Search Results (48)

Compression pants, as functional sportswear providing external pressure, are widely used to enhance athletic performance and accelerate recovery. However, systematic investigations into their effectiveness during anaerobic exercise and the impact of different pressure levels on performance and post-exercise recovery remain limited. This randomized crossover controlled trial recruited 20 healthy male university students to compare the effects of four garment conditions: non-compressive pants (NCP), moderate-pressure compression pants (MCP), high-pressure compression pants (HCP), and ultra-high-pressure compression pants (UHCP). Anaerobic performance was assessed through vertical jump, agility tests, and the Wingate anaerobic test, with indicators including time at peak power (TPP), peak power (PP), average power (AP), minimum power (MP), power drop (PD), and total energy produced (TEP). Post-exercise blood lactate concentrations and heart rate responses were also monitored. The results showed that both HCP and UHCP significantly improved vertical jump height (p < 0.01), while MCP outperformed all other conditions in agility performance (p < 0.05). In the Wingate test, MCP achieved a shorter TPP compared to NCP (p < 0.05), with significantly higher AP, lower PD, and greater TEP than all other groups (p < 0.05), whereas HCP showed an advantage only in PP over NCP (p < 0.05). Post-exercise, all compression pant groups recorded significantly higher peak blood lactate (Lamax) levels than NCP (p < 0.05), with MCP showing the fastest lactate clearance rate. Heart rate analysis revealed that HCP and UHCP induced higher maximum heart rates (HR_max) (p < 0.05), while MCP exhibited superior heart rate recovery at 3, 5, and 10 min post-exercise (p< 0.05). These findings suggest that compression pants with different pressure levels yield distinct effects on anaerobic performance and physiological recovery. Moderate-pressure compression pants demonstrated the most balanced and beneficial outcomes across multiple performance and recovery metrics, providing practical implications for the individualized design and application of compression garments in athletic training and rehabilitation. Full article

The net primary productivity (NPP) of vegetation—a critical component of ecosystem carbon cycling and a key indicator of the quality and functionality of ecosystems—is jointly influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors. As NPP is a vital agricultural and ecological region in China, understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of vegetation NPP in the North China Plain (NCP) has significant implications for regional sustainable development. Utilizing MODIS NPP, temperature, precipitation, and human activity data from 2003 to 2023, this study employs univariate linear regression, ArcGIS spatial analysis, and the Hurst index to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics, driving factors, and future trends in vegetation NPP. The results indicate that vegetation NPP exhibited a fluctuating upward trend over the 21-year period, with an annual increase of 2.60 g C/m². Spatially, NPP displayed a “high in the south, low in the north” pattern. There is significant spatial heterogeneity between temperature, precipitation, and vegetation NPP in the study area, with natural factors generally exerting a greater influence than human activities; however, the coupling of human activities with other factors significantly amplify their impact. The Hurst index (mean: 0.43) revealed an anti-persistent future trend in vegetation NPP, suggesting substantial uncertainties regarding its long-term dynamics. These findings enhance our understanding of the responses of vegetation to global change and provide a scientific basis for balancing food security and ecological conservation in the NCP. Full article

Background: Aging is a complex biological process characterized by the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage over time, often driven by oxidative stress. This oxidative stress is particularly detrimental to the testes, where it causes degeneration, reduced testosterone levels, and compromised fertility. D-galactose (D-gal) is commonly used to model aging as it induces oxidative stress, mimicking age-related cellular and molecular damage. Testicular aging is of significant concern due to its implications for reproductive health and hormonal balance. This research examines the protection by thymoquinone (TQ) or thymoquinone-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (NCPs) against D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging in rat testes, focusing on biochemical, histological, and molecular changes. Aging, which is driven largely by oxidative stress, leads to significant testicular degeneration, reducing fertility. D-gal is widely used to model aging due to its ability to induce oxidative stress and mimic age-related damage. TQ, a bioactive ingredient of Nigella sativa, has earned a reputation for its anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant characteristics, but its therapeutic application is limited by its poor bioavailability. Methods: Thymoquinone was loaded into chitosan nanoparticles (NCPs) to enhance its efficacy, and this was hypothesized to improve its stability and bioavailability. Four groups of male Wistar rats participated in the study: one for the control, one for D-gal, one for D-gal + TQ, and the last one for D-gal + NCP. Results: The results exhibited that D-gal substantially increased oxidative injury, reduced testosterone levels, and caused testicular damage. Treatment with TQ and NCPs significantly reduced oxidative stress, improved antioxidant enzyme levels, and restored testosterone levels, with NCPs showing a stronger protective effect than TQ alone. A histological analysis confirmed that NCPs better preserved testicular structure and function. Additionally, the NCP treatment upregulated the expression of key genes of oxidative stress resistance, mitochondrial function, and reproductive health, including SIRT1, FOXO3a, and TERT. Conclusions: The findings suggest that NCPs offer enhanced protection against aging-related testicular damage compared with TQ alone, which is likely due to the improved bioavailability and stability provided by the nanoparticle delivery system. This research emphasizes the potential of NCPs as a more effective therapeutic strategy for mitigating oxidative stress and age-related reproductive dysfunction. Future research should further explore the mechanisms underlying these protective effects. Full article

Bacterial contamination is a major public health concern on a global scale. Treatment resistance in bacterial infections is becoming a significant problem that requires solutions. We were interested in obtaining new polymeric functionalized compounds with antibacterial properties. Three components (polymeric amine, aldehyde, and phosphite) were used in the paper in a modified “one-pot” Kabachnik–Fields reaction, in tetrahydrofuran at 60 °C, to create the N-C-P skeleton in aminophosphonate groups. Two copolymers were thus prepared starting from an acrylonitriledivinylbenzene (AN-15%DVB) copolymer containing pendant primary amine groups modified by grafting aminophosphonate groups, i.e., aminobenzylphosphonate (Bz-DVB-AN) and aminoethylphosphonate (Et-DVB-AN). The two copolymers were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM-EDX, TGA, and antibacterial properties. It was shown that the novel products have antibacterial qualities against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. The sample with the strongest antibacterial activity was Et-DVB-AN. We assessed how well the Weibull model and the first-order kinetic model represent the inactivation of microbial cells in our samples. The main advantage of the new antibacterial agents developed in this work is their easy recovery, which helps to avoid environmental contamination. Full article

In the era of rapidly expanding graph-based applications, efficiently managing large-scale graphs has become a critical challenge. This paper introduces an innovative graph reduction technique, Node-Centric Pruning (NCP), designed to simplify complex graphs while preserving their essential structural properties, thereby enhancing the scalability and maintaining performance of downstream Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). Our proposed approach strategically prunes less significant nodes and refines the graph structure, ensuring that critical topological properties are maintained. By carefully evaluating node significance based on advanced connectivity metrics, our method preserves the topology and ensures high performance in downstream machine learning tasks. Extensive experimentation demonstrates that our proposed method not only maintains the integrity and functionality of the original graph but also significantly improves the computational efficiency and preserves the classification performance of GNNs. These enhancements in computational efficiency and resource management make our technique particularly valuable for deploying GNNs in real-world applications, where handling large, complex datasets effectively is crucial. This advancement represents a significant step toward making GNNs more practical and effective for a wide range of applications in both industry and academia. Full article

Quantification of soil water-physical properties and their spatial variation is important to better predict soil structure and functioning, as well as associated spatial patterns in the vegetation. The provision of site-specific soil data further facilitates the implementation of enhanced land use and management practices. Using geostatistical methods, this study quantified the spatial distribution of soil bulk density (SBD), soil moisture (SM), capillary water-holding capacity (CWHC), capillary porosity (CP), non-capillary porosity (NCP), and total porosity (TP) in southern subtropical forests located at the Tropical Forest Research Center in Pingxiang City, China. A topographic map (scale = 1:10,000) was used to create a grid of l km squares across the study area. At the intersections of the grid squares, the described soil water-physical properties were measured. By calculating the coefficient of variation for each soil water-physical property, all measured soil water-physical properties were found to show moderate spatial heterogeneity. Exponential, gaussian, spherical, and linear models were used to fit the semivariograms of the measured soil water-physical properties. Across all soil water-physical properties, the range A₀ variable (i.e., the separation distance between the semivariance and the sill value) measured between 3419 m and 14,156 m. The nugget-to-sill ratio ranged from 9 to 41%, indicating variations in the level of spatial autocorrelation among the soil water-physical properties. Many of the soil water-physical properties were strongly correlated (as assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients). Spatial distribution maps of the soil water-physical properties created via ordinary kriging (OK) showed that most water-physical properties had clumped (aggregated) distributions. SBD showed the opposite spatial pattern to SM and CWHC. Meanwhile, CP and TP showed similar distributions. Full article

The lack of vertical observation of reactive nitrogen oxides in agricultural areas has posed a significant challenge in fully understanding their sources and impacts on atmospheric oxidation. Ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations were conducted in the agricultural regions of the North China Plain (NCP) during the summer of 2019 to measure the vertical distributions of aerosols, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and nitrous acid (HONO). This study aimed at revealing the spatiotemporal distribution, sources, and environmental effects of reactive nitrogen oxides in the NCP agricultural areas. Our findings indicated that the vertical profiles of aerosols and NO₂ exhibited a near-Gaussian distribution, with distinct peak times occurring between 8:00–10:00 and 16:00–18:00. HONO reached its maximum concentration near the surface around 8:00 in the morning and decreased exponentially with altitude. After sunrise, the concentration of HONO rapidly decreased due to photolysis. Additionally, the potential source contribution function (PSCF) was used to evaluate the potential sources of air pollutants. The results indicated that the main potential pollution sources of aerosols were located in the southern part of the Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Jiangsu provinces, while the potential pollution sources of NO₂ were concentrated in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. At altitudes exceeding 500 m, the heterogeneous reactions of NO₂ on aerosol surfaces were identified as one of the important contributors to the formation of HONO. Furthermore, we discussed the production rate of hydroxyl radicals (OH) from HONO photolysis. It was found that the production rate of OH from HONO photolysis decreased with altitude, with peaks occurring in the morning and late afternoon. This pattern was consistent with the variations in HONO concentration, indicating that HONO was the main contributor to OH production in the agricultural regions of the NCP. This study provides a new perspective on the sources of active nitrogen in agricultural regions and their contribution to atmospheric oxidation capacity from a vertical perspective. Full article

The North China Plain (NCP) serves as the main grain production land in China, functioning as a critical region for ensuring China’s food security. To address the multifaceted challenges confronting food security in the NCP, the study embarked on a comprehensive analysis of the synergistic interactions between agricultural water usage, carbon emissions, and ecosystem health. By proposing footprint family indicators and using the bottom-up IPCC coefficient approach, this study quantitatively evaluates the spatial–temporal changes of water–carbon–ecological footprints in NCP from 2003 to 2020. Furthermore, a coupling coordination degree model that focuses on the coordination of water–carbon–ecological footprints is established. The findings are as follows: (1) The total water footprint in the NCP showed a striking increasing trend with an increase of 1.52 × 10¹¹ m³, and the carbon footprint increased by 1.27 × 10⁹ t, with significant ecological impacts. (2) The NCP’s ecological footprint exhibited an “M”-shaped trend. The land structure maintained stable with negligible changes in the proportion of ecological footprints. (3) The coupling degree between the footprints of water, carbon, and ecology in the NCP is high, revealing a noteworthy interaction effect. This research can provide data support for effective resources allocation and sustainable social–economic development, offering reasonable insights for China to formulate more scientific policies of green transition in land use and ecological civilization construction. Full article

Groundwater resources are crucial to socio-economic development and the ecosystem, and over-extraction can cause the groundwater level to drop, deplete reserves, and trigger geological hazards like land subsidence. The North China Plain (NCP) has experienced both subsidence and groundwater depletion due to over-extraction in the past 70 years. In this study, we used MT-InSAR technology and ascending C-band Sentinel-1 SAR data from 2017 to 2023 to study land deformation in the junction area of Shijiazhuang–Baoding–Cangzhou–Hengshui. We identified multiple subsidence funnels with a maximum rate exceeding −150 mm/year and a total deformation surpassing 600 mm. Seasonal decomposition methods accurately separated seasonal signals in the time-series deformation and groundwater level data. An exponential function model applied to long-term deformation showed no significant decrease in subsidence in severely affected areas. By modeling seasonal deformation and seasonal groundwater levels, we determined the elastic skeletal storage coefficients (S_ke) to be in the range of 1.02 × 10⁻³~6.53 × 10⁻³ in subsidence areas. We obtained the spatiotemporal evolution of the total groundwater storage (TGWS), irreversible ground storage (IGWS), and recoverable ground storage (RGWS). The TGWS and IGWS decreased annually while the RGWS increased, which is attributable to the implementation of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) and the issuance of groundwater withdrawal policies in the NCP. Full article

Antrodia cinnamomea is a valuable edible and medicinal mushroom with antitumor, hepatoprotective, and antiviral effects that play a role in intestinal flora regulation. Spore-inoculation submerged fermentation has become the most efficient and well-known artificial culture process for A. cinnamomea. In this study, a specific low-molecular compound named 1,8-cineole (cineole) from Cinnamomum kanehirae Hay was first reported to have remarkably promoted the asexual sporulation of A. cinnamomea in submerged fermentation (AcSmF). Then, RNA sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR, and a literature review were performed to predict the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the cineole-promoted sporulation of AcSmF. The available evidence supports the hypothesis that after receiving the signal of cineole through cell receptors Wsc1 and Mid2, Pkc1 promoted the expression levels of rlm1 and wetA and facilitated their transfer to the cell wall integrity (CWI) signal pathway, and wetA in turn promoted the sporulation of AcSmF. Moreover, cineole changed the membrane functional state of the A. cinnamomea cell and thus activated the heat stress response by the CWI pathway. Then, heat shock protein 90 and its chaperone Cdc37 promoted the expression of stuA and brlA, thus promoting sporulation of AcSmF. In addition, cineole promoted the expression of areA, flbA, and flbD through the transcription factor NCP1 and inhibited the expression of pkaA through the ammonium permease of MEP, finally promoting the sporulation of AcSmF. This study may improve the efficiency of the inoculum (spores) preparation of AcSmF and thereby enhance the production benefits of A. cinnamomea. Full article

Cultivated land quality (CLQ) is at the core of the trinity protection of cultivated land in China. Scientific evaluation of CLQ and identification of its obstacle factors are the foundation for the construction and improvement of the quality of cultivated land. The main objective of this study was to evaluate CLQ and identify its obstacle factors, and Quzhou County, an intensive agricultural region in the North China Plain (NCP), was selected as a case study. The evaluation index system of CLQ was constructed based on five dimensions, including climate condition, topographic characteristic, soil property, farming status, and environmental condition, by analyzing the logical evolution of elements, processes, functions, and quality of cultivated land. A methodological system based on the Weighted Summation Method (WSM) and the “1 + X” model was developed to evaluate the CLQ. Then, the obstacle diagnosis model constructed based on the Cask Law and relevant academic studies was used to identify the obstacle factors of CLQ. The results showed that the proportion of high-, medium-, and low-quality cultivated land in Quzhou County was 36.19%, 33.60%, and 30.21%, respectively, and the average grade of CLQ was 2.97, which was considered to be at a medium level. Moran’s I of global spatial autocorrelation in Quzhou County was 0.8782, indicating a significant positive autocorrelation of the cultivated land quality index (CLQI). The main obstacle factors of CLQ in Quzhou County were soil profile constitution, irrigation guarantee rate, groundwater depth, and soil microbial biomass carbon. Therefore, based on the stable and dynamic characteristics of the obstacle factors, suggestions were provided to improve the quality of cultivated land in terms of strengthening the consolidation of cultivated land, transforming the concept of agricultural fertilization, and carrying out cultivated land recuperation. This study provides a new perspective on the cognition, evaluation, and identification of obstacle factors of CLQ, and the findings of this study can provide a reference for the consolidation and improvement of CLQ in the NCP. Full article

The objective of this article was to systematically provide an up-to-date review on the different methods of remineralizing human dentine using different biomimetic agents. The authors performed a systematic search within PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in addition to the grey literature in Google Scholar^® using MeSH terms. The PICO question was P: human teeth dentinal sections; I: application of biomimetic remineralizing agents; C: other non-biomimetic approaches; O: extent of remineralization and physical properties of remineralized dentine. The initially identified studies were screened for titles and abstracts. Non-English articles, reviews, animal studies, studies involving the resin–dentine interface, and other irrelevant articles were then excluded. The other remaining full-text articles were retrieved. Bibliographies of the remaining articles were searched for relevant studies that could be included. A total of 4741 articles were found, and finally, 39 full-text articles were incorporated in the current systematic review. From these, twenty-six research studies used non-collagenous protein (NCP) analogs to biomineralize dentine, six studies used bioactive materials derived from natural sources, six studies used zinc hydroxyapatite, and one study used amelogenin peptide to induce hydroxyapatite formation on the surface of demineralized dentine. Additive effects of triclosan and epigenin were assessed when combined with commonly available NCPs. Overall, a moderate risk of bias was observed and, hence, the findings of the included studies could be acceptable. A meta-analysis of some similar studies was performed to assess the depth of remineralization and elastic modulus. Despite having high heterogeneity (I² > 90), all the studies showed a significant improvement in biomimetic remineralization efficacy as compared to the control. All the included studies carried out a functional remineralization assessment and found a 90–98% efficacy in the extent of remineralization while the elastic modulus reached 88.78 ± 8.35 GPa, which is close to natural dentine. It is pertinent to note the limitations of these studies that have been carried out in vitro under controlled settings, which lack the effects of a natural oral environment. To conclude, the authors suggest that the biomimetic remineralization of dentine using NCP analogs, bioactive materials, and natural products carries significant potential in treating dentinal lesions; however, more long-term studies are needed to assess their clinical applications in vivo. Full article

Background: Homocysteine (Hcy) is involved in various methylation processes, and its plasma level is increased in cardiac ischemia. Thus, we hypothesized that levels of homocysteine correlate with the morphological and functional remodeling of ischemic hearts. Thus, we aimed to measure the Hcy levels in the plasma and pericardial fluid (PF) and correlate them with morphological and functional changes in the ischemic hearts of humans. Methods: Concentration of total homocysteine (tHcy) and cardiac troponin-I (cTn-I) of plasma and PF were measured in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery (n = 14). Left-ventricular (LV) end-diastolic diameter (LVED), LV end-systolic diameter (LVES), right atrial, left atrial (LA) area, thickness of interventricular septum (IVS) and posterior wall, LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and right ventricular outflow tract end-diastolic area (RVOT EDA) of CABG and non-cardiac patients (NCP; n = 10) were determined by echocardiography, and LV mass was calculated (cLVM). Results: Positive correlations were found between Hcy levels of plasma and PF, tHcy levels and LVED, LVES and LA, and an inverse correlation was found between tHcy levels and LVEF. cLVM, IVS, and RVOT EDA were higher in CABG with elevated tHcy (>12 µM/L) compared to NCP. In addition, we found a higher cTn-I level in the PF compared to the plasma of CABG patients (0.08 ± 0.02 vs. 0.01 ± 0.003 ng/mL, p < 0.001), which was ~10 fold higher than the normal level. Conclusions: We propose that homocysteine is an important cardiac biomarker and may have an important role in the development of cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in chronic myocardial ischemia in humans. Full article

The double-sided carbonization of poplar with different sections forms a three-layer structure inspired by tree water transpiration. A photothermal evaporation comparison experiment was conducted to simulate the influence of solar radiation intensity (1 kW·m⁻²) on uncarbonized and single- and double-sided carbonized poplar specimens. The tissue structure, chemical functional group changes, and profile density of the specimens were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and X-ray profile density testing, respectively. The results showed that the tissue structure of the specimen changed after treatment, and the relationship of water evaporation was shown as follows: cross-section (C) > Radial section (R) > Tangential section (T), and Double-sided carbonized poplar (DCP) > Single-sided carbonized poplar (SCP) > Non-carbonized poplar (NCP). Of these, the maximum photothermal evaporation was from the cross-section of the double-sided carbonized poplar (NCPC) with a value of 1.32 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹, which was 21.97% higher than single-sided carbonized poplar (SCPC) and 37.88% higher than non-carbonized poplar (NCPC). Based on the results, double-sided carbonization three-layer structure treatment can improve the evaporation force of the poplar interface, thereby improving the moisture migration ability of wood, and can be applied to solar interface absorber materials. Full article

Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl glycine) is a non-selective, broad-spectrum organophosphate herbicide. Its omnipresent application with large quantity has made glyphosate as a problematic contaminant in water. Therefore, an effective technology is urgently required to remove glyphosate and its metabolites from water. In this study, calcium peroxide nanoparticles (nCPs) were functioned as an oxidant to produce sufficient hydroxyl free radicals (·OH) with the presence of Fe²⁺ as a catalyst using a Fenton-based system. The nCPs with small particle size (40.88 nm) and high surface area (28.09 m²/g) were successfully synthesized via a co-precipitation method. The synthesized nCPs were characterized using transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. Under the given conditions (pH = 3.0, initial nCPs dosage = 0.2 g, Ca²⁺/Fe²⁺ molar ratio = 6, the initial glyphosate concentration = 50 mg/L, RT), 99.60% total phosphorus (TP) removal and 75.10% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were achieved within 75 min. The degradation process fitted with the Behnajady–Modirshahla–Ghanbery (BMG) kinetics model. The H₂O₂ release performance and proposed degradation pathways were also reported. The results demonstrated that calcium peroxide nanoparticles are an efficient oxidant for glyphosate removal from aqueous systems. Full article