The importance of maintaining a healthy indoor climate has recently increased, as has the durability of building structures and for this issue we need prediction of mould growth. The prepare this model under real conditions is challenging, and this work aimed to contribute data to this model. This article presents the findings of a laboratory study investigating the effects of fluctuation relative humidity and temperature conditions on mould growth on pine and spruce. The study compared the results to a previous steady-state experiment, demonstrating that fluctuations in relative humidity and temperature prolonged the onset of mould growth. The mould growth observed depended on the type of wood, with pine or spruce wood exhibiting different growth patterns compared to heartwood or sapwood. In sapwood, mould growth was found to be almost independent of the direction of the fibre. The first microscopic indications of mould growth on pine sapwood were observed around day 76th, with the first macroscopic indications observed around day 90th. On the contrary, spruce sapwood demonstrated a limit for mould growth. The mould growth was only visible under the microscope, with the first indications observed between the 72nd and 80th day. Furthermore, heartwood was found to be unsuitable for mould growth under fluctuating conditions.

The aim of this work was to investigate the microorganisms and their metabolites responsible for the spoilage of goose sausages produced in a small facility in Lombardy, a northern region of Italy. Spoilage was first detected by sensorial analysis using the “needle probing” technique; however, the spoiled sausages were not marketable due to the high ammonia and vinegar smell. The added starter culture did not limit or inhibit the spoilage microorganisms, which were represented by Levilactobacillus brevis, the predominant species, and by Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium. These microorganisms grew during ripening and produced a large amount of biogenic amines, which could represent a risk for consumers. Furthermore, Lev. brevis, being a heterofermentant, also produced ethanol, acetic acid and a variation in the sausage colour. The production of biogenic amines was confirmed in vitro. Furthermore, as observed in a previous work, a second cause of spoilage can be attributed to moulds that grew during ripening; both the isolated strains, Penicillium nalgiovense, added as starter culture, and P. lanoso-coeruleum, present as environmental contaminant, grew between the meat and casing, producing a large amount of total volatile nitrogen, responsible for the ammonia smell perceived either in the ripening area or in the sausages. This is the first description of Levilactobacillus brevis predominance in spoiled goose sausage.

Slime Mould Algorithm (SMA) is a new swarm intelligence algorithm inspired by the oscillatory behavior of slime molds during foraging. Numerous researchers have widely applied SMA and its variants in various domains and proved its value by the experiments in literatures. In this paper a comprehensive survey on SMA is introduced, which is based on 130 articles visa Google-scholar between 2022 and July, 2023. Firstly, the theory of SMA is described. Secondly the improved SMA variants are provided and categorized according to the approach that they are applied with. Finally, it also discusses the main applications domains of SMA such as engineering optimization, energy optimization, machine learning, network, scheduling optimization, image segmentation and etc. This review presents some research suggestion for researcher who is interested in this algorithm.

Sclerotinia minor Jagger is a phytopathogenic fungus that causes lettuce drop, a serious problem of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production. The control of this pathogen is challenging because of the presence of resistance of sclerotia, which can survive in the soil under favourable conditions. In Bulgaria, the management of lettuce drop relies primarily on the strategic application of synthetic fungicides. To find alternative methods for disease management, four bacterial isolates were screened for antagonism against S. minor. This study reports the in vitro evaluation of the antifungal activity of Bacillus subtilis, Priestia megaterium, Bacillus safensis, and Bacillus mojavensis against S. minor. The molecular identification of the isolates involved in the activity was examined by 16s rRNA sequencing. Isolated bacterial strains produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in a medium supplemented with 0.1% L-tryptophan. The ability of those strains to increase the mobility of phosphorus and zinc has been elucidated. The production of siderophores has been confirmed on CAS (Chrom azurol S) medium. The inhibitory action showed by the filtrates of the bacterial growth broths against S. minor and points out the nature of the molecules involved. The evaluation of the antifungal activity was carried out in vitro and pot experiments. This study determined the effect of growth-promoting rhizobacteria on the development of lettuce. This research focuses mainly on the development of biocontrol strategies for the management of lettuce drop in greenhouses.