Search Results (1,572)

Overwintering represents a critical bottleneck for farmed fish, during which low temperature and starvation stress frequently co-occur, yet their synergistic effects on fish health remain poorly understood. Here, we exposed Pelteobagrus vachelli, a cold-sensitive freshwater species, to four conditions for 10 days: control (25 °C, feeding), starvation alone (25 °C, starvation), cold alone (11 °C, feeding), and combined cold–starvation (11 °C, starvation). Hepatic histopathology, antioxidant and liver function indices, gut microbiota (16S rRNA sequencing), and untargeted metabolomics (LC–MS) were integrated to elucidate gut–liver axis mechanisms underlying synergistic injury. Combined stress synergistically aggravated liver injury, as evidenced by hepatocellular vacuolation and necrosis, elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), malondialdehyde (MDA), and suppressed total superoxide dismutase (T–SOD), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (T–AOC). Two-way ANOVA confirmed significant interactive effects between cold and starvation stress (p < 0.05). Multi-omics revealed that dual stress uniquely activated multiple cell death pathways (FoxO, autophagy, ferroptosis, apoptosis), with marked oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activation and glutathione depletion—a signature absent under single stressors. Gut microbiota restructuring showed beneficial commensals (Cetobacterium, Prevotella, Lactobacillus) depleted and opportunistic pathogens (Plesiomonas, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium) enriched, with Plesiomonas identified as the dominant biomarker (LDA score = 4.82). Integrative networks identified these pathogenic genera as hubs linking metabolic dysregulation to liver damage. Collectively, combined cold–starvation induces synergistic liver injury via gut–liver axis disruption, driving metabolic reprogramming and oxidative damage. These findings provide candidate biomarkers for overwintering stress monitoring and inform management strategies to mitigate cold–starvation-induced hepatic injury in aquaculture. Full article

Introduction: Suicide rates among individuals working in agriculture remain disproportionately high in the United States. Although farming-related stressors and coping strategies are documented, gaps remain in understanding how farmers sustain themselves psychologically amid chronic stress and why elevated suicide risk persists despite apparent resilience. Purpose: This study sought to explore the major stressors of farming, coping strategies used by farmers, and their barriers to help-seeking, with the goal of informing suicide prevention and mental health interventions. Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Kentucky farmers recently receiving a suicide prevention intervention. Participants were purposively sampled and interviewed via telephone or Zoom. Interviews were transcribed, modified verbatim, and then analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Farmers described chronic stressors, including financial volatility, time scarcity, uncontrollable weather, loneliness, and feeling misunderstood or undervalued by the general public. Despite these stressors, many participants initially denied being stressed. Their coping strategies centered on meaning-making rather than stress elimination, including faith, gratitude, nature-based reflection, occupational pride, and community ties. However, prominent barriers to help-seeking included stigma, self-reliance, and privacy concerns. Conclusions: The findings suggest that farmer resilience is primarily enacted through their resourcefulness, including enduring stressors and reframing their thoughts, which enabled their continued functioning despite chronic stress. However, their resourcefulness often obscures their distress and delays help-seeking. These findings may help explain why elevated suicide risk persists among farmers even with strong coping narratives. Interventions that leverage existing strengths while addressing stigma, trust, and structural stressors are needed to better support farmer mental health and suicide prevention. Full article

Here we report the draft genome sequences of three Enterococcus faecalis strains, LAB1, LAB10, and LAB11, isolated from the pond water of a tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) aquaculture farm at the University Nangui Abrogoua, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. These strains were previously characterised for their probiotic, plant growth-promoting (PGP), and nitrifying properties. All three strains were assigned to sequence type ST19 by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The draft genomes of LAB1, LAB10, and LAB11 consist of 34, 35, and 34 contigs, totalling 2.94 Mb each (GC content 37.40%). Prokka annotation predicted 2872, 2873, and 2875 protein-coding sequences (CDS) for LAB1, LAB10, and LAB11, respectively. Genomic screening revealed no vancomycin resistance genes; however, tet(M) and lsa(A) resistance determinants were identified in all three strains, located on a repUS43-type plasmid replicon. Fourteen virulence factor homologs conserved in the E. faecalis reference strain V583 were detected, including Ebp pili, gelatinase (gelE), Fsr quorum-sensing system, and capsule biosynthesis genes, but no cytolysin operon was identified. Genes associated with stress tolerance (katA, sodA), bile salt hydrolysis (cbh), siderophore transport (fepC, fhuD), and ethanolamine nitrogen metabolism (eutB/eutC) were identified in all three genomes. Pan-genome analysis with the E. faecalis reference strain revealed 551 core gene clusters and 279 gene clusters exclusive to the three aquaculture isolates. Despite their high genomic similarity, we report the three genomes as distinct isolates due to observed differences in their expressed phenotypic properties. These sequences provide a genomic resource supporting the development of multifunctional probiotic consortia for integrated aquaponic systems. Full article

Low vaccination efficiency and high labor demand constrain large-scale sheep farming. This study developed an automated vaccination robot integrating posture constraint, vision-based injection-site localization, and automated needle handling in a unified “constrain-localize-inject” workflow. The system comprises a hindquarter posture-correction frame, a bilateral neck-restraint mechanism with pressure feedback, and a vision-guided injection unit with automatic needle disposal. A Kendryte K210 edge-computing module enabled real-time localization of the cervical muscle region. Finite element analysis of the restraint column under a 100 N lateral load showed a maximum von Mises stress of 1.832 MPa, well below the 220.6 MPa yield strength of plain carbon steel, and a maximum displacement of 0.003 mm. Functional trials on 20 life-size artificial sheep models were completed without failure. A 500-cycle bench endurance test achieved a 95.8% overall success rate, although performance declined from 100% to 88% across successive test sets. The vision model achieved 95.86% precision, 92.67% recall, and 94.15% mAP@0.5, with a localization error of 5.6 ± 2.1 mm and an inference latency of 38.6 ms per frame. Laying the foundation for subsequent live animal experiments. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effects of luteolin on the growth performance and intestinal health of juvenile Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus). A total of 450 juvenile GIFT tilapia (initial body weight 8.12 ± 0.04 g) were randomly assigned to five groups (90 fish per group; three replicate tanks of 30 fish each) and fed diets containing luteolin at 0, 50, 150, 300, or 600 mg/kg (CG, LG50, LG150, LG300, and LG600, respectively) for 56 days. The results showed that with increasing luteolin supplementation, the weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) first increased and then decreased; the LG300 group had the highest WGR and SGR (significantly higher than the CG and LG600 groups, p < 0.05) and the lowest feed conversion ratio. Based on broken-line and quadratic polynomial regression analyses of the WGR and SGR, the optimal dietary luteolin supplementation level was determined to be 274.14–303.39 mg/kg. For intestinal antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidative stress, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity in the LG150 and LG300 groups was significantly higher than in the CG and LG600 groups (p < 0.05), and superoxide anion (O₂⁻) content in the LG300 group was significantly lower than in the CG, LG50, and LG600 groups (p < 0.05). Histological analysis of the intestine revealed that muscular layer thickness was significantly greater in the LG300 group than in the CG group (p < 0.05). Intestinal microbiota analysis indicated that compared with the CG group, the LG300 group showed lower relative abundances of the potential pathogens Plesiomonas and Bosea, whereas it had a higher relative abundance of the potentially beneficial bacteria Bacteroidota and Romboutsia. Intestinal untargeted metabolomics revealed that, compared with the CG group, the beneficial metabolites Chrysoeriol, Laricitrin, and Docosahexaenoylethanolamine were significantly up-regulated, whereas the biotoxins Aplysiatoxin, 17-Debromo- and Pectenotoxin 3 were significantly down-regulated in the LG300 group (p-adjust < 0.05), with the up-regulated metabolites significantly enriched in the flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathway (p-adjust < 0.05). Collectively, dietary supplementation with an appropriate level (300 mg/kg) of luteolin can effectively improve the growth performance and intestinal health of juvenile GIFT tilapia. Full article

Mammary gland inflammation, clinically expressed as mastitis in dairy ruminants and lactating women, arises from a self-amplifying loop of pathogen sensing, oxidative stress and innate immune activation, and remains a leading driver of antibiotic use, milk-quality loss and morbidity. Mounting pressure to reduce antimicrobial dependence has refocused attention on flavonoids—structurally diverse plant polyphenols with multi-target bioactivity, derived mainly from in vitro and rodent mastitis models. This review integrates contemporary evidence on the six principal flavonoid subclasses within a unifying molecular framework. Across subclasses, flavonoids converge on shared targets: the TLR4–MyD88–NF-κB axis, MAPK cascades, the Keap1–Nrf2–ARE antioxidant pathway, the NLRP3 inflammasome and tight-junction proteins of the blood–milk barrier. Less canonical mechanisms—m⁶A epitranscriptomic regulation, ferroptosis suppression, AhR signalling, anti-virulence binding to bacterial enzymes such as IGPD, and gut-microbiota-driven remodelling of the gut–mammary axis—expand the pharmacological landscape. We additionally appraise the subclasses comparatively, identifying flavanones and the flavone baicalin as carrying the strongest translational evidence, and examine the conflicting findings, model limitations, and delivery, residue and regulatory barriers that currently separate mechanistic promise from on-farm application. We outline structure–activity considerations and translational priorities, and position flavonoids as mechanism-rich, antibiotic-sparing candidates for the prevention and adjunctive management of mammary gland inflammation in dairy ruminants. Full article

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is the world’s second-most cultivated vegetable. Production reached 192 million tonnes in 2023; approximately 23% is industrially processed, leaving 4.3 to 10.2 million tonnes of pomace each year. Despite its high content of lycopene, tocopherols, polyphenols, dietary fibre, and seed oil, most of this residue is composted, landfilled, or fed without prior processing. This narrative review examines how the chemistry of tomato by-products maps onto their effects in farm animals, and how green-extraction biorefinery fits within the European Green Deal. Reported pomace lycopene runs from 36.7 to 50.2 mg/100 g DM, with phenolics near 161.8 mg GAE/g. Lycopene is an efficient singlet-oxygen quencher; it activates Keap1–Nrf2–ARE signaling while dampening NF-κB. Supercritical CO₂, ultrasound, microwave, pressurized-liquid, and NADES extractions can now recover up to 91% of peel lycopene using green, food-grade solvents. In broilers, 5 to 10% pomace or 30 to 400 mg/kg purified lycopene improves antioxidant status and lessens heat stress; in dairy ruminants, ensiled pomace at 10 to 40% maintains milk yield while improving milk PUFA. In finishing pigs and rabbits, dietary pomace or lycopene improves tissue oxidative stability, with growth benefits reported in heat-stressed rabbits. Standardized bioactive reporting and clearer inclusion limits remain the main research priorities. Full article

This study investigated the potential effects of Bellamya purificata polysaccharide (BPP) supplementation in feed on Cherax quadricarinatus, aiming to elucidate its impact on immune function and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of varying dietary BPP concentrations (0‰, 2‰, 4‰, 6‰, and 8‰) on growth performance, histopathology, immune function, and transcriptomic profiles of C. quadricarinatus. Dietary BPP significantly increased the final body length and body weight of C. quadricarinatus. Furthermore, BPP inclusion improved the histological damage of hepatopancreatic tissues, alleviated physiological stress, and enhanced antioxidant capacity, antibacterial activity, and anti-inflammatory function, as evidenced by alterations in relevant enzyme activities and gene expression levels. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 957 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were predominantly enriched in GO terms and KEGG pathways associated with BPP-mediated immune regulation, such as the PPAR signaling pathway, peroxisome, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and lysosome. In addition, 14 candidate genes were identified, including Acox3, ACOX1, SCP2, and PPT1. Integrated analysis of GO, KEGG, and Short Time-Series Expression Miner (STEM) data supported the development of a mechanistic model illustrating how C. quadricarinatus modulates immune function in response to BPP supplementation. RT-qPCR validation confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the high-throughput sequencing results. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential of BPP as a functional feed additive in aquaculture and provide novel insights into disease prevention strategies for the C. quadricarinatus farming industry. Full article

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) remains a major cause of foodborne illness worldwide, and its persistence along the food-production continuum poses a significant public health challenge. Biofilm formation is an adaptive mechanism that enhances NTS survival and persistence outside the primary animal reservoir, particularly under extra-host stress conditions in food and environmental settings. We hypothesized that true biofilm-positive NTS are less prevalent in animal reservoirs and relatively enriched in food-, environmental-, and human-associated sources along the farm-to-fork continuum, reflecting their increased likelihood of persisting in foods and contributing to human exposure. Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following PRISMA guidelines, identifying 88 eligible studies; 57 qualified for systematic review, and 47 and 35 qualified for source- and serogroup-based meta-analyses, respectively. Descriptive synthesis revealed substantial biological and methodological heterogeneity across studies. Proportion-based analysis showed that true biofilm-positive (TBP) prevalence was lowest among animal isolates (58.4%), increased in food (67.7%) and human isolates (73.1%), and was highest among environmental isolates (88.1%) (χ² test, p < 0.001). In the source-based meta-analysis, the pooled TBP prevalence was 73.9% (95% CI: 58.4–85.06%). Meta-regression demonstrated that the predicted proportion of TBP NTS among food and human sources was significantly higher compared with the animal reservoir (food: p = 0.0002; human: p = 0.0005), whereas the difference between the environmental and animal reservoirs was not statistically significant (p = 0.075). These findings suggest that biofilm-forming NTS are enriched outside the primary animal reservoir under extra-host stress conditions. The results raise testable hypotheses regarding biofilm-mediated persistence and enrichment across the food-production continuum and support future longitudinal studies to evaluate its role in transmission and targeted sanitation strategies. Full article

This study evaluates the economic and agronomic performance of precision maize production under drought-stressed conditions using farm-level operational data from Hungary. A 2024 paired-field case study compared a conventionally managed field (46.65 ha) with a precision-managed field (67.61 ha) using variable-rate fertilization and seeding. Data collected via the John Deere Operations Center enabled 10 × 10 m spatial analysis. Results indicate that despite severe moisture limitations, the precision-managed field achieved a 3.85% higher mean yield (6.47 t ha⁻¹) than the conventional system (6.23 t ha⁻¹). The observed economic advantage was associated with a 5.58% reduction in total production costs through site-specific resource allocation. Consequently, net profit increased by 62.98%, rising from 168.95 USD ha⁻¹ to 275.36 USD ha⁻¹. Spatial analysis demonstrated that precision management synchronized economic outputs with inherent site potential, with management zones accounting for 70.70% of profit variance, compared to 53.3% in the conventional field. Regression models confirmed a tighter alignment between NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and profitability in the precision system. These findings suggest that under spatial heterogeneity and climatic stress, precision agriculture enhances economic resilience by mitigating inefficient expenditures, providing a strategic buffer against input costs and climate volatility. Full article

The present review examines markers of intrinsic antioxidant capacity in fish muscle, how these markers change after death, and the point to which their post mortem evolution is related to flesh quality and shelf life in farmed fish. Aquaculture parameters such as temperature, salinity and fish feeds can affect intrinsic antioxidant systems throughout the fish life cycle, but, in addition to the effect of aquaculture variables, the redox starting point of muscle at death can be affected by pre-slaughter stressors such as transportation, crowding, fasting, and handling. Based on the results of the studies reviewed in this work, it can be postulated that the rate of post mortem lipid and protein oxidation of fish fillets is not determined only by processes occurring after death or during storage, but may also be influenced by the antioxidant status of axial skeletal muscle. This postulation offers an important mechanistic link between (i) pre-slaughter conditions (such as aquaculture production systems, environmental factors, feeding regime, handling stress) and (ii) harvesting methods, with these two determining the oxidative stability of fish fillets via shaping the antioxidant capacity of muscle tissue. This approach highlights the value of linking nutritional, husbandry, harvesting and processing practices in order to improve fish welfare, flesh quality and shelf life. Full article

China’s power sector is accelerating its transition to spot-market clearing with increasing offshore wind penetration. This transition poses compounded operational and economic challenges, as the interaction between generation variability and price volatility affects both producer revenues and real-time system balancing costs. This study utilizes full-year hourly generation and spot price data from an offshore wind farm in eastern Guangdong, which represents the largest offshore wind industry cluster and a premier high-wind-resource area along China’s near-sea coasts. This empirical dataset provides significant value for characterizing real-world market behaviors under Guangdong’s dual-settlement framework. By employing a settlement-consistent Monte Carlo framework to quantify the joint effects of forecast errors, our results reveal that while downside risk is primarily driven by generation volume errors under normal conditions, the negative correlation between wind output and prices intensifies revenue volatility. Furthermore, under high-stress scenarios characterized by extreme market volatility and large deviations, price uncertainty emerges as the dominant driver of tail risk. Ultimately, these findings demonstrate that probabilistic forecasting for both prices and generation is essential not only for producer risk management but also for supporting dispatchable decision-making and reliable operation of power systems with high shares of renewable energy. Full article

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is an important freshwater aquaculture species in China. However, high-density farming often leads to significant growth differentiation among individuals, seriously affecting yield and product quality. Here, we conducted an integrated transcriptomic and data-independent acquisition (DIA) proteomic analysis across the brain, liver, and muscle tissues of fast-growing (FG) and slow-growing (SG) grass carp after 9 months of high-density culture. Our analysis revealed that the core mechanism driving growth differentiation is a deep decoupling of transcription and translation, where enhanced muscle translational efficiency dictates the fast-growth phenotype, while slow growth is constrained by central stress and hepatic energy depletion. In the slow growth group, the brain exhibited translational arrest and neuroinflammation, and the liver entered a state of hypermetabolism mediated by AMPK, evidenced by the post-transcriptional up-regulation of key sensors such as CAB39 (PRM ratio = 1.634) and CAMKK2 (PRM ratio = 1.295). Conversely, in the fast-growing group, the mTOR–ribosome signaling axis was strongly activated at the post-transcriptional level in the muscle (GSEA NES = −1.852), triggering myofibrillar protein deposition despite transcriptional silence in classical growth pathways. These findings elucidate the systemic molecular mechanisms of growth divergence and provide high-confidence molecular targets for developing fast-growing, stress-resilient grass carp strains for precision aquaculture breeding. Full article

Sustainable tourism in oasis landscapes requires governance approaches that go beyond generic destination-growth models and standardized sustainability checklists. In living cultural landscapes such as Al-Ahsa Oasis, tourism development is inseparable from water systems, palm-grove agriculture, rural livelihoods, heritage values, climate stress, visitor behavior, and institutional accountability. This paper develops a governance framework for sustainable tourism in Al-Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape. Methodologically, it is a conceptual framework-development study based on structured critical review and contextual synthesis. It critically interprets international sustainable tourism, heritage management, visitor management, and sustainable investment frameworks in relation to recent Al-Ahsa-specific evidence on rural tourism, resident satisfaction, farm-tourist behavior, rural lodges, land-cover change, and World Heritage governance. The study proposes a six-dimensional framework structured around cultural landscape stewardship, water-sensitive ecological governance, agricultural landscape continuity and rural accommodation regulation, community benefit and local enterprise, climate-responsive visitor management and interpretation, and monitoring and institutional accountability. These dimensions are treated as interdependent governance fields rather than separate checklist categories. The framework is further operationalized through an indicator and governance matrix linking suggested indicators, data sources, governance mechanisms, and responsible actors. The paper contributes by reframing sustainable oasis tourism as an adaptive governance problem rather than a technical exercise in applying predefined criteria. It provides an evidence-informed basis for planning, monitoring, stakeholder deliberation, policy refinement, and future empirical testing in Al-Ahsa and comparable arid cultural landscapes. Full article

Hair sheep dissipate heat mainly through respiratory evaporation, making panting an important physiological response to heat stress. This study evaluated the panting score (PS) as an indicator of heat stress in field-managed hair sheep. Fifty-two non-pregnant, black-coated Santa Inês ewes were kept in paddocks without shade for five consecutive days from 07:00 to 18:00. Respiratory rate (RR) was recorded every 30 min, vaginal temperature (T_VG) was continuously monitored, and PS was assessed every two hours using a 0–4 scale. Meteorological variables were recorded, and the temperature–humidity index (THI) was calculated. Associations were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation, mixed (T_VG), and generalized additive (RR) models. Animals were exposed to severe and, at times, extreme heat stress conditions (THI ≥ 25.6) between 10:00 and 16:00. PS showed a strong correlation with RR (r = 0.74) and moderate associations with air temperature (r = 0.69), THI (r = 0.49), and solar radiation (r = 0.47). Higher PS values (2–3) predominated during peak solar radiation. Increases in PS were associated with elevations in RR and T_VG (~0.66 °C). Broken-line regression identified a THI inflection point at 24.44, above which the T_VG increase was attenuated by 46%. These results establish PS as a valid field indicator of heat stress in hair sheep and provide a THI inflection point (24.44) above which thermoregulatory capacity is engaged, enabling more accurate on-farm heat stress monitoring in tropical extensive systems in the future. Full article