China Agricultural University

Afforestation enhances ecosystem stability in the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China, but its effects are constrained by water availability

Abstract The farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China (FPENC), a typical semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral ecologically fragile zone, has long faced controversy over afforestation due to its water-limited environment, raising concerns about how afforestation affects this frag...

Thermoplasticization of Bamboo Fibers via Solvent-Free Heterogeneous Esterification with Long-Chain Fatty Acids: Effect of Lignin Removal and Carbon Chain Length

Abstract The development of bio-based thermoplastics from lignocellulosic biomass is of considerable interest for reducing dependence on petroleum-derived plastics. In this work, a solvent-free strategy was proposed to fabricate thermoplasticized bamboo fibers (TBF) via heterogen...

Effects of Alkaline Mineral Complex Water Supplementation in the Diet on the Oxidative Stress, Immunity and Health of Lactating Cows

Mid-lactation represents a critical production phase for high-yield dairy cows, where nutrient imbalance can compromise animal health and farm profitability. This study investigated the effects of dietary alkaline mineral complex (AMC)–water supplementation on milk yield, blood b...

Wireless Temperature-Sensing System for Liquid-Nitrogen Biobanks

Liquid-nitrogen biobanks need temporary, spatially distributed temperature records, but conventional batteries and radios become unreliable far below their rated operating temperatures. We developed a finite-duration wireless logging system that separates sensing and communicatio...

Product-Specific Effects of Microbial Inoculants on Maize Growth and Grain Weight per Plant Under No-Tillage Straw Mulching

Microbial inoculants are increasingly used in conservation agriculture to enhance soil biological functioning and crop performance, yet their field effectiveness remains variable. This study evaluated how soil resource status, extracellular enzyme activities, and plant traits wer...

Natural variation in GmSOP5 regulates seed oil and protein content during soybean domestication

ABSTRACT Seed oil content, protein content, and yield are agronomically important, correlated traits that determine the economic value of soybean ( Glycine max ). However, improving seed quality and yield simultaneously is challenging because gains in one breeding target often co...

Dietary Fermented Mulberry Leaf Triggers Dose-Dependent Changes in Growth, Antioxidant Immune Status and Intestinal Microecology of Amur Sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii)

Mulberry leaf is a promising sustainable plant-based feed resource; however, high dietary inclusion of raw mulberry leaf impairs growth in carnivorous fish. Fermentation degrades anti-nutritional components and enhances nutrient availability, yet the dose-dependent effects and un...

Plant Protein–Tea Polyphenol Complexation: From Structure to Tailored Materials for Food Applications

Abstract Amidst the global challenges of population growth, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation, developing sustainable and nutritious plant protein sources is crucial for future food industry. However, plant proteins have functional limitations, including inferior s...

A continually evolving knowledge-guided deep learning framework for daily maize yield formation

CONTEXT As multi-source agricultural datasets expand, accurate and interpretable simulation of crop yield formation is increasingly feasible and important for food security. Process-based models are widely used for yield forecasting but require laborious regional calibration. Art...

Genome-Wide Identification of the MATE Gene Family in Sweet Cherry and Functional Characterization of PavMATE50/51 Involved in Anthocyanin Accumulation Regulated by PavMYB10.1

Abstract Anthocyanins determine the appearance and nutritional quality of sweet cherries, yet their transport mechanism remains largely unclear. Here, we performed a genome-wide identification of the MATE family in sweet cherry and characterized two key anthocyanin-related transp...

Multi-Omics-Identified StAPR3 Enhances Potato Cd Tolerance and Tuber Quality via Sulfur Metabolism and Glutathione Redox Homeostasis

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) in agricultural soils inhibits potato growth, disrupts tuber development, and causes Cd accumulation in edible tubers, thereby threatening food safety. Here, we determined the EC50 of Cd in potatoes, which induced oxidative stress and chloroplast damage. Tra...

Mitochondrial Genome Comparison and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Family Carabidae (Coleoptera: Adephaga)

The family Carabidae, one of the largest families within Coleoptera, represents one of the most important groups of predatory insects and bioindicators in ecosystems, playing significant roles in agricultural pest control and ecological environment assessment. However, the phylog...

Extracellular vesicles from lactic acid bacteria as multifunctional postbiotics: bridging food technology and intestinal wellness

Lactic acid bacteria are important probiotics widely found in nature and recognized for their health-promoting roles in fermented foods and their probiotic functions in the human gut. In recent years, postbiotics-defined as inanimate metabolites or components of probiotics-have g...

Effects of Aged Polymethylmethacrylate Microplastics on Physiological Biochemistry and Intestinal-Sediment Microbial Communities of Urechis unicinctus (von Drasche, 1881)

Microplastics (MPs) widely distribute in marine environments and generate severe hazards to marine biota, yet little is known regarding the toxic impacts of aged MPs on benthic invertebrates and their surrounding sediment microbiota. This work aimed to fill this research gap by e...

Agent-First Bias in Children’s Sentence Comprehension: Evidence from Mandarin

The article investigates children’s agent-first bias in sentence comprehension. Agent-first bias refers to the phenomenon in which children (or adults) tend to assign the agent role to the first noun phrase (NP) in a sentence. Previous studies suggest that children acquiring Indo...

Food-Derived l -tryptophan and α-Casein (90–95) Differentially Potentiate Porcine Calcium-Sensing Receptor Signaling and Improve Enteroendocrine–Epithelial Responses Under Peptidoglycan Challenge

Abstract The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a nutrient-sensing class C G protein-coupled receptor implicated in intestinal hormone release, yet the signaling pharmacology of the porcine receptor and its relevance to epithelial homeostasis remain poorly defined. Here, a stable...

Whey Protein Peptides Self-Assembled Nanoparticles with Intrinsic Cholesterol Esterase Inhibition Enhance Stigmasterol Bioaccessibility and Hypocholesterolemic Effects

Background: Stigmasterol (St) holds promise as a natural cholesterol-lowering agent, yet its poor aqueous solubility and low bioaccessibility severely constrain its application in functional foods. Methods: In this study, we exploited whey protein peptides (WPP) with intrinsic ch...

Abalone genomics reveals an ancient asymmetry axis and the multifunctionality of the mantle

Abstract Gastropod diversification represents one of the most spectacular evolutionary radiations, underpinned by a fundamentally asymmetric body plan and diverse pigmentation patterns. To understand the genetic underpinnings of these cardinal traits, we constructed a chromosome-...

A reproducible and efficient inoculation system for rice false smut based on conidia-germinated hyphae

Abstract Rice false smut, caused by the ascomycete fungus Ustilaginoidea virens , is one of the most severe diseases of rice. Conventional artificial inoculation methods for rice false smut rely mainly on conidia–hyphae mixtures (CH) as inocula, which frequently result in poor re...

Neutron Total Scattering Investigation of the Dissolution Mechanism of Chitotriose in Alkali/Urea Aqueous Solutions

Abstract Despite the promise of alkali/urea aqueous solutions as green solvents, the atomistic-scale mechanism of chitin dissolution remains elusive. In contrast to the ability to dissolve cellulose, the order of alkali effectiveness for dissolving chitin is potassium hydroxide (...