Combined application of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer promotes the activity of starch metabolism enzymes and the expression of related genes in rice in a dual cropping system.

BACKGROUND: Overuse of chemical fertilizer highly influences grain filling rate and quality of rice grain. Biochar is well known for improving plant growth and grain yield under lower chemical fertilization. Therefore field trials were conducted in the early and late seasons of 2019 at Guangxi University, China to investigate the effects of combined biochar (B) and nitrogen (N) application on rice yield and yield components. There were a total of eight treatments: N1B0, 135 kg N ha- 1+ 0 t B ha- 1; N2B0,180 kg N ha- 1+ 0 t B ha- 1; N1B1,135 kg N ha- 1+ 10 t B ha- 1; N1B2,135kg N ha- 1+ 20 t B ha- 1; N1B3,135 kg N ha- 1+ 30 t B ha- 1; N2B1,180 kg N ha- 1+ 10 t B ha- 1; N2B2,180 kg N ha- 1+ 20 t B ha- 1; and N2B3,180 kg N ha- 1+ 30 t B ha- 1. RESULTS: Biochar application at 30 t ha- 1combined with low N application (135 kg ha- 1) increased the activity of starch-metabolizing enzymes (SMEs) during the early and late seasons compared with treatments without biochar. The grain yield, amylose concentration, and starch content of rice were increased in plots treated with 30 t B ha-1and low N. RT-qPCR analysis showed that biochar addition combined with N fertilizer application increased the expression of AGPS2b, SSS1, GBSS1, and GBSE11b, which increased the activity of SMEs during the grain-filling period. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the use of 20 to 30 t B ha- 1coupled with 135 kg N ha- 1 is optimal for improving the grain yield and quality of rice.

321 W high-efficiency continuous-wave green laser produced by single-pass frequency doubling of narrow-linewidth fiber laser.

In this study, a high-power continuous-wave green laser for copper processing is investigated. The laser is produced by single-pass second-harmonic generation (SHG) of a narrow-linewidth fiber laser. Based on Sellmeier equations, the factors (e.g., fundamental wave linewidth, temperature, and angle) that decide LBO noncritical phase matching are theoretically analyzed for optimizing the SHG setup. A narrow-linewidth polarization-maintained fiber laser is used as the fundamental laser with a linewidth of 20 GHz and polarization extinction ratio of greater than 15 dB. Type I noncritical phase-matching LBO is used as the nonlinear crystal in the SHG. A green laser (up to 321 W) is obtained from a 784 W fundamental laser with a conversion efficiency of 40.9%. The green laser is near-diffraction-limited and has a $ M^{2} $ factor of 1.07.

Partial substitution of organic nitrogen with synthetic nitrogen enhances rice yield, grain starch metabolism and related genes expression under the dual cropping system.

Improving grain filling in the presernt farming systems is crucial where grain filling is a concern due to the extreme use of chemical fertilizers (CF). A field experiment was conducted at the experimental station of Guangxi University, China in 2019 to test the hypothesis that cattle manure (CM) and poultry manure (PM) combined with CF could improve rice grain filling rate, yield, biochemical and qualitative attributes. A total of six treatments, i.e., no fertilizer (T1), 100% CF (T2), 60% CM + 40% CF (T3), 30% CM + 70% CF (T4), 60% PM + 40% CF (T5), and 30% PM + 70% CF (T6) were used in this study. Results showed that the combined treatment T6increased starch metabolizing enzymes activity (SMEs), such as ADP-glucose phosphorylase (ADGPase) by 8 and 12%, soluble starch synthase (SSS) by 7 and 10%, granule bound starch synthesis (GBSS) by 7 and 9%, and starch branching enzyme (SBE) by 14 and 21% in the early and late seasons, respectively, compared with T2. Similarly, higher rice grain yield, grain filling rate, starch, and amylose content were also recorded in combined treatments. In terms of seasons, higher activity of SMEs , grain starch, and amylose content was noted in the late-season compared to the early season. The increment in these traits was mainly attributed to a lower temperature in the late season during the grain filling period. Furthermore, our results suggested that an increment in starch accumulation and grain filling rate were mainly associated with the enhanced sink capacity by regulating key enzyme activities involved in Suc-to-starch conversion. In-addition, RT-qPCR analysis showed higher expression levels of AGPS2b, SSS1, GBSS1, and GBSE11b genes, which resultantly increased the activities of SMEs during the grain filling period under combined treatments. Linear regression analysis revealed that the activity of ADGPase, SSS, GBSS, and SBE were highly positively correlated with starch and amylose accumulation. Thus, we concluded that a combination of 30% N from PM or CM with 70% N from CF is a promising option in terms of improving rice grain yield and quality. Our study provides a sustainable fertilizer management strategy to enhance rice grain yield and quality at the lowest environmental cost.

Antioxidant activity and absorption of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside liposomes in GES-1 cells in vitro.

The use of anthocyanins are limited by their chemical properties. Recent evidence suggests Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3 G) liposomes via the ethanol injection method exhibit improved stability. In the current study, the characterization and cell absorption of C3 G liposomes were explored via transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The internalization of the C3 G liposomes across the gastric epithelial cell monolayer (GES-1 cells) were investigated. Results showed that the particle size and encapsulation efficiency were 234 ± 9.35 nm and 75.0% ± 0.001, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of C3 G liposomes. The C3 G liposomes can obviously increased T-AOC and decreased the MDA content.Collectively, C3 G liposomes protected human GES-1 cells from gastric mucosal injury induced by H2O2 by activating the related antioxidant pathway. Our research could provide a new effective treatment strategy for the absorption of stomach drugs.Abbreviations: C3G: Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside; LP: Liposome; GES-1 cells: Human gastric epithelial cell lines; FBS: Fetal Bovine Serum; PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline; PC: Phosphatidylcholine; CH: Cholesterol; MDA: Malondialdehyde; TEM: Transmission electron microscope; FCM: Flow cytometry; FITC: Fluorescein isothiocyanate; DAPI: 4', 6-diamidino-2phenylidole; FT-IR: Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy; PFA: Paraformaldehyde.

Cyanidin-3-o-glucoside liposome: Preparation via a green method and antioxidant activity in GES-1 cells.

Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) liposomes was used to improve the stability and antioxidant activity of C3G through a green thin-film dispersion method. The characteristics, stability and the effect of C3G liposomes on GES-1 cells were explored. Results showed that the particle size and encapsulation efficiency (EE%) of C3G liposomes were 258.9 ±â€¯5.06 nm and 77.5%, respectively. DPPH assay showed that liposomes encapsulation can improve the antioxidant of C3G, while the ABTS assay was opposite. Stability study showed the C3G liposome were unstable under extended storage time. The effects of C3G liposomes on GES-1 cells showed that C3G liposomes can decrease the ROS levels of GES-1 and had negligible effects on cell viability and mitochondrial structure. These findings suggested that liposomes could be used as a carrier system to improve the stability of C3G.

All-fiber continuous-wave Raman fiber oscillator operating at 2118 nm.

An all-fiber Raman fiber oscillator operating at 2118 nm pumped by homemade thulium-doped fiber laser with continuous output power of 4.2 W has been demonstrated in this paper. By means of 26 m ultrahigh-numerical-aperture fibers, the average slope efficiency can be up to 23.6%. Because of the Raman spectrum broadening of the first Stokes light, the intensity of high order Raman Stokes has been suppressed. The mechanism of Raman spectrum broadening has been analyzed by group-velocity dispersion and Four-Wave Mixing frequency theories in detail. Two mode field adaptors have been used to reduce the intracavity loss and thermal deposition, which indicates that the proposed architecture is robust and has significant power scaling potential.

Narrow-linewidth all-fiber amplifier with up to 3.01 kW output power based on commercial 20/400 µm active fiber and counterpumped configuration.

A multikilowatt all-fiber amplifier with narrow spectral linewidth is investigated by using commercial 20/400 µm active fiber due to its more extensive application prospects. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is suppressed effectively by combining multiple approaches including optimizing linewidth-broadened seed, shortening fiber length, and a counterpumped configuration. Consequently, the output power is pushed up to 3.01 kW with M2=1.17, and the linewidth is maintained at 48 GHz. The detailed characteristics of SBS are presented and analyzed in the frequency and time domains as output power is gradually raised. A high optical-to-optical efficiency is obtained with 85.6% and amplified spontaneous emission is reduced to 40 dB with respect to a laser signal. The proposed architecture reaches a relatively high output power with excellent beam quality under the condition of the equivalent linewidth for the commercial 20/400 µm active fibers in robustly all-fiberized structures.

Meta-analysis evidence of maternal lineages in Chinese Tibetan sheep using mtDNA D-loop panel.

The Tibetan sheep is an indigenous breed living in the entire Tibetan Plateau, and its origin and phylogenic relationships are still uncertain and controversial. In this study, we analyzed partial mtDNA D-loop sequences of 156 Chinese Tibetan sheep individuals from 12 distributed geographic ecotype populations. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that three maternal lineages (haplogroups A, B and C) were found in this breed and that Ovis vignei and Ovis ammon have possibly contributed to the original Tibetan sheep. The absence of haplogroups D and E in Tibetan sheep suggests that this breed did not originate in the Middle East, China.

400 mW narrow-linewidth Tm-doped silica fiber laser output near 1750 nm with volume Bragg grating.

A type of Tm-doped silica fiber laser with narrow-linewidth and output wavelength near 1750 nm was firstly presented, by using a 1550 nm Er-doped fiber laser pump source and a volume Bragg grating (VBG). By means of a 15 cm Tm-doped fiber, a 400 mW continuous wave (cw) at ~1750 nm with FWHW of ~54 pm was generated, corresponding to an average slope efficiency up to 23.5% with respect to absorbed pump power. The influence of gain fiber length on the spectrum wavelength has been investigated in detail. All experimental results demonstrate that this fiber laser will be an effective and promising pump source for mid-IR laser output.

Endoscopy-Assisted Removal of Nonmagnetic Metallic Foreign Body in Anterior Chamber Angle.

In this report a 31-year-old man who underwent successful endoscopy-assisted removal of foreign body in anterior chamber angle after a failed conventional surgery through limbal incisions was performed. The patient presented to our hospital complaining of redness and decreased vision in his left eye secondary to ocular trauma. One day prior the patient was hammering metal when the injury occurred. Upon examination, gonioscopy, orbital computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) revealed a foreign body in the inferior anterior chamber angle of his left eye. To remove the foreign body by a routine microscopic surgery through limbal incisions was failed. Five days after the first surgery, gonioscopy revealed peripheral anterior synechia in the inferior angle and UBM examination showed that the foreign body was embedded in the angle structures. With the assistance of endoscopy, the foreign body was removed through the existing limbal incision with forceps.