Search Results (252)

The apple rust fungus Gymnosporangium yamadae (G. yamadae) secretes effector proteins into host apple leaf cells to facilitate parasitism. Among these, the candidate effector GyHRb12 was found to localize to the nucleus upon transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf cells, although its functional role remained unclear. Subsequent investigations demonstrated that overexpression of GyHRb12 protein decreases plant cell resistance and attenuates the transcription of multiple antifungal-related genes. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, MdRPS20, a component of the 30S ribosomal subunit, was identified as an interactor of GyHRb12. Proteomic analysis revealed that GyHRb12 modulates the expression of proteins involved in protein translation processes, which may be mediated by changes in ribosomal abundance. Notably, mutating the 14th amino acid in MdRPS20 disrupted its interaction with GyHRb12, underscoring the critical role of this residue in effector recognition and subsequent suppression of host immunity. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that G. yamadae employs a nuclear-localized effector to target a ribosomal subunit protein, thereby reprogramming host translation activity and suppressing host immunity. Full article

This study aimed to analyze the whole genome sequencing of Lactobacillus (Lb) sakei HRB10, which was isolated from traditional dry sausage, to investigate its genetic traits and metabolic processes. The study revealed that the genome total length of Lb sakei HRB10 was 1987622 base pairs (bp), containing 1906 genes and a Genomic Component (GC) percentage of 41.11%. Database annotations indicate that the primary pathways in the genome of Lb sakei HRB10 are amino acid, fatty acid, and carbohydrate metabolisms. These pathways are crucial in forming the distinct flavor in dry sausage. There are many annotated genes encoding enzymes associated with amino acid and carbohydrate metabolisms, but there is a limited number of annotated genes encoding enzymes associated with fatty acid metabolism. Comparative genomics analysis results showed that the length of Lb. sakei HRB10 genomes were in the range of 1.93−2.07 Mb, and the GC content was 41.05−41.22%. The phylogenetic tree results and average nucleotide identity showed a very high homology between Lb. sakei HRB10, MFPB19, and TMW-1.3. This study provides knowledge to understand the formation mechanism of flavor formation by Lb. sakei HRB10 in dry sausages, thereby facilitating the identification of promising strains for application in meat fermentation. Full article

Background: Novel robotic surgical techniques have substantially improved the safety and outcomes of Ivor Lewis esophagectomy, offering greater precision, reduced surgical trauma, and more radical lymphadenectomy compared to conventional approaches. While perioperative results are increasingly promising, the adoption of robotic technology appears to be accompanied by an emerging set of procedure-specific complications not previously encountered—or encountered with different frequency—in open surgery. Understanding this evolving complication profile is essential to fully realize the oncological potential of robotic esophagectomy. Methods: This retrospective single-center study compared 407 consecutive patients undergoing Ivor Lewis esophagectomy at a high-volume center (OPE n = 163; HRB n = 75; FRB n = 169; 2012–2023) regarding three pathophysiologically motivated primary endpoints within 12 months: paraconduit herniation, chylothorax, and neo-esophagus–airway fistula. Results: One-year survival was 71.8%, 74.7%, and 82.2% (p = 0.073). Chylothorax was significantly more frequent in FRB (12.4%) than in OPE (2.5%) or HRB (2.7%) (p < 0.001), with surgical approach as sole independent predictor. Lymphangiography in three FRB patients demonstrated thoracic duct integrity in all; leakage originated from the celiac lymphadenectomy field ascending transhiatally—suggesting a distinct mechanism potentially linked to surgical radicality. All cases resolved conservatively. Neo-esophagus–airway fistula occured significantly less frequently with robotic approaches (FRB 0.6% vs. OPE 4.9%; p = 0.031). Paraconduit herniation did not differ significantly within 12 months (p = 0.272). Conclusions: The complication profile of robotic Ivor Lewis esophagectomy reflects its oncological ambition: elevated chylothorax rates may correlate with radical lymphadenectomy and represent an acceptable trade-off within a multimodal treatment strategy. Fistula risk is meaningfully reduced. These findings support robotic esophagectomy as a safe and effective approach in experienced centers. Full article

This study investigated how increased Cr and Ni contents affect the corrosion behavior and rust layer evolution of HRB500 rebar in chloride-containing environments. Corrosion of the Cr- and Ni-alloyed rebars was characterized by distinct stages: in the initial stage, before a stable rust layer formed, the corrosion rate increased; with continued immersion, corrosion products progressively covered the surface and became more compact, and the overall corrosion rate decreased. Higher Cr and Ni contents were found to mitigate overall corrosion damage, markedly suppress localized corrosion, and shift the corrosion morphology toward a more uniform attack. Electrochemical measurements showed a noble shift in corrosion potential, a reduction in corrosion current density, and significant increases in low-frequency impedance and charge transfer resistance, indicating enhanced barrier properties against charge transfer and ionic migration. With corrosion progression, rust layer phases evolved from an Fe₃O₄-dominated assemblage to enrichment in stable iron oxyhydroxides; the fraction of α-FeOOH increased, raising the α/γ* index and suggesting improved rust layer stability and protectiveness. Mechanistically, Cr and Ni enrichment was found to facilitate the conversion of metastable products to α-FeOOH and to promote the formation of compact spinel oxides FeCr₂O₄ and NiFe₂O₄, thereby hindering chloride ion ingress and interfacial corrosion reactions and markedly improving corrosion resistance. Overall, this work elucidated the Cr–Ni co-alloying mechanism for rust layer stabilization and pitting suppression. At 504 h, the high Cr–Ni rebar reduced the maximum pit depth by approximately 61.8% and lowered i_corr to approximately 43% of that of the low Cr–Ni rebar, thereby providing quantitative guidance for marine-grade rebar design. Full article

The use of high-strength reinforcing steel is an effective way to improve the flexural efficiency of reinforced concrete beams. However, the flexural behaviour of beams reinforced with 630 MPa grade longitudinal rebars in combination with normal-strength concrete is still not fully understood, especially with regard to serviceability performance. In this study, the flexural performance of simply supported RC beams reinforced with HRB500, HRB600 and HRB630 longitudinal rebars and cast with C60 steel-fibre-reinforced concrete was investigated through a combined experimental and numerical approach. Six beams were tested under four-point bending to examine cracking patterns, deflection development and ultimate flexural capacity. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model based on the Concrete Damage Plasticity model in ABAQUS was then established and calibrated against the test data. Using the validated numerical model, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of steel grade, tensile reinforcement ratio on flexural stiffness and ductility. Test results indicate that, for the same reinforcement ratio, the ultimate moment capacity of HRB630 beams is about 8% higher than that of HRB600 beams and about 25% higher than that of HRB500 beams, while a ductile flexural failure mode governed by yielding of tension reinforcement is still maintained. The study also shows that for HRB630 beams, deflection predictions need to account for the higher steel stress level and the deterioration of tension stiffening effects. In general, the results demonstrate that HRB630 high-strength rebars can be safely and efficiently used in flexural members when the tensile reinforcement ratio is kept within the under-reinforced range and steel-fibre-reinforced concrete is adopted to improve cracking and deflection performance. Full article

Fatigue failure is a prevalent concern within structural engineering, often resulting in critical safety risks. The inherent complexity of construction projects leads to structural components experiencing loads of varying amplitudes and diverse load paths. Investigating the fatigue response under variable-amplitude and load path conditions is essential for mitigating catastrophic failures. This study presents multiaxial fatigue testing of HRB335, a widely utilized construction steel, by subjecting it to variable-amplitude and path loading protocols. Comparative analysis of several established fatigue cumulative damage models, such as Miner, Manson, Tensile Factor, and Bilinear, was conducted based on experimental data to evaluate their effectiveness in predicting fatigue damage accumulation under these complex loading scenarios. The results indicated that, for variable-amplitude loading, the Miner, Manson, and Tensile Factor models demonstrated reasonable accuracy in residual life estimation, with minor deviations observed. Conversely, the Bilinear model exhibited greater variability and reduced predictive precision. Under variable load path conditions, the Manson nonlinear model provided the most accurate predictions, followed by the Miner and Tensile Factor models, while the Bilinear model underperformed. Full article

Growing agricultural water demand, driven by climate change and land-use intensification, is accelerating global water scarcity and threatening food and environmental security. This study quantifies spatiotemporal changes in crop water requirements (CWR) and irrigation water requirement (IWR) from 1980 to 2017 for wheat, maize, and soybean. A corrected FAO crop coefficient method was used to estimate global CWR, while the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) was applied to decompose its drivers into climate and crop area changes. IWR was calculated to evaluate the increasing water stress in four representative river basins: the Haihe (HRB), Yellow (YRB), Mississippi (MRB), and Ganges (GRB) river basins. Multiple linear regression models were used to identify dominant drivers of water stress. Results show that from 1980 to 2017, CWR increased significantly for maize (+210 × 10⁸ m³) and soybean (+523 × 10⁸ m³) primarily due to crop area expansion, while wheat CWR declined (−109 × 10⁸ m³). Area growth contributed over +850 × 10⁸ m³ to global CWR increases. At the basin scale, IWR rose notably in HRB, YRB, and GRB, but declined in MRB. Regression analysis confirms that crop area change was the dominant driver of variations in IWR, particularly for soybean in HRB and maize in YRB, while precipitation exerted strong negative effects in some regions. This study provides a scalable framework for diagnosing agricultural water stress and its key drivers, supporting climate adaptation and irrigation planning under global change. Full article

High-rise building areas (HRBs), a key urban land-cover type defined by distinct morphological and functional characteristics, play a critical role in urban development. Their spatial distribution and temporal dynamics serve as essential indicators for quantifying urbanization and analyzing the evolution of urban spatial structure. This study addresses the dynamic monitoring needs of HRBs by developing a temporal change detection model, TCA-Unet (Temporal Change-Aware U-Net), based on a temporal change-aware attention module. The model adopts a dual-path design, combining a temporal attention encoder and a change-aware encoder. By explicitly modeling temporal difference features, it captures change information in temporal remote sensing images. It incorporates a multi-level weight generation mechanism that dynamically balances temporal features and change-aware features through an adaptive fusion strategy. This mechanism effectively integrates temporal context and enhances the model’s ability to capture long-term temporal dependencies. Using the Xiong’an New Area and its surrounding regions as the study area, experiments were conducted using Sentinel-2 time-series imagery from 2017 to 2024. The results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms existing approaches, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 90.98%, an F1 score of 82.63%, and a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 72.22%. Overall, this study provides an effective tool for extracting HRBs for dynamic monitoring and offers valuable guidance for urban development and regulation. Full article

Grouted sleeves are commonly used to connect prefabricated structural components, but construction defects can easily occur after installation, posing potential risks to the structure. This study conducts comparative uniaxial tensile tests on 39 grouted-sleeve specimens in 13 groups—including standard specimens, defective specimens, and specimens repaired with supplementary grouting. The strain distribution patterns under different grouting lengths and loading levels are analyzed to investigate the load-transfer mechanism between reinforcement bars and grouted sleeves, as well as the influence of various supplementary grouting amounts and material strengths on the mechanical performance of defective sleeves. In the uniaxial tensile test of grouted sleeves, with grout strengths of 85 MPa and 100 MPa and HRB400-grade steel bars, when the grouted anchorage length was 4 d, insufficient anchorage length resulted in low bond strength between the grout and the steel bar, leading to bond–slip failure. When the grouted anchorage length reached 6 d, steel bar fracture occurred inside the sleeve. When the total anchorage length formed by two grouting sessions reached 8 d, specimen slippage decreased, showing a trend where the strain growth rate of the sleeve gradually decreased from the grouted end to the anchored end, while the strain growth rate of the steel bar gradually increased. The longer the total anchorage length in the sleeve after grout repair, the stronger its anti-slip capability. The bearing capacity and failure mode of the specimens depend on the strength of the steel bars connected to the grouted sleeves and the strength of the threaded connection ends at the top. Experimental results show that the anchorage length and strength of high-strength grout materials have a significant reinforcing effect on defective sleeves. The ultimate bearing capacity of specimens with anchorage length of 6 d or more is basically the same as that of steel bars. Specimens with a total anchorage length of 8 d show approximately 10~20% less slippage than those with 6 d. The safe anchorage length for HRB400-grade steel bars in sleeve-grouted connections is 8 d, even though the bearing capacity of grouted sleeves with a 6 d anchorage length already meets the requirements. Bond strength analysis confirms that the critical anchorage length is 4.49 d. When the grouted anchorage length exceeds the critical length, the failure mode of the specimen is steel bar fracture. When the grouted anchorage length is less than the critical length, the failure mode is steel bar slippage. This conclusion aligns closely with experimental results. In engineering practice, the critical anchorage length can be used to predict the failure mode of grouted sleeve specimens. Based on experimental research and theoretical analysis, it is clear that using grout repair to reinforce defective grouted sleeve joints with a safe anchorage length of 8 d is a secure and straightforward strengthening method. Full article

This study reports the fabrication and characterization of copper–silicon carbide (Cu–SiC) metal matrix composites produced using powder metallurgy (PM) combined with thermo-compression processing (TCP), a dual route that remains limited in Cu–SiC research. Micro-sized SiC particles (1–25 wt.%) were incorporated into Cu, compacted, sintered, and subsequently subjected to sequential forging and annealing. Unlike conventional PM-only processing, TCP significantly reduced porosity, promoted more uniform reinforcement dispersion, and relieved residual stresses, creating a strong synergy between densification and microstructural refinement. SEM, EDS, XRD, and Raman analyses confirmed phase stability, homogeneous reinforcement distribution, and the absence of deleterious interfacial phases. The integrated PM + TCP route achieved an ultimate tensile strength of ~209 MPa, hardness of ~65 HRB, and toughness of ~35 MJ/m³ at approximately 3 wt.% SiC. The superior performance at this composition resulted not from the lowest porosity but from the combined effects of uniform particle dispersion, improved particle–matrix bonding, and deformation-driven refinement. These findings establish TCP as an effective post-sintering strategy that overcomes intrinsic porosity and interfacial limitations in Cu–SiC composites. Overall, powder metallurgy combined with the thermo-compression processing is identified as a promising processing pathway for developing high-strength, thermally stable Cu–SiC materials for structural and thermal management applications. Full article

High-rise building areas (HRBs) play a crucial role in providing social and environmental services during the process of modern urbanization. Their large-scale, long-term spatial distribution characteristics have significant implications for fields such as urban planning and regional climate analysis. However, existing studies are largely limited to local regions and fixed-time-phase images. These studies are also influenced by differences in remote sensing image acquisition, such as regional architectural styles, lighting conditions, seasons, and sensor variations. This makes it challenging to achieve robust extraction across time and regions. To address these challenges, we propose an improved method for extracting HRBs that uses a Prior-Embedded Dual-Branch Neural Network (PEDNet). The dual-path design balances global features with local details. More importantly, we employ a window attention mechanism to introduce diverse prior information as embedded features. By integrating these features, our method becomes more robust against HRB image feature variations. We conducted extensive experiments using Sentinel-2 data from four typical cities. The results demonstrate that our method outperforms traditional models, such as FCN and U-Net, as well as more recent high-performance segmentation models, including DeepLabV3+ and BuildFormer. It effectively captures HRB features in remote sensing images, adapts to complex conditions, and provides a reliable tool for wide geographic span, cross-timestamp urban monitoring. It has practical applications for optimizing urban planning and improving the efficiency of resource management. Full article

Pakistan, one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, is extremely vulnerable to climate change. This study analyzes the prospective effects of climate change on the rainfall in the Hub River Watershed (HRW), Sulaiman-Kirthar mountainous range of Pakistan. The projections of five global climate models (GCMs), from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), were used. Analysis of future changes in rainfall patterns was performed under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). Results showed that the historical annual average rainfall was increasing in the HRW. The annual average rainfall is expected to decrease under SSP2–4.5 in HRW. However, under SSP5-8.5, an increasing trend over the next three decades is expected, particularly over the southern part of the HRB. The findings should further our knowledge of how climate change affects the Hub River Basin and motivate stakeholders and planners to develop the best mitigation plans. Full article

In the context of global change, assessing the sustainability of ecological restoration in water-scarce regions presents a critical scientific challenge. The Haihe River Basin (HRB), vital to China’s food and water security, has experienced extensive greening over the past two decades. However, the hydrological cost of this greening remains uncertain. This study leverages multi-source satellite remote sensing data (MODIS, CLCD) from 2001 to 2023 to investigate the hydrological implications of this greening. Our analysis reveals a stark ‘decoupling’: despite significant increases in Gross Primary Production (GPP) (9.45 g C·m⁻²·yr⁻¹, p < 0.01), the basin-wide Water Use Efficiency (WUE) exhibited a gradual yet statistically significant decline (slope = −0.01 g C·m⁻²·mm⁻¹·yr⁻¹, p < 0.01). In contrast, Carbon Use Efficiency (CUE) demonstrated no significant basin-wide trend but exhibited significant spatial decreases in mature forest areas. Spatially, the trends are heterogeneous; while 40.80% of the basin showed improved WUE, a significant decrease was observed in only 2.88% of the area, primarily in high-productivity agricultural zones. This localized decline, however, was substantial enough (with mean rates of decrease exceeding −0.06 g C·m⁻²·mm⁻¹·yr⁻¹) to influence the basin-wide average downward. Attribution analysis identified that climate change, particularly rising temperatures and the associated increase in vapor pressure deficit (VPD), were the dominant drivers of this decline by stimulating evapotranspiration (ET) at a rate faster than GPP enhancement. Collectively, our findings suggest that the observed greening trajectory in the HRB, while increasing carbon uptake, is becoming progressively less water-efficient, indicating a path of hydrological unsustainability. This research highlights the urgent need for hydrologically informed policies in ecological restoration, shifting the focus from simple ‘greening’ towards achieving ‘sustainable and hydrologically sound greening’. Full article

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation and their driving mechanisms is essential for ecological assessment and management. However, current assessments of the Heihe River Basin (HRB) vegetation dynamics remain uncertain due to reliance on single indices without cross-validation and oversimplified attribution of residual variations. Here, we integrated four complementary vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, kNDVI, and NIRv) with trend and abrupt change detection analyses to establish a framework for assessing vegetation changes in the HRB from 2004 to 2023. Given that the dominance of non-climatic factors is widely attributed to human water management and land use policies, land use change and other anthropogenic factors were incorporated together with topographic/edaphic factors into the optimal parameter-based geographical detector (OPGD), where vegetation changes induced by non-climatic factors were first isolated through residual trend analysis, thereby quantifying their explanatory power on vegetation index variations. The results demonstrate that vegetation in the HRB experienced a fluctuating upward trend (0.0013/yr) from 2004 to 2023, with significant improvement in 43% and degradation in 3% of the region. Climatic and non-climatic factors explained 26% and 74% of spatial variation, dominated by precipitation and land use change, respectively. Notably, the interaction of land use change and elevation accounted for 56% of NIRv variation, markedly exceeding single factors, as determined by the interaction detector in the OPGD. Additionally, large-scale ecological restoration projects and effective water resource management policies have played a pivotal role in facilitating vegetation recovery across the basin. This study enhances insight into vegetation dynamics and supports both sustainable restoration and development in the HRB. Full article

Thousands of coastal reinforced concrete structures using HRB400 bars have served for over three decades in China. Their reinforcement simultaneously endures chloride corrosion and seismic action, yet studies on performance degradation remain limited. This paper investigates the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of HRB400 bars under various strain amplitudes, systematically analyzing corrosion morphology, cyclic stress–strain response, fatigue life, and underlying mechanisms. Corrosion is induced by an adjusted accelerated method that replicates field conditions. Observations reveal that corrosion pits act as primary crack initiation sites. Crack paths and fracture surfaces progressively follow the local pit geometry as strain and corrosion grow. The detrimental effect of corrosion on LCF life is more pronounced for smaller bars. At a γ of around 8%, 20 mm bars lose 60.7% of the half cycles to failure at ε = ±1.5%, but only 37.5% at ε = ±5.0%. Predictive corrosion-inclusive strain amplitude (ε_a)–fatigue life models are proposed, yielding R² = 0.952 (16 mm) and 0.928 (20 mm). A unified LCF predictive model, calibrated on a database of 310 corroded/uncorroded bar tests, is established. The final model comprehensively considers the characteristics of rebars, seismic action, and corrosion damage, improving the conventional relationship between LCF life and seismic loading. This work contributes to the understanding of the fatigue behavior of HRB400 bars and provides support for time-dependent seismic reliability analysis of aging reinforced concrete structures in corrosive environments. Full article