal waste. In addition, researchers from the University of Illinois, the University of California Davis, the Chinese Academy of Science and Zhejiang University are front runners in research related to these areas. Future research should be centred on developing technologies for the on-site recovery of resources, exploring integrated resource recovery pathways, and exploring different safe waste processing methods.

Formaldehyde, sulfuric acid and salicylic acid were combined to create 3,3’-methylenebis[2-hydroxybenzoic acid] (MHB) ligand, which was subsequently permitted to bind with zinc ions. The ligand and its zinc (II) complex (Zn-MHB) have been described by a combination of elemental analyses, spectral (UV-Vis, IR, MS, NMR), XRD, TEM as well as TGA measurement. The ligand has been suggested to coordinate to the zinc center in tetradentate manner forming binuclear tetrahedral complex. An X-ray analysis indicated a considerable difference between MHB (crystalline) and Zn-MHB (amorphous). UV-Vis spectra were used to determine the optical properties such as bandgap, refractive index, optical conductivity and penetration depth. Possibility of employing the samples for optoelectronic applications was indicated from the band gap values which underlie the range of semiconductors. TEM revealed spherical shapes and mutation of ligand particles into nano-scale by complexation. The antimicrobial potential of the MHB towards gram-positive and negative bacterial growths has been investigated. The results suggested that it would be possible to employ MHB to stop bacterial development, particularly salmonella typhimurium. Cytotoxicity of the MHB was assessed against two types of mammalian cells: VERO (the kidney of an African green monkey) and HFB4 (human skin melanocytes). Lower sensitivity was observed in VERO cells.

Abstract. Natural Thermoluminescence (TL) from the core of MD81349 marine calcareous biological ooze samples in the ninetyeast ridge of the equatorial northeast Indian Ocean and samples from the core of IODP306-U1312B in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean was studied. The spurious TL intensity of 395 °C peak is dose independent when the heating rate is 6 °C/s in a nitrogen atmosphere . TL signals exhibit a significant correlation on the marine isotope stages (MIS) at the two oceans since the mid-Pleistocene. High TL intensity corresponds to a negative δ18O in the interglacial stages, and low TL intensity corresponds to a positive δ18O in the glacial stages. TL of both cores at the two oceans reveal that the global climate has experienced eight cold and warm cycles since the mid-Pleistocene. Single-frequency spectrum analysis of MD81349 and U1312 TL in the last 300 ka was performed.Near the equator of the Northeast Indian Ocean，it is more significant that the short cycle of 38 ka and 5 ka while it is more significant that the cycle of 8 ka at the North Atlantic.In addition, correlation analysis shows that the TL has a significant positive correlation with trace elements 135Ba, a significant negative correlation with 47Ti. The impurity ions (e.g. Ba2+, Mn2+ and Ti2+) doped in carbonate are acting as activators and suppressants respectively.Time series of the TL of calcareous biological ooze tests provide an important record of climate change. The source of TL signal is also discussed.

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a milk-derived protein that exhibits multiple biological activities and has been explored towards different therapeutic applications. Since this molecule is susceptible to degradation and some of its properties depend on its tertiary structure, the encapsulation of bLf in stimuli-responsive therapeutic formulations provides an added value to potentiate its biological activities when administered. Plasmonic magnetoliposomes emerge as promising nanosystems for dual hyperthermia (magneto-photothermia) and local therapy, since the combination of magnetic and gold nanoparticles (NPs) in a single nanosystem (multifunctional liposomes) enables the targeting and controlled release of encapsulated drugs. In this work, plasmonic magnetoliposomes (PMLs) containing manganese ferrite nanoparticles (28 nm size) and gold nanoparticles (~ 5 nm size) functionalized with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid or octadecanethiol, were synthesized and loaded with bLf. The structural, magnetic and optical properties of the nanoparticles were measured by TEM, SQUID and UV/vis/NIR absorption spectroscopy. Specific Absorption Rate was determined to assess the capabilities for magnetic and photothermal hyperthermia. Finally, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as an eukaryotic cellular model to assess the biological activity and the mechanism of entry of bLf-loaded PMLs, through counting of colony forming units and fluorescence microscopy, respectively. The results demonstrate that PMLs are mainly internalized through an energy- and temperature-dependent endocytic process, though the contribution of a diffusion component cannot be discarded. Most notably, only bLf-loaded PMLs exhibit cytotoxicity with an efficiency similar to free bLf, attesting their promising potential for bLf delivery in the context of therapeutic interventions.

The modern material design aims to achieve multifunctionality by integrating structures in a diverse range, resulting in simple materials with embedded functions. Biological materials and organisms are typical examples of this concept, where complex functionalities are achieved through a limited material base. This review highlights the inspiration from multifunctional organisms and materials in nature, emphasizing their structural and functional integration. In particular, we discuss complex hierarchical architectures ranging from the nanoscale to the macroscale, to achieve multifunctional properties such as extreme pressure, impact and wear resistance, shape memory and self-healing, adhesiveness and anti-fouling, sensing-actuating and sensing-camouflage, and extreme environmental survival. These strategies of integrating structure and function are critical for promoting innovations and breakthroughs in the modern engineering materials and applications.

In this review paper, the occurrence in the plant kingdom and the biological activities associated to two specific phenyl-ethanoid glycosides i.e., leucosceptoside A and leucosceptoside B, were shown and discussed. This is the first work ever done on such subject. Analysis of the literature data clearly indicates that leucosceptoside A is much more common in plants and exerts many more biological activities than leucosceptoside B even if this also presents some important elements. All of this was widely discussed in this paper.

The experimental determination of the relative biological effectiveness of thermal neutron factors is fundamental in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. Present values have been obtained using mixed beams consisting of both neutrons and photons of various energies. A common weighting factor has been used for both thermal and fast neutron doses, although such an approach has been questioned. At the nuclear reactor of the Institut Laue-Langevin a pure low-energy neutron beam has been used to determine thermal neutron relative biological effectiveness factors. Different tumor cell lines, corresponding to glioblastoma, melanoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and non-tumor cell lines (lung fibroblast and embryonic kidney) have been irradiated using an experimental arrangement designed to minimise neutron-induced secondary gamma radiation. Additionally, the cells were irradiated with photons at a medical linear accelerator, providing reference data for comparison with that from neutron irradiation. Survival and proliferation were studied after irradiation, yielding the Relative Biological Effectiveness corresponding to the damage of thermal neutrons for the different tissue types.

Space exploration is demanding longer lasting human missions and water resupply from Earth will become increasingly unrealistic. In a near future, the spacecraft water monitoring systems will require technological advances to promptly identify and counteract contingent events of waterborne microbial contamination, posing health risks to astronauts with lowered immune responsiveness. The search for bio-analytical approaches, alternative to those applied on Earth by cultivation-dependent methods, is pushed by the compelling need to limit waste disposal and avoid microbial regrowth from analytical carryovers. Prospective technologies will be selected only if first validated in a flight-like environment, by following basic principles, advantages, and limitations beyond their current applications on Earth. Starting from the water monitoring activities applied on the International Space Station, we provide a critical overview of the nucleic acid amplification-based approaches (i.e., loop-mediated isothermal amplification, quantitative PCR, and high-throughput sequencing) and early-warning methods for total microbial load assessments (i.e., ATP-metry, flow cytometry), already used at a high readiness level aboard crewed space vehicles. Our findings suggest that the forthcoming space applications of mature technologies will be necessarily bounded by a compromise between analytical performances (e.g., speed to results, identification depth, reproducibility, multiparametricity) and detrimental technical requirements (e.g., reagent usage, waste production, operator skills, crew time). As space exploration progresses toward extended missions to Moon and Mars, miniaturized systems that also minimize crew involvement in their end-to-end operation are likely applicable on the long-term and suitable for the in-flight water and microbiological research.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms that colonize diverse environments worldwide, ranging from ocean to freshwaters, soils, and extreme environments. Their adaptation capacities and the diversity of natural products (molecules, metabolites, or compounds) that they synthesize support the cyanobacterial success for the colonization of their respective ecological niches. Although cyanobacteria are well-known for their toxin production and their relative deleterious consequences, they also produce a large variety of molecules that exhibit beneficial properties with high potential for various fields of application (e.g., synthetic analog of the dolastatin 10 used against Hodgkin lymphoma). The present review specially focuses on the beneficial activities of cyanobacterial molecules described so far. Based on an analysis of 670 papers, it appears that more than 90 genera of cyanobacteria have been found to produce compounds with potential beneficial activities, most of them belonging to the orders Oscillatoriales, Nostocales Chroococcales, and Synechococcales. The rest of the cyanobacterial orders (i.e., Pleurocapsales, Chroococcidiopsales, and Gloeobacterales) remain poorly explored in terms of their molecular diversity and relative bioactivity. The diverse cyanobacterial molecules presenting beneficial bioactivities belong to 10 different chemical classes (alkaloids, depsipeptides, lipopeptides, macrolides/lactones, peptides, terpenes, polysaccharides, lipids, polyketides, and others) that exhibit 14 major kinds of bioactivity. However, no direct relation between the chemical class and the bioactivity of these molecules has been demonstrated. We further selected and specifically described 50 molecule families according to their specific bioactivities and their potential uses in pharmacology, cosmetology, agriculture, or other specific fields of interest. This up-to-date review takes advantage of the recent progresses in genome sequencing and biosynthetic pathway elucidation, and presents new perspectives for the rational discovery of new cyanobacterial metabolites with beneficial bioactivity.

The establishment and spread of exotic species is a contemporary major concern. Alien species may become invasive in their new habitat, leading to both/either environmental and/or economic impacts. I briefly reviewed the literature in the last decade about the relationship of exotic species and native communities. I identified that professionals usually approach the subject in two main points of view: (1) researchers tend to point out the impacts of alien species on entire communities, evaluating if the relationship is positive, negative or neutral; (2) they focus on the eco-evolutionary processes involved in the introductions, the dynamics of invasion, and individual study cases. When evaluating the response of introductions to entire communities, evidence seems to be ambiguous and may support positive, negative or neutral relationship, especially depending on the scale approached. The unique eco-evolutionary pathways of each introduction may be a great shortcoming in the searching for generalities. On the other hand, advances have been made in understanding the dynamics of invasion on different lineages through a more selective/individualized approach. I suggest that the dynamics of invasion might be studied through a perspective in which different eco-evolutionary processes, levels of organization (from gene to entire communities), the history of the organism(s) and time are taken into account. Individual cases might be compared in attempt to understand how the relationship exotic and native works and in the search for generalities.

Growing mushrooms is meeting challenges while aiming for sustainability and circularity. Wherever the producer is located, commercial strains are the same originating from several producers. Following the harvest, enormous quantities of spent mushroom substrate containing spores are disposed presenting a type of foreign material pressure on the ecosystem in the form of the loss of genetic diversity in wild mushroom populations. This challenge can be mitigated by bioprospecting local strains and using them to generate commercial inoculum. Accordingly, the mycoceutical potential of five polypore mushroom species from Serbia was evaluated: secondary metabolite composition, oxidative damage prevention, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) properties. The phenolic pattern was comparable in all samples, but the amounts of specific chemicals varied. Hydroxybenzoic acids were the primary components. All samples had varying quantities of ascorbic acid, carotene, and lycopene, and showed a pronounced inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPx) and ability to scavenge HO•. Extracts were more potent tyrosinase inhibitors but unsuccessful when faced with ACE. Fomitopsis pinicola had the strongest anti-tumor efficacy while Ganoderma lucidum demonstrated strong selectivity in anti-tumor effect in comparison to healthy cells. The evaluated species provided a solid foundation for commercial development while keeping the local ecology in mind.

Cathodic protection is widely used to protect metal structures from corrosion and is commonly applied on marine structures in seaports using sacrificial galvanic anodes. These anodes, either in Zinc, or preferen-tially nowadays in Al-Zn-In alloys, are expected to corrode instead of the metal to be protected. This leads to the release of specific dissolved species, Zn2+, Al3+, In3+ and solid phases like Al(OH)3. Few studies were conducted on the effects of anodes on marine organisms and concluded that further detailed investiga-tions are needed in controlled environments. We therefore propose an experimental approach to evaluate the effects of Zn and Al-Zn-In anodes on oysters stabulated in tanks, under conditions approaching those used in the ports. We chose a non-targeted metabolomic approach, using UHPLC coupled to HRMS, to study the effects on the entire metabolome, without any a priori. A modelling study of the chemical species, corresponding to the deg-radation products of the anodes, likely to be present near the exposed oysters, was also included. We identified 16 and 2 metabolites modulated by Zn- and Al-Zn-In-anodes respectively, involved in bi-ological functions, such as energy metabolism, osmoregulation, oxidative stress, lipid, nucleotide nucle-oside and amino acid metabolisms, defense and signaling pathways.

Prunus dulcis is one of the most widely cultivated species in the world. Its fruit (almond) is rich in various nutritious and bioactive compounds that exert several beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical profile and evaluate the biological potential in vitro of almond shell extracts. The chemical analysis of shell extracts led to the identification of 15 com-pounds by HPLC-DAD of which 11 were first detected in the almond plant. Twenty-six volatile compounds were identified by the GC-MS technique, among them; seven were firstly detected in the studied plant. For the biological activities, the extracts demonstrated moderate inhibition potential against the antioxidant, antidiabetic, and cytotoxic activities. The methanol extract at 50 µg/mL showed the highest antioxidant (45%) and antidiabetic activities (45% against alpha-glucosidase and 31% against alpha-amylase extracts), while the cyclohexane and dichloromethane at 50 µg/mL showed the highest cytotoxic activity towards Hela (32.2% with cyclohexane), and RAW 264-7 (45% with dichloromethane). Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential of almond shell extracts as a source of bioactive compounds that could be applied in the pharmaceutical and medical fields.

Condition-specific competition, when environmental conditions alter the outcome of competition, can foster the persistence of resident species after the invasion of a competitively superior invader. We test whether condition-specific competition can facilitate the areawide persistence of the resident and principal West Nile virus vector mosquito Culex pipiens with the competitively superior invasive, Aedes albopictus, in water from different urban container habitats. (2) Methods: We tested the effects of manipulated numbers of A. albopictus on C. pipiens survival and development in water collected from common functional and discarded containers in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The experiment was conducted with typical numbers of larvae found in field surveys of C. pipiens and A. albopictus and container water quality. (3) Results: We found increased densities of A. albopictus negatively affected the survivorship and development of C. pipiens in water from discarded containers but had little effect in water from functional containers. This finding was driven by water from trash cans, which allowed consistently higher C. pipiens survival and development and had greater mean ammonia and nitrate concentrations that can promote microbial food than other container types. (4) Conclusions: These results suggest that the contents of different urban containers alter the effects of invasive A. albopictus competition on resident C. pipiens, that trash cans, in particular, facilitate the persistence of C. pipiens, and that there could be implications for West Nile virus risk as a result.

Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a framework which refers to a relatively recent type of legal requirements for access to and/or use of “genetic resources”. They are based on diverse national and regional laws and regulations, which mostly result from the implementation of the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its supplementary agreement, the Nagoya Protocol. Their ambition is to achieve fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of genetic resources as an incentive to conserve and sustainably use them. This paper describes the experiences, practical constraints and complexities encountered by users of genetic resources when dealing with ABS legislation, with a focus on users from the private sector. We provide insights on how ABS laws have fundamentally changed the way of working with genetic resources in the hope that it inspires re-thinking of the ABS framework, to better support the overall objectives of the CBD.

Establishment of mixed-forests has gained increasing attention as a way to optimize forest production, to improve ecological benefits and as a safety net for impacts of future climate uncertainties. However, practical knowledge about which species and what proportion of them should be mixed is still lacking. Thus, this study was conducted with the aim of identify suitable species for mixture with Acacia cincinnata. The mixture tested in the present study was A. cincinnata + Eucalyptus robusta (6:4), A. cincinnata + Acacia mangium (3:1) and monospecifc plantation of A. cincinnata established in 2014. After 7 years of growth, we analyzed the effects of species mixture on growth of tree species, understory vegetation and soil physico-chemical properties as well as bacterial community structure and diversity. The results showed that species mixture had no significant effect on growth characteristics, such as diameter and singletree volume of A. cincinnata. However, mixed-species planting increased the total stocking volume compered to monospecific plantation of A. cincinnata. Furthermore, stand mixture significantly increased species diversity, biomass and nutrient stocks in the understory vegetation. The soil of mixed stand of A. cincinnata and A. mangium had the highest C and N contents, whereas the soil of pure A. cincinnata stand had the highest P content. The diversity of soil bacterial community were the highest in the mixed stand of A. cincinnata and E- robusta, followed by pure A. cincinnata stand and A. cincinnata + A. mangium stand. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria was higher in soils of mixed stands. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Firmicutes was high in the soil of A. cincinnata + A. mangium while the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was high in A. cincinnata + E. robusta stand. As a whole, the study demonstrated that establishing mixed-species plantation enhance the diversity and composition of understory vegetation, soil physico-chemical and soils bacterial community; thereby increasing biodiversity, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration in the biomass and soil. From the viewpoints of forest productivity and ecological benefits, it is advisable to establish a mixed plantation of A. cincinnata and A- mangium in southern China. As a whole, our work revealed that the sustainability of mixed-species plantation relies on the interactions between soil attributes, vegetation, and bacterial community.

Despite their limited spatial extent, freshwater ecosystems host remarkable biodiversity, including one third of all vertebrate species. This biodiversity is declining dramatically: globally, wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests and freshwater vertebrate populations have fallen more than twice as steeply as terrestrial or marine populations. Threats to freshwater biodiversity are well- documented but co-ordinated action to reverse this decline is lacking. We present an Emergency Recovery Plan to “bend the curve” of freshwater biodiversity loss. Priorities for action include: 1) accelerating implementation of environmental flows, 2) improving water quality, 3) protecting and restoring critical habitats, 4) managing exploitation of freshwater species and riverine aggregates, 5) preventing and controlling non-native species invasions, and 6) safeguarding and restoring river connectivity. We recommend revised targets and indicators for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals, and investment in enabling conditions at national, river basin and local scales.

Salinity is one of the major factors responsible for the deterioration of soils, making them unsuitable for agriculture. The application of halotolerant and halophilic plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR: Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) with biological control activities as an inoculant of cultivated plants offers a biological alternative to the use of agrochemicals, particularly when subjected to salt stress. In this perspective, 70 bacterial strains were isolated from saline soils (sebkha) in arid and semi-arid areas of eastern Algeria. Three isolates were selected based on their ability to produce bioactive molecules allowing them to promote plant growth, such as hydrolytic enzymes, indole acetic acid, HCN, NH3, etc. Two of these isolates belong to the genus Serratia and the third is a halophilic Halomonas bacteria. These bacteria were identified based on the 16S rDNA sequence. Antagonism tests against phytopathogenic fungi were carried out. The identification of the antifungal molecules produced by these bacteria was done by high performance liquid chromatography. These bacteria are capable of inhibiting mycelial development against phytopathogenic fungi with rates reaching 80.67% against Botrytis cinerea, 76.22% against Aspergillus niger and 66.67% against Fusarium culmorum for Serratia sp. The strain Halomonas sp. inhibited mycelial growth by production of volatile substances of Aspergillus niger at 71.29%, Aspergillus flavus at 75.49% and Penicillium glabrum at a rate of 72.22%. The identification by HPLC of the antifungal molecules produced by these three bacteria reveals that they are polyphenols, which makes these strains the first rhizobacteria capable of producing phenolic compounds. Finally, pot tests to determine the effectiveness of these strains in promoting wheat growth under salinity stress (125 mM, 150 mM and 200 mM) were carried out. The results revealed that a consortium of two isolates (Serratia sp. and Halomonas sp.) performed best at 125 mM. But, at higher concentrations it was the halophilic bacteria Halomonas sp which gave the best result. In all cases, there was a significant improvement in the growth of wheat seedlings inoculated with the bacteria, compared to non-inoculated controls.

Invasive macrophytes are considered problematic in natural environments and hydroelectric reservoirs. Climate changes, the occurrence of watercourses, and biotic interactions influence the biological invasion of macrophytes. Native species can correlate with invasives positively or negatively. Urochloa subquadripara is an invasive in natural or disturbed habitats co-occurring with the natives Eichhornia crassipes and Salvinia minima. Aquatic plant communities can be altered by climate change, so species distribution models (SDMs) are important tools for predicting in-vaded areas. This work aimed to make an SDM for U. subquadripara correlating with the poten-tial distribution of native species E. crassipes and S. minima. Occurrence data for U. subquadripara, E. crassipes, and S. minima were collected from databases and in consultation with the published literature. Parameters encompassing biological information of the species were entered into the CLIMEX software and used to generate the Ecoclimatic Index (EI). The species co-occurrence was performed based on multicriteria decision-making (MCDM), and weights were assigned using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). It was observed that U. subquadripara, E. crassipes, and S. minima have a higher occurrence in tropical and subtropical regions; however, it is predicted that, from climatic changes, these species may move to high latitudes. According to climate change, the risk of invasion by U. subquadripara in the northern hemisphere is mainly in lakes, while in the southern hemisphere, the areas conducive to invasions are rivers and reservoirs. In general, emerging and floating macrophyte species such as U. subquadripara, E. crassipes, and S. minima will be favored, causing suppression of submerged species. Therefore, identifying the potential distribution of these species allows the creation of pre-invasion intervention strategies.

The increased cultivation of high THC-containing Cannabis sativa L. (cannabis), particularly in greenhouses, has resulted in a greater incidence of diseases and molds that can negatively affect the growth and quality of the crop. Among them, the most important diseases are root rots (Fusarium and Pythium spp.), Botrytis bud rot (Botrytis cinerea), powdery mildew (Golovinomyces ambrosiae), cannabis stunt disease (caused by Hop latent viroid), and a range of microbes that reduce post-harvest quality. An integrated management approach to reduce the impact of these diseases/microbes requires combining different approaches that target the reproduction, spread and survival of the associated pathogens, many of which can occur on the same plant simultaneously. These approaches will be discussed in the context of developing an integrated plan to manage the important pathogens of greenhouse-grown cannabis at different stages of plant development. These stages include maintenance of stock plants, propagation through cuttings, vegetative growth of plants, and flowering. The cultivation of cannabis genotypes with tolerance or resistance to various pathogens is a very important approach, followed by the maintenance of pathogen-free stock plants. When combined with cultural approaches (sanitation, management of irrigation, and monitoring for diseases) and environmental approaches (greenhouse climate modification), a significant reduction in pathogen development and spread can be achieved. The use of preventive applications of microbial biological control agents and reduced risk biorational products can also reduce disease development at all stages of production in jurisdictions where they are registered for use. The combined use of promising strategies for integrated disease management on cannabis plants during greenhouse production will be reviewed. Future areas for research are identified.

Blood testing is a crucial medical application. In this study, we applied Raman spectroscopy to test blood samples and obtained complete biological information, including the main components and compositions in these samples. Short-wavelength (532-nm green light) Raman scattering spectroscopy was conducted on samples of normal blood, abnormal blood in 3 types of preparation including whole blood, plasma, and serum, and the underlying information reflected by the biological characteristics detected in each sample type were analyzed. Raman spectroscopy results indicated that normal blood had high hemoglobin content, which suggests that hemoglobin is a major component of blood. Hemoglobin affects blood oxygen level. The characteristic peaks of hemoglobin were observed at 690, 989, 1015, 1182, 1233, 1315, and 1562–1649 cm−1. Analysis of plasma and serum samples indicated the presence of β-carotene, which exhibited characteristic peaks at 1013, 1172, and 1526 cm−1. In addition, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy was used to collect biological signals that are difficult to obtain in conventional Raman spectroscopy, including those of small molecules such as hormones, antibodies, and enzymes. Changes in biological information collected in this manner can be used as a basis for potentially diagnosing clinical diseases.

Ants of the genus Solenopsis are important invasive pests in the world. Due to their high dispersion capacity, aggressive behavior and because they feed on various sources of vegetable and animal protein, these insects have caused serious damage to public health and agriculture. The control has usually been carried out through the use of organosynthetic insecticides. However, due to the ecological and environmental impacts caused by the use these products, more sustainable alternatives have been sought for their control. Faced with these problems and due to the scarcity of registered products for the control of these insects, we aimed with this study to synthesize and evaluate the anticidal potential of carvacrol derivatives. The lethal and sublethal effects caused by these derivatives were compared with the essential oil of Lippia gracilis (50.7% carvacrol) and with the base molecule — carvacrol. Carvacryl benzoate was the most toxic derivative to Solenopsis sp. with an LD50 of 3.20 g/ mg. This compound was about 2 and 7.6 times, more toxic than carvacrol at the doses needed to kill 50 and 90% of populations, respectively. The workers of Solenopsis sp. showed a rapid reduction in survival when exposed to carvacrol (LT50 = 8.43h) and carvacryl benzoate (LT50 = 8.87h). Insects treated with sublethal doses of the compounds did not show significant effects on self-cleaning, allogrooming and aggregation, with the exception of those treated with L. gracilis essential oil. The oil increased self-cleaning and reduced allogrooming and aggregation. Ants treated with carvacrol and carvacryl benzoate showed greater distance and speed when compared to the control. These compounds decreased meanders and angular velocity. When live workers were exposed to dead individuals at the LD90 of the compounds, carvacryl benzoate was the derivative that most reduced insects survival, due to horizontal transfer. These results show the potential of the carvacrol derivative — carvacryl benzoate — for the alternative management of ants of the genus Solenopsis sp.

A novel hybrid cobalt phosphite, (H2DAB)[Co(H2PO3)4]·2H2O, has been synthesized by using slow evaporation method, in the presence of cobalt nitrate, phosphorous acid and 1,4- dia-minobutane (DAB= 1,4- diaminobutane) as a structure-directing agent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the compound crystallizes in the P-1(n.2) triclinic space group, with the following unit cell parameters (Å, °) a = 5.4814 (3), b = 7.5515 (4), c = 10.8548 (6), α = 88.001 (4), β = 88.707 (5), γ = 85.126 (5), and V= 447.33 (4) Å3. The crystal structure was built up from cor-ner-sharing [CoO6] octahedra, forming chains parallel to [001], which are interconnected by H2PO3 pseudo-tetrahedral units. The deprotonated cations, residing between the parallel chains, interacted with the inorganic moiety via hydrogen bonds leading thus to the formation of the 3D crystal structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum showed characteristic bands corresponding to the phosphite group and the organic amine. The thermal behavior of the compound consisted mainly of the loss of its organic moiety and the water molecules. The biological tests exhibited significant activity against Candida albicans and Escherichia coli strains in all used concentrations, while less inhibitory activity was pronounced against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and in the case of multi-cellular organisms, no activity against the nematode model Steinernema feltiae was detected.

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt, one of the most destructive plant diseases. While chemical control has an environmental impact, biological control strategies can allow sustainable agrosystems. Three lytic bacteriophages (phages) of R. solanacearum with biocontrol capacity in environmental water and plant were isolated from river water in Europe but not fully characterized, their genomic characterization being fundamental to understand their biology. In this work, the phage genomes were sequenced and subjected to bioinformatic analysis. The morphology was also observed by electron microscopy. Phylogenetic analyses were performed with a selection of phages able to infect R. solanacearum and the closely related phytopathogenic species R. pseudosolanacearum. The results indicated that the genomes of vRsoP-WF2, vRsoP-WM2 and vRsoP-WR2 range from 40,688 to 41,158 bp with almost 59% GC-contents, 52 ORFs in vRsoP-WF2 and vRsoP-WM2, and 53 in vRsoP-WR2 but, with only 22 or 23 predicted proteins with functional homologs in databases. Among them, two lysins and one exopolysaccharide (EPS) depolymerase, this type of depolymerase being identified in R. solanacearum phages for the first time. These three European phages belong to the same novel species within the Gyeongsanvirus, Autographiviridae family (formerly Podoviridae). These genomic data will contribute to a better understanding of the abilities of these phages to damage host cells and, consequently, to an improvement in the biological control of R. solanacearum.

Geijera Schott is a plant genus of the Rutaceae Juss. (rue and citrus) family, comprising six species which are all native to Oceania. Of the plants belonging to this genus, the most significant species that has a customary use is Geijera parviflora, which was used by Indigenous Australians, primarily as a pain reliever. Herein, a comprehensive review of the literature published on the genus Geijera from 1930-2023 was conducted. This is the first review for this plant genus and it highlights the chemical constituents reported to date, together with the range of pharmacological properties described from the various species and different parts of the plant. These properties include anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-parasitic, insect repellent, analgesic, neuroactive, and anti-cancer activities. Finally, a reflection on some of the important areas for future focused studies of this plant genus is provided.

The article describes the methodology of the experimental analysis of operational and cost-effective assessment using geographic information system (GIS) technologies, as opposed to the assessment of the tourism potential of the nature of the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan using long term and costly classical approaches. Based on the ArcGIS (10.8) grid index approach of 20 natural geographical indicators of the valley, such as geographical location, relief, climate, hydrographic and biological, the level of tourism comfort was determined and the location of 6 tourist-recreation zones were defined. The level of accuracy of the tourist-recreational zones all situated utilizing GIS technologies was confirmed by field-expedition approaches.

Blood testing is a crucial application in the field of clinical studies for disease diagnosis and screening, biomarkers discovery, organ function assessment, and personalized medication. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to collect precise data in a short time. In this study, we utilized Raman spectroscopy to analyze blood samples and extracted comprehensive biological information, including the primary components and compositions present in the blood. We conducted short-wavelength (532 nm green light) Raman scattering spectroscopy on blood samples, plasma, and serum, and subsequently analyzed the biological characteristics detected in each sample type. Our results indicated that whole blood had high hemoglobin content, which suggests that hemoglobin is a major component of blood. The characteristic Raman peaks of hemoglobin were observed at 690, 989, 1015, 1182, 1233, 1315, and 1562–1649 cm−1. Analysis of plasma and serum samples indicated the presence of β-carotene, which exhibited characteristic peaks at 1013, 1172, and 1526 cm−1. Additionally, in the field of medical blood testing, the novel 3D Silicon micro-channel device technology holds immense potential. It can serve as a substrate and helps to detect various diseases and biomarkers, providing real-time data to help medical professionals and patients better understand their health conditions. Changes in biological data collected in this manner could potentially be used to diagnose clinical diseases.