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Techno-economic assessment (TEA) of a valorization of bulking agent (BA) ratios on the food waste compost value chain is made to assess economic feasibility. TEA was performed with two plans (Plan A: existing composting facilities; Plan B: new composting facilities) and each plan was under four scenarios. The BA (i.e. corn stalks, garden waste, and watermelon seedlings) ratio of 5 % (S1), 10 % (S2), 20 % (S3), and garden waste with a ratio of 20 % (S4). Results indicate that S2, with a net present value (NPV) of 128.9 million, represents Plan A's most economically viable scenario. Although the total operating costs of S4 were 18.9 %-23.5 % higher, 25.6 %-42.2 % higher total revenue made S4 have an NPV of 92.9 million, making it the most viable scenario in Plan B. All scenarios show positive NPV within a ± 20 % fluctuation range. Organic fertilizer price, government subsidies, and processing capacity were the key factors influencing NPV.

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The contributions of the different leaf layers to maize yields identified as middle leaf > lower leaf > upper leaf, where the vertical photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the canopy gradually decreases. We hypothesized that the allocation of more PAR and nitrogen (N) to the highest contributing leaves will would be beneficial for higher yields and N use efficiencies. The N application rate and plant density effectively regulated the canopy light and N distribution. We evaluated the interactive effects of N rate and plant density on the agronomic and ecophysiological characteristics of leaves at different orientations in a 2019/2020 field experiment. In this study, an N application rate of 180 kg ha-1 coupled with a plant density of 82,500 plants ha-1 achieved the highest yield and N recovery efficiency (NRE). In contrast to the traditional farming practices in northern China, the density was increased and N rate was reduced. Densification from 52,500 to 82,500 plants ha-1 increased the population leaf area index (LAI) by 37.1% and total photosynthetically active radiation (TPAR) by 29.2%; however, excessive density (from 82,500 to 97,500 plants ha-1) drastically reduced the proportion of TPAR by 28.0% in the lower leaves. With increased density, the leaf areas and angles of the upper leaves decreased much more than those of the other leaves, which allowed the middle and lower leaves to access more light, which manifested a smaller extinction coefficient for light (K L). A high yield (>1,000 kg ha-1) of maize could be achieved simultaneously with higher NRE; however, it was negatively correlated with internal N use efficiency (IEN). Higher N concentrations and lower total performance index (PI total ) in the lower leaves may be an important rationale for the reduction of IEN in high-yielding maize. Additionally, decreased N rate without yield reduction under higher densities was primarily attributed to the more uniform vertical N distribution [a smaller extinction coefficient for N (K N)]. These results suggest that the N fertilizer rate can be moderately reduced without a reduction in maize yield under high plant densities in northern China.

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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231961.].

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Purpose: To investigate effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) in conjunction with fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (FOBC) for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in 7 electronic databases for related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to April 30, 2021. The quality of each trial was assessed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, the differences in effectiveness and safety outcomes between two groups were evaluated, and the results were expressed as the risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analyses were performed according to the types of CHIs, and Review Manager 5 was used to statistically analyze the outcomes. Results: 63 studies involving 9 CHIs and 4733 patients were included in this review. The meta-analysis results suggested that compared with FOBC therapy, CHIs plus FOBC therapy showed significant improvements in objective response rate (ORR) (RR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.27-1.42, P<0.00001), disease control rate (DCR) (RR=1.09, 95%CI: 1.06-1.11, P<0.00001), 1-year survival rate (RR=2.27, 95% CI: 1.23-4.18, P=0.009) and quality of life (QoL) (RR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.14-1.28, P<0.00001), and decreases in the incidence of chemotherapy-induced leukopenia (RR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.50-0.82, P<0.0005), nausea and vomiting (RR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.51-0.83, P=0.0005) and diarrhea (RR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.20-0.58, P<0.0001). Conclusion: From the evidence available, CHIs could increase ORR, DCR and 1-year survival rate, improve QoL and relieve chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, nausea and vomiting and diarrhea when combined with FOBC in advanced CRC treatment, Nevertheless, on account of the limitations, more rigorous RCTs with high-quality methodology were needed to further confirm the results.

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BACKGROUND: Fluoropyrimidine combined with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy have become the first-line treatment for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Chinese herbal injections (CHIs), as an important part of TCM, have been widely applied as adjunctive treatments to chemotherapy in patients with advanced CRC. However, the efficacy of this combination therapy has not been evaluated comprehensively. METHODS: We will conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis in accordance with the Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. 7 databases will be searched for related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception to August 31, 2020: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), SinoMED and Wanfang Database. Two researchers will perform study selection, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias independently. The primary outcomes are the disease control rate (DCR) and the objective response rate (ORR), the secondary outcomes are progression-free survival (PFS), survival rate, quality of life (QoL) and adverse effects. Cochrane Review Manager (RevMan 5.3) software will be used to analyze the outcomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy of CHIs and fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for advanced CRC so as to provide valuable evidence to the application of CHIs in advanced CRC. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: INPLASY registration number: INPLASY2020100050.

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Potato Alternaria leaf blight is one of the economically most important disease in potato production worldwide. A recent study reported a quick method to distinguish main Alternaria pathogens A. tenuissima, A. alternata, and A. solani using partial histone H3 gene sequences. Using this method, our collection of 79 isolates from 8 provinces in China were presumably separated into A. tenussima and A. alternata. But in depth morphological and genetic analysis casted doubt on this identification. Culture morphologies of six presumed A. alternata isolates (PresA_alt) and six presumed A. tenuissima isolates (PresA_ten) were not significantly different. PresA_ten isolates also produced conidia in branched chains which supposed to be A. aternata. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and five genes commonly used for species identification including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1), ß-tubulin, plasma membrane ATPase (ATPase), and calmodulin genes. The results showed that GPDH and TEF1 sequences of PresA_alt and PresA_ten isolates were identical. The 12 isolates did not cluster by presumed species neither by individual or concatenated sequence comparisons. The phylogeny-trait association analysis confirmed that the two group isolates were undistinguishable by those molecular markers. Analysis of histone H3 gene sequences revealed variable intron sequences between PresA_ten and PresA_alt isolates, but the amino acid sequences were identical. Our results indicate that the previously published method to distinguish Alternaria species based on histone H3 gene sequence variation is inaccurate and that the prevalence of A. tenuissima isolates in China was likely overestimated.

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BACKGROUND: Early blight caused by Alternaria spp. is amongst the most important diseases in potato. Demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides are widely used to control the disease but long-term use may decrease its control efficacy due to fungicide resistance. This study investigated the occurrence of difenoconazole resistance in Alternaria spp. and molecular resistant mechanisms. RESULTS: EC50 values of 160 isolates to difenoconazole ranged from 0.026 µg mL-1 to 15.506 µg mL-1 and the frequency of difenoconazole sensitivity formed a non-normal distribution curve with a major and a minor peak. Isolates with EC50 values of 4.121 and 5.461 µg mL-1 were not controlled effectively at fungicide doses of 50 and 100 µg mL-1 . Cross-resistance was observed between DMI fungicides difenoconazole and propiconazole, but not between difenoconazole and other fungicide groups, including boscalid, iprodione, or carbendazim. The CYP51gene was 1673 bp encoding 525 amino acids in length and contained two introns. All sensitive and resistant isolates had the identical amino acid sequence of CYP51, with the exception of one resistant isolate carrying a mutation of R511W. A 6 bp insertion in the upstream region was observed in half of the resistant isolates. In the absence of propiconazole, the relative expression of CYP51 was not significantly different in sensitive and resistant isolates. In the presence of difenoconazole, expression of CYP51 gene was induced significantly in the DMI-resistant isolates but not in the sensitive ones. CONCLUSION: Induced expression of CYP51 in resistant isolates exposed to difenoconazole is an important determinant for DMI resistance in potato pathogens Alternaria sect. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

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OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize Na+-dependent, high affinity glutamate transporter (GLUT) activity in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and to compare GLUT activity in PVN of euhydrated versus water-deprived rats. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were deprived of water for two days before sacrifice. Control rats received water ad libitum. After sacrifice, PVN and cerebrum were removed and synaptosomes were prepared using standard techniques. Glutamate uptake was measured using [3H]-glutamate as substrate, physiological buffer, approximately 100 µg of synaptosomal tissue per assay and a Brandel cell harvester. RESULTS: Glutamate uptake was saturable in PVN synaptosomes from euhydrated, control rats with a Vmax of 541 ± 22 pmol/min-mg protein (SEM) and Km of 17.6 ± 3.8 µM (SEM). In contrast, Vmax of glutamate uptake was 808 ± 58 pmol/min-mg protein in PVN of rats deprived of water for 2 days. This was significantly higher than controls (p<0.001). Km was 21.2 ± 7.3 µM and not significantly different from controls (NS). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that water deprivation of rats results in significantly higher synaptosomal glutamate uptake in PVN. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, increased transcription of the GLUT gene and/or increased cell surface expression of GLUT may contribute to the observed increase of glutamate uptake in dehydrated rats. Increased glutamate uptake may serve to restrict dehydration-induced activation of PVN efferent pathways specifically involved in release of neurohypophysial hormones and activation of sympathetic outflow that operate to maintain body fluid balance and cardiovascular function.

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