Soil pollution and the invasion of congener Sphagneticola in crop lands.

The input of agro-pollutants, such as microplastics and nanopesticides, on farmlands is widespread and may facilitate biological invasions in agroecosystems. Here, the effects of agro-pollutants that promote invasion of congener species is studied by examining the growth performance of native Sphagneticola calendulacea and its invasive congener, S. trilobata, when grown in a native only, invasive only and mixed community. Sphagneticola calendulacea naturally occurs in croplands in southern China, while S. trilobata was introduced to this region and has since naturalized, encroaching onto farmland. In our study, each plant community was subjected to the following treatments: control, microplastics only, nanopesticides only, and both microplastics and nanopesticides. The effects of the treatments on soils of each plant community were also examined. We found that aboveground, belowground, and photosynthetic traits of S. calendulacea were significantly inhibited by the combined microplastics and nanopesticides treatment in the native and mixed communities. The relative advantage index of S. trilobata was 69.90% and 74.73% higher under the microplastics only and nanopesticides only treatments respectively compared to S. calendulacea. Soil microbial biomass, enzyme activity, gas emission rates, and chemicals in each community were reduced when treated with both microplastics and nanopesticides. Yet, soil microbial biomass of carbon and nitrogen, CO2 emission rates and nitrous oxide rates were significantly higher (56.08%, 58.33%, 36.84% and 49.95% respectively) in the invasive species community than in the native species community under microplastics and nanopesticides. Our results suggest that the addition of agro-pollutants to soils favors the more resistant S. trilobata and suppresses the less tolerant S. calendulacea. Soil properties from the native species community are also more impacted by agro-pollutants than substrates supporting the invasive species. Future studies should explore the effects of agro-pollutants by comparing other invasive and native species and considering human activities, industry, and the soil environment.

A Machine-Learning-Based Robust Classification Method for PV Panel Faults.

Renewable energy resources have gained considerable attention in recent years due to their efficiency and economic benefits. Their proportion of total energy use continues to grow over time. Photovoltaic (PV) cell and wind energy generation are the least-expensive new energy sources in most countries. Renewable energy technologies significantly contribute to climate mitigation and provide economic benefits. Apart from these advantages, renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, have drawbacks, for instance restricted energy supply, reliance on weather conditions, and being affected by several kinds of faults, which cause a high power loss. Usually, the local PV plants are small in size, and it is easy to trace any fault and defect; however, there are many PV cells in the grid-connected PV system where it is difficult to find a fault. Keeping in view the aforedescribed facts, this paper presents an intelligent model to detect faults in the PV panels. The proposed model utilizes the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), which is trained on historic data. The dataset was preprocessed before being fed to the CNN. The dataset contained different parameters, such as current, voltage, temperature, and irradiance, for five different classes. The simulation results showed that the proposed CNN model achieved a training accuracy of 97.64% and a testing accuracy of 95.20%, which are much better than the previous research performed on this dataset.

Microplastics and cadmium affect invasion success by altering complementarity and selection effects in native community.

The diversity-invasibility hypothesis predicts that native plant communities with high biodiversity should be more resistant to invasion than low biodiversity communities. However, observational studies have found that there is often a positive relationship between native community diversity and invasibility. Pollutants were not tested for their potential to cause this positive relationship. Here, we established native communities with three levels of diversity (1, 2 and 4 species) and introduced an invasive plant [Symphyotrichum subulatum (Michx.) G. L. Nesom] to test the effects of different pollutant treatments (i.e., unpolluted control, microplastics (MPs) alone, cadmium (Cd) alone, and their combination) on the relationship between native community diversity and community invasibility. Our results indicate that different MPs and Cd treatments altered the invasibility of native communities, but this effect may depend on the type of pollutant. MPs single treatment reduced invasion success, and the degree of reduction increased with increasing native community diversity (Diversity 2: - 14.1 %; Diversity 4: - 63.1 %). Cd single treatment increased the aboveground biomass of invasive plants (+ 40.2 %) and invasion success. The presence of MPs inhibited the contribution of Cd to invasion success. Furthermore, we found that the complementarity and selection effects of the native community were negatively correlated with invasion success, and their relative contributions to invasion success also depended on the pollutant type. We found new evidence of how pollutants affect the relationship between native community diversity and habitat invasibility, which provides new perspectives for understanding and managing biological invasions in the context of environmental pollution. This may contribute to promoting the conservation of biodiversity, especially in ecologically sensitive and polluted areas.

A review of plants strategies to resist biotic and abiotic environmental stressors.

Plants exposed to a variety of abiotic and biotic stressors including environmental pollution and global warming pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite substantial literature documenting how plants adapt to distinct stressors, there still is a lack of knowledge regarding responses to multiple stressors and how these affects growth and development. Exposure of plants to concurrent biotic and abiotic stressors such as cadmium and drought, leads to pronounced inhibition in above ground biomass, imbalance in oxidative homeostasis, nutrient assimilation and stunted root growth, elucidating the synergistic interactions of multiple stressors culminating in adverse physiological outcomes. Impact of elevated heavy metal and water deficit exposure extends beyond growth and development, influencing the biodiversity of the microenvironment including the rhizosphere nutrient profile and microbiome. These findings have significant implications for plant-stress interactions and ecosystem functioning that prompt immediate action in order to eliminate effect of pollution and address global environmental issues to promote sustainable tolerance for multiple stress combinations in plants. Here, we review plant tolerance against stress combinations, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary approaches and advanced technologies, such as omics and molecular tools, to achieve a comprehensive understanding of underlying stress tolerance mechanisms. To accelerate progress towards developing stress-tolerance in plants against multiple environmental stressors, future research in plant stress tolerance should adopt a collaborative approach, involving researchers from multiple disciplines with diverse expertise and resources.

Identity and Diversity of Invasive Plant Affecting the Growth of Native Lactuca indica.

Despite the significant number of studies that have recently focused on plant invasion and invasive plants' success, many uncertainties still exist on the effects of invasive plant identity and diversity on the native plant response under different levels of diversity. A mixed planting experiment was conducted using the native Lactuca indica (L. indica) and four invasive plants. The treatments consisted of 1, 2, 3, and 4 levels of invasive plants richness in different combinations in competition with the native L. indica. Here, the results showed that native plant response depends on the invasive plant identity and invasive plant diversity, which increases the native plant total biomass under 2-3 levels of invasive plant richness and decreases under high invasive plant density. This plant diversity effect was more significant in the native plant relative interaction index, which shows negative values except under a single invasion with Solidago canadensis and Pilosa bidens. The native plant leaf nitrogen level increased under four levels of invasive plant richness, which means more affected by invasive plant identity than invasive plant diversity. Finally, this study demonstrated that native plant response under invasion depends on the identity and diversity of invasive plants.

Effect of Soil Type on Native Pterocypsela laciniata Performance under Single Invasion and Co-Invasion.

Native and invasive plant competition is usually controlled by the soil properties and the soil type underlying interspecific interactions. However, many uncertainties exist regarding the impact of soil type on native plant growth under single invasion and co-invasion despite the significant number of previous studies that focused on plant invasion. This study aims to elucidate the effects of soil type on the response of the native plant Pterocypsela laciniata under single invasion and co-invasion. Three different soils were used: natural soil, nutrient soil, and nutrient sterilized soil. The native P. laciniata was grown in monoculture and under single invasion and co-invasion with Solidago canadensis and Aster subulatus Michx. The results show that the native plant height and total biomass were 75% and 93.33% higher, respectively, in nutrient sterilized soil in monoculture than in natural and nutrient soil. In contrast, the native P. laciniata presents its best competitive ability in nutrient sterilized soil, being about 100% higher than in natural and nutrient soil under single invasion and co-invasion. However, no significant increase was observed in its growth parameters under co-invasion compared to single invasion. Conclusively, this study shows that nutrient soil sterilization positively affects native plant growth in monoculture and under single invasion, contrasting co-invasion in which more pronounced negative effects were observed on the native plant response.

Experimental study of nitrobenzene degradation in water by strong ionization dielectric barrier discharge.

Nitrobenzene (NB) is toxic and carcinogenic aromatic compound widely used in several industries which is ultimately found in their effluents. In this work, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was employed for the degradation of nitrobenzene in aqueous solution. Active species like O3 and •OH produced by DBD reactor were mixed with water which degraded the NB. The results indicated that the lower NB concentrations slightly acidic conditions and high voltage ranges showed the optimum efficiencies. Moreover, the impacts of active species inhibitors isopropyl alcohol (IPA), tert-butanol (TBA), inorganic ions for instance sulfates ( S O 4 2 - ), bicarbonates ( H C O 3 - ), nitrates ( N O 3 - ), carbonates ( C O 3 2 - ) and chlorides (Cl-) on the degradation of NB were examined. This analysis showed that the hydroxyl radical was captured by the addition of these inhibitors and resulted in the decrease in efficiencies. Byproducts produced during the degradation of nitrobenzene were assessed by analytical techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), UV-visible spectroscopy and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Main intermediate products were nitrophenols and low molecular weight organic acids including oxalic acid and acetic acid that were eventually mineralized to CO2 and H2O. The dielectric barrier discharge technology was found productive for the degradation of nitroaromatic compounds.

Modification of Cellulose Nanocrystals With 2-Carboxyethyl Acrylate in the Presence of Epoxy Resin for Enhancing its Adhesive Properties.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have unparalleled advantages in the preparation of nanocomposites for various applications. However, a major challenge associated with CNCs in nanocomposite preparation is the lack of compatibility with hydrophobic polymers. The hydrophobic modification of CNCs has attracted increasing interest in the modern era standing with long challenges and being environmentally friendly. Here, we synthesized CNCs by using cotton as raw material and then modified them with 2-carboxyethyl acrylate to improve their corresponding mechanical, adhesive, contact angle, and thermal properties. Different concentrations (1-5 wt%) of CNCs were used as modifiers to improve the interfacial adhesion between the reinforced CNCs and E-51 (Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether) epoxy resin system. CNCs offered a better modulus of elasticity, a lower coefficient of energy, and thermal expansion. Compared with the standard sample, the modified CNCs (MCNCs) showed high shear stress, high toughness, efficient degradation, thermal stability, and recycling due to the combined effect of the hyperbranched topological structure of epoxy with good compatibility. The native CNCs lost their hydrophilicity after modification with epoxy, and MCNCs showed good hydrophobic behavior (CA = 105 ± 2°). The findings of this study indicate that modification of CNCs with 2-carboxyethyl acrylate in the presence of epoxy resin and the enhancement of the features would further expand their applications to different sectors.

Competitive ability and plasticity of Wedelia trilobata (L.) under wetland hydrological variations.

Growth behavior of different species under different habitats can be studied by comparing the production of biomass, plasticity index and relative competitive interaction. However, these functional traits of invasive species received rare consideration for determining the invasion success of invasive species at wetlands. Here, we examined the effect of water depth at 5 cm and 15 cm (static and fluctuated) with different nutrient concentrations (full-strength (n1), 1/4-strength (n2) and 1/8-strength (n3) Hoagland solution) on functional traits of invasive Wedelia trilobata and its congener native Wedelia chinensis under mono and mixed culture. Water depth of 5 cm with any of the nutrient treatments (n1, n2 and n3) significantly restrained the photosynthesis, leaf nitrogen and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) of both W. trilobata and W. chinensis. While, increase in the water depth to 15 cm with low nutrient treatment (n3) reduced more of biomass of W. chinensis under mixed culture. However, relative competition interaction (RCI) was recorded positive for W. trilobata and seemingly W. trilobata benefited more from RCI under high-fluctuated water depth at 15 cm in mixed culture. Therefore, higher PNUE, more competitive ability and higher plasticity may contribute to the invasiveness of W. trilobata in wetlands.

Fluctuated water depth with high nutrient concentrations promote the invasiveness of Wedelia trilobata in Wetland.

The distribution of invasive and native species in wetlands is determined by hydrological conditions; whereas conditions such as water depth fluctuations, variations in the nutrient concentrations are expected to affect the growth and physiological traits of plants. For the assessment of such effects, we conduct greenhouse experiment with three factors; 1) water depth of 5 cm and 15 cm (static and fluctuated); 2) three levels of nutrient concentrations (i) full-strength Hoagland solution (N1), (ii) »-strength Hoagland solution (N2), and (iii) 1/8-strength Hoagland solution (N3); and 3) species, invasive Wedelia trilobata (L.) and its congener, native Wedelia chinensis (Osbeck.) under mono and mixed culture. Water depth of 5 cm combined with any of the nutrient treatments significantly restrained the photosynthesis, intracellular CO2 concentration and leaf chlorophyll of both W. trilobata and W. chinensis. Increase in the water depth to 15 cm with low-nutrient treatment N3 did not sustain the physiological traits of W. chinensis under mono and mixed planting. A great loss was noted in the growth of W. chinensis at 15 cm static and fluctuated water depth with low-nutrient treatment (N3) and under mixed culture. In addition, water depth fluctuations with both low- and high-nutrient treatments significantly affected the root-shoot ratio, relative growth rate, and interspecific interaction among these two species. W. trilobata benefited more from competitive interaction index (CII) under fluctuated water depth at 15 cm with high nutrients, and the value of CII was clearly positive. Therefore, higher competitive ability may contribute to the invasiveness of W. trilobata in wetlands.

NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) encephalitis in a patient with MS (multiple sclerosis): a rare and challenging case.

We present a rare case of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis in a 41-year-old Caucasian woman, who initially presented with prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms on the background of pre-existing multiple sclerosis. Here, the authors navigate the muddy water between neurology and psychiatry, describing the caveats of antibody testing with a misdiagnosed case of acute and transient psychotic episode. NMDAR encephalitis in MS is a rare condition, which can be easily confused with a new onset psychotic episode. This case report can be helpful in recognition and diagnosis of this rare condition. Making the right diagnosis is important since it can prevent an unnecessary radical treatment and long-term neuropsychiatric complications.

Response of okra based on electrophysiological modeling under salt stress and re-watering / Resposta do okra com base em modelagem eletrofisiológica sob stress de sal e re-watering

In this study, two okra cultivars, Chinese green and Chinese red were used to assess the water status and growth parameters subjected to salt stress by adding NaCl and CaCl2 with same proportion in Hoagland culture solution at levels of 0%, 0.6%, 1.2%, 1.8% and re-watering at levels of 0.6-0%, 1.2-0.6%, 1.8-1.2%. The measured water potential and physiological capacitance values were used to calculate leaf tensity. Salt stress significantly reduced growth and water status parameters. Chinese green showed more reduction as compared to Chinese red but at 1.8% salt stress reduction of both cultivars were almost same. Re-watering had given a positive response for both cultivars to recover from higher salt stress. Dry weight, physiological capacitance, leaf tensity and salts concentration levels models gave predicting re-watering levels in percentage, also gave values of dilute irrigation point for Chinese red 9.05 or 10.00 ds m-1 and Chinese green 6.67 or 5.66 ds m-1. At resulted dilution points, plants of both cultivars were under high salt stress, which emphasized the need to re-water or dilution of salts for the survival of plants. The most effective predicting re-watering level and dilute irrigation point of both cultivars were found in same regime, so these models findings were very credible and meaningful. Higher dilute irrigation value of Chinese red indicates its more tolerance ability than Chinese green. Model's equations also gave direct irrigation point of Chinese red 1.32 or 1.62 ds m-1 and Chinese green 2.07 or 0.38 ds m- 1. It was concluded that predicting re-watering levels, dilute and direct irrigation point help to get maximum production using saline water resources.

Neste estudo, foram utilizados dois cultivares de quiabo, verde chinês e vermelho chinês para avaliar o estado da água e parâmetros de crescimento submetidos a estresse salino, adicionando NaCl e CaCl2 com a mesma proporção em solução de cultura de Hoagland a níveis de 0%, 0,6%, 1,2% , 1,8% e re-irrigação a níveis de 0,6-0%, 1,2-0,6%, 1,8-1,2%. O potencial de água medido e os valores de capacitância fisiológica foram utilizados para calcular a tensão das folhas. O estresse com sal reduziu significativamente os parâmetros de crescimento e de estado da água. O verde chinês mostrou mais redução em comparação ao vermelho chinês, mas em 1,8% a redução do estresse salino de ambas as cultivares foi quase a mesma. Re-rega tinha dado uma resposta positiva para ambas as cultivares para recuperar de maior sal estresse. Os valores de peso seco, capacitância fisiológica, tensão da folha e níveis de concentração de sais mostraram predizer níveis de irrigação em porcentagem, também apresentaram valores de ponto de irrigação diluído para vermelho chinês 9,05 ou 10,00 ds m-1 e verde chinês 6,67 ou 5,66 ds m-1. Nos pontos de diluição resultantes, as plantas de ambas as cultivares estavam sob alto estresse salino, o que enfatizou a necessidade de re-água ou diluição de sais para a sobrevivência das plantas. O nível de irrigação mais eficiente e o ponto de irrigação diluído de ambas as cultivares foram encontrados no mesmo regime, portanto, esses resultados foram muito confiáveis e significativos. Maior valor de irrigação diluída de vermelho chinês indica a sua capacidade de tolerância mais do que verde chinês. As equações do modelo também deram ponto de irrigação direta de vermelho chinês 1,32 ou 1,62 ds m-1 e verde chinês 2,07 ou 0,38 ds m-1. Concluiu-se que a previsão dos níveis de rega, o ponto de irrigação diluído e direto ajudam a obter a máxima produção usando recursos hídricos salinos.

Topiramate-induced psychosis: the picture at 12 months.

A 19-year-old white British man, not previously known to psychiatric services, presented with acute onset of florid psychotic symptoms. His symptoms included auditory hallucinations, misidentification of family members, thought interference and delusions of control. His level of distress was high and did not respond to verbal or medical de-escalation; therefore, he required nursing in seclusion. It was noted that he recently had an increase of his anti-epileptic medication to 100 mg topiramate twice per day. Topiramate was thought to be the cause of his psychosis and, consequently, was changed to phenytoin. Since discontinuation of the topiramate, his psychotic symptoms settled within 4 days and he was discharged shortly afterwards. He was monitored by the Early Intervention services. At 15-months post-discharge, there was no recurrence of any symptoms despite not receiving antipsychotic medication. To our knowledge, this is the first report that describes the progress of a patient past the initial psychotic episode. Therefore, we believe this is an important finding to report.

An unusual case of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

A 49-year-old healthy white British female, not previously known to psychiatric services, presented with an acute onset of florid psychotic symptoms. Her symptoms included visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations as well as persecutory delusions. She was started on antipsychotic medication; however, her psychotic symptoms did not improve significantly in the first 3 months. Her blood tests were normal. Lumbar puncture was performed which was positive for protein 14-3-3. A computed tomography scan of the brain showed generalised atrophic changes. The history of early visual hallucinations, rapid cognitive decline and positive 14-3-3 result was in keeping with the Heidenhain variant of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Despite a short life expectancy as reported in literature, our patient, who was diagnosed with sCJD more than two-and-a-half years ago, is still alive. We therefore believe this is an important finding to report.

Reversible hyponatraemia with venlafaxine in a young patient.

A 28-year-old woman with a depressive episode developed hyponatraemia (126 mmol/l), in the absence of hypovolaemia, oedema, or diuretic use, 2 weeks after starting treatment with the antidepressant venlafaxine. Full blood count, potassium, urea, creatinine, thyroid function test, liver function test, amylase, serum cortisol, and glucose were all normal. A repeat blood test 3 days later revealed a further reduction in the sodium concentration to 123 mmol/l. The patient did not have any signs or symptoms of physical disorder secondary to hyponatraemia on this occasion. Her serum sodium reached normal values 2 weeks after stopping treatment with venlafaxine. Hyponatraemia secondary to venlafaxine has been reported in the older population but not in young people. We therefore believe this is an important finding.