Search

The understanding on the growth mechanism of complex gold nanostructures both experimentally and theoretically can guide their design and fabrication toward various applications. In this work, we report a cysteine-directed overgrowth of penta-twinned nanorod seeds into jagged gold bipyramids with discontinuous stepped {hhk} facets. By monitoring the growth process, we find that {hhk} facets with large k/h values (∼7) are formed first at two ends of the nanorods, followed by the protrusion of the middle section exposing {hhk} facets with smaller indices (k/h ∼ 2–3). Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the strong adsorption of cysteine molecules on {110} facets is likely responsible for the formation of stepped {hhk} facets, and the stronger adsorption of cysteine molecules on {hhk} facets with smaller k/h compared to that on {hhk} facets with larger k/h is a possible cause of the discontinuity of {hhk} facets at the middle of gold bipyramids. The obtained jagged gold bipyramids display large field enhancement under illumination due to their sharp nanostructures, demonstrating their application potentials in surface-enhanced spectroscopy and catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we introduce variational umbrella seeding, a novel technique for computing nucleation barriers. This new method, a refinement of the original seeding approach, is far less sensitive to the choice of order parameter for measuring the size of a nucleus. Consequently, it surpasses seeding in accuracy and umbrella sampling in computational speed. We test the method extensively and demonstrate excellent accuracy for crystal nucleation of nearly hard spheres and two distinct models of water: mW and TIP4P/ICE. This method can easily be extended to calculate nucleation barriers for homogeneous melting, condensation, and cavitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed lending programs, or seed libraries, have increased in popularity as programs within both public and academic libraries as part of the "library of things" movement. Most of the literature on seed libraries offers program descriptions, often accompanied by how-to steps to starting a seed library, and does not provide a critical analysis of any aspect of seed libraries. This study aims to explore the intentions of librarians and libraries in starting seed lending programs and how those same programs are described in outreach and marketing efforts. The purpose of this study is to use recent literature on neutrality and activism to broaden the discourse around seed lending programs from how-to articles to a more critical examination of said programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) is a structurally complex and conserved domain of the pectin present in the primary cell walls of vascular plants. Borate cross-linking of RG-II is required for plants to grow and develop normally. Mutations that alter RG-II structure also affect cross-linking and are lethal or severely impair growth. Thus, few genes involved in RG-II synthesis have been identified. Here, we developed a method to generate viable loss-of-function Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants in callus tissue via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. We combined this with a candidate gene approach to characterize the male gametophyte defective 2 (MGP2) gene that encodes a putative family GT29 glycosyltransferase. Plants homozygous for this mutation do not survive. We showed that in the callus mutant cell walls, RG-II does not cross-link normally because it lacks 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo) and thus cannot form the α-L-Rhap-(1→5)-α-D-kdop-(1→sidechain). We suggest that MGP2 encodes an inverting RG-II CMP-β-Kdo transferase (RCKT1). Our discovery provides further insight into the role of sidechains in RG-II dimerization. Our method also provides a viable strategy for further identifying proteins involved in the biosynthesis of RG-II.

Soil salinity is a major nutritional challenge with poor agriculture production characterized by high sodium (Na+) ions in the soil. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and biochar have received attention as a sustainable strategy to reduce biotic and abiotic stress. However, there is a lack of information regarding the incorporation of ZnO NPs with biochar to ameliorate the salinity stress (0, 50,100 mM). Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the potentials of ZnO NPs application (priming and foliar) alone and with a combination of biochar on the growth and nutrient availability of spinach plants under salinity stress. Results demonstrated that salinity stress at a higher rate (100 mM) showed maximum growth retardation by inducing oxidative stress, resulted in reduced photosynthetic rate and nutrient availability. ZnO NPs (priming and foliar) alone enhanced growth, chlorophyll contents and gas exchange parameters by improving the antioxidant enzymes activity of spinach under salinity stress. While, a significant and more pronounced effect was observed at combined treatments of ZnO NPs with biochar amendment. More importantly, ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar significantly reduced the Na+ contents in root 57.69%, and leaves 61.27% of spinach as compared to the respective control. Furthermore, higher nutrient contents were also found at the combined treatment of ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar. Overall, ZnO NPs combined application with biochar proved to be an efficient and sustainable strategy to alleviate salinity stress and improve crop nutritional quality under salinity stress. We inferred that ZnO NPs foliar application with a combination of biochar is more effectual in improving crop nutritional status and salinity mitigation than priming treatments with a combination of biochar.

Inheritance of the presence/absence of seeds in Annona squamosa is mediated by a single fully recessive gene and is caused by a deletion of the INNER NO OUTER (INO) locus. For some fruits, seedless varieties are desirable for consumption and processing. In the sugar apple tree (Annona squamosa L.), the seedless trait in the Thai seedless (Ts) and Brazilian seedless (Bs) accessions was associated with defective ovules and an apparent deletion of the INNER NO OUTER (INO) ovule development gene locus. Segregation analysis of F2 and backcross descendants of crosses of Bs to fertile wild-type varieties in this species with a multi-year generation time showed that seedlessness was recessive and controlled by a single locus. Comparison of whole genome sequence of a wild-type plant and a third accession, Hawaiian seedless (Hs), identified a 16 kilobase deletion including INO in this line. Ts and Bs lines were shown to have an identical deletion, indicating a common origin from a single deletion event. Analysis of microsatellite markers could not preclude the possibility that all three seedless accessions are vegetatively propagated clones. The sequence of the deletion site enabled a codominant assay for the wild-type and mutant genes allowing observation of complete cosegregation of the seedless/defective ovule phenotype with the INO deletion, showing maximal separation of less than 3.5 cM. The observed deletion is the only significant difference between the wild-type and Hs line over 587 kilobases, likely encompassing much more than 3.5 cM, showing that the deletion is the cause of seedless trait. The codominant markers and obtained progenies will be useful for introgression of the seedless trait into elite sugar apple lines and into other Annonas through interspecific crossings.

High-throughput sequencing-based methods for bulked segregant analysis (BSA) allow for the rapid identification of genetic markers associated with traits of interest. BSA studies have successfully identified qualitative (binary) and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using QTL mapping. However, most require population structures that fit the models available and a reference genome. Instead, high-throughput short-read sequencing can be combined with BSA of k-mers (BSA-k-mer) to map traits that appear refractory to standard approaches. This method can be applied to any organism and is particularly useful for species with genomes diverged from the closest sequenced genome. It is also instrumental when dealing with highly heterozygous and potentially polyploid genomes without phased haplotype assemblies and for which a single haplotype can control a trait. Finally, it is flexible in terms of population structure. Here, we apply the BSA-k-mer method for the rapid identification of candidate regions related to seed spot and seed size in diploid potato. Using a mixture of F1 and F2 individuals from a cross between 2 highly heterozygous parents, candidate sequences were identified for each trait using the BSA-k-mer approach. Using parental reads, we were able to determine the parental origin of the loci. Finally, we mapped the identified k-mers to a closely related potato genome to validate the method and determine the genomic loci underlying these sequences. The location identified for the seed spot matches with previously identified loci associated with pigmentation in potato. The loci associated with seed size are novel. Both loci are relevant in future breeding toward true seeds in potato.

The fundamental goal of a rare plant translocation is to create self-sustaining populations with the evolutionary resilience to persist in the long term. Yet, most plant translocation syntheses focus on a few factors influencing short-term benchmarks of success (e.g., survival and reproduction). Short-term benchmarks can be misleading when trying to infer future growth and viability because the factors that promote establishment may differ from those required for long-term persistence. We assembled a large (n = 275) and broadly representative data set of well-documented and monitored (7.9 years on average) at-risk plant translocations to identify the most important site attributes, management techniques, and species' traits for six life-cycle benchmarks and population metrics of translocation success. We used the random forest algorithm to quantify the relative importance of 29 predictor variables for each metric of success. Drivers of translocation outcomes varied across time frames and success metrics. Management techniques had the greatest relative influence on the attainment of life-cycle benchmarks and short-term population trends, whereas site attributes and species' traits were more important for population persistence and long-term trends. Specifically, large founder sizes increased the potential for reproduction and recruitment into the next generation, whereas declining habitat quality and the outplanting of species with low seed production led to increased extinction risks and a reduction in potential reproductive output in the long-term, respectively. We also detected novel interactions between some of the most important drivers, such as an increased probability of next-generation recruitment in species with greater seed production rates, but only when coupled with large founder sizes. Because most significant barriers to plant translocation success can be overcome by improving techniques or resolving site-level issues through early intervention and management, we suggest that by combining long-term monitoring with adaptive management, translocation programs can enhance the prospects of achieving long-term success.

The cytoplasm of Aegilops kotschyi is known for the induction of male sterility and haploidy in wheat. Both systems originally appeared rather simple, but manipulation of the standard chromosome constitution of the nuclear genome revealed additional interactions. This study shows that while there is little or no allelic variation at the main fertility restorer locus Rfmulti on chromosome arm 1BS, additional genes may also be involved in the nuclear-mitochondrial genome interactions, affecting not only male fertility but also the growth rate, from pollen competition for fertilization and early endosperm divisions all the way to seed size and plant maturity. Some of these effects appear to be of a sporophytic nature; others are gametophytic. Induction of parthenogenesis by a rye inducer in conjunction with the Ae. kotschyi cytoplasm is well known. However, here we show that the cytoplasmic-nuclear interactions affect all aspects of double fertilization: producing maternal haploids from unfertilized eggs, diploids from fertilized eggs or synergids, embryo-less kernels, and fertilized eggs without fertilization of the double nucleus in the embryo sack. It is unclear how frequent the inducers of parthenogenesis are, as variation, if any, is obscured by suppressors present in the wheat genome. Genetic dissection of a single wheat accession revealed five distinct loci affecting the rate of maternal haploid production: four acting as suppressors and one as an enhancer. Only when the suppressing haplotypes are confirmed may it be possible to the identify genetic variation of haploidy inducers, map their position(s), and determine their nature and the mode of action.

This study explores the inclusion of roselle seed flour as an enrichment ingredient in the preparation of crunchy gurundi snacks from 0% to 100% inclusions; 30% roselle inclusion had the highest protein and carbohydrate, fat content ranged from 4% to 12%, thickness from 2.77 to 3.69 m, and spread ratio from 7.00 to 13.54; 100% inclusion had the lowest weight and 10% the highest. A higher roselle percentage produced a darker color; 10% inclusion was the most adjudged in the overall acceptability. The potential of roselle seed flour as an enrichment ingredient is revealed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive traits influence plant auto‐successional dynamics in post‐fire regeneration. Obligate seeding species rely on their seedbank and on the climatic conditions following the fire to ensure a successful recovery, defining the window of opportunity for seedling emergence. In the Mediterranean basin, emergence opportunities generally begin with autumnal rains. However, climate change‐induced increases in temperature and drought could jeopardise the regeneration capacity of seeding species by causing temporal shifts in emergence opportunities or by modifying wildfire seasonality. This study aimed to explore the impact of experimentally induced climate change on regeneration dynamics of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), a serotinous Mediterranean obligate seeder. In March 2021, we set up an 18‐month climate change simulation experiment with 15 open‐top chambers (OTC), each paired with a control subplot (CON) on top of Aleppo pines that were naturally regenerating after a stand‐replacing wildfire in SW Catalonia (June 2019). We tagged 178 young Aleppo pine recruits in OTC and CON subplots (98 and 81 respectively), classified according to their initial size, to periodically measure height growth and survival throughout the experiment duration. Furthermore, Aleppo pine seeds were seasonally sown (7900 total seeds) in 10 subplot pairs between May 2021 and April 2022, to monthly monitor temporal patterns of seedling emergence and survival. We found that OTCs reduced overall emergence rates and caused the loss of the autumnal window of opportunity for the emergence of Aleppo pine seedlings. Furthermore, seedlings which emerged within OTCs faced higher mortality rates in all seasons, with only 1% of seedlings surviving compared with 21.1% of seedlings in control plots. The OTC‐induced conditions were also detrimental to the survival of recruited seedlings, especially those with a smaller initial size, although no significant effects of temperature increase were found on growth. Synthesis. Climate change is likely to interfere with the post‐fire regeneration dynamics of obligate seeders by shortening the temporal window of opportunities for emergence and by enhancing the bottleneck effects throughout the recruitment process in the early phases of pine demographic recovery. Altogether, it could threaten post‐fire regeneration by increasing the hazard of a demographic collapse of Aleppo pine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a frequent problem in calcareous soils of Pakistan because of P-fixation, which poses significant threats to pearl millet productivity. The use of P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) is regarded as a promising approach for improving P-availability in soil-plant systems. However, it needs optimization of P application into the soil. Therefore, this 2-year field study was conducted to optimize P doses in combination with PSB (Bacillus sp. MN54) inoculation to improve phosphorus use efficiency (PUE), yield, economic returns, and grain quality of pearl millet. Five P doses, i.e. 0 (native soil P only - control), 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg P2O5 ha−1 combined with and without PSB inoculated seeds were used in the study. The application of 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 + seed inoculation with PSB improved the grain yield by 36.8% and 36.0% during 1st and 2nd year, respectively. The same treatment significantly improved the PUE, grain protein, zinc (Zn), and total grain P contents compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, the highest economic returns (1053.3 and 1050.5 $ ha−1) and benefit:cost ratio were observed under 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 + seed inoculation with PSB during both years. In conclusion, application of 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 combined with PSB seed inoculation is a pragmatic option to improve P uptake, grain yield, PUE, grain quality and economic returns of pearl millet grown on calcareous soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ovules or seeds (fertilized ovules) with wings are widespread and especially important for wind dispersal. However, the earliest ovules in the Famennian of the Late Devonian are rarely known about the dispersal syndrome and usually surrounded by a cupule. From Xinhang, Anhui, China, we now report a new taxon of Famennian ovules, Alasemenia tria gen. et sp. nov. Each ovule of this taxon possesses three integumentary wings evidently extending outwards, folding inwards along abaxial side and enclosing most part of nucellus. The ovule is borne terminally on smooth dichotomous branches and lacks a cupule. Alasemenia suggests that the integuments of the earliest ovules without a cupule evolved functions in probable photosynthetic nutrition and wind dispersal. It indicates that the seed wing originated earlier than other wind dispersal mechanisms such as seed plume and pappus, and that three- or four-winged seeds were followed by seeds with less wings. Mathematical analysis shows that three-winged seeds are more adapted to wind dispersal than seeds with one, two or four wings under the same condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies a successful collision-avoidance method using buffered Voronoi cells (BVC) to control quadrotors. In particular, we consider the case of dealing with stationary obstacles using only the local information obtained from sensors, which has not been discussed in previous studies. In this study, we assume an unknown environment with grid-shaped obstacles. We demonstrate that four quadrotors can compute the information required for the BVC-based collision avoidance algorithm and move in the same environment without communicating with each other or receiving information from a central controller, using the local information obtained from the mounted 3D LiDAR. Simulations indicate that the system can handle static obstacles using point-cloud data obtained using 3D LiDAR as Voronoi seeds. We also demonstrate that the BVC-based collision avoidance algorithm can be applied to quadrotors controlled by a simple PD position controller without any modification to the controller. These findings show that the BVC-based collision avoidance can be easily implemented using existing commercial drones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate vulnerabilities in stateful protocols, AFL-NET has put forward stateful protocol fuzz testing. In such fuzz testing, the selection of seeds makes a major contribution to the exploration of paths. However, current stateful protocol fuzz testers often repeatedly execute the same several seeds, resulting in an inability to effectively explore more paths. To alleviate this problem, starting from the gain of seeds, this paper proposed an effective seed dynamic scheduling algorithm based on stateful protocols. The algorithm utilized the potential gain, actual gain, and cost of seeds as the gain, using this gain to dynamically schedule seeds and allocate the number of times seeds. Experiments show that this method significantly improves the number of vulnerabilities found and also has a certain degree of improvement in increasing coverage, indicating that the definition of this gain and the seed scheduling algorithm can effectively select seeds and explore more paths and vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endemic taxa are critical constituents in the flora of most parts of the world. Recently, most of these taxa have become exposed to extinction. This study aims to increase understanding of four monocot Mediterranean threatened endemic taxa in Egypt (Allium mareoticum Bornm. & Gauba, Bromus aegyptiacus Tausch, Muscari salah-eidii (Täckh. & Boulos) Hosni, Pancratium arabicum Sickenb.) by description of their pollen and seed and authentication of DNA barcoding using rbcL and matK genes. Twenty field visits were conducted from March 2017 till April 2023 including different localities through Mediterranean area for covering the presence of these species. Characterization of pollen grains and seeds were examined using a light (LM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). DNA barcoding was carried out for documentation of the four species. Maturase K (matK) and ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL) were used as primers for PCR amplification and gene sequencing. The two genes were successful in identifying Allium mareoticum, Bromus aegyptiacus, and Muscari salah-eidii at the genus level and Pancratium arabicum at both species and genus levels for rbcL marker, and the genus level for matK marker. This study is considered a leading study for new barcodes of (A) mareoticum, (B) aegyptiacus, and M. salah-eidii which were initially made available to the NCBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the classical spectral representation method (SRM) has been widely used in the generation of spatially varying ground motions, there are still challenges in efficient simulation of the non-stationary stochastic vector process in practice. The first problem is the inherent limitation and inflexibility of the deterministic time/frequency modulation function. Another difficulty is the estimation of evolutionary power spectral density (EPSD) with quite a few samples. To tackle these problems, the wavelet packet transform (WPT) algorithm is utilized to build a time-varying spectrum of seed recording which describes the energy distribution in the time-frequency domain. The time-varying spectrum is proven to preserve the time and frequency marginal property as theoretical EPSD will do for the stationary process. For the simulation of spatially varying ground motions, the auto-EPSD for all locations is directly estimated using the time-varying spectrum of seed recording rather than matching predefined EPSD models. Then the constructed spectral matrix is incorporated in SRM to simulate spatially varying non-stationary ground motions using efficient Cholesky decomposition techniques. In addition to a good match with the target coherency model, two numerical examples indicate that the generated time histories retain the physical properties of the prescribed seed recording, including waveform, temporal/spectral non-stationarity, normalized energy buildup, and significant duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Three different Acacia seeds (A. retinodes, A. provincialis and A. tenuissima) harvested from different locations and in different years were analysed for their variations in proximate and mineral composition. Results showed no one species had the highest content across all proximate and mineral analyses, for example, A. retinodes Harmans 2020 had the highest ash (3.7%), A. retinodes Harmans 2022 had the highest protein content (31.3%), A. tenuissima Hindmarsh 2020 had the highest fat content (18.5%) and A. provincialis Tarrington 2022 had the highest magnesium content (469 mg/100 g). Principle component analysis was carried out to determine the effect of species, harvest locations and years on the chemical composition. A biplot of the first two principal components with a total of 60.5% variation showed clustering based on harvest years. The compositions of the Acacia seeds were determined to be affected by species, harvest location and year differences. However, a complete gene–environment interaction study is needed to validate this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Fermentation may beneficially increase the bioaccessibility of minerals in legumes. In this study, the contents and in vitro bioaccessibilities of Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn were determined in lupin whole seed and dehulled seed during soaking, cooking and then fermentation with Bacillus subtilis into a natto analogue. For total mineral content, a significant loss (P < 0.05) of Mg was observed after cooking for both whole and dehulled seed. During pre‐processing, the Ca bioaccessibilities of whole and dehulled were highest (P < 0.05) in the soaked seed and for Mg was highest (P < 0.05) in the cooked samples. At all fermentation times, the bioaccessibility of all minerals was higher (P < 0.05) in the dehulled than the whole seed. Significant increases (P < 0.05) in bioaccessibility during fermentation were observed for Fe at 48 h and Zn 24 h in dehulled seed, providing the first evidence for the beneficial effect of lupin fermentation by B. subtilis in terms of Fe and Zn availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic Impagliazzo–Nisan–Wigderson (INW) pseudorandom generator (PRG) (STOC '94) for space-bounded computation uses a seed of length O (log n · log (n w / ε) + log d) to fool ordered branching programs of length n, width w, and alphabet size d to within error ε . A series of works have shown that the analysis of the INW generator can be improved for the class of permutation branching programs or the more general regular branching programs, improving the O (log 2 n) dependence on the length n to O (log n) or O ~ (log n) . However, when also considering the dependence on the other parameters, these analyses still fall short of the optimal PRG seed length O (log (n w d / ε)) . In this paper, we prove that any "spectral analysis" of the INW generator requires seed length Ω log n · log log min { n , d } + log n · log w / ε + log d to fool ordered permutation branching programs of length n, width w, and alphabet size d to within error ε . By "spectral analysis" we mean an analysis of the INW generator that relies only on the spectral expansion of the graphs used to construct the generator; this encompasses all prior analyses of the INW generator. Our lower bound matches the upper bound of Braverman–Rao–Raz–Yehudayoff (FOCS 2010, SICOMP 2014) for regular branching programs of alphabet size d = 2 except for a gap between their O log n · log log n term and our Ω log n · log log min { n , d } term. It also matches the upper bounds of Koucký–Nimbhorkar–Pudlák (STOC 2011), De (CCC 2011), and Steinke (ECCC 2012) for constant-width ( w = O (1) ) permutation branching programs of alphabet size d = 2 to within a constant factor. To fool permutation branching programs in the measure of spectral norm, we prove that any spectral analysis of the INW generator requires a seed of length Ω log n · log log n + log n · log (1 / ε) when the width is at least polynomial in n ( w = n Ω (1) ), matching the recent upper bound of Hoza–Pyne–Vadhan (ITCS 2021) to within a constant factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius) typically store seeds on the ground in shallow caches, promoting tree recruitment. However, speculation exists that Eurasian Jays occasionally store a portion of seeds in microhabitats unsuitable for proper germination. Here, we report that unexpected caching sites in Eurasian Jays can be much more widespread than previously considered and despite their accidental character it seems to be a durable aspect of Eurasian Jay's hoarding behavior. Out of 259 removed acorns of Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur), we localized 31 consumed and 222 stored acorns. Six experimental acorns (3% of stored acorns) were found stored by jays in unexpected caching sites: (i) above the ground on individuals of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), (ii) inside the woody stems of Reynoutria sp. individuals, (iii) in a rotten trunk, and (iv) among ruin debris. Our findings suggest the need to revise our understanding of so-called unexpected caching in Eurasian Jays. This highlights a previously overlooked aspect of oak-jay interactions, offering a valuable piece to the puzzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed features are a useful and relevant source of taxonomic information, especially when evaluated based on morphometric and micromorphological approaches. Here, we studied 21 populations from four out of the five species of the Mediterranean Linaria purpurea group (Plantaginaceae). Linaria capraria (endemic to Tuscan Archipelago) and L. cossonii (endemic to Sardinia and Tunisia) are easily recognizable based on overall morphometry and SEM analysis, respectively. On the contrary, L. arcusangeli (endemic to southern Sardinia) and L. purpurea (endemic to peninsular Italy and Sicily) show very similar seeds, whose features do not guarantee a reliable identification, although these two species are otherwise well distinct for their habit and flower features. Accordingly, by integrating all the available information, all four species are well supported on morphological grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antioxidant and anticancer potential of solvent extracts of the leaf, stem bark, fruit, and seeds of Embelia ruminata was investigated. The chloroform seed extracts had the highest TAC of 38.50 mg AAE g−1 DW. In the FRAP and DPPH assays, the methanolic seed extracts exhibited the most effective activity (67.63 mg AAE g−1 and IC50 of 3.54 µg mL−1, respectively), compared to the respective standards. In the MTT assays, the hexane seed extracts were the least cytotoxic and had a more pronounced effect on MCF-7 and A549 cell lines (IC50 of 93.1 and 119.5 µg mL−1, respectively) than the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the long-term efficacy of intravitreal topotecan (IVT) for vitreous seeds in eyes with retinoblastoma and risk factors for their recurrence. Retrospective, non-comparative, interventional study. Ninety-one eyes of 90 patients with retinoblastoma treated between January 2013 and April 2019. Patients with recurrent or refractory vitreous seeds after completion of intravenous or intra-arterial chemotherapy were treated with IVT (30 μg/0.15 ml) by the safety-enhanced technique. The injection was repeated every 4 weeks until the regression of seeds. Patients with a minimum follow-up of 12 months were included in the analysis. Primary outcome measures were vitreous seed regression and eye salvage. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for vitreous seed recurrence after treatment with IVT, vision salvage, and complications of IVT. The median age of the patients was 18 months, with most having group D (n = 58 [64%]) and group E (n = 26 [29%]) retinoblastoma. Vitreous seeds were refractory in 46 eyes (51%) and recurrent in 45 eyes (49%). A total of 317 IVT injections were administered, with the median being 3 injections. The median number of IVT injections required was 2.5 injections for dust, 3 injections for sphere, and 5 injections for cloud morphologic features. Recurrence of vitreous seeds after IVT was seen in 17 eyes (19%) at a mean follow-up of 7.9 months. At a mean follow-up 34 months, vitreous seed regression was achieved in 88 eyes (97%) and eye salvage was achieved in 77 eyes (85%). Older age (P = 0.018) and recurrence of retinal tumor (15/17 eyes; P < 0.01) significantly increased the risk of vitreous seed recurrence. Cataract was the most common complication seen in 17 eyes (9%). Intravitreal topotecan at an every 3- to 4-week regimen is effective against both refractory and recurrent vitreous seeds. The vitreous seed morphologic features correspond to the number of injections required for regression. Increasing age and recurrence of retinal tumor increase the risk of vitreous seed recurrence after treatment with IVT. The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-way segmentation model is proposed in this article. The model is used to solve the problem that the objective contour can not be completely extracted from image due to occlusion between objects within similar image groups or image sequences. The proposed model first decomposes incomplete contours into sub-segments using local features identified by seed points set along each path. Then, locate the occluded part of the target object and reconstruct the target. Finally, a new vector field is generated based on the reconstructed object from the proposed model, followed by iterative evolution. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can better handle the problem of occlusion or misleading features of targets in composite images and medical images. Not only does it facilitate subsequent measurement and analysis, but it also preserves the original shape of the object during the segmentation process without prior information. It is worth noting that the accuracy of the proposed model is robust to our initialization strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural waste is rich in bioactive molecules. When evaluating the viability of circular models for the development of health-promoting substances and final products, it is important to highlight that the industrial processing of fruits and other valuable herbal materials generates a considerable number of by-products and significant amounts of waste that contain health-promoting components. These by-products can be utilized purposefully in pharmaceuticals and related areas for the development of health-promoting products. The linear utilization of agricultural waste results in the loss of a range of valuable bioactive compounds, including polyphenols (anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and related compounds), antioxidants from other groups, phytosterols, tocopherols, and fatty acids. As an illustrative example, the waste materials of species belonging to the Vaccinium L. genus represent a notable secondary resource that can be purposefully applied to the development of health-promoting preparations. The fruits of these wasted herbal materials have been found to contain beneficial polyphenols, which play a pivotal role in the prevention of various chronic conditions, including precancerous conditions, inflammatory diseases, and other ailments. In addition, the fruits of blackberries, elderberries, and purple corn—which are similarly rich in anthocyanins—also provide a promising avenue for further development. Phenolic compounds suitable for recycling are also found in the by-products of sugarcane harvesting. Tomato waste contains a significant amount of lycopene, which is a valuable carotenoid. Other physiological functions may be attributed to the aforementioned by-products of fruit processing which, if used properly, can contribute to the prevention of certain diseases and improving quality of life. This review assesses the gaps in the existing literature on the development of health-promoting substances from herbal secondary materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During delayed ballistic reaches, motor areas consistently display movement-specific activity patterns prior to movement onset. It is unclear why these patterns arise: while they have been proposed to seed an initial neural state from which the movement unfolds, recent experiments have uncovered the presence and necessity of ongoing inputs during movement, which may lessen the need for careful initialization. Here, we modeled the motor cortex as an input-driven dynamical system, and we asked what the optimal way to control this system to perform fast delayed reaches is. We find that delay-period inputs consistently arise in an optimally controlled model of M1. By studying a variety of network architectures, we could dissect and predict the situations in which it is beneficial for a network to prepare. Finally, we show that optimal input-driven control of neural dynamics gives rise to multiple phases of preparation during reach sequences, providing a novel explanation for experimentally observed features of monkey M1 activity in double reaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the germination rule of Acer grosseri Pax seeds from different provenances, the germination test of Acer grosseri Pax from different provenances was carried out by temperature, storage method and storage time. The results showed that the germination rate of Acer grosseri Pax seeds was very low under 5 ℃ low temperature. With the increase of temperature, the germination rate of seeds from different provenances had significant difference; 4 ℃ low temperature wet sand storage can significantly improve the seed germination rate of Acer grosseri Pax, under the same storage conditions, there were significant differences in seed germination rate among different provenances, under different storage conditions, the germination rate of the seed was higher in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province, and lower in Taibai County, Shaanxi Province; wet sand storage at 4 ℃ for 80 days could significantly increase the seed germination rate of Acer grosseri Pax from different provences, the seed germination rate of Pinglu County of Shanxi Province, Gujiao City of Shanxi Province and Tongchuan City of Shaanxi Province were significantly different under different storage time conditions, but not at other provenances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Recent paleobotanical discoveries have renewed interest in the distinctively recurved, seed‐bearing cupules of Mesozoic plants, which are important for understanding seed plant phylogeny and the origin of the second integument of the angiosperm ovule. Reanalysis of the enigmatic seed‐bearing organ Dordrechtites elongatus from the Triassic of South Africa, the type species of the genus, combined with information from similar material from Antarctica, Argentina and Australia, indicates that Dordrechtites is a highly modified lateral branch of a seed cone. Short lateral projections from a primary cone axis each bear several Dordrechtites units. Each unit consists of a long stalk bearing a straight to sometimes recurved cupule with a long distal extension beyond the cupule apex. Each cupule is flattened in a plane perpendicular to the stalk and distal projection and contains up to two seeds. Structural similarities between Dordrechtites and the cupules of Doyleales indicate that they are homologous, providing new evidence for a close relationship. The persistent cupule stalk and apical extension of Dordrechtites, combined with the flattened cupule, suggests modification for wind and water dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an extremely efficient preprocessing tool, superpixels have become more and more popular in various computer vision tasks. Nevertheless, there are still several drawbacks in the application of hyperspectral image (HSl) processing. Firstly, it is difficult to directly apply superpixels because of the high dimension of HSl information. Secondly, existing superpixel algorithms cannot accurately classify the HSl objects due to multi-scale feature categorization. For the processing of high-dimensional problems, we use the principle of PCA to extract three principal components from numerous bands to form three-channel images. In this paper, a novel superpixel algorithm called Seed Extend by Entropy Density (SEED) is proposed to alleviate the seed point redundancy caused by the diversified content of HSl. It also focuses on breaking the dilemma of manually setting the number of superpixels to overcome the difficulty of classification imprecision caused by multi-scale targets. Next, a space–spectrum constraint model, termed Hyperspectral Image Classification via superpixels and manifold learning (SMALE), is designed, which integrates the proposed SEED to generate a dimensionality reduction framework. By making full use of spatial context information in the process of unsupervised dimension reduction, it could effectively improve the performance of HSl classification. Experimental results show that the proposed SEED could effectively promote the classification accuracy of HSI. Meanwhile, the integrated SMALE model outperforms existing algorithms on public datasets in terms of several quantitative metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity is a significant public health issue associated with various chronic diseases. Research has indicated that chia seeds have the potential to improve cardiometabolic health. However, due to the diversity of research and inconsistencies in study design, further investigation is needed to fully understand their clinical effects on overweight individuals. This review aims to comprehensively analyze the available evidence on the effects of chia seeds on cardiometabolic indices in overweight populations through a meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases from their inception until 01-03-2024 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of chia on cardiometabolic indices in overweight subjects. The search strategy incorporated both Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Following the screening, ten RCTs were finally included. The data, including subject characteristics, study design, and changes in serum biomarkers, were extracted and analyzed using Stata software version 18. Results: The meta-analysis results reveal that chia supplementation no significant changes in lipid profile, including triglycerides (TG) (MD: − 5.80 mg/dL, p = 0.47), total cholesterol (TC) (MD: − 0.29 mg/dL, p = 0.95), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (MD: 1.53 mg/dL, p = 0.33), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (MD: 0.63 mg/dL, p = 0.88). Similarity fasting blood glucose (FBG) (MD: − 0.03 mg/dL, p = 0.98), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (MD: − 0.13%, p = 0.13), and insulin levels (MD: 0.45 µIU/mL, p = 0.78). However, chia seed supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) (MD: − 1.18 mg/L, p < 0.0001), but no significant changes were observed in interleukin-6 (IL-6) (MD: − 0.15, p = 0.70) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) (MD: 0.03, p = 0.91). There was no significant effect on body mass index (BMI) (MD: 0.1 kg/m2, p = 0.91), but a significant reduction in waist circumference (WC) (MD: − 2.82 cm, p < 0.001) was noted. Additionally, chia seed supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (BP) (MD: − 3.27 mmHg, p = 0.03), though diastolic BP changes were non-significant (MD: − 2.69 mmHg, p = 0.09). The studies showed low to moderate heterogeneity in outcome measures, with I2 < 50%. Conclusion: Chia seed supplementation does not significantly impact most lipid profile parameters and glycemic markers. However, it shows potential benefits in reducing WC, BP, and CRP. While chia seeds can be a valuable addition to cardiometabolic health management, they should be part of a broader health strategy that includes a balanced diet, exercise, and lifestyle modifications for optimal results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (vs ChIP‐seq) is an essential tool for epigenetic and molecular genetic studies. Although being routinely used, ChIP‐seq is expensive, requires grams of plant materials, and is challenging for samples that enrich fatty acids such as seeds. Here, we developed an Ultrasensitive Plant ChIP‐seq (UP‐ChIP) method based on native ChIP‐seq combined with Tn5 tagmentation‐based library construction strategy. UP‐ChIP is generally applicable for profiling both histone modification and Pol II in a wide range of plant samples, such as a single Arabidopsis seedling, a few Arabidopsis seeds, and sorted nuclei. Compared with conventional ChIP‐seq, UP‐ChIP is much less labor intensive and only consumes 1 μg of antibody and 10 μl of Protein‐A/G conjugated beads for each IP and can work effectively with the amount of starting material down to a few milligrams. By performing UP‐ChIP in various conditions and genotypes, we showed that UP‐ChIP is highly reliable, sensitive, and quantitative for studying histone modifications. Detailed UP‐ChIP protocol is provided. We recommend UP‐ChIP as an alternative to traditional ChIP‐seq for profiling histone modifications and Pol II, offering the advantages of reduced labor intensity, decreased costs, and low‐sample input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, biodiesel was synthesized from castor and black mustard oil seeds, through homogenous alkaline transesterification with methanol. The impact of parameters such as alcohol amount, catalyst quantity, temperature, and reaction time have been optimized. The yield of castor biodiesel (COB) was 93.53% w/w at 20.7 wt.% methanol, and black mustard biodiesel (MOB) was 93.88% w/w at 20 wt.% methanol. The other conditions wt.% KOH, temperature, and reaction time were 0.5, 60 °C, and 60 min respectively. (COB) and (MOB) were mixed with diesel fuel (DI) in various ratios to obtain (B5, B10, B15, B20, B30, and B50), and the physicochemical properties of biodiesel are measured employing ASTM standards. The diesel one-cylinder engine was used as a test engine. CO2, CO, NOx, and SO2 emissions from biodiesel and its blends were measured and compared to DI. COB and MOB blends emitted less CO2, CO, and SO2 emissions than DI, along with a slight increase in NOx emissions. Based on the results, (COB) and (MOB) were reliable substitute fuels for reducing environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising health concerns regarding chronic diseases call for exploring natural sources of antioxidants and factors that influence their activity. This study evaluated the diversity of 112 sesame germplasms from Africa and Asia based on ten agronomic traits (seven quantitative and three qualitative), two antioxidant activities (ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities), and the content of one metabolite (TPC). TPC, DPPH, and ABTS were in the ranges of 4.98–87.88 µg GAE/mg DE, 3.97–46.23 µg AAE/mg DE, and 3.42–176.01 µg TE/mg DE, respectively. Statistical analyses revealed significant variations in agronomic traits, TPC, and antioxidant activities among the sesame germplasms (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the individual and interaction effects of seed color and the continent of origin on the levels of the quantitative traits, TPC, ABTS, and DPPH were analyzed, and the correlation among the traits was further evaluated. Diversity in TPC, ABTS, and DPPH was significantly associated with seed color and most of the quantitative agronomic traits (p < 0.05) but not with continent of origin. Principal component analysis revealed TPC, ABTS, DPPH, and five quantitative traits as the most discriminant traits. In general, six sesame accessions with high TPC and antioxidant activities (IT194356, IT170094, IT29971, IT185998, IT104246, and IT169623) as well as important agronomic traits were identified and, hence, could be used for developing improved sesame varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new norcassane-type diterpenoids, named 6β-hydroxy-bisnorcass-13-en-12-one (1) and 6β-hydroxy-bisnorcassan-12-one (2), were isolated from the seeds of Mezonevron sinense Hemsl. The structures of compounds 1-2 were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Two compounds exhibited immunosuppressive activity with the IC50 values of 19.35 ± 0.87 μM and 18.69 ± 0.88 μM in the ConA induced T cell model and 65.04 ± 0.83 μM and 48.06 ± 0.76 μM in LPS induced B cell model, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various seeds, including sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) seeds, are sources of different bioactive compounds. They can show anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, anti-hyperlipidemic, antibacterial, antioxidant, or other biological properties in in vitro and in vivo models. Our preliminary in vitro results have demonstrated that the extracts from raw (no thermal processing) and roasted (thermally processed) sea buckthorn seeds have antioxidant potential and anticoagulant activity. However, it was unclear which compounds were responsible for these properties. Therefore, in continuation of our previous study, the extracts were fractionated by C18 chromatography. Phytochemical analysis of three fractions (a, b, and c) from raw sea buckthorn seeds and four fractions (d, e, f, and g) from roasted sea buckthorn seeds were performed. Several in vitro assays were also conducted to determine the antioxidant and procoagulant/anticoagulant potential of the fractions and two of their major constituents—isorhamnetin 3-O-β-glucoside7-O-α-rhamnoside and serotonin. LC–MS analyses showed that serotonin is the dominant constituent of fractions c and f, which was tentatively identified on the basis of its HRMS and UV spectra. Moreover, fractions c and f, as well as b and e, contained different B-type proanthocyanidins. Fractions b and e consisted mainly of numerous glycosides of kaempferol, quercetin, and isorhamnetin. The results of oxidative stress assays (measurements of protein carbonylation, lipid peroxidation, and thiol groups oxidation) showed that out of all the tested fractions, fraction g (isolated from roasted seeds and containing mainly dihexoses, and serotonin) demonstrated the strongest antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Forest assisted migration has been proposed as a means to align tree populations with shifting climate habitats under climate change. Here we report on the growth and survival of oak species and seed sources at five assisted migration trials in southern Ontario -- an important transition zone between boreal and temperate ecosystems. Methods: Each trial featured one or more oak species -- including red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Q. alba), burr oak (Q. macrocarpa), and swamp white oak (Q. bicolor) -- and seed sources from Ontario, Pennsylvania, and/or Tennessee. The trials were measured for survival and height at between 7 and 13 years after planting. Results: For several trials and species, southern seed sources performed nearly as well as local sources. However, southern seed sources of burr oak performed significantly worse than local sources at 2 trials in eastern Ontario. These outcomes may have been influenced by reduced quality of southern seed source planting stock at these trials. Discussion: Our findings generally support previous work that suggests northward movements of seed sources of several hundred kilometers may be safe for assisted migration efforts involving broadleaf tree species. Notably, the trial sites were located at the northern range limits of two oak species in this study (Q. alba and Q. bicolor), suggesting the potential for modest range expansions in this boreal-temperate transition zone. These findings help forest managers to better understand potential assisted migration outcomes under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores the construction of spherically symmetric models of stellar interiors by incorporating the null complexity factor (CF) as an additional constraint. This supplementary condition helps us to close an array of stellar structure equations resulting from the process of gravitational decoupling. By making use of MGD-type gravitational decoupling we analyze the role of gravitational decoupling and its impact on the complexity of static, self-gravitational systems. We begin by considering an anisotropic seed solution described by the Kohler–Chao–Tikekar metric ansatz. We then apply the minimal geometric deformation technique to this seed solution, imposing the constraint that the effective anisotropic factor vanishes. This constraint leads to the generation of an isotropic stellar solution. Furthermore, we construct a second family of solutions in which the CF, remains the same for both the seed solution and its minimally deformed counterpart. Our analysis further investigated the influence of both the deformation parameter and the CF on the structural properties of the static and spherically symmetric stellar objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hederagenin-type triterpene saponin was found in the aqueous-ethanolic extract of the seeds of Cassia fistula L. The structure of this compound was established as 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D- xylopyranosylhederagenin 28-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1), mainly by extensive 2D NMR analysis in combination with spectral data of known compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanised non-contact, non-destructive imaging methodologies have revolutionised plant phenotyping, increasing throughput well beyond what was possible using traditional manual methods. Quantifying the variation in post-harvest material such as seeds and fruits, usually the economically important part of the crop, can be critical for commercial quality assessment as well as breeding and research. Therefore, reliable methods that gather metrics of interest, quickly and efficiently, are of widespread interest across sectors. This study focuses on evaluating the phenotyping capabilities of the Cgrain Value™, a novel grain imaging machine designed for quality and purity assessment and used primarily in commercial cereal production and processing. The performance of the Cgrain Value™ in its generation of high-throughput quantitative phenotypic data is compared with a well-established machine, MARVIN, assessing repeatability and reproducibility across a range of metrics. The findings highlight the potential of the Cgrain Value™, and some shortcomings, to provide detailed three-dimensional size, shape, and colour information rapidly, offering insights into oat grain morphology that could enhance genome-wide association studies and inform the breeding efforts in oat improvement programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean breeding programs targeting tofu quality must evaluate their performance within zones of adaptation. A comprehensive study was carried out to examine soybean breeding lines from three maturity groups (MGs; MG0, MG00, and MG000) from 2018 to 2022. Several agronomic, chemical composition and tofu-related quality traits were evaluated, and the associations among traits were investigated. The results showed that genotypes in MG0 yielded higher and matured later, which confirmed that the selection of targeted genotypes for a specific maturity group was successful. Non-imbibed "stone seeds", an important quality trait for tofu processors, were higher in MG000 lines. Tofu texture using both GDL and MgCl2 coagulants was positively associated, indicating one coagulant might be enough for screening purposes. The MG by traits biplot showed very clear MG clustering for all genotypes tested from 2018 to 2022, signifying that the MG has a more pronounced effect on the investigated traits than the environmental effects seen in different years, regardless of the MG. Most tofu-related traits were higher and showed stronger associations in MG0 lines compared to the lines in earlier MGs, indicating a need for future effort in shorter season MGs. Overall, this study provided useful information for selecting soybean lines for tofu end-use application targeting specific MGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seedling growth is one of the most important stages for the establishment of natural and artificial regeneration. For the first time, the initial growth and biomass allocation of seedlings germinated from cryostored seeds of Parkia nitida were analyzed. P. nitida is an economically and ecologically important timber tree species distributed in Central and South America. Cryostored seeds germinated quickly after priming by scarifying a part of the seedcoat with emery paper, reaching a germination percentage of 94%. Thirteen weeks after germination, the seedlings grew to a height of 16.5 to 60.0 cm. The results of our study, under different day/night alternating culture temperatures, showed that culture temperature had a direct correlation with seedling growth, total biomass allocation, and biomass partitioning. The greatest growth (height, diameter, and number of node sections) and greatest biomass allocation (leaf, stem, and root weight) were recorded under alternating temperatures of 30/25 °C, and these decreased with decreasing culture temperatures to 25/20 °C and 20/15 °C. Shoot:Root (S:R) ratios also decreased with decreasing culture temperatures, but a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was only observed between 20/15 °C and 30/25 °C. However, significant differences were not observed in Photosynthetic:Non-photosynthetic organ ratios among the different alternating culture temperatures. This study provides fundamental information for the production of good-quality seedlings of the fast-growing tropical trees of the legume family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed germination (GS) and seedling growth are vital plant stages that can be affected by stresses such as drought and aging, which cause deterioration and reduce seed viability. With the aim of homogenizing and improving GS, priming treatments with biostimulants such as the antioxidant melatonin are commonly used in seeds. In this study, the effects of melatonin on germination and seedling growth in two different situations, i.e., aging seeds of rice, barley, and sorghum and under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress in sorghum, were studied. Aged seeds were primed for 7 days in different concentrations of melatonin, and drought stress seeds were primed for 24 h before PEG treatment for 7 days, and germination and initial growth parameters were monitored. Aging-seeds of rice and barley showed the maximum response in terms of germination percentage at 20 µM melatonin and 0.05 µM respectively; while aging-seeds of sorghum showed improvement in germination for practically all concentrations studied, even the highest tested at 50 µM. Regarding the effect of melatonin treatments on drought stress in sorghum seeds, all the studied parameters showed a significant attenuation of the adverse effects of drought stress, alleviating them, for all concentrations tested but especially at 200 µM melatonin. The results obtained confirm that priming seeds with melatonin under low germinability conditions relieves stress and improves both germination and seedling growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vitis IMIDRA collection contains 3699 entries, representing a significant percentage of the variation in traditional and commercial Vitis cultivars used in Spain. The classification and identification of new entries are currently conducted based on ampelography and molecular methods. Here, we propose a new method of classification of the cultivars based on seed morphology and its application to a total of 224 varieties from the collection. Based on seed shape, fourteen groups have been defined according to the similarity of the seeds, with geometric figures used as models. The new models are Cariñena Blanca, Chardonnay, Parraleta, and Parduca, defining new groups to be added to the ten groups previously described. The study results in 14 groups comprising the Spanish cultivar's seed shape and morphological variation. Seed morphology can help to identify varieties cultivated in the past through archaeological finds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional evaluation of maize seed vigor is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. By contrast, this study introduces an automated, nondestructive framework for classifying maize seed vigor with different seed DNA repair capabilities using hyperspectral images. The selection of coated maize seeds for our case study also aligned well with practical applications. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results, rigorous data preprocessing steps were implemented to extract high-quality information from raw spectral data obtained from the hyperspectral images. In particular, commonly used pretreatment methods were explored. Instead of analyzing all the wavelengths of spectral data, a competitive adaptive reweighted sampling method was used to select more informative wavelengths, optimizing analysis efficiency. Furthermore, this study leveraged machine learning models, enriched through oversampling techniques to address data imbalance at the seed level. The results obtained using a support vector machine with enhanced techniques demonstrated promising results with 100% sensitivity, 96.91% specificity, and a 0.9807 Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC). Thus, this study highlighted the effectiveness of hyperspectral imaging and machine learning in modern seed assessment practices. By introducing a seed vigor classification system that can even accommodate coated seeds, this study offers a potential pathway for empowering seed producers in practical, real-world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the current issues of low intelligence and accuracy in seed-sorting devices, an intelligent seed sorter was developed in this study using machine-vision technology and the lightweight YOLOv5n. The machine consisted of a transmission system, feeding system, image acquisition system, and seed screening system. A lightweight YOLOv5n model, FS-YOLOv5n, was trained using 4756 images, incorporating FasterNet, Local Convolution (PConv), and a squeeze-and-excitation (SE) attention mechanism to improve feature extraction efficiency, detection accuracy, and reduce redundancy. Taking 'Zhengdan 958' corn seeds as the research object, a quality identification and seed sorting test was conducted on six test groups (each consisting of 1000 seeds) using the FS-YOLOv5n model. Following lightweight improvements, the machine showed an 81% reduction in parameters and floating-point operations compared to baseline models. The intelligent seed sorter achieved an average sorting rate of 90.76%, effectively satisfying the seed-sorting requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient Cherenkov oscillator with gigawatt phase-controlled super-radiance (SR) pulses is studied for the application of coherent summation systems. To obtain phase-controlled SR pulses, an ultra-short seed pulse is required to be injected into the interaction space from the direction of the collector, which substitutes the impact of the spontaneous emission from the front edge of the electron beam. It means that, for a conventional Cherenkov oscillator, the injection seed pulse and output gigawatt SR pulse need to share the same channel. Therefore, an additional quasi-optical reflection system is needed to separate these two signals. To optimize such a scheme, we introduce a front extractor near the reflector and an injection channel at the side of the collector, allowing the output and injection channels to be independent of each other. Particle-in-cell simulations reveal that as the diode voltage is 260 kV, the beam current is 3.5 kA, and the magnetic field is 0.42 T, a short SR pulse with peak power of 1.93 GW is obtained. The corresponding conversion factor (ratio of average output power and input DC power) is up to 2.12. When the seed pulse has a rise time of 0.3 ns and a width of 0.2 ns injection, the phase of the seed pulse and the initiated SR pulse are closely correlated with the accuracy of 0.17 rad as the power ratio is down to −25 dB. The advantages of high efficiency and phase control make the oscillator a promising device used for the miniaturization and practicability of coherent summation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vulnerability of commercial crops under a changing climate has led scientists to consider wild crop species as alternative food sources. The aim of this study was to identify plastic physiological and morphological traits that could be used to in vitro screen Amaranthus dubius and Galinsoga parviflora seeds for drought, salinity, and heat tolerance. To establish the lethal dose/temperature, 50% (LD/T50), for each stress, seeds for both were subjected to various mannitol and NaCl stresses and a range of temperatures. Percentage seedling emergence was selected as the initial indicator of tolerance and used to establish the LD/T50 for in vitro screening for both species. Seeds of both were then screened at the LD/T50 concentrations/temperatures established, and seedlings that emerged after 21 days were measured for leaf area, root (RL), shoot length (SL), chlorophyll content (Chl), fresh, dry mass, and leaf number. Data for these were used to quantify plasticity in terms of Valladares's phenotypic plasticity index. For A. dubius, three (viz. RL, SL, and Chl) showed some plasticity (≥0.53) and tolerance across all three stressors. For G. parviflora all traits except SL showed some plasticity (≥0.58) and tolerance across all three stressors. Both species had high phenotypic plasticity across all three stressors, which suggests that wild leafy vegetables may possess the ability to tolerate climate change-associated stressors and should be considered for future breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]