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A surge in post-publication activity related to editing, including by technical editors and copyeditors, is worthy of some discussion. One of these issues involves the issue of 'tortured phrases', which are bizarre terms and phrases in academic papers that replace standard English expressions or jargon. This phenomenon may reveal an attempt to avoid the detection of textual similarity or to masquerade plagiarism, and yet remain undetected by editors, peer reviewers and text editors. Potentially thousands of cases have already been discovered and reported publicly on the post-publication platform PubPeer. In this opinion paper, 35 cases from ranked scholarly journals are presented, mainly the fields of materials, computer and engineering sciences. This collation serves to expand discussion about this integrity-related phenomenon and to increase educational awareness of the topic.

Twenty four species of Bird's nest fungi belonging to four genera, namely Crucibulum, Cyathus, Nidula and Sphaerobolus have been reported from India with most of the reports were from Northeastern states in the Eastern Himalaya region that is well recognized for its rich biodiversity. Among these genera, Cyathus is the largest genus with 61 species documented so far in the world including 17 species from India. So far, only Cyathus poeppigii has been reported from the Eastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh. In the present paper, another newly recorded species Cyathus striatus, is reported with its detail taxonomic characteristics. It produces comparatively smaller basidiocarps than the earlier reported collection from Darjeeling (West Bengal). Further, the basidiospores are thin walled but comparatively larger in size. The paper also lists all Bird's nest fungi from India with detailed information.

Lignin plays an important role in plant growth and development. It serves as a raw material for the manufacture of paper, animal feed, and chemical fertilizers. However, the regulation of lignin biosynthesis genes and the composition of the relevant gene families remain unclear in many plant species. Here, we identified and characterized 11 families of monolignol biosynthesis genes in Salix matsudana Koidz. Based on phylogenetic analysis of lignin biosynthesis genes from nine angiosperm species (Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Zea mays, Solanum lycopersicum, S. suchowensis, S. purpurea, Populus euphratica, P. trichocarpa, and S. matsudana), the 11 gene families could be divided into two classes that differed in their apparent evolutionary history. We compared the distribution of lignin biosynthesis genes between the two sub-genomes (At and Bt) of S. matsudana and found that more duplicated genes were present in the Bt sub-genome. We analyzed RNA sequencing data from two parents of contrasting height and two of their F1 progeny, and detected 23 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that may regulate accelerated growth. We analyzed the promoter regions of the lignin-related DEGs and identified several hormone-related (auxin, ethylene, and cytokinin) transcription factor binding sites. These results provide an important foundation for future studies on the molecular mechanisms and genetic regulation of lignin biosynthesis and its relationship to accelerated growth in forest trees.

The primary challenge of the contemporary world is to meet accelerating requirements for food. Limited land, competition between crop and livestock farming and climate change are major challenges. Agroforestry offer a form of sustainable agriculture through the direct provision of food by raising farmers’ incomes and through various ecosystem services. The first essential step in adopting agroforestry is the selection of appropriate tree species that fit local climates. In this paper, we mapped 20 fodder trees and important crops in China using the multi-model ensemble and Ecocrop modelling approach. Relying on the intersectional concept of set theory, the fuzzy logic technique was applied to identify regions where candidate trees could be grown with appropriate crops and livestock. The resulting models provide important insights into the climatic suitability of trees and crops and offer knowledge critical to the proper integration of trees with crops and livestock at specific locations. The results offer support for developing appropriate strategies regarding potential land-use within agroforestry systems in order to maximize ecosystem services and the benefits of sustainable agriculture. Model outputs could easily convert into conventional maps with clearly defined boundaries for site-specific planning for tree-crop-livestock integration. The next step for actualizing an integrated system is to investigate specifically what these different species may contribute to the existing farming systems, quantify the benefits and estimate any possible trade-offs.

A review and updated checklist of Corynespora (Dematiaceous hyphomycetes) diversity and distribution reported from all over the world is prepared and presented over here based on available bibliographic survey upon published data. After critical review and verification, a total of 207 taxonomic records of Corynespora has been found in Index Fungorum, among them 179 spp. (86.47%) have been found as nomenclaurally valid/accepted taxa, while 14 spp. (6.76%) found to be transferred to other different taxa, 11 spp. (5.31%) synonymously transferred to other Corynespora taxa, and 3 spp. (1.44%) found as invalid taxa. In all word-wide recorded Corynespora species, 114 spp. (55.07%) have been found as foliicolous, 90 spp. (43.47%) as lignicolous, 2 spp. (0.96%) as lichenicolous, and 1 sp. (0.48%) from the air. Similarly, 184 spp. (88.88%) have been reported on Angiosperms, 1 sp. (0.48%) on Gymnosperms, 22 spp. (10.62%) recorded on unidentified plant parts/taxa, whereas no one species recorded on Bryophytes and Pteridophytes. Likewise, 166 spp. (80.19%) have been recorded on 54 families of Dicot, 18 spp. (8.69%) on 6 families of monocot, 1 sp. (0.48%) on 1 family of Gymnosperm, and 22 spp. (10.62%) on unidentified plant parts/taxa. Furthermore, the distribution of Corynespora spp. have been recorded from 34 countries, in which the species richness recorded maximum in India (80 spp., 38.64%) followed by China (31 spp., 14.97%), USA (11 spp., 5.31%), and other countries. Besides, distinguishing features of valid Corynespora spp. are also provided along with their hosts/substrate, host'family, distribution (country), and references. This paper provides an updated checklist of Corynespora spp. reported from all over the world with their current status in the context of current nomenclature. In order to get all collected scientific information at one shop for further scientific study on exploration of Corynespora, this compiled up-to-date checklist with their comparative morphology would be vital and helpful to the researchers of concern fields as well as allied disciplines.

Intensive crop production, use of pesticides, and unsustainable farming practices are known to cause land degradation and soil contamination. Both have led to a decline in biodiversity and changes in the functional groups of soil microorganisms. Although physicochemical methods have been used to apply soil amendments to agricultural land, mushroom cultivation in agricultural land for soil improvement have been poorly studied. In-field mushroom cultivation is considered a good strategy for improving soil quality by reducing the input of chemical fertilizers. In this paper, we list the edible mushroom species suitable for growing in fields and summarize the important role that mushroom field cultivation can play in soil erosion control, nutrient cycling, and the bioremediation of contaminants. Decomposition, symbiosis, assimilation, degradation, bioweathering, oxidation, biosorption, and bioconversion are all critical components of mushroom field cultivation. Research has shown that field mushroom cultivation contributes to nutritional bioavailability while also promoting the degradation of pollutants and formation of soil aggregates. Through soil amendment practices, a portion of agricultural waste can be converted into high-quality food and nutraceutical sources, and the remaining organic matter improves soil quality via fungal mycelial networks and the re-use of spent mushroom substrates. Only a small number of mushroom species have been used in the application of soil amendments in field conditions. This review shows the need for further research into specific mushroom species for achieving different soil amendment goals in order to balance agricultural development with sustainable land management.