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In today’s world, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many lives and forced the people to take safety precautions like never before. Therefore, designing an environmentally friendly theatre minimizing germ propagation using filtration mechanisms is a valuable project, as it would help struggling businesses, and give people a chance to enjoy a day outside, safely. With safety being the highest priority, the incorporation filtration systems and contactless food delivery networks is essential while providing a fun and lasting memory for the visiting audience. However, to meet the previously listed goals, solutions to major obstacles are necessary. This includes designing a robot with consistent movements while simultaneously avoiding its surrounding obstacles, building an energy environment friendly cooling system, and creating a filtration mechanism to filter the COVID-19 particles. With these overall designs incorporated into the traditional movie theatre, the team presents the “COVID-less Movie Theatre”.

Every year, approximately 2 billion tons of plant-derived waste (such as straw and crop residues) are generated globally, most of which are either incinerated, dumped, or landfilled without proper planning, leading to severe environmental pollution and resource wastage. Plant-derived waste exhibits potential advantages as a growing media component in various aspects. However, numerous studies have also indicated that plant-derived waste generally possesses strong phytotoxicity, which must be removed or reduced before being utilized as a growing media component. Therefore, accurately assessing their phytotoxicity and appropriately modifying it to ensure their support for plant growth when used as a growing media component is crucial. This paper reviews the manifestation and assessment methods of phytotoxicity in plant-derived waste; systematically summarizes the phytotoxicity sources of three common types of plant-derived waste (garden waste, crop straw, and spent mushroom substrate), as well as the toxic mechanisms of two representative phytotoxic substances (phenolic compounds and organic acids); and proposes some insights into further research directions. By consolidating insights from these studies, this review aims to deepen our understanding of phytotoxicity and its implications, and offer valuable references and guidance for future research endeavors and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the diversity and composition of gut microbiota in patient with cholestatic liver disease, and explore their correlation with clinical parameters. Methods Fresh stool samples from 16 patients with cholestatic liver disease and 19 healthy controls were collected, and 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze the diversity of gut microbiota and composition characteristics. Pearson analysis was employed to analyze the correlation between the different bacteria and clinical parameters. Results There were no statistical differences in the baseline data, such as sex, age and body mass index (BMI) in study subjects (P>0.05), but significant differences were observed in serum indexes among them (P < 0.01). The results of α diversity showed that Chao1 and Shannon indexes were lower in the study group, but there was no statistical difference (P>0.05). β diversity results indicated that the species diversity had significant difference between 2 group (P < 0.01). Further analysis of microbiota composition showed largely relative abundance of Bacteroides, Lachnoclostridium, Veillonella, Roseburia and Escherichia shigella (P < 0.05), while the abundance of Blautia were dramatically decreased (P < 0.05). Pearson analysis displayed that Lachnoclostridium was strongly correlated with serum level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (P < 0.01) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (P < 0.05), and Veillonella was also strongly correlated with GGT (P < 0.05). Conclusion Compared with healthy controls, the patients with cholestatic liver disease have obvious characteristic changes in the gut microbiota. The relatively high abundance of Veillonella is closely assocatied with cholestatic liver disease.

Labor shortage and low labor productivity are critical issues in the construction industry. Robotics, as a powerful technology to improve productivity in the digitization era, is being used to assist in addressing these problems. Particularly in recent years, interest in construction robotics research has risen remarkably. To gain a deeper understanding of this burgeoning research field, this study provides a bibliometric analysis of 498 related papers retrieved from WoS (Web of Science). Performance analysis and science mapping were used in the paper to identify the research trends, relationship among authors, top publication sources, regional activities, as well as knowledge base and dominant research sub-fields. The results indicated that the number of papers focusing on construction robotics has been continuously growing since 2013. "Automation," "system," and "design" have been the most addressed topics in construction robotics. The findings are indicative of identifying the deficiencies in existing research and provide directions for future research. Those include greater attention paid to the experimental results of on-site construction robots, while ignoring the impacts of practical construction situations, and the development of off-site construction robots needs more support. For theoretical research, there is a lack of studies on human–robot collaboration workflow and management models. Therefore, the study would be valuable in providing practitioners and researchers with a better perspective on the development of construction robotics and facilitating the building of the intellectual wealth of robotics in the construction industry. Our study analyzed 498 papers related to construction robotics from 1974 to 2022 through bibliometric approaches (mathematical and statistical methods). The study counted the numbers of construction robotics papers by year, identified most active scholars and top publication sources, and analyzed the relationship among regions. Most importantly, the paper identified the knowledge base of the research field of construction robotics and reviewed various relevant studies from theoretical and practical application perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ranging accuracy of pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) lidar is affected by walk error and jitter error. To solve the issue, the balanced detection method (BDM) based on fiber delay optic lines (FDOL) is proposed. The experiments are carried out to prove the performance improvement of BDM over the conventional single photodiode method (SPM). The experimental results show that BDM can suppress common mode noise and simultaneously shift the signal to high frequency, which reduces the jitter error by approximately 52.4% and maintains the walk error at less than 300 ps with a non-distorted waveform. The BDM can be further applied to silicon photomultipliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the ability of resource treatment of black smelly river sediment to reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its environmental benefits were calculated using the US EPA life-cycle assessment (LCA) model. Different from previous studies, this paper used the willingness-to-pay method to determine the weight factors of various environmental impact types in this study and proposed a calculation model of carbon emissions and environmental benefits in the whole process of resource utilization of sediment, rather than a new method to treat black smelly river sediment. Take the Qingxi River sediment treatment and recycling project in Dongguan, China, as an example: the carbon reduction, environmental impact, and environmental benefit of different stages of sediment treatment are calculated. The results show that 93.419 kg of carbon dioxide, 0.202 kg of methane, and 0.001 kg of nitrous oxide are produced for 1 t of river sediment, in which the preparation process of unburned brick contributes 99% of carbon dioxide, 82.67% of methane, and 100% of nitrous oxide emissions and is the stage that produces the most greenhouse gases. The 1 t of sediment resource treatment can reduce the generation of 29.066 kg carbon dioxide and 0.855 kg of methane. The comprehensive net environmental benefit of processing 1 t of river sediment is 1.492 yuan, and the environmental benefit is 1.684 times the environmental cost. This study identified that the treatment and recycling of river sediment has better environmental benefits. The preparation process of unburned brick can be optimized to further reduce carbon emissions and produce better environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel inorganic anchoring agent can be prepared by using magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) mortar. Through the research on the spread fluidity and the setting time of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar, the compressive strength and the uniaxial anchorage drawing strength of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar are tested. The results show due to the particle filling and the chemically bonding of the fly ash in MPC,the shrinkage strain of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar is obviously reduced; and the SEM, XCT scanning and the 3D reconstruction analysis are utilized, MPC hydration products are uniformly distributed between the standard sand and the unreacted MgO particles,so that the magnesium phosphate cement mortar has higher compressive strength and uniaxial anchorage drawing strength. Moreover, both physical adhere and chemical bonding are in the interface between MPC and bars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel inorganic anchoring agent can be prepared by using magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) mortar. Through the research on the spread fluidity and the setting time of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar, the compressive strength and the uniaxial anchorage drawing strength of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar are tested. The results show due to the particle filling and the chemically bonding of the fly ash in MPC,the shrinkage strain of the magnesium phosphate cement mortar is obviously reduced;and the SEM,XCT scanning and the 3D reconstruction analysis are utilized,MPC hydration products are uniformly distributed between the standard sand and the unreacted MgO particles,so that the magnesium phosphate cement mortar has higher compressive strength and uniaxial anchorage drawing strength. Moreover, both physical adhere and chemical bonding are in the interface between MPC and bars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sponge city facilities are optimized and designed in consideration of less permeable underlying surface and more impermeable underlying surface of Changzhen depot of Shenzhen metro. In addition to the traditional sponge city facilities such as raingarden, grass planting ditch and underground water storage modules, innovative sponge city facilities such as ecological roof, bioretention parterre and multifunctional pond are designed. The retention capacity and effect of the sponge city facilities of three design schemes are calculated and simulated by volumetric method and storm water management model ( SWMM). The results show that the sponge city facilities of three design schemes can meet the design requirements of zero runoff under annual runoff control rate of 70%. The results of SWMM simulation show that sponge city facilities can reduce the runoff volume, runoff peak and runoff coefficient of Changzhen depot; however, the reduction effect of sponge city facilities gradually decreases with the increase of rainfall return period, and sponge city facilities almost have no reduction effect when the rainfall return period is more than or equal to 50 years. Considering the technical and economic factors, the second design scheme is selected as the sponge city implementation scheme of Changzhen depot. According to the requirements of the code for construction and acceptance of urban landscaping projects (CTJ/T 82-2012) and the code for green construction of building (GB/T 50905-2014), the sponge city facilities of Changzhen depot as a green construction have finished and have become the first metrosponge city project in the world, which lays a foundation for the promotion and application of sponge city concept in urban rail transit projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a multifunctional lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum has been proved to survive in the human gastrointestinal tract, and it can also colonize this tract. In this study, the effects of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 metabolic profile caused by initial acid–base (pH 5.5 and 8.5) stress were investigated using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis. The results showed that the metabolome mainly consisted of 14 metabolites, including the components like amino acids, sugars, organic acids, and alkaloids. According to the nontargeted principal component analysis, there was a decrease in most of the metabolites in the alkali‐treated group (mainly change in PC1) except acetate, whereas the production of lactate and glycine was increased in the acid‐treated group (mainly change in PC2). Furthermore, the initial alkali stress inhibits the secretion of lactic acid, as a decrease was observed in the activity of lactate dehydrogenase and acetic dehydrogenase of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 in the alkali group. All these findings revealed that alkali stress could limit the acid environment formation of L. plantarum 14917 in the fermentation process; however, low acid pH is more suitable for the growth of L. plantarum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we studied the effects of different oligosaccharides on Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917, focusing on growth and adhesion characteristics and fermented milk flavor. The results showed that mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) had the greatest proliferative effect on L. plantarum ATCC14917 in vitro. In terms of adhesive properties, the autoaggregation rate of L. plantarum cultured in MOS was 23.76%, adhesion to mucin was 24.65%, and adhesion to Caco-2 cells was 14.71%. These results for L. plantarum cultured with MOS were higher than those for L. plantarum cultured in fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) or galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). Furthermore, the surface consistency and viscosity scores of fermented milk of the MOS group was higher than that of milks cultured with FOS or GOS, although MOS had the lowest scores for fermented milk flavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prokaryote-derived gene defense system as a new generation of nucleic acid detection tool exhibits impressive performance in the field of molecular diagnosis. Prokaryotic Argonaute (Ago) is a CRISPR-associated protein that is guided by a short DNA (gDNA) and then efficiently cleaves gDNA-complementary nucleic acids and presents unique characteristics that are different from the CRISPR/Cas system. However, the application of Ago in biosensing is still relatively scarce, and many properties of Ago need to be further clarified. In this study, we aim to systematically explore the properties of Thermus thermophilus Argonaute (TtAgo), including the dependence of TtAgo activity on guide DNA (gDNA) length, substrates' length, and the position of gDNA complementary region on the substrate. Based on these properties, we constructed an exonuclease III-assisted target-recycled amplification system (exoAgo) for sensitive miRNA detection. The result showed that exoAgo can be used for miRNA profiling with a detection limit of 12.2 pM and single-base-resolution and keep good performance for the detection of complex samples, which indicates that Ago has great application potential in the detection of nucleic acids. In conclusion, this study will provide guidance for further development and utilization of Ago in the field of biosensing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wang, Wang, Zhang and Wu.)

The ability to survive in the harsh gastrointestinal tract (GIT) environment is essential for Lactobacillus reuteri ( L. reuteri ) exhibiting beneficial effects. In this study, we found that the hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation of L. reuteri SH23 were significantly decreased and biofilm production was also significantly decreased when L. reuteri SH23 passes through the simulated GIT. Furthermore, according to the comparative transcriptome analysis, gene expression involved in the cell envelope, metabolic processes, common stress response, regulatory systems, and transporters were also affected. Meanwhile, label-free quantitative proteomics was used to identify the differential expression of surface proteins of L. reuteri in response to simulated gastrointestinal fluid. Proteins related to the ABC transporters (Lreu&#95;0517, Lreu&#95;0098, and Lreu&#95;0296) and LPxTG anchor domain proteins were upregulated in the cell surface after gastrointestinal fluid treatment, which is useful for adherence and colonization of L. reuteri in the GIT. Additionally, the recombinant Mub protein could also enhance the survival ability of L. reuteri SH23 in GIT stress environment. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the adaptation and adhesion mechanisms of L. reuteri SH23 under the gastrointestinal tract by the transcriptomics and proteomics analysis, and mucus-binding proteins were involved in the adhesion and GIT tolerance process.

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the development of the immune system and confers benefits or disease susceptibility to the host. Emerging studies have indicated the gut microbiota could affect pulmonary health and disease through cross talk between the gut microbiota and the lungs. Gut microbiota dysbiosis could lead to acute or chronic lung disease, such as asthma, tuberculosis, and lung cancer. In addition, the composition of the gut microbiota may be associated with different lung diseases, the prevalence of which also varies by age. Modulation of the gut microbiota through short-chain fatty acids, probiotics, and micronutrients may present potential therapeutic strategies to protect against lung diseases. In this review, we will provide an overview of the cross-talk between the gut microbiota and the lungs, as well as elucidate the underlying pathogenesis and/or potential therapeutic strategies of some lung diseases from the point of view of the gut microbiota., (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology.)