Analyzing the quality differences between healthy and moldy cigar tobacco leaves during the air-curing process through fungal communities and physicochemical components.

Introduction: The air-curing process of cigar tobacco, as a key step in enhancing the quality of cigars, is often susceptible to contamination by mold spores, which severely constrains the quality of cigar tobacco. Methods: This study employed high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology and a continuous flow analysis system to analyze the differences between the microbial communities and physicochemical components of moldy and healthy cigar tobacco leaves. Furthermore, correlation analysis was performed to reveal the impact of mold on the quality of cigar tobacco. Results: The differences between the microbial flora and physicochemical compositions of moldy (MC) and healthy (HC) tobacco leaves were analyzed, revealing significant disparities between the two groups. Aspergillus spp. represented the dominant mold in MC, with nine out of twelve isolated molds showing higher quantities on MC than on HC. Mold contamination notably decreased the total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total alkaloids (TA), starch, protein, and flavor constituents while increasing the total fatty acid esters (TFAA), which was accompanied by a shift towards weakly acidic pH in the leaves. Fungal community analysis indicated a significant reduction in the fungal operational taxonomic unit (OUT) numbers and diversity indices in MC, contrasting with the bacterial trends. Aspergillus exhibited significantly higher relative abundance in MC, with LEfSe analysis pinpointing it as the primary driver of differentiation. Furthermore, significant negative correlations were observed between Aspergillus and TP, starch, TA, and protein, while a significant positive association was evident with TFAA. Network analysis underscored the pivotal role of Aspergillus as the species influencing disparities between HC and MC, with its abundance serving as a critical determinant during the air-curing process. Discussion: This study elucidated substantial quality distinctions between MC and HC during air-curing, with Aspergillus emerging as the key species contributing to leaf mold.

Physiological and Biochemical Mechanisms of Wood Vinegar-Induced Stress Response against Tomato Fusarium Wilt Disease.

Wood vinegar, a by-product of charcoal biomass pyrolysis, has been used as a biofungicide in plant disease management because of its antimicrobial properties. However, the physiological and biochemical mechanisms through which wood vinegar alleviates biotic stress are poorly understood. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the resistance and regulation mechanism of wood vinegar prepared from different raw materials (ZM) and from a single raw material (SM) in controlling tomato (Solanum lycopersicum "Bonny Best") Fusarium wilt at different concentrations (0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9%, 1.2%, and 1.5%). The results showed that ZM and SM had significant control effects on tomato fusarium wilt under different concentrations in the same growth cycle. Under biotic stress, the two kinds of wood vinegar significantly increased the plant height, stem diameter, leaf area and yield of tomato under the concentration of 0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9% and 1.2%, and significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in tomato leaves. The effect of 0.9% treatment was the most significant, ZM and SM significantly increased tomato yield by 122% and 74%, respectively, compared with CK under 0.9% treatment. However, the plant height, stem diameter and leaf area of tomato were significantly reduced under 1.5% treatment, but the content of soluble sugar, soluble protein and vitamin C in tomato fruit was the best. Compared with CK, ZM significantly increased by 14%, 193% and 67%, respectively, and SM significantly increased by 28%, 300% and 159%, respectively. Except for 0.3% treatment, both significantly increased the activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in tomato leaves. The response intensity of two kinds of wood vinegar-physiological and biochemical-to tomato disease resistance, growth and development, showed ZM > SM. The disease index of tomato showed highly significant negative correlation with plant height, stem thickness, leaf area and antioxidant physiology CAT, and highly significant positive correlation with MDA and H2O2 content. In conclusion, ZM was more effective than SM in enhancing tomato disease resistance by promoting tomato growth and development, decreasing leaf MDA and H2O2 content, and inducing antioxidant enzyme activity in leaves at moderate concentrations.

Research status of soda residue in the field of environmental pollution control.

High-quality soda ash (Na2CO3) is mainly produced using the ammonia-alkaline method, generating a significant amount of industrial waste called soda residue. In China, the annual production of soda residue exceeds 10 million tons. The large-scale open-air storage of soda residue not only occupies land but also causes severe pollution to the surrounding environment. Soda residue displays characteristics such as strong alkalinity, high reactivity, and a well-developed pore structure, making it a valuable raw material for producing environmentally functional materials. This article provided an overview and summary of soda residue, including its sources and hazards, basic properties, applications in environmental management (wastewater treatment, flue gas desulfurization, and soil remediation), and associated risks. The limitations of using soda residue in "waste to waste" technologies were also analyzed. Based on this analysis, the article suggests focusing on simultaneous removal of heavy metal ions using soda residue, safely disposing of and acquiring resources from metal-laden sludge, efficiently dechlorinating soda residue, using soda residue for contaminated soil solidification, stabilization, and assisted remediation, controlling pollution via green and circular utilization approaches, and assessing long-term risk.

Removal of hydrogen sulfide in the gas phase by carbide slag modified bentonite.

Bentonite-based adsorbents for the removal of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were prepared by a wet-mixing method using carbide slag as the active component. The effects of carbide slag content, calcination temperature, calcination time, and reaction temperature on the H2S adsorption capacity were investigated. The results showed that compared with the blank bentonite adsorbent, the carbide slag-modified bentonite-based adsorbent enhanced the chemisorption of H2S. The adsorption capacity of the carbide slag modified bentonite adsorbent (2.50 mg g-1) was more than 40 times higher than that of the blank bentonite-based adsorbent (0.06 mg g-1) under optimal conditions. The optimal conditions for H2S removal were 3 : 5 ratio of carbide slag-to-bentonite, calcination temperature of 450 °C for 2 h, and reaction temperature of 95 °C. H2S was mainly removed in the mesopores and macropores of the adsorbent and was finally transformed to CaS and sulfate on the adsorbent surface. The adsorption process of H2S followed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm equation and Bangham adsorption kinetic model.

Clinical significance of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen expression in cervical cancer.

The purpose of the study was to determine the expression patterns of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen in cervical cancer tissues and to explore their clinical significance and correlation with clinicopathological parameters. The expression of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen was detected in 127 cervical cancer tissues, 21 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, as well as in 20 healthy controls by immunohistochemistry, and the relationship of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen expression with clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Both Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen were more commonly expressed in cervical cancer than in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and in normal cervical tissue (respectively; P < 0.05); further, Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen expression in cervical cancer were positively correlated (r = 0.271, P < 0.05). In comparing the expression with clinicopathological parameters of tumor samples, Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen were both associated with FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumor size (P < 0.05), but not with patient age, pathological type, or differentiation. Increased Wnt-11 protein levels in cervical carcinoma samples were associated with a poor outcome in univariate and multivariate analysis. Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen are related to the malignancy degree and metastasis of cervical cancer, and thus may play a coordinating role in the occurrence and progression of cervical cancer. The study indicated that Wnt-11 may be a useful prognostic indicator for cervical carcinoma.

Studies on toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on Arabidopsis T87 suspension cells.

The possible toxicities of agglomerates of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) toward plant cells were evaluated. Arabidopsis T87 suspension cells were used as the model cells and decreases in values of cell dry weights, cell viabilities, cell chlorophyll contents, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were seen for the cells cultured in media containing the agglomerates of MWCNTs, indicating the agglomerates of MWCNTs are toxic to the Arabidopsis T87 suspension cells. Moreover, the toxicities increased sharply as the diameters of the agglomerates of the MWCNTs became smaller. A concept based on the hypersensitive response is suggested to explain the possible toxic mechanism induced by the MWCNTs.