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The silage quality and bacterial community of hybrid Pennisetum (P. hydridum × P. americanum) with or without 30% and 50% mulberry leaves for 3, 7, 14, and 30 days were investigated. Results showed that compared with the 100% hybrid Pennisetum group, more lactic acid (40.71 vs. 80.81 g/kg dry matter (DM)), acetic acid (10.99 vs. 31.84 g/kg DM), lactic acid bacteria (8.46 vs. 8.51 log10 cfu/g fresh matter), water-soluble carbohydrates (2.41 vs. 4.41 g/100 g DM), crude protein (4.97 vs. 10.84 g/100 g DM), and true protein (3.91 vs. 8.52 g/100 g DM) content as well as less neutral detergent fiber (67.30 vs. 47.26 g/100 g DM), acid detergent fiber (33.85 vs. 25.38 g/100 g DM), and yeast counts (4.78 vs. 2.39 log10 cfu/g fresh matter) and an appropriate pH (3.77 vs. 4.06) were found in silages added with 50% mulberry leaves at 30 days of ensiling. Moreover, the addition of mulberry leaves also influenced the relative abundance of the bacterial community. The relative abundance of Firmicutes increased and Proteobacteria decreased when mulberry leaves were added. Weissella and Lactobacillus abundance also increased. To sum up the above, mixing with 50% mulberry leaves yielded the greatest fermentation quality in this study. In conclusion, mixing with mulberry leaves could be a reasonable way to improve the quality of hybrid Pennisetum silage.

The Sihu Basin is located in the hinterland of the Jianghan Plains, with low-lying terrain and prominent flood disasters. In response to the construction of drainage projects in the Sihu Basin, this paper couples natural runoff model, controlled runoff model, one-dimensional hydrodynamic model of river network with lake regulation and storage calculation model to construct a hydrological and hydrodynamic simulation model of the Sihu Basin. By taking 2016 and 2020 as typical years, this paper studies the impact of drainage project construction and different scheduling strategies on flood control safety in the Sihu Basin. The results show that the construction of drainage projects can significantly reduce the flood control pressure in the middle and lower regions of the Sihu Basin. Under the rainstorm conditions in 2016 and 2020, the flood peak water level of Honghu Lake dropped by 1.19 m and 1.41 m respectively, and it dropped from above the guaranteed water level to below the warning water level. The implementation of the joint regulation and storage of Changhu Lake and Honghu Lake can effectively improve the overall drainage benefit of the Sihu Basin. Under the conditions of rainstorm in 2016 and 2020, the flood peak water level of Honghu Lake only increased by 0.05 m and 0.16 m, and did not exceed the warning water level, the flood peak water level of Changhu Lake decreased by 0.73 m and 0.40 m, significantly improving the flood control safety of the upper region of the Sihu Basin. However, the water level of Changhu Lake still exceeded the warning water level due to the flow capacity of sluice and channel. The construction of the drainage projects has overall improved the flood control safety of the rivers and canals in the Sihu Basin. Except for the Pailao River (West), Shaluo canal, and Luoshan Main Canal, which have experienced a certain increase in the average highest water level after participating in the drainage of the basin, the average highest water level of other major rivers and canals has decreased. The construction of the drainage projects can reduce the dependence of the middle and lower regions of the Sihu Basin on the Xintankou Pump Station and Gaotankou Pump Station. Under the rainstorm conditions in 2016 and 2020, the proportion of the total drainage of the two pump stations in the total drainage of the basin decreased by 13.23%-19.35%, and the flood control safety of Honghu Lake was improved. The implementation of the joint regulation and storage of Changhu Lake and Honghu Lake can improve the safety of flood control in the upper region of the Sihu Basin and reduce the pressure of drainage of the Tianguan pump station. After the implementation of the joint regulation and storage, the total drainage of the Tianguan pump station decreased by 60.97% and 57.23% respectively under the rainstorm conditions in 2016 and 2020. This research can provide a reference for improving the application level of drainage projects and enhancing flood control and security capabilities in the Sihu Basin of the Jianghan Plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–carbon dioxide (Li–CO2) battery technology presents a promising opportunity for carbon capture and energy storage. Despite tremendous efforts in Li–CO2 batteries, the complex electrode/electrolyte/CO2 triple‐phase interfacial processes remain poorly understood, in particular at the nanoscale. Here, using in situ atomic force microscopy and laser confocal microscopy‐differential interference contrast microscopy, we directly observed the CO2 conversion processes in Li–CO2 batteries at the nanoscale, and further revealed a laser‐tuned reaction pathway based on the real‐time observations. During discharge, a bi‐component composite, Li2CO3/C, deposits as micron‐sized clusters through a 3D progressive growth model, followed by a 3D decomposition pathway during the subsequent recharge. When the cell operates under laser (λ=405 nm) irradiation, densely packed Li2CO3/C flakes deposit rapidly during discharge. Upon the recharge, they predominantly decompose at the interfaces of the flake and electrode, detaching themselves from the electrode and causing irreversible capacity degradation. In situ Raman shows that the laser promotes the formation of poorly soluble intermediates, Li2C2O4, which in turn affects growth/decomposition pathways of Li2CO3/C and the cell performance. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into interfacial evolution in Li–CO2 batteries and the laser‐tuned CO2 conversion reactions, which can inspire strategies of monitoring and controlling the multistep and multiphase interfacial reactions in advanced electrochemical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver metastasis is the leading cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Emerge evidence suggests that circular RNA (circRNA) is a pivotal player in cancer progression. However, its role in CRC liver metastasis remains largely unknown. Methods: Circ-YAP expression was detected by qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization. The function of circ-YAP was tested by wound healing, transwell and CCK-8 assays. RNA immunoprecipitation, pull-down, luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were used to investigate the mechanism underlying circ-YAP promoting CRC liver metastasis. CRC liver metastasis animal model was established to assess the effect of circ-YAP in vivo. Results: Circ-YAP was notably upregulated in CRC with liver metastasis, which was associated with dismal prognosis. Circ-YAP promoted CRC cell migration and invasion in vitro, and facilitated liver metastasis in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) models in vivo. Mechanistically, circ-YAP encoded a novel truncated protein containing 220 amino acids, termed as YAP-220aa, which competitively bound to LATS1, resulting in YAP dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation, thereby activating a cohort of metastasis-promoting genes. Importantly, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification orchestrated efficient initiation of circ-YAP translation, requiring m6A reader YTHDF3 and eIF4G2 translation initiation complex. Intriguingly, circ-YAP was transcriptionally enhanced by YAP/TEAD complex, thus forming a positive regulatory feed-forward loop. Conclusions: Our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized oncoprotein encoded by circ-YAP, implying a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for CRC patients with liver metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power allocation across users in two adjacent cells is studied for a code-division multiple access (CDMA) data service. The forward link is considered and cells are modeled as one-dimensional with uniformly distributed users and orthogonal signatures within each cell. Each user is assumed to have a utility function that describes the user’s received utility, or willingness to pay, for a received signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). The objective is to allocate the transmitted power to maximize the total utility summed over all users subject to power constraints in each cell. It is first shown that this optimization can be achieved by a pricing scheme in which each base station announces a price per unit transmitted power to the users, and each user requests power to maximize individual surplus (utility minus cost). Setting prices to maximize total revenue over both cells is also considered, and it is shown that, in general, the solution is different from the one obtained by maximizing total utility. Conditions are given for which independent optimization in each cell, which leads to a Nash equilibrium (NE), is globally optimal. It is shown that, in general, coordination between the two cells is needed to achieve the maximum utility or revenue.

Power and code allocation across two adjacent cells is studied for the downlink of a code-division multiple-access voice network. Each user has a utility function that measures the user's willingness to pay, or utility, as a function of the received signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio. The objective is to maximize the total utility over the two cells subject to code and power constraints. When all active users receive the. same utility, the optimal allocation is characterized by a pair of threshold radii for the two cells, where each radius specifies the set of active users in that cell. The behavior of the optimal radii are characterized as a function of load and available resources (power and codes). The corresponding optimal power allocation can be achieved through a pricing scheme, in which each base station announces a price for each resource, and each user responds by requesting the amount of resources that maximizes the user's surplus (utility minus cost). We show that, depending on the load and resource constraints, the two cells may have to coordinate, or exchange information, in order to maximize the total utility.