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Highlights The as-prepared sensors can detect NH4 + in the body fluids with a high sensitivity of 58.7 mV decade−1 and an ultrawide detection range of 1–100 mM. The biocompatible sensors exhibit desirable biocompatibility and minimal toxicity for continuous and long-term monitoring. The average detection error of the integrated and wireless biosensing patch was 13.2%, and body fluid detection accuracy is improved by more than 18% after cross-calibration.

Abstract 3D bioprinting has excellent potential in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery systems due to the ability to fabricate intricate structures that are challenging to make with conventional manufacturing methods. However, the complexity of parametric combinations and lack of product quality control have restricted soft hydrogel bioprinting from practical applications. Here we show an in-situ ultrasound monitoring system that reveals the alginate-gelatin hydrogel’s additive manufacturing process. We use this technique to understand the parameters that influenced transient printing behaviors and material properties in approximately real-time. This unique monitoring process can facilitate the detection of minor errors/flaws during the printing. By analyzing the ultrasonic reflected signals in both time and frequency domains, transient printing information can be obtained from 3D printed soft hydrogels during the processes with a depth subwavelength resolution approaching 0.78 $$\lambda$$ λ . This in-situ technique monitors the printing behaviors regarding the constructed film, interlayer bonding, transient effective elastic constant, layer-wise surface roughness (elastic or plastic), nozzle indentation/scratching, and gravitational spreading. The simulation-verified experimental methods monitored fully infilled printing and gridded pattern printing conditions. Furthermore, the proposed ultrasound system also experimentally monitored the post-crosslinking process of alginate-gelatin hydrogel in CaCl2 solution. The results can optimize crosslinking time by balancing the hydrogel’s stiffness enhancement and geometrical distortion.

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) defies the conventional wisdom of lattice dynamics and offers a novel way to control the expansion coefficient and address some challenges in modern science and technology. From an application standpoint, materials exhibiting NTE across a broad temperature range, including room temperature, are highly sought after. In this work, we propose the multi-doping strategy and prepared a series of rare-earth-based lithium oxides featuring negative thermal expansion, with the objective of adjusting their temperature range. The phase transition temperatures of these materials range from 202 K to 467 K, demonstrating a linear correlation with the average ionic radius of the rare-earth elements. By capitalizing on the synergistic effects of four rare-earth elements, we expand the full width at half maximum of the thermal expansion peak in Li(ErYHoDy)0.25O2 from 1.6 K to 14.5 K, a notable improvement of nearly tenfold is achieved. Additionally, we investigate the low-temperature magnetocaloric effects and inverse barocaloric effects within these rare-earth-based lithium oxides. Temperature- and pressure-dependent Raman scattering measurements indicate that the phase transitions and the barocaloric effects are associated with the stretching mode of the Li–O bond and the vibrational mode of the YO6 octahedron.

To produce plug seedlings with uniform growth and which are suitable for high-speed transplanting operations, it is essential to sow seeds precisely at the center of each plug-tray hole. For accurately determining the position of the seed covered by the substrate within individual plug-tray holes, a novel method for detecting the growth points of plug seedlings has been proposed. It employs an adaptive grayscale processing algorithm based on the differential evolution extra-green algorithm to extract the contour features of seedlings during the early stages of cotyledon emergence. The pixel overlay curve peak points within the binary image of the plug-tray’s background are utilized to delineate the boundaries of the plug-tray holes. Each plug-tray hole containing a single seedling is identified by analyzing the area and perimeter of the seedling’s contour connectivity domains. The midpoint of the shortest line between these domains is designated as the growth point of the individual seedling. For laboratory-grown plug seedlings of tomato, pepper, and Chinese kale, the highest detection accuracy was achieved on the third-, fourth-, and second-days’ post-cotyledon emergence, respectively. The identification rate of missing seedlings and single seedlings exceeded 97.57% and 99.25%, respectively, with a growth-point detection error of less than 0.98 mm. For tomato and broccoli plug seedlings cultivated in a nursery greenhouse three days after cotyledon emergence, the detection accuracy for missing seedlings and single seedlings was greater than 95.78%, with a growth-point detection error of less than 2.06 mm. These results validated the high detection accuracy and broad applicability of the proposed method for various seedling types at the appropriate growth stages.

Abstract Background Neutrophils are traditionally viewed as first responders but have a short onset of action in response to traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the heterogeneity, multifunctionality, and time-dependent modulation of brain damage and outcome mediated by neutrophils after TBI remain poorly understood. Methods Using the combined single-cell transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics analysis from TBI patients and the TBI mouse model, we investigate a novel neutrophil phenotype and its associated effects on TBI outcome by neurological deficit scoring and behavioral tests. We also characterized the underlying mechanisms both in vitro and in vivo through molecular simulations, signaling detections, gene expression regulation assessments [including dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays], primary cultures or co-cultures of neutrophils and oligodendrocytes, intracellular iron, and lipid hydroperoxide concentration measurements, as well as forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) conditional knockout mice. Results We identified that high expression of the FOXO1 protein was induced in neutrophils after TBI both in TBI patients and the TBI mouse model. Infiltration of these FOXO1high neutrophils in the brain was detected not only in the acute phase but also in the chronic phase post-TBI, aggravating acute brain inflammatory damage and promoting late TBI-induced depression. In the acute stage, FOXO1 upregulated cytoplasmic Versican (VCAN) to interact with the apoptosis regulator B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2)-associated X protein (BAX), suppressing the mitochondrial translocation of BAX, which mediated the antiapoptotic effect companied with enhancing interleukin-6 (IL-6) production of FOXO1high neutrophils. In the chronic stage, the “FOXO1-transferrin receptor (TFRC)” mechanism contributes to FOXO1high neutrophil ferroptosis, disturbing the iron homeostasis of oligodendrocytes and inducing a reduction in myelin basic protein, which contributes to the progression of late depression after TBI. Conclusions FOXO1high neutrophils represent a novel neutrophil phenotype that emerges in response to acute and chronic TBI, which provides insight into the heterogeneity, reprogramming activity, and versatility of neutrophils in TBI.

Abstract Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent an important class of cancer therapies that have revolutionized the treatment paradigm of solid tumors. To date, many ongoing studies of ADC combinations with a variety of anticancer drugs, encompassing chemotherapy, molecularly targeted agents, and immunotherapy, are being rigorously conducted in both preclinical studies and clinical trial settings. Nevertheless, combination therapy does not always guarantee a synergistic or additive effect and may entail overlapping toxicity risks. Therefore, understanding the current status and underlying mechanisms of ADC combination therapy is urgently required. This comprehensive review analyzes existing evidence concerning the additive or synergistic effect of ADCs with other classes of oncology medicines. Here, we discuss the biological mechanisms of different ADC combination therapy strategies, provide prominent examples, and assess their benefits and challenges. Finally, we discuss future opportunities for ADC combination therapy in clinical practice.

An advanced method is presented for improving motion estimation in autonomous excavation operations within unstructured environments, addressing the significant challenges posed by dynamic objects and non-textured surfaces commonly encountered in earthwork scenarios. The proposed approach integrates Oriented Fast and Rotated BRIEF (ORB) feature points with semantic masks to enhance the accuracy and reliability of visual motion estimation. To obtain pixel level real-time semantic masks, a specialized semantic segmentation dataset was constructed, and a real-time segmentation method based on the DeeplabV3+ framework and MobileNetV2 backbone was implemented. The experimental platform, a modified excavator equipped with a stereo camera, was tested in an open, unstructured environment designed to simulate real-world earthmoving tasks. Extensive ablation and comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed method substantially outperforms traditional visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms particularly in scenarios involving static arm data, where the elimination of irrelevant dynamic feature points resulted in a significant improvement in both Absolute Trajectory Error (ATE) and Relative Pose Error (RPE). Even in cases where the arm is in motion, the method maintains superior accuracy through precise segmentation of dynamic and static feature points. Additionally, the optimized CPU and GPU computation times for mask generation further contribute to a frame processing time that meets the demands of autonomous excavation tasks, underscoring its practical applicability. In summary, our solution effectively addresses motion estimation challenges in complex and dynamic environments, particularly in continuous trench excavation with dynamic objects and non-textured surfaces. This advancement minimizes human intervention and promotes the automation of excavation construction for construction machinery companies, ultimately improving project efficiency and safety.

Kale (Brassica napus) and collard (Brassica oleracea) are two leafy greens in the family Brassicaceae. The leaves are rich sources of numerous health-beneficial compounds and are commonly used either fresh or cooked. This study aimed to optimize the nutrient management of kale and collard in hydroponic production for greater yield and crop quality. ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Flash F1’ collard were grown for 4 weeks after transplanting in a double polyethylene-plastic-covered greenhouse using a nutrient film technique (NFT) system with 18 channels. Kale and collard were alternately grown in each channel at four different electrical conductivity (EC) levels (1.2, 1.5, 1.8, and 2.1 mS·cm−1). Fresh and dry yields of kale increased linearly with increasing EC levels, while those of collard did not increase when EC was higher than 1.8 mS·cm−1. Kale leaves had significantly higher P, K, Mn, Zn, Cu, and B than the collard at all EC levels. Additionally, mineral nutrients (except N and Zn) in leaf tissue were highest at EC 1.5 and EC 1.8 in both the kale and collard. However, the changing trend of the total N and NO3- of the leaves showed a linear trend; these levels were highest under EC 2.1, followed by EC 1.8 and EC 1.5. EC levels also affected phytochemical accumulation in leaf tissue. In general, the kale leaves had significantly higher total anthocyanin, vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates but lower total chlorophylls and carotenoids than the collard. In addition, although EC levels affected neither the total chlorophyll or carotenoid content in kale nor glucosinolate content in either kale or collard, other important health-beneficial compounds (especially vitamin C, anthocyanin, and phenolic compounds) in kale and collard leaves reduced with the increasing EC levels. In conclusion, the kale leaf had more nutritional and phytochemical compounds than the collard. An EC level of 1.8 mS·cm−1 was the optimum EC level for the collard, while the kale yielded more at 2.1 mS·cm−1. Further investigations are needed to optimize nitrogen nutrition for hydroponically grown kale.

Abstract Chemo-activation of mitochondrial ClpP exhibits promising anticancer properties. However, we are currently unaware of any studies using selective and potent ClpP activators in lung squamous cell carcinoma. In this work, we report on such an activator, ZK53, which exhibits therapeutic effects on lung squamous cell carcinoma in vivo. The crystal structure of ZK53/ClpP complex reveals a π-π stacking effect that is essential for ligand binding selectively to the mitochondrial ClpP. ZK53 features on a simple scaffold, which is distinct from the activators with rigid scaffolds, such as acyldepsipeptides and imipridones. ZK53 treatment causes a decrease of the electron transport chain in a ClpP-dependent manner, which results in declined oxidative phosphorylation and ATP production in lung tumor cells. Mechanistically, ZK53 inhibits the adenoviral early region 2 binding factor targets and activates the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated-mediated DNA damage response, eventually triggering cell cycle arrest. Lastly, ZK53 exhibits therapeutic effects on lung squamous cell carcinoma cells in xenograft and autochthonous mouse models.

Introduction: It is still controversial about the efficacy of Diptptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors in the treatment of autoimmune diabetes, especially it is unclear whether different drugs have different efficacy for different subtypes of autoimmune diabetes. Aims: To evaluated the efficacy and safety of different DPP-4 inhibitors (Sitagliptin or saxagliptin) combined with insulin in the treatment of different subtypes of autoimmune diabetes. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Wanfang and CNKI databases from inception to August 2022 to identify correlational studies. Then, RevMan 5.4 and Stata 17.0 software were used to make forest plots. Weighted mean difference (WMD) or odds ratio (OR) with 95 %CI to evaluated the outcomes of Saxagliptin or Sitagliptin combined with insulin in the treatment of autoimmune diabetes. Results: 18 studies consisting of 811 patients were included. Our study revealed Sitagliptin or Saxagliptin both have decrease insulin dose without increase the occurrence of hypoglycemia and adverse event, regardless of subtypes of autoimmune diabetes. Saxagliptin did not statistically improve in glucose control and beta cell function in both LADA and T1DM. However, compared with T1DM, Sitagliptin decreased HbA1c and improved islet beta cell function in patients with LADA. Conclusions: Sitagliptin combined with insulin therapy in patients with LADA significantly improve glucose control and beta cell function, decrease insulin dose without increasing the occurrence of hypoglycemia and adverse event. Further research in this field is required. Clinical relevance: DPP-4 inhibitors combined with insulin therapy in patients with autoimmune diabetes significantly reduced blood glycemic, preserve islet beta cell function, decrease insulin dose, BMI and the incidence of hypoglycemia, and do not increase the incidence of adverse events.

Radiation therapy has been a critical and effective treatment for cancer. However, not all cells are destroyed by radiation due to the presence of tumor cell radioresistance. In the current study, we investigated the effect of low-dose radiation (LDR) on the tumor suppressive effect of high-dose radiation (HDR) and its mechanism from the perspective of tumor cell death mode and DNA damage repair, aiming to provide a foundation for improving the efficacy of clinical tumor radiotherapy. We found that LDR pre-irradiation strengthened the HDR-inhibited A549 cell proliferation, HDR-induced apoptosis, and G2 phase cell cycle arrest under co-culture conditions. RNA-sequencing showed that differentially expressed genes after irradiation contained pyroptosis-related genes and DNA damage repair related genes. By detecting pyroptosis-related proteins, we found that LDR could enhance HDR-induced pyroptosis. Furthermore, under co-culture conditions, LDR pre-irradiation enhances the HDR-induced DNA damage and further suppresses the DNA damage-repairing process, which eventually leads to cell death. Lastly, we established a tumor-bearing mouse model and further demonstrated that LDR local pre-irradiation could enhance the cancer suppressive effect of HDR. To summarize, our study proved that LDR pre-irradiation enhances the tumor-killing function of HDR when cancer cells and immune cells were coexisting.

Summary: Background: Stroke and dementia are the leading causes of neurological disease burden. Detrimental effects of air pollution on both conditions are increasingly recognised, while the impacts on the dynamic transitions have not yet been explored, and whether critical time intervals exist is unknown. Methods: This prospective study was conducted based on the UK Biobank. Annual average air pollution concentrations at baseline year 2010 estimated by land-use regression models were used as a proxy for long-term air pollution exposure. Associations between multiple air pollutants (PM2.5, PM2.5-10, and NO2) indicated by air pollution score and the dynamic transitions of stroke and dementia were estimated, and the impacts during critical time intervals were explored. The date cutoff of this study was February 29, 2020. Findings: During a median follow-up of 10.9 years in 413,372 participants, 6484, 3813, and 376 participants developed incident stroke, dementia, and comorbidity of stroke and dementia. For the overall transition from stroke to comorbid dementia, the hazard ratio (HR) for each interquartile range (IQR) increase in air pollution score was 1.38 (95% CI, 1.15, 1.65), and the risks were limited to two time intervals (within 1 year and over 5 years after stroke). As for the transition from dementia to comorbid stroke, increased risk was only observed during 2–3 years after dementia. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that air pollution played an important role in the dynamic transition of stroke and dementia even at concentrations below the current criteria. The findings provided new evidence for alleviating the disease burden of neurological disorders related to air pollution during critical time intervals. Funding: The State Scholarship Fund of China Scholarship Council.

When drafting official government documents, it is necessary to firmly grasp the main idea and ensure that any positions stated within the text are consistent with those in previous documents. In combination with the field's demands, By taking advantage of suitable text-mining techniques to harvest opinions from sentences in official government documents, the efficiency of official government document writers can be significantly increased. Most existing opinion mining approaches employ text classification methods to directly mine the sentential text of official government documents while disregarding the influence of the objects described within the documents (i.e., the target entities) on the sentence opinion categories. To address these issues, this study proposes a sentence opinion mining model that fuses the target entities within documents. Based on the Bi-directional long short-term (BiLSTM) and attention mechanisms, the model fully considers the attention given by a official government document's target entity to different words within the corresponding sentence text, as well as the dependency between words of the sentence. The model subsequently fuses two by using feature vector fusion to obtain the final semantic representation of the text, which is then classified using a fully connected network and softmax function. Experimental results based on a dataset of official government documents show that the model significantly outperforms baseline models such as Text-convolutional neural network (TextCNN), recurrent neural network (RNN), and BiLSTM.

Water splitting is an effective strategy to produce renewable and sustainable hydrogen energy. Especially, seawater splitting, avoiding use of the limited freshwater resource, is more intriguing. Nowadays, electrocatalysts explored for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) using natural seawater or saline electrolyte have been increasingly reported. To better understand the current status and challenges of the electrocatalysts for HER and OER from seawater, we comprehensively review the recent advances in electrocatalysts for seawater splitting. The fundamentals, challenges and possible strategies for seawater splitting are firstly presented. Then, the recently reported electrocatalysts that explored for HER and OER from seawater are summarized and discussed. Finally, the perspectives in the development of high-efficient electrocatalysts for seawater splitting are also proposed.

Abstract Background Gossypol is a unique secondary metabolite and sesquiterpene in cotton, which is mainly synthesized in the root system of cotton and exhibits many biological activities. Previous research found that grafting affected the density of pigment glands and the gossypol content in cotton. Results This study performed a transcriptome analysis on cotton rootstocks and scions of four grafting methods. The gene expression of mutual grafting and self-grafting was compared to explore the potential genes involved in gossypol biosynthesis. A total of six differentially expressed enzymes were found in the main pathway of gossypol synthesis-sesquiterpene and triterpene biosynthesis (map00909): lupeol synthase (LUP1, EC:5.4.99.41), beta-amyrin synthase (LUP2, EC:5.4.99.39), squalene monooxygenase (SQLE, EC:1.14.14.17), squalene synthase (FDFT1, EC:2.5.1.21), (-)-germacrene D synthase (GERD, EC:4.2.3.75), ( +)-delta-cadinene synthase (CADS, EC:4.2.3.13). By comparing the results of the gossypol content and the density of the pigment gland, we speculated that these six enzymes might affect the biosynthesis of gossypol. It was verified by qRT-PCR analysis that grafting could influence gene expression of scion and stock. After suppressing the expression of the LUP1, FDFT1, and CAD genes by VIGS technology, the gossypol content in plants was significantly down-regulated. Conclusions These results indicate the potential molecular mechanism of gossypol synthesis during the grafting process and provide a theoretical foundation for further research on gossypol biosynthesis.

Introduction: In the Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced nephropathy model, proteinuria is a manifestation of progressive kidney injury. The pathophysiology of renal illness is heavily influenced by the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). To reduce renal RAS activation and proteinuria caused by DOX, this study evaluated the effectiveness of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide peptide (GL-PP), a new glycopeptide produced from Ganoderma lucidum grown on grass.Methods: Three groups of BALB/c male mice were created: control, DOX, and DOX + GL-PP. GL-PP (100 mg/kg) was administered to mice by intraperitoneal injection for 4 weeks following a single intravenous injection of DOX (10 mg/kg via the tail vein).Results: After 4 weeks, full-length and soluble pro(renin) receptor (fPRR/sPRR) overexpression in DOX mouse kidneys, which is crucial for the RAS pathway, was dramatically inhibited by GL-PP therapy. Additionally, GL-PP successfully reduced elevation of urinary renin activity and angiotensin II levels, supporting the idea that GL-PP inhibits RAS activation. Moreover, GL-PP showed a considerable downregulation of nicotinamide adenine nucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4) expression and a decrease in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels. GL-PP treatment effectively reduced glomerular and tubular injury induced by DOX, as evidenced by decreased proteinuria, podocyte damage, inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and fibrosis.Discussion: GL-PP inhibits intrarenal PRR/sPRR-RAS activation and upregulation of NOX4 and H2O2, suggesting potential therapeutic approaches against DOX-induced nephropathy.

In this work, we report a non-destructive and non-contacting ultrasound system with a novel air-coupled transducer to continuously monitor the drying process of prickly pear (nopal) pads in a lab environment. Compared with conventional imaging and spectroscopic methods or electrical-based approaches, ultrasound-based methods are non-invasive, cost-effective, and suitable for large volume evaluation. The time-dependent elastic modulus of the cactus can be obtained and monitored by using our proposed ultrasonic method. The evaluated elastic modulus behavior shows a good agreement with the destructive testing results in the existing literature. With further development, the proposed method can be used for in vivo plant health monitoring.

Abstract Current work explored solid-state additive manufacturing of AZ31B-Mg alloy using additive friction stir deposition. Samples with relative densities ≥ 99.4% were additively produced. Spatial and temporal evolution of temperature during additive friction stir deposition was predicted using multi-layer computational process model. Microstructural evolution in the additively fabricated samples was examined using electron back scatter diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical properties of the additive samples were evaluated by non-destructive effective bulk modulus elastography and destructive uni-axial tensile testing. Additively produced samples experienced evolution of predominantly basal texture on the top surface and a marginal increase in the grain size compared to feed stock. Transmission electron microscopy shed light on fine scale precipitation of Mg $$_{17}$$ 17 Al $$_{12}$$ 12 within feed stock and additive samples. The fraction of Mg $$_{17}$$ 17 Al $$_{12}$$ 12 reduced in the additively produced samples compared to feed stock. The bulk dynamic modulus of the additive samples was slightly lower than the feed stock. There was a $$\sim\,$$ ∼ 30 MPa reduction in 0.2% proof stress and a 10–30 MPa reduction in ultimate tensile strength for the additively produced samples compared to feed stock. The elongation of the additive samples was 4–10% lower than feed stock. Such a property response for additive friction stir deposited AZ31B-Mg alloy was realized through distinct thermokinetics driven multi-scale microstructure evolution.

The finite element simulation is a valid way for the rapid development of the root-cutting mechanism for hydroponic Chinese kale. The stem of the hydroponic Chinese kale was simplified as a transverse isotropic elastic body, and axial compression, three-point bending, and shear tests were performed. The ANSYS/LS-DYNA19.2 software was adopted for stem shear simulation, and the regression equation of the maximum simulated shear force was established. The optimized mechanical parameters were determined by minimizing the deviation between the maximum shear force obtained from the simulation and test. The three-dimensional scanning method was employed to establish the geometric model of the hydroponic Chinese kale stem. The cutting finite element simulation model and test platform were constructed. Displacement, deformation, and force measured from simulation and test were compared. Through measurement and simulation calibration, an axial elastic modulus of 6.22 MPa, axial Poisson’s ratio of 0.46, radial elastic modulus of 3.56 MPa, radial Poisson’s ratio of 0.44, radial shear modulus of 0.8 MPa, and a failure strain of 0.08 were determined. During the cutting simulation and test, the resulting maximum displacement deviations of the marking points on the end of the stem were 0.68 mm along the X-axis and 2.83 mm along the Y-axis, while the maximum deviations of the cutting and clamping force were 0.49 N and 0.77 N, respectively. The deformation and force variation laws of the kale stem in the cutting simulation and test process were basically consistent. It showed that the mechanical parameters calibrated by the simulation were accurate and effective, and the stem cutting simulation results with the finite element method were in good agreement with that of the cutting test. The study provided a reference for the rapid optimization design of the root-cutting mechanism for hydroponic Chinese kale harvest.

Greenhouse tomato production faces multiple challenges, including the excessive use of nonrenewable substrates that are difficult to dispose of after use. Currently, most growers propagate tomatoes in rockwool, but there is an increasing demand for sustainable media. The objective of this research was to evaluate sustainable and organic alternatives for greenhouse propagation of tomato seedlings intended for high-wire production. Different organic and inorganic substrates were evaluated in three experiments, using a nutrient solution composed of a complete water-soluble fertilizer. Germination and growth parameters, including height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, foliar chlorophyll levels (SPAD), and shoot fresh and dry weight, were measured. In the first experiment, which employed overhead irrigation, rockwool, coir, wood fiber–coir mix, medium-grade pine bark, pine bark < 0.64 cm, and pine bark < 0.32 cm were evaluated. Tomato germination was faster and achieved higher percentages with pine bark < 0.64 cm compared to other substrates. However, growth performance was similar or better in coir than in rockwool four weeks after transplantation. For the second experiment with sub-irrigation only, rockwool, coir, wood fiber–coir mix, pine bark < 0.32 cm bark, and peat were evaluated at different container heights. Peat resulted in greater growth across all parameters, followed by wood fiber–coir mix in all container heights, while pine bark had the least growth across all measured parameters. In the third experiment with overhead irrigation, rockwool, wood fiber–coir mix, pine bark < 0.32 cm, and a commercial peat-based mixture were evaluated under different fertilizer rates (electrical conductivity of 1.1 and 2.2 mS·cm−1). Wood fiber–coir mix, peat-based mix, and rockwool were the substrates with the highest values for all evaluated parameters. While all the organic substrates showed potential for use in tomato propagation, pine bark < 0.32 cm bark and wood fiber–coir mix provided the best media for germination. Peat and wood fiber–coir mix showed the best media for subsequent seedling growth and demonstrated potential to be used as substitutes for rockwool.

Objectives: Recent studies have linked exposure to road traffic noise or air pollution with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D), but investigation on their co-exposure was limited and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that long-term co-exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution increases the risk of incident T2D via the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: This prospective study included 390,834 participants in UK Biobank. Cumulative risk index (CRI), the health-based weighted levels of multiple exposures, was applied to characterize the co-exposure to 24-hour road traffic noise (Lden), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Lden was modeled by the Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe and air pollutant levels were measured by the Land Use Regression model at participants’ residential addresses. Incident T2D was ascertained through linkages to inpatient hospital records. MetS was defined by five (central obesity, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure) or six factors (C-reactive protein additionally). Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between environmental exposures and incident T2D, and mediation analyses were applied to investigate the role of MetS. Results: After a median of 10.9 years of follow-up, 13,214 (3.4%) incident T2D cases were ascertained. The exposure to Lden, PM2.5, and NO2, as well as their co-exposure, were significantly associated with an elevated risk of incident T2D, with HRs of 1.03 (95%CI: 1.00, 1.05) per 3.5 dB(A) increase in Lden, 1.05 (95%CI: 1.01, 1.10) per 1.3 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, 1.07 (95%CI: 1.02, 1.11) per 9.8 μg/m3 increase in NO2, and 1.06 (95%CI: 1.02, 1.09) per interquartile range increase in CRI. MetS significantly mediated 43.5%− 54.7% of the CRI-T2D relationship. Conclusions: Long-term co-exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution is associated with an elevated risk of incident T2D, which may partly be mediated by MetS.

Quantum interference among elementary Raman processes has only been observed in few materials under specific excitation configurations. Here, the authors show that quantum interference can lead to significant chiral Raman response in a monolayer material of transitional metal dichalcogenide with triclinic symmetry.

As a vital component of biodiversity, phyllosphere bacteria in forest canopy play a critical role in maintaining plant health and influencing the global biogeochemical cycle. There is limited research on the community structure of phyllosphere bacteria in natural forests, which creates a gap in our understanding of whether and/or how phyllosphere bacteria are connected to leaf traits of their host. In this study, we investigated the bacterial diversity and composition of the canopy leaves of six dominant tree species in deciduous broad-leaved forests in northeastern China, using high-throughput sequencing. We then compare the differences in phyllosphere bacterial community structure and functional genes of dominant tree species. Fourteen key leaf functional traits of their host trees were also measured according to standard protocols to investigate the relationships between bacterial community composition and leaf functional traits. Our result suggested that tree species with closer evolutionary distances had similar phyllosphere microbial alpha diversity. The dominant phyla of phyllosphere bacteria were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. For these six tree species, the functional genes of phyllosphere bacteria were mainly involved in amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism processes. The redundancy and envfit analysis results showed that the functional traits relating to plant nutrient acquisition and resistance to diseases and pests (such as leaf area, isotope carbon content, and copper content) were the main factors influencing the community structure of phyllosphere bacteria. This study highlights the key role of plant interspecific genetic relationships and plant attributes in shaping phyllosphere bacterial diversity.

Abstract Microbes dominate terrestrial ecosystems via their great species diversity and vital ecosystem functions, such as biogeochemical cycling and mycorrhizal symbiosis. Fungi and other organisms form diverse association networks. However, the roles of species belonging to different kingdoms in multi‐kingdom community networks have remained largely elusive. In light of the integrative microbiome initiative, we inferred multiple‐kingdom biotic associations from high elevation timberline soils using the SPIEC‐EASI method. Biotic interactions among plants, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and archaea were surveyed at the community and network levels. Compared to single‐kingdom networks, multi‐kingdom networks and their associations increased the within‐kingdom and cross‐kingdom edge numbers by 1012 and 10,772, respectively, as well as mean connectivity and negative edge proportion by 15.2 and 0.8%, respectively. Fungal involvement increased network stability (i.e., resistance to node loss) and connectivity, but reduced modularity, when compared with those in the single‐kingdom networks of plants, nematodes, bacteria, and archaea. In the entire multi‐kingdom network, fungal nodes were characterized by significantly higher degree and betweenness than bacteria. Fungi more often played the role of connector, linking different modules. Consistently, structural equation modeling and multiple regression on matrices corroborated the “bridge” role of fungi at the community level, linking plants and other soil biota. Overall, our findings suggest that fungi can stabilize the self‐organization process of multi‐kingdom networks. The findings facilitate the initiation and carrying out of multi‐kingdom community studies in natural ecosystems to reveal the complex above‐ and belowground linkages.

A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the significance of the gut microbiota in host health, while the association between gut microbiota dysbiosis and multiple diseases is yet elusive in the scenario of exposure to widely used pesticides. Here, we show that gut microbiota dysbiosis involves in host's abnormal lipid metabolism and consequently the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Xenopus laevis upon exposure to cis-bifenthrin, one of the most prevalent pyrethroid insecticides in the world. With the guidance of gut microbiota analysis, we found that cis-bifenthrin exposure significantly perturbed the gut microbial community, and the specific taxa that served as biomarkers were identified. Metabolomics profiling and association analysis further showed that a significant change of intestinal metabolites involved in lipid metabolic pathways were induced along with the microbiota dysbiosis upon exposure to cis-bifenthrin. Detailed investigation showed an altered functional regulation of lipids in the liver after cis-bifenthrin exposure and the accumulation of lipid droplets in hepatocytes. Specifically, a change in deoxycholic acid alters bile acid hepatoenteral circulation, which affects lipid metabolism in the liver and ultimately causes the development of fatty liver disease. Collectively, these findings provide novel insight into the gut microbiota dysbiosis upon pesticide exposure and their potential implication in the development of chronic host diseases related to liver metabolic syndrome.

ABSTRACT Soil microbiota plays fundamental roles in maintaining ecosystem functions and services, including biogeochemical processes and plant productivity. Despite the ubiquity of soil microorganisms from the topsoil to deeper layers, their vertical distribution and contribution to element cycling in subsoils remain poorly understood. Here, nine soil profiles (0 to 135 cm) were collected at the local scale (within 300 km) from two canonical paddy soil types (Fe-accumuli and Hapli stagnic anthrosols), representing redoximorphic and oxidative soil types, respectively. Variations with depth in edaphic characteristics and soil bacterial and diazotrophic community assemblies and their associations with element cycling were explored. The results revealed that nitrogen and iron status were the most distinguishing edaphic characteristics of the two soil types throughout the soil profile. The acidic Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosols were characterized by lower concentrations of free iron oxides and total iron in topsoil and ammonia in deeper layers compared with the Hapli stagnic anthrosols. The bacterial and diazotrophic community assemblies were mainly shaped by soil depth, followed by soil type. Random forest analysis revealed that nitrogen and iron cycling were strongly correlated in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol, whereas in Hapli soil, available sulfur was the most important variable predicting both nitrogen and iron cycling. The distinctive biogeochemical processes could be explained by the differences in enrichment of microbial taxa between the two soil types. The main discriminant clades were the iron-oxidizing denitrifier Rhodanobacter, Actinobacteria, and diazotrophic taxa (iron-reducing Geobacter, Nitrospirillum, and Burkholderia) in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol and the sulfur-reducing diazotroph Desulfobacca in Hapli stagnic anthrosol. IMPORTANCE Rice paddy ecosystems support nearly half of the global population and harbor remarkably diverse microbiomes and functions in a variety of soil types. Diazotrophs provide significant bioavailable nitrogen in paddy soil, priming nitrogen transformation and other biogeochemical processes. This study provides a novel perspective on the vertical distribution of bacterial and diazotrophic communities in two hydragric anthrosols. Microbiome analysis revealed divergent biogeochemical processes in the two paddy soil types, with a dominance of nitrogen-iron cycling processes in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol and sulfur-nitrogen-iron coupling in Hapli stagnic anthrosol. This study advances our understanding of the multiple significant roles played by soil microorganisms, especially diazotrophs, in biogeochemical element cycles, which have important ecological and biogeochemical ramifications.

ABSTRACT Belowground fungi are closely related to crop growth, and agricultural fertilization is widely known to affect soil fungal communities. Yet it remains unclear whether fungal communities in differing belowground habitats—root endosphere, rhizosphere soil, and bulk soil—respond differently to long-term fertilization. Here we investigated the variation in fungal communities of root endosphere, rhizosphere soil, and bulk soil under 35 years of fertilization in wheat fields. Specifically, the fertilization regimes were applied as five treatments: soils receiving NPK fertilizer, NPK and cow manure (NPK+CM), NPK and pig manure (NPK+PM), NPK and wheat straw (NPK+WS), and no fertilizer (Control). Long-term fertilization significantly impacted fungal community composition in all three habitats, and these effects were stronger in the rhizosphere and bulk soils than root endosphere. Mantel test results showed that fungal community composition was significantly correlated with phosphorus and zinc contents. Further, fungal alpha diversity was lowest in the NPK+PM treatment and was negatively correlated with both phosphorus and zinc contents. Moreover, NPK+PM treatment had the lowest complexity of fungal co-occurrence network, and in general network complexity was significantly negatively correlated with the zinc and phosphorus contents. Taken together, these results suggest that long-term fertilization can impact fungal communities not only in soils but in root endosphere, and this is strongly associated with the contents of phosphorus and zinc there, a finding important for guiding fertilization management practices and supporting sustainable agriculture. IMPORTANCE Fungi, an essential component in nutrient cycling and plant growth, are highly sensitive to fertilization. However, there are limited studies on fungi in root endosphere under long-term fertilization management. Our research extended the study on the endophytic fungal community of crop roots under agricultural management and found that its responses were similar to the communities in soil habitats. In addition, the type of organic materials was reported as the main driver affecting soil fungal community under long-term fertilization. Our research further revealed that the underlying mechanism of affecting the fungal communities in the soils and roots was the differences in phosphorus and zinc contents caused by the application of different organic materials. Therefore, our results highlight that except for phosphorus, zinc content of the organic materials should be considered in long-term organic fertilization systems.

In this study, grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations (GCMC) and molecular dynamics simulations (MD) were used to construct models of activated carbon with hydroxyl-modified hexachlorobenzene basic unit contents of 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 35% and 50%. The mechanism of adsorption of carbon disulfide (CS2) by hydroxyl-modified activated carbon was then studied. It is found that the introduction of hydroxyl functional groups will improve the adsorption capacity of activated carbon for carbon disulfide. As far as the simulation results are concerned, the activated carbon model containing 25% hydroxyl modified activated carbon basic units has the best adsorption performance for carbon disulfide molecules at 318 K and atmospheric pressure. At the same time, the changes in the porosity, accessible surface area of the solvent, ultimate diameter and maximum pore diameter of the activated carbon model also led to great differences in the diffusion coefficient of carbon disulfide molecules in different hydroxyl-modified activated carbons. However, the same adsorption heat and temperature had little effect on the adsorption of carbon disulfide molecules.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs). A recent study has shown that AOPP-induced renal tubular injury is mediated by the (pro)renin receptor (PRR). However, it is unclear whether the PRR decoy inhibitor PRO20 can protect against renal damage related to AOPPs in vivo. In this study, we examined the role of the PRR in rats with AOPP-induced renal oxidative damage. Male SD rats were subjected to unilateral nephrectomy, and after a four-day recuperation period, they were randomly divided into four groups (n = 6/group) for four weeks: control (CTR), unmodified rat serum albumin (RSA, 50 mg/kg/day via tail-vein injection), AOPPs-RSA (50 mg/kg/day via tail-vein injection), and AOPPs-RSA + PRO20 (50 mg/kg/day via tail-vein injection + 500 μg/kg/day via subcutaneous injection) groups. PRO20 was administered 3 days before AOPPs-RSA injection. Renal histopathology evaluation was performed by periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining, and biochemical parameters related to renal injury and oxidative stress biomarkers were evaluated. The expression of related indicators was quantified by RT-qPCR and immunoblotting analysis. In the results, rats in the AOPPs-RSA group exhibited higher levels of albuminuria, inflammatory cell infiltration, and tubular dilation, along with upregulation of oxidative stress, profibrotic and proinflammatory factors, and elevation of AOPP levels. Meanwhile, in the PRO20 group, these were significantly reduced. Moreover, the levels of almost all components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and Nox4-dependent H2O2 production in urine and the kidneys were elevated by AOPPs-RSA, while they were suppressed by PRO20. Furthermore, AOPPs-RSA rats showed elevated kidney expression of the PRR and soluble PRR (sPRR) and increased renal excretion of sPRR. In summary, these findings suggest that PRR inhibition may serve as a protective mechanism against AOPP-induced nephropathy by inhibiting the intrarenal RAS and Nox4-derived H2O2 mechanisms.

This paper proposes a path correction scheduling strategy for the underground mining boom roadheader by ably combining a back propagation (BP) neural network and state estimation. First, a pose deviation-based tracking model is designed for the roadheader, and it is then further studied and optimized by incorporating the benefits of BP neural networks into the model adaptation. Considering the fact that there is skidding between tracks on the ground and errors during the instant pose detection of the roadheader underground, singular value decomposition (SVD)–Unscented Kalman filtering is applied to estimate the real pose deviation, based on the summarized distribution regularities of the track skidding ratios and the pose detection errors, instead of complicated analysis mechanisms. The BP neural network and states estimation are well combined in structure, enabling this scheduling strategy to update the control law and revise the control instruction simultaneously in the procedure. The proposed path tracking model for the roadheader is simple and clear, without adding extra devices or massive algorithms, which is attractive in terms of industrial use. The path tracking simulations show that this proposed strategy achieves path tracking well in different scenarios and is of high adaptability when facing complex trajectory while still giving stable control instructions for the roadheader.