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Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are a group of reproductive proteins that are among the most evolutionarily divergent known. As SFPs can impact male and female fitness, these proteins have been proposed to evolve under postcopulatory sexual selection (PCSS). However, the fast change of the SFPs can also result from nonadaptive evolution, and the extent to which selective constraints prevent SFPs rapid evolution remains unknown. Using intra-and interspecific sequence information, along with genomics and functional data, we examine the molecular evolution of approximately 300 SFPs in Drosophila. We found that 50–57% of the SFP genes, depending on the population examined, are evolving under relaxed selection. Only 7–12% showed evidence of positive selection, with no evidence supporting other forms of PCSS, and 35–37% of the SFP genes were selectively constrained. Further, despite associations of positive selection with gene location on the X chromosome and protease activity, the analysis of additional genomic and functional features revealed their lack of influence on SFPs evolving under positive selection. Our results highlight a lack of sufficient evidence to claim that most SFPs are driven to evolve rapidly by PCSS while identifying genomic and functional attributes that influence different modes of SFPs evolution.

The present research finds that anthropomorphism, or attributing human characteristics to nonhuman objects, increases consumers’ preference for products with superior appearance. This effect occurs because consumers apply the belief of “beautiful is good,” a pervasive stereotype in person perception, to the judgment of anthropomorphized products. Seven experiments test the propositions. The results show that product anthropomorphism (vs. nonanthropomorphism) leads consumers to spend more time and money searching for information about appearance attributes (experiments 1 and 2), to indicate greater preference for products with superior appearance (experiments 4, 6, and 7), and to purchase products with superior appearance (experiments 3 and 5). The experiments also show that the effect of anthropomorphism on consumer preference is mediated by consumers’ conviction of “beautiful is good” in person perception. This effect is alleviated when consumers’ beliefs about the association between the attractive physical appearance of a person and the positive personal traits of this person are challenged. These results are robust across a wide range of product categories and consumers. Theoretical contributions and marketing implications are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to expand the existing knowledge on fashion consumption in general and age/gender effects on clothing choice in particular. This study was undertaken to empirically examine the importance of various sustainable and non-sustainable apparel cues, as well as the functional, aesthetic, symbolic, financial, environmental and social/ethical aspects of clothing. Although Poland's economy has been transformed remarkably over the last decade, there is still a paucity of empirical research focusing on this area has been conducted.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered online survey was employed for this study. Twenty product cues (10 non-sustainable cues and 10 sustainable), eight items of ‘environmental commitment and behaviour’ measuring scale and demographic questions were used for data collection and empirical testing.FindingsA total of 288 useable surveys were collected for analysis. The results revealed that many Polish consumers would not purchase a sustainable or ‘green’ product if it did not provide enough aesthetic, functional and financial benefits to satisfy their needs and aspirations. Women were more reliant on garment fit and style than men. Our findings underscore several meaningful implications and useful information. Sustainable fashion is not merely about environmental, social and ethical benefits, but their aesthetic, functional, symbolic and financial values must be factored in as well.Originality/valueThere is limited empirical research examining the age and gender effects in relation to sustainable and non-sustainable apparel cues. Unlike many previous research that only focused on one dimension or single aspect of clothing (e.g. aesthetic/hedonic attribute or functional/utilitarian attribute).

Pepper of the Capsicum species is a common ingredient in various food preparations by different cultures worldwide. The Capsicum is recognised by its five main domesticated species, namely Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens and C. pubescens. The genetic diversity in Capsicum offers fruits in wide ranges of morphology and carotenoid profile. Carotenoids enhance the value of pepper from a nutritional standpoint, despite being commonly prized for the pharmacologically active pungent capsaicinoids. Carotenoids of pepper comprise mainly of the unique, powerful and highly stable capsanthin and capsoroubin, together with β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin and violaxanthin. These carotenoids are present at diverse profile and varying levels, biosynthetically connected to the fruit maturity stages. This review describes the health-promoting functional attributes of the carotenoids that are mainly associated with their excellent role as lipophilic antioxidants. Capsicum as a great source of carotenoids is discussed in the aspects of main domesticated species, biosynthesis, pigment profile, antioxidant activity and safety. Findings from a number of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies provided appreciable evidence on the protective effects of pepper’s carotenoids against degenerative diseases. Hence, pepper with its functional carotenoids might be recommended in health-promoting and disease preventing strategies.

Cardiac disorders such as acute myocardial infarction, embolism and stroke are primarily attributed to excessive fibrin accumulation in the blood vessels, usually consequential in thrombosis. Numerous methodologies including the use of anti-coagulants, anti-platelet drugs, surgical operations and fibrinolytic enzymes are employed for the dissolution of fibrin clots and hence ameliorate thrombosis. Microbial fibrinolytic enzymes have attracted much more attention in the management of cardiovascular disorders than typical anti-thrombotic strategies because of the undesirable after-effects and high expense of the latter. Fibrinolytic enzymes such as plasminogen activators and plasmin-like proteins hydrolyse thrombi with high efficacy with no significant after-effects and can be cost effectively produced on a large scale with a short generation time. However, the hunt for novel fibrinolytic enzymes necessitates complex purification stages, physiochemical and structural-functional attributes, which provide an insight into their mechanism of action. Besides, strain improvement and molecular technologies such as cloning, overexpression and the construction of genetically modified strains for the enhanced production of fibrinolytic enzymes significantly improve their thrombolytic potential. In addition, the unconventional applicability of some fibrinolytic enzymes paves their way for protein hydrolysis in addition to fibrin/thrombi, blood pressure regulation, anti-microbials, detergent additives for blood stain removal, preventing dental caries, anti-inflammatory and mucolytic expectorant agents. Therefore, this review article encompasses the production, biochemical/structure-function properties, thrombolytic potential and other surplus applications of microbial fibrinolytic enzymes.

The bioavailability and quality attributes of egg white proteins (EWPs) are vital for food products’ final form and nutritional content. Heat treatment negatively affects these attributes. We investigated EWP’s functional, rheological, and structural characteristics using dielectric barrier discharge cold atmospheric plasma (DBD-CAP) for its advantages to address this. EWP was exposed to different DBD-CAP treatment times (0, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 s) at 40 kV. Assessing functional attributes revealed increasing solubility and decreasing turbidity with longer plasma treatment. As plasma treatment time increased, foam and emulsion stabilities and capacities improved, along with enhanced water and oil-holding capacities. DBD-CAP influenced EWP’s rheological attributes, showing alterations between native and treated EWP, with no significant differences within plasma treatment times. EWP’s unfolding was confirmed by increased lipid oxidation, carbonyl content, hydrophobicity, and decreased sulfhydryl group. Particle sizes and zeta potential of plasma-treated EWP decreased with treatment time. FTIR-ATR and CD analyses revealed DBD-CAP’s impact on EWP’s conformation. CD indicated modifications in the secondary structure, increasing α-helix, β-sheets, and β-turns and decreasing random coils. These findings suggest that plasma-induced mild oxidation enhances EWP’s attributes and structure, potentially benefiting its utilisation in the food industry. Graphical Abstract

Aim Biological invasions by exotic macrophytes represent one of the main reasons for biodiversity and ecosystem changes in aquatic ecosystems. The reasons for their ability to succeed in new environments have been of ecological interest in the last years. We made a global review, aiming to describe functional traits related with invasiveness of macrophytes. Methods Our search was performed using keywords regarding invasive macrophytes and functional traits. We related the group traits of invasive species with their probability of species invasion success in new localities (invasiveness). We also performed a nestedness analysis that helped us to see which species possessed the higher number of traits related to invasiveness, as well as which traits were more common among the invasive species. Results Traits most often related to invasiveness were those indicating growth (94.5%) and reproduction (90.1%). Nearly 70.4% of invasive macrophytes traits were related with the probability of invasion success. Invasive species had a higher number of morphological and biotic interaction traits related with invasiveness than native species. Our nestedness analysis indicated a low degree of nestedness, but showed us that Egeria densa, Elodea canadensis and Elodea nutalli were the species with a wider range of environmental tolerances, explaining their invasibility across ecosystems. Conclusions We summarized and complement existing reviews on the functional traits related to invasion success of macrophytes. We believe this review contributed to the identification of the most common set of traits related with invasiveness, helping to speculate on successful invaders in the future. Resumo Objetivo A invasão biológica por macrófitas exóticas é uma das maiores causas de perda de diversidade em ambientes aquáticos. Assim, o motivo para o seu sucesso em invadir novas localidades têm sido de interesse na ecologia. Fizemos uma revisão global, com o intuito de descrever os traços funcionais relacionados com o potencial invasor de macrófitas. Métodos Realizamos a busca com palavras-chave relacionadas a macrófitas invasoras e traços funcionais. Relacionamos os grupos de traços de espécies invasoras com a sua probabilidade de sucesso de invasão em novas localidades. Também fizemos uma análise de aninhamento, que nos ajudou a constatar quais espécies possuem um maior número de traços relacionados com o potencial invasor, assim como quais traços funcionais são mais comuns entre as espécies invasoras. Resultados Os traços mais frequentemente relacionados com o potencial invasor foram aqueles indicando crescimento (94,5%) e reprodução (90,1%). Aproximadamente 70,4% de todos os traços de espécies invasoras foram relacionados a com a probabilidade de sucesso de invasão. Espécies invasoras possuíram um maior número de traços morfológicos e reprodutivos relacionados com o potencial invasor do que espécies nativas. Nossa análise mostrou um baixo grau de aninhamento, mas nos mostrou que as espécies Egeria densa, Elodea canadensis e Elodea nutalli são as espécies com uma maior extensão de tolerâncias ambientais, explicando seu potencial invasor entre ecossistemas. Conclusões Resumimos e complementamos revisões existentes sobre os traços funcionais relacionados com o potencial invasor de macrófitas. Acreditamos que esta revisão contribuiu para a identificação dos conjuntos de traços mais comumente relacionados com o potencial invasor, ajudando a especular sobre possíveis futuras invasoras.

, commonly known as Harsinghar or Night Jasmine Flower (NJF), holds a prominent place in traditional medicine due to its diverse biological activities. With the growing trend of fortifying yogurt with natural herbs to enhance nutritional and health benefits, this research aimed to optimize herbal yogurt with NJF extract using response surface methodology (RSM). Twenty experiments were conducted with varying percentages of NJF extract, inoculum sizes, and temperatures. The NJF-fortified yogurt was evaluated for sensory, textural, and physicochemical analyses, along with an ESI-MS assessment of bioactive components. Results showed that properties varied with NJF extract percentage, with trial T18 (3.68% NJF extract, 1.5 ml inoculum size, and 41°C temperature) achieving the highest sensory score and acceptability, as well as superior textural and antioxidant properties compared to control yogurt. T18 was identified as the optimized product with protein-3.1%, fat-3.4%, moisture-72.8%, ash-0.87%, pH-4.65, and titratable acidity (TA)-0.72. The antioxidant activity of T18 and CY was 72.32% and 12.62%, respectively, and the total phenolic content was found to be 85.17 mg GAE/g, underscoring its potential as a health-enhancing yogurt variant.

Tree tomato (Cyphomandra betacea), is a nutrient-dense fruit but the physicochemical properties differ depending on the origin and cultivar. The study aimed at characterizing attributes impacting value addition and industrial adoption of tree tomato fruits varieties in Kenya. The red and yellow tree tomato fruit varieties were procured from Marigiti market in Nairobi, Kenya which is the main aggregation center and samples were randomly selected for characterization. Subjective color assessment was used to sort the fruits before randomly selecting samples for physicochemical characterization. The fruits had uniform, consistent geometric features which make them suitable for high-speed automated processes, suitable for selecting preparative unit operations to yield good quality end products. The color properties contribute to better understanding of the colorimetric aspects of tree tomatoes, which are important in selecting the best varieties of known processing performance, and best fruit pretreatments to help retain the natural color, value and quality of end products. The Chemical characterization results are important in designing and controlling the process to get high quality, nutritious and functional end products. The Kenyan red, compared to the yellow tree tomato had more promising functional properties, hence highly recommended as a valuable raw material for innovative food products.

The Sundarbans (21º30′–22º30′ N and 89º00′–89º55′ E) is the largest mangrove forest in the world. Forests are very important for sequestering atmospheric carbon and mangroves are amongst the most efficient in carbon sequestration. This study presents the estimation of ecosystem carbon (above- and belowground) stock in the Sundarbans using a large scale data sets collected from systematic grid samples throughout the forest. The variation of carbon stock in different vegetation types and in different salinity zones in Sundarbans was investigated. The relationships between carbon stock and different vegetation functional attributes (basal area, mean tree height, crown coverage etc.) were also investigated. The amount of carbon stored varied significantly among vegetation types, salinity zones and vegetation functional attributes ( P  < 0.05). Sundri ( Heritiera fomes) dominated forest types store more ecosystem carbon (360.1 ± 22.71 Mg C ha −1 ) than other vegetation types. The fresh water zone shows the highest ecosystem carbon stock (336.09 ± 14.74 Mg C ha −1 ) followed by moderate and strong salinity zones. Salinity was found to enhance belowground carbon stock as revealed by the lowest proportion of belowground carbon stock (57.2 %) with respect to ecosystem carbon in fresh water zone and by the highest (71.9 %) in strong salinity zone. The results also reveal that no matter whether the mangroves are tall or dwarf, a significant amount of carbon is stored into the sediment. The vegetation attributes (basal area and mean tree height) of the dominant mangrove species in each vegetation type were identified as the key indicator of ecosystem carbon stock. We recommended some generalized regression equations to predict ecosystem carbon stock from basal area or mean tree height.