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Pseudomonas aeruginosa poses a significant threat to both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals, often resulting in life-threatening infections. With increasing antimicrobial resistance, novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Although animal models are crucial for preclinical studies, limited data are available for porcine models, more specifically for P. aeruginosa complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs). This study presents a novel porcine model inducing and sustaining cSSTI for 14 days. Six pigs (120 wounds) were used for the development of infections, and within this group, two pigs (40 wounds) were used to evaluate the progression of the cSSTI infection. The model demonstrated bacterial loads of more than 10⁷ CFU/gram of tissue or higher. The cSSTI fully developed within three days and remained well above these levels until day 14 post-infection. Due to the immunocompetence of this model, all the immunological processes associated with the response to the presence of infection and the wound healing process are preserved.

The early detection of pests in plants and crops is essential for the production of good quality food. Computer vision techniques can be applied for the early detection of pests and which can minimise the pesticides used on the plants. Among many pests, white flies, mites, aphids and thrips are the most hazardous pests that affect the leaves. This paper presents an automated approach for the detection of different types of pests from leaf images of plants. The images of the plant leaves were acquired using a digital camera. Image pre-processing techniques, such as noise removal, filtering and contrast enhancement, are used for improving the quality of the images. Then, the k-means clustering method and global thresholding were used for segmenting the pests from the infected leaves. Textural features are extracted from those segmented images by statistical feature extraction methods. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Binary Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers were used to classify the unaffected leaf images from the pest affected leaf images and a multi-SVM classifier was used to identify the different types of pests.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of three biostimulants and a herbicide on selected unit parameters of potato yield. The research results came from a three-year field experiment that was established using the randomised sub-blocks method in three replications. In the experiment, two cultivars of edible potato were grown and the yield-protective effect of treatments was assessed: (1) control object without protection with preparations; (2) herbicide clomazone + metribuzin; (3) biostimulant PlonoStart and herbicide clomazone + metribuzin; (4) biostimulant Aminoplant and herbicide clomazone + metribuzin, and (5) biostimulant Agro-Sorb Folium and herbicide clomazone + metribuzin. As a result of the limited competition of weeds in the objects with the use of biostimulant and herbicide, a higher average weight of one potato tuber, a higher share of commercial tubers > 35 mm and a higher share of large tubers > 50 mm was obtained compared to the control object. The highest average weight of one tuber (108.2 and 85.4 g, respectively) and the highest share of commercial (97.1 and 96.3%, respectively) and large tubers (60.6 and 60.5%, respectively) were obtained in the objects where the Agro-Sorb Folium biostimulant + Avatar 293 ZC herbicide were used. and PlonoStart + Avatar 293 ZC. The correlation analysis confirmed a significant negative relationship between the number of weeds and average weight of one potato tuber, share of commercial tubers and share of large tubers. Weather conditions during the conduct of the research also significantly differentiated weed numbers and quality parameters of potato yield.

The Alentejano pig (Sus ibericus) is an autochthonous breed of swine from Portugal phylogenetically close to the Iberian breed that is known to develop melanocytic lesions. In this study, 34 melanocytic skin lesions were identified and collected from Alentejano pigs slaughtered for human consumption for further routine histologic assessment. The samples were classified into 4 age ranges: 1 (1 to 6 months), 2 (7 to 12 months) 3 (13 to 24 months), and 4 (more than 25 months). All the lesions were considered benign after the histopathological assessment, of which 52.9% and 47.1%, were classified as melanosis and melanocytomas, respectively. Regarding the age ranges, a statistical difference between the groups was observed, indicating that the probability of melanosis presentation was higher at the age range 4 and for melanocytomas at the age range 3. While no malignant lesions were observed in this study, it was concluded that benign melanocytic lesions are commonly found in Alentejano pig carcasses. Further research is necessary to accurately distinguish between malignant and benign lesions, which is crucial for official veterinarians to make decisions regarding meat approval or condemnation.

The new record of Dictyothrips betae Uzel, 1895 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) after 72 years in Slovakia is presented. Dictyothrips betae is an important pest and one of the few thrips species known as vectors of dangerous plant tospoviruses, causing severe yield losses to economically important crops worldwide. D. betae was swept from an herbal layer in blown dunes in SW Slovakia.

Sweet cherry juice rich in phenols and anthocyanins is highly perishable and typically undergo thermal pasteurisation, which can diminish its nutritional composition. High pressure processing (HPP), a non-thermal technique using pressure to inactivate the microbes while preserving nutrients, offers a more effective alternative for extending the shelf life of fruit juice. Accordingly, present study evaluated comparative impact of high pressure processing and thermal pasteurisation on phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, microbial and sensory attributes of cherry juice during storage. For study, cherry juice subjected to two different HPP levels (400 and 600 MPa) for 5 min and thermal pasteurisation (95 °C) for 30 s, followed by storage (60 days at 4 °C). Results showed HPP and thermal pasteurisation had significant impact (P < 0.05) on phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidants compared to control, however, thermally pasteurised juice showed rapid deterioration compared to HPP juice, whereas anthocyanin and cyanidin-3-glucoside levels remarkably different in both groups. Microbial findings revealed safety of HPP pasteurisation juice with shelf life (45 days) however, better sensory acceptability for HPP treated juice. In nutshell, HPP pasteurisation is pragmatic approach for enhancing shelf life with better nutrients for cherry juice and findings useful for beverage industry and health professionals.

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of calf starters of different starch and fibre content on the growth, blood and rumen parameters of Holstein female calves during the pre-weaning period. A total of 60 calves were divided into two groups. Group A/B was fed according to a two-phase calf nutrition system: the calves received calf starter "A" (28.5% starch content, 16% neutral detergent fibre (NDF), 9.2% acid detergent fibre (ADF)) in days 7-45 and then calf starter "B" (14.2% starch content, 32.4% NDF, 14.3% ADF) in days 46-70. Calves of group B received calf starter "B" throughout the experimental period. The calves were weaned between 52 and 61 days of life. The data on body weight, weight gain, starter feed intake, blood metabolites and rumen fermentation parameters were collected individually. In the first phase of experiment, the starter feed consumption of A/B group was higher than that of B group (P < 0.05), but it did not manifest in differences in body weight at weaning time. At some of the sampling times, the different composition of starter diets significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the plasma urea, albumin, glucose and triglyceride concentrations. The consumption of diet with different starch and NDF content had no significant effect either on the composition of the rumen microbiota or on the ruminal concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia. In some cases significant correlations (-0.83 and -0.93; 0.82 and 0.90) were found between the composition of rumen microbiota and ruminal VFA concentration. Feeding a diet of higher starch content (28.5 vs 14.2%) in the first 45 days of life did not affect rumen fermentation, rumen microbiota and the most important blood metabolites, apart from a few exceptions. The production parameters of calves, including total feed intake and body weight gain, were similar in the experiment.

The effect of a brief exposure to treatments of end-of-day (EOD) far-red (FR) light and EOD-heating on flowering and stem elongation in certain species cultivated in areas with limited sunshine from autumn to winter has been investigated. Thirteen EOD-FR treated cultivars among all 24 cultivars tested in experiment 1, showed earlier flowering than control plants. Additionally, Kanzaki No.21, F1 Winter cherry and Gypsy deep rose were earlier to flower under the all night-FR treatment than under the EOD-FR treatment. Further, 13 cultivars among all cultivars tested in experiment 1 showed greater stem length, whereas 16 cultivars of them showed greater mean internode length than controls when treated with EOD-FR. The days to flowering in 13 cultivars treated by EOD-Heating, flowering was earlier than in controls. Also, stem length and mean internode length were also promoted by the same treatment in 7 cultivars. Additionally, flowering and stem elongation of Stella rose, Arizona sun, Suzuhime and Extra carmine rose were promoted by a combination of both treatments, and productivity and quality were improved. These results suggest that the treatments tested can help the production of cut-flowers in areas with limited sunshine from autumn to winter, although the method of application of the treatments must be optimized for each species.

Based on panel data from 2010 to 2020 of 151 A-share listed food-related enterprises in China, this research uses a fixed-effect model to analyse the impact of digital transformation on total factor productivity (TFP) in food-related enterprises. Our findings indicated that digital transformation has a positive and significant catalytic effect on TFP improvement in food-related enterprises. The mechanism test revealed that both cost-saving and innovation capacity enhancement effects of digital transformation contributed to the promotion of TFP improvement in these enterprises. Moreover, our heterogeneity analysis suggested that digital transformation is more effective in enhancing TFP in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the food-related industry, indicating that SOEs play a representative role in promoting advanced productivity in agricultural development. We also found that capital-intensive and technology-intensitve food-related enterprises were experiencing productivity paradox traps. Our results confirmed that digital transformation brings catch-up effects to labor-intensive food-related enterprises and those located in major grain production regions. Overall, this research can provide valuable insights for policymakers to upgrade the digital-enabled food industry.

In recent years, sulfur inputs into the soil have greatly diminished due to the significant decrease in SO₂ emissions. Plant nutrients, like sulfur, can be released by the mineralisation of soil organic matter (SOM), which is a complicated mixture of substances (or fractions) like glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) and fulvic acids (FA), humic acids (HA), humic substances (HS) and others. GRSP, FA, HA, and HS content, as well as the content of mineral and organic fractions of sulfur, was determined in different mineral and organic fertiliser treatments of the long-term field experiment. Using these results, the sulfur content in GRSP was calculated based on the soil’s organic matter carbon and soil’s organic bound sulfur (C_SOM/S_ORG) ratio. Sulfur content in GRSP was 4.08–5.46 (easily extractable GRSP), 9.77–15.7 (difficultly extractable GRSP), and 13.9–21.1 (total GRSP) mg S/kg of soil. Overall, the application of the organic fertiliser caused an increase in S content bound to GRSP. A strong significant relationship was also observed between GRSP fractions and soil organic sulfur. A similar relationship was also observed for the HA and HS with organic sulfur.

Predators of aphids on apples were studied during the growing season in 2021 and 2022 in the region of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Eleven predator species were found on eight apple cultivars in the colonies of three aphid species, Aphis spp., Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini and Dysaphis devecta Walker. Seven species were identified from the family Syrphidae: Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer), Meliscaeva (Episyrphus) auricollis (Meigen, 1822), Eupeodes flaviceps (Rond.), Eupeodes corolae (Fabr.), Scaeva pyrastri (L.), Syrphus ribesii (L.) and Syrphus vitripennis Mg. The larvae of syrphids were more numerous in the Kula location, 99 (52 in 2021 and 47 in 2022), while their number in the Klek location was 59 (35 in 2021 and 24 in 2022). The most abundant species was E. balteatus (40.50%), followed by E. flaviceps (12.65%), S. ribesii (10.75%), M. auricollis (10.12%), S. pyrastri (10.12%) and S. vitripennis (6.96%). The family Coccinellidae is represented by three species: Adalia bipunctata L., Coccinella septempunctata L., and Harmonia axyridis Pallas. From the family Cecidomyiidae, one species Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani), was detected. The largest number of predatory species (nine) was found on the Idared cultivar (in D. plantaginea colonies), where the colonies of this aphid species were the most abundant. The least numerous predatory species were identified on the Gloster cultivar in D. devecta and Aphis spp. colonies. E. balteatus was the most common and numerous of all the predatory species.

Summer maize cultivars are differently sensitive to soil moisture. To better understand the differences in water productivity of summer maize cultivars with different water sensitivity, a field experiment was conducted from 2020 to 2022. Three different water-sensitive summer maize cultivars were selected, including TY808 (high water-sensitive cultivar), DH605 (medium water-sensitive cultivar), and ZD958 (low water-sensitive cultivar). Soil water content (SWC), soil water storage (SWS), water consumption, water use efficiency, and grain yield were determined. The results showed that under rainfed conditions, the SWC of the medium water-sensitive cultivar DH605 in the deep soil layer was 2.1–18.2% lower than TY808 and ZD958, respectively, and the differences were significant in the 12th leaf stage (V12) and vegetative tassel stage (VT). The SWS of the high-water-sensitive cultivar TY808 was 0.7% to 6.4% higher than the other two water-sensitive cultivars from 2020 to 2022. The changes in SWS are related to the spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation. The water consumption of DH605 was higher than TY808 and ZD958 by 5.3% and 7.09% in 2020 and 2.9% and 2.8% in 2021; in 2022, DH605 is 2% higher than ZD958 and 2.8% lower than TY808, respectively. The yield of DH605 was 4.3–10.78% higher than the other two cultivars in the three-year experiment. Additionally, the 1 000-kernel weight of DH605 was the highest in TY808 and ZD958. DH605 has the highest water use efficiency, which was increased by 4.8–14.6% compared to TY808 and ZD958. Through path analysis, we found that the direct path coefficient of SWS in the VT stage on yield reached 0.999, indicating that soil moisture in the VT stage has the greatest impact on yield, followed by the blister stage (R2). In conclusion, our results suggest that the water consumption of summer maize during the VT stage is the highest, and the soil moisture condition in VT significantly affects the grain yield of summer. Planting DH605 in the North China Plain would harvest the maximum grain yield and water productivity.

Barley is one of the world’s most important crops. Barley is used for both food and feed and is important for the production of malt. Malt quality is a complex function of barley genetics, environmental conditions during barley growth, and the technological aspects of the malting process. Due to the high heritability of more than half of the malting parameters, barley can be bred for malting quality. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is a good way to speed up the breeding process. In this study, nine molecular markers were used to screen 115 barley varieties and breeding lines over a four-year period. The results were compared with malting quality parameters. Multicomponent correlation analysis showed a good correlation (R = 0.63; P ≤ 0.01) between marker screening results and malting quality parameters. In 93 genotypes (80.9%), agreement was found between molecular marker prediction and malting quality determination. Differences between molecular marker screening and malt quality parameters and possible improvements are discussed. The use of molecular markers in MAS is highly appreciated by barley breeders.

This research investigates the high prevalence of morphological defects in the sperm of a particular rabbit breed, namely the Zemplin rabbit (ZR). We tried to uncover the possible causes and consequences of the observed abnormalities. Ejaculate samples from ten adult males were divided into two qualitative groups according to the motility parameters revealed by CASA (computer-assisted sperm analysis). Group A contained samples with total motility (TM) above 50% and progressive motility (PM) above 30%. Group B contained samples with TM and PM below these values. Viability (SYBR-14/DRAQ5^TM and SYTOX^TM Green/DRAQ5^TM staining) and apoptosis (YO-PRO ^TM-1/DRAQ5 ^TM stainig) analyses through flow cytometry served as an additional insight into the characteristics of the qualitative groups. In both cases, we noted significant differences (P < 0.05) between groups which corresponded to motility values. Both groups showed an increased incidence of abnormal spermatozoa, and we did not observe any significant differences between them. Simultaneously, we assessed the practical implications of these sperm defects on artificial insemination (AI), and also, we did not notice any significant differences in these parameters. The use of transmission electron microscopy enhanced our understanding of the morphological defects at the ultrastructural level. In summary, the study provides an understanding of the qualitative differences in rabbit semen, highlighting variations in quality parameters. While these differences exist, they may not necessarily translate into significant variations in AI outcomes. Our study shows higher values of cytoplasmic droplets in ZR semen, but it also shows that these conditions do not necessarily mean a fundamental obstacle to fertility in the case of AI.

Tibial torsion assessment is crucial for understanding deformities and malalignments that can lead to joint pathologies in dogs. Different methods such as radiography, computed tomography (CT), and three-dimensional (3D) volume-rendering techniques have been employed to measure tibial torsion. This study compared the accuracy and reliability of tibial torsion angle (TTa) measurements obtained using radiography and ultrasound tilting techniques against those obtained using the 3D volume-rendering method in small-to-medium-sized non-chondrodystrophic dogs. Seven dogs with 11 hind limbs were included in this study. Descriptive statistics revealed mean TTa values for radiography (1.6° ± 5.14°), ultrasound (2.92° ± 3.98°), CT (4.57° ± 3.44°), and 3D volume-rendering method (5.29° ± 3.30°). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis indicated excellent intra- and interobserver agreement between the radiography and ultrasound methods. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between all the methods. These findings demonstrate that radiography and the ultrasound tilting technique are reliable alternatives for measuring TTa. Although slightly lower ICC values were observed than those of the 3D volume-rendering technique, the radiography and ultrasound methods still exhibited good to excellent reliability, suggesting that these alternative methods could be effective diagnostic tools for assessing TTa in clinical settings with high accuracy and reliability.

Castanea sativa is a type of cultivated chestnut tree found in the Czech Republic, growing in both lowland and midland regions. These trees are usually planted individually or in pairs, with over half of the plantings located in urban areas. One-fifth of chestnut trees thrive in parks, while chestnut orchards or forest stands make up only one-tenth of the areas where chestnut trees are located. In the Czech Republic, approximately 30 ha are covered by chestnut trees. Regeneration of chestnut trees occurs in only 6% of the localities due to regular lawn mowing. However, 40% of the surveyed forests showed signs of regeneration, demonstrating the species' ability to regenerate under Central European climate conditions.

Recently, non-thermal technologies have emerged as a means to ensure the safety of agricultural products while also promoting plant growth and reducing pathogenic and chemical contamination of seeds. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of various treatments on the germination characteristics of alfalfa seeds. The experiment utilised a completely randomised design with five treatments and three replications, including cold plasma exposure, direct current (DC) electromagnetic field, magnetic field, and a combination of plasma exposure with magnetic and electromagnetic fields. The treated seeds were compared to the control seeds (without exposure) in terms of seedling length, germination rate index (GRI), vigor index, and seed germination. The results indicated that cold plasma treatment and a combination of plasma and magnetic field treatment significantly increased the germination rate compared to the control and other treatments. Furthermore, the combined treatment of plasma and electromagnetic fields, as well as the individual treatment with magnetic fields, resulted in a significant increase in root length and, consequently, the allometric coefficient. Non-thermal technologies are a promising approach to enhancing seed performance, particularly in terms of the rate of germination and seedling length.

Urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity is associated with kidney disease. In our study, we focused on evaluating the ratio of NAG to the urinary creatinine concentration (NAG/Cr) in the German Shepherd breed. Sixty-two healthy dogs and thirteen dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) were examined. The healthy dogs were divided into groups based on their sex and age (puppies and adolescent dogs under 2 years, adult dogs from 2 to 6 years and seniors over 6 years), while the dogs with CKD were divided based on the disease stage (CKD stage 1 and 2). No significant difference was detected between the males and females. Regarding the age dependence, significantly higher values were found in dogs older than 6 years (P = 0.020 3) compared to dogs aged 2–6 years. When comparing the healthy dogs to the dogs with CKD, the lowest NAG/Cr ratio was observed in the dogs with CKD stage 2. The reference interval for NAG/Cr in the German Shepherd was established in the range of 0.78–7.86 U/gCr. We observed no correlations with the commonly used markers of kidney disease such as creatinine, urea, or symmetrical dimethylarginine. Nevertheless, we encourage the further investigation of NAG in relation to CKD, taking the breed, sex and age of the patients into account.

Actinidia arguta (Siebold et Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. is functionally a cryptic dioecious plant and successful pollination is crucial for achieving high quality fruit. The extent and bases of morphological variability in female genotypes have been well studied, but here we focus on the males. Mature plants of seven male A. arguta genotypes were studied in 2016 and 2017 during which a suite of phenological and morphological features was measured on ten randomly chosen one-year-old canes on each plant. This analysis was complemented by two other, specialized measures potentially related to pollination efficiency, namely pollen quality, and quantity. The time of bud break was similar each year across all genotypes and the pollen quality was uniformly very high (viability - 95.0-99.9% and germination - 89.0-97.3%). However, the ten genotypes exhibited high variability in both the number of flowers per inflorescence and pollen quantity, indicating marked differences in their flowering potential and efficiency as pollinizers. The male kiwiberry indicators developed in this study - flowering potential and pollen efficiency, appear to be effective tools for the comparative evaluation of male A. arguta genotypes.

In this study, the primers and the probe were designed, and a completely new real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol for detecting the invA gene of Salmonella in food was optimised and validated in-house. The inclusivity test used 76 different Salmonella isolates with no false-negative results. The exclusivity was tested using 45 non-Salmonella microorganisms with no false-positive results. The method was also successfully applied while examining five different artificially contaminated food categories. The results were compared to the standard method (ISO 6579-1) and two previously validated real-time PCR methods. The developed assay is sensitive and specific for rapidly detecting Salmonella in food.

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the concentration and release dynamics of molecular hydrogen (H₂, dihydrogen) in dietary evaluate supplements and identify products that provide a biologically significant amount of dihydrogen suitable for human consumption. We examined ten commercial supplements marketed for their dihydrogen content, including slow-release capsules and tablets (4 products), effervescent powders and tablets (5 products), and canned ready-to-drink beverage (1 product). These products were acquired either through online purchases, from retail stores, or obtained free of charge directly from the manufacturers upon request. Dihydrogen concentration was measured using a highly sensitive Clark-type hydrogen microsensor with a detection limit 0.05 µmol·L^–1. Out of the ten products examined, only three (30.0%) exhibited dihydrogen levels surpassing the levels marketed as biologically relevant (500 µmol·L^–1), and one of these products (a canned ready-to-drink beverage) approached this level with a concentration of 439.2 µmol·L^–1. Interestingly, all slow-release capsules yielded negligible amounts of hydrogen (< 2 µmol·L^–1), while a slow-release tablet delivered 43.6 µmol·L^–1 of dihydrogen per single dose. The substantial variance in dihydrogen content among the assessed supplements holds significant implications for the general public, as high-potency products have the potential to provide up to 7 000 times more dihydrogen per single dosage compared to their low-potency counterparts.

Botrytis cinerea is one of the main pathogens that harm the tomato yield and cause huge economic losses worldwide. Studies of circRNAs in response to the stress caused by pathogens have received more and more attention in tomato and other model crops. In this study, four groups were treated with ZaoFen (ZF), CuiLi (CL) (susceptible and tolerant genotypes to B. cinerea, respectively), ZFBc, CLBc (48 hour response to a B. cinerea infection). A total of 918 circRNAs were identified, among which exonic circRNAs (70.70%) accounted for the majority of them, and 118 circRNAs (12.85%) were located in chr1. A total of 18 (1.96%) circRNAs were shared among the four libraries. A total of 6 circRNAs showed fold changes in the differential expression analysis between the time and cultivar control groups, and circRNA115, circRNA145 and circRNA223 repeatedly appeared in the different control treatments. Notably, the gene targeted by circRNA115 was an ethylene-forming enzyme. At the same time, we predicted the target genes of the six circRNAs obtained in the study, and a total of 319 miRNAs were predicted. This study contributes to the mechanism in response to B. cinerea stress in the tomato, and paves the way for the further study of circRNAs under tomato pathogen stress.

This study aimed to determine the effect of carob molasses pulp flour (CMP) at 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% on the chemical composition and properties of eggless semolina pasta in terms of colour, nutritional value, cooking quality, and sensory properties. As presumed, carbohydrate and energy values of CMP-added pasta (carbohydrates 73.31–77.40%) were lower than the control (82.17%), whereas dietary fibre values were up to 4 times higher (8.18–12.60% vs. 3.71%). There was not a significant difference in the amount of fat (0.48–0.70%), optimum cooking time (6.56–7.06 min), or cooking loss (10.43–12.57%) of CMP-added pasta compared to the non-enriched counterpart (P > 0.05). All formulations were sufficient in terms of sensory properties; colour shift occurred in the direction from standard yellow to the dark brown area. The results showed that even the maximal tested dosage of the CMP equal to 10.0% could produce pasta with satisfying overall quality.

Verticillium dahliae is a broad host-range pathogen that causes vascular wilt in plants. The Verticillium wilt disease severity assay on plants caused by V. dahliae mainly includes two methods, one is a plant disease grade classification based on disease severity statistics [namely the disease index (DI)], and the other is the V. dahliae biomass quantification in plants (namely the fungal biomass). In this study, the relationships of pathogenicity with the DI, pathogenicity with the biomass, and the correlation analysis of the DI and relative fungal biomass were analysed. The results showed that pathogenicity assessment of V. dahliae strains using the DI method was able to give an intuitive reflection of the pathogenic ability for defoliating and non-defoliating strains; moreover, the method of quantitative PCR for fungal biomass also had high repeatability and stability. As a whole, the correlation coefficient between the DI and fungal biomass values of 28 strains was 0.728, indicating that the two data sets were highly correlated; however, the correlation coefficients of the defoliating strains and non-defoliating strains were only 0.5384 and 0.4547, respectively. In conclusion, the correlation coefficient between the DI and the fungal biomass presented high consistency, which could provide some meaningful exploration for the more accurate pathogenicity identification of V. dahliae.

The paper deals with a new method of innovative assessment of the supported effects and ecosystem services of forests using the actual amount of their increased costs. Among the most important research findings and significance of the new method is that it contributes to the body of knowledge on valuation and payment for ecosystem services. The focus of the research task is to help address the current difficult economic situation of forest owners resulting from the impacts of climate change. The study aims to determine what work quantifies the amount of compensation for the provision of supported ecosystem services that is sufficient for owners by using hypothesis testing. The evaluation of the supported effects was carried out in a case study in the area of the Chrudim-Podhůra Recreational Forests in the Czech Republic. The results of the evaluation were quantified in two experimental spreadsheets of the results, a comparative analysis of the evaluation results was performed, and hypothesis testing was conducted. The innovative methodological approach to the assessment of supported effects can be easily modified and used to assess the actual amount of increased costs of other ecosystem services of the forest.

Nanotechnology, an emerging field, holds significant promise with applications across diverse sectors, including medicine, agriculture, and the biological sciences. To address environmental concerns, the green biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant extracts is favoured. This study focuses on the formulation and characterisation of AgNPs using extracts from Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dunal, a medicinal plant that holds a unique phytochemical profile. The AgNPs derived from W. coagulans root (WcAgNPR) and fruit (WcAgNPF) extracts were characterised using ultraviolet and visible light (UV-Vis) spectral analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy. The findings reveal that both WcAgNPR and WcAgNPF exhibit substantial antioxidant potential, with robust iron reducing capabilities and potent 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity. Additionally, they demonstrate strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging abilities. Notably, WcAgNPR outperforms WcAgNPF in the phosphomolybdate assay for antioxidant potential. Both AgNPs display remarkable antimicrobial efficacy, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) below 10 µg·mL^–1 against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and noteworthy activity against gram-negative Escherichia coli (WcAgNPF with a MIC of 30 µg·mL^–1 and WcAgNPR with a MIC of 60 µg·mL^–1). These findings highlight the silver nanoparticles' significant antioxidant and antimicrobial potential, suggesting their potential for in vivo use as antimicrobial agents with minimal oxidative damage.

In this study, Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S and ITS2 rRNA genes were used to determine the dynamic changes in bacterial and fungal communities and soil properties and enzyme activities in rhizosphere soil of ginseng under forest after 5, 10 and 15 years of cultivation and different growth stages. Results showed that the changes were particularly prominent in 10-year-old ginseng under forest, and the trends of organic carbon, alkaline hydrolysed nitrogen, and available potassium were extremely similar in different duration of the crop, especially in the middle stage of rapid root growth, when soil nutrient consumption was severe, and soil enzyme activities of rhizosphere were significantly reduced. The observed changes in soil properties and enzyme activities caused by the cultivation duration of the crop and growth stage could be explained by the variations in the microbiome. The microbial composition of 10-year-old ginseng under forest has undergone significant changes, at the genus level, both Acinetobacter bacteria and Kazachstania fungi exhibited a higher abundance; the abundance of Bacillota (Firmicutes), and Candidatus udaeobacter with significantly lower abundance. This study initially revealed the changes in nutrient utilisation of ginseng under forest at different cultivation duration of the crop and different growth stages, as well as the regulatory role played by microbes in this process preliminarily. We consider 10 years to be a critical stage for the long-term cultivation of ginseng in the forest, during which it is more sensitive to environmental factors and may exhibit special dynamic changes affecting its growth and quality. This provides a reference for further precision planting and harvesting of ginseng under the forest.

In our study location, Merauke Regency, the easternmost city in Indonesia, the sago palm is associated with different types of ecosystems and other non-sago vegetation. During the harvesting season, the white flowers blossoming between the leaves on the tops of palm trees may be distinguished manually. Four classes were determined to address the visual inspections involving different parameters that were examined through the metric evaluation and then analysed statistically. The computed Kruskal-Wallis test found that the parameters vary in each network with a P-value of 0.00341, with at least one class being higher than the others, i.e., non-sago with a P-value of 0.044 with respect to precision, recall, and F1-score. Thus, the general linear model (GLM) was tested specifically in trained Network-15 and Network-17, which have similar parameters except for the batch size. It indicated the two networks' differences based on their prediction results, classes, and actual images. Accordingly, a combination of learning rate (Lr) and batch size improved the reliability of the training and classification task.

Changes in the gene pool and homogeneity of red clover cultivars occur over time. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly renew the breeding material and foundation seed. Moreover, the market also prescribes a new demand. Based on the Natura 2000 habitats profile, we collected seeds from 39 locations across Lithuania in 2016. The phenotypic traits that affect the seed yield of red clover were analysed in 2018. The homogeneity of the populations with reference to the seed yield and 1 000 seed weight (TSW) were determined as well. Also, the possibility of obtaining two seed yields per season under drought conditions from wild genotypes of red clover was analysed. We found that the final seed yield mostly depends on the seed number per flower head (SN/FH), which strongly correlated with 1^st component of PCA during first (r = 0.91) and second (0.92) harvest. Meanwhile, the cluster analysis showed that the typical wild red clover has a lower seed weight than the cultivars and could be clustered on the basis of seed homogeneity. Finally, based on the seed phenotype and harvest components, there were five prospective accessions (2177, 2871, 2876, 2898 and 2899) for a new cultivar prototype.

In this study, we attempt to infer the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the intra–European Union (EU) agrifood trade from out-of-sample forecasts. We compare the actual level of trade during the COVID-19 period with counterfactual values derived from univariate forecasting models [regARIMA (Linear regression with autoregressive integrated moving average errors) and Holt-Winters methods]. We analyse agrifood imports and exports of specific EU countries and the EU-27 aggregate on the basis of monthly data for the period from January 2010 to February 2022. The findings reveal a significant decrease in trade activity in the first year of the pandemic that was negatively correlated to COVID-19 restrictions applied by EU countries. Surprisingly, COVID-19 restrictions do not significantly explain the diversified agrifood trade response among EU countries during the pandemic.