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Topic Review
Date Palm against Human Infertility
Due to its antioxidant potential, dates are considered a functional treatment for reducing the risks of infertility. In males, the date palm has a potent effect on the reproductive parameters including hormonal levels and seminal vesicle parameters as well as sperm motility, count, and viability; whereas, in females, it shows a convincing effect on reproductive parameters including oogenesis process, strengthening of oocytes, regulation of hormones, strengthening of pregnancy, reduction of the need for labor augmentation, and postpartum hemorrhage prevention. 
  • 972
  • 24 May 2022
Topic Review
Grapevine Cane Extracts
Grapevine canes are viticulture waste that is usually discarded without any further use. However, recent studies have shown that they contain significant concentrations of healthpromoting compounds, such as stilbenes, secondary metabolites of plants produced as a response to biotic and abiotic stress from fungal disease or dryness. Stilbenes have been associated with antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐microbial properties and they have been tested as potential treatments of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and even cancer, with promising results. Stilbenes have been described in the different genus of the Vitaceae family, the Vitis genera being one of the most widely studied due to its important applications and economic impact around the world. This entry presents an in‐depth study of the composition and concentration of stilbenes in grapevine canes. The results show that the concentration of stilbenes in grapevine canes is highly influenced by the Vitis genus and cultivar aspects (growing conditions, ultraviolet radiation, fungal attack, etc.). Different methods for extracting stilbenes from grapevine canes have been reviewed, and the extraction conditions have also been studied, underlining the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. After the stilbenes were extracted, they were analyzed to determine the stilbene composition and concentration. Analytical techniques have been employed with this aim, in most cases using liquid chromatography, coupled with others such as mass spectrometry and/or nuclear magnetic resonance to achieve the individual quantification. Finally, stilbene extracts may be applied in multiple fields based on their properties. The five most relevant are preservative, antifungal, insecticide, and biostimulant applications. The current state‐of‐the‐art of the above applications and their prospects are discussed.
  • 971
  • 11 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Shade Covers in Water Reservoirs
Shade objects are small plastic spheres, squares or even hexagons floating on top of a water reserve for environmental reasons. The creator of shade balls in California originally used them to prevent chemical treatments in the reservoir from reacting with sunlight creating bromate, which is a carcinogen regulated by many institutions worldwide (chlorine plus sunlight turns bromine into bromate that is a potentially cancer-causing agent; because shady objects stop bromate from forming below, less chlorine is required to treat the water than without them). More recently, other environmental issues have been associated to the use of shade objects: slowing down water evaporation, preventing algae blooms, avoiding birds landing on bodies of water and promote water heating.
  • 971
  • 21 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Anaerobic Fungi
Anaerobic fungi, though low in abundance in rumen, play an important role in the degradation of forage for herbivores. Anaerobic fungi have been found in almost all animals that ferment in the predigestive tract, including ruminants (e.g., Bovidae, Cervidae), pseudoruminants (e.g., hippos, camels, llamas, alpacas), and nonruminants (e.g., wallabies). They are also found in many postdigestive tract fermenters that digest plant tissues in the cecum and large intestine (e.g., elephants, horses, and rhinoceroses) and in some large herbivore rodents (e.g., long-eared guinea pigs). It appears that the establishment of anaerobic fungi in the alimentary canal of herbivores may be attributed to the complex and distinct chamber with a relatively neutral pH in the digestive tract and a long lag time in the digestive process for the ingested plant tissue, which is conducive to the growth and activity of anaerobic fungi. Therefore, anaerobic fungi, which appear in the digestive tract of these herbivores, especially in those that take in a lot of roughage, must have some unique reasons and advantages to exist in such a complex environment. 
  • 970
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Industrial hemp and its potential
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an emerging high-value specialty crop that can be cultivated for either fiber, seed, or cannabidiol (CBD). The demand for hemp and its products has been consistently on the rise in the 21st century. The United States of America has reintroduced hemp and legalized its production as an agricultural commodity through the 2018 Federal Farm Bill. Although there is a renewed interest in the adoption of hemp due to the emerging market, its production in the United States remains limited partly because of unclear agronomic guidance and fertilization recommendations. This review article provides information on the current agronomic management practices that are available in the literature and identifies the future research needs for cultivating this multipurpose crop to address the growing market demands. Hemp production could be beneficial if managed properly. Hemp fertilizer requirements vary in accordance with the type of hemp grown (seed, fiber, or CBD), soil, environmental conditions and requires a wide range of macro- and micronutrients. Integrating management practices in hemp cultivation intended to build soil health is promising since the hemp cropping system is suitable for crop rotation, cover cropping, and livestock integration through animal waste applications. Hemp also has significant environmental benefits since it has the potential to remediate contaminated soils through phytoremediation, convert high amounts of atmospheric CO2 to biomass through bio-sequestration, and hemp biomass for bioenergy production. This review identifies that most of the agronomic research in the past has been limited to hemp fiber and, to some extent, hemp seed but not CBD hemp. With the increase in the global markets for hemp products, more research needs to be conducted to provide agronomic guidelines for sustainable hemp production.
  • 967
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Impact of Nanoparticles on Plants under Drought Stress
Drought is a chronic abiotic stress affecting crop growth and development, accounting for approximately 70% of the potential loss of global crop yield and productivity. Drought hinders agriculture and forestry worldwide, due to very little rainfall or significant differences in moisture. The current trends of global warming are causing a major impact on the moisture levels of the soil and the environment, and are increasing the intensity of droughts. Plants are subjected to various stresses during their growth, and the morphology of plants is affected at all stages of development due to drought stress, with productivity losses expected to reach 30% globally by 2025. 
  • 965
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Auxin Response Factors
Auxin response factors (ARFs) are an important family of transcription factors in the auxin signaling pathway that are involved in the exertion of auxin in plants and play a key role in regulating plant growth and development.
  • 964
  • 15 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Alkaline Phosphatase on Health
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is abundant in raw milk. Because of its high heat resistance, ALP negative is used as an indicator of successful sterilization. However, pasteurized milk loses its immune protection against allergies. Clinically, ALP is also used as an indicator of organ diseases. When the activity of ALP in blood increases, it is considered that diseases occur in the viscera and organs. Oral administration or injection of ALP will not cause harm to the body and has a variety of probiotic effects. For infants with low immunity, ALP intake is a good prebiotic, which can protect the infant's intestine from potential pathogens. In addition, ALP has a variety of probiotic effects on any age group, including the prevention and treatment of intestinal diseases, allergies, hepatitis, acute kidney injury (AKI), diabetes, and even the prevention of aging.
  • 961
  • 23 May 2022
Topic Review
Aphid–Plant–Phytovirus Pathosystems
Aphids are responsible for the spread of more than half of the known phytovirus species. Virus transmission within the plant–aphid–phytovirus pathosystem depends on vector mobility which allows the aphid to reach its host plant and on vector efficiency in terms of ability to transmit phytoviruses.
  • 960
  • 11 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Crop Diversification and Weed Control
Weeds can be defined as any plant that is objectionable or interferes with the activities or welfare of humans. In a crop production system, weeds compete for the same resources as the crops, such as water, nutrients, sunlight, and space, limiting crop productivity. Aggressive weed competition reduces crop yield significantly and adds further cost to crop production owing to their management. Yield loss due to weeds depends on several factors such as density, time of emergence, type of weed, and crop type. 
  • 959
  • 02 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Agricultural Soils
Globally, agricultural soils are being evaluated for their role in climate change regulation as a potential sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) through sequestration of organic carbon as soil organic matter. Scientists and policy analysts increasingly seek to develop programs and policies which recognize the importance of mitigation of climate change and insurance of ecological sustainability when managing agricultural soils.
  • 956
  • 09 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Forage Nutritive Value
Forage nutritive value is generally analyzed by relating the attributes of nutritive value to plant phenology in order to predict the decline of these attributes with plant age. A more functional analysis is based on the assumption that above ground plant mass (W) is composed of two compartments: (i) the metabolic compartment (Wm) 18 associated with plant growth processes scaling with leaf area and having high N concentration (%N) and digestibility (%D); and (ii) the structural compartment (Ws) associated with the architectural plant development scaling with plant height and thickness and having low %N and %D. If we postulate that Wm is allometrically related to W, the ontogenetic decline of both %N and %D as plant gets bigger and forage mass increases can be explained and described. The theoretical framework developed in this review allows the expression of a mechanistic link between the increase in plant size and the decrease of both forage crude protein concentration and digestibility linking forage production and forage nutritive value dynamics within the same functional approach for a better understanding of genotype-environment-management interactions.
  • 956
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Rumex dentatus L.
Herbicide resistance in weeds is a global threat to sustaining food security. In India, herbicide-resistant Phalaris minor was the major problem in wheat for more than two decades, but the continuous use of metsulfuron-methyl (an ALS inhibitor) to control broadleaf weeds has resulted in the evolution of ALS inhibitor-resistant Rumex dentatus L. This review summarizes the current scenario of herbicide resistance in R. dentatus, along with its ecology and management perspectives. Studies have provided valuable insights on the emergence pattern of R. dentatus under different environments in relation to tillage, cropping systems, nutrients, and irrigation. Moreover, R. dentatus has exhibited higher emergence under zero tillage, with high infestation levels in rice-wheat compared to other wheat-based cropping systems (sorghum-wheat). Alternative herbicides for the management of resistant R. dentatus include pendimethalin, 2,4-D, carfentrazone, isoproturon, and metribuzin. Although the pre-emergence application of pendimethalin is highly successful in suppressing R. dentatus, but its efficiency is questionable under lower field soil moisture and heavy residue load conditions. Nevertheless, the biological data may be utilized to control R. dentatus. Therefore, herbicide rotation with suitable spray techniques, collecting weed seeds at differential heights from wheat, crop rotation, alternate tillage practices, and straw retention are recommended for addressing the resistance issue in R. dentatus in North India conditions. Overall, we discuss the current state of herbicide resistance in R. dentatus, the agronomic factors affecting its population, its proliferation in specific cropping systems (rice-wheat), and management strategies for containing an infestation of a resistant population. 
  • 954
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Medicinal Mushroom Therapeutic Use
Medicinal mushrooms have important health benefits and exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antiallergic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulating, antidepressive, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, digestive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, osteoprotective, and hypotensive activities. 
  • 950
  • 02 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Sweet Rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia L.)
Rowan is a fairly common fruit crop in different countries of the world. The orange or reddish fruits of Sorbus aucuparia L. are small (diameter 6–9 mm) and they have been traditionally used as diuretic, laxative, anti-inflammatory, and vasoprotective agents, against rheumatism and kidney diseases as well as for the treatment of various gastrointestinal and respiratory tract-related disorders.
  • 949
  • 23 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Nuclear Envelope
The formation of the nuclear envelope and the subsequent compartmentalization of the genome is a defining feature of eukaryotes. Traditionally, the nuclear envelope was purely viewed as a physical barrier to preserve genetic material in eukaryotic cells.
  • 948
  • 07 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Prevalence of E. coli in Goats
Goat meat is the main source of animal protein in developing countries, particularly in Asia and Africa. Goat meat consumption has also increased in the US in the recent years due to the growing ethnic population. The digestive tract of goat is a natural habitat for Escherichia coli organisms. While researchers have long focused on postharvest intervention strategies to control E. coli outbreaks, recent works have also included preharvest methodologies. In goats, these include minimizing animal stress, manipulating diet a few weeks prior to processing, feeding diets high in tannins, controlling feed deprivation times while preparing for processing, and spray washing goats prior to slaughter.
  • 944
  • 27 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Edible Aquatic Insects: Diversities, Nutrition, and Safety
Edible insects have great potential to be human food; among them, aquatic insects have unique characteristics. In contrast with the role of plant feeders that most terrestrial edible insect species play, most aquatic edible insects are carnivorous animals. Besides the differences in physiology and metabolism, there are differences in fat, fatty acid, limiting/flavor amino acid, and mineral element contents between terrestrial and aquatic insects.
  • 942
  • 04 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Avian Orthoavulavirus Type-1
Avian orthoavulaviruses type-1 (AOaV-1) have transitioned from animal vaccine vector to a bona fide vaccine delivery vehicle in human. Owing to induction of robust innate and adaptive immune responses in mucus membranes in both birds and mammals, AOaVs offer an attractive vaccine against respiratory pathogens. The unique features of AOaVs include over 50 years of safety profile, stable expression of foreign genes, high infectivity rates in avian and mammalian hosts, broad host spectrum, limited possibility of recombination and lack of pre-existing immunity in humans. Additionally, AOaVs vectors allow the production of economical and high quantities of vaccine antigen in chicken embryonated eggs and several GMP-grade mammalian cell lines.
  • 940
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Helminth Fauna of Muskrat (Germany)
The muskrat is a neozoon species that has occupied many countries of continental North Europe after its introduction from north America as fur animals. Due to its burrowing activity it damages river and canal banks and structures of flood control. For this reason, the eradication of this alien species is recommended. Muskrats are also of parasitological interest since they can act as suitable intermediate hosts for Echinococcus multilocularis. On the other hand, little is known on the other helminths that infect muskrats. A total of 130 muskrats of different age groups trapped in different habitats in the Barnim district of the Brandenburg state by a professional hunter were examined for parasites and seven trematodes (Echinostoma sp., Notocotylus noyeri, Plagiorchis elegans, Plagiorchis arvicolae, Psilosostoma simillimum, P. spiculigerum, Opisthorchis felineus and four larval cestode species (Hydatigera taeniaeformis, Taenia martis, Taenia polyacantha, Taenia crassiceps) were detected. Larval stages of E. multilocularis were not found. O. felineus was found for the first time in muskrats in Germany. All the named parasites were present in Europe prior to the introduction of muskrats. With a prevalence of 48.9%, Strobilocercus fasciolaris, the larval stage of the cat tapeworm, H. taeniaeformis, was the most frequent parasite found in adult muskrats. 
  • 940
  • 27 Aug 2021
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