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SUMMARY Low temperature (LT) greatly restricts grain filling in maize (Zea mays L.), but the relevant molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. To better understand the effect of LT on grain development, 17 hybrids were subjected to LT stress in field trials over 3 years, and two hybrids of them with contrasting LT responses were exposed to 30/20°C and 20/10°C for 7 days during grain filling in a greenhouse. At LT, thousand‐kernel weight declined, especially in LT‐sensitive hybrid FM985, while grain‐filling rate was on average about 48% higher in LT‐tolerant hybrid DK159 than FM985. LT reduced starch synthesis in kernel mainly by suppression of transcript levels and enzyme activities for sucrose synthase and hexokinase. Brassinolide (BR) was abundant in DK159 kernel, and genes involved in BR and cytokinin signals were inducible by stress. LT downregulated the genes in light‐harvesting complex and photosystem I/II subunits, accompanied by reduced photosynthetic rate and Fv/Fm in ear leaf. The LT‐tolerant hybrid could maintain a high soluble sugar content and fast interconversion between sucrose and hexose in the stem internode and cob, improving assimilate allocation to kernel at LT stress and paving the way for simultaneous growth and LT stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study assesses the performance of cut-off walls in a vacuum preloading project at Lianyungang Port, China, to tackle challenges posed by ultra-soft reclaimed land. It investigates the walls’ impermeability and structural integrity by analyzing changes in hydraulic conductivity, in-situ lateral displacement, particle size distribution, and dry density both before and after vacuum suction. The introduction of a hydroxypropyl starch-based coupling agent (CA) in slurry reduces the hydraulic conductivity in the sandy matrix. Significant lateral displacement near the surface amplifies the likelihood of cracks, which lead to increased hydraulic conductivity. The cut-off wall is characterized by three zones: an erosion zone with large amount of fine particle mobility, a central effective zone with minimal deformation, and an outer tensile zone whose soil loosening leads to impermeability reduction. These findings provide valuable insights into the design and construction of cut-off walls for similar geotechnical applications and aid in forecasting the performance and lifespan of the cut-off wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clogging induced by particle transport is often mentioned in the practice of vacuum preloading, but the percolation behavior of soft clay under negative pressure is still not clear. To understand this, the percolation behavior was investigated using an artificial paste of silica sand and kaolinite under different hydraulic pressures. The hydraulic conductivity under positive pressure (90 kPa) was about twice as high as that of negative pressure (−90 kPa). However, the transport capacity and leached particle size under negative pressure were more significant than those under positive pressure, despite the same tendency of the porosity under the positive or negative pressure. This is an interesting and paradoxical finding, suggesting complexity accompanying the erosion and clogging under the nominal hydraulic gradient, where a higher concentration of the hydraulic gradient occurs under negative pressure. The percolation under negative pressure––a self-adaptive process––included three elements: (1) the colloidal transport of clay minerals; (2) colloid accumulation and clogging in the seepage channel close to the outlet; and (3) a gradient concentration close to the outlet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the electrolyte molecular interaction volume model (eMIVM) and the optimized model (eMIVM-ET) were used to fit the activity coefficients and osmotic coefficients of 47 single electrolyte solutions containing Ni2+, Co2+ and Cu2+, respectively, and the activity coefficients and osmotic coefficients of 10 two electrolyte solutions containing Ni2+, Co2+ and Cu2+ were predicted. The results indicate that the average deviation and average relative error fitted by the two models are: the activity coefficients of eMIVM are 0.0548 and 7.22%, the osmotic coefficients are 0.0307 and 5.06%, the activity coefficients of eMIVM-ET are 0.0326 and 3.78%, and the osmotic coefficients are 0.0276 and 4.73%, respectively; the average deviation and relative error predicted by the two models are: the activity coefficients of eMIVM are 0.2331 and 41.64% , the osmotic coefficients are 0.2590 and 21.1%, the activity coefficients of eMIVM-ET are 0.1340 and 24.88%, and the osmotic coefficients are 0.1139 and 9.11% respectively. This shows that the prediction effect of eMIVM-ET is better than that of eMIVM, so eMIVM-ET can be used as an alternative thermodynamic prediction model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solution-processed Sb 2 Se 3 thin film displays a broadband spectral absorption from 300 to 1100 nm. • The Sb 2 Se 3 MSM photodetectors display high R and large D * at 650 and 980 nm laser illumination. • The Sb 2 Se 3 photodetectors possess an ultrafast response speed in the near infrared region. The antimony selenide (Sb 2 Se 3) has attracted considerable attention for the potential application in high-performance visible-to-near-infrared photodetectors (PDs). Here, a solution-processed Sb 2 Se 3 film with large crystal size has been employed to fabricate visible-to-near-infrared Sb 2 Se 3 metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) PDs, exhibiting excellent thin film photodetection performance. This inspiring work provides a boulevard for future applications of high-performance visible-to-near-infrared PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study passenger evacuation behavior using online surveys and hybrid choice models. • Four models examine attributes, latent factors, interactions, and time perception. • Fear of flying, safety knowledge, and risk perception shape evacuation decisions. • Interactions illuminate emergency response intentions in scenarios. • Time perception attribute enhances models and informs accident research. In transport accident rescue operations, the primary focus is on saving lives. However, people's behavior and choices in such dangerous situations are unforeseeable. This paper employs a hybrid choice model to investigate how unobservable human heterogeneity impacts passengers' decisions in airplane emergency evacuations. Three primary latent factors – fear of flying, knowledge of air safety, and no perception of risk – were identified based on indicators from fifteen statements. Subsequently, the hybrid choice model was expanded to include a time perception variable and interaction effects. The findings revealed that compared to Chinese respondents, individuals from the USA exhibit lower fear of flying, more air safety knowledge, and a higher risk perception in flying. All else being equal, aviation professionals can accept longer distances to exits than other passengers, and individuals with higher fear of flying choose middle exits more frequently. In contrast, those with lower risk perception prefer exits at either end of the cabin. Interaction terms indicated that increased air safety knowledge and lower risk perception contribute to a greater acceptance of more distant exits. A lack of risk perception makes traveling alone a significant factor in choosing an exit other than the frontmost, and people tended to avoid following others in densely populated evacuation flows. Regarding time perception, participants perceived the frontmost exit as the quickest, followed by the backmost exit, while the middle exits were viewed as the slowest. This study provides valuable insights for exit choice behavior modeling and airplane evacuation enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The cleaning of food production equipment using cleaning detergents may contaminate the lubricant of the bearings, thereby reducing the bearing service life. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cause and mechanism of such damage of bearings lubricated by cleaning detergent/water-in-oil emulsions. Design/methodology/approach: The emulsion was prepared by adding a mixture of cleaning detergent and water in one base oil. A self-designed ball-on-disc optical interference test rig was applied to examine the effect of emulsion on lubrication and wear of bearing contacts under pure sliding conditions. Findings: The emulsion reduced lubricating film thickness at a relatively low-sliding speed but only when the water concentration (20%) in emulsion was high. Water droplets were trapped around the ball-on-disc contact area under static conditions because of a high capillary force. The emulsion can induce damages on the soft surface in the startup mainly due to the presence of water around the contact. Originality/value: The basic lubrication behaviour of water/oil emulsions containing cleaning detergent under pure sliding was experimental studied and the mechanism of bearing damage in food production equipment was investigated. Based on the study, the solution to avoid such damage was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Eu3+-activated Y 2 SiWO 8 red phosphors were prepared using the sol-gel process. The as-synthesized phosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, crystal structure, morphology as well as photoluminescence spectra. Observed from the excitation spectrum, Y 2 SiWO 8 : Eu3+ phosphor exhibits the highest excitation peak situated at ∼395 nm. Excited by 395 nm, this phosphor presents the dominant red emission band (∼619 nm), arising from the electric dipole transition 5D 0 →7F 2 of Eu3+. The optimum Eu3+ dopant concentration is 6 mol%, beyond which the concentration quenching happens. The energy immigration mechanism among Eu3+ ions is extensively studied, which further proves to be the dipole-dipole interaction. More importantly, this phosphor is found to emit a bright red light with the excellent color coordinate (0.665, 0.335) and color purity (96.61%) under the excitation of n-UV light. The phosphor exhibits remarkable thermal stability and its emission intensity remains above 80% at 473 K, as compared to that at room temperature. Furthermore, the structural and optical properties of as-obtained microcrystal phosphors are thoroughly investigated as a function of the [MoO 4 ] content. It can be concluded that Y 2 SiWO 8 : Eu3+ phosphors have a great promising in the field of n-UV pumped w-LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the transport management of aviation networks, uncertain factors and delay propagation are two main sources of flight delays. However, the impacts of uncertainty and the degree of delays are difficult to calculate empirically in daily operations. In this paper, a novel delay propagation model is introduced utilising the mathematical modelling tool coloured–timed Petri nets. This model enables descriptions of the delay propagation progress and flight delay calculation under the influence of uncertain factors. In order to understand the influence of airline network operations with uncertainties, the mechanisms of the main uncertainties (weather factors, air traffic control (ATC) factors and other low-probability random factors) are studied and probability functions are obtained. To simulate conditions under different uncertainties, experiments were carried out on an aviation network comprising 13 airports under different settings of bad weather and ATC. The simulation results revealed the influence of different uncertain factors, delay propagation time through flight chains and delay prediction in the aviation network. Based on the predicted flight delays, flight sequence update rules were established, which showed that the updated flight sequence significantly reduced flight delays compared with the original flight sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming increasingly prevalent and nutrition intervention remains the most important therapeutic approach for NAFLD. Our aim was to investigate whether low‐ (LP) or high‐protein (HP) diets are more effective in reducing liver fat and reversing NAFLD and which mechanisms are involved. Methods: 19 participants with morbid obesity undergoing bariatric surgery were randomized into two hypocaloric (1500‐1600 kcal/day) diet groups, a low protein (10E% protein) and a high protein (30E% protein), for three weeks prior to surgery. Intrahepatic lipid levels (IHL) and serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) were measured before and after the dietary intervention. Autophagy flux, histology, mitochondrial activity and gene expression analyses were performed in liver samples collected during surgery. Results: IHL levels decreased by 42.6% in the HP group, but were not significantly changed in the LP group despite similar weight loss. Hepatic autophagy flux and serum FGF21 increased by 66.7% and 42.2%, respectively, after 3 weeks in the LP group only. Expression levels of fat uptake and lipid biosynthesis genes were lower in the HP group compared with those in the LP group. RNA‐seq analysis revealed lower activity of inflammatory pathways upon HP diet. Hepatic mitochondrial activity and expression of β‐oxidation genes did not increase in the HP group. Conclusions: HP diet more effectively reduces hepatic fat than LP diet despite of lower autophagy and FGF21. Our data suggest that liver fat reduction upon HP diets result primarily from suppression of fat uptake and lipid biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Health-related physical fitness is vital for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to gain healthier lives. The adapted rhythmic gymnastics (ARG) program was designed for children with IDD and is aimed at testing the effects of the exercise program on children's physical fitness. Methods. Participants were recruited from two special needs schools in Beijing of China. Twenty-two children with IDD were assigned to an ARG experimental group or a traditional control group. The experimental group took part in a 16-week ARG program consisting of three 50 min sessions each week. And children's body composition, aerobic capacity, and musculoskeletal functioning were measured by the Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT) before and after the program. Results. The between-group analysis revealed great improvements for the experimental group in abdominal strength (curl-up test: p = 0.025 < 0.05) and upper limb strength (dumbbell press test: p = 0.038 < 0.05). Compared to the pretest, most of the physical fitness parameters improved significantly in the experimental group except BMI, and flexibility of the experimental group children showed a substantial increase. Conclusions. Most of the physical fitness parameters of children with IDD in the experimental group improved significantly, especially on abdominal strength and upper limb muscle strength when comparing to the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a simple and effective Mask R-CNN algorithm for more rapid detection of vehicles and pedestrians. The method is of practical value for anticollision warning systems in intelligent driving. Deep neural networks with more layers have greater capacity but also have to perform more complicated calculations. To overcome this disadvantage, this study adopts a Resnet-86 network as a backbone that differs from the backbone structure of Resnet-101 in the Mask R-CNN algorithm within practical conditions. The results show that the Resnet-86 network can reduce the operation time and greatly improve accuracy. The detected vehicles and pedestrians are also screened out based on the Microsoft COCO dataset. The new dataset is formed by screening and supplementing COCO dataset, which makes the training of the algorithm more efficient. Perhaps, the most important part of our research is that we propose a new algorithm, Side Fusion FPN. The parameters in the algorithm have not increased, the amount of calculation has increased by less than 0.000001, and the mean average precision (mAP) has increased by 2.00 points. The results show that, compared with the algorithm of Mask R-CNN, our algorithm decreased the weight memory size by 9.43%, improved the training speed by 26.98%, improved the testing speed by 7.94%, decreased the value of loss by 0.26, and increased the value of mAP by 17.53 points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the moving objects shadow problem in foreground extraction of surveillance video images, a new cast shadow detection algorithm based on the YCbCr color space and topological cutting was proposed. Preliminary shadow removal was first performed based on the difference of the three components in the YCbCr color space of shadows and foregrounds. Besides, the maximum-flow/minimum-cut algorithm for image segmentation was optimized considering the topological constraints. The optimal segmentation of the foreground image was obtained during the continuous updating of the label. Finally, two sets of experiments were performed in video image sequences, including real surveillance videos and a well-known benchmark test set. By comparing with two other existing algorithms, the feasibility and effectiveness of the cast shadow detection algorithm were verified by the smooth border and higher recognition accuracy. In addition, the adaptability to foreground object density and different light intensities was measured in an airport terminal, showing that this algorithm can provide a high quality of moving foreground detection in surveillance video images and can be applied in monitoring of public places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) regulates metabolism and cell growth in response to nutrient levels. Dysregulation of mTORC1 results in a broad spectrum of diseases. Glucose is the primary energy supply of cells, and therefore, glucose levels must be accurately conveyed to mTORC1 through highly responsive signaling mechanisms to control mTORC1 activity. Here, we report that glucose-induced mTORC1 activation is regulated by O-GlcNAcylation of Raptor, a core component of mTORC1, in HEK293T cells. Mechanistically, O-GlcNAcylation of Raptor at threonine 700 facilitates the interactions between Raptor and Rag GTPases and promotes the translocation of mTOR to the lysosomal surface, consequently activating mTORC1. In addition, we show that AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of Raptor suppresses Raptor O-GlcNAcylation and inhibits Raptor-Rags interactions. Our findings reveal an exquisitely controlled mechanism, which suggests how glucose coordinately regulates cellular anabolism and catabolism. [Display omitted] • O-GlcNAcylation of Raptor modulates glucose-induced mTORC1 activation • Glucose status regulates Raptor O-GlcNAcylation through AMPK and UDP-GlcNAc • Raptor O-GlcNAcylation activates mTORC1 via enhancing Raptor-Rags interactions • Raptor O-GlcNAcylation modulates cell growth and proliferation Xu, Pan, and colleagues show that glucose signals to mTORC1 via O-GlcNAcylation of Raptor, which promotes Raptor-Rags interactions and activates mTORC1. Conversely, AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of Raptor suppresses Raptor O-GlcNAcylation and inhibits Raptor-Rags interactions. This study reveals a critical pathway that adds to the intricate mechanisms of glucose-induced mTORC1 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The expression of mcMAE promoted the accumulation of β-farnesene. • Expressing mmACL and modulating citrate metabolism enhanced acetyl-CoA supply. • The orthogonal precursor pathways contribute to maximizing β-farnesene production. • An optimized fermentation process resulted a titer of 28.9 g/L of β-farnesene. β-Farnesene is a sesquiterpene commonly found in essential oils of plants, with applications spanning from agricultural pest control and biofuels to industrial chemicals. The use of renewable substrates in microbial cell factories offers a sustainable approach to β-farnesene biosynthesis. In this study, malic enzyme from Mucor circinelloides was examined for NADPH regeneration, concomitant with the augmentation of cytosolic acetyl-CoA supply by expressing ATP-citrate lyase from Mus musculus and manipulating the citrate pathway via AMP deaminase and isocitrate dehydrogenase. Carbon flux was modulated through the elimination of native 6-phosphofructokinase, while the incorporation of an exogenous non-oxidative glycolysis pathway served to bridge the pentose phosphate pathway with the mevalonate pathway. The resulting orthogonal precursor supply pathway facilitated β-farnesene production, reaching 810 mg/L in shake-flask fermentation. Employing optimal fermentation conditions and feeding strategy, a titer of 28.9 g/L of β-farnesene was attained in a 2 L bioreactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary lycopene powder on meat quality and the oxidative stability of lipid and protein of longissimus thoracis (LT) in lamb. A total of 30 male lambs were randomly sampled from three feeding groups (control without lycopene supplement, 200 and 400 mg kg−1 lycopene powder respectively) after 3 months of feeding. The muscle samples were taken after slaughter and stored at 4 °C for 7 days. RESULTS: Compared with the control, the results showed that supplementation with lycopene powder gave a higher a* value (redness), and increased the levels of vitamin A and vitamin E. Increasing dietary lycopene powder resulted in a lower degree of lipid and protein oxidation, as evidenced by lower contents of thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substance and carbonyl compounds, and higher levels of sulfhydryl groups. CONCLUSION: Dietary lycopene powder is an effective antioxidant that blocks the oxidation of meat proteins and lipids, and has a positive effect on increasing lamb meat quality during storage. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to develop an efficient route planning algorithm to guide the operations of the multi-helicopter search and rescue in emergency. Route planning model of multi-helicopter cooperative search and rescue activity was established first, based on preference ordering of search and rescue objectives, as well as behavioral model of rescue helicopter and on-board detector. Given the route planning model, a multi-helicopter search and rescue route planning general algorithm was developed. The operation mechanism of ant colony algorithm was improved by introducing cooperative modes and the pheromone updating mechanism into existing methods. Furthermore, two cooperative search and rescue modes were studied: one is Overall Cooperative Search and Rescue Mode (OCSARM), in which many ants search and rescue the same region all together; the other is Blocking Cooperative Search and Rescue Mode (BCSARM), which partitions the region into small blocks and appoints helicopter with corresponding performance capabilities. Simulated experiments were developed to test the operability of proposed multi-helicopter search and rescue route planning algorithm. The comparison with existing algorithm shows that the algorithm proposed in this paper reduces computational complexity and evidently enhances algorithm efficiency. Results also indicate that this algorithm not only has the capability of comparing efficiency of two search and rescue modes in different mission requirements but also helps select search and rescue modes before rescue operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous excellent fluorogenic probes for NO detection based on NO-mediated reactions have been developed. However, some of them still suffer from limitations such as low selectivity, slow response, and a short excitation wavelength (＜500 nm). Herein, a novel two-photon fluorogenic probe (XNO1) based on a Schiff base derivative has been reported for the first time. This new mechanism with a Schiff base structure as the specific response moiety towards NO endows the probe with fast responsibility, high selectivity and pH-independent properties. Furthermore, XNO1 has been demonstrated to be lysosome-targeted and to successfully monitor exogenous/endogenous NO in living cells and zebrafishes with one- and two-photon fluorescence imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A microdots array-based fluoremetric method with superwettability profile has been developed for the simultaneous and separate detection of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions in red wine samples. A wettable micropores array was initially designed with high density by using polyacrylic acid (PAA) and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDS), followed by the NaOH etching route. Zinc metal organic frameworks (Zn-MOFs) were fabricated as the fluorescent probes to be immobilized into the micropores array to obtain the fluoremetric microdots array platform. It was found that the fluorescence of Zn-MOFs probes could decrease significantly in the presence of Fe3+ and/or Cu2+ ions towards their simultaneous analysis. Yet, the specific responses to Fe3+ ions could be expected if using histidine to chelate Cu2+ ions. Moreover, the developed Zn-MOFs-based microdots array with superwettability profile can enable the accumulation of targeting ions from the complicated samples without any tedious pre-processing. Also, the cross-contamination of different samples droplets can be largely avoided so as to facilitate the analysis of multiple samples. Subsequently, the feasibility of simultaneous and separate detection of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions in red wine samples was demonstrated. Such a design of microdots array-based detection platform may promise the wide applications in analyzing Fe3+ and/or Cu2+ ions in the fields of food safety, environmental monitoring, and medical diseases diagnostics. A wettable microdots array with the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interfaces was fabricated with the fluorescent probes of Zn-MOFs for the detection of Fe3+ or Cu2+ ions in red wine. [Display omitted] • A microdots array-based fluoremetric method is fabricated with superwettability profile. • Zn-MOFs are prepared and immobilized into superwettable micropores array yielding the fluoremetric platform. • The Zn-MOFs probes can simultaneously responses to Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions. • Accumulation of targeting ions and avoiding of any cross-contamination of samples droplets can be expected. • This fluoremetric method can facilitate the simultaneous and separate detection of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions in red wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the application of reinforcement learning (RL) to nonlinear system control. And many published studies have shown that reusing historical data can improve the learning efficiency of intelligent agents. However, reusing historical data leads to a large increase in the data to be processed. This paper proposes a novel adaptive law for the critic network in the RL framework to address this problem. The innovation of the proposed method is the introduction of an auxiliary matrix containing information about the historical estimation errors instead of the historical data itself. Moreover, the addition of the auxiliary matrix allows the persistent excitation (PE) conditions to be checked online. As a validation, the proposed approach is applied to a motor servo system containing unknown dynamics. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of sodium ions added in the synthesis solution is verified for fabrication of high quality pure-silica MFI zeolite membranes. The effects of sodium ions on separation performance, growth and hydrophobicity of MFI membranes are thoroughly characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectra, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, water contact angle test, pervaporation and gas permeation test. It is found that small amounts of sodium ions can result in denser and more hydrophobic membranes with higher pervaporation performance. Large amounts of sodium ions will retard the nucleation and bring about the formation of gel particles, hence resulting in lower pervaporation performance. For separation of 5 wt% ethanol feed at 60 °C, the separation factor of 76 is achieved at the Na + /Si ratio of 0.1, while it is only 52 without sodium ions in the synthesis solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• UT improved the water retention capacity of lamb during refrigerated storage. • UT was beneficial to the preservation of lamb color. • UT inhibited protein oxidation. • UT led to differences in amino acid metabolism and purine metabolism pathways. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes of ultrasound-assisted thawing on lamb meat quality and differential metabolite profiles during refrigerated storage. Compared with flow water thawing (FW), pH, a* , C* , and sulfhydryl content of lamb were significantly increased, while L* , drip loss and cooking loss were significantly decreased after ultrasound-assisted thawing (UT). On day 1 (UT1 and FW1) and day 7 (UT7 and FW7) in the UT and FW groups, principal component analysis explained 42.22% and 39.25% of the total variance. In this study, 44 (UT1 and FW1) and 47 (UT7 and FW7) differentially expressed metabolites were identified, including amino acids, carbohydrates and their conjugates, nucleic acids, carbonyl compounds and others. The results of this study provide data to clarify the differences between UT and FW, and lay a foundation for the application of ultrasound-assisted thawing in the meat industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene-chip technology was employed to study the effect of dietary vitamin E on gene expression in sheep testes based on our previous research. Thirty-five male Tan sheep (20–30 days after weaning) with similar body weight were randomly allocated into five groups and supplemented 0, 20, 100, 200 and 2000 IU sheep − 1 day − 1 vitamin E (treatments denoted as E0, E20, E100, E200, and E2000, respectively) for 120 days. At the end of the study the sheep were slaughtered and the testis samples were immediately collected and stored in liquid nitrogen. Differences in gene expression between different treated groups were identified. Based on GO enrichment analysis and the KEGG database to evaluate the gene expression data we found that vitamin E might affect genes in the testes by modulating the oxidation level, by affecting the expression of various receptors and transcription factors in biological pathways, and by regulating the expression of metabolism-associated genes. The effect of vitamin E supplementation on the expression of oxidative enzyme-related genes was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The results show that dietary vitamin E, at various doses, can significantly increase ( P < 0.05) the mRNA and protein expression of Glutathione peroxidase 3 and Glutathione S-transferase alpha 1. In addition, the results of qRT-PCR of the antioxidant enzyme genes were consistent with those obtained using the gene chip microarray analysis. In summary, the dietary vitamin E treatment altered the expression of a number of genes in sheep testes. The increase in the mRNA and protein levels of antioxidant enzyme genes, coupled with the elevation in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes were primarily responsible for the improved reproductive performance promoted by dietary vitamin E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An organic-inorganic nano-composite photocatalyst PDINH/TiO 2 /Bi 2 WO 6 was first synthesized by supporting TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 on a PDINH supramolecular (perylene 3,4,9, 10-diimine tetracarbonate). • After sulfuric acid pretreatment, –OH was introduced into the TiO 2 molecule, and then ultrasonic dispersion made it better interact with the -C = O bond on the PDINH to form hydrogen-like bond –CO ··· H. In the hydrothermal reaction, Bi 2 WO 6 was acidified by mixed acid and assembled on PDINH by intermolecular force. • In the photocatalytic process of P/T/B, electrons are enriched in the top band of TiO 2 , and the hole Bi 2 WO 6 is retained in the bottom band, which greatly improves the transfer rate of photogenerated carriers between TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 and enhances the degradation ability of organic pollutants. • Under simulated sunlight, PDINH/TiO 2 /Bi 2 WO 6 photocatalytic degradation of low-concentration phenol (10 ppm) can reach more than 98% in 300 min, and this is 3 times higher than purchase of TiO 2 and much higher than self-synthesizing Bi 2 WO 6. An organic-inorganic nanosheet photocatalyst PDINH/TiO 2 /Bi 2 WO 6 (P/T/B) is prepared by self-assembly of TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 on 3,4,9,10-tetracarbonate diimide (PDINH). PDINH monolayers self-assemble into organic supramolecular carriers at approximately 200 nm under π-π stacking. After sulfuric acid pretreatment, –OH is introduced into the TiO 2 crystal, and then ultrasonic dispersion facilitates its efficient interaction with -C = O bond on the PDINH to form hydrogen-like bond –CO ··· H. In the hydrothermal reaction, Bi 2 WO 6 is acidified by mixed acid and assembled on the surface of PDINH by intermolecular force. Therefore, both TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 can be uniformly supported on the surface of PDINH to form flake photocatalyst. A good matching between PDINH and Bi 2 WO 6 provides a fast electron transfer channel and accelerates the transfer rate of photogenerated carriers between TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6. In the photocatalytic process of P/T/B, electrons are enriched in the top band of TiO 2 , and the holes are retained in the bottom band of Bi 2 WO 6 , which greatly improves the transfer rate of photogenerated carriers between TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 and enhances the degradation ability of organic pollutants. The degradation rate of phenol can reach 98% in 300 min, which is three higher than that of TiO 2 and much higher than that of Bi 2 WO 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) is an essential metabolic hub that coordinates cellular metabolism with the availability of nutrients, including amino acids. Sestrin2 has been identified as a cytosolic leucine sensor that transmits leucine status signals to mTORC1. In this study, we identify an E3 ubiquitin ligase RING finger protein 167 (RNF167) and a deubiquitinase STAMBPL1 that function in concert to control the polyubiquitination level of Sestrin2 in response to leucine availability. Ubiquitination of Sestrin2 promotes its interaction with GATOR2 and inhibits mTORC1 signaling. Bioinformatic analysis reveals decreased RNF167 expression and increased STAMBPL1 expression in gastric and colorectal tumors. Knockout of STAMBPL1 or correction of the heterozygous STAMBPL1 mutation in a human colon cancer cell line suppresses xenograft tumor growth. Lastly, a cell-permeable peptide that blocks the STAMBPL1-Sestrin2 interaction inhibits mTORC1 and provides a potential option for cancer therapy. [Display omitted] • RNF167 and STAMBPL1 modulate Sestrin2 ubiquitination in response to leucine status • Ubiquitinated Sestrin2 inhibits mTORC1 activity by sequestering GATOR2 • Suppression of STAMBPL1 function inhibits tumor growth • STAMBPL1 is a potential therapeutic target in colorectal cancer Wang, Xu, and colleagues show that RNF167 and STAMBPL1 function in concert to control the level of Sestrin2 polyubiquitination in response to leucine status. Ubiquitinated Sestrin2 sequesters GATOR2 and inhibits mTORC1 signaling. Suppression of STAMBPL1 function inhibits tumor growth and provides a potential option for colorectal cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stated preference survey of total evacuation time perception in airplane emergency. • Air passengers' attention to cabin safety information was found still insufficient. • People treat crew guidance and the number of available exits as the leading factors. • Knowledge and experience reduce people's estimation of airplane evacuation time. • The ability to stay calm helps people have a shorter evacuation time perception. It is difficult to observe people's actual evacuation behavior in case of a real aircraft accident. For one, luckily, because aircraft incidences have very low probabilities, and for another, because when faced with such extreme situations people often resort to very unexpected behavior. A way to obtain people's responses to an airplane emergency is then to estimate people's perceptions of the total evacuation time. In this paper, a stated preference analysis containing eight airplane evacuation attributes was carried out by nine hypothetical aircraft accident scenarios. The experiment adopted a fractional factorial design to reduce the survey size and obtained 192 effective responses. A cumulative odds ordinal logistic regression with proportional odds was performed and results showed the model has a good data fit. The following findings were revealed from this study. First, for the onboard safety briefings, the efficiency of safety broadcasting is better than crew demonstrations and safety cards, but the overall attention from passengers to the cabin safety announcements is still inadequate. Second, in passengers' perception, the lack of crew guidance would slow the evacuation the most while more available exits reduce the evacuation time primarily. Third, being knowledgeable about and more experienced in flying has a significant effect in reducing people's perception of evacuation time. Finally, higher self-reported levels in the ability to stay calm are associated with a shorter estimation of the evacuation time. These findings may help optimize the understanding of air passengers' behavior in emergencies and improve the preparedness for aircraft emergency evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Drought is a major abiotic stress reducing maize (Zea mays) yield worldwide especially before and during silking. The mechanism underlying drought tolerance in maize and the roles of different organs have not been elucidated. Hence, we conducted field trials under pre‐silking drought conditions using two maize genotypes: FM985 (drought‐tolerant) and ZD958 (drought‐sensitive). The two genotypes did not differ in plant height, grain number, and yield under control conditions. However, the grain number per ear and the yield of FM985 were 38.1 and 35.1% higher and plants were 17.6% shorter than ZD958 under drought conditions. More 13C photosynthates were transported to the ear in FM985 than in ZD958, which increased floret fertility and grain number. The number of differentially expressed genes was much higher in stem than in other organs. Stem–ear interactions are key determinants of drought tolerance, in which expression of genes related to abscisic acid, lignin, and flavonoid biosynthesis and carbon metabolism in the stem was induced by drought, which inhibited stem elongation and promoted assimilate allocation to the ear in FM985. In comparison with ZD958, the activities of trehalose 6‐phosphate phosphatase and sucrose non‐fermentation‐associated kinase 1 were higher in the stem and lower in the kernel of FM985, which facilitated kernel formation. These results reveal that, beyond the ear response, stem elongation is involved in the whole process of drought tolerance before silking. Abscisic acid together with trehalose 6‐phosphate, lignin, and flavonoid suppresses stem elongation and allocates assimilates into the ear, providing a novel and systematic regulatory pathway for drought tolerance in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planar electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter has good application in aviation for its easy magnetic integration, small parasitic parameter, and strong anti-EMI ability. Based on the annular structure, the common-mode (CM) and difference-mode (DM) modules are proposed. The former is formed by “capacitance and inductance” (LC unit), while the latter is formed by an independent DM capacitor and the leakage inductance of the LC units. The extraction of the unit-length electromagnetic parameters is the foundation of analyzing the characteristics of the modules and further the whole EMI filter. The axisymmetric electrostatic field model of LC unit is established to extract the turn-to-turn partial capacitances. Considering the skin effect, proximity effect, and core loss, the model of harmonic magnetic field of LC unit is also established to extract the inductances and resistances. To obtain the leakage inductance that serves as the DM inductance, the model of harmonic magnetic field with a leakage layer between LC units is studied. The DM capacitance can be calculated directly using the approximate expression of a parallel plate. Finally, the impedances of the LC units can be drawn out with the obtained distributed parameters under the appreciate boundary conditions, and they are compared with the measured results. The results verify the accuracy of the extracted parameters and the validity of the proposed extraction method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter with the function of separating working and noise current is proposed based on the "skin effect" and "proximity effect". By plating a high loss conductor with a certain thickness to the outside of the unit, the common mode (CM) noise can be dissipated due to the skin effect. While by plating the conductor to the inside of the unit, the differential mode (DM) noise can be dissipated due to the proximity effect. By proper electrical connection, the "noise" current and the "working" current can be separated, thus achieving the suppressed high frequency noise current and almost lossless working current. Based on the finite element method (FEM), the harmonic field model is established, the current density distribution is simulated, the AC resistance coefficient is extracted, and the quantified analysis of the dissipation capability is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic degradation of nano-flake organic–inorganic composite photocatalyst. PDINH/Bi 2 WO 6. [Display omitted] • An organic-inorganic nano-composite photocatalyst PDINH/Bi 2 WO 6 was synthesized by intermolecular hydrogen bond and π-π superposition, which supported Bi 2 WO 6 on PDINH supramolecular support. • The relationship between the morphology of PDINH/Bi 2 WO 6 and catalytic performance was studied. • Under the conditions of hydrothermal synthesis at 140℃ for 24 h, the photocatalyst could degrade more than 98% of low concentration phenol (10 ppm) under visible light, and the activity of the catalyst decreased less than 5%. Organic-inorganic complex photocatalyst is constructed via the hydrothermal method. PDINH monolayers self-assemble into lamellar organic supramolecular carriers under π-π stacking. Under acidic conditions, –OH was introduced into Bi 2 WO 6 crystal, and the hydrothermal reaction system made it interact better with the C O bond on PDINH, forming hydrogen-like bond –CO ··· H, which aggregated on the exterior of PDINH by van der Waals force. The matched energy band situations of the two nanomaterials and the close integrated interfaces promoted the constitution of a nano lamellar structure, which enhanced the charge carrier separation efficiency. The catalyst with a molar ratio of 0.5:0.4 (PDINH: Bi 2 WO 6) was synthesized at 140℃ for 24 h and had excellent photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic performance of P/T/B under visible light was evaluated by using 6 ppm aqueous phenol solution as a degradation target. The degradation rate of phenol in aqueous solution was 98% in 350 min. The photocatalytic performance for the degradation of phenol by PDINH/Bi 2 WO 6 was increased twice when compared with PDINH, and four times higher than that of pure Bi 2 WO 6. Furthermore, the stability of Bi 2 WO 6 was reinforced considering the presence of PDINH supramolecular as a carrier, which further improved the recycling and utilization of photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study evaluated the effects of Schizochytrium sp., as a promising feed additive, on the antioxidant enzyme activity, physicochemical quality, fatty acid composition and volatile compounds of beef. The results revealed that Schizochytrium could improve the antioxidant capacity of beef and increase the nutritional value, which was related to the abundant docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in Schizochytrium. Our current research results provide guidance for the development of environmentally friendly diet additives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with microalgae (Schizochytrium sp.) containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the antioxidant enzyme activity, physicochemical quality, fatty acid composition and volatile compounds of beef meat. Eighteen male Qaidamford cattle were randomly allocated into three treatments (n = 6): no micro-algae supplementation (Control group, C), 100 g microalgae supplementation per bull per day (FD1), and 200 g microalgae supplementation per bull per day (FD2), and fed for 49 days before slaughter. The results showed that, compared with the C group, the addition of DHA-rich microalgae to the diet could significantly increase the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in meat. In the FD2 group, it was found that the concentration of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). DHA-rich microalgae supplementation increased polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 n-6), DHA, EPA + DHA, and n-3 PUFA and reduced n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio. Twenty-four volatile compounds identified in beef were mainly aldehydes, alcohols and ketones from the fingerprints. The contents of short-chain fatty aldehydes, 1-octen-3-ol and 2-pentylfuran, were higher in the FD2 group than in the other two groups. The microalgae diet improved the sensory attribute score of beef. The results demonstrated that dietary supplementation of DHA-rich microalgae improved the antioxidant status, increased the deposition of DHA and enhanced the characteristic flavor of beef. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the second largest irrigated country in the world. Increasing irrigation intensity costs more water and energy, and produces more greenhouse gas (GHG). In the present study, the responses of maize economic and environmental benefits to different irrigation managements were analyzed in a 2-year field study. A purposely designed tube–study was conducted to explore mechanism underlying effects of irrigation managements in detail. Three treatments, rainfed (RF), flood irrigation (FI), and drip irrigation (DI) were included in the field. Five treatments, no irrigation, flood irrigation, irrigation in 0–30, 30–60, and 0–90 cm depth were conducted in the tube study. Compared to RF, grain yields of FI and DI significantly increased by 22.1 % and 35.7 %, respectively, the net ecosystem economic budget significantly increased by 34.2 % and 35.6 %, and carbon footprint decreased by 7.0 % and 12.7 % in the field study. The irrigation treatments in the tube study increased the global warming potential by 12.0–32.8 % and grain yield by 44.5–203.9 %, and reduced GHG intensity by 24.3–57.4 %, compared with no irrigation treatment. Water content at the top soil layer had the greatest impact on GHG emissions. In conclusion, the differences in grain yield and GHG emissions among irrigation managements are mainly due to the soil water content in space and time. Drip irrigation decreases GHG intensity by producing more grain yield due to the optimized soil water distribution in the root zone. Irrigation management with appropriate amount and frequency can increase economic benefit and reduce environmental cost in maize production. [Display omitted] • Soil water distribution in drip irrigation is beneficial to maize yield. • Drip irrigation decreases GHGI relative to flood irrigation. • Soil moisture at the top soil layer is the main contributor to GHG emissions. • Optimizing irrigation helps to balance yield with environmental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planar electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter has good application prospect in power electronics system with the advantages of small volume and good high-frequency performance. However, a complete theoretical system for the design of planar EMI filter has not been proposed yet. In this paper, an integrated structure formed by an annular “inductor–capacitor” (LC unit) is proposed first, which can be used as the basic cell of the planar EMI filter. A general arc transmission theory is also proposed, based on which the distributed-parameter model of the LC unit is established. Then, this LC unit can be equivalent to the two-port network by employing the model transformation method. Besides, the turn-to-turn electromagnetic parameter is extracted using finite element method, which provides the foundation for the research of LC unit and electromagnetic performance of the filter. The design method and the implementation of the whole planar EMI filter are elaborated in details, and the empirical initial values of the related structural sizes are also presented in this paper. In order to verify the proposed design theory, several EMI filters formed by LC units are designed according to the specifications. Common-mode insertion losses of the EMI filter are calculated and measured, respectively. The results verify the feasibility of the design theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CDW-silty soil mixture can be a reliable and eco-friendly alternative as subgrades materials. • 50% was the threshold content in mass of CDW-silty soil mixture in this investigation. • Failure pattern was identified by the destruction morphology and contact force network. • This mixture behaves same as naturally deposited rocks, i.e. pebbled sandstone or granular rock etc. With the development of urbanisation, massive crushed demolished construction wastes (CDW) have been generated, leading to environmental and disposal problems. In order to recycle the waste efficiently, an engineering sustainable CDW disposal was carried in Dajiangdong area, Hangzhou China. CDW was used to stabilize the deposited loose silt for feasible constructions and liquefaction preventions. The mix comprised of silt, CDW and cement was designed to be used as subbase material with higher density and less void. The vibro-compaction was used to rearrange the grain distributions within the mixtures to improve the mechanical performance at an optimal constituent, and then the numerical simulation was performed to evaluate the internal mechanism of the admixture under compression. The result shows that the workability of CDW-silt-cement mixture has an optimum of CDW content at 50% in order to achieve the best engineering performance. Moreover, the cement, which intergrades the silt and supplies the cementation among the coarse CDW, are not only generate cohesion but also provide anti-erosion effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban logistics is an important research topic in human and economic geography; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are an emerging technology that has huge potential in the field of logistics with the release of control restrictions on low-altitude airspace. The scientific identification of the spatial pattern and impact factors of UAV logistics networks is greatly significant in regards to UAV logistics planning and scheduling. This study considered the urban logistics network of Hangzhou in 2020 as the research topic and used kernel density estimation, a geodetector, and geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis technology to systematically analyze the spatial patterns and influencing factors at the city and district scales. The study found that a significant spatial pattern was revealed in the UAV logistics network in Hangzhou, and the logistics nodes showed an obvious "core-edge" structure. The urban population, market scale and logistics infrastructure jointly shaped the structure and function of the UAV logistics network, and logistics nodes had a strong coupling relationship with the urban spatial structure. Through interaction detectors, the technical route of urban UAV logistics network construction was analyzed and summarized, and results can provide a scientific basis and case reference for other cities to build and plan UAV logistics networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar cells comprising earth‐abundant and non‐toxic elements with applicable bandgaps and high absorption coefficients have attracted considerable interest over the past several decades and are important devices for addressing the future demand for clean and renewable energy. Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) crystal material effectively meets these requirements owing to its suitable bandgap, high absorption coefficient, high electron and hole mobilities, earth abundance, and excellent stability. Solution‐processed Sb2S3 films are essential to facilitate the fabrication of low‐cost, large‐scale, and high‐efficiency photovoltaic devices, but suffer from several shortcomings of large intrinsic defects, high interfacial barrier, and atomic mismatch, uncontrollable film thickness, and crystal orientation. In this review, a systematic overview of the fundamental properties of solution‐processed Sb2S3 materials is presented, and then interface engineering, defect passivation and control strategies, crystal orientation and modulation methods, device structure, and the performance of Sb2S3 solar cells are focused, highlighting the primary advancements and major challenges based on this technology. Finally, several creative perspectives and constructive innovation strategies for future research on Sb2S3 photovoltaic devices are provided, indicating a roadmap for the practical application of other inorganic semiconductor heterojunction thin film solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schematic diagram of the photocatalytic reaction mechanism of PDINH/TiO 2 under simulated sunlight. • The organic-inorganic nanometer flower photocatalyst PDINH/TiO 2 with enhanced photoactivity was synthesized using PDINH as the self-assembled carrier of nano-anatase TiO 2. • The CO···H Hydrogen bond between PDINH and TiO 2 numerators in the In-situ self-assembly PDINH/TiO 2 Nano photocatalyst enables valid chronic electrons delocalization and thereby accelerates the migration and separation photo-generated charges, so that it has significant photocatalytic dynamic character. • In this experiment, the photocatalytic degradation of phenol (6 ppm) by PDINH/TiO 2 composite photocatalyst under simulated sunlight was investigated for the first time. It is found that the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of PDINH/TiO 2 for phenol (6 ppm) can reach 90 % after 6 hours of light irradiation. Compared with PDINH and TiO 2 , its degradation efficiency is very excellent under the same conditions. • In this experiment, the influence of synthesis temperature on the morphology and photocatalytic performance of the catalyst was studied for the first time, and the results showed that the composite catalyst synthesized at 20 ℃ by stacking the rectangle had the best photocatalytic performance. The organic-inorganic eco-friendly semiconductor photocatalysts have the ability to effectively clear away organic pollutants under daylight, so the research on their synthesis with the controllable topography to improve its solar utilization and degradation activity has drawn the attention of many scholars. In this study, the organic-inorganic nanometer flower photocatalyst PDINH/TiO 2 with enhanced photoactivity was synthesized using PDINH (perylene 3,4,9, 10-tetracarbonate diimide) as the self-assembled carrier of nano-anatase TiO 2. The CO⋯H Hydrogen bond between PDINH and TiO 2 numerators in the In-situ self-assembly PDINH/TiO 2 Nano photocatalyst enables valid chronic electrons delocalization and thereby accelerates the migration and separation photo-generated charges, so that it has significant photocatalytic dynamic character. This experiment discussed the performance of PDINH/TiO 2 photocatalytic degradation of phenol for the first time, and the consequents evidenced that PDINH/TiO 2 nanocomposite behaved a rapid degradation of phenol (6 ppm) in 6 h under the simulated sunlight. The operation briefness and the latent of making use of the sunlight capability urged the PDINH/TiO 2 to be a notable rising star for the photodegradation of the organic pollutants in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional solid-state reaction method was employed to prepare the KCa(PO 3) 3 : Eu3+ red-emitting phosphors. The emphasis of this work lies in the charge-compensation effects produced by monovalent alkali ion M+ (M = Li, Na, and K) on the luminescence properties. With the nonequivalent substitution of Eu3+ ion for Ca2+ ion, Ca2+ vacancy was inevitably produced, which had negatively effects on luminescence intensity. In this case, the monovalent alkali ions, acting as charge compensators, were introduced into the host. Compared to the uncompensated sample, M+ co-doped samples had remarkable enhancement on luminescence intensity with the most intense emission for Na+ ion compensation. Besides, KCa(PO 3) 3 : Eu3+ has a good chromaticity coordinates (0.643, 0.357) along with an incredibly high quantum efficiency (nearly 100%), indicating its potential applications in w-LEDs. • Eu3+-activated KCa(PO 3) 3 red-emitting phosphors were synthesized using a traditional solid-state method. • KCa(PO 3) 3 : Eu3+ phosphor shows a high absorption to ultraviolet light and exhibits an intense red emission under the excitation of 394 nm. • The concentration quenching mechanism is determined to be dipole-dipole interaction. • Among various charge compensators, Na+ ion is found to be the best charge compensator which gives rise to the highest emission intensity. • The CIE color coordinates of this as-synthesized phosphor was calculated to be (0.6425, 0.3571). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the spatial and temporal coordination between soil water and roots is very important for crop growth. The vertical distribution and relationship between soil water and root are however poorly understood during maize growth under different soil water conditions. In this study, two maize hybrids ZD958 and FM985 were treated with drip irrigation (DI), flood irrigation (FI), and rainfed (RF) in two–year field experiment as well as with irrigation at 0–30 (TI), 30–60 (MI), 60–90 (BI), 0–90 cm soil layers (AI) and no irrigation in three–year tube experiment. In field experiment, DI and FI both increased root dry weight, root length density (RLD), and the proportion of coarse root length at different soil layers relative to RF. DI increased grain yield by 10.0% in FM985 and by 10.8% in ZD958 compared with FI. Both total root and fine root length were greater in DI than in FI, which increased the nitrogen and water use efficiency and yield. In the tube experiment, irrigation at different soil layers increased root dry weight, RLD and the proportion of coarse root length compared with no irrigation, with AI increasing the most. FM985 distributed more roots at the 0–30 cm soil layer than ZD958. Grain yields were positively correlated with the RLD in each soil layer and coarse root proportion at the upper layer (r=0.493** in field experiment and r=426** in tube experiment) but negatively correlated with root–shoot ratio (r=−0.793** in field experiment and r=−670** in tube experiment) at maturity stage. In conclusion, there is a large potential to improve maize yield by enhancing the spatial coordination between root distribution and soil water movement. • Irrigation shaped maize root distribution by regulating soil water content in space. • Root length density was closely related to maize yield regardless of soil layer. • Coarse root proportion at the shallow soil layer contributed more greatly to yield. • Maize yield was negatively correlated with root–shoot ratio at maturity stage.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) is a bis-amide pesticide used for pest control mainly in agricultural production activities and rice-fish co-culture systems. CAP residues cause liver damage in non-target organism freshwater fish. However, it is unclear whether CAP-exposure-induced liver injury in fish is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction-mediated mitophagy, ferroptosis, and cytokines. Therefore, we established grass carp hepatocyte models exposed to different concentrations of CAP (20, 40, and 80 μM) in vitro. MitoSOX probe, JC-1 staining, immunofluorescence double staining, Fe2+ staining, lipid peroxidation staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blot were used to verify the physiological regulatory mechanism of CAP induced liver injury. In the present study, the CAP-treated groups exhibited down-regulation of antioxidant-related enzyme activities and accumulation of peroxides. CAP treatment induced an increase in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) levels and altered expression of mitochondrial fission/fusion (Drp1, Fis1, Mfn1, Mfn2, and Opa1) genes in grass carp hepatocytes. In addition, mitophagy (Parkin, Pink1, p62, LC3II/I, and Beclin-1), ferroptosis (GPX4, COX2, ACSL4, FTH, and NCOA4), and cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-18, IL-17, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-2, and TNF-α)-related gene expression was significantly altered. Collectively, these findings suggest that CAP exposure drives mitophagy activation, ferroptosis occurrence, and cytokine homeostasis imbalance in grass carp hepatocytes by triggering mitochondrial dysfunction mediated by the mtROS-mitochondrial fission/fusion axis. This study partly explained the physiological regulation mechanism of grass carp hepatocyte injury induced by insecticide CAP from the physiological and biochemical point of view and provided a basis for evaluating the safety of CAP environmental residues to non-target organisms. [Display omitted] • Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) reduces the antioxidant enzyme activity of L8824 cells. • CAP causes mitochondrial dysfunction by altering mtROS and mitochondrial dynamics. • CAP exposure induces mitophagy activation and ferroptosis in L8824 cells. • CAP exposure induces cytokine homeostasis imbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Farnesene, a sesquiterpene with diverse applications, is applied in fields ranging from bioenergy and agriculture to medicine. In this study, a series of fermentation conditions and process control strategies were employed to enhance the accumulation of β-farnesene. Through the optimization of medium components, a suitable environment was created for β-farnesene biosynthesis in Yarrowia lipolytica, using only three inorganic salts as the initial medium. On this basis, cell growth and citrate supply were enhanced by adjusting the feeding time point, which begins when dissolved oxygen level below 40%. Additionally, initial cell density and glucose concentration during fermentation were separately optimized. Ultimately, nitrogen-limited conditions were applied to maximize carbon flux towards β-farnesene synthesis and the ideal condition was found to be C/N ratio of 100. Under the optimal condition, the titer of β-farnesene was increased by 227%, reaching 22.04 g/L in a 2 L bioreactor. This study optimizes terpenoid biosynthesis fermentation control and establishes a platform for the potential utilizing of waste biomass in Y. lipolytica. [Display omitted] • The optimization of initial fermentation conditions improved cell growth. • The adjustment of feeding times facilitated the citrate accumulation. • Nitrogen-limited strategy increased the titer and yield of β-farnesene. • Under the optimal conditions, 22.04 g/L β-farnesene was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the way of competition has changed in terms of garment manufacturing. Quality and scale competition gradually turn into speed competition. Garment manufacturers need to shorten the production cycle to win development opportunities. This paper takes a garment manufacturing factory as the research object, and innovatively uses the MOST method and Em-Plant simulation to improve the efficiency of its production line. According to each activity, operation time and worker assignment of the garment manufacturing process, the corresponding simulation model based on Em-Plant software is created to reveal the current problems existing in the manufacturing process. By analyzing these results, the bottlenecks in the process are found out. Applying theoretical knowledge such as production line balancing, lean production, motion study and time analysis, the improvement two plans are put forward, and the corresponding simulation results are given subsequently. Finally, a relatively better improvement plan is determined, which can better achieve the goal of balancing production line, improving efficiency, and reducing cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Research Article Dietary lycopene powder improves meat oxidative stability in Hu lambs by Chenchen Xu et al., DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.9282. The cover image is based on the Research Article Dietary lycopene powder improves meat oxidative stability in Hu lambs by Chenchen Xu et al., DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.9282. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cypermethrin (CYP, IUPAC name: [cyano-(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl] 3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylate) is a pyrethroid insecticide that poses a threat to the health of humans and aquatic animals due to its widespread use and environmental contamination. However, the mechanism of CYP on apoptosis, autophagy and inflammation in hepatocytes of carp (Cyprinus carpio) is unknown. We hypothesized that CYP caused damage to hepatocytes through the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway, CCK-8 was used to detect the toxic effects of different doses of CYP on hepatocytes, and finally low (L, 10 μM), medium (M, 40 μM), and high (H, 80 μM) doses of CYP was selected to construct the model. ROS staining, oxidative stress-related indices (MDA, CAT, T-AOC, SOD), AO/EB staining, MDC staining, and the expression levels of related genes were detected using qRT-PCR and western blot. Our results showed that CYP exposure resulted in an increase in ROS production, an increase in MDA content, and a decrease in the activity of CAT, SOD, and T-AOC in hepatocytes; the proportion of apoptotic, necrotic, and autophagic cells increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that CYP exposure increased the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum-related genes (GRP78, PERK, IRE-1, ATF-6 and CHOP), apoptosis (Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3, Caspase-9 and Cyt-c) and autophagy-related genes (LC3b, Beclin1 and P62) also showed dose-dependent changes, and the expression levels of inflammation-related genes (NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) were also significantly elevated. Thus, we demonstrated that CYP exposure caused apoptosis, autophagy and inflammation in hepatocytes via ERS-ROS-NF-κB axis. This research contributes to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying CYP-induced damage in hepatocytes of carp (Cyprinus carpio). [Display omitted] • Cypermethrin (CYP) exposure activates endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and oxidative stress in common carp hepatocytes. • CYP dose-dependently induces apoptosis and autophagy in common carp hepatocytes via the ERS-ROS-NF-κB axis. • CYP dose-dependently induces inflammatory response in common carp hepatocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β‐Lactam antibiotics are generally perceived as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, and these small molecular compounds have saved millions of lives. However, upon clinical application of antibiotics, the β‐lactamase secreted by pathogenic bacteria can lead to the gradual development of drug resistance. β‐Lactamase is a hydrolase that can efficiently hydrolyze and destroy β‐lactam antibiotics. It develops and spreads rapidly in pathogens, and the drug‐resistant bacteria pose a severe threat to human health and development. As a result, detecting and inhibiting the activities of β‐lactamase are of great value for the rational use of antibiotics and the treatment of infectious diseases. At present, many specific detection methods and inhibitors of β‐lactamase have been developed and applied in clinical practice. In this Minireview, we describe the resistance mechanism of bacteria producing β‐lactamase and further summarize the fluorogenic probes, inhibitors of β‐lactamase, and their applications in the treatment of infectious diseases. It may be valuable to design fluorogenic probes with improved selectivity, sensitivity, and effectiveness to further identify the inhibitors for β‐lactamases and eventually overcome bacterial resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β‐Lactam antibiotics are generally perceived as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, and these small molecular compounds have saved millions of lives. However, upon clinical application of antibiotics, the β‐lactamase secreted by pathogenic bacteria can lead to the gradual development of drug resistance. β‐Lactamase is a hydrolase that can efficiently hydrolyze and destroy β‐lactam antibiotics. It develops and spreads rapidly in pathogens, and the drug‐resistant bacteria pose a severe threat to human health and development. As a result, detecting and inhibiting the activities of β‐lactamase are of great value for the rational use of antibiotics and the treatment of infectious diseases. At present, many specific detection methods and inhibitors of β‐lactamase have been developed and applied in clinical practice. In this Minireview, we describe the resistance mechanism of bacteria producing β‐lactamase and further summarize the fluorogenic probes, inhibitors of β‐lactamase, and their applications in the treatment of infectious diseases. It may be valuable to design fluorogenic probes with improved selectivity, sensitivity, and effectiveness to further identify the inhibitors for β‐lactamases and eventually overcome bacterial resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 27 years (1990–2017), based on the revolutionary progresses of basic nutrition research, novel methods and techniques have been developed which bring a profound technological revolution to pig production from free‐range system to intensive farming all over the world. Basic theoretical innovations and feed production studies have provided vital advancements in pig nutrition by developing formula feed, utilizing balanced diets, determining feed energy value, dividing pig physiological stages, enhancing gut health, and improving feed processing technique. Formula feed is the primary contributor of the rise of the mechanized farming industry, and meets comprehensive nutritional needs of the pig. The focuses of the development of a balanced diet by optimizing nutrient levels are the amino acids balance, the balance between amino acids and energy, the balance between calcium and phosphorus. Multiple‐site‐production and targeted feeding program have been applied extensively. Early weaning of piglets improves production efficiency, but piglets that have not yet fully developed their intestine are prone to diarrhea. Therefore, intestinal health has received special attention in recent years. Feed processing technologies, such as granulation, puffing, fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis, can improve the utilization of feed nutrients and reduce production cost. However, increasing a sow's potential for production, seeking alternatives to antibiotics, reducing drug treatment in piglets, developing functional additives and improving meat quality remain future challenges. Herein, we outline the important progresses of pig nutrition in the past 27 years, which will shed light on the basic nutrition rules of pig production, and help to push forward its future development. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to analyse and model the behaviour decision-making of rescue crews in multi-helicopter collaborative search and rescue mission. Firstly, based on decision field theory, a dynamic behavioural decision-making model was put forward considering personal behaviour decision-making preference. Besides, considering physical characteristics, safety requirements and rescue crews' behaviour decision-making, a multi-helicopter collaborative search and rescue behaviour model was established. Then, based on the survey of four general aviation helicopter search and rescue companies, the search and rescue efficiency by teams composed of different decision-making preferences was simulated based on distributed ant colony algorithm in experiments. Results showed that rescue crews with different personal preferences have different behaviour characteristics. Besides, teams composed of mixed preferences are more efficient than teams composed of single preferences, and the most optimal composition way is when the positive type is slightly more than the conservative type and balanced type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kernel moisture influences harvest timing and the consequent mechanized harvest of maize (Zea mays L.). To decrease kernel moisture, growth season (the period from sowing to physiological maturity) was usually shortened for new hybrids in China, which also resulted in lower yield. Our objective was to understand the underlying mechanism to achieve both high grain yield and low grain moisture simultaneously for new hybrids. Field experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 in North China Plain with three different hybrids (ZD958 as the traditional hybrid, JNK728 and DK517 as the new hybrids, and XY335 as the transitional hybrid) under three densities (60,000, 75,000, 90,000 plants ha−1). For new hybrids, growth season was 9 to 12 d shorter than for other hybrids. Under the density of 60,000 plants ha−1, grain yield of new hybrids was 9.1% lower compared with the traditional and transitional hybrids. When the density was increased to 75,000 plants ha−1, grain yield of new hybrids (12.9 Mg ha−1) was similar or even higher. Grain moisture at physiology maturity averaged 272 g kg−1 for new hybrids, similar to the transitional hybrid and 7.5% lower compared with the traditional hybrid. The lower grain moisture mainly resulted from >30% of stover dry matter translocated to grain for new hybrids, similar to the transitional hybrid and 235.0% greater than the traditional hybrids. Furthermore, higher translocation rate was mainly from stalk in late grain‐filling stage. Our study highlighted the importance of yield improvement and the relationship between kernel moisture and dry matter translocation for new hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]