Search Results (2,839)

This paper investigates the development of low-carbon buildings and carbon emission control in Jiangsu Province, China, utilizing a mathematical model. Through correlation analysis and principal component analysis, the carbon emissions of the entire life cycle of residential buildings are evaluated, and a Grey Prediction Model is established. The study shows that the annual carbon emission from air conditioners is 370.92 kg, given an annual electricity consumption of 1324.71 kW and a carbon emission of 0.28 kg per kWh. It identifies the key carbon emission indicators, including precipitation, temperature, energy consumption, building area, construction materials, water, natural gas, and waste. Principal component analysis ranks building area as the most significant factor. Using the GM (1,1) model, the carbon emissions of Jiangsu Province in 2024 were predicted to be 1.5576 million tons by historical data. Emission reduction suggestions are proposed, such as constructing thicker walls, increasing green spaces, reducing construction waste, and promoting balanced economic development. Moreover, prioritizing insulation materials in building design can reduce winter energy consumption since energy consumption is higher in winter than in summer. This research supports China’s goals of achieving a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 while encouraging low-carbon technological innovation and improving people’s living standards. This study also emphasizes the importance of locally tailored strategies for effective emissions reduction. Full article

Harvest time is very important to rice due to its high correlation to rice yield, eating quality, etc.; however, the impact of harvest time on quality is still unclear. In this study, Nangeng 5718, a japonica rice planted in three regions in Jiangsu Province of China, was used to analyze and compare the milling quality, appearance quality, and physicochemical quality of japonica rice at different harvest times. The results showed that the 1000-grain weight of Nangeng 5718 exhibited no significant change at different harvest times (p > 0.05). The brown rice rate and rice yield at different harvest times were 82.3–85.4% and 66.3–76.1%, respectively. Harvest time had no significant effect on the brown of rice (p > 0.05). However, Nangeng 5718 planted in Nanjing had the highest rice yield at 50 days after heading, which was significantly different from that of rice harvested 65 days after heading (p < 0.05). Nangeng 5718 planted in Huai’an had the highest rice yield at 55 days after heading, which was significantly different from that of rice harvested 60 days after heading (p < 0.05). Harvest time had little effect on the length, width, and thickness of rice. The immature grain rate showed a decreasing trend with the increase in maturity. There were little differences in the protein content of Nangeng 5718 at different harvest times. Nangeng 5718 planted in Nanjing had the highest protein content at 50 days after heading. There was a significant difference between the rice harvested and the rice harvested 60 days after heading (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the other two regions (p > 0.05). The accumulated temperature in Nanjing was relatively high, and the RVA curve and RVA eigenvalues of rice varied greatly. The setback value of rice harvested at 50 days was significantly lower than that at 55 days and 60 days (p < 0.05). Rice has good gelatinizing properties. Therefore, timely harvesting and appropriate accumulated temperature could increase 1000-grain weight and rice yield, reduce the immature grain rate, and improve the gelatinization characteristics. Overall, the quality of Nangeng 5718 reached a good level when it was harvested 50 days after heading, with the accumulated temperature reaching 1051 °C. In fact, the harvest time should be chosen flexibly according to the weather conditions. Nangeng 5718 planted in Nanjing should be harvested earlier than 50 days, and rice from Huai’an and Lianyungang was of better quality when the harvest time was 50 days. Full article

Prunus discoidea is a unique cherry blossom germplasm resource native to China. It is widely distributed across the provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Henan, with significant variation. We employed phylogeographic analysis to reveal the evolutionary history of P. discoidea to better understand its genetic diversity and structure. This study provides more accurate molecular insights for the effective conservation and utilization of this germplasm resource. We conducted a phylogeographic analysis of 348 individual plants from 13 natural populations using three fragments (rpoB, rps16, and trnD–E) of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and one fragment (ITS) of ribosomal DNA. The results revealed that P. discoidea demonstrates a significant level of genetic diversity (H_d = 0.782; R_d = 0.478). Gene flow among populations was limited, and the variation within populations was the main source of genetic diversity in P. discoidea (among populations: 34.26%, within populations: 65.74%). Regarding genetic differences among populations, N_st (0.401) showed greater differences than G_st (0.308; p < 0.05), demonstrating that there was a significant geographical structure of lineage. One lineage was the central region of Anhui and the western region of Hubei. The other lineage was the Jiangsu region and the Zhejiang region. P. discoidea diverged from Prunus campanulata approximately 1.5 million years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. This study provides a scientific theoretical basis for the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources of P. discoidea. Full article

Euphorbia dentata Michx. is an invasive plant species in China, known for its toxicity and potential to reduce crop yields, posing numerous threats. To gain a deeper understanding of this invasive plant, phytochemical methods were employed to isolate 13 terpenoids (1–11, 19, 20) and 7 sterols (12–18) from the ethanol extract of E. dentata, identifying one new compound and 19 known compounds. Within spectroscopic methods such as NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and ECD, the structures and absolute configurations of these compounds were established. Among them, dentatacid A (11) possesses an unprecedented 2, 3-seco-arbor-2, 3-dioic skeleton within the potential biosynthetic pathway proposed. Dentatacid A also exhibited excellent anti-proliferative activity against the HT-29 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma) cell line, with an IC₅₀ value of 2.64 ± 0.78 μM, which was further confirmed through network pharmacology and molecular docking. This study significantly expands the chemical diversity of E. dentata and offers new insights into the resource utilization and management of this invasive plant from the perspective of natural product discovery. Full article

Camouflaged object detection (COD) is a challenging task, aimed at segmenting objects that are similar in color and texture to their background. Sufficient multi-scale feature fusion is crucial for accurately segmenting object regions. However, most methods usually focus on information compensation, overlooking the difference between features, which is important for distinguishing the object from the background. To this end, we propose the cross-level iterative subtraction network (CISNet), which integrates information from cross-layer features and enhances details through iteration mechanisms. CISNet involves a cross-level iterative structure (CIS) for feature complementarity, where texture information is used to enrich high-level features and semantic information is used to enhance low-level features. In particular, we present a multi-scale strip convolution subtraction (MSCSub) module within CIS to extract difference information between cross-level features and fuse multi-scale features, which improves the feature representation and guides accurate segmentation. Furthermore, an enhanced guided attention (EGA) module is presented to refine features by deeply mining local context information and capturing a broader range of relationships between different feature maps in a top-down manner. Extensive experiments conducted on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art COD models in all evaluation metrics. Full article

Foam concrete is highly valued as a sustainable cement-based material, but the development of 3D-printed foam concrete (3DPFC) has remained constrained. This study investigated the influence of printing interval on the microstructure and imbibition behavior of 3DPFC. The results revealed that horizontal interlayers are broader compared to vertical interlayers, leading to more significant imbibition. For X-oriented 3DPFC, the vertical interlayer was rapidly occupied by water after imbibition, forming an elliptical moisture profile. For Y-oriented 3DPFC, the moisture profile appeared more convoluted, mainly surrounding the horizontal interlayers but shifting at intersections with the vertical interlayers. In Z-oriented 3DPFC, where only tight horizontal interlayers were present, interlayer imbibition was almost negligible. Additionally, when the printing interval was less than 15 min, imbibition was primarily restricted to the top filament since the bottom filament was compacted by the filament above. Conversely, with a printing interval longer than 15 min, the bottom filament hardened before the setting of the top filament. This allowed the surface of the bottom filament to be compacted by the top filament, resulting in a dense interlayer that offers better resistance against imbibition compared to the matrix of 3DPFC. This work contributes to the advancement of green building technologies by providing insights into optimizing the 3D printing process for foam concrete, thereby enhancing its structural performance without compromising the designated air content and consistency of the foam concrete, facilitating a more efficient utilization of materials and a reduction in overall material consumption. Full article

To address the issue of high fracture and wear failure rates caused by the lack of toughness and abrasion resistance in the steel used for soil-engaging components of tillage machinery, a novel composite heat treatment process, “normalizing and intercritical quenching and tempering (NIQT)”, is proposed. By regulating the austenitizing heating temperature in the intercritical area (ferrite/austenite two-phase area), the type, content, and distribution of phases in the 27MnCrB5 test sample could be precisely controlled, which further influenced the mechanical properties of the material. The results demonstrated that a multiphase composite microstructure, predominantly consisting of martensite and ferrite, could be obtained in the 27MnCrB5 steel treated by the NIQT process. The results of an EBSD test indicated that the predominant type of grain boundary following the NIQT heat treatment was a high-angle grain boundary (approximately 59.5%), which was favorable for hindering crack propagation and improving the impact toughness of the material. The results of the mechanical tests revealed that, when the quenching temperature was set to 790 °C, the 27MnCrB5 steel attained excellent comprehensive mechanical properties, with a tensile strength of 1654 MPa, elongation of 10.4%, impact energy of 77 J, and hardness of 530 HV30. Compared with conventional heat treatment processes for soil-engaging components, this novel process has the potential to enhance the performance of soil-engaging components and prolong their service life. Full article

The expression pattern of GLOD4 in the testis and its regulatory effect on testicular cells was explored in goats to enhance our understanding of spermatogenesis and improve reproduction in breeding rams. In this study, we demonstrated the localization of GLOD4 in testicular cells using immunohistochemistry and subcellular localization analyses. Subsequently, we analyzed the GLOD4 expression pattern in four age-based groups (0, 6, 12, and 18 months old) using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and protein blotting. Finally, we performed GLOD4 silencing and overexpression studies in Leydig cells (LCs) and explored the effects on cell proliferation, the cell cycle, steroid hormone secretion and the expression of candidate testosterone hormone-regulated genes. GLOD4 was mainly expressed in Leydig cells, and the subcellular localization results showed that the GLOD4 protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Silencing of GLOD4 significantly suppressed the mRNA expression levels of the testosterone secretion-related genes CYP11A1, 3β-HSD, and CYP17A1 and the mRNA expression levels of cell cycle-related genes CDK6, PCNA, and Cyclin E. Moreover, the cell cycle was blocked at the G2/M phase after GLOD4 silencing, which significantly suppressed testosterone secretion. In contrast, GLOD4 overexpression significantly increased the mRNA expression levels of the testosterone secretion-related genes CYP11A1, 3β-HSD, and CYP17A1 and increased the expression of the cell cycle-related genes CDK6, PCNA, and Cyclin E. Moreover, GLOD4 overexpression promoted the cell cycle from G0/G1 phases to enter the S phase and G2/M phases, promoted the secretion of testosterone. Taken together, our experimental results indicate that GLOD4 may affect the development of cells in Qianbei Ma goats of different ages by influencing the cell cycle, cell proliferation, and testosterone hormone synthesis. These findings enhance our understanding of the functions of GLOD4 in goats. Full article

Aiming at the difficulty of measuring various costs and time-consuming elements in multimodal transport, this paper constructs a green vehicle comprehensive multimodal transport model which incorporates transportation, transit, quality damage, fuel consumption, and carbon emission costs and proposes a hybrid embedded time window to calculate the time penalty cost in order to reflect the actual transport characteristics. Furthermore, in order to better solve the model, a hybrid sand cat swarm optimization (HSCSO) algorithm is proposed by introducing Logistic–Tent chaotic mapping and an adaptive lens opposition-based learning strategy to enhance the global search capability, and inspired by the swarm intelligence scheme, a momentum–bellicose strategy and an equilibrium crossover pool are introduced to improve the search efficiency and convergence ability. Through testing nine benchmark functions, the HSCSO algorithm exhibits superior convergence accuracy and speed in dealing with complex multi-dimensional problems. Based on the excellent global performance, the HSCSO algorithm was utilized for multimodal vehicle transportation in East China, and a path with a lower comprehensive cost was successfully planned, which proved the effectiveness of the HSCSO algorithm in green intermodal transport path planning. Full article

The suspension of a car has different structural forms but usually consists of springs, shock absorbers, guiding mechanisms, etc. As a vehicle moves, the terrain often induces a multifaceted non-white noise vibration within the vehicle. Research on this type of vibration often uses the operational modal analysis (OMA) method, due to its advantages of not requiring knowledge of excitation signals. The disadvantage is that it can only analyze systems under white noise excitation, otherwise it will bring errors. So, this paper proposes a frequency domain fitting algorithm (FDFA) based on colored noise excitation. Initially, an exposition on the foundational principles of the FDFA technique was provided, followed by a demonstration of the modal identification approach. Subsequently, a simulation scenario involving a cantilever beam, akin to a suspension system, was chosen for examination in three instances, revealing that the frequency discrepancies are under 2.94%, and for damping coefficients, they are less than 2.76%. In conclusion, the paper’s introduced FDFA technique, along with the frequency–spatial domain decomposition (FSDD) approach, were employed to determine the modal characteristics of aluminum cantilever beams subjected to four distinct colored noise stimulations. The findings indicate that when utilizing the FDFA technique, the error in modal frequency is kept below 2.5%, while the error for the damping ratio does not exceed 15%. Compared with FSDD, the accuracy was improved. Full article

To align with contemporary concepts of low-carbon and environmental protection, a new type of bucket-shaped permeable breakwater, based on the prototype of the bucket-based breakwater in Xuwei Port Area, Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, was proposed. A three-dimensional numerical wave flume was constructed using the OpenFOAM platform and DXFlow (an open-source computational fluid dynamics toolbox based on OpenFOAM). The effectiveness of this numerical wave flume was validated through temporal and spatial verification, wave generation validation, and model testing. The study investigated the effects of bucket porosity, opening shapes, number of openings, and the positioning of these openings on the wave-dissipating performance under regular wave conditions. It analyzed the force characteristics near the openings. The results showed that within the relative wavelength range of L/D between 6.7 and 12.7, relative wave height H/d between 0.175 and 0.275, changes in wavelength had a limited impact on the wave-dissipating performance of the bucket-shaped permeable breakwater. The wave-dissipating performance was primarily related to the porosity, with the optimal overall wave-dissipating performance occurring at a bucket porosity of 12%. The shape and number of openings had a minimal relationship with performance. Additionally, the connecting walls of this type of breakwater experienced the most significant wave impact, suggesting that these areas should be reinforced in practical engineering applications. Full article

Oligonucleotide drugs are shining in clinical therapeutics, but efficient and safe delivery systems severely limit their widespread use. A disulfide unit technology platform based on dynamic thiol exchange chemistry at the cell membrane has the potential for drug delivery. However, the alteration of the disulfide unit CSSC dihedral angle induced by different substituents directly affects the effectiveness of this technology and its stability. Previously, we constructed a trivalent low dihedral angle disulfide unit that can effectively promote the cellular uptake of small molecules. Here, we constructed a novel disulfide unit-masked oligonucleotide hybrid based on a low dihedral angle disulfide unit, motivated by prodrug design. Cellular imaging results showed that such a system exhibited superior cellular delivery efficiency than the commercial Lipo2000 without cytotoxicity. The thiol reagents significantly reduced its cellular uptake (57–74%), which proved to be endocytosis-independent. In addition, in vivo distribution experiments in mice showed that such systems can be rapidly distributed in liver tissues with a duration of action of more than 24 h, representing a potential means of silencing genes involved in the pathogenesis of liver-like diseases. In conclusion, this trivalent disulfide unit-masked system we constructed can effectively deliver large oligonucleotide drugs. Full article

In order to increase nutrient input and alleviate the poor growth of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in neutral soil with strong nitrification, the application of nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) as an enhanced efficiency fertilizer is a strategy to reduce nitrogen (N) loss and improve N supply. However, few studies have systematically investigated the effect of DMPP application on blueberry and its soil condition in detail so far. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to elucidate the effect of DMPP at four gradient levels including 0.5% (w/w applied-N) DMPP (DL), 1% DMPP (DM), 2% DMPP (DH), and no DMPP (CK) on the dynamics of soil mineral N (NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N), soil chemical properties, as well as the agronomic characteristics and physiological indexes of blueberry plants in the neutral soil–blueberry system. The addition of DMPP significantly increased the retention of soil ammonium nitrogen and the content of total mineral nitrogen. qPCR analysis showed that DMPP inhibited the ammoxidation process mainly by reducing the abundance of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) amoA gene rather than the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) amoA gene. No significant inhibitory effect of DMPP was observed for the nitrite dehydrogenase gene nxrA and nitrite reductase gene nirS. Soil NH₄⁺-N and available phosphorus content were both enhanced with the DMPP application rates both in bulk and rhizosphere soil. Applying 1% DMPP to the neutral soil for blueberry was sufficient to safely inhibit soil nitrification, not only increasing ammonium nitrogen content by 10.42% and 26.79%, but also enhancing available phosphorus content by 9.19% and 22.41% compared with CK in bulk and rhizosphere soil, respectively. Moreover, 1% DMPP addition increased the nitrogen and phosphorus concentration of blueberry leaves by 12.17% and 26.42%, respectively, compared with CK. The total branch length and the dry weight of blueberry plant were also increased by 16.8% and 33.1%, respectively. These results provide valuable agronomic information for the application of DMPP in blueberry cultivation. Fertilization applied with 1% DMPP has great economic potential to improve both nitrogen and phosphorus absorption of blueberry so as to promote the vegetative growth of blueberry. Full article

Optical absorbers based on Tamm plasmon states are known for their simple structure and high operational efficiency. However, these absorbers often have limited absorption channels, and it is challenging to continuously adjust their light absorption rates. Here, we propose a Tamm plasmon state optical absorber composed of a layered stack structure consisting of one-dimensional topological photonic crystals and graphene nano-composite materials. Using the four-by-four transfer matrix method, we investigate the structural relationship of the absorber. Our results reveal that topological interface states (TISs) effectively excite the optical Tamm state (OTS), leading to multiple absorption peaks. This expands the number of absorption channels, with the coupling number of the TIS determining the transmission quality of these channels—a value further adjustable by the period number of the photonic crystals. Tuning the filling factor, refractive index, and thickness of the graphene nano-composite material allows for a wide range of control over the device’s absorption rate, from 0 to 1. Additionally, adjusting the defect layer thickness, incident angle, and Fermi energy enables us to control the absorber’s operational bandwidth and the switching of its absorption effect. This work presents a new approach to expanding the tunability of optoelectronic devices. Full article

As one of the most important fertilizers in agriculture, the fate of urea-derived nitrogen (urea-N) in agricultural ecosystems has been well documented. However, little is known about the function of urea-derived carbon (urea-C) in soil ecosystems, especially which soil microorganisms benefit most from the supply of urea-C and whether the utilization of urea-C by the rhizosphere and bulk soil microorganisms is affected by irrigation regimes. To address this, a soil pot experiment was conducted using ¹³C-labeled urea to investigate changes in the composition of the rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities and differences in the incorporation of urea-derived C into the rhizosphere and bulk soil phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) pool under flooded irrigation (FI) and water-saving irrigation (CI). Our results suggest that the size and structure of the rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities were strongly influenced by the irrigation regime. The CI treatment significantly increased the total amount of PLFA in both the rhizosphere and bulk soil compared to the FI treatment, but it only significantly affected the abundance of Gram-positive bacteria (G+) in the bulk soil. In contrast, shifts in the microbial community structure induced by irrigation regimes were more pronounced in the rhizosphere soil than in the bulk soil. Compared to the FI treatment, the CI treatment significantly increased the relative abundances of the G+ and Actinobacteria in the rhizosphere soil (p < 0.05). According to the PLFA-SIP, most of the labeled urea-derived C was incorporated into 16:1ω7c, 16:0 and 18:1ω7c under both treatments. Despite these general trends, the pattern of ¹³C incorporation into the PLFA pool differed between the treatments. The factor loadings of individual PLFAs suggested that 18:1ω7c, 16:1ω7c and 16:1ω5c were relatively enriched in urea-C in the bulk soil, while 17:1ω8c, i16:0 and 16:0 were relatively enriched in urea-C in the rhizosphere soil under different irrigation regimes. The loadings also confirmed that 10-me16:0, cy17:0 and cy19:0 were relatively enriched in urea-C under the CI treatment, whereas 14:0, a15:0 and 15:0 were relatively enriched in urea-C under the FI treatment. These results are helpful not only in revealing the interception mechanism of urea-C in soil but also in understanding the functions of key microbes in element cycles. Full article