Search Results (619)

The tolerance of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) to plant-derived secondary compounds gradually increases with instars. Therefore, even if plant-based additives are applied at early stages, such as the second or third instar, they may have a differential impact on the ecofriendly control of S. frugiperda. In this study, S. frugiperda larvae were exposed to vanillic acid or sinapic acid at the second and third instar, and physiological and growth parameters were measured. The results showed that the effects of vanillic acid treatment on S. frugiperda were similar at the different instars. They can significantly affect the larval carboxylesterase, glutathione S-transferase, and mixed-function oxidase activities. By reducing larval food intake, food conversion, and utilization efficiency while increasing the food consumption rate, it inhibits weight accumulation. This leads to a significant extension of the development of both the larval and pupal stages, and the adult longevity was reduced. Treatment with sinapic acid at the second instar extended the negative effects on the pupal duration of S. frugiperda when compared to treatment at the third instar, but did not affect adult longevity. Therefore, vanillic acid treatment at the second or third instar stage, can play an important role in the ecofriendly control process of S. frugiperda. The results of this study are of great significance for integrated pest management. Full article

The role of rhizosphere bacteria in facilitating plant invasion is increasingly acknowledged, yet the influence of specific microbial functional traits remains insufficiently understood. This study addresses this gap by isolating two bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. ScRB44 and Pseudomonas sp. ScRB22, from the rhizosphere of the invasive weed Solidago canadensis. We assessed their nitrogen utilization capacity and indoleacetic acid (IAA) production capabilities to evaluate their ecological functions. Our three-stage experimental design encompassed strain promotion, nutrient stress, and competition phases. Bacillus sp. ScRB44 demonstrated robust IAA production and significantly improved the nitrogen utilization efficiency, significantly enhancing S. canadensis growth, especially under nutrient-poor conditions, and promoting a shift in biomass allocation toward the roots, thereby conferring a competitive advantage over native species. Conversely, Pseudomonas sp. ScRB22 exhibited limited functional activity and a negligible impact on plant performance. These findings underscore that the ecological impact of rhizosphere bacteria on invasive weeds is closely linked to their specific growth-promoting functions. By enhancing stress adaptation and optimizing resource allocation, certain microorganisms may facilitate the establishment of invasive weeds in adverse environments. This study highlights the significance of microbial functional traits in invasion ecology and suggests novel approaches for microbiome-based invasive weed management, with potential applications in agricultural soil health improvement and ecological restoration. Full article

Luminescent metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are used for the detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) due to their large surface area and pore volume as well as their special optical properties. However, most self-luminescent MOFs are not only complex to synthesize and unstable in water but also feature a “turn-off” sensing system, which has highly restricted their practical applications in OP detection. Herein, a “turn-on” fluorescence sensor based on the guest-induced luminescence MOF Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@UiO-66 was constructed, which realized the sensitive detection of OPs through a dual-enzyme system for the first time. Compared with self-luminescent MOFs, Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@UiO-66 was not only more easily synthesized but also had higher chemical and photostability in water. In this strategy, by means of the hydrolysis of AChE and ChOx, H₂O₂ will be produced, which can oxidize Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺, thereby quenching the fluorescence of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@UiO-66. In the presence of OPs, the activity of AChE can be inhibited, resulting in the inability to generate H₂O₂ and Fe³⁺, which will turn on the fluorescence signal of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@UiO-66. As a result, the Ru(bpy)₃²⁺@UiO-66 sensing system not only had high sensitivity for OPs detection but also possessed a satisfactory detection recovery rate for parathion-methyl in real samples, which provides a new approach for OP detection in food safety as well as environmental monitoring. Full article

Papaya ripeness identification is a key task in orchard management. To achieve efficient deployment of this task on edge computing devices, this paper proposes a lightweight detection model, ABD-YOLO-ting, based on YOLOv8. First, the width factor of YOLOv8n is adjusted to construct a lightweight backbone network, YOLO-Ting. Second, a low-computation ADown module is introduced to replace the standard downsampling structure, aiming to enhance feature extraction efficiency. Third, an enhanced BiFPN is integrated into the neck structure to achieve efficient multi-scale feature fusion. Finally, to strengthen the model’s capability in identifying small objects, the dynamic detection head DyHead is introduced to improve ripeness recognition accuracy. On a self-constructed Japanese quince orchard dataset, ABD-YOLO-ting achieves a mAP50 of 94.7% and a mAP50–95 of 77.4%, with only 1.47 M parameters and 5.4 G FLOPs, significantly outperforming mainstream models such as YOLOv5, YOLOv8, and YOLOv11. On edge devices, the model achieves a well-balanced trade-off between detection speed and accuracy, demonstrating strong potential for practical applications in intelligent harvesting and orchard management. Full article

As the world’s deepest hydraulic tunnels, the Jinping ultra-deep tunnels provide world-class conditions for research on deep rock mechanics under extreme conditions. This study analyzed the time-dependent behavior of different tunneling sections in the Jinping tunnels using the Nishihara creep model implemented in Abaqus. Validated numerical simulations of representative cross-sections at 1400 m and 2400 m depths in the diversion tunnel reveal that long-term creep deformations (over a 20-year period) substantially exceed instantaneous excavation-induced displacements. The stress concentrations and strain magnitudes exhibit significant depth dependence. The maximum principal stress at a 2400 m depth reaches 1.71 times that at 1400 m, while the vertical strain increases 1.46-fold. Based on this, the long-term mechanical behavior of the surrounding rock during the expansion of the Jinping auxiliary tunnel was further calculated and predicted. It was found that the stress concentration at the top and bottom of the left sidewall increases from 135 MPa to 203 MPa after expansion, identifying these as critical areas requiring focused monitoring and early warnings. The total deformation of the rock mass increases by approximately 5 mm after expansion, with the cumulative deformation reaching 14 mm. Post-expansion deformation converges within 180 days, with creep deformation of 2.5 mm–3.5 mm observed in both sidewalls, accounts for 51.0% of the total deformation during expansion. The surrounding rock reaches overall stability three years after the completion of expansion. These findings establish quantitative relationships between the excavation depth, time-dependent deformation, and stress redistribution and support the stability design, risk management, and infrastructure for ultra-deep tunnels in a stress state at a 2400 m depth. These insights are critical to ensuring the long-term stability of ultra-deep tunnels and operational safety assessments. Full article

WRKY transcription factors play key roles in plant immune responses, including resistance to fungal pathogens. In the present study, we identified a flax resistance-related gene Lus10021999, named LuWRKY39. Here, to identify the role of WRKY transcription factor in resistance of flax against Septoria linicola, we cloned and analyzed the gene LuWRKY39 via homologous cloning using bioinformatics methods and localized the encoded protein. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to explore the response of this gene to S. linicola. The results showed that the gene that is 948 bp long exhibited the closest genetic relationship to WRKY in castor (Ricinus communis), as revealed by phylogenetic analysis, and the encoded protein was localized in the nucleus. The LuWRKY39 gene showed higher expression levels in resistant flax materials than in susceptible ones, and higher in roots and stems than in leaves. Furthermore, gene expression showed an upward trend following treatment with salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA), indicating that LuWRKY39 is involved in the regulation of SA and JA signals. By silencing LuWRKY39 in flax using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), the processed plants were more sensitive to S. linicola than untreated plants. Gene expression analysis and disease index statistics confirmed that the silenced plants were more susceptible, highlighting the crucial role of LuWRKY39 in flax disease resistance. This study provides a foundation for functional investigations of WRKY genes in flax and the identification of disease resistance genes. Full article

Accurate classification of jujube varieties is essential for ensuring their quality and medicinal value. Traditional methods, relying on manual detection, are inefficient and fail to meet the demands of modern production and quality control. This study integrates hyperspectral imaging with intelligent optimization algorithms—Zebra Optimization Algorithm (ZOA), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO)—and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model to classify jujube varieties. First, the Isolation Forest (IF) algorithm was employed to remove outliers from the spectral data. The data were then processed using Baseline correction, Multiplicative Scatter Correction (MSC), and Savitzky-Golay first derivative (SG1st) spectral preprocessing techniques, followed by feature enhancement with the Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling (CARS) algorithm. A comparative analysis of the optimization algorithms in the SVM model revealed that SG1st preprocessing significantly boosted classification accuracy. Among the algorithms, GWO demonstrated the best global search ability and generalization performance, effectively enhancing classification accuracy. The GWO-SVM-SG1st model achieved the highest classification accuracy, with 94.641% on the prediction sets. This study showcases the potential of combining hyperspectral imaging with intelligent optimization algorithms, offering an effective solution for jujube variety classification. Full article

The cellulose-binding domain and inter-domain linker play crucial roles in the degradation of crystalline cellulose by cellulases. Although significant differences exist in the degradation efficiency of cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I) derived from different fungal sources, the relationship between this efficiency diversity and variations in the non-catalytic region remains poorly understood. In this study, we found significant differences in the length and amino acid composition of the linker region of CBH I derived from Sordariomycetes and Eurotiomycetes. By replacing the non-catalytic region of Penicillium oxalicum CBH I with the corresponding segment from Trichoderma reesei, the cellulose conversion efficiency of the extracellular enzyme system doubled under the same protein dosage, and the adsorption of CBH I onto cellulose was improved. While replacing only the cellulose-binding domain improved the degradation efficiency of the enzyme system, additional replacement of the linker region resulted in greater enhancement. Improved degradation efficiency due to non-catalytic region replacement was observed under various conditions, including higher cellulose substrate concentration, reduced cellulose crystallinity, use of pretreated straw as a substrate, and degradation at physiological temperature. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying crystalline cellulose degradation by filamentous fungi. Full article

Compared to other multi-source image fusion tasks, visible and SAR image fusion faces a lack of training data in deep learning-based methods. Introducing structural priors to design fusion networks is a viable solution. We incorporated the feature hierarchy concept from computer vision, dividing deep features into low-, mid-, and high-level tiers. Based on the complementary modal characteristics of SAR and visible, we designed a fusion architecture that fully analyze and utilize the difference of hierarchical features. Specifically, our framework has two stages. In the cross-modal enhancement stage, a CycleGAN generator-based method for cross-modal interaction and input data enhancement is employed to generate pseudo-modal images. In the fusion stage, we have three innovations: (1) We designed feature extraction branches and fusion strategies differently for each level based on the features of different levels and the complementary modal features of SAR and visible to fully utilize cross-modal complementary features. (2) We proposed the Layered Strictly Nested Framework (LSNF), which emphasizes hierarchical differences and uses hierarchical characteristics, to reduce feature redundancy. (3) Based on visual saliency theory, we proposed a Gradient-weighted Pixel Loss (GWPL), which dynamically assigns higher weights to regions with significant gradient magnitudes, emphasizing high-frequency detail preservation during fusion. Experiments on the YYX-OPT-SAR and WHU-OPT-SAR datasets show that our method outperforms 11 state-of-the-art methods. Ablation studies confirm each component’s contribution. This framework effectively meets remote sensing applications’ high-precision image fusion needs. Full article

This study investigates the influence of cerium nitrate (Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O) content on the performance of Ce(III)/CF/BN/EPN coatings intended for heat exchangers. A series of Ce(III)/carbon fibre (CF)/boron nitride (BN)/epoxy phenolic (EPN) coatings are fabricated with varying concentrations of Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O. The results of SEM and EDS show that the dissolution of cerium nitrate in acetone due to the particulate form causes it to be distributed in a diffuse state in the coating. This diffuse distribution does not significantly alter the porosity or structural morphology of the coating. With the increase in cerium nitrate content, both the EIS test results and mechanical damage tests indicate a progressive improvement in the corrosion resistance and self-healing properties of the coatings, while the thermal conductivity (TC) remains largely unaffected. The Ce in the coating reacts with the water molecules penetrating into the coating to generate Ce₂O₃ and CeO₂ with protective properties to fill the permeable pores inside the coating or to form a passivation film at the damaged metal–coating interface, which enhances the anticorrosive and self-repairing properties of the coating. However, the incorporation of Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O does not change the distribution structure of the filler inside the coating. As a result, the phonon propagation path, rate, and distance remain unchanged, leading to negligible variation in the thermal conductivity. Therefore, at a cerium nitrate content of 2.5 wt%, the coating exhibits the best overall performance, characterised by a |Z|_0.1Hz value of 6.08 × 10⁹ Ω·cm² and a thermal conductivity of approximately 1.4 W/(m·K). Full article

Postoperative adhesions are a prevalent complication following abdominal surgeries, often leading to significant clinical challenges. This study introduces an innovative solution utilizing a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based triblock copolymer to form an injectable, self-healing hydrogel aimed at preventing these adhesions. The hydrogel, formulated with temperature-responsive and self-healing properties through the incorporation of poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) and anion–pi interactions, was synthesized using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The hydrogel’s physical properties, biocompatibility, hemostatic effect, and anti-adhesive capabilities were rigorously tested through in vitro and in vivo experiments involving rat models. It demonstrated excellent biocompatibility, effective tissue adhesion, and robust hemostatic properties. Most notably, it exhibited significant anti-adhesive effects in a rat abdominal wall–cecum model, reducing adhesion formation effectively compared to controls. The PEG-based injectable hydrogel presents a promising approach for postoperative adhesion prevention. Its ability to gel in situ triggered by body heat, coupled with its self-healing properties, provides a substantial advantage in clinical settings, indicating its potential utility as a novel anti-adhesion material. Full article

The aim of this paper is to propose an improved lightweight YOLOv11 detection method in response to the difficulty of extracting tomato fruit features in greenhouse environments and the need for lightweight picking equipment. Firstly, the conventional step convolution is substituted by the Average pooling Downsampling (ADown) module with multi-path fusion; Gated Convolution (gConv) is incorporated in the C3K2 module, which considerably reduces the number of parameters and computation of the model. Concurrently, the Lightweight Shared Convolutional Detection (LSCD) is incorporated into the detection head component with to the aim of further reducing the computational complexity. Finally, the Wise–Powerful intersection over Union (Wise-PIoU) loss function is employed to optimise the model accuracy, and the effectiveness of each improvement module is verified by means of ablation experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the precision of ACLW-YOLO (A stands for ADown, C stands for C3K2_gConv, L stands for LSCD, and W stands for Wise-PIoU) reaches 94.2%, the recall (R) is 92.0%, and the mean average precision (mAP) is 95.2%. Meanwhile, the model size is only 3.3 MB, the number of parameters is 1.6 M, and the floating-point computation is 3.9 GFLOPs. The ACLW-YOLO model enhances the precision of detection through its lightweight design, while concurrently achieving a substantial reduction in computational complexity and memory utilisation. The study demonstrates that the enhanced model exhibits superior recognition performance for various tomato fruits, thereby providing a robust theoretical and technical foundation for the automation of greenhouse tomato picking processes. Full article

Oxidative stress poses a challenge to in vitro embryo culture. As a flavonoid, galangin (GAL) has been shown to have antioxidant effects, but the effect and antioxidant capacity of GAL in the in vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic embryos are still unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that 1 µM GAL significantly increased the blastocyst rate, decreased the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the glutathione (GSH) level, and enhanced mitochondrial function in early porcine embryos. Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was identified as the target gene of GAL via network pharmacology, and the transcript levels of related antioxidant enzymes (HO-1, NQO1, SOD2, and CAT) were found to be increased. Since Nrf2 has seven domains, we constructed Nrf2 mutants lacking different domains in vitro. We found that GAL specifically binds to the Neh1 domain of Nrf2. Subsequent embryonic experiments demonstrated that the antioxidant effect of GAL was abolished after Nrf2 deletion. These results suggest that GAL can directly bind to Nrf2 to regulate the level of oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function in embryos. Full article

Fermi-level pinning (FLP) at metal–semiconductor interfaces remains a key obstacle to achieving low-resistance contacts in two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC)-based heterostructures. Here, we present a first-principles study of Schottky barrier formation in WSe₂-MoSe₂ van der Waals heterostructures interfaced with four representative metals (Ag, Al, Au, and Pt). It was found that all metal–WSe₂/MoSe₂ direct contacts induce pronounced metal-induced gap states (MIGSs), leading to significant FLP inside the WSe₂/MoSe₂ band gaps and elevated Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) greater than 0.31 eV. By introducing a 2D metal-doped metallic (mWSe/mMoSe) layer between WSe₂/MoSe₂ and the metal electrodes, the MIGSs can be effectively suppressed, resulting in nearly negligible SBHs for both electrons and holes, with even an SBH of 0 eV observed in the Ag-AgMoSe-MoSe₂ contact, thereby enabling quasi-Ohmic contact behavior. Our results offer a universal and practical strategy to mitigate FLP and achieve high-performance TMDC-based electronic devices with ultralow contact resistance. Full article