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This study investigates the decision process of own-brand intrusion by contract manufacturers and their selection of invasion sales modes under the consideration of service quality disparities between brand manufacturers and contract manufacturers. Specifically, the study constructs a three-tier supply chain system comprising a brand manufacturer, a contract manufacturer, and an e-commerce platform. The equilibrium profits under different sales mode combinations are determined by using reverse induction methodology, and the optimal sales mode combinations are analyzed and compared. The study reveals that the decision process of contract manufacturers' own-brand invasion depends on the potential market demand. Furthermore, when brand manufacturers adopt the reselling mode, the service quality level does not affect the decision process of invasion sales modes. However, when brand manufacturers adopt the agency mode, contract manufacturers with low service quality levels are more suitable for invasion through the agency mode, whereas contract manufacturers with high service quality levels are better suited for invasion through the reselling mode. Additionally, for the equilibrium sales mode combination among members of the supply chain, it is observed that with lower commission rates, both brand manufacturers and contract manufacturers choose the agency mode, while with higher commission rates, both choose the reselling mode. When commission rates are moderate, brand manufacturers prefer the agency mode, whereas contract manufacturers prefer the reselling mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three principal fates of axillary meristem in flowering plants are growth (G), reproduction (R), and inactivity (I). The allocation relationships between each meristem and plant size in annual herbaceous plants tend to change with altered precipitation (P) patterns in arid and semiarid grasslands. Here, we examined the allometry and plasticity of meristem allocation in three dominant annual herbaceous plants: Setaria viridis, Corispermum macrocarpum, and Bassia dasyphylla in a semiarid sandy grassland in northern China. We determined the range of plant sizes for each of the three species in the following treatments: ambient environment (Amb), P increased by 30% (P[+]) and by 60% (P[++]), P decreased by 30% (P[−]) and by 60% (P[− −]), drought for 46 days from May 1st to June 15th (D1) and from July 1st to August 15th (D2). We found that meristem allocation to branching intensity increased while allocation to apical dominance decreased with increasing plant size under decreased precipitation and seasonal drought. Decreased precipitation and seasonal drought caused the slope of allometry of meristem allocation in the three species to be significantly different from 1. Plasticity of meristem allocation to G, R, and I in S. viridis tended to be significantly greater in August under P(+) and P(++) while in C. macrocarpum tended to be greater in July under P(−), P(− −), D1, and D2. Our findings are important components of an adaptive strategy in annual herbaceous plants throughout the development stage, which will contribute to predict their developmental dynamics in the semiarid sandy grassland under future climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought seriously endangers the development of agro‐pastoral ecotone in arid and semi‐arid regions. However, drought evolution characteristics of semi‐arid sandy grassland and its drivers are not well understood in the complex climate change context. Thus, in this paper, the revised standardized precipitation evaporation indices on one‐month (SPEI‐1) and growing‐season (SPEI‐6) scale, flash drought and dry spells (DS) were calculated as drought indicators, and the temporal variabilities and meteorological drivers of drought in Horqin Sandy Land during the growing period (April–September) from 2007 to 2021 were studied. The results showed that SPEI‐1 and SPEI‐6 exhibited negative trends and periodic change. This drought aggravation was manifested in increased grades and numbers of drought months. Flash droughts can occur every month during the growing season. And its occurrence was not only positively correlated with all drought events in frequency but also synchronized in time. The increased number of DS showed an asymmetrical shift towards 7‐day‐and‐longer DS. SPEI sensitivity to precipitation (P) was noticeably higher than to atmospheric evapotranspiration demand (AED) at both monthly and growing season scales. SPEI sensitivity to AED was modulated by P amounts, which was higher during low P period. Apart from the amounts of P and AED, their temporal variability also strongly determined how they affect the drought severity. P was also the main driver for flash drought and long DS, but AED with larger amount and higher variability is the reason for their aggravation. Our results demonstrate the complexity of drought intensification in semi‐arid sandy grasslands and highlight the important role of AED anomalies in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overgrazing in semiarid grassland is a major cause of vegetation degradation. Understanding the changes in seedling patterns driven by grazing is crucial to unveiling mechanisms of plant community regeneration and succession in grazed grassland. However, the dynamics of seedling emergence and species diversity under grazing are rarely studied. This study used periodical field investigation to examine the variation in seedling emergence, plant diversity, species composition, and seedling survival of herbaceous plants under four grazing intensities, including light (LG), moderate (MG), heavy (HG), and non‐grazed (NG), in a semiarid sandy grassland. The results showed that seedling number and density were significantly higher in HG plots, while the seedling survival rate was significantly lower in HG, and that seedling emergence dynamics varied with grazing. Seventy‐five percent of the seedlings in HG emerged during early spring in April, while approximately 50% of the seedlings in LG, MG, and NG emerged in May. Differences in species richness and diversity varied with growth stages and the diversity was always higher in LG than in other grazing habitats during the main growing season. Annual forb seedlings increased while annual grass seedlings decreased after grazing with no perennial grass seedlings in HG. Our study suggests that high seedling emergence but low seedling survival rate, and simple species composition especially the disappearance of perennial plants caused by HG may be an important factor leading to vegetation degradation in the semiarid grazed grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seedlings are a crucial part of the plant community and the basis of vegetation restoration and regeneration. Grazing and climate change are two main factors contributing to vegetation changes in semiarid grasslands. However, the effects of grazing on seedling emergence with rainfall variation are not clearly understood. This study aimed to address how seedling abundance and the emergence dynamics of annuals respond to grazing with rainfall changes in different years. We conducted a seedling investigation experiment in a grassland along a grazing intensity gradient (light grazing—LG; moderate grazing—MG; heavy grazing—HG) in contrasting wet and dry years. The results showed that MG increased the seedling richness of grasses and forbs in the wet year, but increasing grazing resulted in a decline in forb richness in the dry year. Seedling abundance of grasses was enhanced under MG, while seedling abundance of forbs was higher under HG. The monthly emergence dynamics were generally in a single peak pattern, but the peak time of seedling emergence for forbs advanced under HG. Seedling abundance of whole annuals increased with grazing in the wet year but was much higher under MG in the dry year. Our results suggest that more judicious grazing management based on rainfall variation and functional composition of the plant community should be undertaken to facilitate grassland restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass aerogels are a promising kind of environment-friendly thermal insulation material. However, the flammability, poor water resistance, and thermal instability of biomass aerogels limit their applications. Herein, freeze-drying and thermal imidization were used to create konjac glucomannan (KGM), boron nitride (BN), and polyimide (PI)-based aerogels with a semi-interpenetrating network structure. The introduction of BN was beneficial to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability of aerogels. The imidization process of PI improved the hydrophobicity, mechanical property, and flame retardancy of the aerogels. The synergistic effect of PI and BN reduced the peak heat release rate and total heat release rate of KGM-based aerogel by 55.8 % and 35 %, respectively, and endowed aerogel with good self-extinguishing performance. Moreover, the results of thermal conductivity and infrared thermal imaging demonstrated that the aerogels had excellent thermal insulation properties, and could effectively manage thermal energy over a wide range of temperatures. This study provides a simple method for the preparation of heat-insulating aerogel with high fire safety, which has broad application prospects in the field of energy saving and emission reduction. • Aerogels with semi-interpenetrating network structure were designed by freeze-drying. • Aerogels had the advantages of low density, high porosity, hydrophobicity and excellent mechanical strength. • The synergistic effect of PI and BN endowed the aerogels with good flame retardancy. • Aerogels could effectively manage thermal energy over a wide temperature range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasons for credit spreads can be divided into enterprise-specific non-systematic risks and widespread macroeconomic systemic risks. The previous traditional research mainly focused on the perspective of unsystematic risk. However, at present, more and more scholars are beginning to focus on systemic risks. Based on the neural network algorithm, this paper constructs an improved neural network-based corporate bond spread model to explore the impact of macro systemic risks on credit spreads. Based on the multi-factor no-arbitrage model, the linear relationship between the credit spread and the risk premium of each factor is obtained. At the same time, based on previous research results and observations of the current market reality, this paper identifies five important macroeconomic factors: actual economic output factors, inflation factors, stock market volatility factors, stock market return factors and inter-bank funding factors. The research results show that the model constructed in this paper has excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio alginolyticus (V. alginolyticus) is a common pathogen in the ocean. In addition to causing serious economic losses in aquaculture, it can also infect humans. The rapid detection of nucleic acids of V. alginolyticus with high sensitivity and specificity in the field is very important for the diagnosis and treatment of infection caused by V. alginolyticus. Here, we established a simple, fast and effective molecular method for the identification of V. alginolyticus that does not rely on expensive instruments and professionals. The method integrates recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technology with CRISPR system in a single PCR tube. Using this method, the results can be visualized by lateral flow dipstick (LFD) in less than 50 min, we named this method RPA-CRISPR/Cas13a-LFD. The method was confirmed to achieve high specificity for the detection of V. alginolyticus with no cross-reactivity with similar Vibrio and common clinical pathogens. This diagnostic method shows high sensitivity; the detection limit of the RPA-CRISPR/Cas13a-LFD is 10 copies/µL. We successfully identified 35 V. alginolyticus strains from a total of 55 different bacterial isolates and confirmed their identity by (Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF MS). We also applied this method on infected mice blood, and the results were both easily and rapidly obtained. In conclusion, RPA-CRISPR/Cas13a-LFD offers great potential as a useful tool for reliable and rapid diagnosis of V. alginolyticus infection, especially in limited conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, a vanadium-trioxide/carbon-nanofiber composite (V2O3/CNF), integrated with different amounts of V2O3, was synthesized by a simple approach. After a simple combined electrospinning and carbonization process, V2O3 nanoparticles were successfully distributed through carbon fibers. Due to the synergistic effect between V2O3 and carbon, V2O3/CNF as an anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) exhibits high reversible capacity and excellent long-term cycling stability. The content of V2O3 is of great importance to the electrochemical performance. The V2O3/CNF with the optimized content of V2O3 (57 wt%) shows a capacity of 544 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 after 500 cycles. More importantly, a capacity of 204 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 4 A g−1 can be retained after 1000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A label-free ratiometric electrochemical biosensor was constructed for monitoring intracellular redox homeostasis by DNA metallization-mediated hybridization chain reaction amplification. This platform could also be used to discriminate cancer cells and normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) holds great potential for treating enzyme deficiency related diseases. However, the enzymic vulnerability and the undesirable toxic side effects have strongly limited its clinical applications. Here a novel artificial metalloenzyme-based ERT with significant self-protection and toxic self-cleaning ability is developed for the treatment of hyperuricemia. The uricase and platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) are closely confined in the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and encapsulated within a silica defense layer to form a tandem catalytic system. This artificial metalloenzyme keeps a high uric acid (UA) degradation activity, as well as a strong resistance capability toward various insults, such as pH, high temperature, and protease. Besides, the H2O2 produced by UA can be simultaneously eliminated by the PtNPs, resulting in significant improvement on the mammalian cell viability. In vivo studies display prominent therapy effect and no obvious side effects during the treatment of hyperuricemia mice using this artificial metalloenzyme. These results provide new insights into development of efficient and friendly enzyme replacement therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Eicosanoid lipids play important roles in cellular signaling as second messengers in inflammation, immune response, vascular tone, and the CNS. Biosynthesis of eicosanoid lipids proceeds via hydrolysis of esterified arachidonic acid from phospholipids followed by oxidation of the released arachidonic acid by a variety of enzymes including cyclooxygenases (COX). Herein, we demonstrate the remarkable ability of COX-2, but not COX-1, to directly oxidize 2-arachidonoyl-lysolipids, resulting in the generation of previously unknown classes of eicosanoid-lysolipids, and provide evidence that intracellular lipases can release eicosanoids from their eicosanoid-lysolipid precursors. Importantly, genetic ablation of a phospholipase, iPLA 2 γ, significantly reduced the amounts of these eicosanoid-lysolipids in murine hepatic tissue and fibroblasts. Furthermore, calcium stimulation of wild-type murine lung fibroblasts produced robust increases in these eicosanoid-lysolipids, which were markedly attenuated in iPLA 2 γ −/− fibroblasts. Collectively, these results identify an iPLA 2 γ-initiated pathway generating new classes of lipid metabolites with potential signaling functions resulting from the direct COX-2 catalyzed oxidation of 2-arachidonoyl-lysolipids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the semi-arid Horqin Sandy Land of northern China, Caragana microphylla , a leguminous shrub, is the dominant plant species widely used in re-vegetation efforts aimed at stabilization of mobile sandy lands. However, the effect of rainfall characteristics on soil water dynamics and deep percolation in C. microphylla shrublands are not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine the responses of volumetric water content (VWC) and deep percolation under the root zone of C. microphylla to different rainfall characteristics. An underground chamber with 23 concrete basins (200 × 200 × 230 cm 3 ) was constructed to conduct this experiment during the growing seasons from 2010 to 2013. For this study, three of the basins were filled with sandy soil taken from the C. microphylla shrublands near to the station (about 200 m) and one C. microphylla shrub was transplanted into each basin in 2009. The corresponding hourly rainfall data were obtained from an automated meteorological station. VWC was recorded hourly using MiniTrase Soil Moisture Monitoring System at 0–20, 20–40, 40–60, 60–80, 80–100, 100–120, 120–140, and 140–160 cm soil depths. Deep percolating water was collected in the underground chamber and measured daily. Our results showed that rainfall amount, intensity, duration, and the duration of the dry interval were significantly correlated with VWC in different soil layers. The amount of deep percolation was significantly correlated with rainfall amounts and rainfall duration, but not with rainfall intensity and the duration of the dry interval. Average deep percolation in C. microphylla shrublands was 97.5, 114.3, 66.8, and 15.1 mm in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, and accounted for 62.79%, 49.41%, 27.96%, and 7.36% of rainfall during the growing season. The coefficient of deep percolation was significantly negatively associated with annual mean shrub cover and canopy size, but not with annual mean height of C. microphylla . Our results suggested that re-vegetation with C. microphylla in this region is likely to result in a reduction in potential groundwater recharge and decrease of soil water content relations with an increase in age of the shrub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen and carbon co-doped porous TiO2 nanofibers (NCPTNs) were exploited by a combination of electrospinning and controlled calcination technologies. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) was employed both as a template and as a nitrogen and carbon source. It is clear that the prepared NCPTNs exhibit high absorption in the visible light region, suggesting that the co-doping of nitrogen and carbon onto TiO2 not only leads to a shift of the absorption edge to lower energy by inducing new band levels, but also creates large amounts of single-electron-trapped oxygen vacancy. Besides, the porous structure and high surface area provide large active points for the photodecomposition reaction of methylene blue. Moreover, the NCPTN obtained in 5 wt% urea shows the highest photocatalytic activity for methylene blue decomposition under the visible light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rainfall changes interacting with vegetation cover types affect deep percolation. • Deep percolation depends more on precipitation amount and duration than on intensity. • Deep percolation decreases with increased plant cover and total aboveground biomass. • Restoration with sand-stabilizing vegetation reduces deep percolation in sandy lands. Changes in precipitation patterns and vegetation variability generally affect deep percolation and increasingly limited groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the dynamics of deep percolation and its response to precipitation patterns after vegetation restoration in semi-arid sandy lands are not well understood. Thus, in this work, four typical geomorphologic landscapes with different vegetation types (M: mobile sandy land without vegetation; SH: semi-mobile sandy land with Caragana microphylla shrub but not herbaceous plants; SH&H: semi-fixed sandy land with C. microphylla shrub and herbaceous plants; H: fixed sandy land with herbaceous plants but not C. microphylla shrub) were simulated by an underground observation chamber to monitor daily variability in deep percolation, and characteristics of precipitation and vegetation growth were recorded during the growing seasons from 2010 to 2018. Our results showed that precipitation amount and duration were the most critical factors affecting deep percolation in M, H, SH and SH&H. The response of deep percolation to precipitation events in M was more sensitive than that in SH, H, and SH&H. The amount of deep percolation in M varied consistently with precipitation, and was significantly higher than that in SH, H and SH&H. Deep percolation had a weak negative correlation with species richness and mean height, and a strong negative correlation with mean plant cover and total aboveground biomass. Restoration of sand-stabilizing vegetation reduced deep percolation, and the reduction was greater in H than in SH. Average annual coefficients of deep percolation were 53.3 %, 9.9 %, 7.3 %, and 4.7 % in M, SH, H, and SH&H, respectively. Our results highlight that restoration of sand-stabilizing vegetation and subsequent increases in plant cover and aboveground biomass significantly reduce deep percolation and even groundwater recharge in semi-arid sandy lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heating extraction steam (HEXTR) flow rate is the key parameter to determine the heat load of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and the safe operation area of the steam turbine of CHP plant. Due to the difficulty of direct measurement, a soft measurement method of this flow rate is proposed. First, three calculation methods based on different principles are given: the Flügel formula of the steam turbine method, the butterfly valve flow characteristics method, and the improvement of heat balance characteristic of the turbine method. Then, a soft-sensing method through frequency complementary information fusion is proposed to combine the advantages of the three methods. The specific fusion algorithm uses Flügel formula of the turbine as a static model, the heat balance characteristic of the turbine to correct the coefficient in the model, and the butterfly valve characteristic to realize dynamic compensation. Finally, the proposed soft sensor is applied in the monitoring system of a typical 330 MW CHP plant. The actual operating data shows that the relative static measurement error of the soft sensor is less than 1% and the dynamic response is as fast as power load change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a laccase LAC-Yang1 was successfully purified from a white-rot fungus strain Pleurotus ostreatus strain yang1 with high laccase activity. The enzymatic properties of LAC-Yang1 and its ability to degrade and detoxify chlorophenols such as 2,6-dichlorophenol and 2,3,6-trichlorophenol were systematically studied. LAC-Yang1 showed a strong tolerance to extremely acidic conditions and strong stability under strong alkaline conditions (pH 9–12). LAC-Yang1 also exhibited a strong tolerance to different inhibitors (EDTA, SDS), metal ions (Mn2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Zn2+, Al3+, Co2+, and metal ion mixtures), and organic solvents (glycerol, propylene glycol). LAC-Yang1 showed good stability in the presence of Mg2+, Mn2+, glycerol, and ethylene glycol. Our results reveal the strong degradation ability of this laccase for high concentrations of chlorophenols (especially 2,6-dichlorophenol) and chlorophenol mixtures (2,6-dichlorophenol + 2,3,6-trichlorophenol). LAC-Yang1 displayed a strong tolerance toward a variety of metal ions (Na2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, K+ and metal ion mixtures) and organic solvents (glycerol, ethylene glycol) in its degradation of 2,6-dichlorophenol and 2,3,6-trichlorophenol. The phytotoxicity of 2,6-dichlorophenol treated by LAC-Yang1 was significantly reduced or eliminated. LAC-Yang1 demonstrated a good detoxification effect on 2,6-dichlorophenol while degrading this compound. In conclusion, LAC-Yang1 purified from Pleurotus ostreatus has great application value and potential in environmental biotechnology, especially the efficient degradation and detoxification of chlorophenols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-activatable ultrasmall nanozyme generation is an unprecedented strategy to overcome intrinsically fatal defects of traditional reactive oxygen species (ROS)-based nanoagents for deep tumor penetration, including limited tissue-penetrating depth of external energy, heavy reliance on oxygen and nonspecific toxicity of therapeutic agents. Here, based on the cascade reaction between glucose oxidase (GOx) and ultrasmall peroxidase nanozyme embedded into acid-dissociable zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), such a tumor-activatable ultrasmall nanozyme generator is designed for enhanced penetration and deep catalytic therapy. With the aid of mildly acidic tumor microenvironment, the produced gluconic acid from intratumoral glucose can gradually induce the dissociation of ZIF-8 to release ultrasmall peroxidase nanozyme with significant intratumoral penetration. On the other hand, the generated hydrogen peroxide with relatively long-life can be subsequently catalyzed by penetrated peroxidase nanozyme into toxic hydroxyl radicals for deep catalytic therapy. In this way, the well-designed nanoplatform not only can greatly enhance tumor penetration but also directly induce exogenous ROS without oxygen participation and external energy input, thereby thoroughly avoiding the inactivation of traditional ROS-based nanoagents in the extremely hypoxic tumor center and finally resulting in remarkable deep catalytic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, deep neural networks have made significant progress in image classification, object detection and face recognition. However, they still have the problem of misclassification when facing adversarial examples. In order to address security issue and improve the robustness of the neural network, we propose a novel defense network based on generative adversarial network (GAN). The distribution of clean - and adversarial examples are matched to solve the mentioned problem. This guides the network to remove invisible noise accurately, and restore the adversarial example to a clean example to achieve the effect of defense. In addition, in order to maintain the classification accuracy of clean examples and improve the fidelity of neural network, we input clean examples into proposed network for denoising. Our method can effectively remove the noise of the adversarial examples, so that the denoised adversarial examples can be correctly classified. In this paper, extensive experiments are conducted on five benchmark datasets, namely MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, CIFAR10, CIFAR100 and ImageNet. Moreover, six mainstream attack methods are adopted to test the robustness of our defense method including FGSM, PGD, MIM, JSMA, CW and Deep-Fool. Results show that our method has strong defensive capabilities against the tested attack methods, which confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a promising material due to its biodegradability and compatibility. However, the limited resistance to ultraviolet (UV) degradation of PLA composites hinders their use in automotive interior materials. In our previous work, we successfully prepared 3D printed filaments by combining KH550-treated micro-nano rice husk (MNRH) fibers with KH570-treated PLA, which exhibited favorable performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of silane coupling agents, MNRH, and accelerated UV weathering time on the photodegradation behavior of 3D printed PLA-matrix composites reinforced with MNRH. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were utilized to characterize the 3D printed PLA-matrix composites. Furthermore, an exponential equation between tensile strength and UV weathering time was established, providing theoretical guidance for predicting the service life of automotive interior materials based on PLA composites. The morphological characterization experimental results indicate that with prolonged UV aging time, both PLA and RH6-KH550/KH570 composite materials transitioned from transparency to translucency. This transition can be attributed to the rupture of polylactic acid molecular chains and chemical bonds during the UV aging process. FTIR test results revealed the formation of carboxylic acid in the composite, and the reduction of C = O absorption intensity indicated that MNRH and silane coupling agents exhibited a stabilizing effect on the UV durability of the RH6-KH550/KH570 composite. TGA and DSC results indicated that KH550 and KH570 delayed the photodegradation rate of PLA-matrix composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The desert steppe is an important component of arid and semiarid grassland, and plays a crucial role in livestock production. Livestock grazing is a key driver of grassland biodiversity, ecosystem functionality, and stability. However, the effects of grazing on temporal stability of the ecosystem across spatial scales in desert steppe remains unclear. Here, we conducted a five-year sheep grazing experiment encompassing three grazing intensities, namely no grazing (NG), medium grazing (MG), and heavy grazing (HG). This was undertaken at five different spatial scales of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 m2 in a desert steppe, northern China. We tested how grazing has impacted on species diversity, asynchrony, stability, and ecosystem stability across different spatial scales. We found that grazing did not alter the species diversity. However, there was a decrease in ecosystem stability and species asynchrony across spatial scales. MG increased the species stability across spatial scales, while it was reduced under HG. Species asynchrony and stability were negatively associated with diversity. They were positively related to ecosystem stability and formed a negative relationship between species diversity and ecosystem stability across spatial scales. Grazing weakened the negative influence of diversity on species asynchrony, and the insurance influence of asynchrony on ecosystem stability. This reduced the destabilizing effects of species diversity on temporal stability of the ecosystem across spatial scales. Structural equation modeling has shown that grazing indirectly decreased ecosystem stability only through reduction of species asynchrony and stability. This highlights the important regulatory functions of species asynchrony and stability with grazing across spatial scales in desert steppe. We suggest that biodiversity should be balanced against grazing intensity to achieve a high level of ecosystem function and stability with increasing spatial scales in arid grassland. • Grazing decreases ecosystem stability and species asynchrony. • Grazing induces a destabilizing influence of diversity in ecosystem stability. • Grazing impairs ecosystem stability by reducing species asynchrony and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using biodegradable blending materials is one of the most effective ways to address plastic pollution but it is hindered by its poor interfacial interaction along with high costs. Herein, an envirionmentally friendly filler, camellia seed powder (CSP)−a byproduct of camellia seed after defatting, is reported, which is first served as a compatibilizer in polylactic acid (PLA)/polybutylene succinate (PBS) blends without any other aids or complicated pretreatment, effectively toughening the PLA/PBS blends due to a better interfacial interaction. The results show that the toughness of composites increases with CSP content. With the addition of 30 phr CSP, its impact strength and elongation at break increase by 44.31% and 148.42%, respectively, as compared with the blend without CSP. The combined effects of improved interfacial bonding, reduced particle size of PBS and efficient stress transfer are responsible for the toughness enhancement. The compatibilization mechanism is proposed that ─COOH groups in PLA and PBS react with ─NH2 in CSP. The above finding of CSP as a compatibilizer provides a facile and inexpensive strategy in the fabrication of high‐performance biodegradable materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bismuth titanates (BTs) can be fabricated by electrospinning combined with calcination at different temperatures. BiOCl/Bi2Ti2O7 nanorod heterostructures were obtained at 500 °C. They possess excellent photocatalytic efficiency and stability for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC‐HCl) degradation under simulated solar light. The excellent catalytic activity is predominantly attributed to the heterostructure between BiOCl and Bi2Ti2O7, which accelerates the separation of photogenerated carriers while the narrow band gap of Bi2Ti2O7 enhances solar energy utilization. On the basis of energy band engineering, scavenger tests, and LC‐HRMS analysis, a possible degradation pathway of TC‐HCl and photocatalytic mechanism were proposed. Our work can predict a facile route for achieving high photocatalytic performance of Bi2Ti2O7‐based materials in the application of TC‐HCl degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag/AgCl composite as an alternative visible-light photocatalyst has attracted extensive interests; however, the high charge carrier recombination rate and short-term photocatalytic durability limit their practical application. In the present work, TiO 2 hollow nanofibers (ELTiO 2 ) grafted Ag/AgCl is fabricated via electrospinning-precipitation method. Compared with Ag/AgCl and Ag/AgCl-SGTiO 2 (sol-gel synthetized TiO 2 ), 2.89 and 1.59-fold enhancement in the photodegradation rate toward MO is observed over Ag/AgCl-ELTiO 2 under visible light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the higher content of the exposed AgCl {1 1 1} facet, which is beneficial for the separation of photogenerated carriers and accounts for more active sites. Moreover, Ag/AgCl-ELTiO 2 shows better photostability than bare Ag/AgCl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to develop a novel organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterial from agricultural biomass waste for environmental applications. The sugarcane bagasse (SB) supported TiO 2 hybrids were firstly synthesized via a sol-gel method. A series of characterizations were carried out to reveal the structures and components of obtained hybrids. Due to organic-inorganic hybrid (OIH) effect and element doping, the SB-TiO 2 hybrid can expand its optical absorbance ranging from ultraviolet to visible light. The optimal hybrid catalyst prepared with SB doping amount of 2 g in 100 mL titanic gel and calcined at 200 °C was able to degradate 95.0% methyl orange (MO) in 5 h under visible light. This study will pave a new and facile pathway for novel visible light driven photocatalysts based on TiO 2 modified by agricultural biomass waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infections are a serious threat to human health, and the rapid emergence of bacterial resistance caused by the abuse of antibiotics exacerbates the seriousness of this problem. Effectively utilizing natural products to construct new antimicrobial strategies is regarded as a promising way to suppress the rapid development of bacterial resistance. In this paper, we fabricated a new type of natural antibacterial patch by using a natural active substance (allicin) as an antibacterial agent and the porous structure of the white pulp of pomelo peel as a scaffold. The antibacterial activity and mechanisms were systematically investigated by using various technologies, including the bacteriostatic circle, plate counting, fluorescence staining, and a scanning electron microscope. Both gram-positive and negative bacteria can be effectively killed by this patch. Moreover, this natural antibacterial patch also showed significant anti-skin infection activity. This study provides a green approach for constructing efficient antibacterial patches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast recombination of photo-generated conduction band electrons ( e ) and valance band holes ( h ) of TiO results in an unsatisfactory photocatalytic performance for organic degradation. To increase the efficiency of charge separation, TiO was modified by Cu-Ce co-doping considering the better redox properties of copper-ceria oxide with respect to the single oxide, i.e., an easier electron capturing ability. An optimal Cu-Ce co-doped TiO with the initial molar ratio of Cu/Ce at 3:1 was prepared by a hydrothermal method with the aim to greatly promote the charge separation, and characterized by XRD, BET, DRS, PL, HR-TEM, and XPS techniques. Upon ultraviolet light irradiation, it exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity, about 5.8 times that of Ti-HF. The presence of Cu and Ce/Ce benefits electrons captured by molecular oxygen, while an increased hydroxyl groups upon Cu-Ce co-doping consume more holes, resulting in prolonged lifetime of photo-generated carriers. Moreover, it is proved that electron transfers preferably from conduction band (CB) of TiO to CB of CuO and then to nearby CeO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding cellular force transmission dynamics is crucial in mechanobiology. We developed the DNA-based ForceChrono probe to measure force magnitude, duration, and loading rates at the single-molecule level within living cells. The ForceChrono probe circumvents the limitations of in vitro single-molecule force spectroscopy by enabling direct measurements within the dynamic cellular environment. Our findings reveal integrin force loading rates of 0.5–2 pN/s and durations ranging from tens of seconds in nascent adhesions to approximately 100 s in mature focal adhesions. The probe's robust and reversible design allows for continuous monitoring of these dynamic changes as cells undergo morphological transformations. Additionally, by analyzing how mutations, deletions, or pharmacological interventions affect these parameters, we can deduce the functional roles of specific proteins or domains in cellular mechanotransduction. The ForceChrono probe provides detailed insights into the dynamics of mechanical forces, advancing our understanding of cellular mechanics and the molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction. [Display omitted] • ForceChrono probe quantifies the "temporal codes" of mechanotransduction in cells • Reveals force duration from tens of seconds to 100 s in adhesion sites • Measures integrin force loading rates from 0.5 to 2 pN/s • ForceChrono probe reveals in-cell protein roles by measuring force dynamics Development of the ForceChrono probe allows for precise measurement of duration and loading rates of single-molecule forces in living cells, revealing protein roles in force dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A facial way of value-added utilization of camellia seed powder. • 3D-printed scaffold based on camellia seed powder for adsorbing methylene blue. • The construction of porous structure to accelerate the adsorption efficiency. This paper proposes a strategy for improving the adsorption efficiency of methylene blue (MB) on 3D-printed camellia seed powder (CSP) scaffold. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was employed as a porogen for CSP blended with polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). The PLA/PBS/CSP/PVA composite scaffold was fabricated via 3D-printing technique. And the prepared scaffold was eroded by water for enhancing the porosity. The scaffold with and without water-erosion were characterized respectively, and their MB adsorption performances and mechanism were investigated. The porosity of PLA/PBS/CSP/PVA with water-erosion and PLA/PBS/CSP scaffolds are 48.37 % and 21.24 % respectively, and the corresponding removal efficiency of MB in 100 mg/L MB solution for 12 h are 89.84 % and 57.27 %, suggesting that the construction of porous obviously accelerates adsorption speed of MB on the scaffold. The MB adsorption process of the scaffold with water-erosion can be described by Pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherms indicate that a monolayer adsorption is formed on the scaffold surface. The statistical physics monolayers models and experimental characterization were further employed to investigate the adsorption mechanism of MB molecules on scaffold. Moreover, the adsorption ratio of the scaffold with water-erosion remains 98.21 % at 7 runs of adsorption-desorption experiment, exhibiting a good reusability. These results will open a new understanding in the design and preparation of a new candidate for dye molecules removal with high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) disintegration occurs during long-term operation, decreasing particle settling performance and deteriorating the pollutant removal effect. Therefore, this experiment proposes an electric field synergistic AGS construction to improve the strength of particles and the efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The study revealed that under the influence of an electric field, iron ions dissolved from the iron electrode and phosphate formed mineral nuclei inside the particles, which effectively increased the average size of the particles and increased the protein content of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The experimental results demonstrated that including Fe–C electrodes in the electric field group increased the TN removal rate to 86.65%, surpassing the rates observed in the blank without an electric field and C–C electrode electric field groups by factors of 1.13 and 1.11, respectively. Under the electric field, AGS enriched some functional microorganisms for denitrogenation, thus improving total nitrogen removal efficiency. Furthermore, the phosphorus removal efficiency in the electric field group featuring Fe–C electrodes exhibited a notable enhancement, reaching 90.16%. This improvement was 1.71 and 1.62 times that of blank without an electric field and C–C electrode electric field groups, respectively. The phosphorus removal efficacy of electrode-released iron is distinct from that of exogenous ferrous sulfate, with the former demonstrating superior activity and pronounced phosphorus removal capabilities. Therefore, this study comprehensively revealed AGS construction mechanism and pollutant removal efficacy under the electric field's synergistic effect. [Display omitted] • Dissolved iron ions from the iron electrode form Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 with phosphorus increasing the strength of AGS. • The electric field stimulated the secretion of EPS and accelerated the AGS granulation process. • The electric field enhances the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by AGS. • The electric field enriched some bacteria with synchronous nitrification denitrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsatisfactory oxygen mobility is a considerable barrier to the development of perovskites for low‐temperature volatile organic compounds (VOCs) oxidation. This work introduced small amounts of dispersed non‐metal boron into the LaCoO3 crystal through an easy sol‐gel method to create more oxygen defects, which are conducive to the catalytic performance of propane (C3H8) oxidation. It reveals that moderate addition of boron successfully induces a high distortion of the LaCoO3 crystal, decreases the perovskite particle size, and produces a large proportion of bulk Co2+ species corresponding to abundant oxygen vacancies. Additionally, surface Co3+ species, as the acid sites, which are active for cleaving the C−H bonds of C3H8 molecules, are enriched. As a result, the LCB‐7 (molar ratio of Co/B=0.93:0.07) displays the best C3H8 oxidation activity. Simultaneously, the above catalyst exhibits superior thermal stability against CO2 and H2O, lasting 200 h. This work provides a new strategy for modifying the catalytic VOCs oxidation performance of perovskites by the regulation of amorphous boron dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) with a low melting point and a similar performance to polyethylene is employed as a printing material; talc is introduced into the matrix to enhance the melt strength of pure PBS during printing. The PBS/talc composite 3D printing filament is prepared by melt extrusion, and the thermal, mechanical, morphological, and rheological properties of the composites are investigated. The results show that the addition of talc to PBS leads to an increase in crystallization temperature. In addition, the tensile and flexural strengths of the injection‐molded specimens increase when the talc concentration increases. However, the mechanical properties of the printed specimens exhibit an opposite variation trend due to their distinct forming process. The printing temperature is 135 °C, which is far lower than those of commercial grade polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) printing filaments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that increasing the talc concentration creates better printed formability and well‐organized fracture surface structures. By comparing printed fishbones, the results suggest that the presence of talc leads to a good printing performance with the composite. Furthermore, the rheological results reveal that η*, G′, and G″ are enhanced by the addition of talc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil respiration is a major pathway by which carbon dioxide (CO2) fixed by terrestrial plants returns to the atmosphere. Studies of the dynamics of soil respiration in sandy land are rare and the contribution (Rc) of plant root respiration to the total soil respiration (Rt) is not well known. In this study, Rt in a semi-fixed dune planted with Artemisia halodendron was separated into autotrophic (root) respiration (Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) by the root-exclusion method. Rt and its two components were measured or calculated during 2013 on seven dates during the growing season when variation during the day was measured. Both Ra and Rh showed similar dynamics, with the maximum rates observed in July and with large daily variability observed on the earlier dates. Rc ranged from 39.3% to 53.1% during the growing season and exhibited a single peak in early August. Soil temperature at a depth of 20 cm was significantly correlated with soil respiration. Ra was more sensitive to soil temperature than Rh and the temperature sensitivity coefficients (Q10) were 3.39, 2.52, and 2.79 for Ra, Rh, and Rt, respectively. In summary, A. halodendron roots contributed an average of 46% to the total soil respiration, although this contribution varied during the growing season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteolysis of amyloid‐β (Aβ) is a promising approach against Alzheimer's disease. However, it is not feasible to employ natural hydrolases directly because of their cumbersome preparation and purification, poor stability, and hazardous immunogenicity. Therefore, artificial enzymes have been developed as potential alternatives to natural hydrolases. Since specific cleavage sites of Aβ are usually embedded inside the β‐sheet structures that restrict access by artificial enzymes, this strongly hinders their efficiency for practical applications. Herein, we construct a NIR (near‐IR) controllable artificial metalloprotease (MoS2‐Co) using a molybdenum disulfide nanosheet (MoS2) and a cobalt complex of 1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetraacetic acid (Codota). Evidenced by detailed experimental and theoretical studies, the NIR‐enhanced MoS2‐Co can circumvent the restriction by simultaneously inhibition of β‐sheet formation and destroying β‐sheet structures of the preformed Aβ aggregates in living cell. Furthermore, our designed MoS2‐Co is an easy to graft Aβ‐target agent that prevents misdirected or undesirable hydrolysis reactions, and has been demonstrated to cross the blood brain barrier. This method can be adapted for hydrolysis of other kinds of amyloids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity threatens the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions, and ridge-furrow planting systems (RFPS) can be a prospective rainwater harvesting approach. In this study, we aimed to develop a promising water-saving strategy to boost maize productivity and water use efficiency (WUE). In 2017, we carried out a field experiment to study the effects of various RFPS with multiple irrigation levels on the yield-water relationship of maize (Zea mays L.). Eleven treatments were set up: RFPS with film mulching on both ridges and furrows and without water supply after seed emergence, abbreviated as QF; RFPS with film mulching on continuous ridges, abbreviated as MD, including SMD, MMD, and LMD (S, M, and L—three water supply (irrigation plus precipitation) levels of 650 mm, 500 mm, and 350 mm during the whole growing season); RFPS without film mulching, abbreviated as DD, including SDD, MDD, and LDD; conventional flat planting with no film mulching, abbreviated as GG, including SGG, MGG, and LGG; localized full irrigation (actual amount of irrigation excessively exceeding the quantity needed), abbreviated as NM. A positive linear relationship (R2 = 0.95–1), a quadratic curve, and a negative linear relationship were observed between the irrigation water level and actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc), grain yield, and WUE, respectively. The ETc of QF (292 mm) was substantially lower than that of the other treatments (p < 0.01), saving 649 mm of irrigation water and increasing the yield by 2.24% compared with those of NM. Meanwhile, the WUE and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of QF reached maximums of 6.3 and 47.36 kg m−3, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of other treatments (p < 0.001). The results showed that planting in an RFPS with film mulching on both ridges and furrows (a ridge-to-furrow ratio of 50:30, with a 38 mm irrigation level) is suitable for maize to obtain high yield and reduce irrigation water use significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of nitropyridyl-based dichloropropene ethers were prepared and evaluated for their insecticidal activities against main lepidopteran pests such as M. separate , P. xylostella and P. litura. The compounds showed a broad-spectrum of remarkable insecticidal activities. Especially 4a (2,6-dichloro-4-(3,3-dichloroallyloxy)phenyl 3-[5-nitro-2-pyridyloxy]propyl ether) and 11a (2-(4-(3-(2,6-dichloro-4-((3,3-dichloroallyl)oxy)phenoxy)propoxy)phenoxy)-5-nitropyridine) displayed potent activities comparable to that of Pyridalyl, the only commercialized dichloropropene ether insecticide thus far. The structure-activity relationship was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small, novel wheat drying oven was designed, and tested in order to validate the possibility of recovering diesel engine waste heat as thermal energy. Prior to experiments, the theoretical probability was conducted, and it was confirmed that the thermal energy required for drying wheat could be satisfied by reusing the diesel engine waste heat. Three different experiment parameters, including air temperature, baffle angle, and drying time, were controlled to optimize the results. Based on the experiment data, the optimum temperature for drying wheat was 55°C, and the optimum baffle angle was 23.25°. The drying efficiency decreased as the drying temperature and drying time increased. The moisture content of wheat decreased from 26.0% to 20.0% with 55°C hot air when the proposed wheat drying oven was used. The test results demonstrated that the proposed oven could be made to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Ion channels are transmembrane proteins ubiquitously expressed in all cells that control various ions (e.g. Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Cl- etc) crossing cellular plasma membrane, which play critical roles in physiological processes including regulating signal transduction, cell proliferation as well as excitatory cell excitation and conduction. Abnormal ion channel function is usually associated with dysfunctions and many diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, ophthalmic diseases, pulmonary diseases and even cancers. The precise regulation of ion channels not only helps to decipher physiological and pathological processes, but also is expected to become cutting-edge means for disease treatment. Recently, nanoparticles-mediated ion channel manipulation emerges as a highly promising way to meet the increasing requirements with respect to their simple, efficient, precise, spatiotemporally controllable and non-invasive regulation in biomedicine and other research frontiers. Thanks the advantages of their unique properties, nanoparticles can not only directly block the pore sites or kinetics of ion channels through their tiny size effect, and perturb active voltage-gated ion channel by their charged surface, but they can also act as antennas to conduct or enhance external physical stimuli to achieve spatiotemporal, precise and efficient regulation of various ion channel activities (e.g. light-, mechanical-, and temperature-gated ion channels etc). So far, nanoparticles-mediated ion channel regulation has shown potential prospects in many biomedical fields at the interfaces of neuro- and cardiovascular modulation, physiological function regeneration and tumor therapy et al. Towards such important fields, in this typical review, we specifically outline the latest studies of different types of ion channels and their activities relevant to the diseases. In addition, the different types of stimulation responsive nanoparticles, their interaction modes and targeting strategies towards the plasma membrane ion channels will be systematically summarized. More importantly, the ion channel regulatory methods mediated by functional nanoparticles and their bioapplications associated with physiological modulation and therapeutic development will be discussed. Last but not least, current challenges and future perspectives in this field will be covered as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present research, Fe-doped brushite bone cements were synthesized. The setting time, microstructure and antibacterial property of samples were investigated. The results showed that the setting time of cements was retarded to about 20 min and 123 min, respectively, as iron doping content increasing from 1 mol% to 5 mol% in β-TCP powder. Moreover, Fe-doped cements had much bigger crystal particles and calcium iron phosphate was identified in them. Furthermore, Fe-doped cements performed well in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and larger inhibition halo was obtained with more iron content. Nevertheless, the Fe-loaded cements were not so sensitive to Escherichia coli as to the other two bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel LaCoO 3 was obtained by SBA-15 assisted electrospinning combined with etching. • LaCoO 3 are confined in nanorods or scattered on mesopores/surface of SBA-15. • Deactivation by water vapor is reversible. • Reducibility, O ads /O latt , Co2+/Co3+, and exposed surface Co are important. A high surface area rhombohedral LaCoO 3 perovskite (ELS-JX) was synthesized by SBA-15 assisted electrospinning combined with NaOH etching technology, and investigated for total benzene oxidation. LaCoO 3 nanoparticles are confined in the self-assembled nanorods or scattered on the mesopores/surface of SBA-15, resulting in less aggregation of perovskite nanoparticles for ELS-JX. H 2 -TPR analysis and XPS measurements reveal that better low-temperature reducibility, higher O ads /O latt and Co2+/Co3+ as well as larger amounts of surface exposed Co species of ELS-JX considerably enhance its catalytic activity for total benzene oxidation compared to sol-gel (SG) and SBA-15 free electrospinning (EL) method synthesized LaCoO 3. Moreover, the results of O 2 -TPSR match well with the catalytic performances of SG, EL and ELS-JX. In addition, the presence of water vapor has a negative effect on benzene oxidation over the best performed ELS-JX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Soil microbial community compositions were affected by fertilizers. • Fertilizer had greater impact on soil bacterial than on fungal community. • The fungal community was more stable than the bacterial community. • Main driving indicator of microbiota was soil pH. • Chemical fertilizer plus manure was best in structuring bacterial communities. Soil microorganisms play an important role in the energy flow and nutrient cycling between soil and plants, but the impact of fertilizers on soil bacterial and fungal communities in sandy agroecosystems remains uncertain. We hypothesized that fertilizers affect soil microbial communities through soil properties and plant leaf C:N:P stoichiometry. To test this hypothesis in a sandy farmland ecosystem on the Mongolian Plateau, soil microbial diversity and composition, soil properties and plant leaf C:N:P stoichiometry were examined following 4 years of one of six fertilizer treatments (no fertilizer; returning straw; chemical fertilizer; manure; half quantity of chemical fertilizer and manure; and half quantity of chemical fertilizer). The soil bacterial Shannon index was lowest with chemical fertilizer and half quantity of chemical fertilizer, while fungal Chao richness and phylogenetic diversity (PD) index were lowest with chemical fertilizer. However, chemical fertilizer combined with manure increased the soil bacterial Shannon and PD indices, while manure alone improved fungal Chao richness and the PD index. Fertilizers had a greater impact on the soil bacterial community than on the fungal community and the fungal community was more stable than the bacterial community. Based on redundancy analysis (RDA), total soil carbon, soil nitrogen, leaf carbon, leaf N:P, pH and 16S rRNA gene copy numbers affected the soil microbial community. Structural equation models (SEM) demonstrated that soil pH was a strong driving indicator of soil microbial community under fertilization in a sandy farmland ecosystem. Chemical fertilizer combined with manure out-performed other fertilizers in structuring soil bacterial communities, while chemical fertilizer alone was the worst in maintaining soil microbial communities. Results from this study provide a basis for fertilization management strategies in maintaining below-ground microbial diversity and in ensuring sustainable land development of sandy agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sr 1.36 Sb 2 O 6 nano-octahedrons were successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal method from Sb 2 O 5 . The as-prepared Sr 1.36 Sb 2 O 6 was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Acidity of the precursor mixture had a positive effect on crystallization of Sr 1.36 Sb 2 O 6 . RuO 2 -loaded Sr 1.36 Sb 2 O 6 showed photocatalytic activity for overall water splitting without adding hole scavengers to produce H 2 and O 2 under Xenon lamp irradiation. Sr 1.36 Sb 2 O 6 prepared at low pH exhibited superior photocatalytic activity possibly due to its high degree of crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O -Linked N -acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) was identified as an Nrf1-interacting protein. Herein, we show that Nrf1 enables interaction with OGT and their co-immunoprecipitates are O -GlcNAcylated by the enzyme. The putative O -GlcNAcylation negatively regulates Nrf1/TCF11 to reduce both its protein stability and transactivation activity of target gene expression. The turnover of Nrf1 is enhanced upon overexpression of OGT, which promotes ubiquitination of the CNC-bZIP protein. Furthermore, the serine/theorine-rich sequence of PEST2 degron within Nrf1 is identified to be involved in the protein O -GlcNAcylation by OGT. Overall, Nrf1 is negatively regulated by its O -GlcNAcylation status that depends on the glucose concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: PVC-based carbon nanofibers with graphitic nanoparticles were fabricated by an electrospinning–carbonization technique and characterized by SEM, (HR)TEM and XRD. The hydrogen storage capability of the resultant nanofibers was evaluated using the volumetric method. The results show that the PVC-based carbon nanofibers obtained from the electrospun PVC/NiCl2 nanofibers consist of both amorphous carbon and a well-grown graphite layered sphere with a diameter of 35nm. It is clear that the iodine treatment is essential for retaining a fibrous shape during the carbonization, and Ni is beneficial to the growth of graphitization at low temperatures. The hydrogen storage capacity of the PVC-based carbon nanofibers obtained at 1000°C is 0.30wt%, suggesting that the resultant nanofibers are a potential energy storage material. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Valence electron structure and cohesive energy of OH cleavage process were obtained. • Transition metals are robust electron donors for OH yield implying its ratio pivotal. • Excellent mineralization of AMTH was observed at all pH values after 8 h treatment. • Degradation pathways and intermediates of Amitriptyline were elaborated. This study proposes an efficient Layered Double Hydroxide-based (LDH-based) Heterogenous Electro Fenton (Hetero-EF) strategy that ensures the stable operation for representative antidepressants Amitriptyline Hydrochloride removal in a wide pH tolerance. The extra brilliant mineralization ability was over ∼ 90% after 5 cycles. Moreover, the detailed degradation pathways and intermediates of Amitriptyline Hydrochloride were firstly elucidated and probed using ultra performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). According to the Density Functional Theory and D-Band Center Theory, the subsequent computational simulation shed new light on the ability of LDH catalyzing for hydroxyl radical formation, the relevant role of transition metal atoms in LDH catalysts, and the electrons transfer process in the Hetero-EF reaction, i.e., LDH's metal atoms are robust electron donor sites for the generation of hydroxyl radical and charges transformation for the redox reaction, which highlights the importance of the transition metal elements in catalysts and exerts feasibility for enhancing the performance of Heterogeneous Electro-Fenton (Hetero-EF). Thereby, this research proposes a reliable strategy for building efficient Hetero-EF systems and gives a global contribution to developing the high-performance LDH EF-catalysts through the optimization of the metal atom ratio modification, synthesis parameters, and computational modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Porous nanocrystalline Ln2Ti2O7 (Ln=Nd, Gd, Er) was prepared by a facile self-propagating combustion method using metal nitrates (Ln(NO3)3 (Ln=Nd, Gd, Er), TiO(NO3)2) and glycine. The photocatalytic activity of Ln2Ti2O7 (Ln=Nd, Gd, Er) was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO). The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of Ln2Ti2O7 (Ln=Gd, Er) with cubic pyrochlore structure was higher than that of Nd2Ti2O7 with monoclinic perovskite structure and Gd2Ti2O7 showed the best photocatalytic activity. The different photocatalytic activities observed for Ln2Ti2O7 (Ln=Nd, Gd, Er) could be related to its different crystal structures and Ln 4f shells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Plant litter derived from the living biomass is the primary source of soil carbon (C). However, the contribution and the mechanism of plant litter production to soil C remains uncertain in aeolian regions. In this study, the relationship between plant biomass, litter mass, and soil C content was analyzed after a spatial field investigation in Horqin sandy land, northeast China. Long-term monitoring of wind speed and plant litter production was also conducted in three habitats (mobile dune, semi-fixed dune, and fenced grassland). The soil C content was significantly affected by belowground biomass and belowground litter mass but not aboveground biomass and aboveground litter. The litter production in the desertified habitat (mobile dune and semi-fixed dune) significantly differed with that of the undesertified habitat (fixed dune and fenced grassland). In mobile dune, 38% of the aboveground primary production was lost, while there was a distinct enrichment of plant litter in semi-fixed dune and fenced grassland. Wind events (wind speeds of 7 and 8 m s−1) at the end of the growing season significantly affected litter production rate, and wind was a major driver for litter transportation between habitats. In summary, plant litter production can be affected by wind events, and this influence differs among habitats in degraded grassland, leading to spatial heterogeneity of soil C accumulation. These results can strengthen the understanding of the relationship between soil properties and plant litter production in aeolian regions and furthermore, can provide information for ecological restoration of different types of desertified land, especially for the soil C accumulation. Plant litter is the major source for soil organic matter accumulation. In degraded sandy grasslands in semi-arid regions, wind is a visible factor which transported the aboveground litter from regions with lower vegetation coverage (e.g. mobile dune or semi-fixed dune) to regions with higher vegetation coverage (e.g. fixed dune or fenced grassland), which means that, wind is the driving force for the source-sink relationships of plant litters. There remains no clear description of the influence of wind events on litter production and litter distribution. The contribution of plant litter production to soil C remains uncertain in aeolian regions. The schematic diagram strengthened the understanding of the relationship between soil properties and plant litter production, and providing important information for ecological restoration in semi-arid sandy grasslands. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw is the main resource of fuel for biomass power generation plants in China's agricultural areas. Field survey and emergy analysis were employed to investigate the operation situation of the straw collection, transportation and storage system based on the case of Laifa Straw Recycling Company. In the condition of collecting 2 × 108 kg of straw production, the emergy input of the artificial model of the company was 173.02 × 1018 sej, which was higher than the emergy input of the mechanical model, 148.11 × 1018 sej. According to the emergy indicator system, the mechanical model had a high development degree of internal resources and environment, high productivity, high sustainable development ability, but a lower proportion of renewable resource emergy input than the artificial model. The emergy value of 1 kg commercial straw calculated from the commercial price was 0.25 × 1012 sej, which was only one third of the average input of the company to produce 1 kg commercial straw (0.74 × 1012–0.87 × 1012 sej). It was difficult for straw recycling company to survive in the market due to the low price of the commercial straw. Therefore, the government was suggested to take effective economic policies to support local straw recycling enterprises. • According to the field survey and emergy analysis as the main research method. • In the given case, the theoretical prediction and actual calculation for the straw recycling system. • Constructed and analyzed the emergy indicator system of the straw recycling system. • The emergy input and output of the straw recycling company is not balanced. • The market price emergy of straw is too low and the value of straw itself is seriously underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-dimensional (1D) core-shell of Co-Ce oxide has been prepared by multifluidic coaxial electrospinning method and evaluated for the total oxidation of propane (C 3 H 8). Activity and morphological characterizations show that the CeO 2 @Co 3 O 4 nanofiber catalyst, of which the core is CeO 2 and the shell is Co 3 O 4 , exhibits excellent oxidation activity. The exposed Co 3 O 4 grown on the outside of the fibers can rapidly react with C 3 H 8 while CeO 2 with high oxygen storage capacity in the inside is conductive to the enhanced oxidation rate. Besides, the continuous grain boundary provides a fast mass transfer channel for lattice oxygen, and rich oxygen vacancies favor the mobility of active oxygen species. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs) confirms that the CeO 2 @Co 3 O 4 catalyst have a faster rate of C 3 H 8 adsorption and better oxidation activity with respect to the counterpart using a single-needle electrospinning method. Moreover, the CeO 2 @Co 3 O 4 catalyst displays excellent thermal stability, and strong resistance against 5 vol% H 2 O and 5 vol% CO 2 at both 300 and 400 °C. Our strategy can give some new insights into morphological engineering to promote active oxygen mobility via the construction of one-dimensional core-shell of metal oxides for catalytic oxidation of VOCs. ga1 • CeO 2 @Co 3 O 4 nanofibers were prepared by multifluidic coaxial electrospinning. • Co 3 O 4 shell rapidly reacts with C 3 H 8 while CeO 2 core enhances oxygen migration. • Continuous grain boundary provides a fast mass transfer channel for lattice oxygen. • Abundant oxygen vacancies favor the mobility of active lattice oxygen. • Superior oxidation activity, thermal stability and H 2 O/CO 2 resistance were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]