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Cooperative jamming (CJ) combined with single-input multiple-output (SIMO) technology can effectively improve the security and reliability of Internet of Things (IoT) systems. However, imperfect main channel state information (CSI) leads to incomplete CJ cancellation, which degrades the performance after combining. In this paper, by considering channel estimation errors and residual CJ at each receiving antenna, the residual CJ power after jamming suppression is analyzed, and the optimal combining coefficient for maximizing the signal-to-jamming-noise ratio (SJNR) is derived. The output SJNR of optimal diversity combining is given, and the achievable secrecy rate is analyzed on this basis. The theoretical and simulation results verify the combined effect of channel estimation errors and residual CJ on the combining performance. Moreover, it is worth noting that the combining performance is closely related to the spatial correlation of residual CJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial heterogeneity of bird community distribution within urban greenways is crucial for optimizing ecological functions and supporting urban biodiversity. While ecological corridors enhance connectivity and biodiversity, specific mechanisms by which landscape composition and configuration influence bird diversity remain unclear. This study examines bird community distribution along the Qingshan Lake Greenway in Hangzhou during autumn and winter, using 17 observation points across wetlands, forests, and mixed habitats. The key findings indicate that wetlands have significantly higher species richness compared to forests and mixed habitats, underscoring wetlands' critical role in supporting diverse bird communities. Greenways primarily facilitate short-distance bird movement with limited permeability between habitats. Additionally, greenway effectiveness in enhancing bird diversity depends heavily on design and structural characteristics. This research highlights the necessity of incorporating microhabitat design and diverse habitat configurations in greenway planning to enhance ecological connectivity and biodiversity. It provides essential insights for urban planners and ecologists, emphasizing detailed landscape composition and configuration analyses. Future research should include year-round studies and advanced ecological monitoring technologies to validate and expand these findings, ultimately contributing to more effective urban biodiversity conservation and sustainable development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-N-CDs-based MXene nanocomposites (MXene@PDA/Co-N-CDs) were constructed by decorating Co-N-CDs on polydopamine-functionalized MXene nanosheets. Both Co-N-CDs and MXene nanosheets have peroxidase-like activity; when the two materials are combined to form MXene@PDA/Co-N-CDs nanocomposites, the peroxide-like activity can be further enhanced. MXene@PDA/Co-N-CDs could oxidize the substrate 3,3′5,5′-tetramethylbenziline (TMB) to form ox-TMB, as confirmed by detecting the absorption of the blue products. A highly selective colorimetric biosensor was developed for the determination of glutathione (GSH) in the concentration range of 0.3 to 20 µM with a lower detection limit (LOD) of 0.12 µM, which realized the accurate detection of GSH in human serum and urine samples. Moreover, in the tumor microenvironment, MXene@PDA/Co-N-CDs could catalyze hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl free radicals and produce a photothermal effect under the exposure of NIR-I irradiation. The catalytic activity of MXene@PDA/Co-N-CD nanocomposites was fully achieved for the death of cancer cells through photothermal/photodynamic synergistic therapy. The MXene@PDA/Co-N-CDs nanozyme offers multiple applications in GSH detection and tumor therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overstory and understory vegetation play a vital role in forest ecosystem functionality. However, it is necessary to enhance the knowledge of their diversity and compositional dynamics following cessation of disturbance, which is required to inform restoration approaches and the mechanisms required for maintaining disturbance cessation. We conducted a chronosequence spanning 0–1, 5–6, 11–12, 20–24, and 28–34 years since disturbance cessation, and old-growth forests to investigate the dynamic changes in overstory and understory vegetation diversity and composition, as well as maintenance mechanisms following the cessation of anthropogenic disturbances in subtropical regions of Eastern China. The current study results indicated a decrease in understory cover and periodic fluctuations in the diversity of overstorey and understory vegetation following disturbance cessation efforts. Specifically, the shrub layer exhibited the highest richness in 28–34 years, while the herb layer showed the lowest evenness. Multivariate analysis using multiple-response permutation procedures indicated that the species composition and interspecific quantity ratio of understory plants in the forest at 28–34 years significantly differ from those in the early closure stage. An indicator species analysis revealed that more support was given to sun-loving plants after 0–1 years of the enclosure, while species with shade tolerance and low nutrient requirements were supported after 28–34 years. The structural equation model results show that 38.8% of the impact on herb evenness was related to light and substrate diversity. The ecological restoration time mainly indirectly affects understory vegetation by influencing the upper vegetation, light availability, and substrate heterogeneity. Overall, this study revealed that cessation of anthropogenic disturbance can maintain and care for understorey plant diversity and contribute to the sustainable management of forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-coordinated hydrogels are becoming increasingly popular in the biomedical field due to their unique properties. However, the mechanism behind gel forming involving metal ions is not yet fully understood. In this work, terahertz spectroscopy was used to investigate the role of interfacial water in the gelation process of copper ion-coordinated poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels. The results showed that the binding of copper ions could alter the interfacial hydration dynamics of the poly(vinyl alcohol) polymers. Combined with the results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), we propose a possible hydration layer-mediated mechanism for the formation of cooper ion-coordinated hydrogel during the freeze–thaw cycle. These results highlight the value of terahertz spectroscopy as a sensor for studying the hydration process in hydrogels and provide an important clue for understanding the mechanism of hydrogelation in ion-coordinated hydrogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the combined influence of climate change and urban development, the risk of urban flooding caused by extreme weather events has increased significantly, making assessing flood vulnerability and resilience increasingly crucial for urban flood management. With the 45 counties in Qinghai Province as the research objects, the hazard risk of flood and exposure are combined to study their vulnerability. At the same time, resilience is evaluated by the indicators selected from four dimensions (society, economy, environment, and infrastructure). Through Z-scoring, the vulnerability and resilience of each county are clustered into four groups to explore their associations from a spatial balance perspective. Obstacle factor analysis is introduced to summarize the key factors affecting the improvement of urban resilience in Qinghai Provence. The results show that the eastern areas of Qinghai experience high vulnerability to flooding because of high levels of hazard and exposure. What is more, Xining, Haidong, and Haixi experience a high level of resilience. A strong spatial mismatch between vulnerability and resilience exists in Qinghai, with 24 counties (58%) being self-adapted, 8 counties (18%) over-abundant, and 11 counties deficient in terms of nature–nurture. The length of levee and number of beds in medical institutions are the main obstacles to resilience in Qinghai. The research results can provide a theoretical and scientific basis for future urban flood management and resilience development in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban park green spaces exhibit significant cool island effects, which can effectively mitigate the urban heat environment. Clarifying the characteristics and differences in the cool island effects of urban parks across different spatial gradients within cities is instrumental in identifying potential issues and optimizing the structure and resource allocation of park green spaces in a scientifically rational manner. This study focuses on parks within the central urban area of Beijing, utilizing remote sensing image interpretation and land surface temperature (LST) inversion to extract relevant characteristics of park green spaces and the park cool island intensity (PCI) index. Various mathematical and statistical methods including correlation analysis, regression analysis, and cluster analysis are employed to conduct comparative studies across three gradients: within the 3rd ring road, between the 3rd and 5th ring roads, and outside the 5th ring road. The analysis reveals that both park green space characteristics and urban heat island effects exhibit spatial gradient differences, collectively influencing the cool island effects of urban park green spaces. PCI gradually decreases across the three spatial gradients. Cluster analysis identifies four distinct types of parks with different cool island effect characteristics, highlighting the need for optimization and improvement in over half of the parks. Various indicators of park green space characteristics show different correlations with PCI, with variations in correlation strength and thresholds across gradients. The fitting effects of regression equations for each characteristic indicator and PCI gradually worsen from within the 3rd ring road to outside the 5th ring road, with different factors playing important roles across gradients. This study enhances our understanding of the cool island effects of urban park green spaces and facilitates the proposition of differentiated optimization management strategies for urban park green space planning and system construction in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Global climate change is a growing threat to the lives and ranges of reptile species. The present study examines three lizard species (Calotes versicolor, Ateuchosaurus chinensis, and Hemidactylus bowringii) that share a sympatric distribution in the Guangzhou region of Guangdong, China. Mitochondria act as energy-producing centers, and the present study analyses the effects of low temperatures in the context of warm winters on lizards, by examining their responses to low-temperature stress at the level of mitochondrial gene expression. This present study analyses the effects of low temperatures in the context of warm winters on the mitochondrial gene expression of lizards and reveals the implications of the distribution within it. Ecological factors related to climate extremes have a significant influence on the adaptability of organisms, especially for ectotherms such as reptiles that are sensitive to temperature change. Climate extremes can seriously affect the survival and internal physiology of lizards, sometimes even resulting in the loss of local populations or even complete extinction. Indeed, studies have shown that the expression levels of the nuclear genes and mitochondrial genomes of reptiles change under low-temperature stress. At present, the temperature adaptability of reptiles has rarely been studied at the mitochondrial genome level. In the present study, the mitochondrial genomes of three species of lizards, Calotes versicolor, Ateuchosaurus chinensis, and Hemidactylus bowringii, which live in regions of sympatry, were sequenced. We used RT-qPCR to explore the level of mitochondrial gene expression under low-temperature stress, as compared to a control temperature. Among the 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), the steady-state transcript levels of ND4L, ND1, ATP6, and COII were reduced to levels of 0.61 ± 0.06, 0.50 ± 0.08, 0.44 ± 0.16, and 0.41 ± 0.09 in C. versicolor, respectively, compared with controls. The transcript levels of the ND3 and ND6 genes fell to levels of just 0.72 ± 0.05 and 0.67 ± 0.05 in H. bowringii, compared with controls. However, the transcript levels of ND3, ND5, ND6, ATP6, ATP8, Cytb, and COIII genes increased to 1.97 ± 0.15, 2.94 ± 0.43, 1.66 ± 0.07, 1.59 ± 0.17, 1.46 ± 0.04, 1.70 ± 0.16, and 1.83 ± 0.07 in A. chinensis. Therefore, the differences in mitochondrial gene expression may be internally related to the adaptative strategy of the three species under low-temperature stress, indicating that low-temperature environments have a greater impact on A. chinensis, with a small distribution area. In extreme environments, the regulatory trend of mitochondrial gene expression in reptiles is associated with their ability to adapt to extreme climates, which means differential mitochondrial genome expression can be used to explore the response of different lizards in the same region to low temperatures. Our experiment aims to provide one new research method to evaluate the potential extinction of reptile species in warm winter climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (PMUTs) have gained significant popularity in the field of ultrasound ranging and medical imaging owing to their small size, low power consumption, and affordability. The scar-free "MIS" (micro-hole inter-etch and sealing) process, a novel bulk-silicon manufacturing technique, has been successfully developed for the fabrication of pressure sensors, flow sensors, and accelerometers. In this study, we utilize the MIS process to fabricate cavity diaphragm structures for PMUTs, resulting in the formation of a flat cavity diaphragm structure through anisotropic etching of (111) wafers in a 70 °C tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution. This study investigates the corrosion characteristics of the MIS technology on (111) silicon wafers, arranges micro-pores etched on bulk silicon around the desired cavity structure in a regular pattern, and takes into consideration the distance compensation for lateral corrosion, resulting in a fully connected cavity structure closely approximating an ortho-hexagonal shape. By utilizing a sputtering process to deposit metallic molybdenum as upper and lower electrodes, as well as piezoelectric materials above the cavity structure, we have successfully fabricated aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer arrays of various sizes and structures. The final hexagonal PMUT cells of various sizes that were fabricated achieved a maximum quality factor (Q) of 251 and a displacement sensitivity of 18.49 nm/V across a range of resonant frequencies from 6.28 MHz to 11.99 MHz. This fabrication design facilitates the achievement of IC-compatible and cost-effective mass production of PMUT array devices with high resonance frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The present study can be applied to the study of the influence of a Hall thruster plume on the spacecraft surface. This article aims to conduct an in-depth investigation into the environmental impact of Hall thruster plumes on spacecraft surface charging. The non-uniform plasma plume generated by Hall thrusters may trigger charging and discharging effects, making the assessment of surface charging risks crucial. Through numerical simulations using SPIS system, this study evaluates the surface charging characteristics of a complex spacecraft in orbit, simulating the effects of turning on and off the thrusters, as well as varying distances between the thrusters and the spacecraft. The simulation demonstrates that turning on the thrusters significantly affects spacecraft charging, reducing the potential difference between spacecraft surfaces from 3740 V to 19.2 V, effectively alleviating electrostatic discharge on the spacecraft surface. The closer the thruster is to the spacecraft, the more CEX ions are collected on the surface, influenced by the beam ions, resulting in a surface potential change of 1.3 V, with minor effects on surface potential but contributing to increased deposition contamination on the spacecraft surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The arrival of the big-data era provides us with a chance to elaborate the spectrum and epidemiological characteristics of infectious diseases in children and adolescents aged 0–18 years in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era. Methods: We collected data on infectious diseases in 891,981 participants from the Cheeloo Lifespan Electronic Health Research Data-library. The incidence density of each infection was calculated and stratified by age and region. The annual percentage change (APC) in incidence was estimated by logarithmic linear regression. Results: A total of 18,183 cases of 78 infections were diagnosed, with an overall incidence density of 626.33 per 100,000 person-years (PY). Of these, 6825 cases of 50 non-notifiable infectious diseases were identified. Children aged 1–3 years had the highest incidence of infections. The overall incidence revealed a significant increasing trend from 2013 to 2017 (APC = 36.9%, p < 0.05). Hand, foot, and mouth disease, pneumonia, and influenza were the three most common diseases. The incidence of pneumonia, rubella, scarlet fever, zoster, molluscum contagiosum, and syphilis increased significantly during the study period (all p < 0.05). Taian, Binzhou, and Weihai had the highest incidence of all other cities. The incidence of gastrointestinal infections increased markedly in the eastern coastal regions. Conclusions: More stress should be placed on a number of non-notifiable infectious diseases with a high burden and a significant increasing trend. Age-based and regional targeting efforts are needed to prevent and contain infectious diseases among children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black-odorous waters are water bodies that are noticeably abnormal in color or emit unpleasant odors. River water pollution and ecological degradation have gradually emerged with urbanization and rapid economic development, and BOW has become frequent. The black-odorous evolution of urban water bodies is a serious environmental problem in many areas, posing a serious threat to both human health and the ecological environment. Functional microorganisms are closely related to the formation of black-odorous phenomena in water bodies, but the understanding of the mechanisms by which functional microorganisms influence the formation of BOW is very limited. In this study, water samples from the Guangdang River in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, were collected as the bacterial solution in the study, and how environmental factors and functional microorganisms affect the formation of black smelly water was investigated by artificially simulating black smelly water. The results indicated that different environmental factors have different effects on the formation of BOW. Anaerobic conditions accelerated the formation of BOW, and species diversity and species abundance were lowest under this condition. Hydraulic disturbance and nitrate effectively mitigated the BOW phenomenon, in which species diversity and species abundance were higher; controlling either of these variables was effective in mitigating the BOW phenomenon. Desulfobacterota played a key role in the formation of BOW, and reducing the proportion of Desulfobacterota in the microbial community could effectively improve the water quality. Possible directions of electron transfer in the process were hypothesized. This study contributes to identifying the biological driving factors for black-odorous evolution, presents insight for preventing BOW formation, and provides a scientific basis for subsequent BOW management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1) is an important cancer-related biomarker for clinical diagnosis, especially for carcinomas of lung and thyroid origin. Herein, a novel label-free electrochemical immunosensor was prepared for TTF1 detection based on nanohybrids of ribbon-like tungsten disulfide-reduced graphene oxide (WS2-rGO) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The proposed immunosensor employed H2O2 as the electrochemical probe because of the excellent peroxidase-like activity of ribbon-like WS2-rGO. The introduction of AuNPs not only enhanced the electrocatalytic activity of the immunosensor, but also provided immobilization sites for binding TTF1 antibodies. The electrochemical signals can be greatly amplified due to their excellent electrochemical performance, which realized the sensitive determination of TTF1 with a wide linear range of 0.025–50 ng mL−1 and a lower detection limit of 0.016 ng mL−1 (S/N = 3). Moreover, the immunosensor exhibited high selectivity, good reproducibility, and robust stability, as well as the ability to detect TTF1 in human serum with satisfactory results. These observed properties of the immunosensor enhance its potential practicability in clinical applications. This method can also be used for the detection of other tumor biomarkers by using the corresponding antigen–antibody complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic shifts in global climate have intensified abiotic and biotic stress faced by plants. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs)—20–24 nucleotide non-coding RNA molecules—form a key regulatory system of plant gene expression; playing crucial roles in plant growth; development; and defense against abiotic and biotic stress. Moreover, they participate in cross-kingdom communication. This communication encompasses interactions with other plants, microorganisms, and insect species, collectively exerting a profound influence on the agronomic traits of crops. This article comprehensively reviews the biosynthesis of plant miRNAs and explores their impact on plant growth, development, and stress resistance through endogenous, non-transboundary mechanisms. Furthermore, this review delves into the cross-kingdom regulatory effects of plant miRNAs on plants, microorganisms, and pests. It proceeds to specifically discuss the design and modification strategies for artificial miRNAs (amiRNAs), as well as the protection and transport of miRNAs by exosome-like nanovesicles (ELNVs), expanding the potential applications of plant miRNAs in crop breeding. Finally, the current limitations associated with harnessing plant miRNAs are addressed, and the utilization of synthetic biology is proposed to facilitate the heterologous expression and large-scale production of miRNAs. This novel approach suggests a plant-based solution to address future biosafety concerns in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of organic manure on farmland is one of the most important tasks in agricultural recycling. However, few studies have investigated the potential impact of different solid–liquid separation (SLS) technologies on soil porosity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a result of the application of liquid fractions (LFs). A microcosm experiment was conducted to track the emissions of ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) from soils (1) without liquid manure application (CK), (2) with a raw dairy slurry (RM), (3) with the liquid fractions of mechanical solid–liquid separation (MS) technologies, and (4) with the LF of an enhanced solid–liquid separation technology including a flocculant (tannic acid, Ta) (MS + Ta). Soil porosities of different treatments were measured using computed tomography (CT). The saturated water conductivities of the RM and MS treatments were 53.38% and 78.63%, respectively, lower than that of the CK. The application of raw slurry and LFs reduced the gas diffusion due to the strong decrease in pore sizes >500 μm and increased gas emissions compared to the CK. Compared with RM, MS had greater N2O and lower CH4 emissions, whereas MS + Ta had lower NH3 and N2O emissions. MS had the greatest CO2-e emissions, mainly owing to high N2O emissions, followed by RM and MS + Ta. The implementation of a simple SLS led to an increase in nitrogen (N) loss and GHG emissions when the resultant LFs were applied to farmlands, whereas high emissions were reduced when a simple SLS was combined with a flocculant, such as Ta. Further research is required to elucidate the reduction mechanism and its effectiveness under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FY-3E satellite plasma analyzer marks China's first detection of the characteristics, occurrence, and development of the typical plasma environment in the dawn–dusk orbit space. It provides data source support for operational space weather alerts and forecasts, helps ensure the in-orbit safety of the satellite, and accumulates space environment detection data for space environment modeling and space physics research. This paper gives a detailed introduction to the detection technology adopted by the FY-3E satellite plasma analyzer. We calibrated its performance through a calibration experiment and then analyzed and compared it with similar instruments in China. It is indicated that the instrument is capable of measuring an ion energy spectrum of 24 eV~32 keV and an electron energy spectrum of 23.7 eV~31.6 keV, its field of view reaches 180° × 90°, and the inversed measurement range of spacecraft absolute potential is better than −30 kV~+30 kV. All these contribute to a notably improved technology for plasma and satellite potential detection of China's LEO satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rolling bearings are the core transmission components of large-scale equipment. Once a fault occurs, the consequences may be catastrophic, posing a serious threat to life and the safety of the property. Aimed at the problem of rolling bearing faults, this paper analyzes the characteristics of different fault signals and proposes a fault diagnosis method based on fuzzy signals. Based on the definition of an incomplete mapping of a new connotation, this paper proposes a fuzzy fault diagnosis method by fuzzy mapping, gives a fuzzy signal processing algorithm, and discusses two judgment principles. Further, it carries out a vibration signal analysis of the rolling bearing. According to the fault diagnosis method in this paper, the fault rolling bearing is diagnosed. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively diagnose rolling bearing faults closer to their natural attributes and solves the problem of traditional generator bearing fault diagnosis that requires complex models and poor diagnosis speed. Further, it can be seen that the average time consumption of this method is reduced and the fault recognition accuracy rate is increased. Compared with the existing related methods, this proposed diagnosis method is superior to that of several existing methods. It not only has higher precision, stronger anti-noise capacity, and faster diagnosis speed, but also has lower effective information loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the spatial resolution of real-aperture microwave radiometers is an essential research topic. The accuracy of the numerical values of brightness temperatures (BTs) observed using microwave radiometers directly affects the precision of the retrieval of marine environmental parameters. Hence, ensuring the accuracy of the enhanced brightness temperature values is of paramount importance when striving to enhance spatial resolution. A spectrum extension (SE) method is proposed in this paper, which restores the suppressed high-frequency components in the scene BT spectrum through frequency domain transformation and calculations, specifically, dividing the observed BT spectrum by the conjugate of the antenna pattern spectrum and applying a Taylor approximation to suppress error amplification, thereby extending the observed BT spectrum. By using a convolutional neural network to correct errors in the calculated spectrum and then reconstructing the BT through inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), the enhanced BTs are obtained. Since the extended BT spectrum contains more high-frequency components, namely, the spectrum is closer to that of the original scene BT, the reconstructed BT not only achieves an enhancement in spatial resolution, but also an improvement in the accuracy of BT values. Both the results from simulated data and satellite-measured data processing illustrate that the SE method is able to enhance the spatial resolution of real-aperture microwave radiometers and concurrently improve the accuracy of BT values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared small target detection technology is widely used in infrared search and tracking, infrared precision guidance, low and slow small aircraft detection, and other projects. Its detection ability is very important in terms of finding unknown targets as early as possible, warning in time, and allowing for enough response time for the security system. This paper combines the target characteristics of low-resolution infrared small target images and studies the infrared small target detection method under a complex background based on the attention mechanism. The main contents of this paper are as follows: (1) by sorting through and expanding the existing datasets, we construct a single-frame low-resolution infrared small target (SLR-IRST) dataset and evaluate the existing datasets on three aspects—target number, target category, and target size; (2) to improve the pixel-level metrics of low-resolution infrared small target detection, we propose a small target detection network with two stages and a corresponding method. Regarding the SLR-IRST dataset, the proposed method is superior to the existing methods in terms of pixel-level metrics and target-level metrics and has certain advantages in model processing speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasma in situ detector is a multi-sensor package designed to in situ measure the bulk parameters of the local ionospheric plasma. The plasma in situ detector is comprised of three sensors: Langmuir probe (LP), retarding potential analyzer (RPA) and ion drift meter (IDM). LP measures electron density and temperature. RPA measures ion density, temperature and ion horizontal velocity. IDM measures the transverse horizontal component of the ram velocity. The plasma in situ detector has been installed outside the wentian module cabin, and the boom has been successfully deployed which extends the spherical sensor of LP beyond the sheath of the cabin. RPA and IDM were installed at the front of the experiment package, with the horizontal axis direction along the forward flight direction of the space station. This paper discusses the general performance characteristics of the in situ detector, the functional performance of each sensor, and initial results of some classical ionospheric features being observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FY-4B satellite is one of the second generation of China's geosynchronous meteorological satellites aiming at numerical weather forecasts. The space environment monitoring package (SEMP) onboard the FY-4B is a comprehensive instrument package for plasma, high-energy particle, and energetic neutral particle measurements. The low-energy particle analyzer (LEPA) is one of the instruments of the SEMP and consists of two top hat electrostatic analyzers designed for plasma detection. The electron and ion sensors are back-to-back assembled and are integrated to a shared electronic box. It measures the three-dimensional velocity distribution of low-energy electrons and ions on the geosynchronous orbit. In this paper, we present the ground calibration and in-flight performance of the instrument. With the electrostatic deflectors and the cylindrically symmetric structure, the instrument provides high-cadence measurements of electron and ion velocity distributions with a wide field of view (FOV) of 180° by 100°, an angular resolution of 16.7° × 20°, and a broad energy range for both the electrons and ions from tens of eV to above 30 keV, with a 1 s time resolution. The geometric factors of the electron and ion analyzers are 1.1 × 10−3 cm2·sr·eV/eV and 1.4 × 10−3 cm2·sr·eV/eV, respectively, which fulfills the requirements of the low-energy plasma measurement. The LEPA monitored typical space environment disturbance such as geomagnetic storms and successfully recorded the responses of plasma energy fluxes. Satellite surface charging events were measured, with the highest potentials of −2000 V in the shadow period and −500 V in the nonshadow period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Serendipita indica on the growth of Tartary buckwheat plants. This study highlighted that the roots of Tartary buckwheat can be colonized by S. indica and that this fungal endophyte improved plants height, fresh weight, dry weight, and grain yield. In the meantime, the colonization of S. indica in Tartary buckwheat leaves resulted in elevated levels of photosynthesis, plant hormone content, antioxidant enzyme activity, proline content, chlorophyll content, soluble sugars, and protein content. Additionally, the introduction of S. indica to Tartary buckwheat roots led to a substantial rise in the levels of flavonoids and phenols found in the leaves and seeds of Tartary buckwheat. In addition, S. indica colonization reduced the content of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide when compared to non-colonized plants. Importantly, the drought tolerance of Tartary buckwheat plants is increased, which benefits from physiology and bio-chemical changes in plants after S. indica colonized. In conclusion, we have shown that S. indica can improve systematic resistance and promote the growth of Tartary buckwheat by enhancing the photosynthetic capacity of Tartary buckwheat, inducing the production of IAA, increasing the content of secondary metabolites such as total phenols and total flavonoids, and improving the antioxidant enzyme activity of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We question whether bradyphrenia, slowing of cognitive processing not explained by depression or a global cognitive assessment, is a nosological entity in idiopathic parkinsonism (IP). The time taken to break contact of an index finger with a touch-sensitive plate was measured, with and without a warning in the alerting signal as to which side the imperative would indicate, in 77 people diagnosed with IP and in 124 people without an IP diagnosis. The ability to utilise a warning, measured by the difference between loge-transformed reaction times (unwarned minus warned), was termed 'cognitive efficiency'. It was approximately normally distributed. A questionnaire on self- and partner perception of proband's bradyphrenia was applied. A multivariable model showed that those prescribed levodopa were less cognitively efficient (mean −5.2 (CI −9.5, −1.0)% per 300 mg/day, p = 0.02), but those prescribed the anti-muscarinic trihexyphenidyl were more efficient (14.7 (0.2, 31.3)% per 4 mg/day, p < 0.05) and those prescribed monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor (MAOBI) tended to be more efficient (8.3 (0.0, 17.4)%, p = 0.07). The variance in efficiency was greater within IP (F-test, p = 0.01 adjusted for any demographic covariates: coefficient of variation, with and without IP, 0.68 and 0.46, respectively), but not so after adjustment for anti-parkinsonian medication (p = 0.13: coefficient of variation 0.62). The within-participant follow-up time, a median of 4.8 (interquartile range 3.1, 5.5) years (101 participants), did not influence efficiency, irrespective of IP status. Perception of bradyphrenia did not usefully predict efficiency. We conclude that both bradyphrenia and 'tachyphrenia' in IP appear to have iatrogenic components, of clinically important size, related to the dose of antiparkinsonian medication. Levodopa is the most commonly prescribed first-line medication: co-prescribing a MAOBI may circumvent its associated bradyphrenia. The previously reported greater efficiency associated with (low-dose) anti-muscarinic was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leucine-rich repeat-containing protein-25 (LRRC25) can degrade the ISG15 gene in virus-infected cells and prevent overactivation of the type Ⅰ IFN pathway. However, the role of LRRC25 in bacterial infection is still unclear. In this pursuit, the present study aimed to explore the regulatory role and mechanism of LRRC25 in microglia infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a mouse model. Methods: Q-PCR, WB, and cell immunofluorescence were employed to observe the change in LRRC25 in BV2 cells infected by H37Rv. Additionally, siRNA was designed to target the LRRC25 to inhibit its expression in BV2 cells. Flow cytometry and laser confocal imaging were used to observe the infection of BV2 cells after LRRC25 silencing. Q-PCR and ELISA were used to determine the changes in IFN-γ and ISG15 in the culture supernatant of each group. Results: Following H37Rv infection, it was observed that the expression of LRRC25 was upregulated. Upon silencing LRRC25, the proportion of BV2 cells infected by H37Rv decreased significantly. ELISA analysis showed that IFN-γ and ISG15 levels in cell culture supernatant decreased after H37Rv infection, while they significantly increased after LRRC25 silencing. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that LRRC25 is the key negative regulator of microglial anti-Mtb immunity. It exerts its function by degrading free ISG15 and inhibiting the secretion of IFN-γ, thereby improving the anti-Mtb immunity of BV2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem that steel surface defects are easily covered or submerged by other objects or noise, this paper proposes an open–closed transformation algorithm which can eliminate or weaken multiple noises. In the case of a small number of samples, this paper establishes a super-resolution generative adversarial neural network to achieve the enhancement of sample data. For avoiding unrealistic image defects caused by cuts or brightness variations, an enhancement method is given which incorporates the original defective high-frequency information into classical image fusion methods, such as rotation and error slicing. Experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed denoising method reaches over 90%, which is more than 2.6% of that of the most primitive classification network. To compare with existing denoising methods, the denoising method proposed in this paper not only has higher accuracy, faster denoising speed, and stronger anti-interference ability, but also has better adaptation to the environment. This research will provide a new solution method for the denoising of multi-noise phenomena in multiple different environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient light, uneven light, backlighting, and other problems lead to poor visibility of the image of an electric power operation site. Most of the current methods directly enhance the low-light image while ignoring local strong light that may appear in the electric power operation site, resulting in overexposure and a poor enhancement effect. Aiming at the above problems, we propose a low-light image enhancement method for electric power operation sites by considering strong light suppression. Firstly, a sliding-window-based strong light judgment method was designed, which used a sliding window to segment the image, and a brightness judgment was performed based on the average value of the deviation and the average deviation of the subimages of the grayscale image from the strong light threshold. Then, a light effect decomposition method based on a layer decomposition network was used to decompose the light effect of RGB images with the presence of strong light and eliminate the light effect layer. Finally, a Zero-DCE (Zero-Reference Deep Curve Estimation) low-light enhancement network based on a kernel selection module was constructed to enhance the low-light images with reduced or no strong light interference. Comparison experiments using the electric power operation private dataset and the SICE (Single Image Contrast Enhancement) Part 2 public dataset showed that our proposed method outperformed the current state-of-the-art low-light enhancement methods in terms of both subjective visual effects and objective evaluation metrics, which effectively improves the image quality of electric power operation sites in low-light environments and provides excellent image bases for other computer vision tasks, such as the estimation of operators' posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligentization of materials and structures is an important trend. Herein, the stimuli-responsive 4D aerogel is used as a smart substrate for rapid reduction in tetracycline (TC) pollution, in which this smart stimuli-responsive substrate is designated as P4D. Its fourth dimension originates from stimuli-responsive characteristics with time evolution. Meanwhile, the covalent organic frameworks (COFs) composite is constructed by BiPO4 and triazine-based sp2 carbon-conjugated g-C18N3-COF (COF-1), which is another key aspect of COF-1/BiPO4@P4D for rapid photocatalytic degradation regarding TC pollution. This emerging smart structure of COFs@P4D can fix programmable temporary state and recover permanent state under thermal or water stimulus without any complicated equipment. Its performance can be tailored by structure, composition, and function. Compared with traditional powder-form photocatalysts, this stimuli-responsive structure provides attractive advantages, such as high permeable framework, self-adaptivity, flexibly customized functional groups, and fast reduction in TC pollution. The predictable development of COFs@P4D could draw much attention for various promising applications in pollution treatment and sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematically assessing the causal associations between medications and neurodegenerative diseases is significant in identifying disease etiology and novel therapies. Here, we investigated the putative causal associations between 23 existing medication categories and major neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: A two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) approach was conducted. Estimates were calculated using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method as the main model. A sensitivity analysis and a pleiotropy analysis were performed to identify potential violations. Results: Genetically predisposition to antihypertensives (OR = 0.809, 95% CI = 0.668–0.981, p = 0.031), thyroid preparations (OR = 0.948, 95% CI = 0.909–0.988, p = 0.011), and immunosuppressants (OR = 0.879, 95% CI = 0.789–0.979, p = 0.018) was associated with a decreased risk of AD. Genetic proxies for thyroid preparations (OR = 0.934, 95% CI = 0.884–0.988, p = 0.017), immunosuppressants (OR = 0.825, 95% CI = 0.699–0.973, p = 0.022), and glucocorticoids (OR = 0.862, 95% CI = 0.756–0.983, p = 0.027) were causally associated with a decreased risk of PD. Genetically determined antithrombotic agents (OR = 1.234, 95% CI = 1.042–1.461, p = 0.015), HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (OR = 1.085, 95% CI = 1.025–1.148, p = 0.005), and salicylic acid and derivatives (OR = 1.294, 95% CI = 1.078–1.553, p = 0.006) were associated with an increased risk of ALS. Conclusions: We presented a systematic view concerning the causal associations between medications and NDs, which will promote the etiology discovery, drug repositioning and patient management for NDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprises are key actors in green governance. Many studies have analyzed the factors that affect corporate environmental performance, but the impact of internal control on environmental performance has not been investigated yet. China's innovative internal control policies make this issue more meaningful for research. Unlike the general practices of developed market economy countries or regions which require enterprises to evaluate and disclose the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, China's policy focuses on multi-objective internal control. Using the instrumental variables regression method, this paper employs a moderated mediation model to study the relationship between internal control and environmental performance. This paper takes listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2013 to 2021 as the sample. Empirical results show that high-quality internal control is conducive to enhancing environmental performance, while the level of enterprise digitalization plays a mediating role in the relationship between the two, and ownership type moderates the effects of internal control on environmental performance. The conclusion indicates that China's internal control policy is of great significance for the green development of enterprises. Our study contributes to the literature on both the factors affecting environmental performance and the economic consequences of internal control. The study findings can be beneficial for managers in corporations, internal control policymakers and environmental regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant fiber-reinforced composites have the advantages of environmental friendliness, sustainability, and high specific strength and modulus. They are widely used as low-carbon emission materials in automobiles, construction, and buildings. The prediction of their mechanical performance is critical for material optimal design and application. However, the variation in the physical structure of plant fibers, the randomness of meso-structures, and the multiple material parameters of composites limit the optimal design of the composite mechanical properties. Based on tensile experiments on bamboo fiber-reinforced, palm oil-based resin composites, finite element simulations were carried out and the effect of material parameters on the tensile performances of the composites was investigated. In addition, machine learning methods were used to predict the tensile properties of the composites. The numerical results showed that the resin type, contact interface, fiber volume fraction, and multi-factor coupling significantly influenced the tensile performance of the composites. The results of the machine learning analysis showed that the gradient boosting decision tree method had the best prediction performance for the tensile strength of the composites (R2 was 0.786) based on numerical simulation data from a small sample size. Furthermore, the machine learning analysis demonstrated that the resin performance and fiber volume fraction were critical parameters for the tensile strength of composites. This study provides an insightful understanding and effective route for investigating the tensile performance of complex bio-composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf margin serration is a morphological characteristic in plants. The CUC2 (CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 2) gene plays an important role in the outgrowth of leaf teeth and enhances leaf serration via suppression of growth in the sinus. In this study, we isolated the BcCUC2 gene from Pak-choi (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis), which contains a 1104 bp coding sequence, encoding 367 amino acid residues. Multiple sequence alignment exhibited that the BcCUC2 gene has a typical conserved NAC domain, and phylogenetic relationship analysis showed that the BcCUC2 protein has high identity with Cruciferae plants (Brassica oleracea, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Cardamine hirsuta). The tissue-specific expression analysis displayed that the BcCUC2 gene has relatively high transcript abundance in floral organs. Meanwhile, the expression profile of BcCUC2 was relatively higher in the '082' lines with serrate leaf margins than the '001' lines with smooth leaf margins in young leaves, roots, and hypocotyls. In addition, the transcript level of BcCUC2 was up-regulated by IAA and GA3 treatment, especially at 1–3 h. The subcellular localization assay demonstrated that BcCUC2 was a nuclear-target protein. Furthermore, leaf serration occurred, and the number of the inflorescence stem was increased in the transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants' overexpressed BcCUC2 gene. These data illustrated that BcCUC2 is involved in the development of leaf margin serration, lateral branches, and floral organs, contributing to further uncovering and perfecting the regulation mechanism of leaf serration in Pak-choi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Observational studies suggest that statins may affect amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, they are limited by confounding and reverse causality biases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the potential causal associations between statins and ALS using a mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Methods: Two-sample MR and drug-target MR were performed. Exposure sources included GWAS summary statistics of statin use, low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), HMGCR-mediated LDL-C and LDL-C response to statins. Results: Genetic predisposition to statin medication was associated with increased ALS risk (OR = 1.085, 95% CI = 1.025–1.148, p = 0.005). After removing SNPs significantly associated with statin use from the instrumental variables (IVs), LDL-C-related higher ALS risk was absent (before removing: OR = 1.075, 95% CI = 1.013–1.141, p = 0.017; after removing: OR = 1.036, 95% CI = 0.949–1.131, p = 0.432). HMGCR-mediated LDL-C (OR = 1.033, 95% CI = 0.823–1.296, p = 0.779) and blood LDL-C response to statins (OR = 0.998, 95% CI = 0.991–1.005, p = 0.538) had no association with ALS. Conclusions: Here, we show that statins may be a risky exposure that increases ALS risk independent of the lowering effect of LDL-C in peripheral circulation. This provides insights into ALS development and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major mechanism for determination of HCV infection outcomes has not been fully described, particularly in the early phase of the "window-period" of infection. Based on two groups of marmosets infected with HCV-CE1E2p7/GBV-B chimeric virus (HCV chimera) or GBV-B, the immune mechanism correlating with the different outcomes of virus infections was explored in this study. HCV chimera containing the entire HCV core and envelope proteins (CE1E2p7) and GBV-B RNA were intrahepatically injected into four marmosets in each group, respectively. Blood samples were taken from individual animals in an interval of 2 weeks. Viral load and specific T cell responses were detected in two groups of HCV chimera- and GBV-B-infected marmosets. HCV chimera-infected marmosets appeared to have a virally persistent infection over 6 months post inoculation of the virus. Of these, the specific IFN-γ-secretion T cell response slowly developed over 13 to 19 weeks and was maintained at a relatively low level with 40–70 SFC/106 PBMCs, while the specific Treg cell response was rapidly activated over 3 weeks and was maintained at a high level around 5% among lymphocytes. In contrast, GBV-B-infected marmosets presented spontaneous viral clearance within 6 months; the specific IFN-γ-secretion T cell response was quickly established over 5 to 7 weeks and was maintained at a high level with 50–130 SFC/106 PBMCs, while the specific Treg cell response was inactivated and maintained at a baseline below 3% among lymphocytes. In conclusion, the HCV structural proteins inducing immune suppression in the early phase of HCV infection contributed to the viral persistence, of which the activation of Treg cells might play an important role in the inhibition of an effective T cell antiviral response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbides in the carburized layer of stainless steel (SS)/carbon steel (CS) clad plates are prone to inducing intergranular cracks and reducing the interfacial bonding strength. In this paper, SS/CS clad plates were fabricated by horizontal continuous liquid–solid composite casting (HCLSCC), and the formation mechanism of the interfacial carbides and their effect on the elimination of carbides in the carburized layer were revealed by numerical simulation and thermodynamic calculations. During the HCLSCC process, the cladding interface encountered re-melting and re-solidification after rapid melting and solidification, resulting in liquid–liquid and solid–solid diffusion at the cladding interface, where the atomic ratio of Cr/C (Cr/C) gradually increased. Therefore, strip M7C3 and M23C6 carbides as well as blocky M23C6 carbides formed at the cladding interface in turn and had a coherent relationship with the matrix. The blocky M23C6 carbides led to an increase of 240% in the interfacial ferrite strength. The formation of interfacial carbides reduced the difference in C activity between the cladding interface and SS, thus preventing the diffusion of C to SS and inhibiting carbide precipitation in the carburized layer of SS, which was beneficial to improving the interfacial bonding strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of automatically completing safety detection for construction sites and give an alert based on high-speed image streams, this paper proposes a violation of rules and regulations (VoRR) recognition method on a construction site and gives a matching method by automatically obtaining a few samples. The proposed safety detection method consists of five parts, which are redundant information reduction, classification, feature extraction, matching, inference rule and alarm alert. Compared with existing safety detection methods, the accuracy of the proposed method is increased by more than 9%. It not only has better performance, but also has more functions: reminding and alarming. For the subsequent establishment of an unmanned supervision system model on a construction site, this research will provide a new method of decision support, target detection, and recognition in multiple different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, multicolor fluorescent carbon dots with red (R-CDs), yellow (Y-CDs), and blue (B-CDs) emissions were prepared by choosing proper aromatic precursors with different amounts of benzene rings through a simple solvothermal method. The characterization showed that the prepared carbon dots were spherical with a size under 10 nm, rich surface functional groups, and good stability. The emission wavelengths were located at 440, 530, and 580 nm under the excitation of 370 nm. The relative fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of R-CDs, Y-CDs, and B-CDs was 11%, 59%, and 33%, respectively. The related characterization demonstrated that the redshift in the photoluminescence was caused by the synergistic effect of the increasing graphitic nitrogen content, quantum size effect and surface oxidation state. By mixing the three prepared CDs into a PVA matrix, the transparent and flexible films produced relucent blue, yellow, and red emissions under 365 nm UV light, and solid-state quenching was effectively avoided. LEDs were fabricated by using B-CDs, Y-CDs, and R-CDs/PVA with a semiconductor chip. These CDs-based LEDs produced bright blue, yellow, and red light with CIE color coordinates of (0.16, 0.02), (0.38, 0.58), and (0.50, 0.49) were successfully manufactured utilizing the prepared blue, yellow and red multicolor carbon dots as the solid luminescent materials. The results showed that the synthesized CDs can be potentially applied in multi-color monitors as a promising candidate for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This work blazes a novel trail for the controllable preparation of multicolor fluorescent carbon dots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been clear that retinoic acid (RA), the most active vitamin A (VA) derivative, plays a central role in governing oocyte meiosis initiation. However, it has not been functionally determined if RA participates in luteinizing hormone (LH)-induced resumption from long-lasting oocyte meiotic arrest, which is essential for haploid oocyte formation. In the present study, using well-established in vivo and in vitro models, we identified that intrafollicular RA signaling is important for normal oocyte meiotic resumption. A mechanistic study indicated that mural granulosa cells (MGCs) are the indispensable follicular compartment for RA-prompted meiotic resumption. Moreover, retinoic acid receptor (RAR) is essential for mediating RA signaling to regulate meiotic resumption. Furthermore, we found zinc finger protein 36 (ZFP36) is the transcriptional target of RAR. Both RA signaling and epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling were activated in MGCs in response to LH surge, and two intrafollicular signalings cooperate to induce rapid Zfp36 upregulation and Nppc mRNA decrease, which is critical to LH-induced meiotic resumption. These findings extend our understanding of the role of RA in oocyte meiosis: RA not only governs meiotic initiation but also regulates LH-induced meiotic resumption. We also emphasize the importance of LH-induced metabolic changes in MGCs in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (PMUT) array was proposed and fabricated for non-invasive radial artery stiffness monitoring, which could be employed in human vascular health monitoring applications. Using surface micromachining techniques, four hexagonal PMUT arrays were fabricated within a chip area of 3 × 3 mm2. The mechanical displacement sensitivity and quality factor of a single PMUT were tested and found to be 24.47 nm/V at 5.94 MHz and 278 (in air), respectively. Underwater pulse-echo tests for the array demonstrated a −3 dB bandwidth of 0.76 MHz at 3.75 MHz and distance detection limit of approximately 25 mm. Using the PMUT array as an ultrasonic probe, the depth and diameter changes over cardiac cycles of the radial artery were measured to be approximately 3.8 mm and 0.23 mm, respectively. Combined with blood pressure calibration, the biomechanical parameters of the radial artery vessel were extracted using a one-dimensional vascular model. The cross-sectional distensibility, compliance, and stiffness index were determined to be 4.03 × 10−3/mmHg, 1.87 × 10−2 mm2/mmHg, and 5.25, respectively, consistent with the newest medical research. The continuous beat-to-beat blood pressure was also estimated using this model. This work demonstrated the potential of miniaturized PMUT devices for human vascular medical ultrasound applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cembranoids produced by tobacco glandular trichomes have bioactivities in resistance to insect pests and pathogens. Cembratrien-ol synthase (CBTS) plays a key role in the biosynthesis of cembranoids and directly determines the cembranoid content in tobacco. This study examined the effect of changing CBTS1 expression on tobacco resistance to the insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda and oomycete pathogen Phytophthora nicotianae. The CDS sequence of CBTS1 was cloned into gene overexpression and silencing vectors and introduced into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. TN90) to obtain CBTS1-overexpression plants (CBTS1-OE) and CBTS1-silenced plants (CBTS1-RI). Compared with control plants, the content of cembratrien-ol (CBT-ol) was increased 4.48 times in the CBTS1-OE plants but decreased by 68% in the CBTS1-RI plants, while that of cembratrien-diol (CBT-diol) was increased 3.17 times in the CBTS1-OE plants but decreased by 76% in the CBTS1-RI plants. The S. frugiperda resistance of transgenic tobacco plants was evaluated by in vitro toxicity test, and the results showed that the resistance of CBTS1-OE plants to S. frugiperda was significantly improved but that of CBTS1-RI plants was reduced. The P. nicotianae resistance of transgenic tobacco plants was assessed by the detached leaf assay, and the results showed that the resistance of CBTS1-OE plants to P. nicotianae was enhanced, while that of CBTS1-RI plants was attenuated. Further gene expression analysis showed that overexpression of CBTS1 increased the expression of the pathogen-related gene PR-1a, while silencing of CBTS1 decreased its expression. This study demonstrated that manipulating the expression of CBTS1 could change the cembranoid content in tobacco plants and alter their resistance to both insect pests and oomycete pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation performance of recycled aggregate concrete can be effectively improved when basalt fiber is reasonably added. In this paper, the effects of the basalt fiber volume fraction and the length–diameter ratio on the uniaxial compression-related failure characteristics, feature points of the complete stress–strain curve and the compressive toughness of recycled concrete under different replacement rates of recycled coarse aggregate were studied. The results showed that with the increase in the fiber volume fraction, the peak stress and peak strain of basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete first increased and then decreased. With the increase in the fiber length–diameter ratio, the peak stress and strain of the basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete first increased and then decreased, whereas the effect of the length–diameter ratio on peak stress and strain of the basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete was clearly smaller than that of the fiber volume fraction. Based on the test results, an optimized stress–strain curve model of concrete under uniaxial compression was proposed for the basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete. Furthermore, it was found that the fracture energy is more suitable for evaluating the compressive toughness of the basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete than the tensile–compression ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sausages are among the most popular meat products worldwide. However, some harmful products, such as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and N-nitrosamines (NAs), can be formed simultaneously during sausage processing. In this study, the contents of AGEs, NAs, α-dicarbonyls and the proximate composition were investigated in two kinds of commercial sausages (fermented sausages and cooked sausages) in the Chinese market. The correlations among them were further analyzed. The results showed that the fermented and cooked sausages had different in protein/fat contents and pH/thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values due to their different processing technologies and added ingredients. The Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML) and Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL) concentrations varied from 3.67 to 46.11 mg/kg and from 5.89 to 52.32 mg/kg, respectively, and the NAs concentrations ranged from 1.35 to 15.88 µg/kg. The contents of some hazardous compounds, such as CML, N-nitrosodimethylamine, and N-nitrosopiperidine, were observed to be higher in the fermented sausages than in the cooked sausages. Moreover, levels of NAs in some sausage samples exceeded the limit of 10 µg/kg issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, suggesting that particular attention should be paid to mitigating NAs, especially in fermented sausages. The correlation analysis suggested that the levels of AGEs and NAs were not significantly correlated in both kinds of sausages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometrial receptivity is one of the main factors underlying a successful pregnancy, with reports substantiating the fact that suboptimal endometrial receptivity accounts for two-thirds of early implantation event failures. The association between circRNAs and endometrial receptivity in the goat remains unclear. This study aims to identify potential circRNAs and regulatory mechanisms related to goat endometrial receptivity. Therefore, the endometrial samples on day 16 of pregnancy and day 16 of the estrous cycle were analyzed using high-throughput RNA-seq and bioinformatics. The results show that 4666 circRNAs were identified, including 7 downregulated and 11 upregulated differentially expressed circRNAs (DE-circRNAs). Back-splicing and RNase R resistance verified the identified circRNAs. We predicted the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory mechanism and potential target genes of DE-circRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses of these predicted target genes suggest that DE-circRNAs were significantly involved in establishing endometrial receptivity. Furthermore, Sanger sequencing, qPCR, correlation analysis and Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) show that circ_MYRF derived from the host gene myelin regulatory factor (MYRF) might regulate the expression of interferon stimulating gene 15 (ISG15), thereby promoting the formation of endometrial receptivity. These novel findings may contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating endometrial receptivity and promoting the maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of urban rail transit, metro vehicles have become preferred choices for urban transportation. It is important to accurately evaluate the fatigue strength of a car body to ensure subway safety. A new method based on multiaxial stress criteria and cumulative fatigue damage theory was proposed for the fatigue strength assessment of welded joints of an aluminium alloy head car body subjected to variable cyclic loads. A local coordinate system was established, according to the geometrical characteristics of the weld. Local stresses perpendicular and parallel to the weld seam were obtained to calculate the stress ratio, stress range, and allowable stress value corresponding to the stress component. Then, the fatigue strength utilization of the joints was estimated to determine whether the fatigue strength of the weld met the design requirements. Moreover, the estimated fatigue life of the car body was predicted with cumulative fatigue damage theory. This method considers both the material utilization degree in multiple stress states and the estimated body fatigue life of the car body. The research results provide a reference and a more comprehensive guarantee for the fatigue strength evaluation of a subway car body's welded structure to ensure vehicle safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silt liquefaction can occur due to the rapid cyclic loading of sediments. This can result in the loss of the bearing capacity of the underlying sediments and damage to the foundations and infrastructure. Therefore, assessing liquefaction hazards is an important aspect of disaster prevention and risk assessment in geologically unstable areas. The purpose of this study is to assess the liquefaction hazards of silt sediments by using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio method. Single-station noise recording was carried out in the northern plain of the Yellow River Delta, and a new method was adopted to identify the fundamental frequency. The dynamic parameters of the silt, such as the fundamental frequency, amplification, and vulnerability index, were used as indicators to assess the liquefaction potential. The results show that the silty soils in different areas have different stable ranges of values of the fundamental frequency. Moreover, the distribution of the observations is in good agreement with the geological conditions in the area, which indicates the potential applicability and reliability of the new method for identifying fundamental frequency. The vulnerability index is inversely related to the fundamental frequency, with the southwestern part of the study area having a lower fundamental frequency and a higher vulnerability index, meaning a greater liquefaction risk compared to other areas. The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio method has great advantages in characterizing subsurface dynamic parameters and can be applied to liquefaction hazard assessments of silt sediments in large areas, which is critically important in terms of providing information and guidance for urban construction and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) based on in situ deposition modification was developed for the sensitive, rapid, easy and convenient determination of As(III) in water and tea by linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV). The screen-printed carbon electrodes were placed in a solution consisting of As(III) solution, chlorauric acid and L-cysteine. Under certain electrical potential, the chloroauric acid was reduced to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the SPCE. L-cysteine was self-assembled onto AuNPs and promoted the enrichment of As(III), thus enhancing the determination specificity and sensitivity of As(III). The method achieved a limit of determination (LOD) of 0.91 ppb (µg L−1), a linear range of 1~200 µg L−1, an inter-assay coefficient of variation of 5.3% and good specificity. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of As(III) in tap water and tea samples, with a recovery rate of 93.8%~105.4%, and further validated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The developed method is rapid, convenient and accurate, holding great promise in the on-site determination of As(III) in tap water and tea leaves, and it can be extended to the detection of other samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect development requires genes to be expressed in strict spatiotemporal order. The dynamic regulation of genes involved in insect development is partly orchestrated by the histone acetylation–deacetylation via histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Although histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is required for mice during early embryonic development, its functions in Helicoverpa armigera (H. armigera) and its potential to be used as a target of insecticides remain unclear. We treated H. armigera with HDAC3 siRNA and RGFP966, a specific inhibitor, examining how the HDAC3 loss-of-function affects growth and development. HDAC3 siRNA and RGFP966 treatment increased mortality at each growth stage and altered metamorphosis, hampering pupation and causing abnormal wing development, reduced egg production, and reduced hatching rate. We believe that the misregulation of key hormone-related genes leads to abnormal pupa development in HDAC3 knockout insects. RNA-seq analysis identified 2788 differentially expressed genes (≥two-fold change; p ≤ 0.05) between siHDAC3- and siNC-treated larvae. Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1), was differentially expressed in HDAC3 knockdown larvae. Pathway-enrichment analysis revealed the significant enrichment of genes involved in the Hippo, MAPK, and Wnt signaling pathways following HDAC3 knockdown. Histone H3K9 acetylation was increased in H. armigera after siHDAC3 treatment. In conclusion, HDAC3 knockdown dysregulated juvenile hormone (JH)-related and apoptosis-related genes in H. armigera. The results showed that the HDAC3 gene is a potential target for fighting H. armigera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distal vaginal atresia is a rare abnormality of female reproductive tract in which the vagina is closed or absent. The distal vagina may be replaced by fibrous tissue and the condition is often not diagnosed until a girl fails to begin having periods at puberty. Although it is a congenital disorder, potential genetic causes of distal vaginal atresia are still unknown. We recruited a cohort of 39 patients with distal vaginal atresia and analyzed their phenotypic and genetic features. In addition to the complaint of distal vaginal atresia, approximately 17.9% (7/39) of the patients had other Müllerian anomalies, and 17.9% (7/39) of the patients had other structural abnormalities, including renal-tract, skeletal and cardiac anomalies. Using genome sequencing, we identified two fragment duplications on 17q12 encompassing HNF1B and LHX1, two dosage-sensitive genes with candidate pathogenic variants, in two unrelated patients. A large fragment of uniparental disomy was detected in another patient, affecting genes involved in cell morphogenesis and connective tissue development. Additionally, we reported two variants on TBX3 and AXL, leading to distal vaginal atresia in mutated mouse model, in our clinical subjects for the first time. Essential biological functions of these detected genes with pathogenic variants included regulating reproductive development and cell fate and patterning during embryogenesis. We displayed the comprehensive clinical and genetic characteristic of a cohort with distal vaginal atresia and they were highly heterogeneous both phenotypically and genetically. The duplication of 17q12 in our cohort could help to expand its phenotypic spectrum and potential contribution to the distal vaginal atresia. Our findings of pathogenic genetic variants and associated phenotypes in our cohort could provide evidence and new insight for further research attempting to reveal genetic causes of distal vaginal atresia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of Feizixiao lychee fruit cracking is typically solved by the application of calcium to the leaves. However, lychee trees are sensitive to excessive amounts of calcium, and in practice, it is easy to spray excessive amounts that result in fertilizer burns. This paper intends to explore the effects of excessive calcium fertilizer application on lychee fruit pulp quality and the underlying molecular physiological mechanism. Adult Feizixiao lychee trees were used as test materials; concerning treatment, a 54 μM anhydrous CaCl2 aqueous solution was sprayed onto the leaves, and water was used as a control (CK). The levels of pulp sugar and the activities of key enzymes involved in glucose metabolism were observed, and transcriptome analysis and genetic screening were performed on the pulp. Spraying excessive amounts of calcium onto the leaf surfaces caused the downregulation of trehalase-encoding genes and SUS-encoding genes, thus inhibiting the activities of trehalase, SS-I and SS-II, and further inhibiting the accumulation of glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Moreover, upregulation of VIN gene expression enhanced AI activity and inhibited sucrose accumulation, thus inhibiting upregulation of NI gene expression during fruit growth and expansion; in turn, this inhibited the increase in NI activity in the fruit pulp, which then decreased the glucose and fructose accumulation in the pulp in the high-calcium treatment group compared with the CK group. The downregulation and expression of CHS family genes may lead to a decrease in chalcone accumulation, which may lead to damage caused by active oxygen production in the fruit pulp, thus inhibiting the accumulation of soluble sugars in that tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]