Chitooligosaccharide application enhanced the growth and phytoremediation efficiency of industrial hemp in Cd-contaminated soils.

Hemp has been widely used for cadmium (Cd) remediation. However, its remediation efficiency needs to be improved. Chitooligosaccharides can enhance plant resistance and growth; however, their effects on hemp for Cd-remediation remain unclear.

Treatment and prediction of wastewater from waste transfer station in the eastern rural area of China by a combined system of anaerobic-oxic-anoxic-oxic, coagulation and adsorption.

In this study, a combined system of anaerobic-oxic-anoxic-oxic, coagulation and adsorption (AOAOCA) was used to treat the real waste transfer station (WTS) wastewater. The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT), sludge reflux ratio (SRR), mixed liquid reflux ratio (MLRR), coagulant and zeolite on the contaminants removal efficiency were investigated. When the AOAOCA system was operated at the optimal conditions (HRT of 8 d, SRR of 70%, MLRR of 200%, PAFC as coagulant with dosage of 750 ppm and 1-3 mm zeolite with filling rate of 60%), the effluent COD, NH-N and TP could reach 82.

TssL2 of T6SS2 is required for mobility, biofilm formation, wrinkly phenotype formation, and virulence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus SH112.

Type VI secretion system 2 (T6SS2) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus is required for cell adhesion and autophagy in macrophages; however, other phenotypes conferred by this T6SS have not been thoroughly investigated. We deleted TssL2, a key component of T6SS2 assembly, to explore the role of the T6SS2 in environmental adaptation and virulence. TssL2 deletion reduced Hcp2 secretion, suggesting that TssL2 played an important role in activity of functional T6SS2.

Influence of Modified PVA Fiber on Ultra-High Performance Concrete and Its Enhancing Mechanism.

In this study, the properties of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) were enhanced by adding modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers. The specimens with different curing ages were evaluated in various aspects to investigate the effects of different dosages, lengths, and surface treatments of PVA fibers on the performance of UHPC. The performance was compared with that of steel fiber-reinforced UHPC with the same ratio and multiple dosages.

Sensors for surveillance of RNA viruses: a One Health perspective.

RNA viruses, especially those capable of cross-species transmission, pose a serious threat to human, animal, and environmental health, as exemplified by the 2024 outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in cattle, unpasteurised milk, and workers on dairy farms in the USA. This escalating risk of a new RNA virus pandemic highlights the urgent need to implement One Health strategies. However, the centralised virus detection systems currently in use fall short of meeting the required level of virus surveillance and infection diagnosis, particularly in resource-limited regions.

A glutamine synthetase-Dof transcription factor module regulates nitrogen remobilization from source to sink tissues in tea plants.

Nitrogen (N) remobilization from mature leaves to new shoots (NSs) is closely related to the quality of green tea in the spring season, which subsequently determines its economic value. However, the underlying N remobilization mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that >80% of the recovered 15N was partitioned in the first mature leaves that supply NSs.

Another inner truth of shaking: Water migration and transformation-advanced physicochemical alterations in tea leaves.

Shaking, essential in oolong tea production, is becoming an innovative method to impart floral fragrance. Research on shaking primarily concentrates on biological underpinnings, including modifications in gene expression and stress-triggered enzymatic catalysis, and consequent physicochemical properties. Water phase and distribution, reshaped by shaking and affected the biological and physicochemical alterations of tea leaves, is always ignored.

Revisional notes on Siniphanerotomella He et al. (Hymenoptera Braconidae Cheloninae) with description of a new species from China.

Siniphanerotomella He, Chen et van Achterberg, 1994 is a genus endemic to China with three described species. A fourth new species from Yunnan (China), S. yunnanensis Yao et van Achterberg, sp.

Optimizing geographical traceability models of Chinese Lycium barbarum: Investigating effects of region, cultivar, and harvest year on nutrients, bioactives, elements and stable isotope composition.

Lycium barbarum is a type of "medicine-food homology" whose geographical origin has attracted strong interest from consumers due to different regional quality characteristics. A sophisticated OPLS-DA model to verify Lycium barbarum origin was developed using 266 samples gathered from five cultivars in two regions between 2020 and 2022, which was based on 67 indices, including nutrients, bioactives, elements and stable isotopes. Twelve variables (fructose, δH, glucose, tartaric acid, Mo, Na, Sr, His, Phe, Mn, Lys and Rb) were selected to refine models that could distinguish Lycium barbarum origin without being impacted by cultivar or year.

A Sunlight-Interference-Immune Artificial Optoelectronic Synaptic Device for Visual Perception and Memory.

The artificial photoelectric synaptic devices integrating optical signal response and data processing functions enable the simulation of the human visual system. However, the optical modulation behavior of photoelectronic synaptic devices is susceptible to interference from sunlight background, significantly hindering their applications in optical modulation. To address this issue, a Ni/AlYN/ITO structure for sunlight-interference-free artificial synaptic memristor was designed and fabricated, and the application in photoelectric modulation was demonstrated.

Knockout of B2M in combination with PD-L1 overexpression protects MSC-derived new islet β cells from graft rejection in the treatment of canine diabetes mellitus.

Background: The immunogenicity of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is significantly enhanced after transplantation or differentiation, and these cells can be recognized and cleared by recipient immune cells. Graft rejection has become a major obstacle to improving the therapeutic effect of allogeneic MSCs or, after their differentiation, transplantation in the treatment of diabetes and other diseases. Solving this problem is helpful for prolonging the time that cells play a role in the recipient body and for significantly improving the clinical therapeutic effect.

Comprehensive characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the complete plastomes of two ant-orchids, Caularthron bicornutum and Myrmecophila thomsoniana.

Background: Myrmecophytes, characterized by specialized structures like hollow stems that facilitate mutualistic relationships with ants, serve as an important system for studying ant-plant interactions and the adaptation mechanisms. Caularthron and Myrmecophila are exemplary myrmecophytes within Orchidaceae. Previous studies suggested a genetic relationship between these two genera, placing them within Laeliinae (Epidendreae), yet the precise phylogenetic positioning remained uncertain.

Transcriptomic Profiling Unravels the Disruption of Photosynthesis Apparatuses and Induction of Immune Responses by a Bipartite Begomovirus in Tomato Plants.

Diseases caused by begomoviruses such as tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) are major constraints in agriculture. While the interactions between plants and monopartite begomoviruses during TYLCD pathogenesis have been explored extensively, how bipartite begomoviruses interact with tomato plants are understudied. Here we first found that a bipartite begomovirus tomato yellow leaf curl Thailand virus (TYLCTHV) induced stunted growth, leaf curl and yellowing in tomato plants.

BG-YOLO: A Bidirectional-Guided Method for Underwater Object Detection.

Degraded underwater images decrease the accuracy of underwater object detection. Existing research uses image enhancement methods to improve the visual quality of images, which may not be beneficial in underwater image detection and lead to serious degradation in detector performance. To alleviate this problem, we proposed a bidirectional guided method for underwater object detection, referred to as BG-YOLO.

Functional Divergence of the Closely Related Genes PhARF5 and PhARF19a in Flower Formation and Hormone Signaling.

The ARF gene family plays a vital role in regulating multiple aspects of plant growth and development. However, detailed research on the role of the ARF family in regulating flower development in petunia and other plants remains limited. This study investigates the distinct roles of and in flower development.

Formation of single-dominant-species patches of primarily influenced by understory light intensity.

Introduction: The fern community plays vital roles in nutrient sequestration, succession regulation, and ecological threshold control. However, the mechanisms underlying the formation of the -dominant community remain unclear.

Methods: This study established four different community types to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the formation of a -dominant community.

Development and Validation of a Mechanistic, Weather-Based Model for Walnut Blight Caused by pv. .

Walnut blight, caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj), occurs worldwide in almost all areas where the Persian walnut (Juglans regia) is grown, causing significant reductions in nut yield via defoliation and fruit drop. The disease control relies on the calendar-based, repeated use of chemical bactericides, negatively impacting economic and environmental sustainability and potentially inducing Xaj resistance to chemicals.

Creation of high-resistant starch rice through systematic editing of amylopectin biosynthetic genes in rs4.

Resistant starch (RS) is a special kind of starch with beneficial effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes and other chronic complications. Breeding high-RS rice varieties is considered a valuable way to improve public health. However, most rice cultivars only contain an RS level lower than 2% in cooked rice, and cloning of RS genes is critical to improve RS levels in rice.

Solvent-free ball milling activation of cellulose for efficient surface modification and pyrolysis.

Due to the innate recalcitrancy caused by robust hydrogen bonding interaction, cellulose cannot be easily processed into high-valued materials or chemicals. Herein, a solvent-free ball milling treatment was conducted to activate microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The research results demonstrated that ball milling treatment rapidly reduced the average particle size (Ð) and crystalline index (CrI) of MCC.

New insights into EGCG retards the digestion of wheat starch by α-amylase in ternary system: Comparison with binary systems.

This study was to investigate the mechanism of the action of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on α-amylase in the ternary simulated system and explore the changes in enzyme structure during the digestion process. Enzymatic kinetics, fluorescence spectroscopy, surface hydrophobicity, fluorescence microscopy, and molecular docking were used to compare (in the presence and absence of EGCG) the structural changes of α-amylase and α-amylase-starch complex, as well as the binding characteristics among EGCG and the α-amylase and starch. The results showed that EGCG had a significant inhibitory effect on α-amylase, and it exhibited a coexistence of competitive and anti-competition inhibition type, and predominantly competitive inhibition.

Fine mapping of a major co-localized QTL associated with self-incompatibility identified in two F populations (broccoli × cauliflower and cauliflower × Chinese kale).

A major QTL responsible for self-incompatibility was stably identified in two F populations. Through fine mapping and qRT-PCR analysis, ARK3 emerged as the most promising candidate gene, playing a pivotal role in regulating self-incompatibility in Brassica oleracea. Self-incompatibility (SI) is a common phenomenon in Brassica oleracea species, which can maintain genetic diversity but will also limit seed production.