Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most widely produced starchy tuberous crops, and it is currently grown in over 100 countries. However, the productivity and quality of the crop are compromised by tuber cracking. While individual studies on the etiology of cracking have provided valuable insights, the evidence remains fragmented and sometimes contradictory. Therefore, a systematic review was carried out to consolida...

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) is a nutritious starchy tuber crop consumed as a staple food in most potato growing countries. Its productivity and production are limited by climate change; thus, it is of utmost importance to tap into the diversity of germplasm resources, therefore, diversifying the potato varieties available for production. The objectives of this study were to determine the phenotypic diversity among the selec...

Industrialisation, population growth, and concomitant demand for fresh water have immensely impacted water quality and scarcity. In particular, wastewater generated from industries generally produces high amounts of nutrients, heavy metals, and chemicals that degrade the environment. Several algal species have been studied and utilized for their role in the treatment of various types of wastewater. Conventional wastewater trea...

Food production is known to have significant environmental impacts, with the main contributors residing in the farming and transportation life cycle phases. Of the various food products transported around the world, avocados have increasingly gained attention as a high-commodity superfood. Avocados require specific climatic and agricultural conditions for farming, with the most fertile land and conditions located outside Europ...

This study examines the importance of both macroalgal heterogeneity and specific macroalgal species or morphotypes to nursery provision for juvenile sparids ( Diplodus capensis and Sarpa salpa ) in a shallow (< 2 m), sheltered rocky cove in warm-temperate Algoa Bay, South Africa. The rocky cove is comprised of a mosaic of two main benthic habitats; canopy-forming Plocamium corallorhiza beds on rocky outcrops and flat reef domi...

The current rapid increase in ambient carbon dioxide concentration ([CO 2 ]) and global temperatures have major impacts on the growth and yield of crops. Potato is classified as a heat-sensitive temperate crop and its growth and yield are expected to be negatively affected by rising temperatures, but it is also expected to respond positively to increasing ambient [CO 2 ]. In this study, we investigated the physiological, growt...

Crop intelligence and yield prediction of potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) are important to farmers and the processing industry. Remote sensing can provide timely information on growth status and accurate yield predictions during the growing season. However, there is limited documentation on the most suitable vegetation indices (VIs) and optimal growth stages for acquiring remote sensing imagery of potato. To address this knowle...

Purpose Accurate methods to determine dermal pharmacokinetics are important to increase the rate of clinical success in topical drug development. We investigated in an in vivo pig model whether the unbound drug concentration in the interstitial fluid as determined by dermal open flow microperfusion (dOFM) is a more reliable measure of dermal exposure compared to dermal biopsies for seven prescription or investigational drugs....

The intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), is associated with health benefits due to its anti-inflammatory properties. This fatty acid also exhibits antifungal properties in vitro. In order to determine if this antifungal property is valid in vivo , we examined how EPA affects Candida albicans pathogenesis in the Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, an alternative to mammalian...

Summary Extant marine stromatolites act as partial analogues of their A chaean counterparts, but are rare due to depleted ocean calcium carbonate levels and suppression by eukaryotic organisms. Unique, peritidal tufa stromatolites at the interface between marine and freshwater inputs were discovered in S outh A frica in the past decade. Our aim was to investigate the benthic microalgal community (green algae, diatoms and cyano...