Contribution of data acquired from spectroscopic, genomic and microbiological analyses to enhance mussels' quality assessment.

In this study, a large amount of heterogeneous data (i.e., microbiological, spectral and Next Generation Sequencing data) were obtained analyzing mussels of different species and origin, to acquire a comprehensive view about the quality and safety of these products.

Leveraging large-scale Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole genome sequence data to characterise drug-resistant mutations using machine learning and statistical approaches.

Tuberculosis disease (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is a major global public health problem, resulting in > 1 million deaths each year. Drug resistance (DR), including the multi-drug form (MDR-TB), is challenging control of the disease. Whilst many DR mutations in the Mtb genome are known, analysis of large datasets generated using whole genome sequencing (WGS) platforms can reveal new variants through the assessment of genotype-phenotype associations.

Probabilistic Modelling of the Food Matrix Effects on Curcuminoid's In Vitro Oral Bioaccessibility.

The bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds plays a major role in the nutritional value of foods, but there is a lack of systematic studies assessing the effect of the food matrix on bioaccessibility. Curcuminoids are phytochemicals extracted from that have captured public attention due to claimed health benefits. The aim of this study is to develop a mathematical model to predict curcuminoid's bioaccessibility in biscuits and custard based on different fibre type formulations.

Searching molecular biomarkers correlating with BSID-III at 24 months in infants with neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

An early prediction of outcomes of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NE) is of key importance in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity. The objectives were (i) to analyze the characteristics of miRNA expression and metabolic patterns of neonates with NE and (ii) to assess their predictive performance for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Plasma samples from moderate/severe NE patients (N = 92) of the HYPOTOP study were collected before, during, and after therapeutic hypothermia (TH) and compared to a control group (healthy term infants).

A chromosome-level genome assembly of , a tomato wild relative associated with resistance to salinity and drought.

Introduction: is a wild relative of tomato reported to exhibit resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. There is potential to improve tomato cultivars via breeding with wild relatives, a process greatly accelerated by suitable genomic and genetic resources.

Methods: In this study we generated a high-quality, chromosome-level, assembly for the accession LA1972 using a hybrid assembly strategy with ~180 Gbp of Illumina short reads and ~50 Gbp long PacBio reads.

Genes involved in auxin biosynthesis, transport and signalling underlie the extreme adventitious root phenotype of the tomato aer mutant.

The use of tomato rootstocks has helped to alleviate the soaring abiotic stresses provoked by the adverse effects of climate change. Lateral and adventitious roots can improve topsoil exploration and nutrient uptake, shoot biomass and resulting overall yield. It is essential to understand the genetic basis of root structure development and how lateral and adventitious roots are produced.

Modeling the spatial-spectral characteristics of plants for nutrient status identification using hyperspectral data and deep learning methods.

Sustainable fertilizer management in precision agriculture is essential for both economic and environmental reasons. To effectively manage fertilizer input, various methods are employed to monitor and track plant nutrient status. One such method is hyperspectral imaging, which has been on the rise in recent times.

Field phenotyping for African crops: overview and perspectives.

Improvements in crop productivity are required to meet the dietary demands of the rapidly-increasing African population. The development of key staple crop cultivars that are high-yielding and resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses is essential. To contribute to this objective, high-throughput plant phenotyping approaches are important enablers for the African plant science community to measure complex quantitative phenotypes and to establish the genetic basis of agriculturally relevant traits.

The ORGAN SIZE (ORG) locus modulates both vegetative and reproductive gigantism in domesticated tomato.

Background And Aims: Gigantism is a key component of the domestication syndrome, a suite of traits that differentiates crops from their wild relatives. Allometric gigantism is strongly marked in horticultural crops, causing disproportionate increases in the size of edible parts such as stems, leaves or fruits. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has attracted attention as a model for fruit gigantism, and many genes have been described controlling this trait.

Machine Learning Methods for Automatic Segmentation of Images of Field- and Glasshouse-Based Plants for High-Throughput Phenotyping.

Image segmentation is a fundamental but critical step for achieving automated high- throughput phenotyping. While conventional segmentation methods perform well in homogenous environments, the performance decreases when used in more complex environments. This study aimed to develop a fast and robust neural-network-based segmentation tool to phenotype plants in both field and glasshouse environments in a high-throughput manner.

Fact-based nutrition for infants and lactating mothers-The NUTRISHIELD study.

Background: Human milk (HM) is the ideal source of nutrients for infants. Its composition is highly variable according to the infant's needs. When not enough own mother's milk (OMM) is available, the administration of pasteurized donor human milk (DHM) is considered a suitable alternative for preterm infants.

Genetic and Physiological Responses to Heat Stress in .

Given the current rise in global temperatures, heat stress has become a major abiotic challenge affecting the growth and development of various crops and reducing their productivity. , the second largest source of vegetable oil worldwide, experiences a drastic reduction in seed yield and quality in response to heat. This review outlines the latest research that explores the genetic and physiological impact of heat stress on different developmental stages of with a special attention to the reproductive stages of floral progression, organogenesis, and post flowering.

A near-chromosome level genome assembly of the European hoverfly, Sphaerophoria rueppellii (Diptera: Syrphidae), provides comparative insights into insecticide resistance-related gene family evolution.

Background: Sphaerophoria rueppellii, a European species of hoverfly, is a highly effective beneficial predator of hemipteran crop pests including aphids, thrips and coleopteran/lepidopteran larvae in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. It is also a key pollinator of a wide variety of important agricultural crops. No genomic information is currently available for S.

De novo genome assembly and functional annotation for Fusarium langsethiae.

Background: Fusarium langsethiae is a T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins producing species firstly characterised in 2004. It is commonly isolated from oats in Northern Europe. T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins exhibit immunological and haemotological effects in animal health mainly through inhibition of protein, RNA and DNA synthesis.

Missense mutation of a class B heat shock factor is responsible for the tomato bushy root-2 phenotype.

The bushy root-2 (brt-2) tomato mutant has twisting roots, and slower plant development. Here we used whole genome resequencing and genetic mapping to show that brt-2 is caused by a serine to cysteine (S75C) substitution in the DNA binding domain (DBD) of a heat shock factor class B (HsfB) encoded by SolycHsfB4a. This gene is orthologous to the Arabidopsis SCHIZORIZA gene, also known as AtHsfB4.

A scaffold-level genome assembly of a minute pirate bug, Orius laevigatus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), and a comparative analysis of insecticide resistance-related gene families with hemipteran crop pests.

Background: Orius laevigatus, a minute pirate bug, is a highly effective beneficial predator of crop pests including aphids, spider mites and thrips in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. No genomic information is currently available for O. laevigatus, as is the case for the majority of beneficial predators which feed on crop pests.

Improving the Tea Withering Process Using Ethylene or UV-C.

Using a combination of biochemical, transcriptomic, and physiological analyses, we elucidated the mechanisms of physical and chemical withering of tea shoots subjected to UV-C and ethylene treatments. UV-C irradiation (15 kJ m) initiated oxidation of catechins into theaflavins, increasing theaflavin-3-monogallate and theaflavin digallate by 5- and 13.2-4.

Data Science in the Food Industry.

Food safety is one of the main challenges of the agri-food industry that is expected to be addressed in the current environment of tremendous technological progress, where consumers' lifestyles and preferences are in a constant state of flux. Food chain transparency and trust are drivers for food integrity control and for improvements in efficiency and economic growth. Similarly, the circular economy has great potential to reduce wastage and improve the efficiency of operations in multi-stakeholder ecosystems.

Flavivirus integrations in Aedes aegypti are limited and highly conserved across samples from different geographic regions unlike integrations in Aedes albopictus.

Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes are the main vectors of many viruses, e.g. dengue and Zika, which affect millions of people each year and for which there are limited treatment options.

Overproduction of ABA in rootstocks alleviates salinity stress in tomato shoots.

To determine whether root-supplied ABA alleviates saline stress, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Sugar Drop) was grafted onto two independent lines (NCED OE) overexpressing the SlNCED1 gene (9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase) and wild type rootstocks.

Detection of Meat Adulteration Using Spectroscopy-Based Sensors.

Minced meat is a vulnerable to adulteration food commodity because species- and/or tissue-specific morphological characteristics cannot be easily identified. Hence, the economically motivated adulteration of minced meat is rather likely to be practiced. The objective of this work was to assess the potential of spectroscopy-based sensors in detecting fraudulent minced meat substitution, specifically of (i) beef with bovine offal and (ii) pork with chicken (and vice versa) both in fresh and frozen-thawed samples.

Spoilage assessment of chicken breast fillets by means of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and multispectral image analysis.

The objective of this research was the evaluation of Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and multispectral image analysis (MSI) as efficient spectroscopic methods in tandem with multivariate data analysis and machine learning for the assessment of spoilage on the surface of chicken breast fillets. For this purpose, two independent storage experiments of chicken breast fillets (n ​= ​215) were conducted at 0, 5, 10, and 15 ​°C for up to 480 ​h. During storage, samples were analyzed microbiologically for the enumeration of Total Viable Counts (TVC) and spp.

De Novo Genome Assembly Of Solanum Sitiens Reveals Structural Variation Associated With Drought And Salinity Tolerance.

Motivation: Solanum sitiens is a self-incompatible wild relative of tomato, characterised by salt and drought resistance traits, with the potential to contribute through breeding programmes to crop improvement in cultivated tomato. This species has a distinct morphology, classification and ecotype compared to other stress resistant wild tomato relatives such as S. pennellii and S.

Robust detection of point mutations involved in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the presence of co-occurrent resistance markers.

Tuberculosis disease is a major global public health concern and the growing prevalence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis is making disease control more difficult. However, the increasing application of whole-genome sequencing as a diagnostic tool is leading to the profiling of drug resistance to inform clinical practice and treatment decision making. Computational approaches for identifying established and novel resistance-conferring mutations in genomic data include genome-wide association study (GWAS) methodologies, tests for convergent evolution and machine learning techniques.

Mutagenesis of f. sp. and Selection of Gain-of-Virulence Mutants.

Wheat stem rust caused by the fungus f. sp. (), is regaining prominence due to the recent emergence of virulent isolates and epidemics in Africa, Europe and Central Asia.