Search Results (30)

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a persistent environmental contaminant requiring effective removal strategies. Biofilms offer advantages over conventional activated sludge for refractory compound degradation, yet the specific microorganisms and mechanisms driving BPA removal in biofilms remain poorly understood. This study employed an integrated approach, combining ¹³C-DNA stable isotope probing (SIP) and metagenomics to identify BPA-assimilating microorganisms and elucidate their metabolic pathways in biofilms. Two moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) were operated at contrasting BPA concentrations (500 μg/L and 10 mg/L) to enrich distinct microbial communities. Using DNA-SIP, we revealed differences in assimilating bacteria across diverse concentrations of BPA-enriched biofilms. Simultaneously, we reconstructed the genomes of these assimilating bacteria, dissecting the functional genes essential to the degradation process and identifying significant gene variations among different assimilating bacteria. By integrating these gene functions, we constructed the BPA metabolic pathway, which surprisingly comprised genes from various assimilating bacteria. This research significantly advances our understanding of BPA-assimilating bacteria within biofilms and provides valuable insights for refining biofilm technologies aimed at BPA removal from wastewater. Full article

The FY-4B satellite, launched in June 2021 as China’s new-generation geostationary meteorological satellite, carries three identical High-Energy Particle Detectors (HEPDs) that enable multi-directional, wide-spectral measurements of energetic electrons. The three units are mounted in the zenith (−Z), flight (+X with a +Y offset of 30°), and anti-flight (−X with a −Y offset of 30°) directions, allowing simultaneous observations from nine look directions over a field of view close to 180° in the 0.4–4 MeV energy range (eight energy channels). This paper systematically presents the design principles of the HEPD electron detector, the ground calibration scheme, and preliminary in-orbit validation results. The probe employs a multi-layer silicon semiconductor telescope technique to achieve high-precision measurements of electron energy spectra, fluxes, and directional anisotropy in the 0.4–4 MeV range. Ground synchrotron calibration shows that the energy resolution is better than 16% for energies above 1 MeV, and the angular resolution is about 20°, providing a solid basis for subsequent quantitative inversion. During in-orbit operation, HEPD remains stable under both quiet conditions and strong geomagnetic storms: the measured electron fluxes, differential energy spectra, and directional distributions show good agreement with GOES-16 observations in the same energy bands during quiet periods and for the first time provide from geostationary orbit pitch-angle-resolved images of the minute-scale evolution of electron enhancement events. These results demonstrate that HEPD is capable of long-term monitoring of the geostationary radiation environment and can supply high-quality, continuous, and reliable data to support studies of radiation-belt particle dynamics, data assimilation in space weather models, and radiation warnings for satellites in orbit. Full article

The escalating demand for sustainable materials has been fueling the rapid proliferation of the biopolymer market. Biodegradable polymers within natural habitats predominantly undergo degradation mediated by microorganisms. These microorganisms secrete enzymes that cleave long-chain polymers into smaller fragments for metabolic assimilation. This review is centered around dissecting the degradation mechanisms of specific biodegradable polymers, namely PLA, starch-based polymers, and plant fiber-based polymers. Recent investigations have unveiled that PLA exhibits augmented biocompatibility when combined with HA, and its degradation is subject to the influence of enzymatic and abiotic determinants. In the case of starch-based polymers, chemical or physical modifications can modulate their degradation kinetics, as evidenced by Wang et al.’s superhydrophobic starch-based nanocomposite cryogel. For plant fiber-based polymers, the effects of temperature, humidity, and cellulose degradation on their properties, along with the implications of various treatments and additives, are probed, as exemplified by Liu et al.’s study on jute/SiO₂/PP composites. Specifically, with respect to PLA, the polymerization process and the role of catalysts such as SnCl₂ in governing the structure and biodegradability are expounded in detail. The degradation of PLA in SBF and its interaction with β-TCP particles constitute crucial aspects. For starch-based polymers, the enzymatic degradation catalyzed by amylase and glucosidase and the environmental impacts of temperature and humidity, in addition to the structural ramifications of amylose and amylopectin, are further elucidated. In plant fiber-based polymers, the biodegradation of cellulose and the effects of plasma treatment, electron beam irradiation, nanoparticles, and crosslinking agents on water resistance and stability are explicated with experimental substantiation. This manuscript also delineates technological accomplishments. PLA incorporated with HA demonstrates enhanced biocompatibility and finds utility in drug delivery systems. Starch-based polymers can be engineered for tailored degradation. Plant fiber-based polymers acquire water resistance and durability through specific treatments or the addition of nanoparticles, thereby widening their application spectrum. Synthetic and surface modification methodologies can be harnessed to optimize these materials. This paper also consolidates reaction conditions, research techniques, their merits, and demerits and delves into the biodegradation reaction mechanisms of these polymers. A comprehensive understanding of these degradation mechanisms is conducive to their application and progression in the context of sustainable development and environmental conservation. Full article

In the context of smart agriculture, accurate soil moisture monitoring is crucial to optimise irrigation, improve water usage efficiency and increase crop yields. Although low-cost capacitive sensors are used to make monitoring affordable, these sensors face accuracy challenges that often result in inefficient irrigation practices. This paper presents a method for calibrating capacitive soil moisture sensors through data assimilation. The method was validated using data collected from a farm in Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain, which utilises a drip irrigation system. The proposed solution integrates the Hydrus 1D model with particle filter (PF) and the Iterative Ensemble Smoother (IES) to continuously update and refine the model and sensor calibration parameters. The methodology includes the implementation of physical constraints, ensuring that the updated parameters remain within physically plausible ranges. Soil moisture was measured using low-cost SoilWatch 10 capacitive sensors and ThetaProbe ML3 high-precision sensors as a reference. Furthermore, a comparison was carried out between the PF and IES methods. The results demonstrate that the data assimilation approach markedly enhances the precision of sensor readings, aligning them closely with reference measurements and model simulations. The PF method demonstrated superior performance, achieving an 84.8% improvement in accuracy compared to the raw sensor readings. This substantial improvement was measured against high-precision reference sensors, confirming the effectiveness of the PF method in calibrating low-cost capacitive sensors. In contrast, the IES method showed a 68% improvement in accuracy, which, while still considerable, was outperformed by the PF. By effectively mitigating observation noise and sensor biases, this approach proves robust and practical for large-scale implementations in precision agriculture. Full article

The genome-scale metabolic model (GSMM) of Cordyceps militaris provides a comprehensive basis of carbon assimilation for cell growth and metabolite production. However, the model with a simple mass balance concept shows limited capability to probe the metabolic responses of C. militaris under light exposure. This study, therefore, employed the transcriptome-integrated GSMM approach to extend the investigation of C. militaris’s metabolism under light conditions. Through the gene inactivity moderated by metabolism and expression (GIMME) framework, the iPS1474-tiGSMM model was furnished with the transcriptome data, thus providing a simulation that described reasonably well the metabolic responses underlying the phenotypic observation of C. militaris under the particular light conditions. The iPS1474-tiGSMM obviously showed an improved prediction of metabolic fluxes in correlation with the expressed genes involved in the cordycepin and carotenoid biosynthetic pathways under the sucrose culturing conditions. Further analysis of reporter metabolites suggested that the central carbon, purine, and fatty acid metabolisms towards carotenoid biosynthesis were the predominant metabolic processes responsible in light conditions. This finding highlights the key responsive processes enabling the acclimatization of C. militaris metabolism in varying light conditions. This study provides a valuable perspective on manipulating metabolic genes and fluxes towards the target metabolite production of C. militaris. Full article

In the introduction to her influential work on Asian American cultural studies and feminist materialist critique, Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics, Lisa Lowe shatters the contradictions manifested in Asian immigration, wherein Asians’ entry into the United States marked them either as marginalized from “within” the national political sphere or as linguistically, culturally, and racially “outside” of the national polity For Asian immigrants, the debate of being simultaneously needed and excluded is no more evidenced historically than using Chinese labor during the California Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century. Their migratory relocation was hardly met with ease and public enthusiasm, however. Evoking anxiety in their Anglo counterparts, the Chinese were characterized as foreign noncitizens: barbaric, alien, and dangerous, the quintessential “yellow peril” threatening to displace white European immigrants such as the Irish. The irrational fear of the “Oriental” from the Far East led to a succession of immigration exclusion laws passed by Congress that denied the Chinese from entering the U.S. and their rights to naturalization in 1882. Passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspended the entry of Chinese laborers into the U.S. based on their nationality for ten years. This paper argues that the possibility of agency for Chinese workers existed throughout the exclusionary period. Specifically, this site of agency resides with Chinese women and is expressed through a literary mode. For instance, Lin Yutang’s Chinatown Family (1948) captures this moment of immigrant agency in the post-exclusion era. Lin, a pioneering Chinese writer and inventor who wrote texts such as My Country and My People (1935), The Importance of Living (1937), and Moment in Peking (1939), often utilized his narratives to bridge the clash between the East and West. Identifying what I see as the inadequacy of probing one of the earliest Chinese American texts from a rigid literary mode, I move to reconsider the novel as a legal counternarrative to the three exclusionary laws: the Page Law of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the Cable Act of 1922. To direct my critical reorientation of Lin’s novel away from, though not necessarily against, literary castings of this early immigrant tale, I take the narrative as a strategic literary re-imagination that structures itself around these three legislative pieces to critique restrictive practices enacted upon the Chinese. The novel showcases how Chinese immigrants maneuvered and manipulated the legal system in their favor during assimilation. In this context, critical reappraisal is needed in scrutinizing how the Exclusion Act generated a wave of domestic-based diasporic relocation of Chinese workers from California to New York. Due to acute anti-Chinese sentiments on the West Coast, resetting Chinese workers in the northeast in search of a new Gold Mountain led to a unique phenomenon. This dispersal elevated Chinese women as valuable social capitals who transformed metropoles like New York City and redefined their views as nationalist subjects of the “about-to-be” in industrial capitalist modernity. Through a legal framework, then, Lin’s portrayal of the Fong clan suggests the emergence of a gendered Sino-immigrant agency, one that enabled the Chinese woman/mother to situate herself as the locus of the traditional patriarchal Chinese entrepreneurial family and the forefront of the northeast industrial capitalist scene. Full article

Long-term erosion of granite—a type of hard rock—by hydrothermal fluids and tectonic movement can lead to a fragmentation of the internal structure of the original rock, transfer/replacement of mineral elements, and alteration of the rock’s basic properties. Such changes can be problematic for the construction of water conservancy, hydropower, and road projects. This study adopted the altered Variscan granite in a water diversion project area at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains (China) as the research object, and explored the alteration mechanism using thin section identification, X-ray diffraction, major element analysis, and electron probe and oxygen isotope tests. Results showed that the lithology of the granite in the study area is mainly biotite granodiorite and biotite monzonitic granite. Reductions in both the K⁺ content in plagioclase and the K⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ contents in chlorite indicate that the alteration types within the study area are mainly clayization of feldspar minerals and chloritization of biotite. Biotite granodiorite and biotite monzonitic granite both have low δ¹⁸O values. The δ¹⁸O value of biotite granodiorite decreases with increase in the Loss on Ignition. The low-δ¹⁸O-value granodiorite due to an alteration by hydrothermal fluids transformed from glacier meltwater, groundwater, atmospheric precipitation, and magmatic water; whereas the monzonitic granite might be formed by the reinvasion of low-δ¹⁸O-value granodiorite formed in the early stage, which is remelted, assimilated, and rebalanced. The research findings provide a reference for similar research on altered granite at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and also lay a foundation for subsequent research on its physical/mechanical properties and engineering characteristics. Full article

For rapid and reliable detection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) from pig clinical samples, a multiplex, real-time, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (mqRT-LAMP) was developed using two sets of primers and assimilating probes specific to the PEDV N gene and the Sus scrofa β-actin gene, which was used as an endogenous internal positive control (EIPC) to avoid false-negative results. The assay specifically amplified both target genes of PEDV and EIPC in a single reaction without any interference but did not amplify other porcine viral nucleic acids. The limit of detection was 10 copies/μL, 100-fold lower than that of a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and equivalent to that of quantitative/real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). This assay has high repeatability and reproducibility with coefficients of variation < 4.0%. The positive signal of the mqRT-LAMP assay was generated within 25 min, demonstrating advantages in rapid detection of PEDV over RT-PCR or qRT-PCR assay, which require at least 2 h turnaround times. In clinical evaluation, the detection rate of PEDV by mqRT-LAMP assay (77.3%) was higher than that of RT-PCR assay (69.7%), and comparable to qRT-PCR (76.8%) with almost 100% concordance (kappa value 0.98). The developed mqRT-LAMP assay can serve as an advanced alternative method for PEDV diagnosis because it has high sensitivity and specificity, rapidity, and reliability even in resource-limited laboratories. Full article

This article investigates the manifestation of Venetian visual culture of the Renaissance in the island of Cyprus, which, between 1474/89 and 1570/1, stood as one of Venice’s Mediterranean colonies. To date, scholarship on panel and wall painting production of Venetian Cyprus has devoted careful attention to the infiltration of Italian details and styles in the broader sense—mainly drawn from the Italian Middle Ages—thus failing to notice any correlations between Cypriot visual arts and contemporary Venetian. In this study, I aim to provide an overarching perspective that will illuminate the presence and assimilation of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Venetian visual vocabulary in Cypriot artistic capital. With an emphasis on devotional painting, I will examine iconographic schemes, such as the Man of Sorrows and the Holy Conversation, and facets of stylistic and iconographic correspondences between the two territories. I will also probe the architectural function, purpose, and tenor of lunette-shaped panels in Cyprus and collate them with their Venetian equivalents. Put simply, I hope to flesh out the artistic contact Cypriot artists and their sponsors maintained with Venice rather than with Italy as a whole. Full article

The missing cross-channel of the lidar system aboard Aeolus (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument; ALADIN) makes it impossible to obtain realistic optical products when the depolarizing atmospheric layers are probed (non-spherical particles). Additionally, it cannot provide retrievals separately for aerosol and cloud targets. To overcome these inherent deficiencies, this study aims to deliver an enhanced Aeolus aerosol product (focusing on dust), which will be utilized on aerosol data assimilation schemes coupled with dust transport models to improve Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). For the derivation of the improved aerosol product, a series of processing steps were designed, involving the use of spaceborne retrievals/products from multi-sensors in conjunction with reanalysis numerical outputs and reference ground-based measurements. Full article

The chemical and mineralogical surface properties of a brick-derived composite were examined by using an environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). Investigations revealed that the material could be assimilated to an adsorptive membrane having zeolites deposited onto quartz matrix. In our calculation, the membrane was considered as a diphase composite and its dielectric constant was evaluated from theoretical models developed in the literature. Electro-kinetic analysis showed that composite surfaces were hydroxylated with the formation of hydroxyl groups which behaved amphoterically. A theory-based approach was used for calculating thermodynamic constants relative to surface-protonation equilibriums. In the H-form of the composite, the occurrence of bridging Si–(OH)–Al sites were evidenced by mathematical calculations utilizing equations in direct relation to mineralogical, crystallographic and dielectric surface characteristics. ¹H MAS NMR spectroscopy confirmed the existence of bridging Brønsted acid sites at acidified composite surfaces interacting with ammonium (as probe ions). Owing to advancements in brick-based composites research, this should lead more to the development of “ceramic” adsorptive membranes with natural clay materials. Full article

During the Korean War, conflicts between right-wing Protestants and radical socialists escalated and erupted into massacres, killing thousands of Korean civilians. Such extreme violence and tumultuous events afterwards—including Korea’s division into two separate states and the Cold War system—eclipsed the imbricated interactions between Protestant Christianity and socialism under Japanese colonial rule. While focusing on Korean Protestantism and socialism to probe their contest and compromise for survival, this article traces the tripartite relationship among the followers of Protestant Christianity, Marxist socialism, and Japanese imperialism as it evolved throughout colonial Korea between 1910 and 1945. These 35 years comprised a period of multiple possibilities for interaction among Korean Protestants, socialists, and Japanese authorities in the changing global environment. The international organizations with which they were associated influenced Korean Protestants and Marxist socialists while facing the common crisis of Japan’s assimilation. Namely, the Korean Protestant churches affiliated with Western missionaries’ denomination headquarters in their home countries and world Christian conferences, while the Korean socialists allied with Moscow’s Comintern and other radical political movements abroad. Within this broader context, these two religious and ideological forces competed for supremacy, cooperated in a joint struggle against the colonial regime, and antagonized each other over their divergent worldviews. By examining their complicated tripartite relationship, this essay comprehensively depicts the dynamic history of the Western-derived religious and political doctrines meeting a non-Western empire in a foreign land. Full article

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is the main volatile sulfur compound produced by Saccharomycescerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation and its overproduction leads to poor wine sensory profiles. Several factors modulate H₂S production and winemakers and researchers require an easy quantitative tool to quantify their impact. In this work, we developed a new sensitive method for the evaluation of total H₂S production during alcoholic fermentation using a metal trap and a fluorescent probe. With this method, we evaluated the combined impact of three major factors influencing sulfide production by wine yeast during alcoholic fermentation: assimilable nitrogen, sulfur dioxide and strain, using a full factorial experimental design. All three factors significantly impacted H₂S production, with variations according to strains. This method enables large experimental designs for the better understanding of sulfide production by yeasts during fermentation. Full article

The Middle Jurassic A6 Anomaly is located 30 km southeast of Eskay Creek, north-central British Columbia and consists of thick, altered felsic igneous rocks overlain by a mafic volcano-sedimentary package. Lithogeochemistry on igneous rocks, X-ray diffraction on altered felsic units, and electron probe microanalysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry on illite and quartz were applied to explore the volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) potential, characterize alteration, and determine fluid conditions at the A6 Anomaly. Lithogeochemistry revealed calc-alkaline rhyodacite to trachyte of predominantly FII type, tholeiitic basalts with Nb/Yb < 1.6 (i.e., Group A), and transitional to calc-alkaline basalts and andesites with Nb/Yb > 2.2 (i.e., Group B). The felsic units showed weakly to moderately phyllic alteration (quartz–illite with minor orthoclase and trace chlorite–pyrite–calcite–barite–rutile). Illite ranged in composition from illite/smectite (K = 0.5–0.69 apfu) to almost endmember illite (K = 0.69–0.8 apfu), and formed from feldspar destruction by mildly acidic, relatively low temperature, oxidized hydrothermal fluids. The average δ¹⁸O composition was 10.7 ± 3.0‰ and 13.4 ± 1.3‰ relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water for illite and quartz, respectively. Geothermometry involving illite composition and oxygen isotope composition on illite and quartz yielded average fluid temperatures of predominantly 200–250 °C. Lithogeochemical results showed that the A6 Anomaly occurred in a late-Early to Middle Jurassic evolving back-arc basin, further east then previously recognized and in which transitional to calc-alkaline units formed by crustal assimilation to enriched Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (EMORB) (i.e., felsic units, Group B), followed by thinning of the crust resulting in tholeiitic normalized MORB basalts (i.e., Group A) with a minor crustal component. The alteration assemblage is representative of distal footwall alteration, and metal transport in this zone was limited despite favorable temperature, pH, and redox state, indicating a metal depleted source (i.e., felsic units). Full article

Needle blights are serious needle fungal diseases affecting pines both in natural and productive forests. Among needle blight agents, the ascomycetes Lecanosticta acicola, Dothistroma pini and D. septosporum are of particular concern. These pathogens need specific, fast and accurate diagnostics since they are regulated species in many countries and may require differential management measures. Due to the similarities in fungal morphology and the symptoms they elicit, these species are hard to distinguish using morphological characteristics. The symptoms can also be confused with those caused by insects or abiotic agents. DNA-based detection is therefore recommended. However, the specific PCR assays that have been produced to date for the differential diagnosis of these pathogens can be applied only in a well-furnished laboratory and the procedure takes a relatively long execution time. Surveillance and forest protection would benefit from a faster diagnostic method, such as a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, which requires less sophisticated equipment and can also be deployed directly on-site using portable devices. LAMP assays for the rapid and early detection of L. acicola, D. pini and D. septosporum were developed in this work. Species-specific LAMP primers and fluorescent assimilating probes were designed for each assay, targeting the beta tubulin (β-tub2) gene for the two Dothistroma species and the elongation factor (EF-1α) region for L. acicola. Each reaction detected its respective pathogen rapidly and with high specificity and sensitivity in DNA extracts from both pure fungal cultures and directly from infected pine needles. These qualities and the compatibility with inexpensive portable instrumentation position these LAMP assays as an effective method for routine phytosanitary control of plant material in real time, and they could profitably assist the management of L. acicola, D. pini and D. septosporum. Full article