Root biomass and root morphological traits of three shrub species: Implications for the soil anti-scouring resistance of the ecological slope.

The purpose of this study was to determine which shrub species will enhance soil anti-scouring resistance on an ecological slope. Root traits and soil anti-scouring resistance of three shrubs (Amorpha fruticosa Linn (AFL), Swida alba Opiz (SAO) and Lespedeza bicolor Turcz (LBT)) were measured. Results showed that root biomass and root morphological traits of three shrubs were significantly correlated with the soil anti-scouring resistance index. According to the composition characteristic values, root morphological traits among the three shrubs had a high contribution rate. Under two slopes and two rainfall conditions, when root biomass and root morphological traits (e.g., root length, root volume and root surface area) were identical, AFL had the highest soil anti-scouring resistance index. These results suggested that root biomass and morphological traits of AFL had more significant effects on soil anti-scouring resistance comparing with SAO and LBT. Therefore, in engineering practice, AFL with stronger soil anti-scouring resistance can be selected as slope plants.

Butylphthalide regulation of nerve cells in rats with cerebral infarction through jnk/p38mapk signaling pathway15.

To investigate the regulatory effect of butylphthalide (NBP) on the nerve cells of rats with cerebral infarction (CI) through the JNK/p38MAPK signaling pathway, 135 SPF SD male rats were and randomly assigned into the control group (n=45, sham surgery + peanut oil gavage), model group (n=45, CI model + peanut oil gavage), and NBP group (n= 45, CI model + NBP gavage). The comparison of the neurological function score between the model group and the NBP group, as well as the integrated locomotor ability score, Slit2 expression level, blood-brain barrier permeability, micro vessel density (MVD), CI volume, neuronal apoptosis rate of the brain tissue and expression levels of brain tissue p-JNK and p-p38MAPK protein among three groups was conducted. NBP inhibits the expression of JNK/p38MAPK signaling pathway, promotes the expression of Slit2 in CI rats, improves the neurological function and locomotor ability of CI rats, while promoting micro vascularization of the brain tissue, protecting the blood-brain barrier, reducing the volume of CI and the apoptosis of nerve cells.

Butylphthalide regulation of nerve cells in rats with cerebral infarction through jnk/p38mapk signaling pathway.

To investigate the regulatory effect of n-butylphthalide (NBP) on the nerve cells of rats with cerebral infarction (CI) through the JNK/p38MAPK signaling pathway, 135 SPF SD male rats were and randomly assigned into the control group (n=45, sham surgery + peanut oil gavage), model group (n=45, CI model + peanut oil gavage), and NBP group (n= 45, CI model + NBP gavage). The comparison of the neurological function score between the model group and the NBP group, as well as the integrated locomotor ability score, Slit2 expression level, blood-brain barrier permeability, micro vessel density (MVD), CI volume, neuronal apoptosis rate of the brain tissue and expression levels of brain tissue p-JNK and p-p38MAPK protein among three groups was conducted. NBP inhibits the expression of JNK/p38MAPK signaling pathway, promotes the expression of Slit2 in CI rats, improves the neurological function and locomotor ability of CI rats, while promoting micro vascularization of the brain tissue, protecting the blood-brain barrier, reducing the volume of CI and the apoptosis of nerve cells.

[Main hypotheses on mechanisms underlying plant invasion: A review.] / æ¤ç‰©å ¥ä¾µæœºåˆ¶çš„ä¸»è¦å‡è¯´.

Plant invasion is one of the most serious global problems, destroying ecosystem structure and function. With the severity of plant invasion, it is particularly important to understand the mechanisms of plant invasion in order to control and solve the problem. We summarized different mechanisms of plant invasion and the synergy among them, expounded the allelopathy, the plant-soil feedbacks, the reciprocal symbiosis, the effects of plant functional traits and phenotype plasticity in the process of plant invasion, and comprehensively analyzed the synergy of multiple mechanisms on plant invasion trajectory. According to the results, the invasion trajectory of alien plants in the invasive site was divided into four stages: introduction, colonization, establishment, and invasion. Integrating all kinds of obstacles and promoting factors encountered into it and putting forward the invasion curve of plants would contribute to the future research and management of invasive plants. We further highlighted the current research deficiencies and future research directions and objectives based on analyzing current research methods of plant invasion.

Beneficial effects of warming on temperate tree carbon storage depend on precipitation and mycorrhizal types.

Despite evidence from multiple observation data sets and numerical model simulations that interactions between biotic and abiotic factors control tree carbon (C) storage in the Northern Hemisphere, it remains unclear whether the effect of one factor will be altered by other factors. Here, we used forest inventory data consisting of more than 500,000 trees from 1910 plots to explore the relative importance of these drivers of plant C storage in northeast China. We found that tree C storage was significantly positively associated with mean annual temperature (MAT). After controlling for the role of mean annual precipitation (MAP), directionality in the tree C storage-MAT relationship reversed, indicating that the direction of MAT affecting tree C storage depends on MAP. Accounting for the effects of tree-fungal symbioses on plant resistance to drought and warming, we found that warming increased AM tree C storage even after controlling the role of MAP, but decreased EcM tree C storage after controlling the role of MAP. Our analysis also shows that species richness, especially the relative richness of AM tree species, had a significantly positive relationship with all types of tree C storage. Our findings have implications for improving temperate forest C sink and afforestation strategies: the increasing richness of AM trees has the potential to enhance the tree C sink and reduce the sensitivity of warming-induced tree growth benefits to changes in precipitation.

Insights into microbial community in microbial fuel cells simultaneously treating sulfide and nitrate under external resistance.

The effect of electricity, induced by external resistance, on microbial community performance is investigated in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) involved in simultaneous biotransformation of sulfide and nitrate. In the experiment, three MFCs were operated under different external resistances (100 Ω, 1000 Ω and 10,000 Ω), while one MFC was operated with open circuit as control. All MFCs demonstrate good capacity for simultaneous sulfide and nitrate biotransformation regardless of external resistance. MFCs present similar voltage profile; however, the output voltage has positive relationship with external resistance, and the MFC1 with lowest external resistance (100 Ω) generated highest power density. High-throughput sequencing confirms that taxonomic distribution of suspended sludge in anode chamber encompass phylum level to genus level, while the results of principal component analysis (PCA) suggest that microbial communities are varied with external resistance, which external resistance caused the change of electricity generation and substrate removal at the same, and then leads to the change of microbial communities. However, based on Pearson correlation analyses, no strong correlation is evident between community diversity indices (ACE index, Chao index, Shannon index and Simpson index) and the electricity (final voltage and current density). It is inferred that the performance of electricity did not significantly affect the diversity of microbial communities in MFCs biotransforming sulfide and nitrate simultaneously.

Cooling blood detoxification decoction and nursing countermeasures in the treatment of acute psoriasis from the perspective of immune function and inflammatory factors.

The present trial aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy of cooling blood detoxification decoction and nursing countermeasures in acute psoriasis from the perspective of immune function and inflammatory factors. Totally 120 patients with acute psoriasis presented to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were randomized into group A and group B. Group B received routine treatment plus routine nursing, while group A received cooling blood detoxification decoction plus traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) care on the basis of the former group. Regarding the immune function indexes, the group A after treatment was superior to the group B; additionally, the inflammatory factors after treatment in group A was lower than group B; moreover, the PASI of group A at 6 weeks and 9 weeks after treatment was lower than group B; the QOL score of group A after treatment was superior to group B; the total number of effective treatment cases and nursing satisfaction were completely different when group A vs group B. Cooling blood detoxification decoction plus TCM nursing is a preferable technique for acute psoriasis to improve clinical symptoms, enhance immune function and diminish inflammatory factor levels, thereby optimizing the quality of life.

A combined heterotrophic and sulfur-based autotrophic process to reduce high concentration perchlorate via anaerobic baffled reactors: Performance advantages of a step-feeding strategy.

The combined anaerobic baffled reactors (ABRs) of heterotrophic and sulfur-based autotrophic processes were first investigated for the removal of high perchlorate concentration under different feeding strategies. The removal efficiency of the step-feeding ABR (SF-ABR) reached 97.56% at 800 mg/L perchlorate, which was significantly superior to the normal-feeding ABR (NF-ABR). In three components of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the fluorescence intensity of the tryptophan-like component were identified by fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectra with parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis, and exhibited a positive relationship with the perchlorate removal rate in the heterotrophic perchlorate reduction unit (HPR unit) of the SF-ABR (R2 = 0.9791) and NF-ABR (R2 = 0.9860). Bacterial community analysis suggested the dominating perchlorate reducing bacteria and the diversity in two ABRs. Principal component analysis indicated that the electron donor affected the microbial community structures. The study confirms that the SF-ABR is a powerful bioreactor for the combined heterotrophic and sulfur-based autotrophic process.

Nitrogen deposition and decreased precipitation does not change total nitrogen uptake in a temperate forest.

Decreased precipitation and increased anthropogenical by derived nitrogen (N) are important climate change factors that alter the availability of soil water and N which are crucial to root function and morphological traits. However, these factors are seldom explored in forests. To clarify how altered precipitation and N addition affect the uptake of organic and inorganic N by fine roots, a field hydroponic experiment using brief 15N exposures was conducted in a temperate forest in northern China. The root traits related to nutrient foraging (root morphology and mycorrhizal colonization) were measured simultaneously. Our results showed that all three tree species preferred ammonium (NH4+) over glycine and nitrate (NO3-), and NH4+ contributed 73% to the total N uptake from the soil. Uptake of glycine was higher than that of NO3-. Decreased precipitation, N addition, and their interaction increased NH4+ uptake rate compared with the control. Decreased precipitation decreased the glycine and NO3- uptake rate. Moreover, N addition, decreased precipitation and their interaction changed root morphological traits and significantly decreased mycorrhizal colonization. Although our treatments resulted in changes to the root traits and the forms of N uptake by plants, the total amount of N uptake did not change among all treatments. We conclude that although fine root traits of dominant tree species in temperate forests have high plasticity in response to climate change, nutrient balance in plants causes the total amount of N uptake to remain unchanged.

Biocatalysis mechanisms and characterization of a novel denitrification process with porphyrin compounds based on the electron transfer chain.

In this research, the nitrate reduction rate increased 2-3 fold in the presence of five different porphyrin compounds (0.25 mM), among which hemin expressed the best accelerating effectiveness. Therefore, hemin was used to explore the catalytic characteristics and mechanisms during denitrification. The relationship between hemin concentrations (Chemin) and nitrate reduction rates (k) could be best described by the equation k = 8.7463 + 0.44528ln (Chemin-0.00993) (R2 = 0.9908). Furthermore, the activation energy decreased 87% compared to the hemin-free system. Two active centers of hemin, the Fe3+ atom and the porphyrin ligand, might be involved in catalyzing the denitrification process. Additionally, the accelerating site of hemin in the denitrification electron transfer chain was elucidated by different metabolic inhibitors. This study provides a better understanding of porphyrin compounds in bio-multistage redox reactions and is a promising strategy for its practice application.

Effect of thiosulfate on rapid start-up of sulfur-based reduction of high concentrated perchlorate: A study of kinetics, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and bacterial community structure.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) contamination is more and more concerned due to the hazards to humans. Based on the common primary bacterium (Helicobacteraceae) of both thiosulfate-acclimated sludge (T-Acc) and sulfur-acclimated sludge (S-Acc) for perchlorate reduction, the rapid start-up of sulfur-based perchlorate reduction reactor (SBPRR) was hypothesized by inoculating T-Acc. Furthermore, the performance of SBPRR, the SO42- yield, kinetics of ClO4- reduction and the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of biofilm confirmed the hypothesis. The start-up time of R3 (reactor inoculating T-Acc) was 0.18 and 0.21 times that of R1 (control) and R2 (reactor with the influent containing thiosulfate), respectively. The SO42- yield of R3 was lower than that of R2 and R1 with perchlorate removal rate 166.7mg/(Lh). The kinetic study and EPS demonstrated that inoculating T-Acc was beneficial for the development of biofilm. Consequently, the present study indicated that SBPRR can be rapidly and successfully started-up via inoculation of T-Acc.

Enrichment and characterization of acid-tolerant nitrifying sludge.

Nitrification is an acidifying process that requires the addition of external alkalinity because of the alkaliphilic nature of the most ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. In this study, aerobic activated sludge was used as inoculum in an internal loop air-lift reactor, which resulted in successful enrichment of acid-tolerant nitrifying (ACIN) sludge at pH 6.0 by sequential addition of tea orchard soil suspension. The results showed that ACIN sludge had a remarkable acid tolerant capability with a volumetric ammonia conversion rate of 1.13 kg N m-3 day-1. ACIN sludge showed a higher maximum specific ammonia conversion rate (0.29 g N g-1 VSS day-1) than neutrophilic nitrifying sludge (0.14 g N g-1 VSS day-1) at pH 6.0 and had good resistance against pH fluctuations, with a maximum specific ammonia conversion rate (0.584 g N g-1 VSS day-1) at pH 7.5. Microbial community analysis indicated that the higher abundance of acid tolerant Nitrosospira and ammonia-oxidizing archaea laid a solid foundation for the remarkable acid-tolerant capability of ACIN sludge.

Nitrogen deposition may enhance soil carbon storage via change of soil respiration dynamic during a spring freeze-thaw cycle period.

As crucial terrestrial ecosystems, temperate forests play an important role in global soil carbon dioxide flux, and this process can be sensitive to atmospheric nitrogen deposition. It is often reported that the nitrogen addition induces a change in soil carbon dioxide emission in growing season. However, the important effects of interactions between nitrogen deposition and the freeze-thaw-cycle have never been investigated. Here we show nitrogen deposition delays spikes of soil respiration and weaken soil respiration. We found the nitrogen addition, time and nitrogen addition×time exerted the negative impact on the soil respiration of spring freeze-thaw periods due to delay of spikes and inhibition of soil respiration (p < 0.001). The values of soil respiration were decreased by 6% (low-nitrogen), 39% (medium-nitrogen) and 36% (high-nitrogen) compared with the control. And the decrease values of soil respiration under medium- and high-nitrogen treatments during spring freeze-thaw-cycle period in temperate forest would be approximately equivalent to 1% of global annual C emissions. Therefore, we show interactions between nitrogen deposition and freeze-thaw-cycle in temperate forest ecosystems are important to predict global carbon emissions and sequestrations. We anticipate our finding to be a starting point for more sophisticated prediction of soil respirations in temperate forests ecosystems.

Annual soil CO2 efflux in a cold temperate forest in northeastern China: effects of winter snowpack and artificial nitrogen deposition.

We conducted a snow depth 0 cm (non-snowpack), 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm and natural depth) gradient experiment under four quantities of nitrogen addition (control, no added N; low-N, 5 g N m(-2) yr(-1); medium-N, 10 g N m(-2) yr(-1); and high-N, 15 g N m(-2) yr(-1)) and took an-entire-year measurements of soil respiration (Rs) in Korean pine forests in northeastern China during 2013-2014. No evidence for effects of N on Rs could be found during the growing season. On the other hand, reduction of snowpack decreased winter soil respiration due to accompanied relatively lower soil temperature. We found that winter temperature sensitivities (Q10) of Rs were significantly higher than the growing season Q10 under all the N addition treatments. Moderate quantities of N addition (low-N and medium-N) significantly increased temperature sensitivities (Q10) of Rs, but excessive (high-N) addition decreased it during winter. The Gamma empirical model predicted that winter Rs under the four N addition treatments contributed 4.8. ± 0.3% (control), 3.6 ± 0.6% (low-N), 4.3 ± 0.4% (medium-N) and 6.4 ± 0.5% (high-N) to the whole year Rs. Our results demonstrate that N deposition will alter Q10 of winter Rs. Moreover, winter Rs may contribute very few to annual Rs budget.

Pretreatment Pokemon Level as a Predictor of Response to Cisplatin and Paclitaxel in Patients with Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: We firstly investigated the expression of Pokemon in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), then characterized the role of Pokemon in evaluating the response to combined cisplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy and prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study, 61 patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC were treated with a combination chemotherapy comprising cisplatin and paclitaxel. The correlation between serum expression of Pokemon and effectiveness of chemotherapy was assessed. RESULTS: The expression level of Pokemon in NSCLC patients was higher than that in healthy controls (p = 0.000), and was correlated with tumor size and TNM stage (p < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard model demonstrated a poor response and shorter survival time in patients with pretreatment Pokemon levels in excess of 135.09 ng/ml compared to those with Pokemon levels below 135.09 ng/ml (p = 0.013). Pokemon ≥ 135.09 ng/ml was an independent risk factor for survival time in NSCLC patients undergoing combination chemotherapy (p = 0.018). CONCLUSION: The serum level of Pokemon correlated with efficacy of cisplatin and paclitaxel combination chemotherapy and survival time, which indicated that Pokemon may be a potentially useful biomarker for predicting treatment effectiveness of first-line chemotherapy and prognosis in NSCLC.

Enhancing Thermal Conductive Performance of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Array Composite by Pre-Annealing Treatment.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) array/polymer composite has already been recognized as a promising candidate for advanced thermal pad in thermal management of high-power electronic devices. However, the thermal conductive performance of this composite was limited by the quality of CNTs arrays. In this study, pre-annealing treatment was used to purify CNT arrays and improve thermal conductive performance of VACNT arrays/silicone composite. The thermal conductivity of the composite was enhanced by 34.52% and the thermal interface resistance was also reduced by 65.94% at a pre-annealing temperature of 490 °C for 5 min. The annealing process could remove some amorphous carbon and open the tips of CNTs. As a result, the interfacial compatibility in composite between carbon nanotube and polymer matrix was improved. The cyclic compression and tension performance of VACNT/S160 composite was investigated for further application.

Carbon Nanotube/Cu Nanowires/Epoxy Composite Mats with Improved Thermal and Electrical Conductivity.

Polymer composites with carbon nanofillers have been regarded as a promising candidate for electronic package materials. The challenge for such materials is to increase the electrical and thermal conductivity of the composites. Herein, we reported an epoxy composite film with high thermal and electrical conductivity that were prepared by loading high volume fraction of well-dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, around 50 nm in diameter, 1-10 µm in length) and copper nanowires (Cu NWs, 60-70 nm in diameter, 1-5 µm in length) in epoxy matrix. The MWCNT-Cu NW hybrid mats were prepared by a vacuum filtration method with an optimum Cu NW content of 50 wt%. The hybrid mats was then impregnated by epoxy solution to prepare epoxy composite films. The epoxy was modified by the toughening agent to make the composite films tough and flexible. The loading fraction of MWCNTs and Cu NWs was tuned by controlling the viscosity of epoxy solution. A remarkable synergetic effect between the MWCNTs and Cu NWs in improving the electrical and thermal conductivity of epoxy composites was demonstrated. The results showed that the electrical conductivity of nanocomposites with 42.5 wt% epoxy was 1500 S/m, and the thermal conductivity was 2.83 W/m K, which was 10.1 times of the neat epoxy. Its thermal resistance was as low as 1% of the pure epoxy. And the mechanical properties of composites were also investigated. These robust and flexible nanocomposites showed prospective applications as thermal interface materials (TIMs) in the electronic industry.

Dry-processable carbon nanotubes for functional devices and composites.

Assembly of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in effective and productive ways is of vital importance to their application. Recent progress in synthesis of CNTs has inspired new strategies for utilizing the unique physiochemical properties of CNTs in macroscale materials and devices. Assembling CNTs by dry processes (e.g., directly collecting CNTs in the form of freestanding films followed by pressing, stretching, and multilayer stacking instead of dispersing them in solution) not only considerably simplifies the processes but also avoids structural damage to the CNTs. Various dry-processable CNTs are reviewed, focusing on their synthesis, properties, and applications. The synthesis techniques are organized in terms of aggregative morphologies and microstructure control of CNTs. Important applications such as functional thin-film devices, strong CNT films, and composites are included. The opportunities and challenges in the synthesis techniques and fabrication of advanced composites and devices are discussed.

Anaerobic ferrous oxidation by heterotrophic denitrifying enriched culture.

Heterotrophic denitrifying enriched culture (DEC) from a lab-scale high-rate denitrifying reactor was discovered to perform nitrate-dependent anaerobic ferrous oxidation (NAFO). The DEC was systematically investigated to reveal their denitrification activity, their NAFO activity, and the predominant microbial population. The DEC was capable of heterotrophic denitrification with methanol as the electron donor, and autotrophic denitrification with ferrous salt as the electron donor named NAFO. The conversion ratios of ferrous-Fe and nitrate-N were 87.41 and 98.74 %, and the consumption Fe/N ratio was 2.3:1 (mol/mol). The maximum reaction velocity and half saturation constant of Fe were 412.54 mg/(l h) and 8,276.44 mg/l, and the counterparts of N were 20.87 mg/(l h) and 322.58 mg/l, respectively. The predominant bacteria were Hyphomicrobium, Thauera, and Flavobacterium, and the predominant archaea were Methanomethylovorans, Methanohalophilus, and Methanolobus. The discovery of NAFO by heterotrophic DEC is significant for the development of wastewater treatment and the biogeochemical iron cycle and nitrogen cycle.

Effect of operating modes on simultaneous anaerobic sulfide and nitrate removal in microbial fuel cell.

The effect of operating modes on the simultaneous sulfide and nitrate removal were studied in two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The batch and continuous operating modes were compared and evaluated in terms of substrate removal and electricity generation. Upon gradual increase in the influent sulfide concentration from 60 to 1,020 S mg L(-1), and the hydraulic retention time decrease from 17.2 to 6 h, the MFC accomplished a good substrate removal efficiency whereby nitrogen and sulfate were the main end products. The removal efficiency of the MFC in the continuous mode was much higher than that in the batch mode, and its current densities in the continuous mode were more stable and higher than in the batch mode, which could be explained by the linear relationship between electrons released by the substrates and accepted on the electrodes. The electricity output in the continuous mode of the MFC was higher than that in the batch mode. MFC's operation in the continuous mode was a better strategy for the simultaneous treatment of sulfide and nitrate.