Intercropping changed the soil microbial community composition but no significant effect on alpha diversity.

Introduction: Enhancing the planning of the forest-agricultural composite model and increasing the efficiency with which forest land is utilized could benefit from a thorough understanding of the impacts of intercropping between forests and agriculture on soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities. Methods: Populus cathayana × candansis cv. Xinlin No.1 and Glycine max intercrop soils, along with their corresponding monocrops, were used in this study's llumina high-throughput sequencing analysis to determine the composition and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities. Results: The findings indicated that intercropping considerably raised the soil's total phosphorus content and significantly lowered the soil's carbon nitrogen ratio when compared to poplar single cropping. Furthermore, the total carbon and nitrogen content of soil was increased and the soil pH was decreased. The sequencing results showed that intercropping had no significant effect on soil alpha diversity. Intercropping could increase the composition of fungal community and decrease the composition of bacterial community in poplar soil. At the phylum level, intercropping significantly increased the relative abundance of four dominant phyla, i.e., Patescibacteria, Proteobacteria, Patescibacteria and Deinococcus-Thermus. And the relative abundances of only two dominant phyla were significantly increased. It was found that soil total phosphorus and available phosphorus content had the strongest correlation with soil bacterial community diversity, and soil pH had the strongest correlation with soil fungal community diversity. Discussion: The results of this study were similar to those of previous studies. This study can serve as a theoretical foundation for the development of a poplar and black bean-based forest-agricultural complex management system in the future.

Durable anti-fog micro-nano structures fabricated by laser ablation of aluminum film on resin/glass.

This study presents a technique for processing transparent glass and resin substrates using a low-cost laser marker to create a micro-nano-structured surface with exceptional anti-fog properties. The approach involved depositing an aluminum (Al) film on the transparent substrates as an absorbing layer, followed by rapid laser marker ablation. This ablation process effectively removed the majority of the Al film, resulting in the formation of hierarchical hillock-hollow micro-structures and the dispersion of Al-based nano-particles throughout the surface. The resulting structure on resin glasses demonstrated anti-fog performance even after 629 days storage in the laboratory, which marked the longest antifog record. It exhibited impressive antifog property without visible degradation for the first 9 months, which though degraded substantially afterwards. Furthermore, the micro-nano structure played a key role in reducing the contact angle of the surface. The contact angle experienced a significant reduction from a value of 64° for the control resin to 6.9° for the treated resin, while it was reduced from 44° for the control glass to 0° for the treated glass, indicating superhydrophilicity. This 0° superhydrophilic state persisted for a period of 25 days.

Impacts of litter microbial community on litter decomposition in the absence of soil microorganisms.

What is the effect of phyllosphere microorganisms on litter decomposition in the absence of colonization by soil microorganisms? Here, we simulated the litter standing decomposition stage in the field to study the differences in the composition and structure of the phyllosphere microbial community after the mixed decomposition of Populus × canadensis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica litter. After 15 months of mixed decomposition, we discovered that litters that were not in contact with soil had an antagonistic effect (the actual decomposition rate was 18.18%, which is lower than the expected decomposition rate) and the difference between the litters themselves resulted in a negative response to litter decomposition. In addition, there was no significant difference in bacterial and fungal community diversity after litter decomposition. The litter bacterial community was negatively responsive to litter properties and positively responsive to the fungal community. Importantly, we found that bacterial communities had a greater impact on litter decomposition than fungi. This study has enriched our understanding of the decomposition of litter itself and provided a theoretical basis for further exploring the "additive and non-additive effects" of litter decomposition and the mechanism of microbial drive. IMPORTANCE: The study of litter decomposition mechanism plays an important role in the material circulation of the global ecosystem. However, previous studies have often looked at contact with soil as the starting point for decomposition. But actually, standing litter is very common in forest ecosystems. Therefore, we used field simulation experiments to simulate the decomposition of litters without contact with soil for 15 months, to explore the combined and non-added benefits of the decomposition of mixed litters, and to study the influence of microbial community composition on the decomposition rate while comparing the differences of microbial communities.

Disrupted properties of functional brain networks in major depressive disorder during emotional face recognition: an EEG study via graph theory analysis.

Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormal brain networks in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in emotional processing. While any cognitive task consists of a series of stages, little is yet known about the topology of functional brain networks in MDD for these stages during emotional face recognition. To address this problem, electroencephalography (EEG)-based functional brain networks of MDD patients at different stages of facial information processing were investigated in this study. First, EEG signals were collected from 16 patients with MDD and 18 age-, gender-, and education-matched normal subjects when performing an emotional face recognition task. Second, the global field power (GFP) method was employed to divide group-averaged event-related potentials into different stages. Third, using the phase transfer entropy (PTE) approach, the brain networks of MDD patients and normal individuals were constructed for each stage in negative and positive face processing, respectively. Finally, we compared the topological properties of brain networks of each stage between the two groups using graph theory approaches. The results showed that the analyzed three stages of emotional face processing corresponded to specific neurophysiological phases, namely, visual perception, face recognition, and emotional decision-making. It was also demonstrated that depressed patients showed abnormally decreased characteristic path length at the visual perception stage of negative face recognition and normalized characteristic path length in the stage of emotional decision-making during positive face processing compared to healthy subjects. Furthermore, while both the MDD and normal groups' brain networks were found to exhibit small-world network characteristics, the brain network of patients with depression tended to be randomized. Moreover, for patients with MDD, the centro-parietal region may lose its status as a hub in the process of facial expression identification. Together, our findings suggested that altered emotional function in MDD patients might be associated with disruptions in the topological organization of functional brain networks during emotional face recognition, which further deepened our understanding of the emotion processing dysfunction underlying MDD.

Screening, Identification, and Fermentation Condition Optimization of a High-Yield 3-Methylthiopropanol Yeast and Its Aroma-Producing Characteristics.

A high-yield 3-methylthiopropanol (3-Met) yeast Y1402 was obtained from sesame-flavored Daqu, and it was identified as Saccharomycopsis fibuligera. S. fibuligera Y1402 showed a broad range of growth temperatures and pH, as well as the maximum tolerance to glucose, NaCl, nicotine, and 3-Met at 50% (w/w), 15% (w/v), 1.2 g/L, and 18 g/L, respectively. After optimization using single-factor experiments, a Plackett-Burman design, a steepest ascent test, and a Box-Behnken design, the 3-Met yield reached 4.03 g/L by S. fibuligera Y1402 under the following optimal conditions: glucose concentration of 40 g/L, yeast extract concentration of 0.63 g/L, Tween 80 concentration of 2 g/L, L-methionine concentration of 5 g/L, liquid volume of 25 mL/250 mL, initial pH of 5.3, fermentation temperature of 32 °C, inoculum size of 0.8%, shaking speed of 210 rpm, and fermentation time of 54 h. The fermentation was scaled up to a 3 L fermenter under the optimized conditions, and the yield of 3-Met reached 0.71 g/L. Additionally, an aroma analysis revealed that the flavor substances produced by S. fibuligera Y1402 in sorghum hydrolysate medium was mainly composed of compounds with floral, sweet, creamy, roasted nut, and clove-like aromas. Therefore, S. fibuligera has great potential for application in the brewing of Baijiu and other fermented foods.

The Identification of a Strain for the Biological Purification of Soy Molasses to Produce Functional Soy Oligosaccharides and Optimize Purification Conditions.

Soy molasses is rich in oligosaccharides like sucrose, stachyose, and raffinose, with stachyose and raffinose being functional oligosaccharides. Harnessing soy molasses for the production of functional soy oligosaccharides (FSO) can significantly elevate its value. Biological purification, a method leveraging the selective utilization of different carbon sources by microorganisms, allows for the specific removal of sucrose from soy molasses while preserving stachyose and raffinose, thereby increasing the FSO content. This research identified a yeast named YT312 with strong purification capabilities for soy molasses and optimized the purification conditions. The study revealed that yeast YT312 was Wickerhamomyces anomalus, exhibiting a broad range of growth temperatures and pH levels alongside a high tolerance to glucose, sucrose, and NaCl. Through single-factor and orthogonal experiments, it was established that under specific conditions-0.375% inoculum size, 30 °C fermentation temperature, 150 rpm shaking speed, 10-fold dilution ratio, pH of 7, and 12 h of fermentation-sucrose was completely removed from soy molasses, while functional raffinose and stachyose were retained at rates of 96.1% and 90.2%, respectively. Consequently, W. anomalus YT312 displayed exceptional characteristics for the biological purification of soy molasses and the production of FSO.

Iridium-catalyzed selective arylation of B(6)-H of 3-aryl-o-carboranes with arylboronic acid via direct B-H activation.

This work discloses an iridium-catalyzed selective arylation of B(6)-H of 3-Ar-o-carboranes with arylboronic acid via direct B-H activation for the first time. A series of unsymmetric and symmetric 3,6-diaryl-o-carboranes decorated with diverse active groups have been synthesized with moderate to excellent yields under mild conditions. This work offers an efficient approach for selective arylation of B(6)-H with arylboronic acid and has important value for selective functionalization of o-carboranes.

Superaerophilic/Superaerophobic NiFe-LDHs Electrode for Enhancing Overall Water Splitting in Alkaline Media.

Overall water splitting, as a critical approach to producing green hydrogen, is greatly impeded by the mass transfer of gaseous bubbles and dissolved gas molecules. Herein, a bifunctional superaerophilic/superaerophobic (SAL/SAB) NiFe layered-double-hydroxides (LDHs) electrode has been developed, which can drive H2 and O2 bubbles out of the reaction system by asymmetric Laplace pressure and accelerate dissolved gases diffusion through reducing their diffusion distance. Consequently, the SAL/SAB NiFe-LDHs electrode exhibits excellent HER activity with an overpotential of -76 mV at -10 mA cm-2 and outstanding oxygen evolution reaction activity with an overpotential of 253 mV at 100 mA cm-2. The bifunctional SAL/SAB NiFe-LDHs electrode is further utilized in overall water splitting, which can achieve 10 mA cm-2 with a cell voltage of 1.54 V. This work provides an efficient strategy to improve the efficiency of overall water splitting and can stimulate new electrode design in various gas-involved processes.

Insight into the fracture energy dissipation mechanism in elastomer composites via sacrificial bonds and fillers.

Most tough elastomer composites are reinforced by introducing sacrificial structures and fillers. Understanding the contribution of fillers and sacrificial bonds in elastomer composites to the energy dissipation is critical for the design of high-toughness materials. However, the energy dissipation mechanism in elastomer composites remains elusive. In this study, using a tearing test and time-temperature superposition, we investigate the effect of fillers and sacrificial bonds on the energy dissipation of elastomer composites consisting of poly(lipoic acid)/silver-coated Al fillers. We found that the fillers and sacrificial bonds mutually enhance both the intrinsic fracture energy and the bulk energy dissipation, and moreover the sacrificial bonds play a more important role in enhancing fracture toughness than the fillers. It is unreasonable to rely solely on the loss factor for bulk energy dissipation. The addition of sacrificial bonds results in a chain segment experiencing greater binding force compared to the addition of fillers. This suggests that the chain segment consumes more energy during its movement. By calculating the length of the Kuhn chain segment and the Kuhn number, it is evident that the addition of sacrificial bonds results in a greater binding force for the chain segment than the addition of fillers, and this enhanced binding force increases the energy consumption during the motion of the chain segment.

Preparation and Improvement of Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Dietary Fiber from Corn Cob Fermented by Aspergillus niger.

Corn cobs were fermented with Aspergillus niger to produce soluble dietary fiber (SDF) of high quality and excellent food safety. In this work, the fermentation process was optimized by single-factor test and response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal fermentation conditions were determined to be a material-liquid ratio of 1:30, an inoculum concentration of 11%, a temperature of 32°C, a time of 6 days, and a shaking speed of 200 r/min. Under these conditions, the SDF yield of corn cob increased from 2.34% to 11.92%, and the ratio of soluble dietary fiber to total dietary fiber (SDF/TDF) reached 19.08%, meeting the requirements for high-quality dietary fiber (SDF/TDF of more than 10%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis revealed that the fermentation effectively degraded part of cellulose and hemicellulose, resulting in the formation of a loose and porous structure. After fermentation the water swelling capacity, water-holding capacity, and oil-holding capacity of the corn cob SDF were significantly improved and the adsorption capacity of glucose, cholesterol, and nitrite ions all increased by more than 20%. Moreover, the total phenolic content increased by 20.96%, which correlated with the higher antioxidant activity of SDF. Overall, the fermentation of corn cobs by A. niger increased the yield and enhanced the functional properties of dietary fiber (DF) as well.

Co-delivery of indomethacin and uricase as a new strategy for inflammatory diseases associated with high uric acid.

Uric acid is the final metabolite in humans. High level of uric acid chronically induces urate deposition, aggravates kidney damage, and concomitantly causes an increase in inflammatory factors. Alleviating acute inflammation and decreasing uric acid levels are the key points in the treatment of inflammatory diseases associated with high uric acid. However, a drug delivery system that combines anti-inflammatory and uric acid reduction functions at the same time remains a challenge to be settled. Here, we designed a nanocrystal-based co-delivery platform, IND Nplex, characterized by loading of indomethacin (IND) and uricase. Compared with free IND or uricase, IND Nplex possessed a better anti-inflammatory effect by restraining the release of inflammation-related factors in vitro. In addition, pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies revealed that IND Nplex significantly prolonged the retention time in vivo and was more concentrated in the kidney. In acute gouty arthritis model rats, IND Nplex markedly relieved ankle joint swelling and mitigated synovial inflammation. In acute kidney injury model rats, IND Nplex indicated better biocompatibility and significant amelioration of renal fibrosis. Moreover, IND Nplex showed the effect of anti-inflammatory and improved renal function via determination of inflammatory factors and biochemical markers in the serum and kidney. In conclusion, these results indicate that IND Nplex exerts anti-inflammatory activity and uric acid-lowering effect and could become a promising candidate for the treatment of uric acid-related diseases. In this study, a stable neutral co-delivery platform (IND Nplex) was fabricated by using a co-delivery strategy, allowing for a combination of the anti-inflammation drug IND and the metabolic enzyme uricase. IND Nplex showed a good therapeutic effect on rats with acute gouty arthritis or acute kidney injury due to the dual effects of anti-inflammatory and uric acid lowering. This platform provided a novel strategy for high uric acid-related illnesses.

High Strength MXene/PBONF Heterogeneous Membrane with Excellent Ion Selectivity for Efficient Osmotic Energy Conversion.

Layered MXene nanofluidic membranes still face the problems of low mechanical property, poor ion selectivity, and low output power density. In this work, we successfully constructed heterostructured membranes with the combination of the layered channels of the MXene layer on the top and the nanoscale poly(p-phenylene-benzodioxazole) nanofiber (PBONF) layer on the bottom through a stepwise filtration method. The as-prepared MXene/PBONF-50 heterogeneous membrane exhibits high mechanical properties (strength of 221.6 MPa, strain of 3.2%), high ion selectivity of 0.87, and an excellent output power density of 15.7 W/m2 at 50-fold concentration gradient. Excitingly, the heterogeneous membrane presents a high power density of 6.8 W/m2 at a larger testing area of 0.79 mm2 and long-term stability. This heterogeneous membrane construction provides a viable strategy for the enhancement of mechanical properties and osmotic energy conversion of 2D materials.

A Simplified Method for the Preparation of Highly Conductive and Flexible Silk Nanofibrils/MXene Membrane.

Silk nanofibers (SNF) have great applications in high-performance functional nanocomposites due to their excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and degradability. However, the preparation of SNF by traditional methods often requires the use of some environmentally harmful or toxic reagents, limiting its application in green chemistry. In this paper, we successfully prepared SNF using natural silk as raw material and solvent stripping technology by adjusting the solvent concentration and solution ratio (the diameter of about 120 nm). Using the above SNFs as raw materials, SNF membranes were prepared by vacuum filtration technology. In addition, we prepared an SNF/MXene nanocomposite material with excellent humidity sensitivity by simply coating MXene nanosheets with silk fibers. The conductivity of the material can approach 1400.6 S m-1 with excellent mechanical strength (51.34 MPa). The SNF/MXene nanocomposite material with high mechanical properties, high conductivity, and green degradability can be potentially applied in the field of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, providing a feasible approach for the development of functional nanocomposite materials.

Reordering and synchronization of electrical turbulence in cardiac tissue through global and partial optogenetical illumination.

Electrical turbulence in the heart is considered the culprit of cardiac disease, including the fatal ventricular fibrillation. Optogenetics is an emerging technology that has the capability to produce action potentials of cardiomyocytes to affect the electric wave propagation in cardiac tissue, thereby possessing the potential to control the turbulence, by shining a rotating spiral pattern onto the tissue. In this paper, we present a method to reorder and synchronize electrical turbulence through optogenetics. A generic two-variable reaction-diffusion model and a simplified three-variable ionic cardiac model are used. We discuss cases involving either global or partial illumination.

[Improvement and application on the estimation model of windbreak and sand fixation function based on remote sensing soil moisture factor]. / åŸºäºŽé¥æ„ŸåœŸå£¤æ¹¿åº¦å› å­çš„é˜²é£Žå›ºæ²™åŠŸèƒ½ä¼°ç®—æ¨¡åž‹æ”¹è¿›åŠåº”ç”¨.

Soil moisture factor is one of the important parameters in the study of wind and sand fixation functions of ecosystems. Traditional methods often use potential evaporation, rainfall, and irrigation observed by meteorological stations to estimate soil moisture, which has significant limitations in terms of spatial continuity and data availability. Based on the development of remote sensing technology in soil moisture detection, we selected four remote sen-sing indicators for soil moisture (MODIS evapotranspiration ratio method, SMAP soil moisture ratio method, visible shortwave infrared drought index method, and remote sensing humidity index method) to improve the estimation of soil moisture factor in the modified wind erosion equation model (RWEQ), and used the improved algorithm to analyze the spatiotemporal variations and driving factors of wind prevention and sand fixation services in the northwest region of Liaoning Province from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the MODIS evapotranspiration ratio method had the highest correlation with traditional meteorological methods in calculating soil moisture. The formula obtained by fitting the two could be used to improve the calculation of soil moisture factor in the RWEQ model. From 2001 to 2021, the wind prevention and sand fixation capacity in the northwest region of Liaoning Province showed strong spatial distribution characteristics in the northern and eastern regions, while weak in the central and western regions. According to Mann-Kendall trend testing, 72.7% of the regions in northwest Liaoning Province were showing an upward trend in their ability to prevent wind and fix sand. The application of geographic detector models for driving factor analysis showed that the change in wind and sand fixation capacity was a process of multiple factors interacting with each other, greatly influenced by soil type, annual wind speed, and economic development level. Moreover, the interaction between various driving factors had a higher impact on wind and sand fixation than that of single factors. The results could improve the RWEQ model estimation and provide technical support for the long-term analysis of ecological function formation mechanisms and driving forces in the northwest region of Liaoning.

Effect of Sonication and Ceria Doping on Nanoparticles Fabricated by Laser Marker Ablation of Ti in Water.

By employing the laser marker fast ablation technique in water, combined with the innovative inclusion of sonication, we successfully developed Ti-based nanoparticles with improved characteristics. sonication increased the nanoparticle concentration in the colloid, reduced nanoparticle size, and also narrowed size distribution. Our findings also provide valuable insights into the influence of laser parameters, such as wavelength and fluence, on nanoparticle properties. UV laser led to small nanoparticles compared with 1064 nm laser. Additionally, high laser fluence appeared to increase the ablated particle size until a plateau fluence at 28.5 J/cm2; at 38 J/cm2, the particle size decreased. Notably, all synthesized particles exhibited a regular spherical shape, as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping, which also indicated that the majority of Ti-based particles were in an oxidized state. Additionally, the presence of rutile TiO2 in the particles was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Ceria doping Titania nanoparticles was also attempted.

Alleviating experimental pulmonary hypertension via co-delivering FoxO1 stimulus and apoptosis activator to hyperproliferating pulmonary arteries.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an insidious pulmonary vasculopathy with high mortality and morbidity and its underlying pathogenesis is still poorly delineated. The hyperproliferation and apoptosis resistance of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) contributes to pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension, which is closely linked to the downregulation of fork-head box transcriptional factor O1 (FoxO1) and apoptotic protein caspase 3 (Cas-3). Here, PA-targeted co-delivery of a FoxO1 stimulus (paclitaxel, PTX) and Cas-3 was exploited to alleviate monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. The co-delivery system is prepared by loading the active protein on paclitaxel-crystal nanoparticles, followed by a glucuronic acid coating to target the glucose transporter-1 on the PASMCs. The co-loaded system (170 nm) circulates in the blood over time, accumulates in the lung, effectively targets the PAs, and profoundly regresses the remodeling of pulmonary arteries and improves hemodynamics, leading to a decrease in pulmonary arterial pressure and Fulton's index. Our mechanistic studies suggest that the targeted co-delivery system alleviates experimental pulmonary hypertension primarily via the regression of PASMC proliferation by inhibiting cell cycle progression and promoting apoptosis. Taken together, this targeted co-delivery approach offers a promising avenue to target PAs and cure the intractable vasculopathy in pulmonary hypertension.

Approved Nanomedicine against Diseases.

Nanomedicine is a branch of medicine using nanotechnology to prevent and treat diseases. Nanotechnology represents one of the most effective approaches in elevating a drug's treatment efficacy and reducing toxicity by improving drug solubility, altering biodistribution, and controlling the release. The development of nanotechnology and materials has brought a profound revolution to medicine, significantly affecting the treatment of various major diseases such as cancer, injection, and cardiovascular diseases. Nanomedicine has experienced explosive growth in the past few years. Although the clinical transition of nanomedicine is not very satisfactory, traditional drugs still occupy a dominant position in formulation development, but increasingly active drugs have adopted nanoscale forms to limit side effects and improve efficacy. The review summarized the approved nanomedicine, its indications, and the properties of commonly used nanocarriers and nanotechnology.

Drift of sparse and dense spiral waves under joint external forces.

Many methods have been employed to investigate the drift behaviors of spiral waves in an effort to understand and control their dynamics. Drift behaviors of sparse and dense spirals induced by external forces have been investigated, yet they remain incompletely understood. Here we employ joint external forces to study and control the drift dynamics. First, sparse and dense spiral waves are synchronized by the suitable external current. Then, under another weak current or heterogeneity, the synchronized spirals undergo a directional drift, and the dependence of their drift velocity on the strength and frequency of the joint external force is studied.