Search Results (134)

SHORT INTERNODE (SHI)-Related Sequence (SRS) transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses and have been extensively studied in various plant species. However, the molecular functions and regulatory mechanisms of SRS genes in the economically important tropical fruit crop pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) remain poorly understood. This study identified 9 HuSRS genes in pitaya via bioinformatics analysis, with subcellular localization predicting nuclear distributions for all. Gene structure analysis showed 1–4 exons, and conserved motifs (RING-type zinc finger and IXGH domains) were shared across subclasses. Phylogenetic analysis classified the HuSRS genes into three subfamilies. Subfamily I (HuSRS1–HuSRS4) is closely related to poplar and tomato homologs and subfamily III (HuSRS6–HuSRS8) contains a recently duplicated paralogous pair (HuSRS7/HuSRS8) and shows affinity to rice SRS genes. Protein structure prediction revealed dominance of random coils, α-helices, and extended strands, with spatial similarity correlating to subfamily classification. Interaction networks showed HuSRS1, HuSRS2, HuSRS7 and HuSRS8 interact with functional proteins in transcription and hormone signaling. Promoter analysis identified abundant light/hormone/stress-responsive elements, with HuSRS5 harboring the most motifs. Transcriptome and qPCR analyses revealed spatiotemporal expression patterns: HuSRS4, HuSRS5, and HuSRS7 exhibited significantly higher expression levels in callus (WG), which may be associated with dedifferentiation capacity. In seedlings, HuSRS9 exhibited extremely high transcriptional accumulation in stem segments, while HuSRS1, HuSRS5, HuSRS7 and HuSRS8 were highly active in cotyledons. This study systematically analyzed the characteristics of the SRS gene family in pitaya, revealing its evolutionary conservation and spatio-temporal expression differences. The research results have laid a foundation for in-depth exploration of the function of the SRS gene in the tissue culture and molecular breeding of pitaya. Full article

The growing interest in pitaya has led to an increase in its cultivation worldwide. Unfortunately, the production of pitaya often depends on expensive hand-pollination. In this experiment, we compared the efficiency of different procedures in transferring pollen grains to flower stigmas and analyzed pollen–pistil interactions, fruit set, and quality in response in ‘Royal Red’, a self-compatible genotype of pitaya. The results show that pollen adhesion on the stigma achieved by transferring pollen with a paintbrush or with a duster was higher than pollen adhesion using blowers and much higher than the pollen load in the stigmas of open-pollinated or bagged flowers. However, good pollen germination and sufficient pollen tube growth in the flowers pollinated using blowers enabled high fruit and seed sets, leading to the production of fruits of commercial size in a less expensive manner. The results of free open pollinated and bagged flowers matched exactly, highlighting that the occasional insect visitors of the freely exposed flowers in the greenhouses of southeast Spain are not efficient pollinators. The high fruit set obtained in bagged flowers confirms the self-compatibility of this genotype, although the reduced pollen load and low pollen germination led to smaller fruit with fewer seeds. Full article

The growing interest in sustainable materials has encouraged the valorization of agro-industrial byproducts for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food applications. This study evaluated yellow pitaya peel powder, obtained via convective and refractance window drying, as a diluent in immediate-release quercetin tablets. The powders were characterized by physicochemical, granulometric, morphological, and surface properties, and compared with conventional excipients, including partially pregelatinized corn starch and spray-dried lactose monohydrate. Refractance window drying improved solubility, flowability, and structural integrity, while convective drying produced finer, more porous particles with lower water activity. Tablets formulated with both powders showed adequate hardness, low friability, and disintegration times under five minutes. All systems achieved complete quercetin release. Kinetic modeling revealed anomalous, matrix-regulated transport, with Weibull and Modified Hill models providing the best fit. Based on these results, pitaya peel powder could be considered a suitable diluent for the development of immediate-release tablets, offering functional performance aligned with sustainable formulation strategies. Full article

Pitaya (Selenicereus undatus) is a long-day climbing cactus that blooms in waves mostly on 1-year old, succulent leafless shoots called cladodes. Nonetheless, pitaya can also bloom on new-year growth if the buds of the cladodes are mature enough and competent for flower induction. Here, we tested, during two consecutive years, whether early pruning could have a positive effect on promoting more flowering waves, better fruiting, and heavier yield of ‘Korean White’ pitaya cultivated in unheated greenhouses of Southeastern Spain. The results show that pruning in January instead of March did not consistently modify the reproductive behavior of ‘Korean White’ pitaya in our conditions. Therefore, no significant effects on the number of blooming waves, flowering intensity, fruit set, quality or yield were observed. The only positive effect, not always significant, was an increase in fruit size that led to better fruit distribution into commercial categories in one out of the two experimental seasons. The lack of effect of early pruning was attributed to the prevalent low temperatures during winter in Spain. The results, however, suggest it is worthwhile exploring whether greenhouse heating with temperatures above pitaya’s base temperature may have the desired effects on increasing blooming waves. The profitability of this practice have to be carefully assessed. Full article

A concept towards current measurement in low and medium voltage power distribution networks is presented. The concentric magnetic field around the current-carrying conductor should be measured using a nitrogen-vacancy quantum magnetic field sensor. A bottleneck in current measurement systems is the readout electronics, which are usually based on optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). The idea is to have a hardware that tracks up to four resonances simultaneously for the detection of the three-axis magnetic field components and the temperature. Normally, expensive scientific instruments are used for the measurement setup. In this work, we present an electronic device that is based on a Zynq 7010 FPGA (Red Pitaya) with an add-on board, which has been developed to control the excitation laser, the generation of the microwaves, and interfacing the photodiode, and which provides additional fast digital outputs. The T1 measurement was chosen to demonstrate the ability to read out the spin of the system. Full article

The effect of ultrasonic frequencies of 40 kHz/300 W (U-40) and 120 kHz/300 W (U-120) on the aqueous extraction of bioactive compounds from dried whole-fruit powders (DPs) of red-peel/white-flesh (WFP) and red-peel/red-flesh (RFP) pitayas was investigated, and shaking at 120 rpm (S-120) was used for a comparison. The effects of temperature and the solid-to-liquid ratio on the extraction efficiencies of the total phenolic content (TPC) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of WFP and RFP were evaluated. The impact of extraction time on the aqueous extraction of specific compounds, namely, chlorogenic acid (CGA) and quercetin, from WFP and RFP was assessed with extraction modes of U-40, U-120, and S-120. At 40 °C and a 1/20 (g DP/mL) solid-to-liquid ratio, the use of U-40 achieved higher TPC and FRAP values at 15 min than U-120 and S-120 for WFP. The use of U-40 and U-120 extracted higher amounts of free CGA and free quercetin from WFP and RFP at 15 and 60 min than S-120 but showed different extraction efficiencies for free CGA and free quercetin. This study demonstrates that different ultrasonic frequencies can be applied in the green extraction of target bioactive compounds for use in nutraceutical foods. Full article

In wireless communications and radio frequency courses, Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) offer students hands-on experience with software-based signal processing on programmable hardware platforms such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). While some remote SDR laboratories enable students to access real hardware, they typically lack support for Partial Reconfiguration (PR)—a powerful FPGA capability that allows sections of a design to be reconfigured at runtime without disrupting the main system operation. This capability enhances real-time adaptability and optimizes resource utilization, making it highly relevant for modern SDR applications. This study addresses this gap by extending an existing SDR remote lab to support PR, enabling students to explore reconfigurable hardware design within a remote learning environment. Two integration architectures were developed: one based on a graphical user interface (UI) and another utilizing a command-line workflow, both accessible via a web browser. Preliminary experiments using Red Pitaya SDR platforms—reportedly the first use of these devices for educational PR exploration—examined the impact of PR on logic resource utilization and total power consumption across three levels of design complexity. These results were compared to equivalent static FPGA designs performing the same functionality without PR. By making PR experimentation accessible through a remote platform, this work enhances STEM education by bridging advanced FPGA techniques with practical learning. It will equip students with industry-relevant skills for developing agile, resource-efficient wireless systems and foster a deeper understanding of adaptive hardware design. Full article

Dragon fruit or pitaya (Hylocereus sp.) is an exotic tropical plant gaining popularity in the United States as it is a nutrient-rich fruit with mildly sweet flavor and a good source of fiber. Although high tunnels are being used to produce specialized crops, little is known about how pitaya growth, physiology and nutrient uptake change throughout the production period. This study aims to evaluate the impact of high tunnels and varying rates of vermicompost on three varieties of pitaya, White Pitaya (WP), Yellow Pitaya (YP), and Red Pitaya (RP), to assess the soil and plant nutrient dynamics, spectral reflectance changes and plant growth. Plants were assessed at 120 and 365 DAP (Days After Plantation). YP thrived in a high tunnel compared to an open environment in terms of survival before 120 DAP, with no diseased incidence and higher nutrient retention. The nutrient accumulation in the RP, WP, and YP shoot samples 120 DAP were ranked in the following order, K > N > Ca > Mg > P > Fe > Zn > B > Mn, while 365 DAP, they were ranked as K > Ca > N > Mg > P > S > Fe > Zn > B > Mn. The nutrient accumulation in the RP, WP, and YP, soil samples 120 and 365 DAP were ranked in the following order: N > Ca > Mg > P > K > Na > Zn. Soil nutrients showed a higher concentration of Na and K grown inside the high tunnels in all three pitaya species due to the increased concentration of soluble salts. Spectral reflectance analysis showed that RP and WP had higher reflectance in the visible and NIR region compared to YP due to their higher plant biomass and canopy cover. This study emphasizes the importance of environmental conditions, nutrition strategies, and plant physiology in the different pitaya plant species. The results suggest that high tunnels with appropriate vermicompost can enhance pitaya growth and development. Full article

This study, conducted in Mersin, a Mediterranean sub-tropical area, examined the potential of avocado and pitaya to thrive under current and future climate conditions. Researchers utilized climate and soil data, initially selecting 14 parameters (mean annual temperature, mean minimum temperature of the coldest month, mean maximum temperature of the warmest month, mean annual precipitation, soil texture, soil depth, land use capability, soil pH, soil organic carbon, soil salinity, land cover, elevation, slope, and groundwater level) for analysis, which were narrowed down to 12 after correlation analysis. The potential distributions were projected using the MaxEnt model for current and future scenarios. Three global climate models—HadGEM3-GC31-LL, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, and GFDL-ESM4—were utilized under the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Under SSP2-4.5, an average increase of 1.32%, 1.95%, and 4.02% in the “S1” class is expected. For SSP5-8.5, average gains of 1.33%, 1.58%, and 0.77% are projected. In Pitaya, the “S1” class in SSP2-4.5 is expected to increase by 0.96% compared to the first model and decrease by 7.06% and 5.71% compared to the other models, respectively. Under SSP5-8.5, the changes are determined to be 1.49%, −7.27%, and −7.28%, respectively. Our findings indicate that climate change poses a significant threat to the region; however, the application demonstrates that agricultural activities can remain sustainable despite climate change impacts. Full article

The effects of different carrier agents—pea protein (PP), rice protein (RP), bean protein (BP), whey protein (WP), and maltodextrin (MT, as a control)—on pitaya juice encapsulation via spray drying were evaluated. Juice and carrier mixtures (30% w/v) were dried at 150 °C, and the resulting powders were analyzed for water activity (aw), hygroscopicity (Hg), water solubility (WSI), bulk density (BD), glass transition temperature (Tg), water absorption (WAI), antioxidant activity (AA), total polyphenol content (TPC), total betalain (TB) content, and TB stability. Vegetable proteins showed promising results, significantly impacting the protein content, Hg content, WAI, WSI, AA, TPC, and TB content and resulting in high Tg values. PP showed the best results, with high betalain retention (>30%), high TPC and AA, high protein levels, and low Hg, similarly to MT. WP had the highest TB, AA, and TPC but the lowest Tg (47.21 °C), thus reducing stability. Encapsulates obtained with plant protein-based wall materials presented high Tg (>58 °C); low aw, WSI, and Hg; high protein contents >40%; and adequate retention of bioactive compounds, with low degradation rate constants and long half-lives. Overall, plant proteins are promising alternatives to traditional carriers, offering improved stability and functionality in encapsulated products. Full article

The detection of fish freshness is crucial for ensuring food safety. This study addresses the limitations of traditional detection methods, which rely on laboratory equipment and complex procedures, by proposing a smartphone-based detection method, termed FreshFusionNet, that utilizes a pitaya peel pH intelligent indicator film in conjunction with multimodal deep learning. The pitaya peel indicator film, prepared using high-pressure homogenization technology, demonstrates a significant color change from dark red to yellow in response to the volatile alkaline substances released during fish spoilage. To construct a multimodal dataset, 3600 images of the indicator film were captured using a smartphone under various conditions (natural light and indoor light) and from multiple angles (0° to 120°), while simultaneously recording pH values, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and total viable count (TVC) data. Based on the lightweight MobileNetV2 network, a Multi-scale Dilated Fusion Attention module (MDFA) was designed to enhance the robustness of color feature extraction. A Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) was then used to model dynamic patterns in chemical indicators across spoilage stages, combined with a Context-Aware Gated Fusion (CAG-Fusion) mechanism to adaptively integrate image and chemical temporal features. Experimental results indicate that the overall classification accuracy of FreshFusionNet reaches 99.61%, with a single inference time of only 142 ± 40 milliseconds (tested on Xiaomi 14). This method eliminates the need for professional equipment and enables real-time, non-destructive detection of fish spoilage through smartphones, providing consumers and the food supply chain with a low-cost, portable quality-monitoring tool, thereby promoting the intelligent and universal development of food safety detection technology. Full article

This paper proposes an enhanced RRT* algorithm (XN-RRT*) to address the challenges of low path planning efficiency and suboptimal picking success rates in complex pitaya harvesting environments. The algorithm generates sampling points based on normal distribution and dynamically adjusts the center and range of the sampling distribution according to the target distance and tree density, thus reducing redundant sampling. An improved artificial potential field method is employed during tree expansion, incorporating adjustment factors and target points to refine the guidance of sampling points and overcome local optima and infeasible targets. A greedy algorithm is then used to remove redundant nodes, shorten the path, and apply cubic B-spline curves to smooth the path, improving the stability and continuity of the robotic arm. Simulations in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional environments demonstrate that the XN-RRT* algorithm performs effectively, with fewer iterations, high convergence efficiency, and superior path quality. The simulation of a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm in a pitaya orchard environment using the ROS2 platform shows that the XN-RRT* algorithm achieves a 98% picking path planning success rate, outperforming the RRT* algorithm by 90.32%, with a 27.12% reduction in path length and a 14% increase in planning success rate. The experimental results confirm that the proposed algorithm exhibits excellent overall performance in complex harvesting environments, offering a valuable reference for robotic arm path planning. Full article

The cactus Selenicereus undatus (S. undatus), known as pitahaya or dragon fruit, is one of the pitaya species of economic importance for different countries worldwide, particularly in China, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United States, among other countries. On the other hand, Cactophagus spinolae (C. spinolae) is a pest insect found in Mexico, known as the cactus weevil or borer. This study reports, for the first time, C. spinolae feeding and damage to the vascular stem and flower bud of wild S. undatus plants in Jalisco, Mexico. Field sampling was conducted in wild populations of S. undatus between July and October 2024. The results of our study confirm that C. spinolae actively feeds on S. undatus, causing damage to the plant, primarily to the vascular cylinder of mature and immature stems, as well as to flower buds and tissues. During monitoring, we observed a total of nine eggs, nine larvae, and sixteen adults in different plant samples, confirming that S. undatus serves as a reproductive host for C. spinolae. The results highlight the threat of C. spinolae to S. undatus in the State of Jalisco, which highlights the need to incorporate new agricultural strategies to mitigate the impact that this insect has on pitahaya. Full article

Pitaya (Stenocereus spp.) is recognized for its nutritional properties, with its seeds and peel accounting for 22–29% of the fruit’s mass, often treated as agro-industrial waste. This study evaluates the potential of green solvents for oil extraction from pitaya seeds, aiming to enhance the valorization of these by-products. The efficiency of ethanol and supercritical CO₂ (SC-CO₂) was compared to hexane, a commonly used solvent. Soxhlet extractions were performed using ethanol and hexane, while SC-CO₂ extractions were conducted under two conditions: 180 bar at 50 °C and 250 bar at 35 °C. Oil yields ranged from 4.9% to 24.7%, with hexane achieving the highest yield. However, SC-CO₂ extraction demonstrated its potential as a sustainable alternative. Future studies will focus on characterizing the fatty acid profile of the extracted oil to further assess its nutritional and industrial applications. Full article

Flower induction in pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) is regulated by complex gene networks involving multiple signaling pathways that ensure flower bud (FB) formation, but its molecular determinants remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify key genes and pathways involved in pitaya flower induction by analyzing transcriptomics profiles from differentiating buds. Our results indicate that the flower induction process is driven by a combination of sugar, hormone, transcription factor (TF), and flowering-related genes. We found that during the FB induction period, the levels of sugar, starch, auxin (AUX), cytokinin (CTK) active forms dihydrozeatin riboside (dhZR), zeatin riboside (ZR), N6-isopentenyladenosine (iPA), and brassinosteroid (BR) increase in the late stage (LS), while active gibberellins (GA3, GA4) decrease, signaling a metabolic and hormonal shift essential for flowering. Differential gene expression analysis identified key genes involved in starch and sugar metabolism, AUX, CTK, BR synthesis, and (GA) degradation, with notable differential expression in photoperiod (COL, CDF, TCP), age-related (SPL), and key flowering pathways (FT, FTIP, AGL, SOC1). This study reveals a multidimensional regulatory network for FB formation in pitaya, primarily mediated by the crosstalk between sugar and hormone signaling pathways, providing new insights into the molecular mechanism of FB formation in pitaya. Full article