Search Results (1,248)

The non-medicinal parts of Polygonatum sibiricum (P. sibiricum) and Gentiana scabra (G. scabra) are abundant but underutilized in Liaoning Province, China, creating an environmental burden. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) offers a strategy to enhance their bioactivity, yet triple microbial co-fermentation remains underexplored. This study applied a triple microbiota—featuring Aspergillus niger (A. niger), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae)—to ferment the stems and leaves of both plants. Antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was assessed via the Kirby–Bauer test, while Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)-based non-targeted metabolomics identified differential metabolites and enriched pathways. Co-fermentation significantly increased the inhibition zones to 17.4 ± 0.8 mm for E. coli and 17.7 ± 0.3 mm for S. aureus, a 1.8-fold improvement over the unfermented controls (p < 0.001). Among the 2976 metabolites detected, 1236 were differentially expressed, with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis highlighting activation of aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, ABC transporter, and phenylalanine–tyrosine–tryptophan pathways. Differential abundance analysis indicated that the aminoacyl-tRNA pathway (DA score > 0.9) is critical for antimicrobial peptide synthesis. Phenylalanine derivatives, including 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, which increased over 430-fold (Log₂ FC = 8.78), contributed to membrane-disruptive antibacterial effects. Mechanistically, A. niger hydrolyzes cellulose to release precursors, B. subtilis synthesizes antimicrobial peptides, and S. cerevisiae enhances metabolite solubility and excretion, collectively boosting antibacterial activity by 80%, suggesting a potent synergistic interaction among the triple microbiota. This cascade mechanism provides a scalable approach for valorizing approximately 55 million tons of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) waste annually. Full article

There are many obstacles to the industrial application of CO₂ hydrogenation reduction technology, the most important of which is the high economic cost. The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction mechanism between the active component CuO-ZnO-Al₂O₃(CZA) and the zeolite carrier Zeolite Socony Mobil-5(ZSM-5), screen the simplified preparation method of catalysts with high catalytic performance, and further promote the industrial application of CO₂ hydrogenation reduction technology. In this study, the effects of the gas velocity of the feedstock, the reaction temperature, the content of acidic sites in the carrier, the filling amount of active component, and the mixing mode of the active component and the carrier on catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation reduction were investigated. The structure of the catalysts was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalyst surface properties were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD), hydrogen temperature programed reduction (H₂-TPR) and other characterization methods. The research found that the grinding treatment led to the insertion of CZA between ZSM-5 zeolite particles in CZA@HZ5-20-GB, which was prepared via grinding both CZA and H-ZSM-5 with an Si/Al ratio of 20, inhibiting the action of strongly acidic sites in the zeolite, resulting in only CO and MeOH in the catalytic products, with no Dimethyl Ether (DME) generation. Full article

This study investigates the antioxidant properties of aucubin (AU), an iridoid compound, focusing on its ability to scavenge hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) through its hydroxyl functional groups. Gaussian software was employed to model and validate the underlying antioxidant reaction mechanisms. Three primary pathways were examined: hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), sequential electron transfer-proton transfer (SET-PT), and sequential proton loss–electron transfer (SPLET). All calculations were performed using the M06-2X functional within density functional theory (DFT) at the def2-TZVP level, incorporating Grimme’s D3 dispersion correction and the implicit solvation model based on solute electron density (SMD) for water. Various thermodynamic parameters were determined to analyze and compare the antioxidant reactions, including the O-H bond dissociation energy (BDE), ionization potential (IP), proton dissociation enthalpy (PDE), electron transfer enthalpy (ETE), and proton affinity (PA) of the hydroxy groups. The results indicated that the HAT mechanism is the dominant pathway in the scavenging of ^•OH radicals by AU. The key active sites were identified as the 6-OH group in the aglycone structure and the 6′-OH group in the sugar moiety. Moreover, the polar aqueous environment promoted O-H bond homolysis to enhance the antioxidant activity. Full article

To explore the induction of low temperature the Tiger Puffer (Takifugu rubripes) In this study, the influence of temperature on the pituitary gland during masculinization was investigated through chronic hypothermia stress experiments. Metabolomics was used to analyze the metabolic regulatory network of the pituitary gland under hypothermia stress. ELISA technology was employed to determine the activity content of oxidative stress-related enzymes in the pituitary gland. Further, TUNEL fluorescence labeling and qPCR were used to detect the apoptosis level of pituitary cells. Finally, to assess the impact of low-temperature stress on muscle tissue, HE staining and qPCR techniques were employed. The results showed that after 45 days of low-temperature stress, the differential metabolites of the pituitary gland were mainly enriched in the amino acid metabolic signaling pathway, and the contents of amino acids such as GSH and its synthetic precursors in the pituitary tissue changed significantly. The contents of oxidative stress indicators such as ROS and MDA all showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The qPCR results of TUNEL fluorescence labeling and apoptosis-related genes were consistent, indicating that the apoptotic level of pituitary cells first increased and then decreased with the stress process. Histological analysis revealed that low temperature led to muscle cell atrophy and increased interstitial space in muscle tissue. The expression changes in genes related to muscle development further confirmed that low temperature significantly inhibited muscle growth and development. Therefore, this study speculates that after being subjected to chronic low-temperature stress, the pituitary gland of the red-finned Oriental pufferfish can alleviate the oxidative stress response of the body by strengthening the amino acid metabolic pathway, and the fish body has shown a physiological trend of gradually adapting to low-temperature stress, but the growth and development of muscles are still significantly inhibited. The results of this study can provide theoretical support for understanding the physiological adaptation mechanism of the red-finned Oriental pufferfish to low-temperature stress and lay a foundation for subsequent in-depth exploration of the pituitary response mechanism to low temperatures. Full article

The fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) is a globally invasive species that causes serious damage to agriculture and forestry. Since the first invasion reported in Liaoning Province, China, it has spread extensively southward and was found in Shanghai in 2019. Owing to the climatic and environmental differences between these regions, the biology and population dynamics of H. cunea may have undergone changes in its newly invaded areas. In this study, we investigated the biology of H. cunea in Shanghai and monitored the population dynamics using sex-pheromone-baited traps. We analyzed the relationships between population dynamics and local meteorological factors, including temperature, precipitation, and sunshine duration. Our result indicates high temperatures and large diurnal temperature ranges have significant effects (R² = 0.723, p < 0.001) on the survival and development of H. cunea. Consequently, they play an important role in shaping its population dynamics. These findings enhance our understanding of how H. cunea responds to Shanghai’s environmental conditions, provide a scientific basis for local pest management, and contribute to predicting its population trends. Full article

This paper presents a global fixed-time control framework to address the target circumnavigation tracking problem of underactuated unmanned surface vehicles (USV) under unknown velocity states, lumped uncertainties, and actuator saturation. At the core of this approach is a novel fixed-time target-enclosing line-of-sight (FTTELOS) guidance law, designed to generate the desired heading angle and surge velocity. To estimate unknown velocities, external disturbances, and unmeasured system states, a set of fixed-time observers is constructed, consisting of a velocity observer, a disturbance observer, and a high-dimensional extended state observer (HFTESO). Moreover, to enhance robustness and effectively tackle actuator saturation, the control scheme incorporates a fixed-time sliding mode controller, a dynamic auxiliary system, and a fixed-threshold event-triggered mechanism. Simulation results using SimuNPS demonstrate that the proposed method enables rapid and smooth target circumnavigation, with all system errors converging to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of the origin within a fixed time. Theoretical analysis and simulation studies confirm the effectiveness and robustness of both the FTTELOS guidance law and the integrated control strategy. Quantitatively, compared with the traditional target-enclosing line-of-sight (TELOS) method, the proposed FTTELOS reduces the convergence time of the distance error ${\delta }_e$ from 13.64 s to 10.22 s and the angular error ${\varphi }_e$ from 10.46 s to 7.52 s, demonstrating a significant improvement in convergence speed and overall control performance. Full article

The Grain for Green Program (GGP), one of the world’s largest soil and water conservation initiatives, has been implemented in China as a representative payment for environmental service program. This study aims to evaluate the ecosystem service value (ESV) of forests established under the GGP in five representative provinces (Hebei, Liaoning, Hubei, Yunnan, Gansu), using a systematic methodology that integrates ecologic and economic dimensions for large-scale ecological projects. Between 1999 and 2013, a total of 717.67 × 10⁴ ha of forests were established. Barren land served as the primary land source, with ecological forest being the dominant forest type within the program. The ESV assessment encompassed key services, including water conservation, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, nutrient retention, air quality improvements, and biodiversity improvements. Based on our estimates, the total annual ESV of the afforested areas under GGP in the five representative provinces is 3604.99 × 10⁸ Yuan, with water conservation representing the largest share among all ecosystem services. Moreover, the cumulative ESV generated by these forests over the 14-year period exceeded the total payments made by the central government to farmers. To ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the GGP, a more equitable cost–benefit sharing mechanism is recommended. Full article

The role of the rhizosphere microbiome in naturally suppressing soilborne diseases remains a critical unknown in sustainable agriculture. We investigated this by challenging three genotypes of tomato plants grown in pre-sterilized and natural soils with three major soil-borne pathogens: Ralstonia solanacearum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, and Meloidogyne incognita. The results showed that all tomato genotypes grown in pre-sterilized soils exhibited significantly higher disease severity with all pathogens. This protective effect was linked to higher microbial diversity and the abundance of beneficial taxa like Sphingomonas and Mortierella in natural soil as a significant reduction was recorded in microbial diversity and these microbial taxa in pre-sterilized soil. Pre-sterilization shifted community assembly from deterministic processes to stochastic processes, reducing functional stability. Functional predictions further demonstrated an enrichment of growth-promoting and disease-suppressive traits in natural soils, while sterilized soils favored pathogen-associated functions. Co-occurrence network analysis confirmed that the natural microbiome formed a more complex and robust microbial network, likely increasing its resistance to pathogen invasion. Notably, the reintroduction of soil microbiota from healthy plants partially restored tomato resistance to the three pathogens. These findings highlight the key role of stable rhizosphere microbial communities in suppressing soil-borne diseases and emphasize the importance of conserving microbial diversity and functional stability for plant health and sustainable agriculture. Full article

Under the spatial distribution of water resources, with more water resources in the southern regions and less in the northern regions, and the “north–south grain transport” pattern, calculating the virtual water flow in food trade between provinces in China and analyzing its sustainability is crucial for ensuring the country’s water resources and food security. By considering various products and consumption types, the virtual water flow in inter-provincial grain trade is estimated using the Minimum Transport Cost Method and the Penman-Monteith formula. The sustainability of this virtual water flow is evaluated at the provincial level. (1) The results show that the top three provinces with the largest net virtual water outflow from inter-provincial grain trade are Heilongjiang, Henan, and Anhui, with net outflows of 43.166 billion m³, 18.974 billion m³, and 13.089 billion m³, respectively. The top three provinces with the largest net virtual water inflows are Hebei, Guangxi, and Liaoning, with net inflows of 18.875 billion m³, 10.076 billion m³, and 8.795 billion m³, respectively. (2) The largest inter-provincial virtual water flow occurs from Henan to Hebei (15.06 billion m³), followed by Inner Mongolia to Hunan (9.57 billion m³), and Heilongjiang to Hubei (9.04 billion m³). (3) Overall, the current pattern of virtual water flow in China’s grain trade is sustainable, though several exporting provinces are under greater stress. In the actual scenario, the average water resource pressure index across all provinces is 0.43, 17.31% lower than the average of 0.52 in the scenario without inter-provincial grain trade. Compared with the scenario without inter-provincial grain product trade, in the actual scenario, Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia show a higher increase in water resource pressure index, with increases of 94.74%, 73.68%, and 48%, respectively; Beijing, Shanghai, and Qinghai show a greater decrease in water resource pressure index, with reductions of 94.64%, 79.41%, and 66.67%, individually. And then, efforts should be made to adjust and optimize the structure of grain production and circulation; provinces with virtual water net outflow (such as Heilongjiang, Henan, Anhui, etc.) need to adjust their grain cultivation types and grain export structures.; provinces with virtual water net inflow (such as Hebei, Guangxi, Liaoning, etc.) can appropriately expand the scale of grain cultivation, while adjusting their diets to reduce the demand for water-intensive grains. Full article

In the northern part of the Songliao Basin, the Aonan Depression is a significant structural feature. It plays a crucial role in the relationship between tectonic evolution and deep natural gas accumulation mechanisms. While previous studies have revealed faulting and sedimentary characteristics in the region, the precise connection between tectonic evolution and hydrocarbon accumulation, particularly for deep natural gas, has not been systematically studied. This research uses structural modeling and stratigraphic restoration to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the third section of the Shahezi Formation and develops a 3D geological model of the study area. The results show that the tectonic evolution of the Aonan Depression can be divided into three stages: rifting, sagging, and inversion. Each stage significantly controls hydrocarbon distribution. A self-sourced, self-storage gas system formed in the Shahezi Formation, while the Denglouku and Yingcheng formations exhibit a source–reservoir combination. The study reveals how tectonic evolution influences hydrocarbon accumulation and distribution on a regional scale. Based on these findings, a “rift-controlled source, sag-controlled storage, and structure-controlled trapping” accumulation model is proposed, providing new insights into tectonic evolution and hydrocarbon accumulation mechanisms, with important implications for similar basins’ exploration and structural studies. Full article

In the context of carbon neutrality, ammonia-coal co-firing is considered an effective way to reduce emissions from coal-fired units. This paper takes a 125 MW tangential combustion boiler as the research object and combines CFD and CHEMKIN models to study the effects of ammonia injection position (L1–L3) and blending ratio (0–30%) on combustion characteristics and NO generation. The results indicate that L1 (same-layer premixed injection) can form a continuous and stable flame structure and maintain low NO emissions. L2 (fuel-staged configuration) shows the highest burnout rate and strong denitration potential under high mixing conditions, while L3 has an unstable flow field and the worst combustion structure. NO emissions show a typical “first rise and then fall” trend with the blending ratio. L1 performs optimally in the range of 15–20%, and L2 peaks at 20%. Mechanism analysis indicates that R430 is the main NO generation reaction, while R15 and R427 dominate the NO reduction process. The synergistic reaction between NH_x free radicals and coke can effectively inhibit the formation of NO and improve combustion efficiency. Full article

Hypoxic stress is an important environmental challenge for aquatic organisms, which is detrimental to fish survival and growth. Specifically, the NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) has emerged as a pivotal regulator, with accumulating evidence underscoring its central role in inflammatory processes. However, the regulatory functions of NLRP3 during hypoxic stress in fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii) remain elusive. In this study, we systematically analyzed the molecular features of HoNLRP3 and elucidated its biphasic regulatory mechanism under hypoxic stress in H. otakii using phylogenetic analysis, qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence. Its phylogeny is significantly different from that of mammals and carries FISNA and related motifs specific to bony fishes. Hypoxia induced predominant nlrp3 expression in the brain, peaking at 12–24 h, with strong positive correlation to hif-1α activation. NLRP3-ASC-Caspase1 inflammasomes assembly drove IL-1β maturation, while prolonged hypoxia (48 h) activated Caspase3/GSDME-mediated pyroptosis, accompanied by elevated LDH activity. Reoxygenation partially reversed inflammatory and pyroptosis markers, indicating that NLRP3 balances defense and injury through a biphasic regulatory mechanism. This study provides new insights into the hypoxic adaptation mechanisms in bony fish. Full article

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) targets the immune system of chickens, causing anemia and atrophy of the bone marrow and lymphoid organs, resulting in significant damage to poultry farming. From April 2024 to March 2025, a total of 359 liver samples were collected from broiler farms in 11 cities across Liaoning Province. CAV was detected using PCR, and 16 complete genome sequences of CAV isolates from different regions were analyzed through phylogenetic and recombination analyses. The overall CAV positivity rate was 13.9%, with spring identified as the peak season. Phylogenetic analysis and genotyping revealed that ten CAV strains clustered within subgroup C1, while the remaining six were distributed among subgroups C2 and C3, as well as Group D. Specific mutations were observed among the VP1 protein genotypes, including mutations previously associated with increased pathogenicity and transmission. One isolate, LN2511, was identified as a potential recombinant strain with its parents CAV-Shanxi7 and CAV-EG-13. During 2024–2025, CAV infection remained prevalent in Liaoning Province, with subtype C1 being the dominant genotype. Amino acid sequence analysis indicated the presence of highly pathogenic strains across the province. These findings fill a knowledge gap regarding CAV infection status and evolutionary trends in chicken populations in Liaoning, China. Full article

The accelerated development of digital technologies during the 21st century has intensified requirements for Human Settlements (HS) infrastructure advancement in China’s maritime urban centers, driven by national objectives to forge a cohesive, technologically integrated state framework. This transformation has changed people’s work, learning, and entertainment patterns, leading to the rise in complex networks of pseudo human settlements (PHS). Traditional approaches to environmental research are insufficient for understanding the interactions between PHS and reality human settlements (RHS), which are interdependent and shape urban development. This study utilizes advanced methods such as the entropy weight method to determine indicator weights, the coupling coordination degree model to quantify the interaction intensity, the geo-detector to identify driving factors, and ArcGIS for spatial analysis to assess the interaction between PHS and RHS in 53 coastal cities from 2011 to 2022. The results show: (1) The coupling coordination degree rose initially but later declined, reflecting temporal differentiation; (2) The coordination of settlements varies across regions; (3) A migration trend from the northeast to southwest, with faster coordination improvement in the southwest; (4) Socio-economic development drives the coupling coordination, with big data technology enhancing the relationship. The findings guide sustainable urban development in coastal cities. Full article

This paper presents an optimized hybrid deep learning model for power load forecasting—QR-FMD-CNN-BiGRU-Attention—that integrates similar day selection, load decomposition, and deep learning to address the nonlinearity and volatility of power load data. Firstly, the original data are classified using Gaussian Mixture Clustering optimized by ICPO (ICPO-GMM), and similar day samples consistent with the predicted day category are selected. Secondly, the load data are decomposed into multi-scale components (IMFs) using feature mode decomposition optimized by ICPO (ICPO-FMD). Then, with the IMFs as targets, the quantile interval forecasting is trained using the CNN-BiGRU-Attention model optimized by ICPO. Subsequently, the forecasting model is applied to the features of the predicted day to generate interval forecasting results. Finally, the model’s performance is validated through comparative evaluation metrics, sensitivity analysis, and interpretability analysis. The experimental results show that compared with the comparative algorithm presented in this paper, the improved model has improved RMSE by at least 39.84%, MAE by 26.12%, MAPE by 45.28%, PICP and MPIW indicators by at least 3.80% and 2.27%, indicating that the model not only outperforms the comparative model in accuracy, but also exhibits stronger adaptability and robustness in complex load fluctuation scenarios. Full article