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The electric heating process for lifting heavy oil has been widely applied. However, research on its temperature field laws mostly focuses on onshore heavy oil wells, while research offshore is limited. Therefore, based on the energy conservation equation and heat transfer theory, a transient one-dimensional wellbore temperature model coupled with the temperature and viscosity of heavy oil and considering the effect of time was developed. In order to verify the accuracy of the model, the results of the previous model were used for comparison with the present model, and the results showed that the model has good accuracy. The results show that a reasonable selection of the process parameters of electric heating can increase the production of heavy oil while saving development costs and improving the economic benefits of the oilfield. The conclusions and recommendations of this paper can provide a theoretical basis and guiding suggestions for the optimal design of process parameters for lifting heavy oil using an offshore electric heating process.

In the realm of agriculture, biodegradable films are emerging as a promising substitute for traditional polyethylene (PE) films. Despite their potential, there has been a notable lack of extensive research on their effectiveness in the context of dry direct-seeded rice cultivation. Addressing this gap, a comprehensive biennial study was conducted in the northeastern regions of China, focusing on the ‘Baonong 5’ rice variety. This study meticulously compared three distinct cultivation methods: (1) employing biodegradable film mulching, (2) using conventional plastic film mulching, and (3) cultivating without any mulch. The findings revealed that biodegradable film mulching significantly enhanced soil moisture control, increased leaf area, and improved rice yield and water utilization efficiency (p < 0.05) compared to the plots without mulch. Notably, there was no marked difference in outcomes between the plastic film mulching and the unmulched plots. This research underscores the profound benefits of biodegradable film in rice cultivation, particularly from an environmental sustainability perspective. This innovative method not only boosts agricultural productivity but also addresses critical environmental challenges like climate change and water conservation. The application of biodegradable mulch has proven to be remarkably effective in improving irrigation efficiency and crop water conservation, leading to enhanced rice development and higher yields. The study recorded a substantial increase in water productivity—30% in 2021 and between 52.85% and 60% in 2022—compared to traditional cultivation practices. Furthermore, the use of biodegradable mulch resulted in significantly higher rice yields than the non-mulched plots, thus contributing to increased profitability. Such methods not only yield higher crop outputs but also mitigate environmental issues like water pollution and help alleviate prevalent water shortages in rice farming.

Salvianolic acid B is extracted from the roots and rhizomes of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., family Labiatae). It is a water-soluble, weakly acidic drug that has demonstrated antitumor and anti-inflammatory effects on various organs and tissues such as the lung, heart, kidney, intestine, bone, liver, and skin and protective effects in diseases such as depression and spinal cord injury. The mechanisms underlying the protective effects of salvianolic acid B are mainly related to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti- or pro-apoptotic, anti- or pro-autophagy, anti-fibrotic, and metabolism-regulating functions. Salvianolic acid B can regulate various signaling pathways, cells, and molecules to achieve maximum therapeutic effects. This review summarizes the safety profile, combination therapy potential, and new dosage forms and delivery routes of salvianolic acid B. Although significant research progress has been made, more in-depth pharmacological studies are warranted to identify the mechanism of action, related signaling pathways, more suitable combination drugs, more effective dosage forms, and novel routes of administration of salvianolic acid B.

In this study, the requirements for image dehazing methods have been put forward, such as a wider range of scenarios in which the methods can be used, faster processing speeds and higher image quality. Recent dehazing methods can only unilaterally process daytime or nighttime hazy images. However, we propose an effective single-image technique, dubbed MF Dehazer, in order to solve the problems associated with nighttime and daytime dehazing. This technique was developed following an in-depth analysis of the properties of nighttime hazy images. We also propose a mixed-filter method in order to estimate ambient illumination. It is possible to obtain the color and light direction when estimating ambient illumination. Usually, after dehazing, nighttime images will cause light source diffusion problems. Thus, we propose a method to compensate for the high-light area transmission in order to improve the transmission of the light source areas. Then, through regularization, the images obtain better contrast. The experimental results show that MF Dehazer outperforms the recent dehazing methods. Additionally, it can obtain images with higher contrast and clarity while retaining the original color of the image.

The Hydrus-1D model is widely used for soil water content (SWC) simulations, wherein the exact configuration of soil hydraulic parameters is key to accuracy. To assess the feasibility of using “low-cost” multi-source remote sensing data to optimize the parameters of the Hydrus-1D model, five types of soil hydrodynamic parameter acquisition methods were designed for comparative evaluation, including the use of default parameters for soil texture types (DSHP), predictions from three and five soil mechanical composition parameters (NNP3/NNP5), inverse solutions from measured historical data (ISHD), and innovative introduction of historical remote sensing data (ERA-5 land reanalysis information and MODIS LAI products) instead of ground measured data for the inverse solution (ISRS). Two spring maize crops were planted in Beijing, China, in 2021 and 2022. Meteorological, soil, and crop data were collected as real measurements of the true values during the growth period. The boundary flux characteristics of the model simulation results were analyzed. The accuracy differences in the five approaches were compared from three perspectives: overall root zone, growth stage, and soil depth. The results showed that (1) evapotranspiration was the main pathway for soil water depletion in the root zone of maize; the actual total evapotranspiration accounted for 68.26 and 69.43% of the total precipitation in 2012 and 2022, respectively. (2) The accuracy of the SWC simulations in the root zone was acceptable for different approaches in the following order: NNP5 (root mean squared error (RMSE) = 5.47%) > ISRS (RMSE = 5.48%) > NNP3 (RMSE = 5.66%) > ISHD (RMSE = 5.68%) > DSHP (RMSE = 6.57%). The ISRS approach based on remote sensing data almost achieved the best performance while effectively reducing the workload and cost. (3) The accuracy of the SWC simulation at different growth stages was ranked as follows: seedling stage (mean absolute error (MAE) = 3.29%) > tassel stage (MAE = 4.68%) > anthesis maturity stage (MAE = 5.52%). (4) All approaches’ simulation errors exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing soil depth. The ISHD approach, based on the measured data, achieved the best performance at a depth of 60 cm (MAE = 2.8%). The Hydrus-1D model optimized using multi-source remote sensing data can effectively simulate SWC in the maize root zone with low working cost, which is significant for applications in areas where it is difficult to obtain field soil hydrodynamic property parameters to simulate SWC at a global scale.