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Topic Review
Brown Hyena
The Brown Hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) is a fascinating and elusive species found primarily in southern Africa's arid and semi-arid regions. Distinguished by its shaggy brown coat and robust build, this carnivore occupies a unique ecological niche as a scavenger and occasional hunter, feeding on a diverse range of prey items, carrion, and plant matter. Despite its solitary and nocturnal nature, the Brown Hyena plays a crucial role in ecosystem dynamics and is of cultural significance to local communities across its range.
  • 1.8K
  • 28 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Nano-Enabled Products for Sustainable Agriculture
Nanotechnology has gained popularity in recent years owing to its established potential for application and implementation in various sectors such as medical drugs, medicine, catalysis, energy, material, and plant science. Nanoparticles (NPs) are smaller in size (1–100 nm) with a larger surface area and have many fruitful applications. The extraordinary functions of NPs are utilized in sustainable agriculture due to nano-enabled products, e.g., nano-insecticides, nano-pesticides, and nano-fertilizers. Nanoparticles have lately been suggested as an alternate method for controlling plant pests such as insects, fungi, and weeds. Several NPs exhibit antimicrobial properties considered in food packaging processes; for example, Ag-NPs are commonly used for such purposes. Apart from their antimicrobial properties, NPs such as Si, Ag, Fe, Cu, Al, Zn, ZnO, TiO2, CeO2, Al2O3, and carbon nanotubes have also been demonstrated to have negative impacts on plant growth and development. 
  • 1.8K
  • 16 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Japanese Badger
The Japanese Badger (Meles anakuma), native to Japan, is a fascinating and elusive mustelid species that holds a distinctive place in the country's diverse wildlife. Recognized for its unique physical characteristics and behavior, this badger species is a nocturnal and solitary creature with a keen sense of smell, contributing to its foraging prowess in a variety of habitats. The Japanese Badger's role in Japanese folklore and its interactions with the ecosystem make it a subject of interest for both researchers and enthusiasts exploring the rich fauna of Japan.
  • 1.8K
  • 04 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides from agro-food industry waste constitute one of the most important renewable resources. The great variety of their chemical composition and structure, and their biodegradability and safety make them ideal for application in diverse fields, such as the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, tissue engineering and biofuels industries, among others.
  • 1.8K
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Multilayer Flexible Food Packaging
Multilayer flexible food packaging is under pressure to redesign for recyclability. Most multilayer films are not sorted and recycled with the currently available infrastructure, which is based on mechanical recycling in most countries. Up to now, multilayer flexible food packaging was highly customizable.
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Pangolin
Pangolins are scaly, nocturnal mammals of the order Pholidota, characterized by their keratin-covered bodies and specialized myrmecophagous (ant- and termite-eating) diets. Found across Asia and Africa, pangolins are the only mammals wholly covered in protective keratin scales and are unique in their evolutionary lineage. Due to extensive illegal trafficking and habitat loss, they are among the most threatened mammals globally.
  • 1.8K
  • 24 Jun 2025
Topic Review
Grandidier's Mongoose
Grandidier's mongoose (Galidictis grandidieri) (Figure 1) is a rare and elusive carnivore native to Madagascar. Named after the French naturalist Alfred Grandidier, this mongoose species is distinguished by its slender body, short legs, and long, bushy tail. Endemic to Madagascar's dry deciduous forests, Grandidier's mongoose is known for its solitary and nocturnal habits, making it a challenging species to study in its natural habitat.
  • 1.8K
  • 15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Neuropathic Itch Caused by Pseudorabies Virus
Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesvirus related to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1). PRV is the causative agent of Aujeskzy’s disease in swine. PRV infects mucosal epithelium and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of its host where it can establish a quiescent, latent infection. While the natural host of PRV is the swine, a broad spectrum of mammals, including rodents, cats, dogs, and cattle can be infected. Since the nineteenth century, PRV infection is known to cause a severe acute neuropathy, the so called “mad itch” in non-natural hosts, but surprisingly not in swine. In the past, most scientific efforts have been directed to eradicating PRV from pig farms by the use of effective marker vaccines, but little attention has been given to the processes leading to the mad itch. 
  • 1.8K
  • 28 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Brain Lateralization and Cognitive Capacity
One way to increase cognitive capacity is to avoid duplication of functions on the left and right sides of the brain. There is a convincing body of evidence showing that such asymmetry, or lateralization, occurs in a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Each hemisphere of the brain can attend to different types of stimuli or to different aspects of the same stimulus and each hemisphere analyses information using different neural processes. A brain can engage in more than one task at the same time, as in monitoring for predators (right hemisphere) while searching for food (left hemisphere). Increased cognitive capacity is achieved if individuals are lateralized in one direction or the other. The advantages and disadvantages of individual lateralization are discussed. Directional, or population-level, lateralization, which occurs when most individuals in a species have the same direction of lateralization, provides no additional increase in cognitive capacity compared to individual lateralization although directional lateralization is advantageous in social interactions. Strength of lateralization is considered, including the disadvantage of being very strongly lateralized. The role of brain commissures is also discussed with consideration of cognitive capacity. 
  • 1.8K
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Nanofibers in Agriculture and Water Treatment
Natural fibers are an important source for producing polymers, which are highly applicable in their nanoform and could be used in very broad fields such as filtration for water/wastewater treatment, biomedicine, food packaging, harvesting, and storage of energy due to their high specific surface area. These natural nanofibers could be mainly produced through plants, animals, and minerals, as well as produced from agricultural wastes. For strengthening these natural fibers, they may reinforce with some substances such as nanomaterials. Natural or biofiber-reinforced bio-composites and nano–bio-composites are considered better than conventional composites. The sustainable application of nanofibers in agricultural sectors is a promising approach and may involve plant protection and its growth through encapsulating many bio-active molecules or agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, phytohormones, and fertilizers) for smart delivery at the targeted sites. The food industry and processing also are very important applicable fields of nanofibers, particularly food packaging, which may include using nanofibers for active–intelligent food packaging, and food freshness indicators. The removal of pollutants from soil, water, and air is an urgent field for nanofibers due to their high efficiency. Many new approaches or applicable agro-fields for nanofibers are expected in the future, such as using nanofibers as the indicators for CO and NH3. The role of nanofibers in the global fighting against COVID-19 may represent a crucial solution, particularly in producing face masks.
  • 1.8K
  • 30 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Heavy Metals in Soil Ecosystem
Soil is a compound mixture and a non-renewable natural resource, as it can only be restored on a geological timescale. It can be easily defined as the loose inorganic or organic matter of the surface that assists as a natural habitat for terrestrial plants. Heavy metals are very hazardous to the environment and living things.
  • 1.8K
  • 28 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are promising biodegradable and biocompatible polymers that can be obtained through microbial fermentation of agro-industrial byproducts, e.g., milk and cheese whey by using both microbial consortia and pure bacterial cultures.
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Genetic characterization in Korean horse
In modern times, horse breeds, mostly in horse racing, are the Thoroughbred varieties obtained by breeding three Godolphin Arabians with British mares in England. Especially in Jeju Island, Korea, Jeju horses have been introduced from Mongolia since the 13th century. They have contributed a lot to the agricultural community, but their population has been rapidly decreasing due to rapid agricultural industrialization. Therefore, we sympathize with Jeju horse-specific genetic variation and compare and analyze evolutionary correlations by utilizing Whole Genome Sequencing analysis to evaluate the genetic diversity of Jeju horses and preserve genetic information. We explored Jeju horse-specific genetic differences through a comparative analysis of large-capacity genomic data between the public database and a Thoroughbred variety. In order to adapt to the barren external environment, it is predicted that Jeju horses have experienced strong positive selection in the direction of accumulating many genetic variations, enough to cause functional differences in the eqCD1a6 gene to have an efficient immune function. In addition, we further validate the Jeju horse-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms in the eqCD1a6 gene by employing the digital PCR method, a diagnostic technique for genetic variations.
  • 1.8K
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Effects of Growth Environment on Lemna minor
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can have negative impacts on food security through effects on plant photosynthesis, productivity, and nutritional quality, especially in the presence of additional environmental stressors. This entry presents a multi-factorial analysis of how differing levels of atmospheric CO2 and mineral nutrient supply affect productivity and nutritional quality of the aquatic floating plant Lemna minor (common duckweed) in the presence or absence of its microbiome. Elevated CO2 in combination with low nutrient supply decreased plant area-expansion rate and increased biomass accumulation, with minimal negative impacts on protein-to-biomass ratio but stronger declines in the content of essential human micronutrients. Inoculation with plant-associated microorganisms restored area-expansion rate and further stimulated accumulation of biomass with an unaltered protein-to-biomass ratio compared to uninoculated plants under a combination of elevated CO2 and low nutrient supply. Under ample nutrient supply, inoculation ameliorated the declines in micronutrient content induced by elevated CO2. These findings add additional insight into possible roles of duckweed in sustainable systems and support a role for the plant microbiome in protecting plant productivity and nutritional quality in a manner that varies with specific growth conditions and plant traits. This understanding is relevant in both agricultural and natural contexts during a time of rapid environmental change.
  • 1.8K
  • 31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Salt Stress in Plants
Salinization of soils and freshwater resources by natural processes and/or human activities has become an increasing issue that affects environmental services and socioeconomic relations. In addition, salinization jeopardizes agroecosystems, inducing salt stress in most cultivated plants (nutrient deficiency, pH and oxidative stress, biomass reduction), and directly affects the quality and quantity of food production. Depending on the type of salt/stress (alkaline or pH-neutral), specific approaches and solutions should be applied to ameliorate the situation on-site.
  • 1.8K
  • 23 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Livestock CH4 Emissions with the Laser Methane Detector
The handheld, portable laser methane detector (LMD) was developed to detect gas leaks in industry from a safe distance. Since 2009, it has also been used to measure the methane (CH4) concentration in the breath of cattle, sheep, and goats to quantify their CH4 emissions.
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Flavonoids as Potential Anti-Inflammatory Molecules
Hydroxylated polyphenols, also called flavonoids, are richly present in vegetables, fruits, cereals, nuts, herbs, seeds, stems, and flowers of numerous plants. They possess numerous medicinal properties such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammation. Studies show that flavonoids activate antioxidant pathways that render an anti-inflammatory effect. They inhibit the secretions of enzymes such as lysozymes and β-glucuronidase and inhibit the secretion of arachidonic acid, which reduces inflammatory reactions. Flavonoids such as quercetin, genistein, apigenin, kaempferol, and epigallocatechin 3-gallate modulate the expression and activation of a cytokine such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8); regulate the gene expression of many pro-inflammatory molecules such s nuclear factor kappa-light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), activator protein-1 (AP-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM), and E-selectins; and also inhibits inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and lipoxygenase, which are pro-inflammatory enzymes.
  • 1.8K
  • 24 May 2022
Topic Review
Reactive Nitrogen Flows in Bangladesh’s Agriculture Sector
Nitrogen (N) fertilizer use is the largest in the crop sector, an important sector, where current annual consumption is 1190 Gg. The present combined annual Nr production from crop, fishery, and livestock sectors is ~600 Gg, while emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, are ~200 Gg. Poor N management results in Nr leaking into the environment, which has increased approximately 16-fold since 1961. One potential consequence is the disruption of ecosystem functioning. The balanced tradeoff between food production and reducing Nr input needs to be achieved. One solution to reducing unutilized reactive N (Nr) may be a holistic approach that optimizes N application rates and incorporates waste of one subsector as an input to another applying the principle of the circular economy. 
  • 1.8K
  • 06 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Barriers to Sustainable Farming Practices
Research has a critical role in supporting the implementation of farming practices that are appropriate for meeting food and climate security for a growing global population. Notwithstanding progress towards more sustainable agricultural production, the rate of change varies across and within regions and is, overall, too slow. Understanding what is and is not working at the implementation level and, critically, providing justified explanations on outcomes, is an important contribution of the literature. It is suggested that a greater application of theory in adoption research could increase the contribution of the literature. 
  • 1.8K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
Yellow-throated Marten
The Yellow-throated Marten (Martes flavigula) is a charismatic and agile carnivore native to the forests of Asia, including parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China. With its distinctive yellow throat patch and sleek fur, this arboreal mustelid is known for its elusive nature and remarkable climbing abilities. As a versatile predator, the Yellow-throated Marten preys on a variety of small mammals, birds, insects, and fruits, playing a vital role in forest ecosystems as both a predator and a seed disperser.
  • 1.8K
  • 15 Mar 2024
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