Search Results (1,888)

This research was conducted at Bursa Uludag University, Faculty of Agriculture, during the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 growing seasons to determine the effect of nitrogen applied at different times and doses on grain yield and quality in a bread wheat variety. The experiment was carried out using a split-plot design in randomized blocks with three replications. Fertilizer treatment times were assigned to the main plots (T1; T2; T3; T4; T5; T6; T7), and fertilizer doses were assigned to the subplots (N1: control, N2: 80 kg N, N3: 160 kg N, N4: 240 kg N ha⁻¹). The characteristics examined included basic physiological indicators (SPAD meter values and flag leaf area), growth and vegetative characteristics (plant height and spike length), yield components (number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike), quality criteria (thousand-grain weight, hectoliter weight, and protein ratio), and grain yield characteristics. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) among treatment times, nitrogen doses, and their interactions for most of the characteristics examined in both seasons. The high nitrogen treatment (240 kg N ha⁻¹) significantly increased physiological and agronomic parameters, including chlorophyll content (SPAD), flag leaf area, plant height, spike length, and the number of spikelets per spike. Average grain yield ranged from 3539 to 8039 kg ha⁻¹ in the first year and 1167–4329 kg ha⁻¹ in the second year, with the highest values recorded at the 240 kg N ha⁻¹ treatment. Similarly, the protein ratio varied between 9.4 and 13.6% in 2022–2023 and 8.5–12.7% in 2023–2024, reaching its highest level at the 240 kg N ha⁻¹ dose. In both growing seasons, the highest grain yield (8039 kg ha⁻¹ and 4329 kg ha⁻¹) and high protein ratio (13.6% and 12.4%) were obtained in plots where the 240 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen dose was applied in three equal splits (1/3 at sowing, 1/3 at tillering, and 1/3 at heading; T7). Principal component analysis (PCA) successfully explained 73.6% of the total variation in the first season (PC1: 61.4%, PC2: 12.2%) and 77.1% in the second season (PC1: 67.2%, PC2: 9.9%), confirming that splitting nitrogen into three parts simultaneously optimizes both yield components and grain quality. Consequently, to maximize bread wheat yield and quality, a total treatment of 240 kg N ha⁻¹ split equally into sowing, tillering, and heading stages is recommended instead of traditional two-split treatments. Full article

Background/Objectives: The emergence of radioresistance is a major challenge in cancer treatment. Herein, we evaluated the radiosensitizing effects and associated molecular mechanisms of a small molecule, berberine, in HNSCC. Methods: HNSCC cells were treated with berberine, ionizing radiation (IR), and their combination. Radiosensitivity was assessed using methods for clonogenic survival, proliferation, cell death, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, DNA damage, and associated mechanisms. Spheroid models were employed to examine tumor growth and stemness-related markers. Therapeutic efficacy was further evaluated using the syngeneic MOC2 tumor syngraft mouse model. Results: The combination of berberine and IR significantly decreased the colony-forming ability, cell proliferation, and survival in UM-SCC-22B and MOC2 cells. Correspondingly, a decrease in the pro-survival signaling, EGFR, ERK1/2, mTOR, and STAT-3 was noted. The combination treatment increased sub-G1 cell population and apoptotic cell death with enhanced DNA damage, which was also associated with downregulation of DNA repair proteins. Spheroids showed disintegration and altered morphology in the combination treatment. This combination also inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling and reduced the expression of genes associated with stemness-related pluripotency. Berberine further enhanced DNA damage and reduced stemness in EGFR-knockdown cells. The berberine-IR combination not only inhibited the growth of syngeneic MOC2 tumors but also mitigated the toxicity associated with IR. The in vitro findings of reduced expression of stemness and DNA damage repair genes were also observed in tumors. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that berberine enhances the radiation response of HNSCC through perturbation of pro-survival signaling, DDR signaling and reduction of stemness-associated features, thereby enhancing the therapeutic efficacy. Full article

Body measurements provide a non-invasive basis for estimating live weight, yet their predictive value and age-related variation remain poorly characterized in female Jiangyue donkeys. Body weight (BW) and 11 morphometric traits were recorded in 484 females: withers height (WH), body length (BL), chest circumference (CC), cannon circumference (CAC), head length (HL), neck length (NL), chest width (CW), chest depth (CD), rump height (RH), rump length (RL), and rump width (RW). Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0; stepwise regression was then applied to derive and validate BW prediction equations. Additionally, four nonlinear functions—Logistic, Gompertz, Brody, and von Bertalanffy—were fitted to cross-sectional BW data from 241 females sampled at different ages to characterize the population-level relationship between age and weight. BW was positively correlated with all morphometric traits (p < 0.01), with CC showing the strongest association. The optimal equations explained 91.8% and 84.4% of the variation in BW among growing and adult donkeys, respectively (both p < 0.01). Of the four nonlinear functions evaluated, the Brody model provided the closest fit (R² = 0.99960) and yielded an estimated asymptotic mature weight of 191.049 kg. Because the age–weight analysis was based on cross-sectional observations, the resulting curve represents population-level variation rather than within-animal growth trajectories. Collectively, these models offer quantitative tools for live-weight estimation, growth assessment, and herd management in female Jiangyue donkeys. Full article

Background/Objectives: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) such as preeclampsia are associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes and related to high soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) levels and low placental growth factor (PlGF) levels. While these biomarkers are used for predicting and diagnosing preeclampsia, their impact on postnatal neonatal nutritional management, growth, and body composition is not well-established. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between maternal angiogenic markers, neonatal growth, and body composition. Methods: This study represents a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study conducted at the Medical University of Vienna. Women with HDP were included in the analysis, and infants were stratified by gestational age at birth into preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) and term (≥37 weeks of gestation) groups. Maternal angiogenic markers were routinely measured at the time when HDP was first suspected, and neonatal body composition was assessed at term-equivalent age. Results: A total of 335 infants were screened, 94 of which (preterm: n = 72; term: n = 22) were included. Higher sFlt-1/PlGF ratios were significantly correlated with lower fat-free mass (FFM) z-scores (rs = −0.408; p = 0.004), but not with fat mass (FM) z-scores (p = 0.21), weight (p = 0.19), length (p = 0.31), or head circumference z-scores (p = 0.32) in preterm infants. In a linear regression model adjusted for potential neonatal confounders, higher sFlt-1/PlGF ratios were independently and significantly associated with lower FFM in preterm infants (median: −0.10, 95% CI: −0.2, 0.00; p = 0.036). In term infants, sFlt-1/PLGF ratios were not significantly correlated with FFM (p = 0.86), FM z-scores (p = 0.41), weight (p = 0.10), length (p = 0.12), or head circumference z-scores (p = 0.2). Conclusions: These findings suggest that the sFlt-1/PLGF ratio is not only a well-established marker of HDP severity during pregnancy but may also be associated with adverse effects on body composition in preterm infants, particularly in fat-free mass (FFM). Full article

This study examined the effects of dietary ellagic acid (EA) on growth performance, survival, immune responses, and oxidative status of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to high stocking density (HSD). A 2 × 3 factorial design was used, with two stocking densities (25 and 100 kg/m³) and three EA levels (0, 50, and 100 mg/kg diet). HSD significantly reduced growth performance, as indicated by lower weight gain and specific growth rate (SGR), increased feed conversion ratio (FCR), and decreased survival (p < 0.05). It also suppressed immune responses, including white blood cell count (WBC), nitroblue tetrazolium activity (NBT), phagocytic activity (PA), lysozyme activity (LYZ), and bactericidal activity (BA). Furthermore, HSD increased malondialdehyde High stocking density caused (MDA) levels and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in liver, head kidney, and spleen tissues (p < 0.05). Fish were challenged by intraperitoneal injection of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. achromogenes. Dietary EA supplementation significantly improved survival under both stocking densities, with the highest survival observed in fish receiving 100 mg/kg EA. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and log-rank tests confirmed significant differences among treatment groups (p < 0.05). Pairwise comparisons further demonstrated that EA, particularly at 100 mg/kg, enhanced survival under high-density conditions. EA supplementation also improved growth performance, antioxidant status, and immune responses in a dose-dependent manner. Polynomial contrast analysis revealed significant linear trends: increasing EA levels enhanced weight gain, antioxidant enzyme activities, and immune parameters, while reducing MDA levels (p < 0.05). Significant SD × EA interactions indicated that EA alleviated the adverse effects of crowding stress. In silico analyses showed higher binding affinity of EA toward SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px. Overall, dietary EA effectively mitigated density-induced oxidative stress and immunosuppression, supporting its potential as a functional feed additive in intensive aquaculture. Full article

Accurate crop-growth estimation from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery is important for precision agriculture, but image-only models can struggle to represent seasonal context. This study evaluates whether combining UAV imagery with weather variables and elapsed time improves continuous rice growth-rate prediction in a single-site, publicly available rice-seedling dataset spanning multiple growing seasons. A Time-Aware Late Fusion (TALF) model is introduced in which a convolutional branch encodes image features, a multilayer perceptron encodes contextual features, and the two streams are merged only at the regression head. Relative humidity, wind speed, and elapsed time are used as contextual inputs after season-aware preprocessing. Evaluation is reported on a chronological multi-season split using internal ablations rather than external generalization claims. TALF achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.031, compared with 0.1455 for the optimized image-only baseline and 0.0890 for an early-fusion image-and-weather baseline. A secondary tolerance-based metric reached 94.9% under the reported threshold. The results indicate that weather and elapsed-time context improve prediction on this dataset and that separating image and tabular encoders until the final layers is a competitive multimodal learning design under the reported protocol. Full article

The aquatic pathogen Aeromonas salmonicida SRW-OG1 is responsible for substantial mortality in Epinephelus coioides and many other cultured fish species. This study investigates the contribution of trpE to the pathogenicity of A. salmonicida SRW-OG1 in E. coioides. Specifically, trpE encodes a key enzyme in tryptophan biosynthesis; however, its function in regulating virulence in A. salmonicida remains uncertain. Phenotypic assays indicate that deletion of trpE markedly impaired bacterial growth and significantly reduced multiple virulence-associated traits, including swimming motility, biofilm formation, chemotaxis, hemolytic activity, and extracellular enzyme activity. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the ΔtrpE mutant lacked flagella, indicating that trpE is involved in flagellar formation or maintenance. In an E. coioides infection model, fish infected with ΔtrpE showed a cumulative survival rate of 48.3%, whereas those infected with the wild-type SRW-OG1 suffered 100% mortality. The ΔtrpE mutant also exhibited reduced bacterial loads in target organs (liver, head kidney, and spleen), while pretreatment with ΔtrpE provided 53.3% protection against a subsequent wild-type challenge. Transcriptomic analysis identified 616 differentially expressed genes, mainly enriched in pathways including flagellar assembly, bacterial chemotaxis, two-component systems, quorum sensing, and biofilm formation. Metabolomic analysis further showed a significant decrease in N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone, an acyl-homoserine lactone quorum-sensing signal in the ΔtrpE mutant. These findings suggest that trpE contributes to mesophilic A. salmonicida SRW-OG1’s virulence by partially affecting quorum-sensing signal production and motility-related pathways. The attenuated phenotype and protective effect of ΔtrpE indicate its potential as a live attenuated vaccine candidate for controlling A. salmonicida infection in aquaculture. Full article

Purpose: The temporal effectiveness of double-cropping rice systems in southern China is limited by the slow natural decomposition rate of straw, which represents a crucial ecological bottleneck. This study reports on two consecutive pot experiments—one conducted in the 2019 late-rice season (cultivar: Tianyou Huazhan) and the other in the 2020 early-rice season (cultivar: Taiyou 98)—to investigate how the straw-decomposing microbial inoculant JN01 influences rice growth, microbial community traits, and soil biochemical properties under equal-nutrient straw incorporation. Methods: This study conducted pot experiments from 2019 to 2020 using the self-developed straw-decomposing microbial agent JN01 (J) as the test material. Under the condition of equal nutrients, the experiment of conventional chemical fertilization (CK) and straw returning to field (SF) was set up. Results: The application of JN01 significantly boosted the soil’s capacity to transform nutrients, as indicated by the increases of 77.50% and 69.16% in soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen throughout the tillering and heading stages, respectively. It aided in the conversion of organic phosphorus in straw to effective phosphorus in soil, significantly increasing soil fungi (241.87%) and actinobacteria (93.10%) at maturity, optimizing the fungi/bacteria ratio, promoting the microbial community transition from bacterial to fungal dominance, improving soil cellulose degradation ability, and improving nitrogen transformation capability. Conclusions: This pot study clarifies the regulating mechanism of JN01 on soil microenvironment and offers theoretical support for the use of straw resources in southern double-cropping rice systems. Under controlled pot circumstances, the inoculant demonstrated potential to optimize straw-related nutrient transformation and coordinate rice yield components; nevertheless, field verification is necessary for large-scale practical implementation. Full article

Head and neck cancer (HNC) remains a major therapeutic challenge due to high recurrence rates, limited efficacy of current treatments, and the frequent emergence of therapeutic resistance. Curcumin and its analogs have gained increasing interest as adjuvant compounds capable of potentiating the efficacy of conventional anticancer strategies, including chemotherapy with cisplatin, paclitaxel, and 5-fluorouracil, as well as radiotherapy. This review summarizes preclinical and translational evidence investigating combination approaches involving curcumin-based compounds and standard therapies in HNC models, highlighting their synergistic effects on tumor growth inhibition, apoptosis induction, modulation of therapy resistance mechanisms, and mitigation of treatment-related toxicity. Strategies aimed at overcoming the pharmacokinetic limitations of curcumin, including nanoformulations, co-delivery systems, and targeted delivery platforms, are also discussed. By integrating current evidence, this review highlights the translational potential of curcumin and its analogs as adjuvant agents in multimodal HNC therapy, while identifying current gaps in clinical validation, and outlining future directions for improving therapeutic efficacy and safety. Full article

The metabolic mechanisms linking prenatal particulate matter (PM) to fetal growth remain unclear. A prospective cohort of 616 mother–fetus pairs in Guangzhou had ultrasound-based fetal growth parameters repeatedly measured from mid to late pregnancy. Fetal head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), femur length (FL), and biparietal diameter (BPD) were standardized as z-scores. Estimated fetal weight (EFW) trajectories were classified as average, slow, and rapid growth. Residential PM₁, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ were assessed with 1 km spatiotemporal models. Multinomial logistic regression analyzed PM-EFW trajectory associations. Generalized estimating equations evaluated PM–fetal growth z-score relationships. Maternal plasma glucose and insulin levels at mid-pregnancy were examined as intermediate factors. Each 5 μg/m³ increase in PM was associated with higher odds of rapid EFW growth versus average growth (OR _PM1 = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.37; OR _PM2.5 = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.88; OR _PM10 = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.56). Positive associations were also observed for BPD, HC, and AC z-scores, with PM₁ showing the numerically larger effect estimates. Maternal fasting plasma glucose and insulin resistance may partly explain the observed associations of PM exposure with rapid EFW growth and fetal growth parameters, with estimated proportions of 5.0–29.4%. This study highlights the potential risk of accelerated fetal growth associated with maternal PM exposures, and maternal glucose metabolism may represent a plausible pathway. Full article

Global warming-induced temperature increases adversely affect plant growth, exacerbating agricultural risks and threatening global food security. These challenges are particularly acute for important crops like non-heading Chinese cabbage (NHCC; Brassica campestris L. syn. B. rapa), a nutritionally and economically significant leafy vegetable cultivated worldwide. While breeding for thermotolerance has been explored to stabilize summer supplies, these efforts remain insufficient under complex field conditions, necessitating cost-effective and practical alternatives. Here, we demonstrate that biochar derived from enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) spent mushroom substrate (SMS-BC) significantly alleviates heat-induced growth suppression in greenhouse-cultivated NHCC. SMS-BC alters the soil nutrient profile and enhances available phosphorus and potassium through its unique feedstock properties, including its filamentous architecture and surface functional groups. Furthermore, SMS-BC may reshape microbial community composition of NHCC under heat stress. Our findings establish SMS-derived biochar as an effective soil amendment for alleviating heat stress-induced growth suppression in NHCC. Full article

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-attributable cancers remain largely preventable but continue to generate increasing treatment costs where vaccination and screening coverage are limited. We estimated direct inpatient pharmaceutical reimbursement attributable to HPV-related cancers in Bulgaria and examined the drivers of expenditure growth. Methods: National Health Insurance Fund reimbursement data (2021–2025) were analysed for antineoplastic medicines used to treat eight HPV-associated cancer sites. Site-specific population-attributable fractions (PAFs) were applied to estimate HPV-attributable expenditure. Uncertainty in PAFs was quantified using 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations and discrete attribution scenarios. Expenditure growth was decomposed into price, volume, and net product-entry/exit effects using Fisher indices. Expenditure was additionally expressed in constant 2021 euros using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. Results: Estimated HPV-attributable inpatient pharmaceutical reimbursement totalled EUR 54.2 million (probabilistic median; 95% uncertainty interval: EUR 53.3–55.0 million). Cervical cancer accounted for 81.8% of the total. Results varied by less than ±6% across attribution scenarios and remained EUR 44.6 million when head-and-neck cancers were excluded. Annual expenditure increased from EUR 3.67 million in 2021 to EUR 19.89 million in 2025, representing a 5.4-fold nominal and 4.2-fold inflation-adjusted increase. Growth was concentrated in cervical cancer and was driven primarily by the introduction of new therapies rather than higher prices or greater use of existing medicines. Net product entry explained 88.8% of total log growth, while reimbursement prices for continuing products declined by approximately 31%. Pembrolizumab, first reimbursed for cervical cancer in 2023, accounted for EUR 16.03 million of cervical cancer expenditure in 2025. Conclusions: These ecological estimates indicate a rapid increase in HPV-attributable inpatient pharmaceutical reimbursement in Bulgaria, largely driven by cervical cancer and the introduction of immunotherapy. The findings have implications for budget forecasting, procurement planning, and economic evaluation of HPV prevention strategies. Full article

Fusarium head blight of cereal, caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium spp., reduces yield and accumulates mycotoxins. The increasing resistance of pathogens to synthetic fungicides encourages the search for natural alternatives. This work aims to determine the chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) of caraway, sage, and pine and to evaluate their antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum. The composition of EOs was determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and activity was assessed by agar dilution to determine mycelial growth inhibition and EC₅₀, with the effect evaluated by two-way ANOVA. Caraway EO, belonging to the carvone chemotype (carvone 57.57%, limonene 35.86%), had the highest antifungal activity (EC₅₀ = 727 ppm), sage EO (cis-thujone 29.59%, camphor 21.74%) had an average activity (EC₅₀ = 1017 ppm), and pine EO, rich in α-pinene and δ-3-carene, had the lowest activity (EC₅₀ > 3000 ppm). The antifungal activity was determined by the compounds’ chemical nature, not by their amount. Low EO concentrations (125–250 ppm) elicited a biphasic response, promoting mycelial growth (zero effect point ≈ 269–295 ppm); therefore, insufficient dosage could increase the risk of mycotoxin contamination. Carvone-rich caraway EO exhibited the highest antifungal activity among the oils tested and is worthy of further investigation as a potential tool for sustainable control of Fusarium head blight in cereals. Full article

Accurate discrimination between rice and artificial grassland remains challenging in regional agricultural monitoring because both herbaceous types share similar spectral signatures during vegetative growth, and existing land-cover products do not treat artificial grassland as a separate class. Using Jurong City, Jiangsu Province, as the study area, we propose a framework that optimizes red-edge vegetation index selection within crop-specific phenological windows to separate rice from grassland. Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery and Sentinel-2 satellite data, we quantified spectral separability across eight phenological stages using Fisher ratios. We identified two optimal discrimination windows: early tillering (mid-June) and heading–flowering (early September). Within the heading–flowering window, a dual-index classification rule combining Normalized Difference Red-Edge Index (NDRE) and Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI) was transferred from UAV to Sentinel-2 and used to produce a 10 m rice–grassland map for the entire city. Spatial agreement with two publicly available rice datasets reached 75.2% and 79.5% for rice pixels, reflecting differences in spatial resolution, reference year, and class definition rather than classification error. Independent field validation using 200 samples yielded an overall accuracy of 92.50% (F1-score = 0.93), confirming the effectiveness of the VI–window optimization strategy. The framework offers an interpretable, physiology-driven alternative for crop-type mapping that relies solely on widely available multispectral bands. Full article

This study developed a compound enzyme-assisted microbially fermented concentrate for Yanbian steers. The enzyme formulation was optimized using response surface methodology, with acid-soluble protein/crude protein ratio (ASP/CP), ammonia-N/total N ratio (AN/TN), and pH as response variables. The optimized enzyme preparation contained 619.15 U/g protease, 742.08 U/g amylase, and 257.75 U/g β-mannanase. The measured ASP/CP, AN/TN, and pH values were 31.74%, 3.56%, and 4.32, respectively, closely agreeing with the predicted values of 32.00%, 3.55%, and 4.28. Membership function analysis, which normalized positive and negative indicators to a common 0–1 scale and integrated them into a comprehensive score, supported the selection of day 5 as the most balanced fermentation duration under the primary equal-indicator weighting scheme. Thirty Yanbian steers were randomly assigned to receive microbially fermented concentrate without compound enzyme addition (MF) or compound enzyme-assisted microbially fermented concentrate (MEF) at 500 g/head/day on an as-fed basis for 100 days. After adjustment for initial body weight using ANCOVA, MEF increased final body weight by 3.9% and average daily gain by 35.7% compared with MF (both p < 0.001). MEF also increased dry matter intake by 12.1% (p = 0.018) and reduced feed conversion ratio by 18.4% (p = 0.008). MEF increased dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber digestibility by 4.3%, 5.4%, 22.6%, and 15.6%, respectively, and reduced blood urea nitrogen by 18.9%. MEF also increased ruminal total volatile fatty acids and decreased ruminal NH₃-N and the acetate-to-propionate ratio (p < 0.05). Observed ASVs, Chao1, and Shannon indices did not differ between treatments, whereas PERMANOVA detected a significant difference in overall rumen bacterial community structure (R² = 0.180, p = 0.023). VIF-based redundancy analysis indicated that variation in rumen bacterial community structure were correlated with crude protein digestibility, total volatile fatty acids, and blood urea nitrogen. Overall, within the microbial-fermentation system evaluated in this study, compound enzyme addition increased growth performance and apparent nutrient digestibility, reduced ruminal NH₃-N and blood urea nitrogen concentrations, and improved feed efficiency in Yanbian steers. Full article