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The safety of two-wheelers is a serious public safety issue nowadays. Two-wheelers usually have severe conflict interaction with vehicles at intersections, such as running red lights, which is very likely to cause traffic accidents. Therefore, a model of two-wheeler driving behavior in conflicting interactions can provide guidance for traffic safety management on one hand, and can be used for the development and testing of autonomous vehicles on the other. However, the existing models perform poorly when interacting with vehicles. To address the problems, this paper proposes a modeling method (an improved social force model, ISFM) for two-dimensional two-wheeler driving simulation for conflict interaction at intersections. Based on analysis of naturalistic driving study data, when two-wheelers encounter with vehicles, their driving intentions and trajectories can be categorized into two groups, which are yielding and overtaking. Therefore, the vehicle-related social forces are designed to be a set of two forces rather than a repulsion force in original SFM, which is a yielding force based on the relative distance between the two-wheeler and the vehicle, and an overtaking force based on the velocity of the two-wheeler itself. This opens up the possibilities for modeling the multi-modal driving intention of two-wheelers encountering with cross traffic. Based on ISFM, a bicycle model, a powered two-wheeler (PTW) model and a model of a group of PTWs, are then constructed. Compared to the original SFM, ISFM increases the precision of driving intention prediction by 19.7 % (yielding situation) and 25.0 % (overtaking situation), and reduces the root mean square error between simulated and actual trajectories by 7.8 % and 14.8 % on the bicycle model and the PTW model, respectively. Meanwhile, the model of a group of PTWs also performs well. Finally, the results of ablation experiments also validate the effectiveness of the social force designed based on velocity. • The method is proposed to model two-wheeler driving behavior at intersections. • Intention prediction of two-wheeler, i.e., yielding and overtaking, is realized. • The improved model is superior to the baseline at both the data and macro levels. • Ablation experiments validate the effectiveness of velocity-based social forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study addresses the title question by taking a detailed mechanism of a concrete combustion system, syngas ignition, deriving from it three reduced models with different levels of accuracy, and comparing propagation of uncertainty by the reduced and detailed models. Two reduced models were developed by the method of Detained Reduction and the third one was adopted from recent literature. The uncertainty quantification was carried out through the deterministic framework of Bound-to-Bound Data Collaboration (B2BDC). The numerical results demonstrate that assessment of the quality of a reduced model without considering parameter uncertainty may be misleading. By including parameter uncertainty, several numerical measures can be developed to quantify the reduced model performance and those tested in the present study showed mutually consistent and qualitatively similar outcomes. One of such measures, built on the B2BDC methodology, offers a numerically-efficient approach to quantifying the propagation of uncertainty and its sensitivity measures for models having time-demanding evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newly-developed detailed mechanism of soot oxidation was tested against experimental observations. The computations were performed at an atomistic level and with a detailed consideration of soot particle surface sites. Several additional reactions were investigated theoretically and one of them, oxidation of embedded five-member rings by O atoms, was included in the model. The primary focus of the study was on the high-temperature shock-tube experiments of Roth et al. (1991). The reaction model was able to reproduce the experimental results, but required coupling to particle nanostructure: partial oxidation of PAH molecules and the decrease in PAH initial sizes along the oxidation path. The principle reaction mechanism was identified to be the formation of oxyradicals, their decomposition, formation of hard-to-oxidize embedded five-member rings, and oxidation of the latter predominantly by O atoms. The analysis identified O as the most effective oxidizer of the embedded five-member rings, which thus controls the rate of the overall oxidation. The model thus predicts fast oxidation during a brief initial period followed by a slow-oxidation one. The model of partial oxidation of an aromatic molecule and switching to the next intact molecule suggests pore formation and subsequent inner particle burning. We also investigated the ability of the present model to reproduce recent measurements of soot oxidation rates performed by Camacho et al. (2015) at about 1000 K. The initial reaction model failed to predict these results, and no adjustment could reconcile the differences. The only way to bring the model to experimental values was by assuming a catalytic decomposition of water on the reactor wall supplying additional radicals, H and OH, to the reacting gas mixture. Additional chemistry, oxidation through complex formation at neighboring surface sites, was required to fully reproduce the experimental observations. These additional reactions were found to play no role in the high-temperature simulations, nor were they sufficient to reproduce the low-temperature experiment on their own, without the assumed catalytic decomposition of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of boron doping on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Sm(Fe 0.8 Co 0.2) 11 TiB x melt-spun ribbons were investigated. At a quenching speed of 25 m/s, the Ti-rich grain boundary (GB) phase and more percent of SmFe 12 phase was formed in the sample with x = 0.25, which increase the coercivity from 3 kOe to 6 kOe and remanence from 61 emu/g to 75 emu/g. The Ti-rich grain boundary phase show TiFe 2 -type structure, in which the (02–1) plane spacing of the grain boundary phase is half that of the adjacent (020) plane spacing of ThMn 12 phase. Electron holographic analysis showed that the Ti-rich GB phase can reduce the magnetization coupling between the SmFe 12 main phase grains. This served as a guide for the further fabrication of the GB phase in SmFe 12 -based permanent magnetic materials with high magnetic properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business organizations are surging to integrate social media with their business and operations management, as it is broadly recognized that social media usage (SMU) could bring them superior performance advantages, especially in the digital era. However, prior studies investigating the effects of SMU on organizational performance provide scattered, mixed, and even conflicting results from diverse disciplines. This study aims to map the comprehensive relationship between SMU and organizational performance by adopting meta-analysis and examining potential factors that moderate such relationships. Based on the sample size of 24,576 organizations accumulated from 65 empirical studies, this study attempts to dissect SMU into manifold practices containing social marketing, social listening & monitoring, social communication, and social networking & collaboration. Meanwhile, these SMUs have varying relationships not only with financial performance but also with innovation, social and operational performance. Further analysis results also confirm that theoretical lens, social media platforms, and industry-level factors (i.e., firm size, industry type, economic market) significantly moderate the strength of SMU–Performance relationships. These findings provide theoretical contributions, managerial implications, and future research directions on the integrated SMU–Performance relationship. • Propose a comprehensive framework for the relationship between social media usage and organizational performance. • Identify four distinct types of social media usage. • Develop a new performance metrics for illustrating the effects of social media usage. • Examine boundary conditions that theoretically and practically moderate the relationship between social media usage and organization performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of efficient nanocatalysts with high activity and stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is extremely important for the advancement of fuel cells but still remains challenging. The capability of rational synthesis of one-dimensional ultrathin Pt-based nanowires could effectively address this issue. Herein, we demonstrate a facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of uniform ultrathin Pd–Pt alloy nanowires with a high yield. The judicious adoption of NaI as a structure-directing agent and Pluronic F127 as a stabilizing agent is crucial for the formation of the ultrathin Pd–Pt nanowires by manipulating the reaction kinetics. Due to the bimetallic synergetic effect and unique structural advantage, the as-prepared Pd–Pt alloy ultrathin nanowires outperform commercial Pd black and Pt black catalysts toward ORR, with much improved activity and stability. We expect that this work will provide a promising strategy for the development of efficient ORR electrocatalysts and can also be extendable for the preparation of other one-dimensional bimetallic nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Beta diversity weighted by incidence vs abundance data varied differently along urbanization gradient. • Richness difference contributed more to beta diversity weighted by abundance than incidence data. • Stochasticity was more dominant in shaping beta diversity weighted by abundance than incidence data. • Homogenization studies should consider the roles of rare and abundant taxa. Urbanization is one of the major drivers of biotic homogenization (i.e., decrease in beta diversity) in freshwater systems. However, only a few studies have simultaneously examined how urbanization affects multiple facets (i.e., taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic) of beta diversity and its underlying ecological drivers in urban river macroinvertebrates. Here, we distinguished the patterns and ecological mechanisms of multiple facets of macroinvertebrate beta diversity weighted by incidence and abundance data in a subtropical river system with a distinct urbanization gradient. We also investigated how total beta diversity patterns stem from replacement versus richness difference among sites. Our results showed that taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversities weighted by incidence data were primarily driven by replacement of taxa, whereas the richness difference contributed more to multiple facets of beta diversity based on abundance data. Furthermore, multiple facets of beta diversity decreased with urbanization for both incidence-weighted and abundance-weighted data, but the former showed more substantial decreases. Both replacement and richness difference components contributed roughly equally to the decline of incidence-weighted beta diversity. In contrast, the losses of abundance-weighted beta diversity were mainly associated with replacement of taxa. Variation partitioning results revealed that all beta diversity measures based on incidence data were governed primarily by local and land-use variables, whereas spatial variables were more relevant in driving beta diversity weighted by abundance data. Overall, by comparing different facets and components of beta diversity weighted by incidence versus abundance data, we suggest that incidence-weighted data may be more sensitive in portraying the impacts of urbanization on macroinvertebrate diversity. This likely resulted from the fact that incidence-weighted data shows the importance of rare taxa in shaping homogenization induced by urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Human activities contribute to the loss of evolutionary history and functional space. • Anthropogenic impacts threaten phylogenetically unique clades. • Different dimension biodiversity metrics are important to preserving evolutionary history, adaptive potential and ecological function. Under a global change scenario, human-induced impacts alter multiple facets of river biodiversity (i.e., taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic). Hence, focusing on changes in community assembly and different diversity dimensions along anthropogenic impact gradients is of paramount importance for ecological research. Here, we classified stream sites into near-pristine (NP), moderately impacted (MI) and highly impacted (HI) categories based on a comprehensive anthropogenic impact score for the Hanjiang River Basin (China), and tested for differences in patterns of functional (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD). Our study suggests that NP sites showed higher FD and PD than impacted streams (MI and HI), with their communities being phylogenetically overdispersed and mostly shaped by random processes. Anthropogenically impacted sites mostly harbored closely related and functionally similar species, although the degree of clustering varied between NP, MI and HI streams, thereby confirming predictions that human activities contribute to the loss of evolutionary history and functional space in running waters. Importantly, we identified the influence of underlying deterministic mechanisms on the homogenization of both functional and phylogenetic facets of diversity. Similarly, NP sites exhibited the greatest proportion of evolutionarily distinct lineages, suggesting that anthropogenic impacts also threaten phylogenetically unique clades. Overall, this study contributed to a better understanding of multiple diversity patterns in aquatic insect communities by generating new empirical evidence of human-induced degradation of subtropical stream ecosystems in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of commercial sand mining on aquatic diversity are of increasing global concern, especially in parts of some developing countries. However, understanding of this activity on the diversity of macroinvertebrates remains focused on the α component of species diversity, rather than community functioning. Thus, there remains much uncertainty regarding how each component of taxonomic (TD) and functional (FD) diversity respond to the activity both in freshwater and marine environments. Here, we assessed the effect of sand dredging on α, β and γ components of TD and FD during different dredging periods based on the response of macroinvertebrate communities over 4 years in the second largest freshwater lake in China. After three years of active dredging, substantial reductions in each component (α, β and γ) of TD and FD were observed within the dredged area. Moreover, after one year of natural recovery, a distinct restoration was observed with an obvious return in multiple facets of TD and FD indices. No such changes were observed within the adjacent and reference areas. Decreases in the multiple components of TD and FD within the dredged area were most likely associated with the direct extraction of substrate and associated benthic fauna and indirect variations of the water and sediment environment (e.g., increases in water depth and decreases in %Clay). Furthermore, dispersal processes and mass effects mainly contributed to the maintenance of TD and FD during the dredged and recovery stages. In addition, the fast recovery of TD and FD was also related to the simple taxonomic structure and highly connected nature of the study area. Our results suggest that a more precise experimental design (BACI) should be pursued to avoid potentially confounding effects (e.g., natural disturbance) because the sensitivity of diversity indices depends upon different experimental designs. Moreover, measurement of the impacts of sand dredging on macroinvertebrate diversity can be undertaken within a rigorous framework for better understanding the patterns and processes of each component of TD and FD under the sand dredging disturbance. Image 1 • Sand mining on benthic faunal functional diversity has rarely been studied. • Sand mining induced decreases in multiple components of macrofauna diversity. • Fast recoveries occurred in α, β and γ taxonomic and functional diversity. • Mining induced effects on diversity can be measured in the α, β and γ components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In parts of developing countries, the over-exploitation of sands from inland waters has led to serious environmental concerns. However, understanding of the impacts of commercial sand dredging on inland water ecosystem functions remains limited. Herein, we assess the effects of this activity on the functional structure of the macroinvertebrate community and its recovery processes based on a 4-year survey, in the South Dongting Lake in China. Our result showed a simplified macroinvertebrate functional structures within the dredged area, as evidenced by a loss of certain trait categories (e.g., oval and conical body form) and a significant reduction in trait values due to the direct removal of macroinvertebrates and indirect alternations to physical environmental conditions (e.g., water depth and %Medium sand). Moreover, clear increases were observed in certain trait categories (e.g., small body size and swimmer) resulting from the dredging-related disturbance (e.g., increased turbidity) within the adjacent area. Furthermore, one year after the cessation of dredging, a marked recovery in the taxonomic and functional structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages was observed with most lost trait categories returning and an increase in the trait values of eight categories (e.g., body size 1.00–3.00 cm and oval body form) within the dredged and adjacent area. In addition, dispersal processes and sediment composition were the main driver for the structuring of the macroinvertebrate taxonomic and functional assemblages during the dredging stages, whilst water environmental conditions dominated the taxonomic structure and dispersal processes determined the functional structure during the recovery stage. Implications of our results for monitoring and management of this activity in inland waters are discussed. Contribution of water environment, sediment composition and dispersal process to variances of taxonomic and functional community structures during different dredging periods. Image 1 • Impact of sand dredging on inland freshwater ecosystems have rarely been studied. • Sand dredging resulted in a simplified functional structure in benthic fauna. • A fast recovery were observed in functional structure after one year restoration. • Dispersal processes were important to community assembly under dredging disturbance. Commercial sand dredging practices degraded the functional structure of macroinvertebrates through the direct removal or alternations to physical environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We tested ecological drivers of biodiversity indices across subtropical rivers. • Local environmental stressors were more important than the other factor groups. • Taxonomic distinctness indices performed best in portraying human disturbances. • Species and functional diversity indices were also related to climatic and spatial factors. • Bioassessment should consider various factors causing variation in bio-indicators. Metacommunity ecology emphasizes that community structure and diversity are not only determined by local environmental conditions through environmental filtering, but also by dispersal-related processes, such as mass effects, dispersal limitation and patch dynamics. However, the roles of dispersal processes are typically ignored in bioassessment approaches. Here, we simultaneously explored the potential influences of four groups of factors: local stressors, climatic factors, within-basin spatial factors and basin identity in explaining variation in diversity indices of macroinvertebrate assemblages from seven subtropical tributary rivers. A total of 12 biodiversity indices based on species identities, functional traits and taxonomic relatedness were calculated and used in the subsequent statistical analysis. Our results showed that, although differing in their relative importance, the four explanatory factor groups all played important roles in explaining variation in biodiversity indices. Of the pure fractions, index variation was best explained by local environmental stressors, whereas the other three explanatory factor groups appeared less influential. Furthermore, diversity indices from species, functional and taxonomic dimensions responded distinctly to the focal ecological factors, and differed in their abilities to portray the effects of human disturbances on macroinvertebrate communities. Taxonomic distinctness indices performed best, with the highest amount of variation associated to local stressors and hardly any variation explained by other factors, implying that these indices are robust in portraying human disturbances in streams. However, species diversity and functional diversity indices were also affected by spatial processes and climatic factors, suggesting that these indices should be used with caution in bioassessment. We hence conclude that environmental assessment of riverine ecosystems should not rely entirely on the perspective of species sorting. In contrast, both roles of spatial processes and environmental variables related to human disturbances and climatic variation should be incorporated in management and conservation of riverine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Examining the relative contribution of local environmental stressors and regional factors in structuring biological communities is essential for biodiversity conservation and environmental assessment, yet their relative roles for different community characterizations remain elusive. Here, we examined the responses of taxonomic and functional structures of stream macroinvertebrate communities to local and regional factors across a human-induced environmental gradient in the Han River Basin, one subtropical biodiversity hotspot in China. Our objectives were: 1) to examine the responses of traditional taxonomic measures and functional traits to anthropogenic disturbances; 2) to compare the relative importance of environmental versus spatial variables and catchment-scale versus reach-scale variables for the two community characterizations. We found that both species and trait compositions performed well in differentiating anthropogenic disturbances, indicating that both taxonomic and functional structures of macroinvertebrate communities were strongly altered by human activities. Particularly, some traits related to life history (e.g., voltinism), resilience and resistance (e.g., adult flying ability) are well suited for predicting changes of communities towards anthropogenic disturbances owing to their mechanistic relationship with environmental gradients. We found that environmental variables played more important roles than spatial effects in structuring both taxonomic and functional facets of macroinvertebrate communities. Environmental filtering was more important in determining functional than taxonomic structure, and the opposite was true for spatial effects. In terms of environmental variables, catchment land-uses played the primary role in determining taxonomic composition, whereas reach-scale variables related to local habitat heterogeneity were more influential for functional structure. Our study highlights the importance of employing metacommunity perspectives and different community characterizations in both theoretical and applied research. For stream bioassessment and management, we argue that the combination of taxonomic and functional characterizations of community should be implemented, as different facets of biological communities responded to different types of anthropogenic disturbances. Graphical abstract Percentages of variation in taxonomic and functional structure explained by environmental variables versus spatial factors (a), and catchment versus reach scale environmental variables (b). The result of (b) is a further decomposition of the variance explained by environmental variables. Unlabelled Image Highlights • We tested the responses of different community facets to stressors in headwater streams. • Local environmental stressors were more important than spatial factors. • Catchment land-uses played the primary role in determining taxonomic composition. • Reach-scale variables were more influential for functional trait structure. • Metacommunity concept and different faces of community should be considered in bioassessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its woven structure, rich inner voids and high electrical conductivity, carbon fiber cloth (CFC) is considered as a promising three-dimensional (3D) current collector for lithium metal anode. However, it is usually inevitable that metallic Li plates on top of CFC as Li ions are instantaneously reduced when they reach the upper surface of CFC, which impedes the utilization of the inner space of CFC for accommodating Li deposition and causes poor cyclic stability of Li anode. In this study, by decorating a thin layer of graphene oxide (GO) on the surface of CFC using an electrophoresis method, an all-carbon 3D current collector with electrical conductivity differences in the vertical direction is fabricated. The graphene oxide layer with poor electrical conductivity induces downward electroplating of metallic Li into the inner voids of CFC, which fully exploits the effect of CFC as a 3D current collector in governing the plating/stripping behaviors of Li. As a result, the full cell using the GO modified CFC as the negative electrode and NCM811 positive electrodes can maintain 80% of its initial capacity after 460 cycles at a high current of 0.5C charge and 1C discharge. An all-carbon 3D current collector with vertical electro-conductivity differences is prepared by coating a thin graphene oxide layer on the surface of carbon fiber cloth to avoid the "top-growth" phenomenon of Li metal. [Display omitted] • A layer of graphene oxide is assembled on carbon fiber cloths by electrophoresis. • The 3D current collector inhibits "top-growth" phenomenon of lithium metal. • A long lifespan of 460 cycles is achieved in a full cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Co 0.6 Zn 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 spinel oxide was synthesized using a straightforward one-step co-precipitation method, demonstrating superior ORR activity and enhanced stability compared to both its counterparts and commercial Pt/C catalysts. [Display omitted] • Co 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4 spinel oxides are successfully synthesized via a simple one-step co-precipitation method. • The Zn/Co composition can be adjusted by introducing various metal precursors. • Co 0.6 Zn 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 catalyst exhibits the highest ORR activity and stability. • Zn introduction and abundant oxygen vacancies attribute to the improved ORR activity. The development of efficient inexpensive catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the keys to the realization of energy conversion devices. Herein, we have synthesized a series of spinel-type metal oxides (Co 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4) by varying the amount of Zn substitution (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) using a simple one-step co-precipitation method. A combination of structural characterization and electrochemical analysis shows that the Co 0.6 Zn 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 exhibits not only the most excellent ORR activity (half-wave potential: 0.815 V and Tafel slope: 76 mV dec-1) compared to the other samples with different Zn substitution but also the better stability than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. The improved reason of ORR performance for the Co 0.6 Zn 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 nanoparticles may be attributed to the Zn introduction and abundant oxygen vacancies. These discoveries will offer insights for exploring the synthesis of spinel-type oxides for their potential applications in oxygen-related energy conversion technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the benefits of biochar amendment for heavy metal(loid) immobilization in soil have been widely recognized, its migration in soil and the resultant effects on the risk of downward migration of metal(loid)s are still poorly understood. In this study, based on biochar derived dissolved organic matter (DOM), excitation-emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) technique was employed to trace biochar migration within one year in 0–100 cm soil profiles in the field. The vertical co-migration of Pb, Cu and As was also analyzed. With biochar amended, DOM, humification index (HIX) and biological index (BIX) in 0–60 cm soil profiles increased significantly, while pH only increased in the topsoil. The identified water-extracted DOM components showed that biochar could enhance the content of fulvic acids and humic acids in soil DOM and biochar might migrate downward to 60 cm soil profiles. Furthermore, toluene/methanol-extracted DOM also confirmed the migration extent of biochar, which was more suitable to trace biochar migration because of its high resistance to the long-term ageing in the field. Moreover, we found that biochar reduced the content of Cu in 0–60 cm soil profiles, but increased the available Pb and As in the 20–40 cm soil layers. The Pearson's correlation study confirmed a strong correlation (0.568**≤R ≤ 0.803**) between the content of heavy metal(loid)s and humic-like components of soil DOM, which suggested that biochar co-migrated with Pb, Cu and As, and the potential environmental risks of biochar should be fully evaluated while it was applied for soil metal(loid) remediation. [Display omitted] • EEM-PARAFAC technique was successfully used to trace biochar migration in the field. • Pb, Cu and As could co-migrate with biochar downward to 60 cm soil profile in a year. • The potential environmental risk of biochar and metal(loid)s migration was evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unraveling the ecological factors that control variation in local community structure in space and time is fundamental to metacommunity ecology. In this scenario, environmental filtering and spatial processes are recognized as important drivers of community assembly, yet their relative importance is anticipated to vary for biological communities in different seasons, network positions and organisms with distinct dispersal modes. In this study, we used a dataset (macroinvertebrate communities and environmental variables) collected in different seasons from the Ganjiang River in China to test the above ideas. We divided the whole metacommunity in each season into mainstream communities, tributary communities, strictly aquatic dispersers and aquatic/aerial dispersers, and subsequently used variation partitioning to examine the relative contribution of environmental and spatial factors separately for the overall and decomposed components of the metacommunity. Our results showed that both environmental filtering and spatial processes were important drivers of variation in community structure, yet their explanatory powers varied considerably among seasons. Environmental filtering was the primary driver of metacommunity organization in most scenarios, while the effects of spatial processes surpassing environmental filtering occurred only sporadically. For communities in different network positions, tributary communities were structured by both strong environmental filtering and profound effects of spatial processes via dispersal limitation. However, communities in mainstream sites were mainly determined by environmental filtering, and the effects of spatial processes were almost negligible. Moreover, environmental filtering was clearly more important for aquatic/aerial dispersers, while spatial processes were more influential for strictly aquatic dispersers. We thus concluded that environmental filtering, spatial processes, network position and dispersal mode can interact to regulate metacommunity organization of riverine macroinvertebrates. Considering that the relative contribution of these factors varied among seasons, we strongly uphold the idea that community ecology research should go beyond one-season snapshot surveys in river networks. Unlabelled Image • We tested seasonal variation in assembly mechanisms of macroinvertebrate communities. • Environmental filtering dominated in controlling community assembly in all seasons. • Network position can affect the relative importance of environmental and spatial factors. • Dispersal mode of organisms can also exert controls on community dynamics. • Seasonal surveys should be highlighted when conducting community assembly research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential biological role and prognostic significance of chromatin regulators (CRs) in low-grade gliomas (LGGs). CRs were obtained from the FACER database. Transcription profiles of LGG patients were collected from the TCGA and CGGA databases. Differentially expressed CRs (DECRs) between LGGs and normal controls were identified using DESeq2. The consensus clustering algorithm was employed to distinguish subtypes of LGGs based on prognosis-related DECRs. The differences in clinical and molecular characteristics between different subtypes were explored. R packages, GSVA, ssGSEA, and ESTIMATE were utilized to elucidate the tumor microenvironment and activated pathways in different subtypes. Subsequently, a CRs-related signature was developed using LASSO Cox regression. Its performance was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier curve and ROC curve analyses. In vitro experiments were performed to explore the function of JADE3 in LGGs, which predominantly expressed in glioma cells. We identified 43 DECRs and two CRs-related subtypes of LGGs. The subtype characterized by shorter survival displayed significant enrichment for pathways associated with DNA damage response and repair, along with heightened immune cell infiltration. Furthermore, the CRs-based signature exhibited excellent prognostic performance in both the TCGA and CGGA databases. Knockdown of JADE3 significantly increased the invasion, migration, and proliferation abilities of Hs683. Our study reveals the aberrant expression and prognostic value of CRs in LGGs. It emphasizes the potential regulatory role of CRs in the microenvironment and DNA damage repair in LGGs. JADE3 could be a possible therapeutic target for LGGs. • Two chromatin modification patterns which were closely related to the clinical and molecular characteristic of low-grade gliomas were identified. • Meanwhile, different modification patterns were also closely associated with the tumor microenvironment of low-grade gliomas. • A precise prognostic model based on seven chromatin regulators was successfully constructed and verified. • In vitro experiments had demonstrated that JADE3 could serve as an anti-oncogenic role in gliomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • β-CD, Fe 3 O 4 and sodium alginate are combined to modify biochar. • β-CD@MBC P possesses good uptake for Pb (II) and MB under a wide pH scope. • Host-guest interaction, H-bonding and π-π stacking are responsible for MB removal. • Complexation and active sites supplied by adsorbed MB promote Pb (II) binding. • β-CD@MBC P pellet was easily separated from water with high desorption efficiency. Due to the high biological toxicity, the concurrent elimination of lead (Pb (II)) and methylene blue (MB) has become a challenging problem. Therefore, a newly β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) modified magnetic alginate/biochar (β-CD@MBC P) material was developed. Comprehensive characterizations proved the successful coating of β-CD onto MBC P surface by microwave-aided fabrication. The β-CD@MBC P achieved high-efficiency uptake for contaminants under a wide pH scope. In the dual system, Pb (II) elimination was facilitated with the presence of MB, due to the active sites provided by MB. In the presence of Pb (II), MB uptake was inhibited due to the electrostatic repulsion between positively charged MB and Pb (II). Electrostatic attraction and complexation contributed to capturing Pb (II), while π-π interactions, host–guest effect, and H-bonding were important in MB elimination. After four cycles, β-CD@MBC P maintained comparatively good renewability. Findings demonstrated that β-CD@MBC P could be an effective remediation material for Pb (II)/MB adsorption from aqueous environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We tested temporal aspects of metacommunity structure in a large freshwater lake using complementary approaches. • Macroinvertebrate metacommunities showed distinct best-fit patterns throughout the four hydrological periods. • The relative importance of environmental and spatial variables also differed among hydrological periods. • Shifts in metacommunity dynamics mainly resulted from considerable changes in hydrological conditions. • Taking temporal aspects into account gives a better insight into metacommunity organization. To improve our understanding on the temporal aspects of metacommunity structure, we focused on benthic macroinvertebrates collected seasonally (i.e., wet, drying, dry and rewetting seasons) in Dongting Lake, a large subtropical floodplain lake in China. We employed the elements of metacommunity structure (EMS) framework and variation partitioning to examine whether metacommunity structure and its underlying mechanisms vary among seasons with distinct biotic and abiotic features. We found gradual shifts in the main assembly mechanisms throughout the year, from apparent spatial structuring (potentially indicative of mass effects) in the wet season to more environmental filtering dynamics in the dry season. When the degree of connectivity was high in the wet season, the benthic metacommunity was characterized by nested structure associated with clumped species loss, and was shaped mainly by spatial processes. However, quasi-Clemensian structure was assigned to metacommunities in the transitional seasons with intermediate connectivity, during which environmental variables were more important than spatial factors in describing community structure. When the degree of connectivity was low in the dry season, the benthic metacommunity displayed Clementsian structure, which was configured solely by environmental variables. The rapid shifts in metacommunity dynamics between seasons mainly result from the considerable changes in the hydrological conditions of Dongting Lake, as the studied system varies from lacustrine to fluvial phases within a single year. Taken together, our results revealed that taking temporal aspects into account gives a better insight into metacommunity organization, especially when the studied systems embrace remarkable variability in hydrological regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • δ13C and δ15N of aquatic organisms in streams varied among land uses. • Aquatic resources contributed much more regardless of land uses. • Land use failed to influence the niche width or trophic diversity of consumers. Land use in the uplands can substantially impact the biological community in stream ecosystems, but how the trophic structure of aquatic communities within riverine food webs respond to catchment land use changes within their respective catchment remains unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of land use on aquatic communities in two streams in subtropical China. We measured isotopic compositions of basal resources, four macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (scrapers, collectors, shredders, and predators with 132 taxa), and three fish functional feeding groups (herbivores, omnivores, and piscivores with 26 species) in three land uses (woodland, agricultural, and urban). Isotopic values of δ13C and δ15N were used to estimate the dietary proportions of consumers (macroinvertebrates and fish) and community-level metrics (niche width and trophic diversity). We found that isotopic values of basal resources, macroinvertebrates, and fish varied significantly among sampling sites adjacent to the three land uses. Dietary analysis showed that terrestrial resources contributed relatively less (~20%) than aquatic resources to consumers (macroinvertebrates and fish) in higher trophic levels, especially in the urban sites. Compared to woodland sites, food webs in the urban sites had lower niche width and higher trophic redundancy, and agricultural sites had higher trophic length and lower niche width. Trophic structure alterations in response to land use primarily resulted from availability and variability of basal resources in the upstream river channel and the riparian zone, and also the feeding plasticity of macroinvertebrates and/or fish. These empirical findings indicate the importance of diversity across all trophic levels in the management of stream ecosystems in urban and agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 1% and 3% CO 2 pulsed controlled atmosphere can delay the loss of fruit water-core • There is the best effect of 1% CO 2 on maintaining the overall visual and sensory quality of fruit • The endurance of watercored apples to 5% CO 2 is less than 45 days • The internal browning of fruit is related to unstable membrane system and dense cell arrangement Watercored 'Fuji' apple with special water core and unique flavor is a characteristic fruit. However, the problems of water core disappearance and browning in the apples are outstanding during postharvest storage. In this study, pulsed controlled atmosphere (pCA) with CO 2 was used to protect the water-core and resist browning of apples. Effects of different concentrations of CO 2 on the quality of apple fruits was investigated, and CO 2 injury characteristic to apple fruits were studied as well. Results showed that pCA with CO 2 could effectively maintain the sensory and texture qualities of watercored apples. Treated with pulsed controlled CO 2 , the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation of the apples was effectively reduced and the membrane system was well maintained. Meanwhile, the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) of the apples were inhibited and the browning was reduced. On the whole, pCA with 1% CO 2 presented the most significant effects on the quality preservation of watercored apples while higher CO 2 showed negative effects on the quality of the samples. Under the condition of pCA with 5% CO 2 , the endurance of watercored apples was less than 45 days and the internal browning was serious. In conclusion, 2%～3% O 2 and pCA with 1% CO 2 was the best and most effective in the long-term preservation of watercored apples, and it is beneficial to guide for the preservation of apple fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examined the relative role of environmental filtering, mass effects and dispersal limitation. • Overall metacommunity was decomposed into nine sub-metacommunities based on traits. • The relative importance of the three ecological processes depended on biological traits considered. • Different spatial processes and trait-based approaches improved our understanding of community assembly in river networks. Metacommunity ecology highlights the importance of integrating simultaneously environmental filtering and spatial processes, such as mass effects and dispersal limitation, into investigation of community assembly. However, few studies to date have tried to examine mass effects and dispersal limitation as independent ecological mechanisms along with environmental filtering in shaping biological communities in river networks. We examined the relative importance of three factor groups, i.e., environmental variables, within-river spatial factors (indicative of mass effects) and basin identity (referring to dispersal limitation) on a macroinvertebrate metacommunity and nine trait-based deconstructed sub-metacommunities from seven subtropical rivers. We applied redundancy analysis and variance partitioning to reveal the pure and shared effects of the three groups of factors on community variation. Environmental filtering, mass effects and dispersal limitation were all significant mechanisms affecting variation in macroinvertebrate communities, but their relative importance depended on biological traits. Environmental filtering explained more of the variation in the whole metacommunity, tolerant taxa and macroinvertebrate groups with weak dispersal ability (i.e., aquatic dispersal, aerial passive dispersal and large body size). In contrast, mass effects accounted for more variation in the communities of intolerant taxa and macroinvertebrate groups with strong dispersal ability (i.e., aerial active dispersal mode and medium body size). Dispersal limitation was more influential for sub-communities of moderately tolerant taxa and large-sized taxa. Our study highlights that simultaneously accounting for different spatial processes and using a trait-based approach are essential to improve our understanding of community assembly in river networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Combined 1-MCP and sterilizing medium is an effective preservation technology. • 1-MCP + O 3 treatment effectively delayed the softening and senescence of fruit. • 1-MCP + O 3 treatment could induce resistance of fruit at earlier shelf storage. • 1-MCP + O 3 could maintain brighter color attributes of peaches during shelf life. • At the end of storage, 1-MCP + O 3 maintained the best integrity of flesh tissue. Physiological senescence and quality deterioration of peach after harvest were the restrict factors of peach shelf quality. As an ethylene inhibitor, 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) can effectively dealy fruit ripening and senescence, and improve storage quality. However, studies showed that the effect of fruit preservation by only using 1-MCP is unsatisfactory. Therefore, in this study, 1-MCP combined with sterilizing medium including ozone, TiO 2 photocatalytic and epsilon-polylysine (ε-PL) was applied for enhancement of preservative ability with safety and pollution-free. The flow microcirculation was used for enhancing the effect of sterilizing medium. Results showed that all these three treatment methods can enhance the shelf quality of peach fruit. Among them, the combination treatment of 1-MCP and ozone played a more active role in inhibiting decay, respiration, ethylene production, decline of nutrients such as organic acids and soluble solids. Moreover, it maintained bright color value and cell integrity of peach fruit. In addition, the combined treatment of 1-MCP and ozone had significant effects on inducing resistance in fruit and slowing down membrane lipid peroxidation. In conclusion, 1-MCP combined with ozone was an effective method to delay the senescence and improve the storage shelf quality of fruit, which is beneficial to the guidance of production practice and has potential application prospects in fruit preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]