Sustainable development in global and regional contexts has become mandatory to prevent the potential adverse effects of human activities on the environment. While agricultural activities stand as the leading source of degradation and pollution in ecosystems, climate changes are among the most important challenges facing agricultural productivity. Climate-smart agriculture involves farming methods and strategies adopted for the early diagnosis and management of climate crisis drawbacks. Changing climatic conditions affect plant health either through abiotic or biotic factors that influence diverse disease scenarios on a wide range of crops. Therefore, disease management under the concerns of climate change is considered the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture. The climate-smart pest management (CSPM) concept and its role in supporting sustainable agricultural development, particularly the effect of weather changes on phytosanitary issues, are reviewed in this article. Problems in implementation and difficulties in decision-making are among the main challenges facing CSPM, which still has both technological and coordination shortcomings to overcome. Intensifying collaborative activities in scientific and technological research, risk assessment, and surveillance may enhance the current efficiency of CSPM in terms of preserving the sustainable development of agricultural systems. More efforts for capacity building are also needed in developing countries to promote the implementation and adoption of CSPM.

Climate change, soil degradation, and the disruption of global nutrient cycles are placing unprecedented pressure on agricultural systems and global food security. These challenges are increasingly recognized as central concerns for planetary health, as agriculture simultaneously depends upon and alters critical Earth system processes. Microbe-based agricultural inputs (including biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biocontrol agents) have been widely promoted as climate-smart solutions capable of enhancing productivity, resilience, and environmental sustainability. However, despite rapid scientific and commercial advances, their performance in the field remains highly variable and strongly context-dependent. This review critically examines the evidence base underpinning climate-smart microbial solutions, with a particular focus on their capacity to confer climate resilience across diverse crops, soils, and climatic conditions. We synthesize current knowledge on the functional roles of beneficial microorganisms, including extremophilic and stress-adapted taxa, while highlighting key biological, technological, ecological, and socio-economic constraints that limit predictability and scalability. Special attention is given to evidence gaps related to long-term field performance, ecosystem-level impacts, and the trade-offs associated with widespread microbial deployment. We further assess recent innovations such as synthetic microbial consortia, microbiome engineering, advanced formulations, and data-driven decision tools. Then we highlight how these new technologies may address context dependency but still need validation under real-world conditions. Finally, we discuss policy, regulatory, and capacity-building considerations required to responsibly integrate microbial solutions into climate-smart agriculture frameworks. Overall, this review argues that microbial inoculants should be viewed not as universal inputs but as context-specific tools whose successful deployment depends on robust evidence, ecological sensitivity, and system-level integration. Advancing microbial solutions for agriculture will therefore require aligning technological innovation with broader planetary health objectives, ensuring that efforts to enhance agricultural productivity also support long-term ecosystem stability and resilience.

Mesenchymal stem cells are one of the promising tissue specific stem cell source for neural tissue regeneration applications. Previous studies on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) derived neurons have been limited and not statisfactory in terms of neuronal activity. In this study, we analysed the functionality of bone marrow hMSCs differentiated into neural protein expressing cells by a single step cytokine based induction protocol. Neurons from both primary hMSCs and hMSC cell line displayed spontaneous activity (≥75%) as demonstrated by Ca⁺⁺imaging. Furthermore, when electrically stimulated, hMSC induced neurons (hMd-Neuron) matched the response of a typical neuron in the process of maturation. Our results reveal that enriched neurothrophic factors enhance differentiation capacity of bone marrow hMSCs into high yielding functional neurons with spontaneous activity and mature into electrophysiologically active state. hMd-Neurons have the potential to be used as a tool for disease modelling of neuropathologies and neural differentiation studies.

Purpose: Hydrogels are three-dimensional, crosslinked polymeric systems with high hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, making them ideal materials for wound healing applications. In this study, a silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-loaded chitosan–poly (vinyl alcohol) (CS–PVA) hydrogel was developed using a novel, simple, and cost-effective approach. In this approach, sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) simultaneously acts as a reducing agent for AgNP synthesis and as a physical crosslinking agent for hydrogel formation. Methods: AgNPs were synthesized via NaBH₄-mediated reduction and characterized by dynamic light scattering and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The resulting hydrogels were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS) spectroscopy, swelling, porosity and mechanical test. In vitro biocompatibility and wound healing potential were assessed using cell viability assays and a scratch wound assay. Results: Among all formulations, M30, an AgNP-loaded CS–PVA hydrogel, prepared with medium molecular weight (MMW) chitosan and 30 mL of AgNP suspension, had the best overall performance with the highest swelling degree, favorable mechanical performance. It maintained cell viability above 80% at 24 and 48 h, and showed the greatest wound closure rate, even at low AgNP concentration. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that AgNP-loaded CS–PVA hydrogels prepared using NaBH₄ as a dual-function agent exhibit promising biocompatibility and wound healing potential even at low AgNP content. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the dual functionality of NaBH₄ in a single-step approach as both a reducing and physical crosslinking agent, providing a simple and promising strategy for the development of next-generation wound dressing materials without need for additional chemical crosslinkers.