Reliable electricity remains a significant barrier to agricultural productivity in rural Nigeria. This case study investigated the potential of agrivoltaic systems, combining solar energy generation with crop production, to address food processing and water supply challenges in the Anambra State Agricultural Zones. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a cross-sectional survey was administered to 845 respondents, of whom 840 returned valid questionnaires, food processors, and water facility operators across 16 communities using probability-proportional-to-size sampling (design effect = 2.0). Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were used to assess perceptions an... More >

Despite its nutritional potential, Tiger nut remains under-utilized. This study examined the interactive effects of soaking time (24–72\,h) and microwave power (100–280\,W) on its proximate composition using response surface methodology. Commercial tubers (14.33% moisture) were rehydrated to 38.6–46.8% moisture via soaking and then microwave-dried at 2.45\,GHz. Proximate composition was determined by AOAC methods. Ash, fat and carbohydrate followed linear models (\(p<0.0001\)); fiber followed a two-factor interaction model (\(p<0.0001\)); protein showed quadratic behavior (\(p=0.0006\)). Multi-response optimization identified 48\,h soaking and 190\,W power as optimal (desirability=0.87... More >

The problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is becoming more and more serious, and it is urgent to develop new antibacterial drugs to cope with this situation. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a group of natural peptides with advantages including broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and a low tendency to induce resistance, and have become attractive alternatives to antibiotics. However, their broad application is constrained by the inefficiency and high cost of conventional screening methods. Recently, deep learning (DL) has enabled more streamlined identification, design, and prediction of AMP activity through advanced data processing and pattern recognition. A few review articles... More >

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates in the fight against antibiotic resistance. However, traditional screening methods are often complex and costly. Metagenome offers a powerful approach for discovering novel AMPs from environmental samples. In this study, the deep learning model AMP-CLIP was employed to screen for novel AMPs from metagenomes of livestock farm soil and feces, which are rich in microbial diversity. The model achieved a high prediction accuracy of 99%.To enhance model interpretability, SHAP analysis was performed, revealing that amino acids contributing most to antimicrobial activity predictions were predominantly positively charged residues, suggesting that... More >

Irish beef exports illustrate the tension between economic benefits and environmental sustainability in the global food system. While exports support rural livelihoods and national trade revenue, they rely on energy-intensive cold chains and contribute to high greenhouse-gas emissions, land-use pressures and equity concerns. This study proposes an integrated shipping-and-ageing intervention that reconfigures maritime logistics as a site of controlled maturation and circular by-product management. In the redesigned system, beef is slaughtered and inspected in approved land-based plants, then loaded into shipboard ageing rooms where temperature, humidity and airflow are actively controlled and... More >

The advancement of global sustainable agriculture is currently impeded by the dual challenges of energy-intensive industrial nitrogen fixation and the persistent accumulation of agro-environmental pollutants. Bioelectrocatalysis has emerged as a transformative solution to these issues by synergizing the exquisite selectivity of biological catalysts with the controllability of renewable electricity-driven systems. However, the practical deployment of bioelectrocatalytic technologies is fundamentally constrained by kinetic bottlenecks associated with interfacial electron transfer (ET) between biocatalysts and solid electrodes. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in bioelectro... More >

Photosystem II (PSII) repair is a fundamental physiological process governing the resilience of photosynthetic organisms against high light (HL) stress. A recent study by Yao et al. (2025) provides significant mechanistic insights into this process within the model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The authors characterize the lumenal immunophilin CYN38, a homolog of the Arabidopsis CYP38, identifying it as a critical auxiliary protein for the biogenesis and stabilization of PSII. Through the characterization of a unique insertion mutant, cyn38, which produces a C-terminally extended protein, the study elucidates that homodimerization of CYN38—mediated by its C-terminus—is a prerequi... More >

This study focuses on the physiological and biochemical responses of Crocus sativus L. (Crocus sativus) root growth under aluminum (Al) stress and the mitigating effects of exogenous polyamines. Measurements of root elongation, Al content, root tip cell viability, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and antioxidant enzyme activities were conducted under Al stress and exogenous polyamine treatments. The results indicated that under Al stress, Crocus sativus L. root tip growth was significantly inhibited, with root tip Al content, Evans blue absorbance, and MDA content all gradually increasing with higher concentrations of Al$^{3+}$. At 0.05 and 0.2 mmol/L Al$^{3+}$ stress, antioxidant enzyme activ... More >