Mass Spectrometry Chromatography-Based Metabolomics: The Effect of Long-Term Aerobic Exercise on Learning Ability and the Metabolism of Intestinal Contents in Mice with Alzheimer's Disease.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term aerobic exercise on the metabolism of intestinal contents in APP/PS1 mice was studied using a non-targeted metabolomics technique based on high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) coupling, providing a theoretical basis for exercise to regulate the metabolism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) organisms. Three-month-old male C57BL/6JNju mice, six wild-type (NC, n = 6); 12 APP/PS1 double transgenic species in total, were randomly divided into AD model (AM, n = 6) and AD model exercise (AE, n = 6) groups. The mice in the NC group were fed naturally, the mice in the AM group were statically placed on a running platform, and the mice in the AE group received a 20-week long-term moderate intensity running platform exercise intervention. Following the exercise intervention, the cecum contents of the mice in each group were collected and analyzed using the HPLC-MS technique, with those meeting both variable important in projection (VIP)> 1.5 and p < 0.05 being screened as differential metabolites. A total of 32 different metabolites were detected between the AM and NC groups, with 19 up-regulated in the AM group such as phosphatidic acid (PA) (18:4(6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)/21:0) and 13 down-regulated in the AM group, such as 4,8-dimethylnonanoyl, compared to the NC group; 98 different metabolites were found between the AM and AE groups, 41 of which were upregulated such as Lyso phosphatidylcholine (LysoPC) and 57 of which were downregulated compared to the AM group such as Phosphatidylinositol (PI). The regulation of linoleic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, bile secretion, phenylalanine metabolism, and other pathways was predominantly regulated by nine metabolites, which were subsequently identified as indicators of exercise intervention to enhance metabolism in AD mice. The metabolomic technique can identify the metabolic problems of intestinal contents in AD mice and initially screen the biomarkers of exercise to improve the metabolic disorders in AD. These findings can help us better understand the impact of aerobic exercise on AD metabolism.

Effect of aerobic exercise on brain metabolite profiles in the mouse models of methamphetamine addiction: LC-MS-based metabolomics study.

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is recognized as a brain disorder, and physical activity has clear benefits for MA use disorders. The specific mechanisms by which physical activity alleviates MA use disorders are currently not fully understood. Based on this, the present study used untargeted metabolomics using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to analyze the metabolic changes induced by MA in the brains of mice by exercise intervention. It was found that after 2 weeks of treadmill training, aerobic exercise modulated MA-induced brain metabolic disorders, in which 129 metabolites existed that were significantly differentiated in response to MA induction, and 32 metabolites were significantly affected by exercise. These differential metabolites were mainly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis and degradation, and renin-angiotensin system pathways. To our knowledge, this study is the first to use LC-MS to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on MA-induced brain metabolic profiling. The findings of this study provide new insights into exercise therapy using MA.

Effect of CrF3 Addition on Photoluminescence Properties of Lead-Free Cs4SnBr6-xFx Zero-Dimensional Perovskite.

Zero-dimensional (0D) tin halide perovskites, characterized by their broadband and adjustable emissions, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and absence of self-absorption, are crucial for the fabrication of high-efficiency optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs, solar cells, and sensors. Despite these attributes, boosting their emission efficiency and stability poses a significant challenge. In this work, Cr3+-doped Cs4SnBr6-xFx perovskites were synthesized using a water-assisted wet ball-milling method. The effect of CrF3 addition on photoluminescence properties of Cs4SnBr6-xFx Perovskites was investigated. We found that Cr3+-doped Cs4SnBr6-xFx Perovskites exhibit a broad emission band, a substantial Stokes shift, and an efficient green light emission centered at about 525 nm at ambient temperature. The derived photoluminescence quantum yield amounted to as high as 56.3%. In addition, these Cr3+-doped Cs4SnBr6-xFx perovskites outperform their undoped counterparts in terms of thermal stability. Through a comprehensive analysis of photoluminescence measurements, our findings suggested that the elevated photoluminescence quantum yield can be attributed to the enhanced exciton binding energy of self-trapped excitons (STEs) and the suitable electron-phonon coupling resulting from the substantial distortion of [SnBr6]4- octahedra instigated by the addition of CrF3.

Synthesis and Improved Photoluminescence of SnF2-Derived CsSnCl3-SnF2:Mn2+ Perovskites via Rapid Thermal Treatment.

We report a rapid synthesis method for producing CsSnCl3:Mn2+ perovskites, derived from SnF2, and investigate the effects of rapid thermal treatment on their photoluminescence properties. Our study shows that the initial CsSnCl3:Mn2+ samples exhibit a double luminescence peak structure with PL peaks at approximately 450 nm and 640 nm, respectively. These peaks originate from defect-related luminescent centers and the 4T1→6A1 transition of Mn2+. However, as a result of rapid thermal treatment, the blue emission is significantly reduced and the red emission intensity is increased nearly twofold compared to the pristine sample. Furthermore, the Mn2+-doped samples demonstrate excellent thermal stability after the rapid thermal treatment. We suggest that this improvement in photoluminescence results from enhanced excited-state density, energy transfer between defects and the Mn2+ state, as well as the reduction of nonradiative recombination centers. Our findings provide valuable insights into the luminescence dynamics of Mn2+-doped CsSnCl3 and open up new possibilities for controlling and optimizing the emission of rare-earth-doped CsSnCl3.

Terahertz Spectroscopy Characterization and Prediction of the Aging Degree of Polyethylene Pipes Based on PLS.

Polyethylene (PE) is widely used in pipeline transportation owing to its excellent corrosion resistance, good stability, and ease of processing. As organic polymer materials, PE pipes inevitably undergo different degrees of aging during long-term use. In this study, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy was used to study the spectral characteristics of PE pipes with different degrees of photothermal aging, and the variation in the absorption coefficient with aging time was obtained. The absorption coefficient spectrum was extracted using uninformative variable elimination (UVE), successive projections algorithm (SPA), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and random frog RF spectral screening algorithms, and the spectral slope characteristics of the aging-sensitive band were selected as the evaluation indices of the degree of PE aging. Based on this, a partial least squares aging characterization model was established to predict white PE80, white PE100 and black PE100 pipes with different aging degrees. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of the absorption coefficient spectral slope feature prediction model for the aging degree of different types of pipes was greater than 93.16% and the verification set error was within 13.5 h.

Long-term nitrogen fertilization-induced enhancements of acid hydrolyzable nitrogen are mainly regulated by the most vital microbial taxa of keystone species and enzyme activities.

It is well known that nitrogen (N) fertilizer input is required to improve crop productivity, but we lack a comprehensive understanding of how elevated N input changes the formation of soil acid hydrolyzable nitrogen (AHN) by adjusting the most vital microbial taxa of keystone species of microbial communities and enzyme activities. A 15-year field experiment comprising four levels of inorganic N fertilization was conducted to identify the most important bacterial and fungal taxa of the keystone species derived from cooccurrence networks as well as the vital enzyme activities at the bell mouth and maturity stages. Long-term N fertilization significantly increased the levels of AHN along with its four fractions, including amino acid N (AAN), ammonium N (AN), amino sugar N (ASN), and hydrolysable unidentified N (HUN), by 30.1-118.6 %, regardless of growth stage. Some most vital microbial taxa of keystone species and enzyme activities, which changed in response to N fertilization, mainly regulated each ANH fraction, that is, AHN and AN were mainly controlled by the enrichment of Nocardioides and ß-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG), as well as by the reduction of Anaerolinea and urease (UR), AAN was determined by the enrichment of Hannaella and depletion of Penicillium, ASN was regulated by the enrichment of Hannaella and Arthrobacter, and HUN was influenced by the reduction of Penicillium and enrichment of Nitrosospira. These microbial genera have been found to be involved in dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and nitrification/denitrification processes and the two enzyme activities involved in organic N degradation and N-releasing processes, suggesting that the formation of AHN fractions was closely associated with specific functional microbial taxa and enzyme activities induced by N fertilization. Our results provide new insights into the associations among increased N input, altered formation of soil organic N, and shifts in microbial communities and enzyme activities.

Psychological Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Individuals With Methamphetamine Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of rTMS on drug craving, depression, anxiety, sleep, and cognitive function in methamphetamine (MA) dependent individuals. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of rTMS interventions for MA-dependent patients were searched through PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, Chongqing Vipers (VIP) and China Biomedical Literature Database (CBLD). The included literature was statistically processed using Revman 5.4, and STATA 16.0 for sensitivity and bias analysis. RESULTS: A total of 13 papers were included, and the results of the meta-analysis showed that rTMS was effective in reducing craving scores (SMD = -1.53, 95%CI:-2.08 ∼ -0.98, p < 0.00001), improving depression (SMD = -0.32, 95%CI:-0.58 ∼ -0.07, p = 0.01) and sleep scores (WMD = -1.26, 95%CI:-2.26 ∼ -0.27, p = 0.01), but had no effect on anxiety scores (SMD = -0.42, 95%CI:-0.88 ∼ 0.03, p = 0.07); in terms of cognitive function, there were improvements in the international shopping list task (ISL), Groton maze learning task (GML) and continuous paired association learning task (CPAL), except for no effect on the social emotional cognition task (SEC) and two back task (TWOB). Subgroup analysis showed significant differences in the effects of different intervention period on craving in MA-dependent individuals. CONCLUSION: rTMS was effective in reducing MA dependent individuals' cravings, alleviating depressive symptoms, improving sleep quality and language learning, collaborative learning and executive skills. Due to the small sample size of this study, a large number of RCTs are needed to validate this.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Markers of Brain Injury in Methamphetamine-Dependent Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Drug dependence has become a major global public health problem. This study aimed to investigate the effects of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on the blood−brain barrier and neurological damage in methamphetamine (MA)-dependent individuals. Methods: MA-dependent individuals (all males) were recruited and randomly divided into MA exercise group (MAE) and MA control group (MAC) by using random number table method. The MAE group underwent 12 weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, and the MAC group underwent conventional detoxification. The Neurofilament light chain (NfL), S100 calcium binding protein b (S100b), and Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) levels in the blood of MA-dependent individuals were measured before and after the exercise intervention. Results: After the exercise intervention was implemented, the amount of change in NfL in the plasma of the MAE (1.75 ± 1.40) group was significantly different from that of the MAC (0.60 ± 1.21) group (p < 0.01); the amount of change in NSE in the serum of the MAE [−1.51 (−3.99~0.31)] group was significantly different from that of the MAC [0.03 (−1.18~1.16)] group (p < 0.05); and the amount of change in S100b in the serum of the MAE [0.66 (0.40~0.95)] group was not significantly different from that of the MAC (0.60 (0.21~1.04)) group (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that 12 weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise treatment significantly promoted the recovery of blood−brain barrier and neurological damage in MA-dependent patients compared with conventional withdrawal.

Effects of moderate-intensity exercise on social health and physical and mental health of methamphetamine-dependent individuals: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Methamphetamine (MA)-dependent individuals' health problems are widespread and need to be solved urgently. Exercise is considered a potential treatment for MA dependents. The study aimed to determine the effects of a 12-week aerobic exercise on the social, physical, and mental health of MA-dependent individuals. Materials and methods: Sixty MA-dependent individuals were randomly assigned into two groups. Subjects in the exercise group (n = 30) received an exercise intervention five days a week for 60 min each for 12 weeks. Subjects in the control group (n = 30) received regular corrective rehabilitation without exercise in the same setting. Outcome measures, including questionnaires [quality of life scale for drug addiction (QOL-DA), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)] and physical fitness, were arranged the day before the start of the intervention and the day after the end of the intervention. Two-factor repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the treatment differences between the two groups. Results: After 12 weeks of the intervention period, social health was significantly improved in the exercise group (P < 0.01), and there was a statistically significant difference in mental health scores between exercise group and control group, with a greater impact in exercise group.(Psychology: P < 0.01; SAS: P < 0.01; SDS: P < 0.01; PSQI: P < 0.01), physical health improved in the exercise group, physiology (P < 0.01), symptom (P < 0.01), heart rate (P < 0.01), systolic blood pressure (P < 0.01), systolic blood pressure (P < 0.01), vital capacity (P < 0.05), grip (P < 0.01), vertical jump (P < 0.001), sit and reach (P < 0.01), 50-meter run (P < 0.01), and reaction time (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Aerobic exercise intervention is an effective treatment for MA-dependent individuals, and the 12-week intervention improved the social, physical, and mental health of MA-dependent individuals. We recommend that future studies focus more on drug-dependent individuals' overall health status rather than just relapse.Clinical trial registration: [https://www.chictr.org.cn/hvshowproject.aspx?id=131048], identifier [ChiCTR2200055348].

Exercise Regulates the Metabolic Homeostasis of Methamphetamine Dependence.

Physical exercise is effective in enhancing cognitive function, reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, reducing cravings, and improving quality of life in methamphetamine (METH) addiction. However, little is known about the effect of exercise on metabolic profiles. We performed LC/MS-based targeted metabolic profiling on serum samples to investigate the metabolic characteristics of METH dependence and find the differences between METH-dependent individuals and nonusers and evaluated the metabolomic profiles of individuals with METH dependence following aerobic exercise training. We identified a total of 201 metabolites, among which 115 were differentially expressed under METH use. Among the differentially regulated metabolites, 72 were selected as potential biomarkers. Further analysis identified 19 pathways, among which glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism; and citrate cycle were most significantly affected by METH. The aerobic exercise intervention differentially regulated 55 metabolites, of which 51 were selected as potential biomarkers and were mainly enriched in 10 pathways. Interestingly, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism and nitrogen metabolism were the remarkably affected pathways. Furthermore, METH increased the serum levels of glutamate and decreased GABA, whereas exercise decreased the serum levels of glutamate and increased GABA. Results suggested that METH dependency disturbed normal metabolic homeostasis, whereas exercise restored metabolism.

Pd/Fe2O3 with Electronic Coupling Single-Site Pd-Fe Pair Sites for Low-Temperature Semihydrogenation of Alkynes.

Dispersing single palladium atoms on a support is promising to minimize the usage of palladium and improve the selectivity for alkyne semihydrogenation, but its activity is often very low as a result of unfavorable H2 activation. Here, we load palladium onto α-Fe2O3(012) to construct highly active and stable single-site Pd-Fe pairs with luxuriant d-electron domination near the Fermi level driven by strong electronic coupling and prove that Pd-Fe pairs cooperatively adsorb H2 and dissociate an H─H bond, whereas solo Pd sites enable preferential desorption of C═C intermediate, thus achieving both high activity and high selectivity for alkyne hydrogenation. This catalyst exhibits state-of-the-art performance in purifying acetylene of ethylene stream, with 99.6% and 100% conversion and 96.7% and 94.7% selectivity at 353 and 393 K, respectively, and excellent stability with negligible activity decay after a 200 h test. This single-site pair inherits the advantage but overcomes the weakness of both Pd ensemble and single Pd atoms, enabling ultralow-Pd-loading catalysts for selective hydrogenation.

Methane Dry Reforming by Ni-Cu Nanoalloys Anchored on Periclase-Phase MgAlOx Nanosheets for Enhanced Syngas Production.

Stable and efficient syngas production via methane dry reforming is highly desirable as it utilizes two greenhouse gases simultaneously. In this work, active Ni-Cu nanoalloys stably anchored on periclase-phase MgAlOx nanosheets were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. These highly dispersed small Ni-Cu alloys strongly interacted with the periclase-phase MgAlOx nanosheets, on which abundant base sites were accessible. On the optimal catalyst (6Ni6CuMgAl-S), methane and carbon dioxide conversion always reached 85 and 90% at 700 °C under a gas hour speed velocity of 40,000 mL/gcat h for more than 70 h. The hydrogen production rate was maintained at 1.8 mmol/min, and the ratio of H2/CO was kept at approximately 0.96 under a CH4 and CO2 flow rate of 25 mL/min. Coke deposition and Ni sintering were effectively suppressed by the formation of a Ni-Cu alloy, the laminar structure, and the periclase phase of the MgAlOx support. Moreover, the alloy nanoparticles were reconstructed into a segregated Ni-Cu alloy structure in response to the reaction environment, and this structure was more stable and still active. Density functional theory calculations showed that carbon adsorption was inhibited on the segregated Ni-Cu alloy. Furthermore, the experimental thermogravimetric and O2-TPO results confirmed the significant decrease in carbon deposition on the Ni-Cu alloy catalysts.

Ni-modified MoS2 nanoflake arrays with stepped sites on carbon nanotubes for efficient hydrodesulfurization of coal-to-liquid fuel.

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported Ni-modified MoS2 catalysts with ultra-high loading were synthesized with the assistance of citric acid. The morphology of the nanoflake arrays could be controlled to give abundant stepped sites, which favored the hydrogenation desulfurization pathway of dibenzothiophene. The catalyst exhibited excellent performance and stability for hydrodesulfurization of model oil and coal-to-liquid fuel.

Demonstration of Chemical Distinction among Soil Humic Fractions Using Quantitative Solid-State 13C NMR.

Humic substances (HS) are vital to soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Using multiple cross-polarization/magic-angle spinning (multiCP/MAS) NMR combined with dipolar dephasing, we quantitatively characterized humic fractions, i.e., fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA), and humin (HM), isolated from two representative soils (upland and paddy soils) in China under six long-term (>20 years) fertilizer treatments. Results indicate that each humic fraction showed chemical distinction between the upland and paddy soils, especially with much greater aromaticity of upland HMs than of paddy HMs. Fertilizer treatment exerted greater influence on chemical natures of upland HS than of paddy HS, although the effect was less than that of soil type. Organic manure application especially decreased the percentages of aromatic C in the upland HAs and HMs compared with the control. We concluded that humic fractions responded in chemical nature to environmental conditions, i.e., soil type/cropping system/soil aeration and fertilizer treatments.

Silencing of SNHG6 induced cell autophagy by targeting miR-26a-5p/ULK1 signaling pathway in human osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: lncRNAs have been proved to play crucial parts in various human cytopathology and cell physiology, including tumorigenesis. Down-regulated lncRNAs SNHG6 have shown great cell proliferation inhibitory effects in cancer development. Here we investigated how SNHG6 effected human osteosarcoma (OS) development and progression. Methods: Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed to detect SNHG6 mRNA level in both OS tissues and cell lines. MTT and colony formation assays were used to determine the growth impact of SNHG6. Wound healing and trans-well assay were performed to measure the invasion effect of SNHG6. Western blotting were utilized to dissect molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: We identified SNHG6 as a lncRNAs that significantly up-regulated in OS tissues and cells, patients with high SNHG6 expression suffered more malignant metastasis and shorter survival times. Furthermore, silencing of SNHG6 in OS significantly inhibited OS cell growth, weakened cell invasion capacity, arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase, and induced cell apoptosis. Additionally, mechanism assays suggested that SNHG6 could competitively sponging miR-26a-5p thereby regulating ULK1, and induced cell apoptosis and autophagy by targeting caspase3 and ATF3. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that SNHG6 acted as an oncogene in osteosarcoma cells through regulating miR-26a-5p/ULK1 at a post-transcriptional level. SNHG6 might serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker and a target for novel therapies of osteosarcoma patients.

Divergent responses of bacterial activity, structure, and co-occurrence patterns to long-term unbalanced fertilization without nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium in a cultivated vertisol.

Unbalanced fertilization lacking nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), or potassium (K) is a worldwide phenomenon; however, whether they affect bacterial community composition and intraspecific interactions in a similar pattern and how they affect bacterial activity are not systematically compared. Soils under different kinds of unbalanced fertilization in a 21-year field experiment were collected to investigate the variation in dehydrogenase activity (DHA), bacterial community diversity, structure, composition, and possible interactions. Compared to the balanced fertilization of NPK, the DHA from unbalanced fertilization of NP, PK, and NK was 8.70, 11.59, and 14.17% lower, respectively, and from the unfertilized treatment (Nil) was 13.41% lower; however, the Shannon index from NP, PK, and Nil was 4.48-7.21% higher and from NK was 3.95% lower. Based on principal coordinate analyses (PCoA), bacterial community structure was separated by N application or not along PCo1 and was further separated by P application or not along PCo2, indicating a more influence by N deficiency. Moreover, the structure was mainly determined by soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and total phosphorus (TP). The network complexity using co-occurrence analysis followed the order NP > NPK > PK > NK > Nil, indicating a more influence by P deficiency on intraspecific interactions. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that the reduced DHA in NP was mainly regulated by the decreased SOC and increased Shannon index, in PK by the decreased SOC and increased Shannon index and pH, and in NK by the decreased SOC and TP and increased PCo2. The significantly lower abundance of Bacteroidetes and Chitinophagaceae in NK may also contribute to the reduced DHA. Our results imply that N deficiency had the greatest impact on bacterial community structure and composition, P deficiency had the greatest impact on network construction and bacterial activity, and K deficiency has minimal effect. Our results also suggest that main factors regulating the variation in soil functions may vary among different nutrient deficiencies.

Altered humin compositions under organic and inorganic fertilization on an intensively cultivated sandy loam soil.

Humin is the most recalcitrant fraction of soil organic matter (SOM). However, little is known about quantitative structural information on humin and the roles of soil mircoorganisms involved in the humin formation. We applied advanced solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to provide deep insights into humin structural changes in response to long-term balanced fertilization on a Calcaric Fluvisol in the North China plain. The relationships between humin structure and microbiological properties such as microbial biomass, microbial quotient (qmic) and metabolic quotient (qCO2) were also studied. The humins had a considerable (35-44%) proportion of aromatic C being nonprotonated and the vast majority of O-alkyl and anomeric C being protonated. Alkyl (24-27% of all C), aromatic C (17-28%) and O-alkyl (13-20%) predominated in humins. Long-term fertilization promoted the aliphatic nature of humins, causing increases in O-alkyl, anomeric and NCH functional groups and decreases in aromatic C and aromatic CO groups. All these changes were more prominent for treatments of organic fertilizer (OF) and combined mineral NPK fertilizer with OF (NPKOF) relative to the Control and NPK treatments. Fertilization also decreased the alkyl/O-alkyl ratio, aromaticity and hydrophobic characteristics of humins, suggesting a more decomposed and humified state of humin in the Control soil. Moreover, the soil microbiological properties had strong correlations with functional groups of humins. Particularly, microbial biomass C was a relatively sensitive indicator, having positive correlations with oxygen-containing functional groups, i.e., COO/NCO and protonated O-alkyl C, and negative correlations with nonprotonated aromatic C. The qmic and qCO2 were also significantly positively correlated with NCH and aromatic CO, respectively. Our results deepen our understanding of how long-term fertilization impacts the structure of humin, and highlight a linkage between microbiological properties and recalcitrant fraction of SOM besides labile fraction.

Chemical nature of humic substances in two typical Chinese soils (upland vs paddy soil): A comparative advanced solid state NMR study.

Knowledge of the structural features of humic substances (HSs) is essential for elucidating the mechanisms of humification in different soil environments and realizing their profound roles in environmental issues. The aim of this work was to investigate the chemical structures of fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA) and humin (HM) fractions isolated from an upland soil (Fluvisol) and a paddy soil (Anthrosol) typical in China using advanced solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The results revealed that there were great structural differences of HSs between the two soils. The two FAs showed distinct quantitative differences in aliphatics with more polysaccharides in the FA from the upland soil than from the paddy soil. The HM from the upland soil differed from the paddy soil HM in having more proteins/peptides (23% vs 20%), total aromatics (21% vs 12%) as well as fewer lipids (24% vs 35%) and polysaccharides (27% vs 31%). The HM fractions represented the most different components of organic matter between the two soils. The degree of difference between the two HAs fell in between that of FAs and HM fractions. In particular, the HA from the upland soil had relatively greater degree of aromaticity. Our study indicated that the upland soil exhibited a higher degree of humification compared with the paddy soil. Among the three humic fractions, the FAs featured COO/N-CO groups, and the HAs were more enriched in protonated aromatic C for both soils. In contrast, the two HM fractions contained more O-alkyl C and fewer aromatics than did the other humic fractions, being closer to the original organic materials in soils. We speculate that the evolutionary route of HSs is likely to be the transformation of original organic materials into HM, followed by increased degradation, further oxidization and conversion into HA, and then into FA.

Leasing-Based Performance Analysis in Energy Harvesting Cognitive Radio Networks.

In this paper, we consider an energy harvesting cognitive radio network (CRN), where both of primary user (PU) and secondary user (SU) are operating in time slotted mode, and the SU powered exclusively by the energy harvested from the radio signal of the PU. The SU can only perform either energy harvesting or data transmission due to the hardware limitation. In this case, the entire time-slot is segmented into two non-overlapping fractions. During the first sub-timeslot, the SU can harvest energy from the ambient radio signal when the PU is transmitting. In order to obtain more revenue, the PU leases a portion of its time to SU, while the SU can transmit its own data by using the harvested energy. According to convex optimization, we get the optimal leasing time to maximize the SU's throughput while guaranteeing the quality of service (QoS) of PU. To evaluate the performance of our proposed spectrum leasing scheme, we compare the utility of PU and the energy efficiency ratio of the entire networks in our framework with the conventional strategies respectively. The numerical simulation results prove the superiority of our proposed spectrum leasing scheme.

Ionospheric correction based on ingestion of global ionospheric maps into the NeQuick 2 model.

The global ionospheric maps (GIMs), generated by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) during a period over 13 years, have been adopted as the primary source of data to provide global ionospheric correction for possible single frequency positioning applications. The investigation aims to assess the performance of new NeQuick model, NeQuick 2, in predicting global total electron content (TEC) through ingesting the GIMs data from the previous day(s). The results show good performance of the GIMs-driven-NeQuick model with average 86% of vertical TEC error less than 10 TECU, when the global daily effective ionization indices (Az) versus modified dip latitude (MODIP) are constructed as a second order polynomial. The performance of GIMs-driven-NeQuick model presents variability with solar activity and behaves better during low solar activity years. The accuracy of TEC prediction can be improved further through performing a four-coefficient function expression of Az versus MODIP. As more measurements from earlier days are involved in the Az optimization procedure, the accuracy may decrease. The results also reveal that more efforts are needed to improve the NeQuick 2 model capabilities to represent the ionosphere in the equatorial and high-latitude regions.