Pesticide food safety standards as companions to tolerances and maximum residue limits

Allowable levels for pesticide residues in foods, known as tolerances in the US and as maximum residue limits （MRLs） in much of the world, are widely yet inappropriately perceived as levels of safety concern. A novel approach to develop scientifically defensible levels of safety concern is presented and an example to determine acute and chronic pesticide food safety standard （PFSS） levels for the fungicide captan on strawberries is provided. Using this approach, the chronic PFSS level for captan on strawberries was determined to be 2 000 mg kg-1 and the acute PFSS level was determined to be 250 mg kg-1. Both levels are far above the existing tolerance and MRLs that commonly range from 3 to 20 mg kg-~, and provide evidence that captan residues detected at levels greater than the tolerance or MRLs are not of acute or chronic health concern even though they represent violative residues. The benefits of developing the PFSS approach to serve as a companion to existing tolerances/MRLs include a greater understanding concerning the health significance, if any, from exposure to violative pesticide residues. In addition, the PFSS approach can be universally applied to all potential pesticide residues on all food commodities, can be modified by specific jurisdictions to take into account differences in food consumption practices, and can help prioritize food residue monitoring by identifying the pesticide/commodity combinations of the greatest potential food safety concern and guiding development of field level analytical methods to detect pesticide residues on prioritized pesticide/commodity combinations.

Effects of Dimensional Tolerances on the Friction Power Loss of Hydrodynamic Journal Bearing System

According to the dimensional tolerances on hydrodynamic journal bearing system, a nonlinear oil film force model was established,and the Reynolds' equation was solved by adopting finite difference method. In order to fulfill different dimensional tolerances in the system,adopting 2kfactor design and using the eccentricity ratio corresponding to the stability critical curve,the effects of the friction power loss brought by the dimensional tolerances of the dynamic viscosity,bearing width,bearing diameter and journal diameter were analyzed. The effect on dynamic characteristics of the hydrodynamic journal bearing system was quantitatively analyzed,and the nonlinear dynamic analysis, modeling and calculation methods were studied while considering the manufacturing tolerances. The results show that in contrast to the impacts of the tolerances in journal diameter,dynamic viscosity and bearing width,the bearing diameter tolerance would lead to the rise in the power loss, and the dimensional tolerances have different degrees of impacts on the journal bearing system. The friction power loss decreased as the eccentricity ratio increased, and when the eccentricity ratio was 0. 695 the power loss came to the minimum.The investigation would find the best solution and reduce energy consumption,then control varieties of nonlinear dynamical behavior effectively,and provide a theoretical basis for hydrodynamic journal bearing system in parameter design.

Robust Fault Diagnosis of Analog Circuits with Tolerances

A method for robust analog fault diagnosis using hybrid neural networks is proposed. The primary focus of the paper is to provide robust diagnosis using a mechanism to deal with the problem of element tolerances and reduce testing time. The proposed approach is based on the fault dictionary diagnosis method and backward propagation neural network (BPNN) and the adaptive resonance theory (ART) neural network. Simulation results show that the method is robust and fast for fault diagnosis of analog circuits with tolerances.

Extensive Taguchi's Quality Loss Function Based On Asymmetric tolerances

If specification interval is asymmetric, basic specification is the target value of quality characteristics. In this paper Taguchi's quality loss function is applied to describe quality loss based on asymmetric tolerances. The measurement of quality loss which is caused by the deviation of quality characteristics from basic specification is further presented.

Selection efficiencies for improving drought/salt tolerances and yield using introgression breeding in rice(Oryza sativa L.)

The backcross(BC) breeding strategy has been increasingly used for developing high yielding varieties with improved abiotic stress tolerances in rice. In this study, 189Huang-Hua-Zhan(HHZ) introgression lines(ILs) developed from three different selection schemes were evaluated for yield related traits under drought stress and non-stress conditions in the target and off-season winter nursery environments to assess the selection efficiency of BC breeding for improving different complex traits, and led us to five important results. The first result indicated that the primary target traits should be selected first in the target environments(TEs) in order to achieve the maximum genetic gain. Secondly, BC breeding for drought tolerance(DT) in rice was almost equally effective by strong phenotypic selection in the main target environments and in the winter-season of Hainan.Thirdly, exploiting genetic diversity in the subspecific gene pools is of great importance for future genetic improvement of complex traits in rice. Fourthly, considerable genetic gain can be effectively achieved by selection for secondary target traits among the ILs with the primary traits. Finally, the developed ILs provide useful materials for future genetic/genomic dissection and molecular breeding of complex traits.

Production of Transgenic Tall Fescue Plants with Enhanced Stress Tolerances by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation

In order to improve stress tolerances of turf-type tall fescue （Festuca arundinacea Schreb.）, Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 carrying plasmid pCMD containing stress tolerance-related CBF1 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana was used to transform mature seeds-derived embryogenic calli of four cultivars. A total of 112 transgenic plants were regenerated from 32 independent lines and verified by histochemical detection of GUS activity, PCR assay and Southern hybridization analysis. The transformation frequency ranged from 0.92 to 2.87% with apparent differences among the cultivars. Stress tolerances of transgenic plants were enhanced, which was shown by the facts that transgenic plants had distinct growth superiority and significantly higher survival rate than non-transformed ones under high salinity and high osmosis stresses, and that relative electronic conductivity of in vitro leaves treated with low and high temoeratures, dehvdration and high salinity stresses was 25-30% lower in transgenic plants than in control plants.In addition,it was observed that growth of transgenic plants was inhibited due to constitutive overexpression of CBF1 gene under normal environmental conditions.

QTL underlying iron and zinc toxicity tolerances at seedling stage revealed by two sets of reciprocal introgression populations of rice(Oryza sativa L.)

Iron and zinc are two trace elements that are essential for rice. But they are toxic at higher concentrations, leading to severe rice yield losses especially in acid soils and inland valleys. In this study, two reciprocal introgression line(IL) populations sharing the same parents were used with high-density SNP bin markers to identify QTL tolerant to iron and zinc toxicities. The results indicated that the japonica variety 02,428 had stronger tolerance to iron and zinc toxicities than the indica variety Minghui 63. Nine and ten QTL contributing to iron and zinc toxicity tolerances,respectively, were identified in the two IL populations. The favorable alleles of most QTL came from 02,428. Among them, q FRRDW2, q ZRRDW3, and q FRSDW11 appeared to be independent of genetic background. The region C11S49–C11S60 on chromosome 11 harbored QTL affecting multiple iron and zinc toxicity tolerance-related traits, indicating partial genetic overlap between the two toxicity tolerances. Our results provide essential information and materials for developing excellent rice cultivars with iron and/or zinc tolerance by marker-assisted selection(MAS).

Estimation of genetic parameters for upper thermal tolerances and growth-related traits in turbot Scophthalmus maximus

An abnormally high temperature produces a stress response in turbot causing large economic losses in the turbot aquaculture industry of China. A genetic improvement of the upper thermal tolerance (UTT) of turbot could allow cultured fi sh to adapt. A genetic evaluation of UTT is required for determining the practicability of including this trait into a breeding program. In this study, data were recorded from a temperature tolerance test conducted on 3 200 individual turbots from 32 full-sib groups. A cross-sectional linear model and a cross-sectional threshold probit model were used to analyze the test-period survival and a cross-sectional threshold logit model was used to analyze the test-day survival. In addition, phenotypic and genetic correlations between body weight and survival data were estimated. The estimated heritability values obtained from the cross-sectional linear model (CSL), the cross-sectional threshold (probit) model (THRp), and the cross-sectional threshold (logit) model (THRl) were 0.247 9±0.108 3, 0.288 3±0.161 2, and 0.106 9±0.045 2, respectively. The correlation coeffi cients among the full-sib family estimated breeding values (EBVs) obtained from the three models were greater than 0.998 6 and all models produced an almost identical family ranking. The accuracies of selection obtained with the CSL, THRp, and THRl model were 0.773 8, 0.775 4, and 0.784 4, respectively, the greatest from the THRl model. The genetic correlations between body weight and survival data EBVs from the CSL, THRp, and THRl models were 0.020 1,-6.201 1×10^-4 , and -3.115 4×10^-4 , respectively, and the phenotypic correlations between the two traits were -0.837 1 and -0.667 1, respectively. The findings of this study provide background information to determine the best strategy of selection for the genetic improvement of UTT in turbot.

Quality Characteristics Distribution and Its Simulation Based on Asymmetric Tolerances

The application of normal distribution for quality characteristics has its limits on the condition that specification interval is asymmetric. In this paper, the compound normal distribution N(L,σ12,σ22) was proposed and simulated, the property of the parameters Lσ1 and σ2 was studied. The distribution was further applied toangle quality process control.

Effect of Flaxseed on Bile Tolerances of <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus</i>, and <i>Streptococcus thermophilus</i>

Consumption of flaxseed provides health benefits. Bile tolerance allows survival of probiotics in the intestinal tract. The objective was to determine whether or not flaxseed enhances bile tolerance of Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) LA-K, Lactobacillus delbruekii ssp. bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) LB-12, and Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus (S. thermophilus) ST-M5. Control and experimental (62 g flaxseed/L) broths containing 0.3% oxgall were prepared for each culture, sterilized, cooled, inoculated, and plated for 8 h. Growth of each microorganism in both the control and experimental broths was evaluated by the slope of the regression line of its log count versus time after inoculation. Flaxseed significantly enhanced growth of L. acidophilus but not L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus over 8 h compared to its corresponding control. Therefore, flaxseed improved the bile tolerance of L. acidophilus but not of S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus.

Robustness Criteria for Concurrent Evaluation of the Impact of Tolerances in Multiobjective Electric Machine Design Optimization

This article is about a comparison of different measures for determining the robustness or reliability of electric machine designs in the presence of inevitable tolerances.The selected criteria shall be suitable for concurrent evaluation in the course of solving state-of-the-art large scale multi-objective opti-mization problems.In the past,besides particularly customized criteria,mainly gradient based measures,worst case information,or standard deviation based quantities were considered.In this work,the quantile measure is introduced for electric machine design optimization and compared with the existing solutions.The evaluation of a design’s robustness is typically examined based on finite element simulations.As for most measures a signif-icant number of parameter combinations and thus computations are required,a surrogate model assisted approach is presented to minimize computational effort and runtime.A test problem is defined and analyzed to illustrate the differences of selected robustness measures.Results reveal the importance of considering robustness in the optimization process.Moreover,a careful choice of appropriate measures has to be taken.Selected designs are compared and conclusions and an outlook on future activities are presented.

Determination of the High Temperature Stress Tolerances of Bread Wheat Genotypes

Thirty bread wheat genotypes were used as material during the 2014-2015 cropping season. The experimental layout was a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The sowing rate was 500 seeds square meter. Sowing was done in plots of 6 rows （1.2 m × 5 m, spaced 20 cm apart） in Namlk Kemal University, Faculty of Agriculture, Field Crops Department experimental area. Two sowing times were performed. First sowing was made in November suggested usual （standard） and second one was made in January as delayed sown in order to push growing stages of plants into periods in which heat stress is expected will be effected. Sowing times were allotted to main-plots while genotypes were allotted to sub-plots. When the bread wheat varieties and lines used in the experiment are evaluated in terms of tolerance to high temperature, it was shown that Dropia and Nota varieties and CIMMYT-HTN 2014/15-2, CIMMYT-HTN 2014/15 -6, CIMMYT-HTN 2014/15 - 10 lines were better tolerance to high temperature. However, it was noticed that these genotypes were not included in the first groups in terms of grain yield. It is possible to utilize these genotypes as a genitor in cross-breeding programs for breeding studies for tolerance to high temperatures.

Influence of substrate process tolerances on transmission characteristics of frequency-selective surface

Frequency-selective surface （FSS） is a two-dimensional periodic structure consisting of a dielectric substrate and the metal units （or apertures） arranged periodically on it. When manufacturing the substrate, its thickness and dielectric constant suffer process tolerances. This may induce the center frequency of the FSS to shift, and consequently influence its characteristics. In this paper, a bandpass FSS structure is designed. The units are the Jerusalem crosses arranged squarely. The mode-matching technique is used for simulation. The influence of the tolerances of the substrate＇s thickness and dielectric constant on the center frequency is analyzed. Results show that the tolerances of thickness and dielectric constant have different influences on the center frequency of the FSS. It is necessary to ensure the process tolerance of the dielectric constant in the design and manufacturing of the substrate in order to stabilize the center frequency.

Regulation of pepc gene expression in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and its effects on cyclic electron flow around photosystem I and tolerances to environmental stresses

Since pepc gene encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase （PEPCase） has been cloned from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and other cyanobacteria, the effects of pepc gene expression on photosynthesis have not been reported yet. In this study, we constructed mutants containing either upregu-lated （forward） or downregulated （reverse） pepc gene in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Results from real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT‐qPCR）, Western blot and enzymatic analysis showed that PEPCase activity was signifi-cantly reduced in the reverse mutant compared with the wild type, and that of the forward mutant was obviously increased. Interestingly, the net photosynthesis in both the reverse mutant and the forward mutant were higher than that of the wild type, but dark respiration was decreased only in the reverse mutant. The absorbance changes of P700 upon saturation pulse showed the photosystem I （PSI） activity was inhibited, as reflected by Y（I）, and Y（NA） was elevated, and＆amp;nbsp;dark reduction of P700t was stimulated, indicating enhanced cyclic electron flow （CEF） around PSI in the reverse mutant. Additional y, the reverse mutant photosynthesis was higher than that of the wild type in low temperature, low and high pH, and high salinity, and this implies increased tolerance in the reverse mutant through downregulated pepc gene.

The role of soluble sugars during drought in tropical tree seedlings with contrasting tolerances

Aims Non-structural carbohydrates(NSCs)are plant storage compounds used for metabolism,transport,osmoregulation and regrowth following the loss of plant tissue.Even in conditions suitable for optimal growth,plants continue to store NSCs.This storage may be due to passive accumulation from sink-inhibited growth or active reserves that come at the expense of growth.The former pathway implies that NSCs may be a by-product of sink limitation,while the latter suggests a functional role of NSCs for use during poor conditions.Methods Using 13C pulse labelling,we traced the source of soluble sugars in stem and root organs during drought and everwet conditions for seedlings of two tropical tree species that differ in drought tolerance to estimate the relative allocation of NSCs stored prior to drought versus NSCs assimilated during drought.We monitored growth,stomatal conductance,stem water potential and NSC storage to assess a broad carbon response to drought.Important Findings We found that the drought-sensitive species had reduced growth,conserved NSC concentrations in leaf,stem and root organs and had a larger proportion of soluble sugars in stem and root organs that originated from pre-drought storage relative to seedlings in control conditions.In contrast,the drought-tolerant species maintained growth and stem and root NSC concentrations but had reduced leaf NSCs concentrations with a larger proportion of stem and root soluble sugars originated from freshly assimilated photosynthates relative to control seedlings.These results suggest the drought-sensitive species passively accumulated NSCs during water deficit due to growth inhibition,while the drought-tolerant species actively responded to water deficit by allocating NSCs to stem and root organs.These strategies seem correlated with baseline maximum growth rates,which supports previous research suggesting a trade-off between growth and drought tolerance while providing new evidence for the importance of plasticity in NSC allocation during drought.

An Environment‑Tolerant Ion‑Conducting Double‑Network Composite Hydrogel for High‑Performance Flexible Electronic Devices

High-performance ion-conducting hydrogels(ICHs)are vital for developing flexible electronic devices.However,the robustness and ion-conducting behavior of ICHs deteriorate at extreme tempera-tures,hampering their use in soft electronics.To resolve these issues,a method involving freeze–thawing and ionizing radiation technology is reported herein for synthesizing a novel double-network(DN)ICH based on a poly(ionic liquid)/MXene/poly(vinyl alcohol)(PMP DN ICH)system.The well-designed ICH exhibits outstanding ionic conductivity(63.89 mS cm^(-1) at 25℃),excellent temperature resistance(-60–80℃),prolonged stability(30 d at ambient temperature),high oxidation resist-ance,remarkable antibacterial activity,decent mechanical performance,and adhesion.Additionally,the ICH performs effectively in a flexible wireless strain sensor,thermal sensor,all-solid-state supercapacitor,and single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator,thereby highlighting its viability in constructing soft electronic devices.The highly integrated gel structure endows these flexible electronic devices with stable,reliable signal output performance.In particular,the all-solid-state supercapacitor containing the PMP DN ICH electrolyte exhibits a high areal specific capacitance of 253.38 mF cm^(-2)(current density,1 mA cm^(-2))and excellent environmental adaptability.This study paves the way for the design and fabrication of high-performance mul-tifunctional/flexible ICHs for wearable sensing,energy-storage,and energy-harvesting applications.

Compositional and Hollow Engineering of Silicon Carbide/Carbon Microspheres as High-Performance Microwave Absorbing Materials with Good Environmental Tolerance

Microwave absorbing materials(MAMs)characterized by high absorption efficiency and good environmental tolerance are highly desirable in practical applications.Both silicon carbide and carbon are considered as stable MAMs under some rigorous conditions,while their composites still fail to produce satisfactory microwave absorption performance regardless of the improvements as compared with the individuals.Herein,we have successfully implemented compositional and structural engineering to fabricate hollow Si C/C microspheres with controllable composition.The simultaneous modulation on dielectric properties and impedance matching can be easily achieved as the change in the composition of these composites.The formation of hollow structure not only favors lightweight feature,but also generates considerable contribution to microwave attenuation capacity.With the synergistic effect of composition and structure,the optimized SiC/C composite exhibits excellent performance,whose the strongest reflection loss intensity and broadest effective absorption reach-60.8 dB and 5.1 GHz,respectively,and its microwave absorption properties are actually superior to those of most SiC/C composites in previous studies.In addition,the stability tests of microwave absorption capacity after exposure to harsh conditions and Radar Cross Section simulation data demonstrate that hollow SiC/C microspheres from compositional and structural optimization have a bright prospect in practical applications.

MIR1868 negatively regulates rice cold tolerance at both the seedling and booting stages

Low temperature causes rice yield losses of up to 30%–40%,therefore increasing its cold tolerance is a breeding target.Few genes in rice are reported to confer cold tolerance at both the vegetative and reproductive stages.This study revealed a rice-specific 24-nt miRNA,miR1868,whose accumulation was suppressed by cold stress.Knockdown of MIR1868 increased seedling survival,pollen fertility,seed setting,and grain yield under cold stress,whereas its overexpression conferred the opposite phenotype.Knockdown of MIR1868 increased reactive oxygen species(ROS)scavenging and soluble sugar content under cold stress by increasing the expression of peroxidase genes and sugar metabolism genes,and its overexpression produced the opposite effect.Thus,MIR1868 negatively regulated rice cold tolerance via ROS scavenging and sugar accumulation.

Making wheat salt tolerant:What is missing?

The growing global population presents a significant challenge to ensuring food security,further compounded by the increasing threat of salinity to agricultural productivity.Wheat,a major staple food providing 20%of the total caloric intake for humans,is susceptible to salinity stress.Developing new salttolerant wheat cultivars using wheat breeding techniques and genetic modifications is crucial to addressing this issue while ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of wheat production systems within the prevailing climate trend.This review overviews the current landscape in this field and explores key mechanisms and associated genetic traits that warrant attention within breeding programs.We contend that traditional approaches to breeding wheat for Na^(+)exclusion have limited applicability across varying soil salinity levels,rendering them inefficient.Moreover,we question current phenotyping approaches,advocating for a shift from whole-plant assessments to cell-based phenotyping platforms.Finally,we propose a broader use of wild wheat relatives and various breeding strategies to tap into their germplasm pool for inclusion in wheat breeding programs.

PHD17 acts as a target of miR1320 to negatively control cold tolerance via JA-activated signaling in rice

Plant Homeo Domain(PHD)proteins are involved in diverse biological processes during plant growth.However,the regulation of PHD genes on rice cold stress response remains largely unknown.Here,we reported that PHD17 negatively regulated cold tolerance in rice seedlings as a cleavage target of miR1320.PHD17 expression was greatly induced by cold stress,and was down-regulated by miR1320 overexpression and up-regulated by miR1320 knockdown.Through 5'RACE and dual luciferase assays,we found that miR1320 targeted and cleaved the 3'UTR region of PHD17.PHD17 was a nuclearlocalized protein and acted as a transcriptional activator in yeast.PHD17 overexpression reduced cold tolerance of rice seedlings,while knockout of PHD17 increased cold tolerance,partially via the CBF cold signaling.By combining transcriptomic and physiological analyses,we demonstrated that PHD17 modulated ROS homeostasis and flavonoid accumulation under cold stress.K-means clustering analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes in PHD17 transgenic lines were significantly enriched in the jasmonic acid(JA)biosynthesis pathway,and expression of JA biosynthesis and signaling genes was verified to be affected by PHD17.Cold stress tests applied with MeJA or IBU(JA synthesis inhibitor)further suggested the involvement of PHD17 in JA-mediated cold signaling.Taken together,our results suggest that PHD17 acts downstream of miR1320 and negatively regulates cold tolerance of rice seedlings through JA-mediated signaling pathway.