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Biomass briquetting is gradually emerging as a means of sustainable energy production. The interest in briquetting has been occasioned by the continuous rise in the cost of energy coupled with the need to harness efficient and affordable alternatives. Briquettes are produced through various means, ranging from a simple low-pressured technique to a high-pressured technique. This, including the large-scale availability of biomass materials in many regions of the world, has made the process practicable and affordable. The technology has gained acceptance across the scientific community as it is a means of attaining a circular and green economy especially as it helps to curtail deforestation. Briquetting has advanced and now incorporates the blending of biomass with animal and municipal wastes such as dung, microalgae, plastics, sludge, and food waste. This paper reviewed recent literature spanning over a decade on the technical aspects of biomass briquetting to establish the current state of research. It contains a brief on renewable energy with a focus on biomass energy, as well as the impact of solid fuels on households and the environment. It reviewed briquettes and briquetting technology by highlighting key processes and quality parameters. The paper also reports the economic aspects of various briquetting technology to assess their viability and also reports the combustion process to evaluate the extent of toxic gas emissions and their impact on coal-based power plants. To this end, an overview of recent studies was made followed by a highlight of recent advancements in briquetting technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TC25G alloy was heat treated at 950 °C/3 h, AC + 580 °C/6 h, AC and the bimodal structure with primary α phase + β transition structure was obtained. The creep properties of the alloy were tested in 550–600 °C/150–250 MPa. The results show that the precipitations of silicide and α2 phase is accompanied by the creep process. α2 phase plays a dispersion strengthening role in both the primary and steady-state creep stages. However, in the accelerated creep stage, the mechanism of α2 phase and dislocation changes from cutting mechanism to bypassing mechanism, and the strengthening effect is weakened. Silicide inhibits grain boundary slip mainly in the primary creep stage, and inhibits dislocation slip in the steady-state and accelerated creep stages. At 550 °C, n = 1.6 and Q = 280–371 kJ/mol (150–250 MPa) indicate that the creep of the alloy is a self-diffusion process, and the creep deformation is mainly controlled by dislocation slip. At 570–600 °C, n = 3.2 indicates that the dislocation climb controls the creep deformation. Meanwhile, compared with Q = 274 kJ/mol at low stress (150 MPa), Q = 365 kJ/mol at the high stress (200–250 MPa) indicates that the second phase precipitation enhancement is enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Food Safety & Quality is the property of Journal of Food Safety & Quality Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The ER5183 is used as filler metal, and the Al–Li alloy is welded by electron beam welding. The microstructure and mechanical property of welded joint are investigated. Results show that, under the proper welding procedure, the joint with good appearance of weld is obtained. The fusion zone is mainly composed of α-Al matrix phase and some strengthening phases involving θ′(Al2Cu), T2(Al6CuLi3), T1(Al2CuLi) and δ′(Al3Li). The grains in weldment are refined by the addition of electron beam scanning. Compared with that of the base metal (BM), the microhardness in weld zone is decreased to a certain extent. Under the welding condition of square wave electron beam scanning, the tensile strength of welded joint is 352.2 MPa, which is 70.2% of that of the BM. There exists obvious dimple morphology on the joint fracture surface, and it presents the characteristic of intergranular fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize production and productivity are affected by drought stress in tropical and subtropical ecologies, as the majority of the area under maize cultivation in these ecologies is rain-fed. The present investigation was conducted to study the physiological and biochemical effects of 24-Epibrassinolide (EBR) as a plant hormone on drought tolerance in maize. Two maize hybrids, Vivek hybrid 9 and Bio 9637, were grown under three different conditions: (i) irrigated, (ii) drought, and (iii) drought+EBR. A total of 2 weeks before the anthesis, irrigation was discontinued to produce a drought-like condition. In the drought+EBR treatment group, irrigation was also stopped, and in addition, EBR was applied as a foliar spray on the same day in the drought plots. It was observed that drought had a major influence on the photosynthesis rate, membrane stability index, leaf area index, relative water content, and leaf water potential; this effect was more pronounced in Bio 9637. Conversely, the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased in both hybrids under drought conditions. Specifically, Vivek hybrid 9 showed 74% higher CAT activity under drought conditions as compared to the control. Additionally, EBR application further enhanced the activity of this enzyme by 23% compared to plants under drought conditions. Both hybrids experienced a significant reduction in plant girth due to drought stress. However, it was found that exogenously applying EBR reduced the detrimental effects of drought stress on the plant, and this effect was more pronounced in Bio 9637. In fact, Bio 9637 treated with EBR showed an 86% increase in proline content and a 70% increase in glycine betaine content compared to untreated plants under drought conditions. Taken together, our results suggested EBR enhanced tolerance to drought in maize hybrids. Hence, pre-anthesis foliar application of EBR might partly overcome the adverse effects of flowering stage drought in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium and its alloys exhibit a favorable integration of characteristics, including notable strength and high resistance to corrosion. However, they are deficient in terms of wear resistance and thermal conductivity, among other properties. The aforementioned limitations impose constraints on the utilization of these alloys across diverse applications. Currently, various strategies involving the utilization of composite materials are being implemented in order to address and mitigate these previously mentioned limitations. The utilization of micro- or nano-sized reinforcements has been employed to improve the characteristics of the metal matrix. Diverse techniques are employed to uniformly distribute the reinforcement within the matrix, thereby generating titanium metal matrix composites (TMCs). The use of TMCs has become increasingly prevalent in diverse sectors, including defense, automotive, aerospace, and biomedical, owing to their remarkable characteristics, which encompass lower weight, higher specific strength, and compatibility with biological systems. The present study discusses various manufacturing techniques, including spark plasma sintering (SPS), additive manufacturing, and vacuum melting. This study further examines different reinforcements that are considered in the production of TMCs. The current study also investigates the effects of reinforcements on properties such as mechanical and tribological characteristics. The study demonstrated that the incorporation of reinforcements resulted in enhanced properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most serious ecological problems affecting drylands worldwide is sandification, due to exacerbation of the desertification process. As sandified land grows larger, the potential for agriculture decreases. Particularly in Pakistan, desertification is also a significant issue, with numerous natural and human-caused contributors. Desertification often occurs in Pakistan's south Punjab's dry lands, and regularly monitoring the area's sandification dynamics can assist in mitigating the problem. The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity to the sandification phenomenon in South Punjab drylands (Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bahawalpur) Pakistan. ALOS PALSAR DEM of 12.5 m resolution and Level 2 Landsat 5, 7, and 8 data (1988, 2001, and 2018) were utilized to conduct this research. The sensitivity to sandification was determined using land use land cover (LULC), slope, and aspect as the determining variables. These variables were separately integrated into ArcGIS using the weighted sum approach for the years 1988, 2001, and 2018. The analysis of sensitivity to sandification found that insensitive land expanded by 47 percent between 1988 and 2018, whereas very low sensitive and low sensitive classifications declined by -5.95 percent and -9.23 percent, respectively. The moderately sensitive area to sandification saw the largest percentage change between 1988 and 2018, changing by 1095.52%. The desertified land saw the second-largest percentage change, changing by 521.58%. However, the highly sensitive to sandification class showed the greatest percentage decrease (-53.65%). The most significant factor found to have an impact on the local sandification dynamics was LULC. By continuously monitoring the dynamics of sandification, the region's desertification intensity can be reduced. A Decision Support System (DSS) can be developed for this purpose through further study. Policymakers can use the DSS findings to assist them in creating strategies for reducing desertification in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paclobutrazol is widely used in the agricultural field. This study investigated the effects of seed priming with different concentrations of paclobutrazol on seedling quality, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP, a key aroma component of fragrant rice) biosynthesis, and related physiological and biochemical indicators in fragrant rice seedlings. Results: The experiment is being conducted at the College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University. In the experiment, three concentrations of paclobutrazol (Pac 1: 20 mg·L−1; Pac 2: 40 mg·L−1; Pac 3: 80 mg·L−1) were used to initiate the treatment of fragrant rice seeds, while water treatment was used as a control (CK). The results showed that compared with CK, paclobutrazol treatment reduced plant height, increased stem diameter, and increased fresh and dry weight of aromatic rice seedlings. Moreover, paclobutrazol treatment also increased the seedlings' photosynthetic pigment content and net photosynthetic rate. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that paclobutrazol primarily increases the content of proline by reducing the content of glutamate and down-regulating the expression of P5CS2, thereby promoting the conversion of proline to the aromatic substance 2-AP. Under the appropriate concentration of paclobutrazol (40 mg·L−1~80 mg·L−1), the seedling quality, stress resistance, and aroma of fragrant rice can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Artvin Çoruh Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Artvin Coruh University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, the impact wear behaviour of Al-5Mg, used as a corrosion protective coating was investigated in seawater and air environments. Tests were conducted for up to 105 cycles on the plane surface of Al-5Mg coated AISI 316L samples. Wear at the frequency of 2.5 Hz kept the coating thickness at a reliable level. However, the wear that occurred under the frequency of 5Hz reached the substrate surface. In the experiments conducted in seawater, smoother wear scars were formed compared to those in the air environment tests. The coating particles separated by the wear effect were compressed by the impactor on the wear surface with repetitive impacts, causing delamination. Friction oxidation was formed on wear scars. The hydrodynamic effect of seawater reduced the delamination by removing the separated coating particles from the surface. Thus, in seawater, 70% more wear occurred compared to in the air environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium matrix composites (TMCs) have garnered substantial attention from researchers owing to their outstanding properties. Nonetheless, the strength and ductility of TMCs hardly co-exist and often show a trade-off between each other. In this study, we employ an ultra-thin graphite powder sheet as the carbon source and employ Ti/C composites with varying carbon contents, prepared via a layer-stacked laminated sintering method, to ensure a comprehensive in-situ reaction and uniform reinforcement distribution. With increasing carbon content, noticeable alterations occur in the size, concentration, and morphology of the titanium carbide (TiC) particles. The increase of TiC particle content is found to boost the ultimate tensile strength of the composite. However, this improvement comes at the expense of reduced elongation. Notably, as the carbon content reaches 1.81 wt%, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the composites soar to 354.4 MPa and 575.4 MPa, respectively. These values represent a remarkable increase of 75.4% and 65.0% compared to pure titanium, while maintaining an acceptable elongation of 6.45%. This study unveils a promising approach for significantly enhancing the mechanical properties of titanium alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the desertification vulnerability and the future trends of desertification expansion in the Bahawalpur division of Punjab, Pakistan. This aim is achieved by analyzing Landsat data between the years 1990 and 2019. The biophysical index and socio-economic index were used to identify the Desertification Vulnerability Index (DVI) and its changes which have taken place over the study period between the years 1990 and 2019. The findings indicated that there was a decrease in the rate of desertification vulnerability from 1990 to 2019. In addition, the central and southern part of the Bahawalpur division is classified as a highly vulnerable zone in comparison to the other part of the region. The overall results show that the barren land and the desert area have been showing a decreasing trend, accompanied by substantial growth in vegetation from 1990 to 2019. The findings of the DVI analysis indicate that the Highly Vulnerable Area has decreased spatially from 61.12 in 1990 to 55.3% in 2019, while the Moderately Vulnerable Area and the Least Vulnerable Area have grown from 25.59% and 17.2% in 1990 to 28.56 and 19.53% in 2019, respectively. The decreasing trend demonstrates the effectiveness of efforts to combat desertification and the government could develop the best strategies for rehabilitation works and control the land degradation process in the most vulnerable areas in the Bahawalpur division of Punjab, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most representative Paleoproterozoic orogenic belts in the North China Craton, the Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt is of great significance to explore the Paleoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the North China Craton, as well as the convergence process of the Columbia Supercontinent. In this study, we present new geochronological and geochemical data of Paleoproterozoic meta-mafic rocks in the Southern Jilin Province, NE China. Our primary objective is to further constraint the formation and evolution of the Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt. The zircon U–Pb dating reveals that the meta-mafic rocks crystallized at 2.2–2.0 Ga, followed by a metamorphism occurring at ~ 1.9 Ga. Additionally, most of the mafic rocks display moderate fractionation in both light rare earth elements (LREEs) and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), suggesting their association with an arc setting. Furthermore, the rocks also display an enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) such as Cs, Rb, Ba, and Pb, and depletion in high field strength elements (HSFEs) including Nb, Ta, Zr, and Ti. These geochemical characteristics suggest a back-arc setting, indicating that the meta-mafic rocks originated from asthenospheric mantle that was metasomatized by fluids or melts derived from the subducting slab. Notably, a shoshonitic metabasalt exhibits trace element and REEs patterns that resemble those of ocean–island basalts. This suggests that the shoshonitic metabasalt was formed in an oceanic island environment, likely generated from the asthenospheric mantle. Combining these findings with previous studies, we can conclude that the Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt is associated with arc–continental collision, indicating the presence of a modern-type plate tectonic regime in the northeastern North China Craton during the Paleoproterozoic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsupervised anomaly detection techniques mainly model the population distribution of geochemical exploration data, but do not consider the mineral deposit information found in the study area. Supervised classification techniques can make full use of mineral deposit information to distinguish geochemical anomalies from the background. However, these classification techniques usually cannot properly address the data imbalance in distinguishing geochemical anomalies from the background. The data imbalance of geochemical exploration data means that there are only a few known mineralized data points in the study area and a large number of data points to be evaluated. Semi-supervised classification techniques are machine learning algorithms developed to solve the classification problem of a small amount of labeled data and a large amount of unlabeled data. These techniques are suitable for dealing with classification problems such as identifying anomalies from geochemical exploration data. Therefore, in this study, the K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm, an effective machine learning technique for constructing anomaly detection models, semi-supervised classification models, and supervised classification models, was adopted to construct the anomaly detection model, semi-supervised classification model, and supervised classification model for detecting polymetallic anomalies in the case study in the Baishan area (China). The stream sediment survey data collected from the four 1:200,000 geological maps and the 30 polymetallic deposits found in the study area were used to train the KNN-based models for detecting polymetallic anomalies. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were adopted to compare the performance of the KNN-based models in detecting polymetallic anomalies. The results show that the KNN-based semi-supervised and supervised classification models have similar performance in detecting polymetallic anomalies, and are superior to the KNN-based anomaly detection model. Therefore, as long as the training dataset is defined according to the known deposits in the study area, the KNN-based semi-supervised classification model and supervised classification model are potentially effective methods for detecting mineralization-related geochemical anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has exacerbated the effects of abiotic stresses on plant growth and productivity. Drought is one of the most important abiotic stress factors that interfere with plant growth and development. Plant selection and breeding as well as genetic engineering methods used to improve crop drought tolerance are expensive and time consuming. Plants use a myriad of adaptative mechanisms to cope with the adverse effects of drought stress including the association with beneficial microorganisms such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Inoculation of plant roots with different PGPR species has been shown to promote drought tolerance through a variety of interconnected physiological, biochemical, molecular, nutritional, metabolic, and cellular processes, which include enhanced plant growth, root elongation, phytohormone production or inhibition, and production of volatile organic compounds. Therefore, plant colonization by PGPR is an eco-friendly agricultural method to improve plant growth and productivity. Notably, the processes regulated and enhanced by PGPR can promote plant growth as well as enhance drought tolerance. This review addresses the current knowledge on how drought stress affects plant growth and development and describes how PGPR can trigger plant drought stress responses at the physiological, morphological, and molecular levels. Highlight: This review aims to highlight the recent advances in understanding the effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in enhancing plant growth and drought stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term, excessive application of synthetic N fertilizers will reduce soil aggregate stability and N supply capacity in corn–wheat (Zea mays L. – Triticum aestivum L.) rotation. This study aimed to determine the effects of soybean (Glycine max L.) on soil aggregation, soil organic N (SON) and net amount of N mineralization (NANM) in wheat season compared with corn. Three rotation systems, corn–wheat (C-W), soybean–wheat (S-W) and soybean inoculated with Rhizobium-wheat (SR-W) were established in 2017. In wet screening, compared with C-W rotation, the mass proportions of large macro-aggregates (LM%) + small macro-aggregates (SM%) at 0–20 cm was increased by 51.9% and 16.6% under S-W and SR-W rotations, respectively, and was increased by 50.6% and 59.8%, respectively, in the 20–40 cm. The proportions of LM + SM-associated N (LMN% + SMN%), ammonium N (AN) and amino acid N (AAN) were higher under the S-W and SR-W rotations. Furthermore, the NANM of S-W and SR-W rotations increased by 34.1% and 28.6% compared with C-W rotation, respectively, and the non-N benefits of soybean played an important role. In conclusion, the improvement degree of soil aggregation by soybean is an important factor affecting soil N mineralization in wheat season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has now become the most effective platform for providing elastic and on-demand provisioning of high performance heterogeneous and homogeneous computing services basis on pay-per-use in the field high performance computing world. Task scheduling in cloud computing devotes researchers' attention to provide the optimal solution to this NP-Complete problem. An optimized task scheduling algorithm optimizes the cloud system's performance and generates the maximum profit for the cloud service provider. To overcome this issue in cloud computing, Authors developed a hybrid multi-faceted task scheduling algorithm in this research work. The proposed algorithm exploited the features of standard particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) technique. The PSO technique provides the best global optimal solution, whereas ACO offers the best local solution. To validate the results of the developed algorithm, performed a comparison of the makespan, cost, and resource utilization rate parameters against the well-known exiting four algorithms for the computer-generated tasks set in the cloud environment through a simulation experiment. The comparison results showed that the proposed algorithm reduces the makespan time and computation cost as well as increases resource utilization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Artvin Çoruh Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Artvin Coruh University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

At a time when communication network technology is developing rapidly, the security of the Internet has aroused widespread concern in the academic community. In particular, electronic payment, which has been booming in recent years, has great security risks and people are prone to information leakage and property loss in the process of payment. In order to solve these problems, this study adopts the AES to encrypt the information in the payment process, introduces the RSA Public Key System (RSA) and the SM4 packet cipher algorithm for comparison, and analyses their encryption (decryption) speed, decryption (decryption) speed and encryption speed respectively. (decryption) speed, as well as PR curve, Loss function and sensitivity. The results show that the AES algorithm has a faster encryption (decryption) speed compared to the other two algorithms. In the PR curve, the AES algorithm has an AP value of 0.9988, which is significantly higher than the other two algorithms, and has a better balance between accuracy and recall, and better performance. In the sensitivity analysis, the AES algorithm can have the highest sensitivity of 97.88%. This is significantly higher than the 93.47% and 96.59% of the other two algorithms. Moreover, as shown by the Loss function of the AES algorithm, it converges faster and the Liss value varies between 0.1 and 0.9. In summary, the AES algorithm has a faster encryption speed and is better in terms of accuracy, convergence speed and security factor in all aspects. This also demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of this algorithm for information security protection in electronic payment processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens is a rare strain of actinomycete, in order to recognize and expand the ecological functions of rare actinomycetes. Methods: In this experiment, we studied the effect of Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens P9 on the drought resistance of peanut by inoculating peanut seedlings in pots and measuring the growth and physiological indicators of peanut under drought stress and re-watering conditions. Results: The results showed that during drought stress, the relative water content of the soil and leaves, chlorophyll content, and stomatal length, width, and aperture were significantly decreased while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 and stomatal density were significantly increased. Peanut growth was also inhibited. However, inoculation with the P9 strain significantly promoted the growth of peanut under drought stress as plant height, fresh weight, root length and root weight were significantly higher compared with the uninoculated drought stress group. In addition, in P9-inoculated plants, the water and chlorophyll contents were significantly higher and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes CAT and SOD were significantly increased (except during the six days of drought treatment). While the stomatal length, width, and aperture were improved, the levels of MDA and H2O2 were significantly decreased. NBT staining showed that inoculation with P9 reduced O2− accumulation under stress. After re-watering, the physiological indexes of inoculated plants recovered more quickly and grew better. Conclusions: The results showed that T. tyrosinosolvens P9 enhanced drought resistance and improves peanut growth by increasing leaf water content, increasing photosynthesis, regulating stomatal closure, and improving antioxidant enzyme activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineered nanosystems offer a promising strategy for macrophage-targeted therapies for various diseases, and their physicochemical parameters including surface-active ligands, size and shape are widely investigated for improving their therapeutic efficacy. However, little is known about the synergistic effect of elasticity and surface-active ligands. Here, two kinds of anti-inflammatory N-acetylcysteine (NAC)-loaded macrophage-targeting apoptotic-cell-inspired phosphatidylserine (PS)-containing nano-liposomes (PSLipos) were constructed, which had similar size and morphology but different Young's modulus (E) (H, ~ 100 kPa > Emacrophage vs. L, ~ 2 kPa < Emacrophage). Interestingly, these PSLipos-NAC showed similar drug loading and encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro slow-release behavior of NAC, but modulus-dependent interactions with macrophages. Softer PSLipos-L-NAC could resist macrophage capture, but remarkably prolong their targeting effect period on macrophages via durable binding to macrophage surface, and subsequently more effectively suppress inflammatory response in macrophages and then hasten inflammatory lung epithelial cell wound healing. Especially, pulmonary administration of PSLipos-L-NAC could significantly reduce the inflammatory response of M1-like macrophages in lung tissue and promote lung injury repair in a bleomycin-induced acute lung injury (ALI) mouse model, providing a potential therapeutic approach for ALI. The results strongly suggest that softness may enhance ligand-directed macrophage-mediated therapeutic efficacy of nanosystems, which will shed new light on the design of engineered nanotherapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is significant to investigate the coupling and coordination between agricultural carbon emission efficiency (ACEE) and food security and to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality in agriculture as early as possible while ensuring national food security. The Super-SBM (slack-based model) and the comprehensive index method were used to measure the ACEE and food security level in Henan province from 2010 to 2020. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) and the relative state of ACEE and food security were analyzed using the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) and the relative development degree model (RDDM). In addition, the interaction between ACEE and food security and the spatial–temporal heterogeneity were analyzed by combining with the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The results showed that: Firstly, the overall level of ACEE was high, and the spatial heterogeneity of ACEE was significant. The spatial pattern of food security is relatively stable, with high levels in the south and low levels in the north. Secondly, The CCD between ACEE and food security in Henan province generally shows a decreasing trend. In the spatial dimension, the CCD between ACEE and food security in Henan province exhibits a spatial divergence characteristic of low in the center and high in the north and south, with significant regional variations. Finally, there is spatial and temporal heterogeneity between ACEE and food security. The regression coefficients differ significantly among different cities, the regression coefficients do not show a consistent positive or negative correlation, and the regression coefficients are distributed both positively and negatively. This study serves as a guide for achieving the goal of double carbon in agriculture and ensuring food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ 3-wt.% (Al3Zr/Al2O3 + ZrB2) particle-reinforced 6016Al-matrix composites were produced and squeezed at 650 °C. The effects of squeezing pressure (10–20 MPa) on the solidification microstructure and properties of the composites were investigated. Squeezed solidification of the 6016Al-matrix composites at 650 °C led to grain sizes of 65–70 µm. The synthesized (Al3Zr/Al2O3 + ZrB2) particles were segregated along the grain boundaries. Fine Mg-Si-rich Guinier–Preston zones or precipitates (~ 5 nm) were formed during solidification. Amorphous Al2O3 was observed adjacent to crystalline Al2O3 particles. The composites exhibited a lower yield strength (YS) of ~ 50 MPa because of the clustered porosity and agglomeration of reinforcement particles in hot spots (50–100 µm), formed during solidification. The composite squeezed under 20 MPa exhibited a superior ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 186 MPa as compared to 170 MPa of the composite squeezed under 10 MPa. Mechanical properties of both the composites were improved upon hot rolling. Upon 80% thickness reduction by hot rolling, the composite squeezed under 10 MPa exhibited increase of ~ 300% in YS, ~ 30% in UTS, and 100% in fracture strain, while the composite squeezed under 20 MPa exhibited increase of ~ 260% in YS, ~ 6% in UTS, and ~ 32% in fracture strain. The improvements in properties originated from improved strengthening efficiency of (Al3Zr/Al2O3 + ZrB2) particles and homogenization of the microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method of how to use high concentrations of UV–Vis absorbable components in mobile phases for ion chromatographic separation of anions with indirect photometric detection (IPD) was developed. The UV–Vis absorption curves, the signal strengths at selected wavelengths, and the response ranges at different wavelengths of three organic salts, sodium benzoate, sodium 4-nitrobenzoate and sodium 3,5-dinitrobenzoate were detected using a photodiode array detector. Mobile phases containing these three organic salts at concentrations as high as 20 mM were used for ion chromatographic separations of inorganic anions, such as F−, Cl−, NO2−, Br−, NO3−, and SO42−. Separation characteristics detected at different wavelengths such as, the baseline stability, signal to noise levels shown as detection limits, linearity, etc., were investigated. It is found that the best wavelength used for IPD may not be the maximum or near the maximum absorption wavelength, but definitely not the non-absorptive wavelength of the eluent. Therefore, the best wavelength should be optimized. With the optimized wavelength at 385 nm, anions of sub-nanomoles were able to be quantitatively detected, and a good linear relationship with a correlation coefficients, (r > 0.9998), within the sample ranges from 0.5 to 200 ng was available. By using the optimized wavelength, the threshold of the detector will no longer be a strict restriction factor of using high concentrations of UV–Vis absorbable components. Consequently, columns with different ion exchange capacities can be used for separations with IPD. Furthermore, because the separation system can be fast re-equilibrated after sample injection using high concentrations of monovalent ion eluent, the separation efficiency can be highly improved. This method is promising for developing mobile phases for other chromatographic separations with IPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold rolling the CC AA 5754 aluminum alloy to different reductions was followed by an hour of annealing at 537 °C under varied pressures. The changes in microstructure and texture were studied. According to the findings, high-pressure heat treatment restricts recrystallization, and the restriction effect is stronger as pressure rises. The refining impact of high-pressure heat treatment can refine recrystallized grains, and it becomes stronger as the rolling reduction gets higher. The variation of recrystallization texture is significantly affected by high-pressure heat treatment. The sheet with a 19.6% reduction is found to have a weak cube texture at atmospheric pressure and 2 GPa, but the sheet that has been annealed at 4 GPa and 6 GPa has a strong cube texture and a weak β fiber rolling texture. High-pressure heat treatment improves the intensities of the cube and R textures in the fully recrystallized sheets with the same reduction. The strengthening impact of R texture from high-pressure heat treatment improves with increasing rolling reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a novel sliding mode control technique for finite-time synchronization transmission of signal in erbium-doped laser network. First, we introduce the structure of erbium-doped laser network. Then the unique sliding surface and network controller are designed to complete the finite-time synchronization transmission of signal in erbium-doped laser network. Finally, the effectiveness of the finite-time synchronization transmission technique is numerically illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil acidification has become a major global issue, and it is important to study the causes and mechanisms of soil pH changes. This study detected soil pH changes in data collected from 1162 papers published during 1996–2000 and 2016–2020 in China, and it discussed the influencing factors on soil pH changes using Geodetector. The results showed that 58.4% of the collected data pairs were significantly acidified. Alfisols, desert soils, primarosols, semi-aqueous soils and aqueous soils were significantly acidified, while other types of soil did not change significantly. Soil pH on construction land decreased in units of 0.39 and on cultivated land decreased by 0.12, but soil pH changes in forest land and grassland were not significant. Nitrogen deposition, the amount of precipitation, sulphur deposition, temperature and vegetation planted in the soil had a great effect on soil acidification. This study provided a scientific reference for clarifying soil pH changes and made suggestions for subsequent soil remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the finite-time synchronisation transmission of quantum signals between Jaynes-Cummings models is researched based on coupling technology. We first analyse the quantum properties of a Jaynes-Cummings model. Based on these, we achieve the finite-time synchronisation transmission of quantum signals between Jaynes-Cummings models and design the adaptive law of coupling coefficient. Finally, numerical simulations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the analytical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities such as mining, fossil fuel combustion, fertilisers and pesticides utilisation in agriculture, metallurgic processes and disposal of industrial wastes have contributed an exponential rise in arsenic content in environment. The present paper deals with arsenate (AsV) incited stress in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants and its alleviation through the application of nitric oxide (NO) and spermidine (SPD). The exposure of C. arietinum to AsV reduced seedling length, biomass, relative water content and biochemical constituents. All the above-mentioned parameters were escalated when sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or SPD were utilised alone or in combination with AsV. The electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content were increased in chickpea treated with AsV, but reduced in combine treatment (As + SNP + SPD). In chickpea seedlings, 89.4, 248.4 and 333.3% stimulation were recorded in sugar, proline and glycine betaine contents, respectively, with As + SNP + SPD treatment in comparison to control. SNP and SPD modulated function of glyoxalase enzymes by which methylglyoxal (MG) was significantly detoxified in C. arietinum. Maximum reduction 45.2% was observed in MG content in SNP + SPD treatment over AsV stress. Hence, synergistic application of NO and SPD protected chickpea plants against AsV-generated stress by strengthening the antioxidant defence and glyoxalase system, which helped in regulation of biochemical pathways. Anthropogenic activities have contributed an exponential rise in arsenic content in environment. The present paper deals with arsenic (AsV) incited stress in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants and its alleviation through the application of nitric oxide and spermidine (SPD). We hypothesise that synergistic impact of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and SPD may improve physiological and biochemical processes of chickpea to enhance its tolerance against arsenic toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the octonion short‐time linear canonical transform (OCSTLCT) in this paper. First, we propose the new definition of the OCSTLCT, and then several important properties of newly defined OCSTLCT, such as bounded, shift, modulation, time‐frequency shift, inversion formula, and orthogonality relation, are derived based on the spectral representation of the octonion linear canonical transform (OCLCT). Second, by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle for the OCLCT and the orthogonality relation property for the OCSTLCT, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle for the OCSTLCT is established. Finally, we give an example of the OCSTLCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-xCu alloys (x = 5 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 33 wt.%, and 40 wt.%) were solidified at atmospheric pressure (AP) and at high pressure of 3 GPa (3 GPa). The microstructural evolution was studied, and it shows that the amount of eutectic Al2Cu phase is suppressed in the Al-xCu samples solidified under high pressure compared to the samples solidified under ambient conditions. In addition, the secondary dendritic arm spacing in the Al-15Cu and Al-33Cu alloy decreases when solidified under high pressure. The strain rate sensitivity (m) and activation volume (V*) were calculated from the nanoindentation experiments, and the results show that m increases while V* decreases for the hypoeutectic Al-5Cu and Al-15Cu alloys solidified at 3 GPa. Both m and V* decrease for the eutectic alloy (Al-33Cu), and for the hypereutectic composition (Al-40Cu), m decreases, whereas V* increases when solidified under high pressure. The results suggest that both the strength and plasticity for the hypoeutectic compositions increase simultaneously, while the plasticity decrease in the eutectic composition solidified under high pressure. On the other hand, for the hypereutectic Al-40Cu alloy solidified under 3 GPa, both the strength and plasticity decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, based on semi-tensor product of matrices, a novel structure-preserving algorithm called L C structure-preserving algorithm is applied to quaternion Householder transformations for the first time. Then by means of the above contents, we present the L C structure-preserving methods for the QR decomposition and column pivoting QR decomposition of quaternion matrices, which make full use of high-level operations and relation of operations between quaternion matrices and their L C representation matrices. The numerical examples show that compared with the 'qr' of the Quaternion toolbox, the L C structure-preserving algorithm is more effective in calculating the QR decomposition of quaternion matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypereutectic Al-20Si alloy is widely used in automotive, aerospace, and other fields because of its lightweight, high thermal conductivity, good wear, and corrosion resistance. In this study, the effects of powder characteristics and aging treatment on the corrosion behavior of Al-20Si alloy prepared by selective laser melting (SLM) were systematically investigated. The results showed that the Al-20Si alloy synthesized with ball-milled powders (BMPs) presents a large number of pores and coarse Si particles, while the Al-20Si alloy prepared with atomized powders (APs) shows a uniform and dense microstructure with relatively small grain sizes. The Si phase was continuously precipitated and coarsened with increased aging temperature. Moreover, the fibrous eutectic Si prepared with APs was transformed to a particulate shape. The alloy manufactured with APs shows excellent corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, with the increase of aging treatment temperature, the corrosion resistance of the alloy was significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil aggregates and associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks are important for soil organic matter (SOM) consequences and quality. The study is meant to understand the mechanisms of how fertilization management affects Cand Nstocks. Tobacco monocropping systems with four fertilizer treatments (0, 75, and 112kg Nha−1, and 60kg Nha−1 + manure) were established in 1998. After 19 years, crop monocrop and fertilization management redetermined soil aggregates and related indicators. The results showed the large aggregates proportion (LMP) and small macroaggregates proportion (SMP) varied inversely with changing season. The LMP gradually rose after the implementation of tillage while microaggregates gradually declined. By manure fertilizer, LMP and SMP were significantly higher than those in inorganic fertilizer treatments, while microaggregates proportion (MIP) and silt and clay proportion (SCP) were lower than in inorganic fertilizer treatments. Soil water-stable aggregate and their associated soil organic stocks are changed with growing season, and tillage practices would have potentially affected these indicators, while the proportion and soil organic stocks more quickly recovered in large aggregates by manure application. Therefore, the proper application of manure combined with chemical fertilizer would maintain soil quality in tobacco cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, despite the rapid growth of cloud computing platforms, the technology confronts significant challenges including virtualization, load balancing, fault tolerance and most important of all, task scheduling. Considering the last challenge, because of high number of users and significant growth of number of tasks, there are some limitations such as MakeSpan, high resource utilization rate and executive costs in task scheduling algorithms. In this study, an effective method called HATMOG based on the smart hybrid of multiple criteria decision making algorithms of AHP-TOPSIS and Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGAII) has been used to improve task scheduling in the cloud. The proposed method was done in two phases. In the first phase, the tasks which entered the cloud environment were placed in separate queues and then, according to task length, number of required processor elements and task expire time were sorted by AHP-TOPSIS algorithm in their priority queues. This phase helped on time assignment of more important tasks to the most appropriate virtual machines significantly that resulted in response time decrease and optimized resource utilization. In the second phase, the sorted tasks with prioritized queues were assigned to the appropriate virtual machines using NSGAII. Task assignment to virtual machine is an NP-Hard issue and NSGAII helped the efficiency improvement of cloud computing environment significantly because of the high convergence speed in finding close to optimal solution. The results of numerous simulations in Cloudism showed that the proposed method improved MakeSpan comparing TOPSIS-PSO, AHP-TOPSIS-PSO, NSGAII and PSO by 17.76, 155.73, 5.05 and 171.35 percent respectively and the average resource utilization by 15.94, 176.59, 4.83 and 176.65 percent respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of poor hardenability and low mechanical strength of 45 steel after quenching and tempering at normal pressure, 45 steel was quenched and tempered under high pressure. The microstructure of 45 steel after high pressure quenching and tempering was analyzed by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, its hardness and compressive strength were tested by hardness tester and electronic universal testing machine, and compared with samples treated by the same process under atmospheric pressure. The results show that uniform and compact tempered sorbite can be obtained after high pressure quenching and tempering of 45 steel, and the precipitated granular carbides are finely dispersed, thus improving the mechanical properties of 45 steel. Under a pressure of 3 GPa, quenching at 900 °C for 15 min and 550 °C for 60 min tempering, the hardness and compressive yield strength of 45 steel were 36.3 HRC and 971 MPa, respectively, which were respectively 25.17% and 20.77% higher than the corresponding values obtained with the same process under atmospheric pressure quenching and tempering. This work provides a new method to effectively improve the mechanical properties of 45 steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel mycovirus, designated as "Rhizoctonia fumigata bipartite virus 1" (RfBV1), from Rhizoctonia fumigata AG-Ba isolate C-314 Baishi was determined. The genome of RfBV1 is composed of two double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA). dsRNA-1 (2311 bp) contains one open reading frame (ORF), which codes for the putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of the virus. dsRNA-2 (1690 bp) contains one ORF, which encodes a putative protein whose function is unknown. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the RdRp of RfBV1 clustered with several unassigned bipartite viruses belonging to the CThTV-like viruses group, but not the family Amalgaviridae or Partitiviridae. Our study suggests that RfBV1 is a novel mycovirus related to the CThTV-like viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, the full genome sequence of a novel mycovirus, designated as "Rhizoctonia solani partitivirus SM03" (RsPV-SM03), was determined in Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 HG III isolate SM03. RsPV-SM03 genome consists of two dsRNAs (dsRNA-1 and dsRNA-2), each of them contains one single open reading frame (ORF). ORF1 of dsRNA-1 encodes a putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), while ORF2 of dsRNA-2 encodes a putative viral coat protein (CP). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the RdRp and CP of RsPV-SM03 are closely related to those of other members of the genus Alphapartitivirus, family Partitiviridae, suggesting that RsPV-SM03 represents a novel species in the genus Alphapartitivirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many studies on the influence of cropping practices on soil microbial community structure, little is known about ecological patterns of rare and abundant microbial communities in response to different tobacco cropping systems. Here, using the high-throughput sequencing technique, we investigated the impacts of two different cropping systems on soil biochemical properties and the microbial community composition of abundant and rare taxa and its driving factors in continuous and rotational tobacco cropping systems in the mountain lands of Yunnan, China. Our results showed that distinct co-occurrence patterns and driving forces for abundant and rare taxa across the different cropping systems. The abundant taxa were mainly constrained by stochastic processes in both cropping systems. In contrast, rare taxa in continuous cropping fields were mainly influenced by environmental perturbation (cropping practice), while governed by deterministic processes under rotational cropping. The α-diversity indices of rare taxa tended to be higher than those of the abundant ones in the two cropping systems. Furthermore, the network topologies of rare taxa were more complex than those of the abundant taxa in the two cropping systems. These results highlight that rare taxa rather than abundant ones play important roles in maintaining ecosystem diversity and sustaining the stability of ecosystem functions, especially in continuous cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large amount of fresh tobacco waste with high water content are produced in farmland, and it may cause environmental pollution if it is not properly treated. The fresh tobacco waste is not easily collected and transported, resulting in its centralized treatment is expensive. This study is to clarify whether it is feasible to treat fresh tobacco wastes by co-composting of them and soil in farmland and applied the obtained compost product into the soil instead of a part of tobacco-specific fertilizer. The results showed that, compared with that in original soil, the relative abundance of Pseudomonas, Azotobacter, and Coprinus of the co-composted products increased by roughly 244%, 323%, and 675%, respectively, and effective nitrogen and available potassium increased by roughly 157% and 132%, respectively. In addition, the nicotine content in co-composted products decreased dramatically compared with the discarded tobacco leaves. The application of the co-composted products and 20% fertilizer amount (15 g/plant) (YD5) exhibited the highest relative abundance of beneficial microbial communities in the soil and the best growth of tobacco plants. The co-composting of fresh tobacco waste and soil in farmland is an effective measure to treat the fresh tobacco waste, and its products increased beneficial microorganisms and stimulate the growth of tobacco plants by replacing an amount of the fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]