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In this study, a comparison of the concentrations of eight heavy metals (including Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr, As, Cd, and Hg) was conducted between wild and cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus. Significant differences in the concentrations of Zn, Cd, As, and Hg were observed between wild and cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus. The results showed that the mean Zn concentration was significantly higher in cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus (3.051 ± 0.738 mg/kg) when compared to its wild counterpart (2.512 ± 0.407 mg/kg). In contrast, the mean Cd concentration was found to be lower in the cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus (0.001 ± 0.0007 mg/kg) than in the wild ones (0.003 ± 0.003 mg/kg). Likewise, the wild samples demonstrated a higher mean As concentration (1.494 ± 0.659 mg/kg) than the cultured samples (0.594 ± 0.215 mg/kg). Lastly, it was noted that the mean Hg concentration was considerably higher in the cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus (0.042 ± 0.016 mg/kg) than in the wild specimens (0.014 ± 0.011 mg/kg). Pollution levels and health risks were evaluated using the single-factor pollution index (SFI), metal pollution index (MPI), and health risk assessment methods. The results showed that, for Cu, Zn, Cr, and Cd, both wild and cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus had SFI values below 1 compared to the marine organism quality standards. The MPI values for wild and cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus were 0.188 ± 0.051 and 0.172 ± 0.054, respectively, both far below the safety limit of 2 for pollution-free aquatic products. The Hazard Index (HI) for wild and cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus were below 1, indicating no health risks from long-term consumption. A discriminant analysis, based on Zn, Cd, As, and Hg concentrations, distinguished wild from cultured Oplegnathus fasciatus with a 96.0% accuracy, remaining stable at over 94.9% upon cross-validation. These findings accurately evaluate that there is no risk to human health from consuming Oplegnathus fasciatus, which is significant in safeguarding public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioanalysis based on optical imaging has gained significant progress in the last few decades. Luminescence probes are capable of detecting, monitoring, and tracing particular biomolecules in complex biological systems to figure out the roles of these molecules in organisms. Considering the rapid development of luminescence probes for bio-applications and their promising future, we have attempted to explore the working principles and recent advances in bio-applications of luminescence probes, in the hope of helping readers gain a detailed understanding of luminescence probes developed in recent years. In this review, we first focus on the current widely used luminescence probes, including fluorescence probes, bioluminescence probes, chemiluminescence probes, afterglow probes, photoacoustic probes, and Cerenkov luminescence probes. The working principles for each type of luminescence probe are concisely described and the bio-application of the luminescence probes is summarized by category, including metal ions detection, secretion detection, imaging, and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a pivotal framework to guide government policies and mobilize public engagement for sustainability, although further exploration is still needed to analyze the attention given to the SDGs by these stakeholders using multi-source data. To comparatively analyze government and public engagement in the SDGs, based on a case study in China, this study employed a multi-source data and content analysis to assess the perceived importance and performance of the two stakeholders. Then, this study performed an importance–performance analysis (IPA) to assess the SDGs' priority for further improvement. The results highlight the government's emphasis on SDG 7, SDG 2, and SDG 9, contrasting with public attention predominantly on SDG 8, SDG 9, and SDG 4. Regarding the performance of the SDGs in China, the greatest achievements have been exhibited for SDG 4 and SDG 1, while SDG 10, SDG 15, and SDG 17 have shown the least progress. Concerning the individual indicators, 12 out of 98 have attained 100% completion, while 19 out of 98 remain below the 50% threshold. According to the IPA results, China should concentrate on SDG 10 and SDG 15 and improve SDGs 6, 7, 14, 16, and 17 as a relatively low priority. The stakeholder analysis indicated that these SDGs are neglected zones by both the public and government. This research innovatively assessed the priorities of SDGs and could strengthen the cooperation between the government and the public to drive the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals more effectively. This study could contribute to guiding policy directions, inform strategies for public engagement, and enhance the comprehension of sustainable development in China. The framework could serve as a valuable reference for stakeholder engagement in the SDGs in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various complex defects can occur on the surfaces of small automobile parts during manufacturing. Compared with other datasets, the auto parts defect dataset used in this paper has low detection accuracy due to various defects with large size differences, and traditional target detection algorithms have been proven to be ineffective, which often leads to missing detection or wrong identification. To address these issues, this paper introduces a defect detection algorithm based on YOLOv7. To enhance the detection of small objects and streamline the model, we incorporate the ECA attention mechanism into the network structure's backbone. Considering the small sizes of defect targets on automotive parts and the complexity of their backgrounds, we redesign the neck portion of the model. This redesign includes the integration of the BiFPN feature fusion module to enhance feature fusion, with the aim of minimizing missed detections and false alarms. Additionally, we employ the Alpha-IoU loss function in the prediction phase to enhance the model's accuracy, which is crucial for reducing false detection. The IoU loss function also boosts the model's efficiency at converging. The evaluation of this model utilized the Northeastern University steel dataset and a proprietary dataset and demonstrated that the average accuracy (mAP) of the MBEA-YOLOv7 detection network was 76.2% and 94.1%, respectively. These figures represent improvements of 5.7% and 4.7% over the original YOLOv7 network. Moreover, the detection speed for individual images ranges between 1–2 ms. This enhancement in detection accuracy for small targets does not compromise detection speed, fulfilling the requirements for real-time, dynamic inspection of defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the previous work conducted by Fujii et al., NdBaInO4 compounds present modest oxide-ion conductivities. Therefore, it has been an attractive system of significant interest. In this study, we attempted to partially substitute Ca for Nd and the total electrical conductivity was successfully improved due to the generation of oxygen vacancies. The synthesis, crystal structure, density, surface topography, and electrical properties of NdBaInO4 and Ca-doped NdBaInO4 have been studied, respectively. NdBaInO4 and 10% and 20% molar fractions of Ca-doped NdBaInO4 were synthesized through solid-state reactions. The crystal structure of them was obtained from Le Bail refinement of the XRD pattern, giving the result of the monoclinic structure, which belongs to P21/c space group. The highest total electrical conductivity of 4.91 × 10−3 S cm−1 was obtained in the Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 sample at a temperature of 760 °C in the dry atmosphere and the activation energy was reduced from 0.68 eV to 0.58 eV when the temperature was above 464 °C (737 K) after doping the NdBaInO4 with a 0.1 molar fraction of Ca2+. Moreover, the total conductivity of Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 in the wet atmosphere at moderate temperature was relatively higher than that in the dry atmosphere, which suggests that potential proton conduction may exist in wet atmospheres. In addition, the oxygen diffusion coefficients of Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 (D* = 1.82 × 10−8 cm2/s, 850 °C) was about two times higher than that of Nd0.8Ca0.2BaInO3.90 (D* = 7.95 × 10−9 cm2/s, 850 °C) and was increased significantly by two orders of magnitude when compared with the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the undoped NdBaInO4 (D* = 8.25 × 10−11 cm2/s, 850 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes provincial panel data from China spanning the period from 2011 to 2020 to assess the coupled and coordinated development of spatial functions related to production, life, and ecology (PLE) in rural areas. The assessment is based on quantifying the spatial function indices for PLE in China's rural regions. Additionally, it examines the characteristics of their spatial and temporal evolution, spatial correlation, and driving factors. The findings indicate a modest upward trend in the spatial coupling and coordination levels of these functions across rural China, although a significant proportion of provinces still exhibit a near-disordered decline. Exploratory spatial data analysis reveals a geographical disparity, with higher levels of coupled and coordinated development observed in the eastern regions, lower levels in the west, and noticeable spatial clustering. By employing the spatial Durbin model to investigate the determinants of coupling degrees, we discovered that factors such as regional economic development, urbanization, the urban–rural income gap, financial support for agriculture, science and technology investment level, and agricultural structural adjustments significantly influence the spatial coupling of rural PLE functions. Furthermore, using the geographic detector model, the analysis identifies science and technology investment level, economic development, and financial support for agriculture as key drivers influencing the spatial coupling and coordination of these functions. These findings provide valuable reference points for policies and strategies related to rural management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tectonic features on the Moon can reflect the state of stress during the formation of the structure, and sinuous rilles can provide further insight into the tectonic-thermal evolution of the Moon. Manual visual interpretation is the primary method for extracting these linear structures due to their complex morphology. However, extracting these features from the vast amount of lunar remote sensing data requires significant time and effort from researchers, especially for small-scale tectonic features, such as wrinkle ridges, lobate scarps, and high-relief ridges. In order to enhance the efficiency of linear structure detection, this paper conducts research on the automatic detection method of linear structures using sinuous rilles as an example case. In this paper, a multimodal semantic segmentation method, "Sinuous Rille Network (SR-Net)", for detecting sinuous rilles is proposed based on DeepLabv3+. This method combines advanced techniques such as ECA-ResNet and dynamic feature fusion. Compared to other networks, such as PSPNet, ResUNet, and DeepLabv3+, SR-Net demonstrates superior precision (95.20%) and recall (92.18%) on the multimodal sinuous rille test set. The trained SR-Net was applied in detecting lunar sinuous rilles within the range of 60°S to 60°N latitude. A new catalogue of sinuous rilles was generated based on the results of the detection process. The methodology proposed in this paper is not confined to the detection of sinuous rilles; with further improvements, it can be extended to the detection of other linear structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a deep neural network (DNN)-based downscaling model incorporating kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) to investigate the precipitation uncertainty influenced by typhoons in Taiwan, which has a complex island topography. The best tracking data of tropical cyclones from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are utilized to calculate typhoon and non-typhoon precipitation. KPCA is applied to extract nonlinear features of the BCC-CSM1-1 (Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model version 1.1) and CanESM2 (second-generation Canadian Earth System Model) GCM models. The length of the data used in the two GCM models span from January 1950 to December 2005 (historical data) and from January 2006 to December 2099 (scenario out data). The rainfall data are collected from the weather stations in Taichung and Hualien (cities of Taiwan) operated by the Central Weather Administration (CWA), Taiwan. The period of rainfall data in Taichung and in Hualien spans from January 1950 to December 2005. The proposed model is constructed with features extracted from the GCMs and historical monthly precipitation from Taichung and Hualien. The model we have built is used to estimate monthly precipitation and uncertainty in both Taichung and Hualien for future scenarios (rcp 4.5 and 8.5) of the GCMs. The results suggest that, in Taichung and Hualien, the summer precipitation is mostly within the normal range. The rainfall in the long term (January 2071 to December 2080) for both Taichung and Hualien typically fall between 100 mm and 200 mm. In the long term, the dry season (January to April, November, and December) precipitation for Taichung and that in the wet season (May to October) for Hualien are less and more affected by typhoons, respectively. The dry season precipitation is more affected by typhoons in Taichung than Hualien. In both Taichung and Hualien, the long-term probability of rainfall exceeding the historical average in the dry season is higher than that in the wet season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of oat at varying percentages (26%, 32%, 38%, 44% and 50%) was used to evaluate the structural, microstructural, and physicochemical changes in instant-extruded rice (IER). A mixture of broken rice and oat flour was extruded in a twin-screw extruder. It was found that when adding 44% oats, the gelatinization degree of the mixed powder was the lowest (89.086 ± 1.966%). The dietary fiber content increased correspondingly with the increase in oat addition. Analyses of texture properties revealed that the hardness, adhesive, and resilience values increased and then decreased with oat addition. Compared with other common instant rice (IR), the advantages of IER were evaluated in terms of microstructure, digestive performance, and flavor. IER with 44% oat addition obtained in this study had higher hardness, adhesiveness, rehydration time, and sensory score, and the content of resistant starch (RS) reached 6.06%. The electronic nose and electronic tongue analyses could distinguish the flavor of different IR efficiently. This study showed the feasibility of preparing fiber-enriched IER. The results demonstrated the potential for the development and utilization of broken rice, providing a reference for the development of IER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lunar grabens are the largest tensional linear structures on the Moon. In this paper, 17 grabens were selected to investigate the dips and displacement–length ratios (γ) of graben-bounding faults. Several topographic profiles were generated from selected grabens to measure their rim elevation, width and depth through SLDEM2015 (+LOLA) data. The differences in rim elevation (∆h) and width (∆W) between two topographic profiles on each graben were calculated, yielding 146 sets of data. We plotted ∆h vs. ∆W for each and calculated the dip angle (α) of graben-bounding faults. A dip of 39.9° was obtained using the standard linear regression method. In order to improve accuracy, large error data were removed based on error analysis. The results, 49.4° and 52.5°, were derived by the standard linear regression and average methods, respectively. Based on the depth and length of grabens, the γ value of the graben-bounding normal fault is also studied in this paper. The γ value is 3.6 × 10−3 for lunar normal faults according to the study of grabens and the Rupes Recta normal fault. After obtaining the values of α and γ, the increase in lunar radius indicated by the formation of grabens was estimated. We suggest that the lunar radius has increased by approximately 130 m after the formation of grabens. This study could aid in the understanding of normal fault growth and provide important constraints on the thermal evolution of the Moon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation of mRNA is involved in biological processes essential for plant growth. To explore the m6A modification of sugarcane and reveal its regulatory function, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) was used to construct the m6A map of sugarcane. In this study, m6A sites of sugarcane transcriptome were significantly enriched around the stop codon and within 3′-untranslated regions (3′UTR). Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that the m6A modification genes are associated with metabolic biosynthesis. In addition, the m6A modification of drought-resistant transcript mRNA increased significantly under drought (DR) treatment, resulting in enhanced mRNA stability, which is involved in regulating sugarcane drought resistance. GO and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment results showed that differentially methylated peak (DMP) modification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DR were particularly associated with abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis. The upregulated genes were significantly enriched in the ABA metabolism, ethylene response, fatty acid metabolism, and negative regulation of the abscisic acid activation signaling pathway. These findings provide a basis and resource for sugarcane RNA epigenetic studies and further increase our knowledge of the functions of m6A modifications in RNA under abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Amanitin is a representative toxin found in the Amanita genus of mushrooms, and the consumption of mushrooms containing α-Amanitin can lead to severe liver damage. In this study, we conduct toxicological experiments to validate the protective effects of Ganoderic acid A against α-amanitin-induced liver damage. By establishing animal models with different durations of Ganoderic acid A treatment and conducting a metabolomic analysis of the serum samples, we further confirmed the differences in serum metabolites between the AMA+GA and AMA groups. The analysis of differential serum metabolites after the Ganoderic acid A intervention suggests that Ganoderic acid A may intervene in α-amanitin-induced liver damage by participating in the regulation of retinol metabolism, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, sphingosine biosynthesis, spermidine and spermine biosynthesis, and branched-chain amino acid metabolism. This provides initial insights into the protective intervention mechanisms of GA against α-amanitin-induced liver damage and offers new avenues for the development of therapeutic drugs for α-Amanitin poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) performs well in a static environment; however, with the abrupt increase of dynamic points in dynamic environments, the algorithm is influenced by a lot of meaningless information, leading to low precision and poor robustness in pose estimation. To tackle this problem, a new visual SLAM algorithm of dynamic scenes named YG-SLAM is proposed, which creates an independent dynamic-object-detection thread and adds a dynamic-feature-point elimination step in the tracking thread. The YOLOv5 algorithm is introduced in the dynamic-object-detection thread for target recognition and deployed on the GPU to speed up image frame identification. The optic-flow approach employs an optic flow to monitor feature points and helps to remove the dynamic points in different dynamic objects based on the varying speeds of pixel movement. While combined with the antecedent information of object detection, the system can eliminate dynamic feature points under various conditions. Validation is conducted in both TUM and KITTI datasets, and the results illustrate that YG-SLAM can achieve a higher accuracy in dynamic indoor environments, with the maximum accuracy augmented from 0.277 m to 0.014 m. Meanwhile, YG-SLAM requires less processing time than other dynamic-scene SLAM algorithms, indicating its positioning priority in dynamic situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change on river systems is a multifaceted threat to the environment, affecting various aspects of ecosystems. The Upper Benue River Basin (UBRB) in Nigeria is an area of concern, as river flow and water levels are crucial for irrigation and transportation. In this study, we investigate the impact of climate change on the hydrology of the UBRB using data on rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, river discharge, and water level. Trend, correlation, and stepwise regression analyses were conducted using Excel and SPSS 20 to analyze the data. The results indicate that the UBRB is experiencing climate change, as evidenced by annual decreases in rainfall and relative humidity and increases in maximum and minimum temperatures. Specifically, mean annual rainfall and relative humidity exhibit a negative trend, while the maximum and minimum temperature exhibit a positive trend. Furthermore, we found that rainfall and relative humidity have a significant positive relationship with river discharge and level (p < 0.01), whereas maximum temperature and wind speed have a significant negative relationship with water discharge and level. We also identified wind speed and rainfall as the critical climatic indices influencing river discharge, accounting for 21.7% of the variation in river discharge within the basin (R2 = 21.7). Based on these findings, we conclude that increases in rainfall and relative humidity will lead to significant increases in river discharge and level, while increases in wind speed and maximum temperature will decrease river discharge and level. Moreover, wind speed and rainfall are the critical climatic indices influencing river discharge, whereas relative humidity, wind speed, and rainfall are the critical climatic indices influencing water level. Thus, we recommend constructing more reservoirs (dams) to mitigate the negative trend in rainfall and encourage climate change control, such as afforestation among the population of the region. These findings have important implications for understanding the impact of climate change on river systems and developing effective strategies to mitigate its effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hanjiang River Basin (HJRB) encompasses the Danjiangkou Reservoir, a critical water source for the South-to-North Water Transfer project, the world's largest such endeavor. Recent studies have highlighted that increased vegetation growth in the HJRB has led to reduced water availability in the region. To investigate the seasonal dynamics and spatial patterns of vegetation and their association with the local climate, we employed Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), a pivotal component of terrestrial carbon-water cycling, derived from the MODIS MOD17A2HGF dataset at a 500 m resolution. We combined this dataset with station meteorological data and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to explore the complex relationship between vegetation productivity, climate fluctuations, and hydrothermal changes in the HJRB from 2000 to 2020. Our findings reveal that the rising trend in vegetation productivity in the HJRB is primarily attributable to climate warming. Different types of vegetation in the upstream and downstream areas exhibit varying water requirements. While the region has not experienced prolonged widespread drought conditions thanks to its excellent water conservation capabilities, there remains a certain level of drought risk in the downstream area as the climate continues to warm. Moreover, variables such as wind speed and sunshine duration significantly impact the hydrothermal conditions within the river basin, consequently influencing vegetation productivity. This study elucidates the mechanisms through which climate change affects vegetation productivity in the HJRB. Despite afforestation efforts in the upstream region and climate warming leading to increased greening, there may be implications for the water retention function of the HJRB. This understanding is crucial for water resource management and ecosystem sustainability in the HJRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a vital part of autonomous driving, vehicle detection, especially for outdoor small target vehicles, has attracted great attention from researchers during recent years. To ameliorate the difficulty in accurately identifying outdoor small vehicle targets in dense environments, this paper proposes a new structure named YOLO-SSFS, in which SPD-Conv, a small target detection layer (STDL), the Improved Feature Pyramid Network structure (IM-FPN), and the SCYLLA-IoU (SIoU) loss function are introduced. Firstly, the multi-scale fusion module of the original algorithm is improved by adding a detection layer for smaller targets. This detection layer preserves shallow semantic information, which helps to refine the algorithm's detection accuracy for small targets. Then, a new Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) building block named SPD-Conv is constructed to replace the pooling layers and convolutional layers in the YOLOv5 algorithm, which reduces information loss, ensures the original fine-grained details of the image and improves the learning ability. Afterwards, a new FPN structure is created to retain more information conducive to small target detection during the feature fusion process so as to enhance the robustness of the method. Finally, to speed up the convergence of the loss function, the SIoU loss function is introduced to replace Complete-IoU (CIoU) in the original algorithm. In order to verify the authenticity of the improved algorithm, we conduct a series of experiments on the VisDrone dataset and perform comparative analyses of the results. The results obtained demonstrate that compared with the original YOLOv5, the proposed model performs better in small target detection. The mean average precision (mAP) is 83.07%, which is 7.63% higher than that for YOLOv5, while the detection speed reaches 52 frames per second (FPS), meeting the requirements for real-time detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A KF/γ-Al2O3 solid base catalyst was prepared by wet impregnation and applied to the synthesis of eugenol ethyl ether (EEE) from eugenol and diethyl carbonate. By measuring the yield of eugenol ethyl ether, we investigated the effects of the catalyst active component, impregnation temperature, KF impregnation concentration, impregnation time, and calcination temperature on catalyst performance. The results showed that the KF/γ-Al2O3 catalyst can adequately facilitate the conversion of eugenol to EEE. The characterizations of the catalysts were examined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characterizations of EEE were examined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (H1-NMR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). It was found that the KF/Al2O3 catalyst (impregnation temperature 60 °C, KF impregnation concentration 40%, impregnation time 8 h, and calcination temperature 450 °C) showed the best effect. The yield of EEE remained 51.2% after recycling the supported catalyst three times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compelling evidence has demonstrated that arsenic (As) exposure is associated with kidney injuries. Given that inflammatory responses and immune imbalances are the root causes of several kidney diseases, this study investigated the potential mechanisms underlying NLRP3 inflammasome activation in As-induced kidney injury. A rat model of sub-chronic As exposure was established via oral administration of NaAsO2. The results revealed that urinary β-2-microglobulin (β2-MG), N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase (NAG) and albumin (ALB) were increased in the As-exposed group, reflecting kidney impairment. Moreover, significant glomerular vacuole-like changes, tubular dilatation and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed. Meanwhile, the expression levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), IL-1β and IL-18 were enhanced in the kidney tissues of As-treated rats. Further, increased expression of NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1, which are NLRP3 inflammasome-associated proteins, were observed in the kidney tissues of rats in the As-treated groups. The expression levels of the NLRP3 upstream regulators C/EBPβ and TFAM were also elevated. These findings suggest that sub-chronic As exposure triggers inflammatory responses in rat kidney tissue and impairs kidney function. The underlying mechanisms may be related to the C/EBPβ–TFAM pathway and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental practices have become an important matter in all aspects of life and industries, especially in the post-COVID-19 era. However, these practices continue to face many criticisms about their seriousness and effectiveness. In this context, this study aims to analyze the relationship between adopting green practices in hotels on one side and hotel image, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty on the other side, considering the star-level rating system of the hotels and the hotel operating categories (chain or independent). This study depended on a sample of 235 hotels in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Several analytical methods were used to achieve the study aim, including descriptive statistics, t-test, arithmetic averages comparison, text mining, NLP, and sentiment analysis. This study revealed that: (I) The higher the hotel star rank, the better the reviews and valuation factors. (II) Hotels that operate in chains show more attention to environmental practices. (III) Customers are more loyal to and satisfied with green hotels, and this increases as the hotel's star rating increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typhoon intensity forecast is an important issue. The objective of this study is to construct a 5-day 12-hourly typhoon intensity forecast model based on the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) to improve the typhoon intensity forecast in the Northwest Pacific. It analyzed the improvement of the ANFIS typhoon intensity forecast model by comparing it with the MLR model when only the atmospheric factor or both atmospheric and oceanic factors are considered. This study collected the SHIPS (Statistical Hurricane Intensity Prediction Scheme) developmental data of typhoons in the Northwest Pacific before landing from 2000 to 2012. The input factors of the ANFIS model were simplified by the stepwise regression procedure (SRP). Subtractive clustering (SC) was used to determine the number of ANFIS rules and to reduce model complexity. Model Index (MI) was taken as the clustering standard of SC to determine the network architecture of the ANFIS typhoon intensity forecast model. The simulated results show that the MI could effectively determine the radius of influence of SC. The typhoon intensity forecast was significantly improved after oceanic environmental factors were added. The improvement of RMSE of ANFIS was the highest at 84 h; the improvement of ANFIS on the underestimated ratio was primarily positive. The Typhoon Songda case study shows that the maximum bias of ANFIS is greatly improved, at 60 h of the lead time, and the improvement percentage of maximum bias is the highest (39%). Overall, the ANFIS model could effectively improve the MLR model in typhoon intensity forecast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fueled by the Internet and artificial intelligence, virtual tourism represents an innovative integration of advanced technologies within the tourism industry. The 360 degree panoramic video has emerged as the most prevalent form of virtual tourism both domestically and internationally, owing to its affordability, ease of use, and mild impact. Nevertheless, the advent and proliferation of virtual reality (VR) has unlocked new opportunities in the tourism sector, as VR offers enhanced immersion and a more authentic user experience. Although VR is already employed in various capacities within the industry, it holds the potential to elevate virtual tourism to unprecedented heights. Diverging from prior research, this study examines virtual tourism as a distinct category of tourism that may materialize in the future. A focus group interview and a survey involving 243 respondents were conducted to gauge individuals' receptiveness to virtual tourism. Participants responded to questions regarding their travel habits and their perceptions of virtual tourism. Data analysis revealed concerns surrounding the technological aspects of virtual tourism: over 20% of respondents were entirely unfamiliar with VR, and a mere 17% utilized the technology. A larger proportion, nearly 40%, lacked awareness of VR's application in the tourism industry, and only 11.20% had personal experience with it. Concurrently, the Likert scale indicated that respondents recognized the advantages of virtual tourism in comparison to traditional travel, but they expressed skepticism about the technological advancements. Overall, most respondents displayed curiosity and a willingness to explore virtual tourism. These findings hold significant implications for both theoretical understanding and practical implementation within the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a key consideration for tourist destinations, and digitalization is increasingly being used as a tool to enhance sustainable tourism development. This paper aims to map the intersection between sustainability and digitalization in tourist destinations using a bibliometric analysis. The study is based on a bibliometric analysis of the existing literature in academic journals, conference proceedings, and books published between 2012 and 2022 from the Scopus database. Biblioshiny is used to visualize data. The results show that there is a growing interest in the convergence of sustainability and digitalization in tourist destinations, with an increasing number of publications in recent years. The co-occurrence analysis identified key themes and concepts such as sustainable tourism, digital technologies, smart tourism, social media, big data, smart city, COVID-19, digital marketing, and destination marketing. The study also highlights the different ways in which digitalization is being used to enhance sustainability in tourist destinations, including the use of smart technologies, data analytics, social media, and online platforms. However, the study also identified challenges and limitations to the integration of sustainability and digitalization, such as the need for stakeholder collaboration, data privacy concerns, and the potential for a digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traveling to space and walking on other planets has always been a great dream for many tourists. Given that space tourism is not available to everyone, adventurers have always been looking for special and strange places that evoke the feeling of traveling to other planets, especially Mars. One of these places which is very similar to Mars is the Lut Desert World Heritage Site. The present study aims to introduce the Martian sites of the Lut Desert and offers a special type of trip to this beautiful desert that can further preserve it with a sustainable development approach. The statistical sample of the research is based on the qualitative analysis method, consisting of 18 participants, which consists of experts, desert tour guides, and tourists who have visited the studied sites. After the data collection process, the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Maxqda 2020 software. The results of the research indicate that the four sites identified in the research, according to the participants, are similar to the images and videos published of Mars. Moreover, this new branch of desert ecotourism can develop sustainable ecotourism in the Lut Desert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of changes in forest coverage is crucial for managing protected forest areas, particularly in the face of climate change. This study monitored forest cover dynamics in a 6535 ha mountain area located in north-west Romania as part of the Apuseni Natural Park from 2003 to 2019. Two approaches were used: vectorization from orthophotos and Google Earth images (in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019) and satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM, 7 ETM, and 8 OLI) pre-processed to Surface Reflectance (SR) format from the same years. We employed four standard classifiers: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), and three combined methods: Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) with Natural Breaks (NB), Otsu Method (OM) and SVM, to extract and classify forest areas. Our study had two objectives: (1) to accurately assess changes in forest cover over a 17-year period and (2) to determine the most efficient methods for extracting and classifying forest areas. We validated the results using performance metrics that quantify both thematic and spatial accuracy. Our results indicate a 9% loss of forest cover in the study area, representing 577 ha with an average decrease ratio of 33.9 ha/year−1. Of all the methods used, SVM produced the best results (with an average score of 88% for Overall Quality (OQ)), followed by RF (with a mean value of 86% for OQ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium ion batteries (KIBs) have received increasing popularity owing to their distinct advantages. We discover a hitherto unknown C4S nanosheet, a novel carbon-based material with carbon and sulfur consisting of pentagons and hexagons rings. The proposed C4S nanosheet is highly stable dynamically, thermodynamically, mechanically, and chemically, according to first-principles calculations. Moreover, the graphene-like C4S nanosheet is a prospective KIBs anode material, which has a metallic band structure, a relatively low diffusion barrier (0.07 eV), a large capacity (1340 mA h g−1), and an acceptable average voltage (0.44 V). Finally, we demonstrate good cycling stability of the C4S nanosheet. Our findings indicate that the proposed C4S nanosheet is a potentially favorable KIBs anode material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic is a common environmental toxicant. Long-term arsenic exposure can induce various types of liver injury, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear, so effective prevention and treatment measures are unknown. This study aims to explore the mechanism of arsenic-induced rat liver injury based on the histone H3K18 acetylation-dependent antioxidant pathway and to identify the role of a medicinal and edible resource, Rosa roxburghii Tratt juice, in combating it. Hepatic steatosis and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in rats exposed to different doses of NaAsO2 using histopathological measurement. Increased 8-OHdG and MDA in liver tissue corroborated hepatic oxidative damage. We further found that a reduction in H3K18ac in the liver showed a dose–response relationship, with an increase in the NaAsO2 treatment dose, and it was remarkably associated with increased 8-OHdG and MDA. The results of ChIP-qPCR identified that the decreased enrichment of H3K18ac in promoters of the Hspa1a and Hspb8 genes culminated in the inhibition of the genes' expression, which was found to be involved in the aggravation of hepatic oxidative damage induced by arsenic. Notably, Rosa roxburghii Tratt juice was found to reduce 8-OHdG and MDA in the liver, thereby alleviating the histopathological lesions induced by arsenic, which was modulated by recovering the H3K18ac-dependent transcriptional activation of the Hspa1a and Hspb8 genes. Taken together, we provide a novel epigenetics insight into clarifying the mechanism of arsenic-induced liver injury and its rescue by Rosa roxburghii Tratt juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthraquinone dyes are the second most important type of dyes after azo dyes. In particular, 1-aminoanthraquinone has been extensively utilized in the preparation of diverse anthraquinone dyes. This study employed a continuous-flow method to synthesize 1-aminoanthraquinone safely and efficiently through the ammonolysis of 1-nitroanthraquinone at high temperatures. Various conditions (reaction temperature, residence time, molar ratio of ammonia to 1-nitroanthraquinone (M-ratio), and water content) were investigated to explore the details of the ammonolysis reaction behavior. Operation conditions for the continuous-flow ammonolysis were optimized using Box–Behnken design in the response surface methodology, and ~88% yield of 1-aminoanthraquinone could be achieved with an M-ratio of 4.5 at 213 °C and 4.3 min. The developed process's reliability was evaluated by performing a 4 h process stability test. The kinetic behavior for the preparation of 1-aminoanthraquinone was investigated under continuous-flow mode to guide the reactor design and to gain a deeper understanding of the ammonolysis process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban river ecological health assessment is an effective means to manage urban rivers, and combining principles of landscape ecology can provide new help for the ecological restoration of urban rivers and improving their ecosystem service value. From the perspective of important functions of ecosystems, based on typical sample site investigations of different river sections, questionnaire surveys, and remote sensing technology, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model based on the factor analysis method was used to construct an indicator system that can quantitatively reflect the ecological health of urban rivers. This comprehensive evaluation index system includes five major functions: social function, habitat and corridor function, water ecological function, water landscape function, and spatial enclosure function. The study identified key areas, key rivers, key river sections, and main indicator projects for the ecological restoration of the urban river landscape corridors in Zhengzhou. The study results also showed that the urban river landscape corridors in Zhengzhou have prominent problems in social function, water ecological function, and habitat and corridor function, and 62.1% of the river sections are currently in a sub-healthy state. The flood control function, eutrophication of water body, naturalization rate of revetment, and five other indicators in the old city district are significantly lower than those in the new city district, and the old city district should be the focus of the ecological restoration of urban river corridors. From the evaluation of the ecological health status of typical river sections, the Jinshui River and Xionger River have a larger number of river sections that urgently need restoration. This study provides a reference for the ecological restoration of urban rivers in Zhengzhou, a rapidly urbanizing region, and has reference significance for the construction of water landscapes in small and medium-sized cities with low levels of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the arrival of the era of innovative economy, innovation is of great significance for the development of China, and even the world. Based on statistical data and taking 2009, 2014, and 2019 as node years, this study uses the entropy weight method and a modified gravity model to study the pattern and evolution characteristics of China's interprovincial innovation network. The results showed that: 1. The weights of innovation output, innovation input, and innovation environment were 0.253, 0.340, and 0.407, respectively. Currently, innovation output is the most representative of the interprovincial innovation connections, but the weight of innovation environment has been increasing year by year, and its importance is constantly highlighted. 2. The overall spatial structure of China's interprovincial innovation network shows a "core periphery" feature, radiating from coastal provinces such as Jiangsu, Beijing, and Zhejiang to inland provinces, and exhibiting an overall pattern of "strong in the east and weak in the west". 3. In terms of evolutionary characteristics, Guangdong and Jiangsu ranked in the top two in terms of outward innovation scale from 2009 to 2019. The combined total innovation connections of the top five provinces in 2009, 2014, and 2019 accounted for 70.79%, 64.29%, and 64.24%, respectively. Although the phenomenon of uneven innovation connections exists, it has slowed down. In addition, China's interprovincial innovation network is gradually becoming enriched, with the most significant change being the number of innovation links, with a gravity level increasing from four in 2009 to twenty-six in 2019. The interprovincial innovation links continue to strengthen, but the focus has not changed significantly; it is still concentrated in the Bohai Rim region and the Yangtze River Delta region. 4. In terms of maximum gravitational lines, Guangdong Province had the highest number of maximum gravitational lines in 2009, 2014, and 2019, with a total of six. The maximum gravitational line change from 2009 to 2019 took place from 2014 to 2019, transitioning from "Jilin-Liaoning" to "Jilin-Heilongjiang". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cloud Ocean phenomenon in the Hyrcanian Forests, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is one of the most stunning yet lesser-known ecotourism destinations that has recently attracted the attention of adventure tours. However, the increasing number of ecotourists visiting these sites is expected to threaten the sensitive ecosystem of the Cloud Ocean sites. Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize sustainable behaviors for off-road forest tours in the Cloud Ocean sites of the Hyrcanian Forests. A combined qualitative-quantitative approach was adopted to achieve this aim, using the meta-synthesis method to cover the qualitative part and Smart PLS software for the quantitative data analysis. The qualitative assessment involved 19 participants, while the quantitative study included 240 experts who helped monitor and evaluate the indicators as components of the model. Previous literature has given little attention to the Cloud Ocean sites. Therefore, the conceptualization of sustainable behavior for forest adventure tours in these sites is considered the most significant contribution of this study. Paying attention to the dimensions of the proposed model can significantly reduce damage to these sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the tourism and hospitality industry. This study aims to reconceptualize the concept of customer perceived value (CPV) in Isfahan's five-star hotels during the pandemic using the grounded theory (GT) approach in the context of qualitative research. The objective of this study is to explore the key dimensions of CPV and identify the main strategies that enhance the value perceived by hotel customers. Data were collected with interviews with 30 experts in the hotel and hospitality industry, and MAXQDA software was used to analyze the data. The dominant themes that emerged from the content analysis included health-oriented self-gratification value, financial value, quality value, emotional value, social value, epistemic value, information value, and health security value. Additionally, the subthemes identified were trust, satisfaction, and information access. All these themes could potentially be employed by hotel sectors as solutions to enhance customer satisfaction during the pandemic. From a practical standpoint, this study provides insights to hotel managers or practitioners to implement updated strategies that contribute to knowledge development about customer perceived value in the hotel sector, which can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. The article makes theoretical contributions to the literature on CPV by identifying new dimensions that are relevant to the pandemic. This extension of the literature provides a more comprehensive understanding of CPV in crisis situations and can inform future research on the topic. The article also discusses future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable environmental audits and impact assessments are essential to achieve effective pasture utilization and ensure the production of high-quality livestock products. This study aims to develop an environmental audit and impact assessment method for pasture agrolandscapes to promote sustainable livestock practices, using Central Kazakhstan as a case study. To provide a strong foundation for this research, the study utilized representations of pasture agrolandscapes, landscape-ecological and landscape-indicative approaches, and interactions between environmental audits and impact assessments in Kazakhstan. The authors acknowledge that their understanding of the environmental audit and impact assessment for pasture agrolandscapes is a complex method that requires specific knowledge and information about the landscape environment from users. They note that solving the challenges of national food security and environmentally safe territorial development can be achieved through the development of a private method that uses landscape environment status indicators. Methods similar to this enable the study of geocomplexes and their crucial characteristics, leading to a unique system of reliable indicators for environmental issues. This approach facilitates the creation of a scientifically based plan for optimal regional land use and land management systems regarding pasture agrolandscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited research has investigated the impact of immigrants' sense of place (SOP) attitudes on their quality of life (QOL) outcomes, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effect of SOP attitudes and health-related QOL (HQOL) on 120 Iranian citizens residing in Budapest, Hungary, during the pandemic. Using social media platforms, an online survey was conducted between March and July 2020. The findings of this study revealed that SOP elements, such as connection to sites, location identification, and location reliance, are susceptible to change and rely on QOL during the pandemic. The study also highlighted that Budapest has the potential to become a desirable destination for future immigrants. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between SOP attitudes and QOL outcomes among immigrants during a crisis. It provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to improve the SOP and QOL of immigrants living in cities affected by pandemics or other crises. This study provides insights into the influence of a sense of place on the quality of life of Iranian immigrants by presenting a model and highlighting significant results in a selected community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chromobox (CBX) proteins are essential components of polycomb group proteins and perform essential functions in bladder cancer (BLCA). However, research on CBX proteins is still limited, and the function of CBXs in BLCA has not been well illustrated. Methods and Results: We analyzed the expression of CBX family members in BLCA patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. By Cox regression analysis and survival analysis, CBX6 and CBX7 were identified as potential prognostic factors. Subsequently, we identified genes associated with CBX6/7 and performed enrichment analysis, and they were enriched in urothelial carcinoma and transitional carcinoma. Mutation rates of TP53 and TTN correlate with expression of CBX6/7. In addition, differential analysis indicated that the roles played by CBX6 and CBX7 may be related to immune checkpoints. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to screen out immune cells that play a role in the prognosis of bladder cancer patients. Multiplex immunohistochemistry staining confirmed a negative correlation between CBX6 and M1 macrophages, as well as a consistent alteration in CBX6 and regulatory T cells (Tregs), a positive correlation between CBX7 and resting mast cells, and a negative correlation between CBX7 and M0 macrophages. Conclusions: CBX6 and CBX7 expression levels may assist in predicting the prognosis of BLCA patients. CBX6 may contribute to a poor prognosis in patients by inhibiting M1 polarization and promoting Treg recruitment in the tumor microenvironment, while CBX7 may contribute to a better prognosis in patients by increasing resting mast cell numbers and decreasing macrophage M0 content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hanjiang River is one of the major tributaries of the Yangtze River, and the Hanjiang River Basin serves as an important link connecting the western and eastern regions of China. As a significant tourist destination, the development of the tourism industry in the Hanjiang River Basin is of great significance for promoting local economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The study of the spatiotemporal evolution of the ecological efficiency of tourism in the Hanjiang River Basin is beneficial for optimizing the investment of tourism resource elements and promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the area. In this paper, we used the Super-Efficiency Slacks-Based Measure Model to calculate the tourism ecological efficiency of 12 cities in the Hanjiang River Basin from 2010 to 2019 and measured its spatiotemporal evolution and spatial agglomeration using ArcGIS software. The results show that during the study period, the ecological efficiency of tourism in the Hanjiang River Basin presented a phased characteristic of first rising and then falling over time and a heterogeneity characteristic of decreasing in a downward-middle-upward staircase pattern spatially. In addition, the distribution of tourism ecological efficiency exhibited obvious spatial clustering and dependence, with significant low-level homogenization phenomena, which requires strengthening cooperation and coordination among neighboring cities to achieve more efficient resource utilization and higher-quality tourism product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Persian Qanats, ancient underground aqueduct systems that have provided irrigation water to arid regions in Iran for over 3000 years, are recognized as a vital element of the country's cultural heritage. Eleven of these impressive structures have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, underlining their cultural, social, political, and physical significance. As these underground heritage sites offer a unique opportunity for fostering territorial collaboration and social capital between tourists and the local community, it is important to develop a comprehensive model to influence the behavior of tourists, officials, and natives in their treatment of these invaluable sites. This study aimed to design a sustainable behavior model for underground heritage tourism management in Persian Qanats that have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage properties. The research employed a theme analysis approach, utilizing a statistical sample of 22 base managers and Qanat tourism experts. The study used content and thematic analysis to develop a research model that guarantees the sustainable protection of these valuable underground heritage sites by shaping the behavior of tourists, officials, and natives. The proposed model serves as a guideline for effective behavior management, leading to the preservation of these significant underground heritage sites for future generations. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the sustainable management of Persian Qanats and the promotion of a strong sense of territorial collaboration and social capital between tourists and the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A goal of land change modelers should be to communicate scenarios of future change that show the variety of possible future landscapes based on the consequences of management decisions. This study employs the Markov-FLUS model to simulate land-use changes in Hubei Province in multiple scenarios that consider social, economic, and ecological policies using 18 driving factors, including point-of-interest data. First, the Markov-FLUS model was developed and validated with historical data from 2000 to 2020. The model was then used to simulate land-use changes from 2020 to 2035 in four scenarios: natural development, economic priority, ecological protection, and cultivated land protection. The results show that the Markov-FLUS model effectively simulates the land-use change pattern in Hubei Province, with an overall accuracy of 0.93 for land use simulation in 2020. The Kappa coefficient and FOM index also achieved 0.86 and 0.139, respectively. In all four scenarios, cultivated land remained the primary land use type in Hubei Province from 2020 to 2035, while construction land showed an increasing trend. However, there were large differences in the simulated land use patterns in different scenarios. Construction land expanded most rapidly in the economic priority scenario, while it expanded more slowly in the cultivated land protection scenario. We designed the protection scenario to restrict the rapid expansion of construction land. In the natural development and economic priority scenarios, construction land expanded and encroached on cultivated land and forests. In contrast, in the ecological protection scenario, forests and water areas were well-preserved, and the decrease in cultivated land and the increase in construction land were effectively suppressed, resulting in a large improvement in land use sustainability. Finally, in the cultivated land protection scenario, the cultivated land showed an increasing trend. The spread and expansion of construction land were effectively curbed. In conclusion, the Markov-FLUS model applied in this study to simulate land use in multiple scenarios has substantial implications for the effective utilization of land resources and the protection of the ecological environment in Hubei Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The relationship between m1A-related lncRNAs and HCC is still unclear. In this study, five m1A-related lncRNAs (AL031985.3, NRAV, WAC-AS1, AC026412.3, and AC099850.4) were identified and used to develop a prognostic signature. The prognostic signature was an independent risk factor related to OS in HCC patients. Synergistic effects on patient survival were observed after combining with TP53 or TMB. In addition, we also screened small molecules which could be potential drugs for HCC patients. Our results suggested that five m1A-related lncRNAs generated a prognostic signature that could be a promising prognostic prediction approach and therapeutic response assessment tool for HCC patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of m1A-related lncRNAs in HCC. N1-methyladenosine (m1A) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, their association with HCC is still unclear. In this study, lncRNAs related to m1A were extracted from the mRNA expression matrix in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Five m1A-related lncRNAs (AL031985.3, NRAV, WAC-AS1, AC026412.3, and AC099850.4) were identified based on lasso Cox regression and they generated a prognostic signature of HCC. The prognostic signature was identified as an independent prognosis factor in HCC patients. Moreover, the prognostic signature achieved better performance than TP53 mutation status or tumor mutational burden (TMB) scores in the stratification of patient survival. The immune landscape indicated that most immune checkpoint genes and immune cells were distributed differently between both risk groups. A higher IC50 of chemotherapeutics (sorafenib, nilotinib, sunitinib, and gefitinib) was observed in the high-risk group, and a lower IC50 of gemcitabine in the low-risk group, suggesting the potential of the prognostic signature in chemosensitivity. In addition, fifty-five potential small molecular drugs were found based on drug sensitivity and NRAV expression. Together, five m1A-related lncRNAs generated a prognostic signature that could be a promising prognostic prediction approach and therapeutic response assessment tool for HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate the energy crisis and propel a low-carbon economy, hydrogen (H2) plays an important role as a renewable cleaning resource. To break the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) bottleneck, we need high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Based on the synergistic effect between bimetallic oxides, hierarchical mesoporous CoNiO2 nanosheets can be fabricated. Combining physical representations with electrochemical measurements, the resultant CoNiO2 catalysts present the hierarchical microflowers morphology assembled by mesoporous nanosheets. The ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets and porous surface characteristics provide the vast channels for electrolyte injection, thus endowing CoNiO2 the outstanding HER performance. The excellent performance with a fewer onset potential of 94 mV, a smaller overpotential at 10 mA cm−2, a lower Tafel slope of 109 mV dec−1 and better stability after 1000 cycles makes CoNiO2 better than that of metallic Co and metallic Ni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During diagenesis, the transformation of unconsolidated sediments into a sandstone is usually accompanied by compaction, water expulsion, cementation and dissolution, which fundamentally control the extent, connectivity and complexity of the pore structure in sandstone. As the pore structure is intimately related to fluid flow in porous media, it is of great importance to characterize the pore structure of a hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone in a comprehensive way. Although conventional petrophysical methods such as mercury injection porosimetry, low-pressure nitrogen or carbon dioxide adsorption are widely used to characterize the pore structure of rocks, these evaluations are based on idealized pore geometry assumptions, and the results lack direct information on the pore geometry, connectivity and tortuosity of pore channels. In view of the problems, X-ray micro-CT was combined with ImageJ software (version 1.8.0) to quantitatively characterize the pore structure of Berea Sandstone. Based on its powerful image processing function, a series of treatments such as contrast enhancement, noise reduction and threshold segmentation, were first carried out on the micro-CT images of the sandstone via ImageJ. Pores with sizes down to 2.25 μm were accurately identified. Geometric parameters such as pore area, perimeter and circularity could thus be extracted from the segmented pores. According to our evaluations, pores identified in this study are mostly in the range of 30–180 μm and can be classified into irregular, high-circularity and slit-shaped pores. An irregular pore is the most abundant type, with an area fraction of 72.74%. The average porosity obtained in the image analysis was 19.10%, which is fairly close to the experimental result determined by a helium pycnometer on the same sample. According to the functional relationship between tortuosity and permeability, the tortuosity values of the pore network were estimated to be in the range of 4–6 to match the laboratory permeability data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural conditions in North and Central Kazakhstan and the energy potential of chestnut soil testify to the efficiency of agriculture, especially on irrigated lands. The humus horizon of chestnut soils is 35–50 cm, and the humus content is 3.0–3.5%. The majority of the humus (75%) is contained in a half-meter layer, which emphasizes the short humus level. The phosphorus content, both gross and mobile, is very low at 0.98–0.031%. Potassium is in elevated amounts. Soils are most susceptible to the application of nitrogen–phosphorus fertilizers. According to the mechanical composition, chestnut soils are predominantly lightly loamy, light clays with substrates of souses. Salinization is low, with a salt content in the 0–100 cm soil layer of 0.10–0.20%. The mass of the arable soil layer is 1.3–1.4 g/cm3. Deep plowing and loosening of soils improve the water and nutrition regime, creating good conditions for arid agriculture. With deep autumn plowing up to 30 cm, the accumulation of sediment and spring meltwater reaches 1200–1500 m3/ha more than in spring disposal. Deep plowing ensures absorption of irrigation water, eliminates run-off during irrigation, and reduces the number of crops requiring extra irrigation. In an average dry year, at 50% water availability and 70% soil moisture content (MC), the number of irrigations is 4, and the irrigation rate is 300–470 m3/ha; at 60% MC, 2 irrigations are performed, and the irrigation rate is 600–650 m3/ha. On irrigated land, the yield of cereals is 2.8–2.6 t/ha; perennial grasses, 3.0–4.5 t/ha; potatoes, 23.2–24.1 t/ha; carrots, 35.0–40.0 t/ha; and cabbage, 50.0–75.0 t/ha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of material removal strategies and initial stress states on the machining deformation of aluminum alloy plates were investigated through a combination of finite element simulation and experiments. We developed different machining strategies described by Tm+Bn, which removal m mm materials form top and n mm materials from the bottom of the plate. The results demonstrate that the maximum deformation of structural components with the T10+B0 machining strategy could reach 1.94 mm, whereas with the T3+B7 machining strategy was only 0.065 mm, decreasing by more than 95%. The asymmetric initial stress state had a significant impact on the machining deformation of the thick plate. The machined deformation of thick plates increased with the increase in the initial stress state. The concavity of the thick plates changed with the T3+B7 machining strategy due to the asymmetry of the stress level. The deformation of frame parts was smaller when the frame opening was facing the high-stress level surface during machining than when it was facing the low-stress level. Moreover, the modeling results for the stress state and machining deformation were accurate and in good accordance with the experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) has been extensively used in various areas due to its excellent disturbance suppression capability. When LADRC is applied to a single-phase inverter for tracking a sinusoidal reference signal, there is an inherent tracking inaccuracy problem. The steady-state error can be removed with the synchronous reference frame proportional-integral (SRFPI) control, which generates two orthogonal signals. In this paper, a modified control method based on compound SRFPI and LADRC for an off-grid single-phase inverter is put forward, where both output signals of SRFPI are employed as the reference signals of LADRC. Furthermore, a selective harmonic compensation method is performed by paralleling multiple SRFPI controllers to further reduce the selective harmonic components. Detailed theoretical analyses including system stability, robustness, performance of voltage tracking error and disturbance rejection are presented, which indicate that this organic combination fuses the merits of both SRFPI and LADRC without complicating the control design. Additionally, contrast experiments are conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness and superiority. These findings demonstrate that the system realizes a slight voltage tracking error and steady-state error, rapid dynamic response, and low total harmonic distortion (THD), especially under highly nonlinear load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea culture tourism is a product of the combination of agricultural tourism and ecotourism. After the COVID-19 period, this product is more and more popular. Tourism performance is an important index for measuring the development level of tourist destinations, and research on the influencing factors of tourism performance is an important way to promote the high-quality development of tea culture tourism. Using the tea tourism town of Wushan as a case study, 452 valid questionnaires were used as research data, and exploratory factor analysis, paired sample t-test and IPA analysis were applied. The results indicate that: (1) tourism performance is mainly divided into 5 dimensions and 22 specific indicators, including service quality, resource environment, tourism transportation, tourism-supporting facilities and tea tourism products; (2) there is a significant difference between the degree of importance and performance of visitors to each indicator, and the overall tourism performance of the case sites at an average level; (3) convenient service, professional service, business management, park traffic, parking conditions, environmental design, shopping environment, tea quality, and tea culture characteristics are potential advantageous factors, and 'service with a smile', accessibility, trail layout, overall image, air quality, natural scenery, landscape vignettes, network communication, public toilets, sanitation facilities, tourist service centers, tea travel activities, and tourism souvenirs are areas in need of improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae is a promising metabolism microorganism for the fixation of CO2 from industrial gas while accumulating microalgae biomass. The process of CO2 fixation by microalgae is able to be significantly improved by the regulation of phytohormones. However, the complex metabolic mechanism of microalgae regulated by phytohormones and abiotic stress on CO2 fixation deserves to be explored. To systematically understand the existing status and establish a foundation for promoting the technology, this paper reviews investigations on the metabolic mechanism of microalgae regulated by phytohormones. The influences of nitrogen stress, light intensity stress, heavy metal stress, and salinity stress on CO2 fixation and lipid production are summarized. In addition, a comprehensive overview of the multistage regulation of phytohormones and abiotic stress on CO2 fixation and lipid production through microalgae is presented. The recent advances in CO2 transfer reinforcement and light transmission reinforcement in photobioreactors are discussed. This review provides an insight into the enhancement of CO2 fixation by microalgae regulated by phytohormones, abiotic stress, and mass transfer in multistage photobioreactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the as-cast microstructure and the evolution of the homogenized microstructure of large-scale industrialized Al-Cu-Mg-Ag heat-resistant aluminum alloy ingots were investigated by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive analysis (EDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicate that the dendritic segregation is evident in the ingot along the radial direction, and the grain boundaries are decorated with lots of net-shaped continuous eutectic structures. With the homogenization time extension and the homogenization temperature increase, the eutectic phases (i.e., the primary Al2Cu phase, the Al2CuMg phase, and the AlCuMgAg quaternary phase) at the grain boundaries gradually dissolve back into the matrix. Meanwhile, most of the dendritic grain boundaries gradually become sparse and thinner. Finally, it is found that the optimal homogenization regime of the Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy is 420 °C/5 h+480 °C/8 h+515 °C/24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the optimization of ultrasonic-assisted aqueous two-phase synchronous extraction of carbohydrates and polyphenols present in artichoke bud, evaluated their antioxidant activities in vitro, and analyzed the composition of carbohydrates and polyphenols by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The powder mass, ultrasonic time, ammonium sulfate concentration, and alcohol–water ratio were considered the influencing factors based on the single-factor experiment results, and a dual-response surface model was designed to optimize the synchronous extraction process to extract carbohydrates and polyphenols. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of ABTS+· and DPPH· and the reducing capacity of Fe3+. The optimal process conditions in this study were as follows: the powder mass of 1.4 g, ammonium sulfate concentration of 0.34 g/mL, alcohol–water ratio of 0.4, and ultrasonic time of 43 min. The polyphenol content in artichoke bud was 5.32 ± 0.13 mg/g, and the polysaccharide content was 74.78 ± 0.11 mg/g. An experiment on in vitro antioxidant activity showed that both carbohydrates and polyphenols had strong antioxidant activities, and the antioxidant activity of polyphenols was stronger than that of carbohydrates. The HPLC analysis revealed that the carbohydrates in artichoke bud were mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, and arabinose, and the molar ratio was 10.77:25.22:2.37:15.74:125.39:48.62:34.70. The polyphenols comprised chlorogenic acid, 4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, caffeic acid, 1,3-dicaffeoylqunic acid, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid A, cynarin, and isochlorogenic acid C, and the contents were 0.503, 0.029, 0.022, 0.017, 0.008, 0.162, 1.621, 0.030 mg/g, respectively. This study also showed that the carbohydrates and polyphenols in artichoke bud could be important natural antioxidants, and the composition analysis of HPLC provided directions for their future research. Carbohydrates and polyphenols in artichoke buds can be separated and enriched using the optimized process technology, and it is an effective means of extracting ingredients from plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]