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This study employed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), cinnamaldehyde (CIN), and potassium sorbate (KS) as raw materials for the production of PVA/CIN/KS cross-linked films using the casting method. Various methods, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EB), water vapor permeability (WVP), and transparency, were conducted on the cross-linked films. Additionally, we assessed the antibacterial activity of the films against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and examined their efficacy in preserving citrus fruits.The results demonstrated an enhancement in the mechanical properties of the films after cross-linking. Specifically, when the CIN content was 20%, the maximum TS and EB values reached 25.58 MPa and 555.98%, respectively. Cross-linking induced a denser molecular structure, significantly improving water vapor barrier properties. The WVP value decreased from 1.28 to 0.87 g·mm/KPa·m²·h, and water resistance increased from 32.28 to 12.63%. In antibacterial tests, the cross-linked films exhibited notable inhibitory effects against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with a particularly strong impact against Staphylococcus aureus. In the citrus preservation test, citrus fruits packaged with cross-linked films maintained a considerable level of commercial value even after 15 days. These findings underscore the potential application value of cross-linked films in food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) plays a key role in promoting fat metabolism and reducing blood lipid. This study characterised the ANGPTL4 gene in Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) and investigated its potential functions in fat metabolism in Muscovy ducks. 2. The Muscovy duck ANGPTL4 cDNA was successfully cloned for the first time, showing a length of 2591 bp. After phylogenetic analysis by RT-qPCR analysis, it was found that the ANGPTL4 gene of Anas platyrhynchos shared the highest sequence similarity with that of Muscovy ducks. 3. The ANGPTL4 gene was commonly expressed in 23 different tissues with the highest expression in the abdominal fat in Muscovy ducks. A significant association was observed between abdominal fat percentage (AFP) and the mRNA expression of the ANGPTL4 gene. Moreover, Muscovy ducks showed a peak of ANGPTL4 expression in the liver and abdominal fat at 1–2 weeks old. 4. These findings suggest that the ANGPTL4 gene is related to fat deposition and regulation in Muscovy ducks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a common exogenous atmospheric pollutant. Studies have shown that SO2 can cause vasodilation as a gas signaling molecule, but the specific signaling pathways are not well understood. This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism behind the effects of SO2 on vasodilation of isolated rat aorta. The results showed that when the dose of SO2 was 30 μM, the vasodilation of endothelium-intact rings was partially suppressed by LY294002 and NG-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester, and the protein levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), p-Akt, and p -endothelial nitric oxide synthase (p -eNOS) were significantly increased. When the dose of SO2 was 300 μM or 1500 μM, the vasodilation of endothelium-denuded rings did not change after application of the inhibitor, but the protein levels of PI3K, p-Akt, and p-eNOS were significantly decreased, and the activity of NOS and the level of nitric oxide (NO) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) were significantly increased. We speculate that the mechanism of SO2-induced vasodilatation likely involved the endothelial PI3K/Akt/eNOS and NO/cGMP signal pathways. In addition, at the concentration of 1500 μM, SO2 markedly increased the level of caspase-3 and caspase-9. The results suggest that high concentrations of SO2 may cause damage to blood vessels. This study will help to further inform the etiologies of SO2-related cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport of sugar is essential for plant growth and development, tightly correlated with crop productivity and quality. SWEET (Sugar Will Eventually be Exported Transporters) is a family of sugar effluxer first reported a decade ago, whose significance has been reported in a dozen of plant species. Strawberry is an important crop developing striking fruits. Up to date, the involvement of SWEETs in strawberry is completely elusive. Current work focuses on the genome-wide identification of SWEET transporter coding genes in diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and the expression analysis of octoploid strawberry (F. × ananassa) SWEET homoeologs in different vegetative and reproductive organs. A total of 20 candidate SWEET loci were identified in Fragaria vesca V4 genome via a local blast using the MtN3_slv motif (PF03083) against the protein database of FvH4.0.a2 version. Phylogenetic analysis indicated this family falling into four clades. These genes are distributed in all seven chromosomes except for Fvb1, and most members contain six exons divided by five introns, coding a protein with 235 to 310 aa and around 7 transmembrane helices. The spatio-temporal expression profiles of SWEET genes in different parts of fruit (cortex, pith and achenes) of cv. Benihoppe were explored and a set of candidate SWEET genes invoved in sugar transport in strawberry fruits were identified, such as FvSWEET1 , - 2a , - 7 , - 9a , -9c , - 10 , and - 11. Our results provide a good foundation for further functional investigation of SWEETs in strawberry fruit quality formation and other developmental processes as well as responses to pathogens and abiotic stresses. The information of SWEETs in strawberry also has a reference value for other Rosaceae plants. • A total of 20 SWEET loci were identified in Fragaria vesca genome via a local blast against the FvH4.0 a2 version protein database. • The chromosomal distribution, exon-intron and motif organization, phylogeny, and expression were characterized for FvSWEET family. • The expression of SWEET genes were explored in three fruit parts (cortex, pith and achenes) of four stages from cv. Benihoppe. • FvSWEET1, -2a, -7, -9a, -9c, -10 , and -11 were identified as members involved in strawberry fruit sugar transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rib-filling behavior in flow forming of thin-walled tube with helical grid-stiffened ribs is revealed. • Material accumulation in front of roller and primary material flow direction are two key factors determining the behavior. • Four kinds of rib-filling modes exist in the forming process, depending on the degree of influence of the two factors. • Mechanism of the height difference between two ribs with opposite helical directions is revealed. • A new hexagonal rib-grid structure is proposed to decrease the height difference between the two ribs. Flow forming process is an attractive technology for forming thin-walled tube with helical grid-stiffened ribs. The helical rib-grid structure and helical loading trajectory may lead to various rib-filling behaviors, and then produce large difference in rib-filling height. To this end, the rib-filling behavior and height during the process were investigated, and then to improve rib-filling quality a new hexagonal rib-grid structure was designed. It is found that the rib-filling behavior is mainly determined by two factors. One is the material accumulation in front of roller, which is related to the axial and circumferential distances between one rib and its prior rib. The other is the primary material flow direction, which depends on the relative helical direction between rib and roller trajectory. Due to the geometrical feature of helical rib-grid, there exist two ribs with the opposite helical directions and significant variation of axial and circumferential distances between two adjacent ribs. Their coordinated variation will produce different combinations of the above two factors, thus form four kinds of rib-filling modes during the forming process. Moreover, these rib-filling modes vary along the axial direction due to the variation of axial and circumferential distances between one rib and its prior rib, which leads to the variation in rib height and large height difference between the two ribs with opposite helical directions. To decrease this height difference, a new hexagonal rib-grid structure is proposed through introducing a transverse rib to reduce the variation range of axial and circumferential distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of a regular pulse burst (RPB) at the end of a K‐event are analyzed utilizing a simple geometric model and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to estimate the currents and propagation speeds of successive pulses of the RPB. The results show that the current of successive pulses is strongly overlapped and, for typical speeds of continuously propagating K‐events, are unphysically large (88 kA), exceeding the currents of most strokes to ground. By default, the unphysical nature of the result, coupled with very high frequency interferometer observations of an RPB in Florida, shows that the propagation speed of the pulses is significantly faster than expected, namely ∼0.6–1.8 × 108 m/s. This reduces the inferred current from 88 kA down to 6–18 kA, typical of intracloud events. The fast propagation speed of the stepping is explained by successive pulses retracing much of the path of the preceding pulses due to the successive pulses being strongly overlapped. Plain Language Summary: Regular pulse bursts (RBP) are a spectacular phenomenon in lightning studies, in which rapidly propagating, conductive channels called K‐events transition from a smoothly and continually lengthening channel to an intermittent but regularly‐spaced stepping process, with each step producing a highly‐impulsive current and electric field change, or "sferic." Here we introduce a new approach for analyzing sferic observations that models the K‐event as a series of successive segments, with the parameters of the current and extent of each pulse being determined by searching the multi‐dimensional parameter space that best fits the corresponding pulse waveforms. This was done using a process called PSO, and indicated that the RBP pulses were caused by a succession of overlapping fast breakdown events, but having unphysically strong currents. For the distant measurements of the study, the sferic amplitudes can determine only the product of current and propagation speed of the pulses, causing their current and speed values to be ambiguous. However, for the currents to have reasonable values, we are able to conclude that the speeds needed to be faster than assumed maximum value of 1.5 × 107 m/s value in the analysis. This contention is supported by observations of similar RPBs being studied by the authors. Key Points: A new, innovative method is developed for estimating the currents and extents of fast electric field change pulsesThe method is applied to the study of a regular pulse burst, showing that it consisted of a succession of fast overlapping eventsThe speed of the pulses is inferred to be significantly higher than that of continuously‐developing K‐leader [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The caecal microbiota in geese play a crucial role in determining the host's health, disease status and behaviour, as evidenced by extensive epidemiological data. The present investigation conducted 10× metagenomic sequencing of caecal content samples obtained from three distinct goose species, namely Landes geese, Roman geese and Zhedong White geese (n = 5), to explore the contribution of the gut microbiome to carbohydrate metabolism. 2. In total, 337GB of Illumina data were generated, which identified 1,048,575 complete genes and construction of 331 metagenomic bins, encompassing 78 species from nine phyla. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Bacteria were identified as the dominant phyla while Prevotella, Bacteroides, Streptococcus, and Subdoligranulum were the most abundant genera in the caecum of geese. 3. The genes were allocated to 375 pathways using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analysis. The most abundant classes in the caecum of geese were confirmed to be glycoside hydrolases (GHs), glycosyl transferases (GTs), as identified through the carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZyme) database mapping. Subdoligranulum variabile and Mediterraneibacter glycyrrhizinilyticus were discovered to potentially facilitate carbohydrate digestion in geese. 4. Notwithstanding, further investigation and validation are required to establish a connection between these species and CAZymes. Based on binning analysis, Mediterraneibacter glycyrrhizinilyticus and Ruminococcus sp. CAG:177 are potential species in LD geese that contribute to the production of fatty liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]