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Mudstone, which is a representative weak rock mass, often experiences mechanical deterioration because of repeated stress disturbances in underground engineering. This study elucidates the mechanical and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of damaged mudstone. Cylindrical mudstone samples with damage levels corresponding to 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) were prepared and tested under uniaxial compression with real-time AE monitoring. The results reveal that the peak strength decreased with increasing damage level, whereas the elastic modulus decreased from 4.861 to 3.871 GPa. An accelerated reduction in both the peak strength and elastic modulus occurred at damage levels of 40% and 60% UCS, corresponding to a transition from slow microcrack initiation to localized crack coalescence. Energy analysis revealed that the energy inflection point appeared earlier with increasing predamage level. Both the total input energy and elastic strain energy before the peak decreased significantly, whereas the proportion of dissipated energy increased from 13.45 to 55.42%. The highly damaged mudstone exhibited step-like surges, indicating cascading crack-cluster propagation and shear‒slip localization. In terms of the AE behavior, higher predamage levels resulted in earlier activation of the AE counts and more distinct multistage bursts before the peak. AE analysis indicated that while tensile failure was dominant, the proportion of shear failure increased from 21.36 to 35.10% with increasing damage level, as indicated by a decrease in the wave velocity and a shift in the AE parameters. Moreover, the increased microcrack density and bedding plane weakness resulted in an increase in the shear failure percentage. Furthermore, the AE b value decreased from 1.089 to 0.680, and the AE S value increased from 0.202 to 0.281, confirming a shift from distributed small-scale cracking to a concentrated, large-scale fracture. These findings provide crucial quantitative insights into the mechanical degradation of damaged mudstone and valuable AE-based precursors for failure, which have important implications for hazard prediction in engineering practices involving mudstone.

This article introduces in detail the typical problems that exist in digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises. It describes the specific methods and strategies for manufacturing enterprises to achieve digital transformation from two aspects: the application of digital resources outside the enterprises and the internal value chain throughout the enterprise. Combined with the implementation case of a specific manufacturing enterprise, it demonstrates the process of the enterprise’s digital transformation.

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Ginseng) is one of the most used traditional Chinese herbal medicines, with its roots being used as the main common medicinal parts; its therapeutic potential has garnered significant attention. AUXIN/INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID (Aux/IAA) is a family of early auxin-responsive genes capable of regulating root development in plants through the auxin signaling pathway. In the present study, 84 Aux/IAA genes were identified from the ginseng genome and their complexity and diversity were determined through their protein domains, phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, and cis-acting element predictions. Phylogenetic analyses classified PgIAA into six subgroups, with members in the same group showing greater sequence similarity. Analyses of interspecific collinearity suggest that segmental duplications likely drove the evolution of PgIAA genes, followed by purifying selection. An analysis of cis-regulatory elements suggested that PgIAA family genes may be involved in the regulation of plant hormones. RNA-seq data show that the expression pattern of Aux/IAA genes in Ginseng is tissue-specific, and PgIAA02 and PgIAA36 are specifically highly expressed in lateral, fibrous, and arm roots, suggesting their potential function in root development. The PgIAA02 overexpression lines exhibited an inhibition of lateral root growth in Ginseng. In addition, yeast two-hybrid and subcellular localization experiments showed that PgIAA02 interacted with PgARF22/PgARF36 (ARF: auxin response factor) in the nucleus and participated in the biological process of root development. The above results lay the foundation for an in-depth study of Aux/IAA and provide preliminary information for further research on the role of the Aux/IAA gene family in the root development of Ginseng.

As the top emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide, China faces a considerable challenge in reducing carbon emissions to combat global warming. Carbon emissions from coal consumption is the primary source of carbon dioxide emissions in China. The decomposition of the driving factors and the quantification of regions and industries needs further research. Thus, this paper decomposed five driving factors affecting carbon emissions from coal consumption in China, namely, carbon emission intensity, energy structure, energy intensity, economic output, and population scale, by constructing a Kaya-Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (Kaya-LMDI) decomposition model with data on coal consumption in China from 1997 to 2019. It was revealed that the economic output and energy intensity effects are major drivers and inhibitors of carbon emissions from coal consumption in China, respectively. The contribution and impact of these driving factors on carbon emissions from coal consumption were analyzed for different regions and industrial sectors. The results showed that carbon emissions from coal consumption increased by 3211.92 million tons from 1997 to 2019. From a regional perspective, Hebei Province has the most significant impact on carbon emissions from coal consumption due to the effect of economic output. Additionally, the industrial sector had the most pronounced influence on carbon emissions from coal consumption due to the economic output effect. Finally, a series of measures to reduce carbon emissions including controlling the total coal consumption, improving the utilization rate of clean energy, and optimizing the energy structure is proposed based on China’s actual development.

Background Panax ginseng is a well-known medicinal plant worldwide. As an herbal medicine, ginseng is also known for its long lifecycle, which can reach several decades. WRKY proteins play regulatory roles in many aspects of biological processes in plants, such as responses to biotic or abiotic stress, plant development, and adaptation to environmental challenges. Genome-wide analyses of WRKY genes in P. ginseng have not been reported. Results In this study, 137 PgWRKY genes were identified from the ginseng genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the PgWRKYs could be clustered into three primary groups and five subgroups. Most of the PgWRKY gene promoters contained several kinds of hormone- and stress-related cis-regulatory elements. The expression patterns of PgWRKY genes in 14 different tissues were analyzed based on the available public RNA-seq data. The responses of the PgWRKY genes to heat, cold, salt and drought treatment were also investigated. Most of the PgWRKY genes were expressed differently after heat treatment, and expression trends changed significantly under drought and cold treatment but only slightly under salt treatment. The coexpression analysis of PgWRKY genes with the ginsenoside biosynthesis pathway genes identified 11 PgWRKYs that may have a potential regulatory role in the biosynthesis process of ginsenoside. Conclusions This work provides insights into the evolution, modulation and distribution of the WRKY gene family in ginseng and extends our knowledge of the molecular basis along with modulatory mechanisms of WRKY transcription factors in ginsenoside biosynthesis.

Background Kidney stone disease (KSD) is a common condition that affects 10% population in the United States (US). The relationship between thiamine and riboflavin intake and KSD has not been well-studied. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of KSD and the association between dietary thiamine and riboflavin intake with KSD in the US population. Methods This large-scale, cross-sectional study included subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2018. KSD and dietary intake were collected from questionnaires and 24-hour recall interviews. Logistic regression and sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the association. Results This study included 26,786 adult participants with a mean age of 50.12 ± 17.61 years old. The prevalence of KSD was 9.62%. After adjusting for all potential covariates, we found that higher riboflavin intake was negatively related to KSD compared with dietary intake of riboflavin < 2 mg/day in the fully-adjusted model (OR = 0.541, 95% CI = 0.368 to 0.795, P  = 0.002). After stratifying by gender and age, we found that the impact of riboflavin on KSD still existed in all age subgroups ( P  < 0.05) but only in males ( P  = 0.001). No such associations were found between dietary intake of thiamine and KSD in any of the subgroups. Conclusions Our study suggested that a high intake of riboflavin is independently inversely associated with kidney stones, especially in male population. No association was found between dietary intake of thiamine and KSD. Further studies are needed to confirm our results and explore the causal relationships.

Background Panax ginseng is a perennial herb and one of the most widely used traditional medicines in China. During its long growth period, it is affected by various environmental factors. Past studies have shown that growth-regulating factors ( GRFs ) and GRF -interacting factors ( GIFs ) are involved in regulating plant growth and development, responding to environmental stress, and responding to the induction of exogenous hormones. However, GRF and GIF transcription factors in ginseng have not been reported. Results In this study, 20 GRF gene members of ginseng were systematically identified and found to be distributed on 13 chromosomes. The ginseng GIF gene family has only ten members, which are distributed on ten chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis divided these PgGRFs into six clades and PgGIFs into two clades. In total, 18 of the 20 PgGRFs and eight of the ten PgGIFs are segmental duplications. Most PgGRF and PgGIF gene promoters contain some hormone- and stress- related cis-regulatory elements. Based on the available public RNA-Seq data, the expression patterns of PgGRF and PgGIF genes were analysed from 14 different tissues. The responses of the PgGRF gene to different hormones (6-BA, ABA, GA3, IAA) and abiotic stresses (cold, heat, drought, and salt) were studied. The expression of the PgGRF gene was significantly upregulated under GA3 induction and three weeks of heat treatment. The expression level of the PgGIF gene changed only slightly after one week of heat treatment. Conclusions The results of this study may be helpful for further study of the function of PgGRF and PgGIF genes and lay a foundation for further study of their role in the growth and development of Panax ginseng .

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, with its roots as the primary medicinal part garnering significant attention due to their therapeutic potential. The GRAS [ GRI ( Gibberellic Acid Insensitive ), RGA ( Repressor of GAI-3 mutant ), and SCR ( Scarecrow )] genes are a class of widely distributed plant-specific transcription factors that play crucial roles in various physiological processes including root formation, fruit development, hormone signaling, and stem cell maintenance. This study systematically identified 139 GRAS genes ( PgGRAS ) in the ginseng genome for the first time, analyzing their complexity and diversity through protein domain structure, phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, and cis-acting element prediction. Evolutionary analysis revealed that all PgGRAS members were divided into 14 evolutionary branches, including a novel species-specific subfamily PG28, with segmental duplication being the primary driver of family expansion. RNA-seq analysis uncovered tissue-specific expression patterns of the PgGRAS gene family. qRT-PCR validation demonstrated that PgGRAS48 , a member of the SCL3 subfamily, was significantly highly expressed in the main root and upregulated upon GA treatment, suggesting its potential regulatory role in main root development. Therefore, this gene was selected for further investigation. Overexpression of PgGRAS48 significantly increased the main root length in Arabidopsis thaliana ( A. thaliana ), accompanied by elevated endogenous GA levels. Subcellular localization, molecular docking, Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BIFC) and yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments confirmed the interaction between PgGRAS48 (SCL3) and PgGRAS2 (DELLA) in the nucleus, revealing the molecular mechanism by which SCL3-DELLA regulates main root elongation through gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis or signaling pathways. This study elucidates the molecular network of the GRAS family in root development in ginseng, providing key targets for the targeted improvement of root architecture in medicinal plants.

Rational engineering to produce biologically active plant compounds has been greatly impeded by our poor understanding of the regulatory and metabolic pathways underlying the biosynthesis of these compounds. Here we capitalized on our previously described gene-to-metabolite network in order to engineer rosmarinic acid (RA) biosynthesis pathway for the production of beneficial RA and lithospermic acid B (LAB) in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures. Results showed their production was greatly elevated by (1) overexpression of single gene, including cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (c4h), tyrosine aminotransferase (tat), and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase (hppr), (2) overexpression of both tat and hppr, and (3) suppression of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (hppd). Co-expression of tat/hppr produced the most abundant RA (906 mg/liter) and LAB (992 mg/liter), which were 4.3 and 3.2-fold more than in their wild-type (wt) counterparts respectively. And the value of RA concentration was also higher than that reported before, that produced by means of nutrient medium optimization or elicitor treatment. It is the first report of boosting RA and LAB biosynthesis through genetic manipulation, providing an effective approach for their large-scale commercial production by using hairy root culture systems as bioreactors.

With heavy air pollution and the highest CO2 emissions in the world, China is in urgent need of technology innovation to improve the energy efficiency and control the pollution emission. This study empirically investigates the impact of environmental regulation intensity, political connections, and business connections on green technology innovation in China’s firms. The authors employ a panel data regression analysis on a dataset that comprises 884 observations for A-share listed companies from 2016 to 2019, owing to the availability of data. The results show: (1) Environmental regulation intensity (ERI) has a U-shaped effect on green technology innovation (GTI), which means GTI is inhibited by ERI in the early stage but gets promoted in the long run; (2) Political connections positively moderate the relationship between ERI and GTI mainly because of crowding-out effect and resource effect; (3) Business connections have a negative impact on the relationship between ERI and GTI, resulting from knowledge acquisition and lock-in; (4) Business connections have a greater moderating effect than political connections probably because political ties lack an effective mechanism to ensure long-term cooperation with the enterprises; (5) However, with regard to those firms in the non-heavily polluting industry, both connections moderate the relationship between ERI and GTI in an opposite direction to the main effect. The research results help policy makers formulate relevant policies, based on the impact of environmental regulation and social connections on green technology innovation.