vegetative

Evolutionary maintenance of dioecy is a complex phenomenon and varies by species and underlying pathways. Also, different sexes may exhibit variable resource allocation (RA) patterns among the vegetative and reproductive functions. Such differences are reflected in the extent of sexual dimorphism. Though rarely pursued, investigation on plant species harbouring intermediate sexual phenotypes may reveal useful information on the strategy pertaining to sex-ratios and evolutionary pathways. We studied H. rhamnoides ssp...

Where sea urchin harvest has been so intense that populations have drastically regressed, concerns have arisen about the effectiveness of harvesting management. According to the theory of phase transition in shallow rocky reefs between vegetated and barren habitats, sea urchin recruitment, a key population structuring process, seems hampered by some stabilizing feedback despite an end to local human harvest of sea urchins. To shed a light on predation effects on sea urchin recruits, a 27-day field experiment was conducted using mega-predator exclusion cages (40x40x40 cm, 1 cm in mesh size) in barren and turf substrates...

JOINTLESS (J) was isolated in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) from mutants lacking a flower pedicel abscission zone (AZ), and encodes a MADS-box protein of the SVP/AGL24 sub-family. The loss of J function also causes the return to leaf initiation in the inflorescences, indicating a pivotal role in inflorescence meristem identity. Here, we compared j mutants in different accessions that exhibit either an indeterminate shoot growth, producing regular sympodial segments, or a determinate shoot growth, due to the reduction of sympodial segments and causal mutation of the SELF PRUNING (SP) gene...

IMPORTANCE: The American Cancer Society's (ACS's) nutrition and physical activity guidelines are intended to reduce morbidity and mortality among cancer survivors, but to our knowledge, adherence to these guidelines has not been systematically quantified. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate adherence to and factors associated with adherence to lifestyle modification guidelines among cancer survivors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System using survey administration years 2017 (surveys completed between January 2017 and March 2018), 2019 (surveys completed between January 2019 and December 2019), and 2021 (surveys completed between January 2021 and February 2022)...

This study applied the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate frontal activity in autism when performing verbal fluency test and emotion recall task. We recruited 32 autistic adults without intellectual disability and 30 typically-developing controls (TDC). Prefrontal hemodynamic changes were evaluated by fNIRS when the participants performed the verbal fluency test and emotion recall task. fNIRS signals in the prefrontal cortex were compared between autism and TDC. Compared to TDC, autistic adults showed comparable performance on the verbal fluency test but exhibited lower frontal activity on the vegetable category...

Plants, known for their immobility, employ various mechanisms against stress and damage. A prominent feature is the formation of callus tissue-a cellular growth phenomenon that remains insufficiently explored, despite its distinctive cellular plasticity compared to vertebrates. Callus formation involves dedifferentiated cells, with a subset attaining pluripotency. Calluses exhibit an extraordinary capacity to reinitiate cellular division and undergo structural transformations, generating de novo shoots and roots, thereby developing into regenerated plants-a testament to the heightened developmental plasticity inherent in plants...

Land use and land cover (LULC) analysis gives important information on how the region has evolved over time. Kerala, a land with an extensive and dynamic history of land-use changes, has, until now, lacked comprehensive investigations into this history. So the current study focuses on Kerala, one of the ecologically diverse states in India with complex topography, through Landsat images taken from 1990 to 2020 using two different machine learning classifications, random forest (RF) and classification and regression trees (CART) on Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform...

PREMISE: With the global atmospheric CO2 concentration on the rise, developing crops that can thrive in elevated CO2 has become paramount. We investigated the potential of hybridization as a strategy for creating crops with improved growth in predicted elevated atmospheric CO2 . METHODS: We grew parent accessions and their F1 hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana in ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 and analyzed numerous growth traits to assess their productivity and underlying mechanisms...

Our aim was to estimate associations of adolescent dietary patterns and meal habits with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and preterm birth. We used data from a prospective cohort study (Norwegian Young-HUNT1) where dietary information was collected during adolescence and pregnancy outcomes were obtained through record linkage to the Norwegian national birth registry. The outcomes were HDP, hypertension, preeclampsia/ eclampsia, and preterm birth in the first pregnancy and in any pregnancy. Diet was self-reported from validated questionnaires and exposures were dietary indexes (healthy; unhealthy; fruit and vegetable; fibre index) and meal habits...

Aspergillus flavus is the most frequently identified producer of aflatoxins. Non-aflatoxigenic members of the A. flavus L strains are used in various continents as active ingredients of bioprotectants directed at preventing aflatoxin contamination by competitive displacement of aflatoxin producers. The current research examined the genetic diversity of A. flavus L strain across southern Europe to gain insights into the population structure and evolution of this species and to evaluate the prevalence of genotypes closely related to MUCL54911, the active ingredient of AF-X1...

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy dietary habits, decreased physical activity, poor sleep quality, and increasing levels of stress and burnout have all been identified as major concerns of medical students. Due to the rigorous environment of medical school, maintaining a well-balanced and nutritious diet is often replaced by more convenient and nutrient-poor options. Improper dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle both play an essential role in the development of type II diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia...

Fruit and vegetable wastes are linked to the depletion of natural resources and can pose serious health and environmental risks (e.g. eutrophication, water and soil pollution, and GHG emissions) if improperly managed. Current waste management practices often fail to recover high-value compounds from fruit wastes. Among emerging valorization methods, the utilization of fruit wastes as a feedstock for microalgal biorefineries is a promising approach for achieving net zero waste and sustainable development goals...

The restorative benefits of urban green spaces (UGSs) have been supported by many studies. Eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) are regarded as a tool to classify green spaces based on perception. However, little attention has been given to the effects of landscape characteristics (LCs) on the perceived restorativeness (PR) of green spaces. Thus, this study aims to clarify this relationship using the eight PSDs. The research collected information, via video stimulus, from 30 participants on the restorative experiences of urban green parks, according to the eight kinds of PSDs...

Flowering time is an important phenological trait in plants and a critical determinant of the success of pollination and fruit or seed development, with immense significance for agriculture as it directly affects crop yield and overall food production. Shifts in the growth season, changes in the growth season duration and changes in the production rate are environmental processes (potentially linked to climate change) that can lead to changes in flowering time in the long-term due to selection. In contrast, biomass loss (due to, for example, herbivory or diseases) can have profound consequences for plant mass production and food security...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1340641.].

INTRODUCTION: The paper analyzes the results of 26 years (1996-2021) of phenological observations of the vegetative organs of European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) in the Western Carpathians. It evaluates the influence of the heterogeneity of this territory, including relief and elevation, based on climatic-geographical types. METHODS: Phenological stages, including leaf unfolding, full leaves, leaf coloring, and leaf fall, were monitored at 40 phenological stations across eight elevation zones...

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains one the leading communicable causes of death. Approximately half of the world's population is considered at risk of infection, predominantly in African and South Asian countries. Although malaria is preventable, heterogeneity in sociodemographic and environmental risk factors over time and across diverse geographical and climatological regions make outbreak prediction challenging. Data-driven approaches accounting for spatiotemporal variability could offer potential for location-specific early warning tools for malaria...

Psychological characterization of patients affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) focuses on comorbidity with psychiatric disorders, somatization or alexithymia. Whereas IBD patients had higher risk of stable anxiety and depression for many years after the diagnosis of the disease, there is a lack of studies reporting a comprehensive psychosomatic assessment addressing factors of disease vulnerability, also in the long-term. The objective of this investigation is to fill this gap in the current literature...

BACKGROUND: Floral scents play a crucial role in attracting insect pollinators. Among the compounds attractive to pollinators is 1,4-dimethoxybenzene (1,4-DMB). It is a significant contributor to the scent profile of plants from various genera, including economically important Cucurbita species. Despite its importance, the biosynthetic pathway for the formation of 1,4-DMB was not elucidated so far. RESULTS: In this study we showed the catalysis of 1,4-DMB in the presence of 4-methoxyphenol (4-MP) by protein extract from Styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) flowers...

Streptomyces are a genus of ubiquitous soil bacteria from which the majority of clinically utilized antibiotics derive1 . The production of these antibacterial molecules reflects the relentless competition Streptomyces engage in with other bacteria, including other Streptomyces species1,2 . Here we show that in addition to small-molecule antibiotics, Streptomyces produce and secrete antibacterial protein complexes that feature a large, degenerate repeat-containing polymorphic toxin protein. A cryo-electron microscopy structure of these particles reveals an extended stalk topped by a ringed crown comprising the toxin repeats scaffolding five lectin-tipped spokes, which led us to name them umbrella particles...