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This study investigated the effect of pre-deformation on the corrosion fatigue crack propagation (CFCG) of Al-Mg-Zn alloy in a corrosive environment. Tensile tests at different pre-deformation levels and molecular dynamics simulations analyzed changes in dislocation density. Corrosion fatigue experiments were conducted in a 3.5% NaCl solution at room temperature, and crack propagation morphology was characterized using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that tensile strength increased by 2.63% and 10.00% for 5% and 10% pre-deformation, respectively. The crack propagation threshold values were L2 (6.36 MPa·m1/2) > L0 (6.05 MPa·m1/2) > L1 (5.13 MPa·m1/2), attributed to increased dislocation density and material strength. At 5% pre-deformation, dislocation pile-ups created stress concentrations that facilitated crack propagation. In contrast, the non-uniform dislocation distribution at 10% pre-deformation enhanced both material strength and resistance to crack growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for sustainable energy storage solutions has underscored the importance of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy management. However, traditional PCMs are always inherently constrained by issues such as leakage, poor thermal conductivity, and lack of solar energy conversion capacity. Herein, a multifunctional composite phase change material (CPCM) is developed using a balsa-derived morphology genetic scaffold, engineered via bionic catechol surface chemistry. The scaffold undergoes selective delignification, followed by a simple, room-temperature polydopamine (PDA) modification to deposit Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and graft octadecyl chains, resulting in a superhydrophobic hierarchical structure. This superhydrophobicity plays a critical role in preventing PCM leakage and enhancing environmental adaptability, ensuring long-term stability under diverse conditions. Encapsulating stearic acid (SA) as the PCM, the CPCM exhibits exceptional stability, achieving a high latent heat of 175.5 J g−1 and an energy storage efficiency of 87.7%. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the CPCM is significantly enhanced along the longitudinal direction, a 2.1-fold increase compared to pure SA, due to the integration of Ag NPs and the unidirectional wood architecture. This synergy also drives efficient photothermal conversion via π-π stacking interactions of PDA and the surface plasmon effects of Ag NPs, enabling rapid solar-to-thermal energy conversion. Moreover, the CPCM demonstrates remarkable water resistance, self-cleaning ability, and long-term thermal reliability, retaining its functionality through 100 heating–cooling cycles. This multifunctional balsa-based CPCM represents a breakthrough in integrating phase-change behavior with advanced environmental adaptability, offering promising applications in solar–thermal energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) can serve as vectors for heavy metals in aquatic environments; however, the adsorption behavior of MPs on multiple heavy metal systems is still unclear. This study investigated the adsorption characteristics of biodegradable poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) for cadmium (Cd(II)) and arsenic (As(III)) in both single and binary systems. Adsorption isotherms were studied using the Linear, Langmuir, and Freundlich models, and further analysis of MPs adsorption characteristics was conducted using site energy distribution theory and density functional theory. The results indicate that the maximum adsorption capacities of PBS for Cd(II) and As(III) are 2.997 mg/g and 2.606 mg/g, respectively, with the Freundlich model providing the best fit, suggesting multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous sites. As(III) has a higher adsorption affinity for PBS than Cd(II), with a binding energy of −11.219 kcal/mol. Additionally, the adsorption mechanisms of Cd(II) and As(III) on PBS include electrostatic interactions and surface complexation, with the primary adsorption sites at the C=O of the carboxyl group and the hydroxyl group. The comprehension of interfacial interactions between biodegradable plastics and heavy metals is facilitated by a combination of theoretical calculations and experimental investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin commonly found in moldy cereals and has a range of toxic effects that have seriously affected animal husbandry. Rutin, a natural flavonoid with antioxidant activities, has been studied for its potential involvement in mitigating ZEA-induced apoptosis in porcine endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and its potential molecular mechanism, particularly concerning the expression of Nrf2. This study investigates the molecular pathways by which rutin alleviates ZEA-induced ESC apoptosis, focusing on the role of Nrf2. Experimental data reveal that ZEA suppresses Nrf2 nuclear translocation and reduces mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), leading to oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), and mitochondrial pathway-driven apoptosis. Notably, rutin mitigates ZEA-induced apoptosis through Nrf2 activation. These findings highlight Nrf2 as a critical factor in rutin's protective effects against ZEA-induced apoptosis, offering valuable insights for the clinical prevention and treatment of ZEA toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annealing process is one of the most common methods used to study the thermal stability of multilayers. To study the effect of the annealing process on the microstructural variation in NiV/B4C multilayers, different annealing experiments were performed on NiV/B4C multilayers with a d-spacing of 8 nm. This work provides a foundation for the fabrication of non-periodic NiV/B4C multilayers. The NiV/B4C multilayers were investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray reflectometry (GIXR), X-ray diffuse scattering (XRS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The temperature-dependent experiments showed that annealing at 70–290 °C slightly increased the period thickness and interface width. Annealing at higher temperatures resulted in significant structural changes and thickness ratio (Г = dNiV/d) changes from 0.4 to 1/3 at 340 °C. The time-dependent results showed that the microstructural variations primarily occurred after 60 min. The XRD, XRS, GISAXS and TEM were further used to study microstructural changes. It was found that the NiV/B4C multilayers exhibited a microcrystal structure after annealing, and that enhanced crystallinity and an increase in interface roughness were the main reasons for the microstructural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods for studying microbial communities have been limited due to difficulties in culturing and sequencing all microbial species. Recent advances in third-generation sequencing technologies, particularly PacBio's high-fidelity (HiFi) sequencing, have significantly advanced metagenomics by providing accurate long-read sequences. This review explores the role of HiFi sequencing in overcoming the limitations of previous sequencing methods, including high error rates and fragmented assemblies. We discuss the benefits and applications of HiFi sequencing across various environments, such as the human gut and soil, which provides broader context for further exploration. Key studies are discussed to highlight HiFi sequencing's ability to recover complete and coherent microbial genomes from complex microbiomes, showcasing its superior accuracy and continuity compared to other sequencing technologies. Additionally, we explore the potential applications of HiFi sequencing in quantitative microbial analysis, as well as the detection of single nucleotide variations (SNVs) and structural variations (SVs). PacBio HiFi sequencing is establishing a new benchmark in metagenomics, with the potential to significantly enhance our understanding of microbial ecology and drive forward advancements in both environmental and clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pleurotus ostreatus spent mushroom substrate has high production but low utilization, and it is rarely fed to ruminants. This study evaluated the effects of the substrate on feed utilization and liver serum indices from the perspective of duodenal microorganisms. The results showed that the substrate had a complex effect on apparent digestibility, with the highest digestibility observed at the 10% replacement level. The addition of the substrate also influenced serum alanine aminotransferase levels. Although it did not affect the richness and diversity of duodenal microorganisms, the substrate was susceptible to contamination by Trichoderma, which could alter the intestinal microbiota structure. In conclusion, Pleurotus ostreatus spent mushroom substrate can be used in ruminant feeding, but its proportion should be controlled, with the optimal replacement level identified as 10% in this study. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Pleurotus ostreatus spent mushroom substrate (P.SMS), which is characterized by high production but low utilization, on feed utilization and liver serum indices from the perspective of duodenal microorganisms. Forty-five 3-month-old Hu sheep were randomly assigned to five groups and fed diets in which whole-plant corn silage (WPCS) was substituted with P.SMS at levels of 0% (Con), 5% (PSMS5), 10% (PSMS10), 15% (PSMS15), or 20% (PSMS20). The results indicated that the addition of P.SMS complexly influenced the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein, with PSMS10 showing the highest digestibility of these nutrients. P.SMS inclusion significantly affected serum alanine aminotransferase levels, with PSMS5 showing higher levels than both the Con and PSMS20 groups (p < 0.05). Importantly, the inclusion of P.SMS did not affect the richness and diversity of duodenal microorganisms. Significant differences in the phyla Verrucomicrobiota and Spirochaetota were observed between the Con and PSMS20 groups. The observed trend towards an increase in the genus Trichoderma (p = 0.057) suggests that P.SMS is susceptible to contamination by this genus, which in turn affects the structure of the intestinal flora. Furthermore, functional gene predictions indicated differences in amino acid metabolism among the groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, feeding with 10% P.SMS resulted in the highest digestibility without adversely affecting the structure of the duodenal community or liver function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the "carbon neutrality" strategy is implemented, green technology R&D, a core competitive strength for sustainable enterprise development, is an essential pathway for China's transformation and green growth. Green technology, a breakthrough over traditional production technologies, involves lengthy and costly R&D processes with high risks typically beyond the reach of a single enterprise. It requires the heterogeneous functions of enterprises, universities, and research institutions to complement each other's advantages and establish an "industry–university–research" collaborative innovation alliance for green technologies. This paper constructs differential game models for non-cooperative and cooperative green technology R&D involving a green manufacturer and a research institution. We solve and compare the profits for both parties under these scenarios, apply a time-consistent payment distribution mechanism to allocate cooperative profits, and ensure that neither party deviates from the optimal cooperative trajectory over a prolonged period, achieving Pareto improvement and enhancing social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the critical challenge of optimizing power flow in multi-area power systems while maintaining information privacy and decentralized control. The main objective is to develop a novel decentralized stochastic recursive gradient (DSRG) method for solving the optimal power flow (OPF) problem in a fully decentralized manner. Unlike traditional centralized approaches, which require extensive data sharing and centralized control, the DSRG method ensures that each area within the power system can make independent decisions based on local information while still achieving global optimization. Numerical simulations are conducted using MATLAB (Version 24.1.0.2603908) to evaluate the performance of the DSRG method on a 3-area, 9-bus test system. The results demonstrate that the DSRG method converges significantly faster than other decentralized OPF methods, reducing the overall computation time while maintaining cost efficiency and system stability. These findings highlight the DSRG method's potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and scalability of decentralized OPF in modern power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-methyladenosine (m6A), an RNA post-transcriptional modification, plays a crucial role in spermatogenesis. Cattle-yaks are interspecific hybrid offsprings of yak and cattle, and male cattle-yaks are sterile. This study aims to investigate the role of m6A modification in male cattle-yak infertility. Herein, testicular tissues were analyzed via histological observations, immunohistochemical assays, reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence assays. The results revealed that male cattle-yaks presented smaller testes (5.933 ± 0.4885 cm vs. 7.150 ± 0.3937 cm), with only single cell layers in seminiferous tubules, and weakened signals of m6A regulators such as METTL14 (methyltransferase-like 14), ALKBH5 (alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylase homolog 5), FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated protein), and YTHDF2 (YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein F2), both at the RNA and protein levels, compared with those of yaks. Altogether, these findings suggest that m6A modification may play a crucial role in male cattle-yak sterility, providing a basis for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rayleigh waves are vertically elliptical surface waves traveling along the ground surface, which have been demonstrated to pose potential damage to buildings. However, traditional seismic barriers have limitations of high-frequency narrow bandgap or larger volume, which have constraints on the application in practical infrastructures. Thus, a new type seismic metamaterial needs to be further investigated to generate wide low-frequency bandgaps. Firstly, a resonator with a three-vibrator is proposed to effectively attenuate the Rayleigh waves. The attenuation characteristics of the resonator are investigated through theoretical and finite element methods, respectively. The theoretical formulas of the three-vibrator resonator are established based on the local resonance and mass-spring theories, which can generate wide low-frequency bandgaps. Subsequently, the frequency bandgaps of the resonator are calculated by the finite element software COMSOL5.6 based on the theoretical model and Floquet–Bloch theory with a wide ultra-low-frequency bandgap in 4.68–22.01 Hz. Finally, the transmission spectrum and time history analysis are used to analyze the influences of soil and material damping on the attenuation effect of resonators. The results indicate that the resonator can generate wide low-frequency bandgaps from 4.68 Hz to 22.01 Hz and the 10-cycle resonators could effectively attenuate Raleigh waves. Furthermore, the soil damping can effectively attenuate seismic waves in a band from 1.96 Hz to 20 Hz, whereas the material of the resonator has little effect on the propagation of the seismic waves. These results show that this resonator can be used to mitigate Rayleigh waves and provide a reference for the design of surface waves barrier structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer, and is occurring with greater frequency worldwide. Better methods are needed to detect this disease at an early time point and help guide surgery. A peptide, or protein fragment, has been developed to bind specifically to EpCAM, a molecular target expressed uniquely by cancer cells and to concentrate in tumors. This peptide was labeled with a near-infrared fluorophore, and showed strong binding to HCC cells and in a live animal model using viable human HCC tumors. The peptide was found to be stable in serum, and showed high uptake in HCC tumors with no signs of toxicity. The peptide also bound to cancer that spread throughout the liver and into the lungs, and was more concentrated in tumors than in other organs. These results support the potential usefulness of the EpCAM peptide to detect and remove HCC. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has emerged as a major contributor to the worldwide cancer burden. Improved methods are needed for early cancer detection and image-guided surgery. Peptides have small dimensions that can overcome delivery challenges to achieve high tumor concentrations and deep penetration. We used phage display methods to biopan against the extra-cellular domain of the purified EpCAM protein, and used IRDye800 as a near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore. The 12-mer sequence HPDMFTRTHSHN was identified, and specific binding to EpCAM was validated with HCC cells in vitro. A binding affinity of kd = 67 nM and onset of k = 0.136 min−1 (7.35 min) were determined. Serum stability was measured with a half-life of T1/2 = 2.6 h. NIR fluorescence images showed peak uptake in vivo by human HCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors at 1.5 h post-injection. Also, the peptide was able to bind to foci of local and distant metastases in liver and lung. Peptide biodistribution showed high uptake in tumor versus other organs. No signs of acute toxicity were detected during animal necropsy. Immunofluorescence staining of human liver showed specific binding to HCC compared with cirrhosis, adenoma, and normal specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic surface waves carry significant energy that poses a major threat to structures and may trigger damage to buildings. To address this issue, the implementation of periodic barriers around structures has proven effective in attenuating seismic waves and minimizing structural dynamic response. This paper introduces a framework for seismic surface wave barriers designed to generate multiple ultra-low-frequency band gaps. The framework employs the finite-element method to compute the frequency band gap of the barrier, enabling a deeper understanding of the generation mechanism of the frequency band gap based on vibrational modes. Subsequently, the transmission rates of elastic waves through a ten-period barrier were evaluated through frequency–domain analysis. The attentional effects of the barriers were investigated by the time history analysis using site seismic waves. Moreover, the influence of the soil damping and material damping are separately discussed, further enhancing the assessment. The results demonstrate the present barrier can generate low-frequency band gaps and effectively attenuate seismic surface waves. These band gaps cover the primary frequencies of seismic surface waves, showing notable attenuation capabilities. In addition, the soil damping significantly contributes to the attenuation of seismic surface waves, resulting in an attenuation rate of 50%. There is promising potential for the application of this novel isolation technology in seismic engineering practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research is aimed to elucidate the role of plant hormones in regulating the development of hybrid embryos in Hydrangea macrophylla. Fruits from the intraspecific cross of H. macrophylla 'Otaksa' × 'Coerulea' were selected at the globular, heart, and torpedo stages of embryo development. Transcriptome sequencing and differential gene expression analysis were conducted. The results showed that fruit growth followed a single "S-shaped growth curve, with globular, heart, and torpedo embryos appearing at 30, 40, and 50 d post-pollination, respectively, and the embryo maintaining the torpedo shape from 60 to 90 d. A total of 12,933 genes was quantified across the three developmental stages, with 3359, 3803, and 3106 DEGs in the S1_vs_S2, S1_vs_S3, and S2_vs_S3 comparisons, respectively. Among these, 133 genes related to plant hormone biosynthesis and metabolism were differentially expressed, regulating the synthesis and metabolism of eight types of plant hormones, including cytokinin, auxin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, and jasmonic acid. The pathways with the most differentially expressed genes were cytokinin, auxin, and gibberellin, suggesting these hormones may play crucial roles in embryo development. In the cytokinin pathway, CKX (Hma1.2p1_0579F.1_g182670.gene, Hma1.2p1_1194F.1_g265700.gene, and NewGene_12164) genes were highly expressed during the globular embryo stage, promoting rapid cell division in the embryo. In the auxin pathway, YUC (Hma1.2p1_0271F.1_g109005.gene and Hma1.2p1_0271F.1_g109020.gene) genes were progressively up-regulated during embryo growth; the early response factor AUX/IAA (Hma1.2p1_0760F.1_g214260.gene) was down-regulated, while the later transcriptional activator ARF (NewGene_21460, NewGene_21461, and Hma1.2p1_0209F.1_g089090.gene) was up-regulated, sustaining auxin synthesis and possibly preventing the embryo from transitioning to maturity. In the gibberellin pathway, GA3ox (Hma1.2p1_0129F.1_g060100.gene) expression peaked during the heart embryo stage and then declined, while the negative regulator GA2ox (Hma1.2p1_0020F.1_g013915.gene) showed the opposite trend; and the gibberellin signaling repressor DELLA (Hma1.2p1_1054F.1_g252590.gene) increased over time, potentially inhibiting embryo development and maintaining the torpedo shape until fruit maturity. These findings preliminarily uncover the factors affecting the development of hybrid H. macrophylla embryos, laying a foundation for further research into the regulatory mechanisms of H. macrophylla hybrid embryo development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrangea macrophylla is an ornamental plant with varied calyx colors. Interestingly, from red, to purple, to blue, the colors of all Hydrangea macrophylla are formed by unique delphinidin-3-O-glucoside and aluminum ions (Al3+) and 5-O-p-coumaroylquinic acid. The sepals of 'Blue Mama' changed from pink to blue, and the contents of delphinidin-3-O-glucoside and aluminum ions increased under 3 g/L aluminum sulfate treatment. However, the mechanism of the effect of aluminum ions on the synthesis and metabolism of anthocyanins in Hydrangea macrophylla is still unclear. In this project, transcriptome sequencing and anthocyanin metabolome analysis were performed on the sepals of 'Blue Mama' during flower development at the bud stage (S1), discoloration stage (S2) and full-bloom stage (S3) under aluminum treatment. It was found that delphinidin, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside and delphinidin-3-O-galactoside were the main differential metabolites. The structural genes CHS, F3H, ANS, DFR and BZI in the anthocyanin synthesis pathway were up-regulated with the deepening in sepal color. There was no significant difference between the aluminum treatment and the non-aluminum treatment groups. However, seven transcription factors were up-regulated and expressed to regulate anthocyanin synthesis genes CHS, F3H, BZI and 4CL, promoting the sepals to turn blue. The KEGG enrichment pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that the glutathione metabolism and the ABC transporter pathway were closely related to anthocyanin synthesis and aluminum-ion transport. GST (Hma1.2p1_0158F.1_g069560.gene) may be involved in the vacuolar transport of anthocyanins. The expression of anthocyanin transporter genes ABCC1 (Hma1.2p1_0021F.1_g014400.gene), ABCC2 (Hma1.2p1_0491F.1_g164450.gene) and aluminum transporter gene ALS3 (Hma1.2p1_0111F.1_g053440.gene) were significantly up-regulated in the aluminum treatment group, which may be an important reason for promoting the transport of anthocyanin and aluminum ions to vacuoles and making the sepals blue. These results preliminarily clarified the mechanism of aluminum ion in the synthesis and transport of anthocyanin in Hydrangea macrophylla, laying a foundation for the further study of the formation mechanism of 'blue complex' in Hydrangea macrophylla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical warfare agents primarily comprise organophosphorus nerve agents, saliva alkaloids, cyanides, and mustard gas. Exposure to these agents can result in severe respiratory effects, including spasms, edema, and increased secretions leading to breathing difficulties and suffocation. Protecting public safety and national security from such threats has become an urgent priority. Porous metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have emerged as promising candidates for the degradation of chemical warfare agents due to their large surface area, tunable pore size distribution, and excellent catalytic performance. Furthermore, combining MOFs with polymers can enhance their elasticity and processability and improve their degradation performance. In this review, we summarize the literature of the past five years on MOF-based composite materials and their effectiveness in degrading chemical warfare agents. Moreover, we discuss key factors influencing their degradation efficiency, such as MOF structure, pore size, and functionalization strategies. Furthermore, we highlight recent developments in the design of MOF–polymer composites, which offer enhanced degradation performance and stability for practical applications in CWA degradation. These composite materials exhibit good performance in degrading chemical warfare agents, playing a crucial role in protecting public safety and maintaining national security. We can expect to see more breakthroughs in the application of metal–organic framework porous materials for degrading chemical warfare agents. It is hoped that these innovative materials will play a positive role in achieving social stability and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification of fetuses as Small for Gestational Age (SGA) and Large for Gestational Age (LGA) is a critical aspect of neonatal health assessment. SGA and LGA, terms used to describe fetal weights that fall below or above the expected weights for Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) fetuses, indicate intrauterine growth restriction and excessive fetal growth, respectively. Early prediction and assessment of latent risk factors associated with these classifications can facilitate timely medical interventions, thereby optimizing the health outcomes for both the infant and the mother. This study aims to leverage first-trimester data to achieve these objectives. This study analyzed data from 7943 pregnant women, including 424 SGA, 928 LGA, and 6591 AGA cases, collected from 2015 to 2021 at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. We propose a novel algorithm, named the Weighted Inheritance Voting Ensemble Learning Algorithm (WIVELA), to predict the classification of fetuses into SGA, LGA, and AGA categories based on biochemical parameters, maternal factors, and morbidity during pregnancy. Additionally, we proposed algorithms for relevance determination based on the classifier to ascertain the importance of features associated with SGA and LGA. The proposed classification solution demonstrated a notable average accuracy rate of 92.12 % on 10-fold cross-validation over 100 loops, outperforming five state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, we identified significant latent maternal risk factors directly associated with SGA and LGA conditions, such as weight change during the first trimester, prepregnancy weight, height, age, and obstetric factors like fetal growth restriction and birthing LGA baby. This study also underscored the importance of biomarker features at the end of the first trimester, including HDL, TG, OGTT-1h, OGTT-0h, OGTT-2h, TC, FPG, and LDL, which reflect the status of SGA or LGA fetuses. This study presents innovative solutions for classifying and identifying relevant attributes, offering valuable tools for medical teams in the clinical monitoring of fetuses predisposed to SGA and LGA conditions during the initial stage of pregnancy. These proposed solutions facilitate early intervention in nutritional care and prenatal healthcare, thereby contributing to enhanced strategies for managing the health and well-being of both the fetus and the expectant mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xinjiang cotton is characterized by high-density planting, which easily leads to competition between the source and sink, the shading of leaves and reproductive organs, and yield reduction. Balancing the relationship between source and sink can promote high and stable cotton yield. In this study, field experiments were conducted by combining the exogenous application of brassinosteroid with a reduction in leaf source to study their effects on the physiological and yield attributes of cotton. The results indicate that brassinosteroid application increased the yield, with a maximum yield increase of 6.3%. The number of bolls per plant increased by 1.3 nos. The photosynthetic rate and dry matter accumulation were enhanced, and the proportion of reproductive organs in the dry matter increased by >4%. Under the reduced leaf source, brassinosteroid application increased the number of new leaves by 20%, delayed the shedding of reproductive organs by 5–10 days, and reduced the average shedding rate by 8.9%. Additionally, the number of bolls increased in the middle and upper parts and at the edge of the plant. The number of bolls increased by 19.4% on the 4th–8th fruiting branches and 60.7% at the edge. Under leaf reduction treatment, brassinosteroid application could generally increase yield. After brassinosteroid application and removing half the leaves of fruiting branches and all leaves of the vegetive branches, the yield was higher than that of the control. Thus, brassinosteroid application could improve the efficiency of the leaf source and promote dry matter accumulation in sinks. Moreover, it could optimize boll distribution and increase yield by reducing reproductive organ shedding. Under the high-density planting of cotton in Xinjiang, leaf source is a slight surplus, and a moderate reduction in plant density is conducive to increasing yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the plasma graft polymerization technique was used to graft glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto polypropylene (PP) melt-blown fibers, which were subsequently aminated with N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) by a ring-opening reaction, resulting in the formation of a boron adsorbent denoted as PP-g-GMA-NMDG. The optimal conditions for GMA concentration, grafting time, grafting temperature, and the quantity of NMDG were determined using both single factor testing and orthogonal testing. These experiments determined the optimal process conditions to achieve a high boron adsorption capacity of PP-g-GMA-NMDG. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrum analysis (EDS), and water contact angle measurements were performed to characterize the prepared adsorbent. Boron adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of pH, time, temperature, and boron concentration on the boron adsorption capacity of PP-g-GMA-NMDG. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics of PP-g-GMA-NMDG for boron were also studied. The results demonstrated that the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and a Langmuir isothermal model. At a pH of 6, the maximum saturation adsorption capacity of PP-g-GMA-NMDG for boron was 18.03 ± 1 mg/g. In addition, PP-g-GMA-NMDG also showed excellent selectivity for the adsorption of boron in the presence of other cations, such as Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, PP-g-GMA-NMDG, and exhibited excellent selectivity towards boron adsorption. These results indicated that the technique of preparing PP-g-GMA-NMDG is both viable and environmentally benign. The PP-g-GMA-NMDG that was made has better qualities than other similar adsorbents. It has a high adsorption capacity, great selectivity, reliable repeatability, and easy recovery. These advantages indicated that the adsorbents have significant potential for widespread application in the separation of boron in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on modifying discarded feathers by grafting glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto their surface through thiolation, followed by an epoxy ring-opening reaction with N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) to synthesize feather-based boron adsorbents. Optimization of the adsorbent preparation conditions was achieved through single-factor experiments, varying temperature, time, GMA concentration, and initiator dosage. The synthesized adsorbent (F-g-GMA-NMDG) underwent characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The adsorption behavior of the adsorbent was studied, and its boron adsorption capacity at different temperatures was determined through static adsorption kinetic curves. Analysis of adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics was conducted. Results indicate that the boron adsorption process by F-g-GMA-NMDG follows a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption process is endothermic, with higher temperatures promoting adsorption efficiency. Gibbs free energy (ΔG) confirms the spontaneity of the adsorption process. Enhanced adsorption efficacy was observed under neutral and acidic pH conditions. After four cycles, the adsorbent maintained its adsorption efficiency, demonstrating its stability and potential for reuse. This study provides novel insights into both the treatment of discarded feathers and the development of boron adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-energy-density liquid fuels (HED fuels) are essential for volume-limited aerospace vehicles and could serve as energetic additives for conventional fuels. Terpene-derived HED biofuel is an important research field for green fuel synthesis. The direct extraction of terpenes from natural plants is environmentally unfriendly and costly. Designing efficient synthetic pathways in microorganisms to achieve high yields of terpenes shows great potential for the application of terpene-derived fuels. This review provides an overview of the current research progress of terpene-derived HED fuels, surveying terpene fuel properties and the current status of biosynthesis. Additionally, we systematically summarize the engineering strategies for biosynthesizing terpenes, including mining and engineering terpene synthases, optimizing metabolic pathways and cell-level optimization, such as the subcellular localization of terpene synthesis and adaptive evolution. This article will be helpful in providing insight into better developing terpene-derived HED fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel 2PRS-2PSS (P represents the prismatic pair, R represents the revolute hinge, S represents the spherical hinge) compliant parallel micromanipulator with two translational DOFs and two rotational DOFs is presented, and its compliance model and kinetostatic model are sequentially developed and analyzed. Initially, an analytical model used to describe the compliance of this micromanipulator was developed using the compliance matrix method (CMM). Through a comparison with finite element analysis, the accuracy of this analytical model is confirmed, and the influence of various dimensional and structural parameters on the compliance behavior is investigated. Subsequently, the micromanipulator is treated as an equivalent spring system, allowing for the derivation of its governing equation based on the established compliance model. From this equation, a kinetostatic model relating input forces to output displacements is derived. Validation of this model is performed by comparing analytical results with finite element simulations under specific motion trajectories, revealing a maximum relative error of 6.18%. This close agreement verifies the accuracy of the kinetostatic model. Finally, the impact of the parameters of the flexure hinge on the mapping matrix is examined to offer insights into minimizing undesired displacements, providing valuable guidance for optimizing the micromanipulator's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charge accumulation usually happens on the surface of spacers under DC operation, which is susceptible to inducing surface flashover. In order to explore the surface charge accumulation mechanisms and the influences of dielectric conductivity, gas ion mobility, and temperature field on the surface charges, a time-varying charge density model at the gas–solid interface of spacers was established. The results of the simulation show that the discontinuity of the current density between the spacer bulk side and the gas ion flow is the fundamental reason for the charge accumulation on the spacer surface. Additionally, the value of current density fluxes at the interface continues to decrease with the change of the electric field, and the progress of charge transfer gradually stabilizes. Moreover, the dielectric conductivity directly affects the charge accumulation process, and there is a critical conductivity in which the effect of charge conduction in dielectrics counteracts that of gas-phase charge deposition, theoretically. When the conductivity is higher than the critical conductivity, the solid-side charge conduction is the main source of the surface charge accumulation, while the gas-phase charge deposition on the gas side plays a dominant role when the conductivity is lower than the critical conductivity. The charge accumulation is not significantly affected by gas ion mobility when the temperature is evenly distributed. However, under the temperature field with gradient distribution, the current density fluxes at the interface change, causing the polarity reverse of the accumulated charge. In the high-temperature region, the volume current density surges simultaneously with the conductivity, leading to a higher density of surface charge accumulation. Lastly, the design of spacers needs to keep the current densities on both sides of the interface as similar as possible in order to avoid excessive charge gathering in localized areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production through water splitting is a promising path to develop renewable green energy. Effective, stable, and low-cost catalysts are the key to water splitting. In the present work, a series of self-supporting nanoporous alloys are prepared by using a dealloying process followed by electrooxidation. Among them, the np-AlFeNiO-4s sample exhibits remarkable activity (10 mA cm−2 at 32 mV for the HER and 278 mV for the OER) and good long-term stability (100 h) in alkaline conditions for both the HER and the OER. It only requires 1.56 V to reach 10 mA cm−2 current density for total water splitting performance. The very short time of electrooxidation can significantly improve the HER performance. Electrooxidation makes the metal and metal oxide sites on the electrode surface effectively coupled, which greatly enhances the kinetic rate of the Volmer and Heyrovsky steps. Appropriate electrooxidation is a rapid and easy way to improve the activity of the electrocatalyst, which has a broad application prospect in electrochemical water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functionality and reliability of nanoscale multilayer devices and components are influenced by changes in stress and microstructure throughout fabrication, processing, and operation. NiV/B4C multilayers with a d-spacing of 3 nm were prepared by magnetron sputtering, and two groups of annealing experiments were performed. The stress, microstructure, and interface changes in NiV/B4C after annealing were investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray reflectometry (GIXR), grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), X-ray diffuse scattering, and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). The temperature dependence experiments revealed a gradual shift in the multilayer stress from compression to tension during annealing from 70 °C to 340 °C, with the stress approaching near-zero levels between 70 °C and 140 °C. The time-dependent experiments indicated that most of the stress changes occurred within the initial 10 min, which showed that prolonged annealing was unnecessary. Combining the X-ray diffraction and X-ray scattering measurements, it was found that the changes in the thickness, interface roughness, and lateral correlation length, primarily due to crystallization, drove the changes in stress and microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tricyclene, a tricyclic monoterpene naturally occurring in plant essential oils, holds potential for the development of medicinal and fuel applications. In this study, we successfully synthesized tricyclene in E. coli by introducing the heterologous mevalonate (MVA) pathway along with Abies grandis geranyl diphosphate synthase (GPPS) and Nicotiana sylvestris tricyclene synthase (TS) XP_009791411. Initially, the shake-flask fermentation at 30 ◦C yielded a tricyclene titer of 0.060 mg/L. By increasing the copy number of the TS-coding gene, we achieved a titer of 0.103 mg/L. To further enhance tricyclene production, optimal truncation in the N-terminal region of TS XP_009791411 resulted in an impressive highest titer of 47.671 mg/L, approximately a 794.5-fold improvement compared to its wild-type counterpart. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest titer of the heterologous synthesis of tricyclene in E. coli. The SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that lowering induction temperature and truncating the random coil N-terminal region effectively improved TS solubility, which was closely associated with tricyclene production levels. Furthermore, by truncating other TSs, the titers of tricyclene were improved to different degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A family of pyridine–oxazoline-ligated cobalt complexes L2CoCl2 3a–h were synthesized and characterized. Determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, complexes 3a and 3d, ligated by two ligands, displayed a distorted tetrahedral coordination of a cobalt center. The X-ray structure indicated the pyridine–oxazoline ligands acted as unusual mono-dentate ligands by coordinating only to Noxazoline. Upon activation with AlEt2Cl (diethylaluminum chloride), these cobalt complexes all exhibited high catalytic activity (up to 2.5 × 106 g·molCo−1·h−1), affording cis-1,4-co-3,4-polyisoprene with molecular weights of 4.4–176 kg mol−1 and a narrow Ð of 1.79–3.42, suggesting a single-site nature of the active sites. The structure of cobalt catalysts and reaction parameters, especially co-catalysts and the reaction temperature, all have significant influence on the polymerization activity but not on the microstructure of polyisoprene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral overturns are the most frequent fatal accidents involving tractors. A tractor being able to travel safely on uneven or sloped terrain is still an open field of investigation. The design concept of a four-wheel-drive tractor that can traverse hilly and mountainous areas is described. The tractor's locomotion system can actively adjust its roll angle by using the attitude adjustment mechanisms equipped on the rear wheels. With double quadrangle mechanisms, the front axle can cooperate with the rear axle to adjust this tractor's attitude. This tractor can also level its body, steer, and transmit power. The principles and configurations of the two axles are presented. A mathematics/mechanical model of a tractor on lateral slopes was developed. This model considers the relationships of the ground supporting forces when the tractor adjusts its roll angle. Combining the model of specific attitude adjustment mechanisms and the above mechanics model, the lateral stability analysis associated with the active input of the attitude adjustment mechanism is conducted. The reliability of the proposed model is discussed based on a comparison of slope traversing experiments and numerical simulations. This designed tractor has potential application in the fields of hilly and mountainous terrains. The results show that posture/configuration adjustment is a positive way to enhance tractor lateral overturn stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactivation of old landslides can be triggered by heavy destructive earthquakes, heavy rainfall, and ongoing human activities, thereby resulting in the occurrence of secondary landslides. However, most existing models are designed for detecting nascent landslides and there are few algorithms for old landslide detection. In this paper, we introduce a novel landslide detection model known as YOLOv8-CW, built upon the YOLOv8 (You Only Look Once) architecture, to tackle the formidable challenge of identifying old landslides. We replace the Complete-IoU loss function in the original model with the Wise-IoU loss function to mitigate the impact of low-quality samples on model training and improve detection recall rate. We integrate a CBAM (Convolutional Block Attention Module) attention mechanism into our model to enhance detection accuracy. By focusing on the southwest river basin of the Sichuan–Tibet area, we collect 558 optical remote sensing images of old landslides in three channels from Google Earth and establish a dataset specifically for old landslide detection. Compared to the original model, our proposed YOLOv8-CW model achieves an increase in detection accuracy of 10.9%, recall rate of 6%, and F1 score from 0.66 to 0.74, respectively. These results demonstrate that our improved model exhibits excellent performance in detecting old landslides within the Sichuan–Tibet area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infections continue to pose a significant global health challenge, with the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and biofilms further complicating treatment options. The rise of pan-resistant bacteria, coupled with the slow development of new antibiotics, highlights the urgent need for new therapeutic strategies. Nanotechnology-based biosensors offer fast, specific, sensitive, and selective methods for detecting and treating bacteria; hence, it is a promising approach for the diagnosis and treatment of MDR bacteria. Through mechanisms, such as destructive bacterial cell membranes, suppression of efflux pumps, and generation of reactive oxygen species, nanotechnology effectively combats bacterial resistance and biofilms. Nano-biosensors and related technology have demonstrated their importance in bacteria diagnosis and treatment, providing innovative ideas for MDR inhibition. This review focuses on multiple nanotechnology approaches in targeting MDR bacteria and eliminating antimicrobial biofilms, highlighting nano-biosensors via photodynamics-based biosensors, eletrochemistry biosensors, acoustic-dynamics sensors, and so on. Furthermore, the major challenges, opportunities of multi-physical-field biometrics-based biosensors, and relevant nanotechnology in MDR bacterial theranostics are also discussed. Overall, this review provides insights and scientific references to harness the comprehensive and diverse capabilities of nano-biosensors for precise bacteria theranostics and MDR inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) exhibit significant cellular heterogeneity and malignancy, which poses significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment. Recent years have seen deeper insights into the imaging, pathology, and genetic characteristics of CUP, driven by interdisciplinary collaboration and the evolution of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. However, due to their insidious onset, lack of evidence-based medicine, and limited clinical understanding, diagnosing and treating CUP remain a significant challenge. To inspire more creative and fantastic research, herein, we report and highlight recent advances in the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies of CUP. Specifically, we discuss advanced diagnostic technologies, including 12-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose integrated with computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) or 68Ga-FAPI (fibroblast activation protein inhibitor) PET/CT, liquid biopsy, molecular diagnostics, self-assembling nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the discussion will extend to the effective treatment techniques currently available, such as targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and bio-nanotechnology-based therapeutics. Finally, a novel perspective on the challenges and directions for future CUP diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, photobiomodulation (PBM) has attracted widespread attention for the treatment of various causes of pain and inflammation. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological condition characterized by severe menstrual pain, and the limited effectiveness and side effects of conventional treatments have highlighted the urgent need to develop and identify new adjunct therapeutic strategies. The present study from the perspective of light morphology aimed to bypass the heat risk limitation and evaluate the efficacy and safety of pulsed 630 nm PBM therapy for reducing pain associated with PD. The pulse light parameters were designed according to the transmittance of red light. In this randomized, cross-over design, sham-controlled study, 46 women with PD were included and randomly assigned to either pulsed 630 nm light therapy or white light sham control therapy. The intervention lasted for 20 min per day and was administered for 7 consecutive days before and during menstruation. The results showed that the pulsed 630 nm PBM treatment demonstrated a significant reduction in pain levels compared to the placebo treatment (p < 0.001), with 55.00% of active treatment participants experiencing a pain intensity differential concentration exceeding 50.00%. Moreover, participants reported an improved quality of life during the active treatment phase and generally preferred it as a more effective method for relieving PD. No adverse events or side effects were reported throughout the trial. Based on the results, pulsed 630 nm LED therapy showed significant relief of menstrual pain compared to white light placebo treatment and improved quality of life under certain circumstances. Therefore, this study proposes that pulsed red light PBM therapy may be a promising approach for future clinical treatment of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the key component of a five-axis CNC planer-type milling machine, the integral mechanical property of the A/C swing angle milling head directly affects the machining accuracy and stability of the milling machine. Taking the mechanical A/C swing-angle milling head of a five-axis numerical-control gantry milling machine as the research object, the stress deformation characteristics and natural frequency of the swing-angle milling head under actual working conditions were studied using finite-element analysis. Based on the analytical results, it was determined that the cardan frame, with its large mass proportion and strong rigidity of the whole milling head, is the object to be optimized. The topological optimization of the cardan frame, in which achieving the minimum flexibility was the optimization objective, was carried out to determine the quality reduction area. By comparing the simulation results of the cardan frames of three different rib plate structures, it was shown that the cardan frame performance of the ten-type rib plate structure was optimal. The analytical results showed that, when the cardan frame met the design requirements for stiffness and strength, the mass after optimization was reduced by 13.67% compared with the mass before optimization, the first-order natural frequency was increased by 7.9%, and the maximum response amplitude was reduced in all directions to avoid resonance, which was beneficial to the improvement of the dynamic characteristics of the whole machine. At the same time, the rationality and effectiveness of the lightweight design method of the cardan frame were verified, which has strong engineering practicality. The research results provide an important theoretical basis for the optimization of other machine tool gimbals and have important practical significance and application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal regions, increasingly threatened by floods due to climate-change-driven extreme weather, lack a comprehensive study that integrates coastal and riverine flood dynamics. In response to this research gap, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and thorough visualization and mapping of studies of compound flooding risk in coastal cities over the period 2014–2022, using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to analyze 407 publications in the Web of Science Core Collection database. The analytical results reveal two persistent research topics: the way to explore the return periods or joint probabilities of flood drivers using statistical modeling, and the quantification of flood risk with different return periods through numerical simulation. This article examines critical causes of compound coastal flooding, outlines the principal methodologies, details each method's features, and compares their strengths, limitations, and uncertainties. This paper advocates for an integrated approach encompassing climate change, ocean–land systems, topography, human activity, land use, and hazard chains to enhance our understanding of flood risk mechanisms. This includes adopting an Earth system modeling framework with holistic coupling of Earth system components, merging process-based and data-driven models, enhancing model grid resolution, refining dynamical frameworks, comparing complex physical models with more straightforward methods, and exploring advanced data assimilation, machine learning, and quasi-real-time forecasting for researchers and emergency responders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal ion contamination has serious impacts on environmental and biological health, so it is crucial to effectively monitor the levels of these metal ions. With the continuous progression of optoelectronic nanotechnology and biometrics, the emerging electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensing technology has not only proven its simplicity, but also showcased its utility and remarkable sensitivity in engineered monitoring of residual heavy metal contaminants. This comprehensive review begins by introducing the composition, advantages, and detection principles of ECL biosensors, and delving into the engineered aspects. Furthermore, it explores two signal amplification methods: biometric element-based strategies (e.g., HCR, RCA, EDC, and CRISPR/Cas) and nanomaterial (NM)-based amplification, including quantum dots, metal nanoclusters, carbon-based nanomaterials, and porous nanomaterials. Ultimately, this review envisions future research trends and engineered technological enhancements of ECL biosensors to meet the surging demand for metal ion monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The aim of this study was to describe the basic status of milk production traits of Chinese Holstein cows in Jiangsu, and locate the QTLs and functional genes that affect the five milk production traits (milk yield, milk fat percentage, milk fat yield, milk protein percentage, and milk protein yield) of first-born cows. The five milk production traits showed significant phenotypic positive correlation and high genetic positive correlation among the three parities, and we identified 1731 CNVs and 236 CNVRs in the 29 autosomes of 4173 Holstein dairy cows, and 19 CNVRS were significantly associated with milk production traits. The study introduced the basic status of the milk production traits of Chinese Holstein cows in Jiangsu province, and 19 CNVRs were identified to be significantly related to milk production traits of Chinese Holstein cows in the first fetus. This study will provide a theoretical basis for molecular marker-assisted selection of dairy cows, help to analyze the genetic structure of milk production traits of dairy cows, and contribute to the genetic improvement of Chinese Holstein cattle in Jiangsu. Milk production traits are the most important quantitative economic traits in dairy cow production; improving the yield and quality of milk is an important way to ensure the production efficiency of the dairy industry. This study carried out a series of in-depth statistical genetics studies and molecular analyses on the Chinese Holstein cows in the Jiangsu Province, such as descriptive statistics and copy number variation analysis. A genetic correlation, phenotypic correlation, and descriptive statistical analysis of five milk production traits (milk yield, milk fat percentage, milk fat yield, milk protein percentage, and milk protein yield) of the dairy cows were analyzed using the SPSS and DMU software. Through quality control, 4173 cows and their genomes were used for genomic study. Then, SNPs were detected using DNA chips, and a copy number variation (CNV) analysis was carried out to locate the quantitative trait loci (QTL) of the milk production traits by Perl program software Penn CNV and hidden Markov model (HMM). The phenotypic means of the milk yield, milk fat percentage, milk fat mass, milk protein percentage, and milk protein mass at the first trimester were lower than those at the other trimesters by 8.821%, 1.031%, 0.930%, 0.003%, and 0.826%, respectively. The five milk production traits showed a significant phenotypic positive correlation (p < 0.01) and a high genetic positive correlation among the three parities. Based on the GGPBovine 100 K SNP data, QTL-detecting research on the fist-parity milk performance of dairy cows was carried out via the CNV. We identified 1731 CNVs and 236 CNVRs in the 29 autosomes of 984 Holstein dairy cows, and 19 CNVRs were significantly associated with the milk production traits (p < 0.05). These CNVRs were analyzed via a bioinformatics analysis; a total of 13 gene ontology (GO) terms and 20 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were significantly enriched (p < 0.05), and these terms and pathways are mainly related to lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and cellular catabolic processes. This study provided a theoretical basis for the molecular-marker-assisted selection of dairy cows by developing descriptive statistics on the milk production traits of dairy cows and by locating the QTL and functional genes that affect the milk production traits of first-born dairy cows. The results describe the basic status of the milk production traits of the Chinese Holstein cows in Jiangsu and locate the QTL and functional genes that affect the milk production traits of the first-born cows, providing a theoretical basis for the molecular-marker-assisted selection of dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the widespread application of artificial intelligence algorithms in protein structure, function prediction, and de novo protein design has significantly accelerated the process of intelligent protein design and led to many noteworthy achievements. This advancement in protein intelligent design holds great potential to accelerate the development of new drugs, enhance the efficiency of biocatalysts, and even create entirely new biomaterials. Protein characterization is the key to the performance of intelligent protein design. However, there is no consensus on the most suitable characterization method for intelligent protein design tasks. This review describes the methods, characteristics, and representative applications of traditional descriptors, sequence-based and structure-based protein characterization. It discusses their advantages, disadvantages, and scope of application. It is hoped that this could help researchers to better understand the limitations and application scenarios of these methods, and provide valuable references for choosing appropriate protein characterization techniques for related research in the field, so as to better carry out protein research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately predict the shear-bearing capacity of UHPC beams, it is crucial to quantify the shear contribution of the fiber bridging effect and UHPC compression zone. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the shear contribution of UHPC in the compression zone is not fully considered in most existing calculation methods, and the probability distribution of fibers within the matrix is also not taken into full account, which reduces the calculation accuracy of the shear bearing capacity of UHPC beams. In this paper, a UHPC beam shear test database containing 247 samples was created, and the influencing factors on the shear capacity of UHPC beams, such as the shear span ratio, the web reinforcement ratio, and the volume fraction of steel fiber, were analyzed. It was found that the ratio of cracking load to ultimate load ranges from 0.2 to 0.6, and the failure in the compression zone of UHPC beams can be divided into diagonal tension failure and shear compression failure. Based on the failure mechanism of the compression zone, considering the contribution of fiber micro tensile strength, a formula for calculating the shear-bearing capacity of UHPC beams with and without web reinforcement was proposed. Verified by experimental data, the proposed formula accurately predicts the shear-bearing capacity of UHPC beams. In comparison with other shear capacity formulas in current design codes, the proposed formula in this paper provides a higher prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are crucial for cloud freezing processes in the atmosphere. Given the limited knowledge about the vertical distribution of INPs and its relation to aerosols in China, we present two aircraft observations of INPs over the North China Plain on 23 October 2019 and 25 October 2019, before and after a cold front passage. We used a well-established method to identify the INPs on a silicon wafer and then performed single-particle chemical composition analysis using an environmental scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer (ESEM-EDS). The INP concentrations range from 0.1 to 9.2 L−1 within activation temperatures from −20 to −29 °C. INPs are mostly concentrated within the boundary layer, and their concentration shows a decreasing trend with height (0.5~6 km) before the cold front passage. However, the highest INP concentration always appears at higher altitudes (4~5 km) after the cold front passage. The cold front passage also significantly weakens the correlations between the concentrations of INPs and aerosol particles at different sizes. The activated fraction (AF) of total aerosols increases from 10−6 to 10−4 with height from near ground to 6 km, reflecting a better nucleating capacity of the aerosols at higher altitudes. There is no obvious variation in AF after the cold front passage. Chemical analysis reveals that the INPs containing mineral dust components comprise the majority of total INPs during both flights. The proportion of pure mineral dust declines from 52.2% to 43.5% after the cold front passage while the proportion of mixed mineral dust increases from 23.9% to 45.7%, suggesting that an increased probability of aging or coating of INPs is introduced by the cold front during their long-distance transport. In addition, 88% of INPs have a diameter larger than 1 μm. This indicates that larger aerosols (>1 μm) are the major contributors to INPs at high altitudes despite their relatively low abundance. Our results demonstrate a significant impact of transport events on the sources and vertical distribution of INPs in the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging and re-emerging swine coronaviruses (CoVs), including porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), and swine acute diarrhea syndrome-CoV (SADS-CoV), cause severe diarrhea in neonatal piglets, and CoV infection is associated with significant economic losses for the swine industry worldwide. Reverse genetics systems realize the manipulation of RNA virus genome and facilitate the development of new vaccines. Thus far, five reverse genetics approaches have been successfully applied to engineer the swine CoV genome: targeted RNA recombination, in vitro ligation, bacterial artificial chromosome-based ligation, vaccinia virus -based recombination, and yeast-based method. This review summarizes the advantages and limitations of these approaches; it also discusses the latest research progress in terms of their use for virus-related pathogenesis elucidation, vaccine candidate development, antiviral drug screening, and virus replication mechanism determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of worldwide cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Conventional white light colonoscopy is routinely used to identify and remove colonic polyps. However, premalignant lesions that are flat and subtle in appearance are often missed. Cells alter in molecular expression well in advance of morphological changes. cMet is highly overexpressed by colonic adenomas. We aim to implant patient-derived organoids in the colon of immunocompromised mice to demonstrate a model system for evaluating the specific uptake of a near-infrared labeled peptide ligand. Human adenoma and normal colonoids were imaged in vivo using a small animal endoscope. A high target-to-background ratio was observed ~1 h post-injection followed by clearance after ~24 h. The mean intensity measured was significantly greater for the adenoma versus normal colonoids. These results demonstrate promise for a targeted imaging approach using fluorescently labeled peptides to identify precancerous lesions that would otherwise be missed using white light illumination alone. Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Premalignant lesions that are flat and subtle in morphology are often missed in conventional colonoscopies. Patient-derived adenoma colonoids with high and low cMet expression and normal colonoids were implanted orthotopically in the colon of immunocompromised mice to serve as a preclinical model system. A peptide specific for cMet was labeled with IRDye800, a near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore. This peptide was administered intravenously, and in vivo imaging was performed using a small animal fluorescence endoscope. Quantified intensities showed a peak target-to-background ratio at ~1 h after intravenous peptide injection, and the signal cleared by ~24 h. The peptide was stable in serum with a half-life of 3.6 h. Co-staining of adenoma and normal colonoids showed a high correlation between peptide and anti-cMet antibody. A human-specific cytokeratin stain verified the presence of human tissues implanted among surrounding normal mouse colonic mucosa. Peptide biodistribution was consistent with rapid renal clearance. No signs of acute toxicity were found on either animal necropsy or serum hematology and chemistries. Human colonoids provide a clinically relevant preclinical model to evaluate the specific uptake of a NIR peptide to detect premalignant colonic lesions in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

γ-bisabolene is a monocyclic sesquiterpene with various biological activities; it has also been approved as a food additive. Additionally, the hydrogenated form of bisabolene is considered as a potential alternative to D2 diesel. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has the ability to produce a large amount of acetyl-CoA in both cytosol and peroxisomes, which serves as a precursor in terpene biosynthesis. In this study, AcTPS5 was identified as a new γ-bisabolene synthase. By expressing AcTPS5 and the mevalonate pathway in peroxisomes, γ-bisabolene titer was achieved at 125.0 mg/L. Deleting the peroxisome autophagy gene atg36 further improved γ-bisabolene production to 216.9 mg/L. The implementation of dual cytoplasmic–peroxisomal engineering further boosted γ-bisabolene production to 296.4 mg/L. Finally, through increasing the acetyl-CoA supply and down-regulating the expression of ERG9, γ-bisabolene production was achieved at 584.14 mg/L in shake-flask fermentation and 2.69 g/L in fed-batch fermentation, which is the highest reported production of γ-bisabolene to date. The strategy presented in this study provides an efficient approach for terpene production in S. cerevisiae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aptamers are artificial oligonucleotides with excellent molecule-targeting ability. Compared with monoclonal antibodies, aptamers have the advantages of low cost, no batch effect, and negligible immunogenicity, making them promising candidates for cancer immunotherapy. To date, a series of aptamer agonists/antagonists have been discovered and directly used to activate immune response, such as immune checkpoint blockade, immune costimulation, and cytokine regulation. By incorporating both tumor- and immune cell-targeting aptamers, multivalent bispecific aptamers were designed to pursue high tumor affinity and enhanced immune efficacy. More importantly, benefiting from feasible chemical modification and programmability, aptamers can be engineered with diverse nanomaterials (e.g., liposomes, hydrogels) and even living immune cells (e.g., NK cells, T cells). These aptamer-based assemblies exhibit powerful capabilities in targeted cargo delivery, regulation of cell–cell interactions, tumor immunogenicity activation, tumor microenvironment remodeling, etc., holding huge potential in boosting immunotherapeutic efficacy. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in aptamer-based immune drug systems (AptIDCs) and highlight their advantages in cancer immunotherapy. The current challenges and future prospects of this field are also pointed out in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some dinoflagellates cause harmful algal blooms, releasing toxic secondary metabolites, to the detriment of marine ecosystems and human health. Phosphorus (P) is a limiting macronutrient for dinoflagellate growth in the ocean. Previous studies have been focused on the physiological response of dinoflagellates to ambient P changes. However, the whole-genome's molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, RNA-Seq was utilized to compare the global gene expression patterns of a marine diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxin-producing dinoflagellate, Prorocentrum lima, grown in inorganic P-replete and P-deficient conditions. A total of 148 unigenes were significantly up-regulated, and 30 unigenes were down-regulated under 1/4 P-limited conditions, while 2708 unigenes were significantly up-regulated, and 284 unigenes were down-regulated under 1/16 P-limited conditions. KEGG enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes shows that genes related to ribosomal proteins, glycolysis, fatty acid biosynthesis, phagosome formation, and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis are found to be up-regulated, while most of the genes related to photosynthesis are down-regulated. Further analysis shows that genes encoding P transporters, organic P utilization, and endocytosis are significantly up-regulated in the P-limited cells, indicating a strong ability of P. lima to utilize dissolved inorganic P as well as intracellular organic P. These transcriptomic data are further corroborated by biochemical and physiological analyses, which reveals that under P deficiency, cellular contents of starch, lipid, and toxin increase, while photosynthetic efficiency declines. Our results indicate that has P. lima evolved diverse strategies to acclimatize to low P environments. The accumulation of carbon sources and DSP toxins could provide protection for P. lima to cope with adverse environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-translational modifications of conopeptides are the most complicated modifications to date and are well-known and closely related to the activity of conopeptides. The hydroxylation of proline in conopeptides affects folding, structure, and biological activity, and prolyl 4 hydroxylase has been characterized in Conus literatus. However, the hydroxylation machinery of proline in conopeptides is still unclear. In order to address the hydroxylation mechanism of proline in μ-PIIIA, three recombinant plasmids encoding different hybrid precursors of μ-PIIIA were constructed and crossly combined with protein disulfide isomerase, prolyl 4 hydroxylase, and glutaminyl cyclase in a continuous exchange cell-free protein system. The findings showed that prolyl 4 hydroxylase might recognize the propeptide of μ-PIIIA to achieve the hydroxylation of proline, while the cyclization of glutamate was also formed. Additionally, in Escherichia coli, the co-expression plasmid encoding prolyl 4 hydroxylase and the precursor of μ-PIIIA containing pro and mature regions were used to validate the continuous exchange cell-free protein system. Surprisingly, in addition to the two hydroxyproline residues and one pyroglutamyl residue, three disulfide bridges were formed using Trx as a fusion tag, and the yield of the fusion peptide was approximately 20 mg/L. The results of electrophysiology analysis indicated that the recombinant μ-PIIIA without C-terminal amidate inhibited the current of hNaV1.4 with a 939 nM IC50. Our work solved the issue that it was challenging to quickly generate post-translationally modified conopeptides in vitro. This is the first study to demonstrate that prolyl 4 hydroxylase catalyzes the proline hydroxylation through recognition in the propeptide of μ-PIIIA, and it will provide a new way for synthesizing multi-modified conopeptides with pharmacological activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing the laser marker fast ablation technique in water, combined with the innovative inclusion of sonication, we successfully developed Ti-based nanoparticles with improved characteristics. sonication increased the nanoparticle concentration in the colloid, reduced nanoparticle size, and also narrowed size distribution. Our findings also provide valuable insights into the influence of laser parameters, such as wavelength and fluence, on nanoparticle properties. UV laser led to small nanoparticles compared with 1064 nm laser. Additionally, high laser fluence appeared to increase the ablated particle size until a plateau fluence at 28.5 J/cm2; at 38 J/cm2, the particle size decreased. Notably, all synthesized particles exhibited a regular spherical shape, as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping, which also indicated that the majority of Ti-based particles were in an oxidized state. Additionally, the presence of rutile TiO2 in the particles was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Ceria doping Titania nanoparticles was also attempted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow plays an important role in catastrophic weather, climate change, and water recycling. In order to analyze the ability of different land surface models to simulate snow depth in China, we used atmospheric forcing data from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS) to drive the CLM3.5 (the Community Land Model version 3.5), Noah (NCEP, OSU, Air Force and Office of Hydrology Land Surface Model), and Noah-MP (the community Noah land surface model with multi-parameterization options) land surface models. We also used 2380 daily snow-depth site observations of CMA to analyze the simulation effects of different models on the snow depth in China and different regions during the periods of snow accumulation and snowmelt from 2015 to 2019. The results show that CLM3.5, Noah, and Noah-MP can simulate the spatial distribution of the snow depth in China, but there are some differences between the models. In particular, the snow depth and snow cover simulated by CLM3.5 are lower than those simulated by Noah and Noah-MP in Northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau. From the overall quantitative assessment results for China, the snow depth simulated by CLM3.5 is underestimated, while that simulated by Noah is overestimated. Noah-MP has the best overall performance; for example, the biases of the three models during the snow-accumulation periods are −0.22 cm, 0.27 cm, and 0.15 cm, respectively. Furthermore, the three models perform differently in the three snowpack regions of Northeast China, Northwest China, and the Tibetan Plateau; Noah-MP has the best snow-depth performance in Northeast China, while CLM3.5 has the best snow-depth performance in the Tibetan Plateau region. Noah-MP performs best in the snow-accumulation period, and Noah performs best in the snowmelt period for Northwest China. In conclusion, no single model can perform optimally for snow simulations in different regions of China and at different times of the year, and the multi-model integration of snow may be an effective way to obtain high-quality snow simulation results. So this study provides some scientific references for the spatiotemporal evolution of snow in the context of climate change, monitoring and analysis of snow, the study of land surface models for snow, and the sustainable development and utilization of snow resources in China and other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how Aspergillus oryzae responds to light is critical for developing efficient light regulation strategies in the brewing and waste treatment industries. Although continuous light is known to restrict A. oryzae, little is known about A. oryzae's sensitivity to light with photoperiod. In this study, we used pulse wave modulation (PWM) to generate nine pulsed blue light (PBL) treatments with varying peak light intensities and frequencies. The effect of PBL on A. oryzae was then compared to that of continuous blue light (CBL). Our findings showed that A. oryzae GDMCC 3.31 mycelium developed faster and produced more conidia under PBL with specific peak intensities and frequencies than under CBL treatment when the light dose and average light intensity were held constant. The colony diameter and conidia count under the two PBL treatments (PL-20_40%_1 Hz and PL-400_20%_10 kHz) were 1.13 and 1.22 times greater than under the CBL treatments, respectively. This different response may be mainly attributed to A. oryzae's adaptation to the light–dark cycles in nature. Furthermore, an interactive effect was found between peak light intensity and frequency. This work includes pulsed wave modulation as a new factor that influences the A. oryzae photoresponse and recommends it in the development of light regulation methods for fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus has increasingly become a threat to health all over the world. This review focuses on the promoting effect of biosensing technology on the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Types of diabetes and their corresponding pathogeneses are first introduced, followed by the diabetes prevalence and research progress at home and abroad. To emphasize the importance of diabetes diagnosis and treatment, we secondly summarize the breakthrough technology in this field based on biosensing technology at the present stage. In terms of diagnosis, diversified ways of blood glucose detection and multiple combinations of diabetes biomarkers are discussed, while a variety of insulin administration routes and non-drug treatment means are presented in the aspect of treatment. In conclusion, the prospect of the future development of diabetes diagnosis and treatment is put forward at the end of the review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]