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African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causative agent of African swine fever, a highly contagious and usually fatal disease in pigs. The pathogenesis of ASFV infection has not been clearly elucidated. Here, we used single-cell RNA-sequencing technology to survey the transcriptomic landscape of ASFV-infected primary porcine alveolar macrophages. The temporal dynamic analysis of viral genes revealed increased expression of viral transmembrane genes. Molecular characteristics in the ASFV-exposed cells exhibited the activation of antiviral signaling pathways with increased expression levels of interferon-stimulated genes and inflammatory- and cytokine-related genes. By comparing infected cells with unexposed cells, we showed that the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway was activated in low viral load cells, while the expression level of UPR-related genes in high viral load cells was less than that in unexposed cells. Cells infected with various viral loads showed signature transcriptomic changes at the median progression of infection. Within the infected cells, differential expression analysis and coregulated virus–host analysis both demonstrated that ASFV promoted metabolic pathways but inhibited interferon and UPR signaling, implying the regulation pathway of viral replication in host cells. Furthermore, our results revealed that the cell apoptosis pathway was activated upon ASFV infection. Mechanistically, the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) induced by ASFV infection is necessary for cell apoptosis, highlighting the importance of TNF-α in ASFV pathogenesis. Collectively, the data provide insights into the comprehensive host responses and complex virus–host interactions during ASFV infection, which may instruct future research on antiviral strategies.

Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the potential effect of educational robots, but what appears to be missing is an up-to-date and thorough review of the learning effectiveness of educational robots and the various influencing factors. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to systematically synthesize studies’ findings on the effects of educational robots on students’ learning outcomes. After searching for randomized studies describing educational robots interventions to improve learning outcomes, 34 effect sizes described in 17 articles met the selection criteria. The results of our work evidence a moderate but significantly positive effect of educational robots on learning outcomes (g = 0.57, 95% CI [0.49, 0.65], p < 0.00001). Moreover, moderator analyses were conducted to investigate important factors relating to the variation of the impact, including educational level and assessment type. Based on the findings of this study, we provide researchers and practitioners with insights into what characteristics of educational robot interventions appear to benefit students’ learning outcomes and how pedagogical approaches can be applied in various educational settings to guide the design of future educational robot interventions.

Accurately identifying important areas of biodiversity is one of the key issues in ecology and biodiversity research, as well as an important basis for the delineation of the red line for ecologi-cal protection and territorial spatial planning. With China's typical plateau mountainous area (Yunnan Province) as a research case, we used the net primary productivity (NPP) quantitative index method, InVEST model and InVEST model focusing on topographic relief to identify biodiversity important areas. The results showed that NPP quantitative index method was not suitable for the plateau mountainous areas with obvious vertical zonal development. The identified area contained only 26.1% of the protected areas. The InVEST model had higher identification accuracy than the NPP quantitative index method in Yunnan Province. The identified area covered 49.4% of the protected natural areas. Fragmentation was obvious in northwest Yunnan. The InVEST model focusing on topographic relief improved the identification accuracy of important areas of biodiversity, including 71.7% of nature reserves. The deficiency of NPP quantitative index method in water area identification was made up and the fragmentation problem of InVEST model was solved. The area of biodiversity important areas was 119466.94 km精确识别生物多样性重要区是生态学和生物多样性研究的关键问题之一,也是生态保护红线划定和国土空间规划的重要基础。本研究以中国典型高原山区云南省为研究案例,分别用净初级生产力(NPP)定量指标法、InVEST模型和顾及地形起伏的InVEST模型识别研究区生物多样性重要区。结果表明: NPP定量指标法不适用于垂直地带性发育明显的高原山区,其识别区域仅包含自然保护地的26.1%;InVEST模型较NPP定量指标法在云南省具有较高的识别精度,识别区域包含自然保护地的49.4%,但在滇西北破碎化格局明显;顾及地形起伏的InVEST模型提高了生物多样性重要区的识别精度,包含71.7%的自然保护区,同时弥补了NPP定量指标法对水域识别的缺漏,解决了InVEST模型的破碎化问题;云南省生物多样性重要区面积达119466.94 km

Coastal marsh vegetation plays an important role in coastal protection by attenuating waves and mitigating shoreline erosion. However, the different vegetations show wide variability in biophysical properties on seasonal and spatial scales, and the effectiveness of coastal vegetation on wave attenuation remains uncertain. In the spring, summer, and autumn seasons of 2019, we investigated the spatiotemporal variability in vegetation properties and wave attenuating ability of two dominant marsh species, Scirpus mariqueter (short and flexible Cyperaceae) and Phragmites australis (tall and stiff Poaceae), in a coastal wetland in the Yangtze Estuary. The wave parameters and water depth were measured at the two marshes and ranged from 25 to 100 m landward of the low mudflat edge. The results indicated that the aboveground biomass and height of vegetation are crucial properties determining the ability of wave attenuation, and the pioneer vegetation belt has the highest wave dissipation efficiency. Phragmites, with greater biomass and stem structure, were more effective in reducing wave height than Scirpus. This study further revealed the importance of seasonal variability in vegetation growth in species-specific wave attenuation. Most Scirpus stems senesced and broke up from autumn onwards, losing their wave attenuation ability. Although Phragmites could not colonize the low-lying flats such as Scirpus, most Phragmites stems remained stiff and high biomass at the later growing stage, maintaining wave attenuation ability and wave decay values consistent with those observed in summer. Moreover, Phragmites has a great capacity to capture sediments and raise flat elevations, which might enhance the wave attenuation efficiency with vegetation-sediment interactions. Information from this study is helpful in evaluating the dynamic effectiveness of wave attenuation in coastal marshes. Therefore, we suggest that a hierarchical mixed community of Scirpus and Phragmites be established as an effective natural defense to offset their individual biological limitations due to seasonality and spatial niches.

Coastal marshes play a notable role in sequestering carbon in plants and soil; however, coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to global change in terms of sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion. The effects of independent and interactive hydrological treatments of waterlogging and elevated salinity on soil CO2 effluxes in Spartina alterniflora marshes were investigated based on a mesocosm approach. This study highlighted the importance of respective soil respirations during inundation (nondrainage, Rs.ND) and reaeration (drainage, Rs.D) in the marshes soils. We found that waterlogging treatments heavily suppressed Rs.ND but increased the Rs.D, regardless of salinity levels. Light salinity enhanced soil respiration, whereas high salinity inhibited soil CO2 efflux, regardless of the water table level. Waterlogging strengthened the negative effects of salinity on Rs.ND and offset the negative effects on Rs.D. The variations in soil respiration under the hydrological treatments can be mainly attributed to changes in root biomass; indigenous soil microbial biomass; and activities of sucrase, cellulase and dehydrogenase, as well as ionic concentrations and oxidation-reduction potential. The temperature sensitivity (Q10 value) of soil respiration (only for Rs.D) after drainage showed a notable decline under the conditions of waterlogging and high salinity. The effect degree of coupled hydrological treatments on soil respiration and Q10 values was similar to a single waterlogging factor before drainage and more strongly than a single factor after drainage. We suggest that the soil CO2 efflux under water flooding and reaeration, inundation duration, and salinity levels need to be considered to understand the impacts of future hydrological changes on coastal marshes.

Coastal salt marshes are biogeomorphic ecosystems with coupled vegetation and hydro-sedimentary processes. A significant biogeomorphic feature with a positive loop between vegetation colonization, sedimentary accretion, and edge scarp progradation can be found in coastal marshes with a highly depositional environment, such as the Yangtze Estuary. Together with field surveys, we used a process-based salt marsh model to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation and geomorphology in a tidal wetland in the Yangtze Estuary from 2014 to 2019. This model incorporated interactions between biotic processes (plant growth, colonization, and hydrological resilience) and abiotic processes (tidal transport of propagules, sediment inputs, and habitat-specific sediment deposition). Comparisons with field measurements showed that the model satisfactorily described the interannual variations in vegetation growth and lateral expansion, sedimentary dynamics and elevation change, and formation of marsh-edge scarps at two investigation sites. In particular, both observation and simulation revealed that the degree of sediment supply regulated the rates of vegetation behavior and geomorphic changes. The rates of plant establishment and growth were higher at the site with high sediment supply, and a higher rate of vegetation expansion and sedimentary accretion drove a faster seaward progradation of marsh-edge scarps, compared to the site with low sediment supply. Our results indicate that the interactions between biotic and abiotic processes, together with sediment supply, strongly determine the heterogeneity of marsh biogeomorphology in a highly depositional system. Thus, there is a vast potential for application of process-based models in formulating tidal wetland management and assessing future system resilience.