Search

Greenbug [Schizaphis graminum (Rondani)] is a serious insect pest that not only damages cereal crops, but also transmits several destructive viruses. The emergence of new greenbug biotypes in the field makes it urgent to identify novel greenbug resistance genes in wheat. CWI 76364 (PI 703397), a synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW) line, exhibits greenbug resistance. Evaluation of an F2:3 population from cross OK 14319 × CWI 76364 indicated that a dominant gene, designated Gb9, conditions greenbug resistance in CWI 76364. Selective genotyping of a subset of F2 plants with contrasting phenotypes by genotyping-by-sequencing identified 25 SNPs closely linked to Gb9 on chromosome arm 7DL. Ten of these SNPs were converted to Kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASP) markers for genotyping the entire F2 population. Genetic analysis delimited Gb9 to a 0.6-Mb interval flanked by KASP markers located at 599,835,668 bp (Stars-KASP872) and 600,471,081 bp (Stars-KASP881) on 7DL. Gb9 was 0.5 cM distal to Stars-KASP872 and 0.5 cM proximal to Stars-KASP881. Allelism tests indicated that Gb9 is a new greenbug resistance gene which confers resistance to greenbug biotypes C, E, H, I, and TX1. TX1 is one of the most widely virulent biotypes and has overcome most known wheat greenbug resistance genes. The introgression of Gb9 into locally adapted wheat cultivars is of economic importance, and the KASP markers developed in this study can be used to tag Gb9 in cultivar development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an unfortunate experience that may generate extensive sensory and motor disabilities due to the destruction and passing of nerve cells. MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules that do not code for proteins but instead serve to regulate protein synthesis by targeting messenger RNA's expression. After SCI, secondary damage like apoptosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and autophagy occurs, and differentially expressed microRNAs show a function in these procedures. Almost all animal and plant cells release exosomes, which are sophisticated formations of lipid membranes. These exosomes have the capacity to deliver significant materials, such as proteins, RNAs and lipids, to cells in need, regulating their functions and serving as a way of communication. This new method offers a fresh approach to treating spinal cord injury. Obviously, the exosome has the benefit of conveying the transported material across performing regulatory activities and the blood–brain barrier. Among the exosome cargoes, microRNAs, which modulate their mRNA targets, show considerable promise in the pathogenic diagnosis, process, and therapy of SCI. Herein, we describe the roles of microRNAs in SCI. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of exosomal microRNAs in this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of the increase of vibration and noise caused by the double-sided meshing impact of herringbone gears. A dynamic model of double-sided meshing impact is established in consideration of the gear error, meshing phase, time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS), time-varying damping and backlash in the herringbone planetary gear transmission system (HPGTS). The double-sided meshing process and mechanism of the herringbone gear are studied. The effects of excitation frequency and backlash on nonlinear characteristics of the HPGTS are analyzed by phase trajectories, Poincaré sections, the largest Lyapunov exponent (TLE) spectrum and bifurcation diagrams. The results indicate that the variation of excitation frequency will directly change the mesh state of the herringbone planetary gears. Within the excitation frequency range of the value, the system will experience the alternating variation of periodic motion and chaotic motion with the increase of excitation frequency. The phenomenon of the back-side meshing will gradually disappear as the excitation frequency increases to a certain value, and the drive-side meshing state will become stable. The transmission system will gradually transition to chaotic motion with increased backlash. Reducing the backlash while ensuring that the efficiency of the transmission can decrease the vibration and noise caused by the double-sided meshing impact of the system. The research results provide a theoretical reference for the stable operation of the system under double-side impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of patients with supination-adduction (SAD) type II (OTA/AO 44A2) fractures who had a lateral ankle ligament rupture repaired compared with patients who did not have a lateral ankle ligament repaired using patients who underwent fibula fracture fixation as a control group. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all 104 patients diagnosed with SAD type II fractures from January 2011 to December 2020 and managed operatively was performed. The patients were divided into three groups: 32 patients with ruptures of the lateral ligaments that were not repaired (group A), 34 patients with ruptures of the lateral ligaments that were repaired (group B), and 38 patients with fibula fracture fixation acting as the control group (group C). The objective outcomes including radiographic findings, the ankle range of motion, the manual ankle stress tests, and complications were gained from the record of the last time in outpatient clinics. The functional outcomes including the identification of functional ankle instability (IdFAI) scores were collected postoperatively at 12-month intervals to assess clinical outcomes. The Manchester Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) and Karlsson scoring scale were also recorded at the last follow-up. Results: The mean follow-up of the objective and subjective functional outcomes was 23.4 (range, 13–42) and 76.9 (range, 25–134) months, respectively. There was no significant difference in the radiographic findings, the ankle range of motion and complications between the three groups. All ankles were found to be stable using the manual ankle stress test in both group A and group B. The IdFAI scores showed a significant difference between group A and group B (1.12 ± 1.3 vs 0.35 ± 0.69; p < 0.001) in the first year of follow-up and no significant difference after the first year. No differences were noted in MOXFQ scores or Karlsson scores among the groups. Conclusion: Directly repairing the lateral ligament could minimize the proportion of the first year of postoperative functional ankle instability, although the final stability of the ankle and clinical outcomes were not significantly different in SAD type II fractures. Level of evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative case series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphingan WL gum produced by marine Sphingomonas sp. WG is a new kind of extracellular polysaccharide reported by our group in 2016. This work selected five metal ions, Na+, Zn2+, Ca2+, Cu2+, and Fe3+, to prepare sphingan WL gum-metal ion (WL-M) composite hydrogels by immersion-adsorption method for the first time. With the increase of immersion solution concentration, the volume of WL-M shrinks, the water content decreases, and the content of metal ions increases. WL-Na2, with the highest water content (91.81%), has the lowest metal ion content (20.76 mg/g); WL-Cu4, with the highest metal ion content (99.80 mg/g), has the lowest water content (73.07%). The results of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy show that the adsorption capacity (mg/g) of metal ions by WL is in the order of Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Fe3+ > Ca2+ > Na+. Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest that carboxyl and hydroxyl groups are the main active sites of WL interacting with metal ions. The rheological test results reveal that the order of cross-linking effect is Ca2+ > Fe3+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Na+. The G' of WL-Ca4 is the largest, reaching 154.9 Pa at 1 rad/s. The metal ion release behavior was found to follow the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (R2 > 0.97, n < 0.43) and be pH responsive. WL-Ca3 shows good biocompatibility, self-healing, and injectable properties. The above results indicate that the WL-Ca hydrogels have the most promising application prospects in biomedicine and deserve further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the engaging process, excessive temperature of clutch plates may lead to thermal failure. Existing research has failed to find the hot spot and the radial temperature difference real-timely. They also neglected the influence of dynamic sliding process and hydraulic characteristics. Thus, a multi-domain dynamic model of the whole clutch was proposed, involving the mechanical dynamics, the hydraulic dynamics and thermics. With the thermal resistance network method, the real-time axial and radial temperature prediction of clutch plates was realized. The highest temperature occurs on the friction pairs of axial middle and the maximum value occurs on the radial 5th mass. Compared with the results by FEM, the deviation is about 6.5 %, but the time duration is reduced significantly. Furthermore, the influence of the outer hub vibration (160 Hz, 0.2 Hz) on the dynamic characteristics was discussed. This work was tested to be an effective and good basis for the health prediction of wet clutches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-plate frictional wet clutch is one of the most important components in automatic transmissions. With the increasing of the rotational speed, the phenomena is tested that the drag torque firstly increases to the peak torque, and then decreases to a lower level and maintains within a certain range, and finally increases rapidly again. A fluid-structure coupled model of the whole wet clutch was established. The simulation results show that the pressure distribution is obviously nonuniform either on the frictional surface or between two sides of the clutch plate. The nonuniform pressure would cause the axial and deflection motion and so the impact would occur, which is the main reason for the drag torque's increasing under high rotational speed. Based on the simulated results, a prediction model was built with the direct artificial neural network method. The test results show that the drag characteristics prediction model is effective and fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of lake water backflowing on the aquatic ecosystem in the estuary, surface water samples in the backflowing and unbackflowing areas were collected from one typical estuary of Lake Taihu, Xitiaoxi River. 16S rRNA sequencing and redundancy analysis were conducted to quantitatively elucidate the correlation between microbial community and water quality parameters. Results indicated lake water backflowing would affect the relative distribution of nitrogen species and increase the concentration of total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate, especially in the outlets of municipal sewage and agricultural drainage. For backflowing areas, more frequent water exchange could lower the seasonal fluctuation of the abundance and diversity of microbial community. RDA results showed crucial water quality parameters that greatly influence bacterial community were total organic carbon (TOC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity (SAL), ammonia, nitrate, TN for backflowing areas, and TOC, TDS, SAL, ammonia, TN without nitrate for unbackflowing areas. Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, Microcystis, and Arcobacter were dominant with 27.7%, 15.7%, 30.5%, and 25.7% contribution to the overall water quality in backflowing areas. Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia, Flavobacterium, and Nostocaceae were dominant with 25.0%, 18.4%, 22.3%, and 11.4% contribution to the overall water quality in unbackflowing areas. And lake water backflowing might mainly affect the amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism based on the metabolism function prediction. A better understanding of the spatiotemporal changes in water quality parameters and microbial community was obtained from this research to comprehensively assess the effect of lake water backflowing on the estuarine ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Treatment of chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) with poor remnant quality is challenging. The aim of the present study was to evaluate clinical results and complications of anatomic reconstruction of the lateral ligaments using allograft tendon and suspensory fixation in the treatment of such patients. Methods: One hundred and eight patients with CLAI, who were treated surgically using anatomic reconstruction with allograft tendon and suspensory fixation between April 2016 and January 2018 at our hospital, were retrospectively analysed. None of the patients had sufficient ligament remnants for the modified Broström procedure during the intraoperative evaluation. Eighteen patients were excluded. Seventeen patients were lost to follow-up and 73 patients completed the study. The mean duration of instability symptoms was 39.1 months (range, 6–480 months). The mean follow-up time was 57.5 months (range, 48–69 months). Clinical results were evaluated using the Karlsson scoring scale, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society-Ankle and Hindfoot (AOFAS-AH) score, visual analogue scale (VAS), patients' subjective satisfaction, and incidence of complications. Mechanical stability was evaluated using the varus talar tilt angle (TTA) and anterior talar displacement (ATD). Results: The AOFAS-AH scores significantly improved from 67.7 ± 8.5 points to 89.8 ± 9.5 (p < 0.001). The Karlsson scoring scales evolved from 58.8 ± 16.5 to 88.4 ± 11.2 (p < 0.001). VAS scores significantly decreased from 2.9 ± 1.3 to 1.1 ± 1.0 (p < 0.001). On stress radiographs, TTA decreased from 15.1 ± 2.5 degrees to 5.8 ± 2.1 degrees (p < 0.001), whereas ATD reduced from 13.4 ± 2.9 mm to 5.7 ± 1.5 mm (p < 0.001). Patients' subjective satisfaction indicated 46 excellent, 20 good, 5 fair, and 2 bad results. Postoperatively, 15 cases (20.5%) did not achieve complete relief of discomfort or swelling, 9 cases (12.3%) experienced joint stiffness or decreased range of motion, and 6 cases (8.2%) had soft tissue irritation. Residual instability and reoperation are rare. Allograft rejection or wound infection was not observed. Conclusion: For the CLAI patients with poor remnant quality, anatomic reconstruction of the lateral ligaments using allograft tendon and suspensory fixation is an effective procedure, while the top three complications in incidence were residual discomfort, joint stiffness, and soft tissue irritation. Levels of evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a delay-tolerable and anti-windup control synthesis technique is proposed. Longitudinal speed tracking performed by an integrated electric drive (IED) system under the multi-domain constraints of network bandwidth and actuator saturation is investigated. Controller area network (CAN) connected to the Internet provide an interface for cyber attacks. In addition, the physical saturation characteristics of the electric drive motor sacrifice vehicle speed tracking performance. Based on above problems, a nominal controller satisfying energy-to-peak performance considering the attack-induced delays is designed. Then, an augmented closed-loop system is established including the nominal delay-tolerable controller and an anti-windup controller considering input saturation and random attack-induced delays. The delay-dependent uncertainty caused by attack-induced delay is expressed in the form of polytopes. Furthermore, the saturation nonlinearity is converted to sector-bounded uncertainty. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to find anti-windup controller matrices. Finally, the effectiveness and improvement of the proposed method based on MATLAB Simulink and hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) test platform are shown. The variation of speed tracking performance and oscillation damping capability under different attack energies is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to assess the long-term outcomes and prognostic predictors of asymptomatic patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) accompanied by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 55% and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) > 65 mm undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR). Methods: We retrospectively studied 291 consecutive asymptomatic patients with severe AR accompanied by LVEF ≥ 55% and LVEDD > 65 mm undergoing AVR from January 2000 to December 2013. The long-term outcomes and prognostic predictors were evaluated. Results: There were 2 (0.7%) in-hospital deaths caused by multiple organ failure. The overall survival rate was 95.2% at 5 years, 89.9% at 10 years, 85.9% at 15 years, and 85.9% at 20 years. The left ventricular end-systolic volume index (LVESVi) was an independent predictor of overall mortality, with 59 ml/m2 being the best cut-off value. The left ventricular (LV) dimension decreased within 1 year after surgery and sustained thereafter. There were 15.5% of patients had incomplete LV reverse remodeling. LVESVi was an independent predictor of incomplete LV reverse remodeling, with 56 ml/m2 being the best cut-off value. Conclusions: AVR can be performed with an acceptable outcome in patients with severe AR accompanied by LVEF ≥ 55% and LVEDD > 65 mm. The LVESVi has the best predictive value for prognosis and the cut-off value is 59 ml/m2, and has the best predictive value for incomplete LV reverse remodeling and the cut-off value is 56 ml/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Studies have reported various effects of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) on osteochondral defects of the talus. Therefore, to assess the effectiveness of ACI for osteochondral defects of the talus, we used the meta-analytic approach. Materials and methods: Electronic databases PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify eligible studies from their inception until November 2020. The random-effects model was used to calculate the incidence of success rate and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score for patients after ACI treatment. Subgroup analyses were also conducted based on age, technique, indication, size, and follow-up duration. Results: For the final meta-analysis, we selected 23 case series studies with a total of 458 patients with osteochondral defects of the talus. Overall, after ACI for patients with osteochondral defects of the talus, we noted that the incidence of success rate was 89% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 85%–92%; P < 0.001). Moreover, after ACI for patients with osteochondral defects of the talus, the AOFAS score was 86.33 (95% CI 83.33–89.33; P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the AOFAS score after ACI is significantly different when stratified by the mean age of the patients (P = 0.006). Conclusions: This study revealed that the use of ACI could provide a relatively high success rate and improve the AOFAS score for patients with osteochondral defects of the talus, which should be recommended in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The novel, leaf rust seedling resistance gene, Lr81, was identified in a Croatian breeding line and mapped to a genomic region of less than 100 Kb on chromosome 2AS. Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is the most common and widespread rust disease in wheat. Races of Puccinia triticina evolve rapidly in the southern Great Plains of the USA, and leaf rust resistance genes often lose effectiveness shortly after deployment in wheat production. PI 470121, a wheat breeding line developed by the University of Zagreb in Croatia, showed high resistance to Puccinia triticina races collected from Oklahoma, suggesting that PI 470121 could be a leaf rust resistance source for the southern Great Plains of the USA. Genetic analysis based on an F2 population and F2:3 families derived from the cross PI 470121 × Stardust indicated that PI 470121 carries a dominant seedling resistance gene, designated as Lr81. Linkage mapping delimited Lr81 to a genomic region of 96,148 bp flanked by newly developed KASP markers Xstars-KASP320 and Xstars-KASP323 on the short arm of chromosome 2A, spanning 67,030,206–67,132,354 bp in the Chinese Spring reference assembly (IWGSC RefSeq v1.0). Deletion bin mapping assigned Lr81 to the terminal bin 2AS-0.78–1.00. Allelism tests indicated that Lr81 is a distinctive leaf rust resistance locus with the physical order Lr65-Lr17-Lr81. Marker-assisted selection based on a set of markers closely linked to leaf rust resistance genes in PI 470121 and Stardust enabled identification of a recombinant inbred line RIL92 carrying Lr81 only. Lr81 is a valuable leaf rust resistance source that can be rapidly introgressed into locally adapted cultivars using KASP markers Xstars-KASP320 and Xstars-KASP323. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sliding friction on the tooth surface is an important factor affecting the dynamic characteristics of herringbone planetary gear system (HPGS) which is a complex high power density system. A novel coupling dynamic model of HPGS with friction effect is proposed through an iterative numerical scheme under the tribo-dynamic condition, and the dynamic characteristics are discussed considering tooth surface friction. The results show that the dynamic meshing force amplitude increases obviously after considering friction, and rises slowly with the increase of roughness. When the load increases gradually, the main peak of dynamic meshing force response increases obviously, but the frequency of the main resonance peak remains unchanged. With the increase of input torque, the main peak of meshing force increases because the input torque, as the input of the transmission system, is positively correlated with the dynamic characteristics of herringbone planetary gear transmission system. The influence of friction excitation on dynamic characteristics gradually decreases with the increase of input speed. As the internal excitation of the system, the friction excitation will also affect the dynamic characteristics. The main peak of dynamic mesh force increases significantly compared with that without considering friction, and increases slowly with the increase of roughness. With the increase of roughness, the dynamic characteristics of the transmission system increase slightly after friction excitation, so the amplitude of dynamic meshing force increases. However, as the roughness continues to increase, the lubrication state changes from full film lubrication to partial elastohydrodynamic lubrication. When the S avg of the tooth surface exceeds 1.2 μm, that is, the rough peak contacts, the friction excitation has little effect on the dynamic characteristics, so the amplitude of the main peak of dynamic meshing remains almost unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycerol is a potential sustainable feedstock, and biorefining processes to convert glycerol into value-added chemicals have been developed over the past decade. Alditol oxidase (AldO) is capable of selectively oxidizing the primary hydroxyl groups of alditols such as glycerol. In this study, a new FAD-binding protein from Thermopolyspora flexuosa was expressed and identified as a novel alditol oxidase (AldOT. fle). AldOT. fle displayed the optimal activity at pH 8.0 and 25 °C. AldOT. fle was not metal-dependent, but the activity was completely inhibited by Fe3+. AldOT. fle had a wide substrate specificity and high catalytic efficiency for glycerol. Furthermore, the recombinant AldOT. fle could produce d-glyceric acid from glycerol with a conversion rate ranging from 86.6% (5 mM glycerol) to 20.5% (500 mM glycerol). The recombinant E. coli with AldOT. fle could also produce 23.8 mM d-glyceric acid from 100 mM glycerol. The recombinant AldOT. fle had the potential to produce other aldehyde products by selectively oxidizing the hydroxyl groups of alditols and many other commodity chemicals by redesigning glycerol metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SLZF57 belongs to the C2H2 zinc finger protein family. Our group's previous experiments found that SLZF57 was active in response to drought stress. In this experiment, SLZF57 was analyzed for the ABA hormone-induced expression pattern, and VIGS technology was used to verify the function of SLZF57. The experimental results showed that the expression of SLZF57 was upregulated after the induction of exogenous ABA hormone. Through phenotypic observation and analyses of gene expression patterns and physiological indices (Pro, POD, SOD, MDA) of the silenced plants under drought stress, the drought resistance of SLZF57 gene-silenced plants was found to be decreased, indicating that SLZF57 played an important role under drought stress. Key message: By studying the mechanism of SLZF57 regulating tomato drought resistance, the foundation for stress resistance breeding has been laid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River basin (YRB) is China's most critical energy consumption and coal production area. The improvement of carbon emission reduction efficiency in this area is the key for the Chinese government to achieve the 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutral ("30.60"). Given this, this study first calculates the carbon emission efficiency of YRB from 2005 to 2019 based on the slack-based measured directional distance function (SBM-DDF) model and combined with Malmquist–Luenberger (ML) index and decomposes the carbon emission efficiency of each province. Then, a panel Tobit model with random effect is constructed to measure the influencing factors and their influence degree of carbon emission efficiency of YRB. Finally, the main influencing factors are selected, and policy suggestions on how to improve the carbon emission efficiency of each province are put forward with the help of the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model. The results show that first, the carbon emission efficiency of each province is significantly different, but it shows a fluctuating upward trend on the whole. Second, the reasons for the rise or decline of the ML index in different provinces are different. Therefore, the development strategies of different provinces should be formulated from the perspective of accelerating technological progress and improving technical efficiency. Finally, the calculation results of influencing factors and coupling coordination degrees show that provinces with high coupling coordination degrees should focus on developing per capita power consumption and controlling per capita power consumption to consolidate the actual urbanization process and industrial structure adjustment. Provinces with low coupling coordination degrees should focus on maintaining the urbanization process and increasing the development of the tertiary industry. Therefore, to fundamentally reduce carbon emissions in YRB areas, we need to consider implementing differentiated emission reduction schemes based on national strategic objectives and in combination with the development characteristics of various provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key messages: Gray leaf spot (GLS) resistance in tomato is controlled by one major dominant locus, Sm. Sm was fine mapped, and the nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) gene Solyc11g020100 was identified as a candidate gene for Sm. Further functional analysis indicated that this gene confers high resistance to Stemphylium lycopersici in tomato. Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) is widely consumed and cultivated in the world. Gray leaf spot (GLS), caused by Stemphylium lycopersici (S. lycopersici), is one of the most devastating diseases in tomato production. To date, only one resistance gene, Sm, which confers high resistance against GLS disease, has been identified in the wild tomato species Solanum pimpinellifolium. This resistance locus (comprising the Sm gene) has been transferred into the cultivated variety 'Motelle'. Although several studies have reported the mapping of the Sm gene, it has not been cloned, limiting the utilization in tomato breeding. Here, we cloned Sm using a map-based cloning strategy. The Sm gene was mapped in a region of 160 kb at chromosome 11 between two markers, namely, M390 and M410, by using an F2 population from a cross between the resistant cultivar 'Motelle' (Mt) and susceptible line 'Moneymaker' (Mm). Three clustered NBS-LRR (nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat) resistance genes, namely, Solyc11g020080 (R1), Solyc11g020090 (R2), and Solyc11g020100 (R3) were identified in this interval. Nonsynonymous SNPs were identified in only the open reading frame (ORF) of R3, suggesting it as a strong candidate for the Sm gene. Furthermore, gene silencing of R3 abolished the high resistance to S. lycopersici in Motelle, demonstrating that this gene confers high resistance to S. lycopersici. The cloning of Sm may speed up its utilization for breeding resistant tomato varieties and represents an important step forward in our understanding of the mechanism underlying the resistance to GLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the turning tool has worn and failed but the failure is not found, if it continues to be used for processing, it will break, and cause the workpiece to be scrapped, and even damage the machine tool. In order to avoid the loss caused by turning tool wear, the remaining useful life (RUL) prediction of turning tool wear has become a hot research topic in recent years. For RUL prediction in turning tools, the traditional machine is difficult to acquire sufficient degradation data and inconsistent data distribution among different turning tools in engineering, and they cannot provide better prediction accuracy to some extent. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes a multi-granularity feature extraction (MGFE) method based on the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and random forest (RF). Moreover, a health indicator (HI) of turning tools in the source domain was obtained. The common representative features in HI sequence of target domain was transferred to source domain and builds the condition monitoring and life prediction system of turning tools based on extreme learning machine and transfer learning. Finally, extreme vector machine (ELM) is used to construct the RUL prediction model. The research results show that the model constructed in this paper is effective in RUL prediction and can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of remaining useful life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of osteoarthritis is closely related to progressive and irreversible destruction of the articular cartilage, which increases the friction significantly and causes further inflammation of the joint. Thus, a scaffold for articular cartilage defects should be developed via lubrication restoration and drug intervention. In this study, we successfully synthesized gelatin-based composite hydrogels, namely GelMA-PAM-PMPC, with the properties of biomimetic lubrication and sustained drug release by photopolymerization of methacrylic anhydride modified gelatin (GelMA), acrylamide (AM), and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC). Tribological test showed that the composite hydrogels remarkably enhanced lubrication due to the hydration lubrication mechanism, where a tenacious hydration shell was formed around the zwitterionic phosphocholine headgroups. In addition, drug release test indicated that the composite hydrogels efficiently encapsulated an anti-inflammatory drug (diclofenac sodium) and achieved sustained release. Furthermore, the in vitro test revealed that the composite hydrogels were biocompatible, and the mRNA expression of both anabolic and catabolic genes of the articular cartilage was suitably regulated. This indicated that the composite hydrogels could effectively protect chondrocytes from inflammatory cytokine-induced degeneration. In summary, the composite hydrogels that provide biomimetic hydration lubrication and sustained local drug release represent a promising scaffold for cartilage defects in the treatment of osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resource, environment, and ecological value of drinking reservoirs have received widespread concerns due to the pollution of persistent organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Therefore, we comprehensively studied the occurrence, source, distribution, and risk assessment of representative PAHs in Fengshuba Reservoir (FSBR) (large drinking reservoir, China). The total concentrations of 16 USEPA PAHs in the water phase, porewater phase, sediment phase, and soil phase were in ranges of 109.72–393.19 ng/L, 5.75–35.15 μg/L, 364.4–743.71 μg/kg, and 367.81–639.89 μg/kg, respectively. The naphthalene (Nap) was the dominant PAHs in the water phase, while it was Nap and phenanthrene (Phe) in porewater, sediment, and soil phase. The main sources of PAHs in FSBR were biomass combustion. Redundancy analysis indicated that the NTU, NO2-, NH4+, Chl-α, and IC were the dominant factors influencing the PAH distribution in water phase, and the PAHs in sediment phase was affected by T and NO3-. Pseudo-partitioning coefficients indicated that the PAHs in the porewater phase were more likely to migrate to the sediment phase. Risk assessment indicated that the PAHs both in the water and sediment phases were generally in a low-risk state, while the PAHs in the soil phase were in a moderate-risk state, and the Nap was in a high-risk state, and exposure to the PAHs in FSBR through drinking and skin exposure had little impact on consumers' health. In summary, Nap could be used as a key indicator to evaluate the existence and potential risk of PAHs in FSBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rectangular tunnels are widely used for underground passages, roadway, subway and utility tunnels due to their high utilization ratio of inner space compared with circular tunnels. This paper investigates the working face stability of rectangular cross-sectional shield tunneling by developing a two-dimensional rotational mechanism. In the current mechanism, the failure block is discretized into infinitesimal pieces for the calculation of energy. As a result, the upper bound solution of support pressure applied to maintain the face stability is derived. By optimizing the geometry of mechanism, the limit support pressure is obtained and the associate failure mode is identified. The current solution compares well with numerical solution and other analytical solutions. The potential of the proposed solution becomes apparent for the rectangular tunnels whose width is larger. The solution is validated by comparison with the previous laboratory test, where an agreement on the critical support pressure and associated failure pattern is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae blooms have seriously threatened the health of aquatic ecosystems and the safety of drinking water. In this study, diatomite-enhanced coagulation technology was developed to improve the removal of algae and other pollutants. The dosage and ratio of diatomite and aluminum salts were optimized to 40mg/L and 1:1 which achieved algal removal efficiency of 98.8±0.65%. The effect of environmental factors was studied and it shows that cell density, pH, and temperature had a significant impact on algal removal. The mechanism of diatomite-enhanced coagulation was speculated to be adsorption bridging and sweep flocculation. Pilot-scale equipment was set up to verify the performance of diatomite-enhanced coagulation in engineering applications on algae polluted raw water. Results showed a better removal efficiency of algae, NH4+-N, NO2--N, and CODMn and lower operation cost than the actual operation in the Waterwork Corporation were achieved with good application prospects and promotion value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the post-operative radiographic and clinical outcomes of less invasive plate fixation versus screw fixation of displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures (DIACFs) via sinus tarsi approach. Methods: A total of 165 consecutive DIACFs that underwent open reduction internal fixation via sinus tarsi approach from 2013 to 2018 were reviewed at least a two year follow-up. The methods of fixation were divided into two groups: less invasive plate fixation versus screw fixation of calcaneus fracture (59 vs 106, respectively). The radiographic outcomes including pre- and post-operative Bohler's and Gissane's angles were evaluated. The post-operative function was evaluated using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot score, the Olerud and Molander Scale and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The complications, the rates of implant removal and cost were also compared. Results: The average follow-up was 44.2 months in the plate groups and 47.9 months in the screw groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the Bohler's angle and Gissane's angle between the plate group and screw group during the pre-operation and the last follow-up. There was no significant difference in the final AOFAS score, Olerud and Molander score and VAS score between the two groups (P > 0.05). The total incidence of complications was 6.7% in the plate group and 6.6% in the screw group (P > 0.05). The rates of implant removal and total cost during the hospitalization in the plate group were significantly higher compared with screws group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The less invasive plate fixation versus screw fixation of DIACFs via sinus tarsi approach contributed comparable quality of reduction, complications and post-operative functional outcomes. The less invasive plate technique was significantly higher in terms of implant costs and the rate of implant removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient and simple method to obtain aortic media for primary culture of rat vascular smooth muscle cells (RVSMCs) is developed. The main steps to obtain aortic media include isolation of rat aortic artery, removal of the fat tissue and branches, separation of longitudinal cutting edge, and peeling off the adventitia. Then, aortic media was used to obtain RVSMCs by our tissue explants method and the enzyme digestion method. The removal efficiency of the intima and adventitia was confirmed by hematoxylin–eosin and immunohistochemical staining. Morphology and immunofluorescent staining were used to identify cells and cell purity. RVSMCs at the 3rd and 8th passages were isolated by our tissue explants method; the enzyme digestion method and the traditional tissue explants method were compared respectively. Western blotting and gel contraction assay were used to investigate the phenotype and contraction ability of RVSMCs obtained by the different methods. Compared with the other methods, RVSMCs isolated by our method showed higher purity and demonstrated "contractile" phenotype with retained contraction ability for more passages. And the aortic media obtained showed no visible damage with few endothelial cells and fibroblasts remained. An efficient and simple method was established to obtain rat aortic media for primary culture of RVSMCs with high purity, "contractile" phenotype characteristics, and more stable during subculturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SlZF-31 gene is a member of the tomato C2H2 transcription factor family. Previous studies have shown that SlZF-31 gene expression is upregulated under drought stress and salt stress, but the specific function of this gene in tomato plants in response to these two kinds of stress is still unclear. To further explore the function of the SlZF-31 gene in tomato under drought stress and salt stress, we employed the virus-induced gene silencing method to reduce the expression of the SlZF-31 gene in tomato. The results showed that TRV2-SlZF-31 plants had higher levels of wilt and stem bending than CK and CK-TRV2 plants under drought and salt stress. The ABA content of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The analysis of physiological indexes showed that the SOD and POD activity and the proline content of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants, while the MDA content of TRV2-SLlZF-31 plants was higher than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The accumulation of H2O2 and O2− in TRV2-SlZF-31 plants was greater than those in CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The values of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (ΦII and qL) of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were significantly lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. These results showed that the silencing of the SlZF-31 gene reduces the drought resistance and salt tolerance of tomato. The finding of this study are expected to provide theoretical support for the study of abiotic stress in tomato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis (OA) represents a significant challenge to orthopedic surgeons, especially in cases of anterior talar translation and concomitant impaction of the anterior distal tibial plafond. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of an intra-articular osteotomy for the management of these patients. A total of 21 patients meeting our criteria were retrospectively reviewed. Sixteen patients sustained initial pilon fractures, while five patients had Weber type C ankle fractures. Anterior distal tibial plafond-plasty was performed to address the impaction and anterior translation of the talus. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot score and visual analog scale (VAS) score were utilized as clinical outcomes. The lateral talar station (LTS), tibial lateral surface (TLS) angle, tibial anterior surface angle and talocrural angle were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. The modified Kellgren-Lawrence score was used for the evaluation of sagittal ankle OA. The average age at surgery was 35 years, and the average follow-up duration was 34 months. The AOFAS hindfoot score increased from 26 to 71 (p < 0.01), and the VAS score improved from 7 to 2 (p < 0.01). The LTS improved from 9.0 to 2.3 mm (p < 0.01), and the TLS angle improved from 72° to 81° (p < 0.01). Of the 21 patients, 18 showed improvement in or no worsening of ankle OA on the sagittal plane, while 3 developed advanced ankle OA. A congruent ankle joint on the sagittal plane could be achieved by anterior distal tibial plafond-plasty. This is a valuable treatment option for the salvage of posttraumatic ankle OA with anterior translation of the talus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The recessive Hessian fly resistance gene h4 and flanking SNP markers were located to a 642 kb region in chromosome 1A of the wheat cultivar 'Java.' Hessian fly (HF), Mayetiola destructor, is one of the most destructive insect pests in wheat worldwide. The wheat cultivar 'Java' was reported to carry a recessive gene (h4) for HF resistance; however, its chromosome location has not been determined. To map the HF resistance gene in Java, two populations of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were developed from 'Bobwhite' × Java and 'Overley' × Java, respectively, and were phenotyped for responses to infestation of HF Great Plains biotype. Analysis of phenotypic data from the F1 and the RIL populations confirmed that one recessive gene conditioned HF resistance in Java. Two linkage maps were constructed using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). The h4 gene was mapped to the distal end of the short arm of chromosome 1A, which explained 60.4 to 70.5% of the phenotypic variation for HF resistance in the two populations. The GBS-SNPs in the h4 candidate interval were converted into Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP) markers to eliminate the missing data points in GBS-SNPs. Using the revised maps with KASP markers, h4 was further located to a 642 kb interval (6,635,984–7,277,935 bp). The two flanking KASP markers, KASP3299 and KASP1871, as well as four other closely linked KASP markers, may be useful for pyramiding h4 with other HF resistance genes in breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification of benign and malignant in lung nodules using chest CT images is a key step in the diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer, as well as an effective way to improve the patients' survival rate. However, due to the diversity of lung nodules and the visual similarity of lung nodules to their surrounding tissues, it is difficult to construct a robust classification model with conventional deep learning–based diagnostic methods. To address this problem, we propose a multi-model ensemble learning architecture based on 3D convolutional neural network (MMEL-3DCNN). This approach incorporates three key ideas: (1) Constructed multi-model network architecture can be well adapted to the heterogeneity of lung nodules. (2) The input that concatenated of the intensity image corresponding to the nodule mask, the original image, and the enhanced image corresponding to which can help training model to extract advanced feature with more discriminative capacity. (3) Select the corresponding model to different nodule size dynamically for prediction, which can improve the generalization ability of the model effectively. In addition, ensemble learning is applied in this paper to further improve the robustness of the nodule classification model. The proposed method has been experimentally verified on the public dataset, LIDC-IDRI. The experimental results show that the proposed MMEL-3DCNN architecture can obtain satisfactory classification results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioma segmentation is critical for making surgical plans. Recently, the traditional glioma segmentation method is less competitive with two deep learning segmentation strategies: the patch-based method which focuses more on the local feature for each pixel, and the image-based method which fully leverages the global feature and captures the overall shape, size and other characteristics of the lesion in a neighborhood of a pixel. In this study, we investigate and integrate the advantages of 2-D and 3-D image-based architectures, and propose a new convolutional neural network called the Cascaded Hybrid Residual U-Net (CHR-U-Net) for MRI glioma segmentation. The CHR-U-Net exploits both the 2D local features as well as the 3D global spatial contextual information simultaneously. In the first-level of CHR-U-Net, the R-2D-U-Net combines the 2D-U-Net and the residual unit for quick lesion area detecting without any miss. To prevent from missing false-positive pixels, the output of R-2D-U-Net is resampled by using the hard-mining to collect more possible false-positive samples. In the second-level of CHR-U-Net, the axial, coronal, and sagittal 3D-U-Nets are trained to predict whether pixels belong to the area of glioma. The results of three 3D-U-Nets are fused to improve the accuracy and reduce false positives. The database of 2017 BRATS challenge were used in our experiments for the verification. The Dices and Sensitivities of Enhancing, Whole, and Core areas were calculated. The Dices are 0.73, 0.90, and 0.83 and the Sensitivities are 0.83, 0.90, and 0.82, respectively, for the axial, coronal, and sagittal 3D-U-Nets. Experimental results show that the proposed model significantly improves the performance of glioma segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural characteristics of the tree crowns of Cunninghamia lanceolata var. Luotian (herein, Luotian), a natural variety of C. lanceolata (Chinese-fir, herein Lanceolata) in China, were analyzed using trunk and branch measurements and biomass determinations. Samples from two typical cultivated varietal populations were collected, including twenty-six 15–23-year-old trees of Luotian from a plantation, and nine 16–23-year-old trees of Lanceolata. Our results show that Luotian and Lanceolata samples differed significantly in crown structure, morphological indices, and biomass: (1) the oldest live branches on Luotian trees were 5–6 years old and 8–11 years old on Lanceolata. The ages of the live branches were not affected by the ages of the Luotian trees, while live branch ages increased with ages of Lanceolata trees; (2) the maximum branching order of Luotian was level two. Compared to Lanceolata, the average number of first-order lateral branches (i.e., branches emerging from the trunk) and the number of first-order lateral branch whorls per sample tree were 12.9% and 32.2% lower, respectively, in Luotian. However, the average number of branches within a single whorl was 21.8% greater in Luotian; the average number of branch whorls at crown height was 51.1% greater. Thus, the Luotian variety has thicker branches; (3) the average lateral branch angles in Luotian and Lanceolata sample trees were 105.2° and 61.4°, respectively. The branch angles in 53.0% of lateral branches on Luotian ranged from 105° to 135°, but 30° to 90° in 96% of the lateral branches on Lanceolata. Within the same crown layer, the average branch angle was 1.6–2.2 times greater in Luotian, and the angle was directly proportional to crown thickness; (4) the average base diameter and branch length on Luotian were 1.3 cm and 75.8 cm, respectively, and 1.6 cm and 112.2 cm for Lanceolata. For individual trees, branch growth differed significantly (p < 0.01) between Luotian and Lanceolata. However, the lateral branches grew at a similar rate among Luotian trees of different ages; (5) the average height to the lowest live branch on Luotian was 128.3% greater than on Lanceolata, resulting in a significant difference (p < 0.01) in crown size. Compared to the crowns on Lanceolata, the Luotian crowns were 45.3% higher and 41.1% wider, and the surface area, volume, and growth of the crown were 27.0%, 11.4%, and 2.4 times greater than for Lanceolata, respectively; and, (6) the biomass of Luotian and Lanceolata sample trees also differed significantly. The mean crown, branch, and leaf biomass for Luotian was 40.0%, 25.2%, and 54.1% of those for Lanceolata, respectively. However, the leaf biomass in each layer of the Luotian crown was higher than that of Lanceolata, and leaf biomass increased with crown thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ternary visible light-driven catalyst, reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-based Bi2MoO6 (BMO), modified with CdS, was synthesized for the degradation of ciprofloxacin through solvothermal method. Neither toxic reductant nor toxic solvent was used. The structural characterization shows that graphene oxide sheets were reduced, while BMO nanoplates and CdS nanoparticles grew to form CdS–BMO/RGO simultaneously. The modification of BMO with CdS and RGO extraordinarily enhances the photocatalytic performance of BMO on the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation rate of CIP over CdS–BMO/RGO photocatalyst is approximately 24 times faster than that of BMO. The improvement of the photocatalytic performance is attributed to the synergistic effect among CdS, BMO and graphene. Moreover, CdS–BMO/RGO exhibits better performance on the degradation of CIP than most bismuth oxide-containing catalysts recently reported. Degradation of various organic contaminants in addition to CIP has also been studied, showing that CdS–BMO/RGO exhibits much higher photocatalytic performance on degrading molecules containing smaller conjugated system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a C4 perennial grass native to North America and developed as a sustainable biofuel feedstock, occurs in two ecotypes, lowland and upland, which vary in their architecture as well as their range of adaptation. In this study, we assessed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation in 372 switchgrass genotypes for nine genes involved in lignin and pectin biosynthesis. STRUCTURE results at K = 3 differentiated the genotypes into three genetic subpopulations that corresponded largely to the previously characterized upland C1 and lowland C2 and C3 subpopulations. Out of the 146 SNPs identified, 19 SNPs were non-synonymous, including two non-conservative and common SNPs in cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD, Chr01N) and p-coumarate3-hydroxylase (C3H, Chr09N), two genes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway. Allele status at seven of the 19 non-synonymous SNPs, including the non-conservative SNP in C3H, was significantly associated with four dry matter traits within subpopulations. Dry matter traits appeared to be mostly dominant and three of them (acid detergent fiber, non-fiber carbohydrate, water-soluble carbohydrates) were the most frequently differentiated traits. In addition, a heterosis effect was detected at the non-conservative SNP in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) for neutral detergent fiber. Association analysis revealed the CAD gene on Chr01N, its homoeolog on Chr01K and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H, Chr03K) as potential candidates associated with dry matter traits. Further analyses are needed to determine whether these candidate genes play a role in switchgrass lignin content and could be exploited to reduce recalcitrance in this bioenergy crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological stoichiometry predicts that the extent to which herbivores are limited by nutrients depends on their metabolic demands. Nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) caused by predators have been demonstrated to trigger not only inducible defenses but also physiological stresses in prey. Stressed prey always exhibit increased metabolism and decreased nutrient deposition (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) as physiological stress responses to their predators. Consequently, prey exposed to predation risk should reduce demands for nutrients intake and become adaptive to nutrient limitations. In this study, results obtained from classic Brachionus–Asplanchna model revealed that Brachionus calyciflorus fed with full nutrient algal food showed energetic costs, e.g., reduced investment in asexual (lifetime fecundity) and sexual (mixis ratio) reproductions, in response to predation risk. However, reduction in sexual and asexual reproductions diminished when herbivorous Brachionus were supplied with nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited algal food. Moreover, long posterolateral spines and high posterolateral spine-body length ratio developed in either nitrogen- or phosphorus-deficient conditions containing Asplanchna kairomones, indicating an additive effect of nutrient limitation and predation risk on posterolateral spine development in Brachionus. The findings of this study highlighted predator-facilitated adaptation of prey to nutrient limitations of primary producers, which may have implications in understanding roles of NCEs in regulating trophic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A new greenbug resistance gene Gb8 conferring broad resistance to US greenbug biotypes was identified in hard red winter wheat line PI 595379-1 and was mapped to the terminal region of chromosome 7DL. Greenbug [Schizaphis graminum (Rondani)] is a worldwide insect pest that poses a serious threat to wheat production. New greenbug resistance genes that can be readily used in wheat breeding are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to characterize a greenbug resistance gene in PI 595379-1, a single plant selection from PI 595379. Genetic analysis of response to greenbug biotype E in an F2:3 population derived from a cross between PI 595379-1 and PI 243735 indicated that a single gene, designated Gb8, conditioned resistance. Linkage analysis placed Gb8 in a 2.7-Mb interval in the terminal bin of chromosome 7DL (7DL3-082-1.0), spanning 595.6 to 598.3 Mb in the Chinese Spring IWGSC RefSeq version 1.0 reference sequence. Gb8 co-segregated with a newly developed SSR marker Xstars508, positioned at 596.4 Mb in the reference sequence. Allelism tests showed that Gb8 was different from three permanently named genes on the same chromosome arm and the estimated genetic distance between Gb8 and Gb3 was 15.35 ± 1.35 cM. Gb8 can be directly used in wheat breeding to enhance greenbug resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China and plays a significant role by supplying drinking water, enabling agriculture, and preventing floods. Random selection was implemented to obtain 36 samples of surface deposits to determine concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Ni across Poyang Lake. At all sampling locations, values of Ni and Cd were thought to be lower than the effect range low (ERL). Relatively, values of Cu, Pb, Cr, and Zn were classified as ERL-effect range median (ERM) in more than 30% of sampling locations. In general, the eastern areas of Poyang Lake near the inflow rivers, such as the Raohe, Xinjiang, and Fuhe rivers, had higher concentrations of heavy metals. These rivers are sources of substantial industrial wastewater, including a lot of heavy metals. In addition, higher toxicity of sediments was found in the eastern area of the lake by evaluating the sum of toxic units (ΣTU). Contributions of Pb and Cr to the sum of toxic units were higher than the other heavy metals. If the heavy metals were classified by contribution to toxic units in Poyang Lake in decreasing order, they would be listed as Cr, Ni, Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transient variation of electrical parameters makes system loads fluctuate and reduces bearing capacity when the grid voltage dips. This work proposes an electromechanical coupling dynamic model of the wind turbine drivetrain to build a dynamic interconnection between the electric and drivetrain subsystems. The drivetrain subsystem that includes an improved model of the planetary gear stage is developed and validated. This improved model considers the carrier and planet bearing clearances, the connection relationship among the carrier, main shaft, and planets as well as the flexibilities of the main shaft and parallel stage shafts. The influences of the carrier bearing clearances, non-torque load and planet position angle on planet bearing loads are investigated under the low-voltage ride through (LVRT) event. The results indicate that as the LVRT occurs, the planet bearing loads reduce below the minimum requisite with a high, fluctuating system speed; considering the bearing clearances, the impacts occur in the planet bearing in the minimum load zone followed by significant stress variation; the non-torque load suppresses the planet bearing impacts in a limited range of carrier bearing clearance; the planet position angle has a significant effect on the planet bearing impacts because of the asymmetry of load and structure of the planetary gear stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A new powdery mildew resistance gene that can be readily used in wheat breeding, Pm65, was identified in the facultative wheat cultivar Xinmai 208 and mapped to the terminal region of chromosome 2AL. Wheat powdery mildew, a widely occurring disease caused by the biotrophic fungus Blumeriagraminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), poses a serious threat to wheat production. A high breeding priority is to identify powdery mildew resistance genes that can be readily used either alone or in gene complexes involving other disease resistance genes. An F2 population and 227 F2:3 families derived from the cross Xinmai 208 × Stardust were generated to map a powdery mildew resistance gene in Xinmai 208, a high-yielding Chinese wheat cultivar. Genetic analysis indicated that Xinmai 208 carries a single dominant powdery mildew resistance gene, designated herein Pm65, and linkage analysis delimited Pm65 to a 0.5 cM interval covering 531.8 Kb (763,289,667–763,821,463 bp) on chromosome 2AL in the Chinese Spring reference sequence. An allelism test indicated that Pm65 is a new gene about 10.3 cM distal to the Pm4 locus. Pm65 was 0.3 cM proximal to Xstars355 and 0.2 cM distal to Xstars356. It conferred near-immunity to 19 of 20 Bgt isolates collected from different wheat-growing regions of the USA. Coming from a high-yield potential cultivar, Pm65 can be directly used to enhance powdery mildew resistance in wheat. The newly developed SSR markers Xstars355 and Xstars356 have the potential to tag Pm65 for wheat improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new gear tooth modification model of planetary gear system was established by considering the characteristics of tooth longitudinal crowning modification and tooth profile modification. Using this model, the influences of modification parameters on the time-varying mesh stiffness, transmission error, contact spots and dynamic response of the planetary gear system were analyzed through numerical analysis. The results show that tooth profile modification can effectively restrain the mesh stiffness sudden variation in the single and double tooth alternation of both the internal and external mesh pairs, and significantly decrease the transmission error fluctuation. However, longitudinal crowning modification has no marked influence on mesh stiffness sudden variation or transmission error fluctuation. The tooth profile modification can significantly reduce the sudden variation of tooth surface load during gear mesh course. Longitudinal crowning modification can make the tooth surface load evenly distributed in tooth width direction. When the external meshing pairs are modified at the tooth profile individually, the magnitude values of main response resonance peaks of internal meshing pairs have a great reduction, but those values of external meshing pairs change slightly. In the case of tooth profile modification of the internal meshing pairs, the phenomenon is reversed. By contrast with tooth profile modification, longitudinal crowning modification has little influence on the resonance peaks of internal and external meshing pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofloc technology is an efficient approach for intensive shrimp culture. However, the extent to which this process can influence the composition of intestinal microbial community is still unknown. Here, we surveyed the shrimp intestinal bacteria as well as the floc water from three biofloc systems with different stock densities. Our study revealed a similar variation trend in phylum taxonomy level between floc bacteria and gut microbiota. Microbial community varied notably in floc water from different stock densities, while a core genus with dominating relative abundance was detected in gut samples. Extensive variation was discovered in gut microbiota, but still clustered into groups according to stock density. Our results indicated that shrimp intestinal microbiota as well as bacteria aggregated in flocs assembled into distinct communities from different stock densities, and the intestinal communities were more similar with the surrounding environment as the increase of stock density and resulting high floc biomass. The high stock density changed the core gut microbiota by reducing the relative abundance of Paracoccus and increasing that of Nocardioides, which may negatively influence shrimp performance. Therefore, this study helps us to understand further bacteria and host interactions in biofloc system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetically separable reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-based ZnFe mixed metal oxide (MMO) nanocomposite (MMO/RGO) was prepared via a scalable and low energy-consuming co-precipitation-calcination process. The preparation procedure can be easily carried out at lower temperature in shorter time compared with those reported in literatures. The structural characterization indicates that ZnFe MMO (i.e., ZnO/ZnFe2O4) heterojunctions are homogeneously distributed as particles with a size in the range of 5–30 nm on the surface of RGO. The ZnFe MMO/RGO nanocomposite exhibits superior photocatalytic performance and stability for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) under visible-light illumination. 100% of the TC molecules is removed after visible-light irradiation for 120 min at 25 °C in the presence of ZnFe MMO/RGO. The photodegradation rate constant is 3.4 times that of ZnFe MMO, suggesting that the synergistic effect between ZnFe MMO and RGO improves the photocatalytic degradation performance of the nanocomposites. Neither toxic chemical reductants nor additional solvents were used during the preparation. More importantly, ZnFe MMO/RGO nanocomposite can be easily recycled by applying an external magnet. This work may provide an environment-friendly low-energy consuming method for large-scale production of MMO/RGO photocatalysts toward the degradation of TC. The photocatalytic mechanism of the ZnFe MMO/RGO nanocomposite was also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupled bioelectrochemical system-upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (BES-UASB) was utilized for wastewater treatment containing 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene (DClNB). The results indicated that a proper voltage enhanced the DClNB reduction, however, over high voltage presented a negative impact (2.0 V). Synergistic effect of external voltage and anaerobic sludge was observed, and dechlorination efficiency reached 57.8 ± 5.4% in the coupled BES, which was higher than the sum of anaerobic sludge and electric system (48.2%). Moreover, the coupled system was more tolerant of high salinity and pollutant concentration. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) was related to microbial electron transfer activity and DHA reached a maximum 453 ± 33 μgTF g−1VSS h−1 in the coupled reactor which was 1.6-fold that of the control, meanwhile, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content was significantly enhanced in the presence of external voltage. In summary, the coupled BES-UASB systems could be an alternative for removal of recalcitrant pollutants such as DClNB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A new powdery mildew resistance gene conferring a wide spectrum of resistance toBgtisolates in the USA,Pm63, was identified in Iranian wheat landrace PI 628024 and mapped to the terminal region of the long arm of chromosome 2B. Powdery mildew is a globally important wheat disease causing severe yield losses, and host resistance is the preferred strategy for managing this disease. The objective of this study was to characterize a powdery mildew resistance gene in Iranian landrace PI 628024, which exhibited a wide spectrum of resistance to representative Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) isolates collected from different regions of the USA. An F2 population and F2:3 lines derived from the cross PI 628024 × CItr 11349 were used in this study, and genetic analysis indicated that a single dominant gene, designated Pm63, conferred resistance to Bgt isolate OKS(14)-B-3-1. Linkage analysis located Pm63 to an interval of about 13.1 Mb on the long arm of chromosome 2B, spanning 710.3–723.4 Mb in the Chinese Spring reference sequence. Bin mapping assigned Pm63 to the terminal bin 2BL6-0.89-1.0, 1.1 cM proximal to STS marker Xbcd135-2 and 0.6 cM distal to SSR marker Xstars419. Allelism tests indicated that Pm63 is a new powdery mildew resistance gene, which differs from other genes in the terminal bin by origin, genomic location, and responses to a set of 16 representative US Bgt isolates. Pm63 can be widely used to enhance powdery mildew resistance in the Great Plains, western, and southeastern regions of the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive iron oxides (CIO) have been proved recently to facilitate the anaerobic microbial syntrophy based on the direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in batch experiments. However, the effect of CIO was always insignificant in anaerobic digestion (AD) reactor especially when the DIET-based syntrophic partners were absent. In this study, the effect of magnetite on performance of AD system with sucrose as a sole carbon source was investigated, but limited enhancement was achieved during the first 36-day operation. The short-term effect of ethanol addition was further studied in the magnetite-amended AD reactor, and results showed that the AD reactor with 10gFe/L micro-sized magnetite (R3) achieved higher performance of COD removal and methane proportion compared with the other reactors (R1 without magnetite; R2 with 2gFe/L micro-sized magnetite; R4 with 2gFe/L nano-sized magnetite). Meanwhile, the pyridoxine in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and conductivity of anaerobic sludge from R3 increased more significantly than those of the others. Analysis of high-throughput sequencing indicated that the abundance of archaea increased in sludge from R3 and Methanosarcina responsible for DIET was dominant (63.64%). Additionally, the abundance of potential electroactive bacteria Chloroflexi in R3 was 7.57-fold, 3.61-fold and 7.37-fold as that of R1, R2 and R4, respectively. These results demonstrated that the electroactive microbes and methanogens could be enriched efficiently in anaerobic sludge via synergetic effect of magnetite addition and ethanol short-term stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An antibacterial nanocomposite, reduced graphene oxide-based copper oxide (CuO-RGO), was prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method and characterized by x-ray diffraction analysis, infrared absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence measurements, revealing CuO nanoparticles with diameter of about 26 nm uniformly anchored on graphene sheets. Compared with recently reported bacteriostatic agents, much less CuO-RGO is required and better bacteriostatic effect is achieved, with good stability. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the CuO-RGO composite against Escherichia coli reached 240 μg mL−1. The antibacterial rate remained at 89% after five cycles. In addition, introduction of graphene inhibited leaching of Cu2+, which reduces the cytotoxicity of CuO-RGO to mouse fibroblast L929. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A new recessive powdery mildew resistance gene, Pm223899, was identified in Afghanistan wheat landrace PI 223899 and mapped to an interval of about 831 Kb in the terminal region of the short arm of chromosome 1A.Abstract: Wheat powdery mildew, a globally important disease caused by the biotrophic fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici (Bgt), has occurred with increased frequency and severity in recent years, and some widely deployed resistance genes have lost effectiveness. PI 223899 is an Afghanistan landrace exhibiting high resistance to Bgt isolates collected from the Great Plains. An F2 population and F2:3 lines derived from a cross between PI 223899 and OK1059060-126135-3 were evaluated for response to Bgt isolate OKS(14)-B-3-1, and the bulked segregant analysis (BSA) approach was used to map the powdery mildew resistance gene. Genetic analysis indicated that a recessive gene, designated Pm223899, conferred powdery mildew resistance in PI 223899. Linkage analysis placed Pm223899 to an interval of about 831 Kb in the terminal region of chromosome 1AS, spanning 4,504,697-5,336,062 bp of the Chinese Spring reference sequence. Eight genes were predicted in this genomic region, including TraesCS1AG008300 encoding a putative disease resistance protein RGA4. Pm223899 was flanked proximally by a SSR marker STARS333 (1.4 cM) and distally by the Pm3 locus (0.3 cM). One F2 recombinant was identified between Pm3 and Pm223899 using a Pm3b-specific marker, indicating that Pm223899 is most likely a new gene, rather than an allele of the Pm3 locus. Pm223389 confers a high level of resistance to Bgt isolates collected from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Montana. Therefore, Pm223389 can be used to enhance powdery mildew resistance in these states. Pm3b-1 and STARS333 have the potential to tag Pm223389 in wheat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several minimally invasive anatomic reconstruction techniques of the lateral ligaments have been introduced for the treatment of chronic lateral ankle instability. However, these strategies may not always follow accurate ligament anatomic attachments, especially in the construction of the fibular bone tunnels.Objectives: This study reported a new percutaneous technique for reconstruction of the ligaments of lateral ankle anatomically with a Tightrope system.Methods: From April 2016 to August 2016, 25 ankles of 24 patients with chronic ankle instability underwent our new percutaneous anatomic reconstruction of the lateral ligaments with a Tightrope system. The operation was performed through several small incisions. The fibular tunnel was made obliquely from the anteromedial side of lateral malleolus tip towards retro-malleolar cortex. The graft was fixed in the tunnel with the help of a Tightrope system. The calcaneal tunnel and talar tunnel were made as our previous method. The mean final follow-up was 12.2 months (range 10-14). Visual Analogue Scale for pain, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score, and patients' subjective satisfaction were used to measure clinical outcomes. Preoperative and postoperative stress tests were performed and radiographic parameters were measured.Results: The Visual Analogue Scale decreased from 3.0 ± 1.4 to 1.3 ± 0.8 at the last follow-up (p < 0.01). The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score was improved from 70.2 ± 5.4 preoperatively to 92.4 ± 5.3 at the final follow-up (p < 0.01). Radiologically, the mean anterior talar displacement was 13.1 ± 2.7 mm preoperatively versus 5.6 ± 1.3 mm at last follow-up (p < 0.01),and the mean varus talar tilt angle was 15.0° ± 2.4° preoperatively versus 5.6° ± 1.9° at the last follow-up (p < 0.01). Patients were satisfied ('excellent' or 'good') in 23 ankles (92%). Two patients reported residual instability but less apprehension than the preoperative condition.Conclusions: Percutaneous anatomic reconstruction of the lateral ligaments of the ankle with a Tightrope system is an anatomic and effective procedure for the treatment of chronic lateral ankle instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]