Resveratrol is stilbene phytoalexin that exhibits antimicrobial activity in diverse plant species. Although its direct antimicrobial effects have been investigated extensively, its role and regulatory mechanism in plant immune signaling remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that resveratrol enhances resistance to bacterial pathogens through activation of endogenous defense pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. Resveratrol treatment reduced disease symptoms and bacterial growth caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) without exerting direct antibacterial activity and increased transcription of PATHOGENESIS-RELATED (PR) genes. Resveratrol promoted translocation of NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES 1 (NPR1) into the nuclear and failed to confer resistance in the npr1-1 mutant, which demonstrates that NPR1-mediated signaling is required for this response. Furthermore, resveratrol increased endogenous SA levels through transcriptional activation of SA biosynthesis genes. Accordingly, resveratrol-induced resistance and PR1 expression were abolished in the SA-deficient plants, which indicates that resveratrol-induces pathogen resistance depends on the SA signaling. In addition, resveratrol triggered rapid accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), suggesting that ROS may contributes to this immune response. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that resveratrol functions as an immune-activating molecule that enhances bacterial resistance through NPR1-dependent SA signaling and ROS accumulation in Arabidopsis.

Medicinal plants provide an important source of structurally varied bioactive metabolites with medicinal potential; however, their effective extraction, characterization, and standardization present considerable analytical challenges. Counter-current separation (CCS) methods, such as centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) and high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC), represent advanced liquid-liquid chromatographic approaches that minimize irreversible adsorption of samples. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar using pre-defined search terms related to counter-current separation, six omics domains, artificial intelligence/machine learning, molecular networking, network pharmacology, regulatory systems, and industrial translation. We screened relevant studies using pre-defined eligibility criteria and thematically synthesized them according to methodological development, analytical integration, evidence maturity, regulatory relevance, and translational potential. These methods enable the effective purification of bioactive natural compounds, ensuring high recovery rates. Simultaneously, the development of metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics, lipidomics, and glycomics has significantly advanced the research on natural products, enabling detailed molecular profiling and systems-level biological interpretation. This review critically considers the use of CCS in combination with multi-omics technologies for the discovery of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants. Special attention is paid to solvent-system design, AI-aided process optimization, molecular networking, chemometric analysis, and bioactivity-guided fractionation strategies. In addition, the use of CCS in quality control, phytopharmaceutical standardization, and industrial-scale production is discussed. Integration of CCS with omics technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and network-based analytical approaches offers a complementary platform for the enhancement of the discovery, prioritization, isolation, and characterization of bioactive natural products. These integrated workflows can facilitate candidate identification, structural characterization, mechanistic investigation and biological validation in early translational research. However, it should be kept in mind that the identification of a bioactive compound or fraction is not the same as drug discovery or therapeutic development. Further pharmacological, toxicological, pharmacokinetic, manufacturing, regulatory and clinical investigations are required for a purified natural product or botanical preparation to advance toward therapeutic development.

The RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway plays a key regulatory role in the survival and proliferation of mammalian cells. Accordingly, deregulated activation of this cascade by a mutated K-RAS (mutK-RAS) is a major cause of cancer initiation and progression. These findings led to the development of synthetic inhibitors that target the mutK-RAS protein, as a therapeutic approach. However, the challenging design of synthetic compounds that effectively and selectively inhibit the mutK-RAS, and the high prevalence of acquired resistance to the mutK-RAS inhibitors, motivated also the development of synthetic inhibitors to downstream effectors of mutK-RAS, such as ERK1/2. Unfortunately, these putative anti-cancer drugs also exhibited limited efficacy, due to the reactivation of the inhibited ERK1/2 kinases by their deregulated upstream activators, RAF and MEK, an effect that led to an acquired resistance. Recently, several studies reported the targeting of novel, mutK-RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK sustaining proteins whose downregulation led to ERK1/2 inhibition, without subsequent ERK1/2 reactivation and without acquired resistance. The knockdown or inhibition of the intracellular tyrosine kinase FER, whose expression level is linked to poor prognosis of cancer patients, led to significant and persistent inhibition of ERK1/2, without subsequent reactivation. In an additional report, myotrophin (MTPN) was identified as a crucial mediator of ERK1/2 oncogenic activation. Accordingly, knockdown of MTPN blocked ERK1/2 activity without inducing later reactivation, or acquired resistance of these kinases. Here, we discuss these novel findings, which could pave the way for novel intervention approaches with deregulated ERK1/2 activation, with significant ramifications for the therapeutic targeting of the key K-RAS-ERK1/2 oncogenic pathway.

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is changing how novices engage with programming by enabling program creation through natural-language interaction, an approach increasingly described as vibe coding. This may be particularly relevant for preservice teachers, who are often expected to develop computational skills despite limited programming experience. Grounded in social cognitive theory, this study examined changes in programming self-efficacy and intentions to use GAI in education following a four-week vibe coding intervention.

Water scarcity and the potential for soil degradation and environmental problems due to excessive fertilizer use are major challenges to achieving green, sustainable blueberry production with high water-use efficiency. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) play a crucial role in improving blueberry production. This study investigated the effects of CFB1: chemical fertilizer with 1 µmol l[-1] brazide; CFB2: chemical fertilizer with 3 µmol l[-1] brazide; CFB3: chemical fertilizer with 5 µmol l[-1] brazide; OFB1: organic fertilizer with 1 µmol l[-1] brazide; OFB2: organic fertilizer with 3 µmol l[-1] brazide; OFB3: organic fertilizer with 5 µmol l[-1] brazide; BFB1: biofertilizer with 1 µmol l[-1] brazide; BFB2: biofertilizer with 3 µmol l[-1] brazide; BFB3: biofertilizer with 5 µmol l[-1] brazide; CK: no fertilizer with water foliar spray on blueberry resistance to water and lodging stress, N uptake and remobilization, root growth, resource use efficiencies, and economic benefits during the 2022 and 2023 study periods. Our results showed that under the OFB2 treatment, the blueberry stalk lodging index and lodging rate decreased by 25.8% and 31.5%, respectively, through changes in the morphological structure and enhanced soil respiration and water use efficiency (WUE), which increased blueberry yield and substantially reduced crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and greenhouse gas emissions. Under organic fertilizer combined with 3 µmol l[-1] brazide application, leaf area index (LAI), Pn, root growth, and bleeding sap were observed to have improved at various growth stages of blueberry. Further, maximum water use efficiency (58.2%, WUE), nitrogen use efficiency (39.2%, NUE), nitrogen recovery efficiency (34.8%, NRE), and nitrogen partial productivity (64.8%, NPP) were obtained under the OFB2 treatment, compared with the CK treatment. In addition, the OFB2 treatment increased N uptake and the percentage of total N content, finally improving the number of flower buds (30.8%), number of new shoots (49.0%), blueberry yield (68.9%), and net profit, respectively. Overall, 3 µmol l[-1] brazide with organic fertilizer exhibited the highest blueberry production, antioxidant defense system, NUE, and economic benefits, maintaining high WUE, and could be a promising approach to the sustainable development of blueberry production performance under semi-arid field conditions.

Herein, the effects of red beet peel powder (RBPP) addition at different concentrations (0%, 0.5%, and 1%) and frying in different vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, and hazelnut oils) on the physicochemical properties, color characteristics, lipid oxidation, textural parameters, and acrylamide formation of meatballs were investigated. RBPP concentration significantly affected pH, moisture content, hardness, TBARS, and acrylamide formation (p < 0.05), whereas no significant effects were observed on cooking loss, color characteristics (L[*], a[*], b[*], C[*], and h°), springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience. Oil type significantly influenced pH, moisture content, cooking loss, hardness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience (p < 0.05), while no significant effects were detected on color characteristics, cohesiveness, TBARS and acrylamide content. Among the RBPP treatments, the highest acrylamide content was determined in meatballs supplemented with 0.5% RBPP, whereas the 1% RBPP treatment produced acrylamide levels statistically comparable to those of the control group. These findings suggest that, in terms of acrylamide levels, the addition of 1% RBPP to meatball formulations may be a more suitable incorporation level than 0.5%.

Tomato gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a devastating disease in protected cultivation, and biological control using beneficial microorganisms offers a sustainable alternative to chemical fungicides. However, the synergistic effects and underlying mechanisms of combining Irpex lacteus with Bacillus velezensis against tomato gray mold remain unexplored. In this study, we investigated the individual and combined effects of I. lacteus and B. velezensis on tomato resistance against B. cinerea. Both I. lacteus and B. velezensis effectively suppressed B. cinerea growth in dual culture assays.Individual applications of I. lacteus fermentation broth and B. velezensis cell-free culture filtrate on tomato plants achieved control efficacies of 55.93% and 62.75%, respectively, whereas their combination significantly increased control efficacy to 86.95%. The combined treatment markedly reduced disease severity and pathogen-induced cell death, accompanied by significantly decreased accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and superoxide anion (O2 [·] -) compared with pathogen-only controls. Furthermore, the combined treatment substantially elevated the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, CAT, APX), phenylpropanoid pathway enzymes (PAL, PPO, CAD, CA-POD, CGA-POD), and increased the contents of total phenolics, total flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, and DPPH radical scavenging capacity. In addition, the combined treatment restored photosynthetic performance, as evidenced by increased maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), enhanced activities of Calvin-cycle enzymes (Rubisco and FBPase), and upregulation of photosynthesis-related genes (FBPA, TPI, FBPase, and SBPase). These biochemical changes were generally more pronounced in the combined treatment than in single microorganism treatments. Collectively, our results demonstrate that I. lacteus and B. velezensis synergistically protect tomato against B. cinerea by mitigating oxidative stress and activating both antioxidant and phenylpropanoid defense pathways. These findings highlight the potential of combined I. lacteus and B. velezensis application as a sustainable biocontrol strategy against tomato gray mold.

Most mental health research following the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes has focused on community samples assessed within the first two years, leaving longer-term trauma- and loss-related psychopathology less well characterized. In this cross-sectional study, 149 adults who directly experienced the earthquakes were assessed at a psychiatry outpatient clinic in the affected region approximately three years after the disaster. Posttraumatic stress, prolonged grief, meaning attributed to loss, and rumination were assessed by self-report, while depression was clinician-rated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Grief-specific analyses were restricted to 64 participants who had lost a family member or close friend. Overall, 34.9% had elevated depressive symptoms, 23.5% met the screening threshold for posttraumatic stress, and 15.6% of those with a close loss met the algorithmic criteria for probable prolonged grief disorder. Among bereaved participants, those reporting additional earthquake-related adversity had substantially higher posttraumatic stress than those without additional adversity (43.0 vs. 16.7; Hedges g = 1.43, 95% CI [0.93, 1.94]) and greater grief severity (30.5 vs. 18.4; g = 0.97, 95% CI [0.45, 1.48]). Additional adversity remained associated with grief severity after adjustment for posttraumatic stress and depression. By contrast, posttraumatic stress was only modestly higher among participants with bereavement alone than among those with neither bereavement nor additional adversity, and the difference was not statistically significant (g = 0.30, 95% CI [-0.10, 0.69]); however, the confidence interval did not exclude a moderate effect. In secondary analyses, the association between brooding and posttraumatic stress was weaker among bereaved participants, and meaninglessness showed an incremental association with grief beyond posttraumatic stress and depression. Both findings varied across sensitivity analyses and should be regarded as preliminary. Three years after the earthquakes, symptom burden was substantial and was highest when bereavement co-occurred with additional disaster-related adversity.