Global contribution of invertebrates to forest litter decomposition.

Forest litter decomposition is an essential component of global carbon and nutrient turnover. Invertebrates play important roles in litter decomposition, but the regional pattern of their effects is poorly understood. We examined 476 case studies across 93 sites and performed a meta-analysis to estimate regional effects of invertebrates on forest litter decomposition. We then assessed how invertebrate diversity, climate and soil pH drive regional variations in invertebrate-mediated decomposition. We found that (1) invertebrate contributions to litter decomposition are 1.4 times higher in tropical and subtropical forests than in forests elsewhere, with an overall contribution of 31% to global forest litter decomposition; and (2) termite diversity, together with warm, humid and acidic environments in the tropics and subtropics are positively associated with forest litter decomposition by invertebrates. Our results demonstrate the significant difference in invertebrate effects on mediating forest litter decomposition among regions. We demonstrate, also, the significance of termites in driving litter mass loss in the tropics and subtropics. These results are particularly pertinent in the tropics and subtropics where climate change and human disturbance threaten invertebrate biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides.

Climatic and biogeographic processes underlying the diversification of the pantropical flowering plant family Annonaceae.

Tropical forests harbor the richest biodiversity among terrestrial ecosystems, but few studies have addressed the underlying processes of species diversification in these ecosystems. We use the pantropical flowering plant family Annonaceae as a study system to investigate how climate and biogeographic events contribute to diversification. A super-matrix phylogeny comprising 835 taxa (34% of Annonaceae species) based on eight chloroplast regions was used in this study. We show that global temperature may better explain the recent rapid diversification in Annonaceae than time and constant models. Accelerated accumulation of niche divergence (around 15 Ma) lags behind the increase of diversification rate (around 25 Ma), reflecting a heterogeneous transition to recent diversity increases. Biogeographic events are related to only two of the five diversification rate shifts detected. Shifts in niche evolution nevertheless appear to be associated with increasingly seasonal environments. Our results do not support the direct correlation of any particular climatic niche shifts or historical biogeographical event with shifts in diversification rate. Instead, we suggest that Annonaceae diversification can lead to later niche divergence as a result of increasing interspecific competition arising from species accumulation. Shifts in niche evolution appear to be associated with increasingly seasonal environments. Our results highlight the complexity of diversification in taxa with long evolutionary histories.

Self-Assembling Anti-Freezing Lamellar Nanostructures in Subzero Temperatures.

The requirement for cryogenic supramolecular self-assembly of amphiphiles in subzero environments is a challenging topic. Here, the self-assembly of lamellar lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) are presented to a subzero temperature of -70 °C. These lamellar nanostructures are assembled from specifically tailored ultra-long-chain surfactant stearyl diethanolamine (SDA) in water/glycerol binary solvent. As the temperature falls below zero, LLCs with a liquid-crystalline Lα phase, a tilted Lß phase, and a new folded configuration are obtained consecutively. A comprehensive experimental and computational study is performed to uncover the precise microstructure and formation mechanism. Both the ultra-long alkyl chain and head group of SDA play a crucial role in the formation of lamellar nanostructures. SDA head group is prone to forming hydrogen bonds with water, rather than glycerol. Glycerol cannot penetrate the lipid layer, which mixes with water arranging outside of the lipid bilayer, providing an ideal anti-freezing environment for SDA self-assembly. Based on these nanostructures and the ultra-low freezing point of the system, a series of novel cryogenic materials are created with potential applications in extremely cold environments. These findings would contribute to enriching the theory and research methodology of supramolecular self-assembly in extreme conditions and to developing novel anti-freezing materials.

Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of menopause-like syndrome for breast cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, breast cancer (BC) incidence and mortality have been the highest in females. Menopause-like syndrome (MLS), arising from hypoestrogenism caused by endocrine therapy, significantly affects the quality of life for females. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has advantages in ameliorating MLS, but the efficacy of TCM in patients with BC has not been systematically evaluated. METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Ovid, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang database, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, and Clinical Trial Registry from inception to September 4, 2023. The Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool was used for the quality evaluation of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Review Manager 5.4 software was used for statistical analysis, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation was used for quality evaluation of the synthesized evidence. RESULTS: This review included 42 studies involving 3112 female patients with BC. The results showed that the TCM group was better at decreasing the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI) scores (standardized MD, SMD = - 1.84, 95% confidence interval, CI [- 2.21--1.46], Z = 9.63, P < 0.00001). Regarding the main symptoms of MLS, the TCM groups could significantly decrease the scores of hot flashes and night sweats (SMD = - 0.68, 95% CI [- 1.1--0.27], Z = 3.24, P = 0.001), paraesthesia (SMD = - 0.48, 95% CI [- 0.74--0.21], Z = 3.53, P = 0.0004), osteoarthralgia (SMD = - 0.41, 95% CI [- 0.6-0.21], Z = 4.09, P < 0.0001), anxiety (MD = - 0.85, 95% CI [- 1.13, - 0.58], Z = 6.08, P < 0.00001) and insomnia (MD = - 0.61, 95% CI [- 0.8, - 0.43], Z = 6.51, P < 0.00001). TCM can effectively improve the symptoms of MLS in patients with BC. Moreover, TCM could improve the objective response rate (ORR) by 50% (RR = 1.5, 95% CI [1.37-1.64], Z = 9.01, P < 0.00001). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and oestradiol (E2) had no significant difference compared with the control group (p = 0.81 and p = 0.87), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in the TCM group decreased significantly (MD = - 0.99, 95% CI [- 1.38, - 0.5], Z = 5.01, P < 0.00001). This means that the use of TCM does not negatively affect endocrine therapy and may even have a synergistic effect. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was lower in the TCM groups than in the control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The meta-analysis stated that TCM could better improve the MLS of patients, alleviate related symptoms, and did not increase adverse drug reactions in BC survivors. This review brings more attention to MLS, and the present findings shed light on the potential applications of TCM in the treatment of MLS in BC survivors.

Interfacial Adsorption Kinetics of Methane in Microporous Kerogen.

Rapid declines in unconventional shale production arise from the poorly understood interplay between gas transport and adsorption processes in microporous organic rock. Here, we use high-fidelity molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to resolve the time-varying adsorption of methane gas in realistic organic rock samples, known as kerogen. The kerogen samples derive from various geological shale fields with porosities ranging between 20% and 50%. We propose a kinetics sorption model based on a generalized solution of diffusive transport inside a nanopore to describe the adsorption kinetics in kerogen, which gives excellent fits with all our MD results, and we demonstrate it scales with the square of the length of kerogen. The MD adsorption time constants for all samples are compared with a simplified theoretical model, which we derive from the Langmuir isotherm for adsorption capacitance and the free-volume theory for steady, highly confined bulk transport. While the agreement with the MD results is qualitatively very good, it reveals that, in the limit of low porosity, the diffusive transport term dominates the characteristic time scale of adsorption, while the adsorption capacitance becomes important for higher pressures. This work provides the first data set for adsorption kinetics of methane in kerogen, a validated model to accurately describe this process, and a qualitative model that links adsorption capacitance and transport with the adsorption kinetics. Furthermore, this work paves the way to upscale interfacial adsorption processes to the next scale of gas transport simulations in mesopores and macropores of shale reservoirs.

The China plant trait database version 2.

Plant functional traits represent adaptive strategies to the environment, linked to biophysical and biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning. Compilations of trait data facilitate research in multiple fields from plant ecology through to land-surface modelling. Here we present version 2 of the China Plant Trait Database, which contains information on morphometric, physical, chemical, photosynthetic and hydraulic traits from 1529 unique species in 140 sites spanning a diversity of vegetation types. Version 2 has five improvements compared to the previous version: (1) new data from a 4-km elevation transect on the edge of Tibetan Plateau, including alpine vegetation types not sampled previously; (2) inclusion of traits related to hydraulic processes, including specific sapwood conductance, the area ratio of sapwood to leaf, wood density and turgor loss point; (3) inclusion of information on soil properties to complement the existing data on climate and vegetation (4) assessments and flagging the reliability of individual trait measurements; and (5) inclusion of standardized templates for systematical field sampling and measurements.

The abundance, biomass, and distribution of ants on Earth.

Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of organisms is fundamental to understanding their roles within ecosystems and their ecological importance for other taxa. Such knowledge is currently lacking for insects, which have long been regarded as the "little things that run the world". Even for ubiquitous insects, such as ants, which are of tremendous ecological significance, there is currently neither a reliable estimate of their total number on Earth nor of their abundance in particular biomes or habitats. We compile data on ground-dwelling and arboreal ants to obtain an empirical estimate of global ant abundance. Our analysis is based on 489 studies, spanning all continents, major biomes, and habitats. We conservatively estimate total abundance of ground-dwelling ants at over 3 × 1015 and estimate the number of all ants on Earth to be almost 20 × 1015 individuals. The latter corresponds to a biomass of ∼12 megatons of dry carbon. This exceeds the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals and is equivalent to ∼20% of human biomass. Abundances of ground-dwelling ants are strongly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions but vary substantially across habitats. The density of leaf-litter ants is highest in forests, while the numbers of actively ground-foraging ants are highest in arid regions. This study highlights the central role ants play in terrestrial ecosystems but also major ecological and geographic gaps in our current knowledge. Our results provide a crucial baseline for exploring environmental drivers of ant-abundance patterns and for tracking the responses of insects to environmental change.

Leaf morphological traits as adaptations to multiple climate gradients.

Leaf morphological traits vary systematically along climatic gradients. However, recent studies in plant functional ecology have mainly analysed quantitative traits, while numerical models of species distributions and vegetation function have focused on traits associated with resource acquisition; both ignore the wider functional significance of leaf morphology.A dataset comprising 22 leaf morphological traits for 662 woody species from 92 sites, representing all biomes present in China, was subjected to multivariate analysis in order to identify leading dimensions of trait covariation (correspondence analysis), quantify climatic and phylogenetic contributions (canonical correspondence analysis with variation partitioning) and characterise co-occurring trait syndromes (k-means clustering) and their climatic preferences.Three axes accounted for >20% of trait variation in both evergreen and deciduous species. Moisture index, precipitation seasonality and growing-season temperature explained 8%-10% of trait variation; family 15%-32%. Microphyll or larger, mid- to dark green leaves with drip tips in wetter climates contrasted with nanophyll or smaller glaucous leaves without drip tips in drier climates. Thick, entire leaves in less seasonal climates contrasted with thin, marginal dissected, aromatic and involute/revolute leaves in more seasonal climates. Thick, involute, hairy leaves in colder climates contrasted with thin leaves with marked surface structures (surface patterning) in warmer climates. Distinctive trait clusters were linked to the driest and most seasonal climates, for example the clustering of picophyll, fleshy and succulent leaves in the driest climates and leptophyll, linear, dissected, revolute or involute and aromatic leaves in regions with highly seasonal rainfall. Several trait clusters co-occurred in wetter climates, including clusters characterised by microphyll, moderately thick, patent and entire leaves or notophyll, waxy, dark green leaves. Synthesis. The plastic response of size, shape, colour and other leaf morphological traits to climate is muted, thus their apparent shift along climate gradients reflects plant adaptations to environment at a community level as determined by species replacement. Information on leaf morphological traits, widely available in floras, could be used to strengthen predictive models of species distribution and vegetation function.

Molecular understanding of charge storage and charging dynamics in supercapacitors with MOF electrodes and ionic liquid electrolytes.

We performed constant-potential molecular dynamics simulations to analyse the double-layer structure and capacitive performance of supercapacitors composed of conductive metal-organic framework (MOF) electrodes and ionic liquids. The molecular modelling clarifies how ions transport and reside inside polarized porous MOFs, and then predicts the corresponding potential-dependent capacitance in characteristic shapes. The transmission line model was adopted to characterize the charging dynamics, which further allowed evaluation of the capacitive performance of this class of supercapacitors at the macroscale from the simulation-obtained data at the nanoscale. These 'computational microscopy' results were supported by macroscopic electrochemical measurements. Such a combined nanoscale-to-macroscale investigation demonstrates the potential of MOF supercapacitors for achieving unprecedentedly high volumetric energy and power densities. It gives molecular insights into preferred structures of MOFs for accomplishing consistent performance with optimal energy-power balance, providing a blueprint for future characterization and design of these new supercapacitor systems.

Throwing light on dark diversity of vascular plants in China: predicting the distribution of dark and threatened species under global climate change.

BACKGROUND: As global climate change accelerates, ecologists and conservationists are increasingly investigating changes in biodiversity and predicting species distribution based on species observed at sites, but rarely consider those plant species that could potentially inhabit but are absent from these areas (i.e., the dark diversity and its distribution). Here, we estimated the dark diversity of vascular plants in China and picked up threatened dark species from the result, and applied maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to project current and future distributions of those dark species in their potential regions (those regions that have these dark species). METHODS: We used the Beals probability index to estimate dark diversity in China based on available species distribution information and explored which environmental variables had significant impacts on dark diversity by incorporating bioclimatic data into the random forest (RF) model. We collected occurrence data of threatened dark species (Eucommia ulmoides, Liriodendron chinense, Phoebe bournei, Fagus longipetiolata, Amentotaxus argotaenia, and Cathaya argyrophylla) and related bioclimatic information that can be used to predict their distributions. In addition, we used MaxEnt modeling to project their distributions in suitable areas under future (2050 and 2070) climate change scenarios. RESULTS: We found that every study region's dark diversity was lower than its observed species richness. In these areas, their numbers of dark species are ranging from 0 to 215, with a generally increasing trend from western regions to the east. RF results showed that temperature variables had a more significant effect on dark diversity than those associated with precipitation. The results of MaxEnt modeling showed that most threatened dark species were climatically suitable in their potential regions from current to 2070. DISCUSSIONS: The results of this study provide the first ever dark diversity patterns concentrated in China, even though it was estimated at the provincial scale. A combination of dark diversity and MaxEnt modeling is an effective way to shed light on the species that make up the dark diversity, such as projecting the distribution of specific dark species under global climate change. Besides, the combination of dark diversity and species distribution models (SDMs) may also be of value for ex situ conservation, ecological restoration, and species invasion prevention in the future.

Minimizing the electrosorption of water from humid ionic liquids on electrodes.

In supercapacitors based on ionic liquid electrolytes, small amounts of absorbed water could potentially reduce the electrochemical window of electrolytes and cause performance degradation. The same would take place if ionic liquids are used as solvents for electrocatalysis involving the dissolved molecular species. In this work, we carry out molecular dynamics simulations, with gold and carbon electrodes in typical ionic liquids, hydrophobic and hydrophilic, to study electrosorption of water. We investigate the effects of hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of ionic liquids and electrodes on interfacial distribution of ions and electrosorbed water. Results reveal that using hydrophilic ionic liquids would help to keep water molecules away from the negatively charged electrodes, even at large electrode polarizations. This conclusion is supported by electrochemical cyclic voltammetry measurements on gold and carbon electrodes in contact with humid ionic liquids. Thereby, our findings suggest potential mechanisms for protection of electrodes from water electrosorption.