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The layout optimization design of a natural gas gathering pipeline network is a multi-objective optimization problem because the extant theories are unable to meet the different decision preferences in scheme design, which restricts the intelligentization of gas gathering pipeline layout optimization. Currently, there are no generic design studies on the loop-star pipeline network. Therefore, this paper proposes a generic layout optimization model containing a large number of discrete and continuous variables, such as pipe connection relationships, pipe sizes, pipe length, and pipe specifications. In the solution section, drawing inspiration from the hormone regulation mechanism and local foraging rule in bionics, an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm based on hormone regulation (HRPSO) is proposed, and it obtains the favorable parameters range of the HRPSO algorithm. The results illustrate that the HRPSO algorithm exhibits convergence to the global optimum with a probability of 1. In comparison to manual design, the comprehensive costs of the optimized scheme are saved by 22.71% with the HRPSO algorithm. Compared to the four PSO variants in the paper, it can save costs by 5.38%, 4.95%, 4.09%, and 3.65%, respectively.

Reducing fertilizer-N rate, applying a nitrification inhibitor (NI), and incorporating straw are widely recommended to improve N use efficiency of crops and decrease N losses. A field 15N tracer study was conducted to compare their effectiveness on fertilizer-N fates during the maize growing season in Northeast China. The following six treatments were used: (1) no N fertilization (control); (2) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 (100%N); (3) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 and straw (100%N + S); (4) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 (80%N); (5) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 and NI (Nitrapyrin in this study) (80%N + NI); and (6) 160 kg urea-N ha−1, NI, and straw (80%N + NI + S). The results showed that the five N fertilization treatments yielded 16–25% more grain and 39–60% more crop N uptake than the control, but the differences among the five treatments were not statistically significant. Compared with the 100%N, 20% fertilizer-N reduction (80%N) decreased the 15N concentration in topsoil and plant pools but increased the proportion of plant 15N recovery at harvesting (NUE15N, 60% vs. 50%). Compared with the 80%N, NI co-application (80%N + NI) delayed soil nitrification and increased soil 15N retention at harvesting (52% vs. 36%), thereby decreasing NUE15N significantly. Straw incorporation decreased fertilizer-N retention in soil compared with NI co-application because it promoted NUE15N significantly. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that NI and straw additions are efficient strategies for stabilizing fertilizer-N in soils and potentially minimizing N loss; however, their effects on NUE15N vary and the related mechanism must be further clarified in long-term trials.

Chemically protected sodium butyrate (CSB) is a novel form of sodium butyrate. This study aimed to investigate the effect of CSB supplementation on the gut mucosal immune, gut microbiota, and SCFAs in piglets. Results showed that supplementation with 2000 mg/kg (high CSB, HCSB) improved the average daily gain by 18.5 %, while supplementation with 1000 mg/kg (low CSB, LCSB) improved it by 6.9 %. qPCR results indicated HCSB treatment dramatically upregulated the mRNA expression levels of IL-10 by 47.1 %, CAT by 17.4 %, SOD1 by 48.2 %, and Claudin-1 by 50 %. Additionally, the SCFAs-producing bacteria Parabacteroides and Eubacterium coprostanoligenes were increased by HCSB supplementation. The levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid were significantly enhanced in the jejunal, duodenal, cecal, and colonic chyme of piglets by HCSB supplementation. Collectively, CSB supplementation improves anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities potentially through modulating gut microbiota and SCFAs in piglets.

ABSTRACTIn the past decades, the environment has changed drastically in China with rapid economic development. Lack of data, especially data with spatiotemporal information, has however hindered evaluating progress of environmental indicators in the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework. Here, we evaluate and explore geospatial information of 20 environmental SDG indicators from six SDGs in China from 2010 to 2020 using big data. We show China has improved rapidly in most of the 20 indicators, except for indicator 13.2.2 (CO2 emission). 63.5% of China’s land mass showed improved states for the SDG indicators. By 2020, four of the indicators were found to have achieved their 2030 targets. It is predicted from the existing data that 10 of the 20 indicators can achieve their targets smoothly by 2030, but two indicators will lag behind. We quantitatively show China’s progress towards the environmental SDG indicators, and put forward timelines and suggestions for policy makers.

Antibiotic related intestinal injury in early life affects subsequent health and susceptibility. Here, we employed weaned piglets as a model to investigate the protective effects of baicalin against early-life antibiotic exposure-induced microbial dysbiosis. Piglets exposed to lincomycin showed a marked reduction in body weight (p < 0.05) and deterioration of jejunum intestinal morphology, alongside an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Dolosicoccus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Raoultella. In contrast, baicalin treatment resulted in body weights, intestinal morphology, and microbial profiles that closely resembled those of the control group (p > 0.05), with a significant increase in norank_f_Muribaculaceae and Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group colonization compared with lincomycin group (p < 0.05). Further analysis through fecal microbial transplantation into mice revealed that lincomycin exposure led to significant alterations in intestinal morphology and microbial composition, notably increasing harmful microbes and decreasing beneficial ones such as norank_Muribaculaceae and Akkermansia (p < 0.05). This shift was associated with an increase in harmful metabolites and disruption of the calcium signaling pathway gene expression. Conversely, baicalin supplementation not only counteracted these effects but also enhanced beneficial metabolites and regulated genes within the MAPK signaling pathway (MAP3K11, MAP4K2, MAPK7, MAPK13) and calcium channel proteins (ORA13, CACNA1S, CACNA1F and CACNG8), suggesting a mechanism through which baicalin mitigates antibiotic-induced intestinal and microbial disturbances. These findings highlight baicalin's potential as a plant extract-based intervention for preventing antibiotic-related intestinal injury and offer new targets for therapeutic strategies.

Abstract Background Mild fetal ventriculomegaly (VM) is a nonspecific finding common to several pathologies with varying prognosis and is, therefore, a challenge in fetal consultation. We aimed to perform a constant, detailed analysis of prenatal findings and postnatal outcomes in fetuses with early-onset and late-onset mild ventriculomegaly, and provide a new evidence basis and new perspective for prenatal counseling. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of women with a diagnosis of mild fetal VM between January 2018 and October 2020. The population was divided into two groups according to the gestational ages (GAs) at initial diagnosis: the early-onset group (diagnosed at/before 24+6 weeks) and the late-onset group (diagnosed after 24+6 weeks). Clinical data and pregnancy outcomes were obtained from hospital records. The children’s neurodevelopment status was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ-3) and telephone interviews. Results Our study cohort comprised 324 fetuses, out of which 94 (29%) were classified as early-onset group and 230 (71%) late-onset group. Early-onset group was more likely to have concurrent additional abnormalities, whereas in the late-onset group, isolated enlargement was more common (P = 0.01). Unilateral enlargement was more common in the late-onset group (P = 0.05), and symmetrical enlargement in the early-onset group (P

Sandwich composites are widely used in engineering due to their excellent mechanical properties. Accordingly, the problem of interface bonding between their panels and core layers has always been a hot research topic. The emergence of biomimetic technology has enabled the integration of the structure and function of biological materials from living organisms or nature into the design of sandwich composites, greatly improving the interface bonding and overall performance of heterogeneous materials. In this paper, we review the most commonly used biomimetic structures and the fusion design of multi-biomimetic structures in the engineering field. They are analyzed with respect to their mechanical properties, and several biomimetic structures derived from abstraction in plants and animals are highlighted. Their structural advantages are further discussed specifically. Regarding the optimization of different interface combinations of multilayer composites, this paper explores the optimization of simulations and the contributions of molecular dynamics, machine learning, and other techniques used for optimization. Additionally, the latest molding methods for sandwich composites based on biomimetic structural design are introduced, and the materials applicable to different processes, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, are briefly analyzed. Our research results can help improve the mechanical properties of sandwich composites and promote the application of biomimetic structures in engineering.

The problems of uneven load and low operating efficiency in the oil-gathering system of old oilfields lead to higher operating costs. In order to reduce operating costs, the layout-reconfiguration optimization model is established, and the minimum comprehensive investment is taken as the objective function. The multi-constraint conditions, such as the current situation of the oil-gathering system, the processing capacity, the possibility of pipeline failure, and the obstacles, are considered. The hybrid arithmetic–fireworks optimization algorithm (AFOA) is proposed to solve the model. Combined with the experience of the hybrid metaheuristic algorithm, using hybrid metaheuristics, the hybrid of the arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) and the operator of the fireworks algorithm (FWA) is considered, and some improved operators of FWA are integrated into AOA to form a new algorithm (AFOA) to achieve a better solution effect. Compared with the 11 other algorithms, AFOA has better solution efficiency. This method is applied to the actual case of an old oilfield. The optimized scheme increases the average load rate of the station by 15.9% and reduces the operating costs by 38.1% per year. Overall, the reconstruction costs will be recovered in a short period.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a long-lasting and inflammatory autoimmune condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract, impacting millions of individuals globally. The balance between T helper 17 (Th17) cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) is pivotal in the pathogenesis and progression of IBD. This review summarizes the pivotal role of Th17/Treg balance in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, elucidating how its dysregulation contributes to the development and exacerbation of IBD. It comprehensively synthesizes the current understanding of how dietary factors regulate the metabolic pathways influencing Th17 and Treg cell differentiation and function. Additionally, this review presents evidence from the literature on the potential of dietary regimens to regulate the Th17/Treg balance as a strategy for the management of IBD. By exploring the intersection between diet, metabolic regulation, and Th17/Treg balance, the review reveals innovative therapeutic approaches for IBD treatment, offering a promising perspective for future research and clinical practice.

Abstract To evaluate the relationship between factors of metastatic intraparotid lymph node (IPLN) and distant metastasis in parotid adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). Patients with surgically treated parotid ACC were retrospectively enrolled, and primary outcome variable was distant metastasis free survival (DMFS). The effect of factors of metastatic IPLN on DMFS was evaluated using Cox model. In total, 232 patients were included. Extranodal extension of IPLN and cervical lymph nodes did not impact the DMFS, and the 7th but not 8th AJCC N stage was associated with DMFS. Groups of 0 and 1 metastatic IPLN had comparable DMFS, but presence of 2+ positive IPLN was related to increased worse DMFS (p = 0.034, HR 2.09). A new N stage (0 vs 1–2 vs 3+) based on total positive lymph node number exhibited better C-index than traditional N stage. IPLN metastasis increased the risk of distant metastasis, and the impact was mainly determined by the number of metastatic IPLN. Our proposed N stage provided better DMFS prediction than the 8th AJCC N classification.

According to the Chinese encyclopedia “Ben Cao Gang Mu” (AD 1552–1578), Caprifoliaceae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi are used in traditional Chinese medicine to clear heat, detoxify, and treat wind-heat colds, upper respiratory tract infections, and pneumonia. However, the mechanism and the effects of the compound extracts of Caprifoliaceae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi on intestinal health remain unclear. From the perspective of intestinal microbes, this study assessed the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and intestinal protective properties of Caprifoliaceae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Mice received diets with or without Caprifoliaceae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extractive (BCA) for 2 weeks in this study. The results showed that BCA increased body weight gain, feed intake, and catalase (CAT) content in the mice but reduced γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) content in the serum (p < 0.05). BCA improved the Sobs, Chao, and Ace indices, as well as the number of Campylobacterota, Patercibacteria, and Desulfobacterota in the colon microbiota, while it decreased the Firmicutes phylum (p < 0.05). At the genus level, BCA increased Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Helicobacter, unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae, Alistipes, norank_f_norank_o_Clostridia_vadinBB60_group, norank_f_Ruminococcaceae, unclassified_f_Ruminococcaceae, etc. abundance (p < 0.05), but it significantly decreased Lactobacillus and Lachnospiraceae_UCG_001 abundance (p < 0.05). Moreover, BCA improved the concentration of acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid and diminished the concentration of isobutyric acid (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis shows that the changes in short-chain fatty acids and antioxidant and inflammatory indices in the serum were significantly correlated with the BCA-enriched microbiota. This study supplemented a database for the application of Caprifoliaceae and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi in clinical and animal production.

Abstract Urethral stricture secondary to urethral injury, afflicting both patients and urologists, is initiated by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in the submucosal and periurethral tissues. Although various anti-fibrotic drugs have been applied to urethral stricture by irrigation or submucosal injection, their clinical feasibility and effectiveness are limited. Here, to target the pathological state of the extracellular matrix, we design a protein-based nanofilm-controlled drug delivery system and assemble it on the catheter. This approach, which integrates excellent anti-biofilm properties with stable and controlled drug delivery for tens of days in one step, ensures optimal efficacy and negligible side effects while preventing biofilm-related infections. In a rabbit model of urethral injury, the anti-fibrotic catheter maintains extracellular matrix homeostasis by reducing fibroblast-derived collagen production and enhancing metalloproteinase 1-induced collagen degradation, resulting in a greater improvement in lumen stenosis than other topical therapies for urethral stricture prevention. Such facilely fabricated biocompatible coating with antibacterial contamination and sustained-drug-release functionality could not only benefit populations at high risk of urethral stricture but also serve as an advanced paradigm for a range of biomedical applications.

Abstract Background Forensic biology is a subject in the field of forensic science that stresses practical teaching and training in laboratory skills. Visualization of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiles is important in individual identification and is easily performed by well-trained examiners. Therefore, developing a novel training project for obtaining individual DNA profiles can improve the quality of teaching for medical students or trainees. DNA profiles based on quick response (QR) codes can also be applied to practical teaching and operation training for individual identification. Methods A novel training project was developed through an experimental course in forensic biology. Blood samples and buccal swabs with oral epithelial cells, as used in the forensic DNA laboratory, were obtained from medical students at Fujian Medical University. DNA was isolated, and a number of short tandem repeat (STR) loci were used as genetic markers to generate DNA profiles. The students converted DNA profiles and individual information into a QR code. The QR code could then be scanned by a mobile phone for consulting and retrieval. Gene identity cards with QR codes were produced and provided to every student. The participation rate and passing rate of students who participated in the novel training project were calculated and compared with those of students in the traditional experimental course, and a chi-square test was carried out by SPSS 23.0 software to evaluate the teaching effectiveness. p

The performance change and mechanism of polyimide composites with carbon fiber sizing and desizing states during thermal aging at 330 ℃ were compared and analyzed from the aspects of thermal oxidation mass loss, surface morphology and micro morphology, mechanical properties and glass transition temperature. The results show that carbon fiber desizing can reduce the mass loss rate of thermal oxidation of polyimide composites. The interface layer of the composites with sizing carbon fiber contains epoxy sizing agent, which has low temperature resistance. Therefore, the interface is easy to be damaged in the process of thermal aging, resulting in more cracks and rapid separation of edge fibers. Although the composites with sizing carbon fiber has high interlaminar shear strength before aging, it decreases rapidly in the early stage of thermal aging. On the contrary, the interlaminar shear strength of the composites with desizing carbon fiber is higher after aging for 200 h. The bending strength of the two composites before aging is basically the same, but the bending strength of the composites with sizing carbon fiber decreases rapidly in the early stage of aging; however, desizing has little effect on bending modulus. The glass transition temperature of the composites with desizing carbon fiber increases by about 15 ℃. After thermal aging, the glass transition temperature of the composites with sizing carbon fiber increases slightly, while the composites with desizing carbon fiber remain unchanged. Therefore, the high temperature desizing treatment of carbon fiber is conducive to improving the stability of polyimide composites for long-term use at high temperature.

Abstract Background Pectin is a heteropolysaccharide that acts as an intestinal immunomodulator, promoting intestinal development and regulating intestinal flora in the gut. However, the relevant mechanisms remain obscure. In this study, pigs were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet supplemented with either 5% microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) or 5% pectin for 3 weeks, to investigate the metabolites and anti-inflammatory properties of the jejunum. Result The results showed that dietary pectin supplementation improved intestinal integrity (Claudin-1, Occludin) and inflammatory response [interleukin (IL)-10], and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) was down-regulated in the jejunum. Moreover, pectin supplementation altered the jejunal microbiome and tryptophan-related metabolites in piglets. Pectin specifically increased the abundance of Lactococcus, Enterococcus, and the microbiota-derived metabolites (skatole (ST), 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA), 3-indolepropionic acid (IPA), 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (HIAA), and tryptamine (Tpm)), which activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway. AhR activation modulates IL-22 and its downstream pathways. Correlation analysis revealed the potential relationship between metabolites and intestinal morphology, intestinal gene expression, and cytokine levels. Conclusion In conclusion, these results indicated that pectin inhibits the inflammatory response by enhancing the AhR-IL22-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling pathway, which is activated through tryptophan metabolites.

Societal Impact Statement Increasing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition represents a major global change factor, but its long‐term effect on tree growth and carbon (C) sequestration remains uncertain. Our manipulation experiment and meta‐analysis reveal that N deposition in temperate and boreal forests promoted tree growth and the allocation of more C into wood than into leaves in China and worldwide. Thus, N deposition may increase forest C sequestration through enhanced wood production and distribution of C into stable sinks. In the context of achieving “Carbon Neutrality,” understanding how N deposition affect long‐term forest C sinks will help us with mitigation strategies under climate change. Summary Increased nitrogen (N) deposition is driving many temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere towards N saturation. However, it is uncertain how long‐term N deposition affects tree growth and carbon (C) allocation in these forests. To investigate this, we treated temperate larch and mixed forests in northeastern China with N additions for 8 years. In addition, we collected data from 25 N‐addition experiments in temperate and boreal forests worldwide to reveal the overall effects of N on tree growth and C allocation. Nitrogen additions significantly promoted total biomass increment by 24% in both study forests, with on average additional 8 kg C per kg N gain into woody biomass over the study period. Nitrogen additions increased the ratio of woody biomass increment to foliage litterfall production in the larch forest (by 34%). Literature data analysis also revealed greater N promotion on wood (24%) over foliage (9%) production. However, the positive effect on foliage diminished over time. These results combined imply that N deposition may promote tree growth in temperate and boreal regions and drive proportionally more photosynthate allocation into wood than leaves, thus may enhance forest C sequestration in the long run.

Constructed from a dataset capturing the seasonal and annual water body distribution of the lower Qarqan River in the Taitma Lake area from 2017 to 2022, and combined with the meteorological and hydraulic engineering data, the spatial and temporal change patterns of the Taitma Lake watershed area were determined. Analyses were conducted using Planetscope (PS) satellite images and a deep learning model. The results revealed the following: ① Deep learning-based water body extraction provides significantly greater accuracy than the conventional water body index approach. With an impressive accuracy of up to 96.0%, UPerNet was found to provide the most effective extraction results among the three convolutional neural networks (U-Net, DeeplabV3+, and UPerNet) used for semantic segmentation; ② Between 2017 and 2022, Taitma Lake’s water area experienced a rapid decrease, with the distribution of water predominantly shifting towards the east–west direction more than the north–south. The shifts between 2017 and 2020 and between 2020 and 2022 were clearly discernible, with the latter stage (2020–2022) being more significant than the former (2017–2020); ③ According to observations, Taitma Lake’s changing water area has been primarily influenced by human activity over the last six years. Based on the research findings of this paper, it was observed that this study provides a valuable scientific basis for water resource allocation aiming to balance the development of water resources in the middle and upper reaches of the Tarim and Qarqan Rivers, as well as for the ecological protection of the downstream Taitma Lake.

Spatiotemporal continuity of surface water datasets widely known for its significance in the surface water dynamic monitoring and assessments, are faced with drawbacks like cloud influence, which hinders the direct extraction of data from time-series remote sensing images. This study proposes a Time-series Surface Water Reconstruction method (TSWR). The initial stage of this method involves the effective use of remote sensing images to automatically construct multi-stage surface water boundaries based on Google Earth Engine (GEE). Then, we reconstructed regions the reconstruction of regions with missing water pixels using the distance relationship between the multi-stage water boundaries in previous and later periods. When applied to 10 large rivers around the world, this method yielded an overall accuracy of 98% for water extraction, an RMSE of 0.41 km2. Furthermore, time-series reconstruction tests conducted in 2020 on the Lancang and Danube rivers revealed a significant improvement in the image availability. These findings demonstrated that this method could not only be used to accurately reconstruct the surface water distribution missing water images, but also to depict a more pronounced time variation characteristic. The successful application of this method on GEE demonstrates its importance for use on large scales or in global studies.

Although high temperatures influence gut health, data on underlying mechanisms remains scant. Using a pig model, this study performed a global analysis on how chronic heat stress affects the transport and immune function of the gut through transcriptome, proteome, microbial diversity and flow cytometry. A total of 27 pigs with similar body weights were assigned into 3 groups, control (Con) group (23 °C), chronic heat stressed (HS) group (33 °C), and pair-fed (PF) group, in a controlled environment for 21 days. Our results showed that pigs in the HS group had reduced growth performance and diminished height of ileal villi (P < 0.01). Transcriptome and proteome analyses demonstrated notable modification of expression of nutrients and ion transport-related transporters and gut mechanical barrier-related genes by chronic heart stress (P < 0.05), suggesting damage of transport functions and the gut barrier. Chronic heat stress-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress also increased the synthesis of misfolded proteins, leading to upregulation of misfolded protein degradation and synthesis, as well as vesicle transport disorder (P < 0.05). Energy supply processes were enhanced in the mitochondrion (P < 0.05) to maintain biological processes with high energy demands. Furthermore, chronic heat stress activated complement cascade response-related genes and proteins in the gut mucosa (P < 0.05). Our flow cytometry assays showed that the proportion of gut lymphocytes (CD4+ T cells, T cells, B cells in Peyer's patch lymphocytes and CD4+ CD25+ T cells in intraepithelial lymphocytes) were significantly altered in the HS group pigs (P < 0.05). In addition, the occurrence of gut microbial dysbiosis in the HS group pigs was characterized by increased potential pathogens (e.g., Asteroleplasma, Shuttleworthia, Mycoplasma) and suppression of beneficial bacteria (e.g., Coprococcus and Aeriscardovia), which are associated with gut immune function. Altogether, our data demonstrated that chronic heat stress induced gut transport and immune function disorder associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress in growing pigs.

Abstract Protecting and restoring the degraded arid lakes are globally urgent issues. We document a potential recovery of the dried salt-lake, Lop Nur called "the Sea of Death" which is located at the terminus of the largest inland basin in China, the Tarim River Basin. The changes and relationship of surface water with climate parameters and groundwater in the basin over the last 30 years are analyzed, by using satellite remote sensing and land data assimilation products. We find that with increased surface water in the basin, the groundwater level in Lop Nur began to show an obvious positive response in 2015; and the rate of decline of the groundwater level is slowing down. We argue that after a balance is achieved between regional groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration, the Lop Nur ecosystem will gradually recover. This study shows an encouraging case for the protection and restoration of degraded lakes in dryland regions around the world.

According to the flanged structure of composite casing, a typical sample with laminated structure manufactured by RTM process was designed using T800 grade carbon fiber fabrics reinforced polyimide composite. The strength property under the uniaxial tension condition was simulated by finite element method, and the calculated fracture load was 21.7 kN. The maximum strain was appeared at the corner of flanged structure, indicated that the corner area of flanged structure was weak relatively. Ultrasonic C-scan and optical microscope methods were applied to analyze the internal quality of the corner area. The results show that the overall internal quality of the sample corner area is good without obvious delamination defects. However, some micro-pores enriched at near surface and the fill region are still visible. The measured average tensile fracture load is 19.81 kN, and that is very close to the calculated value. After cyclic loading with 25% of the fracture load for 24000 times, the residual tensile fracture load is still 19.94 kN, this result means fatigue test has no effect to the mechanical property of the samples. Little interlayer defects and cracks happened in several samples at the corner area, but no visual damage. It shows that the sample can still bear the load after the delamination defects appear.

Thirty-two mice were assigned into two groups and fed basal diets with or without baicalin in the first week of the 14-day trial period. Results showed that baicalin treatment increased feed intake, feed intake/water intake, and catalase level in serum (p

Polo-like protein kinase 1 (PLK1) plays a key role in lung cancer cell mitosis. The knockout of PLK1 gene by the CRISPR–Cas9 system can effectively inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells, but there is no suitable vector for in vivo delivery. In this study, CRISPR–Cas9 gene knockout plasmids encoding sgRNA, Cas9 and green fluorescent protein were constructed. Then, the plasmids were packaged with liposome (Lip) and cholesterol-modified Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin (CASF) to obtain the CASF/Lip/pDNA ternary complex. The CASF/Lip/pDNA complex was transfected into lung cancer cells A549 to investigate the transfection efficiency, the PLK1 gene knockout effect and the inhibitory effect on lung cancer cells. The results showed that the transfection efficiency of the CASF/Lip/pDNA complex was significantly higher than that of the Lip/pDNA binary complex, and the expression of PLK1 in cells transfected with CASF/Lip/pDNA complexes was significantly lower than that in cells transfected with Lip/pDNA complexes. The CASF/Lip/pDNA complex significantly increased the apoptosis rate and decreased the proliferation activity of lung cancer cells compared with Lip/pDNA complexes. The cytotoxicity of the complexes was evaluated by coculture with the human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS2B. The results showed that CASF/Lip/pDNA complexes exhibited lower cytotoxicity than Lip/pDNA complexes. The fibroin-modified liposome/PLK1 gene knockout system not only effectively inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells but also showed no obvious toxicity to normal cells, showing potential for clinical application in lung cancer therapy.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate the individual and combined effects of chemically protected sodium butyrate (CSB) and xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) on performance, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology and microbiota of broilers. A total of 280 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly distributed into 5 treatments: basal diet (CON), basal diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg aureomycin and 8 mg/kg enramycin (ABX), 1000 mg/kg CSB (CSB), 100 mg/kg XOS (XOS), and mixture of 1000 mg/kg CSB and 100 mg/kg XOS (MIX), respectively. On d 21, ABX, CSB, and MIX decreased feed conversion ratio compared with CON (CON: ABX: CSB: MIX = 1.29: 1.22: 1.22: 1.22), whereas body weight of CSB and MIX was increased by 6.00% and 7.93%, and average daily gain was increased by 6.62% and 8.67% at 1-21 d, respectively (P < 0.05). The main effect analysis showed that both CSB and XOS treatments increased ileal villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VCR) (P < 0.05). Moreover, broilers in ABX showed lower 21.39% ileal crypt depth and higher 31.43% VCR than those in CON (P < 0.05). Dietary CSB and XOS were added individually or collectively increased total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase, and anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β, whereas decreased malondialdehyde, and proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α content in serum (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, MIX showed the best effect of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity among the 5 groups (P < 0.05). There was an interaction between CSB and XOS treatments on increasing cecal acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) (P < 0.05), and the one-way ANOVA showed that propionic acid in CSB was 1.54 times that of CON, whereas butyric acid and total SCFAs in XOS were 1.22 times and 1.28 times that of CON, respectively (P < 0.05). Furthermore, dietary combination of CSB and XOS changed phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidota, and increased genera Romboutsia and Bacteroides (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary CSB and XOS improved growth performance of broilers, and the combined addition of them had the best effect on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacity, and intestinal homeostasis of broilers in current study, indicating that it may be a potential natural alternative to antibiotics.

The development of a wound dressing with both antibacterial and healing-guiding functions is a major concern in the treatment of open and infected wounds. In this study, poly(hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride (PHMB) was loaded into a 3D silk fibroin (SF) scaffold based on electrostatic interactions between PHMB and SF, and PHMB/SF hybrid scaffolds were prepared via freeze-drying. The effects of the PHMB/SF ratio on the antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility of the hybrid scaffold were investigated. The results of an agar disc diffusion test and a bacteriostasis rate examination showed that when the mass ratio of PHMB/SF was greater than 1/100, the scaffold exhibited obvious antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. L-929 cells were encapsulated in the PHMB/SF scaffolds and cultured in vitro. SEM, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and CCK-8 assay results demonstrated that hybrid scaffolds with a PHMB/SF ratio of less than 2/100 significantly promoted cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation. In conclusion, a hybrid scaffold with a PHMB/SF ratio of approximately 2/100 not only effectively inhibited bacterial reproduction but also showed good cytocompatibility and is expected to be usable as a functional antibacterial dressing for wound repair.

Vegetation plays a fundamental role within terrestrial ecosystems, serving as a cornerstone of their functionality. Presently, these crucial ecosystems face a myriad of threats, including deforestation, overgrazing, wildfires, and the impact of climate change. The implementation of remote sensing for monitoring the status and dynamics of vegetation ecosystems has emerged as an indispensable tool for advancing ecological research and effective resource management. This study takes a comprehensive approach by integrating ecosystem monitoring indicators and aligning them with the objectives of SDG15. We conducted a thorough analysis by leveraging global 500 m resolution products for vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI) and land cover classification spanning the period from 2016 to 2020. This encompassed the calculation of annual average LAI, identification of anomalies, and evaluation of change rates, thereby enabling a comprehensive assessment of the global status and transformations occurring within major vegetation ecosystems. In 2020, a discernible rise in the annual Average LAI of major vegetation ecosystems on a global scale became evident when compared to data from 2016. Notably, the ecosystems demonstrating a slight increase in area constituted the largest proportion (34.23%), while those exhibiting a significant decrease were the least prevalent (6.09%). Within various regions, such as Eastern Europe, Central Africa, and South Asia, substantial increases in both forest ecosystem area and annual Average LAI were observed. Furthermore, Eastern Europe and Central America recorded significant expansions in both grassland ecosystem area and annual average LAI. Similarly, regions experiencing notable growth in both cropland ecosystem areas and annual average LAI encompassed Southern Africa, Northern Europe, and Eastern Africa.

A study using paired 15N tracers shows atmospheric N deposited in oxidized form is more likely retained by trees, while the reduced form is retained in soil. The authors argue that this is a greater contribution of deposited N to the global forest C sink than previously reported.

Unexpected pathogen transmission between animals, humans and their shared environments can impact all aspects of society. The Tripartite organisations—the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)—have been collaborating for over two decades. The inclusion of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with the Tripartite, forming the ‘Quadripartite’ in 2021, creates a new and important avenue to engage environment sectors in the development of additional tools and resources for One Health coordination and improved health security globally. Beginning formally in 2010, the Tripartite set out strategic directions for the coordination of global activities to address health risks at the human-animal-environment interface. This paper highlights the historical background of this collaboration in the specific area of health security, using country examples to demonstrate lessons learnt and the evolution and pairing of Tripartite programmes and processes to jointly develop and deliver capacity strengthening tools to countries and strengthen performance for iterative evaluations. Evaluation frameworks, such as the International Health Regulations (IHR) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, the WOAH Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Pathway and the FAO multisectoral evaluation tools for epidemiology and surveillance, support a shared global vision for health security, ultimately serving to inform decision making and provide a systematic approach for improved One Health capacity strengthening in countries. Supported by the IHR-PVS National Bridging Workshops and the development of the Tripartite Zoonoses Guide and related operational tools, the Tripartite and now Quadripartite, are working alongside countries to address critical gaps at the human-animal-environment interface.

Aerial ammonia exposure leads to tissue damage and metabolic dysfunction. However, it is unclear how different organs are coordinated to defend against aerial ammonia exposure. Twenty-four pigs were randomly divided into 4 groups, exposed to 0, 10, 25 or 35 mg/m3 ammonia respectively for 25 d. After above 25 mg/m3 ammonia exposure, decreased aspartate (P = 0.016), glutamate (P = 0.030) and increased ornithine (P = 0.002) were found in the ammonia-removing liver, and after high ammonia (35 mg/m3) exposure, glutamine synthetase (GS) expression was increased (P = 0.012). An increased glutamate (P = 0.004) and decreased glutaminase (GLS) expression (P = 0.083) were observed in the lungs after high ammonia exposure. There was also an increasing trend of glutamine in the kidneys after high ammonia exposure (P = 0.066). For branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism, high ammonia exposure increased BCAA content in both the lungs and muscle (P

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different feeding patterns on meat quality, gut microbiota and its metabolites of Tibetan pigs. Tibetan pigs with similar body weight were fed the high energy diets (HEP, 20 pigs) and the regular diets (RFP, 20 pigs), and free-ranging Tibetan pigs (FRP, 20 pigs) were selected as the reference. After 6 weeks of experiment, meat quality indexes of semitendinosus muscle (SM) and cecal microbiota were measured. The results of meat quality demonstrated that the shear force of pig SM in FRP group was higher than that in HEP and RFP groups (p

For the low concentration and intractable VOCs and CO2, plasma-coupled catalysis has superior advantages and development potential to deal with them. However, there are critical issues such as efficiency to be further improved and unclear coupling mechanism to reveal. In this review, various types of catalysts are categorized and evaluated by exploring their enhancement effect in plasma-catalytic system to indicate their synergistic excellence and application limitation. Besides, the detailed research of synergistic mechanism between plasma and catalysis is given more attention, which is rapidly progressing due to the development of in-situ experimental techniques and kinetic analysis approach. In our view, the future direction of plasma catalysis is to reveal the synergistic mechanism more deeply for efficiency improvement with efficient catalysts, and pave the way for practical application.

Removing sericin from the periphery of silk without damage to silk fibroin (SF) to obtain high-molecular-weight SF is a major challenge in the field of SF-based biomaterials. In this study, four neutral proteases, subtilisin, trypsin, bromelain and papain, were used to degum silk, and the degumming efficiency of the proteases and their influence on the molecular weight (MW) of regenerated silk fibroin were studied. The results indicated that all four neutral proteases could remove sericin from silk almost completely, and they caused less damage to SF fibers than Na2CO3 degumming did. The degumming efficiency of trypsin and papain was strong, but they caused relatively high damage to SF, whereas bromelain caused the least damage. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, gel permeation chromatography and shear viscosity showed that the MWs of regenerated SF derived from neutral protease degumming were significantly higher than that of SF derived from Na2CO3 degumming. The MW of regenerated SF derived from bromelain degumming was the highest, while the MWs of regenerated SF derived from papain and trypsin degumming were relatively low. This study provides an efficient and environmentally friendly biological degumming method for obtaining high-molecular-weight silk fibroin.

Although, the cecum plays vital roles in absorption of water, electrolytes, and other small molecules, and harbors trillions of commensal bacteria to shape large intestine immune functions, it is unknown the cecum development potentials at single cell level during the very crucial neonatal developmental period. Using singe cell RNA-seq and proteomics, we have characterized six major types of cecal cells: undifferentiated cells; immune cells (Ims); cecumocytes (CCs); goblet, Paneth like cells (PLCs), and enteroendocrine cells (EECs) with specific markers. CCs mature with a gradual decrease in proportion of cells; however, Ims develop with a continuing increase in proportion of cells. Meanwhile, goblet and EEC cells reduced in proportion of cells from do to d14 or d21; PLCs increased in proportion of cells from d0 to d7 then decreased at d14 and d21. The cells exhibit specific development and maturation trends controlled by transcriptional factors, ligand-receptor pairs, and other factors. As piglets grow, cecal content and mucosal microbial diversity increases dramatically with population of beneficial microbiota, such as lactobacillus. Moreover, cecal mucosal-associated and cecal content microbiota are positively correlated and both show significant correlation with different types of cecal cells and plasma metabolites. This is the first presentation of neonatal cecal cell development and maturation naturally at single cell level with transcript, protein, microbiota and metabolism perspectives. Furthermore, this study provides an important tool for the determination of novel interventions in cecal drug delivery and metabolism studies.

Forests worldwide store large quantities of carbon (C), particularly in soils as soil organic C (SOC). In northeastern China, two dominant forest types, secondary mixed forest (MF) and larch plantation forest (LF), cover extensive areas. However, we lack an understanding of the patterns and the mechanisms of SOC storage and stabilization in MF and LF, especially in deep soil layers. This research aims to illustrate the vertical distribution and mineral protection of SOC over soil depth; we also used δ13C values of soil fractions to evaluate SOC stability. Samples from the surface litter (Oi), organic layer (Oa+e), and 0–40 cm mineral soils were collected from both MF and LF plots. We used two different methods to separate bulk soils into distinguished fractions: (1) macro- and micro-aggregates and the non-aggregated fraction, and (2) particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). The C concentrations, C stocks, and δ13C of all soil fractions were determined. Our findings were as follows: (1) SOC was mainly stored in mineral soils and was 13.6% lower in LF (8609 ± 1180 g C m−2) than MF (9969 ± 2084 g C m−2). (2) In both MF and LF, the SOC stock was mainly stored in aggregates (averaged 92.7%); macroaggregates dominated in the surface layers (Oa+e layer and 0–10 cm) but microaggregates dominated in the deep layers (10–20 cm and 20–40 cm). In mineral soils, MAOM was the dominant fraction of the C stock (averaged 81.6%). (3) The proportion of C distributed in microaggregates and MAOM increased from Oa+e to the 20–40 cm layer. (4) The C/N ratios and δ13C values of MAOM were smaller and heavier compared to those of POM. Our study demonstrated that in both forests, aggregate formation and mineral association predominantly contributed to SOC storage, and large stocks of SOC were distributed in the deep soil. The increasing proportion of SOC in microaggregates and MAOM along the soil depth, most likely derived from microbial turnover and microbial necromass, influenced SOC stability in both forest types.

Abstract Background Glycolysis is a central metabolic pathway for tumor cells. However, the potential roles of glycolysis-related genes in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have not been investigated. Methods Seven glycolysis-related gene sets were selected from MSigDB and were analyzed through GSEA. Using TCGA database, the glycolysis-related gene signature was constructed. Prognostic analyses were based on the Kaplan–Meier method. The cBioPortal database was employed to perform the mutation analyses. The CIBERSORT algorithm and TIMER database were used to determine the immunological effect of glycolytic gene signature. The expressions in protein level of eight glycolytic risk genes were determined by HPA database. Finally, qPCR, MTT and Transwell invasion assays were conducted to validate the roles of core glycolytic risk genes (CD44, PLOD1 and PLOD2) in RCC. Results Four glycolysis-related gene sets were significantly enriched in RCC samples. The glycolytic risk signature was constructed (including CD44, PLOD2, KIF20A, IDUA, PLOD1, HMMR, DEPDC1 and ANKZF1) and identified as an independent RCC prognostic factor (HR = 1.204). Moreover, genetic alterations of glycolytic risk genes were uncommon in RCC (10.5%) and glycolytic risk signature can partially affect immune microenvironment of RCC. Six glycolytic risk genes (except for IDUA and HMMR) were over-expression in A498 and 786-O renal cancer cells through qPCR test. MTT and Transwell assays revealed that silencing of CD44, PLOD1 and PLOD2 suppressed the proliferation and invasion of renal cancer cells. Conclusions The glycolysis-related risk signature is closely associated with RCC prognosis, progression and immune microenvironment. CD44, PLOD1 and PLOD2 may serve as RCC oncogenes.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has recently emerged as a promising approach for cancer therapy. Here, the authors report a hyperbranched polymer vesicle with favorable photothermal stability and high photothermal efficiency for PTT through a supramolecular polymerization-enhanced self-assembly strategy.

After the iconic outburst of Zonag Lake in Hoh Xil of Tibetan Plateau (TP) in 2011, the causes of the collapse and its impact on the volume of water contained by the downstream lakes have highly been concerned, but the overall changes of the hydrological ecosystem and its impacts on the basin are yet not clear. This paper analyzes the hydrological system (lake area and hydrological connection) and ecosystem (sandstorm activity and vegetation growth status) changes and their impacts on the regional ecological environment after the outburst event, based on remotely sensed images from 2000 to 2020, meteorological observations, and field surveys. The results show that the outburst of Zonag Lake has not only changed the regional hydrology and ecosystem pattern but also caused a trend of degradation in the ecological environment of Zonag Lake Basin. Some lambing areas and active areas of Tibetan antelope in the area are being buried and eroded by the sandstorm. The downstream Yanhu Lake has risen to the highest level and overflowed through the emergency diversion engineering. These impacts are continuously threatening the health of the ecological environment of the world natural heritage site in Hoh Xil, the safety of Qinghai-Tibet highway, Qinghai-Tibet railway, and other engineering facilities, as well as the stability of fluvial geomorphology in the northern most sources of Yangtze River.

The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is the core component of proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis cell, which provides a place for water decomposition to generate hydrogen and oxygen. The microstructure, thickness, IrO2 loading as well as the uniformity and quality of the anodic catalyst layer (ACL) have great influence on the performance of PEM water electrolysis cell. Aiming at providing an effective and low-cost fabrication method for MEA, the purpose of this work is to optimize the catalyst ink formulation and achieve the ink properties required to form an adherent and continuous layer with doctor blade coating method. The ink formulation (e.g., isopropanol/H2O of solvents and solids content) were adjusted, and the doctor blade thickness was optimized. The porous structure and the thickness of the doctor blade coating ACL were further confirmed with the in-plane and the cross-sectional SEM analyses. Finally, the effect of the ink formulation and the doctor blade thickness of the ACL on the cell performance were characterized in a PEM electrolyzer under ambient pressure at 80 °C. Overall, the optimized doctor blade coating ACL showed comparable performance to that prepared with the spraying method. It is proved that the doctor blade coating is capable of high-uniformity coating.

Bile acids are critical for lipid absorption, however, their new roles in maintaining or regulating systemic metabolism are irreplaceable. The negative impacts of heat stress (HS) on growth performance, lipid metabolism, and antioxidant status have been reported, but it remains unknown whether the bile acids (BA) composition of broiler chickens can be affected by HS. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the modulating effects of the environment (HS) and whether dietary BA supplementation can benefit heat-stressed broiler chickens. A total of 216 Arbor Acres broilers were selected with a bodyweight approach average and treated with thermal neutral (TN), HS (32°C), or HS-BA (200 mg/kg BA supplementation) from 21 to 42 days. The results showed that an increase in average daily gain (P < 0.05) while GSH-Px activities (P < 0.05) in both serum and liver were restored to the normal range were observed in the HS-BA group. HS caused a drop in the primary BA (P = 0.084, 38.46%) and Tauro-conjugated BA (33.49%) in the ileum, meanwhile, the secondary BA in the liver and cecum were lower by 36.88 and 39.45% respectively. Notably, results were consistent that SBA levels were significantly increased in the serum (3-fold, P = 0.0003) and the ileum (24.89-fold, P < 0.0001). Among them, TUDCA levels (P < 0.01) were included. Besides, BA supplementation indeed increased significantly TUDCA (P = 0.0154) and THDCA (P = 0.0003) levels in the liver, while ileal TDCA (P = 0.0307), TLCA (P = 0.0453), HDCA (P = 0.0018), and THDCA (P = 0.0002) levels were also increased. Intestinal morphology of ileum was observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, birds fed with BA supplementation reduced (P = 0.0431) crypt depth, and the ratio of villous height to crypt depth trended higher (P = 0.0539) under the heat exposure. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that dietary supplementation with BA resulted in upregulation of FXR (P = 0.0369), ASBT (P = 0.0154), and Keap-1 (P = 0.0104) while downregulation of iNOS (P = 0.0399) expression in ileum. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis and relevance networks revealed that HS-derived changes in gut microbiota and BA metabolites of broilers may affect their resistance to HS. Thus, BA supplementation can benefit broiler chickens during high ambient temperatures, serving as a new nutritional strategy against heat stress.

ABSTRACT The neonatal period is a crucial time during development of the mammalian small intestine. Moreover, neonatal development and maturation of the small intestine are exceptionally important for early growth, successful weaning, and postweaning growth and development, in order to achieve species-specific milestones. Although several publications recently characterized intestinal epithelial cell diversity at the single-cell level, it remains unclear how differentiation and molecular interactions take place between types and subtypes of epithelial cells during the neonatal period. A single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) survey of 40,186 ileal epithelial cells and proteomics analysis of ileal samples at 6 time points in the swine neonatal period were performed. The results revealed previously unknown developmental changes: specific increases in undifferentiated cells, unique enterocyte differentiation, and time-dependent reduction in secretory cells. Moreover, we observed specific transcriptional factors, ligand-receptor pairs, G protein-coupled receptors, transforming growth factor β, bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathways, and gut mucosal microbiota playing vital roles in ileal development during the neonatal window. This work offers new comprehensive information regarding ileal development throughout the neonatal period. Reference to this data set may assist in the creation of novel interventions for inflammation-, metabolism-, and proliferation-related gut pathologies. IMPORTANCE We found previously unknown neonatal ileum developmental potentials: specific increases in undifferentiated cells, unique enterocyte differentiation, and time dependent reduction in secretory cells. Specific transcriptional factors (TFs), ligand-receptor pairs, G protein-coupled receptors, transforming growth factor β, bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathways, and the gut mucosal microbiota are involved in this process. Our results may assist in the creation of novel interventions for inflammation-, metabolism-, and proliferation-related gut pathologies.

We found previously unknown neonatal ileum developmental potentials: specific increases in undifferentiated cells, unique enterocyte differentiation, and time dependent reduction in secretory cells. Specific transcriptional factors (TFs), ligand-receptor pairs, G protein-coupled receptors, transforming growth factor β, bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathways, and the gut mucosal microbiota are involved in this process.

The development of effective and comprehensive methods for mapping and monitoring reservoirs is essential for the utilization of water resources and flood control. Remote sensing has the great advantages of broad spatial coverage and regular revisit to meet the demand of large-scale and long-term tasks of earth observation. Although there already exist some methods for coarse-grained identification of reservoirs at region-level in remote sensing images, it remains a challenge to recognize and localize reservoirs accurately with insufficiency of object details and samples annotated. This study focuses on the fine-grained identification and location of reservoirs with a two-stage CNN framework method, which is comprised of a coarse classification between aquatic and land areas of image patches and a fine detection of reservoirs in aquatic patches with precise geographical coordinates. Moreover, a NIR RCNN detection network is proposed to make use of the multi-spectral characteristics of Sentinel-2 images. To verify the effectiveness of our proposed method, we construct a reservoir and dam dataset of 36 Sentinel-2 images which are sampled in various provinces across China and annotated at the instance level by manual work. The experimental results in the test set show that the two-stage CNN method achieves an average recall of 80.83% nationwide, and the comparison between reservoirs recognized by the proposed model and those provided by the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research verifies that the model reaches a recall of about 90%. Both the indicator evaluation and visualization of identification results have shown the applicability of the proposed method to reservoir recognition in remote sensing images. Being the first attempt to make a fine-grained identification of reservoirs at the instance level, the two-stage CNN framework, which can automatically identify and localize reservoirs in remote sensing images precisely, shows the prospect to be a useful tool for large-scale and long-term reservoir monitoring.

The liquid and gas diffusion layer is a key component of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE), and its interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance have a great impact on the performance and durability of PEMWE. In this work, a novel hybrid coating with Au contacts discontinuously embedded in a titanium oxidized layer was constructed on a Ti felt via facile electrochemical metallizing and followed by a pre-oxidization process. The physicochemical characterizations, such as scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction results confirmed that the distribution and morphology of the Au contacts could be regulated with the electrical pulse time, and a hybrid coating (Au-TiO2/Ti) was eventually achieved after the long-term stability test under anode environment. At the compaction force of 140 N cm−2, the ICR was reduced from 19.7 mΩ cm2 of the P-Ti to 4.2 mΩ cm2 of the Au-TiO2/Ti. The corrosion current density at 1.8 V (RHE) is 0.689 μA cm−2. Both the ICR and corrosion resistance results showed that the prepared protective coating could provide comparable ICR and corrosion resistance to a dense Au coating.

Ammonia, an atmospheric pollutant in the air, jeopardizes immune function, and perturbs metabolism, especially lipid metabolism, in human and animals. The roles of intestinal microbiota and its metabolites in maintaining or regulating immune function and metabolism are irreplaceable. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how aerial ammonia exposure influences hindgut microbiota and its metabolites in a pig model. Twelve growing pigs were treated with or without aerial ammonia (35 mg/m3) for 25 days, and then microbial diversity and microbiota-derived metabolites were measured. The results demonstrated a decreasing trend in leptin (p = 0.0898) and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, p = 0.0006) in serum after ammonia exposure. Besides, an upward trend in hyocholic acid (HCA), lithocholic acid (LCA), hyodeoxycholic acid (HDCA) (p < 0.1); a downward trend in tauro-deoxycholic acid (TDCA, p < 0.1); and a reduced tauro-HDCA (THDCA, p < 0.05) level were found in the serum bile acid (BA) profiles after ammonia exposure. Ammonia exposure notably raised microbial alpha-diversity with higher Sobs, Shannon, or ACE index in the cecum or colon and the Chao index in the cecum (p < 0.05) and clearly exhibited a distinct microbial cluster in hindgut indicated by principal coordinate analysis (p < 0.01), indicating that ammonia exposure induced alterations of microbial community structure and composition in the hindgut. Further analysis displayed that ammonia exposure increased the number of potentially harmful bacteria, such as Negativibacillus, Alloprevotella, or Lachnospira, and decreased the number of beneficial bacteria, such as Akkermansia or Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, in the hindgut (FDR < 0.05). Analysis of microbiota-derived metabolites in the hindgut showed that ammonia exposure increased acetate and decreased isobutyrate or isovalerate in the cecum or colon, respectively (p < 0.05). Unlike the alteration of serum BA profiles, cecal BA data showed that high ammonia exposure had a downward trend in cholic acid (CA), HCA, and LCA (p < 0.1); a downward trend in deoxycholic acid (DCA) and HDCA (p < 0.05); and an upward trend in glycol-chenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA, p < 0.05). Mantel test and correlation analysis revealed associations between microbiota-derived metabolites and ammonia exposure-responsive cecal bacteria. Collectively, the findings illustrated that high ammonia exposure induced the dysbiotic microbiota in the hindgut, thereby affecting the production of microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids and BAs, which play a pivotal role in the modulation of host systematic metabolism.

Nickel phosphides have been investigated as an alternative to noble metals and have emerged as potential catalysts that can efficiently catalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the impacts of facet morphology and crystal structure of the nickel phosphides on their catalytic reactivity have not been systematically investigated. Herein, nickel phosphides with different crystalline states were prepared through a facile calcination treatment. It was found that the calcination treatment had important effects on the phase compositions, morphologies, and crystallinity of nickel phosphides, which are closely related to their HER activity. Generally, the crystallized Ni-P catalysts exhibited faster kinetics than the amorphous Ni-P. In particular, the Ni-P 300 showed remarkable HER performance with η10 of ca. 65 mV, along with a very low Tafel slope of ca. 44 mV dec−1 due to the increased catalytically active sites. Furthermore, the Ni-P 300 exhibited negligible decay during the 140 h galvanostatic electrolysis, showing better catalytic stability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Compared with the amorphous Ni-P, the boosted HER activity of the Ni-P 300 could benefit from the mixed nanocrystalline Ni2P and Ni3P, which could contribute to the Hads adsorption/desorption abilities and helped provide more activity sites, promoting the HER performance.

Abstract Nitrogen (N) fertilization has boosted grain production during the past century, while excess N fertilization with declining N use efficiency (NUE) has led to severe pollution in many regions. To achieve the goal of sustainable food production, Technologies and Management Practices (TMPs, e.g., optimum N application rate and methods, N‐transformation inhibitors) have been developed to improve crop yield and NUE and to reduce N losses. However, it remains unclear how N fate has been changed by environmental factors and TMPs. Here, we compiled a dataset of 366 field 15N tracer observations from 74 publications worldwide and conducted a meta‐analysis to examine how environmental conditions and management practices influence the fertilizer‐N fate one growing season after the fertilization of maize. We show that the proportion of 15N taken up by aboveground biomass (NUE15N), was significantly lower in China (33%) than that in North America (42%) and the European Union (54%). Soil organic carbon was the most critical environmental factor positively correlated with NUE15N. Among the nine selected categories of TMPs, deep placement of fertilizer and split application increased the grain yield and decreased the fertilizer‐N loss consistently among studies. Reducing the fertilizer‐N rate could increase the NUE15N but presents risks of yield reduction in some regions. This study demonstrates the importance of SOC and varying impacts of TMPs on the efficiency of fertilizer use in cropping systems globally and provides critical information for farmers and policymakers to improve N management for higher productivity and less pollution.

Developing the high-efficiency and cheap non-noble catalysts towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of significance for water splitting. Herein, for the first time, we report a simple method of acid leaching combined with carbothermic reduction with dephosphorization slag to construct a carbonaceous FexP/C catalyst. In alkaline medium, the corresponding overpotential when the output current density was 10 mA cm−2 (η10) was only 145 mV. Additionally, there was no obvious attenuation after 3000 cycles, which showed significantly better activity and stability than that of non-carbonaceous FexP catalysts prepared by gas–solid phosphating. The structure and composition of FexP/C were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer. The electrochemical properties of the electrode were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, linear scanning voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic stability. The results showed that the prepared FexP/C was composed of FeP-Fe2P mixed nanocrystals supported on amorphous carbon. Compared with FexP, the synergistic catalysis of the FeP and Fe2P phases as well as the interactive support effect between the FeP-Fe2P mixed nanocrystals and the amorphous carbon support will attribute the rich active sites for electrocatalytic reaction and reduce the charge transfer resistance. Thus, FexP/C has good hydrogen evolution activity and stability. Overall, the preparation of catalysts with high additional value based on dephosphorization slag was preliminarily explored.

The adverse effects of short-term megadose of antibiotics exposure on the gastrointestinal and liver tissue reactions in young children have been reported. Antibiotic-induced intestinal and liver reactions are usually unpredictable and present a poorly understood pathogenesis. It is, therefore, necessary to develop strategies for reducing the adverse effects of antibiotics. Studies on the harm and rescue measures of antibiotics from the perspective of the gut–liver system are lacking. Here, we demonstrate that lincomycin exposure reduced body weight, disrupted the composition of gut microbiota and intestinal morphology, triggered immune-mediated injury and inflammation, caused liver dysfunction, and affected lipid metabolism. However, baicalin administration attenuated the lincomycin-induced changes. Transcriptome analysis showed that baicalin improved immunity in mice, as evidenced by the decreased levels of intestinal inflammatory cytokines and expression of genes that regulate Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell differentiation, and inhibited mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis pathways. In addition, baicalin improved liver function by upregulating the expression of genes involved in bile acid secretion and lipid degradation, and downregulating genes involved in lipid synthesis in lincomycin-treated mice. Bile acids can regulate intestinal immunity and strengthen hepatoenteric circulation. In addition, baicalin also improved anti-inflammatory bacteria abundance (Blautia and Coprobacillus) and reduced pathogenic bacteria abundance (Proteobacteria, Klebsiella, and Citrobacter) in lincomycin-treated mice. Thus, baicalin can ameliorate antibiotic-induced injury and its associated complications such as liver disease.

Artificial and natural water bodies, such as reservoirs, ponds, rivers and lakes, are important components of water-related ecosystems; they are also important indicators of the impact of human activities and climate change on surface water resources. However, due to the global and regional lack of artificial and natural water bodies data sets, understanding of the changes in water-related ecosystems under the dual impact of human activities and climate change is limited and scientific and effective protection and restoration actions are restricted. In this paper, artificial and natural water bodies data sets for China are developed for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 based on satellite remote sensing surface water and artificial water body location sample data sets. The characteristics and causes of the temporal and spatial distributions of the artificial and natural water bodies are also analyzed. The results revealed that the area of artificial and natural water bodies in China shows an overall increasing trend, with obvious differences in spatial distribution during the last 20 years, and that the fluctuation range of artificial water bodies is smaller than that of natural water bodies. This research is critical for understanding the composition and long-term changes in China’s surface water system and for supporting and formulating scientific and rational strategies for water-related ecosystem protection and restoration.

Surface water is a highly dynamical object on the earth’s surface. At present, satellite remote sensing is the most effective way to accurately depict the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of surface water on a large scale. In this study, a region-adaptive random forest algorithm is designed on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) for automatic surface water mapping by using data from multi-sensors such as Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 OLI, and Sentinel-1 SAR images as source data, and China as a case study region. The visual comparison of the mapping results with the original images under different landform areas shows that the extracted water body boundary is consistent with the water range in the image. The cross-validation with the JRC GSW validation samples shows a very high precision that the average producer’s accuracy and average user’s accuracy of water is 0.933 and 0.998, respectively. The average overall accuracy and average kappa is 0.966 and 0.931, respectively. The independent verification results of lakes with different areas also prove the high accuracy for our method, with a maximum average error of 3.299%. These results show that the method is an ideal way for large-scale surface water mapping with a high spatial–temporal resolution.