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Growth promotion and stress tolerance induced by endophytes have been observed in various plants, but their effects on mulberry regularly suffering flood in the hydro-fluctuation belt are less understood. In the present study, endophytic

This study has identified two polymer additives that when added in low concentrations can be used to reliably prevent incongruent melting of sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) when temperature-cycled over multiple thousands of melting and freezing cycles. The polymers appear to act as crystal-habit modifiers that at sub-optimal concentrations dramatically alter the morphology of any anhydrous sodium acetate that may be formed, and at higher concentrations completely suppress precipitation of anhydrous sodium acetate. In situ X-ray powder diffraction experiments show that the active nucleator for SAT is Na2HPO4·2H2O, and that the mechanism of thermally induced deactivation is dehydration in solution to form anhydrous Na2HPO4. Based on these studies, new formulations of SAT have been developed that demonstrate consistent and reliable performance as phase-change materials for heat-storage applications.

The cause of some patients with negative RT-PCR results experienced turn-positive after treatment remains unclear. In addition, understanding the correlation between changes in clinical data in the course of COVID-19 and treatment outcomes is of great importance in determining the prognosis of COVID-19. To perform cause analysis of RT-PCR turn-positive and the effective screening factors related to treatment outcome in COVID-19. Clinical data, including clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, radiography results, treatment methods and outcomes, were retrospectively collected and analyzed from January to March 2020 in Renmin Hospitals of Wuhan University. 116 COVID-19 patients (40 in recurrent group, 29 in recovered group and 47 in unrecovered group) were recruited. In the recurrent group, white blood cell, Neutrophils, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, CD3, CD4, CD8, ratio of CD4/CD8, IgG and C4 complement were of significant difference among the baseline, negative and turn-positive time points. CD19 and CT scan results were found notable difference between recurrent group and recovered group. Odds from CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, IgM, C3 complement, C4 complement and CT scan results validated associations with clinical outcomes of COVID-19. The so-called recurrence in some COVID-19 patients may be due to the false-negative of nucleic acid test results from nasopharyngeal swabs. Levels of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, IgM, C3 complement, C4 complement and CT results were significantly correlated with the outcome of COVID-19. The cellular immunity test could be beneficial to further screen the reliability of RT-PCR test on the basis of CT images.

Background Cervical cancer (CC) is the one of most common malignant gynecological tumors, which is characterized with the high mortality and recurrence rate. Previous studies have elucidated the oncogenic role of small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) in some types of human cancers, whereas it is unclear whether it functions as an oncogene in CC. This study was aimed at unveiling the role of SNHG6 in CC. Methods qRT-PCR analysis was implemented to evaluate the expression levels of SNHG6, miR-485-3p and STYX in CC cells. RNA pull down assay and luciferase reporter assay were conducted to verify the interaction between miR-485-3p and SNHG6 or STYX. Functional assays, such as colony formation assay, JC-1 assay and TUNEL assay were applied to detect the biological behaviors of CC cells. The resistance of CC cells to radiation was evaluated by colony formation assay. Results SNHG6 was expressed at a high level in CC cells. Silenced SNHG6 suppressed cell proliferation but promoted cell apoptosis. Additionally, silenced SNHG6 could sensitize CC cells to radiation treatment. miR-485-3p could bind to both SNHG6 and STYX. Knockdown of miR-485-3p or overexpression of STYX could abolish the effects of SNHG6 silencing on CC cell growth. Conclusions LncRNA SNHG6 enhances the radioresistance of CC cells and promotes CC cell growth by sponging miR-485-3p to release STYX.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria have been shown to play important roles in maintaining host fitness under periods of abiotic stress, and yet their effect on mulberry trees which regularly suffer drought after flooding in the hydro-fluctuation belt of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region in China remains largely uncharacterized. In the present study, 74 bacterial isolates were obtained from the rhizosphere soil of mulberry after drought stress, including 12 phosphate-solubilizing and 10 indole-3-acetic-acid-producing isolates.

Drought stress often leads to heavy losses in mulberry planting, especially for fruits and leaves. Application of plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF) endows various plant beneficial traits to overcome adverse environmental conditions, but little is known about the effects on mulberry under drought stress. In the present study, we isolated 64 fungi from well-growing mulberry trees surviving periodical drought stress, and Talaromyces sp. GS1, Pseudeurotium sp. GRs12, Penicillium sp. GR19, and Trichoderma sp. GR21 were screened out due to their strong potential in plant growth promotion. Co-cultivation assay revealed that PGPF stimulated mulberry growth, exhibiting increased biomass and length of stems and roots. Exogenous application of PGPF could alter fungal community structures in the rhizosphere soils, wherein Talaromyces was obviously enhanced after inoculation of Talaromyces sp. GS1, and Peziza was increased in the other treatments. Moreover, PGPF could promote iron and phosphorus absorption of mulberry as well. Additionally, the mixed suspensions of PGPF induced the production of catalase, soluble sugar, and chlorophyll, which in turn enhanced the drought tolerance of mulberry and accelerated their growth recovery after drought. Collectively, these findings might provide new insights into improving mulberry drought tolerance and further boosting mulberry fruit yields by exploiting interactions between hosts and PGPF.

The basic position of microscope in experimental teaching is increasingly prominent, but there is still a big gap between its multidimensional index factors such as operation efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction and the goal of teaching application. Based on the usability design theory, Kinovea video analysis software and ANSYS finite element analysis software were separately used to carry out user observation and product structure testing and analyze the multiple heterogeneous factors affecting the use of microscopes in teaching application scenarios and record usability data; the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process was utilized to summarize and analyze the usability data and construct a usability evaluation model of microscope. Under the guidance of the usability evaluation model, the microscope was optimized, and its usability was verified by Jack simulation and finite element analysis at last. The results show that: On the layer of operational efficiency, the usability index of intuitive operation and easy to learn of the microscope accounts for the largest weight. On the layer of effectiveness, the index of stable structural connection of the microscope has a larger weight; adjusting the material properties and product structure can effectively improve the stability of the microscope. On the layer of user satisfaction, the index of use comfortably of the microscope accounts for the largest weight, and the comfort of students’ neck and other joints can be improved by optimizing the microscope’s functional layout. This research provides an evaluation index reference and design optimization experience for the multiple heterogeneous factor-driven microscope usability design in teaching applications.

Objective. In order to explore whether the application of statins can improve the prognosis of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods. Studies of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage taking statins published in English until December 2021 were searched based on limited search terms, the retrieved literature was screened out based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the quality assessment and data extraction were carried out independently by two investigators. The extracted clinical data were then meta-analyzed. Results. A total of 17 literatures were included in this study, with a sample size of 16,988 cases, including 3,001 cases in the statin group and 13,487 cases in the control group. MRS score of mortality was used as the prognostic index to evaluate cerebral hemorrhage. According to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), the score of literature quality evaluation scale was 6–8, indicating good literature quality. Meta-analysis of clinical data extracted from the literature showed that the statin group reduced overall mortality after intracerebral hemorrhage compared with the nonstatin group ( P < 0.01 ). In terms of improving functional prognosis, the statin group improved functional prognosis 90 days after intracerebral hemorrhage ( P = 0.01 ). There was no significant difference between the statin and nonstatin groups in reducing the number of intracerebral hematomas. Conclusions. Statins can reduce the total mortality after ICH and improve the survival rate (90 d), without increasing the amount of hematoma.

Bacterial wilt, caused by the plant pathogen

We report the unexpected pressure-induced and time-dependent nucleation and crystallisation of n-pentane from a 1 : 1 mixture of n-pentane and iso-pentane. The crystal structure of n-pentane at 3.3 GPa is reported; the 19.6% decrease in volume up to 3.3 GPa is caused by the significant reduction of voids within the structure. The study has wider implications for the separation of mixtures of organic compounds that have similar melting and boiling points, as well as the use of a 1 : 1 mixture of n-pentane and iso-pentane as a pressure-transmitting medium in high-pressure diffraction experiments.

Microbial competition for carbon sources is associated with disease suppression, and continuous mono-cropping stimulates certain patterns of carbon deposits. In this study, we investigated five fields from three ginger mono-cropping durations (over 35 years, approximately 15 years and 3 years) and two disease conditions (wilt-suppressive and wilt-conducive) at two collection time points (fallow and harvest). We measured the bacterial community and overall microbial carbon metabolism ability using high-throughput sequencing and Biolog EcoPlates. The results showed that the metabolic capabilities of soil microbes at harvest time were higher than at fallow time. The distribution of the bacterial community and the soil microbial metabolic diversity were significantly affected by both factors of cropping years and disease conditions at harvest time. Moreover, potentially beneficial microbes more enriched in wilt-suppressive soils than in wilt-conducive soils and l -arginine and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were significantly metabolized in suppressive samples. We further confirmed that l -arginine and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were only slightly metabolized by the pathogen. Taken together, these results suggest that the addition of l -arginine could enrich the beneficial microbes, while metabolism of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid could indicate the disease conditions of soil.

Based on snow-depth and measured runoff data in the 19 river basins of the cryosphere areas of China, changes in cold season snow depth (CSSD) and spring runoff, and the relationship between CSSD a...

The assembly of root-associated microbes during the seedling stage has strong impact on subsequent performance of crops. Major factors influencing this assembly are crop species identity and composition of potential root-colonizing microbes in the bulk soil. The latter can be modified by soil management, such as organic amendments. The incorporation of residues of cover crops before the start of the growing season of cash crops presents an interesting option for steering of root-associated seedling microbiomes as there is a wide range of cover crops species with different properties available for farmers. In a greenhouse study, we examined the effect of soil amendments with milled shoot and root materials of seven cover crop species (niger seed, phacelia, rapeseed, radish, vetch, black oat and buckwheat) on the assembly of root-associated bacteria and fungi of seedlings of four cash crop species (asparagus, carrot, onion and sugar beet). Field-grown cover crops material used for the study was collected at two time points (before and after winter) which had strong impact on plant elemental composition. The soil used for the study was a mixture of sandy arable soils with a history of soil-borne fungal diseases (Fusarium and Rhizoctonia). Within the context of a strong selection of root-associated microbes by cash crop species, we found significant modifying effects by cover crop materials. We show that cover crop elemental composition had a stronger effect than cover crop species identity. High quality residues (with low C/N ratio) caused profound shifts within root-associated Proteobacteria and increases in relative abundance of certain microbial groups such as Bacillaceae and Mortierellomycetes. These changes coincided with differences in establishment and survival of cash crop seedlings. Tolerance of sugar beet seedlings against the fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani was correlated with residues causing increases of root-associated Oxalobacteraceae, Bacillaceae and Mortierellaceae. However, the same residues increased Fusarium-induced failure of asparagus seed germination. This indicates that fine-tuning of cover crops amendments for different cash crops is required to realize enhanced functioning of root microbiomes.

Long-term monoculture cropping is usually accompanied by soil acidification and microbial community shifts. Soil aluminum ions are dissolved under acidic condition (pH < 5.0), and the resulting aluminum bioavailability can cause toxic effects in plants. In this study, we investigated the bacterial community compositions and aluminum toxicity in fields monocultured with ginger for 35 years, 15 years, and 1 year. Within these fields are ginger plants without and with ginger bacterial wilt disease. The results confirmed that the degree of aluminum toxicity in the diseased soil was more severe than that in the healthy soil. Continuous cropping can significantly increase the bacterial diversity and change the bacterial community composition of ginger rhizosphere soil. The relative abundance of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) was increased in the soils used for the continuous cropping of ginger. Additionally, aluminum toxicity had a significant positive correlation with Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, and Serratia in healthy soils. Based on these results, aluminum stress may stimulate the increase of PGPRs (Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, and Serratia), thereby alleviating ginger aluminum toxicity and bacterial wilt in extremely acidic soil (pH < 4.5).

Single crystals which exhibit mechanical flexibility are promising materials for advanced technological applications. Before such materials can be used, detailed understanding of the mechanisms and structural effects of bending are needed. Coordination polymer single crystal represent a fascinating class of mechanically flexible material; their bending contradicts existing models. Using single crystal X-ray diffraction and microfocus Raman spectroscopy, we study in atomic detail the high-pressure response of the plastically flexible coordination polymer [Zn(μ‐Cl)2(3,5‐dichloropyridine)2]n. In stark contrast to three-point bending, the quasi-hydrostatic compression of the single crystal is completely reversible, even following compression to over 9 GPa. A structural phase transition is observed at ca. 5 GPa. Ab initio DFT calculations show this transition to result from the pressure-induced softening of low frequency vibrations. This phase transition is not observed during three-point bending. Our combined experimental and theoretical high-pressure investigation propose slight compression at low levels of bending. However, our studies provide the first indication of overall disparate mechanical responses of bulk flexibility and quasi-hydrostatic compression. We suspect this to be a general feature of mechanically plastic materials.

The equation of state, dynamical properties, and molecular-scale structure of squalane and mixtures of poly-α-olefins at room temperature are studied with a combination of state-of-the-art, high-pressure experiments and molecular-dynamics simulations. Diamond-anvil cell experiments indicate that both materials are non-hydrostatic media at pressures above ∼1 GPa. The equation of state does not exhibit any sign of a first-order phase transition. High-pressure x-ray diffraction experiments on squalane show that there are no Bragg peaks, and hence, the apparent solidification occurs without crystallization. These observations are complemented by a survey of the equation of state and dynamical properties using simulations. The results show that molecular diffusion is essentially arrested above about 1 GPa, which supports the hypothesis that the samples are kinetically trapped in metastable amorphous-solid states. The shear viscosity becomes extremely large at very high pressures, and the coefficient governing its increase from ambient pressure is in good agreement with the available literature data. Finally, simulated radial distribution functions are used to explore the evolution of the molecular-scale structure with increasing pressure. Subtle changes in the short-range real-space correlations are related to a collapse of the molecular conformations with increasing pressure, while the evolution of the static structure factor shows excellent correlation with the available x-ray diffraction data. These results are of indirect relevance to oil-based lubricants, as the pressures involved are comparable to those found in engines, and hence, the ability of lubricating thin films to act as load-bearing media can be linked to the solidification phenomena studied in this work.

Bacteriophage T7 infects Escherichia coli and evades the host restriction/modification system. The Ocr protein of T7 was shown to exist as a dimer mimicking DNA and to bind to host restriction enzymes, thus preventing the degradation of the viral genome by the host. Here we report that Ocr can also inhibit host transcription by directly binding to bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) and competing with the recruitment of RNAP by sigma factors. Using cryo electron microscopy, we determined the structures of Ocr bound to RNAP. The structures show that an Ocr dimer binds to RNAP in the cleft, where key regions of sigma bind and where DNA resides during transcription synthesis, thus providing a structural basis for the transcription inhibition. Our results reveal the versatility of Ocr in interfering with host systems and suggest possible strategies that could be exploited in adopting DNA mimicry as a basis for forming novel antibiotics., eLife digest Bacteria and viruses have long been fighting amongst themselves. Bacteriophages are a type of virus that invade bacteria; their name literally means ‘bacteria eater’. The bacteriophage T7, for example, infects the common bacteria known as Escherichia coli. Once inside, the virus hijacks the bacterium’s cellular machinery, using it to replicate its own genetic material and make more copies of the virus so it can spread. At the same time, the bacteria have found ways to try and defend themselves, which in turn has led some bacteriophages to develop countermeasures to overcome those defences. Many bacteria, for example, have restriction enzymes which recognise certain sections of the bacteriophage DNA and cut it into fragments. However, the T7 bacteriophage has one well-known protein called Ocr which inhibits restriction enzymes. Ocr does this by mimicking DNA, which led Ye et al. to wonder if it could also interrupt other vital processes in a bacterial cell that involve DNA. Transcription is the first step in a coordinated process that turns the genetic information stored in a cell’s DNA into useful proteins. An enzyme called RNA polymerase decodes the DNA sequence into a go-between molecule called messenger RNA, and it was here that Ye et al. thought Ocr might jump in to interfere. To begin, Ye et al. examined the structure of Ocr when it binds to RNA polymerase using an imaging technique called cryo-electron microscopy. Ocr has been well-studied before, its structure previously described, but not when attached to RNA polymerase. The analysis showed that Ocr gets in the way of specific molecules, called sigma factors, that show RNA polymerase where to start transcription. Ocr binds to RNA polymerase in exactly the same pocket as part of sigma factors do, which is also the place where DNA must be to be decoded to make messenger RNA. Ye et al. then performed experiments to show Ocr interfering with binding to RNA polymerase did indeed disrupt transcription. This means Ocr is quite versatile as it interferes with the RNA polymerase of the bacterial host and its restriction enzymes. Ocr’s strategy of mimicking DNA to interrupt transcription could be adopted as an approach to develop new antibiotics to stop bacterial infections. DNA transcription is an essential cellular process – without it, no cell can replicate and survive – and RNA polymerase is already a validated target for drugs. Following Ocr’s lead could provide a new way to stop infections, if the right drug can be designed to fit.

Application of soil amendments has been wildly used to increase soil pH and control bacterial wilt. However, little is known about causal shifts in the rhizosphere microbial community of crops, especially when the field naturally harbors the disease of bacterial wilt to tobacco for many years due to long-term continuous cropping and soil acidification. In this study, biochar (CP), lime (LM), oyster shell powder (OS) and no soil amendment additions (Control; CK) were assessed for their abilities to improve the soil acidification, change the composition of rhizosphere soil bacterial communities and thus control tobacco bacterial wilt. The results showed that oyster shell powder significantly increased soil pH by 0.77 and reduced the incidence of tobacco bacterial wilt by 36.67% compared to the control. The Illumina sequencing -based community analysis showed that soil amendment applications affected the composition of rhizosphere bacterial community and increased the richness and diversity. In contrast, the richness and diversity correlated negatively to disease incidence. Using LEfSe analyses, 11 taxa were found to be closely related with disease suppression, in which Saccharibacteria, Aeromicrobium, and Pseudoxanthomonas could be potential indicators of disease suppression. Our results suggested that the suppression of bacterial wilt after the application of soil amendments (especially oyster shell powder) was attributed to the improved soil pH and increased bacterial richness and diversity. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00253-018-9347-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sourdough is widely used for the preparation of traditional sourdough breads in Europe and as an important inoculum for steamed buns prepared in Asian countries, especially China. This study aims to characterize Chinese traditional sourdoughs in terms of their taxonomic compositions, physicochemical characteristics, bacterial diversity and functional features. Thirty geographically diverse sourdoughs were collected from three regions across China. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics were used to characterize the bacterial diversity of the sourdoughs from the different sampling sites. The results showed that the West group was significantly different from the North and South groups in the dominant genera (mainly Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc) and metabolic pathways (metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, MTP, and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, XBM), whereas samples from the North and South groups were not significantly different from each other. This is the first report of the genus Clostridium in sourdough and the first report of metabolic pathways related to MTP and XBM in sourdough. This research provides a thorough description and analysis of the relationship between bacterial diversity and geographic region in sourdough.

The crystallisation of methyl stearate under a range of crystallisation conditions has been studied and three new polymorphs have been identified and structurally characterised. Form III (monoclinic, space group Cc, Z = 8) was obtained at room temperature by slow evaporation of a saturated solution in CS2. Form IV (monoclinic, space group C2/c, Z = 4) was obtained by slow cooling of the melt. Both structures were characterised by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Form V (monoclinic, space group Cc, Z = 4) was obtained from the melt by rapid cooling. X-ray and neutron powder diffraction methods were employed in the determination of this structure. Form V shows highly anisotropic thermal expansion, with expansion along the crystallographic b-axis being substantially greater than along the other two axes.

This study investigates the impact of China’s Green Credit Guidelines on the technological innovations of heavily polluting enterprises. This study uses data obtained from the CSMAR database (2007–2018) and China Marketization Index Report by Province 2018 and uses the Green Credit Guidelines as a quasi-natural experiment. The sample was divided into an experimental group and a control group; the experimental group disclosed environmental and sustainable development information, while the control group did not. This study’s primary finding is that the Green Credit Guidelines can improve the level of technological innovation of heavily polluting enterprises and have a greater impact in areas with high levels of marketization, indicating that the Green Credit Guidelines have a positive effect on the technological innovation of heavily polluting enterprises. This provides China with an experience constructing relevant policies and regulations and provides empirical evidence regarding the technological innovations of heavily polluting enterprises from the perspective of factor market distortions and the Porter hypothesis.

Summary Competition is a major type of interaction between fungi and bacteria in soil and is also an important factor in suppression of plant diseases caused by soil‐borne fungal pathogens. There is increasing attention for the possible role of volatiles in competitive interactions between bacteria and fungi. However, knowledge on the actual role of bacterial volatiles in interactions with fungi within soil microbial communities is lacking. Here, we examined colonization of sterile agricultural soils by fungi and bacteria from non‐sterile soil inoculums during exposure to volatiles emitted by soil‐derived bacterial communities. We found that colonization of soil by fungi was negatively affected by exposure to volatiles emitted by bacterial communities whereas that of bacteria was barely changed. Furthermore, there were strong effects of bacterial community volatiles on the assembly of fungal soil colonizers. Identification of volatile composition produced by bacterial communities revealed several compounds with known fungistatic activity. Our results are the first to reveal a collective volatile‐mediated antagonism of soil bacteria against fungi. Given the better exploration abilities of filamentous fungi in unsaturated soils, this may be an important strategy for bacteria to defend occupied nutrient patches against invading fungi. Another implication of our research is that bacterial volatiles in soil atmospheres can have a major contribution to soil fungistasis.

Patulin contamination is a serious issue that restricts the development of the global fruit processing industry. Yeasts adsorb patulin more effectively than other microbial adsorbents, and this adsorption process depends mainly on the function of the cell wall. The present study examined the effect of exogenous calcium, in concentrations ranging from 0 to 1 mol/L, on

This work reports a new acetonitrile (ACN)-solvated cocrystal of piroxicam (PRX) and succinic acid (SA), 2C15H13N3O4S·0.5C4H6O4·C2H3N or PRX:SA:ACN (4:1:2), which adopts the triclinic space group P\overline{1}. The outcome of crystallization from ACN solution can be controlled by varying only the PRX:SA ratio, with a higher PRX:SA ratio in solution unexpectedly favouring a lower stoichiometric ratio in the solid product. In the new solvate, zwitterionic (Z) and non-ionized (NI) PRX molecules co-exist in the asymmetric unit. In contrast, the nonsolvated PRX–SA cocrystal contains only NI-type PRX molecules. The ACN molecule entrapped in PRX–SA·ACN does not form any hydrogen bonds with the surrounding molecules. In the solvated cocrystal, Z-type molecules form dimers linked by intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds, whereas every pair of NI-type molecules is linked to SA via N—H...O and O—H...N hydrogen bonds. Thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry suggest that thermal desolvation of the solvate sample occurs at 148 °C, and is followed by recrystallization, presumably of a multicomponent PRX–SA structure. Vibrational spectra (IR and Raman spectroscopy) of PRX–SA·ACN and PRX–SA are also used to demonstrate the ability of spectroscopic techniques to distinguish between NI- and Z-type PRX molecules in the solid state. Hence, vibrational spectroscopy can be used to distinguish the PRX–SA cocrystal and its ACN solvate.

With the development and popularization of automatic weather stations, testing the performance of the recording precipitation gauges and deriving the adjustment algorithm have become the top priority. This study mainly analyzed the losses of TRwSSA (TRwS204 shielded with a single Alter) through correlation and regression methods, and derived the correction algorithm from August 2014 to August 2016 in the Qilian Mountains, China. Results show that precipitation collected with TRwSSA was 116.2, 5.8, and 7.6 mm less than the true precipitation during the experiment for rain, sleet, and snow, respectively. For the losses, specific errors account for a larger proportion than systematic errors for rainfall and snowfall events, while systematic errors account for a larger proportion than specific errors for sleet events. Regression analyses show that the amount of precipitation and mean air temperature can affect specific errors, particularly for snowfall events. On average, the specific errors per event were 0.6, 0.0, and 0.4 mm for rain, sleet, and snow, respectively, and the systematic errors per event were 0.1, 0.1 and 0.0 mm for rain, sleet, and snow, respectively. For systematic errors, wind speed was still the most significant factor for the catch ratio (CR) of rain and sleet, whereas humidity affected the CR of snow to a certain extent. Currently, given that the transfer functions were agreed to derive from the DFAR (DFIR fence + automatic weighing gauge + shield + precipitation detector), considerable attention should be focused on the specific errors of the automatic weighing gauge.

Patulin contamination is a severe issue that restricts the development of the global fruit processing industry. Yeast adsorbs patulin more effectively than other microbial adsorbents, and this adsorption process mainly depends on the function of the cell wall. Additionally, exogenous calcium ions aid in yeast cell wall formation according to reports. Therefore, in the present study, the effect of exogenous calcium concentrations on the cell wall structure and the patulin adsorption capability was studied. We showed that the ability of the yeast to adsorb patulin was strengthened with an increase in exogenous calcium concentrations between 1×10-4 - 1×10-2 mol/L. Moreover, yeast cell wall thickness, β-1,3-glucan content and the activities of the key catalytic enzymes β-1,3-glucanase and β-1,3-glycosyl transferase were all increased within this range. The results indicated that exogenous calcium activates key enzymes and that these enzymes are crucial for cell wall network formation and patulin adsorption capability.ImportanceThe present work illuminates that the exogenous calcium ions could determine the insoluble network structure by regulating key enzyme activities under certain concentrations, thus indirectly influencing the yeast cell patulin adsorption capability. It could enhance patulin adsorption capability of yeast walls and successfully apply to fruit juice industry.

A series of CHA-type trimetallic composite zeolites of Cex–Fey/Cu–SSZ-13 catalysts were prepared using Cu–SSZ-13, synthesized in a one-pot procedure, and subsequent ion-exchange with Fe3+ and Ce3+. The catalysts were characterized including TEM, XRD, XPS, SEM and BET. Their catalytic performances for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 were investigated. The results of XRD revealed that the crystal structure of zeolite Ce–Fe/Cu–SSZ-13 is the same as Cu–SSZ-13. It is known from the results of BET and catalytic performance tests that larger specific surface areas and smaller pore size favor a catalytic reaction. Among the prepared Cex–Fey/Cu–SSZ-13 catalysts, Ce0.017–Fe0.017/Cu–SSZ-13 displayed the best SCR performance. The NO conversion was more than 90% between 200 and 500 °C. N2 selectivity was above 98% within the wider temperature range of 150–550 °C. In addition, the catalyst demonstrated sulfur–water tolerance and effective resistance against high space velocity. The phenomena suggest that synergistic effects of Cu, Fe and Ce species improve the SCR performances and make the Ce–Fe/Cu–SSZ-13 catalyst a promising candidate for NH3–SCR technology.

Chloropicrin is widely used to control ginger wilt in China, which have an enormous impact on soil microbial diversity. However, little is known on the possible legacy effects on soil microbial community composition with continuous fumigation over different years. In this report, we used high throughput Illumina sequencing and Biolog ECO microplates to determine the bacterial community and microbial metabolic activity in ginger harvest fields of non-fumigation (NF), chloropicrin-fumigation for 1 year (F_1) and continuous chloropicrin-fumigation for 3 years (F_3). The results showed that microbial richness and diversity in F_3 were the lowest, while the metabolic activity had no significant difference. With the increase of fumigation years, the incidence of bacterial wilt was decreased, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Saccharibacteria were gradually increased. Using LEfSe analyses, we found that Saccharibacteria was the most prominent biomarker in F_3. Eight genera associated with antibiotic production in F_3 were screened out, of which seven belonged to Actinobacteria, and one belonged to Bacteroidetes. The study indicated that with the increase of fumigation years, soil antibacterial capacity may be increased (possible reason for reduced the incidence of bacterial wilt), and Saccharibacteria played a potential role in evaluating the biological effects of continuous fumigation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13568-017-0475-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.