ZIP Genes Are Involved in the Retransfer of Zinc Ions during the Senescence of Zinc-Deficient Rice Leaves.

Rice lacks sufficient amounts of zinc despite its vitality for human health. Leaf senescence enables redistribution of nutrients to other organs, yet Zn retransfer during deficiency is often overlooked. In this hydroponic experiment, we studied the effect of Zn deficiency on rice seedlings, focusing on the fourth leaf under control and deficient conditions. Growth phenotype analysis showed that the growth of rice nodal roots was inhibited in Zn deficiency, and the fourth leaf exhibited accelerated senescence and increased Zn ion transfer. Analyzing differentially expressed genes showed that Zn deficiency regulates more ZIP family genes involved in Zn ion retransfer. OsZIP3 upregulation under Zn-deficient conditions may not be induced by Zn deficiency, whereas OsZIP4 is only induced during Zn deficiency. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that Zn-deficient leaves mobilized more biological pathways (BPs) during aging, and the enrichment function differed from that of normal aging leaves. The most apparent "zinc ion transport" BP was stronger than that of normal senescence, possibly due to Zn-deficient leaves mobilizing large amounts of BP related to lipid metabolism during senescence. These results provide a basis for further functional analyses of genes and the study of trace element transfer during rice leaf senescence.

A two-stage dominance-based surrogate-assisted evolution algorithm for high-dimensional expensive multi-objective optimization.

In the past decades, surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms (SAEAs) have become one of the most popular methods to solve expensive multi-objective optimization problems (EMOPs). However, most existing methods focus on low-dimensional EMOPs because a large number of training samples are required to build accurate surrogate models, which is unrealistic for high-dimensional EMOPs. Therefore, this paper develops a two-stage dominance-based surrogate-assisted evolution algorithm (TSDEA) for high-dimensional EMOPs which utilizes the RBF model to approximate each objective function. First, a two-stage selection strategy is applied to select individuals for re-evaluation. Then considering the training time of the model, proposing a novel archive updating strategy to limit the number of individuals for updating. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has promising performance and computational efficiency compared to the state-of-the-art five SAEAs.

The efficacy and safety of cupping as complementary and alternative therapy for metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of cupping therapy in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: This systematic review focused on patients with MetS and included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the effects of cupping therapy with control groups. A total of 12 electronic databases were searched from inception until February 03, 2023. The main outcome after the meta-analysis was waist circumference; the others included anthropometric variables, blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose level, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level. The incidence of adverse events and the follow-up courses were also evaluated. Risk of bias (ROB) was evaluated using ROB 2.0 from the Cochrane Handbook. RESULTS: This systematic review included five studies involving 489 patients. Some risks of bias were also identified. The meta-analysis revealed a statistically significance in waist circumference (MD = -6.07, 95% CI: -8.44 to -3.71, P < .001, I2 = 61%, τ2 = 3.4), body weight (MD = -2.46, 95% CI: -4.25 to -0.68, P = .007, I2 = 0%, τ2 = 0) and body mass index (MD = -1.26, 95% CI: -2.11 to -0.40, P = .004, I2 = 0%, τ2 = 0) between the cupping therapy and control groups. However, there were no significant results in total fat percentage and blood pressure values. Regarding biochemical markers, cupping significantly lowered the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD = -3.98, 95% CI: -6.99 to -0.96, P = .010, I2 = 0%, τ2 = 0) but had no significant effect on total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. 3 RCTs reported no adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some ROB and low to substantial heterogeneity of the included studies, cupping therapy can be considered a safe and effective complementary intervention for reducing waist circumference, body weight, body mass index, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with MetS. In the future, well-designed, high-quality, rigorous methodology, and long-term RCTs in this population are required to assess the efficacy and safety of cupping therapy.

Laboratory study of water infiltration and evaporation in biochar-amended landfill covers under extreme climate.

Biochar has been used as an environment-friendly enhancer to improve the soil hydraulic properties. Previous studies focused on the effect of biochar addition for irrigation in agricultural soils. However, the understanding of the influence of biochar addition on water infiltration in compacted soils as used in landfill covers is limited. This study investigated the effects of peanut shell biochar addition on soil water infiltration with consideration of soil microstructure variations. The performance of biochar-amended soil was also explored under extreme rainfall and drought conditions. In this experiment, peanut shell biochar with particles finer than 0.25 mm was amended into compacted silty sand. Index soil properties and microstructure were observed. One-dimension (1-D) column tests and corresponding numerical modelling were carried out to investigate the performance of this cover material under different climate scenarios. The results suggested that the application of biochar can increase soil porosity, but a significant number of large pores (i.e., larger than 20 µm) was minimized. With the application of biochar, the soil covers thus become more efficient in preventing infiltration and percolation. This is also crucial to minimize the need for a relatively large thickness of soil cover. With an increase in porosity, the biochar can improve the soil water retention. Under extreme drought, the application of biochar can reduce the very low pore-water pressure (PWP) in soils by more than 50%. From all of these, peanut shell biochar can potentially be an eco-friendly and more sustainable solution for soil covers, even under extreme climate conditions.

Landfill gas emission through compacted clay considering effects of crack pathway and intensity.

Compacted clay barrier plays an important role in reducing landfill gas transport due to its low gas permeability. There is limited understanding of desiccation cracks and to what extent they can cause preferential pathways of landfill gas through compacted clay barriers. This study investigated the intensity and pathway of desiccation cracks as well as its effects on gas emission through compacted clay. The compacted clay with and without scratched compaction interface was subjected to drying to simulate desiccation cracks. The clay was then extruded from large containers into one dimensional columns to allow observation of crack propagation using an X-ray computerized tomography scanner. After that, gas emission rate was measured from each column under different gas pressures (i.e., 1, 5, 10 and 20 kPa). Furthermore, a simplified method is proposed to predict gas emission rate with consideration of intensity and characteristics of cracks. Test results demonstrated that desiccation cracks were initiated mainly at the center of each container (i.e., within 40% of container dimension). Gas emission rate can be increased at least 10 times with the presence of desiccation cracks (i.e., at gas pressure of 5 kPa). As compared to the depth and continuous pathway of cracks which significantly increased gas emission rate, the discontinuous crack pathway can reduce the gas emission rate by up to 3 times. The findings towards crack characteristics and gas emission observed in this study are crucial for safety design and long-term operation of compacted clay barriers in landfill covers.

Efficacy of Acupuncture Treatment for Incidence of Poststroke Comorbidities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Nationalized Cohort Studies.

Acupuncture has been applied as a complementary therapy in stroke survivors worldwide and approved to be beneficial to stroke recovery. However, there is little medical evidence regarding the association between acupuncture and the risk of poststroke comorbidities. We reviewed big data studies from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to investigate the risk of poststroke comorbidities after acupuncture treatment in a real-world situation. Ten English (PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane, Alt HealthWatch, CINAHL, Health Source, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection) and two Chinese (AiritiLibray and Visualizing Health Data) electronic databases were searched from inception until December 2020 for nationalized cohort studies comparing the effects of acupuncture treatment with a nonacupuncture control group among stroke patients. Eight nationalized cohort studies were included. Six of eight studies showed a moderate overall risk of bias, while two studies showed a serious overall risk of bias. Included studies have investigated the effect of acupuncture in reducing the risk of seven medical conditions after stroke, including stroke recurrence, new-onset acute myocardial infarction (AMI), pneumonia, dementia, epilepsy, urinary tract infection (UTI), and depression. The meta-analysis showed clinically significant reductions in the risk of poststroke comorbidities in the acupuncture group compared to the nonacupuncture group (HR, 0.776; 95% CI, 0.719-0.838; p < 0.0001). In this systematic review and meta-analysis of nationalized cohort studies, acupuncture showed clinically relevant benefits in reducing the incidence of poststroke comorbidities, such as stroke recurrence, new-onset acute myocardial infarction (AMI), pneumonia, dementia, epilepsy, and UTI.

Experimental Investigation on the Influencing Factors of Compressive Strength of Foamed Lightweight Material Utilizing Completely Decomposed Granite.

The utilization of construction waste soil to produce foamed concrete together with cement and a foaming agent is a promising method for waste recycling. Completely decomposed granite (CDG), which is widely available in southern China, was selected as a typical construction waste soil in foamed material production. The Taguchi method was applied to study the influence of various parameters on compressive strength, including cement dosage, CDG dosage, water to solid materials ratio (W/M), fine particles content, and gravel particles content. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) on a CDG-based sample showed that all factors have significant effects on compressive strength and the most effective parameter was cement dosage, followed in sequence by CDG dosage, W/M, gravel particles content, and fine particles content. However, only cement dosage and W/M influence the internal structure significantly during water/vacuum-immersion tests. The relationship between micro-pore structure and compressive strength suggested that with the decrease of open porosity, the compressive strength showed an increasing trend. This study reveals the possibility of CDG as a raw material for foamed lightweight soil and provides a technical reference of production procedure.

Effects of biochar on hydraulic conductivity of compacted kaolin clay.

Compacted clay is widely used as capillary barriers in landfill final cover system. Recently, biochar amended clay (BAC) has been proposed as a sustainable alternative cover material. However, the effects of biochar on saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) of clay with high degree of compaction is not yet understood. The present study aims to investigate the effects of biochar on ksat of compacted kaolin clay. Soil specimens were prepared by amending kaolin clay with biochar derived from peanut-shell at 0, 5 and 20% (w/w). The ksat of soil specimens was measured using a flexible water permeameter. The effects of biochar on the microstructure of the compacted clay was also investigated using MIP. Adding 5% and 20% of biochar increased the ksat of compacted kaolin clay from 1.2 × 10-9 to 2.1 × 10-9 and 1.3 × 10-8 ms-1, respectively. The increase in ksat of clay was due to the shift in pore size distribution of compacted biochar-amended clay (BAC). MIP results revealed that adding 20% of biochar shifted the dominant pore diameter of clay from 0.01-0.1 µm (meso- and macropores) to 0.1-4 µm (macropores). Results reported in this communication revealed that biochar application increased the ksat of compacted clay, and the increment was positively correlated to the biochar percentage.

Gas permeability of biochar-amended clay: potential alternative landfill final cover material.

Compacted biochar-amended clay (BAC) has been proposed as an alternative landfill final cover material in this study. Biochar has long been proposed to promote crop growth, mitigate odor emission, and promote methane oxidation in field soils. However, previous studies showed that soil-gas permeability was increased upon biochar application, which will promote landfill gas emission. The objective of the present study is to investigate the possibility of using compacted BAC as an alternative material in landfill final cover by evaluating its gas permeability. BAC samples were prepared by mixing 425-µm-sieved peanut shell biochar with kaolin clay in different ratios (0, 5, 10, and 15 %, w/w) and compacting at different degrees of compactions (DOC) (80, 85, and 90 %) with an optimum water content of 35 %. The gas permeability of the BACs was measured by flexible wall gas permeameter and the microstructure of the BACs was analyzed by SEM with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results show that the effects of biochar content on BAC gas permeability is highly dependent on the DOC. At high DOC (90 %), the gas permeability of BAC decreases with increasing biochar content due to the combined effect of the clay aggregation and the inhibition of biochar in the gas flow. However, at low DOC (80 %), biochar incorporation has no effects on gas permeability because it no longer acts as a filling material to the retard gas flow. The results from the present study imply that compacted BAC can be used as an alternative final cover material with decreased gas permeability when compared with clay.