Mature Stage Research Articles

Intelligent medicine in focus: the 5 stages of evolution in robot-assisted surgery for prostate cancer in the past 20 years and future implications

Robot-assisted surgery has evolved into a crucial treatment for prostate cancer (PCa). However, from its appearance to today, brain-computer interface, virtual reality, and metaverse have revolutionized the field of robot-assisted surgery for PCa, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Especially in the context of contemporary big data and precision medicine, facing the heterogeneity of PCa and the complexity of clinical problems, it still needs to be continuously upgraded and improved. Keeping this in mind, this article summarized the 5 stages of the historical development of robot-assisted surgery for PCa, encompassing the stages of emergence, promotion, development, maturity, and intelligence. Initially, safety concerns were paramount, but subsequent research and engineering advancements have focused on enhancing device efficacy, surgical technology, and achieving precise multi modal treatment. The dominance of da Vinci robot-assisted surgical system has seen this evolution intimately tied to its successive versions. In the future, robot-assisted surgery for PCa will move towards intelligence, promising improved patient outcomes and personalized therapy, alongside formidable challenges. To guide future development, we propose 10 significant prospects spanning clinical, research, engineering, materials, social, and economic domains, envisioning a future era of artificial intelligence in the surgical treatment of PCa.

Nitrate Reductase and Glutamine Synthetase Enzyme Activities and Chlorophyll in Sorghum Leaves (Sorghum bicolor) in Response to Organic Fertilization

Sorghum is a plant that mainly requires chemical nitrogen fertilization. There are organic fertilizers that can provide nutrients to plants with great benefits to the soil, such as chicken manure. To determine the influence of organic fertilization on nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and the amount of chlorophyll, sorghum plants were grown using the following four treatments: soil (T1), soil + chicken manure 100 kg ha−1 of nitrogen (N) (T2), soil + chicken manure 200 kg ha−1 N (T3), and soil + ammonium sulfate 100 kg ha−1 N (T4). Leaves were sampled in the vegetative stage (VS), the reproductive stage (RS), and the maturation stage (MS). The highest NR activity occurred in plants with T2 and T3 in the VS. The highest GS activity was in T3 and T4 in the RS. The amount of chlorophyll a was the same in all phenological stages. However, the amount of chlorophyll b was influenced by the type of fertilization at different phenological stages. Organic fertilizers (OF) produced the highest NR activity. On the other hand, GS activity was higher with chemical fertilization (T4), which was equal to the second dose of organic fertilization (T3). Finally, chlorophyll a and b were influenced by both types of fertilization, and was different from T1.

Midpalatal Suture Maturation in Relation to Age, Sex, and Facial Skeletal Growth Patterns: A CBCT Study.

The evaluation of midpalatal suture maturation is essential to undertake the most predictable maxillary expansion approach. Several factors, such as age, gender, and facial growth patterns, seem to be involved in midpalatal suture staging and, consequently, in its opening; however, the link between these variables and the stages of midpalatal suture development remains poorly understood. Our study aimed to analyse the midpalatal suture maturation in relation to age, sex, and skeletal growth patterns by CBCT. We enrolled 263 patients (119 males and 144 females) aged from 8 to 20 years. The midpalatal suture maturation was defined according to Angelieri et al.'s classification using a low-dose CBCT. The chi-square test and linear regression were applied to investigate the suture stages by age, sex, and vertical and sagittal growth patterns. Stage A was present in 8- and 9-year-olds with a larger prevalence in boys, while the prevalence of stage E increased progressively with age. Stage D was the most prevalent in our sample. The statistical analysis described that stage A was more likely in the youngest subjects, and stage E in the oldest participants. The males tended to have lower maturation stages. Moreover, the hypodivergent and normodivergent subjects tended to have higher maturation stages, while Class III was more likely in subjects in stages D or E. A total of 127 patients were in stages A, B, and C, showing an unfused suture. In young individuals, the opening of the midpalatal suture leads to a proper facial growth development by correcting the transverse superior hypoplasia. The midpalatal sutural maturation classification was related to age, sex, and divergence.

BIOLOGI REPRODUKSI IKAN BALOBO (Hyporhamphus quoyi) HASIL TANGKAPAN JARING BALOBO DI PERAIRAN DESA APARA KABUPATEN KEPULAUAN ARU

Garfish is a small pelagic species that has long been used as a raw material for dry fish production from Maluku called balobo dried fish. Many species of Garfish have been exploited but the species Hyporhamphus quoyi has not much been informed. This study aims to understand the reproductive aspects of Garfish consisting of measuring the sex ratio, changes in the gonad maturity stages (GMS) and counting the size of the first size gonad maturity. Located at the waters of Apara village, Aru Archipelago Regency, this study was conducted using a balobo net from November to December 2023. The catches were identified, measured its fork length (FL cm) and dissected to examine its reproductive organ. The Chi-squire heterogeneity test was occupied to measure sex ratio at different sizes. GMS was accessed based on the morphology of testis and ovary. First size maturity was calculated using Spearman-Karber method. The target fish captured by the balobo net consists of the Hemirhamphus far and Hyporhamphus quoyi. The ratio of male and female Hyporhamphus quoyi is unbalanced (c2=8.36; df=1; P=0.0038) but the sex ratio based on the length distribution of fish is not significantly different ( c2=6.92; df=6; P =0.328). Changes in GMS during the observation period indicate the occurrence of spawning in November. Balobo fish reach gonad maturity at FL = 24.9cm for females and FL = 26.8cm for males. Since the optimum size of the fish Hyporhamphus quoyi caught by balobo net is 27cm, this net produced legal sized of fishes.

Monitoring socioeconomic readiness for the demographic transition: Introducing the Senior Economy Tracker

Aging constitutes the dominant demographic challenge globally. The demographic transition entails a paradigm shift in the economic model to accommodate economic structures to life-expectancy gains. The socioeconomic implications from this transition remain largely undefined conceptually from an integrated perspective and unrecognized in official statistics. This study introduces a multidimensional and multi-actor reference framework, and a composite indicator, the Senior Economy Tracker (SET), to measure national readiness and progress in adapting to the demographic transition, over time and across countries. We apply our indicator to 27 European countries in 2010-2021. Our study reveals crucial differences in pathways and stages of maturity in addressing the socioeconomic impacts of aging. The proposed indicator aims to guide action to adapt economic structures to longer life spans, assist organizational and individual decision making, facilitate the development of effective policy interventions and raise awareness of the demographic transition.

Mechanoresponsive regulation of myogenesis by the force-sensing transcriptional regulator Tono

Muscle morphogenesis is a multi-step program, starting with myoblast fusion, followed by myotube-tendon attachment and sarcomere assembly, with subsequent sarcomere maturation, mitochondrial amplification, and specialization. The correct chronological order of these steps requires precise control of the transcriptional regulators and their effectors. How this regulation is achieved during muscle development is not well understood. In a genome-wide RNAi screen in Drosophila, we identified the BTB-zinc-finger protein Tono (CG32121) as a muscle-specific transcriptional regulator. tono mutant flight muscles display severe deficits in mitochondria and sarcomere maturation, resulting in uncontrolled contractile forces causing muscle rupture and degeneration during development. Tono protein is expressed during sarcomere maturation and localizes in distinct condensates in flight muscle nuclei. Interestingly, internal pressure exerted by the maturing sarcomeres deforms the muscle nuclei into elongated shapes and changes the Tono condensates, suggesting that Tono senses the mechanical status of the muscle cells. Indeed, external mechanical pressure on the muscles triggers rapid liquid-liquid phase separation of Tono utilizing its BTB domain. Thus, we propose that Tono senses high mechanical pressure to adapt muscle transcription, specifically at the sarcomere maturation stages. Consistently, tono mutant muscles display specific defects in a transcriptional switch that represses early muscle differentiation genes and boosts late ones. We hypothesize that a similar mechano-responsive regulation mechanism may control the activity of related BTB-zinc-finger proteins that, if mutated, can result in uncontrolled force production in human muscle.

Shifts in benthic megafauna communities after glacial retreat in an Antarctic fjord

Underwater imagery survey was conducted to address changes in Antarctic benthic megafauna communities by recent glacial retreat in Marian Cove, where distance from the glacier was proportional to retreat period. Benthic megafauna communities showed lesser variation due to frequent ice-scouring at 10 m than deeper seabed. At deep seabed (50–90 m), where glacier impacts decreased, benthic megafauna was scarce right in front of the glacier, but near the glacier (~10 years after seabed exposure), density peaked (128 ind. m−2) with pioneer species. At the outermost site, pioneer species were extremely limited (5 ind. m−2) while late-successional species were abundant (42 ind. m−2). Taxonomic and functional diversities peaked near the glacier and outermost site, respectively, indicating different mechanisms of structural and functional change after glacial retreat. This study showed a four-step successional process of benthic megafauna communities after glacial retreat in Antarctic nearshore: high disturbance, colonization, transition, and maturing stages.

Enhanced EEG seizure recognition after hypoxia-ischemia in fetal sheep using transformer-based wavelet-scalogram deep learning

This study introduces transformer-based deep learning models as superior alternatives to convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures for seizure detection after hypoxia–ischemia (HI) in electroencephalography (EEG) recordings in the developing brain. We further demonstrate that these models excel in classifying of varied and subtle morphologies of electrographic seizures observed in the EEG of fetal sheep after HI. The study explores model training combinations from four cohorts of Romney/Suffolk fetal sheep (HI-normothermia-term (n = 7), HI-hypothermia-term (n = 14), sham-normothermia-term (n = 5), and HI-normothermia-preterm (n = 14)), totalling 31,015 EEG segments from 17,300 h of recordings. We evaluated multiple Transformer architectures using both 2D wavelet-scalograms (WS) and 1D raw EEG signals through leave-one-out and k-fold cross-validation, comparing models’ performance with or without sham-normothermia-term data and contrasting them with CNN-based results from our previous work. The Data-Efficient image Transformer (DeiT) emerged as the top-performing model, achieving 99.60 % accuracy (AUC = 0.992) when fed with WS, surpassing the 2D WS CNN result (98.94 % accuracy, AUC = 0.967) from our prior study. Notably, the Wav2Vec2 transformer model, fed with raw 1D EEG segments, demonstrated comparable performance with 99.60 % accuracy (AUC = 0.992), outperforming the 1D CNN result (98.43 % accuracy, AUC = 0.961) from the previous study. More importantly, the transformers can adeptly distinguish between seizures in both the preterm and term brain, and under the influence of treatment with 99.92 % accuracy (AUC = 0.997). Our findings highlight the superior ability of transformer models to capture long-range dependencies within EEG data, enhancing seizure detection without the added complexity of generating 2D WS images. Transformer models show promise for generalized automated seizure detection, irrespective of the perinatal brain maturation stage and the influence of hypothermia, offering potential improvements for seizure detection after HI in newborns.

Factors influencing fumonisin B1 contamination in maize: insights from two production regions in Costa Rica.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal crop worldwide. Contaminated maize kernels pose a significant mycotoxin exposure risk for humans in Latin America. Fumonisins, the most prevalent mycotoxin in maize, typically occur during pre-harvest conditions leading to significant economic losses. Various factors, including weather conditions, may influence this contamination. This study aimed to determine the association between fumonisin B1 (FB1) contamination, prevalence of Fusarium verticillioides, weather conditions and kernel quality in the two primary maize production areas in Costa Rica (Brunca and Chorotega). All maize samples (100%) showed FB1 contamination, with higher concentrations in samples from Brunca region, consistent with the presence of F. verticilliodes. Weather conditions appeared to play an important role in this contamination, since Brunca region had the highest mean temperature and relative humidity after maize silking (R1) and the total monthly rainfall in this region was significantly higher during the last two months of maize cultivation (grain-filling and physiological maturity stages R3 to R6). Interestingly, this study found a negative correlation between grain damage and kernel contamination with FB1 and F. verticillioides. The concentration of mineral nutrients in kernels from both regions was largely similar. Most nutrients in kernels exhibited a negative correlation with FB1, particularly nitrogen. Zinc and phosphorus were the only nutrients in kernels showing a positive correlation with FB1 in samples from the Brunca region. The results highlight elevated levels of FB1 contamination in maize and contribute to a better understanding of pre-harvest factors influencing FB1 contamination in tropical conditions.

Biochemical Characterization of New Sweet Orange Mutants Rich in Lycopene and β-Carotene Antioxidants.

Carotenoid-rich foods such as citrus fruits have a wide range of functions in human health. They primarily exert antioxidant effects, but individual carotenoids may also act through other health-promoting mechanisms such as β-carotene as pro-vitamin A. Here, we show that red-fleshed sweet oranges grown in tropical climates are 4-9 times richer in carotenoids than their orange-fleshed counterparts, regardless of their maturation stage. The most significant difference observed between both varieties was the presence of lycopene at moderate concentrations (around 8 µg/g FW) in the mature pulp of the red varieties, which was absent in the blond ones. This is because the red-fleshed sweet oranges grown in tropical climates with high temperatures increase lycopene and β-carotene concentrations in their pulp during fruit maturation. Due to lycopene accumulation, red orange juice offers a promising addition to popular blond-orange, with the new varieties Carrancas and Pinhal being perfectly suitable for blending to enhance juice colour. Sao Paulo, one of the world's leading citrus orange juice producers, as well as other tropical citrus regions could benefit from cultivating using such lycopene-rich cultivars and industrially.

Appraisal of skeletal maturity indicators with respect to non-invasive biomarkers

Non-invasive salivary biomarkers are being investigated as they may be helpful in predicting skeletal age. This study was conducted to evaluate the correlation between salivary insulin-like growth factor-1, salivary alkaline phosphatase, cervical vertebrae maturation stages and chronological age in the assessment of skeletal age during the growth period. This study also aims to find associations with mandibular base length and maxillary base length. Total 80 eligible subjects aged 7 to 21 years were selected and divided into two gender-specific groups (41 males, 39 females). A further subdivision was made on the basis of six cervical vertebral maturation stages from the lateral cephalogram. The chronological age was given for each subject, and The maxillary base length and the length of the mandibular base was calculated from the impressions on the lateral cephalogram. Saliva samples were collected from each subject to determine salivary IGF-1 and ALP levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The data obtained was statistically analysed using SPSS (20.0) software. It was found that the mean IGF-1 activity in saliva was highest at CVMI stage 3 and the highest mean ALP levels in saliva occurred in males at CVMI stage 3 and in females at CVMI stage 4. Mean salivary ALP and IGF-1 levels correlate well with . Salivary ALP levels show a correlation with chronological age and could also be used as a diagnostic model to predict cervical stage. The diagnostic levels of certain biomarkers that appear in human saliva are representative of an individual's circumpubertal growth spurt. The collective pattern of increase and decrease in the sample during the circumpubertal stages is essential to study for orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.

The application of diamondoids indices for oils from Block 4 of the Muglad Basin in the middle of Africa

The abundances and distribution diamondoids were studied with a series of crude oil samples from Block 4 of the Mugald Basin in Sudan, to investigate the validity of various diamondoid parameters on the oil source, thermal maturity and biodegradation information. All crude oils of Block 4 were generated by lacustrine source in lower part of the Abu Gabra Formation as a whole, and can be further divided into two crude oil groups: oil group of the Neem-Azraq Uplift and oil group of K-3 well and B-1 well. They are all mature oils within oil window and four crude oils from the Neem-Azraq Uplift were slightly biodegraded. The concentrations of diamondoids in oils of K-3 well and B-1 well, especially the concentration of diamantanes, are higher than those of oils from the Neem-Azraq Uplift. The concentrations of diamondoids are mainly controlled by source of oil, while the influence of thermal maturity and biodegradation may be limited. The isomerization ratios as indicators of thermal maturity are inapplicable at the mature stage, but DMDI-2, 4,8/3,4-DMD and 1-EA/3-EA can clearly distinguish the two groups of crude oils. The concentration ratios of oils from K-3 and B-1 wells are significantly lower than these of oils from Neem-Azraq Uplift, and these concentration ratios including newly proposed parameters such as MAs/DMAs, DMAs/TMAs, D/MDs, MDs/DMDs and so on, are effective indicators on organofacies and oil group division within oil window.

Ultra sensor based on color and UV-excited fluorescence images for predicting quality attributes of Shine-Muscat grape bunches at different maturity stages

Fruit maturity at harvest is a major factor in determining its quality. In this study, external skin color of grape has been utilized to predict their chemical content and, in turn, the maturity of the fruit. Measurements of the chemical content such as Brix and acidity were made on ten bunches of “Shine Muscat” grapes at three different harvest periods (immature, mature, and overmature). Using a machine vision system, color and UV-excited fluorescence images of grape berries and bunches were taken during the respective harvest stages. Acquired images were processed using ImageJ to obtain RGB values. Rratio and a*/b* are strongly related to Brix and sugar-to-acid ratio of grape fruit, with regression coefficients of 0.5626 and 0.5180, repectively. It was found that a* color index was the best predictor of grape bunch maturity. Furthermore, discriminant analysis has shown that color images of grape berries perform better than 365 nm fluorescence images.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF COST AND ECONOMIC RETURNS OF MAJOR CROPS IN SELECTED STATES OF INDIA FROM 2000-01 TO 2021-22

Indian agriculture had reached the stage of development and maturity much before the now advanced countries of the world embarked on the path of progress. The share of agriculture in national income is often taken as an indicator of economic development. This study analysed and compared the cost and returns of principal crops in five major producing states of India like, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and TamilNadu from 2000-01 to 2021-22. Data on the important variables like, cost of cultivation, production and yield of major crops like Paddy, Wheat, Maize and cotton.The study based on secondary information comprises from Agricultural statistics and Directorate of Economics and Statistics. For analysis of econometric technique like Simple linear regression model and Semi-log linear model were used in this study. The major objectives of the study are, to estimate the regression for cost of cultivation, production and yield of principal crops in selected states in India from 2000-01 to 2021-22 and to study the yield rates of principal crops in selected states of India during the study period. The major findings were derived the study are, the yield per hectare of all food grains has increased by more than two times in 2001 to 2017. The net return of paddy was Rs.10, 870 per hectare and the return of Wheat was Rs. 8614. 32 per hectare in 2017.The study of cost and return is a major economic analysis because the estimation of product cost is useful to decision making process at crop level and the profitability of the farmers, it can help in planning of future production.

Uptake and translocation of cadmium and trace metals in common rice varieties at different growth stages.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important nutritional grain for the majority of Asian countries, but it is also a major source of cadmium (Cd) accumulation. A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the Cd uptake and translocation of high Cd (IR-50) and low Cd (White Ponni) rice cultivars in Cd-contaminated soils. The findings revealed that Cd impacts on rice development and growth differed depending on rice cultivars. Soil Cd levels in the seedling stage exceeded the critical levels (3-6mgkg-1) only 5.0mgkg-1 Cd treatment for the IR-50 (7.47mgkg-1). At higher Cd treatments (1.0 and 5.0mgkg-1), morphometric characteristics and yield of grains showed a declining and increasing trend in both rice varieties, respectively. The accumulation of Cd was higher in soil and roots during seedling and tillering stages, whereas in booting and maturity stages increased in stems and leaves in IR-50 and WP rice varieties. Cd levels in rice grains above the maximum allowable limit (0.4mgkg-1) only in IR-50 (0.51mgkg-1) rice cultivar at maturity stage. The EF of Cd were classified as minor enrichment to 'moderate enrichment' in both rice cultivars. TF values exhibited > 1 in booting and maturity stages in both rice cultivars at higher Cd treatments. The study concluded that the IR-50 rice variety exhibited increased Cd intake and transported to various parts of rice plants, particularly grains. The findings indicate that WP rice cultivar is more resistant to Cd toxicity, reducing health hazards for persons who preferred the staple food rice.

Bioaugmentation with Clostridium pasteurianum for high-yield continuous bio-hydrogen production in a dynamic membrane bioreactor

This study demonstrated the feasibility of achieving high-yield continuous bio-H2 production through bioaugmentation with Clostridium pasteurianum. C. pasteurianum was introduced during the initial granulation stage in a dynamic membrane bioreactor (DMBR) inoculated with heat-treated digester sludge. Following bioaugmentation, the average hydrogen yield (HY) reached 3.07 ± 0.13 mol H2/mol hexoseconsumed, with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 h. This high-yield and high-rate hydrogen production performance was achieved alongside a high concentration of suspended and granular biomass as 21.02 ± 1.01 g VSS/L. The DM played a crucial role in prolonging the solid retention time of the suspended biomass to 12.15 h. C. pasteurianum emerged as the predominant species, constituting 92.3 % of the total bacterial population. This dominance significantly contributed to achieving the high HY, reaching 77 % of the theoretical maximum HY (4 mol H2/mol hexoseconsumed) by shifting the metabolic pathway from non-H2 production pathways to hydrogen-producing acetate. However, during further continuous operation, the hydrogen production pathway was gradually shifted towards the butyrate pathway, resulting in a decreased HY of 2.26 mol H2/mol hexoseconsumed along with the decreased population of C. pasteurianum. Additional bioaugmentation of C. pasteurianum during the maturational granulation stage did not impact the metabolic pathways or microbiome significantly, as the added strain was supposed to be washed out. This study provides insights into achieving high-yield continuous bio-H2 production through bioaugmentation with C. pasteurianum during the initial granulation stage. Further studies are necessary to sustain C. pasteurianum-dominated high HY with the acetate pathway during prolonged operation.

Enhanced aerobic granular sludge by thermally-treated dredged sediment in wastewater treatment under low superficial gas velocity

The positive contributions of carriers to aerobic granulation have been wildly appreciated. In this study, as a way resource utilization, the dredged sediment was thermally-treated to prepared as carriers to promote aerobic granular sludge (AGS) formation and stability. The system was started under low superficial gas velocity (SGV, 0.6 cm/s)for a lower energy consumption. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBR) labeled R1 (no added carriers) and R2 (carriers added), were used in the experiment. R2 had excellent performance of granulation time (shortened nearly 43%). The maximum mean particle size at the maturity stage of AGS in R2 (0.545 mm) was larger compared to R1 (0.296 mm). The sludge settling performance in R2 was better. The reactors exhibited high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) removal rates. The total phosphorus (TP) removal rate in R2 was higher than R1 (almost 15% higher) on stage II (93-175d). R2 had a higher microbial abundance and dominant bacteria content. The relative abundance of dominant species was mainly affected by the carrier. However, the enrichment of dominant microorganisms and the evolution of subdominant species were more influenced by the increase of SGV. The results indicated that the addition of carriers induced the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by microorganisms and accelerated the rapid formation of initial microbial aggregates. This work provided a low-cost method and condition to enhance aerobic granulation, which may be helpful in optimizing wastewater treatment processes.

An Evaluation of Different Sweet Olive Cultivars with Different Ripening Degrees Grown in the Puglia Region, Southeastern Italy

Some olive cultivars grown in southeastern Italy are characterized by the production of olives with a reduced level of bitterness. They are known as sweet olive cultivars and fruits are usually consumed directly or cooked without any debittering process, offering either health benefits to consumers, thanks to the high content of antioxidants, or an economic benefit to farmers for their higher price with respect to both table and oil olives. This study evaluates and compares the organoleptic, pomological, chemical, and physical parameters of seven sweet olive cultivars at different ripening degrees in the Puglia region over 8 weeks of maturity stage for two consecutive seasons (2022 and 2023). The organoleptic evaluation was performed by a restricted panel of usual consumers/experts of sweet olives. The results showed a higher preference for the olive cultivars locally named Triggiano Dolce, Cerasella, and Mele. Significant differences in weight, length, and width of the fruits were observed based on both cultivar and year. The phenolic composition of olive cultivars was significantly affected by both cultivar and harvest year, with Cazzinicchio and Cellina di Nardò having the highest total polyphenols. The analysis of water fraction extracted from olive samples by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry led to the identification of eleven compounds belonging to the secoiroids, phenylpropanoids, phenylethanolids, and flavonoids classes. The comparison of these compounds among the studied cultivars highlighted significant differences.

The influence of physiological and functional characteristics of the body of girls aged 17-18 years on playing sports

Achieving competitive results in women’s sports for athletes aged 17-18 requires structuring training processes around their physiological characteristics. This article analyzes recent scientific data on the impact of sexual dimorphism in girls aged 17-18 on sports participation and training. Relevant scientific works from the past five years were collected and analyzed. At this age, girls undergo the final stage of sexual maturation. The effectiveness of sports activities varies individually, influenced by the ovarian-menstrual cycle, hormonal background, and symptoms in each cycle phase. Physical activity declines during the menstrual, ovulatory, and premenstrual phases, while postmenstrual and postovulatory phases are more favorable for sports participation. Performance indicators depend on sexual dimorphism: female athletes show unique features in central nervous system activity, high psycho-emotional excitability, and earlier development of somatic and physical qualities compared to males. The skeletal structure in 17-18-year-old female athletes is smaller and shorter, with a wider pelvis and more developed shoulder girdle. These findings can be used by sports schools, rehabilitation specialists, coaches, and sports physicians to adapt and structure training processes, taking into account the physiological characteristics of 17-18-year-old female athletes, aiming for highly competitive results. Keywords: Sexual Dimorphism, Hormonal Changes, Women’s Sports, Physical Culture, Sports Performance.

Rice A20/AN1 protein, OsSAP10, confers water-deficit stress tolerance via proteasome pathway and positive regulation of ABA signaling in Arabidopsis.

Overexpression of rice A20/AN1 zinc-finger protein, OsSAP10, improves water-deficit stress tolerance in Arabidopsis via interactionwith multiple proteins. Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) constitute a class of A20/AN1 zinc-finger domain containing proteins and their genes are induced in response to multiple abiotic stresses. The role of certain SAP genes in conferring abiotic stress tolerance is well established, but their mechanism of action is poorly understood. To improve our understanding of SAP gene functions, OsSAP10, a stress-inducible rice gene, was chosen for the functional and molecular characterization. To elucidate its role in water-deficit stress (WDS) response, we aimed to functionally characterize its roles in transgenic Arabidopsis, overexpressing OsSAP10. OsSAP10 transgenics showed improved tolerance to water-deficit stress at seed germination, seedling and mature plant stages. At physiological and biochemical levels, OsSAP10 transgenics exhibited a higher survival rate, increased relative water content, high osmolyte accumulation (proline and soluble sugar), reduced water loss, low ROS production, low MDA content and protected yield loss under WDS relative to wild type (WT). Moreover, transgenics were hypersensitive to ABA treatment with enhanced ABA signaling and stress-responsive genes expression. The protein-protein interaction studies revealed that OsSAP10 interacts with proteins involved in proteasomal pathway, such as OsRAD23, polyubiquitin and with negative and positive regulators of stress signaling, i.e., OsMBP1.2, OsDRIP2, OsSCP and OsAMTR1. The A20 domain was found to be crucial for most interactions but insufficient for all interactions tested. Overall, our investigations suggest that OsSAP10 is an important candidate for improving water-deficit stress tolerance in plants, and positively regulates ABA and WDS signaling via protein-protein interactions and modulation of endogenous genes expression in ABA-dependent manner.