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Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs), such as Pantoea sp. YSD J2, promote plant development and stress resistance, while their role in flavonoids accumulation still needs to be further understood. To investigate the complex flavonoid biosynthesis pathway of Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus (tigernut), we compared Pantoea sp. YSD J2 inoculation (YSD J2) and water inoculation (CK) groups. YSD J2 significantly elevated the content of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and orientin. Furthermore, when analyzing flavonoid metabolome, YSD J2 caused increased levels of uralenol, petunidin-3-O-glucoside-5-O-arabinoside, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide-(2 → 1)-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-O-neohesperidoside, cyanidin-3-O-(2″-O-glucosyl)glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide-7-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide-(2 → 1)-(2″-sinapoyl)glucuronide, and quercetin-4′-O-glucoside, which further enhanced antioxidant activity. We then performed RNA-seq and LC-MS/MS, aiming to validate key genes and related flavonoid metabolites under YSD J2 inoculation, and rebuild the gene-metabolites regulatory subnetworks. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the trans cinnamate 4-monooxygenase (CYP73A), flavonol-3-O-L-rhamnoside-7-O-glucosyltransferase (UGT73C6), shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavonol synthase (FLS), and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) genes were confirmed by qRT-PCR. Additionally, 4 transcription factors (TF) (especially bHLH34, Cluster-37505.3) under YSD J2 inoculation are also engaged in regulating flavonoid accumulation. Moreover, the current work sheds new light on studying the regulatory effect of Pantoea sp. YSD J2 on tigernut development and flavonoid biosynthesis.

Conventional polymer damping materials are extensively utilized to mitigate vibration and noise in various fields, yet suffer from the drawback of a narrow effective damping temperature range. Herein, we innovatively synthesized an asymmetrically structured chain extender (AIS) with double disulfide bonds that provided polyurethane elastomer (PUE) with ultra-high energy dissipation over a wide temperature range, which was unattainable by conventional chain extenders. This was achieved by enhancing the bond exchange rate of dynamic disulfide bonds in the PUE. Specifically, the asymmetric structure of AIS was strategically designed to disrupt the regularity of the hard segments of the PUE, enabling the disulfide bonds to break and reorganize efficiently, thus depleting mechanical energy. The results demonstrated that the effective damping temperature range (Tan δ > 0.3) of the PUE cured by AIS can reach 130 °C (−15 °C–115 °C), which is 210 % higher than that of the matrix, and a stable damping plateau was observed in the region from room temperature to high temperature. Moreover, the introduction of AIS significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the PUE. This study encourages further investigation and application of disulfide bonds in the field of damping.

Traditional transgenic detection methods require high test conditions and struggle to be both sensitive and efficient. In this study, a one-tube dual recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) reaction system for CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab/Ac was proposed and combined with a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay, named ''Dual-RPA-LFD'', to visualize the dual detection of genetically modified (GM) crops. In which, the herbicide tolerance gene CP4-EPSPS and the insect resistance gene Cry1Ab/Ac were selected as targets taking into account the current status of the most widespread application of insect resistance and herbicide tolerance traits and their stacked traits. Gradient diluted plasmids, transgenic standards, and actual samples were used as templates to conduct sensitivity, specificity, and practicality assays, respectively. The constructed method achieved the visual detection of plasmid at levels as low as 100 copies, demonstrating its high sensitivity. In addition, good applicability to transgenic samples was observed, with no cross-interference between two test lines and no influence from other genes. In conclusion, this strategy achieved the expected purpose of simultaneous detection of the two popular targets in GM crops within 20 min at 37 ℃ in a rapid, equipment-free field manner, providing a new alternative for rapid screening for transgenic assays in the field.

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure catalysts with the direct Z-scheme charge transfer path are highly expected for photocatalytic water splitting to address the energy crisis. In this work, the novel Sc2CF2/Ti2CO2 heterostructure has been developed and its photocatalytic utility was evaluated based on the first-principles method. Results indicate the heterostructure is an indirect semiconductor with improved carrier mobilities and absorption. The transfer of photogenerated carriers in this heterostructure follows the Z-scheme path, and the band edge positions confirm its suitability for water splitting. More importantly, the change in Gibbs free energy indicates that solar energy can drive water splitting in Sc2CF2/Ti2CO2 heterostructure with an attractive solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 41.7%. Besides, biaxial tensile strain can turn Sc2CF2/Ti2CO2 heterostructure into a direct semiconductor, while its photocatalytic performance can be improved. In brief, all findings prove the potential of Sc2CF2/Ti2CO2 heterostructure as a promising direct Z-scheme photocatalyst for efficient water splitting.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of microencapsulated essential oils (MEO) on the laying performance, egg quality, immunity, intestinal morphology, and oxidative status of laying hens. A total of 640 Hy-line Brown laying hens, 41 wk of age, were randomly divided into 4 groups, each with 8 replicates containing 20 birds per replicate. The dietary conditions tested included a basal diet (Control) or the basal diet supplemented with various levels of MEO at 100 mg/kg (MEO100), 300 mg/kg (MEO300), and 500 mg/kg (MEO500). The three treatment groups were intermittently fed MEO, following an alternating schedule of 1 wk on and 1 wk off for a total of 56 d. Results showed that feeding MEO at levels of 300 and 500 mg/kg improved both egg production and feed conversion ratios compared to the control group. Hens consumed MEO-supplemented diets exhibited a significant decrease in the breaking egg ratio (P < 0.05) compared to those fed the control diet. Shell thickness and Haugh unit values significantly increased in the groups receiving 300 and 500 mg/kg of MEO (P < 0.05). Both the MEO300 and MEO500 treatments led to improvements in immunoglobulin (IgA, IgM, and IgG) and cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-γ) levels in serum. Hens in the MEO300 and MEO500 groups exhibited higher values for parameters related to intestinal morphometry compared to the control group. Furthermore, supplementation with 300 and 500 mg/kg of MEO enhanced the antioxidant capacity of plasma, as evidenced by increased activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and catalase (CAT) (P < 0.05). In summary, the intermittent feeding of MEO improved egg production, enhanced antioxidative processes, immune functions, and intestinal morphology, leading to an amelioration in the egg quality of laying hens. Our data demonstrate that supplementation of 300 mg/kg of MEO in feed can significantly improve animal health and egg quality. Implementation of these feeding practices could have a positive economic impact on poultry and egg industry.

Abstract Antiferroelectric thin films hold significant potential for bringing novel physics phenomena and fascinating properties. Their applications are often intertwined with the antiferroelectric‐ferroelectric phase transition, which is contingent on the chemical compositions of the constituent material. Nevertheless, the prevailing trial‐and‐error‐based research methodology is ill‐suited for the exploration of the relationship between chemical compositions and the antiferroelectric‐ferroelectric phase transition. To address this challenge, a high‐throughput synthesis strategy for antiferroelectric thin films is presented, which is enabled by an advanced high‐throughput pulsed laser deposition technology. The effectiveness of this synthesis strategy using (Pb1−XBaX)ZrO3 and achieving precise control over the parameter X is showcased. This approach allows for the deposition of (Pb1−XBaX)ZrO3 thin films encompassing nine chemical compositions ranging from X = 0 to X = 0.08. Based on this high‐throughput method, the composition that corresponds to the phase transition of (Pb1−XBaX)ZrO3, falling within the range of X = 0.04 to X = 0.06 is pinpointed. Furthermore, a temperature‐dependent correlation between the phase transition and chemical composition is established. This work not only presents a practical routine for establishing a comprehensive map of material chemical composition in relation to the properties of antiferroelectric thin films but also offers a method for the high‐throughput exploration of complex oxide thin films.

As a tool to deal with the phenomenon in layered or porous media, many theoretical problems need to be improved urgently. In this paper, the definitions of two kinds of fractal derivatives based on scale transformation are developed from the perspective of mathematics, and the four operation rules, chain rules, Rolle theorem, mean value theorem, Taylor formula, variable upper limit integral derivation rule, definite integral basic principle, partial integral formula and double partial integral formula of the fractal version are given. Better still, we derive the fractal Euler-Lagrangian equation by using the variational method, and demonstrate the steps and effectiveness of deriving the fractal nonlinear wave equation based on the fractal Euler-Lagrangian equation through the example of the functionally graded beam.

High-carbon–chromium martensitic stainless steel (MSS) is widely used in many fields due to its excellent mechanical properties, while the coarse eutectic carbide in MSS deteriorates corrosion resistance. In this work, nitrogen was added to the MSS to improve corrosion resistance. The effects of nitrogen on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of MSS were systematically studied. The results showed that the addition of nitrogen promoted the development of Cr2N and reversed austenite, effectively inhibiting the formation of δ-ferrite. Therefore, the durability of the passivation film was improved, the passivation zone was expanded, and the susceptibility to metastable pitting was decreased. As a consequence, nearly two orders of magnitude have been achieved in the pitting potential (Epit) of MSS containing nitrogen, and the polarization resistance value (Rp) has gone up from 4.05 kΩ·cm2 to 1.24 × 102 kΩ·cm2. This means that in a corrosive environment, nitrogen-treated MSS stainless steel is less likely to form pitting pits, which further extends the service life of the material.

The bare row spacing between young jujube trees reduces resource use efficiency. Planting cotton between rows of jujubes can improve the efficiency of light, heat, water, and temperature resources. However, it is not clear how many rows of cotton between the jujube rows would be the most suitable pattern. A field study with different cropping systems was performed to investigate the land equivalent ratio (LER), the competition of cotton to jujube, and the sustainability index. The treatments included (1) monoculture jujube, (2) monoculture cotton, (3) jujube intercropped with two rows of cotton (J/C2), (4) jujube intercropped with four rows of cotton (J/C4), and (5) jujube intercropped with six rows of cotton (J/C6). The results showed that the LER under the J/C2, J/C4, and J/C6 systems were 1.17, 1.30, and 1.28, respectively. The LER and total yield were higher under J/C2 than under the J/C4 and J/C6 treatments. The overyielding rate of cotton was increased, while those of jujube were decreased with increasing rows of cotton. The competition between cotton to jujube was less than 0. The net, complementarity, selection effect, and sustainability index were significantly higher under J/C4 and J/C6 than under J/C2, with J/C4, showing stronger net effects. Both complementarity and selection effects contributed to the intercropping yield advantages. Comprehensively considering yield, economic efficiency, sustainability index, land use efficiency, and net effect, J/C4 is one of the most productive and sustainable planting patterns of jujube–cotton intercropping system in southern Xinjiang, which is the more ideal pattern in arid and semi-arid regions.

Over the past few years, many scholars began to study averaging principles for fractional stochastic differential equations since they can provide an approximate analytical method to reduce such systems. However, in the most previous studies, there is a misunderstanding of the standard form of fractional stochastic differential equations, which consequently causes the wrong estimation of the convergence rate. In this note, we take fractional stochastic differential equations with Lévy noise as an example to clarify these two issues. The corrections herein have no effect on the main proofs except the two points mentioned above. The innovation of this paper lies in three aspects: (i) the standard form of the fractional stochastic differential equations is derived under natural time scale; (ii) it is first proved that the convergence interval and rate are related to the fractional order; and (iii) the presented results contain and improve some well known research achievements.

Abstract Background Analysis of the relationship between chromosomal structural variation (synteny breaks) and 3D-chromatin architectural changes among closely related species has the potential to reveal causes and correlates between chromosomal change and chromatin remodeling. Of note, contrary to extensive studies in animal species, the pace and pattern of chromatin architectural changes following the speciation of plants remain unexplored; moreover, there is little exploration of the occurrence of synteny breaks in the context of multiple genome topological hierarchies within the same model species. Results Here we used Hi-C and epigenomic analyses to characterize and compare the profiles of hierarchical chromatin architectural features in representative species of the cotton tribe (Gossypieae), including Gossypium arboreum, Gossypium raimondii, and Gossypioides kirkii, which differ with respect to chromosome rearrangements. We found that (i) overall chromatin architectural territories were preserved in Gossypioides and Gossypium, which was reflected in their similar intra-chromosomal contact patterns and spatial chromosomal distributions; (ii) the non-random preferential occurrence of synteny breaks in A compartment significantly associate with the B-to-A compartment switch in syntenic blocks flanking synteny breaks; (iii) synteny changes co-localize with open-chromatin boundaries of topologically associating domains, while TAD stabilization has a greater influence on regulating orthologous expression divergence than do rearrangements; and (iv) rearranged chromosome segments largely maintain ancestral in-cis interactions. Conclusions Our findings provide insights into the non-random occurrence of epigenomic remodeling relative to the genomic landscape and its evolutionary and functional connections to alterations of hierarchical chromatin architecture, on a known evolutionary timescale.

Abstract The environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) plants remain a controversial global issue. To address these issues, comprehensive environmental risk assessments of GM plants is critical for the sustainable development and application of transgenic technology. In this paper, significant differences were not observed between microbial metagenomic and metabolomic profiles in surface waters of the Bt rice (T1C-1, the transgenic line) and non-Bt cultivars (Minghui 63 (the isogenic line) and Zhonghua 11 (the conventional japonica cultivar)). In contrast, differences in these profiles were apparent in the rhizospheres. T1C-1 planting increased soil microbiome diversity and network stability, but did not significantly alter the abundances of potential probiotic or phytopathogenic microorganisms compared with Minghui 63 and Zhonghua 11, which revealed no adverse effects of T1C-1 on soil microbial communities. T1C-1 planting could significantly alter soil C and N, probably via the regulation of the abundances of enzymes related to soil C and N cycling. In addition, integrated multi-omic analysis of root exudate metabolomes and soil microbiomes showed that the abundances of various metabolites released as root exudates were significantly correlated with subsets of microbial populations including the Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes that were differentially abundant in T1C-1 and Mnghui 63 soils. Finally, the potential for T1C-1-associated root metabolites to exert growth effects on T1C-1-associated species was experimentally validated by analysis of bacterial cultures, revealing that Bt rice planting could selectively modulate specific root microbiota. Overall, this study indicate that Bt rice can directly modulate rhizosphere microbiome assemblages by altering the metabolic compositions of root exudates that then alters soil metabolite profiles and physiochemical properties. This study unveils the mechanistic associations of Bt plant-microorganism-environment, which provides comprehensive insights into the potential ecological impacts of GM plants.

Increasing agricultural yields and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the main themes of agricultural development in the 21st century. This study investigated the yield and GHGs of a jujube–alfalfa intercropping crop, relying on a long-term field location experiment of intercropping in an arid region. The treatments included four planting densities (D1 (210 kg ha−1 sowing rate; six rows), D2 (280 kg ha−1 sowing rate; eight rows), D3 (350 kg ha−1 sowing rate; ten rows)) and four nitrogen levels (N0 (0 kg ha−1), N1 (80 kg ha−1), N2 (160 kg ha−1), and N3 (240 kg ha−1)) in the jujube–alfalfa intercropping system. The results showed that the jujube–alfalfa intercropping system is a the “source” of atmospheric CO2 and N2O, and the “sink” of CH4; the trend of CO2 fluxes was “single peak”, while the trend of N2O and CH4 fluxes was “double peak”, and there was a tendency for their “valley peaks” to become a “mirror” of each another. The magnitude of emissions under the nitrogen level was N3 > N2 > N1 > N0; the content of soil total nitrogen, quick-acting nitrogen, and the global warming potential (GWP) increased with an increase in the amount of nitrogen that was applied, but the pH showed the opposite tendency. The D2N2 treatment increased the total N, quick N, SOC, and SOM content to reduce the alfalfa GHG emission intensity (GHGI) by only 0.061 kg CO2-eq kg−1 compared to the other treatments. D2N2 showed a good balance between yield benefits and environmental benefits. The total D2N2 yield was the most prominent among all treatments, with a 47.64% increase in yield in 2022 compared to the D1N0 treatment. The results showed that the optimization of planting density and N fertilization reduction strategies could effectively improve economic efficiency and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. In the jujube–alfalfa intercropping system, D2N2 (eight rows planted in one film 160 N = 160 kg ha−1) realized the optimal synergistic effect between planting density and nitrogen application, and the results of this study provide theoretical support for the reduction in GHGs emissions in northwest China without decreasing the yield of alfalfa forage.

Abstract A growing body of literature have emphasized the effects of fertilization regimes on soil respiration and microbial community in the semiarid region, however, fertilization treatment effects on the soil CO2 emission, soil bacterial community, and their relationships from long-term experiments is lacking. In the present study, we investigated the effects of long-term fertilization regimes on soil bacterial community and thereafter on soil CO2 emission. A 9-year field experiment was conducted with five treatments, including no fertilizer (NA) and four fertilization treatments (inorganic fertilizer (CF), inorganic plus organic fertilizer (SC), organic fertilizer (SM), and maize straw (MS)) with equal N input as N 200 kg hm–2. The results indicated that CO2 emission was significantly increased under fertilization treatments compared to NA treatment. The bacterial abundance was higher under MS treatment than under NA treatment, while the Chao1 richness showed opposite trend. MS treatment significantly change soil bacterial community composition compared to NA treatment, the phyla (Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria) and potential keystone taxa (Nitrosomonadaceae and Beijerinckiaceae) were higher, while the Acidobacteriota was lower under MS treatment than under NA treatment. CO2 emission was positively correlated with the abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and keystone taxa, negatively correlated with these of Acidobacteriota. Random forest modeling and structural equation modeling determined soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and the composition and network module III of the bacterial community are the main factors contribute to CO2 emission. In conclusion, our results suggest that the increased CO2 emission was affected by the varied of soil bacterial community composition derived from fertilization treatments, which was related to Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, and potential keystone taxa (Nitrosomonadaceae and Beijerinckiaceae), and highlight that the ecological importance of the bacterial community in mediating carbon cycling in the semiarid Loess Plateau.

Staphylococcus aureus exists widely in the natural environment and is one of the main food-borne pathogenic microorganisms causing human bacteremia. For safe food management, a rapid, high-specificity, sensitive method for the detection of S. aureus should be developed. In this study, a platform for detecting S. aureus (nuc gene) based on isothermal amplification (loop-mediated isothermal amplification—LAMP, recombinase polymerase amplification—RPA) and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas12a) proteins system (LAMP, RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a) was proposed. In this study, the LAMP, RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a detection platform and immunochromatographic test strip (ICS) were combined to achieve a low-cost, simple and visualized detection of S. aureus. The limit of visual detection was 57.8 fg/µL of nuc DNA and 6.7 × 102 CFU/mL of bacteria. Moreover, the platform could be combined with fluorescence detection, namely LAMP, RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a-flu, to establish a rapid and highly sensitive method for the detection of S. aureus. The limit of fluorescence detection was 5.78 fg/µL of genomic DNA and 67 CFU/mL of S. aureus. In addition, this detection platform can detect S. aureus in dairy products, and the detection time was ~40 min. Consequently, the isothermal amplification CRISPR/Cas12a platform is a useful tool for the rapid and sensitive detection of S. aureus in food.

Abstract Background Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the plant hormones, which plays crucial roles in signaling transduction in plant growth, disease resistance, and leaf senescence. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SA 3-hydroxylase (S3H) and 5-hydroxylase (S5H) are key enzymes which maintain SA homeostasis by catalyzing SA to 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA) and 2,5-DHBA, respectively. Results SA deficient transgenic Arabidopsis lines were generated by introducing two binary vectors S5Hpro::EGFP-S3H and 35Spro::EGFP-S3H respectively, in which the expression of S3H is under the control of the S5H promoter or CaMV 35S promoter. Compared with the constitutive expression of S3H gene under the control of 35S promoter, the S3H gene under the native S5H promoter is activated by endogenous SA and results in a dynamic control of SA catabolism in a feedback mode. The SA accumulation, growth, leaf senescence, and pathogen resistance of the S5Hpro::GFP-S3H transgenic plants were investigated in parallel with NahG transgenic plants. The SA levels in the S5Hpro::EGFP-S3H transgenic plants were similar to or slightly lower than those of NahG transgenic Arabidopsis and resulted in SA deficient phenotypes. The low-SA trait of the S5Hpro::EGFP-S3H transgenic lines was inherited stably in the later generations. Conclusions Compared with NahG transgenic lines producing by-product catechol, S5Hpro::EGFP-S3H transgenic lines reduce SA levels by converting SA to a native product 2,3-DHBA for catabolism. Together, we provide new SA-deficient germplasms for the investigations of SA signaling in plant development, leaf senescence, and disease resistance.

With the increasing acreage of genetically modified crops worldwide, rapid and efficient detection technologies have become very important for the regulation and screening of GM organisms. We constructed a method based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), CRISPR-Cas12a and lateral flow assay (LAMP-CRISPR-Cas12a-LFA). It is an intuitive, sensitive and specific fluorescence detection and test strip system to detect CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab/Ac genes in field screening. The LAMP-CRISPR-Cas12a-LFA method has a limit of detection (LOD) of 100 copies based on lateral flow test strips after optimization of the conditions with screened specific primers, and the entire detection process can be completed within 1 h at 61 °C. The system was used to evaluate field test samples and showed high reproducibility after testing products containing CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab/Ac genes, and both were detectable. The LAMP-CRISPR-Cas12a-LFA method established in this paper functions as a rapid field detection method. It requires only one portable thermostatic instrument, which renders it compatible with the rapid detection of field samples and useable at experimental workstations, in law enforcement field work, and in local inspection and quarantine departments.

With the large-scale planting of genetically modified (GM) crops, consumers were more aware of biosafety. Onsite rapid diagnostic methods were advantageous to the regulation of GM products. In this study, a rapid, sensitive and portable detection method based on recombinase polymerase amplification were proposed based on RPA reaction and Cas12a cleavage reaction for GM ingredients, named RPA-Cas12a-GM. The results would be displayed by fluorescence signal (FS) and visual bands of lateral flow strip (LFS). RPA-Cas12a-GM method could be completed within 45 min, and the detection limit was as low as 45 copies/μL of the standard plasmid containing CP4-EPSPS gene and Cry1Ab/Ac gene. Furthermore, the detection coincidence rate of RPA-Cas12a-GM method was 100%. In conclusion, the proposed RPA-Cas12a-GM method based FS and LFS were sensitive, specific, rapid and visible for diagnosis of CP4-EPSPS gene and Cry1Ab/Ac gene without complex equipment, which provides technical support for the regulation of GM products in the field.

Abstract Purpose Plant growth–promoting (PGP) bacteria are an environment-friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers for promoting plant growth and development. We isolated and characterized a PGP endophyte, YSD YN2, from the leaves of Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus. Methods Specific PGP characteristics of this strain, such as phosphate solubilization ability, potassium-dissolving ability, siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, and salt tolerance, were determined in vitro. In addition, positive mutants were screened using the atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) technology, with IAA level and organic phosphate solubility as indices. Furthermore, the effect of the positive mutant on seed germination, biomass production, and antioxidant abilities of greengrocery seedling was evaluated, and the genome was mined to explore the underlying mechanisms. Results The strain YSD YN2 showed a good performance of PGP characteristics, such as the production of indole acetic acid and siderophores, solubilization ability of phosphate, and potassium-dissolving ability. It was recognized through 16S rRNA sequencing together with morphological and physiological tests and confirmed as Cronobacter sp. The strain exposed to a mutation time of 125 s by ARTP had the highest IAA and organic phosphate (lecithin) concentrations of 9.25 mg/L and 16.50 mg/L, 50.41% and 30.54% higher than those of the initial strain. Inoculation of mutant strain YSD YN2 significantly increased the seed germination, plant growth attributes, and the activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), respectively, but decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly compared with the control. Furthermore, genome annotation and functional analysis were performed through whole-genome sequencing, and PGP-related genes were identified. Conclusion Our results indicated that the mutant strain YSD YN2 with PGP characteristics is a potential candidate for the development of biofertilizers.

Undecapeptide is the central peptide molecule in the peptide base material of Stropharia rugosoannulata, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a crucial role in hypertension. To fully explore the interaction mechanism and ACE-inhibitory activity of long-chain peptides from Stropharia rugosoannulata, the binding conformations of twenty-seven undecapeptides with the ACE receptor were revealed by molecule docking. The undecapeptide GQEDYDRLRPL with better receptor binding capacity and higher secondary mass spectral abundance was screened. All amino acid residues except proline in GQEDYDRLRPL interacted with the ACE receptor. GQEDYDRLRPL interfered with the receptor’s overall structure, with significant fluctuations in amino acid residues 340–355, including two residues in the receptor’s active pockets. The binding constants of GQEDYDRLRPL to the ACE receptors were at the μM level, with a kinetic binding constant of 9.26 × 10−7 M, which is a strong binding, and a thermodynamic binding constant of 3.06 × 10−6 M. Intermolecular interaction were exothermic, enthalpy-driven, and specific binding reactions. GQEDYDRLRPL had an IC50 value of 164.41 μmol/L in vitro and superior antihypertensive effects at low-gavage administration in vivo. Obtaining information on the interaction mechanism of ACE-inhibitory undecapeptides from S. rugosoannulata with the ACE receptor will help to develop and utilize ACE inhibitors of natural origin.

Based on the layered and porous characteristics of functionally graded materials and the finite deformation assumption of solids, the fractal nonlinear propagation equation of longitudinal waves in a functionally graded rod is derived. A large number of exact displacement gradient traveling wave solutions of the fractal equation are obtained by using an equivalent simplified extended (G′/G) expansion method. Three sets of existing and different displacement gradient solutions are obtained by analyzing these exact solutions, and then three corresponding fractal dimension strain waves are derived. The results of numerical simulation of the evolution of these three strain waves with fractal dimension show that when the strain wave propagates in the rod, the smaller the fractal dimension or, the larger the radius of the rod, the higher the tensile strength of the material.

Through virtual screening, electronic tongue verification, and molecular docking technology, the structure-taste activity relationship of 47 kinds of umami peptides (octapeptide - undecapeptide) from Stropharia rugosoannulata prepared by simultaneous ultrasonic-assisted directional enzymatic hydrolysis was analyzed. The umami peptides of S.rugosoannulata can form hydrogen bond interaction and electrostatic interaction with umami receptors T1R1/T1R3. The amino acid residues at the peptides' N-terminal and C-terminal play a vital role in binding with the receptors to form a stable complex. D, E, and R are the primary amino acids in the peptides that easily bind to T1R1/T1R3. The basic amino acid in the peptides is more easily bound to T1R1, and the acidic amino acid is more easily bound to T1R3. The active amino acid sites of the receptors to which the peptides bind account for 42%−65% of the total active amino acid residues in the receptors. ASP147 and ASP219 are the critical amino acid residues for T1R1 to recognize the umami peptides, and ARG64, GLU45, and GLU48 are the critical amino acid residues for T1R3 to recognize the umami peptides. The increase in the variety and quantity of umami peptides is the main reason for improving the umami taste of the substrate prepared by synchronous ultrasound-assisted directional enzymatic hydrolysis. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding simultaneous ultrasound-assisted directional enzymatic hydrolysis for preparing umami peptides from S.rugosoannulata, enhancing the flavor of umami, and the relationship between peptide structure and taste activity.

The majority of polar structures emerging naturally in ferroelectrics are topologically trivial. Here, the authors demonstrate reconstruction of topologically trivial strip-like domain architecture into arrays of polar vortex in (PbTiO3)10/(SrTiO3)10 superlattice.

While the role of PbTiO3 in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices has been widely studied, little attention is paid to possible polar topologies in SrTiO3. Here, the authors create atomic-scale vortex–antivortex pairs in the superlattices, expanding the understanding of topological structures.

Wheat grain yield and nitrogen (N) content are influenced by the amount of N remobilized to the grain, together with pre-anthesis and post-anthesis N uptake. Isotopic techniques in farmed areas may provide insight into the mechanism underlying the N cycle. 15N-labeled urea was applied to microplots within five different fertilized treatments 0 kg ha–1 (N1), 52.5 kg ha–1 (N2), 105 kg ha–1 (N3), 157.5 kg ha–1 (N4), and 210 kg ha–1 (N5) of a long-term field trial (2003–2021) in a rainfed wheat field in the semi-arid loess Plateau, China, to determine post-anthesis N uptake and remobilization into the grain, as well as the variability of 15N enrichment in aboveground parts. Total N uptake was between 7.88 and 29.27 kg ha–1 for straw and 41.85 and 95.27 kg ha–1 for grain. In comparison to N1, N fertilization increased straw and grain N uptake by 73.1 and 56.1%, respectively. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and harvest index were altered by N application rates. The average NUE at maturity was 19.9% in 2020 and 20.01% in 2021; however, it was usually higher under the control and low N conditions. The amount of 15N excess increased as the N rate increased: N5 had the highest 15N excess at the maturity stage in the upper (2.28 ± 0.36%), the middle (1.77 ± 0.28%), and the lower portion (1.68 ± 1.01%). Compared to N1, N fertilization (N2–N5) increased 15N excess in the various shoot portions by 50, 38, and 35% at maturity for upper, middle, and lower portions, respectively. At maturity, the 15N excess remobilized to the grain under N1–N5 was between 5 and 8%. Our findings revealed that N had a significant impact on yield and N isotope discrimination in spring wheat that these two parameters can interact, and that future research on the relationship between yield and N isotope discrimination in spring wheat should take these factors into account.

University students having high entrepreneurial intention while not transferring into actual entrepreneurial behavior is a contradictory issue in need of in-depth research. To explore the successive development mechanism of the entrepreneurial process, this study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether entrepreneurial commitment from three dimensions (affective, behavioral, and continuance) mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and behavior, and whether this mediating process was moderated by family support. A survey was conducted among university students from six major universities in south China using the snowball sampling approach. A total of 469 valid responses were obtained (44.6% male and 55.4% female participants). Structural equation modeling was adopted for data analysis. According to the results of the confirmatory factor analysis, it was found that entrepreneurial intention had both direct and indirect positive effects on entrepreneurial behavior, while entrepreneurial commitment worked as the mediator, and family support moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and behavior. Results indicated that entrepreneurial commitment bridged the path from entrepreneurial intention to behavior, and family support created the boundary effect. This finding highlights the importance of guiding students through entrepreneurial commitment toward entrepreneurial behavior, and pays special attention to the crucial role of family support under the national strategy.

Abstract In this work, the Hopf bifurcation of the main drive delay system of rolling mill is controlled and analyzed by designing a nonlinear controller. The time-delay is selected as a bifurcation parameter, and the following conclusions are obtained through analysis: (1) in the absence of state feedback control, the system will generate the Hopf bifurcation at the expense of its stability when the bifurcation parameter exceeds the threshold value; (2) in the state under feedback control, the occurrence of Hopf bifurcation is effectively delayed and the stable region of the system is also well extended. More importantly, we can change the properties of bifurcation periodic solutions by selecting the appropriate gain parameters. Some numerical simulations reveal that under the nonlinear feedback control, the vibration amplitude of the system can be effectively reduced.

Controlling topological polar vortices promises to open up new applications for ferroelectric materials. Here, the authors proposed a method to mechanically manipulate polar vortices and monitored the transition between vortex and ferroelectric phase by in-situ scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Genetically modified (GM) crops containing phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) protein has been widely planted worldwide. The development of a rapid method for detecting PAT protein is of great importance to food supervision. In this study, a simple label-free electrochemical immunosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of PAT protein was constructed using thionine (Thi)/gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as signal amplification molecules and electrochemically active substances. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detection of the sensor for soybean A2704-12 and maize BT-176 were 0.02% and 0.03%, respectively. The sensor could detect crops containing PAT protein and had no cross-reaction with other proteins. After storage at 4°C for 33 days, the sensor still retained 82.5% of the original signal, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.92%. The recoveries of the sensor for soybean A2704-12 and maize BT-176 were 85%–108% and 98%–113%, respectively. The developed PAT-target immunosensor with high sensitivity, specificity, and satisfactory reproducibility and accuracy will be a useful tool in the trace screening of GM crops. Moreover, this design concept can be extended to other proteins by simply changing the antibody.

Image deblurring attracts research attention in the field of image processing and computer vision. Traditional deblurring methods based on statistical prior largely depend on the selected prior type, which limits their restoring ability. Moreover, the constructed deblurring model is difficult to solve, and the operation is comparatively complicated. Meanwhile, deep learning has become a hotspot in various fields in recent years. End-to-end convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can learn the pixel mapping relationships between degraded images and clear images. In addition, they can also obtain the result of effectively eliminating spatial variable blurring. However, conventional CNNs have some disadvantages in generalization ability and details of the restored image. Therefore, this paper presents an iterative dual CNN called IDC for image deblurring, where the task of image deblurring is divided into two sub-networks: deblurring and detail restoration. The deblurring sub-network adopts a U-Net structure to learn the semantical and structural features of the image, and the detail restoration sub-network utilizes a shallow and wide structure without downsampling, where only the image texture features are extracted. Finally, to obtain the deblurred image, this paper presents a multiscale iterative strategy that effectively improves the robustness and precision of the model. The experimental results showed that the proposed method has an excellent effect of deblurring on a real blurred image dataset and is suitable for various real application scenes.

Excessive inorganic fertilizers are one of the main causes of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Organic fertilizers can not only reduce the use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers by increasing soil organic matter but are also safe for the environment. The partial replacement of nitrogen (N) fertilizers with organic fertilizers can potentially reduce N2O emissions. To illuminate the best ratio for the nitrogen replacement of inorganic fertilizer, the present experiment was conducted in dryland areas of central Gansu Province and different portions of inorganic N fertilizers (200 kg ha−1); i.e., 0, 50, 37.5, 25, and 12.5% were replaced with commercial organic fertilizers to test their effects on soil physicochemical properties, the grain yield of maize, N2O emissions, and the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacterial (AOB) communities. Results showed that the maximum N2O emission was obtained by 100% inorganic fertilizers and the lowest was obtained at the control (no fertilizer). Substituting inorganic fertilizers with organic manure not only reduced N2O emissions but also improved soil organic carbon content and soil moisture and typically improves grain yield and biomass. The highest reduction in N2O emissions was recorded by 50% substitution. Furthermore, 37.5% and 12.5% substitutions did not reduce the grain yield and biomass compared to 100% inorganic fertilizer, and a 37.5% substitution performed better in improving soil fertility. Organic fertilizer increased the amoA copy number of AOA but decreased that of AOB. Nitrososphaera (AOA) and Nitrosospira (AOB) were the most dominant ammonia-oxidizing communities. Structural equation modeling indicated that AOB contributes more N2O emissions than AOA and is more sensitive to changes in pH, moisture, and NO3−−N, and the input of organic fertilizers may affect AOB by influencing soil physicochemical traits. In summary, replacing a reasonable proportion (37.5%) of inorganic fertilizers with organic manure improves soil fertility, reduces N2O emissions, and stabilizes production.

In this contribution, a series of isothermal compression tests for the 825 nickel-based alloy were performed using a Gleeble-3800 computer-controlled thermomechanical simulator at the compression temperature range of 850 °C to 1150 °C and the strain rate range of 0.14 s−1 to 2.72 s−1. The hot deformation equation of the alloy is derived from the piecewise model based on the theory of work hardening-dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization (DRX), respectively. Comparisons between the predicted and experimental data indicate that the proposed constitutive model had a highly accurate prediction. The deformation rate and temperature effect were associated with microstructural change, and the evolution of the microstructure was analyzed through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The dislocation densities of the alloy at the deformation of 850 °C and 2.72 s−1 is higher than at the other deformation, the higher dislocation density is the higher stored energy and the higher degree of DRX. As well, two types of DRX nucleation mechanisms have been identified: discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). Changes in grain boundary have significant effect on the DRX nucleation of the alloy, twin boundaries act as potential barriers limiting dislocation slip and motion and eventually leading to the accumulation of dislocation during plastic deformation. This study identified that the major contribution which results in the growth of new twins in DRX grains is the new boundary of Σ3 twins.

Soil autotrophic bacteria play a crucial role in regulating CO2 fixation and crop productivity. However, the information is limited to how fertilization amendments alter soil autotrophic bacterial community, crop yield, and carbon emission efficiency (CEE). Here, we estimated the impact of the structure and co-occurrence network of soil autotrophic bacterial community on maize yield and CEE. A long-term field experiment was conducted with five fertilization treatments in semiarid Loess Plateau, including no amendment (NA), chemical fertilizer (CF), chemical fertilizer plus commercial organic fertilizer (SC), commercial organic fertilizer (SM), and maize straw (MS). The results showed that fertilization amendments impacted the structure and network of soil Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) (cbbL) gene-carrying bacterial community via changing soil pH and NO3–N. Compared with no amendment, the cbbL-carrying bacterial diversity was increased under the SC, SM, and MS treatments but decreased under the CF treatment. Soil autotrophic bacterial network contained distinct microbial modules that consisted of closely associated microbial species. We detected the higher abundances of soil cbbL-carrying bacterial genus Xanthobacter, Bradyrhizobium, and Nitrosospira. Structural equation modeling further suggested that the diversity, composition, and network of autotrophic bacterial community had strongly positive relationships with CEE and maize yield. Taken together, our results suggest that soil autotrophic bacterial community may drive crop productivity and CEE, and mitigate the atmospheric greenhouse effect.

AbstractPlant long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) function in diverse biological processes, and lncRNA expression is under epigenetic regulation, including by cytosine DNA methylation. However, it remains unclear whether 5-methylcytosine (5mOsMET1-2OsMET1-2− /−OsMET1-2+/+OsMET1-2+/+OsMET1-2− /−OsMET1-2− /−

This work is focused on a rolling mill’s main drive electromechanical coupling system. Firstly, we equip electromechanical coupling system with fractional-order time delay. Secondly, we, respectively, derive the conditions for occurrence of Hopf bifurcation around equilibriums E00,0,0,0 and E1x1∗,0,x3∗,0. It is found that the fractional order α and time delay τ in the system play an important role on the system stability. Finally, numerical simulations are given to verify the analytic results.

Using center manifold reduction methodswe investigate the double Hopf bifurcation in the dynamics of microbubble with delay couplingwith main attention focused on nonresonant double Hopf bifurcation. We obtain the normal form of the system in the vicinity of the double Hopf point and classify the bifurcations in a two-dimensional parameter space near the critical point. Some numerical simulations support the applicability of the theoretical results. In particularwe give the explanation for some physical phenomena of the system using the obtained mathematical results.

This work is focused on a shape memory alloy oscillator with delayed feedback. The main attention is to investigate the Bogdanov–Takens (B-T) bifurcation by choosing feedback parameters A1,2 and time delay τ. The conditions for the occurrence of the B-T bifurcation are derived, and the versal unfolding of the norm forms near the B-T bifurcation point is obtained by using center manifold reduction and normal form. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the system also undergoes different codimension-1 bifurcations, such as saddle-node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, and saddle homoclinic bifurcation. Finally, some numerical simulations are given to verify the analytic results.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are key drivers of nitrification in rainfed soil ecosystems. However, within a semi-arid region, the influence of different soil amendments on the composition of soil AOA and AOB communities and soil properties of rainfed maize is still unclear. Therefore, in this study, the abundance, diversity, and composition of AOA and AOB communities and the potential nitrification activity (PNA) was investigated across five soil treatments: no fertilization (NA), urea fertilizer (CF), cow manure (SM), corn stalk (MS), and cow manure + urea fertilizer (SC). The AOB amoA gene copy number was influenced significantly by fertilization treatments. The AOB community was dominated by Nitrosospira cluster 3b under the CF and SC treatments, and the AOA community was dominated by Nitrososphaera Group I.1b under the CF and NA amendments; however, manure treatments (SM, MS, and SC) did not exhibit such influence. Network analysis revealed the positive impact of some hub taxonomy on the abundance of ammonia oxidizers. Soil pH, NO3−-N, Module 3, biomass, and AOB abundance were the major variables that influenced the potential nitrification activity (PNA) within structural equation modeling. PNA increased by 142.98–226.5% under the treatments CF, SC, SM, and MS compared to NA. In contrast to AOA, AOB contributed dominantly to PNA. Our study highlights the crucial role of bacterial communities in promoting sustainable agricultural production in calcareous soils in semi-arid loess plateau environments.

The hot deformation behavior of a newly designed Fe–5Mn–3Al–0.1C (wt.%) medium manganese steel was investigated using hot compression tests in the temperature range of 900 to 1150 °C, at constant strain rates of 0.1, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 s−1. A detailed analysis of the hot deformation parameters, focusing on the flow behavior, hot processing map, dynamic recrystallization (DRX) critical stress, and nucleation mechanism, was undertaken to understand the hot rolling process of the newly designed steel. The flow behavior is sensitive to deformation parameters, and the Zener–Hollomon parameter was coupled with the temperature and strain rate. Three-dimensional processing maps were developed considering the effect of strain and were used to determine safe and unsafe deformation conditions in association with the microstructural evolution. In the deformation condition, the microstructure of the steel consisted of δ-ferrite and austenite; in addition, there was a formation of DRX grains within the δ-ferrite grains and austenite grains during the hot compression test. The microstructure evolution and two types of DRX nucleation mechanisms were identified; it was observed that discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) is the primary nucleation mechanism of austenite, while continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) is the primary nucleation mechanism of δ-ferrite. The steel possesses unfavorable toughness at the deformation temperature of 900 °C, which is mainly due to the presence of coarse κ-carbides along grain boundaries, as well as the lower strengthening effect of grain boundaries. This study identified a relatively ideal hot processing region for the steel. Further exploration of hot roll tests will follow in the future.

SnO2, a typical transition metal oxide, is a promising conversion-type electrode material with an ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity of 1494 mAh g−1. Nevertheless, the electrochemical performance of SnO2 electrode is limited by large volumetric changes (~300%) during the charge/discharge process, leading to rapid capacity decay, poor cyclic performance, and inferior rate capability. In order to overcome these bottlenecks, we develop highly ordered SnO2 nanopillar array as binder-free anodes for LIBs, which are realized by anodic aluminum oxide-assisted pulsed laser deposition. The as-synthesized SnO2 nanopillar exhibit an ultrahigh initial specific capacity of 1082 mAh g−1 and maintain a high specific capacity of 524/313 mAh g−1 after 1100/6500 cycles, outperforming SnO2 thin film-based anodes and other reported binder-free SnO2 anodes. Moreover, SnO2 nanopillar demonstrate excellent rate performance under high current density of 64 C (1 C = 782 mA g−1), delivering a specific capacity of 278 mAh g−1, which can be restored to 670 mAh g−1 after high-rate cycling. The superior electrochemical performance of SnO2 nanoarray can be attributed to the unique architecture of SnO2, where highly ordered SnO2 nanopillar array provided adequate room for volumetric expansion and ensured structural integrity during the lithiation/delithiation process. The current study presents an effective approach to mitigate the inferior cyclic performance of SnO2-based electrodes, offering a realistic prospect for its applications as next-generation energy storage devices.

Abstract Multilevel data ferroelectric tunnel junction is a breakthrough for further improving the storage density of ferroelectric random access memories. However, the application of these ferroelectric tunnel junctions is limited by high cost of epitaxial perovskite heterostructures, unsatisfactory retention and difficulty of exactly controlling the middle polarization states. In order to overcome the issues, we develop a ferroelectric tunnel junction with smooth ultrathin polycrystalline BiFeO3 (BFO) film. Through controlling the polarization state and oxygen vacancy migration using voltage pulses, we demonstrate that voltage-controlled barrier yields a memristive behavior in the device, in which the resistance variations exceed over two orders of magnitude. And we achieve multi logic states written and read easily using voltage pulses in the device. Especially the device is integrated with the silicon technology in modern microelectronics. Our results suggest new opportunity for ferroelectrics as high storage density nonvolatile memories.

In this study, assessment of the safety of transgenic rice T1C-1 expressing Cry1C was carried out by: (1) studying horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in Sprague Dawley rats fed transgenic rice for 90 d; (2) examining the effect of Cry1C protein in vitro on digestibility and allergenicity; and (3) studying the changes of intestinal microbiota in rats fed with transgenic rice T1C-1 in acute and subchronic toxicity tests. Sprague Dawley rats were fed a diet containing either 60% GM Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice T1C-1 expressing Cry1C protein, the parental rice Minghui 63, or a basic diet for 90 d. The GM Bt rice T1C-1 showed no evidence of HGT between rats and transgenic rice. Sequence searching of the Cry1C protein showed no homology with known allergens or toxins. Cry1C protein was rapidly degraded in vitro with simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The expressed Cry1C protein did not induce high levels of specific IgG and IgE antibodies in rats. The intestinal microbiota of rats fed T1C-1 was also analyzed in acute and subchronic toxicity tests by DGGE. Cluster analysis of DGGE profiles revealed significant individual differences in the rats' intestinal microbiota.

In a 90-day study, Sprague Dawley rats were fed transgenic T1C-1 rice expressing Cry1C protein and were compared with rats fed non-transgenic parental rice Minghui 63 and rats fed a basal diet. No adverse effects on animal behavior or weight gain were observed during the study. Blood samples were collected and analyzed, and standard hematological and biochemical parameters were compared. A few of these parameters were found to be significantly different, but were within the normal reference intervals for rats of this breed and age, and were thus not considered to be treatment-related. Following sacrifice, a large number of organs were weighed, and macroscopic and histopathological examinations were performed with no changes reported. The aim of this study was to use a known animal model to determine the safety of the genetically modified (GM) rice T1C-1. The results showed no adverse or toxic effects due to T1C-1 rice when tested in this 90-day study.