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Ceramic fibers are an important thermal insulation material that are not only widely used in extreme conditions, but also play an important role in energy conservation and energy efficiency for sustainable development. However, the practical application of conventional ceramic fibers has a high thermal conductivity in high-temperature environments, which hinders their widespread application. Here, a novel lamellar structured porous SiTiOC/C composite ceramic materials was designed and prepared with excellent thermal insulating properties. The unique microstructure endowed the porous SiTiOC/C composite ceramic materials with a high IR refractive index (93.81%) and an ultra-low thermal conductivity (0.0562 W·m−1 K−1 at 600 ℃). In addition, the porous SiTiOC/C composite ceramic materials not only exhibited excellent mechanical properties (4.46 MPa at 800 ℃), but also demonstrated impressive oxidation resistance and thermal stability. In summary, the proposed porous SiTiOC/C composite ceramic materials provide a reference for the development of high-temperature insulation with good mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted a thorough analysis of the myofiber type composition in the extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) and soleus muscle (SOL) of Kazakh horses, across different genders (male and female). The results showed significant differences in myofiber type composition between EDL and SOL, with a higher proportion of Type I fibers in SOL muscles and a greater prevalence of Type II fibers in EDL muscles. Additionally, the myofiber diameter in Kazakh horses was relatively small, potentially related to the tenderness and edible quality of their muscles. Using high-throughput sequencing technology, we constructed 32 cDNA sequencing libraries and obtained high-quality read data. Gene expression analysis revealed 278 and 372 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in EDL and SOL muscles, respectively, including genes related to muscle contraction, metabolism, and development. Intersection analysis of DEGs between genders showed that 60 DEGs were significantly different in both male and female horses. GO annotation and KEGG analysis further elucidated the roles of these DEGs in muscle structure, function, and cellular signaling. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and identification of hub genes provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle growth and development. Finally, the reliability of the DEGs data was validated through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). This study not only enhances our understanding of the biological characteristics of horse muscles but also provides potential molecular targets for improving horse muscle performance and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have raised increasing concern worldwide due to their continuous release and potential hazards to the ecosystem and human health. This study optimized the entropy weight model (EW-WRSR) that combines entropy weight with multi-criteria decision analysis to investigate pollution patterns of PPCPs in the coasts and estuaries. The results revealed that occurrences of PPCPs from the 1940s to the present were consistent with using PPCPs, different types of human activities, and local urban development. This helped better understand the history of PPCP contamination and evaluate the uncertainty of EW-WRSR. The model predicted hotspots of PPCPs that were consistent with the actual situation, indicating that PPCPs mainly enter the nearshore ecosystem by the form of sewage discharge and residual aquaculture. This study can provide method that identifying highly contaminated regions on a global scale. [Display omitted] • Target 31 PPCPs were all detected in coastal environments along the South China Sea. • Optimizing the entropy weight model can adapt to accurately predict PPCP variations. • Proposed data-driven algorithm improved the accuracy of the entropy weight model. • Uncertainty of the model was verified by considering sedimentation and governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosa rugosa , an ornamental plant with medicinal properties, and its red-colored hips are rich in bioactive compounds. However, limited research has been conducted on the accumulation of pigments in its hips and the molecular regulatory mechanism. A comprehensive analysis of carotenoid metabolites at three different stages (mature green (MG), breaker (B) and mature red (MR)) in R. rugosa hips was performed using UPLC-APCI-MS/MS. A total of 18 carotenoids, including eight carotenes and ten xanthophylls, were identified, and their different accumulation patterns were observed in distinct stages. The analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using gene ontology (GO) highlighted 28 terms. The KEGG pathway analysis revealed that enriched pathways in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in MG versus B. RrGGPPS1 was identified as the producer of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) through a genetic complementation assay in Escherichia coli and in vitro enzymatic assay. Furthermore, transiently silencing the RrGGPPS1 gene in rose resulted in the reduction of carotenoids in petals. This study provides a foundation for future research on understanding the regulation and biosynthesis of carotenoid metabolism in R. rugosa hips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging pollutants are hazardous to the ecological environment and human health, and these issues have attracted increasing attention from scholars. In the current study, the Taiwan Strait is long and narrow, highly influenced by terrestrial domains, and frequently disturbed by human activities. Conversely, the Luzon Strait is an open sea far from the shore, and the impact of human activities on it is minimal. The description of antibiotics in two different types of seas revealed that contaminants were most commonly detected in both straits. In particular, the coasts of the Minjiang River, Jinjiang River, and Jiulong River were found to be pollution hotspots in the Taiwan Strait. The calculation of risk quotients revealed that antibiotics were more sensitive to algae. Furthermore, estimation of the risk quotients of the mixtures found that antibiotics in the environment do not pose a high risk to aquatic organisms at different trophic levels. • Antibiotics showed significant differences between Taiwan Strait and Luzon Strait. • Taiwan Strait was highly influenced by human activities and terrestrial domains. • Minjiang River contributed dominantly input flux of antibiotics into Taiwan Strait. • Tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones posed more sensitive risk to algae in both straits [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, we aimed to explore correlations among stride characteristics, time records, and bonus amounts to identify relevant indices for evaluating racing abilities of 2-year-old Yili horses. In total, 41 and 26 Yili horses were enrolled in the 1600 and 3600 m races, respectively. This experiment was performed by measuring their stride characteristics using a high-speed video and collecting time records during the competition and the bonus amounts. The results showed that the 2-year-old Yili horses' stride length (SL), stride frequency (SF), middle SL (mid SL), hind limb SL (hind SL), forelimb SL (fore SL), aerial duration SL (AD SL), stride angle, and advanced placement (AP) between the leading hind limb and trailing forelimb (AP LH-TF) were significantly and positively correlated with the bonus (P <.01). The bonus group had significantly higher values for these variables than the nonbonus group (P <.05); the stance duration and the overlap between LH and TF (overlap LH-TF) were negatively correlated with the bonus (P <.01), and the bonus group had a significantly lower overlap LH-TF value than the non-bonus group (P <.01). These findings indicated that 2-year-old Yili horses with greater SL, SF, mid SL, fore SL, AD SL, and stride angle values have better racing abilities. Likewise, smaller stance and overlap LH-TF values correspond to better horse racing abilities. The swing trailing hind limb, mid SL, AP LH-TF, and SF were filtrated by stepwise regression analysis as the primary indices for evaluating the racing ability of 2-year-old Yili horses. Highlights • This study involved the stride characteristics in Yili horses on the racetrack for first time. • It's the first time to study the correlation among stride characteristics, racing time record, and bonuses. • We found swing trailing hind limb, middle SL, advanced placement between the leading hind limb and trailing forelimb, and stride frequency can be used as vital indices for evaluating the racing ability of 2-year-old Yili horses. • The advanced placement between the leading hind limb and trailing forelimb may be a key factor affecting the stride length of horses to influence the velocity of racehorse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The sarcomeric protein α-actinin-3, which is encoded by the ACTN3 gene, interacts with multiple proteins involved in structure, muscle metabolism, and signaling. α-Actinin-3 deficiency caused by a knockout or mutation of the terminator sequence of the ACTN3 gene leads to a change in muscle phenotype from fast-twitch fibers to slow-twitch fibers, resulting in enhanced aerobic metabolic energy, decreased calcium sensitivity, and degraded sprint and power performance. In this study, the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the equine ACTN3 gene in Yili horses (n = 38) were detected and sequenced. Comparison of the obtained equine ACTN3 sequences with those in GenBank identified 15 SNPs, with one located in the promoter, eight located in exons, and six located in introns. All eight exonic SNPs, except for the missense mutation g.9059T>G, were synonymous. The g.9059T>G mutation lead to an increase in the free energy of the thermodynamic ensemble of the equine ACTN3 mRNA from −1157.84 to −1157.35 kcal/mol and changed the secondary structure of α-actinin-3, which may affect its function. We hypothesized that g.9059T>G might affect athletic performance and may be a candidate SNP for racehorse breeding. Highlights • This study concerned the polymorphisms of the ACTN3 gene in Yili horse for the first time. • We report that a total of 15 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the Yili horse, and six SNPs were newly discovered. • An SNP (g.9091C>G) in the ACTN3 gene was missense mutation, which caused a change in the mRNA secondary structure. • Single-nucleotide polymorphism (g.9091C>G) may affect the function of ACTN3 protein by impacting the secondary protein structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, porous ZrO 2 /SiZrBOC and SiZrBOC ceramic matrix composites were produced via vacuum impregnation method, using SiZrBOC ceramic precursor as a matrix, ZrO 2 fiber prepared via electrospinning as the reinforcing agent and polyurethane foam as a skeleton. Polyurethane foam with open porosity is rather a substrate for the creation of a skeletal 3D structure. The preparation process and pyrolysis mechanism of ZrO 2 /SiZrBOC polyurethane foam impregnated with a precursor solution were expounded. The thermal conductivity tests and mechanical property measurements show that the lowest thermal conductivity (0.0378 W m−1 K−1) was achieved in the ZrO 2 /SiZrBOC ceramic matrix composite at the pyrolysis temperature of 800 ℃, being much inferior to that of the SiZrBOC composite (0.0861 W m−1 K−1). At 1400 ℃, the maximum compressive strength of the porous ZrO 2 /SiZrBOC ceramic matrix composites reached a value of 1.37 MPa, while that of the SiZrBOC composites was 0.22 MPa only. Therefore, the addition of ZrO 2 fibers improved the compressive strength and thermal insulation properties of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a peripheral synapse between motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers that controls muscle contraction. The NMJ is the target of various disorders including myasthenia gravis (MG), an autoimmune disease in which auto-antibodies (auto-Abs) attack the synapse, and thus cause muscle weakness in patients. There are multiple auto-Abs in the MG patient sera, but not all the Abs are proven to be pathogenic, which increases the difficulties in clinical diagnoses and treatments. To establish the causative roles of auto-Abs in MG pathogenesis, the experimental autoimmune MG (EAMG) induced by the active immunization of auto-antigens (auto-Ags) or the passive transfer of auto-Abs is required. These models simulate many features of the human disease. To date, there are three kinds of EAMG models reported, of which AChR-EAMG and MuSK-EAMG are well characterized, while the recent LRP4-EAMG is much less studied. Here, we report a current summary of LRP4-EAMG and its pathogenic mechanisms. The features of LRP4-EAMG are more similar to those of AChR-EAMG, indicating a similar clinical treatment for LRP4- and AChR-positive MG patients, compared to MuSK-positive MG patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roof mounting wind turbine (RMWT) is a promising form of wind energy utilization in urban environment. According to the International Energy Agency wind task 27, a recommended practice on micrositing of small wind turbines in the areas of high turbulence needs to be formulated. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study on the wind turbulence characteristics over the Engineering and Technology Building (ETB) on campus based on the urban atmospheric boundary layer (UABL) inflow condition is conducted, and the results are validated by wind lidar measurements. The micrositing method of RMWT is developed based on the CFD simulations, which contains preliminary and accurate micrositings. Results from this investigation suggest that the optimum installation height ranges from 1.51 to 1.79 times the height of building and the best locations are at the forefront where the wind acceleration reaches the maximum, as the wind direction varies. The methods developed in this paper can provide a feasible scheme for micrositing of RMWTs in urban environment and the results can also serve as a recommendation to this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]