PhoR/PhoP two component regulatory system affects biocontrol capability of Bacillus subtilis NCD-2

The Bacillus subtilis strain NCD-2 is an important biocontrol agent against cotton verticillium wilt and cotton sore shin in the field, which are caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb and Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, respectively. A mutant of strain NCD-2, designated M216, with decreased antagonism to V. dahliae and R. solani, was selected by mini-Tn10 mutagenesis and in vitro virulence screening. The inserted gene in the mutant was cloned and identified as the phoR gene, which encodes a sensor kinase in the PhoP/PhoR two-component system. Compared to the wild-type strain, the APase activities of the mutant was decreased significantly when cultured in low phosphate medium, but no obvious difference was observed when cultured in high phosphate medium. The mutant also grew more slowly on organic phosphate agar and lost its phosphatidylcholine-solubilizing ability. The suppression of cotton seedling damping-off in vivo and colonization of the rhizosphere of cotton also decreased in the mutant strain when compared with the wild type strain. All of these characteristics could be partially restored by complementation of the phoR gene in the M216 mutant

Review on underwater docking technology of AUV

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles(AUV)form an important link between water surface support platforms,submarine stations and deep sea long-term observation systems. The underwater docking technology of AUVs has long been a research hotspot at home and abroad. In the induction and analysis of AUV underwater docking technology at home and abroad,such as underwater box(cage)docking,robot or carrier-assisted docking,pole guidance docking,platform blocking cable docking and bell-mouth guidance docking, the implementation methods and structural principles of various AUV docking technologies at home and abroad are introduced,as well as the development status and development trends of docking technology. In light of the widely used bell-mouth guidance docking method,a submerged docking system for heavy-duty AUVs is introduced in detail. The experiment proves that this system has strong modularity and low requirements for roll attitude. It is suitable for AUVs of various sizes,and the docking success rate of the docking system is high. The findings of this study can provide useful references for the future development of AUV underwater docking technology

Influence of Cross-Grooved Texture Shape on Tribological Performance under Mixed Lubrication

Surface texture plays an important role in improving the tribological properties of materials. In this paper, the effect of different shapes (i.e., triangle, square, hexagon, round) on the tribological performance of cross-grooved texture was investigated. First, the mixed lubrication condition was used for the pin-on-disc rotating sliding tests. Then, the stress distribution of the four textures was analyzed to better explain the experimental results. Overall, the hexagon-textured specimens exhibited lower friction coefficients than the other shape-textured specimens under the examined conditions. Simulation results indicate that the contact stress can be reduced on the surface of hexagon-textured specimens, and this leads to a better oil film for lubrication. Furthermore, the hydrodynamic lubrication stood out with the increase of speeds to 250 rpm. However, as the test loads further increased, the film thickness decreased, resulting in the increase in the asperity contact areas, which dropped the above advantage of hexagon-textured specimens. This study would be beneficial for the texturing tribological and lubrication design

A novel fusion denoising algorithm of spectral subtraction and Wiener filtering for MEMS magnetic signal in PDR positioning

PDR positioning is currently the core issue of autonomous positioning, there is a problem of high noise and interference in dynamic measurement using PDR (Pedestrian Dead Reckoning) MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) device, which is often a low precision multi-source integration sensor. Two new models of improved spectral subtraction (ISS) and PDRS (PDR-Spectral subtraction) spectral subtraction are constructed in this paper according to the spectrum features of the periodic noise generated from personnel stepping in PDR positioning. It is proposed a two-stage noise reduction method of spectrum subtraction-Wiener filtering for obtaining the static magnetic sequence of personnel path and reducing the real-time noise in PDR positioning, which main mechanism is to use the step power spectrum as the background noise for primary noise reduction, secondary Wiener filtering noise reduction according to the correlation between the denoised signal and the reference signal. A self-made MEMS-based positioning device HBEQ-1 and a high-precision magnetometer FVM-400 were used to collect dynamic and static magnetic value from the test area, and a spectral subtraction-Wiener two-stage noise reduction test was carried out. The experimental results show that the improved ISS spectral subtraction and PDRS spectral subtraction are effective in denoising the dynamic magnetic measurement, but there is still a certain deviation between the peak value and the amplitude of the denoised signal. After secondary noise reduction by Wiener filtering, the signal morphology similarity of magnetic curve and the reference reached 0.7975, and the matched path values of the dynamic magnetic value reached around 12000–13000. It showed that the denoising effect is good and the waveform of denoised signal and the reference signal is similar, but there is spatial stretching of the overall magnetic sequence. It is shown that the spectral subtraction-Wiener noise reduction method cannot eliminate the inertial delay bias generated by personnel walking, the processing does not distort the magnetic signal, maintains spatial characteristics of the static magnetic sequence of personnel path, which is an excellent model for noise reduction of dynamic magnetic measurements in PDR positioning

Specific Discrimination Polymerization for Highly Isotactic Polyesters Synthesis

Isotactic polymers have emerged with unique and excellent properties in material sciences. Specific discrimination polymerization provides an ideal pathway to achieve highly isotactic polymers from their racemic monomers, which is of great significance and a challenge in polymeric chemistry. Although an enantioselective catalyst-mediated asymmetric kinetic resolution polymerization (AKRP) process makes it possible, a general and well-defined strategy for catalyst design is still rarely reported. Here, based on a novel dual-ligand strategy, a new type of chiral (BisSalen)Al complex with high enantioselectivity has been described, in which perfect AKRP of racemic phenethylglycolide (Pegl) is achieved for the first time. The more confined asymmetric microenvironment formed by a dual ligand is the key to improve the enantioselectivity of the original catalyst. To illustrate the generality of this strategy, a series of (BisSalen)Al complexes with homo- or heterodual ligands were designed for the AKRP of Pegl

Specific Discrimination Polymerization for Highly Isotactic Polyesters Synthesis

Isotactic polymers have emerged with unique and excellent properties in material sciences. Specific discrimination polymerization provides an ideal pathway to achieve highly isotactic polymers from their racemic monomers, which is of great significance and a challenge in polymeric chemistry. Although an enantioselective catalyst-mediated asymmetric kinetic resolution polymerization (AKRP) process makes it possible, a general and well-defined strategy for catalyst design is still rarely reported. Here, based on a novel dual-ligand strategy, a new type of chiral (BisSalen)Al complex with high enantioselectivity has been described, in which perfect AKRP of racemic phenethylglycolide (Pegl) is achieved for the first time. The more confined asymmetric microenvironment formed by a dual ligand is the key to improve the enantioselectivity of the original catalyst. To illustrate the generality of this strategy, a series of (BisSalen)Al complexes with homo- or heterodual ligands were designed for the AKRP of Pegl

The Tribological Adaptability for Ventral Scales of Dinodon rufozonatum in Dry/Wet/Rough Environments

The ventral scales of Dinodon rufozonatum were investigated to understand the outstanding tribological adaptability in various environments. The coefficient of friction (COF) of ventral scales was measured and changed with the contact conditions. It was discovered that the COF of scales under water-lubrication conditions (WLC) was larger than that under dry conditions (DC). More interestingly, the COF increased first and then decreased as the substrate roughness reduced. The abrasion marks on scales were then observed. The results indicated that the scales in DC wore more gently than that in WLC. Moreover, the degree of wear reduced with the decrease of substrate roughness. The frictional performance of ventral scales enabled the snakes to move more efficiently, quickly, and flexibly in multiple environments

Controlled Synthesis of Tb³⁺/Eu³⁺ Co-Doped Gd₂O₃ Phosphors with Enhanced Red Emission

(Gd0.93−xTb0.07Eux)2O3 (x = 0⁻0.10) phosphors shows great potential for applications in the lighting and display areas. (Gd0.93−xTb0.07Eux)2O3 phosphors with controlled morphology were prepared by a hydrothermal method, followed by calcination at 1100 °C. XRD, FE-SEM, PL/PLE, luminescent decay analysis and thermal stability have been performed to investigate the Eu3+ content and the effects of hydrothermal conditions on the phase variation, microstructure, luminescent properties and energy transfer. Optimum excitation wavelength at ~308 nm nanometer ascribed to the 4f8-4f75d1 transition of Tb3+, the (Gd0.93−xTb0.07Eux)2O3 phosphors display both Tb3+and Eu3+ emission with the strongest emission band at ~611 nm. For increasing Eu3+ content, the Eu3+ emission intensity increased as well while the Tb3+ emission intensity decreased owing to Tb3+→Eu3+ energy transfer. The energy transfer efficiencies were calculated and the energy transfer mechanism was discussed in detail. The lifetime for both the Eu3+ and Tb3+ emission decreases with the Eu3+ addition, the former is due to the formation of resonant energy transfer net, and the latter is because of contribution by Tb3+→Eu3+ energy transfer. The phosphor morphology can be controlled by adjusting the hydrothermal condition (reaction pH), and the morphological influence to the luminescent properties (PL/PLE, decay lifetime, etc.) has been studied in detail

Screening Biocontrol Agents for Cash Crop Fusarium Wilt Based on Fusaric Acid Tolerance and Antagonistic Activity against <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum, is one of the most notorious diseases of cash crops. The use of microbial fungicides is an effective measure for controlling Fusarium wilt, and the genus Bacillus is an important resource for the development of microbial fungicides. Fusaric acid (FA) produced by F. oxysporum can inhibit the growth of Bacillus, thus affecting the control efficacy of microbial fungicides. Therefore, screening FA-tolerant biocontrol Bacillus may help to improve the biocontrol effect on Fusarium wilt. In this study, a method for screening biocontrol agents against Fusarium wilt was established based on tolerance to FA and antagonism against F. oxysporum. Three promising biocontrol bacteria, named B31, F68, and 30833, were obtained to successfully control tomato, watermelon, and cucumber Fusarium wilt. Strains B31, F68, and 30833 were identified as B. velezensis by phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA, gyrB, rpoB, and rpoC gene sequences. Coculture assays revealed that strains B31, F68, and 30833 showed increased tolerance to F. oxysporum and its metabolites compared with B. velezensis strain FZB42. Further experiments confirmed that 10 µg/mL FA completely inhibited the growth of strain FZB42, while strains B31, F68, and 30833 maintained normal growth at 20 µg/mL FA and partial growth at 40 µg/mL FA. Compared with strain FZB42, strains B31, F68, and 30833 exhibited significantly greater tolerance to FA