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Abstract The membrane-delimited receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is expressed in the intestine, collaborates with broad neutral amino acid transporter 1 (B0AT1). Tryptophan (Trp) is transported into intestinal epithelial cells by ACE2 and B0AT1. However, whether ACE2 and its binding protein B0AT1 are involved in Trp-mediated alleviation of intestinal injury is largely unknown. Here, we used weaned piglets and IPEC-J2 cells as models and found that ACE2/B0AT1 alleviated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced diarrhea and promoted intestinal barrier recovery via transport of Trp. The levels of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways were altered by ACE2. Dietary Trp supplementation in LPS-treated weaned piglets revealed that Trp alleviated diarrhea by promoting ACE2/B0AT1 expression, and examination of intestinal morphology revealed that the damage to the intestinal barrier was repaired. Our study demonstrated that ACE2 accompanied by B0AT1 mediated the alleviation of diarrhea by Trp through intestinal barrier repair via the mTOR pathway.

Echinochloa glabrescens Munro ex Hook. f. is a weed of the genus Echinocloa (Echinocloa spp.) that occurs frequently in paddy fields, causing serious harm to rice production. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl (FPB) is a foliar-applied herbicide used to control Echinocloa spp. in paddy fields. However, in recent years, with the widespread use of FPB in rice production, FPB-resistant barnyard grasses have been reported. Here, we identified an FPB-resistant E. glabrescens population with a resistance index (RI) of 10.65 and conducted a comparative analysis using untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to investigate the differences between an FPB-resistant E. glabrescens population and a susceptible E. glabrescens population after treatment with the recommended field dose of FPB. Our results showed that the FPB-resistant E. glabrescens had 115 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs; 65 up-regulated and 50 down-regulated) and 6397 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 65 up-regulated and 50 down-regulated) compared to the susceptible E. glabrescens. The analysis of DAMs and DEGs revealed that DAMs were significantly enriched in Glutathione metabolism, Arginine and proline metabolism, and Zeatin biosynthesis pathways, while DEGs were mainly enriched in carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, photosynthesis, cyanoamino acid metabolism and glutathione metabolism, etc. The glutathione metabolism pathway was found to be significantly enriched for both DEGs and DAMs. Within this pathway, the metabolites (spermine) and genes (GSTU8, GSTU18, GSTF1) may play a pivotal role in the resistance mechanism of FPB-resistant E. glabrescens. Furthermore, we demonstrated the presence of GST-mediated metabolic resistance in an FPB-resistant E. glabrescens population by using NBD-Cl. Overall, our study provides new insights into the underlying mechanisms of E. glabrescens resistance to FPB through a comparative analysis of untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics. Additionally, we identified the GST-mediated metabolic resistance in an FPB-resistant E. glabrescens population, and screened for three candidate genes (GSTU8, GSTU18, GSTF1), which has significant implications for improving the weed management efficacy of FPB in rice production and guiding judicious herbicide usage.

ABSTRACT: Ammonia (NH3) is a toxic gas that in intensive poultry houses, damages the poultry health and induces various diseases. This study investigated the effects of NH3 exposure (0, 15, 30, and 45 ppm) on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidative indicators, tracheal and lung impairments in Pekin ducks. A total of 288 one-day-old Pekin male ducks were randomly allocated to 4 groups with 6 replicates and slaughtered after the 21-d test period. Our results showed that 45 ppm NH3 significantly reduced the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of Pekin ducks. Ammonia exposure significantly reduced liver, lung, kidney, and heart indexes, and lowered the relative weight of the ileum. With the increasing of in-house NH3, serum NH3 and uric acid (UA) concentrations of ducks were significantly increased, as well as liver malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX-Px) contents. High NH3 also induced trachea and lung injury, thereby increasing levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the lung, and decreasing the mRNA expressions of zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) and claudin 3 (CLDN3) in the lung. In conclusion, in-house NH3 decrease the growth performance in ducks, induce trachea and lung injuries and meanwhile increase the compensatory antioxidant activity for host protection.

This paper presents a method for parameterizing new Lorentz spacetime coordinates based on coupled parameters. The role of symmetry in rapidity in special relativity is explored, and invariance is obtained for new spacetime intervals with respect to the Lorentz transformation. Using the Euler–Hamilton equations, an additional angular rapidity and perpendicular rapidity are obtained, and the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian of a relativistic particle are expanded into rapidity spectra. A so-called passage to the limit is introduced that makes it possible to decompose physical quantities into spectra in terms of elementary functions when explicit decomposition is difficult. New rapidity-dependent Lorentz spacetime coordinates are obtained. The descriptions of particle motion using the old and new Lorentz spacetime coordinates as applied to plane laser pulses are compared in terms of the particle kinetic energy. Based on a classical model of particle motion in the field of a plane monochromatic electromagnetic wave and that of a plane laser pulse, rapidity-dependent spectral decompositions into elementary functions are presented, and the Euler–Hamilton equations are derived as rapidity functions in 3+1 dimensions. The new and old Lorentz spacetime coordinates are compared with the Fermi spacetime coordinates. The proper Lorentz groups SO(1,3) with coupled parameters using the old and new Lorentz spacetime coordinates are also compared. As a special case, the application of Lorentz spacetime coordinates to a relativistic hydrodynamic system with coupled parameters in 1+1 dimensions is demonstrated.

In the directed co-graph edge-deletion problem, we are given a directed graph and an integer k, and the question is whether we can delete, at most, k edges so that the resulting graph is a directed co-graph. In this paper, we make two minor contributions. Firstly, we show that the problem is NP-hard. Then, we show that directed co-graphs are fully characterized by eight forbidden structures, each having, at most, six edges. Based on the symmetry properties and several refined observations, we develop a branching algorithm with a running time of O(2.733k), which is significantly more efficient compared to the brute-force algorithm, which has a running time of O(6k).

Oxysterols are metabolites of cholesterol that regulate cholesterol homeostasis. Among these, the most abundant oxysterol is 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), which can cross the blood-brain barrier. Because 27HC functions as an endogenous selective estrogen receptor modulator, we hypothesize that 27HC binds to the estrogen receptor α (ERα) in the brain to regulate energy balance. Supporting this view, we found that delivering 27HC to the brain reduced food intake and activated proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (POMCARH) in an ERα-dependent manner. In addition, we observed that inhibiting brain ERα, deleting ERα in POMC neurons, or chemogenetic inhibition of POMCARH neurons blocked the anorexigenic effects of 27HC. Mech anistically, we further revealed that 27HC stimulates POMCARH neurons by inhibiting the small conductance of the calcium-activated potassium (SK) channel. Together, our findings suggest that 27HC, through its interaction with ERα and modulation of the SK channel, inhibits food intake as a negative feedback mechanism against a surge in circulating cholesterol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane-delimited receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is expressed in the intestine, collaborates with broad neutral amino acid transporter 1 (B0AT1). Tryptophan (Trp) is transported into intestinal epithelial cells by ACE2 and B0AT1. However, whether ACE2 and its binding protein B0AT1 are involved in Trp-mediated alleviation of intestinal injury is largely unknown. Here, we used weaned piglets and IPEC-J2 cells as models and found that ACE2/B0AT1 alleviated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced diarrhea and promoted intestinal barrier recovery via transport of Trp. The levels of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways were altered by ACE2. Dietary Trp supplementation in LPS-treated weaned piglets revealed that Trp alleviated diarrhea by promoting ACE2/B0AT1 expression, and examination of intestinal morphology revealed that the damage to the intestinal barrier was repaired. Our study demonstrated that ACE2 accompanied by B0AT1 mediated the alleviation of diarrhea by Trp through intestinal barrier repair via the mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To address the challenge of distinguishing the health status of bearings, in this paper, a health index (HI) is developed through utilization of the multiple target time-varying black widow optimization–bidirectional gating recurrent unit (MTBWO-BiGRU) model and the Bray–Curtis distance. This index offers a visual representation of the health status of bearings, enabling more intuitive monitoring and prediction. The first step involves utilizing L1 regularization to extract effective features as degradation elements from the current bearing vibration data. Additionally, the characteristics of the initial time window of the vibration data serve as the health features. Next, the HI of the bearing is constructed by computing the Bray–Curtis distance between the bearing's degradation characteristics and health features. The cloud monitoring platform constantly tracks the health of the bearing and employs the MTBWO-BiGRU model to anticipate the forthcoming state of health. The platform generates an immediate alert when the HI of the bearing overtakes the alteration rate threshold and foresees the condition of the bearing. We compare the MTBWO-BiGRU model with the bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) and BiGRU models. The results indicate an accuracy level of 92.57%, which is evidently higher than that obtained when using the other two models. Moreover, the MTBWO-BiGRU model is lighter, demonstrating the practicality of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method for parameterizing new Lorentz spacetime coordinates based on coupled parameters. The role of symmetry in rapidity in special relativity is explored, and invariance is obtained for new spacetime intervals with respect to the Lorentz transformation. Using the Euler–Hamilton equations, an additional angular rapidity and perpendicular rapidity are obtained, and the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian of a relativistic particle are expanded into rapidity spectra. A so-called passage to the limit is introduced that makes it possible to decompose physical quantities into spectra in terms of elementary functions when explicit decomposition is difficult. New rapidity-dependent Lorentz spacetime coordinates are obtained. The descriptions of particle motion using the old and new Lorentz spacetime coordinates as applied to plane laser pulses are compared in terms of the particle kinetic energy. Based on a classical model of particle motion in the field of a plane monochromatic electromagnetic wave and that of a plane laser pulse, rapidity-dependent spectral decompositions into elementary functions are presented, and the Euler–Hamilton equations are derived as rapidity functions in 3+1 dimensions. The new and old Lorentz spacetime coordinates are compared with the Fermi spacetime coordinates. The proper Lorentz groups SO(1,3) with coupled parameters using the old and new Lorentz spacetime coordinates are also compared. As a special case, the application of Lorentz spacetime coordinates to a relativistic hydrodynamic system with coupled parameters in 1+1 dimensions is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the directed co-graph edge-deletion problem, we are given a directed graph and an integer k, and the question is whether we can delete, at most, k edges so that the resulting graph is a directed co-graph. In this paper, we make two minor contributions. Firstly, we show that the problem is NP-hard. Then, we show that directed co-graphs are fully characterized by eight forbidden structures, each having, at most, six edges. Based on the symmetry properties and several refined observations, we develop a branching algorithm with a running time of O (2.733 k) , which is significantly more efficient compared to the brute-force algorithm, which has a running time of O (6 k) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice yield estimation is vital for enhancing food security, optimizing agricultural management, and promoting sustainable development. However, traditional satellite/aerial and ground-based/tower-based platforms face limitations in rice yield estimation, and few studies have explored the potential of UAV-borne hyperspectral remote sensing for this purpose. In this study, we employed a UAV-borne push-broom hyperspectral camera to acquire remote sensing data of rice fields during the filling stage, and the machine learning regression algorithms were applied to rice yield estimation. The research comprised three parts: hyperspectral data preprocessing, spectral feature extraction, and model construction. To begin, the preprocessing of hyperspectral data involved geometric distortion correction, relative radiometric calibration, and rice canopy mask construction. Challenges in geometric distortion correction were addressed by tracking linear features during flight and applying a single-line correction method. Additionally, the NIR reflectance threshold method was applied for rice canopy mask construction, which was subsequently utilized for average reflectance extraction. Then, spectral feature extraction was carried out to reduce multicollinearity in the hyperspectral data. Recursive feature elimination (RFE) was then employed to identify the optimal feature set for model performance. Finally, six machine learning regression models (SVR, RFR, AdaBoost, XGBoost, Ridge, and PLSR) were used for rice yield estimation, achieving significant results. PLSR showed the best R2 of 0.827 with selected features, while XGBoost had the best R2 of 0.827 with full features. In addition, the spatial distribution of absolute error in rice yield estimation was assessed. The results suggested that this UAV-borne imaging hyperspectral-based approach held great potential for crop yield estimation, not only for rice but also for other crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the overburden movement and the side abutment pressure distribution concerning the variation in deep mines with varying coal seam thickness, this study focused on the No. 72 mining area of Tianchen Coal Mine and obtained the following results: Variations in coal seam thickness within a stope lead to increased immediate roof thickness. When the coal seam thickness is 8 m, the maximum immediate roof thickness reaches 18 m. The roof is composed of a "Combined short cantilever-Voussoir beam" structure. Displacement curves of overburden in coal seam thickness-varying stopes exhibit asymmetry, with the overburden closer to the coal seam being more asymmetric. After post-goaf stabilization, the peak side abutment pressure decreases with increasing coal seam thickness and shifts deeper into the coal wall. Concurrently, the ultimate equilibrium area width expands. With an increase in coal seam thickness from 4 m to 8 m, the peak side abutment pressures decreased from 44.98 MPa to 41.04 MPa. The peak position shifted from a distance of 9 m from the coal wall to 14 m, while the stress-relaxation area expanded from 3 m to 5 m. This research provides essential insights for safe and efficient mining in similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Science Technology & Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Technology Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tunnel Construction / Suidao Jianshe (Zhong-Yingwen Ban) is the property of Tunnel Construction Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)