Search Results (41,940)

Cold stress (CS) severely limits the growth and productivity of rice (Oryza sativa L.), particularly in temperate regions where abrupt temperature declines frequently occur during early developmental stages. In recent years, nanoparticle (NP) application has emerged as a promising approach for alleviating CS; however, systematic comparisons of different NPs across multiple growth stages remain unclear. This study evaluated the effectiveness and physiological mechanisms of four NPs (Fe₂O₃, ZnO, TiO₂, and CeO₂) in enhancing CS tolerance of rice seedlings using four cultivars with contrasting cold tolerance: two conventional cultivars (ZJZ-17, cold-sensitive; XZX-6, cold-tolerant) and two hybrid cultivars (LLY-7108, cold-tolerant; LLY-32, cold-sensitive). Seedlings were subjected to CS (14 °C day/10 °C night) for 5 days at three developmental stages (14, 21, and 28 days after emergence), followed by a 7-day recovery period under optimal conditions. CS markedly reduced plant height (34.8%), fresh weight (57.2%), dry weight (50.0%), and chlorophyll a and b contents (48%) following recovery. Foliar application of NPs significantly mitigated the adverse effects of CS, with Fe₂O₃ and ZnO showing the highest effectiveness. Fe₂O₃ treatment increased plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight by 25.6%, 43.5%, and 40.6%, respectively, relative to cold-stressed plants, while chlorophyll a and b contents increased by 41.6% and 42.2%. NPs application alleviated oxidative damage by reducing reactive oxygen species (up to 67.4%), malondialdehyde (up to 51.2%), and proline accumulation (up to 60.4%). Enhanced antioxidant defense was evidenced by increased activities of superoxide dismutase (66.6%), peroxidase (59.6%), and catalase (34.3%) under Fe₂O₃ treatment. Yield-related traits also showed significant recovery, with Fe₂O₃ increasing tiller number, spikelets per panicle, and grain yield per plant. The hybrid cultivar LLY-7108 consistently exhibited greater CS tolerance than conventional cultivars, while the cold-sensitive cultivar ZJZ-17 showed the greatest susceptibility. CS imposed at later growth stages (28-day-old seedlings) caused less damage and allowed greater recovery than early-stage stress (14-day-old seedlings). Overall, NP-mediated enhancement of photosynthesis and antioxidant capacity significantly improves CS tolerance and yield performance in rice, with Fe₂O₃ NPs emerging as a promising strategy for mitigating CS. These findings provide practical insights for rice cultivation in regions prone to chilling events and contribute to the development of nanoparticle-based approaches for rice production under climate stress. Full article

Juniperus species are a rich source of pharmacologically important secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, lignans, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds. However, the commercial utilization of these metabolites is limited by the plant’s slow growth, poor natural regeneration, and environmental variability affecting metabolite accumulation. Integrating plant tissue culture with elicitation strategies is a promising approach for sustainably producing these valuable compounds. This review summarizes the diversity, biological activities, and biotechnological significance of secondary metabolites in Juniperus, focusing on tissue culture systems and enhancement of metabolite biosynthesis through elicitors. It critically evaluates the current knowledge of the effects of signaling compounds such as methyl jasmonate (MeJA), jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA), as well as other abiotic and biotic elicitors including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), chitosan, and chito-oligosaccharides. Particular attention is given to their effects on podophyllotoxin, phenolic, flavonoid, and other bioactive metabolite accumulation. Elicitation responses appear to depend strongly on species, culture system, elicitor type, and treatment conditions. This review also highlights major knowledge gaps, particularly the limited understanding of the regulatory mechanisms controlling secondary-metabolite biosynthesis in Juniperus species. Overall, the available evidence suggests that integrating optimized elicitation strategies with transcriptomics, metabolomics, and metabolic engineering could improve our understanding of secondary metabolite regulation and facilitate the development of sustainable Juniperus tissue culture platforms for producing high-value natural products. Full article

Liquid-state ¹³C–¹³C 2D INADEQUATE NMR spectroscopy provides unparalleled direct carbon–carbon connectivity mapping via scalar couplings, delivering unambiguous structural evidence that conventional HSQC and HMBC methods cannot, particularly for quaternary carbons, fully substituted aromatics, and overlapping polymer resonances. Despite sensitivity challenges arising from low ¹³C natural abundance (~1.1%), this review examines the technique’s evolution from its 1981 introduction to contemporary innovations, compiling over 100 application entries across natural products, synthetic molecules, mixtures, fullerenes, metabolomics, oligomers and polymers. Significant methodological advancements—including cryogenic probe technology (up to 5.5-fold sensitivity gain), J-compensated sequences, composite refocusing (INADEQUATE CR), hybrid INEPT-INADEQUATE approaches, adiabatic pulses, and Overhauser DNP-INADEQUATE—are critically assessed alongside computerized analysis algorithms (CCBond, FRED) and network-based metabolomics tools (INETA, PyINETA). Practical guidance covering optimal J_CC coupling selection, relaxation management, and a decision tree for experiment selection is consolidated. Looking forward, the convergence of artificial intelligence, non-uniform sampling, and integration with density functional theory promises to transform 2D INADEQUATE from a specialist technique of last resort into a routinely accessible tool for structural elucidation. Full article

Leaf water content (LWC) is an important indicator of plant water status, and its rapid estimation is essential for water diagnosis and cultivation management in fig production. Although hyperspectral sensing provides an effective means of estimating LWC, spectral redundancy and noise may hinder the extraction of water-sensitive information. Wavelet analysis can extract localized spectral information; however, single-scale wavelet features may not simultaneously preserve fine spectral details and suppress noise, and thus cannot fully characterize the complementary LWC-related responses across different scales. This study therefore developed multiscale double wavelet indices (MSDWIs) and multiscale triple wavelet indices (MSTWIs) to improve the hyperspectral estimation of fig LWC. Savitzky–Golay (SG) filtering and multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) were compared, and random forest (RF) and support vector regression (SVR) were used to evaluate the estimation performance of traditional vegetation indices (VIs), MSDWIs, MSTWIs, and their fused feature sets. The results showed that multiscale wavelet indices generally achieved higher estimation accuracy than traditional VIs, while multi-feature fusion further improved model performance. The SVR model based on the SG-preprocessed VIs+MSDWI+MSTWI feature set achieved the best validation performance (R² = 0.760, RMSE = 0.0232, and MAE = 0.0152). SHAP analysis of the optimal RF and SVR models showed that MSTWI was the dominant feature category, accounting for 57.8% and 57.0% of the total SHAP importance, respectively. These findings demonstrate that integrating multiscale wavelet indices with traditional VIs can enhance the representation of LWC-related spectral information and provide an effective approach for estimating fig LWC. Full article

Building construction sites are dynamic systems in which safety decisions interact with time, cost, productivity, equipment movement, and spatial constraints. This systematic review examines how building-construction-stage safety is represented in optimization-based and optimization-linked decision studies published between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2026. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020-informed workflow used searches of the Web of Science Core Collection and IEEE Xplore, supplemented by Google Scholar and backward-citation checks. Seventy-nine studies met the core inclusion criterion, which required safety to appear as a quantified objective, constraint, evaluation metric, decision criterion, or prediction target. Studies were classified by problem type, safety role, method family, digital integration, and validation evidence. The synthesis identifies a problem-type-dependent formulation pattern: site-layout and scheduling studies mainly optimize safety or exposure objectives; crane/lifting studies distribute safety across constraints, objectives, and decision criteria; risk-decision studies use criteria or metrics; and prediction studies tune models whose targets are safety or risk outcomes. The core corpus is concentrated in site-layout and crane/lifting studies, whereas temporary works, monitoring-to-intervention, and construction-stage emergency response are less often formulated as optimization problems. Strict real-site/field evidence was identified in 7 of 79 studies, with an upper sensitivity bound of 11. Future research should prioritize transparent metrics, benchmarks, field validation, and closed-loop workflows. Full article

This study characterized the pattern and timing of post-cooking quality deterioration in durum wheat held at 25, 35, and 45 °C by performing physicochemical, microbiological, and volatile compound analyses combined with a sensorially defined off-odor onset endpoint. The bulk moisture content remained high throughout holding at all temperatures. Titratable acidity increased from 1.49 to 2.15, and pH at off-odor onset decreased from 6.63 to 6.49 with increasing temperature. Off-odor was detected after 50, 45, and 34 h at 25, 35, and 45 °C, respectively. Microbial growth was fastest at 35 °C (μ_max = 0.0651 h⁻¹). Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values were slightly lower at 45 °C than at 25 °C, despite the shorter holding duration, whereas lipid oxidation-derived volatile aldehydes declined more sharply over the same comparison. This pattern, together with the earliest off-odor onset occurring at 45 °C, suggests that non-lipid-derived volatiles increasingly drive off-odor perception as holding temperature increases. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis identified 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, 2,4-decadienal, 2-nonenal, 2,3-butanedione, nonanal and 2-methoxyphenol as the principal contributors to the aroma profile. These findings indicate that off-odor development during post-cooking holding results from a temperature-dependent interplay between microbial and chemical deterioration pathways and provide a basis for optimizing holding time and temperature to delay off-odor onset and limit quality losses in bulgur production. Full article

Antimicrobial resistance has intensified the search for novel antimicrobial and wound-healing agents. Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H. Raven is traditionally used to treat infections, inflammation, and skin disorders, although its in vitro biotechnological potential remains largely unexplored. This study reports the first successful establishment of L. octovalvis callus cultures, their characterization by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the evaluation of their antimicrobial and wound-healing activities. Friable calluses were induced from leaf and node explants of axenic seedlings using combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (KIN), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Optimal callus induction was achieved in leaf explants cultured on full-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with BAP (4.44 µM) and 2,4-D (0.45 µM). After six months of subculture, the calluses showed morphological uniformity and stable biomass production. Growth kinetics followed a specific growth rate of 0.047 d⁻¹ and a doubling time of 14.54 days. GC-MS analysis identified fatty acids and phytosterols as the main components. The ethyl acetate extract significantly improved wound healing in vivo, while the methanolic extract exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). These findings demonstrate that L. octovalvis callus cultures constitute a sustainable source of bioactive compounds with promising therapeutic potential. Full article

Machine learning (ML) provides new opportunities to model the nonlinear relationships among composition, processing, microstructure, defects, properties, and in-service degradation of structural steels. This structured critical review examines ML applications to materials and process design, microstructural characterization, mechanical-property prediction, corrosion, fire and elevated-temperature performance, fatigue, fracture, and remaining-life assessment. Literature published up to 31 July 2026 was searched primarily through the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. A total of 110 publications were retained based on their relevance to structural steels, transparency of data and modeling procedures, and availability of information on validation or engineering applicability. The reviewed studies show that model suitability depends strongly on data modality, sample independence, feature representation, and validation strategy rather than on algorithm family alone. ML has progressed from property prediction toward process optimization, inverse materials design, environmental degradation assessment, and fatigue- and crack-related prognostics. However, independent cross-manufacturer, cross-laboratory, production-scale, and field validation remains limited, while uncertainty quantification and applicability-domain assessment are still inconsistently reported. These limitations are particularly important for corrosion, fire, fatigue, and remaining-life applications, where internally validated models should not be interpreted as substitutes for established physical models or design provisions. Future research should prioritize standardized multimodal data, physics-informed and uncertainty-aware modeling, prospective validation, and rigorously evaluated closed-loop monitoring and digital-twin frameworks for structural-steel life-cycle management. Full article

The potential of clay as a replacement for Portland cement in the manufacture of injection cement–clay mortars (ICCMs) for soil stabilization is examined in this investigation. The objective of this study is to produce environmentally friendly injection-molded mortars for soil stabilization based on Portland cement (PC) and clay (C). Experimental ICCMs with C contents ranging from 0% to 50% without the addition of microsilica (MS) and ICCMs with C contents ranging from 0% to 50% and 2% MS were produced. The evaluation included the density, water segregation, and cone spread diameter of fresh ICCMs, alongside the density, flexural strength, and compressive strength of hardened ICCMs. The findings indicated that as C content rose from 0% to 50%, fresh mortars experienced a decrease in density, flowability, and water segregation. Hardened mortars exhibited reduced density, compressive strength, and flexural strength as C content increased. Modifying mortars with MS has a positive effect on their strength properties. The reduction in flexural and compressive strength for mortars with 50% C was 54.2% and 60.1%, respectively, while for similar mortars with 2% MS, the reduction in strength was 47.9% and 51.8%, respectively. ICCM soil stabilization compositions modified with MS are the most effective in comparison with similar compositions without MS and have a homogeneous structure with pores, microcracks, and hydration reaction product zones. The optimal ratios of raw components for the production of ICCMs for soil stabilization were determined: a water–solid ratio of 0.6, PC content from 90% to 50%, C content from 10% to 50%, and an MS content of 2% of the dry component weight. This research contributes to sustainable development by reducing CO₂ emissions per 1 m³ of mixture production by up to 47.8% and by using raw materials rationally. Full article

Phytoene, a colorless precursor of carotenoids, has attracted increasing attention because of its favorable bioavailability, antioxidant activity, and potential applications in functional foods, nutraceuticals, and animal nutrition. However, its industrial utilization remains limited by low natural abundance and the dependence of current production strategies on genetic engineering or metabolic pathway manipulation. In this study, we identified and characterized a naturally occurring Brevundimonas vesicularis strain (Bv-xms2024) exhibiting pronounced phytoene accumulation without genetic modification. The strain was comprehensively characterized using morphological, biochemical, molecular, genomic, metabolomic, and transcriptional analyses. Quantitative LC–MS/MS analysis demonstrated that Bv-xms2024 accumulated phytoene to 420.42 ± 98.11 μg/g dry biomass after 96 h of cultivation, substantially exceeding the levels of downstream carotenoids, including β-carotene and astaxanthin. Optimization of cultivation parameters identified 25 °C, pH 7.0, and 96 h as the optimal conditions for phytoene accumulation, while serial passaging confirmed stable production over 20 generations. Genome annotation identified the carotenoid biosynthetic gene repertoire, while RT-qPCR analysis revealed a temporal shift from early upregulation of crtE and crtB to later upregulation of downstream pathway genes, consistent with the observed phytoene-dominant carotenoid profile. Short-term tolerance evaluations in mice and chickens revealed no observable adverse effects under the tested conditions. Collectively, these findings identify Bv-xms2024 as a promising natural microbial resource for phytoene production and provide a basis for further process development and strain-level safety evaluation. Full article

Instant cereal powders often suffer from poor reconstitution and caking during preparation. This study investigated the effects of twin-screw extrusion and particle-size regulation on the reconstitution properties and structural characteristics of yellow waxy corn flour. Nine extrusion treatments (140–180 °C; 12–18% feed moisture) and four particle-size fractions (40–80 mesh) were screened using caking rate and suspension stability as evaluation indices; no formal process optimization was performed. Three 60-mesh samples produced at 180 °C with different feed moisture levels were then selected as representative treatments for mechanistic characterization. Compared with native flour, the extruded samples showed lower caking, improved suspension stability, and substantially higher water absorption. SEM and DSC analyses demonstrated conversion of intact granules into a porous matrix and a marked decrease in residual gelatinization enthalpy, whereas XRD showed retention of the A-type diffraction pattern. FTIR spectra were broadly similar among samples and did not indicate formation of new major functional groups. These results connect extrusion-induced granular and thermal changes with improved hydration and provide a basis for developing clean-label instant waxy corn products without chemical anti-caking agents. Full article

The production of second-generation bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass requires efficient enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation processes that remain effective at industrially relevant solids loadings. In this study, bleached Pinus taeda kraft pulp was evaluated as a model substrate for bioethanol production at bench scale (4 L reactor) under high-consistency conditions (12.5–13.9% solids). Three process configurations were compared: separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and pre-hydrolysis followed by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (pSSF). Enzymatic hydrolysis in the SHF and SSF configurations stabilized between 54% and 58%, indicating that hydrolysis was the main process bottleneck under the evaluated conditions. In contrast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae efficiently fermented the available glucose, achieving nearly complete conversion of glucose. Among the evaluated strategies, pSSF showed the highest ethanol yield and volumetric productivity, achieving an ethanol yield of 61.8% and a productivity of 0.61 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹. While laboratory-scale SSF experiments conducted at 2% solids achieved complete conversion, the ethanol yield decreased to approximately 58% at the bench scale, highlighting the impact of high-solids operation on process performance. The lower performance observed at high solids may be associated with factors commonly reported during scale-up, including increased slurry viscosity, reduced mixing efficiency, limited enzyme accessibility, and mass-transfer constraints. Overall, the results manifest the need to enhance hydrolysis performance through improved reactor design, more effective mixing strategies, and optimized high-solids processing to facilitate the scale-up of lignocellulosic bioethanol production. Full article

The Pd(0)-catalysed aryloxylation of 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-3,4-di-O-isobutyloxycarbonyl-d-glucal (3) with a series of phenolic nucleophiles was investigated as an efficient approach to the synthesis of unsaturated aryl O-glycosides. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the corresponding 2,3- and 3,4-unsaturated O-glycosides were obtained in good to excellent yields and with high β-selectivity. In most cases, the reactions proceeded with a marked preference for the formation of 2,3-unsaturated β-glycosides, whereas chlorophenols exhibited distinct reactivity patterns, resulting in diminished regioselectivity and the additional formation of α-anomeric 2,3-unsaturated glycosides. Comparison with the previously reported reactions of 6-O-tert-butyldiphenylsilyl-3,4-di-O-isobutyloxycarbonyl-d-glucal demonstrated a pronounced influence of the silyl protecting group on the product yields and regioselectivity, with the TBDMS-protected donor generally affording higher yields and enhanced selectivity toward 2,3-unsaturated products. Furthermore, the developed methodology was successfully extended to carbohydrate nucleophiles, enabling the synthesis of model trisaccharides and demonstrating its applicability to oligosaccharide synthesis. Full article

The construction of large-scale buildings often faces extended production cycles due to inefficiencies in scheduling processes. To address this challenge, a timed Petri net model was developed to analyze and optimize construction scheduling. Based on the Petri net transition sequence, a scheduling optimization model was proposed. To solve the model efficiently, an improved brainstorming optimization (BSO) algorithm was introduced. Compared with the classical BSO, two targeted enhancements were introduced: a problem-specific encoding and decoding method for Petri net transition sequences to ensure solution feasibility and an embedded simulated annealing local search mechanism to prevent premature convergence in later iterations. The proposed methodology was validated using real-world data from a large high-speed railway hub foundation pit construction project. Results demonstrated a significant reduction of 531 working hours in the total scheduling time, representing a 15.47% improvement in scheduling efficiency compared to traditional sequential scheduling methods. This approach not only shortened the scheduling cycle and enhanced production efficiency but also offered an innovative solution to address scheduling issues in complex construction processes. Full article

Low-cost lignocellulosic residues offer a sustainable route to fungal pigment production. In this study, six biomass residues were evaluated as culture-medium supplements for Arthrinium phaeospermum, and their chemical constituents that may be associated with enhanced red pigment production were investigated. Fungal growth, pigment production, and pigment productivity were measured on biomass-amended potato dextrose agar. Following initial screening, Paulownia powder and sugarcane bagasse were selected, and their concentrations were optimized in mixed media. Ethanolic extracts of both materials were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, and four major Paulownia-derived compounds were individually evaluated. The optimal medium, containing 4 mg/mL Paulownia powder and 3 mg/mL sugarcane bagasse, produced 3.09 g/L red pigment, representing a 2.02-fold increase over the control. Sugarcane bagasse primarily promoted fungal growth, whereas paulownia enhanced pigment productivity. Among the tested compounds, 0.2 mg/mL 4-methylumbelliferone (4M) showed the strongest stimulatory effect, increasing pigment production 3.01-fold over the control. These findings demonstrate that combining forestry and agro-industrial residues can simultaneously support fungal growth and pigment production. Paulownia-derived coumarins, particularly 4-methylumbelliferone, may contribute to this stimulatory effect and warrant further mechanistic investigation. Full article