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Objective The arch vault rise-span ratio not only affects the building height, design rationality, and construction safety of covered PBA (pile-beam-arch) method urban rail transit stations. Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact of arch vault rise-span ratio on the stress of steel pipe pile stresss and land subsidence. Method A mechanical model of urban rail transit station arch vault structure is constructed to analyze the structural internal forces under different arch rise-span ratios. A 3D station-stratum numerical model of the station and surrounding soil is established using numerical simulation analysis software, and the rationality of the model is verified by comparing numerical simulation results of land subsidence and field monitoring data of land subsidence. The study also examines the mechanical properties of steel pipe piles and their impact on land subsidence during covered PBA method construction. Result & Conclusion When the arch rise-span ratio varies from 0.20 to 0.40, the maximum bending moment, maximum axial force, and maximum shear force of the arch vault structure show a decreasing trend. The maximum axial force of the steel pipe piles decreases initially and then increases; the middle pile axial forceit is the minimum with the arch vault rise-span ratio of 0.30. As the arch vault rise-span ratio increases, land subsidence first decreases and then increases. The optimal ratio for controlling land subsidence is 0.30, resulting in a 34% reduction compared to the arch vault rise-spana ratio of 0.20. The stages of pilot tunnel and arch closure construction cause the most significant land subsidence. An appropriate arch rise-span ratio increases the proportion of land subsidence induced during these two stages, thereby reducing the disturbance to the soil layers from the subsequent station main structure excavation.

Metagenomic sequencing technology was used to analyze the microbial community structures and functional composition in three rounds of Daqu. The results showed that the average assembly length of the 25 samples was 100.5 Mb, a total of 439 000 gene catalogs were detected, and 5 104 species were identified. The results of species annotation showed that Kroppenstedtia eburnea was the dominant species, and the subdominant species were multiple Bacillus species. There was no significant difference in microbial community diversity between samples from the first feeding (Xiasha) and those from the first round of fermentation, and the β-diversity of the microbial community in samples from the second feeding (Zaosha) was higher than that in samples from Xiasha and the first round of fermentation. The results of gene functional annotation showed that the most abundant genes in Daqu were related to metabolism, while the most representative genes were related to carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism. The number of glycoside hydrolase genes in Zaosha samples was largest and the activities of related enzymes were highest. The above results indicated that the microbial community structures and functional composition in the three rounds of Daqu were basically consistent, whereas there was a difference in functional performance between the Zaosha samples and the other two samples.

The origin of sociality represents one of the most important evolutionary transitions. Insect sociality evolved in some hemipteran aphids, which can produce soldiers and normal nymphs with distinct morphology and behaviour through parthenogenesis. The lack of genomic data resources has hindered the investigations into molecular mechanisms underlying their social evolution. Herein, we generated the first chromosomal‐level genome of a social hemipteran (Pseudoregma bambucicola) with highly specialized soldiers and performed comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses to elucidate the molecular signatures and regulatory mechanisms of caste differentiation. P. bambucicola has a larger known aphid genome of 582.2 Mb with an N50 length of 11.24 Mb, and about 99.6% of the assembly was anchored to six chromosomes with a scaffold N50 of 98.27 Mb. A total of 14,027 protein‐coding genes were predicted and 37.33% of the assembly were identified as repeat sequences. The social evolution is accompanied by a variety of changes in genome organization, including expansion of gene families related to transcription factors, transposable elements, as well as species‐specific expansions of certain sugar transporters and UGPases involved in carbohydrate metabolism. We also characterized large candidate gene sets linked to caste differentiation and found evidence of expression regulation and positive selection acting on energy metabolism and muscle structure, explaining the soldier‐specific traits including morphological and behavioural specialization, developmental arrest and infertility. Overall, this study offers new insights into the molecular basis of social aphids and the evolution of insect sociality and also provides valuable data resources for further comparative and functional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants. Inappropriate B supply detrimentally affects the productivity of numerous crops. Understanding of the molecular responses of plants to different B supply levels would be of significance in crop improvement and cultivation practices to deal with the problem. Results: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and proteome of tobacco seedlings to investigate the expression changes of genes/proteins in response to different B supply levels, with a particular focus on B deficiency. The global gene and protein expression profiles revealed the potential mechanisms involved in the responses of tobacco to B deficiency, including up-regulation of the NIP5;1-BORs module, complex regulation of genes/proteins related to cell wall metabolism, and up-regulation of the antioxidant machinery. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that B deficiency caused severe morphological and physiological disorders in tobacco seedlings, and revealed dynamic expression changes of tobacco genes/proteins in response to different B supply levels, especially to B deficiency, thus offering valuable insights into the molecular responses of tobacco to B deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of heavy environmental pollution, high energy consumption, and process complexity for current degumming techniques, three types of deep eutectic solvent (DES) systems as eco‐friendly sustainable solutions including choline chloride/urea (CU), ethylenediamine hydrochloride/ethylene glycol (EE) and choline chloride/imidazole (CI) were prepared and applied to the degumming of seed hemp. It was clearly showed that all three DES systems exhibit excellent degumming efficiency on seed hemp to remove noncellulosic components involving in pectin, hemicellulose, and lignin in amorphous region without damage to the structure and crystalline morphology of cellulose, leading to an increase of cellulose portion from 54% to about 80%. CI with the molar ratio of 3:8 at 175°C for 2.5 h give the best removal performance for hemicellulose and pectin while EE with molar ratio of 1:2 at 175°C for 3 h can remove lignin with highest efficiency. However, CU with the lowest cost reveals a balanced removal of three noncellulosic components, which may be the optimal choice for industrial production. Furthermore, density functional theory analysis disclosed the essential information of configuration stability for three DES systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on sleep disorder in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods From July 2021 to July 2023, patients with PD and sleep disorders in the Department of Neurosurgery of the Second People's Hospital of Guangdong Province were selected. The enrolled patients were divided into sham stimulation group (n = 28 ) and true stimulation group (tDCS) (n = 29) according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. MDS-UPDRS, PDSS and other rating scales were used to evaluate the patients. Before and after tDCS treatment, MS-11 was used for intelligent sleep monitoring. The baseline and improvement of sleep disorders in the two groups before and after treatment were analyzed. Results Before tDCS treatment, there was no significant difference in general conditions and scale scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in polysomnographic monitoring results between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). Compared with pre-treatment, there was no significant difference in sleep monitoring results in the sham stimulation group (P > 0.05), while the sleep duration and sleep efficiency significantly increased, the nighttime awakening duration, nighttime awakening frequency, MDS-UPDRS-III score, and LEDD dose significantly decreased in the true stimulation group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Conclusion Pharmacological treatment combined with tDCS treatment is effective for sleep disorders and motor function in patients with PD, which could increase the sleep duration and sleep efficiency of PD patients with sleep disorders to a certain extent, reduce the nighttime awakening duration and frequency, thereby improving the fatigue symptoms during the daytime, and improving the efficacy of conventional pharmacological treatment for PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a common hazardous by-product of alcoholic beverage fermentation and serves as a crucial indicator for assessing the safety of alcoholic beverages. However, the metabolic mechanisms of methanol production during the solid-state fermentation of Chinese Baijiu remain unclear. In this study, we sought to determine the primary stage of methanol production in Chinese Baijiu by measuring the methanol content at different stages of fermentation. High-throughput multi-omics sequencing techniques were employed to elucidate methanol metabolic pathways and associated microorganisms. In addition, a comprehensive analysis incorporating environmental factors and microbial interactions was conducted to explore their combined effects on methanol production. Methanol was predominantly produced during pit fermentation, with the most significant increase observed within the first seven days. Microorganisms such as Pichia kudriavzevii, Byssochlamys spectabilis, Penicillium, and Aspergillus played a regulatory role in methanol content during the first seven days through their involvement in butyrate and methane metabolic pathways and pectin degradation modules. During Baijiu production, various types of molds and yeasts participate in methanol production. Differences in their abundance within fermentation cycles may contribute to variations in methanol content between stages. Lactobacillus accumulated abundantly in the first seven days in each stage, suppressing methanol-metabolizing microorganisms. In addition, the increased acidity resulting from Lactobacillus metabolism may indirectly promote methanol generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase) complex 1 (MTORC1) orchestrates diverse environmental signals to facilitate cell growth and is frequently activated in cancer. Translocation of MTORC1 from the cytosol to the lysosomal surface by the RRAG GTPases is the key step in MTORC1 activation. Here, we demonstrated that transcription factors MEF2A and MEF2D synergistically regulated MTORC1 activation via modulating its cyto-lysosome shutting. Mechanically, MEF2A and MEF2D controlled the transcription of FNIP1 and FNIP2, the components of the FLCN-FNIP1 or FNIP2 complex that acts as a RRAGC-RRAGD GTPase-activating element to promote the recruitment of MTORC1 to lysosome and its activation. Furthermore, we determined that the pro-oncogenic protein kinase SRC/c-Src directly phosphorylated MEF2D at three conserved tyrosine residues. The tyrosine phosphorylation enhanced MEF2D transcriptional activity and was indispensable for MTORC1 activation. Finally, both the protein and tyrosine phosphorylation levels of MEF2D are elevated in human pancreatic cancers, positively correlating with MTORC1 activity. Depletion of both MEF2A and MEF2D or expressing the unphosphorylatable MEF2D mutant suppressed tumor cell growth. Thus, our study revealed a transcriptional regulatory mechanism of MTORC1 that promoted cell anabolism and proliferation and uncovered its critical role in pancreatic cancer progression. Abbreviation: ACTB: actin beta; ChIP: chromatin immunoprecipitation; EGF: epidermal growth factor; EIF4EBP1: eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1; FLCN: folliculin; FNIP1: folliculin interacting protein 1; FNIP2: folliculin interacting protein 2; GAP: GTPase activator protein; GEF: guanine nucleotide exchange factors; GTPase: guanosine triphosphatase; LAMP2: lysosomal associated membrane protein 2; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MEF2: myocyte enhancer factor 2; MEF2A: myocyte enhancer factor 2A; MEF2D: myocyte enhancer factor 2D; MEF2D-3YF: Y131F, Y333F, Y337F mutant; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; MTORC1: MTOR complex 1; NR4A1: nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1; RPTOR: regulatory associated protein of MTOR complex 1; RHEB: Ras homolog, mTORC1 binding; RPS6KB1: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1; RRAG: Ras related GTP binding; RT-qPCR: real time-quantitative PCR; SRC: SRC proto-oncogene, non-receptor tyrosine kinase; TMEM192: transmembrane protein 192; WT: wild-type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]