Search

Peptides can be designed to self-assemble into predefined supramolecular nanostructures, which are then employed as biomaterials in a range of applications, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and vaccination. However, current self-assembling peptide (SAP) hydrogels exhibit inadequate self-healing capacities and necessitate the use of sophisticated printing apparatus, rendering them unsuitable for 3D printing under physiological conditions. Here, we report a precisely designed charged peptide, Z5, with the object of investigating the impact of electrostatic interactions on the self-assembly and the rheological properties of the resulting hydrogels. This peptide displays salt-triggered self-assembly resulting in the formation of a nanofiber network with a high β-sheet content. The peptide self-assembly and the hydrogel properties can be modified according to the ionic environment. It is noteworthy that the Z5 hydrogel in normal saline (NS) shows exceptional self-healing properties, demonstrating the ability to recover its initial strength in seconds after the removal of shear force, thus rendering it an acceptable material for printing. In contrast, the strong salt shielding effect and the ionic cross-linking of Z5 hydrogels in PBS result in the bundling of peptide nanofibers, which impedes the recovery of the initial strength post-destruction. Furthermore, incorporating materials with varied charging properties into Z5 hydrogels can alter the electrostatic interactions among peptide nanofibers, further modulating the rheological properties and the printability of SAP hydrogels.

Extreme rainfalls could greatly affect operations of urban rail transit systems of mountainous cities, which are prone to have landslides and floods under rainfalls. Therefore, it is essential to assess and enhance the resilience of mountainous urban rail transit networks under heavy rainfalls. Taking the metro network of Chongqing, the largest mountainous city in China, as an example, this study establishes a network topology model to identify the high-risk nodes under rainfalls and find the effective recovery strategies. By introducing the metro ridership and topological shortest distances, a network service efficiency function is developed, and the importance of nodes is quantified using service efficiency index and topological importance index. The resilience assessment model based on service efficiency is constructed using the resilience triangle theory. Additionally, risk levels for landslide and flood-prone areas are classified using the K-means algorithm, based on rainfall, elevation, and slope data, identifying high-risk stations. Finally, the node recovery sequence and strategies for high-risk nodes affected by landslides and floods are examined. The results indicate that in extreme rainfall scenarios, two transfer stations (Daping and Fuhua Road) are among the high-risk landslide stations, while most other nodes have a service efficiency index of less than 0.2. High-risk flood stations are located on non-transfer lines and mostly on metro lines with high traffic flow, with service efficiency index generally high, with some stations, like Bijin Station, exceeding 0.3. When all affected nodes fail, network service efficiency decreases by 84.0% and 75.2% under landslide and flood disasters, respectively. Compared with the random recovery strategy, recovery strategies based on topological importance and service efficiency index, the optimal recovery strategy based on genetic algorithm performs much better.

As an important target of space exploration, Mars has attracted a lot of attention due to its unique geographical and atmospheric conditions. The detection of the vertical profiles of Mars atmospheric parameters provides deeper insights into the structure and composition of the Martian atmosphere. Meanwhile, it holds significant importance for the design and execution of Mars exploration missions. This paper presents a detection method for the Martian atmosphere utilizing laser occultation technology based on a network of high-orbit and low-orbit satellites around Mars. The measurement principle of Mars laser occultation is first introduced, which is that the atmospheric temperature and pressure are measured by analyzing the absorption spectrum characteristics of infrared carbon dioxide. Then, a detailed simulation process is described, including the establishment and validation of both the radiation intensity calculation model for laser occultation signals and the method for retrieving atmospheric parameters. A set of satellite payload parameters is also designed. The simulation results reveal that this method can accurately measure temperature and pressure at a vertical resolution of 100 m from 5 km to 50 km altitude of the Martian atmosphere with deviations of 0.43 K and 1.06%, respectively. It is indicated that the proposed laser occultation method can achieve effective detection of temperature and pressure and provide a promising approach for high vertical resolution profile detection of the Martian atmosphere in the future.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), the failure of the fetus to achieve his/her growth potential, is a common and complex problem in pregnancy. Clinically, IUGR is usually monitored using Doppler ultrasound of the umbilical artery (UA). The Doppler waveform is generally divided into three typical patterns in IUGR development, from normal blood flow (Normal), to the loss of end diastolic blood flow (LDBF), and even to the reversal of end diastolic blood flow (RDBF). Unfortunately, Doppler ultrasound hardly provides complete UA hemodynamics in detail, while the present in silico computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can provide this with the necessary ultrasound information. In this paper, CFD is employed to simulate the periodic UA blood flow for three typical states of IUGR, which shows comprehensive information on blood flow velocity, pressure, and wall shear stress (WSS). A new finding is the “hysteresis effect” between the UA blood flow velocity and pressure drop in which the former always changes after the latter by 0.1–0.2 times a cardiac cycle due to the unsteady flow. The degree of hysteresis is a promising indicator characterizing the evolution of IUGR. CFD successfully shows the hemodynamic details in different development situations of IUGR, and undoubtedly, its results would also help clinicians to further understand the relationship between the UA blood flow status and fetal growth restriction.

After eliminating absolute poverty, China’s anti-poverty efforts have shifted towards multidimensional relative poverty. This study uses microdata from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) from 2012 to 2021, applies the Kakwani index to construct a multidimensional relative poverty indicator, and uses an endogenous transformation model to analyze the impact of land transfer on multidimensional relative poverty in rural areas. The study found that (1) land transfer can effectively reduce the multidimensional relative poverty of farm households. (2) Land transfer has a better mitigating effect on young farmers, farmers with higher literacy levels, and farmers who have not acute poverty. (3) Land transfer alleviates multidimensional relative poverty by increasing agricultural mechanization, business income, off-farm employment, and wage income. (4) The effects of land transfer out and land transfer in on the dimensions of multidimensional relative poverty are heterogeneous.

Background/Objectives: Numerical simulation plays an important role in pharmaceutical preparation recently. Mechanistic models, as a type of numerical model, are widely used in the study of pharmaceutical preparations. Mechanistic models are based on a priori knowledge, i.e., laws of physics, chemistry, and biology. However, due to interdisciplinary reasons, pharmacy researchers have greater difficulties in using computer models. Methods: In this paper, we highlight the application scenarios and examples of mechanistic modelling in pharmacy research and provide a reference for drug researchers to get started. Results: By establishing a suitable model and inputting preparation parameters, researchers can analyze the drug preparation process. Therefore, mechanistic models are effective tools to optimize the preparation parameters and predict potential quality problems of the product. With product quality parameters as the ultimate goal, the experiment design is optimized by mechanistic models. This process emphasizes the concept of quality by design. Conclusions: The use of numerical simulation saves experimental cost and time, and speeds up the experimental process. In pharmacy experiments, part of the physical information and the change processes are difficult to obtain, such as the mechanical phenomena during tablet compression and the airflow details in the nasal cavity. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the information and guide the formulation with the help of mechanistic models.

Background: Activating the cytosolic innate immune sensor, the cGAS-STING pathway, holds great promise for enhancing antitumor immunity, particularly in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, the clinical application of STING agonists is often hindered by poor tumor accumulation, limited cellular uptake, and rapid clearance. To address these challenges, we developed a human serum albumin (HSA)-based nanoreactor system for the efficient delivery of the STING agonist SR-717, aiming to improve its antitumor efficacy. Methods: Using a biomineralization technique, we encapsulated SR-717 within HSA nanocages to form SH-NPs. These nanoparticles were characterized in terms of size, stability, and cellular uptake, and their ability to activate the STING pathway was assessed in both in vitro and in vivo models, including freshly isolated human renal tumor tissues. In vivo antitumor efficacy was evaluated in a murine renal tumor model, and immune responses were measured. Results: SH-NPs exhibited enhanced stability, efficient cellular uptake, and superior tumor accumulation compared to free SR-717. They robustly activated the STING pathway, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF3, along with elevated IFN-β production. Additionally, SH-NPs reshaped the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, promoting T-cell-mediated immunity and improving the therapeutic efficacy of checkpoint blockade in murine models. The validation in human renal tumor tissues further highlighted their potential for clinical translation. Importantly, SH-NPs were well tolerated with minimal systemic toxicity. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential of HSA-based nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of STING agonists, effectively enhancing antitumor immunity and improving cancer immunotherapy outcomes. SH-NPs offer a promising solution to the limitations of current STING agonists in clinical settings.

With the acceleration of population aging, the elderly driving safety issue is increasingly prominent. Method: With the crash data of Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2019, this study exclusively discusses features of single-vehicle hit-fixed-object crashes (SVHFOCs), one of the most common and deadliest crash types for elderly drivers. Results: Firstly, we demonstrate that elderly drivers are much more likely to be injured and killed than young drivers in SVHFOCs by checking crash consequences. The descriptive analysis indicates that elderly drivers have very different crash features from young drivers. They are found to drive with more caution in many aspects, such as more low-speed local travels, fewer illegal behaviors, fewer nighttime travels, etc. Then, a logistic regression model is built to find the factors significantly influencing the severity of SVHFOCs from driver, vehicle, roadway, and environment. The estimation results indicate that female sex, not wearing a seatbelt, DUI, rural area, and SUV involvement tend to be associated with more severe SVHFOCs. Additionally, illumination, weather, and road type could also significantly affect crash severity. Especially, SVHFOCs in adverse weather, in dark conditions, and at intersections are found to be less severe, which implies that elderly drivers might drive more carefully in complex environments. Practical Applications: These findings are expected to provide new insights for agencies in formulating customized measures to prevent elderly drivers from being involved in SVHFOCs.

The early detection accuracy of early gastric cancer (EGC) determines the choice of the optimal treatment strategy and the related medical expenses. We aimed to develop a simple, affordable, and time-saving diagnostic model using six machine learning (ML) algorithms for the diagnosis of EGC. It is based on the endoscopy-based Kyoto classification score obtained after the completion of endoscopy and other clinical features obtained after medical consultation. We retrospectively evaluated 1999 patients who underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy at the China Beijing Hospital. Of these, 203 subjects were diagnosed with EGC. The data were randomly divided into training and test sets (ratio 4:1). We constructed six ML models, and the developed models were evaluated on the testing set. This procedure was repeated five times. The Kolmogorov–Arnold Networks (KANs) model achieved the best performance (mean AUC value: 0.76; mean balanced accuracy: 70.96%; mean precision: 58.91%; mean recall: 70.96%; mean false positive rate: 26.11%; mean false negative rate: 31.96%; and mean F1 score value: 58.46). The endoscopy-based Kyoto classification score was the most important feature with the highest feature importance score. The results suggest that the KAN model, the optimal ML model in this study, has the potential to identify EGC patients, which may result in a reduction in both the time cost and medical expenses in clinical practice.

The biosensors based on transcription factors (TFs) are widely used in high throughput screening of metabolic overproducers. The unsatisfactory performances (narrow detection and dynamic ranges) of biosensors limit their practical application and need more improvement. In this study, using the TF LysG (sensing lysine) as an example, a biosensor optimization method was constructed by growth-coupled screening of TF random mutant libraries. The better the performance of the biosensor, the faster the strain grows under screening pressure. A LysGE15D, A54D, and I164V-based biosensors were obtained, which were about 2-fold of the control in the detection and dynamic ranges. A lysine high-producer was screened effectively using the optimized biosensor with the production at 1.51 ± 0.30 g/L in flasks (2.22-fold of the original strain). This study provided a promising strategy for optimizing TF-based biosensors and was of high potential to be applied in the lysine high-producers screening process.

In this paper, the spectral problem of the mKdV equation satisfying the compatibility condition on time scales is directly constructed. By using the zero-curvature equation on time scales, the mKdV equation on time scales is obtained. When x∈R and t∈R, the equation degenerates to the classical mKdV equation. Then, the single-soliton, two-soliton, and N-soliton solutions of the mKdV equation under the zero boundary condition on time scales are presented via employing the Darboux transformation (DT). Particularly, we obtain the corresponding single-soliton solutions expressed using the Cayley exponential function on four different time scales (R, Z, q-discrete, C).

The sea cucumber is an essential nutrient source and a significant economic marine resource associated with successful aquaculture. However, sea cucumbers are highly susceptible to autolysis induced by endogenous protease after postmortem, and the phenomenon of body wall “melting” occurs, which seriously affects the food quality of products and the degree of acceptance by consumers. To satisfy the growing demand for fresh or processed sea cucumbers, we must clarify the autolysis mechanism of sea cucumbers and the methods to achieve autolysis regulation. In this paper, the factors leading to the quality deterioration and texture softening of sea cucumbers are reviewed, with emphasis on enzymatic characteristics, the autolysis mechanism, the effects of autolysis on the physicochemical properties of the body wall of the sea cucumber, and the development of potential natural protease inhibitors. We aim to provide some reference in future preservation and processing processes for sea cucumbers, promote new processing and preservation technologies, and advance the sea cucumber industry’s development.

This experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of pterostilbene (PTE) supplementation in feed on Arbor Acres broilers in terms of serum biochemical parameters, immune and inflammatory responses, antioxidant status, and intestinal morphological structure. For a duration of 42 days, a total of 480 1-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four groups. Each group was assigned to receive either the basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with 200, 400, or 600 mg/kg of PTE. Each treatment consisted of eight replicates, with 15 chicks per replicate. In comparison with the control group, three PTE treatments significantly increased the lymphocyte transformation rate in the spleen of broilers. The automated biochemical analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and RT-qPCR analysis kits found that 400 mg/kg of PTE significantly increased the serum levels of complement C3, IL-4, and iNOS; reduced the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and mRNA levels of the genes IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, NLRP3, and IFN-γ; significantly improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes including CAT, GSH-Px, and T-SOD in the jejunum; and significantly reduced the MDA contents in the serum and jejunum of broilers. Nikon microscope observations and ImagePro Plus 6.0 measure results found that 400 mg/kg of PTE supplementation significantly reduced the relative length and weight of the jejunum and improved the jejunal villi structure, resulting in increased intestinal villi, deepened crypt, and an enhanced ratio of villi height to crypt depth (VH/CD). RT-qPCR and Western blot found that dietary PTE also resulted in increased mRNA levels of the genes Claudin-2, Occludin, ZO-1, and Sirt1, and decreased NF-κB protein levels in the jejunum. The results of this study demonstrated that dietary PTE improved the immune function and intestinal health of broilers by reducing inflammation and increasing the antioxidant capacity of the animals.

We aimed to explore the anti-obesity mechanism from the microbiome, metabolome, and transcriptome viewpoints, focusing on the sulfated polysaccharides found in the cooking liquid of Apostichopus japonicus (CLSPAJ) to explore the potential mediators of the anti-obesity effects in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The mice treated with CLSPAJ showed a decrease in obesity and blood lipid levels. Gut microbiome dysbiosis caused by the HFD was reversed after CLSPAJ supplementation, along with increased levels of indole-3-ethanol, N-2-succinyl-L-glutamic acid 5-semialdehyde, and urocanic acid. These increases were positively related to the increased Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, Roseburia, and Phascolarctobacterium. Transcriptome analysis showed that B cell receptor signaling and cytochrome P450 xenobiotic metabolism were the main contributors to the improvement in obesity. Metabolome–transcriptome analysis revealed that CLSPAJ reversal of obesity was mainly due to amino acid metabolism. These findings suggest that CLSPAJ could be a valuable prebiotic preparation for preventing obesity-related diseases.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops worldwide, and its production is challenged by global climate change and a shortage of resources. The root system plays a vital role in uptaking water and nutrients and sensing soil environmental signals, and it has great potential to improve the final yield and stress tolerance of wheat. In order to further explore the genes regulating root development, this study focused on qRS-6D, located on chromosome 6D and spanning from 462,701,391 to 465,068,943, which was significantly associated with the total root length, root volume, root surface, and root fresh weight in our previous GWAS analysis. Firstly, its genetic effects were validated using an F6 segregating population by comparing the root-related traits of homologous lines harboring the alternative haplotypes of this QTL. Then, the number of causal genes of this QTL was narrowed down to four with a transcriptome-wide association study. Additionally, qRS-6D has been demonstrated to have genetic effects on several yield- (kernel length, kernel width, and thousand-kernel weight) and plant structure-related traits (plant height, peduncle length, total tiller number, productive tiller number, flag leaf length, and flag leaf angle). Relatively, the frequency of the favorable haplotype increased with the wheat breeding practice. This study provides a reliable genetic locus to improve root development and structure and evaluate its application potential in wheat breeding improvement.

Excessive blood loss could lead to pathological conditions such as tissue necrosis, organ failure, and death. The limitations of recently developed hemostatic approaches, such as their low mechanical strength, inadequate wet tissue adhesion, and weak hemostatic activity, pose challenges for their application in controlling visceral bleeding. In this study, a novel hydrogel (CT) made of collagen and tannic acid (TA) was proposed. By altering the proportions between the two materials, the mechanical properties, adhesion, and coagulation ability were evaluated. Compared to commercial hydrogels, this hydrogel has shown reduced blood loss and shorter hemostatic time in rat hepatic and cardiac bleeding models. This was explained by the hydrogel’s natural hemostatic properties and the significant benefits of wound closure in a moist environment. Better biodegradability was achieved through the non-covalent connection between tannic acid and collagen, allowing for hemostasis without hindering subsequent tissue repair. Therefore, this hydrogel is a new method for visceral hemostasis that offers significant advantages in treating acute wounds and controlling major bleeding. And the production method is simple and efficient, which facilitates its translation to clinical applications.

Rice is one of the most significant food crops for human sustenance. Every year, many countries around the world hoard enormous amounts of rice to avert emergencies and guarantee food security and sufficiency. As a result, the inventory of aged rice is growing as the number of inventory years rises. Aged rice stored over three years loses its nutritional value and is no longer suitable for human consumption. There is a pressing need to find a solution to effectively utilize aged brown rice produced from aged rice after dehulling. Developing and utilizing aged brown rice as feed is economical and efficient due to its massive resources and rich nutritional content, which will also lessen food waste while resolving the problem of excessive hoarding of aged rice. This review mainly summarizes the nutritional value, application in feed, and nutritional limiting factors of aged brown rice. It provides a theoretical basis for solving the overstock of aged brown rice and the feasibility of using aged brown rice as feed in a cost-effective way.

Leaf color mutants are ideal materials for studying chlorophyll metabolism, chloroplast development, and photosynthesis in plants. We discovered a novel eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) mutant yl20 (yellow leaf 20) that exhibits yellow leaves. In this study, we compared the leaves of the mutant yl20 and wild type (WT) plants for cytological, physiological, and transcriptomic analyses. The results showed that the mutant yl20 exhibits abnormal chloroplast ultrastructure, reduced chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, and lower photosynthetic efficiency compared to the WT. Transcriptome data indicated 3267 and 478 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between WT and yl20 lines in the cotyledon and euphylla stages, respectively, where most DEGs were downregulated in the yl20. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed the “plastid-encoded plastid RNA polymerase complex” and the “chloroplast-related” terms were significantly enriched. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis demonstrated that the significantly enriched DEGs were involved in flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, etc. We speculated that these DEGs involved in significant terms were closely related to the leaf color development of the mutant yl20. Our results provide a possible explanation for the altered phenotype of leaf color mutants in eggplant and lay a theoretical foundation for plant breeding.

A time scale is a special measure chain that can unify continuous and discrete spaces, enabling the construction of integrable equations. In this paper, with the Lax operator generated by the displacement operator, N-dimensional lattice integrable systems on the time scale are given by the R-matrix approach. The recursion operators of the lattice systems are derived on the time scale. Finally, two integrable hierarchies of the discrete chain with a bi-Hamiltonian structure are obtained. In particular, we give the structure of two-field and four-field systems.

In this paper, carbon-matrix-supported copper (Cu) and cobaltous oxide (CoO) nanoparticles were obtained by using coordination polymers (CPs) as a precursor. The aqueous solutions of copper methacrylate (CuMA) and cobalt methacrylate (CoMA) were preferentially prepared, which were then mixed with anhydrous ethanol to fabricate dual metal ion coordination polymers (CuMA/CoMA). After calcination under an argon atmosphere, the Cu-CoO/C nanocomposite was obtained. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that the material has banded morphology, and the dual functional nanoparticles were highly dispersed in the carbon matrix. The prepared material was used in a heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction, with the aim of replacing traditional ferric catalysts to solve pH constraints and the mass production of ferric slime. The obtained nanocomposite showed excellent catalytic performance on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) at near-neutral conditions; the discoloration efficiency is about 98.5% within 50 min in the presence of 0.15 mmol/mL H2O2 and 0.5 mg/mL catalyst. And good reusability was verified via eight cycles. The plausible pathway for MB discoloration and the possible catalytic mechanism was also proposed.

This experiment aimed to investigate the mitigating effect of CUR on the growth performance and liver and intestinal health of broilers fed AFB1-contaminated diets. In this study, 320 one-day-old healthy male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly divided into four groups, including the Control group (fed the basal diet), the AFB1 group (fed the AFB1-contaminated diet containing 1 mg/kg AFB1), the AFB1+CUR group (fed the AFB1-contaminated diet with 500 mg/kg CUR), and the CUR group (fed the basal diet containing 500 mg/kg CUR), with eight replicates of ten animals per group and a 28 d experimental period. In terms of the growth performance, the addition of 500 mg/kg CUR significantly improved AFB1-induced significant reductions in the final body weight on day 28 and mean daily gain (p < 0.05) and increased the ratio of the mean daily feed intake to mean daily weight gain in broilers (p < 0.05). In terms of liver health, significant improvements in liver histological lesions occurred in broilers in the AFB1+CUR group compared to the AFB1 group, with significantly higher glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activities (p < 0.05) and significantly higher levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap-1), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO-1) gene expression (p < 0.05). In terms of intestinal health, CUR addition significantly increased the relative length of ileum (p < 0.05), significantly elevated the height of ileal villi (p < 0.05), significantly reduced D-Lactate (D-LA) and diamine oxidase (DAO) activities in broiler serum (p < 0.05), significantly increased GSH, CAT, and T-SOD activities in ileal tissues (p < 0.05), and significantly elevated the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO-1 genes (p < 0.05) compared to the AFB1 group. In conclusion, CUR showed a protective effect against damage to the liver and intestine caused by AFB1 in broilers through the Nrf2 signaling pathway, thereby improving the growth performance of broilers exposed to AFB1.

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stresses to wheat worldwide, with negative effects on wheat growth and yield. Assessing genetic variation and drought stress tolerance of key agronomic and physiological traits of spring wheat and screening germplasm resources for higher drought tolerance and yield stability are a prerequisite for developing new, better-adapted spring wheat varieties. This study evaluated nine important agronomic and physiological traits in 152 spring wheat cultivars under non-stress (NS) and drought-stress (DS) conditions. Under DS conditions, grain yield per plot (GYP) and grain weight per spike (GWE) were significantly reduced by 33.8% and 31.7%, and their drought-tolerance indexes (DIs) were only 0.66 and 0.69, respectively, indicating that GYP and GWE are the most susceptible traits to drought stress. The SPAD value of flag leave at flowering stage decreased by 13.9% under DS conditions, and the DI of SPAD was 0.86. In addition, DI-SPAD was significantly positively correlated with DIs of plant height (PH), grain number per spikelet (GPS), grain number per spike (GNS), GWE and GYP, indicating that the drought tolerance and yield of wheat are closely related to chlorophyll retention. Six wheat germplasm accessions were identified for their ability to sustain grain yield and improve drought tolerance simultaneously. These results provide insights into the genetic co-variation between grain yield and drought stress tolerance and provide a theoretical basis for the development of new wheat cultivars with excellent drought tolerance and high yields in the presence and absence of drought.

Phytoextraction is a promising technology for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soil. Continuously screening potential plants is important for enhancing the efficiency of remediation. In this study, fourteen local native plant species and four cultivated plant species, along with their paired soils, were collected from around a copper smelter. The characteristics of soil pollution were evaluated using contaminant factors (CF) and a geoaccumulation index (Igeo). The phytoextraction potential of plants was investigated using the translocation factor (TF) and bioconcentration factor (BCF). The soils around the smelter were very acidic, with a mean pH of 5.01. The CF for copper and cadmium were 8.67–32.3 and 5.45–44.2, and the Igeo values for copper and cadmium were 2.43–4.43 and −0.12–2.29, respectively, indicating that the level of soil contamination was moderate to severe. The copper concentrations in the root (357 mg/kg), shoot (219 mg/kg), and leaf (269 mg/kg) of Elsholtzia splendens Nakai were higher than that in the other species. The cadmium in the shoot (32.2 mg/kg) and leaf (18.5 mg/kg) of Sedum plumbizincicola was the highest, and Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. had the highest cadmium level (20 mg/kg) in the root. Soil total and CaCl2-extractable copper and cadmium were positively correlated with copper and cadmium in the plant roots, respectively. The results of TF and BCF for copper and cadmium suggested that the accumulation and translocation capacities for cadmium were higher than those of copper in the eighteen plant species. Although not all plants met the criteria of being hyperaccumulators, Sedum plumbizincicola, Mosla chinensis Maxim, and Elsholtzia splendens Nakai showed the most potential as candidates for the phytoextraction of copper and cadmium contaminated soils, as indicated by their TF and BCF values.

Geological structures such as joints and faults in rock mass have a significant influence on open-pit mining. Hence, it is critical to develop an understanding of dynamic joint behavior under blasting loading. This, in turn, can provide both theoretical and practical guidance to improve blasting rock fragmentation and associated bucket excavating efficiency. In this paper, delayed blasting on a highwall bench at an open-pit mine is used as an example; a nonlinear joint blasting model is also constructed. By simplifying the blasting wave propagation velocity and combining the relevant stress and displacement theories of type I and II cracks, equipotential diagrams of the stress and displacement field with the vibration velocity of the particle are obtained. Additionally, ANSYS is used to analyze the distribution of the stress field. This is able to be visualized by the degree of color change post-processing. It is concluded that, with the attenuation of the detonation wave energy, the stress exhibited a decreasing trend in this process. According to the distribution of the peak effective stress, it is found that the peak value first increases to 10–12 MPa and then shows a downward trend.

In the research of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, clustering is one of the most commonly used energy-saving methods. However, existing clustering methods face challenges when applied to heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, such as energy balance, node heterogeneity, algorithm efficiency, and more. Among these challenges, a well-designed clustering approach can lead to extended node lifetimes. Efficient selection of cluster heads is crucial for achieving optimal clustering. In this paper, we propose an Enhanced Pelican Optimization Algorithm for Cluster Head Selection (EPOA-CHS) to address these issues and enhance cluster head selection for optimal clustering. This method combines the Levy flight process with the traditional POA algorithm, which not only improves the optimization level of the algorithm, but also ensures the selection of the optimal cluster head. The logistic-sine chaotic mapping method is used in the population initialization, and the appropriate cluster head is selected through the new fitness function. Finally, we utilized MATLAB to simulate 100 sensor nodes within a configured area of 100 × 100 m2. These nodes were categorized into four heterogeneous scenarios: m=0,α=0, m=0.1,α=2, m=0.2,α=3, and m=0.3,α=1.5. We conducted verification for four aspects: total residual energy, network survival time, number of surviving nodes, and network throughput, across all protocols. Extensive experimental research ultimately indicates that the EPOA-CHS method outperforms the SEP, DEEC, Z-SEP, and PSO-ECSM protocols in these aspects.

Promoting ratoon rice is a critical measure for ensuring food security in China. Understanding the mechanism underlying farmers’ decision-making involving ratoon rice production may contribute to the design and implementation of extension policies. This study examined the impact of off-farm employment and outsourced machinery services on farmers’ ratoon rice production behavior. We used a representative household survey of 1752 rice farmers in Hubei province in central China and a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model to address potential self-selection biases from both observable and unobservable factors. Our estimates suggest that the probability of ratoon rice production decreases by 17.2% for farmers with off-farm employment, while the probability of ratoon rice production increases by 78.9% and 57% for farmers with outsourced machinery services and those with simultaneous off-farm employment and outsourced machinery services, respectively. Moreover, we found that outsourced machinery services can mitigate the negative impact of agricultural labor aging and feminization on ratoon rice production to some extent. Outsourced machinery services have regional heterogeneity effects as farmers in non-plain areas are more likely to engage in ratoon rice production.

The Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is equipped with the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which can achieve high-precision ground detection. However, due to its low pulse energy and high sensitivity, it is also affected by noise when obtaining data. Therefore, data denoising is critical to the subsequent processing and application. In this study, a multilevel filtering algorithm is proposed to denoise the daytime photon cloud data with high background noise. Firstly, the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is used to roughly denoise the daytime photon cloud data with high background noise, and a signal point cloud buffer is established to remove most of the noise points. Subsequently, the horizontal continuity parameter is calculated based on the photon cloud data following the rough denoising process. Based on this parameter, the shape and size of the search domain of the results of the subsequent fine denoising algorithm are adaptively improved. Finally, three filtering directions (a horizontal direction, an intra-group unified direction, and an adaptive direction for each photon) are proposed, and a hybrid algorithm combining the Ordering Points to Identify the Clustering Structure (OPTICS) density clustering algorithm and the Relative Neighboring Relationship K-nearest neighbors-based noise removal (RNR−KNNB) algorithm is employed to accurately denoise the photon cloud data in the three filtering directions. Furthermore, the RANSAC algorithm based on a sliding overlap window is used to remove outliers for the weak beam fine denoising photon cloud data. The results indicate that, for the strong beams, the denoising accuracy of the multilevel filtering algorithm in the three filtering directions is comparable (Rs ≥ 0.96, F ≥ 0.67), and they are all better than that of the ATL08 algorithm (Rs/Rn/p/F = 0.85/0.67/0.52/0.65). For weak beams, the denoising accuracy of the multilevel filtering algorithm in the horizontal direction and the intra-group unified direction is similar (Rs = 0.92, F = 0.69), and it is superior to the denoising results in the adaptive direction of each photon and the ATL08 algorithm (Rs/Rn/p/F = 0.94/0.84/0.51/0.65, 0.88/0.87/0.55/0.67, respectively). For strong and weak beams, the p-value and F-value of the denoising results of multilevel filtering algorithms in three different filtering directions increase with the increase of SNR value. It is demonstrated that SNR is an important factor affecting the denoising results of algorithms. The multilevel filtering algorithm proposed in the study can effectively achieve precise denoising of daytime photon cloud data with high background noise, and the three different filtering directions have different effects on the denoising results of strong and weak beam photon cloud data. This can provide technical and methodological guidance for subsequent photon cloud data filtering processing.

Fly ash (FA) is promising for environmental remediation, but how to modify the FA with high remediation efficiency through an environmentally friendly and low-cost modification method is scare. A modified FA (MFA) was prepared through a one-step hydrothermal modification with Ca(OH)2 and KH2PO4. Results indicated that irregular agglomerates occurred on the surface of the MFA and that the specific surface area increased by 1.94 times compared to that of FA. Compared to FA, glassy compositions in MFA were destroyed and amorphous Si/Al and alkaline aluminosilicate gels were formed. The soil application of 0.2–0.6% MFA significantly increased soil pH by 0.23–0.86 units compared to FA and decreased available lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) by 25–97.1% and 13.5–75%, respectively. MFA significantly decreased exchangeable Pb and Cu by 12.5–32% and 11.4–35.2%, respectively, compared to FA. This may be due to the high pH and specific surface area of MFA, which promoted to the formation of amorphous Si/Al, metal–phosphate precipitation, and complexation with functional groups. In addition, MFA slightly increased the biomass of shoots and roots and decreased the uptake of Pb and Cu by ryegrass. This study provides a new modification method for the utilization of FA in the heavy metal-contaminated soils.

This study was conducted to prepare walnut protein isolate nanoparticles (nano-WalPI) by pH-cycling, combined with the ultrasound method, to investigate the impact of various nano-WalPI concentrations (0.5~2.5%) and oil volume fractions (20~70%) on the stability of Pickering emulsion, and to improve the comprehensive utilization of walnut residue. The nano-WalPI was uniform in size (average size of 108 nm) with good emulsification properties (emulsifying activity index and stability index of 32.79 m2/g and 1423.94 min, respectively), and it could form a stable O/W-type Pickering emulsion. When the nano-WalPI concentration was 2.0% and the oil volume fraction was 60%, the best stability of Pickering emulsions was achieved with an average size of 3.33 μm, and an elastic weak gel network structure with good thermal stability and storage stability was formed. In addition, the emulsion creaming index value of the Pickering emulsion was 4.67% after 15 days of storage. This study provides unique ideas and a practical framework for the development and application of stabilizers for food-grade Pickering emulsions.

Shape segmentation in urban environments forms the foundation for tasks such as classification and reconstruction. Most artificial buildings with complex structures are composed of multiple simple geometric primitives. Based on this assumption, this paper proposes a divisive hierarchical clustering algorithm that uses shape classification and outliers reassignment to segment LiDAR point clouds in order to effectively identify the various shapes of structures that make up buildings. The proposed method adopts a coarse-to-fine strategy. Firstly, based on the geometric properties of different primitives in a Gaussian sphere space, coarse extraction is performed using Gaussian mapping and the DBSCAN algorithm to identify the primary structure of various shapes. Then, the error functions are constructed after parameterizing the recognized shapes. Finally, a minimum energy loss function is built by combining the error functions and binary integer programming (BIP) to redistribute the outlier points. Thereby, the accurate extraction of geometric primitives is achieved. Experimental evaluations on real point cloud datasets show that the indicators of precision, accuracy, and F1 score of our method are 0.98, 0.95, and 0.96 (point assignment) and 0.97, 0.95, and 0.95 (shape recognition), respectively. Compared with other state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method can efficiently segment planar and non-planar structures with higher quality from building point clouds.

Bat groups have a high degree of species diversity, and the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships among bat species have always been research hotspots. Due to the fact that morphological characteristics do not always reflect the evolutionary relationships among species, mitochondrial DNA has been widely used in the study of species relationships due to its maternal inheritance pattern. Myotis aurascens has been suggested as a possible synonym for M. davidii. However, the status of this classification has been controversial. In this study, the morphological and molecular characteristics of a M. aurascens captured from Inner Mongolia, China, were analyzed to determine its taxonomic status. In terms of morphological features, the body weight was 6.33 g, the head and body length were 45.10 mm, the forearm length was 35.87 mm, and the tragus length was 7.51 mm. These values all fell within the species signature data range. Nucleotide skew analysis of the protein-coding genes (PCGs) suggested that only five PCGs (ND1, ND2, COX2, ATP8, and ND4) showed AT-skew value within the mitogenome of M. aurascens. Except for ND6, the GC-skew values of the other PCGs were negative, reflecting the preference for C and T bases compared to G and A bases. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial PCGs indicated that M. aurascens was a distinct species from M. davidii and phylogenetically closer to M. ikonnikovi, M. alcathoe, and M. mystacinus. Genetic distance analysis also showed that M. aurascens and M. davidii were distantly related. Therefore, the integrated analysis demonstrated that M. aurascens should be considered a distinct species rather than a synonym of M. davidii. Our study could provide a reference for enriching species diversity and research on conservation in China.

Cognitive decision has the basic characteristics of risk avoidance and benefit seeking. To explore the neural response process of cognitive decision making, we asked 32 undergraduates to make a decision on whether to accept a specific treatment option with a certain cure rate and a certain risk rate while recording their electrical brain responses. The results showed that more participants chose the treatment option with a high cure rate and moderate or low risk. Compared with low and high risk, medium risk produced greater N1 and smaller P300. Low risk produced larger LPP than the moderate risk in the left hemisphere. The right prefrontal region appeared to have a smaller LPP for low risk than for high risk. The results suggest that individuals prioritize risk when making cognitive decisions. In addition, in medium-risk conditions, solution integration is more difficult. The effect of benefit size appears at the late stage of cognitive decision making and adjusts the effect of risk. These results support the satisfaction principle of decision making.

Exosomes derived from cancer cells have been recognized as a promising biomarker for minimally invasive liquid biopsy. Herein, a novel sandwich-type biosensor was fabricated for highly sensitive detection of exosomes. Amino-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized as a sensing interface with a large surface area and rapid enrichment capacity, while two-dimensional MXene nanosheets were used as signal amplifiers with excellent electrical properties. Specifically, CD63 aptamer attached Fe3O4 nanoprobes capture the target exosomes. MXene nanosheets modified with epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) aptamer were tethered on the electrode surface to enhance the quantification of exosomes captured with the detection of remaining protein sites. With such a design, the proposed biosensor showed a wide linear range from 102 particles μL−1 to 107 particles μL−1 for sensing 4T1 exosomes, with a low detection limit of 43 particles μL−1. In addition, this sensing platform can determine four different tumor cell types (4T1, Hela, HepG2, and A549) using surface proteins corresponding to aptamers 1 and 2 (CD63 and EpCAM) and showcases good specificity in serum samples. These preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of establishing a sensitive, accurate, and inexpensive electrochemical sensor for detecting exosome concentrations and species. Moreover, they provide a significant reference for exosome applications in clinical settings, such as liquid biopsy and early cancer diagnosis.

Image segmentation is an important task in image processing and analysis but due to the same ground object having different spectra and different ground objects having similar spectra, segmentation, particularly on high-resolution remote sensing images, can be significantly challenging. Since the spectral distribution of high-resolution remote sensing images can have complex characteristics (e.g., asymmetric or heavy-tailed), an innovative image segmentation algorithm is proposed based on the hierarchical Student’s-t mixture model (HSMM) and spatial constraints with adaptive smoothing. Considering the complex distribution of spectral intensities, the proposed algorithm constructs the HSMM to accurately build the statistical model of the image, making more reasonable use of the spectral information and improving segmentation accuracy. The component weight is defined by the attribute probability of neighborhood pixels to overcome the influence of image noise and make a simple and easy-to-implement structure. To avoid the effects of artificially setting the smoothing coefficient, the gradient optimization method is used to solve the model parameters, and the smoothing coefficient is optimized through iterations. The experimental results suggest that the proposed HSMM can accurately model asymmetric, heavy-tailed, and bimodal distributions. Compared with traditional segmentation algorithms, the proposed algorithm can effectively overcome noise and generate more accurate segmentation results for high-resolution remote sensing images.

Fas-associated factor 1 (FAF1), a member of the Fas family, is involved in biological processes such as apoptosis, inflammation, cell proliferation and proteostasis. This study aimed to explore the biological role of FAF1 in testicular tissue at different ages (juveniles (1 and 2 years old), adults (3, 4, 6, and 7 years old) and old-aged animals (11 years old)) and ovaries during different reproductive cycle phases (follicular, luteal, and pregnancy phases). FAF1 mRNA, relative protein expression and protein expression localization were determined in testes and ovaries using real-time quantification, WB and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. Real-time quantification of testis tissues showed that the relative expression of FAF1 mRNA in testis tissues at 3, 4 and 7 years of age was significantly higher than of those in other ages, and in ovarian tissues was significantly higher in luteal phase ovaries than those in follicular and pregnancy phase ovaries; follicular phase ovaries were the lowest. WB of testis tissues showed that the relative protein expression of FAF1 protein was significantly higher at 11 and 7 years of age; in ovarian tissue, the relative protein expression of FAF1 protein was significantly higher in follicular phase ovaries than in luteal and pregnancy phase ovaries, and lowest in luteal phase ovaries. The relative protein expression of FAF1 at 3, 4 and 7 years of age was the lowest. IHC showed that FAF1 was mainly expressed in spermatozoa, spermatocytes, spermatogonia and supporting cells; in ovarian tissue, FAF1 was expressed in ovarian germ epithelial cells, granulosa cells, cumulus cells and luteal cells. The IHC results showed that FAF1 mRNA and protein were significantly differentially expressed in testes of different ages and ovarian tissues of different reproductive cycle phases, revealing the significance of FAF1 in the regulation of male and female B. grunniens reproductive physiology. Furthermore, our results provide a basis for the further exploration of FAF1 in the reproductive physiology of B. grunniens.

With the significant and rapid growth in the number of remote-sensing images, deep hash methods have become a research topic. The main work of deep hash method is to build a discriminate embedding space through the similarity relation between sample pairs and then map the feature vector into Hamming space for hashing retrieval. We demonstrate that adding a binary classification label as a kind of semantic cue could further improve the retrieval performance. In this work, we propose a new method, which we called deep hashing, based on classification label (DHCL). First, we propose a network architecture, which can classify and retrieve remote-sensing images under a unified framework, and the classification labels are further utilized as the semantic cues to assist in network training. Second, we propose a hash code structure, which can integrate the classification results into the hash-retrieval process to improve accuracy. Finally, we validate the performance of the proposed method on several remote-sensing image datasets and show the superiority of our method.

In this paper, within the scope of the local fractional derivative theory, bidirectional propagation system local fractional equations are researched. Compared with the unidirectional propagation of nonlinear waves in a pipeline, the bidirectional propagation system equations studied in this paper can better describe the propagation of nonlinear waves in a channel. This study is groundbreaking and offers more possibilities for the bidirectional propagation of nonlinear waves in the simulation pipeline. The exact traveling wave solutions of the non-differentiable type defined on the Cantor sets are obtained. The characteristics of the particular solutions of a fixed fractal dimension are discussed. It is proven that the local fractional nonlinear bidirectional wave equations can describe the interaction of fractal waves. It is also shown that the study of traveling wave solutions of nonlinear local fractional equations has important significance in mathematical physics.

Glycyrrhiza glabra L., known as licorice, is one of the most famous herbs in the world. In this study, we investigated the phytochemical and antitumor activities of G. glabra, especially its anti-colorectal cancer activities. G. glabra was extracted with 70% methanol, and the ethyl acetate layer was separated by silica gel, ODS, LH-20 column chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC to obtain the compounds. The structures were determined by NMR and MS methods. Three new compounds named licopyranol A–C (1–3), and eighteen known compounds (4–21) were isolated. Compounds with an isoprenyl group or dimethylpyran ring showed better antitumor activities. Licopyranol A (1) and glycyrol (5) both inhibited the proliferation, reduced clone formation and promoted apoptosis of RKO cells. The Western blotting assays showed that glycyrol significantly reduced the expression of E-cadherin, β-catenin, c-Myc, and GSK-3β proteins in RKO cells, suggesting that glycyrol may inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer RKO cells via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Agar is widely applied across the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, owing to its various bioactive functions. To better understand the agar biosynthesis in commercial seaweed Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, the activities of four enzymes participating in the agar biosynthesis were detected, and phosphoglucomutase (PGM) was confirmed as highly correlated with agar accumulation. Three genes of PGM (GlPGM1, GlPGM2 and GlPGM3) were identified from the G. lemaneiformis genome. The subcellular localization analysis validated that GlPGM1 was located in the chloroplast and GlPGM3 was not significantly distributed in the organelles. Both the GlPGM1 and GlPGM3 protein levels showed a remarkable consistency with the agar variations, and GlPGM3 may participate in the carbon flux between (iso)floridoside, floridean starch and agar synthesis. After treatment with the PGM inhibitor, the agar and floridean starch contents and the activities of floridean starch synthase were significantly decreased; products identified in the Calvin cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway, the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and the tricarboxylic acid cycle were depressed; however, lipids, phenolic acids and the intermediate metabolites, fructose-1,6-phosphate were upregulated. These findings reveal the essential role of PGM in regulating the carbon flux between agar and other carbohydrates in G. lemaneiformis, providing a guide for the artificial regulation of agar accumulation.

Depth-resolved information is essential for ocean research. For this study, we developed a shipborne photon-counting lidar for depth-resolved oceanic plankton observation. A pulsed fiber laser with frequency doubling to 532 nm acts as a light source, generating a single pulse at the micro-joule level with a pulse width of less than 1 ns. The receiver is capable of simultaneously detecting the elastic signal at two orthogonal polarization states, the Raman scattering from seawater, and the fluorescence signal from chlorophyll A. The data acquisition system utilizes the photon-counting technique to record each photon event, after which the backscattering signal intensity can be recovered by counting photons from multiple pulses. Benefitting from the immunity of this statistical detection method to the ringing effect of the detector and amplifier circuit, high-sensitivity and high-linearity backscatter signal measurements are realized. In this paper, we analyze and correct the after-pulse phenomenon of high-linearity signals through experiments and theoretical simulations. Through the after-pulse correction, the lidar attenuation coefficient retrieved from the corrected signal are in good agreement with the diffuse attenuation coefficients calculated from the in situ instrument, indicating the potential of this shipborne photon-counting lidar for ocean observation applications.

The secondary metabolites of Fusarium sporotrichioides, an endophytic fungus with anti-tumor activity isolated from Rauvolfia yunnanensis Tsiang, were investigated. Five trichothecenes, including one previously undescribed metabolite, were isolated and identified. Their structures were elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic methods; the absolute configuration of compound 1 was determined by the ECD method. Surprisingly, 8-n-butyrylneosolaniol (3) exhibited stronger anti-tumor activity than T-2 toxin against Huh-7 cell line, with an IC50 value of 265.9 nM. 8-n-butyrylneosolaniol (3) promoted apoptosis induction in Huh-7 cells. Moreover, cell cycle analysis showed that cell cycle arrest caused by 8-n-butyrylneosolaniol (3) at the G2/M phase resulted in cell proliferation inhibition and pro-apoptotic activity. Further studies showed a significant decrease in mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and a significant increase in ROS generation, which led to the activation of caspase cascades and subsequent cleavage of PARP fragments. In conclusion, 8-n-butyrylneosolaniol (3) induced cell apoptosis in Huh-7 cells via the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic signaling pathway, which could be a leading compound for anti-tumor agents.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) harm human health seriously in the air. Therefore, it is essential to recognize VOC gases qualitatively and quantitatively. The dynamic measurement method can improve the selectivity of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors to VOC, but there is a problem of the insufficient number of characteristic peaks. From the experimental point of view, the primary judgment basis for the correct qualitative and quantitative recognition of VOC gases by the dynamic measurement method is the characteristic peak of the dynamic response signal. However, the traditional dynamic measurement method generally only has two characteristic peaks. In this experiment, the voltage was changed at the time of the second characteristic peak by controlling the constant dynamic response period. Taking ethyl alcohol as an example, the experimental results show that the characteristic peak of the dynamic response signal does not increase when the voltage is constant. However, a new characteristic peak will appear based on a continuously rising heating voltage. The characteristic peaks of the dynamic response of n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and n-butyl alcohol were also increased based on the rising heating voltage waveform. Based on the K-Nearest-Neighbors algorithm, the qualitative and quantitative recognition rate of the four alcohol homologue gases reached 100%.

The emergence of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 has resulted in the loss of available treatments for certain severe infections. Here we identified a potential inhibitor of MCR-1 for the treatment of infections caused by MCR-1-positive drug-resistant bacteria, especially MCR-1-positive carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). A checkerboard minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, a killing curve test, a growth curve test, bacterial live/dead assays, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, cytotoxicity tests, molecular dynamics simulation analysis, and animal studies were used to confirm the in vivo/in vitro synergistic effects of pogostone and colistin. The results showed that pogostone could restore the bactericidal activity of colistin against all tested MCR-1-positive bacterial strains or MCR-1 mutant–positive bacterial strains (FIC < 0.5). Pogostone does not inhibit the expression of MCR-1. Rather, it inhibits the binding of MCR-1 to substrates by binding to amino acids in the active region of MCR-1, thus inhibiting the biological activity of MCR-1 and its mutants (such as MCR-3). An in vivo mouse systemic infection model, pogostone in combination with colistin resulted in 80.0% (the survival rates after monotherapy with colistin or pogostone alone were 33.3% and 40.0%) survival at 72 h after infection of MCR-1-positve Escherichia coli (E. coli) ZJ487 (blaNDM-1-carrying), and pogostone in combination with colistin led to one or more order of magnitude decreases in the bacterial burdens in the liver, spleen and kidney compared with pogostone or colistin alone. Our results confirm that pogostone is a potential inhibitor of MCR-1 for use in combination with polymyxin for the treatment of severe infections caused by MCR-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae.

In response to the national strategy of ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin, a more comprehensive assessment of the basin drought is made. Based on the meteorological data of 20 meteorological stations and the hydrological data of 5 hydrological stations in Weihe River from 1960 to 2010, the base flow data are obtained by digital filtering method. A new comprehensive drought index (CPBI) about base flow and precipitation is constructed based on Copula function, and the applicability of CPBI is discussed, the drought characteristics of Weihe River Basin are analyzed by using this index. The results show that CPBI can capture both meteorological and hydrological drought events and comprehensively characterize their drought characteristics; CPBI has a downward trend at all scales, and the drought situation is becoming more and more serious. After the identification of run length theory, CPBI can more accurately reflect the severe drought situation of five hydrological stations in Weihe River, and can better provide drought early warning. There is variation in CPBI. The variation on the annual scale is generally concentrated in the 1970s and 1990s, and there is a large gap in the variation on the seasonal scale. CPBI is an effective drought monitoring index in Weihe River, which can provide reference for drought early warning and response of Weihe River.

To study the influence of the fractal distribution of particle size on the critical state characteristics of calcareous sand, a type of calcareous sand from a certain reef of the South China Sea was used in this study. For comparison, standard quartz sand was also used. A series of drained shear tests on the two sands were then conducted to investigate their critical state characteristics. It was demonstrated that the fractal dimension is suitable for characterizing the particle size distribution (PSD) of calcareous sand with different fine sand content. The critical state equation of sand proposed by Li and Wang (1998) is suitable for fitting the critical state line of calcareous sand. In the plane of deviatoric stress versus the effective confining pressure (q–p′ plane) and the plane of void ratio versus (p′/pa)α, the critical state lines of calcareous sand are always above those of quartz sand. The critical state lines of calcareous sand with different fractal dimensions in the q–p′ plane are unique. However, in the e–(p′/pa)α plane, the critical state lines appear to rotate anticlockwise as the fractal dimension increases. In addition, there is an “intersection” in the e–(p′/pa)α plane. Considering the influence of the fractal distribution of particle size, an expression for the critical state line of calcareous sand in the e–(p′/pa)α plane was proposed. The related constitutive model was also revised, where a complete set of model parameters suitable for modeling calcareous sand was provided.

Oxidation reactions play a critical role in processes involving energy utilization, chemical conversion, and pollutant elimination. However, due to its spin-forbidden nature, the reaction of molecular dioxygen (O2) with a substrate is difficult under mild conditions. Herein, we describe a system that activates O2 via the direct modulation of its spin state by mechanical energy-induced triboelectric corona plasma, enabling the CO oxidation reaction under normal temperature and pressure. Under optimized reaction conditions, the activity was 7.2 μmol h−1, and the energy consumption per mole CO was 4.2 MJ. The results of kinetic isotope effect, colorimetry, and density functional theory calculation studies demonstrated that electrons generated in the triboelectric plasma were directly injected into the antibonding orbital of O2 to form highly reactive negative ions O2−, which effectively promoted the rate-limiting step of O2 dissociation. The barrier of the reaction of O2− ions and CO molecular was 3.4 eV lower than that of O2 and CO molecular. This work provides an effective strategy for using renewable and green mechanical energy to realize spin-forbidden reactions of small molecules.

Awns play important roles in seed dispersal, protection against predators, and photosynthesis. The characterization of genes related to the formation of awns helps understand the regulation mechanisms of awn development. In the present study, the “double-awn” wheat 4045, which features super-long lemma awns and long glume awns, and an awnless wheat line, Zhiluowumai, were used to investigate QTLs or genes involved in awn development. QTL analysis identified three loci—Qawn-1D, Qawn-5A, and Qawn-7B—using a population of 101 4045 × ZLWM F2 plants. Fine mapping with a total of 9018 progenies narrowed the mapping interval of Qawn-5A to an 809-kb region, which was consistent with the B1 locus, containing five genes on chromosome 5AL. Gene structure and expression analysis indicated that TraesCS5A02G542800 was the causal gene, which was subsequently verified by overexpression of TraesCS5A02G542800 in a “double-awn” wheat, Yangmai20. The retained “double-awn” phenotype of transgenic plants suggested that B1 represses the elongation but does not influence the emergence of the awns. Moreover, 4045 harbors a new allele of B1 with a 261-bp insertion in the promoter region and a lack of the EAR2 motif in the encoding region, which influences several important agronomic traits. In this study, we identify two novel QTLs and a novel allele of B1, providing new resources for exploration of awn development.

This study investigated the effects of high-intensity ultrasound (HUS) and transglutaminase pretreatment on the gelation behavior of whey protein soluble aggregate (WPISA) emulsions. HUS pretreatment and TGase-mediated cross-linking delayed the onset of gelation but significantly increased (p < 0.05) the gel firmness (G′) both after gel formation at 25 °C and during storage at 4 °C. The frequency sweep test indicated that all gels had a similar frequency dependence at 4 and 25 °C, and the elasticity and viscosity of the WPISA-stabilized emulsion gel were significantly enhanced by HUS pretreatment and TGase-mediated cross-linking (p < 0.05). HUS and TGase-mediated cross-linking greatly improved the textural properties of WPISA-stabilized emulsion gels, as revealed by their increases in gel hardness, cohesiveness, resilience, and chewiness. HUS pretreatment and TGase-mediated cross-linking significantly increased the water-holding capacity but decreased the swelling ratios of the gels (p < 0.05). Interactive force analysis confirmed that noncovalent interactions, disulfide bonds, and TGase-induced covalent cross-links were all involved in the formation of gel networks. In conclusion, the combination of HUS and TGase-mediated cross-linking were beneficial for improving the gelation properties of WPISA-stabilized emulsion as a controlled release vehicle for potential food industrial applications.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is an important pathogen of cats that has two genogroups (GI and GII). To investigate the prevalence and molecular characteristics of FCVs in southwestern China, 162 nasal swab samples were collected from cats in animal shelters and pet hospitals. In total, 38 of the clinical samples (23.46%) were identified as FCV positive using nested RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analyses using 10 capsid protein VP1 sequences revealed that 8 GI and 2 GII strains formed two independent clusters. Additionally, three separated FCVs that were not clustered phylogenetically (two GI and one GII strains) were successfully isolated from clinical samples and their full-length genomes were obtained. Phylogenetic and recombinant analyses of a GI FCV revealed genomic breakpoints in ORF1 and ORF2 regions with evidence for recombinant events between GI sub-genogroups, which is reported in China for the first time. Furthermore, sera obtained from mice immunized independently with the three FCV isolates and a commercial vaccine were used to evaluate the cross-reactivity of neutralizing antibodies. The three separate FCVs were neutralized by each other at a 1:19 to 1:775 titer range, whereas the triple-inactivated vaccine was at a titer of 1:16, which suggested that different genogroup/sub-genogroup FCV strains exhibit significantly different titers of neutralizing antibodies, including the commercial FCV vaccine. Thus, our study revealed the genetic diversity and complex cross-reactivity levels of FCVs in southwestern China, which provides new insights for application in vaccination strategies.