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Grazing livestock in grasslands face the challenge of obtaining sufficient nutrition due to uneven distribution of plant species and fluctuating vegetation productivity and nutrient levels. In northern China, Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis are the dominant perennial species in native grasslands, but they provide limited nutrition compared to forbs with higher crude protein (CP) content. While dietary ingredients can affect the nutritional intake of grazing livestock, the influence of different grazing strategies on dietary selection remains unclear. In this study, three sheep grazing strategies (lambs alone, mixed lambs and ewes, and ewes alone) were used to explore dietary selection. We investigated the influence of vegetation characteristic (above‐ground biomass production, height, and species diversity) and foraging behavior (feed intake, organic matter digestibility, and daily grazing time) on the mechanisms of dietary selection (taxonomic family richness and composition). Forage consumption across the grazing strategies revealed that species from Poaceae, Rosaceae, and Cyperaceae families were frequently consumed. Both ewes and lambs in the mixed‐grazing strategy preferentially consumed forbs with diverse species composition (Jacob's D > 0), which contained higher CP than those available in the overall vegetation (p < 0.05). In addition, dietary richness was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by vegetation species diversity except for animals in the lambs alone strategy. Compared to lambs in mixed‐grazing, lambs alone had both greater daily grazing time and consumption of grass with lower digestibility (p < 0.05). Our study is the first to demonstrate that lambs can develop a similar dietary selection and behavioral pattern when grazing with adult ewes in temperate grasslands. Our study indicates that the conservation of species diversity in native grasslands is critically beneficial to livestock nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In food safety analysis, the detection and control of foodborne pathogens and their toxins are of great importance. Monitoring of virus transmission is equally important, especially in light of recent findings that coronaviruses have been detected in frozen foods and packages during the current global epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019. In recent years, field-effect transistor (FET) biosensors have attracted considerable scholarly attention for pathogenic microorganisms and toxins detection and sensing due to their rapid response time, high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, high specificity, label-free detection, portability, and cost-effectiveness. FET-based biosensors can be modified with specific recognition elements, thus providing real-time qualitative and semiquantitative analysis. Furthermore, with advances in nanotechnology and device design, various high-performance nanomaterials are gradually applied in the detection of FET-based biosensors. In this article, we review specific detection in different biological recognition elements are immobilized on FET biosensors for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins, and we also discuss nonspecific detection by FET biosensors. In addition, there are still unresolved challenges in the development and application of FET biosensors for achieving efficient, multiplexed, in situ detection of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Therefore, directions for future FET biosensor research and applications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of ultralow magnetic field requires a magnetic sensor with high sensitivity and a low noise level. In this work, we used the Co20Fe60B20/Ti/Co20Fe60B20 magnetically coupled multilayer as the core structure of an anomalous Hall sensor. We adjusted the thickness of the Ti interlayer to modify its perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and interlayer magnetic coupling, thereby improving the sensitivity of the anomalous Hall sensor. Through the investigation of magnetic field response and noise properties of devices with different Ti thicknesses, the highest sensitivity of 34 803 Ω/T and the best magnetic field detectivity of 4.6 nT/ Hz at 1 Hz were achieved with a Ti thickness of 2.0 nm at room temperature. This anomalous Hall sensor has both ultrahigh sensitivity and magnetic field detectivity, making it a good candidate for applications in detecting weak magnetic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the absence of tailored designs that address challenges such as variations in scale, disparities in illumination, and instances of occlusion, the implementation of current person re-identification techniques remains challenging in practical applications. An Efficient Multi-Branch Attention Network over OSNet (EMANet) is proposed. The structure is composed of three parts, the global branch, relational branch, and global contrastive pooling branch, and corresponding features are obtained from different branches. With the attention mechanism, which focuses on important features, DAS attention evaluates the significance of learned features, awarding higher ratings to those that are deemed crucial and lower ratings to those that are considered distracting. This approach leads to an enhancement in identification accuracy by emphasizing important features while discounting the influence of distracting ones. Identity loss and adaptive sparse pairwise loss are used to efficiently facilitate the information interaction. In experiments on the Market-1501 mainstream dataset, EMANet exhibited high identification accuracies of 96.1% and 89.8% for Rank-1 and mAP, respectively. The results indicate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological data suggest that regular intake of soy isoflavones may reduce the incidence of estrogen-dependent and aging-associated disorders. Equol is a metabolite of soy isoflavone (SI) produced by specific gut microbiota and has many beneficial effects on human health due to its higher biological activity compared to SI. However, only 1/3 to 1/2 of humans are able to produce equol in the body, which means that not many people can fully benefit from SI. This review summarizes the recent advances in equol research, focusing on the chemical properties, physiological functions, conversion mechanisms in vitro and vivo, and metabolic regulatory pathways affecting S-equol production. Advanced experimental designs and possible techniques in future research plan are also fully discussed. Furthermore, this review provides a fundamental basis for researchers in the field to understand individual differences in S-equol production, the efficiency of metabolic conversion of S-equol, and fermentation production of S-equol in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric ceramics have low energy storage performance due to their nearly square hysteresis loops and low dielectric breakdown strength, which affects their practical applications for high-power energy storage capacitors. Therefore, we solve this problem by introducing a linear dielectric additive and rare earth oxide into Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-based ceramics. The (1 − x)(0.94Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–0.06BaTiO3)–xCa0.7Sm0.2TiO3 [(1 − x)NBBT–xCST] ceramics were designed and prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction method. The results show that the introduction of Ca0.7Sm0.2TiO3 can effectively inhibit the grain growth, optimize the relaxation behavior and improve the band gap, which are conducive to the simultaneous enhancement of energy storage density and efficiency. The reliability of the experimental results is also verified by finite element simulation (COMSOL). A high recoverable energy density (Wrec) of 5.1 J cm−3, a high efficiency (η) of 88% and an ultrafast discharge time of 28 ns were finally achieved in NBBT ceramics with x = 0.35. Notably, the sample exhibits superior thermal stability over a wide temperature range of 20–140 °C. These properties provide a new design approach for energy storage capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir heterogeneity is an important factor in oil and gas exploration and development. It has guiding significance for favourable target optimization because it helps clarify the formation and development characteristics of laminae: thin, alternating layers of sediment deposited in a repeating pattern in Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs. Reservoir heterogeneity is higher when laminae are densely distributed. For example, laminae have a significant influence on reservoir properties in the Kelasu structural belt in the Bozi–Dabei area, Tarim Basin, China, where oil and gas wells have very low productivity. Hence, this study attempts to develop a classification scheme based on laminae to identify how they influence reservoir properties. Based on an analysis of cores, thin section and logging imaging data, laminae in this area can be classified into three types: magnetite-enriched, iron-stained argillaceous-enriched, and grain-size change. Results show that magnetite-enriched and iron-stained argillaceous-enriched laminae are well-developed in the BZ1 and DB10 well areas in northern Bozi. They have much lower porosity compared to a non-laminae reservoir and their lateral permeability is greater than vertical permeability. Grain-size change laminae are well-developed in the southern Bozi region. For the laminated reservoirs, increasing the length of the perforation interval and the perforation density using sand or acid fracturing is an effective method for communicating with the vertical reservoir layers, improving permeability, and increasing single-well production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Salt stress seriously impacts the plantation and productivity of global alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Previously, we genetically defined the M. sativa DROUGHT-INDUCED UNKNOWN PROTEIN 1 (MsDIUP1) as a drought tolerance gene of alfalfa. However, whether it is associated with salt tolerance needs to be explored. Results: In this study, we re-classified MsDIUP1 as a putative novel late embryogenesis abundant protein, and found its promoter activity was strongly induced by salt and ABA treatment. Heterologous overexpression of MsDIUP1 in Arabidopsis led to enhanced salt tolerance and ABA insensitivity, with a higher fresh weight, lateral root number, primary root length, and survival rate compared to the wild-type (WT) plants. Similarly, homologous overexpression of MsDIUP1 also enhanced the salt tolerance of alfalfa over-expression (OE) plants, accompanied by reduced oxidative damage, higher K+/Na+ ratio, increased osmoprotectant accumulation, and improved photosynthetic capacity relative to the WT plants. In reverse, disruption of MsDIUP1 expression caused a salt-hypersensitive phenotype of alfalfa RNA interference (RNAi) plants, with higher oxidative damage, less osmoprotectant accumulation, and lower photosynthetic pigment content than that of the WT. These physiological discoveries were in accordance with differential transcript profiles of the relevant genes associated with stress signaling, antioxidant defense, and osmotic adjustment in the salt-treated alfalfa WT, OE, and RNAi lines. Furthermore, we found that alfalfa OE plants showed no apparent alteration in their forage quality compared with the WT plants. Conclusions: Overall, these results reveal that MsDIUP1 improves plant salt tolerance via regulating stress signaling, antioxidant defense, ion homeostasis, osmotic adjustment, and photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are mainly used to simultaneously detect or identify multiple pathogenic microorganisms. To achieve high specificity for detecting foodborne pathogenic bacteria, specific primers need to be designed for the target strains. In this study, we designed and achieved a multiplex PCR system for detecting eight foodborne pathogenic bacteria using specific genes: toxS for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, virR for Listeria monocytogenes, recN for Cronobacter sakazakii, ipaH for Shigella flexneri, CarA for Pseudomonas putida, rfbE for Escherichia coli, vvhA for Vibrio vulnificus, and gyrB for Vibrio alginolyticus. The sensitivity of the single system in this study was found to be 20, 1.5, 15, 15, 13, 14, 17, and 1.8 pg for V. parahaemolyticus, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, C. sakazakii, S. flexneri, P. putida, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus, respectively. The minimum detection limit of the multiplex system reaches pg/μL detection level; in addition, the multiplex system exhibited good specificity and stability. Finally, the assays maintained good specificity and sensitivity of 104 CFU/mL for most of the samples and we used 176 samples of eight aquatic foods, which were artificially contaminated to simulate the detection of real samples. In conclusion, the multiplex PCR method is stable, specific, sensitive, and time-efficient. Moreover, the method is well suited for contamination detection in these eight aquatic foods and can rapidly detect pathogenic microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Two regions located at chromosome A05 and D04 were found to be significantly associated with 0–0.5 mm and 0.5–2 mm diameter roots, respectively, and two candidate genes related to root development were identified. Roots absorb water and nutrients, and play an important role in plant growth. However, there are few genetic developmental studies on cotton root structural traits. In this study, we used 200 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties to analyze the phenotypic variation of 43 traits. A total of 2001 related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites located within or near 1046 genes were detected through a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The 32 root traits were linked to SNPs that corresponded to 317 nonrepetitive genes. For SNPs associated with root length and 0–0.5 mm diameter root traits, a significant peak appeared on chromosome A05 (between 21.91 and 22.24 Mb). For SNPs associated with root surface area, root volume and 0.5–2 mm diameter root traits, a significant peak appeared on chromosome D04 (between 7.35 and 7.70 Mb). Within these two key regions, SNPs were detected in the promoter and coding regions of two candidate genes, GhTRL1-A05 and GhPIN8-D04. The expression levels of these two genes also changed significantly according to transcriptome sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT–PCR). After silencing the GhTRL1 and GhPIN8 genes via virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), we found that the plants expressing TRV2::GhTRL1 and TRV2::GhPIN8 had a reduced root length, surface area. Moreover, the contents of cis-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (cis-OPDA), isopentenyl adenosine (iPR) and cis-zeatin (cZ) in the roots of the plants expressing TRV2::GhTRL1 decreased. This study contributes to the cultivation and improvement of cotton varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discoveries of juvenile primary bone malignant neoplasm have been rare in archaeological settings. This study presents the first case as such from ancient China. An individual (M799) aged 14–17 years from the Dongxin cemetery of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534 CE), Datong, Shanxi Province, was found with signs of the bone malignant neoplasm. The skeleton of the juvenile was macroscopically examined with the aid of computed tomography imaging. Results demonstrated that a bony outgrowth was found on the distal one third of the diaphysis of the left femur; both osteoblastic and osteolytic processes were present on the lesion (about 148 mm long), and the highly dense and lobulated exophytic mass protruded about 50 mm from the posterior aspect of the diaphysis. A periosteal new bone reaction was found on the adjacent cortex while the medullary cavity was invaded by the lesion. Osteosarcoma was considered the most likely diagnosis, with differential diagnoses of Ewing sarcoma and chondrosarcoma. Otherwise, the disease had no asymmetric effect on femoral length. This rare case enriches our knowledge on the paleoepidemiological patterns of osteosarcoma and other malignant neoplasms from the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Love as an important part of human emotion has been depicted in literature, folklore, and art since ancient China. However, in archaeological settings, direct skeletal evidence for love is rare. A joint burial from North Wei Dynasty (386–534 CE) was reported, in which skeletons of an adult male and an adult female were found placed in loving embrace posture with a ring in situ on the left ring finger of the female, displaying the desire for eternal love of the couple, and the respect to their love by people who buried them as well. It is likely that the wife sacrificed herself to be buried with her dead husband, though other scenarios could not be ruled out. The free expression and active pursuit of love in Chinese culture became prominent during the first millennium. This funerary practice might have been influenced by the customs from the Western Regions and beyond through the Silk Roads and the Sinicization and assimilation of the Xianbei people. This discovery is a unique display of human emotion of love in a burial, offering a rare glimpse people's views towards love, life, death, and afterlife in northern China during a time of intense cultural and ethnic exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate the effect of Al2O3 in borosilicate glass on the sintering densification and properties of the borosilicate glass/Al2O3 LTCC composites. A series of CaO–Al2O3–B2O3–SiO2 (CABS) glass with different concentrations of Al2O3 was synthesized, as well as the CABS glass/Al2O3 LTCC composites. The influence of Al2O3 on the sintering densification, phase composition, microstructures and properties of the CABS glass/Al2O3 LTCC composites was then systematically investigated. Result indicates that a proper amount of Al2O3 in CABS glass not only can strengthen the structural stability of the borosilicate glass, but also can promote the sintering densification and improve the properties of the glass/ceramic composites. CABS glass/Al2O3 composites prepared with CABS glass of 4 wt.% Al2O3 sintered at 875 °C exhibits excellent properties of a sintering density of 3.13 g/cm3, a Z axial shrinkage of 15.5%, a dielectric constant (εr) of 8.08, a dielectric loss (tanδ) of 0.9 × 10–3 (at 7 GHz), a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 5.35 ppm/°C, a flexural strength of 206 MPa, demonstrating its great potential for LTCC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comb copolymer, polyacrylic acid/polyethylene oxide (PAA/PEO), was used as a dispersant in tape-casting slurry for fabricating a high-performance dielectric tape of a CaO-B2O3-SiO2 (CBS) glass–ceramic. The dispersion mechanism between the PAA/PEO and CBS powder was explored in detail. Zeta potential and rheology tests indicated that the applicable pH range of the PAA/PEO should be less than the isoelectric point of the CBS glass–ceramic powder, and the optimum content of PAA/PEO was determined by sedimentation and rheology tests. When the addition of PAA/PEO was 1.0 wt.%, the resultant films had good properties, with a density of 1.60 g/cm3 and tensile strength of 2.01 MPa. The ceramic prepared with 1.0 wt.% PAA/PEO sintered at 850°C for 10 min displayed better properties, with a density of 2.51 g/cm3, εr = 5.95 and tanδ = 8×10−4 at 12 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to synthesize (Zr0.8Sn0.2)TiO4 (ZST) ceramics and determine the optimum content of Sm2O3/SrO/LiF doping and cooling rate to improve processing and microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics. The initial content of three additives was preliminarily determined by analyzing the phase composition, microstructure, sintering characteristics and microwave dielectric performance of ZST ceramics samples. As a typical fluxing agent, the optimum LiF content was further explored, and the effects of different LiF contents on 0.8 wt% Sm2O3 + 0.4 wt% SrO doped ceramics were investigated. A suitable amount of liquid phase could be formed at a lower temperature when adding suitable LiF content into ceramics. The results showed the 0.3 wt% LiF not only promoted densification process but also reduced the sintering temperature to 1285 °C, which made the dielectric properties better. Moreover, the cooling rate also affected the performance of ZST ceramics, and the optimum cooling rate was determined through analyzing the lattice parameters and microstructure. Comparing the comprehensive properties of various ZST ceramics doped with 0.8 wt% Sm2O3 + 0.4 wt% SrO + 0.3 wt% LiF, the ceramic exhibited the densest microstructure and the best dielectric performance where εr = 39.66, Q × f = 45,150 GHz (f = 5.6 GHz), and τf = − 4.88 ppm/°C when the cooling rate was 1 °C/min and the sintering temperature was 1285 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CaO–B2O3–SiO2 (CBS) glass–ceramics were used as the main research object in this study. Based on the predecessors' work, we optimized the ternary components of glass–ceramics to observe its effects on the structure, sintering performance and dielectric properties of glass–ceramics. When the content of B2O3 was 15.5 mol%, the Ca/Si ratio was 0.61–0.62, the glass–ceramics were transparent after water quenching, and it could achieve sintering densification under 850 °C. When the Ca/Si ratio was < 0.61 and > 0.62, the state of glass–ceramics was changed from transparent to milk-whited. As for sintering, when the sintering temperature was above 900 °C, they could achieve sintering densification. On the basis of it, we fixed the Ca/Si ratio of 0.61, and adjusted the content of B2O3. We found that with the increasing of the B2O3 content, the transparency of glass–ceramics was worse and worse, and when the samples obtained the highest density, the sintering temperature were elevated from 820 to 920 °C. According to the XRD analysis, with the B2O3 content added, the CaB2O4 crystal phases in the glass–ceramics was increased, so the permittivity of the glass–ceramics was increased. When the Ca/Si ratio was 0.61 and the B2O3 content was 15.5 mol%, the sintered density of CBS glass–ceramics was 2.42 g/cm3 at 850 °C, the permittivity and dielectric loss was εr = 5.88, tanδ = 2.8 × 10−3 at 10 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

0.65CaTiO3-0.35SmAlO3 ceramics were synthesized via four calcination methods using a conventional solid-state technique. The reaction mechanism occurred between mixtures of CaCO3, TiO2, Sm2O3, and Al2O3 was studied by X-ray diffraction patterns. Sm2TiO7, CaSmAl3O7, Sm4Ti9O24 were detected in calcined mixtures, which could be converted into CaTiO3-SmAlO3 in ultimate sintered ceramics at a high temperature. Through comparing the comprehensive properties of 0.65CT-0.35SA ceramics sintered at 1450 °C, we determined the best calcination path as the fourth method. We then introduced La2O3/SrO to CTSA ceramics synthesized by the fourth method to improve the overall properties. Thereafter, the phase composition, microstructure, densification, dielectric performances and sintering characteristic of 1 wt% SrO doped 0.65CT-0.35SA specimens with various La2O3 additions were comprehensively investigated. We observed that after adding La2O3/SrO additives, the sintering temperature of CTSA ceramics was depressed to 1340 °C, while facilitating dielectric performances. However, the second-phase La10Al4O21 occurred due to the excessive amounts of La2O3 additions, which degraded the dielectric properties of 0.65CT-0.35SA ceramics. Synthetical properties of εr = 42.94, Q × f = 43680 GHz (f = 5.1 GHz), and τf = − 3.39 ppm/°C were achieved for 1 wt% SrO doped 0.65CT-0.35SA specimens with 0.5 wt% La2O3 additions sintered at 1340 °C, which were likely to be promising option for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-component polyoxometalate based on earth-abundant elements (NH4)10[Co8(H2O)10V10Mo23O104(OH)6]·34.5H2O (1) has been successfully obtained and characterized. Furthermore, compound 1 acted as a Lewis acid catalyst and promoted the conversion of carbon dioxide to a cyclic carbonate under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]