MDPI - Publisher of Open Access Journals

21 pages, 4093 KB

Open AccessArticle

Virulence-Associated Genomic Architecture of Canine Otitis Externa-Derived Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Hungary

by Mercédesz Adrienn Veres, Zsófia Anna Tóth, Enikő Illés, Patrik Mag, Eszter Kaszab, Enikő Fehér, Ákos Jerzsele and Ádám Kerek

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(7), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13070664 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Background: Canine otitis externa is a clinically relevant niche where Pseudomonas aeruginosa may persist under inflammatory, antimicrobial, and biofilm-favoring conditions. This study characterized the virulome and population structure of canine otitis externa-derived P. aeruginosa isolates from Hungary. Methods: Of 110 isolates previously subjected [...] Read more.

Background: Canine otitis externa is a clinically relevant niche where Pseudomonas aeruginosa may persist under inflammatory, antimicrobial, and biofilm-favoring conditions. This study characterized the virulome and population structure of canine otitis externa-derived P. aeruginosa isolates from Hungary. Methods: Of 110 isolates previously subjected to minimum inhibitory concentration testing, 70 phenotypically selected isolates underwent long-read whole-genome sequencing and were included in virulence-factor analysis. Virulence-associated genes were detected using the Virulence Factor Database with an 80% identity and 80% coverage threshold and were interpreted by functional systems, including motility, adhesion, biofilm formation, secretion systems, siderophores, quorum sensing, secreted enzymes, and type III secretion system effectors. Results: The isolates carried a broad and highly conserved virulence-associated backbone. Genes related to alginate production, type IV pili, flagellar motility, pyochelin, phenazine biosynthesis, Xcp secretion, type VI secretion, and proteolytic enzymes were widely distributed. Type III secretion effector genes were variable: exoT was detected in 68/70 isolates, exoY in 63/70, exoS in 50/70, and exoU in 15/70. MLST indicated a genetically diverse population, and virulome size showed no strong correlation with the modified multiple antimicrobial resistance index. Conclusions: These findings support integrated genomic surveillance of virulence and antimicrobial resistance in canine otitis-associated P. aeruginosa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Infectious Diseases in Companion Animals)

19 pages, 325 KB

Open AccessArticle

Continuance Intention in Online Food Delivery Platforms in Colombia: Extending UTAUT2 with Delivery Trust and Food Quality Perception

by Andrés García-Umaña, Jorge Bernal-Peralta, Gabriel Estuardo Cevallos Uve, Adela Connie Alcívar Chávez, Évelyn Fernanda Córdoba and Vagner Beserra

Foods 2026, 15(14), 2430; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15142430 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Online food delivery (OFD) platforms have become embedded in everyday consumption, yet the determinants of continued use in emerging Latin American markets remain underexplored. This study examines continuance intention toward OFD applications in Colombia using an extended UTAUT2 model (LAE-UTAUT2) that incorporates two [...] Read more.

Online food delivery (OFD) platforms have become embedded in everyday consumption, yet the determinants of continued use in emerging Latin American markets remain underexplored. This study examines continuance intention toward OFD applications in Colombia using an extended UTAUT2 model (LAE-UTAUT2) that incorporates two domain-specific constructs, Delivery Trust and Food Quality Perception. Cross-sectional survey data from 2130 active users were analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling, with confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity assessment (CR, AVE, HTMT) and a multi-procedure common-method-bias check. The direct-effects model explained 56.0% of the variance in continuance intention. Performance Expectancy was the strongest predictor, followed by Hedonic Motivation, Food Quality Perception, Delivery Trust, Social Influence, and Effort Expectancy, whereas Facilitating Conditions were non-significant. Notably, the two domain-specific constructs outranked two established UTAUT2 predictors, and the pattern of effects remained stable across age, gender, and experience subgroups and among habitual users. Income, included as a control, showed no detectable independent effect under an unadjusted bracket measure. The findings position experiential quality and fulfillment trust as central correlates of OFD loyalty in emerging markets, though the cross-sectional, self-reported, and reduced-form design warrants cautious, non-causal interpretation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensory and Consumer Sciences)

14 pages, 2386 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Edge Effects of Au Films on Electrical and Mechanical Properties

by Jiqun Zhu, Xiuli Li, Lili Cao, Zhensong Li and Wenyue Zhu

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(14), 6870; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16146870 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

With the development of three-dimensional high-density integration, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology has become an important substrate platform for electronic packaging. However, screen-printed Au films on LTCC substrates often contain boundary roughness, local thickness variation, pores, and particle-packing non-uniformity caused by the printing [...] Read more.

With the development of three-dimensional high-density integration, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology has become an important substrate platform for electronic packaging. However, screen-printed Au films on LTCC substrates often contain boundary roughness, local thickness variation, pores, and particle-packing non-uniformity caused by the printing process. These features may affect both the macroscopic resistivity of printed patterns and the local mechanical response of the film. In this study, edge-related structural non-uniformity in screen-printed Au/LTCC films was evaluated using SEM observation, macroscopic resistivity–temperature fitting, nano-indentation, XRD, and nano-scratch testing. The resistivity results show that the stripe pattern has approximately 10–13% higher resistivity than the grid patterns within the measured temperature range, indicating a geometry-dependent electrical response. Nano-indentation results reveal large spatial dispersion in reduced modulus and hardness, and statistical analysis shows that differences among annealing conditions are not significant at the 0.05 level when indentation data alone are considered. Therefore, nanomechanical data are treated as an indirect structural indicator rather than a direct proof of local electrical uniformity. Among the investigated temperatures, 200 °C provides a favorable balance of local hardness, scratch resistance, and microstructural stability, whereas 300 °C should be interpreted cautiously because the higher scratch load is not supported by direct post-scratch failure analysis. Overall, the results provide a cautious but clear structure–property correlation for screen-printed Au/LTCC conductors and identify 200 °C as the preferred annealing condition among the investigated temperatures. These results provide practical guidance for evaluating structural non-uniformity in screen-printed Au/LTCC conductors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Micromechanics and Microengineering)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 7790 KB

Open AccessArticle

Complexity-Entropy Characterization of Storage Dynamics in Semiarid Reservoirs: Linking Ordinal Patterns with Elevation-Storage Curve Shifts in Paraíba, Brazil

by Ana Kerma Araujo Gomes de Sousa, Laércio Leal dos Santos and Fernando Henrique Antunes de Araujo

Entropy 2026, 28(7), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/e28070779 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Hydrological reservoirs are complex systems in which storage variations integrate climate forcing, catchment response, releases, withdrawals, evaporation, and monitoring procedures. This study presents an information-theoretic characterization of storage dynamics in five semiarid reservoirs in Paraíba, Brazil. The main analytical layer is the complexity–entropy [...] Read more.

Hydrological reservoirs are complex systems in which storage variations integrate climate forcing, catchment response, releases, withdrawals, evaporation, and monitoring procedures. This study presents an information-theoretic characterization of storage dynamics in five semiarid reservoirs in Paraíba, Brazil. The main analytical layer is the complexity–entropy causality plane (CECP), computed from daily storage increments by permutation entropy and Martín-Plastino-Rosso statistical complexity. CECP was estimated for fixed periods and for sliding windows of 120 observations, with sensitivity tests for embedding dimension, delay, and window length. The workflow also benchmarks CECP distance against conventional descriptors, quantifies ties and zero increments, and tests window overlap. As physical context, monotonic elevation-storage curves were reconstructed for 2009–2014, 2015–2019, and 2020–2026, and storage differences at equivalent water levels were quantified by bootstrap confidence intervals. The reservoirs occupied a high-entropy, low-to-moderate-complexity region of the CECP, but their distances from the maximum-entropy/minimum-complexity vertex differed across reservoirs and periods. Sliding windows revealed temporal mobility that was hidden by fixed-period summaries, especially in Engenheiro Arcoverde, Jatobá I, and Mãe d’Água. Rankings remained strongly concordant when window overlap decreased from 94.2% to 0% (Spearman

ρ = 0.943

), although absolute coordinates were sensitive to the treatment of reported plateaus. Elevation-storage shifts provided an independent structural context: negative shifts were compatible with possible useful-capacity reduction, although not uniquely attributable to sedimentation. The results show that CECP descriptors can reveal ordinal organization and regime mobility in reservoir storage increments, while

V (H)

curves supply the physically interpretable storage-capacity context. The combined evidence prioritizes Engenheiro Arcoverde and Mãe d’Água for bathymetric, curve history, and operational verification. The proposed workflow is therefore an exploratory information-theoretic screening tool for data-limited reservoir monitoring, not a substitute for bathymetric validation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Multidisciplinary Applications)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

38 pages, 5148 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Multilabel Embedding-Based Framework for Predicting Short-Term Cross-Category Complaint Recurrence

by Theng-Jia Law, Choo-Yee Ting, Hu Ng and Hui-Ngo Goh

Informatics 2026, 13(7), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics13070108 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Public complaints exhibit strong spatiotemporal dependencies, where issues often propagate across categories within short timeframes, yet existing studies largely overlook cross-category recurrence and underutilize embedding representations for structured data. To address this gap, this study proposes a multilabel embedding-based framework to predict short-term [...] Read more.

Public complaints exhibit strong spatiotemporal dependencies, where issues often propagate across categories within short timeframes, yet existing studies largely overlook cross-category recurrence and underutilize embedding representations for structured data. To address this gap, this study proposes a multilabel embedding-based framework to predict short-term cross-category complaint recurrence using structured spatiotemporal data. Using 48,103 real-world complaint records, the framework integrates embedding representations with Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) models to predict the likelihood of multiple complaint categories recurring within the next seven days in the same area. The results indicated that both approaches achieved average label-wise F1-scores of 30.5–32.6%, exceeding 81% for highly recurrent categories. The best ML model, Binary Relevance with Logistic Regression using multilingual-e5-large embeddings, achieved the lowest Hamming loss of 0.138 ± 0.126. Statistical analysis confirmed non-normality with Shapiro–Wilk statistics between 0.796 and 0.819 and p-values below 0.05, and significant differences across models with a Friedman test statistic of 512.531 and p-values below 0.05, although no significant pairwise differences were found with the Nemenyi post hoc test. Furthermore, 95% bootstrap confidence intervals indicate stable performance, with F1 ranging from 74.1% to 74.9% for ML and 73.2% to 74% for DL. Full article

19 pages, 278 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Epistemological Crisis of Rationality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Through the Lens of 4E Cognition and Postphenomenology

by Olexii Varypaiev

Philosophies 2026, 11(4), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies11040115 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Everyday work with large language models (LLMs) normalizes a practice in which a generated formulation supports judgment before the user has checked its grounds. This crisis of rationality arises not from a single technical defect in the system, but from a shift in [...] Read more.

Everyday work with large language models (LLMs) normalizes a practice in which a generated formulation supports judgment before the user has checked its grounds. This crisis of rationality arises not from a single technical defect in the system, but from a shift in justificatory practice in which fluent textual coherence is read as evidence of semantic understanding and rational judgment. The method brings conceptual analysis into contact with 4E cognition and a postphenomenological account of technological mediation. Within this framework, LLMs are described neither as autonomous rational subjects nor as neutral instruments, but as multistable moral-epistemic mediators of human rationality. The analysis distinguishes textual competence from world-involved understanding and relates interface mediation to trust and responsibility. On this basis, the article proposes a four-cluster protocol for the attribution of rationality, which introduces an epistemic pause as a route of verification between a generated formulation and its authorial acceptance as a claim. The central risk lies not in whether machine consciousness has been proven, but in the normalization of practices in which ready-made text acquires the status of a ground before the user has reconstructed its sources and accepted responsibility for what is asserted. Full article

40 pages, 8999 KB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Objective Optimization and Stakeholder Game Analysis for Industrial DES Retrofit

by Xingyu Wu, Zeqiu Li, Ying Tian and Xiuhui Huang

Processes 2026, 14(14), 2240; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr14142240 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

The integration of renewable energy with energy storage units is a key technical approach in enhancing the safety, sustainability, and economic feasibility of industrial energy supply systems. However, the transformation of distributed energy systems (DESs) in chemical energy systems will encounter challenges in [...] Read more.

The integration of renewable energy with energy storage units is a key technical approach in enhancing the safety, sustainability, and economic feasibility of industrial energy supply systems. However, the transformation of distributed energy systems (DESs) in chemical energy systems will encounter challenges in capacity configuration and scheduling. Additionally, the high initial investment and long return period lead to conflicts of interest among enterprises, governments, and the public during the energy structure transformation process, hindering the initiative of enterprises to carry out the transformation. To address these, this study proposes an integrated energy system transformation plan based on full life cycle assessment (LCA), considering both economic and environmental goals. A two-layer optimization framework (NSGA-II for capacity configuration and CPLEX for daily scheduling) is established, along with an evolutionary game model for policy analysis. The system combines solar, wind, gas, and storage to meet continuous industrial demand. The optimal scheme achieves a 2.64-year investment payback period, a 435.8% return rate, and a carbon intensity of 0.234 ton CO₂/MWh, 9% lower than a pure fossil scheme. The evolutionary game model balancing enterprise-government-public interests identifies optimal carbon tax and subsidy policies to promote a widely beneficial transformation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Integration of Renewable Energy: 2nd Edition)

14 pages, 236 KB

Open AccessEssay

Effects of Death Anxiety Experienced by Individuals with Myocardial Infarction: A Phenomenological Approach

by Fatma Buruntekin and Özlem Ceyhan

Healthcare 2026, 14(14), 2054; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14142054 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Aim: This study sought to investigate in depth the experiences of individuals who had a myocardial infarction (MI), focusing on death anxiety and life changes. Design: A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Methods: Criterion-based purposive sampling was used. Data were collected between June [...] Read more.

Aim: This study sought to investigate in depth the experiences of individuals who had a myocardial infarction (MI), focusing on death anxiety and life changes. Design: A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Methods: Criterion-based purposive sampling was used. Data were collected between June and July 2023 through semi-structured interviews. Seven participants were interviewed, and six were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Four main categories emerged: (1) experiences of patients, (2) changes in daily life, (3) thoughts about death, and (4) recommendations. Participants reported intense fear of death, lifestyle changes, and increased awareness of mortality. Conclusions: Death anxiety is a prominent psychological response after MI that significantly affects patients’ perceptions and behaviors. Psychosocial interventions are recommended to help patients cope with these experiences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Lifestyle Medicine and Nursing Research)

29 pages, 5478 KB

Open AccessArticle

An AI-Based Framework for Automated Radiographic Bone Loss Measurement Using Segmentation and Geometric Landmark Modeling

by Mohammad Abdel-Majeed, Iyad Jafar, Omar AL-Karadsheh, Shorouq Al-Awawdeh, Siraj Zabadi and Mahdi Flefl

Algorithms 2026, 19(7), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/a19070562 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Accurate assessment of radiographic bone loss (RBL) is essential for periodontal diagnosis and staging; however, manual measurement from dental radiographs is labor-intensive, time-consuming and subject to inter- and intra-examiner variability. Existing AI-based methods primarily formulate bone loss assessment as classification, landmark prediction, or [...] Read more.

Accurate assessment of radiographic bone loss (RBL) is essential for periodontal diagnosis and staging; however, manual measurement from dental radiographs is labor-intensive, time-consuming and subject to inter- and intra-examiner variability. Existing AI-based methods primarily formulate bone loss assessment as classification, landmark prediction, or direct segmentation of thin anatomical structures, limiting measurement interpretability and robustness. This study proposes clinically interpretable two-phase framework for automated and clinically interpretable RBL estimation from periapical radiographs. The framework explicitly separates anatomical structure recognition from geometric measurement, improving transparency and reducing error propagation. In the first phase, deep learning models segment key anatomical structures, including the crown, root, third root and alveolar bone. In the second phase, a deterministic geometric algorithm extracts clinically relevant landmarks, including the cemento–enamel junction (CEJ), bone crest, and root apex, and computes root length, CEJ–bone crest distance, and radiographic bone loss following established periodontal measurement principles. The framework was evaluated on a curated dataset of annotated radiographs. DS-TransUNet achieved the best segmentation performance. Quantitative evaluation yielded mean absolute errors of 0.81 mm for CEJ–bone crest distance, 0.71 mm for root length, and 5.89% for RBL estimation. Bland–Altman analysis demonstrated minimal systematic bias (−1.03%) and good agreement with expert measurements across different disease severities, supporting the framework’s potential as an objective and clinically applicable tool for periodontal bone loss assessment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Algorithms and Mathematical Models for Computer-Assisted Diagnostic Systems)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

5 pages, 167 KB

Open AccessEditorial

Advances in Characterization and Processing of Metallic Materials

by Young-Ok Yoon and Seong-Ho Ha

Materials 2026, 19(14), 2946; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19142946 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

In recent years, the field of metallic materials has undergone rapid development, driven by increasing demands for high-performance structural and functional materials in industries such as aerospace, automotive, energy, defense, and biomedical engineering [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Metallic Materials: Solidification, Deformation, Heat Treatment and Other Related Phenomena—Third Edition)

14 pages, 609 KB

Open AccessArticle

Prognostic Factors and Clinical Characteristics of Varicella Zoster Virus Meningitis: Impact of Treatment Delay and Age-Related Differences in a Japanese Tertiary Hospital

by Kenta Tasaki, Makoto Hara and Hideto Nakajima

Neurol. Int. 2026, 18(7), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint18070130 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Objectives: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningitis is a complication of herpes zoster that causes high rates of residual symptoms. However, prognostic factors and optimal management strategies remain unclear. This study investigated factors affecting functional outcomes, age-related differences, and the impact of prior oral [...] Read more.

Objectives: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningitis is a complication of herpes zoster that causes high rates of residual symptoms. However, prognostic factors and optimal management strategies remain unclear. This study investigated factors affecting functional outcomes, age-related differences, and the impact of prior oral antiviral therapy in VZV meningitis. Methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled patients admitted for aseptic meningitis between 2013 and 2022. The primary outcome was residual symptoms at discharge, defined as a ≥1-point increase in the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) from baseline. Multiple logistic regression identified independent risk factors. Results: Among 176 patients with aseptic meningitis, 60 (34.1%) had VZV meningitis. Patients with VZV meningitis had higher rates of residual symptoms (43.3% vs. 12.9%, p < 0.001). Independent predictors of residual symptoms included delayed intravenous acyclovir initiation (odds ratio [OR] = 1.303, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.060–1.601, p = 0.012), corresponding to a 30.3% increase in the odds of residual symptoms for each additional day before treatment initiation, and pre-onset mRS (OR = 2.352, 95% CI = 1.056–5.237, p = 0.036). Patients ≥ 50 years old displayed lower rates of headache (75.0% vs. 96.9%, p = 0.020), neck stiffness (25.0% vs. 62.5%, p = 0.005), and CSF pleocytosis (56/μL vs. 142/μL, p = 0.023). Prior oral antiviral therapy was not associated with a rate of residual symptoms (p = 0.795). Conclusions: Delayed initiation of intravenous acyclovir was independently associated with residual symptoms at discharge, whereas older patients often presented with atypical clinical features, requiring heightened clinical suspicion. Given the lack of observed benefit associated with prior oral antiviral therapy, prompt initiation of intravenous acyclovir should be considered when VZV meningitis is suspected. Full article

27 pages, 1715 KB

Open AccessArticle

Implicit-Emotion Recognition Model Based on Content–Style Decoupling and Conditional Fusion

by Yi Zhang, Junqing Zhu and Hua Zhao

Electronics 2026, 15(14), 3002; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15143002 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Implicit-emotional expressions are common in college students’ social media posts, where literal meanings may contradict underlying emotions. Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-based models face two coupled challenges in this setting: feature confusion between semantic content and expression style, and coarse-grained feature fusion. [...] Read more.

Implicit-emotional expressions are common in college students’ social media posts, where literal meanings may contradict underlying emotions. Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-based models face two coupled challenges in this setting: feature confusion between semantic content and expression style, and coarse-grained feature fusion. We propose CSD-IFRN (Content–Style Disentanglement with Conditional Fusion for Implicit Emotion Recognition Network), which disentangles content and style using dual non-shared BERT encoders, combines gradient-reversal adversarial training with a content–style orthogonality regularizer (L_orth), and applies conditional layer normalization (CLN) for adaptive fusion. On a dedicated dataset of 11,154 triple-annotated texts, averaged over five random seeds, CSD-IFRN achieves 88.58% accuracy and 88.43% macro-F1, improving over BERT-base-chinese by 6.99 points and over the strongest SOTA baseline by 2.61 points. The main gains remain significant after Holm correction (p < 0.01) and also hold on a public benchmark. A frozen style probe trained on content features falls to 50.40% balanced accuracy, close to chance level, supporting effective disentanglement. Among fusion strategies, CLN achieves the best accuracy with low seed-to-seed variance. These results suggest that CSD-IFRN can provide an auxiliary signal for university mental-health monitoring, rather than a clinical diagnostic tool. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 855 KB

Open AccessReview

Mechanisms of Heat-Induced Sleep Disruption in Aging: A Narrative Review

by Neriman Ezgin, Jelena Krčum, Nikola Šutulović, Maja Pavlović, Emilija Djurić, Dušan Mladenović, Milena Vesković, Arif E. Cetin, Aleksandra Rašić-Marković, Olivera Stanojlović and Dragan Hrnčić

Clocks & Sleep 2026, 8(3), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep8030043 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Rising global temperatures and more frequent heat waves pose a growing threat to public health, particularly among older adults. Age-related declines in thermoregulatory capacity such as reduced sweating, impaired vasodilation, and diminished hypothalamic responsiveness make it more difficult to cope with elevated nighttime [...] Read more.

Rising global temperatures and more frequent heat waves pose a growing threat to public health, particularly among older adults. Age-related declines in thermoregulatory capacity such as reduced sweating, impaired vasodilation, and diminished hypothalamic responsiveness make it more difficult to cope with elevated nighttime temperatures. These thermal challenges disrupt sleep by prolonging sleep onset, fragmenting slow-wave and REM sleep, and suppressing melatonin secretion. Importantly, sex-related differences in thermoregulatory aging—particularly menopause-associated vasomotor instability in women and testosterone-related autonomic changes in men—further modulate individual vulnerability to heat-induced sleep disruption. Beyond sleep, heat-induced stress affects metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune systems, promoting insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, sympathetic overactivation, and chronic inflammation. Socioeconomic disparities, urban heat island exposure, and differential access to cooling infrastructure function as critical environmental modifiers that amplify biological vulnerability, particularly in disadvantaged older populations. This narrative review aims to synthesize current knowledge on the specific thermoregulatory mechanisms of sleep disruption induced by heat stress in older adults. Understanding these interactions is crucial for developing effective interventions, including environmental cooling, circadian-aligned behaviors, and targeted public health strategies, to mitigate the compounded risks of heat exposure and preserve healthy sleep in aging populations. However, many proposed mechanistic pathways are primarily derived from animal models, and controlled human studies specifically targeting heat-exposed older adults remain scarce. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Human Basic Research & Neuroimaging)

21 pages, 4965 KB

Open AccessArticle

Attention-Guided Generative Adversarial Network for False Alarm-Resistant Change Detection in Remote Sensing Orthophotos

by Yuxuan Hu, Zheng Ji, Wei Liu and Yichao Li

Remote Sens. 2026, 18(14), 2290; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18142290 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Orthophoto change detection is used to find real land cover changes in urban monitoring, disaster assessment, and environmental management. In practice, however, multi-temporal orthophotos are rarely identical in geometry and radiometry even after standard preprocessing. Small residual misregistration, local building displacement, shadow movement, [...] Read more.

Orthophoto change detection is used to find real land cover changes in urban monitoring, disaster assessment, and environmental management. In practice, however, multi-temporal orthophotos are rarely identical in geometry and radiometry even after standard preprocessing. Small residual misregistration, local building displacement, shadow movement, and illumination differences can produce edge-like responses that look like change but do not correspond to any land cover transition. These false alarms increase manual checking costs and reduce the reliability of change maps. This study addresses that practical problem by proposing an attention-guided conditional adversarial framework, named Attention-GAN, for false alarm-resistant orthophoto change detection. The aim is not to detect small perturbations as changes but to detect real land cover changes while suppressing responses to nuisance variations that should be treated as unchanged. The framework integrates a multi-scale spatial attention module, a channel attention module, and a PatchGAN discriminator. It also introduces perturbation-negative training pairs, where controlled geometric and radiometric perturbations are applied to unchanged image pairs and assigned all-zero change masks. Experiments on LEVIR-CD, WHU-CD, and DSIFN-CD show competitive or moderately higher accuracy than the selected representative baselines, with F1 scores of 91.2%, 92.45%, and 93.18%, respectively. In the ablation experiment, the false change rate on perturbation-negative validation pairs is reduced to 4.9%. Repeated-run statistics and ablation results indicate that the proposed training strategy mainly improves robustness by reducing false alarms under the evaluated perturbation range. The results support the use of controlled nuisance perturbations as a reproducible way to train and evaluate false alarm resistance, while broader validation under real multi-view, seasonal, and cross-sensor distortions remains necessary. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Monitoring Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Impacts on Ecosystem Service (Second Edition))

24 pages, 1575 KB

Open AccessArticle

Plant–Endophyte Cross-Talk in Origanum heracleoticum L. In Vitro Axenic Culture: Endosphere-Driven Bacterial Interactions and Plant Metabolic Responses

by Giulia Semenzato, Sara Barberini, Felicia Menicucci, Giulia Atzori, Cecilia Brunetti, Giovanni Marino, Valeria Palchetti, Renato Fani, Mauro Centritto and Giovanni Emiliani

Microorganisms 2026, 14(7), 1497; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14071497 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Origanum L. (Lamiaceae) is a commercially important medicinal and aromatic plant genus worldwide. Endophytic bacterial communities are recognized for promoting plant growth and physiology, although their interactions with host metabolism remain insufficiently understood. In this work, an in vitro model of axenic Origanum [...] Read more.

Origanum L. (Lamiaceae) is a commercially important medicinal and aromatic plant genus worldwide. Endophytic bacterial communities are recognized for promoting plant growth and physiology, although their interactions with host metabolism remain insufficiently understood. In this work, an in vitro model of axenic Origanum heracleoticum plants was established to investigate the relationship between endophytic bacteria and their tissue of origin. Specifically, we evaluated the adaptation of two strains, Bacillus sp. OHL2 and Pseudomonas sp. OHS18, and the potential role of Bacillus sp. OHL2 in modulating plant physiology and secondary metabolism. Bacterial inoculation and re-isolation highlighted niche-specific adaptation and possible co-evolution within the host, suggesting an active role of the plant in regulating bacterial colonization within the endosphere. Inoculation with Bacillus sp. OHL2 significantly enhanced photosynthetic rate, leaf area, dry weight, and chlorophyll content. No substantial overall changes in secondary metabolism were detected. Rosmarinic acid was the predominant phenolic, while monoterpenes dominated, with carvacrol dominant. A significant tissue-by-inoculation interaction was observed for α-humulene, which decreased in leaves of inoculated plants. Overall, the in vitro system provides a valuable platform to study plant–endophyte interactions and bacterial mechanisms underlying the stimulation of plant growth and metabolic responses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Plant Microbe Interactions)

16 pages, 1724 KB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Mechanical Behavior of the Bamboo Scrimber Dowel-Bearing Under Sustained Loading Based on SICD Method

by Ming Zhang, Gang Wang, Huaigang Ma, Dongxiang Xie, Hongsen Wu and Wuxia Sun

Buildings 2026, 16(14), 2720; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16142720 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

The mechanical behavior of bamboo scrimber dowel-bearing under sustained loading was investigated via the Stepped Isothermal Creep Deformation (SICD) method using a 30-ton multi-field coupling system, with the test conducted over a duration of 51.5 h. Experimental results revealed three typical failure modes: [...] Read more.

The mechanical behavior of bamboo scrimber dowel-bearing under sustained loading was investigated via the Stepped Isothermal Creep Deformation (SICD) method using a 30-ton multi-field coupling system, with the test conducted over a duration of 51.5 h. Experimental results revealed three typical failure modes: material failure, local compression failure, and crushing failure. The damage degree increased linearly with stress level. SEM microstructural analysis further indicated that failure originated from progressive fracture and bending of fiber bundles, as well as layer compression and cracking induced by mechanical loading. The deformation process of bamboo scrimber dowel-bearing under sustained loading comprises four distinct stages, namely short-term deformation, initial creep, stable creep, and divergent creep. The divergent creep stage manifests exclusively at stress levels of S_L = 0.6, while at lower-stress levels, S_L = 0.2 and S_L = 0.4, only the first three stages are observed within the 51.5 h test duration. In addition, a preliminary analysis was conducted on the stiffness and strength reduction in bamboo scrimber dowel-bearing under sustained loading. These research findings elucidate the mechanical behavior of bamboo scrimber dowel-bearing under sustained loading, providing preliminary insights to inform future durability assessment and design methodology development for bamboo scrimber joint connections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Response of Composite or Biomimetic Structures Under Impact/Blast Loading)

26 pages, 6881 KB

Open AccessArticle

Calibration and Experimental Validation of Discrete Element Model Parameters for Cotton Stalks and Cotton Residues Mixture

by Wenya Zhang, Jianping Zhou, Yan Xu, Xiaokang Chen, Yuntian Gao and Yulong Qiu

Agriculture 2026, 16(14), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16141492 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Accurate discrete element simulation parameters for the mechanically harvested cotton stalks and cotton residues mixture are currently unavailable. This lack hinders the effective design and optimization of equipment for separating and recovering cotton residues from the mixture. This study focused on the cotton [...] Read more.

Accurate discrete element simulation parameters for the mechanically harvested cotton stalks and cotton residues mixture are currently unavailable. This lack hinders the effective design and optimization of equipment for separating and recovering cotton residues from the mixture. This study focused on the cotton stalks and cotton residues mixture. The intrinsic parameters of cotton residues were measured through physical experiments. Using the inclined plane and collision methods, the coefficients of restitution for cotton residues–cotton stalks and cotton residues–steel were determined to be 0.228 and 0.364, respectively. The corresponding static friction coefficients were 0.632 and 0.266, and the rolling friction coefficients were 0.199 and 0.156. The Hertz–Mindlin with JKR contact model was employed. Combined with repose angle tests, the coefficient of restitution, rolling friction coefficient, static friction coefficient, and surface energy for cotton residues–cotton residues were calibrated as 0.393, 0.140, 0.742, and 1.471 J/m², respectively. A vibrating spreading test was conducted to validate the calibrated parameters. The proportion of cotton residues on the material surface was used as the test index. The mean relative error between simulation and physical test results under four working conditions was 4.91%. The results indicate that acceptable consistency is achieved between simulation and experimental results under the tested conditions, and the calibrated discrete element parameters are applicable for the simulation of cotton stalk–cotton residue mixture systems. This study provides a theoretical basis and data support for the development of equipment to separate and recover cotton residues from cotton stalk and cotton residue mixtures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Agricultural Technology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 1436 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Global Dynamics of a Darwinian Food-Limited Evolutionary Model

by Carmen R. Ferrara and Mustafa R. S. Kulenović

Mathematics 2026, 14(14), 2470; https://doi.org/10.3390/math14142470 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

We investigate the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the evolutionary version of the food-limited equation

\frac{d x}{d t} = x r (\frac{K - x}{K + C r x})

where r, growth rate, K, carrying capacity, and

\frac{1}{C}

[...] Read more.

We investigate the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the evolutionary version of the food-limited equation

\frac{d x}{d t} = x r (\frac{K - x}{K + C r x})

where r, growth rate, K, carrying capacity, and

\frac{1}{C}

, the rate of replacement of a species at saturation, are positive. We assume that growth rate r and the carrying capacity K are functions of some trait that evolve over time. Using previously established methodologies, we investigate the effects of parameters dependent on a trait evolving over time with respect to a trait and describe the global behavior of the solutions and give biological interpretations. Additionally, we give simulations of particular examples with biological relevance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Differential Equations and Stability in Dynamical Systems: Theory, Methods and Applications)

41 pages, 97873 KB

Open AccessArticle

Hydroclimatic and Remote-Sensing Framework for Characterizing Hydric Stress and Its Linkages to Landscape Degradation in Northwestern Mexico

by Jesús S. López Rocha, Mariano Norzagaray Campos, Omar Llanes Cárdenas, Norma P. Muñoz Sevilla, Apolinar Santamaría Miranda, Jesús A. Fierro Coronado, Lorenzo Cervantes Arce, María de los Ángeles Ladrón de Guevara Torres and Luz Arcelia Serrano García

Sustainability 2026, 18(14), 6986; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18146986 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

This study evaluates the spatial variability of hydric stress in the State of Sinaloa, northwestern Mexico, through the integrated analysis of hydroclimatic variables, multispectral remote sensing indicators, and environmental factors. Historical hydroclimatic conditions were analyzed using meteorological records from 1961 to 2020, whereas [...] Read more.

This study evaluates the spatial variability of hydric stress in the State of Sinaloa, northwestern Mexico, through the integrated analysis of hydroclimatic variables, multispectral remote sensing indicators, and environmental factors. Historical hydroclimatic conditions were analyzed using meteorological records from 1961 to 2020, whereas Landsat 8 imagery acquired on 7 July 2025, was used to evaluate the spatial expression of hydric stress. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated using the FAO-56 Penman–Monteith methodology, and hydrological deficit conditions were determined from the relationship between precipitation (P) and ETo. Spectral indicators including land surface temperature (

\bar{T}

_a), the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and the NDWI/MNDWI relationship were used to evaluate vegetation response, surface moisture conditions, and thermal anomalies associated with hydric stress. The results revealed persistent conditions where ETo systematically exceeded P, with hydrological deficit values ranging from approximately −1600 mm·year⁻¹ to localized positive values near 50 mm·year⁻¹. The most severe deficits were concentrated within the northwestern and north-central agricultural valleys of Sinaloa. Statistical validation revealed significant negative relationships between hydrological deficit and all evaluated spectral indicators. The strongest association was observed for MNDWI (R² = 0.387), followed by NDWI/MNDWI (R² = 0.277), NDWI (R² = 0.220), and NDVI (R² = 0.134), confirming the sensitivity of vegetation and moisture-related indicators to long-term hydrological stress conditions. Spatial analyses revealed a strong correspondence among low NDVI, negative NDWI and MNDWI responses, elevated

\bar{T}

_a, and regions characterized by high atmospheric evaporative demand. Additional spatial validation integrating land-use and vegetation-cover changes (1993–2011), regional geology, topography, and the distribution of highly productive agricultural valleys demonstrated that the most severe hydrological deficits coincided with areas affected by vegetation-cover loss, agricultural expansion, and intensive land use. Although these datasets correspond to different observation periods, they collectively reflect the cumulative environmental effects associated with persistent hydrological stress across the region. The combined effects of hydrological imbalance, forest-cover reduction, and agricultural intensification have progressively reduced ecosystem resilience and increased environmental vulnerability throughout one of the most productive agricultural regions of northwestern Mexico. These findings provide a scientific basis for water-resource management, territorial planning, ecosystem restoration, and climate-adaptation strategies under increasing water-scarcity conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic AI and Multi-Source Geospatial Observation for Global Change, Ecological Sustainability and Land System Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 10623 KB

Open AccessArticle

Probabilistic Prior-Driven Attention Mechanism Based on a Diffusion Model for Imaging Through Atmospheric Turbulence

by Yingping Sun, Dengtian Bai, Yan Liu, Dong Wang, Rongzhen Miao, Zihan Qin and Hongwei Wang

Electronics 2026, 15(14), 3001; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15143001 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Atmospheric turbulence introduces severe spatial and geometric distortions, challenging traditional image restoration methods. We propose the Probabilistic Prior Turbulence Removal Network (PPTRN), which combines probabilistic diffusion-based prior modeling with Transformer-driven feature extraction to address this issue. PPTRN employs a two-stage approach: first, a [...] Read more.

Atmospheric turbulence introduces severe spatial and geometric distortions, challenging traditional image restoration methods. We propose the Probabilistic Prior Turbulence Removal Network (PPTRN), which combines probabilistic diffusion-based prior modeling with Transformer-driven feature extraction to address this issue. PPTRN employs a two-stage approach: first, a latent encoder and Transformer are jointly trained on clear images to establish robust feature representations. Then, a Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM) models prior distributions over latent vectors, guiding the Transformer in capturing diverse feature variations essential for restoration. A key innovation in PPTRN is the Probabilistic Prior-Driven Cross-Attention mechanism, which integrates the DDPM-generated prior with feature embeddings to reduce artifacts and enhance spatial coherence. Extensive experiments validate that PPTRN significantly improves restoration quality on turbulence-degraded images, setting a new benchmark in clarity and structural fidelity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 824 KB

Open AccessArticle

Selective Extraction of Lipophilic Bioactive Compounds from Industrial Root Meal of Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

by Akbar Sanoev, Bakhodir Okhundedaev, Ildar Sham’yanov, Khayrulla Bobakulov, Sayyora Zaripova, Ruzali Botirov, Alimjan Sadikov, Shamansur Sagdullayev, Farida Ali and Eldar Garayev

Molecules 2026, 31(14), 2411; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31142411 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) root meal generated after industrial extraction of water-soluble constituents represents an underutilized secondary plant resource rich in lipophilic bioactive compounds. In this study, an efficient approach for the comprehensive recovery of hydrophobic biologically active substances from licorice root [...] Read more.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) root meal generated after industrial extraction of water-soluble constituents represents an underutilized secondary plant resource rich in lipophilic bioactive compounds. In this study, an efficient approach for the comprehensive recovery of hydrophobic biologically active substances from licorice root meal was developed. The method is based on sequential ethanol extraction followed by selective fractionation using a petroleum ether–ethyl acetate solvent system and chromatographic purification. As a result, a lipid fraction (1.1%) containing phytosterols (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol) was obtained, while the pharmacologically important isoflavan glabridin was isolated with a purity of 87.9% and a yield of 0.17%. In addition, triterpenoid aglycones, including 3-oxoglycyrrhetinic acid (0.39%) and glycyrrhetinic acid (0.21%), were successfully isolated and structurally confirmed by IR and NMR spectroscopy. Comparative solvent studies demonstrated that ethanol provides the highest extraction yield (7.1%) while maintaining high levels of glabridin and total flavonoids in the extracts. The results indicate that licorice root meal is a valuable secondary source of lipophilic bioactive compounds, and the proposed approach enables more efficient utilization of plant raw materials, reduction of industrial waste, and development of sustainable technologies for obtaining pharmacologically valuable compounds for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biomedical applications. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 115720 KB

Open AccessArticle

Optimized Feature Extraction and Multi-Scale Fusion for Lightweight RTDETR in Real-Time Morphological Quality Detection of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Toward Edge Deployment

by Zhuo Bai, Xuexi Qi, Yinyi Zhang, Yindi Xu, Chengnan Ru, Shuai Wang, Ziyue Li, Qiyuan Fu, Lei Shi and Yuxin Ye

Foods 2026, 15(14), 2429; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15142429 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

To address the low efficiency of manual quality grading for Pleurotus ostreatus in factory-scale production and the difficulty existing computer vision models face in balancing high localization accuracy with real-time edge deployment for food processing, a lightweight non-destructive detection model named POC-DETR-Prune is [...] Read more.

To address the low efficiency of manual quality grading for Pleurotus ostreatus in factory-scale production and the difficulty existing computer vision models face in balancing high localization accuracy with real-time edge deployment for food processing, a lightweight non-destructive detection model named POC-DETR-Prune is proposed. Based on an improved RTDETR framework, FasterNet is introduced to optimize feature extraction, reducing memory access latency while ensuring deep feature representation for complex food morphologies. A Small Object Enhancement Pyramid (SOEP) module is designed to mitigate the loss of subtle features caused by dense mushroom clustering. Furthermore, the Inner-MPDIoU loss function is proposed to significantly improve bounding box localization accuracy in highly overlapped food sorting scenarios. To adapt to industrial hardware constraints, a Random channel pruning strategy compresses computational overhead. Experimental results demonstrate that POC-DETR-Prune achieves a mAP@0.5:0.95 of 83.7% with a computation load of only 38.2 GFLOPs. Deployment testing on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super edge computing platform achieves a real-time detection rate of 30.2 FPS. This emerging technology provides a certain level of visual algorithm support for automated quality grading equipment in the edible fungi industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Postharvest Technologies for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable: Developments for Loss Reduction During Handling and Storage—2nd Edition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1259 KB

Open AccessReview

Systemic Mastocytosis: Molecular Pathophysiology, WHO Diagnostic Framework, and KIT-Directed Targeted Therapies

by Caterina Alati, Maria Bruna Greve, Gaetana Porto, Giorgia Policastro, Erica Bilardi, Giovanna Utano, Laura Giordano, Martina Pitea and Massimo Martino

Cancers 2026, 18(14), 2205; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18142205 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Background: Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a clonal mast cell (MC) neoplasm driven by somatically acquired activating mutations in the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase (CD117), resulting in pathological accumulation of morphologically atypical MCs in extracutaneous organs. The KIT D816V substitution is detectable in over [...] Read more.

Background: Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a clonal mast cell (MC) neoplasm driven by somatically acquired activating mutations in the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase (CD117), resulting in pathological accumulation of morphologically atypical MCs in extracutaneous organs. The KIT D816V substitution is detectable in over 95% of cases by high-sensitivity next-generation sequencing (NGS) or allele-specific PCR. This gain-of-function variant confers ligand-independent receptor autophosphorylation, leading to constitutive activation of downstream signaling cascades that promote MC progenitor survival, clonal expansion, and resistance to apoptosis. Co-occurring somatic mutations in TET2, SRSF2, ASXL1, CBL, and RUNX1, increasingly identified in the context of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, are associated with more aggressive phenotypes and independently confer adverse prognostic impact. Results: The 2022 WHO classification delineates indolent forms from advanced-phase SM, aggressive SM, SM with an associated hematologic neoplasm (SM-AHN), and MC leukemia, which produce progressive end-organ damage through both neoplastic tissue infiltration and uncontrolled mediator release. Formal diagnosis requires integration of histological criteria (multifocal bone marrow MC aggregates of ≥15 cells), immunophenotypic aberrancies (CD25, CD2, and/or CD30 coexpression on MCs by flow cytometry or immunohistochemistry), biochemical markers (baseline serum tryptase ≥ 20 ng/mL), and molecular confirmation of KIT D816V or equivalent pathogenic KIT mutation. The development of type I KIT inhibitors with selectivity for the D816V-mutant conformation has fundamentally restructured the therapeutic field of advanced SM. Conclusions: This review provides a thorough synthesis of SM pathobiology, WHO-defined diagnostic and classification criteria, validated prognostic tools, and the developing landscape of KIT-directed and combination therapies, with direct translational relevance for specialist practitioners managing this heterogeneous myeloid neoplasm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Treatment of Myeloid Neoplasms)

16 pages, 2070 KB

Open AccessArticle

Modulation of Inflammatory Stress Responses by Agave potatorum Promotes Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice

by Mónica Aideé Díaz-Román, Ramiro Ríos-Gómez, Juan-José Acevedo-Fernández, Maria Yolanda Rios and A. Berenice Aguilar-Guadarrama

Stresses 2026, 6(3), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/stresses6030044 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Persistent inflammatory and metabolic stress contribute to impaired tissue repair, particularly under diabetic conditions. Agave potatorum is traditionally used in Mexico to treat inflammation and wounds; however, its safety profile and potential to modulate stress-associated biological responses remain poorly investigated. This study evaluated [...] Read more.

Persistent inflammatory and metabolic stress contribute to impaired tissue repair, particularly under diabetic conditions. Agave potatorum is traditionally used in Mexico to treat inflammation and wounds; however, its safety profile and potential to modulate stress-associated biological responses remain poorly investigated. This study evaluated the safety, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing activities of the hydroalcoholic extract of A. potatorum and its fractions. Safety was assessed using human keratinocytes and fibroblasts, as well as an acute oral toxicity assay (OECD Guideline 420) in female CD-1 mice. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using a TPA-induced ear edema model, while wound-healing activity was assessed in normoglycemic and alloxan-induced diabetic male CD-1 mice. The hydroalcoholic extract exhibited a favorable safety profile, showing low cytotoxicity at therapeutically relevant concentrations and no signs of systemic toxicity at 2000 mg/kg. The hydroalcoholic extract and its EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions significantly reduced TPA-induced ear edema. The n-BuOH fraction also accelerated wound contraction in diabetic mice from day 6 onward, whereas only limited effects were observed in normoglycemic animals. A. potatorum exhibits a favorable preclinical safety profile and modulates biological responses associated with inflammatory stress, supporting its therapeutic potential for chronic diabetic wound healing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Animal and Human Stresses)

17 pages, 2546 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Structural Evolution of the Agricultural Services Market in Poland

by Wioleta Sobczak-Malitka and Nina Drejerska

Sustainability 2026, 18(14), 6992; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18146992 (registering DOI) - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Agricultural services are an important component of the agricultural production system, as they may support farms in accessing machinery, labour, specialised knowledge, and selected technical inputs without fully internalising these resources. Despite their relevance, empirical evidence on the development of agricultural services remains [...] Read more.

Agricultural services are an important component of the agricultural production system, as they may support farms in accessing machinery, labour, specialised knowledge, and selected technical inputs without fully internalising these resources. Despite their relevance, empirical evidence on the development of agricultural services remains limited in the Polish and broader Central and Eastern European context. The objective of this article is to assess the structural evolution of the agricultural and horticultural services market in Poland, with particular attention to the number and regional distribution of service providers, firm-size structure, farm-level use of selected services, and changes in service costs. The study is based on official statistical data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland for 2009–2024 and two survey waves conducted among farms in the Mazowieckie region in 2013 and 2024. The methodological approach combines descriptive and comparative analyses with exploratory logistic regression models. The results show that the agricultural services market in Poland has undergone clear structural changes, although the dynamics differed across service segments. Services supporting crop production expanded until 2015 and then stabilised or slightly declined, while post-harvest and livestock-related services remained relatively stable. Landscaping services recorded continuous growth, especially after 2019. The market is strongly dominated by micro-enterprises. Survey results indicate changes in the declared use, structure, and costs of selected services. However, they should be treated as supplementary regional evidence rather than a basis for causal conclusions about rural development outcomes. Full article

14 pages, 986 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Unraveling Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Triggered Reactive Oxygen Species’ Generation in Maize Rhizosphere: Coupled Biotic–Abiotic Mechanism

by Xiaoling Xu, Chuanxiang Li, Jinbo Liu, Jian He, Yongxiu Sun and Jian Wang

Life 2026, 16(7), 1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/life16071136 - 8 Jul 2026

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are critical drivers of redox-associated biogeochemical processes within the rhizosphere, yet the mechanisms of their generation under contaminant stress remain poorly understood. A 24-day pot cultivation experiment with four treatments (control, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and anthracene) was conducted to investigate [...] Read more.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are critical drivers of redox-associated biogeochemical processes within the rhizosphere, yet the mechanisms of their generation under contaminant stress remain poorly understood. A 24-day pot cultivation experiment with four treatments (control, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and anthracene) was conducted to investigate how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) alter the production of three kinds of ROS (e.g., O₂^•−, H₂O₂, and ^•OH) in the maize rhizosphere. PAHs promoted the production of rhizosphere ROS, and the promotion effects were compound-dependent, following the order of anthracene > phenanthrene ~ naphthalene. The increases in O₂^•− content were 55.6%, 14.3%, and 17.9% under anthracene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene treatments. The H₂O₂ content was enhanced by 58.6% under anthracene treatment, 10.4% under phenanthrene treatment, and 15.4% under naphthalene treatment. The ^•OH concentrations increased by 62.5%, 21.1%, and 0.5% under anthracene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene exposure, respectively. Importantly, the variations in rhizosphere ROS’ content simultaneously fluctuated with stem length, photosynthetic rates, root exudates, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), water-soluble phenols, and enzymes activities induced by PAHs stress. Statistical analysis suggested PAH stress enhanced maize biomass (particularly stem growth), thereby improving photosynthetic efficiency and thus stimulating root exudate release. Root exudates could promote water-soluble phenol and DOC release and enhance microorganism reproduction, thereby mediating abiotic ROS’ production via electron transfer and biotic ROS’ production via extracellular release. These findings clarify the response of rhizosphere ROS to PAHs stress, providing valuable insights for rhizosphere-ROS-mediated remediation of soil pollutants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Root–Soil–Microbe Interactions: Mechanisms and Management for Plant Performance and Ecosystem Function)

► Show Figures