
The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences—10th Anniversary of Journal Plants
Part of the International Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences series
1–15 Dec 2021
Plant Physiology and Ecophysiology, Plant Genetics, Plants Ecology and Biogeography, Plant Systematics, Phytopathology, Plant Biotechnology
- Go to the Sessions
- Event Details
All participants of IECPS2021 are welcome to submit the extended work to the Plants Special Issue "Selected Papers from the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences".
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Best Paper Award and Best Presentation Award:
Best Paper Award:
“Cachrys ferulacea (L.) Calest. Extracts as Natural Photosensitizers: An In Vitro Photobiological Study”
by Mariangela Marrelli et al.
Best Presentation Award:
by Reza Ramdan Rivai et al.
Welcome from the Chair
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the second electronic Conference on Plant Sciences (IECPS2021). This electronic conference will be held online at sciforum.net, a platform developed and maintained by MDPI for hosting conferences. It allows scientists from all over the world to present their latest research in Plant Sciences, receive direct feedback, and engage in discussions with the wider scientific community.
From a human perspective, plants are sessile, blind, and deaf living organisms, and may look solitary like individuals. Often we forget that life on Earth depends almost entirely on these complex organisms. Starting from this statement, IECPS2021 will deepen plant research at all levels, from the molecular through to the whole plant and community scale, also including bioinformatics and modeling approaches. This year, we will particularly highlight the importance of contributions to current topics, such as plant–plant communication, protection of plant biodiversity, and plants in urban environments. For this purpose, we have planned six focused sessions:
- Plant Physiology, Signalling and Communication
- Plant Ecology, Biodiversity and Developmental Biology
- Plant Response to Stresses and Changing Environment
- Phytochemistry and Phytoremediation, Plants in Urban Ecosystems
- Plant Nutrition and Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interactions
IECPS2021 will be an online-only proceeding, which allows participation from all over the world with no requirement for travel or related expenditures. An electronic conference provides a platform for rapid and direct exchanges about the latest research findings and novel ideas. Attending and participating in this online conference is free of charge. The accepted proceedings papers will probably be published in IECPS2021 MDPI Proceedings (Biology and Life Sciences Forum journal), and selected papers will be considered for publication in a Special Issue of Plants (MDPI), a high visibility open access journal, with a 200 CHF discount on the APC.
We are committed to equality and inclusion principles. Therefore, we ask authors to ensure that the papers and presentations are highly accessible to the wider and more diverse scientific community. We encourage submissions from scientists at all career stages and from all backgrounds, and aim for an equal gender balance.
We are looking forward to receiving your contributions to this scientific event and would like to thank you in advance for your active support.
Sincerely,
Prof. Dr. Adriano Sofo
Conference Secretariat
Mr. Leo Zou
Ms. Stefanie Li
email: [email protected]
Call for Submissions
The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences—10th Anniversary of Journal Plants will be held online from 1 to 15 December 2021. This event enables the researchers of plant science to present their research and exchange ideas with their colleagues without the need to travel. All proceedings will be published on the conference homepage in an open access format.
Through this event, we aim to cover the following topics:
- Plant Physiology, Signalling and Communication;
- Plant Ecology, Biodiversity and Developmental Biology;
- Plant Response to Stresses and Changing Environment;
- Phytochemistry and Phytoremediation, Plants in Urban Ecosystems;
- Plant Nutrition and Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interactions.
The conference will be completely free of charge—both to attend and for scholars to upload and present their latest work on the conference platform. The accepted proceedings papers will probably be published as one dedicated volume in the MDPI Biology and Life Sciences Forum journal. Publication of proceedings paper is free of charge. There will also be the possibility to submit selected papers to the Special Issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747; CODEN: PLANCD; Impact Factor: 3.935 (JCR 2020)) with a 200 CHF discount on the APC.
IECPS2021 offers you the opportunity to participate in this international, scholarly conference without having the concern or expenditure of travel—all you need is your computer and access to the Internet. We would like to invite you to “attend” this conference and present your latest work.
Abstracts (in English) should be submitted by 8 September 2021 8 October 2021 online at https://sciforum.net/user/submission/create/502. For accepted abstracts, conference proceedings papers can be submitted by 20 October 2021 2 November 2021. The conference proceedings papers and presentations will be available on Sciforum for discussion during the time of the conference (1–15 December 2021).
We hope you will be able to join this exciting event and support us in making it a success. The conference is organized and sponsored by MDPI, a scholarly open access publisher based in Basel, Switzerland.
Paper Submission Guidelines
For information about the submission procedure and the preparation of a full presentation, please refer to the "Instructions for Authors".
Event Chairs

Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures: Architecture, Environment, Cultural Heritage (DiCEM), The University of Basilicata, Matera, Italy
Event Committee

Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy

Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (CHIBIOFARAM), University of Messina, Messina, Italy

Natural Product Research Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
Cachrys ferulacea (L.) Calest. extracts as natural photosensitizers: an in vitro photobiological study

Instituto de Agrobiotecnología (IdAB), CSIC-Gobierno de Navarra, Mutilva, Spain

Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

Natural Products Research Laboratory, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy

Laboratory EBI (Ecology and Biology of Interactions), University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France

Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy

1. Earth Sciences Department (DCT), School of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
2. Unit of GeoBioSciences, GeoTechnologies and GeoEngineering (GeoBioTec), School of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel

Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, Univerisity of Padova, Padova, Italy

Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

ENEA, Trisaia Research Centre, Rotondella (MT), Italy

Institute of Natural Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, Brazil

School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy,
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
Invited Speakers

Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Electronics for Autonomous Control of Plant Growth Environments

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
Dr. Mariangela Marrelli completed a Joint-PhD in “Biochemistry and Pathology of Drug Action” and in Chemistry at the University of Salerno (Italy) and at the University Paris Descartes (France). She obtained a further PhD in “Environment, Health and Eco-Sustainable Processes” at the University of Calabria (Italy). Her research activity is focused on medicinal plants, phytochemical analysis and the evaluation of biological activities of natural products and the potential health benefits for human health. Dr. Marrelli is author of 68 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 58 contributions to national and international congresses. She serves as Section Board Member for Plants and Review Board Editor for South African Journal of Botany.
Medicinal plants, Natural bioactive compounds, Plant extracts, Essential oils, Nutraceuticals, Antioxidant activity, Antiproliferative activity, Anti-inflammatory properties; Photocytotoxic compounds

Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel

Chemical composition and multitarget biolgical effects of Capsicum annuum L. cv. senise
Luigi Milella carries out research focused on the study of the chemical structure and biological activity of natural compounds coming from different sources, either foods or medicinal plant species. The research topics are mainly directed for the nutraceutical valorization of food bioactive molecules and also new drug lead compounds effective vs. cholinesterases for their possible use in neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. He carries also out studies on medicinal plants used in folk medicine of European, Latin American, African and Asian countries to isolate and characterize secondary metabolites with demonstrated biological activity. Luigi Milella has been visiting professor at different European and American Universities.
secondary metabolite isolation; structural determination; oxidative stress; nutraceuticals; bioactive molecules; cholinesterase inhibitory activity; Alzheimer’s disease; cytotoxic effects

Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina

Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

Laboratory EBI (Ecology and Biology of Interactions), University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France
beneficial plant -microbe interactions
my research interests are focused on the role and regulation of sugar transport in plant-microorganism interactions, especially those involving Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), and their beneficial effects on plant growth and abiotic stress tolerance.
Beneficial plant-microorganism interactions; Plant primary metabolism and sugar transport; Water stress; Oxidative stress.

Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Diversity of Xanthomonas perforans on tomato in a worldwide population.
molecular genetics and genomics of bacterial pathogens, particularly Xanthomonads; biotechnology of disease resistance in tomato and pepper
Live Session Program
Date: 6 December 2021 & 8 December 2021 & 13 December 2021
Attendance to this Live Session is FREE. However, registration will be necessary, as the number of participants is limited. Click the below button to Register.
6 December 2021 Time: 10:00am (CET) | 04:00am (EST) | 05:00pm (CST Asia) |
||
Speaker |
Presentation Topic |
Time (CET) |
Event Chair Prof. Dr. Adriano Sofo |
Opening Introductory |
10:00am–10:10am |
Prof. Dr. Hazem Kalaji |
Communication with Plants Using Chlorophyll Fluorescence Signals |
10:10am–10:30am |
Dr. Ludovica Lela |
To make the best the bitter: health-promoting phytochemicals from Humulus lupulus L. as oxidative stress remedy |
10:30am-10:50am |
|
Discussion and Q&A session |
10:50am-11:00am |
8 December 2021 Time: 10:00am (CET) | 04:00am (EST) | 05:00pm (CST Asia) |
||
Speaker |
Presentation Topic |
Time (CET) |
Session Chair Dr. Iker Aranjuelo Michelena |
Opening Introductory |
10:00am–10:10am |
Prof. Dr. Cécile Vriet |
Unraveling the Importance of Sugar Transport in Plant-Rhizobacteria Interactions |
10:10am–10:30am |
Dr. Aviv Dombrovsky |
Plant Disease Symptomatology: CGMMV-Infected Cucumber Plants Exposed to Fluctuating Extreme Temperatures |
10:30am-10:50am |
Prof. Dr. Diego F. Gomez-Casati |
Fe-S Cluster Assembly and Micronutrient Metabolism in Plants |
10:50am-11:10am |
|
Discussion and Q&A session |
11:10am-11:20am |
13 December 2021 Time: 10:00am (CET) | 04:00am (EST) | 05:00pm (CST Asia) |
||
Speaker |
Presentation Topic |
Time (CET) |
Session Chair Dr. Iker Aranjuelo Michelena |
Opening Introductory |
10:00am–10:10am |
Prof. Dr. Davide Barreca |
Evaluation of Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activity of Quercetin and its Main Metabolites |
10:10am–10:30am |
Prof. Dr. Barbara Sgorbini |
Adulteration of Essential Oils: A Multitask Issue for Quality Control |
10:30am-10:50am |
|
Discussion and Q&A session |
10:50am-11:10am |
Dr. Iker Aranjuelo Michelena |
Closing |
11:10am-11:20am |
Live Session Recordings

List of accepted submissions (104)
Id | Title | Authors | Presentation Video | Presentation Pdf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
sciforum-053029 | Never-Ending Battle between Defense Metabolites of Indian Oilseed Mustard and the Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogen |
,
Pawan Kumar ,
Naveen Bisht
|
N/A |
![]() |
Show Abstract |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oilseed Brassicas stand first in the edible oil production of India1 however, are under constant threats from environmental challenges like the white mold disease caused by the necrotrophic phytopathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum2. Indeed, in case of oilseed mustard Brassica juncea, a dominant oilseed crop of the Indian subcontinent, white mold has become a major limiting factor both during pre and the post-harvest stages with >92% yield losses reported3. Brassica species produce a group of unique defense metabolites called glucosinolates, which along with their hydrolysis products are reported for toxicity against Sclerotinia both under in-vitro and in-vivo conditions4,5. Nevertheless, pathogens like Sclerotinia, are able to infect, colonize and cause significant yield losses on glucosinolate producing plants. In this context, we initially assessed the disease dynamics of S. sclerotiorum-B. juncea pathosystem at different time points and analyzed changes in the in-planta levels of different glucosinolates (C3, C4 and C5 fractions) during Sclerotinia infection. Our results suggest that, Sclerotinia infection activates the glucosinolate-myrosinase system by modulating changes in total and component glucosinolates of B. juncea plants throughout the time course of infection. We also assessed the toxicity of allyl-ITC (degradation product of sinigrin, an abundant glucosinolate in B. juncea cultivars) on the growth of Sclerotinia in-vitro and observed that this C3-aliphatic glucosinolate derived product, has proven to be one of the most toxic to Sclerotinia. In addition, we performed HPLC analysis to determine the glucosinolate content and types across 250 diverse germplasm accessions of B. juncea that span a range of variation in the glucosinolate metabolite trait, which shall be useful for identification of resistance to Sclerotinia in the mustard crop. Overall, this research work will be useful to understand the disease mechanism and enable selective manipulation of defense metabolites to prevent white mold disease losses in polyploid crop species. REFERENCES:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
sciforum-051271 | Sea Fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.): A Promising Biosaline Crop. Extraction, Purification and Chemical Characterization of Polar Extracts | , , , , , , |
![]() |
![]() |
Show Abstract |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crithmum maritimum known with several popular names as finocchio marino, critmo, cretamo, spaccasassi, bacicci, basiggia, erba di San Pietro and salissia, is a perennial halophyte, thrives on coastal cliffs and sometimes in sandy beaches along the Mediterranean, Pacific and Atlantic coasts. [1] Zenobi S, Fiorentini M, Zitti S, Aquilanti L, Foligni R, Mannozzi C, Mozzon M and Orsini R. Crithmum maritimum L.: First Results on Phenological Development and Biomass Production in Mediterranean Areas. Agronomy. 2021 April. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
sciforum-052339 |
α-Amylase Inhibitory Secondary Metabolites from Artemisia pallens Wall ex DC – Biochemical and Docking Studies |
, | N/A |
![]() |
Show Abstract |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Diabetes Mellitus Type-2 (DM-2) has become a challenging disease worldwide as many young adults are also getting affected by it due sedentary lifestyle and wrong diets. Multiple studies have shown that control over α-amylase enzyme in gut could be a better approach to treat DM-2. The secondary metabolites produced by the plants have various biological properties and many are used as drugs. In the current study, we isolated secondary metabolites from acetone leaf extracts of Artemisia pallens Wall ex DC (Family: Asteraceae) and tested them for their porcine pancreatic α-amylase (PPA) inhibitory activity in vitro and in silico. This extract exhibited good PPA inhibition, with IC50 value of 388.05 µg/ml. The IC50 value of Acarbose (a known pancreatic α-amylase inhibitor drug / positive control) was 9.71 µg/ml. Various secondary metabolites detected from acetone leaf extract by LC-MS analysis, were used for the molecular docking studies using AutoDock 4.2.6. The co-crystallised structure of PPA and Acarbose was retrieved from Protein Data Bank (PDB ID: 1OSE). The binding energies of few metabolites were (kcal/mol): Isoquercetin (-11.57), Cryptochlorogenic Acid (-11.17), Cirsilineol (-10.24), Kaempferide (-9.99), Fustin (-9.86), 6- Demetroxycapillarisin (-9.82), Piperine (-9.45), Ergometrine (-9.43), Apigenin (-9.38) & Artemisinin (-9.27). Acarbose had a binding energy of -17.58 kcal/mol. All the metabolites looked highly promising as α-amylase inhibitors and most of them interacted with PPA via hydrogen bonding with crucial amino acid residues: ASP197, ASP300 & GLU233. Thus the acetone extract of A. pallens leaves can potentially inhibit PPA (strong amino acid sequence similarity with human pancreatic α-amylase) and hence extrapolation of these inhibitory results could be valid for human pancreatic α-amylase as well. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
sciforum-052320 | Rapid Assessment of Protein Structural Changes from Frost Damage: A Proof-of-Concept Study Using Pittosporum spinescens (Apiales) | N/A | N/A |
Show Abstract |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frost damage remains an important driver of floral ecological dynamics in certain areas of the Australian landscape. However, responses of native Australian species to frost damage remain largely understudied. Here, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, conducted on intact leaves, was used to monitor changes in the protein secondary structures of Pittosporum spinescens upon exposure to below-zero temperatures. The dominant secondary structures present in fresh leaves were the inter-molecular aggregates (40 %), α-helices (20 %), β-sheets (15 %) and random coil structures (14 %). During simulated severe frost (-18 °C), a reduction in α-helices and increase in the amount of inter-molecular structures were observed, followed by transmutation of the latter into anti-parallel β-sheets or another form of inter-molecular structures. After 6 hours, the dominant protein secondary structures were anti-parallel β-sheets and inter-molecular aggregates (ca. 64 % and 17 %, respectively), with only small amounts of α-helices (4 %), β-sheets (9 %) and random coil structures (5 %) present. Overall, this indicates a reduction in the organisation level of protein secondary structures, resulting in a probable loss of function and considerable damage to the functional activity of any proteins in the leaves. The technique of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy should be considered by future researchers interested in investigating responses to frost damage in other species, particularly at an ecological level. Portable FTIR instrumentation would greatly expand the potential range of applications. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
sciforum-052807 | How to Improve Already Improved Cowpea—Terminal Drought | , , , , , , | N/A | N/A |
Show Abstract |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a heat and drought resistant legume which thrives in poor and marginal soils, also due to its symbiosis with nitrogen fixing bacteria. Its high protein content suggests this crop fits perfectly with the three dimensions of sustainable development; social, economic and environmental issues. Extensive use of commercial varieties causes genetic variability loss, compromising breeding efforts in a context of climate changes. To contribute to the evaluation of Portuguese cowpea germplasm, several landraces were compared with a commercial variety (CV) in terms of productivity and physiological responses to drought. Potted plants were grown in a semi-controlled environment and well irrigated during the vegetative growth. Water stress was induced during the reproductive phase in half of the plants. Physiological measurements were conducted during stress. At the end of the cycle pods and seeds were counted and weighted. Despite a clear effect of stress in photosynthesis, there were no differences between the CV and landraces. However, under drought higher relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), was kept for a longer time in CV. Both the CV and landraces showed a marked decrease in productivity (60 - 70%) under stress. The induced drought had no impact on grains weight. As expected, the CV produced bigger and heavier seeds, eventually more appealing to consumers. Results suggest that CV and the studied landraces present a similar behaviour, reflecting the species adaptation to Mediterranean climate. Molecular characterization of genetic diversity is on course using microsatellites. |
Session Chairs

Prof. Dr. Feibo Wu
Institute of Crop Science, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Prof. Dr. Carmen Arena
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

Professor Fulai Liu
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Taastrup, Denmark

Dr. Iker Aranjuelo Michelena
Instituto de Agrobiotecnología (IdAB), CSIC-Gobierno de Navarra, Mutilva, Spain

Professor Suresh Awale
Section of Natural Products & Drug Discovery, Division of Medicinal Resources, Department of Research and Development, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan

Dr. Giedrė Samuolienė
Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Babtai, Lithuania

Prof. Dr. Dimitris L. Bouranis
Plant Physiology Laboratory, Crop Science Department, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Live Sessions Information
During the duration of the conference, a number of live online sessions will be programmed. The live streaming platform we are using is Zoom. During each session, the participants will have the possibility to ask questions during a Q&A session. Detailed information about the topics and dates will be shared soon.
The live sessions are free for authors. The authors who submit submissions to IECPS2021 will have priority for the registration(with no extra cost) to the live online sessions with our invited speakers. If it is not completely full, the registration will be open for unregistered participants. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
The number of participants to the live session is limited but the recordings will be made available on Sciforum shortly afterwards.
Instructions for Authors
Submission should be completed online by authors by registering with https://sciforum.net/ and using the “Start New Submission” function once logged into the system.
- Scholars interested in participating in the conference can submit their abstract (about 200–250 words) online at this website until 8 September 2021 8 October 2021.
- Based on the submitted abstract, the Conference Committee will conduct a pre-evaluation of whether a contribution from the authors of the abstract will be welcome for the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences—10th Anniversary of Journal Plants. All authors will be notified by 22 September 2021 15 October 2021 about the acceptance of their abstract.
- If the abstract is accepted for this conference, the author will be invited to prepare a full description of their work (max. 6 pages), optionally accompanied by a Poster/PowerPoint/Video Presentation (max. 5 minutes), for the submission deadline of 20 October 2021 2 November 2021.
- The conference proceedings papers and presentations will be available for discussion on https://iecps2021.sciforum.net/ during the time of the conference 1–15 December 2021.
- The accepted proceedings papers will probably be published as one dedicated volume in the MDPI Biology and Life Sciences Forum journal. Publication of proceedings paper is free of charge.
Note: Before publication, Biology and Life Sciences Forum journal will review accepted papers using the powerful text comparison tool: iThenticate. This procedure aims to prevent scholarly and professional plagiarism.
Submissions with a high repetition rate and lack of novelty will not be published in the conference proceedings. - The open access journal Plants will publish a conference Special Issue. After the conference, the authors will be encouraged to submit a full manuscript to the dedicated Special Issue by which they will receive a 200 CHF discount on the Article Processing Charge.
Note: The submission to the journal is independent of the conference proceedings and will follow the usual process of the journal, including peer-review, APC, etc.
Proceedings papers
Proceedings papers must be prepared in MS Word using the Proceedings template (see below) and should be converted to PDF format before submission. The manuscript should count at least 3 pages (incl. figures, tables and references) and should not exceed 6 pages. Carefully read the rules outlined in the 'Instructions for Authors' on the journal website and ensure that your manuscript submission adheres to these guidelines.
Manuscripts for the proceedings issue must be organized as follows:
- Title;
- Full author names;
- Affiliations (including full postal address) and authors' e-mail addresses;
- Abstract;
- Keywords;
- Introduction;
- Methods;
- Results and Discussion;
- Conclusions;
- (Acknowledgements);
- References.
Presentation Slides
Authors are encouraged to prepare a presentation in PowerPoint or similar software, to be displayed online along with the manuscript. Slides can be prepared the same way as for any traditional conference. They should be converted to PDF format before submission.
The following organization is recommended for your presentation:
- Length of the presentation: no more than 30 slides;
- Slide 1 (strictly one slide): title, authors’ names, affiliation(s), email addresses of the corresponding authors, and logos of the laboratory and/or institution (not mandatory);
- Slide 2 (strictly one slide): Graphical Abstract, repeat the title of the presentation but avoid other text as much as possible;
- Slide 3 (strictly one slide): Abstract (max. 250 words) and 3–5 keywords separated by semicolons;
- Slide 4 and following slides: should contain Introduction, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions in this sequence;
- Last slide: Acknowledgments, and logos of sponsors (not mandatory).
Posters
Posters will be available online on the conference website during and after the event. Participants will be able to ask questions and make comments about the posters.
Video Presentations
Authors are also encouraged to submit video presentations. This is a unique way of presenting your paper and discussing it with peers from all over the world. Video should be no longer than 5 minutes and prepared with one of the following formats: .mp4 /.webm /.ogg (max size: 250Mb). It should be submitted with the full manuscript before 20 October 2021 2 November 2021.
Tips for authors: If you would like to prepare a video based on your PowerPoint presentation, you may use the "record slide" function in the PowerPoint.
Potential Conflicts of InterestAll authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. This should be conveyed in a separate "Conflict of Interest" statement preceding the "Acknowledgments" and "References" sections at the end of the manuscript. If there is no conflict, please state "The authors declare no conflict of interest." Financial support for the study must be fully disclosed under the "Acknowledgments" section.
Copyright
MDPI, the publisher of the Sciforum.net platform, is an open access publisher. We believe that authors should retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Hence, by submitting a communication paper to this conference, you retain the copyright of your paper, but you grant MDPI the non-exclusive right to publish this paper online on the Sciforum.net platform. This means you can easily submit your paper to any scientific journal at a later stage and transfer the copyright to its publisher (if required by that publisher).
Event Awards
To acknowledge the support of the conference’s esteemed authors and recognize their outstanding scientific accomplishments, we are pleased to announce that the conference will provide one Best Paper Award and one Best Presentation Award.
Best Paper Award
Plants would like to grant an award (500 Swiss Francs) for the best paper as elected by the conference committee.
Terms and Conditions:
- Proceedings paper (3–6 pages) must be submitted to IECPS2021;
- Originality/Novelty of the paper;
- Significance of Content;
- Scientific Soundness;
- Interest to the readers;
- English language and style.
Best Presentation Award
Plants would like to grant an award (500 Swiss Francs) for the best presentation at the conference as determined by a jury.
Presentations should have the following information:
- Title (with authors and affiliations)
- Introduction/Objectives/Aims
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Contact information
Poster/Video Presentations will be considered for this award. During the conference, the chair and committee members will be invited to judge the quality of the Poster/Video Presentations. Presentations will be judged on 1) how well they are able to summarize the described work and capture the interest of viewers; 2) the visual aspect of the presentation and how it contributes to effective and clear communication of the contents.