Urban air pollution is a significant threat to both the environment and public health. Primarily originating from traffic emissions, particulate matter is identified as the most prevalent and toxic pollutant in cities. In recent years, street vegetation has emerged as a nature-based solution to improve urban air quality. However, to achieve this goal, proper placement of vegetation is crucial. This study critically investigates how different street tree placement strategies affect the local air quality, based on a model calibrated using existing air quality measurements from one of the most polluted streets in Glasgow. We then test the local air quality effects of tree orientation, spacing, shape, porosity, size, species, and wind directions. The findings suggest that trees effectively enhance air quality, particularly when implemented on the leeward side of the street. To achieve optimal effectiveness, the spacing of trees require careful alignment with the aspect ratio, as haphazard planting could lead to unfavorable results. The insights on improving air quality in Glasgow's street canyons, complements the objectives of the ‘Glasgow Avenues Programme’ and can be included in its Low Emission Zones to co-benefit the environment and the wellbeing of the local community.

The Yb/Al multilayer films exhibit excellent theoretical reflectivity in the 54-90nm wavelength range. This study attempted to incorporate 1.5% wt.% of Si impurities into Al to suppress the crystallization of Al, reduce interfacial roughness, and enhance the actual reflectivity of the prepared Yb/Al multilayer films. The internal microstructure changes of the film layers before and after Si impurity doping were investigated using GIXRR, AFM, and XRD techniques. The reflectivity of two types of multilayer films, Yb/Al(1.5wt.%Si) and Yb/Al(pure), was tested to evaluate the effect of Si impurity on the film performance.

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of seed and fertilizer rates on biomass yield and other agronomic treats of two oat varieties (Bona-bas and Bate) at the Kuyu sub-site of Fitche Agricultural Research Center in 2022. Four levels of Nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 23, 46, and 69 kg ha-1) and three levels of seed rates (60, 80, and 100 kg ha-1) with two oat varieties (Bona-bas and Bate) were using randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement with three replications. Soil samples before and after were collected and analyzed. The analysis of soil samples before planting indicated that the soil pH was strongly acidic (5.16) and after harvest, it raised to a strongly acidic level (5.29). The interaction effect of varieties, seed rates, and fertilizer rates showed highly significant (p<0.001) variation on the number of tillers per plant, leaf area per plant, leaf-to-stem ratio, fresh biomass yield, dry matter yield, days to maturity, and seed yield. The treatment combination of Bona-bas: FR46:SR100 has produced the highest dry matter yield (5.1 t/ha), followed by Bona-bas: FR46:SR60 and Bona-bas: FR69:SR80 which produced the same value of 4.9 t/ha dry matter yield. This study recommends that for the better agronomic performance of oat varieties, 46 kgha-1 N of fertilizer with 60 kgha-1 of seed rate is preferable to use by farmers in the study area and other areas having similar agroecologies and soil types. In addition, it is essential to conduct the year-over location to confirm the present findings and the result needs to be supported with animal evaluation trials.

Ammonium sulfate has been utilized in agriculture; however, there is a dearth of research on its application in maize cultivation subsequent to the implementation of nitrification inhibitors or coating. This study aims to analyze the impacts of various combinations of ammonium sulfate fertilizers on soil nutrients, plant nutrient uptake, yield, and fertilizer utilization efficiency in maize cultivation to ascertain the optimal and stabilized disposal method for ammonium sulfate. A completely randomized design was employed with five treatments (AU, the control using urea; AS, treatment using ammonium sulfate; ASN, treatment using ammonium sulfate with a nitrification inhibitor; ASG, treatment using oil-coated ammonium sulfate; ASD, treatment using oil-humic acid-coated ammonium sulfate). Results showed that: (1) Compared with AU and AS, ASN, ASG and ASD decreased the leaching rates of TN, NH4+-N and NO3-N to the 10-20 cm soil layer, and more residual N was obtained in 0-10 cm soil layer. The first-order kinetic equation Nt=N0(1-e-kt) can better fit the process of nitrogen accumulation and release, and the N release rate constant is AU>CK>AS>ASH>ASN>ASD; (2) Compared with AU and AS treatments, the plant dry weight, grain dry weight, spike width, spike length, and yields of maize increased by 8.85-11.08%, 12.98-14.15%, 2.95-3.52%, 5.50-5.65%, and 43.21-51.10% under ASG treatment respectively. The impact of effective spike number on maize yield was found to be significant, as demonstrated by the path analysis conducted in this study. Furthermore, the accumulation levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium within above-ground plants significantly increased under the ASG treatment compared to the AU and AS treatments. The partial productivity of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased by 1.43-1.51-fold under ASG treatment, while grain nitrogen balance, grain phosphorus balance, and grain potassium balance increased by 1.41-1.58-fold, 1.51-1.95-fold, and 1.15-l.96-fold respectively. The oil-coated ammonium sulfate, therefore, exhibited the optimal slow-release effect of nutrients, thereby achieving superior performance in enhancing maize production and efficiency.

Non-neural Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) are used to predict system failures in industrial maintenance. However, only a few studies have assessed the effect of varying the amount of past data used to make a prediction and the extension in the future of the forecast. This study evaluates the impact of the size of the reading window and of the prediction window on the performances of models trained to forecast failures in three data sets of (1) an industrial wrapping machine working in discrete sessions, (2) an industrial blood refrigerator working continuously and (3) a nitrogen generator working continuously. A binary classification task assigns the positive label to the prediction window based on the probability of a failure to occur in such an interval. Six algorithms (logistic regression, random forest, support vector machine, LSTM, ConvLSTM and Transformers) are compared using multivariate time series. The dimension of the prediction windows plays a crucial role and the results highlight the effectiveness of DL approaches in classifying data with diverse time-dependent patterns preceding a failure and the effectiveness of ML approaches in classifying similar and repetitive patterns preceding a failure.

Conventional fertilization practices can lead to many ecological problems, such as nutrient imbalance, soil acidity, and reduced soil fertility in natural rubber plantations. To address these challenges, a field investigation was strategically carried out to substitute inorganic fertilizer with organic fertilizers consisted of six treatments, i.e., no fertilization (CK), inorganic fertilizer (NPK), 25 % replacement of inorganic through organic (25%M), 50 % replacement of inorganic through organic (50%M), 75 % replacement of inorganic through organic (75%M), and 100% organic fertilizer (100%M). The soil physicochemical properties (SOC, TN, AN, C:N, pH, NH4+-N, and NO3--N) and carbon and nitrogen converting enzymes (BG, NAG, and LAP) were all determined. The partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers (i.e., 75%M at surface soil layer) showed higher SOC (14.52 g.kg-1), TN (1.06 g.kg-1), AN (20.07 mg.kg-1), C:N (14.63), NH4+-N (10.63 mgkg-1), and NO3--N(11.06 mg.kg-1) than NPK and CK. Such increase in physicochemical properties in partial replacement of inorganic with organic fertilizers plots resulted from higher carbon and nitrogen enzymes activities (BG (143.17 nmol.g-1.h-1), NAG (153.96 nmol.g-1.h-1), and LAP (153.48 nmol.g-1.h-1)) compared to NPK and CK, and further the person correlation and RDA analysis confirmed a significant positive correlation between SOC, AN, and soil enzymes. This study presents a new strategy for assessing the impact of partially replacing inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers in rubber plantations, mainly by modifying the soil nutrient composition in tropical regions.

The legume-rhizobia symbiosis is one of the most important plant-microbe interactions in sustainable agriculture due to its ability to provide much needed N to cropping systems. This interaction is mediated by the mutual recognition of signaling molecules from the two partners, namely legumes and rhizobia. With legumes, these molecules are in the form of flavonoids and anthocyanins, which are responsible for the pigmentation of plants parts, such as seeds, flowers, fruits and even leaves. Seed coat pigmentation in legumes is a dominant factor influencing gene expression relating to N2 fixation, and may be responsible for the different N2-fixing abilities observed among legume genotypes under field conditions in African soils. Cowpea, Kersting’s bean and Bambara groundnut landraces with black seed coat color are reported to release higher concentrations of nod-gene-inducing flavonoids and anthocyanins when compared to the Red and Cream landraces, hence the black seed coat pigmentation is considered a biomarker for enhanced nodulation and N2 fixation. Cowpea, Bambara groundnut and Kersting’s bean with differing seed coat colors are known to attract different native soil rhizobia, confirmable by PCR-RFLP analysis of bacterial DNA from root nodules of these legumes. Even when seeds of the same legume with diverse seed coat colors were planted together in one hole, the nodulating bradyrhizobia clustered differently in the PCR-RFLP dendrograms. In one study, Kersting’s groundnut, Bambara groundnut and cowpea with differing seed coat colors were selectively nodulated by different bradyrhizobial species. Multilocus sequence analysis showed that different Bradyrhizobium species nodulated the Kersting's bean based on seed coat color. Phylogenetic analysis also placed the bradyrhizobial isolates in close proximity to different Bradyrhizobium species such as B. vignae 7-2T, B. subterraneum 58 2-1T, B. kavangense 14-3T, B. liaoningense 2281 (USDA 3622)T, B. yuanmingense LMG 21827T, B. huanghuaihaiense CCBAU 23303T, B. pachyrhizi PAC48T, and a reference type strain of B. elkanii according to seed coat color. Using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, we also found significant selective influences of seed coat pigmentation on microbial community structure in the rhizosphere of five Kersting’s groundnut landraces. For example, the rhizosphere of Belane Mottled landrace was dominated by Proteobacteria, while Bacteroidetes dominated the rhizospheres of the other landraces. With legumes, seed coat pigmentation therefore plays a dominant role in the selection of the bacterial symbiotic partner.

Systemic AL amyloidosis is a challenging disease for which many patients are considered frail in daily clinical practice. However, no study has so far addressed frailty and its impact on the outcome of these patients. We built a simple score to predict mortality based on three frailty-associated variables: age, ECOG performance status (&lt;2 vs. 2) and NT-proBNP (&lt;8500 vs. 8500 ng/L). Four-hundred and sixteen consecutive newly diagnosed patients diagnosed at ten sites from the Spanish Myeloma Group were eligible for the study. The score was developed in a derivation cohort from a referral center, and it was externally validated in a multicenter cohort. On multivariate analysis the three variables were independent predictors of survival. The score was able to discriminate four groups of patients in terms of overall survival and early mortality in both cohorts. Comorbidity was also analyzed with the Charlson comorbidity index, but it did not reach statistical significance in the model. A nomogram was created to easily estimate the mortality risk of each patient at each time point. This score is a simple, robust, and efficient approach to dynamically assess frailty-dependent mortality both at diagnosis and throughout the follow-up. The optimal treatment for frail AL amyloidosis patients remains to be determined but we suggest that the estimation of frailty-associated risk could complement current staging systems, adding value in clinical decision-making in this complex scenario.

Background: Eid al-Adha is celebrated every year in Muslim countries; however, it is a time when patients present to the emergency department with serious injuries. In our study, we examined current injuries at the time of Eid al-Adha in the largest patient population in one of the largest hospitals in Turkiye, including tendon injury map and maxillofacial injuries for the first time in the literature. Methods: Between 2019 and 2023, patients admitted to Ankara City Hospital during Eid al-Adha were examined. The demographic characteristics, injury patterns, and injury sites of the patients were evaluated by analyzing the patients admitted on the four days of Eid al-Adha. Statistical analysis were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Results: Six hundred and ten patients, including 101 female and 509 male patients, were included in this study. There was a statistically significant increase (p

Yeast two-hybrid approaches, which are based on fusion proteins that must co-localise to the nucleus to reconstitute the transcriptional activity of GAL4 have greatly contributed to understand the nitrogen interaction network of cyanobacteria, whose main hubs are the trimeric PII and the monomeric PipX regulators. The bacterial two-hybrid system, based on the reconstitution in the E. coli cytoplasm of the adenylate cyclase of Bordetella pertussis, should provide a relatively faster and presumably more physiological assay for cyanobacterial proteins than the yeast system. Here we use the bacterial two-hybrid system to gain additional insights into the cyanobacterial PipX interaction network while simultaneously assessing the advantages and limitations of the two most popular two-hybrid systems. Comprehensive mutational analysis of PipX and bacterial two-hybrid assays were performed to compare outcomes between yeast and bacterial systems. We detected interactions previously recorded in the yeast two-hybrid system as negative as well as a “false positive”, the self-interaction of PipX, which is rather an indirect interaction dependent on PII homologs from the E. coli host, a result confirmed by Western analysis with relevant PipX variants. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of the molecular basis of a false positive in the bacterial two-hybrid system.

The last 50 years witnessed the emergence of various so called “hyperpolarization technologies” that allow generating large magnetizations of spin ensembles. This Editorial Essay provides a brief overview of the use of these technologies in various fields, including medicine, chemistry, and quantum sensing. It is concluded that critical questions still need to be addressed to harness benefits of nuclear hyperpolarization in clinical medical imaging while interdisciplinary innovation can unlock potential of novel (yet unexplored) methods. My hope is that this Editorial Essay provides valuable insights into the current state and future directions of spin technologies.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential macro nutrient for crop growth; therefore, N deficit can greatly limit crop growth and production. In the North China Plain (NCP), winter wheat is one of the main food crops, and its yield has increased from approximately 4000 kg ha-1 to 6000 kg ha-1 in the last two decades. Determining the proper N application rates at different growth stages and in all seasons is very important for the sustainable and high production of wheat in the NCP. A field experiment with five N application rates (250, 200, 150, 100, and 40 kgN·ha-1, designated as N250, N200, N150, N100, and N40, respectively) was conducted during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 winter wheat seasons to investigate the effects of the N application rate on water- and fertiliz-er-utilization efficiency, and on the crop growth and yield of winter wheat under sprinkler fer-tigation conditions. The results showed that, in the N application range of 40-200 kg ha-1, crop yield and water- and fertilizer-use efficiencies increased as the N application rate increased; however, further increases in the N application rate did not have additional benefits. The N up-take after regreening of winter wheat linearly increased with crop growth. Considering the wheat yield and N-use efficiency, the optimal N application range was 200 kg ha-1, and the best top-dressing strategy was equal amounts of N applied at the regreening, jointing, and grain-filling stages. The results of this study will be useful for optimizing field N management to achieve high wheat yield production in the NCP and in regions with similar climatic and soil environment conditions.

The conserved cyanobacterial protein PipX is part of a complex interaction network with regulators involved in essential processes that include metabolic homeostasis or ribosome assembly. Because PipX interactions depend on the relative levels of their different partners and of the effector molecules binding to them, in vivo studies are required to understand the physiological significance and contribution of environmental factors to regulation of PipX complexes. Here we have used the NanoBiT complementation system to analyse regulation of complex formation in Synechococcus elongatus between PipX and each of its two best characterized partners, PII and NtcA. Our results confirm previous in vitro analysis on regulation of PipX-PII and PipX-NtcA complexes by 2-oxoglutarate and on regulation of PipX-PII by the ATP/ADP ratio, showing the disruption of PipX-NtcA complexes by increased levels of ADP-bound PII in Synechococcus elongatus. The demonstration of a positive role of PII on PipX-NtcA complexes under the initial response to nitrogen starvation or the impact of a PipX point mutation on the activity of PipX-PII and PipX-NtcA reporters are further indications of the sensitivity of the system. This study reveals additional regulatory complexities in the PipX interaction network, opening the way to future research in cyanobacteria.

Cancer cells require substantial amounts of energy and substrates for their metabolic hyperactivity, enabling the synthesis of new cells at the expense of healthy ones. Preliminary in vitro data suggest that a mix of free essential amino acids (EAA-mix) can promote cancer cell apoptosis by enhancing autophagy. This study aimed to confirm, both in vitro and in vivo, whether EAA intake could influence the development of colon cancer in mice. We investigated changes in cancer proliferation in CT26 cells treated with EAA-mix, and in mice fed with EAA rich modified diets (EAARD) as compared to those on a standard laboratory diet (StD). CT26 cells were injected subcutaneously (s.c.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.). After 21 days, tumors were removed and measured. In vitro data corroborated that EAA-mix impairs cancer growth by inducing autophagy and apoptosis. In vivo data revealed that mice on StD developed significantly larger (s.c.) and more numerous (i.p.) cancers than those on EAARD. EAA administration appears to influence cancer cell survival with notable anti-proliferative properties.

Balsam fir trees are a specialty agricultural species that are largely used as Christmas trees. Soil or tissue sampling is seldom performed to assess balsam fir nutrition needs, which can contribute to over or under fertilization and subsequent environmental challenges. Remote sensing to determine the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has had strong relationships with nutrition in other plants. This research aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between NDVI and nutrition in balsam fir. A random sample of 45 trees was selected in autumn of 2021 and then another 70 trees selected in spring of 2022. Soil and needle tissue samples were analyzed for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Mn, B, and Cu. An uncrewed aerial vehicle equipped with a multispectral camera was flown over the orchard to determine the NDVI for each tree. Nutrition and NDVI were analyzed for correlations through all sampled trees. Separate correlation analyses were repeated for mature trees (greater than 5 years old) and young trees (less than 5 years old). Soil nutrients N, P, K had a significant relationship with NDVI in autumn sampling. Only N was correlated consistently in both autumn and spring, with R2 of 37% and 33% respectively. Relationships were much stronger when only mature trees were considered, increasing to 60% and 51% respectively. NDVI was found to offer predictive power for tissue N that can be useful to producers to help optimize fertilizer input. However, further work is needed to refine these relationships.

Nitrogen fertilization can provide greater nutritional support and mitigate salt stress in the millet crop. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological responses and agronomic performance of millet crops subjected to nitrogen fertilization and irrigation water salinity. The study was carried out in a greenhouse, using a completely randomized design in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, with 4 rep-lications, with five doses of nitrogen (40; 60; 80; 100 and 120 kg ha-1 of N) and two levels of elec-trical conductivity of the irrigation water: 0.3 and 4.0 dS m-1. We concluded that salt stress in-creased leaf sodium levels and had a negative impact on stalk dry mass and panicle dry, leaf gas exchange, mineral element concentrations (K, P and Ca), and water use efficiency. The use of lower salinity water associated with increased nitrogen fertilization provides greater stalk dry mass and panicle dry, photosynthesis, water use efficiency, chlorophyll index, leaf potassium concentration, and biomass production. Salt stress negatively affected transpiration, stomatal conductance, leaf P and Ca levels, and increased leaf sodium levels as nitrogen fertilization increased in millet plants grown under pot conditions. These results can be used to create a strategy to reduce the negative impact of salt stress associated with the nutrition of millet plants, using nitrogen fertilization.

The Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT) phenotype, identified as a significant clinical indicator in cancer, manifests as a biological process where cells transition from epithelial to mesenchymal characteristics. Physiologically, EMT plays a crucial role in tissue remodeling, promoting healing, repair, and responding to various tissue damages. This study investigates the impact of BNE-RRC on oral cancer cells (KB) and reveals its significant effects on cancer cell growth, migration, invasion, and EMT. BNE-RRC induces the epithelial-like morphology in KB cells, effectively reversing EMT to Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition (MET). Extraordinarily, sustained culture of cancer cells with BNE-RRC for 14 days maintains an epithelial status even after treatment withdrawal, suggesting BNE-RRC as a potential therapeutic agent for cancer. These findings highligh the promise of BNE-RRC as a comprehensive therapeutic agent in cancer treatment by inhibiting cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion, while also orchestrating a reversal of the EMT process. The study proposes that BNE-RRC could be effective agent for cancer treatment.

The present study describes the preparation of a composite material consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane-poly (n-isopropylacrylamide) (TPU-PNIPAM), which was employed for the se-lective adsorption separation of alcohol/water mixed solutions for the first time. The findings revealed that TPU and PNIPAM were interconnected through interchain hydrogen bonding, resulting in exposed hydrophobic isopropyl groups while covering the hydrophilic hydrogen bond sites. Selective separation of alcohols from alcohol/water mixed solutions occurred via London dispersion forces between alkyl groups. Increasing the PNIPAM load on the TPU surface led to a decrease in available hydrogen bond sites capable of bonding with water molecules, an increase in dispersible isopropyl groups interacting with alcohol alkyl groups, and enhanced selective adsorption capacity of TPU-PNIPAM towards alcohol/water mixed solutions. Moreover, TPU-PNIPAM exhibited a characteristic fast-slow-fast-equilibrium ad-sorption curve for different initial concentrations of alcohol/water mixtures, and its selective adsorption capacity increased when temperature reached 55℃. In addition to these general trends, under identical conditions, the selective adsorption capacity of TPU-PNIPAM gradually increased by methanol < ethanol < isopropyl alcohol < propyl alcohol, thus indicating a positive correlation between selectivity performance and hydrophobicity level.

This paper investigates the effect of Fe contamination on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7Si-0.7Mg-Fe2.5 alloy processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and heat treated in two different conditions: (1) Solution Heat Treatment (SHT) at 520 °C, followed by artificial ageing at 160 °C (T6), and (2) Direct Artificial Ageing of the as-printed material at 160 °C (DAA). Microstructural characterization was carried out by Optical Microscopy (OM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Mechanical characterization was carried out by tensile tests at room temperature. The formation of fine AlSiFe phases such as α-AlFeSi, β-AlFeSi, and π-Al8Si6Mg3Fe had no deleterious effect on the mechanical properties compared to previous studies for AlSIMg alloys without Fe. However, compared to the as-printed condition, the T6 heat treatment decreased the ultimate tensile strain significantly, while the elongation to the fracture presented a slight improvement.

A two-year field experiment (2022–2023) was carried out to investigate the impact of different sowing periods (spring and winter) and nitrogen levels (0, 30, 60 kg/ha) on the phytoextraction potential of flax. The study site is characterized by high concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn) and belongs to the Mediterranean climate type. Flax (var. Calista) was sown in the spring of 2022 and in the winter of 2023, following a split plot experimental design with three rep-lications, and applying low-input practices. Results showed that spring-sown flax produced short-er but thicker plants with significantly higher biomass (5.27 tn ha-1) when treated with 30 kg ha-1 N compared to winter-sown (2.30 tn ha-1) when treated with 60 kg ha-1 N. The concentration of contaminants in the aerial biomass varied according to metal type and sowing period. The higher biomass production in spring resulted in a higher quantity of heavy metals being removed from the soil, making flax a promising crop for phytoextraction purposes, especially in soils contami-nated with multiple heavy metals.

Gelatin industry residues are increasingly used as fertilizer and soil conditioner. However, correct residue dosage is critical for grass development and minimizing environmental impacts. This randomized block design study determined adequate dosage of Mixed Gelatin Sludge (MGS) for Marandu grass production in wet/dry seasons in Brazil. Five MGS levels (0%–200% of required nitrogen) were compared to mineral fertilizer. Agronomic/productivity characteristics, bromatological composition, macro/micro-nutrient composition of leaves, and soil chemical attributes were evaluated. Agronomic/productivity characteristics were influenced by MGS dose in both dry/rainy seasons, except for leaf blade pseudostem ratio and percentage of leaves/pseudostem. Bromatological composition was influenced by MGS doses in dry/rainy seasons except for dry/mineral material quantities. Marandu leaf tissue chemical composition was significantly influenced by MGS dose, except for potassium, boron, and iron. Chemical composition of four soil layers between 0–50 cm influenced GMS dose, except for pH, organic matter, magnesium, copper, manganese, and zinc. GMS dose for Marandu production should be 200% of nitrogen (N) requirement. GMS application increased productivity/quality of Marandu grass. Macronutrients (N, phosphorus) and micronutrients (Ca, Mg, S, Cu, and Zn) increased in Marandu grass and in the soil (Ca, S, and Na). Increased sodium (Na) level was not limiting.

This study investigates the influence of adding hydrogen as an additive to gasoline in a four-stroke engine, utilizing a comprehensive thermodynamic comparative analysis conducted with self-developed engine model. The research aims to assess the performance, emissions, and efficiency of the engine when using gasoline-hydrogen blends, and to provide insights into the potential benefits of this approach. First the engine performance and emissions under different hydrogen blending levels were examined. A range of different air-to-fuel ratios (rich to lean) and varying percentages of hydrogen were considered. This systematic variation allowed for a detailed evaluation of the influence of hydrogen content on combustion efficiency, power out-put, and emissions characteristics. The analysis results included key parameters such as indicated specific fuel consumption and mean effective pressure. Additionally, the study focused on range prediction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, which are a critical environmental concern asso-ciated with internal combustion engines. The analysis of pressure and temperature profiles throughout the engine cycle shed light on the combustion characteristics and efficiency im-provements associated with hydrogen addition. In terms of emissions, the study projected that all emissions were reduced except NOx, which is highly dependent on hydrogen percentage, and it might be reduced in some cases, but with higher temperatures and pressures associated with hydrogen addition in most cases there is actually NOx increase, especially at higher engine loads.

This study presents the synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of nitrogen-doped vanadium oxide (N-V2O3/C) as a cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), using a hydrothermal method. Compared to undoped V2O3/C, N-V2O3/C exhibits enhanced electrical conductivity, capacity, and electrochemical kinetics, attributed to the incorporation of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen. Initial charge-discharge cycles indicate phase transitions to amorphous vanadium oxides, enhancing conductivity. N-V2O3/C shows a high specific capacity of 168.4 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and remarkable reversibility, highlighted by the transient existence of intermediate species during cycling. Optimal electrochemical performance is achieved with a vanadium to nitrogen molar ratio of 2:3, indicating the significant impact of nitrogen doping concentration on the material’s efficiency. This work underscores the potential of N-V2O3/C as a superior cathode material for AZIBs.

This review delves into the pivotal role of green manure in advancing agricultural sustainability and enhancing soil fertility. It emphasizes the wide-ranging ecological benefits of green manure practices, particularly in tropical regions, where it fosters multiple biological processes such as nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling. The text provides an in-depth exploration of specific green manure species, their characteristics, practical considerations, and the physical, biological, and chemical effects they have on soil. It also discusses the practical implementation of green manure techniques, including cropping, intercropping, and strip or alley cultivation. The study emphasizes the critical need for species selection and effective green manure management, shedding light on their profound impact on crop productivity and environmental sustainability. With comprehensive details on various species and their practical implications, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of green manure's potential as an alternative source to mineral fertilizers in tropical agriculture.

Keywords: Amorphous-precipitate, Nitride, Morphological stability, Diffusion, Internal stresses, Modelling, Simulation

Abstract: Field studies with large-stemmed plants Artemisia dubia (wormwood) have been carried out at Vėžaičiai Branch LAMMC since 2018. According to three years of experimental results, annual dry matter (DM) yield varied from 7.94 to 10.14 t ha-1. Growing conditions, nitrogen ap-plication level and harvesting time had significant impacts on Artemisia dubia productivity. This article presents the results of research on preparation and use of Artemisia dubia biomass for en-ergy conversion and evaluation of technological-technical and environmental parameters of these plants utilization for solid biofuel. For experiments were used 6 variants of Artemisia dubia samples, which were grown in 2021: plants were cut three times and two fertilization options were used: (1) no fertilization and (2) fertilization with 180 kg ha-1 of nitrogen fertilizer. These harvested plants were chopped, milled and were pressed into the pellets. The physi-cal-mechanical characteristics (mоisture content, density and strength) of Artemisia dubia pellets were investigated. During this study, it was found that the density in dry mass (DM) of pellets ranged from 1119.86 to 1192.44 kg m-3. The pellet moisture content ranged from 8.80 to 10.49%. After testing of pellet strength, it was found that the pellets which were made from plant bio-mass PK-1-1, were the most resistant to compression, they withstood 560.36 N of pressure. Dry fuel lower heating value (LHV) of pellets was sufficiently high and was very close to pine saw-dust pellets, it varied from 17.46±0.25 MJ kg-1 to 18.14±0.28 MJ kg-1. The ash content of burned pellets ranged from 3.62±0.02% to 6.47±0.09%. Emissions of harmful pollutants – CO2, CO, NOx and unburnt hydrocarbons (CxHy) did not exceed the maximum permissible levels. Summariz-ing the results of investigated properties, cоmbustion and emissiоns of Artemisia dubia pellets, it can be concluded that this biofuel can be used for production of pressed biofuel and it is charac-terized by sufficient high quality, efficient combustion and permissible emissions to the envi-ronment.

The wealth of data obtained during the past 20 years using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) indicates that the technique is very promising to detect small chemical contents of alloying elements. The potential of LIBS was looked more seriously during the past two decades or so as more data were obtained on Aluminum and steel to study the phenomena in the condition of local thermodynamic equilibrium and time-delay between a Q-switch laser and an intensified CCD camera. Since the past decade, some data on compounds were also shown to be useful in determining small concentrations of harmful elements. This manuscript is intended to show that the technique of LIBS performance is very promising in fields such as micro-machining, in alloying element analysis, surface cleaning and environmental applications even with lightweight spectrometers having a relatively low resolution, which can potentially be air-borne.

This study aimed to investigate the fatigue performance and interfacial strengthening mechanisms of Al6061-to-Cu dissimilar lap joints via electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW). The load-bearing capacity of the joints at discharge voltages of 14 kV and 16 kV was superior to that of 12 kV. Furthermore, the fatigue life of the 14 kV joints was one order of magnitude higher compared to the 12 kV joints. SEM observation of the fatigue fracture surface revealed the presence of typical "tire-mark" fatigue striations only in the 14 kV joint, indicating higher ductility and the ability to withstand extended plastic deformation. Notably, ultra-fine nanocrystalline Al2Cu phase, amorphous phase, and numerous dislocations hindered EBSD acquisition in the transition zone. Nevertheless, dense low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) and refined grains were examined at the bonding interface. This suggests that the high-velocity collision caused severe plastic deformation and led to the formation of substructures. The interfacial strength was attributed not only to the "wave-like" or "inverted hook-like" diffusion layer but also to the presence of refined grains along the interface and nanocrystalline Al2Cu in the transition zone. Furthermore, the hybrid nanocrystalline-amorphous microstructure strengthened the joint by regulating the balance between strength and ductility.

Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) are essential macro-elements crucial for the proper development, productivity, nutrient uptake, and the building blocks of protein biosynthesis. The plant's N-metabolism is also influenced by S, and its deficiency can lead to a decline in the consumption of N from fertilizers. The objective of this research was to assess the impacts Temporal N and S applications on the nutrient uptake, productivity, use efficiencies and micronutrients content status in soybean seeds. The field trial in randomized complete block design carried out, experiment comprised fourteen treatments with varying N and S quantities. N and S were applied through starter and temporal applications in different combinations. The findings indicated that temporal application of individually N and S fertilization as 25 kg ha-1 as starter and 25 kg ha-1 as temporal applications at R2 stage enhanced the highest nutrient uptake, seeds and stalks yields. The use efficiencies, as well as the Zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) uptake by seeds, showed an increase with the temporal application of both nutrients compared to the control. Furthermore, soil Zn and Fe contents were also enhanced with the temporal applications of nitrogen and sulfur fertilization. As a result, it could be decided that the nitrogen and sulfur temporal applications not only enhanced nutrient uptake, productivity and use efficiencies but also improved the micronutrient uptake by soybean. Furthermore, this practice contributed to an improvement in soil Zn and Fe content.

Pretreatment of cells with proteolysis inhibitors diminished intensity and changed shape of DNICs specific EPR signal in a treatment time-dependent manner. The level of DNIC formation was significantly influenced by the presence of protein degradation products. Interestingly, formation of HMWDNICs depended on the availability of LMWDNICs. The extent of glutathione involvement in the in vivo formation of DNICs is minor yet noticeable, aligning with our prior research findings.

The soybean yield per unit area and soybean acreage are increased to boost overall soybean production as two effective solutions. There is a large area of saline soils in northeast China, where if soybeans could be grown with the help of isolated saline-tolerant rhizobia, the cultivation area of soybeans in China can be effectively expanded. Several rhizobia with different salt-, acid- and alkali-resistant characteristics were obtained in this research by isolating, identifying, and analyzing the nitrogen-fixing activities of indigenous rhizobia from different soybean planting soils, and further analyzed the host compliance between rhizobia and different soybean germplasm concerning 30 representative germplasm resources in the northeast region. Collectively, the results of the resistance study of HLNEAU2 isolated from the Shaanxi region are great references for guiding the application of rhizobia on soybeans.

This study investigated the fatigue properties and interfacial strengthening mechanisms of Al6061-to-Cu dissimilar welded joints via electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW). The load-bearing capacity of the joints at discharge voltages of 14 kV and 16 kV was superior to that of 12 kV. Meanwhile, the fatigue life of 14 kV joints was one order of magnitude higher than that of 12 kV. The SEM observation on the fatigue fracture surface shows that the typical “tire-mark” fatigue striation just appeared on the 14 kV joint, indicating higher ductility for handling more extended plastic deformation. The high EBSD acquisition was achieved except for the transition zone due to the formation of ultra-fine nanocrystalline Al2Cu phase and amorphous phase, along with many dislocations. Dense low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) and refined grains are formed along the bonding interface. This indicates that severe plastic deformation induced dislocations to form the substructure in such an instant (40-60 μs) during the high-velocity collision. The interfacial strength is not only due to the continuous interfacial diffusion layer with a “wave-like” or “inverted hook-like” pattern but also benefits from refined grains along the interface and in the transition zone, as well as the hybrid amorphous-nanocrystalline microstructure, which strengthens the joint through increasing ductility induced by refined grains and regulating amorphous or nanocrystalline phases to affect the balance between strength and ductility of the Al/Cu joint.

Abstract: Long-term rainfall, temperature and solar radiation time series data are required to simulate crop yield and yield variability. A field experiment conducted at Mount Makulu was used to simulate the interactive effect of planting dates (SD1, SD2, SD3), maize varieties (PIO30G19, PIO30B50, ZMS606), and nitrogen fertilizer application levels (N1 = 66; N2 = 132; N3 = 198 kg N ha-1) on strategic and economic assessment. Statistical downscaled climate datasets from three GCMs from 1971-2000, 2010-2039, 2040-2069, and 2070-2099 using Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5, RCP8.5) were utilized as DSSAT v4.7 inputs. The Seasonal analysis Program of the DSSAT model was used to simulate the impacts of climate change on maize yield. Results show increasing trends in temperature while there is variability in rainfall. The biophysical analysis showed varied grain yield responses to sowing date, maize cultivars and N application rates. The Mean-Gini analysis showed that PIO30B50 had an efficient late sowing data (SD3) with an application of 132 and 168 kg N ha-1 under both scenarios. Further, PIO30G19 at SD3 with 198 kg N ha-1 would be the most dominant management option for maize grain yield under future climate scenarios from 2010-2099. This research emphasizes the urgency for tailored adaptation actions and collaborative efforts along the maize value chain to mitigate future yield losses and sustain food security. Increasing maize grain yield requires implementing adaptation strategies such as varying sowing dates, adopting late-maturing varieties with high thermal heat requirements under future climate scenarios.

Thin twin-roll cast strips from a model Al-Cu-Mg-Li-Zr alloy with a small addition of Sc were prepared. A combination of a fast solidification rate and a favorable effect of Sc microalloying impacts the size and distribution of primary phase particles and the dimension of eutectic cells. Small interdendritic spacing in the range of 10-15 um enables substitution of the initial long-term homogenization annealing by a two-step annealing at 300 and 450 °C and a short solution treatment at 530 °C before quenching and the final age-hardening procedure. A dense dispersion of small Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates intensively inhibiting recrystallization forms during this treatment. Further refining and fragmentation of the structure were performed using constrained groove pressing before the solution treatment. Small pre-straining of quenched specimens and subsequent age-hardening simulating T8 temper were used to promote the formation of a homogeneous distribution of strengthening particles and to suppress preferential heterogeneous precipitation on subgrain and grain boundaries. Microstructural features and microhardness evolution during annealing were critically examined and confronted with microstructural characteristics observed on reference mold cast alloy or alloys without Sc alloying. The proposed treatment represents a model near net shape procedure for manufacturing thicker sheets for the aerospace industry.

The principal main of this research work was the study the influence of Cu addition on the wear behavior (WB) of eutectic Al-12.6Si alloy developed by spray forming (SF) method and compared with as-cast (AC) alloys. The phases of chemical compositions and microstructure were studied by optical microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The microstructure of SFAl-12.6Si (SF1) alloy reside — of fine primary and eutectic Si phases evenly distributed in the equiaxed α-Al matrix and SF Al-12.6Si-2Cu (SF2) alloy lie of uniformly distributed fine eutectic Si particulates and spherical form θ-Al2Cu precipitates in α-Al matrix. On other hand, the AC Al-12.6Si alloy (AC1) alloy involve of eutectic Si needles in the dendrite α-Al matrix, whereas AC Al-12.6Si-2Cu (AC2) alloy consisted of eutectic Si needles and Chinese script form θ phase distributed randomly in the α-Al matrix. The microhardness and wear properties were analyzed using Vickers hardness (VH) and dry sliding WT. The SF alloys exhibit superior hardness compared to the AC alloys. The wear properties of SF alloys exhibited significantly superior compared to the AC alloys. The SF2 alloy showed high wear resistance (WR) than the SF1 alloy in the entire sliding velocities and applied loads. The results indicate that the spray deposited alloys have a lower coefficient of friction (CF(µ)) than the AC alloys under varying load and sliding velocity conditions. The high WR in the SF alloy was due to microstructural modification during SF and precipitation of fine Al2Cu intermetallic and solid solubility effects. The SF2 depicts increased transition from oxidative to abrasive. In other ways, AC alloys demonstrate wear mechanisms that change from oxidative to abrasive and delamination with an increase in sliding velocity and load.

Heat stress is a serious threat to tomato production. The ultrastructure and element mapping of tomato chloroplast were investigated under different nitrogen levels to explore the regulatory effect of nitrogen on tomato chloroplast under heat stress. Experiments design two temperature treatments (25°C/15°C, as control, 40°C/30°C, as severe high-temperature, SHT ) and four nitrogen levels (0.0 kg hm-2, N1; 187.5 kg hm-2, N2; 250 kg hm-2, N3, as recommended nitrogen-application; 312.5kg hm-2 , N4) for a duration of 5 days in artificial climate chamber. The results showed that heat stress led to obvious damage to the ultrastructure of tomato chloroplast, including thylakoid stacking disorder, granum destruction, and starch grain aggregation and degradation. With the increase of nitrogen level, the ratio of long and short axes of tomato chloroplasts increased, the differentiation of chloroplasts was strengthened, the number of plastoglobuli was increased and aggregated, and the degree of damage to the ultrastructure of chloroplasts was reduced. The regulatory effect of nitrogen on the ultrastructure of tomato chloroplasts under heat stress was mainly reflected in the phosphorylation degradation process of starch granules in chloroplasts. There are obvious segmentation lines of Ca, P and Cl on both sides of the inner and outer chloroplasts, and enriched in the chloroplasts, which can outline the boundary of the chloroplasts. Element mapping analysis revealed that heat stress significantly increased the contents of calcium, phosphorus and chlorine in the chloroplast of tomato leaves, while the contents of potassium was decreased. The application of nitrogen fertilizer could significantly regulate the element distribution of tomato chloroplast under heat stress, especially the regulation of phosphorus, chlorine, calcium, magnesium. These results provide new insight into the role of nitrogen using TEM-EDX mapping in the protection of tomato chloroplast under heat stress and the mechanism of heat stress tolerance in plants.

In the present study, hypereutectic Al-Si alloy compacts and Al-Si/B4C composites were produced by conventional, microwave and spark plasma sintering techniques. The effects of sintering techniques and B4C particle addition on microstructural properties, density, hardness and electrical conductivity were investigated. The microstructures were examined with an optical microscope. Densities were measured using the Archimedes technique. Electrical resistance measurements were made with the four-point probe measurement technique. Elemental Al grains, master alloy grains and primary Si particles were determined in the microstructures of all samples. The addition of 15 wt% B4C caused the porosity rate to increase in the samples. Samples produced with SPS technique gave ≈80% higher hardness values than samples produced with CS and MWS. Compared to the samples produced with CS and MWS, the samples produced with SPS gave higher electrical conductivity values. Electrical conductivities were decreased as the weight percentage of B4C increased in all samples.

Despite being one of the most abundant elements in soil, phosphorus (P) often becomes a limiting macronutrient for plants due to its low bioavailability, primarily locked away in insoluble organic and inorganic forms. Phosphate solubilizing and mineralizing bacteria, also called phosphobacteria, isolated from P-deficient soils have emerged as a promising biofertilizer alternative, capable of converting these recalcitrant P forms into plant-available phosphates. Three such phosphobacteria strains - Serratia sp. RJAL6, Klebsiella sp. RCJ4, and Enterobacter sp. 198 - previously demonstrated their particular strength as plant growth promoters for wheat, ryegrass, or avocado under abiotic stresses and P deficiency. Comparative genomic analysis of their draft genomes revealed several genes encoding key functionalities, including alkaline phosphatases, isonitrile secondary metabolites, enterobactin biosynthesis and genes associated to the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gluconic acid. Moreover, overall genome relatedness indexes (OGRIs) revealed substantial divergence between Serratia sp. RJAL6 and its closest phylogenetic neighbors, Serratia nematodiphila and Serratia bockelmanii. This compelling evidence suggests that RJAL6 merits classification as a novel species. This in silico genomic analysis provides vital insights into the plant growth-promoting capabilities and provenance of these promising PSRB strains. Notably, it paves the way for further characterization and potential application of the newly identified Serratia species as a powerful bioinoculant in future agricultural settings.

A homogenization of billets from Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys should be accomplished at high annealing temperatures exceeding 500 °C. This type of aluminum alloy is susceptible to the depletion of surface layers from Li. Therefore, choosing a suitable homogenization temperature and duration is a crucial step in assuring a homogeneous distribution of alloying elements and optimal exploitation of the potential of the alloy. In-situ heating in an electron microscope was performed on a twin-roll cast Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy to understand the peculiarities of the homogenization process. Four types of primary phase particles rich in Cu, Li, Mg, and Fe were identified in the as-cast material. They appear as coarse particles at the boundaries of eutectic cells. Their partial dissolution occurs at temperatures above 450 °C. They are almost fully dissolved at 550 °C, except for complex phases containing Fe and Cu. Small dimensions of eutectic cells in the range of 10 µm assure a homogeneous distribution of main alloying elements within the matrix after 20 min of annealing. Direct comparison with the same material prepared by mold-casting indicates that such short annealing times result in the dissolution of main primary phase particles but do not assure a homogeneous distribution of alloying elements in the whole volume of the specimen.

This article utilized electrodeposition technology to fabricate Zn and Zn-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃ composite coatings on Q235 steel plates. The composite coatings were obtained by adding Y₂O₃/Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (0, 5, 10, and 15 g/L) to acidic chloride solutions. This study then examined the impact of these nanoparticles on the microstructure, morphology, microhardness, hydrophobicity, and corrosion resistance of the composite coatings. The results indicate that the addition of the nanoparticles increased the nucleation sites on the surface of the coating, thereby refining the grain size and reducing the roughness of the coating surface. When 10g/L of Y₂O₃ and 10g/L of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles were added, the hardness of the composite coating (369 Hv) was 2.49 times higher than that of the pure Zn coating (148 Hv), which was attributed to the dispersion strengthening and grain refinement effects of the nanoparticles. The corrosion resistance of the Zn and Zn-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃ composite coatings was studied using linear sweep voltammetry and AC impedance spectroscopy. The addition of the nanoparticles improved the corrosion resistance of the composite coating, and the composite coating prepared in an electrolyte containing 10 g/L of Y₂O₃ and 10 g/L of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles exhibited the best corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, the composite coating exhibited good hydrophobicity, with a contact angle of 120.9°, 1.94 times that of the pure Zn coating (62.2°). The Zn-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃ nanocomposite coating material has significant potential advantages in the field of steel corrosion.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a lifelong pathogen characterized by asymptomatic latent infection in the trigeminal ganglia (TG) with periodic outbreaks of cold sores caused by virus reactivation in the TG and subsequent replication in the oral mucosa. While antiviral therapies can provide relief from cold sores, they are unable to eliminate HSV-1. We provide experimental results that highlight non-thermal plasma (NTP) as a new alternative therapy for HSV-1 infection that would resolve cold sores faster and reduce the establishment of latent infection in the TG. Additionally, this study is the first to explore the use of NTP as a therapy that can both treat and prevent human viral infections. We investigated the antiviral effect of NTP using an in vitro model for HSV-1 cold sores, involving the application of NTP from two separate devices to cell-free HSV-1, HSV-1-infected cells, and uninfected cells. We found NTP reduced the infectivity of cell-free HSV-1, reduced viral replication in HSV-1-infected cells, and diminished the susceptibility of uninfected cells to HSV-1 infection. This triad of antiviral mechanisms of action suggest the potential of NTP as a therapeutic agent effective against HSV-1 infection.

To investigate the effect of nitrogen (N) application on carbon metabolism and yield of flag leaves and grains of spring wheat under drip irrigation in Xinjiang, a split - plot design was adopted from 2020 to 2021, with strong gluten wheat Xinchun 37 (XC37) and medium gluten wheat Xinchun 6 (XC 6) as the main plot factor and different nitrogen application rates as subplot factor. Four nitrogen application rates of 0, 210, 255 and 300 kg·hm-2 (CK2, B1, A1 and CK1, respectively) were set to analyze and compare the nitrogen response of key enzyme activity, soluble sugar, sucrose and starch content in flag leaves and grains to control yield formation. The results showed that with the increase of nitrogen application, Sucrose phosphate synthetase (SPS) and sucrose synthetase (SS) in flag leaves, SS in seeds, activities of adenosine diphosphate pyrophosphorylase (ADPG - PPase), soluble starch synthase (SSS), bound starch synthase (GBSS) and starch branching enzyme (SBE) in seeds, contents of soluble sugar and sucrose and yield in flag leaves increased first increasing and then decreasing. The A1 treatment (255 kg·hm-2) showed significant differences compared to other treatments, with increases of 7.95–158.33%, 8.69–155.12%, 7.65–53.25%, 5.41–62.83%, 2.85–85.52%, 3.08–57.30%, 8.87–79.16%, 9.33–196.55%, 9.43–112.78%, and higher levels of amylose, amylopectin, and total starch content than other treatments by 1.86–30.38%, 10.58–83.69%, and 7.96–63.09%, respectively. Correlation and stepwise regression analysis indicate highly significant positive correlation between yield and solube sugar and sucrose of flag leaves and grains, as well as their key emzymes and starch. Among them, soluble sugar in grains, amylopectin, and sucrose in grains have the greatest impact on the yield of XC37, determining 84.5% of its yield. SSS, soluble sugars in grains, amylopectin, and SBE have the greatest impact on the yield of XC 6, determining 80.4% of its yield. The starch shows a highly significant positive correlation with ADPG - PPase, SSS, GBSS, and SBE. There is a significant interaction effect between nitrogen application rate and variety, with better performance observed in Xinchun 37 compared to Xinchun 6. Under drip irrigation conditions in arid areas, nitrogen application of 255 kg·hm-2 can effectively regulate the metabolism of sucrose to starch in flag leaves and grains of spring wheat, which is conducive to the accumulation of starch in grains and the formation of yield.

Dredging is a common technique for managing eutrophication problems in waters, reducing the accumulation of pollutants by removing sediments from the bottom of water bodies. However, dredging can cause complex impacts on lake ecosystems, and it is crucial to understand benefits and mechanisms for environments. In this paper, the dredged and undredged areas in the Caohai portion of Dianchi Lake were studied to analyze the effects of dredging on nitrogen-phosphorus transport and conversion and changes in nitrogen-phosphorus morphology content and its mechanisms by comparing the nitrogen-phosphorus morphology content, percentage; nitro-gen-phosphorus ratio, and release contribution of the two areas. It was found that the ratio of sta-bilized nitrogen (SN) to stabilized phosphorus (SP) in the dredged area was lower than that in the non-dredged area; the BD-P and TOC contents had a large turnaround at the 16-20 cm position of the sediment in the dredged area; and the main conclusions were that the dredging would disrupt the internal equilibrium of the lake system for many years, and in particular, it would have the greatest effect on the balance of the BD-P in the phosphorus forms of the sediment, and that the column cores of the dredged area from 0 to 16 cm might be newly accumulated sediments after the dredging project. However, with time, the distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus forms in the newly accumulated sediments will gradually reach a new equilibrium. In addition, dredging will also cause significant changes in the retention efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediment, and the stable nitrogen and phosphorus forms will be released and transformed into unstable ni-trogen and phosphorus forms.

The brain's unique characteristics make it exceptionally susceptible to oxidative stress, which arises from an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) production, and antioxidant defense mechanisms. This review explores the factors contributing to the brain vascular tone vulnerability in the presence of oxidative damage, which can be of clinical interest in critically ill patients or presenting acute brain injuries. The brain's high metabolic rate and inefficient electron transport chain in mitochondria lead to significant ROS generation. Moreover, non-replicating neuronal cells and low repair capacity increase susceptibility to oxidative insult. ROS can influence cerebral vascular tone and permeability, with a potential impact on cerebral autoregulation. Different ROS species, including superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, exhibit vasodilatory or vasoconstrictive effects on cerebral blood vessels. Reactive nitrogen species (RNS), particularly NO and peroxynitrite, also exert vasoactive effects. This review further investigates the neuroprotective effects of antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin C, vitamin E, and the glutathione redox system. Various studies suggest that these antioxidants could be used as adjunct therapies to protect the cerebral vascular tone during high oxidative stress conditions. Nevertheless, more extensive research is required to comprehensively grasp the relationship between oxidative stress and cerebrovascular tone, as well as to explore the potential benefits of antioxidants as adjunctive therapies in critical illnesses and acute brain injuries.

Mechanical properties of three-dimensional (3D) printed resin can be improved by decreasing oxygen concentrations during post-curing, and nitrogen saturated post-curing has been applied for the purpose. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the color stability of 3D printed resin crowns post-cured in normal air and nitrogen saturated conditions. Crowns were fabricated with 3D printer and post-cured in normal air (control group; air) or nitrogen saturated condition (experimental group; nitrogen). The specimens in each group were subdivided into four subgroups, each exposed to different discoloration agents: distilled water, coffee, wine, and curry. Post-immersion color changes were measured using a digital spectrophotometer and analyzed through repeated measures ANOVA. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy evaluated the degree of conversion of resin over immersion times for both post-curing conditions. Comparing the effects of post-curing conditions, significant difference was found between control and experimental groups over immersion time in wine and curry subgroups. In FT-IR analysis, there was significant difference in degree of conversion between the air and nitrogen groups from 10 to 300 seconds. The findings suggest that nitrogen saturated post-curing can potentially enhances the conversion rate of 3D printed resin crowns, thereby improving their color stability.

In this study, Cu/Ni and Cu/Al multilayer thin films with individual layer thickness varying from 25 nm to 200 nm were deposited at room temperature and further annealed up to 300 ℃. The mechanical and microstructural properties of the multilayers were characterized by nanoindentation, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Both systems exhibited an increase in hardness with increasing annealing temperature. However, the Cu/Ni system showed a gradual and moderate (up to 30%) hardness increase from room temperature to 300 ℃, while the Cu/Al system showed a sharp increase (~150%) between 125℃ and 200℃. This distinct strengthening behavior is attributed to solid solution formation in Cu/Ni and diffusion-activated intermetallic formation in Cu/Al.

Research on the development of new lightweight Al-Li alloys using selective laser melting pro-cess has great potential for industrial applications. This paper reports on the development of novel aluminum-lithium alloys using selective laser melting technology. Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Ag-Sc-Zr pre-alloyed powders with lithium contents of 1 wt.%, 2 wt.% and 3 wt.%, respectively, were prepared by inert gas atomization. After SLM process optimization, the microstructure and me-chanical properties of the as-formed specimens were investigated. The densification of the three newly developed alloys are 99.51 %, 98.96 % and 92.01 %, respectively. They all have good form-ability, with the lithium loss rate about 15 %. The as-formed alloy with 1% Li content presents good comprehensive properties with a yield strength of 412.6 ± 16.0 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 461.1 ± 11.7 MPa, and an elongation of 13.6 ± 1.1%. The three alloys exhibit a layered molten pool stacking morphology and have a typical heterostructure. The columnar crystals and equiaxed fine grains are alternately arranged, and most of the precipitated phases are enriched at the grain boundaries. The change of Li content mainly affects the precipitation of Cu-containing phase. When the Li content is 1 wt.%, there are θ phase, T1 phase and TB phase. When Li increased to 2 wt.%, T1 and T2 phases precipitated together. When Li reaches 3 wt.%, δ' phase precipitates with T2 phase. This study provides useful guidance for the future SLM form-ing of new crack-free and high-strength Al-Li alloys.

This article systematically reviews the research achievements on the MnOx/TiO2 catalyst doped with transition metals or rare earth metals for the catalytic selective catalytic reduction of NH3 (SCR-NH3) reaction. The Methodi Ordinatio systematic literature analysis method was employed to rank relevant articles based on journal impact factors, publication years, and citation counts. The ranking data shows that the undoped MnOx/TiO2 catalysts exhibit a catalytic efficiency of up to approximately 90% for NOx reduction, while the doped MnOx/TiO2 catalysts with transition metals or rare earth metals can achieve a maximum reduction efficiency of 100%. Among all the doped metals, the catalyst doped with nickel demonstrates the best NOx reduction performance. The comprehensive literature research concludes that MnOx/TiO2-based SCR catalysts, especially those doped with transition metals or rare earth metals, have significant catalytic efficiency and development potential in reducing NOx emissions in SCR reactions.

The limits for recording weak signals for electrochemical seismic sensors are determined by their self-noise. At the same time, the noise nature is complex and not fully understood. In this work, for the first time, in addition to the frequency dependences of the noise amplitude, the difference in the phases of the noise currents of the cathodes of an electrochemical sensor has been studied. It has been established that at low frequencies the cathode currents change in an-tiphase. As the frequency increases, the phase difference becomes random. At the same time, the frequency at which the phase difference changes depend on the interelectrode distance; the clos-er the electrodes are located to each other, the greater it is. Physically, this effect is explained by the transition from noise caused by the integral flow of the working fluid to noise associated with vortex flows, the size of which depends on frequency. Thus, a new way of studying noise makes it possible to identify its physical nature and develop new methods of reduction.

Excessive nitrogen application has become a hidden danger threatening the sustainable development of agriculture. Exploring the potential genes will help to improve the nitrogen availability of wheat through molecular breeding. We therefore conducted wheat transcriptomics and proteomics researches under complete culture medium without nitrogen (N0) and complete culture medium with nitrogen (N1). The results showed that, the nitrogen deficit decreased the fresh weight, N content and net photosynthetic rate of winter wheat. 3949 and 2675 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the shoot and root, respectively, while 164 and 129 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in the shoot and root respectively. 9 genes in shoot and 26 genes in root showed the same trends in RNA and protein levels. 5 genes in shoot and 4 genes in root showed the opposite trends in RNA and protein levels. Pathway enrichment of wheat transcriptome and proteome under nitrogen deficit proposed 3 candidate genes related to photosynthesis in shoot, 4 candidate genes related to carbon metabolism in shoot, and 12 candidate genes related to carbon metabolism in root. Meanwhile, the chromosomal and subcellular localization of these genes were listed, which will provide reference for improving nitrogen availability through molecular breeding.

The effects of different pulse frequencies on the microstructure grain size and solid solubility of Al-9Si alloy were systematically investigated using OM, SEM, and EDS. The effects on the mechanical properties of the alloy were analyzed using micro-Vickers hardness tester and multifunctional friction tester. During the solidification process, the Al-9Si alloy is exposed to high-frequency electric current pulses with a current density of 300A/cm2 and frequencies of 0Hz, 500Hz, 1 000Hz, and 2 000Hz. The experimental results show that as the high-frequency pulse frequency increases, the Lorentz force also increases. The intense electromagnetic stirring leads to grain refinement. However, as the pulse frequency continues to increase, the combined effect of Joule heating and Lorentz force results in an enlargement of the melt zone and an increase in grain size. At a pulse frequency of 1 000Hz, the eutectic structure size of the Al-9Si alloy is optimal, with the average size reduced to 13.87μm and a dense distribution, effectively eliminating primary Si. The EDS results revealed that the high-frequency pulse led to a more uniform distribution of Si elements within the matrix, and the solid solubility of Si in the α-Al matrix increased to a maximum value of 1.99%, representing a 39.2% increase. At a pulse frequency of 1 000Hz, the sample demonstrates the most favorable mechanical properties, with the friction coefficient reaching a minimum value of 0.302, representing a 37.7% decrease in the average friction coefficient. The results demonstrate that high-frequency pulsing is an effective method for enhancing the mechanical properties of Al-9Si alloy.

The article presents a technology for producing nitrogen-containing nanoporous biocarbon with high degree of elemental composition homogeneity, confirmed by electron spectroscopy. The research explores the relationship among the electronic characteristics of supramolecular nanoporous carbon, its porous structure, and the capacitance at its interface with the electrolyte. The obtained biocarbon is characterized by micro and mesopores, as evidenced by the results of studies by the method of nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The specific area of the available porous surface was found to be 1247 m2/g. Comparing this result with the data of small-angle X-ray scattering, we conclude that micropores are open while mesopores remain closed. This material was found to have a saturation magnetization σs of 1.4 A∙m2∙kg-1 and a coercive force Hc of 10 kA/m. The impedance studies of electrochemical cells of supercapacitors made of the experimental biocarbon were carried out. Equivalent electrical circuits of the studied electrochemical processes were constructed and characterized.

This study aimed to overcome the difficulty of conducting the horizontal-well cavity leaching test in the field and to investigate the long-term stability of the horizontal-well salt-cavity natural gas storage. The simulation test design is combined with the similarity theory to study the cavity expansion characteristics and the influence law of cavity leaching parameters. Through the design of a rubber hose connection, an integrated closed test system for multi-stage horizontal-well cavity leaching and brine drainage was built. The test system also realises the repeatable backward movement of the injection well during the test. A similarity simulation of the test design was carried out, and the test platform was constructed to carry out multi-stage horizontal-well leaching tests with a nitrogen cushion. In the horizontal-well leaching tests with a nitrogen cushion, the influence laws of the well spacing, flow rate and liquid level position on cavity expansion were investigated. Based on the morphological characteristics of the horizontal-well cavity, a numerical model of the horizontal-well salt cavity was developed, which reflects the real cavity morphology leached in the test. The long-term stability of the horizontal-well salt-cavity natural gas storage under different internal pressures was investigated through numerical simulation.

Bambara groundnut (BG) (Vigna subterranean L. verdc) is a highly nutritious and economically important leguminous crop of African origin that forms symbiotic relationships nitrogen fixing rhizobia, but it has a low yield. Currently, there is paucity of information on effective rhizobium inoculant, (to improve the yield), for BG which are cheaper and safer alternatives to chemical fertilizers. Indigenous rhizobia strains were trapped from 54 farm soils collected at three Nigerian states (Niger, Kaduna and Kano). Six selected rhizobium strains (Bradhyrhizobium spp) were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing, applied as inoculant in field experiment using completely randomized block design and compared with USDA110 strain (Bradhyrhizobim japonicum), urea fertilizer and un-inoculated plants on 2 selected BG varieties (TVSU1248 and TVSU 631). Nutrient utilization and nitrogen fixation in plants were determined at 6 weeks while leaf chlorophyll was determined forth-nightly. Seed yield was determined at maturity. The strains increased the %nitrogen (1.33±0.10 - ≥1.37±0.05), and %phosphorous (0.48±0.02 - ≥0.51±0.02), %nitrogen fixed (21.07±2.38 - ≥61.30±6.13), nodulation (72.50±21.075 - 154.00±23.79) and leaf chlorophyll were ≥49.74±1.47mg/L, ≥51.82±1.86mg/L and ≥49.65±1.56mg/L at 2nd, 4th and 6th week after planting respectively and the yield of BG (from average of 398.6 Kgha-1 to 1454.725 Kgha-1). Seed yield was highest (1869.85±273.68 Kgha-1) in BG variety TVSU1248 using BN5 strain. Indigenous Bambara-symbiotic strains significantly increased the seed yields, and plant nutrient, showing their potential as use for inoculant to improve the yield of Bambara groundnut.

Accurate and robust methods are needed to monitor crop growth and predict grain yield and quality in breeding programs under variable agrometeorological conditions. Field experiments were conducted during two successive cropping seasons (2021, 2022) at four trial locations (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway). The focus was on assessment of grain yield (GY), grain protein content (GPC), and UAV-derived NDVI measured at different plant growth stages. Performance and stability of 16 selected spring wheat genotypes were assessed under two N application rates (75, 150 kg N ha−1) and over contrasted agrometeorological conditions were assessed, and the quantitative relationships between agronomic traits and UAV-derived variables were figured out. None of the traits were subject to a significant (p&lt;0.05) genotype by nitrogen interaction. High-yielding and high-protein genotypes were detected with high WAASB stability, specifically under high and low N rates. This study highlights the significant effect of NDVI analysis on growth stages GS55 and GS75 as key linear predictors, especially in the context of spring wheat GY. However, the effect of these indices depends on the specific growing conditions in the respective locations, thus limiting their universal utility.

Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for the production of vegetable crops, but anthropogenic sources pose risks due to its transformation into several reactive forms and movement throughout the environment. To mitigate the impact of environmental losses, current research efforts aim to improve management practices to obtain a greater Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE). From a chemical, biological, and ecophysiological perspective, at a reductionist level we have acquired a considerable mechanistic understanding about the N cycle, the varied N chemical forms, microbial interactions and physiology of crop uptake. However, at a holistic level, we are far from obtaining an adequate understanding of the myriad of multi-level cropping system, genetic, socioeconomic, environmental, and ecological interactions that have an effect on the N cycle and NUE. Here, based on a selected review of the literature, we provide a perspective on the potentials to increase the NUE of vegetable crops, by adopting a range of best management practices and by highlighting some of the N x system interactions that may be considered to better understand the complex dynamics of the N cycle, to optimize the NUE of vegetable crops, and to explore alternatives to the reliance on the use of synthetic N sources.

The development of Al-Ni alloys with a controlled microstructure has had a great impact on the field of study of aluminum-based alloys. In the present research, the influence of thermal parameters on the grain structures resulting from the directional solidification process of Al-Ni alloys with different alloy content has been studied. It has also been evaluated how different structures and the distribution of second phases influence the corrosion behavior and microhardness of alloys. The columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) was observed to occur when the temperature gradient in the melt decreased to values between 1.3 to 2.9 ° C/cm. In addition, a small increase in the microhardness values was observed as a function of the Ni-content. When the Ni-content increase, the resistance to polarization decreases for samples with equiaxed grain structure, throughout the range of compositions studied. Furthermore, the equiaxed grain structure presents higher resistance to polarization values than the columnar grain zone, for alloys with a composition equal to or lower than the eutectic composition.

The ridge-furrow plastic mulching (RFPM) system and nitrogen application have been effective strategies for improving crop productivity in the Loess Plateau of China. However, it is not clear how the ridge-furrow ratio and nitrogen fertilizer type (NT) affect the utilization of water, nitrogen, heat and radiation resources for increased rain-fed wheat production. Two nitrogen fertilizer types [Traditional urea (TU) and controlled-release urea (CRU)] and four planting patterns [conventional flat planting (F) and the RFPM system of 20 cm ridge with 40 cm furrow (R2F4), 40 cm ridge with 40 cm furrow (R4F4), and 60 cm ridge with 40 cm furrow (R6F4)] were tested from September, 2018 to June, 2021 during winter wheat growing season. The results showed that the RFPM system can increase the soil thermal time (TTsoil) by 41.0–152.1°C d compared to F. The thermal effect of the RFPM system shortens the vegetative growth period and extends the reproductive growth period by 2–7 days, promoting the increase of the leaf area index (LAI) and final dry matter (DM) accumulation. These significantly increased the grain yield (GY) in the RFPM system by 51.6–115.2% and enhanced the thermal time use efficiency (TUE) by 48–99.5%, water productivity (WP) by 37.4–76.3%, radiation use efficiency (RUE) by 16.3–34.4%, and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) by 51.6–115.2% compared to F. Although a high ridge-furrow ratio combined with CRU increased GY and resources use efficiency, it also exacerbated the soil water depletion, especially in the 40–140 cm soil layer. Overall, applying CRU in combination with the RFPM system of 40 cm ridge with 40 cm furrow maximized resources use efficiency and increased wheat production in the Loess Plateau of China.

Hypoeutectic Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys are promising candidates for use in automobile parts. Therefore, various attempts have been made to develop alternative casting technologies to improve the mechanical properties of cast alloys. In this study, the effects of modification with different levels of strontium (Sr) on primary and eutectic silicon (Si) in hypoeutectic Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys were investigated. Using a gravity cast process, the Sr-modified samples were prepared from melts with four levels (100, 200, 300, and 400 ppm) of Sr. In addition, the wear properties of the cast samples were studied using a block-on-ring wear-testing machine. The sizes of the primary Si phases increased with increasing Sr content in the alloys. Moreover, more finely dispersed eutectic Si was observed with higher Sr content. In frictional wear tests, the specific wear rates of the test specimens decreased as the Sr content increased from 200 to 400 ppm. Coarse Si phases are considered to act as solid lubricants in the contact region during sliding.

Aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) toxicity are the top two constraints to crop production in acid soil. Crops have evolved common and specific mechanisms to tolerate the two stresses. In the present study, the responses (toxicity and tolerance) of wheat near-isogenic lines (ET8 and ES8) and their parents (Carazinho and Egret) to Al and Mn were compared by determining physiolog-ical parameters and transcriptome profiling of roots. The results showed that: (1) Carazinho and ET8 exhibited dual tolerance to Al and Mn as compared with Egret and ES8, indicated by higher relative root elongation and SPAD; (2) After entering into roots, Al was mainly distributed in the root and fixed in the cell wall, while Mn was mainly distributed in the cell sap and then trans-ported to leaves. Both Al and Mn stresses decreased the contents of Ca, Mg, and Zn; Mn stress al-so inhibited the accumulation of Fe, while Al showed an opposite effect; (3) Transcriptomic analy-sis identified 5581 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under Al stress and 4165 DEGs under Mn stress. Among these, 2774 DEGs were regulated by both Al and Mn stresses, while 2280 and 1957 DEGs were exclusively regulated by Al and Mn stress, respectively. GO and KEGG analyses indi-cated that cell wall metabolism responds exclusively to Al, while nicotianamine synthesis exclu-sively responds to Mn. Pathways such as signaling, phenylpropanoid metabolism, and metal ion transport showed commonality and specificity to Al and Mn. TFs, such as MYB, WRKY, and AP2 families, were also regulated by Al and Mn, and WGCNA identified PODP7, VATB2, and ABCC3 as the hub genes for Al tolerance and NAS for Mn tolerance. The identified genes and pathways can be used as targets for pyramiding genes and breeding multi-tolerant varieties.

A series of ZnO doped nitrogen-carbon materials (xZnO-N-C) with ZnO content of 5-40% are prepared by vacuum curing-carbonization strategy using polyamide-imide as N-C source and zinc nitrate as metal source for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). 20ZnO-N-C exhibits outstanding initial activity (propane conversion of 35.2% and propene yield of 24.6%) and relatively low deactivation rate (0.071 h-1) at 600 ◦C. The detailed characterization results show that small ZnO nanoparticles (5.5 nm) with high dispersion on the catalyst could be obtained by adjusting ZnO loading. Moreover, much more nitrogen-based species especially ZnNx species are formed on 20ZnO-N-C by comparison with 20ZnO-N-C-air prepared by curing-carbonization without vacuum, which may contribute for the higher product selectivity and catalytic stability of 20ZnO-N-C. The probable active sites for PDH reaction on the catalyst system are proposed to be C=O species and Zn2+ species. Moreover, the aggregation of ZnO nanoparticles is the primary reason for the activity loss on this catalyst system. The present finding not only provides the feasible construction strategy for the metal oxide doped nitrogen-carbon materials but also valuable guidance for the design of efficient catalyst in dehydrogenation of light alkane.

The interaction between O2 and reduced ceria nanocubes was mainly investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. Nanorods and nanoparticles were also studied for comparison. Adsorption of O2 at 100 K on unreduced ceria produces only O2 molecularly adsorbed on Ce4+ sites. The Ce3+ cations in H2-reduced ceria were monitored by the 2F5/2 → 2F7/2 electronic transition band at 2133-2095 cm-1. This band possesses a fine structure well resolved at 100 K. The positions of the individual components depend on the Ce3+ environment, including the presence of nearby species such as OH groups. Even at 100 K, the interaction of O2 with reduced ceria leads to fast oxidation of about half of the Ce3+ cations, including all Ce3+ sites bound to OH groups and carbonates, and the simultaneous formation of superoxo (O2) and peroxo (O22) species. The remaining fraction of Ce3+ sites disappears upon heating up to 348 K. At higher temperatures, the peroxo species decompose directly, yielding lattice oxygen. Superoxides are converted to hydroperoxides, which then decompose to terminal OH groups. Reduced samples evacuated at T &lt; 773 K contain sorbed H2. Part of this hydrogen is also fast oxidized to H2O even at 100 K.

Anion doping of tungsten trioxide by nitrogen is used to obtain electrochrome cathode material, the spectral transmittance of which can be controlled by the doping level. A series of samples was synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering of a metal tungsten target in a mixture of argon, nitrogen and oxygen gases. Warm-colored tungsten oxynitride films were prepared at higher doping levels and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Optical properties were measured making use of transmission spectrophotometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry. These extensive experimental studies revealed an increase in absorption towards shorter wavelengths with increasing the doping level. At the same time, it was found that with increasing the doping level, the fraction of non-stoichiometric oxygen also steadily increases to half the total oxygen content. The imperfection of the doped material can stimulate its intercalation with electrolyte ions, accelerating the coloring/bleaching process and increasing the dynamical range between the dark and clear states, thus improving the consumer qualities of electrochemical materials and devices.

Nitrogen is the most commonly managed mineral nutrient in olive groves because it is essential for plant growth. The precise management of N fertilization in olive cultivation is still not fully clarified, but it is now essential for providing sustainable production. A nitrogen fertilizer ex-periment with olive trees (cv. Kalinioti) was carried out over a six-year period. Seven levels of nitrogen fertilizer given as ammonium nitrate (control, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 kg/tree) were annually applied in order to determine the effect of nitrogen on vegetative growth, fruit set, fruit weight, yield, maturation index and leaf N,P, and K concentrations. The results indicate that, under these conditions, application of up to 4 kg NH4NO3/tree significantly increased yield to 62.5 kg/tree compared to the control. The positive effect was attributed to the initial and final fruit set increases (7.63 and 3.73%, respectively). However, the weight of 100 olives (337 g) at the same fertilizer rate was considerably lower compared to the control. Higher nitrogen rates decreased yield while increasing overall shoot growth. Nitrogen fertilization did not significantly influence the oil content of olive fruit. Fruit weight, maturation index and concentration of oil reached maximum levels in the beginning of December, indicating a suitable start to olive harvesting with reduced yield losses due to unfavorable weather conditions. With increasing fertilizer levels from 0 to 6 kg NH4NO3,/tree concentration of N in olive leaves also increased from 1.23% to 2.38%. Maximum yield was achieved at a level of 6 kg NH4NO3/tree, which corresponded to 2.01% N in leaves. The results suggest that application of 3 kg NH4NO3/tree can be recommended for table olive pro-duction due to the fact that fruit weight was not decreased, while fertilization with 4 kg NH4NO3/tree was suitable for oil olives.

Curdlan is a water-insoluble polymer that has structure and gelling properties useful in a wide variety of applications such as in medicine, cosmetics, packaging and the food and building industries. The capacity to produce curdlan has been detected in certain soil-dwelling bacteria of various phyla, although the role of curdlan in their survival remains unclear. One of the major limitations of the extensive use of curdlan in industry is the high cost of production during fermentation, partly because production involves specific nutritional requirements such as nitrogen limitation. Engineering of the industrially relevant curdlan-producing strain Agrobacterium sp. ATTC31749 is a promising approach that could decrease the cost of production. Here, during investigations on curdlan production, I found that curdlan was deposited as a capsule. Curiously, only a part of the bacterial population produced a curdlan capsule. This heterogeneous distribution appeared to be due to the activity of Pcrd, the native promoter responsible for the expression of the crdASC biosynthetic gene cluster. To improve curdlan production, Pcrd was replaced by a promoter (PphaP) from another Alphaproteobacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Compared to Pcrd, PphaP was stronger and only mildly affected by nitrogen levels. Consequently, PphaP dramatically boosted crdASC gene expression and curdlan production. Importantly, the genetic modification overrode the strict nitrogen depletion regulation that presents a hindrance for maximal curdlan production and from nitrogen rich, complex media, demonstrating excellent commercial potential for achieving high yields using cheap substrates under relaxed fermentation conditions.

Legume plants enter symbiosis with soil nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia), thereby gaining access to the assimilable atmospheric nitrogen. This symbiosis is important for agriculture, thus, biofertilizers with effective strains of rhizobia are created for crop legumes to increase their yield and minimize the amounts of mineral fertilizers used. In this work, we sequenced and characterized the genome of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae strain RCAM1022, a component of the ‘Rhizotorfin’ biofertilizer produced in Russia and used for pea (Pisum sativum L.).

Soil improvement methods can result in changes in the microbial community in blueberry soil. However, there have been few reports on the impacts of different soil improvement methods on the microbial function, particularly on endophytic microbe. In this study, we analyzed the response of microbial community composition, microbial function and nitrogen (N) cycle to different improvement methods using high throughput sequencing. We aimed to investigate the best soil improvement method from a microbial perspective. The results showed that the highest microbial diversity was observed in the T4 treatment (peat combined with mushroom bran), followed by the T2 treatment (peat combined with acidified rice husk) both in the rhizosphere and roots. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, which were most abundance in the T4 and T1 (peat combined with sulfur) treatments in the rhizosphere soil, respectively, but showed the opposite trend in the root endophytic bacterial community. Interestingly, Acidobacterium and Paludibaculum, belonging to the Acidobacteria phylum, were found to have the highest influence according to the correlation network analysis. And these bacteria were most abundant in the T2 treatment in the rhizosphere soil. The rhizosphere soil microbial communities were clustered into two categories: one for T1 and T2 treatments, and another for T3 (mushroom bran) and T4 treatments. Compared to the other treatments, the T1 treatment had the most significant impact on microbial functional pathways in the blueberry roots. T2 treatment promoted the growth of N fixation functional bacteria both in the rhizosphere soil and roots. At the module level, the T2 treatment increased the relative abundance of N fixation and decreased the relative abundance of assimilating nitrate reduction reaction (ANRA), dissimilating nitrate reduction reaction (DNRA), denitrification and completed nitrification in the blueberry rhizosphere soil. Additionally, the T2 treatment increased the abundance of root endophytic microbes involved in N fixation. Overall, our findings suggest that the addition of peat combined with acidified rice husk is the optimal soil improvement method for blueberry cultivation.

Coal mining has caused a significant loss of nitrogen content of soil in mining areas. This article studies the effects of organic fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer, and combined application of Pseudomonas fluorescens with the ability of nitrogen fixation on soil nitrogen accumulation and composition in the reclamation area of Tunlan Coal Mine from 2016 to 2022 under the condition of equal nitrogen application, providing scientific basis for microbial fertilization and rapid increase of nitrogen content in the reclaimed soil of mining areas. The results showed that as the reclamation time increased, the nitrogen content and its composition structure of the soil treated with fertilization rapidly evolved towards normal farmland soil. The soil nitrogen content increased the fastest in the treatment of Pseudomonas fluorescens + organic fertilizer (MB), compared with inorganic fertilizer (CF), organic fertilizer (M), and Pseudomonas fluorescens + inorganic fertilizer (CFB) treatments, the treatment of Pseudomonas fluorescens + organic fertilizer (MB) can bring the total nitrogen (TN) content of the soil to normal farmland soil levels 1-3 years earlier. The comprehensive scores of Pseudomonas fluorescens + organic fertilizer (MB) and Pseudomonas fluorescens + inorganic fertilizer (CFB) on the two principal components were increased 1.58 and 0.79 than those of organic fertilizer (M) and inorganic fertilizer (CF) treatments, respectively. This further indicates that the combination of Pseudomonas fluorescens and organic fertilizer has a better effect on improving soil nitrogen accumulation than the combination of Pseudomonas fluorescens and inorganic fertilizer. At the same time, the application of Pseudomonas fluorescens will increase the content of unknown nitrogen (UN) in acid-hydrolysable nitrogen (AHN), and decrease the content of amino acid nitrogen (AAN) and ammonia nitrogen (AN), relatively. However, there was no significant effect on the content of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) in soil inorganic nitrogen (SMN). When combined with inorganic fertilizer, the contribution of soil mineralized nitrogen (SMN) to total nitrogen (TN) increased by 14.78%, while when combined with organic fertilizer, the contribution of acid-hydrolysable nitrogen (AHN) to total nitrogen (TN) increased by 44.77%. In summary, the use of Pseudomonas fluorescens is beneficial for nitrogen recovery in the reclaimed soil of coal mining areas. The optimal fertilization method under the experimental conditions is the combination of Pseudomonas fluorescens and organic fertilizer.

The steady state tube furnace (SSTF) (ISO/TS 19700) was used to assess the effects altering the reaction zone of a flame had on smoke toxicity measurements. The gas inlet of the apparatus was modified to allow for a mixture of nitrogen and air to be introduced into the system. The volume of air used in each test remained at 2 L min-1 , and additional volumes of nitrogen were varied between tests altering the total volume of gas used in the primary gas inlet. The chosen conditions were representative of under-ventilated flaming by using a restricted oxygen environment. The research shows that the increase in volume flow of gas over a sample increased the smoke toxicity of the materials tested (CO and HCN). When increasing the volume of the primary air-flow through the tube furnace, the flow causes thinning of the flame zone in the apparatus and results in gaseous species spending less time in the reaction zone, resulting in less time available for chemical reactions to occur. This resulted in less complete combustion occurring, and hence an increased yield of measured products of incomplete combustion (CO and HCN), and a decreased yield of products of complete combustion (CO2).

Air pollution has been a major environmental issue worldwide from the last few decades. It is a man-made issue that has a serious harmful impact on the environment and the health of humans. There are different sources of emission, but industrial processes and motor vehicles contribute to a chief part of air pollution. It has acute as well as chronic effects on the health of humans and affects different organs. It is thought the main environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of several diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Long-term exposure to air pollution has different toxicological impacts on humans such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neuropsychiatric complications, eye irritation and skin diseases. As per the study by the World Health Organization (WHO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals are the major air contaminants. These pollutants are different in their properties, composition and time of disintegration. The aim of this study is to review the different sources, types, impacts, challenges and mitigation of air pollution in detail.

Endophytic bacteria, especially those participate in nitrogen fixation, play critical roles in supplying essential nutrients for legume plant growth. Compared to the numerous bacterial microbiome reports targeting legume roots and nodules, little is known about embryonic bacteria that facilitate plant nutrient utilization after seed germination. Here, we collected and investigated endophytic bacterial microbiomes in edible pea (Pisum sativum) embryos using five representative cultivars and a pea sprout control. Twenty-six nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFBs) were isolated from pea embryos, with three strains found in fresh pea (FGP) and snow pea (SP) exhibiting the strongest nitrogenase activity. Some NFB isolates are also potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSBs) or phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSBs) utilizing inorganic and/or organic phosphorus. All 26 NFBs showed variable levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) secretion. The nutrient-solubilizing NFBs identified in our research are valuable resources for biofertilizer development. At the microbiome level, high-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing of 40 bacterial collections from pea embryos revealed similar community structures and species abundances and diversities in most samples. Our embryo-derived endophytic bacterial pool provides a microbiome platform for seed dormancy and germination research of edible peas.

The residual content of the only carbon source increases at the end of the exponential growth phase when P. putida BS3701 cells are cultured under nitrogen deficiency. Moreover, the mRNA quantity of some genes involved in carbon catabolism decreases. There are no available data on regulators capable of stimulating the target mRNA degradation in pseudomonads under nitrogen deficiency in the literature. We have applied both comparative genomics methods and a number of biomolecular ones to identify new small P. putida BS3701 RNAs. This is due to the fact that the formation of ncRNA-mRNA duplexes, recognized by RNases, is one of the main mechanisms for reducing the number of transcripts in a cell. We have used the following selection criteria: 1) the presence of the interest gene of the NtrC binding site and a sigma54-dependent promoter in the upstream area, 2) the conservative location of the interest gene in the P. putida and P. aeruginosa genomes, 3) increase in the product quantity of the interest gene in a cell under nitrogen deficiency on two different carbon sources (succinate and naphthalene), 4) the product detection of the interest gene in a fraction enriched with small RNAs. The expression of two new small RNAs has increased twice or more times under nitrogen deficiency on both succinate and naphthalene: expression of ng171 and ng379. ng379 contains narK RNA motif.

Growing interest has accrued in the co-existence of cardiac amyloidosis and valvular heart disease. Amyloid infiltration from either transthyretin (ATTR) or light chain (AL) origin may affect any structure of the heart, including the valves. Recent literature has mainly focused on aortic stenosis and cardiac amyloidosis, improving our understanding of epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this dual pathology. Even though of high clinical relevance, data on mitral/tricuspid regurgitation and cardiac amyloidosis is rather scarce and mostly limited to case reports and small cases series. It is the aim of this review article to summarize the current evidence of concomitant valvular heart disease and cardiac amyloidosis including epidemiology, diagnostic approaches, screening possibilities, therapeutic management, and prognostic implications.

Soy leghemoglobin (LegH) has been gaining interest over the last years as an efficient flavor and aroma compound in plant-based meat substitutes. Hence, in the following article we demonstrate the methods for LegH production using a recombinant Komagataella phaffii strain. Multiple fed-batch fermentation with an alternative to BSM medium, where glucose was used as the main carbon source, were implemented and the growth kinetics, e.g., maximal specific biomass growth - 0.239 g·g−1·h−1, biomass yield from substrate - 0.298 g·g−1 and maximal specific substrate consumption rate - 0.81 g·g−1·h−1, were identified. Leghemoglobin production resulted in a yield of 0.513 mg·gDCW 1, while the highest biomass density achieved in the study was 121.80 gDCW·L 1. The applied medium showed potential for additional optimization studies, as in contrast to BSM, made it possible to separate pH control from nitrogen supply, does not affect medium turbidity measurements and does not induce metabolite synthesis during yeast biomass growth.

In this study, the effects of combined addition of CeLa and GdY on microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Al-4Cu-1Mn alloys were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopies (TEM) and tensile testing. The results show that the minor addition of CeLa and GdY leads to the refinement of grain size. The addition of CeLa results in the formation of supersaturated vacancies in the Al matrix, whereas the addition of GdY leads to a decrease in the precipitation temperature of the Al2Cu phase. The combined CeLa and GdY addition can significantly increase ultimate tensile strength (UTS) while losing only a small amount of elongation (EL). Compared with the unmodified alloy, the grain size and SDAS of the alloy (0.2 wt% CeLa + 0.1 wt% GdY) were diminished by 67.2% and 58.7%, respectively, while maximum hardness and UTS rose by 31.2% and 36.9%, correspondingly.

Abstract: Marine eutrophication is a pervasive and growing threat to global sustainability. Thereby nutrient discharges to the marine environment should be reduced to a minimum. When fertilizers are loaded to vessels in ports, a significant amount of nutrients are released into the sea, but so far these actions have received little attention. Here, we employed the Boosted Regression Trees modeling (BRT) to define relationships between fertilizer loading, loading area, rain intensity and nutrient discharge to the marine environment and then used the established relationships to predict daily nutrient discharge due to fertilizer loading. The studied subject was a port in the Gulf of Finland, where significant amount of both nitrogen and phosphorus are loaded to vessels. BRT models accounted for a significant proportion of the variability of nutrient discharge. As expected, the nutrient discharge increased with the amounts of fertilizers loaded and the intensity of rain. On the other hand, with increasing loading area the amounts of total nitrogen discharge increased, but phosphorus discharge decreased. The latter result may be due to different char-acteristics of the loading areas of different terminals. The model predicted that at the studied port the total nitrogen and phosphorus discharge into the marine environment due to fertilizer loading was 272,906 and 196 kg per year, respectively. Im-portantly, the developed model can be used to predict nutrient loads for different future scenarios to propose the best mitigation methods for nutrient discharges to the sea.

In this study, the effect of increasing exposure time on microstructures, defectiveness, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of selective laser melted sample Al-Si10-Mg powder have been investigated. The sample were processed at the same power (375 W) and scan speed (2000 mm/s) but with increasing exposure time. Exposure time equal to 40, 50 and 60 µs was applied. The features of the analyzed samples show that with increasing exposure time a better efficiency of the heat input has been obtained with larger size of melting pool and Si particles and lower defectiveness. Moreover, being the coarser microstructure associated a to lower level of voids, the average hardness is similar for the analyzed samples. The potentiodynamic curves of the samples show that the voids occurrence is more significant with respect to the scale of micro-structure on corrosion behavior being the sample processed at the highest exposure time the more resistant to corrosion. The experimental techniques used in the present study were Optical microscope, Sem microscope, Hardness and X-Ray Computed Tomography.

In this study, we made an estimate of the carbon and nitrogen content in the undisturbed terrestrial ecosystems in the northern taiga zone of Russia’s Murmansk region. The goal of this study was to examine the carbon and nitrogen dynamics in atmospheric fallout, assimilating organs of coniferous trees (Picea obovata and Pinus sylvestris), needle litter, soils, and soil water. The objects of our re-search were the most common dwarf shrub-green moss spruce forests and lichen-dwarf shrub pine forests of the boreal zone. The study was carried out on permanent plots between 1999 and 2020. Long-term dynamics of carbon concentrations in snow demonstrated a trend towards increasing carbon concentrations in forested and treeless areas of Murmansk region. It was shown that in representative spruce and pine forests, the concentrations and atmospheric fallout of carbon compounds and carbon leaching with soil water were higher below the tree crowns, compared to between the crowns. In soil water, a decrease was found in carbon leaching with the soil profile depth. For soils, the highest carbon concentrations were found in the organic and illuvial soil ho-rizons. The main soil sinks of carbon and nitrogen in northern taiga forests were found to be located in the organic soil horizon below the crowns. In northern taiga forests, the carbon content of living Picea obovata and Pinus sylvestris needles and Pinus sylvestris needle litter had minor variability; no significant interbiogeocoenotic and age differences were found. We found that the nitrogen content in brown needles and needle litter was significantly lower compared to photosynthetically active needles.

The purpose of this study is to identify the different effects exerted by planting density and nitrogen fertilization on high-salinity Reclaimed Paddy Fields(RPF) and General Paddy Fields(GPF), and to find the amount of fertilization and the planting density suitable for the growth of forage rice in each paddy field. In both experimental locations, there was no significant change in the soil due to N treatment, but in the case of RPF, electrical conductivity(EC) decreased significantly from more than 5dS/m to up to 2.87dS/m during the yellow ripe stage due to the influence of floods and concentrated precipitation on the fields. In all soils, as both the amount of N treatment and the planting density increased, there was a proportional relationship in which the number of tillers and the dry weight also increased, with the occurrence of lodging also being increased. The dry weight, as expected, was 1.5 times higher at a planting distance of 10 cm, rather than 16 cm. In addition, in both locations N treatment led to an increase in the dry weight, but when N treatment reached 400kg/ha (2.0), the dry weight decreased instead. Moreover, although there was no clear difference in feed value according to N treatment, in RPF, neutral detergent fiber(NDF) was higher than 60%, RFV was less than 98, and TDN was also low, confirming that the quality of rice was higher in GPF.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the most common factor limiting the growth of alfalfa in acidic soil conditions. Melatonin (MT), a significant pleiotropic molecule present in both plants and animals, has shown promise in mitigating Al toxicity in various plant species. This study aims to elucidate the underlying mechanism by which melatonin alleviates Al toxicity in alfalfa through a combined physiological and transcriptomic analysis. The results reveal that 5 μM MT significantly alleviates Al-induced growth inhibition and preserves the morphology of root tip cells. Moreover, MT application reduces Al accumulation in alfalfa roots and shoots by 28.6% and 27.6%, respectively. Additionally, MT plays a crucial role in scavenging Al-induced excess H2O2 by enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), consequently reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The RNA-seq results reveal that MT application significantly upregulates the expression of xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) and carbon metabolism-related genes, including those involved in the glycolysis process, as well as sucrose and starch metabolism, suggesting that MT application may mitigate Al toxicity by facilitating the binding of Al to the cell walls, thereby reducing intracellular Al accumulation, and by improving respiration and the content of sucrose and trehalose. Taken together, our study demonstrates that MT alleviates Al toxicity in alfalfa by restoring redox homeostasis, enhancing Al binding to the cell wall, and modulating carbon metabolism. This research advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying MT's effectiveness in mitigating Al toxicity, offering potential strategies for reducing Al accumulation in alfalfa.

The aim of the study was to verify whether a 20 and 40% reduction of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate will be sufficient to maintain soil basic chemical features, fertility, and yielding in monoculture maize cultivation in the no-tillage (NT) system versus the traditional plowing (PL) system. In addition, it was examined which tillage system (PL, NT) allows reduction of fertilization while maintaining good yields of the tested soils. Two fields (10 ha each) were established for PL and NT maize cultivation and soils (0-20 cm) were sampled two times per year - in spring (before maize sowing) and in autumn (after maize harvesting). A broad range of chemical and biological parameters (i.e. pH, forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, content of selected macronutrients and humic substances, respiration activity) were monitored during the experiment. It was evidenced that the 20% reduction in N fertilization does not have an adverse effect on the chemical and biological characteristics of soils. In turn, the maize yield was mainly the result of both the tillage system and the N rate, i.e. it was significantly higher in the PL system.

CONTEXT: The sustained White corn (Zea mays L.) yield relies on supply of Nitrogen (N), which is an important element in improving soil fertility. OBJECTIVE: The research aim to determine the effect of Nitrogen on white corn yield and grain mass. METHOD: The experimental design was a 4 × 4 factorial arranged in randomized complete block design with 2 replications each. The effect of nitrogen was determined in terms of the flow within the soil, initial component, addition, uptake, loss and use of nitrogen by the White corn plants. Nitrogen was applied as Granular Urea using zero broadcast method. The grain yield was determined hand-harvesting and shelling. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: There were no statistically significant differences between the mean samples from the two replicates (blocks 1 & 2) across the two seasons for corn sugar concentration, corn yield estimates and grain yields. In 2021, the mean yield estimate was 12,552 Kg ha-1, while that of 2022 averaged 12687 Kg ha-1. Similarly, the grain yield achieved in 2022 was 844.1kg more than the average grain yield in 2021. The white corn yield estimate and grain yield increased linearly with an increase in nitrogen application level, with the highest yields achieved when nitrogen fertilizer was applied at 150kg N/ha. This demonstrates that nitrogen has a positive influence on the yield quantity of white corn. SIGNIFICANCE: The White maize model may be used to improve the formulation of decisions and enhance the precision of estimates for yield and N fate within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Further, the findings of this study can significantly enhance agricultural productivity while keeping an eye on the environment.

Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination has become a serious problem in China. In this study, the goals of the field experiments were to understand how the application of nitrogen fertilizer at the full heading stage and filling stage reduced the uptake of Cd in rice by affecting the distribution of Cd in iron plaques on the root surfaces and subcellular in the root and flag leaf. The hydroponic culture experiments aimed to explore the effect of interaction or deficiency of nitrogen and cadmium on cadmium accumulation in rice at the late growth stage. The results showed that under the condition of having enough nitrogen supply during the early growth stage, applying nitrogen fertilizer during the full heading stage and filling stage resulted in a significant increase in the concentration of Fe and Cd on the root plaques at the milk stage and mature stage. Additionally, it increased the concentration and proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction of subcellular in the flag leaves at the milk stage. On the other hand, when there was a deficiency of nitrogen, the concentration of Fe in the root plaques increased significantly, while the concentration of Cd in the root plaques decreased significantly. Moreover, the proportion of Cd in the flag leaf cell walls increased significantly. Regardless of whether there was sufficient or deficient nitrogen supply during the early growth stage, applying nitrogen at the full heading stage reduced the Cd concentration in brown rice by 35.11% and 57.25%, respectively. Under hydroponic culture conditions with both Cd exposure and later-stage nitrogen supply significantly increased the Cd concentration in brown rice. However, in the absence of Cd, nitrogen supply significantly reduced the Cd concentration in brown rice. The accumulation of Cd in brown rice was significantly correlated with the accumulation of Fe and Mn at the late growth stage. Our findings indicate that when there is sufficient nitrogen nutrition during the early growth stage of rice, topdressing nitrogen fertilizer at the full heading stage combined with lime with mineral element fertilizers such as Fe and Mn is an effective approach to reduce the presence of cadmium in rice grains.

(1) Background: P-cadherin (CDH3) is a transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role in maintaining the structural integrity of epithelial tissue and homeostasis. Its role in carcinogenesis remains a subject of debate, as its behavior can vary depending on the molecular context and the specific tumor cell model under study. In this study, we explored the role of P-cadherin in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the mechanism underlying its function. (2) Methods: We analyzed P-cadherin expression in HNSCC patients using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. For in vitro functional analysis, we conducted proliferation, migration, invasion, and western blot assays after either suppressing or overexpressing P-cadherin. For in vivo functional analysis, we utilized mouse xenograft models. (3) Results: P-cadherin was significantly overex-pressed in tumor samples compared to normal samples in the TCGA-HNSCC cohort. P-cadherin knockdown resulted in decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion compared to control cells, while P-cadherin overexpression increased cell proliferation and migration in HNSCC cells. We discovered that c-Met functioned as an upstream regulator of P-cadherin. Surprisingly, we found that P-cadherin knockdown increased the phosphorylation of c-Met and STAT3. Combining P-cadherin siRNA with the c-Met inhibitor SU11274 resulted in a more effective reduction in HNSCC cell growth, both in vitro and in vivo, compared to either treatment alone. (4) Conclusions: Our study uncovered a previously unknown aspect of P-cadherin-mediated c-Met regulation. The enhanced activation of c-Met/STAT3 following P-cadherin inhibition could be responsible for the survival of resistant tumor cells. Therefore, dual inhibition of P-cadherin and c-Met may be a potentially effective approach for treating HNSCC.

Conservation tillage and deep side-fertilization both hold the potential to reduce nitrogen leaching and improve grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in fragrant rice cultivation practices. However, the combined impact of different tillage practices with deep side-fertilization on nitrogen leaching remains uncertain. Therefore, this study conducted on-site experiments for four rice growing seasons in both early and late seasons in 2018 and 2019, using the fragrant rice varieties "Meixiangzhan 2"(MX) and "Xiangyaxiangzhan"(XY). The four experimental treatments included:conventional tillage with regular fertilization (T1), conventional tillage with simultaneous deep fertilization (T2), reduced tillage with simultaneous deep fertilization (T3) , and no-tillage with simultaneous deep fertilization (T4). Our results indicate that the T4 treatment exhibited higher nitrogen leaching rates and potential nitrogen losses throughout the entire rice growth cycle, with a 4.51% increase in total nitrogen leaching and a 1.86% increase in potential nitrogen leaching compared to T1. In contrast, the T2 treatment demonstrated the lowest nitrogen leaching rate, resulting in a 6.01% reduction in total nitrogen leaching and a 9.57% decrease in potential nitrogen leaching compared to T1, demonstrating the most optimal performance. For MX, the T1 treatment resulted in lower daily grain outputs compared to the other treatments, with disparities ranging from 5.35% to 9.94%. Similarly, for the XY, the T1 treatment yielded significantly lower daily grain outputs compared to the other treatments, with discrepancies ranging from 6.26% to 10.81% during the late season of 2019. Overall, this study shows that conventional tillage with deep fertilization effectively reduces nitrogen leaching and boosts fragrant rice yields. Minimizing nitrogen leaching enhances nitrogen utilization efficiency. These insights highlight the significance of strategic fertilization and cultivation for environmental conservation and agricultural sustainability.

This study aimed to reveal the creative thinking of primary school female teachers in Al-Ahsa Governorate, in addition to identifying differences in light of the variables of experience and specialization. The researchers followed the descriptive method. The study was applied to a sample of (340) female teachers. The Creative Thinking Scale, which was adapted by researcher Hawzam Salman (2021), was used. The study concluded that the female teachers of primary stage in Al-Ahsa Governorate have creative thinking at a high degree; in addition, there were no differences in light of the variables of experience and specialization.

In recent years, genetic research has been developing rapidly and taking on a larger role in research and medicine. The synthesis of any particle that can be used in this research can pave the way for new developments in this field. This research aims to develop a chemical method to produce nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots - economical and bio-sourced substances that bind to genomic DNA. Carbon quantum dots are produced by the green synthesis hydrothermal method from radish, which is abundant in nature, and economically affordable. Nitrogen is added to increase the fluorescence properties of the produced carbon quantum dots and to improve their binding to DNA. The synthesized nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) were tested through chromosome imaging subsequently. It was shown that N-CQDs can bind to the chromosomes, and N-CQDs reflected green light better than DAPI under the FITC filter, a potential advantage of using N-CQDs over DAPI in chromosome imaging.

Enterobacteriaceae can contaminate meat during various stages of processing, including slaughter, evisceration, and butchering, causing foodborne illnesses. The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae associated with carcasses obtained from slaughterhouses and raw cut meat collected from butcher shops. A total of 120 samples of camels and cattle were identified using biochemistry and PCR testing. Total viable count (TVC) was range from 4.91 to 5.37 Log10 CFU/g in slaughterhouses and butcher shops. E. coli was predominating with 84 (70%) among all samples, where the camels had the highest with 100% and sheep the lowest with 30%. Salmonella spp. was confirmed in 40% of camel samples, 47.5% of cattle samples, and 32.5% in sheep samples. Twenty-five Enterobacteriaceae genera were confirmed using PCR. Where sheep’s samples had the highest occurrence of Enterobacteriaceae with 15 different genera followed by camels and cattle samples with 14 different genera. The prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae among camel, cattle, and sheep carcasses raises significant concerns regarding food safety. Adherence to good hygiene practices throughout animal slaughtering is crucial to minimize the risk of infection and transmission and ensure food safety.

CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a crucial role in anti-tumor immunity. In a previous study, we identified a subset of murine effector CTLs expressing the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor c-Met (c-Met+ CTLs) that are endowed with enhanced cytolytic capacity. HGF directly inhibited the cytolytic function of c-Met+ CTLs, both in 2D in vitro assays and in vivo, leading to reduced T cell responses against metastatic melanoma. To further investigate the role of c-Met+ CTLs in a three-dimensional (3D) setting, we studied their function within B16 melanoma spheroids and examined the impact of cell-cell contact on the modulation of inhibitory checkpoint molecules expression such as KLRG1, PD-1 and CTLA-4. Additionally, we evaluated the cytolytic capacity of human CTLs clones expressing c-Met (c-Met+) and compared it to c-Met− CTLs clones. Our results indicated that, similar to their murine counterparts, c-Met+ human CTLs clones exhibited increased cytolytic activity compared to c-Met− CTLs clones, and this enhanced function was negatively regulated by the presence of HGF. Taken together, our findings highlight the potential of targeting the HGF/c-Met pathway to modulate CTL-mediated anti-tumor immunity. This research holds promises for developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of CTL-based immunotherapies against cancer.

Saudi Arabia consists mainly of desert land. However, it has big and small natural wetlands and artificial wetlands. Most of these wetlands are seen along the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf coastal regions. Al-Asfar Lake, located in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia, is one of the historical landmarks of Al-Ahsa province. The primary lake water source is agricultural drainage water, which some refer to as an artificial lake. This paper mainly aims to reflect shade on the wetlands in Saudi Arabia in general and to show in detail the environmental impacts of Al-Asfar Lake on the ecosystem and biodiversity of the study area. The analytical review of the previous studies conducted in Al-Asfar Lake was adopted in this article. Hence, the impact of the lake on the land-use system, water quality and biodiversity was illustrated as the main outputs of the review analysis. However, the sustainable management of Al-Asfar Lake requires the stakeholders to adopt the wetland ecosystem health concept, which might lead to improving the lake's environmental conditions.

In the context of post-harvest pest management in agricultural products, the adoption of modified atmospheres presents an eco-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides. This study focuses on nitrogen gas as a potential agent for insect control in stored commodities, utilizing computational simulations to investigate its penetration and distribution within two common storage configurations: chamber-contained pallets and silos. By employing the convection-diffusion equation, the simulations reveal insights into nitrogen distribution dynamics and duration required for oxygen reduction. The results highlight the influence of boundary conditions, commodity porosity, and convection effects on nitrogen dispersion. In chamber scenarios, boundary condition type significantly affects oxygen reduction time, while in silos, convection and diffusion interact to establish a consistent diffusion layer thickness. This research enhances the understanding of modified atmosphere techniques and their potential for sustainable pest management. It provides practitioners with valuable quantitative insights, paving the way for optimized modified atmosphere strategies in real-world agricultural contexts.

Quantification of the trade-offs among greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yield and farmers’ incomes is essential for proposing economic and environment nitrogen (N) management strategies for optimizing agricultural production. A four-year (2017–2020) field experiment (including four treatments: control experiment (CK), suitable utilization of fertilization (SU), emission reduction treatment (ER), and high fertilization (HF)) was conducted on maize (Zea mays L.) in the North China Plain. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used in this study to quantify the GHG emissions and farmers’ incomes during the whole maize production process. The total GHG emissions of CK, SU, ER and HF treatments in the process of maize production are 10,755.2, 12,908.7, 11,950.1, and 14,274.5 kg CO2-eq ha−1 respectively, of which the direct emissions account for 84.8%, 76.8%, 74.9%, and 71.0%, respectively. Adding inhibitor significantly reduced direct GHG emissions, and the N2O and CO2 emissions from the maize fields in the ER treatment decreased by 30.0% and 7.9% compared to those in the SU treatment. Insignificant differences in yield were found between the SU and ER treatments, indicating that adding fertilizer inhibitors did not affect farmers’ incomes while reducing GHG emissions. The yield for SU, ER and HF treatments all significantly increased by 12.9%–24.0%, 10.0%–20.7% and 2.1%–17.4% compared to CK, respectively. In comparison with CK, both SU and ER significantly promoted agricultural net profit (ANP) by 16.6% and 12.2% with the mean ANP values of 3,101.0 USD ha-1 and 2,980.0 USD ha-1, respectively. Due to the high agricultural inputs, the ANP values in the HF treatment was 11.2%, 16.6% and 12.4% lower than those in the SU treatment in 2018–2020. In conclusion, the combination of N fertilizer and inhibitors was proved to be an environmentally friendly, high-profit and low-emissions production technology while sustaining or even increasing maize yields in the North China Plain, which was conducive to achieving agricultural sustainability.

The fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) of aluminium alloys under the combined influence of temperature and humidity remains a relatively unexplored area, receiving limited attention due to its intricate nature and challenges in predicting the combined impact of these factors. The challenge was to investigate and address the specific mechanisms and interactions between temperature and humidity, as in coastal environment conditions, on the FCGR of aluminium alloy. The present study conducts a comprehensive investigation on the combined influence of temperature and humidity on the FCGR of Al6082 alloy. The fatigue pre-cracked compact tension specimens were corroded for 7 days and then subjected to various temperature and humidity conditions in a thermal chamber for 3 days to simulate coastal environments. The obtained data were analysed to determine the influence of temperature and humidity on the FCGR of Al6082 alloy. An empirical model was also established to predict fatigue life cycle values under these environmental conditions precisely. The correlation between FCGR and fracture toughness models was also examined. The Al6082 alloy exhibits a 34% increase in the Paris constant C, indicating reduced FCGR resistance due to elevated temperature and humidity levels. At the same time, fatigue, corrosion, moisture-assisted crack propagation, and hydrogen embrittlement lead to a 27% decrease in threshold fracture toughness. The developed model exhibited accurate predictions for fatigue life cycles, and the correlation between fracture toughness and FCGR showed less than 10% error, indicating a strong relationship between these parameters.

This study evaluated gas mixtures of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with nitrogen (N2) as al-ternatives to the use of CO2 in two phases to improve the welfare of broiler chickens at slaugh-ter. Broilers were exposed to one of three treatments: 40C90C (1st phase: <40% CO2 for 2 min; 2nd phase: >90% CO2 and <2% O2 for 2 min, n=92), 40C60N (40% CO2, 60% N2 and <2% O2 for 4 min, n=79), or 20C80N (20% CO2, 80% N2 and <2% O2 for 4 min, n=72). The time to onset of loss of consciousness (LOC) and death was assessed by brain activity (EEG) and behaviour. Behaviour also allowed characterisation of the aversive response to the treatments. Exposure to 40C60N and 20C80N induced LOC faster (19 s [14 – 30 s] and 21 s [16 – 37 s], respectively) but also with less inter-individual variability compared to 40C90C (53 s [26 – 156 s], P < 0.001) and birds took less time to die (40C60N: 64 s [43 – 108 s]; 20C80N: 70 s [45 – 88 s]; 40C90C: 177 s [89 – 212 s], P < 0.001). The 40C90C birds not only experienced more aversion during induction to LOC but are at risk of remaining conscious when the CO2 concentration is increased in the 2nd phase. From an animal welfare point of view, 40C60N provided the highest welfare, followed by 20C80N and 40C90C.

The dynamics of hydrological lateral nutrient fluxes contribute to our understanding of ecological functions related to energy, materials, and organism flows across various spatiotemporal scales. To explore the connectivity between multiple spatial flow processes, we conducted a one-year field measurement to assess lateral hydrologic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes over the continental shelf in the Yangtze estuary. We observed a significant correlation between the differences in remote sensing-based estimates of gross primary production (GPP) (∆GPPMODIS) and the differences in eddy covariance (EC) tower-based GPP (∆GPPEC) at both high-elevation and low-elevation sites. Over the course of a year, our predicted daily maximum tidal elevation (TE) closely matched the observed values in the creek, which facilitated the development of theoretical models to simulate biogeochemical cycling processes and aquatic ecosystem functions. Our findings indicate that the studied saltmarsh acts as a net exporter of dissolved total C (DTC) while serving as a net sink for dissolved total N (DTN). Furthermore, there is a significant correlation in the total dissolved stoichiometry of the C/N ratio between imports and exports. These findings highlight the importance of integrating ecological stoichiometric principles to gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between physical, chemical, and biological processes, particularly within the context of the meta-ecosystem framework. Additionally, when considering reciprocal hydrological lateral C and N flows, single ecosystem can function both as sources and sinks within the meta-ecosystem framework.

Thermal analysis of a hypereutectic Al-Si alloy used for an automotive part was carried out in this research work. Solidification characteristics are recognized from the Temperature-time curve and its corresponding derivatives. This analysis was successfully used in a simulation software program with the aim of improving the resultant simulation accuracy. In this study, different types of molds, with and without cooling systems, were designed and used. The melt present in the furnaces of the factory was used to simulate the casting process. The effect of different cooling rates (1.2ºC/s, 2ºC/s, 2.3ºC/s and 2.9ºC/s) on the solidification parameters have been investigated. Differences in the resultant microstructure between wall and center of the molds have been analyzed and have been related to the T-t curve. Finally, the experimental results clearly indicate that the water-cooling rate of the molds and the melt temperature directly affects the solidification process as well as the final microstructure.

Limnospira maxima is widely cultivated due to its abundance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and phycobiliproteins. However, limited information, high production costs, and nitrogen source limitations have hindered the optimal utilization of this cyanobacteria. The main goal of this study was to address these limitations by identifying ideal cultivation parameters to maximize yields, reduce costs, and contribute to global food security. It was demonstrated that the white and yellow light spectra are the most suitable for cultivating L. maxima, and the use of KNO3 as a nitrogen source proved to be the most cost-effective on a large scale. Nitrogen deficiency stimulates the production of dry biomass but also affects the concentration of key pigments such as chlorophyll and phycocyanin. A notable characteristic of L. maxima is its adaptability and survival capability in various environmental conditions, including nitrogen-deficient environments. This resilience is achieved through the degradation of phycobilisomes and the storage of glycogen. By identifying the optimal growth conditions and understanding the physiological responses of L. maxima, cultivation practices can be improved to be more efficient and sustainable.

Rice cultivation serves as a significant anthropogenic source of methane (CH4), a primary greenhouse gas, and nitrous oxide (N2O), a secondary greenhouse gas. Although N2O emissions remain relatively small compared to CH4 emissions, they are remarkably affected by nitrogen-fertilized soil conditions during rice cultivation. To date, investigations are very limited concerning N2O emissions from rice cultivation in relation to environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall, and soil properties. In this case study, we investigated the characteristics of N2O emissions in the central region of South Korea, where a single rice cropping cycle occurs annually over a span of three years, from May 2020 to May 2023. We investigated the impact of variations in temperature and soil moisture on N2O emissions during rice cultivation. In this context, we attempted to discover the complex dynamics of N2O emissions by comparing longer fallow periods with the rice cultivation periods and extended non-dry periods with irrigated periods. We observed that extremely high N₂O flux events encountered during the fallow period appeared to have a substantial impact on the yearly cumulative N₂O emissions, surpassing the impact of cumulative N₂O emissions during the rice cultivation period. We found that high N₂O flux events arose not only from artificial nitrogen inputs but also due to temperature and soil moisture variations influenced by weather conditions. We concluded that assessing N₂O emissions solely based on the rice cultivation period would underestimate annual emissions. To prevent underestimation of N₂O emissions, continual gas collection throughout a year covering both rice cultivation and fallow phases is required in align with monitoring of varying temperature and soil moisture conditions. Based on our findings, we recommend that at least a three whole year evaluation period is needed to ensure estimation accuracy of N₂O emissions under varying nitrogen fertilization rates. Also, the findings from this study would help prepare a further revision or refinement of N2O emission factor from rice cultivation in the national greenhouse gas inventories defined by the inter-governmental panel on climate change (IPCC).

The clinical relationship between diabetes and inflammation is well-established. Various branches of science independently have confirmed that disrupting oxidant-antioxidant equilibrium and elevated lipid peroxidation could be a potential mechanism for chronic kidney disease associated with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Under diabetic condition, hyperglycemia, especially inflammation, and increased reactive oxygen species generation are bidirectionally associated. Inflammation, oxidative stress and tissue damage are believed to have a role in the development of diabetes. Although the exact mechanism underlying the oxidative stress and its impact on diabetes progression remains uncertain, the hyperglycemia-inflammation-oxidative stress interaction clearly plays a significant role in onset and progression of vascular disease, kidney disease, hepatic injury, pancreas damage and, therefore holds promise as a therapeutic target. Evidence strongly indicates that the use of multiple antidiabetic medications therapy fails to achieve the normal range for glycated hemoglobin target, signifying treatment resistant diabetes. Antioxidants with polyphenols are considered useful as adjuvant therapy for their potential anti-inflammatory effect and antioxidant activity. We aimed to analyze the current major points reported in preclinical in vivo and clinical studies of antioxidants in the prevention or treatment of inflammation in T2DM. Then, we will share our speculative vision of the future diabetes clinical trials.

We have previously developed several successful decellularization strategies yielding porcine cardiac extracellular matrices (pcECMs), which exhibit tissue-specific bioactivity and bioinductive capacity when cultured with various pluri- and multipotent stem cells. Here, we studied the tissue-specific effects of the pcECM on seeded human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) phenotype using reverse transcribed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) arrays for cardio-vascular related genes. We further corroborated interesting findings at the protein level (flow cytometry and immunological stains) as well as bioinformatically using several mRNA sequencing and protein databases of normal and pathologic adult tissue expression, as well as during human embryonic organogenesis. We discovered that upon seeding of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on the pcECM they displayed partial MET toward endothelial phenotypes (CD31+) and morphologies, which were preceded by an early spike (~day 3 onward after seeding) in HAND2 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels compared to plate controls. CRISPR-Cas9 knockout (KO) of HAND2 and its associated antisense long non-coding RNA (HAND2-AS1) regulatory region resulted in proliferation arrest, hypertrophy, and senescent-like morphology. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that HAND2 and HAND2-AS1 are highly correlated in expression, are expressed in many different tissue types albeit at distinct yet tightly regulated expression levels. Deviation (down or up regulation) from these basal tissue expression levels are associated with a long list of pathologies. We thus suggest that HAND2 expression levels may finetune cell plasticity possibly affecting senescence and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition states, through yet unknown mechanisms. Targeting this pathway may represent a promising new therapeutic approach for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, degenerative disorders, and aging. Nevertheless, further investigations are required to better understand the molecular players involved, potential inducers and inhibitors of this pathway, and eventually potential therapeutic applications.