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Topic Review
Quinoa
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is native to the Andean region and has attracted a global growing interest due its unique nutritional value. The protein content of quinoa grains is higher than other cereals while it has better distribution of essential amino acids. It can be used as an alternative to milk proteins. Additionally, quinoa contains a high amount of essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and carbohydrates with beneficial hypoglycemic effects while being gluten-free. Furthermore, the quinoa plant is resistant to cold, salt, and drought, which leaves no doubt as to why it has been called the “golden grain”. On that account, production of quinoa and its products followed an increasing trend that gained attraction in 2013, as it was proclaimed to be the international year of quinoa. In this respect, this review provides an overview of the published results regarding the nutritional and biological properties of quinoa that have been cultivated in different parts of the world during the last two decades.
  • 2.0K
  • 27 Oct 2020
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.
  • 2.0K
  • 15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Legume Protease Inhibitors as Biopesticides
Legumes can produce many different molecules in response to the attack of insects, nematodes, molds, bacteria, and viruses. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are proteins produced by legumes that inhibit proteolytic enzymes of phytopathogens, which cannot feed on the amino acids of the plant. Legume’s strategy to avoid phytopathogens can be used to produce biopesticides and eliminate or decrease the use of agrochemicals in agriculture.
  • 2.0K
  • 06 Nov 2020
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.
  • 1.9K
  • 24 May 2022
Topic Review
Food-System and Water–Energy–Biodiversity in Nepal
       We reviewed Nepal's food system through the lens of food–water–energy–biodiversity (FWEB) nexus to develop a more robust food system framework. From this approach, food system foresight can benefit from different nature-based solutions such as agro-ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation and climate-resilient agro-ecological production systems. We proposed a modified framework of food system foresight for developing resilience in a food system, which can be achieved with an integrated and resilient nexus that gives more emphasis to agro-ecological system-based solutions to make the food system more climate resilient. This framework can be useful in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 13, and 15 and can also be used as a tool for food system planning based on a broader nexus.
  • 1.9K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Australian Sea Lion
The Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) is a charismatic pinniped species native to the coastal waters of southern Australia, particularly found along the southern and western coastlines. Renowned for its sleek and agile swimming abilities, this marine mammal is distinguishable by its pale yellow to cream-colored fur and a distinctively long, narrow muzzle. As a key predator in its marine ecosystem, the Australian Sea Lion plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and balance of coastal ecosystems, primarily feeding on fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans.
  • 1.9K
  • 28 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Plant Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture
There is no human nutrition without crop production, which itself must be supported by proper and sufficient plant nutrients. These plant nutrients can play a crucial role in sustainably promoting agricultural production on cultivated lands, facilitating soil carbon sequestration, and taking pressure off global peatlands and forests
  • 1.9K
  • 11 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Participatory Plant Breeding
Biodiversity in general, and agrobiodiversity in particular are crucial for adaptation to climate change, for resilience and for human health as related to dietary diversity. Plant breeding is a cyclic process during which breeders generate diversity, most commonly by making crosses; select, within the diversity generated during a varying number of years, which depends on the crop, the methodology and the type of variety to be produced; and eventually obtain as a final product a new variety, which in several countries must be distinct, uniform and stable for its seed to be legally commercialized. Participatory plant breeding (PPB) has been promoted for its advantages to increase selection efficiency, variety adoption and farmers’ empowerment, and for being more socially equitable and gender responsive than conventional plant breeding.
  • 1.9K
  • 18 Feb 2022
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.
  • 1.9K
  • 04 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Barley Grass
Barley grass (Hordeum murinum L. spp. glaucum and Hordeum murinum L. subsp. leporinum) typically invades southern Australian cropland, pastures, and disturbed sites, especially on high-phosphorus and -nitrogen soils and competes successfully against common pasture legumes, such as lucerne, reducing the productive life of these pastures and of subsequent grain crops.
  • 1.9K
  • 28 Oct 2020
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. 
  • 1.9K
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Phytogenic Substances for Gut Health
The gut microbiota has been designated as a hidden metabolic ‘organ’ because of its enormous impact on host metabolism, physiology, nutrition, and immune function. The connection between the intestinal microbiota and their respective host animals is dynamic and, in general, mutually beneficial. This complicated interaction is seen as a determinant of health and disease; thus, intestinal dysbiosis is linked with several metabolic diseases. Therefore, tractable strategies targeting the regulation of intestinal microbiota can control several diseases that are closely related to inflammatory and metabolic disorders. As a result, animal health and performance are improved. One of these strategies is related to dietary supplementation with prebiotics, probiotics, and phytogenic substances. These supplements exert their effects indirectly through manipulation of gut microbiota quality and improvement in intestinal epithelial barrier. 
  • 1.9K
  • 16 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Enhancing Animal Production through Smart Agriculture
Smart livestock farming utilizes technology to enhance production and meet food demand sustainably. Smart agriculture employs modern technology to improve efficiency, sustainability, and animal welfare in livestock farming. This includes remote monitoring, GPS-based animal care, robotic milking, smart health collars, predictive disease control, and other innovations.
  • 1.9K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Non-Destructive Insect Infestation Monitoring Systems
In the last two decades, food scientists (engineers) have attempted to develop new technologies that can improve the detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables under postharvest conditions using a multitude of non-destructive technologies. While consumers’ expectations for higher nutritive and sensorial value of fresh produce has increased over time, they have also become more critical on using insecticides or synthetic chemicals to preserve food quality from insects’ attacks or enhance the quality attributes of minimally processed fresh produce. In addition, the increasingly stringent quarantine measures by regulatory agencies for commercial import–export of fresh produce needs more reliable technologies for quickly detecting insect infestation in fruits and vegetables before their commercialization. For these reasons, the food industry investigates alternative and non-destructive means to improve food quality. Several studies have been conducted on the development of rapid, accurate, and reliable insect infestation monitoring systems to replace invasive and subjective methods that are often inefficient. There are still major limitations to the effective in-field, as well as postharvest on-line, monitoring applications. The future of non-destructive testing will be enhanced by the current trend in IoT, big data science, and machine learning analysis.
  • 1.9K
  • 18 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Regeneration in Reptiles
The ability to repair injuries among reptiles, i.e., ectothermic amniotes, is similar to that of mammals with some noteworthy exceptions. While large wounds in turtles and crocodilians are repaired through scarring, the reparative capacity involving the tail derives from a combined process of wound healing and somatic growth, the latter being continuous in reptiles. When the tail is injured in juvenile crocodilians, turtles and tortoises as well as the tuatara (Rhynchocephalia: Sphenodon punctatus, Gray 1842), the wound is repaired in these reptiles and some muscle and connective tissue and large amounts of cartilage are regenerated during normal growth. This process, here indicated as “regengrow”, can take years to produce tails with similar lengths of the originals and results in only apparently regenerated replacements. 
  • 1.9K
  • 18 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Milk Thistle Seed and Hempseed
In accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the use of antibiotics as stimulators of animal growth and performance has been banned in all European Union countries since 2006 (due to the elimination of antibiotic residues from the human food chain). Due to this ban, many scientists are studying alternative approaches to the use of various biologically active substances with a growth-promoting e ect. A promising direction is the use of alternative feeds containing bioactive compounds or mixtures of natural origin, or the use of phytoadditives or plant extracts, probiotics, prebiotics, symbiotics or oilseed by-products, such as hempseed cakes and milk thistle seed cakes in animal nutrition.
  • 1.9K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Red Beets as a Source of Bioactive Compounds
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is a vegetable that is consumed worldwide in the form of juices, soups, or salads. It is also known for its high content of biologically active substances such as betalains, polyphenolic compounds, vitamins, carotenoids, and other nutrients including, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. The distribution of these compounds in the plant is diverse, some occur in greater amounts in the leaves (e.g., vitamin A, B6) and others are in the tubers (e.g., folate, lycopene). The concentration of bioactive compounds in beetroot also depends on its variety and growing conditions.
  • 1.9K
  • 05 Jul 2023
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.
  • 1.9K
  • 15 Mar 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. 
  • 1.9K
  • 16 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Post-Mortem Dental Profile in Animal Forensic Investigations
Veterinary forensics is becoming more important in our society as a result of the growing demand for investigations related to crimes against animals or investigations of criminal deaths caused by animals. A veterinarian may participate as an expert witness or may be required to give forensic assistance, by providing knowledge of the specialty to establish a complete picture of the involvement of an animal and allowing the Courts to reach a verdict. By applying diverse dental profiling techniques, not only can species, sex, age-at-death, and body size of an animal be estimated, but also data about their geographical origin (provenance) and the post-mortem interval.
  • 1.9K
  • 29 Aug 2022
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