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Quantitative classification and ordination are instrumental in improving our understanding of plant community patterns and facilitating effective conservation efforts in national mountain ecosystems worldwide. However, there has been a lack of relevant research focused on arid and semi-arid mountain ecosystems. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve (located in Northwest China). We conducted a comprehensive study on the patterns of plant communities and their association with environmental factors across a broad elevation range from 1200 m a.s.l. to 2600 m a.s.l. Our findings revealed the presence of 121 angiosperm species across 41 families, with vegetation classified into six distinct groups through two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) along the elevational gradient. Notably, the communities of Ulmus, Prunus, and Stipa in the middle elevation range exhibited the highest Shannon–Wiener (SW) and Simpson (SN) diversity indices, and these indices followed a single-peak pattern with increasing elevation. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) further revealed six distinct yet interrelated plant communities, revealing elevation (ELE) and the biological aridity index (BK) as the most influential environmental factors influencing plant communities' distribution. This understanding is critically important for biodiversity conservation and the management of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid mountain ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endophytic fungi can be used as a source of herbal antioxidants to overcome the limitations of low yield and lengthy growth cycles associated with using plants as raw materials for antioxidant production. Papaya fruit is often susceptible to infection by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides after harvest, leading to postharvest rot. Endophytic fungi were extracted with ethyl acetate, and the initial screening concentration was 100 mg/L. Seven strains were identified, with scavenging rates exceeding 50% and strong antioxidant activity. The IC50 values in DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assays ranged from 19.72 to 84.06 mg/L and from 14.34 to 64.63 mg/L, respectively. Strain Y17 exhibited robust antioxidant activity (IC50 < 20 mg/L) and was identified as Penicillium rolfsii (MT729953) through ITS sequencing. Treatment of papaya fruit wounds with a fermentation broth of strain Y17 significantly inhibited the infection and colonization of anthracnose pathogens, resulting in a slowed disease incidence rate. This promoted the activity of protective enzymes, such as CAT, POD, and SOD, in the papaya fruit and slowed down the rate of MDA accumulation. This strain, which was found to have antioxidant activity in this study, has the potential to control anthracnose in papaya and has value in terms of further development and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the escalating global demand for raw materials, the gradual exhaustion of terrestrial mineral resources, and the rise in extraction costs and energy consumption, the development of deep-sea mineral resources has become a focal point of international interest. The pipeline lifting mining system, distinguished by its superior mining efficiency and minimized environmental impact, now accounts for over 50% of the total energy consumption in mining operations. Serving as the "heart" of this system, the deep-sea lifting pump's comprehensive performance (high pressure tolerance, non-clogging features, elevated lift capacity, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high reliability, etc.), is critical to transport efficiency, operational stability, and lifespan of the mining system. As a mixed transport pump for solid and liquid media under extreme conditions, its internal flow structure is exceedingly complex, incorporating gas–liquid–solid multiphase flow. A precise understanding of its internal flow mechanisms is essential for breaking through the design limitations of deep-sea lifting pumps and enhancing their operational stability and reliability under various working conditions and multiphase media, thereby providing technical support for advancing global marine resource development and offshore equipment upgrades. This paper comprehensively reviews the design theory, optimization methods, numerical simulations, and experimental studies of deep-sea lifting pumps. It discusses the application of various design optimization techniques in hydraulic lifting pumps, details the multiphase flow numerical algorithms commonly used in deep-sea lifting pumps along with their modified models, and summarizes some experimental methodologies in this field. Lastly, it outlines the forthcoming challenges in deep-sea lifting pump research and proposes potential directions to promote the commercial development of deep-sea mining, thereby offering theoretical and engineering support for the development of deep-sea mining slurry pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates covert communication in multi-sensor systems employing Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRSs). Different from previous works, we focus on optimizing transmission amplitudes and phase angles for a 2-BPSK codebook in the presence of asymmetric noise over complex Gaussian channels. We adopt KL divergence as a covertness constraint and mutual information as a metric for transmission rate. We employ Taylor series expansion to approximate KL divergence and mutual information. Leveraging these approximations, we derive optimal phase angles through a proposed gradient descent algorithm. The numerical simulations validate the effectiveness and precision of our Taylor approximation method. Through validation in different scenarios, our algorithm demonstrates robust convergence, deriving all optimal phase angles. Comparing initial phase angles from prior works to those obtained via our algorithm, we observe a higher covert transmission rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae cultivation using wastewater is a combined process for pollutant removal and lipid production that has been widely studied in recent years. In this study, the effects of anaerobic membrane effluent (AME) and municipal wastewater (MW) ratios on microalgae growth and pollutant removal processes were investigated, and the lipid production properties were also explored. Results show that microalgae can grow in all AME/WW ratios, and a 40% AME content is the optimal condition for microalgal biomass accumulation (52.9 mg/L·d) and lipid production (0.378 g/L). Higher AME addition would inhibit microalgae growth. In addition, high ammonia (approximately 97%) and phosphate (around 90%) removal efficiencies can be achieved in all AME/WW ratio conditions, while the total nitrogen removal efficiencies decreased with the addition of AME. Total nitrogen and phosphate are the limiting factors in treating water to meet the requirements of the integrated wastewater discharge standard. This study provided a new method for anaerobic digestion and municipal wastewater treatment and also realized green energy production based on the sustainable development principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress severely limits crop growth and yield. With the atmospheric CO2 constantly increasing, plants will be affected by multiple effects of drought and increased CO2 in the future. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays vital roles in plant stress tolerance, especially drought stress. However, little is known about the effects of elevated CO2 concentration (e[CO2]) and exogenous ABA in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) response to drought stress. In the present study, we investigated the effects of e[CO2] and exogenous ABA on the drought tolerance of cucumber seedlings under the simulated drought stress induced by 5% polyethylene glycol 6000. The experiment was a split-plot design, in which the main factor was CO2 concentrations; atmospheric and elevated CO2 concentrations (~400 and 800 ± 40 μmol mol−1, respectively). The subplot factor was the combinations of exogenous ABA and its synthesis inhibitor sodium tungstate (Na2WO4); deionized water (control), 20 μM ABA, 2 mM Na2WO4, and 2 mM Na2WO4 + 20 μM ABA, which were applied to plant leaves. The results showed that compared with exogenous ABA application only, e[CO2] combined with exogenous ABA significantly increased the biomass, chlorophyll content, and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of cucumber seedlings under drought stress. Meanwhile, e[CO2] and exogenous ABA were more efficient in reducing the contents of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde, promoting the accumulation of proline, soluble sugar, soluble protein, free amino acid, ascorbic acid, and glutathione. The ratios of ascorbic acid/dehydroascorbic acid (ASA/DHA), glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes were increased. In conclusion, e[CO2] and exogenous ABA synergistically alleviated oxidative damage of drought stress on cucumber seedlings by increasing antioxidant enzyme activities and accelerating the ASA–GSH cycle in cucumber seedlings, which in turn improved the drought tolerance of cucumber seedlings, and provided theoretical and practical support for further studies on the alleviation of drought stress in protected horticulture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), especially the FLT3-ITD mutation subtype, has a poorer prognosis and higher risk of recurrence, which seriously threatens human health. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent regulated cell death, is involved in the development and progression of AML. The mechanism by which circRNAs regulate the pathogenesis and prognosis of FLT3-ITD mutant-type AML through ferroptosis-related genes (FerRGs) remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to decipher the pathogenic role of circRNAs in AML with FLT3-ITD mutation. Encouragingly, we discovered a circRNA, hsa_circ_0015278, that regulates ferroptosis-related genes by sponging miRNAs to promote FLT3-ITD AML progression. Furthermore, ferroptosis-related genes with prognostic value contribute to FLT3-ITD AML progression by regulating the tumor microenvironment. In conclusion, we constructed a ceRNA regulatory network involving hsa_circ_0015278/miRNAs/FerRGs, and the hsa_circ_0015278 signaling axis contributes to the identification of potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and provides new insight into the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of AML with FLT3-ITD mutation. AML with the FLT3-ITD mutation seriously threatens human health. The mechanism by which circRNAs regulate the pathogenesis of FLT3-ITD mutant-type AML through ferroptosis-related genes (FerRGs) remains unclear. Differentially expressed circRNAs and mRNAs were identified from multiple integrated data sources. The target miRNAs and mRNAs of the circRNAs were predicted using various databases. The PPI network, ceRNA regulatory network, GO, and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed. The "survival" and the "pROC" R packages were used for K-M and ROC analysis, respectively. GSEA, immune infiltration analysis, and clinical subgroup analysis were performed. Finally, circRNAs were validated by Sanger sequencing and qRT-PCR. In our study, 77 DECircs-1 and 690 DECircs-2 were identified. Subsequently, 11 co-up-regulated DECircs were obtained by intersecting DECircs-1 and DECircs-2. The target miRNAs of the circRNAs were screened by CircInteractome, circbank, and circAtlas. Utilizing TargetScan, ENCORI, and miRWalk, the target mRNAs of the miRNAs were uncovered. Ultimately, 73 FerRGs were obtained, and the ceRNA regulatory network was constructed. Furthermore, MAPK3 and CD44 were significantly associated with prognosis. qRT-PCR results confirmed that has_circ_0015278 was significantly overexpressed in FLT3-ITD mutant-type AML. In summary, we constructed the hsa_circ_0015278/miRNAs/FerRGs signaling axis, which provides new insight into the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of AML with FLT3-ITD mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a conventional strategy to modulate the structure and properties of inorganic single crystals, hydration/solvation is rarely found to function in pure organic single crystal. Herein, we report chalcone single crystals with CHCl3-dependent emission color and jumping behavior. Two crystals: a pure crystal phase (1) with green-yellow emission and a CHCl3-containing co-crystal phase (1•2CHCl3) with orange-red emission were constructed by fine-controlling the crystallization conditions. The special halogen bond network in the crystal packing structure effectively narrows the bandgap and thereby redshift the emission of 1•2CHCl3. 1•2CHCl3 would revert to 1 together with emission color change when losing CHCl3. These findings are similar to the effect of H2O in hydrated inorganic crystals. Notably, owing to a special pre-organized "molecular pair" structure for [2 + 2] cycloaddition, the pure crystal phase 1 exhibits violently photo-induced jumping phenomenon, indicating large potentials in intelligent devices. This work would overturn the previous perception that the structurally simple solvent molecules without conjugation cannot greatly affect the structure and properties of pure organic single crystals and provide a new strategy to construct multi-colored organic fluorescent crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal oxides can easily lose electrons and thus possess multiple accessible valences. Especially, if two different transition metals are combined, better capacity and cycling stability are achieved. In this study, a binary transition metal oxide, CoV 2 O 6 , was synthesized via a facile co-precipitation process for use as a supercapacitor cathode; the as-synthesized CoV 2 O 6 exhibited high-capacity (306.6 F g -1 , 1 A g -1 and 219.2 F g -1 , 20 A g -1 ) and stable cycling stability, retaining 83.3% of its initial specific capacitance after 20 000 cycles. We believe that this facile synthesis process presents an effective method and a new opportunity for promoting the application of electrode materials based on binary transition metal oxides in supercapacitors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)