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Background: Global climate change has resulted in precipitation regimes exhibiting an increasing trend in rainfall intensity but a reduction in frequency. In addition, nitrogen (N) deposition occurs simultaneously in arid and semi-arid regions. Microbial biomass, diversity, composition, and species interactions are key determinants of ecological functions. We examined the effects of changes in precipitation intensity and N addition on the soil bacterial and fungal communities in a semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Methods: The microbial biomass (bacterial PLFAs and fungal PLFAs) was determined through phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and microbial diversity (Shannon index and evenness index) was determined with high-throughput sequencing (16S and ITS). Species interactions were determined using a molecular ecological network analysis. The relationships between microbial community (bacterial community and fungal community) and environmental variables were examined by Mantel tests. Results: We found that N addition decreased fungal PLFA under moderate, high, and extreme precipitation intensity treatments and increased fungal community complexity under the high precipitation intensity treatment. Furthermore, N addition increased bacterial diversity under moderate and high precipitation intensity treatments. N addition caused greater environmental stress to the fungal community, which was dominated by deterministic processes. Conclusions: The effects of N deposition on soil bacterial and fungal communities were altered by precipitation intensity. The changes in soil bacterial and fungal communities were different, implying that composition and functional traits adapt differently to projected global changes at a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One novel ascomycetous yeast strain TF5-16-2 was isolated from water samples of Tuofengling crater lake located in Da Hinggan Ling Mountain, in the Inner Mongolia province of China. Morphological, physiological characteristics, as well as phylogenetic analyses of D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA (LSU), ITS region, small subunit rRNA (SSU), and elongation factor-1α (EF-1α) were performed and finally confirmed the phylogenetic placement of strain TF5-16-2 in the genus Wickerhamomyces. Sequences analysis revealed that strain TF5-16-2 differed from its most closely related phylogenetic neighbors 'Candida' silvicultrix CBS 6269T and Wickerhamomyces anomalus CBS 5759T by 8.0% (including 2.3% gaps), 8.5% (including 2.4% gaps) divergences in D1/D2 domains of LSU, and 11% (including 4.3% gaps) and 13% (including 4.4% gaps) divergences in ITS region, respectively. As the considerable sequence divergence and distinguishable physiological characteristics, strain TF5-16-2 was proposed as a new species of the genus Wickerhamomyces, with the name Wickerhamomyces kurtzmanii sp. nov. (holotype = CGMCC 2.5597, Mycobank number is MB829959). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have identified numerous factors that may affect the sleep quality and quality of life (QOL) in outpatients with schizophrenia. However, the clinically stable inpatients who represent a large proportion of the population with schizophrenia in China have not received enough attention. The present study was performed to explore the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of sleep disturbance and QOL in clinically stable inpatients with schizophrenia in rural China.Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed, and 207 clinically stable inpatients with schizophrenia were selected from Chifeng Anding Hospital, located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in northern China. All subjects were interviewed by the same investigator using standardized assessment instruments. QOL and sleep disturbance were measured using the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were used to identify the factors influencing sleep disturbance and QOL. Antipsychotics taken by individuals were converted into olanzapine equivalent doses as the main confounding factor to be controlled.Results: The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 58%, and sleep disturbance was significantly associated with depression (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.17-1.52) and coping mechanisms (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.98). We observed large differences between the sexes: the QOL of male inpatients with schizophrenia was substantially better than that of female inpatients, with a standard coefficient of 0.19 ± 1.62. Other factors related to QOL were depression (0.42 ± 0.30), hope (- 0.21 ± 0.19), general psychopathology symptoms (0.21 ± 0.24) and personal and social performance (- 0.12 ± 0.07).Conclusions: The depressive symptoms of inpatients with schizophrenia should receive more attention. More targeted interventions, such as the early identification and treatment of depression, should be promptly administered to improve the patient's hospitalization experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]