Microplastics and their interaction with microorganisms in Bosten Lake sediment.

Microplastics (MPs), discovered in oceans, lakes, and rivers, can infiltrate the food chain through ingestion by organisms, potentially posing health risks. Our research is the first to study the composition and distribution of MPs in Bosten Lake's sediment. In May, the average abundance of MPs was 0.95±0.72 particles per 10 gs, and in October, it was 0.90±0.61 particles per 10 gs. Bohu Town had the highest MP abundance, with 1.75±0.35 particles per 10 gs in spring and 2 ± 0 particles per 10 gs in autumn. In May, 53 % of the MPs were transparent, while in October, black MPs constituted 58 %. The predominant morphology was fibrous, accounting for 61 % of the total. MPs in the size range of 0.2-1 mm made up 91 % and 66 % of the total in May and October, respectively. The most common types of MPs in May were polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at 40 % and polyethylene (PE) at 26 %. In October, PET was the most prevalent at 71 %, followed by poly(ether-ether-ketone)(PEEK) at 11 %. Certain microbial taxa, such as Actinobacteriota, Pseudomonas, and Vicinamibacteraceae, associated with MP degradation or complex carbon chain breakdown, were notably enriched in sediment areas with high MP concentrations. A significant positive correlation was observed between the abundance of MPs in sediments and Actinobacteriota. Additionally, the abundance of Thiobacillus, Ca.competibacter, and other bacteria involved in soil element cycling showed a significant positive correlation with the organic matter content in the sediments. Anaerobic bacteria like Thermoanaerobacterium displayed a significant positive correlation with water depth. Our study reveals the presence, composition, and distribution of MPs in Bosten Lake's sediments, shedding light on their potential ecological impact.

Assembly mechanism of microbial community under different seasons in Shantou sea area.

Coastal areas are often affected by a variety of climates, and microbial composition patterns are conducive to adaptation to these environments. In this study, the composition and pattern of microbial communities in the Shantou sea from four seasons were analyzed. The diversity of microbial community was significant differences under different seasons (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, dissolved oxygen levels, temperature were key factors to shift microbial communities. The assembly mechanism of microbial communities was constructed by the iCAMP (Infer community assembly mechanism by the phylogenetic bin-based null). Interestingly, the analyses revealed that drift was the predominant driver of this process (44.5 %), suggesting that microbial community assembly in this setting was dominated by stochastic processes. For example, Vibrio was found to be particularly susceptible to stochastic processes, indicating that the pattern of bacterial community was governed by stochastic processes. Thus, these results offering novel insight into the regulation of microbial ecology in marine environments.

UAV hyperspectral analysis of secondary salinization in arid oasis cotton fields: effects of FOD feature selection and SOA-RF.

Secondary salinization is a crucial constraint on agricultural progress in arid regions. The specific mulching irrigation technique not only exacerbates secondary salinization but also complicates field-scale soil salinity monitoring. UAV hyperspectral remote sensing offers a monitoring method that is high-precision, high-efficiency, and short-cycle. In this study, UAV hyperspectral images were used to derive one-dimensional, textural, and three-dimensional feature variables using Competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), Boruta Feature Selection (Boruta), and Brightness-Color-Index (BCI) with Fractional-order differentiation (FOD) processing. Additionally, three modeling strategies were developed (Strategy 1 involves constructing the model solely with the 20 single-band variable inputs screened by the CARS algorithm. In Strategy 2, 25 texture features augment Strategy 1, resulting in 45 feature variables for model construction. Strategy 3, building upon Strategy 2, incorporates six triple-band indices, totaling 51 variables used in the model's construction) and integrated with the Seagull Optimization Algorithm for Random Forest (SOA-RF) models to predict soil electrical conductivity (EC) and delineate spatial distribution. The results demonstrated that fractional order differentiation highlights spectral features in noisy spectra, and different orders of differentiation reveal different hidden information. The correlation between soil EC and spectra varies with the order. 1.9th order differentiation is proved to be the best order for constructing one-dimensional indices; although the addition of texture features slightly improves the accuracy of the model, the integration of the three-waveband indices significantly improves the accuracy of the estimation, with an R2 of 0.9476. In contrast to the conventional RF model, the SOA-RF algorithm optimizes its parameters thereby significantly improving the accuracy and model stability. The optimal soil salinity prediction model proposed in this study can accurately, non-invasively and rapidly identify excessive salt accumulation in drip irrigation under membrane. It is of great significance to improve the growing conditions of cotton, increase the cotton yield, and promote the sustainable development of Xinjiang's agricultural economy, and also provides a reference for the prevention and control of regional soil salinization.

Novel insights into the synergetic degradation of pyrene by microbial communities from mangroves in China.

Pyrene is a high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (HMW-PAHs). It is a ubiquitous, persistent, and carcinogenic environmental contaminant that has raised concern worldwide. This research explored synergistic bacterial communities for efficient pyrene degradation in seven typical Southern China mangroves. The bacterial communities of seven typical mangroves were enriched by pyrene, and enriched bacterial communities showed an excellent pyrene degradation capacity of > 95% (except for HK mangrove and ZJ mangrove). Devosia, Hyphomicrobium, Flavobacterium, Marinobacter, Algoriphahus, and Youhaiella all have significant positive correlations with pyrene (R>0, p < 0.05) by 16SrRNA gene sequencing and metagenomics analysis, indicated that these genera play a vital role in pyrene metabolism. Meanwhile, the functional genes were involved in pyrene degradation that was enriched in the bacterial communities, including the genes of nagAa, ndoR, pcaG, etc. Furthermore, the analyses of functional genes and binning genomes demonstrated that some bacterial communities as a unique teamwork to cooperatively participate in pyrene degradation. Interestingly, the genes related to biogeochemical cycles were enriched, such as narG , soxA, and cyxJ, suggested that bacterial communities were also helpful in maintaining the stability of the ecological environment. In addition, some novel species with pyrene-degradation potential were identified in the pyrene-degrading bacterial communities, which can enrich the resource pool of pyrene-degrading strains. Overall, this study will help develop further research strategies for pollutant removal.

Regulatory loops between rice transcription factors OsNAC25 and OsNAC20/26 balance starch synthesis.

Several starch synthesis regulators have been identified, but these regulators are situated in the terminus of the regulatory network. Their upstream regulators and the complex regulatory network formed between these regulators remain largely unknown. A previous study demonstrated that NAM, ATAF, and CUC (NAC) transcription factors, OsNAC20 and OsNAC26 (OsNAC20/26), redundantly and positively regulate the accumulation of storage material in rice (Oryza sativa) endosperm. In this study, we detected OsNAC25 as an upstream regulator and interacting protein of OsNAC20/26. Both OsNAC25 mutation and OE resulted in a chalky seed phenotype, decreased starch content, and reduced expression of starch synthesis-related genes, but the mechanisms were different. In the osnac25 mutant, decreased expression of OsNAC20/26 resulted in reduced starch synthesis; however, in OsNAC25-overexpressing plants, the OsNAC25-OsNAC20/26 complex inhibited OsNAC20/26 binding to the promoter of starch synthesis-related genes. In addition, OsNAC20/26 positively regulated OsNAC25. Therefore, the mutual regulation between OsNAC25 and OsNAC20/26 forms a positive regulatory loop to stimulate the expression of starch synthesis-related genes and meet the great demand for starch accumulation in the grain filling stage. Simultaneously, a negative regulatory loop forms among the 3 proteins to avoid the excessive expression of starch synthesis-related genes. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that both promotion and inhibition mechanisms between OsNAC25 and OsNAC20/26 are essential for maintaining stable expression of starch synthesis-related genes and normal starch accumulation.

Novel insights into aerobic 17ß-estradiol degradation by enriched microbial communities from mangrove sediments.

Various persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including estrogens are often enriched in mangrove regions. This research investigated the estrogens pollution levels in six mangroves located in the Southern China. The estrogen levels were found to be in the range of 5.3-24.9 ng/g dry weight, suggesting that these mangroves had been seriously contaminated. The bacterial communities under estrogen stress were further enriched by supplementing 17ß-estradiol (E2) as the sole carbon source. The enriched bacterial communities showed an excellent E2 degradation capacity > 95 %. These communities were able to transform E2 into estrone (E1), 4-hydroxy-estrone, and keto-estrone, etc. 16 S rDNA sequencing and metagenomics analysis revealed that bacterial taxa Oleiagrimonas, Pseudomonas, Terrimonas, and Nitratireductor etc. were the main contributors to estrogen degradation. Moreover, the genes involved in E2 degradation were enriched in the microbial communities, including the genes encoding 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, estrone 4-hydroxylase, etc. Finally, the analyses of functional genes and binning genomes demonstrated that E2 was degraded by bacterial communities via dehydrogenation into E1 by 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. E1 was then catabolically converted to 3aα-H-4α(3'-propanoate)- 7aß-methylhexahydro-1,5-indanedione via 4,5-seco pathway. Alternatively, E1 could also be hydroxylated to keto-estrone, followed by B-ring cleavage. This study provides novel insights into the biodegradation of E2 by the bacterial communities in estrogen-contaminated mangroves.

Development of genomic phenotype and immunophenotype of acute respiratory distress syndrome using autophagy and metabolism-related genes.

Background: Distinguishing ARDS phenotypes is of great importance for its precise treatment. In the study, we attempted to ascertain its phenotypes based on metabolic and autophagy-related genes and infiltrated immune cells. Methods: Transcription datasets of ARDS patients were obtained from Gene expression omnibus (GEO), autophagy and metabolic-related genes were from the Human Autophagy Database and the GeneCards Database, respectively. Autophagy and metabolism-related differentially expressed genes (AMRDEGs) were further identified by machine learning and processed for constructing the nomogram and the risk prediction model. Functional enrichment analyses of differentially expressed genes were performed between high- and low-risk groups. According to the protein-protein interaction network, these hub genes closely linked to increased risk of ARDS were identified with CytoHubba. ssGSEA and CIBERSORT was applied to analyze the infiltration pattern of immune cells in ARDS. Afterwards, immunologically characterized and molecular phenotypes were constructed according to infiltrated immune cells and hub genes. Results: A total of 26 AMRDEGs were obtained, and CTSB and EEF2 were identified as crucial AMRDEGs. The predictive capability of the risk score, calculated based on the expression levels of CTSB and EEF2, was robust for ARDS in both the discovery cohort (AUC = 1) and the validation cohort (AUC = 0.826). The mean risk score was determined to be 2.231332, and based on this score, patients were classified into high-risk and low-risk groups. 371 differential genes in high- and low-risk groups were analyzed. ITGAM, TYROBP, ITGB2, SPI1, PLEK, FGR, MPO, S100A12, HCK, and MYC were identified as hub genes. A total of 12 infiltrated immune cells were differentially expressed and have correlations with hub genes. According to hub genes and implanted immune cells, ARDS patients were divided into two different molecular phenotypes (Group 1: n = 38; Group 2: n = 19) and two immune phenotypes (Cluster1: n = 22; Cluster2: n = 35), respectively. Conclusion: This study picked up hub genes of ARDS related to autophagy and metabolism and clustered ARDS patients into different molecular phenotypes and immunophenotypes, providing insights into the precision medicine of treating patients with ARDS.

Ecological distribution and function of comammox Nitrospira in the environment.

Complete ammonia oxidizers (Comammox) are of great significance for studying nitrification and expanding the understanding of the nitrogen cycle. Moreover, Comammox bacteria are also crucial in natural and engineered environments due to their role in wastewater treatment and maintaining the flux of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. However, only few studies are there regarding the Comammox bacteria and their role in ammonia and nitrite oxidation in the environment. This review mainly focuses on summarizing the genomes of Nitrospira in the NCBI database. Ecological distribution of Nitrospira was also reviewed and the influence of environmental parameters on genus Nitrospira in different environments has been summarized. Furthermore, the role of Nitrospira in carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and sulfur cycle were discussed, especially the comammox Nitrospira. In addition, the overviews of current research and development regarding comammox Nitrospira, were summarized along with the scope of future research. KEY POINTS: • Most of Comammox Nitrospira are widely distributed in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, but it has been studied less frequently in the extreme environments. • Comammox Nitrospira can be involved in different nitrogen transformation process, but rarely involved in nitrogen fixation. • The stable isotope and transcriptome techniques are important methods to study the metabolic function of comammox Nitrospira.

NIR-II-absorbing diimmonium polymer agent achieves excellent photothermal therapy with induction of tumor immunogenic cell death.

Photothermal therapy has shown great promise for cancer treatment and second near-infrared (NIR-II) -absorbing particles could further improve its precision and applicability due to its superior penetration depth and new imaging ability. Herein, high NIR-II-absorbing polymer particles were prepared by using soluble isobutyl-substituted diammonium borates (P-IDI). The P-IDI showed stronger absorption at 1000-1100 nm, which exhibited excellent photostability, strong photoacoustic imaging ability and high photothermal conversion efficiency (34.7%). The investigations in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that the excellent photothermal effect facilitated complete tumor ablation and also triggered immunogenic cell death in activation of the immune response. The high solubility and excellent photothermal conversion ability demonstrated that polymer IDI particles were promising theranostic agents for treatment of tumors with minor side effects.

Effects of hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 versus hydrocortisone alone on microcirculation in septic shock patients: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 versus hydrocortisone on sublingual microcirculation in septic shock patients. METHODS: This pilot study enrolled septic shock patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary teaching hospital from February 2019 to January 2020. We randomly assigned the enrolled patients to the treatment group (hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 added to standard care) and the control group (hydrocortisone alone added to standard care) in a 1 : 1 ratio. The primary outcome was perfused small vascular density (sPVD) monitored by a sublingual microcirculation imaging system at 24 hours after treatment. RESULTS: Twelve patients in the treatment group and ten in the control group completed the study. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the groups. No statistically significant difference was found in the sPVD between the groups at baseline. The sPVD in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 4 hours after treatment (mean difference, 7.042; 95% CI, 2.227-11.857; P = 0.009) and 24 hours after treatment (mean difference, 7.075; 95% CI, 2.390-11.759; P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 significantly improves microcirculation in septic shock patients.

Mangroves leaves phyllosphere bacteria community and its ability to survive under pyrene stress during the acclimation process.

Plants in general and mangroves in particular can harbor hyper-diverse microorganisms in their different compartments including the phyllosphere area. This study used the leaves of three mangrove species; black mangrove (Avicenia germinans), red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) and mangrove apple (Sonneratia alba) in order to evaluate the phyllosphere epiphytic bacterial community on their leaves surface and assess the ability of some epiphytic bacteria to tolerate and survive under pyrene stress. Through the 16S rRNA genes sequencing, 380203, 405203 and 344863 OTUs were identified respectively in the leaves of mangroves apple, black and red mangroves. The identified OTUs was positively correlated with leaves-wax (p < 0.05, r2 = 0.904), nitrogen (r2 = 0.72), phosphorus content (r2 = 0.62) and the water factor (r2 = 0.93). It was however highly and negatively correlated with the canopy cover (r2 = 0.93). The pyrene degradation rate in the mineral salt medium (MSM) containing pyrene as external stress was different in each mangrove species and varied depending on various factors. Therefore, through the succession culture in MSM, several bacteria strain belonging to Rhizobiales and Enterobacteres were found to be abundant in red mangroves. Bacteria belonging to Bacilliales and Sphingobacteriales were more abundant in mangroves apples and bacteria from Xanthomonadales and Sphingomonadales were more presents in back mangroves. The important finding was to reveal that the black mangrove at the non-submerged substrate, recorded the highest number of OTU, coinciding with its highest leaf's nitrogen and phosphorus content and most importantly, its highest rate of pyrene degradation. The general result of this study join previous research results and get place in the mangrove agenda, as part of a better understanding insight into the role of plant identity in driving the phyllosphere epiphytic microbial community structures in mangrove ecosystems.

Community structures and biodeterioration processes of epilithic biofilms imply the significance of micro-environments.

Epilithic biofilms colonising outdoor stone monuments can intensify the deterioration processes of the stone materials and pose great challenges to their protection. In this study, biodiversity and community structures of the epilithic biofilms colonising the surfaces of five outdoor stone dog sculptures were characterised by high-throughput sequencing. Although they are exposed to the same envrionment in a small yard, the analysis of their biofilm populations revealed high biodiversity and species richness as well as great differences in community compostions. Interestingly, populations responsible for pigment production (e.g., Pseudomonas, Deinococcus, Sphingomonas and Leptolyngbya) and for nitrogen (e.g., Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Beijerinckia) and sulfur cycling (e.g., Acidiphilium) were the core common taxa in the epilithic biofilms, suggesting the potential biodeterioration processes. Furthermore, significant positive corrolections of metal elements rich in stone with biofilm communities showed that epilithic biofilms could take in minerals of stone. Importantly, geochemical properties of soluble ions (higher concentration of SO42- than NO3-) and slightly acidic micro-environments on the surfaces suggest corrosion of biogenic sulfuric acids as a main mechanism of biodeterioration of the sculptures. Interestingly, relative abundacne of Acidiphilium showed a positive correlation with acidic micro-environments and SO42- concentrations, implying they could be an indicator of sulfuric acid corrosion. Together, our findings support that micro-environments are inportant to community assembly of epilithic biofilms and the biodeterioration processes involved.

Nickel-Catalyzed Radical Ring-Opening Phosphorylation of Cycloalkyl Hydroperoxides Leading to Distal Acylphosphine Oxides.

A facile and efficient nickel-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage/phosphorylation of various cycloalkyl hydroperoxides was developed. This radical ring-opening strategy provided practical access to structurally diverse distal ketophosphine oxides in one pot through concurrent C═O/C-P bond formation with high atom economy under mild room temperature and base-free conditions.

Clinical efficacy and safety of flunarizine tablets combined with betahistine hydrochloride tablets in patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of betahistine hydrochloride tablets in patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency vertigo (VBIV). METHODS: A total of 133 patients with vertigo caused by vertebrobasilar insufficiency treated in The First People's Hospital of Shangqiu City from March 2019 to August 2021 were selected and analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 63 patients treated with flunarizine tablets were seen as the control group (CG), and 70 with flunarizine tablets combined with betastine hydrochloride tablets were considered as the observation group (OG). The treatment efficacy and adverse reactions were compared, and the vertigo symptom score, quality of life and vertebrobasilar artery hemodynamics were observed before and after treatment. RESULTS: The effective rate in the OG was higher than that of the CG (P<0.05), but there was no obvious difference in adverse reactions (P>0.05). Compared with the CG, the arterial hemodynamics and cerebral blood perfusion as well as SF-36 score were higher, while the scores of dizziness assessment rating scale (DARS) and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scale were lower in the OG (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Betahistine hydrochloride can effectively improve arterial hemodynamics and cerebral blood flow perfusion in vertebrobasilar insufficiency patients and enhance the clinical efficacy with high safety profile, which is worthy of wide application.

Evaluation of PCR primers for detecting the distribution of nitrifiers in mangrove sediments.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOA and AOB), complete ammonia oxidizers (Comammox), and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) play a crucial role in the nitrification process during the nitrogen cycle. However, their occurrence and diversity in mangrove ecosystems are still not fully understood. Here, a total of 11 pairs of PCR primers were evaluated to study the distribution and abundances of these nitrifiers in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere sediments of a mangrove ecosystem. The amplification efficiency of these 11 pairs of primers was first evaluated and their performances were found to vary considerably. The CamoA-19F/CamoA-616R primer pair was suitable for the amplification of AOA in mangrove sediments, especially on the surface of rhizosphere sediments. Primer pair amoA1F/amoA2R was better for the characterization of novel AOB in the bacterial community of non-rhizosphere sediments of mangroves. In contrast, primer nxrB169F/nxrB638R showed a low abundance of NOB in mangrove sediments (except for R1). Comammox bacteria were abundant and diverse in mangrove sediments, as indicated by both the amoB gene for Comammox clade A and the amoA gene for Comammox Nitrospira clade B. However, the amoA gene for Comammox Nitrospira clade A was not successful in detecting them in the mangrove sediments. Furthermore, 568 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained by generating a clone library and a high abundance of OTUs was correlated with ammonium, pH, NO2-, and NO3-. Comammox and Comammox Nitrospira were identified by phylogenetic tree analysis, indicating that mangrove sediments harbor newly discovered nitrifiers. Additionally, many AOA and NOB were mainly distributed in the surface layer of the rhizosphere, whereas AOB and Comammox Nitrospira were in the subsurface of non-rhizosphere, as determined by qPCR analysis. Collectively, our findings highlight the limitations of some primers for the identification of specific nitrifying bacteria. Therefore, primers must be carefully selected to gain accurate insights into the ecological distribution of nitrifiers in mangroves. KEY POINTS: • Several sets of PCR primers perform well for the detection of nitrifiers in mangroves. • Mangroves are an important source of newly discovered nitrifiers. • Ammonium, pH, NO2-, and NO3- are important shapers of nitrifier communities in mangroves.

Addition of terlipressin to norepinephrine in septic shock and effect of renal perfusion: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Terlipressin improves renal function in patients with septic shock. However, the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of terlipressin on renal perfusion in patients with septic shock. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This pilot study enrolled patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit of the tertiary hospital from September 2019 to May 2020. We randomly assigned patients to terlipressin and usual care groups using a 1:1 ratio. Terlipressin was intravenously pumped at a rate of 1.3 µg/kg/hour for 24 h. We monitored renal perfusion using renal contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The primary outcome was peak sonographic signal intensity (a renal perfusion parameter monitored by CEUS) at 24 h after enrollment. RESULTS: 22 patients were enrolled in this study with 10 in the terlipressin group and 12 in the usual care group. The baseline characteristics of patients between the two groups were comparable. The peak sonographic signal intensity at 24 h after enrollment in the terlipressin group (60.5 ± 8.6 dB) was significantly higher than that in the usual care group (52.4 ± 7.0 dB; mean difference, 7.1 dB; 95% CI, 0.4-13.9; adjusted p = .04). Patients in the terlipressin group had a lower time to peak, heart rates, norepinephrine dose, and a higher stroke volume at 24 h after enrollment. No significant difference in the urine output within 24 h and incidence of acute kidney injury within 28 days was found between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Terlipressin improves renal perfusion, increases stroke volume, and decreases norepinephrine dose and heart rates in patients with septic shock.