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Background Light is essential for producing high-quality plants. The advancement of light-emitting diode technology has unlocked new opportunities for growing plants in controlled settings. In this study, the effects of light-emitting diodes priming and drought stress on some physiological and biochemical parameters were studied in two Melissa officinalis genotypes (Ilam and Isfahan) one and three weeks after drought stress. The experiments were conducted in a factorial arrangement within a completely randomized design with three replications. Results Drought stress reduced growth indicators such as fresh and dry weights of aerial parts, leaf number, and relative water content. Light-emitting diode priming relieved such reductions in both genotypes. The accumulation of phenolic compounds, anthocyanin, and levels of proline, along with the activity of the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, increased under drought stress, with the maximum increase achieved under red + blue and blue light-emitting diode light-primed plants. Especially in the Ilam genotype, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzyme activities and the accumulation of phenolic compounds were remarkably enhanced by the use of red + blue light-emitting diode light. Also, abscisic acid showed higher values under drought stress and the highest in pre-treatments with red + blue and red light-emitting diodes. Conclusion The effects of different treatments on the physiological indices showed that drought tolerance in Melissa officinalis was improved due to the priming of red + blue light-emitting diode in both genotypes. Thus, our results emphasized the use of light-emitting diode priming as a useful method to enhance the drought resistance of medicinal plants.

Energy consumption in the drying industry has made drying an energy-intensive operation. In this study, the drying time, quality properties (color, shrinkage, water activity and rehydration ratio), specific energy consumption (S.E.C), thermal, energy and exergy efficiency of corn drying using a hybrid dryer convective-infrared-rotary (CV-IR-D) were analyzed. In addition, the energy parameters and exergy efficiency of corn were predicted using the artificial neural network (ANN) technique. The experiments were conducted at three rotary rotation speeds of 4, 8 and 12 rpm, drying temperatures of 45, 55 and 65 °C, and infrared power of 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 kW. By increasing drying temperature, infrared power and rotary rotation speed, the drying time, S.E.C and water activity decreased while the Deff, energy, thermal and exergy efficiency increased. In addition, the highest values of rehydration ratio and redness (a*) and the lowest values of shrinkage, brightness (L*), yellowness (b*) and color changes (ΔE) were obtained at an infrared power of 0.5 kW, air temperature of 55 °C and rotation speed of 8 rpm. The range of changes in S.E.C, energy, thermal and exergy efficiency during the corn drying process was 5.05–28.15 MJ/kg, 3.26–29.29%, 5.5–32.33% and 21.22–55.35%. The prediction results using ANNs showed that the R for the drying time, S.E.C, thermal, energy and exergy data were 0.9938, 0.9906, 0.9965, 0.9874 and 0.9893, respectively, indicating a successful prediction.

Contamination of heavy metals in agricultural soils, particularly with lead (Pb), poses a severe hazard to ecosystems, crop production, and food safety. Although citric acid has been proposed as a potential detoxifying agent, its dose-dependent effects on Pb-stressed tomato plants under controlled conditions are not well understood. A hydroponic experiment was conducted at Khulna Agricultural University, Bangladesh, from January to March 2023 to assess the impact of CA application on tomato seedlings under Pb stress. However, Pb stress significantly impaired plant growth, water content, photosynthetic pigments, and ionic contents (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) while increasing water loss, electrolyte leakage, and Pb 2+ content compared to the control condition. In this study, the CA treatment, particularly HM2 + CA2 treatment, showed the most significant improvements compared to HM2 stress only. Results showed that HM2 + CA2 significantly boosted seedling growth compared to HM2 stress only by increasing root and shoot biomass, plant height, root number, and root volume. It also significantly improved relative water content, total chlorophyll, beta-carotene, carotenoids, and Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ accumulation in roots and leaves. Additionally, HM2 + CA2 significantly reduced water loss, electrolyte leakage, and Pb 2+ content in roots and leaves compared to HM2 stress only, demonstrating its strong protective effects under heavy metal stress. Hierarchical clustering, PCA, and correlation analyses showed clear separation between Pb-only and CA-treated plants, with the latter displaying improved growth, pigment levels, nutrient status, and water balance, especially under the higher CA dose. These results highlight citric acid’s strong capacity to mitigate Pb stress. However, the study’s hydroponic setup and elevated Pb levels represent limitations that necessitate validation under field conditions, and while higher CA concentrations (CA2) were effective, excessive CA use may pose risks of phytotoxicity or nutrient imbalance, highlighting the need for dose optimization. Overall, the findings support organic acids as promising tools for managing heavy metal contamination.

Red and green lettuce baby greens provide additional health benefits because they are high in nutrients, pigments, and antioxidants. This study examines red coral lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L. var. cripsa ) and green lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia ) baby greens grown for 20 days in a soil-vermicompost-compost (50:30:20) mixture to determine how different LED light spectra affect their growth, pigment accumulation, and antioxidant qualities. Plant height, biomass, and other growth parameters were evaluated manually, while pigments, phenolics, and flavonoids were analyzed using spectrophotometric techniques. In terms of growth, green lettuce fared better than red lettuce, with a biomass of 5.90 ± 0.35 g/ 100 plant and a plant height of 6.86 ± 0.23 cm, particularly during exposure to red + blue light. Red + blue as well as red light caused a considerable decrease in chlorophyll concentration; under red light, green lettuce's chlorophyll content dropped by up to 59.61%. Both species' phenolic (100%) and flavonoid (100%) contents were increased by white light, but red light produced the lowest levels. Blue light maintained the highest levels of carotenoid concentration while all other treatments saw a decline. With white light maximizing antioxidant content and red + blue light encouraging growth, principal component analysis (PCA) analysis demonstrated the substantial impact of light treatments on pigment and biochemical composition. Overall, the study concludes that treatments with LED light have a significant impact on red and green lettuce baby greens’ development, pigment buildup, and antioxidant qualities.

Introduction: Since its isolation in the UK, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant has become an epidemic. This study aimed to decipher the viral appearance and genomic characterization of the Delta variant isolated from patients in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Methodology: Samples were collected from the West Erbil Emergency Hospital, and infection by SARS-CoV2 was confirmed using Real-Time PCR. The sequenced samples were analyzed and compared to the previously published data on Delta variants. Results: The analysis showed that the variant belongs to SARS-CoV2 Delta variant B.1.617.2, including most of the previously detected mutations in India. The variant includes 13 mutations (11 substitutions and 2 deletions) on the spike region. Some substitutions are the same as the previous Delta isolate (T19R, G142D, T478K, D614G, L452R, P681R, and D950N). However, other substitutions (E156G, T250I, T19A, and L861W) were unique in the spike protein of the Delta variant (EPI_ISL_7405941) found in the Iraq variants. Conclusions: The impact of the novel mutations needs more study, but the common ones are shown to enhance transmission and escape from immunity. Future studies need to focus on the impact of the different vaccines in the Kurdish population on the Delta variant and the effect of the novel mutations on transmissibility and escape from immunity.