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A corneal epithelial-stromal defect is recognized as a major contributor to corneal scarring. Given the rising prevalence of blindness caused by corneal scarring, increasing attention has been focused on corneal epithelial-stromal defects. Currently, the etiology and pathogenesis of these defects remain inadequately understood, necessitating further investigation through experimental research. Various modeling methods exist both domestically and internationally, each with distinct adaptive conditions, advantages, and disadvantages. This review primarily aims to summarize the techniques used to establish optimal animal models of corneal epithelial-stromal injury, including mechanical modeling, chemical alkali burns, post-refractive surgery infections, and genetic engineering. The intention is to provide valuable insights for studying the mechanisms underlying corneal epithelial-stromal injury and the development of corresponding therapeutic interventions.

Abstract Background Mangrove wetlands are coastal ecosystems with important ecological features and provide habitats for diverse microorganisms with key roles in nutrient and biogeochemical cycling. However, the overall metabolic potentials and ecological roles of microbial community in mangrove sediment are remained unanswered. In current study, the microbial and metabolic profiles of prokaryotic and fungal communities in mangrove sediments were investigated using metagenomic analysis based on PacBio single-molecule real time (SMRT) and Illumina sequencing techniques. Results Comparing to Illumina short reads, the incorporation of PacBio long reads significantly contributed to more contiguous assemblies, yielded more than doubled high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), and improved the novelty of the MAGs. Further metabolic reconstruction for recovered MAGs showed that prokaryotes potentially played an essential role in carbon cycling in mangrove sediment, displaying versatile metabolic potential for degrading organic carbons, fermentation, autotrophy, and carbon fixation. Mangrove fungi also functioned as a player in carbon cycling, potentially involved in the degradation of various carbohydrate and peptide substrates. Notably, a new candidate bacterial phylum named as Candidatus Cosmopoliota with a ubiquitous distribution is proposed. Genomic analysis revealed that this new phylum is capable of utilizing various types of organic substrates, anaerobic fermentation, and carbon fixation with the Wood-Ljungdahl (WL) pathway and the reverse tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle. Conclusions The study not only highlights the advantages of HiSeq-PacBio Hybrid assembly for a more complete profiling of environmental microbiomes but also expands our understanding of the microbial diversity and potential roles of distinct microbial groups in biogeochemical cycling in mangrove sediment. Video Abstract

● The carbon footprint of the nitrogen fertilizer chain has decreased significantly over the last decade. ● Different nitrogen fertilizer products have different carbon footprints. ● Structural improvement of N fertilizer products can achieve carbon reduction. Globally, the reduction of excessive N losses and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a central environmental challenge in the 21 century. China has huge associated emissions during both production and land application phases. In addition, 70% of N fertilizer in China is produced and land applied as urea, which has high associated emissions. This study utilized life cycle analysis to compare the carbon emission capacity of different N fertilizers and quantified GHG emissions from different N fertilizer chains within China. This enabled a new innovative reform model to be proposed, which aims to decrease the carbon footprint and increase the net ecosystem carbon budget of China. The results showed that the carbon footprint of the N fertilizer industry was about 229 Tg·yr−1 CO2-eq in 2020. Through changes away from urea through the production and land application of a mix of newly emerging fertilizers, liquid fertilizers and standard fertilizer reductions to 174–182 Tg·yr−1 CO2-eq. Through the upgrading of mineral N fertilizer production technology, the carbon footprint of N fertilizer chain can be reduced by 34.8 Tg·yr−1 CO2-eq. Such reductions would reduce China’s total GHG emissions to 140–147 Tg·yr−1 CO2-eq.

The characteristics of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) include strong invasiveness, early lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis. MTC is aggresive only less than anaplastic carcinoma in all thyroid malignancies. Serum calcitonin is the most sensitive tumor marker for detecting MTC, which correlates with tumor size. However, it is difficult to diagnose some MTC patients with tumor diameter greater than 1 cm and serum calcitonin negative. This review focuses on recent advances in study on MTC with diameter greater than 1 cm and serum calcitonin negative.