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Estimating balanced nutrient requirements of sugarcane (Saccharum L. spp.) in China is crucial to develop the optimum fertilization strategies to increase yields and fertilizer use efficiency. In this study, the datasets involving the main sugarcane growing ecological regions were collected from field experiments from 1995 to 2019. Quantitative evaluation of fertility of tropical soils (QUEFTS) model was preliminarily established to investigate the relationship between sugarcane yield and nutrient uptake accumulation and estimate the nutrient requirements for sugarcane at a target yield. QUEFTS model predicted a linear increase in cane yield before the yield reached approximately 60%–70% of the potential yield. Results showed that the total plants had acquired 1.70 kg N, 0.21 kg P, and 2.52 kg K to produce 1000 kg of cane, and the corresponding internal efficiencies (IEs) for N, P, and K were 587.34, 4739.47, and 396.12 kg/kg. Moreover, the simulated balanced nutrients removal from the cane were 1.02 kg N, 0.15 kg P, and 1.63 kg K per 1000 kg of cane, accounting for approximately 60.00%, 71.12% and 64.58% of the total plants, respectively. Field validation experiments suggested that the QUEFTS model could be used to simulate nutrient requirements to help make fertilizer recommendations for sugarcane. QUEFTS model was considered to be an effective alternative for estimating the optimal balance nutrient requirements for sugarcane crops and potentially be helpful when making future decisions regarding fertilizer recommendations for sugarcane in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, this paper presents the algorithm of adaptively regularized kernel-based fuzzy C-means based on membership constraint (G-ARKFCM). Under the idea of competitive learning based on penalizing opponents, a new membership constraint function penalty item is introduced for each sample point in the segmented image, so that the ARKFCM algorithm is no longer limited to the fuzzy index m = 2. Secondly, the multiplicative intrinsic component optimization (MICO) is introduced into G-ARKFCM to obtain the GM-ARKFCM algorithm, which can correct the bias field when segmenting neonatal HIE images. Compared with other algorithms, the GM-ARKFCM algorithm has better segmentation quality and robustness. The GM-ARKFCM algorithm can more completely segment the neonatal ventricles and surrounding white matter and can retain more information of the original image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPS) was prepared by oxidation coupled mechanical delamination method. Epoxy based composites were prepared with GNPS, carbon black (CB) and graphite nanopowders (nanoG). The dispersion of different carbon materials was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), which showed the better compatibility of GNPS in epoxy matrix. The results of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) showed the lower glass transition temperature (Tg) of GNPS/epoxy composite, indicating the influence of GNPS on the curing of epoxy resin. The higher storage modulus of GNPS/epoxy composite was the evidence of its better compatibility. The dielectric behaviors of the composites were studied in a wide frequency range. The GNPS/epoxy composite showed high dielectric permittivity and loss at low frequency due to its interfacial polarization. The composites with 1.0 wt.% GNPS presented much higher dielectric permittivity at high frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the quadratic perturbations from one parameter family of generic reversible quadratic vector fields having a simple center and an invariant straight line. It is shown that the system can generate at least two limit cycles. As the parameter is rational, we propose a procedure for finding the upper bound to cyclicity of period annulus based on the Chebyshev criterion for Abelian integrals together with one rationalizing transformation. To illustrate our approach, we determine the cyclicity of three representative reversible systems. Our results may be viewed as a contribution to proving the conjecture on cyclicity proposed by Iliev [1998]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pokkah boeng is one of the most serious and devastating diseases of sugarcane and causes significant loss in cane yield and sugar content. Although carbendazim is widely used to prevent fungal diseases, the molecular basis of Fusarium species complex (FSC) resistance to carbendazim remains unknown. Results: The EC50 (fungicide concentration that inhibits 50% of mycelial growth) values of carbendazim for 35 FSC isolates collected in cane growing regions of China were ranged from 0.5097 to 0.6941 μg mL− 1 of active ingredient (a.i.), in an average of 0.5957 μg a.i. mL− 1. Among carbendazim-induced mutant strains, SJ51M (F. verticillioides) had a CTG rather than CAG codon (Q134L) at position 134 of the FVER_09254 gene, whereas in the mutant strain HC30M (F. proliferatum) codon ACA at position 351 of the FPRO_07779 gene was replaced by ATA (T351I). Gene expression profiling analysis was performed for SJ51M and its corresponding wild type strain SJ51, with and without carbendazim treatment. The gene expression patterns in SJ51 and SJ51M changed greatly as evidenced by the detection of 850 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional categorization indicated that genes associated with oxidation-reduction process, ATP binding, integral component of membrane, transmembrane transport and response to stress showed the largest expression changes between SJ51M and SJ51. The expression levels of many genes involved in fungicide resistance, such as detoxification enzymes, drug efflux transporters and response to stress, were up-regulated in SJ51M compared to SJ51 with and without carbendazim treatment. Conclusion: FSC was sensitive to carbendazim and had the potential for rapid development of carbendazim resistance. The transcriptome data provided insight into the molecular pathways involved in FSC carbendazim resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A high lymphatic metastasis rate and strong local invasive ability are the key characteristics of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that affect patient survival, and long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play a crucial role. We performed genome‐wide analysis of lncRNAs to identify novel biomarkers associated with local invasion and lymphatic metastasis in ESCC. Methods: Six pairs of ESCC tumor and para‐tumor tissues were subjected to microarray analysis to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs, and 25 pairs of tissues samples were used to verify the effectiveness of screened lncRNAs using quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The correlations between verified lncRNAs and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed to confirm specific lncRNAs associated with the local invasion and lymphatic metastasis of ESCC, and gene co‐expression analysis was used to predict potential mechanisms. Results: Microarray analysis identified 1850 lncRNAs with significant differential expression in ESCC. Of 22 lncRNAs selected for quantitative reverse transcription PCR verification, four were significantly upregulated and one was significantly downregulated in ESCC cancer compared to para‐cancer tissues. ENST00000508406.1 was significantly associated with T, N, and tumor node metastasis stages, and NR_037652.1 was significantly associated with N stage. Moreover, 49 lncRNA‐messenger RNA pairs were significantly associated with the two dysregulated lncRNAs and possibly involved in the regulation of local invasion and lymphatic metastasis of ESCC. Conclusion: The present genome‐wide analysis identified two novel and tumor‐specific lncRNAs for predicting ESCC local invasion and lymphatic metastasis, providing insight into the potential underlying mechanism, which warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functions of miR‑126-mediated signal transducers and activators of the transcription 3 (STAT3) signal pathway were investigated in regulating the behavior of cells in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Cultured NSCLC A549 cells were transfected with empty, miR-126 overexpression or miR-126 knocked-down expression plasmids. After transfection efficiency verification by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and culture for 24 h, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) was applied to detect cell proliferation rate, migration distance was measured in scratch assays, cell cycle was determined through flow cytometry, the mRNA expression level of caspase-3 in cells was detected using RT-PCR and protein expression levels of STAT3 were detected using western blotting. Our results showed the cell proliferation rate was significantly higher in cells of the overexpression group than that in those of the control group (p<0.05) and the rate in the cells of the low-expression group was the lowest among the three groups (p<0.05). The migration distance of the overexpression group cells was significantly longer than that in the control group cells and the shortest migration distance was found in the low-expression group cells (p<0.05). The amount of cells in mitotic phase in the overexpression group was significantly higher than that in the control group and the same amount in the low-expression group was the lowest (p<0.05). The mRNA expression level of caspase-3 of cells in the overexpression group was significantly lower than that of cells in the control group and the highest expression level was found in the low-expression group (p<0.05). Finally, the protein expression levels of STAT3 in cells in the overexpression group were significantly lower than those in the control group and the highest expression levels were identified in the low-expression group (p<0.05). Based on our findings, the cancer-promoting miR-126 can mediate the activation of the STAT3 signal pathway to regulate the malignant biological behavior of NSCLC cells affecting their proliferation, migration, cycle and apoptosis susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to compute 3D model similarity by extracting and comparing shape features from the neutral files.Design/methodology/approach In this work, the clear text encoding document STEP (Standard for The Exchange of Product model data) of 3D models was analysed, and the models were characterized by two-depth trees consisting of both surface and shell nodes. All surfaces in the STEP files can be subdivided into three kinds, namely, free, analytical and loop surfaces. Surface similarity is defined by the variation coefficients of distances between data points on two surfaces, and subsequently, the shell similarity and 3D model similarity are determined using an optimal algorithm for bipartite graph matching.Findings This approach is used to experimentally verify the effectiveness of the 3D model similarity algorithm.Originality/value The novelty of this study research lies in the computation of 3D model similarity by comparison of all surfaces. In addition, the study makes several key observations: surfaces reflect the most information concerning the functions and attributes of a 3D model and so the similarity between surfaces generates more comprehensive content (both external and internal); semantic-based 3D retrieval can be obtained under the premise of comparison of surface semantics; and more accurate similarity of 3D models can be obtained using the optimal algorithm of bipartite graph matching for all surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic algorithm (GA) has a significant effect in the band optimization selection of Partial Least Squares (PLS) correction model. Application of genetic algorithm in selection of characteristic bands can achieve the optimal solution more rapidly, effectively improve measurement accuracy and reduce variables used for modeling. In this study, genetic algorithm as a module conducted band selection for the application of hyperspectral imaging in nondestructive testing of corn seedling leaves, and GA-PLS model was established. In addition, PLS quantitative model of full spectrum and experienced-spectrum region were established in order to suggest the feasibility of genetic algorithm optimizing wave bands, and model robustness was evaluated. There were 12 characteristic bands selected by genetic algorithm. With reflectance values of corn seedling component information at spectral characteristic wavelengths corresponding to 12 characteristic bands as variables, a model about SPAD values of corn leaves acquired was established by PLS, and modeling results showed r = 0.7825. The model results were better than those of PLS model established in full spectrum and experience-based selected bands. The results suggested that genetic algorithm can be used for data optimization and screening before establishing the corn seedling component information model by PLS method and effectively increase measurement accuracy and greatly reduce variables used for modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a kind of hepatoxin produced by cyanobacteria blooms, can promote liver cancer through long-term exposure even at low concentrations. In this study, a novel biosensor based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and field effect transistor (FET) dual sensing mode was developed by using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)/graphene composite as sensing material. Based on the SERS sensing mode, the Raman fingerprint spectrum of MC-LR was obtained through the specific combination of MC-LR aptamer and MC-LR. The SERS enhanced effect of the AuNPs was also verified by theoretical simulation. By using FET sensing mode, the graphene field effect transistor (G-FET) biosensor respectively exhibited the detection limit as low as 0.62 aM and 0.91 aM in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and human serum, and showed a good linear relationship in a wide range of 1 × 10−18 to 1 × 10−8 M in both solutions. Meanwhile, the sensor was utilized for the detection of MC-LR in actual water samples, and the complex components in the water did not interfere with MC-LR detection, indicating a significant high specificity of the sensor. The SERS-FET dual-mode biosensor can provide more detection options and improve the reliability of measurement results, which may has a great application prospect in the field of water environment detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a phthalocyanine indium (InPcOH) and three porphyrin derivatives (Por2a, Por2b, Por2c) were successfully synthesized. Three kinds of novel four-arm star-shaped poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) with core of InPcOH and chain-end of porphyrin derivatives, named InPc-(PPO x -Por2n) 4 (n = a-c), were achieved through the InPcOH as initiator by ring-opening polymerization. From fluorescence spectra, InPc-(PPO x -Por2n) 4 polymers revealed weaker emission intensity at 704 nm in comparison with InPc-(PPO 29) 4 , proving energy transfer (ET) pathway from Por2a-2c to InPc, which could be established by theoretical study. Due to ET pathway, InPc-(PPO x -Por2n) 4 polymers showed stronger nonlinear optical (NLO) performance than InPc-(PPO 29) 4 polymer. Among InPc-(PPO x -Por2n) 4 , InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 obtained the most outstanding NLO performance exhibiting imaginary third-order susceptibility (Im [χ(3)]) of 6.25 × 10−11 esu, which could ascribe the efficient ET pathway from Por2b to InPc based on the appropriate spatial structure and small energy gap of Por2b. Moreover, the InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 /polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) composites were prepared for applying actually, and it displayed a prominent Im [χ(3)] value of 22.4 × 10−11 esu and an outstanding limiting threshold of 0.14 J/cm2. The remarkably enhanced NLO performance exhibited by InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 /PMMA composites in comparison with that in methyl methacrylate solution prove a feeblish aggregation effect in PMMA matrix, which indicate the great potential of our polymers for real application in NLO field. This research could furnish a novel designing approach in terms of NLO materials that exhibit great performance. [Display omitted] • Polymer InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 containing phthalocyanine indium and electron-donating group porphyrin was synthesized successfully. • Por2b acted as the distinguished energy transfer (ET) donor with appropriate spatial structure and small energy gap structure. • With the efficient ET from Por2b to InPc, InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 achieved the most satisfactory optical limiting performance. • The InPc-(PPO 33 -Por2b) 4 /PMMA composites were promising solid materials to withstand lasers in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more and more protein sequences are uncovered from increasingly inexpensive sequencing techniques, an urgent task is to find their functions. This work presents a highly reliable computational technique for predicting DNA-binding function at the level of protein-DNA complex structures, rather than low-resolution two-state prediction of DNA-binding as most existing techniques do. The method first predicts protein-DNA complex structure by utilizing the template-based structure prediction technique HHblits, followed by binding affinity prediction based on a knowledge-based energy function (Distance-scaled finite ideal-gas reference state for protein-DNA interactions). A leave-one-out cross validation of the method based on 179 DNA-binding and 3797 non-binding protein domains achieves a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.77 with high precision (94%) and high sensitivity (65%). We further found 51% sensitivity for 82 newly determined structures of DNA-binding proteins and 56% sensitivity for the human proteome. In addition, the method provides a reasonably accurate prediction of DNA-binding residues in proteins based on predicted DNA-binding complex structures. Its application to human proteome leads to more than 300 novel DNA-binding proteins; some of these predicted structures were validated by known structures of homologous proteins in APO forms. The method [SPOT-Seq (DNA)] is available as an on-line server at http://sparks-lab.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Estrogen receptors α (ERα) and β (ERβ) have different physiological functions and expression levels in different tissues. ERα and ERβ are highly homologous and have only two residue substitutions in the binding pocket. This high similarity at the active site stimulates the interests for discovering subtype selective ligands. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with molecular mechanics generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) method have been carried out to analyze the basis of selectivity of three ligands (659, 818 and 041). The calculated binding free energies show that all the ligands bind more tightly to ERβ than to ERα. The dominant free energy components of selectivity for 659 are similar to that for 041, but different from that for 818. The decompositions of free energy contributions and structural analysis imply that there are eight residues primarily contributing to the selectivity for 659, five residues for 041, as well as two residues for 818. The structural analysis implies that two residue substitutions in binding packet cause the position of 659 in ERβ–659 complex to shift relative to that in ERα–659 complex and also cause the conformational changes of other residues in the binding pocket. The higher selectivity for 041 is mainly caused by three residues, Ile373 (Met421), His475 (His524) and Leu476 (Leu525). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A mapping-based tree similarity algorithm is proposed for matching concept trees in ontology alignment to integrate various information sources in the Semantic Web. Concepts regarding classes and properties are the most critical ontological elements and metadata. First, the similarity between the individual concepts of each type is defined. These concept systems, which are considered as the foundation of ontology, are described as tree modes for overall comparison. Based on the minimal cost of edit operations, previous tree similarity measuring approaches are extremely complicated because three or four edit operations are involved. Moreover, such approaches ignore the similarity among single nodes. In the proposed algorithm, node similarity, instead of changing operation, is adopted and the inserting and deleting operation is omitted. The proposed algorithm is more concise and effective because it satisfies the maximum mapping theorem without damaging tree isomorphism. The algorithm is resolved and realized by a dynamic programming scheme. Then, the algorithm is independently used to compare class and property trees, and their mapping concept sets are regarded as the main part of the ontology alignment. Demonstration examples are used to prove the effectiveness and feasibility of the algorithm in ontology alignment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To improve the performances of control and handling stability of multi-steering vehicle, considering tire nonlinearity, uncertainties and external disturbances, a method of H∞, fuzzy guaranteed cost control for multi-steering vehicle is presented based on region pole constraints and fuzzy Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) model. Based on tire cubic nonlinearity dynamics, the nonlinear model of multi-steering vehicle with three degrees of freedom is analyzed, and the fuzzy T-S model of multi-steering vehicle with uncertainties and external disturbances is established. According to the problem of application scope of fixed pole assignment, guaranteed cost controllers of all local linear subsystems with region pole constraints are designed, and the whole controller is derived by using antecedent of the T-S fuzzy model and parallel distributed compensation (PDC) method. Using the linear matrix inequality (LMI) and fuzzy logic control (FLO toolboxes of Matlab software, the controllers of a certain five-axle-steering vehicle are solved and control of original nonlinear closed-loop system is simulated. The simulation results show that the presented control method is effective and robust, and is beneficial to enhance dynamic performances and handling stability of multi-steering vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we provide a complete study of the zeros of Abelian integrals obtained by integrating the 1-form (α + βx + x2)ydx over the compact level curves of the hyperelliptic Hamiltonian . Such a family of compact level curves is bounded by a polycycle passing through a nilpotent cusp and a hyperbolic saddle of this hyperelliptic Hamiltonian system, which is not the exceptional family of ovals proposed by Gavrilov and Iliev. It is shown that the least upper bound for the number of zeros of the related hyperelliptic Abelian integral is two, and this least upper bound can be achieved for some values of parameters (α, β). This implies that the Abelian integral still has Chebyshev property for this nonexceptional family of ovals. Moreover, we derive the asymptotic expansion of Abelian integrals near a polycycle passing through a nilpotent cusp and a hyperbolic saddle in a general case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we study three classes of complete hyperelliptic integrals of the first kind, which are some degenerate subfamilies of a family considered in the work of Gavrilov and Iliev. It is shown that the three classes of complete hyperelliptic integrals are Chebyshev, and the exact bounds on the number of zeros of these Abelian integrals are one. This result reveals that there exist degenerate subfamilies of ovals of the hyperelliptic Hamiltonian which are not exceptional families proposed by Gavrilov and Iliev, but the corresponding complete hyperelliptic integrals of the first kind still satisfy the Chebyshev property. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An extensive survey was conducted in this study to determine the spatial distribution and possible sources of heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunyi, a representative agricultural suburb in Beijing, China. A total of 412 surface soil samples were collected at a density of one sample per km2, and concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn were analyzed. The mean values of the heavy metals were 7.85±2.13, 0.136±0.061, 22.4±6.31, 0.073±0.049, 20.4±5.2, and 69.8±16.5mgkg−1 for As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn, respectively, slightly higher than their background values of Beijing topsoil with the exception of Pb, but lower than the guideline values of Chinese Environmental Quality Standard for Soils. Multivariate and geostatistical analyses suggested that soil contamination of Cd, Cu and Zn was mainly derived from agricultural practices. Whereas, As and Pb were due mainly to soil parent materials, and Hg was caused by the atmospheric deposits from Beijing City. The identification of heavy metal sources in agricultural soils is a basis for undertaking appropriate action to protect soil quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The assessment of sustainability in cropping system is an important issue for natural resources management and environmental protection. Incorporating the geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technologies, an initial idea of the crop sustainability assessing system was thus proposed, based on ecosystem services value (ESV) assessing criterions. The system is basically constituted by two major parts, which were net primary production (NPP) based ESV evaluating system and universal soil loss equation (USLE) based conserving soil and water (CSW) evaluating system. The input datasets includes temporal moderate resolution satellite images (HJ-CCD), Meteorological data, DEM data and soil data. To test the efficiency of the proposed system, an assessment was thus conducted along the Huai river watershed. The results showed that the value of sustainability for the study area was in average. Besides, a descending trend of sustainable value was found along the watershed from the outer region to center. Moreover, it was pointed out that the agroecosystem provided more value or services in feeding people than in maintaining the sustainability of the environment, comparing with the other ecosystem, such as forests and wetlands. Thereby, it is recommended to maintain or increase the ecosystem diversity in a place, which would be able to enhance the sustainability of it. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we make a complete study on small perturbations of Hamiltonian vector field with a hyper-elliptic Hamiltonian of degree five, which is a Liénard system of the form , with and polynomials of degree respectively 4 and 3. It is shown that this system can undergo degenerated Hopf bifurcation and Poincaré bifurcation, which emerges at most three limit cycles in the plane for sufficiently small positive ε. And the limit cycles can encompass only an equilibrium inside, i.e. the configuration of limit cycles can appear for some values of parameters, where stands for three limit cycles surrounding an equilibrium and no limit cycles surrounding two equilibria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To accelerate the start-up of biological municipal wastewater treatment processes at low temperatures and ensure their daily stable performances, bioaugmentation was adopted with the addition of specialized mixed bacteria. As a result, three types of biological processes were successfully started within 15days and showed stable and efficient daily performances. Results of PCR–DGGE analysis demonstrated the long-term predominance of the bioaugmented specialized bacteria in the bioaugmented systems. And results of BIOLOG analysis showed that the bacterial community structure and catabolic capability of the biological systems varied with wastewater temperature variations. However, the stability of the bacterial community under normal operating conditions and adaptability to perturbations enabled the long-term stable and efficient performances of the biological systems. In conclusion, bioaugmentation was successful for rapid start-up and stable performances of three typical biological municipal wastewater treatment processes at low temperatures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Chignolin is an artificially designed ten-residue (GYDPETGTWG) folded peptide, which is the smallest protein and provides a good template for protein folding. In this work, we completed four explicit water molecular dynamics simulations of Chignolin folding using GROMOS and OPLS-AA force fields from extended initial states without any experiment informations. The four-folding free energy landscapes of the peptide has been drawn. The folded state of Chignolin has been successfully predicated based on the free energy landscapes. The four independent simulations gave similar results. (i) The four free energy landscapes have common characters. They are fairly smooth, barrierless, funnel-like and downhill without intermediate state, which consists with the experiment. (ii) The different extended initial structures converge at similar folded structures with the lowest free energy under GROMOS and OPLS-AA force fields. In the GROMOS force field, the backbone RMSD of the folded structures from the NMR native structure of Chignolin is only 0.114 nm, which is a stable structure in this force field. In the OPLS-AA force field, the similar results have been obtained. In addition, the smallest RMSD structure is in better agreement with the NMR native structure but unlikely stable in the force field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, a series of novel four-arm star-shaped polymethyl methacrylate with core of phthalocyanine indium polymers (InPc-(PMMA x) 4) were achieved with different molecular weights through Activator ReGenerated by Electron Transfer Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization, using the synthesized phthalocyanine indium (InPc-Br) as initiator. The InPc-(PMMA x) 4 polymers were characterized by NMR, FT-IR, GPC, UV–Vis and PL spectroscopy. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of InPc-(PMMA x) 4 polymers were investigated by the Z-scan technique and it revealed that InPc-(PMMA 16) 4 obtained satisfactory NLO properties with imaginary third order susceptibility (Im [χ(3)]) of 16.4 × 10−12 esu. Furthermore, reacting polymer InPc-(PMMA 16) 4 with NaN 3 and 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-(4-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy) phenyl) diazene (Azo-yne) through click reaction, a novel InPc polymer InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 was successfully synthesized. InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 displayed a weak fluorescence at 707 nm compared to InPc-(PMMA 16) 4 , demonstrating the energy transfer (ET) process between Azo and InPc, which could be proved by density functional theory. Because of the ET process, InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 exhibited a better NLO performance than InPc-(PMMA 16) 4 , with Im [χ(3)] of 20.7 × 10−12 esu. In addition, the InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 /PMMA complexes were prepared for the convenience of practical application, and it exhibited an excellent Im [χ(3)] value of 30.2 × 10−12 esu and a satisfactory limiting threshold of 0.04 J/cm2. The significantly enhanced NLO properties of InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 /PMMA complexes demonstrate a weaker aggregation effect in polymethyl methacrylate matrix than in methyl methacrylate solution. Our study provides a promising design strategy to synthesize high performance NLO materials for practical applications. [Display omitted] • Polymer InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 with phthalocyanine indium and azobenzene was synthesized successfully. • The energy transfer (ET) process could occur in InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 between Azo and InPc. • Owing to the ET process, the optical limiting properties of InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 are better than InPc-(PMMA 16) 4. • The InPc-(PMMA 16 - b -Azo) 4 /PMMA complexes could withstand lasers and be processed into any shapes in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A circular system is employed in this paper to investigate the swelling behaviors of polyampholyte hydrogels; this circular system can effectively eliminate the disturbance of various factors and keep the surrounding environment constant. It is found that there exists a spontaneous volume transition to the collapsed state of polyampholyte hydrogels, which is attributed to the overshooting effect, and the transition can occur repeatedly under certain conditions. 13C NMR is employed to investigate the swelling behavior of polyampholyte hydrogels. The swelling kinetics of polyampholyte hydrogels under various circular media and various circular runs are also investigated in this paper. All the results suggest that the spontaneous volume transition to the collapsed state of polyampholyte hydrogels is dominated by pure electrostatic interaction between different charges in polymer chains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two series of the nanocomposite hydrogels were synthesized by in-situ solution polymerization. One pre-gel solution was obtained by directly dispersing the montmorillonite (MMT) powder into aqueous monomer solution and the other pre-gel solution was obtained by mixing monomer aqueous solution and the dispersion of MMT. The structure and performance of two series of hydrogels in dry state were studied by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TEM and 27Al MAS NMR. Compressing test results showed that the gel strength of the hydrogels prepared by the latter method was much higher than that by the former method. When acryloyloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC) was introduced into the system, hydrogels with excellent nanostructure could be synthesized. The result of 27Al MAS NMR suggested that the chemical environment of aluminum in MMT was changed by the introduction of DAC due to the interaction between the groups of DAC and MMT layers. Thus, the combination of copolymerizing with strong polar monomers and using the dispersion of MMT were the effective ways to obtain nanocomposite hydrogel of MMT and ionic monomers. The nanostructure of the hydrogel improved the gel strength, while the swelling ratio of the hydrogel depended on synergic effects of multifunctional groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of novel polyampholyte superabsorbent nanocomposites with excellent gel strength were synthesized by in situ solution polymerization in aqueous solution. Acrylic acid and acryloyloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC) were employed as ionic monomers and montmorillonite (MMT) was used as inorganic component. The addition of cationic component could supply the positive charge in the network of nanocomposite and promote the formation of nanostructure of composites due to the interaction between DAC and clay platelets. The performance of polyampholyte nanocomposites were investigated and the result showed that the gel strength of nanocomposite hydrogel in distilled water and 0.9wt% NaCl solution could reach 198.85 and 204.23mJ/g, respectively, which were 13 times of the gel strength of matrix. The investigation of swelling behaviors showed that the nanocomposites had particular swelling behaviors of polyampholytes hydrogel in solution with different pH values and concentration of NaCl. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Since optical and microwave sensors respond to very different target characteristics, their role in crop monitoring can be viewed as complementary. In particular, the all-weather capability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors can ensure that data gaps that often exist during monitoring with optical sensors are filled. There were three Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite images and three Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) satellite images acquired from reviving stage to milking stage of winter wheat. These data were successfully used to monitor crop condition and forecast grain yield and protein content. Results from this study indicated that both multi-temporal Envisat ASAR and Landsat TM imagery could provide accurate information about crop conditions. First, bivariate correlation results based on the linear regression of crop variables against backscatter suggested that the sensitivity of ASAR C-HH backscatter image to crop or soil condition variation depends on growth stage and time of image acquisition. At the reviving stage, crop variables, such as biomass, Leaf Area Index (LAI) and plant water content (PWC), were significantly positively correlated with C-HH backscatter (r = 0.65, 0.67 and 0.70, respectively), and soil water content at 5 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm depths were correlated significantly with C-VV backscatter (r = 0.44, 0.49 and 0.46, respectively). At booting stage, only a significant and negative correlation was observed between biomass and C-HH backscatter (r = -0.44), and a saturation of the SAR signal to canopy LAI could explain the poor correlation between crop variables and C-HH backscatter. Furthermore, C-HH backscatter was correlated significantly with soil water content at booting and milking stage. Compared with ASAR backscatter data, the multi-spectral Landsat TM images were more sensitive to crop variables. Secondly, a significant and negative correlation between grain yield and ASAR C-HH & C-VV backscatter at winter wheat booting stage was observed (r = -0.73 and -0.55, respectively) and a yield prediction model with a correlation coefficient of 0.91 was built based on the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) data from Landsat TM on 17 April and ASAR C-HH backscatter on 27 April. Finally, grain protein content was found to be correlated significantly with ASAR C-HH backscatter at milking stage (r = -0.61) and with Structure Insensitive Pigment Index (SIPI) data from Landsat TM at grain-filling stage (r = 0.53), and a grain protein content prediction model with a correlation coefficient of 0.75 was built based on the C-HH backscatter and SIPI data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread application of remote sensing (RS) in agriculture, monitoring and prediction of crop quality attracts the attention of many scientists. Because different vertical layers of crop canopy make different contributions to the spectral reflectance, it is important to define the contributions of different layers to spectral reflectance in order to improve the accuracy of canopy information retrieval using wheat (triticum aestivum L.) of two cultivars treated with four nitrogen (N) rates (0, 150, 300, and 450 kg N hm -2) and its contribution to grain quality were investigated. The two cultivars, Jingdong8 (low grain-protein content) and Zhongyou9507 (high grain-protein content), were contrastive in grain quality. Wheat canopy was cut into 3 (at elongation) or 4 (at anthesis and grain filling) layers of equal vertical thickness form top to bottom (layer 1 represented the top, layer 3 or 4 the bottom) in a 1 m2 investigated area of each plot. The objectives of this study were (1) to clarify the N condition of different layers at different growth stages and at various N treatments; (2) to analyze the relationship between N in different layers and grain quality, as well as investigate the contribution of different canopy layers to grain quality; and (3) to provide new data on wheat quality factors in combination with N of different canopy layers potentially to aid retrieval of wheat quality by RS data. The results showed that leaf N concentration decreased form top to bottom. A greater vertical N gradient was observed in leaf than in stem. Leaf N in layer 1 and layer 2 contributed significantly to the grain protein content (GPC) and we gluten content (WGC) in Jingdong8. Grain quality parameters were significantly related to leaf N in layer 1 of Zhongyou9507. Stem N in Zghongyou9507 made a greater contribution to grain quality than that of Jingdong8. N translocation form the lower layers to the upper layers was associated with grain quality, especially in Zhongyou9507/ Greater leaf N gradient 2 (G2) of Zhongyou9507 at anthesis and grain filling was associated with better grain quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of an inexact multi-objective programming (IMOP) model and its application to the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the regional development plan for the Hunnan New Zone (HNZ) in Shenyang City, China. Inexact programming and multi-objective programming methods are employed to effectively account for extensive uncertainties in the study system and to reflect various interests from different stakeholders, respectively. In the case study, balancing-economy-and-environment scenario and focusing-industry-development scenario are analyzed by the interactive solution process for addressing the preferences from local authorities and compromises among different objectives. Through interpreting the model solutions under both scenarios, analysis of industrial structure, waste water treatment plant (WWTP) expansion, water consumption and pollution generation and treatment are undertaken for providing a solid base to justify and evaluate the HNZ regional development plan. The study results show that the developed IMOP-SEA framework is feasible and applicable in carrying comprehensive environmental impact assessments for development plan in a more effective and efficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing of plant water content is difficult because the absorption band sensitive to foliar liquid water is also sensitive to the atmospheric vapour. A method using non-water-absorption spectral parameters to evaluate plant water content (PWC) would be valuable. In our experiment, canopy spectra of 48 winter wheat treatments with different varieties, different fertilization and irrigation levels were measured by an ASD FieldSpec FR spectrometer in six different growth stages from erecting stage to milking stage, and the PWCs of the related wheat plant samples were also measured. Significant positive coefficients of correlation were observed between PWC and spectral reflectance in 740-930 nm region in all of the six different growth stages, which indicates that the NIR spectral reflectance increases due to the effect of PWC on the leaf internal structure. This mechanism also affects the red edge spectrum in 680-740 nm region. The spectral reflectance increases more rapidly and the red edge becomes steeper if PWC is higher. The coefficients of correlation between PWC and red edge width, derived from the inverted-Gaussian model, are significant at the 0·999 confidence-level, which is more reliable than WI and NDWI, and the statistical models for PWC based on red edge width were set up in all the six different growth stages. In addition, LAI and canopy chlorophyll density (CCD) are also related to red edge parameter, such as red edge position and red edge width. It seems that PWC plays a more important role in red edge width than LAI and CCD due to the effect of PWC on the leaf internal structure, and that CCD plays a more important role in red edge position than LAI and PWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details the measurement of the reflectance of leaves and spikes from rice plants with three contrasting nitrogen supplemental levels at the grain-filling stage. Rice spikes with the typical reflectance spectra characteristics of plants; More radiation reflected with longer wavelengths of maximum/minimum reflectance in the visible region in comparison with the rice leaves.

A field study was conducted to study effects of four nitrogen (N) supplemental levels on biomass, protein-N, non-protein-N, and starch of an upper and a lower leaf in rice (Oryza sativa L.). The ranges of leaf protein-N, non-protein-N, total N, and starch concentrations were from 1.18% to 3.66%, from 0.13% to 0.67%, from 1.32% to 4.14%, and from 38.4 mg g-1 to 108.6 mg g-1, respectively. The upper leaf appeared to be more sensitive than the lower leaf in response to N levels on biomass, but larger differences of protein-N, total N, and starch contents were observed among nitrogen level treatments in the lower leaf than in the upper leaf. Protein-N may be the best indicative of N status in rice. The lower leaf had a considerably higher ratio of protein-N to non-protein-N at panicle formation and heading growth stage. The lower leaf had higher starch contents, which decreased with increasing N level. The response differences between the upper leaf and the lower leaf with relation to light conditions, developmental extent and leaf function were discussed. The results suggested that the lower leaf could be more suitable as a test sample for N status diagnosis by leaf chemical analysis, especially during the reproductive growth stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: The Phyllanthaceae family comprises a diverse range of plants with medicinal, edible, and ornamental value, extensively cultivated worldwide. Polyploid species commonly occur in Phyllanthaceae. Due to the rather complex genomes and evolutionary histories, their speciation process has been still lacking in research. In this study, we generated chromosome‐scale haplotype‐resolved genomes of two octoploid species (Phyllanthus emblica and Sauropus spatulifolius) in Phyllanthaceae family. Combined with our previously reported one tetraploid (Sauropus androgynus) and one diploid species (Phyllanthus cochinchinensis) from the same family, we explored their speciation history. The three polyploid species were all identified as allopolyploids with subgenome A/B. Each of their two distinct subgenome groups from various species was uncovered to independently share a common diploid ancestor (Ancestor‐AA and Ancestor‐BB). Via different evolutionary routes, comprising various scenarios of bifurcating divergence, allopolyploidization (hybrid polyploidization), and autopolyploidization, they finally evolved to the current tetraploid S. androgynus, and octoploid S. spatulifolius and P. emblica, respectively. We further discuss the variations in copy number of alleles and the potential impacts within the two octoploids. In addition, we also investigated the fluctuation of metabolites with medical values and identified the key factor in its biosynthesis process in octoploids species. Our study reconstructed the evolutionary history of these Phyllanthaceae species, highlighting the critical roles of polyploidization and hybridization in their speciation processes. The high‐quality genomes of the two octoploid species provide valuable genomic resources for further research of evolution and functional genomics. Significance Statement: Our study reconstructed the evolutionary history of these Phyllanthaceae species, highlighting the critical roles of polyploidization and hybridization in their speciation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high-performance and highly stable electrocatalysts is crucial and challenging for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). MOFs complexed with SnS2 can form complexes with inserted structures, and their large specific surface area and numerous pores favor mass transfer, exposing the S active sites to more SnS2, improving the utilisation of the active sites and enhancing the catalytic activity for the HER. Structural collapse can be hindered to improve the stability of the HER composites. Herein, six different kinds of SnS2 were synthesized by a hydrothermal method under discrete conditions, and SI8-SnS2 was screened out to have optimal morphology and electrocatalytic performance. Two innovative SnS2@Ni-MOF and SnS2@HKUST-1 as efficient electrocatalysts were synthesized by a facile grinding method for hydrogen generation. SnS2@Ni-MOF and SnS2@HKUST-1 catalysts showed lower overpotentials of 117 mV and 142 mV at 10 mA cm−2 (η10) and smaller Tafel slopes (58 mV dec−1 and 93 mV dec−1) than six different kinds of SnS2, Ni-MOF and HKUST-1 in 0.5 M H2SO4. Meanwhile, the Cdl values for SnS2@Ni-MOF and SnS2@HKUST-1 were estimated to be 11.5 mF cm−2 and 8.0 mF cm−2, and the stabilities of SnS2, Ni-MOF, HKUST-1, SnS2@Ni-MOF, and SnS2@HKUST-1 were tested at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. The current densities of SnS2@Ni-MOF and SnS2@HKUST-1 were stable over 8 h compared to the pure samples, and SEM, XPS tests were run after the HER test, indicating that the materials have excellent electrocatalytic stability. The syntheses of SnS2@Ni-MOF and SnS2@HKUST-1 enhance their intrinsic catalytic activity, and the porous structure promotes mass transfer efficiency, thereby improving the HER performance, which will guide the development of new and promising electrocatalysts for HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building information modeling (BIM) and geographic information system (GIS) are often integrated to achieve more refined urban management. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and City Geography Markup Language (CityGML) are widely used standards in BIM and GIS. The main problem of the transformation of these two standards lies in the gap between them in geometry and semantics. This article introduces an ontology‐based rule mapping approach, achieving the transformation from IFC to CityGML through coordinate system conversion, geometric expression conversion, and semantic mapping. For semantic mapping, we have designed and established rules, enabling the effective mapping of the IFC model to the CityGML level of detail 0 (LOD0) to LOD4 model based on entities, appearance properties and building properties. To fully demonstrate the entire process, we give a detailed elaboration of the conversion of several IFC models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, four organic polymers of poly [(MMA) x - co -(NPMA) y - co -(CPMA) z ] and four zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) polymers of poly [(MMA) x - co -(NPMA) y - co -(ZnPc) z ] have been successfully synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, where MMA is methyl methacrylate, NPMA is 3,3-diphenyl-8-methacryloxy-3H-naphtho [2,1-b]pyran, and CPMA is 3,4-dicyanophenyl methacrylate. The components of these polymers have been fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, Raman, XPS, UV–Vis, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. From PL spectra, poly [(MMA) x - co -(NPMA) y - co -(ZnPc) z ] polymers display strong fluorescence quenching by the energy transfer (ET) process between NPMA and ZnPc moieties. The third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of poly [(MMA) x - co -(NPMA) y - co -(ZnPc) z ] polymers have been investigated by the Z-scan technique, and poly [(MMA) 168 - co -(NPMA) 5.2 - co -(ZnPc) 1.2 ] (Q4) showed the best NLO properties owing to the much stronger ET between NP and ZnPc units. Furthermore, it is essential to obtain doped poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films for practical application. The poly [(MMA) 168 - co -(NPMA) 5.2 - co -(ZnPc) 1.2 ]/PMMA film exhibited a higher nonlinear absorption coefficient of 61 × 10−11 m/W and a lower limiting threshold of 0.19 J/cm2. The significantly enhanced NLO properties of poly [(MMA) 168 - co -(NPMA) 5.2 - co -(ZnPc) 1.2 ]/PMMA film compared with solution are attributed to the weaker aggregation effect in PMMA film. This research provides a promising molecular design strategy for high performance NLO materials. Syntheses and Characterizations of Zn (Ⅱ) Phthalocyanines & Naphthopyrans Based Polymers for Improved Nonlinear Optical Properties. Image 1 • The polymers containing phthalocyanine and naphthopyran moieties could effectively reduce phthalocyanines aggregation. • The energy transfer (ET) process could occur between phthalocyanines and naphthopyrans in the polymers. • Owing to the ET process, the optical limiting properties of Q4/PMMA film were better than Q1/PMMA film. • The polymers/PMMA films could withstand lasers in further practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study assessed the impact of urban water body restoration on water ecology. • Riparian plants, phytoplankton, amphibians, fish, and microorganisms were assessed. • With improving water quality, fish diversity increased significantly. • Fish diversity correlated negatively with the concentration of pollutants. Based on a river water environmental restoration project in a downtown area of the Taihu Lake Basin, this study continuously monitored the changes of water quality for two years using five indicators (shore and riparian plants, phytoplankton, amphibians, fish, and microorganisms). The variation characteristics of biological indicators were analysed over the urban water body restoration process. According to the results of water quality analysis, the water quality significantly improved during the restoration of the water environment (from inferior class V to V). With the improved water quality, the diversity of plants and amphibians changed little, which were characterized by single species and small quantities, without showing regular changes. The diversity of fish in 2015 increased significantly compared to that of 2014, and correlated significantly negatively with the concentration of water pollutants. Carps showed a stronger enrichment ability for Mn and Pb. Microbial count, γ-proteobacteria, and proteobacteria collectively served as a definitive indicator of the degree of heavy pollution in water bodies. Indicators of the ecological impact assessment in the urban water body restoration process screened in this study can be used as indicative reference indicators for the restoration status of urban water ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks have demonstrated superior performance in artificial intelligence applications, but the opaqueness of their inner working mechanism is one major drawback in their application. The prevailing unit-based interpretation is a statistical observation of stimulus–response data, which fails to show a detailed internal process of inherent mechanisms of neural networks. In this work, we analyze a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained in the classification task and present an algorithm to extract the diffusion pathways of individual pixels to identify the locations of pixels in an input image associated with object classes. The pathways allow us to test the causal components which are important for classification and the pathway-based representations are clearly distinguishable between categories. We find that the few largest pathways of an individual pixel from an image tend to cross the feature maps in each layer that is important for classification. And the large pathways of images of the same category are more consistent in their trends than those of different categories. We also apply the pathways to understanding adversarial attacks, object completion, and movement perception. Further, the total number of pathways on feature maps in all layers can clearly discriminate the original, deformed, and target samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the application needs of electrochemical water splitting, it is extremely important but challenging to develop efficient, cost-effective, long-lasting bifunctional catalysts. Herein, three POM@TM-MOFs composites were synthesized to K 6 [P 2 W 18 O 62 ] encapsulating into TM-BTC (TM = Fe, Co or Ni, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) by a well-established impregnation method. The TM-MOFs with internal diameters of 16.08 Å and 6.95 Å apertures are largely enclosed by BTC ligands that act as switches that open and close the channel to allow leaching and immersing of POM, which can solve the problem of POM agglomeration and poor stability and maintain the original porous structure of MOFs. POM@Ni-MOF showed excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic performance with overpotentials of 68 mV and Tafel slopes of 77.3 mV/dec for HER, overpotentials of 107.3 mV and Tafel slopes of 61 mV/dec for OER, respectively. More importantly, POM@Ni-MOF/CC∥POM@Ni-MOF/CC was obtained by POM@Ni-MOF for overall water splitting and required a low cell voltage of only 1.51 V at 10 mA cm−2, which is slightly lower than the Pt–C/CC//RuO 2 –C/CC system. Schematic diagram of the POM@Ni-MOF/CC‖POM@Ni-MOF/CC system for OWS. [Display omitted] • we successfully synthesized three POM@TM-MOFs by a impregnation method. • POM@Ni-MOF overpotentials of 68 mV for HER and of 107.3 mV for OER. • POM@Ni-MOF was exhibiting a low voltage (1.51V) atoverall water splitting. • Faraday efficiency of catalyst are 98.2 %(H 2) and 91.1 %(O 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the effects of a mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde (GCM) supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant capacity, and serum parameters of laying hens. A total of 1120 14‐week‐old Jingfen‐1 strain laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: control, and GCM groups supplemented with 250, 500, or 1000 mg kg−1 for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, GCM‐supplemented groups significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the rate of unqualified eggs of laying hens aged 17–24 weeks. Supplementation of GCM significantly increased (P < 0.05) yolk color and serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) activity but decreased (P < 0.05) the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content in the serum of laying hens at the age of 20 weeks. Furthermore, groups supplemented with GCM showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in Haugh unit, yolk color, activities of total superoxide dismutase and GSH‐Px, and the glucose content in serum, and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the content of urea nitrogen and H2O2 and malondialdehyde in serum of laying hens at the age of 24 weeks. 500 mg kg−1 GCM supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) the number of large white follicles and 1000 mg kg−1 GCM supplementation decreased the number of large yellow follicles in 28‐week‐old laying hens. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that GCM supplementation has positive effects on reducing egg loss and improving egg quality in the early laying period of laying hens. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Dynamic DNA methylation regulatory networks are involved in many biological processes. However, how DNA methylation patterns change during flower senescence and their relevance with gene expression and related molecular mechanism remain largely unknown.Here, we used whole genome bisulfite sequencing to reveal a significant increase of DNA methylation in the promoter region of genes during natural and ethylene‐induced flower senescence in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.), which was correlated with decreased expression of DNA demethylase gene DcROS1. Silencing of DcROS1 accelerated while overexpression of DcROS1 delayed carnation flower senescence.Moreover, among the hypermethylated differentially expressed genes during flower senescence, we identified two amino acid biosynthesis genes, DcCARA and DcDHAD, with increased DNA methylation and reduced expression in DcROS1 silenced petals, and decreased DNA methylation and increased expression in DcROS1 overexpression petals, accompanied by decreased or increased amino acids content. Silencing of DcCARA and DcDHAD accelerates carnation flower senescence. We further showed that adding corresponding amino acids could largely rescue the senescence phenotype of DcROS1, DcCARA and DcDHAD silenced plants.Our study not only demonstrates an essential role of DcROS1‐mediated remodeling of DNA methylation in flower senescence but also unravels a novel epigenetic regulatory mechanism underlying DNA methylation and amino acid biosynthesis during flower senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were prepared from expanded graphite (EG) with fully exfoliated structure via ball milling coupled with ultrasonication. The structure of multi-layered GNPs was characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. By compounding alumina trihydrate (ATH) with GNPs, the well dispersed mixture of ATH/GNP was obtained, and it showed high flame retardant effectiveness in polyethylene (PE). The peak heat release rate (peak-HRR) decreased by 20% was proven by a cone calorimeter with the addition of GNPs as low as 0.2 wt % in PE/ATH. The results of thermogravimetric analysis (TG) illustrated the improved thermal stability and lower weight loss rate of PE/ATH/GNP than PE/ATH. A protective char with GNPs was evidenced by SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The well exfoliated structure and good dispersion of GNPs accounted for the formation of effective barrier, which made a profound contribution to the enhanced flame retardancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread industrial products, which are usually texture-less, are mainly represented with 3D boundary representation (B-Rep) model for designing and manufacturing, hence the pose estimation of texture-less object based on B-Rep model is worthy of much studying in industrial inspection. In view of such facts that surfaces are much crucial both to construction of B-Rep model and to recognition of real object, the edges of the visible surfaces in each aspect view of B-Rep model are computed and the edges in a search image containing real B-Rep objects are extracted with modified Hough algorithm. Secondly, the two edge sets are converted into the metric space for comparison, where each edge is expressed with the tetrad of edge length, angle of middle point, angle of perpendicular axis, and length of perpendicular axis. In that way, the pose of real B-Rep object in a search image is estimated by comparing the edge set of every aspect view with the edge set of the search image with the bipartite graph matching algorithm. The corresponding experiment was taken with some products in national design reservoir (NDR), and it verified the effectiveness of the texture-less pose estimation approach based on B-Rep model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triterpenoids, as the main active ingredient of Ganoderma lucidum fermented extract, exert multiple pharmacological activities, including immunomodulatory properties. Our study aimed to reveal the pharmacological effects and potential mechanisms of Ganoderic acid C2 (GAC) against cyclophosphamide (CY)-associated immunosuppression. Target genes were collected from several public databases, including the DisGeNET, Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, GeneCards, and PharmMapper. STRING database was used to construct the protein–protein interaction of network. Subsequently, molecular docking was carried out to visualize the protein-GAC interactions. Experimental validations, including ELISA and qRT-PCR were performed to confirm the pharmacological activities of GAC on CY-induced immunosuppression model. A total of 56 GAC-related targets were identified to be closely associated with CY-induced immunosuppression. Enrichment analyses results revealed that these targets were mainly involved in immune and inflammatory response-related pathways. STAT3 and TNF were identified as the core targets of GAC. Molecular docking indicated that GAC combined well with STAT3 and TNF protein. In addition, animal experiments indicated that GAC improved immunity as well as STAT3 and TNF genes expression in CY-induced immunosuppression, which further verified the prediction through bioinformatics analysis and molecular docking. We successfully revealed the potential therapeutics mechanisms underlying the effect of GAC against CY-induced immunosuppression based on the combination of bioinformatics analysis, molecular docking, and animal experiments. Our findings lay a theoretical foundation for the in-depth development and utilization of Ganoderma lucidum fermentation product in the future, and also provide theoretical guidance for the development of innovative drugs that assist in improving immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triterpenoids, as the main active ingredient of Ganoderma lucidum fermented extract, exert multiple pharmacological activities, including immunomodulatory properties. Our study aimed to reveal the pharmacological effects and potential mechanisms of Ganoderic acid C2 (GAC) against cyclophosphamide (CY)-associated immunosuppression. Target genes were collected from several public databases, including the DisGeNET, Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, GeneCards, and PharmMapper. STRING database was used to construct the protein–protein interaction of network. Subsequently, molecular docking was carried out to visualize the protein-GAC interactions. Experimental validations, including ELISA and qRT-PCR were performed to confirm the pharmacological activities of GAC on CY-induced immunosuppression model. A total of 56 GAC-related targets were identified to be closely associated with CY-induced immunosuppression. Enrichment analyses results revealed that these targets were mainly involved in immune and inflammatory response-related pathways. STAT3 and TNF were identified as the core targets of GAC. Molecular docking indicated that GAC combined well with STAT3 and TNF protein. In addition, animal experiments indicated that GAC improved immunity as well as STAT3 and TNF genes expression in CY-induced immunosuppression, which further verified the prediction through bioinformatics analysis and molecular docking. We successfully revealed the potential therapeutics mechanisms underlying the effect of GAC against CY-induced immunosuppression based on the combination of bioinformatics analysis, molecular docking, and animal experiments. Our findings lay a theoretical foundation for the in-depth development and utilization of Ganoderma lucidum fermentation product in the future, and also provide theoretical guidance for the development of innovative drugs that assist in improving immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoid-3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3′5′H) is the key enzyme for the biosynthesis of delphinidin-based anthocyanins, which are generally required for purple or blue flowers. Previously, we isolated a full-length cDNA of PgF3′5′H from Platycodon grandiflorus, which shared the highest homology with Campanula medium F3′5′H. In this study, PgF3′5′H was subcloned into a plant over-expression vector and transformed into tobacco via Agrobacterium tumefaciens to investigate its catalytic function. Positive transgenic tobacco T0 plants were obtained by hygromycin resistance screening and PCR detection. PgF3′5′H showed a higher expression level in all PgF3′5′H transgenic tobacco plants than in control plants. Under the drive of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, the over-expressed PgF3′5′H produced dihydromyricetin (DHM) and some new anthocyanin pigments (including delphinidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin derivatives), and increased dihydrokaempferol (DHK), taxifolin, tridactyl, cyanidin derivatives, and pelargonidin derivatives in PgF3′5′H transgenic tobacco plants by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis, resulting in a dramatic color alteration from light pink to magenta. These results indicate that PgF3′5′H products have F3′5′H enzyme activity. In addition, PgF3′5′H transfer alters flavonoid pigment synthesis and accumulation in tobacco. Thus, PgF3′5′H may be considered a candidate gene for gene engineering to enhance anthocyanin accumulation and the molecular breeding project for blue flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The R2R3-MYB transcription factors are a crucial and extensive gene family in plants, which participate in diverse processes, including development, metabolism, defense, differentiation, and stress response. In the Lingnan region of China, Morinda officinalis is extensively grown and is renowned for its use as both a medicinal herb and food source. However, there are relatively few reports on the R2R3-MYB transcription factor family in M.officinalis. Results: In this study, we identified 97 R2R3-MYB genes in the genome of Morinda officinalis and classified them into 32 subgroups based on phylogenetic comparison with Arabidopsis thaliana. The lack of recent whole-genome duplication events in M.officinalis may be the reason for the relatively few members of the R2R3-MYB family. We also further analyzed the physical and chemical characteristics, conserved motifs, gene structure, and chromosomal location. Gene duplication events found 21 fragment duplication pairs and five tandem duplication event R2R3-MYB genes in M.officinalis may also affect gene family expansion. Based on phylogenetic analysis, cis-element analysis, co-expression analysis and RT-qPCR, we concluded that MoMYB33 might modulate flavonol levels by regulating the expression of 4-coumarate-CoA ligase Mo4CL2, chalcone isomerase MoCHI3, and flavonol synthase MoFLS4/11/12. MoMYB33 and AtMYB111 showed the highest similarity of 79% and may be involved in flavonol synthase networks by the STRING database. Moreover, we also identified MoMYB genes that respond to methyl Jasmonate (MeJA) and abscisic acid (ABA) stress by RT-qPCR. Conclusions: This study offers a thorough comprehension of R2R3-MYB in M.officinalis, which lays the foundation for the regulation of flavonol synthesis and the response of MoMYB genes to phytohormones in M.officinalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]