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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.
  • 1.8K
  • 05 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Insect Rearing Techniques for Biological Control Programs
It is important to rear insects, whether on a small scale for research or a large scale for mass rearing, for use in biological control (BC) programs with macro-organisms.
  • 1.8K
  • 14 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Northern Elephant Seal
The Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) stands as a magnificent marine mammal, captivating researchers and nature enthusiasts alike. Known for its colossal size and distinctive, trunk-like proboscis, this species inhabits the eastern Pacific Ocean, predominantly along the coasts of California and Mexico. The life history of the Northern Elephant Seal is marked by remarkable adaptations for oceanic life, intricate social dynamics, and seasonal migrations, making it a compelling subject of study in marine biology.
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Bay Cat
The Bay Cat (Catopuma badia), a mysterious and elusive felid species native to the dense forests of Southeast Asia, remains one of the least studied and understood wild cats. Known for its striking reddish-brown fur and secretive behavior, the Bay Cat captivates researchers and conservationists alike as they strive to unravel the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic feline species.
  • 1.8K
  • 04 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Tuber Sprout Suppressants
To avoid tuber sprouting, increased storage and transportation of potatoes demands either the retention of their dormant state or the application of sprout growth suppressants.
  • 1.8K
  • 08 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Cadmium in Plants
Cd is a naturally occurring environmental toxicant, which is easily absorbed and accumulated by plants, and has strong teratogenic and mutagenic effects on organisms. Human exposure to Cd for a long time can easily cause diseases such as osteoporosis and kidney damage. It is also positively correlated with the outbreak of a variety of cancers, and is classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Group I). A large amount of data shows that the intake of Cd in the human body is mainly from the diet. Therefore, it is very important to understand the influx and transport mechanism of Cd in plants.
  • 1.8K
  • 17 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Smart village
In this study, the level of progress of climate smart agriculture was examined, its ideas were employed to develop a framework for smart village development. This is essential because most agricultural activites are maximized in the rural communities, more so, its development can influence the increasing rural-urban migration. Also of importance is the tailoring of this framework towards sustainability. 
  • 1.8K
  • 31 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Nanoparticles in Plants Abiotic Stress Management
Abiotic stress in plants is one of the main obstacles to global agricultural production and food security. Therefore, there is a need for the development of novel approaches to overcome these problems and achieve sustainability. Nanotechnology has emerged as one such novel approach to improve crop production, through the utilization of nanoscale products, such as nanofertilizer, nanofungicides, nanoherbicides and nanopesticides. Their ability to cross cellular barriers makes nanoparticles suitable for their application in agriculture. Since they are easily soluble, smaller, and effective for uptake by plants, nanoparticles are widely used as a modern agricultural tool. The implementation of nanoparticles has been found to be effective in improving the qualitative and quantitative aspects of crop production under various biotic and abiotic stress conditions.
  • 1.8K
  • 27 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Common Genet
The Common Genet, also known as Genetta genetta, is a small carnivorous mammal native to Europe and parts of North Africa. Recognizable by its slender body, long tail, and distinctive facial markings, the Common Genet is a nocturnal hunter, preying on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Despite its name, the Common Genet is not closely related to cats but belongs to the family Viverridae, making it a unique and intriguing member of the carnivore community.
  • 1.8K
  • 15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Technologies for Crop Nitrogen Diagnosis
       Nitrogen (N) plays a key role in the growth of agricultural crops, efficient and precise tools for diagnosis of N status is key to improving crop productivity and reducing environmental pollution. Recent development of non-destructive optical techniques, such as spectroscopy and machine vision technologies, have laid a good foundation for real-time monitoring and precise management of crop N status. We mainly focused on the contribution of spectral and machine vision technology to the accurate diagnosis of crop N status from three aspects: system selection, data processing, and estimation methods. In order to provide useful information for readers.
  • 1.8K
  • 09 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Spore-Forming Probiotics for Poultry
One of the main problems in the poultry industry is the search for a viable replacement for antibiotic growth promoters. This issue requires a “one health” approach because the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in poultry can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which is a concern not only in animals, but for humans as well. One of the promising ways to overcome this challenge is found in probiotics due to their wide range of features and mechanisms of action for health promotion. Moreover, spore-forming probiotics are suitable for use in the poultry industry because of their unique ability, encapsulation, granting them protection from the harshest conditions and resulting in improved availability for hosts’ organisms. 
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Organic Food Impact on Human Health
Organic agriculture has gained more popularity, yet its approach to food production and its potential impact on consumers’ health and various environmental aspects remain to be fully discovered. The goal of organic farming practices is to maintain soil health, sustain ecological systems, maintain fairness in its relationship with the environment and protect the environment in its entirety. Various health benefits have been associated with higher consumption of organic foods.
  • 1.8K
  • 18 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Devil Facial Tumour Disease
Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is an aggressive non-viral clonally transmissible cancer which affects Tasmanian devils, a marsupial native to Australia . DFTD was first described in 1996. In the subsequent decade the disease ravaged Tasmania's wild devils. Affected high-density populations suffered up to 100% mortality in 12–18 months. Between 1996 and 2015, DFTD wiped out 95% of affected colonies.
  • 1.8K
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Chemical and Cell-Based Antioxidant Assays
Antioxidants remain interesting molecules of choice for suppression of the toxic effects of free radicals in foods and human systems. The current practice involves the use of mainly synthetic molecules as potent antioxidant agents. However, due to the potential negative impact on human health, there is an intensive effort within the research community to develop natural alternatives with similar antioxidant efficacy but without the negative side effects of synthetic molecules. Still, the successful development of new molecules depends on the use of reliable chemical or cell culture assays to screen antioxidant properties. Chemical antioxidant assays include the determination of scavenging ability against free radicals such as DPPH, superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide. Other antioxidant tests include the ability of compounds to bind and sequester prooxidant metal cations, reduce ferric iron, and attenuate the rate of lipid oxidation. Ex vivo tests utilize cell cultures to confirm entry of the molecules into cells and the ability to quench synthetic intracellular free radicals or to stimulate the increased biosynthesis of endogenous antioxidants.
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Modified Citrus Pectin Pleiotropic Effects
Modified citrus pectin (MCP) has a low-molecular-weight degree of esterification to allow absorption from the small intestinal epithelium into the circulation. MCP produces pleiotropic effects, including but not limited to its antagonism of galectin-3, which have shown benefit in preclinical and clinical models. Regarding cancer, MCP modulates several rate-limiting steps of the metastatic cascade. MCP can also affect cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy. Regarding fibrotic diseases, MCP modulates many of the steps involved in the pathogenesis of aortic stenosis. MCP also reduces fibrosis to the kidney, liver, and adipose tissue. Other benefits of MCP include detoxification and improved immune function.
  • 1.8K
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Cold Stress in Arabidopsis and Rice
Cold stress, including freezing stress and chilling stress, is one of the major environmental factors that limit the growth and productivity of plants. As a temperate dicot model plant species, Arabidopsis develops a capability to freezing tolerance through cold acclimation. The past decades have witnessed a deep understanding of mechanisms underlying cold stress signal perception, transduction, and freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis. In contrast, a monocot cereal model plant species derived from tropical and subtropical origins, rice, is very sensitive to chilling stress and has evolved a different mechanism for chilling stress signaling and response.
  • 1.8K
  • 03 Nov 2021
Topic Review
The Formation Mechanism of Pigeon Milk
Pigeon is an important economic poultry species in many countries. Pigeon milk is generally characterized by having high concentrations of proteins and lipids, and a complicated regulatory network is involved in the milk formation. Hormones, especially prolactin, could promote the proliferation of crop epidermal cells and nutrient accumulation. The expression of target genes associated with these important biological processes in the crop epidermis is affected by non-coding RNAs. Meanwhile, signaling pathways, such as target of rapamycin (TOR), Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins (JAK/STAT), protein kinase B (Akt), etc., influence the production of crop milk by either enhancing protein synthesis in crop cells or inducing apoptosis of crop epidermal cells.
  • 1.8K
  • 09 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Olfaction in Eusocial Ants
Eusocial ants (family Formicidae) engage in a broad range of social behaviors such as nursing the queen’s offspring, foraging for food, and defending their nest. Importantly, these behaviors critically depend on the exchange of information through the detection of chemical cues by a sophisticated olfactory system comprising among the largest number of odorant receptors (ORs) of any insect.
  • 1.7K
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Water, Land as Shared Resources
Although agriculture and aquaculture depend on access to increasingly scarce, shared water resources to produce food for human consumption, they are most often considered in isolation. We argue that they should be treated as integrated components of a single complex system that is prone to direct or indirect tradeoffs that should be avoided while also being amenable to synergies that should be sought. Direct tradeoffs such as competition for space or the pollution of shared water resources usually occur when the footprints of agriculture and aquaculture overlap or when the two practices coexist in close proximity to one another. Interactions can be modulated by factors such as hydropower infrastructure and short-term economic incentives, both of which are known to disrupt the balance between aquaculture and agriculture. Indirect tradeoffs, on the other hand, play out across distances, i.e., when agricultural food sources are diverted to feed animals in aquaculture. Synergies are associated with the culture of aquatic organisms in rice paddies and irrigation waters, seasonal rotations of crop cultivation with aquaculture, and various forms of integrated agriculture–aquaculture (IAA), including jitang, a highly developed variant of pond-dike IAA. Policy decisions, socioeconomic considerations, and technology warrant increased scrutiny as determinants of tradeoffs and synergies. Priority issues for the future include guiding the expansion of aquaculture from its traditional base in Asia, taking advantage of the heterogeneity that exists within both agricultural and aquaculture systems, the development of additional metrics of tradeoffs and synergies, and adapting to the effects of climate change.
  • 1.7K
  • 20 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Marbled Cat
The Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata) is a small and elusive wild cat species native to the forests of Southeast Asia. Renowned for its striking marbled coat pattern, this felid species occupies a niche as an arboreal predator, adept at navigating the dense canopy of its habitat. Despite its cryptic nature and limited sightings in the wild, the Marbled Cat plays a significant role in forest ecosystems, preying on small mammals, birds, and reptiles, and contributing to the regulation of prey populations.
  • 1.7K
  • 08 Mar 2024
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