Dynamic Emission Reduction Strategy for Shipping Company Considering Shipper's Cancellation of Cabin Space

As a major carbon emitting industry, the shipping industry urgently needs to actively reduce emissions. This article introduces parameters such as the shipper's low-carbon preference coefficient, cabin cancellation rate, and compensation rate, considering the shipper's low-carbon preference and cabin cancellation behavior. Based on the state changes of shipping emission reduction, an optimal control method is used to construct a dynamic decision-making model for shipping companies to reduce emissions. The optimal emission reduction effort of shipping companies is solved to clarify the optimal dynamic trajectory changes of shipping emission reduction, shipping volume, and shipping companies' expected discounted profits. The impact of shipper's low-carbon preference and cabin cancellation on shipping companies' emission reduction operation strategies is also revealed. An important finding is that the cancellation of cargo space by shippers will reduce the enthusiasm of shipping companies to reduce emissions, while the increase in shippers' low-carbon preference coefficient can help improve the enthusiasm of shipping companies to reduce emissions and increase shipping emissions. Moreover, the dynamic emission reduction operation strategies of shipping companies will dynamically change over time. Finally, the effectiveness of the model was validated through numerical analysis

RESEARCH ON THE MOTION RESPONSE OF AQUACULTURE SHIP AND TANK SLOSHING UNDER ROLLING RESONANCE

The double-row and double-chamfered aquaculture tank is a special tank structure of the aquaculture ship. The tank sloshing of this structure is coupled with the hull motion, which has an important impact on the safety of the hull motion. In the present study, research on the tank sloshing and hull motion response of aquaculture ships was conducted based on the model seakeeping and tank sloshing tests in regular waves. The test results were compared with the numerical simulation results of solid loading without sloshing. The results showed that the numerical simulation of the pitch motion was consistent with the amplitude-frequency response curve of the experimental results. Under certain transverse wave conditions, a large discrepancy existed between the amplitude-frequency response curve of the heave motion by the numerical simulation and the test results, and the roll motion differed most from the experimental result. Severe roll resonance occurred when the wave length-ship length ratio was 0.6. The roll motion amplitude was increased by 183.2%. Therefore, compared with aquaculture ships without sloshing, the sloshing of the tank has little effect on the pitch but has a great impact on the roll and heave motions, with the most significant effect on the roll motion

Forecasting N2O emission and nitrogen loss from swine manure composting based on BP neural network

Nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emission during compost will cause secondary pollution and waste nutrients. To address this issue, a predictive model was set up to obtain a clear knowledge of the N2O emission and nitrogen loss from swine manure composting. This paper collected 68 group data from 11 published papers about pig manure composting N2O emission and total nitrogen loss. Select 4 indexes were taken as predicted indexes include aeration rate, moisture content, C/N, and the amount of superphosphate to establish a BP neural network for forecasting the N2O emission and total nitrogen loss from composting. The analyses show that the mean error of N2O emission forecasting model is 1.17; the value of MAPE is 138.85%. As for nitrogen loss, the mean error is 24.72 and the mean absolute percentage error is 11.06%. Compare to the traditional linear regression, the BP neural network model has good accuracy on forecasting N2O emission and TN loss from manure composting. BP neural network has considerable application prospect in forecast nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emission from composting

The Bet-Hedging Strategies for Seedling Emergence of Calligonum mongolicum to Adapt to the Extreme Desert Environments in Northwestern China

Calligonum mongolicum is a dominant native perennial shrub on sand dunes in arid deserts of northwestern China, and is therefore widely used in sand dune stabilization in these regions. However, it remains largely unknown how seedling emergence of C. mongolicum has adapted to unpredictable sand movement and extreme drought. Here we examined effects of seed burial depth, light intensity, and seed age on seedling emergence, and considered seed germination and seedling emergence strategies for the shrub’s adaption to the desert environment. In our pot experiment, the optimum seeding depth for emergence of C. mongolicum was 2 cm, indicating that for germination and seedling emergence only moderate sand burial is required. Light intensity at the surface soil (0 cm) was important for seedling emergence, while there was no significant difference between 50 and 20% light flux density, at burial depths of 1 and 2 cm, indicating that C. mongolicum seeds had adapted to sand burial, while not exposure from sand erosion. We also found C. mongolicum seedlings emerged in spring and in late summer to early autumn. Meanwhile, seedling emergence percentage for 3-year-old seeds was similar to that of 1-year-old seeds, which meant that C. mongolicum seeds were well preserved under normal sand dune conditions, thus were capable of developing a persistent, but shallow soil seed-bank. These results indicated that germination and seedling emergence take a bet-hedging strategies to adapt to variable desert environments. Our study confirmed that C. mongolicum desert shrubs combine strategies in its adaption to arid and variable sand environments

The insulin signaling pathway in \u3cem\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/em\u3e: A nexus revealing an Achilles\u27 heel in DDT resistance

Insecticide resistance is an ongoing challenge in agriculture and disease vector control. Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy to attenuate resistance. We used genomics tools to target fundamental energy-associated pathways and identified a potential “Achilles\u27 heel” for resistance, a resistance-associated protein that, upon inhibition, results in a substantial loss in the resistance phenotype. Specifically, we compared the gene expression profiles and structural variations of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway genes in DDT-susceptible (91-C) and -resistant (91-R) Drosophila melanogaster (Drosophila) strains. A total of eight and seven IIS transcripts were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in 91-R compared to 91-C. A total of 114 nonsynonymous mutations were observed between 91-C and 91-R, of which 51.8% were fixed. Among the differentially expressed transcripts, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), down-regulated in 91-R, encoded the greatest number of amino acid changes, prompting us to perform PEPCK inhibitor–pesticide exposure bioassays. The inhibitor of PEPCK, hydrazine sulfate, resulted in a 161- to 218-fold decrease in the DDT resistance phenotype (91-R) and more than a 4- to 5-fold increase in susceptibility in 91-C. A second target protein, Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β-PO), had one amino acid difference between 91-C and 91-R, and the corresponding transcript was also down-regulated in 91-R. A GSK3β-PO inhibitor, lithium chloride, likewise reduced the resistance but to a lesser extent than did hydrazine sulfate for PEPCK. We demonstrate the potential role of IIS genes in DDT resistance and the potential discovery of an “Achilles\u27 heel” against pesticide resistance in this pathway

Epidemiology and immunoprotection of nephropathogenic avian infectious bronchitis virus in southern China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In last three years, 96 suspected poultry farms from different provinces in China were diagnosed for avian infectious bronchitis (IB) survey. Finally, 221 IBV strains were confirmed by dwarf embryo test and RT-PCR assay. By virus recovery trials, 187 of the isolates caused the birds died or distressed from nephritis, which was accordant with the clinical record.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on epidemiology analysis of recent field isolates of nephropathogenic IB in vaccinated farms in China, YL6 strain were used for vaccination and evaluated by antibody titer and challenge tests. The immunoprotection test indicated that the practical application of vaccine based on the recent field strains could finely facilitate controlling the nephropathogenic IB.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study was aim at setting a guide for safeguard against nephropathogenic IBV-caused disease in China.</p

Nitrogen balance along a northern boreal forest fire chronosequence

Fire is a major natural disturbance factor in boreal forests, and the frequency of forest fires is predicted to increase due to climate change. Nitrogen (N) is a key determinant of carbon sequestration in boreal forests because the shortage of N limits tree growth. We studied changes in N pools and fluxes, and the overall N balance across a 155-year non stand replacing fire chronosequence in sub-arctic Pinus sylvestris forests in Finland. Two years after the fire, total ecosystem N pool was 622 kg ha(-1) of which 16% was in the vegetation, 8% in the dead biomass and 76% in the soil. 155 years after the fire, total N pool was 960 kg ha(-1), with 27% in the vegetation, 3% in the dead biomass and 69% in the soil. This implies an annual accumulation rate of 2.28 kg ha(-1) which was distributed equally between soil and biomass. The observed changes in N pools were consistent with the computed N balance +2.11 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) over the 155-year post-fire period. Nitrogen deposition was an important component of the N balance. The biological N fixation increased with succession and constituted 9% of the total N input during the 155 post-fire years. N2O fluxes were negligible (<0.01 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)) and did not differ among post-fire age classes. The number and intensity of microbial genes involved in N cycling were lower at the site 60 years after fire compared to the youngest and the oldest sites indicating potential differences in soil N cycling processes. The results suggest that in sub-arctic pine forests, the non-stand-replacing, intermediate severity fires decrease considerably N pools in biomass but changes in soil and total ecosystem N pools are slight. Current fire-return interval does not seem to pose a great threat to ecosystem productivity and N status in these sub-arctic forests.Peer reviewe

Effects of different dietary energy levels on growth performance, meat quality and nutritional composition, rumen fermentation parameters, and rumen microbiota of fattening Angus steers

This study investigates the effects of varying energy levels in diets on Black Angus steers, focusing on growth performance, muscle composition, rumen microbial community, and their interrelationships. Twenty-seven Black Angus steers, aged approximately 22 months and weighing 520 ± 40 kilograms, were randomly divided into three groups: low-energy (LE), medium-energy (ME), and high-energy (HE). Each group consisted of nine individuals. The steers were fed diets with energy levels of 6.657 MJ/kg (LE), 7.323 MJ/kg (ME), and 7.990 MJ/kg (HE) following a 14-day pre-feeding period, with a subsequent 90-day main experimental phase. After the 90-day feeding period, both the HE and ME groups exhibited significantly higher average daily weight gain (ADG) compared to the LE group (p &lt; 0.05). The feed-to-weight ratios were lower in the HE and ME groups compared to the LE group (p &lt; 0.05). The HE group showed significantly higher crude fat content in the longissimus dorsi muscle compared to the LE group (p &lt; 0.05), with total fatty acid content in the muscle surpassing that in the ME and LE groups (p &lt; 0.05). As dietary energy levels increased, the diversity of the rumen microbial community decreased (p &lt; 0.05), and significant differences in bacterial community structure were observed between the LE and HE groups (p &lt; 0.05). The results suggest that higher dietary energy levels enhance growth performance and alter muscle composition in Black Angus steers, while also influencing the rumen microbial community. This study contributes to understanding optimal dietary strategies for finishing Angus cattle to improve beef quality, economic returns, and the development of standardized production procedures

Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli among Humans and Backyard Animals

Background: The rapidly increasing dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in both humans and animals poses a global threat to public health. However, the transmission of CRE between humans and animals has not yet been well studied. Objectives: We investigated the prevalence, risk factors, and drivers of CRE transmission between humans and their backyard animals in rural China. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive sampling strategy in 12 villages in Shandong, China. Using the household [residents and their backyard animals (farm and companion animals)] as a single surveillance unit, we assessed the prevalence of CRE at the household level and examined the factors associated with CRE carriage through a detailed questionnaire. Genetic relationships among human- and animal-derived CRE were assessed using whole-genome sequencing–based molecular methods. Results: A total of 88 New Delhi metallo-β-lactamases –type carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (NDM-EC), including 17 from humans, 44 from pigs, 12 from chickens, 1 from cattle, and 2 from dogs, were isolated from 65 of the 746 households examined. The remaining 12 NDM-EC were from flies in the immediate backyard environment. The NDM-EC colonization in households was significantly associated with a) the number of species of backyard animals raised/kept in the same household, and b) the use of human and/or animal feces as fertilizer. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) revealed that a large proportion of the core genomes of the NDM-EC belonged to strains from hosts other than their own, and several human isolates shared closely related core single-nucleotide polymorphisms and blaNDM genetic contexts with isolates from backyard animals. Conclusions: To our knowledge, we are the first to report evidence of direct transmission of NDM-EC between humans and animals. Given the rise of NDM-EC in community and hospital infections, combating NDM-EC transmission in backyard farm systems is needed. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP525

The Gut Microbiome Signatures Discriminate Healthy From Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

Cross talk occurs between the human gut and the lung through a gut-lung axis involving the gut microbiota. However, the signatures of the human gut microbiota after active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection have not been fully understood. Here, we investigated changes in the gut microbiota in tuberculosis (TB) patients by shotgun sequencing the gut microbiomes of 31 healthy controls and 46 patients. We observed a dramatic changes in gut microbiota in tuberculosis patients as reflected by significant decreases in species number and microbial diversity. The gut microbiota of TB patients were mostly featured by the striking decrease of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producingbacteria as well as associated metabolic pathways. A classification model based on the abundance of three species, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Roseburia inulinivorans, and Roseburia hominis, performed well for discriminating between healthy and diseased patients. Additionally, the healthy and diseased states can be distinguished by SNPs in the species of B. vulgatus. We present a comprehensive profile of changes in the microbiota in clinical TB patients. Our findings will shed light on the design of future diagnoses and treatments for M. tuberculosis infections