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Topic Review
Challenge of Global Warming in Water Buffalo Farming
Global warming (GW) is a current challenge for livestock systems, including water buffalo farms. Buffaloes have anatomical traits such as thick skin and a high density of capillaries and arterioles to improve sensitive heat losses. However, they are exposed to high temperatures and tropical and humid climates that make them susceptible to heat stress.
  • 1.1K
  • 12 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Biofortification of Staple Crops
Micronutrient malnutrition is a global health challenge affecting almost half of the global population, causing poor physical and mental development of children and a wide range of illnesses. It is most prevalent in young girls, women, and pre-school children who are suffering particularly from the low consumption of vitamins and micronutrients. Given this global challenge, biofortification has proven to be a promising and economical approach to increase the concentration of essential micronutrients in edible portions of staple crops. Produce quality and micronutrient content can be further enhanced with the use of micronutrient fertilizers. Especially developing countries with a high percentage of malnourished populations are attracted to this integrated biofortification, combining modern agronomic interventions and genetic improvement of food crops. Consequently, maize, rice, wheat, beans, pearl millet, sweet potato, and cassava have all been biofortified with increased concentrations of Fe, Zn, or provitamin A in various developing countries. Today, there are several large-scale success stories in Africa and Asia that support the research and development of biofortified crops.
  • 1.1K
  • 02 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Dietary Application of Opuntia in Animal Nutrition
The cactus Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., commonly called prickly pear or cactus pear, is a tropical and subtropical plant belonging to the dicotyledonous angiosperm Cactaceae family, which comprises about 1500 species of cactus. Cactaceae have adaptive characteristics that ensure their development progress under drought conditions. The research provides information on the nutritive value of Opuntia in animal fodder production, its effects on animal performance, and the quality of the animal-derived products. 
  • 1.1K
  • 11 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Artificial Neural Networks Analyze Plant
In the course of evolution plant organisms have developed several mechanisms preventing or repairing cell damage incurred as a result of exposure to various factors. In response to increasing threats plants have developed antioxidative defense mechanisms: enzymatic and non-enzymatic. The enzymatic mechanism is based on antioxidative enzymes, while the non-enzymatic system is based on low-molecular antioxidants: ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, glutathione, carotenoids, phenolic compounds. A significant abiotic stressor inseparably connected with the potential development of fungal diseases Ear Fusarium is caused by strains of F.graminearum and F.culmorum, which can produce mycotoxins - deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV). The aim of the study was to conduct pilot studies on the basis of which neural models were created that would examine the impact of the variety and weather conditions on the concentration of ferulic acid and link its content with the concentration of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol. The plant material was 23 winter wheat genotypes with different Fusarium resistance. Field experiment was conducted in 2011-2013 in Poland in three experimental combinations: with full chemical protection, without chemical protection, but infested with natural disease (control), and in the absence of fungicidal protection, with artificial inoculation by genus Fusarium fungi. As a result of the pilot studies, three neural models FERUANN, DONANN and NIVANN were produced. Each model was based on 14 independent features, 12 independent features of which were in the form of quantitative data, and the other 2 were presented as qualitative data. The structure of created models was based on an artificial neural network (ANN) of the multilayer perceptron (MLP) with two hidden layers. The sensitivity analysis of the neural network showed the two most important features determining the concentration of ferulic acid, deoxynivalenol and nivalenol in winter wheat seeds. These are the experiment variant (VAR) and winter wheat variety (VOW).
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Land Use and Sustainable Sugarcane
Large-scale land-use change (LUC) to expand bioenergy crops, such as sugarcane, raises concerns about the potential negative environmental and socioeconomic side effects. However, such effects are context-specific, and depending on the LUC scenario and management practices, several co-benefits can be attained. In that context, sugarcane-derived bioenergy becomes an important, feasible and sustainable option for mitigating global warming and climate change.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are a common disorder characterized by persistent and recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms. This is the result of abnormal gastrointestinal function.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Pumilio RNA Binding Protein in Plants
RNA binding proteins (RBPs) have been known to control target genes. One type of protein, Pumilio (Pum)/Puf family RNA binding proteins, show a specific binding of 3′ untranslational region (3′ UTR) of target mRNA and function as a post-transcriptional/translational regulator in eukaryotic cells. Plant Pum protein is involved in development and biotic/abiotic stresses.
  • 1.1K
  • 16 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Lessons from Global Spread of Conservation Agriculture
Since 2008/2009, Conservation Agriculture (CA) cropland area has been expanding globally at an annual rate of more than 10 M ha per year. In 2015/2016, the total CA cropland area was 180.4 M ha, corresponding to 12.5% of global cropland area. In 2018/2019, the total cropland area was 205.4 M ha, corresponding to 14.7% of global cropland area. The spread of CA has been expanding in Asia, Africa, and Europe in recent years because farmers are becoming better organized in working together and networking. More attention and resources are being allocated by stakeholders towards supporting farmers to adopt CA and in generating new knowledge to improve their performance.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Apr 2022
Topic Review
African Striped Weasel
The African Striped Weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) stands as a captivating and elusive mustelid, native to the African continent. With its distinct striped coat and unique features, this small carnivore contributes to the rich tapestry of African wildlife, occupying a specialized niche in the ecosystems it inhabits.
  • 1.1K
  • 04 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Probiotics and Campylobacter spp.
Campylobacter spp. are widely distributed microorganisms, many of which are commensals of gastrointestinal tract in multiple animal species, including poultry. Most commonly detected are C. jejuni and C. coli. Although infections are usually asymptomatic in poultry, poultry meat and products represent main sources of infection with these bacteria to humans. According to recent EFSA report, campylobacteriosis is the most commonly reported zoonotic disease. In 2018, EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards indicated that use of feed and water additives is the second most likely strategy that can be successful in minimizing Campylobacter spp. colonization rate in broiler chickens. One of those feed and water additives are probiotics. From numerous research papers it can be concluded that probiotics exhibit plenty of mechanisms of anti-Campylobacter activity, which were evaluated under in vitro conditions.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 May 2021
Topic Review
Omics Approaches to Assess Flavor Development in Cheese
Cheese is characterized by a rich and complex microbiota that plays a vital role during both production and ripening, contributing significantly to the safety, quality, and sensory characteristics of the final product. In this context, it is vital to explore the microbiota composition and understand its dynamics and evolution during cheese manufacturing and ripening. Application of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies have facilitated the more accurate identification of the cheese microbiome, detailed study of its potential functionality, and its contribution to the development of specific organoleptic properties. These technologies include amplicon sequencing, whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing, metatranscriptomics, and, most recently, metabolomics. In recent years, however, the application of multiple meta-omics approaches along with data integration analysis, which was enabled by advanced computational and bioinformatics tools, paved the way to better comprehension of the cheese ripening process, revealing significant associations between the cheese microbiota and metabolites, as well as their impact on cheese flavor and quality. 
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Salmonella and Food Safety
Salmonellosis is the second most reported gastrointestinal disorder in the EU resulting from the consumption of Salmonella-contaminated foods. Symptoms include gastroenteritis, abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhoea, fever, myalgia, headache, nausea and vomiting.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 May 2021
Topic Review
Cactus Pears
Cactus pears are nutritious, drought-tolerant plants that flourish in hot and arid regions. All its plant parts can be consumed by humans and animals. Fruit seed oil production is an important emerging industry in South Africa. As part of an initiative to promote cactus pears as multi-functional crops, dual-purpose cultivars should be identified, and their production increased.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Isolation, Characterization, and Molecular Detection of Porcine Sapelovirus
Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) is an important emerging pathogen associated with a wide variety of diseases in swine, including acute diarrhoea, respiratory distress, skin lesions, severe neurological disorders, and reproductive failure. 
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Embedding Cultivated Diversity in Society
Agroecology calls for a global approach, integrating scientific, practical, and advocacy dimensions, to redesign agricultural systems based on ecological and socio-cultural processes and emphasizing biodiversity. This review is grounded on the results of DIVERSIFOOD, an European H2020 multi-actor research project, and explores the concept of cultivated diversity using various dimensions relevant to foster sustainable organic food systems and agro-ecological transition. From the evaluation of underutilized genetic resources and forgotten crops, DIVERSIFOOD has proposed plant breeding strategies, on-farm experimentation, and statistical tools to create new populations, landraces, and organic cultivars with intra-varietal diversity. The added value of Community Seed Banks and forms of collective seed management in Europe have been described in terms of goals and activities, and their value for improving seed regulations, treaties, and genetic resources management is discussed. In the context of the current agro-food system characterized by standardization, DIVERSIFOOD raised awareness of qualities of ‘biodiverse food systems’ in which all actors have a role to play. It highlighted the critical capacity to preserve a diversity of cultural values embodied in ‘biodiverse products’, thereby involving consumers in collective strategies for reviving diversity, and empowering all actors of organic food systems to really and efficiently implement research within their farms and networks.
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Smart Agriculture
Smart agriculture, or precision agriculture, is a crucial way to achieve greater yields by utilizing the natural deposits in a diverse environment. The yield of a crop may vary from year to year depending on the variations in climate, soil parameters and fertilizers used. Automation in the agricultural industry moderates the usage of resources and can increase the quality of food in the post-pandemic world. Agricultural robots have been developed for crop seeding, monitoring, weed control, pest management and harvesting. Physical counting of fruitlets, flowers or fruits at various phases of growth is labour intensive as well as an expensive procedure for crop yield estimation. Remote sensing technologies offer accuracy and reliability in crop yield prediction and estimation. The automation in image analysis with computer vision and deep learning models provides precise field and yield maps. In this review, it has been observed that the application of deep learning techniques has provided a better accuracy for smart farming. The crops taken for the study are fruits such as grapes, apples, citrus, tomatoes and vegetables such as sugarcane, corn, soybean, cucumber, maize, wheat. The research works which are carried out in this research paper are available as products for applications such as robot harvesting, weed detection and pest infestation. The methods which made use of conventional deep learning techniques have provided an average accuracy of 92.51%.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Coffee-Hemileia vastatrix Interactions
Coffee belongs to the genus Coffea of the family Rubiaceae and consists of over 100 species. The two main cultivated species, Coffea arabica L. (Arabica) and C. canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner (Robusta) accounted in 2020, on average, for about 60% and 40% of the world’s coffee production, respectively. Coffee leaf rust (CLR), caused by the biotrophic fungus Hemileia vastatrix, is the most important disease affecting Arabica coffee growing worldwide, leading to significant yield losses if no control measures are applied. A deep understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in coffee-H. vastatrix interactions, such as the pathogen variability and the mechanisms governing plant resistance and susceptibility, is required to breed efficiently for durable resistance and design new approaches for crop protection.
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Negative Effects of Soil Salinity on Crops
One of the most significant environmental challenges to crop growth and yield worldwide is soil salinization. Salinity lowers soil solution water potential, causes ionic disequilibrium and specific ion effects, and increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) buildup, causing several physiological and biochemical issues in plants. Plants have developed biological and molecular methods to combat salt stress. Salt-signaling mechanisms regulated by phytohormones may provide additional defense in salty conditions. That discovery helped identify the molecular pathways that underlie zinc-oxide nanoparticle (ZnO-NP)-based salt tolerance in certain plants. It emphasized the need to study processes like transcriptional regulation that govern plants’ many physiological responses to such harsh conditions. ZnO-NPs have shown the capability to reduce salinity stress by working with transcription factors (TFs) like AP2/EREBP, WRKYs, NACs, and bZIPs that are released or triggered to stimulate plant cell osmotic pressure-regulating hormones and chemicals. In addition, ZnO-NPs have been shown to reduce the expression of stress markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) while also affecting transcriptional factors. Those systems helped maintain protein integrity, selective permeability, photosynthesis, and other physiological processes in salt-stressed plants. 
  • 1.1K
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Dairy Cows under Heat Stress
Heat stress is a major problem for dairy cattle welfare, and it has several implications for milk production. In this work, automatic sensors were used to monitor cows’ activity. Different behaviors were recorded for 40 animals at different heat stress conditions. The main aim of the study was to use automatic sensors to identify behavior changes caused by heat stress on dairy cows. All behaviors studied were affected by environmental conditions. Animals adapted to heat stress by modifying their behavior, and automatic sensors provided valuable information in this regard. These findings might be the early development of an automatic early warning system for heat stress based on the behavioral modifications of dairy cattle. 
  • 1.1K
  • 03 Sep 2021
Topic Review
MicroRNA and cDNA-Microarray against Abiotic Stress Response
The miRNAs and cDNA-microarrays are powerful tools to enhance abiotic stress tolerance in plants through multiple advanced sequencing and bioinformatics techniques, including miRNA-regulated network, miRNA target prediction, miRNA identification, expression profile, features (disease or stress, biomarkers) association, tools based on machine learning algorithms, NGS, and tools specific for plants. Such technologies were established to identify miRNA and their target gene network prediction, emphasizing current achievements, impediments, and future perspectives.
  • 1.1K
  • 13 Jan 2022
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