Coupling of reduced inorganic fertilizer with plant-based organic fertilizer as a promising fertilizer management strategy for colored rice in tropical regions

Colored rice is a type of high-quality,high-added-value rice that has attracted increasing attention in recent years.The use of large amounts of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer in rice fields results in low fertilizer use efficiency and high environmental pollution.Organic fertilizer is a promising way to improve soil quality and sustain high yields.However,most studies focus on the effect of animal-based organic fertilizers.The effects of different ratios of plantbased organic fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer on the grain yield and quality of colored rice have rarely been reported.Therefore,a two-year field experiment was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to study the effects of replacing inorganic N fertilizers with plant-based organic fertilizers on the yield,nitrogen use efficiency(NUE),and anthocyanin content of two colored rice varieties in a tropical region in China.The experimental treatments included no nitrogen fertilization(T1),100% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer(T2),30%inorganic nitrogen fertilizer substitution with plant-based organic fertilizer(T3),60%inorganic nitrogen fertilizer substitution with plant-based organic fertilizer(T4),and 100% plantbased organic fertilizer(T5).The total nitrogen provided to all the treatments except T1 was the same at 120 kg ha-1.Our results showed that the T3 treatment enhanced the grain yield and anthocyanin content of colored rice by increasing nitrogen use efficiency compared with T2.On average,grain yields were increased by 9 and 8%,while the anthocyanin content increased by 16 and 10% in the two colored rice varieties under T3 across the two years,respectively,as compared with T2.Further study of the residual effect of partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers showed that the substitution of inorganic fertilizer with plant-based organic fertilizer improved the soil physiochemical properties,and thus increased the rice grain yield,in the subsequent seasons.The highest grain yield of the subsequent rice crop was observed under the T5 treatment.Our results suggested that the application of plantbased organic fertilizers can sustain the production of colored rice with high anthocyanin content in tropical regions,which is beneficial in reconciling the relationship between rice production and environmental protection.

Physiological and psychological responses to tended plant communities with varying color characteristics

Exposure to plants has been reported to promote health and reduce stress,and plant color has direct impacts on physical and mental health.We used images of common types of tended plant communities in Shenyang,China,with combinations of yellow,green,and red foliage,as experimental stimuli.A total of 27 images were used as visual stimuli.We used electroencephalography to measureαwave activity(8-13 Hz)in 40 subjects while they viewed visual stimuli.These data were combined with subjective questionnaire data to analyze the relaxing effect of images of tended plant communities with different color types and proportions on people.The results revealed that,although there were slight differences between the electroencephalography and psychological findings,women were significantly more relaxed than men after viewing the images.Physiological and psychological responses varied with the types and proportions of colors in the tended plant communities:those of foliage with combinations of two or three colors induced stronger responses than images with a single color.Specifically,(1)for one-color plant communities,green or yellow plant communities induced a stronger relaxation effect than red plant communities;(2)for two-color plant communities,the optimal color proportion was 55%+45%,and the green+yellow and green+red color combinations induced a stronger relaxation effect;(3)for three-color plant communities,the relaxation effect was strongest when the color proportion was 55%green+25%yellow+20%red.These data would provide a plant color matching in future plant landscape design,which may be helpful for creating healthy and relaxing environments.

Identification of Shell Color-Associated Genes Using Mantle Branch-Specific RNA Sequencing of Yellow-Colored Line of Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata martensii

The yellow-colored line of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii displays a yellow prismatic layer and a white nacreous layer that can be used as an ideal model for research on shell color formation.Micro-Raman spectroscopy and transcriptome analyses were performed to explore the potential molecular mechanism underlying the phenotype differentiation.The micro-Raman spectroscopy results indicate that the prismatic layer exhibits distinct characteristic peaks of carotenoids,while these peaks are not prominent in the nacreous layer.In the transcriptome comparison of the central zone of mantle and mantle edge tissue,which function in nacreous and prismatic layer formation,respectively,935 significantly differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified,with 385 genes upregulated and 227 genes downregulated(|log_(2)(Fold change)|>1 and false discovery rate<0.05)in the mantle edge tissue.Among these genes,some were associated with melanoma/melanogenesis,such as tyrosinase,zinc metalloprotease,glutathione S-transferase,and ATP-binding cassette sub-family;some were associated with the carotenoid-related pathway,including scavenger receptors,cytochrome P450 and lipoprotein receptor.Genes associated with porphyrin metabolism,including porphobilinogen deaminase,and copper/zinc superoxide dismutase,and genes associated with shell matrix protein,including amorphous calcium carbonate binding protein,shematrin,PIF,and collagen,also exhibited significantly different expressions.It is speculated that the different colours between prismatic layer and nacreous layer in the yellow-colored line of P.f.martensii might be resulted from melanin,carotenoids and porphyrin metabolism,while genes related to shell structure and biomineralization might also affect coloration.Our results provide new insights to understand the mechanism of shell color formation in mollusca.

Metabolomic Analysis of the Anthocyanins Associated with Different Colors of Cymbidium goeringii in Guizhou, China

Cymbidium goeringii is an economically important ornamental plant,and flower color is one of the main features of C.goeringii that contributes to its high economic value.To clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of anthocyanins in mediating differences in color among varieties,liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was used to perform anthocyanin-targeted metabolomics of seven C.goeringii varieties,including‘Jin Qian Yuan’(JQY),‘Jin Xiu Qian Yuan’(JXQY),‘Miao Jiang Su Die’(MJSD),‘Qian Ming Su’(QMS),‘Shi Chan’(SC),and‘Yang Ming Su’(YMS),as well as the C.goeringii.We detected 64 anthocyanins,including cyanidins,delphinidins,malvidins,pelargonidins,peonidins,petunidins,procyanidins,and flavonoids.We identified six shared differentially accumulated metabolites(DAMs),including cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside,delphinidin-3-Osophoroside,pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside,peonidin-3-O-(6-O-malonyl-beta-D-glucoside),peonidin-3-Osophoroside,and chalcone.Most DAMs were enriched in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway.Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that the differentially expressed metabolites were significantly enriched in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway.Analysis of the content of differentially expressed metabolites indicated that peonidin-3-O-(6-O-malonyl-beta-D-glucoside)was the key metabolite underlying color differences among C.goeringii varieties.Procyanidin B2,pelargonidin-3-O-galactoside,and naringenin might also affect the color formation of JQY and QMS,SC,and MJSD,respectively.The results of this study shed light on the metabolic mechanism underlying flower color differences in C.goeringii at the molecular level.Our findings will aid future studies of the mechanism of flower color regulation in C.goeringii and have implications for the breeding of new varieties.

Quantitative trait loci identification reveals zinc finger protein CONSTANS-LIKE 4 as the key candidate gene of stigma color in watermelon(Citrullus lanatus)

Stigma color is a critical agronomic trait in watermelon that plays an important role in pollination.However,there are few reports on the regulation of stigma color in watermelon.In this study,a genetic analysis of the F2 population derived from ZXG1553(P1,with orange stigma)and W1-17(P2,with yellow stigma)indicated that stigma color is a quantitative trait and the orange stigma is recessive compared with the yellow stigma.Bulk segregant analysis sequencing(BSA-seq)revealed a 3.75 Mb segment on chromosome 6 that is related to stigma color.Also,a major stable effective QTL Clqsc6.1(QTL stigma color)was detected in two years between cleaved amplified polymorphic sequencing(CAPS)markers Chr06_8338913 and Chr06_9344593 spanning a~1.01 Mb interval that harbors 51 annotated genes.Cla97C06G117020(annotated as zinc finger protein CONSTANS-LIKE 4)was identified as the best candidate gene for the stigma color trait through RNA-seq,quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR),and gene structure alignment analysis among the natural watermelon panel.The expression level of Cla97C06G117020 in the orange stigma accession was lower than in the yellow stigma accessions with a significant difference.A nonsynonymous SNP site of the Cla97C06G117020 coding region that causes amino acid variation was related to the stigma color variation among nine watermelon accessions according to their re-sequencing data.Stigma color formation is often related to carotenoids,and we also found that the expression trend of ClCHYB(annotated asβ-carotene hydroxylase)in the carotenoid metabolic pathway was consistent with Cla97C06G117020,and it was expressed in low amounts in the orange stigma accession.These data indicated that Cla97C06G117020 and ClCHYB may interact to form the stigma color.This study provides a theoretical basis for gene fine mapping and mechanisms for the regulation of stigma color in watermelon.

CmMYB3-like negatively regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis and flower color formation during the post-flowering stage in Chrysanthemum morifolium

Color fading caused by a decrease in anthocyanin accumulation during the post-flowering stage significantly affects postharvest quality of chrysanthemum.However,the underlying mechanism by which anthocyanin accumulation decreases during the post-flowering stage still unclear,which greatly restricts design of molecular breeding in chrysanthemum.Here,a chrysanthemum SG7 R2R3 MYB transcription factor(TF),CmMYB3-like,was identified to have a function in regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis during the post-flowering stage.Quantitative real time PCR(qRT-PCR)assays showed that the expression of CmMYB3-like was gradually downregulated when anthocyanin content increased during the flowering stage and was significantly upregulated during the post-flowering stage.Genetic transformation of chrysanthemum and dual-luciferase assays in N.benthamiana leaves showed that CmMYB3-like suppressed anthocyanin accumulation by inhibiting the transcription of CmCHS and CmANS directly and that of CmF3H indirectly.However,overexpression or suppression of CmMYB3-like did not affect the biosynthesis of flavones or flavonols.Genetic transformation of chrysanthemum revealed that the overexpression of CmMYB3-like inhibited anthocyanin accumulation,but its suppression prevented the decrease in anthocyanin accumulation during the post-flowering stage.Our results revealed a crucial role of CmMYB3-like in regulating the color of petals during the post-flowering stage and provided a target gene for molecular design breeding to improve the postharvest quality of chrysanthemum.

Molecular dynamics simulation study of nitrogen vacancy color centers prepared by carbon ion implantation into diamond

Nitrogen vacancy(NV)color centers in diamond have useful applications in quantum sensing andfluorescent marking.They can be gen-erated experimentally by ion implantation,femtosecond lasers,and chemical vapor deposition.However,there is a lack of studies of the yield of NV color centers at the atomic scale.In the molecular dynamics simulations described in this paper,NV color centers are pre-pared by ion implantation in diamond with pre-doped nitrogen and subsequent annealing.The differences between the yields of NV color centers produced by implantation of carbon(C)and nitrogen(N)ions,respectively,are investigated.It is found that C-ion implantation gives a greater yield of NV color centers and superior location accuracy.The effects of different pre-doping concentrations(400–1500 ppm)and implantation energies(1.0–3.0 keV)on the NV color center yield are analyzed,and it is shown that a pre-doping concentra-tion of 1000 ppm with 2 keV C-ion implantation can produce a 13%yield of NV color centers after 1600 K annealing for 7.4 ns.Finally,a brief comparison of the NV color center identification methods is presented,and it is found that the error rate of an analysis utiliz-ing the identify diamond structure coordination analysis method is reduced by about 7%compared with conventional identification+methods.

Non-volatile dynamically switchable color display via chalcogenide stepwise cavity resonators

High-resolution multi-color printing relies upon pixelated optical nanostructures,which is crucial to promote color display by producing nonbleaching colors,yet requires simplicity in fabrication and dynamic switching.Antimony trisulfide(Sb_(2)S_(3))is a newly rising chalcogenide material that possesses prompt and significant transition of its optical characteristics in the visible region between amorphous and crystalline phases,which holds the key to color-varying devices.Herein,we proposed a dynamically switchable color printing method using Sb_(2)S_(3)-based stepwise pixelated Fabry-Pérot(FP)cavities with various cavity lengths.The device was fabricated by employing a direct laser patterning that is a less timeconsuming,more approachable,and low-cost technique.As switching the state of Sb_(2)S_(3) between amorphous and crystalline,the multi-color of stepwise pixelated FP cavities can be actively changed.The color variation is due to the profound change in the refractive index of Sb_(2)S_(3) over the visible spectrum during its phase transition.Moreover,we directly fabricated sub-50 nm nano-grating on ultrathin Sb_(2)S_(3) laminate via microsphere 800-nm femtosecond laser irradiation in far field.The minimum feature size can be further decreased down to~45 nm(λ/17)by varying the thickness of Sb_(2)S_(3) film.Ultrafast switchable Sb_(2)S_(3) photonic devices can take one step toward the next generation of inkless erasable papers or displays and enable information encryption,camouflaging surfaces,anticounterfeiting,etc.Importantly,our work explores the prospects of rapid and rewritable fabrication of periodic structures with nano-scale resolution and can serve as a guideline for further development of chalcogenide-based photonics components.

Identification of Natural and Artificial Colorants in Industrial Products Marketed in Senegal

Food colorants are widely used in the food industry to maintain or enhance product color. However, as the use of these colorants can have negative impacts on health, it is essential to analyze the risks associated with their consumption. This analysis requires, among other things, obtaining sufficient data on the presence of these colorants in foods, as well as their level of consumption. However, data on these colorants is often virtually non-existent in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the colorant profile of industrial products marketed in Senegal. Information on food additives was collected on 399 labels of different food product categories in shops located in Dakar. Data is recorded and processed using Excel software. Based on the Codex classification, analysis of the profile of additives identified on the labels of food samples revealed the presence of 31 colorants. The natural colorants identified are dominated by beta-carotene, widely present in beverages and dairy products, and paprika extract identified on cookies and industrial sauces. Artificial colors are dominated caramels present in several foods including bouillons, vinegars, sauces and hard candies. Secondly, there was a strong presence of the azo dye Sunset yellow FCF, widely found in samples of beverages, confectionery and cookies. The results of this case study enable us to appreciate the wide presence and diversity of colorants on the Senegalese market, and the importance of controlling them to guarantee consumer safety.

An Improved Encoder-Decoder CNN with Region-Based Filtering for Vibrant Colorization

Colorization is the practice of adding appropriate chromatic values to monochrome photographs or videos.A real-valued luminance image can be mapped to a three-dimensional color image.However,it is a severely ill-defined problem and not has a single solution.In this paper,an encoder-decoder Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)model is used for colorizing gray images where the encoder is a Densely Connected Convolutional Network(DenseNet)and the decoder is a conventional CNN.The DenseNet extracts image features from gray images and the conventional CNN outputs a^(*)b^(*)color channels.Due to a large number of desaturated color components compared to saturated color components in the training images,the saturated color components have a strong tendency towards desaturated color components in the predicted a^(*)b^(*)channel.To solve the problems,we rebalance the predicted a^(*)b^(*)color channel by smoothing every subregion individually using the average filter.2 stage k-means clustering technique is applied to divide the subregions.Then we apply Gamma transformation in the entire a^(*)b^(*)channel to saturate the image.We compare our proposed method with several existing methods.From the experimental results,we see that our proposed method has made some notable improvements over the existing methods and color representation of gray-scale images by our proposed method is more plausible to visualize.Additionally,our suggested approach beats other approaches in terms of Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio(PSNR),Structural Similarity Index Measure(SSIM)and Histogram.

The protective effect of cyclodextrin on the color quality and stability of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine

The impact of cyclodextrins(CDs)on wine quality and stability remains largely unknown.This study systematically assessed the protective effect of the post-fermentation addition of CDs on color stability of red wine from the viewpoints of color characteristics,copigmentation and phenolic profiles.The grey relational analysis(GRA)and principal component analysis(PCA)methods were employed to dissect the key effective determinants related to color quality.The addition of CDs induced a significant hyperchromic effect of 8.19-25.40%,a significant bathochromic effect and an enhancement of the color intensity.Furthermore,the evolution of anthocyanin forms and the content of monomeric anthocyanins revealed that β-CD is a superior favorable cofactor during wine aging,but for long-term aging,2-HP-β-CD and 2-HP-γ-CD are more beneficial in promoting the formation of polymerized anthocyanins and color stability.This work provides an important reference for the use of CDs to enhance the color quality and stability of red wines.

Intelligent diagnosis of retinal vein occlusion based on color fundus photographs

AIM:To develop an artificial intelligence(AI)diagnosis model based on deep learning(DL)algorithm to diagnose different types of retinal vein occlusion(RVO)by recognizing color fundus photographs(CFPs).METHODS:Totally 914 CFPs of healthy people and patients with RVO were collected as experimental data sets,and used to train,verify and test the diagnostic model of RVO.All the images were divided into four categories[normal,central retinal vein occlusion(CRVO),branch retinal vein occlusion(BRVO),and macular retinal vein occlusion(MRVO)]by three fundus disease experts.Swin Transformer was used to build the RVO diagnosis model,and different types of RVO diagnosis experiments were conducted.The model’s performance was compared to that of the experts.RESULTS:The accuracy of the model in the diagnosis of normal,CRVO,BRVO,and MRVO reached 1.000,0.978,0.957,and 0.978;the specificity reached 1.000,0.986,0.982,and 0.976;the sensitivity reached 1.000,0.955,0.917,and 1.000;the F1-Sore reached 1.000,0.9550.943,and 0.887 respectively.In addition,the area under curve of normal,CRVO,BRVO,and MRVO diagnosed by the diagnostic model were 1.000,0.900,0.959 and 0.970,respectively.The diagnostic results were highly consistent with those of fundus disease experts,and the diagnostic performance was superior.CONCLUSION:The diagnostic model developed in this study can well diagnose different types of RVO,effectively relieve the work pressure of clinicians,and provide help for the follow-up clinical diagnosis and treatment of RVO patients.

Optical redox imaging of ANT1-de-cient muscles

Adenine nucleotide translocator(ANT)is a mitochondrial protein involved in the exchange of ADP and ATP across the mitochondrial inner membrane.It plays a crucial role in cellular energy metabolism by facilitating the transport of ATP synthesized within the mitochondria to the cytoplasm.The isoform ANT1 predominately expresses in cardiac and skeletal muscles.Mutations or dysregulation in ANT1 have been implicated in various mitochondrial disorders and neuromuscular diseases.We aimed to examine whether ANT1 deletion may affect mitochondrial redox state in our established ANT1-de-cient mice.Hearts and quadriceps resected from age-matched wild type(WT)and ANT1-de-cient mice were snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen.The Chance redox scanner was utilized to perform 3D optical redox imaging.Each sample underwent scanning across 3–5 sections.Global averaging analysis showed no signi-cant differences in the redox indices(NADH,flavin adenine dinucleotide containing-flavoproteins Fp,and the redox ratio Fp/(NADH+Fp)between WT and ANT1-de-cient groups.However,quadriceps had higher Fp than hearts in both groups(p¼0:0004 and 0.01,respectively).Furthermore,the quadriceps were also more oxidized(a higher redox ratio)than hearts in WT group(p¼0:004).NADH levels were similar in all cases.Our data suggest that under non-stressful physical condition,the ANT1-de-cient muscle cells were in the same mitochondrial state as WT ones and that the signi-cant difference in the mitochondrial redox state between quadriceps and hearts found in WT might be diminished in ANT1-de-cient ones.Redox imaging of muscles under physical stress can be conducted in future.

Unsupervised Color Segmentation with Reconstructed Spatial Weighted Gaussian Mixture Model and Random Color Histogram

Image classification and unsupervised image segmentation can be achieved using the Gaussian mixture model.Although the Gaussian mixture model enhances the flexibility of image segmentation,it does not reflect spatial information and is sensitive to the segmentation parameter.In this study,we first present an efficient algorithm that incorporates spatial information into the Gaussian mixture model(GMM)without parameter estimation.The proposed model highlights the residual region with considerable information and constructs color saliency.Second,we incorporate the content-based color saliency as spatial information in the Gaussian mixture model.The segmentation is performed by clustering each pixel into an appropriate component according to the expectation maximization and maximum criteria.Finally,the random color histogram assigns a unique color to each cluster and creates an attractive color by default for segmentation.A random color histogram serves as an effective tool for data visualization and is instrumental in the creation of generative art,facilitating both analytical and aesthetic objectives.For experiments,we have used the Berkeley segmentation dataset BSDS-500 and Microsoft Research in Cambridge dataset.In the study,the proposed model showcases notable advancements in unsupervised image segmentation,with probabilistic rand index(PRI)values reaching 0.80,BDE scores as low as 12.25 and 12.02,compactness variations at 0.59 and 0.7,and variation of information(VI)reduced to 2.0 and 1.49 for the BSDS-500 and MSRC datasets,respectively,outperforming current leading-edge methods and yielding more precise segmentations.

MOALG: A Metaheuristic Hybrid of Multi-Objective Ant Lion Optimizer and Genetic Algorithm for Solving Design Problems

This study proposes a hybridization of two efficient algorithm’s Multi-objective Ant Lion Optimizer Algorithm(MOALO)which is a multi-objective enhanced version of the Ant Lion Optimizer Algorithm(ALO)and the Genetic Algorithm(GA).MOALO version has been employed to address those problems containing many objectives and an archive has been employed for retaining the non-dominated solutions.The uniqueness of the hybrid is that the operators like mutation and crossover of GA are employed in the archive to update the solutions and later those solutions go through the process of MOALO.A first-time hybrid of these algorithms is employed to solve multi-objective problems.The hybrid algorithm overcomes the limitation of ALO of getting caught in the local optimum and the requirement of more computational effort to converge GA.To evaluate the hybridized algorithm’s performance,a set of constrained,unconstrained test problems and engineering design problems were employed and compared with five well-known computational algorithms-MOALO,Multi-objective Crystal Structure Algorithm(MOCryStAl),Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization(MOPSO),Multi-objective Multiverse Optimization Algorithm(MOMVO),Multi-objective Salp Swarm Algorithm(MSSA).The outcomes of five performance metrics are statistically analyzed and the most efficient Pareto fronts comparison has been obtained.The proposed hybrid surpasses MOALO based on the results of hypervolume(HV),Spread,and Spacing.So primary objective of developing this hybrid approach has been achieved successfully.The proposed approach demonstrates superior performance on the test functions,showcasing robust convergence and comprehensive coverage that surpasses other existing algorithms.

Micro-Arthropods in the Surroundings of Nests of Messor arenarius Ants in the Negev Desert in Israel

The present research investigated a segment of the micro-arthropod populations residing within nests of Messor arenarius ants in the Negev Desert of Israel. The total frequencies of micro-arthropods in the chaff of those ants’ nests were found to be higher than in the surrounding soil of the same nests. Acari (mites) were observed to be more abundant during the spring season, whereas their presence decreased during the summer months. Springtails (Collembola) were found to follow the Acari pattern, commonly found within the nests of those ants during spring but were absent during summer. Psocoptera order inhabiting soil habitats were infrequently encountered during spring, but their prevalence increased significantly during summer, particularly within the chaff of the ants’ nests, suggesting that chaff is their primary food source in the Negev Desert. Our research suggests that shifts in seasonality have important consequences on the distribution of soil invertebrate communities with implications on nutrient cycling.

Vividly Colored Accessories and Mood Changes in Patients Undergoing Breast Surgery

Few studies have examined the impacts of color stimuli on perioperative mood and quality of recovery;thus, this randomized controlled trial aimed to assess impacts of vividly colored accessories on mood and quality of recovery after breast surgery. This single-center, single-blind randomized controlled trial included 36 participants (all aged ≥ 20 years) who were randomized into intervention (n = 19) and control groups (n = 17). The intervention group received vividly colored accessories. The primary and secondary study outcomes were patient mood, evaluated using a two-dimensional mood scale, and postoperative recovery, evaluated using Quality of Recovery-15, which were assessed on postoperative day 3. There were no statistical intergroup differences in the scores of the Two-Dimensional Mood Scale (11.2 [intervention group] vs. 10.4 [control group], P = 0.75) and Quality of Recovery-15 (126.8 [intervention group] vs. 129.3 [control group], P = 0.73). Thus, the use of vividly colored accessories by patients undergoing breast surgery was not found to affect patients’ mood and quality of recovery.

Reconfigurable and polarization-dependent optical filtering for transflective full-color generation utilizing low-loss phase-change materials

All-dielectric metasurface, which features low optical absorptance and high resolution, is becoming a promising candidate for full-color generation. However, the optical response of current metamaterials is fixed and lacks active tuning. In this work, we demonstrate a reconfigurable and polarization-dependent active color generation technique by incorporating low-loss phase change materials(PCMs) and CaF_2 all-dielectric substrate. Based on the strong Mie resonance effect and low optical absorption structure, a transflective, full-color with high color purity and gamut value is achieved. The spectrum can be dynamically manipulated by changing either the polarization of incident light or the PCM state. High transmittance and reflectance can be simultaneously achieved by using low-loss PCMs and substrate. The novel active metasurfaces can bring new inspiration in the areas of optical encryption, anti-counterfeiting, and display technologies.

Quantitative and Qualitative Responses of Hydroponic Tomato Production to Different Levels of Salinity

From economic and nutritional points of view,tomato is,historically,considered one of the most important crops.Without significant yield reduction,most commercial cultivars of tomato crops are sensitive to moderate levels of salinity.However,high levels of salt stress can negatively affect the yield and quality of tomato fruits.Therefore,this study was conducted to evaluate the yield and fruit quality of three tomato cultivars(Forester,Ghandowra-F1,and Feisty-Red)cultivated hydroponically,under three different levels of nutrient solution salinity.Evaluation of tomato fruits was performed based on quantity(number and weight of fruits,and total fruit yield),physical quality(color andfirmness),and chemical quality(refractometric index“Brix”,pH,EC,K^(+),Na^(+),and NO_(3)-).Experiments were conducted using three salinity levels of the nutrient solution with electrical conductivity values(dSm^(-1))of 2.5(control),6.0,and 9.5.Results showed that the studied tomato cultivars were significantly influenced by high salinity(9.5 dSm^(-1))in comparison to the low(2.5 dSm^(-1))and medium(6.0 dSm^(-1))levels of salinity.On average,the highest fruit weight per plant of 1944.84 g and total fruit yield of 4.42 kgm^(-2) were observed at the low salinity level;however,no significant differences were obtained in the two yield factors(single fruit weight and total fruit yield)for the low and medium salinity levels.On the other hand,a significant reduction in tomato yield(31%)was associated with the high salinity level compared to the yield at low and medium salinity levels.Results of physical quality parameters showed highly significant differences among all salinity levels.On average,the maximum value of color change(1.72)was associated with the medium salinity level,and the maximum value offirmness(9.61 Ncm^(-1))was recorded at the high salinity level.Salinity levels and tomato cultivars introduced significant differences in chemical quality parameters;however,no significant differences in these parameters were attributed to the low and medium salinity levels.The maximum value of pH was recorded for the combination of medium salinity and Forester cultivar.Moreover,the maximum values of Brix,EC,K^(+),Na^(+),and NO_(3)^(-) were recorded for the Ghandowra-F1 cultivar at the high salinity level.Unlike the Feisty-Red,the performance of the Forester and Ghandowra-F1 cultivars was found to be acceptable at the tested medium salinity level(6.0 dSm^(-1)).

Quantum Chromodynamics on Lattice: Direct Minimization of QCD-QED-Action with New Results

This paper describes a new numerical QCD calculation method (direct minimization of QCD-QED-action) and its results for the first-generation (u, d) hadrons. Here we start with the standard color-Lagrangian LQCD = LDirac + Lgluon, model the quarks qi as parameterized gaussians, and the gluons Agi as Ritz-Galerkin-series. We minimize the Lagrangian numerically with parameters par = (par (q), {αk}, par (Ag)) for first-generation hadrons (nucleons, pseudo-scalar mesons, vector mesons). The resulting parameters yield the correct masses and correct magnetic moments for the nucleons, the gluon-distribution and the quark-distribution with interesting insights into the hadron structure.