Chemical and microbial risk assessment of wild edible plants and flowers.

The document focuses on the chemical and microbial risk assessment of wild edible plants (WEPs) and flowers, highlighting potential risks from heavy metals, pesticides and microorganisms. WEPs are valuable for human nutrition and gastronomy, offering essential compounds and health benefits. They are also seen as a sustainable food source.

Recent advances and opportunities related to the use of bee products in food processing.

Nowadays, natural foods that can provide positive health effects are gaining more and more popularity. Bees and the products they produce are our common natural heritage that should be developed. In the article, we presented the characteristics of bee products and their use in industry.

Effective specialist or jack of all trades? Experimental evolution of a crop pest in fluctuating and stable environments.

Understanding pest evolution in agricultural systems is crucial for developing effective and innovative pest control strategies. Types of cultivation, such as crop monocultures versus polycultures or crop rotation, may act as a selective pressure on pests' capability to exploit the host's resources. In this study, we examined the herbivorous mite (commonly known as wheat curl mite), a widespread wheat pest, to understand how fluctuating versus stable environments influence its niche breadth and ability to utilize different host plant species.

Morphological variability in (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) in desert countries is affected by sexual dimorphism and geographic aspect.

, a eurytopic tiger beetle characterized by long phenological activity, wide geographic and altitudinal distribution, and occurring in the highest number of habitats among all Cicindelidae known from North Africa, was chosen to study its geographic variation in morphology and sexual dimorphism. Here, we found significant sexual dimorphism exhibited in larger body size of females and longer mandibles in males, which can be explained by different roles of particular sexes in courtship. Moreover, we recorded significant differences in body sizes between western and eastern Maghreb populations which could suggest genetic isolation between these populations.

Fluoxetine results in misleading conclusions on fish behavior.

Fluoxetine is an antidepressant medicine causing relaxation and mood improvement in people, with silencing certain personality traits in some cases. The question arise if such phenomena can be observed in nontarget organisms such as fish. Fluoxetine affects fishes behavior; however, it is not known if the medicine affects its "personality.

Retrotransposon-based genetic diversity of Desv. from King George Island (Maritime Antarctic).

Desv. can be found in diverse Antarctic habitats which may vary considerably in terms of environmental conditions and soil properties. As a result, the species is characterized by wide ecotypic variation in terms of both morphological and anatomical traits.

New and interesting findings of scarab beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) from Tajikistan.

We report on new findings of nearly 50 species that represent four families of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, which were collected during an expedition to western Tajikistan that was carried out in June and July 2014. Rakovič, 1982 is recorded from the country for the first time. Moreover, we describe and illustrate the differences in the external morphology between (Scriba, 1790) and (Reitter, 1891), the latter of which has a doubtful systematic position.

DArT Markers Effectively Target Gene Space in the Rye Genome.

Large genome size and complexity hamper considerably the genomics research in relevant species. Rye ( L.) has one of the largest genomes among cereal crops and repetitive sequences account for over 90% of its length.

Biological mode of action of a nitrophenolates-based biostimulant: case study.

The challenges facing modern plant production involve (i) responding to the demand for food and resources of plant origin from the world's rapidly growing population, (ii) coping with the negative impact of stressful conditions mainly due to anthropopressure, and (iii) meeting consumers' new requirements and preferences for food that is high in nutritive value, natural, and free from harmful chemical additives. Despite employing the most modern plant cultivation technologies and the progress that has been made in breeding programs, the genetically-determined crop potential is still far from being fully exploited. Consequently yield and quality are often reduced, making production less, both profitable and attractive.

Evaluation of zeolite-sand mixtures as reactive materials protecting groundwater at waste disposal sites.

To recognize properties of a mixture of Vistula sand (medium sand acc. to USCS) with Slovak zeolite as reactive materials suitable for permeable reactive barriers proposed for protection of groundwater environment in vicinity of old landfills comprehensive laboratory investigations were performed. The present study investigates the removal of contaminants specific for landfill leachates onto zeolite-sand mixtures containing 20%, 50% and 80% of zeolite (ZS20, ZS50 and ZS80).

Heme iron intake and acute myocardial infarction: a prospective study of men.

Background: Epidemiologic studies of heme iron and non-heme iron intake in relation to risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are lacking. Therefore, we examine the associations between heme iron and non-heme iron intake and fatal and nonfatal AMI in men. Moreover, we investigated whether the associations were modified by intake of minerals (calcium, magnesium, and zinc) that decreases iron absorption.