High-density urban environments present competing environmental exposures that jointly influence human health. Increased sky openness enhances visual quality but simultaneously intensifies thermal stress, while shading strategies that reduce heat exposure may constrain restorative benefits. Such trade-offs pose challenges for environmental assessment and urban design in dense urban settings. This study proposes a spatially explicit framework to jointly assess and optimize thermal comfort and visual restorative potential at the panorama level, integrating street-view image-based spatial metrics, XGBoost with explainable SHAP analysis, and Genetic Algorithm-based optimization, enabling interpretation of non-linear trade-offs that prior separate-domain analyses could not resolve. Using nine residential neighborhoods in Singapore, the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) and Perceived Restorativeness Scale Score (PRSS) were predicted from image-based metrics and synthesized into an Integrated Thermal-Visual Score (ITVS). SHAP analysis revealed that Sky (31.9%), Tree (20.8%), and Depth (13.0%) were the dominant predictors with non-linear patterns: Tree > 0.15 and Depth > 0.35 improved integrated performance, while Sky > 0.06 degraded it as thermal penalties outweighed visual gains. Optimization achieved a mean UTCI reduction of 0.327 °C and PRSS increase of 0.535. Cluster analysis further identified three morphological typologies, i.e., open-exposed, dense-shaded, and green-balanced, with optimization gains ranging from 22.1% to 32.5%, underscoring the need for morphology-specific strategies. These empirically derived thresholds and the integrated optimization framework offer transferable, quantitative guidance for performance-oriented urban design in high-density tropical cities.
Zinc (Zn) deficiency affects plant growth and human health. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have the potential to biofortify Zn nutrition of plants, but their inoculation effects are heterogeneous. A meta-analysis was conducted of articles published between 2000 and 2023 describing Zn contents or yields in rice, wheat and maize. After PGPB inoculation, grain Zn and yield increased by 18
This experiment investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with GutPlus® Virsorb probiotic on piglets infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Seventy-two Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets (21 days of age, 5.51 ± 0.44 kg) were randomly divided into: the CON1 group (negative control, basal diet), the CON2 group (positive control, basal diet), and the GutPlus® Virsorb group (basal diet + 500 g/t GutPlus® Virsorb). At 28 days of age, piglets in the CON2 and GutPlus® Virsorb groups received 40 mL PEDV (8.58 × 108 copies/mL) orally, while the CON1 group received an equivalent volume of sterile saline. The experiment lasted until 60 days of age. Dietary supplementation with GutPlus® Virsorb ameliorated the decrease in the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and the average daily gain (ADG) caused by PEDV infection. Compared with the CON2 group, GutPlus® Virsorb increased jejunal mucosa GPX and decreased jejunal mucosa MDA. Additionally, GutPlus® Virsorb decreased the mRNA expressions of IFN-β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the jejunal mucosa. Compared to the CON2 group, GutPlus® Virsorb increased relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Prevotella, Akkermansia, and Butyricicoccus_A, while the relative abundance of Clostridium_P and Clostridium_T was reduced. In addition, GutPlus® Virsorb significantly increased the relative quantitative values of cis-cyclo (leucyl-tyrosyl), oxyphenbutazone, callicarpic acid B, and tilisolol. In conclusion, GutPlus® Virsorb improved the growth performance of PEDV-infected piglets, alleviated inflammation and intestinal damage by improving immunity, reduced PEDV copy number, increased antioxidant capacity, and improved gut microbiota structure and metabolite properties, showing a good protective effect against PEDV infection.
Photoperiod plays a pivotal role in regulating plant physiological cycles and photosynthetic processes via the circadian clock. Celery is an important leafy vegetable with high sensitivity to photoperiod. However, how photosynthesis and circadian rhythms respond to different photoperiod patterns remains to be fully explored in this species. To investigate the effects of different photoperiods on photosynthesis and circadian rhythm in celery, we applied equinoctial photoperiod (12 h of light/12 h of dark, 12L12D), continuous light (24 h of light, 24L) and two skeleton photoperiods (6 h of light/6 h of dark, 6L6D and 3 h of light/3 h of dark, 3L3D). Under the 12L12D, stomatal aperture, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic parameters, and the expression pattens of circadian rhythm-related genes all exhibited robust 24-h rhythmic patterns. Continuous light (24L) increased the daily mean chlorophyll and nitrogen contents to 1.1-fold than those observed under 12L12D, while stabilizing photosynthetic parameters and stomatal apertures with minimal daily variation. Conversely, skeletal photoperiods (6L6D and 3L3D) rapidly disrupted these established patterns, the expression of circadian rhythm-related genes and photosynthetic parameters exhibited arrhythmic fluctuations. Our findings demonstrated that extended light exposure within a 24-h framework optimized photosynthetic performance in celery, whereas skeleton photoperiods impaired circadian rhythm and photosynthesis-related output.
The global rise in human population and the decline of arable land pose a significant threat to agricultural sustainability. Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), the world’s third-most important oilseed crop, has a characteristically low harvest index (HI), limiting its yield potential. We hypothesize that selecting genotypes with a higher HI under dense, direct-seeding conditions will enhance dry matter and ¹³C assimilation and translocation, ultimately resulting in a substantial increase in seed yield. A two-factor split plot design experiment with two different types of harvest index genotypes (Type 1; relatively low harvest index genotypes (Za 1945 and Zhongyouza 19) and Type 2; relatively high harvest index genotypes (Jiayou1hao and Nanyou 6211), two planting densities (traditional direct seeding planting density (LPD) = 150000 plantsha− 1 and High planting density (HPD) = 300000 plantsha− 1) was conducted in 2020–2022 years. We found that type 2 genotypes performed better at high planting density as compared to type 1 genotypes. We observed that the transportation of 13C and dry matter was restricted in low harvest index genotypes under both planting density, and more carbon and dry matter were transported from stem and leaves to grain of type 2 genotypes. Additionally, a higher dry matter contribution to grain was observed in high harvest index genotypes under high planting density. This study demonstrates that selecting high-harvest-index genotypes is a viable strategy to maximize rapeseed yield under dense planting. This approach provides a practical pathway for agricultural intensification, allowing for more efficient use of limited land resources and making a valuable contribution to global food security.
