Search Results (1,662)

Strawberry is a nutritive fruit with a short life and postharvest losses. In this study, the quality and shelf life of strawberries during storage at 4 °C were evaluated after applying hurdle treatment of packaging with active polylactic acid (PLA)/Gelatine (G)-based films loaded with essential oils (EOs) and/or AgNPs and combined with low-energy (L-E) X-ray at a dose of 0.5 kGy. The results showed that the addition of EOs, AgNPs, or their combination decreased the tensile strength (TS) of films from 16.70 to 6.65–10.01 MPa and increased elongation at break (Eb) from 215.4 to 218.2–398.2%. The oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of films increased from 219.7 to 274.8–298.6 cm³/m²·day, which promoted the development of gas selective films for equilibrium-modified atmosphere packaging (EMAP). A level of 20% decay (primary shelf life criterion) of strawberries was observed on day 8 for the commercial control (polyethylene terephtalate clamshell), on day 9 for the PLA/G-AgNPs films, and on day 10 for the PLA/G-EOs films and PLA/G-EOs + AgNPs films. The combined application of the active films with L-E X-ray irradiation (PLA/G/EOs + AgNPs + I) extended the time to reach 20% decay to day 13 compared to day 9 for irradiated commercial control. An EMAP was achieved after 6–9 days of storage, with a gas composition around 13–14% O₂ and 8–9% CO₂. The combined treatment of EOs, AgNPs containing films, and L-E X-ray irradiation prevented firmness and total soluble solid loss of strawberries. The redness of strawberries and their total phenolic/anthocyanin content increased after irradiation treatment and maintained significantly higher levels (p ≤ 0.05) than those of non-irradiated samples during storage. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining active PLA/G films and L-E X-ray irradiation in extending the shelf life and preserving the quality of fresh strawberries. Full article

This article presents a systematic, evidence-weighted review of Deep Learning (DL) in farming, with a primary emphasis on the agricultural production stage and on four operational domains: precision crop management, precision livestock farming, soil and water resource management, and autonomous agricultural systems. Following a PRISMA 2020-oriented protocol, 56 primary studies (42 with quantitative results) were retained from an initial pool of 18,731 records. The reviewed literature reports applications in plant disease detection, weed recognition, yield prediction, fruit detection, livestock identification and health monitoring, soil-property estimation, crop-water-stress assessment, and robotic perception. High performance on controlled datasets, however, is frequently reported without external, temporal, or cross-site validation, making practical generalisation difficult to establish: in one widely cited benchmark, disease-classification accuracy fell from above 99% on held-out laboratory images to 31.4% on field-acquired images of the same classes. Persistent weaknesses include the limited availability of public benchmarks, inconsistent validation protocols, limited interpretability, fragmented data governance, and insufficient techno-economic analysis. The review argues that the next stage of agricultural AI should be judged less by isolated benchmark scores and more by field realism, reproducibility, deployment maturity, and practical usefulness. Unlike broad surveys that mainly catalogue architectures and applications, this review interprets the literature according to dataset representativeness, validation protocols, benchmarking transparency, deployment realism, and reproducibility, distinguishing algorithmic performance under controlled conditions from practical readiness for real farming environments. The most promising research directions include self-supervised and multimodal learning, explainable and privacy-preserving AI, edge-aware deployment, and hybrid process-informed models. Full article

Oenocarpus bataua Mart. (Arecaceae) (known as “majo” in Bolivia) is an Amazonian palm fruit with considerable potential for the development of functional foods; however, its rapid postharvest deterioration limits its utilization. This study evaluated the effects of preservation methods and frozen storage on the physicochemical properties of two morphotypes of its fruits (dark-purple and pale-colored). Proximate analysis of pulp and peel fractions revealed a lipid-rich composition, with crude lipid contents close to 49% (dry basis), moderate protein levels (7.1–9.7%), and crude fiber contents around 15%. Dietary fiber characterization showed exceptionally high total dietary fiber (61.6%), predominantly insoluble dietary fiber (56.3%) under short-term frozen storage. Fresh pulp exhibited high antioxidant capacity, as determined by the DPPH assay (2003–2070 µmol TE/g dry matter), while freeze-drying preserved significantly higher antioxidant activity than hot-air drying. Functional properties were strongly affected by storage duration, with water-holding capacity decreasing from (4.43–3.17) g H₂O/g dry matter and swelling capacity from 13.95 to 9.62 mL H₂O/g dry matter after prolonged freezing. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of characteristic polysaccharide and lignocellulosic structures and indicated structural disruption of the insoluble fiber matrix during long-term storage. These findings support the use of Bolivian majo as a promising source of functional ingredients and provide a basis for developing value-added Amazonian food products and optimizing preservation strategies. Full article

The growing demand for healthier beverages has boosted the development of fruit-based functional drinks, but their real potential depends not only on initial bioactive content but also on the fraction that remains available after digestion (bioaccessibility). This study evaluated the antioxidant capacity and in vitro bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds in a beverage formulated from pineapple, apple, ginger, and cinnamon extracts, with inulin and myo-inositol as complementary ingredients. Three formulations were prepared: F1 (fruit–spice extract), F2 (F1 + inulin), and F3 (F1 + inulin + myo-inositol). Physicochemical parameters (pH, °Brix, reducing sugars, dietary fiber), total phenolic content (Folin–Ciocalteu), and antioxidant capacity (ABTS and FRAP) were measured before and after an adapted INFOGEST gastrointestinal digestion. Bioaccessibility was calculated from the intestinal supernatant. All formulations had pH 3.61, but soluble solids increased from F1 to F3 (6.17–8.97 °Brix). Folin–Ciocalteu values decreased after digestion in all formulations, but F1 retained the highest bioaccessibility (95.05 ± 5.82%), while F2 and F3 showed much lower values (33.28 ± 2.01% and 39.17 ± 5.52%, respectively). ABTS values increased after digestion in all formulations, with bioaccessibility exceeding 100% (125–143%). In contrast, FRAP values dropped sharply after digestion (bioaccessibility 4.59–11.00%), with F2 and F3 showing slightly higher retention than F1. The antioxidant response after digestion is strongly method-dependent and influenced by the beverage matrix. The formulation without inulin and myo-inositol (F1) better preserved the reducing capacity measured by Folin–Ciocalteu, while enriched formulations showed higher FRAP retention. ABTS bioaccessibility increased universally, suggesting release or transformation of radical-scavenging compounds during digestion. This study supports the need to include bioaccessibility assays when evaluating the functional potential of complex fruit-based beverages. Full article

The thermotherapy technique has been used to evaluate the viability of hot water treatments (HWTs) for the elimination of different pathogens that infect commercial fruit trees. The present project focuses on common pathogens of Prunus species at the nursery level when external propagation material is needed, which is not always in optimal sanitary conditions. Different combinations of temperature/duration treatments were applied to budwood of nectarines infected by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) and almonds infected by Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV). These treated buds were then grafted onto disease-free micropropagated rootstocks. In bacteria-infected nectarine tissues treated at 45 °C for 40 min, Xap was not detected in any sample, preserving a high viability of the grafted plants. In virus-infected almond tissues treated at 45 °C for 50 min a few individual plants were identified in which no virus was detected. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the HWT and suggest that these techniques could be applied at nursery level, on a large scale for the eradication of bacteria or on a small scale for the recovery of virus-free individuals. Full article

To address the limitations of conventional point-based sampling methods (e.g., water-sensitive paper and filter paper) in characterizing the three-dimensional deposition distribution on curved fruit surfaces, this study proposed a fruit-surface deposition quantification approach validated through a coupled workflow comprising multi-view 3D reconstruction, target point cloud segmentation, and chemical wash-off quantification. A carmine solution was used as a tracer to simulate pesticide deposition. High-accuracy colored point clouds of apples were generated via multi-view 3D reconstruction, and the target deposition point cloud was automatically extracted using a combined strategy integrating K-means-based coarse color clustering with HSV threshold refinement. The target point cloud count was regressed against the measured single-fruit deposition volume. The results showed a significant linear relationship between the target point cloud count and deposition under both laboratory and real orchard air-assisted spraying conditions (laboratory: R² = 0.827, r = 0.909, n = 13, p < 0.01; orchard: R² = 0.885, r = 0.941, n = 17, p < 0.01). This method can characterize the differences in pesticide deposition among fruits while preserving the three-dimensional location information of the tracer-related region, thus providing a methodological basis for characterizing pesticide deposition on the fruit surface. Full article

This study aimed to synthesize copper(I) iodide nanoparticles (CuI NPs) through a green route using taxo (banana passion fruit) extract as a natural capping and stabilizing agent, and to evaluate their antimicrobial performance against microorganisms isolated from concrete, together with a preliminary cytotoxicity screening. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). UV–Vis spectra recorded in the 200–704 nm range showed a strong absorption band at 224 nm, consistent with electronic transitions associated with nanostructured CuI. FTIR analysis revealed extract-derived biomolecules adsorbed on the nanoparticle surface, with bands assigned to aliphatic C–H, aromatic moieties, and C–O/C–O–C vibrations, supporting the formation of an organic capping layer. DLS analysis showed a mean hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 32 nm in aqueous suspension, whereas TEM revealed particle sizes ranging from 13 to 42 nm. XRD confirmed a predominantly cubic CuI phase, while SEM–EDS identified Cu and I as the main elements, with minor signals attributed to residual organic coating and/or trace species from the synthesis medium. The CuI NPs exhibited antimicrobial activity against microorganisms isolated from medium-strength concrete, producing inhibitory effects at all tested concentrations (0.014, 0.0087, and 0.0035 mol/L). Preliminary cytotoxicity screening using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in human foreskin fibroblast (HFF), human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7), and human glioblastoma (U251) cell lines showed dose- and time-dependent reductions in metabolic viability. The 1.0 mol/L formulations, particularly the precipitated fraction, produced stronger cytotoxic effects, whereas the 0.1 mol/L formulations, especially the residual fraction, preserved comparatively higher metabolic viability. Overall, these findings suggest that taxo-mediated CuI NPs are promising antimicrobial candidates for concrete biodeterioration control, while further colloidal and biological studies are required to better define their behavior under cell-culture conditions and optimize their safe application. Full article

Cornus mas L. fruits are a valuable source of bioactive natural products with potential applications in functional foods and food preservation. In the present study, supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO₂) extraction was applied for the recovery of lipophilic fractions from Cornus mas fruits under different operating conditions of pressure, temperature, and extraction time. The influence of extraction parameters on the extraction yield was investigated using a design of experiments (DoE) approach. The chemical composition of the obtained extracts was characterized via high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC), revealing a fatty acid profile dominated by linoleic acid (58–63%) and oleic acid (22–24%), followed by palmitic acid (8–9%), stearic acid (2–4%), arachidic acid (about 2%), and behenic acid (about 1%). The extracts were further evaluated for antimicrobial activity against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as against the yeast Candida albicans. The results demonstrated that supercritical CO₂ extraction represents an effective green technology for the selective recovery of lipophilic bioactive compounds from Cornus mas fruits. The extracts exhibited measurable antimicrobial activity in broth microdilution assays against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as Candida albicans, supporting their potential as natural antimicrobial agents. The combination of green extraction technology, analytical characterization, and bioactivity evaluation contributes to the valorization of Cornus mas fruits as a source of food-derived natural products. Full article

The spoilage of blue honeysuckle during storage is mainly caused by specific dominant microorganisms, while most antimicrobial systems are developed without considering these target spoilage species. In this study, dominant spoilage yeasts were isolated from blue honeysuckle berries, and an antimicrobial system was constructed using these yeasts, along with common foodborne bacteria as target strains. The results showed that the antimicrobial system exhibited significant synergistic antimicrobial activity. Further analysis indicated that the essential oils disrupted the cell membrane structure and increased membrane permeability, thereby promoting the interaction of ε-PL with intracellular components. Multiple physiological alterations were detected after treatment, including membrane depolarization, leakage of intracellular components, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, and suppression of cellular metabolism. These observations suggested that damage to microbial cells might be synergistically induced by the composite system. Application of the system to blue honeysuckle berries effectively inhibited the growth of endogenous spoilage microorganisms and delayed quality deterioration during storage, and significantly reduced weight loss and decay rates, as well as changes in color, anthocyanin content, and vitamin C content. These results indicate that constructing antimicrobial systems based on dominant spoilage microorganisms can improve preservation efficiency and provide a useful approach for the storage of blue honeysuckle and similar fruits. Full article

Chitosan, a chitin-derived biopolymer, is widely used in agriculture and food preservation. Fungal-derived chitosan offers a sustainable alternative to crustacean sources, and Ganoderma lucidum represents a promising source of this functional material. This study characterized fungal chitosan (F.Cs) extracted from G. lucidum cell-wall chitin by FT-IR, molecular weight, viscosity, and degree of deacetylation. Its antimicrobial activity was evaluated in vitro, and its preservative and disease control efficacy against Monilinia fructicola on postharvest apples was compared to commercial chitosan (C.Cs). DNA/protein leakage of the studied FGs and C.Cs were investigated to reveal the antimicrobial mechanisms. In particular, F.Cs exhibited promising in vitro antimicrobial activity, with MIC/MFC values of 0.75/0.75 mg/mL against M. fructicola and 0.75/1.5 mg/mL against Botrytis cinerea, compared to C.Cs. In addition, F.Cs induced greater membrane damage in M. fructicola than C.Cs, as evidenced by higher DNA leakage (24% vs. 13%) and more pronounced protein leakage (102% vs. 98%). In vivo assay demonstrated that F.Cs formed an effective protective coating layer, reducing fruit moisture loss, preserving firmness s, and significantly limiting M. fructicola-induced decay compared to C.Cs. Particularly, F.Cs (1.5%) were most effective, reducing disease incidence to 12.5% (preventive) and 20.8% (curative), with decay rates of 18 and 31%, respectively. C.Cs (1.5%) provided moderate protection, with disease incidences of 37.5 and 43.7% in preventive and curative treatments, respectively. These results demonstrate the superior efficacy of F.Cs over C.Cs in preserving apple quality and enhancing resistance to M. fructicola, highlighting the potential of G. lucidum-derived chitosan as a sustainable, multifunctional biopolymer for postharvest disease control and fruit quality preservation. Full article

Reliable perception of young apple fruits in natural orchards is a prerequisite for automated thinning and intelligent orchard management, yet remains difficult in real field conditions due to small fruit size, dense distribution, branch–leaf occlusion, background similarity, and severe illumination degradation at night. This study presents FruitDet, a lightweight multi-module detector designed for robust day–night young apple fruit detection in complex orchard environments. A field dataset was established in a high-density apple orchard in Aksu, Xinjiang, covering daylight and low-light night-time scenes with diverse occlusion, scale, and illumination variations. To improve detection robustness without sacrificing computational efficiency, FruitDet combines three complementary mechanisms: an inverted-bottleneck-based multi-scale feature enhancement module for preserving small-fruit details, a channel–spatial attention module for suppressing foliage and illumination interference, and a lightweight Transformer-based context module for modeling long-range dependencies between fruits and surrounding orchard structures. In daytime scenes, FruitDet achieved 91.904% precision, 77.557% recall, 83.254% mAP50, and 66.427% mAP50–95; in night-time scenes, it maintained 90.107% precision, 75.135% recall, 80.544% mAP50, and 64.719% mAP50–95. Compared with mainstream detectors including YOLOv5n, YOLOv8n, YOLO11n, YOLO26n, Faster R-CNN, RT-DETR, and RT-DETRv2, FruitDet consistently delivered higher accuracy across lighting conditions. Ablation, visualization, public-dataset testing, and edge-deployment experiments verified that the proposed modules jointly improve small-object representation, background discrimination, low-light robustness, and real-time applicability. With 2.960 M parameters, 3.726 G FLOPs, and approximately 180 FPS, FruitDet offers a practical and efficient visual perception approach for Young fruit monitoring was conducted under both daytime and night-time orchard conditions covered in this study. All-weather orchard monitoring and robotic young-fruit thinning. The shareable data are available Full article

Negation appears across diverse religious traditions and provides a fruitful point of entry for comparative theological reflection. This paper compares St. John of the Cross’s account of the dark night in Christian mysticism with Śaṅkara’s understanding of vairāgya (renunciation or dispassion) in Advaita Vedānta. Rather than classifying Advaita as a form of Christian negative theology, the study uses negation as a limited comparative heuristic for examining how practices of detachment, renunciation, and purification function within two distinct religious and philosophical frameworks. It argues that both thinkers employ disciplined forms of negation, but that these disciplines address different problems within their respective traditions. John of the Cross presents the dark night as a process of sensory and spiritual purification through which the soul is dispossessed of attachment and prepared for a loving and participatory union with God through faith, hope, and charity. Śaṅkara understands vairāgya, together with viveka, as a discipline that weakens attachment to impermanent objects and corrects the false identification of the self with the body, mind, agency, and individuality. These disciplines prepare the aspirant for liberating knowledge of the non-difference of ātman and Brahman. Although these two trajectories share a structurally comparable ascetical pattern, their goals remain fundamentally different: John’s dark night culminates in relational communion with God while preserving the Creator–creature distinction, whereas Śaṅkara’s renunciation prepares the aspirant for non-dual realization through the liberating knowledge that removes ignorance. This comparison clarifies both the structural affinities between the two disciplines and the distinct metaphysical, epistemological, and soteriological frameworks that determine their meaning. Full article

Climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration of heatwaves, making extreme heat a recurrent public health challenge with important nutritional implications. High ambient temperatures affect human health through thermoregulatory strain, sweating, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, cardiovascular and renal stress, impaired cognitive and physical performance, and exacerbation of chronic diseases. Diet and hydration may therefore represent modifiable, although still underinvestigated, components of heat-health prevention. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on hydration, electrolyte balance, meal composition, dietary quality, vulnerable populations, Mediterranean dietary patterns, seasonality, environmental sustainability, and public health strategies for reducing heat-related health risks. Evidence from climate-health research, physiology, nutrition science, occupational and sports medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics, and public health guidance was integrated. Particular attention was given to distinguishing direct heat-health evidence from recommendations based on indirect evidence, physiological plausibility, or expert consensus. Regular water intake, water-rich foods, avoidance of alcohol, moderation of sugar-sweetened beverages, and individualized electrolyte replacement during prolonged or intense sweating are supported by physiological rationale and public health guidance, although direct heatwave-specific intervention studies remain limited. Dietary recommendations should prioritize smaller, digestible, nutrient-dense meals that preserve nutritional adequacy while reducing unnecessary digestive and metabolic burden. However, evidence on meal size, macronutrient composition, and heat-related outcomes remains largely indirect. Vulnerable groups, including older adults, children, pregnant women, individuals with chronic diseases, outdoor workers, athletes, and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, require tailored strategies. The Mediterranean diet may provide a useful regional model because it emphasizes seasonal plant foods, fruits and vegetables with high water content, legumes, whole grains, olive oil, culinary simplicity, and environmental sustainability; however, its specific role in heat adaptation requires further study. Integrating nutrition and hydration into heat-health action plans may improve preparedness and support climate-resilient food systems. Future studies should evaluate hydration protocols, meal patterns, Mediterranean diet adherence, biomarkers of nutritional heat resilience, and nutrition-sensitive interventions in real-world heat exposure settings. Full article

Cyclodextrin (CD)-based supramolecular nanofibers (NFs) have emerged as an advanced class of multifunctional materials for active food packaging by integrating host–guest supramolecular chemistry with electrospun nanofibrous architectures. The unique hydrophobic cavity and hydrophilic exterior of CDs enable the encapsulation of a wide range of bioactive compounds, including essential oils, natural antioxidants, antimicrobials, and volatile active agents, thereby enhancing their solubility, stability, controlled release, and preservation efficacy. This review comprehensively discusses the molecular structure and inclusion complexation mechanisms of CDs, recent advances in polymer-assisted and polymer-free electrospinning strategies, and the design of CD-based supramolecular nanofibers for food preservation. Particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between fiber morphology, supramolecular interactions, and controlled release behavior, which collectively govern antimicrobial, antioxidant, moisture management, and barrier properties. Recent developments involving biodegradable polymers, hybrid nanofibrous systems, and cyclodextrin-based metal–organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) are critically summarized, highlighting their roles in improving encapsulation efficiency, mechanical stability, and multifunctional performance. The review further compares CD-based nanofibers with other advanced encapsulation technologies, including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, microspheres, and conventional MOFs, providing a comprehensive evaluation of their loading capacity, release kinetics, scalability, cost, and regulatory suitability for food-contact applications. Representative applications in the preservation of fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy products, and bakery products demonstrate significant improvements in microbial inhibition, oxidation resistance, ethylene and volatile organic compound adsorption, and shelf-life extension through sustained delivery of natural preservatives. Ultimately, the current challenges, including large-scale manufacturing, long-term stability, regulatory approval, and commercialization, are discussed together with future directions, focusing on smart packaging, stimuli-responsive delivery systems, intelligent sensing, biodegradable multifunctional materials, and sustainable industrial implementation. Full article

Agri-food processing generates large quantities of residues that are increasingly recognized as sustainable sources of bioactive ingredients for high-value applications. This narrative review examines agri-food by-products as sources of antioxidant compounds and provides an integrated mechanistic perspective on their applications in skin, oral, and hair care. By highlighting the shared antioxidant mechanisms of action underlying these applications, the review offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the cosmeceutical potential of agri-food-derived bioactive compounds. Peer-reviewed studies published mainly between 2015 and 2026 were considered, focusing on the chemical composition of by-products, green recovery strategies, biological mechanisms, and evidence from in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo, and clinical studies. Fruit and vegetable peels, seeds, skins, pomaces, and other agro-industrial residues contain polyphenols, flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, carotenoids, vitamins, lipids, peptides, and polysaccharides with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, photoprotective, anti-aging, moisturizing, and pigmentation-modulating properties. These compounds can reduce oxidative stress, support endogenous antioxidant defences, modulate redox-sensitive signaling pathways, attenuate inflammation, preserve extracellular matrix integrity, and improve skin barrier-related outcomes. Green extraction technologies, including ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, and natural deep eutectic solvents, enhance their sustainable recovery. Overall, agri-food by-products represent promising resources for circular cosmeceutical innovation, although extract standardization, safety, stability, skin bioavailability, formulation performance, and controlled clinical validation remain essential for translation. Full article