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High-dose perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) impairs oocyte maturation and offspring quality. However, the physiological concentrations of PFOA in follicular fluids of patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) were detected at lower levels, thus the relationship between physiological PFOA and reproductive disorders remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether physiological PFOA exposure affects gonad function in adult zebrafish. Physiological PFOA exposure resulted in POI-like phenotypes in adult females, which exhibited decreased spawning frequency, reduced number of ovulated eggs, abnormal gonadal index, and aberrant embryonic mortality. Meanwhile, oocytes from PFOA-exposed zebrafish showed mitochondrial disintegration and diminished mitochondrial membrane potential. Unlike the high-dose treated oocytes exhibiting high reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and excessive apoptosis, physiological PFOA reduced the ROS levels and did not trigger apoptosis. Interestingly, physiological PFOA exposure would not affect testis function, indicating specific toxicity in females. Mechanistically, PFOA suppressed the NAD+ biosynthesis and impaired mitochondrial function in oocytes, thus disrupting oocyte maturation and ovarian fertility. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor for NAD+ biosynthesis, alleviated the PFOA-induced toxic effects in oocytes and improved the oocyte maturation and fertility upon PFOA exposure. Our findings discover new insights into PFOA-induced reproductive toxicity and provide NMN as a potential drug for POI therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, aramid fiber (AF)/phenolic resin prepreg was fabricated by impregnating low content carbon nanotube (CNT)‐reinforced phenolic resin with aramid fabric through a two‐roll pressing process. Both non‐functionalized and carboxylic‐functionalized CNTs (CNTs and CNTs‐COOH) were used for comparison study. For each of the formulations, composite laminate was made by a hot‐pressing process with a number of the prepregs stacked together. Mechanical properties and ballistic performance of the laminates and material failure mechanisms were evaluated and analyzed. Both non‐functionalized and CNTs‐COOH can effectively improve the mechanical and ballistic performance of the laminates. With CNTs‐COOH reinforcement, better results were achieved. As compared with the laminate without CNT reinforcement, 1.0 wt% CNTs‐COOH‐reinforced laminate showed 19.41%, 22.29%, and 45.83% improvement in tensile, flexural, and adhesion shear strength, respectively. The ballistic test results showed that the V50 and the specific energy absorption (SEA) were increased by 5.77% and 13.44%, respectively. The correlation between mechanical and ballistic performance of the composites was analyzed and conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-MOF, as a metal–organic framework, has the advantages of morphological diversity and adjustable composition, which make its derivatives attractive for electromagnetic wave absorption. However, it is challenging for Ni-MOF derivatives to obtain strong absorption at low filling rates. Herein, ternary Ni@C/PPy composites based on Ni-MOF derivatives were synthesized by cooperatively coupling magnetic Ni@C nanoparticles with a conductive polymer PPy matrix through a facile self-assembly method. Among them, Ni@C nanoparticles are formed after Ni-MOF pyrolysis, and PPy serves as the backbone to effectively assemble and support the Ni@C nanoparticles. As a result, the Ni@C/PPy-3 sample exhibited excellent performance with a reflection loss value of −50.65 dB at a filling ratio of 15 wt% and a thickness of 2.5 mm. At the same time, its effective absorption bandwidth reached 6.24 GHz, covering the whole Ku frequency band. The results show that in comparison to pure Ni@C composite, the Ni@C/PPy multi-component composite with a porous structure shows significant advantages in terms of optimizing impedance matching, which can effectively enhance the interface polarization and, thus, greatly improve its electromagnetic absorption ability. In summary, this work provides a valuable research idea for developing strong absorbing properties of absorbing materials at a low filling rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cholestane-3β,5α,6β-triol (CT) and its analogues are abundant in natural sources and are reported to demonstrate cytotoxicity toward different kinds of tumor cells without a deep probe into their mechanism of action. CT is also one of the major metabolic oxysterols of cholesterol in mammals and is found to accumulate in various diseases. An extensive exploration of the biological roles of CT over the past few decades has established its identity as an apoptosis inducer. In this study, the effects of CT on A549 cell death were investigated through cell viability assays. RNA-sequencing analysis and western blot of CT-treated A549 cells revealed the role of CT in inducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and enhancing autophagy flux, suggesting a putative mechanism of CT-induced cell-death activation involving reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated ER stress and autophagy. It is reported for the first time that the upregulation of autophagy induced by CT can serve as a cellular cytotoxicity response in accelerating CT-induced cell death in A549 cells. This research provides evidence for the effect of CT as an oxysterol in cell response to oxidative damage and allows for a deep understanding of cholesterol in its response in an oxidative stress environment that commonly occurs in the progression of various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A carbazole-based artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) was successfully fabricated based on the supramolecular assembly of AIE-enhanced donor (CTD), water-soluble phosphate-pillar[5]arene (WPP5), and eosin Y (ESY) acceptor. The formed WPP5-CTD possessed remarkable AIE emission, featuring an ideal energy donor for light harvesting. After encapsulation of ESY, the energy of WPP5-CTD was efficiently transferred to ESY in WPP5-CTD-ESY, and the antenna effect was 38.5, which was much higher than that of recently reported LHSs. Notably, WPP5-CTD-ESY was successfully utilized as a photocatalyst to realize the cross-coupling dehydrogenation reaction of diphenylphosphine oxide and benzothiazole derivatives, suggesting great potential for aqueous photocatalytic applications of this LHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of hemoglobin is a vital index for diagnosing and monitoring diseases in clinical practice. At present, solutions need to be found for the soreness, high risk of infection, and inconvenient operation associated with invasive detection methods. This paper proposes a method for non-invasively detecting hemoglobin levels based on multi-wavelength photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. AFE4490 and TMUX1109 were used to implement the low-cost collection of an eight-LED transmissive PPG signal. We used seven regular LEDs and one broadband LED (Osram SFH4737) as light sources. Additionally, a finger clip integrating multiple sensors was designed and manufactured via 3D printing to simultaneously monitor the LED–sensor distance and the pressure from the tester's finger during PPG signal acquisition. We used a method to extract features from PPG signals using a sliding-window's variance and an evaluation metric for PPG signals based on the AdaCost classification. Data were gathered from 56 participants from the Nephrology department, including 16 anemic patients. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted on the collected data to remove any data with a weak correlation. The advantage of using a broadband LED as a light source was also demonstrated. Several non-invasive hemoglobin regression models were created by applying AdaBoost, BPNN, and Random Forest models. The study's results indicate that the AdaBoost model produced the best performance, with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.67 g/L and a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.91 The study results show that the device we designed and manufactured can achieve effective non-invasive hemoglobin detection and represents a new methodological approach to obtaining measurements that can be applied in a clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytokinin (CTK) has an important regulatory effect on plant morphology, physiology, and yield, and is one of the main factors regulating nitrogen absorption, transport, and metabolism. This paper reviews the research progress in nitrogen absorption, transport and metabolism, cytokinin synthesis, transport and signal transduction, etc., focusing on the physiological mechanisms by which CTK and nitrogen collaborate to regulate the root–shoot relationship and its impact on agronomic traits of crops. The synthesis of trans‐zeatin (tZ) and trans‐zeatin riboside (tZR) is generally regulated by root nitrogen, which is transported them to the sprouts, regulates nitrogen allocation and metabolism, and affects photosynthetic characteristics and yield. In young shoots, nitrogen upregulates the synthesis of isopentenyl, adenine (iP), and iP‐nucleoside (iPR) and transports to roots through the phloem, reducing nitrogen uptake and transport, affecting root morphology. Based on this, the role of, CTK in coordinating relationships between source repositories and enhancing injection. We conducted an analysis on how various cultivation methods impact CTK metabolism and its relationship with plant growth. Additionally, we discussed the challenges associated with applying CTK functions to paddy field production and suggested future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. is an important medicinal plant that is used to treat various diseases in South and Southeast Asia. In this study, the complete plastome of M. cochinchinensis was sequenced and found to exhibit a total length of 158,955 bp, with a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,924 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,479 bp, as well as with two inverted repeats (IRs) that were both 26,726 bp in length. In total, 129 genes were detected, comprising 86 protein-encoding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 35 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. Furthermore, the inferred phylogenetic tree confirmed that M. cochinchinensis belongs to the genus Momordica in the Cucurbitaceae family. The research results will be used for authenticating M. cochinchinensis plant materials and for analyzing the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in Momordica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics are refractory pollutants that have been widely found in various environmental media such as soil and surface water. Existing sewage treatments perform poorly at preventing antibiotics in urban sewage from polluting natural environments. In this study, we designed a bioelectrically enhanced bioretention cell system (bioretention cell-microbial fuel cell, BRC-MFC) that utilizes the unique structure of the BRC system to improve the removal of sewage antibiotics. This new system can efficiently remove antibiotics by using a synergy of plant absorption, filler adsorption, filler filtration and microbial degradation. To study the influences of multiple-antibiotics stress on the decontamination performance of BRC-MFC, ofloxacin (OFLX) and tetracycline (TC) were selected as target antibiotics, and five BRC-MFCs were built to treat sewage containing antibiotics of different concentrations. The concentrations of pollutant in the influent and effluent were measured and the pollutant removal performance of BRC-MFC was studied. The diversity of rhizosphere microorganisms and the abundance of denitrifying functional genes were analyzed. Experimental results showed that over 90% of OFLX and TC in each BRC-MFC were removed, with the removal rates positively correlating with the concentration of antibiotics. In addition, the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in BRC-MFC were both over 90%, while the removal rate of total nitrogen (TN) was around 70%. Meanwhile, antibiotics could significantly improve the removal of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N, p < 0.01). The microbial richness decreased, and we found that combined antibiotic stress on microorganisms was stronger than single antibiotic stress. The abundance of denitrifying functional genes was reduced by antibiotic stress. The results of this study provide reference values for other projects focusing on removing various antibiotics from domestic sewage using BRC-MFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because cotton is the most important fiber crop, the differentiation and development mechanism of cotton fiber cells has been a hot topic in cotton research. NAC (for NAM, ATAF, and CUC2) is a class of plant‐specific transcription factor families that regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development. Previously, we identified 33 differentially expressed NAC genes in upland cotton based on fiber‐related transcriptome profiling. In this study, we conducted chromosome localization, systematic evolution, and gene structural analysis of 242 NAC genes genome‐wide based on a high‐quality reference genome of upland cotton. In addition, the expression pattern analysis of 16 differentially expressed GhNACs was carried out by RT–PCR using ovules at early fiber initiation stages of n2 recessive naked seed mutant (n2NSM) and Xuzhou142 fuzzless–lintless mutant (Xu142fl). The results showed that GhNAC230 and GhNAC115 were most closely related to AtSND1 and downregulated in ovules of Xu142fl compared with n2NSM. Quantitative RT–PCR (qRT–PCR) analysis of GhNAC230 demonstrated its gradual accumulation from −1 days postanthesis (DPA) to 1 DPA in n2NSM and further confirmed its downregulated expression in 1 DPA ovules of Xu142fl compared to n2NSM. The current study predicted a pair of NAC genes that might be key candidate genes that are crucial for lint fiber development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Septic shock (SS) is the most common severe syndrome in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Enhancing the monitoring of hemodynamic indexes in SS patients carries huge clinical implications for reducing patient mortality. Recently, pulse indicator continuous cardiac output (PICCO) has been widely used in clinical practice, but its advantages than central venous pressure (CVP) in guiding the treatment of SS patients remains to be refined. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the clinical effects of PICCO in the treatment of patients with SS. Methods. The authors systematically searched several databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge) between January 2001 and February 2021. When searching for relevant articles, the authors combined the following phrases describing the monitoring group ("pulse indicator continuous cardiac output," "central venous pressure") with the disease of interest as well as management ("SS," "sepsis"). The outcomes were independently assessed by two reviewers who scored the articles for methodological quality using the Cochrane Collaboration's "risk of bias" tool. Forest plots, as well as sensitivity and bias analyses, were carried out for the included articles. The primary outcome measures were length of ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, 28-day mortality, and fluid resuscitation volume. Results. Ten studies comprising 350 cases monitored with PICCO and 373 cases monitored with traditional CVP were eventually identified. PICCO-monitored patients were observed to be significantly associated with shorter ICU stay than CVP-monitored patients (MD: −3.04, 95% CI: −4.74 to −1.34, P = 0.0005), shorter time of mechanical ventilation (MD: −1.84, 95% CI: −2.80 to −0.87, P = 0.0002), and lower 28-day mortality (RR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.94, P = 0.02). The two groups showed no significant difference in subgroup analysis for fluid resuscitation volumes (P > 0.05). Conclusion. PICCO monitoring technique can significantly improve the prognosis of SS patients, shorten the time of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, and reduce the 28-day mortality, which has positive guiding significance for patients with SS. Given the limitations of the quantity and quality of included studies, further research is warranted to verify the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché is an important germplasm resource used for rootstock and hypoglycemic food in Cucurbitaceae. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. ficifolia has been determined in this study. The total genome size is 157,533 bp in length and contains a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,639 bp, which were separated by large single copy (LSC) and small single copy (SSC) of 88,112 bp and 18,143 bp, respectively. A total of 130 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes and 36 tRNA genes. Further, Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. ficifolia is a base clade of genus Cucurbita and closer to Cucurbita maxima. The chloroplast genome of C. ficifolia would promote the germplasm exploration, phylogenetic relationships, and molecular biology researches in Cucurbita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill is an essential tuber crop with pharmacological effects in the family Dioscoreaceae. The complete chloroplast genome of D. esculenta was determined in this study. The total genome size is 153, 437 bp in length and demonstrates a typical quadripartite structure containing a large single copy (LSC, 83,628 bp) and a small single copy (SSC, 18,893 bp), separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRa, IRb) of 25,458 bp. The GC content of the complete chloroplast genome sequence is 37.07%. A total of 131 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic tree analysis of 25 species belonging to the genus Dioscorea indicated that D. esculenta and D. sansibarensis were clustered into one branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel-aqueous artificial light-harvesting platforms (ALHPs) with high efficiency have been successfully developed based on supramolecular interactions with salicylideneaniline derivative (PPA), water-soluble-pillar [5]arene (WP5), Phloxine B (PHB), and sulforhodamine 101 (SR101). After PHB and SR101 loaded in WP5 ⊃ PPA nanoparticles, the constructed WP5 ⊃ PPA-PHB and WP5 ⊃ PPA-SR101 ALHPs exhibited excellent quantum yields (Φ QY) and antenna effects (AE), which were 24.19% and 33.6 for WP5 ⊃ PPA-PHB , 31.23% and 38.7 for WP5 ⊃ PPA-SR101. Significantly, cell cytotoxicity experiments displayed that WP5 ⊃ PPA-SR101 nanoparticles were biocompatible with NIH 3T3 normal cells. Moreover, CLSM results further confirmed their co-location imaging abilities of PPA and SR101 because of FRET process, exhibiting potential prospects in bio-imaging materials. [Display omitted] • A novel AIE molecule PPA was synthesized and PPA could exhibit strong AIE emission. • Two efficient FRET donor-acceptor systems for light-harvesting were explored and constructed. • Highly efficient aqueous ALHPs were fabricated based on supramolecular interaction. • WP5 ⊃ PPA-SR101 were biocompatible with normal cells and exhibited co-location imaging ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research progresses on growth characteristics, application effect and optimization technology of I. aquatica floating bed were reviewed; its application problems in eutrophication water were discussed, and its application prospect was forecasted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly efficient aqueous artificial-light-harvesting systems (ALHSs) were successfully fabricated based on the supramolecular assembly of naphthalenyl-phenylacrylonitrile derivative (NPT), water-soluble pillar [5]arene (WP5), and three kinds of pigments (4,7-di(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DBT), Eosin Y (ESY), and sulforhodamine-101 (SR101)). The assembled ALHSs perform a high energy-transfer-efficiency (Φ ETE) and antenna effect (90.9% and 40.6 for WP5 ⊃ NPT-DBT , 81.5% and 39.1 for WP5 ⊃ NPT-ESY as well as 71.3% and 38.4 for WP5 ⊃ NPT-SR101), suggesting that the energy of WP5 ⊃ NPT complex has been effectively transferred to pigment acceptors (DBT , ESY , and SR101). Notably, during the energy-transfer process of WP5 ⊃ NPT-SR101 ALHS, a white light emission (Φ QY = 24.21%) could be achieved by tuning the molar-ratio of [ NPT ]/[ SR101 ] to 250:1, which is close to that of natural light-harvesting system, displaying a promising application in simulating natural light-harvesting system. Furthermore, the WP5 ⊃ NPT-SR101 ALHS was successfully utilized as nanoreactors to catalyze the free-radical dehalogenation reactions of 2-bromo-acetophenone, 2-bromo-4′-methylacetophenone, and 2-bromo-4′-nitroacetophenone with the yields of 92%, 90% as well as 95%, which realized the energy transformation from solar-energy to chemical-energy, displaying a potential prospect in the field of artificial photosynthesis systems. [Display omitted] • Highly efficient artificial light-harvesting systems were successfully constructed in aqueous solution. • The fabricated ALHSs show high energy transfer efficiency and antenna effect. • A remarkable white light emission was successfully achieved with an ultrahigh energy donor/acceptor ratio of 250:1. • The harvested energy was successfully utilized to catalyze the photochemical reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canna edulis Ker Gawl. is an essential traditional tuber crop used for fresh consumption and to isolate starch in some tropical and semitropical regions. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. edulis has been determined in this study. The total genome size is 164,650 bp in length and contains a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 27,278 bp, which were separated by large single-copy (LSC) and small single-copy (SSC) of 91,421 bp and 18,673 bp, respectively. A total of 131 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes and 37 tRNA genes. Further, maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. edulis belongs to Cannaceae in Zingiberales. The chloroplast genome of C. edulis is first complete genome sequence in Cannaceae and would play a significant role in the development of molecular markers in plant phylogenetic and population genetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capsular polysaccharide ( CPS) synthesis locus of 13 S treptococcus suis serotypes (serotype 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, 23, 25 and 1/2) was sequenced and compared with that of serotype 2 and 16. The CPS synthesis locus of these 15 serotypes falls into two genetic groups. The locus is located on the chromosome between orfZ and aroA. All the translated proteins in the CPS synthesis locus were clustered into 127 homology groups using the tribemcl algorithm. The general organization of the locus suggested that the CPS of S . suis could be synthesized by the Wzy-dependent pathway. The capsule of serotypes 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 19 and 23 was predicted to be amino-polysaccharide. Sialic acid was predicted to be present in the capsule of serotypes 1, 2, 14, 16 and 1/2. The characteristics of the CPS synthesis locus suggest that some genes may have been imported into S . suis (or their ancestors) on multiple occasions from different and unknown sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), formerly called Clostridium welchii, is a spore-forming pathogenic bacterium. C. perfringens type C can produce fatal toxins, which are absorbed by the small intestine into the body causing diarrhea in humans and animals, especially piglets. Each year, diarrhea induced by this pathogen causes significant economic loss to the pig industry worldwide. Nevertheless, the regulatory mechanisms of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum in piglets challenged by C. perfringens type C are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify pathological changes and genes associated with the small intestine in piglets after infection with C. perfringens type C. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining were used to analyze duodenal, jejunal, and ileal tissues. Our results showed that treated piglets were successfully infected with C. perfringens type C. These findings will help to elucidate the pathogenicity of piglets infected with this pathogen. C. perfringens type C can induce enteritis accompanied by diarrhea and annually causes significant economic losses to the global pig industry. The pathogenic mechanisms of C. perfringens type C in pigs are still largely unknown. To investigate this, we challenged seven-day-old piglets with C. perfringens type C to cause diarrhea. We performed hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining of the small intestine (including duodenum, jejunum, and ileum) and assessed gene expression in the ileal tissue. H&E staining of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum demonstrated inflammation and edema of the lamina propria and submucosa. A total of 2181 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in ileal tissues. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of DEGs indicated that the main pathways were enriched in the T cell receptor signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and (tumor necrosis factor) TNF signaling pathway. These results provide insights into the pathogenicity of C. perfringens type C and improve our understanding of host–bacteria interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: TiB2 reinforced iron-based composite coatings can be fabricated on the mild steel substrate with a powder mixture of Ti and B4C by plasma transferred arc (PTA) powder surfacing process. Characterizations of the TiB2 reinforcements in the coated surface were investigated in this paper. The experimental work enables the following findings to be obtained: (i) acicular shaped and blocky formed TiB2 phases could be synthesized in situ using PTA powder surfacing process in the iron-based composite coating. (ii) Gradient distributions of TiB2 reinforcements appeared in the composite coating from both the vertical and horizontal direction of the coating''s cross-section. Significant changes of the size, shape and volume fraction for TiB2 particles appeared in different regions of the surface coating, due to the effects of the dilution rate and mass density. (iii) Values of coating dilution could have profound impacts on the characterization of TiB2 reinforcements in the coated surfaces. With the increase of coating dilution, TiB2 grain tends to be acicular shaped at the edge of the surface coating, while it remains to be granular formed in the center of the composite coating. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The in situ synthesized TiB2/Fe composite coatings were deposited by the plasma transferred-arc (PTA) powder surfacing process. The macro and micro defects in the TiB2/Fe composite coatings were investigated in this paper. It is found that heat input plays an important role in macro defects in the coatings. Only when the energy density and total heat input are appropriate will nice forming with few macro defects be obtained. As micro defects in the coatings, slag inclusions (C, Al2O3) and cracks often appear together. And it is found that slag inclusions and cracks tend to appear with a low dilution rate of the coatings, and their tendency decreases as the dilution rate increases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• No-tillage with plastic mulch lowers the soil temperature under maize. • Intercropped pea is less impacted by maize competition in a no-tillage system. • Maize grows faster after pea harvest with no-tillage than conventional tillage. • Greater water use efficiency and less evapotranspiration with the no-tillage system. Compensatory growth is a mechanism that explains the recovery in stature and yield of a subordinate crop after the dominant competitor is harvested from an intercropping system. This mechanism might be affected by agronomic practices, particularly those related to the crop water supply in arid regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of tillage and irrigation practices on competition and compensatory growth in pea-maize intercropping systems at Wuwei station in northwest China from 2014 to 2016. The field experiment included two forms of tillage with plastic film (no-tillage, NT; conventional tillage CT) and three irrigation levels (450 mm, I1; 495 mm, I2; 540 mm, I3). As pea was planted first, it was the dominant competitor and caused greater suppression of maize when crops were grown under I1 > I2 > I3 levels in NT than at the corresponding irrigation levels in CT. Compensatory growth of maize after pea harvest was, on average, 8 to 16% greater in the NT than CT. Growing the intercropped maize strip under NT with plastic mulch was as effective as CT with plastic mulch to achieve a favorable yield outcome. However, the intercropped pea yield was 20–29% greater, with 0–5% more maize yield under deficit irrigation level (I1) and the land equivalent ratio was 3–15% greater in NT than CT plots during this study. Yield gains were related to improved water use efficiency, which was 8 to 18% greater in the intercropping system under NT than CT management. We recommend the NT with plastic mulch method as a water-saving strategy that can sustain the productivity of maize-pea intercropping systems while reducing plastic pollution from agricultural activities in arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-dose perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) impairs oocyte maturation and offspring quality. However, the physiological concentrations of PFOA in follicular fluids of patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) were detected at lower levels, thus the relationship between physiological PFOA and reproductive disorders remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether physiological PFOA exposure affects gonad function in adult zebrafish. Physiological PFOA exposure resulted in POI-like phenotypes in adult females, which exhibited decreased spawning frequency, reduced number of ovulated eggs, abnormal gonadal index, and aberrant embryonic mortality. Meanwhile, oocytes from PFOA-exposed zebrafish showed mitochondrial disintegration and diminished mitochondrial membrane potential. Unlike the high-dose treated oocytes exhibiting high reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and excessive apoptosis, physiological PFOA reduced the ROS levels and did not trigger apoptosis. Interestingly, physiological PFOA exposure would not affect testis function, indicating specific toxicity in females. Mechanistically, PFOA suppressed the NAD+ biosynthesis and impaired mitochondrial function in oocytes, thus disrupting oocyte maturation and ovarian fertility. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor for NAD+ biosynthesis, alleviated the PFOA-induced toxic effects in oocytes and improved the oocyte maturation and fertility upon PFOA exposure. Our findings discover new insights into PFOA-induced reproductive toxicity and provide NMN as a potential drug for POI therapy., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The measurement of hemoglobin is a vital index for diagnosing and monitoring diseases in clinical practice. At present, solutions need to be found for the soreness, high risk of infection, and inconvenient operation associated with invasive detection methods. This paper proposes a method for non-invasively detecting hemoglobin levels based on multi-wavelength photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. AFE4490 and TMUX1109 were used to implement the low-cost collection of an eight-LED transmissive PPG signal. We used seven regular LEDs and one broadband LED (Osram SFH4737) as light sources. Additionally, a finger clip integrating multiple sensors was designed and manufactured via 3D printing to simultaneously monitor the LED-sensor distance and the pressure from the tester's finger during PPG signal acquisition. We used a method to extract features from PPG signals using a sliding-window's variance and an evaluation metric for PPG signals based on the AdaCost classification. Data were gathered from 56 participants from the Nephrology department, including 16 anemic patients. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted on the collected data to remove any data with a weak correlation. The advantage of using a broadband LED as a light source was also demonstrated. Several non-invasive hemoglobin regression models were created by applying AdaBoost, BPNN, and Random Forest models. The study's results indicate that the AdaBoost model produced the best performance, with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.67 g/L and a correlation coefficient (R 2 ) of 0.91 The study results show that the device we designed and manufactured can achieve effective non-invasive hemoglobin detection and represents a new methodological approach to obtaining measurements that can be applied in a clinical setting.

All-inorganic CsPbI 2 Br with outstanding thermal stability and excellent photoelectric properties is considered as a promising candidate for photovoltaic applications. However, the efficiency of CsPbI 2 Br perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is still much lower than that of their organic-inorganic hybrid counterparts or CsPbI 3 -based devices. Herein, we obtained an optimized CsPbI 2 Br PSC (0.09 cm 2 ) with a champion efficiency of 17.38% and a record fill factor of 83.6% by introducing potassium anthraquinone-1,8-disulfonate (DAD) in the precursor solution. The synergistic effect between the electronegative functional groups and K + ions in the DAD structure can not only effectively regulate the crystallization growth process to improve the crystalline quality and stability of photo-active CsPbI 2 Br but also optimize the energy level alignment and passivate the defects to improve the carrier transport properties. The efficiency of the corresponding large-area device (5 cm × 5 cm with an active area of 19.25 cm 2 ) reached 13.20%. Moreover, the optimized CsPbI 2 Br PSC exhibited negligible hysteresis and enhanced long-term storage stability as well as thermal stability. Our method produces more stable photo-active CsPbI 2 Br with excellent photoelectric properties for industrial applications or perovskite/silicon tandem cells.

Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. is an important medicinal plant that is used to treat various diseases in South and Southeast Asia. In this study, the complete plastome of M. cochinchinensis was sequenced and found to exhibit a total length of 158,955 bp, with a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,924 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,479 bp, as well as with two inverted repeats (IRs) that were both 26,726 bp in length. In total, 129 genes were detected, comprising 86 protein-encoding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 35 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. Furthermore, the inferred phylogenetic tree confirmed that M. cochinchinensis belongs to the genus Momordica in the Cucurbitaceae family. The research results will be used for authenticating M. cochinchinensis plant materials and for analyzing the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in Momordica ., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché is an important germplasm resource used for rootstock and hypoglycemic food in Cucurbitaceae. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. ficifolia has been determined in this study. The total genome size is 157,533 bp in length and contains a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,639 bp, which were separated by large single copy (LSC) and small single copy (SSC) of 88,112 bp and 18,143 bp, respectively. A total of 130 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes and 36 tRNA genes. Further, Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. ficifolia is a base clade of genus Cucurbita and closer to Cucurbita maxima. The chloroplast genome of C. ficifolia would promote the germplasm exploration, phylogenetic relationships, and molecular biology researches in Cucurbita., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill is an essential tuber crop with pharmacological effects in the family Dioscoreaceae. The complete chloroplast genome of D. esculenta was determined in this study. The total genome size is 153, 437 bp in length and demonstrates a typical quadripartite structure containing a large single copy (LSC, 83,628 bp) and a small single copy (SSC, 18,893 bp), separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRa, IRb) of 25,458 bp. The GC content of the complete chloroplast genome sequence is 37.07%. A total of 131 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic tree analysis of 25 species belonging to the genus Dioscorea indicated that D. esculenta and D. sansibarensis were clustered into one branch., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Canna edulis Ker Gawl. is an essential traditional tuber crop used for fresh consumption and to isolate starch in some tropical and semitropical regions. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. edulis has been determined in this study. The total genome size is 164,650 bp in length and contains a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 27,278 bp, which were separated by large single-copy (LSC) and small single-copy (SSC) of 91,421 bp and 18,673 bp, respectively. A total of 131 genes were predicted including 86 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes and 37 tRNA genes. Further, maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. edulis belongs to Cannaceae in Zingiberales. The chloroplast genome of C. edulis is first complete genome sequence in Cannaceae and would play a significant role in the development of molecular markers in plant phylogenetic and population genetic studies., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

The capsular polysaccharide (CPS) synthesis locus of 13 Streptococcus suis serotypes (serotype 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, 23, 25 and 1/2) was sequenced and compared with that of serotype 2 and 16. The CPS synthesis locus of these 15 serotypes falls into two genetic groups. The locus is located on the chromosome between orfZ and aroA. All the translated proteins in the CPS synthesis locus were clustered into 127 homology groups using the tribemcl algorithm. The general organization of the locus suggested that the CPS of S. suis could be synthesized by the Wzy-dependent pathway. The capsule of serotypes 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 19 and 23 was predicted to be amino-polysaccharide. Sialic acid was predicted to be present in the capsule of serotypes 1, 2, 14, 16 and 1/2. The characteristics of the CPS synthesis locus suggest that some genes may have been imported into S. suis (or their ancestors) on multiple occasions from different and unknown sources., (2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.)