Marine polysaccharide-based edible film as degradable alternative to plastic packaging: Preparations, applications and recent advances.

Small-molecule metabolites are key pharmaceutical resources embedded in complex organismal metabolomes. Scalable microbial production depends on metabolic activation capacity, which in turn requires efficient genetic variation. Structural variants (SVs), key drivers of phenotypic diversity, are pivotal for organism evolution, yet their highly efficient induction remains challenging. While DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) facilitate SVs formation, existing mutagenesis technologies struggle to balance high DSB efficiency with cellular preservation, particularly in microbial strain improvement for metabolite production. Conventional irradiation methods suffer from low SVs induction rates, making strain enhancement a lengthy and labor-intensive process. Here, we systematically compare six irradiation technologies in Streptomyces lividans 1326 and identify high-energy pulsed electron beams (HEPE) as an approach which effectively induces strong DSBs while preserving cellular integrity. This results in extensive SVs that reshape genome sequences and 3D chromatin structure, leading to activation of secondary metabolite production. By integrating HEPE with high-throughput metabolomics (HEPE-HiTMS), we discover two secondary metabolites with unusual C-N linkage, respectively. Applied across various microorganisms, HEPE enables record-high clavulanic acid and microcin J25 production, and markedly increases lovastatin yields. With its ability to induce SVs with minimal cytotoxicity, HEPE represents a powerful tool for cryptic metabolite discovery and industrial strain development.

This article describes and analyzes the economic growth and stagnation of postwar Japan, focusing in particular on its manufacturing industry during the post-Cold-War period, when it faced intense global competition and explosive digitalization. Both semi-macro statistics and field survey results are used for historical analysis. In addition, the combination of a classical economics (Ricardian) industry study and modern design theories is adopted. Our empirical research shows that Japan’s manufacturing industry continued to grow slowly between the1990s and the 2010s. The number of its employees shrank to about two thirds, while value-added productivity doubled during the same period. After China’s entry into the world market with extremely low wages, Japan’s average wage rate almost stopped growing in the 1990s–2010s, but it started to increase again in the 2020s. Many Japanese manufacturing firms disappeared during the wave of global competition and digitalization, but many survived thanks to significant improvements in physical labor productivities, achieved by introducing advanced production systems/technologies, such as the Toyota-style production system. The Japanese manufacturing industry tended to accumulate coordinative manufacturing capability in the Cold War period of rapid economic growth (economy of scarcity), and it later retained its design-based comparative advantage in coordination-intensive or integral-architecture products, e.g., highly-functional automobiles, as predicted by the CAP (capability-architecture-performance) approach to industry studies. Overall, for Japan’s manufacturing industries, firms, and factories, the post-Cold-War period was characterized not simply by stagnation and decline, but by multifaceted interactions among stagnation, struggles, and resilience.

Evaluation of Environmental Hotspots and improvements for sustainable mussel production: An LCA approach on the case study of La Spezia (Italy)

Stalk lodging causes global maize (Zea mays L.) yield losses exceeding $6 billion annually. The poorly resolved genetic architecture of stalk lodging resistance, a key determinant of the ability of a plant to remain upright, poses a major constraint for genetic improvement. Characterizing natural variation in plant traits that influence stalk strength across multiple biological scales, referred to as intermediate phenotypes, is critical for enhancing lodging resistance. Here, we present a high-density phenotypic dataset comprising 11 intermediate phenotypes measured on 31,260 stalks from a maize diversity panel of 566 inbred lines grown in four environments. The dataset captures variation in structural and geometric properties of stalks and provides a foundation for genetic mapping, predictive modeling, and machine learning analyses to dissect the genetic basis of stalk lodging resistance. Moreover, trait-level resolution across a genetically diverse panel enables evaluation of the relative contribution of individual phenotypes to stalk strength. Beyond maize improvement for grain and forage production, this dataset offers valuable opportunities for improving stalk lodging resistance in other grasses.

Visible-light-driven hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) synthesis is a sustainable and economically viable strategy for green production. However, most metal sulfide semiconductors exhibit insufficient band potentials, limiting selectivity and quantum yield. Here, we introduce sulfur vacancies into CaIn2S4 to modify its band structure, enhancing the conduction band's reduction capability and shifting oxygen reduction from a single direct 2e- pathway to a dual-pathway mechanism. This adjustment improves electron utilization efficiency. Theoretical calculations reveal that sulfur vacancies act as electron traps, promoting charge separation and suppressing recombination. Structural and electronic characterizations confirm these effects, and as a result, sulfur-vacancy-rich CaIn2S4 (CaIS SV) achieves a photocatalytic H2O2 production rate 9-fold than that of pristine CaIn2S4.

Although the rice-wheat cropping system is one of the most widely utilized agricultural techniques in South Asia, it has difficulties because of soil compaction brought on by ongoing conventional plowing. Evaluation of the effects of conventional, rotary, conservation, and deep tillage techniques on wheat yield and financial feasibility was the goal of this study. Four tillage treatment i.e. conventional tillage, rotary tillage, conservation tillage, and deep tillage involving subsoiling were applied to the wheat variety during the 2022–2023 rabi season. Grain number, earhead length, plant height, number of tillers, and 1000-grain weight were all measured, as were machine performance metrics like fuel consumption and field efficiency. The benefit-cost (B:C) ratio, net returns, gross returns, and cultivation costs were among the economic factors that were examined. In comparison to other tillage techniques, the results showed that deep tillage greatly increased grain yield (59.18 q ha⁻¹) and straw yield (73.98 q ha⁻¹). However, the expense of cultivation also increased. The highest B:C ratio (2.47) was attained with conservation tillage because of lower input costs, albeit having a somewhat lower yield. Deep and conservation tillage both produced net returns that were higher than those of conventional and rotary techniques. In conclusion, by reducing soil compaction and promoting root development, deep tillage can significantly increase wheat productivity. Better economic efficiency is provided by conservation tillage in the interim. For rice-wheat systems, the results suggest a need-based selection of tillage strategies that balance cost-effectiveness and yield improvement for sustainable crop production.

Biotic-abiotic hybrid systems show significant promise for solar-to-chemical conversion by integrating intracellular biocatalytic pathways with artificially synthesized semiconductors. However, due to intricate interfacial connection and ubiquitous heterogeneities between microorganisms and materials, it remains challenging to achieve atomically precise interface contact and elucidate electron transport mechanism at the single-/sub-cell levels for efficient solar energy transformation. Herein, we report a general design of facilitating direct electron transfer pathway through constructing single-atom bridges across biotic-abiotic interfaces to enhance solar-to-chemical conversion. Specifically, using C3N4/Ru-Shewanella hybrid system as a demonstration, we discover that single-atom bridges promote effective charge separation and reduce electron transfer barriers at the biohybrid interfaces. Moreover, operando single-cell photocurrent technique and theoretical calculations further quantitatively unravel that C3N4/Ru-Shewanella with a unique Ru-N4 interfacial structure exhibits a 11.0-fold increase in direct electron uptake compared to C3N4-Shewanella. In contrast to Shewanella and C3N4-Shewanella, C3N4/Ru-Shewanella shows 47.5- and 14.2-fold improvement for solar-driven H2 production, respectively, achieving a remarkable quantum yield of 8.46%. This work, further supported via proteomic analysis and C3N4/Cu-Shewanella biohybrids, highlights the universal strategy of single atoms mediating direct electron uptake and provides insights into atomic-level charge dynamics in microbe-semiconductor biohybrids towards solar energy utilization.

Cellulase, a complex enzyme made up of endoglucanase, exoglucanase, and beta-glucosidase, hydrolyzes cellulose into glucose units. Different microorganisms manufacture the enzyme. Most individuals use fungal cellulase than bacterial cellulase. It is because of their high enzyme productivity. Aspergillus and Trichoderma are the most significant fungi that produce cellulase during solid-state fermentation (SSF). Among these, Trichoderma is a commonly used organism that produces significant numbers of cellulase and hemicellulase, which are essential for the breakdown of lignocellulose. The enzyme's ability to break down lignocellulosic biomass makes it possible to manufacture bioethanol and other second-generation biofuels. As a result of global problems like energy shortages and the increasing need for bio-based solutions, Trichoderma has evolved from traditional mutagenesis to state-of-the-art molecular biology. Today, Trichoderma leads the way in enzyme production, contributing to a wide range of industrial uses. Using market effluents and agricultural wastes as precursors, the study aims to manufacture cellulase enzymes from Trichoderma. Additionally, it aims to optimize the physiochemical parameters and enhance the strain for optimal enzyme synthesis. Today, Trichoderma leads the way in enzyme production, contributing to a wide range of industrial uses. Using market effluents and agricultural wastes as precursors, the study aims to manufacture cellulase enzyme from Trichoderma. Additionally, it aims to optimize the physiochemical parameters and enhance the strain for optimal enzyme synthesis.

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), a globally important aquaculture species, exhibits protein-dependent growth plasticity, requiring genetic improvement for sustainable production. This study integrates genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS) to unravel the genetic architecture of four growth traits, body weight, body length, body height, and body depth, in grass carp fed with diets of varying protein levels (20%, 25%, 30%, and 35%). Using a 21K liquid SNP array, we identified 62,736 high-quality SNPs across 24 chromosomes, with 90 SNPs significantly associated with growth traits. Notably, three SNPs (SLG14_24417024, SLG14_24417039, SLG24_30276273) exhibited pleiotropic effects on multiple traits. Functional annotation of 276 candidate genes near significant SNPs revealed enrichment in keratinocyte development, septin cytoskeleton organization, and heat acclimation pathways. Genomic prediction achieved accuracies up to 0.79 for body weight traits using 1533 optimal markers. This study provides the first comprehensive SNP resource for grass carp growth traits with different dietary treatments, bridging GWAS and genomic prediction to accelerate marker-assisted selection. Our findings not only advance genetic breeding strategies but also inform protein diet optimization, minimizing economic and environmental costs in aquaculture.

SummaryStreptomyces tsukubaensis NRRL 18488, the primary producer of the immunosuppressant FK506, was analyzed to elucidate regulatory features of secondary metabolism. Completion of its 7.9-Mb linear genome enabled accurate re-annotation of the FK506 biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). Transcriptome analysis during BGC activation revealed major transcriptional shifts from primary to secondary metabolism, especially in genes involved in FK506 biosynthesis and lysine metabolism. Primary transcriptome mapping identified 1,225 transcription units and uncovered post-transcriptional regulation of allylmalonyl-CoA production, a key FK506 precursor. Ribosome profiling demonstrated that AT-rich codons reduce translational efficiency in S. tsukubaensis, with pronounced ribosome pausing at the TTA codon within the FK506 BGC. Substituting this codon relieved pausing and improved FK506 production. Together, these integrative genomic, transcriptomic, and translatomic analyses highlight how multi-level regulatory mechanisms shape secondary metabolism in Streptomyces. This work offers insights into metabolic control that could inform future efforts in strain improvement for efficient natural products production.

Biobased 3-hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP) is a highly sought-after platform chemical with growing global demand. Direct microbial conversion of sugars to 3-HP is a promising alternative to fossil fuel-based production, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study examines the impacts of technological advancements in 3-HP yield, titer, and volumetric productivity, focusing on the minimum selling price (MSP) and life cycle GHG emissions for biorefineries producing 3-HP from sugarcane A-molasses. Biorefinery scenarios representing the complete range of alternative and theoretical bioprocess performances, generated using flux balance analysis (FBA), were simulated in Aspen Plus. FBA showed that theoretical yields from cytosolic 3-HP production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were similar for the malonyl-CoA, β-alanine, and oxaloacetate pathways (0.801–0.824 g3-HP·g–1glucose), whereas the maximum yield from the oxaloacetate pathway in the cytosol of Komagataella pastoris was 16–21% higher. Mitochondrial localization of the malonyl-CoA pathway in S. cerevisiae led to the highest yield (0.853 g3-HP·g–1glucose), while only slight improvements were seen in K. pastoris. 3-HP production by Corynebacterium glutamicum was economically viable, with an MSP 33.8% below the current fossil-based market price. Fully optimized bioprocesses would reduce the MSP by a similar amount and lower GHG emissions by 43.0% compared with the baseline.

Oman is an arid country in the Middle East with water scarcity, and hence land and labor management issues hindering agricultural sustainability and food security. Value addition can minimize food wastes, which is crucial to achieve sustainability by improving the land, water and labor productiveness. This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the improvements in land, water and labor productivities through value addition in date cultivated under arid conditions in Oman. Five date factories and different value-added products of the most popular date varieties, Khalas and Fardh were selected for this study. The comparisons were made between productivity improvements of the value-added products and the raw products. Khalas dates value-added with nuts had the highest productivity ratio of 540%, the same for Fardh was 360% while the lowest were in Khalas value-added with flavors with 111% and in Fardh date paste with 129%. In Khalas, the best improvement by the value addition in average land, water and labor productivities from the base-values of 6.93 ton ha-1, 0.57 kg m-3, and 0.82 kg h-1 of the raw date were 25.05 ton ha-1, 2.06 kg m-3, and 2.95 kg h-1 in date with nuts, respectively; while in the Fardh, these were 18.82 ton h-1, 1.55 kg m-3, and 2.21 kg h-1 respectively of the same value-added product. The variations in productivity improvement of selected value-added products could be due to the availability and cost of the raw dates, cost of the value addition, market options and selling price. Value addition showed high potential for improving productivities under arid conditions and is worth making adoption efforts for achieving agricultural sustainability goals.

This study aims to analyze the landfill design based on the estimated methane gas emissions at the Jatibarang Landfill, Semarang City, using the Landfill Gas Emissions Model (LandGEM) software version 3.03 and evaluate its potential utilization as an energy source. The study uses a quantitative approach utilizing mathematical modeling to estimate the estimated gas emissions from the landfill. The results show that the potential for electrical energy that can be generated from landfills is high enough to be recommended for management using the concept of Waste to Energy (WTE) into electrical energy. The recommendation that will be discussed is the management of methanogas emissions by being used as electrical energy, emphasizing infrastructure improvements for optimal energy production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This study could also incorporate real-time monitoring of gas emissions and energy production to better understand the dynamics of waste decomposition and the benefits of electricity generated from waste could foster community support for PLTSa initiatives.

Abstract Indian cattle breeds, such as Gir and Nellore, have been used extensively in breeding programs across various countries due to their exceptional adaptability, disease resistance, and resilience under harsh environmental conditions. Notably, the introduction of Indian Zebu cattle significantly enhanced milk and meat productivity in several South American countries. A prominent example is Brazil, where, over the past 35 years, Indian Zebu breeds underwent a substantial genetic improvement for dairy and beef production. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in India to re-import these genetically enhanced Zebu breeds from Brazil. This phenomenon exemplifies what is commonly referred to as the “pizza effect” - a cultural or biological element originating in one country, being significantly transformed abroad and, subsequently, reintroduced to its place of origin in an enhanced form. This article also explores the metaphorical “flavor and aroma” of an alternative to the pizza effect - India’s growing interest in incorporating exotic Bos taurus genetics as a strategy to enhance the dairy performance of its indigenous breeds, rather than relying solely on the reimportation of improved native germplasm.

From the 1950s to the present, the main tool for obtaining fungal industrial producers of secondary metabolites remains the so-called classical strain improvement (CSI) methods associated with multi-round random mutagenesis and screening for the level of target products. As a result of the application of such techniques, the yield of target secondary metabolites in high-yielding (HY) strains was increased hundreds of times compared to the wild-type (WT) parental strains. However, the events that occur at the molecular level during CSI programs are still unknown. In this paper, an attempt was made to identify characteristic changes at the genome level that occurred during CSI of the Acremonium chrysogenum WT strain (ATCC 11550) and led to the creation of the A. chrysogenum HY strain (RNCM F-4081D), which produces 200–300 times more cephalosporin C, the starting substance for obtaining cephalosporin antibiotics of the 1st–5th generations. We identified 3730 mutational changes, 56 of which led to significant disturbances in protein synthesis and concern: (i) enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism; (ii) transporters, including MDR; (iii) regulators, including cell cycle and chromatin remodeling; (iv) other processes. There was also a focus on mutations occurring in the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of the HY strain; polyketide synthases were found to be hot spots for mutagenesis. The obtained data open up the possibility not only for understanding the molecular basis for the increase in cephalosporin C production in A. chrysogenum HY, but also show the universal events that occur when improving mold strains for the production of secondary metabolites by classical methods.

Persons with nonfluent aphasia (PWNA) use feedback from external agents (e.g., speech-language pathologists) and self-feedback to improve their language production. The extent to which PWNA can improve their language production using their self-feedback alone is underexplored. In a proof-of-concept study, we developed an automated recursive self-feedback procedure to demonstrate the extent to which two PWNA who used self-feedback alone improved their production of sentences from trained and untrained scripts. In the current study, we use the Rehabilitation Response Specification System as a framework to replicate our initial findings. We tested the effects of two treatments: script production with recursive self-feedback and script production with external feedback in four persons with chronic nonfluent aphasia. We compared the effects of treatment by measuring percent script produced, speaking rate, and speech initiation latency of trained and untrained scripts. The participants received the treatments remotely through mini tablets using two versions of a mobile app we developed. All the participants received each treatment intensively for 14 sessions across 2-3 weeks. We estimated clinical improvements of production of sentences from trained and untrained scripts through nonoverlap of all pairs analysis of performance pretreatment and posttreatment. Both treatments improved PWNA's language production. Recursive self-feedback improved speaking rate and speech initiation latency, which generalized to untrained scripts in all participants. External feedback treatment did not generalize to improvement in speaking rate in two participants. Our findings confirm our initial evidence that PWNA can self-improve their sentence production from scripts through recursive self-feedback. This novel procedure enables PWNA to autonomously enhance their language production over time. Given the evidence and the mechanics of the procedure, we propose that its utility is not constrained by linguistic idiosyncrasies across cultures. Consequently, it has the potential to bypass linguistic barriers to aphasia care. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27007060.

This study aimed to estimate genetic parameters, including direct and maternal heritability, repeatability, and genetic correlations for productive and reproductive traits in Holstein cows in Egypt. Data from 10,834 productive records of 2,656 Holstein cows collected from 2002 to 2014 at El-Lahhamy farm were analyzed. The characteristics studied included total milk yield (TMY), lactation period (LP), service period (SP), and calving interval (CI). Results showed moderate direct heritability for TMY 0.28 and low estimates for LP 0.04, SP 0.029, and CI 0.027. Maternal heritability estimates were generally low across all traits, ranging from 0.02 to 0.027. Repeatability estimates were moderate for TMY (0.46) but low for reproductive traits ranging from 0.081 to 0.095. Strong positive genetic correlations were found between LP and SP (0.77) and between SP and CI (0.81), while a strong negative correlation was observed between age at first calving and CI (-0.83). The findings suggest that while genetic improvement for milk production is achievable through selection, reproductive traits are more heavily influenced by environmental factors.

India needs to increase milk production which can be possible by narrowing down the gap between the existing technology and their adoption. Ensuring domestic demand and enduring top most position in the world, India needs to produce 300-400 million tones of milk by 2050 (Vision 2050, 2015). The dairy is a business which provides the continuous source of income to the occupants and in case of landless person who are economically week, livestock farming is a better option. The research was based on a survey done in 2022-23 to analyzing constraint and suggestion of respondents regarding dairy management practices in semi-urban and rural areas of Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh. 15 respondents from each selected semi-urban and rural villages were randomly selected to constitute 120 samples (60 semi-urban + 60 rural). The perceived constraints have been studies under different aspects like: personal constraints, economical constraints, technological constraints and marketing constraints. The semi-urban respondents has perceived most serious type constraints viz., lack of poor economic condition of farmers, dysfunctional of animal insurance schemes, A.I. and BAIF centers are away from the village, lack of remunerative milk prices. Whereas rural respondents has perceived most serious type constraints viz., lack of interest of other family members, veterinary medicines are very costly for treatment of sick animals, A.I. and BAIF centers are away from the village, poor transportation also affects adversity in proper disposal of milk products. Suggestions as perceived by semi-urban respondents viz., ‘educational programmes regarding cattle breeds improvement for higher milk production should be initiated’ was ranked first whether in case of rural dairy farmers ‘government must provide marketing facilities at village level for selling the milk and milk products’ was ranked first.

BackgroundEchinocandin B (ECB) is a key precursor of the antifungal drug anidulafungin and its biosynthesis occurs via ani gene cluster in Aspergillus nidulans NRRL8112. Strain improvement for industrial ECB production has mainly relied on mutation breeding due to the lack of genetic tools.ResultsHere, a CRISPR-base-editing tool was developed in A. nidulans NRRL8112 for simultaneous inactivation of the nkuA gene and two marker genes, pryoA and riboB, which enabled efficient genetic manipulation. Then, in-vivo plasmid assembly was harnessed for ani gene expression screening, identifying the rate-limiting enzyme AniA and a pathway-specific transcription factor AniJ. Stepwise titer enhancement was achieved by overexpressing aniA and/or aniJ, and ECB production reached 1.5 g/L during 5-L fed-batch fermentation, an increase of ~ 30-fold compared with the parent strain.ConclusionThis study, for the first time, revealed the regulatory mechanism of ECB biosynthesis and harnessed genetic engineering for the development of an efficient ECB-producing strain.