Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have the potential to improve wireless communication links by dynamically redirecting signals to dead spots. Although a reconfigurable surface is best suited for environments in which the reflected signal must be dynamically steered, there are cases where a static, non-reconfigurable anomalous reflective metasurface can suffice. In this work, spray-coated liquid metal is used to rapidly prototype an anomalous reflective metasurface. Using a pressurized air gun and a plastic thin-film mask, a metasurface consisting of a 6 × 4 array of Galinstan liquid–metal elements is sprayed within minutes. The metasurface produces a reflected wave at an angle of 28° from normal in response to a normal incident 3.5-GHz electromagnetic plane wave. The spray-coated liquid–metal metasurface shows comparable results to an anomalous reflective metasurface with copper elements of the same dimensions, demonstrating that this liquid–metal fabrication process is a viable solution for the rapid prototyping of anomalous reflective metasurfaces. Full article

In the study of atmospheric wind fields from the upper troposphere to the stratosphere (10 km to 50 km), direct detection wind LiDAR is considered a promising method that offers high-precision atmospheric wind field data. In 2020, Xie et al. of the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed an innovative rotating Rayleigh Doppler wind LiDAR (RRDWL). The system aims to achieve single-LiDAR detection of atmospheric wind fields by rotating the entire device cabin. In 2022, the feasibility of the system was successfully validated in laboratory conditions, and field deployment was completed. Due to the structural differences between this system and traditional direct-detection wind LiDAR, performance tests were conducted to evaluate its continuous detection capability in outdoor environments. Subsequently, based on the test results and error analysis, further analysis was carried out to identify the main factors affecting the system’s detection performance. Finally, the error analysis and traceability of the detection results were conducted, and corresponding measures were discussed to provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing the performance of RRDWL. Full article

The metabolic reprogramming that promotes tumorigenesis in glioblastoma is induced by dynamic alterations in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, as well as in transcriptional and signaling networks, which result in changes in global genetic expression. The signaling pathways PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK stimulate cell metabolism, either directly or indirectly, by modulating the transcriptional factors p53, HIF1, and c-Myc. The overexpression of HIF1 and c-Myc, master regulators of cellular metabolism, is a key contributor to the synthesis of bioenergetic molecules that mediate glioma cell transformation, proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion by modifying the transcription levels of key gene groups involved in metabolism. Meanwhile, the tumor-suppressing protein p53, which negatively regulates HIF1 and c-Myc, is often lost in glioblastoma. Alterations in this triad of transcriptional factors induce a metabolic shift in glioma cells that allows them to adapt and survive changes such as mutations, hypoxia, acidosis, the presence of reactive oxygen species, and nutrient deprivation, by modulating the activity and expression of signaling molecules, enzymes, metabolites, transporters, and regulators involved in glycolysis and glutamine metabolism, the pentose phosphate cycle, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as the synthesis and degradation of fatty acids and nucleic acids. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the role of HIF1, c-Myc, and p53 in the genic regulatory network for metabolism in glioma cells, as well as potential therapeutic inhibitors of these factors. Full article

Bacterial blight (BB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae (Xoo) is a serious disease of rice worldwide that can reduce crop yield and affect food insecurity. A rice resistance variety is an alternate way to solve this problem. The broad-spectrum resistance (BSR) of ULR207 is important for durable resistance to several of the Xoo isolates. However, the inheritance of this resistance gene in ULR207 must be known before it can be utilized. Thus, this study aimed to survey the BB resistance gene with reference to the BB resistance gene for identification of non-analogous or analogous genes and confirmation of a broad-spectrum resistance, to investigate the gene effect, the number of genes, and the heritability of the BB resistance gene in the ULR207 variety. Six populations of two crosses (Maled Phai × ULR207 and RD6 × ULR207), i.e., ULR207 (Donor parent), Maled Phai and RD6 (Recurrent parent), F₁, F₂, BC₁P₁, and BC₁P₂ were constructed. These materials were evaluated for BB resistance by clipping methods under greenhouse conditions using a virulence isolate of a pathogen in Thailand. The results showed that ULR207 exhibited the strongest against BB with 0.8 of BSR with low area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). Molecular screening for surveying of the BB resistance gene in ULR207 revealed a non-analogous resistance gene with resistance check varieties. The phenotype of the disease lesion length of F₂ and BC₁P₂ populations exhibited a ratio of 1:3 and 1:1 (resistant: susceptible), respectively, revealing a single recessive gene in both crosses. The scaling test parameters A, B, and C were non-significant (p < 0.01), indicating that variation in data was sufficiently explained by additive (d) and dominance (h) components. The gene action of ULR207 was controlled by additive gene action. Heritability of the two crosses, Maled Phai x ULR207 and RD6 x ULR207, exhibited high values with 0.817 and 0.716, whereas the numbers of the genes were 1.4 and 1.2, respectively. The result indicated that the breeding strategy could be employed in early generations when using ULR207 as a new source of bacterial blight resistance. Full article

Aiming to enhance the comprehensive utilization of steel slag (SS), a solid waste-based binder consisting of SS, granulated blast furnace slag (BFS), and desulfurization gypsum (DG) was designed and prepared. This study investigated the reaction kinetics, phase assemblages, and microstructures of the prepared solid waste-based cementitious materials with various contents of SS through hydration heat, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TG-DSC, and MIP methods. The synergistic reaction mechanism between SS and the other two wastes (BFS and DG) is revealed. The results show that increasing SS content in the solid waste-based binder raises the pH value of the freshly prepared pastes, advances the main hydration reaction, and shortens the setting time. With the optimal SS content of 20%, the best mechanical properties are achieved, with compressive strengths of 19.2 MPa at 3 d and 58.4 MPa at 28 d, respectively. However, as the SS content continues to increase beyond 20%, the hydration process of the prepared binder is delayed. The synergistic activation effects between SS and BFS with DG enable a large amount of ettringite (AFt) formation, guaranteeing early strength development. As the reaction progresses, more reaction products CSH and Aft are precipitated. They are interlacing and overlapping, jointly refining and densifying the material’s microstructure and contributing to the long-term strength gain. This study provides a reference for designing and developing solid waste-based binders and deepens the insightful understanding of the hydration mechanism of the solid waste-based binder. Full article

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are popular materials in the aerospace and automotive industries because of their low weight, high strength, and corrosion resistance. However, wrinkles or geometric distortions in the composite layers significantly reduce their mechanical performance and structural integrity. This paper presents a method for non-destructively extracting the three-dimensional geometry, lamina by lamina, of a laminated composite. A method is introduced for fabricating consistent out-of-plane wrinkled CFRP laminate panels, simulating the in-service wrinkle observed in industries that utilize thick structure composites such as the vertical lift or wind power industries. The individual lamina geometries are extracted from the fabricated coupon with an embedded wrinkle from captured ultrasonic waveforms generated from single-element conventional ultrasonic (UT) scan data. From the extracted waveforms, a method is presented to characterize the wrinkle features within each individual lamina, specifically the spatially varying wrinkle height and intensity for the wrinkle. Parts were fabricated with visibly undetectable wrinkles using a wet layup process and a hot press for curing. Scans were performed in a conventional immersion tank scanning system, and the scan data were analyzed for wrinkle detection and characterization. Extraction of the layers was performed based on tracking the voltage peaks from A-scans in the time domain. Spatial Gaussian averaging was performed to smooth the A-scans, from which the surfaces were extracted for each individual lamina. The extracted winkle surface aligned with the anticipated wrinkle geometry, and a single parameter for quantification of the wrinkle intensity for each lamina is presented. Full article

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to realize a compact and highly isolated dual-polarized holographic antenna using a pillbox feeding structure. The proposed antenna feeds dual orthogonal surface waves with low distortion phase distribution and high isolation through a compact three-layer pillbox feeding structure. This antenna also consists of a shared aperture dual-polarized hologram pattern calculated to radiate the objective wave in the desired direction without increasing the antenna size. As a result, the proposed holographic antennas (HA) have a compact size and support forward-to-backward continuous scanning with minimal gain degradation. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement, validating the efficiency of the proposed antenna design, which has the ability to scan the beam direction from +18° to −25°, passing through the broadside within the frequency range of 21–27 GHz. Finally, the proposed antenna has a broadside gain of 18.5 dBi in each polarization and a gain variation of less than 2 dB within the operating bandwidth. Full article

The HER2-positive subtype accounts for approximately one-fifth of all breast cancers. Insensitivity and development of acquired resistance to targeted therapies in some patients contribute to their poor prognosis. HER2 overexpression is associated with metabolic reprogramming, facilitating cancer cell growth and survival. Novel liver X receptor (LXR) ligand GAC0001E5 (1E5) has been shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation by disrupting glutaminolysis and inducing oxidative stress. In this study, HER2-positive breast cancer cells were treated with 1E5 to determine their potential inhibitory effects and mechanisms of action in HER2-positive breast cancers. Similar to previous observations in other cancer types, 1E5 treatments inhibited LXR activity, expression, and cancer cell proliferation. Expression of fatty acid synthesis genes, including fatty acid synthase (FASN), was downregulated following 1E5 treatment, and results from co-treatment experiments with an FASN inhibitor suggest that the same pathway is targeted by 1E5. Treatments with 1E5 disrupted glutaminolysis and resulted in increased oxidative stress. Strikingly, HER2 transcript and protein levels were both significantly downregulated by 1E5. Taken together, these findings indicate the therapeutic potential of targeting HER2 overexpression and associated metabolic reprogramming via the modulation of LXR in HER2-positive breast cancers. Full article

This paper proposes a new, highly effective fluorescence test for Cr(VI) detection. This method utilizes a hydrogel composed of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N–CQDs), and poly(co-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid) (AMPS). The N–CQDs were successfully synthesized using a simple microwave method, and then conjugated with HEC and AMPS. The higher adsorption (99.41%) and higher reduction rate in H1 likely stems from both the presence of N–CQDs (absent in HB) and their increased free functional groups (compared to H2/H3, where N–CQDs block them). This facilitates the release (desorption) of Cr(VI) from the hydrogels, making it more available for reduction to the less toxic Cr(III). The fluorescent brightness of the HEC-N–CQDs-g-poly(AMPS) hydrogel increases gradually when Cr(VI) is added in amounts ranging from 15 to 120 mg/L. The fluorescent enhancement of the HEC-N–CQDs-g-poly(AMPS) hydrogel appeared to exhibit a good linear relationship with the 15–120 mg of the Cr(VI) concentration, with a detection limit of 0.0053 mg/L, which is lower than the standard value published by WHO. Our study found that the HEC-N–CQDs-g-poly(AMPS) hydrogel served effectively as a fluorescent probe for Cr(VI) detection in aqueous solutions, demonstrating high sensitivity. Full article

Additive manufacturing of soft magnetic materials is a promising technology for creating topologically optimized electrical machines. High-performance electrical machines can be made from high-silicon-content FeSi alloys. Fe-6.5wt%Si material has exceptional magnetic properties; however, manufacturing this steel with the classical cold rolling methodology is not possible due to the brittleness of this material. Laser powder bed fusion technology (L-PBF) offers a solution to this problem. Finding the optimal printing parameters is a challenging task. Nevertheless, it is crucial to resolve the brittleness of the created materials so they can be used in commercial applications. The temperature dependence of magnetic hysteresis properties of Fe-6.5wt%Si materials is presented in this paper. The magnetic hysteresis properties were examined from 20 °C to 120 °C. The hysteresis measurements were made by a precision current generator–based hysteresis measurement tool, which uses fast Fourier transformation–based filtering techniques to increase the accuracy of the measurements. The details of the applied scalar hysteresis sensor and the measurement uncertainties were discussed first in the paper; then, three characteristic points of the static hysteresis curve of the ten L-PBF-manufactured identical toroidal cores were investigated and compared at different temperatures. These measurements show that, despite the volumetric ratio of the porosities being below 0.5%, the mean crack length in the samples is not significant for the examined samples. These small defects can cause a significant 5% decrement in some characteristic values of the examined hysteresis curve. Full article

To understand how the soil microbial community structure responds to vegetation restoration in alpine mining areas, this study specifically examines the grassland ecosystem in the Qianmalong mining area of the Qilian Mountains after five years of artificial restoration. High-throughput sequencing methods were employed to analyze soil bacteria and fungi microbial characteristics in diverse grassland communities. Combined with modifications in vegetation diversity as well as soil physicochemical properties, the impact of vegetation restoration on soil microbiome diversity in this alpine mining area was investigated. The findings indicated that the dominant plants were Cyperus rotundus, Carex spp., and Elymus nutans. As the extent of the grassland’s restoration increased, the number of plant species, importance values, and plant community diversity showed an increasing trend. The plant functional groups were mainly dominated by Cyperaceae, followed by Poaceae. Plant height, density, plant cover, frequency, and aboveground biomass showed an increasing trend, and soil water content (SWC) increased. While soil pH and soil electrical conductivity (EC) exhibited a declining trend, available phosphorus (AP), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N), soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil water content (SWC) showed an increasing trend. The dominant bacterial communities were Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadota, while the dominant fungal communities were Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota, Basidiomycota, unclassified_k_Fungi, and Glomeromycota. Significant differences were detected within soil microbial community composition among different degrees of restoration grasslands, with bacteria generally dominating over fungi. SWC, TP, and TN were found to be the main soil physicochemical factors affecting the distribution of soil bacterial communities’ structure; however, SOC, TN, and NO₃-N were the primary factors influencing the soil distribution of fungal communities. The results of this study indicate that different degrees of vegetation restoration in alpine mining areas can significantly affect soil bacterial and fungal communities, and the degree of restoration has varying effects on the soil bacteria and fungi community structure in alpine mining areas. Full article

Cervical cancer is caused by a persistent and high-grade infection. It is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which, when entering cervical cells, alters their physiology and generates serious lesions. HPV 18 is among those most involved in carcinogenesis in this region, but there are still no drug treatments that cause cure or total remission of lesions caused by HPV. It is known that L-asparaginase is an amidohydrolase, which plays a significant role in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the treatment of specific cancers. Due to its antitumor properties, some studies have demonstrated its cytotoxic effect against cervical cancer cells. However, the commercial version of this enzyme has side effects, such as hypersensitivity, allergic reactions, and silent inactivation due to the formation of antibodies. To mitigate these adverse effects, several alternatives have been explored, including the use of L-asparaginase from other microbiological sources, which is the case with the use of the fungus Aspergillus niger, a high producer of L-asparaginase. The study investigated the influence of the type of fermentation, precipitant, purification, characterization, and in vitro cytotoxicity of L-asparaginase. The results revealed that semisolid fermentation produced higher enzymatic activity and protein concentration of A. niger. The characterized enzyme showed excellent stability at pH 9.0, temperature of 50 °C, resistance to surfactants and metallic ions, and an increase in enzymatic activity with the organic solvent ethanol. Furthermore, it exhibited low cytotoxicity in GM and RAW cells and significant cytotoxicity in HeLa cells. These findings indicate that L-asparaginase derived from A. niger may be a promising alternative for pharmaceutical production. Its attributes, including stability, activity, and low toxicity in healthy cells, suggest that this modified enzyme could overcome challenges associated with antitumor therapy. Full article

Consumers are increasing their daily demand for beef and are becoming more discerning about its nutritional quality and flavor. The present objective was to evaluate how the ration energy content (combined net energy, Nemf) impacts the slaughter performance, carcass characteristics, and meat qualities of Honghe yellow cattle raised in confinement. Fifteen male Honghe yellow cattle were divided into three groups based on a one-way design: a low-energy group (LEG, 3.72 MJ/kg), a medium-energy group (MEG, 4.52 MJ/kg), and a high-energy group (HEG, 5.32 MJ/kg). After a period of 70 days on these treatments, the animals were slaughtered and their slaughter performance was determined, and the longissimus dorsi muscle (LD) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles were gathered to evaluate meat quality and composition. Increasing the dietary energy concentration led to marked improvements (p < 0.05) in the live weight before slaughter (LWBS), weight of carcass, backfat thickness, and loin muscle area. HEG also improved the yield of high-grade commercial cuts (13.47% vs. 10.39%) (p < 0.05). However, meat quality traits were not affected by treatment except for shear force, which was affected by dietary energy. A significant improvement (p < 0.05) in the intramuscular fat (IMF) content was observed in the HEG. Little effect on the amino acid profile was observed (p > 0.05), except for a tendency (p = 0.06) to increase the histidine concentration in the BF muscle. Increasing dietary energy also reduced C22:6n-3 and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and enhanced C18:1 cis-9 and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs, p < 0.05). Those results revealed that increasing energy levels of diets could enhance slaughter traits and affect the meat quality and fatty acid composition of different muscle tissues of Honghe yellow cattle. These results contribute to the theoretical foundation to formulate nutritional standards and design feed formulas for the Honghe yellow cattle. Full article

In this work, we will explore the effects of non-commutativity in fractional classical and quantum schemes using the flat Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) cosmological model coupled to a scalar field in the K-essence formalism. In previous work, we have obtained the commutative solutions in both regimes in the fractional framework. Here, we introduce non-commutative variables, considering that all minisuperspace variables $q_{nc}^i$ do not commute, so the symplectic structure was modified. In the quantum regime, the probability density presents a new structure in the scalar field corresponding to the value of the non-commutative parameter, in the sense that this probability density undergoes a shift back to the direction of the scale factor, causing classical evolution to arise earlier than in the commutative world. Full article

China’s economy has achieved significant success by integrating itself into the globalized production system over an extended period. However, it is crucial to address the environmental consequences that accompany rapid economic progress. The correlation between trade and environmental pollution is still controversial in the existing literature, with a lack of research specifically investigating this relationship using detailed data at the firm level. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China’s accession to the WTO, this study uses the DID method to evaluate the causal relationship between trade and the environment experimentally. It is found that trade liberalization significantly increases firms’ industrial wastewater emissions, and the empirical results remain robust after parallel trend tests, placebo tests, and replacement variables. The mechanism of action suggests that trade expansion enhances corporate pollution emissions through two channels: attracting foreign investment into the country and intensifying energy consumption. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that the pollution-enhancing effect of trade expansion on enterprises is mainly concentrated in export-oriented enterprises, labor-intensive industries, and coastal regions. Additionally, further analysis shows that trade liberalization not only has local impacts but also spatial spillover effects on enterprise pollution. It is found that enhancing environmental governance and reducing corruption can effectively mitigate the adverse environmental consequences caused by trade liberalization. Full article

Ecological quality in China has experienced significant improvements due to the interplay of climate change and human activities. Nevertheless, previous studies exploring the trend of ecological parameters have always overlooked the effects of land use types. Therefore, in this study, we explored the spatiotemporal variation in ecological parameters in various land use types and discussed the relationship between ecological parameters and climatic factors in China during the first 20 years of the 21st century. The results show that: (1) The area of grassland and unutilized land decreased, and the area of other land use types increased. (2) Distinct variations in the average, slope, and interval distribution of ecological parameters across various land use types were evident. Particularly significant increases in ecological parameters were observed in cultivated land and forest. (3) The influence of land use and land cover change on ecological parameters was evident. The conversion of cultivated land, forest, and grassland into water bodies, constructive land, and unutilized land resulted in a significant decrease in ecological parameters. (4) The distinct climatic conditions resulted in heightened monthly variations in the ecological parameters. Significant monthly fluctuations in ecological parameters were observed for cultivated land, forest, grassland, and constructed land, while water bodies and unutilized land did not exhibit such variations. (5) The correlation between ecological parameters and climatic factors varied considerably in various land use types in different regions. Full article

Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles measuring less than 5 mm, are considered an emerging pollutant. Their presence in the water cycle and their interaction with ecological processes pose a significant environmental threat. As groundwater (GW) represents the primary source of drinking water, monitoring MPs in GW and investigating their potential sources and pathways is of urgent importance. This article offers a comprehensive overview of the primary contamination pathways of MPs from surface water, seawater, and soil into the GW. Moreover, it presents an examination of the occurrence of MPs in GW and identifies the challenges associated with their monitoring in GW. This study also discusses the difficulties associated with comparing research results related to MPs in GW, as well as indicating the need for implementing standardised techniques for their sampling and detection. On the basis of our experience and the literature review, we highlight the importance of understanding the specific hydrogeological and hydrogeographic conditions, collecting representative samples, using sampling devices with comparable specifications and comparable laboratory techniques for MP identification, and preventing contamination at all stages of the monitoring process. This review offers valuable insights and practical guidelines on how to improve the reliability and comparability of results between studies monitoring MPs in GW. Full article

Programmable metasurfaces are two-dimensional electromagnetic structures characterized by a low profile, conformability, and the ability to flexibly manipulate the amplitude and phase of electromagnetic waves. For high-quality beam scanning with the metasurface, it is essential that the metasurface possesses high-precision phase response quantization characteristics. This paper constructs a reflection-type metasurface unit cell featuring four P-I-N diodes and six operating states. To address the unit cell’s complexity and optimization challenges, we developed an automatic optimization algorithm, derived from the genetic optimization algorithm, for the metasurface unit cell. This algorithm was used to optimize a six-phase reflective 2.5 bit programmable metasurface cell operating at 5 GHz. The unit cell’s prototype was fabricated and measured to verify the design. Additionally, a metasurface comprising 16 × 16 unit cells was designed and simulated. The results highlight the metasurface unit cell’s excellent phase response quantization characteristics, and investigate the impact of quantization accuracy on beam scanning. Full article

For several decades, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have offshored their manufacturing activities to low-cost countries to achieve significant productivity gains. However, changes in the relative competitiveness of countries, social effects of deindustrialization in advanced economies and the vulnerability of global value chains (GVCs) revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic have encouraged some firms, supported by governments, to “reshore” part, or all of their offshore industrial operations back to their home country. Reshoring decisions are motivated by a variety of endogenous and exogenous factors that are empirically analyzed in this paper to understand how reshoring policies implemented by governments can more effectively address the factors driving the firms’ location decisions. A review of the reshoring policies implemented in Europe, the UK and the US is conducted to provide general policy recommendations regarding policy instruments, SMEs, innovation and regionalization of value chains. This paper fills a gap in the literature by connecting the micro-level supply chain management analysis of firms’ reshoring drivers with the macro-level economic policy perspective on reshoring. The review of existing reshoring policies calls for an in-depth analysis by the manufacturing sector and at the local level. Full article

Exploring the mechanisms and processes of land-use transitions (LUTs) and their impact on ecosystem services can effectively elucidate the intricate interactions between human and natural systems, which is pivotal for advancing the sustainable development of regional economies and enhancing ecological environments. However, the existing literature lacks comprehensive analysis regarding the spatial and temporal evolution of LUTs, with insufficient integration of the “spatial pattern” and “time process”. Moreover, traditional assessments of the ecosystem services value (ESV) often overlook their negative costs. To address these gaps, this study first utilized the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and employed the random forest algorithm to conduct supervised classification on Landsat remote-sensing images from the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 within the research area, thereby obtaining land-use data for three distinct periods. And then, we investigated the geographic features of LUTs and their ecological effects in the Ningde City of China from 2000 to 2020. The geo-informatic Tupu model and a newly revised method of benefit transfer were primarily employed for this purpose. The findings indicate the following: (1) Over the study period, the land-use structure of Ningde City predominantly comprised cultivated land and forest land, with continuous decreases in both types and a concurrent increase in built-up land. (2) Significant disparities exist in the spatial distribution of Tupu units, notably with “forest land → cultivated land” and “cultivated land → built-up land” as crucial units influencing ESV changes. (3) The ESV in Ningde City decreased from CNY 1105.54 × 10⁸ to CNY 1020.47 × 10⁸ over 2000–2020, while the ecosystem dis-services value exhibited an opposing trend, rising from CNY 12.68 × 10⁸ to CNY 20.39 × 10⁸. (4) The net ESV in Ningde City showed a decline over the same period, indicating a certain vulnerability in the city’s ecological system structure. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the influence of land-use patterns on ESV, offering valuable insights for regional ecological–environment management and land-use policy formulation, thereby fostering sustainable development in ecological, environmental, and socio-economic dimensions. Furthermore, the results serve as a reference for evaluating net ecosystem services value in other countries/regions. Full article

Shadow, a natural phenomenon resulting from the absence of light, plays a pivotal role in agriculture, particularly in processes such as photosynthesis in plants. Despite the availability of generic shadow datasets, many suffer from annotation errors and lack detailed representations of agricultural shadows with possible human activity inside, excluding those derived from satellite or drone views. In this paper, we present an evaluation of a synthetically generated top-down shadow segmentation dataset characterized by photorealistic rendering and accurate shadow masks. We aim to determine its efficacy compared to real-world datasets and assess how factors such as annotation quality and image domain influence neural network model training. To establish a baseline, we trained numerous baseline architectures and subsequently explored transfer learning using various freely available shadow datasets. We further evaluated the out-of-domain performance compared to the training set of other shadow datasets. Our findings suggest that AgroSegNet demonstrates competitive performance and is effective for transfer learning, particularly in domains similar to agriculture. Full article

Agro-investment in the fourth industrial revolution will be an imperative driving factor and a sacrosanct enabler for small farm business entrepreneurs to participate holistically in the agricultural economic value chain. Investing in advanced technology and entrepreneurship has the potential to promote business modernization and improve the productivity and profitability of farm businesses. This study assessed agro-investments in small farm business entrepreneurs in the era of the fourth industrial revolution in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The study objectives were precisely to determine the perception of small farm business entrepreneurs on agro-investment and examine the impact of agro-investment for small farm business entrepreneurs in the fourth industrial revolution. The questionnaire used in this study employed structured and semi-structured questions for data collection, and an aggregate of 235 participants were randomly selected. The results on perception indicate that small farm business entrepreneurs mostly perceive agro-investment in the fourth industrial revolution as not suitable for small farm business conditions; this may be attributed to modern agricultural implements being predominantly manufactured in accordance with commercial sector specifications. The results from the binary logistic regression analysis on the perception of small farm business entrepreneurs in the fourth industrial revolution revealed that gender (P-value = 0.031), level of education (P-value = 0.04), farm size (P-value = 0.048), farming skills and knowledge (P-value = 0.027), farm productivity (P-value = 0.059) and investment opportunities (P-value = 0.057) were significant and influence the perception of small farm business entrepreneurs. The mean and standard deviation were used to assess the degree of severity of impact. From the results, sources of investment, technology, market participation, economic benefits, and government interventions were discovered to be impactful on agro-investment for small farm business entrepreneurs. The key contributions of agro-investments among small farm business entrepreneurs in the technological era embody catalyzed rural development, a diversified inclusive rural economy, and competitive participation in the agricultural food value chain. Another crucial contribution of the study is unlocking and accentuating the potential and opportunities that investors, technology designers, and manufacturers can exploit in small farm business agro-investments. This paper identifies and recommends that the South African government ought to create enabling environments for agricultural investment activities to thrive, especially among small farm business entrepreneurs, thereby providing grant funding and training, and enabling public-private stakeholder linkages. Full article