Effects of Dietary Energy Level on Performance, Plasma Parameters, and Central AMPK Levels in Stressed Broilers.

peer reviewedThis study aimed to characterize the effects of diets with different energy levels on the growth performance, plasma parameters, and central AMPK signaling pathway in broilers under dexamethasone (DEX)-induced stress. A total of 216 1-day-old male broiler chickens were allocated to groups fed with high (HED), National Research Council-recommended (control), or low (LED) energy diets. At 10 days old, chickens were treated with or without dexamethasone (DEX, 2 mg/kg body weight) for 3 consecutive days. HED increased broiler average daily gain (ADG) at 10 days old, compared with the LED (P < 0.05), while average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) decreased as the dietary energy level increased (P < 0.05). Chickens fed a HED had higher total protein (TP) content, albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TCHO), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, compared with the control group (P < 0.05). At 13 days old, DEX decreased ADG and increased FCR in broilers fed with different energy diets (P < 0.05). The DEX-HED group had a higher ADFI than non-DEX treated HED group chickens. In addition, TP, ALB, triglycerides (TG), TCHO, HDL, and LDL content levels in the DEX group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The uric acid (UA) content of the LED group was higher than that of the HED group (P < 0.05). Further, gene expression levels of liver kinase B1, AMP-activated protein kinase α1, neuropeptide Y, and GC receptor in the hypothalamus were increased in chickens treated with DEX (P < 0.05). There was a trend toward interaction between plasma TCHO and hypothalamic LKB1 expression (0.05 < P < 0.1). In conclusion, this study suggests that HED improves growth performance, plasma glucose and total cholesterol at 10 days old broilers, but had no significant effect on performance, plasma parameters, and central AMPK in stressed broilers

Effects of Cold Rolling Reduction on Microstructure, Thickness, Adhesive Force of Al-Si Coating and on Bending Toughness of Al-Si Coated Press-Hardened Steel

Al-Si coated press-hardened steel (PHS) is widely used along with the development of light-weight vehicles, and the tailor-rolled blank parts based on Al-Si coated PHS have attracted much attention. The preparation process includes cold rolling, austenitization, hot-stamping, and quenching. The most widely used AS60/60 coating will change after cold rolling and austenitization, which has been little-studied. Herein, the effects of cold rolling reduction on the microstructure, thickness, adhesive force of AS60/60 coating and on bending toughness of AS60/60 coated PHS were studied. As the cold rolling reduction ratio increased from 0% to 50%, the coatings were gradually thinned, but the overall continuity was unchanged. When the reduction ratio was 40% or above, rapid diffusion channels were formed. The adhesive force of coatings was 21.50–22.15 MPa. After austenitization, the coating thickness gradually decreased as the cold rolling reduction ratio rose from 0% to 50%, but the structure and overall continuity were both unchanged, and the adhesive force was 21.60–22.40 MPa. The rapid diffusion channels promoted the transition from brittle Fe2Al5 to tough FeAl during austenitization, leading to a rapid increment in bending toughness after Al-Si coated PHS was quenched. When the reduction ratio was 50%, the bending angle was improved by 23%

Evaluating the Comprehensive Development Level and Coordinated Relationships of Urban Multimodal Transportation: A Case Study of China&rsquo;s Major Cities

Urban multimodal transportation effectively meets the diversified travel demand of residents. However, it also generates extensive development problems such as traffic congestion, exhaust emissions and low operational efficiency. Therefore, there is an urgent need in urban sustainable development to achieve the coordinated and stable development of various modes of transportation. In this study, we took 36 major cities in China as the research object; measured the comprehensive development level of urban multimodal transportation; used the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to research the coordinated development relationship among buses, rail transit, and taxis; and clarified the shortcomings of the coordinated development of multimodal transportation. The results show that the comprehensive development of urban multimodal transportation in China has shown a significant upward trend from 2016 to 2020, with an average annual growth rate of about 7.36%. There are significant differences in the development levels of multimodal transportation in different cities. In addition, the relationship among buses, rail transit, and taxis in the major cities in China presents a state of uncoordinated development. Therefore, the relevant departments of cities should optimize the allocation of transportation resources, in terms of infrastructure construction and operation, according to these development levels and coordination of multimodal transportation

Evaluating the Comprehensive Development Level and Coordinated Relationships of Urban Multimodal Transportation: A Case Study of China’s Major Cities

Urban multimodal transportation effectively meets the diversified travel demand of residents. However, it also generates extensive development problems such as traffic congestion, exhaust emissions and low operational efficiency. Therefore, there is an urgent need in urban sustainable development to achieve the coordinated and stable development of various modes of transportation. In this study, we took 36 major cities in China as the research object; measured the comprehensive development level of urban multimodal transportation; used the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to research the coordinated development relationship among buses, rail transit, and taxis; and clarified the shortcomings of the coordinated development of multimodal transportation. The results show that the comprehensive development of urban multimodal transportation in China has shown a significant upward trend from 2016 to 2020, with an average annual growth rate of about 7.36%. There are significant differences in the development levels of multimodal transportation in different cities. In addition, the relationship among buses, rail transit, and taxis in the major cities in China presents a state of uncoordinated development. Therefore, the relevant departments of cities should optimize the allocation of transportation resources, in terms of infrastructure construction and operation, according to these development levels and coordination of multimodal transportation

Understanding regional talent attraction and its influencing factors in China: From the perspective of spatiotemporal pattern evolution.

Talents are not only an important strategic resource for promoting regional development but also a core element for maintaining competitiveness. We organize the evaluation index system of regional talent attraction into the following four aspects: regional development, industry development, income and regional environment. Combined with the talent possession of 31 provinces (cities) from 2010 to 2018, we establish a regression equation of the relationship between the evaluation index and talent possession by using a stepwise regression and the Bayesian prior function. Simultaneously, we apply the spatial autocorrelation analysis method to measure the correlation and agglomeration degree of the talent attraction level of provinces and municipalities in China. The results reveal the following. (1) From 2010 to 2018, the talent attractiveness level of China's provinces shows a steady upward trend with an average annual growth rate of 5.804%. The regional environment has the highest score, and the income level has the lowest score. (2) The level of talent attraction in China shows a decreasing trend from east to west, and the ranking in 2018 was "East Coast > North Coast > Southern Coast > Middle Yangtze River > Middle Yellow River > Southwest > Northeast > Greater Northwest". The trend of spatial agglomeration is apparent and gradually increases over the years. The numbers of hot and cold spots are relatively large and concentrated in the eastern coast and western region, respectively. (3) The level of economic development, quality of people's life, and level of the development of the tertiary industry have a great impact on the attractiveness of talents. Talents also pay more attention to regional medical, education and transportation indicators. These research results can provide some guidance and references for the formulation of talent introduction policies in various provinces and municipalities

Effects of aquatic nitrogen pollution on particle-attached ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in urban freshwater mesocosms.

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) attached to aquatic particles are important participants in ammonia oxidation within hypereutrophic urban river systems. To explore the effects of aquatic nitrogen pollution on particle-attached AOB in urban river, we utilized laboratory mesocosms to investigate the responses of abundances and community structure of particle-attached AOB to ammonium (NH4+) and glycine (C2H5NO2) amendments. The abundance and community structure of particle-attached AOB were determined with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis and high-throughput sequencing based on the AOB amoA gene, respectively. Most of the bacterial amoA sequences from different treatments were affiliated with uncultured Nitrosomonadaceae bacterium, uncultured Nitrosomonadales bacterium, and uncultured Nitrosomonas sp., which are closely associated with organic pollution. The species richness and diversity of particle-attached AOB communities increased with increasing NH4+ and glycine concentrations. Treatment effects contributed significantly to the variance in particle-attached AOB communities. Although, glycine was completely transformed to ammonium within a few days and ammonium amendments would change the community structure of particle-attached AOB, the effect of glycine on the particle-attached AOB community was regulated by both the resulting ammonium concentration, as well as organic matter availability to the heterotrophic bacteria. Results suggested that high anthropogenic nitrogen loadings appeared to promote higher particle-attached AOB richness and diversity in the hypereutrophic urban river, but the effect of organic nitrogen on the particle-attached AOB community was different from the effect of inorganic nitrogen. This study informs ammonia oxidization mechanisms in the hypereutrophic urban rivers, which contributes to remediation/restoration strategies