Higher intracranial arterial pulsatility is associated with presumed imaging markers of the glymphatic system: An explorative study.

BACKGROUND: Arterial pulsation has been suggested as a key driver of paravascular cerebrospinal fluid flow, which is the foundation of glymphatic clearance. However, whether intracranial arterial pulsatility is associated with glymphatic markers in humans has not yet been studied. METHODS: Seventy-three community participants were enrolled in the study. 4D phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify the hemodynamic parameters including flow pulsatility index (PIflow) and area pulsatility index (PIarea) from 13 major intracerebral arterial segments. Three presumed neuroimaging markers of the glymphatic system were measured: including dilation of perivascular space (PVS), diffusivity along the perivascular space (ALPS), and volume fraction of free water (FW) in white matter. We explored the relationships between PIarea, PIflow, and the presumed glymphatic markers, controlling for related covariates. RESULTS: PIflow in the internal carotid artery (ICA) C2 segment (OR, 1.05; 95 % CI, 1.01-1.10, per 0.01 increase in PI) and C4 segment (OR, 1.05; 95 % CI, 1.01-1.09) was positively associated with the dilation of basal ganglia PVS, and PIflow in the ICA C4 segment (OR, 1.06, 95 % CI, 1.02-1.10) was correlated with the dilation of PVS in the white matter. ALPS was associated with PIflow in the basilar artery (ß, -0.273, p, 0.046) and PIarea in the ICA C2 (ß, -0.239, p, 0.041) and C7 segments (ß, -0.238, p, 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial arterial pulsatility was associated with presumed neuroimaging markers of the glymphatic system, but the results were not consistent across different markers. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Small vessel disease and cognitive reserve oppositely modulate global network redundancy and cognitive function: A study in middle-to-old aged community participants.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) can disrupt the global brain network and lead to cognitive impairment. Conversely, cognitive reserve (CR) can improve one's cognitive ability to handle damaging effects like SVD, partly by optimizing the brain network's organization. Understanding how SVD and CR collectively influence brain networks could be instrumental in preventing cognitive impairment. Recently, brain redundancy has emerged as a critical network protective metric, providing a nuanced perspective of changes in network organization. However, it remains unclear how SVD and CR affect global redundancy and subsequently cognitive function. Here, we included 121 community-dwelling participants who underwent neuropsychological assessments and a multimodal MRI examination. We visually examined common SVD imaging markers and assessed lifespan CR using the Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire. We quantified the global redundancy index (RI) based on the dynamic functional connectome. We then conducted multiple linear regressions to explore the specific cognitive domains related to RI and the associations of RI with SVD and CR. We also conducted mediation analyses to explore whether RI mediated the relationships between SVD, CR, and cognition. We found negative correlations of RI with the presence of microbleeds (MBs) and the SVD total score, and a positive correlation of RI with leisure activity-related CR (CRI-leisure). RI was positively correlated with memory and fully mediated the relationships between the MBs, CRI-leisure, and memory. Our study highlights the potential benefits of promoting leisure activities and keeping brain redundancy for memory preservation in older adults, especially those with SVD.

An Investigation of Cerebral Vascular Functional Properties in Middle-to-Old Age Community People With High Vascular Risk Profiles.

BACKGROUND: Vascular degeneration is an important cause of brain damage in aging. Assessing the functional properties of the cerebral vascular system may aid early diagnosis and prevention. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationships between potential vascular functional markers and vascular risks, brain parenchymal damage, and cognition. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: Two hundred two general community subjects (42-80 years, males/females: 127/75). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3 T, spin echo T1W/T2W/FLAIR, resting-state functional MRI with an echo-planar sequence (rsfMRI), pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) with a three-dimensional gradient-spin echo sequence. ASSESSMENT: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in gray matter calculated using pCASL, blood transit times calculated using rsfMRI, and the SD of internal carotid arteries signal (ICAstd ) calculated using rsfMRI; visual assessment for lacunes; quantification of white matter hyperintensity volume; permutation test for quality control; collection of demographic and clinical data, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination. STATISTICAL TESTS: Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; Spearman rank correlation analysis; Multivariable linear regression analysis controlling for covariates; The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Age was negatively associated with ICAstd (ß = -0.180). Diabetes was associated with longer blood transit time from large arteries to capillary bed (ß = 0.185, adjusted for age, sex, and intracranial volume). Larger ICAstd was associated with less presence of lacunes (odds ratio: 0.418, adjusted for age and sex). Higher gray matter CBF (ß = 0.154) and larger ICAstd (ß = 0.136) were associated with better MoCA scores (adjusted for age, sex, and education). DATA CONCLUSION: Prolonged blood transit time, decreased ICAstd , and diminished CBF were associated with vascular dysfunction and cognitive impairment. They may serve as vascular functional markers in future studies. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Gray matter structural covariance networks patterns associated with autopsy-confirmed LATE-NC compared to Alzheimer's disease pathology.

BACKGROUND: Cases with the limbic-predominant age-related TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) encephalopathy neuropathologic change (LATE-NC), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and mixed AD+TDP-43 pathology (AD+LATE-NC) share similar symptoms, which makes it a challenge for accurate diagnosis. Exploring the patterns of gray matter structural covariance networks (SCNs) in these three types may help to clarify the underlying mechanism and provide a basis for clinical interventions. METHODS: We included ante-mortem MRI data of 10 LATE-NC, 39  AD, and 25  AD+LATE-NC from the ADNI autopsy sample. We used four regions of interest (left posterior cingulate cortex, right entorhinal cortex, frontoinsular and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) to anchor the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). Finally, we assessed the SCN alternations using a multi-regression model-based linear-interaction analysis. RESULTS: Cases with autopsy-confirmed LATE-NC and AD showed increased structural associations involving DMN, ECN, and SN. Cases with AD+LATE-NC showed increased structural association within DMN while decreased structural association between DMN and ECN. The volume of peak clusters showed significant associations with cognition and AD pathology. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed different SCN patterns in the cases with LATE-NC, AD, and AD+LATE-NC, and indicated the network disconnection mechanism underlying these three neuropathological progressions. Further, SCN may serve as an effective biomarker to distinguish between different types of dementia.

African Swine Fever Virus pI215L Inhibits Type I Interferon Signaling by Targeting Interferon Regulatory Factor 9 for Autophagic Degradation.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the etiological agent of a highly lethal hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs and wild boars that has significant economic consequences for the pig industry. The type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway is a pivotal component of the innate antiviral response, and ASFV has evolved multiple mechanisms to antagonize this pathway and facilitate infection. Here, we reported a novel function of ASFV pI215L in inhibiting type I IFN signaling. Our results showed that ASFV pI215L inhibited IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) promoter activity and subsequent transcription of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) by triggering interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) degradation. Additionally, we found that catalytically inactive pI215L mutations retained the ability to block type I IFN signaling, indicating that this only known viral E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme mediates IFR9 degradation in a ubiquitin-conjugating activity-independent manner. By coimmunoprecipitation, confocal immunofluorescence, and subcellular fractionation approaches, we demonstrated that pI215L interacted with IRF9 and impaired the formation and nuclear translocation of IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3). Moreover, further mechanism studies supported that pI215L induced IRF9 degradation through the autophagy-lysosome pathway in both pI215L-overexpressed and ASFV-infected cells. These findings reveal a new immune evasion strategy evolved by ASFV in which pI215L acts to degrade host IRF9 via the autophagic pathway, thus inhibiting the type I IFN signaling and counteracting the host innate immune response. IMPORTANCE African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a highly contagious and lethal disease in pigs and wild boars that is currently present in many countries, severely affecting the global pig industry. Despite extensive research, effective vaccines and antiviral strategies are still lacking, and many fundamental questions regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying host innate immunity escape remain unclear. In this study, we identified ASFV pI215L, the only known viral E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, which is involved in antagonizing the type I interferon signaling. Mechanistically, pI215L interacted with interferon regulatory factor 9 for autophagic degradation, and this degradation was independent of its ubiquitin-conjugating activity. These results increase the current knowledge regarding ASFV evasion of innate immunity, which may instruct future research on antiviral strategies and dissection of ASFV pathogenesis.

Associations of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology and Small Vessel Disease With Cerebral White Matter Degeneration: A Tract-Based MR Diffusion Imaging Study.

BACKGROUND: White matter (WM) degeneration is a key feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. PURPOSE: To investigate how amyloid-ß (Aß), tau, and small vascular disease (SVD) jointly affect WM degeneration in subjects along AD continuum. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: 152 non-demented participants (age: 55.8-91.6, male/female: 66/86) from the ADNI database were included, classified into three groups using the A (Aß)/T (tau)/N pathological scheme (Group 1: A-T-; Group 2: A+T-; Group 3: A+T+) based on positron emission tomography data. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3T; T1-weighted images, T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, T2*-weighted images, diffusion-weighted spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence (54 diffusion directions). ASSESSMENT: Free-water diffusion model (generated parameters: free water, FW; tissue fractional anisotropy, FAt; tissue mean diffusivity, MDt); SVD total score; Neuropsychological tests. STATISTICAL TESTS: Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the independent contribution of AD (Aß and tau) and SVD pathologies to diffusion parameters in each fiber tract, first in the entire population and then in each subgroup. We also investigated associations between diffusion parameters and cognitive functions. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 (false discovery rate corrected). RESULTS: In the entire population, we found that: 1) Increased FW was significantly associated with SVD and tau, while FAt and MDt were significantly associated with Aß and tau; 2) The spatial pattern of fiber tracts related to a certain pathological marker is consistent with the known distribution of that pathology; 3) Subgroup analysis showed that Group 2 and 3 had more alterations of FAt and MDt associated with Aß and tau; 4) Diffusion imaging indices showed significant associations with cognitive score in all domains except memory. DATA CONCLUSION: WM microstructural injury was associated with both AD and SVD pathologies, showing compartment-specific, tract-specific, and stage-specific WM patterns. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Telecoupling China's City-Level Water Withdrawal with Distant Consumption.

Trade causes the geospatial separation of production and consumption, which drives telecoupling between resource utilization and distant consumption. While benefiting the economy, trade can also exacerbate resource use inequality among regions. Here, we propose telecoupled water withdrawal (TWW) to examine the impact of distant consumption on local water resources, defined as local water withdrawal driven remotely by consumption in other regions. We characterize the TWW in China in 2015 at the city level (350 cities) using a nested multiregional input-output model. We find that approximately 20% of TWW is linked to foreign consumption, more than a quarter of which is driven by the United States. Moreover, cities with high TWW are concentrated on the Southeast coast and in Northwest China. Cities in Xinjiang province (Northwest China) account for 12% of the national TWW but only 0.7% of China's GDP. Our findings shed light on the telecoupling of pressure on local water resources in China cities and distant consumption at the global scale, calling for joint efforts by the contributors and beneficiaries of TWW to ensure the synergistic sustainability of water resources and trade.

The fates of antibiotic resistance genes and their association with cell membrane permeability in response to peroxydisulfate during composting.

The aims of this study were to use metagenomics to reveal the fates of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during composting under the regulation of peroxydisulfate and clarify the relationship between ARGs and cell membrane permeability. Results showed that peroxydisulfate increased cell membrane permeability by effectively regulating the expression of outer membrane protein and lipopolysaccharide related genes. Besides, it reduced polysaccharides and proteins in extracellular polymer substances by 36% and 58%, respectively, making it easier for intracellular ARGs (i-ARGs) to reach the extracellular environment, among which the absolute intracellular abundance of mphK, Erm(31), and tet(44) decreased to 1.2, 1.0, and 0.89 fold of the control, respectively. Finally, variation partitioning analysis showed that i-ARGs dominated the removal of ARGs. These results revealed that the removal of i-ARGs by activated peroxydisulfate was the key to the removal of ARGs and increased cell membrane permeability played a key role for peroxydisulfate to remove i-ARGs during composting.

Performances of antibiotic resistance genes profile upon the action of biochar-activated peroxydisulfate in composting.

In this study, the amendment of biochar-activated peroxydisulfate during composting to remove antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by direct (microbial community succession) and indirect methods (physicochemical factors) was analyzed. When implementing indirect methods, the synergistic effect of peroxydisulfate with biochar optimized the physicochemical habitat of compost, maintaining its moisture within a range of 62.95%-65.71%, and a pH of 6.87-7.73, and causing the compost to mature 18 days earlier than the control groups. The direct methods caused the optimized physicochemical habitat to adjust the microbial communities and reduce the abundance of most of the ARG host bacteria (Thermopolyspora, Thermobifida, and Saccharomonospora), thus inhibiting this substance's amplification. Heatmap analysis confirmed the necessary connection between physicochemical factors, microbial communities, and ARGs. Moreover, a mantel test confirmed the direct significant effect of the microbial communities on ARGs and the indirect significant effect of physicochemical factors on ARGs. The results showed that the abundance of more ARGs was down-regulated at the end of composting and regulated by biochar-activated peroxydisulfate, especially for the abundance of AbaF, tet(44), golS, and mryA, which was significantly decreased by 0.87-1.07 fold. These results provide new insights into the removal of ARGs during composting.

Biochar-based solid acid accelerated carbon conversion by increasing the abundance of thermophilic bacteria in the cow manure composting process.

This study investigated the effects of biochar-based solid acids (SAs) on carbon conversion, alpha diversity and bacterial community succession during cow manure composting with the goal of providing a new strategy for rapid carbon conversion during composting. The addition of SA prolonged the thermophilic phase and accelerated the degradation of lignocellulose; in particular, the degradation time of cellulose was shortened by 50% and the humus content was increased by 22.56% compared with the control group (CK). In addition, high-throughput sequencing results showed that SA improved the alpha diversity and the relative abundance of thermophilic bacteria, mainly Actinobacteria, increased by 12.955% compared with CK. A redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that Actinobacteria was positively correlated with the transformation of carbon.

A Novel Human Acute Encephalitis Caused by Pseudorabies Virus Variant Strain.

BACKGROUND: Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a common pathogen in multiple animal species, particularly in pigs. However, PRV infection in humans is rare and, to the best of our knowledge, PRV has never been isolated from human cases before. METHODS: Four acute encephalitis cases in humans were confirmed as PRV infection based on clinical symptoms, laboratory diagnosis, and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected and applied for virus isolation. Etiological and genetic characteristics of this PRV human isolate were further determined. RESULTS: The patients manifested respiratory dysfunction and acute neurological symptoms. The mNGS revealed PRV-specific nucleotide sequences in patients' CSF samples (7-6198 reads and 0.2446%-80.58% coverage). The PRV envelope glycoprotein B antibody, glycoprotein E antibody, and neutralizing antibody were positively detected. For the first time, a PRV strain, designated hSD-1/2019, was isolated and identified from a CSF sample, and transmission electron microscopy revealed that hSD-1/2019 had typical morphology similar to that of swine PRV. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that hSD-1/2019 was genetically closest to those PRV variant strains currently circulating in pigs in China, and this strain showed similar etiological characteristics to Chinese PRV variant strains, while different from Chinese classical strain. Moreover, hSD-1/2019 showed high pathogenicity and induced acute neurological symptoms in pigs. CONCLUSIONS: A PRV strain was isolated from an acute human encephalitis case. This isolate showed close phylogenetic relationships and similar etiological characteristics to Chinese PRV variant strains, implying the great risk of PRV transmission from pigs to humans.

Multienzymatic cascade synthesis of fucosyloligosaccharide via a two-step fermentation strategy in Escherichia coli.

OBJECTIVES: To achieve multienzymatic cascade synthesis of fucosyl oligosaccharide from D-mannose by two-step fermentation pathway in Escherichia coli. RESULTS: E. coli BL21(DE3) harboring pET-22b(+) vectors with six genes, i.e., glucokinase (Glk), phosphomannomutase (ManB), mannose-1-phosphate guanylytransferase (ManC), GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase (Gmd), GDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-mannose-3,5-epimerase/4-reductase (WcaG), and α-1,2-fucosyltransferase (Fuct) were co-inoculated, and the multienzyme synthetic pathway was constructed to produce fucosyloligosaccharide using D-mannose as substrate. The product, analyzed by LC/MS, fucosyloligosaccharide was formed under the catalysis of Fuct using GDP-fucose as donor substrate and lactose as acceptor substrate. Fucosyloligosaccharides reached 22 mM by a two-step fermentation compared to 3.7 mM with a one-pot fermentation. CONCLUSIONS: Fucosyloligosaccharide was produced by a two-step fermentation to avoid the inhibitory effect of GDP-fucose on Gmd. Two-step fermentation is a rational synthetic pathway for accumulating fucosyloligosaccharide.

Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-ß and cerebral microbleed are associated with distinct neuropsychiatric sub-syndromes in cognitively impaired patients.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are prevalent in cognitively impaired individuals including Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Whereas several studies have reported the associations between NPS with AD pathologic biomarkers and cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), but it remains unknown whether AD pathology and SVD contribute to different sub-syndromes independently or aggravate same symptoms synergistically. METHOD: We included 445 cognitively impaired individuals (including 316 MCI and 129 AD) with neuropsychiatric, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (Aß42, p-tau, and t-tau) and multi-model MRI data. Psychiatric symptoms were accessed by using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Visual assessment of SVD (white matter hyperintensity, microbleed, perivascular space, lacune) on MRI images was performed by experienced radiologist. Linear regression analyses were conducted to test the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms with AD pathology and CSVD burden after adjustment for age, sex, education, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carrier status, and clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: The NPI total scores were related to microbleed (estimate 2.424; 95% CI [0.749, 4.099]; P =0.005). Considering the sub-syndromes, the hyperactivity was associated with microbleed (estimate 0.925; 95% CI [0.115, 1.735]; P =0.025), whereas the affective symptoms were correlated to CSF level of Aß42 (estimate -0.006; 95% CI [-0.011, -0.002]; P =0.005). Furthermore, we found the apathy sub-syndrome was associated with CSF t-tau/Aß42 (estimate 0.636; 95% CI [0.078, 1.194]; P =0.041) and microbleed (estimate 0.693; 95% CI [0.046, 1.340]; P =0.036). In addition, we found a significant interactive effect between CSF t-tau/Aß42 and microbleed (estimate 0.993; 95% CI [0.360, 1.626]; P =0.019) on severity of apathy sub-syndrome. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that CSF Aß42 was associated with affective symptoms, but microbleed was correlated with hyperactivity and apathy, suggesting the effect of AD pathology and SVD on different neuropsychiatric sub-syndromes.

Association Between Small Vessel Disease and Financial Capacity: A Study Based on Cognitively Normal Older Adults.

Background: Financial capacity is vital for the elderly, who possess a substantial share of global wealth but are vulnerable to financial fraud. Objective: We explored the link between small vessel disease (SVD) and financial capacity in cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults via both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Methods: 414 CU participants underwent MRI and completed the Financial Capacity Instrument-Short Form (FCI-SF). Subsequent longitudinal FCI-SF data were obtained from 104, 240, and 141 participants at one, two, and four years, respectively. SVD imaging markers, encompassing white matter hyperintensities (WMH), cerebral microbleeds (CMB), and lacune were evaluated. We used linear regression analyses to cross-sectionally explore the association between FCI-SF and SVD severity, and linear mixed models to assess how baseline SVD severity impacted longitudinal FCI-SF change. The false discovery rate method was used to adjust multiple comparisons. Results: Cross-sectional analysis revealed a significant association between baseline WMH and Bank Statement (BANK, ß=-0.194), as well as between lacune number and Financial Conceptual Knowledge (FC, ß= -0.171). These associations were stronger in APOE ɛ4 carriers, with ß= -0.282 for WMH and BANK, and ß= -0.366 for lacune number and FC. Longitudinally, higher baseline SVD total score was associated with severe FCI-SF total score decrease (ß= -0.335). Additionally, baseline WMH burden predicted future decreases in Single Checkbook/Register Task (SNG, ß= -0.137) and FC (ß= -0.052). Notably, the association between baseline WMH and SNG changes was amplified in APOE ɛ4 carriers (ß= -0.187). Conclusions: Severe SVD was associated with worse FCI-SF and could predict the decline of financial capacity in CU older adults.

Alteration of functional connectivity network in population of objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline.

The objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals had higher progression rates of cognitive decline and pathological deposition than healthy elderly, indicating a higher risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. However, little is known about the brain functional alterations during this stage. Thus, we aimed to investigate the functional network patterns in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline cohort. Forty-two cognitive normal, 29 objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline and 55 mild cognitive impairment subjects were included based on neuropsychological measures from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset. Thirty cognitive normal, 22 objectively-defined subtle cognitive declines and 48 mild cognitive impairment had longitudinal MRI data. The degree centrality and eigenvector centrality for each participant were calculated by using resting-state functional MRI. For cross-sectional data, analysis of covariance was performed to detect between-group differences in degree centrality and eigenvector centrality after controlling age, sex and education. For longitudinal data, repeated measurement analysis of covariance was used for comparing the alterations during follow-up period among three groups. In order to classify the clinical significance, we correlated degree centrality and eigenvector centrality values to Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and cognitive function. The results of analysis of covariance showed significant between-group differences in eigenvector centrality and degree centrality in left superior temporal gyrus and left precuneus, respectively. Across groups, the eigenvector centrality value of left superior temporal gyrus was positively related to recognition scores in auditory verbal learning test, whereas the degree centrality value of left precuneus was positively associated with mini-mental state examination total score. For longitudinal data, the results of repeated measurement analysis of covariance indicated objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline group had the highest declined rate of both eigenvector centrality and degree centrality values than other groups. Our study showed an increased brain functional connectivity in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals at both local and global level, which were associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and neuropsychological assessment. Moreover, we also observed a faster declined rate of functional network matrix in objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline individuals during the follow-ups.

Antibiotic resistance gene profiles and evolutions in composting regulated by reactive oxygen species generated via nano ZVI loaded on biochar.

In this study, nano zero-valent iron loaded on biochar (BC-nZVI) was analyzed for its effects on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in composting. The results showed that BC-nZVI increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and the peak values of H2O2 and OH were 22.95 % and 55.30 % higher than those of the control group, respectively. After 65 days, the relative abundances of representative ARGs decreased by 56.12 % in the nZVI group (with BC-nZVI added). An analysis of bacterial communities and networks revealed that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes were the main hosts for ARGs, and BC-nZVI weakened the link between ARGs and host bacteria. Distance-based redundancy analysis showed that BC-nZVI altered the microbial community structure through environmental factors and that most ARGs were negatively correlated with ROS, suggesting that ROS significantly affected the relative abundance of ARGs. According to these results, BC-nZVI showed potential for decreasing the relative abundance of ARGs in composting.

Imbalance in the city-level crop water footprint aggravated regional inequality in China.

Crop production is the main consumer of water resources. The heterogeneous water resource endowments and imbalanced crop water use exacerbate regional resource consumption inequality. In this study, we quantified the crop water footprint (CWF) of 356 cities in China from 2000 to 2020, measured the inequality between the city CWF and water resources, and identified different strategies to alleviate regional CWF inequality. We found that the average CWF from 2000 to 2020 varied widely across cities, ranging from 0.03 × 108 m3 to 806.78 × 108 m3, and the inequality between city CWF and local water resource endowment was increasing. China had a strong dependence on green water in crop production, and its proportion increased from 52.48 % to 67.17 %. The Gini coefficient of the green water footprint increased from 0.545 to 0.621, and the degree of inequality increased significantly. In addition, the blue water and gray water continuously showed great inequality, especially the blue water, the Gini coefficient of which was 0.724 in 2020. The results show significant disparities in CWF among cities, which have highly exacerbated regional inequality in China. Improving the utilization rate of green water is an important measure to balance the allocation between serving the natural ecosystem and meeting the basic human needs. This study revealed for the first time the inequality of city-level CWF and highlights the severe situation of inequality among regions in China. Balancing the inequality between CWF and water resource endowment at city-level is conducive to fundamentally solving the problem of unreasonable water resource allocation.

Metagenomic insights into role of red mud in regulating fate of compost antibiotic resistance genes mediated by both direct and indirect ways.

In this study, the amendment of red mud (RM) in dairy manure composting on the fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by both direct (bacteria community, mobile genetic elements and quorum sensing) and indirect ways (environmental factors and antibiotics) was analyzed. The results showed that RM reduced the total relative abundances of 10 ARGs and 4 mobile genetic elements (MGEs). And the relative abundances of total ARGs and MGEs decreased by 53.48% and 22.30% in T (with RM added) on day 47 compared with day 0. Meanwhile, the modification of RM significantly increased the abundance of lsrK, pvdQ and ahlD in quorum quenching (QQ) and decreased the abundance of luxS in quorum sensing (QS) (P < 0.05), thereby attenuating the intercellular genes frequency of communication. The microbial community and network analysis showed that 25 potential hosts of ARGs were mainly related to Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation model (SEM) further indicated that RM altered microbial community structure by regulating antibiotic content and environmental factors (temperature, pH, moisture content and organic matter content), which then affected horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in ARGs mediated by QS and MGEs. These results provide new insights into the dissemination mechanism and removal of ARGs in composting process.

A novel carbon-nitrogen coupled metabolic pathway promotes the recyclability of nitrogen in composting habitats.

This study revealed a novel carbon-nitrogen coupled metabolic pathway. Results showed that the addition of inorganic carbon sources slowed down the decomposition of urea and conserved more nutrients in composting. Metagenomic analysis showed that the main bacteria involved in this new pathway were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. During the late composting period, the dominant genus Microbacteium involved in denitrification accounted for 22.18% in control (CP) and only 0.12% in treatment group (T). Moreover, ureC, rocF, argF, argI, argG were key genes involved in urea cycle. The abundance of functional gene ureC and denitrification genes decreased in thermophilic and cooling phases, respectively. The genes hao, nosZ, ureA and nifH were more closely associated with Chloroflexi_bacterium and Bacillus_paralichenformis. In conclusion, composting habitats with additional inorganic carbon sources could not only weaken denitrification but also allow more nitrogen to be conserved through slow-release urea to improve resource utilization and decrease the environmental risk.