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Abstract Background Accumulation of coumarins plays key roles in response to immune and abiotic stress in plants, but the genetic adaptation basis of controlling coumarins in perennial woody plants remain unclear. Results We detected 792 SNPs within 334 genes that were significantly associated with the phenotypic variations of 15 single-metabolic traits and multiple comprehensive index, such as principal components (PCs) of coumarins metabolites. Expression quantitative trait locus mapping uncovered that 337 eQTLs associated with the expression levels of 132 associated genes. Selective sweep revealed 55 candidate genes have potential selective signature among three geographical populations, highlighting that the coumarins biosynthesis have been encountered forceful local adaptation. Furthermore, we constructed a genetic network of seven candidate genes that coordinately regulate coumarins biosynthesis, revealing the multiple regulatory patterns affecting coumarins accumulation in Populus tomentosa. Validation of candidate gene variations in a drought-tolerated population and DUF538 heterologous transformation experiments verified the function of candidate genes and their roles in adapting to the different geographical conditions in poplar. Conclusions Our study uncovered the genetic regulation of the coumarins metabolic biosynthesis of Populus, and offered potential clues for drought-tolerance evaluation and regional improvement in woody plants.

The assessment of freeze desalination (FD) efficiency is lagging behind due to the lack of an effective means of determining ice total dissolved solid (TDS). In this paper, an ice TDS prediction model was constructed by utilizing the law of conservation of matter (LCMat) and conservation of mass (LCMas) in the icing process. It was concluded that the average TDS ice crystals in any icing process was correlated with the TDS of the raw (concentrated) water at the starting of freezing, the salt mass change rate of the concentrate water, and the volume of ice crystals. A one-way FD test was carried out using the saltwater from South Xinjiang, and the exponential equation model and linear equation model of LCMat-LCMas were derived, and the simulation accuracy of LCMat-LCMas was verified by using the test data. The results show that the model has high prediction accuracy. The exponential equation model is suitable for predicting the ice TDS for ice with thickness within 15 cm, and the linear equation is suitable for predicting the ice crystal TDS for ice thicker than 15 cm. Further validation of the model accuracy is needed for larger cooled areas and icing thicknesses, and multidirectional icing processes.

Abstract Quasi‐2D perovskite quantum wells are increasingly recognized as promising candidates for direct‐conversion X‐ray detection. However, the fabrication of oriented and uniformly thick quasi‐2D perovskite films, crucial for effective high‐energy X‐ray detection, is hindered by the inherent challenges of preferential crystallization at the gas‐liquid interface, resulting in poor film quality. In addressing this limitation, a carbonyl array‐synergized crystallization (CSC) strategy is employed for the fabrication of thick films of a quasi‐2D Ruddlesden‐Popper (RP) phase perovskite, specifically PEA2MA4Pb5I16. The CSC strategy involves incorporating two forms of carbonyls in the perovskite precursor, generating large and dense intermediates. This design reduces the nucleation rate at the gas‐liquid interface, enhances the binding energies of Pb2+ at (202) and (111) planes, and passivates ion vacancy defects. Consequently, the construction of high‐quality thick films of PEA2MA4Pb5I16 RP perovskite quantum wells is achieved and characterized by vertical orientation and a pure well‐width distribution. The corresponding PEA2MA4Pb5I16 RP perovskite X‐ray detectors exhibit multi‐dimensional advantages in performance compared to previous approaches and commercially available a‐Se detectors. This CSC strategy promotes 2D perovskites as a candidate for next‐generation large‐area flat‐panel X‐ray detection systems.

Irrigation and fertilization are the main measures used by farmers to maintain crop yield and quality, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. To investigate the compensation of cotton yield loss due to deficit drip irrigation in non-mulched fields by increasing nitrogen (N) fertilizer application, a split-plot experiment with irrigation amount as the main plot and N application as the subplot was carried out in southern Xinjiang, China. The experiment included two irrigation amounts of 450 mm (deficit irrigation, W1) and 540 mm (full irrigation, W2) and three N application rates of 150 kg ha−1 (F1), 225 kg ha−1 (F2), and 300 kg ha−1 (F3). From the cotton seedling stage, ET0 (reference evapotranspiration) was calculated from daily meteorological data and irrigation was applied when the cumulative ET0-P reached 45 ± 3 mm. The results showed that irrigation and fertilization significantly affected soil moisture and total N, which in turn affected cotton growth, biomass formation, and yield (P

In order to ensure national grain and oil security, it is imperative to expand the soybean planting area in the Xinjiang region. However, the scarcity of water resources in southern Xinjiang, the relatively backward soybean planting technology, and the lack of a supporting irrigation system have negatively impacted soybean planting and yield. In 2022 and 2023, we conducted an experiment which included three irrigation amounts of 27 mm, 36 mm, and 45 mm and analyzed the changes in dry mass and yield. Additionally, we simulated the potential yield using the corrected DSSAT-CROPGRO-Soybean model and biomass based on the meteorological data from 1994 to 2023. The results demonstrated that the model was capable of accurately predicting soybean emergence (the relative root mean square error (nRMSE) = 0, the absolute relative error (ARE) = 0), flowering (nRMSE = 0, ARE = 2.78%), maturity (nRMSE = 0, ARE = 3.21%). The model demonstrated high levels of accuracy in predicting soybean biomass (R2 = 0.98, nRMSE = 20.50%, ARE = 20.63%), 0–80 cm soil water storage (R2 = 0.64, nRMSE = 7.78%, ARE = 3.24%), and yield (R2 = 0.81, nRMSE = 10.83%, ARE = 8.79%). The biomass of soybean plants increases with the increase in irrigation amount. The highest biomass of 63 mm is 9379.19 kg·hm−2. When the irrigation yield is 36–45 mm (p < 0.05), the maximum yield can reach 4984.73 kg·hm−2; the maximum efficiency of soybean irrigation water was 33–36 mm. In light of the impact of soybean yield and irrigation water use efficiency, the optimal irrigation amount for soybean cultivation in southern Xinjiang is estimated to be between 36 and 42 mm. The simulation results provide a theoretical foundation for soybean cultivation in southern Xinjiang.

The widespread environmental contamination resulting from the misuse of tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) has garnered significant attention and study by scholars. Photocatalytic technology is one of the environmentally friendly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that can effectively solve the problem of residue of TCs in the water environment. This study involved the synthesis of the heterogeneous magnetic photocatalytic material of CoFe2O4/NaBiO3 via the solvothermal method, and it was characterized using different characterization techniques. Then, the photocatalytic system under visible light (Vis) was coupled with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to explore the performance and mechanism of degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in the wastewater. The characterization results revealed that CoFe2O4/NaBiO3 effectively alleviated the agglomeration phenomenon of CoFe2O4 particles, increased the specific surface area, effectively narrowed the band gap, expanded the visible light absorption spectrum, and inhibited recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. In the Vis+CoFe2O4/NaBiO3+PMS system, CoFe2O4/NaBiO3 effectively activated PMS to produce hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and sulfate radicals (SO4−). Under the conditions of a TCH concentration of 10 mg/L−1, a catalyst concentration of 1 g/L−1 and a PMS concentration of 100 mg/L−1, the degradation efficiency of TCH reached 94% after 100 min illumination. The degradation of TCH was enhanced with the increase in the CoFe2O4/NaBiO3 and PMS dosage. The solution pH and organic matter had a significant impact on TCH degradation. Notably, the TCH degradation efficiency decreased inversely with increasing values of these parameters. The quenching experiments indicated that the free radicals contributing to the Vis+CoFe2O4/NaBiO3+PMS system were ·OH followed by SO4−, hole (h+), and the superoxide radical (O2−). The main mechanism of PMS was based on the cycle of Co3+ and Co2+, as well as Fe3+ and Fe2+. The cyclic tests and characterization by XRD and FT-IR revealed that CoFe2O4/NaBiO3 had good degradation stability. The experimental findings can serve as a reference for the complete removal of antibiotics from wastewater.

To reveal the mechanisms of saline-fresh water rotation irrigation that affect the leaf ultrastructure and photosynthetic characteristics of tomato plants and to optimize the strategy of saline water irrigation of greenhouse tomatoes, a two-season tomato experiment with four treatments of saline-fresh water rotation irrigation was conducted in a greenhouse in southern Xinjiang. The four treatments consisted of rotation irrigation with four times saline-fresh water (W1), rotation irrigation with two times saline water and two times fresh water (W2), rotation irrigation with two times fresh water, four times saline water, and two times fresh water (W3), and freshwater irrigation as a control (CK). The three rotation patterns had the same amount of saline water and fresh water, but the rotational interval was different. The results indicated that the saline-alkali stress introduced by saline water significantly reduced the gas exchange parameters of tomato leaves and water use efficiency at the leaf scale, and both stomatal and non-stomatal factors played a key role in limiting leaf gas exchange. The chloroplast granular lamellae structure was disrupted in tomato leaves treated with W1 and W2. Compared with CK, W1 and W2 decreased leaf chlorophyll content by 4.59% and 10.89%, net photosynthetic rate by 26.82% and 40.11%, and yield by 60.62% and 67.63%, respectively. In contrast, W3 presented a relatively intact mesophyll cell structure and relatively high chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency. In W3 treatment, no significant differences were found in the number of fruits per plant (only increased by 8.16% and the yield by 4.03%), while with better quality compared with CK. The results suggested that tomato growth and yield were neither poor nor detrimental when rotated with saline water during the flowering and fruiting stage-fruit expansion stage and freshwater irrigation during other growth stages. W3 can be used as a saline-fresh water rotation pattern for tomato production in greenhouses in arid and saline areas.

Water scarcity constrains the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture, and deficit irrigation as a new irrigation technology can effectively alleviate the problems of water scarcity and water use inefficiency in agriculture. In this study, the drip irrigation cotton field under film in Xinjiang was taken as the research object. Meta-analysis and machine learning were used to quantitatively analyze the effects of different farm management practices, climate, and soil conditions on cotton yield and water use efficiency under deficit irrigation, to investigate the importance of the effects of different factors on cotton yield and water use efficiency, and to formulate appropriate optimization strategies. The results showed that deficit irrigation significantly increased cotton water use efficiency (7.39%) but decreased cotton yield (−15.00%) compared with full irrigation. All three deficit irrigation levels (80~100% FI, 60~80% FI, and 40~60% FI; FI: full irrigation) showed a significant decrease in cotton yield and a significant increase in water use efficiency. Under deficit irrigation, cotton yield reduction was the smallest and cotton water use efficiency increased the most when planted with one film, two tubes, a six-row cropping pattern, an irrigation frequency ≥10 times, a nitrogen application of 300~400 kg·ha−1, and a crop density ≥240,000 per hectare, and planted with the Xinluzhong series of cotton varieties; deficit irrigation in areas with average annual temperature >10 °C, annual evapotranspiration >2000 mm, annual precipitation

IntroductionWarming and drought brought about by climate change seriously harm sustainable agricultural production in southern Xinjiang. It is still unclear how irrigation can improve the ability of crops to cope with climate change.MethodsTherefore, in this study, we calibrated and validated the AquaCrop model using data collected in cotton production from 2017 to 2018. The model effectively simulated the growth, biomass, and yield of cotton plants at the experimental site under different warming and irrigation conditions. The meteorological data collected from 1987 to 2016 were used in a simulation to predict cotton production under 3 temperature scenarios (temperature increased by 0°C, 1°C, and 2°C) and 6 levels of irrigation (198, 264, 330, 396, 495, and 594 mm) to explain the modulating effect of plastic film mulching-coupled drip irrigation on cotton production in terms of increasing temperatures under climate change in southern Xinjiang.Results and discussionModel prediction showed that an increase in temperature reduced cotton yield under a low irrigation level, while an increase in irrigation mitigated the impact of climate change on cotton yield. An increase of 1°C did not significantly reduce cotton yield at 198–330 mm of irrigation. Under a 2°C increase, 396–594 mm of irrigation was required to ensure plant growth and yield formation. Both aboveground biomass and yield increased with the rise in the irrigation level at the same temperature. High water use efficiency was achieved at 495 mm of irrigation without significant yield loss. Therefore, in the low-temperature scenario, it can be preferentially considered to achieve sustainable water use through water management, while in the high-temperature scenario innovative agricultural measures are required to avoid yield loss. Optimizing irrigation strategies can reduce warming-induced damage to crops under climate change.

Oomycetes cause hundreds of destructive plant diseases, threatening agricultural production and food security. These fungus-like eukaryotes show multiple sporulation pattern including the production of sporangium, zoospore, chlamydospore and oospore, which are critical for their survival, dispersal and infection on hosts. Recently, genomic and genetic technologies have greatly promoted the study of molecular mechanism of sporulation in the genus Phytophthora and Peronophythora. In this paper, we characterize the types of asexual and sexual spores and review latest progress of these two genera. We summarize the genes encoding G protein, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, transcription factors, RNA-binding protein, autophagy-related proteins and so on, which function in the processes of sporangium production and cleavage, zoospore behaviors and oospore formation. Meanwhile, various molecular, chemical and electrical stimuli in zoospore behaviors are also discussed. Finally, with the molecular mechanism of sporulation in Phytophthora and Peronophythora is gradually being revealed, we propose some thoughts for the further research and provide the alternative strategy for plant protection against phytopathogenic oomycetes.

Research on tunnel excavation has rarely considered the effect of the tunnel excavation on a complete building. Therefore, this paper considered a building with a double basement and piles, and a three-dimensional finite-element model for shield tunnels undercrossing an existing building was established to study the effects of the excavation of double-shield tunnels on the displacement and internal forces of soil, segments, piles, and buildings. Grouting reinforcement technology was used in the model to analyze the effect of grouting reinforcement on pile displacement and building subsidence. The results showed that for every 100 kPa increase in grouting pressure, the maximum subsidence of the soil was reduced by 3.512 mm. The successive excavation of double-shield tunnels resulted in elliptical segments. The longitudinal and transverse stresses of the segments were effectively reduced by grouting pressure of 250 kPa. The excavation of tunnels had an obvious nonlinear effect on the maximum lateral displacement of the piles along the direction of excavation and the maximum subsidence of the building. When using deep-hole grouting reinforcement, the maximum lateral displacement of piles and the maximum subsidence of the building were effectively reduced by increasing the radial grouting reinforcement radius and adjusting the reinforcement range.

As one global issue, soil salinization has caused soil degradation, thus affecting the sustainable development of irrigated agriculture. A two-year study was conducted in 2018 and 2019 to identify the effects of subsurface drainage spacing on soil salinity and groundwater level, the latter of which is in a high-water table in drip irrigation cotton fields in the Tarim Basin oasis in southern Xinjiang, China. Three subsurface drainage treatments, with a drain spacing of 10 m (W10), 20 m (W20), and 30 m (W30), respectively, and a drainage-absent treatment (CK), are tested. With CK, soil salinity in the 0–60 cm layer was accumulated within a year. In contrast, the subsurface drainage reduced the soil salinity at a leaching rate of 10–25%. When decreasing the drain spacing, it was found that the soil desalination rate increased significantly (p < 0.05) with good repeatability. Experimental results showed that the fitting equation of the soil salinity leaching curve could accurately describe the soil salinity leaching pattern of drip irrigation, and thus could be further used to inversely determine the theoretical drip irrigation leaching quota for those soils with different salinity degrees. As such, subsurface drainage could effectively control the groundwater table. Compared with CK, subsurface drainage deepened the groundwater table and mitigated the fluctuation of the groundwater level. These effects were strengthened by reducing the drain spacing. Correspondingly, the influence of the fluctuation of the groundwater table was reduced.

The progress of open tubular suppressed ion chromatography is reviewed from a broad perspective. Then a suppressed open tubular ion chromatography system, composed mostly of commercial components, is described: A splitless gradient-capable nanopump providing eluent delivery in the 10–1000 nL/min regime, a 7-nL injector integral to the pump, an anion exchange column based on a 25 µm i.d. poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) capillary, and an on-column admittance detector. The membrane suppressor was custom fabricated. Good gradient separation of seven common anions in 9 min is demonstrated using a manually prepared hydroxide eluent.

This paper designs a new AC & DC hybrid power supply system for data centres, which includes photostatic power generation, wind power generation, solar thermal power generation, storage power systems, and different types of loads. According to the above-mentioned, the paper first presents the reliability evaluation indicators and analysis methods applicable to the new AC & DC hybrid power supply system for data centres, which are for solving the problem of the reliability evaluation under uncertain parameters and load parameters of the new data centre power supply system. The paper describes the new power supply system reliability indicators and evaluation methods in detail. The problem of the power supply reliability in the new AC & DC hybrid power supply system in the data centre is analysed in a targeted manner by adopting actual examples, then it is verified that the power supply reliability of the new AC & DC hybrid power supply system can perfectly meet the qualification of the A-class data centre power supply. The reliability of assessment index and analysis methods presented here will be two simple and superior analysing tools.

Connexin40 (Cx40)-containing gap-junction channels are expressed in the atrial myocardium and provide a low-resistance passage for rapid impulse propagation. A germline mutation in the GJA5 gene, which encodes Cx40, resulting in a truncated Cx40 (Q49X) was identified in a large Chinese family with lone (idiopathic) atrial fibrillation (AF). This mutation co-segregated with seven AF probands in an autosomal-dominant way over generations. To test the hypothesis that this Cx40 mutant affects the distribution and function of atrial gap junctions, we studied the Q49X mutant in gap-junction-deficient HeLa and N2A cells. The Q49X mutant, unlike wild-type Cx40, was typically localized in the cytoplasm and failed to form gap-junction plaques at cell-cell interfaces. When the Q49X mutant was co-expressed with Cx40 or Cx43, the mutant substantially reduced the gap-junction plaque formation of Cx40 and Cx43. Electrophysiological studies revealed no electrical coupling of cell pairs expressing the mutant alone and a significant decrease in the coupling conductance when the mutant was co-expressed with Cx40 or Cx43. Further colocalization experiments with the organelle residential proteins indicate that Q49X was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. These findings provide evidence that the Q49X mutant is capable of impairing gap-junction distribution and function of key atrial connexins, which might play a role in the predisposition to and onset of AF.

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays a role in innate host defense. Human SP-A is encoded by two functional genes (SP-A1 and SP-A2), and several alleles have been characterized for each gene. We assessed the effect of in vitro expressed human SP-A genetic variants, on TNF-[alpha] and IL-8 production by THP-1 cells in the presence of bleomycin, either before or after ozone-induced oxidation of the variants. The oligomerization of SP-A variants was also examined. We found 1) cytokine levels induced by SP-A2 (1A, [1A.sup.0]) were significantly higher than those by SP-AI ([6A.sup.2], [6A.sup.4]) in the presence of bleomycin. 2) In the presence of bleomycin, ozone-induced oxidation significantly decreased the ability of 1A and 1A/ [6A.sup.4], but not of [6A.sup.4], to stimulate TNF-[alpha] production. 3) The synergistic effect of bleomycin/SP-A, either before or after oxidation, can be inhibited to the level of bleomycin alone by surfactant lipids. 4) Differences in oligomerization were also observed between SP-A1 and SP-A2. The results indicate that differences among SP-A variants may partly explain the individual variability of pulmonary complications observed during bleomycin chemotherapy and/or in an environment that may promote protein oxidation. inflammation; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; oligomerization; ozone

We describe an electrodialytic capillary suppressor for suppressed conductometric open tubular ion chromatography (SC-OTIC). For practical eluent concentrations, suppressor active lengths less than ~1 mm are adequate. In its preferred embodiment, the suppressor consists of a solid polymer ion exchanger block. Two 0.45-mm-diameter parallel cylindrical passages are provided: these provide for passage of regenerant water and placement of platinum wire electrodes. The suppression channel is made by making a crack in the soft polymer block, using a needle 0.3 mm in diameter. The suppression channel runs parallel to and is flanked by the two aforementioned electrode channels through which water is pumped. The suppressor ends of the separation and the detection capillaries are tapered. The tapered ends of the capillaries are inserted into the suppression channel with the tips 0.4-1.1 mm apart. Using a suppression length of 1 mm, we were able to suppress 100 mM hydroxide @ 100 nL/min (10 neq/min). With such a suppressor coupled to an AS18 latex-coated surface-sulfonated cyclo-olefin polymer (COP) capillary column with an inner diameter (i.d.) of 28 µm and using an on-capillary admittance detector (AD), the feasibility of both isocratic and gradient SC-OTIC was demonstrated. At 170 nL/min (substantially above the Van Deemter optimum), the plate count for fluoride exceeded 70 000 plates/m under isocratic conditions. The dispersion induced by the suppressor could not be determined, because the peak half-widths after suppression were paradoxically less than those without suppression; this apparent negative dispersion is likely an artifact of the detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

method was developed for the simultaneous determination of six toxic alkaloids (aconitine, hypaconitine, gelsemine, raceanisodamine, strychnine, brucine) in blood and urine by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Ephedrine was selected as the internal standard. Samples were extracted and cleaned up by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using Oasis MCX cartridges. Separation parameters such as organic modifier, buffer pH, and concentration of buffer salt were investigated. Gradient separation and analysis were achieved for six alkaloids on a 3-μm Atlantis HILIC column using a mobile phase consisting of 30 mM ammonium formate and acetonitrile at pH 3. Two multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions for each substance were monitored to provide sufficient identification of alkaloid. The retention mechanisms were explored in the method development. Validation included assessment of linearity, limit of quantification, accuracy, and precision. Bias was less than 15.1% and precision was better than 8.3% for both blood and urine samples. A total of 54 clinical samples were examined by this validated method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) enhances phagocytosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. SP-A1 and SP-A2 encode human (h) SP-A; SP-A2 products enhance phagocytosis more than SP-A1. Oxidation can affect SP-A function. We hypothesized that in vivo and in vitro ozone-induced oxidation of SP-A (as assessed by its carbonylation level) negatively affects its function in phagocytosis (as assessed by bacteria cell association). To test this, we used P. aeruginosa, rat alveolar macrophages (AM5), hSP-As with varying levels of in vivo (natural) oxidation, and ozone-exposed SP-A2 (1A, 1A°) and SP-A 1 (6A2, 6A4) variants. SP-A oxidation levels (carbonylation) were measured; AMs were incubated with bacteria in the presence of SP-A, and the phagocytic index was calculated. We found: 1) the phagocytic activity of hSP-A is reduced with increasing levels of in vivo SP-A carbonylation; 2) in vitro ozone exposure of hSP-A decreases its function in a dose-dependent manner as well as its ability to enhance phagocytosis of either gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria; 3) the activity of both SP-Al and SP-A2 decreases in response to in vitro ozone exposure of proteins with SP-A2 being affected more than SP-A I. We conclude that both in vivo and in vitro oxidative modifications of SP-A by carbonylation reduce its ability to enhance phagocytosis of bacteria and that the activity of SP-A2 is affected more by in vitro ozone-induced oxidation. We speculate that functional differences between SP-Al and SP-A2 exist in vivo and that the redox status of the lung microenvironment differentially affects function of SP-Al and SP-A2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of A-bleomycin on cytokines. Reduction in cytokine production; Detection of DNA damage; Increase in the activity of nuclear factors.