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Portulaca oleracea is a widespread herbaceous plant particularly rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), antioxidant compounds and characterised by a healthy omega-6/omega-3 ratio. The focus of this research was to evaluate the effects of Portulaca oleracea supplementation to the diet of laying hens on productive performance, egg physical traits, fatty acid composition and cholesterol content. Twenty-six 24-week-old Warren strain layers were randomly assigned to two different groups of 18 and eight birds, respectively: one group received a commercial diet (C) whereas the other group was given the same control diet supplemented with 20% of dried Portulaca oleracea (PO). Hens were fed for 21 days. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. The poor palatability of the PO diet compromised the optimisation of the productive performance, with a significant reduction of the oviposition efficiency (0.69 vs 0.88 for PO and C, respectively; P < 0.05) and egg physical traits. Considering the egg nutritional traits, dietary PO significantly decreased the yolk proportion of saturated fatty acid (43.0% vs 44.1%, P < 0.05), while it increased the content of PUFA (19.4% vs 17.8%, P < 0.001), and within the latter, both omega-6 and omega-3 proportion significantly increased in comparison with C group (16.4% vs 17.6%, P < 0.001 and 1.46% vs 1.80%, P < 0.001, for n-6 and n-3, respectively). This resulted in an improvement of the omega-6/omega-3 ratio (10.4 vs 11.3 for PO and C, respectively; P < 0.05). Egg yolk cholesterol content did not vary between dietary treatments. It could be concluded that the use of Portulaca oleracea for producing omega-3-enriched eggs is feasible once the problem of palatability has been overcome and the energy requirements of the hens have been covered.

Global warming caused by climate change can increase heat stress and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, leading to food problems and livestock crises. Thus, pre-emptive responses are required to mitigate the food problems and livestock crises. The potential of a livestock crisis caused by global warming highlights the need for sustainable livestock production in response to climate change using a farm animal algorithm in order to address the population increase and avoid food problems in the future. In particular, the demand for animal-based foods has increased. Such a climate change threatens the livestock environment, production, reproductive efficiency, animal behaviour and welfare, while increasing the heat stress, livestock malodours, and GHG emissions. For these reasons, it is necessary to understand the concurrent mechanisms related to these effects of global warming, animal nutrition, animal feeding and management, animal heat stress and in ovo injection, and carbon neutral livestock. Climate-smart livestock systems are being implemented to overcome the livestock crisis caused by climate change and to maintain sustainable livestock production. This review emphasises the importance of sustainable livestock production using farm animal algorithms in response to a future livestock crisis caused by climate change in 2050.

The paper analyses the root system development in the artificially established stands of Douglas fir aged 10, 20, 30, 60 and 80 years on aerated soils (Cambisols) without skeleton. On these sites, the Douglas fir develops a uniform root system of substitute taproots and anchors, which has great predispositions to assure the good mechanical stability of trees as well as its resistance to sudden changes in upper soil horizons. Several anchors growing in positive geotropic direction shoot from the stem base, several slant anchors shooting from the side of the stem base turn into the positive geotropic direction of growth. In humus horizons, horizontal skeletal roots shoot from the stem base, which turn into lower soil horizons in an "elbow-pipe" manner and from which shoot positively geotropically growing anchors. Trees of Douglas fir develop this type of root system already at an age of twenty years.

Scots pine covers large areas on sandy soils in lowlands of the Czech Republic. These sites can be threatened by non-sustainable biomass removal after clear-cutting. Totally 14 young pine stands at 14-26 years of age were analysed. Particular biomass components were separated, weighed and analysed to investigate their biomass and nutrient contents such as N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Results showed that leaving slash (needles and branches) plus belowground biomass (stumps and coarse roots) on the site represents 51% of calcium, 62% of magnesium, 74% of nitrogen, 67% of phosphorus and 72% of potassium. The total nutrient pools (without fine roots) were 171-377 kg.ha^-1 for nitrogen, 34-72 kg.ha^-1 for phosphorus, 74-172 kg.ha^-1 for potassium, 82-180 kg.ha^-1 for calcium and 19-42 kg.ha^-1 for magnesium. Needles and live branches are the most important pools of nutrients and the extraction of these parts of biomass can negatively affect the nutrient balance of forest stands on nutrient-poor sites. Stumps with coarse and fine roots also represent a significant pool of nutrients which is left on the studied sites.

The Strofades Islands form part of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. Juniperus turbinata Gussone (syn. Juniperus phoenicea Linnaeus) forests are one of the few remaining high forest forms in Mediterranean. Here, the ecological status and the state of forest regeneration on the Strofades were evaluated to contribute information to their preservation. Seventeen sampling sites were established in the most representative locations. Fourteen sites were dominated by J. turbinata, while the predominant species was Quercus coccifera Linnaeus, accompanied by Phillyrea latifolia Linnaeus and Pistacia lentiscus Linnaeus, in the remaining three sites. Our results showed the presence of poorly formed juniper populations dominated by individuals with multiple trunks and rotting heartwood. Various factors contributed to the absence of regeneration, including poor soil, rocky substrate and grazing activity by a large number of free ranging goats. The broadleaf evergreen species dominated over J. turbinata along the juniper forest boundaries. Our results demonstrate that broadleaved shrubs are favoured, limiting the regeneration of juniper, stressing the importance for implementing forest conservation measures and expanding our knowledge about juniper regeneration processes.

Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) is a professional and social institution whose basic mission is to influence the scientific level of research activities and education in its field of competence, to take care of its continuous development and to effectively popularize the acquired scientific knowledge. Within the CAAS and its Department of Forestry, the Commission of Forest Economics has been operating for a long time, focusing on forest and wood economics and policy. A total of 11 research directions are defined in the forthcoming Concept of Research, Development and Innovation of the Ministry of Agriculture for the period 2023+, the professional part of which is covered and guaranteed by the CAAS. The following directions are included in forestry and wood processing: "Forestry and related industries" and the direction "Forest and agricultural economics and policy" integrated with agriculture. The paper briefly describes the scientific focus of forest and wood economics and policy in this context and especially the activities of the Commission of Forest Economics of the Department of Forestry of the CAAS. In the temporal and factual context, it mentions the published monograph "Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a Quarter-Century of the Commission of Forest Economics".

The exact determination of the rotation period is still a current and important essential issue of forestry. It attracts the attention of forest economists, managers and owners worldwide, not only of forest economists but also of forest managers. The rotation period is defined by physical, technical or financial parameters of forest management. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between the biological and the economic optimal rotation period. A fundamental challenge in forest management is the need for appropriate determination of the rotation period. The primary interest of our research was to compare the effective legislation for the determination of the rotation period in the Czech Republic and in the Slovak Republic. Scientific methods such as document analysis and questionnaire survey were applied. The results of the legislation analysis and other related documents were compared with the expert opinions of the relevant stakeholders. Those who affect the decision process related to the problem and those where are "affected" by the problem were involved in the study. Results show that respondents do not agree with the regulation of rotation period according to effective law. Moreover, they consider it as not usable as the conditions in forest ecosystems have changed recently, which is not considered in the legislation.

Laboratory-scale testing methods applicable to evaluation of contaminated subsurface microbial communities are discussed in relation to their potential in supporting effective site bioremediation. Both culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques are considered here with special emphasis on their capacity to contribute to bioremediation system design, in optimal cases by providing information on contaminant degradation rates. In this regard, microbial soil respiration tests seem to be the most useful tool since microbial soil respiration is a sensitive and easily measurable parameter for determination of metabolic activity within the sample and is closely related to other microbial parameters such as microbial biomass.

This study aims to explore the effect of phosphorus (P) application on the economic yield, quality, P accumulation, and P utilisation efficiency of purple-fleshed sweetpotato and to provide a basis for the P efficient utilisation and high crop yield. Field experiments were conducted in 2018-2019, and five P application rates (0, 10.9, 21.8, 32.7, and 43.6 kg P/ha, expressed as P0, P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively) were set. The results showed that P application significantly increased the yield and commodity potato yield of purple-fleshed sweetpotato, and that of P3 treatment was the highest, followed by P2 treatment. P application also increased the starch content in the storage root and increased the reducing sugar and soluble sugar (except for P2 treatment). P fertiliser supply significantly increased P accumulation and dry matter production of purple-fleshed sweetpotato during the growth period of 90 to 120 days. When the P application rate was over 21.8 kg/ha, the fertiliser investment rate, apparent P utilisation efficiency and P agronomic efficiency decreased with the increase of the application rate. Considering all the indexes, the supply of 21.8 kg/ha P fertiliser can meet the demand for high economic yield and P efficient utilisation in purple-fleshed type sweetpotato under the condition of this experiment.

The war in Ukraine has shown that the worldwide food security can be easily shaken. This article focuses on an evaluation of European Union (EU) wheat producers on the world market. Would EU producers maintain their competitive position without direct payments? What changes need to be introduced to improve the position of EU producers on the world market? To answer these questions, a data envelopment analysis has been applied. It is indicated that the competitive position of EU wheat producers is still strongly dependent on direct payments and that mechanisation costs are a key area for improved efficiency in wheat production in Europe.

This study evaluated the productive performance, blood parameters and antioxidant status of hyperprolific sows fed control diet or diet supplemented with brown seaweed and polyphenol mixture (SPM). Ninety-six farrowing highly prolific sows (Topigs 20) were assigned to two dietary treatments from day 107 ± 2 days of gestation until weaning: control diet and the same diet containing 15 g/day of SPM. Sows fed SPM diet tended to have lower backfat losses (P = 0.06) than control sows. No difference was observed in daily feed intake. No difference in litter birth weight or number of piglets per litter was observed. In sows fed SPM, average daily gain and weaning body weight of piglets were increased (P < 0.05). Haematochemical parameters, haptoglobin and blood total antiradical activity were not affected (P > 0.05) by dietary treatment. The paraoxonase-1 activity was higher (P < 0.05) in SPM sows than in the control. At the subsequent farrowing, the total number of piglets born was higher (P < 0.05) in sows fed SPM than in the control. Overall, these data suggest that dietary plant polyphenols and brown seaweeds improved the weaning weight of piglets and the total number of piglets born at the subsequent farrowing, modulating oxidative stress in lactating highly prolific sows.

This study provides the first insight into the biologically active potential (total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins and antioxidant activity) of Moldavian сarob beans and pod pulp in comparison with carob grown in Algeria, Spain, and Italy. The results showed that the samples of Moldavian carob contain significant amounts (P ≤ 0.05) of biologically active compounds, the content of some of these compounds is far exceeding that of сarob from the above-mentioned regions. Thus, the total content of phenolic compounds in Moldavian carob samples is 1.4 times higher, of flavonoids 1.9 times higher compared to the imported ones. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) antioxidant activity of Moldavian carob samples proved to be about 10-12% higher than the antioxidant activity of samples from other regions. It has been proved that Moldavian carob pod pulp and beans have a high biologically active potential making them possible ingredients for functional food products.

Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of response to environmental stress is fundamental for the development of genetically stress-tolerant crops. This study aims to find vegetable soybean accessions tolerant to cultivation in stressful tropical environments. Fourteen accessions of the vegetable soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) were grown in mineral and beach ridges interspersed with swale (BRIS) soils. The genetic diversity, estimated using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, revealed 42.50% polymorphism and was regarded as moderate. The unweighted pair-group method arithmetic average (UPGMA) analysis allocated the tested accessions into five major clusters at a similarity coefficient level of 0.43. The lowest values of the genetic distance were between IIUMSOY11 and IIUMSOY13 & IIUMSOY13 and IIUMSOY14, indicating that these accessions were more genetically distant from the other accessions. Ten differentially expressed proteins were identified in the three selected accessions IIUMSOY1, IIUMSOY11 and IIUMSOY14 using mass spectrometry, revealing a unique expression of the proteins involved in the storage, flavonoid metabolism, protein modification, oxidative stress defence, carbohydrate metabolism and respiratory chain. The findings may be valuable for the selection of genetically diverse accessions, to enhance the breeding of vegetable soybean genotypes suitable for stressful tropical environments.

Afforestation is important for the EU forest management strategy. Afforestation of abandoned and marginal arable land is a favourable non-agricultural land use option for climate change mitigation. It may prevent threats of drought or erosion e.g. by affecting the water balance in soil via increased structural stability. The structural stability control in afforested soil is related to i.a. organic matter content, nutrient content, soil reaction, planted tree species prosperity, and amelioration. A four-year field small-plot experiment on afforestation was carried out with Chernozem covered with deciduous (oak), coniferous (pine) or mixed planting, amended with 3 doses (no-application, 0.5 kg×m^-2, and 1.5 kg×m^-2) of alginite. In 2013 and 2016, soil reaction pH_H2O, mean weight diameter (MWD), organic matter content (LOI) and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined and related to the soil structural stability to evaluate the soil precondition to sustain drought twice per vegetation period (spring and autumn). Afforestation significantly improved MWD compared to the field soil between 2013 and 2016 from 1.63 ± 0.04 mm to 1.85 ± 0.05 mm. Tree planting significantly neutralized the soil pH_H2O, mixed planting appeared to improve LOI and TOC. Four-year afforestation led also to higher structural stability, less alkaline pH and deciduous tree-related increase in LOI, which may indicate better soil sustainability to drought.

The aim of the study was to assess the current state of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) stands in Ukrainian Polissya, as well as to identify optimal composition resulting in productive and resilient mixed birch forests. It was found that in forests managed by the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, birch stands grow on an area of 352 800 ha, covering 5.6% of the total area of forests in Ukraine. Within the study region of Ukrainian Polissya, birch stands cover 294 900 ha making 12.3% of the total forest area. Naturally originated birch stands were found to dominate in the study region, with 65.4% of vegetative stands and 25.2% of those grown from seeds. However, planted stands significantly prevail in terms of growing stock as compared to natural ones. In Ukrainian Polissya, silver birch trees grow as a part of mixed pine and birch forests on 632 400 ha. Our study found that mixed pine and birch stands with 80-90% of Scots pine and 20-10% of silver birch in the composition are the most productive.

The ameliorative effects and its mitigation mechanisms of selenium (Se) on cadmium (Cd) toxicity in cucumber seedlings were studied through hydroponic experiments. Cd and other mineral nutrient concentrations, antioxidant enzyme activities, and antioxidant contents in cucumber were studied. The results revealed that exogenous Se significantly decreased the Cd concentrations in all tissues, especially in the leaves. Moreover, exogenous Se (Cd + Se) could increase Zn, Na, leaf Cu, stem/root Fe, stem/root Ca, and stem/root Mg concentrations; and reduce leaf Mg concentration, compared with Cd alone treatment. Additionally, the application of Se ameliorated the toxicity of Cd by harmonising the activities of antioxidase, such as Cd + Se treatment reduced Cd-induced increase of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, leaf/stem ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities, which resulted in the significant decrease of the content of hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdialdehyde; increased root APX, and glutathione reductase activities. In addition, the content of nonenzymatic antioxidants such as root-reduced glutathione and oxidised glutathione was significantly increased by adding Se under Cd stress. Also, exogenous Se enhanced the total antioxidant capacity in terms of cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity and decreased total phenols, flavonoids, and leaf/root proline contents under Cd stress. In general, 3 μmol/L Se was conducive to plant growth and improved the cucumber's ability to alleviate Cd stress.

Corrigendum in: CJFS. 2023 Feb 27; 41(1):78. doi:10.17221/26/2023-CJFS

Growing consumer awareness is forcing food producers to supply raw material and products of increasingly high quality and health-promoting properties. Knowledge of the genetic background of quality characteristics is taking on great importance, enabling selection based on molecular markers. The increasing throughput of molecular techniques, in combination with an expanding bioinformatics infrastructure, is leading to continual improvement in understanding of the molecular mechanisms influencing meat quality. This has resulted in the identification of polymorphic nucleotides [single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] showing a relationship with meat characteristics such as tenderness [polymorphism in the calpain (CAPN) and calpastatin (CAST) genes], marbling [diacylglycerol o-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1)], colour, pH and water-holding capacity (WHC) [CAST, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and others], and fatty acid profile (SCD1). An increasingly wide range of methods is used for analysis, from techniques based on amplification of nucleic acids [polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and amplification refractory mutation system-PCR (ARMS-PCR)] through Sanger sequencing to high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques. This paper is a review of the literature on polymorphism of genes determining the quality characteristics of meat and molecular methods used to detect them.

Herbivorous pests and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) coexist on the same host plant, having an indirect effect on one another. We established an experiment in a randomised complete block design with four treatments and six replications to examine the impact of AMF on the population and the damage caused to plane trees by the leafhopper Zyginella pulchra. Manure, manure plus fertiliser, manure plus fertiliser plus AMF, and non-inoculated plants (control) were all of the treatments. The findings revealed that while the nutritional content and soluble carbohydrate content were significantly enhanced by all treatments, they largely reached their peak in the AMF-inoculated plants. When compared to control trees that were not inoculated, the concentrations of N, P, and Zn were boosted by 39%, 81%, and 425%, respectively. AMF inoculation increased the population of Z. pulchra nymphs and adults compared to the control. However, the plants with AMF inoculation eventually suffered greater leaf loss as a result of this rise in the pest population. The findings show that while AMF enhance nutrient absorption and are necessary to improve the nutritional state of the host trees, they also enhance the absorption of pests that are thought to be harmful to plane trees. However, AMF colonisation improved the potential attractiveness of Z. pulchra to plane trees.

Designing and constructing a road network is one of the most critical steps of the development process in managing natural resources. The current research is going to investigate the application of network connectivity indices to the analysis of road networks in the forested watershed. First, the road network suitability map (RNSM) was created to emphasize the technical and physiographic criteria and integrated management scenarios using a weighted linear combination (WLC) and analytic network process (ANP). Subsequently, three road network alternatives (RNA) were assigned based on the priorities in the RNSM. In order to try to determine the appropriate alternative, the network connectivity of the designed alternatives looked into the forest and non-forest land uses, as well as the whole study area, using the values of alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), eta (η), network density (ND) and detour indices (DI) in the context of the graph theory. Results show that the road density of the RNA2 variant (11.56 m·ha^–1) is shorter than the other alternatives and the existing road network (ERN). In addition, dealing with the whole study area, we realized that the index values which are related to the number two reflect a better status than the other alternatives of alpha, beta, gamma, eta and detour index, in which they were identified to be 0.44, 1.34, 1.16, 0.45 and 0.83, respectively. RNA2 is chosen as the appropriate road network according to the network connectivity, technical and physiographical criteria, along with integrated management scenarios. Further control measures and field surveys are recommended to achieve more relevant results.

The Algeria forest, particularly in the northeastern region, has undergone profound changes in recent years. The Oued Bouhamdane watershed has a great forest potential, which is threatened by several factors of natural and human origin, resulting in a decrease in forest cover. It requires adequate forest monitoring to support the sustainable forest management of this watershed, which is possible thanks to satellite imagery. The objective of this research is to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of the vegetation cover of the Oued Bouhamdane watershed between 2013 and 2022 using remote sensing data. This study is based on the use of Landsat 8 and 9 images for two dates in 2013 and 2022, and the calculation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to identify changes in vegetation cover between 2013 and 2022. The calculation of NDVI and the realization of the vegetation change map showed a regression of the forest cover between 2013 and 2022 with a rate of –5.53% of the total of the study area with a general negative change of 28.62% of the study area. This regression is essentially linked to natural and anthropogenic factors. This work can be a valuable tool for sustainable management of the forest of this watershed; moreover, the method is also adaptable to other watersheds of the northeastern region of Algeria.

The paper deals with the genomic evaluation of retained placenta (RP), metritis/endometritis (MET), and cystic ovarian disease (CYS) and their involvement in the selection programme of Holstein cattle. A procedure for the estimation of genetic parameters and genomic breeding values was proposed. The dataset included farmers’ records of 127 000 lactations from 109 farms for RP, 185 000 lactations from 131 farms for MET and 115 000 lactations from 87 farms for CYS. The lactational incidence was 6.9% (RP), 12.8% (MET) and 9.2% (CYS). The single-trait animal model equation included fixed effects of herd-year-season of calving and parity of the cow, random direct additive genetic effect, random permanent environmental effect and residual effect. The single-step genomic prediction (ssGBLUP) was based on more than 50 000 SNP-genotyped individuals. Heritability for all traits did not exceed 2%. Favourable correlations were found between reproductive disorders resistance, fertility and longevity traits. The correlation between CYS and milk protein yield indicated a genetic predisposition to cystic ovarian disease in high-producing cows. All significant correlations between health traits (clinical mastitis, claw and feet disorders, reproductive disorders) were positive, indicating that the selection for improvement of one health trait would induce a favourable selection response in the others.

The gilt development level is a critical factor for profitability in the pig industry. To evaluate the impact of different gilt development levels on the age structure and production efficiency of female herds we used the performance data of a pig farm that was simulated over a ten-year period, with current production statistics from the Chinese pig industry as a basis for the model. In a herd of 600 breeding sows, we compared age structure, number born alive (NBA), longevity and sow lifetime productivity in three scenarios with gilt culling rates of 10%, 20%, and 30%. The results show that the gilt development has no significant effects on the age structure. The gilt development had no significant effects either on sow reproductive performance or production efficiency. However, the annual replacement rate, longevity, and sow lifetime productivity varied significantly in the three levels of gilt development (P < 0.01). We conclude that the gilt development is closely related to herd turnover and reproductive performance, and ultimately affects the cost of pig production. Gilt development is, therefore, an extremely important factor in an integrated pig production system.

Wheat leaf rust is a devastating disease worldwide. Identification of leaf rust resistance genes in seedlings and of genes for slow rusting are important in resistance breeding and for gene deployment to control the disease. A total of 108 wheat cultivars from the Beijing and Shandong province and a set of 36 differentials, mostly near-isogenic lines in the background of Thatcher with known leaf rust resistance genes, were tested with 20 Puccinia triticina pathotypes  (FHJS1, FGBQ,PGJQ, SHJT, FHGQ, PHTT1, FHGQ, FHGQ, PHJS, THSM, FHSQ, PHST, PRSQ, FNTQ, PHGM, KHGQ, PHTT2, TGTT, FHJS2, NHHT) at the seedling stage in the greenhouse. The cultivars and differentials were also planted in the field to test their slow rusting resistance using a mixture of races at Baoding, Hebei province and Zhoukou, Henan province, for two consecutive years. Ten leaf rust resistance genes, Lr1, 9, 10, 19, 20, 24, 26, 34, 37 and 46 were identified  in the 57 commercial wheat cultivars, either singly or in combination, using molecular markers. Combined, the results from gene postulation and marker detection showed that one or more of the genes Lr1, 3, 10, 14a, 14b, 26, 36, 39, 34 and 46, were present in 57 cultivars, and that no known resistance gene was present in the remaining 51 cultivars. The resistance gene Lr26 was present in 42 cultivars, and nine cultivars contained Lr1. Lr46 was present in 10 cultivars, as indicated by the presence of the closely linked marker csLV46G22. Seven genotypes were identified as possibly carrying the gene Lr39. Lr3 and 10 were found in six and four genotypes, respectively. The ggenes Lr14b and 34 were each present in three cultivars, while evidence for the presence of Lr14a and 36 was obtained in single genotypes. Finally, 12 cultivars showed slow rusting resistance at two locations in two crop seasons. The identification of leaf rust resistance genes in Chinese wheat cultivars will be helpful for gene deployment to control leaf rust.

Neoplasms account for approximately half of the deaths of dogs over ten years of age. This finding, associated with the fact that canine cancer patients will often suffer from the consequences of the systemic spread of the tumour and paraneoplastic syndromes, shows the importance of understanding palliative care by veterinarians and owners. In view of this, this review aims to address palliative care that can be used in veterinary medicine to promote the patient’s well-being and quality of life.

This study aimed to determine the nano-emulsion of virgin coconut oil (n-VCO) formula that can produce the best size and zone inhibition of antimicrobial activity. The VCO was formulated with the different percentages of Tween 80 (P1: 24%, P2: 25%, P3: 26%) and sorbitol (P1: 36%, P2: 35%, P3: 34%). The particle size of the n-VCO emulsion was observed under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The antimicrobial activity test of the n-VCO was determined by a challenge test using Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The data were analysed by a one-way ANOVA (P < 0.05). The significant data were furthermore tested by Duncan’s multiple ranges (SPSS v26.0). This study showed that the P3 formulation (26% Tween 80 and 34% sorbitol) produced the best n-VCO among all the treatments showing a particle size of 5–100 nm. Formulas P1 and P2 produced particle sizes of about 500–1 000 nm. The antimicrobial test showed that the P3 formula had a strong inhibitory effect on S. Typhi (7.442 ± 0.52 mm), S. aureus (8.380 ± 0.49 mm), and E. coli (6.490 ± 0.82 mm). This study concluded that the formula of the detergent strongly influences the particle size of the n-VCO. The n-VCO has enormous potential to be used as an alternative antimicrobial.

By using jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthetic inhibitor ibuprofen (IBU), we investigated the roles of JA in the process of lanthanum nitrate (La(NO3)3)-regulated ascorbic acid (AsA) content and metabolic enzymes responsible for AsA metabolism in strawberry fruit. Findings demonstrated that La(NO3)3 markedly improved AsA content by enhancing the activities and transcript levels of glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH), and inhibiting the activities and transcript levels of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO). In comparison with La(NO3)3 alone, all the concentrations of IBU plus La(NO3)3 markedly inhibited the activities and transcript levels of DHAR, MDHAR, GalLDH and AAO, and improved the activities and transcript levels of GR and APX, which further reduced AsA content. Besides, La(NO3)3 increased JA content and IBU decreased JA content induced by La(NO3)3. Meanwhile, the results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that JA content had significant correlations with the activities and transcript levels of DHAR, MDHAR and GalLDH. Above findings implied that La(NO3)3 induced JA production, which further increased AsA content in fruits by mainly up-regulating the activities and transcript levels of DHAR, MDHAR and GalLDH.

The present study aimed to determine the incidence and coincidence of white striping (WS), woody breast (WB) and spaghetti meat (SM) in raw chicken breast meat (n = 300) collected 3–3.5 h post mortem from commercial broiler flocks (Ross 708 males, 56 days of age). The fillets were scored for the occurrence and severity of WS, WB and SM using visual and tactile methods, and the relationship between myopathies and breast weight was evaluated. A total of 88% of samples (out of 300) had either one or a combination of three myopathies, leaving only 12% without any myopathies. Approximately 29% of the fillets had only one myopathy present, with 59% of the samples demonstrating the cooccurrence of breast myopathies. In the present study, 47.7% of WB samples also exhibited WS, while the cooccurrence of WB and SM was exhibited in 14.7%. Based on binomial logistic regression, an increase in WB scores decreases the odds that the fillet may be affected by SM myopathy. No association was found between SM and fillet weight. Multinomial logistic regression showed that the weight of breast fillets was positively associated with WB1 (P = 0.011), WB2 (P < 0.001), and WB3 (P < 0.001). Furthermore, positive associations were found between WS1 and WB3 (P = 0.004) as well as between WS2 and WB3 (P < 0.001). The percentage distribution changes of each WB and WS myopathy score were used in relation to the 10 weight groups. The percentages of WB3 increased and WB0 decreased as the average fillet weight increased. Regarding linear regression, these results exhibited a positive linear relationship for both WB (R² = 0.91, P < 0.001) and WS (R² = 0.71, P = 0.002) myopathy with fillet weight. A high prevalence of myopathies was observed. The incidence of severe WB categories and the overall high cooccurrence rate are alarming.

To understand and promote the importance of business sustainability in agriculture as an important societal issue, one must use the circumstances to force modern-minded management to abandon the classical model of only complying with statutory obligations and to structure the knowledge to coordinate interdisciplinary approaches to ensuring sustainable innovation. The paper analyses the role of business sustainability in promoting sustainable innovation in agriculture. The study used a factor analysis applied to a sample of 183 companies (n₁ = 183) and qualitative research through focus groups (n₂ = 5). The main objective was to identify the factors influencing the innovated areas in relation to sustainability. The results of the factor analysis showed a six-factor solution: process approach, corporate social responsibility, quality management system, supply chain operation processes, demand for production, and employee performance.