Search Results (121)

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) leads to severe diarrhea in piglets. Naringenin (Nar), a natural flavonoid compound, is known for its antibacterial and anti-antioxidant properties. However, the protective effects of Nar against ETEC-induced diarrhea have not been reported yet. This study investigated the protective mechanisms of Nar against ETEC infection in porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). ETEC infection induced oxidative stress and ferroptosis in IPEC-J2 cells by elevating intracellular iron content and ROS accumulation, increasing MDA levels, downregulating SOD activity and GPX4 expression, and upregulating the transcription of CHAC1 and SLC7A11. In contrast, Nar suppressed ETEC-induced ferroptosis of IPEC-J2 cells by inhibiting the SLC7A11/GPX4 pathway. Specifically, Nar mitigated mitochondrial damage, reduced intracellular iron levels and ROS accumulation, and ultimately reversed the oxidative stress. Network pharmacology and molecular docking identified heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90) as a potential target of Nar. Overexpression and knockdown experiments revealed that ETEC-induced ferroptosis was mediated by upregulation of HSP90, while the protective effects of Nar against ETEC-induced ferroptosis were dependent on the downregulation of HSP90. In conclusion, Nar targets host HSP90 to protect IPEC-J2 cells from ferroptosis caused by ETEC infection. This study demonstrates that Nar is a potent antioxidant natural compound with potential for preventing ETEC-induced intestinal damage. Full article

Biodegradation is a green and efficient method for lignin depolymerization and conversion. In order to screen potential bacterial strains for efficient lignin degradation, composts of cow dung and wheat straw were prepared, and the dynamic changes in the predicted bacterial community structure and function in different periods of the composts were investigated. Then, bacteria with an efficient lignin degradation ability were finally screened out from the compost samples. Based on the monitoring results of the physicochemical indexes of the composting process, it was found that the temperature and pH of the compost firstly increased and then decreased with the extension of time, and the water content and C/N gradually decreased. High-throughput sequencing of compost samples from the initial (DA), high-temperature (DB), and cooling (DC) periods revealed that the number of OTUs increased sharply then stabilized around 2000, and the alpha diversity of the bacterial community decreased firstly and then increased. The predominant phyla identified included Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes, determined by the relative abundance of beta-diversity-associated species. Functional gene analysis conducted using Tax4Fun revealed that the genes were primarily categorized into Metabolism, Genetic Information Processing, Environmental Information Processing, and Cellular Processes. Based on the decolorization of aniline blue and the degradation efficiency of alkali lignin, eight bacterial strains were isolated from compost samples at the three stages. Cupriavidus sp. F1 showed the highest degradation of alkali lignin with 66.01%. Cupriavidus sp. D8 showed the highest lignin degradation potential with all three enzyme activities significantly higher than the other strains. The results provide a strategy for the lignin degradation and utilization of biomass resources. Full article

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of gallic acid (GA) on nutrient degradability, gas production, rumen fermentation, and the microbial community and its functions using in vitro fermentation methods. An in vitro experiment was conducted to test GA dose levels (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/g DM) in the cow’s diet. Based on the results of nutrient degradability, gas production, and rumen fermentation, the control group (0 mg/g DM, CON) and the GA group (10 mg/g DM, GA) were selected for metagenomic analysis to further explore the microbial community and its functions. The degradability of dry matter and crude protein, as well as total gas production, CH₄ production, CH₄/total gas, CO₂ production, and CO₂/total gas, decreased quadratically (p < 0.05) with increasing GA doses, reaching their lowest levels at the 10 mg/g DM dose. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) (p = 0.004), acetate (p = 0.03), and valerate (p = 0.03) exhibited quadratic decreases, while butyrate (p = 0.0006) showed a quadratic increase with increasing GA doses. The 10 mg/g DM dose group had the lowest levels of total VFA, acetate, and valerate, and the highest butyrate level compared to the other groups. The propionate (p = 0.03) and acetate-to-propionate ratio (p = 0.03) linearly decreased with increasing gallic acid inclusion. At the bacterial species level, GA supplementation significantly affected (p < 0.05) a total of 38 bacterial species. Among these, 29 species, such as Prevotellasp.E15-22, bacteriumP3, and Alistipessp.CAG:435, were less abundant in the GA group, while 9 species, including Aristaeella_lactis and Aristaeella_hokkaidonensis, were significantly more abundant in the GA group. At the archaeal species level, the relative abundances of Methanobrevibacter_thaueri, Methanobrevibacter_boviskoreani, and Methanobrevibactersp.AbM4 were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) by GA supplementation. Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, Starch and sucrose metabolism, Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis, and Pyruvate metabolismwere significantly enriched in the GA group (p < 0.05). Additionally, Alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism was also significantly enriched in the GA group (p < 0.05). GA use could potentially be an effective strategy for methane mitigation; however, further research is needed to assess its in vivo effects in dairy cows over a longer period. Full article

Pesticide residues in foods can disturb the intestinal barrier and microbiota, even at a very low dose; however, studies on direct consequences on intestinal health are still lacking. Here, we evaluated the damage of imidacloprid (IMI) to the intestine and the resulting defense against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in C57BL/6J mice. After 8-week exposure to 0.06 mg /kg bodyweight/day, IMI significantly damaged intestinal structure and intestinal integrity, characterized by an increased permeability to FITC-dextran and decreased mRNA expression of tight junction proteins, as well as more broken villi and lower proportions of goblet cells and paneth cells. These were related to the suppression of the self-renewal of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), as evidenced by significantly decreased Sox9+ ISCs and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, the impaired intestinal integrity in mice exposed to low doses of IMI directly increased the susceptibility to ETEC infection and even caused death. On the other hand, exposure to 0.6 mg IMI/kg bodyweight/day lead to significantly increased contents of IL-1β and TNFα both in the intestine and serum, and significantly decreased Th1 cell and IFN-γ contents in the lamina propria during the ETEC infection. Our study suggested that the intestinal damage induced by pesticide residues would significantly decrease the defense ability of the intestine, which suggests a novel perspective when evaluating the long-term effects of food contaminates on intestinal health at low doses without significant toxicological injuries. Full article

To elucidate the genetic basis of thousand-kernel weight (TKW) related to fundamental traits such as kernel length (KL), kernel width (KW), and kernel diameter ratio (KDR) at the individual quantitative trait loci (QTL) level, both unconditional QTL analysis and conditional QTL analysis for TKW were analyzed using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, along with a simplified physical map. A total of 37 unconditional QTLs and 34 conditional QTLs were identified. Six QTLs exhibited independent effects from individual traits (KL, KW, or KDR), while 18 QTLs showed common influences from two or three of these traits simultaneously. Additionally, 26 pairs of epistatically interacting QTLs involving 16 loci were detected. Subsequently, fine mapping of the stable and major-effect QTL QTkw1B was carried out using the derived near-isogenic lines (NILs), ultimately locating it within the interval of 698.15–700.19 Mb on chromosome 1B of the KN9204 genome. The conditional QTL analysis and genetic effect analysis based on NILs both indicated that the increase in TKW was primarily contributed by kernel length. The QTL identified in the present study through the combination of conditional and unconditional QTL mapping could increase the understanding of the genetic interrelationships between TKW and kernel size traits at the individual QTL level and provide a theoretical basis for subsequent candidate gene mining. Full article

In the field of autonomous driving, the accurate identification of drivable areas on roads is the key to ensuring the safe driving of vehicles. However, unstructured roads lack clear lane lines and regular road structures, and they have fuzzy edges and rutting marks, which greatly increase the difficulty of identifying drivable areas. To address the above challenges, this paper proposes a drivable area detection method for unstructured roads based on the MRNet model. To address the problem that unstructured roads lack clear lane lines and regular structures, the model dynamically captures local and global context information based on the self-attention mechanism of a Transformer, and it combines the input of image and LiDAR data to enhance the overall understanding of complex road scenes; to address the problem that detailed features such as fuzzy edges and rutting are difficult to identify, a multi-scale dilated convolution module (MSDM) is proposed to capture detailed information at different scales through multi-scale feature extraction; to address the gradient vanishing problem in feature fusion, a residual upsampling module (ResUp Block) is designed to optimize the spatial resolution recovery process of the feature map, correct errors, and further improve the robustness of the model. Experiments on the ORFD dataset containing unstructured road data show that MRNet outperforms other common methods in the drivable area detection task and achieves good performance in segmentation accuracy and model robustness. In summary, MRNet provides an effective solution for drivable area detection in unstructured road environments, supporting the environmental perception module of autonomous driving systems. Full article

Background: Birnaviruses infect a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial hosts, including several economically important fish species. This study aimed to isolate and characterize a novel birnavirus strain from mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi), a high-value freshwater species in Chinese aquaculture. Methods: A novel strain, designated mandarin fish birnavirus (MFBV), was isolated from diseased fish and propagated in SCK cells. The complete genome was determined using high-throughput sequencing and RACE. Viral replication kinetics, tissue distribution, and pathogenicity were assessed through in vitro infection, RT-qPCR, histopathology, and experimental challenges. In addition, disinfectant sensitivity and environmental stability were evaluated. Results: The MFBV genome comprises two segments (A: 3539 bp; B: 2719 bp), and phylogenetic analysis revealed close relatedness to largemouth bass birnavirus (LBBV) and Lates calcarifer birnavirus (LCBV). MFBV displayed rapid replication in SCK cells, completing a replication cycle in 8–10 h. In juvenile and fry fish, an experimental infection caused acute disease with cumulative mortality ranging from 41.8% to 83.6%, with fry showing higher susceptibility. Viral RNA was detected in multiple tissues (7.9 × 10⁶–7.9 × 10⁷ copies/μg RNA), and histopathological lesions were observed in the intestine, spleen, and kidney. MFBV was highly sensitive to glutaraldehyde (20 ppm), while other disinfectants showed reduced efficacy. Viral half-life ranged from 36.5 to 144.5 h at room temperature. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that MFBV can induce acute systemic infection in mandarin fish. The results offer new insights into the genomic and biological features of birnaviruses, contributing to improved disease management and viral taxonomy. Full article

Maize is a vital staple crop significantly affected by climate change, necessitating urgent efforts to enhance its resilience. This review analyzes advanced methodologies for maize improvement, focusing on the identification of genetic determinants through QTL mapping, candidate gene mining, and GWAS. We highlight the transformative potential of CRISPR gene editing for identifying key regulators in maize development and the utility of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional genomics. Additionally, we discuss breeding strategies leveraging the genetic diversity of maize wild relatives and innovations such as speed breeding and genomic selection (GS), which accelerate breeding cycles. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) plays a critical role in developing superior maize varieties. The review also encompasses agronomic practices and technological innovations, including GS, aimed at climate mitigation. High-throughput phenotyping and omics-based approaches, including transcriptomics and metabolomics, are essential tools for developing climate-resilient maize. Climate changes have a significant impact on maize production and pose unprecedented challenges to its cultivation. Full article

Plants face various abiotic stresses in their natural environments that trigger the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress and potential cellular damage. This comprehensive review examines the interplay between plant antioxidant defense systems and ROS under abiotic stress conditions. We discuss the major enzymatic antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, reductases, and peroxidases, as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid, glutathione, polyphenols, and flavonoids, which play crucial roles in ROS detoxification. This review elaborates on different types of ROS, their production sites within plant cells, and their dual role as both damaging oxidants and key signaling molecules. We discuss how various abiotic stresses—including heat, cold, drought, flooding, salinity, and heavy metal toxicity—induce oxidative stress and trigger specific antioxidant responses in plants. Additionally, the mechanisms of ROS generation under these abiotic stress conditions and the corresponding activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic scavenging systems are discussed in detail. This review also discusses recent advances in understanding ROS signaling networks and their integration with other stress-response pathways. This knowledge provides valuable insights into plant stress-tolerance mechanisms and suggests potential strategies for developing stress-resistant crops by enhancing antioxidant defense systems. Moreover, the strategic ROS modulation through priming, exogenous antioxidants, nanoparticles, or genetic tools can enhance plant resilience. Integrating these methods with agronomic practices (e.g., irrigation management) offers a sustainable path to climate-smart agriculture. Our review reveals that ROS accumulation can be detrimental; however, the coordinated action of various antioxidant systems helps plants maintain redox homeostasis and adapt to environmental stress. Full article

The nonvolatile application of La-doped ZrO₂ (ZLO) antiferroelectric capacitors is demonstrated in this study, accompanied by systematic investigation of device reliability. A built-in electric field was successfully established through engineered work function modulation. The fabricated nonvolatile (NV) ZLO capacitor exhibits not only avoidance of wake-up and fatigue phenomena typically observed in ferroelectric systems but also demonstration of ultralow coercive voltage (2Vc = 1.2 V) and exceptional endurance exceeding 10¹² cycles. The inherent unique polarization reversal mechanism in NV ZLO device was identified as the origin of a unidirectional imprint effect. Accelerated testing at 85 °C for 10⁴ s yielded conclusive evidence of retention characteristic stability. This investigation provides a novel perspective for the engineering utilization of antiferroelectric materials and facilitates their potential incorporation into advanced integrated circuit architectures. Full article

In China, potatoes are predominantly cultivated using the tuber piece planting method. During the cutting process, it is essential to divide seed potatoes into tuber pieces based on the distribution of their bud eyes, ensuring that each tuber piece contains one to two bud eyes. These tuber pieces are subsequently sown into the soil. Currently, the preparation of potato tuber pieces relies heavily on manual labor, which presents challenges such as inefficiency and high operational costs. To address these issues, a seed potato cutting machine capable of posture adjustment, cutting, and spraying was designed. Three types of seed potato cutters were developed based on the distribution patterns of bud eyes. The movement mechanism of the posture adjustment process was analyzed, and a mathematical model was established. The key factors influencing the posture adjustment effectiveness were identified through discrete element simulation analysis. Using the qualified rate of potato cutting and the blind eye rate as evaluation metrics, a three-factor, three-level, orthogonal experimental design was implemented. The experimental factors included the rotational speed of the conical roller, the number of conical rollers, and the cutting angle. For the straight-shaped cutter, the optimal combination was determined as follows: a conical roller speed of 12 r/min, 44 conical rollers, and a cutting angle of 0°, yielding a qualified rate of 90.3% and a blind eye rate of 1.86%. For the Y-shaped cutter, the optimal parameters were 14 r/min, 44 conical rollers, and a 5° cutting angle, achieving a qualified rate of 87.9% and a blind eye rate of 2.86%. The cross-shaped cutter performed best at 14 r/min, 44 conical rollers, and a 0° cutting angle, with a qualified rate of 87.1% and a blind eye rate of 3.80%. All optimal configurations met agronomic requirements, demonstrating the efficacy of the designed machine and cutters. Full article

The seeds of Cyperus esculentus L. exhibit an uneven surface and irregular shape, which adversely affect precision seeding. Pre-sowing seed soaking treatment not only improves seeding performance, but also enhances the germination capability of C. esculentus seeds. However, the intrinsic parameters of the seeds undergo significant changes after soaking in terms of their physical properties, such as volume, weight, and density. These changes directly influence the fluidity and positioning accuracy of the seeds during the seeding process. Additionally, contact parameters, such as the coefficient of friction and the contact area between the seeds and the seeding apparatus, are altered by soaking. These parameters are crucial for designing efficient seeding devices. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the intrinsic parameters of soaked C. esculentus seeds and their contact parameters with the seeding apparatus to provide parameter support for the precision seeding analysis of pre-soaked C. esculentus. This study focuses on the calibration and experimental investigation of discrete element parameters for soaked C. esculentus seeds. Free-fall collision tests, static friction tests, and rolling friction tests were conducted to calibrate the contact parameters between soaked C. esculentus seeds and between the seeds and steel materials. Using Design-Expert, Plackett–Burman tests, steepest ascent tests, and Box–Behnken response surface tests were designed to obtain the optimal parameter combination for the C. esculentus contact model. The optimal parameters were validated through angle of repose simulation tests and physical experiments. The results indicate that the rolling friction coefficient (F) between seeds, the static friction coefficient (E) between seeds, and the rolling friction coefficient (J) between seeds and steel plates significantly affect the angle of repose. The optimal combination of discrete element parameters is as follows: the static friction coefficient (E) between seeds is 0.675, the rolling friction coefficient (F) between seeds is 0.421, and the rolling friction coefficient (J) between seeds and steel plates is 0.506. Using the calibrated parameters for simulation, the average angle of repose was 32.31°, with a relative error of 1.1% compared to the physical experiments. Full article

Studying temperature evolution and distribution range during underground coal gasification is essential to optimize process efficiency, ensure safe and stable operation and reduce environmental impact. In this paper, based on the Liyan Coal Mine underground gasification project, the moving grid setting is used to simulate the moving heat transfer process of the underground coal gasification (UCG) flame working face (FWF). The results showed that the temperature distribution within the coal wall facing the flame is relatively narrow and remains concentrated within a limited range. Temperature distribution curves for T = 100 °C and T = 600 °C initially exhibit a nonlinear increase, reaching a maximum value, followed by a nonlinear decrease, ultimately trending towards a constant value. The maximum temperature influence ranges at ∆T = 10 °C (T = 30 °C) in the roof, left coal pillar, and floor are approximately 13.0 m, 9.0 m, and 10.1 m, respectively. The temperature values at the +1 m and +2 m positions on the roof exhibit a parabolic pattern, with the height and width of the temperature curve gradually increasing. By the end of the operation at t = 190 d, the length range of temperatures exceeding 600 °C at the +1 m position is 73 m, with a maximum temperature of approximately 825 °C, while at the +2 m position it is 31 m, with a maximum temperature of approximately 686 °C. Full article

Background/Objectives: Abiotic stresses impose significant constraints on crop growth, development, and yield. However, the comprehensive characterization of the maize (Zea mays) lipoxygenase (LOX) gene family under stress conditions remains limited. LOXs play vital roles in plant stress responses by mediating lipid oxidation and signaling pathways. Methods: In this study, 13 ZmLOX genes were identified in maize and characterized to explore their functions under abiotic stresses. Results: Phylogenetics revealed that ZmLOX genes share evolutionary origins with LOX genes in Arabidopsis and rice. Promoter analysis identified cis-acting elements associated with growth, light response, hormone signaling, and stress response, indicating their diverse biological roles. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that ZmLOX genes are involved in jasmonic acid metabolism, lipid signaling, and photosynthetic processes, while protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis positioned ZmLOX proteins as central hubs in stress-related regulatory networks. Differential expression and qRT-PCR analyses revealed stress-specific (including heat, drought, salt, and cold) expression patterns, with ZmLOX2 and ZmLOX13 showing key roles in drought and cold tolerance, respectively. Conclusions: These findings provide new insights into the regulatory functions of ZmLOX genes, offering potential targets for enhancing maize resilience to abiotic stresses and improving agricultural productivity. Full article

Lactic acid Bacteria (LAB) convert tryptophan to indole derivatives and induce protective IL-22 production in vivo. However, differences in metabolizing capabilities among LAB species have not been widely investigated. In the present study, we compared the capabilities of 186 LAB strains to produce four kinds of indole derivatives, including indole-3-carboxaldehyde (IAId), indole-3-lactic acid (ILA), indole-3-propanoic acid (IPA), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). These strains were isolated from fermented foods, dairy products, and the feces of healthy individuals, as well as from fish and shrimp from Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces. They represent 15 genera, including Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Lacticaseibacillus, Lactiplantibacillus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Limosilactobacillus, Pediococcus, Streptococcus, Weissella, Latilactobacillus, Levilactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus, and Loigolactobacillus. The results indicate widespread IAId-producing capabilities in LAB strains, with positive rates of approximately 90% (106/117) and 100% (69/69) among strains from Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces, respectively. The concentrations of IAId ranged from 72.42 ng/mL to 423.14 ng/mL in all positive strains from Shanxi Province and from 169.39 ng/mL to 503.51 ng/mL in strains from Jiangsu Province. Intriguingly, we also observed specific ILA-producing capabilities in Lactiplantibacillus strains, with positive rates of 55.17% (16/29) and 80.95% (17/21) among strains isolated from Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces, respectively. The overall detection rates of ILA among all tested strains (including both Lactiplantibacillus and other genus strains) were 17.9% (21/117) and 26.1% (18/69). The concentrations of ILA in positive strains ranged from 12.22 ng/mL to 101.86 ng/mL and from 5.75 ng/mL to 62.96 ng/mL from Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces, respectively. IPA and IAA were not detected in any strains. Finally, these indole derivative-producing capabilities were not related to their geographical origins or isolation sources. The current study provides insights into the species- or genus-dependent capabilities for metabolizing indole derivatives. Defining the specific roles of LAB in indole derivative metabolism will uncover the exact physiological mechanisms and be helpful for functional strain screening. Full article