Amaranthus is a nutrient-rich leafy vegetable grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Leaf blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani is a major constraint in amaranthus production. In the present study 45 amaranthus genotypes were screened twice under field conditions for resistance against R. solani and the resistant lines identified were screened in-vitro with artificial inoculation. Disease severity varied widely, with PDI values ranging from 0.0 to 88.48 in 2024 and 0.0 to 96.66 in 2025. The accessions VLKAM-25, VLKAM-41, and VLKAM-42 were completely immune, while VLKAM-36 was highly resistant in both field screenings. The lines showing immune to moderate resistance in the field when screened in vitro, the accession VLKAM-41 remained free of symptoms, and VLKAM-25, VLKAM-36, and VLKAM-42 showed only limited lesion development. In contrast, the checks Arun and KAU Vaika developed large, coalescing lesions. The immune and highly resistant genotypes were identified as Amaranthus spinosus (VLKAM-41), A. hypochondriacus (VLKAM-25 & VLKAM-36), and A. dubius (VLKAM-42).

Medetomidine has recently emerged in the illicit drug supply in the United States, and lateral flow immunoassay test strips are an inexpensive and easy-to-use field screening option for detecting this highly potent sedative. However, the drug is chiral, and the response of test strips to the different enantiomers has not been reported. This study evaluated the chiral sensitivity of 7 lots of medetomidine test strips produced by two manufacturers. Test strips were assessed using solutions of dexmedetomidine, levomedetomidine, and racemic medetomidine at varying concentrations, water types, and temperature conditions. Specificity was evaluated by testing structurally related compounds and other interferences. Multiple lots of medetomidine strips responded only to dexmedetomidine. These strips detect racemic medetomidine but give a negative result for pure levomedetomidine. Other lots of medetomidine strips required both dexmedetomidine and levomedetomidine to be present to give a positive result-either pure dexmedetomidine or pure levomedetomidine gave negative results. All strips performed best in 18 MΩ water. at temperatures of 25°C or below. Xylazine did not cross-react. The veterinary sedative detomidine HCl caused false positives on all the strips at concentrations down to 0.07mg/mL, and levamisole gave faint test lines (which can be misread as false positives) for almost all the strips at 2mg/mL. Organizations selecting test strips for public health applications should select strips that can detect both dexmedetomidine and racemic versions of this sedative.

An All-in-One Visual Selection System for Male-Sterile Line Production in Maize and Rice.

Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), an important solanaceous vegetable crop cultivated across tropical and subtropical regions, is severely constrained by the Brinjal Shoot and Fruit Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis), the most destructive pest of the crop, capable of causing yield losses exceeding 70%. The current study is focused on field screening of 28 segregating F2 progeny families derived from complex three-way cross hybrids to identify transgressive segregants with inherent tolerance to BSFB damage. Correlation analysis revealed that total fruit yield per plant exhibited a strong positive association with marketable yield, total number of fruits per plant, and average fruit weight. Marketable yield showed a highly significant negative correlation with per cent fruit infestation (PFI) (r=-0.593), highlighting the direct economic impact of BSFB injury. Extensive phenotypic variability was observed, with PFI ranging from 0 to 75 per cent. Based on PFI and percent shoot infestation values, the genotypes were classified into distinct resistance categories, and a selection index was constructed using PFI and marketable yield with equal weightage. This approach enabled the identification of 50 superior lines combining higher marketable yield with reduced pest damage. These findings demonstrate that integrating PFI with key yield components can accelerate the development of high-yielding, BSFB-resistant brinjal cultivars.

Field screening of sesame (Sesame indicum L.) germplasm with forty three genotypes including susceptible and resistant checks were screened to know about reaction pattern against the leaf webber and capsule borer (Antigastra catalaunalis Dup) and gall fly (Aspondylia sesami Felt) under field conditions (natural field infestation) during 2023 at RARS, Jagtial, Telangana. Pest damage was recorded at three phenological stages viz., vegetative, flowering, and capsule formation and genotypes were categorized based on percent damage. None of the screened genotypes were found free from infestation. At vegetative and flowering stage thirty three genotypes were found resistant showing plant damage less than ten per cent, however at capsule formation stage twenty three genotypes were found moderately resistant showing capsule damage less than 10 per cent. On the basis of overall performance (mean damage) at all the three stages of plant growth the entries viz., JCS 4805, JCS 4835, JCS 4671, JCS 3196, RF2, JCS 3096& Swetha showed moderately resistance reaction against leaf webber and capsule borer and for gall fly only one genotype JCS 3090 recorded resistant with 4.42 flower damage. The identified resistant germplasm can be utilized as valuable and promising parents in sesame breeding programmes.

This is the first report on the identification and fine-mapping of yellow mosaic disease resistance locus, qMYMIV14.1, on chromosome 14 using integrative genomic approaches in interspecific soybean populations. Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) is a major viral threat to soybean production in Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Field screening of the disease was performed at Ludhiana; a YMD hot spot and its causative agent, mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV, Begomovirus vignaradiataindiaense) was detected and validated as the causal agent through PCR and sequence analysis. Genetic assessment was conducted on 1784 F2 plants derived from a cross between the susceptible cultivated soybean (Glycine max cv. 'NRC 94') and a resistant wild accession (Glycine soja accession 'PI 393551'). The segregation ratio indicated that YMD resistance is controlled by four dominant genes, three of which confer resistance, while one inhibitory gene suppresses this resistance. Test of allelism performed on direct and reciprocal crosses [SL 958//JS 335/PI 393551 (BC5F6)] across F1, F2, and F3 generations revealed that genes in cultivated and wild soybean were non-allelic with no maternal effect. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) initially identified eight markers (Satt157, BARCSOYSSR_14_0441, BARCSOYSSR_14_0445, BARCSOYSSR_14_0448, BARCSOYSSR_14_0455, BARCSOYSSR_14_1416, BARCSOYSSR_14_1417 & BARCSOYSSR_14_1516) linked to resistance. Traditional QTL mapping revealed three novel QTLs on chromosome 14. Combined results from QTL-seq, a genome-wide association study, and QTL mapping consistently identified a major and stable locus, qMYMIV14.1, spanning the 46.55-48.70Mb region on the long arm of chromosome 14. This is the first QTL detected from an interspecific cross which explained for 27.81-68.01% of phenotypic variance. Two candidate genes, Glyma.14G173300 and Glyma.14G173600, encoding leucine-rich repeat proteins, were identified within this locus. These findings provide valuable genomic resources for marker-assisted selection and breeding of soybean cultivars with durable YMD resistance.

Interfacial Field Screening Governs Tribocatalysis in Nb-Doped SrTiO3

Electrochemical reactions offer an effective pathway for CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR), avoiding the extreme temperatures and pressures required in thermal methods. The choice of electrocatalyst plays a crucial role in determining reaction performance and product selectivity. Unique among transition metals, copper catalyzes not only the conversion of CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO), but also into higher-value products such as methane and ethylene, which possess greater energy density and broader industrial relevance. Elucidating the reaction pathways occurring on or near catalyst surfaces is thus essential for understanding copper’s unique catalytic behavior.Recent findings suggest that surface charge is a strong driver of reaction barriers that involve ion creation/destruction at the surface, such as surface protonation. We hypothesize that this effect is less pronounced for adsorbate protonation, and this balance may kinetically drive the selectivity differences observed across transition metals, adding to our understanding of the unique selectivity observed for copper systems. To investigate this, computational analyses based on density functional theory (DFT) are employed to explore possible CO₂RR mechanisms. Potential-dependent barrier calculations are crucial; hence, the solvated jellium method—combining continuous charging and field screening—is used to balance computational efficiency with accuracy. Protonation mechanisms of adsorbed *C and *CO species on selected transition metal surfaces are examined using the nudged elastic band (NEB) method, offering insight into key steps in the CO₂RR process, which we correlate to inherent material properties such as the native work function.

To address the need for rapid detection of Salmonella pullorum (S. pullorum) and Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) in the poultry industry, we developed a dual-target point-of-care system integrating recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) with lateral flow dipsticks (LFD) for visual pathogen identification (RAA-LFD). Using primers and probes specifically targeting the ipaj gene of S. pullorum and the STM4497 gene of S. typhimurium, the optimized assay achieved detection at 37 °C within 20 min. The dual RAA-LFD assay showed exceptional specificity with no cross-reactivity toward non-target pathogens. Detection sensitivities reached 5.91 × 101 CFU/mL (S. typhimurium) and 2.37 × 102 CFU/mL (S. pullorum) in pure cultures. In contrast, genomic DNA detection achieved identical limits of 5.70 × 101 fg/μL (S. typhimurium) and 4.53 × 101 fg/μL (S. pullorum). In artificially contaminated samples, the detection limits reached 3.92 × 102 CFU/mL for S. pullorum and 6.26 × 101 CFU/mL for S. typhimurium. Clinical validation demonstrated 96.88–100% coincidence with biochemical identification and multiplex PCR results. This study confirms the precision and high sensitivity of the dual RAA-LFD assay as a detection methodology. Furthermore, by eliminating reliance on complex traditional techniques, this technology provides an efficient grassroots-level field screening tool with significant potential for preventing avian salmonellosis and enhancing food safety monitoring.

Abstract Surface states are expected to play a key role in broadband terahertz (THz) emitters, where photoexcited carrier distributions are confined within about 1 μm of the surface. Optical pump and THz probe spectroscopy was used to study the dynamics of nonequilibrium charge carriers in both textured and non-textured GaAs substrates. Our findings show that the textured surface acts as an antireflective layer, greatly boosting the infrared pump laser’s coupling efficiency into the semi-insulating GaAs substrate. Additionally, texturing introduces a trap-assisted recombination pathway, speeding up carrier relaxation and thus reducing Joule heating. Under the same pumping and bias field conditions, the coarse-textured GaAs photoconductive antenna shows nearly 7.85 times stronger THz emission amplitude than the non-textured device, along with improvement in signal-to-noise ratio. At a fixed bias field, higher pump power increases photogenerated carrier density, causing bias field screening and subsequent saturation of THz emission. At fixed pump power, when the bias field reaches ∼2.5 kV/cm, both THz emission and photocurrent spectra show a clear kink, signaling intervalley scattering from the Γ valley to the L ( X ) valleys under high electric fields.

Brown spot of rice (BSR), caused by Bipolaris oryzae (Breda de Haan) Shoem., is one of the most destructive foliar diseases affecting rice production worldwide, particularly in India. The disease significantly reduces grain yield and quality, posing a major constraint to sustainable rice cultivation. Despite its economic importance, the unavailability of resistant cultivars continues to challenge effective management. Traditional rice varieties (TRVs) represent valuable genetic resources and are often rich reservoirs of genes conferring resistance to various biotic stresses. However, their potential as sources of resistance against BSR remains largely unexplored. The present investigation aimed to assess the resistance potential of 150 TRVs under field conditions at the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) center, Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Gangavathi, Karnataka, India. Screening was conducted using artificial inoculation with a highly virulent isolate of B. oryzae (strain Bo-Gvt-01). Disease reactions were recorded at the maximum tillering stage following the Standard Evaluation System (SES) for rice. The results revealed a wide range of disease severity among the TRVs; however, none exhibited resistant or moderately resistant reactions to BSR, indicating a lack of effective resistance genes within the tested germplasm. The predominance of susceptible reactions underscores the vulnerability of existing traditional germplasm to B. oryzae infection. These findings highlight the urgent need to identify novel resistance sources from unexplored landraces, wild relatives, or induced mutants. Furthermore, integration of host resistance with eco-friendly and cost-effective management approaches, including cultural, biological, and integrated disease management strategies, is essential for the sustainable control of brown spot disease in rice.

The operation of metal halide perovskite solar cellsis governedby the interplay between electronic transport and recombination processesstrongly modulated by ionic dynamics. We present a unified frameworkthat disentangles the photocurrent into distinct ionic–electronicconductivity pathways, incorporating recombination, polarization,and charge-collection effects. Using simplified dynamic models, wedescribe how electric-field screening and slow ionic relaxation shapethe hysteresis of the photocurrent. From the nonlinear differentialequations, we derive the corresponding impedance response and showthat the characteristic low-frequency “double inductor”feature arises from two separate mechanisms: ion-controlled recombinationand ionic screening of the internal electric field. This approachoffers a general route to connect transient photocurrent phenomenawith impedance signatures, providing new tools to identify and classifydegradation pathways in perovskite solar cells.

Stripe rust is a devastating foliar disease of wheat threatening its productivity. During field screening, conducted in the Division of Plant Pathology, P.G. Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College Amritsar, cultivars were categorized into resistance and susceptible on the basis disease severity was noted at 10 intervals, Final Rust Severity (FRS) is observed using modified Cobb’s scale. Out of 34 cultivars, 5 cultivars were resistant, whereas 8 cultivars were susceptible including PBW343 as check. PBW621, PBW660 and PBW766 cultivars were resistant and showed presence of both genes Yr10 and Yr15. Further, SSR marker Xpsp3000 revealed 260 bp fragment in 12 cultivars which signifies presence of Yr10 gene and 240 bp fragment in 22 varieties which depicts absence. Likewise, Xbarc8 marker showed PCR fragment of 250 bp in 10 cultivars which marks the presence of Yr15 gene, while 24 varieties showed the amplification of 280 bp fragments which signifies the absence of Yr15 gene. The resistance genes Yr10 and Yr15 provide all-stage resistance along with few other genes are still effective against most predominant pathotypes in North India viz., 46S119, 110S119, 238S119, 78S84 for durable disease resistance to wheat crop.

This study explores the enhancement of piezoelectric properties in zinc oxide (ZnO)-based thin films through gallium (Ga) ion doping using various fabrication processes. Three distinct doping methods and two doping concentrations (1% and 3%) were systematically investigated. Experimental results reveal that Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films exhibit reduced electrical resistivity, increased optical transmittance, and wider bandgaps compared to undoped ZnO films. Among the examined conditions, GZO films with 1% Ga 3⁺ doping achieved the lowest resistivity of 0.0065 Ω·cm and the highest piezoelectric output of 1098.83 mW. In contrast, excessive Ga 3 ⁺ doping at 3% led to increased lattice defects, inducing internal stress and electric field screening effects that diminished the piezoelectric performance. Durability assessments further confirmed the mechanical robustness and long-term stability of GZO devices under sustained vibrational loading. These findings underscore the effectiveness of Ga³⁺ doping in enhancing the piezoelectric performance of ZnO thin films and highlight their potential for applications in energy harvesting technologies.

The present experiment was conducted to elucidate the correlation and their interrelationships among different characteristics and to determine the direct and indirect impact of various traits on grain yield and drought tolerance. The field screening of 120 rice genotypes for drought tolerance was conducted using a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The experiment was carried out in a drought field at Koothapadi village, Dharmapuri district (Drought-E1), while another low-lying field in the same village served as the irrigated control (Normal-E2). The study was conducted during the Navara seasons of December to April in 2020–21 (Season 1) and 2021-22 (Season 2). The correlation study revealed that the number of grains per panicle, number of productive tillers and grain length was exhibited a positive and significant association with grain yield per plant under drought stress conditions. Path analysis exerted that number of grains per panicle, grain length and number of productive tillers, had positive direct effects on grain yield per plant under water stress conditions. Indicates true relationship between these traits and grain yield. Hence, selection based on these characters could be more effective in improving the genetic potential of drought tolerant rice genotypes.

The present study was undertaken to estimate the nature and magnitude of genetic variability parameters for nine quantitative traits, including days to fifty per cent flowering, plant height, number of productive tillers, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, grain length, grain breadth, thousand grain weight and grain yield per plant. The field screening of 120 rice genotypes for drought tolerance was conducted using a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The experiment was carried out in a drought field at Koothapadi village, Dharmapuri district (Drought-E1), while another low-lying field in the same village served as the irrigated control (Normal-E2). The study was conducted during the Navara seasons of December to April in 2020-21 (Season 1) and 2021-22 (Season 2). The analysis of variance revealed a significant difference among the 120 rice genotypes for all nine traits studied under drought stress conditions, indicating the existence of high genetic variability among the selected rice genotypes for the characteristics under study. The genetic variability parameters revealed that the phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits studied. High values for GCV and PCV coupled with high heritability and genetic advance per cent as mean for all the studied traits under drought stress conditions, indicate that heritability is most likely due to additive gene effects and the selection of a foresaid characters in drought stress conditions that are found to be highly effective.

Banana weevils (Cosmopolites sordidus) cause significant reductions in banana productivity in Uganda. Their distribution extends countrywide, with higher concentrations in the central region due to favorable environmental conditions. Integrated weevil management practices incorporate resistance into susceptible genotypes through breeding, which utilizes pollen from resistant diploid bananas. Field and pot screening experiments were conducted in central Uganda (Kawanda) to assess the response of nine outsourced diploid banana genotypes from the International Musa Transit Centre (ITC) to weevil damage. Pollen quantity of the bananas was also evaluated. The percentage of weevil damage on the peripheral and cross sections of the corms was recorded. Pollen quantity was scored on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 representing no pollen and 4 the highest pollen production. Results showed that the genotypes Saing hil, Pisang gigi buaya, Pisang rotan, Pisang tunjuk, Morong princessa, Morong datu, and Gabah gabah were resistant to weevil damage compared to the susceptible genotypes Nakitembe and Kibuzi (EAHB). Saing hil and SH-3142 exhibited higher pollen quantities of 3.4 and 3.0, respectively, which were closest to the value of 4 observed in ‘Calcutta 4’, the most male-fertile wild diploid. Saing hil combined high resistance to weevil damage with high pollen quantity and is therefore recommended for use in conventional banana breeding.

目的建立适用于自然疫源性疾病现场快速筛查的布鲁氏菌属病监测检测技术。方法以梯度渐变量子点作为荧光示踪物，基于双抗体夹心检测模型，研制布鲁氏菌属免疫快检技术，通过对布鲁氏菌属标准菌株悬液测试评价该技术的敏感性、线性、精密性和特异性；通过不同样本的方法学比对，评价该方法检测结果的一致性。结果使用布鲁氏菌属标准菌株评价梯度渐变量子点检测方法，其敏感性为1×103 CFU/mL，线性相关系数r为0.994（95%置信区间：0.933，1.055），重复检测结果的变异系数最高为12.49%，特异性良好。通过305个临床样本对布鲁氏菌属梯度渐变量子点检测方法、虎红平板凝集试验（RBT）方法、试管凝集试验（SAT）方法进行比对评价，Kappa分析结果为0.95，几乎完全一致。通过现场采集的110个环境样本对布鲁氏菌属梯度渐变量子点检测方法、荧光定量PCR法进行比对评价，其中气溶胶采集液、表面擦拭物和羊毛样本的检测结果Kappa分析均高于0.83，几乎完全一致；粪便、土壤样本的检测结果Kappa分析均高于0.62，呈高度一致性。结论基于梯度渐变量子点检测技术的布鲁氏菌属检测方法简便快捷，具有良好的敏感性、线性、精密性和特异性，临床样本检测一致性较好，适用于自然疫源性疾病的现场快速筛查，在人畜共患病的监测预防、快速检测中具有良好的应用前景。

The objective of the World Health Organization is to achieve the interruption of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) transmission by 2030. This review aims to update knowledge on HAT, through a synthesis on the epidemiology, diagnostic tools and drugs of HAT. From 1960 to 2024 approximately 132,063 cases of HAT have been reported across Africa. The majority of HAT patients live in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Card Agglutination Test for Trypanosomiasis (CATT) remained for a long time the reference serology test for field screening. The immune trypanolysis test (ITL) test is an accurate serodiagnostic tool increasingly used for medical surveillance of sleeping sickness, but it is reserved for reference laboratories. Prototypes of TDRs such as SD BIOLINE HAT and, HAT Sero-K-SeT have been developed to respond to constraints posed with CATT and ITL, but lack specificity. Parasitological diagnosis techniques such as the mini-Anion Exchange by Centrifugation technique (mAECT) are used for mandatory confirmation of the disease before the initiation of treatment, but their sensitivity is low. To date, the active molecules against HAT are: pentamidine, suramin, melarsoprol, eflornithine and nifurtimox. The use of these molecules does not guarantee healing and generates many side effects. A new molecule has appeared in the therapeutic arsenal. This is fexinidazole, which was approved by the WHO in 2019 for the treatment of HAT due to T.b. gambiense. The WHO recommends the oral administration of this molecule in the first stage of the disease and in the second stage for non-severe cases. Since 2024, this molecule has also been approved by the WHO for the treatment of HAT due to T. b. rhodesiense. All these difficulties raised raise questions about the need to develop new diagnostic tools that are more specific, more sensitive and better suited to field screening. They also call out the urgency of finding new drugs that are less toxic, easy to administer and more effective.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal proteins, including crystalline (Cry) proteins and vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips), are extensively used in transgenic crops due to their efficacy, low environmental impact, and safety. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, has evolved practical resistance to Cry1Fa, yet no practical resistance to Vip3Aa has been documented. However, both laboratory selection and field screen studies indicate a high potential for this pest to evolve resistance to Vip3Aa, making it crucial to evaluate potential resistance genes. HaVipR1 has recently been identified as a key determinant of Vip3Aa resistance in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. This study investigated whether the HaVipR1-homologous gene in S. frugiperda (SfVipR1) is similarly involved in Vip3Aa resistance. We employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate a homozygous knockout strain of SfVipR1. In comparison with the parent susceptible YJ-19 strain, the knockout strain (Sfru-KO) exhibited high-level resistance to Vip3Aa (>1850-fold) but showed no cross resistance to Cry1Fa. Resistance to Vip3Aa in Sfru-KO is autosomal, recessive, and genetically linked with SfVipR1. Disruption of SfVipR1 results in high-level resistance to Vip3Aa, highlighting SfVipR1 has a critical role in Vip3Aa toxicity in S. frugiperda, despite the exact mechanism remaining unclear. Early detection of SfVipR1 mutant alleles in the field is essential for developing adaptive resistance management strategies against S. frugiperda. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.