Deficiency and excess of groundwater iodine and their health associations.

More than two billion people worldwide have suffered thyroid disorders from either iodine deficiency or excess. By creating the national map of groundwater iodine throughout China, we reveal the spatial responses of diverse health risks to iodine in continental groundwater. Greater non-carcinogenic risks relevant to lower iodine more likely occur in the areas of higher altitude, while those associated with high groundwater iodine are concentrated in the areas suffered from transgressions enhanced by land over-use and intensive anthropogenic overexploitation.

Dynamic analysis of lathe bed of woodworking CNC machining center based on the modeling of joint surface.

Based on the finite element theory, a joint-plane modeling method is employed to connect the corresponding nodes at the joint surface of the woodworking computer numerical control (CNC) machining center bed with a 2-node 12-degree-of-freedom unit. A spatial element model is established, which can show the state of the nodes between joint surfaces when they are stretched, compressed, or twisted; and it can help build a woodworking CNC machining center on a finite element model of bed with the characteristics of the joint surface. The simulated analysis is performed on the model and is compared with the result of simulated analysis on the bed model that ignores the characteristics of the joint surface and modal experiment.

Altered neural correlates of optimal decision-making in individuals with depressive status.

Making optimal decisions by computing risk and benefit is necessary for humans. However, whether individuals with depressive status could utilize the optimal strategy to guide decision and its neural correlates remain unclear. The current study explored these issues by combining a decision task and high temporal-resolution electroencephalogram (EEG).

High-speed lateral stability and trajectory tracking performance for a tractor-semitrailer with active trailer steering.

An active trailer steering (ATS) controller is investigated to improve the lateral stability and trajectory tracking performance of the tractor-semitrailer. First of all, a linear yaw-roll dynamic model of the tractor-semitrailer with steerable trailer wheels is established, and the model accuracy is verified. Then a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for actively steering the trailer's wheels is designed.

Controllable Size-Independent Three-Dimensional Inertial Focusing in High-Aspect-Ratio Asymmetric Serpentine Microchannels.

High-throughput three-dimensional (3D) focusing of cells is the key prerequisite for enabling accurate microfluidic cell detection and analysis. In this work, we develop a high-aspect-ratio asymmetric serpentine (HARAS) microchannel for single-line inertial focusing of particles and cells at the 3D center of the channel. The mechanism of 3D focusing is explored by numerical simulation, and the focusing performances of differently sized particles are characterized experimentally at different flow rates.

Research and application of a new method for adjusting the vehicle body height.

The use of active suspension for vehicle height adjustment has problems of high cost, high energy consumption, slow response, and complex structure. This paper proposes a new method for adjusting the vehicle body using the damping asymmetric characteristic of semi-active suspensions, which is based on the idea that the dampers with damping asymmetric characteristics will cause a change in the mean position of the vehicle body vibration. To verify the feasibility of this method, a single-wheel vehicle model containing asymmetric damping is established.

Regulatory strategies for inhibiting horizontal gene transfer of ARGs in paddy and dryland soil through computer-based methods.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been regarded as emerging pollutants due to their potential risk of resistance. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the main pathway for ARGs to lead to environmental threats. Therefore, the inhabitation of ARGs' HGT can effectively inhibit ARGs' potential drug resistance risk within a single strain.

Flexible on-chip droplet generation, switching and splitting via controllable hydrodynamics.

Flexible droplet preparation and manipulation are significant for lots applications such as immunoreaction and monocellular culture. Herein, we present a novel method for effective on-chip droplet generation, splitting and switching via controllable hydrodynamics. The microchannel of the designed chip has 6 inlets and 3 three outlets.

A Research on the Sharing Platform of Wild Bird Data in Yunnan Province Based on Blockchain and Interstellar File System.

Sharing scientific data is an effective means to rationally exploit scientific data and is vital to promote the development of the industrial chain and improve the level of science and technology. In recent years, the popularity of the open data platform has increased, but problems remain, including imperfect system architecture, unsound privacy and security, and non-standardized interaction data. To address these problems, the blockchain's decentralization, smart contracts, distributed storage, and other features can be used as the core technology for open data systems.

Glucose-driven TOR-FIE-PRC2 signalling controls plant development.

Nutrients and energy have emerged as central modulators of developmental programmes in plants and animals. The evolutionarily conserved target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is a master integrator of nutrient and energy signalling that controls growth. Despite its key regulatory roles in translation, proliferation, metabolism and autophagy, little is known about how TOR shapes developmental transitions and differentiation.

A modified receptor model for source apportionment of sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have become a serious threat to human health and ecological security due to their persistence and high toxicity. Lake sediments are in a relatively closed environment, so PAHs and other pollutants can be preserved for a long time. Accurate analysis of the sources of PAHs in sediments is an important prerequisite for PAH pollution control.

Modeling spatial interaction networks of the gut microbiota.

How the gut microbiota is organized across space is postulated to influence microbial succession and its mutualistic relationships with the host. The lack of dynamic or perturbed abundance data poses considerable challenges for characterizing the spatial pattern of microbial interactions. We integrate allometric scaling theory, evolutionary game theory, and prey-predator theory into a unified framework under which quasi-dynamic microbial networks can be inferred from static abundance data.

A deep learning-based method for classification, detection, and localization of weeds in turfgrass.

Background: Precision spraying of synthetic herbicides can reduce herbicide input. Previous research demonstrated the effectiveness of using image classification neural networks for detecting weeds growing in turfgrass, but did not attempt to discriminate weed species and locate the weeds on the input images. The objectives of this research were to: (i) investigate the feasibility of training deep learning models using grid cells (subimages) to detect the location of weeds on the image by identifying whether or not the grid cells contain weeds; and (ii) evaluate DenseNet, EfficientNetV2, ResNet, RegNet and VGGNet to detect and discriminate multiple weed species growing in turfgrass (multi-classifier) and detect and discriminate weeds (regardless of weed species) and turfgrass (two-classifier).

Feasibility Analysis of Mutual Benefit Cooperation between Environment-Embedded Art Design Education and Local SMEs Development Based on Improved Grey Analysis.

With the continuous progress of the economic era, both art and design education and local small and medium-sized enterprises are facing the crisis of survival and the pressure of competition, forcing the two to join hands to resist this crisis. The protection of the ecological environment will not only affect people's lives, but also affect the design and creation of art. This paper adopts the methods of correlation degree and correlation coefficient to construct a feasibility analysis model of mutual benefit cooperation between environment-embedded art and design education and local SMEs development based on improved grey analysis.

CML8 and GAD4 function in (Z)-3-hexenol-mediated defense by regulating γ-aminobutyric acid accumulation in Arabidopsis.

(Z)-3-hexenol, a small gaseous molecule, is produced in plants under biotic stress and induces defense responses in neighboring plants. However, little is known about how (Z)-3-hexenol induces plant defense-related signaling. In this study, we uncovered how (Z)-3-hexenol treatment enhances plant resistance to insect attacks by increasing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) contents in Arabidopsis leaves.

Prediction of carbon dioxide production from green waste composting and identification of critical factors using machine learning algorithms.

Controlling carbon dioxide produced from green waste composting is a vital issue in response to carbon neutralization. However, there are few computational methods for accurately predicting carbon dioxide production from green waste composting. Based on the data collected, this study developed novel machine learning methods to predict carbon dioxide production from green waste composting and made a comparison among six methods.

Genetic Architecture of Heterophylly: Single and Multi-Leaf Genome-Wide Association Mapping in .

Heterophylly is an adaptive strategy used by some plants in response to environmental changes. Due to the lack of representative plants with typical heteromorphic leaves, little is known about the genetic architecture of heterophylly in plants and the genes underlying its control. Here, we investigated the genetic characteristics underlying changes in leaf shape based on the model species, , which exhibits typical heterophylly.

Investigation on the Control of COVID-19 in Wuhan: Number of Infections Outside Hospitals and the Reproduction Number.

COVID-19 is erupting globally, and Wuhan successfully controlled it within a month. Infections arose from infectious persons outside hospitals. After data revision, data-based and model-based analyses were implemented, and the conclusions are as follows.

Research Progress of Noise in High-Speed Cutting Machining.

High-speed cutting technology has become a development trend in the material processing industry. However, high-intensity noise generated during high-speed cutting exerts a potential effect on the processing efficiency, processing accuracy, and product quality of the workpiece; it may even cause hidden safety hazards. To conduct an in-depth study of noise in high-speed cutting machining, this work reviews noise sources, noise collection and numerical recognition, noise control, and condition monitoring based on acoustic signals.

Continuous Flat Pressing of MDF Quality Control Model Framework and Collaborative Programming Approach Based on Wood Fiber Hot Pressing Mechanism.

The increasing demand for forestry resources is driving the need for smarter systems capable of saving and protecting forests that can optimize agile forestry production. This study uses the continuous hot-pressing process of wooden medium-density fiberboard (MDF) to investigate the possibility of automatic quality control of the continuous flat pressing process. For this purpose, conceptual digital twin modeling for mechanism and sequence parameter control was conducted based on the cellular automata (CA) theory.

Identification of ARF family in blueberry and its potential involvement of fruit development and pH stress response.

Background: Auxin responsive factor (ARF) family is one of core components in auxin signalling pathway, which governs diverse developmental processes and stress responses. Blueberry is an economically important berry-bearing crop and prefers to acidic soil. However, the understandings of ARF family has not yet been reported in blueberry.

Effects of Different Nitrogen Forms and Competitive Treatments on the Growth and Antioxidant System of and Under High Nitrogen Concentrations.

Nitrogen (N) is one of the essential nutrients for plant growth. Appropriate application of N can improve the N use efficiency (NUE) and significantly promote plants' growth. However, under N toxic conditions, the relationship between the growth and antioxidant system of invasive plants under different N forms and competitive treatments is not fully understood.

Selective membrane wrapping on differently sized nanoparticles regulated by clathrin assembly: A computational model.

Nanoparticles (NPs) enter cells via multiple pathways, all of which are NP size dependent. Previous studies indicated that the clathrin-mediated endocytosis has different selectivity for the NP size, but the regulatory mechanism remains unclear and difficult to study at the molecular scale in vivo. By means of computer simulation, here we design membrane wrapping on differently sized NPs with mimic clathrin assembly at the opposite membrane side.