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Recent advances are achieved in the design and development of efficient organic photosensitizers (PSs), especially with fluorescence imaging navigation in the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II, 1000–1700 nm) region. However, there are simply a handful of NIR‐II emissive organic PSs with efficient oxygen‐independent capability due to the scarcity of high‐performance NIR‐responsive organic materials and targeted delivery. Herein, a NIR‐II‐emissive organic nanomedicine with biomimetic engineering for high‐performance NIR‐II imaging and targeted multiple phototherapies of pancreatic tumors is reported. An A‐D‐A‐type conjugated small‐molecule TPC is designed and used to prepare water‐dispersive nanoparticles, which demonstrated high efficiency for type I and type II photodynamic performances, good photothermal conversion of 57%, and bright NIR‐II emission with a quantum yield of 9.8% under 808 nm light irradiation. With pancreatic cancer cell membrane camouflage, the biomimetic TPC nanomedicine achieved high‐resolution and targeted bioimaging of whole‐body blood vessels and tumors. Antitumor experiments demonstrated the high efficiency of the biomimetic TPC nanomedicine for pancreatic tumor elimination and good biosafety with 808 nm light irradiation. This work demonstrated a NIR‐II‐emissive versatile nanomedicine with enhanced tumor‐targeting for high‐resolution NIR‐II bioimaging and superior phototheranostics, providing a feasible idea for the evolution of targeted and high‐performance theranostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The priority effect of plant arrival is a key driver of community assembly and ecosystem succession during the restoration of degraded plant communities. However, the significance of the arrival order of different plant functional groups and their interactions with community assemblies remains unclear. Using a phytotron experiment with three fully crossed factors, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of priority effects and their relationships with the biomass and biodiversity effects in mixed plant communities by manipulating the order of arrival of species, isolation of roots, and removal of specific plants. Results: The results showed that the strength and direction of priority effects were influenced by arrival order, root interactions, asymmetric competition among species, and their interactions. The identities of early and late-sown species also determined the magnitude of priority effects. The priority effects were stronger in grass-first (24.76%) and legume-first communities (24.48%) than in forb-first communities. The pot biomass of the different priority treatments was highest in grass-first (5.85 g), followed by legume-first (3.94 g) and forb-first (2.48 g). The order of arrival in the mixture significantly affected the net biodiversity effects (P < 0.001), which were driven by dominance effects. The community had lower overall biomass when forbs were sown first, whereas the species grown later had fewer costs with an increased overall net benefit for the resulting community. Conclusions: Our results emphasize that root interactions and asymmetric competition are vital determinants of order-specific priority effects in community assemblies. In addition, the importance of the priority effect of forbs sown first is related to community assembly, which may be a key determinant in successfully establishing a highly diverse community in the early stages of restoration. Species with weak competition should be considered in the early stage of community assembly. The rational use of the priority effect is conducive to improving the quality and efficiency of ecological restoration efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil legacy effects and biodiversity play important roles in driving plant community dynamics and functioning. However, experimental evidence of the effects of soil legacy on ecosystem multifunctionality (maintaining multiple functions simultaneously) is lacking. We first conducted a mesocosm experiment in which three common species (grass, legume, and forb) were planted in monocultures and mixed cultures to produce soil legacies. Subsequently, soils were sampled to test the soil legacy effects on ecosystem multifunctionality in a greenhouse experiment. Our findings showed that plant‐mediated soil legacy effects were species‐specific and strongly influenced the productivity of subsequent plants or combinations. Specifically, plant‐specific soil legacies had considerable impacts on the magnitude and direction of diversity‐dependent overyielding effects. Such effects can compensate for non‐legume soil legacy effects and maintain overall productivity. Functional diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality were largely affected by soil legacy effects and were significantly positively correlated with functional group richness. Based on our results, plant‐specific soil legacy is an important factor limiting the development of plant community and ecosystem multifunctionality in the early stage of community construction. The rational use of the synergistic effects of plant‐specific soil legacy and functional group richness may be a key to ensure the successful establishment of vegetation and grassland management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]