Search

PurposeUnder the background of coexistence of information overload and information fragmentation, it is of great significance to identify influencing factors and reveal the evolution logic of public opinion for public opinion governance.Design/methodology/approachTaking 24 hot social events as research cases, firstly, the evolution process of public opinion was divided into initial stage and response stage. Secondly, eight antecedent variables were extracted for qualitative comparative analysis of fuzzy sets. Finally, the configuration path of public opinion evolution results was summarized.FindingsThe research showed that compared with the initial stage, the influencing factors in the reaction stage played a key role in the continuous evolution of public opinion. The influencing factors in the initial stage and response stage played an indispensable role in promoting the evolution of public opinion to calm down.Practical implicationsThis research can provide reference for regulators to timely grasp the initiative, discourse power and leadership of public opinion development.Originality/valueResearch on the two-stage configuration path of public opinion evolution is helpful to clarify the key factors affecting the evolution trend of online public opinion of hot events.

Although the Student Career Construction Inventory (SCCI) has been used in many countries to measure the career adapting responses of college students, the applicability of the SCCI for use with Chinese college students has not yet been tested. Thus, we analyzed data from 411 college students who completed the SCCI and other related scales. The results support the second-order factor structure of the SCCI, and we found that the four dimensions, and the SCCI as a whole, were reliable. Students who scored higher on the SCCI scored higher on measures of career exploration, career planning, and career engagement, supporting the high congruent validity of the SCCI. Students with higher SCCI scores also showed stronger vocational identity and higher academic achievement, supporting the high criterion validity of the measure. Finally, the SCCI demonstrated scalar invariance across genders. Generally, the results show that the Chinese version of the SCCI is a valid and reliable scale for assessing college students' career adaptation thoughts and behaviors.

Background and Aims Nitrogen enrichment affects biodiversity, plant functional traits and ecosystem functions. However, the direct and indirect effects of nitrogen addition and biodiversity on the links between plant traits and ecosystem functions have been largely overlooked, even though multidimensional characteristics of plant functional traits are probably critical predictors of ecosystem functions. Methods To investigate the mechanism underlying the links between plant trait identity, diversity, network topology and above- and below-ground biomass along a plant species richness gradient under different nitrogen addition levels, a common garden experiment was conducted in which those driving factors were manipulated. Key Results The study found that nitrogen addition increased above-ground biomass but not below-ground biomass, while species richness was positively associated with above- and below-ground biomass. Nitrogen addition had minor effects on plant trait identity and diversity, and on the connectivity and complexity of the trait networks. However, species richness increased above-ground biomass mainly by increasing leaf trait diversity and network modularity, and enhanced below-ground biomass through an increase in root nitrogen concentration and network modularity. Conclusions The results demonstrate the mechanistic links between community biomass and plant trait identity, diversity and network topology, and show that the trait network architecture could be an indicator of the effects of global changes on ecosystem functions as importantly as trait identity and diversity.

Suppressing intramolecular vibration of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) by molecular rigidification has been proven to be an effective way to reduce the non-radiative recombination loss and energetic disorder of organic solar cells (OSCs). Thus far, extensive attention has been drawn on rigidifying the fused-ring backbones of NFAs, whereas the highly flexible alkyl side chains are barely concerned. Herein, an effective strategy of side chain rigidification by introducing a spiro-ring is developed for the first time and applied to construct the NFA of Spiro-F. Compared to its counterpart F-2F, the rigid spirocyclic side chain can constrain the vibrational-rotational motion and control the orientation of two highly flexible

Nanosuspensions can effectively increase saturation solubility and improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs attributed to high loading and surface-to-volume ratio. Wet media milling has been regarded as a scalable method to prepare nanosuspensions because of its simple operation and easy scale-up. In recent years, besides particle aggregation and Ostwald ripening, polymorphic transformation induced by processing has become a critical factor leading to the instability of nanosuspensions. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the influence factors comprehensively and put forward the corresponding improvement strategies of polymorphic transformation during the formation of nanosuspensions. In addition, this review also demonstrates the implication of molecular simulation in polymorphic transformation. The competition between shear-induced amorphization and thermally activated crystallization is the global mechanism of polymorphic transformation during media milling. The factors affecting the polymorphic transformation and corresponding improvement strategies are summarized from formulation and process parameters perspectives during the formation of nanosuspensions. The development of analytical techniques has promoted the qualitative and quantitative characterization of polymorphic transformation, and some techniques can

In order to study the composition, structure and physicochemical properties of Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide (TFPS), four new polysaccharide fractions (TFPS1, TFPS2, TFPS3 and TFPS4) were successfully isolated from the hot-water extracted crude polysaccharides by DEAE-52 cellulose column. Their structures were analyzed by FT-IR, SEM, HPGPC, monosaccharide composition, Congo red and I2-KI experiments. TFPS1 was a heteropolysaccharide with a molecular weight of 742 Da for the major polysaccharide fragment. TFPS2, TFPS3 and TFPS4 were single component homogeneous polysaccharides with 350774 Da, 622675 Da and 624724 Da, respectively. Glucose was the major monosaccharide of TFPS1 and TFPS2, while Mannose was the major monosaccharide of TFPS3 and TFPS4. TFPS1 and TFPS2 displayed a stable triple helix structure at aqueous solution, while TFPS3 and TFPS4 presented longer side chains and more branched chains. TFPS1, TFPS2, TFPS3 and TFPS4 all possessed in vitro antioxidant activities. Moreover, the four polysaccharide fractions all demonstrated significant cholesterol binding ability, as well as obvious sodium taurocholate binding ability. The results of this study may provide some guidance on the medicinal value of TFPS.

In recent years, polymorphic transformation involved in media milling has become a key factor in inducing the instability of nanosuspensions (NSs). The variation trend of microhydrodynamic parameters, including milling intensity factor (F), can be observed under different milling conditions. Therefore, this study first referenced the microhydrodynamic model to explore how formulations and process parameters affect Irbesartan (IRB) form A crystallinity during wet media milling. As a result, the crystallinity of form A was affected by the intermolecular interactions between drug particles and stabilizers. The crystallinity of form A decreased with decreasing drug loading, increasing stirrer speed and bead loading, which depended on the role of F. Milling could promote the transformation from a 1H to 2H tetrazole ring with stabilizers containing -OH, and form B was changed to form A and finally to an amorphous state. Molecular modelling shows that forms A and B are ductile and fragile materials, respectively, and both present anisotropy. When milling beads hit both polymorphs paralleling to the (010) surface, the bead-bead collisions are more helpful in fracturing IRB particles. The results of this study may provide a foundation for controlling crystal transformation and obtaining ideal crystal forms.

Microscopically visualizing the evolution of electronic structures at the interface between two electron-correlated domains shows fundamental importance in both material science and physics. Here, we report scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy studies of the interfacial electronic structures evolution in a phase-engineered monolayer NbSe2 heterostructure. The H-NbSe2 metallic state penetrates the Mott insulating T-NbSe2 at the H/T phase interface, with a prominent 2D charge density wave (CDW) proximity effect. Moreover, an insulating Mott gap collapse with the disappearance of the upper Hubbard band is detected at the electronic phase transition region. Theoretical calculations reveal that such insulating Mott gap collapse can be attributed to the electron doping effect induced by the interface. Our findings promote a microscopical understanding of the interactions between different electron-correlated systems and provide an effective method for controlling the Mott insulating states with phase engineering.

Miscanthus spp. are increasingly cultivated in cropland worldwide due to their bioenergy potential and multiple ecological services. Effects of long‐term cropland‐to‐Miscanthus conversion without N fertilizer on soil microbiome and N cycling largely remain unknown. We aimed to explore the effects of Miscanthus conversion on soil microbiome and N cycling over a 15‐year period. We analyzed diversity, composition, and abundance of bacterial and archaeal communities using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and abundances of N‐cycling‐related genes using quantitative polymerase chain reaction of 0–10 cm soils collected from bare land, cropland, 10‐year Miscanthus × giganteus, and 15‐year Miscanthus sacchriflorus land in Beijing. Conversion decreased soil sand and micro‐aggregate proportion, nitrate N (NiN), available phosphorus levels, conductivity, temperature, and pH, while increasing proportion of soil clay and macro‐aggregate (MAA), soil organic C (SOC), available N (AN), exchangeable Mg2+ (EMg2+), and available potassium (AK) contents as well as microbial C/N. Consequently, diversity, composition, and abundance of soil bacterial community exhibited larger changes than those values of archaeal community after conversion. Soil AP, EMg2+, AK, and SOC were key factors in shifting microbiome from the cropland to Miscanthus pattern. Moreover, abundances of bacterial and archaeal communities and the N fixer gene nifH increased, whereas that of the bacterial ammonia monooxygenase gene decreased. The copies of other N‐cycling‐related genes in the two Miscanthus lands seemed similar to those values of cropland. The nifH copies negatively correlated with soil NiN and positively correlated with AN, EMg2+, ECa2+, SOC, AK, and MAA. We conclude that changes in soil microbiome pattern induced by the variation of soil properties enhance microbial N fixation potential, maintaining stable N levels and robust N cycling with lower N leakage risk after conversion. These results should inspire farmers and governments to large‐scale use Miscanthus on marginal cropland in Northern China.

The combination of chemotherapy and gene therapy has been indicated as a promising approach for cancer therapy. However, this combination strategy is still faced a challenge by the lack of suitable carriers to co-loaded chemotherapeutic drug and gene into one single nanoplatform. In this study, a tumor-targeted HC/pIL-12/polyMET micelleplexes were developed for the co-loading and co-delivery of cisplatin (CDDP) and plasmid encoding interleukin-12 gene (pIL-12), which would be utilized to generate synergistic actions through chemotherapy sensitization and microenvironment modulation. The HC/pIL-12/polyMET exhibited desirable particle size, superior serum stability, effective intracellular CDDP release and pIL-12 transfection efficiency. More important, the HC/pIL-12/polyMET generated the enhanced LLC cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction efficiency. The long-circulating HC/pIL-12/polyMET micelleplexes promoted the accumulation of CDDP and pIL-12 in tumor site, which resulted in significantly inhibiting the growth of lung cancer, and prolonging the overall survival of tumor-bearing mice. The underlying immune mechanism demonstrated the combination of CDDP and pIL-12 activated immune effector cells to release IFN-γ and induced M1-type differentiation of tumor-related macrophages, thereby generating synergistic chemoimmunotherapy effect. Taken together, this study may provide an effective strategy for drug/gene co-delivery and cancer chemoimmunotherapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Chemoimmunotherapy has been indicated as an approach to improve efficacy of cancer therapy. Herein, a tumor-targeted micelleplexes (HC/pIL-12/polyMET) were developed for the co-delivery of cisplatin (CDDP) and plasmid encoding IL-12 gene (pIL-12), which can employ the synergistic effects through chemotherapy sensitization and microenvironment modulation. The HC/pIL-12/polyMET exhibited desirable particle size, superior serum stability, high gene transfection efficiency and antitumor activity on tumor cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction. More importantly, the long-circulating HC/pIL-12/polyMET micelleplexes could effectively accumulate in tumor sites and then rapidly release the CDDP and pIL-12, significantly inhibit the growth of lung cancer. This strategy provides a new concept for chemo-gene combination with a strengthened overall therapeutic efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an immune checkpoint protein, can cause the depletion of tryptophan (Trp) and accumulation of its metabolite of kynurenine (Kyn) in cancer cells, and generates the immunosuppressive microenvironment that supports tumor cell growth. A novel immunoregulatory prodrug micelle based on polyethylene glycol-derivatized an IDO-selective inhibitor of 1-methyltryptophan (1-MT), PEG-Fmoc-1-MT, was developed for inhibiting the IDO activity of the conversion of Trp to Kyn in tumor microenvironments. To investigate the 1-MT distribution and Trp/Kyn ratios in mice tumors with PEG-Fmoc-1-MT prodrug micelles treatment, a HPLC–MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of 1-MT and IDO biomakers of Trp and Kyn in mouse tumors was developed and validated. Triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry with positive electrospray ionization as source ionization in multiple reaction monitoring at m/z 219.0 → 160.1, 205.0 → 118.2, 209.0 → 146.1 and 249.3 → 148.3 was used for determination of 1-MT, Trp, Kyn and matrine (internal standard). The method demonstrated good linearity at the concentrations ranging from 10 to 10,000 ng/mL and lower limits of quantitation of 1 ng/mL for 1-MT, Trp and Kyn, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to 1-MT tumor biodistribution and Trp/Kyn ratio studies in 4T1 tumor bearing mice i.v. with PEG-Fmoc-1-MT prodrug micelles. The mice tumors with PEG-Fmoc-1-MT prodrug micelles treatment exhibited higher 1-MT accumulation and lower Trp/Kyn ratio, in comparison with those of mice with 1-MT solution treatment. The developed PEG-Fmoc-1-MT prodrug micelles could be a promising IDO immunoregulatory prodrug micelles for cancer immunotherapy.

Charge density wave (CDW) in two-dimensional (2D) crystals plays a vital role in tuning the interface structures and properties. However, how the CDW tunes the self-assembled molecular superlattice still remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the self-assembled manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) molecular superlattice on single-layered 1T- and 2H-NbSe2 crystals under regulation by distinct CDW patterns. We observe that, in low coverage, MnPc molecules preferentially adsorb on 2H-NbSe2 compared to 1T-NbSe2. With increasing coverage, MnPc can form a highly ordered superlattice on 2H-NbSe2; however, it is randomly distributed on 1T-NbSe2. We reveal a perfect geometric commensurability between the molecular superlattice and intrinsic CDW pattern in 2H-NbSe2 and a poor commensurability for that of 1T-NbSe2. We believe that the subtly different geometric commensurability dominates the different adsorption and arrangement of the molecular superlattices on 2D CDW patterns. Our study provides a pioneering approach for tuning the molecular superlattices using the CDW patterns.

This study shows a simple, layer-by-layer coating process and low-temperature chemical etching method for selective preparation of yolk-shell ZnFe2O4@C composites by using SiO2 as the template. Compared with core-shell ZnFe2O4@SiO2@C, the yolk-shell ZnFe2O4@C microspheres exhibited significantly enhanced electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance in terms of effective bandwidth, coating thickness and minimum reflection loss. The void size can be adjusted just by changing volume of added TEOS, obtaining a series of yolk-shell ZnFe2O4@C composites. It was demonstrated that the Y-2 composite was second to none and its RLmin can drop as low as −37.1 dB at the thickness of 1.4 mm. Besides, its effective bandwidth (RL ≤ −10 dB, 90% absorption) can cover the whole frequency range of 3.8 GHz. Hence, changing void size can reach the best impedance match and tune the EMW absorption performance of samples, which makes yolk-shell ZnFe2O4@C composites be widely used in civil and military fields.

Online shopping has become a habit for consumers, who often make purchase decisions based on online reviews. However, the gradual accumulation of reviews has caused an issue associated with information redundancy. Therefore, recommending helpful reviews for consumers has become an urgent problem. Current research on the helpfulness of reviews is mostly at the level of analyzing influencing factors, and few studies have focused on the problem of ranking the helpfulness of reviews. Taking film reviews as the research object, we proposed a SO-ILES TODIM method (a TODIM method based on the intuitive language evaluation set of emotional and ontological features). This method takes into account both semantic indicators (emotional factors and ontological features) and statistical indicators (review length), considers comprehensive information in the review text and has better domain adaptability. First, an intuitive language evaluation set that considers emotional and ontological features was constructed based on statistical rules. Second, a quantitative calculation method that includes an index weight value based on the logit regression model was designed, and it can effectively avoid the subjectivity of the manual assignment method. Finally, based on the degree of membership deviation, the score function and the exact function were designed to realize a ranking of the helpfulness of reviews. Through a case simulation, we show that this method can prioritize reviews that directly evaluate the product. Through a comparative analysis and parameter sensitivity analysis, the stability and scientificity of the SO-ILES TODIM method was demonstrated. This paper broadens the research scope of reviews, enriches the research method of review helpfulness ranking and provides insights for merchants or third-party platforms to manage online reviews.

Background: Conventional cancer therapeutics has enormous toxicity and severe side effects that generate multi-drug resistance. Therefore, an urgent need exists for new alternative therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. Cepharanthin (CEP) has anti-cancer potential but has poor aqueous solubility, which limits its clinical use. Nanosuspensions (NS) are attractive as insoluble drug delivery systems. Objectives: In this study, we used D-alpha Tocopherol acid Polyethylene Glycol Succinate (TPGS), Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) VA64, and Croscamellose Sodium (CCS) as stabilizers to produce TPGS-CEP-NS, PVP VA64-CEP-NS, and CCS-CEP-NS by wet-milling technology, and then characterized the NS and evaluated their functional activities in vitro. Methods: EP Nanosuspensions (CEP-NS) were prepared by the wet-milling method. The prepared NS were characterized by particle size distribution, zeta potential, morphology, surface properties, and molecular interactions. The NS were evaluated for their effects on HepG2 cells in vitro. The evaluations included assessment of cellular cytotoxicity, cellular apoptosis, NS uptake by cells, and mitochondrial membrane potential changes. Results: CEP-NS showed an appropriate particle size and were physically stable. All CEP-NS exhibited HepG2 enhanced anti-proliferative effects by reducing cell viability, enhanced cellular uptake, induced cellular apoptosis, and mitochondrial membrane potential loss. Conclusion: : CEP-NS may be effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Microbial communities play an important regulatory role in soil carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Most studies on microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling focus on surface soils (0–20 cm). However, relatively little is known about how structure and functioning of microbial communities shift with depth in a soil profile, which is crucial to understand biogeochemical cycling in deep soils. We combined a number of complementary techniques to investigate the microbial biomass, community composition and diversity, and potential functioning along soil profile (0–70 cm) in two alpine ecosystems (meadow and shrubland) on the Tibetan Plateau. The microbial biomass and fungi:bacteria ratio declined significantly with depth, while the ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria increased with depth in both ecosystems. Microbial community composition showed significant differences among soil depths and between ecosystems. The relative abundance of some phylum of archaea, bacteria or fungi (e.g. Basidiomycota, Bacteroidetes) changed significantly with soil depth and ecosystem type. Bacteria diversity declined with depth, while archaea richness (OTU number) increased with depth and fungi diversity and richness did not show clear trend with depth. The co-occurrence network analysis further showed that surface soil microbes were more connected and interacted among each other compared to deep soil microbes. Moreover, total enzymatic activities and soil C mineralization rate declined with depth in both ecosystems. We also detected shifts with depth in some functional guilds of bacteria (based on faprotax database) in both ecosystems and fungi (based on FUNGuild database) only in shrubland. The biomass, community composition and diversity, and potential functioning of microbial communities all shifted significantly along soil profile in both ecosystems, and the vertical patterns of diversity varied among different microbial groups. This may have important implications for carbon and nutrient cycling along the soil profile in alpine ecosystems.

Galvanic coupling theory is traditionally adopted to explain initialization of localized dissolution; however, in present study, the conductivity of LaAlO3 and La2O2S inclusions was calculated using first-principles to predict whether galvanic corrosion occurs or not. Further, influences of these inclusions on localized corrosion were examined by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, electron back scattered diffraction, and immersion experiments. It was found that no galvanic coupling occurred between LaAlO3 and the matrix, and microcrevices are the main responsible for localized corrosion. Except microcrevices, an intrinsic potential difference between La2O2S and the matrix also contributes to the initialization of localized corrosion.

The combination therapy of cisplatin (CDDP) and metformin (MET) is a clinical strategy to enhance therapeutic outcomes in lung cancer. However, the efficacy of this combination is limited due to the asynchronous pharmacokinetic behavior of CDDP and MET, used as free drugs. Therefore, in this work, hyaluronic acid-cisplatin/polystyrene-polymetformin (HA-CDDP/PMet) dual-prodrug co-assembled nanoparticles were developed, with precise ratiometric co-delivery of CDDP and MET for chemo-immunotherapy against lung cancer. The HA-CDDP/PMet NPs showed a spherical morphology with an average particle size of 166.5 nm and a zeta potential of -17.4 mV at an HA-CDDP and PMet mass ratio of 1/1. The content of CDDP and MET in HA-CDDP/PMet NPs was 3.7% and 15.2%, respectively. In vitro antitumor effects of CDDP and MET resulted in an improved synergistic action on proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction on Lewis lung cancer cells. Moreover, in vivo by co-delivered HA-CDDP/PMet NPs into tumor cells, with an excellent intracellular CDDP and MET cleavage. These nanoparticles exhibited significantly increased tumor accumulation and tumor growth inhibition and prolonged animal overall survival in Lewis lung cancer bearing mice without nephrotoxicity, excess of free drugs and homo-prodrugs. The synergistic effect of MET and CDDP in HA-CDDP/PMet NPs resulted in up-regulation of the cleaved poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein to induce tumor cell apoptosis, and down-regulation of the excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein level to decrease the resistance to CDDP. The synergistic effect of MET and CDDP in HA-CDDP/PMet NPs also resulted in induction of the adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase-α (AMPK-α) pathway and inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), finally exerting a chemotherapeutic effect and modulating a potent immunotherapeutic function with an increase in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, a concomitant decrease in regulatory T (Treg) cells, and an increased expression of the cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α. Therefore, the immunochemotherapy using CDDP and MET mediated by this dual prodrug co-assembled nano-platform might provide a promising treatment strategy against lung cancer.

Construction of lateral junctions is essential to generate one-dimensional (1D) confined potentials that can effectively trap quasiparticles. A series of remarkable electronic phases in one dimension, such as Wigner crystallization, are expected to be realized in such junctions. Here, we demonstrate that we can precisely tune the 1D-confined potential with an in situ manipulation technique, thus providing a dynamic way to modify the correlated electronic states at the junctions. We confirm the existence of 1D-confined potential at the homojunction of two single-layer 1T-NbSe

Changes of soil organic matter (SOM) stability in alpine ecosystems can alter carbon release from the soil and consequently feed back to climate change. We sought to explore the altitudinal patterns of SOM stability and their relationships with climatic, vegetational and edaphic factors. We combined a number of biological, thermal, chemical, molecular and isotopic indices to characterize SOM stability in two soil layers (0–10 and 10–30 cm) of alpine grassland along two altitudinal gradients of 3200–4200 m (Haibei) and 4400–5200 m (Damxung) on the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. There were significant altitudinal variations in SOM stability between the two transects. Greater biological, chemical and isotopic indices of SOM stability were observed in the middle altitude in Haibei, while opposite results were observed in Damxung. Except for a decreasing trend of SOM stability along altitudinal gradient in subsurface soils (10–30 cm) in Damxung, there was no significant altitudinal trend of thermal and molecular indices of SOM stability. The multiple indices of SOM stability were mutually associated and all showed greater SOM stability in subsurface soils than in surface soils across regions and altitudes. Along the altitudinal gradient, SOM stability showed opposite unimodal patterns in Haibei and Damxung, and had higher values in subsurface soils than in surface soils of the alpine grassland. Climatic, vegetational and edaphic factors collectively control SOM stability rather than just temperature or precipitation.

Chirality is essential for various phenomena in life and matter. However, chirality and its switching in electronic superlattices, such as charge density wave (CDW) superlattices, remain elusive. In this study, we characterize the chirality switching with atom-resolution imaging in a single-layer NbSe2 CDW superlattice by the technique of scanning tunneling microscopy. The atomic arrangement of the CDW superlattice is found continuous and intact although its chirality is switched. Several intermediate states are tracked by time-resolved imaging, revealing the fast and dynamic chirality transition. Importantly, the switching is reversibly realized with an external electric field. Our findings unveil the delicate switching process of chiral CDW superlattice in a two-dimensional (2D) crystal down to the atomic scale.

Agroforestry systems provide a wide range of soil multiple functions (that is, soil multi-functionality) to human society, including the regulation of nutrients and water in soils and the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, whereas how these effects varied with agroforestry practices and environmental conditions remain unclear. Here, by comparing the soil multi-functionality in agroforestry systems to forests through the field experiment and global scale meta-analysis, we tested, 1) how agroforestry affected soil multi-functionality in a single field study and at the global scale, 2) whether the effects of agroforestry on soil multi-functionality changed in different agroforestry practices, 3) whether the effects of agroforestry on soil multi-functionality varied with environmental conditions. Our study showed that most of the soil functions in agroforestry systems is higher than in forests at the global scale, but show no significant differences between agroforestry and planted forests in our field study. We also found that the effects of agroforestry on soil multi-functionality were varied with agroforestry practices, showing a greater positive in forest-herbage systems than in other practices. In addition, the positive effects of agroforestry on soil organic carbon and total phosphorus declined with the extension of experimental duration. Furthermore, our analysis found that climate conditions had a minor effect on the effects of agroforestry on soil functions. Our analysis revealing that the effects of agroforestry on soil functions depend on agroforestry practices, highlighting that the effects of agroforestry may be diminished with age, and suggesting that the evaluation of ecological impacts of agroforestry should be based on long-term experiments across multiple practices.

Introduction: The preparation of nanosuspensions by wet media milling is a promising technique that increases the bioavailability of insoluble drugs. The nanosuspension is thermodynamically unstable, where its stability might be influenced by the interaction energy between the stabilizers and the drugs after milling at a specific collision energy. However, it is difficult to screen the stabilizers and the parameters of milling accurately and quickly by using traditional analysis methods. Quantum-molecular mechanics and microhydrodynamic modeling can be applied to improve screening efficiency. Areas covered: Quantum-molecular mechanics model, which includes molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and data on binding energy, provides insights into screening stabilizers based on their molecular behavior at the atomic level. The microhydrodynamic model explores the mechanical processes and energy dissipation in nanomilling, and even combines information on the mechanical modulus and an energy vector diagram for the milling parameters screening of drug crystals. Expert opinion: These modeling methods improve screening efficiency and support screening theories based on thermodynamics and physical dynamics. However, how to reasonably combine different modeling methods with their theoretical characteristics and further multidimensional and cross-scale simulations of nanosuspension formation remain challenges.

The alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is very sensitive to warming and plays a key role in regulating global carbon (C) cycling. However, how warming affects the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and related C inputs and outputs in alpine meadow ecosystems on the QTP remains unclear. Here, we combined two field experiments and a meta-analysis on field experiments to synthesize the responses of the SOC pool and related C cycling processes to warming in alpine meadow ecosystems on the QTP. We found that the SOC content of surface soil (0-10 cm) showed a minor response to warming, but plant respiration was accelerated by warming. In addition, the warming effect on SOC was not correlated with experimental and environmental variables, such as the method, magnitude and duration of warming, initial SOC content, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation. We conclude that the surface soil organic carbon content is resistant to climate warming in alpine meadow ecosystems on the QTP.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition can potentially feedback to climate change. However, the biotic, abiotic and inherent factors controlling the stability of soil carbon, and changes in these factors with soil depth, remain poorly understood. In this study, we combined a number of complementary methods to quantify the biological, thermal, chemical, molecular and isotopic indices of soil organic matter (SOM) stability along the soil profile (0–70 cm) in two contrasting alpine ecosystems (meadow and shrubland) on the Tibetan Plateau. Firstly, we conducted an aerobic lab–incubation experiment on root–free, sieved soils. The number of days to respire 5% of initial SOC, a biological index of SOM stability, decreased with soil depth. Moreover, the temperature at which half of SOM mass loss (TG–T50), a thermal index of SOM stability, increased with soil depth. Additionally, hot–water extractable organic carbon (HWEOC) per gram SOC, a chemical index of SOM stability, showed weak (meadow) and little (shrubland) declining trend with depth. Further, we used Fourier–transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the molecular composition of SOM. The index of recalcitrance of FTIR spectra and the combined index of aliphaticity and aromaticity of NMR spectra both increased with depth, suggesting that the molecular composition of SOM was more complex with increasing depth. Finally, the isotopic values of SOM (13C and 15N) and the 14C–based SOC turnover time both increased with depth, indicating that the isotopic indices of SOM stability also increased with depth. Overall, our results suggest that the thermal, chemical, molecular and isotopic indices of SOM stability were mutually correlated and all showed increasing trend with increasing soil depth in the two alpine ecosystems, although the biological index (as measured by aerobic incubation of root–free sieved soils) showed the opposite results.

Long-term nitrogen (N) addition can affect soil organic carbon (SOC) pool within different soil fractions with different turnover rates. However, the mechanisms of these effects, particularly in alpine grassland ecosystems, are not clear. We studied the responses of SOC content in different soil fractions to N addition based on a six-year N addition field experiment in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau. We measured soil chemical and microbial properties, and SOC content in bulk soil, particular organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) fractions in response to N addition. N addition increased soil N availability, decreased soil pH and microbial biomass, but had minimal effect on plant biomass, soil enzyme activity, and SOC content in bulk soil. With increasing levels of N addition, SOC in the POM fraction (POC) showed a significant negative trend, while SOC in the MAOM fraction (MAOC) did not change significantly. As plant biomass input and soil enzyme activity were not significantly altered with N addition, the decline in POC was likely caused by changes in microbial physiology (carbon use efficiency), while the insignificant change in MAOC may be determined by the balance between input (from microbial necromass) and output (from microbial decomposition). Taken together, our study showed that the less-protected POC fraction is more vulnerable to N addition than the more-protected MAOC fraction in the alpine grassland. This finding may improve the prediction of soil C dynamics in response to N deposition in alpine grassland ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau.