Search Results (19,194)

Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) seriously constrain tomato yield and quality in facility agriculture, primarily due to rhizosphere microbial imbalance. Indigenous synthetic microbial communities (SynCom) offer superior colonization and stability compared to single strains. This study aimed at constructing a simplified SynCom from indigenous rhizobacteria in Northwest China to alleviate tomato CCOs. A total of 155 rhizobacterial strains (29 genera) were isolated. Sixteen strains with significant growth-promoting effects were selected through seedling assays. Based on the carbon source niche overlap index (NOI > 70%) with Ralstonia solanacearum QL-Rs1115, eight candidate strains were retained. Using the broken-stick model, 29 simplified SynComs were constructed. SynCom28, composed of six functionally complementary strains (Azospirillum brasilense, Massilia niabensis, Enterobacter hormaechei, Chryseobacterium sp., Priestia megaterium and Pseudomonas brassicacearum), showed the best performance. Pot experiments revealed that SynCom28 reduced the bacterial wilt disease index to 32.41, with a biocontrol efficacy of 41.72%. Greenhouse trials under continuous cropping demonstrated that SynCom28 significantly increased seedling Dickson quality index (DQI), stem diameter and biomass. Fruit yield increased by 12.98–15.30% across the 2nd to 4th cropping cycles (p < 0.05). Fruit quality parameters were also enhanced, with soluble sugar, lycopene, and vitamin C contents increasing by 47.22–65.07%, 33.07–81.71% and 80.56–166.67%, respectively. In conclusion, the indigenous simplified SynCom28 effectively alleviates tomato CCOs, enhancing growth, yield, and quality while suppressing bacterial wilt, providing a promising strategy for sustainable facility agriculture. Full article

Fruit rot disease is a major obstacle for starapple production in Vietnam. Therefore, the aims of the current study were (i) to identify the causing agents for fruit rot in starapple, (ii) to select isolates of Trichoderma spp. as antagonists, and (iii) to determine efficient approaches to control the disease. The pathogens were isolated from symptomatic starapple fruits collected in Can Tho City, Vietnam. The antagonists were isolated from the soils of healthy starapple farms. The three pathogenic isolates with the fastest growth (20.5–45.0 mm) and the largest infection spot (14.5–16.5 mm) were Calonectria candelabra C-SA01, C. candelabra C-SA06, and C. sulawesiensis C-SA07. Four Trichoderma isolates, T-SA01, T-SA06, T-SA10, and T-SA14, were selected because they consistently showed high antagonistic efficiency against C-SA01, C-SA06, and C-SA07 in dual-culture assays at 56.7–69.5%, 50.4–70.8%, and 62.6–69.2%, respectively. ITS-based results tentatively assigned T-SA01 to T. harzianum and T-SA06, T-SA10, and T-SA14 to T. asperellum. Under in vivo conditions, each Trichoderma sp. isolate was combined with different spraying methods. The result revealed that the four antagonists showed identical outcomes in reducing fruit rot disease. Spraying Trichoderma spp. both one day before and after inoculation resulted in the best biocontrol, with the highest disease-reducing rate at 44.2% at day 5. These newly found antagonists should be further tested in actual starapple farms to reveal their true potency. Full article

Recurrent meteorological droughts, projected to intensify under climate change, affect the cross-border Lima River Basin shared between Portugal and Spain, highlighting the need for robust early warning systems to support proactive water management. Within the EU-funded RISC_PLUS project—aimed at strengthening resilience to hydro-climatic risks in the cross-border Minho–Lima River Basins—this study develops a regionalised forecasting framework to evaluate meteorological drought forecast skill using precipitation forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Seasonal Forecasting System 5 (SEAS5) for the Portuguese section of the Lima River Basin. A precipitation-only 12-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI12) is employed to isolate the contribution of seasonal precipitation forecasts. SPI12 is computed from hybrid 12-month accumulations combining observed monthly precipitation (October 1979 to February 2025) and SEAS5 forecasts (October 2018 to February 2025). Four hybrid configurations (1 to 6 months lead time) are evaluated: 11 obs + 1 fcst, 10 obs + 2 fcsts, 9 obs + 3 fcsts, and 6 obs + 6 fcsts. Forecast performance is assessed from October 2018 to February 2025. Deterministic SPI12 forecasts and categorical drought classifications are evaluated using regression-based metrics (e.g., Pearson correlation and RMSE) and contingency-table metrics (e.g., FAR and F1-score), across SEAS5 ensemble members, percentiles, and spread-based indicators. The 11 obs + 1 fcst configuration, particularly when using the Dry Spread (SpD; Q10 + Q25 percentiles) and the Q75 percentile, exhibits the highest skill, achieving a Pearson correlation coefficient of $r=0.97$ and an RMSE of approximately 0.17, alongside near-perfect categorical performance (POD = 1.00; FAR = 0.00), although these scores are partly conditioned by the shared observed accumulation window. Conversely, longer lead-time configurations exhibit degraded performance, with the 6 obs + 6 fcsts configuration showing weak or negative skill relative to climatology, indicating that 6-month lead forecasts should be interpreted with caution. These results demonstrate that SEAS5 precipitation forecasts can provide skilful drought predictions at lead times of several months in the Lima River Basin within the SPI12 framework. The proposed blending methodology provides a transparent benchmark and a technical basis for the early-warning system being developed under the RISC_PLUS project to support drought risk management in the Minho–Lima region and complement data-driven drought forecasting approaches. Full article

An important module that must be present in any communication system is a random number generator (RNG). One of the RNGs is the True RNG (TRNG), which is completely random. The output of the TRNG is unpredictable as it extracts its randomness from physical phenomena such as temperature, noise, power supply fluctuations, timing jitter in oscillators, and metastability in digital circuits. It is used in many applications such as cryptography, IoT sensors, and mobile equipment. In this paper, a novel low-power TRNG architecture is proposed: its core novelty is that all the system modules are adaptive to be more efficient and cooperate with system variations. It consists of a morphing gated ring oscillator, a lightweight real-time entropy monitoring, and a dynamic sampling window. Each module is verified before system integration. Our system strikes a favorable trade-off between randomness and power consumption as all the modules are implemented using LOMOS standard cells—a power-efficient topology for CMOS logic gate design. It consumes 0.226 μW from a 0.4 V supply at 1 MHz. The proposed architecture is evaluated using the NIST SP 800-22 statistical test suite, and successfully passes 10 randomness tests. Full article

The aim of this study is to develop and comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of an innovative formulation of a biological preparation consisting of a bacterial consortium (Serratia proteamaculans B5, Pseudomonas putida D7 and Lysinibacillus sp. S1), embedded in a pullulan polysaccharide matrix, as an agent for inducing systemic resistance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to phytopathogenic stress caused by Fusarium graminearum. To optimize the product’s protective efficacy and minimize the pesticide load on the agroecosystem, a reduced dose of Fundazol (50% of the standard rate) was incorporated into the formulation. The constituent strains exhibited high indole-3-acetic acid production (53.29–69.2 μg·mL⁻¹) and strong antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic fungi, with inhibition zones reaching up to 32.5 mm. Pot and field trials were conducted to comprehensively assess the effect of the biological product on the stress tolerance of barley plants. Pre-sowing seed treatment reduced proline accumulation (by up to 2.3-fold), maintained photosynthetic pigment levels, and increased field germination to 79%. Under infectious field conditions, treatment with the biopreparation contributed to the stabilization of yield structure parameters (treated plants exhibited increases in height and biomass of 9–21%) and the improvement of grain quality indicators. Overall, the results obtained demonstrate the potential of the developed biopreparation as a component of comprehensive protection strategies and as an inducer of plant priming mechanisms. Full article

Objectives: Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is a rare but clinically relevant cause of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) in women and is associated with high recurrence rates. We hypothesized that CP is underrecognized in routine surgical practice due to an incomplete clinical assessment rather than an absence of characteristic intraoperative findings. Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-center analysis of all patients undergoing surgical treatment for pneumothorax between 2000 and 2025. Female patients with SP and no structural lung disease were identified and systematically evaluated for features suggestive of CP. Demographic, clinical, intraoperative, and outcome data were compared between patients with and without CP. Results: Among 4581 surgically treated pneumothoraces, 1253 (27.4%) occurred in women. Of these, 211 cases of SP without structural lung disease were analyzed. CP was identified in 15 cases among 14 patients (7.1%). Patients with CP were older at initial diagnosis (median 39 vs. 32 years; p = 0.0264) and exhibited higher recurrence rates (92.9% vs. 42.4%; p = 0.0003). A temporal association with menstruation was documented in 57.1% of CP cases, while in 35.7% no such assessment had been performed. Intraoperative findings suggestive of thoracic endometriosis were present in 85.7% of CP patients, whereas histological confirmation was achieved in only 14.3%. Conclusions: CP is likely underdiagnosed in surgical cohorts of women with SP. The principal diagnostic limitation appears to be incomplete history-taking rather than lack of intraoperative evidence. Given the high recurrence risk and limited efficacy of surgery alone, systematic assessment of menstrual association and interdisciplinary management are essential to optimize outcomes. Full article

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains one of the main causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), even though vaccination and long-term viral suppression have reduced new infections and circulating viral replication. This residual cancer risk suggests that serum HBV DNA alone does not capture the full biology of HBV-related carcinogenesis. Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) is a relevant entry point because it maintains the transcriptional competence of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), engages host chromatin regulators, and may persist in tumors as cccDNA-derived, integration-derived, full-length, truncated, or fusion forms. This review focuses on a specific question: does the available literature support HBx-associated reactivation of the IGF2 locus in chronic HBV infection and HBV-related hepatocarcinogenesis, and, if so, at which regulatory layer is the claim defensible? The most direct evidence remains promoter-proximal. Classic mechanistic work shows acute HBx-dependent activation of IGF2 promoter P4 through Sp1- and PKC/ERK-dependent signaling. Human tissue and cell-based studies also support a broader fetal-promoter compartment, including P3/P4 transcript enrichment, local promoter hypomethylation, MBD2-HBx-CBP/p300 recruitment, and increased histone H3/H4 acetylation. These observations do not, however, establish HBV exclusivity, uniform loss of imprinting, or direct HBx-mediated rewiring of the human IGF2/H19 topological domain. Recent integration-aware and long-read studies further argue against treating tumor-stage HBx as a single biological variable. In the present evidence framework, HBx-associated IGF2 locus reactivation is therefore more appropriately viewed as a stage-aware, promoter-resolved, biomarker-oriented hypothesis than as a universal mechanism or a treatment algorithm for HBV-related HCC. Full article

Background: Gorlin–Goltz syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant condition with characteristic craniofacial and odontogenic anomalies. Orofacial alterations in childhood may precede dermatological findings, highlighting the relevance of early orthodontic and functional evaluation. Objective: This case describes a multidisciplinary orthodontic and Home Sleep Apnea Testing (HSAT)-based approach for the assessment of craniofacial morphology and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) risk in a pediatric patient with Gorlin–Goltz syndrome. Methods: A 12-year-old male with a genetically confirmed PTCH1 mutation underwent digital intraoral scanning, orthodontic evaluation, and SDB screening using the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). Following a positive screening score, HSAT with the Philips Alice NightOne^® system was performed under specialist supervision. Results: The patient showed recurrent odontogenic cysts, a lateral open bite, and unilateral Class II canine relationship. The PSQ score was 0.579, exceeding the validated cut-off of 0.33 and indicating an elevated SDB risk. HSAT findings were suggestive of mild obstructive sleep apnea based on Respiratory Event Index (REI) values (REI 4.7/h), with an isolated SpO₂ nadir of 77% and a maximum recorded apnea duration of 425 s, warranting cautious specialist interpretation and follow-up assessment. Conclusions: Integrating orthodontic assessment, digital documentation, validated screening tools, and objective HSAT-based evaluation may support the early recognition of functional compromise in syndromic pediatric patients. Positive screening results should prompt specialist referral and objective sleep assessment, while attended polysomnography remains indicated when comprehensive sleep architecture evaluation or definitive characterization is required. Full article

The Ni-Al system contains five intermetallic compounds, out of which NiAl and Ni₃Al have received the vast majority of scientific and industrial interest over the past few decades. Ni₃Al is of major interest due to its unique properties, including a yield strength that increases with temperature. The combustion synthesis (CS) process for producing Ni₃Al from elemental powders of nickel and aluminum offers a low thermal budget and rapid processing, as well as purer products. This paper reviews the fundamentals of CS as applied to Ni₃Al and its composites, and focuses on research over the past 25 years, including mechanically and electrically activated combustion synthesis and combined combustion synthesis and bulk deformation processes to produce high-density products. Several new directions are suggested for future research in the field. Full article

This experiment aimed to investigate the metabolism of L-Citrulline (L-Cit) in the intestinal tract of ewes and its effects on fecal microbiota composition, plasma metabolism, and reproductive hormone levels. Twelve 18-month-old non-pregnant multiparous Turpan black ewes weighing 51.65 kg ± 2.49 kg were selected and randomly assigned to a control group (Con) and an experimental group (L-Cit), with six ewes in each group. Both groups were fed identical nutrient-dense rations. In the Con group, 100 mL of saline was administered through the duodenal fistula, while the L-Cit group received an additional 0.25 g/kg BW⁻¹ of L-Cit solution. On day 7, the crude protein and amino acid concentrations in feces and urine were assessed using total feces and urine collection methods. Fecal and blood samples were collected to evaluate microbiological and reproductive hormone indices, with blood samples also collected for plasma non-targeted metabolomics analysis two hours post-infusion. Compared to the Con group, the L-Cit group exhibited a significant reduction in crude protein content in feces (p < 0.05) and a highly significant decrease in urine (p < 0.01). Nitrogen metabolism indices did not differ significantly between groups (p > 0.05), but the L-lysine content in feces was significantly higher in the L-Cit group (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing revealed no significant PCA separation between the two groups. However, the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, Oscillibacter, and Mogibacterium was significantly higher in the Con group (p < 0.01), while SP3-e08, Parvibacter, Anaerosporobacter, Butyricimonas, and Peptococcus were more abundant in the L-Cit group (p < 0.05). LC-MS analysis showed significant up-regulation of purine and nucleotide metabolism pathways in the L-Cit group (p < 0.05). Plasma levels of estradiol (E₂), progesterone (P₄), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were significantly elevated in the L-Cit group at both 1 and 2 h post-infusion (p < 0.01). These results suggest that duodenal infusion of L-Cit enhances intestinal nitrogen utilization, alters specific bacterial populations, promotes purine and nucleotide metabolism, and stimulates reproductive hormone secretion in ewes. Full article

Traditional Mediterranean grapevine landraces represent irreplaceable reservoirs of adaptive diversity, yet many regional germplasm pools remain poorly characterized, limiting conservation strategies and climate-resilient breeding. This study presents the first comparative genetic assessment of 154 local Vitis accessions from three historically interconnected but genomically underrepresented Mediterranean regions: Greece, Morocco, and Slovenia. Using 12 highly polymorphic nuclear SSR markers, we detected substantial genetic diversity (168 alleles; mean heterozygosity He = 0.881) with distinct regional signatures. Moroccan accessions exhibited the highest allelic richness and 11 private alleles, reflecting diverse agroecological adaptation. Slovenian germplasm formed a cohesive, genetically stable cluster with high effective allele numbers. Greek accessions exhibited the highest observed heterozygosity and 14 private alleles, consistent with the Aegean’s role as a major diversification hotspot. Despite >90% of variance occurring within individuals, AMOVA and pairwise FST (0.050–0.061) revealed low to moderate but significant geographic differentiation. Multivariate analyses (PCA, UPGMA) and Bayesian clustering (sNMF, K = 3) consistently resolved three regional genetic groups with varying admixture levels, consistent with a mosaic domestication model, as previously proposed for the Mediterranean basin, shaped by recurrent introductions, wild introgression, and region-specific selection. Our results show that peripheral Mediterranean germplasm harbors meaningful, regionally distinctive, substantial, non-redundant diversity not fully represented in surveys focused on climate adaptation, disease resistance breeding, and long-term genetic resource conservation. These findings challenge simplistic diffusion models and emphasize the strategic importance of geographically comprehensive sampling in grapevine conservation programs. Full article

High-dynamic amusement ride conditions involving impacts, rapid rotations, and abrupt posture changes introduce severe motion artifacts that degrade vital sign quality and destabilize physiological state recognition. This study aims to develop an engineering-ready closed-loop framework for robust passenger monitoring and intelligent diagnosis. A multimodal sensing and modeling pipeline was designed to jointly leverage physiological signals such as heart rate and SpO₂ and kinematic measurements, including acceleration, angular rate, velocity, and attitude. Inertial and PPG signals were preprocessed into supervised samples through wavelet multiresolution denoising and coordinate frame unification, while a strapdown inertial navigation system was used to propagate a 12-channel physical quantity sequence. To ensure interpretability and standards compliance, constraints from GB 8408-2018 were translated into executable threshold rules, enabling standards-driven auto-labeling and rule-based early warning. Building on this foundation, three learning modules were developed: a fusion model for high-dynamic heart rate estimation, a CNN–LSTM dynamic-threshold-enhanced network TAPNet for rapid kinematic anomaly screening, and an attention-augmented hybrid model HS-BANet integrating one-dimensional residual blocks, bidirectional LSTM, and multi-head attention for fine-grained arrhythmia classification. Experimental results demonstrated accurate and consistent heart rate estimation with RMSE of 1.18 bpm on HSSH-I and 1.24 bpm on the independent HSSH-II set, strong agreement with training and testing correlations of 0.9928 and 0.9865, and near-zero bias in Bland–Altman analysis. TAPNet achieved 96.9% validation accuracy and 98.2% test accuracy for kinematic anomaly recognition, maintaining robust generalization under class imbalance. HS-BANet enabled multi-class identification of PVC, PAC, VT, SVT, and AF, achieving an accuracy of 92.37%, an F1-score of 86.87%, a precision of 88.45%, a sensitivity of 88.14%, and a specificity of 89.42%. Overall, the proposed two-stage multimodal closed-loop—fast, interpretable early warning based on physical quantity thresholds followed by fine-grained diagnosis from physiological signals—supports stable feature extraction and reliable decision-making under strong motion artifacts and non-stationary dynamics, balancing responsiveness and diagnostic credibility, while showing potential for practical safety early warning and future deployment-oriented operational support in amusement ride scenarios. Full article

Introduction: A major health issue in individuals living at high-altitude regions is an increase in the number of red blood cells (RBCs). This condition generates a series of physiological alterations including the nervous system, where damage can occur due to increased blood viscosity. This increased viscosity, in turn, could compromise oxygen uptake, potentially linked to a degree of cognitive impairment. Objective: To determine the association between exposure to chronic hypoxia and sleep quality with the degree of cognitive impairment in a young adult population residing at different altitude levels. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 200 apparently healthy subjects (aged 21–26 years) permanently residing in four Peruvian cities: Lima (154 m), Arequipa (2335 m), Puno (3820 m), and La Rinconada (5100 m) (n = 50 per location). Physiological profiles (SpO₂, blood pressure, heart rate, hemoglobin, and hematocrit) were measured. Cognitive impairment and sleep quality were evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Sex-stratified hierarchical multiple linear regression models with bootstrapping were utilized for independent correlation analysis. Results: Hemoglobin levels gradually increased with altitude, peaking at 19.47 ± 3.01 g/dL in La Rinconada, while SpO₂ decreased to 81.64%. Moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment was exclusively restricted to the extreme altitude population of La Rinconada, where only 10% of subjects remained unaffected. In the sex-stratified multivariate regression, residency in La Rinconada initially served as a robust negative predictor of MoCA scores among women (β = −5.52, p < 0.001); however, this geographical effect lost statistical significance after adjusting for biological variables in Model 2 (β = −4.72, p = 0.178). In the fully adjusted models, neither individual hemoglobin levels nor SpO₂ fluctuations displayed an independent linear association with cognitive performance in either sex (p > 0.05). Sleep quality was poor across cohorts but showed no significant association with cognitive impairment (p = 0.174). Conclusions: Chronic exposure to severe hypoxia (>5000 m) is associated with a greater presence of cognitive impairment, which is largely accounted for by individual physiological adaptations rather than isolated, linear effects of independent hematological or subjective sleep parameters. Full article

Fungi are a promising source of biological control agents for the management of phytopathogens such as Cercospora apii, the causal agent of celery early blight. Exploring native fungal isolates associated with agroecosystems near celery production is essential for identifying biocontrol candidates and supporting sustainable, integrated disease management strategies. In this study, fungal isolates were obtained from leaves and soil samples collected across agricultural and natural environments and their antagonistic potential against C. apii was evaluated using in vitro assays. A total of 48 fungal isolates were screened for growth inhibition, of which 12 reduced pathogen colony size by more than 50% in vitro, representing five morphological and taxonomic groups: Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium spp., Mucor spp., Neopestalotiopsis sp. and Nigrospora sp. Notably, isolates exhibiting the highest antagonistic activity over time were predominantly derived from leaf samples (p < 0.0001). Two isolates, Mucor nidicola KX3187 and M. irregularis KX3197, consistently showed strong inhibition of C. apii in vitro (up to 85%), and M. nidicola significantly suppressed disease development in planta. This preliminary study identifies Mucor nidicola KX3187 as a potential biocontrol candidate that showed promising activity in greenhouse trials for celery early blight and provides a foundation for future studies to further evaluate its potential as a component of sustainable disease management strategies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dysphagia is common in tracheostomized patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may be influenced by airway pathology and tracheostomy-related factors. This study investigated whether tracheostomy cannula type is independently associated with swallowing function and pharyngeal residue after accounting for airway stenosis and clinical variables. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 80 tracheostomized TBI patients using a speaking valve. Participants were grouped according to cannula type (non-fenestrated vs. fenestrated). Swallowing function was evaluated using Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES), and pharyngeal residue severity was assessed using the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (YPRSRS). Airway stenosis severity was graded using the Cotton–Meyer classification. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of pharyngeal residue. Results: Higher pharyngeal residue scores were observed in the fenestrated cannula group under selected conditions, particularly for 5 mL liquid (p = 0.039) and 5 mL semi-solid boluses (p = 0.004) in the vallecular region, and for 5 mL semi-solid boluses in the pyriform sinuses (p < 0.001). Airway stenosis grade was strongly associated with increased pharyngeal residue and reduced SpO₂ levels (p < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, airway stenosis emerged as the factor most consistently associated with pharyngeal residue severity (e.g., OR = 4.909, 95% CI: 1.646–14.646, p = 0.004), whereas cannula type was not independently associated with most outcomes. Condition-specific associations were identified between fenestrated cannula use and pharyngeal residue in two models (vallecular residue for 5 mL semi-solid: OR = 0.354, 95% CI: 0.143–0.876, p = 0.025; pyriform sinus residue for 10 mL liquid: OR = 0.190, 95% CI: 0.073–0.495, p = 0.001); however, the direction of these associations differed from unadjusted comparisons, indicating prominent confounding by stenosis severity. Conclusions: FEES-estimated airway stenosis appeared to be the factor most consistently associated with pharyngeal residue severity in tracheostomized TBI patients, whereas the effect of cannula type appeared to be limited. Comprehensive airway assessment may therefore be important in dysphagia management. Full article