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This work proposes a new parameter identification method based on the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation for slow linear time-varying (LTV) dynamic systems. The considered time period is divided into a series of short time windows. In each time window, the assumption of “short time linearly varying” parameters is employed, and a nonlinear optimization problem is solved using the WKB results for the slow LTV dynamic system. A search algorithm is developed to find the optimal solution. In the identification process, only one type of response signal (displacement, velocity or acceleration) is required. Thus, numerical differentiation or integration of the measured signal, which leads to truncation or cumulative errors in noise environment, is avoided. The accuracy and robustness of the new identification method are validated by applying it to a particular LTV system with time-varying stiffness.

Pearl plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) is mainly cultivated in Tian’e County in Guangxi Province, southern China. Anthracnose is a devastating disease on pearl plum, causing extensive leaf blight. Diseased leaves were sampled from 21 orchards in Tian’e County. Isolates were first screened for ones resembling Colletotrichum, and 21 representative isolates were selected for sequencing of portions of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the intergenic region of apn2 and MAT1-2-1 genes (ApMAT), actin (ACT), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), calmodulin (CAL), chitin synthase (CHS-1), and β-tubulin 2 (TUB2). Based on colony, conidial, and appressorial morphology and sequence analyses, the Colletotrichum isolates associated with pearl plum anthracnose were identified as four species: Colletotrichum fructicola (16 isolates), C. gloeosporioides (3 isolates), C. cigarro (1 isolate), and C. siamense (1 isolate). The results of pathogenicity tests showed that isolates of all four species were pathogenic to wounded leaves of pearl plum seedlings. In this study, we microscopically observed the infection processes of isolates of these four species on attached pearl plum leaves. For C. cigarro and C. siamense, the entire infection processes took 120 h; for C. fructicola and C. gloeosporioides, it only took 72 h. This is the first report of C. fructicola and C. cigarro causing anthracnose on pearl plum worldwide, and also the first report of C. siamense causing anthracnose on pearl plum in China.

Organizational identification is a mature research field in the field of organizational behavior. Firstly, this paper systematically introduces the concept of organizational identification. In addition, the empirical research results of organizational identification are summarized, including the research on antecedents, outcome variables and intermediary variables of organizational identification. In the process of summary, the variables are divided into organizational level and individual level. Finally, the future research of organizational identification is prospected.

In railway engineering, monitoring the health condition of rail track structures is crucial to prevent abnormal vibration issues of the wheel–rail system. To address the problem of low efficiency of traditional nondestructive testing methods, this work investigates the feasibility of the computer vision-aided health condition monitoring approach for track structures based on vibration signals. The proposed method eliminates the tedious and complicated data pre-processing including signal mapping and noise reduction, which can achieve robust signal description using numerous redundant features. First, the method converts the raw wheel–rail vibration signals directly into two-dimensional grayscale images, followed by image feature extraction using the FAST-Unoriented-SIFT algorithm. Subsequently, Visual Bag-of-Words (VBoW) model is established based on the image features, where the optimal parameter selection analysis is implemented based on fourfold cross-validation by considering both recognition accuracy and stability. Finally, the Euclidean distance between word frequency vectors of testing set and the codebook vectors of training set is compared to recognize the health condition of track structures. For the three health conditions of track structures analyzed in this paper, the overall recognition rate could reach 96.7%. The results demonstrate that the proposed method performs higher recognition accuracy and lower bias with strong time-varying and random vibration signals, which has promising application prospect in early-stage structural defect detection.

Purpose: This work investigates the mode veering and mode localization behavior of a coupled micro-cantilever system with mass disturbances. A new sensitivity metric is defined based on the difference between the absolute values of amplitude ratios for mass sensing in mode-localized sensors.Methods: Numerical and finite element method (FEM) analyses are conducted to validate the corresponding analytical results for the undamped modal analysis. In addition, the derived sensitivity is also verified by the FEM result of the damped harmonic responses. Finally, an experimental study is conducted to qualitatively validate the theoretical and numerical results.Results: The derived sensitivity shows a good agreement with the numerical and FEM results for the modal analysis and damped harmonic responses. The experimental results show the same trend observed in the theoretical and finite element results. The derived sensitivity possesses a superior linearity in the full disturbance range with high precision. The influence of the damping and coupling factor on the resolution of mass sensing is also unveiled.Conclusions: The superior linearity and effectiveness of the proposed sensitivity metric is confirmed, which has a full scope of application and high precision compared to the conventional sensitivities. The derived sensitivity is proved to be applicable for the damped harmonic response analysis as well. This work also reveals that there is a trade-off between the sensitivity and resolution when selecting the coupling factor.

To date, only α-2,3-linked sialic acid has been identified as a potential host binding receptor for IBV. Here, we show the minimum region constituting the sialic acid binding domain (SABD) and the binding characteristics of the S1 subunit of spike (S) protein of IBV strains SD (GI-19), GD (GI-7), and M41 (GI-1) to various sialic acids.

Plum (Prunus salicina L.) is a traditional fruit in Southern China and is ubiquitous throughout the world. In August 2021, leaves of plum trees showed water-soaking spots and light yellow-green halos with incidence exceeding 50% in Babu district in Hezhou, Guangxi (N23°49′-24°48′, E111°12′-112°03′). To isolate the causal agent, three diseased leaves collected from three different trees growing in different orchards were cut into 5 mm × 5 mm pieces, disinfected with 75% ethanol for 10 sec, 2% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min and rinsed three times in sterile water. The diseased pieces were ground in sterile water and then kept static for about 10 min. Ten-fold serial dilutions in water were prepared and 100 µL of each dilution from 10-1 to 10-6 were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) Agar. After incubation at 28℃ for 48 h, the proportion of isolates with similar morphology was 73%. Three representative isolates (GY11-1, GY12-1 and GY15-1) were selected for further study. The colonies were non-spore-forming, yellow, round, opaque, rod shaped, convex with smooth and bright neat edges. Biochemical test results showed that the colonies were strictly aerobic and gram-negative. The isolates were able to grow on LB agar containing 0-2% (w/v) NaCl and could utilize glucose, lactose, galactose, mannose, sucrose, maltose and rhamnose as a carbon source. They displayed a positive reaction for H2S production, oxidase, catalase and gelatin, but negative for starch. Genomic DNA of the three isolates was extracted for amplification of the 16S rDNA with primers 27F and 1492R. The resulting amplicons were sequenced. Additionally, five housekeeping genes atpD, dnaK, gap, recA, and rpoB of the three isolates were amplified using the corresponding primer pairs and sequenced. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (16S rDNA, OP861004-OP861006; atpD, OQ703328-OQ703330; dnaK, OQ703331-OQ703333; gap, OQ703334-OQ703336; recA, OQ703337-OQ703339; and rpoB, OQ703340-OQ703342). The isolates were identified as Sphingomonas spermidinifaciens based on the phylogenetic tree inferred by maximum-likelihood using MegaX 7.0 of the concatenated six sequences (multilocus sequence analysis, MLSA) compared with sequences from different Sphingomonas type strains . Pathogenicity of the isolates was tested on healthy leaves of the two-year-old plum plants in a greenhouse. The leaves were wounded by a sterilized needle and sprayed with bacterial suspensions prepared in PBS (Phosphate buffer saline) at OD600=0.5. PBS buffer solution was used as negative control. Each isolate was used to inoculate on 20 leaves per plum tree. The plants were covered with plastic bags to maintain high humidity. Dark brown-to-black lesions were observed on leaves 3 days post incubation at 28℃ with constant light. The average diameter of lesions was 1 cm after seven days, but the negative controls were symptomless. Bacteria reisolated from the diseased leaves were the same as the ones used for inoculation on the basis of morphological and molecular identification, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Plant disease caused by a Sphingomonas species has been reported on mango, pomeand Spanish melon. However, this is the first report of S. spermidinifaciens causing leaf spot disease of plum in China. This report will help to develop effective disease control strategies in the future.

Chilli (Capsicum annuum) is considered as one of the most important vegetables and spice crops throughout the world which is widely cultivated in China. In October 2019, fruit rot symptoms were observed on chilli in Guilin, Guangxi, China (N24°18′, E109°45′). Irregular dark green spots initially appeared on the middle or bottom of the fruit, then extended to larger grayish brown lesions and started to rot. In the late stage, the whole fruit dried up after water loss. Three disease samples were collected from three towns of different counties in Guilin where the disease incidence of chilli fruits was 15-30%. The margin of diseased fruits was cut into small pieces (3×3 mm), disinfected with 75% ethanol solution for 10 s, 2% NaOCl for 1 min, and rinsed in sterile distilled water three times. Tissue pieces were separately plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C for seven days. Fifty-four fungal isolates with similar morphology were consistently recovered from diseased tissues of three fruits, with 100% isolation frequency. Three representatives GC1-1, GC2-1 and PLX1-1 were selected for further analysis. The colonies produced abundant whitish to yellowish aerial mycelium on PDA after 7 days incubation at 25°C in the dark. Macroconidia cultured on carnation leaf agar (CLA) for 7 days were long, hyaline, falcate, with dorsal and ventral lines often gradually wider toward apex, curved apical cell and foot-shaped basal cell, mostly 2 to 5 septa, and ranged from 24.16 to 38.88 × 3.36 to 6.55 μm (average 31.39×4.48 μm), from 19.44 to 28.68 × 3.02 to 4.99 μm (average 23.02×3.89 μm), and from 20.96 to 35.05 × 3.30 to 6.06 μm (average 26.24×4.51 μm) for GC1-1, GC2-1, and PLX1-1, respectively. Microconidia were hyaline, fusoid or ovoid, one-septate or nonseptate, and ranged from 4.61 to 10.14 × 2.61 to 4.77 μm (average 8.13×3.58 μm), from 3.55 to 7.85 × 1.95 to 3.04 μm (average 5.79×2.39 μm), and from 6.75 to 18.48 × 3.05 to 9.07 μm (average 14.32×4.31 μm) for GC1-1, GC2-1, and PLX1-1, respectively. Genomic DNA was extracted from 7-day-old aerial mycelia of these isolates. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor (TEF1), calmodulin (CAM) and partial RNA polymerase second largest subunit (RPB2) were amplified using primers ITS4/ITS1, EF1/EF2, CL1/CL2A, and 5F2/7cR, respectively (White et al. 1990; O’Donnell et al. 2000, 2010). Sequences were deposited in GenBank (ITS: OQ080044-OQ080046; TEF1: OQ101589-OQ101591; CAM: OQ101586-OQ101588; RPB2: OQ101592-OQ101594). A maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree was constructed with RAxML version 8.2.10 based on the concatenated sequences (ITS, CAM, TEF1, RPB2). According to morphology and phylogenetic analysis, the isolates were identified as Fusarium sulawesiense (Maryani et al. 2019). For pathogenicity tests, multiple punctures in a 5-mm-diameter circle were made with a sterilized toothpick on detached young healthy fruits, followed by inoculation with 10 μl of conidial suspension (106 spores/ml in 0.1% sterile Tween 20). Each isolate was inoculated onto eighteen fruits. Controls were inoculated with water containing 0.1% sterile Tween 20 under the same conditions. Symptoms were observed on the inoculated fruits 7 days after incubation at 25°C, whereas non-inoculated controls were asymptomatic. The fungus was re-isolated from inoculated chilli fruits, completing Koch’s postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Fusarium sulawesiense causing fruit rot on Chilli in China. These results will provide valuable information for prevention and management of fruit rot on Chilli.

Fruiting bodies of edible mushrooms have high nutritional value. However, the fruiting body development of mushrooms is not well understood, and thus, many wild edible mushrooms of economic importance cannot be cultivated artificially.

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is widely cultivated in China. On October 15, 2019, about 10% of persimmon fruits showed fruit rot in the orchards of Guilin, Guangxi, China (24°45′ N, 110°24′ E), which could cause more than 15% of yield losses. The initial symptoms of fruit rot exhibited irregular brown to black spots (range from 2 to 4 cm in diameter), the areas surrounding the blackened spots would be soft and rotten, and three diseased fruit samples were collected from three orchards, respectively. Tissues (5×5 mm) were cut from infected margins, surface-disinfected in 75% ethanol for 10 s, 2% NaClO for 2 min, rinsed three times in sterilized distilled water, and incubated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C under 12/12 h light/darkness for a week. Forty-one tissues yielded morphologically similar cultures, and three representative isolates LPG1-1, LPG1-2, and YSG-1 were selected from three samples for further study, respectively. Their colonies showed wavy edges, white surfaces, and dense aerial hyphae on PDA after two weeks. Conidia were fusiform, straight to slightly curved, and 4-septate; basal cells were conical, hyaline, thin, and verruculose with two or three long and hyaline apical appendages and one short apical appendage; three median cells of LPG1-1 with length 14.06 to 17.69 μm (n=100), and LPG1-2 with length 14.03 to 17.61 μm (n=100) were dark brown to olivaceous, while three median cells of YSG-1 with length 12.54 to 15.58 μm (n=100) were dark brown. The conidial sizes of LPG1-1, LPG1-2, and YSG-1 were 17.41 to 27.68 × 4.63 to 8.55 μm (n=100), 18.06 to 27.41 × 4.33 to 8.21 μm (n=100), and 16.58 to 27.73 × 4.99 to 8.39 μm (n=100), respectively. The morphological characteristics were consistent with Neopestalotiopsis spp. (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2012; Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014). Primer pairs ITS4/ITS5, BT2a/BT2b, and EF1-526F/EF-1567R were used to amplify internal transcribed spacer (ITS), beta-tubulin (TUB2), and translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1-α), respectively (Shu et al., 2020). All DNA fragments were sequenced by Sangon Biotech Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Sequences have been deposited in GenBank (ITS: OM349120 to OM349122, TUB2: OM688188 to OM688190, TEF1-α: OM688191 to OM688193). Based on BLASTn analysis of ITS, TUB2, and TEF1-α sequences, the LPG1-1 and LPG1-2 showed over 99% similarity to N. saprophytica, and YSG-1 showed over 99% similarity to N. ellipsospora. Phylogenetic analysis of the three isolates was performed with MEGA10 (version 10.0) based on sequences of ITS, TUB2, and TEF1-α using maximum parsimony analysis. The results revealed that LPG1-1 and LPG1-2 were clustered with N. saprophytica, and YSG-1 was clustered with N. ellipsospora. Pathogenicity tests of three isolates were conducted on 72 healthy persimmon fruits with and without wounds, and 9 fruits are for each treatment. The wound was made by a sterilized needle. Fruits were pre-processed with 75% ethanol for 10 s, 1% NaClO for 2 min and rinsed three times in sterile water. Conidial suspensions (10 µL, 106 conidia/mL in 0.1% sterile Tween 20) were inoculated on each site (4 sites/fruit). Control group was treated with 0.1% sterile Tween 20. All inoculated sites were covered with wet cotton. The inoculated fruits were placed in a plastic box to maintain humidity at 28℃. After 5 days, all wounded fruits showed fruit rot, whereas unwounded and control fruits remained asymptomatic, there were significant differences (P

The deprotonation mechanism for the phenolic hydroxyl and the complexing of metal ions with a commonly used food additive, propyl gallate (PG) were studied theoretically and experimentally. The interaction of procyanidins [PC, epicatechin16 (4 → 8) catechin], and its basic monomeric unit catechin (CA) with metal ions was studied by the fluorescence quenching spectra. The results showed that the 9-OH quinoid PG was formed at higher pH (10.9) by the oxidization of phenolic hydroxyl. The binding affinities (Ka) and stoichiometry of these metal ions with PG were determined. The Al3+ in PG-Al complex [Al(PG)(H2O)2Cl2]- was coordinated at the 8,9-OH doubly deprotonated catechol site with double chloride ions (Cl-) and double water molecules (H2O). The fluorescence quenching titration with Sn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Al3+ and Fe3+ revealed that the stoichiometries of metal-bound PC were 1:1, 2:3, 2:3, 2:3 and 1:1, respectively. The presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) could enhance the complexing strength of PC with metal ions.

Background Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a highly infectious viral disease, which can affect chickens and many other kinds of birds. The main virulence factor of NDV, the fusion (F) protein, is located on the viral envelope and plays a major role in the virus’ ability to penetrate cells and cause host cell fusion during infection. Multiple highly conserved tyrosine and di-leucine (LL) motifs in the cytoplasmic tail (CT) of the virus may contribute to F protein functionality in the viral life cycle. Methods To examine the contribution of the LL motif in the biosynthesis, transport, and function of the F protein, we constructed and rescued a NDV mutant strain, rSG10*-F/L537A, with an L537A mutation using a reverse genetic system. Subsequently, we compared the differences in the syncytium formation ability, pathogenicity, and replication levels of wild-type rSG10* and the mutated strain. Results Compared with rSG10*, rSG10*-F/L537A had attenuated syncytial formation and pathogenicity, caused by a viral budding defect. Further studies showed that the LL-motif mutation did not affect the replication, transcription, or translation of the virus genome but affected the expression of the F protein at the cell surface. Conclusions We concluded that the LL motif in the NDV F CT affected the regulation of F protein expression at the cell surface, thus modulating the viral fusion ability and pathogenic phenotype.

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), an aggressive malignant tumor of the biliary system, is characterized by high cellular heterogeneity and poor prognosis. Fewer data have been reported in GBC than other common cancer types. Multi-omics data will contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer, cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Herein, to provide better understanding of the molecular events in GBC pathogenesis, we developed GBCdb (http://tmliang.cn/gbc/), a user-friendly interface for the query and browsing of GBC-associated genes and RNA interaction networks using published multi-omics data, which also included experimentally supported data from different molecular levels. GBCdb will help to elucidate the potential biological roles of different RNAs and allow for the exploration of RNA interactions in GBC. These resources will provide an opportunity for unraveling the potential molecular features of Gallbladder carcinoma.

Capturing vibration energy of track structures using piezoelectric energy harvesters has attracted increasing attention for powering wireless sensor networks along railway line. To better use the vertical space below steel rail, a kind of piezoelectric tube stack energy harvesters is proposed in this paper, which can be placed at the bottom of the steel rail to harvest the vibration energy of the vertical displacement induced by the moving train. The harvester consists of a displacement transmission rod, a compression spring, a force transmission metal tube, a piezoelectric tube stack, a whole metal shell, screw bolts, and a wire hole. The advantage of this design is to fully combine the heights of the compression spring, the force transmission metal tube and the piezoelectric tube stack, which helps reduce the vertical height of the device and enables its wide application to a variety of tracks, including, ballast track, ballastless track, and steel-spring floating slab track. Energy harvesting performance of the developed piezoelectric tube stack energy harvester is investigated experimentally, which is consistent with the theoretical results of the simplified model of such a harvester reported. Effects of displacement amplitude, displacement frequency, spring stiffness, resistance, and key parameters of piezoelectric tube stack on the energy harvesting performance of the harvester are also discussed. The present study provides a new design concept for developing piezoelectric energy harvesters used in railway systems with the smaller vertical space below steel rail.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is the causal agent of bacterial blight, one of the most devastating diseases of rice. Here, a hypervirulent strain, C9-3, defeating Xa1, Xa10, xa13, and Xa23 resistance genes, was used to extract genomic DNA for single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing. After assembly, the genome consists of a single-circular chromosome with the size of 4,924,298 bp with G+C content of 63.7% and contains 4,715 genes. Annotation and analysis of the TALE genes using a suite of applications named AnnoTALE suggested that 17 transcription activator-like effectors, including 15 typical TALEs and 2 iTALEs/truncTALEs, were encoded in the genome. The approach and genome resource will contribute to the discovery of new virulence effectors and understanding on rice-X. oryzae pv. oryzae interactions.

This paper presents a study of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) under concurrent aeroelastic and base excitation. The governing equations of the theoretical model under the combined excitation are developed and solved analytically using the harmonic balance method. Based on the electro-mechanical analogies, an equivalent circuit model is established. The energy harvesting performance of the 2DOF PEH under different wind speeds but the same base excitation is investigated. Voltage amplitudes of various response components with different frequencies are predicted by the analytical method and verified by the circuit simulation. The root-mean-square (RMS) voltage is used to measure the actual performance of the 2DOF PEH. Around the resonance state, the 2DOF PEH has been found to produce a larger voltage output than the conventional SDOF PEH. Moreover, several interesting phenomena, such as the quasi-periodic oscillation and the peak-to-valley transition, have been observed in the circuit simulation and explained by the analytical solution. The developed methodology in this paper can be easily adapted to analyze other similar types of multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) PEHs under concurrent aeroelastic and base excitation.

Obesity is occurring due to continue taken high fat diet; this is the fast-growing problem reaching epidemic proportion globally. Ursolic acid altered the abnormal glucose metabolism in diabetic rats. In this experimental protocol, we examine ursolic acid (UA) anti-obesity effect against streptozotocin (STZ) and high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Orally administered the ursolic acid (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) dose to the hyperglycemic rats for 8 weeks and estimated the blood glucose level at different time intervals. Biochemical, hepatic, lipid, renal and antioxidant parameters were estimated. Traf-4, Mapk-8, Traf-6 and genes such as Ins-1, ngn-3 and Pdx-1 mRNA expression were estimated using qRT-PCR to scrutinize the molecular mechanism in MAPK downstream JNK cascade and insulin pathway signalling pathways. Ursolic acid significantly (p0.001) down-regulated the blood glucose level at dose dependent manner. Its also reduced the plasma insulin level, non-essential fatty acid and increased the level of adiponectin as compared to obese control group rats. Ursolic acid treated group rats reduced the level of total cholesterol and triglycerides. Ursolic-acid-treated rats have been shown to decrease oxidative stress in pancreatic tissue by restoring the free radical effect of scavenging, suppress the Traf-6, Mapk-8 and Traf-4 mRNA expression, enhance the expression of Pdx-1, Ins-1 and Ngn-3 and ensure the regeneration of pancreas β cells and therefore pancreas insulin. The current result suggested the anti-obese effect of ursolic acid against high fat diet (HFD) induced obese rats via alteration of insulin and JNK signaling pathway.

The axially polarized multilayer piezoelectric composite cylindrical transducers with adjustable multifrequency capability have been proposed by adjusting the external electric resistance and the ratio of piezoelectric layer numbers between the actuator part and the sensor part, which have promising potential in designing the novel cymbal transducer for underwater sound projector and ultrasonic radiator applications. In the previous studies, the multilayer models were established to guide the design of the transducers with arbitrary layer number, and analyzed the dynamic characteristics theoretically. In this work, an experimental study is performed to validate the theoretical models and predictions. Piezoelectric rings with multiple concentric annular electrodes are designed to characterize the multilayer piezoelectric composite cylindrical transducers. The top surface of the piezoelectric rings is divided into two separate parts. One part is covered by multiple concentric annular electrodes, corresponding to the piezoelectric layers, and the other part is uncovered, corresponding to the elastic layers. Four prototypes are fabricated and each consists of four concentric annular electrodes. The impedance spectra are measured by the impedance analyzer to obtain the resonance and anti-resonance frequencies. Effects of two adjusting methods on the dynamic characteristics are evaluated experimentally. The experimental results basically coincide with the theoretical ones. This comprehensive experimental work assures the feasibility of using axially polarized multilayer piezoelectric composite cylindrical transducers with adjustable multifrequencies and confirms the benefit of the developed theoretical models for guiding the fabrication and optimization of this type of transducers.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most important tropical fruits in China. Bacterial black spot is one of the primary factors limiting mango production and thus leads to huge economic losses (Bie et al. 2022). In June 2020, necrotic symptoms similar to bacterial black spot was observed with incidence 30% to 65% on mango cultivar Yuwen, Jinhuang, Tainong and Guifei in Baise, Guangxi, China. Typically, the lesions began as chlorotic spots that coalesced into an irregular shape, becoming black and slightly raised, with a yellow halo. Thirteen diseased samples collected from five orchards were cut into approximately 5-mm pieces, sterilized for 10 s with 75% ethanol, soaked with 2% NaClO for 1 min, and rinsed in sterilized water three times. The samples were then homogenized and a 10-fold serial dilution was made before plating onto Lysogeny broth (LB) agar. After incubation at 28°C for 3 days, one representative colony that was beige to yellow in color, round, convex and smooth with entire margins from each orchard was selected for further study. Genomic DNA was extracted to amplify the 16S rRNA gene (Lane et al. 1991). The resulting 16S rRNA sequences were compared in GenBank using BLASTn and shared at least 99% identity with Pantoea spp.. Furthermore, six housekeeping genes fusA, gyrB, leuS, pyrG, rplB and rpoB partial sequences of five isolates were amplified and sequenced (Delétoile et al. 2009). The sequences were deposited in GenBank (16S rRNA: OL413424 to OL413246, OP225727-OP225728; leuS: OL441796, OL441798 to OL441801; fusA, gyrB, leuS, pyrG, rplB and rpoB: OP272638-OP272662). The five bacterial isolates were classified as P. vagans based on the phylogenetic tree of the concatenated sequences and sequences derived from different Pantoea reference isolates inferred by maximum-likelihood using MegaX software (Kumar et al. 2018). Biochemical tests showed the isolates were Gram-negative, oxidase negative, and hydrogen oxidase positive, and could use D-glucose, D-fructose, L-rhamnose, D-galactose and D-mannitose as a carbon resource (Bradbury, 1986). Pathogenicity tests were performed on mango cv. Yuwen. The representative isolate was inoculated by infiltration with sterile needleless syringes on healthy leaves and spraying onto slightly scratched leaves with bacterial suspensions (OD600=0.1) respectively (Kutschera, et al. 2019). A Xanthomonas citri pv. mangiferaeindicae (Xcm) suspension and sterilized water were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Inoculated plants were kept with 90 ± 5% relative humidity and 28 ± 1°C in the greenhouse for 1 week. Black to brown necrotic symptoms were observed on all leaves inoculated by infiltration except the negative control. These were observed in plants inoculated by spraying only after 2 weeks. Bacteria re-isolated from diseased tissues were consistent with the inoculated isolates and identified as P. vagans, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. To date, P. vagans have been isolated from eucalyptus with bacterial blight and dieback, and maize with brown stalk rot (Brady et al. 2009). However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of P. vagans causing bacterial necrosis on mango in China. It was also found that some of the diseased samples were coinfected with P. vagans and Xcm in our investigation. Therefore, it is necessary to further study the infection mechanisms of this pathogen.

Persimmon originated from China where it has a long cultivation history. Anthracnose fruit rot and leaf blight caused by Colletotrichum species are major diseases of persimmon in China and cause severe economic losses. To determine the species causing anthracnose of persimmon in Guilin, Guangxi province, diseased samples were collected from the four local counties: Gongcheng, Yangshuo, Pingle, and Lipu. Seventy-five isolates were obtained from persimmon samples with anthracnose symptoms and had similar morphological characteristics. Isolates were identified using a BLAST search and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region, glyceraldehyde -3-phosphate dehydrogenase, partial actin, β-tubulin, chitin synthase genomic regions, Apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer partial mating type gene and calmodulin genes. Five species: C. fructicola, C. horii, C. karsti, C. cliviicola and C. siamense, accounted for 54.7%, 25.3%, 12.0%, 5.3% and 2.7%, respectively, of the total isolates. All five Colletotrichum species were pathogenic on attached leaves and detached fruits of persimmon (cv. Gongcheng Yueshi) in pathogenicity assays. The infection processes of the five Colletotrichum species were observed on persimmon leaves using light microscopy. Conidia of C. fructicola germinated at 12 hours post inoculation (hpi), while quickly formed acervuli at 6 days post inoculation (dpi) and showed the most aggressive. By contrast, conidia of C. cliviicola germinated at 3 hpi, but produced the acervuli at 8 dpi, and showed the least aggressive. This is the first description of C. fructicola, C. cliviicola and C. siamense as causal agents of persimmon anthracnose in Guangxi province, China.

Mango (

Persimmon originated from China where it has a long cultivation history. Anthracnose fruit rot and leaf blight caused by

Long-term daily injection of progesterone for the treatment of threatened abortion can be a source of considerable pain to patients. To reduce the frequency of injections and improve patient compliance, a novel injectable phospholipid-based phase separation gel (PPSG) was prepared using small molecular materials such as phospholipids, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), and ethanol. Progesterone was loaded into PPSGs to promote rapid gel formation in situ via a sol-gel transformation mechanism, thereby achieving a sustained controlled release. Furthermore, progesterone was distributed in the oil-water interface layer and within the oil phase. Solvent exchange drives phase transitions, and phospholipid vesicle formation and rupture are likely to promote drug release and gel degradation. At a drug loading of 140 mg/mL, a progesterone release of up to 60% could be reached within 9 days according to the release curve in vitro. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that the progesterone-loaded PPSGs released the drug continuously for over 7 days, the half-life was eight times higher than that of progesterone oil solution, and relative bioavailability of up to 184.90% was obtained. Collectively, the sustained release properties for hydrophobic cargos would effectively enhance patient compliance. Moreover, PPSGs are promising drug delivery systems that have high market value and biosafety given the readily accessible and safe excipients.

A nonlinear vibration isolator with quasi-zero-stiffness (QZS) is designed inspired by the bi-stable Miura-origami tube. The isolator comprises a negative stiffness element with four rods and one horizontal spring, while a vertical linear spring is used to provide positive stiffness. The static characteristics of the negative stiffness element are studied and then the design procedure for the QZS isolation system with a lumped mass is provided. The static displacement is considered as an input parameter to illustrate the high-static-low-dynamicstiffness (HSLDS) property of the isolator. To further display the isolation ability of the present isolator, the dynamic model of the system under base excitation is established with the linear air damping and nonlinear damping caused by rotational joints. The nonlinear terms are then approximated by Taylor series and the averaging method is used to predict the dynamic performance. The present theory is verified by comparing the system’s free and forced responses under different frequencies of base excitation with those calculated by numerical simulation. The displacement transmissibility of the present nonlinear vibration isolator demonstrates the much improved vibration isolation performance as compared to its linear counterpart.

There is nearly 5,800 ha of Sanhua plum (

Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are highly destructive and difficult to control, while conventional chemical nematicides are highly toxic and cause serious environmental pollution. Additionally, resistance to existing pesticides is becoming increasingly common. Biological control is the most promising method for the controlling of PPNs. Therefore, the screening of nematicidal microbial resources and the identification of natural products are of great significance and urgency for the environmentally friendly control of PPNs. In this study, the DT10 strain was isolated from wild moss samples and identified as Streptomyces sp. by morphological and molecular analysis. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model, the extract of DT10 was screened for nematicidal activity, which elicited 100% lethality. The active compound was isolated from the extracts of strain DT10 using silica gel column chromatography and semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The compound was identified as spectinabilin (chemical formula C28H31O6N) using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Spectinabilin exhibited a good nematicidal activity on C. elegans L1 worms, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.948 μg/mL at 24 h. The locomotive ability of C. elegans L4 worms was significantly reduced when treated with 40 μg/mL spectinabilin. Further analysis of spectinabilin against known nematicidal drug target genes in C. elegans showed that it acts via target(s) different from those of some currently used nematicidal drugs such as avermectin and phosphine thiazole. This is the first report on the nematicidal activity of spectinabilin on C. elegans and the southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. These findings may pave the way for further research and application of spectinabilin as a potential biological nematicide.

The naturally microstructure-bioinspired piezoresistive sensor for human-machine interaction and human health monitoring represents an attractive opportunity for wearable bioelectronics. However, due to the trade-off between sensitivity and linear detection range, obtaining piezoresistive sensors with both a wide pressure monitoring range and a high sensitivity is still a great challenge. Herein, we design a hierarchically microstructure-bioinspired flexible piezoresistive sensor consisting of a hierarchical polyaniline/polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber (HPPNF) film sandwiched between two interlocking electrodes with microdome structure. Ascribed to the substantially enlarged 3D deformation rates, these bioelectronics exhibit an ultrahigh sensitivity of 53 kPasup-1/sup, a pressure detection range from 58.4 to 960 Pa, a fast response time of 38 ms, and excellent cycle stability over 50 000 cycles. Furthermore, this conformally skin-adhered sensor successfully demonstrates the monitoring of human physiological signals and movement states, such as wrist pulse, throat activity, spinal posture, and gait recognition. Evidently, this hierarchically microstructure-bioinspired and amplified sensitivity piezoresistive sensor provides a promising strategy for the rapid development of next-generation wearable bioelectronics.

This paper presents an improved analysis of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvester (GPEH). First, an overview of the 2DOF GPEH, together with some discussions on its physical implementation, are presented. The theoretical model of the 2DOF GPEH is then developed. The analytical solutions are derived using the harmonic balance method. The dynamic behaviour of the 2DOF GPEH is predicted according to the solution characteristics. Moreover, the mode activation mechanism of the 2DOF GPEH is theoretically unveiled: depending on the system parameters; there may exist a single or multiple stable solutions which correspond to different vibration modes of the 2DOF GPEH. Subsequently, an equivalent circuit model of the 2DOF GPEH is established. Circuit simulations are performed to verify the analytical solutions. Case studies through detailed theoretical analysis and circuit simulation give in-depth insights into the dynamic behaviour of the 2DOF GPEH. It is demonstrated that by tuning the stiffness of the auxiliary oscillator, either the first or the second mode vibration of the 2DOF GPEH can be activated, resulting in completely different dynamic behaviours and energy harvesting performance. Finally, from the perspectives of reducing the cut-in wind speed and improving the voltage output, several design guidelines are provided.

Pearl plum (

Polysaccharides are widely employed to fabricate hydrogels owing to their intrinsic properties including biocompatibility, biodegradability, sustainability, and easy modification. However, a considerable amount of polysaccharide-based hydrogels are prepared by chemical crosslinking method using organic solvents or toxic crosslinkers. The presence of reaction by-products and residual toxic substances in the obtained materials causes a potential secondary pollution risk and thus severely limits their practical applications. In contrast, polysaccharide-based physical hydrogels are preferred over chemically derived hydrogels and can be used to address existing drawbacks of chemical hydrogels. The polysaccharide chains of such hydrogel are typically crosslinked by dynamic noncovalent bonds, and the co-existence of multiple physical interactions stabilizes the hydrogel network. This review focuses on providing a detailed outlook for the design strategies and formation mechanisms of polysaccharide-based physical hydrogels as well as their specific applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, and wastewater treatment. The main preparation principles, future challenges, and potential improvements are also outlined. It is hoped that this review can provide valuable information for the rational fabrication of polysaccharide-based physical hydrogel. The specific research works listed in the review can provide a systematic and solid research basis for the reliable development of polysaccharide-based physical hydrogel.

Background GSK2849330, an anti‐HER3 monoclonal antibody that blocks HER3/Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) signaling in cancer cells, is engineered for enhanced antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement‐dependent cytotoxicity. This phase I, first‐in‐human, open‐label study assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics, and preliminary activity of GSK2849330 in patients with HER3‐expressing advanced solid tumors. Patients and Methods Patients with various tumor types were prospectively selected for HER3 expression by immunohistochemistry; a subset was also screened for NRG1 mRNA expression. In the dose‐escalation phase, patients received GSK2849330 1.4–30 mg/kg every 2 weeks, or 3 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg weekly, intravenously (IV). In the dose‐expansion phase, patients received 30 mg/kg GSK2849330 IV weekly. Results Twenty‐nine patients with HER3‐expressing cancers, of whom two expressed NRG1, received GSK2849330 (dose escalation: n = 18, dose expansion: n = 11). GSK2849330 was well tolerated. No dose‐limiting toxicities were observed. The highest dose, of 30 mg/kg weekly, expected to provide full target engagement, was selected for dose expansion. Treatment‐emergent adverse events (AEs) were mostly grade 1 or 2. The most common AEs were diarrhea (66%), fatigue (62%), and decreased appetite (31%). Dose‐proportional plasma exposures were achieved, with evidence of HER3 inhibition in paired tissue biopsies. Of 29 patients, only 1 confirmed partial response, lasting 19 months, was noted in a patient with CD74‐NRG1‐rearranged non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Conclusion GSK2849330 demonstrated a favorable safety profile, dose‐proportional PK, and evidence of target engagement, but limited antitumor activity in HER3‐expressing cancers. The exceptional response seen in a patient with CD74‐NRG1‐rearranged NSCLC suggests further exploration in NRG1‐fusion–positive cancers. Implications for Practice This first‐in‐human study confirms that GSK2849330 is well tolerated. Importantly, across a variety of HER3‐expressing advanced tumors, prospective selection by HER3/NRG1 expression alone was insufficient to identify patients who could benefit from treatment with this antibody‐dependent cell‐mediated cytotoxicity– and complement‐dependent cytotoxicity–enhanced anti‐HER3 antibody. The only confirmed durable response achieved was in a patient with CD74‐NRG1‐rearranged lung cancer. This highlights the potential utility of screening for NRG1 fusions prospectively across tumor types to enrich potential responders to anti‐HER3 agents in ongoing trials., This phase I, first‐in‐human study assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary activity of GSK2849330 in patients with HER3‐expressing advanced solid tumors.

Graphical abstract, Highlights • Protein profiling identified crucial genes that were used to screen related ncRNAs. • Both miRNAs and isomiRs were involved in coding-non-coding RNA regulatory network. • IsomiR-associated ceRNA networks implied the complex interactions among RNAs., Cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) are tumors that arise from the cholangiocytes. Although some genes have been shown with important roles in pathological process, interactions or cross-talks among different RNAs are important to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms in cancer development, especially discussing cross-talks among isomiRs and other RNAs. Herein, to characterize crucial genes in CCA, the protein expression profile was performed to survey potential crucial mRNAs and related non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in mRNA-ncRNA network, mainly including miRNAs/isomiRs and lncRNAs. Deregulated mRNAs were firstly obtained if consistent expression patterns were found at protein and mRNA levels, and related miRNAs/isomiRs were screened according to regulatory relationships. Diverse isomiRs from a given miRNA locus also contributed to interactions between the small RNAs and target mRNAs, and miRNAs were further used to survey related lncRNAs to expand the interactions. Thus, several groups of RNAs were constructed as candidate competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. Finally, we found that RAB11FIP1:miR-101-3p:MIR3142HG may be a potential ceRNA network, and the interactions among them may be more complex due to variety of isomiRs. Simultaneously, RAB11FIP1 and miR-194-5p were also detected other related lncRNAs (FBXL19-AS1, SNHG1 and PVT1) that may be crucial in coding-non-coding RNA regulatory network. Our results show that diverse isomiRs with sequence and expression heterogeneities contribute to ceRNA regulatory network that may have crucial roles in CCA, which will expand our understanding of interactions among diverse RNAs and their contributions in cancer development.

The 2–2 cement-based piezoelectric transducers can be used as high-performance actuators and sensors. However, the existing designs with fixed electromechanical properties cannot meet some special application requirements, such as the tuning working frequency to achieve high precision monitoring purpose. To address this issue, a type of frequency-variable 2–2 cement-based piezoelectric transducers is proposed in this paper. Theoretical models of the proposed transducer are established, and the analytical solutions of its longitudinal vibration are obtained. The theoretical models are verified by comparing their results with those of the existing literature for some special examples, and with the finite element results for a special case. In addition, the effects of the tuning resistance, the ratio of piezoelectric layer numbers between the active and passive elements, the electrical connections of piezoelectric layers, and the total number of piezoelectric layers on the electromechanical properties of transducer are discussed. It is demonstrated that the proposed frequency-variable 2–2 cement-based piezoelectric transducers can obtain a large tunable bandwidth by adjusting the appropriate ratio of piezoelectric layer numbers between the active and passive elements and their electrical connections, which provides a theoretical basis for designing and optimizing this type of transducers.

A quantitative analysis of the precipitate effects of metal ions (Al3+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Zn2+) by bovine serum albumin (BSA) on two condensed tannins (CT) from sorghum and plum was presented in this study. The results showed that adding metal ions enhanced the precipitation of proteins by CT, depending on the type and concentration of the metal ions used in the reaction system. The presence of metal ions and precipitation results on the CT–protein complex showed that Al3+ and Fe2+ had a higher binding ability with CT and a weaker influence on the precipitation of the CT–protein complex than Cu2+ and Zn2+. However, when the initial reaction solution contained excessive amounts of BSA, the extra addition of metal ions had no significant effect on the amount of BSA precipitation. Reversely, adding Cu2+ or Zn2+ into the reaction solution increased the amount of precipitated BSA when the amount of CT was excessive. In addition, the amounts of CT from plum, rather than sorghum, generated more protein precipitate in the presence of Cu2+ or Zn2+, which may be due to the different binding modes between the metal ion and the CT–BSA complex. This study also proposed a model of the interaction between the metal ion and the CT–protein precipitate.