Search Results (37)

The cell wall, acting as the first line of defense against aluminum (Al) toxicity, is the primary cellular structure that encounters and perceives Al³⁺. Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) plays a pivotal role in mediating cell wall remodeling, a critical mechanism for Al toxicity tolerance. In our previous studies, the candidate gene BnaXTH22 was identified through GWAS and RNA-seq analyses. Under Al toxicity stress, overexpression lines (OEs) exhibited a significant increase in the relative elongation of taproots (9.44–13.32%) and total root length (8.15–12.89%) compared to the wild type (WT). Following Al treatment, OEs displayed reduced MDA content and lower relative electrical conductivity, alongside a significantly higher root activity than WT. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes in OE under Al toxicity were predominantly enriched in stress-related biological processes, including phenylpropanoid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and lignin biosynthesis. These results suggest that BnaXTH22 overexpression could enhance Al toxicity tolerance in rapeseed, potentially by modulating cell wall synthesis to bolster plant resistance. Full article

Background: Implementing automatic classification of short texts in online healthcare platforms is crucial to increase the efficiency of their services and improve the user experience. A short text classification method combining the keyword expansion technique and a deep learning model is constructed to solve the problems of feature sparsity and semantic ambiguity in short text classification. Methods: First, we use web crawlers to obtain patient data from the online medical platform “Good Doctor”; then, we use TF-IWF to weight the keyword importance and Word2vec to calculate the keyword similarity to expand the short text features; and then we integrate the cue learning and deep learning models to construct a self-adaptive attention model to solve the problem of sparse features and unclear semantics in short text classification in the adaptive-attention-Prompt-BERT-RCNN model to realize effective classification of medical short texts. Results: Empirical studies show that the classification effect after keyword expansion is significantly higher than that before expansion, the accuracy of the model in classifying medical short texts after expansion is as high as 97.84%, and the model performs well in different categories of medical short texts. Conclusions: The short text expansion methods of TF-IWF and Word2vec make up for the shortcomings of not taking into account the keyword rarity and the contextual information of the subwords, and the model can achieve effective classification of medical short texts by combining them. The model further improves the classification accuracy of short text by integrating Prompt’s bootstrapping, self-adaptive attention’s keyword weight weighting, BERT’s deep semantic understanding, and RCNN’s region awareness and feature extraction; however, the model’s accuracy in individual topics still needs to be improved. The results show that the recommender system can effectively improve the efficiency of patient consultation and support the development of online healthcare. Full article

With the rapid expansion of 5G base stations, the increasing energy consumption and fluctuations in power grid loads pose significant challenges to both network operators and grid stability. This paper proposes a coordinated scheduling strategy designed to address these pressing issues by leveraging the flexible load management capabilities of 5G base stations and their potential for inter-regional power demand response within the smart grid framework. This study begins by quantifying the dispatch potential of 5G base stations through a detailed analysis of their load dynamics, particularly under tidal fluctuations, which are critical for understanding the temporal variability of energy consumption. Building on this foundation, dormancy and load transfer strategies are introduced to model the scheduling potential for regional energy storage, enabling more efficient utilization of available resources. To further enhance the optimization of energy distribution, a many-to-many proportional energy-sharing algorithm is developed, which facilitates the aggregation of scheduling capacities across multiple regions. Finally, a comprehensive multi-objective, two-layer collaborative dispatching strategy is proposed, aiming to mitigate grid load volatility and reduce electricity procurement costs for 5G operators. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy, showing a significant reduction in grid load variance by 37.88% and a notable decrease in operational electricity costs for 5G base stations from CNY 4616.0 to 3024.1. These outcomes highlight the potential of the proposed approach to achieve a win-win scenario, benefiting both base station operators and the smart grid by enhancing energy efficiency and grid stability. Full article

We investigate the spontaneous emission of a quantum emitter (QE) placed near the twisted hyperbolic metasurfaces (HMTSs) made of graphene strips. We demonstrate that the spontaneous emission can be enhanced distinctly due to the existence of moiré hyperbolic plasmon polaritons (HPPs) supported by the twisted HMTSs. Moreover, the spontaneous emission decay rate can be efficiently modulated by the chemical potential of graphene, the thickness of the dielectric spacer, and the twist angle between two HMTSs. The maximum spontaneous emission is achieved when topological transition occurs. The spontaneous emission will be enhanced as the thickness of the dielectric spacer increases for most cases. In particular, the twisted HMTSs make it possible to flexibly modify the spontaneous emission through the external field. The findings in this work not only extend past studies of twisted photonic structures but also have important applications in optical sensing and integrated photonics. Full article

Amidst escalating global water scarcity challenges, addressing industrial and agricultural wastewater treatment has emerged as a critical concern within environmental conservation efforts. Wastewater desalination technology not only mitigates salt pollution’s impact on ecosystems but also facilitates sustainable water resource management with significant economic and ecological advantages. This study delves into fundamental principles, methodologies, and application prospects in wastewater desalination technology by conducting a comprehensive assessment encompassing physical, chemical, and biological treatment approaches while scrutinizing their practical applicability through analysis of respective merits and drawbacks. Furthermore, this study illuminates specific operational impacts associated with diverse desalinization techniques employed in industrial or agricultural contexts based on prior research findings. The findings underscore that judicious selection of suitable desalinization methods along with optimization of operational parameters are pivotal factors influencing improved rates of sustainable wastewater desalinization. Finally, this paper proposes future directions and research focuses for wastewater desalination technology to provide a reference for related fields. Full article

Bud dormancy is a critical adaptive trait in woody plants, essential for enduring harsh winter conditions. The relationship between bud break timing and cold resistance is complex and has been a subject of debate. This study utilizes a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) on 201 natural mulberry populations to identify the MaFAD2 gene, which shows the strongest association with bud break timing. Known for its role in cold resistance, MaFAD2′s link to bud break timing suggests a direct correlation between these traits. Expression analysis of MaFAD2 in mulberry trees indicates peak activity in dormant buds, declining as dormancy ends. Selective sweep analysis on germplasms from contrasting climates reveals positive selection in MaFAD2 in cold-resistant Uzbek germplasms. Overexpression of MaFAD2 in early-budding germplasms significantly delays bud break, confirming its regulatory role. These findings highlight MaFAD2 as a key determinant of cold tolerance variability among mulberry germplasms, with its expression directly correlated with bud break timing. This provides a molecular basis for selecting cold-resistant mulberry germplasms based on bud break timing in breeding programs. Full article

Renewable energy systems have emerged as a crucial research area due to the escalating demand for sustainable energy solutions. With the advancement of renewable energy, the electric-thermal coupling within multi-energy systems has become more intricate. Bi-directional electric-thermal storage and conversion technologies have emerged as a potential solution to address the challenges associated with efficient energy utilization. This paper focuses on the joint planning and operation optimization of renewable energy systems considering bi-directional electric-thermal storage and conversion. The integrated framework for renewable energy systems incorporating a bi-directional electric-thermal storage and conversion unit is designed, and the joint planning and operation optimization method is proposed. Case studies are conducted based on typical annual energy demand and solar radiation characteristics in Beijing, China. Numerical results show that the proposed method can effectively handle the coupling and bi-directional conversion characteristics of electrical and thermal energy, achieving energy cost savings while fulfilling the energy demands of the system. The proposed system has a capital expenditure of USD 261,251.4 and an operating expenditure of USD 177,007.1, which shows a total cost reduction of 12.28% compared to the lithium-ion battery system, providing better economic performance while further enhancing the flexibility of energy utilization. These research findings contribute to the development of more efficient and sustainable renewable energy systems, providing a valuable reference for future research and practical applications within the energy field. Full article

Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells are commonly used to produce cell-based influenza vaccines. However, the role of the low-serum medium on the proliferation of MDCK cells and the propagation of the influenza virus has not been well studied. In the present study, we used 5 of 15 culture methods with different concentrations of a mixed medium and neonatal bovine serum (NBS) to determine the best culture medium. We found that a VP:M199 ratio of 1:2 (3% NBS) was suitable for culturing MDCK cells. Furthermore, the stable growth of MDCK cells and the production of the influenza virus were evaluated over long-term passaging. We found no significant difference in terms of cell growth and virus production between high and low passages of MDCK cells under low-serum culture conditions, regardless of influenza virus infection. Lastly, we performed a comparison of the transcriptomics and proteomics of MDCK cells cultured in VP:M199 = 1:2 (3% NBS) with those cultured in VP:M199 = 1:2 (5% NBS) before and after influenza virus infection. The transcriptome analysis showed that differentially expressed genes were predominantly enriched in the metabolic pathway and MAPK signaling pathway, indicating an activated state. This suggests that decreasing the concentration of serum in the medium from 5% to 3% may increase the metabolic activity of cells. Proteomics analysis showed that only a small number of differentially expressed proteins could not be enriched for analysis, indicating minimal difference in the protein levels of MDCK cells when the serum concentration in the medium was decreased from 5% to 3%. Altogether, our findings suggest that the screening and application of a low-serum medium provide a background for the development and optimization of cell-based influenza vaccines. Full article

The dynamic replacement of soil organic carbon represents a pivotal mechanism through which water erosion modulates soil–atmosphere CO₂ fluxes. However, the extent of this dynamic replacement of soil inorganic carbon within this process remains unclear. In our study, we focused on Yuanmou County, China, a prototypical region afflicted by water erosion, as our study area. We leveraged the WaTEM/SEDEM model to quantify the dynamic replacement of soil carbon, accounted for the average annual net change in soil carbon pools, and used isotope tracer techniques to track and measure the process of the coupled carbon–water cycling. This comprehensive approach enabled us to scrutinize the dynamic replacement of soil carbon under water erosion and delineate its ramifications for the carbon cycle. Our findings unveiled that the surface soil carbon reservoir in the Yuanmou area receives an annual replacement of 47,600 ± 12,600 tons following water erosion events. A substantial portion, amounting to 39,700 ± 10,500 tons, stems from the dynamic replacement of soil inorganic carbon facilitated by atmospheric carbon. These results underscore the critical role of the dynamic replacement of soil inorganic carbon in altering the soil–atmosphere CO₂ fluxes under water erosion, thereby influencing the carbon cycle dynamics. Consequently, we advocate for the integration of water erosion processes into regional carbon sink assessments to attain a more comprehensive understanding of regional carbon dynamics. Full article

Due to the large proportion of China’s energy consumption used by industry, in response to the national strategic goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” put forward by the Chinese government, it is urgent to improve energy efficiency in the industrial field. This paper focuses on the optimization of an integrated energy system with supply–demand coordination in an industrial park. This optimization is formulated as a “node-flow” model. Within the model, each node is designed according to the objective function of its own operation and the energy coupling relationship. The flow model is designed based on the energy flow interaction relationship between each node. Based on the “node-flow” model, an edge–cloud information interaction mechanism based on energy transfer balance between nodes is proposed to describe the way the system interacts with information, and a distributed iterative optimization algorithm based on edge–cloud collaboration is designed to realize the optimization decision of each node. The performance of the method proposed in this paper is demonstrated using a practical case study of an industrial park integrated energy system in Xinjiang. The results show that the proposed model can effectively improve the utilization efficiency of multi-energy synergy and complementation in the industrial park, and the proposed algorithm can shorten the solution time by more than 50% without significantly affecting the accuracy of the solution. Full article

In this study, we discovered a new virus named Quanzhou mulberry virus (QMV), which was identified from the leaves of an ancient mulberry tree. This tree is over 1300 years old and is located at Fujian Kaiyuan Temple, a renowned cultural heritage site in China. We obtained the complete genome sequence of QMV using RNA sequencing followed by rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends (RACE). The QMV genome is 9256 nucleotides (nt) long and encodes five open reading frames (ORFs). Its virion was made of icosahedral particles. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that it belongs to the unclassified Riboviria. An infectious clone for QMV was generated and agroinfiltrated into Nicotiana benthamiana and mulberry, resulting in no visible disease symptoms. However, systemic movement of the virus was only observed in mulberry seedlings, suggesting that it has a host-specific pattern of movement. Our findings provide a valuable reference for further studies on QMV and related viruses, contributing to the understanding of viral evolution and biodiversity in mulberry. Full article

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a vital role in the nerve regulation of honey bees (Apis mellifera). This study aims to investigate the differences in expression of miRNAs in a honey bee’s brain for olfactory learning tasks and to explore their potential role in a honey bee’s olfactory learning and memory. In this study, 12 day old honey bees with strong and weak olfactory performances were utilized to investigate the influence of miRNAs on olfactory learning behavior. The honey bee brains were dissected, and a small RNA-seq technique was used for high-throughput sequencing. The data analysis of the miRNA sequences revealed that 14 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) between the two groups, strong (S) and weak (W), for olfactory performance in honey bees were identified, which included seven up-regulated and seven down-regulated. The qPCR verification results of the 14 miRNAs showed that four miRNAs (miR-184-3p, miR-276-3p, miR-87-3p, and miR-124-3p) were significantly associated with olfactory learning and memory. The target genes of these DEmiRNAs were subjected to the GO database annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. The functional annotation and pathway analysis showed that the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, biosynthesis of amino acids, pentose phosphate pathway, carbon metabolism, and terpenoid backbone biosynthesis may be a great important pathway related to olfactory learning and memory in honey bees. Our findings together further explained the relationship between olfactory performance and the brain function of honey bees at the molecular level and provides a basis for further study on miRNAs related to olfactory learning and memory in honey bees. Full article

Flax is a flowering plant cultivated for its oil and contains various unsaturated fatty acids. Linseed oil is known as the “deep-sea fish oil” of plants, and is beneficial to brain and blood lipids, among other positive effects. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in plant growth and development. There are not many studies assessing how lncRNAs are related to the fatty acid synthesis of flax. The relative oil contents of the seeds of the variety Heiya NO.14 (for fiber) and the variety Macbeth (for oil) were determined at 5 day, 10 day, 20 day, and 30 day after flowering. We found that 10–20 day is an important period for ALA accumulation in the Macbeth variety. The strand-specific transcriptome data were analyzed at these four time points, and a series of lncRNAs related to flax seed development were screened. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed and the accuracy of the network was verified using qRT-PCR. MSTRG.20631.1 could act with miR156 on the same target, squamosa promoter-binding-like protein (SPL), to influence fatty acid biosynthesis through a gluconeogenesis-related pathway during flax seed development. This study provides a theoretical basis for future studies assessing the potential functions of lncRNAs during seed development. Full article

(1) Background: To avoid affecting the accuracy and practicability of the security federation model due to the geographical and environmental factors involved in each local model and set the corresponding weights for each local model, the local model parameters and weights participated in the calculation at the same time. (2) Methods: Apply the improved model to the income evaluation of taxi drivers. Multiple linear regression was used to fit the local model parameters, and the loss function value was calculated. Then, according to the improved security federation algorithm, the model parameters and local model weights were encrypted by using the Paillier homomorphic encryption algorithm, and the encrypted model parameter information was uploaded to the aggregation server for aggregation average. (3) Results: The experimental results show that after 1000 iterations, the accuracy curve converges in the interval [0.93, 0.97]; the mean accuracy value was 94.27%, and the mean loss function value was 1.0886. It was the same understanding that the mean value of the loss function calculated by the traditional model was 1.9910. (4) From the model and data, the accuracy of the improved model has been improved. It can better reflect the income of taxi drivers. Full article

Postharvest ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation has been used to control pathogen incidence on fresh produce, but little attention has been paid to preharvest UV-B effect on strawberry fruit quality and storage. In this study, strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv Albion) plants grown in greenhouse were irradiated with UV-B lamps with an intensity of 0.7362 J/s m² for 1 and 2 h every day from 5–7 pm after flowering. Fruits were harvested at red stage for quality evaluation. The results indicated that the preharvest UV-B-treated fruits had lighter color (increased L*) than the control. Total soluble solids (TSS), total phenolics content (TPS) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) of UV-B-treated fruits were higher than for the control fruits. There were no significant differences in any of the quality traits between UV-B one-hour and two-hour treatments. We further evaluated the fruit quality when stored at 5 °C on day 7 and day 14. Compared to untreated control, UV-B-treated fruits retarded decrease in L*, TSS, TPS, TAC and firmness, and reduced fruit decay. Examination of expression of genes related to UV-B signaling indicated that HY5 was the major component of UV-B signaling during the green and white stages. However, anthocyanin genes were highly responsive to UV-B treatment during the red stage. Our results suggest that utilization of a low dose of UV-B radiation during the growth stage can improve strawberry fruit quality, and extend shelf life. This research facilitates the utilization of preharvest UV-B treatment for improving fruit quality in controlled environment agriculture. Full article