Long-term liming mitigates the positive responses of soil carbon mineralization to warming and labile carbon input.

Liming, as a common amelioration practice worldwide, has the potential to alleviate soil acidification and ensure crop production. However, the impacts of long-term liming on the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization and its response to labile C input remain unclear. To fill the knowledge gap, soil samples were collected from a long-term (∼10 years) field trial with unlimed and limed (CaO) plots. These soil samples were incubated at 15 °C and 25 °C for 42 days, amended without and with 13C-labeled glucose. Results showed that compared to the unlimed soil (3.6-8.6 mg C g-1 SOC), liming increased SOC mineralization (6.1-11.2 mg C g-1 SOC). However, liming significantly mitigated the positive response of SOC mineralization to warming, resulting in a lower Q10. Long-term liming increased bacterial richness and Shannon diversity as well as their response to warming which were associated with the decreased Q10. Furthermore, the decreased Q10 due to liming was attributed to the decreased response of bacterial oligotrophs/copiotrophs ratio, ß-glucosidase and xylosidase activities to warming. Labile C addition had a strong impact on Q10 in the unlimed soil, but only a marginal influence in the limed soil. Overall, our research highlights that acidification amelioration by long-term liming has the potential to alleviate the positive response of SOC mineralization to warming and labile C input, thereby facilitating SOC stability in agroecosystems, especially for acidic soils in subtropical regions.

Cottonseed meal protein hydrolysate influences growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical indices, and intestinal morphology in yellow-feather broilers.

This study investigated the effects of cottonseed meal protein hydrolysate (CPH) on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical indices, intestinal morphology, and enzyme activities of yellow-feather broilers. We randomly divided 240 chicks into four groups, each with six replicates: a basal diet with 0% (CON), 1% (LCPH), 3% (MCPH), or 5% (HCPH) CPH. The trail spanned 63 days and included three phases: Days 1-21, 22-42, and 43-63. Increased average daily gain (ADG) and decreased ratio of feed to gain (F/G) with LCPH were observed in 21-day-old broilers (P < 0.05). MCPH led to higher ADG and average daily feed intake (ADFI) in 42-day-old broilers (P < 0.05). Additionally, CPH supplementation resulted in increased dressing percentage, percentage of half-eviscerated yield, percentage of eviscerated yield, breast muscle rate, and leg muscle rate were observed (P < 0.05) with diet. The serum levels of total protein (TP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P) were enhanced, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and triglyceride (TG) levels decreased with diet and CPH (P < 0.05). CPH increased the length of the jejunum and ileum and the weight of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum in 21-day-old broilers (P < 0.05). Alterations in the duodenal villus structure in broilers occurred on Days 21 and 42, and the CPH groups performed better; however, a similar change occurred in the jejunum on Days 42 and 63 (P < 0.05). MCPH and HCPH enhanced trypsin activity in the duodenum of 21-day-old and 63-day-old broilers (p < 0.05). Chymotrypsin activity increased (P > 0.05) in the duodenum of 63-day-old broilers fed MCPH. Lipase activity increased (P < 0.05) in the jejuna of 21-day-old broilers treated with HCPH. CPH increased trypsin activity in the ilea of 21-day-old broilers (P < 0.05). These results showed that CPH influenced the growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical indices, and intestinal morphology of yellow-feather broilers, which are related to growth stage. The recommended CPH level in broilers is 1% before 21 days of age and 3% after 21 days of age.

Effect of Salvia sclarea L. extract on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and immune function in lambs.

The aim of this experiment is to explore the effects of salvia sclarea extract on the growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of lambs. Sixty female lambs (Chinese Merino sheep) aged 2 months and weighing 20 ± 2 kg were selected and randomly divided into five groups of twelve lambs in each. While the control group (CK) received only basal feed, the experimental group was supplemented with different concentrations of salvia sclarea extract in the basal feed at 0.04 mL/kg (group CL1), 0.08 mL/kg (group CL2), 0.12 mL/kg (group CL3), and 0.16 mL/kg (group CL4). The feeding period was 85 days, including 15 days of pre-feeding and 70 days of regular feeding. Body weight and feed intake were recorded during the test period, and blood was collected at the end of the test for the determination of immune and antioxidant indices. The results showed that the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of lambs were significantly increased in CL3 group compared to CK group (p < 0.05). Also, the apparent nutrient digestibility of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber was significantly increased (p < 0.05). The Dry matter, acid detergent fiber and Ether extract were not significantly different (p > 0.05). The serum levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and antioxidant capacity were significantly higher in the CL2, CL3, and CL4 groups compared to CK group, while malondialdehyde levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05). The serum levels of immune globulin A, immune globulin G, immune globulin M, interferon-γ, and interleukin-10 were significantly higher and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1ß were significantly lower in the CL2, CL3, and CL4 groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the addition of salvia sclarea extract to the ration promotes growth performance and nutrient digestion in lambs. Improvement of immune response by increasing immunoglobulin and cytokine concentrations. And it enhances the antioxidant status by increasing the antioxidant enzyme activity in lambs. Introduction: This study aimed to explore the effects of Salvia sclarea extract on the growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of the lambs. Methods: Sixty female lambs (Chinese Merino sheep) aged 2 months and weighing 20 ± 2 kg were selected and randomly divided into five groups of 12 lambs each. The control group (CK) received only basal feed, whereas the experimental group was supplemented with different concentrations of salvia sclarea extract in the basal feed at 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, and 0.16 mL/kg (CL1, CL2, CL3, and CL4, respectively). The feeding period was 85 days, including 15 days of pre-feeding and 70 days of regular feeding. Body weight and feed intake were recorded during the test period, and blood was collected at the end of the test to determine immune and antioxidant indices. Results: The results showed that the average daily weight gain and feed intake of the lambs were significantly higher in the CL3 group than in the CK group (p < 0.05). In addition, the apparent nutrient digestibility of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber increased significantly (p < 0.05). The dry matter, acid detergent fiber, and ether extract were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Serum levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase and antioxidant capacity were significantly higher in the CL2, CL3, and CL4 groups than in the CK group, whereas malondialdehyde levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05). The serum levels of immune globulin immune globulin A, immune globulin G, immune globulin M, interferon-γ, and interleukin-10 were significantly higher and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1ß were significantly lower in the CL2, CL3, and CL4 groups (p < 0.05). Discussion: In conclusion, the addition of the S. sclarea extract to the diet promoted growth performance and nutrient digestion in lambs. Immune response was improved by increasing Ig and cytokine concentrations. It enhances antioxidant status by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity in lambs.

Event-related potentials study on the effects of high neuroticism on senile false memory.

OBJECTIVE: To study the false memory among senile normal people with high neuroticism and low neuroticism using neuropsychological scales and event-related potentials (ERPs), and to explore the effects of high neuroticism on false memory and its neuroelectrophysiological mechanism. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, in which the general situation questionnaire, adult version of Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scale were used to establish a multi-dimensional survey in senile normal people over 60 years old from communities in Zhengzhou, and the EPQ and general situation questionnaire were used to comprehensively screen and divide the study subjects into high neuroticism group and low neuroticism group from 206 senile people. The population was matched by 1:1 according to gender, age (±2 years), and years of education (±2 years), and 40 subjects were finally enrolled for detection of electroencephalograph (EEG) components using ERPs. The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm of false memory was designed using E-prime2.0 system, and the stimulus program was presented. The EEG signals of the study subjects were recorded in real time and acquired using 64-channel Neuroscan EEG signals acquisition system. RESULTS: High neuroticism group was evidently lower in the mean accuracy than low neuroticism group, and the difference in the mean accuracy was statistically significant (P = 0.013), but the difference in reaction time was not statistically significant. 2. The mean amplitude of EEG component N400: The difference in the main effect of N400 in the brain region was significantly different (P<0.001), and the mean amplitude of N400 was the largest in frontal region, followed by central region and parietal region successively (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the neurotic main effect or the interaction effect of neuroticism and brain region. The latency of N400: There was no significant difference in the neurotic main effect, main effect of the brain region or the interaction effect of neuroticism and brain region. 3. The mean amplitude of EEG component LPC: The difference in the main effect of the brain region was significantly different (P<0.001), and the mean amplitude of LPC was the largest in frontal region, followed by central region and parietal region successively (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the neurotic main effect, neuroticism or the interaction effect of neuroticism and brain region. As to the latency of LPC, there was significant difference in the main effect of the brain region (P = 0.025), and the latency of LPC was shorter in frontal region than that in central region (P<0.05). The differences in the neurotic main effect, interaction effect of neuroticism and brain region were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: High neuroticism can significantly increase the false memory of senile normal people. The EEG components N400 and LPC are potential early indicators of high neuroticism affecting false memory. High neuroticism may influence false memory by affecting the frontal cortex function.

Chemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity, bacterial community, and metabolite composition of mulberry silage ensiling with lactic acid bacteria.

Mulberry has high crude protein and biologically active compounds but is difficult to be ensiled due to the lack of adequate epiphytic LAB. This study aimed to investigate the effects of inoculation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus isolated from mulberry with higher antioxidant capacity alone or in combination with Streptococcus bovis on chemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity, bacterial community, and metabolite composition of mulberry silage. The results showed that all inoculation groups had higher dry matter and lower pH than the control group, particularly in LP (dry matter, DM, 32.03% and pH = 4.44) and LP_PP_SB (DM, 31.68% and pH = 4.26) after 60 days of ensiling. Ammonia nitrogen (AN) content was the lowest in both LP_SB and LP_PP_SB groups, which were 1.86 g/kg FM and 1.05 g/kg FM, respectively, (P < 0.05). Only the LP_PP_SB group showed increased polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, 1.2851 g/kg DM, P < 0.05) than the control group. Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values were increased in all inoculation-treated groups compared with the control group (P < 0.05). 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DDPH), 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and FRAP exhibited the highest levels in the LP_PP- and LP_PP_SB-treated groups. Enterobacter was dominant in both the control and SB-treated groups, and the relative abundance was 41.18% and 32.35%, respectively (P < 0.05). The relative abundance of Lactiplantibacillus was higher in the LP-, LP_PP-, and LP_SB-treated groups (81.84%-82.69%). Relative abundance of Pediococcus was higher in the PP-, PP_SB-, and LP_PP_SB-treated groups (74.27%-85.27%). Untargeted metabolomics analysis results showed that five flavonoids (apigenin, eriodictyol, quercetin-3-glucoside, rutin, and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside)were upregulated in all inoculation groups (except for the SB-treated groups). Among them, eriodictyol was both positively correlated with ABTS and FRAP and also showed the highest relative abundance in the LP_PP- and LP_PP_SB-treated groups. To the best of our knowledge, this study was the first to investigate the relationship between inoculants of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria and antioxidant capacity by 16s rRNA Illumina sequencing technology and untargeted metabolomics analysis, respectively. Consequently, inoculated L. plantarum, P. pentosaceus alone, respectively, or in combination with S. bovis increased the relative abundance of Lactiplantibacillus and Pediococcus and decreased the relative abundance of Enterobacter, particularly in the LP_PP_SB-treated group. In addition, inoculants could increase the relative abundance of five flavonoids (apigenin, eriodictyol, quercetin-3-glucoside, rutin, and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside), especially eriodictyol to improve the antioxidant capacity of mulberry silage.

Prognostic value of left ventricular structure and strain in chronic kidney disease patients by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging: a retrospective study.

Background: Individuals suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently face a heightened likelihood of experiencing cardiovascular complications, including heart failure and cardiac mortality. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) is utilized to assess the micro-contraction function of the myocardium. The objective of this research is to explore the relationship between the left ventricular anatomy, myocardial strain, and the clinical outcomes in patients with CKD. Methods: A total of 77 patients with late-stage CKD were enrolled in this retrospective study. They underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and were followed up, with no history of significant cardiac diseases. The patients were divided into two groups: those with a left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) ≥ -15.2% (n = 49) and those with LVGLS < -15.2% (n = 28). The clinical endpoints were defined as hospitalization for heart failure or all-cause mortality. Results: Over an average observation period of 22 ± 9 months, 11 (14%) patients passed away and 30 (39%) were admitted to the hospital for heart failure, with eight encountering both incidents. Those with LVGLS ≥ -15.2% had markedly lower rates of event-free survival concerning heart failure admissions and overall mortality than their counterparts (log-rank P = 0.014). Cox multivariable analysis indicated that reduced LVGLS consistently predicted a higher likelihood of combined outcomes of heart failure admissions and total mortality (HR: 3.40, 95% CI [1.35-8.56], P = 0.009), even when factoring in age, diabetes, left atrial diameter, and left ventricular mass index (LVMI). However, the LVMI showed no significant correlation with the risk of heart failure admissions or overall mortality. Conclusion: Compared to patients with LVGLS < -15.2%, CKD patients with LVGLS ≥ -15.2% have an increased risk of heart failure hospitalization and all-cause mortality. The prognostic role of LVMI in assessing CKD patients among the Asian population requires further investigation.

Study on the structure-activity relationship of cationic polyacrylates for the treatment of oilfield produced water.

Cationic polyacrylates exhibit both reverse demulsification and flotation performance, which can avoid incompatibility between the reverse demulsifier and flotation agent during treatment of produced water from offshore oilfields. In our previous work, the effect of the structure of the cationic unit on the reverse demulsification and flotation performance of cationic polyacrylates was studied. However, the structure-activity relationship of cationic polyacrylates has not been systematically studied. In this study, the relationships between the structure (acrylate type, tertiary amine type, mass ratio of acrylate to tertiary amine, and degree of cationicity), interfacial properties (surface tension, interfacial tension, zeta potential, interfacial elastic modulus, interaction force between oil droplets, and film drainage time of an oil-covered bubble), and reverse demulsification and flotation performance of cationic polyacrylates were investigated. A reduction in the elastic modulus of the oil-water interface was the key factor for good reverse demulsification performance, whereas a decrease in the film drainage time of an oil-covered bubble was the key factor for good flotation performance. Ethyl acrylate (EA) was superior to methyl acrylate (MA), and dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide (DPM) was superior to dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEM). Increases in the mass ratio of ethyl acrylate to dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide and the degree of cationicity were beneficial for reducing the elastic modulus of the oil-water interface and the film drainage time of an oil-covered bubble. This is the first time that the structure-property-performance relationship of cationic polyacrylates has been systematically studied. A cationic polyacrylate that exhibited both good reverse demulsification performance and good flotation performance is recommended.

Response of maize yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency to nitrogen fertilizer application in field with various soil fertility.

Appropriate nitrogen (N) management system is essential for effective crop productivity and minimizing agricultural pollution. However, the underlying mechanistic understanding of how N fertilizer regulates crop yield via soil properties in soils with different fertilities remains unresolved. Here, we used a field experiment that spanned 3 cropping seasons to evaluate the grain yield (GY), aboveground biomass and N recovery efficiency (NRE) after treatment with five N fertilizer application rates (N0, N75, N112, N150, and N187) in soils with three levels of fertility. Our results indicated that the highest GY across low, moderate, and high fertility soils were 1.5 t hm-2 (N150), 4.9 t hm-2 (N187), and 5.4 t hm-2 (N112), respectively. The highest aboveground biomass and NRE were observed at N150 for all three levels of soil fertility, while only the N uptake by aboveground biomass of low and high fertility soils decreased at N187, confirming that excessive N fertilization results in a further decline in crop N uptake. The relationship between GY, NRE and N fertilizer application rates fit the unary quadratic polynomial model. To achieve a balance between grain production and environmental benefits in N fertilizer, appropriate N fertilizer rates were determined to be 97.5 kg hm-2, 140 kg hm-2 and 131 kg hm-2 for low, moderate and high fertility soils, respectively. Structural equation modeling suggested that GY was significant correlated with soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and N directly in low fertility field, with SMBC directly in moderate fertility field, and via SOC and NO3 -N in high fertility field. Therefore, a soil-based management strategy for N fertilizers could enhance food security while reducing agricultural N fertilizer inputs to mitigate environmental impacts.

Raffinose Ameliorates DSS-Induced Colitis in Mice by Modulating Gut Microbiota and Targeting the Inflammatory TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

This study aimed to explore the protective effects of raffinose (Raf) against inflammatory bowel disease in mice with colitis. Mice were administered 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg Raf for 21 d, followed by drinking-water containing 3% dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) for 3 d. Thereafter, the phenotype, pathological lesions in the colon, cytokines levels, and gut microbiota were evaluated. Treatment with Raf reduced the severity of the pathological changes in the colon, mitigating the reduction in colon length. Following Raf intervention, serum levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α) tended to return to normal. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of Raf are associated with a reduction in TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB pathway expression in mouse colonic tissues. Analysis of gut microbiota abundance and its correlation with colitis parameters revealed that DSS-induced dysbiosis was partially mitigated by Raf. In conclusion, Raf exerts a protective effect in colitis by modulating the gut microbiota and TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB pathway.

Analysis and Comparison of New-Born Calf Standing and Lying Time Based on Deep Learning.

Standing and lying are the fundamental behaviours of quadrupedal animals, and the ratio of their durations is a significant indicator of calf health. In this study, we proposed a computer vision method for non-invasively monitoring of calves' behaviours. Cameras were deployed at four viewpoints to monitor six calves on six consecutive days. YOLOv8n was trained to detect standing and lying calves. Daily behavioural budget was then summarised and analysed based on automatic inference on untrained data. The results show a mean average precision of 0.995 and an average inference speed of 333 frames per second. The maximum error in the estimated daily standing and lying time for a total of 8 calf-days is less than 14 min. Calves with diarrhoea had about 2 h more daily lying time (p < 0.002), 2.65 more daily lying bouts (p < 0.049), and 4.3 min less daily lying bout duration (p = 0.5) compared to healthy calves. The proposed method can help in understanding calves' health status based on automatically measured standing and lying time, thereby improving their welfare and management on the farm.

Development and validation of sex-linked molecular markers for rapid and accurate identification of male and female Hippophae tibetana plants.

Hippophae tibetana, one of the highest-altitude woody plants endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, primarily thrives on riverbanks formed by glacial meltwater. As a dioecious species, it demonstrates significant ecological and economic value in extreme alpine environments. However, the lack of sex identification techniques outside of the flowering period severely limits research on sex ratio, differentiation, and breeding. There is an urgent need to develop effective sex-linked molecular markers that are independent of developmental stages, but current research in this area remains limited. This study developed a set of accurate sex-linked molecular markers for the rapid identification of male and female individuals of H. tibetana. Through whole-genome resequencing of 32 sexually differentiated H. tibetana samples, this study offers strong evidence supporting chromosome 2 as the sex chromosome and successfully identified key loci related to sex determination on this chromosome. Utilizing these loci, we, for the first time, developed three reliable pairs of sex-specific molecular markers, which exhibited high accuracy during validation across various geographic populations, offering an effective tool for the sex identification of H. tibetana. Additionally, this study lays the groundwork for further research into the mechanisms of sex determination and the evolution of sex chromosomes in H. tibetana.

New vegetable field converted from rice paddy increases net economic benefits at the expense of enhanced carbon and nitrogen footprints.

China accounts for around 50 % of the global vegetable harvested area which is expected to increase continuously. Large cropland areas, including rice paddy, have been converted into vegetable cultivation to feed an increasingly affluent population and increase farmers' incomes. However, little information is available on the balance between economic benefits and environmental impacts upon rice paddy conversion into vegetable fields, especially during the initial conversion period. Herein, the life cycle assessment approach was applied to compare the differences in agricultural input costs, yield incomes, net economic benefits (NEB), carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) footprints and net ecosystem economic benefits (NEEB) between the double rice paddy (Rice) and newly vegetable field (Veg) converted from Rice based on a four-year field experiment. Results showed that yield incomes from Veg increased by 96-135 %, outweighing the increased agricultural input costs due to higher inputs of labor and pesticide, thus significantly increasing NEB by 80-137 %, as compared to Rice. Rice conversion into Veg largely increased C footprints by 2.3-10 folds and N footprints by 1.1-2.6 folds, consequently increasing the environmental damage costs (EDC) by 2.2 folds on average. The magnitudes of increases in C and N footprints and EDC due to conversion strongly declined over time. The NEEB, the trade-offs between NEB and EDC, decreased by 18 % in the first year, while increasing by 63 % in the second year and further to 135 % in the fourth year upon conversion. These results suggested that rice paddy conversion into vegetable cultivation could increase the NEB at the expense of enhanced EDC, particular during the initial conversion years. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of introducing interventions to mitigate C and N footprints from newly converted vegetable field, so as to maximize NEEB and realize the green and sustainable vegetable production.

Effect of the supplementation of exogenous complex non-starch polysaccharidases on the growth performance, rumen fermentation and microflora of fattening sheep.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of exogenous non-starch polysaccharidases (a mixture of cellulase, xylanase, ß-glucanase and mannanase) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microflora of sheep. The animal trial was conducted using 36 5-month-old female fattening hybrid sheep (Duolang♂ × Hu♀) who were randomly assigned into four groups comprising nine sheep per treatment: CON, T1, T2, and T3, with 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5% NSPases/kg DM of TMR, respectively. This complex enzyme product was screened for optimal ratios based on previous in vitro tests and responded positively to the in vitro fermentation of the TMR. When treated with NSPases, there was a non-linear effect of average daily gain and feed conversion rate, with the greatest improvement observed in the T2 group. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in nutrient intake or apparent digestibility among the NSPase-supplemented groups. In addition, T2 group had a significantly higher acetate to propionate ratio and pH (p < 0.05) than the other groups, and NH3-N and microbial protein concentrations showed a quadratic curve. The results revealed that both immunoglobulins and serum hormones increased linearly with addition (p < 0.05). As the T2 group showed the best growth performance, the CON and T2 groups were subjected to rumen metagenomic analysis. The results showed higher abundance of bacteria and lower abundance of Viruses in the rumen microbiota of the T2 group compared to the CON group. In addition, Uroviricota and Proteobacteria abundance was significantly lower in the T2 group than in the CON group at the phylum level (p < 0.05). These results suggest that the supplementation of high-concentrate rations with NSPases enhance immunity, reduces virus abundance in the rumen, improves rumen health, and promotes rumen fermentation. Our findings provide novel insights for improving growth performance and alleviating inflammatory responses arising from high concentrate feeding patterns in ruminants. However, the biological mechanisms cannot be elucidated by exploring the composition of rumen microbe alone, and further studies are required.

Differential Microbial Composition and Interkingdom Interactions in the Intestinal Microbiota of Holstein and German Simmental × Holstein Cross F1 Calves: A Comprehensive Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Diversity.

Calf intestines are colonized by rich and complex microbial communities, playing a crucial role in animal physiology, metabolism, nutrition, and immune function. In this study, we provide insight into the composition of fecal microbial bacteria and fungi, respectively, as well as the cross-kingdom interactions. We investigated the intestinal microbiota of different breeds of calves by characterizing the bacterial and fungal communities in the rectal feces of Holstein calves and German Simmental × Holstein cross F1 generation (GXH) using 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing techniques. PICRUSt2 (version 2.2.0) were used to determine microbial diversity and function and explore the reasons why Holstein calves are more susceptible to diarrhea. The results revealed no significant difference in the diversity of fecal microbiota among the groups (p > 0.05). We identified Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria as the dominant bacterial phyla in the fecal bacterial communities of the two breeds of calves. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota play important roles in the fungal community but differ in relative abundance. Bacteroides was the dominant genus at the group level for calf fecal microbiota in both breeds. The relative abundance of Prevotella, Escherichia-Shigella, Peptostreptococcus, and Butyricicoccus was higher in Holstein calves, and the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium, Megamonas, Butyricicoccus, and Alloprevotella was lower than GXH group. Aspergillus and Cladosporium were the dominating genera of fecal fungi in both groups of calves. LEfSe analysis revealed 33 different bacteria and 23 different fungi between the two groups, with more differential strains found in GXH. In addition, the feces fungi-bacteria interkingdom interactions varied among breeds. Thus, the composition and structure of bacterial and fungal communities in calf feces varied by breed, indicating a potential association between breed and microbial communities. We also found differences in the network between bacterial-fungal kingdoms. We explain the reasons for Holstein calves being more prone to diarrhea. This indicated that breed makes differences in calf diarrhea rates by influencing gut microbial composition and interactions.

Recalcitrant components accumulation in dissolved organic matter decreases microbial metabolic quotient of red soil under long-term manuring.

Microbial metabolism is closely related to soil carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn is related to environmental issues such as global warming. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) affects many fundamental biogeochemical processes such as microbial metabolism involved in soil carbon cycle, not only directly by its availability, but also indirectly by its chemodiversity. However, the association between the DOM chemodiversity and bioavailability remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, soils from two agro-ecological experimental sites subjected to various long-term fertilizations in subtropical area was collected. The chemodiversity of DOM was detected by multi-spectroscopic techniques including ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and excitation emission matrices fluorescence spectroscopy. Results showed that long-term manure amendments significantly decreased microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2) by up to 57%. We also observed that long-term manure amendments significantly increased recalcitrant components of DOM (indicated by the aromaticity, humification index, the ratio of aromatic carbon to aliphatic carbon, and the relative abundances of humic-like components) and decreased labile components of DOM. Negatively correlation between the qCO2 and the proportion of recalcitrant components of DOM supported that accumulation in recalcitrant components of DOM increased microbial carbon utilization efficiency. Random forest models also showed the highest contribution of the relative abundances of humic-like components and the aromaticity of DOM in affecting qCO2. Both of the redundancy analysis and structural equation modeling further indicated the decisive role of soil pH in influencing the DOM chemodiversity. Soil pH explained 56.7% of the variation in the chemodiversity of DOM. The accumulation of recalcitrant components in DOM with increasing soil pH might be attributed to the accelerated microbial consumption of bioavailability components and/or to the negative impact on the solubility of bioavailability components. Overall, this research highlights the significance of long-term manure amendments in regulating qCO2 by altering the chemodiversity of soil DOM.

A global dataset of biochar application effects on crop yield, soil properties, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Biochar application is widely studied to mitigate the threats of soil degradation to food security and climate change. However, there are big variations in the effects of biochar application on crops, soils, and the atmosphere during crop production. This study provides a global dataset of biochar application effects on crop yield, soil properties, and greenhouse emissions. The dataset is extracted and integrated from 367 peer-reviewed studies with 891 independent field, laboratory, and incubation experiments across 37 countries. This dataset includes 21 variables before and after biochar application (including soil properties, crop yield, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.) of 2438 items, focusing on two main biochar application types: biochar application alone and combined with fertilizers. Background information on climate conditions, initial soil properties, management practices, and characteristics of biochar sources and production is also contained in the dataset. This dataset facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the impact of biochar application, supports the utilization of agricultural wastes for biochar production, and assists researchers in refining experimental protocols for further studies.

Temporal Resolution of Activity-Related Solvation Dynamics in the TIM Barrel Enzyme Murine Adenosine Deaminase.

Murine adenosine deaminase (mADA) is a prototypic system for studying the thermal activation of active site chemistry within the TIM barrel family of enzyme reactions. Previous temperature-dependent hydrogen deuterium exchange studies under various conditions have identified interconnected thermal networks for heat transfer from opposing protein-solvent interfaces to active site residues in mADA. One of these interfaces contains a solvent exposed helix-loop-helix moiety that presents the hydrophobic face of its long α-helix to the backside of bound substrate. Herein we pursue the time and temperature dependence of solvation dynamics at the surface of mADA, for comparison to established kinetic parameters that represent active site chemistry. We first created a modified protein devoid of native tryptophans with close to native kinetic behavior. Single site-specific tryptophan mutants were back inserted into each of the four positions where native tryptophans reside. Measurements of nanosecond fluorescence relaxation lifetimes and Stokes shift decays, that reflect time dependent environmental reoroganization around the photo-excited state of Trp*, display minimal temperature dependences. These regions serve as controls for the behavior of a new single tryptophan inserted into a solvent exposed region near the helix-loop-helix moiety located behind the bound substrate, Lys54Trp. This installed Trp displays a significantly elevated value for Ea ( k Stokes shift ) ; further, when Phe61 within the long helix positioned behind bound substrate is replaced by a series of aliphatic hydrophobic side chains, the trends in Ea ( k Stokes shift ) mirror the earlier reported impact of the same series of function-altering hydrophobic side chains on the activation energy of catalysis, Ea ( k cat ) .The reported experimental findings implicate a solvent initiated and rapid (>ns) protein restructuring that contributes to the enthalpic activation barrier to catalysis in mADA.

DTX2 promotes glioma development via regulation of HLTF.

BACKGROUND: Human Deltex 2 (DTX2) is a ubiquitin E3 ligase that functions as an oncogene and has been shown to participate in many human cancers. However, the role of DTX2 in glioma progression has remained obscure. In this study, we explore the mechanism underlying the function of DTX2 in glioma progression. METHODS: The associations between DTX2 expression and clinical characteristics of glioma were determined by bioinformatic analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Human Protein Atlas. The expression of DTX2 in glioma tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Lentivirus-mediated gene knockdown and overexpression were used to determine the effects of DTX2 and helicase-like transcription element (HLTF) on glioma cell proliferation and migration with CCK-8, cell colony formation, transwell, and wound healing assays; flow cytometry in vitro; and animal models in vivo. The interaction of the DTX2 and HLTF proteins was verified by immunoprecipitation assay and confocal microscopy. RESULTS: DTX2 was highly expressed in glioma samples, and this was correlated with worse overall survival. Silencing of DTX2 suppressed glioma cell viability, colony formation, and migration and induced cell apoptosis. In vitro ubiquitination assays confirmed that DTX2 could downregulate HLTF protein levels by increasing ubiquitination of the HLTF protein. We also observed that HLTF inhibited proliferation and migration of glioma cells. Subcutaneous xenografts with DTX2-overexpressing U87 cells showed significantly increased tumor volumes and weights. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified DTX2/HLTF as a new axis in the development of glioma that could serve as a prognostic or therapeutic marker.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation identified CDCA families as prognostic biomarkers and sensitive indicators for rapamycin treatment of glioma.

The cell division cycle associated (CDCA) genes regulate the cell cycle; however, their relationship with prognosis in glioma has been poorly reported in the literature. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was utilized to probe the CDCA family in relation to the adverse clinical features of glioma. Glioma single-cell atlas reveals specific expression of CDCA3, 4, 5, 8 in malignant cells and CDCA7 in neural progenitor cells (NPC)-like malignant cells. Glioma data from TCGA, the China Glioma Genome Atlas Project (CGGA) and the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database all demonstrated that CDCA2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are prognostic markers for glioma. Further analysis identified CDCA2, 5 and 8 as independent prognostic factors for glioma. Lasso regression-based risk models for CDCA families demonstrated that high-risk patients were characterized by high tumor mutational burden (TMB), low levels of microsatellite instability (MSI), and low tumor immune dysfunction and rejection (TIDE) scores. These pointed to immunotherapy for glioma as a potentially viable treatment option Further CDCA clustering suggested that the high CDCA subtype exhibited a high macrophage phenotype and was associated with a higher antigen presentation capacity and high levels of immune escape. In addition, hsa-mir-15b-5p was predicted to be common regulator of CDCA3 and CDCA4, which was validated in U87 and U251 cells. Importantly, we found that CDCAs may indicate response to drug treatment, especially rapamycin, in glioma. In summary, our results suggest that CDCAs have potential applications in clinical diagnosis and as drug sensitivity markers in glioma.

Mechanism of Potassium Release from Feldspar by Mechanical Activation in Presence of Additives at Ordinary Temperatures.

To improve the potassium availability of feldspar at ordinary temperatures, the mechanical grinding and addition of sodium hydroxide/salts were employed to study the effects of mechanical activation and strong alkali addition on particle characteristics, water-soluble potassium, and the available potassium of feldspar. A laser particle size analyzer was utilized for the direct determination of particle size distribution (PSD) using ground samples. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method was employed for specific surface areas. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed for structural characterization, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology exploration, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to determine the chemical composition of potassium feldspar powder. The results revealed that the mechanical activation of potassium feldspar could reduce the particle size and produce agglomerated nanoparticles in the later period. The addition of NaOH and sodium salt did not cause agglomeration, and NaOH dissolved the nanoparticles. The water-soluble potassium content of feldspar in each treatment increased during mechanical grinding, from 21.64 mg kg-1 to 1495.81 mg·kg-1, by adding NaOH 5% weight of potassium feldspar powder and to 3044.08 mg·kg-1 by adding NaOH 10% weight with effects different from those of mechanical shaking. By comparison, only 162.93 mg·kg-1 water-soluble potassium was obtained by adding NaOH 5% weight. The dissolved potassium in the former case was significantly higher than in the latter, and the addition of NaOH and sodium salts significantly enhanced the water-soluble potassium contents due to ion exchange. Furthermore, the addition of sodium hydroxide improved the water-soluble potassium due to its mechanochemical action on potassium feldspar. The mechanical energy changed the crystal structure of potassium feldspar, explaining the increase in available potassium. The addition of sodium salts did not promote change in the feldspar's structure, thereby did not raise the available potassium content. The reason for this was related to the mechanochemical action on sodium hydroxide and feldspar, which could promote the dissolution of fine particles, thereby incrementing the available potassium.