Applied Biosciences

The conversion of livestock manure and peat into value-added fertilizers provides an environmentally sustainable approach to nutrient recycling and waste management. In this study, organic fertilizers were formulated from poultry, pig, and cattle manure mixed with peat and wood ash, with or without inoculation of the phosphate-solubilizing bacterium Priestia megaterium. Their efficiency was evaluated through plant growth and soil microbiological experiments involving conifer seedlings, herbaceous crops, and ornamental plants. Germination and growth trials with Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) revealed clear species-specific responses: spruce seedlings performed best in substrates containing poultry or cattle manure, while pine showed enhanced growth with pig manure combined with bacterial inoculant. In pansies (Viola × wittrockiana), growth responses varied by cultivar; cattle manure enriched with bacteria increased leaf projection area, whereas poultry manure markedly suppressed growth. For cucumbers, basil, barley, radish, and garden beans, yields were lower than with mineral fertilizers, yet bacterial inoculation significantly influenced soil microbial activity by modifying respiration rates and hydrolytic enzyme intensity in plant- and manure-specific ways. The results demonstrate that microbial supplementation can alter soil biological processes and nutrient turnover, though its effects on plant productivity remain inconsistent. Further research is required to assess long-term performance under field conditions, as practical application will depend on achieving stable and reproducible results.

Background: To investigate the performance of radiologists in characterizing and diagnosing hepatic lesions with and without the assistance of deep learning-based artificial intelligence (AI). Methods: This retrospective study included 83 nodules/masses from 69 patients who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced CT of the liver. Image assessments were conducted by 20 radiologists. grouped according to their level of experience (10 senior and 10 junior). Each radiologist determined the probability of eight characteristics based on enhancement patterns and the diagnosis with and without AI attached to the SYNAPSE SAI viewer (FUJIFILM Corporation, Minato-ku, Japan). The reference standard for comparison was established as follows: final diagnoses were based on pathology for 39 lesions and expert imaging consensus for the remainder, while image characteristics for all lesions were determined by expert imaging consensus. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were analyzed using the multireader multicase method. Results: Using AI significantly improved the overall AUCs for both the characterization and the diagnosis of liver lesions. Improvement was suggested for specific items, including the characterization of enhancement, nonperipheral washout, and delayed enhancement, and the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The utilization of AI system also suggested potential improvements in the AUCs for image characterization in both the senior and junior groups. Conclusions: Using AI improved the radiologists’ performance in characterizing and diagnosing hepatic lesions. In terms of their capacity to assess imaging characteristics, improvements were observed regardless of their level of experience.

BPM1, a representative of the plant MATH-BTB protein family comprises three conserved domains—MATH, BTB, and BACK—that facilitate diverse protein–protein interactions central to developmental processes. However, recombinant production of BPM1 and its variants in Escherichia coli are frequently constrained by low solubility and poor stability. In this study, we systematically optimized E. coli-based expression strategies to enable soluble production and purification of domain-truncated BPM1 variants (BPM1ΔBTB, BPM1ΔMATH, and BPM1ΔBACK). A combinatorial approach was employed: varying induction temperature, medium composition, affinity tag selection, bacterial strain, and solubility-enhancing supplements. Expression outcomes were highly dependent on specific parameter combinations. Notably, BPM1ΔBTB—previously the most recalcitrant variant—showed a marked solubility improvement when expressed as a GST fusion in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) cultivated in TB medium supplemented with MgCl₂. By contrast, BPM1ΔMATH and BPM1ΔBACK displayed enhanced solubility when expressed in BL21 (DE3) cultivated in 4 × YT medium instead Rosetta (DE3) in 2 × YT medium. Constructs with N-terminal His-tags consistently resulted in poor solubility or failed expression. These results establish a framework for producing otherwise insoluble BPM1 variants and highlight a broadly applicable strategy for handling unstable proteins through tailored E. coli expression systems.