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The enzymatic hydrolysis of soybeans could enhance their application as an ingredient and alternative to fishmeal in aquafeeds. Here, a 10-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the impacts of different dietary inclusion levels of enzymatically hydrolyzed compound soy protein (EHCS) on the growth performance and intestinal health of juvenile American eels (Anguilla rostrata). Five experimental diets were formulated with graded EHCS inclusion levels at 0% (EHCS0), 8% (EHCS8), 16% (EHCS16), 24% (EHCS24), and 32% (EHCS32). Each diet was randomly assigned to four replicate tanks. The results showed that eels fed the EHCS8 diet exhibited superior growth performance, decreased serum lipid content, and increased immunity compared to those fed the EHCS0 diet. Eels fed the EHCS8 diet also displayed improved intestinal histology, enhanced antioxidant capacity and balance of intestinal microbiota as well as an enhanced proliferation of probiotics compared to those receiving the EHCS0 diet. Compared with eels fed the EHCS0 diet, those fed the EHCS16 diet exhibited comparable growth performance and values for the aforementioned markers. The quadratic regression analysis of weight gain rate and feed efficiency against the dietary EHCS inclusion levels determined the maximum levels of dietary EHCS inclusion for American eels range from 17.59% to 17.77%.

Growing high-quality crystals with ideal properties is of great importance. The morphology of crystal is one key factor reflecting product quality, as it can affect the performance of products and downstream operations. In this work, the current state of crystal morphology modification is reviewed from different perspectives. First, the most widely used crystal growth models are discussed. Then, a variety of crystal morphology control methods, which include adjustment of crystallization operation parameters, addition of foreign molecules, change of different solvents, membrane assistance, the addition of external physical fields and the use of ball milling are summarized. As for applications, the control of crystal morphology has application potential in pharmaceutical and material fields, for example, energetic materials and semiconductor materials. Finally, the future development direction of crystal morphology regulation is discussed.

An experiment was conducted to create a science-based program of irrigation and fertilizer application for two-year winter wheat under wide ridge and furrow irrigation in the Yellow River irrigation area. The study was performed in a test field located in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. A numerical model of soil water and nitrogen transport for winter wheat under wide ridge and furrow irrigation was created using HYDRUS-2D. The behavior of soil water and nitrogen was predicted for different irrigation water and nitrogen treatments and analyzed to identify pathways of nitrogen transport and transformation. The nitrogen balance was calculated for the different water and nitrogen treatments. The coefficients of determination for measured and predicted values of soil water content, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen in both horizontal and vertical directions were all >0.68; the mean absolute error was R2 between simulated values of nitrogen uptake and measured values of total crop nitrogen content was 0.88, the RMSE value was 10.58 kg/ha, and the MAE value was 5.9 kg/ha. Nitrogen loss was primarily caused by denitrification, and the quantity of gaseous nitrogen loss was 7.05–38.2% of the nitrogen form. The total quantity of ammonium nitrogen absorbed by winter wheat plant roots in each treatment was 7.6–15.1% of the total amount of nitrate nitrogen absorbed. The maximum nitrogen uptake was 155.53 kg/ha with a yield of 6888.67 kg/ha at a nitrogen application rate of 220 kg/ha and irrigating to 70% field capacity. The UE of the 220 kg/ha and irrigating to 70% field capacity treatment was relatively high, the PFP of the 120 kg/ha and irrigating to 80% field capacity treatment was relatively high, and the nitrogen use efficiency of the 320 kg/ha and irrigating to 60% field capacity treatment was the lowest overall. This study provides a basis for investigating soil water and nitrogen transport mechanisms of winter wheat under wide ridge and furrow irrigation in the Yellow River irrigation area.

This paper considers the fixed-time synchronization (FIXTS) of neural networks (NNs) by using quantized intermittent control (QIC). Based on QIC, a fixed-time controller is designed to ensure that the NNs achieve synchronization in finite time. With this controller, the settling time can be estimated regardless of initial conditions. After ensuring that the system has stabilized through this strategy, it is suitable for image protection given the behavior of the system. Meanwhile, the encryption effect of the image depends on the encryption algorithm, and the quality of the decrypted image depends on the synchronization error of NNs. The numerical results show that the designed controller is effective and validate the practical application of FIXTS of NNs in image protection.

Removal of contaminants in wastewater, such as heavy metals, has become a severe problem in the world. Numerous technologies have been developed to deal with this problem. As an emerging technology, nanotechnology has been gaining increasing interest and many nanomaterials have been developed to remove heavy metals from polluted water, due to their excellent features resulting from the nanometer effect. In this work, novel nanomaterials, including carbon-based nanomaterials, zero-valent metal, metal-oxide based nanomaterials, and nanocomposites, and their applications for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater were systematically reviewed. Their efficiency, limitations, and advantages were compared and discussed. Furthermore, the promising perspective of nanomaterials in environmental applications was also discussed and potential directions for future work were suggested.