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To investigate the effects of soil phosphorus application on selenium uptake, distribution, and transformation in sweet potato under selenium foliar spraying conditions, the field experiment were conducted in Laiyang county, Shandong province in 2021 and 2022. The split-plot design was used with pure selenium applications of 0 g hm-2 (Se0) and 150 g hm-2 (Se1) in the main plots, and P2O5 applications of 0 kg hm-2 (P0), 75 kg hm-2 (P1), and 225 kg hm-2 (P2) in the sub-plots, the dry matter weight, total selenium, and organic selenium content in different organs of sweet potato were measured, and the selenium utilization rates were calculated. The results showed that phosphorus application significantly increased the dry matter quality of different organs in sweet potato, but the effect of selenium application on the dry matter quality was not significant difference on the dry matter quality of different organs. Phosphorus application significantly increased the selenium content and accumulation in sweet potato root tubers. Compared with no phosphorus application (P0), the selenium content and accumulation in root tubers with low phosphorus application (P1) increased by 19.54% and 27.74% on average under seleniium application under selenium application conditions, respectively, while high phosphorus application (P2) increased selenium content and selenium accumulation in root tubers by 40.24% and 52.64% on average, respectively. Phosphorus application can also improve the selenium distribution and utilization rates in root tubers under selenium applications. The selenium distribution rate increased by 7.77% and 12.46%, and the selenium utilization rate increased by 1.81% and 3.36% in root tubers applied with low phosphorus (P1) and high phosphorus (P2) respectively, while the effect of phosphorus application on selenium utilization of the whole plant of sweet potato was not significant. Phosphorus application not only increased the total selenium content in sweet potato tubers, but also increased the organic selenium content in tubers. However, the effect on the proportion of organic selenium to the total selenium in tubers was not significant. In summary, proper increase of phosphorus application can appropriately increase the dry matter quality of different organs of sweet potato, increase the content of total selenium and organic selenium of root tubers, and improve selenium utilization rate, but the environmental risks caused by excessive phosphorus application should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mobile phones, laptops, and computers have become an indispensable part of our lives in recent years. Workers may have an incorrect posture when using a computer for a prolonged period of time. Using these products with an incorrect posture can lead to neck pain. However, there are limited data on postures in real-life situations. Methods: In this study, we used a common camera to record images of subjects carrying out three different tasks (a typing task, a gaming task, and a video-watching task) on a computer. Different artificial intelligence (AI)-based pose estimation approaches were applied to analyze the head's yaw, pitch, and roll and coordinate information of the eyes, nose, neck, and shoulders in the images. We used machine learning models such as random forest, XGBoost, logistic regression, and ensemble learning to build a model to predict whether a subject had neck pain by analyzing their posture when using the computer. Results: After feature selection and adjustment of the predictive models, nested cross-validation was applied to evaluate the models and fine-tune the hyperparameters. Finally, the ensemble learning approach was utilized to construct a model via bagging, which achieved a performance with 87% accuracy, 92% precision, 80.3% recall, 95.5% specificity, and an AUROC of 0.878. Conclusions: We developed a predictive model for the identification of non-specific neck pain using 2D video images without the need for costly devices, advanced environment settings, or extra sensors. This method could provide an effective way for clinically evaluating poor posture during real-world computer usage scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global plastic production of 400 million tons/year has caused major catastrophes in marine environments. The current study, therefore, aimed to mitigate this challenge through the dissolution–reprecipitation method of eradicating impurities and contaminants from marine plastic debris. The results revealed that the rate of the dissolution of polyethylene (PE) outweighed polypropylene (PP) at lower temperatures. HDPE (high density polyethylene) and PP had optimal dissolution temperatures of 75 °C and 90 °C at 20 and 30 min, respectively, resulting in recovery percentages of 96.67% and 87.35% when applied to actual marine waste samples. Overall, this recycling method conserved the plastic quality and properties, making it a viable alternative for virgin plastics. The life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that the drying stage demonstrated the greatest environmental impact within the system. The overall process, however, yielded a lower environmental impact in comparison with established findings. Conclusively, the current study has successfully restored marine plastic waste with high recovery rates and minimum chemical alterations, yielding a low environmental footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yuan Ze University targeted Biomaterials Science and developed a curriculum related to Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, and Biomaterials for engineering students to cultivate talents for both engineering and biotechnology. After several years of operation, recruiting students has succeeded, and students are satisfied with the course design of the curriculum. The majority of professors advising students' special topic studies have evaluated student performance commendably, and most of the first-year graduates have chosen to pursue a higher degree or work in relevant field. Thus the interdisciplinary program shows the potential to foster and extend engineering students' vision while enabling them to consider different options for post-graduate study or work.