This work aimed to determine the optimum conditions for dehydration impregnation by immersion (D2I) and by intermittent immersion (D3I) of mango (Mangifera indica) slices measuring 4 × 1 × 1 cm3. To this end, the Doehlert response surface plan was used, with the following factors for D2I: the volume of D2I solution/fruit mass ratio (6/1-13/1 mL/g), the process time (120-360 min) and the Brix degree of the solution (45-65 °Brix) and with the following factors for D3I: immersion time (20-60 min), process time (60-300 min) and de-immersion time (7-25 min). The temperature was fixed according to literature at 35 °C. The optimum responses obtained for the D2I process were (47.63 ± 1.79) g/100 g (w-b) for water loss, and (6.67 ± 1.04) g/100 g (w-b) for solute gain, for optimum operating conditions of 6/1 mL/g; 245 min and 61.6°Brix respectively for the immersion ratio, process time and solute concentration of the hypertonic solution. The optimum responses obtained for D3I process were (47.98 ± 2.12) g/100 g (w-b) for water loss, and (4.31 ± 0.052) g/100 g (w-b) for solute gain (SG), for operating conditions of 21; 270; and 9 min, respectively for immersion time, process time and de-immersion time. The Student\'s t-test on the predicted and experimental optima of WL and SG revealed valuable insights for comparing these two processes. The present study will undoubtedly introduce a new dynamic to the osmotic dehydration systems for fruits and vegetables.

UNASSIGNED: Skin barrier dysfunction is an important component of atopic dermatitis (AD) pathophysiology. Topical corticosteroids (TCSs) are the mainstay therapy, but steroid phobia is emerging due to potential side effects. We aimed to determine the short-term effect of clobetasone butyrate on patients with AD.
UNASSIGNED: This investigator-blinded, randomised, moisturiser-controlled study evaluated patients with stable mild-to-moderate AD. Clobetasone butyrate ointment plus aqueous cream (Aq) or Aq alone was applied on randomised sites twice daily for 6 weeks. The itch score, modified Eczema Area and Severity Index (M-EASI) and epidermal biophysical parameters were assessed at baseline and 1 h, 3 h, 2 weeks and 6 weeks after application.
UNASSIGNED: Sixteen patients, among whom 14 (87.5%) were women and two (12.5%) were men, participated in the study. There were no significant differences in pH, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and hydration between TCS + Aq and Aq from 1 h to 6 weeks. A non-significant trend of pH increment was observed with TCS + Aq from baseline to 6 weeks. TEWL and hydration improved at 6 weeks for both treatment arms. The difference in TEWL from baseline was significant with Aq (P=0.01). The M-EASI at 6 weeks was comparable between the two arms. TCS + Aq improved itch and erythema better than Aq (P=0.02). No cutaneous adverse effects were observed at both sites.
UNASSIGNED: Short-term application of clobetasone butyrate with Aq is safe with no significant changes in epidermal biophysical parameters while controlling the symptoms and signs of eczema faster than Aq alone.

This study aimed to investigate the textural changes of cooked germinated brown rice (GBR) during freeze-thaw treatment and propose a strategy for enhancing its texture using magnetic field (MF). Seven freeze-thaw cycles exhibited more pronounced effects compared to 7 days of freezing, resulting in increases in GBR hardness by 85.59 %-164.36 % and decreases in stickiness by 10.34 %-43.55 %. Water loss, structural damage of GBR flour, and starch retrogradation contributed to the deterioration of texture. MF mitigated these effects by inhibiting the transformation of bound water into free water, reducing water loss by 0.39 %-0.57 %, and shortening the phase transition period by 2.0-21.5 min, thereby diminishing structural damage to GBR flour and hindering starch retrogradation. Following MF treatment (5 mT), GBR hardness decreased by 21.00 %, while stickiness increased by 45.71 %. This study elucidates the mechanisms through which MF enhances the texture, offering theoretical insights for the industrial production of high-quality frozen rice products.

In the face of climate change, understanding the metabolic responses of vulnerable animals to abiotic stressors like anurans is crucial. Water restriction and subsequent dehydration is a condition that can threaten populations and lead to species decline. This study examines metabolic variations in the subtropical frog Boana pulchella exposed to dehydration resulting in a 40% loss of body water followed by 24 h of rehydration. During dehydration, the scaled mass index decreases, and concentrations of metabolic substrates alter in the brain and liver. The activity of antioxidant enzymes increases in the muscle and heart, emphasizing the importance of catalase in the rehydration period. Glycogenesis increases in the muscle and liver, indicating a strategy to preserve tissue water through glycogen storage. These findings suggest that B. pulchella employs specific metabolic mechanisms to survive exposure to water restriction, highlighting tissue-specific variations in metabolic pathways and antioxidant defenses. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of anuran adaptation to water stress and emphasize the importance of further research in other species to complement existing knowledge and provide physiological tools to conservation.

Due to climate change, many regions are experiencing progressively milder winters. Consequently, pest insects from warm regions, particularly those with some tolerance to low temperatures, could expand their geographic range into these traditionally colder regions. The palm borer moth (Paysandisia archon) is a Neotropical insect that in recent decades has reached Europe and Asia as one of the worst pests of palm trees. Little is known about its ability to tolerate moderately cold winters and, therefore, to colonize new areas. In this work, we characterized the cold tolerance of Paysandisia archon by measuring its thermal limits: median lethal-temperature, LT50, chill-coma onset temperature, CTmin, supercooling point, SCP, freezing time and freezing survival. We found that this species was able to survive short periods of complete freezing, with survival rates of 87% after a 30-min freezing exposure, and 33% for a 1 h-exposure. It is then a moderately freeze-tolerant species, in contrast to all other lepidopterans native to warm areas, which are freeze-intolerant. Additionally, we investigated whether this insect improved its cold tolerance after either short or long pre-exposure to sub-lethal low temperatures. To that end, we studied potential changes in the main thermo-tolerance parameters and, using X-ray Computed Tomography, also in the morphological components of pretreated animals. We found that short pre-exposures did not imply significant changes in the SCP and CTmin values. In contrast, larvae with long pretreatments improved their survival to both freezing and low temperatures, and required longer times for complete freezing than the other groups. These long-term pre-exposed larvae also presented several morphological changes, including a reduction in water content that probably explained, at least in part, their longer freezing time and higher freezing survival. Our results represent the first cold tolerance characterization of this pest insect, which could be relevant to better design strategies to combat it.

The diversity of insect eggs is astounding but still largely unexplained. Here, we apply phylogenetic analyses to 208 species of stick and leaf insects, coupled with physiological measurements of metabolic rate and water loss on five species, to evaluate classes of factors that may drive egg morphological diversification: life history constraints, material costs, mechanical constraints, and ecological circumstances. We show support for all three classes, but egg size is primarily influenced by female body size and strongly trades off with egg number. Females that lay relatively fewer but larger eggs, which develop more slowly because of disproportionately low metabolic rates, also tend to bury or glue them in specific locations instead of simply dropping them from the foliage (ancestral state). This form of parental care then directly favors relatively elongated eggs, which may facilitate their placement and allow easier passage through the oviducts in slender species. In addition, flightless females display a higher reproductive output and consequently lay relatively more and larger eggs compared with flight-capable females. Surprisingly, local climatic conditions had only weak effects on egg traits. Overall, our results suggest that morphological diversification of stick insect eggs is driven by a complex web of causal relationships among traits, with dominant effects of resource allocation and oviposition strategies, and of mechanical constraints.

Ongoing climate change has increased temperatures and the frequency of droughts in many parts of the world, potentially intensifying the desiccation risk for insects. Because resisting desiccation becomes more difficult at higher temperatures and lower humidity, avoiding water loss is a key challenge facing terrestrial insects. However, few studies have examined the interactive effects of temperature and environmental humidity on desiccation resistance in insects. Such studies on bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) are especially rare, despite their ecological and economic importance. Here, we crossed temperature (20, 25, and 30 °C) with humidity (<5, 50, >95 % RH) manipulations and measured time to mortality, water loss rates, and the water content at mortality of bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). We found that both higher temperature and lower humidity increased water loss rates, while warmer temperatures reduced survival time and lower humidity decreased water content at mortality. Additionally, we observed large intraspecific variation in water balance traits between colonies, and larger individuals survived longer and could tolerate more water loss before mortality. This study raises important questions about the mechanisms underpinning water loss in bumble bees and suggests that frequent access to nectar may be especially important for bumble bees\' water balance and survival in a warming and drying climate.

Micelle silymarin (MS) is known for its various beneficial properties, including antiswelling, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and antidiabetic effects. The primary goal of this research was to investigate how MS impacts the performance, egg quality, water loss and blood profile of laying hens. 288 Hy-Line brown laying hens, 28 weeks in age, were utilized for this experiment. The hens were randomly allocated into three dietary treatment groups, with each group comprising eight replicates of 12 hens, each housed in individual pens with access to feed and water. Over a 12-week feeding trial, the hens were provided with a basal diet supplemented with different levels of MS: 0%, 0.03% and 0.06%. The results indicated that the inclusion of MS in the hens\' diet did not have a significant impact on their performance (p > 0.05). However, Haugh units, egg weight and eggshell strength showed a linear improvement (p < 0.05) throughout the entire trial period with MS supplementation. Furthermore, there was a linear decrease in egg yolk colour and eggshell thickness showed linear improvements (p < 0.05), particularly during Week 8, with MS supplementation. Moreover, layers fed diet supplemented with MS showed a linear increased (p < 0.05) in albumen height and eggshell thickness in Week 12. In addition, egg water loss during Week 12, the third day of incubation, linearly decreased as an effect of the increasing level of the MS in the laying hen\'s diet (p < 0.05). Regarding blood profile parameters, the study revealed a tendency for alkaline phosphatase to decrease, whereas aspartate aminotransferase and cholesterol levels were linearly decreased (p < 0.05). In summary, increasing the level of MS supplementation in the diet of laying hens appeared to be beneficial in improving egg quality, slight improvement for egg water loss and certain aspects of blood profile parameters, without adversely affecting the hens\' growth performance.

In a chamber-based digital PCR (dPCR) chip fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), bubble generation in the chambers at high temperatures is a critical issue. Here, we found that the main reason for bubble formation in PDMS chips is the too-high saturated vapor pressure of water at an elevated temperature. The bubbles should be completely prevented by reducing the initial pressure of the system to under 13.6 kPa to eliminate the effects of increased-pressure water vapor. Then, a cavity was designed and fabricated above the PCR reaction layer, and Parylene C was used as a shell covering the chip. The cavity was used for the negative generator in sample loading, PDMS degassing, PCR solution degassing in the digitization process and water storage in the thermal reaction process. The analysis was confirmed and finally achieved a desirable bubble-free, fast-digitization, valve-free and no-tubing connection dPCR.

BREVIS RADIX (BRX) is a small plant-specific and evolutionary conserved gene family with divergent yet partially redundant biological functions including root and shoot growth, stomatal development and tiller angle in plants. We characterized a BRX family gene from wheat (Triticum aestivum) by gain-of-function in Arabidopsis. Overexpression of TaBRXL2A resulted in longer primary roots with increased root meristem size and higher root growth under control and exogenous hormone treatments as compared to wild type (Col-0) plants. Overexpression lines also exhibited significant differences with the wild type such as increased rosette size, higher leaf number and leaf size. At reproductive stage, overexpression lines exhibited wider siliques and higher grain weight per plant. Under drought stress, overexpression lines exhibited enhanced drought tolerance in terms of higher chlorophyll retention and lower oxidative stress, thereby leading to significant recovery from drought stress. The analysis suggests that the inherent lower stomatal density in the leaves of overexpression lines and higher stomatal closure in response to ABA might contribute to lower water loss from the overexpression lines. Furthermore, TaBRXL2A protein showed membrane localization, presence of conserved residues at N-terminal for palmitoylation, and phosphosites in the linker region which are prescribed for its potential role in protophloem differentiation and stomatal lineage. Thus, we identified a TaBRX family gene which is involved in developmental pathways essential for plant growth, and also enhances drought tolerance in Arabidopsis.