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In China, geographical indications (GIs) are seen as certificates or collective trademarks, as well as representations of quality agricultural products, and are important in revitalizing the countryside. Therefore, a combined qualitative and quantitative method was employed to examine the operational practices of GIs at the relatively micro-level of the municipality in order to identify their effectiveness and challenges in rural revitalization and propose more targeted optimization suggestions. Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, located in the Wuling Mountains in southeastern Chongqing, is an excellent example of the positive impact GIs can have on rural development, boasting the highest number of GI trademarks in the region. Despite the large number of GIs in Pengshui, there are several issues that need to be addressed, including low brand awareness, lack of product enhancement, and poor market competitiveness. To overcome these challenges, there must be a shift from a quantity-based to a quality-based approach to GI trademark declarations. This requires promoting the transformation of traditional agriculture into modern agriculture, investing in rural infrastructure, and improving the efficiency and quality of GI product production. By doing so, individuals in the local community will be able to reap the benefits of GI trademarks, improving their income and standard of living. In view of the fact that administrative divisions and cultural regions overlap, it is important to promote interregional cooperation and encourage declarations of GI trademarks in neighboring counties. This will help to preserve the area’s local cultural heritage and promote its heritage through GIs. By taking a targeted approach to GI trademark declarations and promoting cooperation between regions, Pengshui, and other rural communities can maximize the benefits of GIs and support sustainable rural development.

Dianthus spp. is a genus with high economic and ornamental value in the Caryophyllaceae, which include the famous fresh-cut carnation and the traditional Chinese herbal medicine, D. superbus. Despite the Dianthus species being seen everywhere in our daily lives, its genome information and phylogenetic relationships remain elusive. Thus, we performed the assembly and annotation of chloroplast genomes for 12 individuals from seven Dianthus species. On this basis, we carried out the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of the chloroplast genome sequence characteristics and the phylogenetic evolution of Dianthus. The chloroplast genome of 12 Dianthus individuals ranged from 149,192 bp to 149,800 bp, containing 124 to 126 functional genes. Sequence repetition analysis showed the number of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) ranged from 75 to 80, tandem repeats ranged from 23 to 41, and pair-dispersed repeats ranged from 28 to 43. Next, we calculated the synonymous nucleotide substitution rates (Ks) of all 76 protein coding genes to obtain the evolution rate of these coding genes in Dianthus species; rpl22 showed the highest Ks (0.0471), which suggested that it evolved the swiftest. By reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships within Dianthus and other species of Caryophyllales, 16 Dianthus individuals (12 individuals reported in this study and four individuals downloaded from NCBI) were divided into two strongly supported sister clades (Clade A and Clade B). The Clade A contained five species, namely D. caryophyllus, D. barbatus, D. gratianopolitanus, and two cultivars (‘HY’ and ‘WC’). The Clade B included four species, in which D. superbus was a sister branch with D. chinensis, D. longicalyx, and F1 ‘87M’ (the hybrid offspring F1 from D. chinensis and ‘HY’). Further, based on sequence divergence analysis and hypervariable region analysis, we selected several regions that had more divergent sequences, to develop DNA markers. Additionally, we found that one DNA marker can be used to differentiate Clade A and Clade B in Dianthus. Taken together, our results provide useful information for our understanding of Dianthus classification and chloroplast genome evolution.

The arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is a new metaheuristic algorithm inspired by arithmetic operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) to solve arithmetic problems. The algorithm is characterized by simple principles, fewer parameter settings, and easy implementation, and has been widely used in many fields. However, similar to other meta-heuristic algorithms, AOA suffers from shortcomings, such as slow convergence speed and an easy ability to fall into local optimum. To address the shortcomings of AOA, an improved arithmetic optimization algorithm (IAOA) is proposed. First, dynamic inertia weights are used to improve the algorithm’s exploration and exploitation ability and speed up the algorithm’s convergence speed; second, dynamic mutation probability coefficients and the triangular mutation strategy are introduced to improve the algorithm’s ability to avoid local optimum. In order to verify the effectiveness and practicality of the algorithm in this paper, six benchmark test functions are selected for the optimization search test verification to verify the optimization search ability of IAOA; then, IAOA is used for the parameter optimization of support vector machines to verify the practical ability of IAOA. The experimental results show that IAOA has a strong global search capability, and the optimization-seeking capability is significantly improved, and it shows excellent performance in support vector machine parameter optimization.

Based on the panel data of 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2005 to 2018, this paper uses the SBM-DEA efficiency model with undesired output to measure the green innovation efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The panel Tobit empirical analysis model was used to quantitatively analyze the impact of three different forms of government environmental regulations on the efficiency of green innovation. The research results show that the government’s mandatory environmental regulations and government financial subsidies for green innovation technology are two regulatory methods that positively promote the efficiency of regional green innovation, but government investment in environmental governance has a negative impact on the efficiency of regional green innovation. Then the study found that this negative impact has a significant inflection point effect: when it exceeds a certain threshold, the negative impact turns into a positive effect. At the same time, the impact of environmental regulations on the efficiency of green innovation has significant regional heterogeneity, and the three environmental regulations have a greater impact on downstream provinces and cities.

Flowers with more petals are of more ornamental value. It is well known that AGAMOUS (AG) is the core member of the C-class gene which plays an essential role in double flower formation and identification of stamens and carpels in Arabidopsis thaliana. We searched C-class genes in the genome of the carnation, and found two AG orthologs (DcaAGa, DcaAGb). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the two genes were closely related to the euAG subclade. Then we searched the genomes of other Caryophyllales plants (Beta vulgaris, Spinacia oleracea, Chenopodium quinoa) for C-class genes, and found that their C-class genes all belonged to the euAG subclade. Semi-quantitative PCR (sq-PCR) analysis indicated that the expression of DcaAG genes in the single flower phenotype was higher than that in the double flower phenotype. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expressions of DcaAG genes in the flower bud were significantly different from those in the root, stem, and leaf between the single and double flower phenotype carnations, and that DcaAG genes were specifically expressed in the stamen and carpel of carnation. Moreover, the expression of other floral organ identity genes (AP1 and AP2, PI and AP3, SEP1 and SEP3 corresponding to the A-, B-, and E-class of genes, respectively) showed no significant difference in all floral organs between the single and double flower phenotype carnations, suggesting that C-class (DcaAG) genes might play an important role in the double flower phenotype in carnation. Petal loss or decrease, precocious flowering, silique shortening, and seed sterility were observed in 35S::DcaAGa and 35S::DcaAGb transgenic Arabidopsis plants. All these results show that DcaAG genes might affect the petal number negatively and have a specific function in stamen and carpel development in carnation.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are associated with the transport of water and other small solutes across biological membranes. Genome-wide identification and characterization will pave the way for further insights into the AQPs&rsquo, roles in the commercial carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus). This study focuses on the analysis of AQPs in carnation (DcaAQPs) involved in flower opening processes. Thirty DcaAQPs were identified and grouped to five subfamilies: nine PIPs, 11 TIPs, six NIPs, three SIPs, and one XIP. Subsequently, gene structure, protein motifs, and co-expression network of DcaAQPs were analyzed and substrate specificity of DcaAQPs was predicted. qRT-PCR, RNA-seq, and semi-qRTRCR were used for DcaAQP genes expression analysis. The analysis results indicated that DcaAQPs were relatively conserved in gene structure and protein motifs, that DcaAQPs had significant differences in substrate specificity among different subfamilies, and that DcaAQP genes&rsquo, expressions were significantly different in roots, stems, leaves and flowers. Five DcaAQP genes (DcaPIP1, 3, DcaPIP2, 2, DcaPIP2, 5, DcaTIP1, 4, and DcaTIP2, 2) might play important roles in flower opening process. However, the roles they play are different in flower organs, namely, sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils. Overall, this study provides a theoretical basis for further functional analysis of DcaAQPs.