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China's plan to establish a social credit system (SCS) has aroused the concern of building a surveillance state. Yet this view oversimplifies and misunderstands the essence of the SCS. The highest priorities of the SCS are promoting economic credibility and reinforcing court orders. Meanwhile, the SCS aims to steer citizens' social behaviors and interactions by utilizing a redlist system that introduces numerous moderate rewards. The SCS is also more lax in execution than in planning. It reflects a unique Chinese understanding of law, which treats law as a moral guide. This article also acknowledges the concerns for the SCS. Without actively preventing positive and negative invasions in the construction of the project, the SCS authorities will risk creating further mistrust in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Pulse rate variability monitoring and atrial fibrillation detection algorithms have been widely used in wearable devices, but the accuracies of these algorithms are restricted by the signal quality of pulse wave. Time synchronous averaging is a powerful noise reduction method for periodic and approximately periodic signals. It is usually used to extract single-period pulse waveforms, but has nothing to do with pulse rate variability monitoring and atrial fibrillation detection traditionally. If this method is improved properly, it may provide a new way to measure pulse rate variability and to detect atrial fibrillation, which may have some potential advantages under the condition of poor signal quality. Objective. The objective of this paper was to develop a new measure of pulse rate variability by improving existing time synchronous averaging and to detect atrial fibrillation by the new measure of pulse rate variability. Methods. During time synchronous averaging, two adjacent periods were regarded as the basic unit to calculate the average signal, and the difference between waveforms of the two adjacent periods was the new measure of pulse rate variability. 3 types of distance measures (Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, and cosine distance) were tested to measure this difference on a simulated training set with a capacity of 1000. The distance measure, which can accurately distinguish regular pulse rate and irregular pulse rate, was used to detect atrial fibrillation on the testing set with a capacity of 62 (11 with atrial fibrillation, 8 with premature contraction, and 43 with sinus rhythm). The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the performance of the indexes. Results. The Euclidean distance between waveforms of the two adjacent periods performs best on the training set. On the testing set, the Euclidean distance in atrial fibrillation group is significantly higher than that of the other two groups. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve to identify atrial fibrillation was 0.998. With the threshold of 2.1, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 98.39%, 100%, and 98.04%, respectively. This new index can detect atrial fibrillation from pulse wave signal. Conclusion. This algorithm not only provides a new perspective to detect AF but also accomplishes the monitoring of PRV and the extraction of single-period pulse wave through the same technical route, which may promote the popularization and application of pulse wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Straw incorporation and optimized fertilization application are considered as effective strategies for agricultural sustainable development. However, the interaction of straw incorporation and N fertilization on labile carbon fraction, soil aggregate stability and microbial community composition are less known, especially in saline-alkali soil. Methods: A 4-year experiment was conducted in the Yellow River Delta with two factors: straw incorporation (0, 4 500 and 9 000 kg ha−1; C0, C1 and C2, respectively) and N fertilization (255 and 400 kg N ha−1; N1 and N2). Results: Soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) contents were also increased. Meanwhile, the proportion of macroaggregate was enhanced with straw incorporation through the increase of MBC and POC. Compared with N2 level, DOC:SOC ratio was decreased with straw application under N1 level, reflecting the improvement of SOC adsorption capacity. Additionally, the proportion of straw-C converted to SOC under N1 level was about 21–25%, 15–20% under N2 level, and the highest conversion rate was in N1C1 treatment. We also found DOC and SOC were the most important factors to affect the abundance of bacteria (Firmicutes) and fungi (Ascomycota) involved in straw-C degrading, which were lower under N1 level. Conclusions: It is feasible to achieve higher carbon content while increasing soil aggregate stability by optimizing straw incorporation and N fertilizer in saline-alkali soil. These findings provide important insights for improving saline-alkali soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the so-called worst-case linear optimization (WCLO) with uncertainties on the right-hand side of the constraints. Such a problem often arises in applications such as in systemic risk estimation in finance and stochastic optimization. We first show that the WCLO problem with the uncertainty set corresponding to the l p-norm ((WCLOp)) is NP-hard for p ɛ (1,∞). Second, we combine several simple optimization techniques, such as the successive convex optimization method, quadratic convex relaxation, initialization, and branch-and-bound (B&B), to develop an algorithm for (WCLO2) that can find a globally optimal solution to (WCLO2) within a prespecified ε-tolerance. We establish the global convergence of the algorithm and estimate its complexity. We also develop a finite B&B algorithm for (WCLO∞) to identify a global optimal solution to the underlying problem, and establish the finite convergence of the algorithm. Numerical experiments are reported to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in finding globally optimal solutions to medium and large-scale WCLO instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the Chinese Communist Party has adopted a unique understanding of the people. Unlike the liberal view, which generally considers the people a nonpolitical and positive entity, the party views the people as essentially political. The party's political understanding of the people, this article argues, is consistent with the very nature of the people. Viewed from the political understanding of the people and representing the people, the party's theories of "contradictions among the people," of the "mass line," and of distinctions among different classes and individuals are consistent with self-governance by the people. The party's theories are not inherently totalitarian, antidemocratic, and arbitrary, as liberal theorists argue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Different groundwater tables were set to analyze the fate of persulfate in soil. • Sulfate is not the final fate of sulfur in soil remediation by persulfate. • H 2 S accounts for 93.4-99.4 % of gaseous sulfur with maximum concentration of 33.0 ppm. • H 2 S concentration expected to decrease to a safe concentration after 20-85 days. Persulfate is considered a convenient and efficient remediation agent for organic contaminated soil. However, the potential risk of sulfur into the soil remediation by persulfate remains ignored. In this study, glass bottles with different persulfate dosages and groundwater tables were set up to simulate persulfate remediation of organic pollutants (aniline). The results found sulfate to be the main end-product (83.0%‒99.5%) of persulfate remediation after 10 days. Moreover, H 2 S accounted for 93.4%‒99.4% of sulfur reduction end-products, suggesting that H 2 S was the final fate of sulfur. H 2 S was released rapidly after one to three days at a maximum concentration of 33.0 ppm, which is sufficient to make a person uncomfortable. According to the fitted curve results, H 2 S concentration decreased to a safe concentration (0.15 ppm) after 20‒85 days. Meanwhile, the maximum concentration of methanethiol reached 0.6 ppm. These results indicated that secondary pollution from persulfate remediation could release harmful gases over a long time. Therefore, persulfate should be used more carefully as a remediation agent for soil contamination. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, functional polyimide (PI) fabric with high electrically conductive and electromagnetic shielding effect was prepared by nickel-tungsten-phosphorus (Ni-W-P) electroless plating. Firstly, a wave-absorbing and conductive polyaniline (PANI) layer was in-situ polymerized on the surface of fabric. Secondly, the PANI reduced the palladium ions to palladium particles acting as catalytically active sites. Finally, Ni-W-P electroless plating was initiated and formed a uniform and dense layer. The features of Ni-W-P alloy layer on PI fabric were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal stability of the sample was also evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the electrical conductivity was 0.08 Ω/sq and the outstanding electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) could reach 103 dB. Moreover, the robust SE performance after multiple ultrasonic washing and bending tests also implied the resultant material had a great potential in the textile protection fields. Highlights • High conductivity and electromagnetic shielding PI fabrics was fabricated. • The fabric is prepared by nickel-tungsten-phosphorus electroless plating. • The mechanism is synergistic effect of wave reflection and wave absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to observe the effect of the Notch1 signaling inhibitor γ-secretase inhibitor II (GSI II) on the growth and differentiation of tumor cells. The tumor cell line U87 was grown in serum-free media, and cell growth was evaluated using immunofluorescence. Single-cell wall-adherent growing conditions were prepared, GSI II was added, and the differentiation and growth of single tumor cells was evaluated. Immunofluorescence demonstrated positive results for the expression of Nestin and cluster of differentiation 133. The cell proliferation rate was reduced following the addition of GSI II (P<0.05). GSI II may significantly inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of U87 tumor stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining of minerals and precious elements leads to land degradation that need to be reclaimed using environmentally friendly and cost effective techniques. The present study investigated the potential effects of different organic amendments on cadmium (Cd) bioavailability in mining-degraded soil and its subsequent bioaccumulation in tomato and cucumber. The selected organic geosorbents (hard wood biochar (HWB), bagasse (BG), rice husk (RH), and maize comb waste (MCW)) were added at application rates of 3% and 5% to chromite mine-degraded soil containing Cd. Tomato and cucumber plants were then grown in the soil, and the roots, shoots, leaves, and fruits of each plant were analysed for Cd concentration, biomass production, and chlorophyll content. The results indicated that the different organic materials have variable effects on physiochemical characteristics of vegetables and Cd bioavailability. The biochar amendment significantly (P < 0.01) increased chlorophyll contents (20–40%) and biomass (40–63%), as did RH to a lesser extent (increase of 10–18% in chlorophyll content and 3–45% in biomass). Among the amendments, HWB was the most effective at reducing Cd bioavailability, wherein significant decreases were observed in Cd uptake by fruits of tomato (24–30%) and cucumber (36–54%). The higher application rate of 5% was found to be more effective for mitigation of Cd mobility and bioaccumulation in plants grown in mine degraded soil. The study results indicate that effective use of organic amendments, especially HWB, can significantly reduce Cd levels in vegetables, improve food quality, and reduce human-health risk while increasing biomass production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The phosphorus deficiency is very common in Fe(III)‐rich soil, and one of the key point is to clarify the condition in release or desorption of phosphorus from the Fe(III)‐rich minerals. The present study was to explore the effect of labile carbon on microbial reduction of Fe(III) and release of phosphorus in root‐free sub‐tropical soil. A two‐compartment microcosm was collected, in which the roots of Medicago sativa L. cultivar ‘Aohan' were confined within one compartment by a barrier of 30‐μm nylon mesh, while mycorrhizal hyphae could penetrate to the second compartment. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Funelliformis mosseae) were added to the root compartment and iron‐reducing bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae) were added to the hyphal compartment. Hyphal compartments were provided with two levels of additional carbon (0 and 23 mg C kg−1 soil as sodium acetate) and eight levels of inorganic phosphorus (0 to 35 mg P kg−1 soil as KH2PO4). At low phosphorus levels (< 5 mg P kg−1 soil), shoot biomass, and total biomass phosphorus were substantially less with added carbon in the presence of iron‐reducing bacteria. Carbon had little effect without iron‐reducing bacteria. At higher phosphorus levels (> 15 mg P kg−1 soil), the effect of added carbon was reversed; that is shoot biomass and total biomass phosphorus were greater with added carbon. Available soil phosphorus showed a similar response to added carbon—less at low levels of phosphorus and greater at higher levels of phosphorus. Microbial phosphorus in the presence of iron‐reducing bacteria was always higher with added carbon at all corresponding levels of soil phosphorus. Taken together, these results show that some phosphorus mobilized by iron‐reducing bacteria was converted into microbiological phosphorus, but there was an obligatory requirement for labile carbon for this to happen—reducing the amount of phosphorus that was absorbed by the mycorrhizal hyphae. Iron‐reducing bacteria and mycorrhizae showed a competitive interaction at lower levels of available soil phosphorus, and a complementary, or possibly a carbon‐dependent synergistic function at higher levels of available phosphorus. These results demonstrate that phosphorus released from ferralsols by iron‐reducing bacteria is positively mediated by both phosphorus and labile carbon and, hence, that phosphorus release and mobilization by iron‐reducing bacteria is likely to be enhanced by additions of exogenous carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowered by the media, legislations in China have, over recent years, been increasingly influenced by public focusing events. Many national legislations have been triggered by public focusing events, rather than being entirely pre-determined by the Party or by the government. After a detailed empirical study of 132 public focusing events and national legislations between 2003 and 2016, the article explores the features, the reasons, and the advantages and disadvantages of legislations triggered by public focusing events. In these 'pressure-induced legislations', the public focusing events serve as catalysts that create a new consensus or demand for new laws and regulations that are enacted over a short period of time, thereby influencing the national legislation. Compared to traditional Chinese legislations, pressure-induced legislations are more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the general public, but they also carry the danger of irrational judgments being made, leading to the enactment of improper laws or regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic fertilization, a critical agronomic practice for improving nutrient availability and crop growth, may increase the risk of phosphorus (P) loss. To investigate the effect of organic fertilization on P availability, crop growth and P loss, a paddy field experiment was conducted in the saline-alkaline paddy soil. We designed four treatments: CK (no fertilizer), NPK (mineral fertilizer), and NPKC1 and NPKC2 (mineral fertilizer with low and high levels of organic fertilizer, respectively); the amounts of N, P2O5, and K2O were equal in the NPK, NPKC1, and NPKC2 treatments. Compared with the NPK treatment, organic fertilization enhanced the content of total, organic, and available P in the topsoil. Moreover, organic fertilization significantly improved both the growth and P removal of crops. The content of oxalate Fe, Al, and dissolved organic carbon, the main carriers of P loss, in the soil was the highest in the NPKC2 treatment. The soil P saturation ratio (PSR) in the NPKC2 treatment was 0.25, exceeding the threshold PSR for P loss of 0.16. Therefore, organic fertilizer application could improve P availability and crop growth; however, high-level organic fertilization increases the risk of P loss in coastal saline-alkaline paddy soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Export of biospheric organic carbon from land masses to the ocean plays an important role in regulating the global carbon cycle. High-relief islands in the western Pacific are hotspots for such land-to-ocean carbon transport due to frequent floods and active tectonics. Submarine canyon systems serve as a major conduit to convey terrestrial organics into the deep sea, particularly during episodic floods, though the nature of ephemeral sediment transportation through such canyons remains unclear. In this study, we deployed a sediment trap in southwestern Taiwan's Gaoping submarine canyon during summer 2008, during which Typhoon Kalmaegi impacted the study area. We investigated sources of particulate organic carbon and quantified the content of fossil organic carbon ( OC f ) and biospheric non-fossil carbon (OC nf ) during typhoon and non-typhoon periods, based on relations between total organic carbon (TOC), isotopic composition ( δ 13 C , 14 C), and nitrogen to carbon ratios (N/C) of newly and previously reported source materials. During typhoons, flooding connected terrestrial rivers to the submarine canyon. Fresh plant debris was not found in the trap except in the hyperpycnal layer, suggesting that only hyperpycnal flow is capable of entraining plant debris, while segregation had occurred during non-hyperpycnal periods. The OC nf components in typhoon flood and trapped samples were likely sourced from aged organics buried in ancient landslides. During non-typhoon periods, the canyon is more connected to the shelf, where waves and tides cause reworking, thus allowing abiotic and biotic processes to generate isotopically uniform and similarly aged OC nf for transport into the canyon. Therefore, extreme events coupled with the submarine canyon system created an efficient method for deep-sea burial of freshly produced organic-rich material. Our results shed light on the ephemeral transport of organics within a submarine canyon system on an active tectonic margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Younger Dryas (YD) event, which punctuated the last glacial-Holocene transition period and had a profound impact on global climate, is the most well studied millennial-scale climate event although the triggering mechanism remains debate. Weakened Asian summer monsoon during the YD is recorded in oxygen isotopes of stalagmite from Mainland China. However, lacustrine climate record of the YD event has not been reported from the subtropical land-ocean boundary of the Asian continent near the Pacific warm pool. We provide a lignin biomarker record covering the last deglaciation and early Holocene (17–9 ka BP) from the Dongyuan Lake, southern Taiwan, located at the frontal zone of typhoon invasion. The lignin phenol ratio S/V shows that the vegetation in the catchments had shifted from gymnosperm dominant to angiosperm dominant plants since 12.2 ka BP. Significantly decreased lignin concentrations (TLP and λ 8 ) and elevated lignin degradation parameters ((Ad/Al)v, P/(V + S), DHBA/V) in combination with other organic proxies (TOC, δ13Corg) during the late YD suggest a severe drought had occurred in southern Taiwan during this specific period. Changes in the lignin proxies from the Dongyuan Lake lagged the climate changes registered in stalagmite records by around 500–800 years, suggesting a slow response of vegetation and soil processes to rapid climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dominantly inherited mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common causes of familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and LRRK2 polymorphisms are associated with increased risk for idiopathic PD. However, the molecular mechanisms by which these mutations cause PD remain uncertain. In vitro studies indicate that disease-linked mutations in LRRK2 increase LRRK2 kinase activity and LRRK2-mediated cell toxicity. Identifying LRRK2-interacting proteins and determining their effects on LRRK2 are important for understanding LRRK2 function and for delineating the pathophysiological mechanisms of LRRK2 mutations. Here we identified a novel protein, F-box and leucine-rich repeat domain-containing protein 18 (Fbxl18) that physically associates with LRRK2. We demonstrated that Fbxl18 is a component of a Skp1-Cullin1-F-box ubiquitin ligase complex that regulates the abundance of LRRK2 by selectively targeting phosphorylated LRRK2 for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Knockdown of endogenous Fbxl18 stabilized LRRK2 abundance while protein kinase C activation enhanced LRRK2 degradation by Fbxl18. Dephosphorylation of LRRK2 blocked Fbxl18 association with LRRK2. Taken together, we have identified potential mechanisms for LRRK2 regulation by kinase signaling pathways. Furthermore, Fbxl18 prevented caspase activation and cell death caused by LRRK2 and PD-linked mutant LRRK2. This reveals novel targets for developing potential therapies for familial and idiopathic PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the mechanisms behind the beneficial combinations of the existence and formation processes of tripartite symbiosis of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen (N)-fixing rhizobia in phosphorus (P) deficiency. The effects of different inoculations ofBradyrhizobium japonicum(BJ) andGlomus mosseae(GM) on plant growth, P uptake, and soluble sugar concentration of soybeans in a P-deficient environment were investigated utilizing split-root systems supplemented with either KH2PO4(0.01 mM, I-P) or Phytin (200 mg P kg−1, O-P) for 56 days. Six treatments were applied: (1) mono-inoculation of BJ in organic P compartment, O-BJ; (2) mono-inoculation of BJ in inorganic P compartment, I-BJ; (3) mono-inoculation of BJ in organic P compartment and mono-inoculation of GM in inorganic P compartment, O-BJ/I-GM; (4) mono-inoculation of BJ in inorganic P compartment and mono-inoculation of GM in organic P compartment, O-GM/I-BJ; (5) dual inoculation of BJ and GM in organic P compartment, O-BJ/GM; and (6) dual inoculation of BJ and GM in inorganic P compartment, I-BJ/GM. Compared with sole inoculation of BJ, dual inoculation increased the plant and nodule biomass, which were higher in I-BJ/GM and O-BJ/I-GM treatments compared to O-GM/I-BJ and O-BJ/GM treatments. Roots inoculated with GM in I-P grew better regardless of whether BJ was inoculated or not. GM inoculation in I-P also increased the number of leaves and the rate of photosynthesis. Nodule P concentration following dual inoculation in I-P was increased 2.1-fold compared to that in sole inoculation with BJ. Shoot soluble sugar concentration with dual inoculation in O-P was less than that in the other three treatments. Inoculated with GM in I-P increased the root soluble sugar concentration compared with the non-GM plants or GM inoculation in O-P. The present findings may explain a regulatory system for the nutrition of beneficial microbial interactions by the nodule or by AM fungal hyphae at selecting the best performing tripartite symbiotic partners in P deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Situated at the border between the Southeast Asian continent and the northwestern Pacific, Taiwan's climate is primarily influenced by the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and episodic tropical cyclones formed in the western Pacific. The lake sediments in Taiwan thus potentially archive the information of typhoon events and past monsoon variability. A high-resolution multi-proxy (total carbon, mass accumulation rate of total carbon, weight percent of wood fragments, δ 13 C of the organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility, chemical weathering index) and well-dated lacustrine record from Dongyuan Lake (22°10′N, 120°50′E; 360 m above sea level) in southern Taiwan was used to reconstruct centennial to millennial timescale EASM oscillations specifically for the transition from the last deglaciation to the Early Holocene (17–9 ka BP). The temporal patterns of proxies on both timescales in our records broadly agree with those in the Greenland ice core, which shows enhanced EASM during the warm period and weakened monsoon during the cold period. Different from northern high-latitude climates, we found two phases in the Mystery Interval, opposite Bølling–Allerød (BA) trend with maximum monsoonal rainfall in the Allerød period and more gradual transition to Younger Dryas event in our record. Likely, other climate forcings beyond the North Atlantic climate jointly modulated the EASM. Changes of sea surface temperature in the western tropical Pacific also might have exerted synergistic control on EASM precipitation in Taiwan on the centennial timescale during the last deglaciation. In addition, several high sedimentation events accompanied by significant amounts of wood fragments were observed and coincide with the paleo-record of mass wasting events identified on various downstream floodplains in Taiwan. Since mass wasting processes were rainfall-driven and threshold-triggered, such coherence possibly indicated an intensification of typhoon activity during the early Holocene. More high-resolution lacustrine records are required to decipher the hydrological variation and climate dynamics that were co-influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and typhoon activity in Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis Related Protein 3 (APR3) is an important protein which is involved in retinoic acid-induced apoptosis, osteoblast differentiation and cervical squamous cell carcinoma progression. Although it was predicted to be a trans-membrane protein, its cellular localization is not clear. In this study, we analyzed APR3 with bioinformatic tools and found that APR3 contains a potential signal peptide, a transmembrane region and 3 N-glycosylation sites, all of which are characteristics of lysosomal proteins. Western blot with isolated lysosomes demonstrated that APR3 was mainly present in lysosomes, specially in the lysosomal membrane fraction, but not in endoplasmic reticulum. Concomitantly, double immunofluorescence confirmed that APR3 co-localized with lysosomal membrane protein, LAMP1, as well as lysosomal specific marker, Lyso-Tracker Red. Moreover, we showed that APR3 was highly expressed in the lung, liver, spleen, kidney and adipose tissue, but expressed at the low level in the heart, pancreas, stomach and intestine. Interestingly, APR3 expression was elevated in multiple hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines comparing to normal liver cells. Collectively, our results proved that APR3 is a novel lysosomal membrane protein and shed light on its possible functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the organic phosphorus (P) (phytate) utilization of Zea mays L. with different nitrogen (N) forms (NH4+ and NO3-) when both arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Funelliformis mosseae) and phosphate-solubilizing bacterium (PSB, Pseudomonas alcaligenes) are present. The soil was supplied with either KNO3 or (NH4)2SO4 (200 mg kg-1 ) with or without phytin (75 mg P kg-1). Results showed that the application of NH4+ to the soil in a plant-AM fungus-PSB system decreased rhizosphere pH and increased phosphatase activity. It also enhanced the mineralization rate of phytin, which resulted in the release of more inorganic P. The application of NO3- promoted mycorrhizal colonization and hyphal length density in the soil. The inorganic P in the hyphosphere decreased, but more P was transferred to the plant through the mycorrhizal hyphae. Hence, in addition, the application of the two different N forms did not significantly alter the content of plant P. The plant supplied with different N fertilizers acquired P through different mechanisms associated with other microbes. NH4+ application promoted phytin mineralization by decreasing soil pH, whereas NO3- application increased inorganic P uptake by strengthening the mycorrhizal pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background information Cyanobacteria possess Aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) membrane channels which have been suggested to mediate the water efflux underlying osmostress-inducible gene expression and to be essential for glucose metabolism under photomixotrophic growth. However, preliminary observations suggest that the biophy-sical properties of transport and physiological meaning of AqpZ in such photosynthetic microorganisms are not yet completely assessed. Results In this study, we used Xenopus laevis oocyte and proteoliposome systems to directly demonstrate the water permeability of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 aquaporin, SsAqpZ. By an in vitro assay of intracellular acidification in yeast cells, SsAqpZ was found to transport also CO2. Consistent with this result, during the entire exponential phase of growth, Synechococcus SsAqpZ-null-mutant cells grew slower than the corresponding wild-type cells. This phenotype was stronger with higher levels of extracellular CO2. In line with the conversion of CO2 gas into HCO3− ions under alkaline conditions, the impairment in growth of the SsAqpZ-null strain was weaker in more alkaline culture medium. Conclusions Cyanobacterial SsAqpZ may exert a pleiotropic function in addition to the already reported roles in macronutrient homeostasis and osmotic-stress response as it appears to constitute an important pathway in CO2 uptake, a fundamental step in photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (ATBN) was applied as curing agents for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin without any accelerating agent. ATBN weight percentage of 59–82wt% was used, so that the soft ATBN domains in the cured samples formed a continuous phase, while the hard epoxy domains formed a discontinuous phase. Mechanical properties were tested in the means of strain-stress and adhesive strength. The results showed that the samples had excellent toughness at temperatures above the flexible segment glass transition temperature (T g1), and it was well maintained after annealing at 150°C. However, adhesive strength of the annealed sample decreased dramatically when the testing temperature was close to the rigid segment glass transition temperature (T g2). It was observed that (T g2) decreased and phase separation became weaker after the annealing. Real-time Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurement indicated that this phenomenon was related to the disassociation of hydrogen bonding within the hard domain caused by the increased mixing of the hard segments into the soft domains by the high temperature annealing. It was confirmed by transmission electronic microscope (TEM) test. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To test the hypothesis that rhizosphere acidification would enhance the hydrolyzation of organic phosphates by increasing phosphatase activity. A Petri dish experiment with sterile agar and a pot experiment with a low P soil were used. In the Petri dish experiment, roots of each plant were cultured in two compartments, each of which contained agar with one of three nitrogen combinations: NH/N0 (N0 = nitrogen free), NH/NO, and NO/N0. Phytin was supplied as the sole phosphorus (P) source to all compartments. In the pot experiment, the soil in each pot was treated with N0, KNO, or (NH)SO) together with 0 or 75 mg kg phytin-P. Dry weight, P concentration, and P content of roots were highest in the NH compartments in the Petri dish experiment. In the pot experiment, dry weight, P concentration, and P content of both shoots and roots were higher with NH than with NO. NH treatments reduced rhizosphere pH, promoted the hydrolization of phytin, enhanced acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere, and increased phytin-P utilization relative to N0 and NO treatments. Phosphatase activity was negatively correlated with rhizosphere pH but was positively correlated with plant P content in both experiments. Rhizosphere acidification optimized the activity of acid phosphatase excreted by maize roots and promoted phytin mineralization. NH-induced acidification in the maize rhizosphere improved the growth of maize roots by improving P uptake from phytin; the improved growth, in turn, increased NH uptake and acidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants uniquely contain large numbers of protein kinases, and for the vast majority of the 1,429 kinases predicted in the rice (Oryza sativa) genome, little is known of their functions. Genetic approaches often fail to produce observable phenotypes; thus, new strategies are needed to delineate kinase function. We previously developed a cost-effective high-throughput yeast two- hybrid system. Using this system, we have generated a protein interaction map of 116 representative rice kinases and 254 of their interacting proteins. Overall, the resulting interaction map supports a large number of known or predicted kinase- protein interactions from both plants and animals and reveals many new functional insights. Notably, we found a potential widespread role for E3 ubiquitin ligases in pathogen defense signaling mediated by receptor-like kinases, particularly by the kinases that may have evolved from recently expanded kinase subfamilies in rice. We anticipate that the data provided here will serve as a foundation for targeted functional studies in rice and other plants. The application of yeast two-hybrid and TAPtag analyses for large-scale plant protein interaction studies is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic metamaterials are materials with artificially designed structures, which have characteristics that surpass the behavior of natural materials, such as negative refraction, anomalous Doppler effect, plane focusing, etc. This article mainly introduces and summarizes the related research progress of acoustic metamaterials in the past two decades, focusing on meta-atomic acoustic metamaterials, metamolecular acoustic metamaterials, meta-atomic clusters and metamolecule cluster acoustic metamaterials. Finally, the research overview and development trend of acoustic metasurfaces are briefly introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, deep learning has been widely used in vulnerability detection with remarkable results. These studies often apply natural language processing (NLP) technologies due to the natural similarity between code and language. Since NLP usually consumes a lot of computing resources, its combination with quantum computing is becoming a valuable research direction. In this paper, we present a Recurrent Quantum Embedding Neural Network (RQENN) for vulnerability detection. It aims to reduce the memory consumption of classical models for vulnerability detection tasks and improve the performance of quantum natural language processing (QNLP) methods. We show that the performance of RQENN achieves the above goals. Compared with the classic model, the space complexity of each stage of its execution is exponentially reduced, and the number of parameters used and the number of bits consumed are significantly reduced. Compared with other QNLP methods, RQENN uses fewer qubit resources and achieves a 15.7% higher accuracy in vulnerability detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Most splicing factors are extensively phosphorylated but their physiological functions in plant salt resistance are still elusive.We found that phosphorylation by SnRK1 kinase is essential for SRRM1L nuclear speckle formation and its splicing factor activity in plant cells. In Arabidopsis, loss‐of‐function of SRRM1L leads to the occurrence of alternative pre‐mRNA splicing events and compromises plant resistance to salt stress.In Arabidopsis srrm1l mutant line, we identified an intron‐retention Nuclear factor Y subunit A 10 (NFYA10) mRNA variant by RNA‐Seq and found phosphorylation‐dependent RNA‐binding of SRRM1L is indispensable for its alternative splicing activity. In the wild‐type Arabidopsis, salt stress can activate SnRK1 to phosphorylate SRRM1L, triggering enrichment of functional NFYA10.1 variant to enhance plant salt resistance. By contrast, the Arabidopsis srrm1l mutant accumulates nonfunctional NFYA10.3 variant, sensitizing plants to salt stress.In summary, this work deciphered the molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of SnRK1‐SRRM1L‐NFYA10 module, shedding light on a regulatory pathway to fine‐tune plant adaptation to abiotic stress at the post‐transcriptional and post‐translational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally friendly and cost-effective techniques are required to reclaim land degraded during mining activities. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in vegetables grown on contaminated soils can increase human health risks. The potential effects of hardwood biochar (HWB) was assessed for chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and lead (Pb) bioavailability in mine-contaminated soils and their subsequently bioaccumulation in crops and associated health risk. HWB was applied to chromium-manganese mine contaminated soils at the rate of 3% to investigate the efficiency of HWB for the second crop in crop rotation technique. Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) and spinach (Spinaccia oleracea) were grown as second crop in the same pots which were already used for rice cultivation as first crop (without adding further amendments). Application of HWB decreased the concentrations of Cr, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Pb in cilantro by 25.5%, 37.1%, 42.5%, 34.3%, and 36.2%, respectively as compared to control. In spinach, the reduction in concentrations of Cr was 75.0%, Zn 24.1%, Cu 70.1%, Mn 78.0%, and Pb 50.5% as compared to control. HWB significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the HMs uptake in spinach cultivated in the amended soils as compared to the spinach in control. Bioaccumulation factor results also indicate that HWB decreased the bioaccumulation of selected HMs in cilantro and spinach, thus reducing health risks. Results of the study clearly demonstrate that the use of HWB can significantly reduce HMs in vegetables, associated health risk and improve food quality, therefore can be used as soil amendment for reclamation of mine-degraded soils. • Mine (chromium-manganese) contaminated soils were used in these experiments. • Hardwood Biochar (HWB) was added to the contaminated soils at 3% application rate. • HWB significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced heavy metals uptake by cilantro and spinach. • HWB reduced ADI and HQ values for Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn and Mn. • ILTCR for Pb significantly (P ≤ 0.01) decreased (cilantro 36% and spinach 50%) by HWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Phosphorus (P) addition is considered key factor in soil organic carbon (SOC) cycle. The potential impact mechanisms of P addition on SOC stability and sequestration were explored in saline-alkali soil. Methods: A 9-year field experiment was arranged in the Yellow River Delta, which included (i) CK, no fertilization; (ii) NK, N and K fertilizer application; (iii) NP1K and (iv) NP2K, NK plus 28 and 56 kg P ha−1 year−1 application, respectively. Results: Compared with NK, the content of particulate OC (POC) was significantly increased by 29.9% and 26.8% in NP1K and NP2K treatments, respectively. The variation trend of aromatic-C and microbial biomass C (MBC) was similar to that of POC, which were positively corelated with SOC sequestration. Meanwhile, C and specific C mineralization rate (CMR, SCMR) were increased with P addition, which might be due to the decrease of carboxyl or amidogen-C. Moreover, owing to the increase in root biomass, SOC sequestration was significantly increased by more than 9.3% with P addition. Redundancy analysis further indicated that root biomass was the main factor in regulating SOC. While the CMR and SCMR were higher of NP2K treatment than those of NP1K treatment, this might result in SOC sequestration was no significant change between the two treatments. Conclusion: Long-term low-level P fertilization is a preferable practice to increase POC, stable chemical composition and MBC, and then SOC sequestration. These findings provide important insights into how long-term different levels of P application regulate soil C cycling in saline-alkali paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercus wutaishanica is the dominant tree species in the natural ecosystem restoration of temperate forests in China, and it plays an active role in maintaining ecological balance. However, little is known about how ecosystem versatility develops during the restoration of forest ecosystems dominated by Q. wutaishanica. In this study, we investigated the species composition of the Q. wutaishanica community, soil nutrients, and their functional traits at various restoration stages, and comprehensively analyzed the correlations among them. At the early stage of restoration (10 years of restoration), there were Spiraea pubescens and Syringa pubescens in Q. wutaishanica community (87% of the total species), while had a larger niche width. In the middle of restoration (30 years of restoration), shannon and evenness indices were the largest, while soil total carbon, ammonium nitrogen and chlorophyll content of Q. wutaishanica leaves were the highest; among them, soil total carbon was 15.7% higher than that in 10 years of restoration, 32.4% higher than that in 40 years of restoration, ammonium nitrogen was 71.7% higher than that in 40 years of restoration, and chlorophyll content was 217.9% higher than that in 10 years of restoration, and 51.8% higher than that in 40 years of restoration. At the later stage of restoration (40 years of restoration), Lonicera ferdinandii occupied the dominant ecological niche, and soil available nitrogen, available phosphorus content and leaf thickness were the largest; while AN was 10.9% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 16.5% higher than that of 30 years of restoration, AP was 60.6% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 21.6% higher than that of 30 years of restoration, leaf thickness was 22.3% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 84.9% higher than that of 30 years of restoration. However, the restriction of various soil nutrients was reduced. Our study highlighted the effectiveness of soil resource availability in plant communities during restoration, reduced competition for light among plants, and altered species richness. Furthermore, changes in the interrelationship between plant community composition and leaf functional traits of the dominant species responded positively to community restoration. These results further deepen our understanding of forest management and restoration of forest communities. In the future, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the influence of various factors on forest community restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium bicarbonate stress caused by NaHCO3 is one of the most severe abiotic stresses affecting agricultural production worldwide. However, little attention has been given to the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to sodium bicarbonate stress. To understand phosphorylation events in signaling pathways triggered by sodium bicarbonate stress, TMT-labeling-based quantitative phosphoproteomic analyses were performed on soybean leaf and root tissues under 50 mM NaHCO3 treatment. In the present study, a total of 7856 phosphopeptides were identified from cultivated soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr.), representing 3468 phosphoprotein groups, in which 2427 phosphoprotein groups were newly identified. These phosphoprotein groups contained 6326 unique high-probability phosphosites (UHPs), of which 77.2% were newly identified, increasing the current soybean phosphosite database size by 43.4%. Among the phosphopeptides found in this study, we determined 67 phosphopeptides (representing 63 phosphoprotein groups) from leaf tissue and 554 phosphopeptides (representing 487 phosphoprotein groups) from root tissue that showed significant changes in phosphorylation levels under sodium bicarbonate stress (fold change >1.2 or <0.83, respectively; p < 0.05). Localization prediction showed that most phosphoproteins localized in the nucleus for both leaf and root tissues. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed quite different enriched functional terms between leaf and root tissues, and more pathways were enriched in the root tissue than in the leaf tissue. Moreover, a total of 53 different protein kinases and 7 protein phosphatases were identified from the differentially expressed phosphoproteins (DEPs). A protein kinase/phosphatase interactor analysis showed that the interacting proteins were mainly involved in/with transporters/membrane trafficking, transcriptional level regulation, protein level regulation, signaling/stress response, and miscellaneous functions. The results presented in this study reveal insights into the function of post-translational modification in plant responses to sodium bicarbonate stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence that members' preferred service investments have on their decision-making and profits in a dual-channel supply chain. We discuss changes in the supplier's and retailer's decision-making and optimal profits with reference to their different preferred service investment combination modes and their different leader-follower relationships. We also provide classified comparisons of the supplier's and retailer's optimal profits by referring to four types of product characteristics combination modes that are assessed across two channels. By providing classifications and comparisons, we put forward operational insights for the supplier and retailer who have direct implications for their optimal decisions and profits, including selling products with higher homogeneity between two channels, choosing the retailer as the leader of the supply chain, and confirming appropriate preference combination mode under a certain product characteristics. We analyze the influences of the preferred service investment levels as well as preference intensities of the supplier and retailer on their strategies and profits in their respective advantaged states and obtain some enlightenment about the cooperation strategies and relationship-building methods of the supplier and retailer in the actual process of their participation in the dual-channel supply chain operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Organic fertilizer addition plays a significant role for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. The interaction between bacteria and clay minerals for the mechanism of SOC storage with organic fertilization was investigated in saline-alkaline paddy soil. Methods: A 9-year field experiment was arranged, which included: (a) CK, without fertilizer addition, (b) NPK, mineral N, P and K fertilizer addition, (c) NPKC1, and (d) NPKC2, mineral N, P and K fertilizer plus 450 and 900 kg C ha−1, respectively. Results: In comparison to only mineral fertilization, the content of humic acid-C and humin-C was significantly increased by 58.8%–70.6% and 46.9–53.1% with organic fertilizer addition, respectively. The 2:1 type clay minerals (vermiculite and illite) were also increased, which were positively correlated with SOC storage due to the formation of clay minerals-humus complexes. Meanwhile, the abundance of Geobacter and Anaeromyxobacter was increased with organic fertilization, which accelerated the transformation of clay minerals by promoting Fe reduction, and then increased SOC storage. While, compared with NPKC1 treatment, more Gammaproteobacteria and Anaerolineae, involved in the decomposition of SOC, were found in NPKC2 treatment. Relative to NPK treatment, SOC storage of NPKC1 and NPKC2 treatments increased by 23.3% and 29.8%, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two treatments. Conclusions: Therefore, appropriate addition of organic fertilizer is a better fertilization practice to promote stability and storage of SOC, which provided an important contribution to elucidate the role of mineral-microbial interactions for storage of SOC in saline-alkaline paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bindings of organic matter (OM) with iron (Fe-OM complexes) are important for soil carbon (C) sequestration. Our objective was to evaluate the role of laccase in the formation of Fe-OM complexes in a coastal saline paddy soil. The experiment included two factors: (1) two nitrogen (N) levels, 255 (N1) and 400 (N2) kg N ha−1; (2) three straw levels: 0 (S0), 4500 (S1) and 9000 (S2) kg C ha−1. The results showed that the combined application of straw and N fertilizer increased the content of Fe-bound OC and laccase activity, both of which were the highest in N1S1 treatment, which was 7.48% and 0.58 μmol g−1 h−1, respectively. The content of Fe-bound OC was positively correlated with laccase activity, Feam content and soil moisture content, but negatively correlated with pH. Both Fe-bound OC and laccase activity were positively correlated with aliphatic functional groups and hydroxyl or amidogen, while both were negatively correlated with aromatic functional groups. Therefore, laccase might promote the formation of Fe-bound OC by changing the chemical structure of OC. In addition, the combined application of straw and N fertilizer could change laccase activity by changing microbial community structure (e.g. Chloroflexi, Ascomycetes and Zygomycota). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lacustrine record of marine aerosol input has rarely been documented. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry during the last deglaciation and early Holocene of a sediment core retrieved from the Dongyuan Lake in southern Taiwan. An unusually high sulfur peak accompanying pyrite presence is observed at 10.5 ka BP. Such high sulfur content in lacustrine record is unusual. The δ34S of sulfur varied from +9.5 to + 17.1‰ with two significant positive shifts at 10.5 and 9.4 ka BP. The sources of sulfur and potential processes involving the sulfur isotope variation including bacterial sulfate reduction, volcanic emissions, in-catchment sulfide oxidation and marine aerosol input are discussed. Enhanced marine aerosol input is the most likely explanation for such sulfur peaks and δ34S shifts. The positive δ34S shifts appeared concurrently with the maximum landslide events over Taiwan resulted from enhanced typhoon activities. The synchronicity among records suggests that increased typhoon activities promoted sea spray, and consequently enhanced the marine aerosol input with 34S-enriched sulfate. Our sulfur geochemistry data revealed sea spray history and marine influence onto terrestrial environment at coastal regions. Wider coverage of spatial-temporal lacustrine sulfur geochemistry record is needed to validate the applicability of sulfur proxy in paleoenvironmental research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) belong to the largest protein phosphatase family in plants. Some members have been described as being negative modulators of plant growth and development, as well as responses to hormones and environmental stimuli. However, little is known about the members of PP2C clade D, which may be involved in the regulation of signaling pathways, especially in response to saline and alkali stresses. Here, we identified 13 PP2C orthologs from the wild soybean (Glycine soja) genome. We examined the sequence characteristics, chromosome locations and duplications, gene structures, and promoter cis-elements of the PP2C clade D genes in Arabidopsis and wild soybean. Our results showed that GsPP2C clade D (GsAPD) genes exhibit more gene duplications than AtPP2C clade D genes. Plant hormone and abiotic stress-responsive elements were identified in the promoter regions of most PP2C genes. Moreover, we investigated their expression patterns in roots, stems, and leaves. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses revealed that the expression levels of representative GsPP2C and AtPP2C clade D genes were significantly influenced by alkali and salt stresses, suggesting that these genes might be associated with or directly involved in the relevant stress signaling pathways. Our results established a foundation for further functional characterization of PP2C clade D genes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hard wood derived biochar (BCH) and rice husk (RCH) were applied to soils having upland and saturated conditions to investigate their effects on adsorption and desorption of Cd by conducting incubation and batch experiments. The results obtained from the experiments indicated that BCH increased Cd sorption by 59–71% onto saturated soil (SS), while by 57–84% onto upland soil (US). The application of RCH also increased the sorption of Cd onto the soils under both water conditions but the increases were less as compared to BCH. With RCH application, 21–41% increases in sorption of Cd on SS and 38–54% on US soils were observed. The Langmuir equation fitted sorption of Cd better than Freundlich with R 2 > 0.95 for all selected treatments. Both electrostatic and non-electrostatic mechanisms played their important roles in the adsorption of Cd in the amended soils. BCH enhanced non-electrostatic adsorption as compared to RCH and thus control and induced greater specific adsorption capacity. High desorption percentage of pre-adsorbed Cd on soils were observed both with and without amendments. Decreases in desorption percentage of pre-adsorbed Cd on both soils were observed with BCH with a highest decrease on SS (39%). The application of selected amendments into different soils increased Cd adsorption of soils through both electrostatic and non-electrostatic mechanisms and the contribution of both the mechanisms varied with types of amendments and soil conditions. BCH material showed promising results in Cd adsorption as compared to RCH for different selected soils and conditions but cost-benefit analysis is needed in field condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnRK1 protein kinase plays hub roles in plant carbon and nitrogen metabolism. However, the function of SnRK1 in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation is still elusive. In this study, we identified GmNodH, a putative sulfotransferase, as an interacting protein of GmSnRK1 by yeast two-hybrid screen. The qRT-PCR assays indicate that GmNodH gene is highly expressed in soybean roots and could be induced by rhizobial infection and nitrate stress. Fluorescence microscopic analyses showed that GmNodH was colocalized with GsSnRK1 on plasma membrane. The physical interaction between GmNodH and GmSnRK1 was further verified by using split-luciferase complementary assay and pull-down approaches. In vitro phosphorylation assay showed that GmSnRK1 could phosphorylate GmNodH at Ser193. To dissect the function and genetic relationship of GmSnRK1 and GmNodH in soybean, we co-expressed the wild-type and mutated GmSnRK1 and GmNodH genes in soybean hairy roots and found that co-expression of GmSnRK1/GmNodH genes significantly promoted soybean nodulation rates and the expression levels of nodulation-related GmNF5α and GmNSP1 genes. Taken together, this study provides the first biological evidence that GmSnRK1 may interact with and phosphorylate GmNodH to synergistically regulate soybean nodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm is one of the most extensively used classification algorithms, while its high time complexity limits its performance in the era of big data. The quantum K-nearest neighbor (QKNN) algorithm can handle the above problem with satisfactory efficiency; however, its accuracy is sacrificed when directly applying the traditional similarity measure based on Euclidean distance. Inspired by the Polar coordinate system and the quantum property, this work proposes a new similarity measure to replace the Euclidean distance, which is defined as Polar distance. Polar distance considers both angular and module length information, introducing a weight parameter adjusted to the specific application data. To validate the efficiency of Polar distance, we conducted various experiments using several typical datasets. For the conventional KNN algorithm, the accuracy performance is comparable when using Polar distance for similarity measurement, while for the QKNN algorithm, it significantly outperforms the Euclidean distance in terms of classification accuracy. Furthermore, the Polar distance shows scalability and robustness superior to the Euclidean distance, providing an opportunity for the large-scale application of QKNN in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic amendments could improve soil nitrogen (N) availability and transformation characteristics, which decreases the N loss within soil profile induced by N excessive application. A field experiment was designed in Shiqiang village with different organic amendments in 2018: (i) control (CK); (ii) chemical fertilizer (NPK); (iii) 1200 kg C ha−1 plus NPK (NPKM) and (iv) 40 kg humic acid ha−1 plus NPK (NPKH). Compared with NPK treatment, in 0–30 cm soil, NH4+-N content in NPKM and NPKH treatments was increased by 9.15% and 13.36% and NO3– N content was increased by 11.44% and 12.85%, respectively, while in 30–60 cm soil, NO3– N content in NPKM and NPKH treatments was decreased by 13.51% and 8.54%, because organic amendments inhibited N leaching to deeper soil. Soil urease and invertase activity in NPKH treatment was 9.52% and 8.31% higher than that in NPK treatment, which was decreased with the decreasing soil depth. The grain yield was increased by 14.17% and 23.87% in NPKM and NPKH treatments, respectively. Thus, humic acid fertilizer was better in increasing wheat yield by improving N transformation and enzyme activities, which could increase wheat N uptake and inhibit N loss in North China Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image matching is an important research topic in computer vision and image processing. However, existing quantum algorithms mainly focus on accurate matching between template pixels, and are not robust to changes in image location and scale. In addition, the similarity calculation of the matching process is a fundamentally important issue. Therefore, this paper proposes a hybrid quantum algorithm, which uses the robustness of SIFT (scale-invariant feature transform) to extract image features, and combines the advantages of quantum exponential storage and parallel computing to represent data and calculate feature similarity. Finally, the quantum amplitude estimation is used to extract the measurement results and realize the quadratic acceleration of calculation. The experimental results show that the matching effect of this algorithm is better than the existing classical architecture. Our hybrid algorithm broadens the application scope and field of quantum computing in image processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a crucial role in controlling the nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation (NDFO) process, especially for saline-alkaline soils. The effects of straw returning combined with Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on soil NO3−-N content, Fe(II) form and nirK genes in saline-alkaline soil were studied in a five-year field experiment to explore the regulatory mechanism of SOC on NDFO process. Six treatments were designed with two factors (1) three straw returning rates (C0, C1 and C2, which was 0, 4500 and 9000 kg C ha−1, respectively) and (2) two N fertilization rates (N1 and N2, which was 255 and 400 kg N ha−1, respectively). Under both N levels, compared with C0 and C2 rates, NO3−-N content was increased by 65% and 50% in C1 rate, respectively. NirK genes were decreased with straw returning, in which they were 42.9–58.8% lower in C1 and C2 treatments than that in C0 treatment, respectively. In the N1C1 treatment, the increase of SOC reduced the denitrification by converting aqueous Fe(II) (Fe(II)aq) into Fe(II)-OM complexes and reducing the abundance of nirK genes. Overall, appropriate straw returning (C1) under optimal N fertilization rate (N1) could reduce N loss by decreasing the NDFO process in saline-alkaline paddy soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Phytophthora root and stem rot is a worldwide soybean (Glycine max) disease caused by the soil‐borne pathogen Phytophthora sojae. This disease is devastating to soybean production, so improvement of resistance to P. sojae is a major target in soybean breeding. Mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are important signaling modules that convert environmental stimuli into cellular responses. Compared with extensive studies in Arabidopsis, the molecular mechanism of MAPK cascades in soybean disease resistance is barely elucidated. In this work, we found that the gene expression of mitogen‐activated protein kinase 6 (GmMPK6) was potently induced by P. sojae infection in the disease‐resistant soybean cultivar 'Suinong 10'. Overexpression of GmMPK6 in soybean resulted in enhanced resistance to P. sojae and silencing of GmMPK6 led to the opposite phenotype. In our attempt to dissect the role of GmMPK6 in soybean resistance to phytophthora disease, we found that MAPK kinase 4 (GmMKK4) and the ERF transcription factor GmERF113 physically interact with GmMPK6, and we determined that GmMKK4 could phosphorylate and activate GmMPK6, which could subsequently phosphorylate GmERF113 upon P. sojae infection, suggesting that P. sojae can stimulate the GmMKK4–GmMPK6–GmERF113 signaling pathway in soybean. Moreover, phosphorylation of GmERF113 by the GmMKK4–GmMPK6 module promoted GmERF113 stability, nuclear localization and transcriptional activity, which significantly enhanced expression of the defense‐related genes GmPR1 and GmPR10‐1 and hence improved disease resistance of the transgenic soybean seedlings. In all, our data reveal that the GmMKK4–GmMPK6–GmERF113 cascade triggers resistance to P. sojae in soybean and shed light on functions of MAPK kinases in plant disease resistance. Significance Statement: The GmMKK4–GmMPK6–GmERF113 cascade enhances resistance to soybean (Glycine max) phytophthora disease by successive phosphorylation events triggered by Phytophthora sojae. Our work provides new perspectives to develop strategies to improve plant disease resistance and insights into the roles of MAPK cascades in resistance against root and stem rot diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The balance between the burial of biospheric organic carbon (OC bio) in the ocean and the oxidation of rock-derived organic carbon across landscapes (OC petro) helps to regulate atmospheric CO 2 and O 2 over geological time. However, we lack reconstructions of these processes over the timescales necessary to properly understand the drivers and feedbacks operating. Here we use a sediment core from the Zhuoshui River delta in Taiwan, which receives sediments from a rapidly uplifting and eroding catchment, to reconstruct the variations in OC content and radiocarbon composition since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We find that the export of OC bio and the oxidation of OC petro are both modulated by climate-driven changes in physical erosion and temperature. During cold and dry periods, such as the LGM and the Younger Dryas (YD), shallow erosion and low temperature enhanced the preservation of OC bio in the biosphere in catchment, while deep erosion and high temperature during warm and wet periods, such as the Holocene, favored the dilution and degradation of OC bio. The weathering intensity of OC petro (ω) was inversely related to physical erosion, suggesting a lower intensity of oxidation during the Holocene period while the overall oxidation flux was enhanced. This suggests that the degree of weathering was primarily controlled by physical erosion. We propose a proxy to estimate the ratio of fluxes of OC bio export and OC petro oxidation, and show that the net balance between these two processes shifted from a carbon sink during the late deglacial period to a carbon source during the mid-late Holocene. Our study reveals that with CO 2 rise, a warmer and wetter climate would promote the exposure and oxidation of OC petro by erosion in this mountain range, leading the organic carbon balance towards a CO 2 source to the atmosphere. • Erosion and temperature control carbon dynamic in erosive setting. • Cold, dry periods boost carbon preservation. • Warm, wet climate shifts mountains to carbon sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phosphorus (P) fertilizer inputs can increase soil P availability, which improves soil carbon (C) cycling and microbial community structure. However, the potential mechanisms via which P drives soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial regulation of aggregates formation and stabilization are still unclear.A 10-year field experiment was conducted, including (1) CK, no fertilization; (2) NK, N and K fertilizer addition; (3) NP1K and (4) NP2K, NK with 28 and 56 kg P ha−1 addition, respectively.Relative to NK treatment, long-term P fertilizer application significantly increased the proportion of >0.25 mm aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD), which were increased by 16.4% and 18.0%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy further confirmed that P addition resulted in better soil structure. Meanwhile, compared with NK treatment, the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially stable C=C chemical speciation) was increased with P fertilizer addition, which could form organic-Ca complexes to improve aggregate stability. And compared with NK treatment, the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria (i.e., Actinobacteriota) involved in aggregate formation and stability was increased by 11.3% and 8.4% in NP1K and NP2K, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis indicated that the main factor for bacterial diversity was available P (AP).Taken together, P fertilizer addition can increase the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially C=C) to form organic Ca complexes, while AP improves the microbial community structure, thereby improving the stability of aggregate structure in saline alkali soil.Methods: Phosphorus (P) fertilizer inputs can increase soil P availability, which improves soil carbon (C) cycling and microbial community structure. However, the potential mechanisms via which P drives soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial regulation of aggregates formation and stabilization are still unclear.A 10-year field experiment was conducted, including (1) CK, no fertilization; (2) NK, N and K fertilizer addition; (3) NP1K and (4) NP2K, NK with 28 and 56 kg P ha−1 addition, respectively.Relative to NK treatment, long-term P fertilizer application significantly increased the proportion of >0.25 mm aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD), which were increased by 16.4% and 18.0%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy further confirmed that P addition resulted in better soil structure. Meanwhile, compared with NK treatment, the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially stable C=C chemical speciation) was increased with P fertilizer addition, which could form organic-Ca complexes to improve aggregate stability. And compared with NK treatment, the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria (i.e., Actinobacteriota) involved in aggregate formation and stability was increased by 11.3% and 8.4% in NP1K and NP2K, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis indicated that the main factor for bacterial diversity was available P (AP).Taken together, P fertilizer addition can increase the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially C=C) to form organic Ca complexes, while AP improves the microbial community structure, thereby improving the stability of aggregate structure in saline alkali soil.Results: Phosphorus (P) fertilizer inputs can increase soil P availability, which improves soil carbon (C) cycling and microbial community structure. However, the potential mechanisms via which P drives soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial regulation of aggregates formation and stabilization are still unclear.A 10-year field experiment was conducted, including (1) CK, no fertilization; (2) NK, N and K fertilizer addition; (3) NP1K and (4) NP2K, NK with 28 and 56 kg P ha−1 addition, respectively.Relative to NK treatment, long-term P fertilizer application significantly increased the proportion of >0.25 mm aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD), which were increased by 16.4% and 18.0%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy further confirmed that P addition resulted in better soil structure. Meanwhile, compared with NK treatment, the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially stable C=C chemical speciation) was increased with P fertilizer addition, which could form organic-Ca complexes to improve aggregate stability. And compared with NK treatment, the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria (i.e., Actinobacteriota) involved in aggregate formation and stability was increased by 11.3% and 8.4% in NP1K and NP2K, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis indicated that the main factor for bacterial diversity was available P (AP).Taken together, P fertilizer addition can increase the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially C=C) to form organic Ca complexes, while AP improves the microbial community structure, thereby improving the stability of aggregate structure in saline alkali soil.Conclusion: Phosphorus (P) fertilizer inputs can increase soil P availability, which improves soil carbon (C) cycling and microbial community structure. However, the potential mechanisms via which P drives soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial regulation of aggregates formation and stabilization are still unclear.A 10-year field experiment was conducted, including (1) CK, no fertilization; (2) NK, N and K fertilizer addition; (3) NP1K and (4) NP2K, NK with 28 and 56 kg P ha−1 addition, respectively.Relative to NK treatment, long-term P fertilizer application significantly increased the proportion of >0.25 mm aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD), which were increased by 16.4% and 18.0%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy further confirmed that P addition resulted in better soil structure. Meanwhile, compared with NK treatment, the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially stable C=C chemical speciation) was increased with P fertilizer addition, which could form organic-Ca complexes to improve aggregate stability. And compared with NK treatment, the relative abundance of copiotrophic bacteria (i.e., Actinobacteriota) involved in aggregate formation and stability was increased by 11.3% and 8.4% in NP1K and NP2K, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis indicated that the main factor for bacterial diversity was available P (AP).Taken together, P fertilizer addition can increase the content of soil exchangeable Ca and SOC (especially C=C) to form organic Ca complexes, while AP improves the microbial community structure, thereby improving the stability of aggregate structure in saline alkali soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The poor soil structure and low stability of organic carbon limit the sustainable development of agriculture. The effect of organic fertilizer application on soil aggregates, soil organic carbon (SOC) functional groups, Fe oxides, SOC stability, and storage was assessed in saline-alkaline paddy soil. Methods: A 7-year field experiment was designed with organic fertilization in saline-alkaline soil of Yellow River Delta including (i) CK (no fertilizer), (ii) NPK (255, 28, and 190 kg ha−1 year−1 N, P, and K mineral fertilizers, respectively), (iii) NPKC1 (NPK + 450 kg C ha−1 year−1), and (iv) NPKC2 (NPK + 900 kg C ha−1 year−1). Results: Compared with NPK treatment, the mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates in NPKC1 and NPKC2 treatments was increased by 27.8% and 41.1%, respectively. Soil amorphous Fe oxide (Feo) content was significantly increased with organic fertilizer addition, especially in small macro-aggregates. Meanwhile, aromatic-C was primarily distributed in small macro-aggregates, which could be retained in aggregate interfaces by forming aromatic-Fe complexes with soil Feo. Furthermore, the specific C mineralization rate (SCMR) in NPKC1 treatment was lower than that in other treatments, in which the lowest SCMR was found in small macro-aggregate. Compared with NPK treatment, SOC storage in NPKC1 and NPKC2 treatments was increased by 14.4% and 20.5%, respectively, which was due to the improvement of soil structure, organo-Fe complex formation, and reduction of soil C mineralization. Conclusions: The combined organic and mineral fertilizer application was an optimized management practice to improve the C stability and sequestration in coastal saline alkaline paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant SnRK1 kinases have been reported to participate in regulating many aspects of plant biology including resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Wild soybean (Glycine soja) has strong adaptation abilities to extreme environmental conditions and has four GsSnRK1 genes in its genome. However, the functions of GsSnRK1 are still largely unknown. In this work, we employed yeast two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation to determine the physical interactions of GsSnRK1 and three unknown proteins (GsKIP1, GsKIP2, and GsKIP3). To further characterize these proteins, we expressed and purified them in E. coli system. Biochemical analyses indicated that Thr176 of GsSnRK1 could be directly phosphorylated by its upstream kinase GsGRIK1 and the activated GsSnRK1 could phosphorylate its interactors GsKIP1, GsKIP2, GsKIP3, and ABF2 revealed by PhosTag-based approaches and specific phospho-antibodies. Intriguingly, a constituted ABA receptor complex consisting of GsPYL, GsPP2C, could perceive exogenous ABA, and subsequently, the ABA-bound receptor could activate GsSnRK1 to phosphorylate ABF2, suggesting that GsSnRK1 is an essential and bona fide component of ABA signaling pathway. This study is the first time to comprehensively characterize the in vitro functions of wild soybean GsSnRK1 kinase, providing the clues to unveil the novel molecular roles of SnRK1 kinase in cell signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carbon (C) addition to promote phosphorus (P) turnover by microbes is recommended to increase soil P availability. The C‐nutrient stoichiometry of organic materials (OM) are the primary factors in controlling soil P availability and C storage. Methods: A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different organic matter (OM) with equal carbon input [soybean dregs (SD), chicken manure (CM), and vermicompost (VC), 1000 mg C kg–1 soil] under three P levels (0, 10, and 20 mg P per kg dry soil) on soil P availability, C content, and plant growth in high P fixing soils. Results: Plant biomass and shoot P content were significantly increased in P and OM addition treatment. Application of OM or P alone had no effect on soil available P (AP) but increased the microbial P (MBP). Compared with P addition alone, soil potential AP pool (the sum of soil AP and MBP content) was increased by 89%–200% in both OM and P addition soil. Soil potential AP pool and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in VC treatment were significantly increased compared with those in CM and SD treatments. On day 60, compared with VC treatment, SD and VC treatments significantly increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) but decreased soil organic carbon (SOC) content, in which ALP was negatively correlated with SOC and net C balance. Conclusion: A small amount of P and vermicompost addition, which had a balanced carbon‐nutrient stoichiometric ratio, was an effective measurement in improving soil AP pool and C content in P‐fixing soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sucrose non-fermenting-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) belongs to a plant serine/threonine protein kinase family, and is part of a large interactive network of signaling pathways in plants to regulate many aspects of growth and development, and its gene expressions are highly responsive to multiple external stimuli. To functionally characterize the role of different SnRK1 members in wild soybean and identify the expression patterns of novel SnRK1 promoters for transgenic research, in this study, we performed an in silico analysis of the SnRK1 gene family in wild soybean and found GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 are main SnRK1 isoforms in wild soybean. The promoter fragments of both GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 were isolated, and a series of 5′-deletion and the full-length versions of both GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 promoters were fused with GUS reporter gene to generate expression vectors. The GUS activities in different tissues of seedling and adult growth stages of transgenic Arabidopsis plants were determined, and the GUS activities in transgenic Arabidopsis plants under NaCl, NaHCO3, PEG, ABA, MeJA and SA were also analyzed. The results showed that GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 genes have different expression patterns and both promoters may contain enhancers and silencers. In addition, NaCl, NaHCO3, ABA, MeJA, and PEG treatments enhanced, whereas SA treatment decreased the GUS activity under the control of both GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 promoters, which may be due to the distributions of various cis-elements in both GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 promoter regions. These results will contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of GsSnRK1 genes in response to various abiotic stresses, and as stress-inducible promoters, GsSnRK1.1 and GsSnRK1.2 promoters can be candidates for practical application in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]