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The TTG (tonalite‐trondhjemite‐granodiorite) rock suites are major building blocks of the Archean continental crust and their timing of formation and petrogenetic evolution are important keys to understanding the growth of continents in the Early Earth. Here we investigate trondhjemites from the Qiangxi Complex in the North China Craton and present petrological, geochemical and zircon U–Pb, REE and Lu–Hf data to understand the timing of their formation and petrogenetic history. The trondhjemites in our study belong to typical Archean Na‐rich TTG rocks and their geochemical features are similar to high‐Al TTG rocks. The geochemical characteristics of these rocks and the associated amphibolite indicate derivation from a subduction‐related hydrous basalt. The magmatic zircon grains from the trondhjemite samples show a peak 207Pb/206Pb age around 2,515 Ma. Magmatic zircon in the associated amphibolite also shows a similar age representing the timing of the protolith formation. Both the trondhjemites and amphibolite also contain metamorphic zircon grains which constrain the timing of metamorphism as 2,451–2,490 Ma, suggesting high‐grade metamorphism closely following the magmatism, associated with the assembly of the microblocks in the NCC. The geochemical characteristics and zircon age data presented in this study, in conjunction with those in previous studies from the Qiangxi Complex, suggest subduction‐related arc building occurred dominantly during 2.6–2.5 Ga. The Lu‐Hf isotope data from zircon grains in the trondhjemite and amphibolite samples of this study show dominantly positive εHf(t) values, indicating that the protolith magma was derived from juvenile components or depleted mantle. Our new results in conjunction with the data reported in earlier studies indicate a major crust‐building event through multiple magmatism during Neoarchean. The depleted mantle ages (TDM) of zircon in our samples range from 2,857 Ma to 2,605 Ma indicating that active subduction might have initiated in the late Mesoarchean, with the peak of magmatism during 2.6–2.5 Ga, followed by metamorphism at ca. 2.45–2.49 Ga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil contamination due to mining activities is a great concern in China. Although the effects of mining pollution resulting in changes of soil characteristics and the microbiome have been documented, studies on the responses of plant root-associated microbial assemblages remain scarce. In this work, we collected bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, and root endosphere samples of Cyperus rotundus L (Cyp) plants from two Pb/Zn mines, of which, one was abandoned (SL) and the other was active (GD), to investigate the bacterial community responses across different site contamination levels and Cyp plant compartments. For comparison, one unpolluted site (SD) was included. Results revealed that soils from the SL and GD sites were seriously contaminated by metal(loid)s, including Pb, Zn, As, and Sb. Bacterial richness and diversity depended on the sampling site and plant compartment. All sample types from the SL site had the lowest bacterial diversities and their bacterial communities also exhibited distinct patterns compared to GD and SD samples. As for the specific sampling site, bacterial communities from the root endosphere exhibited different patterns from those in bulk and rhizosphere soil. Compared to the GD and SD sites, the root endosphere and the rhizosphere soil from the SL site shared core microbes, including Halomonas, Pelagibacterium, and Chelativorans, suggesting that they play key roles in Cyp plant survival in such harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize the integrated remediation of SW/GW and soil in the rural river network area, the integrated remediation in rural river network area project (IR-RRNA), funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, has been launched. In eastern China, the rural river network area (RRNA) is an anthropic active area characterized by its rapid economic development and high gross national product. However, the water environmental pollution in these areas is increasingly severe, which has greatly hindered their sustainable development. Especially, the frequent interactions between surface/groundwater (SW–GW) have intensified the pollution migration and transformation in RRNA. The IR-RRNA (2019–2022) will apply the related interdisciplinary and methodological knowledge to elucidate the transportation and transformation of pollutants in water and soil during SW–GW interaction and develop remediation technologies of surface water, groundwater, and soil suitable for the RRNA. In this way, to realize the remediation technologies integration for surface/groundwater and soil in RRNA and implementing application demonstration. Meanwhile, a technical guideline will be compiled for the integrated remediation suitable for the RRNA. This project is conducive to addressing the urgent environmental problems as well as promoting rural economic revitalization and ecological environment optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activated sludge system is an important process of domestic and industrial wastewater treatment containing highly diverse microbial communities. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was applied to examine the microbial community composition and diversity of activated sludge samples from four full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Shanghai. A relationship between microbial communities and environmental variables was examined. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylogenetic group, followed by Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. A total of 166 genera were commonly shared by all seven sludge samples, including Zoogloea, Dechloromonas, Thauera, Nitrospira, Arcobacter, etc. Besides these shared populations, certain unique bacterial populations were found abundant in individual sludge sample. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that influent COD and pH had the greatest influence on microbial community compositions, whereas dissolved oxygen (DO) exhibited the least influence. The operating process was likely to foster diversity of the microbial communities inhabiting the wastewater treatment facilities. Alternative operation methods including a fluctuation of anoxic, oxic, and anaerobic conditions were favorable for promoting the growth of diverse microbial populations in activated sludge systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Antidepressant activity-guided fractionation of the MeOH extract of Valeriana fauriei Briq. roots resulted in the isolation of two new germacrane-type sesquiterpenes (1–2) in addition to seven known ones (3–9). Their structures were elucidated as 1β,10α-dihydroxyl-8α-acetoxyl-10β,11,11-trimethyl-4-formyl-bicyclogermacren-E-4(5)-ene (1), 1β-hydroxyl-8α-acetoxyl-11,11-dimethyl-4-formyl-bicyclogermacren-E-4(5),10(14)-diene (2), bicyclo[8,1,0]5β-hydroxyl-7β-1acetoxyl-5α,11,11′-trimethyl -E-1(10)-ene-4α,15-olide (3), 8α-acetoxyl-3α,4α,10-trihydroxyl-guaia-1(2)-ene-12,6α-olide (4), 2-Ethylhexyl-4-hydroxybenzoate (5), 11αH-gemacra-1(10)E,4Z-diene-3-one-12,6α-olide (6), β-Sitoterol (7), isovaleric acid (8), isoborneol acetate (9), using a combination of UV, IR, mass spectroscopy, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The antidepressant activity of compounds 1–4 was investigated by the FST on mice. Among them, compounds 3 and 4 showed the significant antidepressant activity (*, P <0.01). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Archean Ocean Plate Stratigraphy identified from the Wutai Complex. • Pelagic, hemipelagic and turbidite sequence accreted onto arc. • Zircon U-Pb-Hf data suggest Neoarchean intra oceanic arc building. • Subduction initiation in the late Mesoarchean. • Prolonged subduction-accretion culminating in late Paleoproterozoic collision. Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) is the travelogue of the oceanic lithosphere from its birth at the Mid Ocean Ridge to its demise at the subduction zone in convergent plate margins. Here we present an OPS succession preserved onland in the Wutai Complex of the North China Craton (NCC), representing a prolonged subduction-accretion-collision system and continental growth during the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic. The OPS succession in Wutai includes metabasalts and banded iron formation representing the pelagic sequences together with intercalated metacarbonates. Phyllite, greenschist, and mica schist represent the hemipelagic sequence. Quartzite and conglomerate correspond to the turbidite sequence, with a progressive southward accretion towards a magmatic arc in the north. We present results from petrological, geochemical, zircon U-Pb, REE, and Lu-Hf studies from representative rocks in the OPS sequence of the Wutai Complex. The trace elements including the rare-earth element (REE) data of the metabasalt show transitional features between normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB) and enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB). The REY (lanthanide elements and Y) data of the banded iron formation (BIF), greenschists, and phyllite suggest the interaction of high-temperature hydrothermal fluids and seawater. Magmatic zircon grains from the quartzite show 206Pb/207Pb upper intercept age of 2443 ± 21 Ma, whereas zircon grains in the phyllite show upper intercept age of 2494 ± 32 Ma, with minor xenocrysts with older ages of 2726 ± 46 Ma and 2672 ± 48 Ma. Zircon grains in the metaconglomerate show upper intercept age of 2569 ± 32 Ma. Those from the siliceous and intercalated bands in the BIF yield upper intercept ages of 2583 ± 34 Ma and 2524 ± 49 Ma. The zircon Lu-Hf data on zircon grains from the BIF, phyllite, quartzite, and metaconglomerate all show positive εHf(t) values (+1.3 to +7.4) in the range of depleted mantle to new crust, suggesting Neoarchean intra oceanic arc subduction. Combined with the zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data previously reported from the Wutai Complex, we infer the following four tectonic evolution stages: ca. 2800 Ma subduction initiation, ca. 2750–2300 Ma arc-accretionary complex, ca. 2300–2100 Ma back-arc rifting, and ca.1900–1750 Ma arc-continent collision. The metavolcanics and part of the metasedimentary rock assemblages in the Wutai Complex represent a deformed and dismembered OPS sequence generated through northward subduction and closure of the Wutai Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• BIFs and iron-bearing carbonate rocks correlated to Archean submarine hydrothermal system. • The δ34S V-PDB values compare with the features of typical Algoma-type BIFs. • The trace element features including enrichment in Ni, As, Se, Te, and Pb are also consist with Algoma type. • The δ13C V-PDB and δ18O V-PDB values of the carbonates confirm an oceanic setting. The major archive of iron deposits in China occur within Precambrian banded irons formations (BIFs). Here we investigate the Wutai complex that represents an Archean to Paleoproterozoic subduction-related arc system between the Ordos and Qianhuai micro-blocks of the central North China Craton (NCC). We report the carbon and oxygen isotopes of calcites from carbonate-rich BIFs, and in situ trace elements (LA-ICP-MS) and sulfur isotopes (ion probe) of pyrites from sulfidic BIFs and carbonate samples with an aim to characterize the nature and genesis of the iron deposits associated with these rocks. The δ13C V-PDB , δ18O V-PDB and δ18O V-SMOW of calcites range from −2.4‰ to −1.1‰, −20.4‰ to −19.3‰ and 9.9‰ to 11‰ respectively, displaying Archean greenstone belt and marine carbonate settings. Pyrite from the BIFs and carbonates are enriched Ni, As, Se, Te, and Pb. Their δ34S CDT values range from −8.8‰ to 7.9‰ with a peak at 0.0‰, comparing with the features of typical Algoma-type BIFs. Our study provides insights into the depositional environment of the BIFs in the Wutai Complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Late Paleoproterozoic bimodal magmatic suite identified in the Miyun complex. • Granitoid corresponds to A 2 -type formed in extensional setting. • Zircon U-Pb ages of granite and gabbro are broadly identical, confirming bimodal magmatism. • Zircon ε Hf (t) values from the granitoids are negative and the gabbro are both positive and negative. • Post-collisional magmatism in the NCC associated with mantle upwelling and lower crustal melting. Following the final cratonization of the North China Craton (NCC) through the assembly of major crustal blocks, the craton witnessed post-collisional magmatism during late Paleoproterozoic with the formation of diverse types of magmatic suites in the western and eastern margins of the Trans-North China Orogen (TNCO). Here, we investigate the anorogenic granitoid and associated gabbro from the Miyun complex located at the eastern margin of the TNCO. We present petrology, geochemistry, and zircon U-Pb, and Lu-Hf data on these rocks. The granite pluton is composed of a rapakivi phase with almost totally digested mafic magmatic enclaves, whereas the granite phase hosts gabbroic enclaves. The granitoids show high SiO 2 content (71.28 to 78.83 wt%), with peraluminous A 2 type affinity and within plate (rift-related) features. The magmatic zircon grains from the granite yielded 207Pb/206Pb weighted mean age of 1696 Ma. A similar crystallization age of 1683 Ma for the gabbro indicates coeval bimodal magmatism. Both rocks carry zircon xenocrysts with older ages that are consistent with the magmatic and metamorphic events recorded from the basement rocks. The εHf(t) values of the zircon grains from the granitoid are markedly negative (−7.9 to −5.0) with two-stage Hf crustal model ages (TC DM) ranging from 2688 Ma to 2855 Ma, indicating the involvement of Mesoarchean to Neoarchean crustal components in the magma source. In contrast, the zircon grains from gabbro show both positive and negative εHf(t) values, suggesting magma derivation from depleted mantle sources with minor juvenile crustal component. We envisage that lower crustal melting induced by mantle-derived mafic magmas during post-collisional rifting generated felsic magmas, into which the mafic magma was injected, resulting in magma mixing and mingling. In conjunction with the information from post-collisional magmatic suites in the adjacent locations including gabbro-anorthosite complex, and similar aged magmatic complexes within the TNCO, we propose a major post-collisional magmatic event in the NCC which involved extensive mantle upwelling and lower crustal melting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An iopromide (IOPr)-degrading bacterium was isolated from activated sludge of a wastewater treatment plant in Shanghai. Based on its morphology, physiological-biochemical characteristics and a phylogenetic analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence, the bacterium was identified and named as Pseudomonas sp. I-24. The optimum condition for degrading IOPr was at 30°C and pH 7.0. After 5days, strain I-24 could degrade 30mg/L IOPr by 99% in a basal salts medium with a 5% (V/V) inoculum and 200mg/L starch as the primary substrate. When applied to an Anaerobic-Anoxic/Aerobic (A2/O) process, with the coexistence of other bacteria, the strain I-24 got lower (61.3%) IOPr removal, but in two A2/O systems (with and without I-24 inoculation), the CODcr removal were both approximately 95%. The trial dosed with strain I-24 showed better IOPr removal than the un-dosed one. I-24 sustained its abundance in the A2/O system during the experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as an important source of microplastics into the environment, but the factors affecting the distribution of microplastics remain unknown. To address this knowledge gap, four WWTPs in Guilin City, Guangxi Province, China were selected to analyze the dynamic distribution of microplastics in each wastewater treatment stage, of which, one used A/O process and the other three used A/A/O process. Results showed that the microplastic content in the WWTP influent was 0.70–8.72 items/L, in which 41.2–47.1% were removed during the pretreatment stage. Compared with the influent, the microplastic content in the final effluent decreased by 89.2–93.6%, dropping to 0.07–0.78 items/L. Microplastics in the size range from 500 μm to 5 mm dominated in the influent of each WWTP, and the proportion was even higher in the effluent. Fiber, fragment, and film were the main microplastic types found in the influent, but fibers were predominated in the effluent. Fragments and films were mainly composed of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), while fibers had a more diverse compositions including PP, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Microplastics were also widely present in the sludge, with an abundance of 234.7–6908.3 items/kg dry weight. Correlation analysis showed that the tertiary industry is the main contributor of microplastics to WWTPs in Guilin City, providing direction for the future prevention and control of microplastics. Image 1 • MPs in wastewater were reduced by 89.2–93.6% through treatment. • The removal rate of fiber was significantly lower than that of fragment and film. • Fibers could bypass and escape through WWTPs. • MPs may cause environmental risks in the process of sludge resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic instability plays a key role in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Although cancer driver genes in CRC have been well characterized, identifying novel genes associated with carcinogenesis and treatment remains challenging because of tumor heterogeneity. Here, we analyzed the genomic alterations of 45 samples from CRC patients in northern China by whole-exome sequencing. In addition to the identification of six well-known CRC driver genes (APC, TP53, KRAS, FBXW7, PIK3CA, and PABPC), two tumor-related genes (MTCH2 and HSPA6) were detected, along with RRP7A and GXYLT1, which have not been previously linked to cancer. GXYLT1 was mutated in 40% (18/45) of the samples in our cohort. Functionally, GXYLT1 promoted migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo, while the GXYLT1 S212* mutant induced significantly greater effect. Furthermore, both GXYLT1 and GXYLT1 S212* interacted with ERK2. GXYLT1 induced metastasis via a mechanism involving the Notch and MAPK pathways, whereas the GXYLT1 S212* mutant mainly promoted metastasis by activating the MAPK pathway. We propose that GXYLT1 acts as a novel metastasis-associated driver gene and GXYLT1 S212* might serve as a potential indicator for therapies targeting the MAPK pathway in CRC., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous contaminants of emerging concern that have gained great attention recently due to their widespread appearance in the environment and potential adverse effects on living biota. Lijiang in Guangxi in China is a world-famous place of tourist attraction and attracted thousands of visitors every year. However, little is known regarding occurrence and distribution of MPs in freshwater and wild fishes in the Lijiang River. In this study, we used stereoscopy and micro Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (μ-FTIR) methods to investigate the abundance, morphotype, size distribution, and polymer type of MPs in freshwater collected by plankton nets and bulk sampling by pumping and filtration. Results showed that abundance of MPs in freshwater with bulk sampling by pumping (67.5 ± 65.6 items/m 3 ) was significantly higher than those using plankton nets (0.67 ± 0.41 items/m 3 and 0.15 ± 0.15 items/m 3 for mesh sizes of 75 μm and 300 μm, respectively). An average abundance of MPs detected in wild fishes was 0.6 ± 0.6 items/individual, of which, a majority was found in the gastrointestinal tracts. Large-sized (>0.3 mm) and colored MPs in morphotypes of flakes and fibers dominated in both freshwater and wild fishes. Polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer and polyethylene were the top two abundant polymer types of MPs in freshwater, while polyethylene terephthalate dominated in wild fishes. This study provides evidences for our better understanding of pollution status of MPs in the Lijiang River., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Acid mine discharge (AMD) has been demonstrated to have significant impacts on microbial community composition in the surrounding soil environment. However, their effect on adjacent soil has not been extensively studied. In this study, microbial community composition of 20 AMD-contaminated soil samples collected from an abandoned coal mine along an AMD creek was characterized using high-throughput sequencing. All samples were characterized as extremely low in pH (< 3) and relatively enriched in HCl-extractable Fe species. The dominant phylotypes were belonging to genera Ochrobactrum, Acidiphilium, Staphylococcus, Brevibacterium, and Corynebacterium. Canonical correspondence analysis results revealed that the HCl-extractable Fe(III) had a strong impact on the soil microbial assemblage. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that Aquicella, Acidobacteriaceae, Ochrobactrum, Enhydrobacter, Sphingomonas, and Legionellales were actively correlated with other taxa. As expected, most of the abundant taxa have been reported as acidophilic Fe-metabolizing bacteria. Hence, a co-occurring sub-network and a phylogenetic tree related to microbial taxa responsible for Fe metabolism were constructed and described. The biotic interaction showed that Dechloromonas exhibited densely connections with Fe(III)-reducing bacteria of Comamonas, Burkholderia, Shewanella, Stenotrophomonas, Acidithiobacillus, and Pseudomonas. These results demonstrated that Fe-metabolizing bacteria could have an important role in the Fe biogeochemical cycling.

Haze is a typical type of air pollution and frequently has occurred in the winter in Guilin city recently, but information relating to chemical compositions and airborne bacterial community structure of atmospheric particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) during haze days remains very limited. In this study, the PM 2.5 concentration, chemical components including water-soluble ions and metal elements, and bacterial community compositions of PM 2.5 on both haze and non-haze days were characterized, and the relationships between them were studied. The results showed that levels of the secondary aerosol particles of SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + in haze PM 2.5 associated with local fuel combustion and vehicle emissions were significantly higher than non-haze samples. Similar trends were observed for the detected trace metal elements. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that higher PM 2.5 concentration caused lower bacterial richness and diversity. However, the airborne bacterial community structure remained stable, and no significant difference was found between haze and non-haze PM 2.5 . Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant phyla accounting for a total of 97.2% on average. In contrast to non-haze PM 2.5 , the bacterial community structure of haze PM 2.5 was mostly positively correlated with SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , NH 4 + , K + , and Cl - , suggesting these secondary aerosol particles were probably of great importance on haze pollution and variability of the bacterial compositions of PM 2.5 ., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: A recent genome-wide linkage study mapped blood pressure (BP)-related loci on human chromosome 1q and identified the regulator of G-protein signaling 5 (RGS5) as a candidate for regulation of BP. Thus, we assessed the relationship between RGS5 genetic polymorphisms and essential hypertension (EH) in Chinese., Methods: A total of 906 patients with EH and 894 age- and gender-matched normotensive (NT) controls were enrolled. Sixteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RGS5 were genotyped., Results: There were no significant differences in the overall distributions of the genotypic and allelic frequencies for each SNPs between the two groups. However, in haplotype analysis, significant differences for the overall distributions were noted for four haplotypes constructed by five SNPs (rs12041294C/T, rs10917690A/G, rs10917695T/C, rs10917696T/C and rs2662774G/A), viz. H(2) (C-A-C-T-A) (p=0.038), H(5) (C-G-T-T-G) (p=0.001), H(6) (T-G-C-T-A) (p=0.021) and H(12) (T-A-T-T-G) (p=0.023). Serum concentrations of high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed significant associations with haplotypes revealed by a global test (p=0.0001 and 0.0309)., Conclusions: Multiple SNPs in combination in RGS5 may confer risk for hypertension. Our results also lend support for the effect of RGS5 SNPs on lipid metabolism. Further studies are warranted to find the causal SNPs in RGS5 for EH.