Search Results (92,955)

The development of serum-free media (SFM) is critical to advance cell culture techniques used in viral vaccine production and address the ethical concerns and contamination risks associated with fetal bovine serum (FBS). This study evaluated the effects of marine microalgal extracts and growth factor cocktails on the activity of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and Vero cells. Five marine microalgal species were used: Spirulina platensis (SP), Dunaliella salina (DS), Haematococcus pluvialis (HP), Nannochloropsis salina (NS), and Tetraselmis sp. (TS). DS and SP extracts significantly increased the proliferation rate of both MDCK and Vero cells. DS had a proliferation rate of 149.56% and 195.50% in MDCK and Vero cells, respectively, compared with that in serum-free medium (SFM). Notably, DS and SP extracts significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which was 118.61% in MDCK cells and 130.08% in Vero cells for DS, and 108.72% in MDCK cells and 125.63% in Vero cells for SP, indicating a reduction in intracellular oxidative stress. Marine microalgal extracts, especially DS and SP, are feasible alternatives to FBS in cell culture as they promote cell proliferation, ensure safety, and supply essential nutrients while reducing oxidative stress. Full article

Ovarian cancer (OC) ranks as the fifth most common cancer among women in the United States and globally, posing a significant health threat. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have emerged as critical factors in the pathophysiology of this malignancy. ROS, characterized by their instability due to an unpaired electron, are involved in essential cellular functions and play a crucial role in the immune response under normal physiological conditions. However, an imbalance in ROS homeostasis, leading to excessive ROS production, results in oxidative stress (OS), which can cause indiscriminate damage to cellular structures and contribute to the pathogenesis of specific diseases, including OC. OC is primarily classified based on the originating cell type into epithelial, stromal, and germinal tumors, with epithelial tumors being the most prevalent. Despite advancements in medical technology, early detection of OC remains challenging, often leading to delayed treatment initiation. Current therapeutic approaches include surgical excision of tumor tissue, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. While these treatments are effective in early-stage OC, high mortality rates and frequent relapse underscore the urgent need for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This review aims to elucidate the role of ROS in OC, emphasizing the potential for developing innovative diagnostic tools and treatments that target ROS-mediated pathways. Given the critical impact of early detection and effective treatment, advancing our understanding of ROS in the context of OC could significantly enhance patient outcomes. Full article

Polar auxin transport (PAT) is a known component controlling leaf complexity and venation patterns in some model plant species. Evidence indicates that PAT generates auxin converge points (CPs) that in turn lead to local leaf formation and internally into major vein formation. However, the role of PAT in more diverse leaf arrangements and vein patterns is largely unknown. We used the pharmacological inhibition of PAT in developing pinnate tomato, trifoliate clover, palmate lupin, and bipinnate carrot leaves and observed dosage-dependent reduction to simple leaves in these eudicots. Leaf venation patterns changed from craspedodromous (clover, carrot), semi-craspedodromous (tomato), and brochidodromous (lupin) to more parallel patterning with PAT inhibition. The visualization of auxin responses in transgenic tomato plants showed that discrete and separate CPs in control plants were replaced by diffuse convergence areas near the margin. These effects indicate that PAT plays a universal role in the formation of different leaf and vein patterns in eudicot species via a mechanism that depends on the generation as well as the separation of auxin CPs. Computer simulations indicate that variations in PAT can alter the number of CPs, corresponding leaf lobe formation, and the position of major leaf veins along the leaf margin in support of experimental results. Full article

Steppe peony (Paeonia tenuifolia L.) is a strictly protected herbaceous species in Serbia, yet its growing conditions, nutrient needs, and heavy metal status are under-researched. This research is vital for conservation, as it supports sustainable cultivation, genetic diversity, and habitat restoration. This study addresses the gap in understanding how climate and soil characteristics affect P. tenuifolia, particularly regarding nutrient availability and heavy metal accumulation. Despite its recognized medicinal value, insufficient data on environmental impacts limit effective conservation and cultivation strategies. Addressing this gap will help determine optimal growth conditions and ensure the species’ survival and medicinal use. Data on P. tenuifolia natural habitats in Serbia were collected following the Descriptor List for medicinal plants. Field and laboratory analyses assessed climatic and soil characteristics, as well as macro- and microelement contents and heavy metals in soil and plant organs. In Serbia, P. tenuifolia thrives in a semi-arid steppe climate on light, sandy loam soils with a pH of 6.9–7.4. The soils are rich in humus (4.36–5.76%) and nitrogen (0.34–0.37%), but low in phosphorus (1.16–3.50 mg/100 g) and variable in potassium (12.5–52.4 mg/100 g). Soil microelements are abundant, and harmful heavy metals are below critical levels. Plant organs, including flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems, show high phosphorus and magnesium levels, while potassium, manganese, and copper are generally low. The levels of potentially harmful elements like cadmium and chromium are near the maximum-allowed limits, suggesting avoidance of highly acidic soils for the cultivation of P. tenuifolia. Among the examined soils, Arenic chernozem is recommended for preserving the species’ natural resources. Full article

The present study was undertaken to evaluate cypermethrin (CYP)-induced oxidative stress [reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in gills, muscles, brain, and liver tissues] and DNA damage/genotoxicity (peripheral blood erythrocytes) in a freshwater teleost rohu (Labeo rohita) and the protective role of vitamin C. The LC₅₀ of CYP against rohu was found to be 4.5 µg/L in a semi-static culture system through probit analysis. Fingerlings of rohu were distributed into four groups (Group 1st served as a control, fed 35% protein basal diet and was not exposed to CYP; Group 2nd was fed a basal diet and exposed to CYP; Group 3rd and Group 4th were fed diets supplemented with vitamin C at the rate of 100 and 200 mg/kg diet, respectively, and exposed to CYP). Fingerlings were reared on a basal and vitamin C-supplemented diet for 28 days prior to exposure to CYP. The results indicate a time-dependent significant increase in ROS and LPO (indicated by time course increase in TBARS level) as well as DNA damage in terms of number of comets, % DNA in tail, tail moment, tail length, and olive tail moment after exposure to LC₅₀ of CYP. However, statistically comparable results in both Groups 1st and 4th indicate the protective role of vitamin C. The results reveal the effectiveness of vitamin C as a feed additive for countering pesticides toxicity in Labeo rohita. The current study indicates CYP as a potential genotoxicant for fish and classifies SCGE as a reliable and sensitive tool for assessing DNA damage. Full article

Zoo enclosure design, and housing and husbandry protocols, will always be a compromise between what a species has evolved to do and what is possible to offer in a human-created environment. For some species, behaviours that are commonly performed in the wild may be constrained by husbandry practices that are used for ease or aesthetics or are accepted conventions. As zoos place more emphasis on positive animal welfare states, zoo enclosures should be scrutinised to check that what is provided, in terms of useful space, appropriate replication of habitat features, and maximal potential for natural behaviour performance, is relevant to the species and individuals being housed. For some species, zoos need to grapple with tough questions where the answer may not seem immediately obvious to ensure they are continuously improving standards of care, opportunities for the performance of species-typical behaviours, and advancing the attainment of positive welfare states. Determining the importance of flight, for example, and what this behaviour adds to the quality of life of a zoo-housed bird, is an important question that needs addressing to truly advance aviculture and how we determine bird welfare. This paper provides questions that should be answered and poses measures of what flight means to a bird, to provide evidence for the development and evolution of zoo bird housing. If we can devise some way of asking the animals in our care what they need, we can more firmly support decisions made that surround enclosure design, and housing decisions. Ultimately, this means gathering evidence on whether birds like to fly (e.g., from birds in training or demonstration activities) by applying mixed methods approaches of behavioural analysis, data on wild ecology, qualitative behavioural assessment, and cognitive bias testing to develop a robust suite of tools to address avian welfare considerations. Avian welfare scientists should attempt to define what meaningful flight is (i.e., flight that truly suggests a bird is flying) in order to support guidelines on aviary dimensions, space allowance, and welfare outputs from birds in both flighted and flight-restricted populations, and to determine what is most appropriate for an individual species. Changing the term “best practice” husbandry guidelines to “better practice” husbandry guidelines would instil the importance of regular review and reassessment of housing and management suitability for a species to ensure such care regimes remain appropriate. With an increasingly welfare-savvy public visiting zoos, it is essential that we seek more evidence to support and justify how birds are kept and ultimately use such evidence to enact changes to practices that are shown to infringe on avian welfare. Full article

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) catalysts are primarily utilized under ultraviolet light, and their potential in industrial applications remains largely untapped. To address this issue, our study uses a one-pot impregnation method to prepare a series of In-TiO₂/TSS(X) (TSS, Tobacco stem silk. X, the molar ratio of In/Ti) catalysts. Among them, the degradation performance of the In-TiO₂/TSS(2.0) material increased from 13.8% for TiO₂ to an impressive 92.9%. By establishing a first-order kinetic model, it was determined that the degradation performance of the In-TiO₂/TSS(2.0) material surpassed that of TiO₂ by a factor of 24. Structural characterization revealed that the introduction of tobacco stem silk templates did not alter the crystal phase of TiO₂ and that the main component of the catalyst remained TiO₂. Not only that, an O–In structure formed on the surface of the TiO₂, leading to a significant increase in the material's specific surface area. Furthermore, principle tests were conducted, revealing significant enhancements in its light absorption capacity, intensity, and photocurrent density. Through active species trapping experiments, it was observed that, in the photocatalytic degradation process of this catalyst series, holes (h⁺) played the primary role, while the hydroxyl ion (·OH) and superoxide ion (·O²⁻) acted as auxiliary species. Full article

Ca- and Cu-decorated TiO₂ microparticles are titanium dioxide nanoparticles that have been decorated with calcium and copper ions. TiO₂, CaO, and CuO are low-cost, non-toxic, and non-hazardous materials. The aim of the present study was the physicochemical characterization of Ca- and Cu-decorated TiO₂ microparticles and the evaluation of their antimicrobial activity. Thus, Ca²⁺ and Cu²⁺ species were incorporated onto TiO₂ surfaces by a two-step wet method. The obtained TiO₂-CaO-CuO composites were characterized by several experimental techniques. The electronic structure and charge properties of the composites were investigated by density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, the composites were successfully tested for inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans standard strains. The zeta potential data indicate that the physiological condition of investigated microbial strains was strongly affected in presence of a dispersion of 10 μg/L of composites in a saline phosphate buffer also, the recorded SEM images show a damaged microbial cell surface in the presence of composites. Full article

This study aims to evaluate the in silico genomic characteristics of five species of the genus Planotetraspora: P. kaengkrachanensis, P. mira, P. phitsanulokensis, P. silvatica, and P. thailandica, with a view to their application in therapeutic research. The 16S rRNA comparison indicated that these species were phylogenetically distinct. Pairwise comparisons of digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and OrthoANI values between these studied type strains indicated that dDDH values were below 62.5%, while OrthoANI values were lower than 95.3%, suggesting that the five species represent distinct genomospecies. These results were consistent with the phylogenomic study based on core genes and the pangenome analysis of these five species within the genus Planotetraspora. However, the genome annotation showed some differences between these species, such as variations in the number of subsystem category distributions across whole genomes (ranging between 1979 and 2024). Additionally, the number of CAZYme (Carbohydrate-Active enZYme) genes ranged between 298 and 325, highlighting the potential of these bacteria for therapeutic research applications. The in silico physico-chemical characteristics of cellulases from Planotetraspora species were analyzed. Their 3D structure was modeled, refined, and validated. A molecular docking analysis of this cellulase protein structural model was conducted with cellobiose, cellotetraose, laminaribiose, carboxymethyl cellulose, glucose, and xylose ligand. Our study revealed significant interaction between the Planotetraspora cellulase and cellotetraose substrate, evidenced by stable binding energies. This suggests that this bacterial enzyme holds great potential for utilizing cellotetraose as a substrate in various applications. This study enriches our understanding of the potential applications of Planotetraspora species in therapeutic research. Full article

Oxidative stress (OS) occurs from excessive reactive oxygen species or a deficiency of antioxidants—primarily endogenous glutathione (GSH). There are many illnesses, from acute and post-COVID-19, diabetes, myocardial infarction to Alzheimer’s disease, that are associated with OS. These dissimilar illnesses are, in order, viral infections, metabolic disorders, ischemic events, and neurodegenerative disorders. Evidence is presented that in many illnesses, (1) OS is an early initiator and significant promotor of their progressive pathophysiologic processes, (2) early reduction of OS may prevent later serious and irreversible complications, (3) GSH deficiency is associated with OS, (4) GSH can likely reduce OS and restore adaptive physiology, (5) effective administration of GSH can be accomplished with a novel nano-product, the GSH/cyclodextrin (GC) complex. OS is an overlooked pathological process of many illnesses. Significantly, with the GSH/cyclodextrin (GC) complex, therapeutic administration of GSH is now available to reduce OS. Finally, rigorous prospective studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of this therapeutic approach. Full article

Strigolactone (SL) is a signal factor that plays a vital role in plants. The application of SL for the storability of horticultural products has recently received attention. In this experiment, fresh-cut apples were treated with SL at diverse concentrations and stored at 4 °C for 10 days, and the changes in quality characteristics, antioxidant system, hydrogen sulfide metabolism, and nitric oxide metabolism were determined. Compared with other treatments, the results showed that SL treatment at 0.50 µmol L⁻¹ had excellent effects on maintaining fruit surface color, weight, firmness, reduced respiration rate, soluble solids content, and electrolyte leakage. SL treatment increased antioxidant enzyme activities, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, altered the nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-like pathway to promote endogenous NO production in the fruit, and facilitated the L-cysteine-catalyzed process to increase the endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) content. In addition, SL treatment affected the mRNA transcription levels of several genes related to the antioxidant system, H₂S metabolism, and NO synthesis, including MdSOD, MdCAT, MdPOD, and MdSAT. Taken together, the results indicated that 0.50 µmol L⁻¹ SL treatment improves the endogenous synthesis of NO and H₂S, enhances the antioxidative system, and maintains the quality of fresh-cut apples during their shelf life. Therefore, the present study opens up the possibility of using the exogenous application of strigolactone in the fresh-cut processing industry. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of different varieties of camellia oils and their diacylglycerol (DAG)-enriched derivatives in terms of triacylglycerol (TAG) species, bioactive components, volatile compounds, and antioxidant activity. Six types of camellia oils, including C. oleifera (C.O), C. semiserrata (C.S), C. gauchowensis (C.G), along with commercially refined C. oleifera oil (C-C.O) and its DAG-enriched counterparts (at 40% and 80% enrichment), were analyzed and compared. Unique patterns of TAG profiles, fatty acid distributions on different glycerol backbones, tocopherol, squalene, total polyphenols, and volatile compounds were observed, suggesting that these characteristics can be utilized as a criterion to differentiate them. DAG-enriched oils exhibited increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) compared to C-C.O, albeit with decreased contents of tocopherol, squalene, and total polyphenols. Moreover, diverse volatile compounds were identified across all types of camellia oils, among which the DAG-enriched oils had distinct distribution characteristics compared with their crude oils, indicating the influence of the enrichment process on volatile compounds. Furthermore, DAG-enriched oils demonstrated reduced antioxidant activity abilities compared to their counterparts, with the highest activity observed in C.O, followed by C.G. Additionally, strong correlations were observed between antioxidant activity and tocopherol, as well as squalene content. Full article

Zuccagnia punctata Cav. (Family Fabaceae. Subfamily Caesalpinioideae) is a native plant species with a long history of use in Argentine traditional medicine. The purpose of the present study was to extract bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antifungal activity from Z. punctata aerial parts using conventional solvents (water, ethanol 60°, vegetal oil) and unconventional solvents (natural deep eutectic solvents or NaDESs) such as green solvents with and without the assistance of ultrasound (UAE) and microwaves (MAE). NaDESs such as glucose: lactic acid (LGH), sucrose: citric acid (CAS), choline chloride: urea (CU) and glucose: fructose: sucrose (FGS) were used. LGH and CU were effective in the extraction of phenolic compounds (6710 ± 10.12 µg GAE/mL and 7140 ± 15.00 µg GAE/mL, respectively) as well as ethanol (6270 µg ± 12.00 µg GAE/mL) using conventional methods. Two chemical markers of Z. punctata (2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone and 2′,4′-dihydroxy -3-methoxychalcone) were extracted in a high proportion in ethanol, oil, LGH and CU with UAE. The ABTS antioxidant capacity was higher in the extracts obtained with LGH and CU (SC₅₀: 0.90 ± 0.10 µg GAE/mL and 1.08 ± 0.16 µg GAE/mL, respectively). The extract obtained with vegetal oil was the most potent as antifungal, followed by the extracts in ethanol, LGH and CU. These findings highlight the importance of using environmentally friendly solvents such as NaDESs to obtain bioactive metabolites from Z. punctata, an endemic plant of Argentina with a potential application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Full article

There are a number of rather anecdotal reports of plant growth on power cables in the Americas, but until now there has been no systematic attempt to gauge the geographical extension of this phenomenon nor a documentation of the diversity of species found there. Using observations from the participatory science data platform iNaturalist and the scientific literature, we document almost 700 occurrences of more than 40 species of vascular plants and three lichen species on power cables with a geographical distribution over 7000 km from the southern United States to northern Argentina. Based on these observations we discuss the ecological conditions of plant growth on power cables in terms of climate; elevational distribution; and the morphological, physiological, and life history traits that allow the observed set of species to thrive on this anthropic structure. Full article

The distribution of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests, particularly the Vaccinio myrtillo-Pinetum type, is determined by edaphic conditions, and although clear-cutting is used to promote regeneration, it remains controversial. This study evaluated the changes in non-living (forest floor and dead wood) and living (mosses, herbs, and dwarf shrubs) ground cover in clear-cut areas and reforested Scots pine stands. Continuous ground cover studies were conducted in clear-cuts, with samples collected over three years after clear-cutting, while data from 8–80-year-old and mature Scots pine stands were collected using the chronological series method with a consistent methodology in temporary plots. The research has shown that, as ecosystem recovery progresses, similarity to the mature forest increases, and a threshold stand age has been identified, beyond which the ecological changes induced by clear-cutting diminish. The study findings demonstrated that clear-cutting in Pinetum vaccinio-myrtillosum-type forest stands lead to a rapid increase in herb and dwarf shrub cover due to reduced competition for light and nutrients. However, clear-cutting caused a significant decline in forest-specific species and a drastic reduction in forest floor and dead wood mass, with a gradual recovery of moss cover over 10–30 years. These findings highlight the importance of managing clear-cutting practices to balance immediate vegetative responses with long-term ecosystem stability and biodiversity conservation. Full article