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High ambient temperatures affect animal production and welfare in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Feed intake, growth rate, mortality, egg production, hatchability and other production traits related to the economic success of the poultry industry are adversely affected by severe heat stress. In general, heat stress induces the activity of the neuroendocrine system, resulting in activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and elevated corticosterone (CORT) concentrations, which affects metabolism and immune responses. These include negative regulation of metabolic hormones, antibody production and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio. Heat stress increases mitochondrial activity, causing reactive species overproduction which disrupts the antioxidant balance, leading to oxidative stress damage of membranes, protein and DNA. Heat stress stimulates the central nervous system (CNS), which significantly reduces daily gain, feed intake and FCR in poultry. Consequently, from an animal husbandry perspective, intervention strategies to relieve heat stress conditions have been the focus of many published studies. This review describes the effect of high temperature on production, behavioural, biochemical and immune responses, including oxidative damage that occur during heat stress in poultry, in broilers and laying hens. Moreover, nutritional interventions to alleviate the negative consequence of heat stress is discussed.

The static ice refrigeration air conditioning system (SIRACS) driven by distributed photovoltaic energy system (DPES) was proposed and the test experiment have been investigated in this paper. Results revealed that system energy utilization efficiency is low because energy losses were high in ice making process of ice slide maker. So the immersed evaporator and co-integrated exchanger were suggested in system structure optimization analysis and the system COP was improved nearly 40%. At the same time, we have researched that ice thickness and ice super-cooled temperature changed along with time and the relationship between system COP and ice thickness was obtained.

Huang JF, Yuan XP, Pang QF, et al. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2018;12:2223-2231. https://doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S163595 We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal, Drug Design, Development and Therapy, have retracted the published article. After publication, concerns have been raised by a third party in 2025 about the integrity of the data in Figure 3 of the article. Further investigation conducted by the Journal and Publisher confirmed unusual similarities between the image panels representative of different treatment conditions in Figure 3D. Additional concerns were identified in Figures 5A and 6A due to unexpected similarities in the Western blot bands that are representative of different experimental conditions. When approached for an explanation, the authors did not respond to the queries raised by the Journal and Publisher. As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed. We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as 'Retracted'.

Background High-throughput sequencing of blood cell-free DNA (cfDNA) techniques offer an opportunity to characterize and monitor cancer rapidly in a non-invasive and real-time manner. Nonetheless, there lacks a tool within therapeutic arsenal to identify multi-omics alterations simultaneously from a single biopsy. In current times, bisulfite-based sequencing detects 5mC and 5hmC at single-base resolution is the golden standard of DNA methylation, while the degradation of DNA and biased sequencing data are the problems of this method. Objective To identify the consistency analysis of methylation and genetic variation with single library, we presented a platform detecting multi-omics data simultaneously from a single blood biopsy using bisulfite-free method of genomic methylation sequencing (GM-seq) mediated by TET enzyme. Methods We detected methylomic and genetic changes simultaneously from a single blood biopsy in NA12878 and randomly chose ten blood biopsies from colorectal cancer or lung cancer patients to validate the ability of GM-seq. Results Similar cytosine methylation level between whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and GM-seq were identified in NA12878. Moreover, longer insert size, CpGs coverage and GC distribution were outperformed than WGBS. In addition, the comparison of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), insertion-deletion (Indel) and copy number variation (CNV) in NA12878 or ctDNA from liver cancer between GM-seq and whole genome sequencing (WGS) show a good consistency, indicating that this method is feasible for detecting genetic variation in blood. Conclusion In conclusion, our work demonstrated a method for identification of the methylated modification and genetic variations simultaneously from a single blood biopsy.

Background Rubisco activase (RCA) is a pivotal enzyme that can catalyse the activation of Rubisco in carbon assimilation pathway. Many studies have shown that RCA may be a potential target for genetic manipulation aimed at enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield. Objective To understand the biological function of the GhRCAβ2 gene in upland cotton, we cloned the coding sequence (CDS) of the GhRCAβ2 gene and investigated its sequence features, evolutionary relationship, subcellular localization, promoter sequence and expression pattern. Methods The bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the sequence features of GhRCAβ2 protein. Transient transformation of Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts was performed to determine the subcellular localization of the GhRCAβ2 protein. The expression pattern of the GhRCAβ2 gene was examined by analyzing transcriptome data and using the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results The full-length CDS of GhRCAβ2 was 1317 bp, and it encoded a protein with a chloroplast transit peptide. The GhRCAβ2 had two conserved ATP-binding domains, and did not have the C-terminal extension (CTE) domain that was unique to the RCA α-isoform in plants. Evolutionarily, GhRCAβ2 was clustered in Group A, and had a close evolutionary relationship with the soybean RCA. Western blot analysis demonstrated that GhRCAβ2 was immunoreactive to the RCA antibody displaying a molecular weight similar to that of the RCA β-isoform. The GhRCAβ2 protein was found in chloroplast, aligning with its role as a vital enzyme in the process of photosynthesis. The GhRCAβ2 gene had a leaf tissue-specific expression pattern, and the yellow-green leaf mutant exhibited a decreased expression of GhRCAβ2 in comparison to the wild-type cotton plants. The GhRCAβ2 promoter contained several cis -acting elements that respond to light, phytohormones and stress, suggesting that the expression of GhRCAβ2 may be regulated by these factors. An additional examination of stress response indicated that GhRCAβ2 expression was influenced by cold, heat, salt, and drought stress. Notably, diverse expression pattern was observed across different stress conditions. Additionally, low phosphorus and low potassium stress may result in a notable reduction in the expression of GhRCAβ2 gene. Conclusion Our findings will establish a basis for further understanding the function of the GhRCAβ2 gene, as well as providing valuable genetic knowledge to improve cotton photosynthetic efficiency and yield under challenging environmental circumstances.

The genetic basis of heterosis was investigated in all elite rice hybrid by using a molecular linkage map with 150 segregating loci covering the entire rice genome. Data for yield and three traits that were components of yield were collected over 2 years from replicated field trials of 250 F2:3 families. Genotypic variations explained from about 50% to more than 80% of the total variation. Interactions between genotypes and years were small compared with the main effects. A total of 32 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for the four traits; 12 were observed in both years and the remaining 20 were detected in only one year. Overdominance was observed for most of the QTLs for yield and also for a few QTLs for the component traits. Correlations between marker heterozygosity and trait expression were low, indicating that the overall heterozygosity made little contribution to heterosis. Digenic interactions, including additive by additive, additive by dominance, and dominance by dominance, were frequent and widespread in this population. The interactions involved large numbers of marker loci, most of which individually were not detectable on single-locus basis; many interactions among loci were detected in both years. The results provide strong evidence that epistasis plays a major role as the genetic basis of heterosis

The construction quality of FRP fishing vessels influences their production, use and industry development. In order to explore the factors that affect the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels, key factors affecting the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels are determined based on the quality problems of FRP fishing vessels constructed. The improved Fishbone Chart is used to analyze the eight factors of \"human, machine, material, process, environment, inspection, design and information\". Taking the factors that affect the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels as the central target, the eight influencing factors were condensed into five aspects and a composite Fishbone Chart is drawn. The Fishbone Chart is used as the basic model, the influencing factors are sorted, screened and discriminated, and the system model convenient for construction site management and control is established. Finally, the causes of poor construction of FRP fishing vessels are analyzed and discussed, and relevant suggestions are put forward.

Nucleation agents are important for foaming. Various mineral particles, such as calcium carbonate, talc etc, have been widely used as nucleation agents for starch foaming. However, incorporation of any additive is sensitive in developing fully biomaterials or edible materials, due to its safety issue or toxic concern. On the other hand, self-reinforced composites, in which a polymer matrix is reinforced with oriented fibers and tapes, or particles of the same polymer, have attracted greatly attentions since pure chemical functionality. In this work, we developed starch-based foam using cross-linked starch as nucleation agent, since the cross-linked starch is insurable in water and thermal stable up to 280 °C. The cross-linked starch has successfully improved the uniform of starch foam.

To deal with the \"last kilometer\" problem during the agricultural science and technology information service, the USB flash disk \"Zixuntong\", which integrated five major consulting channels, i.e., telephone consultation, mutual video, message consultation, online customer service and QQ group was developed on the bases of capital experts and date resources. Since the products have the computer and telephone USB interface and are combined with localized information resources, users can obtain useful information on any terminal without the restriction of network. Meanwhile, the cartoon appearance make it friendly and attractive to people. The USB flash disk was used to provide agricultural expert consulting services and obtained a good preliminary application achievement. Finally, we concluded the creative application of USB flash disk in agricultural consulting services and prospected the future development direction of agricultural mobile consultation.

Hydrotreating with dispersed catalyst at ppm level can provide an efficient, economical alternative to upgrading heavy oil. In this study, slurry phase hydro-conversion process is used for viscosity reduction. Several reaction conditions have been investigated using highly dispersed catalyst. Residue conversion of extra-heavy oil up to 30% can meet the viscosity requirement for shipping, and the conversion of bitumen from oil sands up to 50% can meet the viscosity requirement for pipeline systems. These hydrogenation reactions with temperature ranging from 390°C to 420°C had higher liquid yield (from 98.5 wt% to 93.2 wt%). In addition, hydro-upgrading product contains lower concentrations of impurities compared to raw feed. Based on our research, an efficient and environmental friendly alternative upgrading process with low process temperature was proposed. The process uses dispersed catalyst for extra-heavy oil and oil sands bitumen treatment. Product properties meet the requirements for transfer and further application.