Despite the precise environmental manipulation enabled by controlled environment agriculture (CEA), plant genotype remains a key factor in producing desirable traits. Brassica rapa var. nipposinica (mizuna) is a leading candidate for supplementing deficiencies in the space diet, however, which cultivar of mizuna will respond best to the environment of the international space station (ISS) is unknown. It is also unclear if there are more inter-varietal (mizuna - mustards) or intra-varietal (mizuna - mizuna) differences in response to the ISS environment. Twenty-two cultivars of mustard greens, including 13 cultivars of mizuna, were grown under ISS-like conditions to determine which would provide the greatest yield and highest concentrations of carotenoids, anthocyanins, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, ascorbic acid, thiamine, and phylloquinone. The experiment was conducted thrice, and data were analyzed to determine which cultivar is most suited for further optimization of space-based cultivation. It was found that phylloquinone and β-carotene concentrations did not vary between cultivars, while all other metrics of interest showed some variation. \'Amara\' mustard (B. carinata) provided the best overall nutritional profile, despite its low biomass yield of 36.8 g, producing concentrations of 27.85, 0.40, and 0.65 mg·g - 1 of ascorbic acid, thiamine, and lutein, respectively. Of the mizuna cultivars evaluated, open pollinated mibuna provided the best profile, while \'Red Hybrid\' mizuna provided a complimentary profile to that of \'Amara\', minimally increasing dietary iron while providing beneficial anthocyanins lacking in \'Amara\'.

Photomorphogenic development in seedlings may be diagnostic of future plant performance. In this report, we characterize the Thai Oakleaf lettuce genotype, as it exhibited abnormalities in photomorphogenic development that were the most conspicuous under red light, including defects in hypocotyl growth inhibition, decreased cotyledon expansion, and constitutive shade avoidance tendencies. These observations are consistent with defects in red light sensing through the phytochrome B (phyB) photoreceptor system. This genotype is sold commercially as a heat-tolerant variety, which aligns with the evidence that phyB acts as a thermosensor.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of implementing a traceability and safe manufacturing system in the clean room of a pharmacy service to increase patient safety, in accordance with current legislation.
METHODS: The process was carried out between September 2021 and July 2022. The software program integrated all the recommended stages of the manufacturing process outlined in the \"Good Practices Guide for Medication Preparation in Pharmacy Services\" (GBPP). The following sections were parameterised in the software program: personnel, facilities, equipment, starting materials, packaging materials, standardised work procedures, and quality controls.
RESULTS: A total of 50 users, 4 elaboration areas and 113 equipments were included. 435 components were parameterized (195 raw materials and 240 pharmaceutical specialties), 54 packaging materials, 376 standardised work procedures (123 of them corresponding to sterile medicines and 253 to non-sterile medicines, of which 52 non-sterile were dangerous), in addition, 17 were high risk, 327 medium risk, and 32 low risk, and 13 quality controls.
CONCLUSIONS: The computerization of the production process has allowed the implementation of a traceability and secure manufacturing system in a controlled environment in accordance with current legislation.

Medicinal plants (MPs) are valued for their contributions to human health. However, the growing demand for MPs and the concerns regarding their quality and sustainability have prompted the reassessment of conventional production practices. Controlled environment cropping systems, such as vertical farms, offer a transformative approach to MP production. By enabling precise control over environment factors, such as light, carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity, nutrients, and airflow, controlled environments can improve the consistency, concentration, and yield of bioactive phytochemicals in MPs. This review explores the potential of controlled environment systems for enhancing MP production. First, we describe how controlled environments can overcome the limitations of conventional production in improving the quality of MP. Next, we propose strategies based on plant physiology to manipulate environment conditions for enhancing the levels of bioactive compounds in plants. These strategies include improving photosynthetic carbon assimilation, light spectrum signalling, purposeful stress elicitation, and chronoculture. We describe the underlying mechanisms and practical applications of these strategies. Finally, we highlight the major knowledge gaps and challenges that limit the application of controlled environments, and discuss future research directions.

The increasing use of inertial measurement units (IMU) in biomedical sciences brings new possibilities for clinical research. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the accuracy of the IMU-based wearable Syde® device, which allows day-long and remote continuous gait recording in comparison to a reference motion capture system. Twelve healthy subjects (age: 23.17 ± 2.04, height: 174.17 ± 6.46 cm) participated in a controlled environment data collection and performed a series of gait tasks with both systems attached to each ankle. A total of 2820 strides were analyzed. The results show a median absolute stride length error of 1.86 cm between the IMU-based wearable device reconstruction and the motion capture ground truth, with the 75th percentile at 3.24 cm. The median absolute stride horizontal velocity error was 1.56 cm/s, with the 75th percentile at 2.63 cm/s. With a measurement error to the reference system of less than 3 cm, we conclude that there is a valid physical recovery of stride length and horizontal velocity from data collected with the IMU-based wearable Syde® device.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of implementing a traceability and safe drug manufacturing system in the clean room of a Pharmacy Service to increase patient safety, in accordance with current legislation.
METHODS: The process was carried out between September 2021 and July 2022. The software program integrated all the recommended stages of the manufacturing process outlined in the \"Good Practices Guide for Medication Preparation in Pharmacy Services\" (GBPP). The following sections were parameterized in the software program: personnel, facilities, equipment, starting materials, packaging materials, standardized work procedures, and quality controls.
RESULTS: A total of 50 users, 4 elaboration areas and 113 equipments were included. 435 components were parameterized (195 raw materials and 240 pharmaceutical specialties), 54 packaging materials, 376 standardized work procedures (123 of them corresponding to sterile medicines and 253 to non-sterile medicines, of which 52 non-sterile were dangerous), in addition 17 were high risk, 327 medium risk, 32 low risk, and 13 quality controls.
CONCLUSIONS: The computerization of the production process has allowed the implementation of a traceability and secure drug manufacturing system in a controlled environment in accordance with current legislation.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the short-term efficacy of cyclosporine A (CsA)-0.1% cationic emulsion (CE) in patients with dry eye disease (DED) and mitigation of the inflammatory flares triggered by desiccating stress environments.
METHODS: A single-center non-randomized clinical trial was performed at a tertiary care setting. Twenty patients with DED treated with CsA 0.1% CE were exposed to a normal controlled environment (NCE) (23 °C, 50% relative humidity) and an adverse controlled environment (ACE) (23 °C, 10% relative humidity, 0.43 m/s localized airflow) during baseline and the 1- and 3-month visits. Patients underwent the following evaluations: conjunctival hyperemia and staining, corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) using the Oxford and Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit (CCLRU) scale, meibomian gland (MG) secretion quality, Dry Eye Questionnaire-5, Symptom Assessment in Dry Eye (SANDE II), and Change in Dry Eye Symptoms Questionnaire. Multivariate models were adjusted for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Nineteen women and one man (mean age, 58.9 ± 12.3 years) completed the study. All symptom questionnaires, CFS, conjunctival hyperemia and staining, and MG secretion quality improved (p ≤ 0.003) with 1 month of treatment; improvements were maintained after 3 months (p ≤ 0.02), except for SANDE II (p ≥ 0.07). The CFS worsening (total CCLRU) after baseline ACE exposure (from 8.6 to 10.1) was higher, although not significant (p = 0.64), compared with 1 month (from 5.4 to 5.8) and 3 months (from 5.0 to 5.9) after treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Topical CsA-0.1% CE improved DED signs and symptoms after 1 month of treatment under controlled environmental conditions. Future studies should confirm the benefit of CsA-0.1% CE in desiccating stress environments.
BACKGROUND: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT04492878.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) offer energy-efficient and customizable light sources that can be tailored to optimize plant chemistry and growth characteristics. Indoor cannabis production is the most energy-intensive crop in the United States and suffers from insect pest infestations including the cannabis aphid, Phorodon cannabis Passerini, which can negatively impact yield. Here we investigated the potential of light quality (color) to manage Cannabis sativa plant chemistry and cannabis aphids to increase crop quality. Cannabis was grown indoors under LED lighting systems where we manipulated the color spectrum. Within each light treatment, a subset of plants was exposed to aphid herbivory. Physical and chemical plant responses and aphid biology were measured. The interaction between light quality and herbivory drove the time to the first flower (cola) in our experimental plants. Light quality did not impact THC/CBD, but plants under increased blue light had higher bud yield than those grown under white light. The red-blue light treatment resulted in the tallest plants with the lowest leaf-stem dry mass and bud yield. Herbivory decreased bud yield and lowered the concentration of CBD/THC in buds. Lastly, light quality impacted the reproduction and mortality of the cannabis aphid. This study demonstrates the capacity of light quality to impact plant growth traits but offers no evidence for light quality impacting CBD/THC production in Cannabis. More importantly, herbivory resulting from aphid feeding was shown to decrease CBD and THC. Light quality impacted pest biology, supporting the potential use of light quality as a pest management tool.

The study of genomic control of drought tolerance in crops requires techniques to impose well defined and consistent levels of drought stress and efficiently measure single-plant water use for hundreds of experimental units over timescales of several months. Traditional gravimetric methods are extremely labor intensive or require expensive technology, and are subject to other errors. This study demonstrates a low-cost, passive, bottom-watered system that is easily scaled for high-throughput phenotyping. The soil water content in the pots is controlled by altering the water table height in an underlying wicking bed via a float valve. The resulting soil moisture profile is then maintained passively as water withdrawn by the plant is replaced by upward movement of water from the wicking bed, which is fed from a reservoir via the float valve. The single-plant water use can be directly measured over time intervals from one to several days by observing the water level in the reservoir. Using this method, four different drought stress levels were induced in pots containing soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), producing four statistically distinct groups for shoot dry weight and seed yield, as well as clear treatment effects for other relevant parameters, including root:shoot dry weight ratio, pod number, cumulative water use, and water use efficiency. This system has a broad range of applications, and should increase feasibility of high-throughput phenotyping efforts for plant drought tolerance traits.

A new electrode management, within the HPAEC-PAD systems, was proposed to measure inulin-type fructans in chicory roots, grown under two lighting periods: 12 h (T-12 h) and 24 h continuous lighting (T-24 h-CL), with the same daily light integral (DLI). The amperometric cell turn-off (PAD-Off) after elution of carbohydrate of interest, allowed the stabilization of the PAD response, avoiding excessive electrode surface oxidation. The enhanced signal stability allowed the application of fucose as internal standard (ISTD) for data normalization, improving the correctness of linear calibration curves and the quantification of fructans in the case study of chicory plants. T-24 h-CL decreased FW and DW of chicory leaves while increasing these parameters in roots. Fructans amount in chicory roots was significantly higher in the T-24-CL photoperiod. The accuracy of prebiotics quantification by PAD-Off emphasized significant differences between light treatments. CL can improve the yield and quality of chicory roots.