Hot Season Research Articles

A first study on the bioaccumulation of trace metals in Rhyssoplax olivacea (Mediterranean Polyplacophora)

This study investigates, for the first time, the bioaccumulation of trace metals in the chiton Rhyssoplax olivacea. Fe, Cu, Co, Cr and Cd were measured in the shell and soft tissue of R. olivacea sampled in five sites along the Algerian west coast during the cold and hot seasons. Physiological and contamination indices were calculated. The condition index provides information on habitat quality and on R. olivacea reproductive performance and physiological status. The metal/shell-weight index informs on the bioavailability of trace metals. The trace element pollution index is used to assign a global contamination status to the studied sites. The trace element spatial variation index ranks Cd and Cr as trace metals of primary environmental concern based on the overall variability of their levels. An exhaustive review compiling data on trace element bioaccumulation in chitons is performed. The potential use of R. olivacea as bioindicator species is discussed.

Study on the Evolution Behavior of Humidity Fields in Cement Concrete Pavements of a Coastal Airport During Early Stages in Humid and Hot Areas.

Airport pavements are prone to early defects during the construction phase, and their early performance during the construction phase is significantly affected by the external temperature field. This article takes the concrete pavement of Xiamen Xiang'an New Airport as an example and uses a three-dimensional (3D) humidity simulation program for cement concrete pavement to study the evolution behavior of the early stage humidity field of the pavement in a humid and hot climate environment. The results indicate that the evolution law of the humidity field of the concrete pavement slab was consistent with the environmental field, presenting a 24 h periodic variation. The environmental field had a significant impact on the humidity of the surface layer of the pavement slab, and the humidity decreased rapidly with time. There was a humidity gradient on both the horizontal plane and the cutting plane of the slab, the horizontal humidity was concentrated from the boundary into the middle of the slab, and the sectional humidity was concentrated from the top to the bottom of the slab. Environmental parameters, construction parameters, and material and structural parameters all influenced humidity through humidity exchange or by changing the saturated vapor pressure inside the slab. The humidity field was most sensitive to environmental humidity and maintenance methods, but less sensitive to material parameters and structural parameters. Through analysis, it is advisable to avoid hot seasons, choose periods of increased environmental humidity, adopt appropriate maintenance methods during construction to reduce humidity stress on the slab, and therefore decrease early stage deterioration and improve service life.

Influence of using nanofluid and phase change material on the performance of a solar thermal panel to provide the required energy of an office building in a mine

This paper examines the effect of using fins installed on tubes placed under a solar panel (SOP) numerically. The SOP is employed to generate electricity and hot water in a mine. The helical fins are mounted around the tubes under the SOP. By changing the cross-section of the fins, unsteady simulations are performed. Besides, OM37 phase change material (PCM) is utilized under the SOP and the tubes are placed inside the PCM. Alumina water nanofluid (NFD) flows inside the tubes, which are analyzed in two phases. The results show that for models M1 and M2 in 1500s, the use of tubes with a DIT of 5 mm under the SOP leads to a decrease in the SOP's average temperature of 8.58 and 8.24° respectively. The use of model M2 results in a lower outlet temperature (T-O) of the NFD when the tube DIT is 3 mm. Model M1 leads to a lower NFD T-O most of the time. Using the designed solar system can provide 56% of the hot water needed in the hot seasons and 18% of the hot water needed in the cold seasons for the building placed inside the mine.

Dynamic simulation and exergy-economic assessment of solar thermal refrigeration systems in different climates

In this paper, the performance of solar-thermal cooling systems for air conditioning application is investigated in different climates of Iran. Diverse climate types are considered which makes the results applicable to other countries. Available commercial refrigeration cycles that are capable of integration with solar-thermal collector systems including the closed liquid absorption cycle, closed solid adsorption cycle, and desiccant cycle are studied. First, a solar and climatic map is proposed and the representative cities have been selected for each climate. Then, the climate parameters related to each region are extracted to create an hourly database. Also, the cooling load of a reference building is modeled based on the climate database, each refrigeration cycle is simulated using thermodynamic equations, and the dynamic model is generalized daily for the hot season in each city. In the last step, each cooling system is examined using an exergy-economic analysis, and technical and economic indicators are compared. The results show that the most suitable solar-thermal refrigeration cycle that can be installed in the central plateau and semi-arid areas of Iran is the closed-cycle liquid absorption system. The annual average exergy-economic factor and the annual solar fraction in this cycle are 0.7578 and 0.57, respectively. In the southern coastal areas, due to the high humidity and air temperature in summer, the solid desiccant refrigeration system with an exergy-economic factor of 0.6978 and a solar fraction of 0.2416 is preferred. The suitable solar-thermal refrigeration cycle in the cold and mountainous regions of Iran is a solid adsorption system with a silica gel absorber. The annual solar fraction and average annual exergy-economic factor in this cycle are 0.5158 and 0.7394. Also, in northern moderate regions, the solid adsorption refrigeration system with an average annual exergy-economic factor of 0.409 and average exergy efficiency of 0.12 is comparatively beneficial.

Seasonal and depth variation of soil physical parameters irrigated with treated wastewater in the case of light textured soil

In places with scarce water supplies, treated wastewater (TWW) can be used for irrigation. This is the case in many places on the Mediterranean coast. In order to examine changes in soil physical proprieties irrigated with secondary-treated wastewater for >38 years, a study was conducted under real agricultural conditions and three different sampling seasons (Summer, autumn and winter). Five soil depth distribution (0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 and 80-100 cm was also investigated. The soil parameters studied were: salinity (EC), permeablity (K) and structural stability (IS). The results demonstrate that K and IS depended significantly on the season and varied throught the soil profile. However, only the depth had an impact on the EC. The maximum EC and K were observed in summer at 0-60 and 0-20 cm, respectively. The highest IS, although, was detected during the winter at 40–60 cm depth layer. More interstingly, to take into consideration the interactions of both factors, a positive correlations were shown between K and EC, and IS (r =0.56***, r = 0.62***, respectively) and between EC and IS (r = 0.44**) in summer. In contrast, only K and EC showed a negative correlation (r = -0.35*) in the autumn, but no correlation was detected between all parameters in winter. The results indicate that treated wastewater is a suitable alternative during hot seasons, especially in sandy soils. Further research is required to investigate the effect of this wastwater on crops responses.

Effect of Organic Selenium Supplementation on the Antioxidant Status, Immune Response, and the Relative Expression of IL-2 and IFN-γ Genes in Ewes During the Hot Season.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different doses of selenium (Se) from Sel-Plex© (selenium-enriched Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast) supplement on the antioxidant status, the antibody titers against the foot-and-mouth disease virus, and the expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) genes in ewes during the hot season. Six ewes were kept at 25 °C and received basal diet (the negative control group), and 24 ewes were kept at 38 °C for 5 h per day and received no supplement (the positive control), 0.15, 0.30, and 0.45 mg Se/kg. Ewes in the positive control had higher (P<0.001) liver enzyme activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), and cortisol levels, and lower antibody titer than the negative control. The liver enzymes' lowest (P<0.001) activities were observed in ewes receiving 0.30 and 0.45 mg Se/kg. Ewes receiving 0.30 and 0.45 mg Se/kg had lower MDA levels than other treatments. Ewes receiving 0.30 and 0.45 mg Se/kg had higher (P<0.001) total antioxidant capacity levels than those receiving 0.15 mg Se/kg and the positive control. Se-supplemented groups had lower (P<0.001) relative expression of IL-2 and higher (P<0.04) expression of IFN-γ than the positive control. The antibody titer was the same in the positive control and the group receiving 0.15 mg Se/kg. Ewes fed a diet with 0.30 and 0.45 mg Se/kg had higher (P<0.011) antibody titer than the positive control. The Se supplementation can reverse the decrease of antioxidant capacity and immune function caused by heat stress, and 0.3 mg Se/kg from Sel-Plex©is the best dose.

Investigation and analysis of porcine epidemic diarrhea cases and evaluation of different immunization strategies in the large-scale swine farming system

BackgroundPorcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a contagious intestinal disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and dehydration, which has caused huge economic losses around the world. However, it is very hard to find completely valid approaches to control the transmission of PEDV. At present, vaccine immunity remains the most effective method. To better control the spread of PED and evaluate the validity of different immunization strategies, 240 PED outbreak cases from 577 swine breeding farms were collected and analyzed. The objective of the present study was to analyze the epidemic regularity of PEDV and evaluate two kinds of different immunization strategies for controlling PED.ResultsThe results showed that the main reasons which led to the outbreak of PED were the movement of pig herds between different pig farms (41.7%) and delaying piglets from the normal production flow (15.8%). The prevalence of PEDV in the hot season (May to October) was obviously higher than that in the cold season (January to April, November to December). Results of different vaccine immunity cases showed that immunization with the highly virulent live vaccine (NH-TA2020 strain) and the commercial inactivated vaccine could significantly decrease the frequency of swine breeding farms (5.9%), the duration of PED epidemic (1.70 weeks), and the week batches of dead piglets (0.48 weeks weaned piglets), compared with immunization with commercial attenuated vaccines and inactivated vaccine of PED. Meanwhile, immunization with the highly virulent live vaccine and the commercial inactivated vaccine could bring us more cash flows of Y̶275,274 per year than immunization with commercial live attenuated vaccine and inactivated vaccine in one 3000 sow pig farm within one year.ConclusionTherefore, immunization with highly virulent live vaccine and inactivated vaccine of PED is more effective and economical in the prevention and control of PED in the large-scale swine farming system.

Fire, frost, and drought constrain the structural diversity of wood within southern African Erica (Ericaceae)

Abstract Erica comprises ~860 species of evergreen shrubs and trees ranged from Europe to southern Africa and Madagascar. Wood structure of the around 20 European species is well studied, but despite its relevance to adaptation across the wider geographic range, it has not yet been explored across the much greater diversity, particularly of southern African lineages. In this study, we examine wood structure of 28 Erica species from southern Africa. In the African Erica clade, loss of scalariform perforation plates could be driven by increased aridity and seasonality in the mid-Miocene, and its re-gain can represent an adaptation to freezing in the high elevation species E. nubigena. As vessels in Erica are mostly solitary, imperforate tracheary elements probably form a subsidiary conduit network instead of vessel groups. Increase of ray frequency in habitats with a prominent dry and hot season probably facilitates refilling of vessels after embolism caused by water stress. Wider rays are ancestral for the lineage comprising African Erica and the Mediterranean E. australis. The negative correlation between ray width and expression of summer drought is consistent with Ojeda’s model explaining the diversification of seeders and resprouters among southern African Erica.

Ecology and host manipulation by an egg‐larva parasitoid of Chrysodeixis includens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

AbstractParasitoids are among the main natural enemies of crop pests. Copidosoma truncatellum (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid of Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Plusiinae), which is an important pest of soybean, bean, cotton, sunflower, tomato and potato. Copidosoma are parasitoids of lepidopteran egg‐larva, especially those of the subfamily Plusiinae. The embryonic development of the Copidosoma parasitoid begins in the lepidopteran egg, and this development extends to the beginning of the host larval stage of the parasitized lepidopteran. However, the rate of parasitism is a complex ecological relationship affected by climatic elements and age of the host. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the ecology and host manipulation exerted by the C. truncatellum parasitoid on C. includens. The research was conducted in bean crops (Phaseolus vulgaris) over 2 years. The highest rates of parasitism were observed in crops in March in both years, when it was observed that about 40% of the individuals of C. includens were parasitized by C. truncatellum. In hot seasons and with less rainfall, parasitism is greater. The age of C. includens eggs (up to 3 days) did not affect C. truncatellum parasitism. The parasitized C. includens egg and caterpillar stages, which had their durations extended, showed the parasitized C. includens caterpillars presented higher leaf consumption. Additionally, this study was conducted in the field, which makes its results representative of natural conditions. Therefore, in warm and dry seasons, more significant parasitism of C. includens by C. truncatellum is expected. Parasitism increases the duration of the stages of lepidopterans and increases food consumption by its larvae.

Scénáře budoucích změn nebezpečných sdružených událostí ve střední Evropě

Many recent high-impact weather and climate events developed due to several concurrent climatic drivers amplifying their negative impacts on society and environment. In this paper, we analyse scenarios of future changes in cold–windy and dry–hot compound events in Central Europe, using an ensemble of CORDEX regional climate models forced by two possible greenhouse gas concentration pathways (low-emission RCP4.5 and high-emission RCP8.5). A distinct decrease of compound cold–windy days was found. At the end of the 21st century, the frequency of these days is projected to decrease by 64% (86%) under the RCP4.5 (8.5) pathway (against the 1970–2000 period). By contrast, climate models simulate longer of dry–hot seasons over Central Europe. In mid-21st century, their median length is projected to increase by 5–20 days regardless of the concentration pathway. At the end of the 21st century, dry–hot seasons are projected to become longer by as much as a whole month under RCP8.5. Although model simulations are to some extent uncertain, scenarios of possible future changes in compound events can be useful in adaptation to ongoing climate change.

The Spatio-Temporal Cloud Frequency Distribution in the Galapagos Archipelago as Seen from MODIS Cloud Mask Data

Clouds play an important role in the climate system; nonetheless, the relationship between climate change in general and regional cloud occurrence is not yet well understood. This particularly holds for remote areas such as the iconic Galapagos archipelago in Ecuador. As a first step towards a better understanding, we analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns of cloud cover over Galapagos. We found that cloud frequency and distribution exhibit large inter- and intra-annual variability due to the changing influence of climatic drivers (trade winds, sea surface temperature, El Niño/La Niña events) and spatial variations due to terrain characteristics and location within the archipelago. The highest cloud frequencies occur in mid-elevations on the slopes exposed to the southerly trade winds (south-east slopes). Towards the highlands ( &gt;900 m a.s.l), cloud frequency decreases, with a sharp leap towards high-level crater areas mainly on Isabela Island that frequently immerse into the trade inversion layer. With respect to the diurnal cycle, we found a lower cloud frequency over the islands in the evening than in the morning. Seasonally, cloud frequency is higher during the hot season (January–May) than in the cool season (June–December). However, spatial differences in cloudiness were more pronounced during the cool season months. We further analyzed two periods beyond average atmospheric forcing. During El Niño 2015, the cloud frequency was higher than usual, and differences between altitudes and aspects were less pronounced. La Niña 2007 led to negative anomalies in cloud frequency over the islands, with intensified differences between altitude and aspect.

Distribution and status of Posidonia oceanica meadows on the North-Western coast of Algeria

Posidonia oceanica is an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea that in pristine coastal waters forms extensive meadows, which are, actually, exposed to natural and anthropogenic pressures, causing their regression throughout the basin. The aim of our study is to summarise and evaluate current knowledge about the characterisation of Posidonia oceanica along the Western Algerian coast, in order to provide new evidence about the distribution and health status this species. To realize our objectives, we combined extracted data from published articles, theses, results of project reports, in situ observations and laboratory analysis. The results show the presence of the meadows in fifteen coastal zones of Western Algeria, mainly located in shallow surface waters from 0.5 to 18 metres depth.The mean leaf length across all sites ranged from 153 to 667 mm. The mean number of leaves/shoot ranged between 4.7 ± 0.9 and 6.0 ± 0.5 leaves/shoot. Leaf length showed a highly significant difference between the cold and hot season. The data analysis shows that the leaf biometric values and the shoot densities of the P. oceanica are greater than those of Mediterranean samples although these measures tend to decrease deeply. The analyses carried out on structural features of P. oceanica show that the Western Algerian meadows are, globally, in good health status according to standardised scale. The available data on P. oceanica summarised in this article represent an important starting point to build effective plans for understanding levels of environmental threats and for supporting conservation strategies for these important ecosystems. Conversely, the limited information available on this seagrass along the Western Algerian costs only allows the description of some structural features, and permits us to draw overall conclusions on its general health status.

Soil Solarization as an Alternative Weed Control Method for Archaeological Sites in the Mediterranean Region

Weed species commonly colonize archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region, which poses many issues for the sites’ function and the state of preservation of the monuments. Soil solarization was investigated as an alternative environmentally friendly weed control strategy following legislative limits on the use of herbicides at archaeological sites in Greece. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of solarization applied during: (a) summer (the hottest season, as applied in organic and integrated agriculture) and (b) autumn (a season of low tourist activity in archaeological sites), testing two types of plastic mulching: (a) clear and (b) opaque black, and two types of soil preparation: (a) with tillage (as in the agricultural practice of the method) and (b) without tillage. Visual evaluation of the weed control rate suggested that the application of soil solarization during summer resulted in excellent weed control, 100% the following October to December period and over 90% until February. The application of soil solarization during autumn also provided excellent weed control and treatments with clear plastic and tillage resulted in complete (100%) weed control from October to December, while the following month weed control was over 90%. In late March, dry weight of weed biomass was significantly affected by the solarization treatments and it was significantly reduced by treatments with clear plastic. Thus, soil solarization is a sustainable method that has the potential to be used effectively for weed management in archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region. Even treatments without tillage generated excellent weed control during the winter weed flush period and are recommended to protect unexcavated, fragile artifacts. Also, the results of autumn treatments encourage the application of the method during the season of low tourist activity at archaeological sites.

Heat Stress as a Barrier to Successful Reproduction and Potential Alleviation Strategies in Cattle.

In recent decades, the adverse effects of global warming on all living beings have been unanimously recognized across the world. A high environmental temperature that increases the respiration and rectal temperature of cattle is called heat stress (HS), and it can affect both male and female reproductive functions. For successful reproduction and fertilization, mature and healthy oocytes are crucial; however, HS reduces the developmental competence of oocytes, which compromises reproduction. HS disturbs the hormonal balance that plays a crucial role in successful reproduction, particularly in reducing the luteinizing hormone and progesterone levels, which leads to severe problems such as poor follicle development with a poor-quality oocyte and problems related to maturity, silent estrus, abnormal or weak embryo development, and pregnancy loss, resulting in a declining reproduction rate and losses for the cattle industry. Lactating cattle are particularly susceptible to HS and, hence, their reproduction rate is substantially reduced. Additionally, bulls are also affected by HS; during summer, semen quality and sperm motility decline, leading to compromised reproduction. In summer, the conception rate is reduced by 20-30% worldwide. Although various techniques, such as the provision of water sprinklers, shade, and air conditioning, are used during summer, these methods are insufficient to recover the normal reproduction rate and, therefore, special attention is needed to improve reproductive efficiency and minimize the detrimental effect of HS on cattle during summer. The application of advanced reproductive technologies such as the production of embryos in vitro, cryopreservation during the hot season, embryo transfer, and timed artificial insemination may minimize the detrimental effects of HS on livestock reproduction and recover the losses in the cattle industry.

Integrating Urban Heat Island Impact into Building Energy Assessment in a Hot-Arid City

Dense cities usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect, resulting in higher ambient temperatures and increased cooling loads. However, the typical lack of combining climatic variables with building passive design parameters in significant evaluations hinders the consideration of the UHI effect during the building design stage. In that regard, a global sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the significance of climatic variables and building design features in building energy simulations for an office building. Additionally, this study examines the UHI effect on building energy performance in Qatar, a hot-arid climate, using both measurement data and computational modeling. This study collects measurement data across Qatar and conducts computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations; the results from both methods serve as inputs in building energy simulation (BES). The results demonstrate that space cooling demand is more sensitive to ambient temperature than other climatic parameters, building thermal properties, etc. The UHI intensity is high during hot and transition seasons and reaches a maximum of 13 °C. BES results show a 10% increase in cooling energy demand for an office building due to the UHI effect on a hot day. The results of this study enable more informed decision-making during the building design process.

Financial Market Sustainability in a Dual-Track System: Venture Capital and Startups’ Speed of Passing

The government’s intervention under the approval system seriously affects the healthy and sustainable development of the financial market. An IPO is an important way for a venture capitalist (VC) to gain income, which impacts the efficiency of resource allocation in the capital market. From the perspective of resource allocation efficiency, this paper compares the influence of venture capital on the IPO process of startup enterprises under registration and approval systems. The findings are as follows: (1) after the trial registration system, the speed of passing and listing of VC-owned startup enterprises can be significantly accelerated. (2) Venture capitalists can accelerate the startup enterprises’ speed of passing by sending directors to startup enterprises and improving the level of risk disclosure, which is only significant under the registration and issuance system. (3) Further research shows that VC-supported startups perform better after listing. (4) VCs can help startup enterprises to choose hot season listing, which has a good timing effect. The conclusion of this text study is still robust after using propensity score matching (PSM) and Heckman to eliminate endogeneity. The conclusion of this study provides a theoretical basis and empirical support for emerging market countries to promote market-oriented reform.

Thermal Comfort, Growth Performance and Welfare of Olive Pulp Fed Broilers during Hot Season

This study evaluated the nutritional effect of dried olive pulp (OP), on broilers’ thermal comfort, growth parameters and welfare in a commercial poultry farm during the hot season. A number of 108 Cobb male broilers, 19 d olds were allocated into three dietary groups: controls (CON), OP3 and OP6, based on the level of OP added to their diet (0%, 3% and 6%). The thermal comfort of broilers was assessed using the temperature–humidity index (THI). Broilers’ body temperature (BT) was determined weekly. OP beneficially affected the growth performance of broilers undergoing very severe heat stress, as indicated by the increased body weight gain (BWG) recorded in OP groups compared to CON during the first week of the experiment and the higher body weight (BW) of OP fed chickens at 26 d of age (p &lt; 0.05). At 26 d of age, OP6 broilers had lower BT (40.55 ± 0.06 °C) than CON (40.78 ± 0.09 °C) (p &lt; 0.05). A positive dietary effect of OP in welfare parameters like feather cleanliness and panting behaviour of chickens fed 6% OP was also recorded. Using OP as feedstuff is a promising feeding strategy for alleviating the adverse effects of heat stress; it also offers the potential to recycle olive by-products, leading to an efficient waste-based circular economy.

Symptomology of the Main Fungal Diseases of the Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) and Its Management

The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is the second most important vegetable crop after the potato in the world. It is a hot season crop; it requires a warm and cool climate. The plant is strongly affected by unfavorable climatic conditions. The warm and cool climatic conditions offer an ideal condition for the development of many diseases of leaf plants, stems and soils. The main fungal diseases of the tomato are: Damping of seedlings, Downy mildew, Alternaria, Gray mold, Septriosis, Powdery mildew, Root and crown rot, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Cladosporiosis, Corky root, Sclerotiniosis, Anthracnosis, Pink rot and Stemphyliosis. In our work wa have cited for each disease the main symptoms and their of control.

Pesticides residues determination and probabilistic health risk assessment in the soil and cantaloupe by Monte Carlo simulation: A case study in Kashan and Aran-Bidgol, Iran

Cantaloupe is a popular agricultural product in the hot season of Iran. On the other hand, the frequent use of pesticides in cantaloupe fields is the most important threat to the health of farmers and consumers. Therefore, the present study aims to measure the concentration of diazinon (DZN), chlorpyrifos (CPF), and malathion (MLT) in cantaloupe cultivated in Kashan and Aran-Bidgol (Iran) and to estimate the possible oral and dermal risk of these pesticides by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). 36 cantaloupe samples, 18 samples before, and 18 samples after the latent period were collected from different places of cantaloupe cultivation from April to May 2021. After measuring the pesticides using the QuEChERS approach, oral and dermal risk assessments were calculated.The mean and standard deviation of the concentrations of chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon in 18 cantaloupe samples, after the latent period, were (30.39 ± 13.85), (18.361 ± 1.8), and (21.97 ± 0.86) μg kg-1, respectively. Concentration of Malathion, diazinon, and Chlorpyrifos in the soil were 0.22, 0.25, and 0.3 mg kg-1, respectively, and pesticide cumulative risk assessment in soil was obtained 0.011 for Malathion, 0.05 for diazinon and 0.03 for Chlorpyrifos. Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) according to the cantaloupe consumption and dermal exposure in children and adults, was safe range. Although non-cancerous dermal and oral risk of cantaloupe is low, constant exposure can be harmful. Therefore, the findings of this study play an important role in increasing the understanding of the negative health consequences of pesticide contamination in cantaloupe for consumers, especially local residents, and can help by adopting remedial strategies to reduce environmental concerns.

The Continuous Adaptive Challenge Played by Arboviruses: An In Silico Approach to Identify a Possible Interplay between Conserved Viral RNA Sequences and Host RNA Binding Proteins (RBPs).

Climate change and globalization have raised the risk of vector-borne disease (VBD) introduction and spread in various European nations in recent years. In Italy, viruses carried by tropical vectors have been shown to cause viral encephalitis, one of the symptoms of arboviruses, a spectrum of viral disorders spread by arthropods such as mosquitoes and ticks. Arboviruses are currently causing alarm and attention, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has released recommendations to adopt essential measures, particularly during the hot season, to restrict the spreading of the infectious agents among breeding stocks. In this scenario, rapid analysis systems are required, because they can quickly provide information on potential virus-host interactions, the evolution of the infection, and the onset of disabling clinical symptoms, or serious illnesses. Such systems include bioinformatics approaches integrated with molecular evaluation. Viruses have co-evolved different strategies to transcribe their own genetic material, by changing the host's transcriptional machinery, even in short periods of time. The introduction of genetic alterations, particularly in RNA viruses, results in a continuous adaptive fight against the host's immune system. We propose an in silico pipeline method for performing a comprehensive motif analysis (including motif discovery) on entire genome sequences to uncover viral sequences that may interact with host RNA binding proteins (RBPs) by interrogating the database of known RNA binding proteins, which play important roles in RNA metabolism and biological processes. Indeed, viral RNA sequences, able to bind host RBPs, may compete with cellular RNAs, altering important metabolic processes. Our findings suggest that the proposed in silico approach could be a useful and promising tool to investigate the complex and multiform clinical manifestations of viral encephalitis, and possibly identify altered metabolic pathways as targets of pharmacological treatments and innovative therapeutic protocols.