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The leaf area index (LAI) is a crucial vegetation parameter that characterizes leaf sparsity and canopy structure, and the study of the spatial distribution pattern of the forest LAI and its environmental response can help to reveal the adaptive capacity of forest vegetation to climate change in semiarid areas. In this paper, a remote sensing inversion model of the LAI, which pertains to the forest ecosystem of Xinglong Mountain in the transition zone between the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau and Loess Plateau, was established by combining an optical instrumentation method, a remote sensing inversion method, and a generalized additive model (GAM). The results showed that (1) the Meris terrestrial chlorophyll index (MTCI) linear regression model provided the greatest explanatory power for the LAI in the Xinglong Mountain forest, with R2 = 0.88 and RMSE = 0.32. (2) The LAI was influenced mainly by the altitude, slope, profile curvature, aspect, planform curvature, temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration. According to the single-factor GAM, altitude (R2 = 0.43) explained most of the total variation in the LAI, followed by precipitation (R2 = 0.36). According to the multifactor GAM, the above influencing factors could explain 84.2% of the total variation in the LAI, which was significant (P < 0.001). (3) Interaction analysis revealed that the LAI was significantly influenced by the interaction between topographic and meteorological factors (P < 0.001). It was revealed that the topography of Xinglong Mountain is fragmented, the vertical band spectrum of vegetation is notable, and the forest LAI exhibits high spatial heterogeneity under the interaction between topographic and meteorological factors, reflecting the environmental response mechanism of vegetation growth in forest ecosystems in ecological transition zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The development of intelligent, environmentally responsive and biocompatible photothermal system holds significant importance for the photothermal combined therapy of tumors. In this study, inspired by Lactobacillus (LAC), we prepared a biomimetic nanoplatform PDA&DOX@LAC for tumor photothermal-chemotherapy by integrating the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) with dopamine through oxidative polymerization to form polydopamine (PDA) on the surface of LAC. The PDA&DOX@LAC nanoplatform not only achieves precise and controlled release of DOX based on the slightly acidic microenvironment of tumor tissues, but also exhibits enzyme-like properties to alleviate tumor hypoxia. Under near-infrared light irradiation, it effectively induces photothermal ablation of tumor cells, enhances cellular uptake of DOX with increasing temperature, and thus efficiently inhibits tumor cell growth. Moreover, it is further confirmed in vivo experiments that photothermal therapy combined with PDA&DOX@LAC induces tumor cells apoptosis, releases tumor-associated antigens, which is engulfed by dendritic cells to activate cytotoxic T lymphocytes, thereby effectively suppressing tumor growth and prolonging the survival period of 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. Therefore, the PDA&DOX@LAC nanoplatform holds immense potential in precise tumor targeting as well as photothermal combined therapy and provides valuable insights and theoretical foundations for the development of novel tumor treatment strategies based on endogenous substances within the body.

As a result of what the world witnessed in the emergence of technological developments and their irrational use and the resulting environmental crises that affected life, architects must propose architecture capable of responding to environmental influences in local architecture. Thus, the research goal is to identify the multiple levels of environmental response to architecture based on the correlation with changes in concepts, materials used, and apparent forms. There is a gap in knowledge regarding the correlation with changes in concepts, materials used, and apparent forms in achieving multiple levels of environmental response. A comprehensive theoretical framework was built to achieve the research goal, and the comparative and deductive approach was adopted. Then, the theoretical framework was transferred to three samples selected for the research design to present the final results and the most important conclusion: the relationship between societal changes. It achieves acceptable forms in the external reality and multiple levels of the environmental response of the architectural product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate warming on wetland ecosystems is a current focal point in ecological research. In this study, the Napahai wetland, a typical plateau wetland in northwest Yunnan Province, was selected as the study site to understand the growth and survival strategies of emergent plants in a plateau wetland under climate warming conditions. Open-top chambers (OTCs) were used to simulate warming in three treatments (i.e., control group, 2.0 ± 0.5°C, and 4.0 ± 0.5°C) in order to study the responses of the functional traits of the dominant emergent plant Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani to simulated warming. The results showed that simulated warming significantly reduced the photosynthetic carbon assimilation capacity and biomass accumulation of S. tabernaemontani, as well as its nitrogen content and vascular bundle density, while it significantly increased the vascular bundle size. The growing season accumulated temperature (AT) and the mean temperature of the hottest month (WT) were the main temperature factors influencing the functional traits of S. tabernaemontani. In summary, simulated warming significantly affected the functional traits of S. tabernaemontani, which demonstrated effective adaptation to warming conditions. As the temperature rises and the light and productivity decrease, S. tabernaemontani prioritizes the supply of limited resources to the underground part to ensure the biomass supply of the reproductive structure. This study provides a case for revealing the response patterns and ecological adaptation strategies of plateau wetland plants to climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Converting lithium leach residue (LLR) into zeolite can reduce environmental impacts while also producing high value-added products. However, the synthesis of zeolites by LLR under alkali fusion may result in the solidification and migration of potentially toxic elements with secondary environmental impacts. Systematic research into this subject is rare in the open literature and the mobility of toxic elements from LLR derived zeolites is yet to be understood. In this paper, we have investigated the highly crystalline synthesis of hydroxy sodalite, X-type zeolite (NaX), and A-type zeolite (NaA) without stencil agent and crystal species, which can be achieved by modulating the alkali fusion temperature, all three zeolites have greater than 90 % conversion of the major elements aluminum and silicon. Meanwhile, the leachability of thallium (Tl), beryllium (Be), and potentially toxic elements (lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn)) was monitored by pH-dependent leaching test for LLR and three kinds of synthesized zeolites according to the Chinese standard and the emission of toxic elements during the synthesis process was analyzed, to investigate the migration and quantify the distribution of the toxic elements in the LLR to the product zeolites and the cleaning wastewater. The migration efficiency of potentially toxic elements from LLR to the product zeolite and cleaning wastewater was explored. It was found that most of the toxic elements Tl, Be and potentially toxic elements were solidified in the structure of the zeolites by ion exchange (solidification rate > 90 %), and a small portion flowed into the cleaning wastewater. Although there are toxic elements solidified in the structure, there is no significant leaching under various pH conditions, which is in line with the Chinese standard (GB/T 5085.3–2007). Therefore, it is considered that LLR realizes environmentally friendly zeolite production and does not cause secondary pollution to the environment. This work demonstrates great potential for green recycling of LLR from the lithium extraction process and introduces an environmentally friendly slag treatment technology.

The ocean circulation is typically constrained in operational analysis and forecasting systems through the assimilation of sea level anomaly (SLA) retrievals from satellite altimetry. This approach has limited benefits in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas due to data gaps caused by sea ice coverage. Moreover, assimilation of SLA in seasonally ice-free regions may be negatively affected by the quality of the Mean Sea Surface (MSS) used to derive the SLA. Here, we use the Regional Ice Ocean Prediction System (RIOPS) to investigate the impact of assimilating Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) fields on the circulation in the Arctic Ocean. This approach avoids the use of a MSS and additionally provides information on sea level in ice covered regions using measurements across leads (openings) in the sea ice. RIOPS uses a coupled ice-ocean model on a 3-4 km grid-resolution pan-Arctic domain together with a multi-variate reduced-order Kalman Filter. The system assimilates satellite altimetry and sea surface temperature together with in situ profile observations. The background error is modified to match the spectral characteristics of the ADT fields, which contain less energy at small scales than traditional SLA due to filtering applied to reduce noise originating in the geoid product used. A series of four-year reanalyses demonstrate significant reductions in innovation statistics with important impacts across the Arctic Ocean. Results suggest that the assimilation of ADT can improve circulation and sea ice drift in the Arctic Ocean, and intensify volume transports through key Arctic gateways and resulting exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean. A reanalysis with a modified Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) is able to reproduce many of the benefits of the ADT but does not capture the enhanced transports. Assimilation of SLA observations from leads in the sea ice appears to degrade several circulation features; however, these results may be sensitive to errors in MDT. This study highlights the large uncertainties that exist in present operational ocean forecasting systems for the Arctic Ocean due to the relative paucity and reduced quality of observations compared to icefree areas of the Global Ocean. Moreover, this underscores the need for dedicated and focused efforts to address this critical gap in the Global Ocean Observing System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cysteine (CysSH) is known to be exported into the extracellular space, its biological significance is not well understood. The present study examined the movement of extracellular CysSH using stable isotope-labeled cystine (CysSSCys), which is transported into cells and reduced to CysSH. Exposure of HepG2 cells to 100 µM stable isotope-labeled CysSSCys resulted in 70 µM labeled CysSH in cell medium 1 h after CysSSCys exposure. When the cell medium was collected and incubated with either hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or atmospheric electrophiles, such as 1,2-naphthoquinone, 1,4-naphthoquinone and 1,4-benzoquinone, CysSH in the cell medium was almost completely consumed. In contrast, extracellular levels of CysSH were unaltered during exposure of HepG2 cells to H2O2 for up to 2 h, suggesting redox cycling of CysSSCys/CysSH in the cell system. Experiments with and without changing cell medium containing CysSH from HepG2 cells revealed that oxidative and electrophilic modifications of cellular proteins, caused by exposure to H2O2 and 1,2-naphthoquinone, were significantly repressed by CysSH in the medium. We also examined participation of enzymes and/or antioxidants in intracellular reduction of CysSSCys to CysSH. These results provide new findings that extracellular CysSH derived from CysSSCys plays a role in the regulation of oxidative and electrophilic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptomics and metabolomics offer distinct advantages in investigating the differentially expressed genes and cellular entities that have the greatest influence on end-phenotype, making them crucial techniques for studying plant quality and environmental responses. While numerous relevant articles have been published, a comprehensive summary is currently lacking. This review aimed to understand the global and longitudinal research trends of transcriptomics and metabolomics in plant quality and environmental response (TMPQE). Utilizing bibliometric methods, we presented a comprehensive science mapping of the social structure, conceptual framework, and intellectual foundation of TMPQE. We uncovered that TMPQE research has been categorized into three distinct stages since 2020. A citation analysis of the 29 most cited articles, coupled with a content analysis of recent works (2020–2023), highlight five potential research streams in plant quality and environmental responses: (1) biosynthetic pathways, (2) abiotic stress, (3) biotic stress, (4) development and ripening, and (5) methodologies and tools. Current trends and future directions are shaped by technological advancements, species diversity, evolving research themes, and an environmental ecology focus. Overall, this review provides a novel and comprehensive perspective to understand the longitudinal trend on TMPQE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owning to their extreme environmental conditions, lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have typically displayed a simplistic food web structure, rendering them more vulnerable to climate change compared to lakes in plains. Phytoplankton, undergoing a changing aquatic environment, play a crucial role in the material cycle and energy flow of the food chain, particularly important for the unique fish species of the Tibetan Plateau. To identify the changing environment indexes and determine the response of phytoplankton composition to the environment change in alpine lakes, three lakes--Lake Qinghai, Lake Keluke and Lake Tuosu--were selected as study areas. Seasonal sampling surveys were conducted in spring and summer annually from 2018 to 2020. Our findings revealed there were significant changes in physicochemical parameters and phytoplankton in the three lakes. Bacillariophyta was the predominant phytoplankton in Lake Qinghai from 2018 to 2020, with the genera Synedra sp., Navicula sp., Cymbella sp. and Achnanthidium sp. predominated alternately. Lake Keluke alternated between being dominated by Bacillariophyta and cyanobacteria during the same period. Dolichospermum sp., a cyanobacteria, was prevalent in the summer of 2018 and 2019 and in the spring of 2020. In Lake Tuosu, Bacillariophyta was the predominant phytoplankton from 2018 to 2020, except in the summer of 2019, which was dominated by cyanobacteria. Synedra sp., Oscillatoria sp., Pseudoanabaena sp., Chromulina sp. and Achnanthidium sp. appeared successively as the dominant genera. Analysis revealed that all three lakes exhibited higher phytoplankton abundance in 2018 that in 2019 and 2020. Concurrently, they experienced higher average temperatures in 2018 than in the subsequent years. The cyanobacteria, Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta and overall phytoplankton increased with temperature and decreased with salinity and NH4-N. Besides, the ratios of cyanobacteria, and the ratios of Bacillariophyta accounted in total phytoplankton increased with temperature. These findings suggest that cyanobacteria and phytoplankton abundance, especially Bacillariophyta, may have an increase tendency in the three alpine lakes under warm and wet climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stimuli-responsive soft robots offer new capabilities for the fields of medical and rehabilitation robotics, artificial intelligence, and soft electronics. Precisely programming the shape morphing and decoupling the multiresponsiveness of such robots is crucial to enable them with ample degrees of freedom and multifunctionality, while ensuring high fabrication accuracy. However, current designs featuring coupled multiresponsiveness or intricate assembly processes face limitations in executing complex transformations and suffer from a lack of precision. Therefore, we propose a one-stepped strategy to program multistep shape-morphing soft millirobots (MSSMs) in response to decoupled environmental stimuli. Our approach involves employing a multilayered elastomer and laser scanning technology to selectively process the structure of MSSMs, achieving a minimum machining precision of 30 ^m. The resulting MSSMs are capable of imitating the shape morphing of plants and hand gestures and resemble kirigami, pop-up, and bistable structures. The decoupled multistimuli responsiveness of the MSSMs allows them to conduct shape morphing during locomotion, perform logic circuit control, and remotely repair circuits in response to humidity, temperature, and magnetic field. This strategy presents a paradigm for the effective design and fabrication of untethered soft miniature robots with physical intelligence, advancing the decoupled multiresponsive materials through modular tailoring of robotic body structures and properties to suit specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil communities are intricately linked to ecosystem functioning. Uncovering the responses of rare and abundant taxa to environmental change is vital for understanding methanotrophic community assembly and ecosystem function. It is unclear what the proportions of the different taxa are in riparian soil and how environmental change may impact these, and thereby affect the structure and assembly of different communities. Considering both abundant and rare taxa, we investigated environmental thresholds and phylogenetic signals related to the ecological preferences of methanotrophic communities under complex environmental gradients, and explore the factors that influence their assembly. It has ecological significance for predicting how communities will gather in response to changing environmental conditions. It was found that methanotrophs had different ecological network patterns across land‐use types, with the network complexity of abundant taxa being higher in grasslands and woodlands than that of rare taxa. Different ecological preference thresholds and phylogenetic signals were observed between abundant and rare subcommunities in the riparian zone, with rare taxa possessing potentially broader environmental adaptation capabilities. Rare taxa were phylogenetically clustered closer together than abundant taxa. The assembly of abundant taxa was dominated by stochastic processes, whereas the assembly of rare taxa was dominated by deterministic processes. Soil pH played an important role in regulating the balance between the assembly processes of abundant and rare subcommunities. The deterministic assembly of rare taxa and the stochastic assembly of abundant taxa increased with pH values. We revealed the complexity of a co‐occurring ecological network, identified the mediators of methanotrophic community assembly, and examined the adaptability of rare and abundant methanotrophic species to different environmental gradients. These findings indicate that it is possible to predict the generation and maintenance of methanotrophic community diversity by studying how methanotrophs will respond to environmental changes in the riparian zone during vegetation restoration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China University of Petroleum is the property of China University of Petroleum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The ocean circulation is typically constrained in operational analysis and forecasting systems through the assimilation of sea level anomaly (SLA) retrievals from satellite altimetry. This approach has limited benefits in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas due to data gaps caused by sea ice coverage. Moreover, assimilation of SLA in seasonally ice-free regions may be negatively affected by the quality of the Mean Sea Surface (MSS) used to derive the SLA. Here, we use the Regional Ice Ocean Prediction System (RIOPS) to investigate the impact of assimilating Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) fields on the circulation in the Arctic Ocean. This approach avoids the use of a MSS and additionally provides information on sea level in ice covered regions using measurements across leads (openings) in the sea ice. RIOPS uses a coupled ice-ocean model on a 3-4 km grid-resolution pan-Arctic domain together with a multi-variate reduced-order Kalman Filter. The system assimilates satellite altimetry and sea surface temperature together with in situ profile observations. The background error is modified to match the spectral characteristics of the ADT fields, which contain less energy at small scales than traditional SLA due to filtering applied to reduce noise originating in the geoid product used. A series of four-year reanalyses demonstrate significant reductions in innovation statistics with important impacts across the Arctic Ocean. Results suggest that the assimilation of ADT can improve circulation and sea ice drift in the Arctic Ocean, and intensify volume transports through key Arctic gateways and resulting exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean. A reanalysis with a modified Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) is able to reproduce many of the benefits of the ADT but does not capture the enhanced transports. Assimilation of SLA observations from leads in the sea ice appears to degrade several circulation features; however, these results may be sensitive to errors in MDT. This study highlights the large uncertainties that exist in present operational ocean forecasting systems for the Arctic Ocean due to the relative paucity and reduced quality of observations compared to ice-free areas of the Global Ocean. Moreover, this underscores the need for dedicated and focused efforts to address this critical gap in the Global Ocean Observing System.

Chitosan, a natural linear cationic polysaccharide, can be used to design ‘green’ microparticles or nanoparticles to stabilize Pickering emulsions due to its good biodegradability and renewability. Therefore, it has found widespread food application prospect. Although chitosan has weak emulsifying ability, the active functional groups in its molecule can combine with other compounds through covalent or non-covalent interactions to form binary/ternary composite particles, which can improve its ability to stabilize emulsions. Environmentally responsive emulsions have recently become a popular research topic due to their ability to respond to different environmental stresses (pH and temperature). This paper summarizes recent progress in research on chitosan-based Pickering emulsions with respect to the types of chitosan-stabilized Pickering emulsions, graft-modified chitosan composite particle-stabilized Pickering emulsions and environmentally responsive emulsions, and it discusses the application of chitosan-based Pickering emulsions in food preservation, 3D food printing and functional factor carriers, as well as the obstacles encountered. Future prospects for the development of chitosan-based Pickering emulsions are proposed to provide a basis for the in-depth expansion of their applications in food.

Under the impact of climate change, significant changes have taken place in the ecological environment and water cycle of the Yangtze River source area. Soil water is an important component of the hydrological cycle, and a correct understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution patterns and environmental response mechanisms of soil water is the basis for a deeper understanding of the hydrological cycle and ecological environment changes in the Yangtze River source area. It is also of great significance for promoting the sustainable development of the Yangtze River source area. In this paper, based on ground in-situ observation data, combined with the latest long time-series and multi-sensor combined global soil moisture dataset developed by the European Space Agency (ESA CCI SM V07.1), the spatial and temporal evolution of surface soil water in the Yangtze River source area is revealed, and the impact mechanism of structural function and permafrost type on soil water is discussed. The results show that the surface soil moisture in the Yangtze River source area is mainly concentrated between 0.15 and 0.20 m3/m3, with the highest value occurring from June to October. In the vertical direction, the soil moisture content mainly shows an increasing-decreasing-stable trend from the surface to the deep soil layer, and the deep soil water has a significant lag characteristic relative to the surface, with a lag time of generally 1−2 months. In the horizontal direction, the surface soil moisture overall shows a southeast high and northwest gradually decreasing trend. The closer to the structural fault zone, the lower the soil moisture content, and with the increasing depth, it shows a certain aggravating trend. The surface soil moisture content in the permafrost area is higher than that in the neighboring seasonal frozen soil area. The fluctuation range of the surface soil moisture content in the seasonal frozen soil area is smaller than that in the permafrost area. Over the past 40 years, the surface permafrost has shown a trend of gradual melting, and since 2000, the melting of permafrost has intensified, with a significant increase in surface soil moisture content. The results of this study are of great theoretical significance for the in-depth understanding of the hydrological cycle and ecological environment changes in the Yangtze River source area, and can provide a reference basis for the hydrological cycle and water resources management in the Yangtze River source area.

Here we investigated the potential impacts of soil inorganic nitrogen (SIN) content on the phylogenetic characteristics and ecological functions of soil bacterial communities in estuarine intertidal zones in China, aiming to comprehend the response mechanism of soil microorganisms to variations in SIN content within estuarine wetlands. Our results show that SIN in estuarine areas has a significant spatiotemporal variation on spatial and seasonal scales, in this study and is significantly associated with the phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic turnover of soil bacterial communities. In addition, the results of the metagenomic analysis showed that the relative abundance of nitrogen-cycling functional genes in bacterial communities did not differ significantly in sampling sites and seasons, and weakly correlated with SIN content. Further, the results based on structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis showed that SIN directly and significantly regulated the phylogenetic characteristics of bacterial communities, thereby indirectly affecting the potential of bacterial nitrogen metabolism. This study emphasizes the key influence of SIN variations on the phylogenetic dissimilarity in soil bacterial communities. Moreover, although there was a weak direct relationship between the functional characteristics of the bacterial nitrogen metabolism and SIN content, the spatiotemporal variation of bacterial nitrogen metabolic potential may be indirectly regulated by SIN content by influencing the phylogenetic diversity in bacterial communities. Our study unravels the pivotal mechanisms through which SIN content influences bacterial communities, thereby offering novel insights into the microbial intricacies governing nitrogen metabolism within estuaries.

Dams are increasingly disrupting natural river systems, yet studies investigating their impact on microbial communities at regional scale are limited. Given the indispensable role of bacterioplankton in aquatic ecosystems, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to explore how these communities respond to dam-influenced environmental changes at the regional scale in the Shaying River Basin. Our findings revealed that cascade dams create distinct environments, shaping bacterioplankton communities near the dams differently from those in natural rivers. In the upstream of the cascade dams, water quality was superior, while bacterioplankton community structure was simple with weak community interactions. In the midstream, nutrient and heavy metal content were increased, making bacterioplankton structures more susceptible to environmental changes. In the downstream of the cascade dams, water quality had a significant impact on the community and the bacterioplankton structures were highly complex. Additionally, environmental variables significantly influenced bacterioplankton functional groups. However, the response to these factors, as well as the interplay between functional and taxonomic diversity, varied markedly depending on the specific region of the cascade dams. We here delved into the effects of cascade dams on the taxonomic diversity and functional groups of bacterioplankton to provide a theoretical basis for segmentally regulating these dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantification of stomatal pore size has long been a fundamental approach to understand the physiological response of plants in the context of environmental adaptation. Automation of such methodologies not only alleviates human labor and bias but also realizes new experimental research methods through massive analysis. Here, we present an image analysis pipeline that automatically quantifies stomatal aperture of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves from bright-field microscopy images containing mesophyll tissue as noisy backgrounds. By combining a You Only Look Once X–based stomatal detection submodule and a U-Net-based pore segmentation submodule, we achieved a mean average precision with an intersection of union (IoU) threshold of 50% value of 0.875 (stomata detection performance) and an IoU of 0.745 (pore segmentation performance) against images of leaf discs taken with a bright-field microscope. Moreover, we designed a portable imaging device that allows easy acquisition of stomatal images from detached/undetached intact leaves on-site. We demonstrated that this device in combination with fine-tuned models of the pipeline we generated here provides robust measurements that can substitute for manual measurement of stomatal responses against pathogen inoculation. Utilization of our hardware and pipeline for automated stomatal aperture measurements is expected to accelerate research on stomatal biology of model dicots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Shipin Kexue/ Food Science is the property of Food Science Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polymer Materials Science & Engineering is the property of Sichuan University, Polymer Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Desert ecosystems possess an astonishing biodiversity and are rich in endangered species. This study investigated characteristics of species diversity and soil environmental factors in three major deserts of China's Alxa Plateau. The Alxa Desert included 183 plant species belonging to 109 genera and 35 families. The highest numbers of plant species belonged to the Compositae, Gramineae, and Chenopodiaceae families. The research area belongs to the semi-shrub and small semi-shrub deserts in temperate deserts. Species diversity was low, with the Shannon–Wiener index (H′) of shrub-herb = shrub > herb > tree. The Pielou evenness index (E) of shrub herb vegetation was the lowest, indicating more enriched species and fewer sparse species in the community, and that these types of vegetation had the characteristics of rich and obviously dominant species. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and correlations between the comprehensive plant community biodiversity index and soil factors indicated that soil-available phosphorus (NP), organic matter (SOM), and electrical conductivity (EC) had significant impacts on community species diversity. The herbaceous shrub community exhibited the highest H′, Simpson index (D), species richness index (S), soil moisture (SW), and soil nutrients. Planting Calligonum mongolicum, Ephedra membranacea, Artemisia annua, and Phragmites australis to form a typical desert shrub community for community diversity protection is recommended to effectively protect and restore desert ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology / Shuiwendizhi Gongchengdizhi is the property of Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Transcriptomics and metabolomics offer distinct advantages in investigating the differentially expressed genes and cellular entities that have the greatest influence on end-phenotype, making them crucial techniques for studying plant quality and environmental responses. While numerous relevant articles have been published, a comprehensive summary is currently lacking. This review aimed to understand the global and longitudinal research trends of transcriptomics and metabolomics in plant quality and environmental response (TMPQE). Utilizing bibliometric methods, we presented a comprehensive science mapping of the social structure, conceptual framework, and intellectual foundation of TMPQE. We uncovered that TMPQE research has been categorized into three distinct stages since 2020. A citation analysis of the 29 most cited articles, coupled with a content analysis of recent works (2020–2023), highlight five potential research streams in plant quality and environmental responses: (1) biosynthetic pathways, (2) abiotic stress, (3) biotic stress, (4) development and ripening, and (5) methodologies and tools. Current trends and future directions are shaped by technological advancements, species diversity, evolving research themes, and an environmental ecology focus. Overall, this review provides a novel and comprehensive perspective to understand the longitudinal trend on TMPQE.

Phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos, due to their tiny size and high reproductive efficiency, usually hold an essential position in freshwater reservoir biomes. Understanding their community traits and symbiosis mechanism is crucial for determining the nature of water ecological environment and the water ecosystem’s evolution. However, the dynamics of interspecific and environmental interactions, as well as community-building processes, are currently unclear. Here, the structure feature, construction mechanism, associated symbiosis and environmental response of plankton and zoobenthos communities were studied in a freshwater reservoir. The features of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and zoobenthos communities varied significantly by season. Dispersal limitation played an important role in the construction of phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos communities, and the influence degree decreased in order. Phytoplankton communities showed a stronger distance-decay of similarity than zooplankton communities, while zoobenthos communities did not exhibit any discernible distance-decay of similarity. Co-existence network displayed primarily positive interactions between phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos all year round (92.23% positive in summer, 86.36% positive in autumn, 100% positive in winter and 67.35% positive in spring). Variation partitioning analyses showed that geographical variables had a stronger influence on community distribution than environmental factors. Mantel test revealed that the communities diversity was significantly associated with temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients N and nutrients P. Temperature exhibited the highest explanation rate for seasonal variation in phytoplankton (11.48%, p

Even though the process of plant water use under individual environmental stress conditions (drought, heat, cold, salinity, etc.) has been widely studied, the processes through which plants cope with multiple stresses (such as water stress combined with hot temperature) remain inconclusive. In the dry-hot valley region of southwest China, soil moisture, temperature, radiation and the associated stresses make complex the process of plant transpiration. To determine environmental controls on the water use of a typical orange tree in the region, sap flow was monitored in the trunks of seven orange trees, meteorological factors and soil water content were recorded between 20 May 2020, and 31 May 2022. The seasons were classified into: rainy (June–October), dry (November–February the other year), and dry-hot (March–May). Results showed that the transpiration of orange trees (Tc) in the study area was 659 mm of water per year. Compared with rainy (2.04 mm d-1) and dry (2.14 mm d-1) seasons, Tc was significantly lower during the dry-hot season (1.38 mm d-1). Rainfall had a significant impact on the transpiration process. Compared with the pre-rainfall value, Tc decreased after light rainfall events (10 mm). The variation in Tc increased initially and later gradually decreased with increasing rainfall amount. The minimum rainfall threshold that triggered an increase in Tc was 10.9 mm. Compared with the pre-rainfall days, Tc decreased for almost all types of rainfall event on rainy days. The drop in Tc was driven by the volume, time, and duration of rainfall. There was no direct correlation between Tc and most environmental factors (R2 < 0.40). However, Tc/ET0 (ET0 is grass reference evapotranspiration) was strongly correlated with the environmental factors. Net radiation (R2 = 0.61–0.73), air temperature (R2 = 0.39–0.49), daily maximum air temperature (R2 = 0.49–0.73), vapor pressure deficit (R2 = 0.34–0.45), and ET0 (R2 = 0.64–0.74) were negatively logarithmically correlated with daily Tc/ET0. However, daily Tc/ET0 was positively logarithmically correlated with VWC/ET0; R2 = 0.60–0.83 (where VWC is soil water content) and VWC/Tamax; R2 = 0.32–0.56 (where Tamax is maximum air temperature). Among the studied environmental factors, VWC/ET0 had the highest correlation with Tc/ET0 (R2 as high as 0.83). These results were critical for accurate evaluation of the effects of interaction of water and heat on plant water use. The study is therefore useful for effective water management in arid and semiarid regions. This is particularly so when concurrent hot and dry conditions were considered, likely to occur under future climatic conditions.

Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) is one of the key approaches for treating diseases, avoiding first-pass effects, reducing systemic adverse drug reactions and improving patient compliance. Microneedling, iontophoresis, electroporation, laser ablation and ultrasound facilitation are often used to improve the efficiency of TDD. Among them, microneedling is a relatively simple and efficient means of drug delivery. Microneedles usually consist of micron-sized needles (50–900 μm in length) in arrays that can successfully penetrate the stratum corneum and deliver drugs in a minimally invasive manner below the stratum corneum without touching the blood vessels and nerves in the dermis, improving patient compliance. Hydrogel-forming microneedles (HFMs) are safe and non-toxic, with no residual matrix material, high drug loading capacity, and controlled drug release, and they are suitable for long-term, multiple drug delivery. This work reviewed the characteristics of the skin structure and TDD, introduced TDD strategies based on HFMs, and summarized the characteristics of HFM TDD systems and the evaluation methods of HFMs as well as the application of HFM drug delivery systems in disease treatment. The HFM drug delivery system has a wide scope for development, but the translation to clinical application still has more challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To understand the distribution of aquatic fauna in karst groundwater and its environmental response, aquatic fauna and water samples were collected from 15 epikarst springs and 9 large karst springs on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Yichang from July to August 2018. In total, 809 individuals were collected, and they belonged to 13 subclasses. We found that: ①The spatial distribution of different animals in groundwater was different. Copepoda and Ostracoda stygobionts were abundant in epikarst springs (31.3%, 23.7%), Trichoptera and Diptera were less abundant (0.4%, 2.9%). Copepoda and Amphipoda were abundant in large springs (25.0%, 8.3%), Ostracoda stygobionts were less abundant (2.2%). ②The variation range of environmental factors (pH, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+) in large karst springs (0.64, 1.25 mg/L, 34.0 mg/L, 22.1 mg/L) was narrower than that in epikarst springs (2.45, 5.68 mg/L, 59.6 mg/L, 33.4 mg/L), which indicated a relatively stable condition. ③According to the stepwise regression analysis, the main environmental factors of epikarst springs were pH, Na+ and Mg2+, and the main environmental factors of large karst springs were pH, SO42- and Mg2+. Moreover, the representative biological communities of epikarst springs were Ostracoda, Diptera and dark layer species of Turbellaria, and the representative biological communities of large karst springs were Mollusca, Diptera and Decapoda. ④According to the path analysis, Diptera mainly responded indirectly to Na+ and Mg2+ through Ostracoda, and Ostracoda stygobionts, Diptera and Turbellaria responded directly to pH in epikarst springs. In large karst springs, Mollusca mainly indirectly responded to pH through Diptera, Diptera indirectly responded to SO42- through Decapoda, and Mollusca, Diptera and Decapoda directly responded to Mg2+. The distribution of fauna in groundwater was the result of a direct response to environmental factors and an indirect response between different species.

The Marine Isotope Stage (MIS5e) is characterized by a warmer climate than that of the pre-industrial period, and serves as an analog for the Current Warm Period (CWP). However, uncertainties persist regarding its climatic stability. Here, we retrieved a stalagmite (WXB075) from Wanxiang Cave in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and employed absolute 230Th dating and relative annual layer data to establish a high-precision chronological framework for reconstructing the history of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) and environmental evolution during early MIS5e with multiple proxies. The findings indicate that the annually laminated stalagmite was formed during Cooling Event 27 (C27). The deposition of WXB075 experienced a hiatus (∼125.58 ka BP) due to a significant cooling event in the North Atlantic, which may be linked to the unstable climate in the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, the impact of meltwater discharge in high northern latitudes results in a two-phase evolution of the ASM, i.e., an initial weaker stage followed by a gradual increase (with the exception of deposition hiatus). The climatic instability of ASM is generally characterized by a quasi-60 year cycle that affects vegetation conditions, biological productivity, and karst hydroclimate dynamics. However, the increase in meltwater and decrease in temperature in the Northern Hemisphere have led to a weakened ASM and subsequent reduction in precipitation. Consequently, vegetation degradation above the cave has occurred along with a slowdown of karst hydroclimate. The vegetation conditions, organic matter content, and wet/drought of the karst hydroclimate were affected by both the large-scale monsoon circulation and local environment during extreme weakening (strengthening) of the monsoon when high-frequency climatic events of ASM occurred. A comparison of δ18O records between early MIS5e and the past 2000 years reveals that the climate during early MIS5e differed significantly from that of CWP, Medieval Warm Period (MWP), and Dark Age Cold Period (DACP) but was similar to Little Ice Age (LIA). Comparison with other geological records from the Northern Hemisphere indicates that climate instability was a widespread phenomenon during MIS5e. The power spectrum analysis of WXB075 δ18O reveals significant quasi-60 and 35 a cycles during the early MIS5e, which is consistent with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). The comprehensive results demonstrate that the ASM in the early MIS5e was closely linked to solar activity, Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) position, and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ras proteins are monomeric G proteins that are ubiquitous in fungal cells and play important roles in fungal growth, virulence, and environmental responses. Botrytis cinerea is a phytopathogenic fungus that infects various crops. However, under specific environmental conditions, the overripe grapes infected by B. cinerea can be used to brew valuable noble rot wine. As a Ras protein, the role of Bcras2 in the environmental responses of B. cinerea is poorly understood. In this study, we deleted the Bcras2 gene using homologous recombination and examined its functions. Downstream genes regulated by Bcras2 were explored using RNA sequencing transcriptomics. It was found that ΔBcras2 deletion mutants showed significantly reduced growth rate, increased sclerotia production, decreased resistance to oxidative stress, and enhanced resistance to cell wall stress. Additionally, Bcras2 deletion promoted the expression of melanin-related genes in sclerotia and decreased the expression of melanin-related genes in conidia. The above results indicate that Bcras2 positively regulates growth, oxidative stress resistance, and conidial melanin-related genes expression, and negatively regulates sclerotia production, cell wall stress resistance and sclerotial melanin-related genes expression. These results revealed previously unknown functions of Bcras2 in environmental responses and melanin metabolism in B. cinerea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest competition is a key factor driving forest dynamics and stand structure, and is one of the core issues in ecological research. Competition is a complex ecological process with temporal changes, which is interrelated and affected with forest growth, stand structure dynamics and environmental changes. Although there have been many researches on competition, tree growth, stand structure and climate, the interactions among trees have been studied by static competition index measurement, which usually lacks temporal variation related to natural forest development and environmental conditions, and the response mechanism and related theory of competition to stand development and environmental fluctuation have been studied insufficiently.(2) Single tree competition index model;(3) Interaction between tree competition and tree growth, stand structure and environment;(4) Tree competition based on complex network. Finally, according to the complex interaction of tree competition, the research strategy of tree competition network structure with “single tree” as node and “single tree competition relationship” as edge is discussed, in order to provide reference for the study of tree interaction and forest ecosystem dynamics.

Abstract Background Characterizing plant genetic resources and their response to the environment through accurate measurement of relevant traits is crucial to genetics and breeding. Spatial organization of the maize ear provides insights into the response of grain yield to environmental conditions. Current automated methods for phenotyping the maize ear do not capture these spatial features. Results We developed EARBOX, a low-cost, open-source system for automated phenotyping of maize ears. EARBOX integrates open-source technologies for both software and hardware that facilitate its deployment and improvement for specific research questions. The imaging platform consists of a customized box in which ears are repeatedly imaged as they rotate via motorized rollers. With deep learning based on convolutional neural networks, the image analysis algorithm uses a two-step procedure: ear-specific grain masks are first created and subsequently used to extract a range of trait data per ear, including ear shape and dimensions, the number of grains and their spatial organisation, and the distribution of grain dimensions along the ear. The reliability of each trait was validated against ground-truth data from manual measurements. Moreover, EARBOX derives novel traits, inaccessible through conventional methods, especially the distribution of grain dimensions along grain cohorts, relevant for ear morphogenesis, and the distribution of abortion frequency along the ear, relevant for plant response to stress, especially soil water deficit. Conclusions The proposed system provides robust and accurate measurements of maize ear traits including spatial features. Future developments include grain type and colour categorisation. This method opens avenues for high-throughput genetic or functional studies in the context of plant adaptation to a changing environment.

Canopy photosynthesis is an important component of biomass production in field-grown rice (Oryza sativa L.). Although canopy temperature differences (CTD) provide important information for evaluating canopy photosynthesis, the measurement of CTD is still a labor-intensive task. Therefore, we designed this study to establish a model for predicting CTD under different field conditions using meteorological data and evaluated the environmental response of CTD using the established model. Our study collected 2,056,264 CTD data points from two rice cultivars having different photosynthetic capacities, ‘Koshihikari’ and ‘Takanari’, and then used these data to create a novel model using a neural network (NN). The input variables were limited to meteorological data, and the output variable was set to CTD. The established NN model produced a prediction accuracy of R2 = 0.792 and RMSE = 0.605°C. We then used this NN model to simulate the CTD response of the Koshihikari and Takanari cultivars in response to various environmental changes. These predictions revealed that Takanari had a lower CTD than Koshihikari when exposed to high relative humidity (RH) or low to moderate solar radiation (Rs). In contrast, the CTD of Koshihikari tended to be lower than that of Takanari under lower RH or higher Rs. This result implies that the advantages of the single-leaf gas exchange system in Takanari can be mitigated under extremely high-VPD conditions. Thus, our new method may provide a powerful tool to gain a better understanding of gas exchange, growth processes, and varietal differences in rice cultivated under field conditions.

Large vacuoles are a predominant cell organelle throughout the plant body. They maximally account for over 90% of cell volume and generate turgor pressure that acts as a driving force of cell growth, which is essential for plant development. The plant vacuole also acts as a reservoir for sequestering waste products and apoptotic enzymes, thereby enabling plants to rapidly respond to fluctuating environments. Vacuoles undergo dynamic transformation through repeated enlargement, fusion, fragmentation, invagination, and constriction, eventually resulting in the typical 3-dimensional complex structure in each cell type. Previous studies have indicated that such dynamic transformations of plant vacuoles are governed by the plant cytoskeletons, which consist of F-actin and microtubules. However, the molecular mechanism of cytoskeleton-mediated vacuolar modifications remains largely unclear. Here we first review the behavior of cytoskeletons and vacuoles during plant development and in response to environmental stresses, and then introduce candidates that potentially play pivotal roles in the vacuole–cytoskeleton nexus. Finally, we discuss factors hampering the advances in this research field and their possible solutions using the currently available cutting-edge technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of bulbils, which are storage organs, is an important agronomic trait and a unique morphological feature in the vegetative reproduction of yam. We found a landrace of water yam (Dioscorea alata L.), which rarely forms bulbils, that produces bulbils during periods of high rainfall. We investigated the physiological mechanism of bulbil formation in response to over-moist soil and relevant factors at the single plant level. Waterlogging (WL) treatment markedly increased the number of bulbils initiated, predominantly toward the upper nodes. This formed-bulbil was an accessory bud developed as a storage organ in leaf axils. Photosynthetic capacity decreased under WL, attributed to stress-induced stomatal closure. WL stress also reduced dry matter partitioning to the belowground organs. During tuber enlargement in WL plants, photosynthetic products accumulated in the aboveground organs and were transported to the bulbils as a result of reduced translocation to belowground organs. We investigated the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) on bulbil formation on the basis of changes in the sink–source balance in response to WL stress. ABA treatment of leaf axils enhanced bulbil formation in unstressed plants, suggesting that increased ABA is one of the factors that initiate bulbils. Our study shows that bulbil initiation occurs as a result of changes in physiological conditions in response to WL stress. This finding may provide fundamental information for the control of bulbil production. This response of bulbil formation, as an environmentally adaptive trait of the tropical water yam, may underlie the survival strategy of vegetatively propagated plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proteins with DNA-binding preference to the consensus DNA sequence (A/T) GATA (A/G) belong to a GATA transcription factor family, with a wide array of biological processes in plants. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an important food crop with high production of starch in storage roots. Little was however known about cassava GATA domain-containing genes (MeGATA s). Thirty-six MeGATA s, MeGATA1 to MeGATA36 , were found in this study. Some MeGATA s showed a collinear relationship with orthologous genes of Arabidopsis , poplar and potato, rice, maize and sorghum. Eight MeGATA -encoded proteins (MeGATAs) analysed were all localized in the nucleus. Some MeGATAs had potentials of binding ligands and/or enzyme activity. One pair of tandem-duplicated MeGATA17–MeGATA18 and 30 pairs of whole genome-duplicated MeGATA s were found. Fourteen MeGATA s showed low or no expression in the tissues. Nine analysed MeGATA s showed expression responses to abiotic stresses and exogenous phytohormones. Three groups of MeGATA protein interactions were found. Fifty-three miRNAs which can target 18 MeGATA s were identified. Eight MeGATAs were found to target other 292 cassava genes, which were directed to radial pattern formation and phyllome development by gene ontology enrichment, and autophagy by Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment. These data suggest that MeGATA s are functional generalists in interactions between cassava growth and development, abiotic stresses and starch metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms play important roles in phosphorus (P) cycling via their regulation of P uptake and transport, P mineralization and solubilization, and the mediation of P deficiency in forest biomes. However, the dynamics of microbial P functional genes and the underlying regulatory mechanisms in different forest biomes (e.g., temperate vs. subtropical) have yet to be sufficiently clarified. In this study, we applied a metagenomics approach to investigate changes in the abundance of three microbial P functional gene groups (P starvation response regulation genes, P uptake and transport genes, and P solubilization and mineralization genes) along a subtropical–temperate gradient of forest biomes (23° N–45° N) in China. Our results revealed that the abundances of P starvation response regulation genes in temperate forest biomes were significantly higher than those in the subtropics (p < 0.05), although not in the cases of the other two P functional gene types (p > 0.05). Moreover, in both temperate and subtropical forests, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were identified as key phyla associated with P cycling; moreover, we found dominate species of Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria at genus level were higher in subtropical zones than that of temperate zones, in most cases. Furthermore, our results showed that significant correlation was found between P functional genes and microbial α-diversity along latitude gradient. Furthermore, in both forest biomes, microbial community α-diversity was significantly positively correlated with P starvation response regulation genes (p < 0.05), whereas α-diversity was significantly positively related to P uptake and transport genes in temperate forest biomes (p < 0.001), although not in subtropical forests (p > 0.05). In addition, we found that whereas soil substrates showed significant negative relationships with P solubilization and mineralization genes in temperate forest biomes (p < 0.05), this was not the case in subtropical forests. Collectively, these findings indicate that the responses of microbial P functional genes to the environmental variation in temperate forests are more sensitive than those in subtropical forests, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for further elucidation of the differential regulatory roles of these genes in different forest biomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Fine root phenology is controlled by complex mechanisms associated with aboveground phenological events and environmental conditions, and therefore, elucidating fine root responses to changing environments remains difficult without considering the dynamics within and among years. This study evaluated the response of fine root growth at variable time scales to the surrounding environments of soil temperature and moisture at ecosystem scales. Optical scanners were used to measure fine root production over 4 years in two forests dominated by either cypress or deciduous oak trees. Correlations between fine root production and soil temperature and moisture were analyzed using the state‐space model. Fine root phenology varied among years in the cypress stand and showed stable growth patterns in the oak stand as production peaked in spring every year. Soil temperature had a dominant influence on fine root production, while soil moisture enhanced fine root growth especially in the oak stand. Fine root responses to both soil temperature and moisture peaked during the early growing season, indicating its own temperature hysteresis that means different responses under same temperature within a year. The time‐varying response of fine root growth to external factors is a key perspective to explain fine root growth mechanisms, and whether evergreen or deciduous habits differentiates the fine root phenology due to a linkage between above‐ and belowground resource dynamics.

Wetlands are the most important natural source of methane (CH 4) emissions. Apparent wetland CH 4 emissions depend largely on the balance between CH 4 production and oxidation. Wetland plants play an important role in all processes. However, direct observations and side-by-side comparisons of CH 4 emissions from wetlands with different vegetation types are lacking at the global scale. There is still a lack of clarity in characterizing the environmental response to CH4 emissions from wetlands with different vegetation types. Based on the FLUXNET-CH 4 dataset and the Global Standard Soil Database, we analyzed the environmental response characteristics of CH 4 emissions and clarified the important role of plants in CH 4 emissions. We categorized wetlands into vascular plant wetlands (VPWs) and moss plant wetlands (MPWs). VPWs CH 4 emissions were typically higher and more heterogeneous, whereas MPWs CH 4 emissions were lower and less variable. When the water table is below the surface, VPWs still have high CH 4 emission rates, while MPWs have CH 4 emission rates close to zero. In addition, the temperature sensitivity of CH 4 emissions from VPWs (Q 10 = 2.26) is significantly higher than that of MPWs (Q 10 = 1.71). Solar radiation was the main factor affecting CH 4 emissions from VPWs, and temperature was the main factor affecting CH 4 emissions from MPWs. Finally, our results of structural equation model suggested that soil and water environment, temperature, and plants all contribute to wetland CH 4 emissions to varying degrees. These findings highlight the important role of wetland vegetation in CH 4 emissions, which should be seriously considered to reduce uncertainty in the assessment of wetland CH 4 emissions. • CH 4 emissions's temperature sensitivity from VPWs is higher than MPWs. • Plant-mediated was reason for the high heterogeneity of CH 4 emissions. • Solar radiation was the main factor affecting CH 4 emissions from VPWs. • Temperature was the main factor affecting CH 4 emissions from MPWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting lithium leach residue (LLR) into zeolite can reduce environmental impacts while also producing high value-added products. However, the synthesis of zeolites by LLR under alkali fusion may result in the solidification and migration of potentially toxic elements with secondary environmental impacts. Systematic research into this subject is rare in the open literature and the mobility of toxic elements from LLR derived zeolites is yet to be understood. In this paper, we have investigated the highly crystalline synthesis of hydroxy sodalite, X-type zeolite (NaX), and A-type zeolite (NaA) without stencil agent and crystal species, which can be achieved by modulating the alkali fusion temperature, all three zeolites have greater than 90 % conversion of the major elements aluminum and silicon. Meanwhile, the leachability of thallium (Tl), beryllium (Be), and potentially toxic elements (lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn)) was monitored by pH-dependent leaching test for LLR and three kinds of synthesized zeolites according to the Chinese standard and the emission of toxic elements during the synthesis process was analyzed, to investigate the migration and quantify the distribution of the toxic elements in the LLR to the product zeolites and the cleaning wastewater. The migration efficiency of potentially toxic elements from LLR to the product zeolite and cleaning wastewater was explored. It was found that most of the toxic elements Tl, Be and potentially toxic elements were solidified in the structure of the zeolites by ion exchange (solidification rate > 90 %), and a small portion flowed into the cleaning wastewater. Although there are toxic elements solidified in the structure, there is no significant leaching under various pH conditions, which is in line with the Chinese standard (GB/T 5085.3–2007). Therefore, it is considered that LLR realizes environmentally friendly zeolite production and does not cause secondary pollution to the environment. This work demonstrates great potential for green recycling of LLR from the lithium extraction process and introduces an environmentally friendly slag treatment technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desert ecosystems possess an astonishing biodiversity and are rich in endangered species. This study investigated characteristics of species diversity and soil environmental factors in three major deserts of China’s Alxa Plateau. The Alxa Desert included 183 plant species belonging to 109 genera and 35 families. The highest numbers of plant species belonged to the Compositae, Gramineae, and Chenopodiaceae families. The research area belongs to the semi-shrub and small semi-shrub deserts in temperate deserts. Species diversity was low, with the Shannon–Wiener index (H′) of shrub-herb = shrub > herb > tree. The Pielou evenness index (E) of shrub herb vegetation was the lowest, indicating more enriched species and fewer sparse species in the community, and that these types of vegetation had the characteristics of rich and obviously dominant species. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and correlations between the comprehensive plant community biodiversity index and soil factors indicated that soil-available phosphorus (NP), organic matter (SOM), and electrical conductivity (EC) had significant impacts on community species diversity. The herbaceous shrub community exhibited the highest H′, Simpson index (D), species richness index (S), soil moisture (SW), and soil nutrients. Planting Calligonum mongolicum, Ephedra membranacea, Artemisia annua, and Phragmites australis to form a typical desert shrub community for community diversity protection is recommended to effectively protect and restore desert ecosystems.

Bacterial pathogens employ a general strategy to overcome host defenses by coordinating the virulence gene expression using dedicated regulatory systems that could raise intricate networks. During the last twenty years, many studies of Helicobacter pylori, a human pathogen responsible for various stomach diseases, have mainly focused on elucidating the mechanisms and functions of virulence factors. In parallel, numerous studies have focused on the molecular mechanisms that regulate gene transcription to attempt to understand the physiological changes of the bacterium during infection and adaptation to the environmental conditions it encounters. The number of regulatory proteins deduced from the genome sequence analyses responsible for the correct orchestration of gene transcription appears limited to 14 regulators and three sigma factors. Furthermore, evidence is accumulating for new and complex circuits regulating gene transcription and H. pylori virulence. Here, we focus on the molecular mechanisms used by H. pylori to control gene transcription as a function of the principal environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Advanced Textile Technology is the property of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University Magazines and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)