Limonene’s Bacteriostatic Activity against Ralstonia solanacearum by Compromised Membrane Integrity: A Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis

Ralstonia solanacearum, the causative agent of bacterial wilt, is a soil-borne pathogen that poses a widespread threat to plants in the Solanaceae family. To elucidate the mechanism by which limonene exerts its effects on R. solanacearum, we first assessed the impact of limonene on the physiological indicators of the pathogen and subsequently analyzed its transcriptome and metabolome. Our findings indicate that limonene has a potent inhibitory effect on R. solanacearum, and it also suppresses the formation of the bacterial community biofilm. Limonene primarily regulates the terpene biosynthesis pathway in R. solanacearum, thereby potentially affecting signal transduction in the pathogen and disrupting its normal growth and development. These results significantly enhance our understanding of limonene’s response to the induction of bacterial wilt and provide a reference for further prevention and control of R. solanacearum.

On the critical particle size of soil with clogging potential in shield tunneling

Shield tunneling is easily obstructed by clogging in clayey strata with small soil particles.However,soil clogging rarely occurs in strata with coarse-grained soils.Theoretically,a critical particle size of soils should exist,below which there is a high risk of soil clogging in shield tunneling.To determine the critical particle size,a series of laboratory tests was carried out with a large-scale rotary shear apparatus to measure the tangential adhesion strength of soils with different particle sizes and water contents.It was found that the tangential adhesion strength at the soilesteel interface gradually increased linearly with applied normal pressure.When the particle size of the soil specimen was less than 0.15 mm,the interfacial adhesion force first increased and then decreased as the water content gradually increased;otherwise,the soil specimens did not manifest any interfacial adhesion force.The amount of soil mass adhering to the steel disc was positively correlated with the interfacial adhesion force,thus the interfacial adhesion force was adopted to characterize the soil clogging risk in shield tunneling.The critical particle size of soils causing clogging was determined to be 0.15 mm.Finally,the generation mechanism of interfacial adhesion force was explored for soils with different particle sizes to explain the critical particle size of soil with clogging risk in shield tunneling.

Fast Remaining Capacity Estimation for Lithium-ion Batteries Based on Short-time Pulse Test and Gaussian Process Regression

It remains challenging to effectively estimate the remaining capacity of the secondary lithium-ion batteries that have been widely adopted for consumer electronics,energy storage,and electric vehicles.Herein,by integrating regular real-time current short pulse tests with data-driven Gaussian process regression algorithm,an efficient battery estimation has been successfully developed and validated for batteries with capacity ranging from 100%of the state of health(SOH)to below 50%,reaching an average accuracy as high as 95%.Interestingly,the proposed pulse test strategy for battery capacity measurement could reduce test time by more than 80%compared with regular long charge/discharge tests.The short-term features of the current pulse test were selected for an optimal training process.Data at different voltage stages and state of charge(SOC)are collected and explored to find the most suitable estimation model.In particular,we explore the validity of five different machine-learning methods for estimating capacity driven by pulse features,whereas Gaussian process regression with Matern kernel performs the best,providing guidance for future exploration.The new strategy of combining short pulse tests with machine-learning algorithms could further open window for efficiently forecasting lithium-ion battery remaining capacity.

Water-retaining properties of NCZ composite dust suppressant and its wetting ability to hydrophobic coal dust

Coal dust is a primary threat to underground coal miners.The most common approach to control coal dust is hydraulic methods,such as water spray and coal seam water injection.To improve the dust suppressant efficiency of hydraulic methods,a novel chemical composite dust suppressant,called NCZ,was prepared in this study using calcium chloride(CaCl_(2)),magnesium chloride(MgCl_(2)),and nonionic surfactants using a thermal synthesis method.The water-retaining properties of NCZ powder and its solutions were characterized using the water absorption rate(WAR)and evaporation rate(ER),respectively,and the wetting abilities of the NCZ solutions on coal dust were tested using the initial contact angle(ICA)and sink rate(SR).The results indicate that the NCZ solutions have anti-evaporation effects,and the ER of the solution with a 20.0 wt%NCZ is reduced by 11.7%compared with that of clean water.Furthermore,NCZ solutions have remarkable enhancement effects on the wettability of coal dust.The ICA and SR of clean water and the NCZ solution at 20.0 wt%are 141.9°and 0 mg/s,and 29.3°and 1.46 mg/s,respectively.Finally,quantitative relationships between the solution surface tension and the ICA and IR were established using the least squares method.This study provides a new product for dust suppression in underground mines,which is significant for the optimum applied con-centration of dust suppressant in mining operations.

Enhanced piezo-catalysis in ZnO rods with built-in nanopores

Strategies to improve the efficiency of piezoelectric catalysis have long focused on piezo-optical coupling and construction of heterojunctions.However,it is a challenge to reinforce the performance of piezoelectric catalysis in a single material.Herein the built-in nanopores in single crystal ZnO rods are employed to form stress to intensify piezo-catalytic efficiency.The piezo-catalytic efficiency of the ZnO rods with built-in nanopores(holey ZnO NRs)for degrading dyes was about 1.7 times that of the ZnO rods without built-in nanopores(ZnO NRs).X-ray diffraction and Raman peaks of holey ZnO NRs appeared blue-shifted in comparison to ZnO NRs,uncovering the existence of tensile stress in holey ZnO NRs.The piezoelectric coefficient d_(33) of holey ZnO NRs increased by 1.92 times,triggering the amplification of piezoelectric catalytic property.Additionally,the piezoelectric current,carrier lifetime,and diffusion length of holey ZnO NRs were larger than that of ZnO NRs,respectively.These factors all contribute to the enhanced piezoelectric catalytic efficiency of holey ZnO NRs.This work demonstrates that the method of induced stress with built-in nanopores is a promising strategy for improving the piezoelectric catalytic efficiency of single-crystal ZnO rods.

Prospering the biphen[n]arenes family by tailoring reaction modules

Reported here is the comprehensive investigation on the formation of biphen[n]arenes by tailoring reac-tion modules.Five new macrocyclic arenes and four oligomers were synthesized by the condensation of monomers possessing different multimethoxyphenyl reaction modules and paraformaldehyde.We proved that the number and sites of methoxy on reaction modules greatly affected the reaction activity,shape,and connection mode of macrocycles.Moreover,the triangular and saddle-shaped configuration of macro-cycles were revealed by single crystal structures.The results provided a typical and fundamental guidance in designing new macrocyclic arenes.