New insights from uncultivated genomes of the global human gut microbiome.

The genome sequences of many species of the human gut microbiome remain unknown, largely owing to challenges in cultivating microorganisms under laboratory conditions. Here we address this problem by reconstructing 60,664 draft prokaryotic genomes from 3,810 faecal metagenomes, from geographically and phenotypically diverse humans. These genomes provide reference points for 2,058 newly identified species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which represents a 50% increase over the previously known phylogenetic diversity of sequenced gut bacteria. On average, the newly identified OTUs comprise 33% of richness and 28% of species abundance per individual, and are enriched in humans from rural populations. A meta-analysis of clinical gut-microbiome studies pinpointed numerous disease associations for the newly identified OTUs, which have the potential to improve predictive models. Finally, our analysis revealed that uncultured gut species have undergone genome reduction that has resulted in the loss of certain biosynthetic pathways, which may offer clues for improving cultivation strategies in the future.

Disentangling direct from indirect relationships in association networks.

Networks are vital tools for understanding and modeling interactions in complex systems in science and engineering, and direct and indirect interactions are pervasive in all types of networks. However, quantitatively disentangling direct and indirect relationships in networks remains a formidable task. Here, we present a framework, called iDIRECT (Inference of Direct and Indirect Relationships with Effective Copula-based Transitivity), for quantitatively inferring direct dependencies in association networks. Using copula-based transitivity, iDIRECT eliminates/ameliorates several challenging mathematical problems, including ill-conditioning, self-looping, and interaction strength overflow. With simulation data as benchmark examples, iDIRECT showed high prediction accuracies. Application of iDIRECT to reconstruct gene regulatory networks in Escherichia coli also revealed considerably higher prediction power than the best-performing approaches in the DREAM5 (Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods project, #5) Network Inference Challenge. In addition, applying iDIRECT to highly diverse grassland soil microbial communities in response to climate warming showed that the iDIRECT-processed networks were significantly different from the original networks, with considerably fewer nodes, links, and connectivity, but higher relative modularity. Further analysis revealed that the iDIRECT-processed network was more complex under warming than the control and more robust to both random and target species removal (P < 0.001). As a general approach, iDIRECT has great advantages for network inference, and it should be widely applicable to infer direct relationships in association networks across diverse disciplines in science and engineering.

Ubiquitination, SUMOylation, and NEDDylation related genes serve as prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Ubiquitination, small ubiquitin-related modifiers, and NEDDylation are now found to function in cancer biology; however, its role in the oral cancer patients remains unclear. METHODS: A set of bioinformatic tools was integrated to analyze the expression and prognostic significance of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like (UB/UBL) genes. A UB/UBL-related risk score was developed via correlation analyses, univariate Cox regression, and multivariate Cox regression. Nomogram analysis evaluates the model's prediction performance. The drug sensitivity analysis, immune profiles of UB/UBL-classified oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, and their related function pathway were investigated, and the role of UB/UBL-related genes in drug therapy was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of six prognostic UB/UBL-related genes were obtained. PSMD3, PCGF2, and H2BC10 were significantly downregulated in OSCC tissue and associated with longer survival time. OSCC patients in the high-risk group showed a significantly lower overall survival and enriched in cancer-related pathways. The prognostic potential of genes associated with UB/UBL was discovered, and patients with high-risk scores showed an increase of protumor immune infiltrates and a high expression of immune checkpoints. Moreover, the area under the curve of the annual survival rate was 0.616, 0.671, and 0.673, respectively. Besides, patients in the high-risk group are more sensitive to docetaxel, doxorubicin, and methotrexate therapy. CONCLUSIONS: We construct a prognosis model for OSCC patients with UB/UBL-related genes and try to find a new approach to treating oral cancer patients. The UB/UBL-related signature is helpful in developing new tumor markers, prognostic prediction, and in guiding treatment for OSCC patients.

Discovery of new triterpenoids from Leptopus clarkei and their antiproliferative activity on cancer cells.

Two new triterpenoids (1-2), along with six known analogues (3-8) were obtained from the dried whole plant of Leptopus clarkei. Compound 1 is a 3,4-seco-lupane-type triterpenoid, and compound 2 is a phenylpropanoid-conjugated pentacyclic triterpenoid possessing trans-p-coumaroyl unit attached to oleanane-type skeleton. This is the first report on chemical investigation of the L. clarkei, and the triterpenoid derivatives were found in this plant for the first time. The structures of the new compounds were unequivocally elucidated by HRESIMS and 1D/2D NMR data. Additionally, the isolated compounds were evaluated for theircytotoxicities against four cancer cell lines including HepG2, MCF-7, A549 and HeLa. Notably, compound 2 exhibited the most significant antiproliferative activity with IC50 less than 20 µM for four cancer lines.

[Effect of fiber volume and material property and nucleus pulposus area on intervertebral disc mechanical behavior].

The material properties and volume proportion of the fibers as well as the cross-sectional area proportion of nucleus pulposus vary greatly in different studies. The effect of these factors on the mechanical behavior of intervertebral discs (IVDs) are uncertain. The IVDs finite element models with different parameters were created to investigate the pressure, height, rotation, stress, and strain of the IVDs under loads: pure compression, rotation after compression or axial moment after compression. The results showed that the material properties of fibers had great impact on the mechanical behavior of IVDs, especially on the rotation angle. When the fiber volume ratio was small, its changes had a significant impact on the rotation angle of the IVDs. The area proportions of nucleus pulposus had relatively little effect on the mechanical behavior of IVDs. The IVDs rotation should be observed when validating the model. By adjusting the elastic modulus or volume ratio of fibers within a reasonable range, a model that could simulate the mechanical behavior of normal IVDs could be obtained. It was reasonable to make the area proportion of nucleus pulposus within 25%-50% for the IVDs finite element model. This study provides guidance and reference for finite element modeling of the IVDs and the investigation of the IVDs degeneration mechanism.

A field incubation approach to evaluate the depth dependence of soil biogeochemical responses to climate change.

Soil biogeochemical processes may present depth-dependent responses to climate change, due to vertical environmental gradients (e.g., thermal and moisture regimes, and the quantity and quality of soil organic matter) along soil profile. However, it is a grand challenge to distinguish such depth dependence under field conditions. Here we present an innovative, cost-effective and simple approach of field incubation of intact soil cores to explore such depth dependence. The approach adopts field incubation of two sets of intact soil cores: one incubated right-side up (i.e., non-inverted), and another upside down (i.e., inverted). This inversion keeps soil intact but changes the depth of the soil layer of same depth origin. Combining reciprocal translocation experiments to generate natural climate shift, we applied this incubation approach along a 2200 m elevational mountainous transect in southeast Tibetan Plateau. We measured soil respiration (Rs) from non-inverted and inverted cores of 1 m deep, respectively, which were exchanged among and incubated at different elevations. The results indicated that Rs responds significantly (p < .05) to translocation-induced climate shifts, but this response is depth-independent. As the incubation proceeds, Rs from both non-inverted and inverted cores become more sensitive to climate shifts, indicating higher vulnerability of persistent soil organic matter (SOM) to climate change than labile components, if labile substrates are assumed to be depleted with the proceeding of incubation. These results show in situ evidence that whole-profile SOM mineralization is sensitive to climate change regardless of the depth location. Together with measurements of vertical physiochemical conditions, the inversion experiment can serve as an experimental platform to elucidate the depth dependence of the response of soil biogeochemical processes to climate change.

Long-term elevated precipitation induces grassland soil carbon loss via microbe-plant-soil interplay.

Global climate models predict that the frequency and intensity of precipitation events will increase in many regions across the world. However, the biosphere-climate feedback to elevated precipitation (eP) remains elusive. Here, we report a study on one of the longest field experiments assessing the effects of eP, alone or in combination with other climate change drivers such as elevated CO2 (eCO2 ), warming and nitrogen deposition. Soil total carbon (C) decreased after a decade of eP treatment, while plant root production decreased after 2 years. To explain this asynchrony, we found that the relative abundances of fungal genes associated with chitin and protein degradation increased and were positively correlated with bacteriophage genes, suggesting a potential viral shunt in C degradation. In addition, eP increased the relative abundances of microbial stress tolerance genes, which are essential for coping with environmental stressors. Microbial responses to eP were phylogenetically conserved. The effects of eP on soil total C, root production, and microbes were interactively affected by eCO2 . Collectively, we demonstrate that long-term eP induces soil C loss, owing to changes in microbial community composition, functional traits, root production, and soil moisture. Our study unveils an important, previously unknown biosphere-climate feedback in Mediterranean-type water-limited ecosystems, namely how eP induces soil C loss via microbe-plant-soil interplay.

A novel framework for vegetation change characterization from time series landsat images.

Understanding terrestrial ecosystem dynamics requires a comprehensive examination of vegetation changes. Remote sensing technology has been established as an effective approach to reconstructing vegetation change history, investigating change properties, and evaluating the ecological effects. However, current remote sensing techniques are primarily focused on break detection but ignore long-term trend analysis. In this study, we proposed a novel framework based on a change detection algorithm and a trend analysis method that could integrate both short-term disturbance detection and long-term trends to comprehensively assess vegetation change. With this framework, we characterized the vegetation changes in Zhejiang Province from 1990 to 2020 using Landsat and landcover data. Benefiting from combining break detection and long-term trend analysis, the framework showcased its capability of capturing a variety of dynamics and trends of vegetation. The results show that the vegetation was browning in the plains while greening in the mountains, and the overall vegetation was gradually greening during the study period. By comparison, detected vegetation disturbances covered 57.71% of the province's land areas (accounting for 66.92% of the vegetated region) which were mainly distributed around the built-up areas, and most disturbances (94%) occurred in forest and cropland. There were two peak timings in the frequency of vegetation disturbances: around 2003 and around 2014, and the proportions of more than twice disturbances in a single location were low. The results illustrate that this framework is promising for the characterization of regional vegetation growth, including long-term trends and short-term features. The proposed framework enlightens a new direction for the continuous monitoring of vegetation dynamics.

The role of hydrochloric acid pretreated activated carbon in chain elongation of D-lactate to caproate: Adsorption and facilitation.

Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) generation is attracting growing interest due to fossil fuel depletion. To promote the production of MCFA, especially caproate, hydrochloric acid pretreated activated carbon (AC) was introduced into chain elongation fermentation. In this study, the role of pretreated AC on caproate production was investigated using lactate and butyrate as electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. The results showed that AC did not improve the chain elongation reaction at beginning but promoted the caproate production at later stage. The addition of 15 g/L AC facilitated reactor reaching the peak of caproate concentration (78.92 mM), caproate electron efficiency (63.13%), and butyrate utilization rate (51.88%). The adsorption experiment revealed a positive correlation between the adsorption capacity of pretreated AC and the concentration as well as the carbon chain length of carboxylic acids. Moreover, the adsorption of undissociated caproate by pretreated AC contributed to a mitigated toxicity towards microorganisms, thereby facilitating the production of MCFA. Microbial community analysis revealed an increasing enrichment of key functional chain elongation bacteria, including Eubacterium, Megasphaera, Caproiciproducens, and Pseudoramibacter, but a suppression on acrylate pathway microorganism Veillonella, as the dosage of pretreated AC increasing. The findings of this study demonstrated the substantial impact of the adsorption effect of acid-pretreated AC on promoting caproate production, which would aid to the development of more efficient caproate production process.

Comparison of Depth-Specific Prediction of Soil Properties: MIR vs. Vis-NIR Spectroscopy.

The prediction of soil properties at different depths is an important research topic for promoting the conservation of black soils and the development of precision agriculture. Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR, 2500-25000 nm) has shown great potential in predicting soil properties. This study aimed to explore the ability of MIR to predict soil organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen (TN) at five different depths with the calibration from the whole depth (0-100 cm) or the shallow layers (0-40 cm) and compare its performance with visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIR, 350-2500 nm). A total of 90 soil samples containing 450 subsamples (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-70 cm, and 70-100 cm depths) and their corresponding MIR and vis-NIR spectra were collected from a field of black soil in Northeast China. Multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) were used to build prediction models. The results showed that prediction models based on MIR (OM: RMSEp = 1.07-3.82 g/kg, RPD = 1.10-5.80; TN: RMSEp = 0.11-0.15 g/kg, RPD = 1.70-4.39) outperformed those based on vis-NIR (OM: RMSEp = 1.75-8.95 g/kg, RPD = 0.50-3.61; TN: RMSEp = 0.12-0.27 g/kg; RPD = 1.00-3.11) because of the higher number of characteristic bands. Prediction models based on the whole depth calibration (OM: RMSEp = 1.09-2.97 g/kg, RPD = 2.13-5.80; TN: RMSEp = 0.08-0.19 g/kg, RPD = 1.86-4.39) outperformed those based on the shallow layers (OM: RMSEp = 1.07-8.95 g/kg, RPD = 0.50-3.93; TN: RMSEp = 0.11-0.27 g/kg, RPD = 1.00-2.24) because the soil sample data of the whole depth had a larger and more representative sample size and a wider distribution. However, prediction models based on the whole depth calibration might provide lower accuracy in some shallow layers. Accordingly, it is suggested that the methods pertaining to soil property prediction based on the spectral library should be considered in future studies for an optimal approach to predicting soil properties at specific depths. This study verified the superiority of MIR for soil property prediction at specific depths and confirmed the advantage of modeling with the whole depth calibration, pointing out a possible optimal approach and providing a reference for predicting soil properties at specific depths.

Pollution and risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in soils from industrial and mining sites across China.

Potentially toxic elements in soils (SPTEs) from industrial and mining sites (IMSs) often cause public health issues. However, previous studies have either focused on SPTEs in agricultural or urban areas, or in a single or few IMSs. A systematic assessment of the pollution and risk levels of SPTEs from IMS at the national scale is lacking. Here, we obtained SPTE (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations from IMSs across China based on 188 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2022 and quantified their pollution and risk levels using the pollution index and risk assessment model, respectively. The results indicated that the average concentrations of the eight SPTEs were 4.42-270.50 times the corresponding background values, and 19.58% of As, 14.39% of Zn, 12.79% of Pb, and 8.03% of Cd exceeded the corresponding soil risk screening values in these IMSs. In addition, 27.13% of the examined IMS had one or more SPTE pollution, mainly distributed in the southwest and south central China. On the examined IMSs, 81.91% had moderate or severe ecological risks, which were mainly caused by Cd, Hg, As, and Pb; 23.40% showed non-carcinogenic risk and 11.70% demonstrated carcinogenic risk. The primary exposure pathways of the former were ingestion and inhalation, while that for the latter was ingestion. A Monte Carlo simulation also confirmed the health risk assessment results. As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were identified as priority control SPTEs, and Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Guizhou were selected as the key control provinces. Our results provide valuable information for public health and soil environment management in China.

Redox mediators stimulated chain elongation process in fluidized cathode electro-fermentation systems for caproate production.

Medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), the secondary products of traditional anaerobic fermentation, can be produced via chain elongation (CE), a process often retarded due to the difficulty during interspecies electron transfer (IET). This study employed redox mediators, neutral red (NR), methyl viologen (MV), and methylene blue (MB) as electron shuttles to expedite the electro-fermentation for caproate production by improving IET. Results showed that MV increased the MCFAs production by promoting acetate to ethanol conversion, leading to the highest MCFAs selectivity of 68.73%. While NR was indicated to improve CE by encouraging H2 production, and the biocathode had the highest electrical activity due to the smallest internal resistance and largest capacitance increase of 96% than the control. A higher proportion of Sutterella, Prevotella, and Hydrogenophaga, linked with the H2 mediated interspecies electron transfer (MIET) during CE process, was observed across redox mediators supplied groups compared to the control. The presence of mediators led to an elevated abundance of key enzymes for enhanced CE process and electron transfer. This study provided the perspective of the stimulated electron transfer for improved MCFAs production in electro-fermentation systems.

Creative Approach to Development: Leveraging the Sino-African Belt and Road Initiatives to Boost Africa's Cultural and Creative Industries for Africa's Development.

The present study identifies investment in Africa's cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as one of the strategic moves in the right direction for achieving sustainable development across the African continent. Cultural and creative industries (CCIs) offer an alternative approach to development through their wealth creation potential, socioeconomic development, employment opportunities, and promotion of cultural diversity. Nevertheless, CCIs are yet to feature categorically as a development strategy, owing to their many challenges, as indicated by the study. The study submits that partnerships under the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) could offer an alternative source of mobilizing support for CCIs, as the BRI is a development framework with robust financing, infrastructure, and human resources development. However, it will require the pragmatic support of policymakers to leverage BRI and boost the expansion of CCIs in Africa.

Younger carbon dominates global soil carbon efflux.

Soil carbon (C) is comprised of a continuum of organic compounds with distinct ages (i.e., the time a C atom has experienced in soil since the C atom entered soil). The contribution of different age groups to soil C efflux is critical for understanding soil C stability and persistence, but is poorly understood due to the complexity of soil C pool age structure and potential distinct turnover behaviors of age groups. Here, we build upon the quantification of soil C transit times to infer the age of C atoms in soil C efflux (aefflux ) from seven sequential soil layer depths down to 2 m at a global scale, and compare this age with radiocarbon-inferred ages of C retained in corresponding soil layers (asoil ). In the whole 0-2 m soil profile, the mean aefflux is 194 21 1021 (mean with 5%-95% quantiles) year and is just about one-eighth of asoil ( 1476 717 2547 year), demonstrating that younger C dominates soil C efflux. With increasing soil depth, both aefflux and asoil are increased, but their disparities are markedly narrowed. That is, the proportional contribution of relatively younger soil C to efflux is decreased in deeper layers, demonstrating that C inputs (new and young) stay longer in deeper layers. Across the globe, we find large spatial variability of the contribution of soil C age groups to C efflux. Especially, in deep soil layers of cold regions (e.g., boreal forests and tundra), aefflux may be older than asoil , suggesting that older C dominates C efflux only under a limited range of conditions. These results imply that most C inputs may not contribute to long-term soil C storage, particularly in upper layers that hold the majority of new C inputs.

Solid pancreas transplant outcomes with increased donor and recipient ages compared with reference ages: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Increased recipient and donor age are associated with worse solid organ pancreas transplant outcomes. However, donor and recipient age criteria vary between jurisdictions. We systematically reviewed studies reporting the association between transplanting older recipients and donors beyond current Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) limits with solid pancreas transplant outcomes. AIMS: To review current outcomes of solid pancreas transplantation in recipients and donors over the TSANZ reference ages. METHODS: Studies comparing transplant outcomes between a reference-age and an older-age donor (>45 years) or recipient (≥50 years) cohort for solid pancreas transplantation were included. Primary outcomes were pancreas/kidney graft and patient survival at 1 and 5 years. Secondary outcomes were post-transplant complications (graft thrombosis, acute rejection and relaparotomy rates). RESULTS: Eleven studies were included (two studies assessing solid pancreas outcomes between older vs reference-aged donors and nine studies assessing outcomes between older vs reference-aged recipients). Seven of 11 studies were judged to be at high risk of bias. Primary and secondary outcomes were not significantly different between recipient age groups in nine studies. A sensitivity analysis of older versus reference-aged studies excluding studies at high risk of bias also showed non-inferior primary and secondary outcomes at 1 year. Two studies comparing outcomes by donor age showed worse graft survival but non-inferior patient survival with older donors. CONCLUSION: Increased donor or recipient age alone should not absolutely contraindicate solid pancreas transplantation, especially if other risk predictors are minimised.

Primary Ewing sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors in the cranial bone and mobile spine: what is the difference?

BACKGROUND: Primary Ewing sarcoma (ES)/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (pPNETs) are aggressive bone tumors that rarely occur in the axial skeleton, including the cranial bone and mobile spine. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were any differences in patient characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes between patients with ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone and those with ES/pPNETs of the mobile spine. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 33 patients with ES/pPNETs who had been surgically treated and pathologically confirmed at our institution between 2010 and 2020. Patient characteristics were compared using Fisher exact tests or independent t tests. Survival rates were estimated via Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and compared using log-rank tests. RESULTS: Thirteen patients had ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone (39.4%), while 20 patients had ES/pPNETs of the mobile spine (60.6%). Patients with ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone had a younger mean age (14.8 vs 22.6 years; p = 0.047) and longer mean disease duration (2.5 vs 1.9 months; p = 0.008) compared with those of patients with ES/pPNETs of the mobile spine. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that gross total resection (GTR) and radiotherapy resulted in a longer median survival time. The overall survival rates and progression-free survival rates of patients with ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone versus those of the mobile spine were not significantly different (p = 0.386 and p = 0.368, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone were younger compared to patients with ES/pPNETs of the mobile spine. There was no significant difference in the prognosis of patients with ES/pPNETs of the cranial bone versus those of the mobile spine. Taken together, our findings suggest that GTR and radiotherapy offer the best prognosis for improved long-term survival.

Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Using Vis-NIR Spectral Data and Spectral Feature Bands Selection in Southern Xinjiang, China.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and soil fertility supply. Rapid and accurate estimation of SOC content could provide critical information for crop production, soil management and soil carbon pool regulation. Many researchers have confirmed the feasibility and great potential of visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy in evaluating SOC content rapidly and accurately. Here, to evaluate the feasibility of different spectral bands variable selection methods for SOC prediction, we collected a total of 330 surface soil samples from the cotton field in the Alar Reclamation area in the southern part of Xinjiang, which is located in the arid region of northwest China. Then, we estimated the SOC content using laboratory Vis-NIR spectral. The Particle Swarm optimization (PSO), Competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and Ant colony optimization (ACO) were adopted to select SOC feature bands. The partial least squares regression (PLSR), random forest (RF) and convolutional neural network (CNN) inversion models were constructed by using full-bands (400-2400 nm) spectra (R) and feature bands, respectively. And we also analyzed the effects of spectral feature band selection methods and modeling methods on the prediction accuracy of SOC. The results indicated that: (1) There are significant differences in the feature bands selected using different methods. The feature bands selected methods substantially reduced the spectral variable dimensionality and model complexity. The models built by the feature bands selected by CARS, PSO and ACO methods showed the different potential of improvement in model accuracy compared with the full-band models. (2) The CNN model had the best performance for predicting SOC. The R2 of the optimal CNN model is 0.90 in the validation, which was improved by 0.05 and 0.04 in comparison with the PLSR and RF model, respectively. (3) The highest prediction accuracy was archived by the CNN model using the feature bands selected by CARS (validation set R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 0.97 g kg-1, RPD = 3.18, RPIQ = 3.11). This study indicated that using the CARS method to select spectral feature bands, combined with the CNN modeling method can well predict SOC content with higher accuracy.

Decoupling environmental impact from economic growth to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in China.

Developing countries, such as China, have achieved unprecedented success in a single Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which usually leads to trade-offs between the three pillars of sustainability, and even destroys sustainability. Quantifying the degrees of coupling among the pillars is essential to support policymakers' systematic actions to minimize trade-offs and maximize co-benefits between the pillars, and simultaneously achieve all SDGs. However, assessing the degrees of coupling among the pillars for the full SDGs is lacking. Here, we evaluate the progress of the pillars towards the SDGs and quantify the degrees of coupling among them at both national and sub-national levels in China from 2000 to 2015. The results indicate that the degrees of coupling among the pillars were almost constant while the degrees of coupling between the pillars and economic growth declined over time. The degrees of coupling between environmental impact and economic growth accounted for 52%-83% of the SDGs' progress. Reducing the degrees of coupling helps achieve simultaneously economic growth and environmental protection. The higher the degrees of coupling, the lower progress. This trend was universal among all provinces (sub-national level) regardless of their development levels. Our study highlights not only the necessity to track the degrees of coupling among the pillars, but also decoupling environmental impact from economic growth to achieve the SDGs.

Comprehensive source identification and apportionment analysis of five heavy metals in soils in Wenzhou City, China.

The source identification and apportionment of heavy metals (HMs) is a vital issue for restoring contaminated soil. In this study, qualitative approaches [a finite mixture distribution model (FMDM) and raster-based principal components analysis (RB-PCA)] and a quantitative approach [positive matrix factorization (PMF)] were composed to identify and apportion the sources of five HMs (Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr) in Wenzhou City, China, using several crucial auxiliary variables. An initial ecological risk assessment suggested that the ecological risk level in the study area was generally considered low, with the greatest contamination contributions coming from Cd and Hg. The result of the FMDM showed that Cd and Pb fit a single log-normal distribution, Hg fit a double log-normal mixed distribution, and As and Cr presented a triple log-normal distribution. Each element was identified and separated from its natural or anthropogenic sources. A map of RB-PCA combined with an analysis of corresponding auxiliary variables suggested that the three main contribution sources in the entire study area were parental materials, industrial and agricultural mixed pollution, and mining exploration activities. Each element was discussed, using the PMF model, with regard to its quantitative contributions. Parental materials contributed to all elements (Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr) at 89.22%, 7.31%, 35.84%, 84.81% and 27.42%, respectively. Industrial emissions and agricultural inputs mixed pollution contributed 2.94%, 80.77%, 15.93%, 4.79%, and 25.63%, respectively. Mining activities contributed 7.84%,11.92%, 48.23%, 10.40% and 46.95%, respectively, to the five HMs. Such result could be used efficiently to generate scientific decisions and strategies in terms of decision-making on regulating HM pollution in soils.

Winter warming rapidly increases carbon degradation capacities of fungal communities in tundra soil: Potential consequences on carbon stability.

High-latitude tundra ecosystems are increasingly affected by climate warming. As an important fraction of soil microorganisms, fungi play essential roles in carbon degradation, especially the old, chemically recalcitrant carbon. However, it remains obscure how fungi respond to climate warming and whether fungi, in turn, affect carbon stability of tundra. In a 2-year winter soil warming experiment of 2°C by snow fences, we investigated responses of fungal communities to warming in the active layer of an Alaskan tundra. Although fungal community composition, revealed by the 28S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, remained unchanged (p > .05), fungal functional gene composition, revealed by a microarray named GeoChip, was altered (p < .05). Changes in functional gene composition were linked to winter soil temperature, thaw depth, soil moisture, and gross primary productivity (canonical correlation analysis, p < .05). Specifically, relative abundances of fungal genes encoding invertase, xylose reductase and vanillin dehydrogenase significantly increased (p < .05), indicating higher carbon degradation capacities of fungal communities under warming. Accordingly, we detected changes in fungal gene networks under warming, including higher average path distance, lower average clustering coefficient and lower percentage of negative links, indicating that warming potentially changed fungal interactions. Together, our study reveals higher carbon degradation capacities of fungal communities under short-term warming and highlights the potential impacts of fungal communities on tundra ecosystem respiration, and consequently future carbon stability of high-latitude tundra.