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Abstract [Objective] The study aims to investigate the bamboo resources in Guizhou in order to supplement and enrich the existing bamboo materials, as well as to provide a basis for the planning and developing of bamboo industry. [Methods] Field investigation, specimen collection and identification, and information retrieval were conducted using a combination of “surface” and “point” methods to compile new distribution records of genera and species. [Results] One genus and six species of newly recorded bamboo plants were found in Guizhou Province. The new record genus was Schizostachyum . The six new record species were S. pseudolima McClure, Bambusa funghomii McClure, Yushania longshanensis D. Z. Li & X. Y. Ye, Y. polytricha Hsueh et Yi, Y. pauciramificans Yi, and Y. punctulata Yi. [Conclusion] The discovery of these new genera and species in Guizhou expands the distribution of bamboo plants and enriches their diversity in Guizhou

【Objective】 Increasing and stabilizing carbon in coarse-textured soils is important to improve their stability and fertility. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how soil amendment with organic materials and clay minerals can achieve these goals. 【Method】 We took spinach as a model crop, and compared eight treatments by amending the soil with woody peat (HW), biochar (HB), lignite (HC), humic acid (HH), woody peat + bentonite (HWb), woody peat + illite (HWa) and woody peat + kaolinite (HWg), respectively. Not amending the soil was taken as the control (H0). In each treatment, we measured crop growth as well as the changes in soil physical and chemical properties. 【Result】 Compared with H0, HW, HB, HC and HH improved the growth and yield of the spinach, as well as physical and chemical properties of the soil. In particular, HB increased the net photosynthetic rate, plant height and leaf of the spinach during the harvest period by 21.5%, 23.5%, 69.5% and 70.9%, respectively, and soil organic matter and total nitrogen content by 236.2% and 20.7%, respectively, compared to H0. In comparison, HH reduced soil pH by 16.8% and increased crop yield by 4.7% during the harvest period, compared to H0. Combined with clay mineral amendment, HWb, HWa and HWg increased crop yield by 22.7%, 9.0%, and 9.0%, respectively, and soil organic matter by 33.5%, 2.4%, and 27.0%, respectively, compared with HW without clay mineral amendment. 【Conclusion】 Amending the soil with organic materials alone, biochar was most effective in improving soil fertility and crop yield. For combined amendment with organic materials and clay minerals, amending the soil with woody peat and swelling and shrinking clay mineral bentonite at 2:1 ratio worked best for boosting crop growth while in the meantime improving soil fertility.

Abstract: A 9‐week feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary bile acids (BAs) on juvenile genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) (Oreochromis niloticus) based on the evaluations of growth performance and parameters relevant to lipid metabolism. Each of five vegetable protein‐based diets containing BAs at a level of 0, 0.05, 0.15, 0.45 or 1.35 g/kg diet was fed to three replicates with 40 fish (8.2 g per fish). The results showed that weight gain (WG) increased significantly with the increase in BAs from 0 to 0.15 g/kg diet and then decreased significantly at a higher BA supplementation. Dietary BAs significantly reduced the crude lipid content in the whole body, muscle and liver tissue of GIFT. Fish fed diet with 1.35 g BAs/kg diet developed serious nuclear migration and vacuolization in hepatocytes. Gall bladder appeared to contain white solid and has fragile capsules. Dietary BA supplementation had significant effects on serum biochemical indices and activities of lipid metabolism enzymes in liver and intestine. In conclusion, dietary bile acid supplementation (0.15 g/kg) can facilitate the lipid metabolism and therefore promote the growth of tilapia. However, overdosed dietary BAs induced gallstone development, disrupted lipid metabolism and depressed the growth performances of GIFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Al-Zn-Mg aluminum alloy A7N01S-T5 used in high speed trains was designed by orthogonal method. The effect of elemental composition on the tensile properties and fracture toughness has been investigated. The alloys with different compositions were tested by tensile and three point bending tests: the range analysis results showed that the compositions of Zn and Mg were the main factors that affect the strength and plasticity of the alloys. The tensile testing results showed that the #1 alloy Al-4.34Zn-1.43 Mg-0.27Mn-0.13Cr-0.12Zr-0.07Ti had the best combination of tensile strength, yield strength and elongation, which were 415 MPa, 378 MPa and 13.5%, respectively. Furthermore, this alloy showed the excellent ability to hinder the crack propagation with a value of J0.2BL(12) = 23.37 kJ·m-2. The microstructure, grain size, compositions and fracture characteristics of the alloy were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), backscattered electron diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicated that the strength is mainly determined by the volume fraction, size and distribution of precipitated n(MgZn2) phase. The discontinuous distribution of n(MgZn2) phase, narrow precipitated-free zones (PFZs) and fine grain size played important roles to obtain high fracture toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a combination of conventional density functional theory (DFT) and post-DFT methods, which include the local density approximation plus Hubbard U (LDA+U), PBE0, and self-consistent GW, to study the electronic properties of Ni-substituted PbTiO3 (Ni-PTO) solid solutions. We find that LDA calculations yield unreasonable band structures, especially for Ni-PTO solid solutions that contain an uninterrupted NiO2 layer. Accurate treatment of localized states in transition-metal oxides such as Ni-PTO requires post-DFT methods. B-site Ni/Ti cation ordering is also investigated. The B-site cation arrangement alters the bonding between Ni and O, and therefore strongly affects the band gap (Eg) of Ni-PTO. We predict that Ni-PTO solid solutions should have a direct band gap in the visible light energy range, with polarization similar to the parent PbTiO3. This combination of properties makes Ni-PTO solid solutions promising candidate materials for solar energy conversion devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of digital technology and virtual reality technology, virtual reality technology has been paid more and more attention by more and more people. To investigate the application of virtual assembly simulation and improve ergonomics, the study on the interactive assembly operation has been performed. A Comprehensive Evaluation Method for ergonomics based on simulation of virtual assembly operations is proposed, aiming at avoid inadequate working postures, effectively improve assembly quality and shorten the production cycle. In this paper, the virtual assembly technology is introduced to the assembly process of an industrial manipulator. Details of the virtual assembly simulation process of an industrial manipulator design and its implementation are presented. This proposed method provides great support to the design of assembly process and brings about good change in the ergonomics of machine and system visualization. The analysis of this instance plays a guiding role in the optimization of human factors engineering.

To better understand the relationship between molecular structure of the mono-/bis-BF 2 -core compounds and mechanofluoroboron behaviors, two pyridine-based difluoroboron compounds with triphenylamine group (TPA-ts-BF 2 and TPA-ts-2BF 2 ) were designed and successfully synthesized, which TPA-ts-BF 2 including a BF 2 fluorophore and TPA-ts-2BF 2 containing the bisBF 2 fluorophores. Based on the photophysical properties measurements results, it was found that TPA-ts-2BF 2 had more excellent intramolecular charge transfer characteristics than that of TPA-ts-BF 2 , and exhibited significant aggregation-induced emission activity, however, TPA-ts-BF 2 displayed typical aggregation-caused quenching phenomenon. Meanwhile, the emission spectrum of the solid powders of TPA-ts-2BF 2 was red-shifted 52 nm after grinding, that of TPA-ts-BF 2 was red-shifted 46 nm, which was resulted from crystalline state switching to amorphous state. According to the theoretical calculations, we conjectured that TPA-ts-BF 2 with uncoordinated amide linkage moiety had a tendency to forming a more twisted conformance and higher molecular polarity, which made that mechanofluorochromic behavior was worse than that of TPA-ts-2BF 2 . Additionally, TPA-ts-2BF 2 was applied to latent fingerprint detection due to its prime aggregation-induced emission property., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) is a promising approach for enhancing biomass utilization. Nevertheless, traditional methods using noble metal catalysts face challenges due to high costs and poor selectivity towards DFF. Herein, we developed a novel catalytic electrode integrating N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) into a metal-organic framework on a hydrophilic carbon cloth. This design significantly enhances the selective adsorption of HMF due to stronger hydrogen-bond interaction between the electrode's hydrophilic surface and the C(sp3)-OH group in HMF compared to the C(sp2)=O in DFF. Additionally, the electro-driven dissociation of the NHPI-linker generates stabilized N-Oxyl radicals that promote selective semi-oxidation of HMF under neutral conditions. As a result, this approach achieves a high yield rate of 138.2 mol molcat-1 h-1 with a selectivity of 96.7% for the HMF-to-DFF conversion. This work introduces a novel strategy for designing catalytic electrodes with stabilized N-Oxyl radicals, and offers a promising method for electrocatalytic DFF synthesis, leveraging hydrogen-bond interaction between electrode surface and HMF., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The accessory parotid gland (APG) is a distinct salivary tissue in the cheek that is located on the masseter muscle and is separate from the main parotid gland. APG tumors (APGTs) are rare. Due to aesthetic reasons and the risk of both malignancy and recurrence, APGTs are best treated with surgical resection. The resection should be conducted carefully due to potential complications such as Stensen duct and facial nerve injuries. Notably, plastic surgeons rarely see APGT cases because they are classified as parotid gland tumors and are thus mostly treated by otorhinolaryngologists. Nonetheless, because they are subcutaneous tumors in the cheek, patients with APGTs do occasionally visit the plastic surgery outpatient clinic. We report a case of APGT in a 59-year-old woman. She presented in our hospital with a rigid mass in the right cheek that was difficult to diagnose on the basis of clinical findings. After magnetic resonance imaging, APGT was considered along with several other possibilities. However, it was only diagnosed after histopathology on the resected tissues. Thus, plastic surgeons treating subcutaneous tumors of the cheek should consider APGT in their differential diagnosis and seek an accurate preoperative diagnosis, because this will help avoid postoperative complications., Competing Interests: The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons.)

The realization of spontaneous ferroelectricity down to the one-dimensional (1D) limit is both fundamentally intriguing and practically appealing for high-density ferroelectric and nonlinear photonics. However, the 1D vdW ferroelectric materials are not discovered experimentally yet. Here, the first 1D vdW ferroelectric compound NbOI 3 with a high Curie temperature T C  > 450 K and giant second harmonic generation (SHG) is reported. The 1D crystalline chain structure of the NbOI 3 is revealed by cryo-electron microscopy, whereas the 1D ferroelectric order originated from the Nb displacement along the Nb-O chain (b-axis) is confirmed via obvious electrical and ferroelectric hysteresis loops. Impressively, NbOI 3 exhibits a giant SHG susceptibility up to 1572 pm V -1 at a fundamental wavelength of 810 nm, and a further enhanced SHG susceptibility of 5582 pm V -1 under the applied hydrostatic pressure of 2.06 GPa. Combing in situ pressure-dependent X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra measurements, and first-principles calculations, it is demonstrated that the O atoms shift along the Nb─O atomic chain under compression, which can lead to the increased Baur distortion of [NbO 2 I 4 ] octahedra, and hence induces the enhancement of SHG. This work provides a 1D vdW ferroelectric system for developing novel ferroelectronic and photonic devices., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

We previously showed that several polymorphisms in genes encoding pattern recognition receptors that cause amino acid substitutions alter pathogen recognition ability and disease susceptibility in pigs. In this study, we expanded our analysis to a wide range of immune-related genes and investigated polymorphism distribution and its influence on pneumonia in multiple commercial pig populations. Among the polymorphisms in 42 genes causing 634 amino acid substitutions extracted from the swine genome database, 80 in 24 genes were found to have a minor allele frequency of at least 10% in Japanese breeding stock pigs via targeted resequencing. Of these, 62 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 23 genes were successfully genotyped in 862 pigs belonging to four populations with data on pneumonia severity. Association analysis using a generalized linear mixed model revealed that 12 SNPs in nine genes were associated with pneumonia severity. In particular, SNPs in the cellular receptor for immunoglobulin G FCGR2B and the intracellular nucleic acid sensors IFI16 and LRRFIP1 were found to be associated with mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine or porcine pleuropneumonia in multiple populations and may therefore have wide applications in the improvement of disease resistance in pigs. Functional analyses at the cellular and animal levels are required to clarify the mechanisms underlying the effects of these SNPs on disease susceptibility.

Both adsorption and oxidation occur and contribute to organics removal in carbonaceous materials based advanced oxidation processes, while the correction of adsorption and oxidation, and the role of adsorption in the veritable removal of organic are not clear. Herein, we investigated the performance of carbamazepine (CBZ) removal by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activated by magnetic Fe-doped biochar through two models of pre-adsorption oxidation and synchronous adsorption oxidation processes. The adsorption process was better fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption mechanism was obtained by comprehensive analysis of equilibrium adsorption capacities, surface functional groups, specific surface area, pore volume, and I D /I G value. It is noted that pre-adsorption highly inhibited the further oxidation of CBZ in 0.5Fe@LSBC700/PMS system due to the occupied catalytic active sites. Total CBZ removal in pre-adsorption oxidation (45 %) was inferior to synchronous adsorption oxidation (∼100 %), as well as the veritable CBZ oxidation removal of 27 % for pre-adsorption oxidation vs ∼100 % in synchronous adsorption oxidation at 30 min. Oxidation degradation of CBZ based on radical oxidation was identified by quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. This work is conducive to identifying the role of adsorption during the removal of organics in the adsorption-oxidation process, as well as veritable adsorption and oxidation removal of organics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)