Rice husk, an agricultural waste from the rice industry, can cause serious environmental pollution if not properly managed. However, rice husk ash (RHA) has been found to have many positive properties, making it a potential replacement for non-renewable peat in soilless planting. Thus, this study investigated the impact of a RHA composite substrate on the growth, photosynthetic parameters, and fruit quality of cucumber (Yuyi longxiang variety) and melon (Yutian yangjiaomi variety). The RHA, peat, vermiculite, and perlite were blended in varying proportions, with the conventional seedling substrate (peat:vermiculite:perlite = 1:1:1 volume ratio) serving as the control (CK). All plants were cultivated in barrels filled with 10L of the mixed substrates. The results from this study found that RHA 40 (RHA:peat:vermiculite:perlite = 4:4:1:1 volume ratio) significantly enhanced substrate ventilation and positively influenced the stem diameter, root activity, seedling index, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) of cucumber and melon plants. Additionally, plant planted using RHA 40, the individual fruit weight of cucumber and melon found to increase by 34.62% and 21.67%, respectively, as compared to the control. Aside from that, both cucumber and melon fruits had significantly higher sucrose, total soluble sugar, vitamin C, and soluble protein levels. This subsequently improved the activity of sucrose synthase and sucrose phosphate synthase in both cucumber and melon. In conclusion, the RHA 40 found to best promote cucumber and melon plant growth, increase plant leaf photosynthesis, and improve cucumber and melon fruit quality, making it a suitable substrate formula for cucumber and melon cultivation in place of peat.

A previous study has shown that synthetic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from Anabas testudineus (ATMP1) could in-vitro inhibit the progression of breast cancer cell lines. In this study, we are interested in studying altered versions of previous synthetic AMPs to gain some insight into the peptides functions. The AMPs were altered and subjected to bioinformatics prediction using four databases (ADP3, CAMP-R3, AMPfun, and ANTICP) to select the highest anticancer activity. The bioinformatics in silico analysis led to the selection of two AMPs, which are ATMP5 (THPPTTTTTTTTTTTYTAAPATTT) and ATMP6 (THPPTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAPARTT). The in silico analysis predicted that ATMP5 and ATMP6 have anticancer activity and lead to cell death. The ATMP5 and ATMP6 were submitted to deep learning databases (ToxIBTL and ToxinPred2) to predict the toxicity of the peptides and to (AllerTOP & AllergenFP) check the allergenicity. The results of databases indicated that AMPs are non-toxic to normal human cells and allergic to human immunoglobulin. The bioinformatics findings led to select the highest active peptide ATMP5, which was synthesised and applied for in-vitro experiments using cytotoxicity assay MTT Assay, apoptosis detection using the Annexin V FTIC-A assay, and gene expression using Apoptosis PCR Array to evaluate the AMP’s anticancer activity. The antimicrobial activity is approved by the disc diffusion method. The in-vitro experiments analysis showed that ATMP5 had the activity to inhibit the growth of the breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) after 48 h and managed to arrest the cell cycle of the MDA-MB-231, apoptosis induction, and overexpression of the p53 by interaction with the related apoptotic genes. This research opened up new opportunities for developing potential and selective anticancer agents relying on antimicrobial peptide properties.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents a heterogeneous and multifactorial metabolic disorder, leading to diverse economic challenges and health complications, significantly affecting individuals’ lives. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) stands as the predominant form of diabetes, with its onset influenced by a range of genetic and environmental factors. Currently, conventional diabetic medications are employed in clinical practice, but they may entail certain side effects. Fortunately, diverse natural polysaccharides extracted from plants exhibit antidiabetic properties, which have been demonstrated to effectively mitigate hyperglycemia, reverse insulin resistance, and forestall complications associated with diabetes. Consequently, exploring the utilization of these polysaccharides as adjuncts to conventional therapies has emerged as a novel research direction in recent years. Thus, this review centers on the extraction, purification, and characterization of plant polysaccharides, providing an overview of the advancements in the antidiabetic effects and mechanisms of natural polysaccharides. This perspective offers fresh insights to explore potential research domains and enhances understanding for the development of diabetic drugs derived from polysaccharides.

Recurrent and prolonged heat waves during summer have significantly impacted the growth and quality of cultivated melons in China. Molybdenum (Mo), a trace element crucial for the plant’s photosynthesis process under normal planting conditions, is posited to not only improve plant stress tolerance but also enhance fruit quality and nutritional content. In this study, melon cv. ‘Japanese Sweet Treasure’ was used as the experimental material. Various concentrations of ammonium molybdate solution (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 mg·L–1) were foliar sprayed to examine their impact on the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, carbohydrate metabolism, and fruit quality of melons under high-temperature stress. The results indicated that plants sprayed with Mo exhibited enhanced plant parameters, including height, stem diameter, root volume, root activity, and physiological characteristics of melons under high-temperature stress, in comparison to the control (CK). The most significant improvements were observed in plants treated with 0.1 mg·L–1 Mo (T2). This treatment also showed higher improvement in melon net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr) and total chlorophyll relative to other treatments. It also significantly promotes carbohydrate metabolism in melon plant leaves under high-temperature stress, enhancing their antioxidant enzyme activity. Melon plants exhibit a respective increase in sucrose, soluble sugars, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) compared to the control. Melon sprayed with 0.1 mg·L–1 Mo showed significantly higher levels of vitamin C, soluble proteins, and soluble solids in fruits compared to other treatments, with a respective increase of 27.9% in individual fruit weight and 20.1% in per-plant yield compared to the CK. In conclusion, spraying 0.1 mg·L–1 Mo effectively mitigates damage caused by high-temperature stress during melon cultivation. It enhances the photosynthetic capacity of melon leaves, promotes carbohydrate metabolism in plant leaves, and thereby strengthens stress resistance. This comprehensive improvement leads to enhanced quality and yield of melon fruits.