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This study evaluated the effects of varying levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) on the structural and foaming properties of the egg yolk proteins (EYPs), and the interaction between them was explored by molecular docking. The results showed that oxidative modification due to MDA increased the carbonyl content of EYPs by 4.49 times. Simultaneously, the total sulfhydryl content was reduced by 21.47%, and the solubility of EYPs was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Continuous oxidation disorders the previously ordered structure of EYPs. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that some proteins underwent crosslinking and aggregation with increased MDA oxidation, aligning with changes in particle size and zeta-potential. Moderate oxidation (<1 mmol/L) enhanced the foaming capacity and foam stability of EYPs. Additionally, molecular docking results uncovered favorable interactions between MDA and specific EYPs, primarily through hydrogen bonding. This research offers valuable insights into managing the functional and quality changes of yolk products during processing. [Display omitted] • Malondialdehyde (MDA) changed the original conformation of egg yolk proteins (EYPs). • High levels of oxidation caused EYPs to form insoluble aggregates. • Moderate oxidation enhanced the foaming capacity and foam stability of EYPs. • MDA has non-covalent interactions with representative proteins of EYPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Selection of suitable ILs as extracting agents is the key to ensuring an extraction process. • An EDS process is exemplified to choose efficient and effective ILs. • [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] and [C 1 pyr][HSO 4 ] are finally identified which can satisfy the qualification of sulfur content (<10 ppm). • This work is from the molecular level to experimental research, then to industrial scale. • A systematic method to choose efficient and effective ILs as extracting agent is presented. Selecting of appropriate ionic liquids (ILs) as extracting agents is a key to ensuring an extraction process. Therefore, this study illustrates a systematic method for an extractive desulfurization (EDS) process to select the most promising ILs. The proposed method combines: 1) COSMO-RS calculation of the mutual solubility of ILs and fuel oil, and the capacity of ILs for the S-compounds, 2) experimental investigation of the prescreened ILs for their desulfurization ability, 3) and Aspen Plus simulation of developing a new insight into the industrial application of EDS. Based on the obtained results, [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] and [C 1 pyr][HSO 4 ] having small mutual solubility with fuel oil, high extraction capacity for S-compounds and high desulfurization efficiency are selected as two promising ILs. Considering the qualification of the low sulfur content standard and real industrial applications, [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] is recognized as the most favorable solvent for the EDS process. The proposed method initiating from micro-level to experimental stage and finally to industrial stage can preferably be extended over a variety of extraction application for selection of the promising ILs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Swine Fever (ASF) is an acute and highly lethal disease in pigs caused by African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). Viral proteins have been commonly used as antigenic targets for the development of ASF diagnostic methods. However, the prokaryotic expression of viral proteins has deficiencies such as instability, insolubility, and high cost in eukaryotic situations. This study screened and verified ASFV-encoded p72, p54, and p30 protein antigenic epitopes. Subsequently, a novel antigenic epitope-associated recombinant protein was designed based on an ideal structural protein and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli). Western blot analysis indicated that the recombinant protein could specifically react with the monoclonal antibody (mAb) of p72 and polyclonal antibodies of p54 and p30, respectively. Next, an ASF indirect ELISA (iELISA) method was established based on the recombinant protein, which has no specific reaction with sera of other important pig viral diseases. Meanwhile, it shows a sensitivity to detecting dilutions of ASF-positive reference serum up to 1:6400. The clinical sample detection results showed a high coincidence rate of 98 % with a commercial competition ELISA kit. In conclusion, we established a novel specific, and sensitive ASF serologic detection method that opens new avenues for ASF serodiagnostic method development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A clear interannual variability in annual production of grasslands (termed AEVI) has been reported over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), but the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. Here, we explained the interannual variability of AEVI during 2001–2015 by two phenological metrics (the start and end of the growing season, termed SOS and EOS, respectively) and one physiological metric (the maximum capacity of canopy light absorbance, termed MEVI) using MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data over the TP. The results showed that the interannual variability of AEVI can be well attributed to not only the trends of, but also the sensitivities of AEVI to, the selected biological metrics. On the one hand, the advancing SOS and delaying EOS dominated the study area while both increased and decreased MEVI were observed. On the other hand, the AEVI responded negatively to the SOS and positively to the EOS and MEVI, exhibiting significant variations along the temperature and precipitation gradients. Hence, the current interannual variability of SOS and EOS mainly increased the AEVI; meanwhile, both enhancement and suppression of the interannual variability of MEVI to the AEVI were widespread over the TP. Overall, the interannual variability of MEVI mostly contributed to that of the AEVI, indicating a dominant role of the physiological metric rather than phenological metrics in carbon gain of TP grasslands. The achievements of this study are helpful to understand the underlying biological causes of the interannual variability of grassland production over the TP. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • The advancing SOS and delaying EOS widely increase grassland production on the TP. • Consistent variability of annual max EVI and grassland production is widespread. • The physiological metric plays a dominant role in changes of grassland production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has significantly influenced the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems through water cycles. Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important indicator for understanding how water couples with the carbon cycle. Abiotic factors such as climatic factors and CO 2 concentration have been investigated to understand the mechanisms involved in the coupled carbon-water cycle of terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate change. However, the effects of biotic factors on WUE are less clear. By analyzing 66 site-years of flux and meteorological data obtained from 8 temperate deciduous broadleaf forest sites across North America and Europe, we found that ecosystem-scale WUE (defined here as the ratio of gross primary production (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET)) in the spring significantly increased with the advance of the flux-based photosynthetic onset (FPO), mainly because an earlier FPO could lead to a steeper increase in GPP than in ET. However, the advance of FPO probably reduced summer WUE as a result of the enhancement of water stress by ET in the spring in temperate deciduous broadleaf forest. Our results also implied that spring warming had an indirectly positive effect on WUE through advancing spring phenology, but such a positive effect will likely weaken once the sensitivity of spring phenology to warming decreases as reported. Here, we argue that phenology, which exerts critical biotic control over most ecological processes, plays a larger role than expected in the regulation of the seasonal WUE and cannot be ignored in earth system models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The flux-derived slope (G 1) in the USO model was investigated in temperate forests. • G 1 displays considerable seasonal variations with a minimum value in mid-summer • Satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) could well capture the seasonality of G 1. • The LAI-based dynamic G 1 parametrization was used to modeling transportation (T c). • The scheme of dynamic G 1 could effectively reduce the error in T c estimation. The ecosystem-level conductance-photosynthesis models, which represent a linearly coupled relationship between canopy stomatal conductance (G s) and CO 2 assimilation, have been increasingly used for modeling transpiration (T c). As a key parameter in these models, the slope parameter (G 1) has been observed to vary considerably over the seasons in the field, but is often parametrized with a biome-specific temporally constant G 1 , resulting in large potential uncertainty. Here we hypothesized that G 1 varies with leaf area index (LAI) phenology and soil water content (SWC) seasonality, and accurate characterization of G 1 seasonality offers an avenue to improve T c modelling. To test these hypotheses, we first investigated the seasonality of Eddy flux-derived G 1 and then explored its relationship with satellite-derived LAI and field-observed SWC seasonality at 12 temperate forest FLUXNET sites across the Northern Hemisphere. Last, we cross-compared the two schemes of model parameterization of G 1 for modeling T c : (1) a constant G 1 (FIX) and (2) a dynamic G 1 parameterized using the selected variables (DYN). Our results show G 1 displays considerable seasonal variations across all sites, with a minimum value in mid-summer. Further variance partitioning analysis demonstrates that the seasonal variations in G 1 show direct linkages with LAI phenology rather than SWC seasonality likely associated with leaf aging and ontogeny development. Last, we found relative to the FIX model, the DYN model (using LAI for G 1 parameterization) significantly reduced the model uncertainty in terms of RMSE by 24.6 ± 11.8% and 32.0 ± 8.7%, respectively for G s and T c at a daily scale. These results collectively improve our understanding of the dynamic pattern and proximate controls of G 1 seasonality, and highlight the effectiveness of using remote sensing-derived LAI phenology for improved characterization of G 1 seasonality that ultimately contributes to the improved process model simulations of the seasonal dynamics of G s and T c across temperate forest landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The explanatory power of EOS to the interannual variations in GPP, ET and WUE were quantitatively assessed. • The autumn phenology played a crucial role in regulating GPP, ET and WUE in autumn on the Tibetan Plateau. • The delayed EOS increased the daily mean GPP but meanwhile increased the ET in autumn, rather than enhanced the WUE. Vegetation phenology is a commonly used indicator of climate-vegetation interactions, which also plays a crucial role in regulating gross primary productivity (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE, defined as the ratio between GPP and ET). Actually, quantitative evaluation of the impact of phenology on WUE is critical yet lacking. In this study we detected the interannual variations of autumn WUE, GPP and ET and conducted Redundancy analysis (RDA) to quantitatively assess their responses to autumn end of growing season (EOS) in the grassland ecosystem across the Tibetan Plateau. Our study found that the delayed EOS increased the daily mean GPP but meanwhile increased the ET in autumn, rather than enhanced the WUE. Over the entire Tibetan Plateau, the daily GPP and ET in the autumn of the steppe were dominated by the delayed EOS, with the explanatory power of EOS to GPP and ET of 75.90% (P < 0.01) and 21.80% (P < 0.05). An one day delay of the EOS increased the daily GPP and ET by 0.05 × 10−1 gC m−1 day−1 (P < 0.01) and 0.27 × 10−1 mm day−1 (P < 0.01), respectively. Furthermore, the EOS agreed on a positive correlation with daily GPP and ET in different ecoregions and the interannual variations of WUE for the meadow and steppe in the different ecoregions across the Tibetan Plateau did not show significant trend because of this same increasing pattern of GPP and ET form the delayed EOS. This study highlights the impacts of EOS on the interannual changes of the GPP, ET and WUE in autumn in a large cold and semiarid/arid area, which indicated that phenology should be regard as a crucial indicator in the process of carbon water coupling cycles and their biological regulatory mechanisms in terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Speed correction curves are introduced to improve the simulation of vehicle emission factors. • A multi-year emission inventory is developed in a typical middle-sized city based on detailed data. • The comparison of emissions is made between the middle-sized city and the megacities. • Four possible emission control policies are evaluated and discussed for middle-sized cities. Vehicle emissions are regarded as an important contributor to urban air pollution in China and most previous studies focused on megacities. However, the vehicle pollution in middle-sized cities becomes more severe due to the increasing vehicle population (VP) and lagged control policy. This study takes Langfang, a typical middle-sized city bordered by two megacities (Beijing and Tianjin), as the target domain to investigate vehicle emissions. The speed correction curves (SCC) are introduced to improve the vehicle emission factors (EF) simulation in official technical guidelines on emission inventory (GEI). A multi-year vehicle emission inventory (from 2011 to 2025) is developed in Langfang. From 2011 to 2017, the total vehicle emissions in Langfang decrease for carbon monoxide (CO), but increase for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO x), and inhalable particles (PM 10), respectively. From 2018 to 2025, the emissions would increase more rapidly in Langfang than in Beijing and Tianjin, indicating the middle-sized cities may become a significant contributor to air pollution in China. Four possible control policies, including VP constrained (VPC), public transportation promotion (PTP), new energy vehicles promotion (NEP), and freight transportation structure optimization (FTO) are evaluated. The most significant emissions reductions are observed under the FTO for CO, NO x , and PM 10 , and under the VPC for VOCs. The spatial distributions of vehicle emissions show a high order of heterogeneity, indicating that local conditions should be considered in policy formulation in addition to national consistency. More comprehensive policies should be implemented to mitigate the vehicle pollution in middle-sized cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jing-Jin-Ji urban group (JJJug), the Yangtze River Delta urban group (YRDug) and the Pearl River Delta urban group (PRDug) are major urban groups of eastern China that play crucial roles in the economy and ecology. With rapid urbanization, demand for land for urban construction has significantly increased, causing direct and indirect losses of forests. At the same time, forest protection and restoration are being promoted in the construction of forested urban groups in response to the 13th Five-Year Plan for forestry development of China in the abovementioned regions. These inevitable contradictory demands for land may inhibit regional sustainable development. However, how forest coverage changed and its ecological impacts in recent decades have rarely been systematically evaluated. To address this issue, this paper quantitatively investigated the spatial and temporal variations in forest coverage and the evolution of landscape patterns using remote sensing data across the JJJug, the YRDug and the PRDug from 1992 to 2015. The results show that forest coverage in the JJJug first increased and then decreased, while that in the YRDug and the PRDug showed a sustained decline during the study period. In the case of land displacement, on the one hand, the three urban groups exhibited a transition from forest to farmland in the forest-farm ecotone at medium and high altitudes. On the other hand, grassland and shrubland were changed into forest mainly in the outer suburbs. Furthermore, in general, the landscape fragmentation in the urban groups significantly increased because of urban expansion. Besides, that of the JJJug exhibited an obvious spatial heterogeneity with a decline in the north while an increase in the south. Overall, unbalanced forest displacement, which could lead to a negative effect on both forest-coverage quantity and landscape quality, should be given more attention in the future development of forested urban groups. It is shows the conceptual illustration of unbalanced forest displacement and its impacts due to urban expansion across the coastal urban groups of eastern China. On the one hand, conversions from forest to farmland or grassland in the forest-farm ecotone were widely observed at medium and high altitudes of the study area. On the other hand, the grasslands and shrublands were converted into forest mainly in the outer suburbs. Moreover, the landscape fragmentation of the urban groups mainly increased due to the direct and indirect effects of urban expansion. Overall, unbalanced forest displacement may lead to a negative effect on both forest-coverage quantity and landscape quality, which should be given close attention. Unlabelled Image • Forest coverage generally decreased across the coastal urban groups of eastern China in recent decades. • Altitude-related forest losses due to the indirect impact of urban expansion were widely observed. • Unbalanced forest displacement led to increasing landscape fragmentation of the urban groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied the urban–rural gradient of urban vegetation phenology changes (△UVP) and its drivers across 1500+ cities in China. • Along the urban–rural gradient, the SOS advance and EOS delay increase first, decrease later, and finally steady. • The △UVP is contributed more by climate change than by urbanization level for urban subzones. A comprehensive investigation on the long-term changes of urban vegetation phenology (△UVP) is critical for a better understanding of changes in urban ecosystems. However, the urban–rural gradient of the △UVP across cities with diverse climate zones and city sizes, as well as the associated drivers, remains largely unclear. Here, using multi-source remote sensing data from 2001 to 2019, we investigated the urban–rural gradient (including six urban–rural subzones, i.e., the old urban core, new urban core, new urban area, suburban area, exurban area, and rural area) of the △UVP across 1500 + cities in China and analyzed the impacts of urbanization level and climate change on the △UVP. First, over the past two decades, the △UVP during spring (i.e., the changes of the start of growing season, termed △SOS) is generally negative (advanced SOS; 73 % ± 4 %) and that during autumn (i.e., changes of the end of growing season, termed △EOS) is mainly positive (delayed EOS; 63 % ± 3 %) in all urban–rural subzones. The spatial distribution of the △UVP based on enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data is relatively consistent with that based on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data. Along the urban–rural gradient, both the SOS advance and EOS delay exhibit an increasing first, decreasing later, and finally steady curve, with the maximum occurring in the new urban area at − 12.4 ± 18.5 days (for △SOS) and 3.8 ± 9.9 days (for △EOS). Second, the SOS changes from an advance to a delay from the middle temperate to southern subtropical zones, while the EOS changes from a delay to an advance. The magnitudes of both △SOS and △EOS show a general trend of increasing first and then decreasing with decreasing latitude. Third, the SOS advance and EOS delay generally decrease with city size for the old urban core, increase initially and decrease later with city size for the three suburban subzones, while they show little deviations with city size for the new urban core and new urban area. Finally, in the three urban subzones, the mean △UVP across all the cities is contributed more by climate change (mean: △SOS: 73 %; △EOS: 78 %) than by urbanization level (mean: △SOS: 27 %; △EOS: 22 %). Our findings can improve the understanding of urban vegetation changes in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the stability and bioavailability of double-loaded clove essential oil (CEO) liposomes (DLCL), chitosan was used to coat DLCL (CS-DLCL) as a promising delivery system for CEO. Considering the vesicle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency, 3.5 mg/mL chitosan was selected as the optimum concentration. Electrostatic interactions between chitosan and DLCL were confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Stability analysis revealed that the physical barrier formed by chitosan improved the stability of DLCL under high-temperature, high-salt, and long-term storage at 4 °C and reduced the interaction of CEO with chemicals in the digestive fluids, providing a foundation for the sustained release of CEO in the intestine. Finally, chitosan exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on lipid oxidation secondary products and enhanced the antioxidant activity of DLCL. Thus, chitosan is a promising coating material for improving the stability of DLCL, and CS-DLCL have a good potential for application in foods. [Display omitted] • Chitosan-coated DLCL (CS-DLCL) showed better stabilities. • CS-DLCL showed a better-sustained release characteristics in vitro. • Chitosan had an obvious inhibitory effect on lipid oxidation secondary products. • Chitosan coating strengthened antioxidant activity of DLCL. • Further revealed the possible intrinsic mechanism of chitosan stabilized DLCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acid rain is a major regional-scale environmental problem in China. To control acid rain pollution and to protect the ecological environment, it is urgent to document acid rain patterns in various regions of China. Taking Liaoning Province as the study area, the present work focused on the spatial and temporal variations of acid rains in northeastern China. It presents a means for predicting the occurrence of acid rain using geographic position, terrain characteristics, routinely monitored meteorological factors and column concentrations of atmospheric SO2 and NO2. The analysis applies a decision tree approach to the foregoing observation data. Results showed that: (1) acid rain occurred at 17 stations among the 81 monitoring stations in Liaoning Province, with the frequency of acid rain from 0 to 84.38%; (2) summer had the most acid rain occurrences followed by spring and autumn, and the winter had the least; (3) the total accuracy for the simulation of precipitation pH (pH ≤ 4.5, 4.5 < pH ≤ 5.6, and pH > 5.6) was 98.04% using the decision tree method known as C5. The simulation results also indicated that the distance to coastline, elevation, wind direction, wind speed, rainfall amount, atmospheric pressure, and the precursors of acid rain all have a strong influence on the occurrence of acid rains in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the application of bovine bone protein (BBP) in the food industry, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was modified to EGCG-BBP conjugate. The effect of EGCG-BBP concentration on the emulsifying and oxidative stability of emulsion during the storage period was studied. After covalent modification, the molecular weight of EGCG-BBP increased, while lower maximum fluorescence intensity and the content of α-helix and β-sheet were decreased. The droplet particle size and ζ-potential of emulsion significantly decreased with increasing concentration of EGCG-BBP. Overall, the emulsion prepared by 0.6 % EGCG-BBP was the best, which had the lowest size (723.5 nm) and highest negative charge (−34.18 mV), and smallest droplets, indicating the improved physical stability of the emulsion. Additionally, the peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value of the EGGCG-BBP emulsion significantly decreased to after 20 d of storage. Moreover, the EGCG-BBP stabilized emulsions exhibited strong antioxidant capacity in vitro in an EGCG-BBP concentration-dependent manner. Mechanistically, EGCG-BBP improved the physical and oxidant stability of the emulsion by forming a thicker surface film and increasing the surface charge of droplets. This study demonstrated that EGCG-BBP conjugate can improve the emulsion stability, suggesting that BBP can be used in emulsified food. [Display omitted] • BBP-EGCG conjugate prepared via alkali induction method was as antioxidant emulsifier. • Physical stability of emulsion prepared by EGCG-BBP was significantly improved with the increase of EGCG-BBP concentration. • The addition of EGCG-BBP also significantly improved the chemical stability of the prepared emulsion. • Emulsion prepared by 0.6 % EGCG-BBP had the best stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of the vehicle population was regarded as an important factor that contributed to the urban air pollution in China during the past decades. We used Tianjin, a typical megacity facing vehicle pollution problems, as the study domain to investigate a comprehensive estimation of vehicle emissions, including carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO x), inhalable particles (PM 10), carbon dioxide (CO 2) and sulphur dioxide (SO 2), from 2000 to 2030. The Computer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport (COPERT) model was used to simulate the vehicle emission factors. Historical simulations show that the total emissions of CO, VOCs, NO x , PM 10 , CO 2 , and SO 2 changed from 545.1 Gg, 70.04 Gg, 60.19 Gg, 6.57 Gg, 6.82 Tg and 12.88 Gg to 259.11 Gg, 34.01 Gg, 55.14 Gg, 3.42 Gg, 25.30 Tg and 0.16 Gg from 2000 to 2016, respectively. Passenger cars (PC) and light-duty vehicles (LDV) were the main contributors to the CO and VOCs emissions. Heavy-duty trucks (HDT) and buses (BUS) were the important contributors to NO x and PM 10. PC was the major contributor to CO 2 and SO 2. With respect to the future, four Single Control Policy Scenarios (SCPS), including Passenger car Population Regulation (PPR), Emission Standard Updating (ESU), Public Transportation Promotion (PTP) and Electric Vehicle Popularity (EVP), and Integrated Scenarios (IS), were assembled to describe the impact of future policies on vehicle pollution from 2017 to 2030. Among all SCPS, the results show that the ESU is the more effective policy to control emissions of CO, NO x and PM 10 , while PPR is the more effective way to reduce emissions of VOCs, CO 2 , and SO 2. • A comprehensive estimation of vehicle emissions was investigated in Tianjin from 2000 to 2030. • The estimation incorporated the impacts of vehicle emission control policies that were newly implemented. • The compositions of vehicular emission standards were considered to improve the accuracy of the estimation. • The reduction effects on six pollutants were evaluated under five vehicle emission reduction scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP) is a national project, with great significance to promote the sustainable development of society and economy. NFPP has driven land use change significantly, altering the provision of ecosystem services (ESs) and influencing human well-being. The selection of priority conservation areas would provide a reference for the further implementation of the NFPP. Here we used the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model to perform a comprehensive spatio-temporal assessment of the impact of NFPP on ESs provision, and ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method to identify priority conservation areas by balancing ESs tradeoffs in Qinghai province, China. The results showed that ESs were changed with the increase in forest land due to the implementation of the NFPP from 2000 to 2020. Soil retention, habitat quality, carbon storage and water purification increased significantly, while water yield showed a downward trend during the 2000–2020. By selecting priority conservation areas based on multi-scenarios analysis, the priority conservation areas were mainly distributed in the southern regions of Qinghai province and eastern regions of the Haibei Prefecture, and the area of forest, shrub and natural grass accounted for 6.10%, 32.30% and 69.54%, respectively. This study provides critical knowledge of the impact of ecological engineering on provision of multiple ESs. Selecting the priority conservation areas will be beneficial to ecosystem management and ecological sustainable development of the regions. [Display omitted] • The Natural Forest Protection Project improved regional ecosystem services. • Priority conservation areas (PCA) were picked rely on ecosystem service tradeoffs. • PCA were mainly distributed in regions that ecosystem services balanced well. • We provided a science-based overview for decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Brake emissions from vehicles are increasing as the number of vehicles increases. However, current research on brake emissions, particularly the intensity and characteristics of emissions under real road conditions, is significantly inadequate compared to exhaust emissions. To this end, a dataset of 600 (200 unique real-world braking events simulated using three types of brake pads) real-world braking events (called brake pad segments) was constructed and a mapping function between the average brake emission intensity of PM 2.5 from the segments and the segment features was established by five algorithms (multiple linear regression (MLR) and four machine learning algorithms). Based on the five algorithms, the importance of the different features of the fragments was discussed and brake energy intensity (BEI) and metal content (MC) of the brake pad emissions were identified as the most significant factors affecting brake emissions and used as the final modeling features. Among the five algorithms, categorical boosting (CatBoost) had the best prediction performance, with a mean R2 and RMSE of 0.83 and 0.039 respectively for the tenfold cross-validation. In addition, the CatBoost-based model was further compared with the MOVES model to demonstrate its applicability. The CatBoost-based model has better prediction performance than the MOVES model. The MOVES model overpredicts brake fragment emissions for urban roads and underpredicts brake fragment emissions for motorways. Furthermore, the CatBoost-based model was interpreted and visualized by an individual conditional expectation (ICE) plot to break the machine learning "black box", with BEI and MC showing nonlinear monotonic increasing relationships with braking emissions. ICE plot also provides viable technical solutions for controlling brake emissions in the future. Both avoiding aggressive braking driving behavior (e.g., the application of smart transportation technologies) and using brake pads with less metal content (e.g., using ceramic brake pads) can effectively reduce brake emissions. The construction of a machine learning-based brake emission model and the white-boxing of its model provide excellent insights for the future detailed assessment and control of brake emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marek's disease (MD) is a neoplastic disease of chickens caused by an avian alphaherpesvirus, Marek's disease virus (MDV, also known as Gallid alphaherpesvirus 2 [GaHV2]). A total of 14 microRNA (miRNA) precursors and 26 mature miRNAs have been identified in MDV genome, which were grouped in three distinct clusters. In recent years, our studies revealed the role of MDV encoded cluster 3 miRNAs (or miR-M8-M10) and the specific function of its three members, miR-M6, miR-M7 and miR-M10, in regulating MDV replication and pathogenesis. In this study, we characterized the unique function of the other two members, miR-M8 and miR-M13, in cluster 3 miRNAs. Our results show that miR-M8 and miR-M13 are not important for MDV plaque formation and genome replication in vitro. Animal experiment results show that deletion of miR-M8–5p and miR-M13–5p eliminates the bursa atrophy, but not thymus atrophy, of MDV inoculated chickens. In addition, we found that the survival curve and MD incidences were not affected by disruption of miR-M8 and miR-M13. Taken together, this study uncovers the unique role of miR-M8 and miR-M13 in MDV replication and pathogenesis, which filled the gap in the research of MDV encoded miRNAs. • Construction of miR-M8-5p and miR-M13-5p deletion and revertant viruses. • Both miR-M8 and miR-M13 are dispensable for MDV replication in cell culture. • Both miR-M8 and miR-M13 are dispensable for mortality and MD incidences in chickens. • Deletion of miR-M8-5p and miR-M13-5p eliminates the bursa atrophy induced by MDV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Machine learning is used to build vehicle CO 2 and NO X transient models. • The models are trained on multiple vehicles and verified by a separate vehicle. • The input features of the models are more comprehensive than MOVES. • For CO 2 and NO X , how different model inputs affect the model results is analyzed. • Different models are constructed according to different pollutants. The transient simulation of CO 2 and NO X from motor vehicles has essential applications in evaluating vehicular greenhouse gas emissions and pollutant emissions. However, accurately estimating vehicular transient emissions is challenging due to the heterogeneity between different vehicles and the continuous upgrading of vehicle exhaust purification technology. To accurately characterize the transient emissions of motor vehicles, a Super-learner model is used to build CO 2 and NOx transient emission models. The actual onboard test data of 9 China VI N 2 vehicles were used to train the model, and the test data of another China VI N 2 vehicle were selected for further robustness verification. There were significant differences in the emissions between the vehicles, but the constructed transient model could capture the common law of transient emissions from China VI N 2 vehicles. The R2 values of CO 2 and NOx emission in the test data of the validation vehicle were 0.71 and 0.82, respectively. In addition, to further prove the model's robustness, the training data were synchronously modelled based on the Moves-method. The Super-learner model has a smaller RMSE on the validation set than the model based on the Moves-method, indicating that the Super-learner model has more transient simulation advantages. The marginal contributions of the model characteristics to the model results were analysed by SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) value interpretation, and the marginal contributions of different pollutant characteristic parameters varied. Therefore, when establishing transient models of different pollutants, the selection of the model parameters demands considering the generation and purification process of different pollutants. The present work provides novel insights into the parameter selection, construction, and interpretation of the transient vehicle emission model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Construction of miR-M6−5p or miR-M10−5p deletion Marek's disease virus. • Deletion of miR-M6−5p significantly enhances the replication of Marek's disease virus in cell culture, but not in chickens. • Deletion of miR-M10−5p does not affect growth of Marek's disease virus in vitro and in vivo. • Deletion of miR-M6−5p or miR-M10−5p does not alter the pathogenesis of Marek's disease virus. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of approximately 22 nucleotides long non-coding RNAs, and virus-encoded miRNAs play an important role in pathogenesis. Marek's disease virus (MDV) is an oncogenic avian alphaherpesvirus that causes immunosuppression and tumors in its natural host, chicken. In the MDV genome, 14 miRNA precursors and 26 mature miRNAs were identified, thus MDV has been used as a model to study the function of viral miRNAs in vivo. Recently, a cluster of miRNAs encoded by MDV, Cluster 3 miRNAs (miR-M8-M10), has been shown to restrict early cytolytic replication and pathogenesis of MDV. In this study, we further analyzed the role of miR-M6 and miR-M10, members of cluster miR-M8-M10, in MDV replication and pathogenicity. We found that, compared to parental MDV, deletion of miR-M6−5p significantly enhanced the replication of MDV in cell culture, but not in chickens. The replication of miR-M6−5p deletion MDV was restored once the deleted sequences were re-inserted. Our results also showed that deletion of miR-M10−5p did not affect the replication of MDV in vitro and in vivo. In addition, our animal study results showed that deletion of miR-M6−5p or miR-M10−5p did not alter the pathogenesis of MDV. In conclusion, our study shows that both miR-M6 and miR-M10 are dispensable for MDV replication and pathogenesis in chickens, while also suggests a repressive role of miR-M6 in MDV replication in cell culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]