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Non-marine waters (i.e., rivers, reservoirs, lakes, ponds, streams and estuaries) are globally significant emitters of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere, while global estimates of these emissions have been hampered due to the lack of a worldwide comprehensive database with the collection of complete CH4 and N2O flux components. Here we synthesize 2997 in-situ flux or concentration measurements of CH4 and N2O from 277 peer-reviewed publications to examine the role of non-marine waters in shaping climate change. Here we estimate that inland waters including rivers, reservoirs, lakes and streams together release 94.49 Tg CH4 yr− 1 (ebullition plus diffusion) and 1.52 Tg N2O yr− 1 (diffusion) to the atmosphere, yielding an overall CO2-equivalent emission total of 3.05 Pg CO2 yr− 1, representing roughly 59% of CO2 emissions (5.13 Pg CO2 yr− 1) from these four aquatic ecosystems, with lakes acting as the largest emitter for both trace gases. Ebullition is noticed as a dominant flux component, contributing up to 62–84% of total CH4 fluxes across all inland waters. Chamber-derived CH4 flux rates are significantly greater than those determined by diffusion model-based methods for commonly capturing of both diffusive and ebullitive fluxes. The synthesis of global N2O measurements projected that rivers exhibit the highest indirect N2O emission factor (EF5, 0.028%), while streams have the lowest EF5 value (0.015%). Our study reveals a major oversight in regional and global CH4 budgets from inland waters, caused by neglect of the dominant role of ebullition pathways in those emissions. The indirect EF5 values established in this study generally suggest an order of magnitude downward revision is required in current IPCC default EF5 values for inland waters and estuaries. Our findings further indicate that a comprehensive understanding of the magnitude and patterns of CH4 and N2O emissions from non-marine waters is essential in defining the way that these natural ecosystems shape our climate.

Summary Tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) provides a local and critical microenvironment for both cellular and humoral immunity and supports effective antigen presentation and lymphocyte activation. However, the gene expression profile and prognostic significance of TLS in oral cancer remain largely unrevealed. In this study, we found the presence of both intratumoral and peritumoral TLSs in a series of 65 patients with oral cancer treated by surgical resection, with positive detection rates of 33.8 and 75.4%, respectively. The presence of intratumoral TLSs, but not peritumoral TLSs, was significantly associated with decreased P53 and Ki67 scores (P = 0·027 and 0·047, respectively). The survival analyses revealed that oral cancer patients with higher grades of TLSs was associated with improved disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0·037 and 0·031, respectively). Gene expression profiling analysis of the cytokines and chemokines responsible for lymph-node neogenesis identified a three-up-regulated-gene set, i.e. IL7, LTB and CXCL13, which was shown to be correlated with human oral cancer-associated TLSs. This study provides a framework for better understanding of oral cancer-associated TLSs and for delineating future innovative prognostic biomarkers and immune therapeutic strategies for oral cancer.

Rice paddies are a significant source of atmospheric methane (CH4) threatening global warming. Methane fluxes from rice soils are mediated by both methanogens and methanotrophs, while subject to fertilization regimes. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the response of CH4 emissions, with a close link to methanogenic and methanotrophic communities, to different fertilization strategies over two consecutive rice growing seasons in a paddy field. Four fertilized treatments were established consisting of chemical phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) fertilizer (PK), chemical nitrogen (N) PK fertilizer (NPK), chemical NPK combined with organic manure (NPKM), and organic manure alone (M). Results showed that, relative to chemical PK treatment without N fertilizer input, the application of chemical NPK fertilizer, manure, and their combination significantly increased seasonal mean CH4 emissions by 67.4, 20.4 and 101.2%, respectively. Methane fluxes were significantly and positively (r2 = 0.75) related to mcrA gene copy numbers and the ratio of mcrA/pmoA, while negatively (r2 = 0.40) related to pmoA gene copy numbers, which was mainly regulated by the dynamics of water irrigation regime. The abundance of mcrA and pmoA had trade-off relationship over the rice growing season. In comparison with PK fertilization, N fertilized treatments did not alter the seasonal trend of CH4 fluxes, but enhanced the source strength of CH4 emissions through increased mcrA abundances rather than reduced pmoA-dominated methanotrophic CH4 oxidation in rice paddies. In contrast, N fertilization showed no effect on pmoA abundance and associated methanotrophic community in rice paddies. Results highlight that, given the fertilizer-driven balance between methanogenic and methanotrophic communities, fertilization options with either chemical or organic N input stimulated CH4 emissions mainly through improving soil C substrate and methanogenic activities, especially under the combination of chemical and organic N fertilization in rice paddies.

Objective This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing orofacial clefts and proposes specific signs for determining the type of cleft. Methods Pregnant women in whom fetal facial malformations are suspected by ultrasonography (US) underwent 1.5 T MRI. The accuracy of the prenatal US and MRI diagnosis was compared with the postnatal findings. Results A total of 71 fetuses were included in the final analysis, which comprised of 35 cases of isolated cleft lip, six cases of cleft lip and alveolus, 21 cases of cleft lip and palate, four cases of isolated cleft palate, and five normal fetuses. MRI was more sensitive than US (MRI 100%, US 77.5%; Fisher's exact test: MRI vs US P=0.000). The accuracy of MRI for all types was 100%. Specific signs (Inverted T, L/anti-L, U, and "Notch" signs) were proposed, indicating the normal hard, unilateral cleft, bilateral cleft, and cleft soft palates, respectively, which can facilitate the identification of different types of cleft palates. Conclusion MRI can accurately diagnose the type of cleft based on typical signs, which can serve as a definite diagnostic modality and an effective supplement of US.

Enhancement of permeability and the retention effect is one of the main pathways for the accumulation of nanomaterials in tumor sites, but poor cellular internalization and rapid clearance of nanomaterials always hamper the efficacy of imaging diagnosis and treatment. With the consideration of both high tumor accumulation and cellular internalization, positively charged nanomaterials can adhere to the tumor cell membrane by an electrostatic force, which is conducive to cellular internalization, but they are easily recognized and cleared during blood circulation. However, negatively charged nanomaterials show an enhanced stealth-like effect and possess a long blood circulation time, which is conducive to tumor accumulation. Therefore, in this work, on the basis of the shielding effect of citrate ions to positive charge and the protonation under an acidic tumor microenvironment, pH-sensitive sodium citrate-modified polyaniline nanoshuttles (NSs) with negative charge during blood circulation but positive charge in tumor sites are designed. With this hierarchical targeting strategy, the blood circulation half-life increases from 4.35 to 7.33 h, and the retention rate of NSs in tumors increases from 5.29 to 8.57% ID/g. Because the retention rate of NSs is increased, the magnetic resonance imaging resolution and signal intensity are significantly improved. A synergistic treatment of tumors is further achieved by means of photothermal therapy with laser irradiation and chemotherapy via heat-stimulated drug release.

As one economically important fish in the southeastern Himalayas, the giant devil catfish (Bagarius yarrelli) has been known for its extraordinarily large body size. It can grow up to 2 m, whereas the non-Bagarius sisorids only reach 10–30 cm. Another outstanding characteristic of Bagarius species is the salmonids-like reddish flesh color. Both body size and flesh color are interesting questions in science and also valuable features in aquaculture that worth of deep investigations. Bagarius species therefore are ideal materials for studying body size evolution and color depositions in fish muscles, and also potential organisms for extensive utilization in Asian freshwater aquaculture. In a combination of Illumina and PacBio sequencing technologies, we de novo assembled a 571-Mb genome for the giant devil catfish from a total of 153.4-Gb clean reads. The scaffold and contig N50 values are 3.1 and 1.6 Mb, respectively. This genome assembly was evaluated with 93.4% of Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs completeness, 98% of transcripts coverage, and highly homologous with a chromosome-level-based genome of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). We detected that 35.26% of the genome assembly is composed of repetitive elements. Employing homology, de novo, and transcriptome-based annotations, we annotated a total of 19,027 protein-coding genes for further use. In summary, we generated the first high-quality genome assembly of the giant devil catfish, which provides an important genomic resource for its future studies such as the body size and flesh color issues, and also for facilitating the conservation and utilization of this valuable catfish.

Rivers are of increasing concern as sources of atmospheric methane (CH4), while estimates of global CH4 emissions from rivers are poorly constrained due to a lack of representative measurements in tropical and subtropical latitudes. Measurements of complete CH4 flux components from subtropical rivers draining agricultural watersheds are particularly important since these rivers are subject to large organic and nutrient loads. Two-year measurements of CH4 fluxes were taken to assess the magnitude of CH4 emissions from the Lixiahe River (a tributary of the Grand Canal) draining a subtropical rice paddy watershed in China. Over the two-year period, annual CH4 emissions averaged 29.52 mmol m-2 d-1, amounting to 10.78 mol m-2 yr-1, making the river a strong source of atmospheric CH4. The CH4 emissions from rivers during the rice-growing season (June-October) accounted for approximately 70% of the annual total, with flux rates at 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than those for rice paddies in this area. Ebullition contributed to 44-56% of the overall CH4 emissions from the rivers and dominated the emission pathways during the summer months. Our data highlight that rivers draining agricultural watersheds may constitute a larger component of anthropogenic CH4 emissions than is currently documented in China.

Biochar impact on soil nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions from intensive greenhouse vegetable cropping systems is not well established. Annual soil N2O and NO emissions were simultaneously measured from a typical greenhouse vegetable field treated with different biochar application rates in southeast China. Both N2O and NO emissions differed greatly across the individual vegetable cropping seasons, of which being higher in green soybean and tomato growing seasons, respectively. Over the annual vegetable cropping rotation, biochar amendment decreased soil N2O and NO emissions by 10–23% and 18–19% relative to N fertilization alone, respectively. Biochar rate of 20 t ha−1 gained the lowest N2O and NO emissions over the annual cycle. The ratio of NO/N2O was negatively correlated with soil moisture and depends on biochar addition or not. On average, annual emission factor (EF) of N2O and NO combined was accounted for 2.13% with biochar amendment, which was decreased by 22% compared with N fertilization alone (EF = 2.74%). Vegetable yield was significantly enhanced under the biochar combined with N fertilizer plots relative to control, while there is no difference among the N fertilization treatments with or without biochar amendment. Therefore, biochar could be used as an effective management mitigating soil N2O and NO emissions while maintaining crop yield in greenhouse vegetable cropping systems in southeast China.

The hubs of the brain network play a key role in integrating and transferring information between different functional modules. However, the effects of long-term practice on functional network hubs in chess experts are largely undefined. Here, we investigated whether alterations of hubs can be detected in chess experts using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and graph theory methods. We first mapped the whole-brain voxel-wise functional connectivity and calculated the functional connectivity strength (FCS) map in each of the 28 chess players and 27 gender- and age-matched healthy novice players. Whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity analyses for the changed hub areas were conducted to further elucidate the corresponding changes of functional connectivity patterns in chess players. The hub analysis revealed increased FCS in the right posterior fusiform gyrus of the chess players, which was supported by analyses of this area's regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF). The following functional connectivity analyses revealed increased functional connectivities between the right posterior fusiform gyrus and the visuospatial attention and motor networks in chess players. These findings demonstrate that cognitive expertise has a positive influence on the functions of the brain regions associated with the chess expertise and that increased functional connections might in turn facilitate within and between networks communication for expert behavior to get superior performance.

The past decade has witnessed the booming developments of the new methodologies for noninvasive tumor treatment, which are considered to overcome the current limitation of low treating efficacy, high risk of tumor recurrence, and severe side effects. Among a variety of novel therapeutic methods, photothermal therapy, employing nanometer-sized agents as the heat generators under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation to ablate tumors, gives new insights into noninvasive tumor treatments with minimal side effects. Although many nanomaterials possess photothermal effects, inorganic nanoparticles and polymers are the most competitive alternatives considering the high photothermal performance and good biocompatibility. In this review, we summarized the tumor photothermal therapy using the nanocomposites composed of inorganic nanoparticles and polymers. Extinction coefficient and photothermal transduction efficiency are the two main factors to evaluate the photothermal performance of nanocomposites in vitro. Considering the improvement in the stability, biocompatibility, blood circulation half-life, and tumor uptake rate after polymer coating, these nanocomposites should be designed with inorganic core and polymer shell, thus improving the tumor treating efficacy in vivo. Such structure fulfills the requirements of high photothermal performance and good bio-security, making it possible to achieve complete ablation for shallow and small tumors under the safe limitation of NIR laser power density.

Background Despite tremendous progress has been achieved in tumor theranostic over the past decade, accurate identification and complete eradication of tumor cells remain a great challenge owing to the limitation of single imaging modality and therapeutic strategy. Results Herein, we successfully design and construct BiVO4/Fe3O4@polydopamine (PDA) superparticles (SPs) for computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA)/magnetic resonance (MR) multimodal imaging and radiotherapy (RT)/photothermal therapy (PTT) synergistic therapy toward oral epithelial carcinoma. On the one hand, BiVO4 NPs endow BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with impressive X-ray absorption capability due to the high X-ray attenuation coefficient of Bi, which is beneficial for their utilization as radiosensitizers for CT imaging and RT. On the other hand, Fe3O4 NPs impart BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with the superparamagnetic property as a T2-weighted contrast agent for MR imaging. Importantly, the aggregation of Fe3O4 NPs in SPs and the presence of PDA shell greatly improve the photothermal conversion capability of SPs, making BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs as an ideal photothermal transducer for PA imaging and PTT. By integrating advantages of various imaging modalities (CT/PA/MR) and therapeutic strategies (RT/PTT), our BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs exhibit the sensitive multimodal imaging feature and superior synergistic therapeutic efficacy on tumors. Conclusions Since there are many kinds of building blocks with unique properties appropriating for self-assembly, our work may largely enrich the library of nanomateirals for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Broca’s area is composed of the pars opercularis (PO) and the pars triangularis (PTR) of the inferior frontal gyrus，which was separated by the anterior ascending ramus of lateral sulcus (aals) and the horizontal ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus (hals). The morphometry of these two sulci maybe have potential effects on the various functions of Broca’s area. To explore the morphology variation, hemispheric and gender difference of these two sulci, so as to enable better understanding of their patterns and the functions of the Broca’s area. BrainVISA was used to reconstruct and parameterize these two sulci with 3D MR images of 90 healthy right-handed subjects. The 3D anatomic morphology of these two sulci was presented using 4 sulcal parameters, including average depth (AD), average width (AW), top length (TL) and bottom length (BL). The aals could be identified in 98.89% of the hemispheres, while the hals could be identified in 98.33%. The morphological patterns of these two sulci were categorized into four main types. There were no statistically significant interhemispheric and gender differences in the frequency of the morphological patterns. There was statistically significant interhemispheric difference in BL of the aals and AW of the hals. Significant gender differences were found in the bilateral AD of the aals and the BL and TL of the hals in right hemisphere. Our results will not only provide structural basis for the functional studies that related to Broca’s area, but also be helpful for the precise positioning of special structures in neurosurgery.

Broca’s area is composed of the pars opercularis (PO) and the pars triangularis (PTR) of the inferior frontal gyrus; the anterior ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus (aals) separates the PO from the PTR, and the horizontal ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus (hals) separates the PTR from the pars orbitalis. The morphometry of these two sulci maybe has potential effects on the various functions of Broca’s area. Exploring the morphological variations, hemispheric differences and sex differences of these two sulci contributed to a better localization of Broca's area. BrainVISA was used to reconstruct and parameterize these two sulci based on data from 3D MR images of 90 healthy right-handed subjects. The 3D anatomic morphologies of these two sulci were investigated using 4 sulcal parameters: average depth (AD), average width (AW), outer length (OL) and inner length (IL). The aals and hals could be identified in 98.89% and 98.33%, respectively, of the hemispheres evaluated. The morphological patterns of these two sulci were categorized into four typical types. There were no statistically significant interhemispheric or sex differences in the frequency of the morphological patterns. There was statistically significant interhemispheric difference in the IL of the aals. Significant sex differences were found in the AD and the IL of the aals and OL of the hals. Our results not only provide a structural basis for functional studies related to Broca’s area but also are helpful in determining the precise position of Broca’s area in neurosurgery.

Ion depletion in liquid electrolytes is widely accepted to promote dendrite growth in metal anodes due to enhanced local electrical field and magnified concentration fluctuation at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Here we report unexpected opposite behaviors in solid polymer electrolytes, showing that ion depletion leads to uniform lithium deposition. Such stabilization originates from ion depletion-induced phase transformation, which forms a new PEO-rich but salt/plasticizer-poor phase at the lithium/electrolyte interface, as unveiled by stimulated Raman scattering microscopy. This new phase leads a significantly higher Young’s modulus (~2-3 GPa) than the bulk polymer electrolyte (< 10 MPa), which effectively suppresses dendrite growth. Further battery tests show that LiFePO4/PEO/Li cells with such ion depletion-induced phase transformations can be reversibly cycled for 200 times, while cells without such transformation fail within only ten cycles, demonstrating the effectiveness of this strategy to stabilize the lithium anode.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. XRD patterns of BiVO4 and Fe3O4 NPs. Figure S2. EDS-Mappnig images of the BiVO4/Fe3O4 SPs. Figure S3. TEM images of BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with different sizes. Figure S4. TEM images of BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with different thicknesses of the PDA shell. Figure S5. UV-vis absorption spectra of BiVO4 NPs, Fe3O4 NPs, BiVO4/Fe3O4 SPs and BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs. Figure S6. Photothermal conversion efficiency calculation of BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs. Figure S7. Concentration-related cytotoxicity of BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs. Figure S8. Colloidal stability of BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs. Figure S9. Infrared imaging photographs of KB tumor-bearing mice with or without SPs injection. Figure S10. PA imaging of tumor oxygenation of tumors under the treatments. Figure S11. H&E stained photographs of organs after treatment. Figure S12. Blood biochemistry analyses of mice after different treatments. Table. S1. BiVO4/Fe3O4 SPs with different Bi/Fe element ratios.

ObjectiveThis study was to assess the specific impacts and mechanism of lncRNA GHET1 in the development of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).MethodsThe lncRNA GHET1 expression in TNBC tissues and adjacent healthy tissues was detected by qRT-PCR, and its expression was then measured at the cellular level, including TNBC cells and human normal breast epithelial cell line MCF10A. On the completion of transfection of negative shRNA or lncRNA GHET1 shRNA, the TNBC cells, HCC1937 and MDA-MB-468, were then cultured in a normoxia or hypoxia environment, respectively. 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, colony formation assay, and transwell assay were applicable to the determination of cell proliferation, cell viability, and invasion in each group, respectively. Reagent kits were used for testing glucose consumption and lactate production levels. HCC1937 cells with knockdown or overexpression of lncRNA GHET1 were injected into the nude mice, followed by the examination of resulting tumor volume and weight. The distribution and expression of Hippo/YAP signaling pathway-related proteins were probed using western blotting.ResultsHighly expressed lncRNA GHET1 in TNBC tissues and cells and induction of lncRNA GHET1 by hypoxia were proved. Knockdown of lncRNA GHET1 significantly reduced proliferation, viability, and invasion of TNBC cells, and decreased glucose consumption and lactate production levels under the hypoxia condition. Furthermore, lncRNA GHET1 knockdown decreased HIF-1α expression in hypoxia and significantly inhibited tumor development in vivo. Knockdown of lncRNA GHET1 increased the phosphorylation levels of LATS1 and Yes-associated protein (YAP) to retain YAP within the cytoplasm, while the overexpression of lncRNA GHET1 or hypoxia promoted nuclear translocation of YAP and TNBC development.ConclusionLncRNA GHET1 expression can be induced by hypoxia, which leads to excessive activation of the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway, thus promoting TNBC progression.

Biochar amendment has been shown to reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from acidic soils in tea plantations. Given that both soil bacterial and fungal denitrifications can produce N2O, their relative contributions to the decrease in N2O emissions following biochar amendment remain unclear. Here, we examined soils sampled from a subtropical tea plantation that had received 2 years of biochar amendment. Measurements of the relative contributions of fungi and bacteria to N2O production were taken by the substrate-induced respiration method implemented with the addition of selective inhibitors. The abundances of total fungi, bacteria, and key N2O-related bacterial genes were quantified by q-PCR, and the composition of the fungal community was analyzed by 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The results showed that the contribution of fungi to N2O production (52%) was greater than that of bacteria (18%) for the N-applied acidic soils. Biochar amendment significantly decreased the fungal abundances and the fungal contribution to N2O production (by 28%). In contrast, biochar amendment significantly increased the abundances of N2O-related bacteria (e.g., ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nirS, nosZ). Structural equation models (SEMs) revealed that biochar decreased the fungal contribution to N2O production through enhancing the soil pH and shifting the fungal community composition. Our results highlight that the decreased N2O emissions could be ascribed to the stimulated N2O consumption process (driven by N2O-consuming bacteria encoded by the nosZ gene) and suppressed fungal dominance in acidic soils from tea plantations. This study presents relatively comprehensive insights into the regulatory roles of biochar on soil microbe-mediated N2O production processes.

Aquaculture ponds are of increasing worldwide concerns as critical sources of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), but little is known about these gases emissions as affected by aquaculture species, stocking and water management in aquaculture ponds. Here, a two-year study was carried out to quantify CH4 and N2O emissions from freshwater crab and fish aquaculture ponds in subtropical China. We further explored how the microbial functional genes [CH4: mcrA and pmoA; N2O: archaeal and bacterial amoA (AOA + AOB), nirS, nirK, nosZ] may drive CH4 and N2O release in the crab aquaculture pond typically undergoing flooding-to-drainage alteration. Over the two-year period, annual CH4 and N2O fluxes averaged 0.95 mg m−2 h−1 and 20.94 μg m−2 h−1 in the fish aquaculture, and 0.78 mg m−2 h−1and 28.48 μg m−2 h−1 in the crab aquaculture, respectively. The direct N2O emission factors were estimated to be 0.77% and 0.36% of the total N input by feed or 1.59 g N2O-N kg−1 and 1.06 g N2O-N kg−1 aquaculture yield in the crab and fish ponds, respectively. Among three functional stocking areas, CH4 and N2O emissions were consistently the highest at the feeding area (FA) in the both aquaculture ponds, followed by at the undisturbed area (UA) and aerated area (AA). The shift in sediment soil moisture from waterlogging to drainage conditions significantly increased the abundance of AOB relative to AOA and pmoA, decreased those of denitrifying functional genes (nirS, nirK, nosZ) and mcrA, while did not alter the functional group ratio of nirS + nirK relative to nosZ. Our results highlight that a better understanding of CH4 and N2O emissions from aquaculture ponds requires taking into consideration of data sourced from more diverse aquaculture systems with different management patterns. In addition, a deep analysis of the microbial processes that drive CH4 and N2O production and consumption from aquaculture ponds remains to be addressed in future studies.

Background Despite tremendous progress has been achieved in tumor theranostic over the past decade, accurate identification and complete eradication of tumor cells remain a great challenge owing to the limitation of single imaging modality and therapeutic strategy. Results Herein, we successfully design and construct BiVO4/Fe3O4@polydopamine (PDA) superparticles (SPs) for computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA)/magnetic resonance (MR) multimodal imaging and radiotherapy (RT)/photothermal therapy (PTT) synergistic therapy toward oral epithelial carcinoma. On the one hand, BiVO4 NPs endow BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with impressive X-ray absorption capability due to the high X-ray attenuation coefficient of Bi, which is beneficial for their utilization as radiosensitizers for CT imaging and RT. On the other hand, Fe3O4 NPs impart BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs with the superparamagnetic property as a T2-weighted contrast agent for MR imaging. Importantly, the aggregation of Fe3O4 NPs in SPs and the presence of PDA shell greatly improve the photothermal conversion capability of SPs, making BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs as an ideal photothermal transducer for PA imaging and PTT. By integrating advantages of various imaging modalities (CT/PA/MR) and therapeutic strategies (RT/PTT), our BiVO4/Fe3O4@PDA SPs exhibit the sensitive multimodal imaging feature and superior synergistic therapeutic efficacy on tumors. Conclusions Since there are many kinds of building blocks with unique properties appropriating for self-assembly, our work may largely enrich the library of nanomateirals for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Ammonia (NH3 ) emissions from fertilized soils to the atmosphere and the subsequent deposition to land surface exert adverse effects on biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycling. The region- and crop-specific emission factors (EFs) of N fertilizer for NH3 are poorly developed and therefore the global estimate of soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application is constrained. Here we quantified the region- and crop-specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer by compiling data from 324 worldwide manipulative studies and focused to map the global soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application. Globally, the NH3 EFs averaged 12.56% and 14.12% for synthetic N fertilizer and manure, respectively. Regionally, south-eastern Asia had the highest NH3 EFs of synthetic N fertilizer (19.48%) and Europe had the lowest (6%), which might have been associated with the regional discrepancy in the form and rate of N fertilizer use and management practices in agricultural production. Global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer and manure in 2014 were estimated to be 12.32 and 3.79 Tg N/year, respectively. China (4.20 Tg N/year) followed by India (2.37 Tg N/year) and America (1.05 Tg N/year) together contributed to over 60% of the total global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer. For crop-specific emissions, the NH3 EFs averaged 11.13%-13.95% for the three main staple crops (i.e., maize, wheat, and rice), together accounting for 72% of synthetic N fertilizer-induced NH3 emissions from croplands in the world and 70% in China. The region- and crop-specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer established in this study offer references to update the default EF in the IPCC Tier 1 guideline. This work also provides an insight into the spatial variation of soil-derived NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer in agriculture at the global and regional scales.

Interfacial solar-thermal conversion has broad application prospects in solar driven steam generation, seawater desalination, sewage purification, and other fields. For a wide range of applications, high-efficiency interfacial solar-thermal conversion materials with the feature of being lightweight, flexible, and easy to scale up at the same time are significantly valued. Herein, a strategy for the preparation of solar-thermal poly (4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) nanofiber-gold nanoparticle (Au NP) composite film (PGCF) is reported. Combining with the flexible and lightweight P4VP nanofibers, these absorbed Au NPs enable better solar-thermal conversion efficiency. Accordingly, the PGCF provides high-performance interfacial solar-driven steam generation, with 77% solar-heat conversion efficiency under the power density of 3.4 kW m-2 , which shows stable output (3.4 kg m-2 h-1 ) in the application of solar-driven seawater desalination. In addition, PGCF is light in weight, flexible, and suitable for scalable commercial production, enabling PGCF broad application prospects in the field of light-to-heat conversion.

We show that the gravitational phase space for the near-horizon region of a bifurcate, axisymmetric Killing horizon in any dimension admits a 2D conformal symmetry algebra with central charges proportional to the area. This extends the construction of [Haco et. al., JHEP 12, 098 (2018)] to generic Killing horizons appearing in solutions of Einstein's equations, and motivates a holographic description in terms of a 2D conformal field theory. The Cardy entropy in such a field theory agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the horizon, suggesting a microscopic interpretation., Comment: 6+4 pages, 2 columns, 1 figure, v2: included a derivation of integrability of the horizon charges, added appendix on the near-horizon expansion for Kerr, references added; updated to match published version

In clinical tumor therapy, traditional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy all have their own limitations. With the development of nanotechnology, new therapeutic methods based on nanomaterials such as photothermal therapy (PTT) have also emerged. PTT takes advantage of the poor thermal tolerance of tumor cells and uses the heat generated by photothermal reagents to kill tumor cells. A transition metal sulfide represented as Cu

In this study, the morphological changes in the central sulcus between children with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) and those with idiopathic short stature (ISS) were analyzed. Thirty children with IGHD (peak growth hormone 5 µg/L) and 30 children with ISS (peak growth hormone 10.0 µg/L) were included. Morphological measurements of the central sulcus were obtained from T1-weighted MRIs using BrainVISA, including the average sulcal width, maximum depth, average depth, top length, bottom length, and depth position-based profiles (DPPs). The bilateral average width of the central sulci was significantly wider, while the left maximum depth and right average depth of the central sulcus were significantly smaller, in children with IGHD than in children with ISS. There were no significant differences in the right maximum depth, left average depth, or bilateral top length and bottom length of the central sulcus between groups. The DPPs of the middle part of both central sulci (corresponding to the hand motor activation area) and the inferior part of the right central sulcus (corresponding to the oral movement area) near the Sylvian fissure were significantly smaller in children with IGHD than in controls before false discovery rate (FDR) correction. However, all the above significant DPP sites disappeared after FDR correction. There were significant morphological changes in the three-dimensional structure of the central sulcus in children with IGHD, which were the outcome of other more essential cortical or subcortical changes, resulting in their relatively slower development in motor, cognitive, and linguistic functional performance.

The residential natural ventilation rates have a significant impact on indoor thermal comfort and air quality and building energy consumption. The characteristics of the indoor-outdoor temperature difference and wind pressure change over time, as well as the occupants' window opening behavior and the use of HVAC systems, resulting in the residential air change rate being dynamic with time. Many previous studies of residential ventilation measured the steady-state air change rates, which does not reflect the actual dynamic characteristics. In this study, a field measurement was conducted in a bedroom of one natural ventilation residential building in Beijing with continuously monitoring the CO2 concentration, indoor air temperature, and outdoor meteorological parameters for one year. Using the CO2 released by occupants as a tracer gas, the extended Kalman filter based on the Transient Mass Balance Equation (TMBE) was adopted to calculate the dynamic air change rate. This method can effectively filter the CO2 concentration measurement noise. The trend of air change rate with each influencing factor was analyzed. This study is expected to lay the foundation for future studies of dynamic air change rates in residential buildings.

Polypyrrole (PPy) hollow nanostructures continue to attract the interest researchers because of their good biocompatibility, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and excellent stability. The preparation of PPy hollow nanostructures by the hard templating method without complicated post-synthetic treatment and additional oxidizing agents remains a challenge. In this work, we report a facile and novel hard templating method to fabricate hollow PPy nanospindles in which MIL-88(Fe) serves as the template. Fe3+ centers in MIL-88(Fe) could induce the polymerization of pyrrole to construct the shell, and MIL-88(Fe) would be decomposed by solvent water. This method did not require any extra oxidizing agents and post-synthetic treatment. Hollow PPy nanospindles exhibit excellent photothermal and drug loading ability, and the therapy effect of cancer was significant. This method provides a new hard templating approach for the synthesis of polymer hollow nanostructures.

The net balance of greenhouse gas (GHG) exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ) remains poorly understood. Here, we synthesise 1655 measurements from 169 published studies to assess GHGs budget of terrestrial ecosystems under elevated CO2 . We show that elevated CO2 significantly stimulates plant C pool (NPP) by 20%, soil CO2 fluxes by 24%, and methane (CH4 ) fluxes by 34% from rice paddies and by 12% from natural wetlands, while it slightly decreases CH4 uptake of upland soils by 3.8%. Elevated CO2 causes insignificant increases in soil nitrous oxide (N2 O) fluxes (4.6%), soil organic C (4.3%) and N (3.6%) pools. The elevated CO2 -induced increase in GHG emissions may decline with CO2 enrichment levels. An elevated CO2 -induced rise in soil CH4 and N2 O emissions (2.76 Pg CO2 -equivalent year-1 ) could negate soil C enrichment (2.42 Pg CO2 year-1 ) or reduce mitigation potential of terrestrial net ecosystem production by as much as 69% (NEP, 3.99 Pg CO2 year-1 ) under elevated CO2 . Our analysis highlights that the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to act as a sink to slow climate warming under elevated CO2 might have been largely offset by its induced increases in soil GHGs source strength.

Agricultural soils play an important role in the atmospheric methane (CH4) budget, where paddy soils can contribute significant CH4 to atmosphere whereas upland soils may act as a source or sink of atmospheric CH4, dependent on soil water conditions. Biochar amendments have effects on soil CH4 production or oxidation processes in individual experiments, but the causative mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated. To synthesize the response of soil CH4 release or uptake to biochar amendment, we performed a meta-analysis using data from 61 peer-reviewed papers with 222 updated paired measurements. When averaged across all studies, biochar amendment significantly decreased CH4 release rates by 12% for paddy soils and 72% for upland soils, and CH4 uptake rates by 84% for upland soils. Neither soil CH4 release nor uptake responses to biochar amendment were significant in field soils. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application would weaken the response of soil CH4 release or uptake to biochar amendment. Biochar-incurred decreases in soil CH4 release and uptake rates were the largest in medium-textured soils or neutral-pH soils. Soil CH4 release or uptake responses to biochar were also significantly altered by biochar characteristics, such as feedstock source, C/N ratio, pH, and pyrolysis temperature. The results of this synthesis suggest that the role of biochar in soil CH4 mitigation potential might have been exaggerated, particularly in fields when biochar is applied in combination with N fertilizer.

Both elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and rising temperature can alter soil methane (CH4) fluxes, leading to a feedback to climate change. However, predicting this feedback needs to understand the microbial mechanisms involved in CH4 emissions driven by climate change. A 3-year field measurement of CH4 fluxes from rice paddies was taken in 2012–2014 to examine their responses to elevated CO2 (enriched up to 500 μmol mol−1) and rising canopy air temperature (above ambient 1.5–2.0 °C) using a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) system. Using real-time PCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, we measured the abundance and composition of methanogenic community in rhizosphere soil of rice paddies in 2014. Elevated CO2 and rising temperature showed additive effects on CH4 fluxes and methanogen abundances, where CH4 fluxes were correlated with methanogen abundances. Elevated CO2, rising temperature and their combination increased seasonal CH4 emissions by 28–120%, 38–74% and 82–143%, respectively. Either elevated CO2 or rising temperature did not significantly alter the diversity of methanogenic community, and methanogenic genera Methanosaeta, Methanosarcina, Methanobacterium, Methanocella and Methanoregula dominated in rhizosphere soils for all treatments. However, elevated CO2 induced a shift from acetoclastic to hydrogenotrophic methanogens in their relative abundances. Rising temperature stimulated CH4 emissions by increasing CH4 production per individual predominant methanogen genus. Besides the enhancement of soil C substrates and rhizosphere methanogen abundances as previously reported, an additive effect of elevated CO2 and canopy warming on CH4 emissions is also associated with elevated CO2-induced changes in the composition of methanogenic archaea and warming-stimulated the activity of methanogenic archaea in rice paddies.

Elevated mercury concentrations in wheat grains pose a potential health risk to human. In this study, we selected two low-mercury-accumulating wheat cultivars (Nongda-3163, Gaocheng-8901) and two high-mercury-accumulating wheat cultivars (Jimai-21, Taishan-21) to investigate the role of rhizospheric organic acids and microorganisms in mercury accumulation and translocation to different wheat plants. The wheat grew in greenhouse with three levels of mercury treatment: control (no added mercury), low treatment (1 mg kg−1 total mercury) and high treatment (5 mg kg−1 total mercury). Under low mercury treatment condition, Jimai-21 and Taishan 21 had significantly higher mercury concentrations in roots and secreted higher amounts of oxalic acid and citric acid in the rhizosphere soil than Nongda-3163 and Gaocheng-8901. Meanwhile, abundances of gram positive bacteria, gram negative bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere soil of Jimai-21 were significantly higher than those of Nongda-3163 and Gaocheng-8901, while abundance of protozoa in the rhizosphere soil of Jimai-21 was significantly lower than those of Gaocheng-8901. These facts may lead to higher mercury concentrations in grains of Jimai-21 and Taishan-21 than those of Nongda-3163 and Gaocheng-8901. In the current study, the oxalic acid had the largest contribution on mercury accumulation and translocation (p = .002), followed by citric acid (p = .002) and protozoa (p = .038) under low mercury treatment condition. Under high mercury treatment condition, Jimai-21 and Taishan-21 had significantly higher translocation factors from roots to leaves, glumes and grains than Nongda-3163 and Gaocheng-8901, and the significant contribution sequentially were citric acid (p = .002), fungi (p = .02) and gram positive bacteria (p = .018). Improving the beneficial relationship among rhizospheric organic acids, microorganisms and wheat cultivars was a realizable strategy to ensure wheat safety for mercury.

Numerous behavioral observations and brain function studies have demonstrated that neurological differences exist between East Asians and Westerners. However, the extent to which these factors relate to differences in brain structure is still not clear. As the basis of brain functions, the anatomical differences in brain structure play a primary and critical role in the origination of functional and behavior differences. To investigate the underlying differences in brain structure between the two cultural/ethnic groups, we conducted a comparative study on education-matched right-handed young male adults (age = 22-29 years) from two cohorts, Han Chinese (n = 45) and Caucasians (n = 45), using high-dimensional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Using two well-validated imaging analysis techniques, surface-based morphometry (SBM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we performed a comprehensive vertex-wise morphometric analysis of the brain structures between Chinese and Caucasian cohorts. We identified consistent significant between-group differences in cortical thickness, volume, and surface area in the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, and insular lobes as well as the cingulate cortices. The SBM analyses revealed that compared with Caucasians, the Chinese population showed larger cortical structures in the temporal and cingulate regions, and smaller structural measures in the frontal and parietal cortices. The VBM data of the same sample was well-aligned with the SBM findings. Our findings systematically revealed comprehensive brain structural differences between young male Chinese and Caucasians, and provided new neuroanatomical insights to the behavioral and functional distinctions in the two cultural/ethnic populations.

Inland aquaculture ponds have been documented as important sources of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), while their regional or global source strength remains unclear due to lack of direct flux measurements by covering more typical habitat-specific aquaculture environments. In this study, we compared the CH4 and N2O fluxes from rice paddies and nearby inland fish aquaculture wetlands that were converted from rice paddies in southeast China. Both CH4 and N2O fluxes were positively related to water temperature and sediment dissolved organic carbon, but negatively related to water dissolved oxygen concentration. More robust response of N2O fluxes to water mineral N was observed than to sediment mineral N. Annual CH4 and N2O fluxes from inland fish aquaculture averaged 0.51 mg m−2 h−1 and 54.78 μg m−2 h−1, amounting to 42.31 kg CH4 ha−1 and 2.99 kg N2O-N ha−1, respectively. The conversion of rice paddies to conventional fish aquaculture significantly reduced CH4 and N2O emissions by 23% and 66%, respectively. The emission factor for N2O was estimated to be 0.46% of total N input in the feed or 1.23 g N2O-N kg−1 aquaculture production. The estimate of sustained-flux global warming potential of annual CH4 and N2O emissions and the net economic profit suggested that such conversion of rice paddies to inland fish aquaculture would help to reconcile the dilemma for simultaneously achieving both low climatic impacts and high economic benefits in China. More solid direct field measurements from inland aquaculture are in urgent need to direct the overall budget of national or global CH4 and N2O fluxes.

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles (NPs) possess high near-infrared absorption and good biosafety, showing the potentials as photothermal therapeutic materials. However, the single function and the weak diagnostic function limit the further combination with other functional units to achieve theranostics. In this work, polyaminopyrrole (PPy-NH2) is demonstrated as the alternative of PPy for preparing NPs. Because of the amino group, metal ions, such as Cu(II) and Fe(III) can be loaded in PPy-NH2 NPs, which extends the applications in multimodal theranostics. Systematical studies reveal that the contribution of Cu(II) in multimodal theranostics is greater than Fe(III). Cu can enhance T1 response signal for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and be released controllably in the organism, leading to the effect of chemotherapy. Therefore, Cu(II) and Fe(III) co-loaded PPy-NH2 NPs are defined as CuPPy-NH2 NPs. Experimental results indicate that the optimal size of CuPPy-NH2 NPs is 50.2 nm. The photothermal transduction efficiency is 76.4%. After thermochemotherapy, a complete ablation of human oral epithelial carcinoma tumors is observed. No tumor recurrence is found. Methods: Cu(II) and Fe(III) co-loaded PPy-NH2 NPs are prepared through oxidation polymerization by mixing Py-NH2, CuCl2, and FeCl3 in water under stirring at room temperature, which are defined as CuPPy-NH2 NPs. The as-prepared CuPPy-NH2 NPs are tested with a variety of cell and animal experiments for tumor theranostics. Results: CuPPy-NH2 NPs have good light stability, photothermal stability, biosafety and low toxicity. The optimal size of theranostic CuPPy-NH2 NPs is 50.2 nm, which present a photothermal transduction efficiency of 76.4%. The doped Cu(II) ions also show chemotherapeutic behavior. After thermochemotherapy, a complete ablation of human oral epithelial carcinoma tumors is observed. No tumor recurrence is found. Because of the unpaired electron in Cu atomic orbits, CuPPy-NH2 NPs also show T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Conclusions: This kind of transition metal-doped polymer gives a competitive approach for designing and fabricating multimodal theranostic nanodevices, which shows the potential in tumor treatment.

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer has shown to affect soil nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions that contribute to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion. However, soil N2O and NO emissions with a linkage to crop N use efficiency (NUE) under different fertilization strategies in winter wheat-summer rice rotation systems remain yet to be further examined. Here, we carried out a two-year field study to assess the response of soil N2O and NO emissions as an interplay with NUE to different fertilization strategies in a typical winter wheat-summer rice rotation cropland of subtropical China. Three fertilizer treatments were established consisting of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizer application (PK), NPK fertilizer application (NPK), and NPK fertilizer application with N partially replaced with manure (NPKM). Annual N2O, NO and N2O + NO emissions averaged 0.96, 0.24 and 1.19 kg N ha−1 yr−1 for the PK plots and 6.54, 1.48 and 8.03 kg N ha−1 yr−1 for the NPK plots, respectively. Relative to the NPK plots, partially replacing chemical N fertilizer with manure decreased annual N2O and NO emissions and their combined emissions by 13–15%, while it significantly enhanced crop NUE as compared to the NPK plots. Annual mean emission factors (EFs) of N fertilizer for N2O and NO were estimated to be 1.17% and 0.26% for the NPK plots, and 0.99% and 0.22% for the NPKM plots, respectively. Both N2O and NO emissions were positively correlated with N surplus, while yield-scaled N2O + NO emissions and the fertilizer N-induced combined EF for N2O + NO were negatively related to crop NUE. Together, our results highlight that improving crop NUE while reducing soil N surplus constitutes an effective strategy to mitigate soil gaseous N loss through N2O and NO in the wheat-rice rotation cropping systems.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are potentially useful in tumor theranostics, but the poor stability, high toxicity, and rapid removal by the immune system seriously limit their theranostic applications. In our study, we demonstrate the fabrication of Cu(II)-doped polydopamine-coated AuNR (AuNR@CuPDA), which significantly improves the potentials in tumor theranostics. Besides the improvement of physiological stability and biocompatibility, the PDA shell increases the photothermal performance and prolongs the blood circulation time of AuNRs. The half-life of AuNRs during blood circulation increases from 0.7 to 4.5 h after PDA coating, and the injected dose per gram of tumor tissue is 4.6% ID g–1 for AuNR@CuPDA. In addition to computer tomography imaging, the loading of Cu(II) in PDA shell endows AuNR@CuPDA with magnetic resonance imaging function. Cu(II) doped in PDA shell also exhibits chemotherapeutic behavior, and the tumor inhibitor rate is 31.2%. Further combining 808 nm laser-driven photothermal therapy, tumor...

The cubic phase WO3−x with two-dimensional nanosheet structure is prepared at a relative low temperature through thermal decomposition method. The starting material and decomposition environment are the key factors to obtain the cubic phase WO3−x. The cubic crystal structure is stabilized by the large amounts of oxygen vacancies. The dark blue cubic WO3−x exhibits electrocatalysis performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic solution (an overpotential −294 mV at the current density of 10 mA/cm2). The cubic phase WO3−x shows good photothermal stability with eminent photothermal conversion effect (photothermal conversion efficiency is 48.7% at 808 nm).

Most of the antitumor chemotherapeutic drugs execute the therapeutic performance upon eliciting tumor cell apoptosis, which may cause chemoresistance of tumors. Design of novel drugs to eradicate apoptosis-resistant tumors via non-apoptotic cell death pathways is promising for improving the long-term chemotherapeutic efficacy. Herein, a Fe(III)-Shikonin metal-polyphenol-coordinated supramolecular nanomedicine for combined therapy of tumor via ferroptosis and necroptosis is designed. The construction of the nanomedicine based on the coordinated self-assembly between Fe3+ and Shikonin not only overcomes the shortcomings of Shikonin including its low bioavailability and high toxicity toward normal tissues, but also integrates the theranostics functions of Fe ions. Under the exposure of the high concentration of glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells, the as-prepared nanomedicine will disassemble into Fe2+ and Shikonin, followed by stimulating the tumor cell death through ferroptosis and necroptosis. In addition, benefiting from the stealth effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the targeting ability of cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Lys) (cRGD) to αv β3 -integrin, NH2 -PEG-cRGD-modified nanomedicine exhibits a GSH-responsive therapy toward 4T1 tumor in vivo and self-enhanced longitudinal relaxation (T1 )-weighted imaging property. Since the self-assembly of natural Shikonin and human body-necessary Fe element is facile and feasible, the work may provide a promising supramolecular nanomedicine for next-generation chemotherapeutic applications.

Indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from rivers draining agricultural watersheds are of increasing concerns due to riverine abundant sources of nitrogen loaded through leaching and runoff. However, the seasonal variation of N2O emissions from agricultural drainage rivers is poorly explored, especially the uncertainty in quantifying indirect N2O emission factors (EFs) from these aquatic environments. Here, a two-year study (2014-2016) was conducted to quantify indirect N2O emissions from a river draining a rice paddy watershed in subtropical China. Indirect N2O fluxes were simultaneously determined using the floating chamber method (chamber-based) and the gas exchange modeling approach (model-based) based on the measurement of dissolved N2O concentration. Results showed that seasonal dissolved N2O concentration and N2O fluxes had a similar variation pattern, with the highest and the lowest levels in summer and winter, respectively. The annual mean of model-based N2O fluxes (20.24 ± 3.34 μmol m−2 d−1) was generally in agreement with chamber-based N2O fluxes (18.70 ± 3.56 μmol m−2 d−1). The indirect emission factor of N2O was highly dependent on the surface water NO3−-N concentration. Annual mean indirect EF of N2O from the drainage river was estimated to be 0.00051, which was significantly lower than the default EF5r value (0.0025) proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These results suggest that the use of IPCC default value might have overestimated indirect N2O emissions from agricultural impacted riverine systems. Our study also highlights that more extensive in-situ measurements are required for monitoring indirect N2O emissions from agricultural impacted waters with different drainage characteristics, which would benefit for refining the IPCC EF5r default value to further constrain global N2O budget.

Subtropical agricultural soils are hotspots of nitrogen(N)-oxide emissions, whereas the spatiotemporal variability and driving factors of their emissions in different cultivation systems are poorly understood. Here, to assess the magnitude and pattern of soil N-oxide emissions, we conducted measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) fluxes from the soil between rows and under the canopy of tea plants in two subtropical tea plantations over a one-year period. Results showed that N2O and NO emissions from the soil between rows were 32.6 and 9.1 kg N ha−1 for the Yixing (YX) site and 33.9 and 9.9 kg N ha−1 for the Jurong (JR) site, respectively. Across both sites, N2O and NO emissions from the soil between rows were 2.8–5.2 and 1.4–4.0 times, respectively, larger than those from the soil under the canopy. We attributed greater N-oxide emissions from the soil between rows mainly to increased soil mineral N and water contents as compared to the soil under the canopy. On average, N2O and NO emissions from the soil under the canopy accounted for 36% and 44% of the total losses from the entire field, respectively. For the entire tea field, N2O emissions were 12.6 and 15.7 kg N ha−1 for the YX and JR sites, respectively, but the difference was not statistically different. In contrast, NO emissions from the YX and JR sites were 3.8 and 5.7 kg N ha−1 and differed significantly between the two sites, which was due to higher NO emissions from the soil under the canopy in the JR site. The greatest N-oxide fluxes occurred in the spring and summer seasons after topdressing when soil conditions were conducive to microbial N-oxide production. The structural equation modeling analyses suggested that the variables explaining the variances of soil N-oxide emissions were different between the two tea plantations. Our results indicated that microbial nitrification and abiotic chemodenitrification processes were likely the major pathways leading to N-oxide emissions in the soil under the canopy. Our findings highlight the importance of N-oxide fluxes simultaneously taken from the soil between rows and under the canopy and implementing mitigation practices in subtropical tea plantations.

// Fabin Han 1, 6, * , Chao Chen 1, * , Wei Wang 1, * , Hao Song 1 , Sen Li 1 , Jing Duan 1 , Xianjie Lu 1 , Shichao Wu 1 , Nan Zhang 1 , Qingfa Chen 1 , Yan Wang 1 , Shuwei Liu 2 , Chongluo Fu 3 , Chengbiao Lu 4 and Paul Lu 5 1 Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, The Institute for Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine, Liaocheng University/The Liaocheng People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China 2 Department of Human Anatomy, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China 3 College of Biological Science, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong, China 4 Department of Neurobiology, Xinxiang Medical College, Xinxiang, Henan, China 5 Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA 6 The Institute for Translational Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Fabin Han, email: fhan2013@126.com Keywords: Parkinson's disease; dopamine neuronal differentiation; umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cell; transplantation; gerotarget Received: July 29, 2017 Accepted: January 01, 2018 Published: January 02, 2018 ABSTRACT Cell therapy have a great potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSCs) have been reported to have multipotent differentiation ability. However, the therapeutic impact and mechanisms of dopamine neuronal differentiation from hUC-MSCs in PD are not determined. Here we developed a new protocol to induce dopamine neuron conversion from hUC-MSCs by addition of the growth cocktail containing noggin, CHIR99021, SHH, FGF8, TGFβ, GDNF, and BDNF. Then we transplanted the hUC-MSCs and the growth factor cocktail into the lesion side of the midbrain of 6-OHDA lesioned rat model of PD. The effects of hUC-MSC transplantation on the dopaminergic neuronal differentiation and motor behaviors of the rats were investigated. We found that in the presence of these molecules, the cultured hUC-MSCs showed a high efficient DA neuronal conversion in vitro . In combination with the growth cocktail, grafted hUC-MSCs also showed a highly efficient DA neuronal conversion in the midbrain of 6-OHDA lesioned rats. Both the grafted hUC-MSCs and the differentiated TH-positive neurons survived in 6-OHDA lesioned rats during the post-grafting period of 16 weeks. The hUC-MSCs-derived TH-positive neurons displayed the same electrophysiological profile as DA neurons in vivo . More importantly, rats with transplanted hUC-MSCs showed progressive improvements in motor behaviors compared to controls from weeks 4 to 16 post-grafting. These results demonstrated the efficacy and usefulness of the growth cocktail in combination with hUC-MSC transplantation in 6-OHDA lesioned rats and provided a promising cell-based treatment strategy for the PD patients.

Mercury pollution in fields has become a potential threat to human health. Planting wheat cultivars with low mercury accumulation in slight or medium mercury-polluted fields is an efficient solution to ensure food safety. Therefore, this study evaluated the mercury resistance and accumulation characteristics of 30 generalized wheat cultivars in major wheat-producing areas of China. A modified membership function that considers the weight of each trait was used. Results demonstrated that the plant height of wheat significantly increased under both low mercury and high mercury stresses. The uppermost internode length significantly increased while the spikelet number significantly decreased under low mercury stress. Yield-related traits, including total grain number, fresh grain yield, and dry grain yield, significantly decreased under high mercury stress. The mercury concentrations in wheat grains presented a significant negative correlation with the mercury resistance coefficients of plant height (−0.38*), spike length (−0.39*), and fresh grain yield (−0.38*) under high mercury stress. The heritability of all traits reached medium to high levels, ranging from 0.31 to 0.68. This finding suggested that the investigated traits are stable and suitable for the assessment system. Selection criteria for wheat mercury resistance were established using discriminant analysis, which integrated the mercury resistance coefficients of effective tiller number, fresh grain yield, and dry biomass into the discriminant function under low mercury stress and the mercury resistance coefficients of dry grain yield and dry biomass under high mercury stress. Ultimately, Liangxing-99, Nongda-3163, and Gaocheng-8901 were screened for high mercury resistance and low mercury accumulation. These wheat cultivars could be planted in fields with low or medium mercury pollution to obtain safe grains.

Animal models of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), the most widely used nonhuman primate, have been irreplaceable in neurobiological studies. However, a population-averaged macaque brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) atlas, including comprehensive gray and white matter labeling as well as bony and facial landmarks guiding invasive experimental procedures, is not available. The macaque white matter tract pathways and microstructures have been rarely recorded. Here, we established a population-averaged macaque brain atlas with high-resolution ex vivo DTI integrated into in vivo space incorporating bony and facial landmarks, and delineated microstructures and three-dimensional pathways of major white matter tracts in vivo MRI/DTI and ex vivo (postmortem) DTI of ten rhesus macaque brains were acquired. Single-subject macaque brain DTI template was obtained by transforming the postmortem high-resolution DTI data into in vivo space. Ex vivo DTI of ten macaque brains was then averaged in the in vivo single-subject template space to generate population-averaged macaque brain DTI atlas. The white matter tracts were traced with DTI-based tractography. One hundred and eighteen neural structures including all cortical gyri, white matter tracts and subcortical nuclei, were labeled manually on population-averaged DTI-derived maps. The in vivo microstructural metrics of fractional anisotropy, axial, radial and mean diffusivity of the traced white matter tracts were measured. Population-averaged digital atlas integrated into in vivo space can be used to label the experimental macaque brain automatically. Bony and facial landmarks will be available for guiding invasive procedures. The DTI metric measurements offer unique insights into heterogeneous microstructural profiles of different white matter tracts.

Cancer multimodal treatment by combining the effects of different theranostics agents can efficiently improve treatment efficacy and reduce side effects. In this work, we demonstrate the theranostics nanodevices on the basis of Cu2+-loaded polydopamine nanoparticles (CuPDA NPs), which are able to offer magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided thermochemotherapy (TCT). Systematical studies reveal that after Cu2+ ions loading, the molar extinction coefficient of PDA NPs is greatly enhanced by 4 times, thus improving the performance in photothermal therapy. Despite Cu2+ ions being toxic, the release of Cu2+ is mainly stimulated in acidic environment. Once the NPs deposit in the slightly acidic tumor microenvironment (pH ≈ 6.5–6.8), the release rate boosts ∼30%, which effectively avoids the systematic toxicity during chemotherapy. Meanwhile, due to the increment of the electron–proton dipole–dipole interaction correlation time τC, the spin–lattice relaxation time (T1) for PDA NPs is found to be shortened by Cu...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are typically persistent organic pollutants with hypertoxicity and widespreading, attracting increasing attention in recent years. Six paddy land sites soils irrigated from different rivers in the Nansi Lake area of Shandong Province, China, were studied to analyze and assess the source and risk of PAHs.Analysis revealed total PAHs (TPAHs) concentrations in topsoil ranging from 57.49 to 2046.47 μg kg−1, meanwhile, Weishan County (WS) was highly contaminated primarily from coal combustion based on the Nemerow composite index and geochemical indices.Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) suggested that bacterial species were affected by pH, TPAHs, and soil organic matter (SOM), while covariables analysis confirmed that most effects of PAHs on bacterial diversity were attributed to the PAHs effect alone rather than the combined effects of PAHs and soil properties. The average daily human exposure (ADE) in children was approximately 2 times higher than that in ...