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Heavy metal pollution is a gradually growing environmental issue that hinders the growth and development of plants, and also destabilizes soil. Consequently, eco-friendly phytoremediation methods have gained traction, with energy crops emerging as a particularly effective solution. Energy crops not only provide high-quality plant materials for detoxification and remediation of heavy metal pollution, but also possess energy properties conducive to biofuel production. Therefore, this paper delves into the tolerance mechanism of energy crops towards heavy metal toxicity, elucidating processes such as root complex-mediated inhibition of metal migration and response to reactive oxygen species (ROS) through heavy metal-related proteins, enzyme systems, reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and hormones. Moreover, it summarizes the heavy metals remediation mechanisms of energy crops, including uptake, translocation, chelation, immobilization, and sequestration. This paper explores applications of energy crops in heavy metal pollution remediation, emphasizing the methods for efficient biochar remediation and biofuel generation. Furthermore, potential challenges in using energy crops for heavy metal pollution remediation are outlined. By systematically examining the function mechanisms and prospective applications of energy crops in heavy metal pollution bioremediation, this paper serves as a valuable reference for both research and practical implementation in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a Ti-6Al-4V/Ni-Ti functionally graded material was successfully prepared by multi-wire arc additive manufacturing. Its microstructural, electrochemical, and mechanical properties were studied. The results show that the microstructure is transformed from an α-Ti + β-Ti basket structure to an NiTi columnar crystal. With an increase in Ni content, Icorr decreases from 0.203 ± 0.017 μA/cm2 to 0.145 ± 0.003 μA/cm2, and Ecorr increases from −409 ± 5 mV to −259 ± 3 mV. The microhardness increases from 335 ± 7 HV0.2 to 615 ± 17 HV0.2 in the gradient region and then decreases to 250 ± 8 HV0.2. The ultimate compressive strength of the gradient region is 1253 ± 62 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese urban regeneration movement underscores a "people-oriented" paradigm, aimed at addressing urban challenges stemming from rapid prior urbanization, while striving for high-quality and sustainable urban development. At the community level, fostering quality through a socially sustainable perspective (SSP) is a pivotal strategy for people-oriented urban regeneration. Nonetheless, explorations of community quality assessments grounded in an SSP have been notably scarce in recent scholarly discourse. This study pioneers a multidimensional quantitative model (MQM) for gauging community quality, leveraging diverse geospatial data sources from the SSP framework. The MQM introduces an evaluative framework with "Patency, Convenience, Comfort, and Safety" as primary indicators, integrating multi-sourced data encompassing the area of interest (AOI), Point of Interest (POI), Weibo check-ins, and Dianping data. The model's efficacy is demonstrated through a case study in the Gusu district, Suzhou. Furthermore, semantic analysis of the Gusu district's street view photos validates the MQM results. Our findings reveal the following: (1) AI-based semantic analysis accurately verifies the validity of MQM-generated community quality measurements, establishing its robust applicability with multi-sourced geospatial data; (2) the community quality distribution in Gusu district is notably correlated with the urban fabric, exhibiting lower quality within the ancient town area and higher quality outside it; and (3) communities of varying quality coexist spatially, with high- and low-quality communities overlapping in the same regions. This research pioneers a systematic, holistic methodology for quantitatively measuring community quality, laying the groundwork for informed urban regeneration policies, planning, and place making. The MQM, fortified by multi-sourced geospatial data and AI-based semantic analysis, offers a rigorous foundation for assessing community quality, thereby guiding socially sustainable regeneration initiatives and decision making at the community scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lactic acid bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus are commonly used as starter cultures in dairy product production. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of fermented milk using different ratios of these strains and analyze the changes in volatile compounds during fermentation and storage. A 10:1 ratio of Streptococcus thermophilus CICC 6063 to Lactobacillus helveticus CICC 6064 showed optimal fermentation time (4.2 h), viable cell count (9.64 log10 colony-forming units/mL), and sensory evaluation score (79.1 points). In total, 56 volatile compounds were identified and quantified by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS), including aldehydes, ketones, acids, alcohols, esters, and others. Among these, according to VIP analysis, 2,3-butanedione, acetoin, 2,3-pentanedione, hexanoic acid, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, and butanoic acid were identified as discriminatory volatile metabolites for distinguishing between different time points. Throughout the fermentation and storage process, the levels of 2,3-pentanedione and acetoin exhibited synergistic dynamics. These findings enhance our understanding of the chemical and molecular characteristics of milk fermented with Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus, providing a basis for improving the flavor and odor of dairy products during fermentation and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynein motors facilitate the majority of minus-end-directed transport events on microtubules. The dynein adaptor Bicaudal D2 (BicD2) recruits the dynein machinery to several cellular cargo for transport, including Nup358, which facilitates a nuclear positioning pathway that is essential for the differentiation of distinct brain progenitor cells. Previously, we showed that Nup358 forms a "cargo recognition α-helix" upon binding to BicD2; however, the specifics of the BicD2-Nup358 interface are still not well understood. Here, we used AlphaFold2, complemented by two additional docking programs (HADDOCK and ClusPro) as well as mutagenesis, to show that the Nup358 cargo-recognition α-helix binds to BicD2 between residues 747 and 774 in an anti-parallel manner, forming a helical bundle. We identified two intermolecular salt bridges that are important to stabilize the interface. In addition, we uncovered a secondary interface mediated by an intrinsically disordered region of Nup358 that is directly N-terminal to the cargo-recognition α-helix and binds to BicD2 between residues 774 and 800. This is the same BicD2 domain that binds to the competing cargo adapter Rab6, which is important for the transport of Golgi-derived and secretory vesicles. Our results establish a structural basis for cargo recognition and selection by the dynein adapter BicD2, which facilitates transport pathways that are important for brain development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable urban forms (SUF) guide spatial creation, significantly revitalise the development of traditional settlements, and are an essential theoretical support for urban design. At the same time, the emergence of quantitative spatial analysis technology further promotes the visualised evaluation of the performance of spatial vitality in urban design. However, current research rarely studies the spatial vitality of traditional settlements with quantitative spatial analysis from the SUF perspective. Therefore, this research takes Anren Ancient Town in Chengdu, Western China, as an example to propose a design based on sustainable urban form theory to raise local spatial vitality. Then, it introduces the vitality evaluation system based on the urban form index (UFI) with three measurement methods: Space Syntax, Spacemate, and MXI, and conducts a comparative spatial vitality evaluation of Anren Ancient Town's status quo to explain the process of how the design scheme came about. The results found that urban design proposals based on the principles of compactness, mixed land use and diversity in SUF design guidelines can effectively improve the vitality of traditional settlements. The high vitality of an urban settlement could be achieved by combining SUF-based design guidelines and UFI-based evaluation systems. The spatial vitality evaluation system based on the SUF could assist and optimise decision-making in design and act as a paradigm for urban design or urban regeneration in traditional towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bicaudal D2 (BICD2) is responsible for recruiting cytoplasmic dynein to diverse forms of subcellular cargo for their intracellular transport. Mutations in the human BICD2 gene have been found to cause an autosomal dominant form of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA-LED2), and brain developmental defects. Whether and how the latter mutations are related to roles we and others have identified for BICD2 in brain development remains little understood. BICD2 interacts with the nucleoporin RanBP2 to recruit dynein to the nuclear envelope (NE) of Radial Glial Progenitor cells (RGPs) to mediate their well-known but mysterious cell-cycle-regulated interkinetic nuclear migration (INM) behavior, and their subsequent differentiation to form cortical neurons. We more recently found that BICD2 also mediates NE dynein recruitment in migrating post-mitotic neurons, though via a different interactor, Nesprin-2. Here, we report that Nesprin-2 and RanBP2 compete for BICD2-binding in vitro. To test the physiological implications of this behavior, we examined the effects of known BICD2 mutations using in vitro biochemical and in vivo electroporation-mediated brain developmental assays. We find a clear relationship between the ability of BICD2 to bind RanBP2 vs. Nesprin-2 in controlling of nuclear migration and neuronal migration behavior. We propose that mutually exclusive RanBP2-BICD2 vs. Nesprin-2-BICD2 interactions at the NE play successive, critical roles in INM behavior in RGPs and in post-mitotic neuronal migration and errors in these processes contribute to specific human brain malformations. Author summary: Mutations in BICD2 gene have been found to cause brain developmental defects, as well as other disorders, like Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Lower Extremity Dominance 2 (SMA-LED2). Despite its impact on human disorders, the underlying cause of BICD2 associated disease conditions remains incompletely understood. During brain development, BICD2 recruits dynein to the nuclear envelope of pre- and post-mitotic neuronal cells via successive interactions with two different nuclear envelope proteins, RanBP2 and Nesprin-2. How the switch in BICD2-dynein cargo interactions is achieved and its physiological necessity have emerged as important questions for understanding normal and abnormal brain development. To answer the questions, we first performed biochemical assays to compare RanBP2 and Nesprin-2 bindings to BICD2. We find that RanBP2 and Nesprin-2 bind to distinct sites within BICD2 region, but their interactions are mutually exclusive. Second, we test the relative physiological roles of the two mechanisms by expressing disease-causing BICD2 variants in embryonic rat brains. We find that BICD2's ability to bind RanBP2 vs. Nesprin-2 controls specific brain developmental steps, and defects in the binding to these NE proteins contribute to the specific brain deformities associated with BICD2 mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Previous studies have revealed abnormal regional homogeneity (ReHo) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, there is little consistency across the findings within these studies, partly due to small sample size and great heterogeneity among participants between studies. Additionally, few studies have explored the association between ReHo aberrance and clinical symptoms in individuals with ASD. Methods: Forty‐eight adolescents with high‐functioning ASD and 63 group‐matched typically developing (TD) controls received functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest. Group‐level analysis was performed to detect differences in ReHo between ASD and TD. Evaluation of symptom severity in individuals with ASD was based on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). Voxel‐wise correlation analysis was undergone to examine the correlations between the symptom severity and ReHo map in individuals with ASD within brain areas with ReHo abnormalities. Results: Compared with the TD controls, individuals with ASD exhibited increased ReHo in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, left caudate, right posterior cerebellum (cerebellar tonsil), and bilateral brainstem and decreased ReHo in the left precentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral postcentral gyrus, and right anterior cerebellum (culmen). The correlation analysis indicated that the ReHo value in the brainstem was negatively associated with the ABC total scores and the scores of Relating factor, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that widespread ReHo abnormalities occurred in ASD, shedding light on the underlying neurobiology of pathogenesis and symptomatology of ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the optimization of laser-MAG hybrid welding parameters of 10CrNi3MoV ship steel was developed. Using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) model in Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and taking laser power, welding speed and welding current as response factors, the design matrix was completed and verified by experiment. The regression model associated with welding parameters was established by measuring the response indices, such as penetration, tensile strength and impact absorption energy. Through the model check, it was found that the accuracy of penetration and tensile strength of the model was high, and the optimized parameters were as follows: laser power (P) = 3700 W, welding speed (V) = 0.8 m/min, wire feeding speed (Vs) = 7 m/min. On the premise of meeting mechanical performance inspection standards, the maximum penetration was 8 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of media and information technology has exerted profound influences over the relationship between human cognition and physical environment. Using the online images of Chongqing Central City and its affiliated districts that are found via search engines, this paper analyzes the scope of their visual field and the typology and the frequency of their content variables and explores the features and the regional differences of the city's space image, in order to expand and supplement the scope and the paradigm of city image study. The study finds that: 1 the visual field of the online images is significantly correlated with the economic status, spatial characteristics, and development level of the region; 2 the space image of certain districts of Chongqing Central City shown by the online images presents few local features; 3 the space image of mountains and rivers of Chongqing Central City and its affiliated districts is not sufficiently expressed by the online images; and 4 the Internet has become an important medium for city image study that can quickly identify the features and deficiencies of local image. It is proposed to highlight the role of publicity and communication of media technology in the field of planning, which can help to reach consensus among various parties in the dynamic process of urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]