Crop yield prediction in agriculture: A comprehensive review of machine learning and deep learning approaches, with insights for future research and sustainability.

The agriculture sector is confronted with numerous challenges in the quest for accurate crop yield estimation, which is essential for efficient resource management and mitigating food scarcity in a rapidly growing global population. This research paper delves into the application of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to enhance crop yield estimation in the context of diverse agricultural challenges. Through a systematic literature review and analysis of relevant studies, this paper explores the role of AI methods, such as Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL), in addressing the complexities posed by geographical variations, crop diversity, and cultivation areas.

α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Activation Modulates BV2 Microglial Plasticity via miR-21/TNF-α/NFκB in Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation/Reoxygenation.

Elevated inflammatory reactions are a significant component in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI). Activation of α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor (α7nAChR) reduces stroke-induced inflammation in rats, but the anti-inflammatory pathway in microglia under CIRI condition remains unclear. This study employed qRT-PCR, protein assays, NanoString analysis, and bioinformatics to examine the effects of PNU282987 treatment (α7nAChR agonist) on BV2 microglial functional differentiation in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGDR) condition.

Multifaceted virus-like particles: Navigating towards broadly effective influenza A virus vaccines.

The threat of influenza A virus (IAV) remains an annual health concern, as almost 500,000 people die each year due to the seasonal flu. Current flu vaccines are highly dependent on embryonated chicken eggs for production, which is time consuming and costly. These vaccines only confer moderate protections in elderly people, and they lack cross-protectivity; thereby requiring annual reformulation to ensure effectiveness against contemporary circulating strains.

Flavonoids from genus and their biological activities.

Background And Purpose: Many studies have been performed to identify new sources, their optimal isolation, and the biological activities of flavonoids due to nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical properties.

Experimental Approach: This review describes the method for flavonoid isolation and characteristic from the genus and their biological activities with the indication of the most active ones. To perform a comprehensive review, a thorough literature review using Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct was performed with keyword alone or in combination with other words.

Transforming a Young Life: Grade 5 Schwab Osteotomy for a Child With Congenital Kyphoscoliosis With Rare T12 Hemivertebra.

Kyphoscoliosis is a spinal disorder where the spine's natural curvature is abnormally altered in multiple planes. It may be associated with the presence of a hemivertebrae, as discussed in this case. Negligence of this deformity may cause symptoms of back pain, worsening spinal deformity leading to reduced lung expansion, or neurological deficit impacting the quality of life for the worse.

Replacing yellow maize with Illipe nut (Shorea stenoptera) improves growth performance and meat quality of porker pigs.

The effects of incorporating Illipe nut into the diet of pigs, in replacement of yellow maize, on their growth performance and meat quality was investigated in a 60 days feeding trial. Twenty-four male pigs were divided into two treatments and fed diets with 0% (T1) or 15% (T2) Illipe nut inclusion. Feed intake, live weight (LW) and backfat thickness (BFT) were taken and used to calculate average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and increase in backfat (IBF).

Off-the-shelf implant to bridge a urethral defect: multicentre 8-year journey from bench to bed.

Objective: To engineer an acellular mesh to reconstruct the urethra to replace the current surgical practice of using autologous tissue grafts. Cell based approaches have shown progress. However, these have been associated with high costs and logistical challenges.

High-light and nutrient interactions drive carbohydrate and proton pump dynamics in Agastache rugosa (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Kuntze.

Agastache rugosa, a perennial herb native to temperate and subtropical regions, shows remarkable adaptive strategies when exposed to varying light and nutrient conditions in tropical environments. Our study reveals new insights into the crosstalk mechanisms involving carbohydrate homeostasis, biomass allocation, and nutrient acquisition in A. rugosa under different environmental conditions.

Prevalence and risk factors of long covid and its associated adverse work outcomes among workers in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia - a mixed-methods study protocol.

Background: The manufacturing sector in Malaysia has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is further exacerbated by Long COVID-19 symptoms among the manufacturing workers, which are proven to influence work performance and quality of life. Of note, there is currently a lack of knowledge regarding the burden of Long COVID-19 in the Malaysian manufacturing sector.

The potential of melatonin and its crosstalk with other hormones in the fight against stress.

Climate change not only leads to high temperatures, droughts, floods, storms and declining soil quality, but it also affects the spread and mutation of pests and diseases, which directly influences plant growth and constitutes a new challenge to food security. Numerous hormones like auxin, ethylene and melatonin, regulate plant growth and development as well as their resistance to environmental stresses. To mitigate the impact of diverse biotic and abiotic stressors on crops, single or multiple phytohormones in combination have been applied.

What drives Chinese youth to use fitness-related health information on social media? An analysis of intrinsic needs, social media algorithms, and source credibility.

Introduction: The role of social media in providing fitness-related health information has been widely discussed; however, there is a notable lack of research on fitness-related health information behaviors among youth within the social media context. This study aims to address this gap by integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT)-based internal factors and external factors (social media algorithms and source credibility).

Methods: A voluntary sample of 600 participants, aged 15 to 29, was recruited.

Evidence of microcystin bioaccumulation and its effects on structural alterations in various shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) tissues from shrimp aquaculture in the northern coastal region of East Java, Indonesia.

Microcystins are generated by diverse cyanobacteria in shrimp ponds marked by high nutrient levels. The study examined microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) in the pond water, gills, hepatopancreas, and muscle of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) from shrimp ponds on the northern coast of East Java and its effects on their histological structures. In shrimp ponds dominated by cyanobacteria particularly Microcystis and Oscillatoria, MC-LR levels were high.

Cytotoxicity assays for cancer drug screening: methodological insights and considerations for reliable assessment in drug discovery.

The importance of cytotoxicity assays in in vitro drug discovery investigations has led to their rising profile. Drugs and other substances can disrupt cell membranes, limit protein synthesis, and bind irreversibly to receptors, all of which lead to cell death in cancer cells. To precisely measure the cell death resulting from these damages, one must choose a cytotoxicity test that meets specific criteria.

Effects of active video games on mental health among college students: a systematic review.

Background: Mental health significantly impacts college students' academic performance and overall happiness. Active video games (AVGs) have gained popularity among college students due to their ample entertainment, and there is growing interest in utilizing them to address mental health issues. However, there has not been a comprehensive summary and systematic review of research on the effects of AVGs on college students' mental health.

Green-synthesised silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from stingless bee honey: Morphological characterisation, antimicrobial action, and cytotoxic assessment.

This study investigated the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using an aqueous extract of stingless bee honey (SBH) as a reducing and stabilising agent. The rich compositions of SBH containing flavonoids, phenolics, organic acids, sugars, and enzymes makes the SBH extract an ideal biocompatible precursor for the NPs synthesis. Physicochemical characterisation of the synthesised NPs was performed using UV-Vis spectroscopy, FESEM, TEM, XRD, and FTIR spectroscopy.

Waste engine oil as a sustainable approach for asphalt rejuvenation and modification: A review.

The significant growth in road infrastructure worldwide over the last decade has resulted in a notable increase in the demand for asphalt binder. However, the utilization of asphalt binder in the road industry poses challenges to environmental sustainability and economic standpoints. The application of vehicular loads and exposure to environmental factors throughout the service life of roads contribute to the deterioration of binder properties, such as hardening and aging, ultimately leading to premature road failure.

Effect of functional training on fundamental motor skills among children: A systematic review.

Objectives: Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are the foundation of children's movement, requiring tailored training and guidance for development. As an emerging training method, functional training is optimistic in promoting the development of children's fundamental motor skills. However, current studies have not assessed the effect of functional training on fundamental motor skills.

Temporal disruption in tuberculosis incidence patterns during COVID-19: a time series analysis in China.

Background: Despite extensive knowledge of tuberculosis (TB) and its control, there remains a significant gap in understanding the comprehensive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB incidence patterns. This study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the pattern of pulmonary tuberculosis in China and examine the application of time series models in the analysis of these patterns, providing valuable insights for TB prevention and control.

Methods: We used pre-COVID-19 pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) data (2007-2018) to fit SARIMA, Prophet, and LSTM models, assessing their ability to predict PTB incidence trends.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Substrates Based on Photonic Crystal Embedded Bi-Metallic Nanoparticles for Leptospiral DNA Detection.

Leptospirosis is an acute bacterial febrile disease affecting humans and animals in many tropical and subtropical countries. This work presents an optimization of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates to probe vibrational spectroscopic detail from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The pathogenic gene of LipL32 was used as a biomarker.

CSQUiD: an index and non-probability framework for constrained skyline query processing over uncertain data.

Uncertainty of data, the degree to which data are inaccurate, imprecise, untrusted, and undetermined, is inherent in many contemporary database applications, and numerous research endeavours have been devoted to efficiently answer skyline queries over uncertain data. The literature discussed two different methods that could be used to handle the data uncertainty in which objects having continuous range values. The first method employs a probability-based approach, while the second assumes that the uncertain values are represented by their median values.

Calcific Uremic Arteriolopathy (CUA) Among Malaysian Dialysis Patients: Clinical Characteristics, Treatment, and Outcomes.

Background Calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) is a rare but debilitating disease affecting patients with kidney disease. Reported risk factors of CUA in the literature include female sex, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and vitamin K antagonists' (VKAs) usage. CUA prevalence in Malaysia is unknown and has not been reported before.

Complex Indirect Carotid-Cavernous Fistula With Contralateral Ophthalmic Manifestations.

A carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) involves an abnormal communication between the carotid artery and the cavernous sinus. For indirect CCF, it usually occurs in post-menopausal women. Contralateral symptoms for indirect CCF are rare.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder triggered by news reports of contaminated food.

We present a case of a woman in her early 30s who developed severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms following exposure to news reports about instant noodles allegedly contaminated with a carcinogenic substance. The news triggered an overwhelming fear of ingesting harmful food associated with persistent and intrusive thoughts about contamination in this patient. As a result, she adopted extreme food avoidance behaviours and restricted her oral intake for 2 weeks, causing significant weight loss and anxiety.

Cold argon plasma-induced aggregated and non-aggregated structural changes in casein and peptidomic insights into allergenicity.

Casein (CN) is a common allergen that is challenging to avoid in modern foods. The effect of cold argon plasma (CAP) on reducing CN antigenicity was investigated, focusing on alterations in epitope structure and sequence. CAP mainly contains hydroxyl radicals (∙OH).