Climate-driven challenges in weed management for ornamental crop production in the United States: a review

Climate change, driven by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), increasing temperatures, and shifting precipitation patterns, is profoundly impacting agricultural systems worldwide. These environmental changes significantly affect weed growth, distribution, and management, posing challenges across agronomic, horticultural, and ornamental crops. This review explores the impacts of climate change on weeds, focusing on the differential responses of C3 and C4 weed species to elevated CO2, higher temperatures, and drought stress. It also examines how these climatic factors influence weed management practices, particularly herbicide efficacy. While much research has focused on agronomic crops, ornamental crop productions remain underexplored, despite their unique challenges. Ornamental production systems often involve diverse plant species grown in confined spaces, making weed management more complex and sensitive to herbicide residues. These challenges are compounded by the adaptability and invasiveness of weeds under changing climatic conditions. The review highlights critical knowledge gaps, particularly the limited understanding of how climatic factors impact weed physiology and herbicide performance in ornamental settings. Addressing these gaps is essential to develop climate-resilient strategies for sustainable weed management across diverse agricultural systems

Efficacy of lenvatinib versus sorafenib in the primary treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta‐analysis

Abstract Background and Aim Molecular‐targeted agents such as lenvatinib and sorafenib have been approved to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the choice between these two agents in the primary treatment for advanced HCC is still under debate with conflicting results. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of lenvatinib and sorafenib in patients with HCC. Methods We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for relevant articles from inception until February 10, 2023. The primary outcome of this meta‐analysis was overall survival (OS). The secondary outcomes were progression‐free survival (PFS), time to progression, objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). Results A total of 13 studies with 3705 patients (1635 on lenvatinib and 2070 on sorafenib) were included in our analysis. The mean age of the patients in both groups was comparable (66.81 vs 65.9 years). Pooled analysis of primary outcomes showed that, compared with sorafenib, lenvatinib was associated with significantly better OS in patients treated with these drugs (HR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69–0.97, P = 0.02). Pooled analysis also showed that PFS (HR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.57–0.78, P < 0.00001) and time to progression (HR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31–0.79; P = 0.004) were significantly better in the lenvatinib group compared to the sorafenib group. It also showed that the lenvatinib group had significantly better ORR (odds ratio [OR] 5.43, 95% CI: 3.71–7.97; P < 0.00001) and DCR (OR 2.35, 95% CI: 1.75–3.16; P < 00001) than the sorafenib group. Conclusion Our study shows that lenvatinib is superior to sorafenib regarding OS and PFS in patients with advanced HCC

Efficacy of lenvatinib <i>versus </i>sorafenib in the primary treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Background and aim: Molecular-targeted agents such as lenvatinib and sorafenib have been approved to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the choice between these two agents in the primary treatment for advanced HCC is still under debate with conflicting results. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of lenvatinib and sorafenib in patients with HCC. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for relevant articles from inception until February 10, 2023. The primary outcome of this meta-analysis was overall survival (OS). The secondary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression, objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). Results: A total of 13 studies with 3705 patients (1635 on lenvatinib and 2070 on sorafenib) were included in our analysis. The mean age of the patients in both groups was comparable (66.81 vs 65.9 years). Pooled analysis of primary outcomes showed that, compared with sorafenib, lenvatinib was associated with significantly better OS in patients treated with these drugs (HR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.97, P = 0.02). Pooled analysis also showed that PFS (HR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.57-0.78, P P = 0.004) were significantly better in the lenvatinib group compared to the sorafenib group. It also showed that the lenvatinib group had significantly better ORR (odds ratio [OR] 5.43, 95% CI: 3.71-7.97; P P Conclusion: Our study shows that lenvatinib is superior to sorafenib regarding OS and PFS in patients with advanced HCC.</p

Efficacy of lenvatinib <i>versus </i>sorafenib in the primary treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Background and aim: Molecular-targeted agents such as lenvatinib and sorafenib have been approved to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the choice between these two agents in the primary treatment for advanced HCC is still under debate with conflicting results. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of lenvatinib and sorafenib in patients with HCC. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for relevant articles from inception until February 10, 2023. The primary outcome of this meta-analysis was overall survival (OS). The secondary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression, objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). Results: A total of 13 studies with 3705 patients (1635 on lenvatinib and 2070 on sorafenib) were included in our analysis. The mean age of the patients in both groups was comparable (66.81 vs 65.9 years). Pooled analysis of primary outcomes showed that, compared with sorafenib, lenvatinib was associated with significantly better OS in patients treated with these drugs (HR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.97, P = 0.02). Pooled analysis also showed that PFS (HR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.57-0.78, P P = 0.004) were significantly better in the lenvatinib group compared to the sorafenib group. It also showed that the lenvatinib group had significantly better ORR (odds ratio [OR] 5.43, 95% CI: 3.71-7.97; P P Conclusion: Our study shows that lenvatinib is superior to sorafenib regarding OS and PFS in patients with advanced HCC.</p

Highly Efficient Plastic Crystal Ionic Conductors for Solid-state Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

We have developed highly efficient, ambient temperature, solid-state ionic conductors (SSICs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by doping a molecular plastic crystal, succinonitrile (SN), with trialkyl-substituted imidazolium iodide salts. High performance SSICs with enhanced ionic conductivity (2-4 mScm(-1)) were obtained. High performance solid-state DSSCs with power conversion efficiency of 7.8% were fabricated using our SSICs combined with unique hierarchically nanostructured TiO2 sphere (TiO2-SP) photoelectrodes; these electrodes have significant macroporosity, which assists penetration of the solid electrolyte into the electrode. The performance of our solid-state DSSCs is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported thus far for cells using plastic crystal-based SSICs, and is comparable to that of the state-of-the-art DSSCs which use ionic liquid type electrolytes. This report provides a logical strategy for the development of efficient plastic crystal-based SSICs for DSSCs and other electrochemical devices