Search

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is widely recognized as one of the most important plant viruses, causing significant agricultural losses in terms of both quality and yield worldwide each year. This study demonstrated the biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) using orange peel extract for effective control of TMV infection both in vitro and in vivo. After treatment with CuONPs (100 mg/L) for 2 h, TMV particles exhibited evident fragmentation in vitro, reducing infectivity on tobacco plants. Similarly, the application of CuONPs on Nicotiana benthamiana (N. benthamiana) positively impeded viral replication and accumulation in vivo. Interestingly, the expression of systemic resistance-related genes (PR1, PR2, ERF1, and JAZ3) in the host plant was up-regulated by CuONPs treatment, supporting that CuONPs activated plant immunity to inhibit TMV. Importantly, the application of CuONPs (100 mg/L) did not exhibit any toxic effects on tobacco and, instead, resulted in the promotion of chlorophyll content, as well as an increase in the fresh weight and dry weight of the plant when compared to the control treatment. Overall, we proposed that the appropriate concentration of CuONPs (100 mg/L) can directly break viral particles by passivating, boost plant immunity by stimulating systemic acquired resistance (SAR), and provide nutritional supplements to promote plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing copyright protection schemes for 3D models of oblique photography predominantly utilize digital watermarking technology, most of which suffer from shortcomings such as the potential false accusation of legitimate users and the inability to effectively trace unauthorized distributors. In response to these challenges, this article proposes a homomorphic encryption domain asymmetric fingerprinting scheme for 3D models of oblique photography. Initially, the fingerprints to be embedded are collaboratively generated by the transacting parties, with the publisher remaining unaware of the user's actual fingerprint. This approach ensures the effective implementation of the asymmetric nature of the fingerprinting scheme. Subsequently, potential geometric and non‐geometric attacks are considered prior to fingerprint embedding. Robustness is enhanced for the proposed solution through relative coordinate transformations and normalization procedures. Ultimately, the embedding and extraction of fingerprints are achieved through the application of an effective bit parity check method, in conjunction with the vertex‐paradigm projection length mapping mechanism and the Paillier homomorphic encryption system, minimizing embedding distortion while ensuring data security. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution exhibits satisfying robustness against common manipulations, such as cropping, simplification, and geometric attacks. Additionally, the scheme effectively safeguards legitimate users from false accusations and accurately traces maliciously authorized users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China is known as the "Corn Belt" of China. Long-term conventional tillage has led to severe soil degradation, threatening the food production and China's food security. Regenerative farming practices such as no-tillage and deep ploughing have proven effective in protecting soil and promoting sustainable agriculture. However, the effects of no-tillage and deep ploughing on corn yield are hotly debated, and their regional suitability in Northeast China remains unclear. As a solution, a regional machine learning aided meta-analysis was performed to assess the effects of field management practices, climate conditions, and soil properties on crop productivity of no-tillage and deep ploughing versus conventional tillage, and to evaluate the probability of yield increase under no-tillage and deep ploughing across Northeast China. The results showed that the overall effect of no-tillage and deep ploughing significantly increased corn yield by 5.1% and 6.4%, respectively, compared to conventional tillage. Climate conditions had the greatest importance on crop yield under no-tillage, while management practices were the most explainable variable under deep ploughing. Data driven models reveled that the probabilities of yield increase under no-tillage and deep ploughing had large geographical differences. No-tillage performed better in warm arid regions with alkaline soil and low initial soil organic matter. In cold and humid areas with neutral soil and high soil organic matter content, deep ploughing had the greatest possibility of increasing yield. Our study revealed the effects and importance of factors affecting crop productivity of no-tillage and deep ploughing, which helps to optimize these practices. Furthermore, our results provide a reference for agricultural managers to select appropriate tillage practices that simultaneously contribute to food production and sustainable agricultural goals in specific regions of Northeast China. • The productivity of no-tillage and deep ploughing depend on distinct factors. • The regional suitability of no-tillage and deep ploughing exhibited significant geographical variances. • Corn productivity of no-tillage was found to be higher in warm, arid regions with low soil fertility. • Deep ploughing is most effective in increasing yields in cold, humid regions with high soil fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the technology bottleneck of the adhesion failure of traditional functional protective coatings on the smoother surface of precise parts served in the marine atmosphere, a room-temperature-curable fluoropolymer/polyurethane (denoted as RFP) polymer composite coating of 20–30 μm is prepared on the metal substrates. Static pull-off and dynamic friction test methods are used to evaluate the interface adhesion of the coating. The coating shows superior adhesive strength of 18–24 MPa on a variety of metal substrates with a wide range of surface roughness (Ra = 0.1–1.6 μm). The friction coefficient of the coating surface is about 0.05–0.08, and the wear life is up to 9–12 km/μm. Furthermore, the adhesion strength of the coating remains 12–14 MPa after 1600 h of salt spray while the wear life of the coating keeps 3–9 km/μm after 720 h of salt spray. The influences of surface roughness (R a) , surface free energy (γ O x i d e ), surface potential (φ O x i d e) of the metal substrates and the bonding force at substrate-coating interface on the adhesive energy (E a d h.) are discussed, and the mechanism of "physical-chemical-surface" synergetic enhanced interface adhesion is proposed. The RFP coating is used as the intermediate layer for traditional PU and EP coatings to improve their adhesion on smooth aluminum substrate from 1.39 MPa to 17.5 MPa (increased by 1260 %). Thus, the polymer coating has the potential to provide technical support for the development of long-term anticorrosive coating technology for precision components of marine high-tech equipment. • The RFP polymer coating showed adhesive strength of 18-24 MPa on metals with surface roughness (Ra) about 0.1-1.6 μm. • Static pull-off and dynamic friction tests were integrated to evaluate the interface adhesion and reveal its mechanism. • The adhesion remained 12-14 MPa after 1600 h of salt spray and the wear life reached 3-9 km/μm after 720 h of salt spray. • Ra , γ O x i d e , φ O x i d e E a d h. .A mechanism of "physical-chemical-surface" synergetic enhanced interface adhesion has been innovatively proposed. • The RFP coating shows promise in addressing adhesion for functional coatings on smoother substrates or primers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental irrigation (SI) is considered as one of the effective water management practices for improving grain yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NU t E) in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, whether SI increases grain yield and NU t E by improving the N status in winter wheat is unclear. Based on a two-year field experiment (2017–2018, 2018–2019), we studied the effects of different levels of SI (i.e., no SI (J0), volumetric soil water content at100% field capacity at 20 cm (J20), and volumetric soil water content at 100% field capacity at 40 cm (J40)) and winter wheat cultivars (i.e., large spike-type Shannong23 (SN23) and multi spike-type Shannong29 (SN29)) on grain yield, NU t E and N status in winter wheat of the North China Plain. Our results indicated that, grain yield had a significant positive correlation with the amount of photosynthetic N (PN) at anthesis. With an increase in the N accumulation in shoots at anthesis (NAA), the amount of PN increased first and then remained stable, whereas the amount of reserve N (RN) increased continuously. Compared with SN29, SN23 allocated more N to PN and storage RN and less to structural N (SN) and accumulation RN at anthesis and had higher NU t E. Supplemental irrigation at jointing stage significantly increased the amount of NAA and pre-anthesis N redistributed to grains, and its contribution to grains, while the highest grain yield, NU t E, and water productivity (WP) were reached in J20 and not J40. WP was positively related to the amount of NAA and was also affected by the N nutrition index (NNI) at anthesis. The NNI of winter wheat under J20 treatment is optimal (approximated 1). In J40, with the higher irrigation amount, actual crop evapotranspiration (ET c act), the amounts of NAA and RN, and the NNI at anthesis increased further, but the amounts of PN and grain yield were not affected, which explained the reductions in NU t E and WP. Overall, moderate SI increased winter wheat grain yield and NU t E by improving N nutrition status as indicated by the NNI. And the NNI at anthesis is an important indicator to help manage irrigation and improve grain yield, NU t E, and WP in winter wheat on the North China Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining the advantages of cryptography and digital watermarking, commutative encryption and watermarking (CEW) addresses the limitations of traditional information security technologies by simultaneously ensuring security and confirming copyright ownership. Existing CEW algorithms for vector geographic data cannot simultaneously meet the requirements of lossless and applicability to all types of vector geographic data. This investigation proposes a lossless CEW algorithm for all types vector geographic data. In the encryption scheme, all coordinate points are stored in a one-dimensional set for permutation encryption. This procedure is applicable to all types of vector geographic data. Then, the original coordinates are replaced with the encrypted coordinates according to the original spatial structure. Since encryption preserves the size of coordinate values, they can be gridded after normalization to ensure compatibility between encryption and watermarking. Subsequently, a characteristic matrix is generated by conducting singular value decomposition on the coordinate values within the grid. Finally, the XOR operation is executed between the encrypted watermark information and this matrix to complete the construction of the zero watermark. Experiments demonstrate that the encryption scheme can yield favorable encryption outcomes with just one scrambling, and the efficiency is greatly improved. The watermarking scheme is robust against most attacks on vector geographic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the existing digital fingerprint algorithms for vector maps are symmetric fingerprint algorithms, and merchants may frame a legitimate buyer. An asymmetric fingerprinting protocol utilizing homomorphic encryption is proposed. First, the buyer encrypts his fingerprint. Then, this encrypted fingerprint and the merchant’s fingerprint are embedded into an encrypted vector map by the merchant. Finally, the encrypted data with the fingerprints of both parties is distributed to buyers. The buyer can use his private key to decrypt the encrypted data and get the Non-encrypted data with the fingerprints. In this way, merchants can track illegal users without the buyer’s fingerprint. Experimental results show that after various attacks, fingerprints can still be detected correctly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the influence of post‐jointing drought on the ear‐bearing and seed‐setting characteristics of the main stem and tillers of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a pot experiment was conducted with cultivars "Shannong 29" (SN29) and "Heng 0628" (H0628), and five water regimes: mild drought (WR1) and severe drought (WR2) for 0–5 days after jointing, mild drought (WR3) and severe drought (WR4) for 0–10 days after jointing and adequate water supply as a control (CK). The present study focused on primary tillers (appear in the axils of main stem leaves: T1, T2, T3, T4, etc.), as well as on secondary tillers (appear from the bud in the axil of the prophyll: T10 and T20; appear in the axil of the first leaf of the primary tiller T1: T11). The yield components of tillers showed a downward trend with increasing tiller position and drought degree and duration, and the kernels per spike, single kernels weight and grain yield per spike of tillers T2, T3, T10 and T4 decreased more than those of the other tillers. These outcomes may be related to the spike developmental stages at the time of the drought period. Severe drought during the period from when the stamen primordium is first present (Waddington's stage 4) to when the carpel extends around the three sides of the ovule (Waddington's stage 5) significantly decreased the seed set of tillers, but short‐term (5 days) mild drought during this period and even a short‐term severe drought before Waddington's stage 4 had little effect on the seed set of tillers. The ear‐bearing capacity of tillers was determined not only by the spike developmental stage, but also by the gap from the main stem and the competition of nutrition and space between tillers. Although the ear‐bearing rate of tillers T3 and T10 decreased rapidly after the short‐term mild drought, the increase in the ear‐bearing rate of tillers T20 and T11 effectively compensated for the loss of the number of spikes per plant. Therefore, the short‐term mild drought at the jointing stage had no significant effect on the grain yield of the two cultivars. The tillers T2, T3, T10 and T4 were sensitive to soil moisture in the jointing stage and had high plasticity. During this period, if timely irrigation improves soil moisture, it is expected to increase the ear‐bearing rate and seed set of these tillers, thereby increasing grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]