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[ Objective ] This study aims to explore the protective mechanism of exogenous silicon on water metabolism and photosynthesis of Cucurbita pepo L. seedlings under salt stress , and to provide theoretical reference for salt resistance of C . pepo L.. [ Methods ] Using “ Hanlu 7042 ” C . pepo L. variety as the test material and hydroponic experiment , four treatments were set : Control , silicon treatment ( 0.3 mmol / L Na 2 SiO 3 · 9H 2 O ), salt stress ( 150 mmol / L NaCl ), salt stress+silicon treatment ( 0.3 mmol / L Na 2 SiO 3 · 9H 2 O+150 mmol / L NaCl ) . After 10 days of treatment , root morphology and activity , leaf water con- tent and water potential , photosynthetic parameters , chlorophyll content , chlorophyll fluorescence param- eters , and expression of aquaporin genes were determined. [ Results ] Salt stress inhibited the growth of C . pepo L. seedling roots , and decreased root activity , leaf water content , and leaf water potential and tran- spiration. Salt stress also affected the photosynthetic system , net photosynthetic rate , stomatal conduct- ance , chlorophyll content , and PSⅡ photochemical efficiency. Exogenous silicon improved the root mor- phology and activity of C . pepo L. seedlings under salt stress , also improved plant water status , and leaf water content , leaf water potential , and transpiration by promoting the expression of genes PIP1 ; 2 , PIP1 ; 3 , PIP1 ; 5 , PIP1 ; 7 , PIP2 ; 1 , PIP2 ; 4 , PIP2 ; 6 , and PIP2 ; 8 , PIP2 ; 9 and PIP2 ; 12 . The exogenous silicon also increased the stomatal conductance , chlorophyll content , net photosynthetic rate , PSⅡ maximum photochemical efficiency , PSⅡ actual photochemical efficiency , and photochemical quenching coefficient , decreased intercellular carbon dioxide concentration and non-photochemical quench- ing coefficient , enhanced the photosynthesis of seedlings under salt stress. [ Conclusion ] 0.3 mmol / L sili- con could improve the water metabolism and photosynthesis of C . pepo L. seedlings under salt stress , and thus enhance the ability of C . pepo L. seedlings to resist salt stress.

In this study, super-amphiphobic nano-silica nanoparticles (SA-NPs) were used to enhance the shale stabilization performance of water-based drilling fluids (WBDFs) by altering the surface wettability, preventing the capillary self-priming effect, and plugging the nano-micro pores of shale. The results of transmission electron microscopy, particle size distribution, and scanning electron microscopy characterization revealed that SA-NPs exhibited a nanoscale “coalesce” structure, which is composed of spherical particles joined together, and could form a nano-papillary structure on the shale surface. Due to the presence of nano-micro scale rough structures and ultra-low surface energy components, the shale treated by SA-NPS exhibited super-amphiphobic surface property in the contact angle test. Contact angles of water and hexadecane on the shale surface reached up to 154.13° and 151.34° after being treated with SA-NPs, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of 1% SA-NPs in WBDFs could reduce the linear swelling rate from 40.5 to 6.0%, increase the shale cuttings recovery percentages from 82.5 to 95.6%, increase the plugging rate of low permeability shale core from 81.25 to 94.00%, and raise the high-temperature and high-pressure uniaxial compressive strength from 3.45 to 4.87 MPa. Compared with the polyether amine and fumed nano-silica, the addition of SA-NPs produced the best performance. Based on the excellent shale stabilization performance of SA-NPs, a high-performance WBDF was developed and applied in Dagang Oilfield. During the drilling operation， no wellbore instability, sticking, and other complex situations occurred. The results indicate that SA-NPs could better address the issue of wellbore instability in shale formations and have a great application prospect in shale well drilling.

Groundwater overexploitation in West Ordos necessitates sustainable irrigation practices. This study evaluated three irrigation levels—W1 (3300 m3 · ha−1), W2 (2850 m3 · ha−1), and W3 (2400 m3 · ha−1)—by modifying the wide-width planting pattern of maize. Additionally, two levels of straw mulch were analyzed: F1 (9000 kg · ha−1) and F2 (no mulch). The study aimed to investigate the effects of these treatments on corn growth dynamics, soil water temperature, soil enzyme activity, yield, grain quality, and water use efficiency. The results indicated a decline in growth indices, enzyme activities, grain quality, and yield under the limited irrigation levels W2 and W3 compared to W1. The highest corn yields were observed with W1F1 (6642.54 kg · ha−1) and W2F1 (6602.38 kg · ha−1), with the latter showing only a 0.6% decrease. Notably, water use efficiency in the W2F1 treatment improved by 4.69%, 12.08%, 10.27%, 12.59%, and 12.96% compared to W1F1, W3F1, W1F2, W2F2, and W3F2, respectively. Straw mulch (F1) significantly elevated the soil temperature, increasing the effective accumulated temperature during the growth period by 10.11~85.79 °C, and boosted the soil enzyme activity by 10–25%. Under limited irrigation, the W2 (2850 m3 · ha−1) and F1 (9000 kg · ha−1 straw) treatments achieved the highest water productivity of 2.48 kg·m−3, maintaining a high yield of 6602.38 kg · ha−1 while preserving nutrients essential to the corn's quality. This approach presents a viable strategy for wide-width corn planting in groundwater-depleted regions, offering a scientifically grounded and sustainable water management solution for efficient corn production in West Ordos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater resources serve as the primary source of water in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China, where scarcity of water resources constrains the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. As a typical rainfed agricultural area, the agro-pastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia is entirely dependent on groundwater for agricultural irrigation. Due to the substantial groundwater consumption of irrigated farmland, groundwater levels have been progressively declining. To obtain a sustainable irrigation pattern that significantly conserves water, this study faces the challenge of unclear water transport relationships among water, soil, and crops, undefined water cycle mechanism in typical irrigation units, and water use efficiency, which was not assessed. Therefore, this paper, based on in situ experimental observations and daily meteorological data in 2022–2023, utilized the DSSAT model to explore the growth processes of potato, oat, alfalfa, and sunflower, the soil water dynamics, the water balance, and water use efficiency, analyzed over a typical irrigation area. The results indicated that the simulation accuracy of the DSSAT model was ARE < 10%, nRMSE/% < 10%, and R2 ≥ 0.85. The consumption of the soil moisture during the rapid growth stage for the potatoes, oats, alfalfa, and sunflower was 7–13% more than that during the other periods, and the yield was 67,170, 3345, 6529, and 4020 kg/ha, respectively. The soil evaporation of oat, potato, alfalfa, and sunflower accounted for 18–22%, 78–82%; 57–68%, and 32–43%, and transpiration accounted for 40–44%, 56–60%, 45–47%, and 53–55% of ETa (333.8 mm–369.2 mm, 375.2 mm–414.2 mm, 415.7 mm–453.7 mm, and 355.0 mm–385.6 mm), respectively. It was advised that irrigation water could be appropriately reduced to decrease ineffective water consumption. The water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency for potatoes was at the maximum amount, ranging from 16.22 to 16.62 kg/m3 and 8.61 to 10.81 kg/m3, respectively, followed by alfalfa, sunflowers, and oats. For the perspective of water productivity, it was recommended that potatoes could be extensively cultivated, alfalfa planted appropriately, and oats and sunflowers planted less. The findings of this study provided a theoretical basis for efficient water resource use in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the utilization of cloud technology has witnessed a surge, particularly in the domains of industrial automation and intelligent scenarios. However, the prevailing spring fatigue testing machine is still in the traditional single-machine working mode. In this mode, there are many problems such as low automation of testing equipment, poor experimental site environment, and the need for experimenters to be on duty for a long time. In order to solve the above problems, this paper builds a cloud-based remote monitoring and control system based on the high-temperature constant-force spring fatigue testing machine. The system is based on Browser/Server architecture, and clients can access it anytime and anywhere using a browser in a public network environment. The server is hosted on a public cloud platform and includes website service, data storage service, WebSocket real-time communication service, and remote video monitoring service. Clients can remotely monitor and control the testing machine in real time through the cloud. After experimental verification, the real-time monitoring and control messages delay is 11 ms, and the video monitoring delay is 291 ms, which can meet the actual needs of remote spring fatigue testing. This remote monitoring and control system improves the automation of the spring fatigue testing machine and improves the working environment of the experimenters. In addition, it can be applied to other reliability testing machines in the laboratory, and can further help build a workshop-level remote monitoring and control platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Effective water management in agricultural systems poses a significant challenge, particularly in the Dengkouyangshui irrigation district. Inefficiencies and insufficient detail in water usage across crop growth stages have resulted in suboptimal water cycling. Recent infrastructure improvements and technological interventions necessitate a reevaluation of water usage, especially concerning changes in irrigation and seepage dynamics. (2) Methods: This study addresses these concerns by employing an integrated modeling approach that combines the DSSAT with the HYDRUS-1D soil hydrology model to simulate complex interactions among soil, crop growth, and irrigation practices within the district. Observational data were used to calibrate and validate the integrated model, including soil moisture, LAI, and crop yields from the 2022 and 2023 agricultural seasons. (3) Results: The simulation results strongly align with the empirical data, highlighting the ability of the model to capture the intricate dynamics of soil–water–atmosphere–plant interactions. (4) Conclusions: The soil's retention and moisture-holding characteristics exhibited resilience during periods without water supplementation, with measurable declines in soil moisture at various depths, indicating the soil's capacity to support crops in water-limited conditions. This study delineates water consumption by maize crops throughout their growth cycle, providing insights into evapotranspiration partitioning and quantifying seepage losses. An in-depth analysis of water balances at different growth stages informs irrigation strategies, suggesting optimal volumes to enhance efficiency during critical crop development phases. This integrative modeling approach is valuable for providing actionable data to optimize the water cycling process and improve agricultural sustainability in the Dengkouyangshui irrigation district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress restricts vegetable growth, and abscisic acid plays an important role in its regulation. Sucrose non-fermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) is a key enzyme in regulating ABA signal transduction in plants, and it plays a significant role in response to multiple abiotic stresses. Our previous experiments demonstrated that the SnRK2.11 gene exhibits a significant response to drought stress in cucumbers. To further investigate the function of SnRK2.11 under drought stress, we used VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) technology to silence this gene and conducted RNA-seq analysis. The SnRK2.11-silencing plants displayed increased sensitivity to drought stress, which led to stunted growth and increased wilting speed. Moreover, various physiological parameters related to photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf water content, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant enzyme activity were significantly reduced. The intercellular CO2 concentration, non-photochemical burst coefficient, and malondialdehyde and proline content were significantly increased. RNA-seq analysis identified 534 differentially expressed genes (DEGs): 311 were upregulated and 223 were downregulated. GO functional annotation analysis indicated that these DEGs were significantly enriched for molecular functions related to host cells, enzyme activity, and stress responses. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis further revealed that these DEGs were significantly enriched in phytohormone signalling, MAPK signalling, and carotenoid biosynthesis pathways, all of which were associated with abscisic acid. This study used VIGS technology and transcriptome data to investigate the role of CsSnRK2.11 under drought stress, offering valuable insights into the mechanism of the SnRK2 gene in enhancing drought resistance in cucumbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]