Search Results (533)

Alkyd resins are among the most common coatings used for exterior wood joinery. In Romania, solvent-borne alkyd coatings are widely used to finish wood. The study aims to compare the performance after 7 years of outdoor exposure of two types of alkyd coatings, a semi-transparent brown stain with micronized pigments (Alk1) and an opaque white enamel (Alk2), applied directly on wood or wood pre-treated with three types of resins: acryl-polyurethane (R1), epoxy (R2), and alkyd-polyurethane (R3). Fir (Abies alba) wood served as the substrate. Cracking, coating adhesion, and biological degradation were periodically assessed through visual inspection and microscopy. Additionally, a cross-cut test was performed, and the loss of coating on the directly exposed upper faces was measured using ImageJ. The results indicated that resin pretreatments somewhat reduced cracking but negatively affected coating adhesion after long-term exposure. All samples pretreated with resins and coated with Alk1 lost more than 50% (up to 78%) of the original finishing film by the end of the test. In comparison, coated control samples lost less than 50%. The Alk2 coating exhibited a film loss between 2% and 12%, compared to an average loss of 9% for the coated control. Overall, samples pretreated with alkyd-polyurethane resin (R3) and coated with alkyd enamel (Alk2) demonstrated the best performance in terms of cracking, adhesion, and discoloration. Full article

Turmeric oleoresin (TO), a natural pigment derived from Curcuma longa rhizomes, is valued for its health benefits, which are primarily attributed to its rich curcuminoid content (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin). Despite these benefits, curcuminoids are known to be light-sensitive and possess photosensitizing properties. This study investigated the impact of common light sources, fluorescent light and white LED (both at 10 W/m²), on the chemical stability, antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity, and photosensitizing properties of TO. Exposure to both light sources significantly reduced TO’s color and fluorescence intensity, with white LED causing greater instability. HPLC analysis confirmed a decrease in individual curcuminoid levels, with curcumin degrading most rapidly under both conditions. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of irradiated TO decreased compared to fresh or dark-stored turmeric, whereas its ABTS radical scavenging activity increased upon light exposure. Photosensitizing potency, measured by formazan decolorization and lipid peroxide formation, declined as TO decomposed under light. Conversely, the cytotoxicity of TO against B16F10 melanoma cells was significantly enhanced under light exposure, though this effect was diminished significantly after 24 h of pre-irradiation. These findings underscore the instability of turmeric pigment under common lighting conditions, which should be a crucial consideration when processing, storing, and distributing turmeric-containing products. Full article

Light quality and duration profoundly influence the growth and productivity of plant species. This study investigated the effects of a blue–red LED light combination, known to induce flowering, on the physiological state and content of biologically active substances in catmint (Nepeta nuda L.) grown under controlled in vitro conditions. White light (W) was used as a control and compared with two blue–red intensities: BR (high-intensity blue–red light) and BRS (low-intensity blue–red light or “BR with shadow”). BR-treated plants showed increased leaf area, mesophyll thickness, biomass and starch content but reduced levels of plastid pigments. BR also modified the oxidative state of plants by inducing lipid peroxidation while simultaneously activating ROS scavenging mechanisms and enhancing phenolic antioxidants. Interestingly, BR decreased the accumulation of the Nepeta sp.-specific iridoid, nepetalactone. These effects appear to be regulated by the phytohormones auxin, abscisic acid and jasmonates. BRS treatment produced effects similar to the W control but led to increased plant height and reduced leaf area and thickness. Both BR and BRS regimes induced the accumulation of proteins and amino acids. We conclude that blue–red light can enhance the survival capacity of micropropagated N. nuda during subsequent soil adaptation, suggesting that similar light pre-treatment could improve plant performance under stress conditions. Full article

In recent years, microalgae have gained significant biotechnological importance as a sustainable source of various metabolites of industrial interest. Among these, paramylon, a polysaccharide produced by the microalga Euglena gracilis, stands out for its diverse applications in biomedicine and pharmaceuticals. E. gracilis is an adaptable secondary eukaryote capable of growing photoautotrophically, heterotrophically and mixotrophically. During photoautotrophic growth, varying light conditions impact biomass and paramylon production. To investigate the effects of varying illumination more thoroughly, we designed and built a modular photobioreactor that allowed us to simultaneously evaluate the photoautotrophic growth of E. gracilis under twelve different light conditions: seven single-spectrum lights (ultraviolet, royal blue, blue, green, red, far-red, and infrared) and five composite-spectrum lights (3000 K, 10,000 K, and 30,000 K white lights, amber light, and “Full-spectrum” light). The 24-day growing kinetics were recorded, and the growth parameters were calculated for each light regime. Both growth curves and pigment composition present differences attributable to the light regime used for cell culture. Additionally, photosynthetic and respiratory machinery functionality were proven by oximetry. Finally, our results strongly suggest that the far-red component enhances paramylon production during the stationary phase. Full article

Annually, more than 10,000 synthetic dyes are produced worldwide, generating around 280,000 tons of waste, posing risks to human and aquatic life, and potentially creating even more toxic products than the dyes themselves. This study aims to immobilize organic dyes, forming hybrid pigments using ZnO as support obtained through starch combustion. ZnO was obtained by starch (sago) combustion and characterized by XRD, SEM and the BET method. It was then used for the adsorption of orange and green textile dyes, evaluating the adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, contact time, and selectivity with copper ions. The removal studies indicated up to 100% removal of both dyes at low concentrations. The co-adsorption system showed excellent performance, with removal percentages exceeding 90% for both textile dyes and Cu (II) ions. Hybrid pigments were assessed for solvent resistance and durability under extended white light exposure. ZnO immobilized the dyes, showing resistance to organic solvents and good stability under prolonged white light exposure. Full article

Phenolic compounds, which are a large group of plant pigments, are recognized as important antioxidants. The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), particularly the pigmented varieties, could be a source of natural anthocyanins for producing dietary foods. In this study, we analyzed forty potato specimens from our germplasm collection and breeding nurseries using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and second-order mass spectrometry to identify anthocyanins. We found seven main anthocyanins in potato tubers: delphinidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-rhamnosyl-5-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rhamnosyl-5-glucoside, and pelargonidin-3-glucoside. Two anthocyanins were found in potato inflorescences: peonidin-3-coumaroyl glucoside and cyanidin-3-coumaroyl glucoside. On average, varieties from the group with red-purple inflorescences contained 187.6 mg/kg of anthocyanins. Genotypes with white corollas had an anthocyanin content below 0.5 mg/kg or between 1.3 and 3.6 mg/kg. Two potato varieties, Vasilek (605.2 mg/kg) and Fioletovyi (501.1 mg/kg), with blue-purple corollas, had the highest total anthocyanin content. Studying the anthocyanin profile of leaves allowed us to identify eleven anthocyanins. The highest anthocyanin content (331.3 mg/kg) was found in varieties with purple or blue-purple tubers, while the lowest content (an average of 15.1 mg/kg) was found in varieties with yellow or cream tubers. Genotypes with purple and blue-purple tuber skin had an average anthocyanin content of 190.7 mg/kg. The group with yellow and cream tubers had an insignificant anthocyanin content (1.2 mg/kg). Varieties from the group with pink tubers had an average anthocyanin content of 43.2 mg/kg. Thus, this study identified diagnostic traits that could be used to assess the morphological characteristics of potato genotypes. Full article

Chinese kale sprouts are widely cultivated and consumed due to their elevated nutritional worth and ease of cultivation in controlled environments. This study focused on the effects of several light types (white, red, and blue) both by themselves and in conjunction with calcium chloride (CaCl₂) on the physiological development and nutritional value of Chinese kale sprouts. Analysis proved that under differing light treatments, white light resulted in the highest pigment content, and red light markedly increased plant height, fresh mass, and soluble sugar accumulation. Additionally, blue light significantly enhanced the antioxidant capacity. When light quality and calcium chloride were applied together, fresh mass increased by 9.50%, 9.85%, and 12.47% (compared with single light treatments), and significantly elevated the indolic glucosinolate content. Besides, red light combined with calcium chloride also enhanced the antioxidant capacity (ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) content) compared with red light alone, increasing by 14.31%. This research determined that red light in conjunction with calcium chloride obtained the highest yield of sprouts, and it can also offer new strategies for increasing the antioxidant capacity, while the blue light in conjunction with calcium chloride can provide more ways for accumulating glucosinolates. In conclusion, incorporating light quality and calcium chloride treatments in Chinese kale sprout cultivation is an effective approach for increasing yield and quality. Full article

Farming is an important development direction of agriculture in the future, which is affected by various environmental factors, among which light plays an important role, and it is essential for the growth of organisms in nature. LED technology can regulate the growth and development of vegetables by adjusting the spectral composition of light. In order to explore light quality formulation with the aim of improving the quality and yield of celery, we set up six experimental treatments: W (white light), R (red light), B (blue light), 3R1B (red light/blue light = 3:1), 4R1B (red light/blue light = 4:1), and 5R1B (red light/blue light = 5:1). The results indicated that the 3R1B and 4R1B illumination treatments were conducive to promoting the growth of celery, enhancing plant height and root length. Specifically, the 3R1B treatment optimized the nutritional quality of celery by increasing the levels of soluble protein, soluble sugar, and total flavonoids while reducing nitrate and cellulose contents and elevating the anthocyanin content in petioles. Additionally, both treatments enhanced the contents of Ca and Mg in celery leaves and petioles. Furthermore, the 3R1B treatment promoted the accumulation of photosynthetic pigments, upregulated the activities of ANS and FNS enzymes, and induced the upregulation of gene expression levels of FNS and ANS, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of celery. Full article

Microscopic cell classification is a fundamental challenge in both clinical diagnosis and biological research. However, existing methods still struggle with the complexity and morphological diversity of cellular images, leading to limited accuracy or high computational costs. To overcome these constraints, we propose an efficient classification method that balances strong feature representation with a lightweight design. Specifically, an Inception-Linear Attention-based Lightweight Vision Transformer (ILViT) model is developed for microscopic cell classification. The ILViT integrates two innovative modules: Dynamic Inception Convolution (DIC) and Contrastive Omni-Kolmogorov Attention (COKA). DIC combines dynamic and Inception-style convolutions to replace large kernels with fewer parameters. COKA integrates Omni-Dimensional Dynamic Convolution (ODC), linear attention, and a Kolmogorov-Arnold Network(KAN) structure to enhance feature learning and model interpretability. With only 1.91 GFLOPs and 8.98 million parameters, ILViT achieves high efficiency. Extensive experiments on four public datasets are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. It achieves an accuracy of 97.185% on BioMediTech dataset for classifying retinal pigment epithelial cells, 97.436% on ICPR-HEp-2 dataset for diagnosing autoimmune disorders via HEp-2 cell classification, 90.528% on Hematological Malignancy Bone Marrow Cytology Expert Annotation dataset for categorizing bone marrow cells, and 99.758% on a white blood cell dataset for distinguishing leukocyte subtypes. These results show that ILViT outperforms the state-of-the-art models in both accuracy and efficiency, demonstrating strong generalizability and practical potential for cell image classification. Full article

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder that affects both hearing and pigmentation. The wide divergence of WS poses significant diagnostic and management challenges. This study investigated type 4 WS within an underrepresented Mongolian population. Whole-exome sequencing revealed that two unique heterozygous variants were identified in the SOX10 gene: c.393C>G (p.Asn131Lys) in a five-year-old female patient presenting with profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), dystopia canthorum, and a white forelock; and c.535A>T (p.Lys179Ter) in a nine-year-old male patient presenting with profound SNHL, dystopia canthorum, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Temporal bone imaging revealed abnormalities in the inner ear structure in both patients. The genotypic and phenotypic characteristics were meticulously delineated, incorporating the deleterious effects of these variants, as evaluated by multiple predictive tools and the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) criteria. In addition, structural characterizations were also presented using AlphaFold. The findings of this study contribute valuable genetic data to the limited literature on type 4 WS within this ethnic group and highlight the importance of genetic testing and multidisciplinary care for this rare disorder in settings with limited resources. Full article

Trichogramma wasps, egg parasitoids widely used to control lepidopteran pests, have long eluded in-depth molecular mechanistic studies due to their minute size and genetic tool scarcity. While previous RNAi efforts were restricted to T. dendrolimi, we developed the first cross-species RNAi system for both T. dendrolimi and the previously intractable T. ostriniae. Temporal expression profiling identified white and laccase 2 as stage-specific RNAi targets, peaking during prepupal/pupal stages, which were tested across species and developmental stages using microinjection and soaking dsRNA delivery methods. Survival analysis prioritized soaking for T. dendrolimi prepupae/pupae, while microinjection was essential for T. ostriniae to bypass prepupal mortality during soaking. Concentration-dependent RNAi targeting the white gene achieved 85.61% transcript reduction in T. dendrolimi via soaking and 89.36% in T. ostriniae via microinjection at 2000 ng/μL, correlating with 64.06% and 32.09% white-eyed pupae, causing a significant reduction in eye pigments. For the laccase 2 gene, soaking at 2000 ng/μL induced 88.35% transcript reduction in T. dendrolimi and 73.31% in T. ostriniae, leading to incomplete cuticle tanning and sclerotization. This study resolves the long-standing challenge of genetic manipulation in Trichogramma wasps, providing a universally applicable framework to decipher parasitoid–host interactions at the molecular scale, which is useful for sustainable pest management strategies. Full article

Twelve sherds of blue-and-white Chinese porcelains recovered from archaeological excavations in the Santana Convent (Ming and Qing Dynasties) in Lisbon were studied using several non-invasive spectroscopies, namely micro-Raman, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Ground State Diffuse Reflectance (GSDR), and stereomicroscopy. The use of the X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) allowed us to complete the mineralogical characterization of the ceramic bodies and glazes of the porcelains. The sample selection ranges from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The micro-Raman spectra clearly showed two types of glazes, alkaline glaze and calcium-based glaze. The GSDR absorption spectra of the blue glazes point to the use of different cobalt pigments, but a strong dependence on the glaze type does not seem to exist. The kilns where the porcelains were produced also play an important role. Both the GSDR absorption and the micro-Raman spectroscopies allow us to differentiate the Iranian blue pigment from the Chinese pigment. A direct and simple correlation between the use of Iranian blue pigment, mixtures of Iranian and Chinese pigments, or simply Chinese pigments and the stylistic dating of each sample was established. Furthermore, several important spectroscopic characterizations could be achieved in this study. Full article

A bioassay study was conducted to determine the differences in the sensitivity of selected crops to simulated clomazone residues (nine concentrations were used ranging from 5.625 to 1440 μg a.i./kg soil). White mustard was the most susceptible as measured by shoot fresh weight (SFW) and shoot dry weight (SDW) inhibition, with EC₅₀ values of 94.6 and 128.2 μg a.i./kg soil, respectively. Regarding the EC₅₀ values for the inhibition of pigment content (carotenoids, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b), sugar beet and white mustard showed a high sensitivity, as the EC₅₀ values for all three pigments were in the range of 45.8–47.4 and 57.5–63.3 μg a.i./kg soil, respectively. However, as the SFW and SDW of sugar beet were only reduced at the three highest clomazone concentrations applied, white mustard proved to be the most sensitive crop. Wheat was less sensitive (EC₅₀ = 214.4–243.8 μg a.i./kg soil, for all three pigments), while sunflower and maize were the least sensitive (EC₅₀ = 359.7–417.5 and 456.1–535.8 μg a.i./kg soil, respectively). Field trials were conducted for two years in the Srem region to study the dynamics of clomazone degradation in sandy loam soil. Clomazone was applied pre-plant incorporated (PPI) and post-emergence (POST-EM) in three doses: 480, 720 and 960 g a.i./ha. Soil samples were taken at regular intervals from the day of herbicide application until one year after application and residue concentrations were determined using the white mustard bioassay (based on the measurement of carotenoid content inhibition). The application rate had no consistent effect on the persistence of clomazone. Slower degradation was observed in the PPI treatment than in the POST-EM treatment (8.5 and 15 days longer average half-lives in the first and second year, respectively). Persistence was affected by lower rainfall, resulting in a longer half-life in the second year (12 days on average). Herbicide residues caused no visible injury to white mustard one year after application, while the reduction in carotenoid content ranged from 0.37 to 22.89%, indicating that no injury can occur to any of the tested crops one year after application of clomazone in sandy loam soil. Full article

Throughout human history, wild plant resources have played an invaluable role, serving as critical sources of food, medicine, and industrial materials. This study examined the callus cultures of Cistanche deserticola Y.C. Ma, a medicinal desert plant, by subjecting them to abiotic stress under controlled in vitro conditions. The secondary metabolite profiles were then analyzed using GC-MS and qTOF-UHPLC-MS. The GC-MS analysis revealed several bioactive compounds of pharmaceutical interest, such as γ-sitosterol and homovanillyl alcohol. PhGs, including echinacoside and salidroside, were quantified for the first time across 16 callus samples exposed to various stress treatments. The application of 0.1% Na₂CO₃ for 50 days resulted in the highest accumulation of echinacoside (13,378.9 µg/mL), and heavy metal stress notably increased salidroside levels to 27.0 µg/mL. There was a clear correlation between callus pigmentation and metabolic activity: orange and white calli produced significantly more PhGs than dark calli. These results suggest that C. deserticola callus cultures could be a sustainable, controllable platform for producing high-value secondary metabolites. This reinforces the importance of wild plant resources in modern science and industry. Full article

The local goat breeds of Chongqing represent the typical goat populations of Southwestern China and play a significant role in global goat research. However, studies on these goats remain limited. Chongqing goats exhibit diverse coat colors, a crucial economic trait essential for individual and breed identification. In this study, we performed genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of Chongqing goats to identify candidate genes associated with coat color. The results of the GWAS revealed that the ASIP, AHCY, and ITCH genes on chromosome 13 are significantly associated with coat color variation in Chongqing goats. Furthermore, haplotype analysis, gene function annotation, and pathway analysis enrichment further confirmed that a significant region on chromosome 13 is associated with coat color in local Chongqing goats, and that ASIP and AHCY are related to black coat color, whereas ITCH is potentially associated with white coat expression. Additionally, we also identified TPK1 as being associated with coat color in goats, which has hardly been reported. The newly identified genes expand our understanding of the complex genetic architecture underlying pigmentation traits in livestock. Our study identifies the genes related to coat color in local goats, which enriches the genetic resource pool of goats and contributes to a deeper understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying coat color in these breeds. Full article