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The quality of the ecological environment directly affects the generation of ecological benefits, and the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) provides rapid monitoring of regional aboveground ecological environment quality using satellite data. However, it relies on aboveground indicators and cannot fully capture its evolutionary trend. Ecosystem services (ES) indicate the well-being and capacity of ecosystems to benefit humans, and ES directly reflect ecological benefits. They provide a qualitative or quantitative assessment of ecosystem status, but with a delay relative to aboveground environmental changes. In order to quantitatively evaluate ES, ecosystem service index (ESI) was proposed in this paper. The coupling of RSEI and ESI was achieved through the four-quadrant model and the coupling degree model, which compensated for the dependence of RSEI evaluation on aboveground indicators, and the delayed effect of ESI, and provided a more objective spatiotemporal analysis of regional ecological benefits. The example is provided from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, China. Results showed: that ESI could effectively reflect the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on ecosystem quality. The RSEI and ESI showed an overall upward trend in the study area, with the exception of a notable decrease in the central Wanghua District, the southern Dongzhou District, and the northern Fushun County. The quadrant I of the study area showed a continuous decrease, while the rest of the quadrants show a continuous increase. The coupling index significantly decreased in areas impacted by building site expansion and ecological restoration measures implementation. The four-quadrant model and coupling index can reflect the spatiotemporal changes and synergy level of RSEI and ESI, and can provide a more objective spatiotemporal analysis of ecological benefits. Therefore, coupling RSEI and ESI can quickly and comprehensively analyze the ecological environment quality and ecosystem service capacity in time and space, and reflect its evolution trend, which is of great significance for the management, prevention and planning of the regional ecological environment.

Background: Oncomelania hupensis (O. hupensis), the unique intermediate host for Schistosoma japonicum, exerts a substantial influence on the risk of schistosomiasis. Being amphibious freshwater snails, the growth, development, and reproductive distribution of O. hupensis are intricately tied to climatic environmental variables. This study aims to predict O. hupensis habitat risks along the Yangtze River in China, considering multiple environmental factors. Methods: Data pertaining to the distribution of O. hupensis, including both presence and absence records, with the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River basin for the period 2017–2021, were retrieved from the Jiangsu Schistosomiasis Control Information Platform. Ten machine learning algorithms and an ensemble model were used to explore environmental drivers. Three datasets (Snail_CLIM, Snail_TOPO, and Snail_ALL) incorporating climatic and topographic variables were examined for their impact on model accuracy. We conducted validation using the AUC and TSS metrics. Moreover, we utilized the data from the 2022 snail field survey for model external validation. Results: The findings demonstrate that snail_ALL, which incorporates both climatic and topographic variables, exhibits superior performance (ensemble model: sensitivity = 98.000, specificity = 95.960, AUC = 0.994). Among the ten model algorithms, Random Forest (RF) exhibited the highest degree of accuracy and stability (Snail_ALL: AUC = 1.000 ± 0.000, TSS = 0.985 ± 0.005). The key environmental factors affecting snail distribution included the distance to the nearest river, elevation, annual precipitation, and annual average pressure. High-risk areas manifested as two distinct concentrations: downstream of the Luhe District in Nanjing and at the confluence of Zhenjiang and Yangzhou. The results of 2022 field validation showed that over 90 % of the data points for snail breeding sites are concentrated in medium to high-risk areas. Conclusion: By selecting pertinent environmental variables and employing ensemble modeling techniques, we can accurately predict O. hupensis habitats. The resulting risk distribution map for snail habitats not only provides valuable insights but also serves as a guiding tool for targeted monitoring and control measures. The holds particular significance within the contest of the Yangtze River protection and restoration projects.

Abstract CO2 hydrogenation to chemicals and fuels is a significant approach for achieving carbon neutrality. It is essential to rationally design the chemical structure and catalytic active sites towards the development of efficient catalysts. Here we show a Ce-CuZn catalyst with enriched Cu/Zn-OV-Ce active sites fabricated through the atomic-level substitution of Cu and Zn into Ce-MOF precursor. The Ce-CuZn catalyst exhibits a high methanol selectivity of 71.1% and a space-time yield of methanol up to 400.3 g·kgcat −1·h−1 with excellent stability for 170 h at 260 °C, comparable to that of the state-of-the-art CuZnAl catalysts. Controlled experiments and DFT calculations confirm that the incorporation of Cu and Zn into CeO2 with abundant oxygen vacancies can facilitate H2 dissociation energetically and thus improve CO2 hydrogenation over the Ce-CuZn catalyst via formate intermediates. This work offers an atomic-level design strategy for constructing efficient multi-metal catalysts for methanol synthesis through precise control of active sites.

Highlights The Ar plasma etching strategy was introduced to homogeneously distributed S-vacancies (VS) into the NiS2 nanosheets (NiS2-VS). Build the relationship between sulfur vacancy and H absorption and find that NiS2-VS 5.9% performs outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction performance and remarkable stability.

The security of network data transmission has always been a focus of attention. With the rapid development of quantum computers and the rise of intelligent algorithms such as semantic analysis, traditional data encryption methods struggle to ensure the secure transmission of data. The avoidance routing protocol improves transmission security by circumventing malicious nodes and dangerous areas, but it misses the actual optimal path setup, reducing routing opportunities and increasing communication delays, thus failing to meet the application requirements that demand high security and low latency. To address these issues, this paper proposes a multi-path secure transmission method (FCMPR) based on link security assessment and fountain coding. We have designed a link security assessment method based on a random forest traffic detection model, which can obtain the link's confidence level to assess its security. Furthermore, we have proposed a secure multi-path routing transmission mechanism based on fountain code, enabling safe and rapid data transmission without avoiding malicious nodes. Experimental results show that even with a high proportion of malicious nodes in the network, FCMPR can significantly improve the data transmission rate, reduce the transmission delay, and enhance communication quality while ensuring data security.

The exchange of perceptual information between autonomous vehicles could significantly improve driving safety. In general, obtaining more information means driving more safely. However, Frequent information sharing consumes a significant amount of channel bandwidth resources, which will reduce transmission efficiency and increase delay, especially in crowded cities. This paper presents a novel method of motion prediction compensation to solve this problem. Firstly, we propose a distributed fountain coding scheme to improve transmission efficiency and reduce vehicles’ delay in acquiring peripheral information. Secondly, we design a mobile prediction model and information transmission control algorithm to reduce traffic while ensuring information reliability. The simulation results show that the prediction accuracy of this method is above 94 %, the information transmission is reduced by more than 50 %, and the vehicle perception rate is increased by 34 %.

In this study, an optimized composite was prepared based on chemically modified corn straw, chitosan, and poly(lactic acid) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The composite was produced by screw extruding and hot pressing. The Box Behnken Design (BBD) software was used to design the test to optimize the composite composition. The optimum ratio of 3 factors, e.g. chemically modified corn straw (0.10 to 0.40 g), chitosan (0.25 to 0.75 g), and poly(lactic acid) (2.00 to 3.00 g) on the response value (bending strength) of the composite was investigated. RSM-BBD provided the optimum combination of composites. The novel composite prepared under the optimized factors was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, mechanical testing, water absorption tests, contact angle tests, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the mechanical strength, e.g., bending strength, impact strength, and tensile strength of chemically modified corn straw based composite were 21.6 MPa, 4.43 kJ/m2, and 20.0 MPa, respectively, which increased by 23.5%, 13.9%, and 18.7% compared to native corn straw based composite. Improved mechanical strength and hydrophobicity for chemically modified corn straw/chitosan/poly(lactic acid) demonstrated that chemically modified biomass fibers and bio-based degradable polymers have the potential to produce environmentally friendly composites.

Many debris-covered glaciers are widely distributed on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Glaciers are important freshwater resources and cause disasters such as glacier collapse and landslides. Therefore, it is of great significance to monitor the movement characteristics of large active glaciers and analyze the process of mass migration, which may cause serious threats and damage to roads and people living in surrounding areas. In this study, we chose a glacier with strong activity in Lulang County, Tibet, as the study area. The complete 4-year time series deformation of the glacier was estimated by using an improved small-baseline subset InSAR (SBAS-InSAR) technique based on the ascending and descending Sentinel-1 datasets. Then, the three-dimensional time series deformation field of the glacier was obtained by using the 3D decomposition technique. Furthermore, the three-dimensional movement of the glacier and its material migration process were analyzed. The results showed that the velocities of the Lulang glacier in horizontal and vertical directions were up to 8.0 m/year and 0.45 m/year, and these were basically consistent with the movement rate calculated from the historical optical images. Debris on both sides of the slope accumulated in the channel after slipping, and the material loss of the three provenances reached 6–9 × 103 m3/year, while the volume of the glacier also decreased by about 76 × 103 m3/year due to snow melting and evaporation. The correlation between the precipitation, temperature, and surface velocity suggests that glacier velocity has a clear association with them, and the activity of glaciers is linked to climate change. Therefore, in the context of global warming, the glacier movement speed will gradually increase with the annual increase in temperature, resulting in debris flow disasters in the future summer high-temperature period.

A new class of bio-composites was developed by utilizing four kinds of lignocellulosic biomass fiber (bagasse, bamboo, rice husk, and rice straw) as filling fibers. Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) in a mixture ratio of 7:3 were used as matrix materials with hot-press molding. The performance of the resulting composites was evaluated by compositional analyses, mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and morphological analysis. The interfacial adhesion, thermal stability, and comprehensive mechanical properties of the alkali treated bamboo/PHB/PBS composite were highest among the four bio-composites. The bending strength, tensile strength, and impact strength for alkali treated bamboo/PHB/PBS composite was 19.82 MPa, 12.97 MPa, and 4.30 kJ/m2, respectively. The thermal stability for NaOH modified bamboo/PHB/PBS composite was slightly superior to the other three composites, with the initial pyrolysis temperature of 248 °C, moderate pyrolysis speed, and the amount of pyrolysis residue (5.81%). The results showed the suitability of biomass fiber and biodegradable polymer for producing environmentally friendly composite materials.

Alkali-treated bagasse fiber was used as a process variable for optimization of the properties of polybutylene succinate/poly(lactic acid)-based biocomposites using Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum conditions for three factors, i.e., NaOH-treated bagasse fiber (0.55 to 1.65 g), polybutylene succinate (1.1 to 2.3 g), and poly(lactic acid) (2.2 to 3.4 g) on the bending strength of biocomposite were investigated. The optimum combination was 0.91 g of NaOH-treated bagasse fiber, 1.14 g of polybutylene succinate, and 3.10 g of poly(lactic acid). The bending strength for NaOH-treated bagasse fiber/polybutylene succinate/ poly(lactic acid) composite was 27.0 MPa, which was 26.0% higher than native bagasse fiber-based composite. The composites were also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, mechanical testing, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, water absorption, and contact angle tests. Results demonstrated that the bending strength, impact strength, and tensile strength of alkali treated bagasse fiber-based biocomposite increased by 26.0%, 15.5%, and 23.3%, separately, compared with native bagasse-based composite after sequential homogenization, compounding, and hot pressing. The hydrophobicity for alkali-treated bagasse fiber/PBS/PLA was also improved. Thus, NaOH-treated biomass materials/biodegradable polymer was judged to be suitable for preparing green composite materials.

As the common varieties of chopper pepper process, “La Feng 33” was selected as the research object. Five different growth stages of pepper from Shandong and Shanxi provinces were analyzed to explore the quality changes of pepper fruit during the growth process, which was essential for regulating the quality of chopped pepper and expanding the raw material sources. The results showed that the change trend of quality characteristics of pepper in the two regions was basically the same during the growth process. The content of VC and total capsaicin increased with fruit growth to some extent; soluble solids, acidity, total polyphenols, DPPH· scavenging capacity, FRAP, ABTS+· scavenging capacity decreased first and then increased with fruit growth; organic acids, total ash, Mg, Ca, Mn and Fe decreased with fruit growth. In addition, the contents of VC, soluble solids, organic acids and total capsaicin in Shandong producing area were higher than those in Shanxi producing area (P

Antibiotic residues have been found to have potentially harmful effects on ecological and human health. Carbon nitride-based photocatalysts have widely focused on antibiotic photocatalytic degradation. Herein, we prepared Fe-modified g-C3N4 nanorod bunches (FCNBs) using chemical vapor co-deposition. Specifically, through the process of calcination, a blend of urea and chlorophyllin sodium iron salt underwent an intriguing transformation, resulting in the integration of Fe into the framework of the g-C3N4 nanorod cluster. The resulting photocatalyst exhibited remarkable stability and superior dispersibility. The prepared FCNBs had a unique structure, which was beneficial for increasing light absorption. Furthermore, the Fe species formed a chemical coordination with the g-C3N4 matrix, thereby altering the electronic structure of the matrix. This modification facilitated charge transfer, prolonged the carrier lifetime, and enhanced light absorption, all of which significantly increased the photocatalytic activity. The oxytetracycline degradation efficiency of FCNBs was 82.5%, and they demonstrated outstanding stability in cycle trials. This work introduces a promising photocatalyst for the degradation of antibiotics.

Pixel-level classification of very-high-resolution images is a crucial yet challenging task in remote sensing. While transformers have demonstrated effectiveness in capturing dependencies, their tendency to partition images into patches may restrict their applicability to highly detailed remote sensing images. To extract latent contextual semantic information from high-resolution remote sensing images, we proposed a gaze–saccade transformer (GSV-Trans) with visual perceptual attention. GSV-Trans incorporates a visual perceptual attention (VPA) mechanism that dynamically allocates computational resources based on the semantic complexity of the image. The VPA mechanism includes both gaze attention and eye movement attention, enabling the model to focus on the most critical parts of the image and acquire competitive semantic information. Additionally, to capture contextual semantic information across different levels in the image, we designed an inter-layer short-term visual memory module with bidirectional affinity propagation to guide attention allocation. Furthermore, we introduced a dual-branch pseudo-label module (DBPL) that imposes pixel-level and category-level semantic constraints on both gaze and saccade branches. DBPL encourages the model to extract domain-invariant features and align semantic information across different domains in the feature space. Extensive experiments on multiple pixel-level classification benchmarks confirm the effectiveness and superiority of our method over the state of the art.

BackgroundSleep disorders are prevalent among patients with schizophrenia and are associated with several negative consequences. Although, researchers have recently suggested that sleep disorders have a close correlation with alexithymia, and schizophrenia also has a strong correlation with alexithymia, there have been few studies on the relationships between schizophrenia, sleep disorders and alexithymia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the relationships between psychiatric symptoms, alexithymia and sleep problems in patients with schizophrenia so as to provide a reference for the clinical treatment of this comorbidity.MethodsIn total, 977 patients with schizophrenia were recruited for this study. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to assess sleep disorders, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were used to evaluate clinical symptoms, cognitive functions and the ability to express emotion, respectively.ResultsThe results indicated that the PANSS subscales (G-subscore) and TAS group were risk factors for insomnia in schizophrenia patients (all p

Rapid diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium requires an accurate and timely assay, especially for low-intensity S. haematobium infection cases and in non-endemic areas. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) gene fragment of S. haematobium was selected as detection target as this short fragment, which can be rapidly sequenced and yet possess good diagnostic resolution. A pair of primers and a fluorescent probe were designed according to the principle of recombinase-aided amplification (RAA), which was subsequently optimized and applied as an S. haematobium-specific RAA assay. Its diagnostic performance was validated for sensitivity and specificity in comparison to microscopy-based egg counting after urine filtration. The RAA assay could detect as little as 10 copies/μL of S. haematobium recombinant plasmid, and no cross-reactions were observed with S. mansoni, S. japonicum, Ancylostoma duodenale, Clonorchis sinensis, Echinococcus granulosus, or Ascaris lumbricoides. This test can be conducted at 39 °C and the whole RAA reaction can be completed within 20 min. The validation of the RAA assay showed that it had 100 % consistency with urine-egg microscopy, as it does not require an elaborate reading tool, is simple to use, and should be useful for field diagnostics and point-of-care applications.

Fluid pressurization rate is an important inducement to fracture slip. In order to characterize the fracture slip initiation and slip mode during fluid pressurization, a series of stepwise injection induced shear tests were carried out. Results show that fracture slip initiation depends on fluid pressure and roughness of fracture surface. Fluid pressurization rate, fluid pressure non– uniform distribution all affect fracture slip initiation. Reducing fluid pressurization rate seems cannot effectively avoid induced earthquake, but can delay the time and scale of induced earthquake, especially can alleviate induced earthquake after shut-in. Earthquake induced after shut-in may be caused by secondary damage of concave-convex body on fault surface under the action of fluctuating pressure generated from injection wells or underground water sources around fault. Furthermore, a new view is proposed that the change of fluid pressure gradient on fracture surface is an important complementary mechanism for shut-in induced earthquakes.

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) presents a substantial global health burden, spanning a spectrum from subtle cardiac functional alterations to overt heart failure. In this comprehensive review, we delved into the intricate pathophysiological mechanisms governing the onset and progression of HHD. We emphasized the significant role of neurohormonal activation, inflammation, and metabolic remodeling in HHD pathogenesis, offering insights into promising therapeutic avenues. Additionally, this review provided an overview of contemporary imaging diagnostic tools for precise HHD severity assessment. We discussed in detail the current potential treatments for HHD, including pharmacologic, lifestyle, and intervention devices. This review aimed to underscore the global importance of HHD and foster a deeper understanding of its pathophysiology, ultimately contributing to improved public health outcomes.

In order to explore the quality and flavor differences of traditional homemade chopped peppers from different regions, this study selected traditional homemade chopped peppers from six regions in Hunan as the research object, and determined the differences in organic acids and volatile components by using high performance liquid chromatography and headspace solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The differences in physical and chemical parameters, organic acids and volatile components were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the salinity, acidity, various organic acids and volatile components of the farm chopped peppers in six different regions were significantly different (P

[Introduction] Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power generation technology is a high-efficiency and low-carbon power generation technology. A waste heat boiler is one of the components of IGCC. This paper aims to study the off-design operating characteristics of waste heat boilers and improve the efficiency of integrated coal gasification combined cycle power generation technology. [Method] The working principle and heat and mass transfer principle of the waste heat boiler were mainly analyzed by MATLAB software to carry out programming calculations to explore the relationship between feed water temperature, feed water pressure, liquid-phase heat transfer coefficient, gas-phase heat transfer coefficient and heat absorption in waste heat boiler. [Result] The results show that when the liquid-phase heat transfer coefficient is in the range of 200～1 000 W/(m2·K) and the gas-phase heat transfer coefficient is in the range of 20～100 W/(m2·K), as if the feed water temperature increases from 30 ℃ to 100 ℃ or the feed water pressure increases, the heat absorption of the waste heat boiler decreases continuously. In case the feed water temperature is in the range of 30～100 ℃, when the liquid phase heat transfer coefficient increases from 200 W/(m2·K) to 1 000 W/(m2·K) or the gas phase heat transfer coefficient increases from 20 W/(m2·K) to 100 W/(m2·K), the heat absorption of the waste heat boiler increases continuously.[Conclusion] Under the condition that liquid-phase heat transfer coefficient and gas-phase heat transfer coefficient remain unchanged, the feed water temperature or pressure increases, and the heat absorption capacity of the waste heat boiler will decrease; While the feed water temperature and pressure remain unchanged, the liquid-phase heat transfer coefficient or gas-phase heat transfer coefficient increases, and the heat absorption capacity of the waste heat boiler will increase.

Abstract Background With the advent of the electronic age, the prolonged screen time (ST) of preschoolers in China is relatively high and is on the rise, which is likely to affect preschoolers’ physical and mental health. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing ST in preschoolers, especially the role of parental factors, and to provide a basis for the prevention, control, and intervention of ST in preschoolers in China. Methods A questionnaire was completed by the parents of 1,546 preschoolers from four kindergartens in Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province, China, and a multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlates of excessive ST in preschoolers. Results A total of 43.8% of preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years, of which 50.3% were boys and 49.7% were girls, had > 1 h/day of ST. Older preschoolers, greater screen accessibility, greater frequency of eating in front of a screen, longer ST of parents, and unclear rules of screen-based behavior were the risk factors for ST being > 1 h/day (P

With the rapid development of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, China’s agricultural production is entering a new era characterized by digitalization. Based on provincial panel data of China from 2013 to 2020, this paper adopts the system GMM and mediating effects model to systematically examine the impact of digitalization on low-carbon agricultural production from the perspective of resource misallocation. The results indicate that digitalization can significantly curb agricultural carbon emissions and thus promote low-carbon agricultural production, and this finding still holds after the robustness test. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the inhibiting effect of digitalization on agricultural carbon emissions is most pronounced in the eastern region relative to the central and western regions (the regression coefficients are −0.400 and −0.126 respectively). Further mechanism analysis suggests that digitalization can reduce agricultural carbon emissions by correcting the widespread capital and labor misallocation in agricultural factor markets. The findings of this study provide significant policy implications for low-carbon agricultural production in China.

Abstract Background Bulinus globosus, the main intermediate snail host of Schistosoma haematobium. The increased contacts between Africa and China could even lead to large-scale dissemination of B. globosus in China. Temperature is the key factor affecting fresh-water snail transmission. This study predicted potential risk of colonization of B. globosus in the mainland of China under climate change. Methods We investigated minimum and maximum temperatures for B. globosus eggs, juveniles and adult snails kept under laboratory conditions to find the most suitable range by pinpointing the median effective temperatures (ET50). We also assessed the influence of temperature on spawning and estimated the accumulated temperature (AT). The average air temperatures between 1955 and 2019 in January and July, the coldest and hottest months in China, respectively, were collected from national meteorological monitoring stations and investigated in a geographic information system (GIS) using empirical Bayesian Kriging to evaluate the theoretical possibility for distribution of B. globosus in southern China based on temperature. Results The effective minimum temperature (ET50min) for eggs, juveniles, adult snails and spawning were 8.5, 7.0, 7.0, 14.9 °C, respectively, with the corresponding maximum values (ET50max) of 36.6, 40.5, 40.2 and 38.1 °C. The AT was calculated at 712.1 ± 64.9 °C·d. In 1955, the potential B. globosus distribution would have had a northern boundary stretching from the coastal areas of Guangdong Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region to southern Yunnan Province. Since then, this line has gradually moved northward. Conclusions Annual regeneration of B. globosus can be supported by the current climate conditions in the mainland of China, and a gradual expansion trend from south to north is shown in the study from 2015 to 2019. Thus, there is a potential risk of colonization of B. globosus in the mainland of China under climate change. Graphical Abstract

With the wide interconnection of power systems and extensive application of phasor measurement units (PMUs), the secure operation of power systems is facing considerable challenges. To satisfy the demand of online dynamic security assessment (DSA) for modern power systems, a data-driven scheme based on sparse projection oblique randomer forests (SPORF) is proposed, which includes offline training, periodic update and online assessment. In the first stage, an improved adaptive synthetic sampling (ADASYN) method is developed to mitigate the class imbalance problem for the data-driven DSA approach. Then, the SPORF-based DSA model is trained using crucial features with low redundancy selected by a feature selection procedure based on the minimal-redundancy-maximal-relevance (MRMR) criterion. In the second stage, the periodic update of the DSA model for unseen system topologies is executed to enhance the robustness of the model. In the third stage, the trained model can provide the DSA result immediately when the real-time operation information of a system is received. The satisfactory performance of the proposed scheme is demonstrated through a series of tests and the comparisons on a 23-bus system and a practical 1648-bus system.

Schistosomiasis is a tropical parasitic disease that seriously endangers humans and animals. In this study, two Oncomelania snails, Oncomelania hupensis (O. hupensis) and Oncomelania weishan (O. weishan), were infected with Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) cercariae during the early period, and ICR mice were subsequently infected with two kinds of miracidia that developed in male and female adult worms. In this study, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) were used to identify four channels: 113, 115, 117, and 119. A total of 2364 adult schistosome proteins were identified, and 1901 proteins were quantitative. Our results revealed 68 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in female adult worms, including 24 upregulated proteins and 44 downregulated proteins, and 55 DEPs in male adult worms, including 25 upregulated proteins and 30 downregulated proteins. LC-MS/MS and bioinformatics analysis indicated that these DEPs are mainly concentrated in cellular composition, molecular function, biological function and catabolism pathways. In summary, this proteomics analysis of adult schistosomes that hatched in two intermediate hosts helps to improve our understanding of the growth and developmental mechanisms of S. japonicum.

Metal-air batteries rely on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for their operation. However, the ORR is kinetically slow, necessitating the use of Pt-based catalysts, which is hindered by their high cost and limited availability. Consequently, considerable efforts have been dedicated to developing metal-free catalysts for the ORR. Among these, heteroatom-doped carbons have emerged as promising candidates by manipulating their composition and microstructure. Inspired by the ancient “Pharaoh’s snakes” reaction, this study utilized sugar, melamine, and a polymerizable ionic liquid as precursors to prepare heteroatom-doped carbons with the desired composition and structure. The resulting carbon catalyst exhibited an onset potential and half-wave potential in a 0.1 M KOH electrolyte that was comparable to those of a commercial Pt/C 20 wt.% catalyst, with values of 0.97 and 0.83 VRHE, respectively. Furthermore, the catalyst demonstrated excellent stability, retaining 93% of its initial current after a 10,800-s test. To evaluate its practical application, the synthesized carbon was employed as the cathode catalyst in a Zn-air battery, which achieved a maximum power density of 90 mW cm−2. This study, therefore, presents a simple yet effective method for producing metal-free heteroatom-doped carbon ORR catalysts used in various energy conversion and storage devices.

The implementation of digital technology has become paramount to facilitating green and low-carbon development in dairy farms amidst the advent of digital agriculture and low-carbon agriculture. This study examined the impact of digital technology implementation on the carbon emission efficiency of Chinese dairy farms via an assessment of micro-survey data, incorporating an Undesirable Outputs-SBM model, a Tobit model, the propensity score matching technique, a quantile regression model, and an instrumental variable approach. This study examined the potential moderating influence of environmental regulations on digital technology applications and the carbon emission efficiency of dairy farms. The findings of the research indicate that the implementation of digital technology had a considerable beneficial consequence on the carbon emission proficiency of dairy farms. The statistical significance level of the mean treatment effect was 0.1161, with the most profound influence of precision feeding digital technology on the carbon emission efficiency in dairy farms. The application of digital technology has a more pronounced effect on dairy farms with lower levels of carbon emission efficiency compared to those with medium and high levels of carbon emission efficiency. The application of digital technology toward the carbon emission efficiency of dairy farms is positively moderated by environmental regulations. Finally, this paper puts forward some specific policy recommendations to achieve the strategic goal of low carbon and efficient development in dairy farms through the application of digital technology, which enriches the existing research on carbon emission reduction in dairy farms from theoretical and practical aspects.

Abstract For pre-operative osteoarthritis (OA) patients with varus knee, previous studies showed inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted this study to better identify the association of Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score and mechanical alignment. 44 patients (51 knees) with constitutional varus knee caused by combined deformities (LDFA (lateral distal femoral angle) > 90°and MPTA (medial proximal tibial angle)

Satellite observations have revealed strong land surface “greening” (i.e., increases in vegetation greenness or leaf area index (LAI)) in the Northern Hemisphere over the past few decades. European terrestrial ecosystems are a greening hotspot, but how they respond to land surface greening, climate change, CO2 fertilization, land use and land cover change (LULCC) and other factors is unclear. Here, we assessed how these interacting factors might be combined to alter terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) throughout Europe during the period of 2001 to 2016 using a process-based Farquhar GPP model (i.e., FGM). We found a more productive European terrestrial ecosystem and most of the GPP enhancement in Europe was explained by increases in LAI (62%) and atmospheric CO2 concentration (29%). Spatially, the spatial signature of the LAI and GPP trends both suggested widespread (72–73% of the vegetated area) greening phenomena across Europe, among which 23.7% and 13.3% were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The interannual trend of GPP estimated by the FGM (0.55% yr−1) was reasonable compared with other GPP products (0.47% yr−1 to 0.92% yr−1) and the observed LAI increasing rate (0.62% yr−1). FGM factorial simulations suggested that land surface greening (+35.5 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.01), CO2 fertilization (+16.9 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.01), temperature warming (+3.7 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.05), and enhanced downwards solar radiation (+1.2 Pg C yr−2, p > 0.05) contributed to the GPP enhancement, while the enhanced vapour pressure deficit (−5.6 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.01) had significant negative impacts on GPP, especially in 2006 and 2012, when extreme droughts struck south-eastern Europe. Meanwhile, approximately 1.8% of the total area of Europe experienced LULCC from 2001 to 2016 and LULCC exerted a small but significant (−1.3 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.01) impact on GPP due to decreases in the total number of vegetated pixels (−159 pixels yr−1). Although the LULCC effect was negative, the largest increase occurred in forested land (+0.9% of total area). In addition, the increasing trends for the annual mean LAI (0.01 m2 m−2 yr−1, p < 0.001) and total GPP (22.2 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.001) of forests were more significant and higher than those of other vegetation types, suggesting that European forests may continue to play important roles in combating climate change in the future with long-lasting carbon storage potential. These results provide the first systematic quantitative analysis of the driving force of enhanced gross carbon assimilation by European ecosystems by considering variations in leaf physiological traits with environmental adaptations.

The Jurassic continental shale oil (gas) is a favorable unconventional resource in the Sichuan Basin of China. In this paper, analysis methods such as core and outcrops observation, thin section identification, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are used to describe the characteristics of lacustrine fine-grained rock reservoir in Da’anzhai Member of the Ziliujing Formation in Sichuan Basin, and it discussed the influence and control of lacustrine fine-grained rock diagenesis on the quality of the reservoir, in order to determine the shale reservoir control factors. The results show that there are three types of rocks in the Da’anzhai Member, which are mudstone, siltstone, and limestone, and the rock combination of shell shale intercalated with shell limestone is developed in the Da 2 submember. Fine-grained sedimentary rocks in this section have undergone compaction, cementation, dissolution, metasomatism, transformation of clay minerals, and hydrocarbon generation of organic matter, which are currently in the middle diagenetic stage A or B substage. Compaction and cementation are the main factors that control the physical use of shale and limestone, and strong cementation is the main reason for the tightness of limestone reservoirs in the Da’anzhai Member in the northern and eastern parts of Sichuan Basin. The difference between dissolution and cementation is the main control factor for the formation of limestone or argillaceous limestone reservoirs in the same section in central Sichuan Basin. The organic-rich shale and shell shale of the Yuanba and Fuling area are the most favorable reservoirs of the Ziliujing Formation in this region. The shell limestone that experienced favorable dissolution in the Da’anzhai Member in the central of the Sichuan Basin has become a limestone reservoir. Discussing the impact of continental fine-grained rock diagenesis on the reservoir can better explore and develop similar intervals, enrich unconventional shale oil and gas accumulation and storage theories, and provide basic theoretical support for finding favorable unconventional shale oil and gas reservoirs.

Schistosomiasis is a serious and neglected global tropical disease, affecting upwards of 230 million people, with more than 95% of infections concentrated in Africa. For many years, the main schistosomiasis control strategy in Africa focused on mass drug administration (MDA). The aim of this study was to compare the difference between MDA alone and alongside another intervention, namely snail control, by exploring effective measures for eliminating schistosomiasis. Retrospective data of human prevalence on Schistosoma haematobium and major control measures were collected from the China-Zanzibar-WHO Cooperation Project for Schistosomiasis Elimination (CZW) and the Zanzibar Elimination of Schistosomiasis Transmission (ZEST) project since 2012. The optimal order polynomial regression fitting model and joinpoint regression model (JRM) were used to analyze trends in schistosomiasis prevalence and the consistency of change points with strengthening of the control measures. In Unguja Island, the main control measure was MDA, and prevalence decreased to a nadir in 2019, and then rebounded. The R2 value of the optimal fitting model was 0.6641. There was a single JRM changepoint in 2019, the annual percent change (APC) was −19.3% (p < 0.05) from 2012 to 2019, and the APC was 59.7% (p > 0.05) from 2019 to 2021. In Pemba Island, the main control measures until 2016 was MDA, while integrated measures of MDA and snail control were implemented from 2017, the prevalence continuously decreased, and the R2 value was 0.8673. There was also a single JRM changepoint in 2017, the APC was −22.2% (p < 0.05) from 2012 to 2017, and was maintained at −8.6% (p > 0.05) from 2017 to 2021. Our data indicate that, while it is challenging to eliminate schistosomiasis by MDA alone, integrated measures, including both MDA and snail control, can prevent reinfection and help to eliminate the diseases in Africa.

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great importance for clean energy storage and conversion techniques such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries (MABs). However, the ORR is kinetically sluggish, and expensive noble metal catalysts are required. The high price and limited preservation of noble metal catalysts has largely hindered the wide application of clean power sources such as fuel cells and MABs. Therefore, it is important to prepare non-expensive metal catalysts (NPMC) to cut the price of the fuel cells and MABs for wide application. Here, we report the preparation of a Co3O4 carried on the N-doped carbon (Co/N-C) as the ORR NPMC with a facile Pharaoh’s Snakes reaction. The gas generated during the reaction is able to fabricate the porous structure of the resultant carbon doped with heteroatoms such as Co and N. The catalyst provides a high electrocatalytic activity towards ORR via the 4-e pathway with an onset and half-wave potential of 0.98 and 0.79 V (vs. RHE), respectively, in an electrolyte of 0.1 M KOH. The onset and half-wave potentials are close to those of the commercial Pt/C. This work demonstrates the promising potential of an ancient technology for preparing NPMCs toward the ORR.

Color is one of the important indicators affecting the quality of fermented pepper sauces, and it is closely related to carotenoid composition. This study systematically analyzed the changes in carotenoids and related physiochemical indices during the fermentation of yellow lantern pepper sauce. The CIELab color values indicated that L* and C* displayed a significant decreasing trend during fermentation. After 35 days of fermentation, the total carotenoid content significantly reduced from 3446.36 to 1556.50 μg/g DW (p < 0.05), and the degradation rate was 54.84%. Among them, the total content of carotene decreased by 56.03% during fermentation, whereas the degradation rate of xanthophylls and their esters was 44.47%. According to correlation analysis, violaxanthin myristate and lutein played a pivotal role in L*, a *, b *, chroma (C*), and yellowness index (YI). Moreover, PCA analysis indicated that lactic acid and acetic acid were the important qualities affecting the stability of pigment in fermented yellow lantern pepper sauce, which might also be the inducement of the color change. This work gives additional information concerning the discoloration of yellow lantern pepper sauce during fermentation and provides theory evidence regulating and improving the sensory qualities of yellow lantern pepper sauce.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image ship detection is currently a research hotspot in the field of national defense science and technology. However, SAR images contain a large amount of coherent speckle noise, which poses significant challenges in the task of ship detection. To address this issue, we propose filter convolution, a novel design that replaces the traditional convolution layer and suppresses coherent speckle noise while extracting features. Specifically, the convolution kernel of the filter convolution comes from the input and is generated by two modules: the kernel-generation module and local weight generation module. The kernel-generation module is a dynamic structure that generates dynamic convolution kernels using input image or feature information. The local weight generation module is based on the statistical characteristics of the input images or features and is used to generate local weights. The introduction of local weights allows the extracted features to contain more local characteristic information, which is conducive to ship detection in SAR images. In addition, we proved that the fusion of the proposed kernel-generation module and the local weight module can suppress coherent speckle noise in the SAR image. The experimental results show the excellent performance of our method on a large-scale SAR ship detection dataset-v1.0 (LS-SSDD-v1.0). It also achieved state-of-the-art performance on a high-resolution SAR image dataset (HRSID), which confirmed its applicability.

Background: As the unique intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, the geographical distribution of Oncomelania hupensis (O. hupensis) is an important index in the schistosomiasis surveillance system. This study comprehensively analyzed the pattern of snail distribution along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province and identified the dynamic determinants of the distribution of O. hupensis. Methods: Snail data from 2017 to 2021 in three cities (Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou) along the Yangtze River were obtained from the annual cross-sectional survey produced by the Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases. Spatial autocorrelation and hot-spot analysis were implemented to detect the spatio–temporal dynamics of O. hupensis distribution. Furthermore, 12 factors were used as independent variables to construct an ordinary least squares (OLS) model, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model, and a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to identify the determinants of the distribution of O. hupensis. The adjusted coefficients of determination (adjusted R2, AICc, RSS) were used to evaluate the performance of the models. Results: In general, the distribution of O. hupensis had significant spatial aggregation in the past five years, and the density of O. hupensis increased eastwards in the Jiangsu section of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Relatively speaking, the distribution of O. hupensis wase spatially clustered from 2017 to 2021, that is, it was found that the border between Yangzhou and Zhenjiang was the high density agglomeration area of O. hupensis snails. According to the GTWR model, the density of O. hupensis was related to the normalized difference vegetation index, wetness, dryness, land surface temperature, elevation, slope, and distance to nearest river, which had a good explanatory power for the snail data in Yangzhou City (adjusted R2 = 0.7039, AICc = 29.10, RSS = 6.81). Conclusions: The distribution of O. hupensis and the environmental factors in the Jiangsu section of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River had significant spatial aggregation. In different areas, the determinants affecting the distribution of O. hupensis were different, which could provide a scientific basis for precise prevention and control of O. hupensis. A GTWR model was prepared and used to identify the dynamic determinants for the distribution of O. hupensis and contribute to the national programs of control of schistosomiasis and other snail-borne diseases.

Cotton plays an important role in China’s agricultural production structure and international trade; therefore, China has implemented a variety of cotton subsidy policies. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, WTO rules have become substantive constraints on its agricultural subsidy policy. Therefore, in order to prevent appeal cases of China’s cotton subsidy, in this article, we investigate the current situation and optimization countermeasures with respect to China’s cotton subsidies based on WTO rules. According to calculation of the level of China’s cotton subsidy support under WTO rules, it currently exceeds 8.5% of the cotton production value. Secondly, we estimate the change in cotton subsidy effect when the support level of China’s cotton subsidy policy is directly reduced to 8.5%; the results show that such a reduction would have a considerable impact on the production scale. However, due to the constraints of the political and economic goals of cotton subsidies, the Chinese government can only “box shift” subsidies by changing the subsidy method and object in order to comply with WTO rules. Finally, from the perspective of how to use cotton subsidies to improve the efficiency of production factors, the Chinese government should focus on optimizing the cotton subsidy policy according to three aspects: improving the Amber Box subsidies, expanding the Green Box subsidies and increasing the Blue Box subsidies so as to maintain the existing level of cotton subsidy support.

Based on the Brazilian tests of continental shale with different layer orientations, combined with AE monitoring, the influence of layer orientation on the anisotropy of mechanical properties, fracture mode, and fracture mechanism of continental shale was analyzed. The results show that the tensile strength and deformation at the peak stress decrease with the increase of layer orientation at a constant deformation loading rate of 0.06mm/min, and the splitting modulus decreases first and then increases. The tensile strength was 90° > 60° > 45° > 30° > 0°, and the maximum and minimum tensile strengths were 5.154 MPa and 0.669 MPa, respectively. Under the action of splitting load, the samples with 30°, 45°, and 60° layer orientations mainly undergo shear failure along the layer orientation, while the samples with 0° and 90° layer orientations undergo tensile failure. In addition, the crack propagation in the 0° and 30° samples penetrated the bedding. These characteristics have important reference significance for the study of the mechanism of hydraulic fracture communication, propagation, and activation of structural planes.

A nanohybrid of zinc oxide and biochar (ZnO/BC) with high conductivity was green synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method, and utilized for the sensitive detection of bisphenol A (BPA) by coating the nanohybrid film on an electrode of glassy carbon. The ZnO/BC presented greatly improved electrocatalytic performance and electron transfer ability compared to the zinc oxide and biochar. The ZnO/BC film-coated electrode could detect the BPA in aqueous solution within 3 min while neglected interference from higher concentrations of regularly existing ions and similar concentrations of estradiol (E2), phenol, dichlorophenol (DCP), and ethinylestradiol (EE2). Under optimal conditions, the linear range of BPA detection was 5 × 10−7~1 × 10−4 mol/L, with a detection limit of 1 × 10−7 mol/L, and the detection sensitivity was 92 mA/M. In addition, the ZnO/BC electrode could detect BPA in a real water sample with good signal recovery. This electrode, with the advantages of an easy preparation, low cost, and fast response time, could be potentially applicable for environmental monitoring.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the major causes of death in diabetic patients. Its pathogenesis involves inflammation and fibrosis that damages the heart tissue and impairs cardiac function. Interleukin (IL)-17, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in a variety of chronic inflammatory processes can serve as an attractive therapeutic target. Anthocyanin, a water-soluble natural pigment, possesses impressive anti-inflammatory activity. However, its role in DCM is unclear. Hence, we investigated the protective effect of anthocyanin on the cardiovascular complications of diabetes using a mouse type 1 diabetes mellitus model induced by streptozotocin. Cardiac function and structural alterations in diabetic mice were tested by echocardiography, hematoxylin and eosin staining, and Masson trichrome staining. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the distribution and deposition of IL-17 and collagen I and III from the left ventricular tissues of diabetic mice. Cell viability was measured using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay. Protein levels of IL-17, tumor necrosis factor α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IL-17 and collagen I and III were detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence, and their mRNA levels were quantified using quantitative reverse transcription PCR. We observed that anthocyanin lowered blood glucose, improved cardiac function, and alleviated inflammation and fibrosis in the heart tissue of diabetic mice. Meanwhile, anthocyanin reduced the expression of IL-17 in high-glucose-treated cardiac fibroblasts and exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect. Deposition of collagen I and III was also decreased by anthocyanin, suggesting that anthocyanin contributes to alleviating myocardial fibrosis. In summary, anthocyanin could protect cardiac function and inhibit IL-17-related inflammation and fibrosis, which indicates its therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetes mellitus-related complications.

Fluid injection-induced earthquakes have been a scientific and social issue of wide concern, and fluid pressurization rate may be an important inducement. Therefore, a series of stepwise and conventional injection-induced shear tests were carried out under different fluid pressurization rates and effective normal stresses. The results show that the magnitude of fluid pressure is the main factor controlling the initiation of fracture slipping. The contribution of fluid pressure heterogeneity and permeability evolution on the initiation of fracture slipping is different with the increase of fluid pressurization rate. When the fluid pressurization rate is small, permeability evolution plays a dominant role. On the contrary, the fluid pressure heterogeneity plays a dominant role. The increase of fluid pressurization rate may lead to the transition from creep slip mode to slow stick-slip mode. Under the laboratory scale, the fluid pressure heterogeneity causes the coulomb failure stress to increase by about one times than the predicted value at the initiation of fracture slipping, and the coulomb stress increment threshold of 1.65 MPa is disadvantageous to the fracture stability.

Rotated object detection is an extension of object detection that uses an oriented bounding box instead of a general horizontal bounding box to define the object position. It is widely used in remote sensing images, scene text, and license plate recognition. The existing rotated object detection methods usually add an angle prediction channel in the bounding box prediction branch, and smooth L1 loss is used as the regression loss function. However, we argue that smooth L1 loss causes a sudden change in loss and slow convergence due to the angle solving mechanism of open CV (the angle between the horizontal line and the first side of the bounding box in the counter-clockwise direction is defined as the rotation angle), and this problem exists in most existing regression loss functions. To solve the above problems, we propose a decoupling modulation mechanism to overcome the problem of sudden changes in loss. On this basis, we also proposed a constraint mechanism, the purpose of which is to accelerate the convergence of the network and ensure optimization toward the ideal direction. In addition, the proposed decoupling modulation mechanism and constraint mechanism can be integrated into the popular regression loss function individually or together, which further improves the performance of the model and makes the model converge faster. The experimental results show that our method achieves 75.2% performance on the aerial image dataset DOTA (OBB task), and saves more than 30% of computing resources. The method also achieves a state-of-the-art performance in HRSC2016, and saved more than 40% of computing resources, which confirms the applicability of the approach.

Background: The cell cycle checkpoint protein RAD9 is a vital cell cycle regulator in eukaryotic cells. RAD9 is involved in diverse cellular functions by oligomer or monomer. However, the specific mechanism of its activity remains unknown in crustaceans, especially in embryonic diapause resumption of the brine shrimp Artemia sinica. Methods and Results: In the present article, a 1238 bp full-length cDNA of As−RAD9 gene, encoding 376 amino acids, was obtained from A. sinica. The expression pattern of As−RAD9 was analyzed by qPCR and Western blot. The mRNA expression level climbs to the top at the 10 h stage of embryo development, while the protein expression pattern is generally consistent with qPCR results. Moreover, the As−RADd9 related signaling proteins, As−RAD1, As−HUS1, As−RAD17, and As−CHK1, were also detected. Immunofluorescence assay showed that the location of As−RAD9 did not show tissue or organ specificity, and the intracellular expression was concentrated in the cytoplasm more than in the nucleus. We also explored the amount of As−RAD9 under the stresses of cold and high salinity, and the results indicate that As−RAD9 is a stress-related factor, though the mechanisms may be different in response to different stresses. Knocking down of the As−RAD9 gene led to embryonic development delay in A. sinica. Conclusions: All these results reveal that As−RAD9 is necessary for post-diapaused embryonic development in A. sinica.