Radion and Higgs mixing at the LHC

We study the resonance production of radions and Higgs via gluon-gluon fusion in the Randall-Sundrum model with Higgs-curvature mixing at the LHC. We find that radion can be detected both in mixed (with Higgs boson) and unmixed case if the radion vacuum expectation value $\Lambda_\phi$ is around 1 TeV. The $\Lambda_\phi \sim 10$ TeV case is also promising for certain values of mixing parameters and radion masses. The mixing can affect the production and decay of Higgs boson in a significant way. Thus Higgs search strategies at the LHC may need refinements in case of radion-Higgs mixing in the Randall-Sundrum model.Comment: Version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement and temporal and spatial characteristics of agricultural eco-efficiency under climate change: a case study of Anhui, China

IntroductionAgricultural eco-efficiency is an important index to evaluate the agricultural sustainable development and ecological economics, while simultaneously providing a metric for improvements to the rural environment and the stability of agricultural ecosystems.MethodsThis study took Anhui province as a case, and applied unit survey and list analysis methodologies to quantify rural agricultural non-point source pollution (NPS). Input-oriented super-efficient DEA-SBM was used to measure agricultural eco-efficiency in the typical North-South Transition Zone, and evaluated spatial correlations and differences.ResultsThis study showed that NPS was relatively stable, with less than 5% local variation in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Phosphorus (TP) pollutants. The environmental pressure caused by livestock breeding and the use of chemical fertilizers was very substantial, and the differences of rural agricultural NPS in Anhui Province had obvious north-south characteristics. The agricultural eco-efficiency exhibited an “inverted N” trend. Affected by the “Spatial proximity effect” and the “Matthew effect”, it presented spatial agglomeration and positive spatial correlation. The regional differences were significant, and the heterogeneity increased in our study areas. The southern region had the greatest variation, followed by the northern region, with the smallest variation in the central region, although inter-regional differences were consistent.DiscussionThough the rational allocation of resources, coordination between agricultural economic and environmental protection would be realized, and better conditions for the sustainable development of agricultural ecology and the long-term stability of agricultural ecosystem would be created

Landslide Susceptibility Modeling Using Integrated Ensemble Weights of Evidence with Logistic Regression and Random Forest Models

The main aim of this study was to compare the performances of the hybrid approaches of traditional bivariate weights of evidence (WoE) with multivariate logistic regression (WoE-LR) and machine learning-based random forest (WoE-RF) for landslide susceptibility mapping. The performance of the three landslide models was validated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC). The results showed that the areas under the curve obtained using the WoE, WoE-LR, and WoE-RF methods were 0.720, 0.773, and 0.802 for the training dataset, and were 0.695, 0.763, and 0.782 for the validation dataset, respectively. The results demonstrate the superiority of hybrid models and that the resultant maps would be useful for land use planning in landslide-prone areas

Expression and Clinical Significance of Progesterone and Adiponectin Receptor Family Member 3 in Lung Cancer

Background and objective Progesterone and adiponectin receptor family member 3 (PAQR3) is a recently discovered tumor suppressor gene, which affects the development of a tumor by inhibiting cell proliferation, cell malignant transformation, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. This study investigates the expression of PAQR3 in lung cancer and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 106 patients with lung cancer received surgical treatment in hospital, and adjacent normal tissues of these patients were utilized as control group. The diagnosis of all patients was confirmed through clinical pathology. The expression of PAQR3 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry in lung cancer and adjacent normal tissues. The clinical significance of its expression was also investigated. Results The positive expression rate of PAQR3 protein in lung cancer was lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.01). The positive expression rate of PAQR3 protein was unrelated to age, tumor size, and gender, but it exhibited a significant relationship with the pathological type and differentiation, TNM staging, and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the five-year survival rate of patients with PAQR3 protein positive expression was higher than that in patients with negative expression (P=0.026). Conclusion The expression of PAQR3 protein significantly decreased in lung cancer, indicating that PAQR3 protein plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PAQR3 in lung cancer

Research Progress of Food Freshness Indicator Packaging Based on Natural Pigment

As awareness of food safety grows, consumers want to know the quality of the food they buy in a quicker and more intuitive way. Food freshness indicator packaging, which offers information about the quality of food throughout transport and storage, has become more common as a result of this. Considering the safety of food, more and more researchers are using natural pigments derived from plants as indicators. This paper reviews the current status of research on food freshness indicator films using anthocyanins, curcumin, alizarin and shikonin as dyes in recent years. The principles of the application of natural pigment-based food freshness indicator films in raw meat, aquatic products, milk and fruits and the progress of their research are analysed, and the prospects of research and application of food freshness indicator packaging are also prospected

Combination of Chitosan, Tea Polyphenols, and Nisin on the Bacterial Inhibition and Quality Maintenance of Plant-Based Meat

Plant-based meat products have gained attention in the food industry and with consumers. Plant-based meat products primarily comprise plant proteins and are rich in nutrients. However, the products are highly susceptible to bacterial contamination during storage. Biological preservatives are easily degradable alternatives to chemical preservatives and can preserve different kinds of food. In order to investigate the preservation properties of chitosan (CS), tea polyphenols (TPs), and nisin treatments on plant-based meats, the sensory evaluation, color difference, pH, TBARS, and the total plate count of E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella, indicators of the biological preservative-treated plant-based meat, were determined in this study. The experiment involved blank control- and biological preservative-treated samples. We found that the total microbial count exceeded the national standard provisions in the control samples stored for 14 days. The colors, tissue structures, and flavors of plant-based meat have gradually deteriorated, with the sensory score dropping from 90 to 52. The sample had a loose tissue structure and an obvious sour taste. However, the shelf life of the plant-based meat samples treated with different combinations of the biological preservatives increased compared to the shelf life of the control samples. After 56 d of storage, 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin sensory reduction to 56, the total number of colonies and S. aureus were 4.91 and 2.95 lg CFU/g, approaching the national standard threshold; E. coli was 2 lg CFU/g, reaching the national standard threshold. Thus, the samples treated with 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin had the longest shelf life (56 days) among all experimental groups. Hence, this study reveals that a combination of biological preservatives may be a non-toxic alternative for the efficient preservation of plant-based meat products

Scientometric Analysis-Based Review for Drought Modelling, Indices, Types, and Forecasting Especially in Asia

An extended drought period with low precipitation can result in low water availability and issues for humans, animals, and plants. Drought forecasting is critical for water resource development and management as it helps to reduce negative consequences. In this study, scientometric analysis and manual comprehensive analysis on drought modelling and forecasting are used. A scientometric analysis is used to determine the current research trend using bibliometric data and to identify relevant publication field sources with the most publications, the most frequently used keywords, the most cited articles and authors, and the countries that have made the greatest contributions to the field of water resources. This paper also tries to provide an overview of water issues, such as drought classification, drought indices, historical droughts, and their impact on Asian countries such as China, Pakistan, India, and Iran. There have been many models established for this purpose and choosing the appropriate model for study is a long procedure for researchers. An appropriate, comprehensive, pedagogical study of model ideas and historical implementations would benefit researchers by helping them to avoid overlooking viable model options, thus reducing their time spent on the topic. As a result, the goal of this paper is to review drought-forecasting approaches and recommend the best models for the Asian region. The models are divided into four categories based on their mechanisms: Regression analysis, stochastic modelling, machine learning, and dynamic modelling. The basic concepts of each approach in terms of the model’s historical use, benefits, and limitations are explained. Finally, prospects for future drought research in Asia are discussed as well as potential modelling techniques

Effects of large-scale land consolidation projects on ecological environment quality: A case study of a land creation project in Yan'an, China

Large land consolidation projects modify the structures and functions of regional ecosystems through the reshaping of the territorial spatial pattern, thereby affecting the ecological environmental quality (EEQ). To investigate the effects of large-scale land consolidation projects on EEQ, this study takes the major land consolidation project of “bulldoze mountains to create land” (BMCL) in Yan'an City as a research object and evaluates the change of EEQ based on Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI). The consolidated area and the control area were set up to comparatively analyze the EEQ change processes and spatial distribution characteristics of these two areas in the full life cycle of BMCL. According to the results, the mean RSEI of the consolidated area was 0.128 lower than that of the control area, and the EEQ of the consolidated area was always lower than that of the control area. BMCL had a strong negative impact on the EEQ grade of the consolidated area, especially in the early stage. However, the positive effect of BMCL on EEQ gradually emerged in the late stage of the large land consolidation project. The overall EEQ grade of the consolidated area has also improved. The results of the stepwise regression analysis indicated that the wetness component and the normalized differential vegetation index played key roles in improving the EEQ of the BMCL. Overall, the local BMCL strongly affected the EEQ of the consolidated area but would not cause the EEQ of the whole region to experience any dramatic, abrupt change in the short term. This study provided references for the evaluation and analysis of the ecological effects of land consolidation at the regional scale, offering a feasible way to evaluate the spatio-temporal change of EEQ in BMCL

Selection of bone graft type for the surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis based on the spinal instability neoplastic score: a retrospective single-center cohort study

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to establish a standard for selecting bone graft type for thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis surgery based on the spinal instability neoplastic score (SINS). Methods Patients with thoracolumbar tuberculosis who underwent one-stage debridement posteriorly and instrumentation were divided into a structural bone graft group (SBG) (51 cases) and a non-structural bone graft group (NSBG) (54 cases) according to their SINS. SBG was performed when the SINS was ≥ 13 and NSBG was performed when it was 7 ≤ SINS ≤ 12. Baseline data, clinical outcomes, and imaging outcomes were collected and statistically analyzed between the two groups. Results Significant improvements in clinical and imaging outcomes were achieved in both groups. Compared to the SBG group, the operation time of the NSBG group was shorter, the intraoperative blood loss of the NSBG group was less, the bone fusion time of the NSBG group was faster. Conclusion Non-structural and structural bone grafting can achieve comparable therapeutic effects in patients with spinal tuberculosis, and a suitable selection of bone grafts based on quantitative SINS will make full use of the advantages of different bone grafts

Temporal and spatial variation of soil moisture of small watershed in gully catchment of the Loess Plateau of China

The temporal and spatial variation characteristics of soil moisture in typical slope and gully of Jiulongquangou small watershed were studied in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau of China. The variation of soil moisture in the 0-30 cm layer on the surface of the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau is greater than the variation of soil moisture in each layer between 40 and 100 cm. In the study area, the model parameters such as coefficient of variation (Cv), nugget (C0), sill (C0+C), spatial degrees of freedom(C0/(C+C0)) and variable change can be used to quantitative analysis the spatial varying law. On the slope surface, the average soil water content and the coefficient of variation are negatively correlated, and can be approximated by an exponential function, while the two are positively correlated in the gully