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Water scarcity is a critical environmental stress that profoundly constrains rice growth and productivity. Consequently, the development of drought-tolerant and high-yielding rice genotypes is of paramount importance to sustain rice production and safeguard global food security. This field-based study aimed to evaluate the physiological and agronomic performance of diverse advanced rice breeding lines to identify genotypes with high yield and drought tolerance. A set of 15 newly developed rice lines and three check cultivars were used to assess their physiological and agronomic responses under well-watered (WW) and water-deficit (WD) conditions over two consecutive growing seasons, 2022 and 2023. The results showed highly significant differences ( p  < 0.01) among irrigation regimes, genotypes, and their interactions for all studied traits. Under WD conditions, there was a substantial decrease in chlorophyll content, relative water content (RWC), plant height, grain yield (GY), and yield attributes. On the other hand, leaf rolling, proline content, antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase and peroxidase), and sterility percentage were significantly increased compared to WW conditions. The genotypes L8, Sakha-107, and IRAT-170 had the best performance for chlorophyll content, RWC, and stomatal conductance under WD conditions, respectively. Additionally, L5 and L11 recorded the highest GY under WD conditions. The principal component analysis combined with correlation matrix analysis emphasized that both physiological traits (chlorophyll content, RWC, proline accumulation, peroxidase activity, and catalase activity) and agronomic traits (number of panicles per plant and GY) can be considered as effective selection criteria to improve productivity in rice breeding programs under limited water conditions. Notably, genotypes L5 and L11 demonstrated superior GY performance under water-deficit conditions, representing the most valuable genetic materials for drought-prone environments. These elite genetic resources constitute promising germplasm for introgression into breeding programs to enhance rice's drought resilience and maintain productivity under water-limited conditions.

Rice is the world’s largest food crop, and its production needs to be doubled by 2050 to cope with population growth and associated demand. In addition to the value of improving yields, quality is also important for breeders and consumers, but it pays less attention in arid regions. During two successive summer growing seasons, the experimental material focused on 34 genotypes developed from different crosses on Fn generation after fixation as well as six of the most recent commercial cultivars used for comparisons. The results showed that a high yield of grain followed by high milling and grain quality characteristics were observed among the 34 genotypes used in this analysis. Highly important and positive correlations between the percentage of hulling and the percentage of milling (0.424) and the yield ability could be accomplished by choosing the number of panicles per plant and the weight of the panicles. Selection criteria for good quality should be met by the percentage of head rice and many mineral elements, particularly zinc and iron. As a consequence, the genotypes M.J 5460S/SK105-1, M.J 5460S/GZ7768-1, M.J 5460S/G177-1, M.J 5460S/SK105-3 and M.J 5460S/SK106-4 had desirable high yield and quality characteristics and could be used as promising accessions to the rice breeding program in arid regions. In addition to commercial genotypes, improved Japonica rice genotypes could be produced in arid conditions for higher yield and quality, leading to an increase in total production, supporting food security and nutrition.

Rice is considered a strategic crop for many countries around the world, being the main cash crop for farmers. Water shortage stress occurrence as a result of climate change is among the main threats challenging rice breeders in the last few decades. In the current study, 19 Fn-lines were developed from four populations by crossing a reverse thermo-responsive genic male sterile (rTGMS) line, M.J.5460S, with the three high-quality Egyptian commercial cultivars Giza177, Sakha105, Sakha106 and the promising line GZ7768 as male parents. These newly developed lines, along with their parents, and two water shortage stress-tolerant international genotypes (Azucena and IRAT170), were cultivated under water-shortage stress conditions and compared with their performance under well-watered conditions. Results indicated that the yielding ability of the 19 newly developed lines exceeded those for the two Egyptian parents (Giza177 and Sakha105) under well-watered conditions. The lines M.J5460S/GIZA177-3 and M.J5460S/GIZA177-12 were the best performing genotypes under water shortage stress conditions. The genetic and heritability in broad sense estimates indicated that direct selection for grain yield (GY) under water-shortage stress is highly effective in the current study. Molecular marker analysis revealed that M.J5460S/GIZA177-3 had accumulated the quantitative trait loci (QTL)s, on the chromosomes 2, 3, and 9, which contribute to GY under water-shortage stress from their high yielding tolerant ancestor, M.J5460S. It could be concluded that those lines are high yielding under both well-watered and water-stress conditions harboring several QTLs for yield enhancement under both conditions and that the markers RM555, RM14551, RM3199, RM257, RM242, and RM410 are among the markers that could be used in marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding programs for such stress condition.

Psidium cattleianum Sabine (Family Myrtaceae) is a Brazilian native shrub, valued for its diverse health and therapeutic attributes. The current study investigated the phytochemical profile along with the anticancer activities of the n- hexane extract (HE) of P. cattleianum aerial parts and its subfractions. GC-MS and HPTLC-MS were used for phytochemical analysis. The human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) and the human colon cancer cells (HCT-116) were used to investigate the anticancer effect in the viability, migration, and clonogenic assays. The GC-MS analysis of HE identified thirty-two components categorized mainly into terpenes, hydrocarbons, and sterols. β -caryophyllene oxide (12.07%) and humulene (7.42%) were the most abundant oxygenated and non-oxygenated metabolites, respectively. Concerning HE’s subfractions, fraction I is prolific with caryophyllene oxide (19.48%) and humulene (9.96%), while fraction II was rich in caryophyllene oxide (6.89%). HPTLC-MS analysis of fractions III-V identified the presence of nonadecatetraene, heptacosanol, and dihydroxy-oxo-ursenoic acid in fraction III; caryophyllene and littordial C in fraction IV, while guavanoic acid, p -coumaroyl caffeoylquinic acid, cholestane heptol, tocopherol, heptacosanedione, and trans -calamenene in fraction V. Concerning the anticancer results, the HE showed potent cytotoxicity with IC 50 29.18 ± 0.43 μg/mL (MCF-7) and 56.55 ± 6.8 μg/mL (HCT-116). In addition, at maximum tested doses approximating ½ IC 50 (15 and 28 μg/mL) in cytotoxicity assay, it displayed significant percent wound closure of 22.78 ± 2.13% and 12.76 ± 1.88%, respectively. While at doses corresponding to ¼ IC 50 (7.5 and 14 μg/mL), the HE displayed a colony formation efficiency of 2% and 0% on MCF-7 and HCT-116, respectively. Subfractions I and II, rich in caryophyllane sesquiterpenes, such as caryophyllene oxide, showed the best activity in all assays. Molecular docking of β -caryophyllene oxide, as the most identified bioactive metabolite, revealed an energetically favorable binding pose driven through hydrophobic interactions at the estrogen receptor ligand binding domain. The study endorses P. cattleianum HE and its selected fractions in the control of breast and colon cancers; however, further investigation into an appropriate in vivo model is required.

The diagnostic potential of multimodal large language models (LLMs) in oral medicine remains underexplored, particularly in real-world clinical contexts. This study introduces Vision-Based Diagnostic Gain (VWDG) as a novel metric to quantify the incremental diagnostic value of incorporating images into AI-assisted diagnosis of oral lesions. We conducted a prospective, biopsy-validated, case-matched study including 200 oral lesion cases with clinical photographs and radiographs of variable quality. ChatGPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro were evaluated against board-certified oral medicine experts. Each case was presented under two conditions: text-only and multimodal (text plus images). Diagnostic accuracy was measured across Top-1, Top-3, and Top-5 differentials. VWDG was defined as the absolute and relative improvement in diagnostic accuracy between multimodal and text-only conditions. Cochran’s Q and paired McNemar tests with effect sizes quantified differences across models and conditions, with analyses stratified by lesion type and diagnostic difficulty Both models demonstrated strong baseline diagnostic accuracy, but their performance diverged with image integration. ChatGPT-5 achieved significant VWDG across thresholds—Top-1 gain + 19% points, Top-3 gain + 18 pp, and Top-5 gain + 14 pp (all p  < 0.001). In contrast, Gemini 2.5 Pro showed negligible or even negative gain (0 pp at Top-1/Top-3; − 2 pp at Top-5). Stratified analyses confirmed that ChatGPT-5 benefited most from visual input in malignant and diagnostically difficult cases, whereas Gemini’s strength remained in text-dominant contexts. Human experts consistently outperformed both models in simple and benign presentations. By introducing and applying VWDG, this study provides the first expert-anchored, head-to-head evaluation of next-generation multimodal LLMs in oral medicine. ChatGPT-5 functions as a visual synergist , Gemini as a textual expert , and their complementary strengths suggest a cooperative human–AI diagnostic paradigm. VWDG offers a clinically meaningful framework for benchmarking AI models and guiding safe, context-aware integration into practice.

This study aimed to formulate citicoline-loaded chitosan-coated liposomes (CT-CS-LPs) for topical administration and evaluated for wound healing in a diabetic animal model. CT-LPs were formulated via a thin-film hydration approach and coated with chitosan (CS). Box-Behnken statistical design investigated the effects of lipid amount, chitosan concentration, and cholesterol amount on vesicle diameter, surface charge, and entrapment efficiency. The potential of the optimized CT-CS-LPs gel for wound healing was further evaluated in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats. The different healing stages were evaluated by several techniques, including general and special staining techniques, in addition to antibody immunohistochemistry. The optimized CT-CS-LPs obtained had a mean size of 211.6 nm, a 50.7% entrapment efficiency, and a positive surface charge of 32.1 mV. In addition, the optimized CT-CS-LPs exhibited in vitro sustained release behavior. The in vivo experiments revealed that treatment with the optimized CT-CS-LPs boosts the healing process of the skin wound in diabetic rats by reducing inflammation, accelerating re-epithelization, angiogenesis, fibroblast proliferation, and connective tissue remodeling, leading to rapid wound closure. Chitosan-coated liposomes containing citicoline have emerged as a potential approach for promoting the healing process in diabetic rats. However, the therapeutic effectiveness of the suggested approach in diabetic patients needs to be investigated.

For sensing various samples of polluted water and various sodium chloride concentrations using an angular surface plasmon resonance (ASPR), we have introduced a conventional structure and a hybrid heterostructure in the current research. The suggested structures are composed of silver metal, dielectric layers, silver nanocomposite, and a sensing medium. The reflectance spectra of all structures in the visible region were obtained through the utilization of the transfer matrix method by using the angular interrogation method depending on the Kretschmann configuration. Through our findings, five substrate parameters have been optimized to attain the utmost level of sensitivity across all structures: the thickness of Ag-metal, the type and thickness of dielectric materials, the host material type and the volume fraction of nanoparticles for the nanocomposite layer. In this regard, the suggested sensor provides excellent performance with a sensitivity of 448.1° / RIU , signal-to-noise ratio of 0.787, sensor resolution of 0.284°, and figure of merit of 78.766 RIU −1 . Therefore, we believe that the introduced design of our ASPR sensor presents a good candidate for an accurate and efficient detection of low concentrations of contaminated water and sodium chloride as well.

One of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting older men is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), causing severe annoyance and embarrassment to patients. The pathogenesis of BPH has been connected to epithelial proliferation, inflammation, deranged redox balance, and apoptosis. Diacerein (DIA), the anthraquinone derivative, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. This study intended to investigate the ameliorative effect of DIA on the prostatic histology in testosterone-induced BPH in rats. BPH was experimentally induced by daily subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate for four weeks. The treated group received DIA daily for a further two weeks after induction of BPH. Rats’ body and prostate weights, serum-free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and PSA were evaluated. Prostatic tissue was processed for measuring redox balance and histopathological examination. The BPH group had increased body and prostate weights, serum testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, PSA, and oxidative stress. Histologically, there were marked acinar epithelial and stromal hyperplasia, inflammatory infiltrates, and increased collagen deposition. An immunohistochemical study showed an increase in the inflammatory TNF-α and the proliferative PCNA markers. Treatment with DIA markedly decreased the prostate weight and plasma hormones, improved tissue redox balance, repaired the histological changes, and increased the proapoptotic caspase 3 expression besides the substantial reduction in TNF-α and PCNA expression. In conclusion, our study underscored DIA’s potential to alleviate the prostatic hyperplastic and inflammatory changes in BPH through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and apoptosis-inducing effects, rendering it an effective, innovative treatment for BPH.

Background The automated grading of clinical short-answer questions using large language models (LLMs) could alleviate faculty workload and improve the immediacy of feedback in dental education. However, evidence on the capacity of LLMs for rubric-based grading in dentistry remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the grading reliability and error patterns of two LLMs, ChatGPT-4 and the open-weight DeepSeek-3, against expert human evaluators. Materials and methods In a retrospective cross-sectional study with comparative validation design, we analyzed 2,358 short-answer responses from 262 undergraduate dental students (across nine clinical questions). All responses were analyzed, then human-graded by three calibrated subject-matter experts (SME) (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.84) to provide a reference. Each LLM was provided a 12-point analytic rubric to guide the grading, but was not provided any prior examples of the grading task (i.e., a zero-shot prompt). We assessed agreement using ICC, Pearson correlation, Cohen’s kappa, and mixed-effects models, and examined error tiers (≤ 1, 2–3, > 3 points) across Bloom’s levels and response styles. Results In this dataset, DeepSeek-3 obtained an ICC of 0.87 compared with ChatGPT-4 which obtained an ICC of 0.64. DeepSeek-3 matched exactly with human scores in 43.3% of cases and was within ± 1 point in 62.4%, compared with 35.5% and 44.1% for ChatGPT-4. High-error rates (> 3 points) were 7.5% for DeepSeek-3 vs. 26.9% for ChatGPT-4 (χ², p  < 0.01). DeepSeek-3’s agreement was consistent across cognitive levels and response verbosity, while ChatGPT-4’s accuracy on higher-level and verbose responses was significantly lower ( p  < 0.01). Both models exhibited an optimistic bias by over-scoring incorrect answers. Conclusions DeepSeek-3 showed fewer large-magnitude errors and better agreement with human graders compared to ChatGPT-4, suggesting its potential value for large-scale AI-assisted assessment for dental education. Since both models can over-score on incorrect results, human-in-the-loop oversight is necessary for high-stakes applications. Further work should evaluate performance across more courses, institutions, and languages, as well as examine the effects of model calibration, bias reduction, and external validation before considering the broader integration of LLMs into dental education.

Drought is the main limiting abiotic environmental stress worldwide. Water scarcity restricts the growth, development, and productivity of crops. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a fundamentally cultivated cereal crop. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of grain-priming with arginine (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mM) on growth performance and some physiological aspects of wheat plants under normal or drought-stressed conditions. Morphological growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, free amino acids, proline, total phenols, flavonoids, and proteins profiles were determined. Drought stress lowered plant growth parameters and chlorophyll a and b contents while increasing carotenoids, soluble sugars, free amino acids, proline, total phenols, and flavonoids. Soaking wheat grains with arginine (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mM) improves plant growth and mitigates the harmful effects of drought stress. The most effective treatment to alleviate the effects of drought stress on wheat plants was (1 mM) arginine, that increased root length (48.3%), leaves number (136%), shoot fresh weight (110.5%), root fresh weight (110.8%), root dry weight (107.7%), chlorophyll a (11.4%), chlorophyll b (38.7%), and carotenoids content (41.9%) compared to the corresponding control values. Arginine enhanced the synthesis of soluble sugars, proline, free amino acids, phenols, and flavonoids in wheat plants under normal or stressed conditions. Furthermore, the protein profile varies in response to drought stress and arginine pretreatments. Ultimately, pretreatment with arginine had a powerful potential to face the impacts of drought stress on wheat plants by promoting physiological and metabolic aspects.