Effects of kinds of additives on fermentation quality, nutrient content, aerobic stability, and microbial community of the mixed silage of king grass and rice straw.

To investigate the effects of kinds of additives on silage quality, the mixture of king grass and rice straw was ensiled with addition of sucrose, citric acid and malic acid at the levels of 0, 1 and 2%, being blank control (CK), citric acid groups (CA1, CA2), malic acid groups (MA1, MA2), citric acid + malic acid groups (CM1, CM2), sucrose groups (SU1, SU2), mainly focusing on fermentation quality, nutrient content, aerobic stability and microbial community of the silages. The results showed that the addition of sucrose decreased (p < 0.05) pH and increased the content of water soluble carbohydrate (p < 0.05). The sucrose groups and mixed acid groups also had a lower (p < 0.01) neutral detergent fiber content. The addition of citric acid and the mixed acid increased (p < 0.01) the aerobic stability of the silage, reduced the abundance of Acinetobacter, and the addition of citric acid also increased the abundance of Lactiplantibacillus. It is inferred that citric acid and malic acid could influence fermentation quality by inhibiting harmful bacteria and improve aerobic stability, while sucrose influenced fermentation quality by by promoting the generation of lactic acid. It is suggested that the application of citric acid, malic acid and sucrose would achieve an improvement effect on fermentation quality of the mixed silage.

Effects of Cellulase and Xylanase on Fermentation Characteristics, Chemical Composition and Bacterial Community of the Mixed Silage of King Grass and Rice Straw.

This study was to investigate the effects of cellulase and xylanase on fermentation characteristics, nutrient composition and the bacterial community of the mixed silage of king grass and rice straw. Lab-scale bag silage was produced and seven groups were studied: blank control (CK); added 1%, 2% cellulase (CE1, CE2); added 1%, 2% xylanase (XY1, XY2); and added 0.5% cellulase +0.5% xylanase, 1% cellulase +1% xylanase (CX1, CX2). The results showed that the application of additives in six treated groups exerted a positive effect on lactic acid (LA) content and their pH values decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The addition of cellulase and xylanase decreased (p < 0.05) the content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) significantly and increased (p < 0.01) the crude protein (CP) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content. Filter paper enzyme activity (FPA) declined and xylanase activity (XA) intensified (p < 0.05) as ensiling was prolonged, where most of the enzymatic treatments (especially XY2, CX2) resulted in increased enzyme activities. Moreover, the addition of cellulase and xylanase reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria such as Acinetobacter and Klebsiella and increased the abundance of lactic acid bacteria such as Lacticaseseibacillus, Lactiplantibacillus. In conclusion, the addition of cellulase and xylanase would improve fermentation quality and nutrient preservation via altering the bacterial community, with 1% cellulase or complex enzyme best.

Risk factors and prognostic value of osteoporosis in hospitalized patients with bronchiectasis.

BACKGROUND: The risk factors for osteoporosis and its prognostic value in patients with bronchiectasis is not well characterized. We explored the risk factors for osteoporosis and its prognostic impact in hospitalized non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) patients in Southeast China. METHODS: This observational cohort study consecutively enrolled 179 hospitalized patients with NCFB bronchiectasis between 2017 and 2021. The risk factors and the impact of osteoporosis on all-cause mortality were assessed. RESULTS: 21.2% (38/179) of hospitalized NCFB patients were diagnosed with osteoporosis. Patients with osteoporosis had more severe symptoms (assessed by chronic airway assessment test, CAT, median 22 vs. 17, P = 0.017), poorer quality of life (assessed by St. George Respiratory Questionnaires, SQRC, median 42 vs. 27, P = 0.007), more severe disease stage (assessed by bronchiectasis severity index, BSI, median 14 vs. 11, P = 0.02), more comorbidities (assessed by Bronchiectasis Aetiology Comorbidity Index, BACI, median 5 vs. 4, P = 0.021) than patients without. Age, female sex, anemia, post-infection, and history of regular inhaled corticosteroid treatment were independent risk factors for osteoporosis in those patients. 21 patients (11.7%) died over a median follow-up period of 32 months. The all-cause mortality in NCFB patients with osteoporosis [28.94% (11/38)] was significantly higher than those without osteoporosis [7.09% (10/141)] [hazard ratio (HR) 5.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.26-12.67, P < 0.001]. After adjusting for BSI and other confounding factors, osteoporosis was still independently associated with all-cause mortality in hospitalized NCFB patients (HR 4.29, 95% CI 1.75-10.49, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Osteoporosis had an independent effect on all-cause mortality in hospitalized NCFB patients. Management of comorbidities, including bone health, is a critical aspect of treating NCFB patients.

Effect of tea polyphenols on the fermentation quality, protein preservation, antioxidant capacity and bacterial community of stylo silage.

The present study was aimed to evaluate the improvement potential of tea polyphenols (TPP) on silage characteristics and bacterial community. Stylo ensiled with TPP (0, 0.2 or 0.4%, on a fresh basis) were analyzed for fermentation parameter, protein fraction, antioxidant activity and bacterial community after 7, 14, 30 and 60 days fermentation. The addition of TPP resulted in the decrease (P < 0.05) of pH values (5.09 vs. 4.91), dry matter loss (11.77 vs. 8.02% DM), butyric acid concentration (1.64 vs. 1.02% DM) and ammonia-N proportion (13.69 vs. 8.98% CP, on Day 30) of stylo silage as well as the increase (P < 0.01) of lactic acid bacteria population (6.17 vs. 7.54 cfu/g FM) and true protein content (6.03 vs. 7.44% DM), particularly at the first 30 days of ensiling. It somewhat enhanced the antioxidant capacity of style silage at the early stage, and altered the bacterial community of stylo silage, with Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 and Lachnoclostridium_5 much decreased but Enterobacter and Clostridium still being the dominant genera. It is suggested that TPP could help improve fermentation quality and nutrient preservation of stylo silage, and delay proteolysis process and antioxidant decay.

[Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics (PS-NPs) on the Physiology of Allium sativum L.]

The pollution of micro/nanoplastics in the natural environment is becoming increasingly serious, but the potential effects of nanoplastics on crops remain unclear. In the present study, the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) with a particle size of 80 nm on the chlorophyll content, antioxidant enzyme activity, and nutritional quality of Allium sativum L. were explored via hydroponic culture. The results showed that the chlorophyll contents in leaves of A. sativum treated with PS-NPs were significantly lower than those in the control, indicating that the synthesis of chlorophyll was inhibited. The superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities, and proline contents in leaves of A. sativum initially increased but then decreased with the increase in ρ(PS-NPs). The activity of guaiacol peroxidase (POD) increased with the increase in ρ(PS-NPs) for 10 days of treatment; however, it was inhibited for 20 days of treatment. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased with the rise in ρ(PS-NPs). When ρ(PS-NPs) increased to 100 mg·L-1, the MDA content in leaves of A. sativum increased by 43.24% and 89.70% for 10 and 20-day treatments, respectively, compared with those in the control. Meanwhile, the contents of soluble protein, soluble sugar, and vitamin C were higher than those in the control for 10-day treatments; however, the vitamin C content decreased by 26.53% after 20 days of treatment. These results indicated that PS-NPs had a significant oxidative stress on A. sativum, and a high concentration of PS-NPs stress would have deleterious effects on the nutritional quality of A. sativum.

A hybrid machine-learning model to map glacier-related debris flow susceptibility along Gyirong Zangbo watershed under the changing climate.

Gyirong serves as an important channel to Chine-Nepal Economic Corridor, which is also the only land route for China-Nepal trade since the 2015 earthquake. However, the Gyirong corridor suffers from glacier-related debris flow from every April to September because of the complex topographic features and the changing climate. Therefore, a susceptibility map in response to precipitation and temperature change is timely, not only to ensure the safe operation of this corridor, but also to provide decision-makers a guidance for hazard mitigation and environmental remediation. Conventional method is difficult to consider and link the meteorological factors (e.g. temperature and precipitation), topographies, ecological, geological conditions all together to produce the susceptibility map, as such, machine learning is utilised to conduct the analysis. Logistic Regression (LR) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were firstly applied to evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of producing the susceptibility map. In order to improve the fitting and prediction accuracy (ACC), genetic algorithm - support vector machine (GA-SVM) and certainty factor - genetic algorithm - support vector machine (CF-GA-SVM) were conducted based on the initial analysis results of receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) and ACC. Through the analysis, it can be seen that over 61% of the study areas have a high susceptibility to debris flow, requiring an intensive attention from the local government. To further optimise the computational time, when dealing with small amounts of sample data, SVM is more efficient than LR, but CF-GA-SVM can achieve the highest AUC (Area Under Curve) and ACC values, 0.945 and 0.800, respectively. Overall, CF-GA-SVM model presents a relatively high robustness according to sensitivity analysis.

[Diurnal Variations and Source Apportionment of Water-soluble Ions in PM2.5During Winter in Nanjing Jiangbei New Area].

To gain a better understanding of the day-night variation characteristics of water-soluble ions, PM2.5 samples were continuously collected for two months in the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area during winter. The diurnal variation and sources of water-soluble ions were studied. Results showed that the mass concentration of water-soluble ions ranged from 17.07 µg·m-3 to 168.43 µg·m-3 with a mean value of (59.01±30.75) µg·m-3. The average mass concentration of water-soluble ions in daytime was higher than that in the nighttime. The concentration ratio of NO3- and NH4+ to total ion concentrations was higher at night, while SO42- and Cl- were higher during daytime. SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ (SNA) were the dominant species of water-soluble ions in PM2.5 in Nanjing. The mass concentration of SNA on polluted days was higher than that on clean days. The ratio of the anion-cation balance (AE/CE) was larger than 1, indicating that the PM2.5 was acidic. There was a significant linear correlation between NH4+ with NO3- and SO42-, indicating that it occurred mainly in the form of NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 in PM2.5. The PMF source apportionment indicated that water-soluble ions of PM2.5 were mainly derived from motor vehicle emissions, fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, and dust in the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area.

An analytical solution for two-dimensional vacuum preloading combined with electro-osmosis consolidation using EKG electrodes.

China is a country with vast territory, but economic development and population growth have reduced the usable land resources in recent years. Therefore, reclamation by pumping and filling is carried out in eastern coastal regions of China in order to meet the needs of urbanization. However, large areas of reclaimed land need rapid drainage consolidation treatment. Based on past researches on how to improve the treatment efficiency of soft clay using vacuum preloading combined with electro-osmosis, a two-dimensional drainage plane model was proposed according to the Terzaghi and Esrig consolidation theory. However, the analytical solution using two-dimensional plane model was never involved. Current analytical solutions can't have a thorough theoretical analysis of practical engineering and give relevant guidance. Considering the smearing effect and the rectangle arrangement pattern, an analytical solution is derived to describe the behavior of pore-water and the consolidation process by using EKG (electro-kinetic geo synthetics) materials. The functions of EKG materials include drainage, electric conduction and corrosion resistance. Comparison with test results is carried out to verify the analytical solution. It is found that the measured value is larger than the applied vacuum degree because of the stacking effect of the vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis. The trends of the mean measured value and the mean analytical value processes are comparable. Therefore, the consolidation model can accurately assess the change in pore-water pressure and the consolidation process during vacuum preloading combined with electro-osmosis.

Ambient air conditions and variation in urban trail use.

This study examines the effect of air quality and administrative policies on use of urban trails in Indianapolis, IN. Attention is focused on two policy variables: (1) issuance of air pollution advisories and (2) the adoption of Daylight Savings Time. Results suggest that while trail use varies with air quality, current public advisories regarding air pollution may be of limited effectiveness in reducing trail users' exposures to hazardous pollutants. In contrast, the adoption of Daylight Savings Time was associated with a statistically significant increase in traffic levels.