Utilizing biostimulants like protein hydrolysates is one of the most creative and promising approaches to improving nutritional efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, or crop quality traits. In the present study, whey protein was hydrolysed with trypsin for 4 h at an enzyme/substrate ratio (1/300, w/w). The obtained whey protein hydrolysates (WPH) were chemically characterized, and their antioxidant activity was estimated. WPH, which was produced using trypsin for 4 hours and presented the highest antioxidant activity. Therefore, it was selected as a bio stimulant with potassium fertilization for enhancing the productivity and tuber quality of sweet potatoes. A field experiment was carried out during the two successive summer seasons, at a private vegetable farm in Faques City, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of different potassium rates (50, 75, and 100 kg K₂O/fad) and WPH at 0.10 and 0.20% as a foliar application compared to unsprayed plants (control). The interaction between K₂O at 100 kg /fad and spraying with WPH at 0.15% increased shoot dry weight/ plant, N, P, and K uptake by shoots, yield/plant, marketable yield, and total yield/fad, as well as average tuber root weight. It was concluded that the most efficient bio-stimulating foliar spray treatment for increasing sweet potato productivity was WPH (0.20%).

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) represent a promising solution for sustainable fish production, but their commercial viability is hampered by a critical barrier: adapting intelligent control systems to new fish species requires extensive, species-specific data collection and lengthy retraining periods (45–60 days). This challenge creates significant economic and operational hurdles for multi-species facilities, limiting their flexibility to adapt to market demands. This study addresses this fundamental limitation by introducing a novel framework that integrates transfer learning and federated intelligence to enable rapid, cost-effective, cross-species adaptation of deep reinforcement learning controllers. Building on our previous work with deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG), we developed a modular neural architecture with species-agnostic and species-specific components. The system was validated across five distinct RAS configurations using three commercially important species: tilapia, rainbow trout, and European sea bass. The framework achieved 87.3% of optimal performance for a new species with just 14 days of adaptation data, a dramatic improvement over traditional approaches. Furthermore, the federated learning implementation enabled continuous, privacy-preserving model improvement across multiple facilities, demonstrating a 23.5% collective performance improvement over individually trained systems. Economic analysis confirmed the framework’s commercial viability, with adaptation costs 76% lower than developing new species-specific systems and a projected return on investment of 4–14 months. This research advances adaptive intelligent systems for aquaculture, offering a scalable and economically viable approach to precision RAS management. By significantly reducing implementation barriers, this work paves the way for wider commercial adoption, supporting the sustainable intensification required to meet global protein demands.

The onion (Allium cepa L.) belongs to the family Alliaceae and has paramount importance among vegetable crops around the globe. Salinity stress and the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cepa (FOC), which is the cause of basal rot, are potentially hazardous factors related to the yield of onion crops. The present study was conducted in CRD using three replicates in in vitro conditions and in a greenhouse to investigate the impact of stress factors (salinity levels and FOC) (T₁ = Negative control; T₂ = Positive control (FOC); T₃ = EC 2.5 dS m⁻¹; T₄ = EC 3.5 dS m⁻¹; T₅ = EC 4.5 dS m⁻¹; T₆ = EC 2.5 dS m⁻¹ + FOC; T₇ = EC 3.5 dS m⁻¹ + FOC; and T₈ = EC 4.5 dS m⁻¹ + FOC) on the morphological, physiological, and yield parameters of onions. Fungal biomass, in the in vitro condition, increased at a salinity level of 2–8 dS m⁻¹. In the greenhouse, the application of salinity levels, viz. 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 dS m⁻¹, and fungal pathogens exhibited a more severe impact on the severity of the disease, onion growth, and bulb compared to sole stress. Overall, the decreased levels of osmotic potential, total chlorophyll content, membrane stability index, and total protein were assessed in onion leaves, whereas total phenolics were enhanced in the mentioned stress conditions. Sugar contents were reduced due to the sole application of pathogens, whereas they were enhanced in the sole application of salinity stress and increased due to a combination of FOC and salinity level applications. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity was not altered as a result of pathogen infection, while peroxidase (PO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) contents were enhanced, and the activity of catalase (CAT) was reduced. Sole stress along with the combined application of salinity levels with fungal pathogens exhibited enhanced PO and PPO activity; in contrast, CAT and PAL activity decreased. In summary, onion crop cultivation in saline soil conditions increases the disease’s severity, which is caused by FOC. Furthermore, it is crucial to carry out field trials while considering these outcomes in order to support a strong strategy for reducing the tested stresses within a wider range of environmental conditions.

Background: Collagen extracted from fish body parts is a promising biological material. It has an important role in many pharmaceutical, medical applications and tissue engineering such as corneal regeneration and stromal replacement. The present work investigates a new trend to extract collagen from the fish cornea, as a prospected substituent of human corneal collagen by characterizing some biochemical and optical properties of the fish corneal collagen. Results: Examination of the corneal tissue of Nile tilapia; Oreochromis niloticus was conducted using electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV–visible spectrophotometry, optical properties, and thermal properties. The fish were divided into 10 groups each of which consisted of 5 fish. 2 groups of fish were examined for each technique. Results indicated that the corneal layers of O. niloticus are thin at the center and thicker at the periphery with the stroma consisting of a triple helical structure collagen type I. The fish cornea showed very weak transmission at the UV regions (190 nm) and maximum transmission at the visible regions. The values of transmission (T), reflected light (R) and scattered light (S) were 2.685 mw, 100 × 10⁻³ mw at 45° and 40 × 10⁻³ mw, respectively. Consequently, the percentage of absorbed light is 21.76%. The denaturation temperature of the fish corneal stroma is 22.27 °C. Conclusions: The method for obtaining fish collagen affects the specific properties of collagen and consequently its further uses as a potential biomedical substituent for mammalian collagen. Specification of the fish species and tissue type is crucial in identifying the quality as well as the physical and functional properties of the extracted collagen.