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This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different LED lamp colors (red and white) on the productive performance and egg quality of light laying hens. A total of 144 birds of the commercial strain Hy-Line® W-36 aged 44 weeks were distributed in a completely randomized design with two treatments (red and white LEDs) and 12 replicates, totaling 24 experimental plots with six birds each. Treatment means were compared by the F Test (5% probability) on the statistical software SISVAR. This study found that laying hens under red LED lamps showed a trend of greater egg production bird-1 day-1 (%) (p = 0.084), average egg weight (g) (p = 0.0826), egg mass (p < 0.05), and shell thickness (mm) and height (mm) (p < 0.01), whereas birds under white LED light showed better yolk color (p < 0.05). It is concluded that red LED illumination increases egg production and quality in light laying hens.

Techniques to control the phototactic behaviour of fish have expanded with progress in LED lights. However, the phototaxis direction of fish could be reversible at some light intensities, and thus it is necessary to evaluate the light-intensity levels that will induce repulsion or attraction behaviour to understand the transition. This study determined the light intensities of white LED light required to induce repulsion or attraction behaviour from a dark place, and the degree of dark-adapted visual sensitivity in juvenile of two salmon species. Oncorhynchus keta smolts showed negative phototaxis under intense light intensity, but positive phototaxis was not observed. The range of light intensities under which O. masou exhibited positive phototaxis changed with the life stage (from pre-smolts to smolts). Notably, the light intensities that elicited positive phototaxis were relatively low and narrow for pre-smolts, whereas smolts responded to a greater range of intensities. Positive phototaxis disappeared in O. masou pre-smolts under intense light intensity, but not in O. masou smolts under the most-intense light intensity tested here. Negative phototaxis was not observed in O. masou pre-smolts or smolts. The appropriate light intensity indicated here may be used to either guide juvenile O. masou from the dam reservoir to fishways or bypass channels, or to repel O. keta smolts from the water intakes of agricultural diversion weirs or hydropower dams.

Anthocyanin accumulation is responsible for the coloration of apple fruit, and their accumulation depends on the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes. Light is an environmental stimulus that induces fruit color by regulating genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. In this study, the roles of light and genetic factors on fruit coloration and anthocyanin accumulation in apple fruit were investigated. Three genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, MdCHS, MdANS, and MdUFGT1, were synthesized and cloned into a viral-based expression vector system for transient expression in ‘Ruby S’ apple fruits. Apple fruits were agroinfiltrated with expression vectors harboring MdCHS, MdANS, and MdUFGT1. Agroinfiltrated apple fruits were then either kept in the dark (bagged fruits) or exposed to light (exposed fruits). The agroinfiltrated fruits showed significantly different coloration patterns, transcript expression levels, and anthocyanin accumulation compared to the control fruits. Moreover, these parameters were higher in exposed fruits than in bagged fruits. For stable expression, MdCHS was introduced into a binary vector under the control of the rice α-amylase 3D (RAmy3D) promoter. The ectopic overexpression of MdCHS in transgenic rice calli showed a high accumulation of anthocyanin content. Taken together, our findings suggest that light, together with the overexpression of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, induced the coloration and accumulation of anthocyanin content in apple fruits by upregulating the expression of the genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway.

This was a cross-sectional study aiming to test the reliability of a new reactive agility test designed for youth volleyball players to improve both reaction time and hand-eye coordination. Twenty-four youth volleyball athletes (15 girls and 9 boys) were recruited to participate in this study (age: 11.58 ± 2.20 years old). This study used a FitLight Trainer (FITLIGHT Sport Corp., Ontario, Canada), a wireless system using interconnected light-powered sensors, to measure reaction time and hand-eye coordination. The subjects performed the hand-eye coordination test twice, exactly one week apart, for 30 seconds, with three trials performed for each test. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the variation of the six trials performed during the two sessions. The analysis comparing the sessions revealed significantly longer reaction time in session 1 than in session 2 (mean difference: 47.85 [95% CI: 10.86 to 84.84]; p < 0.012; ES = 0.128). Across the different trials, the greatest single ICC measure (ICC = 0.645) and average ICC measure (ICC = 0.784) were achieved in trial 3. Across the sessions, the greatest single ICC measure (ICC = 0.951) and average ICC measure (ICC = 0.863) were achieved in session 2. . FitLight Trainer is a valid and reliable tool for developing reaction times of youth volleyball athletes.

Measurement of reaction time in clinical settings is generally employed to assess cognitive abilities by having a subject perform standard simple tests. In this study, a new method of measuring response time (RT) was developed using a system composed of LEDs that emit light stimuli and are equipped with proximity sensors. The RT is measured as the time taken by the subject to turn off the LED target by moving the hand towards the sensor. Through an optoelectronic passive marker system, the associated motion response is assessed. Two tasks of 10 stimuli each were defined: simple reaction time and recognition reaction time tasks. To validate the method implemented to measure RTs, the reproducibility and repeatability of the measurements were estimated, and, to test the method’s applicability, a pilot study was conducted on 10 healthy subjects (6 females and 4 males, age = 25 ± 2 years), reporting, as expected, that the response time was affected by the task’s difficulty. Unlike commonly used tests, the developed method has proven to be adequate for the simultaneous evaluation of the response in terms of time and motion. Furthermore, thanks to the playful nature of the tests, this method could also be used for clinical and pediatric applications to measure the impact of motor and cognitive impairments on RT.

Among territorial animals, several species are characterized by males showing the same initial behaviours towards both sexes, leading to significant chances of injuries against conspecifics. In this study, we investigated how visual stimuli exhibited by a female-mimicking robotic replica can be exploited by highly territorial Betta splendens males to discriminate males from females. In addition, we tested the effect of light stimuli, mimicking the colour pattern of a reproductive female, on the consistence of courtship displays in B. splendens males. The intensity of male behaviours used in both courtship and not-physical agonistic interactions (e.g. fin spreading and gill flaring) was not importantly modulated by different stimuli. Conversely, behavioural displays used specifically in male–female interactions significantly increased when the robotic replica colour pattern mimicked a reproductive female. Furthermore, male courtship behaviours obtained in response to the robotic replica exhibiting light stimuli were comparable with responses towards authentic conspecific females. Our biomimetic approach to establish animal–robot individual interaction can represent an advanced strategy for trait-based ecology investigation, a rapidly developing research field.

Optogenetic technology is to express the channel proteins that can be act on light for realizing the activity of neurons activated and inhibited. Here, inspired by optogenetics, a flexible side‐gate artificial synaptic transistor based on ion gel and graphene is demonstrated, where the long‐term remembering or forgetting could be activated by the 450 nm light stimulus. Taking advantage of in‐plane‐field tunable carrier transport in graphene and the high ionic motion of ion gels, various synaptic functions under flatting or bending conditions by electric stimuli are successfully mimicked, including inhibition postsynaptic current, excitatory postsynaptic current, and paired‐pulse facilitation. A light‐induced forgetting or remembering is demonstrated by long‐term synaptic plasticity under 20 s and 10 Hz positive or negative gate pulse stimulus in the dark and 4 min recovery with light illumination. Moreover, the light stimulus promotes the associative learning and remembering function, which is demonstrated by Pavlov's dog experiment with electrical pulses and light stimulus. Such light‐assisted learning and memory function on synaptic plasticity can be attributed to the photogenerated electrons trapping effects in our device. The authors’ results provide a feasible strategy for realizing flexible light–electrical‐stimulus synaptic transistors and developing the low‐energy flexible neuromorphic optoelectronic hardware platform. A side‐gate fully flexible light–electrical‐stimulus artificial synaptic transistor based on ion gel and graphene is demonstrated for realizing long‐term properties and associative learning. Experimental results indicate that 450 nm light stimulation can either inhibit or enhance the long‐term properties of the proposed device. The authors’ results provide a potential way to realize flexible optoelectronic hybrid integrated neuromorphic devices.

The high surface area per unit volume and core-shell configuration of electrospun nanofiber mat has a potential for drug delivery applications. Co-axial electrospinning technique resolves the limitation in the traditional transdermal drug delivery materials allowing to load a larger concentration of therapeutic agents per unit mass of the polymer. Encapsulating the drug in the fiber core provides protection and prolonged drug release. In the present study mats of core-shell PVA/PVP-FeOOH nanofibers were successfully formed by the coaxial electrospinning process for the first time. The visible light responsive FeOOH drug carrier material was incorporated in fiber core to provide non-invasive drug release on demand. The prepared materials posses visible light triggered release of organic methylene blue molecules.

Light is a major environmental factor that affects metabolic pathways and stimulates the production of secondary metabolites in potato. However, adaptive changes in potato metabolic pathways and physiological functions triggered by light are partly explained by gene expression changes. Regulation of secondary metabolic pathways in potato has been extensively studied at transcriptional level, but little is known about the mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation by miRNAs. To identify light-responsive miRNAs/mRNAs and construct putative metabolism pathways regulated by the miRNA–mRNA pairs, an integrated omics (sRNAome and transcriptome) analysis was performed to potato under light stimulus. A total of 31 and 48 miRNAs were identified to be differentially expressed in the leaves and tubers, respectively. Among the DEGs, 1353 genes in the leaves and 1841 genes in the tubers were upregulated, while 1595 genes in the leaves and 897 genes in the tubers were downregulated by light. Mapman enrichment analyses showed that genes related to MVA pathway, alkaloids-like, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, and carotenoids metabolism were significantly upregulated, while genes associated with major CHO metabolism were repressed in the leaves and tubers. Integrated miRNA and mRNA profiles revealed that light-responsive miRNAs are important regulators in alkaloids metabolism, UMP salvage, lipid biosynthesis, and cellulose catabolism. Moreover, several miRNAs may participate in glycoalkaloids metabolism via JA signaling pathway, UDP-glucose biosynthesis and hydroxylation reaction. This study provides a global view of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in potato response to light, our results suggest that miRNAs might play important roles in secondary metabolic pathways, especially in glycoalkaloid biosynthesis. The findings will enlighten us on the genetic regulation of secondary metabolite pathways and pave the way for future application of genetically engineered potato.

This study is focused on the controllable reduction of the graphene oxide (GO) during the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization technique of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The successful modification was confirmed using TGA-FTIR analysis and TEM microscopy observation of the polymer shell. The simultaneous reduction of the GO particles was confirmed indirectly via TGA and directly via Raman spectroscopy and electrical conductivity investigations. Enhanced compatibility of the GO-PGMA particles with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomeric matrix was proven using contact angle measurements. Prepared composites were further investigated through the dielectric spectroscopy to provide information about the polymer chain mobility through the activation energy. Dynamic mechanical properties investigation showed an excellent mechanical response on the dynamic stimulation at a broad temperature range. Thermal conductivity evaluation also confirmed the further photo-actuation capability properties at light stimulation of various intensities and proved that composite material consisting of GO-PGMA particles provide systems with a significantly enhanced capability in comparison with neat GO as well as neat PDMS matrix.