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Objectives: The substitution of chemical fertilizers with organic alternatives presents a viable strategy for enhancing soil quality and boosting agricultural productivity. However, the question remains whether organic–inorganic compound fertilizers (COIFs) can sustain improved soil quality and crop yields while reducing chemical fertilizer use. The underlying mechanisms of COIF's impact still warrant further exploration. Methods: In this study, a long-term fertilization trial was conducted from 2020 to 2023 at two sites with different soil textures and types in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China. The experiment involved three fertilization treatments, each replicated three times: (1) LCF (conventional fertilizer treatment); (2) COIF1 (COIF applied at 90% of the recommended rate); and (3) COIF2 (COIF applied at 80% of the recommended rate). The objective was to assess the effects of COIF on summer maize growth, grain yield, nutrient uptake and utilization, and soil quality. Results: Compared to LCF, COIF1 in Yantai and Dezhou increased biomass by 6.4% and 8.1%, grain yield by 5.9% and 4.12%, PFP (N, P, and K) by 17.6% and 15.7%, and soil quality by 563.6% and 462.5%, respectively. No significant differences in biomass and grain yield were observed between COIF2 and LCF, yet COIF1 in Yantai and Dezhou enhanced PFP (N, P, and K) by 19.7% and 18.6%, and soil quality by 109.1% and 175.0%, respectively. In conclusion, COIF improved soil quality by enhancing soil organic matter (SOM), available nutrients, pH, and other soil indices. It promoted summer maize growth, increased grain yield, and improved nutrient utilization. COIF was a practical and effective measure to reduce chemical fertilizer use, enhance field soil quality, and ultimately increase maize yield and nutrient utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer (CRNF) has been proven to surpass common urea by mitigating nutrient losses, enhancing soil quality, and improving crop productivity. However, the long-term effects of CRNF on soil biological properties are not well understood. Here, a 12-year field experiment was conducted with five treatments: no N fertilizer (PK); the split application of urea at the farmer's practice rate (FP) and the optimal rate (OPT); the one-time application of CRNF at the same rate as the OPT (CRNF); and a 20% reduced rate of the OPT (0.8CRNF). Soil samples were collected during the maize tasseling and filling stages; high-throughput sequencing and the PICRUSt2 method were employed to determine the bacterial community and its functional potential. The results showed that CRNF significantly increased alkaline hydrolysis N by 14.10% and 9.45% compared to OPT during the tasseling and filling stages, respectively. This increase in soil available N resulted in a significant increase in bacterial diversity of 2.09% and 2.35% compared with the FP and OPT, respectively. The bacterial community in the FP and OPT changed markedly between the tasseling and filling stages, with many bacterial species at the ASV and genus levels showing variations in relative abundance. In contrast, CRNF and 0.8CRNF exhibited stable N-cycling functions, as indicated by the lower variations in nitrate reductase and predicted N-cycling functional genes between the tasseling and filling stages. The obtained results suggest that CRNF application can enhance soil N supply, promote the formation of stable bacterial communities, and maintain stable N-cycling functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although humic acid has been demonstrated to improve the yield of some crops, the long‐term effects of continuous cropping on peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) remain largely undetermined. In the present study, we aimed to compare the continuous effects of different concentrations of humic acid on the continuously cropped peanut. A 3‐yr experiment was conducted in the North China Plain. Treatments of 50 kg ha−1 (T1), 100 kg ha−1 (T2), and 150 kg ha−1 (T3) humic acid were applied with inorganic fertilizer along with the equal N, P, and K inputs. Compared with the control group, humic acid increased the yield and oxidative stress tolerance of continuously cropped peanut. To elucidate the mechanism, various physiological indicators were evaluated and compared in this study. First, humic acid increased chlorophyll content and the ability to incorporate nutrients, and the maximum effect was achieved by T3 in 2016. Second, the activities of nitrate reductase and sucrose phosphate synthase in peanut leaves were significantly increased after humic acid treatment, and the most increase was achieved by T2. Third, the activities of antioxidant enzymes were increased, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was reduced in 2016–2018 by T3, and the same effects were observed in roots and leaves. Fourth, the content of the hormone was changed after humic acid treatment. Collectively, humic acid improved the yield and tolerance of continuously cropped peanut due to the above‐mentioned four reasons, which were conducive to alleviating the obstacles of continuously cropped peanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Jianlin Wei, Jihong Wang, Q.H. Wu, Jian Chen, Nan Jia This paper presents a new multisegment coal mill mathematical model, which covers the whole milling process from mill start-up to shutdown. This model is initially derived through analysing energy transfer, heat exchange and mass flow balances of a coal mill. Evolutionary computational techniques are then adopted to identify the unknown system parameters. After the model was tested offline, it was converted into a discrete-time form for the purpose of online implementation. A shared-memory technique is employed to accommodate the measurement data dynamically in realtime, which provides a generic platform to communicate with different software environments used by different mill plants. A user-friendly interface is designed to satisfy the requirement specified by the plant engineers. The model can be used to improve the combustion process control and fault diagnosis.

Background: Tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in China. The Hebei province is located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration region; however little information about the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was available in this area. This study describes the first attempt to map the molecular epidemiology of MTB strains isolated from Hebei.Methods: Spoligotyping and 15-locus MIRU-VNTR were performed in combination to yield specific genetic profiles of 1017 MTB strains isolated from ten cities in the Hebei province in China during 2014. Susceptibility testing to first line anti-TB drugs was also conducted for all strains using the L-J proportion method.Results: Based on the SpolDB4.0 database, the predominant spoligotype belonged to the Beijing family (90.5%), followed by T family (6.3%). Using 15-locus MIRU-VNTR clustering analysis, 846 different patterns were identified, including 84 clusters (2-17 strains per cluster) and 764 individual types. Drug susceptibility pattern showed that 347 strains (34.1%) were resistant to at least one of the first line drugs, including 134 (13.2%) multi-drug resistance strains. Statistical analysis indicated that drug resistance was associated with treatment history. The Beijing family was associated with genetic clustering. However, no significant difference was observed between the Beijing and non-Beijing family in gender, age, treatment history and drug resistance.Conclusions: The Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Hebei exhibit high genetic diversity. The Beijing family is the most prevalent lineage in this area. Spoligotyping in combination with 15-locus MIRU-VNTR is a useful tool to study the molecular epidemiology of the MTB strains in Hebei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]