Artificial Intelligence : Implications for the Agri-Food Sector

Artificial intelligence (AI) involves the development of algorithms and computational models that enable machines to process and analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns and relationships, and make predictions or decisions based on that analysis. AI has become increasingly pervasive across a wide range of industries and sectors, with healthcare, finance, transportation, manufacturing, retail, education, and agriculture are a few examples to mention. As AI technology continues to advance, it is expected to have an even greater impact on industries in the future. For instance, AI is being increasingly used in the agri-food sector to improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. It has the potential to revolutionize the agri-food sector in several ways, including but not limited to precision agriculture, crop monitoring, predictive analytics, supply chain optimization, food processing, quality control, personalized nutrition, and food safety. This review emphasizes how recent developments in AI technology have transformed the agri-food sector by improving efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing food safety and quality, providing particular examples. Furthermore, the challenges, limitations, and future prospects of AI in the field of food and agriculture are summarized

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Colossal figure of merit and compelling HER catalytic activity of holey graphyne

Abstract Herein, we have conducted a comprehensive study to uncover the thermal transport properties and hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic activity of recently synthesized holey graphyne. Our findings disclose that holey graphyne has a direct bandgap of 1.00 eV using the HSE06 exchange–correlation functional. The absence of imaginary phonon frequencies in the phonon dispersion ensures its dynamic stability. The formation energy of holey graphyne turns out to be − 8.46 eV/atom, comparable to graphene (− 9.22 eV/atom) and h-BN (− 8.80 eV/atom). At 300 K, the Seebeck coefficient is as high as 700 μV/K at a carrier concentration of 1 × 1010 cm-2. The predicted room temperature lattice thermal conductivity (κl) of 29.3 W/mK is substantially lower than graphene (3000 W/mK) and fourfold smaller than C3N (128 W/mK). At around 335 nm thickness, the room temperature κl suppresses by 25%. The calculated p-type figure of merit (ZT) reaches a maximum of 1.50 at 300 K, higher than that of holey graphene (ZT = 1.13), γ-graphyne (ZT = 0.48), and pristine graphene (ZT = 0.55 × 10–3). It further scales up to 3.36 at 600 K. Such colossal ZT values make holey graphyne an appealing p-type thermoelectric material. Besides that, holey graphyne is a potential HER catalyst with a low overpotential of 0.20 eV, which further reduces to 0.03 eV at 2% compressive strain

Colossal figure of merit and compelling HER catalytic activity of holey graphyne.

Acknowledgements: N.S acknowledges the financial support from Khalifa University of Science and Technology under the Emerging Science & Innovation Grant ESIG-2023-004. The authors also acknowledge the contribution of Khalifa University’s high-performance computing and research computing facilities to the results of this research.Herein, we have conducted a comprehensive study to uncover the thermal transport properties and hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic activity of recently synthesized holey graphyne. Our findings disclose that holey graphyne has a direct bandgap of 1.00 eV using the HSE06 exchange-correlation functional. The absence of imaginary phonon frequencies in the phonon dispersion ensures its dynamic stability. The formation energy of holey graphyne turns out to be - 8.46 eV/atom, comparable to graphene (- 9.22 eV/atom) and h-BN (- 8.80 eV/atom). At 300 K, the Seebeck coefficient is as high as 700 μV/K at a carrier concentration of 1 × 1010 cm-2. The predicted room temperature lattice thermal conductivity (κl) of 29.3 W/mK is substantially lower than graphene (3000 W/mK) and fourfold smaller than C3N (128 W/mK). At around 335 nm thickness, the room temperature κl suppresses by 25%. The calculated p-type figure of merit (ZT) reaches a maximum of 1.50 at 300 K, higher than that of holey graphene (ZT = 1.13), γ-graphyne (ZT = 0.48), and pristine graphene (ZT = 0.55 × 10-3). It further scales up to 3.36 at 600 K. Such colossal ZT values make holey graphyne an appealing p-type thermoelectric material. Besides that, holey graphyne is a potential HER catalyst with a low overpotential of 0.20 eV, which further reduces to 0.03 eV at 2% compressive strain

Distribution of Vibrio cholerae O1 antigen biosynthesis genes among O139 and other non-O1 serogroups of Vibrio cholerae

The organization and distribution of the genes responsible for O antigen biosynthesis in various serogroups of Vibrio cholerae were investigated using several DNA probes derived from various regions of the genes responsible for O1 antigen biosynthesis. Based on the reactivity pattern of the probes against the various serogroups, the cluster of genes responsible for the O1 antigen biosynthesis could be broadly divided into six groups, designated as class 1-6. The class 3 cluster of genes corresponding to gmd to wbeO, wbeT and a part of wbeU was specific for only the O1 serogroup. The other cluster of genes (class 1, 2, 4-6) reacted with other serogroups of V. cholerae. These data indicate that serotype conversion in V. cholerae does not depend on a simple mutational event but may involve horizontal gene transfer not only between V. cholerae strains but also between V. cholerae and species other than V. cholerae

Nationwide prevalence of the new epidemic strain of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal in India

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Workforce problems at rural public health-centres in India: a WISN retrospective analysis and national-level modelling study

Background: Rural India has a severe shortage of human resources for health (HRH). The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) deploys HRH in the rural public health system to tackle shortages. Sanctioning under NRHM does not account for workload resulting in inadequate and inequitable HRH allocation. The Workforce Indicators of Staffing Needs (WISN) approach can identify shortages and inform appropriate sanctioning norms. India currently lacks nationally relevant WISN estimates. We used existing data and modelling techniques to synthesize such estimates. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of existing survey data for 93 facilities from 5 states over 8 years to create WISN calculations for HRH cadres at primary and community health centres (PHCs and CHCs) in rural areas. We modelled nationally representative average WISN-based requirements for specialist doctors at CHCs, general doctors and nurses at PHCs and CHCs. For 2019, we calculated national and state-level overall and per-centre WISN differences and ratios to depict shortage and workload pressure. We checked correlations between WISN ratios for cadres at a given centre-type to assess joint workload pressure. We evaluated the gaps between WISN-based requirements and sanctioned posts to investigate suboptimal sanctioning through concordance analysis and difference comparisons. Results: In 2019, at the national-level, WISN differences depicted workforce shortages for all considered HRH cadres. WISN ratios showed that nurses at PHCs and CHCs, and all specialist doctors at CHCs had very high workload pressure. States with more workload on PHC-doctors also had more workload on PHC-nurses depicting an augmenting or compounding effect on workload pressure across cadres. A similar result was seen for CHC-specialist pairs—physicians and surgeons, physicians and paediatricians, and paediatricians and obstetricians–gynaecologists. We found poor concordance between current sanctioning norms and WISN-based requirements with all cadres facing under-sanctioning. We also present across-state variations in workforce problems, workload pressure and sanctioning problems. Conclusion: We demonstrate the use of WISN calculations based on available data and modelling techniques for national-level estimation. Our findings suggest prioritising nurses and specialists in the rural public health system and updating the existing sanctioning norms based on workload assessments. Workload-based rural HRH deployment can ensure adequate availability and optimal distribution.BN/Marileen Dogterom La

Distribution of the zot (zonula occludens toxin) gene among strains of Vibrio cholerae 01 and non-01

The distribution of the zot gene that encodes the zonula occludens toxin, a newly described toxin of Vibrio cholerae, among clinical, environmental and food isolates of V. cholerae 01 and non-01 was investigated. Both the zot gene and the ctx gene that encode cholera toxin were found in 247 of 257 clinical strains and 62 of 415 environmental or food isolates of V. cholerae 01. The zot gene, but not the ctx gene was found in 37 strains (one clinical strain and 36 environmental or food isolates). In addition, two of 31 clinical strains and six of 98 environmental or food isolates of V. cholerae non-01 possessed both the zot gene and the ctx gene. These results demonstrated the predominantly concurrent occurrence of the zot gene and ctx genes among strains of V. cholerae 01 which suggests a possible synergistic role of ZOT in the causation of acute dehydrating diarrhea produced by V. cholerae 01

Production and cross-reactivity patterns of a panel of high affinity monoclonal antibodies to Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal

A series of monoclonal antibodies of different isotypes specific for Vibrio cholerae O139, the new pandemic strain of cholera, was produced. These mAbs reacted only with the reference strain (MO45) representing serovar O139 but did not react with any of the other reference strains representing serovars O1 to O140. Significantly, the mAbs did not agglutinate the R-cultures of V. cholerae (CA385, 20-93) which demonstrated the exceptional specificity of these mAbs and indicated that the mAbs recognized antigenic determinants unique for the O139 serovar. There was heterogeneity in the intensity of reactivity of the mAbs with strains of V. cholerae O139 isolated from diverse sources. Apart from 4H6, the other mAbs agglutinated all the O139 strains examined. 2D12 and 2F8 were the best mAbs based on the intensity of agglutination with all the O139 strains. Evaluation of 3A10 in comparison with a polyclonal anti-O139 antibody raised in rabbit using the slide agglutination format revealed that 3A10 fared as well as the polyclonal antibody for the laboratory identification of the O139 serovar. The acquisition of these mAbs provide reagents which would be very useful in the development of simple immunodiagnostic assays for the diagnosis of V. cholerae O139 infections