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Topic Review
Subcritical-Water Extraction of Natural Products
Subcritical water refers to high-temperature and high-pressure water, but below water's critical point of 374 °C and 218 atm. A unique and useful characteristic of subcritical water is that its polarity can be dramatically decreased with increasing temperature. Therefore, subcritical water can behave similarly to methanol or ethanol. This makes subcritical water a green extraction fluid used for a variety of organic species. 
  • 2.4K
  • 09 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Cymbopogon spp. are fast-growing C4 perennial sedges from the grass family Poaceae and are primarily cultivated for their essential oils. The genus lemongrass comprises about 180 species, such as Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterianus, Cymbopogon martinii, Cymbopogon nardus, and Cymbopogon refractus. Lemongrass (Cymbopogonspp.) oil is a cocktail of various terpenes and terpenoids, out of which the major components belong to cyclic and acyclic monoterpenes. The monoterpenes are derived from geranyl diphosphate (GPP).
  • 2.4K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Atmospheric Influence on Grapevine Development
In many European regions, viticulture and winemaking play a major socioeconomic role in local economies, with climate being a central component of the terroirs, governing vineyard microclimate, vine development and growth, phenology, yield, and grape berry composition, which ultimately control attributes and typicity of the produced wines. Nonetheless, climate change is already affecting the viticultural suitability of many wine regions throughout the continent and is expected to continue along this same path in the upcoming decades. These climate-driven shifts may lead to a redesign of the geographical distribution of wine regions, while wine typicity may also be threatened in most cases. Climate change does require the implementation of well-timed, appropriate, and economically efficient adaptation strategies, while respecting local specificities for an effective reduction of the risks to which this vulnerable sector is exposed. However, knowledge on the adaptation potential of a range of measures is still incipient and will need more research in the near future.
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Plant Defense Strategies against Drought
Drought stress imposes substantial constraints on the growth and production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a globally important cereal crop essential for food security. Plants have evolved various defense mechanisms to withstand environmental variations, such as stress escape, stress avoidance, and stress tolerance.
  • 2.4K
  • 19 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Asian Black Bear
The Asian Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) is a formidable and iconic species native to various habitats across Asia, from dense forests to mountainous regions. Recognizable by its sleek black fur and distinctive white V-shaped chest marking, this bear species is renowned for its omnivorous diet and remarkable climbing abilities. Despite facing threats such as habitat loss and poaching, conservation efforts aim to protect the Asian Black Bear and its critical role in maintaining the ecological balance of Asian ecosystems.
  • 2.4K
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Fish Exposed to Ammonia Nitrogen
Ammonia nitrogen is the major oxygen-consuming pollutant in aquatic environments. Exposure to ammonia nitrogen in the aquatic environment can lead to bioaccumulation in fish, and the ammonia nitrogen concentration is the main determinant of accumulation. In most aquatic environments, fish are at the top of the food chain and are most vulnerable to the toxic effects of high levels of ammonia nitrogen exposure. In fish exposed to toxicants, ammonia-induced toxicity is mainly caused by bioaccumulation in certain tissues. Ammonia nitrogen absorbed in the fish enters the circulatory system and affects hematological properties. Ammonia nitrogen also breaks balance in antioxidant capacity and causes oxidative damage. In addition, ammonia nitrogen affects the immune response and causes neurotoxicity because of the physical and chemical toxicity. 
  • 2.4K
  • 23 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Milk Bioactive Compounds
The milk fat fraction is a rich source of nutrients and bioactive factors. This fraction is composed of milk fat globules (MFGs) surrounded by the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). In this review we revise the literature that deals two minor topics that characterize the milk fat fraction. The first topic is the MFGM proteome, which has several bioactive properties and shows similarities and variations among species and phases of lactation. The second topic is the content of essential nutrients among MFGs and MFGM, named minerals and lipophilic vitamins, in order to assess the nutrifunctional role of the milk fat fraction. 
  • 2.4K
  • 29 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Olive Tree and Derivatives
Olive (Olea europaea) is one of the most extensive crops in the Mediterranean countries, and an important source of extra distinctive compounds that has been widely tested due to its known health benefits. Olive derivatives, such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and olive leaves are rich in antioxidant compounds such as hydroxytyrosol (HXT) and oleuropein and oleic acid, as main monounsaturated fatty acid. Because of HXT molecular structure, its regular consumption reports important beneficial properties such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer, which also make this compound a good preservative agent against meat deterioration and spoilage.
  • 2.4K
  • 30 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Sprouts and Microgreens for Healthy Diets
Healthy diets prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases; they provide nutrients and health-promoting substances from nutritious foods in adequate amounts. With society's growing interest in healthy eating, the interest in fresh, ready-to-eat, functional food, such as microscale vegetables (sprouted seeds and microgreens), has been on the rise in recent years globally. This entry briefly describes the crops commonly used for microscale vegetable production, highlights Brassica vegetables because of their health-promoting secondary metabolites and looks at consumer acceptance of sprouts and microgreens. Landraces, wild food plants, and crops' wild relatives often have high phytonutrient density and exciting flavours and tastes, thus providing scope to widen the range of crops and species used for this purpose. Moreover, the nutritional value and content of phytochemicals often vary with plant growth and development stages of the same crop. Sprouted seeds and microgreens are often more nutrient-dense than ungerminated seeds or mature vegetables. This entry also describes the environmental and priming factors that may impact the nutritional value and content of phytochemicals of microscale vegetables. Due to their short growth cycle, nutrient-dense sprouts and microgreens can be produced with minimal input and without pesticides. They can even be home-grown and harvested as needed, hence having low environmental impacts and a broad acceptance among health-conscious consumers.
  • 2.4K
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Free Stalls for Dairy Herds
Lying is an important behavior of dairy cattle. Cows should spend more than 50% of a day lying as it has a high impact on their milk yield and animal welfare. The design, size, and flooring properties of the free stalls influence the time cows spend lying, the way they lie down, and their rising movements. The design of the free stalls should enable the cows to move and lie in positions as natural as possible. Cows should rest, with all parts of the body, on a clean, dry and soft bed, be able to stretch their front legs forward, lie on their sides with unobstructed space for their neck and head, and rest with their heads against their flanks without hindrance from a partition. When they stand, they should not be hindered by neck rails, partitions, or supports. A comfortable place for cows to lie down helps cows to stay healthy, improve welfare, and increase milk yield. Hence, the probability of a longer productive life for the cows increases and the number of replacements per year decreases.
  • 2.4K
  • 11 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Rangelands Livestock Production Systems
Rangelands as referred to herein can be defined as uncultivated lands that provide multiple ecosystem services for society, sustain habitat for grazing and browsing animals, and support the livelihoods of pastoralists and ranchers [1][2]. Under this definition rangelands comprise up to 70% of the world’s land area and include natural grasslands, deserts, temperate forests, and tropical forests [1]. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the lower atmosphere mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and other anthropogenic activities have caused the earth’s temperature to rise by 1 °C since the 1860s [3][4]. If GHG emissions continue to rise, an increase in global temperature up to 3 to 5 °C is projected by the end of this century [4]. Extreme weather events are already increasing in frequency and severity in the US and globally [3][4][5]. Global concern is growing over the possibility that eventual irreversible, catastrophic climate change will result in massive loss of human livelihoods and mortality through adverse impacts on food production systems over both croplands and rangelands [3][4][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].
  • 2.4K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Spent Mushroom Substrate for Enhanced Agricultural Sustainability
As the mushroom industry advances, it yields a consequential by-product known as spent mushroom substrate (SMS). Comprising residual fungal mycelium, lignocellulosic biomass, and enzymes, SMS has garnered significant attention as a substantial waste product.
  • 2.4K
  • 13 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutrition, and product development. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both domesticated and wild, with a wide range of conditions that can affect different species. Veterinary medicine is widely practiced, both with and without professional supervision. Professional care is most often led by a veterinary physician (also known as a veterinarian, veterinary surgeon, or "vet"), but also by paraveterinary workers, such as veterinary nurses or technicians. This can be augmented by other paraprofessionals with specific specialties, such as animal physiotherapy or dentistry, and species-relevant roles such as farriers. Veterinary science helps human health through the monitoring and control of zoonotic disease (infectious disease transmitted from nonhuman animals to humans), food safety, and through human applications via medical research. They also help to maintain food supply through livestock health monitoring and treatment, and mental health by keeping pets healthy and long-living. Veterinary scientists often collaborate with epidemiologists and other health or natural scientists, depending on type of work. Ethically, veterinarians are usually obliged to look after animal welfare. Veterinarians diagnose, treat, and help keep animals safe and healthy.
  • 2.3K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Agroecology-The Case of Cereals
Transformative agroecology has been recognized as a stepping stone to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to its great potential to build climate change-resilient farming systems while enhancing ecosystem services and reducing biodiversity loss. Understanding the agroecological elements that underlie the sustainability of an agroecosystem is an urgent matter, serving as the foundation for designing a truly transformative agroecosystem. 
  • 2.3K
  • 12 May 2021
Topic Review
Beech Marten
The Beech Marten (Martes foina) is a slender and agile carnivore native to Europe and parts of Asia. With its distinctive cream-colored throat patch and bushy tail, this medium-sized mustelid is known for its adaptability to various habitats, including forests, woodlands, and urban areas. As a versatile predator, the Beech Marten preys on a variety of small mammals, birds, insects, and fruits, playing a vital role in ecosystem dynamics across its range.
  • 2.3K
  • 15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Pallas' Cat
Pallas' Cat (Otocolobus manul) is a small wild felid native to the grasslands and montane steppes of Central Asia, known for its unique appearance and elusive nature. With its stocky build, dense fur, and expressive facial features, the Pallas' Cat captivates the fascination of wildlife enthusiasts and researchers alike. Despite its diminutive size, this elusive felid plays a crucial ecological role as an apex predator, regulating prey populations and shaping ecosystem dynamics in its native habitat.
  • 2.3K
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Bat-eared Fox
The Bat-eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis) is a unique canid species found in the arid savannas and grasslands of Africa. Renowned for its large ears, which resemble those of a bat, this fox species has adapted to a specialized diet consisting primarily of insects, particularly termites. Despite its small size, the Bat-eared Fox plays a significant role in ecosystem dynamics by controlling insect populations and contributing to soil health through its foraging activities.
  • 2.3K
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Perspiration
Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distributed over much of the body and are responsible for secreting the watery, brackish sweat most often triggered by excessive body temperature. The apocrine sweat glands are restricted to the armpits and a few other areas of the body and produce an odorless, oily, opaque secretion which then gains its characteristic odor from bacterial decomposition. In humans, sweating is primarily a means of thermoregulation, which is achieved by the water-rich secretion of the eccrine glands. Maximum sweat rates of an adult can be up to 2–4 liters per hour or 10–14 liters per day (10–15 g/min·m2), but is less in children prior to puberty. Evaporation of sweat from the skin surface has a cooling effect due to evaporative cooling. Hence, in hot weather, or when the individual's muscles heat up due to exertion, more sweat is produced. Animals with few sweat glands, such as dogs, accomplish similar temperature regulation results by panting, which evaporates water from the moist lining of the oral cavity and pharynx. Although sweating is found in a wide variety of mammals, relatively few (exceptions include humans and horses) produce large amounts of sweat in order to cool down.
  • 2.3K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Dominance (Ethology)
Dominance in ethology is an "individual's preferential access to resources over another". Dominance in the context of biology and anthropology is the state of having high social status relative to one or more other individuals, who react submissively to dominant individuals. This enables the dominant individual to obtain access to resources such as food or potential mates at the expense of the submissive individual, without active aggression. The absence or reduction of aggression means unnecessary energy expenditure and the risk of injury are reduced for both. Dominance may be a purely dyadic relationship, i.e. individual A is dominant over individual B, but this has no implications for whether either of these is dominant over a third individual C. Alternatively, dominance may be hierarchical, with a transitive relationship, so that if A dominates B and B dominates C, A always dominates C. This is called a linear dominance hierarchy. Some animal societies have despots, i.e. a single dominant individual with little or no hierarchical structure amongst the rest of the group. Horses use coalitions so that affiliated pairs in a herd have an accumulative dominance to displace a third horse that normally out-ranks both of them on an individual basis. The opposite of dominance is submissiveness.
  • 2.3K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Cape Fox
The Cape Fox, scientifically known as Vulpes chama, is a small canid species native to southern Africa, particularly the arid regions of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. Characterized by its distinctive sandy-colored fur, large ears, and bushy tail, the Cape Fox is well-adapted to its desert habitat, where it primarily preys on small mammals, birds, and insects. Despite its diminutive size, the Cape Fox plays a significant ecological role as a predator and scavenger, contributing to the balance of its arid ecosystem.
  • 2.3K
  • 28 Feb 2024
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