Search

Adding manure to croplands restores carbon and nutrients in depleted soils, while addressing a waste disposal need. This practice depends on the abundance and activity of microbial communities to break down manure inputs, which provide carbon for microbial growth and release nutrients for plant and microbial uptake. In a 2-year field study, we measured changes to soil physicochemical properties and microbial community composition in a conventional rotation of summer sileage corn and winter wheat. Three ratios of manure to mineral N fertilizer were used: all manure (100% of plant N from manure), mixed (50% plant N from by manure and 50% from mineral fertilizer), and all mineral (100% plant N from mineral fertilizer). Yields of corn and wheat were similar across treatments. Soil microbial community dissimilarity increased with higher ratios of application, suggesting a dose-dependent relationship between manure application and microbial community composition. Both microbial biomass and dissolved organic carbon showed the greatest response immediately following manure application, then decreased until the next application. The Shannon index increased shortly after manure application, with the largest increase observed in soils receiving manure input. Many of the taxa that increased in relative abundance following manure application were specifically taxa known to be present in manure and not common or present in soil before manure application. Microbial community changes following manure application were transitory, indicating that without continual inputs of resources, these alterations are not maintained. This was in contrast to microbial biomass which slowly increased in size over the 2-year study period. Better understanding of how manure interacts with microbial communities will help in developing better nutrient management practices and help reduce our reliance on mineral fertilizers.

Soil organic amendments in agricultural production can benefit crop production and a wide range of soil properties, including soil aggregation. Soil aggregate formation is largely driven by microbial activities, and can in-turn influence microbial communities by generating distinct microbial habitats, as well as associated impacts on water and nutrient dynamics. We investigated the long-term effects of two fertilizer management strategies (poultry manure compost vs. mineral fertilizer) and biochar amendment (0 vs. 10 t ha−1 walnut shell biochar, 900 °C pyrolysis temperature, by-product of gasification) on soil aggregation, soil organic C, and microbial community dynamics in water-stable aggregate fractions in corn-tomato rotations. Using wet-sieving, soils (0–15 cm) were divided into four size fractions: large macroaggregates (2000–8000 μm), small macroaggregates (250–2000 μm), microaggregates (53–250 μm) and silt and clay (

The ability of soil to retain water under drought and other extreme hydrological events is critical to the sustainability of food production systems and preserving soil ecosystem services. We investigated the impact of biochar on water retention properties in California agricultural soils in a series of column, lab incubation, and field studies. Results from studies based on similar variables (soil, biochar) were used to demonstrate the impact of biochar on soil-water relations at different scales. The influences of biochar type (softwood, 600–700 °C, low surface area; walnut shell, 900 °C, high surface area), application rate (0, 0.5, 1% wt.), and particle diameter (0–0.25, 0.25–0.5, 0.5–1, 1–2 mm) were investigated. Only the higher surface area biochar increased the field capacity of a sandy soil. Neither biochar, altered the field capacity of the higher clay content soil. The walnut shell biochar with 1–2 mm particle diameter was more effective at increasing field capacity in sandy soils compare to smaller biochar size fractions. Neither biochar affected the wilting point in either soil. Neutron imaging was used to explore potential mechanisms involved in water retention by observing the spatial and temporal distribution of water in and surrounding biochar particles (~ 2 mm diameter). After wetting, water retained in the internal pores of biochar was continuously released to surrounding space (~ 2.2 mm sphere) during a 7-day air drying at room temperature, suggesting that soil water retention is improved via the biochar's intraparticle structure. In the field trial, (6 yr., corn-tomato rotation), neither walnut shell biochar amendment (10 t/ ha, equivalent to 0.5% wt. in lab scale experiments) nor agricultural management practices (organic, conventional) altered the water retention capacity of a silty clay loam soil. These data suggest that biochars with a high pore volume can temporarily increase the field capacity and plant available water in a coarse-textured soil, until biochar internal pores are filled by clay and soil organic matter. Our results suggest that biochar can have a limited impact on soil water retention when biochar pore volume is low, or soil texture is fine. High dosage (≥10 t/ha) of high pore volume biochar with bulky particle size (≥1 mm) can improve water retention of coarse-textured soil with limited capacity of water storage and may improve soil's resilience during hydrological extremes.

Chromium (Cr) contamination is widely distributed in agricultural soil and poses a threat to agricultural sustainability. Developing integrated models based on soil survey data can be an effective measure to accurately predict the spatial distribution of Cr. Focused on an agriculturally dominated area, this study presents a novel hybrid mapping model that combines land use regression (LUR) and geostatistical methods to predict Cr distribution in topsoil and examines the influence of various influencing factors on Cr content. The LUR model was first adopted to screen the influencing factors for Cr predictions. Then LUR, was combined with ordinary Kriging (OK_LUR) and geographically weighted regression Kriging (GWRK_LUR) to describe the spatial distribution of Cr. Results showed that Cr distribution was profoundly influenced by soil Cu and Zn content, the distance between the soil sampling and livestock farm, orchard areas within 100 m, and population density within 1000 m. The developed GWRK_LUR model significantly improved the prediction accuracy of the OK_LUR and LUR models (by 9% and 16%, respectively). This model provides a novel route to account for the spatial distribution of Cr in agricultural topsoil at a regional scale, which has potential application in pollution remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problems of low accuracy of monitoring data, weak data analysis capabilities, and low intelligenceof existing mining equipment, an intelligent safety monitoring and predictive maintenance system for mining equipment is proposed.The system preprocesses mining equipment safety monitoring data through an intelligent data pre-selection model based on the simulated annealing algorithm, filters out the data within the threshold range so as to eliminate outliers in the data. The intelligent safety predictive maintenance model based on convolutional neural network is used to perform dual-channel convolution using convolutional kernels of different sizes to diversify the extracted filtered data characteristics. By comparing them with the mining equipment historical status sample data, it is able to judge the mining equipment operation status and then provide corresponding equipment predictive maintenance solutions.The experimental results show that the system has high accuracy in judging the operation status and predictive maintenance of mining equipment.

Pigs are the most important source of meat and valuable biomedical models. However, the porcine immune system, especially the heterogeneity of CD8 T cell subtypes, has not been fully characterized. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified 14 major cell types from peripheral blood circulating cells of pigs and observed remarkable heterogeneity among CD8 T cell types. Upon re-clustering of CD8+ T cells, we defined four CD8 T cell subtypes and revealed their potential differentiation trajectories and transcriptomic differences among them. Additionally, we identified transcription factors with potential regulatory roles in maintaining CD8 T cell differentiation. The cell-cell communication analysis inferred an extensive interaction between CD8 T cells and other immune cells. Finally, cross-species analysis further identified species-specific and conserved cell types across different species. Overall, our study provides the first insight into the extensive functional heterogeneity and state transitions among porcine CD8 T cell subtypes in pig peripheral blood, complements the knowledge of porcine immunity, and enhances its potential as a biomedical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar is increasingly been used as a soil amendment to improve water-holding capacity, reduce nutrient leaching, increase soil pH, and also as a means to reduce contamination through sorption of heavy metals or organic pollutants. The sorption behavior of three phenylurea herbicides (monuron, diuron and linuron) on five biochars (Enhanced Biochar, Hog Waste, Turkey Litter, Walnut Shell and Wood Feedstock) and an agricultural soil (Yolo silt loam) was investigated using a batch equilibration method. Sorption isotherms of herbicides to biochars were well described by the Freundlich model (R(2) = 0.93-0.97). The adsorption KF values ranged from 6.94 to 1306.95 mg kg(-1) and indicated the sorption of herbicides in the biochars and Yolo soil was in the sequence of linuron > diuron > monuron and walnut shell biochar > wood feedstock biochar > turkey litter biochar > enhanced biochar > hog waste biochar > Yolo soil. These data show that sorption of herbicides to biochar can have both positive (reduced off-site transport) and negative (reduced herbicide efficacy) implications and specific biochar properties, such as H/C ratio and surface area, should be considered together with soil type, agriculture chemical and climate condition in biochar application to agricultural soil to optimize the system for both agricultural and environmental benefits.

Objective To explore the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and male infertility (MI) and evaluate the potential causal effect of OSA on MI through a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods Two-sample MR analysis was conducted using genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, including 25 062 cases of SA, 172 050 cases of snoring, and 313 372 controls, as well as summary data extracted from FinnGen for male infertility (1 271 cases and 119 297 controls). The primary analytical method was the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) approach, supplemented by MR-Egger regression, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode to provide additional evidence corroborating the IVW results. Tests for horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity were performed to ensure result stability. Results There was no substantial evidence supporting an association between OSA and MI incidence using the IVW method (OR = 1. 617, 95% CI- 0. 823-3. 177, P = 0. 163). The result of MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode methods were consistent with the results of the IVW method. Conclusion The large MR analysis indicated that obstructive sleep apnea may not be causally associated with a risk of male infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundTo evaluate the safety and tolerability of docetaxel/carboplatin regimen in the post-operative setting of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsEnrolment of 133 patients with stage Ib - IIIa NSCLC was undertaken in an open-label, single arm study to assess the safety and tolerability of docetaxel (75 mg/kg) and carboplatin (AUC 5.5) administered for 3 cycles after resection for curative intent. The primary endpoint of the study was safety, as reflected by a febrile neutropenia rate of

Anthropogenic activity has caused rivers and reservoirs to become sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is thought to play an important role in global climate change. There are thermal and DO stratification in deep-water reservoirs with long hydraulic retention time, which change N2O production mechanism compared with shallow-water reservoirs. To promote our understanding of the relationship of N2O production in reservoirs at different depths, spatiotemporal variations in water environmental factors and N2O from cascade reservoirs of Chaishitan (CST), Longtan (LT), Yantan (YT) and Dahua (DH) reservoirs in the Zhujiang River were detected, and the LT and YT reservoirs were compared as representatives of deep-water and shallow-water reservoirs in April and July 2019. The average N2O concentrations in the LT and YT reservoirs were 22.82 ± 2.21 and 21.55 ± 1.65 nmol L−1, respectively. During spring and summer, the WT (water temperature) and DO (dissolved oxygen) concentrations in the YT reservoir were well mixed. In contrast, the LT reservoir, as a deep-water reservoir, had thermal and DO stratifications in both the shallow and middle water, especially in the summer when the solar radiation intensity was high. During summer stratification, the DO concentration in the LT reservoir showed obvious spatial variation, ranging from 1.23 to 9.84 mg L−1, while the DO concentration in the YT reservoir showed very little variation, ranging from 6.45 to 7.09 mg L−1. Structural equation modeling results showed that NH4+ was the main determinant of the N2O concentration in the YT reservoir, and DO was the most influential factor of the N2O concentration in the LT reservoir. These results suggest significant variations in the factors influencing N2O concentration among reservoirs. Additionally, the mechanisms of N2O production differ between deep-water and shallow-water reservoirs. This study highlights the spatio-temporal variations and influential factors contributing to N2O concentration. Furthermore, it discusses the production mechanisms of N2O in different types of reservoirs. These findings contribute to our understanding of N2O distribution in hydropower systems and provide valuable data for the management of hydropower facilities and research on greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]