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In order to improve the efficiency and safety of epidemic prevention and disinfection operations for livestock and poultry breeding, the disinfection robot system and the automatic disinfecting mode were researched in this study. The robot system is composed of four components, namely the automatic bearing vehicle, the disinfection spraying unit, the environmental monitoring sensors, and the controller. The robot supports two working modes: fully automatic mode and remote control mode. Aiming at the low-light and low-stress condition in the livestock and poultry houses, the method for detecting navigation path based on "Magnet-RFID" marks in the ground was proposed to realize the robot's automatic moving between the cages. In view of the large-flow and long-range requirements of the disinfectant's spraying, the air-assisted nozzle was designed, which could atomize and disperse the liquid independently. Based on the CFD simulation of airflow in the nozzle, the nozzle's parts structural parameters were optimized, as the angle of the cone-shaped guide pad and the inclination angle of the grid respectively determined as 75°and 90°. Finally, the robot's performance was tested in a poultry house in Beijing. The results showed that, the robot's mobile platform could automatically navigate at the speed of 0.1－0.5 m/s, and the maximal deviation distance between the actual trajectory and the expected path was 50.8 mm. The air-assisted nozzle could realize the atomization and diffusion of the liquid medicine at the same time, and was suitable for spraying the liquid medicine with a flow rate of 200－400 mL/min. The diameter (DV.9) of the liquid droplets formed was 51.82－137.23 μL, and became larger as the flow rate of the liquid medicine increased. The deposition density of spray droplets formed by the nozzle was 116－149/cm2, and decreased as the spray distance increased. The size and density of the liquid droplets of the spray nozzle in different areas of the cage all met the index requirements for effectively killing adherent pathogenic microorganisms. The robot could be applied as an automatic sprayer for disinfectant and immune reagent in the livestock and poultry house.

The reduced protein expression of SIRT6 tumor suppressor is involved in tumorigenesis. The molecular mechanisms underlying SIRT6 protein downregulation in human cancers remain unknown. Using a proteomic approach, we have identified the ubiquitin-specific peptidase USP10, another tumor suppressor, as one of the SIRT6-interacting proteins. USP10 suppresses SIRT6 ubiquitination to protect SIRT6 from proteasomal degradation. USP10 antagonizes the transcriptional activity of the c-Myc oncogene through SIRT6, as well as p53, to inhibit cell-cycle progression, cancer cell growth, and tumor formation. To support this conclusion, we detected significant reductions in both USP10 and SIRT6 protein expression in human colon cancers. Our study discovered crosstalk between two tumor-suppressive genes in regulating cell-cycle progression and proliferation and showed that dysregulated USP10 function promotes tumorigenesis through SIRT6 degradation.

Lycium chinense is acknowledged for its substantial nutritional benefits, particularly attributed to the high levels of ascorbic acid (AsA) found in its fruits. The "Mengqi No.1" variety of L. chinense, which is cultivated in Qinghai, is known for its high yield and exceptional quality. We utilized the "Mengqi No.1" variety as experimental materials and combined metabolomic, transcriptomic, and physiological analyses to investigate the metabolites, genes, and enzymes related to AsA metabolism in L. chinense fruits. The results revealed nine differential metabolites associated with AsA metabolism in L. chinense fruits across three stages, including 1D-Myo-Inositol-1,4-Bisphosphate, D-Fructose, L-(+)-Arabinose, I-Inositol, L-Arabinitol, D-Galactose-1-P, lactose, α-D-Glucose, and D-Glucose-6-P. Notably, the contents of D-Glucose-6-P, D-Galactose-1-P, and D-Fructose were increased as the fruit developed. Additionally, fresh weight, longitudinal length, and radial width were increased, while the contents of AsA and DHA were decreased. GalDH and DHAR are critical enzymes for the accumulation of AsA and DHA, exhibiting positive correlation coefficient. Furthermore, PMM1, PMM5, GME2, and GME3 were identified as key regulatory genes in the L-Galactose pathway of AsA synthesis, influencing D-Galactose-1-P, D-Glucose-6-P, α-D-Glucose, and D-Fructose. DHAR1 and DHAR2 are considered key positive regulator genes of AsA and DHA in the AsA-GSH cycle. However, the majority of genes (nine) act as negative regulators of AsA and DHA. These findings provide a foundation for the understanding of the regulatory mechanism of AsA metabolism in L. chinense fruits and offer insights into the utilization of AsA from L. chinense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional traits of the bamboo leaves vary among species. However, there is limited research on the acclimatization strategies and survival constraints of sympodial and monopodial bamboos in the tropics based on leaf functional traits. In the present study, we investigated the survival and shoot production of seven sympodial and six monopodial bamboo species introduced to Sanya, Hainan, China 18 months post-transplantation. We measured and analyzed 29 leaf functional traits between August 2022 and April 2023. We discovered that the acclimatization ability of sympodial bamboos was better than that of monopodial bamboos. Among the 29 leaf functional traits, 16 indices were significantly higher (p < 0.05) and three were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in sympodial bamboos than that in monopodial bamboos. A key factor limiting the survival rate of monopodial bamboos may have been the photosynthetic capacity of leaves on old culms. Sympodial bamboos promote photosynthesis by increasing leaf gas exchange, light response curve fitting parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, and leaf morphology, and tend to allocate organic matter for rapid growth in a “high-yield, high-consumption” mode. Monopodial bamboos survive in a “low-yield, low-consumption” mode by decreasing the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves, conserving the consumption of organic matter, increasing the density of the leaf tissues and the dry matter content, and increasing resistance through the allocation of organic matter to storage tissues. Organic matter allocation in old culms leaves improved resistance, whereas in young culms, it supported rapid growth. The overall linkage among traits in monopodial bamboos was higher than that in sympodial bamboos. This study provides data that support the introduction of sympodial and monopodial bamboos in tropical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-repetitive features in unstructured environments and frequent signal loss of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) severely limits the development of autonomous robot localization in orchard settings. To address this issue, we propose a LiDAR-based odometry pipeline GLIO, inspired by KISS-ICP and DLIO. GLIO is based on a nonlinear observer with strong global convergence, effectively fusing sensor data from GNSS, IMU, and LiDAR. This approach allows for many potentially interfering and inaccessible relative and absolute measurements, ensuring accurate and robust 6-degree-of-freedom motion estimation in orchard environments. In this framework, GNSS measurements are treated as absolute observation constraints. These measurements are tightly coupled in the prior optimization and scan-to-map stage. During the scan-to-map stage, a novel point-to-point ICP registration with no parameter adjustment is introduced to enhance the point cloud alignment accuracy and improve the robustness of the nonlinear observer. Furthermore, a GNSS health check mechanism, based on the robot's moving distance, is employed to filter reliable GNSS measurements to prevent odometry crashed by sensor failure. Extensive experiments using multiple public benchmarks and self-collected datasets demonstrate that our approach is comparable to state-of-the-art algorithms and exhibits superior localization capabilities in unstructured environments, achieving an absolute translation error of 0.068 m and an absolute rotation error of 0.856°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Whether physical activity could reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. This study was to investigate the relationship of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with AF incidence among Chinese older adults. Methods A total of 3253 participants aged ≥60 years from the Guangzhou Heart Study were successfully followed between March 2018 and September 2019. LTPA was assessed using a modified Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. AF was ascertained by 12-lead electrocardiograms, 24-hour single-lead Holter and clinical examination. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to the estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjustment for confounders, and the population-attributable fraction (PAF) was estimated. Results A total of 76 (2.34%) new-onset cases of AF were identified during a median of 31.13 months of follow-up. After adjustment for confounders, subjects who had LTPA at least 10.0 metabolic equivalent (MET)-hours/week had a 55% lower risk of developing AF (HR: 0.45, 95%CI: 0.25–0.81), and at least 20 MET-hours/week reduced the risk by 45% (HR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.34–0.92). At least 11% (PAF: 11%, 95%CI: 0%–20%) or 14% (PAF: 14%, 95%CI: 0%–26%) of AF cases could be avoided, respectively, if the subjects do LTPA at least 10 MET-hours/week or 20 MET-hours/week. A significant exposure-response trend was also observed between LTPA and AF risk (P linear-trend = 0.002). For a specific LTPA, doing housework was associated with a 43% reduced risk, while engaging in ball games was associated with an increased risk. Conclusion This prospective cohort study indicated that a higher LTPA volume was associated with a lower AF risk in Chinese older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yeast culture (YC) plays a significant role in enhancing the performance and health of poultry breeding. This study investigated the impact of different YC supplementation concentrations (basal diet with 1.0 g/kg and 2.0 g/kg of YC, YC1.0, and YC2.0) on egg production performance, egg quality, antioxidant properties, intestinal mucosal structure, and intestinal flora of laying hens. Both YC1.0 and YC2.0 groups significantly enhanced the egg protein height, Haugh unit, and crude protein content of egg yolks compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The supplementation with YC2.0 notably increased the egg production rate, reduced feed-to-egg ratio, and decreased the broken egg rate compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, YC supplementation enhanced serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content (p < 0.05). Moreover, YC supplementation promoted duodenal villus height and villus ratio in the duodenum and jejunum (p < 0.05). Analysis of cecal microorganisms indicated a decrease in Simpson and Shannon indices with YC supplementation (p < 0.05). YC1.0 reduced the abundance of Proteobacteria, while YC2.0 increased the abundance of Bacteroidales (p < 0.05). Overall, supplementation with YC improved egg production, quality, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbial composition in laying hens, with significant benefits observed at the 2.0 g/kg supplementation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought intensity and frequency have increased in recent years, which poses significant threats to forest ecosystems, especially in the context of global climate change. This paper is aimed at summarizing the current state of research and global development trends regarding drought-induced tree mortality mechanisms in tree physiology. Developing a robust literature foundation will facilitate in-depth research and foster the exchange of knowledge related to this subject. A literature review was conducted using tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the Bibliometrix R-package to review the literature from the Web of Science's core database from 1985 to 2023. We intend to determine the current state and evolution of global research on drought-induced tree mortality mechanisms. The results reveal that research on drought-induced tree mortality mechanisms gained momentum predominantly in the last two decades, with a marked surge post-2012. The United States is the epicenter of research, leading the global scientific community with its preeminence in publication volume, citation rates, and the scope of collaborative networks, with China in close pursuit. Tree Physiology stands out as the leading journal in this domain, boasting 129 articles. McDowell NG emerges as the most prolific author, with an H-index of 41, underscoring his influence in the field. There is a clear upward trend in collaborations spanning authors, journals, research institutions, and countries. The analysis of frequently cited keywords and topic evolution suggests that drought and tree mortality will likely remain key research areas for the foreseeable future. The future of research on drought-induced tree mortality mechanisms in physiology is promising, as it emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches and global collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For plant growth under salt stress, sensing and transducing salt signals are central to cellular Na+ homoeostasis. The calcineurin B‐like protein (CBL)‐CBL‐interacting protein kinase (CIPK) complexes play critical roles in transducing salt signals in plants. Here, we show that CBL5, an ortholog of CBL4 and CBL10 in Arabidopsis, interacts with and recruits CIPK8/CIPK24 to the plasma membrane. Yeast cells coexpressing CBL5, CIPK8/CIPK24 and SOS1 demonstrated lesser Na+ accumulation and a better growth phenotype than the untransformed or SOS1 transgenic yeast cells under salinity. Overexpression of CBL5 improved the growth of the cipk8 or cipk24 single mutant but not the cipk8 cipk24 double mutant under salt stress, suggesting that CIPK8 and CIPK24 were the downstream targets of CBL5. Interestingly, seed germination in cbl5 was severely inhibited by NaCl, which was recovered by the overexpression of CBL5. Furthermore, CBL5 was mainly expressed in the cotyledons and hypocotyls, which are essential to seed germination. Na+ efflux activity in the hypocotyls of cbl5 was reduced relative to the wild‐type under salt stress, enhancing Na+ accumulation. These findings indicate that CBL5 functions in seed germination and protects seeds and germinating seedlings from salt stress through the CBL5‐CIPK8/CIPK24‐SOS1 pathways. Summary statement: Perceiving and transducing salt signals are critical to cellular Na+ homoeostasis for plant growth under salt stress. This article finds that calcineurin B‐like (CBL5) interacts with CIPK8/CIPK24 to activate SOS1 activity. The CBL5‐CIPK8/CIPK24‐SOS1 pathways may function in transducing salt signals in seed germination in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]