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Water scarcity poses a significant threat to the sustainable production of crops in Northern China. Despite this, the effect of water management practices, such as deficit irrigation, on the yield and WUE of potatoes has been rarely explored. Based on the meta-analysis of field experiment data, this study evaluated the influence of deficit irrigation on potato yield, evapotranspiration (ET), water use efficiency (WUE) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) under variable soil types, water-saving ratio, irrigation methods, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and fertilizer rate in Northern China. Here, we determined that potato WUE and IWUE were significantly increased by 10.0 and 31.6%, respectively, under deficit irrigation, while ET was significantly decreased by 26.3% compared to full irrigation. Conclusively, deficit irrigation significantly reduced potato yields by 16.4% compared to full irrigation. Furthermore, SOC content played a vital role in improving the WUE and alleviating potato yield losses under deficit irrigation. Our study suggested that maximum WUE with lower potato yield losses under deficit irrigation can be achieved in the Central Plains region of China or in yellow loam soil, brown soil, and meadow soil under alternate root-zone irrigation when the water-saving ratio was less than 45% and fertilizer application rates were 300 kg N ha−1, >240 kg P2O5 ha−1, and 181–300 kg K2O ha−1. Overall, these findings highlight the need for a comprehensive understanding of various agricultural management practices and local environmental conditions to optimize the benefits of deficit irrigation in potato-growing regions across Northern China.

A class of semi-linear elliptic equations with the critical Hardy–Sobolev exponent has been considered. This model is widely used in hydrodynamics and glaciology, gas combustion in thermodynamics, quantum field theory, and statistical mechanics, as well as in gravity balance problems in galaxies. The PSc sequence of energy functional was investigated, and then the mountain pass lemma was used to prove the existence of at least one nontrivial solution. Also a multiplicity result was obtained. Some known results were generalized.

Expansin is a cell wall relaxant protein that is common in plants and directly or indirectly participates in the whole process of plant root growth, development and morphogenesis. A well-developed root system helps plants to better absorb water and nutrients from the soil while effectively assisting them in resisting osmotic stress, such as salt stress. In this study, we observed and quantified the morphology of the roots of Arabidopsis overexpressing the TaEXPAs gene obtained by the research group in the early stage of development. We combined the bioinformatics analysis results relating to EXPA genes in five plants and identified TaEXPA7-B, a member of the EXPA family closely related to root development in winter wheat. Subcellular localization analysis of the TaEXPA7-B protein showed that it is located in the plant cell wall. In this study, the TaEXPA7-B gene was overexpressed in rice. The results showed that plant height, root length and the number of lateral roots of rice overexpressing the TaEXPA7-B gene were significantly higher than those of the wild type, and the expression of the TaEXPA7-B gene significantly promoted the growth of lateral root primordium and cortical cells. The plants were treated with 250 mM NaCl solution to simulate salt stress. The results showed that the accumulation of osmotic regulators, cell wall-related substances and the antioxidant enzyme activities of the overexpressed plants were higher than those of the wild type, and they had better salt tolerance. This paper discusses the effects of winter wheat expansins in plant root development and salt stress tolerance and provides a theoretical basis and relevant reference for screening high-quality expansin regulating root development and salt stress resistance in winter wheat and its application in crop molecular breeding.

This study aims to integrate a convolutional neural network (CNN) and the Random Forest Model into a rehabilitation assessment device to provide a comprehensive gait analysis in the evaluation of movement disorders to help physicians evaluate rehabilitation progress by distinguishing gait characteristics under different walking modes. Equipped with accelerometers and six-axis force sensors, the device monitors body symmetry and upper limb strength during rehabilitation. Data were collected from normal and abnormal walking groups. A knee joint limiter was applied to subjects to simulate different levels of movement disorders. Features were extracted from the collected data and analyzed using a CNN. The overall performance was scored with Random Forest Model weights. Significant differences in average acceleration values between the moderately abnormal (MA) and severely abnormal (SA) groups (without vehicle assistance) were observed (p < 0.05), whereas no significant differences were found between the MA with vehicle assistance (MA-V) and SA with vehicle assistance (SA-V) groups (p > 0.05). Force sensor data showed good concentration in the normal walking group and more scatter in the SA-V group. The CNN and Random Forest Model accurately recognized gait conditions, achieving average accuracies of 88.4% and 92.3%, respectively, proving that the method mentioned above provides more accurate gait evaluations for patients with movement disorders.

As a type of cell-wall-relaxing protein that is widely present in plants, expansins have been shown to actively participate in the regulation of plant growth and responses to environmental stress. Wild soybeans have long existed in the wild environment and possess abundant resistance gene resources, which hold significant value for the improvement of cultivated soybean germplasm. In our previous study, we found that the wild soybean expansin gene GsEXLB14 is specifically transcribed in roots, and its transcription level significantly increases under salt and drought stress. To further identify the function of GsEXLB14, in this study, we cloned the CDS sequence of this gene. The transcription pattern of GsEXLB14 in the roots of wild soybean under salt and drought stress was analyzed by qRT-PCR. Using an Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation, we obtained soybean hairy roots overexpressing GsEXLB14. Under 150 mM NaCl- and 100 mM mannitol-simulated drought stress, the relative growth values of the number, length, and weight of transgenic soybean hairy roots were significantly higher than those of the control group. We obtained the transcriptomes of transgenic and wild-type soybean hairy roots under normal growth conditions and under salt and drought stress through RNA sequencing. A transcriptomic analysis showed that the transcription of genes encoding expansins (EXPB family), peroxidase, H+-transporting ATPase, and other genes was significantly upregulated in transgenic hairy roots under salt stress. Under drought stress, the transcription of expansin (EXPB/LB family) genes increased in transgenic hairy roots. In addition, the transcription of genes encoding peroxidases, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases, and dehydration-responsive proteins increased significantly. The results of qRT-PCR also confirmed that the transcription pattern of the above genes was consistent with the transcriptome. The differences in the transcript levels of the above genes may be the potential reason for the strong tolerance of soybean hairy roots overexpressing the GsEXLB14 gene under salt and drought stress. In conclusion, the expansin GsEXLB14 can be used as a valuable candidate gene for the molecular breeding of soybeans.

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a common ailment in high-altitude areas caused by the body’s inadequate adaptation to low-pressure, low-oxygen environments, leading to organ edema, oxidative stress, and impaired intestinal barrier function. The gastrointestinal tract, being the first to be affected by ischemia and hypoxia, is highly susceptible to injury. This study investigates the role of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in alleviating acute hypoxic-induced intestinal and tissue damage from the perspective of daily consumed lactic acid bacteria. An acute hypoxia mouse model was established to evaluate tissue injury, oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and intestinal barrier function in various groups of mice. The results indicate that strain 4L3 significantly mitigated brain and lung edema caused by hypoxia, improved colonic tissue damage, and effectively increased the content of tight junction proteins in the ileum, reducing ileal permeability and alleviating mechanical barrier damage in the intestines due to acute hypoxia. Additionally, 4L3 helped to rebalance the intestinal microbiota. In summary, this study found that Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus strain 4L3 could alleviate acute intestinal damage caused by hypoxia, thereby reducing hypoxic stress. This suggests that probiotic lactic acid bacteria that exert beneficial effects in the intestines may alleviate acute injury under hypoxic conditions in mice, offering new insights for the prevention and treatment of AMS.

Mulch is an important measure for improving agricultural productivity in many semiarid regions of the world. However, the impacts of various mulching materials on soil hydrothermal characteristics, enzyme activity, and potato yield in fields have not been comprehensively explored. Thus, a two-growing-season field experiment (2020–2021) with four treatments (SSM, straw strip mulching; PMP, plastic film mulching with large ridge; PMF, double ridge-furrow with full film mulching; and CK, no mulching with conventional planting as the control) was conducted to analyze soil hydrothermal and soil enzyme activities and potato yield on the semiarid Loess Plateau of Northwest China. The results indicated that mulching practices had a positive effect on the soil moisture, with SSM, PMP, and PMF increasing by 7.3%, 9.2%, and 9.2%, respectively, compared to CK. Plastic film mulching significantly increased the soil temperature by 1.3 °C, and straw mulching reduced the soil temperature by 0.7 °C in the 0–30 cm soil layers of the whole growth period. On average, SSM, PMP, and PMF increased soil urease activity in 0–40 cm soil layers by 14.2%, 2.8%, and 2.7%, respectively, and enhanced soil sucrase activity by 19.2%, 8.6%, and 5.7%, respectively, compared with CK. Plastic film mulching increased soil catalase activity by 9.6%, while SSM decreased by 10.1%. Mulching treatments significantly increased tuber yield and water use efficiency based on dry tuber yield (WUE), and SSM, PMP, and PMF increased tuber yield by 18.6%, 31.9%, and 29.7%, enhanced WUE by 50%, 50%, and 57.0% over CK. The correlation analysis revealed that soil moisture was the main factor influencing tuber yield (r = 0.95**). Mulching could improve the soil hydrothermal environment, regulate soil enzyme activities, and promote yield increase. As a sustainable protective mulching measure, straw strip mulching is conducive to improving the ecological environment of farmland and the sustainable development of regional organic agriculture.

Recruitment and accumulation of reactive astrocytes around senile plaques are common pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with unclear mechanisms. Chemerin, an adipokine implicated in neuroinflammation, acts through its receptor, chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1), which also functions as a receptor for amyloid β (Aβ). The impact of the chemerin/CMKLR1 axis on astrocyte migration towards Aβ plaques is unknown. Here we investigated the effect of CMKLR1 on astrocyte migration around Aβ deposition in APP/PS1 mice with Cmklr1 knockout (APP/PS1-Cmklr1−/−). CMKLR1-expressed astrocytes were upregulated in the cortices and hippocampi of 9-month-old APP/PS1 mice. Chemerin mainly co-localized with neurons, and its expression was reduced in the brains of APP/PS1 mice, compared to WT mice. CMKLR1 deficiency decreased astrocyte colocalization with Aβ plaques in APP/PS1-Cmklr1−/− mice, compared to APP/PS1 mice. Activation of the chemerin/CMKLR1 axis promoted the migration of primary cultured astrocytes and U251 cells, and reduced astrocyte clustering induced by Aβ42. Mechanistic studies revealed that chemerin/CMKLR1 activation induced STING phosphorylation. Deletion of STING attenuated the promotion of the chemerin/CMKLR1 axis relative to astrocyte migration and abolished the inhibitory effect of chemerin on Aβ42-induced astrocyte clustering. These findings suggest the involvement of the chemerin/CMKLR1/STING pathway in the regulation of astrocyte migration and recruitment to Aβ plaques/Aβ42.

In this paper, the singularly perturbed modified Gardner equation is considered. Firstly, for the unperturbed equation, under certain parameter conditions, we obtain the exact expressions of kink wave solution and antikink wave solution by using the bifurcation method of dynamical systems. Then, the persistence of the kink and antikink wave solutions of the perturbed modified Gardner equation is studied by exploiting the geometric singular perturbation theory and the Melnikov function method. When the perturbation parameter is sufficiently small, we obtain the sufficient conditions to guarantee the existence of kink and antikink wave solutions.

A low-voltage circuit breaker thermal trip plays a role in power systems, including opening and closing, control, protection, and more. Their reliability directly affects the security and stability of the power distribution system. The Wiener process model is established according to the accelerated degradation data of thermal trips, and remaining life prediction is carried out. In this paper, firstly, the constant stress accelerated degradation test is carried out on a thermal trip with temperature as the accelerated stress and specific thermal deflection as the degradation eigenquantity to characterise the degradation trajectory according to the degradation data and analyse the degradation law; then, it is verified by the test of normal distribution that the degradation data of the thermal trip conform to the Wiener process. The Wiener process, using the great likelihood estimation method to estimate the parameters of the remaining life, calculates the remaining life probability density function and reliability function under different temperature stresses and obtains the remaining life of the thermal trip under each accelerated stress conditions; finally, the remaining life of the thermal trip at the initial moment is taken as the pseudo-failure life, and the Arrhenius accelerated model is utilised to launch the external thermal trip under normal stress. Finally, the Arrhenius acceleration model is used to extrapolate the lifespan of the thermal trip under normal stress.

As wearable devices continue to be updated and iterated, there is an increasing demand for energy supplies that are small, portable and capable of working continuously for extended periods of time. Here, a hybrid triboelectric-electromagnetic nanogenerator (HNG) based on a biomechanical energy harvester is demonstrated. The HNG is designed to be worn on the wrist according to the curve of the wearer’s arm swing. During the swinging of the arm, the magnet covered by the PTFE film will move relative to the curved cavity of the HNG and take on a negative charge by rubbing against the inner wall of the Cu coated cavity, resulting in a change in the potential difference between the two copper electrodes on the inner wall of the curved cavity. The movement of the magnet causes the magnetic flux of the three pairs of coils on both sides of the arc track to change to produce the induced electric potential, which converts the mechanical energy generated by the arm swing into electrical energy. After the rational design, the HNG is integrated into a small size device to achieve the collection of biomechanical energy. Several experiments were conducted to verify the HNG’s usability. Experiments show that the HNG takes 90 s to charge from 0 V to 1.2 V for a 1000 μF capacitor. In addition, the HNG can light up 23 LEDs simultaneously and provide a continuous supply of energy to portable electronic devices, such as temperature sensors and electronic watches after the capacitor has stored the energy. Furthermore, the HNG is experimentally verified by volunteers wearing the HNG to achieve continuous and stable output in all three states of slow swing, fast swing and running swing. This work not only provides a useful reference for human biomechanical energy harvesting, but can also provide a continuous, clean source of energy for wearable devices.

A meta-analysis was conducted with the aim of exploring the influence of irrigation on potato yield, evapotranspiration (ET), and water-use efficiency (WUE) in northern China, considering factors such as irrigation methods, growing region, irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE), irrigation frequency, soil types, and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate. Overall, irrigation significantly increased potato yield and ET by an average of 45 and 54% compared to non-irrigation, respectively, but did not significantly increase the WUE. The increase in potato yield under irrigation is the most evident in aeolian sandy soil in northeast China and northwest China. Drip irrigation demonstrated the highest positive impact on both yield and WUE. Optimal yields were achieved with an irrigation amount ranging from 100 to 200 mm, while the highest WUE was observed with an irrigation amount of 30–50 mm. When the amount of irrigation exceeded 100 mm, the irrigation significantly resulted in decreased WUE compared to non-irrigation. The relative increase in yield per unit of irrigation amount and IWUE gradually decreased and eventually stabilized when the irrigation amount exceeded 100 mm. Therefore, the yield and WUE perform best when the irrigation amount is below 100 mm and the irrigation frequency is less than three times for sprinkling and flood irrigation methods. The greatest increases in yield and WUE under irrigation were found under a moderate N rate (150–250 kg N ha−1). Additionally, the relative increase in yield per unit of irrigation amount decreases gradually as the organic matter content increases. These findings suggest that the optimal benefits from irrigation might be realized when the irrigation amount is below 100 mm, with a moderate nitrogen fertilizer application and an irrigation frequency of three times. However, it is essential to consider local environmental factors such as the growing region, soil types, and organic carbon content.

We have updated the email addresses of Li Zeng and Hailun Jiang as the two authors’ previous email addresses are no longer in use [...]

The MEMS microphone is a representative device among the MEMS family, which has attracted substantial research interest, and those tailored for human voice have earned distinct success in commercialization. Although sustained development persists, challenges such as residual stress, environmental noise, and structural innovation are posed. To collect and summarize the recent advances in this subject, this paper presents a concise review concerning the transduction mechanism, diverse mechanical structure topologies, and effective methods of noise reduction for high-performance MEMS microphones with a dynamic range akin to the audible spectrum, aiming to provide a comprehensive and adequate analysis of this scope.

A new type of anti-rolling device denoted as a fluid momentum wheel (FMW) is proposed to address the limitations of traditional gyrostabilizers in reducing the roll responses of floating platforms in waves. The proposed device is based on the same gyroscope theorem, which differs from a rigid gyrostabilizer in that the internal fluid generates secondary flow in the cross-section under the combined effects of inertial centrifugal force and a radial pressure gradient, and the streamwise velocity exhibits a non-uniform distribution. These instability phenomena may cause mechanical energy loss in the flow field, which is critical for selecting the driving device and the anti-roll control performance of offshore platforms. In the study, different turbulence models are compared with the results of a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and experiments to ensure the accuracy of the numerical method, and the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the flow field in FMW are analyzed. Therein, the SST k-ω model accurately verifies the flow instability phenomenon of the FMW observed in the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiment. Next, this paper proposes corresponding evaluation parameters to assess the impact of typical parameters on the flow field instability. The results show that the flow instability increases with an increase in the typical parameters of FMWs (such as the pipe diameter, curvature radius, and velocity). Furthermore, the paper discusses the relationship between dimensionless mechanical factors (Reynolds number, curvature ratio) and the spatiotemporal instability of the flow field, revealing the essential effects of the curvature ratio and Reynolds number on the loss coefficient.

Normal pregnancy involves numerous physiological changes, including changes in hormone levels, immune responses, and metabolism. Although several studies have shown that the gut microbiota may have an important role in the progression of pregnancy, these findings have been inconsistent, and the relationship between the gut microbiota and metabolites that change dynamically during and after pregnancy remains to be clarified. In this longitudinal study, we comprehensively profiled the temporal dynamics of the gut microbiota, Bifidobacterium communities, and serum and faecal metabolomes of 31 women during their pregnancies and postpartum periods. The microbial composition changed as gestation progressed, with the pregnancy and postpartum periods exhibiting distinct bacterial community characteristics, including significant alterations in the genera of the Lachnospiraceae or Ruminococcaceae families, especially the Lachnospiraceae FCS020 group and Ruminococcaceae UCG-003. Metabolic dynamics, characterised by changes in nutrients important for fetal growth (e.g., docosatrienoic acid), anti-inflammatory metabolites (e.g., trans-3-indoleacrylic acid), and steroid hormones (e.g., progesterone), were observed in both serum and faecal samples during pregnancy. Moreover, a complex correlation was identified between the pregnancy-related microbiota and metabolites, with Ruminococcus1 and Ruminococcaceae UCG-013 making important contributions to changes in faecal and serum metabolites, respectively. Overall, a highly coordinated microbiota–metabolite regulatory network may underlie the pregnancy process. These findings provide a foundation for enhancing our understanding of the molecular processes occurring during the progression of pregnancy, thereby contributing to nutrition and health management during this period.

Poor tenderness of camel meat has seriously hampered the development of the camel meat industry. This study investigated the effects of muscle fiber composition and ageing time on meat quality, glycolytic potential, and glycolysis-related enzyme activities. Muscle samples of the longissimus thoracis (LT), psoas major (PM), and semitendinosus (ST) were collected from eight 8–10 year old Sonid Bactrian camels (females). Muscle fiber composition was examined by ATPase staining and immunohistochemistry. Meat quality indexes, glycolytic potential, and activities of major glycolytic enzymes were examined at 4 °C aging for 1, 6, 24, 72, and 120 h. The results showed that LT was mainly composed of type IIb muscle fibers, whereas PM and ST were mainly composed of type I muscle fibers. The PCR results of the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) were consistent with the ATPase staining results. During aging, the shear force of LT muscle was always greater than that of PM and ST, and its glycolysis was the strongest; type IIa, IIb, and IIx muscle fibers were positively correlated with muscle shear force and glycolysis rate, and type I muscle fibers were significantly and negatively correlated with the activities of the key enzymes of glycolysis within 6 h. The results showed that the muscle fibers of LT muscle had the greatest glycolysis capacity. These results suggest that an excessive type IIb muscle fiber number percentage and area in camel meat accelerated the glycolysis process, but seriously affected the sensory profile of the camel meat. The results of this study provide directions for the camel industry when addressing the poor tenderness of camel meat.

Ensuring the stability of zein nanoparticles at different pH levels is crucial for their application as nanocarriers. In this study, octenyl succinic anhydride-modified starch (OSA-modified starch) was employed to enhance the stability of zein nanoparticles against different pH levels by forming complex nanoparticles with OSA-modified starch. The effect of preparation pH on the stability of the zein/OSA-modified starch nanoparticles was investigated. Sedimentation occurred in zein nanoparticles as the pH reached the isoelectric point. However, the stability of zein nanoparticles at various pH levels significantly improved after adding OSA-modified starch to form zein/OSA-modified starch nanoparticles regardless of whether they were prepared under acidic or alkaline pH conditions. Notably, the stability of zein/OSA-modified starch nanoparticles prepared at an acidic pH was higher than that of those prepared at an alkaline pH, thereby highlighting the critical role of the preparation pH for zein/OSA-modified starch in maintaining the stability of zein. The stable zein/OSA-modified starch nanoparticles developed in this study exhibit significant potential for use in delivery systems across various pH environments.

The solid oxide electrolyte Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP) with a NASICON structure has a high bulk ionic conductivity of 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature and good stability in the air because of the strong P5+-O2− covalence bonding. However, the Ge4+ ions in LAGP are quickly reduced to Ge3+ on contact with the metallic lithium anode, and the LAGP ceramic has insufficient physical contact with the electrodes in all-solid-state batteries, which limits the large-scale application of the LAGP electrolyte in all-solid-state Li-metal batteries. Here, we prepared flexible PEO/LiTFSI/LAGP composite electrolytes, and the introduction of LAGP as a ceramic filler in polymer electrolytes increases the total ionic conductivity and the electrochemical stability of the composite electrolyte. Moreover, the flexible polymer shows good contact with the electrodes, resulting in a small interfacial resistance and stable cycling of all-solid-state Li-metal batteries. The influence of the external pressure and temperature on Li+ transfer across the Li/electrolyte interface is also investigated.

Constipation is a major health concern worldwide and requires effective and safe treatment options. In this study, we selected ten strains of two species of lactobacilli to identify whether they were effective against constipation induced by loperamide administration in BALB/c mice. Monitoring of constipation-related indicators indicated that Lactobacillus paracasei (L. paracasei) mainly acted on the whole intestinal peristalsis to relieve constipation. Furthermore, through the detection of biological, chemical, mechanical, and immune barriers in mice, it was discovered that L. paracasei changed the relative abundance of bacteria related to the levels of acetic acid and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) (such as by increasing the relative abundance of Odoribacter and Clostridium, and reducing the relative abundance of Mucispirillum, Ruminococcus, Coprobacillus, and Dorea), increased the concentration of acetic acid in the intestine, which stimulated enterochromaffin cells, promoted 5-HT synthesis in the colon, enhanced intestinal motility, and relieved constipation. In conclusion, this study provides a theoretical foundation for the development of personalized products for the treatment of constipation.

As a component directly in contact with materials in the excavation process of the excavator, the structure and performance of the bucket directly affect the efficiency of the excavator. With the increasingly prominent environmental and energy problems, it has become a research difficulty to optimize the bucket structure of excavators so as to reduce the digging resistance and energy consumption of excavators. Therefore, an orthogonal optimization method of bucket structure that couples Adams with EDEM was proposed to explore the excavation performance of buckets with different structures under different geological conditions. The particle size distribution and mass proportion of various ores under different geological conditions were obtained through geological investigation, and particle models with different shapes and sizes were constructed. The friction coefficient and collision recovery coefficient between bucket and ore and between ore and ore were measured using a self-made testing device. The results show that the excavation resistance of the bucket teeth during the excavation process is much greater than that of other components, and optimizing the bucket structure can effectively reduce the excavation resistance of the bucket teeth. Under different geological conditions, the optimization parameter combinations of bucket structure obtained through orthogonal experiments are different. In addition, after structural optimization, the excavation resistance and energy consumption of the bucket were reduced, and the filling rate was also improved.

In this study, a dynamic–discrete element-finite element coupling method is proposed to investigate the influence of structural parameters on the excavation performance and stress deformation of the bucket. The main research work is as follows: through ADAMS-EDEM co-simulation of the digging process of the bucket, the digging resistance and the loose force of each part of the bucket are obtained. The influence law of the change of the structural parameters of the excavator bucket on the digging resistance, filling rate and energy consumption is revealed. Through the coupling simulation of EDEM-ANSYS, the loose force is introduced into the finite element model of the bucket to enable the coupling of ADAMS-EDEM-ANSYS. The influence of the change of the bucket structure parameters on the stress and deformation of the bucket components is explored. The results show that the cutting angle and angle of throat of the bucket has a major influence on the digging performance of the bucket. While the angle of the throat and the thickness of the ear plate have a minor influence on the digging performance of the bucket. In the process of excavation, the teeth of the bucket are subjected to the largest digging resistance, resulting in relatively large deformation. All of the components of the bucket are subjected to different degrees of excavation resistance, but the stress concentration at the ear plate is the most obvious. The deformation and stress of the whole bucket can be reduced, to some extent, by reducing the thickness of the ear plate along with increasing the thickness of the stiffening plate. The results can be used to improve the digging performance of the bucket and reduce the stress and deformation of the bucket.

Intestinal peristalsis is vital for gastrointestinal physiology and host homeostasis and is frequently dysregulated in intestinal disorders. Gut microbiota can regulate gut motility, especially through the tryptophan metabolism pathway. However, the role of indoles as microbial tryptophan metabolites in colonic function requires further exploration. Here, we show that the delivery of indole acetic acid (IAA) targeting the colon can improve gut motility by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). To achieve colon-targeted delivery, Eudragit S-100 (ES) and chitosan (CS) were used as drug carriers. After optimisation, IAA-loaded ES-coated CS nanoparticles exhibited an encapsulation efficiency of 83% and a drug-loading capacity of 16%. These nanoparticles exhibited pH-dependent characteristics and remained stable in acidic conditions and the upper intestine. In simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) and colonic lumen, considerable amounts of IAA were released after approximately 4 h. Compared with free IAA, the nanoparticles exerted enhanced therapeutic effects on gut movement disorders induced by loperamide. The efficacy of IAA treatment was attributable to the activation of the AHR signalling pathway and increased levels of AHR agonists. Furthermore, the oral administration of IAA-loaded nanoparticles promoted serotonin secretion and maintained the intestinal barrier function. The experimental outcomes demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed colon-specific delivery system and highlight the role of IAA, produced by gut microbiota metabolism, in regulating gut peristalsis through AHR activation.

Data processing of low-altitude remote sensing visible images from UAVs is one of the hot research topics in precision agriculture aviation. In order to solve the problems of large model size with slow detection speed that lead to the inability to process images in real time, this paper proposes a lightweight target detector CURI-YOLOv7 based on YOLOv7tiny which is suitable for individual citrus tree detection from UAV remote sensing imagery. This paper augmented the dataset with morphological changes and Mosica with Mixup. A backbone based on depthwise separable convolution and the MobileOne-block module was designed to replace the backbone of YOLOv7tiny. SPPF (spatial pyramid pooling fast) was used to replace the original spatial pyramid pooling structure. Additionally, we redesigned the neck by adding GSConv and depth-separable convolution and deleted its input layer from the backbone with a size of (80, 80) and its output layer from the head with a size of (80, 80). A new ELAN structure was designed, and the redundant convolutional layers were deleted. The experimental results show that the GFLOPs = 1.976, the parameters = 1.018 M, the weights = 3.98 MB, and the mAP = 90.34% for CURI-YOLOv7 in the UAV remote sensing imagery of the citrus trees dataset. The detection speed of a single image is 128.83 on computer and 27.01 on embedded devices. Therefore, the CURI-YOLOv7 model can basically achieve the function of individual tree detection in UAV remote sensing imagery on embedded devices. This forms a foundation for the subsequent UAV real-time identification of the citrus tree with its geographic coordinates positioning, which is conducive to the study of precise agricultural management of citrus orchards.

Constipation is currently one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, and its causes are diverse. Multi-strain probiotics are often considered a more effective treatment than single-strain probiotics. In this study, a constipation model was constructed using loperamide hydrochloride to evaluate the ability of a multi-strain probiotic combination of four different ratios of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus to regulate intestinal flora, relieve constipation, and explore the initial mechanism in mice. After four weeks of probiotic intervention, BM1, BM2, and PB2 effectively relieved constipation; however, the pathways involved were different. The Bifidobacteria-dominated formulations BM1 and BM2 mainly changed the composition and structure of the intestinal flora and significantly decreased the relative abundance of Tyzzerella, Enterorhabdus, Faecalibaculum, Gordonibacter, and Mucispirillum in stool; increased the relative abundance of Parabacteroides and the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in stool; restored motilin (MTL) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels; and downregulated interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-8 levels in serum. This repaired the inflammatory response caused by constipation. Finally, it promoted peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract, increasing stool water content, and relieving constipation. While Lactobacillus-dominated formula PB2 mainly restored the levels of serum neurotransmitters (MTL, SP (substance P), VIP and PYY (Peptide YY)) and inflammatory factors (IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8), it significantly decreased the relative abundance of Tyzzerella, Enterorhabdus, Faecalibaculum, Gordonibacter and Mucispirillum in stool; it then increased acetic acid content, thereby reducing the level of inflammation and changing stool properties and gastrointestinal motility.

Drought stress is one of the premier limitations to global agricultural production. Increasing water and nitrogen (N) use efficiencies in dryland agroecosystems to maintain high agricultural output are key responsibilities to assure food security, especially on the semiarid Loess Plateau region of China, as it is one of the important grain production areas in China. The impact of controlled-release urea (CRU) on the soil water content, soil enzyme activities, soil N content, biomass accumulation, grain yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and agronomic use efficiency of N fertilizer (AEN) were examined on the maize production of the rainfed Loess Plateau during 2020–2021. Two-growing-season field treatments at the Zhengyuan Agri-ecological Station, Qingyang, Gansu, including six N treatments, were investigated for maize: a control without N fertilization (CK) and five application proportions of CRU (i.e., 0, 30, 50, 70, and 100%CRU) under a N rate of 225 kg ha−1. Results showed that compared with common urea (0%CRU), on average, CRU applications significantly increased soil enzyme activity related to N conversion and improved biomass accumulation by 4–11% at the silking stage and by 2–12% at the maturity stage, respectively. As the proportion of CRU increased, the grain no. per ear, 100-grain weight, and harvest index first increased and then decreased. Grain yield was increased by 5.3, 11.4, 20.1, and 5.7% under 30, 50, 70 and 100%CRU, respectively, compared to common urea. Compared to common urea, 70%CRU combined with 30% common urea achieved the highest yield. These results indicate that optimal controlled-release N fertilization increases the yield and water and nitrogen use efficiencies of maize, and 70%CRU combined with 30% common urea under a single application of nitrogen fertilizer at sowing was the optimal application proportion of controlled-release urea for increasing water and nitrogen use efficiencies in dryland agroecosystems. The results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the efficient fertilization of maize on the semiarid Loess Plateau of China.

Crop nutrient biochemical information (mainly including chlorophyll class and nutrient elements mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) is an important basis for revealing crop growth and development patterns and their relationship with the environment. Hyperspectral technology has been rapidly developed and applied in crop nutrient biochemical information monitoring research. This paper firstly describes the theoretical basis of hyperspectral technology for monitoring crop nutrients and biochemical information. Then, the research progress of hyperspectral technology in monitoring nutrient and biochemical information of crops in different growth periods or different growth environments is outlined. Meanwhile, the shortcomings of the current technology in these research directions and the future research trends are discussed. Finally, the modeling methods for building crop nutrient biochemical information monitoring models by applying hyperspectral data are systematically outlined. And the effects of different spectral pre-processing methods, spectral effective information extraction methods and modeling algorithms on the accuracy of monitoring models are analyzed. On this basis, the challenges and prospects of hyperspectral technology in monitoring crop nutrient biochemical information are presented, aiming to provide relevant theoretical basis and technical reference for the research related to monitoring and inversion of crop physiological parameters based on hyperspectral technology.

Purpose: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a persistent metabolic condition with an unknown pathophysiology. Moreover, T2DM remains a serious health risk despite advances in medication and preventive care. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have provided evidence that probiotics may have positive effects on glucolipid metabolism. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of RCTs to measure the effect of probiotic therapy on glucolipid metabolism in patients with T2DM. Methods: With no constraints on the language used in the literature, Excerpta Medica Database, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science were searched for pertinent RCTs published between the date of creation and 18 August 2022. Stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied by two reviewers to independently examine the literature. The risk of bias associated with the inclusion of the original studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and Stata 15.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis. Results: Thirty-seven publications containing a total of 2502 research participants were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that after a probiotic intervention, the experimental group showed a significant decrease in body mass index (standardised mean difference (SMD) = −0.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) [−0.76, −0.08]), fasting glucose concentration (SMD = −0.73, 95% CI [−0.97, −0.48]), fasting insulin concentration (SMD = −0.67, 95% CI [−0.99, −0.36]), glycated haemoglobin concentration (SMD = −0.55, 95% CI [−0.75, −0.35]), Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance score (SMD = −0.88, 95% CI [−1.17, −0.59]), triglyceride concentration (SMD = −0.30, 95% CI [−0.43, −0.17]), total cholesterol concentration (SMD = −0.27, 95% CI [−0.43, −0.11]), and low-density lipoprotein concentration (SMD = −0.20, 95% CI [−0.37, −0.04]), and an increase in high-density lipoprotein concentration (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI [0.08, 0.54]). Moreover, subgroup analyses showed that patients with a longer intervention time, or those who were treated with multiple strains of probiotics, may benefit more than those with a shorter intervention time or those who were treated with a single probiotic strain, respectively. Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation improves glucolipid metabolism in patients with T2DM, offering an alternative approach for the treatment of these patients.

Given the growing importance of system dynamics (SD) in solving increasingly complex and dynamic problems in any country, we believe SD education will become an imperative leverage point in helping us deal with our uncertain future. This study tries to understand the causal relationships in proliferating SD education by a system dynamics group modelling approach in China. Based on a questionnaire survey and a group model building (GMB) workshop, we aim to explore the interactions of feedback loops in the constructed causal loop diagram (CLD). This uncovers insights into what constitutes the growth of SD education in China and helps to guide the design and implementation of policies to achieve this growth. We conclude that it is important and relevant to find ways to improve, including the construction of an SD teaching platform to integrate normative resources, providing opportunities for teacher training, enhancing the availability and accessibility of SD education, and building networks with international partners. The results of our study may set the foundation for further research to extend the generalizability of our insights and methodological approaches to other countries.

This paper proposes a path-tracking method for agricultural vehicles based on the 4WIS-4WID structure and fuzzy control to improve the operation performance of agricultural machinery in the greenhouse. The influential model of two critical parameters, α and R, on the position correction is obtained based on the relationship analysis between the traditional pure pursuit model and the vehicle structure. Based on aiming pursuit, the relationship equation between the position deviation, lateral deviation d, and heading deviation θ is established. A two-input and two-output fuzzy controller is designed, and the lateral deviation d and heading deviation θ are the input variables. Values of α and R are obtained after fuzzification, fuzzy inference, and defuzzification, and a validated MATLAB model is used to simulate different scenarios. Results of the tests show that the steady-state error of path tracking based on fuzzy control pursuit is between 35 and 51 mm, and the stability distance is between 1661 and 3052 mm for straight path tracking in four initial states. The rectangular corners have the highest inaccuracy. The results of fuzzy control pursuit show a significant improvement in path-tracking performance that can influence vehicle navigation capability in the greenhouse.

It continues to be a challenge to design innovative NiCoP composite anode materials to further improve rate capacity. In this work, bimetallic flower-like NiCoP encapsulated in an N-doped carbon shell (designated as NiCoP@NC) as a high-rate capable anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) was successfully designed and synthesized. The novel structure design combines the advantages of flower-like NiCoP (core) and N-doped carbon (shell). Flower-like NiCoP offers numerous interface and redox reaction sites for improving lithium storage, while the N-doped carbon shell effectively buffers volume expansion and enhances electrical conductivity. The synergistic effect between NiCoP and the N-doped carbon shell proposes a marvelous high-rate capacity (320 mA h/g even at 5 A/g) and a good cycle life with high reversible capacity (369.8 mA h/g for 700 cycles at 3 A/g with 81% retention). An investigation of kinetics performance shows that the introduction of the N-doped carbon shell enhances the charge transfer, and the pseudocapacitive behavior dominates the rapid Li+ storage of the NiCoP@NC electrode.

The cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP450) are the largest enzyme family in plant metabolism and widely involved in the biosynthesis of primary and secondary metabolites. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv) can respond to abiotic stress through a highly complex polygene regulatory network, in which the SiCYP450 family is also involved. Although the CYP450 superfamily has been systematically studied in a few species, the research on the CYP450 superfamily in foxtail millet has not been completed. In this study, three hundred and thirty-one SiCYP450 genes were identified in the foxtail millet genome by bioinformatics methods, which were divided into four groups, including forty-six subgroups. One hundred and sixteen genes were distributed in thirty-three tandem duplicated gene clusters. Chromosome mapping showed that SiCYP450 was distributed on seven chromosomes. In the SiCYP450 family of foxtail millet, 20 conserved motifs were identified. Cis-acting elements in the promoter region of SiCYP450 genes showed that hormone response elements were found in all SiCYP450 genes. Of the three hundred and thirty-one SiCYP450 genes, nine genes were colinear with the Arabidopsis thaliana genes. Two hundred SiCYP450 genes were colinear with the Setaria viridis genes, including two hundred and forty-five gene duplication events. The expression profiles of SiCYP450 genes in different organs and developmental stages showed that SiCYP450 was preferentially expressed in specific tissues, and many tissue-specific genes were identified, such as SiCYP75B6, SiCYP96A7, SiCYP71A55, SiCYP71A61, and SiCYP71A62 in the root, SiCYP78A1 and SiCYP94D9 in leaves, and SiCYP78A6 in the ear. The RT-PCR data showed that SiCYP450 could respond to abiotic stresses, ABA, and herbicides in foxtail millet. Among them, the expression levels of SiCYP709B4, SiCYP71A11, SiCYP71A14, SiCYP78A1, SiCYP94C3, and SiCYP94C4 were significantly increased under the treatment of mesotrione, florasulam, nicosulfuron, fluroxypyr, and sethoxydim, indicating that the same gene might respond to multiple herbicides. The results of this study will help reveal the biological functions of the SiCYP450 family in development regulation and stress response and provide a basis for molecular breeding of foxtail millet.

During the operation of agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in orchards, the presence of power poles and wires pose a serious threat to flight safety, and can even lead to crashes. Due to the difficulty of directly detecting wires, this research aimed to quickly and accurately detect wire poles, and proposed an improved Yolov5s deep learning object detection algorithm named Yolov5s-Pole. The algorithm enhances the model’s generalization ability and robustness by applying Mixup data augmentation technique, replaces the C3 module with the GhostBottleneck module to reduce the model’s parameters and computational complexity, and incorporates the Shuffle Attention (SA) module to improve its focus on small targets. The results show that when the improved Yolov5s-Pole model was used for detecting poles in orchards, its accuracy, recall, and mAP@50 were 0.803, 0.831, and 0.838 respectively, which increased by 0.5%, 10%, and 9.2% compared to the original Yolov5s model. Additionally, the weights, parameters, and GFLOPs of the Yolov5s-Pole model were 7.86 MB, 3,974,310, and 9, respectively. Compared to the original Yolov5s model, these represent compression rates of 42.2%, 43.4%, and 43.3%, respectively. The detection time for a single image using this model was 4.2 ms, and good robustness under different lighting conditions (dark, normal, and bright) was demonstrated. The model is suitable for deployment on agricultural UAVs’ onboard equipment, and is of great practical significance for ensuring the efficiency and flight safety of agricultural UAVs.

Pepper, as a vegetable crop with a wide cultivation area worldwide, besides being a significant condiment and food, also has a momentous use for chemistry, medicine, and other industries. Pepper fruits are rich in various pigments, such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and capsanthin, which have important healthcare and economic value. Since various pigments are continuously metabolized during the development of pepper fruits, peppers exhibit an abundant fruit-colored phenotype in both the mature and immature periods. In recent years, great progress has been made in the study of pepper fruit color development, but the developmental mechanisms are still unclear systematically dissected in terms of pigment, biosynthesis, and regulatory genes. The article outlines the biosynthetic pathways of three important pigments: chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and carotenoid in pepper and the various enzymes involved in these pathways. The genetics and molecular regulation mechanisms of different fruit colors in immature and mature peppers were also systematically described. The objective of this review is to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of pigments biosynthesis in pepper. This information will provide theoretical basis for the breeding of high-quality colored pepper varieties in the future.

Improving the water-use efficiency (WUE) of crops is the most effective way to increase yields in semi-arid regions. Field research was carried out based on a long-term experiment initiated in 2001, aimed to explore the mechanisms of different tillage practices effects on grain yield and WUE of spring wheat. Tillage practices in the research including conventional tillage (CT), no tillage with no straw mulching (NT), conventional tillage with straw incorporation (TS), and no tillage with straw mulching (NTS). The effects of tillage practices on soil’s physical and chemical properties, dry matter accumulation, grain yield, dynamics of stress-related substances, and WUE were observed. Soil and plant samples in this research were collected in 2020 (wet year), 2021 (dry year), and 2022 (dry year). The results indicated that NTS improved the soil’s physical and chemical properties. The NTS treatment had the lowest soil bulk and pH and the highest total N, NO3--N, and available P. Throughout the whole growth stage, soil water content in the NTS and TS treatments were significantly higher than that of CT by 8.77–20.40% and 2.19–18.83, respectively. Averaged catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and soluble protein across the three years with NTS and TS were significantly increased by 1.26–25.52% compared to CT. Meanwhile, the NTS treatment had the lowest malondialdehyde (MDA) content among the different tillage practices. NTS maintained the highest dry matter accumulation throughout the whole growth stage among different treatments; it was increased by 10.47–73.33% compared with CT. The average grain yields and WUE of NTS across the three years were 6.09–30.70% and 6.79–40.55% higher than other tillage practices, respectively. It is concluded that NTS influences dry matter accumulation and water-use efficiency during the whole growth stage of spring wheat by improving the soil’s physicochemical properties and modulating spring wheat substances related to stress, which in turn promotes yield formation.

Phytophthora infestans poses a serious threat to potato production, storage, and processing. Understanding plant immunity triggered by fungal elicitors is important for the effective control of plant diseases. However, the role of the potato stress response to Fusarium toxin deoxynivalenol (DON)-induced stress is still not fully understood. In this study, the metabolites of DON-treated potato tubers were studied for four time intervals using UPLC-MS/MS. We identified 676 metabolites, and differential accumulation metabolite analysis showed that alkaloids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids were the major differential metabolites that directly determined defense response. Transcriptome data showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in phenylpropane and flavonoid metabolic pathways. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified many hub genes, some of which modulate plant immune responses. This study is important for understanding the metabolic changes, transcriptional regulation, and physiological responses of active and signaling substances during DON induction, and it will help to design defense strategies against Phytophthora infestans in potato.

Some progress has been made in understanding the pathways related to rice heading, but their applications to breeding japonica rice varieties adapted to grow in low-latitude areas (“indica to japonica”) are limited. We edited eight adaptation-related genes via a lab-established CRISPR/Cas9 system in a japonica variety, Shennong265 (SN265). All T0 plants and their progeny bearing random mutation permutations were planted in southern China and screened for changes in heading date. We found that the double mutant of Days to heading 2 (DTH2) and CONSTANS 3 (OsCO3) (dth2-osco3), two CONSTANS-like (COL) genes, showed significantly delayed heading under both short-day (SD) and long-day (LD) conditions in Guangzhou and manifested great yield increase under SD conditions. We further demonstrated that the heading-related Hd3a-OsMADS14 pathway was down-regulated in the dth2-osco3 mutant lines. The editing of the COL genes DTH2 and OsCO3 greatly improves the agronomic performance of japonica rice in Southern China.

Functional constipation (FC) is a gastrointestinal disorder with high incidence, and it seriously affects patients’ physical and mental health. Several studies have shown that the gut microbiome is associated with FC, but these studies have produced inconsistent findings, with few reflecting the relationship between the gut microbiome and metabolites. This study used 16S rRNA microbial genomics and non-target metabolome based on liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry to analyze the gut microbiota composition and serum metabolic profiles of 30 FC patients and 28 healthy individuals. We found that patients with FC and healthy individuals have different gut microbiota structures and serum metabolic profiles. FC patients had more Bacteroides and butyrate-producing bacteria (Roseburia, Faecaliberium, Butyriccoccus). The upstream products of host arginine biosynthesis (2-oxoglutaric acid, L-glutamic acid, N-acetylornithine, and L-ornithine) were significantly reduced in FC patients’ serum metabolites. In summary, our study describes the gut microbiome and serum metabolome of patients with functional constipation. It reveals that functional constipation may be associated with increased Bacteroidetes and downregulation of upstream products of host arginine biosynthesis, which may be potential markers for diagnosing functional constipation.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a critical superfamily of multifunctional enzymes in plants. As a ligand or binding protein, GSTs regulate plant growth and development and detoxification. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv) could respond to abiotic stresses through a highly complex multi-gene regulatory network in which the GST family is also involved. However, GST genes have been scarcely studied in foxtail millet. Genome-wide identification and expression characteristics analysis of the foxtail millet GST gene family were conducted by biological information technology. The results showed that 73 GST genes (SiGSTs) were identified in the foxtail millet genome and were divided into seven classes. The chromosome localization results showed uneven distribution of GSTs on the seven chromosomes. There were 30 tandem duplication gene pairs belonging to 11 clusters. Only one pair of SiGSTU1 and SiGSTU23 were identified as fragment duplication genes. A total of ten conserved motifs were identified in the GST family of foxtail millet. The gene structure of SiGSTs is relatively conservative, but the number and length of exons of each gene are still different. The cis-acting elements in the promoter region of 73 SiGST genes showed that 94.5% of SiGST genes possessed defense and stress-responsive elements. The expression profiles of 37 SiGST genes covering 21 tissues suggested that most SiGST genes were expressed in multiple organs and were highly expressed in roots and leaves. By qPCR analysis, we found that 21 SiGST genes were responsive to abiotic stresses and abscisic acid (ABA). Taken together, this study provides a theoretical basis for identifying foxtail millet GST family information and improving their responses to different stresses.

Ferroptosis and iron-related redox imbalance aggravate traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes. NRF2 is the predominant transcription factor regulating oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in TBI, but its role in iron-induced post-TBI damage is unclear. We investigated ferroptotic neuronal damage in the injured cortex and observed neurological deficits post-TBI. These were ameliorated by the iron chelator deferoxamine (DFO) in wild-type mice. In Nrf2-knockout (Nrf2−/−) mice, more sever ferroptosis and neurological deficits were detected. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF)-mediated NRF2 activation alleviated neural dysfunction in TBI mice, partly due to TBI-induced ferroptosis mitigation. Additionally, FTH-FTL and FSP1 protein levels, associated with iron metabolism and the ferroptotic redox balance, were highly NRF2-dependent post-TBI. Thus, NRF2 is neuroprotective against TBI-induced ferroptosis through both the xCT-GPX4- and FTH-FTL-determined free iron level and the FSP1-regulated redox status. This yields insights into the neuroprotective role of NRF2 in TBI-induced neuronal damage and its potential use in TBI treatment.

Cathartic colon (CC), a type of slow-transit constipation caused by the long-term use of stimulant laxatives, does not have a precise and effective treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Bifidobacterium bifidum CCFM1163 to relieve CC and to investigate its underlying mechanism. Male C57BL/6J mice were treated with senna extract for 8 weeks, followed by a 2-week treatment with B. bifidum CCFM1163. The results revealed that B. bifidum CCFM1163 effectively alleviated CC symptoms. The possible mechanism of B. bifidum CCFM1163 in relieving CC was analyzed by measuring the intestinal barrier and enteric nervous system (ENS)-related indices and establishing a correlation between each index and gut microbiota. The results indicated that B. bifidum CCFM1163 changed the gut microbiota by significantly increasing the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Faecalibaculum, Romboutsia, and Turicibacter as well as the content of short-chain fatty acids, especially propionic acid, in the feces. This increased the expression of tight junction proteins and aquaporin 8, decreased intestinal transit time, increased fecal water content, and relieved CC. In addition, B. bifidum CCFM1163 also increased the relative abundance of Faecalibaculum in feces and the expression of enteric nerve marker proteins to repair the ENS, promote intestinal motility, and relieve constipation.

The design and synthesis of porous carbons for CO2 adsorption have attracted tremendous interest owing to the ever-soaring concerns regarding climate change and global warming. Herein, for the first time, nitrogen-rich porous carbon was prepared with chemical activation (KOH) of commercial melamine formaldehyde resin (MF) in a single step. It has been shown that the porosity parameters of the as-prepared carbons were successfully tuned by controlling the activating temperature and adjusting the amount of KOH. Thus, as-prepared N-rich porous carbon shows a large surface area of 1658 m2/g and a high N content of 16.07 wt%. Benefiting from the unique physical and textural features, the optimal sample depicted a CO2 uptake of up to 4.95 and 3.30 mmol/g at 0 and 25 °C under 1 bar of pressure. More importantly, as-prepared adsorbents show great CO2 selectivity over N2 and outstanding recyclability, which was prominently important for CO2 capture from the flue gases in practical application. An in-depth analysis illustrated that the synergetic effect of textural properties and surface nitrogen decoration mainly determined the CO2 capture performance. However, the textural properties of carbons play a more important role than surface functionalities in deciding CO2 uptake. In view of cost-effective synthesis, outstanding textural activity, and the high adsorption capacity together with good selectivity, this advanced approach becomes valid and convenient in fabricating a unique highly efficient N-rich carbon adsorbent for CO2 uptake and separation from flue gases.

Electrochemical biosensors, in which enzymatic biofuel cells simultaneously work as energy power and signal generators, have become a research hotspot. They display the merits of power self-support, a simplified structure, in vivo operational feasibility, online and timely monitoring, etc. Since the concept of enzymatic biofuel cell-powered biosensors (EBFC-SPBs) was first proposed, its applications in health monitoring have scored tremendous achievements. However, the creation and practical application of portable EBFC-SPBs are still impeded by the difficulty in their miniaturization. In recent years, the booming microfluidic technology has powerfully pushed forward the progress made in miniaturized and portable EBFC-SPBs. This brief review recalls and summarizes the achievements and progress made in miniaturized EBFC-SPBs. In addition, we also discuss the advantages and challenges that microfluidic and screen-printing technologies provide to wearable and disposable EBFC-SPBs.

Damage detection and evaluation are concerns in structural health monitoring. Traditional damage detection techniques are inefficient because of the need for damage detection before evaluation. To address these problems, a novel crack location and degree detector based on YOLOX is proposed, which directly realizes damage detection and evaluation. Moreover, the detector presents a superior detection effect and speed to other advanced deep learning models. Additionally, rather than at the pixel level, the detection results are determined in actual scales according to resolution. The results demonstrate that the proposed model can detect and evaluate damage accurately and automatically.

The bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain JP233 has been reported to efficiently solubilize sparingly soluble inorganic phosphate, promote plant growth and significantly reduce phosphorus (P) leaching loss from soil. The production of 2-keto gluconic acid (2KGA) by strain JP233 was identified as the main active metabolite responsible for phosphate solubilization. However, the genetic basis of phosphate solubilization and plant-growth promotion remained unclear. As a result, the genome of JP233 was sequenced and analyzed in this study. The JP233 genome consists of a circular chromosome with a size of 5,617,746 bp and a GC content of 62.86%. No plasmids were detected in the genome. There were 5097 protein-coding sequences (CDSs) predicted in the genome. Phylogenetic analyses based on genomes of related Pseudomonas spp. identified strain JP233 as Pseudomonas asiatica. Comparative pangenomic analysis among 9 P. asiatica strains identified 4080 core gene clusters and 111 singleton genes present only in JP233. Genes associated with 2KGA production detected in strain JP233, included those encoding glucose dehydrogenase, pyrroloquinoline quinone and gluoconate dehydrogenase. Genes associated with mechanisms of plant-growth promotion and nutrient acquisition detected in JP233 included those involved in IAA biosynthesis, ethylene catabolism and siderophore production. Numerous genes associated with other properties beneficial to plant growth were also detected in JP233, included those involved in production of acetoin, 2,3-butanediol, trehalose, and resistance to heavy metals. This study provides the genetic basis to elucidate the plant-growth promoting and bio-remediation properties of strain JP233 and its potential applications in agriculture and industry.

Ecological poverty alleviation (EPA) is a syngenetic approach to tackling challenges in alleviating extreme poverty and ecological protection. Such an approach is crucial to help countries facing these two challenges to accelerate their progression towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. Prior research on EPA was focusing on understanding EPA from a national perspective and limited consideration was given to regional pertinence. This study uses systems thinking to construct causal loop diagrams (CLDs) and analyzes the mechanisms of EPA in Lanping County, Yunnan Province based on qualitative material. It reveals that the dynamics mechanism of EPA in Lanping County consists of seven reinforcing feedback loops and ten balancing feedback loops. Results indicate that external support, funding resources, employment, and endogenous-driven industrial development are the key drivers to successful EPA. Policies should be taken to avoid the risk of returning to poverty caused by the withdrawal of external support. This study proposes an effective tool with system foresight for exploring the mechanism of EPA and provides reference suggestions for poverty alleviation and development worldwide.

As the transition zone between urban and rural, the metropolis fringe is an area where various functions permeate and compete fiercely with each other. Understanding land use functions (LUFs) and their relationships are crucial for both urban and rural sustainable development. In this study, we established a conceptual framework of land use multifunctions in the urban fringe and proposed an improved evaluation method to quantify LUFs at the grid scale. The bivariate spatial autocorrelation method was used to explore the trade-offs among LUFs. Taking Qingpu District in Shanghai as a case study, we found that LUFs displayed pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The economic- and social-dominated functional trade-off mainly occurred in the east part of Qingpu, whereas the ecological function dominated in the west. Human preference and corresponding policies were the key factors leading to these trade-offs. Additionally, land use function zoning was proposed to resolve existing conflicts. These findings can provide scientific information for efficient land use management in the metropolis fringe.

Aiming at the problems of low detection accuracy and large computing resource consumption of existing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection algorithms for anti-UAV, this paper proposes a lightweight UAV swarm detection method based on You Only Look Once Version X (YOLOX). This method uses depthwise separable convolution to simplify and optimize the network, and greatly simplifies the total parameters, while the accuracy is only partially reduced. Meanwhile, a Squeeze-and-Extraction (SE) module is introduced into the backbone to improve the model′s ability to extract features; the introduction of a Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) in the feature fusion network makes the network pay more attention to important features and suppress unnecessary features. Furthermore, Distance-IoU (DIoU) is used to replace Intersection over Union (IoU) to calculate the regression loss for model optimization, and data augmentation technology is used to expand the dataset to achieve a better detection effect. The experimental results show that the mean Average Precision (mAP) of the proposed method reaches 82.32%, approximately 2% higher than the baseline model, while the number of parameters is only about 1/10th of that of YOLOX-S, with the size of 3.85 MB. The proposed approach is, thus, a lightweight model with high detection accuracy and suitable for various edge computing devices.

During automatic and intelligent cutting at the coal mining face, complex geological conditions (fold structure, fault structure and magmatic intrusion) easily cause distinct occurrence conditions of coal rock seams (gangue, inclusion, or fault in the coal and rock), which induces different coal-rock cutting performances of shearer picks. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to review the selected solutions on the evaluation of coal-rock cutting performances of shearer picks under complex geological conditions. Occurrence conditions of coal rock seams were classified according to different criteria. Mechanical coal-rock breakage of coal rock by shearer picks were introduced. Shearer pick forces during coal-rock cutting (load spectrums of the pick and the mechanical model of the pick force) and coal-rock cutting mechanism (coal-rock cutting process by the pick and pick failure mechanisms) were discussed. The service safety evaluation of the pick based on wear and fatigue (pick wear, quantitative evaluation of service safety, and methods to improve the service safety) was presented. Finally, research prospects were outlined to propose the future research focus of shearer picks under complex geological conditions, such as the adaptive cutting of shearers, the fusion detection method of coal-rock interface by automatic shearers, the effects of geological conditions on coal-rock cutting mechanisms, the selection of systems suitable for different geological conditions, and shearer pick reliability evaluation. Results of this study are of great significance in understanding failure modes and the cutting mechanisms of shearer picks, quantitatively evaluating pick safety, promoting the automatic and intelligent cutting of coal rock seams, and thereby improving the production efficiency of shearers.

In this work, we focus on the long-time behavior of the solutions of the stochastic fractional complex Ginzburg–Landau equation defined on Rn with polynomial drift terms of arbitrary order. The well-posedness of the equation based on pathwise uniform estimates and uniform estimates on average are proved. Following this, the existence and uniqueness of weak pullback random attractors are establsihed.