Search Results (262)

Dairy cows are economically significant ruminants in China, and the dairy industry is closely linked to food safety and the agricultural economy. However, various factors such as pathogenic microorganisms often lead to frequent diseases in dairy cows. Furthermore, as potential hosts for diverse viruses, dairy cows can harbor zoonotic pathogens, which pose a threat to public health. The Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia region boasts abundant natural resources and extensive pastures. It is a major animal husbandry base in Northwest China, and dairy farming plays a significant role in the local economy. However, research on dairy cow virus diversity in this region remains limited; epidemic prevention and control capabilities are constrained, and the risk of disease outbreaks is elevated. In this study, 790 dairy cow samples were collected from 13 large-scale farms and free-range households in the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia region from 2021 to 2023. Sample types consisted of nasal and anal swabs. Six viral metagenomic libraries were constructed and analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics methods, leading to the identification of 51 viral families. These comprised 16 positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus families, one Retroviridae family, four double-stranded RNA virus families, 21 double-stranded DNA virus families, and nine single-stranded DNA virus families. Among these, RNA viruses were represented by families such as Astroviridae, Coronaviridae, Caliciviridae, Picornaviridae, and Picobirnaviridae; DNA viruses were primarily detected in Circoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Genomoviridae, and Smacoviridae. Alpha diversity analysis revealed no significant differences in viral diversity and abundance among the three regions (p > 0.05); however, significant differences were observed in the read counts and proportions of RNA and DNA viruses across the provinces. Phylogenetic analysis further indicated that viruses carried by dairy cows exhibit considerable genetic diversity and pose potential cross-species transmission risks. This study established a reference database for the dairy cow virome in the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia region, elucidated the phylogenetic relationships of key viruses, and provided a scientific basis for future monitoring and prevention of dairy cow viruses. Full article

This study examines farmers’ perceptions of how policy support is associated with ecological agriculture adoption and perceived green development outcomes in Xinjiang under China’s Rural Revitalization Strategy. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used, in which the qualitative phase was deliberately connected to the quantitative phase through a shared sampling frame and a construct-aligned interview guide, and the two strands were integrated using a joint display and meta-inferences. In the quantitative phase, survey data from 300 farmers were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships among perceived policy support, ecological agriculture adoption, and green development. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with 30 participants drawn from the same respondent pool were thematically analyzed to explain, qualify, and contextualize the statistical relationships. The quantitative findings show a strong positive association between perceived policy support and ecological agriculture adoption (β = 0.659, p < 0.001), a strong positive association between ecological agriculture adoption and green development (β = 0.689, p < 0.001), and a smaller but significant direct association between perceived policy support and green development (β = 0.324, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of perceived policy support on green development through ecological agriculture adoption (β = 0.454) indicates partial mediation. The model explains 43.4% of the variance in ecological agriculture adoption and 47.4% of the variance in green development. The integrated joint display shows that technical training, policy clarity, and extension support helped farmers translate policy support into ecological practices, whereas high initial costs, financing constraints, and market uncertainty limited adoption and created uneven outcomes. The integrated findings suggest that policy effectiveness depends not only on the availability of support instruments but also on farmers’ practical capacity, economic security, and confidence in market returns. The study contributes perception-based mixed-method evidence on the policy–adoption–green development nexus in an ecologically vulnerable agricultural region. Full article

The microsporidian parasite Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) is a major pathogen causing severe growth retardation in shrimp, leading to substantial economic losses in global aquaculture. To address the urgent need for accurate, rapid, and field-deployable diagnostic tools for EHP, this study developed a novel one-pot detection platform by integrating asymmetric Enzymatic Recombinase Amplification (aERA) with a PAM-independent CRISPR/Cas12a system (AYERA-Cas12a) based on ssDNA activation. This design circumvents the compatibility challenge between isothermal amplification and CRISPR activity in a single tube by generating single-stranded DNA amplicons that activate Cas12a without requiring a PAM sequence. The assay operates at a constant temperature of 46 °C and completes detection within 15 min. It achieves a sensitivity of 10 copies/μL, equivalent to qPCR, and shows no cross-reactivity with six other prevalent shrimp pathogens. Validation using 56 clinical shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, L. vannamei) samples demonstrated complete agreement with qPCR results. With its simple procedure, isothermal conditions, and clear endpoint fluorescence readout under blue light, the AYERA-Cas12a platform is suitable for point-of-care testing (POCT). This work provides a user-friendly tool for the on-site surveillance and early diagnosis of EHP, offering significant potential for improving disease management in shrimp farming. Full article

Amid rising geopolitical fragmentation and growing uncertainty in global financial systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are increasingly viewed as a potential innovation in cross-border digital payments. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature on CBDCs, with a particular focus on their role in cross-border payment systems, while also considering broader implications for monetary power and geopolitical realignment. Using a PRISMA-based review approach, complemented by bibliometric mapping, the study synthesizes existing research across economic, technological, institutional, and geopolitical dimensions. Unlike prior studies that primarily examine technical design features or domestic monetary implications, this review develops an integrated framework that situates CBDCs within the evolving architecture of cross-border digital payment systems in a fragmented global environment. The evidence suggests that CBDCs can enhance cross-border payment efficiency by reducing transaction costs, shortening settlement times, and enabling more direct transfer mechanisms that bypass traditional correspondent banking networks. At the same time, the literature highlights several critical challenges, including interoperability constraints, regulatory divergence, privacy concerns, and cybersecurity risks. Importantly, the findings also point to the potential emergence of parallel digital currency ecosystems, which may reinforce existing financial fragmentation rather than fully resolve it. Overall, CBDCs should be understood not only as technological innovations in digital payments but also as strategic instruments with implications for monetary sovereignty and global economic influence. Their long-term impact on cross-border payment systems will depend on the development of interoperable standards, coordinated regulatory frameworks, and sustained international cooperation. By bringing together fragmented strands of research, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how CBDCs are reshaping both digital payment infrastructures and the broader global financial order. Full article

Carbon taxes and credits (CT&C) accelerate global deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies to enable energy transition. This study investigates the economic performance and resilience of floating gas-to-wire with CCUS (f-GTW-CCUS), deployed at the wellhead of stranded CO₂-rich offshore oil and gas reservoirs. The f-GTW-CCUS platform integrates a natural gas combined cycle power plant with monoethanolamine post-combustion capture (PCC-MEA), producing low-carbon electricity (23 kgCO_2e/MWh, competitive with renewables) while monetizing captured CO₂ via enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The mass and energy balance data from the proposed process configuration were obtained in the literature. Critically, f-GTW-CCUS operates on wellhead-sourced in situ-associated gas, eliminating exposure to volatile natural gas markets, and achieves a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of USD 67.15/MWh. Monte Carlo analysis (10,000 Gaussian iterations, 30-year lifetime, 10% discount rate, three CT&C scenarios, namely, low/medium/high) is used to quantify economic feasibility across three stochastic variables: oil, natural gas, and electricity prices, starting in the 5th year. The results demonstrate the following: (1) Case A (f-GTW without CCUS) remains economically infeasible (NPV < 0) under all price volatility scenarios due to insufficient electricity-only revenue and carbon taxation penalties; (2) Case B (f-GTW-CCUS with immediate CCUS deployment) maintains positive NPV across all scenarios, with EOR monetization contributing 43% of total revenue; (3) the critical CCUS deployment-delay threshold is 6 years under high carbon taxation, extending to 10 years when carbon credits are included. Gate-to-gate environmental assessment (carbon intensity, water footprint, land transformation) shows f-GTW-CCUS superiority versus alternative power systems, with minimal water–land nexuses due to offshore desalination. An empirical consistency assessment based on the 2026 geopolitical energy crisis demonstrates the structural resilience of the f-GTW-CCUS plant: the wellhead sourcing provides resilience to global natural gas price shocks, while the concurrent crude price escalation amplifies EOR revenues by 43–57%, improving project feasibility during commodity disruptions. These findings position f-GTW-CCUS as a critical decarbonization pathway for O&G producers exploiting stranded gas reserves. The technology combines carbon intensity reduction with economic resilience under volatile energy market conditions and mandatory climate policies. Full article

Urban flexibility research is expanding across buildings, electric vehicles (EVs), distributed energy resources (DERs), storage, positive energy districts (PEDs), digital twins, and interoperability platforms. These strands are often reviewed separately, although urban distribution operators must manage their combined impacts on the same feeders. This paper presents a PRISMA 2020-aligned systematic review with evidence mapping and narrative synthesis of feeder-aware coordination in smart-city electricity systems. Searches of Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and citation chasing identified 312 records; 127 studies were included after screening and eligibility assessment, 101 entered the quantitative mapping sample, and 31 formed the deep-synthesis anchor core. Sparse contingency tables were analyzed with Monte-Carlo permutation chi-square tests and bootstrap confidence intervals for Cramér’s V, while ordinal variables were summarized with medians and interquartile ranges. Explicit feeder grounding was concentrated in grid-oriented and EV-oriented studies, whereas many AI/digital-twin and interoperability studies were less often validated against distribution-network operation. Economic and peak-flexibility indicators were reported far more often than interoperability, cybersecurity, or validation-maturity indicators in the anchor core. The synthesis also showed that deployment-oriented work depends on clearer treatment of standards, co-simulation workflows, regulatory instruments, and stakeholder roles. The evidence base is heterogeneous, English-only, and single-coded, so the quantitative results are descriptive rather than population-level. The review contributes a transparent three-layer corpus design (127 included/101 mapped/31 anchor), a domain-specific specialization of SGAM/IEEE 2030 for urban feeder orchestration, an operational digital-twin definition and validation ladder, a retrofittable benchmarking framework, and a practical roadmap for DSOs, municipalities, aggregators, EV operators, building managers, and ICT providers. Full article

Beyond its function as a carrier of hereditary information, recent research has uncovered novel properties of extracellular DNA, including its role in the adaptation to the environment when released from plants. The secreted DNA has been shown to exert insecticidal effects against insect pests, which play an adaptive role in plant-insect interactions, particularly in regulating populations of economically important sap-feeding insects. The molecular mechanisms underlying this insecticidal effect are underinvestigated and remain largely unknown. Therefore, there is a need for more efforts to uncover these mechanisms to better understand plant–pest interactions, which would provide new insights into natural pest control strategies and inspire biotechnological applications. In the current study, we show that Pittosporum tobira (P. tobira) secretes single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that exerts an insecticidal effect on Coccus hesperidum (C. hesperidum). We collected extracellular DNA from P. tobira leaves and tested its potential insecticidal effect by applying it to C. hesperidum, which is a well-known pest that causes damage to P. tobira. Our results revealed that the outermost layer of the leaf cuticle of P. tobira predominantly contains ssDNA of approximately 100 nt in length, originating from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes. This DNA exhibited pronounced insecticidal activity against C. hesperidum, with chloroplast-derived sequences significantly enriched compared to the total DNA in intact plant cells. These findings suggest that the microevolution of the P. tobira nucleome and plastome contributed to the formation of extracellular DNA with insecticidal properties (eci-DNA), which is part of its defense strategy against insect pests. Moreover, in this article, for the first time, we show that antisense DNA (illustrated with oligonucleotide insecticide Coccus-11) is capable of activating insect retrotransposons and upregulating their RT-RNase H, a crucial enzyme for the DNA containment mechanism and successful action of oligonucleotide insecticides. Notably, the laboratory-developed ssDNA-based ‘genetic zipper’ technology, designed for sustainable pest management, possesses characteristics similar to eci-DNA found in nature, highlighting a potential natural parallel to this biotechnological approach for sustainable pest management. Full article

Climate change is one of the major global challenges of modern times. It also poses a significant threat to price stability—the major objective of modern central banks. It creates the risk of stagflation, as it can lead to price increases (due to the increased frequency of extreme weather events, which will impact food production) and simultaneously weaken economic activity (due to lower productivity resulting from temperature changes). Climate change and political pressure have sparked a lively scientific debate on whether and how central banks should adapt their monetary policy frameworks to support efforts to stop climate change. Although the literature analyzes actions undertaken by monetary authorities in the areas of sustainable finance and climate risk analysis, this research still needs to be developed and disseminated. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to theoretically analyze the integration of climate issues with the monetary policy of modern central banks. This article provides a theoretical and integrative analysis of the role of modern central banks in addressing climate change, with a particular focus on implications for monetary policy. The study is based on a structured critical literature review and desk research, employing a transparent, multi-stage selection and analysis process, based on the PRISMA approach. The article contributes to the existing literature by offering a systematic synthesis of the main approaches to integrating climate-related considerations into central banking. The analysis organizes the literature into distinct analytical strands, including institutional and coordination-based initiatives, theoretical justifications for central bank involvement, debates on mandates and independence and the development of green monetary policy instruments. The findings suggest that the integration of climate considerations into monetary policy is feasible primarily within a risk-based and prudential framework, while more interventionist approaches may generate tensions with the primary objective of price stability. At the same time, the literature reveals persistent trade-offs between market neutrality and active policy intervention, as well as between institutional constraints and policy effectiveness. The study highlights that climate-related measures are often implemented through macroprudential, supervisory and financial stability functions, which complement rather than substitute monetary policy in the strictest sense. The article contributes to a more coherent understanding of the evolving role of central banks in the context of climate change by synthesizing a fragmented body of research and identifying key conceptual tensions that remain unresolved. Full article

Gentrification refers to a transformation in the composition of land users whereby in-coming users possess a higher socio-economic status than those they replace, accompanied by reinvestment in the built environment and the physical transformation of urban space. Displacement is an essential part of this process. Gentrification has become one of the central analytical concepts in urban studies. Gentrification has become one of the central analytical concepts in urban studies enabling the analysis of socio-spatial restructuring processes in cities and has been applied to a broad range of geographical settings and historical conditions. Originally coined in the context of post-war London, the concept has since traveled widely and has been applied to a broad range of geographical settings and historical conditions. This entry provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the concept, its principal theoretical interpretations, and its empirical applications. It reviews the major strands of explanation—demand-side, supply-side, and institutionalist approaches—and situates them within broader debates in urban theory. Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between gentrification and displacement, including both classical conceptualizations and recent efforts to capture its more diffuse and subjective dimensions. The entry concludes by arguing that while gentrification remains a key concept for analyzing urban change, it must be continuously reworked in light of emerging dynamics such as financialization, digitalization, and trans-local housing practices. It calls for more systematic and genuinely comparative research in order to better understand the evolving geographies of gentrification. Full article

The tomato leaf miner, Phthorimaea (Tuta) absoluta, Meyrick 1917 is recognized as a highly destructive pest, causing significant economic losses to crops in both greenhouse and open field environments across four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. High genetic homogeneity among populations from various regions and countries indicates significant gene flow between P. absoluta populations, suggesting a lack of geographical barriers to dispersion. Furthermore, P. absoluta has developed resistance to insecticides due to target-site mutations or metabolic resistance, which enable the insect to withstand lethal doses of insecticides. To control this insect pest, the plant-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) is most promising host-induced gene silencing technique, utilized the plant’s machinery to express double-stranded (dsRNA), which triggers the RNAi pathway in P. absoluta. Due to thermal tolerance, the P. absoluta has increased its area of invasion by 600 km per year over 9 years. Female P. absoluta releases pheromones that are recognized by males with a sophisticated olfactory circuit on their antenna. Pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) play a crucial role in mate recognition and attraction, and their expression peaks during courtship, specifically around 6:00 a.m. Given its potential to significantly alter the insect genome, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) offer a revolutionary strategy to control P. absoluta. Furthermore, this pest has developed remarkable adaptations to survive on unfavorable hosts by secreting specific proteins from its salivary glands that detoxify plant defenses. Insecticide resistance is likely the cause of field control failures of P. absoluta. Biological control, sex pheromone traps, and cultural control are the most promising approaches to address insecticide resistance resulting from these failures. Therefore, the implementation of integrated control programs and appropriate resistance management strategies is necessary to keep P. absoluta infestations under economic damage thresholds. Full article

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) includes innovative aviation technologies and services that could alter how people and goods are transported. However, future AAM growth and potential regional integration are uncertain and influenced by a range of factors. In this paper, we report findings from expert interviews (n = 35) and a scenario planning workshop (n = 32 stakeholders), conducted between August 2024 and July 2025, to explore potential alternative futures for AAM at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. We applied a two-axis framework: regulatory environment (supportive vs. restrictive) and economic conditions (vibrant vs. stagnant). Building on this, we developed four plausible scenarios for the 2025 to 2030 and post-2030 time horizons. We apply the SPELT (social, political, economic, legal, technological) framework to assess cross-cutting drivers, tensions, and indicators across the four scenarios based on two timeframes, i.e., 2025 to 2030 and post-2030. Our analysis of the scenarios reveals that regulatory clarity and macroeconomic conditions are key influencers that define the pace and scale of AAM growth, while community impacts (e.g., noise), public acceptance, and infrastructure availability are constraints. These factors largely determine whether technical readiness can translate into scaled deployment. Cross-cutting themes across all of the scenarios consistently shape the outcomes: (1) equity and community acceptance strongly influence political feasibility; (2) SFO and other airports can serve dual roles as conveners and practical enablers but face risks of stranded assets; and (3) flexible, modular infrastructure and incremental investment strategies reduce uncertainty for SFO and other Bay Area airports and public agencies. Together, the findings suggest that while the future of AAM is uncertain, policy and planning responses can assist airports, local governments, and other public agencies in preparing for potential developments. Full article

The emergence of variant strains of Avian orthoreovirus (ARV) has caused substantial economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide, but the molecular features of goose-origin strains and viral transmission among different avian species remain poorly understood. Here, we describe a goose-origin avian orthoreovirus strain, SD0407, associated with growth retardation and joint swelling. Complete genome analysis identified ten double-stranded RNA segments. Sequence comparison indicated that SD0407 is closely related to previously reported duck-origin reovirus strains. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses showed that most segments clustered with duck-origin strains, indicating close genetic relatedness among waterfowl-origin orthoreoviruses. Sequence and structural analysis of the σC attachment protein revealed ten unique amino acid substitutions, including D250 within the DE-loop region involved in receptor-binding. Molecular docking suggested that σC interacts with the conserved AnxA2-S100A10 heterotetrameric receptor complex, providing a possible structural basis for receptor compatibility across avian species. Although SD0407 replicated efficiently in goose embryo fibroblasts, it did not induce expression of type I, II or III interferons. Transcriptome profiling revealed weak activation of innate immune signaling and downregulation of metabolic and cytoskeletal genes, consistent with effective suppression of antiviral responses. These findings demonstrate that SD0407 combines structural variability with immune evasion to enhance host adaptability and underscore the importance of sustained ARV surveillance in waterfowl populations. Full article

This study examines the compressive behavior and analytical modelling of natural and rubberized concretes (RuC) confined with low-cost glass chopped-strand mat (GCSM) jackets. A total of forty-two cylindrical specimens were tested under axial compression to assess the influence of rubber particle size, confinement configuration, and the number of GCSM layers. The RuC mixes were prepared by replacing 20% of fine aggregate by volume with crumb rubber of two size fractions: coarse (2.0 mm, retained on #10 sieve) and fine (0.425 mm, retained on #40 sieve). Both full- and strip-wrapping schemes were applied using two, four, and six layers of GCSM. The results demonstrated that GCSM jackets significantly enhanced the mechanical performance of both NAC and RuC specimens. Full wrapping provided the highest confinement efficiency, increasing compressive strength by up to 115% for NAC and 90% for RuC, while the ultimate axial strain increased by more than 1300% compared with unconfined specimens. Strip wrapping also improved performance, producing strength gains of 25–45% and strain increases of 250–500%. Analytical stress–strain models were developed through regression analysis, showing strong correlation with the experimental results (R² = 0.80–0.99). The proposed GCSM jacket system demonstrates high potential as a sustainable and economical alternative for strengthening and retrofitting rubberized concretes, offering improved ductility and energy absorption while supporting circular material utilization. It is noted that the confinement ratio, size of rubberized aggregates, and their percentage replacement of rubberized aggregates should be consistent with the values used in this work in order to use the proposed analytical expressions. Full article

Bluetongue virus (BTV), with a genome of ten double-stranded RNA segments (S1–S10), is an emerging animal pathogen causing major economic losses in livestock worldwide. BTV replication involves RNA-RNA and RNA–protein interactions, with RNA-binding proteins, VP6 and NS2 playing key roles in genome assembly and RNA packaging. To explore the dynamics of RNA segment interactions and the roles of VP6 and NS2 in RNA complex formation, we used RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR), along with site-specific mutagenesis and reverse genetics. We found that RNA segments interact sequentially, from the smallest (S10) to the largest (S1), forming a single complex that includes the entire genome. This process is independent of VP6 or NS2, although NS2 enhances the assembly of larger segments. Additionally, we show that VP6 binds to +ssRNAs before their incorporation into viral assembly factories (inclusion bodies/VIBs). These findings reveal that RNA-RNA interactions, rather than primary replicase proteins, govern the sorting and recruitment of genome segments. Our data offer new insights into BTV RNA packaging, showing that genome segments destined for packaging and dsRNA synthesis are segregated through complex formation, distinct from +ssRNAs used in protein synthesis, including those encoding the replicase complex. Full article

Schistosomiasis elimination is increasingly constrained less by the technical efficacy of single interventions than by systemic dynamics in coupled human–animal–environment settings, including nonlinear feedback, spatial heterogeneity, and cross-sectoral govern frictions. We conducted a systematic methodological review (search date: 1 January 2026) across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, and CNKI to identify studies that (i) addressed schistosomiasis control, (ii) used explicit system-based, causal, or network-oriented analytical structures, and (iii) incorporated economic evaluation with multi-domain outcomes. We synthesized modeling architectures, economic methods, and approaches to trade-offs and uncertainty, and applied an evidence-informed systemic causality framework to assess decision-analytic adequacy. The literature grouped into three related strands: transmission and system dynamics models that capture feedback processes and rebound risks; economic evaluations dominated by cost-effectiveness analyses; and cross-sectoral or surveillance-oriented decision models optimizing implementation under resource constraints. Across strands, elimination-stage investments such as surveillance, environmental management, and coordination exhibit strong externalities and quasi-public-good properties that are systematically undervalued in single-sector, single-metric frameworks. We argue that decision-relevant evaluation should be reframed as a multi-objective resource allocation problem that integrates systemic modeling with economic valuation, explicitly addresses uncertainty, and applies multi-criteria decision analysis to support long-horizon, cross-sectoral decision-making. Full article