Search Results (2,958)

Background: Uveal melanoma (UM) represents the most prevalent primary intraocular malignancy in adults, yet patients harboring GNAQ/GNA11 mutations face particularly poor prognoses with median survival of merely 6–12 months following metastasis. Multi-targeted combination therapy offers a promising strategy to circumvent drug resistance. The present study investigated the synergistic anti-tumor efficacy and mechanistic basis of Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), Quercetin (Que) and Methylnissolin (Meth), three bioactive constituents from Astragalus membranaceus (Huangqi, a widely used traditional Chinese medicinal herb) against UM. Methods: Molecular docking and 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations assessed binding stability between the compounds and their respective targets (Gαq, MEK and YAP). Synergistic interactions were quantified using the Zero Interaction Potency (ZIP) model, a reference synergy model that compares observed combination effects to predicted non-interaction baselines across full dose–response matrices, based on CCK-8 assays. Cell cycle distribution, apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blotting detected target proteins and apoptotic markers. A male BALB/c nude mouse xenograft model validated therapeutic efficacy and systemic safety. Results: Molecular docking revealed binding energies <−7.0 kcal·mol⁻¹ for all three drug–target pairs, with molecular dynamics trajectories confirming stable complex conformations (RMSD < 3 Å). In vitro, the ISL-Que-Meth (IQM) combination exhibited strong synergism (ZIP scores > 10), significantly increasing apoptotic rates, collapsing mitochondrial membrane potential and upregulating cleaved-caspase 9 expression compared with monotherapy, and a modest G2/M phase accumulation was also observed, although the magnitude was limited relative to apoptotic induction. In vivo, the triple combination achieved approximately 50% reduction in tumor growth compared with the control group, with effects comparable to or exceeding those of the clinical reference agent Trametinib, and reduced Ki67 proliferation indices while elevating cleaved-caspase 9 levels, without eliciting hepatorenal toxicity. While these data demonstrate therapeutic efficacy, they do not establish in vivo synergy, as single-agent and dual-combination arms were not included in the xenograft design. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that IQM synergistically suppresses UM growth in association with coordinated modulation of Gαq/MEK/YAP axis components and caspase 9-dependent apoptosis via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway, providing preclinical evidence for natural product-based multi-targeted therapy against UM. Full article

Understanding the determinants of economic growth remains a central issue for resource-dependent economies seeking to achieve sustainable development and economic diversification. In this context, Kazakhstan represents a particularly relevant case due to its heavy reliance on energy resources and its increasing emphasis on tourism development as a potential diversification strategy. This study investigates the validity of the tourism-led growth hypothesis and the energy-led growth hypothesis in Kazakhstan using annual data covering the period 1995–2024. Economic growth is modeled as a function of tourism revenues, energy consumption, inflation, and the real effective exchange rate. To examine both short-run and long-run relationships among the variables, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach is employed. In addition, structural breaks are identified using the Bai–Perron multiple breakpoint test and incorporated into the empirical framework. The empirical results reveal the existence of a long-run cointegration relationship among the variables. Long-run estimates indicate that energy consumption has a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth, providing support for the energy-led growth hypothesis. In contrast, tourism revenues do not exert a statistically significant impact on economic growth, suggesting that the tourism-led growth hypothesis is not supported in the case of Kazakhstan. The real effective exchange rate exhibits a negative long-run relationship with economic growth, while inflation does not appear to be a significant determinant. Short-run results are broadly consistent with the long-run findings and indicate a gradual adjustment toward equilibrium. Furthermore, diagnostic and stability tests indicate the adequacy, robustness, and stability of the estimated model. The findings suggest that Kazakhstan’s economic growth remains strongly associated with energy-related activities despite ongoing diversification efforts. While tourism may contribute to regional development and broader socioeconomic objectives, its contribution to macroeconomic growth appears to be limited relative to the dominant role of the energy sector. The study contributes to the literature by jointly evaluating the tourism-led growth and energy-led growth hypotheses within a unified framework and provides policy-relevant evidence regarding the challenges of economic diversification in resource-dependent economies. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of toosendanin (TSN) on the growth and development of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775), especially in terms of feeding preference, larval growth and development, nutritional indices, and enzyme activities. The feeding preference of S. litura, larval growth and development, and nutritional indices were evaluated using the diet incorporation method. The activities of three detoxification, three digestive, and three antioxidant enzymes were determined using spectrophotometric, micro-assay, and microplate methods. The feeding preference of S. litura exposed to TSN indicated that the larvae had a significant preference for the untreated (control) feed compared with the TSN-supplemented feed. The growth and development results showed a prolongation of the larval developmental period by approximately one instar in S. litura larvae fed TSN-supplemented feed. At the highest concentration (100 μg/g), larval weight was 0.76 times that of the control group, with a 27.34% reduction in the pupation rate and a 23.58% reduction in the emergence rate. All differences were statistically significant compared with the control group. In addition, the pupal and adult deformity rates were significantly higher than those in the control group, being 14.68 and 5.67 times higher, respectively, at this concentration. Growth inhibition increased with increasing TSN concentration. In terms of nutritional efficiency, TSN treatment reduced food intake and decreased food conversion rate, thereby inhibiting the relative growth rate of the 4th instar larvae. Further, TSN treatment significantly increased the activities of trypsin, α-amylase, glutathione S-transferase, carboxylesterase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, and had no significant effect on lipase activity, and significantly reduced cytochrome P450 enzyme activity. TSN can significantly inhibit the digestion and absorption of nutrients in S. litura larvae, slow down their growth and development, and increase the pupal and adult deformity rates, thereby protecting plants against infestation by S. litura. Full article

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) is a typical long-lived greenhouse gas that has attracted considerable attention due to its extremely long atmospheric lifetime and high global warming potential. In this study, atmospheric SF₆ column concentrations from 2023 to 2025 were retrieved using ground-based high-resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) remote sensing observations at the Hefei site, China. The seasonal variation and annual trends of SF₆ were analyzed, and the potential influencing regions and transport characteristics of high-value events were investigated by combining wind direction statistics with backward trajectory clustering analysis. The results show that high SF₆ column concentrations over Hefei mainly occurred in summer, while relatively low concentrations appeared in winter during the observation period from 2023 to 2025. The average total column concentration of SF₆ is 2.80 × 10¹⁴ molec·cm⁻², the average dry-air column-averaged mole fraction is 13.06 ppt, and the annual growth rate is 0.88 ppt yr⁻¹. The high-value events of SF₆ at the Hefei site are mainly concentrated in summer, and the wind direction mainly corresponds to the northeast and the southeast wind. The air masses with high concentrations of SF₆ mainly originated from the transportation path in the nearby southern regions of the station. During summer, the season with relatively higher SF₆ concentrations, the air masses were mainly southerly and easterly winds. The results of this study provide observational evidence and scientific support for understanding the characteristics of variation in atmospheric SF₆ column concentrations over Hefei and the influence of regional transport on high SF₆ values. Full article

Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) is a major agricultural pest, and the establishment of efficient mass-rearing systems is critical for advancing biological control and integrated pest management strategies. In our previous work, evaluation of 17 artificial diets identified an optimised corn-based formulation (F15) that significantly improved larval performance relative to a standard control (CK) diet. However, the metabolic mechanisms underlying these performance differences remain largely unresolved. Here, we employed untargeted metabolomics based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to elucidate the biochemical pathways associated with enhanced development in S. litura larvae reared on F15 compared with CK. Larvae fed the F15 diet exhibited a prolonged developmental period (21.49 ± 0.86 vs. 20.13 ± 0.53 days), higher emergence rates (1.20 ± 0.27% vs. 0.85 ± 0.10%), and increased body mass during both early (3.28 ± 0.12 vs. 2.93 ± 0.08 mg) and later instars (77.55 ± 2.30 vs. 73.51 ± 1.17 mg) relative to those reared on the control diet. Metabolomic profiling revealed that the CK diet, characterised by lower levels of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid (LA), was associated with reduced metabolite abundance and weaker enrichment of energy-related metabolic pathways. In contrast, the F15 diet contained substantially higher levels of linoleic acid, which is known to contribute to membrane stability and mitochondrial function. Notably, linoleic acid was consistently enriched in the gut of F15-fed larvae, suggesting a correlative central role in promoting metabolic efficiency, growth, and developmental performance. Collectively, these findings provide mechanistic insight into how dietary composition modulates insect metabolism and highlight the nutritional and physiological advantages of corn-based formulations for large-scale rearing. This study offers a foundational theoretical foundation for optimising artificial diets and supports their application in sustainable pest-management programs. Full article

Against the background of global warming, snow cover, as an extremely sensitive and active component of the cryosphere, plays an indispensable role in regulating regional water circulation, energy balance mechanisms and the climate system. To explore the dynamic variation characteristics and driving mechanisms of snow depth in southeastern Xizang, this study took Chamdo City as the research area. Based on multi-source datasets including snow depth, meteorology, vegetation, topography, and population density from 2000 to 2020, methods such as the coefficient of variation, Theil–Sen trend analysis, Mann–Kendall test, Hurst index, and geographical detector were adopted to systematically analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of snow depth variations and their influencing factors. The results indicate that, temporally, the overall snow depth in Chamdo City showed a fluctuating increasing trend over the past 20 years, with an annual growth rate of 0.03 cm. It exhibited distinct characteristics across three stages: snow depth increased at a rate of 0.12 cm·a⁻¹ from 2000 to 2005, decreased at 0.05 cm·a⁻¹ during 2005–2015, and rose rapidly from 2015 to 2020 at a growth rate of 0.52 cm·a⁻¹. Spatially, the distribution of snow depth varied significantly. The extremely shallow snow cover area (≤2 cm) accounted for 51.71% of the total area, primarily concentrated in low-altitude regions with intensive human activities. In contrast, the relatively deep (6–10 cm) and extremely deep (>10 cm) snow cover areas together constituted 14.34% of the total, mainly distributed in high-altitude regions with sparse populations. Hurst index analysis revealed that 61.71% of the study area exhibited persistent changes in snow depth, with a trend toward deepening snow cover in the future. The results from the geographical detector show that air temperature (X9, q = 0.90) was the core driving factor dominating the static spatial differentiation of multi-year average snow depth. Furthermore, the interactions between slope (X4) and air temperature (X9), vegetation type (X6) and air temperature (X9), and population density (X5) and aspect (X8) all demonstrated bivariate enhancement effects, with explanatory power significantly higher than that of individual factors. This study provides a scientific reference for water resource management, snowmelt runoff prediction and snow disaster prevention in Chamdo City. Full article

This study develops a stochastic queueing framework to model the dynamical interaction between proliferating tumor cells and the adaptive immune system, incorporating the critical phenomenon of immune checkpoint inhibition. The immune response is conceptualized as a multi-server service system where CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells act as parallel servers eliminating cancerous cells, while tumor cell division follows a controlled birth process with logistic growth constraints. The novelty lies in embedding a state-dependent immune evasion mechanism through a dimensionless checkpoint parameter $\kappa \in [0,1]$ that modulates the effective killing rate as a function of tumor burden via the saturation function $\varphi \left(n\right)=n/(K+n)$. The resulting process $\left\{N\right(t),t\ge 0\}$ constitutes a non-homogeneous birth–death Markov chain with the following transition rates: $\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill {\lambda }_n& =\lambda \left(1-{\displaystyle \frac{n}{K}}\right){\mathbb{1}}_{\{n<K\}},{\mu }_n\hfill & \hfill =\left\{\begin{array}{cc}n\mu (1-\kappa \varphi (n\left)\right),\hfill & 1\le n<c,\hfill \\ c\mu (1-\kappa \varphi (n\left)\right),\hfill & n\ge c,\hfill \end{array}\right.\end{array}$ We derive the exact stationary distribution in closed form, establishing the fundamental stability condition ${\rho }_{\mathrm{eff}}=\lambda /\left[c\mu (1-\kappa )\right]<1$ for tumor elimination. The expected tumor burden L and mean elimination time W are computed explicitly. A critical threshold ${\kappa }_c=1-\lambda /\left(c\mu \right)$ emerges, above which the immune system loses control regardless of other parameters. Heavy-traffic analysis reveals quadratic divergence $L\sim K/{(1-{\rho }_{\mathrm{eff}})}^2$ as ${\rho }_{\mathrm{eff}}\to 1^{-}$, explaining catastrophic tumor escape. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations ($n={10}^4$ replications) validate theoretical predictions with relative errors <5% and p-values $>0.05$ from two-sample t-tests. The model provides quantitative tools for optimizing checkpoint inhibitor dosages and predicting patient-specific responses in immuno-oncology. Full article

This study addresses the poorly understood fracture propagation mechanisms in continental shale oil reservoirs with multi-lithologic combinations, specifically those in the lower third member of the Shahejie Formation, Bonan Sag, which exhibit complex lithology, coexistence of bedding planes and natural fractures, and pronounced mechanical anisotropy. We conduct small scale true triaxial hydraulic fracturing physical simulation experiments using limestone mudstone, felsic–lime mixed shale, and their combined rock samples. We innovatively introduce the hydraulic fracture complexity coefficient (F_h), the bedding plane fracture complexity coefficient (F_l), and the comprehensive fracture complexity coefficient (F_T) to enable quantitative evaluation of fracture complexity. The results show that high-viscosity fracturing fluid promotes vertical propagation and improves proppant placement, but yields relatively simple fracture geometry. Low-viscosity fracturing fluid readily activates bedding plane fractures, yet limits fracture height; a combined viscosity strategy can synergistically optimize the overall fracturing performance. The “high–low–high” viscosity sequence achieves the highest comprehensive fracture complexity coefficient (F_T), simultaneously providing large fracture height, high complexity, and effective proppant transport. Although increasing the injection rate significantly reduces the breakdown pressure and increases fracture width, it contributes marginally to vertical fracture growth. For fracturing multi-lithologic shale oil reservoirs, the recommended technical strategy is a “high-low-high” viscosity sequence combined with a moderately increased injection rate” to maximize the stimulated reservoir volume and overall fracturing effectiveness. Full article

The U.S. pharmacist workforce has undergone significant growth and demographic changes, particularly increased female participation and part-time employment. However, limited evidence exists on how labor supply behavior varies by gender and employment status. This study used a nationally representative sample of 12,064 pharmacists from the 2019–2022 American Community Survey (ACS) to examine heterogeneity in labor supply decisions. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models were estimated separately by employment status (full-time versus part-time) and gender. The dependent variable was the number of hours worked. Independent variables included wage rate, age, marital status, number of children, and race/ethnicity. Findings showed that women were more than twice as likely to work part-time as men and minority pharmacists were largely underrepresented in the study sample relative to nonminority pharmacists. Gender gaps in wages, hours worked, and demographic and family characteristics also differed markedly between full-time and part-time pharmacists. Finally, findings lent support to the contention than women are more likely to work fewer hours than men as they are expected to spend more hours at home raising children. Understanding how individual characteristics shape pharmacists’ labor supply, and how these relationships differ by gender and employment status, is essential for workforce planning and healthcare human resources policy. Full article

Salmonella Typhimurium monophasic variant (STm) has emerged as a novel predominant serovar in global foodborne Salmonella outbreaks. In our previous study, the two-component regulator OmpR was significantly upregulated in STm under disinfectant stress. However, effects of ompR deletion on stress tolerance and pathogenicity of this pathogen remained unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically investigate the function of ompR in the adaptation of STm to food/food processing environments (e.g., disinfectants, thermal treatment, and high-salt preservation) and virulence. An isogenic ΔompR mutant was constructed using homologous recombination, and its phenotypic changes relative to the wild-type strain were evaluated, including bacterial growth, motility, stress resistance (thermal, osmotic, acid, and oxidative stress), and in vivo virulence in ICR mice. The results revealed that the deletion of ompR significantly decreased bacterial tolerance to multiple tested stresses, including thermal (50 °C, 55 °C, 60 °C), osmotic (10%, 20%, 30% NaCl), acid (pH = 3, 4, 5), and oxidative (1 mM, 2 mM, 5 mM H₂O₂) stresses. Additionally, the ΔompR mutant exhibited markedly reduced swimming and swarming motility compared to the wild-type strain. In the ICR mice infection model, the ΔompR mutant showed significantly attenuated virulence (100% survival rate within 7 days post-infection), with significantly lower bacterial loads in the liver, spleen and intestine. Transcriptome analysis showed that compared with the wild-type strain, the ΔompR mutant strain exhibited significant upregulation of fimbriae-related genes and downregulation of flagellar biosynthesis and virulence-related genes, thereby affecting bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, flagellar assembly and virulence expression. Collectively, these findings suggest that ompR contributes to the adaptation of STm to food/food processing environments and virulence, and this gene may provide potential targets for future research to control STm contamination in food production systems. Full article

A sustainable method of improving soil fertility and developing climate-resilient cropping systems is vermicomposting agricultural waste. This study hypothesized that vermicompost derived from mixed organic agricultural wastes would significantly improve soil fertility, crop productivity, and drought resilience compared to single-substrate treatments and the unamended control. The effects of vermicompost generated from mixed organic wastes using Eisenia fetida on soil quality, crop performance, and drought resilience of lettuce (Lactuca sativa, Eden variety) were evaluated in this study using a randomized complete block design. Crop performance indicators included germination, growth characteristics, biomass, SPAD chlorophyll content, and yield, while soil physicochemical properties, including pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, electrical conductivity (EC), and cation exchange capacity (CEC), were assessed both before and after amendment application. The effects of drought stress were evaluated using leaf surface temperature, wilting score, recovery time, and survival rate. The results demonstrated that vermicompost application significantly improved soil fertility and crop performance relative to the control treatment (p < 0.05). The best-performing treatment (T2) increased soil organic carbon by approximately 22–28%, total nitrogen by 18–24%, available phosphorus by 20–27%, and exchangeable potassium by 16–21% compared with the control. Fresh biomass increased by approximately 14–17%, marketable yield improved by 16–24%, and SPAD chlorophyll values increased by nearly 20%, indicating enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and nutrient uptake. T2 showed the most resilience under drought stress, with ~94.9% survival rate, reduced wilting severity, shortened recovery time and sustained stable leaf temperature (~27.8 °C), whereas low-performing treatments and the control recorded survival rates of only ~70–78%. Mixed organic waste substrates consistently outperformed single-substrate treatments, demonstrating synergistic effects on nutrient cycling, microbial activity, soil structural quality, and drought tolerance. These findings provide quantitative evidence that vermicomposting can simultaneously enhance soil fertility, crop productivity, and drought resilience, highlighting its strong potential as a scalable climate-smart strategy for sustainable agriculture, circular bioeconomy development, and organic waste valorization in smallholder farming systems. Full article

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is constrained in deep heavy-oil reservoirs by wellbore heat losses, delayed steam-chamber development and high steam–oil ratio (SOR). This study develops an experimentally parameterized reduced-order screening framework for thermocable-assisted SAGD, formulated as a digital-twin prototype that couples heat transfer, temperature-dependent viscosity, chamber-growth geometry and energy-efficiency indicators. The formulation is evaluated within an experimentally parameterized screening matrix covering steam temperature, oil viscosity, permeability, depth, cable power and early heating time. The graphical dependencies are presented in a unified publication format and supplemented by heat-balance, chamber-field, sensitivity and operating-window analyses. For the reference experimental case, thermocable support increases oil rate from 84.1 to 96.1 t/day and reduces SOR from 2.70 to 2.30 t/t. The cable heat input is small relative to useful steam heat; therefore, its effect is interpreted through local compensation of downstream heat deficit and longitudinal temperature stabilization rather than through bulk energy addition. The strongest sensitivity is associated with steam rate, oil viscosity and depth, whereas cable power shows a beneficial but saturating effect. The proposed reduced-order digital-twin prototype is intended for feasibility screening, preliminary operating-window selection and prioritization of candidate regimes for detailed thermal-reservoir simulation and subsequent field-scale validation. Full article

To investigate the hydrogen leakage dispersion and explosion characteristics of fuel cell vehicles in an underground parking garage, experimental and numerical simulation studies were conducted. The results show that the hydrogen leakage concentration exhibits an evolutionary pattern of a rising stage followed by a plateau stage, with a stratified distribution characterized by higher concentration at the top and lower concentration at the bottom. Higher leakage flow rate leads to a faster concentration growth rate, while the two are not in a direct proportional relationship. The hydrogen concentration near the leakage outlet was relatively low. The maximum explosion overpressure reached 194 kPa at a hydrogen concentration of 20%, with higher overpressure observed on the walls. Flame propagation followed a four-stage law, and a Laval nozzle effect appeared at the leakage outlet. Ventilation can rapidly suppress hydrogen accumulation, and the ventilation effect approached optimality at a wind speed of 8 m/s. The explosion venting area exerted the most significant influence: when the venting area increased from 0.36 m² to 1.44 m², the overpressure decreased by 76%. The explosion venting position was the second most influential factor, while the vent shape had negligible effects. This study provides a scientific basis for the safety prevention and control of hydrogen energy applications in underground spaces. Full article

This study examines the modelling and forecasting of South African macroeconomic and financial time series using a comparative framework based on Vector Autoregressive (VAR), Vector Autoregressive Moving Average (VARMA), and GARCH-type models. Quarterly data spanning 1970 to 2024 were analysed to determine GDP growth, exchange rates, interest rates, and household consumption expenditure. VAR and VARMA models were employed to capture conditional mean dynamics, while GARCH, EGARCH, and GJR-GARCH models, including ARMA-GARCH extensions, were used to model volatility behaviour. Optimal model specifications were selected using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Hannan–Quinn Criterion (HQ), and the Extended Cross-Correlation Matrix (ECCM), resulting in the estimation of VAR (4) and VARMA (1,1) models. The results reveal strong dynamic interdependencies among the variables. However, diagnostic tests indicate that the VAR (4) and VARMA (1,1) models do not fully capture the underlying data-generating process, as evidenced by residual autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity, and non-normality. Although the VARMA (1,1) model improved forecasting performance relative to the VAR (4) model, important nonlinear and higher-order dynamics remained unexplained. Volatility modelling revealed substantial persistence and clustering, particularly in exchange rates and interest rates. Initial GARCH, EGARCH, and GJR-GARCH specifications exhibited residual autocorrelation and remaining ARCH effects, suggesting model misspecification. The incorporation of an ARMA (1,1) term into the asymmetric GARCH models significantly improved model adequacy by eliminating residual autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity. Limited evidence of asymmetric volatility effects was found. Overall, the findings demonstrate that GARCH-ARMA specifications provide a more robust framework for modelling South Africa’s macroeconomic and financial dynamics. This study recommends future research incorporating nonlinear, regime-switching, and exogenous-variable models to enhance forecasting accuracy and policy relevance. Full article

Efficient micropropagation systems are essential for the large-scale production of uniform and high-quality plant material in aromatic species. In this study, the effects of gibberellic acid (GA₃; 1.4, 2.8, and 5.6 $\mathsf{\mu }$M) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA; 2.2, 4.4, and 8.8 $\mathsf{\mu }$M) were evaluated on the in vitro performance of Artemisia pontica across two successive subcultures. Morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters were assessed, and the most effective treatment was further investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate leaf trichome characteristics. GA₃ treatments significantly enhanced shoot growth, shoot number, and relative growth rate, with the strongest response observed at 2.8 $\mathsf{\mu }$M. This concentration also promoted higher chlorophyll content and antioxidant activity, indicating improved physiological status and metabolic performance of plantlets. In contrast, MeJA treatments, particularly at 8.8 $\mathsf{\mu }$M, reduced growth performance and pigment accumulation, suggesting a less favorable physiological status for micropropagation. Multivariate analysis (PCA and hierarchical clustering) revealed a clear separation among treatments, with GA₃ at 2.8 $\mathsf{\mu }$M associated with a coordinated increase in growth-related and antioxidant traits. SEM analysis showed that GA₃ influenced leaf epidermal structure, increasing the density of T-shaped, non-glandular trichomes and the diameter of glandular secreting trichomes, suggesting structural adjustments linked to metabolic activity. Overall, the results indicate that GA₃ at 2.8 $\mathsf{\mu }$M represents the most effective supplementation under the tested conditions, promoting a balanced improvement in shoot proliferation, physiological performance, antioxidant activity, and selected structural traits. Full article