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Introduction: Finding complex and relevant information in the specialty literature is a very important aspect for researchers, this representing the first step in designing and starting a new research. Aim: This study aimed to test four different search strategies within three databases to get a higher number of valid and reliable articles able to reflect the state of the art. Methods: We performed a literature search on 25 May 2024, in PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect scientific databases. We used four Boolean search strings (one sort and one long with quotation mark and one short and one long with parentheses) that combined relevant keywords related to hormonal therapy, cancer treatment, and red clover. The article types targeted were open and non-open access articles and also review and research articles. Filters as publishing year, text availability, article type and additionally subject area - for Science Direct, were applied. Results: The 1st short Boolean search strategy with quotation marks identified 1369 articles, and the 2nd short search strategy with parentheses identified 2734 potentially relevant articles. The 1st long Boolean search strategy with quotation marks identified 112 articles, and the 2nd long search strategy with parentheses identified 185 potentially relevant articles. The highest number of open access articles (106) and the highest number of review articles (253) was retrieved by ScienceDirect. Most of the determined articles classified as irrelevant were retrieved from ScienceDirect for all the 4-search strategy, compared to WoS and PubMed, and were excluded after filtering process, since they did not present related characteristics to the subject of interest. A significant association between article type and the 4 strategies for ScienceDirect had been identified. Conclusions: The short search strategy with parentheses returned a higher number of articles than the short strategy with quotation marks and the long strategies with quotes and parentheses. ScienceDirect returned the largest number of articles, but upon verification, the most irrelevant articles were also observed within this database. Regarding open access and review articles type, the short strategy with parentheses returned the highest number for PubMed and ScienceDirect, and for WoS, the highest number of such articles was obtained following the use of the short strategy with quotation marks.

Red clover also known as Trifolium pratense L., is a perennial allogame plant belonging to Trifolium genus and Fabaceae family. Besides its benefits in animal feed and soil improvement, red clover was studied as well for its medicinal properties, being used in different forms like essential oil, tea, pills and other. This study aimed to perform a comparative analysis on some diploid and tetraploid red clover cultivars regarding morphological and biochemical traits. The study was carried out between 2022 and 2023 on 90 red clover cultivars, divided into two samples represented by diploids and tetraploids. Tetraploids were superior to diploids in the 2nd year and inferior in the 3rd year. Regarding the polyphenols content, diploids showed higher values than tetraploids. Between diploids and tetraploids, there was a significant difference in the number of inflorescences/50g and inflorescence weight from the 3rd year.

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a major crop worldwide. It occupies the second place after cereals (corn, rice, and wheat). This important crop is threatened by the Oomycete Phytophthora infestans, the agent of late blight disease. This pathogen was first encountered during the Irish famine during the 1840s and is a reemerging threat to potatoes. It is mainly controlled chemically by using fungicides, but due to health and environmental concerns, the best alternative is resistance. When there is no disease, no treatment is required. In this study, we present a summary of the ongoing efforts concerning resistance breeding of potato against this devastating pathogen, P. infestans. This work begins with the search for and selection of resistance genes, whether they are from within or from outside the species. The genetic methods developed to date for gene mining, such as effectoromics and GWAS, provide researchers with the ability to identify genes of interest more efficiently. Once identified, these genes are cloned using molecular markers (MAS or QRL) and can then be introduced into different cultivars using somatic hybridization or recombinant DNA technology. More innovative technologies have been developed lately, such as gene editing using the CRISPR system or gene silencing, by exploiting iRNA strategies that have emerged as promising tools for managing Phytophthora infestans, which can be employed. Also, gene pyramiding or gene stacking, which involves the accumulation of two or more R genes on the same individual plant, is an innovative method that has yielded many promising results. All these advances related to the development of molecular techniques for obtaining new potato cultivars resistant to P. infestans can contribute not only to reducing losses in agriculture but especially to ensuring food security and safety.

It has been proven that vitamins play an essential role in preventing certain diseases since ancient times. It is thus fruitless to approach the roles of vitamins without making reference to the techniques used in evaluating the effects of these micronutrients. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to summarize the immunological effects of E, K, B5, B6, and B9 vitamins evaluated by flow cytometry. Some of these significant effects were presented and discussed: (a) The role of vitamins E in the prevention and treatment of different types of cancer. (b) The properties of K vitamins in the development and maintenance of pheochromocytoma Cell Line 12 (PC12) cells in Parkinson’s disease; (c) The improvement effect of vitamin B5 on the loss of bone mass in low estrogen conditions; (d) The anticancer role of vitamins B6. (e) The role of Vitamin B9 in the regulation of Treg cells. As such, the flow cytometry technique used to assess these properties is essential to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of certain vitamins. The technique undergoes constant improvement which makes it possible to determine several parameters with a role in the modulation of the immune function and at the same time increase the accuracy of the methods that highlight them.

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide. Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary is the oomycete pathogen responsible for the famous Irish famine (1840s). It is still the most important pathogen affecting potato crops, causing the late blight disease on potato and tomato. It is mainly controlled by fungicides. Breeding for disease resistance is the best alternative to chemical control of the disease. One of the strategies used is to stack many resistance genes in the same genotype. Here, we wanted to test the effect of the stacked resistance gene (R) from S. demissum on the infection process by the virulent race EU_13_A2. Four potato genotypes were tested, each one harboring, respectively, one, two, three or four R genes. All the tested genotypes were sensitive. However, the sensitivity degree was negatively correlated with the number of genes harbored by each genotype. There was a delay of two days of symptoms manifestation for the genotype with 4Rs, and the pathogen produced less spores on the detached leaf test. In addition, the amount of phenolic compounds produced is higher in the genotypes with multiple R genes.

Lavender is in the research spotlight due to its increasing economic importance, while market demand is expected to continue to grow. Among the hundreds of essential-oil-bearing plants, Lavandula angustifolia Mill. remains one of the most valuable. This paper explores the lavender chain timeline from crop to products, examining the expanding knowledge on the characteristics, phytochemical profile and functional potential of lavender that could lead to new products and uses. Lavender crops can be expanded without competing for productive land, instead using marginal, contaminated or unproductive land. A novel cultivation trend proposes leveraging agri-background biodiversity, arbuscular mycorrhiza and the natural enemies of pests for healthy crops. Together with breeding efforts targeting highly performant genotypes with complex volatile profiles coupled with resistance to specific biotic (particularly Phytoplasma) and abiotic (salt, heavy metals) stressors, industry could have a steady supply of high-quality raw material. Besides the expansion of the uses of essential oil in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and environmental and agri-applications, novel channels have appeared for the use of the solid by-product, which is rich in polyphenols and polysaccharides; these channels have the potential to create additional streams of value. The stabilization and optimization of techno-functional delivery systems through the encapsulation of essential oil can extend shelf-life and enhance biological activity efficiency.

The flag leaf can be an important vehicle for high grain yield due to its position and photosynthetic characteristics. To identify the most adaptive and stable yielding genotype, three winter wheat genotypes were studied during two experimental years under field conditions to quantify the influence of flag leaf removal in different phenological stages on the grain yield and grain quality. To quantify the influence of the flag leaf on the main yield components, the flag leaf was removed every 7 days, starting from the booting stage to ripening. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids were determined from the removed leaves. As a complex trait, the number of grains/spikes and the weight of the grains/spikes were highly influenced by the flag leaf removal during the early generative stages, causing a yield loss from 9% to more than 40%, depending on the variety. It was established that the photosynthetic pigments were highly influenced by the plant phenology stages and the environmental conditions, especially carotenoids, which act as photoprotective and antioxidant agents under stress conditions. Regarding grain quality, flag leaf removal had a significant influence on the accumulation of grain protein and the wet gluten content, the variability of these quantitative traits being also influenced by the climatic conditions.

Furthermore to additive action of polygenes, in heredity of quantitative traits, other types of intra-allelic (dominance and recessiveness) and inter-allelic (epistasis) interactions are also involved, all this ultimately leading to a complex heredity of these traits. Although it was initially believed that the constitutive elements of yield had a simpler heredity and that the decomposition of production by these elements would lead to a more efficient selection for this trait, after extensive research, it was concluded that yield elements also had a complex heredity. Regarding grains weight/ear, most performing were the native cultivars Turdana and Aura with statistical differences compared to the control (the average of the two experimental years), 0.38 g, highly significant positive and 0.14g, significant positive. As expected due to the close positive correlation between the grains weight/ear and the number of grains, Turdeana and Aura cultivars are also leaders for the number of grains/ear.

Maize will continue to expand and diversify as an industrial resource and a feed and fuel crop in the near future. The United Nations estimate that in 2050 the global population will reach 9.7 billion people. In this context, food security is increasingly being discussed. Additionally, another threat to food security is global warming. It is predicted that both the quantity and the quality of crops will be seriously affected by climate change in the near future. Scientists and breeders need to speed up the process of creating new maize cultivars that are resistant to climate stress without diminishing yield or quality. The present paper provides a brief overview of some of the most important genomics tools that can be used to develop high-performance and well-adapted hybrids of maize and also emphasizes the contribution of bioinformatics to an advanced maize breeding. Genomics tools are essential for a precise, fast, and efficient breeding of crops especially in the context of climate challenges. Maize breeders are able now to develop new cultivars with better traits more easily as a result of the new genomic approaches, either by aiding the selection process or by increasing the available diversity through precision breeding procedures. Furthermore, the use of genomic tools may in the future represent a way to accelerate the processes of de novo domestication of the species.

Edible insects such as the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens L. represent a potential and sustainable source of nutrients for food and feed due to their valuable nutritional composition, which can be modulated through dietary enrichment. The high content of saturated fatty acid (FA) of Hermetia illucens larvae fats can be modulated through dietary enrichment as a result of adding vegetable oils in the rearing substrate. Therefore, the present research aims to highlight the effects of a 10% addition of vegetable oils from five dietary fat sources (linseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and hempseed oil) on the growth, development, reproductive performance, and the fat and fatty acids profile of H. illucens. Oil inclusion in the larval diet improved (p < 0.05) the weight of larvae, prepupae, pupae, and imago without influencing (p > 0.05) the egg clutch weight and the number of eggs in the clutch. In addition, the larvae fatty acid profile was different (p < 0.001) according to the oil type, because the unsaturated FAs (UFA) increased from 11.23 to 48.74% of FAME, as well as according to the larvae age, because the saturated FAs decreased from 85.86 to 49.56% of FAME. Linseed oil inclusion led to the improvement of the FA profile at 10 days age of larvae, followed by hempseed and rapeseed oil. These three dietary treatments recorded the highest concentrations in UFA (29.94–48.74% of FAME), especially in polyunsaturated FA (18.91–37.22% of FAME) from the omega-3 series (3.19–15.55% of FAME) and the appropriate n–6/n–3 ratio. As a result, the degree of the lipid polyunsaturation index increased (17.76–41.44) and the value of the atherogenic (3.22–1.22) and thrombogenic (1.43–0.48) indices decreased. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that enriching the larval diet with these oils rich in UFA can modulate the larvae FA profile, making them suitable sources of quality fats for feed and indirectly for food.

Stalk lodging resistance is a particularly important trait on maize, especially in terms of mechanized harvesting of the crop. Stalk lodging represents a major problem of corn with yield losses. Because of this reason, it takes a special attention on the breeding process. The purpose of this research was the study of maize stalk lodging resistance before the harvest time and finding the best breeding lines for this type of resistance. We used 7 breeding lines (TE 229, TE 202B, TA 452, TE 330A, TD 364, TE 317 and TE 335) as maternal lines and another 3 (TD 268, TC 385A and TC 399) as testers. Lines were tested in 2011 and 2012, in compared cultures with 24 variants, where 21 of them were the experimental hybrids between tested lines and testers and the other 3 were the control hybrids Turda 201, Turda Favorit and PR39D81. Variance analysis was performed according to the classical model of a two-factor system. Genic effects were calculated after 2nd North Carolina model. Regarding the results, the highest percentage of unbroken plants was on TD 268 tester (80.7%) and the lowest on TD 364 tested line (70.2%). Tested lines that was noted for the general combining ability of lodging resistance were TA 452 and TE 335. Crossings that marked high values for non-additive effects were TA 452 x TC 385A, TE 202B x TC 399 and TE 202B x TD 268. Effects values for general combining ability were between -4.72% and +4.49% on tested lines, -1.68% and +5.78% on testers; effects values for specific combining ability were between -11.25% and +7.58%. Regarding the tested lines was noted TA 452 inbred line and regarding the testers was noted TD 268 inbred line. On this issue, we can state that in the selection process of maize hybrids must be chosen only those hybrid combinations with stalk-lodging resistance because of the similar contribution of additive and non-additive genic effects to resistant genotypes.