Estimating rainfall intensity based on surveillance audio and deep-learning.

Rainfall data with high spatial and temporal resolutions are essential for urban hydrological modeling. Ubiquitous surveillance cameras can continuously record rainfall events through video and audio, so they have been recognized as potential rain gauges to supplement professional rainfall observation networks. Since video-based rainfall estimation methods can be affected by variable backgrounds and lighting conditions, audio-based approaches could be a supplement without suffering from these conditions. However, most audio-based approaches focus on rainfall-level classification rather than rainfall intensity estimation. Here, we introduce a dataset named Surveillance Audio Rainfall Intensity Dataset (SARID) and a deep learning model for estimating rainfall intensity. First, we created the dataset through audio of six real-world rainfall events. This dataset's audio recordings are segmented into 12,066 pieces and annotated with rainfall intensity and environmental information, such as underlying surfaces, temperature, humidity, and wind. Then, we developed a deep learning-based baseline using Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and Transformer architecture to estimate rainfall intensity from surveillance audio. Validated from ground truth data, our baseline achieves a root mean absolute error of 0.88 mm h-1 and a coefficient of correlation of 0.765. Our findings demonstrate the potential of surveillance audio-based models as practical and effective tools for rainfall observation systems, initiating a new chapter in rainfall intensity estimation. It offers a novel data source for high-resolution hydrological sensing and contributes to the broader landscape of urban sensing, emergency response, and resilience.

Lattice Matching and Microstructure of the Aromatic Amide Fatty Acid Salts Nucleating Agent on the Crystallization Behavior of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate.

To solve the decrease in the crystallization, mechanical and thermal properties of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) during mechanical recycling, the aromatic amide fatty acid salt nucleating agents Na-4-ClBeAmBe, Na-4-ClBeAmGl and Na-4-ClAcAmBe were synthesized and the rPET/nucleating agent blend was prepared by melting blending. The molecular structure, the thermal stability, the microstructure and the crystal structure of the nucleating agent were characterized in detail. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) result indicated that the addition of the nucleating agent improved the crystallization temperature and accelerated the crystallization rate of the rPET. The nucleation efficiencies (NE) of the Na-4-ClBeAmBe, Na-4-ClBeAmGl and Na-4-ClAcAmBe were increased by 87.2%, 87.3% and 41.7% compared with rPET which indicated that Na-4-ClBeAmBe and Na-4-ClBeAmGl, with their long-strip microstructures, were more conducive to promoting the nucleation of rPET. The equilibrium melting points (Tm0) of rPET/Na-4-ClBeAmBe, rPET/Na-4-ClBeAmGl and rPET/Na-4-ClAcAmBe were increased by 11.7 °C, 18.6 °C and 1.9 °C compared with rPET, which illustrated that the lower mismatch rate between rPET and Na-4-ClBeAmGl (0.8% in b-axis) caused Na-4-ClBeAmGl to be the most capable in inducing the epitaxial crystallization and orient growth along the b-axis direction of the rPET. The small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS) result proved this conclusion. Meanwhile, the addition of Na-4-ClBeAmGl caused the clearest increase in the rPET of its flexural strength and heat-distortion temperature (HDT) at 20.4% and 46.7%.

Dispersion and Lubrication of Zinc Stearate in Polypropylene/Sodium 4-[(4-chlorobenzoyl) amino] Benzoate Nucleating Agent Composite.

Zinc stearate (Znst) was physically blended with the sodium 4-[(4 chlorobenzoyl) amino] benzoate (SCAB) to obtain the SCAB-Znst composite nucleating agent. Znst was used to improve the dispersion property of SCAB and exert a lubricating effect on the PP matrix. The scanning electron microscopy and the fracture surface morphology of the PP/SCAB composite illustrated that the addition of Znst greatly reduced the aggregation phenomenon of SCAB in the PP matrix. The result of the rotary rheometer indicated that Znst exhibits internal lubrication in PP. The DSC result illustrated that the crystallization properties of PP were improved. Compared with pure PP, the Tc of the PP/SCAB composite increased by 1.44 °C (PP/Znst), 13.48 °C (PP/SCAB), and 14.96 °C (PP/SCAB-Znst), respectively. The flexural strength of pure PP, PP/SCAB, and PP/SCAB-Znst were 35.8 MPa, 38.8 MPa, and 40.6 MPa, respectively. The tensile strength of the PP/SCAB and PP/SCAB-Znst reached the values of 39.8 MPa and 42.9 MPa, respectively, compared with pure PP (34.1 MPa). The results demonstrated that Znst can promote the dispersion of SCAB in the PP matrix while exerting a lubricating effect, which enabled the enhancement of the crystalline and mechanical properties of PP.

Environmentally persistent microbial contamination in agricultural soils: High risk of pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance.

Persistent microbial contamination commonly occurs in the environment. However, the characteristics and associated risks remain largely unknown. The coexistence of virulence factor genes (VFGs) and "last-resort" antibiotic resistance genes (LARGs) on human bacterial pathogens (HBPs) are notorious, creating ecological concerns and health risks. Herein, we explored the pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance levels of LARG-harboring HBPs in agricultural soils. Our findings revealed a high distribution level of VFGs and LARGs in soils (an absolute abundance up to 4.7 × 107 gene copies/g soil) by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Furthermore, most isolated LARG-harboring HBPs exhibited a 100 % lethality rate to Galleria mellonella. LARG-carrying plasmids had a low fitness cost to their host bacteria, implying the high adaptation of these plasmids within the HBPs. Most importantly, multiple LARG and VFG plasmid fusion and core genetic arrangements suggested that these LARG/VFG-linked plasmids endowed the stable and persistent horizontal spread of these genes in and/or cross the species and environments. This study not only unveiled high risk, multisource, compliance and stability aspects of environmentally persistent microbial contamination but also illuminated the importance of linking the phenotype-genotype-niche colonization of environmental microbial contamination within "One Health" framework.

Population structure and diversification of Gymnospermium kiangnanense, a plant species with extremely small populations endemic to eastern China.

Background: Gymnospermium kiangnanense is the only species distributed in the subtropical region within the spring ephemeral genus Gymnospermium. Extensive human exploitation and habitat destruction have resulted in a rapid shrink of G. kiangnanense populations. This study utilizes microsatellite markers to analyze the genetic diversity and structure and to deduce historical population events of extant populations of G. kiangnanense. Methods: A total of 143 individuals from eight extant populations of G. kiangnanense, including two populations from Anhui Province and six populations from Zhejiang Province, were analyzed with using 21 pairs of microsatellite markers. Genetic diversity indices were calculated using Cervus, GENEPOP, GenALEX. Population structure was assessed using genetic distance (UPGMA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), Bayesian clustering method (STRUCTURE), and molecular variation analysis of variance (AMOVA). Population history events were inferred using DIYABC. Results: The studied populations of G. kiangnanense exhibited a low level of genetic diversity (He = 0.179, I = 0.286), but a high degree of genetic differentiation (FST = 0.521). The mean value of gene flow (Nm ) among populations was 1.082, indicating prevalent gene exchange via pollen dispersal. Phylogeographic analyses suggested that the populations of G. kiangnanense were divided into two lineages, Zhejiang (ZJ) and Anhui (AH). These two lineages were separated by the Huangshan-Tianmu Mountain Range. AMOVA analysis revealed that 36.59% of total genetic variation occurred between the two groups. The ZJ lineage was further divided into the Hangzhou (ZJH) and Zhuji (ZJZ) lineages, separated by the Longmen Mountain and Fuchun River. DIYABC analyses suggested that the ZJ and AH lineages were separated at 5.592 ka, likely due to the impact of Holocene climate change and human activities. Subsequently, the ZJZ lineage diverged from the ZJH lineage around 2.112 ka. Given the limited distribution of G. kiangnanense and the significant genetic differentiation among its lineages, both in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies should be implemented to protect the germplasm resources of G. kiangnanense.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron reverses resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to chloramphenicol.

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been extensively studied for its capacity to remove various contaminants in the environments. However, whether ZVI affects bacterial resistance to antibiotics has not been fully explored. Herein, it was unexpected that, compared with microscale ZVI (mZVI), nanoscale ZVI (nZVI) facilitated the susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) to chloramphenicol (CAP), with a decrease in the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of about 60 %, demonstrating a nanosize-specific effect. nZVI enhanced CAP accumulation in P. aeruginosa via inhibitory effect on efflux pumps activated by MexT, thus conferring the susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to CAP. Circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed that the structure of MexT was changed during the evolution. More importantly, molecular dynamic simulations uncovered that, once the structure of MexT changed, it would be more likely to interact with nZVI, resulting in more serious changes in its secondary structure, which was consistent with the increasing susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to CAP. Collectively, this study elucidated the size-specific effect and the underlying mechanism of ZVI on the bacterial evolution of susceptibility toward antibiotics, highlighting the potentials of nZVI-based technologies on the prevention of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, one of the most important issue for globally public health.

Phylogenomics of mulberries (Morus, Moraceae) inferred from plastomes and single copy nuclear genes.

Mulberries (genus Morus), belonging to the order Rosales, family Moraceae, are important woody plants due to their economic values in sericulture, as well as for nutritional benefits and medicinal values. However, the taxonomy and phylogeny of Morus, especially for the Asian species, remains challenging due to its wide geographical distribution, morphological plasticity, and interspecific hybridization. To better understand the evolutionary history of Morus, we combined plastomes and a large-scale nuclear gene analyses to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. We assembled the plastomes and screened 211 single-copy nuclear genes from 13 Morus species and related taxa. The plastomes of Morus species were relatively conserved in terms of genome size, gene content, synteny, IR boundary and codon usage. Using nuclear data, our results elucidated identical topologies based on coalescent and concatenation methods. The genus Morus was supported as monophyletic, with M. notabilis as the first diverging lineage and the two North American Morus species, M. microphylla and M. rubra, as sister to the other Asian species. In the Asian Morus species, interspecific relationships were completely resolved. However, cyto-nuclear discordances and gene tree-species tree conflicts were detected in the phylogenies of Morus, with multiple evidences supporting hybridization/introgression as the main cause of discordances between nuclear and plastid phylogenies, while gene tree-species tree conflicts were mainly caused by ILS.

Fermentation broth from fruit and vegetable waste works: Reducing the risk of human bacterial pathogens in soil by inhibiting quorum sensing.

Fermentation broth from fruit and vegetable waste (FFVW) has demonstrated remarkable ability as a soil amendment and in reducing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pollution. However, the potential of FFVW to mitigate other microbial contamination such as human bacterial pathogens (HBPs) and virulence factor genes (VFGs), which are closely associated with human health, remains unknown. In this study, metagenomic analysis revealed that FFVW reduced the HBPs with high-risk of ARGs and VFGs including Klebsiella pneumoniae (reduced by 40.4 %), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (reduced by 21.4 %) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (reduced by 38.7 %). Correspondingly, VFG abundance in soil decreased from 3.40 copies/cell to 2.99 copies/cell. Further analysis illustrated that these was mainly attributed to the inhibition of quorum sensing (QS). FFVW reduced the abundance of QS signals, QS synthesis genes such as rpaI and luxS, as well as receptor genes such as rpfC and fusK, resulting in a decreased in risk of ARGs and VFGs. The pure culture experiment revealed that the expression of genes related to QS, VFGs, ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were downregulated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and K. pneumoniae treated by FFVW, consistent with the result of metagenomic analysis. This study suggested an environmentally friendly approach for controlling soil VFGs/ARGs-carrying HBPs, which is crucial for both soil and human health under the framework of "One Health".

The Smi-miR858a-SmMYB module regulates tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Tanshinones and phenolic acids are two major classes of bioactive compounds in Salvia miltiorrhiza. Revealing the regulatory mechanism of their biosynthesis is crucial for quality improvement of S. miltiorrhiza medicinal materials. Here we demonstrated that Smi-miR858a-Smi-miR858c, a miRNA family previously known to regulate flavonoid biosynthesis, also played critical regulatory roles in tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis in S. miltiorrhiza. Overexpression of Smi-miR858a in S. miltiorrhiza plants caused significant growth retardation and tanshinone and phenolic acid reduction. Computational prediction and degradome and RNA-seq analyses revealed that Smi-miR858a could directly cleave the transcripts of SmMYB6, SmMYB97, SmMYB111, and SmMYB112. Yeast one-hybrid and transient transcriptional activity assays showed that Smi-miR858a-regulated SmMYBs, such as SmMYB6 and SmMYB112, could activate the expression of SmPAL1 and SmTAT1 involved in phenolic acid biosynthesis and SmCPS1 and SmKSL1 associated with tanshinone biosynthesis. In addition to directly activating the genes involved in bioactive compound biosynthesis pathways, SmMYB6, SmMYB97, and SmMYB112 could also activate SmAOC2, SmAOS4, and SmJMT2 involved in the biosynthesis of methyl jasmonate, a significant elicitor of plant secondary metabolism. The results suggest the existence of dual signaling pathways for the regulation of Smi-miR858a in bioactive compound biosynthesis in S. miltiorrhiza.

Quorum-sensing regulation of phenazine production heightens Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistance to ciprofloxacin.

Quorum sensing is a type of cell-cell communication that modulates various biological activities of bacteria. Previous studies indicate that quorum sensing contributes to the evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we grew Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence of sub-lethal concentrations of ciprofloxacin, resulting in a large increase in ciprofloxacin minimal inhibitory concentration. We discovered that quorum sensing-mediated phenazine biosynthesis was significantly enhanced in the resistant isolates, where the quinolone circuit was the predominant contributor to this phenomenon. We found that production of pyocyanin changed carbon flux and showed that the effect can be partially inhibited by the addition of pyruvate to cultures. This study illustrates the role of quorum sensing-mediated phenotypic resistance and suggests a strategy for its prevention.

Effect of UV pretreatment on the source control of floR during subsequent biotreatment of florfenicol wastewater.

UV photolysis has been recommended as an alternative pretreatment method for the elimination of antibacterial activity of antibiotics against the indicator strain, but the pretreated antibiotic intermediates might not lose their potential to induce antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) proliferation during subsequent biotreatment processes. The presence of florfenicol (FLO) in wastewater seriously inhibits the metabolic performance of anaerobic sludge microorganisms, especially the positive correlation between UV irradiation doses and ATP content, while it did not significantly affect the organics utilization ability and protein biosynthetic process of aerobic microorganisms. After sufficient UV pretreatment, the relative abundances of floR from genomic or plasmid DNA in subsequent aerobic and anaerobic biotreatment processes both decreased by two orders of magnitude, maintained at the level of the groups without FLO selective pressure. Meanwhile, the abundances of floR under anaerobic condition were always lower than that under aerobic condition, suggesting that anaerobic biotreatment systems might be more suitable for the effective control of target ARGs. The higher abundance of floR in plasmid DNA than in genome also indicated that the potential transmission risk of mobile ARGs should not be ignored. In addition, the relative abundance of intI1 was positively correlated with floR in its corresponding genomic or plasmid DNA (p < 0.05), which also increased the potential horizontal transfer risk of target ARGs. This study provides new insights into the effect of preferential UV photolysis as a pretreatment method for the enhancement of metabolic performance and source control of target ARGs in subsequent biotreatment processes. KEY POINTS: • Sufficient UV photolytic pretreatment efficiently controlled the abundance of floR • A synchronous decrease in abundance of intI1 reduced the risk of horizontal transfer • An appreciable abundance of floR in plasmid DNA was a potential source of total ARGs.

Species delimitation in Amana (Liliaceae): transcriptomes battle with evolutionary complexity.

Species delimitation has long been a subject of controversy, and there are many alternative concepts and approaches used to define species in plants. The genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as "East Asian tulips" has a number of cryptic species and a huge genome size (1C = 21.48-57.35 pg). It also is intriguing how such a spring ephemeral genus thrives in subtropical areas. However, phylogenetic relationships and species delimitation within Amana are challenging. Here we included all species and 84 populations of Amana, which are collected throughout its distribution range. A variety of methods were used to clarify its species relationships based on a combination of morphological, ecological, genetic, evolutionary and phylogenetic species concepts. This evidence supports the recognition of at least 12 species in Amana. Moreover, we explored the complex evolutionary history within the genus and detected several historical hybridization and introgression events based on phylogenetic trees (transcriptomic and plastid), phylonetworks, admixture and ABBA-BABA analyses. Morphological traits have undergone parallel evolution in the genus. This spring ephemeral genus might have originated from a temperate region, yet finally thrives in subtropical areas, and three hypotheses about its adaptive evolution are proposed for future testing. In addition, we propose a new species, Amana polymorpha, from eastern Zhejiang Province, China. This research also demonstrates that molecular evidence at the genome level (such as transcriptomes) has greatly improved the accuracy and reasonability of species delimitation and taxon classification.

A review of the definition, influencing factors, and mechanisms of rapid composting of organic waste.

Composting is a traditional method of treating organic waste. A growing number of studies have been focusing on accelerating the process to achieve "rapid composting." However, the specific definition and influencing factors of rapid composting remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to gather more insight into the features of rapid composting by reviewing the literature concerning organic waste composting published in the Web of Science database in the past 5 years. We selected 1615 sample studies with "composting" as the subject word and analyzed the effective composting time stated in each study. We defined rapid composting within 15 days using the median test and quartile method. Based on this definition, we summarized the influencing factors of "rapid composting," namely materials, reactors, temperature, and microorganisms. Finally, we summarized two mechanisms related to humus formation during organic waste rapid composting: high temperature-promoting maturation and microbial driving mechanisms. This literature review compiled useful references to help promote the development of rapid composting technology and related equipment.

Characterization of microbial contamination in agricultural soil: A public health perspective.

Soil is widely recognized as a reservoir of microbial contaminants including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and human bacterial pathogens (HBPs), which are major public health concerns. Although the risks associated with soil safety in different soil habitats have been studied, the results are not comprehensive. In this study, dryland soils used for vegetable, corn, and soybean planting, and submerged soils used for rice planting and crab farming were collected and subjected to metagenomic sequencing to characterize HBPs, ARGs, and virulence factor genes (VFGs). The results showed that submerged soils had a higher abundance of HBP than dryland soils. In addition, the submerged soil microbiome acquired significantly higher levels of high-risk ARGs than the dryland soil microbiome and these ARGs were mainly assigned to bacA, sul1, and aadA genes submerged. Network analysis revealed that 11 HBPs, including Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, and Leptospira interrogans, were high-risk because of their close association with ARGs, VFGs, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Procrustes and network analyses showed that HBPs and ARGs were more closely linked in submerged soil. This study confirms that submerged field has higher ecological environment risk and human health risk than dryland soil.

Inhibition of quorum sensing serves as an effective strategy to mitigate the risks of human bacterial pathogens in soil.

The coexistence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in human bacterial pathogens (HBPs) increases their risks to ecological security and human health and no effective strategy is available. Herein, we demonstrated two typical quorum sensing (QS) interfering agents, 4-nitropyridine-N-oxide (4-NPO, a QS inhibitor) and Acylase Ⅰ (a quorum quenching (QQ) enzyme), effectively decreased the abundance of HBPs by 48.30% and 72.54%, respectively, which was accompanied by the reduction of VFGs, ARGs, and MGEs. The decrease in QS signals mediated by QS interfering agents disturbed bacterial communication and inhibited biofilm formation. More importantly, QS interfering agents reduced the intra-species and inter-species conjugation frequencies among bacteria, considerably inhibiting the dissemination of ARGs and VFGs via horizontal gene transfer. Furthermore, the QS interfering agents did not significantly affect the metabolic function of other nonpathogenic microorganisms in the soil. Collectively, our study provides an effective and eco-friendly strategy to mitigate the risks of HBPs in soil.

Platinum Nanoparticles Prevent the Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to Ciprofloxacin and Imipenem: Mechanism Insights.

Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have recently gained extensive attention due to their broad-spectrum prospect, particularly in biomedical application. Here, we reveal that long-term exposure to platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) increases the susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 to imipenem and ciprofloxacin. We exposed PAO1 to Pt NPs (a series of doses, varying from 0.125 to 35 µg/mL) for 60 days and characterized the evolved strains (ES) and compared with wild type (WT) to understand the mechanism of heightened sensitivity. We found that overexpression of oprD and downregulation of mexEF-oprN facilitate the intracellular accumulation of antibiotic, thus increasing susceptibility. Furthermore, loss-of-function mutations were discovered in regulators lasR and mexT. Cloning intact lasR from wild-type (WT) into ES slightly improves imipenem resistance. Strikingly, cloning mexT from WT into ES reverts the imipenem and ciprofloxacin resistance to the original level. Briefly, the increase of membrane permeability controlled by mexT made PAO1 greatly susceptible to imipenem and ciprofloxacin, and the decrease of quorum sensing mediated by lasR made PAO1 slightly susceptible to imipenem. Overall, these results reveal an antibiotic susceptibility mechanism from prolonged exposure to MNPs, which provides a promising approach to prevent antibiotic resistance.

Using fresh vegetable waste from Chinese traditional wet markets as animal feed: Material feasibility and utilization potential.

To develop new animal feed sources and establish a sustainable food upcycling system, the material feasibility and feeding potential of fresh vegetable waste (FVW) were clarified in this study. First, the FVW output of wet markets in Hangzhou, China was tracked and predicted. The results showed that the retail waste ratio of FVW in wet markets reached 9.3 %, predicting that China's FVW will reach 9034 kt in 2030. Second, the study revealed that the nutritive value of FVW was comparable to that of traditional alfalfa feed, suitable for use as animal feed. However, we found a high probability of microbial contamination. Therefore, FVW should have stricter classification and collection methods. Under this premise, the feeding utilization potential of FVW in wet markets is large. In 2030, the crude protein content may replace 2737 kt of alfalfa, saving 7.7 E + 08 m3 of water and 75,018 ha of land.

Phylogenomic and syntenic data demonstrate complex evolutionary processes in early radiation of the rosids.

Some of the most vexing problems of deep level relationship that remain in angiosperms involve the superrosids. The superrosid clade contains a quarter of all angiosperm species, with 18 orders in three subclades (Vitales, Saxifragales and core rosids) exhibiting remarkable morphological and ecological diversity. To help resolve deep-level relationships, we constructed a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly for Tiarella polyphylla (Saxifragaceae) thus providing broader genomic representation of Saxifragales. Whole genome microsynteny analysis of superrosids showed that Saxifragales shared more synteny clusters with core rosids than Vitales, further supporting Saxifragales as more closely related with core rosids. To resolve the ordinal phylogeny of superrosids, we screened 122 single copy nuclear genes from genomes of 36 species, representing all 18 superrosid orders. Vitales were recovered as sister to all other superrosids (Saxifragales + core rosids). Our data suggest dramatic differences in relationships compared to earlier studies within core rosids. Fabids should be restricted to the nitrogen-fixing clade, while Picramniales, the Celastrales-Malpighiales (CM) clade, Huerteales, Oxalidales, Sapindales, Malvales and Brassicales formed an "expanded" malvid clade. The Celastrales-Oxalidales-Malpighiales (COM) clade (sensu APG IV) was not monophyletic. Crossosomatales, Geraniales, Myrtales and Zygophyllales did not belong to either of our well-supported malvids or fabids. There is strong discordance between nuclear and plastid phylogenetic hypotheses for superrosid relationships; we show that this is best explained by a combination of incomplete lineage sorting and ancient reticulation.

Agricultural non-point source pollution and rural transformation in a plain river network: Insights from Jiaxing city, China.

Recently, agricultural non-point source pollution (ANPSP) has gained increasing attention in China. However, using a uniform paradigm to analyze ANPSP in all regions is difficult, considering their geographical, economic, and policy differences. In this study, we adopted the inventory analysis method to estimate the ANPSP of Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province as a representative region of the plain river network area from 2001 to 2020 and analyzed it in the framework of policies and rural transformation development (RTD). The ANPSP showed an overall decreasing trend over 20 years. Compared to 2001, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) decreased by 33.93%, 25.77%, and 43.94%, respectively, in 2020. COD accounted for the largest annual average (67.02%), whereas TP contributed the most to the equivalent emissions (50.9%). The highest contribution of TN, TP, and COD, which fluctuated and decreased over the past 20 years, originated from livestock and poultry farming. However, the contribution of TN and TP from aquaculture increased. The overall trend of RTD and ANPSP showed an inverted "U" shape with time, and the evolution of both showed similar stage characteristics. With the gradual stabilization of RTD, ANPSP successively went through three stages: high-level stabilization (2001-2009), rapid-decreasing (2010-2014), and low-level stabilization (2015-2020). Additionally, the relationships between pollution loads from different agricultural sources and indicators of different dimensions of RTD varied. These findings provide a reference for the governance and planning of ANPSP in the plain river network area and a new perspective for investigating the relationship between rural development and the environment.

Phylogenomics and integrative taxonomy reveal two new species of Amana (Liliaceae).

Until now the genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as 'East Asian tulips', has contained just seven species. In this study, a phylogenomic and integrative taxonomic approach was used to reveal two new species, Amana nanyueensis from Central China and A. tianmuensis from East China. A. nanyueensis resembles Amana edulis in possessing a densely villous-woolly bulb tunic and two opposite bracts, but differs in its leaves and anthers. Amana tianmuensis resembles Amana erythronioides in possessing three verticillate bracts and yellow anthers, but differs in aspects of its leaves and bulbs. These four species are clearly separated from each other in principal components analysis based on morphology. Phylogenomic analyses based on plastid CDS further support the species delimitation of A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis and suggests they are closely related to A. edulis. Cytological analysis shows that A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis are both diploid (2n = 2x = 24), different from A. edulis, which is either diploid (northern populations) or tetraploid (southern populations, 2n = 4x = 48). The pollen morphology of A. nanyueensis is similar to other Amana species (single-groove germination aperture), but A. tianmuensis is quite different because of the presence of a sulcus membrane, which creates the illusion of double grooves. Ecological niche modelling also revealed a niche differentiation between A. edulis, A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis.